Deuces Cracked

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Will

A few news updates

Free CheeseCake !
If you're in Las Vegas on Sept. 5th, bring 2 cans of soup to the CheeseCake Factory at the Caesars Forum Shops in Vegas and you'll get a free slice of Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake. Soup will be donated to Feeding America, the USA's largest domestic hunger-relief charity.

PokerStars making poker/game show
PokerStars and Fox announced the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge. To qualify for casting, play in daily freeroll tournaments and finish in the top ten . The rules then reqire you to submit a short video, explaining why PokerStars should choose you to be part of the show. Once on set, players will compete in a series of heads-up poker matches against celebrity poker players and members of Team PokerStars.

Inching closer to legalizing/regulating poker in the USA
Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced S 8309, legislation called the 'Internet Poker and Games of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act' to establish a licensing and regulatory framework for the United States to protect consumers by exercising appropriate control and oversight over online poker and other games of skill such as bridge, mahjong, backgammon, and chess

The big difference between the Internet Gambling bill HR 2267 introduced by Barney Frank and the Internet Poker and Games of Skill bill S8309 introduced by Menendez is Menendez's bill would regulate only Online Poker and other games of skill, whereas Frank's bill would regulate additional forms of online gambling, including online casinos and sports betting.

Menendez's bill proposes that the Secretary of the Treasury oversee the licensing process of skill game operators and prescribe regulations. License applicants must submit a comprehensive financial background, an outline of the company' s structure and that of its affiliates, criminal and credit histories of executives.

Licenses must also explain how their games will be fair, and how they plan to combat underage gambling and compulsive gambling. Under the bill, licenses would be in effect for five years, and can be renewed under the same terms.


WPT sells assets to Party Poker
WPT Enterprises announced they will sell their assets to PartyGaming PLC for $12.3 million and will pay WPTE an ongoing 5% participation in gaming and other revenues generated by the assets, which includes substantially all of WPTE's operating assets other than cash, investments and certain excluded assets.

Quick CW Trip Report

Went to Ceasars Windsor on Saturday for a some comped Larry the Cable Guy tickets, and to play a few hours of poker.

Got there about 1:30pm. Had an email offer that was good for "$10 cashback" I figured it was probably free slot play or something weak like that. But when i put my players card into the kiosk, it spit out two crisp $5 bills. Cool !!

Headed upstairs to the poker room and was seated quickly at a $1/2 table.
(no other games running).

First hand, in the big blind, I'm dealt QQ. Its no secret that aside from Aces, my favourite pairs are QQ, 44, and 33. For some crazy reason, I make more sets and quads with these 3 pairs than all other pairs combined. Anyways, 2 middle position players limp in for $2. It was folded around to the small blind who raises to $11. I peel two green $25 chips from the top of my stack and say "Fifty-five". The table goes into an uproar. "You're at the wrong table buddy !" LOL. I say "This isnt $5/10 ?". The two MP players insta-fold and the small blind tanks. He stares at me for a good 30 seconds then shoves his stack in. I seem to find myself in these spots early quite a bit. If he has AA or KK so be it. I call $120 more. He turns over JJ. I turn over my cards showing him the bad news and he immediately says to the dealer "Gimme a Jack, I just need ONE jack" Not much to ask for since at best, theres only 2 of them left in the deck. Dealer spreads a flop of 2, 3, 5. In a smart ass tone I say to the guy "why dont you ask the dealer for a runner-runner chop too ?". I dont think he heard me or understood because he just kept chanting "Give me a jack, give me a jack, dealer, all I need in one jack". Turn and river brought a 6, 7. I win. +$130 or so first hand.

Didnt really get involved in any hands for the next 40-45 minutes or so. Almost time to get up for the LtCG show at 3pm. Get dealt KJ suited in early position so I pop it to $10. Semi-competant (or so I thought) woman in MP calls, so does the button. Flop is KJ8 no suits. I lead out for $20, woman shoves for $39. I call. She quickly turns over her hand and says "I have nothing". AQ off for a gutshot. Turn is a 3, she hits her 4-outer Ten on the river.

I leave for Larry the Cable Guy at 3pm with +$65 more than I started with.

LtCG show was pretty funny. Git'er done. About a one hour show. I'd give it an 8.5 / 10

I had put my name on the interest list for Pot Limit Omaha when I left the poker room. The game got running while I was away and there was an open seat when I got back.

Caesars PLO is played with $1/2 blinds and a $200 capped buy-in. This is way too small, it needs to be $500 or more. I sat down during the fourth orbit of the table. Several players had already busted, rebought then left. There was about $4500 on the table (9plyrs x $200 = $1800 to start a few orbits ago)
I'm at a bit of a disadvantage since there's only 2-3 of us with min stacks.

I played pretty tight with the short stack. Played one hand from the small blind with AAQJ (one suit). Late position potted to $10. I called. Flop came ragged, two hearts. I checked. BB potted, LP repotted, I fold, they got it all in. LP turns over bottom 2 pair. Big blind rolls over the other two Aces, nut flush draw, & back door nut straight draw. LP's 2 pr held and BB went broke.

Only other hand I played was As7sAh2h from early position. Even a nit like me cant fold AA double suited. LP guy who pots it every hand, potted it so I called, we're heads up.

Flop is Ad 9c4c giving me top set. He pots it to $50. My stack is $150. I decide to call $50 hoping for a brick on the turn. Turn is the 2s. Total brick. LP had bet $100 in the dark and I call. He tables Kh Qd 7c3c for a 7high flush draw. No pair. No straight draw. I just need to dodge 7 clubs from the deck. I'm an 82.5% favourite. River is 5 of clubs. Good Game, nicely played sir.

Left the casino and went to AppleBees on Walker Rd. for some supper. First time I've been to one. It was pretty decent, food arrived quickly and was steaming hot. The double crispy shrimps were plump and tastey and the AYCE Riblets for $10 was great deal. Headed home up the 401 very satisfied.

Russia Bans Poker

This could spark the biggest (non-olympic games)
mass defection of russians to north america..lol



Taken from Pravda's website


Poker is not a sports game in Russia anymore.
Vitaly Mutko, the Minister for Sports, Tourism
and Youth Politics, signed the adequate decree
in Moscow yesterday to ban the gambling business
in Russia completely.

BREAKING NEWS

Poker was included on Russia’s sports list in violation of law, the minister said.
“The decision to include poker on the sports register was supposed to be made by a special ministerial
commission, not by the administration of the Russian Sports Agency. In addition, the decision was supposed to be registered in the Justice Ministry, which did not happen,” the official said in an interview with the Vedomosti newspaper.

Russia’s Sports Agency, Rossport, recognized poker as a sports game in March of 2007. Seven-card stud poker, Omaha and Texas HoldEm were put on Russia’s sports register three months later. All these games have now been banned in Russia once they are held outside the four gambling areas.
“We hoped that common sense would win. They were given two years to close the casinos, but here we can have police visiting at any moment,” Dmitry Lesnoy, the president of Russia’s Sports Federation complains.

“We are very sorry to lose our image in the eyes of the international poker community that was hoping to see the European Poker Tournament in Moscow this year. It will be a great pity for us if Russian poker stars move abroad to play under the flags of other countries. But we have to accept the inevitable,” the official statement from Russia’s Sports Poker Federation said.

Russian poker clubs will have to close their businesses now. The clubs were brining the profit of up to 70 million rubles a month.

Many Russian poker clubs were going to hold sports tournaments from July 1, but the government ruined the plans. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stated last week that he could see the attempts to disguise gambling under various activities, such as poker clubs.

Poker is not the first game, which the Russian government begins to struggle with this summer. Bookmaking offices will most likely find themselves in a similar situation, if the Russian parliament approves the draft law about new rules for licensing bookmaking offices. For the time being, bookmaking is the only form of gambling which has not been banned in Russia.

The European Poker Tournament was supposed to begin in Moscow in August of this year. Leading poker players from Russia, Europe, Asia and America were expected to come to Moscow for the event. It is not known yet, whether the tournament eventually takes place in Russia’s capital or not.

Seneca Bad Beat Jackpot

As if you didnt have a good enough
reason already to chase your straight
flush draws and shove all-in with a set.

The bad beat jackpot at Seneca Niagara
Casino has surpassed $140,000.00

Even if you were only seated at the table
where the beat occurs, your share would
be around $4,500.

The Summer Slam tournament series
is over, so the crowds should thin out
a little. With the bbj so high, i'm sure
there'll still be plenty of guys putting
in extra hours trying to hit the lottery.

Hellmuth 2009

Proof this guy will do almost

anything for money.

I wish Mike Matusow would try

the same tackle move on Hellmuth

that he did to Mr. Peanut a couple

years ago.

That would be good television.

West Jet flying to Atlantic City

WestJet announced Wednesday that it
will start seasonal service between
Atlantic City International and Toronto this fall.

From Oct. 22 through May, WestJet flights
will depart Toronto for Atlantic City Int. at 7 p.m.,
with return flights leaving AC at 9:15 p.m.
Introductory fares start at $79.

Vegas Trip Report

I didnt take many notes so this will be
a quick, not so detailed TR.

Arrived in Vegas June 24th.

Stayed at the Imperial Palace.
Comped rooms from my play at
Caesars Windsor. Room was quite
satisfactory for me. Quiet and clean.
No smells and the A/C was cold.
IP maids appreciate good tippers.
Left a huge stash of towels, soaps etc.

Played quite a bit of poker.
Overall, the play was more aggressive
than the typical low stakes tourist filled
games I'm used to. This was probably
due to the influx of players from the wsop.
I think the large number of $1500 wsop events
available this year combined with the large
buy in deepstack events at Caesars and
the Venetian had a lot to do with it.
Talked to a lot of guys at the table who were
in vegas specifically to play two or three
of the $1.5K events.

Some of the games were so aggressive,
it was almost like playing 6max online
rather than a 9 or 10 handed live cash game.

Guys opening pots with Any ace, king or
pair from Any position. 7x the bb, 8x,
even 10x raises. 3bets preflop, 3bets on the flop.

In these capped buyin games, an 8bb preflop
raise denies proper odds to set-mine, and
suited connectors lose a lot of value because
these guys are decent enough to not pay
you off every time you hit. If your cards are dry,
it really limits me with the style i like to play.
To play more effectively, you really need to
loosen up and be a bit of a lagtard against
these LAG and TAG players.

I did run into some softer, less aggressive
games here and there. The games at Binions
and Ballys were pretty soft. Binions pays
$2/hr comps in their poker room. Somehow,
I have $53 in comps there.

Playing at the Imperial Palace and Flamingo,
I discovered that they offer the option of
what they call a "Mississippi Straddle"
(this is not truely a MS by definition).
IP/Flamingo version is a 2xbb straddle
from the button. The action doesnt start
under the gun, it starts with the small blind.
In my opinion, this is absolutely horrible.
Action starts with the two people who
have involuntarily put money in the pot
out of position. Usually the two blinds fold.
A much better protocol would be (like the
Hard Rock does) to start action under the
gun so that the blinds may be enticed into
the pot by other players who limp in,
then give the button straddler last action.

Watched some Beer Pong at O'Sheas.
(http://youtube.com/watch?v=JOYduGqZSRc)
Oh to be 22 again. I probably could have
been good at that game back in the day
when I could stomach shitty draught beer.

Ran into old friends Kim Gies and
Rob Pincombe playing poker at the Flamingo.

At the Venetian, ran into Sonny "The Money"
Rattan, Tom Whattam and Dan Moser from
the Elite Poker Tour (http://elitepoker.ca/).
They were playing a $330 Deep Stack event.

Played a private NLHE tournament
at the Golden Nugget hosted by
http://suitedpockets.net/ . Was seated at
the same table with poker authors
Lou Krieger (http://loukrieger.com/),
Haley Hintze, editor at (http://pokernews.com/)
Lawrence "The Prez" Prezman , Teddy Sevranski, Gianni "VegasRunner" The Scammer (sports betting gurus)
and Ashley Adams (author of Winning 7-card Stud)
who was graceful when i knocked him out of
the tournament. Also there was Frank Wiese (http://eatprofessionalpokerplayersalive.com/)
who wrote a new book on "medium ball" poker.
I went deep, a few spots away from cashing.
Lots of cool free swag from poker site sponsors.

Went to the RIO to check out the WSOP.
Got to railbird the $50,000 HORSE.
Was standing over the shoulder of Chau Giang.
Really cool to see his hole cards and watch
how he played. Even neat to watch the other
players at the table (Andy Bloch, Todd Brunson,
Joe Cassidy, David Bach - the eventual winner, etc)
because you get to see some of the action with
the cards face up in the stud games.

I hit 2 high hand jackpots. Quads at the IP
and a straight flush at Ballys. Lost more
$ drawing to (and missing) numerous other
royal and straight flush draws... than what
these two jackpots paid me.

Had heard many good things so I checked
out IN-N-OUT BURGER for the first time.
Excellent burger and milkshake.
Not a fan of their fries.

Tried Jack In The Box for the first time also.
Not amazing, but superior to McDonalds.

Drove out to Arizona Charlies on Decatur
for some cheap eats. Buffet was $7
minus the half price coupon. Not top notch food,
but cant beat the price. Won a few bucks on
slots on the way out, enough to cover gas
to get there and the cost of the buffet.

Made 2 attempts at getting a Deep Fried
Twinky from Mermaids Casino on Fremont St.
Unsuccessful both times. What kind of a
casino is closed at 1am on a saturday night ?

Had TODAI Sushi (at Planet Hollywood).
Pricey ($30) but absolutely AWESOME !
Huge selection of seafood and sushi.
I wish i had a bigger stomach.

Tried Golden Nugget Buffet for the first time.
Disappointing. Overpriced ($20). Nothing
specifically wrong, just not good value
compared to other buffets. Wouldnt return.

Used several match-play coupons from the
LasVegas Advisor and American Casino Guide.
$5 and $10 roulette, craps & blackjack matchplays
at Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Binions, Hard Rock,
Planet Hollywood, etc. Definitely +EV

Rental car was a Kia Rio. Who knew a 4 cylinder
shitbox could get a mere 18mpg ! ? Gas was
relatively cheap ($0.70/litre), but my 1979 Ford
with a carburated V8 got better mileage than that.

WPS / CPT Tournies in Vegas

World Poker Showdown and the

Canadian Poker Tour have combined

efforts to creat the Hard Rock Vegas

Megastack Event Series.

The "Canadian Invasion" will take place

from August 7th through the 24th.

Buy ins start at $340 dollars and

satellites will be running soon.

See www.WorldPokerShowdown.com

for all the details.

ESPN Coverage of the '09 Series

I'm really disappointed with the changes.
The poker viewing public is getting screwed.
In years past they have shown at least
a few episodes of non-NLHE games
throughout the series but not in 2009.

There will only be a total of 4 events shown
over 32 hours of broadcasting (31 episodes).
Of course, the Main Event gets the most attention.
Each of the 4 M.E. Day 1's will get 2 hr episodes,
followed by coverage of thinning the field.

The other 3 events are first timers.

The 40th Anniversary $40,000 NL Hold’em
will be the first major tournament this year
and the first to be broadcast.
I think we'll see every internet kid with
a big ego pony up the $40k for this one,
so a field eclipsing 300 players is possible.
Having said that, the logic of having this
monster event at the start of the series
escapes me. When Harrah's makes their
money from the juice on these tournies,
why would they risk busting players at
the start. This event should be played
between the $50k HORSE and the ME.
Give some people a shot at winning
some money in the early events so they
will take a shot at the $40k NL.

The $40k will be followed by the new
WSOP Champions Invitational which
will have a "field built for TV".
Dont confuse this with the Tournament of
Champions that Mike Sexton used to run.
This new event will probably disappoint.
To quote Mike Matusow, "Its just stupid,
especially since half the people who've
won the World Series are dead or are just
complete jokes of a poker player. I mean
you're gonna have (Robert) Varkoni there ?
Out of the 25 who've won maybe 10 or 12
are great players."

The other event showing up on ESPN will be
the Ante Up For Africa Celebrity Charity Event.
A $5,000 charity event that attracts top pros
as well as celebrities playing poorly. Great TV !
Well...maybe not. If you prefer watching Ben
Afflack and Eva Longoria play poker I guess
this is your event.

WSOP Fantasy Pool on FTP

Its that time again !
Full Tilt Poker is running a
WSOP Fantasy Poker contest.
Pick a 15 man team for each event.
Get your selections in soon.

I won half a dozen hats and
entries into freerolls last year.
In the freerolls I won a couple of
$215 tournament entries.

Its definitely worth your time to fill
out your best picks for some events.

WSOP Gaming Expo

WSOP Ggaming Expo Gets Rebranded

The lifestyle expo that supports the annual World Series of Poker events is to have a remake this year. Out goes the old 'Gaming Lifestyle Expo' to be replaced by a more upbeat branding 'PokerPalooza'.

Commenting on the change, Ty Steward, marketing director for the WSOP, said: "It's going to be part trade show, part carnival, all fun. "Visitors to the poker spectacular in Las Vegas this year will find PokerPalooza in the Rio Pavilion in the Rio Convention Center between July 2-5.

This year the exhibit is split into several interactive zones with something to offer new poker players as well as those that have been in the game for years. The zones are:

Poker Media

Poker Education

Arcade

Poker Retail

Poker Circuit

WSOP History

"Lap of Luxury"

"Bad Beat Bar"

Food/Beverage

There will be a wide selection of poker wares and services on display, and celebrities will be present for autograph signings. In the past there have been novelty chip sellers, poker bobble heads, poker rooms and more.This year there is also expected to be autograph and book signings, together with useful seminars conducted by a number of poker champs. On weekends between May 30 and June 28, Rio will host exclusive strategy seminars with Doyle Brunson and Mike Caro. Meet and greets with Brunson and Caro will also take place July 2 through July 5.

The more adventurous will also find a mechanical bull courtesy of Stoney's, the Richard Petty Driving Experience, sumo-wresting suits and several carnival-style games....and a hot dog eating competition.

PAD - Hellmuth Bashing, hehehe

Here's a good reason to stay up until 3:05 am !

This week's Poker After Dark sched says:

Week of May 4
(Hellmuth Bash Cash Game I)
Phil Hellmuth, Kenny Tran, Phil Laak,
Antonio Esfandiari, Tom Dwan, Bob Safai

The following week it's Hellmuth Bash II

New TV Show - Face the Ace

from www.bluffmagazine.com

The company that produces NBC’s
Poker After Dark will mix everyone’s
favorite game with reality television
when Face The Ace premiers this summer.

Poker Productions, the company responsible
for the late night hit for NBC, is betting
that poker fans nationwide will tune in to
Face The Ace when the poker reality show
debuts in August. Hosted by Steve Schirripa
(”The Sopranos”), the show will center on
contestants drawn from online qualifying
tournaments who play heads-up no limit
hold’em against poker pros.

Each contestant will start off by choosing
one of four doors, behind each of which lies
a pro player. If the contestant wins his
match against the first pro, he’ll have to
make a choice: take the money and run, or
let it ride and play against another pro?
Beating three pros in a row will be worth
$1 million, but a loss means a trip home
empty-handed.

NBC Universal TV executive VP Jerry Petry
told Variety that the network had picked up
an initial run of seven episodes, with the
option of ordering more if the show succeeds
in its Saturday afternoon time slot.

“There’s nothing like it on the air right now,”
Petry said. “This will attract the core poker
fans who watch it on our network but will
also open it up to a new audience of people
who like game shows and aren’t necessarily
poker fans going in.”

In addition to a different format - the players
will play against pros, not other amateurs -
Face The Ace will also have the benefit of
being one of the big four television networks
with its national audience. Poker fans will
get their first taste of the show on
Saturday, August 1, at 9 p.m. ET

You can take a shot at qualifiing for the
show by entering freeroll tournaments at
Full Tilt. Look in the SIT N GO section
(not in Tournaments like 90% of the stories say).
They are tan coloured freerolls with 180
or 360 players.

In case you missed it, Joan Rivers

Here's a quick video of Joan Rivers
telling what she thinks of Annie Duke
and ALL other poker players on
Celebrity Apprentice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fAevP8aZVs

.

Casey Reese Passes Away

It's been a while since my last post
and it's unfortunate that this is
what brought me back today.


Casey Reese, the son of the late
Chip Reese, has passed away from
an overdose of prescription drugs.
The loss comes about 16 months
after his father Chip, suddenly
died on December 4th, 2007 .

My condolences go out to the entire
Reese family.

Blue Water Classic

The big tournies at Point Edward
Casino (Sarnia) are fast approaching.
All events sell out, so if you're
interested, best lock up a spot soon.


Blue Water Classic * $150 + $20
No Limit Holdem
120 seats 82% full
Wednesday Mar 25, 2009
Est. Prize Pool: $18,000


Blue Water Classic * $300 + $35
120 seats 50% full
Thursday Mar 26, 2009
Est. Prize Pool: $36,000

Blue Water Classic * $600 + $70
Main Event Day 1
120 seats 35% full
Friday Mar 27, 2009
Est. Prize Pool: $144,000

Blue Water Classic * $600 +$70
Main Event Day 2
120 seats 55% full
Saturday Mar 28, 2009
Est. Prize Pool: $144,000

Rules, Blind Structure and
Prize Pool Allocation here:

https://www.olgpoker.com/calendar/index.cfm

The beats continue (no music)

My shitty luck on Full Tilt
this week continues seamlessly.

Satellite tournament.
Final Table.
2 get entry, 1 gets cash.

I have KK in cutoff.
Raising all around which
ends with 4 of us all-in preflop.
My KK is up against.
AJ, AJ, AQ.

Flop is rags + the case Ace.

Atleast I'm not alone.



.

A busy Sunday for Poker on TV

This coming Sunday (March 1st)
will have some of us poker junkies
setting the PVR or flipping channels
at a rapid rate.

Besides a brand new season 7
WPT show on FSN, there's first episode
of High Stakes Poker season 5 on
The Gameshow Network at 9pm.
(previous seasons repeats run 6pm-9pm) .
Also at 9pm, NBC has Celebrity Apprentice II
which has Annie Duke on the womens team.
At 10pm, ESPN2 will show the final table
of the World Series of Poker Europe.

I guess I'll be glued to the tv all night.

Hansen vs. Jorgensen

On Saturday afternoon, the much

anticipated boxing match between

Gus Hansen and Theo Jorgensen

went off without any serious injury.

Hansen had placed a handicap on

himself in the match. If Gus won,

Theo would pay him $25,000. If

Theo won, Gus would pay $35,000

After 3 rounds, the fight went to the

judging panel who decided in the

favour of Jorgensen.

BDPS funny quote

I'm not exactly a fan of the
Best Damn Poker Show which
features two of my least favourite
poker pros... Annie Duke and
Phil Hellmuth.

I didn't see more than bits and
pieces of a couple episodes of
season 1 last year. I've only done
slightly better with season 2 of
the show. I've watched 2 full
episodes of this info-tainment
poker based reality show. But....
it has provided me with some
hearty laughs.

Phil and Annie were sitting
behind their podium discussing
and analyzing how their teams
were perfoming in the tournament
so far... and then it got ugly.

Annie (to Phil): "You're like a
cancer that rots your soul".

Phil's response: "Any other guy
in the world who was paired with
you for 3 days would have gotten
a gun by now".

Trump Seeks Bankruptcy Protection

Trump Entertainment Resorts has
filed under Chapter 11, which is the
third time the casino operator has
sought bankruptcy protection.

The filing had been anticipated since
the company missed a $53.1 bond
payment due in December.

Both Donald Trump and his daughter
Ivanka tendered their resignations
from the company's Board of Directors
just days before the filing.

Trump operates 3 casino properties in
Atlantic City NJ, the Trump Taj Mahal,
Trump Plaza and Trump Marina.

Atlantic City has been hit hard by
both the poor economy and increased
competition from Pennsylvania.

Trump isn't the only operator having trouble
in AC. Atlantic City gambling revenue was
down an average of 7.6% in 2008, with
December's revenue down almost 19%.
Casino operators, including MGM Mirage
and Pinnacle, have postponed four major
casino construction projects in the city.
The Tropicana is about to be sold in
bankruptcy court, and both Resorts and
the Atlantic City Hilton are trying to
restructure debt agreements with lenders.

Bad Beat of the Day

It didn't occur at the poker tables.
It was on The Price is Right.
Showcase showdown at the end
of the show. First player missed
their showcase by only $270.
Second player missed the price by
only $116 and won both showcases.

To be so close to the price and have
your opponent come closer is a
bad beat.

Good Ol' PokerStars

I was home alone dogsitting tonight,
a perfect time to log some online
poker hours, earn some frequent
player points, and maybe even make
a few bucks to take with me to Vegas.

Decided to play some NL cash on
PokerStars, something I haven't done
in quite a while. I mostly play my cash
games on Full Tilt. About all I've used
my Stars account for lately is to play the
Elite Poker Tour (http://www.elitepoker.ca/)
events on Friday nights and the odd
big Sunday tournament.

I figure I should be able to handle 4 tables.
I didn't want to take on more than that
right away since I find the P-Stars graphics
a little harder on my eyes than Full Tilt.
I get on the waiting list for 6-7 tables.

First table pops up and I get it tiled
just the way I like it.

Second hand, I get dealt KK in the
cutoff. Couple of limpers so I
make it 6 big blinds. Small blind
raises me by about the pot.
All others fold. I pop it enough
that he has to fold or get it all in.
He shoves and turns over TT.
I'm 80% to win, he's a 4:1 dog.
Turn is a T. He wins. I go broke.

I start cursing. " F*ckin' PokerStars ".

A few years ago when I was trying to
grind out a bankroll at the $0.05/0.10
and $0.10/0.25 tables, I went through
several rough stretches of bad beats
where I just got pounded. Suckout after
suckout. Nut flushes were no guarantee.
Full houses were no guarantee. Sets were
continually drawn out on the river.
It got to the point where I referred to
any suckout (even in live games) as
"getting Poker Starred".

I guess this beat tonight caught me
off guard since I went broke in only
the second hand.

I told P-Stars in a very harsh voice
(they can hear me yelling through
my moniter, you know) ...
"F*ck you ! I'm not reloading.
I'm going to sit out and take up a space.
You're not going to earn any rake until
you kick me off after a couple orbits."

This threat did not go unnoticed by the
software at P-Stars. My seats at the
other 3 tables got incredibly hot.
Within about 10 minutes I not only
had my money back, but had a profit
going on all 3 tables (about 40%).

I wish I had figured out this secret to
getting lucky on P-Stars a few years ago.

Great Dane Television

Gus Hansen is starting his own
online TV channel on February 21st.

www.GusHansenTV.com.

What kinds of things will we get to
watch ? We'll likely see some of the
high-stakes action Gus plays in at FTP.
Other than that, the only thing scheduled
for gus tv so far is a boxing match featuring
Gus against Theo Jorgensen which is taking
place during the EPT Copenhagen events.

Gus and Theo have a prop bet

on who will win, $35,000 vs $25,000.

Current Odds:
Theo Jorgensen is -285 fave
Gus Hansen is +200 dog.
Gus Hansen wins by knockout: +2600
Theo Jorgensen wins by knockout: +850
Match ends in draw + 1400

PAD Nerd-O-Rama

Is it just me, or is this possibly the

most boring week of PAD ever ?

Oli Nejad summed it up pretty well.
" 6 geniuses + 1 math problem = 4 aspirin"

I've always wanted to over hear geniuses

disgussing geometric proofs and proofs

by induction. .... Not !

The "Brilliant Minds" have so much potential.
Unfortunately for the audience, these guys
show that being extremely math smart
doesn't often combine with being a

conversational, social animal.

This could easily be called:
"Revenge of the Nerds Week".

The only semi-entertaining guy with

some personality is David Sklansky,

and he was knocked out first.

Hostess Leanne Tweedan has some how

gotten the idea that these "math pros"

are doing sophisticated algebra and

calculus equations in their heads while
the rest of the world is asking the

magic 8-ball whether to call or fold.

Sklansky even explained to her that

everyone can figure out pot odds and

the percentage of times your hand

will hold up. That's not what makes

these "math" guys special.

Its GAME THEORY !

Atleast I have something to look

forward to. Next week (Feb 16) it's the

"Nets" versus "Vets" cash game with

Taylor Caby, Cole South, Gabe Kaplan,

Dave Benefield, Doyle and Eli Elezra

Heads-Up Practice

... and a chance to enter a big
televised tournament.

Both FullTilt and PokerStars have
freeroll satellites for the National
Heads-Up Championship in Vegas.

Its a great chance to practice your
heads-up skills. Its something almost
everyone needs to polish up on.

I've finished somewhere between
3rd and 10th countless times,
but cant seem to crack the
final four (out of 256).

I'll keep trying.

PPT Online Tx Update

The lower buy-in NL Holdem K/O
tournaments have been a big success !

We're going to extend that buy-in
and format to our other nights.
We've had as many as 17 players !

Mondays 7pm, $3 + .50, Bounty NLH
Tuesdays 7pm, $3 + .50, Bounty NLH
Wednes 7pm, $3 + .50, Bounty NLH
Thursdays 7pm, $3 + .50, Bounty NLH
Fridays 7pm, $3 + .50, Bounty NLH

These new events will start Feb/6/09.

Everyone is Welcome !

The buy-in for the KnockOut tournament
is $3 + $0.50, with $2.40 going to the
prize pool and $0.60 paid as a bounty
every time you Knock another player out.

To locate our tournaments, click the
"Private" tab in the tournament lobby.
Password is " PPT "

Sign up for a new Full Tilt Poker
account using bonus code PPT.

High Stakes Poker, Season 5

GSN has started running commercials
for the upcoming season of HSP.

Season 5 premieres Sunday, March 1st.

I'm so excited ! HSP is probably
my favorite show on television.

Taping was done December 19-21 at
the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

The upcoming season will have a
minimum cash buy-in of $200,000,
which is the largest to date.

Prospective Lineup:

Daniel Negreanu

Doyle Brunson

Phil Hellmuth

Eli Elezra

Antonio Esfandiari

Tom Dwan

Dario Minieri

Howard Lederer

Peter Eastgate

Ivan Demidov

Barry Greenstein

Sam Simon

Giorgio Medici

Ilari Sahamies

Phil Laak

Patrik Antonius

David Benyamine

Bob Safai

Nick Cassavetes

Mike Baxter

Filming on Friday December 19th featured

Doyle Brunson, Dario Minieri, Phil Laak,

Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Eli Elezra, Mike Baxter,

Alan Meltzer, and David Peat.

Saturday’s action features Daniel Negreanu,

Joe Hachem, Howard Lederer, Patrik Antonius,

Antonio Esfandiari, Sam Simon, Tom Dwan,

& Nick Cassavetes.

Sunday’s table will include Peter Eastgate,

Doyle Brunson, Ivan Demidov, Phil Ivey,

Barry Greenstein, David Benyamine, and

Ilari Sahamies.

Although that is the order in which the tables were

filmed, GSN may not necessarily air the episodes

in that particular order.

High Stakes January recap

Courtesy of http://www.highstakesdb.com/

Gus Hansen became the biggest winner
last month when he closed January for
a $500k profit. There´s been a lot of
action on his PLO HU tables, and also
some huge swings.

Patrik Antonius looked good all through
the month but was passed at the finish
line by Gus Hansen as the biggest winner
this month. Patrik still made a total profit
of $2.6M and played his A-game
straight through January, making most
of his profit on the HA tables.

Gus Hansen won his biggest pot ever,
the hand was played against durrrr and
trex313, a $537k pot.

Patrik Antonious wins his third biggest
pot ever, which also was the biggest of
the month, $562k pot

Durrrr didnt have a good month, experiencing
his presumably biggest poker loss ever.
There have also been alot of roumors going
around him, some about his huge loss and
some about he not being able to run his
Million dollar challenge. Most of these were
straightened out when durrrr did a radio
interview, in which he talked about the
rumours and stated that the challenge
was in no danger. All in all he is UP about
$1.0M in NLHE but STUCK $4.0M in the
other games in January.

Montel Williams new Poker tv show

Former talkshow host Montel Williams
has announced his new one hour tv show
titled "International Team Poker League"
that will combine online qualifiers with
bricks and mortar casinos.

The show, starting with satellite tournaments
in March and set to be televised starting in
November this year, will combine NLHE with
‘reality TV’ style segments about the players.

Creator and CEO of ITPL, Montel Williams
comments: “I love poker – it’s a game that has
everything, played by kings and leaders and
regular joes alike. It crosses boundaries and
borders, now, thanks to technology and the
Internet, a global phenomenon that brings
people of different ethnicities and origin
together around the world. It is truly international,
and the time is right for the International
Team Poker League to take poker to a new
level and a wider audience.”

In a similar format to the more familiar talent
shows, the series will begin with a selection
process through regular NLHE satellite tournies
in both land-based casinos and online poker sites.
Entrants play to win entry into a three-day
Draft Pool Seeding Tournament at a Las Vegas
host casino at which the leading players will be
selected into six teams before fighting it out to
build chip stacks for the final one-day SuperTable
team event.

The six winners will become the ITPL Team for
the season, and will be filmed as they live the poker
lifestyle, play the pros and possibly find or create
celebrity for themselves.