September 12 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

It’s Monday, so we’re back at it. Over the weekend, Sorel Mizzi added a high-roller title to his already impressive list of earnings. On top of that, we learned a little bit about the cast of the new Survivor series, and more. We’re going to share that with you now, so enjoy.

In Case You Missed It

We know that being healthy is important to a lot of poker players. One way to do that is with fresh produce. For the latest episode of the Sin City Series, Sarah Grant got to check out the farmers market in downtown Las Vegas recently to speak with some of the vendors and the organizer.

Just because the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker is off and running doesn’t mean the Sunday Majors are taking a break. Get caught up on all of the results from some of the biggest Sunday tournaments in the Sunday Briefing.

On Day 8 of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker, no bracelets were awarded, but two of the series’ biggest prize pools were created. Check out our daily WCOOP recap to find out who moved on to Day 2 of Events #21 and #22.

Looking for a book to help advance your poker game? Check out our book review of Jonathan Little’s Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker.

World Poker Tour Paris High Roller

On Friday, the “15,000 buy-in high roller kicked off at the 2011 World Poker Tour Rendez-Vous à Paris. Among the 36 players who entered was last year’s winner, Freddy Deeb, and last year’s runner-up, Sorel Mizzi. Would history repeat itself? A “521,100 prize pool was created and “234,495 was reserved for first place.

Mizzi moved into the second day of play as the chip leader, and when five players were left on Sunday, Mizzi tweeted:

Sure enough, it was déjà vu for Mizzi and Deeb, but this time, there was a twist. On a flop of Deeb shipped his remaining stack in the middle holding . Mizzi snap-called, tabling . The turn and river blanked for Deeb, giving Mizzi the title and the “234,495 first-place prize.

WPT Paris High Roller Results

Read more at FR.PokerNews.com.

The Tribe Will Speak – Eventually

Survivor: South Pacific kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. EDT. We’re not huge Survivor fans, seeing as how there is nothing about living on an island with little to no food, with people we would probably loathe that’s appealing. Regardless of our thoughts on the show, there’s a poker aspect to the new season, and that’s why you’re reading about the reality show in the Nightly Turbo.

One of the 18 Survivor: South Pacific cast members is a bit of a poker player. Jim Rice, or James Rice III if you searching him on Hendon Mob, will be part of the Savaii Tribe this season. In his bio on CBS.com, his current occupation is listed as a medical marijuana dispenser. Other than working on Wall Street, his personal claim to fame is winning over 40 poker tournaments. We’re not sure which poker tournaments he’s talking about, probably home games, because his Hendon Mob results only lists five cashes, one of which was a win.

We’re just curious if he reached out to Jean-Robert Bellande for tips on surviving.

Find out more at CBS.com.

UKIPT Dublin Update

The PokerStars UK & Ireland Poker Tour kicked off on Thursday last week. Through two Day 1 starts, the field attracted 718 players, creating a prize pool of “348,230. Among the field were notables, Dermot Blain, Liv Boeree, Rebecca McAdam, David Vamplew, Andy Black, Dominik Nitsche, and Jude Ainsworth.

McAdam finished in 55th place (“975) and Dermot Blain bowed out in 16th (“2,050). PokerStars player Jason Tompkins went into the final table with the chip lead but could not hang on to it. He was eliminated in fifth place. PokerStars qualifier Joeri Zandvliet ended up walking away with the “83,500 first-place prize when he rivered the holding and bested Chuck Fabian’s on a board of .

To get a look at all of the action from the UKIPT, check out the PokerStars Blog.

Partouche Poker Tour Begins

The Partouche Poker Tour kicked off on Monday in Cannes, France, at the Palm Beach Casino. The “8,500 buy-in event boasted a guarantee of “4 million. A number of well-known pros showed up for the event, including Vanessa Selbst, who won the event last year, Jean-Robert Bellande, Arnaud Mattern, Phil Laak, and Men Nguyen.

We’re not fluent in French, so it’s difficult to bring you updates, because it’s all in French, but this video is an interview with Phil Hellmuth and half of it is in English, so bon appétit!

There are chip counts for the event at PartouchePoker.com.

Follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

Follow Elaine Chaivarlis on Twitter – @LaneyLV

September 12 2011, Chad Holloway

One of the many perks of writing in the poker industry is being able to review all the latest poker books. As someone who constantly strives to improve his game, I look forward to seeing whether or not these books provide new learning opportunities and weapons I can add to my poker arsenal. However, I read every book, especially those focused on strategy, and take the advice with a grain of salt. After all, it seems as though everything that can be written about poker has already been written a dozen times. As such, I was extremely skeptical when I got my copy of Jonathan Little’s Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker (SOPTP) Volume 1.

Given that this is the first volume, you’ve probably already deduced there is a series of books. This is true in that there is a planned series, but this is the only volume that has been released. Volume II will be released in November. In SOPTP, Little focuses on the “fundamentals and how to handle varying stack sizes,” revealing many of the strategies and tactics he has used to find tournament success.

With more than $4.6 million in lifetime earnings, as well as being the World Poker Tour Season VI Player of the Year, Little has the experience to dispense poker advice. For those reasons, and the fact that he personally wrote every word in the book, I had to give SOPTP a fair shake. “This book is meant to be the definitive book on tournament poker,” Little says in the introduction. Unfortunately, it’s too premature to determine whether or not that claim holds water (it is only Volume 1, after all), but I would say that Little is off to a good start.

First, SOPTP is very well written. Little obviously has a natural ability to transfer complex concepts and thoughts to paper in an uncomplicated manner. Reading the book became a personalized and focused affair, almost like having Little mentoring you right at the table. The author’s ability to connect with the reader is refreshing. Instead of telling you what to do, he simply explains what he does and why. By offering his opinions and by challenging readers’ misconceptions, Little educates by using the Socratic method, which proves to be quite effective in this case.

Much of the material in the book can be found in any poker strategy book (postflop concepts, playing the flop, etc.); however, it is the attention to detail that makes SOPTP worthwhile. Little breaks down each of these “umbrella” concepts into more specific notions. For example, when discussing “playing the river,” which many books present as being simple and straightforward, Little breaks it down into ten plays, from “calling when you think you are beat” to “not putting your opponent all-in.” Coming from someone who has covered dozens of poker tournaments, I can tell you that what separates top pros from the masses is the attention to detail and understanding the decision-making process. Little is one of these pros, and as the title suggests, he is willingly sharing his secret to get you to that level.

Here is a quick look at some of the sections in SOPTP:

• Image
• Make Friends at the Table
• Value Betting
• Floating
• Do Not Fear Going Broke
• Gamble to Get a Better Stack

These sections were particularly effective in grabbing my attention. Some of them, such as “Image” and “Making Friends at the Table,” are concepts that I’ve heard before but tend to overlook. Likewise, there were some gem sections in the “Miscellaneous” chapter, including “know what you are inducing,” “advertisement plays,” “fancy play syndrome,” and “give the illusion of fold equity.” Many of those topics, as well as others scattered throughout the book, are the sort of things commonly found in online forums and message boards, which is no mistake.

Admittedly, Little patrolled the forums and used them to cultivate his game. In fact, he credits the forums for much of his success. Working in the poker industry, , too, occasionally peruse the forums, and while there is a ton of frivolous information floating about, there exists some very useful information. I believe that past discussions in these forums have radically changed the game by thoroughly educating those who play it. With forums, the problem is wading through the crap to get the good stuff. Luckily for readers, Little has brought together many of the forum gems into a convenient text. Believe me when I say that reading the book will save you hours surfing futile threads.

Finally, Little’s decision to incorporate hands and stories from his various tournament experiences, primarily his big WPT wins proved entertaining and helped break the monotony that often accompanies strategy books. Not only that, Little uses them appropriately, always employing them to help enforce a point.

If you’re looking to improve your game and pick up a book that can help you do that, then give SOPTP a try. It’s not a book that is going to revolutionize poker, but Little has stayed true to his word and gathered all the pertinent information you need to succeed in tournament poker. It is a solid text, and well worth a read. I look forward to Volume II, and I think you will, as well.

To get your copy of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, visit Amazon.com today.

Have you read Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker by Jonathan Little? If so, give us your thoughts in the comments section below. In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter – @ChadAHolloway