Vegas

ANZPT Sydney: It’s poker with a snap!

Nothing frustrates players more than slow dealers. It’s the thorn in the side of live poker. Slow hand rates, cards flying off the table, exposed cards, misdeals. It doesn’t happen online, but also doesn’t happen (often) here in The Star Poker Room.

The dealers here are a pretty friendly mob and they’re also pretty efficient at their job, thanks to a handy little device that is similar to a Blackjack dealer shoe.

Once the shuffle machine does its thing, the cards are loaded into the shoe and slid swiftly across the felt to each of the players. The cards barely kiss the surface as they are accurately pitched every time without a hint of any flash of the card face. Some of the more experienced dealers can do this extremely quickly which ensures that hand rates are maintained at a consistently high rate.

“I’m a big fan of the shoe,” said gaming consultant and Baccpo extraordinaire Rob Huxley who we spotted on the rail. With decades of experience working with dealers in casinos across Las Vegas and around the world, “Hux” is a man in the know.

“They never expose any cards like sometimes happens when dealers pitch at an angle,” he added before we went on to take a look at the other unique dealer act that we see here at The Star.

“I’m not such a big fan of the ‘snap’,” said Hux.

You’ll find famous Star ‘snap’ echoing through the poker room when many of the poker dealers deal the turn and river. The card is squeezed between two fingers and then released face up onto the felt which gives an impressive snapping sound as the bent card extends when it lands on the felt.

As a poker fan, I find the snap pretty cool and adds a nice bit of flare to the dealing without affecting any of the play, but as Hux explained the snap has a soured history.

“Many of the old school players don’t like it. The snapping sound resonates with the days of card mechanics who dealt in back room games, where that sound was a sign when someone wasn’t dealing the top card from the deck,” Hux explained.

Hux had raised an interesting point, but that is obviously never a problem here in the casino where a single card is removed from the shoe before its snapped into place.

Hux also admitted that the snap did alleviate his pet dealer peeve – that is when a dealer slowly reveals the river, showing the card to himself first before the table. Basically the dealer’s version of the slowroll. With the snap, the card is exposed to all players and the dealer at the very same time.

While there are a few mixed opinions, the ‘snap’ is certainly something adds something different to the usual, monotonous dealing routines.

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SuperStar Showdown: Stormy weather strands Haxton, suspends match

After a 36-week hiatus, the SuperStar Showdown was set to return with a bang this afternoon. Isaac “philivey2694″ Haxton, Viktor Blom’s very first challenger (and the only net winner against him in Showdown matches) was back for another 2,500 hands at double the stakes. Only this time, rather than playing from a Las Vegas high-rise, Haxton was at his new home in Malta, where storms have pounded the area for the last few days. About 75 minutes after cards went in the air, Haxton began experiencing connectivity issues and despite everyone’s best attempts to troubleshoot, the problem persisted. With 692 of 2,500 hands completed, there was no choice but to suspend the match and resume later this week, once Haxton’s internet connection has been fixed. As Haxton wrote himself on the 2+2 forums:

“I’m really sorry about all this. I know it’s ruining the flow of the match for spectators.

To clarify the weather stuff: There was a really bad storm 2 days ago. My internet was completely down for 2 hours and has been a little unstable ever since. I think something between the ISP and my apartment must have been damaged.”

That’s some pretty remarkable poise coming from a man on the worst kind of tech tilt. And as if gnawing through red tape to get a Maltese internet connection repaired isn’t bad enough, when the match does resume, Haxton will start off $99,886 in the hole.

Isaac “philivey2694″ Haxton

Since it’s been a while, let’s refresh our memories on the rules of the SuperStar Showdown. A match lasts 2,500 hands spread across four tables. Blom and his challenger each escrow 15 buy-ins to use as their bankroll. Blinds are typically $50/$100, although for today’s match, Blom and Haxton upped the stakes to $100/$200 NLHE. Buy-ins are 100 BB apiece and stacks are automatically topped up any time they dip below that mark. Should either player lay claim to the other’s 15 buy-ins before the end of the 2,500 hands, the match is over.

Man vs. nature. Nature wins

Cards were in the air at 12:03pm EDT, the first significant pot unfolding only three minutes later. On a [7d][6s][3d] board in a raised pot, Blom flopped an open-ended straight draw with [5c][8c]. Haxton check-called $1,000 on the flop, then checked again when the [9s] fell on the turn. Blom bet $2,800 with his nine-high straight and Haxton called. The [Jd] on the river put a potential flush on board but it did not deter either player, Haxton check-calling an additional $7,600 only to see the bad news. Blom raked in the $24,000 pot and moved out to a $7,300 overall lead after only 50 hands.

Minutes later, Blom flopped bottom two pair and turned a full house, getting in a nice value-raise on the river when the board read [Qs][Jd][8s][8c][9h]. Haxton paid him off and Blom dragged the $19,200 pot, taking his lead up to more than $15,000. Haxton at last picked up a five-figure pot when he check-called three streets on a [3h][2d][7h][Qd][2h] board, his [Qs][Jd] outkicking Blom’s [Qc][9h]. With that pot, Haxton erased his deficit and took a slight lead– the only one he’d see all day.

The first all-in of the match occurred on a [9c][8d][7d] flop. Holding [Kc][Kh], Haxton three-bet shoved and Blom called off his remaining $9,300, having flopped the nuts with [Jc][Ts]. No miraculous running cards for Haxton on the turn or river, and the $40,000 pot was shipped to Sweden. Although Haxton picked up a $13,700 pot when he rivered two pair, he gave most of those chips back after calling two streets then folding to Blom’s river shove on a [8s][2c][Jd][Ah][3c] board. Blom kept barreling and Haxton kept calling him down only to be shown monsters, as evidenced in this $24,000 pot where Blom rivered his flush:

With 351 hands in the books, Blom led by $45,732 and had double his starting stack on three of the four tables. Only now it was time for Haxton to hit a river card. In a setup that would have likely seen him felted, Haxton’s dominated ace caught two pair on the river, just in time for Blom to pull his signature overbet-shove. Haxton called off his remaining $12,620 and nabbed the $40,840 pot:

Although Haxton managed to cut Blom’s lead to $35,676 over the next hundred hands, Blom nabbed the monsterpotten of the day when he picked up pocket jacks. Blom opened for $600 and Haxton called from the big blind, the flop falling [Qs][Jd][Td]. Haxton checked, Blom bet $1,000 with his set and Haxton called. The [Th] on the turn filled Blom up, but Haxton did his bidding for him, leading out for $2,400. Blom smooth-called. Haxton led again when the [9c] hit the river, betting $5,280. Blom raised to $23,600 and Haxton called, mucking his hand as Blom raked in the $55,200 pot. With 501 hands completed, Blom’s lead stood at $71,376.

The wheels really started coming off the wagon a few minutes later, when Blom picked up pocket eights and opened for $600. Haxton three-bet to $2,100 with [Jd][Td] and Blom called. Haxton led out for $2,400 on the [Js][4s][2h] flop and Blom called. The [2s] on the turn put a potential flush on board and earned checks from both players. Blom hit gin on the river, though, the [8d] falling to make him an extremely well-disguised full house. Haxton checked, Blom shoved and Haxton called all-in for $15,700, his top pair up in flames. With 553 hands complete, Blom was up $94,954.

Moments later, Haxton’s internet connection began acting up. The match went on a five-minute break while he restarted his router, but it took more than thirty minutes for Haxton to reconnect. Three minutes after cards went back in the air, Haxton disconnected again, and it was another half-hour before the match could resume. Haxton’s connection held for only 15 minutes before going out again, and this time the decision was made to suspend the match and resume action at a later time once Haxton’s connection was repaired.

Hopefully that will happen sometime later this week. With 1,808 hands to play, Haxton trails Blom by $99,886. While that might seem steep, fortunes can change quickly at these stakes, even more so when you’re up against the “King of Swing.”

Meanwhile, tune in one week from today for another SuperStar Showdown as Viktor Blom takes on a new challenger– English high-stakes NLHE star Andrew “Kanu7″ Millar. Action begins Sunday, March 18 at 12pm EDT. Let’s hope for dry weather.

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EPT8 Deauville: Paul Berende, instigator and beer drinker

At any EPT there are usually one or two tables rocking with laughter, or hearty conversation at the very least. These tables don’t just magic themselves out of thin air, they’re based on what we reporters like to call an ‘instigator’ – a player that we can usually rely on to get a bit of action going. During a slow period of play you can hone in on one of these players knowing that you’re likely bag some material, either in terms of play or chat. An instigator provokes and prods, they laugh and pester, they raise and bluff. In other words, they’re a catalyst and, dare I say, fun to watch.

Any poker fan will know the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Tony G or Mike Matusow who would certainly fall within this category, or 1998 Main Event champion Scotty Nguyen who plays here in Deauville today, but to the trained eye there are many more who have graced the EPT felt; Roberto Romanello, Heinz Kamutzki, Ben Wilinofsky and Victor Ramdin. Others, if they are in the right mood, such as Giuseppe Pantaleo, can also weigh in.

Here in Deauville, however, play at the tables has been uncommonly quiet. Perhaps it’s due to the number of domestic players causing a schism between those that don’t speak French, those that don’t speak English and those that don’t seem to be able to speak at all. I went straight to source to find out.

Paul Berende is a gregarious Dutchman with $900,537 in live tournament winnings and is easy to spot, volume aside. If you see a tall guy from the Netherlands with a tight curly barnet that looks like it’s been treated to a healthy squirt of Soul Glo simply check if he has a beer in his hand. If so, you’ve found your man. He loves the stuff.

Berende is a regular fixture on the EPT, a PokerStars Blog approved ‘instigator’ and a decent player to boot. When he bust out of the Season 7 EPT grand final in 24th for €50,000 rather than drowning his sorrows or bleating about bad beats he instantly jumped into the €25,000 High Roller in an attempt to spin it up. And so he did. He finished fifth for €191,200. I think it’s safe to say, the kid likes action.

I am Paul, I like beer

Berende had been playing a side event here yesterday on his day off where he’d been at the centre of a table loud with banter, celebratory high-fives and flashing of cards. Not so today, his table is silent.

“I don’t know if it’s just the French mentality of being quiet or it’s just the atmosphere here. I’ve been to Copenhagen a couple of times which is similar. They’re quite a sober people and not really open wide. Dutch people are a little more active,” Berende tried to explain to me at the break, felling any future ambitions to get on a European diversity board.

So, I asked, why do players such as yourself get so lively at the table? Is it just a social thing or are you trying to get something out of it in terms of the tournament?

“I’m doing it just to spend the time but also to get a small advantage. I had some guys to my left on day one who I was chatting with, just friendly chatting like ‘where you from?’, and they were really friendly to me. Suddenly they were showing me hands when they had it after I had folded. It was quite an advantage for me when they do that and I’m not under any obligation to do it as well,” said Berende, who currently sits on around 165,000.

Being the nice guy can pay. It’s not going to gift you aces or make you river more draws but in a game of tight edges each one should be valued. Berende agrees: “”I think it could be a benefit. If you have a bad image and people really want to bust you people are just going to move it in on you but this way you get more walks and your three-bets get respected more often.”

Either way should Berende still be in come Sunday when EPT Lite begins I’d suggest that he is a first choice to put in front of the fixed cameras when they start rolling.

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The Puppeteers of America

By Pauly
San Francisco, CA

One of my favorite political writers is Matt Taibbi, columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, who also penned a few books such as The Great Derangement, which included an astute observation about politics and Big Business…

“You don’t elect politicians to commit crimes; you elect politicians to make your crimes legal.” – Matt Taibbi

Black Friday more than put a wrinkle into the lives of American poker players, it decimated the entire online poker landscape. On April 15th, we all discovered that we could no longer play on our favorite online poker sites. Just the day before on April 14th, Americans went about their lives with the ease and comfort knowing their bankrolls were safe in a virtual bank somewhere overseas. We were under the impression that we could exercise our right to gamble… or choose not to gamble… because after all, we’re adults protected under the Constitution of the United States. We have the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Online poker could be one of those, or it could be all three. I know I spent too many hours logged onto a different online poker site bogged down in the pursuit of happiness, only to get sucked out by a one-outer, which sent me on mega-LAGtard-Scandi-tilt.

Online poker was a short-term escape from the harsh reality that we live in corporatocracy. Our nefarious politicians are pwned by oligarchs and plutocrats, all of whom don’t give a rat’s ass about your personal liberty to engage in any sort of activity (gambling or otherwise) on the internet. If you haven’t been paying attention to SOPA or the NDAA, then you should get off your ass and do some research. Uncle Sam and Big Brother are now one in the same while a shadowy cabal of international banksters are pulling the strings.

Remember that scene from The Godfather, after the ailing Don handed over the reigns of the Family to his son, Michael Corleone?

“You are like me,” mumbled Don Corleone. “We refuse to be fools, to be puppets dancing on a string pulled by other men.”

I’m still trying to figure out why some activities in America are considered a crime and why other things are permitted, but then again most laws these days defy all logic. We’re living in a rigged political system that is rotten to the core. Corruption is the grease that keeps the wheels of Big Business churning. Corruption is what re-balances the manipulated scales of justice.

Who were the real culprits behind online poker prohibition in America? After doing some research and “following the money” trail, I pointed fingers in a post titled Black Friday, Vampire Squids, and 1,000 Masturbating Monkeys. Almost eight months later, I continue to search for more concise answers. Sure, we have the names of the unscrupulous politicians leading the witch hunt, but like Don Corleone explained, someone else is tugging at those puppet strings.

Who are the puppeteers?

Why did they cock block us?

What is so terrifying about online poker?

What kind of crimes against humanity did we commit by sitting around in our underwear and playing cards?

How did the simple act of playing online poker become threatening to the Establishment?

I guess the answer to my last question is this: poker players are rebellious in nature and free thinkers. Many of us would not have taken the courageous leap into the virtual waters at online poker sites unless we were strong-willed, determined, and seeking an alternative way to live our lives. Online poker provided income, happiness, purpose and validation instead of following the herd and the Master Plan (college > job > marriage > mortgage > kids > college fund > retirement) that had been beaten into our heads since birth. We were conditioned to conform from the moment we popped out of our mother’s womb. We’ve been corralled into institutions like cattle, stripped of any semblance of individuality, brainwashed into living a life that we think is what we’re supposed to do — obey, consume, reproduce — all of this without questioning authority and expressing an independent thought. The moment any of us stray from the path, we’re ostracized and marginalized, and if that doesn’t deter us, then agents of the state (paid by our tax dollars) will beat the shit out of us until we get back in line. And those whom stay on the path and do not upset the herd are thrust into a fabricated world in which the entire point of existence is to…

1. Become obedient cubicle slaves exploited by corporate overlords.

2. Generate tax income for the bloated state.

3. Create profits for the banking cartel in form of debt creation — credit cards, car loans, school loans, small business loans, mortgages and second mortgages.

4. Buy cheap stuff (Made in China) that we don’t need, which proliferates ginormous profits for Big Business.

5. Breed children so a new generation of consumers and debt slaves will continue this maddening cycle.

I was drawn to poker because of its anarchist nature, but since then it’s been bastardized both economically and politically. Do you want me to scare the shit out of you? Many pundits vehemently against online poker are convinced online poker sites (and other online gambling sites) launder money for terrorist networks. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was passed the other day, which gives the military the green light to scoop up American citizens and detain us indefinitely as an enemy of the state if we’re suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda or any other terrorist groups and anti-American organizations. Say goodbye to “innocent until proven guilty.”

“Theory of Poker” translated into Farsi
Under the NDAA, our totalitarian government can demonize anyone, including online poker players, by simply labeling them enemy combatants. Many of you thought not being able to play in the Sunday Million sucked, just wait until the military shows up at your front door, bags a black hood over your head, then whisks you away to Gitmo or some other secret prison, where you’re forced to do the naked pyramid with other freshly-detained Jihadists.

What the hell has this country come to? It’s poker, for fuck’s sake! It’s just a card game. A game. An all-American game. Texas Hold’em. The Cadillac of Poker. “It takes seconds to learn and a lifetime to master,” according to Mike Sexton, the ubiquitous ambassador to poker, whose name will now pop up on the FBI’s Watch List in between Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah and Husayn Muhammad al-Umari.

Any way you look at it, unsuspecting Americans were squeezed by the government and we all got caught up in this shakedown when the UIGEA passed in 2006. Our last hope is to sway politicians to alter the laws, just like Matt Taibbi said in his famous quote… “You don’t elect politicians to commit crimes; you elect politicians to make your crimes legal.”

The sobering reality is that all the letters and emails in the world won’t change the mind of our licentious elected officials. The poker industry dusted off hundreds of millions in a concentrated effort to lobby Congress, yet those we trusted to get the job done dropped the ball time and time again. We must think outside the box to solve the problem, and resort to drastic measures in order to re-install the freedom to fire up online poker sites once again. It will take a shitload of cash and gold to persuade the immoral muppets in DC to end online poker prohibition. If bribes don’t work, then we’ll have to call in a favor with the wiseguys. Because all it takes is just one severed, bloody horse’s head in the right politician’s bed to shape policy in our favor. Then, and only then, will we be able to play online poker again.

While we wait for the proverbial horse’s head, the time has come to say farewell to a couple of dear friends. RIP online poker. RIP America.

Support indie writers by buying Pauly’s book Lost Vegas.

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New "Insider" Column: NFL Week 13 Picks

By Pauly
San Francisco, CA

I wrote another column for Wicked Chops Insider. The topic? NFL and sports betting. I’m divulging my Week 13 NFL picks including a tip I got from a chicken in Chinatown. Yes, a chicken.

I’m also putting my money where my mouth is and betting my picks in Las Vegas this weekend. Yep, I’m heading to Vegas this weekend for the 8th annual Holiday Classic otherwise known as the #WPBT — a gathering of poker bloggers that spawned out of an annual trip to Vegas with my brother. I’m surprised that the group is still going strong, but then again, I’m not because that’s a testament to the cool people involved that I’ve met over the last eight years. Sure, blogs have become dinosaurs in the nebulous social media universe and we can’t play online poker together anymore, but that is not going to deter 50 or so people from converging on Sin City for a weekend of debauchery. Man, eight years? Has it been that long? It’s been a wild ride for sure.

Support indie writers by buying Pauly’s book Lost Vegas.

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Rocketman and Welcome to the Ice Palace

By Pauly
San Francisco, CA

“What the hell was that lunar stuff?”

“Huh?” I muttered waving a soupy cloud of smoke away from my face.

“You know,” Big Dog gestured, “That strain the astronauts grew up on the space station?”

“Oh, the Lunar Kush. If you got stuck up in the international space station for months on end without anything to do, you bet your ass I’d grow my own weed. You couldn’t smoke it because a lit match would blow the entire fucking station to smithereens, but I betcha they made a lot of ganja desserts. Where did you think the term — space cake — originated? The Lunar Kush.”

“Ah… Lunar. Kush. Cosmic. Woof.”

“Rocketman. You know that Elton John song? That’s all about growing weed in space.”

A long pause was broken by stoner-like laughter.

“I’m gonna be high as a kite by then…” I belted out in my best Elton John falsetto.

“Lunar Kush?”

“Yeah, you get the gist,” I said as I shuffled the cards. “It’s muthafucking cold in space. You gotta eat space cakes to keep you warm until you finally get to return to Earth.”

* * * *

I’ve heard some of the most peculiar and fascinating conversations at a poker table. At the Imperial Palace in Vegas, I almost saw two guys come to blows over an innocuous chat about labor unions. At the Taj in Atlantic City, I got bogged down in a discussion on where exactly Roman centurions hammered nails into Christ’s hands during the Crucifixion. One guy said all the iconography and crosses in Church were inaccurate — because you couldn’t hang a person with a nail through each hand because the weight of the body would rip the flesh off the nails. He insisted they nailed Christ through a spot in between a couple of major bones below the wrists. That conversation lasted a hour. The Jesuits at my high school would’ve been pleased that I held my own during a post-modern symposium debunking of crucifixions.

The conversations in my new home game are a hodge podge mainly because of the eclectic nature of the players. A city like San Francisco is filled with unique people from all over the spectrum and Halli’s home game is representative of the diverse nature of my new city. Her game has been running on and off for over seven years — just around the time Chris Moneymaker became poker’s messiah — and on Monday nights you could always count on a game being played in the back of the Ice Palace hosted by Halli and her brother, Skye.

Why the Ice Palace?

Because it’s fucking cold, cold, cold. It’s like stepping into a freezer. The back of Halli’s ridiculously spacious apartment could be used to store a month’s worth of steaks for Peter Luger’s. She lives on the entire floor one of those picturesque Victorians that are synonymous with San Francisco. Change100 and I were thisclose to moving to Colorado this autumn when Halli offered us a sweet deal to share her apartment in the Slums of Pacific Heights. My girlfriend fell in love with the place and any thing was better than living in Vegas or hellacious Los Angeles, so we jumped at the chance to stay with Halli for a couple of months. In addition to a kick ass apartment, we also inherited a weekly home game. Hence, the Ice Palace.

Sure, I have an itch for online poker, but online poker is antisocial in nature and often feels more like playing a video game. I stopped playing video games (er, Tiger Woods golf and chess) in favor of online poker because I felt if I was going to waste my time zoning out at a computer screen, then I might as well make some money at it. I was never good enough at chess to hustle for dime bags in Washington Square Park, and in real life I’ve only broken 100 once on a golf course. Once I realized I lacked the necessary passion, skills and discipline to become a true professional poker player, I found a regular day job whoring myself out to various tentacles of the murky online poker industry (disguised as “media outlets”) to pay my bills and support my art, and looked at online poker as a profitable hobby to help pay for my insatiable desire to travel and do cool things with friends. But ever since the inception of the UIGEA and the subsequent “pulling of the plug” on Black Friday, the broke-dick used car salesmen in DC insist that online poker is the root of all evil, just like running with scissors or wearing white pants after Labor Day. Without online poker, I’m bummed out that I have to turn to live sports betting (don’t even think about online sports books, because the DOJ is in the corner gunning for you!) and make trips to Vegas sports books to help fund my addiction to traveling and music, but part of me doesn’t actually miss the vacant feeling of sitting alone in the dark, worshipping the muted glow of multiple LHE tables, which induced frothing Pavlovian responses to the slightest alert sounds.

I’m still enraged with the cowardly political decisions that prevent me from exercising my right to liberty and pursuit of happiness by playing online poker, however, I don’t actually miss the physical act of playing online poker. I was never that obsessed with online poker that I’d relocate to Canadia to play. But if I was a sensational MTT player like Shaniac or Matt Stout, you bet your ass I would’ve set up shop overseas within 90 days of the introduction of the UIGEA. There’s a part of me that wants to be able to place sports bets on Pinnacle or The Greek, so I entertained the thought of re-locating to Vancouver (they have great nugs there and too many civilians are dying in Mexico because of the atrocities of the losing War on Drugs, but that’s a whole other series of posts that would be better suited for an in-depth report on Tao of Fear). But at this point, I’d rather rent a lake house on Tahoe and make a short trip to Reno or Stateline to bet on football and hoops.

I don’t have an itch for online poker, but I deeply missed playing social poker on a weekly basis. It’s funny in a sad way (like when a alcoholic clown dies of liver cancer), that the original attraction to poker for me was the social element and interaction with opponents in an egalitarian way, but one of my favorite past times got ruined because my work/play worlds collided and all of a sudden the lines were blurred between two opposing aspects of my life that I should have walled off from each other. I was foolish and thought I could mix the two, but as a result, the toxic concoction nearly killed me in more ways than one.

I lived the cliche — one day after a couple of years on the circuit, I woke up and realized poker wasn’t fun anymore. What used to be fun had become a job, and by all definitions jobs suck. It happens to all of us at some point — whether you’re teachers or chefs — you have a passion for something like teaching or cooking, but all of a sudden society thrusts labels on you as the responsibilities grow exponentially and instead of an educator or a cook, you’re now a Sixth Grade Science Teacher or Executive Sous Chef. You quickly forget about the passion that used to flicker inside you like a raging volcano, and you’ve become like every other working class stiff who loathes their job and constantly watches the clock tick down to the precise moment they can act like Fred Fucking Flintstone and run down the tail of a brontosaurus to get the fuck out of the gravel pits and race to the closest bar where you celebrate happy hour by soaking your brain in cheap booze while you grovel with other malcontents about how much everything sucks.

When I lived in Los Angeles, I hated going out to bars infested with douchebags and Snookis. Change100 and I always wanted to host a home game, but everyone who played wouldn’t be able to get ripped to the tits because they’d have to drive home, and if you live in LA, then you know that “parking” is a fucking deal breaker, especially in our neighborhood of the Slums of Beverly Hills, which had no available parking so we were shit out of luck with a home game. That’s part of the reason why I enjoyed hosting Saturdays with Dr. Pauly on PokerStars to have some semblance of a weekly gathering with friends to hang out, bullshit, and have a blast without worrying about carrying around the weight of the world’s problems.

I entered the traveling circus as a member of the poker media, which meant that I leapt out of the “normal linear life” that many of you lead, and accepted a life of constant movement and uncertainty. Once I left NYC in the Spring of 2005 to move to Las Vegas to cover my first WSOP with Flipchip, I essentially kissed a regular home game goodbye. In the last six years or so whenever I heard the intro to Monday Night Football, I always had flashbacks to the Blue Parrot, the Midtown location of the weekly Monday game. Our host Ferrari always made sure the football game was always on in the background. I met a couple of amazing people at Ferrari’s weekly home game like F Train, Ugarte, Coach, Swish… just to name a few. It’s also where I met the infamous Dawn Summers — and I almost spit out my entire Red Stripe on the table when she frowned upon playing Stud and begged to play “that game with the floppy thing in the middle.”

That was then. The Ice Palace is now. I’ve played a few times and on one evening we had two tables of players with a waiting list. I expect to write more about our weekly hijinks in the upcoming months. I sincerely missed playing in a regular home game and I even missed writing about the highlights the next morning. When I first started playing at Ferrari’s in 2004, I recapped the games on Tao of Poker, mostly for the regulars in the game to share a few laughs and talk smack. For the dozen or so readers I had at the time, I gave them a glimpse into my Monday night madness. I’m hoping I can kick it old school and return to where it all began.

Life flew by in the last seven years and I encountered so many rapid changes both personally and professionally that I really lost touch with the original poker fire inside of me. I’m hoping that some time in San Francisco can help me get reacquainted with one of my former passions. And if it doesn’t, then so be it. I can’t resist change, I can only adjust to the changing conditions. The Taoists and Zen Buddhists have a saying… Life is like water — it can flow, or it can crash. Surrender to the flow.

Support indie writers by buying Pauly’s book Lost Vegas.

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Sky Bet – £35 free bets

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Moneybookers – 1% cashback promotion

07/21/2011 By: Filed in: 2011 | bonushunt | ept | Homepage | PCA | Rio | Sports | TOC | UB | Vegas

That’s power – from Monday July 18th to Sunday Majestic 21st your transactions1 can procure you swag from the instant you mark up. Plus there are no ceilings on the total you can acquire. No curbs, no edges plus no upload statuss.

How it processs:

1. Enlist a ballyhoo cryptogram if you experience single.

2. Diary for a Moneybookers rate OR succeed ‘Participate’ if you once receive individual.

3. Bear desirable bargains plus procure 1% cashback.

4. Negotiate at minimum €2,000 when the eligibility stage to get cashback + CELEBRITY status2.

Eras besides positions:

1. You deserve cashback on sum your qualified deals.

2. The measure of cashback is 1% of the tome of sum suitable trades.

3. In case the entrant has else than being history in distinct currencies (a ‘multi-coin use’), sum hellos trades resolution be taken toward commentary for the cashback.

4. An desirable deal is apiece stipend you mold from the lifetime that you cooperate to the ballyhoo (the “Participation Escort”), nay previously than 0:00h GMT July 18th 2011, to 23:59h GMT Regal 21st 2011, (the “Eligibility Termination”) to sellers registered along Moneybookers.

5. You devise hardly win cashback on different businesss, such as soul-to-person compensations, uploads or departures. If you are hesitant whether the shopkeeper you are intending to route the swag to qualifies as a storekeeper to which this promotional propose applies, tickle meet purchaser employ at cashback@moneybookers.com. Amuse be cognizant that the number you can hurl to storekeepers bequeath hang on your proof status plus spending confines imposed on your esteem. Satisfy witness your rate circumstances for routines to hoist the spending limits or the DIGNITARY Club at cashback@moneybookers.com.

6. Bargains to Excluded Storekeepers are excluded from the suitable businesss.

7. Earned cashback testament be credited to the Moneybookers narrative registered for this advertising by no ulterior than Exalted 30th 2011.

8. Prospects that do negative eventually acquire BIGWIG status among Moneybookers determination be granted CELEBRITY status interior 15 times posterior the finish of the Elevation if they fulfilled the consequent circumstances:

- €2,000 or further in marriageable affairs amid the Elig

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2011 WSOP Main Event – The Skinny – End of Day 7

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

Erick and Doc
On Day 7, only 57 players walked inside the Amazon Ballroom. By the end of the night, 22 remained. Stay tuned for a complete Day 7 recap. In the meantime, check out some quick stats, results, chipcounts, and Day 8 seating assignments…

2011 Main Event – Quick Stats

Entrants: 6,865
Players Remaining: 22
Chipleader: Anton Makievskyi – 21,045,000
Payouts: 693
First Place: 8,711,956
Prizepool: $64,531,000
Juice to the WSOP: $4,119,000

Top 10 Chip Counts:
1. Anton Makievskyi – 21,045,000
2. Eoghan O’Dea – 19,050,000
3. Khoa Nguyen – 16,435,000
4. Andrey Pateychuk – 16,245,000
5. Ben Lamb – 14,690,000
6. Phil Collins – 13,805,000
7. John Hewitt – 13,265,000
8. Ryan Lenaghan – 10,415,000
9. Matt Giannetti – 8,920,000
10. Konstantinos Mamaliadis – 8,195,000

The Rest – Chip Counts:
Pius Heinz – 7,510,000
Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 7,075,000
Scott Schwalich – 6,920,000
Martin Staszko – 6,380,000
Bryan Devonshire – 6,190,000
Sam Barnhart – 4,935,000
Samuel Holden – 4,740,000
Gionni Demers – 4,655,000
Kenny Shih – 4,530,000
Lars Bonding – 4,140,000
Bounahra Badih – 3,385,000
Christopher Moore – 3,040,000

* * *
Day 7 Eliminations and Money Winners

The following players won $302,005:
23 Andrew Hinrichsen
24 Greg Kaplan
25 Jerry Van Strydonck
26 JP Kelly
27 Kyle Johnson

The following players won $242,636:
28 Philipp Gruissem
29 Erika Moutinho
30 Doc Sands
31 Steve Brecher
32 John Esposito
33 Nelson Robinson
34 Nicolas Fierro
35 Guillaume Darcourt
36 Hilton Laborda

The following players won $196,174:
37 Tony Hachem
38 Frank Sinopoli
39 Mario Silvestri
40 James Page
41 Tri Huynh
42 Fabio Sousa
43 Erick Lindgren
44 Ruben Visser
45 David Bach

The following players won $160,036:
46 Stephane Albertini
47 Tom Koral
48 Stuart Tuvey
49 Feming Chan
50 Matthew Kay
51 Stefan Huber
52 Jody Howe
53 Andrew Brokos
54 Zohair Karim

The following players won $130,997:
55 Sebastian Ruthenberg
56 Minh Nguyen
57 Per Linde

Here’s a complete list of 2011 WSOP Main Event money finishers.

* * *
Day 8 Seating Assignments

Outer Table 334
Seat 1: Martin Staszko – 6,190,000
Seat 2: John Hewitt – 13,265,000
Seat 3: EMPTY
Seat 4: EMPTY
Seat 5: Ben Lamb – 14,690,000
Seat 6: Ryan Lenaghan – 10,415,000
Seat 7: Andrey Pateychuk – 16,245,000
Seat 8: Eoghan O’Dea – 19,050,000
Seat 9: Bryan Devonshire – 6,190,000

ESPN Feature Table – Mothership
Seat 1: Gionni Demers – 4,655,000
Seat 2: Chris Moore – 3,040,000
Seat 3: Khoa Nguyen – 16,435,000
Seat 4: Konstantinos Mamaliadis – 8,195,000
Seat 5: Kenny Shih – 4,530,000
Seat 6: Samuel Holden – 4,740,000
Seat 7: Lars Bonding – 4,140,000
Seat 8: EMPTY
Seat 9: Anton Makievskyi – 21,045,000

Secondary Feature Table
Seat 1: Matt Giannetti – 8,920,000
Seat 2: Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 7,075,000
Seat 3: Scott Schwalich – 6,920,000
Seat 4: Pius Heinz – 7,510,000
Seat 5: Phil Collins – 13,805,000
Seat 6: EMPTY- –
Seat 7: Bounahra Badih – 3,385,000
Seat 8: EMPTY
Seat 9: Sam Barnhart – 4,935,000

Chip counts and seating info courtesy of WSOP.com. Photo courtesy of WhoJedi.

* * *
Play resumes at noon on Tuesday. They will play from 22 down to the final nine. Stay tuned for a complete end of Day 6 recap.

Support indie writers by buying Pauly’s book Lost Vegas.

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New Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Secret Bubble Boy (Ep 31)

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

It’s the most exciting time at the WSOP! The Money Bubble of the 2011 Main Event finally burst and Dr. Pauly and WhoJedi were there.

2011 WSOP – Episode 31: Secret Bubble Boy with WhoJedi (1:31) – The Main Event crawled toward the Money Bubble, which historically speaking is always the most exciting time in poker. However, this year’s bubble popped in the corner of the room and happened so quietly that everyone almost missed it.Luckily Pauly and WhoJedi were on the scene to give you their quick assessment.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

Support indie writers by buying Pauly’s book Lost Vegas.

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