Welcome back, Poker Fam. A hoax bomb threat forced the evacuation of LA's iconic Bicycle Casino Thursday night, with SWAT teams conducting a sweep while players and staff waited in a parking lot. Just another reminder that the Poker world isn't immune to the chaos happening everywhere else.

This week, we're covering the swatting call that shut down one of America's busiest card rooms, an 88-year-old slots player who accidentally cashed her first tournament for $10K, a Belarusian pro's breakthrough victory in Montenegro, critical strategy for those tricky middle-pair situations, and why two longtime cheaters finally got banned after years of marking cards.

Also Today: We're diving deep into bet sizing—specifically when you shouldn’t adjust it. Most players think they're being clever by changing their bet sizes based on hand strength. They're not.

1. Bicycle Casino Evacuated After Hoax Swatting Call Claims Gunman on Property — The Parkwest Bicycle Casino near Los Angeles was evacuated Thursday night after a phone call claimed that someone with a semiautomatic rifle was on the property.

The call prompted the Bell Gardens Police Department SWAT team to respond, but officers later determined it was a hoax. Police temporarily closed highway lanes and other streets around the property as part of the investigation. Customers and employees gathered at a nearby shopping center parking lot while the investigation was underway. By 10 p.m., officers determined the casino was safe and were clearing out of the property.

The Bicycle has hosted World Poker Tour tournaments as well as other major events through the years and maintains a large Poker scene. The incident highlights the growing problem of swatting calls—hoax threats designed to trigger massive law enforcement responses that disrupt businesses and endanger public safety.

Source: Card Player

2. 88-Year-Old First-Timer Runs Deep After Casino Removes Her Favorite Slots — Linda Hammons had never played a Poker tournament in her life. The 88-year-old just wanted to play her favorite slot machines at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi. But when she arrived, the casino had removed them. So she wandered upstairs and entered the $500 Mystery Bounty event at the Gulf Coast Poker Tour series. What happened next shocked everyone.

Hammons finished 14th out of 2,628 entrants, cashing for $10,100 ($8,400 from the prize pool plus $1,700 in bounties). She built such a rail that local media covered her deep run. Players were genuinely impressed—this wasn't some lucky amateur getting cards. She held her own against seasoned grinders for hours.

Her run ended when Harold Evans put her all-in pre-flop from the small blind holding Q♠Q♣. Hammons called with K♣9♣ from the big blind. The flop came 5♣J♠2♥, giving her minimal help. The 10♦ turn gave her a gutshot straight draw, but the 2♦ river bricked. The crowd gave her a standing ovation.

"I showed them," Hammons joked afterward. She admitted she can't even shuffle chips properly but tried anyway "to fit in." The casino that removed her slots? They just created a Poker legend.

Source: Poker News

3. Vladimir Lappo Wins €880 Merit Poker Cup After Incredible Final Table Battle — Belarus's Vladimir Lappo captured the €880 Merit Poker Cup title in Montenegro, defeating a 415-entry field to claim the €61,000 first prize. The victory came after an intense final table that saw dramatic swings and multiple players trading the chip lead.

Italy's Fausto Tantillo entered the final table with the chip lead (2,810,000) but ultimately settled for third place and €29,000. Russia's Nikolay Fal finished runner-up for €42,500. Tantillo had built his stack through a massive pre-flop confrontation against Bojan Berberovic, getting A-K all-in against pocket tens and spiking a king on the flop.

The Merit Poker Montenegro Championship runs through January 25, featuring a €1,650 Main Event with massive expected prize pools. Merit events consistently draw international fields with strong European representation, and this Cup showed why—competitive play, deep structures, and solid value for mid-stakes players looking to build their bankrolls.

Source: Poker News

4. Jonathan Little: The Right Way to Play Tricky Marginal Made Hands — Two-time WPT champion Jonathan Little tackles one of Poker's trickiest situations: what to do when you flop middle pair, bottom pair, or another marginal made hand that's too good to fold but not strong enough to get aggressive with.

The fundamental principle: pot control is everything. When you have a marginal made hand, your goal is keeping the pot manageable. If the pot stays small, your hand is usually best. But when significant money goes in, marginal hands are almost always in bad shape. This is why raising with top pair medium kicker is often a mistake—you're building a pot you can't win.

Against aggressive opponents who will try to push you around, check-calling becomes your best friend. By playing passively, you keep all their bluffs in their range while making it impossible for them to bluff you off your hand. You also prevent them from getting maximum value when they actually have premium hands.

The key adjustment: identify opponents who are likely to have too many bluffs in their range, then take the check-call line and allow them to bluff off their stack. Yes, they'll occasionally catch up and beat you. That's the price you pay for keeping them in when they're drawing thin. But long-term, it's vastly more profitable than trying to play aggressively and turning your marginal hand into a bluff catcher.

Source: Poker.org

5. Longtime Cheaters Finally Banned After Getting Caught Marking Cards in Texas — Two Poker players previously banned from card rooms in Florida and California for cheating were caught red-handed in Texas, still running the same scam they've been pulling for years: marking cards.

The pair had been banned from multiple venues across the country but apparently thought Texas would be different. They were wrong. After their scheme was discovered at a Texas card room, they were promptly banned and the incident reported to other venues nationwide.

Card marking is one of the oldest cheating methods in Poker—using subtle markings or crimps to identify key cards from the back. It's also one of the most difficult to detect without careful observation, which is why these players likely got away with it for so long before their initial bans. The Poker community has no tolerance for cheaters, and venues share information to keep known offenders out of games.

Source: Card Player

Never adjust your bet sizing based on hand strength. Ever. Here's why.

New players make this mistake constantly. They bet bigger when they have the nuts and smaller when they're bluffing or value betting thin. It makes sense intuitively—you want to win more when you're strong and risk less when you're weak.

But here's the problem: you're playing your cards face-up.

Any decent opponent paying attention will notice the pattern within an orbit or two. "Oh, she bet 75% pot? Must be strong. He min-bet the river? Probably weak or trying to get called by worse." Congratulations, you've turned Poker into a game where everyone can see your hole cards.

This is especially critical in tougher games where opponents are actively looking for bet sizing tells. If you raise to 3x with aces and 2.5x with suited connectors, you're giving away free information every single hand.

The correct approach? Bet sizing should be consistent within similar situations, regardless of your actual holding.

If you're going to c-bet the flop in a single-raised pot, use the same sizing whether you flopped the nuts, a draw, or complete air. This creates a balanced strategy that's impossible for opponents to exploit based on sizing alone.

There are legitimate reasons to adjust bet sizing—but they should be based on board texture, stack sizes, opponent tendencies, and position. Never based on your actual cards. On a wet, coordinated board, you might bet larger to charge draws. Against a calling station, you can size up your value bets because they'll call anyway. But you make these adjustments for strategic reasons, not because you happen to have pocket aces this time.

Another critical rule: Never adjust your sizing when you're tilted.

You lose a big pot, you're frustrated, and suddenly your standard 3x open becomes a 5x punishment raise. You're basically announcing to the table: "I'm steaming and making emotional decisions." Stick to your standard sizing even when you want to smash something. Especially when you want to smash something.

Understanding tournament stages is equally crucial. Think of tournament Poker like a movie with distinct acts—each stage requires different approaches. You need to understand when to play aggressively and when to pump the brakes, when to focus on preservation versus accumulation, and when you're trying to realize equity versus maximize it.

In my book, I break down the complete framework for navigating each tournament stage, from early play through bubble strategy and into final table situations, including specific stack-size considerations and ICM implications that determine your exact approach in each spot.

Want to master bet sizing strategy and tournament stage navigation? The Poker Accelerator breaks down optimal bet sizing in exhaustive detail—including when to adjust based on board texture versus opponent type, how to balance your betting ranges, and specific examples of exploitative sizing against different player types.

You'll also learn the complete framework for navigating tournament stages, understanding when to shift between preservation and accumulation mode, and how to maximize your edge at every stage from the early levels through the final table.

If you're tired of giving away free information through inconsistent bet sizing or busting tournaments because you didn't adjust to stage dynamics, this course shows you exactly how to fix both issues. Use coupon code 20PERCENT to get 20% off your enrollment.

Brantzen Wong flops a monster against pro player "Pops" and masterfully plays the patient game proving that sometimes the best way to beat a pro is to understand their mindset and let them make the mistake for you!

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YouTube Channel → https://www.youtube.com/@LexyGavinPoker

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What's your biggest bet sizing tell? Are you betting bigger with the nuts and smaller when bluffing, or do you have a consistent strategy that keeps opponents guessing? Reply to this email and tell me. I read them all!

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Talk soon,
Lexy Gavin-Mather