WSOP Main Event Discussion Thread (Spoilers Possible)

[Toddzilla]

I didn't see one of these out there, so I thought I'd kick one off prior to our CST this evening. There will be spoilers posted - for those waiting to watch the WS on ESPN whenever they decide to air it (November? February?).

[Toddzilla]

Cardplayer.com Sun Jul 30 13:03:00 PDT

John Phan raises pre-flop, and he is called by Joe Berry and Sam Farha. The flop comes 9h 6h 4h, Phan raises, Berry calls, and Farha re-raises. Phan folds and Berry smooth calls. The turn brings another 6, and once again, Farha bets into Berry who just calls. The river brings a 10, and Farha moves all-in. Berry calls and Farha flips over pocket 9s for a full house. Berry shows pocket 6s, and Farha can't believe his opponent turned quads against his top set. Farha is eliminated.

[cartman]

With 8000+ entrants, there are gonna be bad beat stories galore.

[Toddzilla]

Cardplayer.com Sun Jul 30 17:20:00 PDT 2006

With $1,375 left, Jennifer Harman joins a mult-limped pot. The flop comes 8d 4c 2d and a player acting before Harman makes it $600 to go. Harman then pushes all-in. A player behind Harman then makes it $3,000 to go and the original raiser folds. Harman shows Q8c while her remaining opponent in the pot turns up the 4d2c. The turn card brings the Ks and the river brings the 7d. Jennifer Harman has been eliminated from the Main Event.

[SirFozzie]

I didn't see one of these out there, so I thought I'd kick one off prior to our CST this evening. There will be spoilers posted - for those waiting to watch the WS on ESPN whenever they decide to air it (November? February?).

September or October, actually, they're airing the main event first.

[Lathum]

Thats 2 years in a row Harmen has taken a rough beat

[Barkeep49]

Thats 2 years in a row Harmen has taken a rough beat
How rough a beat is that? Seems to me she overplayed her hand.

[heybrad]

I'm am in no way a poker expert, but it seems to be the Harman is terrible (at least in that hand). If you allow that many people to limp into a pot, wouldn't you have to consider that somebody hit something better than a pair of 8's with Q high? Reading that sounds like every low limit table I've ever played at.

[Lathum]

unless the player with 2 4 was in the big blind it is a bad beat

[sabotai]

If you allow that many people to limp into a pot, wouldn't you have to consider that somebody hit something better than a pair of 8's with Q high?

It doesn't say what the blinds were, but it looks like she was pretty short stacked and figured top pair with a good kicker was good enough to try to double up with.

[SirFozzie]

Now, this is a bad beat, what is KJd doing in a hand after heavy preflop raising?

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow Eliminated
At the ESPN featured table, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow calls all in on for approximately $10,000 on a flop of 9diamond4diamond7spade, after heavy preflop betting. Both players flip up their hands, Matusow with 7club7heart and his opponent with KdiamondJdiamond. The Aheart falls on the turn, and Matusow now has to dodge only a diamond or he will double up. The river brings the 3diamond, and a very dejected Mouth is sent to the rail.

[Barkeep49]

unless the player with 2 4 was in the big blind it is a bad beat
Top pair and that's a bad beat? I mean she did have a backdoor flush draw, but really just having top pair and getting beat doesn't seem like a "bad beat" even on that board. I mean if this had been the same situation and the guy had 56 for an open ended straight which he then completes would people be saying it's a bad beat? A queen is a decent kicker, but hardly the nuts.

[Toddzilla]

advice: how do we post the actual suits instead of the words? I know I've seen it on this board now and again

[Lathum]

Top pair and that's a bad beat? I mean she did have a backdoor flush draw, but really just having top pair and getting beat doesn't seem like a "bad beat" even on that board. I mean if this had been the same situation and the guy had 56 for an open ended straight which he then completes would people be saying it's a bad beat? A queen is a decent kicker, but hardly the nuts.
I'm not sure of the context of your post?

[SirFozzie]

What the bad beat folks are saying is that it's a shame that 24x was in the hand after the flop.. but in a multi way pot, you have equity, exactly cuz no one expects anyone to have 24 post flop

[Logan]

Now, this is a bad beat, what is KJd doing in a hand after heavy preflop raising?

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow Eliminated
At the ESPN featured table, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow calls all in on for approximately $10,000 on a flop of 9diamond4diamond7spade, after heavy preflop betting. Both players flip up their hands, Matusow with 7club7heart and his opponent with KdiamondJdiamond. The Aheart falls on the turn, and Matusow now has to dodge only a diamond or he will double up. The river brings the 3diamond, and a very dejected Mouth is sent to the rail.

I'm guessing this is from some sort of ESPN poker blog? Can someone clue them in that the internet poker world can comprehend 9d4d7s? It's painful reading this stuff.

[SirFozzie]

It's cardplayer, they use graphics that don't come over when you copy and paste.

[Logan]

It's cardplayer, they use graphics that don't come over when you copy and paste.

Ah, I see. Thanks.

[heybrad]

Anybody know of a site where you can easily search any players results in the main event? I have a buddy playing and can't seem to find which group he's in or how he's doing.

[TazFTW]

It's cardplayer, they use graphics that don't come over when you copy and paste.

No?

Sun Jul 30 17:57:00 PDT 2006
Daniel Negreanu Wins a $21,100 Pot
Three players at Daniel Negreanu's table call $700 pre-flop. The flop comes Ahttp://cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gifJhttp://cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif5http://cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif. Negreanu bets $1,000 and gets one caller. He bets $3,000 on the turn (8http://cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif) and is called. He bets $5,500 on the river (Khttp://cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif) and is called. His opponent shows A-K while he shows 7http://cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif6http://cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif. With the pot, Negreanu is up to $41,500 and is among the day's chip leaders.

[SirFozzie]

Hmm... weird.. mine don't.

I use FF

[TazFTW]

Hmm... weird.. mine don't.

I use FF

Ah, I use IE. I just tried it with Firefox and it did that 9diamond stuff.

[Vegas Vic]

I kind of lost interest after Ron Jeremy got eliminated.

[hoopsguy]

Cheer up, Vic. Anna Benson is making her run this year.

[primelord]

Our own dixieflatline is sitting with ~$13,000 at the dinner break. GO dixie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SirFozzie]

Interesting: there's six more bracelet events that will be running during the main event? That's goofy.

[Toddzilla]

Cardplayer.com Fri Jul 28 18:40:00 PDT 2006
Hardest Beat EVER
Jack Mahalingam is all-in for $5,000 and is called an opponent in late position. Mahalingam shows 8s8c and his opponent has 5h5c. The flop is 6s5s5d (!!) and his opponent flops quads. The turn is a 9s giving Mahalingam a gut-shot straight flush draw (his only way to win). The river is the 7s giving Mahalingam the straight flush and the hand.

[Vegas Vic]

Cardplayer.com Fri Jul 28 18:40:00 PDT 2006
Hardest Beat EVER
Jack Mahalingam is all-in for $5,000 and is called an opponent in late position. Mahalingam shows 8s8c and his opponent has 5h5c. The flop is 6s5s5d (!!) and his opponent flops quads. The turn is a 9s giving Mahalingam a gut-shot straight flush draw (his only way to win). The river is the 7s giving Mahalingam the straight flush and the hand.

That's actually not a bad beat, because all of the money went in before the flop. The 88 was a 4 to 1 favorite over the 55. The one card straight flush is just one of the 80% of winning combinations for the 88.

[kcchief19]

Interesting: there's six more bracelet events that will be running during the main event? That's goofy.
They are second chance tourneys. I'm pretty sure they've run them before, although there are more this year.

And I use FF and have no trouble pasting from CardPlayer. Weird.

[sabotai]

Pffft. Technicalities. It still sucks royally for the guy holding the pocket fives. :)

[Toddzilla]

Ah, I use IE. I just tried it with Firefox and it did that 9diamond stuff.I got it to work - before entering the message, I choose "Switch Editor Mode" and voila:

"Pre-flop, an opponent pushes all-in for $6,000 and Brian Wilson calls. Wilson shows 10http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif10http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif and his opponent shows Jhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gifJhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif. The flop is Qhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif4http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif, giving Wilson 4 cards to a flush. The turn (Qhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif) and river (Qhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif) are no help though, and Wilson loses the hand. Currently, he has fallen to $11,600."

[dixieflatline]

i am busto. check 92o if you want the details.

[Subby]

Josh - you had a nice run - that was a tough hand, to be sure...

Looking forward to your trip report - I hope you and your wife enjoy the hell out of the rest of your time out there...

Congrats again for just getting there.

[TroyF]

Pffft. Technicalities. It still sucks royally for the guy holding the pocket fives. :)

Yeah, it sucks, but like the others here, I can't cal that a bad beat. He got his money in with by far and away the worst hand. The expected result is what happened.

If he'd have went all in on the flop and gotten called, it would have been one of the worst beats I've ever seen.

[larrymcg421]

Raymer has done it again. Last year he got shortstacked very early, then had an enormoush rush at the end of day one that really got him going for the whole tourney.

Well the same thing happened this year. He struggled for most of the day below the $10,000 threshold, finally built it up to $19k or so, then lost to a straight which brought him down to $6k. That was the last update I saw before I went to bed. Now I look this morning and see he's got 48,900. How does this guy fucking do it?

[Jas_lov]

I don't know how Raymer does it. If he makes a run deep this year it would just be god like. Considering the past few main event winners before him never make it out of the first day it is remarkable. We'll see how Joe Hachem does today. I have a feeling he will play very tight early as he has the biggest target above his head. I predict he will make it to day two as he is a good player as evidenced by his WSOP thus far. He just has to be very careful and pick his spots to get lucky like Raymer is so good at doing.

[Toddzilla]

I gotta believe there are quite a few donkeys who see Raymer in a pot and say to themselves "I want to knockout out the former champ" go in with mediocre cards, and get beat.

[larrymcg421]

BTW, did you guys see that not only is David Williams doing well, but so is his mom? It would be interesting if they drew the same table.

I'm assuming Moneymaker is playing today? I hope he does well. People give him a bad rap, but it's almost entirely undeserved. He's not as good as Raymer, but he's a hell of alot better than Robert Varkonyi.

[SirFozzie]

Heh, wish I was there to see it:


Sun Jul 30 13:22:00 PDT 2006
Louie Anderson F-Bombing it Up
Louie Anderson has been penalized for using the F-bomb.

[albionmoonlight]

Heh, wish I was there to see it:


Sun Jul 30 13:22:00 PDT 2006
Louie Anderson F-Bombing it Up
Louie Anderson has been penalized for using the F-bomb.

How do they penalize someone at one of these tournaments?

[digamma]

How do they penalize someone at one of these tournaments?

You have to sit out for a set length of time. (Usually ten minutes for the first offense.)

[cartman]

How do they penalize someone at one of these tournaments? You have to sit out for 10 minutes. So you basically lose any blinds that pass your spot when you are sitting out. For multiple offenses, I think they simply increase the time.

[SirFozzie]

Also, if Roman Polanski is still able to make movies, there is no way that this would be a career killer for Mel.

Um.. Cart.. wrong thread, dude.

I remember Matusow early in last year's tournament racking up 50 minutes or so at one go. He'd get penalized and add another F-Bomb just to make the guy say the new amount of time

[dacman]

BTW, if anyone wants someone else to follow -- Jeff Sealey is a FOAF. Played yesterday -- spent most of the afternoon at the same table as Jesus Ferguson, Annie
Duke, and Jason Lester.

[cartman]

Uh, that's wierd. I see it in the other thread as well. ???

[SirFozzie]

Ah yes.. here we go, the famous Matusow blow up


Finally, Mike the Mouth Matusow, after a brief featurette regarding his prison sentence, gets into it with the dealer at his table. The dealer accuses Matusow of throwing cards at him. The floor is called over, and The Mouth is brewing - he's ripped, because he insists that he did NOT throw the cards at the dealer, and when the table members back up his story, he calms down and takes his seat again. He's whispering to the guy next to him, very quietly, and let's an f-bomb go as he's telling a story. The dealer IMMEDIATELY raises his hand and calls the floor to give Matusow a ten minute penalty! Matusow is incredulous, and begins to swear at the floorman.

"Fuck that!" - Mike
"Twenty minutes." -floorman
"That's Fucking ridiculous!" -Mike
"Thirty Minutes." -floorman
"Fuck you too" -Mike
"Forty Minutes." -floorman

and he earns a 40 minute penalty, as the rest of the table is left shocked and awed, and the prissy little dealer is quite satisfied.

(on his way out he gets a near-standing ovation)

[Toddzilla]

"Fuck that!" - Mike
"Twenty minutes." -floorman
"That's Fucking ridiculous!" -Mike
"Thirty Minutes." -floorman
"Fuck you too" -Mike
"Forty Minutes." -floorman

and he earns a 40 minute penalty, as the rest of the table is left shocked and awed, and the prissy little dealer is quite satisfied.

(on his way out he gets a near-standing ovation)For stuff like that, can't the other players slow-play to keep the blinds from circulating so much? What if the entire table took a break in unison?

[Toddzilla]

Dola -

Congrats to dixieflatline for making it to the WSOP Main Event, sitting down, taking down a few hands, out lasting a handful of pros, and living the life for a few days.

[SirFozzie]

For stuff like that, can't the other players slow-play to keep the blinds from circulating so much? What if the entire table took a break in unison?

Actually, this happened when Matusow got a 10 minute penalty in the 2005 WPT championship, where he pulled out a miracle card on the river, and said something like "F*** me, I'm lucky" (denigrating his skill) and got hit with the 10 minute penalty.

Most of the table thought that was kinda shitty, and slowplayed it, so Matusow only missed one hand.

On the other side, a player got hit in last year's WSOP Omaha Event when he was the massive chip leader heads up. Caused a huge uproar, since the blinds were getting up there, he had to stand and watch 10 minutes of chips being shuttled from his stack to his opponents..

[primelord]

For what it is worth, all of the dealers at the WSOP have 0 tolerance for the F bomb. In the 1k event a guy sitting next to me dropped an F bomb very quitely in a normal conversation to the guy to his right. It wasn't directed at anyone and it wasn't in anger in anyway. The dealer immediately called the floor and the guy got a 10 minute penalty.

The guy was pretty pissed about it, but the dealer said that they were instructed to not let anything slide this year. If they heard an F bomb for any reason they were to immediately call the floor. They also announced that fact to all the players before hand.

[JonInMiddleGA]

The guy was pretty pissed about it, but the dealer said that they were instructed to not let anything slide this year. If they heard an F bomb for any reason they were to immediately call the floor. They also announced that fact to all the players before hand.

Somebody ought to tell them that they're only aired on cable ;)

Somewhat more seriously, sounds like the WSOP must have hired some people away from NASCAR to "help" them with their marketing. Honestly, the only poker players I give a rip about (or can have a hope in hell of identifying) are basically those who have a little personality, which might include some who indulge in a bit of profanity.

Just seems a little over the top for this to be something that they identify as a big concern.

[Toddzilla]

Donk-a-licious

Cardplayer.com Mon Jul 31 12:48:00 PDT 2006


John Myung raises to $125 pre-flop and the player in seat 7 re-raises to $300. The action folds to Myung who calls. The flop comes Qhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gifJhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif. Myung checks and his opponent bets $500. Myung raises to $1,100 and his opponent instantly goes all-in (for $10,000) in a very fast, angry, frustrated manner. Myung coolly says, "That much, huh?" His opponent excitedly says, "Yeah! I'll show you..." Myung folds and his opponent shows Ahttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gifAhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif. He then proceeds to hoop and holler, drawing attention from the surrounding tables. Myung simply says, "I'm glad I didn't call."

[Jas_lov]

Wish I could have seen this...

Cardplayer.com Mon Jul 31 12:48:00 PDT 2006

Sean Sheikhan Eliminated
On a flop of 973 and $675 in the pot, the player in seat 2 bets $700. Sean Sheikhan raises to $2,000 and the player re-raises all-in for $10,000 more. Sheikhan makes the call and shows QQ while his opponent shows 99 for a set. The turn and river come 8K, and Sheikhan is eliminated.

[Maple Leafs]

My favorite "f-bomb rule" story is the one with Anna Benson.

[SirFozzie]

My favorite "f-bomb rule" story is the one with Anna Benson.

Oh, yeah I heard about this, the one where she got 10 minutes for saying the F-bomb, and then trying out all the other curses (we're talking compound phrases here, folks), to see what else is verboten?

[SirFozzie]

Yup.. that was the one:

9:30pm... Boring Sunday... at least four members of the media agree that today is a little slow, borderline on boring. Aside from the early Matusow F-bomb the only other story involved Anna Benson who dropped an F-bomb herself and was told that was the only word she could not say at the table. She proceeded to let rip as many curse words as possible to test the rule. She even pitched out the word "cocksucker."

(this is from last year's WSOP thread) :D

[Toddzilla]

A class act, that broad....

[sabotai]

That is seriously hilarious.

[albionmoonlight]

A class act, that broad....

As a friend of mine said, she's a woman who got famous for saying that she would have sex with an entire baseball team. And then she got trashy.

[Toddzilla]

I'd love to see Anna Benson get her ass kicked by someone like Evelyn Ng...


...in Hi-Def slow motion :D

[Toddzilla]

Cardplayer.com Jul 31 18:04:00 PDT 2006
Hand of the Day? Bad Beat of the Day?
With $4,000 in the pot and a flop of 9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif8http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif3http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif, Adam Meyer bets $1,200. Jeremiah Smith raises to $6,000 and Meyer immediately moves all-in. Jeremiah calls and shows 9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif while Meyer shows 8http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif8http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif. The turn is no help to Meyer as the 6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif falls. The river, however, brings a miracle for him as the 8http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif comes. Meyer doubles up to $30,000 and Smith has fallen to $10,000 following that hand along with a hand he lost 5 minutes later.

[SirFozzie]

From another board:


A player has just been disqualified from the main event. He was putting chips into his pocket when he was caught by a floorman. The player claimed that he heard it was ok to hide chips in his pocket, but that stuff doesn't fly in the World Series. He has been disqualified, and the floorman went on to say that this was the first DQ of it's kind for the entire WSOP. His chips were confiscated and removed from play.

[SirFozzie]

Dola: here it is, the full update from CardPlayer


Mon Jul 31 15:37:00 PDT 2006
First Disqualification of the Series

A player has just been disqualified from the main event. He was putting chips into his pocket when he was caught by a floorman. The player claimed that he was told he could transfer his chips in his pocket, but the tournament director explained why it was against the rules at the World Series. If a player takes tournament chips out of sight, they are no longer in play. This is done to prevent chip dumping and counterfeit chips from entering tournament play. The player has been disqualified, and the floorman went on to say that this was the first disqualification of it's kind for this year's WSOP. Last year, a player was also eliminated by carrying his chips in his pocket. His chips were confiscated and removed from play. If a player were to only put some of his chips in his pocket, only those chips would be removed, and he would still be able to continue playing with the remainder of his chips. When players are moved or tables are broken, the tournament directors make sure to give the players chip racks and tell them not to remove the chips from sight. The eye in the sky is always watching.

[kingfc22]

Dola: here it is, the full update from CardPlayer


Mon Jul 31 15:37:00 PDT 2006
First Disqualification of the Series

A player has just been disqualified from the main event. He was putting chips into his pocket when he was caught by a floorman. The player claimed that he was told he could transfer his chips in his pocket, but the tournament director explained why it was against the rules at the World Series. If a player takes tournament chips out of sight, they are no longer in play. This is done to prevent chip dumping and counterfeit chips from entering tournament play. The player has been disqualified, and the floorman went on to say that this was the first disqualification of it's kind for this year's WSOP. Last year, a player was also eliminated by carrying his chips in his pocket. His chips were confiscated and removed from play. If a player were to only put some of his chips in his pocket, only those chips would be removed, and he would still be able to continue playing with the remainder of his chips. When players are moved or tables are broken, the tournament directors make sure to give the players chip racks and tell them not to remove the chips from sight. The eye in the sky is always watching.

$10k well spent.

[Lathum]

does anyone have the link for how dixieflatline busted?

[SirFozzie]

http://www.92offsuit.com/

It's on the main page

[Lathum]

I am in no way sugguesting dixie did anything wrong but I may have pushed more on the flop with the hearts on board but good show and tough luck my friend

[Subby]

Hi Donkey!

Andrew Black Crippled
Preflop action folds to the player in the small blind, who raises. Andrew Black raises to $17,000 from the big blind, enough to put his opponent all-in. His opponent calls and shows Ahttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gifQhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif, while Black shows Khttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif10http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif and will need to improve. The board comes Ahttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif2http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif7http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gifQhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif, giving Black's opponent two pair to take down the pot and double up. Black's stack is down to $2,500 after the hand, leaving him crippled.

[Subby]

Andrew Black Eliminated
Last year's 5th place finisher has been eliminated shortly after moving to a different table.

[Logan]

Does this Cardplayer site have "reporters" running around, observing tables? Or do they depend on others to tell them what happened after the hand? Just curious.

[Barkeep49]

Does this Cardplayer site have "reporters" running around, observing tables? Or do they depend on others to tell them what happened after the hand? Just curious.
I believe they have a whole bunch of intern/reporters running around.

Also, in case you didn't know Cardplayer is THE definitive magazine for poker as well. It's a good read if you're interested in the poker community.

[kcchief19]

Andrew Black Eliminated
Last year's 5th place finisher has been eliminated shortly after moving to a different table. At least you know with Black he just smiled nicely and walked away, content with the knowlege that on this death bed he will receive total consciousness, which is nice.

[cartman]

Sounds like last year's winner, Joe Hachem, is doing well, even with the bullseye on him. He's up close to $90K at this point.

[Toddzilla]

Tue Aug 01 15:51:00 PDT 2006
The Master Eliminated
Men Nguyen had all of his chips in on a flop of Jhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif3http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif. Ken Jacobs calls, having Nguyen covered. Nguyen flips over Qhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gifJhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif for top pair and a flush draw, and Jacobs shows 3http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif3http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif for a set. The turn brings the 4http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif, giving "The Master" his flush, but the river brought the 6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif, filling up Jacobs' boat and eliminating Nguyen. Jacobs now has $193,000.

[larrymcg421]

ThisI hope when I play in the WSOP, someone does something as dumbassed as this:

Varkonyi Wins Battle of Blinds
Action is folded around to Robert Varkonyi in the small blind, and he limps, the big blind raises to $1,000 and Varkonyi calls. The flop is 6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif4http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif, Varkonyi checks, the big blind bets $2,000, and Varkonyi calls. The turn is the 10http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif, Varkonyi checks, the big blind bets $3,000, and Varkonyi calls. The river is the Khttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif, Varkkonyi bets $5,000, the big blind raises to $10,000, Varkonyi then re-raises his last $1,400 all-in, and the big blind folds. Varkonyi now has $33,400.

[Toddzilla]

Someone please explain this hand to me...why is Lane in this hand in the first place?

Tue Aug 01 22:25:00 PDT 2006
5-4 Kills Aces and Kings
The player in seat 1 raises to $3,000 from early position, and two players call the raise. Jon Lane re-raises to $20,000 from middle position, and seat 9 moves all-in for $35,000 total. Seat 1 calls the all-in, and action is folded to Lane. Lane calls the raise. The flop comes Ahttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif7http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif3http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif. Seat 1 tries to bet $20,000, but only brings out $10,000 first and is cited for a string-bet; Lane makes the call of $10,000. The turn is the 6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif, seat 1 bets $20,000, Lane moves all-in, and seat 1 calls for his last $21,000. Seat 9 shows Khttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gifKhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif, seat 1 has Ahttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gifAhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif, and Lane has 5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif4http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif. Lane yells, "Don't pair the board!" and the 2http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif peels off on the river to secure Lane a huge pot and eliminate two players. Lane is now up to $350,000.

[Subby]

Squeeze play gone wrong...

[QuikSand]

Observations from the earlier 1K event (following up on items from above)...

-They made the announcement about not putting chips into your pockets at *every* opportunity -- announcing this multiple times before every break. I'm sure they continued doing so in the later events. That was probably just an absent-minded play by someone who wasn't paying close attention, but it's pretty inexcusable.

-The CardPlayer lackeys were swarming like locusts by the time our event got down to the money -- after most big hands, there would be someone buzzing around making a spot chip count and, if needed, getting names of the affected players. After the overnight break (when they got to read the names and counts from every player) the details get even more secure. They seemed to do a good job, as nearly as I could tell.

[kingfc22]

ThisI hope when I play in the WSOP, someone does something as dumbassed as this:

Varkonyi Wins Battle of Blinds
Action is folded around to Robert Varkonyi in the small blind, and he limps, the big blind raises to $1,000 and Varkonyi calls. The flop is 6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif4http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif, Varkonyi checks, the big blind bets $2,000, and Varkonyi calls. The turn is the 10http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif, Varkonyi checks, the big blind bets $3,000, and Varkonyi calls. The river is the Khttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif, Varkkonyi bets $5,000, the big blind raises to $10,000, Varkonyi then re-raises his last $1,400 all-in, and the big blind folds. Varkonyi now has $33,400.

HAHAHHA!!!!

[twothree]

Someone please explain this hand to me...why is Lane in this hand in the first place?

Perhaps, he is one of those people, who likes to buy things that are on sale for 50% off. My pathetic analysis...

He was the one that re-raised to $20K from $3K, so he's looking to steal the pot or find out who has a really strong hand. Perhaps his table was playing tight, or he had some sort of read on the raiser and the 2 callers.

When seat 9 is all-in and gets called by one player, it is only costing him another $15K to be one of three players to see the flop.

After the flop, he basically got 50% off on the action to see another card. And, he has 8 outs from two different inside straight draws. The best he would have put his opponents on is probably a set. The guy wanted to bet $20K but his poor play made it only $10K to see another card.

So, in summary I don't like his initial $20K reraise. However, the $15K call pre-flop and the $10K call post-flop, seem like very good calls to me. Usually the raises (bets) tend to go up to keep players out of the pot, so seat 1's call with bullets after seat 9 went all in cost him the pot. Seat 1 should have went all in at that point for his last, (edit) $46K to make it a total of $66K pre-flop. Which might have gotten Lane to fold, and won seat 1 the pot.

[sabotai]

Someone please explain this hand to me...why is Lane in this hand in the first place?

My thought is the same as Subby, he tried a squeeze play (on two players is pretty risky though). After that, he was getting great pot odds to stay in the hand at each decision.

[CleBrownsfan]

Someone please explain this hand to me...why is Lane in this hand in the first place?

Tue Aug 01 22:25:00 PDT 2006
5-4 Kills Aces and Kings
The player in seat 1 raises to $3,000 from early position, and two players call the raise. Jon Lane re-raises to $20,000 from middle position, and seat 9 moves all-in for $35,000 total. Seat 1 calls the all-in, and action is folded to Lane. Lane calls the raise. The flop comes Ahttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif7http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif3http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif. Seat 1 tries to bet $20,000, but only brings out $10,000 first and is cited for a string-bet; Lane makes the call of $10,000. The turn is the 6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif, seat 1 bets $20,000, Lane moves all-in, and seat 1 calls for his last $21,000. Seat 9 shows Khttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gifKhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif, seat 1 has Ahttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gifAhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif, and Lane has 5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif4http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif. Lane yells, "Don't pair the board!" and the 2http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif peels off on the river to secure Lane a huge pot and eliminate two players. Lane is now up to $350,000.

I read this same thing and WTF was Lane thinking calling 3 raises w/ 45o preflop?!?! Wonder how sick Lane would of been if seat 1 brought out a big bet rather than 10k (or even 20k). and he would have folded.

Odds:

P-Flop
KK 18%
AA 65%
45o 16%

Going to the turn:

KK 4%
AA 70%
45o 25% (he had huge pot odds after the flop to call 10k)

[Subby]

He didn't call 3 raises with 54o preflop. He re-raised the EP raiser, then called seat 9's all-in.

His first raise was a squeeze play. When he called the allin, there was (according to CardPlayer) at least 96k in the pot (seat 1: 35k, seat 9: 35k, two 3k callers, his initial 20k). So he is getting 6:1 to make the call (plus he closes the action pf).

On the flop Seat 9 is already allin, so Lane is closing the action. At least 111K in the pot means he is getting odds for sure on the 10K bet. I think the 20K bet, but not sure...

Anyway, aside from an iffy squeeze play and screaming at the cards to not pair, I don't think he did anything wrong.

[SirFozzie]

He didn't want the board to pair because the AA guys would have made Aces Full House

[digamma]

He didn't want the board to pair because the AA guys would have made Aces Full House

I think Subby's point was that it's pretty poor form to yell and scream at a board when you've sucked out on Kings and Aces with 5-4.

[Subby]

He didn't want the board to pair because the AA guys would have made Aces Full HouseYou are really good at this!

:D

[cartman]

You are really good at this!

:D

Or even four of a kind Aces!

[dixieflatline]

I am in no way sugguesting dixie did anything wrong but I may have pushed more on the flop with the hearts on board but good show and tough luck my friend
I totally should have reraised on the flop. He was just so aggressive that I thought I could turn it into a big hand when I should have been happy with what was in the pot. Against any other player at the table and I am reraising that flop for sure but this guy messed me up. BTW, LAGgy play during day 1 is certainly the way to go. The loose aggressive players at both of my tables left the table as the chip leader (for that table).

Thanks for the kind words Todd and Chris. It was kind of a nice feeling to take Phil Gordon's seat after he was knocked out. Besides that screw up on the bust out hand I feel like I was playing well. I had 17K in chips at that point and had some nice reads of the other players. 2nd chance is tomorrow and I am feeling great about that. More of a crap shoot but that is what I do best ;)

[Subby]

Good luck tomorrow!

[PineTar]

Wed Aug 02 18:52:00 PDT 2006
Another Past Champion Busted
Greg Raymer has just been eliminated from this years Main Event

[larrymcg421]

Seat 1 calls the all-in

This is THE mistake in the hand. With AA and all this action, you have got to push here. If he did, Lane would have laid down his hand and then Seat 1 would have had AA heads up with alot of dead money in the pot. You can't get a better situation than that in poker. By not pushing, he screwed himself and deserved to get cracked.

[larrymcg421]

Gale Plays Against Pocket Queens...And Knows It
One hand after winning a big pot against Rogelio Martinez, John Gale is still stacking his chips when an opponent raises $4,000. Gale calls but his opponent thinks he folded. His opponent turns over the Qhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif and Qhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif. The floor is called and it's ruled the hand will still go on. The flop comes Khttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif and Gale bets $10,000. His opponent laughs and throws his Queens at Gale's chips. Gale who just bluffed the hand before says, "I had the best of it," just like he did the hand before. And just like the hand before, Gale was bluffing again as he turns over 6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif.

[SirFozzie]

I know most of this guy's chips are low denomination... but damn that's a lot of chips.

http://www.cardplayer.com/image_gallery/zoom/?width=1050&height=700&show_image=http://media.cardplayer.com/image/d/Dmitri_Nobles.jpg#

[SirFozzie]

That's Dimitri Nobles, who has 553,000 after day 2B, more then 200K more then anyone who played that day.

[Barkeep49]

And who sounds like a grade A donkey.

[SirFozzie]

hell, there was a hand on his day 1 where his JJ was all in vs QQ, Q on the flop, and Runner Runner JJ on the Turn and the River.

Sick Sick Beat.

[Barkeep49]

hell, there was a hand on his day 1 where his JJ was all in vs QQ, Q on the flop, and Runner Runner JJ on the Turn and the River.

Sick Sick Beat.
Yeah it sounds like he depends a lot on luck. Not saying he isn't about 20x better than me, but I would have to think he'd make the worst ME winner since Varkonyi.

[Jas_lov]

So who are the favorites to win it all now? Negreanu(331k), Allen Cunningham(172k), John Gale(170k), Joe Hachem(142k), Ted Forrest(125k), Humberto Brenes(110k), Josh Arieh(82k), Carlos Mortensen(82k), Annie Duke(73k), Chris Ferguson(60k), Freddy Deeb(58k), Layne Flack(25k), Phil Ivey(20k).

Those are the biggest names left. Negreanu obviously has the best chance with the most chips out of the big name pros. He has a favorable table draw for Day 3 with no pros and 2nd in chips at his table is about half of his stack. The bubble will soon be approaching and that's where Negreanu and other pros above can feast on satellite qualifiers who just want to squeak into the money. That being said, I'm a betting man, but I still don't know if I'd bet on any of these pros making the final table, but Negreanu and Cunningham have to be the favorites of them to do it.

Last year it seemed like a lock to have at least 2-3 pros at the final table when Raymer, Ivey, Matusow, Minh Ly were all in the top 25. Raymer ran into Kanter, Ivey ran into the sick human being known as Andrew Black, they didn't really show what happened to Minh, and Matusow made it so anything can happen I guess.

[Toddzilla]

Gale has had quite a run lately - if he can keep momentum, I'd wager he's make the final table, too.

And poor Ivey is short-stacked like a mo-fo.

"Just because you pour syrup on it don't make it a pancake."

[Barkeep49]

I'd say it's still way too early to talk about pros at the final table. I mean the chip leader has 500k chips when there are what 10 million chips in play?

[digamma]

I'd say it's still way too early to talk about pros at the final table. I mean the chip leader has 500k chips when there are what 10 million chips in play?

Almost 88 million, right?

10k x 8773 = 87,730,000

[Subby]

The odds are that none of those guys sees the final table.

[Barkeep49]

Almost 88 million, right?

10k x 8773 = 87,730,000
Yeah I left out a zero. 88 million sounds about right.

[SirFozzie]

I'd say it's still way too early to talk about pros at the final table. I mean the chip leader has 500k chips when there are what 10 million chips in play?

Off by a 0.

100,000,000

[Toddzilla]

The odds are that none of those guys sees the final table.But the odds are best that one of the leaders will make the final table, right? I mean, more chips = better odds. I know compared to NOT making the final table, the odds aren't good, but the odds of one of the top 15 making the final table vs. some donkey with 10K in chips is quite high.

[kcchief19]

I do think it's too early to make any assumptions considering how many chips and players are still left -- this would be akin to predicting who make the final table at the 2003 World Series of Poker before it began.

That said, I think Negreanu is always dangerous with a lot of chips and Allen Cunningham has been red hot. I think Mortenson and Ferguson are in decent shape. Ivey is a bit of a mystery. He hasn't really made any moves either way. I wonder if he's just trying to stay alive and want to make his move when the pool has thinned out a bit.

The name standing out to me is Hachem. I think a lot of people -- me included -- wonder if he was another flash in the pan. If he can make a Raymer-like run in this tourney, he'll silence any remaining doubters.

[kcchief19]

Yeah it sounds like he depends a lot on luck. Not saying he isn't about 20x better than me, but I would have to think he'd make the worst ME winner since Varkonyi.
Giving Moneymaker a pass? :)

Anybody catch the final table of the circuit event where Scotty Nguyen was leading the bagging on Moneymaker while complimenting Hachem's play? Clearly the pros don't think much of Moneymaker.

If look at it, he's post-World Series career isn't that much more successful that Varkonyi's especially considering that I bet Moneymaker has a lot more freerolls and sponsors picking up entry fees than Varkonyi ever did. Moneymaker had that one final table in a WPT event, but that's really it.

[Lathum]

Giving Moneymaker a pass? :)

Anybody catch the final table of the circuit event where Scotty Nguyen was leading the bagging on Moneymaker while complimenting Hachem's play? Clearly the pros don't think much of Moneymaker.

If look at it, he's post-World Series career isn't that much more successful that Varkonyi's especially considering that I bet Moneymaker has a lot more freerolls and sponsors picking up entry fees than Varkonyi ever did. Moneymaker had that one final table in a WPT event, but that's really it.
I think he also had a couple of nice finishes on pokerstars tournaments.

[rkmsuf]

It's pretty much impossible to become a "poker superstar" now. All the current "stars" just had perfect timing at the start of the poker boom to be anoited legends.

Negraneua admits as much that he got on the wave at the right time. Now with so many people and better play it's tough.

[Subby]

It's pretty much impossible to become a "poker superstar" now.
The Grinder would disagree... :)

[Barkeep49]

Jeff Madsen could easily disagree as well.

[rkmsuf]

The Grinder would disagree... :)

sure but he hasn't achieved the fame of the others and is probably a better player

poker fame is an odd thing...or even their perceptions amongst the masses. first the general public sees like 1% of any players total play. then unless you are always at the final table of wpt and such you are a failure when in fact it's freaking hard to do that consistently. none of them do for the most part.

[larrymcg421]

Giving Moneymaker a pass? :)

Anybody catch the final table of the circuit event where Scotty Nguyen was leading the bagging on Moneymaker while complimenting Hachem's play? Clearly the pros don't think much of Moneymaker.

If look at it, he's post-World Series career isn't that much more successful that Varkonyi's especially considering that I bet Moneymaker has a lot more freerolls and sponsors picking up entry fees than Varkonyi ever did. Moneymaker had that one final table in a WPT event, but that's really it.

Ok, this is a bit ridiculous.

Here are Varkonyi's cashes since his victory...


2006 Bellagio Friday/Saturday No-Limit Hold'em Tournament
No-Limit Hold'em
04/22/2006 6 $4,015


And here are Moneymaker's


2006 37th Annual World Series of Poker
Limit Hold'em Shootout
07/26/2006 28 $7,153.00
2004 UltimateBet.com Poker Classic
No-Limit Hold'em
10/01/2004 18 $13,000.00
2004 4th Annual Jack Binion Mid-America Poker Classic
Pot-Limit Hold'em
08/03/2004 3 $10,239.00
2004 35th Annual World Series of Poker
Pot-Limit Omaha
05/20/2004 10 $21,000.00
2004 Bay 101 Shooting Star Tournament
WPT No-Limit Hold'em Championship
03/05/2004 2 $200,000.00

I'd say that's a fairly big difference. Furthermore, Moneymaker played extremely well in his victory. He did get very lucky, but so did Raymer or anyone else. Varkonyi was the benefit of one of the worst calls in WSOP history (Chip leader John Shipley calling an all-in bet from Varkonyi with AJ).

Moneymaker had to deal with a much tougher group in his final table.: Harrington, Vahedi, Farha, Lester. And I don't care what anyone says, his play with 88 against Brenes is not a bad play unless you know the cards ahead of time.

[Jas_lov]

I think Moneymaker gets a bad rap. He doesn't play that many tournaments a year, maybe 4-5 at the most. In those 4-5 a year it's pretty hard to make it deep. He did get 3rd in a WPT event a few years ago when Phil Gordon won. You don't see him at the top of many tournaments because he doesn't play very many and he doesn't really need to if he doesn't want to because he's got all the endorsements.

It is harder these days to become a poker superstar. Those that got on at the right time(Negreanu, Esfandiari, Gus Hansen) all had great timing during 2004 when poker was booming. Now players like Mike Gracz, Nick Shulman, Jeff Madsen, and even The Grinder probably will never become as big after winning a tournament like what happened in 2004.

[rkmsuf]

I think Moneymaker gets a bad rap. He doesn't play that many tournaments a year, maybe 4-5 at the most. In those 4-5 a year it's pretty hard to make it deep. He did get 3rd in a WPT event a few years ago when Phil Gordon won. You don't see him at the top of many tournaments because he doesn't play very many and he doesn't really need to if he doesn't want to because he's got all the endorsements.

It is harder these days to become a poker superstar. Those that got on at the right time(Negreanu, Esfandiari, Gus Hansen) all had great timing during 2004 when poker was booming. Now players like Mike Gracz, Nick Shulman, Jeff Madsen, and even The Grinder probably will never become as big after winning a tournament like what happened in 2004.

I concur

post #109

[kcchief19]

Ok, this is a bit ridiculous.

Here are Varkonyi's cashes since his victory...

And here are Moneymaker's

I'd say that's a fairly big difference. Furthermore, Moneymaker played extremely well in his victory. He did get very lucky, but so did Raymer or anyone else. Varkonyi was the benefit of one of the worst calls in WSOP history (Chip leader John Shipley calling an all-in bet from Varkonyi with AJ).

Moneymaker had to deal with a much tougher group in his final table.: Harrington, Vahedi, Farha, Lester. And I don't care what anyone says, his play with 88 against Brenes is not a bad play unless you know the cards ahead of time.
Big difference? I'd say on a scale of 1 to 10 juding their post-World Series success Moneymaker's a two and Varkonyi is a one. OK, Moneymaker is twice as successful as Varkonyi. But that's nothing to be proud of, Rusty. If Phil Ivey won $250,000 over the next three years like Moneymaker has won during the last three years, we'd all be saying Ivey sucks and has lost it.

Anyway, I'm not the one to argue with -- the beef over moneymaker is with Scotty Nguyen and the other pros who think he sucks. :)

[Pumpy Tudors]

Who the hell is The Grinder? Is this a Joey Kocur reference I'm missing?

[Barkeep49]

Who the hell is The Grinder? Is this a Joey Kocur reference I'm missing?
Michael Mizrachi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mizrachi)

[Pumpy Tudors]

I should have said Darren McCarty instead of Joey Kocur. :(

[Maple Leafs]

If look at it, he's post-World Series career isn't that much more successful that Varkonyi's especially considering that I bet Moneymaker has a lot more freerolls and sponsors picking up entry fees than Varkonyi ever did. Moneymaker had that one final table in a WPT event, but that's really it.
All Moneymaker does these days is hang out on Pokerstars and beat up on random internet donkeys (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=35441&page=2).

[stevew]

Lol, i remember watching the last table with Radii and moneymaker.

[kcchief19]

Ever since I came out of the closet regarding my problem with typos, the problem has proceeded to get worse and worse. Ugh.

[dixieflatline]

If look at it, he's post-World Series career isn't that much more successful that Varkonyi's especially considering that I bet Moneymaker has a lot more freerolls and sponsors picking up entry fees than Varkonyi ever did. Moneymaker had that one final table in a WPT event, but that's really it.

I'll have more to say on this in my trip report (not coming soon) but I wasn't to impressed with the tutorial that varkonyi put on a few days ago. Several times Liebert was just shaking her head at what Rob was saying. Clearly he isn't a donkey but I don't think he is top tier either. I think he would do well to play a bunch on the internet.

[larrymcg421]

Big difference? I'd say on a scale of 1 to 10 juding their post-World Series success Moneymaker's a two and Varkonyi is a one. OK, Moneymaker is twice as successful as Varkonyi. But that's nothing to be proud of, Rusty. If Phil Ivey won $250,000 over the next three years like Moneymaker has won during the last three years, we'd all be saying Ivey sucks and has lost it.

Anyway, I'm not the one to argue with -- the beef over moneymaker is with Scotty Nguyen and the other pros who think he sucks. :)

2nd place in a WPT event, 10th in a WSOP event, and another cash. Yeah I think that's a big difference compared to a cash in a daily casino tournament, especially when you also factor in Moneymaker having one less year to accomplish stuff.

Also, most of the "Moneymaker sucks" mantra comes from misconceptions about how he played. For instance, many people think he called all-in against Benes. Some think he called Boyd all-in preflop instead of after the flop. Others think he made a mistake by not betting enough on the Ivey hand.

I never heard the Scotty Nguyen comments, but oh well. I think if there was a heads up competition between Chris Moneymaker and Robert Varkonyi, most people would back Moneymaker.

[Barkeep49]

Now I might be biased here, but I had the opportunity to play with Moneymaker in a tourney, and found him to be as sharp of a poker player as I've ever seen. Annie Duke was also in this tourney and while I didn't play with her, when I watched the final table I could tell no difference in their styles of play. Perhaps I'd say the same thing about Varkonyi, but Moneymaker consistently was able to get his money in with the best of it and even rebuilt a rather small stack to finish 6th, I believe.

[Subby]

Fri Aug 04 11:37:00 PDT 2006
Players Unbagging Chips
Players have arrived for day 3 to unbag their chips. There are 1159 players remaining, and the top 873 will make the cash.

[kcchief19]

2nd place in a WPT event, 10th in a WSOP event, and another cash. Yeah I think that's a big difference compared to a cash in a daily casino tournament, especially when you also factor in Moneymaker having one less year to accomplish stuff.

Also, most of the "Moneymaker sucks" mantra comes from misconceptions about how he played. For instance, many people think he called all-in against Benes. Some think he called Boyd all-in preflop instead of after the flop. Others think he made a mistake by not betting enough on the Ivey hand.

I never heard the Scotty Nguyen comments, but oh well. I think if there was a heads up competition between Chris Moneymaker and Robert Varkonyi, most people would back Moneymaker.
I'd back Moneymaker too -- hence my statement that he's twice as good as good Varkonyi. :)

I give Moneymaker the edge for a slightly better career post-main event win, but I still think that some of the succes stems from more opportunities that Varkonyi hasn't had or taken -- I'll bet the house Moneymaker has freerolled in more tournaments than Varkonyi has.

But drawing the distinction among pros only, I still contend that on a scale of 1 to 10 a Phil Hellmuth is a 10, a Moneymaker is a 2 and a Varkonyi's a one. Moneymaker's an elite poker player, but he's not one of the better elite poker players.

[Desmond]

I seem to remember that some website last year had audio coverage of the main event near the end. Is that happening again this year?

[kcchief19]

Cardplayer.com had audio coverage last year, and I imagine they'll do it again. PokerStars did "live" coverage on their site two years ago, but that was such a disaster that I think they've abandoned the effort. The Cardplayer stuff was pretty good.

[kcchief19]

The pros look like they are making their stand today ... Almost 200 people have busted today and I think only one name is gone. This could be moving day. Negeanu is starting to make some moves after taking a couple of early hits.

[Subby]

The pros look like they are making their stand today ... Almost 200 people have busted today and I think only one name is gone. This could be moving day. Negeanu is starting to make some moves after taking a couple of early hits.You jinxed them - as soon as I read your post I saw that Ivey and Mortensen had been eliminated (and Arieh earlier).

:D

[larrymcg421]

Negreanu has completely imploded. He was all the way down below $30,000 and is back up to $65,000 now. This guy had over $300,000 to start the day.

[SirFozzie]

Interesting, Dmitri Nobles is still the chip leader. Still on the mother of all lucky rushes, or actually playing good at this point?

[SirFozzie]

Heh.

Jamie Gold Shows
Mike McClain calls the big blind from middle position, along with Jamie Gold on the button. The flop comes 9s3s3c, McClain bets $50,000, Gold raises to $100,000, McClain re-raises to $300,000 and Gold pushes all-in for $2,100,000. McClain goes into the tank for about 5 minutes and Gold turns to him and says "Let me check to see if I have it." Gold gives the thumbs up to McClain and tells him its not too late to get off his hand. McClain says "I don't know if I like you that much anymore" and folds. Gold turns over 9d9h for the flopped full house and is now at $2,550,000.

and then on the next page..

With a board of Jd6s5h7d, Jamie Gold ($2,700,000) bets $100,000 into the $80,000 pot and Michael McClain ($500,000) calls. The river is the 7c and McClain is first to act. As he is thinking Gold says, "There is no shame in checking." McClain responds by saying, "Check, huh? I'm all-in." Gold calls instantly and shows 5c5d for the full house. McClain shows As7s and is sent to the rail. Gold is now an even bigger chip leader with $3,200,000.

[GoldenEagle]

Jamie Gold sounds like a donkey.

[TroyF]

Jamie Gold sounds like a donkey.


Sounds like an ass maybe. Not sure about a donkey. He should have sucked the first guy in for more chips instead of acting like an ass. He did get the second guys chips and sent him to the rail.

Certainly sounds like a guy I don't want to cheer for, but I'm not sure if he's a donk yet. He is getting some lucky hands though. Damn. . .

[SirFozzie]

That was the same guy both hands

[TroyF]

That was the same guy both hands


Ahhh, misread it. Well, still. He got the guys money with two good hands. Acted like a jerk in doing it, but that's life at the poker table.

[SirFozzie]

Top 5 Chip Counts with 135 Left.

1. Jamie Gold - $3,700,000
2. Max Reele - $2,358,000
3. James Routos - $2,279,000
4. Kyle Bowker - $2,272,000
5. Michael Binger - $1,889,000

[GoldenEagle]

According to the guys on Sirius, over 1/3rd of the field has busted already today. I think they started with 135 left.

[kingfc22]

85 left according to cardplayer

[GoldenEagle]

Annie Duke busted. The only big name left in the field is Alan Cunningham and he is not really a super-star by any means. Jeffery Lisandro is up there in chips but agian, he is not that big of a name either.

[Toddzilla]

Interesting, Dmitri Nobles is still the chip leader. Still on the mother of all lucky rushes, or actually playing good at this point?
Dmitri Nobles Eliminated 76th ($65,973)


Dmitri Nobles gets all of his chips in the pot before the flop with Khttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif10http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif. Marcello Delgrosso calls with 6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif. The board comes 9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif3http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif7http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif, giving Delgrosso a full house. Despite being a constant powerhouse throughout the tournament and having a massive chip lead on Day 2, Nobles is eliminated in 76th place and will receive $65,973.

Does THAT answer your question?

[SirFozzie]

heheheh

Looks like no name players in the final 8 tables.

[SirFozzie]

Dola:

Eric Molina Gets A Warning, Then Invents New Curse Word
Eric Molina has just been warned not to say "No way in hell" anymore. As far as we know, the word "hell" doesn't warrant a penalty, but just to be sure, Molina has decided to replace it by yelling "Carebears!" instead.

Sounds like something I would do.

[digamma]

heheheh

Looks like no name players in the final 8 tables.

A lot of people regard Alan Cunningham and his four bracelets as the best all around tournament player in the world.

I think most people would recognize Humberto Brenes too.

[Barkeep49]

Humberto was perhaps my favorite player to watch on the WPT as he was just plain fun. I hope ESPN has a lot of him in their coverage.

[Subby]

Prahlad Friedman (Mahatma, Spirit Rock) and Erik Lynch (Rizen) are two of the big on-line names left.

[kcchief19]

Jeffrey Lisandro isn't as big of a name as Cunningham and Humberto, but I'd put him in that "known" category. I think he's got a couple of WSOP final tables and a circuit win.

[SirFozzie]

Molina Takes One From Gold
With a board showing Ah6c3s2d Gold checks and Molina bets $100,000 into the $200,000 pot. Gold raises to $300,000 total and Molina re-raises all-in for $700,000 more. As Gold ponders the call Molina starts talking to him, "You got caught... just fold... stop wasting time, I have the best hand." Molina then tosses his "all-in" chip at Golds chest and Gold throws it right back at him. Molina continues to talk Gold into folding and eventually Gold folds. Shorty after the pot is raked to Molina he drops an "F-Bomb." Gold calls a floorman over and Molina gets a penalty for 10 mintues. As Molina leaves he tells Gold how much he enjoys the chips he just took off him. Expect these two to continue bucking heads throughout the rest of the tournament.

Wow.. I now have someone to root against, what a fucking prick Molina is.

[SirFozzie]

dola: I guess you could call it the first really big Matusow Moment (named after last year's Drama King.

hopefully, Eric Molina is not the new face of poker.

http://media.cardplayer.com/image/m/Molina_Eric.jpg

[larrymcg421]

Maybe so, but I think Gold is an even bigger prick...

Gold Eliminates Richard Gryko in 50th ($164,932)
Jamie Gold raises to $100,000 under the gun, and action folds around to Richard Gryko on the button. Gryko moves all-in for $920,000 total. Gold calls and flips over Ahttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gifKhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif. Gryko shows, Jhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif3http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif. The flop falls Khttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif, and Gold says, "there's the King, he's almost drawing dead." A few audience members start calling for a duece as a response. The turn is the Jhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif, and the room quiets down. Gold speaks up to reminds everyone that a three will not help Gryko's hand, and that only a jack will save him. The river is the 9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif, and Gold wins the hand. Richard Gryko is eliminated in 50th place, collecting $164,932. Gold is up to $7,200,000.

[SirFozzie]

Wow, how you can call that bigger then throwing your all in button, swearing and that kinda trash talk compared to a factual representation of where they were on the hand..

[SirFozzie]

Geez.. Gold is the Tazmanian devil.. just taking out player after player.

David Murray pushes all-in for $825,000 under the gun. Action folds to Jamie Gold in middle position, and he calls the all-in. Everyone else folds, and Murray reveals 22. Gold shows 1010. The flop comes 1052. The turn is the Q, and the river is the K. David Murray is eliminated in 48th place securing $164,932. Jamie Gold is currently sitting with $8,100,000. Sun Aug 06 23:13:00 PDT 2006

[SirFozzie]

and they're done for the day with 45 left in the tourney.

Likely a short day tommorrow, as they'll only play down to 27.

[larrymcg421]

Given the various hand descriptions I've seen involving Gold, including the one I posted, it seems very likely that Molina was probably reacting to something Gold did earlier.

[SirFozzie]

Heh.. Are you sure you're not just reacting to the fact that Gold is a Hollywood Agent? :D

(Not an A-List Agent, by any means, maybe a B+ agent, from a card player interview he says he's represented the following people: James Gandolfini, Lucy Liu, Brandy, Felicity Huffman, and Kristin Davis.)

[Subby]

When I was there there were thousands of kids that looked like Molina. It's like they cloned one 22 year-old white male jackass and then dressed each one differently, mixed and matched facial hair, and let them loose in the Rio.

[Pumpy Tudors]

When I was there there were thousands of kids that looked like Molina. It's like they cloned one 22 year-old white male jackass and then dressed each one differently, mixed and matched facial hair, and let them loose in the Rio.
I think the same thing most weeks when I see the picture of whoever's on top of the PokerStars Tournament Leaderboard. I can't knock the skills of these guys, but I get I'm getting sick of seeing this "look" over and over again.

I guess I now understand how some people feel about frat boys or how Bucc feels about NBA players. Welcome me to the club.

[k0ruptr]

heheheh

Looks like no name players in the final 8 tables.

i recognize prahlad friedman, allen cunningham, brenes, lisandro, robert betts...

thats all

[kcchief19]

Given the various hand descriptions I've seen involving Gold, including the one I posted, it seems very likely that Molina was probably reacting to something Gold did earlier.
That was my impression too. I've been reading a lot about how Gold's a jackass, so I'd imaging that people are starting to come at him.

[digamma]

Heh.. Are you sure you're not just reacting to the fact that Gold is a Hollywood Agent? :D

(Not an A-List Agent, by any means, maybe a B+ agent, from a card player interview he says he's represented the following people: James Gandolfini, Lucy Liu, Brandy, Felicity Huffman, and Kristin Davis.)

I think he's actually a manager, not an agent (as in Eric, not Ari on Entourage). There's a difference, though I'll be damned if I can explain it.

[flere-imsaho]

Agent : Pimp
Manager : Babysitter

[Toddzilla]

It seems Greg Raymer blasted Daniel Negreanu over he weekend regarding the lawsuit against the WPT - said Daniel was "stupid" and he was "glad he's out" of the world series. He's my new nominee for Jackass of the Year.

[Butter]

Raymer or Negreanu?

[larrymcg421]

I'd be more inclined to take Raymer's side. I cannot stand Negreanu's antics. He's carried on some personal vendetta against Annie Duke for quite some time, complaining about her behavior, but then he was the first person to defend Josh Arieh's bullshit at the 2004 WSOP. He also complained about Annie not deserving to be on the original TOC, but it was okay for him to get Evelen Ng into the WPT Ladies Night freeroll.

I actually find people like Negreanu, Arieh, Esfandiari and that whole crowd to be alot more annoying than Hellmuth or Matusow.

[GoldenEagle]

I think the same thing most weeks when I see the picture of whoever's on top of the PokerStars Tournament Leaderboard. I can't knock the skills of these guys, but I get I'm getting sick of seeing this "look" over and over again.

I guess I now understand how some people feel about frat boys or how Bucc feels about NBA players. Welcome me to the club.

I think they dress like a bunch of fags, but that is just my opinion.

[Barkeep49]

I used to think the world of Negreanu, but my opinion of him continues to go downhill. However, in this particular situtation I think Raymer's in the wrong.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I think they dress like a bunch of fags, but that is just my opinion.
Well, I can't come up with a compelling reason to word it quite like that, but I don't even watch poker anymore because I'm really tired of this jackass look that these youngsters have.

[flere-imsaho]

Metrosexual?

The photo at the top of the page immediately says to me: "the look of someone who's never done an honest day's work in his life".

[Subby]

Brenes out but Cunningham doubled up and is now amongst the chip leaders...

[Wolfpack]

So, are we witnessing a jumping of the shark of sorts wrt poker, at least as far as the World Series is concerned? If the new faces of poker will be a bunch of jerks who play on the net (complete with !!!!1!! lol wtf), who will enjoy watching poker played live by these people? Moneymaker and Raymer appealed because they were mature guys who held actual jobs before they had the lucky run to win the Main Event. What sort of draw do these bots offer?

[sabotai]

So, are we witnessing a jumping of the shark of sorts wrt poker, at least as far as the World Series is concerned? If the new faces of poker will be a bunch of jerks who play on the net (complete with !!!!1!! lol wtf), who will enjoy watching poker played live by these people? Moneymaker and Raymer appealed because they were mature guys who held actual jobs before they had the lucky run to win the Main Event. What sort of draw do these bots offer?
Well, one reason that jumps to mind is that it gets boring after awhile if you don't have any villians.

EDIT: and to make it really worth the emotion involved in any hero/villian form of entertainment, sometimes the villian has to win...

[Subby]

Lisandro and Friedman Butt Heads


The very next hand, Lisandro once again raises to $140,000 preflop, this time from the cut off. Friedman announces a raise, to $350,000, but puts in a $400,000 raise. The dealer pulls back the extra $50,000, and Lisandro calls. The flop brings the Ahttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gifJhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif8http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif, and Friedman cuts out a $500,000 bet and places it in the center. Lisandro mucks his hand and Friedman shows the 9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif2http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif as he rakes the pot, saying, "Now we're playing some poker."
W0000T!

[SirFozzie]

Goddamn! Gold must be on a major rush again, as now he has more than twice the chips ($14.7 million) of the 2nd place person ($6.8 million)

[SirFozzie]

And Molina WON'T be the new face of poker, he's busted in 31st.

[Subby]

Holmes Doubles up Through Friedman
Dustin Holmes moves all-in for $5,500,000 and Prahlad Friedman calls. Holmes shows Khttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gifQhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif and Friedman shows 10http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif10http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif. Holmes doubels up to $1,100,000 on the hand. Friedman is down to $1,500,000.

God CardPlayer sucks.

[hoopsguy]

If they are only playing down to 27 players today then it was a short session.

Lynch, Friedman, Cunningham, and Lisandro still alive.

[SirFozzie]

And... play is done for the day with 27 remaining.

[Subby]

Three quick busts - Wyrick, Jain, Garner - busted by Gold, Friedman and Holmes...

[Butter]

So, the final table is going to be on PPV?

[SirFozzie]

yup, but no hole cards.

[Subby]

Gold busts Rizen and is up to 17m in chips...

[Butter]

yup, but no hole cards.

Wonder why that is? I know Fox has done a few live broadcasts including hole cards.

[SirFozzie]

Ouch one of those big plasma screen TVs they put up to show the camera footage and the blinds information fell and shattered.

No one hurt, but the crash had to put everyone's nerves on edge >:D

[SirFozzie]

Wonder why that is? I know Fox has done a few live broadcasts including hole cards.


First of all, the room where they were holding the Fox final table was sealed. No Cell phones, no pagers etcetera.

Secondly, the players could not leave the room. If you take a look at Ivey in the check presentation, he's in serious hurting because he had stomach problems and couldn't leave the room to use the restroom

Too much risk of players getting info they shouldn't.. and the difference between places at the end of this tournament is so huge.

[Toddzilla]

Let's get this thread to the next page - I'm tired of looking at that jackass everytime the page loads

[Subby]

Wonder why that is? I know Fox has done a few live broadcasts including hole cards.Player A folds QJs to a big raise on the turn. Railbird is on the phone with buddy watching the PPV. Railbird yells - hey! player A just folded QJs - another railbird, also on the phone yells - hey - player B was raising with trash!

It just wouldn't work in the current environment...

[flere-imsaho]

I would have given the plasma TV a good home.... :(

[Toddzilla]

Secondly, the players could not leave the room. If you take a look at Ivey in the check presentation, he's in serious hurting because he had stomach problems and couldn't leave the room to use the restroomAre you joking? You can't hit the head when you need to? Poor Phil should have just shat on the carpet and taken the 10-minute penalty.

I'm sure a big poo on the floor would prompt a rules change :)

[Butter]

Player A folds QJs to a big raise on the turn. Railbird is on the phone with buddy watching the PPV. Railbird yells - hey! player A just folded QJs - another railbird, also on the phone yells - hey - player B was raising with trash!

It just wouldn't work in the current environment...

I suppose I understand that, but if it were a bit more controlled, it would make for a great event. Although I can't imagine too many people staying up until 4-5 AM Eastern to watch the last hand.

[rkmsuf]

Are you joking? You can't hit the head when you need to? Poor Phil should have just shat on the carpet and taken the 10-minute penalty.

I'm sure a big poo on the floor would prompt a rules change :)

Shitting your pants is a tremendous tell.

[SirFozzie]

Well, for it to work in the WSOP, you'd have to take the Poker Dome route, put the players behind soundproof glass. Takes away from the atmosphere.

(yes, I'm trying to push the thread to another page to get rid of the jackass picture as well :D)

[BrianD]

How much would I get my ass kicked if I led off the next page with a reply to the jackass post?

[MikeVick7]

Ok, I'm going to be in Vegas on Thursday, and with the final table starting up at noon...

A) How long into the night will it go?
2) How hard would it be to get into the room? I'm guessing impossible.

[Subby]

Final table is invite only...

[Subby]

dola

I completely agree that this thing works great live if they can figure out how to do hole cards...

I don't think they'll have any trouble getting folks to stay tuned-in...

[SirFozzie]

Gold knocks out another with AJ vs QJ.

it's not fair for the monster chip stack guy to always have a hand when someone plays back at him!

[Pumpy Tudors]

(yes, I'm trying to push the thread to another page to get rid of the jackass picture as well :D)
Dude, you posted the jackass picture! You could just edit him out!

[SirFozzie]

Jesus Cristo, if this CP update is right (always a challenge), this is ridiculous..

Gold has 19.6 Million, Friberg in 2nd has 8.2 million. Butler in 3rd has 6.0 Million

When 1st place has 33% more then 2nd and third COMBINED, that's a dominating chip stack.

[SirFozzie]

Dude, you posted the jackass picture! You could just edit him out!

Yes, but if I do that too often, they jbmagic my edit button!

[Subby]

Look out...

Allen Cunningham Doubles Up

Kevin Aaronson raises to $170,000. Erik Friberg, Richard Lee and Allen Cunningham make the call. The flop comes Khttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif2http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif. Lee and Cunningham check. Aaronson bets $400,000 and Friberg calls. Cunningham check raises all-in for $2,255,000 more. Aaronson debates a call and eventually fold. Friberg thinks for awhile and believes Cunningham is on a flush draw. After three minutes, Friberg makes the call. Friberg shows 9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif9http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif. Cunningham shows a flopped set with 5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif. The turn and river come Qhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gifQhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif, and Cunningham doubles up to $6,000,000. After the hand, Friberg is down to $4,200,000.

[SirFozzie]

Sheesh, it's like the final table of a Poker Stars Sunday Million.. except you know, the stakes are 88 times higher.

[SirFozzie]

http://www.ultimatepoker.com/images/gallery/5-88/1155072212-thumb-08-August-037.jpg

If I told you that this was Jamie Gold's stack now, you'd probably cheer, thinking he finally got caught and is short stacked.

Too bad each of the mint choccolate chips (green and black) are worth 100K each. :D

[MikeVick7]

Final table is invite only...
Well...there goes that.

[SirFozzie]

And Cunningham nearly doubles up in the classic AA over KK showdown, and is at $12 Million, knocking a player out. it's the two giants and a bunch of dwarves at this point.

[Subby]

If I told you that this was Jamie Gold's stack now, you'd probably cheer, thinking he finally got caught and is short stacked.

Too bad each of the mint choccolate chips (green and black) are worth 100K each. :DAnd he just busted Prahlad, so now he is over 20m...

[hoopsguy]

Pretty decent flop for the chip leader ...

Jamie Gold raises to $400,000 from middle position and Prahlad Friedman pushes all in for $1,700,000 from the button. Gold calls with 8http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif7http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif while Friedman shows the Ahttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif3http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif. The board comes the 6http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/spade.gif5http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/club.gif4http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/diamond.gif giving Gold the nut straight. The turn is the Jhttp://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif and the river is the 4http://www.cardplayer.com/images/common/suits/heart.gif eliminating Prahlad Friedman in 20th place.


Jamie Gold now has over $20,000,000.

[kingfc22]

Cunningham #2 in chips.

[kcchief19]

Player A folds QJs to a big raise on the turn. Railbird is on the phone with buddy watching the PPV. Railbird yells - hey! player A just folded QJs - another railbird, also on the phone yells - hey - player B was raising with trash!

It just wouldn't work in the current environment...
Or better yet some internet nobody goes to an ESPN peon pulling down $24,000 a year working in the truck and works out a deal where the implant a small transmitter -- perhaps in the auditory canal or maybe something as simple as a morse-code device -- and sends messages regarding hands. With $10 million-plus on the line to the winner, there is absolutely no level people wouldn't stoop to cheat.

I can't even imagine what kind of security the casino requires on the hole cams and how they are recorded now to ensure that information doesn't sneak out to the players.

[QuikSand]

Thay have been sending people home in a flurry the last couple hours -- down to 14 as I write. Lisandro dropped about an hour ago, leaving Cunningham as the last name player remaining, and the second of the two towering chip stacks behind Gold (the top three stacks are like 23-13-6.5 as of right now, per CP, that's a huge spread).

[digamma]

Thay have been sending people home in a flurry the last couple hours -- down to 14 as I write. Lisandro dropped about an hour ago, leaving Cunningham as the last name player remaining, and the second of the two towering chip stacks behind Gold (the top three stacks are like 23-13-6.5 as of right now, per CP, that's a huge spread).

Down to 13, and in theory it should start slowing down as everyone has an M of at least 20, but that hasn't stopped anyone from massively overbetting and shoving all their chips into the pot so far this tourney.

[hoopsguy]

Down to 12, Gold approaching 30 million.

[SirFozzie]

the 2+2 guys are screaming about Gold, not only is he a bully, but everytime he has the best hand, someone has the 2nd best and plays back at him

[QuikSand]

...everytime he has the best hand, someone has the 2nd best and plays back at him

This is a well-documented path to getting a pile of $30m in chips in front of you.

[cartman]

That was the strategy Raymer used when he won. Just bludgeon the table to death with your big stack. But I don't think he had the stack advantage that Gold currently has.

[SirFozzie]

Yup, and the 2+2 ers can't stand it.. I can understand why.. it's donk poker. Who needs post-flop play.. Got a Great hand? Shove it in there.

No bluffs, no teasing bets.. Just a slot machine with odds.

But then again with $30 million in chips, there's something to be said about playing powerfully.

I wouldn't be surprised next time instead of pushing all in, they slow it down and try to out play the big stack post flop.

[Logan]

I don't even know what a "donk" is, but you can call me whatever the hell you want after I win $12million.

[TroyF]

Yup, and the 2+2 ers can't stand it.. I can understand why.. it's donk poker. Who needs post-flop play.. Got a Great hand? Shove it in there.

No bluffs, no teasing bets.. Just a slot machine with odds.

But then again with $30 million in chips, there's something to be said about playing powerfully.

I wouldn't be surprised next time instead of pushing all in, they slow it down and try to out play the big stack post flop.


They need to get over themselves. He may have gotten lucky, but he's playing the big stack exactly the way you should play it. Especially with that big of a spread. Bully the table. See a ton of flops and when you hit something go after it. Avoid confrontations with the two other decent sized stacks and wipe people out one by one.

It is slot machine style. And it certainly isn't all that compelling to watch. But were I in his position I wouldn't give a damn how compelling the TV was, I'd be playing like a madman trying to knock people the hell out of the tournament.

And any 2 + 2 guy who says they'd do it differently for the love of the game is the real donkey.

FWIW, from what I've read and seen of Gold, I can't stand him. I'd love to see Cunningham win this tournament. But you have to give the guy his props. He built the stack up and he's doing exactly what he should with it. He may suck, but he's getting one step closer to the 12 million with every guy he knocks off.

[larrymcg421]

How is it donk poker to bully people with a big stack? Isn't Doyle's system all about putting the other man to a test for all of his chips?

BTW, I agree that Gold is an ass and I hope Cunningham beats him.

[flere-imsaho]

I have a hard time believing that Ed Miller would disapprove of using your big stack in this way.

[Subby]

Yup, and the 2+2 ers can't stand it.. I can understand why.. it's donk poker. Who needs post-flop play.. Got a Great hand? Shove it in there.

No bluffs, no teasing bets.. Just a slot machine with odds.

But then again with $30 million in chips, there's something to be said about playing powerfully.

I wouldn't be surprised next time instead of pushing all in, they slow it down and try to out play the big stack post flop.This might be your worst post ever.

[flere-imsaho]

What happened, anyway? Is this thing still going on?

[Pumpy Tudors]

If they had let the chimp play, Gold would've been out by now.

[larrymcg421]

What happened, anyway? Is this thing still going on?

They are down to the 9 man final table now, which will take place on Thursday at 5pm EST. ESPN will be broadcasting it live via PPV.

Gold still is the chipleader but Cunningham picked him off a couple times to close the gap.

[GoldenEagle]

I would have loved if the chimp would have busted Hellmuth.

"You can't even say POKER!"

[MJ4H]

Could someone please post the final table here. I'm at work and gambling sites are blocked.

[Subby]

Final Table Seating and Chips
Seat 1 - Richard Lee - $11,820,000
Seat 2 - Erik Friberg - $9,605,000
Seat 3 - Paul Wasicka - $7,970,000
Seat 4 - Dan Nassif - $2,600,000
Seat 5 - Allen Cunningham - $17,770,000
Seat 6 - Michael Binger - $3,140,000
Seat 7 - Doug Kim - $6,770,000
Seat 8 - Jamie Gold - $26,650,000
Seat 9 - Rhett Butler - $4,815,000

[Butter]

Rhett Butler?

[MJ4H]

Cool, thanks.

[kcchief19]

Frankly, Jamie, I don't give a damn.

[SirFozzie]

This might be your worst post ever.

Just wait, the day is still young :)

[Lathum]

so is anyone gonna get the pay per view?

[larrymcg421]

I probably will.

[Subby]

Absolutely. Not sure how entertaining it's going to be, but the cost is nominal.

[twothree]

I thought this was a good article posted on Monday at ESPN.com on the style of play in the Main Event.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryDate=20060807&name=poker

[digamma]

Absolutely. Not sure how entertaining it's going to be, but the cost is nominal for a BALLER.

Fixed that for you.

[Neuqua]

Since I'll be in town, is it possible to go and watch the Final table live or is it invitation only to be allowed into the room?

[Subby]

Just for Funyuns...here is a pic of Annie Duke's hideous back tat....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v720/DynastyPoker/annie20tattoo.jpg

[Subby]

Interesting... (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryDate=20060808&name=poker&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryDate=20060808&name=poker&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1)

"There might be a story,'' Gold said, "if I dump at the end because I don't want to be famous.''

Excuse me? "Dump at the end''? Isn't it every player's dream to win this one event?

"I don't want to be famous,'' Gold said while sitting in the Bodog lounge before Day 6 of the event Monday. "I'm not sure if I want to win. And I'm in control of that.''

The stunning epiphany hit the 36-year-old Malibu, Calif., resident earlier that morning.

"I just thought about what would happen if I won,'' Gold said. "Out of the goodness of their heart, a lot of people would feel like they needed to talk to me, they'd want to know what I was doing, cameras would follow me around. I don't want my life on display. I don't have anything to hide. I'm just not that person. I've always been behind other people. I like making other people famous. I'm not comfortable being in the spotlight. I like my private life.

"I also don't want to be responsible for being the ambassador of poker or anything like that. What Greg Raymer does is amazing. Good for him. I'm not looking to quit my job. I like the job I do. I don't need the money. I'm not doing this for the money. I love the competition.''

The money, though. It's $12 million.

"The money will help my father,'' Gold said. "But $6 million will help him, too. I would rather come in second.''

[Butter]

If he doesn't watch out, Poker Stars will kick him out.

Oh wait, I mean, they'll offer him $500k to do another series of "hey, I sharpen my skills by playing play money tables all the time!" commercials.

[QuikSand]

My local card club is getting the PPV tonight, so we'll be playing and watching. I hope to be there, homefront pending.

[GoldenEagle]

Winning the WSOP is worth far more than the 12M. I do not think Gold has anything to worry about. He will donk it off.

[rkmsuf]

Gold is full of it.

[digamma]

My local card club is getting the PPV tonight, so we'll be playing and watching. I hope to be there, homefront pending.

Our home game is doing the same. Should be interesting.



I bought some shares of Cunningham at Tradesports for what equates to about 2.5 to 1. Probably a bit overpriced, and I may look to sell if he makes a move somewhat early.

[QuikSand]

5-2 for Cunningham is a lot better than what they are offering at World Sports Exchange:

TO WIN THE 2006 WSOP NO-LIMIT 10K HOLDEM CHAMP
Outcome Odds
ALLEN CUNNINGHAM 3-2
JAMIE GOLD 2-1
PAUL WASICKA 6-1
ERICK FRIBERG 7-1
RICHARD LEE 8-1
DOUG KIM 10-1
RHETT BUTLER 12-1
MICHAEL BINGER 14-1
DAN NASSIF 18-1

[Jas_lov]

anyone else order this on tv and getting a blank screen? It has already started and I can't even watch it. Thank you cable provider and ESPN.

Edit: I just read it will be delayed about 10-15 minutes for obvious reasons. So hopefully it comes on in a few minutes.

[kcchief19]

Is it $24.95 everywhere? Not sure I'm willing to shell that out.

[larrymcg421]

I haven't had a problem with it.

I like that Phil Gordon is hosting it.

[larrymcg421]

I fucking hate Jamie Gold's guts.