Right in the middle of
the action, laying down the law with each deal of the cards was
Chetek's Bobby Law.
Law won $46,245 for finishing 143rd in the 36th annual World Series
of Poker held at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from July
7-16. The No Limit Texas Holdem World Championship event had a
record 5,619 participants who each paid $10,000 for a chance at some
of the $52,818,610 in prize money.
"You're in it to get the money, but you still have to take it one
step at a time," says Law, reflecting on the tournament experience.
"I'd love to have won it, but with over 5,600 people in it, there is
a bit of a luck factor involved."
A national craze
For decades, poker was reserved for back rooms, and underground
clubs or casinos in Nevada or Atlantic City. Now it's played on
dozens of Web sites, hundreds of casinos nationwide, and broadcast
almost every night of the week on ESPN and the Travel Channel.
Whether it's Celebrity Poker, the World Poker Tour or reruns of last
year's World Series of Poker, people are tuning in and taking the
game of poker out of back rooms and into the living room.
"The TV exposure is really what started the boom. About five years
ago it was a popular game, but nothing like it is today," Law
explains. "The exposure, the big prize pots, and internet gambling
all add to it."
When Law took up poker about 15 years ago, it was for the fun of it.
It wasn't long before he discovered he had a knack for the game.
When the poker craze came, especially for the game of Texas holdem,
Law was in the right position to take advantage of it.
Law has played numerous smaller tournaments, several tournaments
with a $1,500 buy-in price, but only two major competitions. But Law
is more than a tournament player, he is a professional gambler.
Playing for a living
Two years ago Bobby Law was working with his brother, John, at
Chetek Bowling and Billiards, but things just weren't sitting right
for him.
"I was in limbo at the bowling alley, so I decided to take off for
Vegas," says Law sounding like it is something people do every day.
He knows how it sounds to people, especially people who believe in
8-hour work days and a steady income.
"It is not a big shock for people to know that I play cards, but to
say that you play for a living... It's harder for people to
understand that you can gamble and make a living at it," Law
acknowledged.
For a year, Law spent 4-5 days a week sitting at casino poker tables
working on his skills and making a living. He watched the tourists,
eager to try their hand at this game they watch on TV, come and go.
Law played on.
"There were other people out there that I got to know that were also
doing it (playing poker) for a living. Some made it. Some didn't do
so well," Law explained. "I had good luck right away which made me
more confident and I continued to do it."
After a year, Law and his wife, Kecia, returned to Wisconsin where
they now operate Jaybirds in Rice Lake. Yes, Law is married. While
many wives would discourage their husbands from taking this path in
life, Kecia encourages Law.
"I love that he gets to do something he enjoys and has fun at it,"
says Kecia. "It's fun for me to watch him because I'm intrigued by
the game also."
The couple, both originally from Wisconsin, met in 1999 in the place
that would later become their home - Las Vegas.
"I was living in La Crosse at the time, and I went with a friend to
Las Vegas on a trip," explained Kecia. Law was already in Vegas, but
not on vacation. He was entered in a pool tournament. "My friend
knew someone in the tournament, so we went to see him. We knew some
of the same people. I was introduced to Bobby, and we've been
together ever since."
Kecia says she enjoys the "gypsy" lifestyle that being involved in
the poker world requires. While Law can stay at home when competing
in local tournaments, such at the ones held at the St. Croix Casino
in Turtle Lake, others require the couple to be on the road.
"It's not the traveling that bothers me. In fact, if we've been home
too long then I start getting tired of the monotony," laughs Kecia.
"The harder part is making sure the business is taken care of while
we are away."
The game itself is contagious and Kecia Law is now trying her luck
at the tables playing lower limit pots.
The art of the game
The game of Texas holdem is pretty easy to learn, but hard to
master. There are two face-down cards for each player and five
face-up community cards. The player who makes the best five-card
poker hand with any combination of their two face-down cards and the
five community cards wins the round.
After all the players have finished the first round of betting, the
first three community cards are dealt face-up on the board. This is
called the flop. After the second betting round, the fourth
community card, or the "turn card," is dealt face-up. After the
third betting round, the fifth and final community card is dealt
This is called the river card. There are several different kinds of
Texas Holdem games including "limit' and "no-limit" which refers to
the amount of chips that can be wagered during each betting round.
Televised Texas holdem games and the kind Law prefers to play are
the "no limit" version. The bets are larger, and the risks are
higher. In the begining, Law played the smaller limit games because
he didn't have the bankroll to play more, but that doesn't mean the
game was easier to play.
"Smaller limit games are a little bit tougher because you can't
bluff out your opponent as easily," explains Law. Because each bet
might only mean a few dollars, people are willing to make the wager
to stay in the game.
"People want to go all the way to the river to see the last card. A
lot of times they shouldn't have been in there still, but luck can
play a factor," Law acknowledges. "Whereas, if you are playing a
little higher stakes, a better player will lay down their cards
earlier."
It is in playing high stakes poker that the ability to read one's
opponent becomes a better tool for winning than relying on luck.
"You're not always going to get good cards, and you're going to have
to learn how to make something happen with what you've got," advises
Law. "You may have to stuff the pot to get people off their hands."
In other words, scare people out of the round by placing a bet that
is higher than you think your opponent is willing to go. According
to Law "chips are power in a tournament, but you have to pick your
spots so people don't catch on."
Visual cues
Poker players look for hidden signals in one another that give cues
as to the strength or weakness of their cards. This signal is called
a "tell."
"Most people don't realize what they do, but everyone has a tell. I
have tells. The best players in the world have tells," admits Law,
but he couldn't tell you what his tell is, because he doesn't know.
"I'd try to correct it if I did," laughs Law. "I'm sure there are
people reading me just like I read them." Law says that the best
thing to do at the table is to remain as motionless as possible. "Do
the same thing consistently, regardless if your hand is good or
bad."
Since all poker players know that every other poker player is
looking for the same tell-tale visual cues, sometimes a player will
try to trick his opponents.
"If they do one thing and they feel you have caught on to them, then
they will do the opposite," says Law. "You can't rely on tells."
Amatuer players are less likely to know how they are giving off
signals so they are more likely to change their play, posture, and
habits to try and hide a tell. Playing against the pros is another
story.
Knowing the competition
At his final table during the World Championship event, Law sat with
such notable poker players as Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and John
Juanda. Ivey finished the tournament in 20th place taking home
$304,680 and Juanda earned $274,090.
Does playing against some of the top ranked players in the world
affect your game?
"If they are sitting to my left where they are always playing behind
me, it is kind of hard," says Law. "If I show weakness in a hand,
they can try and bluff me out of a pot. They are good at that."
Unfortunately, during his last day at the tournament, Law just
happened to have Ivey sitting to his left.
On the other hand, Law knows that if the positions were reversed, he
could do the same to them which is just another aspect of the game
that makes it so interesting to so many people.
One of the biggest "tricks" to mastering the game of poker is
learning how to keep your emotions out of it. That's not always easy
when tournament days last 12-15 hours with only 20 minute food and
bathroom breaks every two hours. And, in a sport dominated by men,
the line to the bathroom can be very crowded.
"You have to train yourself to remain focused," Law adds. Players
who let their emotions take over can send themselves on a downward
spiral and out of the game very quickly.
Overcoming human nature
On the second day of play during the World Series tournament, Law
took a bad hit during one of the rounds. Often, after a hit like
this, a player will go on "tilt." Being on tilt in the poker world
means a player is letting his emotions disrupt his ability to play.
"You'll start to play bad cards or become overly aggressive trying
to get back that money that you just lost," explains Law. "I had
enough patience right then that I didn't let myself get that way."
Gradually, Law's chip stack grew and he was back to where he was
before he took the hit, but the discipline to get there takes time
to develop.
"It's human nature to want to get the money back that you thought
you should have had in the first place," philosophizes Law.
While Law is busy reading his opponents, Kecia is trying to read her
husband. Day after day, hour after hour, Kecia stands or sits in the
nearest location she can find to Law.
"I want to see what he is doing. If he is in a pot and goes all in,
I'm trying to figure out if he is bluffing or not," Kecia explains.
I'm trying to figure out if I want the person to call or to lay down
that hand." In other words, Kecia is playing every hand with Law,
but without the benefit of knowing his cards, just like his
opponents.
Someday, Kecia may be one of Law's opponents. She has been playing
low-limit pots and learning the game from the inside.
"She has very good cards sense, and right now that can be
frustrating because of how people bet in these types of games," says
Law, sounding proud of his wife.
"She'll have the best hand down to the river, but the other players
stay in the hand looking for the miracle card. Sometimes they get
it."
No limits
"I've had pretty good luck," says Law. "But, I'm smart enough to
realize that you can't always win."
That doesn't keep him from wanting to improve, and from looking
forward to the next chance to win the big pot. Some gamblers let the
game control them, but Law appears to be keeping it under control.
"He knows what he is doing. He's very smart when it comes to
gambling never gambling over his head," states Kecia confidently.
The fact that Law plays poker versus other games of chance is one
way he keeps things going in his favor.
"When you play poker, it's person to person, not against the
casino," says Law who once dealt blackjack. "It's hard to beat the
casino because the casino will always have the edge."
In a few weeks Law will head up to Turtle Lake for a tournament at
the St. Croix Casino. The stakes aren't as high as the World Series
of Poker, but the play will be competitive. Besides, it's just
another day at work for Bobby Law. |
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