Some would say that heads-up is the purest form of poker. Mano-a-mano in a true test of poker skill, aggression and the ultimate in psychology. There’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

Heads-up poker is also fascinating as anything can, and probably will, happen. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. It could be a drawn out marathon where the blinds eventually take hold, or it can all be over on the first hand of the match.

Today we saw just about all of that, and a little more, with an exciting and dramatic end to the SCOOP Event #7-H $700 Heads-Up No Limit Holdem event.

It started out with 793 players coming together to compete for a massive $531,310 prize pool which smashed the guarantee four times over.

Team PokerStars was well represented with pros Lex Veldhuis, Victor “Isildur1″ Blom, Daniel Negreanu, Anders Berg, Bertrand Grospellier, Angel Guillen, George Danzer, Shane Schleger, Randy Lew and Eugene Katchalov amongst the starters.

The top 128 would finish in the money with the likes of Jonathan Duhamel (120th – $1,381.40), Paul Hockin (93rd – $1,381.40), Bryn Kenney (65th $1,381.40), James Obst (50th – $2,433.39) and Matt Wakeman (38th – $2,433.39) just a few of the notable players to reach the money.

The highest-placed Team PokerStars Pro was Victor Ramdin. He ran into Justin Bonomo in a tough Round of 16 match that had the attention of most of the railbirds. Ramdin got off to a slow start after being disconnected, but Bonomo waited patiently and gave Ramdin every opportunity to return without much damage. That good karma paid off when Bonomo grabbed the win when the two went to war on a flop of [2s][9c][7c]. Bonomo held [7h][5s] for just middle pair but it was in front of Ramdin’s [6h][8s] straight draw. The [3d] turn and [kc] completed the board to see Bonomo progress and Ramdin out in 14th place for $7,661.49 in prize money.

Victor Ramdin representing the red spade with a deep SCOOP run

Chris Moorman was another popular pro to be bundled out in the Round of 16. His last stand came with [9c][9d] after Pappe_Ruk shoved with [ac][9h]. An ace found its way onto the flop to eliminate Moorman in 10th place for $7,661.49.

Justin Bonomo would make it no further than the quarter finals in an interesting elimination hand:

RSS readers click through to see replay

It was an interesting line by shurgar, and was enough to confuse Bonomo who went deep into the tank on the river before calling for his tournament life, but trips for shurgar sent Bonomo packing in 8th place for $14,239.10 in prize money.

Shurgar went on to face JRADF79 in one semi final as Scott ‘gunning4you’ Seiver took on TRiggA_miK3 in the other.

Seiver was first to progress through to the final, and it was a bit of a cooler that ended the match. The chips were in preflop with Seiver showing [as][qd] as TRiggA_miK3 held a monster [ks][kh]. An ace fell on the flop and TRiggA_miK3 was outed in 4th place for $25,561.32.

The other semi-final was also over rather quickly. The blinds were only 40/80 when shurgar had already gained the ascendency to leave JRADF79 with around fifteen big blinds. JRADF79 moved all in preflop with [ks][6c] but shurgar made the call with [6h][6s]. The board ran out [2c][qc][5h][qh][qd] to see JRADF79 eliminated in 3rd place for $25,561.32 as our final match was set.

Final: gunning4you vs shurgar

The final saw Seiver race out of the blocks, before shurgar took the lead with a rivered flush holding [2d][4d] that Seiver paid off with a river call.

It was only moments later that the tournament was thrown into a spin when Seiver disconnected. His entire timebank of around six or seven minutes drained before the moderator added an extra four minutes on top. Again there was no movement from Seiver as his time bank expired. Was this really how the SCOOP title was going to be decided?

Thankfully, no…

gunning4you is connected
gunning4you said, “what happened”
gunning4you said, “internet seems to have gone down in places throughout city”
shurgar said, “u didn’t lose Any chips”

With Seiver back it would be game on, but incredibly the tournament would last exactly one more hand:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Seiver turned the flush and got his chips in good, but shurgar spiked a queen on the river to improve to a full house for the win. What a way to end it!

Seiver pockets $51,127.96 for his runner-up finish while shurgar wins the SCOOP title and $80,350.76.

Final Four Results
1st shurgar (United Kingdom) – $80,350.76
2nd Scott “gunning4you” Seiver (Canada) – $51,127.96
3rd JRADF79 (Belgium) – $25,561.32
4th TRiggA_miK3 (Canada) – $25,561.32

The 2012 SCOOP is just getting started with an amazing schedule of events still to come. For more details head to the official SCOOP website for the schedule, satellites, leaderboard, statistics and more.

Tags: 2011 | angel | Baltic Poker Festival | daniel-negreanu | festival | france | gambling | lapt | napt | SCOOP | season 8 | twitter

It’s widely known and accepted that the casino industry is a well-refined, exact science. Everything from the layout, the furniture, the games, the lights and the music are all choreographed in a manner that ensures you have fun while the casinos make money. Every little detail is part of a bigger plan that is usually above the comprehension of the average punter.

“There’s a whole psychology to casino carpets,” explained Australian tournament director Chris Sandaman as we surveyed the concoction of colours that had been splashed together to produce the carpets of the Mactan Casino here in Cebu.

“They are designed to make sure that the player’s most relaxing experience is while they are sitting at the table so that they will stay there,” Chris added.

Hmmm perhaps it was true. The wash of aqua with orange, yellow, red, pink and green highlights that I was staring at was hypnotically discouraging. Unfortunately for the humble tournament reporter who is forced to pound the aisles all day, there is no escaping it.

Casinos are also usually home for a mass of neon lights and poker/slot machines. Fortunately in the poker room here we have been spared the senseless clatter of the slots which are segregated into a separate room across the hall. We’ve also almost been spared the epileptic-fit-inducing neon, but from our position at our blogging desk, it’s really difficult to ignore the two blazing neon lights that appear one end of the room.

One is appropriately labelled “Poker”. That makes sense I guess. The other one says “Lucky Star”. That one is not so obviously explained, but both are flashing wildly with a full rainbow of colours that would fit perfectly inside a Las Vegas Casino. Unfortunately they seem a little out of place here. Like much of the western culture here in The Philippines, they’ve imitated the US, but just slightly missed the mark.

I’m not sure if there’s a psychology behind neon lights. I guess there is, but somehow they just aren’t doing it for me. In an otherwise pleasant poker room where the carpet is covered by poker tables, and the only noise is the clattering of poker chips, the blazing neon only reminds me of the natural light that I’m missing. When I open my first casino, I’m going to install a window. But then again, there’s a science to that as well…

Tags: archives | australia | beach | eureka poker tour | lapt | Music | news | Psychology | russian | twitter | videos

Welcome back to the final day of the European Poker Tour main event in Madrid where we await the coronation of a new champion, a title worth €545,000.

So who are the eight players who will contest the final table, from a field that was 477 strong earlier in the week? Read about all the contenders below…

Still wondering…

Seat 1: Ricardo Ibañez Rodriguez, 34, Leon, Spain – 3,216,000
Ibañez is a 34-year-old welder from Leon who decided to enter EPT Madrid on a whim. “I follow my heart, not my head,” he said. He rarely plays online but does play live cash games and tournaments as a hobby. He has been playing poker for a few years and his biggest cash prior to this event was in a tournament in Salamanca, for around €3,000.

Seat 2: Frederik Jensen, 30, Copenhagen, Denmark – 2,144,000
Frederik Jensen is a regular face on the international poker circuit and marked himself out as one of the game’s rising stars in 2010 with an EPT Vilamoura final table, a runner-up spot in the Aussie Millions and third place in a major EPT Grand Final side event, totalling $1.3m. Last year, however, was a somewhat less fruitful year for Jensen on the live circuit, with just $115,013 of cashes. Jensen is also an internet pro, playing as “Fred_Brink” and won the PokerStars Sunday Million in 2008, earning $204,000.

Seat 3: Fraser MacIntyre, 39, Ayr, Scotland – PokerStars qualifier – 2,473,000
Fraser MacIntyre is very much a veteran when it comes to poker. He’s been playing it as a hobby for about 20 years but as semi-professional player for the past two. The rest of the time he runs a pub and nightclub in his home town of Ayr. He plays online cash games and satellites as well as live tournaments; his previous biggest cash was winning a WSOPE side event in Cannes last year for €16,900. MacIntyre qualified for Madrid through PokerStars’ Step satellites and has also won a seat to LAPT Sao Paulo. He’s been supported back home by his wife and four kids and here in Madrid by his friend, Mike Hill, a fellow player.

Seat 4: Bruno “Kool Shen” Lopes, 46, France – 1,452,000
Rap star Bruno “Kool Shen” Lopes is one of those rare people who seems to excel in everything they do. As a teenager he was an outstanding football player and nearly turned pro when he was offered the chance to play for the town of Lens. “I didn’t do it,” he said. “I went to New York instead.” At the time Lopes was the National Break Dance Champion of France and for next three years he and his friends made a living busking as break-dancers and graffiti artists. In 1987 Lopes formed NTM – originally as a graffiti group then as a rap outfit. “Kool Shen” became a major star and the group went double-platinum. Lopes’ hit “Un Ange dans Le Ciel” has had more than five million hits on YouTube.

Lopes first started playing poker (five-card draw) when he was 13. He then forgot all about poker for 25 years until he saw it on television in 2005. He began playing EPTs in Season 5 and min-cashed EPT San Remo. The following year, he cashed in San Remo again, and then had a deep run at the EPT6 Grand Final, finishing 42nd for €30,000. His biggest cash was in January when he beat a 108-strong field at the 2012 EFOP in Paris for €100,000. He was an overnight chip leader at EPT Deauville a few days later, eventually finishing 73rd for € 11,000. Last month he came seventh at WPT Mauritius. His live tournament winnings now total nearly $400,000 but he still earns his main living from music. This is his fifth EPT Main Event cash.

Seat 5: Andrei ‘Andr31123′ Stoenescu, 23 Bucharest, Romania – 1,974,000
High stakes cash game pro Andrei Stoenescu bust Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald to set the final table after winning a huge 1.9m flip with his big slick flopping Broadway against the Canadian’s flopped set of tens. The board failed to pair and McDonald was sent to the rail.
Although this is only the second EPT he has ever played, Stoenescu is far from a poker novice. His daily online grind is at the $5/$10NL up to $50/$100NL tables and his best online tournament score was for $115,000 when he chopped a Sunday major heads up. He went on to win then. Here Stoenescu aims to become the first Romanian EPT winner.

Seat 6: Ilan Boujenah, 23, Jerusalem, Israel – 1,382,000
Boujenah got his start in poker playing in underground games in Israel, and then began playing online. Eventually, he became a mid-stakes Omaha player and dabbled in multi-table tournaments as well. Because poker is illegal in Israel, Boujenah began commuting to France to play in casinos. This season is the first that Boujenah has travelled the European Poker Tour circuit, and so far he’s cashed in both the EPT Deauville main event in January, as well as the EPT Prague main event in December.

Seat 7: Jason Duval, 21, Quebec – PokerStars qualifier – 963,000
Duval’s full-time job is studying for a Business degree at Université Laval, and he’s just one session away from finishing. In his spare time he plays poker — live cash and online MTTs. At the prodding of his friend Yann Dion, Duval bought into a direct entry satellite for this tournament on PokerStars, and a win there allowed him to secure his seat and join Dion here at EPT Madrid. Four days later, he’s sitting at the final table with a real shot at the trophy and some serious bragging rights back home. He’ll begin the final day with 963,000 chips. It’s his first ever event on the EPT circuit and the largest live tournament he’s played.

Seat 8: Nicolas Levi, 29, France – 709,000
This is Levi’s second final table of Season 8, and third EPT final overall. Last December Levi finished third at EPT Prague for €270,000 and in Season 3 he made the final of EPT Dortmund, finishing in seventh place for € 85,700. Levi came across poker quite by accident seven years ago while he was studying computer science in the UK. On his laptop Levi discovered “a totally different game, a mix of psychology and mathematics. From the very first hand, I thought ‘this is the game for me’. Beating chance seemed a very exciting challenge.”
Since then, Levi has become a regular on the international poker scene. Outside of the EPT, Levi has achieved numerous other deep runs; his four WSOP finals include fifth in the 2010 WSOPE Main Event for £208,119 and sixth in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship for $114.525. Levi been based in the UK since 2000 – and in London for the last four years.

Tags: archives | deg | European Poker Tour | france | gambling | game | news | tournaments | wbcoop | world-series

After four and a bit days’ play, UKIPT Galway has reached a final table of eight.

The contenders are detailed below, and all prizewinners to date can be found on the prizewinner’s page.

They play to a winner on Monday February 20, 2012.

Emmett Mullin, Ireland, PokerStars qualifier – 1,620,000

Emmett Mullin hails from Omagh in Northern Ireland and won his Galway seat in an $8 turbo rebuy satellite on PokerStars. The 26 year old says that this stop isn’t his first UKIPT – he came 20th in Dublin in 2011 – and won’t be his last. He has already qualified for the next leg in Nottingham in April.

Nick Abou Risk, Canada, PokerStars player – 627,000

What more can be said about soft-spoken golden boy of the UKIPT, Nick Abou Risk? The Canadian has already won two UKIPT Main Events, and regards making his third final table (from a field of 698) as “defending” his Galway title. He has racked up more than £100,000 in live tournament winnings from this tour alone.

Richard Haile, United Kingdom, PokerStars qualifier – 312,000

Richard Haile is no stranger to the UKIPT, having finished ninth on the season two leaderboard, cashing four times along the way. He qualified for this event in a $33 rebuy satellite but has been playing live (and racking up results) since 2008. Haile’s hometown is Louth in Lincolnshire, but he’s played all around the UK and Ireland as well as picking up €11,236 for a 10th place finish at a WSOP-E side event in Cannes last year.

Craig Burke, Ireland – 1,167,000

Craig Burke hails from Cork and alternates working as a plumber with periods of enthusiasm for poker. His appearances at the tables come “every few months, when I get the itch again.” Burke won his seat in a live satellite here in Galway and has already bettered his previous highest placing on the UKIPT, which was 19th in Edinburgh in 2010. His best live result to date was €12,000 in Waterford the same year. Making the top seven in this event would overtake that record.

Joe Roberts, United Kingdom, PokerStars qualifier – 1,802,000

Joe Roberts played every stop on the UKIPT during season two – except Galway, the location this year for his first final table appearance. Roberts is a risk consultant by day, but has enjoyed both the atmosphere and social life in Galway as he has progressed through this tournament. He qualified online in a $33 (+ one re-buy) satellite and plans to play every stop this season having tasted victory in a Nottingham side event and now grown keen to take down his first Main Event.

John Willoughby, Ireland, PokerStars qualifier – 2,046,000

John Willoughby is a 21-year-old student from Dublin who qualified for the UKIPT Galway Main Event via a PokerStars $50 (+ 1 re-buy) satellite online. Although he doesn’t play many live events, he has got a qualifier’s eye on “a couple of EPTs…” This final table appearance represents his first foray into the deep stages of a live main event, although he has cashed in several disciplines including the Blind Man’s Bluff World Championship in 2011.

Aleksandras Rusinovas, Lithuania, PokerStars qualifier – 877,000

Aleksandras Rusinovas qualified via a $33 satellite on PokerStars and is making his first UKIPT final table on his second attempt. (He finished 13th in Brighton on season one.) The Lithuanian student attends Mykolas Romeris University, where he studies psychology, but he plans to make it to Nottingham in April and further UKIPT legs if he does well in Galway.

Ronan Gilligan, Ireland, PokerStars qualifier – 1,556,000

Ronan Gilligan is the only Galway resident making the final table. He won three seats in online satellites and his progress here could help him better his highest result to date – a runner-up finish at UKIPT Dublin on season one, which was worth €43,400. He followed that result with a third place finish at WPT Dublin and is no stranger to the pressures of a live final. He is looking forward to a full season of UKIPT tournaments – especially the Irish events.

Tags: belgian poker series | delicious | eureka poker tour | irish | news | Psychology | russian poker series | UKIPT | university | world-series

By Pauly
San Francisco, CA

In case you were wondering, and I know many of you degenerates are always looking for excuses to gamble, here’s the latest odds for the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table, otherwise known as the November Nine…

2011 November Nine Odds
Martin Staszko 4/1
Eoghan Odea 9/2
Ben Lamb 5/1
Phil Collins 5/1
Matt Giannetti 13/2
Pius Heinz 10/1
Badih Bounahra 12/1
Anton Makievskyi 12/1
Samuel Holden 15/1

** Odds courtesy of The Camel and Oddschecker.com

2011 November Nine Seating Assignments:
Seat 1: Matt Giannetti
Seat 2: Badih Bounahra
Seat 3: Eoghan O’Dea
Seat 4: Phil Collins
Seat 5: Anton Makievskyi
Seat 6: Samuel Holden
Seat 7: Pius Heinz
Seat 8: Ben Lamb
Seat 9: Martin Staszko

November Nine Chip Counts:
1. Martin Staszko – 40,175,000
2. Eoghan O’Dea – 33,925,000
3. Matt Giannetti – 24,750,000
4. Phil Collins – 23,875,000
5. Ben Lamb – 20,875,000
6. Badih Bounahra – 19,700,000
7. Pius Heinz – 16,425,000
8. Anton Makievskyi – 13,825,000
9. Sam Holden – 12,375,000

November Nine – Final Table Payouts
1st – $8,711,956
2nd – $5,430,928
3rd – $4,019,635
4th – $3,011,661
5th – $2,268,909
6th – $1,720,396
7th – $1,313,851
8th – $1,009,910
9th – $782,115

This is the first year that Las Vegas casinos allow proposition wagering on the World Series of Poker. Sports betting on poker is not a precise science yet because oddmakers and gamblers have a very small set of numbers to worth with. This is not like professional football in which oddmakers have models and algorithms to consult in addition to the old fashioned “eye test” to see if a team can legitimately cover a point spread on both paper and in real life. Poker is not like MMA or boxing, and you can’t just look at Puis Heinz and say he won’t be able to handle Anton Makievskyi.

So what do you look for? Stack sizes? Betting the chip leader isn’t always the best strategy. It’s only panned out once in the last three final tables.

The luck factor adds difficulty into making a sound decision. You’re essentially betting on the guy who puts himself in the best situation to get lucky — and often times luck is not coming from behind to win a hand or hitting all your draws, but rather, avoiding misfortune by winning all of your coinflips and evading suckouts at advantageous moments.

You’re also looking for value and a player who will pay off something close to what he’s really worth if goes deep and wins it all.

Will the major betting syndicates get in on this racket? I doubt they’ll make a major play because of the uncontrollable variables which makes it tough to minimize their risk. Rather, the majority of action will be wagered by hardcore poker fans and the curious tourist that happens to be in Vegas this weekend. He/she probably watched a few episodes of the WSOP on ESPN and decided to drop $25 on a player.

The WSOP Main Event is not like the Superbowl when amateur bettors flock to the windows to place bets on random things like the coinflip or the length of the national anthem. If the November Nine odds lures in a few drunks on The Strip, they’d probably place bets on a whim will go with familiar names like Phil Collins or Ben Lamb. It’s a pick driven by psychology. The European names are just too weird for anyone to pronounce, especially with a few Irish car bombs pumping through their system. Based on that assumption (drunks don’t like complicated names), if anyone wants to bet a longshot, it’ll be Sam Holden due to the simplicity of his name.

Ben Lamb is overvalued because everyone and his mother who is easily swayed by “awards” will take into account his most-recent Player of the Year victory. Lamb and Phil Hellmuth were neck-and-neck going into the WSOP-Europe, but Lamb finally locked up the title with a strong performance in Cannes. Numbers/awards aside, Lamb certainly played well enough across the entire summer to deserve the POY honor, but he could have won a Nobel Prize and the Westminster Dog Show and it still wouldn’t alter the randomness of the hands he’ll see at the final table and how he’ll choose to play them.

The chip leader and most popular guy have been historically overvalued. But, the long shots should be much higher in excess of +1500 and closer to +2000. That’s why you have to analyze the guys in the middle. They have the potential for most value if they win the Main Event. With that said, I like Matt Giannetti at +575 and love him of the line moves northward of 600.

* * *

2010 November Nine Odds:
Jonathan Duhamel +180
Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi +250
John Dolan +250
Joseph “subiime” Cheong +350
Matthew Jarvis +700
John Racener +700
Soi Nguyen +1200
Filippo Candio +1200
Jason Senti +2000

In 2010, the overall favorite and chip leader Jonathan Duhamel won the Main Event — the only favorite to ever do so. His odds were listed at +180 and he beat John Racener (+700) heads-up. The bookies gave the popular “Grinder” the second favorite at +250.

The Grinder embarked on a remarkable run at the 2010 WSOP and edged out Frank Kasella as Player of the Year, which was anchored by his victory in the 50K Players’ Championship. The Grinder eventually finished the Main Event in 5th place. His real odds were much higher, but don’t forget the bookies adjust lines to accommodate their positions after the original lines are released. The +250 they set for the Grinder didn’t equate to what place they thought he’d finish. The +250 line was in place protect themselves just in case the most popular guy won and they’d be on the hook for almost twice as much cash. Similar thing happened with Phil Ivey in 2009.

Last year, I bet on Joe “subiime” Cheong at +350. I felt that he offered the best value for his price. Cheong finished in a disappointing third place. If he didn’t imploded on the infamous hand that sunk his Main Event dreams, who knows what could have happened.

John Racener at +700 ended up being a sound wager because the bubblegum chewing Racener lost to Duhamel heads-up. He was listed as the 6th favorite (or 4th longshot if you want to look at it in those terms). The year before, Joe Cada was in a similar spot and took down the Main Event.

* * *

2009 November Nine Odds:
Darvin Moon +225
Eric Buchman +350
Phil Ivey +350
Happy Shulman +500
Steven Begleiter +500
Joe Cada +1000
Kevin Schaffel +1200
James Akenhead +1200
Antoine Saout +1500

Phil Ivey’s numbers were tweaked because he’s Phil Fucking Ivey and everyone with a pulse put down a bet on him. I bet on him at crappy odds because he’s Phil Fucking Ivey. He should have been listed much higher, but so much money was put down on Ivey that the bookies wanted to minimize their losses just in case he pulled off a victory. Alas, the living legend never got any momentum going and despite the pro-Ivey crowd, he busted in 5th place. Seconds after his elimination, the majority of the Penn and Teller Theatre emptied and energy level fizzled out to a faint whimper.

The Luddite logger Darvin Moon was listed as 2/1 because he held an overwhelming chip lead and the poker gods seemed to have blessed him during his journey to the final table. Moon found himself pitted heads-up against the baby-faced kid from Michigan Joe Cada. Cada getting 10/1 odds would’ve paid off handsomely if you had the balls to pull the trigger on the unknown player. Alas, it wasn’t one of the chip leaders like Moon or Buchman who prevailed. Nor was it the consummate professional in Phil Ivey. Nope, it was one of the random guys at the back of the pack.

* * *

2008 November Nine Odds:
Dennis Phillips +425
Ivan Demidov +425
Scott Montgomery +475
Peter Eastgate +525
Ylon Schwartz +800
David Rheem +850
Darus Suharto +900
Craig Marquis +950
Kelly Kim +2500

In the inaugural November Nine the books erred on the side of caution because the November Nine has never happened before, so no one knew what to expect. The big question marks surrounded the layoff — would it benefit some players more so than others? And more importantly, how would that affect the betting odds?

Dennis Phillips was the people’s choice. He had the “aww shucks” attitude from the moment the spotlight got turned onto him, which is a rare form of charm mostly found in prairie statement politicians and door-to-door insurance salesmen. The fact that he was also the chip leader tweaked his numbers. Don’t forget when someone who is not a savvy bettor wants action, they usually go with what is familiar to them. Hence, why the public loved betting on Phillips.

Chino Rheem was the “pro’s favorite” that year and most of the people associated with the poker industry put their money on Chino because based on time logged at the live tables, he had the best chance to win. Besides, he also owed the most money to everyone else in poker, which is why everyone was rooting for him. The higher he finished, the better the chances all of his debt collectors would get paid.

The 4th highest favorite, Peter Eastgate, won the championship and became the youngest player to do so in the process — smashing Phil Hellmuth’s record. It’s fitting that five years after the Moneymaker Effect, a Scandi who barely shaves, took down the WSOP Main Event.

* * *
So what does all of this mean? Absolutely nothing.

But if you like small sample sizes…. since the inception of the November Nine, only one favorite (Jonathan Duhamel) won the Main Event. Your best bet is someone in the middle of the pack like Joe Cada (2009) or Peter Eastgate (2008). That’s why I like Matt Gianetti at +575 or 13/2 at online sportsbooks according to The Camel. Besides, Giannetti won a WPT event on my birthday, so I take that as a positive sign.

I’ve already placed wagers on O’Dea (safe bet) and Gianetti (value play).

I know I haven’t specifically spoken about Eoghan O’Dea, but I like the Irishman’s style of play and more importantly, he’s a second generation gambler. Poker is in his blood. His father is one of the godfathers of Irish poker Don O’Dea. It’s hard to bet against royalty and someone who’s been breathing poker since he popped out of his momma’s womb.

That’s it for now. Consult your local bookie, online sportsbook, or check the betting windows in Vegas for the latest odds. Get your bets in before Sunday! Good luck.

The November Nine kicks off semi-live with hole cards on ESPN2 at 3:30pm ET. You can also view it online at ESPN3.

Tags: 2011 | birthday | classic tao | full tilt | las vegas | lost vegas | michigan | moth | news | Pai Gow | Podcast | Tao of Pokerati

By Pauly

Los Angeles, CA

I was bored, so I put in the bet.

Sunday morning. I sat in the well-lit living room of what will soon be my apartment in San Francisco. My girlfriend was still sleeping and I had the entire place to myself. I sunk into the couch and tried to imagine what football season would be like in the new flat. One of the benefits of the narrow Victorian architecture was an elongated hallway, which ran the entire length of the building. Lots of space to pace when sweating bets.

The middle of August is one of the slowest time of the year for degenerates in American professional sports. The preseason football games had yet to begin and I craved a taste for action. Any action. I had not wagered on sports since I left Las Vegas. Although I fled Vegas as fast as I could, I logged a decent summer playing cash games (the Pokerati mixed game at the Palms was a blessing), but I made a killing riding the Mavericks’ streak in the NBA playoffs and also fading the public’s sentiment for the Heat in the Finals. I also dabbled in baseball courtesy of a system from AlCantHang, but that was all before the All Star break, before variance eventually caught up to us. By middle of the WSOP, I stopped visiting the sportsbook windows and sat on my NBA profit, which I eventually used to fund the move (from Los Angeles to San Francisco), and pay for trips to Colorado and Chicago.

A little taste.

I flipped through the cable stations and tried to familiarize myself with the channels. I’m not much of a TV junkie anymore, aside from watching a few reality shows about addictions (Hoarders and Intervention). I watch a shit ton of sports, but probably only watch about 50% of sports on actual TV with my laptop(s) picking up the rest of the slack. I have a theory that the ability to watch almost any sporting event online increases the chances of me betting on it.

I’m not addicted to the deviancy of betting to win money. Rather, I prefer the physical and visceral attributes of betting on sports which can only be achieved by watching the event as it unfolds in real time. I’ve sweated games via radio and constantly refreshing Gamecast — and even those experiences don’t compare to the physical stimulation I get when watching a game I bet on.

Then again, nothing can be more boring in life than watching two teams you don’t care about. That’s why fantasy sports added another reason to watch meaningless games. The primary reason I’m not that into soccer is that I maintain my distance to the sport because I’m afraid that if I catch the bug… then I’d get completely hooked on a sport that is always on. Soccer (er, football) is the most played sport on the planet (except pocket pool), so that means there’s always a game on at any given time, and someone with a propensity to bet on sports like myself would lose his entire life savings if I showed any interest into soccer. As is, I only bet during the World Cup (I made a killing last year betting Spain as per a tip from Benjo) and whenever I’m hanging out with Brits for an extended amount of time and I tail their picks.

I love any sports you can wager on. Otherwise, if I’m forced to watch two random teams or a random sporting contest, then I find it utterly boring and completely meaningless. Ah, that’s why I love proposition wagering because it’s the gambler’s hot sauce. Sprinkle it anywhere, and you have an extra spicy time — from betting on where flies will land on a pile of shit, to betting on which bags come out first at airport baggage claim, to betting on the WNBA.

Hot sauce.

Anyway, so I feel your pain if you don’t like sports, or only have a passion for a particular sport and you get stuck sweating games because your friends/family happens to love a different sport.

Example… the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was early in the baseball season and I was sweating a game on my girlfriend’s iPad. She had no clue, but I bought an app with her credit card that allowed me to stream MLB.tv games. I got a tip on the Pirates, so I bet them and sweated the game. They were ahead until their bullpen blew it in late innings. I shot a text to Mean Gene, a Pittsburgh resident, about the demise of his lowly Pirates. He wrote back that he knew I had bet on the game because “why the hell would a Yankees fan, who was living in LA, sweat a Pirates game unless he had money on it.”

Mean Gene is a smart dude. But he understands hot sauce.

Sorry for the tangent… let’s return to the original flashback to a sunny Sunday morning in San Francisco. I sunk into the couch and flipped through the cable TV until I came across the San Francisco Giants pre-game show. Ah, yes…fear the beard. I had a flight to catch later that evening and was just killing time before I went to the airport. I did what any sensible human did on a Sunday morning — I scorned religious service and bet on the Giants. When in Rome…

The Giants prevailed and I won my first bet since I left Vegas. I was more thrilled that the three hours I wasted watching a Giants game was worth the investment. But that small bet was just be the beginning of a remarkable streak. I started off 1-0 with the Giants bet and ten days later, I ran up my bankroll to new heights after a 13-3 clip.

I stuck to a few basics and rode two hot teams — Milwaukee and NY Yankees. Holy shit, the Brew Crew has been on fire and I’ve managed to step off the gas on the rare nights they lost. I also faded a couple of struggling teams — the Mets and the Twins. Sounds so simple, but at this point in the lengthy baseball season, it gets hot as balls in August and teams with no chance give up and go into zombie mode. So when a demoralized team gets behind early, they have no fight in them and practically concede a loss. Timing and psychology are just as important as who takes the mound at this point in the season.

I know that by writing about a streak will thereby end said streak, which is cool because I’m pulling the plug on the baseball betting for a while (maybe for the entire regular season). I strengthened my roll just in time for the NFL season and in the meantime, I’m shifting back into day trading mode. Yeah, without legalized online poker and scant offerings as a poker writer, my options to earn a living wage are slim to none. I dabbled in day trading and investing in commodities earlier in the year and had a nice score in silver, but stopped when I moved to Vegas for the WSOP. Now that my summer vacation is almost over, I’ve been slipping back into a weird routine of going to bed early to wake up at the crack of ass to monitor the markets. Trading hours on the West Coast are a fucking bitch.

I’m trying to snag one last score before I get out of the game and ride out the financial shit storm. Don’t all crooks attempt “one last score” in heist movies before they get sucked into a suicide mission?

The summer slowly fades and baseball becomes an afterthought to the looming football season. Without online poker giving everyone a steady fix, I have a feeling that local bookies are going to make a killing in the upcoming months. If you’re looking for hot sauce and don’t live in Vegas, not too many people will be slinging it these days.

Tags: ice palace | lists | Pai Gow | Tao of Pokerati | TOC | twitter | videos | wcoop

By Pauly
Los Angeles, CA

The Spring time is always a busy time for the publishing season. I finally dusted off a pile from last year and delved into some new titles. Here’s some suggestions for summer reading om the beach, at the pool, or the summer home. And if you recently acquired a Kindle, here’s a few items to add to your virtual library. So let’s get to it…

For Richer, For Poorer by Vicky Coren

From last year’s “To Read” pile, I finished Vicky Coren’s For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker. She’s a fantastic writer and an astute storyteller as she weaves her own personal story through the murky, yet hilarious world of the London poker scene (and eventually winning the EPT London). Incidentally, I’d love to hire Vicky to do the audio version of Lost Vegas. She has such a commanding, yet alluring voice that she can make my rubbish sound like Shakespeare!

Master Omaha 8 Poker by Lou Krieger and Mark Tenner

One of the first books I ever read about poker was written by Lou Krieger. I was an out-of-work writer at the time and couldn’t afford to buy any poker books but I religiously hung out in the poker section of Barnes and Noble in Union Square and read every poker book they had in stock including a few of Lou’s titles. I never expected at the time I’d move to Vegas to become a poker reporter, but as luck would have it, I met Lou during my first day on the job at the 2005 WSOP. He’d become a fan of my writing and eventually gave me a huge break when he hired me for a new poker magazine.

Anyway, I’ve always looked up to Lou as one of pillars in the poker writing community. He has a new book which he co-authored with Mark Tenner titled Mastering Omaha/8 Poker. Omaha 8 is my least favorite game of poker, but you know what? I read the entire book. For someone who doesn’t play O8, the book was a good primer on the subject. It’s also a testament to the writing skill of the authors because they were able to hold my attention in my least favorite game.

I was happy to see a chapter devoted PLO8. I’m a PLO junkie and friends often told me I was missing out on some juicy games because of my Omaha 8 bias. Maybe it’s time to give it a whirl?

Mental Game of Poker by Jared Tendler and Barry Carter

The dynamic duo of Jared Tendler and Barry Carter created a book, Mental Game of Poker, that sheds insight on poker psychology. It’s a topic that is not discussed very often, yet happens to be one of the most vital aspects of the game.

Here’s a glimpse of what the book covers…

“Proven techniques to permanently fix problems such as tilt, handling variance, emotional control, confidence, fear, and motivation. With the games getting tougher, now is the time to take these problems head on.”

I’m a tilt monkey and finished the book with the confidence knowing I can diminish tilting at the tables. I hope to apply it to Pai Gow as well!

* * *
Although these aren’t poker books, here’s two books on sportsbetting that I finished reading and highly recommend…

Gaming the Game

The real title is called Gaming the Game: The Story Behind the NBA Betting Scandal and the Gambler Who Made It Happen. Written by Sean Griffin, the book follows around a professional gambler from the Philly burbs named The Sheep. He was a former bookie who became a money mover for the biggest sportsbettors in the world including Billy Walters. The Sheep also was the guy who first found out referee Tim Donaghy (and some other refs) manipulated outcomes of the NBA games because Donaghy was a degen gambler and had wagered on a specific side. The book detailed what happened next, the games that were fixed, and how they got caught by the FBI. Amazing story and makes me wonder how many refs in the NFL help manipulate those games as well?

Conquering Risk: Attacking Vegas and Wall Street

I found out about Conquering Risk: Attacking Vegas and Wall Street through a podcast on PreGame.com when Betting Dork interviewed the author, Elihu D. Feustel, who is a former consultant for offshore books like Pinnacle. And holy shitballs, I bought a copy before the podcast even ended. Conquering Risk is a must have for intermediate to advanced sportsbettors (and a few bookies who might read the Tao). Fesutel’s books is sort of similar to the Mathematics of Poker, except Feustel broke down complex game theory terminology and formulas into a much easier to understand language. He wrote this book to help make sportsbettors sharper with their picks, and along the way he shared some thoughts on the Kelly Criterion and Poisson distributions.

* * * *
And here’s a piece of fiction that I can’t recommend more…

Same Difference

Shamus writes for free over at Hard-Boiled Poker so please support his efforts by buying his pulp novel Same Difference. And stop by his blog to tell him to hurry up and finish his second novel!

* * * *
Updates on Lost Vegas and Jack Tripper Stole My Dog

The French version of Lost Vegas was released last Friday and kicked off to rave reviews! More details here.

I’ve officially made it as a writer — I got published in French — one of the most prestigious honors a writer can achieve. I’m honored and pumped because French people buy more books than Americans. I’m hoping I will get invited to discuss Lost Vegas on one of those late night French TV talk shows where they smoke cigarettes and sip wine.

My first novel, Jack Tripper Stole My Dog, comes out this week. Follow @JackTripperBook on Twitter for special advanced info on the official release date. You can also visit Jack Tripper’s Facebook page to get a peak at the cover.

Tags: 2011 | attention | beach | french | london | lost vegas | nba | Podcast | Psychology | publishing | rio | summer | time | virtual

As I write this, the U.S. Chess Championships and U.S. Women’s Chess Championships are wrapping up at the Saint Louis Chess Club. The latter is a competition I have won twice, and this tumultuous time for American poker is a perfect occasion to compare my two favorite skill-based games.

Chess players often adapt well to poker, picking the game up rather quickly. Star examples include original November-niner Ylon Schwartz, author and World Series of Poker champion Dan Harrington, and French poker pro and International Master Almira Skripchenko. I got into poker via my brother Greg Shahade, who is a Super Nova on PokerStars and an International Master of chess. Greg is also the founder of the US Chess League, which PokerStars sponsors.

When I first learned to play poker, the things that made me a champion chess player helped me enormously. I approached the game with analytical fervor, and was interested in what the best move was, berating myself much more for playing badly than for losing. My gaming background also helped me avoid typical psychological roadblocks to poker success such as fear and boredom.

In this article, I’ll focus on a few tips from my work in chess, which I have also found immensely valuable in poker:

Before a big event, go over fundamentals: Confidence is key to top form in both poker and chess. In chess, it’s better to err on the side of over-confidence rather than under-confidence. Lack of self-belief can cause a player to move slowly which is disastrous in a high-intensity timed chess game. Before a major chess event, I will always go over simpler puzzles than I would during a general training period. Similarly, before the World Series or another major event, I wouldn’t want to read an article on poker, watch a video or talk to a player that made me feel as if I knew nothing. Those types of deeply humbling learning experiences may help in the long-term, but in the short-term I don’t believe in shattering my sense of self-confidence with information that I will not have time to absorb and apply correctly.

If it doesn’t hurt, you’re probably not doing it right: Before competitive chess games, I’d spend the whole morning combing databases with millions of chess games, analyzing my opponent’s previous strategies. Most of my games would last about five hours and after that I’d engage in “post-mortems,” where hero and villain worked together to pinpoint where the vanquished erred. After the process, I often felt like eating a steak and then putting my brain on ice.

Because there is a luck element in poker, it’s easy for me to indulge in many distracting activities, from twitter to daydreams. Still I believe that after a long day of poker, I should feel as exhausted as after a chess game. If I don’t, I’m probably not exerting enough mental energy.

Embrace Tension: In chess, I like to attack, attack and attack! I like to execute concrete ideas such as captures and checks, which often culminate in beautiful checkmate. Other times it releases all the tension in a position and leads to a draw, in which case neither player wins. In both chess and poker, a style that appears aggressive can actually be a style that fears complexity. Many of the top online players today raise the minimum preflop and carefully size their 3 and 4-bets to add layers to the game rather than scare their opponents away with oversize bets. Since I recognize a tendency in myself to release tension in chess, when I look over hand histories and find myself padding bets in no limit, I am able to step back and analyze why.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Books on chess middlegames are often broken into two categories–strategy and tactics. Tactics refer to short operations to win your opponent’s pieces, while strategy refers to long-term plans to gain an advantage when there are no obvious winning ideas on the horizon. European Poker Tour regular and former chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer said that his favorite time during poker tournaments is during the breaks, when he can focus on strategic thinking. “Much like a chess position where you take a bit of time away from pure calculation to analyze how your opponent feels . . . You can feel who is becoming edgier, who is becoming more passive, and set up particular plans for individuals at the table. That planning feels so chess-like!”

The learning process is not a one-way street. Chess players could also learn a lot from poker players about money management and psychology. For instance, poker pros know better than chessmasters, that it’s not about playing perfect moves, but finding the perfect way to rattle an opponent.

In a time of change for the PokerStars community, it is more important than ever to compare poker to other skill based activities. And since April 15th, I find myself more than ever reflecting upon the parallels between 64 squares and 52 cards.

Shahade

Tags: books | deeply-humbling | European Poker Tour | international | news | opponent | pokerstars | rio | world | World Series of Poker

After three long days of hard toil, the following nine players have overcome a starting field of 393 players to reach the 2011 PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event final table.

They’ll return to the dedicated final table area in the 36 Degree bar at Star City Casino to play it out for the $195,714 first place prize.

Seat 1: Mike Stecker, Las Vegas, USA (PokerStars Qualifier) – 320,000 chips

American Mike Stecker is a regular on the Australian circuit with three Aussie Millions cashes and an ANZPT final table to his credit in 2009 at the inaugural event in Adelaide.

Mike has been playing poker for seven years, and despite over US$120,000 in career earnings, Mike rates playing tennis with ANZPT Daytime Activities & Nighttime Adventures Coordinator Danny McDonagh in Perth as the highlight of his career!

Besides tennis, Mike enjoys golf and basketball, but he’ll need to land some early jump shots on this final table as he comes in as the short stack of the field.

Seat 2: AJ Bertenshaw, Auckland, New Zealand (PokerStars Qualifier) – 605,000 chips

AJ is a self-described “retired software genius” who has been playing poker for seven years after getting started with his brother and friends in fun home games. The lone Kiwi at the table, (but we’ll try not to hold that against him!), AJ fought back from a day two starting stack of just 13,000 in chips to reach this final table in the middle of the pack.

Outside of poker AJ enjoys acting and he has certainly raised the bar in the dress standards at the ANZPT with his impressive array of suits.

Seat 3: Abbas Karroobee, Sydney, NSW – 356,000 chips

Abbas is a 65-year old Property Manager from Sydney who has been playing poker for ten years after his business partner roped him into a Pot Limit Holdem home game.

Abbas enjoys both Holdem and Omaha, with this result at the ANZPT Sydney being his biggest accomplishment in poker to date.

Outside of poker he enjoys a hit of tennis and he’s thankful for the support of his friends and business partner as he hopes to go all the way. He’ll need some early help as he enters the final table as one of our short stacks.

Seat 4: Hun Wei (Andy) Lee, Sydney, NSW – 1,321,000 chips

Andy is a 26-year old student who has been terrorizing opponents for five years after first starting out in pub poker games around Sydney.

A well respected cash game player, Andy also has an impressive tournament record with a title in the 2009 Melbourne Championships Six-Handed event and two other five-figure scores.

Andy surged through the field late yesterday with back-to-back knockouts on the final two tables. This secured him one of the big stacks which will make him a dangerous prospect on this final table.

Seat 5: Alex Lee, Canberra, ACT – 1,443,000 chips

One of the young guns on this final table, Alex is a 23-year old Economics student from our nation’s capital who has been playing poker for two years. He took up poker as a hobby after serving national service in his homeland of Singapore.

This is Alex’s first major final table as he focuses mainly on the $5/$5 No Limit cash games. He recalled to us that he once made $19,000 in three days on the Star City felt but then lost it all in one hour of Blackjack! Let’s hope that Alex can hang onto his chips this time around as he carries a big stack into the final table.

Seat 6: Jay Kinkade, Melbourne, VIC (PokerStars Qualifier) – 336,000 chips

Known throughout Australia simply as “SEABEAST”, 28-year old Jay Kinkade has a poker resume which puts him in elite company in this country. Jay has been the number one ranked online player for many years, before toying in and out of retirement as he sought new challenges both in poker and away from the felt.

Jay is currently studying Psychology and plays guitar in a band called Extortion in between high stakes online multi-table tournaments and Pot Limit Omaha cash games. Jay rates his biggest poker achievements as the 2008 Victorian Championships Main Event and PokerStars SCOOP titles.

On day one, Jay got his tournament rolling when he rivered a Royal Flush to eliminate an opponent and from there he hasn’t looked back. Incredibly this is Jay’s first cash in Star City after countless trips to Sydney and he’ll be looking to make the most of it, as he plans to use his experience and skill to manoeuvre his short stack all the way to another title.

Seat 7: Michael Kanaan, Sydney, NSW – 1,712,000 chips

Michael is a 27-year old local Sydneysider who has been playing poker professionally for two years as an online grinder. With no tournament record to speak of, this is Michael’s first major tournament cash.

Michael rose to prominence on day three with several big pots and knockouts, as all eyes will be fixed in his direction as he enters the final table as our chip leader.

Away from poker, Michael enjoys football (we assume the Rugby variety) and hanging out with mates. Expect to see a big rail to cheer on this local boy tomorrow!

Seat 8: Stevan Chew, Adelaide, SA (PokerStars Qualifier) – 610,000 chips

Stevan is a 22-year old Student who will be the lone South Australian representative at this final table. Stevan flew under the radar for long periods of this tournament with his self-described strategy of “nit it up, win a flip, rinse and repeat”.

Stevan is a regular in the midstake MTT’s online on PokerStars, but he also has a trophy in the cabinet after his win in the Terminator event at last year’s Victorian Championships.

One of the things that Stevan enjoys about the ANZPT is the opportunity to travel and meet new people – one of which was the legendary ALF footballer Mick Martin who he met at the player’s party and has inspired him to greatness in this tournament.

Seat 9: Luis Arrilucea, Sydney, NSW – 1,327,000 chips

Luis is a 32-year old small business owner from Sydney who has been plying his trade on the felt for six years. He credits his friends as his biggest influences after they helped him get into online poker where he enjoys grinding MTTs on PokerStars.

This is Luis’ first major tournament cash as he says he “won the important flips” to get him to this point. It’s certainly worked so far as he’ll carry one of the big stacks into our final table.

Away from poker, Luis enjoys soccer and spending time with his family and friends.

Tags: business | country | family | online-poker | Psychology | SCOOP | time | tournaments | usa

By Pauly
Los Angeles, CA

Happy Monday. If you have a case of the Mondays, then I’m sorry because it’s like having a case of the morning beer shits. I feel your pain. Part of the reason I took a vow of poverty as a writer was so I would never, ever have to feel the gut-wrenching pain of sitting in a cubicle on Monday morning and snorting lines of Sweet-n-Low in order to get motivated to do any semblance of work for the day. Luckily, you’re here to kill some time, or dare I say, this is like your bump of artificial sweetener…

Busted: A huge bust in Queens went down last week after the federales pinched a couple of wiseguys who were running a sports betting operation that supposedly netted over $8 million. The bookies in custody have alleged ties to the Bonanno crime family and were using an offshore site, ArrowAction.net, as part of their operation.

Poker Legislation: More hype? Or will someone finally pull the trigger on legalized online poker? Supposedly, the District of Columbia is about to become the first part of American soil to allow online poker. Supposedly… as is with all things political and poker, I’m skeptical that anything will happen. I hope I’m wrong in this case. (Wall Street Journal)

Gaming Stats: Were you wondering if the economy has been improving or declining? Don’t listen to the talking heads on the biz news channels. Instead, do what I do and take the pulse of the gambling community. David Schwartz breaks down the last six months of gaming revenue in the state of Nevada. (The Die Is Cast)

Psych: Joe Navarro knows if you’ve been naughty or if you’ve been nice. He’s not Santa Claus, but rather a former interrogator for the FBI, and I imagine that he’d be able to get a read on Old St. Nick if need be. Although this is not a poker or gambling article, I thought this was an interesting read and has some applications to poker… Four Opportunities to Detect Deception (Psychology Today)

Snoopy: Ha, Snoopy gets his own category! I wished that Snoops, one of my favorite scribes, wrote more often. I enjoyed his latest post… Puppy Tilt …and yes, I read it aloud in a Midlands-heavy British accent. (Black Belt Poker)

Flashback: This is a flashback of sorts from the November Nine. I never linked up my article about Jonathan Duhamel winning the Main Event. Better late than never, eh? Dispatches from the November Nine: The Man in Black. (Bluff Magazine)

Music: Here’s a sample of non-poker writing for your amusement, it’s the first installment of a series that I’m working on the contemporary funk scene in the U.K…. British Postmodern Funk, Vol. 1: The New Mastersounds. (Coventry Music)

That’s it. All of you punks and punkettes know the drill by now…NGTFOOMO!

Tags: bluff-magazine | david-schwartz | lost vegas | mondays | november-nine | phish | sports betting | street-journal | Vegas | writing