Ok the rules for this years WSOP event are a bit different than in past years as not all of the events count for the pool. The only events that count are the “Championship Events” excluding the main event. It wasn’t my idea, I swear! The guys at FCP who handle the pool do a lot of work keeping track and limiting the number of events makes the process a bit easier. Here are the rules in a nutshell:
FCP Members will submit a list of 10 players and those players will earn points in the 10 “Championship” Events at the WSOP but not including the Main Event due to the delayed final table.
Your team’s final result will be the cumulative total points that your team’s players have earned over the 10 events. Most points wins!
Anytime a player from your list makes the top 16 in one of the tournaments you’ll earn the following points based on their finish in the tournament:
1st. 50 points
2nd. 44 points
3rd. 40 points
4th. 36 points
5th. 32 points
6th. 28 points
7th. 24 points
8th. 20 points
9th. 16 points
10th. 14 points
11th. 12 points
12th. 10 points
13th. 8 points
14th. 6 points
15th. 4 points
16th. 2 points
Prizes for the top 20 will be as follows:
1st Place – 6 Month Poker VT subscription and a copy of Daniel’s New Book, Power Hold’Em Strategy
2nd Place – 3 Month Poker VT subscription and a copy of Daniels’s New Book, Power Hold’Em Strategy
3rd – 5th Places – 1 Month Poker VT subscription and a copy of Daniel’s New Book, Power Hold’Em Strategy
6th – 10th Places – A copy of Daniel’s New Book, Power Hold’Em Strategy
11th – 20th Places – FCP Hat
Qualifying Events:
Event 1: May 30th, World Championship $10K Pot Limit Holdem
Event 8: June 4th, World Championship $10K Mixed Event
Event 11: June 6th, $5K No-Limit Holdem Shootout
Event 14: June 7th, World Championship $5K Seven Card Stud Hi Lo 8 or Better
Event 25: June 13th, World Championship $10K Heads Up No Limit
Event 30: June 15th, World Championship $10K Limit Holdem
Event 33: June 17th, World Championship $10K Seven Card Stud
Event 37: June 19th, World Championship $10K Omaha 8 or Better
Event 45: June 25th, World Championship $50K Horse
Event 50: June 29th, World Championship $10K Pot Limit Omaha
If you want to enter check out the forum called 2008 WSOP Fantasy Pool
I haven’t given it a ton of thought, but here are the 10 guys I’d think about going with in no particular order:
Daniel Negreanu I’m obviously picking myself! I feel goof about the WSOP coming up and plan on putting in a solid effort. The structures are much better this year which is a major bonus since I’m much better at limit tournaments than I am in no limit events, especially in hi-lo games.
David Chiu Coming off a big win I see a confident David Chiu doing extremely well at the WSOP. He plays all the games well and I think he’ll be playing the full schedule.
Ted Forrest One of the best in the world, IMO, and plays the stud games extremely well. If he plays a lot, he is a solid pick.
John Hennigan A bit of a dangerous pick since he might not play all the games, but much like Ted, he is insanely good in the stud games.
Phil Ivey See above. I don’t always feel like he needs to be on the list since he may skip the tournaments for the cash games, but it’s tough to leave him off your list since these events suit him so well.
Barry Greenstien Barry has shown a willingness to put in the hours on the tournament circuit so I think he’ll play all the events, and he plays all the games well. I also think he’s hungry for another W at the WSOP.
Mike Matusow I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I think the Mouth just might do well at the WSOP. He has a ton of heart and is decent in all the games. Hold’em and Omaha 8 are his strengths, but his stud game is decent enough to stay afloat in the HORSE games. I’d think he is a huge dog in the Stud tourney, he really does suck at Stud from what I’ve seen, but he has some good spots in there for sure. He is a better limit tournament player than he is a limit cash game player, IMO.
Allen Cunningham Doesn’t have a weak game, lives in Las Vegas, and will likely play a lot of these events.
John Juanda He really is one of the absolute best tournament players in the world despite what his recent results may have shown. If he is motivated he can dominate, but if he gets bored with it, this could end up being a bum pick.
Scotty Nguyen I put him in a similar category as Mike Matusow, meaning, his limit tournament game is much stronger than his cash game skills. As for heart, fewer players have more patience and determination when things are looking grim.
My list of 10 have a lot in common: they were all around before the internet boom, they all cut their teeth grinding it out in mixed game cash games, and they are all versatile, some more than others.
No internet superstar on this list, but that’s not to say that they aren’t capable. Guys like David Benyamine, Eli Elezra, Patrick Antonius, and Doyle Brunson were also guys I considered, but the cash games often take them away from the tournaments.
I expect these events to have significantly smaller fields this year due to the higher buy in and the economy which suits my list even better. I’d also be willing to make a side bet on my list versus someone else who wanted to come up with a list. Minimum bet is $10,000 and if you wanted to pick a group of only “internet players” I would be willing to lay $11,500 to your $10,000.
I’m still looking for action on winning a bracelet again this year also. I’m willing to once again take 5-1 odds on winning one, minimum bets of $5000 to win $1000.
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Anyway, I’m about to start packing for my trip/vacation to Costa Rica..
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If you were watching the news at all I’m sure you heard the breaking news: Obama refers to female reporter as sweetie. How dare he! What is this world coming to when a presidential candidate is so unprofessional that he calls a chick sweetie? The shorties of America should all be appalled as should all of us. She is a serious reporter and was wearing the pant suit to prove it, much like Bill Cinton’s baby mama Hillary.
I’m kidding of course, but this whole “news story” made me stop and think a little bit about how ridiculous things can get in terms of political correctness. Whatever happened to good old fashion chivalry? Is is REALLY so offensive to use the term sweetie? It’s not like he called her a bar wench or something like that, it’s an endearing term, while, maybe not appropriate in a professional scenario, certainly isn’t meant to degrade women, IMO.
They didn’t make a huge deal of it, but just the fact that it’s news is something I find a little weird.
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Bush has officially done lost his marbles. That guy is a kook and what he said today in Israel on it’s 60th birthday is mind boggling. In not so many words, and not naming names, he essentially paints the picture that Obama would have tried to be “buddy buddy” with Hitler. I can’t wait till this idiot’s term is over and just hope the damage he causes in his last months isn’t too severe. This guy supposedly is there to help protect Israel, but his decisions since being in office have made Israel LESS safe.
When Obama says he would speak to his enemies, I think that’s what he SHOULD be doing. All past presidents have spoken to their enemies except for this nincompoop. He doesn’t have to try and change their minds or even compromise in any way, shape, or form, but discussing possible ways to resolve conflict couldn’t possibly hurt.
The Bush administration is so hypocritical. They think it’s a bad idea to sit with their enemies, meanwhile, what in the world are they doing cutting a deal with Kim Jong Il, a certified nut case involved in the proliferation of WMDs?
Bush done really pissed off some people now with these comments, wow.
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John Edwards is a likable guy and I was thrilled to see him publicly support Obama. I wouldn’t mind him as a VP if it weren’t for his opposition to online gaming. When he was running for the nomination a friend of mine sent their camp an e-mail about the issue and his response was not good at all.
Joe Biden went nuts today on CNN after Bush’s speech and was caught cursing saying, this is “Bull…” and some felt like Biden might be a good running mate for Obama. I’m not so sure…
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I didn’t golf today so I caught up with lots of CNN and was happy to see California overturn a ban on gay marriage. There is just nothing in the constitution that should forbid it. Obviously churches should have every right to follow the word of the Bible and disallow gay marriage in their churches, but since 40% of marriages happen outside of a church in this country, there should be no reason why gays and lesbians shouldn’t have the same civil rights as straight people.
Call it civil union, call it gay marriage, whatever. As a comedian once said, “Gays and lesbians should every right to be as miserable as the rest of us if they choose to!”
Many Christians are opposed to gay marriage, I’m not. Not at all. I also believe wholeheartedly that people don’t “choose” to be gay. Considering how many more obstacles gays and lesbians have to face, I cannot imagine why anyone would “choose” that path.
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Gas Prices: Saw a joke on Saturday Night Live’s weekend update that got me laughing. It went something like, “With gas prices increasing at the pump at record rates, experts believe that if the prices continue to escalate… rappers will start drinking it.”
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Golf Swing: So I have a new grip, and now we are working on fixing two other key faults in my swing that cause a loss of power:
1. My hips turn too early on the back swing. That causes me to lose all my power so I’m working on drills to make sure that I don’t start my hip turn until the shoulder turn.
2. My hands release way to early on the downswing. By the time I hit the ball my wrist cock is all gone and there is nothing left. We are working on trying to keep my hands in front so that the hands release closer to impact. Essentially trying to hold the wrist cock as long as possible.
These two changes will take some time to get used to. I can already see a difference when I hit a ball well, but my timing isn’t there yet.
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As for poker, been playing online a bit lately and plan on playing a little tonight. I’ve got a few more days at home until I fly to Costa Rica for a tournament to help prepare me for the WSOP. Well, that, and I’m really looking forward to seeing Emely there. She is someone I met in the Bahamas during the PCA and she lives in Costa Rica. We get along really well and had a lot of fun together in San Remo and London. She also came out to Vegas to visit me a while back. I haven’t seen her since London and am anxious to catch up. Apparently she is going to be my tour guide while there, and I have no idea what she has in store, but I’m sure I’m in for a good time.
***For those with reading comprehension issues, I’m still an avid Obama supporter***
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The other guy hit his to the fringe and Allen was behind him on a hill in the rough. The other guy made a good bet of 300, and Allen called. Allen duffed his chip and the guy won the hole after putting it close and betting.
Hole 2: I hit a playable drive that went through the fairway and landed a bit of rough. Allen crushed his ball and was 60 yards out. One guy was in the rocks and me and the other guy were both about 120 yards out. I figured Allen was going to bet 400 which would make me fold anyway, but instead he fired 1000. Had he bet 400 the other guy may have called, but instead all folded.
Hole 3: A par 5 and I hit mine pretty good. Allen was in the rocks and the other two guys were in the fairway about 20 yards ahead of me. It was abet of 400 and a raise to 800, I folded once again leaving myself with 9700 of my 10,000 in chips and yet to hit anything but a drive.
Hole 4: A par 3, Allen was the only player on the green with a putt for birdie from about 14 feet. I was short of the green and the other two guys would also be chipping from the rough. With 800 in the pot and Allen having half the pot totally locked up, a good bet would have been about 400. That may have enticed one of us to tie the hole if Allen two putt from 14 feet. Instead, Allen bet 2500! It was mind boggling and made no sense. Mathematically he was essentially free rolling… but chose not to? Nevertheless, Allen was hitting the ball well and that kept him in the game. It certainly wasn’t his betting amounts!
Hole 5: A 380 yard par 4. Knowing I needed to hit a good one to play after the tee shot I hit a nice draw on a dog leg left and left myself about 140 yards to the pin. One guy hit it super short, the other guy hit it to 170 yards out, and Allen’s ball fell into the 150 marker which allowed him to get a free drop in the rough. Surprisingly, the guy from 170 yards bet 300 into an 800 put and I knew he was looking for a cheap draw at it, so in the best position, I raised to 1100. Allen called and the bettor folded.
I had position on Allen from here on out which is very advantageous. He hit his ball right, missing the green and leaving himself a tough chip over a ridge. I hit mine pretty straight, but hit a bad one and ended up short of the green but with a totally unobstructed chip to the hole. It was downwind, but chipping and putting is the best part of my game so I felt like it was in the bag at this point. With some money already out there, I decided to protect it and move all in. I was not all that surprised to see Allen call and was extremely happy about it figuring I was a big favorite to double up, especially when his chip hit the ridge and barely skated onto the green leaving him a long putt.
All I had to go was get up and down for an easy double up. I hit my chip thin, the wind got a hold of it, and it rolled off the back of the green! What am I doing! Allen missed his putt leaving himself a 3 foot putt or so. I had to chip AGAIN, and this time did a little better, getting it right on line but still 4 feet short. I felt like I escaped danger there, we’d both knock our putts in and move on to the next hole.
Allen made his, a bit of a breaking putt, and I had the easiest putt imaginable, straight up hill. Problem is, I hadn’t hit a putt in like an hour! This was the first hole I’d played, and each hole takes a long time which takes you out of any kind of a rhythm. Not only that, Allen had Melissa Hayden with him on the course, and she had me on tilt even before I teed off!
So, a putt I just never miss, goes right as I push it! Totally insane. I put my money in so good and then totally blew it. At the time of the bet, I think I was about a 5-1 favorite to win vs lose. A tie would have been Ok, but still disappointing.
I did everything right betting wise, but simply didn’t execute. Allen bet his holes like an absolute donkey, but he actually hit the ball good and won the holes he needed to.
I seriously could not have drew it up any better for me, so to blow it was really annoying. I still can’t believe the parlay: me thinning the chip AND missing a 4 foot putt to lose! Wow, no one to blame but myself.
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So now that the tournament is over, me and my new coach headed to Summerlin to fix some of the holes in my swing. We started with my nemesis, a ridiculously inconsistent grip. We worked on grip and ball position, and that’s it for the day. He says it should take a week or so to get used to the new grip. The changes were significant:
First of all, we started with the left hand and changed where the club lies in my hand. I’d been using a distance grip, putting the club along the pads of my fingers. We changed that, starting on the one pad, but then going diagonal from there so that I could get my left hand over the top of the club more. Enough so I could see two knuckles. I used to only really see one. Next, we got my left thumb closer to my hand, it was separated before. Then resting my thumb barely to the right side of the club.
That all didn’t seem to different from my previous grip and seemed comfortable. What we did with the right hand is a completely different story. I used to grab in deep into my fingers and then try to turn my rand hand over to the left.
Now, with just my two middle fingers wrapped around the shaft, my right thumb laid just to the left of the shaft, much more on top of the club than before. The next part is what totally threw me and felt totally awkward. He had me separate my trigger finger from my other fingers and hook it around the club. Felt totally wrong, but it’s supposed to if you are making successful changes.
The result: I hit the ball twice as high, literally. Distance is the same, but the ball lands much softer.
That’s my homework for the week, getting used to the grip and then we go from there. I’ll likely play worse for a while, but it should be worth it in the end.
In the meantime, I’m playing in a fun scramble with some friends on the 17th, and then I fly to Costa Rica on the 18th. I plan on logging a decent amount of hours online, practicing my new grip, and trying to get stronger. I just love May… how did I screw that up? I’ll get over it, in like 20 years or so, lol.
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I’ve been practicing this week pretty well. Played back to back 36 hole days as well as an hour of practice each day. Sunday I rested and on Monday I played 18 holes at the Snow course where the tournament is being held. I played with E-Dog, Josh Arieh, and Peter Feldman and hit the ball well. My new caddie/coach helps me a lot in terms of course management, letting me know which side of the green to be on, if it’s better to be long or shot, and most importantly he helps to read my putts. We’ve been working together less than a week now, but already I can see that he is a good fit for me. He gets what I’m capable of at this point, more importantly, what is high risk for me. So tomorrow my tee time is 12:00pm but I plan on being there for 10:30am. I’ll putt for about 20 minutes, chip for about 20 minutes, and hit balls for maybe 15 minutes or so. Oh, the title of the blog, I almost forgot. Something I worked out, or tried on my own recently was a new swing thought, “nothing.” I’ve got about 7 different swing thoughts, so recently I decided, I wonder what would happen if I thought of nothing at all and just hit the ball? Presto! Gadzooks! It just might work sir! It has been I think and is so much less stressful. I’m really enjoying playing so much more. Christian (my new coach) hasn’t fiddled with my swing at all at this point. There isn’t enough time to make those changes in time for tomorrow, so he advised that we should just go with what we got. What we got, is an outside shot at best of winning the first round. I am not the best player in my group, but likely not the worst either. I’m still unsure who is in my group, but I saw two names on there that I know are much better golfers than me: Phil Ivey and David Oppenhiem are playing the same tees as me. In other words, I am going to have to get really lucky… ***************************************************************** POKER: Been playing online, $500-$1000 HORSE recently at Stars, mostly with a guy named TheBiggestFish from Helsinki. He plays in the mornings and I get up early now. In fact, it’s 11:30pm now and I’m about ready to pack it in… wish Hillary would too 🙂 ]]>
I read Doyle’s blog and in it, he mentioned our e-mail exchanges discussing politics. He seems to be one of the few poker players that are as interested in this race as I am. We don’t agree on much, which makes it even more fun! In fact, after one long e-mail I sent him he compared me to his son Todd- apparently Todd and I have something in common: we’ve never been wrong on anything.
So since Doyle asked, I think Obama had a bad month to six weeks, but this week things went extremely well for him as he all but sent Hillary to the rail. I wish she would do what’s best for her party and quit already, her staying in the race is destructive. Makes me think that she’s banking on an Obama scandal or something like that. After Obama separated himself from Rev. Wright, though, I think she is drawing pretty slim.
I thought Obama’s victory speech was his best one yet. Very moving, very powerful, and he clearly defined himself as the candidate for the party. Personally, I think he’s done himself a lot of good by being on the right side of this ridiculous “gas tax holiday” that both Clinton and McCain support. It’s beyond stupid! Every expert economist has stated that the gas tax “holiday” is a bad idea and it won’t work. Obama has the guts and smarts to say so, while Hillary and McCain are just trying to win votes by bribing people with… $30!
Anyway, I like my flawed candidate Barack Obama. He is running the cleanest campaign. has been honest and open about his past and his upbringing from drug use to his search for an identity as a youth. Not really understanding if he fit in with whites, nor did he feel like he fit in with blacks either. I like honesty and I think Obama has been more forthright than any other candidate. Hope that answers your question Doyle…
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Lots of other changes have happened just this week:
Costa Rica– I’ve made the decision to attend the LAPT event in Costa Rica as a primer for the WSOP. I’ll be gone for about 5 days which shouldn’t mess with my schedule too much. I thought about this decision long and hard, but felt compelled to make the trip. I love Costa Rica and have many friends there including the Brenes family and others. Also, I met someone in the Bahamas that promised to show me around the city and I’m really looking forward to it. I brought her to San Remo and London, so now I wanted to get a chance to see how she lives in Costa Rica.
World Series of Golf!– I have decided to play in the second annual World Series of Golf event at Paiute on May 12-15. I don’t really think I can win, but I love to compete, it really gets my juices flowing. I went out there today and played pretty good in spurts. The greens are super easy for me, I don’t see myself missing any putts, but the wind is insane. Paiute is on an Indian reservation about 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas with no trees or buildings to protect it. It’s a pretty tight course and the winds often are right to left, or left to right so if you hit a slice you can lose your ball very easily. I hit the ball pretty straight so that shouldn’t hurt me too much.
Judging the wind is what makes you nuts. On one hole I hit a 6-iron from 110 yards and ended up… 20 yards short! The format for the event is super fun. I have a strategy going into it and plan on practicing as much as I can this week so I don’t look like an idiot out there.
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Ted Park is a HORSE idiot. I just had to get that off my chest, what a complete moron. Yesterday me, Tyson, Sam and Ted played a HORSE freeze out at his place for $100 a man. He annoyed me so much that at one point I literally pushed him off his chair. When he finally won the thing, beating me heads up, I threw every single chip on the table directly at his head. His melon head is so big, though, that I didn’t even make a dent. Two hands the idiot beat me with:
7 Card Stud
I started with (K-K-J) he starts with (A-J) 8. By sixth street he shows 5-6-8-9 but I KNOW he has nothing because he checked on fifth street. I check raised him, and he re-raised me. Then the idiot squeezes out his river card, and plucks a 7!
Razz
I start with a 6 up vs his 10. On fifth street my board is 2-5-6, his board is 10-7-3. I make a Q-10 low, this moron catches a Jack low after starting the hand with… QQ in the hole! It’s razz you dummy!!! How can I lose to a guy playing the wrong game, that session totally tilted me, but I made sure to tell his wife Mille that she should absolutely forbid him from ever playing HORSE for real money. He is a complete buffoon. You suck Ted.
[b]UPDATE{/b] I have a firm date on when the book will be in book stores. They will be in stores on June 17. I should be receiving some copies of the book by May 27th and they will also be available at the expo during the main event. I’ll likely do a signing some time around then also.
PokerVT is in beta testing right now and things appear to be going smoothly. The site will likely be available to FCP’ers right around May 13th or so.
Man, I’m so happy right now. It feels so good to get all that stuff done oyu have no idea. Now I can focus on what I need to focus on:
1. Hit Down on it.
2. Go Big and slow back.
3. Shoulder to Chin.
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I’ve been reading the various forums and several e-mails in regards to the WSOP final table delay and so many people are completely off base in their thinking that I wanted to set a few things straight. The bottom line is this: if Harrah’s and/or ESPN doesn’t profit handsomely from the WSOP… then we are all screwed. If they don’t make enough money to justify the headache of trying to accommodate thousands of sometimes, demanding poker players, then who will run this thing? We need to take a step back to the Becky Behnen era circa 2004 and realize that the WSOP was almost a thing of the past. The tradition, the history, all of it could have disappeared if Harrah’s didn’t buy the Horseshoe along with the rights to the WSOP. As more and more people attend the WSOP, that means more and more profit for Harrah’s, but at the same time, it also means a heck of a lot more overhead. I don’t have any idea how much money Harrah’s makes off the WSOP. I’m guessing, though, that the number people assume is far greater than the actual amount. As a poker community we need to wake up a bit and realize the situation we are in, specifically in the U.S. Attendance is down in most tournaments, ratings for the premiere poker shows has also dipped. Poker is no longer seen as this “gold mine stock” amongst the mainstream public. There has been a lull in mainstream interest (a lot of that can definitely be credited to the UIGEA to some degree). The poker players DON’T hold all the cards, despite the fact that many of us would like to believe that. We don’t have a ton of well funded companies chomping at the bit to get in on the poker craze at the moment. I am assuming that both Harrah’s and ESPN are sensing that, and this is an attempt to inject some life, and some buzz back into the game. Their goals are obviously monetary at the core, but we should all realize that our goals are aligned. If Harrah’s and ESPN can’t make a decent buck off the WSOP, where would that leave the WSOP? Seriously, do you guys think about that sort of thing? I should add this: I am no “company man,” I am no “yes man,” and I’ve had my fair share of shouting matches in the past with management. You should know this from seeing my past video blogs and written blogs as well. I don’t give Harrah’s a free pass by any means, but things need to be put into perspective here. Harrah’s is a business. They have to make money. If they don’t make money, well, that’s not a very good business is it! This delayed final table could go either way, it might work out extremely well, or it may not create the buzz and interest that they’d hoped for. If you are a poker player and love the WSOP, you should actually be rooting for this idea to work because it is in your best interest. As I said in the other blog on the topic, if the idea doesn’t work, we go back to the original way of doing things, what’s the harm in that? In 1997 someone had the bright idea of playing the final table on Fremont street in 110 degree heat! Stu Ungar won that year, and the next year they went back inside (thank goodness). The sky isn’t falling and the WSOP will be just fine… ]]>
Seat #6 is the button
Seat 4:
Seat 5: KidPoker ($76426 in chips)
Seat 6: APerfectGent ($56190 in chips)
Seat 7: westmenloAA ($27550 in chips)
westmenloAA: posts small blind $200
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to KidPoker [Qh Qc 3d 5d]
KidPoker: raises $800 to $1200
APerfectGent: raises $3000 to $4200
westmenloAA: folds
KidPoker: calls $3000
*** FLOP *** [7c 2s Kh]
KidPoker: checks
APerfectGent: checks
*** TURN *** [7c 2s Kh] [6c]
KidPoker: checks APerfectGent: bets $6800
KidPoker: calls $6800
*** RIVER *** [7c 2s Kh 6c] [2h]
KidPoker: checks
APerfectGent: bets $21200
KidPoker said, “really now”KidPoker said, “not sure what you got here, not AA.. dont think its KK”KidPoker said, “might be time for a hero call”KidPoker said, “ya hero call”
KidPoker: calls $21200*** SHOW DOWN ***
APerfectGent: shows [7d 8s As 2d] (a full house, Deuces full of Sevens)
KidPoker: mucks hand APerfectGent collected $64995 from pot
KidPoker said, “nice one me 🙂
There is probably a much better way to post one of those, I’ll learn eventually. Anyway, the hand looks ridiculously bad on my part, but I actually thought I won when he turned his hand up! I didn’t see an AA, KK, or AK and figured I picked off a bluff! Then I realized he had the 2 too and I’d lost.
I still feel like I was right in a weird way. The way he’d been playing me up until that point I really didn’t think he had AA, KK, or AK as I mentioned in the chatbox. I thought he had four straight cards and likely missed a draw on the river and tried to push me off the hand. I’m honestly Ok with the call even though it appears ridiculous.
I ended up winning about 12k after it was all said and done. It was so funny that hand, because when I looked at my stack to see if it was over 100k, I noticed 43k and was like, huh? Did they screw up? He had nada!
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Tomorrow I am golfing at TPC Summerlin. I got a treadmill recently that you can adjust so that it doesn’t do damage to your knees, only I forgot to adjust it and… well, did damage to my knees, lol. I don’t need to be able to walk to play golf, though, so it’s game on tomorrow!
The other health concern I have is my back. Not my back as in the spine or anything, but the muscles in my back must be really weak or something. That same problem I’ve had in the past, that muscle pain in the high mid part of my back seems to occur every time I hit the ball like a man. I had a good day driving the ball, hit my career long drive and played pretty good, but felt the beginning of a potential problem with that muscle again.
It’s a dilemma. The muscle doesn’t hurt when I swing easy, but then again, the ball really doesn’t go anywhere. When I take a full swing and power through the ball, it goes straighter, higher, and longer, but the result is that same pain. Maybe I just need to be careful not to play too much, I don’t want the back to be out of commission.
***Awesome news, book went to press today which means we barely hit our deadline! It should be available to the public during the WSOP sometime is what I’m told. Burden is off the back, and it’s done! PokerVT is also done as far as my end for the launch, and it’s so close to being ready I can taste it!***
Plan for the week is to golf if the back holds up Ok, then to play some online poker. I’d like to play the following games online this week:
$100-$200 No Limit Hold’em
$200-$400 Pot Limit Omaha
$5000 Heads Up Sit N’Go’s
H.O.R.S.E. anything from $200-$400 up to $1000-$2000
Heads up Sit N’ Go’s from $10-$100 with random people
That’s on the agenda as well as continuing to get the house fixed up. I’ve been on an excellent sleep schedule and plan on going with it till the end of the WSOP, or at least for as long as I can. I’m up by 8:30am and in bed by 12:00am-1:00am each night. A full 8 hours sleep, and enough time in the morning to wake up and be fresh for a noon tournament.
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attention. The nine players at the final table will become quasi celebrities, much like reality TV stars. None of the players would be obligated to do any interviews or media in general, but if they chose to, the opportunities would be there.
The way the WSOP main event airs now, the public is usually already aware of who won. The final episode plays out more like a documentary, a la, this is “how they won.” That will now change. Everyone will know who is at the final table, but for three months, the question will change to “who will win” which I think is more exciting.
You can’t air this thing live on ESPN. They will NOT change the structure at all or hurt the integrity of the event, and if you signed a deal to air it live, you’d have to escalate the blinds quickly if it ran long. The closest we can get to live, is “almost live” so that the crew has time to edit the show and turn it around in less than 24 hours.
The final table will end very late on the 10th, so late that the outcome will miss the morning papers and media Tuesday morning. Wednesday morning, after the show airs on ESPN, it would hit the papers. Obviously if you go online you’ll be able to find out who wins, but if you prefer to watch it “live” you can choose to wait less than 24 hours and watch it Tuesday night.
What this is supposed to do (we’ll see if it works) is help to create more talk around the water cooler. It’s supposed to build up more interest in the final nine players and that final episode where they play for it all.
Pros:
-more media attention
-more hype and build up for pokers premiere event
-better ratings for the final episode
-makes the WSOP final table more of a sporting event rather than a documentary
-follows even more of a reality TV model that has proven to be successful in attracting fans
-endorsement opportunities for the players
Cons:
-All players will have coaches. This can be seen as a pro depending how you look at it, as the play at the final table will be much better.
-could very well change the outcome of the eventual winner.
-When play starts back up, you’ll have no reliable feel or reads on players who could play completely differently three months later.
-You could have a no show for various reasons.
-More time for players to discuss side deals (the penalty for doing this could be severe, but that doesn’t necessarily stop all players from considering it)
I’m sure there are more pros and cons, but that is a decent list. All in all, I think this concept has the potential to be a really good thing for poker. If not, well, then we go back to the traditional format next year.
Things change. Formats change, tournaments change, sports change. Purists hated the idea of showing your hole cards to a camera, but look at what that’s done for poker. Baseball purists hate inter league play, some hockey fans don’t like the new NHL with less physical play.
Even the game of hold’em changed. It used to be played with just one blind, but that changed and a two blind system was created so there would be more action.
I think the poker world should support the efforts here to try and improve the WSOP main event and understand that if it flops, it’s not the end of the world. We can always change it back next year. I say, give it a chance. It’s a gamble, but hey, aren’t we all poker players?
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If he checks the flop like he is supposed to, I bet 45k, all hell breaks lose, than I dump my Jacks and still have about 140k left to play with.
3. 7-8 should have folded his hand! With three players all in in front of him, his hand is usually going to amount to about the equivalent of a gutshot straight draw. One player with Kq Qh, another one with a set.. and he has a total of 3 outs if the board doesn’t pair or it’s a flush card! Never mind a gutshot, it’s more like a two outer in most cases. As it turns out he had 6 outs provided the board didn’t pair which still isn’t a very good spot.
Now if this guy lays down his hand on the flop, I end up sucking out for a major pot with close to a million in it!
As I said, what a crazy hand! Any congratulations to David Chiu, one of the truly good guys in poker that hasn’t had as much success in recent years as his play would suggest he’d have. He is a great player and I still remember watching him destroy the first ever Tournament of Champions put on by Mike Sexton years before the poker boom. At that final table he FOLDED Kings preflop correctly, and then later makes a huge call with King high. He reads players as good as anyone and I was proud of him.
Gus has to be sick about losing the way he did, but meh, he’s won enough! If he would have won the tournament he would have surpassed me as the all-time money winner in WPT history.
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So since busting out I’ve been golfing. Some good days, some bad days. I played with Patrik one day and that was my best day of the week as I hit the ball pretty good, especially down the stretch. In the last four holes I played even par with a bogey, a birdie, and two pars. That’s huge for me.
I’ve also played with E-DOG and my usual crew of buddies, Sam, Tyson, and Ted. Yesterday wasn’t as good of a day as we played at Spanish Trail rather than TPC Summerlin which closes Mondays. The rough at Spanish Trail is real rough and it definitely cost me some strokes as I’m not really accustomed to hitting the ball out of thicker grass. Summerlin keeps it pretty short up until their PGA tournament.
I bought a new driver, a 9 degree Ping G-10 regular flex and it’s much better suited for me since it keeps my ball flight a little bit lower. Perfect for the fairways at TPC Summerlin where the ball just rolls, and rolls, and rolls.
I did do one thing great yesterday at Spanish Trail- putted like a mad man. Like the way I used to. I also chipped pretty well. It was my approach shots which were awful most of the day.
Playing with Patrik was surreal. The guy just picked up the game but he is already awesome. He’s way, way, better than me in every respect, outside of maybe putting, but he’s good at that too. I’ll bet he’s breaking 80 by the end of the summer.
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Today is a windy day so I’m taking the day off of the golf and instead ran on the treadmill and hit a few balls on the simulator. Mostly my wedges which failed me this week, but I think I figured it all out now.
Last night, I also put the FINAL touches on the book and got some great news from the editor who told me it’s going to print tomorrow. Hopefully they’ll be ready to ship out by the time the WSOP rolls around. I think you guys are going to like the book, it’s a big one with several contributing writers (Todd Brunson, Paul Wasicka, Evelyn Ng, Erick Lindgren, and David Willliams.
As for my other project, PokerVT.com, I have seen first hand what the final product looks like and, frankly, it blows me away. Super high end technology, several different ways in which you can learn and study the game. At this point they are just uploading the last bit of content and then will need about a weak to make sure everything is functioning properly.
It feels really good to be essentially done with those two major responsibilities. It allows me to focus on ME. My health, my eating habits, my golf game, and of course my poker game which I’ll be working on this week at PokerStars.com. I’ll likely be shooting some online videos in some lower limit games this week, so don’t be surprised if you see the name “KidPoker” next to you in a $5 sit n’ go!
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