Brief For Amici Curiae Michael Sexton, Gregory Raymer, Jonathan Little And Vanessa Selbst In Support...

7/28/2019 Brief For Amici Curiae Michael Sexton, Gregory Raymer, Jonathan Little And Vanessa Selbst In Support Of Appellee

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12-3720I N THEUnited S tates Court of AppealsF or the S econd Circuit_________________________

U NITED STATES OF AMERICA ,

Appellant

v.

LAWRENCE DICRISTINA ,

Appellee _________________________

On Appeal from the United States District Courtfor the Eastern District of New York

________________________

BRIEF FOR AMICI CURI AE MICHAEL SEXTON, GREGORY RAYMER,JONATHAN LITTLE AND VANESSA SELBST

IN SUPPORT OF APPELLEE AND AFFIRMANCE _________________________

Kenneth L. AdamsChristopher T. LeonardoADAMS HOLCOMB LLP1875 Eye Street NWWashington, DC 20006Tel. (202) 580-8820

Case: 12-3720 Document: 59 Page: 1 03/25/2013 887350 38


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

STATEMENT OF INTEREST & AUTHORITY TO FILE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

I. Outcomes In Poker Must Be Measured Over Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

II. Poker Is Qualitatively More Skilled ThanGambling Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

A. Math Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

B. Observing Your Opponents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

C. Manipulating Your Opponents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

D. Varying Your Play With The Circumstances . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

E. Putting It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

ADDENDUM A How to Play No Limit HoldEm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 22

ADDENDUM B - List of Skills Involved in Texas HoldEm . . . . . . . . .. . . . 25

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35



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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

CASESPage

Mount Pleasant vs. Chimento et al (Municipal Courtof Charleston, SC; 2009). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

RULES

Second Circuit Rule 29.1(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

STATUTES

Illegal Gambling Business Act (IGBA), 18 U.S.C. 1955 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

MISCELLANEOUS

Mike Sexton, Shuffle Up and Deal (William Morrow 2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

http://www.bestpokermoments.com/2012/01/daniel-negreanu-makes-a-great-bluff-against-veteran-pro-freddy-deeb/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=+freddy+deeb+calls+negreanu+bluff&mid=E1A60C15665EEEA11CE6E1A60C15665EEEA11CE6&view

=detail&FORM=VIRE2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg31pA_aG8U&feature=youtube . . . . . . 18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkemHmyWGcw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxo1mAng090 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv2C_m0D-gY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B8MDUIpduiwJaDB6b1RZM1dteFU/ edit?usp=sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

www.floattheturn.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4



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STATEMENT OF INTEREST & AUTHORITY TO FILE 1

Amici are four accomplished professional poker players who have decades

of collective experience, over the course of millions of poker hands, and are

experts on the issue of the relative roles of skill and chance in both tournament and

cash game poker.

As professional players they have a strong and continuing interest in the

legal status of the activity on which they depend for their livelihood.

Amicus Michael Sexton has been a successful professional poker player for

30 years and is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. During the past eleven years,

in addition to playing professionally he has served as the lead announcer and

commentator for the nationally televised broadcasts of tournaments sponsored by

the World Poker Tour (WPT) one of the two leading poker tournament series

in the world. In that capacity he has observed and provided expert analysis of the

skills demonstrated by hundreds of professional and amateur poker players in tens

of thousands of hands played at the final tables of WPT tournaments.

1 Pursuant to Circuit Rule 29.1(b), amici certify that no counsel for any partyauthored or funded the preparation of this brief, and that amici solely funded the

preparation of this brief.



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Mr. Sexton has won more than $5.3 million in tournaments during his poker

career, including titles at the World Series of Poker, the Legends of Poker, the

World Poker Finals, the LA Poker Classic, the Four Queens Classic, the Euro

Finals of Poker, the California State Championship, Renos Pot Of Gold, the New

Orleans Open, the Super Bowl of Poker, the Americas Cup of Poker and the

Australian Poker Championships. He served as a consultant to the founders of

Party Poker, which rose from a startup company to the largest and most successful

online poker site in the world, valued at $9 billion when it went public in 2005. He

served as the primary instructor when the WPT first introduced its Boot Camp

seminar program, designed to improve the skills of amateur poker players. He has

taught seminars on strategic thinking to law students at Harvard Law School and to

MBA students at Ohio State University.

Mr. Sexton provided expert testimony in the case of Mount Pleasant vs.

Chimento et al (Municipal Court of Charleston, SC; 2009), on the question

whether skill predominates over chance in the game of poker. For ten years he was

a featured writer for Card Player Magazine, and authored the New York Times

best-selling poker book, Shuffle Up and Deal (William Morrow 2005).

A veteran of the Armys 82 nd Airborne Division, Mr. Sexton resides in Las

Vegas with his wife and family. In addition to teaching poker skills he has taught

ballroom dancing and bridge. Mr. Sexton is a founder of PokerGives.org, a



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nonprofit organization that facilitates charitable giving for poker players who wish

to follow his example by donating a portion of their tournament winnings to

charity.

Amicus Gregory Raymer is a 48 year-old professional poker player.

Before he played poker for a living, Mr. Raymer earned his Masters degree in

Biochemistry and a Law degree from the University of Minnesota, and practiced

patent law for 12 years, specializing in biotechnology and genetic engineering.

After playing competitive poker for a number of years on a part-time basis,

both in live games and online, in 2004 Mr. Raymer won the prestigious World

Series of Poker championship event, besting a field of 2,576 players and winning

$5 million. He has earned his living as a full time professional poker player since

2004.

Mr. Raymer has won more than $7 million from tournament play alone

during his professional poker career, and holds the unparalleled distinction of

having won four out of five consecutive tournaments on the Heartland Poker Tour

in 2012, where he was named Player of the Year.

During his career to date he has finished in the top ten percent of the field in

more than 100 sanctioned tournaments, and has made the final table six times at



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the World Series of Poker. Like Mr. Sexton and the other amici , he has also been a

consistent winner in cash games during his professional career.

In addition to competing in both tournaments and cash games, Mr. Raymer

teaches poker seminars and served for many years on the Board of Directors of the

Poker Players Alliance, a non-profit organization that works to protect and advance

the rights of poker players. He resides in North Carolina with his wife and

daughter.

Amicus Jonathan Little is a 28-year old professional poker player, who has

earned his living since college playing cash games and tournament poker both

online and in licensed poker rooms.

Mr. Little was part of the vanguard of young, tech-savvy players who

applied the tools of computer technology in ways that revolutionized the game of poker and fueled the poker boom during the first decade of the 21st century.

After establishing himself as one of the top online players he went on to

achieve success in live play as well, earning Player of the Year honors from the

World Poker Tour in 2008. He has won more than $5 million to date in

tournament play alone.

In addition to playing full time, Mr. Little operates an online teaching site

(www.floattheturn.com ) where he offers teaching videos and live webinars to



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players who seek to improve their poker skills. He also provides individual

coaching to advanced players, and is the author of the leading work on tournament

strategy, a two volume series titled Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker.

Amicus Vanessa Selbst is a 28 year-old professional poker player. A

graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School, she earns her living entirely

from poker, in cash games and in tournaments.

In her young career to date Ms. Selbst has won 11 tournament titles

including two World Series of Poker bracelets, and has made five World Series

final tables. She has already won more money playing tournament poker than any

woman in the history of the game over $7 million.

Amici have authority to file this brief without leave under Rule 29(a) of the

Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure because all parties have consented to thefiling.

ARGUMENT

Each of the amici has earned a successful living consistently over a period of

years through the exercise of his/her poker skills. From these years of experience,

two crucial points emerge. First, success in poker can only be measured over a

significant period of time, because that is how the game is played by

professionals and amateurs alike. Unlike rolls of the dice or spins of a roulette



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wheel, poker hands are not independent events; instead, information gained and

lessons learned in each poker hand inform every subsequent hand. Thus, poker

players play the long game: they seek to maximize their winnings over time.

Second, poker requires a level of skill not present in any of the games listed

in the Illegal Gambling Business Act (IGBA), 18 U.S.C. 1955. 2 Skilled poker

players amass abilities in a variety of disciplines, including mathematics,

observation, pattern recognition and human psychology. They must weave these

disciplines together in real time to produce favorable outcomes, competing against

others who are attempting to do the same. Thus, in each hand of poker, and

certainly over a typical session of poker, players will exercise more diverse skills,

and see their outcomes influenced by how well they exercise skill.

I Outcomes in Poker Must Be Measured over Time.

Just as a baseball players success as a hitter is measured by the outcome of

hundreds of at-bats, not a single trip to the plate, amicis success at poker does not

turn on the outcome of any individual hand but rather on their results over the

course of hundreds of hands played each week. Even the best players do not win

2 In the District Court, as in its brief on appeal, the Government treated sports betting as if it were the same as bookmaking, an enumerated activity prohibitedin 1955. It is not a moot point given Judge Weinsteins analysis of the factualdifferences between the skills involved in sports betting and in poker. (Opinion at110) To succeed in poker, players must not only be able to pick winners, but infact create them.



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every hand they play. But they know that if they make skillful decisions in every

hand they play they will win over time.

In the District Court proceedings below, Dr. Randall Heeb provided expert

testimony documenting the difference between the results achieved by more skilled

players and less skilled players. He showed empirically that skilled players

consistently win more with their winning hands and lose less with their losing

hands than do less skilled players. As documented in Dr. Heebs analysis of 415

million poker hands played online during a 12-month period, no unskilled player

can get lucky enough often enough to win consistently over time, as each of the

amici has done. By applying the skills discussed below more consistently and at a

higher level than their opponents, amici do not necessarily win more hands than

their opponents but they win more with their winning hands and lose less with their

losing hands. The result is that over time they consistently win more than they

lose, while unskilled opponents lose more than they win.

Dr. Heebs analysis mirrors amicis experience. It shows that even over a

relatively short period of time, skilled players are highly likely to outperform less

skilled opponents. It also shows the important fact that poker players tend to play

many hands of poker. Amici and their peers play hundreds of hands of poker every

week. But repeat play is not only the practice of professionals. Amateurs likewise

play poker for the long run. And indeed, the rules and structure of a poker game



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contemplate extended play. For example, large tournaments typically take

hundreds of hands to resolve. And in cash games, a typical session for most

players lasts between 4 and 8 hours.

Moreover, winning strategies require playing many hands. This is not only

for the sake of practice which is of course vital but also because, as discussed

in greater detail below, poker players are constantly feeding information to their

opponents in an effort to manipulate them. Thus, a player might fold several hands

in a row in order to induce his opponents to believe that he is playing

conservatively and intends to continue folding. He predicts that his opponents will

respond by playing more aggressively, risking more chips because they believe

that he will continue to fold. And then in a crucial hand, he will capitalize on his

opponents overreaching by taking a very large pot. Or a player might successfully

bluff, and then turn her cards up, revealing that she deceived her opponents. She

will do this in order to induce her opponents to call her next large bet, which will

not be a bluff. All of these strategies take time and patience to execute. And just

as it would make no sense to evaluate a baseball hitters success after only one

swing, it makes no sense to consider outcomes in poker after only one hand.



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II Poker Is Qualitatively More Skilled than Gambling Games.

Poker is not only a game of skill in that the influence of skill is quantifiably

greater than that of chance. It is also qualitatively a game of skill in the sense that

poker players use a diverse array of skills to overcome the influence of chance.

Poker skills are thus different from gambling skills in two important ways.

First, poker players must do more than make astute predictions about future events

beyond their control which is all the most skilled gambler does. Poker players do

not merely analyze the likelihood that a given hand may win the pot; they play the

hand in a manner that is designed to shift the odds in their favor. They must

outplay their opponents, not outguess them.

Every hand of poker requires multiple decisions whether to fold, call or raise

(and if so, how much). 3 Skilled players like amici bring an array of diverse skills

to bear on each decision. As a result, over the course of a typical 4-8 hour session

they are able to make hundreds of decisions more accurately and more consistently

than do less skilled players.

Second, success in poker turns on the relative skill levels of the players, not

their absolute level of skill. The tenth worst player in the world will win

3 Unavoidably, in order to describe how skilled players employ the skills aboutwhich Dr. Heeb testified at trial it is necessary to describe situations that may bedifficult to understand without a basic knowledge of how the game is played.Attached as Addendum B is a description of how No Limit HoldEm is played, andthe meaning of the terms used in this brief to describe poker hands.



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consistently playing with the nine players who are even less skilled. He does not

have to beat the odds he only has to beat his opponents. This point is important

because it means that even an average poker player has the capacity for success.

By improving ones skills, anybody can become a successful poker player. But no

matter how much somebody studies, he can never become a winning roulette or

lottery player. And in the realm of sports betting, consistent success is reserved for

an elite few those who are so skilled and who have such great resources that they

can best the predictive ability of professional oddsmakers. The ordinary sports

bettor doesnt stand a chance of making a consistent profit against a bookmaker.

These principles are amply illustrated in real life poker hands, which show

that what separates winning poker players from losing players is not the cards they

are dealt but rather how skillfully they play their cards.

A pair of aces is the best possible starting hand in No Limit HoldEm. It

doesnt always win. But when it wins it can win a small pot or a big pot,

depending on how skillfully it is played. Conversely, when it loses it can lose a

big pot or only a small pot depending on how skillfully it is played. The extent to

which a given player wins the most or loses the least with the cards she is dealt is

predominantly a function of her level of skill.

The following video demonstrates a hand in which an expert player, poker

professional Daniel Negreanu, is dealt two aces. His opponent catches a lucky flop



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which gives him a better hand -- three sevens. Most amateur players would lose all

their chips in Mr. Negreanus place, holding two aces and believing it to be the

best hand. Instead, through the exercise of his considerable poker skills, Mr.

Negreanu correctly deduces that his pair of aces is not the best hand and he folds,

losing the minimum. See , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkemHmyWGcw

Conversely, the next video demonstrates a typical No Limit HoldEm hand

in which a skillful player (here, amicus Little) earns the pot by playing his hand

in a manner that is calculated to induce his opponent to fold what would have been

the winning hand had he called the final bet. A less skilled player would have

played the hand more passively and would have lost the pot (or folded to a bet by

his opponent). See, https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B8MDUIpduiwJaDB6b1RZ

M1dteFU/edit?usp=sharing. 4

The range of skills deployed by winning players is set forth in a list

developed by amicus Raymer and attached as Addendum B to this brief.

While this comprehensive list of the skills necessary to succeed consistently

at the game of poker is long and detailed, the skills can be grouped into a few

broad categories:

4 This video clip is part of a training video prepared by amicus Little for membersof his online training site. It is a reconstruction of an actual hand played by amicusLittle during a WPT championship tournament.



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will fold, and you will win whatever is in the pot. In the 2.6 percent of instances

where your opponent will call, you will win his entire stack about a third of the

time, and will lose an equal amount two-thirds of the time. A skillful player will

weigh that cost-benefit equation among many other factors in making a decision

how to play the hand.

2. A common post-flop situation in No Limit HoldEm arises

when you have four cards to a flush (or straight). Let us assume your opponent

will win if you are not successful in making your flush. When your opponent bets,

if you are a skilled player your decision whether to call the bet or fold will turn in

significant part on a cost-benefit analysis known as calculating the pot odds.

Because you are a skilled player, you know that you will only complete the flush

and win the hand about one-third of the time. In other words, for every three

times you draw at the flush you will only win once. In order for it to be profitable

over time for you to draw at the flush, you must win at least twice as much as it

costs you to draw. Most unskilled players will pay too much to chase a flush, with

too small a likely return on those occasions when they complete it. As a result they

will lose more with flush draws than a skilled player would lose.

3. Bet sizing is another important skill that allows skilled players

to win more with their winning hands and lose less with their losing hands. Using

the example of the flush draw above, a skilled player would make the smallest bet



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that would deny her opponent pot odds to call. The skill of bet sizing involves

making bets that risk the fewest number of chips necessary to achieve the desired

result (here, denying your opponent the correct mathematical odds to justify

drawing at the flush). Very few amateur players have the skills necessary to figure

out what that amount is in most situations. As a result they routinely bet too little

to achieve the desired result or they risk more than they need to. Either way, they

will win less than the skilled player when they win, and lose more when they lose.

4. Poker math is not limited to numerical calculations and

statistical probabilities. Poker players must also develop a working knowledge of

advanced mathematical concepts such as game theory in order to make the best

possible decisions when to fold, bet or raise (and how much), taking into account

how their opponent is likely to respond and recognizing that each player can only

estimate (and not know for certain) what cards their opponent holds.

Even more important, all of these math skills form only a foundation for the

exercise of other skills. Unlike gamblers who simply play the odds, poker

players use their understanding of mathematics as one of many inputs into complex

decisions at the table.

B. Observing your opponents

Skilled poker players are constantly looking for information they can use to

reduce the inherent uncertainty about the cards held by their opponents, and



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thereby increase their own ability to determine accurately whether they should bet,

raise or fold. Highly skilled players like amici have the ability to put their

opponent on a hand i.e., correctly gauge the type of hand their opponent holds

with precision that often amazes onlookers. 6

Reading players is a skill born of pattern recognition observing ones

opponents constantly, and correlating their behaviors to the strength or weakness

of the hands they show. Much of that information is collected during hands in

which you have folded, and are free to concentrate on observing the other players

who are contesting for the pot. Over time, you can identify patterns of behavior

that correlate to demonstrated hand strength (or weakness). You then bring those

correlations to bear when you are involved in contesting a pot.

The first thing a skillful player observes about each opponent is his skill

level. Is he playing in a straightforward, predictable manner? Is he a passive,

conservative player who only bets/raises with a narrow range of strong starting

hands, or an aggressive player who raises and re-raises before the flop with a wide

range of hands? If the former type of player re-raises before the flop, it is easy to

6 In the motion picture Rounders, the protagonist is a law student who aspires to poker greatness. While it is fictitious, the following scene is not far from whatexpert players routinely do when they accurately predict the precise holding of their opponent based on close observation of the opponents actions. See ,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv2C_m0D-gY.



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narrow the range of his probable hands to a small fraction of the 169 possible

starting hands.

Another type of behavior that often provides a great deal of information

about the type of hand your opponent holds is her pattern of betting. Most players

below the expert level vary the size of their bets based on the strength of their

hand. Some bet bigger when they are weak and want their opponent to fold, and

smaller when they are strong and want their opponent to call. Other players do the

opposite. But as long as they exhibit a pattern in which the size of their bets

correlates to their hand strength, the skilled player will detect that pattern and use

the information to decide when to call an opponents bluff, and when to fold in the

face of an opponents genuine strength.

The following is a video clip of a hand in which Daniel Negreanu tried

unsuccessfully to induce his opponent, fellow poker professional Freddie Deeb, to

fold the best hand. As soon as Negreanu made his final bet Deeb wondered aloud

why he chose to make such a large bet. In the end, Deeb reached the correct

conclusion that the size of the bet made it more likely that Negreanu was bluffing,

and he called with a mediocre hand that was good enough to win the pot, eliciting

admiring reactions from the other pros at the table (suggesting that most of them

thought Negreanu had the best hand, and they would have folded had they been in

Deebs shoes.) See, http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=+freddy+deeb+calls+



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negreanu+bluff&mid=E1A60C15665EEEA11CE6E1A60C15665EEEA11CE6&vie

w=detail&FORM=VIRE2.

Another source of information about the strength or weakness of an

opponents hand comes from observing unconscious physical movements (often

referred to as tells). For example, every person has a normal blink rate the

frequency with which her eyes blink. Most people blink faster than usual when

they are lying. If an unskilled player makes a big bet and starts blinking faster than

usual, it is more likely that she is bluffing. Of course you can only take advantage

of that information if you have observed that opponent prior to the hand and noted

her normal blink rate while relaxed, and also observe a change in blink rate when

the big bet is made. Skilled players like amici are constantly observing their

opponents and noticing a variety of body movements, in order to detect clues that

the player is feeling stressed (which often correlates to misrepresenting the strength

of their hand). Changes in the position of feet, legs, hands or posture; mouth and

eye movements; pulse rate as seen in the pulsing of the carotid artery; respiration

rate; dilation of pupils all can provide clues to a players stress level if carefully

observed.

The following video shows a hand in which Daniel Negreanu correctly

reads his opponent as holding a weak hand, and uses that to maximize his profit.

At the conclusion of the hand, former FBI polygraph expert Joseph Navarro points



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out the facial tells that tipped off Negreanu to his opponents weakness. See ,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg31pA_aG8U&feature=youtube

C. Manipulating your opponents

The flip side of observing opponents and identifying betting patterns or

physical tells is giving out disinformation to your opponents in order to induce

them to call when you have a strong hand or fold when you are bluffing. Thus you

might deliberately increase your blink rate, or lick your lips, when you have a

strong hand and want to induce your opponent to call with the second-best hand.

Or, if you have shown a winning hand after making a small bet that was called,

you might induce your opponent to fold the next time you run a bluff, by making a

similarly small bet that he will misinterpret as strength. In the following hand,

Daniel Negreanu succeeds in inducing Freddie Deeb to fold the better hand by

betting an amount that led Deeb to conclude erroneously Negreanu had a strong

hand and wanted him to call. See , http://www.bestpokermoments.com/2012/01/

daniel-negreanu-makes-a-great-bluff-against-veteran-pro-freddy-deeb/

D. Varying your play with the circumstances

While it is essential to develop a solid basic strategy, skilled players also

have the ability to depart from basic strategy when circumstances make it

profitable to do so. For example, there is no situation in a cash game where it

would be correct to fold A-A before the flop. Such circumstances do arise



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(although rarely) in tournament play, yet unskilled players typically will fail to

make such an adjustment.

Similarly, in tournament play where the amount of the blinds and antes

increases constantly, skilled players continually change their strategy about which

hands to play based on the ratio of their chip stack to the size of the blinds and

antes.

Skilled players will also depart from correct basic strategy in order to

capitalize on mistakes made by an opponent who has gone on tilt emotionally

and is playing too many hands too aggressively.

E. Putting It All Together.

Ultimately, the skill level of each poker player is determined by the extent to

which he can (a) develop the variety of skills that contribute to making correctdecisions, (b) bring them to bear under stress in the short period of time available

each time he must make a decision whether to bet, raise or fold, and (c) do that

hundreds of times in a single 4-8 hour session of play.

The following video excerpt of a hand played by poker professional Tom

Dwan provides a glimpse of the array of skills he brings to bear in winning a large

pot with the worst hand, inducing two other skilled professional players to fold.

See, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxo1mAng090



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Note that the success of Dwans play depended on the accuracy of his

judgment about the type of hands his opponents held (based on their betting) and

about how his opponents would react to his moves, based on his observation of his

opponents over time.

He correctly determined what his opponents had; he correctly calculated

what they would think he had if he bet his hand in a certain fashion; and he

correctly judged that they were skilled enough to fold a strong hand if they

believed they were beaten. In the minutes it took to play that hand, and the

seconds it took to make each decision, Dwan brought to bear his history of

observing these opponents as well as many hours of experimenting with positional

plays of this sort. In the end, he had the confidence and courage to make a winning

play that would have been very costly if it had failed. In doing so he demonstrated

the kinds of skills that amici and all winning players employ to achieve

consistently better results at the poker table than their less skilled opponents.

The skills of an amateur player may not be as advanced as those of amici ,

but for all winning poker players at every level of skill poker is a game of skill, not

chance. Only the losing players blame bad luck for their results. Just as with other

games of skill such as golf, chess and bridge, it has been the consistent experience

of amici that if losing poker players are willing to put in the time and effort to



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improve their skills, they too can become winning players (as long as they play in

games where are least some of their opponents are less skilled than they are.)

CONCLUSION

Amici urge the Court to affirm the district courts order dismissing the

second superseding indictment and vacating the defendants conviction.

Dated: Washington, D.C.

March 25, 2013

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Christopher T. LeonardoKenneth L. AdamsChristopher T. Leonardo



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ADDENDUM A

How to Play No Limit HoldEm

The most popular type of poker played today is No Limit HoldEm. It is

typically played with nine or ten players. In each hand, the players create five-card

poker hands by combining two personal concealed cards (hole cards) with five

shared community cards. Players may use one, both or none of their hole cards.

A typical hand of No Limit HoldEm takes about two minutes. The

sequence of play is as follows. First, the two players to the left of the dealer each

post small forced bets, known as the small blind and the big blind. Typically

the big blind is twice the amount of the small blind. The blinds are the only

compulsory bets, and the obligation to post them rotates clockwise around the table

with the start of each new hand.

Once the blinds are posted, each player is dealt two hole cards face down. A

round of betting then takes place, in which all players who wish to stay in the hand

must at least match the size of the big blind. When it is his turn to act, a player

may call (match the previous bet), raise (increase the size of the previous bet) or

fold (discard his hand without putting any chips in the pot). The amount of each

raise must at least equal the amount of the previous bet or raise; the maximum

amount is equal to the total number of chips in the raising players stack.

Typically a maximum of three raises are permitted on each betting round.



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After the first round of betting, three community cards (the flop) are dealt

face up in the center of the table. Those three cards can be used by each player, in

combination with her two hole cards, to create a five-card poker hand. A second

round of betting then takes place among those who did not fold during the first

betting round.

After the second round of betting, a fourth community card (the turn or

fourth street) is dealt face up in the center of the table. The four community

cards can be used by each player, in combination with his two hole cards, to create

a five-card poker hand. A third round of betting then takes place among those who

did not fold during either the first or second betting round.

Finally, after the third round of betting, a fifth community card (the river

or fifth street) is dealt face up in the center of the table. The five community

cards can be used by each player, in combination with her two hole cards, to create

a five-card poker hand. A fourth and final round of betting then takes place among

those who did not fold during the previous three betting rounds.

There are two ways to win a hand of Texas HoldEm. The first is to make a

bet (during any round of betting) that induces all of the other players to fold. If

only one player remains in a hand, he wins the pot without showing his cards. The

second way to win is at the end of the fourth round of betting; if two or more

players are still active in the hand, the player who shows the best five-card poker



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hand (by combining his two hole cards with the five community cards) wins the

pot.

Once a hand ends, another hand begins immediately, with the obligation to

pay the blinds rotating clockwise around the table.



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ADDENDUM B

List of Skills Involved in Texas HoldEmPrepared by Gregory Raymer

I. Math SkillsA . Calculating Odds

Calculating pot oddsCalculating implied pot oddsCalculating reverse implied pot oddsCalculating hand odds

B. Evaluating Your Own Hands StrengthCalculating the likelihood that you

have the best handCalculating number of outs for your

handCalculating number of outs for your

opponents hand(s)Converting outs to hand oddsComparing hand odds to pot odds, implied odds, andreverse implied odds

Estimating equity in a pot against arange of hands for an opponent

Estimating equity in a pot against arange of hands for multiple opponents

C. Evaluating Starting Hand QualityUnderstanding basic starting hand selection

guidelinesUnderstanding basic starting hand selection when

opening the pot from each position

Understanding basic starting hand selection whenfacing a raiseUnderstanding basic starting hand selection when

facing a limpUnderstanding basic starting hand selection when

facing multiple raises



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Understanding basic starting hand selection whenin the big blind

Understanding basic starting hand selection whenin the small blind

Understanding basic starting hand selection whenon the button

Understanding basic starting hand selection whenin early, middle, or late position

D. Basic Strategy (Game Theory)Understanding basic flop strategy when you were preflop aggressor

Understanding basic flop strategy when you werenot preflop aggressor

Understanding basic flop strategy when you arecheck-raised

Understanding basic flop strategy for differentflop textures

Understanding which flop textures are likely tohit each player

All of the above for strategy on the turnAll of the above for strategy on the river

II. Observing Your OpponentsA. Understanding Your Opponents Skill Level

Determining each opponents general skill levelDetermining each opponents particular aptitude

at every poker skillDetermining when an opponent is playing above or below his normal skill level

Knowing which opponents are more likely to fallfor a trap play

Knowing which opponents are more likely to take afree card

Predicting which opponents can and will alter their strategy, and what variables (e.g.,position at the table, number

of chips in their stack, stage of a tournament, etc.), will induce them todo so



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B. Understanding Your Opponents Hand-Selection TendenciesDetermining from an opponents skill level his

expected general tendenciesDetermining from an opponents skill level his

expected tendencies for each type of decisionDetermining how each opponent varies from his

expected tendencies for each type of decisionDetermining why each opponent varies from his

expected tendencies for each type of decisionDetermining each opponents range of hands

generallyDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they limp preflopDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they raise preflopDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they reraise preflopDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they call a raise preflopDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they defend their big blind preflopDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they defend their small blind preflopDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they defend their button preflopDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they continuation bet on the flopDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they do not continuation bet on the flopDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they check-call on the flopDetermining each opponents range of hands when

they check-raise on the flop

Determining each opponents range of hands whenthey weak-lead on the flop

Determining each opponents range of hands whenthey weak-lead on the turn

Determining each opponents range of hands whenthey continuation bet on the turn



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Determining each opponents range of hands whenthey check-raise on the turn

Determining each opponents range of hands whenthey check the river

Determining each opponents range of hands whenthey bet the river

Determining each opponents range of hands variesfor each of the above situations based on

positionEstimating how each opponent will play each hand

in their rangeEstimating the relative likelihood of each hand

in an opponents range (weighted ranges)Deriving the correct decision against each

opponent based upon their predicted weightedrange

C. Pattern-Mapping Opponents BehaviorPattern-mapping opponents starting hand

selectionPattern-mapping opponents bet sizingPattern-mapping opponents continuation betting

frequency genericallyPattern-mapping opponents continuation betting

frequency for each board typeMonitoring opponents VPIP (Voluntary money Put

in Pot)the frequency with which a player engages in a hand without paying a blind bet

Monitoring opponents aggression factor Pattern-mapping opponents preflop open-raising

frequency genericallyPattern-mapping opponents preflop open-raising

frequency from the small blind

Pattern-mapping opponents preflop open-raisingfrequency from the button

Pattern-mapping opponents preflop open-raisingfrequency from early, middle, and late position

Pattern-mapping opponents preflop 3-bettingfrequency generically



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Pattern-mapping opponents preflop 3-bettingfrequency from the big blind

Pattern-mapping opponents preflop 3-bettingfrequency from the small blind

Pattern-mapping opponents preflop 3-bettingfrequency from the button

Pattern-mapping opponents preflop 3-bettingfrequency from early, middle, and late position

Pattern-mapping opponents preflop big blinddefense factor

Pattern-mapping opponents preflop small blinddefense factor

Pattern-mapping opponents tendency to weak-leadinto the preflop raiser

Pattern-mapping opponents post-flop stickinessPattern-mapping opponents flatting tendencies on

the flop, both in and out of positionPattern-mapping opponents semi-bluffing rate

with strong drawsPattern-mapping opponents semi-bluffing rate

with weak drawsPattern-mapping opponents bluffing rate with air Pattern-mapping opponents tendencies to bluff

with hands having showdown valuePattern-mapping opponents tendencies to bluff

the river with missed drawsPattern-mapping opponents tendencies to bluff

the river when scare cards hit

D. Understanding Your Opponents Table ImageMonitoring each opponents table imageUnderstanding which opponents are aware of their

current image

Understanding which opponents are aware that youare aware of their current image

Predicting what each opponent will do in responseto your awareness of their current image

E. Detecting TellsObserving opponent tells generically



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Understanding which plays will tend to look likestrong hands

Understanding when a scare card is truly scary,and when it is actually unlikely to have helpedanyone

Understanding which community cards are morelikely to help a bluff succeed

Determining general bluffability of each opponentDetermining bluffability of each opponent preflopDetermining bluffability of each opponent on the

flopDetermining bluffability of each opponent on the

turnDetermining bluffability of each opponent on the

river Determining bluffability of each opponent when a

scare card is dealtDetermining general stickiness of each opponentDetermining stickiness of each opponent preflopDetermining stickiness of each opponent on the

flopDetermining stickiness of each opponent on the

turnDetermining stickiness of each opponent on the

river

C. SlowplayingUnderstanding generally when slowplaying is

likely to produce better results than bettingUnderstanding when it is generally safe to

slowplayUnderstanding when it is preferable not to

slowplay even if it is safe to do so

IV. Controlling Your Own Play and Avoiding Manipulation

A. Maintaining FocusEstablishing a game plan, but knowing when to

vary from it in response to circumstancesReacting sensibly to wins and losses



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Emotional control (avoiding tilt and happytilt)

Not letting an opponents words or actionnegatively impact your temperament or mindset

B. Controlling Your Own Table ImageMonitoring your own table imageUnderstanding what each opponents considers to be

your current imageUnderstanding which opponents know that you know

what they think about your imagePredicting what each opponent will do in response

to your current image

C. Controlling Your TellsMonitoring your tellsHiding tellsCreating fake tells for opponents to observeUnderstanding when fake tells will succeed, and

when they will backfireHiding information from opponentsProviding dis-information to opponentsPretending that an opponents words or action

have impacted your temperament or mindset

V. Varying Your Play With the Circumstances

A. Understanding When to Vary from Basic StrategyUnderstanding how to vary all aspects of general basic strategy based upon knowledge of opponent

Understanding how to vary all aspects of general basic strategy based upon position

Understanding how to vary all aspects of general

basic strategy based upon imageAdjusting for each new detail, as well as predicting the adjustments each opponent ismaking

B. Understanding the Difference Between Cash Games andTournaments



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Understanding how to vary all aspects of general basic strategy based upon stack size

Understanding how to vary all aspects of general basic strategy based upon tournament stage

Understanding bubble strategy in a tournamentUnderstanding how opponents react to the

tournament environment

VI. Skills Away from the Table

A. Game SelectionCalculating the expected value (EV) of each

available gameSelecting the optimal game given EV, variance,

and bankrollChoosing between cash games and tournaments

B. Money ManagementKeeping a dedicated bankroll for poker Maintaining sufficient funds in your bankroll for

the games you are playing



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Certificate of Compliance

1. This brief complies with the type-volume limitation of Fed. R. App. P.32(a)(7)(B) because the brief contains 6,876 words, excluding the parts of the brief exempted by Fed. R. App. P.32(a)(7)(B)(iii).

2. This brief complies with the typeface requirements of Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(5)and the type style requirements of Fed. R.App. P. 32(a)(6) because this brief has

been prepared in a proportioned typeface using Microsoft Word in 14 point Times New Roman font.

Dated: Washington, D.C.March 25 2013

/s/ Christopher T. LeonardoChristopher T. Leonardo



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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on March 25, 2013 I caused the foregoing Brief For AmiciCuriae Michael Sexton, Gregory Raymer, Jonathan Little and Vanessa Selbst InSupport of Appellee and Affirmance to be served on all parties via the CM/ECFSystem.

/s/ Christopher T. LeonardoChristopher T. Leonardo


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