So Sick

This will be short. Just finished writing a column for USA Today for the July 6th issue and thought I’d let y’all know what exactly happened to me in the main event.
Never have I played worse. Comically bad. My bust out hand is just so fundamentally bad I’d be hard pressed to come up with any kind of logical argument for the way I played it: Player limps next to the button for 200 I call on button with 33. The small blind makes it 2000, the first limper calls, and I call. Now, if I had 50k in this spot, I could see some value in trying to flop a set, but after the call I was left with 6175… yup, I called. Just awful, especially in a three way pot. Flop comes 10-10-7 and the small blind bets 4200, other guy folds. I tank forever until I finally decide to call a clock on myself! I put it all in, he has QQ- bye. Let’s backtrack a little and try and figure out what went wrong. All WSOP I didn’t shake hands, avoided getting sick, and felt good the whole way. The night before play I was a bit sniffly so I took a Tylenol Cold before bed. Woke up ok, but about 10 minutes later my nose started dripping like a faucet. I took another one and figured I’d be fine.
I get down there and find out I’m at the featured table, yet my nose won’t stop dripping. Someone throws me a Claritin- I take it. I assume it’s a bad mix or something, I was so drowsy, woozy, and sneezy I couldn’t think straight at all. Had an easy table, but the most simple poker concepts were lost on me. I was sloppy, weak, loose, and just bad. I wasn’t lucky either, missing a few open ended straight draws in spots, but the truth is, if I was even half “there” I would have easily won both those pots with a bluff. I got home and hit the bed and then it started to just get worse. Head pounding harder, coughing, body aches, etc. I’m still not any better. There was no chance I was going to make it through the day in the condition I was in, no chance at all. I think subconsciously I knew that, and just went spew crazy. I canceled all of my interviews and activities. I’m still in bed, and if I don’t feel any better tomorrow I’m going to the hospital or at least having a doctor come by the house. Dang it, terrible timing, but at this point I just want to feel better. The sting of being knocked out pales in comparison to the head pounding and body aches.
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I don’t make all the decisions regarding the WSOP. I help out, I add input, and I speak out when I am passionate about something. This $50,000 HORSE event is something I’m very passionate about and the decisions ultimately made saddened me a great deal. In year one, the event was perfectly designed for television. To get to the final table, you couldn’t be an amateur really, you’d have to play all the games well for the most part. That’s good, because it guaranteed big name players at the end. That’s good for television.
What’s not good for television is ANY form of poker outside of no limit hold’em. It doesn’t work and the ratings emphatically show that. This is the reason it was so important to satisfy all involved by switching the game to no limit hold’em at the final table. That way, in order to win this special event, not only will you have to have great limit skills, but you also have to be good at the “Cadillac of Poker” no limit hold’em. It was perfect. Absolutely the perfect made for television event that would feature top pros, exciting poker at the final table, and most importantly, great ratings. In year two, about five people may have whined and complained that it should be HORSE at the final table. They just didn’t understand the big picture and why they were so clearly wrong. The event NEVER should have been changed, and make no mistake, it was CHANGED to HORSE at the final table, not the other way around. Those people should have been completely ignored because they just “didn’t get it.” Besides, they would still have played the tournament anyway. Well, after two years of suffering ratings due to the fact that explaining and watching a Stud 8 hand is extremely difficult and boring, ESPN decided they just can’t air it any more. The ratings were pitiful. The smart thing to do was to make the change immediately back to the original format. Some people argued against my view. I knew with all my heart that those who disagreed with me were wrong, but there is only so much I can do. Majority rules. I was a bit shocked by it, and wished they’d just listen to me, but in the end the decision went the wrong way. (Hate to Say I Told You So) After three successful years of 143. 148, and 148 players, this year we got 95 and no, the economy was NOT the primary reason for that. Not even close. No TV is what caused it. Not for the reasons you might think. Not because poker players are so desperate to be on television, the main reason we lost so many players is that many pros today have sponsorship deals. Many of those deals are contingent on the fact that the event is televised.
For example, Pepsi might sign Joe Cassidy to a deal where he wears their logo. They might pay him a yearly salary and agree to pay his buy ins for televised tournaments. Well, with ESPN coverage gone, instead of Pepsi ponying up the money, Joe would have to fork over the whole $50,000 out of pocket. There is no longer any incentive at all for Pepsi to pay his buy in because they won’t get any real logo exposure out of it. Obviously I’m talking about online sites here. In past years the event has seen lots and lots of sponsored pros in event. Frankly, a lot of those players aren’t exactly world class which adds EV to the grinders who play mixed cash games for a living. These sponsored players would never consider putting up $50,000 to play in the event, but if their sponsors are willing to back them, they’ll absolutely give it a go. So first you have about 25-30 sponsored players absent from the event, and then another 25-30 or so who don’t think the tournament has enough value in it without the sponsored pros. We instantly lose out on 1/3 of the field, all because we didn’t respect the fact that HORSE on TV doesn’t work, and that TV is necessary to maintain the prestige of the event.
Now for the good news: I’m very confident that the 50K event WILL thrive in years to come, and that this was just a one year “boo boo” if you will. I’m confident that the decision makers will see, after the drop in numbers, just how important it is to go back to the original format, and get it back on television. I’ll be louder than ever in reminding them how important it is that this event continues to hold a high level of prestige.
In talking with some people today, I definitely felt more support than I did before in changing it back. We’ll have it all fixed next year. All in all, I’m so incredibly happy with the amount of input the players have at the WSOP over the last few years. Every year you see improvements and less complaints. There will always be complaints, but we are all lucky that Jeffrey Pollack, Jack Effel, and the rest of the staff hear our gripes, take them seriously, and do what they can to address them. If only they’d just listen to EVERYTHING I say!!! Haha, just kidding, kinda, sorta serious 🙂
Day one of the HORSE is in the books and I put on a great performance today. I was more focused then ever. Sorry to the railbirds, I wasn’t as engaged with them as I normally am, but I’m playing with elite players and feel the need to watch every hand. My focus on day one here was better than ever. I feel like I really rose to the occasion.
This event is a good one for me. The last two years I’ve held the chip lead with about 20 players left and have yet to win it. I will win this thing, whether it’s this year, or in future years. I excel at all five disciplines and honestly don’t feel like I have a weak game in the mix. I’m very excited about my start and expect nothing less than a deep run. I always feel like one of the top favorites to win it, and this year is no different. I’m currently in 23rd place with 91 of the original 95 still remaining with 204,100. I’m going to put a rubber band around my original 150k stack and hope I NEVER have to use it! My table for tomorrow: 1. Scott Clements 123,200
2. Allen Kessler 213,100
3. Erik Seidel 224,300
4. Daniel Negreanu 204,100
5. Andy Black 264,700
6. Chau Giang 145,100
7. David Grey 177,200 I’m happy with the table draw. It’s a decent mix of action players and conservative, straight forward players. HOLD’EM: Chau is good at everything, but Erik Seidel is also very good at limit hold’em.
OMAHA: The Omaha is a tough spot with Clements and Giang, both are loose aggressive and play well post flop.
RAZZ: No one at the table “scares” me in Razz.
STUD: David Grey’s best game without question. He’s not wild, or out there in Stud, but he makes very good decisions.
STUD 8: Maybe Allen Kessler’s best game of the mix, I dunno, but who cares… it’s Allen Kessler! The biggest wild card at the table is Andy Black. I didn’t even know he played limit, so I have no idea how he plays these games. I’ll be paying especially close attention to him and looking for any exploitable flaws I can find. Time for bed guys…. exciting day tommorow, 2500-5000 limit and a 4:00pm start.]]>

Jeff Lisandro 155
Greg Meuller 140
John Juanda 135
Matt Glantz 90
Justin “BoostedJ” Smith 57
Barry Greenstien 35
Shawn Buchanen 35
Erick Lindgren 20
Chris Ferguson 0
Mike Matusow 0
Mike Watson 0 So my team has 175 points and here are the other team totals: Lisandro/Greenstien 190
Ferguson/Greenstien 35
Juanda/Greenstien 170
Meuller/Glantz/Buchanen (top two of three) 230 but 15 points deducted so 215
Matusow/BoostedJ 57
Watson/BoostedJ 57 The biggest bet is the Juanda?Greenstien match and we have a slim lead there. Pressure is on, and I ended day one below average but have great history in this event, winning it last year and in 2004. There are subtle nuances to playing limit hold’em tournaments that even some of the great limit players in the world get wrong. One mistake in particular deals with being more concerned with concealing the strength of their hand than actually playing the hand the best way it can be played in a typical field with weaker opponents. I’ll use K-Q suited as an example. That hand plays better against four players than it does against one lone pre-flop raiser. I often see successful online players specifically, misplay these types of hands in certain situations because they “always three bet,” but that often leaves them heads up with say, A-J, instead of four ways with hands like Q-10, K-8 suited, and 4d 5d. This isn’t going to turn into a limit hold’em lecture, but trust me, I’m definitely right about this one. OK, time for bed… work tomorrow. If I happen to bust from the limit hold’em there is a 10k PLO event at 5:00pm. In fact, I will likely buy into that event regardless. Need to get back to work. WSOP Player of the Year Standings: 1. Ville Wahlbeck 255
2. Phil Ivey 225
3. Brock Parker 220
3. James Van Alstyne 220
5. Roland De Wolfe 195
6. Pete Vilandros 175
6. Angel Guillen 175
8. Daniel Alaei 165
9. Steve Sung 160
10. Daniel Negreanu 155
10. Jeff Lisandro 155
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2. Brock Parker 220
2. Phil Ivey 220
4. Pete Vilandros 175
5. Steve Sung 160
6. Daniel Negreanu 155
7. Jeff Lisandro 150
8. Jason Mercier 147
9. Roland deWolfe 145
10. Scott Clements 135 These numbers are pretty staggering considering the fact that E-DOG won last year and I think he ended the year with about 235 points.
My Team Bets: Daniel Negreanu 155
Erick Lindgren 20
Total 175 Barry Greenstien 35
Jeff Lisandro 150
Total 185 Barry Greenstien 35
Chris Ferguson 0
Total 35 Barry Greenstien 35
John Juanda 105
Total 140 Mike Matusow 0
Justin “BoostedJ” Smith 50
Total 50 Shawn Buchanen 35
Greg Meuller 40
Matt Glantz
Total 75 Mike “SirWatts” Watson ?
Justin “BoostedJ” Smith 50
Total 50? We are doing well in these bets, but John Juanda is still in the PLO and that is our biggest bet. Tonight is the $10k limit hold’em event and that should be a great opportunity for team Negreanu/Lindgren. It’s his best game for sure so I’m hoping he gets out of his funk tonight and I join him at the final table.
A poster in the FCP forum that goes by “bbgun” has been tracking the FCP fantasy pool results in the forum daily. You can find the up to date states in the general forum at www.fullcontactpoker.com. Here is where it stands now: Daniel Negreanu 310,022
Phil Hellmuth 12,761 Vanessa Rousso 75,952
Clonie Gowan 0 Justin Filtz 0
TJ Slifka 0 Greg Raymer 774,927
Joe Hachem 0 Erick Lindgren 22,599
Scotty Nguyen 0 Jamie Gold 0
Chris MoneyMaker 0 Phil Ivey 335,366
Allen Cunningham 0 John Juanda 101,598
Erik Seidel 45,945 Barry Greenstien 18,136
Chris Ferguson 0 David Pham 119,359
J.C.Tran 79,920 Doyle Brunson 21,357
Gus Hansen 0 Ted Forrest 230,317
Mike Matusow 0 Freddie Deeb 31,989
Freddy Bonyadi 0 Gavin Smith 30,213
Joe Sebok 8,147 Mike Sexton 3,983
Ali Nejad 0 Antonio Esfandiari 0
Phil Laak 0 Evelyn Ng 0
Jennifer Tilly 0 David Williams 0
Michael Mizrachi 0 Ivan Demidov 2,808
Peter Eastgate 0 Nam Le 2,839
Tuan Le 0 Todd Brunson 58,116
Hoyt Corkins 12,311 Hevad Khan 18,170
Humberto Brenes 2,839 Kathy Liebert 25,821
Andy Bloch 17,495 Huck Seed 102,286
Layne Flack 19,418 Nick Shulman 279,742
John Hennigan 0 Eli Elezra 7,869
David “Chino” Rheem Annie Duke 64,615
Anna Wroblewski 0 Patrik Antonius 0
Tom “Durrr” Dwan 0 David Benyamine 30,492
Chau Giang 16,674 Jennifer Harman 0
Liz Lieu 0 Sam Grizzle 2,489
Eskimo Clark 0 Isabelle Mercier 0
Erica Shoenberg 0 Ivey, Negreanu, Juanda, Cunningham 746,986
Hellmuth, Ferguson, Seidel, Seed 160,992 Jeff Madsen 0
Lacey Jones, Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho 0 Howard Lederer 11,839
Jimmy Fricke 0 Jason Somerville 208,196
Adam Junglen 0 Justin Bonomo 418,037
Sorel Mizzi 75,134 Jason Mercier 288, 124
Justin “BoostedJ” Smith 58,295 Marco Traniello 4,372
Joe Reitman 0 Shaun Deeb 10,999
J.C Alvarado 5,236 Dave Ulliot 0
Bruno Fitoussi 0 Hansen, Antonius, Hansen, Bjorin 9,360
Le, Le, Tran, Phan 82,109 Jon “PearlJammer” Turner 45,237
John Phan 0 Ulliot, DeWolfe, Sunar 310,640
Black, Parkinson, Smurfit 120,087 Tony Cousineau 34,584
Allen Kessler 0 Bertrand “Elky” Grospeillier 6,293
Illari “Zigmund” Sahamies/Jean Roberte Bellande 0 David Oppenhiem 0
Joe Cassidy 0 Lee Watkinson 22,671
Lee Markholt 0 Adam Levy 4,863
Phil Galfond 0 Dario Minieri 0
Vanessa Selbst 0 Team FTP 517,347
Team PokerStars 428,573 Deeb, Baron, Benfield 135,124
Hellmuth, Chan, Brunson 34,118 T.J. Cloutier 4,523
Berry Johnston 0 Amnon Filipi 6,293
Eugene Todd 0 Justin “Looshle” Peche 21,339
Jonathan “HoosierAlum” Depa 2,895 Barney Boatman 0
Ross Boatman 0 Guy Laliberte 0
Rene Angeli 0
The last bit of numbers, the ESPN fantasy pool: Daniel Negreanu: 412
Gavin Smith: 134
Lance Bradley: 110
Mark Seif: 97
Andrew Feldman: 81
Bernard Lee: 72
Howard Lederer: 47
Dan Michalski: 44
Dennis Phillips: 40
Chops Preiss: 32
Gary Wise: 2 This is a complete blowout. My team is killing it: Phil Ivey
Jeff Lisandro
David Chiu
Huck Seed
Danny Alaei
Jennifer Harman
Alexander Kostritsyn
Freddy Bonyadi That’s all for now… checkout my daily video blog at www.fullcontactpoker.com.
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2. Ville Wahlbeck 180
3. Daniel Negreanu 155
4. John Monnette 130
4. Jeff Lissandro 130
6. Jason Mercier 125
7. Phil Ivey 120
8. Daniel Alaei 110
8. Vitaly Lunkin 110
I miss my little Mushu! During my streak Mushu has been at Patty’s place, but since I busted today from the 2-7 single draw, I was able to spend a bit of time vegging at home.
If you haven’t already, you can check out my video blogs that I do regularly during the series. You can find them, as always, at www.fullcontactpoker.com. I made another run in the $3000 HORSE event coming close to the money, but bowed out about 40 spots short in a 452 player field. Oh well, can’t run hot forever! Here is a little synopsis of the run: 1. Played the $10,000 Stud event at 5:00pm and finished at 3:00am. Came back the next day at 1:00pm and busted in 10th place.
2. At 5:00pm that same day I bought into the $2500 PLO/NLH event and played till 3:00am that night. I came back for day 2 at 2;00pm and cashed in 43rd at around 8:00pm.
3. After busting I headed straight to the $10,000 Mixed game event, an event I was forced to miss last year due to my limit hold’em win, and was second in chips after day 1 at 3:00am. I came back for day two, but busted out at around 7:00pm.
4. I jumped into the $2500 6 max limit hold’em event and played that until 3:00am. Came back for day two and played until 3:00am again. Finished second in that event at about 10:00pm and went straight to the other room for another event.
5. I played the $10,000 Omaha H/L event until 3:00am. Returned on day 2 at 2:00pm and again played until 3:00am. On day 3 we started up at 12:00pm and I went on to finish in 4th place at about 10:00pm.
6. At 10:00pm that night I jumped into the $3000 HORSE event and played until 3:00am. Returned today at 2:00pm and went broke at about 8:00pm.
7. I played the $10,000 2-7 NL Single Draw event and was eliminated at about 9:00pm. All told, that added up to 9 consecutive 3:00am nights. In that span I watched no television at all, did nothing but play poker, eat, sleep, and lose 6 pounds in the process. Busting out this evening was a bit of a relief. I’ll get a break tomorrow too as I’m playing in the Stud HL/Omaha HL mix at 5:00pm and may take my time getting there and possibly show up around 6:30pm. No golf tomorrow, although I may chip and putt a bit. I definitely want to workout a bit and stay strong. ***************************************************************** The Player of the Year race is just insane this year. I believe Erick won it last year with just 245 points, I ended up 8th with 195 points. Well this year, Brock Parker already has TWO wins and 210 points! I sit in 3rd place with 155 points. This year it may take close to 300 points to win the title. My points bets and ESPN fantasy pool bets are going very well. I have to have a monster lead in the ESPN draft: 1. Phil Ivey: 1 bracelet and a cash or two
2. Jeff Lissandro: 1 bracelet and a 9th
3. David Chiu: 2nd, 9th, and another cash I think
4. Huck Seed: 5th
5. Danny Alaei: 1 bracelet and a couple cashes I think
6. Jennifer Harman: GOOSE EGG!
7. Alexander Kostritsyn: Two small cashes I think
8. Freddie Bonyadi: Might have a cash, not sure. **************************************************************** Poker Etiquette and the Excessive Celebration Rule: There is a rule in place to curb unsportsmanlike behavior at the table. Similar to the NFL taunting rules, where you just don’t kick somebody when they are down. I’ve played poker for 17 years now and feel like I have a good understanding as to when it’s appropriate to celebrate and when it’s best to be quiet and empathize with others who are losing. Any socially aware person should innately know this type of thing. For those that don’t, here is a quick crash course: 1. If you are playing Stud and your short stacked opponent is all in, turn over your river card first whether you are supposed to or not. It’s a common courtesy to not torture an all in opponent if they are drawing dead. 2. When you bust a player, it’s never OK to celebrate too much. A fist pump is cool, hands in the air is fine, but your first instinct should be to shake the person’s hand and offer your condolences. After you’ve done that, high fiving your buddies is fine, just don’t get ridiculous about it in front of the player who just busted. 3. When you beat a player in a huge pot that cripples them, don’t babble and babble and babble to them about the hand saying things like, “Phew, thought you might have the King, but I’m like, oh my Gosh, please don’t have a diamond in there” with a smile on your face as if the person you beat really wants to share in your glory. This is one of the most classless things you can do. The guy doesn’t want to talk to you, or hear about you babbling about the hand in front of them. Those are three things that you shouldn’t do, here are three things that you should feel totally free to do: 1. If you are all in on a stud pot short stacked and need to squeeze out your river card, you can do that, but just don’t take TOO long. 2. If you win a tournament, first congratulate the second place finisher, and after that, with the event being over, you can go bananas with your buddies if you please. Show emotion, why not. People watching (outside of the second place finisher) appreciate seeing how happy you are, so being stone faced when you win doesn’t make you “cooler” than the guy who puts his arms in the air and is genuinely happy and excited about the accomplishment. 3. If you are severely short stacked and up against opponents who are all healthy in chips, playing for a relatively meaningless pot, and you happen to survive the all in in miraculous fashion… celebrate! It’s such a fun underdog moment! On the felt, playing for scraps, and coming back from the dead. I had the most fun ever at the Omaha HL final table and couldn’t believe how into it the crowd was, especially considering the fact that most of them probably didn’t even know the rules to the game. It was electric in there, and a lot of that had to do with my insane rush of all ins where I survived. At one point I yelled out, “We all having fun” and the roar sounded more like a sporting event than an actual… um, Omaha H/L final table, lol. So many people in the crowd came up to me after the final table and said to me how much fun they had watching, that it was a real blast. The players remaining at the table all got into it too. At one point, Danny Alaei’s own father was rooting for me! Danny was like, “Hey pops, what’s going on over there?” At the time Danny was healthy in chips and I was all in blind. In one hand, all in blind, I didn’t look at my hand until the river, so I sweated my hand at the end with the crowd. I had to beat aces full for high, that wasn’t gonna happen, but for low I needed to beat a 7-5. First card I squeezed- 9. Second card a deuce! I yelled to the crowd, “We need a 3, 5, 6, or a 7. I pulled out the 3 and the crowd went nuts! It was quite a show, all in after all in until they finally called my number in 4th place. It was the most fun I’d ever had at a final table. After busting out, despite having another tournament to play, I went to the booth to do my exit interview. Apparently other players declined to do the interview, but that’s just not my style. Poker today is about more than just me getting in a few extra hands in my next event. This was a live internet broadcast with lots of people watching, and I know that they’d enjoy hearing those that are eliminated say a few words. It’s not mandatory and players have a right to decline, that’s just not something I would ever do. I think that sort of thing is important in terms of promoting the game. Poker on television is a form of entertainment, and if the players forget that, then poker on television would cease to be entertaining for the majority of people who tune in for the characters more so than the actual game. I brought this up because a player at my table inquired about me getting a penalty for standing on the chair when I was all in for peanuts and won with a pair. He later told me it wasn’t personal, he was just curious about the rule. The floor man asked me not to stand on the chair anymore, and so I didn’t. No big deal. The issue was pretty much squashed in my book until I heard that another player was blabbing about my celebrations who wasn’t even at my table for any of it. Rather than say something to me, they took the cowardly route by going behind my back and talking to people about my “excessive celebration.” So clueless. We had a rail of people all there to sweat the final few tables. All of them looking on to see something exciting happen. Umm, Omaha H/L… not the most exciting game to watch! They did get into it, though, when I showed some genuine emotion on the short stack and had fun with it. I did a goofy dance, felt like a giddy little kid, and was just being me. Silly, harmless, goofy stuff. The key principal is that it was ME on the brink each time I did that. Never, ever, ever, did I celebrate loudly when I put a significant hit into another players stack. Not once. It frustrates me sometimes when people just “don’t get it.” They just don’t see the big picture. I mean, if you think back to the WPT’s first season, we had players complain about showing their hole cards to the camera. They worried it would somehow cost them money, because they’d be giving away their secrets. That line of thinking was obviously shortsighted, and some of those same people who complained have since profited handsomely from poker’s popularity on television. I think big picture. Let’s not be nitty. Let’s all remember what’s most important: those new people who get into poker… those fans who watch poker on television… those corporations who see poker’s popularity and are willing to take a chance on investing in the game… let’s not forget that poker is supposed to be FUN! Sure there is often a lot of prize money at stake, but if poker fans aren’t having fun watching or playing… those prize pools shrink. Good night all. Time for bed. There is still much work to be done at the WSOP, and I can promise you one thing… I’m having a ton of fun at work! I love it. It’s a grind and mentally draining, but nothing beats the WSOP.]]>

When Ivey got down to three handed in the 2-7 no limit event at the WSOP, he was, by far, the least experienced player at the table. His two opponents play that game regularly in LA and Ivey only plays it occasionally in the big mixed games. Both players were better than Ivey at the game, but Ivey is just a better poker player. Period. When they got heads up, and I read that Ivey made a big call with an Ace, I knew then, that it would be over soon. I knew then that he must have picked up a read on his opponent and would play mistake free poker from that point on. Ivey’s story is similar online where some experts would question his fundamentals. He doesn’t play the game “properly” and is exploitable, according to some. Truth is, Ivey readily admits that when a young kid plays him online, Ivey usually loses at the beginning… until he figures them out. Then, he just destroys all comers. In my ESPN Fantasy Pool I took Ivey with the second overall pick. I’ve got some side bets on that which will help offset the $200,000 I’ll have to ship Ivey for our standing bracelet bet. Last year I got one and beat him for $200,000, so we are even now with me having a shot today. There are 126 players left in the 8-game mix and I sit second in chips behind David Oppenhiem. Another poker freak who just happens to be at my table today. My other bets are all looking good. I’ve cashed in two consecutive events, 10th in the Stud for 20 points and a 43rd place finish in the PLO/PLH event. It’s an event I probably shouldn’t have even played since I had to miss substantial time out from the 8-game mixed event, a tournament that I feel is really good for me and others who have played high at the Bellagio. In this 8-game mix I really don’t feel like I have a weak game. My PLO game is much improved, so I’m not even sure what my worst game in the mix would be. Not a clue really. Fatigue is an issue, but I’m much stronger this year than in past years. I’ve been going for several days straight until 3:00am and while I fade late in the evening, I’m still able to play well. Here is a look at all of the point bets Erick and I ended up making: John Juanda Barry Greenstien
Chris Ferguson Barry Greenstien
Jeff Lissandro Barry Greenstien
Mike Matusow and Justin “BoostedJ” Smith
Greg Meuller Matt Glanz Shawn Buchananen (Spotting them best two of three)
Mike “SirWatts” Watson Justin “BoostedJ” Smith (laying them 1.6 to 1 odds) Of those matches we are slightly behind Lissandro and Greenstien, as well as the Matt Glanz crew. Erick and I added some more incentive to our wagers in the way we’ll handle the money. We are splitting all the bets, but if we win, the person with more points gets 60% of the profit. If we lose, whoever got less points will have to pay off 60% of the bet. So far I’ve got 25 points to Erick’s 15 points. I’m a favorite to get at least 10 points in the 8-game mix with it paying 24 spots. So far I’m very happy with my start in terms of quality of play. I’m playing very well, never quitting, and consistently getting deep. I see myself cashing at LEAST 6 times this WSOP. Hopefully with two wins. ]]>

First my bust out hand: I was very unlucky all day and was down to 38k for the following hand. Blinds 500-1000 with a 100 ante the cut off makes it 2500. On the button I have AQ. I’m not folding the hand if I re-raise, so I decide to do something slightly tricky to possibly get Doug “ToolBox” Lee to make a big boo boo.
The guy put in two yellows (1000 each) and a baby blue (500) chip for 2500. After deliberating, I throw in two yellows, and a green 25,000 chip. Doug starts commentating and looks suspicious, so I spread my two yellow chips in front of me to take a closer look at the other chip. I say nothing.
He goes, “I think you made a mistake. You didn’t mean to do that.” Again, I say nothing, finally he goes all in, the first guy folds, and I’m essentially ALREADY all in having to call 10,000 more.
Doug turns over… get this… 33!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA that is so funny to me! Even if I DID make a mistake, I could easily have 66, or a hand like J-10 which puts him in a coin flip at best. Flop is Q-5-4… 3…. A and I’m out just like that. OK, now to the fun stuff. My Prop bets: -my standard $200k bracelet bet with Ivey
-a bet on Erick Lindgren and myself against Barry Greenstien and Jeffrey Lissandro for total player of the year points. That offer, of me and E-DOG against any two people you want is officially available and it’s not to late to see either of us about getting a bet down. You can pick any tandem that doesn’t include Phil Ivey in the mix.
-Separate bets in the ESPN Fantasy Draft. My team against Howard Lederer’s team, and my team versus Mark Seif’s team. The point structure for the ESPN draft rewards $10,000 events heavily, so all around players are very valuable and that was my thinking going into the draft. Howard’s team is the only other “good” team of the 11 based on the scoring system. Here are the three teams: Daniel’s Team:
Phil Ivey
Jeff Lissandro
David Chiu
Huck Seed
Danny Alaei
Jennifer Harman
Alexander Kostritsyn (if they knew who he was he’d go top 20 for sure)
Freddie Bonyadi Howard’s Team:
Barry Greenstien
John Juanda
David Singer
Eli Elezra
Chad Brown
Nick Schulman
Ralph Perry
Chris Bjorin Mark Seif’s Team:
Howard Lederer
Ted Forrest
Gus Hansen (will play 5 events tops)
David Benyamine (will play fewer than 5 events)
Patrik Antonius (hates tournaments)
Tony G.
David Oppenhiem (has never played 5 tournaments ever at the WSOP in a year)
Todd Brunson (doesn’t wake up till 8pm everyday!)
I’m free rolling against Mark for the most part and have a close battle with Howard’s team. ****************************************************************** The FCP Fantasy Pool is now CLOSED and we had a total of 3255 entrants. I have the results, in terms of percentages people were picked and a few stuck out. The biggest margins: Vanessa Rousso 89% over Clonie Gowan
Jennifer Harman 86% over Liz Lieu
Gus Hansen 84% over Doyle Brunson The closest calls: Hoyt Corkins 50% vs Todd Brunson
Allen Cunningham 51% over Phil Ivey
David “Chino” Rheem 53% over Eli Elezra Biggest Surprises (to me at least):
Daniel Negreanu 70% over Phil Hellmuth
Gus Hansen 84% over Doyle Brunson
Mike Matusow 72% over Ted Forrest For a full list of the results from ALL the matches Click Here ***************************************************************** My tummy is feeling better and I ate a decent amount today. Head is still a bit drowsy but it’s getting better day by day. I have other props in the works so I will be ADDING to my tournament schedule. Tomorrow playing the $1500 Omaha H/L event at noon. I may even play in the insane $1000 crazy field event!
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I will be video bloggin’ again at the WSOP as always, and you can find those blogs at www.fullcontactpoker.com as always. I’ll also be doing twitter updates, my account is REALKidPoker. Time to jump in the shower, pick out an outfit, get some food, hit a few chips in the backyard, then head down to the zoo at the Rio.
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My brother walked in first and said, “Daniel is here.” I could see her, here eyes lit up, totally wide open and smiling and squirming a little. We have to wear gloves and a gown, there are some specific germs that can rest on counter tops and things for up to nine weeks they said. I put on my gloves and gown and went to her. She smiled really big, wide eyed and looked so happy! I kissed her, and she kissed me back. She can see me, and I knew it. She could hear me and I knew it. She’s able to nod yes or no to questions, and I tested her with little games we used to play. I asked her, “Mommy, is Kravchenko an Italian name?” she nodded no, “Is it a French name?” again she nodded no, finally I said, “Is it Russian?” and she nodded yes! Before she got sick I would read her names from tournaments I played all the time and would have her guess the origin, she really liked that it seemed. Ornella, my brothers wife also came today. This is where things got a bit interesting. They told me to ask her if she liked Lori for me. Lori was my ex-wife and my mother never really thought it was a good fit for me. I asked her, and she didn’t respond at all. Then I left the side of her and Ornella said, “It’s OK Mommy, Daniel is gone now, you can tell me, do you want Daniel to go back to Lori?” Well her reaction let me know that yup! Mommy is back! Her eyes did that, “Are you crazy” look and she nodded no, no, no!
For the record, she really DOES like Lori and Lori likes her too… she just didn’t like Lori for ME, but then again, my Mother would likely never be totally satisfied with any woman, “No one is good enough for my son” mentality I guess. These two days were just so exciting and I would have left happy knowing she is starting to come around, when suddenly I took the conversation in a different direction: food. Her life’s passion. I’d mentioned to her that Patty has been cooking for me and is doing great. That she wants to learn all of her recipes and she needs to make a cookbook so Patty can make all her specialties for me. I then told her, “Patty tried to make Mama Liga (a corn meal bread type of food), but it didn’t come out right the first time. I don’t know what, what do you put in it Mommy? Margarine, soy milk, what?” I noticed when I talked about food she was more focused than ever. She wanted to respond to me so bad, she struggled, hoping to talk. Then I said, and this wasn’t true but I just said it for a reaction, “I think she put sugar in it, that’s not good right?”
She about jumped out of her skin to mumble… “Noaaoaa. Nahh sugggur unt unt” We were all kinda shocked! She was saying no, not sugar, butter butter, but in Romanian. This is a such a huge, huge, huge, huge deal that she did that. The doctors say that she WILL be able to speak if she keeps progressing. but needs to be reminded that she CAN speak as she’ll forget. The day before we read magazines with her, she’d look at the pictures and my brother would read it to her. I also decided to call some well wishers so she could hear them and that was uplifting for her. I’d call a friend and put the phone to her ear so she could listen. I got a hold of a lot of people who genuinely care for my mother. Ivey called and said, “Mommy, I need some food. Last time you cooked for me everyday I won three bracelets. Come home to Las Vegas so I can win again. I need you.” His wife Luccieta also let her know they’ve been praying for her. Her “other son” E-DOG also called and wished her well. Scotty Nguyen, she’s always respected and liked Scotty. She heard from so many people, forgive me if I forget all of them: Her sister Adriana in Romania, Jennifer Harman, Mike Matusow, and of course, her favorite, Emely from Costa Rica. My mother really took a liking to Emely when she visited Las Vegas and always perks up when I mention her name. ***************************************************************** Outside of visiting my mother my trip to Toronto this time is going to be very tame. Last night I went to my brother’s buddies house. They were watching UFC and playing like a 30 man poker tournament in the basement. I recognized the fighter Machida and everyone else in the house liked Evans. I grabbed $20 off almost everyone there by backing Machida, he is the nuts! Totally kicked butt. I ended up hanging with some of the high school kids there. They are all football players, one kid, 16 years old is 6′ 4″ and weighs 190 lbs! These kids were huge. They were drinking, so I tried to bet which one of the three kids would puke first. One of the mothers said pointed to her son, “He’ll puke first.” I agreed, he looked a little woozy already. In the end two of the three boys did in fact puke. Now before you get your panties all up in a bunch, all the kids had parents there. I think drinking laws are so archaic and ridiculous that I have no qualms with the kids drinking underage. They ARE going to do it anyway, so instead of them finding danger in the park or some streets, I much prefer the idea of them drinking under supervision. I grew up in a European household and my parents would let me have beer and wine with dinner when I was underage. I trusted my parents and because of that they could trust me. When they told me I shouldn’t try drugs, you know what I did? I listened. I have never done an illegal drug in my life, not even smoked pot (although I see nothing wrong with smoking marijuana). There was also a 12 year old kid there named Robbie. Apparently he’s autistic, but he seemed to be very outgoing and friendly. More so than other autistic kids I’ve spent time with. Anyway, he challenged me to RockBand. There was no Rockband at the house, so him, me, and his parents went to his house to play RockBand Metallica. He totally destroyed me! He plays like double expert and rocks out! It was a lot of fun and he amazed me with his skill, good job Robbie, you rock man! **************************************************************** Tomorrow I will be at the hospital with my mother. It’ll be the last time I see her until the WSOP is over, but I plan on still talking to her through the phone regularly, hopefully with some good news, “Hi Mommy, I won again. That’s my fourth bracelet this year, I broke the record and I’m going to win player of the year again. I’ll see you soon.” After that, I’ll be going on the CBC show called “The Hour.” It’s a very cool show and will air that night so if you are in Canada, be sure to tune in. Right after doing the show it’ll be straight back to Vegas. Going to maybe work with a couple of my friends on their mixed games, play some golf, get my horses some money for the series, and gear up for the $40,000 buy in event. I predict this will be the toughest ever hold’em event to win and it will require my absolute best game to have a chance. Anything less won’t be good enough. ]]>

2.Clonie Gowan vs. Vanessa Rousso I’m betting Vanessa, she’s a better poker player and much easier to root for.
3.Justin Fitz (Fluffdog) vs. TJ Slifka (WhatARunnAA)- These are two posters in the FCP forums. I think both will do well, but I’m gonna gamble with Fluffdog here.
4.Joe Hachem vs. Greg Raymer- I think this is a mismatch, I think Hachem is a very good player and will back him, but I think a lot of the public may go the other way.
5.Scotty Nguyen vs. Erick Lindgren- Scotty says he’ll win $4 mill at this series, um, that’s a bit nuts! I’m going with E-DOG here. 6.Jamie Gold vs. Chris Moneymaker- going with Gold here simply because I think he’ll play more events.
7.Phil Ivey vs. Allen Cunningham- Allen has been a consistent horse at the WSOP for years now, but I’m going with a motivated Ivey.
8.John Juanda vs Erik Seidel- this is a really close one I think. John hasn’t done as well at the WSOP recently, but I’m betting he has a good series this year.
9.Chris Ferguson vs. Barry Greenstien- both will play a ton of events as always. Barry will probably play cash games too, and for that reason I’m betting on Chris.
10. J.C. Tran vs. David Pham- both great, great players, giving J.C. the edge here 11. Gus Hansen vs. Doyle Brunson- Doyle makes it no secret that he doesn’t like playing tournaments all that much, but Gus doesn’t play many events. Tough one, I’ll go with Gus.
12. Mike Matusow vs. Ted Forrest- both guys have a lot of heart, but Ted is more versatile and plays more games at an elite level. I bet on Ted.
13. Freddie Bonyadi vs. Freddie Deeb- Bonyadi doesn’t get a lot of press, but he is a tough cookie and will be playing hard this year I think.
14. Joe Sebok vs. Gavin Smith- Gavin is coming off a big online win that’ll be a boost to his confidence. I’m backing Gavin.
15. Ali Nejad vs. Mike Sexton- in the battle of the commentators, I’ll go with the more versatile player- Mike Sexton. 16. Phil Laak vs. Antonio Esfandiari- in the battle of the buddies I’m betting on Antonio who’s had a lot more success in tournament poker than Laak. I expect that to continue at the series.
17. Jennifer Tilly vs. Evelyn Ng- this is actually a really tough match-up because Jennifer has improved so much in the last year or so and I’m thinking she’ll play more events. I’m going with Chucky’s bride.
18. Michael Mizrachi vs. David Williams- The Grinder has fallen off the the face of the earth in the last little while, but I’m betting he’ll be primed and ready for this WSOP. David definitely has the better toothpick, but I think Grinder will get the money.
19. Ivan Demidov vs. Peter Eastgate- in a battle of the last two standing at the WSOP main event last year, this year is a mystery. I’m going to say that Demidov gets his revenge and cashes for more this year.
20. Isaac Baron vs. Isaac Haxton- two products of online poker, this will be Baron’s first year at the series and the word on the street is that this kid is a monster player. In my limited experience with him, I liked what I saw. Betting on Baron to make at least two final tables this year- both NLH. 21. Nam Le vs. Tuan Le- in the battle of the Le’s I’lll go with the more consistent of the two, Nam, as Tuan is a bit of a wildcard.
22. Todd Brunson vs Hoyt Corkins- expect to see Hoyt in the NLH events and Todd in the higher buy in mixed game events. This could be close as the NLH events have bigger prize pools. Hmm… based on that I’ll back Hoyt here.
23. Humberto Brenes vs. hevad Khan- the Chark vs. the Bulldozer. I say the Bulldozer crushes the chark once and for all!
24. Kathy Liebert vs. Andy Bloch- I have no idea, lol. This one is too close to call, but I’ll go with Kathy getting deep in some $1500 NLH hold’em events and having at least one big score.
25. Huck Seed vs. Layne Flack- both have similar back stories and both seem to be on the rebound, Flack winning a bracelet last year and Huck destroying people in heads up play. I’ll bet on the 96′ WSOP champ, Huck Seed, 26. John Hennigan vs. Nick Schulman- a couple of east coast pool players, I’ll go with the younger and hungrier version- Schulman.
27. David “Chino” Rheem vs. Eli Elezra- can Chino get it done again at this years WSOP? Maybe, but I’m going to play it safe and go with Eli.
28. Annie Duke vs. Anna Wroblewski- In the battle of the Annie’s I’m going with the younger, fearless NLH player. I’ve played with Anna and she is just awesome at NLH. She’s very creative and gutsy. Anna is limited to NLH events while Duke will play all the games, but I’m predicting a $200K+ cash from Anna.
29. Tom “Durrr” Dwan vs. Patrik Antonius- they are still going toe-to-toe in their heads up challenge with Patrik having the edge so far. Neither is a big fan of donkaments, but Patrik is a much better player in the mixed games so I’ll give him the edge at this years series.
30. David Benyamine vs. Chau Giang- both are big game regulars, and both are great players. I’m betting Chau plays more and gets another PLO bracelet this year. 31. Jennifer Harman vs. Liz Lieu- the two best female cash game players in the world, Jennifer in the mixed games, Liz crushing souls in limit hold’em. Jennifer is more versatile so I’ll bet on her.
32. Sam Grizzle vs. Eskimo Clark- I think Grizzle is better at charming people into staking him, so I’ll bet on the sizzz in a close one, $11, 348 to $5221.
33. Isabelle Mercier vs. Erica Shoenberg- I’m really surprised Mrs. B hasn’t done better in tournaments. I’m betting that she breaks through this year and hits a decent score in a NLH event.
34. Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Allen Cunningham, and John Juanda vs. Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Huck Seed, and Erik Seidel- there might be more bracelets on the older team (28 I think), but I’m going with my crew (18).
35. Lacey Jones, Tiffany Michele, and Maria Ho vs. Jeff Madsen- Madsen vs. the ladies, I’m going to bet that Madsen makes a bit of noise this year and has some kind of score. 36. Vivek Rajkumar vs. Ram Vaswani- say those two names 10 times really fast, lol. I’m betting on the young upstart here who has loads of confidence going in to the series.
37. Howard Lederer vs. Jimmy Fricke- I’m thinking that the freak and really weird dude is a pretty awesome poker player that will play in a lot of NLH events. I’m betting Fricke.
38. Adam Junglen vs. Jason Somerville- two PokerVT guys making a splash in their first ever WSOP. Both are excited, and I’m rooting for both. Somerville just had a deep run at the EPT Grand Final, so I’m going with the “due factor” and thinking Junglen is due for a big score of his own.
39. Justin Bonomo vs Sorel Mizzi- This is another tough match-up of bad boys gone straight. Justin plays more games than Sorel so I’m going with Bonomo.
40. Justin “BoostedJ” Smith vs. Jason Mercier- Mercier rips it up on the EPT big time with his aggressive style, but BoostedJ has been honing his skills in mixed games on PokerStars, so I’m going with Justin. 41. Marco Traniello vs. Joe Reitman- in the battle of “my woman makes more money at poker than I do” I’m going to bet on cash machine Marco Traniello. He cashed 8 times in one series and will be playing a decent amount of events.
42. Shaun Deeb vs. J.C. Alvarado- J.C. has proven he can win on the green felt as well as the virtual felt, but so far, Deeb, the online superstar hasn’t had much success live. I’m betting that this year he will.
43. David Ulliot vs. Bruno Fitoussi- I’m going with the ego maniacal Englishman over the crafty and creative Frenchman.
44. Nam Le, Tuan Le, J.C. Tran, and John Phan vs. Gus Hansen, Patrik Antonius, Thor Hansen, Chris Bjorin- I’m giving the edge to the Vietnamese team over team Scandinavia.
45. John Phan vs. John “PearlJammer” Turner- I’m betting on the tall red headed kid to have a big score in a NLH event. 46. David Ulliot, Rolande De Wolfe, and Surindar Sunar vs. Andy Black, Padraig Parkinson, and Alan Smurfitt- I’m going with England over Ireland.
47. Alan Kessler vs. Tony Cousineau- in the battle of the nits, I’m betting that Cousineau will squeak into the money a few more times than Kessler does.
48. Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier vs. Ilari “Zigmund” Sahamies and Jean-Roberte Bellande- Elky is so hot that I didn’t think it would be fair to match him up against just one person. Even this tandem can’t handle Elky though, I’m betting Elky to keep up his run through the WSOP.
49. Joe Cassidy vs. David Oppenhiem- in a battle of limit hold’em kings, I’m betting that Cassidy plays moe events and cashes for more as a result.
50 Lee Markholt vs. Lee Watkinson- I’m betting on Lee. Lol, ok I’m betting on the professional bull riding Lee from Seattle- Markholt. 51. Phil Galfond vs. Adam Levy- a couple of online guys, Galfond broke through and won a bracelet last year at a tough PLO final table, so I’m betting on OMGClayAitken once again.
52. Vanessa Selbst vs. Dario Minieiri- this one is being dubbed “the battle of the sexes” and I’m going to put my money on the guys team. K, that means Dario.
53. Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, William Thorson, Barry Greenstein, Vanessa Rousso, Hevad Khan, Johnny Lodden, Ivan Demidov, and Peter Eastgate vs. Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Allen Cunningham, Erick Lindgren, Jennifer Harman, John Juanda, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow, and Patrik Antonius- I think this group of Team PokerStars will crush souls at the WSOP with their more recent additions. I’m backing the PokerStars Pros.
54. Shaun Deeb, Isaac Baron, and David Benefield, vs. Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson- the old school team might have 31 bracelets among them so it would seem like an obvious choice, but I’m betting on the young online superstars.
55. T.J. Cloutier vs. Berry Johnston- with no young gun to speak of in this match, I’ll bet on the former tight end, T.J. Cloutier. 56. Amnon Filipe vs. Eugene Todd- Eugene talks a better game, but Amnon plays a better game- Amnon ftw.
57. Jonathan Depa (HoosierAlum) vs. Justin Peche (looshle)- another two FCP forum guys, I’m going to take a guess here and go with Depa.
58. Barney Boatman vs. Ross Boatman- I’m betting on the more conservative Ross Boatman and that’s just because I’m bitter about Barney outplaying me at the WPT Championship! Booo Barney, go Ross!
59. Guy Laliberte vs. Rene Angeli- in the battle of the french-Canadian rich dudes, I’m going with Guy.
So that’s that. Now go to www.fullcontactpoker.com and make your picks!
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