Posts Tagged ‘bad beat’
NAPT LA Montage
The PokerStars North American Poker Tour’s Los Angeles stop saw some of the biggest names in poker come to The Bicycle Casino. Our cameras caught some of the action in progress as it happened on the felt and we put together a montage of some of the players we saw.
The Bicycle Casino hosted the NAPT LA tour stop to rave reviews. The Bike has also hosted numerous televised World Poker Tour events in recent years.
In the montage we first see the action kick-off as the cards hit the air for the first day of the Main Event. The first pro we saw was Annette Obrestad, known online as “annette15″ who has drawn the eye of the entire poker industry as potentially the next big player in the industry. Next we see Antonio Esfandiari who had a very solid 2010, including a final table at a World Series of Poker event and a win at the World Poker Tour.
Our next pro was Isaac Haxton, who played in this event prior to taking on Isildur1 and beating him to the tune of over $40,000 during the first SuperStar Showdown on PokerStars. After him we see two time WSOP bracelet winner Scott Fischman who has been somewhat under the radar for the last couple of years. Last time we saw Scott, he was … well … a bit on the lighter side.
Matt Affleck was seen sporting a retro Seattle Sonics NBA jersey, representing the Emerald City, his native hometown. His bad beat to eventual WSOP Main Event winner Jonathan Duhamel ranks as the most heartbreaking moment of the 2010 poker calendar.
Also on hand was Lauren Kling, one of the many rising female poker stars we’ve seen in 2010. She had several deep runs and had a budding friendship with November Niner Joseph Cheong. Speaking of Cheong, he too was on hand and the next pro our cameras caught, playing it cool behind his 1980s-style sunglasses as always and sporting his Full Tilt Poker sponsorship patch.
We found Andrew Lichtenberger, known as “LuckyChewy” online, doing exactly what his online name suggests – chew away. For a good 12 consecutive seconds we see LuckyChewy chew and gnaw on something in his mouth, finally solving the mystery of where his online name might have originated from.
Other pros we found include Matt Jarvis, Men “The Master” Nguyen and Scott Clements.
It’s Time for a Change by Mike Sexton
I think it’s time for casinos that host big buy-in tournaments, such as WPT events, and the players in them to take a look at what’s happening out there today. Due to “player demand,” events have gotten longer since players are starting with deep stacks and friendlier structures. The result is that fields are getting tougher and smaller. And due to the large number of big buy-in tournaments these days, if something isn’t done about it, I see that trend continuing.
This will certainly be the case until online poker gets regulated – and when that happens, we’ll see another poker boom. Big buy-in live events will expand their numbers substantially because so many people will be able to qualify online for $50 or $100. But that’s “if and when,” and we need to worry about right now.
On a side note, one of the biggest myths in poker is about deep stack tournaments. It doesn’t matter how many chips you start with; what matters is the size of the blinds in proportion to the size of your chip stack. But this article is not about deep stack tournaments; it’s about why event attendance is declining in big buy-in events, what to do to about it, and why it will benefit both players and casinos to change the current trend.
You lose value when you shut out the players you want in the tournaments, such as the businessman who cannot take a week off work and amateurs who can’t be away from their families for a week. And cutting down the buy-ins at some events may actually increase the prize pool because of the larger number of entrants. Just look at the recent WPT events at Borgata and Foxwoods. Borgata had a $3,500 buy-in and was the largest field in WPT history with 1,042 players, creating a $3.5 million prize pool.
Foxwoods had a $10,000 buy-in with 240 players, creating a $2.4 million prize pool. Generally speaking, larger fields provide more value for players and, obviously, more people in the casino can only be better for the casino. An additional value of lesser buy-in tournaments is that you can run a lot more satellites, providing more people an opportunity to play and increasing value in the tournament.
How can we increase fields and create more value for the player? The first step that needs to be taken is to shorten the events. With the exception of the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship, I’d suggest cutting every event on the WPT back to four days – and just as importantly, start them on a Saturday (with the final table on Tuesday).
In my opinion, this would be a win-win situation for everybody. Amateurs can play on the weekend and would only miss one day of work (two if they make the final table, but that would be an extremely beneficial day off for them). The casinos will get more players in their events, which would have much more value. And you don’t have to play ungodly hours the first three days. You do have to cut back starting chips from 30,000 to 20,000, cut levels back to 45 minutes, or eliminate five or six levels along the way. By doing this, pro players will actually earn more in the long-run, as value in the tournaments would increase substantially.
I’ve been to every event in the history of the WPT. At least 80% to 90% of the time, the top players get eliminated in a race or a bad beat – and it doesn’t matter if it’s a three-day tournament or a week-long tournament. As a player, if you knew you were going to race for your money near the end of a tournament, wouldn’t you rather have that race at the end of three days rather than at the end of six days? Wouldn’t you like to have an extra few days to enjoy life?
The argument some players will make is, “Because of the long structure, I was able to survive and put myself in a position to have a race at the end of six days.” That argument has some merit, but I don’t believe it outweighs the added value in tournaments of allowing more amateurs to play.
Players and casino management must recognize that shortening the days of play will benefit everyone. Decreasing buy-ins at some venues would be beneficial as well. For this plan to succeed, however, it’s going to take a strong recommendation by the WPT, the vision of casino management (which shouldn’t be hard since they’ll make more juice and get more people in their casino), and the support of top players with leadership that see the light, especially those in the youth brigade who will help lead the charge.
Where’s Nike when you need them? “Let’s Do It!”
NAPT Los Angeles Bounty Shootout Airs on ESPN
On Sunday night, coverage of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Bounty Shootout aired on ESPN2. The $5,000 buy-in tournament’s first flight, which aired over the course of an hour, featured 11 bracelet winners along with “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander. ESPN poker announcers Lon McEachern and Norman Chad brought the event to life.
Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad scooped a 25,000-chip early pot at the expense of Ronnie Bardah after turning the nuts with 7-5 for a straight. Players received 25,000 in chips to start and each person carried a $1,000 bounty; the player who logged the most bounties after all was said and done would win a buy-in to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout in January. In addition, players’ faces and home countries were displayed on the screen by ESPN when they were involved in a hand. Any player who bested their opening round table claimed $20,000 in cash. The feature table is winner-take-all for nearly $135,000.
The first elimination of the flight went to Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, who was defeated at the hands of Justin Bonomo. Then, November Niner Jason Senti’s pocket queens could not hold against Vanessa Selbst’s A-K for his tournament life. Elsewhere in the field, Scott Montgomery sent Greg Mueller packing with pocket kings against pocket eights and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi eliminated Selbst after scoring the nut flush.
Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier hit the rails at the hands of Bonomo, while Andrew “good2cu” Robl scored a double elimination. Robl turned two pair, called Obrestad’s shove with second pair on the river, and promptly sent Tom Marchese and the bracelet winner packing. Then, Greg DeBora was all-in with 8-5 against Bardah, but could not draw out on pocket threes.
Bonomo recorded his fourth bounty after eliminating online poker pro Andy Seth with queens against A-Q. Then, David Baker suffered the bad beat of the night after Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari sucked out on his pocket aces with A-Q. Esfandiari flopped one queen and rivered another to send the Texan packing. Then, Montgomery failed to win a coin flop with K-10 against Justin Young’s pocket eights and was sent home. Obrestad railed him during the hand and, after seeing her beau’s fate, she muttered, “We suck.” Montgomery responded, “Yes, indeed. We do suck.”
When the smoke cleared, Marchese, Mizrachi, Clint Coffee, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, and Young advanced to the final table. The credits rolled for the first hour of coverage and this author hit the freezer for a big bowl of ice cream.
The second episode included the final four tables of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout. At the feature table, Jean-Robert Bellande was the first to depart after running second pair into Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little’s top set. Out in the field, PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu sported a beard, while UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth’s attire was curiously void of any patches for his home poker site. Instead, he promoted Aria and the WSOP Academy, leading many to believe that he may be on the outs with UB.com.
Brett Richey eliminated Barry Greenstein, but did not bring a copy of “Ace on the River” to sign. At the feature table, Hellmuth doubled up Shaun Deeb and then lamented, “I just didn’t want to fold. Phil, Phil, Phil.” Negreanu was ousted after his 9-7 of spades could not draw out on Phil Laak’s A-J, leaving Chad to comment, “He’s got time to shave the beard now.”
Speaking of Laak, the Unabomber Poker pro sent Alex Keating packing. Elsewhere, Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania relegated Victor Ramdin to the rail after spiking a pair of jacks on the river. Also finding help on the river was Matt “mcmatto” Affleck, who hit Broadway on the final card to sent Adam Junglen home before committing his chips with K-J on a flop of K-6-3. However, PokerStars pro David Williams woke up with pocket aces, which held when the board filled out 2-Q.
Williams sent “Nacho” Barbero home to win his table, while 2003 WSOP Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker was ousted after running pocket fours into Nick Binger’s pocket eights. Pat Pezzin triumphed over his table after busting Richey, and Charania also advanced to the finals.
Joining Williams, Charania, and Pezzin at the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout final table will be Kevin MacPhee, who took down EPT Berlin earlier this year, a tournament that included a high-stakes robbery. Nine players advanced to the finals in the 81-man field.
This Sunday at 9:00pm ET, catch the conclusion of the NAPT LA Bounty Shootout on ESPN2. At 10:00pm ET, action from the NAPT LA Main Event will air.
Rainbow Casino in Wendover Hosts Spectrum of Poker
Poker is alive and well in Wendover, Nevada, about 110 miles from Salt Lake City on the Nevada border. The Rainbow Spectrum of Poker is going on through December 19th. Jan Fisher and I, two members of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, are hosting the tournament series and giving entrants a complimentary seminar on December 18th at Noon local time prior to the start of the $500 buy-in Main Event. The casino is adding money to each tournament, including $5,000 for the Main Event. A list of the schedule of events can be found at WendoverFun.com.
Jody Russell is the Poker Manager for the Wendover Rainbow and Montego Bay Casino Resorts and has been in Wendover since June, having come from the Peppermill in Reno. I interviewed Jody about poker in Wendover.
Linda Johnson: Tell us about some of the special promotions available at the Rainbow and Montego Bay card rooms.
Jody Russell, We have lots of promotions for our players including Football Squares on Sunday and Monday nights, with a $100 winner for every score made. Squares are awarded to players who make any full house of jacks or better. The Quadzilla promotion awards $25 to anyone who gets quads and an additional $500 is given if the same player gets quads twice in 24 hours.
Thursday nights feature a Nifty 50 bonus from 2:00pm to 6:00pm. With two hours of play, players who bought in for at least $50 receive an extra bonus dollar for every year they are older than 50. The Set Cracked Jackpot awards $100 from 1:00am to 4:00am to anyone who flops a set using a pocket pair and gets beat.
Linda Johnson: Who is your major clientele?
Jody Russell: The bulk of our players drive from Salt Lake City. Local players consist mainly of gold miners, casino workers, and retirees. We also have flyaway packages from many cities in the United States that include roundtrip air and a three-night stay in a deluxe room at the Rainbow, Peppermill, or Montego Bay Resorts.
Linda Johnson: Why would someone come play poker in Wendover?
Jody Russell: We have a very player-friendly atmosphere and great poker action. We track players and give room and food comps based on the amount of their play. In addition to the promotions above, we also add money to many of our tournaments and have Royal Flush, Bad Beat, and Full House Jackpots. I think our players enjoy the fun and games they get here. For the Rainbow Spectrum of Poker, we are offering a $25 room rate on weekdays and a $65 room rate on the weekends. Everyone who enters one of the events also receives a free buffet ticket.
Linda Johnson: Thanks for taking time to talk with me Jody and congratulations on getting 215 players in your first event. I’ve only been here 24 hours, but I’m having a great time and you’re definitely right about the great action in the games!
£222k Badbeat Jackpot video
Gus Hansen Victorious at Full Tilt Poker Million IX
Defeating one of the toughest tables ever assembled for the tournament, recent World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe bracelet winner Gus Hansen emerged victorious at the Full Tilt Poker sponsored Poker Million IX.
The event, which took place on live television in England on Sky Sports Network, featured some of the best players in the world vying for a $1 million first place prize. Along with Hansen were such notable players as 2010 WSOP Europe champion James Bord, Patrik Antonius, and Howard Lederer. With such a huge prize on the line, the eight players battling for the Poker Million IX championship wasted little time getting to action.
On the 37th hand of play, Antonius departed in spectacular fashion. After a raise from Tony Bloom with A-3, Antonius looked him up from the small blind with A-9 and Bord came along for the ride out of the big blind with 10-8. The flop was magical for Bord, 9-7-6 rainbow, giving the Englishman the nuts. With his top pair, Antonius led out only to face a re-raise from Bord. Bloom released his hand and, after a bout in the tank, Antonius moved his stack to the center. Bord delightfully called, tabling his winning hand and seizing a sizeable lead in the early going.
Soon after Antonius’ elimination, Bord attempted to take down Hansen, but fell short after his A-J fell against Hansen’s A-Q and the “Great Dane” doubled up. Hansen used these chips to eliminate Lederer from the tournament when, in a battle of the blinds, Lederer moved all-in from the big blind with A-8 of diamonds. Hansen, in the small blind, deliberated for a bit before making the call with his A-J and, after dodging eights and diamonds on the board, was in a seemingly dominant position to take down the Poker Million IX title.
Two internet qualifiers, Seth Webber and Gary Peniket, performed well on the big stage, but were unable to drive deep. Webber was dispatched from the tournament at the hands of Hansen, while Peniket departed the table via a bad beat from Bord. After Bord raised from under-the-gun with K-10 of clubs, Peniket decided to make a stand with K-Q. Peniket’s dominant position changed on the flop, which came down 5-10-9 with two clubs, giving Bord the lead. Drawing thin, Peniket could not find one of his seven outs and was eliminated in fifth place.
Bloom got back into the action when he defeated Hendon Mob member Barny Boatman, out-flopping Boatman’s pocket tens with an A-3. After remaining quiet, Bloom began to impose his will on the felt, defeating Bord in a key hand where the WSOP Europe champion held an up-and-down straight draw against Bloom’s flopped two pair and couldn’t find a closer.
After eliminating Bord, Bloom was behind Hansen by about 140,000 chips and the duo only took two hands to decide who would be the champ. After catching pocket queens on his first hand and raising Bloom out, Hansen looked down to see A-8 on the very next hand. After Bloom moved his stack to the center, Hansen decided to look him up and was thrilled to see he was in a dominant position against Bloom’s A-6. An unnecessary eight on the flop sealed the deal for the Danish poker champion, propelling him to victory and the $1 million first place prize.
The victory caps a tremendous year for Hansen. Although he only won $581,073 in tournament poker during 2010, Hansen was able to shed the “Best Player Never to Win a Bracelet” tag by winning the epic marathon that was the £10,000 No Limit Hold’em Heads-Up event at this year’s WSOP Europe. The bracelet became the latest addition to Hansen’s trophy chest alongside his three World Poker Tour titles and 2007 win at the Aussie Millions. All totaled, the “Great Dane” has won over $8 million in his career, not counting his Poker Million victory.
Tournament organizers Matchroom Sport have promised to pull out all the stops next year when Poker Million gets its tenth outing. “Poker Million is one of the few remaining poker majors that has truly stood the test of time,” said Eddie Hearn, Managing Director of Matchroom Sport. “It has remained Europe’s most prestigious title and 2011 will see the event reach its tenth year. We plan something very special for Poker Million X and want to give the poker playing public a real shot at the million.”
888 Begins Satellites to 2011 Irish Poker Open
Looking forward to 2011, 888 Poker has announced that it is opening up satellites for the 30th anniversary of the Irish Poker Open.
888 Poker has begun running “Steps” satellites that will send players to the oldest tournament in Europe, which will be contested from April 22nd to 25th. These “Steps” satellites are a four-tiered system that will allow players of any bankroll to take their shot at participating in one of the most prestigious events in the poker community. At the end of the “Steps” is a prize package that any player would be thrilled to win.
Step 1 tournaments run daily around-the-clock and will send one player to Step 2 for every $14 in the prize pool. Step 1 events cost $2 and are rebuy/add-on tournaments, building up the prize pool to maximize the number of players who will be eligible to move on.
At Step 2 of the satellite system, players will be in a traditional freezeout. These tournaments run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 8:05 GMT and on Sundays at 2:05. The tournament costs $14 and will move one player on to Step 3 for every $65 that is generated in the prize pool.
The Step 3 tournaments put players one level away from realizing the dream of heading to the Irish Poker Open. The $65 Step 3 tournaments, which run Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 5:05 GMT, will send one player on for every $300 in the prize pool. For those who earn their way through the Step 3 tournament, the 888 Poker Final Satellite (run every Sunday at 8:05) will award at least one Irish Poker Open prize package to the winner. Players can buy into the “Steps” tournaments at any level.
In addition to the €3,500 Irish Poker Open Main Event seat, players who qualify through 888 Poker will receive five nights’ accommodations at the Burlington Hotel, $1,500 to offset travel expenses, and a merchandise kit from 888 Poker that includes a Sony Bloggie camera to document their potential journey to becoming the next Irish Poker Open champion.
The Irish Poker Open has not only sentimental value to players, but also is quite historic in its own right. The Irish Poker Open is the longest running tournament on the European continent and ranks second to only the World Series of Poker as the longest running in poker history. Created by the late gaming legend Terry Rogers in 1980, it has been in recent years operated by Liam Flood and will be contested in 2011 at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin.
Its first ever winner was the legendary Irish poker player Colette Doherty. Others who have captured the title include Joe Beevers (2003), “Mad” Marty Smyth (2007), Neil “Bad Beat” Channing (2008), and Christer Johansson (2009).
The 2010 running of the Irish Poker Open brought out 708 players, which included former champions Smyth and Channing as well as European poker masters like Germany’s Sandra Naujoks and Italy’s Dario Mineri. The United States, which traditionally is represented by some of the biggest names in the game, saw 1995 Main Event Champion Dan Harrington and former CardRunners instructor Brian Townsend in action. In the end, England’s James Mitchell captured the championship, taking home a €600,000 payday.
Visit 888 Poker for more details.
Huge Bad Beat Jackpot at the Empire
Buffets: Food and Poker by Lee Jones
Poker can be a lonely game. Unlike, for instance, softball, there’s nothing that requires you to get together with other people of a like mind or intent. You go down to the casino or card club, play poker, and then leave. Too often, when a poker room “acquaintance” approaches you, it’s for one of three reasons: · He wants to tell you a bad beat story · He wants to borrow money from you · You’ve borrowed money from him and he wants you to pay it back These aren’t necessarily the criteria for great personal relationships. Topping it all off, people in the poker profession are often there because they prefer to work alone – on their own hours, thank you very much. The idea of being in an *ffice, with a j*b, and reporting to a b*ss… Well, it’s more than they can handle. But among those of us who fancy poker as an avocation and recreation, there’s nothing quite as fun as getting together with fellow poker fanatics to share stories, tell tales, and put bad beats on each other. Probably one of the most long-lived gatherings among the poker community is “BARGE” – an every-August gathering in Las Vegas that got its ...
Chau “La Key U” Giang wins a 1,9 million euros pot in Macau!
It’s really not a surprise that the biggest cash games in the world are played in Macau. Now the Poker King Club’s Marketing Manager Stella Yeh is giving us an update through 2+2 forums.
Chau Giang
“Would just like to say on behalf of Poker King Club thank you to everyone for their interest in our High Stakes Macau game. As i’ve read some of the previous threads, our friends Tom & Matt have done an excellent job giving updates, as well as bringing Phil and Durrrr over to Starworld to play this action packed game.”
“As of right now…Durrrr & Phil are taking a break, catching up on some sleep….and there are two local guys sitting right in front of me playing $50k-$100k HKD (€4750/€9500) heads up. They’ve been playing since 9am….it’s about 4pm now….and they’re still going strong. One guy has a massive chip lead on the other ….but the other guy’s determined to continue playing it seems.”
This game has been going on in Macau at Level 3 Starworld…Poker King Club for over a year already. And consists of mostly Macau/China businessmen who have converted their passion from Baccarrat to Poker.
Everyday new challenges come out, and as Tom Hall said earlier, some guy from Beijing has challenged to play Durrrr heads up, if he flies in tonight, i’ll keep everyone posted on what happens,” Stella Yeh writes.
Chau “La Key U” Giang won a €1,9 million pot when the “Chinese fellow” went all-in on turn with a full house, but Giang had a better full house with his set of aces. Board was J-J-T-A-3 and the “Chinese fellow” had A-J, and Giang had Aces. Talk about a bad beat here.
Will Dwan, Phil Ivey and the other players ever want to leave Macau?
Read more from here!
Source: Pokerista.net
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Chau “La Key U” Giang wins a 1,9 million euros pot in Macau!
Kim Fredericksen Leads NAPT Los Angeles After Day 1B
The second of two starting days in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour’s (NAPT) Los Angeles stop is in the books and Kim Fredericksen leads the survivors of Day 1B with a stack of 237,000. The final field size was 701 players, meaning that a top prize of $725,000 will be awarded.
One of the key pots of Day 1B on Saturday belonged to former UB.com pro Michael Binger, who held J-10 on a flop of 7-8-9 for the nuts. His opponents held pocket eights for middle set and 6-5 for the sucker end of the straight and Binger’s hand held to balloon up the leaderboard at the Bicycle Casino event. All told, he amassed the 13th largest Day 1B stack at 141,800.
Members of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine were out in full force over the weekend. On Friday, Soi Nguyen and Matt Jarvis failed to survive Day 1A. Yesterday, Michael Mizrachi and John Dolan were also cast away. The last November Niner standing in NAPT LA was Jason Senti, who finished seventh in the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event last week and was ousted late on Day 1B. None made Day 2 in Los Angeles.
Freedy Deeb was eliminated on Day 1B in a set-over-set situation. Also heading to the exit was PokerStars pro David Williams, whose A-K could not withstand A-Q. The flop came K-Q-5, keeping the former Bodog front man out in front, but another queen on the turn improved his opponent to trips. His opponent apologized for applying the bad beat and a disappointed Williams responded, “I don’t think you’re sorry, but you don’t have to be. You don’t have to apologize. We’re here to win.”
Jamie “thecronic420” Rosen sent Victor Ramdin away after flopping a boat with A-10 on a board of A-A-10. Ramdin held the case ace for trips and was promptly dispatched. Rosen bagged up nearly 90,000 chips after Day 1B, good for the 39th largest tally in the room.
Victory Poker pro Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, a former World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year, hit the rail at The Bike on Saturday after his A-J was well behind another player’s J-10 on a flop of J-10-3. No ace fell on the turn or river and Little came up empty-handed. He is fresh off a win in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary tournament during the Festa al Lago last month for $152,000.
As you might expect from a tournament sponsored by the world’s largest online poker site, there are a wealth of young internet hot shots remaining. Here’s how the top 10 looked at the end of Day 1B:
1. Kim Frederiksen – 237,000
2. Hafiz “hafizzle” Khan – 210,200
3. Blake Kelso – 207,500
4. David “Blue Knight4” Sesso – 200,000
5. Michael Kamran – 180,000
6. Cezary Swiech – 175,100
7. Getty Mattingsley – 173,800
8. Matthew Schulte – 167,200
9. Mike “SowersUNCC” Sowers – 151,400
10. John Smith – 151,200
Other players who remain and own top 50 chip stacks after Day 1B include:
13. Michael Binger – 141,800
16. Eric “sheets” Haber – 137,000
19. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 134,000
35. Brett Richey – 94,900
43. Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul – 84,300
46. Kathy Liebert – 81,300
48. Joe Cada – 78,900
The blinds stood at 500-1,000 when play concluded on Days 1A and 1B. Today’s action kicked off at 1:00pm PT and the field will slowly work toward the money bubble, which will burst when 104 players remain. The minimum payout in the $5,000 buy-in contest is $7,500 and the top six will walk away with six-figures.
Carbon Poker Bad Beat Jackpot Cracked for $156,000
While many sites may offer Bad Beat Jackpots, they are only memorable when someone walks away with a huge payout. On Thursday at Carbon Poker, the Bad Beat Jackpot was cracked, paying out very memorable money for those involved.
On the $0.50/$1 tables at Carbon Poker on Thursday, “dk2112” entered into a hand with pocket sevens. “dk2112” hid the hand nicely by limping in pre-flop and continued to slow play after the flop came 7-8-2 rainbow. “dk2112” called a bet from “Stingray57” and then faced a raise from “BlackOutBob,” which he called. Another seven on the turn made four of a kind for “dk2112,” yet he just called a $5 bet from “BlackOutBob,” and the duo saw a river eight. At this point, the fireworks went off.
“BlackOutBob” moved the remainder of his stack ($6.50) to the center of the table, which was met with a call from “dk2112.” The river eight made “BlackOutBob” quad eights and trumped “dk2112’s” turned four of a kind in sevens, setting off the Carbon Poker Bad Beat Jackpot.
While “BlackOutBob” took down the $55 pot, “dk2112” earned a massive payday of $156,402.63 for taking the bad beat. “BlackOutBob” picked up an additional $78,201.31 for being the winner of the hand and the five players also seated at the table took down $13,033.55.
“We are excited each time our Bad Beat Jackpot goes off,” Atil Singh, Head of Acquisitions at Carbon Poker, told Poker News Daily. “It has the power to possibly change the players’ lives, depending on the amount. The majority of the time, our Bad Beat Jackpot hits at the lower stakes, which give the players a huge boost. Our largest jackpot was over $1.2 million and we hope we can break this record in the near future.”
Players who sit at special Jackpot tables on the site build the Carbon Poker Bad Beat Jackpot. The bounty is seeded by taking $0.50 from every pot on these special tables and, when a player suffers a bad beat holding four of a kind in sevens or better, the jackpot is distributed.
The person who suffers the bad beat earns 35% of the Bad Beat Jackpot and the winner in the hand takes down 17.5%. Those players who watched the action – and are actively dealt to – share another 17.5%, while Carbon Poker takes a 10% maintenance fee and reseeds the Bad Beat Jackpot with 20% of the money that is available.
After the strike on Thursday, the Carbon Poker Bad Beat Jackpot has been reset, but there is still a sizeable stake out there. As of Saturday, the jackpot has grown to $100,904 and will continue to grow until it is struck again.
Carbon Poker is a part of the Merge Gaming Network, which includes such rooms as PokerHost and Lock Poker. The Merge Gaming Network accepts American players and, according to PokerScout.com, active cash game players will peak at around 1,400, offering ample competition for those on the virtual felt.
Full Tilt Poker Blocks Real Money Play from Washington State
In breaking news, Full Tilt Poker announced that it will no longer accept real money action from players in Washington State. The announcement follows a similar decision from PokerStars six weeks ago.
In an FAQ posted on its website, Full Tilt officials explained, “Due to recent legal developments, Full Tilt Poker has announced it will no longer provide real money games to players located within Washington State.” A law in the Northwest state makes playing online poker a Class C felony. Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Washington State Director Lee Rousso filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the statute, but the state’s Supreme Court upheld it in a September decision.
Washington residents will be permitted to play on Full Tilt if they’re outside of the Northwest State. Similarly, residents from jurisdictions other than Washington will not be allowed to fire up the virtual felts of Full Tilt for real money while they’re in the state. Affected players will be permitted to withdraw their balances from the world’s second largest online poker site. The law in Washington took shape in 2006 prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
For those players who still have tournament tickets and Tournament Dollars on Full Tilt, poker room officials explained the redemption process: “If you have any unused tournament tickets and T$ that you would like to convert to cash prior to withdrawal, please contact wa.state@fulltiltpoker.com. Please note that you must provide proof of Washington State residency.” Full Tilt Points can still be redeemed in the Store and Black Card members can continue to grab items from the Black Card Store. The only caveat for Washington State players is that cash bonuses and tournament tickets won’t be available for purchase.
If the law in Washington were to change by virtue of the state’s legislature passing a pro-internet gambling bill, then Black Card members can be reinstated for 100 days. In the meantime, in addition to being unable to participate in real money cash games on Full Tilt, players from the Evergreen State won’t be able to enter for-money tournaments like the Sunday Brawl and $750,000 Guaranteed.
To un-register from a tournament, click on the “Requests” menu and then select “Registered in Tournaments.” Full Tilt Poker won’t allow Washington State players to participate in upcoming tournaments even if they are already registered for them. However, the site will still keep its doors open for play money games on its dot-com and dot-net portals. In addition, freerolls will remain open for Washington State residents to enter.
Among those reacting to Full Tilt’s decision on Friday was Washington pro Matt Affleck, whose rotating sports jerseys for Seattle sports teams were featured heavily on ESPN’s broadcast of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Affleck Tweeted, “Sigh, Full Tilt Poker follows Stars’ lead and bans Washington State players… No idea what I’m going to do now.” Affleck finished 15th in the Main Event this year after suffering a bad beat at the hands of eventual winner Jonathan Duhamel. Last year, he took 80th.
Rousso argued that the statute making playing online poker a Class C felony violated the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. However, the Washington State Supreme Court argued that the law affected in-state and out-of-state internet gambling outfits equally and therefore did not trample on the Constitution. Rousso plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Watching the situation with a keen eye is UB.com‘s Paul Leggett, who told Poker News Daily, “We are reviewing the situation and will make a decision shortly based on a full and considered understanding of our legal advice.”
Also weighing in on Full Tilt’s blocking of real money wagers from Washington State was Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Board Member Rich Muny, who told Poker News Daily on Friday, “We’re all saddened for players to lose access to a site. It’s important to keep in mind that laws do have consequences and we’re here fighting for our rights at the local and state levels. Players can count on the PPA being in Washington State during the next legislative session to repeal this egregious law.”
RUNURAGGED Breaks Down UB.com Jackpot Win
Recently, one member of UB.com hit the jackpot, literally. “RUNURAGGED” earned $201,000 after quad queens cracked his quad nines to ignite the Bad Beat Jackpot on the CEREUS Network site. Poker News Daily caught up with “RUNURAGGED” to discuss the life-changing hand.
Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Tell us the bad beat story! What happened?
RUNURAGGED: I logged onto UB.com one morning to see that the Bad Beat Jackpot was over $550,000. I also saw that I had $0 on the site. I got my credit card and deposited $44 for a tournament they run everyday, the goal being to final table it and have a bankroll to play cash games. I was quite confident I could do this because it was $4,000 guaranteed and had about 150 runners. I finished in sixth place for $270 or so; there was my bankroll for $50nl short stacking.
I proceeded to take a break and logged back on at about 10:00pm. I opened up nine tables and put $10 on each to have lots of chances to hit and not run out of money before the Bad Beat Jackpot popped. I was playing away, folding most pairs under sevens since they do not qualify for the Jackpot if you lose with them, and picked up pocket nines under the gun in the bottom left-hand table. I shoved $10 and it folded to one of the blinds, who snap called with pocket queens.
The board ran out 9-9-X rainbow, so I flopped quad nines, but basically had no chance for a Bad Beat Jackpot except for the obvious runner-runner quads. I watched as the turn slowly came a queen and was thinking in my head, “Wow, I’ve had this happen before and the river came a brick. I bet that happens again.” The river came a queen.
It took my brain about 10 seconds to process that I had actually won, as the table froze once the Jackpot hit to calculate the prizes and determine that it was a legitimate hand. Within about five minutes, $201,000 was in my account and I was talking to a VIP host. He told me exactly what to do when I asked how to cash it out. He gave all of the methods to withdraw and asked me some questions about how I was feeling and stuff like that, which was pretty cool. I faxed my information to confirm who I was for security reasons and within two or three days, I was able to play, transfer, and withdraw with freedom except for the maximum limits.
PND: How incredible was that to have happen?
RUNURAGGED: I don’t even have the words to describe the feelings I had when I saw I had won. There was a large amount of swearing and shouting at Midnight. I woke everyone up and they were very excited to see the result. I’m only 22 years old and from a middle class home in Canada. This kind of money is absolutely unreal and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.
PND: Do you have any plans for the money?
RUNURAGGED: I’ll start making plans once I have it all in my bank account. The first successful bank wire went toward a new Alienware computer, paying off my credit card, getting a new leather office chair, and giving $7,000 to my mom for her credit cards and some extra cash for whatever small things she wants to buy. So, mostly it was just buying essentials and giving financial support to my family.
PND: Have you ever won a share of a Bad Beat Jackpot before?
RUNURAGGED: A stake-share happened to me a few times in the past, not even a table share though. I think I booked $600 one time when it went off when I was playing nine tables. That was pretty nice and I thought it was a lot of money.
PND: What stakes do you normally play? Why do you play on UB.com as opposed to other sites with Bad Beat Jackpots?
RUNURAGGED: I mostly play $0.50/$1 or $0.25/$0.50 if my bankroll is getting too small. I never had a huge bankroll to begin with and I’ve only been playing poker seriously for about two years, so it’s mostly just been playing for side money. I find UB.com to be by far the most actively played Bad Beat Jackpot on the internet. It can easily build itself up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per week. It makes sense to play there if you want to hit a Jackpot or at least get a portion of the prize when it goes off.
PND: Tell us about gunning for Bad Beat Jackpots. How can we win one?
RUNURAGGED: Generally, UB.com was not a site I frequented too often, but when I logged on to check it, which I do maybe once a week, I saw that there was a huge Bad Beat Jackpot approaching $600,000. When it’s over $500,000, it will hit eventually; it pretty much has to. Like a slot machine filled up to the brim, it’s designed to pay out a jackpot eventually once enough cash is collected.
I know it’s generally not the same mechanics, but it’s the same idea: if enough people play millions of poker hands, it has to happen eventually. I have never seen it go off above $880,000, so if you are going to try to hit it, play when it’s busy and very large. Of course, a Bad Beat Jackpot can hit when there are 75 players on at 3:00am on a Tuesday and it’s at $50,000. It’s completely random luck when it hits, but the variable chance that it hits will most certainly increase with more player activity on the site.
PND: How did you get started in poker?
RUNURAGGED: I got started messing around with online poker in late 2007 when I was 19. I asked my mom if I could play on PokerStars, as a fellow player in an online video game recommended the site to me. I put $50 online and lost it rather quickly in cash games. For the first six to 12 months, it was a learning process of figuring out what types of games I preferred: cash games, sit and gos, or tournaments. I was not very good at them all, but the sit and gos and tournaments were the easiest to win.
In the middle of 2009, I got lucky on Full Tilt Poker and binked a fourth place finish in a tournament for $7,600. I still remember that it was in a Mini Series of Poker event with a $55 buy-in. This basically funded a whole bunch of cool gadgets like an iPhone and computers. Plus, it allowed me to have a solid bankroll for low-stakes cash games.
Eventually, I got a bit better and profitable when I started using training videos and sites like DeucesCracked, CardRunners, TwoPlusTwo, and a private strategy forum with friends called UCP. They all helped me greatly since I’ve taken a serious approach to the game. About one year ago, I shifted mostly to cash games and a few tournaments and sit and gos. My greatest calling for a future career in poker is in mid-stakes cash games, which I consider to be true poker.
ESPN Coverage of the 2010 WSOP Main Event by Linda Johnson
I’ll admit it. I’m mesmerized by ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 WSOP Main Event. As I watched the Tuesday night episodes, I jotted down some thoughts on scrap paper so I could discuss my observations with some of my poker friends. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep the scraps of paper in any type of order, so here are some random thoughts and observations about the 2010 Main Event in no particular order.
The Staff
The WSOP staff did an incredible job of running the event. In fact, it was probably the best series ever. Tournament officials have a difficult job, but sometimes I have to scratch my head and say, “Really?”
For example, why was it not until day three that Ted Bort got a penalty for distracting and annoying his opponents by barking like a dog? Why did one of the Tournament Directors allow rabbit hunting several times when it is clearly against the rules? In fact, at one point, the Tournament Director even reached across the table and turned up a card after a player had folded. Really?
The Commentators
Norman Chad comes up with some good comments at times, such as these gems:
In response to Scotty Nguyen asking, “Where’s the closet bathroom?” Chad joked, “You’ve been playing here for years and you don’t know where the bathroom is?”
At one point, Bort got up and went to the corner of the room and let out a muffled bark. Chad’s response was, “His water bowl must be over there.”
After Chris Ferguson was eliminated, he stopped to say goodbye to one of his opponents. “Jesus just blessed seat five,” said Chad.
Chad said, “Johnny Chan has given each of his six children one of his bracelets and still has enough left for each of the Mizrachi brothers.”
Chad’s best line: “Under the gun is the new hijack.”
The Players
Kudos to WSOP Player of the Year Frank Kasella, who won two bracelets, made three final tables, and cashed five times. I believe it was Kasella who, during an interview about a particular hand, said, “I almost threw up in my shoe having to call that one. I bet $10,000 on the river holding pocket jacks on a board of 3-Q-9-7-Q and got raised $33,000. I made the call and beat my opponent’s 8-8.”
Phil Laak made a bet that wasn’t called and the players asked him what he had. He offered to show the hand for $20. Two opponents immediately put up $10 each and got to see the hand.
I love Tom Schneider’s outfits. Can you say loud?
Josh Arieh was all-in with A-K versus Dan Harrington‘s A-Q. Arieh was still in the lead on the turn and asked Harrington if he wanted to run it twice.
Jean-Robert Bellande has gotten unlucky the past few years at the feature table. This year fairly late in the tournament, his pocket aces got cracked by his opponent’s pocket kings when a king came on the river.
Nick Rainey reportedly played 16,000 sit and gos in one month.
Congratulations to Gavin Smith for cashing in four out of the last seven Main Events. That’s no easy feat with the size of the fields.
Johnny Chan made an amazing run at the title again this year. On day six, he was one of the chip leaders, got moved to a new table, and was dealt pocket kings against one of the other chip leaders, who was dealt pocket aces. Soon after, he was dealt pocket jacks against pocket aces.
I loved the story about Gary Kostiuk, who suffers with MS. In his interview feature, he said that playing in the Main Event was on his bucket list. He was living the dream and loving his experience. At one point when he was all-in with A-9 versus his opponent’s A-10, he said, “I don’t want to stop playing; I’m having too much fun.” He survived the all-in. After he got knocked out, he said it had been the best week of his life.
At one point, a statistic appeared that Matt Affleck had played 33% of the hands dealt (19% was average). I’m sure we all felt his pain when he got his aces cracked just short of the final table.
Fukke Beukers was my favorite name of any player in the Main Event.
The advice from Johnny Chan should be remembered: “Never underestimate your opponents.”
Sometimes poker can be so cruel. For instance, with only 120 players left, Tony Dunst got his aces cracked by A-Q. Joseph Cheong took a horrible beat in a $25 million pot with pocket aces against Filippo Candio‘s 7-5 after all the money went all-in on a 6-6-5 flop. Candio made a straight on the river. Neither of the players whined or complained about their beats.
Scotty Nguyen is a great player. He made another deep run, but got eliminated with pocket jacks by an opponent holding pocket tens.
Andy Bloch gave some great poker advice in his featured interview. He said, “You can’t lose focus. Don’t let all the chips in the middle cause you to make a mistake.” He talked about a hand he played against Mike Sexton in which a queen came on the end to give him two pair. He made a value bet and was facing a huge raise by Sexton. He thought a long time before folding and said, “The chances that he could be bluffing were worse than the odds that the pot was laying me.”
Congratulations to the four Mizrachi brothers who cashed in the Main Event. I enjoyed seeing how they sweat each other and cheered for each other.
General Observations
The young players are scary. They keep the pressure on and aren’t afraid to 3bet and 4bet with nothing.
3% of the Main Event entrants were women in 1990, the same percentage as this year.
I hate it when a player knocks someone out and then says, “I’m sorry.” If you put a bad beat on someone, my first suggestion is that you stay quiet. If you must say something, a comment like “Tough beat” is more appropriate than “I’m sorry.”
The Main Event really is a young person’s game. Out of the final 366 players, 205 were in their 20s and only 25 were over 50.
I liked the Full Tilt ads that were shown on one episode highlighting the November Nine players. Apparently the ads were pulled because there were a lot of complaints from viewers that they were “spoilers.”
Some of the players are wearing so many patches that they look like NASCAR drivers. Being on the Board of Directors of the Poker Players Alliance, I was particularly happy to see so many players wearing the PokerPlayersAlliance.org patch.
Many players are superstitious. For instance, Filippo Candio wore the same shirt every day. He said his routine was to get up at 11:20, have coffee, and take a cab to the Rio at 11:30 (Hmmm, when did he take a shower?).
I hate that television rewards players who behave badly by featuring some of them in breakout interviews.
In closing, ESPN and the media deserve kudos for doing a great job of recording the events of the 2010 World Series of Poker. I’m sure this year’s stellar coverage will encourage more attendance next year.
Ultimate Bet Bad Beat Jackpot hit for over $100,000
Kurt Jewell Wins Largest WSOP Circuit Championship Event Ever
Outlasting the largest championship event field in the history of the World Series of Poker Circuit’s (WSOPC) history, Kurt Jewell dominated at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.
The $1,500 tournament started on Friday, drawing the crème of the Chicago area poker scene. An outstanding 872 players came to the felt for the tournament, with 90 participants walking away with some cash for their efforts. Each player was seeking a $242,090 payday for first, a WSOPC championship ring, a seat at the $10,000 Regional Championship, and a seat in the National Championship tournament in May in Las Vegas.
After two days of 12-plus hours at the Horseshoe, the final table was determined, with Jewell holding a commanding lead over his tablemates. Jewell held 6.8 million chips, almost tripling the stacks of Edwin Choi (2.6 million, second place) and Corey Souther (2.3 million, third place). Jewell held over one-third of the chips in play.
With such a large stack, Jewell could afford to sit back and avoid much of the early carnage. He watched as Choi dispatched Casey Hayes in ninth place and Jared Kenworthy knocked out Daniel Cohen in eighth. The most well known professional at the final table, 2010 WSOPC Rincon champion Bryan Devonshire, would then go out in what was a devastating bad beat.
“Devo,” a UB.com pro, would make the action 170,000 to go from the big blind after Choi had completed his small blind, only to see Choi pop him back for an additional 395,000. Devonshire moved the remainder of his stack into the center and Choi tanked for several minutes before deciding to call. Devonshire, holding pocket kings, looked to be a huge favorite to double up, as Choi showed only a suited 8-2, but the flop would completely reverse the players’ fortunes. An 8-4-2 flop moved Choi into the lead on the hand and, once the turn and river blanked, a stunned Devonshire was eliminated in seventh place.
With the players returned from the dinner break, Jewell had fallen from first place. Choi and William Reynolds had eclipsed the once monster stack of Jewell, but he was within shooting distance of the new leaders. When the action reached four players, Jewell would once again assume the lead after flopping a set of queens against Choi’s A-Q to double up.
Choi and Jewell would continue to fight for the chip lead, but both would give fuel to the effort of Reynolds. Each player took a turn doubling up Reynolds and then Jewell gave back-to-back double ups to Choi. As the tournament worked into the early morning hours on Monday, the championship of the WSOPC Hammond was anyone’s to grab.
Choi’s card choice began to catch up with him as the hour turned late. After Jewell put in a 380,000 bet pre-flop, Choi moved all-in for his 2.85 million stack. After deliberating for several minutes, Kenworthy called all-in for less and Jewell folded. Kenworthy turned up pocket nines, while Choi could only muster a suited 9-6. After an uneventful board, Kenworthy doubled to over four million; Choi was crippled and departed the final table in fourth moments later.
After Jewell knocked off Reynolds in third place, he and Kenworthy were left to determine the champion. Jewell held over 12 million in chips to Kenworthy’s five million, but the twosome took over an hour to crown a champ. Although Kenworthy was able to close the gap to nearly even at one point, he never took the lead. On the final hand, Kenworthy was once again looking to double up with an A-Q against Jewell’s Q-J, but fate would fall in Jewell’s favor. Kenworthy held the edge through the 10-5-4-2 flop and turn, but a jack on the river gave the championship to Jewell.
1st Place: Kurt Jewell (Frankfort, KY) – $242,909
2ndPlace: Jared Kenworthy (Excelsior Springs, MO) – $150,104
3rd Place: William Reynolds (Sioux City, IA) – $110,567
4th Place: Edwin Choi (Bolingbrook, IL) – $82,414
5th Place: Nick Jivkov (River Grove, IL) – $62,384
6th Place: Corey Souther (United States) – $47,772
7th Place: Bryan Devonshire (Henderson, NV) – $37,047
8th Place: Daniel Cohen (Wilmette, IL) – $29,087
9th Place: Casey Hayes (Demotte, IN) – $23,120
Jewell’s victory will put him in the field for the start of today’s first Regional Championship event at the Horseshoe. The $10,000 tournament, which will be televised on the Versus network in 2011, has drawn a competitive field with such professionals in attendance as Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee, Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul, Chad Brown, Allen Kessler, Matt “All In At 420″ Stout, Vanessa Selbst, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Jonathan Little, Jeff Madsen, and Kathy Liebert, among others.
BLOG – Matt Perry makes final table
Tags: bad beat
The PartyPoker Weekly: Gladiator Returns, Tony G Swaps His Cards and The $2,500 Deposit Freeroll Closes Soon
Frankenberger Fights For Two at WPT Festa Final
The New York stock trader turned poker player took down the WPT Legends of Poker main event in Los Angeles this August and now has a chance to sure up his WPT Player of the Year lead and add another $831,500 first-place prize to his ever-growing bankroll.
However, Frankenberger said he's not sure if the experience he gained at Legends will help or hurt.
"I would say yes except last time I was the new guy and my inexperience didn't hurt me, so I really don't think so," he said. "Poker is a funny thing. Sometimes more experience can hurt you. When you've had a bad beat sometimes you're afraid to do something again you shouldn't be afraid of.
"That's why Im not so sure. I definitely have more understanding of what's to come and the emotional roller coaster that it is, but its never easy."
The final six at Festa certainly won't be easy.
Frankenberger comes in fourth in chips with Randal Flowers, who became the youngest WPT title holder in history when he took down the WPT Spanish Championship in 2009, leading the way.
WPT and WSOP final tablist Noah Schwartz, online pro Jason "NovaSky" Koon, Skip Wilson, a veteran of four WSOP final tables, and 2009 Caesars Palace Classic runner-up Michael Benvenuti round out the final six.
Rather than the cards or the competition, Frankenberger said his desire to taste from the cup of victory again could prove the biggest stumbling block.
"I think the worst thing that I have going for me right now is that I know how great it feels to win and I want it badly," he said. "It's not good to want it too bad. If you want it too bad, you might start playing differently. I try to keep that in mind now, but I still want it bad."
335 players entered the event creating a $3,249,500 prize pool with $831,500 set aside for first.
The final will begin at 4 p.m. PT Wednesday.
For coverage from the floor at Bellagio, tune in to PokerListings' WPT Live Updates.
Here's how they'll stack up coming in:
1 Randall Flowers 3,215,000
2 Noah Schwartz 3,135,000
3 Jason Koon 2,555,000
4 Andy Frankenberger 1,935,000
5 Michael Benvenuti 1,390,000
6 Skip Wilson 1,200,000
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BLOG – The Journalist Challenge with MyPokerLab
Tags: bad beat
Second Semifinal of Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship Airs on GSN
On Saturday, the second and last semifinal of the Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship aired on GSN. The one-hour episode featured four teams vying for the two remaining spots at the series’ final table. Phil Ivey and Chris Ferguson began with 350,000 in chips, the lowest total of the group, while Erick Lindgren and Johnny Chan, the season’s points leaders, started with 630,000. Other teams at the table included Tony G and David Benyamine (410,000 in chips) and Phil Galfond and Annette Obrestad (530,000 in chips).
Players accumulated 5,000 in chips for every point generated during the regular season. Teammates alternate action by street on the Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship, which features David Tuchman and Brandon Adams on the call. Full Tilt Poker’s Lacey Jones provides commentary from the floor of the makeshift poker room at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas.
In the first major pot of the episode, Ivey moved all-in with K-J on a flop of 6-10-J with two hearts for top pair. Obrestad made the call and tabled 10-9 of hearts for middle pair and a flush draw, but two black cards on the turn and river secured the double up for Ivey and Ferguson, who became the new chip leaders. The duo won a three-way tiebreaker to claim their seat in the Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship semifinals.
Ivey and Ferguson’s new influx of chips would quickly evaporate, however. Ferguson called the all-in of Galfond with A-J and “OMGClayAiken” tabled pocket sixes to set up a race. This time, the pocket pair held when Galfond and Obrestad found a set on the flop, leaving Ivey and Ferguson drawing dead to the river. Obrestad and Galfond promptly handed over a chunk of their stack to Lindgren and Chan, who drew out on pocket tens with pocket fours. A four on the turn left Obrestad and Galfond drawing to two outs on the river, which was an eight.
After the bad beat, Obrestad and Galfond’s run finally came to an end. The youngest players at the table were all-in with 10-7 before the flop and up against Ivey and Ferguson’s A-5. Ivey auto-called with the hand and then flopped top pair. Obrestad and Galfond failed to make the Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship finale and exited in fourth place.
Lindgren raised to 60,000 before the flop with K-Q and Ivey moved all-in over the top with A-9. Lindgren called all-in and the board came 10-J-10-7-8, sending his team away in third place. The two remaining teams, while assured a spot in the finals, played on for a larger starting chip stack. The winning semifinal team would enter the final with 600,000 in chips, while the runner-ups would get just 400,000.
Small ball was the name of the game heads-up. On the final hand, Benyamine peeked down at A-J of diamonds and made it 110,000. Ferguson picked up pocket tens and moved all-in; Benyamine called to put Ivey and Ferguson at risk. The flop of 2-K-3 provided no help to Benyamine and Tony G, but an ace on the turn catapulted the team into the lead. Tony G, a PartyPoker pro, triumphantly yelled “Ace from space” when the card hit. The river was a four and Tony G and Benyamine emerged victorious from the second semifinal.
Joining Ivey, Ferguson, Tony G, and Benyamine in the finals will be Allen Cunningham, Huck Seed, Phil Gordon, and Howard Lederer. Cunningham and Seed and Tony G and Benyamine will start with 600,000 in chips, while Gordon and Lederer and Ivey and Ferguson will have 400,000. You can catch the conclusion of the Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship this Saturday at 9:00pm ET on GSN.
Nick Schulman Featured on MTV’s World of Jenks
On Monday night, the new MTV series “World of Jenks” featured an in-depth look at the tumultuous life of poker pro Nick Schulman. After winning the 2005 World Poker Tour (WPT) Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $2.1 million, Schulman blew through his bankroll in just a year.
Yesterday’s installment of “World of Jenks,” a documentary featuring young host Andrew Jenks, began in Las Vegas for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). With the Main Event just days away, Schulman, his girlfriend, and others discussed the upcoming $10,000 buy-in tournament. Schulman relayed, “It always trips me out that someone is going to win the tournament and they don’t even know it.” This year’s Main Event will shell out a top prize of nearly $9 million when it resumes in four weeks.
Back in Schulman’s Las Vegas hotel room, he battled with John “World” Hennigan in Chinese Poker. At the same time, he hit the felts of his home site, Full Tilt Poker, and took down a $10,000 pot. Hennigan and Schulman also forged a prop bet centered on throwing playing cards into an ice bucket across the room.
The party then moved to B.J.’s Cocktail Lounge, where round after round of Southern Comfort was ordered. Among those in attendance was former WPT champ Daniel Alaei, who dropped $1,500 in a game of roshambo. The next day, Jenks explored Las Vegas while Schulman played poker and won $34,000. The pro candidly explained, “If you look at the money, poker’s probably not for you.”
After primarily focusing on the high life of poker players, “World of Jenks” dove into Schulman’s dark side. He used to have major anxiety attacks in school and promptly dropped out. He also noted that he still suffers from attacks when he’s alone, especially at night. However, poker provided him with a sanctuary from his anxiety, likely a reason that he chose to become a staple of the industry.
Schulman and Jenks then flew to London to tape a poker television show. The one-day trip ended with Schulman taking third in the event in which the top two moved on. Visibly upset, Schulman admitted, “The losses stick with me and the wins just evaporate.” While in London, Schulman told Jenks how he lost over $2 million following his breakthrough victory at Foxwoods: “I was a maniac. Every day, I just wanted to be in action… It’s like rags to riches to rags, fast.”
Back in Sin City, Schulman bled chips in the Main Event. In a critical hand, the Full Tilt Poker pro picked up pocket kings and moved all-in on a queen-high board after the turn. His opponent flipped over A-Q, but another queen on the river sent Schulman packing. Schulman explained his mindset following the bad beat: “It’s just depressing. When the World Series is over, it’s another year until it starts again.”
In the closing scene of the half-hour episode, Jenks and Schulman cruised the Nevada desert in a convertible. Schulman told viewers, “If poker doesn’t go as I envision, I think I’ll walk away from the game… It’s exhausting and it doesn’t feel like a lifelong thing for me.” In the closing credits, it was revealed that he’s currently taking a break from the game by traveling across the United States with his brother.
Schulman returned to the World Poker Finals feature table in 2007, where he was the runner-up to Michael Vela and banked $864,000. In 2009, Schulman earned his first WSOP bracelet in the 2-7 Lowball World Championship, defeating a final table that included John Juanda, David Benyamine, and Ville Wahlbeck. This year, he finished ninth in the $50,000 Player’s Championship and took seventh in the HORSE Championship for a combined $231,000.
Watch the entire episode of “World of Jenks” featuring Schulman by clicking here.
Tags: 2009, 2010, bad beat, David Benyamine, full tilt poker, poker player, tournament, trips, vegas, WSOP
Poker and the Availability Heuristic
I’m afraid of the ocean. I love to swim; in fact, I was a pool lifeguard for years and still swim laps three times a week, but the ocean freaks me out. I tell people it’s because it’s dirty, crowded, and polluted, but if I’m being honest, there’s one other reason why I resist going into open water.
Jaws.
It’s one of my all-time favorite movies, but it pretty much ruined the ocean for me forever. And I’m not the only one – after the film’s premiere in 1975, there was a noticeable drop in tourism in many beachfront communities. It turns out that people would prefer not getting eaten by a giant killer shark on a vacation with the kids.
According to Wikipedia, guess how many fatal shark attacks there have been in the last six years in the United States? Three. That’s half a person eaten per year (pun definitely intended). Compare that to the roughly 300,000 deaths in fatal car accidents during that same period! And yet I climb into my car every day without a second thought, but the ocean gives me a case of the screaming willies.
There’s a psychological phenomenon behind this and if you bear with me, I’ll show you its relevance to poker. It’s called the Availability Heuristic and it says that the more easily an event is recalled in our memory, the more frequently we assume it occurs. In the case of Jaws, I can remember with extraordinary detail the grisly deaths and panic of a shark attack. My brain takes the ease with which I remember the event and erroneously concludes that sharks attack people more often than they really do.
The brain is actually pretty bad at assessing risk and probabilities, so it takes shortcuts based on direct experience. If your parents split up, you probably think the divorce rate is higher than someone whose parents stayed together. If your grandfather drank 15 martinis a day, but lived to be one-hundred, you probably think that alcohol has only minor health risks. And if you were the victim of a violent crime, you might think there are criminals down every alley and side street. News reports of bizarre, sensational crimes also distort our perception of what really happens out in the world.
So what does this have to do with poker? Let’s switch from sharks to fish…
I can remember with great clarity the worst beats I’ve ever taken at the poker table and I bet you can too. The adrenaline, stakes, and crushing disappointment helped sear the memory into my mind like a cattle brand. Given the ease with which we can recall those beats, the Availability Heuristic tricks us into thinking that bad beats happen more frequently to us than they really do. Objectively speaking, you’re only getting drawn out on as often as pot equities and probability dictate. But man, it sure feels like it happens all the time!
The important thing to remember here is that it’s an illusion. The universe doesn’t hate you and you aren’t being singled out to receive an unfair number of bad beats. You can prove this to yourself through detailed record keeping. Over a large enough sample size, your Holdem Manager or PokerTracker stats should show that you’re not running significantly worse or better than anyone else. Trust the numbers and beware of the serpent in your head hissing that you’re an unlucky player.
So now you’re aware of the problem and hopefully can minimize its effects on your perception of the game. Are there ways that we can exploit this tendency in our opponents? Absolutely.
To maximize our profits at the table, game theory dictates that we should be mixing in enough bluffs with our value bets (and vice versa) so as to remain unpredictable to our opponents. If a shove on the river always means we have it, an opponent can confidently fold to every shove and we lose value. Likewise, if a shove on the river is always a bluff, an opponent can confidently call with virtually any reasonable holding and, again, we lose value. But mixing up our play puts our opponents to a much tougher decision; putting our opponents to tough decisions is how we profit.
But if the Availability Heuristic says that we often mistakenly assume that easily remembered events happen more frequently than they do, then if we can somehow make our opponents remember some big crazy bluffs, we actually don’t have to bluff very often to reap the benefits.
We call it “advertising,” which is when professional makes a big bluff and then shows it to the table, making them remember it. Then, the pro can sit back and play a tight, solid game while benefiting from the illusion that he’s a maniac. And it’s all due to the Availability Heuristic.
Years ago on “High Stakes Poker,” “Yukon” Brad Booth pushed Phil Ivey off of kings with four-high and a gutshot straight draw. He made a 10x raise to $300,000, forcing Phil to fold his overpair. Interestingly, Brad didn’t show his monster bluff to the table –he didn’t have to. They were on TV and he knew that each and every one of those players would eventually see that he shipped it with the nut low.
Even better, he knew that tens of thousands of poker players around the world would also see that he shipped it with the nut low. I certainly remember that hand and bet a lot of other people do too. In one instant, Brad cemented his image as a crazy person in our minds and has likely been cashing in on it for years by getting called down light. It’s a questionable game play, but a brilliant meta-game strategy.
If you find you’re getting too much respect at the tables by the observant regulars, try making a gigantic, crazy bluff. And I’m not talking about shipping it with flush, straight, and overcard outs. I’m talking about getting it in for 200 big blinds pre-flop with 9-3 offsuit. If you draw out on the guy, it’s a bonus. But even if you don’t, I guarantee you that the regulars will immediately open up their notes on you and record the hand so they can recall it more easily the next time you play.
Which is exactly what you want.
Matias Knaapinen Captures European Masters of Poker Barcelona Championship
While most of the poker world’s attention is on the action in London, the European Masters of Poker (EMOP) Circuit crowned its latest champion at its stop in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday.
The €1,000 (plus €100 juice) tournament took place over the weekend at the Gran Casino Barcelona, drawing the largest field in the history of the EMOP circuit. 431 runners showed up between the two Day Ones of the tournament, building an impressive prize pool that hit €431,000, or slightly more than USD $580,000.
Through the EMOP’s partnership with the Entraction Network, many in the field had made their way to Barcelona for less than the €1,000 buy-in. For every event of the EMOP, such rooms as 24hPoker.com, C4A.com, NoIQPoker.com, Pokerihuone.com, and Pokerdassi.com offer opportunities for their players to enter the championship tournaments. These online qualifiers start for as low as €2 or 200 VIP points. Unfortunately, no American action is allowed on the Entraction Network.
Sunday evening saw the 431 player field whittled down to the final table, which held the traditional nine players. Holding the chip lead was Denmark’s Damir Horozic, with both the Ukraine’s Oleksandr Sharov and Finland’s Matias Knaapinen in close pursuit. The players didn’t waste any time in getting to the game on Sunday night, with a competitor eliminated on the very first hand of play.
On that first hand, Sharov opened the action, only to see Horozic move his stack to the center of the table. Sharov called of the remainder of his stack and tabled pocket Jacks, which were racing against Horozic’s A-Q. Sharov faded the flop (K-10-5) and turn (7), but was cruelly beaten by a river Queen. After coming to the Gran Casino Barcelona at the start of play on Sunday as the chip leader, Sharov had to settle for a ninth place finish in the tournament.
With his newfound chips, Horozic kept the pressure on his opponents. On the very next hand after beating Sharov, Horozic made another bet that allowed the Dane to show his pocket tens. He bumped Sweden’s Viktor Olsson from the table in seventh to maintain his presence as the chip leader, but Horozic would soon face a challenge from Holland’s Lennart Konst.
Over a span of a couple of hours, Konst was able to wrench the chip lead from Horozic, leading to an inevitable clash between the two. With five players remaining, Konst made a move from the big blind, moving his leading stack to the center of the table. Horozic made an immediate call, tabling Big Slick. Konst somewhat sheepishly showed only a 10-8 to go to war with. The 9-8-6 rainbow flop brought salvation to Konst and, once the remainder of the board ran dry, eliminated Horozic in fifth place via the bad beat.
After five hours of play, Konst still held a healthy lead. Even after doubling up Knaapinen on the 71st hand of play, he still held a 1.5 million chip lead over Knaapinen and Ireland’s Sean Prendiville. When Prendiville found himself sitting with pocket eights three-handed, he moved all-in and was looked up by Knaapinen, who held the higher pair with pocket tens. Since no eight came, Prendiville was out in the third slot.
When heads-up play commenced, Konst and Knaapinen were nearly even in chips. After 20 minutes of play, Knaapinen was able to establish some space in a key hand that saw Konst put a great deal of his chips in on the flop and turn. Konst originally re-raised Knaapinen’s pre-flop bet of 160,000 to 480,000 and, after checking the Q-7-2 flop, fired a 1.88 million chip bet. Instead of just calling, Knaapinen moved all-in and put Konst to a decision. After agonizing over the call, Konst released his hand and, with only 1.11 million left, was now at a nearly 7-1 disadvantage to Knaapinen.
The duo danced around for the next 30 hands as Knaapinen looked for the right moment to vanquish his worthy foe. On Hand 109, Knaapinen moved all-in with pocket threes, with Konst making the call with a hearts-suited Q-J. Two hearts came on the flop, leaving Konst drawing twice to 15 outs to get back in the tournament. Once Konst fanned on both the turn and the river, Mattias Knaapinen became the latest champion of the EMOP.
1st – Matias Knaapinen (Finland) €93,000
2nd – Lennart Konst (Holland) €56,200
3rd – Sean Prendiville (Ireland) €37,150
4th – Matti Konttinen (Finland) €23,320
5th – Damir Horozic (Denmark) €18,570
6th – Carlos Egea (Spain) €14,250
7th – Viktor Olsson (Sweden) €12,520
8th – Dermot Blain (Ireland) €10,800
9th – Oleksandr Sharov (Ukraine) €9,070
Knaapinen joins Vladimir Mefodichev, Maciej Lipny, Timothy Timotheuo, Giovanni Suetra, and Manig Loser as the champions during the second season of the EMOP. The tour will be moving on to its seventh and final stop, the €1,500 (plus €150) buy-in EMOP Main Event at the Casino de Venezia, Malta, which will take place from November 17th to 20th. Online qualifications though the Entraction Network are currently running for the Malta tournament.
IPN Bad Beat Jackpot €500k and rising
Sam Trickett Wins PartyPoker World Open VI
Chalk up one for the young guns of poker. Twenty-four year-old Sam Trickett of the United Kingdom took down the sixth PartyPoker World Open, banking $200,000. The tournament played out last week from the Palm Beach Casino in London.
Trickett has been on a tear in 2010. In June, he was the runner-up to Jason DeWitt in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event held during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $505,000. That tournament saw Jeff “yellowsub” Williams finish in third and DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija take fifth for $328,000 and $179,000, respectively.
Then, Trickett bubbled the final table of the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event at the WSOP for $141,000. In August, Trickett was up to his winning ways once again, this time finishing fourth in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Vilamoura, Portugal. That showing was worth $177,000 and, when combined with Friday’s PartyPoker World Open VI win, gives him four six-figure cashes in the last three months.
On the final hand of the tournament, Trickett moved all-in on a board of A-5-10-2-9 with 10-9 for two pair and Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko called all-in with A-4. Trickett told PartyPoker officials following the tournament’s conclusion, “To finally win a big tournament is brilliant. It is great to hear people saying congratulations rather than commiserations. After doubling up very early, I felt I was always in control, but had a feeling that if I got heads-up it would be against Yevgeniy Timoshenko.”
Trickett doubled up with pocket kings against Dale Hoy’s pocket eights early on and Hoy was sent packing shortly thereafter at the hands of Victory Poker’s Andrew “good2cu” Robl. Hoy’s seventh place showing was worth $15,000. Then, Robl was eliminated in particularly stunning fashion. He pushed all-in with pocket nines on a board of Q-9-Q-5-9 for quads and Toby Lewis made the call with pocket queens to have him crushed. In any cash game, this would have triggered a bad beat jackpot.
EPT founder John Duthie was bounced in fifth place after an untimely shove with 9-5, as Trickett woke up with pocket queens to send the veteran packing. Then, it was Juha Helppi’s witching hour after his Q-6 could not draw out on Lewis’ A-7. Helppi flopped a queen to take a temporary lead in the hand, but Lewis turned an ace to move ahead for good.
In his final hand, Lewis 5bet all-in pre-flop with A-7 of spades and Timoshenko made the call with A-J. The flop came 2-4-3, potentially setting up a split pot, and a second spade on the turn gave Lewis additional outs to a flush. However, a red ace hit on the river to give Timoshenko the win in the hand and set up heads-up play. Lewis received $75,000 for third place; Trickett had a 3:2 edge in chips to start heads-up action and never looked back.
Here were the results from the seven-handed final table of the PartyPoker World Open VI:
1. Sam Trickett – $200,000
2. Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko – $110,000
3. Toby Lewis – $75,000
4. Juha Helppi – $35,000
5. John Duthie – $25,000
6. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – $20,000
7. Dale Hoy – $15,000
For Timoshenko, the runner-up showing in the PartyPoker World Open VI marked the latest feather in his cap in what has already been a tremendously successful career. Timoshenko won the Asian Poker Tour’s Macau Main Event in 2008 for $500,000. Last year, he took down the World Poker Tour Championship for $2.1 million and followed that up with a win in the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Main Event for another $1.7 million.
Visit PartyPoker to relive all of the action from the latest cycle of the World Open.
Poker News in Brief: Sep. 6-12
Add in some high stakes action, the UKIPT heading to Ireland and the Partouche Poker Tour setting its own November Nine and it was a busy week in the PokerListings news room.
A few stories may have slipped through the cracks, but we've gathered them below in our regular Poker News in Brief feature.
This week, the WCOOP main event gets the biggest guarantee ever, Boxing legend Evander Holyfield hits the felt, UB's bad beat jackpot is claimed and more.
$2 Million for WCOOP Champ
PokerStars is now offering a record-breaking guaranteed payout to the winner of this year’s World Championship of Online Poker main event.
The 2010 WCOOP main event champion will walk away with a guaranteed $2 million payday, the largest first-place prize for an online poker tournament in history.
The $5,200 two-day main event begins Sep. 26.
Last year Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko won the title and $1,715,200 first-place prize.
High Heels Heads West
The first all women’s poker tour launched on the East Coast, is headed west.
The High Heels Poker Tour will hit the Wildhorse Resort Casino in Pendleton, Oregon. The Nov. 8 for its $165 Fall Round Up Ladies No-Limit Hold’em event.
For more information, including dates, times and buy-ins go to www.highheelspokertour.com.
Still The Champ
Evander Holyfield won the celebrity 'Beat the Champ' poker tournament live at Poker in the Park in London this week.
London's Leicester Square played host to thousands of fans attending Europe's largest poker festival including one Midlands man who got the chance to take on the former Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World on the felt.
"It's like fighting," Holyfield explained. "If you want to win you have to focus and prepare and that's exactly what I did for this tournament, just like I do for any challenge." Leif G. won his way into the tournament through RealDealPoker.com.
Bad Beat?
A Ferris, Texas woman lost with quads, but won $218,115 in Bad Beat Jackpot money on UB this week.
KAPPIT saw her four nines crushed by CJBV’s quad queens at a $0.25/0.50 table, triggering the payday.
For his part, CJBV picked up $109,057.85 while the seven other players banked at least $1,000 just for being there.
Plus 610 others grabbed $89.36 because they were playing the same limit.
"I've been playing Poker for 45 years now, mostly live poker, and I hit a jackpot once in a land-based Casino, but this is the biggest prize I've ever got,” she said. “Keep those jackpots coming UB... Dreams do come true."
Full Tilt Sponsors MMA Series
Full Tilt Poker is putting its name on the Bellator Fighting Championships.
Now in its third season, the Bellator Fighting Championships is a continuing series of televised World Class Mixed Martial Arts presented in a tournament format.
This week marked the first of eight nationally and internationally televised Bellator events sponsored by Full Tilt.
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Tags: 2010, bad beat, buy-ins, full tilt poker, high stakes, jackpot, ladies, no-limit, Online Poker, pokerstars, tournament, usa, woman, women
The Nightly Turbo: PartyPoker World Open Update, Huge Bad Beat Jackpot Awarded, and More
Veteran Texas Poker Player Cracks UB.com Bad Beat Jackpot For Over $200K
A 60 year old Ferris, Texas woman is the latest person to capture the UB.com Bad Beat Jackpot, taking down a sizeable six-figure payday.
Early Tuesday evening, “KAPPIT” took to the felt of the $0.25/$0.50 UB.com Bad Beat Jackpot tables, not knowing that this would be a “good news, bad news” night for her. After making a seemingly unbeatable four of a kind in nines, “KAPPIT” continued on to attempt to take the hand down. It wasn’t until an opponent stuck with her to the river that the hand would take a seemingly unfortunate turn.
After tabling her four nines, “KAPPIT” was looked up by “CIBV,” who trumped her holding by tabling quad queens. On the UB.com tables at that level, the payout per hand averages between $4 and $11, but it was about to get much richer for all players involved.
At the time, the UB.com Bad Beat Jackpot was at $670,575.38, with several hundred people eligible to share in the bounty. For being defeated with her quad nines, “KAPPIT” was awarded a payday of $218,115.71 and – in addition to what was won for holding the quad queens – “CIBV” took down a healthy $109,057.85 for his winning hand. Seven players at the table were gifted with $1,000 for just being there and an additional 610 players received $89.36 for playing at the same stakes as “KAPPIT” and “CIBV.”
“I’ve been playing poker for 45 years now, mostly live poker, and I hit a jackpot once in a land-based casino,” “KAPPIT” said to UB.com after being awarded the Bad Beat Jackpot. “This is the biggest prize I’ve ever gotten, though. Hats off to UB Poker. It was ‘SO’ my lucky day to capture the Bad Beat Jackpot. It looks like our dream of trading off our 1995 truck will finally happen. Keep those jackpots coming UB… dreams do come true.”
UB.com, a part of the CEREUS Poker Network with sister site Absolute Poker, is one of the stalwarts in the online poker industry when it comes to offering such Bad Beat Jackpots. Since the program was launched on the network, thousands of players have shared in a total of $58,114,636.59 in jackpot money. The Bad Beat Jackpot can only be won by players on the specially designated tables, of which there are hundreds that stretch from the $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold’em level up to $5/$10.
This year alone, 63 players have won a Bad Beat Jackpot, with “KAPPIT’s” win shooting the grand total of this year’s Bad Beat Jackpot prize money to a massive total of $9,328,292.80. Along with the players who have won the main Jackpot, the CEREUS Poker Network has passed out other smaller Bad Beat Jackpot prizes to another 11,082 players.
Even though “KAPPIT’s” big payday occurred on Tuesday, the CEREUS Network Bad Beat Jackpot is on the move once again. Of the $670,575.38 that was hit on Tuesday, 25% was rolled over to start the next jackpot, meaning that $167,643.85 was in the pot. The CEREUS Bad Beat Jackpot currently is sitting at $237,355.84 as of early Thursday afternoon.
Poker News Daily would like to congratulate “KAPPIT,” “CIBV,” and the hundreds of players who were fortunate to take down their piece of the CEREUS Network Bad Beat Jackpot.