LIZZARD GAZZETTE - OCTOBER 2008

Welcome to another great edition of the Lizzard Gazzette!

We would like to remind everyone that this isn't just a newsletter for the members of The League of Lizzards, but for ALL of Railbirds.com. It contains information about what the League is up to as well as jokes, interesting articles, poker tips, tournament information, book reviews, and much more!

The issues are coming together more smoothly as each month goes by and we've even added a new section this month, Puzzle Island. This is a fun section where there will be puzzles or even quizes to solve.

Look for other new sections coming up soon!

We hope that you enjoy what we have put together for you in this edition and if you have any suggestions, ideas, or feedback don't hesitate to let the Lizzard Editors know! YOUR input is always welcome!

Inside the
"Internet Skill
Game Licensing
and Control Act"

October 4, 2008

Haley Hintze

• Thorough vetting of potential licensees;
• Mandatory implementation of technologies to protect against underage gambling and to monitor and detect individuals with excessive gaming habits;
• High standards to thwart fraud and abuse of customers;
• Regulation to prevent money laundering; and,
• Processes to prevent tax avoidance.

On Sept 28th the She-Lizzards and the He-Lizzards met on the felt in the Leagues first ever "Battle of the Sexes." The night was filled with tons fun, laughter, and even some neckbiting! The final table was composed of 4 She-Lizzards vs 5 He-Lizzards. While the She-Lizzards fought hard, the He-Lizzards managed to claim the victory.
Congratulations to Big Lui for not only winning the tournament, but also claiming the trophy for Top He-Lizzard!
Congratulations also goes to Astrogini for being the Top She-Lizzard!

The Railbirds Clan League will start this month and the Lizzards will be participating. As soon as we have more details, we'll pass them on to you guys!
It's gonna be a B L A S T ! !

New inductees into
the Blog of Fame for the winners of Lizzards_League Tournaments:

RITJ September Winners

• 10-A dadogg
• 10-B Sweets aka Sun
• 10-C Fold-Intern
• 10-D xxxxx
• 10-E KDizzy
• 10-F Me Tim
• 10-G Jens 73
• 10-H SilentBobAK47

Lizzards Lounge #5 Winner

• jonnie2thumbs

• Big Lui
  

Caro's Conception
by Mike Caro

Today, I want to talk about the most mysterious truth that affects our lives and our poker profit. This column is based on a theory I proposed over 25 years ago, and on a recent lecture.

A lecture that will change your poker outlook

It is a concept that takes us far, far beyond just the basic strategies of winning at poker. "Caro's Conception" makes us aware that there is a level of poker prowess that is very real, yet nearly not definable.

This mysterious force doesn't just appear in poker, but in real life, too. But, I'm getting ahead of the story. First, I've got to tell you what the Conception - or concept - is based upon. It's based upon a puzzling truth, long known to those who ponder such things - the truth that strengths are not always ordered by hierarchy. Sometimes strengths can overlap and some people can't even beat opponents that those they conquer could beat.

Have you ever played rock-paper-scissors? It's a guessing game where you make up and down motions with your right hand three times in unison with an opponent. At the end of the third time, without stalling or looking to see what your opponent is doing, you show a tight fist - indicating a rock - or a flat, open hand - indicating paper - or two fingers - indicating scissors.

Rock, paper, or scissors. Those are your choices. Fine. But who wins? Well, if both of you show the same type of object, obviously it's a tie and nobody wins. But if the two objects indicated by your hands are different, somebody wins.

It goes like this. A rock loses to paper, because paper covers it. So, paper is better than rock. And, scissors beats paper, because scissors cut paper. So, at the low end, you have rock, which gets covered by paper, which then gets cut by scissors, making scissors the overall champ in the hierarchy of this game. Right?

No! It doesn't work that way. Scissors get smashed by rock. So, if I let you choose which you wanted - rock, paper, or scissors - no matter which you chose, I could always beat you. OK, but that's just a contrived game.

Beyond the scissors game

Does this strangeness, where there is no strongest choice, happen outside this made-up game? Yes! When I first wrote about this in Gambling Times magazine in the early 1980s, I used examples with cards. Since then, I and others have spent hours coming up with compelling poker examples of this phenomenon.

My favorite example comes from hold 'em. Here are three hands:

• 4 4
• J 10
• A K

Suppose I were to put those three poker hands on the and gave you your choice of hand. Then I would pick a hand from the remaining two hands to challenge you. Which would you choose first? Well, it doesn't matter which you'd choose first, because you couldn't win. There is no best hand!

You see, jack-10 of hearts wins about 53 percent of the time against the two fours. So, let's match that winner, J-10 of hearts, against the ace-king unsuited. Now ace-king wins almost 59 percent of the time. So, we've got two fours on the low end. They can't even beat the J-10 suited. And, in turn, J-10 suited gets annihilated by ace-king. So, it looks like two fours is the worst hand in the group and ace-king is the best. But, just for fun, let's put the lowly two fours against the champion - ace-king. This should be no contest.

You're right, it's no contest. The two fours win 54 percent of the time. Huh? I thought the two fours couldn't even beat J-10 suited, and J-10 suited was trounced by ace-king, so how come ace-king loses to the weak two fours.

When strengths overlap in poker

It's because strengths can overlap in poker and in life. Certain hands, certain people, certain teams, certain organizations, certain strategies can be ideally suited to beat others. And still, they can fail time and time again to beat whatever could be beaten easily by those they conquered.

But "Caro's Conception" isn't about selected cards or rock-paper-scissors. I'm sure people made puzzles out of similar overlaps in strength centuries ago. "Caro's Conception" takes this a step further and suggests that these overlaps in strength exist all around us. It will help you succeed in poker or in life if you can identify when this puzzling force of nature is happening.

In poker, I believe that different playing styles can be ideally geared to destroy certain types of opponents. For instance, let's take three different players. Arnold is ultra-tight and unobservant. Betty is moderately tight and easy to manipulate. And Craig is looser and playful.

Other poker skills being similar, Arnold could lose forever to Betty. Why? Although Betty is too tight, she's not as tight as Arnold and gains ground by stealing some pots. She's easy to manipulate, but Arnold - who is unobservant -- doesn't take advantage by manipulating Betty. Therefore, Betty's weakness - being manipulable -- doesn't harm her, because this isn't exploited. So, let's put the winning player, Betty, who is moderately tight and easy to manipulate, against Craig -- our looser and playful foe. Well, here it's no contest. Craig looses a little ground to the moderately tight opponent by playing too many hands. But Betty is easily manipulable, so she falls victim to Craig's carefully crafted, playful image. This gives Craig the advantage overall. So, now we have a champion, right? It's Craig.

Why Craig can't beat Arnold

But, wait! Let's match him up against that ultra-tight and unobservant opponent named Arnold. Strangely, Arnold now dethrones Craig. Arnold is too tight and Craig is too loose. This part of their game is a push. But Arnold isn't falling for Craig's playful image. And Craig wastes money time and time again trying to be manipulative.

Here's the key. You should look for similar overlaps in strength whenever you play poker. Adjust your game specifically for the opponents you're facing right now. You'll be much more successful if you do that than if you use a one-size-fits-all strategy. And you'll stop wondering why Morris loses day in and day out, but usually takes your money. Stop feeling singled out and just change your tactics.

But the really big truth behind "Caro's Conception" is that these overlaps are happening all the time in real life. That's why Adam is domineered by Bob and Bob is, in turn, in the control of Carla, But Carla, who would seem to be at the top of the leadership ladder, is putty in the hands of lowly Adam.

Start looking around and you'll see this happening everywhere. You'll also understand why one person, whom you'd like to be pals with, gets along with all your other friends, but not with you. Just like in poker, the trick is to modify your behavior to interact more successfully with that individual. But you can only do that if you contrast your traits with the other persons' to pinpoint the collisions. Then it's easy to steer around the obstacles.

"Caro's Conception" defined

Remember "Caro's Conception." It states: "In life, strength is sometimes circular. Therefore, the conqueror can be an underdog to an entity too weak even to defeat what has been already conquered."

In poker and in life, there are game plans that are ideally suited for certain opponents that fail against lesser ones. Once you realize this and adapt, you're taking your game to the next level.

October Lizzards_League
Tournaments
Open To All
Railbirds

Tournaments For
Lizzards_League
Members Only
Mark Your Calenders
NOW!

If you have a suggestion for a Lizzards Only Tournament or a challenge to the Lizzards send us a PM to the League Page!

THE RAILBIRDS CLAN LEAGUE

Clowns vs. Lizzards
Sat Oct 18 @ 1700 FTP
NLHE $1+.50

Begins October 18th and will be every other Saturday at 17:00 est. More information to come as we get it!!!

The League of Lizzards is always looking for new members ...

If you are interested in joining one of the friendliest families on this site Go Green and contact us today!

Joined in September

Big Lui
Lewis is 21 years old and lives in Spain. He plays on Full Tilt and PokerStars and his name is Lui Big L. He has been playing for three years and his favorite game is NLHE. He came to Railbirds.com after being referred by a friend who told him it was a great place to learn poker. He has never regretted following that advice.

bs4316
Bryce is 21 years old and lives in Pennsylvania. He plays on Full Tilt and PokerStars and uses bs4316 and bslat281. He has been playing poker for about two years. His favorite game is NLHE. He came to Railbirds after seeing the freerolls on FTP and after joining decided it was definitely worth staying.

budcan88
Jeff is 49 years old and lives in the same house as his wife colonie58. He plays mostly on Full Tilt and PokerStars and his names are budcans88 or budcans. He has been playing online for a few years and his favorite game is NLHE. He joined Railbirds after hearing a lot of chirping about the site at home.

EchelonXN
Jay is 19 years old and lives in Virginia. He plays on Full Tilt and PokerStars using the name EchelonXN. He has been watching poker for about six years, only playing for the last year. His favorite game is NLHE. He came to Railbirds, joined and in receiving a warm welcome he decided to stay.

emb30
Eric was born August 18, 1984 and lives in Iowa. He plays on Bodog, Full Tilt and PokerStars and uses either ericb2 or iahawksfan2. He has been playing poker for about four years. He enjoys playing a variety of poker games but not one in particular. He says he was looking at different poker sites, found Railbirds.com and decided to stay.

How I raised, folded, bluffed, flirted, cursed, and won millions at the WSOP

by Annie Duke with David Diamond

Reviewed by Big Lui

Ok so when I was asked to do a book review for our Lizzard newsletter, at first I was a bit apprehensive as my English written and grammatical skills are mediocre at best. Then I thought hey why not give it ago it gives me a chance to improve my English skills and lets me contribute something to this great clan.

The reason I chose to read this book is because I wanted to get an insight into the mind set of not just a successful poker player but a successful women poker player as well. With this book I think I got that and a whole lot more.

This book doesn’t just educate it also tells the story of Annie Duke’s life from childhood to her rise to fame in the poker world. It give a brief but good history on how poker got started and also how it evolved through the years to what it is today.

This book concentrates on 2 forms of poker - the ever popular Texas Hold’em and my personal favorite Omaha 8’s, better also known as Omaha Hi/Lo Split. It has information and strategies to suit novices and solid poker players alike; it also has descriptions of many of the worlds top poker pros and there poker achievements.

This book entertains from chapter to chapter, from the feel of sitting beside Annie Duke at the WSOP, to chronologically revealing her life to us. It shows the pressure stardom and poker can put on a person and the struggles life can throw at people. But with an optimistic outlook, putting in the hours, and some risk, it is possible to persevere through it and celebrate success.

I wouldn’t say this is a hardcore Poker-Strategy book, you know the ones were you go over the pages time and time again memorizing formulas and theory. Far from it. Instead it’s a book that should be absorbed and appreciated for what it is as it educates and entertains you at the same time. Whether you are looking to improve your poker game or are just looking for a good book to read this book shouldn’t be over looked.

Good Luck to all and hope I see you on the felts soon.

Poker Wisdom from:

Mike Caro

Next Month: Doyle Brunson

Submit any Doyle Brunson quotes to A55A55IN .

.

Poker George

EDITORS NOTE

Be apart of The Lizzard Gazzette!

We'd LOVE to hear from you!
Please send submissions to:

We ask that your submissions be
Poker or Lizzard related
Please & Thank You

• SilentBobAK47's Poker Trivia
• CJ2800's Poker Scenarios
• FastPhil's Weekly Poker Poll
• A55A55IN's Experimental Tournaments

October
bs4316, krazybrak90, Annie-up, yummyanfun, Jackdog, Policewoman531, -1crunch1-, ehuddle, float, knette9, adammcman, mtminer

READER'S FEEDBACK

"One of my RailBird friends asked me about clans the other day, and how I ended up being a Lizzard. Pretty valid question and what I thought was a pretty simple answer, turned into a rambling pm. I will try to highlight the response:

One of the first pages I viewed after finding the nest was that of Katchagirl. I had to figure out who this person was that was WOOOOTTTING on every blog! The first thing you see is her smiling face looking back at you, and that was followed by pictures and a bio that just make you want to know her better. (Digression: I had also signed up on another forum in which the basis was a lizard) Displayed prominently on her page were multiple lizards and some references to a Lizzard League. (Gotta love the Internet, nobody knows how to spell anymore) I actually assumed that Lizzards on this site were probably members from the other site. Valid assumption!

I kept perusing the site on a daily basis and discovered there were clans of all shapes and sizes. Many of them looking/begging for more members. However, I was still getting my feet wet with online poker and was not ready for that commitment. However, a couple of weeks later I was in Vegas and I came across a humidor at Caesar’s Palace that had a bunch of lounge lizards hanging out smoking and drinking in a bar. Right then I knew I wanted to be a Lizzard! I began making inquiries about clans on April 22nd, posted a blog to see who wanted a newbie like me on the 23rd, and joined the Lizzards on the 24th. (FYI, the Lizzards was the only primary clan to not tout why I should join them, instead Gini posted a link to all the clans so I could make an educated decision).

So the question becomes “Why pick the Lizzards?”. It was not an easy decision, because there are a lot of great people in every clan. Actually, I believe I have at least one friend from every major clan and most of the newer ones as well. I liked the fact that the Lizzards were one of the starting two initial clans. In addition, everyone I met from the clan was unbelievably nice and receptive. Another deciding factor was that it seemed that everyone associated with the Lizzards was more interested in poker than anything else. Not to say we don’t post some off the wall stuff, but it seemed that most of the posts had to do with upcoming events, completed events, or congratulations to the various lizzards that had placed in a tournament. Since I joined for the poker aspect, it was a perfect fit.

The clan would not be the same without some key contributors:
Katch – Great personality, awesome enthusiasm, and a heck of a competitor on the felts in the few times we have been at the same table
Gini – Tireless, always available, funny as can be, loves to give me her chips when we play (j/k), and someone I can always count on
David aka A55a55in – Great source of information, recent friend addition (I passed the “You are not a newbie period&rdquo, and from what I hear a fierce competitor on the felts, though we have never locked horns
MomLizzard aka Cheekysmom – We have yet to really interact, but that does not override the fact that the Mom of the lizzard community is so very involved in all the day to day events. Just check out her page and you will see that she is lighthearted and fun, but if you read the details, she is a poker player at heart. I look forward to getting to know her more in the future and playing against her on the felts.

The league is large and I can not recognize everyone, but I do want to give special thanks to the following lizzards for making my experience here in the nest so memorable and they keep me coming back everyday. JB, Kona, CJ, jandhart, and unicat. In addition, if you need a sexy banner just see Jacqueline!

I have made friends here that support me when I am up and when I am down. And in return, I try to do the same. The Railbirds community is better because of the Lizzard Family and I thank all of you for allowing me to share my experiences with you.

Lizzards Rock!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!"

A Quick Poker Puzzle

Submitted by: Big Lui

Player 1 declares HIGH with

Player 3 declares HIGH/LOW with