Poker News

Tiffany Michelle Talks Politics on Fox Business Network

If someone would have asked you who you thought would be a good person to appear on a national news program to discuss politics, we're guessing that UB.com's Tiffany Michelle would have been way down your list.  Sure enough, however, Michelle was Neil Cavuto's guest Tuesday on his Fox Business Network show, "Cavuto," comparing President Barack Obama's persistence with his health care plan to a poker player playing bad cards.

In the five-minute conversation, titled "Obama Making a Bad Bet?" on the Fox Business website, there was no debate on whether the proposed health care reform plan was good; it was simply assumed it was bad and that the majority of Americans are against it.  Cavuto's interview consisted of repeatedly asking Michelle to compare the President's health care efforts to playing poor hands.  For her part, Michelle came off fairly well, indulging Cavuto by using poker metaphor after poker metaphor to describe Obama's health care reform strategy.

Some tidbits:

Neil Cavuto: Taking a look at what the President's doing… a good gambler, I understand, or someone who bets a lot, understands, or thinks, that he or she has a good hand.  Am I right?
Tiffany Michelle: Yeah, generally you have a good hand, or you know if you have a bad hand, how to maneuver with that hand and take advantage of your opponent's weaknesses.

Cavuto: Now, the President, fairly or not Tiffany, is viewed to have a bad hand right now because prior cards he's dealt have turned out to be, you know, threes and fours.  They haven't really worked out.  Yet he continues playing the same hand.  What is the strategy behind that?
Michelle: [Preceding portion of answer snipped] What often happens for some players is you continue to push the issues, you continue to play the bad hands, you continue to get in sticky situations, and what really needs to happen is you need to step away from the table, you need to clear your head.

Tiffany Michelle laid it on thick, inserting poker comparisons at every turn.  Some of her best lines included:

"Here we are, let's say we're deep in the World Series, we're coming close to the bubble, you can taste that final table and the money and it's not looking like it's going to happen."

"Not only did Barack Obama in his first year in office decide to tackle one of the toughest issues in U.S. politics… it would be like me approaching Phil Hellmuth on my first day of my poker game and saying, 'Hey, Phil Hellmuth, you have 11 bracelets.  I want to challenge you heads-up.'"

"Talk about Scott Brown, that was a really bad beat for Barack Obama and the Democrats, who really thought they had a good chip lead there.  You know, they thought they had a lock on this tournament."

Members of the poker community universally panned the interview.  The reactions, however, were split between those who detested the fact that Michelle was chosen as the poker representative and those who simply thought that the interview itself was horrible.

He added, "I thought it was evenly presented, the gambling expert knew as much about gambling as the politics expert new abt politics," as well as, "I think it was more shady that TM passed herself off as a gambling expert with a clue abt politics to promote herself."

"Hollywood" Dave Stann, one of Tiffany Michelle's fellow UB.com pros, was more disgusted with Fox Business, Cavuto, and the interview itself, Tweeting, "WTF FoxNews? Generic gambling terms dissing Obama, then using pro gamblers as pawns 2 back it up? I dodged their invite 2day, thank fuck!"

Summing it up for someone who asked what the interview was all about, Stann tweeted, "fucking Fox presenting right-wing editorial talking points as 'news' then interviewing pros as 'evidence' of Obama ineptitude."

Some of the more entertaining comments on the interview came from the Two Plus Two forums.  Forum poster "TheTruthSpeaks" wrote, "While I was watching it I kept waiting to wake up as this certainly must be a dream or something. I mean surely I didn't really just see Tiffany Michelle on a news channel talking about politics while using horrible poker analogies to do it.  This has got to be the first sign of the Apocalypse."

"Randomness28" may have had two of the best quotes on how ridiculous the interview concept was, first saying, "Funny that the Q is 'How is Obama playing his hand?' .... so they decide to bring in a poker player for analysis. Someone should tell the staff of Cavuto's that 'playing his hand' is just a figure of speech.  Next on Cavuto: 'Are Republicans a move ahead of Democrats in setting up for 2012? We bring in chess GM to discuss this.'"

He later added, "Equivalent of this would be for Fox to pose the Q: How is the Obama administration going to kick off its second term in office? And to bring in a third string kicker of a Junior College to answer the Q."

Judge the Tiffany Michelle Fox Business interview for yourself.

Tiffany Michelle got her start in the poker world in 2006, when she served as an on-air host for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) coverage on Sirius Satellite Radio.  In 2007, she appeared on-camera, hosting various segments and conducting interviews for PokerNews.com.  Michelle officially turned heads the following year when she was the last woman remaining in the WSOP Main Event, eventually bowing out in 17th place and earning $334,534.  She was exposed to a nationwide audience in 2009 when she and fellow poker pro, Maria Ho, competed on the hit CBS show, "The Amazing Race."

ESPN Inside Deal Airs First Show of 2010

The ESPN poker franchise “Inside Deal” returned on Tuesday with the first episode of 2010. Joining the series, which emanated from a new set, were Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas and 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Joe Cada.

The show began with a discussion of the CardPlayer and Bluff Player of the Year awards for 2009. CardPlayer named UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin as its winner, while Bluff crowned PokerStars’ Jason Mercier. On which publication was more accurate, “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee explained, “Understand that this is not apples to apples. These are two completely different Player of the Year formulas. If you had to look at it, I think CardPlayer has it a little more open for most players.”

Lee noted that poker pro Amnon Filippi bumped him from the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event, while Cada staked co-host Laura Lane into the ladies’ event. Now, Lee and the rest of the poker world have their sights set on the PokerStars-backed North American Poker Tour (NAPT), which resumes on February 20th at the Venetian: “I’ve said from the beginning that being able to qualify online is going to increase registration, prize pools, and interest in any tournaments. So far, over 160 players have qualified for the Venetian event. That’s more than some of the WSOP Circuit Events had all last year.”

Pappas joined “Inside Deal” via phone to catch listeners up on the good word from Capitol Hill. The Executive Director of the one-million member lobbying group explained the biggest challenge of 2010: “There is this continuing cloud of grayness as to what is legal and what is not legal. We have a six-month reprieve to get that Congressional clarification to make sure that it is clear that playing poker over the internet is not an unlawful internet gambling transaction.” The PPA is pushing for a markup of Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267 in February.

Cada, donning a festive array of PokerStars logos, told “Inside Deal” viewers that the pressure for him to perform has ramped up dramatically: “There is definitely more pressure now, especially because of the way I won my final table.” Cada hit the deck hard during the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event and defeated Maryland logger Darvin Moon heads-up.

One of the rumors flying around the poker world during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was that Cada was dating former Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole. The rumors ultimately proved false, but Cada is still trying to wrap his head around his celebrity status: “I am still trying to get used to everything. The rumors are not so great. All my friends back home asked me about it and there are so many rumors going on.”

A comprehensive breakdown of a hand between Moon and Cada heads-up aired featuring Lee and ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman dishing out strategy. The crew then asked Cada to reveal his mentality headed into heads-up play in poker tournaments: “I start off slow when I start heads-up because I don’t know how they play. A lot is their frequency of calls pre-flop and stack sizes. If the stack sizes are deeper, then you’re able to raise more from the button.” Cada was an online heads-up specialist prior to his win last November to become the youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever.

A new segment called “Snap Calls” featured discussion of Huck Seed’s chances to make it eight cashes in a row in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, the number of new girlfriends Cada will have this year (Cada said under 1.5), the future of online poker legalization, whether Bernard Lee would claim a title in 2010, and whether Cada would win another bracelet in this year’s WSOP.

Poker Pro Canada Magazine Announced

It is only five years old, but Poker Pro Magazine has already established itself in the poker world with a circulation in excess of 150,000 copies per month.  The publication is already available in the U.S. and Canada, but the company is now offering a something special for its Canadian readership.

Poker Pro Media recently announced it will be a launching a regional version of its popular magazine entitled Poker Pro Canada.  The Canadian edition will feature in-depth profiles of Canadian players, updates and news from the growing Canadian poker scene and, of course, strategy and tips from the pros.

Canadian Poker Pro Executive Editor magazine John “JohnnyQuads” Wenzel elaborated on the motivation behind launching the new magazine in an official press release:   “Some say this is a time of contraction for print media, but we’re bullish on the Canadian market.  The game is exploding in Canada and we intend to provide enthusiasts with a slick, upscale magazine that will be fun to read and will also improve their bottom line at the tables.”  Wenzel also serves as Editor-In-Chief of Poker Pro Magazine.

Wenzel makes a valid point, as there have been a number of popular events in Canada in the past few months, including the British Columbia Poker Championship (BCPC) and, more recently, the Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  Several big names turned out for the respective events, including Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith, UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Scott “BigRiskky” Clements, Mike “SirWatts” Watson, and Brad Booth.  Smith had an exceptionally good showing at Fallsview, where he won a $2,500 buy-in event and placed fourth in a $5,000 buy-in tournament won by Simon “pokerbrat13” Charette.

“The Canadian poker scene is fascinating, but it doesn’t get a lot of publicity. We’re going to change that,” explained Wenzel.  The long list of top Canadian players includes Smith, Booth, Watson, Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, Full Tilt’s Greg “FBT” Mueller, Michael “Timex” McDonald, Nenad Medic, former European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo winner Glen Chorny, Steve Paul Ambrose, Evelyn Ng, Betfair pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, and Shawn Buchanan.  The country is also home to the popular Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) and the newly launched PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) also has plans to expand its tournament schedule into Canada.

This is not the first time that Poker Pro has branched out with a new publication.  The media company also produces Poker Pro Europe and Online Poker Pro, the latter of which is a publication dedicated entirely to the internet poker scene.  Poker Pro Canada will be sold at bookstores and convenience stores alike, gracing the shelves of stores 7-Eleven, Wal-Mart, Costco, Indigo/Chapters, and Shoppers Drug Mart.  It will also be available in casino poker rooms across the country.  The new magazine is set to launch in March and an accompanying website should debut in the coming weeks.

Poker Pro Magazine is not the only publication betting on Canada.  Back in September, Canadian Poker Player Magazine announced that it was planning to expand its media operation by launching a 24-hour online television station dedicated to the Canadian poker scene.  Modeled after the popular Poker Channel in the U.K., the site is supposed to feature poker-themed movies and television plus television coverage of past Canadian tournaments like the Canadian Open Poker Championships.

To date, the site has not gone fully live, but the project itself is another indication that many poker companies are setting their sights on the Canadian Poker scene.  Another indication is the recent announcement by PartyPoker that Kara Scott was joining its slate of sponsored pros.  Scott is supposed to promote the room in her home country of Canada by taking part in a number of CPT events.

David Carruthers Gets 33 Months Jail Time in BetOnSports Case

In April, former BetOnSports CEO David Carruthers pled guilty to racketeering charges stemming from his operation of the popular online sports book. He faced up to 33 months in prison and a maximum sentence was handed down on Friday.

U.S. District Court Judge Carol E. Jackson sentenced Carruthers on Friday after he was indicted by a grand jury four years ago, according to an article that appeared in Business Week authored by Bloomberg. In court late last week, Carruthers expressed remorse for his actions: “I understand now that the business was operating outside the laws of the United States. I realize I made the biggest mistake of my life. I am sorry for the actions of BetOnSports and the trouble it caused.” The company purportedly raked in over $1 billion in 2004 alone, with Bloomberg noting that a whopping 98% of wagers came from customers in the United States.

Carruthers had been under house arrest in St. Louis since 2006, but found time to get out and stretch his legs as part of the St. Louis Marathon. BetOnSports had been traded in London on the city’s stock exchange and Bloomberg added that Judge Jackson fined BetOnSports $28.2 million. However, the firm owes creditors in the United Kingdom and would likely not be able to make good on the $28.2 million penalty. Attorney Jeffrey Demerath told the financial news outlet, “We won’t be able to pay the $28 million. We have an obligation under the laws of the United Kingdom to pay the creditors first.”

A bevy of guilty pleas were entered in the BetOnSports case. In August, the company’s founder, Gary Kaplan, pled guilty to violating RICO in a Missouri courtroom. Kaplan received more than four years behind bars for his role in the company as well as a $43 million fine, according to the AFP news service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Holtshouser commented in a press release distributed by the U.S. Department of Justice, “The prosecution and conviction of Carruthers is significant to the government's efforts at enforcement of U.S. laws against offshore Internet and telephone sports wagering businesses, because Carruthers was both a foreign national and a top executive of BetOnSports.” Kaplan was arrested in 2007.

In June, Neil Scott Kaplan, Lori Kaplan-Multz, and Penelope Tucker all entered guilty pleas in front of Judge Jackson in the BetOnSports case. Each agreed to hand over money in Swiss bank accounts, but would not face any jail time. Scott Kaplan and Kaplan-Multz also received time in a halfway house. An article that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explained why the trio received significantly lighter sentences than Kaplan and Carruthers: “Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Holtshouser said the sentences reflect the minimal roles that Neil Kaplan and Kaplan-Multz played, their lack of decision-making power there, and their willingness to surrender their BetOnSports money.”

The USA-facing online poker site Bodog, founded by Calvin Ayre, continues to accept wagers on sporting events. The site is in the midst of the National Football League (NFL) playoffs, which kicked off over the weekend. Carruthers assumed the head role at BetOnSports in 2004 after joining the company in 2000. Both the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) participated in the investigation of the former CEO. Besides Holtshouser, Steven Muchnick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Birmingham led the case on behalf of the United States Government.

On Capitol Hill, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is carrying the flag for explicitly legal online poker in the United States. Financial services industry compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was delayed six months to June 1st. The delay came after a November decision by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) is championing the cause on the Hill with HR 2267, which establishes a full licensing and regulatory framework for internet gambling outfits to solicit U.S. customers. The measure is up to 63 co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle, but would not permit online sports betting.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the BetOnSports case.

Brad Booth: “One or more $500/$1000 player will go broke soon”

Brad “yukonbrad” Booth lost his Full Tilt Poker Red Pro status just recently and now he speaks about the big online games.

Booth begins his blog estimating how big bankroll you should have on the recent nosebleed games people have been playing on Full Tilt Poker. His estimation is roughly 30-50 million dollars and he can think of only one person who has this kind of money. (Phil Ivey? -Editorial note)

He ponders the reasons why many top pro is willing to play these kind of games with inadequate bankroll. Why would they take this kind of huge risk? Do they think they have that big edge over other players or is it only some “clash of the egos”. Don’t they respect the value of money?

Booth believes that the above is true for most of the nosebleed players. He also predicts that one or more nosebleed pro will go broke if the games continue like this.

Booth uses Tom “durrrr” Dwan as an example: Dwan lost over half of his online winnings to Isildur1 in a short period and now Dwan needs to grind his bankroll up from the smaller games.

Even though durrrr’s games have gone well in the smaller games, Booth thinks that the winning can be a lot harder for him now as Dwan is a very known player and many players knows his playstyle and moves.

Source: Bluffmagazine

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Brad Booth: “One or more $500/$1000 player will go broke soon”

Poker News Daily Receives Bluff Readers Choice Award Nomination

Ladies and gentleman, we here at Poker News Daily are normally not the type to pat our own backs and toot our own horn, but sometimes we just can’t help ourselves.  This is one of those times.  Bluff Magazine recently revealed its list of nominations for the 2009 Reader’s Choice Awards and Poker News Daily is one of the four nominees in the Best Poker Blog category.

“Poker News Daily is honored to be nominated for a Bluff Readers Choice Award. We’re thrilled to see that so many players and industry representatives alike have come to Poker News Daily for the latest news and events in the poker world,” said site contributor Dan Cypra.

Poker News Daily is up against some stiff competition in a category that includes a broad spectrum of poker content.  The three other nominees in the category are Wicked Chops Poker, Tao of Poker, and Pokerati.  For those who may be unfamiliar with our competition, Wicked Chops is a blog that combines the content of a poker news site with the look of Maxim Magazine.  The crew reports on major poker news stories with their signature tongue-in-cheek flare and throw in a little T & A for good measure.

The brainchild of Dan Michalski, Pokerati is another news-centric blog with a particular focus on the political dealings of poker.  Michalski and company keep tabs on all of the major legislative updates and offer their own editorial insight into how court cases, new bills, and political campaigns will affect the poker world.

The final nomination in the category belongs to Tao of Poker, the personal blog of poker media member Paul “Dr. Pauly” Maguire.  A contributor to outlets like Poker News, Bluff Magazine, Poker Player Newspaper, and the PokerStars blog, Maguire also has a poker-themed book coming out soon entitled “Lost Vega: The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers, and the World Series of Poker.”  The work will debut sometime next year.  A recent post on the site offered several nuggets of wisdom about what to do when visiting Las Vegas.

Like we said, that is a tough line up, so we will say right here and now that we are honored to be alongside such an esteemed group of blogs.  Nonetheless, we would certainly appreciate it if you would vote for Poker News Daily.  The winners will be announced on Bluff’s website on January 28th and the full list will also be published in the February issue of the magazine.

The Best Poker Blog is just one of 13 categories readers can vote on in this fourth installment of the awards.  In the past, the site has honored personal blogs from players such as Daniel Negreanu, but this year the category is dominated completely by more news-related sites. Thanks again to all our readers who keep coming back for your poker news fix day in and day out.  We’ll try not to let the accolade get to our head.

Internet Gambling Discussed in House Financial Services Committee

On Thursday morning, the subject of internet gambling took center stage in an informative hearing in the House Financial Services Committee, Chaired by Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA). Seven witnesses participated.

The hearing began with Frank candidly stating, “It is nice to be able to think legislatively about other things besides the financial crisis, which has consumed this Committee since September of 2008.” It was over one year ago, just before the world’s economy crumbled, that internet gambling was last discussed in the Committee. Frank added, “There are a whole range of things on the internet that we would not like underage people to use. The notion that because some people abuse something, you prevent everyone from doing it is as great of a threat to the individual as any cause I have ever seen.” He went on to cite smoking, video games, and dieting as activities that people abuse.

The Committee’s Ranking Member, Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL), summed up many of the opposing arguments for legislation like HR 2266 and HR 2267. The former delays compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year, while the latter establishes a comprehensive framework for licensing and regulating the industry in the United States. Bachus asserted, “I believe that internet gambling is, has been, and will continue to be a substantial threat to our youth. Any economic benefits from taxing internet gambling would be more than offset by the harm it causes young people.” He then sourced a New York Times Letter to the Editor from a mother lamenting her son’s turn to internet gambling.

Bachus expressed remorse that the regulations of the UIGEA had not been fully implemented, citing last week’s six-month delay of their compliance: “These regulations should have been finalized and implemented more than two years ago. The House voted by an overwhelming number to stop illegal internet gambling. Chairman [Frank], it’s time for you, the Treasury, and the Fed to stop delaying the will of the great majority of this Congress and the American people.

Bachus noted that the Treasury and Federal Reserve, who granted the six-month compliance reprieve, should have been a part of Thursday’s witness panel. The Alabama Congressman quoted a letter from the FBI he received in November stating, “The FBI warns that technology exists to manipulate online poker games. The FBI rejects claims from vendors that they can validate age and location.” Frank retorted that he had not received a request from Bachus for the Treasury or Federal Reserve to be present, but later recanted his statement, referencing an e-mail from the Ranking Member’s staff late Tuesday afternoon. Both agreed that the Federal Reserve and Treasury should testify at a future hearing.

Seven witnesses each spoke for about five minutes, offering different viewpoints on the issue. Robert Martin, Tribal Chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, noted that tribes were not consulted in the extension of the UIGEA deadline and “By following the law, we are now facing unfair competition because of these bills. Allow the regulatory scheme [currently in place] to protect what we have built.”

Parry Aftab, Executive Director of Wired Safety, candidly explained, “It’s ironic that I am sitting here today saying that the only way to protect consumers is by legalizing it. If we don’t legalize it, we can’t regulate it.” She referenced a study by Professor Malcolm Sparrow from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, who explained, “Legalization with regulation would provide U.S. authorities the power to grant or deny licenses.” He added that HR 2267 is an “adequate framework” in which to operate.

Keith Whyte, Executive Director for the National Council on Problem Gambling, remarked, “While participation in internet gambling by U.S. residents appeared to decline after the passage of the UIEGA, we did not see a decrease in indicators of gambling problems, such as help line calls.” A chart submitted by Whyte showed that help line calls instead gradually increased every year since 2006, when the UIGEA was approved.

Jim Dowling from the Dowling Advisory Group lent his insight into fraud, money laundering, and terrorism, while Mike Brodsky, Executive Chairman of YouBet.com, discussed the presumably legal online horse racing market. The legality of online horse racing was discussed at length, with Frank noting that the Department of Justice said it was against the law in 2006. Brodsky added that 88% of online horse racing wagers are transmitted across state lines electronically, which Frank also questioned the legality of.

Also speaking was Samuel Vallandingham, Chief Information Officer and Vice President for The First State Bank in West Virginia. Interestingly, Vallandingham was the only financial services industry representative present and explained, “The added burden [of enforcing the UIGEA] would drain our resources… The law doesn’t define unlawful internet gambling. As a result, the burden rests solely on financial institutions.”

After 90 minutes, the hearing adjourned, with Frank noting that the Committee would take up the issue again in 2010. No markup vote on HR 2266 or HR 2267 was scheduled.

The PokerNews Mailbag: Pollack Leaving, Who is Isildur, and More

We've been collecting your questions sent to editor@pokernews.com for about a month now and decided that instead of just sitting on the mountain of wisdom here at PokerNews, we better share it. Ok, it's probably not a whole mountain of wisdom...

Taking the Underground by Lee Jones

The poker media industry is an interesting beast. It spends a lot of time covering tournaments because, well, tournaments are fairly straightforward to cover and people like to know who’s winning what. You have a starting day and an ending day and the tournament promoters have an interest in providing information to the media. You can show chip counts, the big winners and losers for each day, and more.

However, there’s a lot more to poker than tournaments and one of the reasons that I’m writing for Poker News Daily is that they understand that. While these other aspects of the poker world are not as easy to cover, they’re still interesting and important.

Recently, I was traveling and heard about an underground poker game. I suggested to my editor that it would make an interesting piece – including ideas about strategy changes one makes for such games. Let me pause here to say that I define an “underground” poker game as one that (1) runs fairly regularly, (2) is a for-profit enterprise, and (3) is illegal or quasi-legal in its jurisdiction.

Underground poker games are, of course, a long-standing tradition throughout the United States – simply the commercial version of home games that have made up the backbone of poker playing today. Most of the poker luminaries of the last generation – Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, T.J. Cloutier, and Bobby Baldwin – built their bankrolls playing underground games. In fact, well-known blogger, geek, writer, and actor Wil Wheaton got his start in the poker world by writing a delightful piece about an underground game in Hollywood.

The venue of my underground game experience was not in Hollywood, but I won’t be more specific than that. One simply doesn’t give out the GPS coordinates of underground poker games. The host told me a general area of the city to go to and then asked me to call him; he gave me directions from there. I found myself at a nondescript, unmarked warehouse in a nondescript light industrial area. The description fit the instructions I had gotten on the phone and there were eight to ten cars parked where he told me to park. I immediately noticed one thing: the cars were all parked facing outward, as if people here had succumbed to the British passion for backing into parking places… or thought they might be leaving quickly.

I got to the unmarked door and pushed the doorbell. A few seconds later, an electric latch buzzed open and a young man in jeans and a sport shirt welcomed me in. “Lee? Hi – I’m Rich [names changed here]. Come on in.”

The warehouse had been minimally decorated, but as a functional poker room, it had everything you needed. There was a bar (everything is complimentary), a couple of big screen televisions showing sports, and Mexican food. There were a couple of couches in the middle of the room, but even with all the accoutrements, including the two casino-size poker tables, there was still plenty of room for a three-on-three soccer game.

The owner/host, Jerry, came over and greeted me warmly. He may have been running an illegal poker game, but Jerry was a consummate businessman and host. He worked tirelessly to ensure that his customers were taken care of.

There was a tournament that evening with a very reasonable fee and extraordinarily generous blind structure. Everybody was able to play a lot of poker and nobody busted out for at least an hour. Once eight or nine people were out, they started the cash game, which was really the centerpiece of the operation. On his busiest nights, Jerry had two tables going, but with the tournament, just one cash table went the night I was there.

The cash game is where Jerry made his money and this is where we’ll switch to discussing strategy changes for such games. First, the rake in Jerry’s games (and virtually all underground clubs) is high. Jerry’s price is 5% of the pot with a cap at $20. Basically, you’re paying Jerry’s insurance premiums. I note that while this would be considered usurious in any U.S. casino poker room or California card club, it’s actually less than people routinely pay elsewhere in the world to play poker.

Two important lessons come from this high rake:

Rule #1: Play Fewer Pots.  When the pot is being raked that heavily, splashing around and picking up small pots on the flop costs you a lot of money. You’re never getting quite the price you think you are and you’re basically just “churning” your money like a stock day-trader paying commissions on dozens of trades every day. It means you have to be that much more profitable just to break even. For instance, with Jerry’s structure, the rake isn’t capped until the pot reaches $400, which is an all-in coup between two players with $200 buy-ins (a typical amount).  Your goal should be to play fewer pots, but try to make those pots larger. In a perfect world, you want the pot to be over $400, reducing the actual percentage of rake that you’re paying.

Rule #2: Watch Out for Winning Regulars. As I played in the cash game ($1-3 No Limit Hold’em), it became clear that most of the players were regulars. I also quickly figured out who the tougher players were. Now, these guys are not only beating the game, but they’re also beating the crippling rake. So, they have a pretty good idea of what they’re doing, not only in general, but also in the specific context of Jerry’s game. They know who the fish are and the mistakes the fish are making. In fact, somebody who may be a fish with respect to the sharks in that game might have an edge on you simply because he knows these people and plays with them all of the time. Many of the players in these games battle against each other in home or underground games three to four times per week or more. That kind of intimate knowledge can make the difference between being a shark and being the target; it’s unlikely that you’ll be a favorite the first time you sit in Jerry’s game.

With that said, underground games certainly have their appeal. I will admit that it would have been fun if Jerry had a John Malkovich-inspired Russian accent, but poker is pretty much the same around the world. Once we settled down to play, both in the tournament and the cash game that followed, it could have been the Bellagio or my home game. There were cards and chips, blinds, raises, and bad beats. Some of the players were good and many were bad. There was certainly plenty of EV for a solid No Limit Hold’em player.

I’ll leave with just one very important disclaimer: when you play in an underground game, you have stepped out of the realm in which most of us live our lives. There is a reason why there’s a heavy door with an electronic lock and video cameras watching every outside corner of the building. The place could be busted by the police at any time or, much worse, held up. You are also almost certainly breaking the law. Think about all that before deciding to try out the underground poker scene.

Lee Jones is the Card Room Manager of Cake Poker and has worked in the poker industry for six years. He has been associated with professional poker for almost 20 years. He is also the author of “Winning Low Limit Hold’em,” which has been in print for over 14 years.

Poker Community Reacts to WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack’s Resignation

Within minutes of news breaking that Jeffrey Pollack would be stepping down as the Commissioner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the poker community began to sound off on the matter, be it through Twitter, online poker forums, or personal blogs.  The reactions ranged from relief to despair and people on both sides of the issue contemplated what this move said about the future of the WSOP.

Longtime tournament reporter B.J. Nemeth was one of the people saddened by Pollack’s departure.  Nemeth, who missed out on the televised WSOP Main Event final table because he was reporting on the Foxwoods World Poker Finals, posted his thoughts on the resignation on his Twitter account (@BJNemeth): “If I had known this was @JeffreyPollack’s last WSOP, I would have done whatever necessary (quit my job, hitchhike) to photograph the Nov 9.”

Nemeth elaborated about Pollack’s time as Commissioner to Poker News Daily: “I think when we look back, it will be far more important than the fact that [this year] was the 40th anniversary.  The 40th anniversary is just a milestone that’s going by, whereas Pollack’s departure is the end of an era.”

Nemeth also offered his insight on Pollack’s strong relationship with the poker media: “Jeffrey Pollack was definitely a friend to the media.  In an age of exclusive media deals, he allowed bloggers and everyone else to show up and never restricted what they wrote about.  Wicked Chops Poker, Tao of Poker, and everybody else were allowed to cover the WSOP as they see fit.”

Not only did Pollack allow these bloggers extensive freedom in how they reported on events, but he also often gave them a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his day-to-day activities as Comissioner.  Nemeth put together a photo blog documenting a day in the life of Pollack for PokerRoad and Pollack also recorded several video blogs for Wicked Chops Poker.

While Nemeth and other media members like Tao of Poker blogger Paul McGuire (@TaoPauly) and PokerNews Editor Matthew Parvis (@MatthewParvis) wished Pollack well via Twitter, not everyone was sad to see the Commissioner go.  Poker player Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg has less enthusiastic words for Pollack’s time at Harrah’s.  A regular on the tournament circuit since the mid-2000s, Friedberg won his WSOP bracelet in 2006, the same year Pollack took over as Commissioner, and has attended every WSOP during his tenure.

Friedberg told Poker News Daily he was not surprised when he heard that Pollack and the WSOP were parting ways: “I expected it to happen in 2006, I expected it to happen in 2007, and I expected it to happen in 2008,” he explained.  “I really felt like there were so many mistakes being made and so many opportunities he failed to capitalize on and each year I was just thinking that Harrah’s has to notice and let him go, but he was continuing to stay onboard each year.”

Friedberg’s opinion of Pollack’s performance is based both on his experiences as a poker player and as a businessman.  Prior to pursuing poker full-time, Friedberg worked for Petco and served as CEO of Reatrix Systems, a company that produced interactive video display technology.

“As a player, I think he made a lot of really, really foolish mistakes as to how the tournaments were run,” Friedberg argued.  He cited the use of the much-maligned Kem “Poker Peek” cards at the 2007 WSOP as well as continued frustration with tournament registrations and payouts as just a few of the mistakes during Pollack’s tenure.

“From a business perspective, I think he did a terrible job getting corporate sponsors.  Even though the numbers have been okay the past couple of years as far as the size of the fields, I think underneath his administration, the brand equity behind the WSOP has really gone to shit.  The turnouts are not as high as they could have been and the corporate sponsors he has gotten have been a total joke.”  Friedberg conceded that it is somewhat difficult to find corporate sponsors for a gambling-related event, but cited the Kentucky Derby as an example of one that has consistently drawn marquee title sponsors.

Several posters on the TwoPlusTwo forums, including poker pro Todd Terry, echoed Friedberg’s sentiments.  Terry cited the elimination of the popular rebuy events and the exclusionary nature of Pollack’s Player’s Advisory Council as some of the decisions made that he has taken issue with over the years.

Neither Nemeth nor Friedberg was able to say definitively what the future holds for the WSOP, but Friedberg offered his thoughts on Harrah’s decision not to appoint a replacement anytime soon: “It’s sad to say this, but I think that since they don’t have plans to hire a new Commissioner, it shows me that they really don’t give a shit about the WSOP because overall with Harrah’s, it’s not a big moneymaker for them.  I think they’re going to try to let it run itself rather than capitalize on what it could become.”  Nemeth also expressed concern over the future of the WSOP without Pollack.

Pollack fan or not, this latest change at Harrah’s has everyone concerned about what to expect in 2010.

Motley Crue’s Vince Neil introduces final table

Vince Neil, once of Motley Crue fame, was chosen to introduce this year’s World Series of Poker final table heads-up ceremony with the honorary "shuffle up and deal". Sitting in the stand was Bluff Europe’s editor-in-chief Michael Casselli who managed to capture the exciting moment on camera.

Detroit Media Debates Joe Cada 2009 WSOP Main Event Victory

While many in the industry have been celebrating Michigan native Joe Cada becoming the youngest World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner ever, Cada’s local media in Detroit have debated the impact of his feat on society.

Jamie Samuelsen of the Detroit Free Press weighed in on the issue in an editorial piece appropriately titled, “Joe Cada’s poker win won’t corrupt our society.” Addressing readers in a state where the unemployment rate has soared to above 15%, Samuelsen cautioned critics, “I’m not simply encouraging your sons and daughters to follow in his footsteps. I’m just saying that it’s not quite as bad as others will make it out to be. As long as you’re not losing money, there’s nothing wrong with sharpening your mind.” Cada shattered Peter Eastgate’s record as youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever at age 21. In fact, his 22nd birthday is next week.

In a separate Free Press article, Cada gave his disclaimer for area youth looking to turn to poker in order to make a living. He told the paper, “You have to be very careful when you decide to make it a living. More people lose than win.”

Ron Dzwonkowski, also of the Free Press, gave his frank opinion on the impact that Cada may have on the local market: “I hope Cada doesn’t become an inspiration. He’s an exception. Most gamblers lose. If they didn’t, Las Vegas wouldn’t exist and the three casinos in Detroit wouldn’t be holding up as well as they are in the nation’s worst economy.” Many in the poker industry would counter that Cada wasn’t “gambling;” instead, he was excelling at a game of skill like bridge, chess, or mahjong.

Dzwonkowski’s Free Press article cited a study from Michigan State University that surveyed students asking whether internet gaming is affecting their studies. A total of 18.5% answered yes, although the results included computer games in addition to gambling. He concluded, “So congratulations to Joe Cada, whose card-playing acumen — and luck — made him a multimillionaire at 21. I hope he spends most of it in Michigan. But most 21-year-olds — heck, most people — are not going to have the ride that Joe Cada did. He’s a winner all right. But he shouldn’t become an inspiration.”

Meanwhile, Cada’s friends and family have rallied behind the champion of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. His uncle told the same Detroit newspaper, “He’s pretty level-headed. He’s a cool-headed kid. He’s always been a wonderful kid – quiet and polite – and just a good person. So he deserves it.”

Cada appeared on the CBS morning franchise “The Early Show” and candidly recalled his mother’s reaction to his poker playing aspirations: “She’d always see people gambling and you know, lose money, so she was always kind of nervous about me playing poker for a living. It brought her to tears when I won the thing. She said she was really proud of me.”

Play concluded at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino late Monday night and saw Cada best Maryland logger Darvin Moon heads-up. Cada entered heads-up play as a 2:1 chip leader before relinquishing his edge to Moon, who took a 3:1 margin of his own. Cada’s win was worth $8.5 million, although a chunk of his funds went to backers who fronted his $10,000 Main Event entry fee. Cada became the fifth PokerStars pro since 2003 to take down the title, joining Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), and Peter Eastgate (2008).

Joe Cada Praised by National Media for WSOP Main Event Win

Following his victory in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, which aired on ESPN on Tuesday night, Joe Cada received an overwhelming amount of praise from U.S. media outlets.

The Detroit Free Press, Cada’s hometown paper, reported on their hero’s run through the 2009 WSOP Main Event, which ended with a heads-up showdown against Darvin Moon. The newspaper cautioned against other Michigan natives looking to strike it rich in the world of poker: “Cada wants anyone thinking about making a living at playing cards to be warned: For every high, he has experienced the lowest of lows.” Cada told the media outlet, “It definitely can be a living, but it’s one of those things: You have to be very careful when you decide to make it a living. More people lose than win.” Cada became the youngest WSOP Main Event winner ever late Monday night and earned $8.5 million.

The Detroit News was also on-hand in Las Vegas to cover the local participant. The youngster told the paper, which noted that Cada was a severe underdog in chips at the final table, “It helped being down before and having no chips earlier at the final table. I thought about that and I continued to stay focused and tried not to make any mistakes. I just remained calm and it worked out well.” After doubling up CardPlayer Magazine Editor Jeff Shulman with A-J against A-K, Cada’s stack sank to 2.3 million, or less than five big blinds.

TIME Magazine candidly explained, “This time last year, Joseph Cada couldn’t legally order a cocktail. But today, the Shelby Township, Mich., native sits on top of the poker world as the champion of the World Series of Poker’s Main Event.” Playing online, as well as trips to Canada and Costa Rica, helped fund the underage Cada’s bankroll before he turned 21.

Even the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) chimed in on Cada’s win, noting that the PokerStars-sponsored player wore the lobbying organization’s patch throughout the Main Event final table. A press release distributed by the PPA on Tuesday featured Chairman Alfonse D’Amato praising the Michigan native: “On behalf of PPA members, I congratulate Joe on his historic WSOP win and thank him for being such a strong advocate for the game, especially online poker.” Cada added, “Poker is not gambling. There is decision-making, there’s logic, there’s math, and I think that taking away online poker takes away peoples’ rights. I am very supportive of the Poker Players Alliance.”

On the PocketFives.com online poker forum, poster “illinicubs23” weighed in on a debate as to whether Cada’s victory will improve or deride poker’s reputation as a skill game given his improbable run: “cada will at least continue to be seen around the tournament circuit – something moon wouldnt have done – and help promote pokerstars. hopefully he will inspire a lot more young 20 somethings to take up the game and help feed the poker economy for years.”

While online poker players salivated at the thought of new blood entering the game, the Michigan media continued to caution against those expecting the same success as Cada. Dennis Martell, Coordinator of Health Education at Michigan State University, told the Free Press, “What worries me more is that we’ve got a perfect storm going with this Michigan economy, and a point-and-click generation that wants instant gratification, that thinks they can get lucky and, in many cases, really needs the money.” In September, Michigan’s unemployment rate topped 15%, which the Free Press noted was the highest in the United States.

Prior to play beginning on Monday, Cada told Poker News Daily what it was like seeing his image plastered across Detroit newspapers: “It’s a lot different seeing the newspaper and actually seeing you in it. It’s been fun.”

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman, who spent a week in Las Vegas covering the finale of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, summed up his thoughts on the industry’s new face: “Last week, Cada was just another player from Michigan. On ESPN’s WSOP coverage, he said, ‘I’m just a kid with a dream.’ Now, he is ‘The Kid’ and a poker superstar. Congratulations on your run to WSOP gold, Joe. We’re looking forward to seeing what you have to offer as your poker career truly begins now.”

Darvin Moon’s secret past

Darvin Moon seems to be very honest and truthful at the poker table, but there’s a dark secret behind his table image.

There’s a lot more to Darvin Moon than lumberjacking. According to Pokerati, Moon has pleaded guilty to several crimes during his life.

Baltimore City Paper tells that Darvin Moon has recieved probation for forgery and theft, along with three counts of passing bad checks.

Moon pays warranties

Moon has paid two of his friends warranty bonds. In 2002 he paid the bonds for a guy who pleaded guilty to drug charges, the very same guy is now sitting a 10-year long sentence, and once he paid his relative’s bonds on assault charges.

It does seem like Moon isn’t interested in money, at least in front of the camers, but looks like he will have good use for the cash. Moon owes 35.000 dollars to different banks and other sources. We would think that his creditors are happy after seeing Moon took the second place finish.

Source: Washington Post, Pokerati

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Darvin Moon’s secret past

WSOP Final Table Logos: Inside Perspective

As you probably know, WSOP Final Table logos are big business. Players routinely secure six and seven figure multi year deals from the big online poker sites. The 2009 World Series of Poker November Nine were no exception. Except for the nine players, agents and poker sites, very few people ever get to look inside how logo deals happen. Poker News Daily sat down with Paul Leggett of Ultimate Bet. Leggett is the COO at Tokwiro, the owner of Ultimate Bet, and is ultimately the one responsible for making logo deals on behalf of the site. While Ultimate Bet did not have a player wearing a logo at the 2009 WSOP Final Table, the site did have significant ESPN exposure in the coverage during the run up to the final table. In addition, Leggett and UB were heavily involved in multi-month attempts to sign players at the final table.

Who were you targeting as good candidates for Ultimate Bet logos in this year’s WSOP?

Leggett: Coming down the stretch I really wanted Joe Sebok, Antonio Esfandiari and Prahlad Friedman. To determine who to go after, we usually look at televised tables, chip counts, etc. We also focused in on Billy Kopp and Joe Cada because they fit with our pro team and they had good chip stacks. Once they got the final 27 we liked their experience from online poker and we went after both of them. Unfortunately Billy busted out a bit short of the final table and Joe ended up signing with PokerStars but we felt good about who we were going after.

When it got down to the final table the only person I really wanted was Joe Cada because he represented the young online poker player really well. We went after Joe Cada and Stars went after Darvin Moon. Cada and his agent were holding us off and delaying so I put an expiration date on the offer.

After Cada signed with Stars, I realized that Stars was going after Moon while we were going after Cada and that was one reason Cada was holding off on making a decision. Stars was insisting on a long-term pro deal with Moon but he wouldn’t budge on doing anything beyond a one-day deal because he didn’t want to have any commitments after the series. Stars wouldn’t do a one-day logo deal with Moon so they came in and signed Cada. I don’t blame Cada for holding out for a big deal. Our deals work on a sliding scale and Stars offers much larger flat multi-year deals.

So after not getting Joe Cada in September did you pursue anyone else?

Leggett: We went after Moon. He made it obvious to us that he only wanted a single-day logo deal which is worth a lot less to us. There’s still value in the logo but if he did well we obviously want him to become a part of our team. We want someone to be an ambassador and represent our site at other tournaments. So we saw a lot less value in it but we were still in back and forth discussions with his agent until the day before the final table. We made a lot of different sorts of significant six-figure offers for the one day logo deal but in the end we weren’t able to reach an agreement.

(Editors Note: Leggett declined to provide specific figures during our interview but a number of industry sources have stated that Moon was looking for $350k for a one-day logo deal at the final table. We can obviously presume that Ultimate Bet did not offer that much or else Moon would have taken it.)

How hard is it to do this when you’re competing with the Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars’ of the world?

Leggett: It’s very hard because negotiating and making these deals is a unique skill set and you have to learn from scratch and get experience. One reason it’s so difficult to make these deals is because it’s hard to put an estimate on what these deals are worth. They can backfire on you badly. There are a number of WSOP champions who we don’t want to have representing us. On the other hand, guys like Joe Cada are perfect for us.

But it’s really us just trying to put ourselves in a position to find the next Moneymaker dream winner and reap the rewards from that. We learned a lot this year and I pretty much guarantee we’ll have a logo at the final table next year.

How do Ultimate Bet’s deals generally work?

Leggett: Before the final table, it depends on whether the player is at a primary televised table or a secondary table. Based on that, they get a flat amount. In addition, they get paid for TV incentives after it airs usually based on TV exposure of full and partial logos. There are a few requirements for what qualifies as a logo exposure. In addition, should they make the final table, we offer a scaling final table deal which is relatively small for 9th and quite large for 1st. The deal for 1st is a multi-year Ultimate Bet pro deal.

What do you think about diminishing returns on logos? How important is the first logo for a site versus the second and the third?

Leggett: I care a great deal about the first especially if it’s a great player and a great story. I thought Cada and Moon had great stories and I really wanted to get at least one of them. Both of them appeal to a certain demographic. We’re selective about who we’ll spend a lot to put a logo on. We definitely want to have a logo at final tables but we’re also shooting for first or second place players to be our long-term representative. A lot of people don’t remember who finished 3rd, 4th, etc after a few years so we really want someone who has a great story and can get to heads up. That’s our goal in this process.

Do you think the 3 logo rule is a good one?

Leggett: I really do think it’s a good one. It makes sense for the WSOP because the brand is the WSOP and it isn’t the PokerStars series. It can look overwhelming and silly.

What do you think their reasoning was for that?

Leggett: Probably to combat a single site dominating.

Do you want to talk about your strategy for next year?

Leggett: We can’t do that, it’s too important. But we did learn a lot this year and we will be able to get a logo next year. We did get a ton of coverage on ESPN this year and we’re really happy with the TV exposure that we got. Our coverage was probably better than Stars even in the period leading up to the final table. We’re very happy with our exposure even though we didn’t sign Cada and we’re looking forward to getting a logo on the final table next year.

Phil Hellmuth No Shows Rio Meatball Eating Contest, Joey Chestnut Wins

One of the side events taking place during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event at the Rio was the Martorano’s Masters Meatball Eating Championship. Among those noticeably absent was Phil Hellmuth, who was booked to appear.

Play in the WSOP Main Event final table lasted until 6:00am PT on Sunday morning and with the Noon start time at the Rio’s meatball eating extravaganza, Hellmuth did not turn out as advertised by competition officials. Nevertheless, about a dozen participants and over 100 spectators were on-hand to witness the drama.

Among those in attendance was Joey Chestnut, the champion of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest three years running. Chestnut told Poker News Daily prior to the competition, “I’m definitely going to shoot for 10 pounds.”

In July of next year, Chestnut will defend his title at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York. On the some 45,000 fans that attend the festivities every year, Chestnut explained, “I’m doing it against Kobayashi. This guy is from Japan and I’m looking forward to it. Last year, I did 68 in 10 minutes and this year, I’ll be going for 70.” So how do you get 10 pounds of meatballs or 70 hot dogs digested in 10 minutes? Chestnut gave us the secret to his success: “Nobody chews more than they have to. I’m chewing just enough to swallow.” Chestnut has been a competitive eater for four and a half years and his brother turned him onto the profession.

Also in the crowd was Robin Leach of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” notoriety. A $3,000 cash prize was on the line, with half of that sum going to the winner. Besides Chestnut, other contestants included Rich “The Locust” LeFevre, who is 65 years-old and coming out of retirement in a Brett Favre-like saga. Playboy cover model Angelica Bridges also competed, as did Chicago native Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti and Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas. Each had 10 minutes to consume as many meatballs as possible. The only stipulations were that knives and forks had to be used and purging would result in an automatic disqualification.

Each meatball eater came out to his or her own theme music and an overly zealous host moderated the festivities. Two-pound plates of meatballs were placed in front of the competitors, hand-delivered by Martorano’s staff. The first row was dubbed the “Splash Zone,” as meatball extract and bodily fluids could easily reach the audience seated about three feet away.

Restaurant owner Steve Martorano kicked off the event saying, “Besides my kids being born and Shaquille O’Neal giving me a ring when he won a championship, this is one of the most favorite moments in my life.” The owner promptly tossed a few meatballs into the crowd and the 10-minute timer started.

If you’ve never been to a competitive eating contest, my advice is don’t eat before you watch, as the scene was a sloppy mess of spit, spaghetti sauce, and a variety of liquids ranging from water to fruit punch. Chestnut consumed four pounds of meatballs in the first four minutes to a lively soundtrack that included Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” and the theme from “Rocky.” Andrew Feldman, Poker Editor for ESPN.com, watched it alongside Poker News Daily.

It was a photo finish, but in the end, Chestnut consumed six pounds and two meatballs, while Bertoletti downed six pounds and one meatball. The latter received $750 for his efforts, while Chestnut banked $1,500 and what the announcer labeled “eternal glory.” I promptly headed to the bathroom to vomit.

Next up is a press conference sponsored by DoylesRoom to announce the fifth member of the Brunson 10 at the Wynn. I suspect less gorging will be involved.

Cada vs. Moon: The Main Event goes heads up

And when play reconvenes at 10 p.m. PT Monday, it will be 21-year-old online poker pro Joe Cada looking to become the Main Event's youngest champion versus Maryland logger Darvin Moon, with an opportunity to shock the poker world to its core.

After a four month delay, the Main Event final table started slowly, but it wasn't long before a crowd of thousands in attendance at the Rio's Penn & Teller Theatre in Las Vegas were treated to a plethora of action.

Although he came in short, things appeared to be looking up for James Akenhead, when he tripled up, sucking out with king-queen against Eric Buchman's ace-king on a miraculous river card.

However, he was cooled out of those chips doubling up short stack Kevin Schaffel with kings against aces soon after.

A few hands later, he got it in with threes against Schaffel's nines and went out ninth.

"I feel like I played my best; I didn't make any mistakes," he said. "Obviously I'm very disappointed, but I went in as the short stack and I had to get it in and gamble."

Soon after, Schaffel though he had found some more good fortune, getting it in with aces again - this time against Buchman's kings.

"(When you see you have aces over kings) you think this is your time," said Schaffel. "It had just happened three or four hands earlier, so you think this might be it. This might be my day."

And then a king appeared in the window.

"I wanted to throw up," joked Schaffel. "Good thing I didn't eat a big breakfast."

A forth king came on the turn and suddenly Schaffel was out eighth.

Start-of-day leader Darvin Moon then gifted Steven Begleiter almost 18 million chips, folding to his shove on a four-high flop with two spades for just six million more and handing Buchman the chip lead.

The players went for a two-hour dinner break and returned to see Cada fall into a very short stacked position after doubling up Shulman.

Antoine Saout then moved into the lead when he doubled through Begleiter getting it in with two overs and flush draw against Begleiter's second pair and finding his flush on the turn.

Cada then doubled through Buchman to get some breathing room before winning a huge coin flip against Phil Ivey to leave Ivey as the short stack.

Soon after, Ivey open-shoved from under the gun with ace-king and Moon made the call with a dominated ace-queen only to flop a queen and send the consensus best player on the planet out seventh.

"I lost that pot (to Cada) and then I just got grinded down," Ivey said. "I held off and stayed even for a little bit and then I got it in with ace-king and lost it. There was not really much I could do."

Overall, the Team Full Tilt Pro said he was satisfied with the way he played.

"It is definitely just about winning, so it's disappointing I did not win," Ivey said.  "But I am happy with the way I played.  I think I made pretty good decisions with the amount of chips that I had. And, I think I gave myself as much possibility of winning it as I could."

In the end, Ivey said he was amazed at the energy coming from the thousands of poker fans that filled the Rio's Penn & Teller Theatre.

"It was an amazing experience," he said. "Poker has come so far. I mean, when I first started playing I would tell people I play poker for a living and they would look at me like I was crazy. So, to see this; it's really mind-boggling."

Left with a mid-sized stack after doubling up Saout, Begleiter was the next player at risk when he called all in with pocket queens facing a massive over-shove from Moon.

He was well ahead of Moon's ace-queen, but an ace on the river sent him home sixth.

"I'm a little numb obviously," said Begleiter. "I obviously would have liked to win that pot, but I have a smile on my face. What else can I do? I got my money in really good and I was one card away from being right back in the thick of it."

Soon after, Cada doubled through Shulman in a massive hand, flopping a set of threes against Shulman's jacks to leave the CardPlayer editor considerably short stacked.

Cada then doubled up again when Moon inexplicably ran king-nine into his aces before play tightened up.

After more than an hour without much action, Shulman pushed all in with sevens and got looked up by Saout holding ace-nine.

The Frenchman hit a nine and faded a gutshot redraw to send Shulman out fifth.

"I played pretty well; tight," said Shulman. "I play differently than most people, but I don't regret anything I did.

"I still won like a million or two million or so. How can you not be pleased with it?"

Four handed, Buchman inched his way into the chip lead, but dumped most of it in a huge hand with Saout, running ace-queen into Saout's ace-king.

Suddenly, the Frenchman found himself with close to 90 million in chips and control over the table while Buchman was left short stacked.

Buchman doubled up once through Moon to stay alive, but was drawn out on the very next hand with ace-five against Moon's king-jack to bust fourth.

"I thought I played well," Buchman said. "The big hand was ace-queen versus ace-king and I don't know, four handed, I didn't think there was really anything I could do about that. Antoine was reraising me a lot all day and I thought it was the right hand to push, and whatever, it didn't work out. I had a good shot that last hand, if I doubled through Moon I would have had like 45 million, but that didn't work out either.

"I'm disappointed, but it's OK. There's only going to be one winner."

After a lengthy delay, Cada returned to ship it with deuces facing a Saout reraise and the Frenchman made the call with queens.

It appeared the heads-up match was as good as set, until Cada spiked a miracle deuce to double up.

With Cada suddenly in the chip leader's chair, he got in a classic race holding ace-king over Saout's eights with the Frenchman's tournament life hanging in the balance.

It took until the river, but a king came down just before 6 a.m. PT, busting Saout third and setting up the heads-up match between Cada and Moon.

Play will resume at 10 p.m. Monday with an $8.5 million first place prize up for grabs and Cada holding a 2:5:1 chip lead over Moon.

To catch all the action Monday and see a full recap of the play down to heads-up, click through to PokerListings 2009 Main Event Live Coverage.

Visit PokerListings.com

WSOP Main Event Final Table Shuffle Up and Deal Command Given

The cards are in the air at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas. Inside the massive Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio, you can hear a pin drop on every turn of the card.

Phil Ivey facing a bet by Joe Cada leads to a dramatic uneasiness inside the 1,200 person capacity theater. Many are literally on the edge of their seats watching the action, as the general admission line continues to build outside the door. Only a few flops have been seen so far and a variety of red, white, and blue balloons line the railings inside the theater.

In the minutes leading up to the “Shuffle Up and Deal” command, a moment of silence was held for Hans Lund, the runner-up in the 1990 WSOP Main Event to Mansour Matloubi. A hearty round of applause followed before WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack told the assembled crowd, “This will clearly be a final table for the history books. As we get started, I wanted to thank you, the best fans in all of poker and the best fans in all of sports, for being here and supporting the WSOP.” Pollack introduced Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones, decked out in a pink cocktail dress, who will serve as the WSOP Main Event’s hostess.

Pollack covered the rules of audience etiquette during a poker tournament, which included encouraging cheering for your favorite players, not interfering with hands in progress by yelling phrases like “go all in” and “don’t do that.” Other than player names, other audible phrases have included “Stack em, stack em, to the top” (playing homage to Julie Schneider, wife of Tom Schneider) and “Let’s play already!”

Jones then interviewed 2008 WSOP November Nine member Dennis Phillips, who told the crowd what sage words of advice he gave this year’s group: “A lot of different things, They were asking me how to handle it from a media perspective and a lot of other things. I told them to play well, be proud of your play, and enjoy.”

Also taking to the stage with Jones was Peter Eastgate, the reigning champion of the prestigious $10,000 buy-in tournament. On his latest success, Eastgate told Jones, “I’ve been having some good results lately. I’m still running hot.” His advice to the next Main Event winner: “Be yourself.”

At 1:30pm PT, Ivey pushed all-in facing potential calls by CardPlayer Magazine Editor Jeff Shulman and young gun Joe Cada. Both players folded to Ivey’s all-in and speculation ran rampant that Cada had at least pocket queens and ultimately laid it down, sparking a debate among media members in attendance that will be answered when the event airs on Tuesday night. Ten minutes later, Frenchman Antoine Saout, who has a rowdy cheering section inside the theater, shoved all-in, but was also not called.

In the minutes leading up to the WSOP Main Event final table resuming, Barry Shulman, father of the aforementioned November Nine member, was presented with his WSOP Europe Main Event gold bracelet. After a lengthy delay, the national anthem of the United States played, as has been customary in previous bracelet ceremonies.

The final tradition to play out was the “Shuffle Up and Deal” command, issued by 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson. “Texas Dolly” told fans and others in attendance, “I think we should congratulate Jeffrey Pollack and Ty Stewart for putting this all together. It looks like a football game.”

Those on stage include Chau Giang, Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, Brunson, Eastgate, Joe Sebok, Greg Raymer, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Gordon, and Phillips. About 125 people are seated on the Rio’s stage.

Poker Magazine Strategies in a Down Economy

Given the age of the internet, owners of newspapers, magazines, and other print materials have struggled to survive. Add in an economy on the downswing and the environment is complicated even further. Poker News Daily sat down with John Wenzel of Poker Pro Magazine to survey the magazine scene.

Poker News Daily: Have magazine sales dropped significantly given the down economy?

Wenzel: Poker publications are unique not just because the industry so competitive, but also because we rely so little on actual sales. When the first poker magazine was rolled out 20 years ago, it was given away. Ever since then, players have expected to get it for free. Sales have never been a big part of a poker magazine’s business model. Of the big three, we probably have the largest distribution in card rooms and newsstands. Our sales haven’t changed much during the recession.

PND: You make money off of advertising then? Has that suffered?

Wenzel: We make most of our money off of advertising. We took a big hit in 2006 when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed and sites like PartyPoker left the U.S. market. Earlier this year, we also took a bit of a hit with the economy, but things are starting to turn around. Luckily, we’re a pretty lean and nimble company, so we can react quickly if the market changes. We can hunker down and hang in there.

PND: How was Poker Pro Magazine started?

Wenzel: I was a serious player my whole life. I always had a day job as a reporter or an editor and also was a designer, so I had a unique vantage point. I always read magazines and had some definitive ideas of things I wanted to do. Number one was making a professional and quality publication, not just as far as content, but also in basic production values, editing, attention to detail, and design. I wanted to make a slick publication that people would read outside of the card room, take home, and put on their coffee table.

Also, we’ve tried to show a lot of respect for the game and its history. We’re not afraid to tell it like it is. For example, we’ve criticized ESPN for giving self-promoters camera time and have campaigned against archaic laws against poker.

PND: How have you tried to differentiate Poker Pro Magazine from publications like CardPlayer and Bluff?

Wenzel: There is one magazine that targets high school and college kids. Every page has a message like, “Poker is cool.” In contrast, we try to have something for everybody. Poker is indeed cool, but we’re not strictly aiming at a high school and college market. There’s also an old school publication that is kind of behind the times. We try to strike a balance.

PND: Is bringing in third-party content essential to filling space and creating something for everyone?

Wenzel: We try to have all of the latest news, but as a monthly publication, it’s not like it used to be. We try to cover everything and we try to have a mix of up-to-date strategy, player profiles, poker history, and basically something for everyone. Entertainment is our number one priority.

PND: Are websites like Poker News Daily competitors to Poker Pro Magazine?

Wenzel: I only consider other magazines to be competition. We have our own website as well. I see a magazine as something that someone sits down with.

PND: What is the future of poker magazines?

Wenzel: All print media are hunkering down. The whole industry is contracting. However, there will always be a place for a good magazine.

James McManus Discusses the Poker History Book Cowboys Full

Earlier this decade, when poker wasn’t the behemoth that it is today, a noted writer by the name of James McManus accepted a job from Harper’s Magazine to cover the 2000 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Far from looking at it as simply a poker entity and observe the proceedings, McManus decided to dovetail his story of the tournament with the ongoing murder investigation of the late Ted Binion and chronicle his efforts to play. After using a satellite to gain entrance into the Main Event, McManus went on to finish fifth in the $10,000 tournament and chronicled the whole story in what has become one of the poker world’s seminal books in “Positively Fifth Street,” which was released in 2003.

Since then, however, McManus has limited his writing about poker to newspapers and magazines. His last non-fiction book, “Physical: An American Checkup” (2006), looked at the American health care system and pointed out its problems even prior to this year’s debate on the issue. Now, one of the most notable scribes in the business has returned with what might be called the definitive book on the history of the game.

“Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker” was released on October 27th and documents, as best as possible, the development, growth, and history of what once was considered to be America’s game and has since expanded around the world. From the beginning of the creation of playing cards in China and Korea to today’s game, McManus nails the goal of putting a history to a pastime.

“Poker has a long-deserved reputation as the cheaters’ game, but the book reminds us that cheating has been a big part of baseball, football, cycling, boxing, horseracing, marriage, taxes, politics, warfare, and most other human activities,” McManus stated before the interview with Poker News Daily began. “It’s naive to single out poker as being overly luck-based or larcenous, especially when making laws banning some games, while encouraging others. For the State to encourage lotteries and bingo while banning poker is greedy and cynical.”

McManus continued by discussing the theory that poker is luck-based and how his book handles that issue. “I think the book makes it fairly clear how much luck is involved in other games, such as baseball and football, games that few people think of as being determined by luck,” McManus said. “Luck determines the winner of baseball’s World Series about as much as it does the winner of the WSOP.”

PND: After the success of “Positively Fifth Street,” why didn’t you write another poker book immediately?

McManus: Because I was sent by a magazine to get an executive physical at the Mayo Clinic, by another magazine to cover the debate about stem-cell research, and by another to write about emergency surgery my daughter had undergone. It seemed only natural that I would combine this material into a book, which turned out to be “Physical: An American Checkup” (2006).

In the meantime, poker still had my interest. My agent, editor, and I were all surprised that there was no single book on the history of what is clearly America’s card game and arguably the national pastime, especially during the boom years this decade. As such, I continued to research the poker story and it became “Cowboys Full.”

PND: What were some of the problems in writing a book on a subject that doesn’t have a well-known and documented history?

McManus: One problem was that I had no training as an historian; it’s one reason I call it the story of poker, not the history.

Another was that people tend not to keep records of their poker action, especially when they work as blacklegs and swindlers. You’re forced to rely on lore, hearsay, and the work of feature writers such as Mark Twain, who were paid to exaggerate for humorous or dramatic effect. The book addresses this problem directly and makes a serious effort to deduce what was actually going on. The reporting becomes more precise and historically reliable as I cover the last third of the 20th century, especially when famous hands began to be televised.

PND: What was more difficult, the research for or the writing of “Cowboys Full”?

McManus: Most definitely the research. I have 35 years of experience as a writer, but very little as a researcher, although Google and the Amazon search function made the job a lot easier than if I had to do it with microfiche. I also couldn’t have done it without David Schwartz’s hospitality and sage advice at the UNLV Center for Gaming Research or without his marvelous history of gambling, “Roll the Bones.”

PND: You look at poker from sides that the average person wouldn’t consider. When you talked to academics and scientists about poker and its effects on human history, did they understand what you were doing?

McManus: In many cases, I was relying on what people had written. People like John von Neumann, Oskar Morgenstern, David Halberstam, and the presidents and generals in charge of World War II and the Cold War were already dead while I was writing.

At the same time, I interviewed plenty of folks including Todd Brunson, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman, Linda Johnson, Andy Beal, Crandell Addington, Chris Ferguson, Aaron Brown, Tony Holden, and Gabe Kaplan, who understood some of these issues a lot better than I did before I started talking to them.

PND: What was the most surprising aspect of poker you learned from your research?

McManus: How important its logic and psychology was, and continues to be, to the military and diplomatic strategies deployed in a world in which several countries, including some extremely unstable regimes, have nuclear weapons. In other words, how important poker-based game theory is to life beyond the green felt.

PND: What can the reader take away from “Cowboys Full” other than a grasp of the history of the game?

McManus: That it isn’t just a history lesson. It has dozens of pretty cool stories about actual games: riverboat hustles, friendly games in the White House and the homes of ordinary citizens, $40 million showdowns between Andy Beal and the corporation of Las Vegas pros captained by Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman facing off against Andy while waiting for her second kidney transplant, Stu Ungar making a WSOP final table from the intensive care unit, and Chris Moneymaker’s bluff against Sammy Farha. They’re all there and more.

PND: Now that you have followed up “Fifth Street,” are you finished writing books about poker?

McManus: No, but almost. I’m currently writing the final book of the trilogy. Book one was a memoir about the WSOP, which became “Positively Fifth Street.” Book two is the history of poker, which is “Cowboys Full.” Book three is a novel tentatively titled “The Winter Casino” about a very large tournament played in a city being threatened by an Al-Qaeda cell with a nuclear suitcase device.

Norman Chad, Lon McEachern Preview WSOP Main Event Final Table

As part of a conference call held on Thursday, ESPN poker commentators Norman Chad and Lon McEachern previewed the conclusion of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, set to resume on Saturday, November 7th.

On that day, the live audience at the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio will watch as the field is chopped from nine players to two. Then, the action will pause until Monday, November 9th at 10:00pm PT, when the two survivors will battle for the $8.5 million first place prize and poker immortality. The proceedings will air on Tuesday, November 10th at 9:00pm ET on ESPN, a quick turnaround for the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

Chad and McEachern entertained questions from the media and gave their take on the most recent installment of the November Nine. Chad explained, “The Main Event final table always brings a myriad storylines. When you start with Phil Ivey, you’re in great shape. Beyond that, you have a Main Event final table that’s just terrific.” Ivey is Chad’s perennial pick to take down the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament.

One of the only November Nine members to solicit coaching was CardPlayer Magazine Editor Jeff Shulman. He sought the aid of one of the game’s top names, Phil Hellmuth, who owns a record 11 WSOP bracelets. Chad and McEachern will almost certainly discuss the relationship on air, with the former telling reporters, “It’s either the greatest move in history or the greatest mistake in history. Jeff and Phil have similar styles of play. It’s hard to argue with getting coaching from the guy who has more bracelets than anyone else.” Shulman’s father, Barry, won the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event.

Much of the conversation on Thursday centered on Ivey, who is currently in “exile” in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico preparing for the final table. The poker world watched in horror on Tuesday night as Ivey mucked a winning flush on the most recent installment of the WSOP Main Event on ESPN. After eight days of play, the grind of the tournament seemed to have finally taken its course on the player many consider to be the greatest in the game. Chad gave his thoughts: “I didn’t think that could be happening. When I watched it again, he did something that all of us do routinely: he was unaware that he mucked the winning hand. It was a stunning thing to see. You just don’t expect it to happen, but it does.”

Holding the chip lead when the final table resumes will be Darvin Moon, a logger from Maryland who owns no credit card or e-mail address. His journey to Las Vegas for the Main Event in July marked his first time on an airplane, leading many to speculate as to whether another Moneymaker Boom could be in the works should Moon win the most prestigious title in poker. McEachern forecasted, “It’s going to re-instill the hope of people who are your everyday working players watching these shows. The normal Friday night player at home would love to see it happen.”

Chad gave his take on Moon potentially winning the Main Event: “When it got down to Chris Moneymaker versus Sammy Farha [in 2003], I was rooting for Farha. I didn’t see the effect that Moneymaker winning would have. It’s not quite as drastic here, but if Darvin Moon wins, there’s something about the name alone. I think it’s a microcosm of what the Main Event is. It’s an unbelievable, improbable story.” Moon owns one-third of the chips in play entering the Main Event final table. Ivey, by contrast, has just 5%.

Poker News Daily readers who have watched the Main Event unfold each Tuesday on ESPN know that the chemistry between Chad and McEachern, who have worked together since 2003, seems to be at an all-time high. McEachern candidly explained, “You just grow in the role. I came in as a neophyte to the game and probably still don’t know that much. We’re all just getting better at it, quicker at it, and more efficient.” Chad added, “Poker is a lot of fun. It’s a lot of fun to be at the table and a lot of fun to watch.”

Poker News Daily will be live in Las Vegas with all of the action from the conclusion of the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

ESPN gears up for Main Event final

"We're really excited about the final table this year and we expect it to be just as good if not better than what we did last year," said Doug White, ESPN's Senior Director of Programming and Acquisitions.

"We expect play to be stellar and we expect the drama to be there as well."

When it comes to drama, ESPN WSOP coverage co-host Lon McEachern says it all starts with one of the greatest players in the game having a shot at poker's most coveted title.

"This is one of the most highly anticipated final tables we've seen in a long time, just for the fact Phil Ivey is there," McEachern said. "I'm excited to see the poker community buzzing about this and I'm sure we will live up to and surpass their expectations in terms of the production and play at the final table."

Co-host Norman Chad appears equally excited to see what Ivey can do, but he also said this second edition of the November Nine is rife with compelling story lines.

"When you start with Phil Ivey you are in great shape because it's the greatest player in the game trying to win the greatest event in the game, but beyond that, you do have that usual mix that you have at a Main Event final table and that's just terrific," he said.

"It's just like anything else. If you look for the story, you will find it. If you look at these guys, they are interesting. They are more interesting than they look at first glance."

McEachern believes young but experienced pro Eric Buchman, who will come into the final nine second in chips, has the best shot to win the title.

But, he also said CardPlayer Magazine editor Jeff Shulman is a "solid player" who is "steeped in the game" and should be "a very dangerous force" at the final table.

Chad said he was impressed with 21-year-old Joe Cada's poise and maturity as he looks to surpass 2008 champ Peter Eastgate as the youngest player ever to win the Main Event and although he admitted French Everest Poker qualifier Antoine Saout is the player he knows the least about, Chad would not count him out.

"You have to be at the final table to have a shot, so he can do it," Chad said. "He's obviously a solid player and another one of these young guys that you have to wonder how the heck he could get this good this quickly."

Chad said Steven Begleiter "has lot of gamble in him," and the former Wall Street executive knows how to use the big stack he's bringing to the final table.

And while McEachern said he's been particularly impressed by Kevin Schaffel results since the summer and Chad said James Akenhead has impressed him with his "selectively aggressive" style, both commentators seemed clearly focused on the two biggest story lines coming in - Ivey and chip leading Maryland logger Darvin Moon.

McEachern called Moon "the second best thing to happen to this final table," next to Ivey and believes that as the unknown coming in, Moon could be the scariest player in the field.

"He is the least experienced and probably the worst player at the final table," added Chad. "But he is a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing...I think there's a little shark in him. There's a bit of a pool hustler there."

But of course, Chad is still making Ivey a bit of a favorite.

"He just does all the little things a little better than everybody else," he said.

The final table will play down to heads-up Nov. 7 and a winner will be crowned Nov. 9.

PokerListings will have live coverage throughout and ESPN will broadcast an edited version of the final table Nov. 10.

Visit PokerListings.com

Five Minutes with ESPN.com’s Inside Deal Host Andrew Feldman

ESPN.com's "Inside Deal" has become a fan favorite since its debut and poker fans are wondering about the fate of the show. To get the inside scoop, we caught up with ESPN.com's poker editor Andrew Feldman to talk about the show's...

Bernard Lee Gives the Inside Scoop on Inside Deal

Every true sports fan has watched ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary on the air.  On September 6th, Chris Berman (30 years), Bob Levy (30 years), and John Saunders (23 years), the elder statesmen of ESPN, hosted a trip down memory lane for this iconic sports recap show.  The 90 minute special showed how the franchise had evolved over the past three decades from the set design to the daily anchors to the multitude of highlights.

I am one of the millions of sports fans who religiously watches “SportsCenter,” so you can understand how thrilled I was to be asked to co-host ESPN.com’s weekly poker show, “Inside Deal.”  When we rehearsed for our initial show on one of the ESPN sets (Studio G), I could not have been more awestruck.  It looked like the set I grew up watching and now I was sitting behind the desk as one of the hosts.  Half-heartedly, I expected Stuart Scott or Scott Van Pelt (current “SportsCenter” anchors) to tap me on the shoulder and ask me to get out of their seats.  During the entire taping, I kept humming the “SportsCenter” theme: Da-da-da… da-da-da.

After watching so many hundreds, if not thousands of shows, I was so honored to be part of the family of broadcasters who are privileged to be in the ESPN studios.  Over the past several weeks, I have received numerous e-mails from not only family and friends (many of whom are insanely jealous), but also the readers of my columns and listeners of my radio show.  Thank you for your kind words and please keep watching.

With “Inside Deal” running online for over three months, there definitely have been some key revelations about hosting the show:

ESPN

Could there be a more professional sports production?  From our producer (Eric Pierce, who is truly the master behind the scenes) to my co-hosts, ESPN: The Magazine contributor Laura Lane and ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman, the show is done so professionally.  I am proud to be part of this team!

Teleprompter

When you use one, you read more vertically as opposed to when you read from a piece of paper horizontally.  It is not as easy as you might think.  From the beginning, I have been very impressed by my co-host Laura Lane’s ability to read from the teleprompter so smoothly.  During lunch one day, Laura shared her secret on how she became so proficient.  She explained that when she was in college at USC, she would watch the nightly news and hit the mute button.  When the closed caption words would come across the screen, she would read text as if it was from a teleprompter.  What a great idea!

Makeup

I never thought I would wear makeup.  Before each show, we go to get our faces done.  Ugh!  I’m so glad I don’t have to do that every morning.  After each taping is complete, I immediately head straight to the bathroom to wash my face thoroughly.

Earpiece

Somewhat undetectable on camera, each of us wears an earpiece that allows the producer and director to give us instructions during the show’s taping.  The earpiece takes getting used to at the beginning, as you don’t want to react to the directions you are receiving in your ear.  Additionally, when the director is speaking to my co-host and she answers, I used to think she was talking to me.  It’s the small things that you have to get used to.

Opening Segment

I have thoroughly enjoyed helping create the opening segments of the shows.  Back in my working days in marketing, I often created videos to inspire the sales force to learn the features and benefits of my specific product.  I was known among my colleagues as the video marketing guy.  Funny how that became preparation for my current job.

During the run of the show, our guests have included a “who’s who” in poker.  The following are some interesting highlights from our first shows:

Episode #1: Chris Moneymaker tells the poker world that he lost his WSOP Main Event bracelet during a move.

Episode #2: Dennis Phillips discusses his near back-to-back November Nines and World Series of Poker (WSOP) Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack discusses the Day 1D sellout.

Episode #3: Barry Greenstein describes his charity work and shows his paternal side, while the cast of “2 Months, $2 Million” describe the Tilt Room.

Episode #4: Howard Lederer discusses his sister in “Celebrity Apprentice” and Eric Buchman (2009 November Niner) shows his “passionate” side.

Episode #5: Victor Ramdin breaks down East Coast versus West Coast poker debate.

Episode #6: Mark Seif discusses the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet scandals.

Episode #7: Michael Binger duels with Daniel Negreanu in a Twitter Battle Royale.

Episode #8: Joe Sebok announces his Ultimate Bet signing (also look out for Joel Mchale of E!’s “The Soup”).

If you haven’t seen the show, hopefully this will give you an incentive to tune in each week.  A new episode is posted every Tuesday on ESPN.com/InsideDeal.  After watching each episode, please tell me which opening you liked the best.

And as always, don’t forget to listen to my radio show, “The Bernard Lee Poker Show,” on RoundersRadio.com on Tuesday nights from 7:00pm to 8:00pm ET and repeated throughout the week.

ESPN Inside Deal Welcomes WSOP November Niner Kevin Schaffel

This week, the ESPN poker franchise “Inside Deal” welcomed 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Kevin Schaffel. New Poker Hall of Fame nominee member Mike Sexton also called into the show.

The 13th installment of “Inside Deal” began with a discussion of Daniel Negreanu’s breakdown of World Poker Tour (WPT) tournament cashes. Negreanu’s analysis revealed that very few players are actually winners on the WPT circuit, emphasizing the importance of satellite and cash game aptitude. “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee explained, “You don’t cash very often and what [Negreanu] is saying is that when you do, you’ve got to make it count.” Lee noted that Gus Hansen has nine WPT cashes, eight for final tables. Phil Ivey has notched eight WPT final tables out of 11 cashes.

Ivey, a WSOP November Nine member, is camped out in Cabo San Lucas, allegedly in “exile” preparing for his run at the $8.5 million first place prize. Lee explained, “What he’s going to be able to do is prepare himself mentally and physically for the biggest challenge of his life.” Ivey has a variety of prop bets on the line, making for a potentially enormous payday next month.

Sexton joined “Inside Deal” via phone and gave his take on being the lone member of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009: “It’s pretty flattering and certainly an honor to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame with the legends and icons of the game.” Sexton’s enshrinement ceremony will take place during the dinner break of the WSOP Main Event final table on November 7th in an $800 per plate affair. The WPT host has already begun preparing his speech and revealed, “I’m getting my thoughts together now on what I’m going to say. Certainly, I’m going to acknowledge the other nominees and thank people who have been very important to me in my poker career and life as well.”

Schaffel, an avid golfer, then came on and told Lee and fellow “Inside Deal” host Laura Lane, “The guys at my golf club tell me I smile a lot more.” Schaffel sits in sixth place on the leaderboard entering the Main Event final table and recently completed the purchase of a home. He made deep runs in the 2004 and 2008 WSOP Main Events, cashing for nearly $100,000 combined, and told viewers, “I definitely can attribute some of my success to things I’ve learned in the past.” He’s bringing 90 fans to Las Vegas, where his 12 first cousins will convene for only the second time ever.

Part of Schaffel’s good luck may have been due to an image of 2008 WSOP Main Event champion Peter Eastgate that the future November Nine member stashed in his wallet. A gift from a family member, the image was doctored with PhotoShop to feature Schaffel’s head pasted on Eastgate’s body. Schaffel remarked, “There were a couple of times when I thought about the photo while playing.” Schaffel played alongside Eastgate on Day 7 and showed the youngest WSOP Main Event ever the image to break the ice.

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman joined the set for a game of Poker-dy, the “Inside Deal” version of the classic television game show “Jeopardy.” For the clue “This is the funniest player in the poker industry,” Lee answered ESPN commentator Norman Chad, Schaffel said Antonio Esfandiari, and Lane suggested Negreanu. For “This starting hand has by far gotten me into the most trouble,” Lane answered K-Q, Lee answered A-Q, and Schaffel tossed out pocket queens.

Finally, Schaffel was asked if so many of his hands being recorded during the WPT Legends of Poker meant that opponents would be able to diagnose his game. Schaffel finished second in the event for $471,000 and explained, “Not really. The difference is that I might make a play as the chip leader that I might not make otherwise.” Schaffel was among the pacesetters throughout much of the event, which took place shortly after the WSOP Main Event final table was determined.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

The World Series of Poker November Nine: Jeff Shulman

Although Phil Ivey may be the most well-known player of the November Nine, one player has stolen the spotlight from the Full Tilt Pro thanks to his brash opinions about Harrahs and the WSOP as a whole. CardPlayer Magazine Editor and CardPlayer Media...

ESPN Inside Deal Welcomes Joe Cada

This week’s installment of the ESPN.com poker franchise “Inside Deal” featured 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Joe Cada. Laura Lane and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee host the show.

The news segment of ESPN “Inside Deal” began with Lee praising World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton for his election to the Poker Hall of Fame: “I think it’s tremendously well-deserved. Mike has had a phenomenal career. A lot of people think of him from the WPT, but remember, he is a very well-accomplished player.” Sexton is the lone representative of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Others who were up for consideration included Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Daniel Negranu, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Scotty Nguyen, and Men “The Master” Nguyen.

Attention then turned to the letter authored by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner petitioning for the delay of the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year to December 1st, 2010. Lee explained what would happen if the current deadline stood: “The impact would be devastating. We’re fearful that the banks will err on the side of caution and ultimately block payments that the online sites would give.”

Making headlines this week was the news that the GSN staple “High Stakes Poker” had dropped host A.J. Benza for Season 6, allegedly replacing him with a female correspondent. Lee explained, “I’m a little surprised. For five years, A.J. and Gabe Kaplan have seemed to have a good rapport, so I’m surprised they’re making this switch.” Poker News Daily broke the news that Vanessa Rousso, the presumed frontrunner for the job, would not be Benza’s replacement. Other possible fill-ins include former WPT hostess Shana Hiatt, Kara Scott, Absolute Poker pro Lacey Jones, and Shannon Elizabeth.

Cada, who could become the youngest Main Event winner ever if he takes down the feature tournament next month, then joined the show. He noted how his life has changed as a result of the increased exposure as a member of the November Nine: “I’ve been playing poker my whole life, so the only thing that’s changed for me is the media.” Cada is primarily a cash game player, only hitting up the tournament scene online on Sundays. He purchased a 2,400 square foot house at age 19 as a gift to himself and is a sponsored pro of PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room.

Heading into the 2009 WSOP, Cada found himself on a $150,000 downswing. He sought the aid of two longtime cornerstones of the poker industry, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “sheets” Haber. Cada recalled, “I was lucky enough to have them back me and I’m very grateful for that. I knew I could win before I came in.” Josephy, a former Ultimate Bet pro, and Sheets will receive 50% of Cada’s earnings. The top prize in Las Vegas is $8.5 million.

ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman joined the show to discuss a series of dream teams. News broke last week that Dream Team Poker would return with tournaments at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles coinciding with Monday Night Football. Feldman’s “Dream Team Young Guns” consisted of Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate. “Dream Team Lady Luck” was comprised of Shannon Elizabeth, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, and Jones. Finally, Feldman unveiled “Dream Team Old Guard:” Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Mike Matusow. Cada added that his ultimate Dream Team would be Ivey, Patrick Antonius, and Dwan.

Finally, Cada revealed that on Day 8 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, his stack had dropped to 20% of the average before he clawed back. He knocked out between 10 and 15 players en route to the final table and, upon heading to Connecticut to film ESPN “Inside Deal,” dropped some dough at the Foxwoods blackjack tables.

“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.

Mike Sexton Previews the WSOP November Nine

The entire poker world is anxiously awaiting the final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, which will be played this November.  The finalists have been dubbed the “November Nine” because of the four-month delay of the final table.  It’s a final table that has created tremendous interest because it has everything – an amateur with a massive chip lead, three guys in their 20s, and great players from around the world.  It’s also got Phil Ivey – and that is huge for the WSOP.

I often get asked, “Who do you think is the best poker player in the world?”  Well, when asked the same question years ago, Doyle Brunson said, “You judge a hunter by the number of furs he brings home”  (I love that phrase).  Well, nobody has brought home more “fur” than Phil Ivey.  I consider Phil Ivey to be the best player in the world.

Ivey is the best in every poker category you can come up with – cash games, tournament poker, and online poker.  I would bet that he’s the most successful cash game player of all-time and he will become the all-time tournament money leader if he finishes in fourth place or better at the WSOP Main Event final table.  If he’s not the most successful online player out there, then he’s certainly one of them.  When it comes to playing poker (and that includes all games), put Ivey at the top of your list.

One thing’s for sure – in addition to most players, Harrah’s, the WSOP, and ESPN are thrilled that Phil Ivey is at the final table. Because he’s there, I look for ratings for the WSOP final table to at least double from last year.  And that’s good for poker.

OK, here are the November Nine and their chip counts:

Darvin Moon – 58,930,000
Eric Buchman – 34,800,000
Steven Begleiter – 29,885,000
Jeff Shulman – 19,580,000
Joe Cada – 13,215,000
Kevin Schaffel – 12,390,000
Phil Ivey – 9,765,000
Antoine Saout – 9,500,000
James Akenhead – 6,800,000

The November Nine chip leader is Darvin Moon.  He’s a 45 year-old amateur poker player from Oakland, Maryland.  Playing in his first-ever big-time tournament, he could become the next Chris Moneymaker.  Moon is an amazing story.  He won his seat in a qualifying tournament in West Virginia and thought about taking the $10,000 first place prize and putting it in the family business.  His brother talked him out of that and encouraged him to go ahead and enter the WSOP (brother knows best).  Experience or not, with nearly 60 million in chips, I can’t imagine anyone being a bigger favorite than him to win.  Will it be a “Full Moon” in November?

Starting in second chip position with nearly 35 million is Eric Buchman.  Eric is a 29 year-old pro from New York.  He’s been a pro for about 10 years and this marks his 23rd cash at the WSOP.  Prior to this tournament, he had nearly $1 million in career tournament cashes.  With his experience and chip count, he could be the man to beat.

In third chip position with nearly 30 million is 47 year-old Steven Begleiter from Chappaqua, New York.  He was a strategist for the investment bank Bear Stearns for nearly 25 years.  He qualified for the WSOP Main Event on the Newcastle Poker Tour and poker league.  He’s really popular there, as he plans to donate 20% of his winnings to his poker league.  Now that is a friendly game!

The only guy who has been to the WSOP Main Event final table before is 34 year-old Jeff Shulman, the editor of CardPlayer Magazine.  He’ll be starting out in fourth chip position with nearly 20 million.  Shulman created a controversy by saying he would “throw the bracelet in the garbage if I win”  (that’s because of his strong opinion of unfair media treatment by the WSOP).  Like most, I’m shocked by that statement considering Shulman is in the business of promoting poker.  Shulman’s experience could bode well for him in November, but hopefully he’ll change his mind about throwing the bracelet in the garbage.

On a side note, that 2000 WSOP Main Event is still vivid in my mind because I felt I had a real shot to win it.  I ended up finishing in 12th place and was knocked out by Shulman (who was the big chip leader at the time and won a race for all of my chips).  It turned out to be a heartbreaking tournament for Shulman as well because, for the first time in WSOP history, only six players made it to the TV table and Shulman was the massive chip leader with seven players left.  He ended up going out seventh.

The youngest player at the table, 21 year-old Joe Cada from Michigan, will be starting out in fifth chip position.  If he wins, he will break Peter Eastgate’s record of being the youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever.  Cada plays a lot of heads-up poker and likes his chances if he gets short-handed.  He’s young, confident in his abilities, and believes he’s got a good chance to win.

Kevin Schaffel, 51, has been playing poker for 30 years.  This super nice Floridian claims to be “semi-retired,” but he is a scratch golfer and plays a lot of poker.  Do you think he works much?  Kevin recently finished second in the WPT’s Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino and, I can tell you, he played very well there.  If he doesn’t dub any shots on the green felt in November, he could very well be crowned champion.

Phil Ivey is “the man” at any poker table.  Although he’s starting in seventh chip position with less than 10 million in chips, many are wagering on him to win.  I’m sure he feels pretty good about his chances and why wouldn’t he?  He’s already won two bracelets at the 2009 WSOP and then bet $20,000 on himself to win the Main Event at 100-1 odds when there were still 2,400 players left!  Like many, I would love to see Ivey win.  I think it would be great for the poker world if the greatest player in the game won the biggest event in poker.

Antoine Saout, 25 years-old and from France, will be starting in eighth chip position.  He qualified for this tournament by winning a $50 online satellite.  Word has it that he crushes online tournaments.  I know some French players who really respect his game.   When he told his mom he wanted to become a poker pro, she was not happy.  With this finish and becoming a guaranteed millionaire, mom has changed her mind.  “Bon chance,” Antoine!

James Akenhead, 26, from England, discovered poker a few years ago while he was pursuing his other love, pool.  He practiced pool 10 hours a day and was ranked 15th in the U.K. in nine-ball at one time.  Akenhead has been a poker pro for three years and several top players from England have told me that he’s a very tough player.  Although he’s starting on the short stack, if he can double up early, they really like his chances.  A Hall of Fame poker player once said, “Poker is like pool.  Some days you make every shot and other days you hit nothing but the rail.”  Can this pool player parlay the short stack into the title?

One thing’s for sure:  It’s going to be a great final table in November.  Like all poker players, I can’t wait.

ESPN The Magazine Editor Discusses Poker Players in Body Issue

Hitting newsstands around the United States last Friday was the inaugural Body Issue of “ESPN: The Magazine.“ The periodical profiled athletes and their physiques and included an image of Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, and Jennifer Harman playing poker in the nude.

Besides poker, other sports showcased in the magazine include boxing, bull riding, golf, baseball, Motocross, NASCAR, basketball, hockey, football, soccer, softball, swimming, surfing, tennis, track and field, and mixed martial arts. Poker News Daily sat down with “ESPN: The Magazine” Editor Sarah Turcotte to gauge reaction to the provocative issue.

Poker News Daily: Explain the background to the Body Issue of “ESPN: The Magazine.”

Turcotte: This is the first time we’ve done it and we’ll definitely be doing it again. My boss was trying to come up with a way to profile an athlete’s body. You see them in locker rooms, but you don’t really know what goes into them. Not only do we have poker and soccer players, but we also have sumo wrestlers and triathlon runners. It’s a huge mix. There are over 80 athletes involved and 40 in varying stages of being undressed. Poker is a great sport. The players work hard, make great money, and have good mental toughness. We believe it’s a legit sport.

PND: What has been the reaction so far?

Turcotte: We’ve been shocked by how positive it’s been, but there have been negatives with some of the more conservative sports. For example, LPGA fans heard about it and formed their opinions beforehand. When you realize what a massive undertaking this is and the kind of company these folks are in, it makes sense. It’s not “Playboy Magazine;” it’s about celebrating an athlete’s physique. So far, I’m shocked by how well it’s been received. I don’t think we ever could have conceived how popular it would be.

PND: Talk about the photo involving Harman, Nguyen, Hellmuth, and Negreanu.

Turcotte: That was a really great photo to do. My hats are off to all of them for being included. That was our only coed shoot because in most sports, you don’t compete against different genders. It turned out great.

PND: What can you tell us about the shoot?

Turcotte: The poker shoot was great. We had two hours and shot in Las Vegas. Anyone who has been around Daniel and Scotty would fall in love with them. Their interaction together was great and I found myself calling everyone “baby” for the next few days. Jen is such a sweetheart and I was amazed at how much respect the guys had for her.

PND: What do you want readers to take away from this installment of “ESPN: The Magazine”?

Turcotte: My perspective as the Feature Editor is to be on the shoots and be the advocate for the athlete. We made it a collaborative process and I want the athletes to be proud of it. In terms of readers, I think the biggest thing is that it’s awesome to see someone like Serena Williams looking beautiful, but people are familiar with her. However, not everyone knows Scotty Nguyen and Jennifer Harman, so hopefully this will give them some respect.

PND: Can you name other athletes that readers can expect to see in the issue?

Turcotte: Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, tennis star Serena Williams, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers, Sarah Reinertsen (the only female amputee to compete in the Ironman Triathlon), Andrew Cogliano of the Edmonton Oilers, Christina Kim of the LPGA, and six guys from the DC United soccer team.

Amazing Race: Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Finish Last in Cambodia

Poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho finished in last place for the second time on this season of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race.” This time, however, a team losing their passports saved the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events from elimination.

This week’s episode, which aired around 8:30pm EST due to an overrun of the NFL on CBS, began in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where nine teams departed from Reunification Palace. Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy left at 6:53pm in first place, while Michelle and Ho departed the Pit Stop in sixth place at 7:16pm. Teams were instructed to fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The first flight took off the next day at 12:15pm, with all nine teams making the journey together on a small propeller plane after spending the night in the airport.

Upon landing in Cambodia, Michelle and Ho left the airport in seventh place and headed to the Foreign Correspondence Club, where they were instructed to ask an editor for their next assignment. The clue, which appeared in a newspaper, was captioned, “The woman in this picture has a hotel suite named after her.” The “woman” in question was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who once stayed at the Hotel Le Royal. Teams headed to the hotel and searched for the real-life photo of Onassis to receive their next clue.

Michelle and Ho headed to the hotel and received information outlining the leg’s Detour, which is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. This week, teams could select between Cover and Wrap. In Cover, teams had to head to a motorcycle stand, select four helmets, and then sell them for $10 to a family of four. In Wrap, teams headed to the Russian Market, where they were given a colored scarf. Then, they had to comb through the massive market to find a woman wearing a matching scarf. Michelle and Ho chose the latter along with seven other teams, with engaged couple Lance and Keri being the only team to select Cover.

After finishing the Detour, teams traveled to Wat Toul Tom Pong on foot to search for their next clue. There, the Cambodian leg’s Roadblock, which is a task that only one team member can perform, asked racers to work with a Monkey Master to complete three maneuvers. While teams were breezing through the Roadblock, Ho and Michelle became stuck in traffic, losing valuable time. Upon finally arriving at the Russian Market to perform the Detour, Ho and Michelle received a green scarf and departed in eighth place out of nine teams remaining.

Friends Zev and Justin checked into the Pit Stop in first place, while brothers Sam and Dan took second. However, upon checking in, Zev and Justin realized that they had misplaced one of their passports. Host Phil Keoghan informed the team that it needed the travel document in order to continue the race. If they failed to re-check into the Pit Stop with passport in tow before the last team arrived, they would be eliminated. This opened the door for Michelle and Ho, who were among the teams in last place, to survive the leg of “Amazing Race.”

Meanwhile, Ho performed the Roadblock, with Michelle standing by and commenting, “She’s not the most athletic, dancer-y one of the bunch.” On her way to the Pit Stop, Ho remarked, “I’m very proud of how we’ve done, but I wish I could have been a better monkey for my teammate.” For the second time on this season of “Amazing Race,” Michelle and Ho arrived at the Pit Stop in last place, but were spared elimination because Zev and Justin had not yet produced the lost passport. Michelle exclaimed, “I wish we had this much luck. We’d be bazillionaires.”

Next week, teams head to Dubai, where they experience extreme heights, extreme speed, extreme heat, and a winter wonderland, according to the show’s preview. “Amazing Race” airs on Sunday nights at 8:00pm ET on CBS.