Analysts at BetUS.com posted the following odds on the PGA Tour:

Masters focus below – All PGA follows:

Masters

To Win

• Tiger Woods    3/1
• Phil Mickelson    13/2
• Padraig Harrington    15/1
• Rory McIlroy    20/1
• Geoff Ogilvy    25/1
• Lee Westwood    25/1
• Jim Furyk    30/1
• Retief Goosen    30/1
• Paul Casey    20/1
• Sergio Garcia    35/1
• Ernie Els    18/1
• Steve Stricker    15/1
• Henrik Stenson    38/1
• Zach Johnson    40/1
• Nick Watney    50/1
• Anthony Kim    40/1
• Ross Fisher    40/1
• Adam Scott    25/1
• Hunter Mahan    40/1
• Robert Karlsson    35/1
• Sean O’Hair    45/1
• Martin Kaymer    35/1
• Camilo Villegas    28/1
• Luke Donald    50/1
• Mike Weir    50/1
• Angel Cabrera    45/1
• Justin Rose    55/1
• Ian Poulter    35/1
• Stewart Cink    55/1
• Chad Campbell    80/1
• Kenny Perry    60/1
• Vijay Singh    35/1
• Tim Clark    65/1
• Lucas Glover    70/1
• Rory Sabbatini    65/1
• Trevor Immelman    125/1
• Andres Romero    65/1
• Y E Yang    50/1
• Michael Sim    100/1
• K.J. Choi    65/1
• Steve Flesch    200/1
• John Merrick    150/1
• Dustin Johnson    30/1
• Charl Schwartzel    60/1

When will Tiger’s first win be

• US Masters    3/1
• Quail Hollow Championship    4/1
• THE PLAYERS Championship    5/2
• The Memorial Tournament    2/1
• U.S. Open Championship    3/1

Tiger Win 2010 US Masters

• Yes   3/1
• No   1/5

Tiger Woods To Break Jack Nicklaus Major Record

• Yes    2/5
• No    7/4

To be top USA Pts scorer at the 2010 Ryder Cup

• Yes    7/2
• No    1/5

Total Majors Won in 2010

• 0 Majors    7/4
• 1 Major    5/4
• 2 Majors    11/4
• 3 Majors    10/1
• 4 Majors (Grand Slam)    15/1

US Masters 2010 Tiger Woods

• Make the Cut   1/10
• Miss the Cut   9/2
• WD or DQ    25/1
• To be Leader/Joint leader after Round 1 and win    6/1

Total Birdies in Round 1 of the US Masters

• 0-3 Birdies    2/1
• 4-5 Birdies    5/4
• 6 or More Birdies    3/2

To Win a Major in 2010

• Phil Mickelson    9/4
• Padraig Harrington   4/1
• Lee Westwood   9/2
• Rory McIlroy   9/2
• Steve Stricker    11/2
• Geoff Ogilvy   7/1
• Sergio Garcia    15/2
• Paul Casey   9/1
• Henrik Stenson    9/1
• Ross Fisher    9/1
• Anthony Kim    10/1
• Martin Kaymer   12/1
• Ian Poulter   12/1
• Adam Scott   12/1
• Jim Furyk   12/1
• Hunter Mahan    12/1
• Sean O’Hair   12/1
• Angel Cabrera   14/1
• Vijay Singh    14/1
• Kenny Perry   14/1
• Retief Goosen    14/1
• Ernie Els   14/1
• Camilo Villegas   16/1
• Zach Johnson    18/1
• Nick Watney   18/1
• Robert Allenby    20/1
• Luke Donald    20/1
• Stewart Cink   22/1
• Robert Karlsson    22/1
• Graeme McDowell    25/1
• Lucas Glover   25/1
• Tim Clark    28/1
• Mike Weir   28/1
• Y.E Yang    28/1
• Ryo Ishikawa    33/1
• Michael Sim   33/1
• Soren Kjeldsen    40/1

2010 US Masters

• Aaron Baddeley    100/1
• Adam Scott    50/1
• Alvaro Quiros    80/1
• Andres Romero    100/1
• Angel Cabrera    50/1
• Anthony Kim    25/1
• Ben Crane    100/1
• Ben Curtis    100/1
• Bernhard Langer    100/1
• Boo Weekley    100/1
• Brandt Snedeker    80/1
• Brian Gay    100/1
• Bubba Watson    100/1
• Camilo Villegas    50/1
• Carl Pettersson    100/1
• Chad Campbell    80/1
• Charles Howell III    100/1
• Charley Hoffman    100/1
• Chris DiMarco    100/1
• Chris Wood    100/1
• Danny Lee   100/1
• Darren Clarke    100/1
• David Duval    100/1
• David Toms    80/1
• Davis Love III    100/1
• Dustin Johnson    40/1
• Ernie Els    30/1
• Fred Couples    100/1
• Geoff Ogilvy    20/1
• Graeme McDowell    100/1
• Henrik Stenson    40/1
• Hunter Mahan    40/1
• Ian Poulter    30/1
• JB Holmes    100/1
• Jason Day    100/1
• Jeev Milkha Singh    100/1
• Jerry Kelly    100/1
• Jim Furyk    30/1
• John Daly    100/1
• John Merrick    100/1
• John Senden    100/1
• Jonathan Byrd    100/1
• Jose Maria Olazabal    100/1
• Justin Leonard    100/1
• Justin Rose    60/1
• KJ Choi    80/1
• Kenny Perry    50/1
• Kevin Na    100/1
• Lee Westwood    20/1
• Lucas Glover    60/1
• Luke Donald    50/1
• Mark OMeara    100/1
• Martin Kaymer   40/1
• Mathew Goggin    100/1
• Matteo Manassero   100/1
• Michael Campbell    100/1
• Michael Sim    100/1
• Miguel Angel Jimenez    100/1
• Mike Weir    50/1
• Nathan Green    100/1
• Nick Watney    40/1
• Oliver Wilson    100/1
• Padraig Harrington    15/1
• Pat Perez    100/1
• Paul Casey    25/1
• Phil Mickelson    6/1
• Retief Goosen   25/1
• Ricky Barnes    100/1
• Robert Allenby    60/1
• Robert Karlsson    50/1
• Rod Pampling    100/1
• Rory McIlroy    20/1
• Rory Sabbatini    80/1
• Ross Fisher    40/1
• Ryan Moore    60/1
• Ryo Ishikawa    100/1
• Ryuji Imada   100/1
• Scott Verplank    100/1
• Sean OHair    40/1
• Sergio Garcia    30/1
• Shingo Katayama    100/1
• Soren Hansen    100/1
• Soren Kjeldsen    100/1
• Stephen Ames    100/1
• Steve Flesch    100/1
• Steve Marino    100/1
• Steve Stricker    20/1
• Stewart Cink    60/1
• Stuart Appleby    100/1
• Thongchai Jaidee    100/1
• Tiger Woods    5/2
• Tim Clark    60/1
• Todd Hamilton    100/1
• Tom Watson    100/1
• Trevor Immelman    100/1
• Vijay Singh    60/1
• Woody Austin    100/1
• YE Yang    100/1
• Zach Johnson    40/1

2010 Major Wins – Rory McIlroy

• None    1/7
• One    9/2
• Two    16/1
• Three    100/1
• Four   500/1

2010 Major Wins – Lee Westwood

• None    1/8
• One    9/2
• Two    20/1
• Three   150/1
• Four   750/1

2010 Major Wins – Padraig Harrington

• None    1/7
• One    9/2
• Two    16/1
• Three   100/1
• Four    500/1

2010 Major Wins – Phil Mickelson

• None    4/11
• One    5/2
• Two   12/1
• Three    40/1
• Four   200/1

US Money List 2010 – Betting Without Tiger Woods

• Phil Mickelson    12/5
• Steve Stricker   11/4
• Ian Poulter   12/1
• Dustin Johnson    16/1
• Geoff Ogilvy   16/1
• Paul Casey    18/1
• Hunter Mahan    20/1
• Jim Furyk    25/1
• Sean O’Hair    25/1
• Zach Johnson    28/1
• Camilo Villegas    28/1
• Sergio Garcia   30/1
• Rory McIlroy   33/1
• Anthony Kim   40/1
• Padraig Harrington    40/1
• Robert Allenby    45/1
• Ernie Els    50/1
• Rickie Fowler    50/1
• Kenny Perry    60/1
• Luke Donald   66/1
• Nick Watney   70/1
• Retief Goosen    80/1
• Stewart Cink    100/1
• David Toms   100/1
• Adam Scott   100/1
• Vijay Singh   100/1
• Y.E Yang   100/1
• Brian Gay    125/1
• Lucas Glover   125/1
• Tim Clark   125/1
• Justin Rose    150/1
• Justin Leonard   150/1
• Ryan Moore   150/1
• Mike Weir   150/1
• Angel Cabrera   150/1
• Michael Sim   150/1
• Steve Marino    175/1

First Tournament Tiger enters in 2010

• PAR or Less    1/5
• Above PAR    3/1

Tiger to win first PGA tournament he enters in 2010

• Yes   5/2
• No   2/7

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After my “rebirth” last week, I had another great week despite limited hours at the tables. A side project has limited my poker play for now, but I did spend some time at the higher limit tables online this week, continuing to learn how to deal with the increased aggression at these limits. I also managed to finish 2nd in a 43 player multi, after coming to the final table last in chips. In heads up play, I managed to get my opponent all in when he was dominated two times, only to lose both hands as a 75% favorite. That’s tournament poker.

The higher limit tables are chock full of Loose-Aggressive players who are happy to frequently reraise with nothing, making their living off of weak-tight players who won’t go to the showdown with top pair or less. Prodigy and protege Monk pointed out that there seem to be a big difference between good loose aggressive players and bad ones. The good ones steal a lot of small pots from the weak-tights, and of course they get paid off in spades when one of their big hands actually hits. The bad ones steal at the wrong time, and continue to raise and reraise when the board makes it clear they are beaten.

These good loose-aggressive types remind me of one of the first bits of advice I ever received from a football coach in my early Pop Warner days: “If you’re going to make a mistake, make it at full speed.” It takes a lot of heart and an even bigger bankroll to play the part of the maniac, but if done right (and with a little luck), it can be much more profitable than the typical tight-aggressive style so widely recommended.

Evidence? I was surprised to see that of the 26 of the 39 extremely loose aggressive players in my PokerTracker database were big winners. These borderline maniacs all had over 100 hands played and voluntarily put money in the pot more than 33% of the time with an aggression factor of over 1.5. Either these guys got very lucky, or a lot of them knew what they were doing. Methinks there is method to their madness.

The general strategy I’ve adopted against these loose aggressive players is to punish their thin preflop raises by 3-betting and narrowing the field in the process. Hands like AJo become 3-bet hands against very loose aggressive players, but after the flop, it becomes a guessing game. Sometimes your ace-high is good heads up against the loose player, but he’s going to punish you every time he has a real hand. Usually I’ll continue to push back until the turn, when the loose-aggressive player will often reveal the true strength of his hand. Your profit in these games comes from guessing correctly– your ability to make the correct read against the loose aggressive player.

As Gary Carson says,

“Aggressive opponents are putting a lot of money in the pot by frequent raises and reraises– but that means you’ll also be putting in a lot. The more money you have to put in the pot, the greater the risk. With a lot of raises, you’ll be faced with frequent decisions, increasing the risk that you might make a mistake.”

The biggest help in making the correct guess is position and the presence of other players. If a non-tricky tight player is in the hand along for the ride, you can often dump your hand if the tight player raises ahead of you. Reading players and hands is the most important skill in aggressive games– calculating pot odds and tight play becomes far less important, since it’s extremely difficult to put a loose-aggressive player on a hand (because he plays such a wide range of hands preflop).

In a discussion with an excellent player with far more experience than me, we wondered if loose-aggressive games were more profitable than loose-passive games. Iggy was always of the opinion that the loose-aggressive games were more profitable, since reading players is so highly rewarded. I argued that loose-passive games require much easier decisions, with the added benefit of allowing a good post-flop player to play many more hands (since the implied odds are much higher when pots are multiway). I think both games can be profitable, it’s simply a matter of risk preference. If you make the right reads on the big hands against loose aggressive players, you make a big score– much like robbing a major bank. The risk is extremely high, but if you crack the vault, you walk away with a huge score. Loose passive games are like embezzlement– the small holes in your opponents’ security is repeatedly exploited, with a relatively small amount of risk.

But the best of both worlds is a combination of a couple loose-aggressive players and several loose-passive players. I had the pleasure of playing at such a table a few times this week, and I was able to blow a hole in the bank vault. Here you had the best of both worlds– several loose-passives would limp pre-flop, the loose-aggressive player would raise, and I would 3-bet. Many times, the loose-passive players would call two more bets cold, and then frequently fold to a flop or turn bet. At this point the pot was huge, and I was lucky enough to avoid running into a monster hand from the loose-aggressive players.

Enough babbling. Thanks for reading and I hope I haven’t bored you to sleep. Good cards.

[thanks to laverrue and hdouble via cc]

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And no, it has nothing to do with the Price is Right gameshow pricing game Plinko.

Pachinko game first started in the town of Nagoya in the 1930s and was first used as a children’s toy, but then it evolved into becoming an adult game almost ten years later. But at the onset of the World War 2, the Pachinko games were shut down but it later materialized again in the 40s, and has since been a popular adult game, especially in the country of Taiwan.

The first pachinko game was first played in what’s called pachinko parlors, which is an establishment catering to slot machine games. These parlors are somewhat similar to casinos found in Las Vegas or Atlantic City – they boast of a robust architectural style with blazing lights to keep you entertained; they also have the consistent playing of blaring music in the background and overhead announcements. There are also pachinko machines which can be altered by players, therefore keeping them at suspenseful mode any time.

When played, pachinko games are somewhat similar to playing a pinball game where it makes use of a spring to shoot the ball and it goes around the area, bumping into several pegs along the way. If you are able to lead the pachinko into winning pockets, then you have won the game.

Here is how a first timer should play the game. First, you choose the number of the ball and choose the price of the ball you would like to play with. Then your balls are then transferred into the loading area. In some cases, this is done either manually or virtually but it is still up to you whether to shoot the ball with a high or a low rapidity.

Once you are able to shoot the ball into its place, the ball will go around the playing field, passing several pegs on the way and being led into several winning pockets. If the ball falls into some parts of the machine, then you do not win anything. But if the ball falls into some winning pockets as indicated by a text, then you are awarded with a free bonus spin which might lead you to win some bigger points.

There are some casinos which award you with four bonus balls, and also a free spin whenever your ball lands into the winning pockets. Playing the free spin also is similar to a slot machine game. All you need to do is get all three similar images on a screen, then you can win as much as up to 1,500 balls.

After you’ve had your fill in playing the game, you can immediately surrender the rest of the balls that you are left and surrender them in exchange for money.

Pachinko can be played in Pachinko Parlors all over Japan and in online casinos like Kiwi Casino.

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