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Minnesota’s #1 Poker SourceMarch 2011
PLUSHyland Wins Minnesota Freeze Out
JohnnyGstaks Continues Domination
MSPT’S Merkt Wins MMA Battle
Jaymind: Explain Yourself!
JASON SEITZBACK ON TOP
Wins MSPT Running Aces
MSPT – Season 2, Event 2, Diamond Jo Casino, April 6-10MSPT – Season 1, Event 1 – Grand Casino Mille Lacs, Feb. 13-21
March 2011 Minnesota Poker Magazine page 3
MNPOKERMAG.COM
Letter from the Publisher
President and PublisherBryan Mileski [email protected]
Editor and PublisherPhil Mackey [email protected]
Art DirectorCarolyn Borgen [email protected]
ContributorsJacob Westlin Jocelyn Bendijo
Advertising InformationBryan Mileski 612-743-9847 [email protected]
Story [email protected]
Our MissionMinnesota Poker Magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to serving poker players and gaming facilities through industry news, statewide tournament schedules, player profiles and professional tips. Coupled with our website, www.MNPokerMag.com, we are “Minnesota’s #1 Poker Source.”
Minnesota Poker MagazineLakeville, MN 612-743-9847
Vol. 4/No. 2
Proud to rePresent as Minnesota PPa state directorBy BryaN MiLeSki
First I’d like to say that I’m extremely honored to have been selected to represent Minnesota poker players in the ongoing battle for their
right to play poker in any environment they so choose.
I’ve been a proud member of the PPA and support-ing the cause for many years. After all, membership is only $20 to have people fight for your rights to play poker for you!
The PPA is a non-profit membership organization comprised of offline and online poker players. Our membership consists of enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game and protect the right to play poker in all its forms.
The PPA’s mission is to establish favorable laws that provide poker players with a secure, safe and regulated place to play. Through education and awareness the PPA will keep this game of skill, one of America’s oldest recreational activities, free from egregious government intervention and misguided laws.
The Poker Players Alliance is committed to defending the rights of poker players. On behalf of our broad mem-bership, we will promote and protect poker through
advocacy work in Washington, D.C., and throughout the nation. The Poker Players Alliance will work with key lawmakers to ensure a thoughtful and productive dia-logue that represents everyone who enjoys and wants to protect the game.
But the Poker Players Alliance’s most powerful resource is its membership base, the players. Through our Web site, www.theppa.org, and through direct contact with our members, the Poker Players Alliance is empowering poker players and enthu-siasts to deliver positive messages about the game and why it should be protected to federal, state, and local elected representatives.
As a member of the Poker Players Alliance, you will be given the necessary tools to become an advocate for poker. Your concerns are important to your elected officials. Through your Poker Players Alliance membership, you will be able to deliver the positive message about poker and why it should be protected directly to your federal, state, and local elected representatives. You will also be updated with the latest news about the threats we face as poker players, as well as with interesting information about key issues that impact our ability to play. Our collec-tive voice can make a difference to protect our rights to play poker.
[The PPA is a non-profit 501(c)4 organization. Due to the high percentage of lobbying activity by the PPA, all donations and membership fees paid to the PPA are not tax-deductible.]
page 4 Minnesota Poker Magazine March 2011
MNPOKERMAG.COM
state news & notes
MSPT’S Brandon MerkT winS MMa BaTTle, now 10-0
The Minnesota State Poker Tour has joined forces with
Brandon Merkt, an up and coming professional MMA fighter.
The 26-year old Merkt is 5’3”, 135 pounds and hails from
New Richmond, Wisconsin. Merkt has been fighting profes-
sionally for six years and defeated Bill Friday—7-1 record—
on February 4th to remain undefeated at an impressive 10-0.
Merkt is currently ranked No. 1 in Minnesota at 135-and-
below. His next fight will be April 15th at the St. Paul
Armory.
For tickets, call Ryan Schmitt at 612-275-7906.
TreaSure iSland hoSTing wSoP SaTelliTeS
Its been a couple year hiatus but Treasure Island will
again be hosting WSOP satellites April 20-23. Players can
play in preliminary rounds to earn their shot at cash prizes
and a WSOP Main Event seat.
Preliminary rounds are $200+$30: Wednesday, April 20,
6PM / Thursday, April 21, noon & 7PM / Friday, April 22, 10
AM & 6PM.
The final round on Saturday, April 23 is $1,000+$100.
diaMond Jo naMeS Micky ScoTT new Poker rooM Manager
Iowa native Micky Scott has been named the new Poker
Room Manager at Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood, IA.
Diamond Jo is a hot spot for many southern Minnesota
poker players looking for action and is known for its No-
Limit cash games. Diamond Jo will also be hosting a Minne-
sota State Poker Tour event for the first time this April.
Micky Scott is an Iowa State University graduate and has
spent several years working for Vegas casinos including the
poker rooms at Mirage, Wynn, Venetian and Hard Rock.
Two MinneSoTa Poker rooMS cloSe iTS doorS
Its no secret that the rough economy has had its effects on
local poker rooms and its becoming even more apparent as
the second Minnesota poker room has shut down over the
last few months.
Due to lack of interest, Fortune Bay Casino in Tower, MN
closed its doors last November. Just recently, White Oak Ca-
sino has decided to do the same effective February 28.
The White Oak Casino in Deer River, MN opened in 2000
and is the newest of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s three
casinos which also includes Northern Lights and Palace
Casino.
MSPT l.o.o.P. diSconTinuedUnfortunately, before it even started due to Minnesota
Racing Commission (MRC) requests, the MSPT has decided
at this time to discontinue the Minnesota State Poker Tour
League of Online Poker.
The MRC oversees operations at Canterbury Park and
Running Aces Harness Park. Because Minnesota Poker
Magazine and the Minnesota State Poker Tour have business
relationships with both card rooms, pushing forward with
the MSPT L.O.O.P. was a situation the MRC felt uncomfort-
able with.
To help support your right to play online poker, visit the
Poker Players Alliance website at www.theppa.org.
ryan schmitt and Brandon Merkt
MNPOKERMAG.COM
page 6 Minnesota Poker Magazine March 2011
MNPOKERMAG.COM
Minnesota Freeze out
Impressively, Matt Hyland does it again. Hyland
bulldozed through a 121-player field to win his
second title in two months and third career major
championship.
This time Hyland won the Minnesota Freeze Out at Can-
terbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota. He earned $41,080 for
his victory.
Just two months prior, Hyland bested a field of 139 en-
trants in Season 1, Event 5 of the Minnesota State Poker
Tour at Grand Casino Hinckley. He took home over $39K for
his win there.
Hyland burst onto the scene in September, 2009 with his
first career victory at the Heartland Poker Tour Mille Lacs,
winning the $49,932 first place prize.
Other players who were unable to close the deal include
Derek McMaster, who fell just short of a Freeze Out title for
the second time. He also took third in 2009 for $20,988.
Fifth place finisher Justin Thurlow was a Fall Poker Clas-
sic Champion in 2008 winning $89,502.
Ron Spain, seventh place, made a deep run in the WPT
Season 4, Goldstrike World Poker Open. His second place
WPT finish netted Spain over $65K.
Eighth place finisher Mark Sandness carries an impres-
sive resume as well. Sandness had a huge year in 2007 when
he won an HPT event for $53K, Fall Poker Classic Event #7
for $32K and finished fourth in another HPT event for $21K.
Ninth place finisher Judd Greenagel is no stranger to the
HyLand scores Hat trickMatt Hyland wins his third major title and second in two months
By MNPOkerMaG STaFF
Place Name Prize
1 Matt Hyland $41,080
2 Erick Wright $23,474
3 Derek McMaster $14,671
4 Saeed Ghasemimehr $11,737
5 Justin Thurlow $8,803
6 Michael Wilmes $6,455
7 Ronald Spain $4,695
8 Mark Sandness $3,521
9 Judd Greenagel $2,934
Canterbury Park, Shakopee, MNBuy-in: $1,000 + $100 ♣ 121 entrants
Matt Hyland
derek McMaster
final table either. Greenagel won a 2009 Fall Poker Clas-
sic event for $21K and a 2005 HPT event for $27K. In 2008
Greenagel scored a couple of solid third place cashes, the
HPT at Running Aces for $29K and Fall Poker Classic Event
#17 for $24K.
page 8 Minnesota Poker Magazine March 2011
MNPOKERMAG.COM
Seitz won the Heartland Poker Tour Mille Lacs event in
February, 2006 earning $47,005. Exactly five years later
Seitz is back on top.
Seitz outlasted the largest Minnesota State Poker Tour
field to date—201 entrants—to earn $56,295 and the coveted
RF Moeller Championship diamond bracelet.
Winning the title was no easy task. There were three for-
mer MSPT champions in the final twelve.
As two of the top chip stacks remaining, Season 1, Event
5—MSPT Hinckley Champion Matt Hyland and Season 1,
Event 1- MSPT Mille Lacs Champion Jeremy Dresch went
toe-to-toe. Dresch came out on top eliminating Hyland in
12th place.
2010 defending MSPT Running Aces Champion Joe Mathe-
son made another deep run before being busted by Seitz in
3rd, almost doing the improbable by repeating.
Seitz is a gas station owner and often travels to deal large
tournaments such as the World Series of Poker and the
Chicago Open. This past year he spent two months in Vegas
dealing and playing cash games.
Seitz prefers to play smaller cash games and tournaments
but tries to play the large ones when he can. “I didn’t have
any time to try to satellite in this week.” Seitz said. “But I
didn’t want to miss the MSPT so I just direct-bought.”
The summer prior to winning the HPT event in ‘06, Seitz
went deep in the $10K WSOP Main Event, earning $16K.Just a few minutes after Seitz was crowned champion, I
sat down with him to discuss the big win.
Bryan Mileski (BM): How does it feel to be back on top?Jason Seitz (JS): It feels great. Its been a long time. Five
years.
BM: When you got to the final table, you were pretty short stacked and you got into a confrontation with Rob WazWaz right off the bat, talk about that.
JS: Yeah so the very first hand of the final table, I was short-stacked, probably 8th or 9th in chips at the table. I wanted to get chips right away so I shoved under the gun with K♥J♥ for $119K. Robbie WazWaz goes all-in, I knew
Jason seitz wins MsPt running aces, $56,295Five years after winning his first major title, Seitz is back on top
STOry By BryaN MiLeSki
MsPt running aces
Place Name Prize
1 Jason Seitz $56,295
2 Jeremy Dresch $27,760
3 Joe Matheson $17,470
4 Hank Mlekoday $13,585
5 Bob Beedle $11,650
6 Sam Desilva $8,735
7 Dave Mandt $7,570
8 Dan Shogren $6,600
9 Tim Mieczkowski $5,435
10 Rob WazWaz $4,465
running aces Harness ParkBuy-in: $1,000 + $100 ♣ 201 entrants
Jazon seitz
March 2011 Minnesota Poker Magazine page 9
MNPOKERMAG.COM
Back row (left to right): Bob Beedle, sam desilva, Joe Matheson, dave Mandt, Jason seitz. Front row (left to right): dan shogren, rob wazwaz, tim Mieczkowski, Jeremy dresch
at that point he had kings or aces. Of course he has aces. I
flopped absolutely nothing. The turn card was the 9♥, so I
then had a straight draw and a flush draw. I ended up get-
ting a flush on the river. On the very next hand, a guy shoves
all-in with AJ. WazWaz calls with KQ offsuit. I had 88 in the
big blind. If I don’t play the KJ on the prior hand and cripple
Robbie, I likely have to play those eights and I go bust.
BM: You ended up playing heads-up versus Dresch. What was your take on him?
JS: I got to play with Dresch for several hours before the
final table. When we were 5-6 handed, he must have picked
up several hundred thousand . There were eleven players
left for at least an hour before the final table. Dresch just de-
stroyed everybody at our table, picking up pots left and right.
Nobody wanted to play against him because he had all the
chips and everyone wanted to make it to the final table. He
may have picked up close to $500,000 just in that one hour.
BM: When you got heads up with Dresch who obviously has a reputation as a closer, you had a 2-to-1 chip lead. First of all, were you expecting to get heads up with him?
JS: When we were four or five handed I expected to be
heads up with him. Hank (Mlekoday) had a good amount of
chips too but I felt he may explode at some point and give
someone his chips. Fortunately he doubled me up twice
at the final table. I ended up busting him with A-10 versus
pocket deuces. For some reason he shoved all-in after I re-
raised him on the flop. I had flopped top pair and it held.
BM: The heads up battle with Dresch only lasted four hands. Was your strategy going into heads up play to get it over quickly?
JS: Yeah, really the reason why I called his all-in with
A♣8♣ was due to the respect that I have for his short game.
I had already re-raised so the pot is already $450K. It was
another $700K. I could lose that hand and still be ok. I think
he would probably have me 2-to-1 then. And to be honest
I didn’t think he was that strong but he rolled over pocket
tens. Dresch is capable of holding and making moves with
a wide range of hands. So yeah, that was my plan was to try
to get it over quick. If he gets the lead on me, he’s tough and
he’s probably going to pound and pound. He kept wanting to
play big pots and its very effective for him. He likes to play
big pots because he usually gets away with it, puts a lot of
pressure on you.
BM: We talked about how its been five years between major titles, have you had to change your game much over that span to get back here today or did you utilize a similar style you used to win the HPT?
JS: Players now are just amazingly fast. They play reckless,
in a good way, because it helps them. That’s why I wanted
to play a quick heads up battle with Dresch, more times
than not he’s going to win in that situation. There are more
aggressive players now. I got to play with Hyland a lot too
and I can see how he won the last couple of tournaments. I
was very impressed. Guys like that are always raising, they
always put pressure on you. And the most impressive thing
about those players, especially Dresch, is that they are ca-
pable of laying down hands when you play back at them.
As for me personally, I’ve stayed pretty steady. I’m more of
a tight-aggressive and I’ve always been that way. I happened
to get some good cards today, I didn’t do anything special. I
just tried to play my game. Luckily every race I was in I won.
And obviously the suck out the first hand of the final table
was key. I don’t think I’ve ever sucked out against Aces in my
life. If I have it certainly wasn’t during this big of a moment.
page 10 Minnesota Poker Magazine March 2011
MNPOKERMAG.COM
"JoHnnygstaks" continues onLine doMination
It seems like John “JohnnyGstaks” Hayes gets his own personal page in each issue as he has been absolutely dominating the online poker scene. Hayes added to his sensational resume by finishing
2nd in FTOPS Event #15 on Feb. 11th for $152,750. Just five days later he took 4th in the Absolute Poker
$150K for $17,680. These two cashes came on the heels of a win in the Pok-
erStars $109, 1R1A, $45K Turbo for $47,793 on Jan. 23. Hayes’ list of monster cashes are too long for print
but to refresh your memory, he also won the PokerStars USACOOP for $164,050 on November 28th and the $100K Guaranteed on Full Tilt on Dec. 15 for $35K.
“JohnnyGstaks” now has $2.4 million career online winnings.
The recent success has vaulted Hayes to the top of the MN Online Rankings, overtaking Mike “babyshark33”
Kachan who has held the top spot for the last year and a half.
Several other Minnesota players have been making waves online as well. Though he relinquished the top spot in the rankings, “babyshark33” scored a 2nd place finish in FTOPS Event #32 on Feb. 16 for $31,460, a 2nd place finish in the PokerStars $100K for $16,702 and a 1st place finish in the Full Tilt Turbo Hundo for $12,959.
Lance “kingpin023” Harris recently racked up two second place finishes and a first in Full Tilt events for over $41K.
Other notable cashes as of late include Patrick “pma-honey22” Mahoney’s win in the UB $50K for $14,548. Andrew “aheggem” Heggem housed the Full Tilt $40K for $11,724. “feldliss” won the Full Tilt $80K for $19,688. Last but not least, Troy “stringbender” Graphenteen earned $19,909 for his victory in the PokerStars Nightly $100K.
page 14 Minnesota Poker Magazine March 2011
MNPOKERMAG.COM
tournament results 1. Black Bear casino Carlton,MN www.blackbearcasinoresort.com
2. canterbury Park Shakopee,MN www.canterburypark.com
3. dakota Magic casino Hankinson,ND www.dakotamagic.com
4. dakota sioux casino Watertown,SD www.dakotasioux.com
5. diamond Jo casino Northwood,IA www.diamondjoworth.com
6. grand casino—Hinckley Hinckley,MN www.grandcasinomn.com
7. grand casino—Mille Lacs Onamia,MN www.grandcasinomn.com
8. Jackpot Junction casino Morton,MN www.jackpotjunction.com
9. northern Lights casino Walker,MN www.northernlightscasino.com
10. Prairie's edge casinio GraniteFalls,M www.prairiesedgecasino.com
11. running aces Harness Park Columbus,MN www.runningacesharness.com
12. seven clans casinos RedLake,MN www.sevenclanscasino.com
13. seven clans casinos ThiefRiverFalls,MN www.sevenclanscasino.com
14. shooting star casino Mahnomen,MN www.starcasino.com
15. st. croix casino Danbury,WI www.danbury.stcroixcasino.com
16. st. croix casino TurtleLake,WI www.stcroixcasino.com
17. treasure island casino Welch,MN www.treasureislandcasino.com
9
6
7
5
16
15
12
17
810
14
3
4
13
11
2
6
194
94
94
35
35
90
90
localcard rooMs
•Moorhead
•Bemidji
Mpls/St.Paul
•Mankato
•Duluth
March 2011 Minnesota Poker Magazine page 15
MNPOKERMAG.COM
Why does Phil Hellmuth act like a little girl every time
he loses a pot? Because he’s a self-absorbed sociopath.
But also, it’s because he’s so exacerbated with the total lack
of skill it takes to win individual pots.
Poker can be so overwhelmingly frustrating at times,
particularly when you’re running poorly. You’ll sit and grind
and grind and grind, and hardly carve out any profit. Mean-
while, Juggles McGee on the other side of the table con-
tinually scoops pots without so much as realizing his good
fortune and total lack of ability. He hits gut-shots for three
big bets, he backdoors his runner-runner flush, and, for good
measure, he also wins pots when he doesn’t even know he
has the best hand!
The reason losing to these players in the short term is
so soul-crushing is because of the thoughtful preparation
you’ve put in versus the absolute refusal to consider even
the most elementary strategy on their part. You’ve analyzed
the best plays, and acted accordingly. They, on the other
hand, don’t think. It hurts their brain. They act on misguided
instinct, and throw chips in the pot with extreme careless-
ness. All of your conclusions about the best plays based on
reason and skill are thrown out the window when that revolt-
ing Six-of-Clubs hits the river, filling his inside straight.
Yeah, yeah, yeah; I know, in the long run, these players
will always lose. And I know these are precisely the players
you want to have at your table. But just for entertainment
purposes, I’d like to propose a rules change:
At every showdown, players must explain their reasoning for playing the hand as they did.
While this is clearly a terrible idea, as it would result
in bad players leaving the poker arena forever, it would
certainly cut down on immediate visceral aggravation. If you
lost a pot with Pocket Queens to the man with 9-5, refusing to
fold for two bets on the Q-8-6-2 board (with, of course, the 7
hitting the river), he would then have to justify his logic.
DEALER: ”Okay, sir, please explain why you called two
bets on the turn.”
PLAYER: ”Well, you know… I thought, like, I could get a
straight. How could I possibly put my opponent on a hand
that beat me? I had a straight draw, I couldn’t fold! I had
outs!”
DEALER: ”I’m afraid that simply won’t suffice. I award the
pot to the Pocket Queens.”
I like to play make-believe…
eXPLain yourseLF!By JaCOB WeSTLiN
