The Amazon Room at the Rio was buzzing on Wednesday night. Not only was the $1,500 No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament, and its 2000 or so combatants, starting up but the twentieth event of the 2005 WSOP, the $5,000 Pot Limit Texas Hold 'Em was being contested. One of the events to be televised on ESPN, a raucous crowd surrounded the felt as the final table kicked off with the following players:

Seat 1: Joe Sebok, 159K
Seat 2: Cyndy Violette, 206K and the chip lead
Seat 3: Steven "Lucky" Liu, 193.5K
Seat 4: Brian Wilson, 193K
Seat 5: Derek LeForte, 36.5K and the short stack
Seat 6: Allen Cunningham, 131.5K
Seat 7: WPT Champion John Gale, 64.5K
Seat 8: Professional Tony Cousineau, 99.5K
Seat 9: Professional Burt Boutin, 116K

The blinds started out at a relatively low 1500/3K, so it seemed like we were going to settle in for a long evening. The action kicked in immediately, however, as on Hand 6 five players limped to see a flop of 9-7-6. Burt Boutin and Brian Wilson were the only ones to bet the turn card of a five and we went to the river. A scary Ace came on the board, and both players raised and reraised the pot until Boutin had all his chips in the center of the table. He was disgusted to see that Wilson had trapped him with an eight in his hand for the straight, defeating Burt's set of nines and sending Boutin home in ninth place.

Cyndy Violette has had an excellent 2005 Series. She has been battling with Chris Ferguson for the Player of the Year lead at this event, but has yet to capture that elusive second bracelet. She started with the chip lead, but let many of her chips go in a raising battle with Allen Cunningham until she released her hand. Then she ran up against John Gale on Hand 19. On a flop of 5-7-Q with two hearts, John pushed hard and Cyndy fought back as well. Gale got all in and they turned up their hands: K-Q for Cyndy and Ah-Jh for John. The turn was harmless, but the river ten of hearts gave the flush to John and removed Violette from the chip lead. Brian Wilson took over as the table commander.

Things calmed for a bit. On two separate occasions players were all in against an opponent, only to see both players turn up the same hands. It continued through the end of the level and we didn't lose our next player until the blinds were at 2/4K.

Joe Sebok is a name you might not recognize, but he has become somewhat famous for his dad, professional Barry Greenstein. Barry, the winner of Event #19 this year, was in the crowd as he proudly watched his son, who has only been playing for a year, battle at his first final table at the World Series.

Unfortunately, there wasn't to be a back to back father/son story to be told here. Joe found an A-J to be to his liking and, with a dwindling chip stack, chose that moment to chip leader Wilson. Wilson had woke up in the big blind with A-K, however, and when the board provided no help to Sebok he was out on Hand 72 in eighth place.

Ten hands later, Cyndy Violette was the one who was fighting for her life. She got all her chips involved in a three way pot with Allen Cunningham and Tony Cousineau and saw a flop of 4c-6c-Q. Cunningham and Cousineau both checked and, with a Queen on the turn, Allen bet the dry pot and forced Tony out. Violette turned up the nut flush draw with Ac-3c and Cunningham turned over Q-8 for a set of Queens. No club came for Cyndy on the river and she was done for the night in seventh place.

"I knew I was in trouble when there was three of us in there," Cyndy said to me afterwards. "Tony said at the table that he had been in on clubs too, so I knew it was going to be tough to get that last club on the river."

Shortly thereafter, Steven Liu said goodbye to the table. On Hand 86, "Lucky" decided to test his luck against WPT titleholder John Gale. He got his money in on the flop of Js-K-10s and turned up a pair of Jacks and a straight draw, Gale showed his nut straight draw and we saw the turn. "Lucky" wasn't to be tonight as John hit his third spade on the turn and eliminated Liu in sixth place.

One player who played tremendously through the event was the short stack beginning the night, Derek LeForte. He was able to parlay his stack from the felt to being in position to battle for the title. While everyone had more chips starting the night, Derek took his time and played excellent poker to climb up the ladder and stay in contention.

"I was playing a little loose when the tournament started," admitted Derek on a break from the action. "I always play well when I'm short stacked, so it really was a good thing for me when I found myself in that position. I simply clamped down on my game, locked in and gradually, I made my way back into things."

On Hand 120, our next victim was claimed. Tony Cousineau had been battling cold cards for the entirety of the final table and you could see the frustration in his face. When Allen Cunningham raised into him, Tony looked to see the Ac-10c and went all in. Cunningham called and turned up the Kh-10d. A big lead got a little better when the flop came down Ah-8h-4 and Tony had to be breathing a little easier. He saw the four of hearts come on the turn and, from his expression, you could see that he was dreading the river and the outcome. A fourth heart landed, laying the bad beat on Tony Cousineau as Allen Cunningham hit his miracle flush and pushed Tony out the door in fifth place.

After the dinner break, we moved up in levels again (4/8K) and the leaderboard looked like this:

Wilson 472K
Gale 404K
Cunningham 169K
LeForte 155K

It was obvious that LeForte and Cunningham were going to have to make some moves, but the chip leaders were the ones mixing it up. Gale and Wilson got involved in a huge pot on Hand 144, with Gale forcing Wilson off his hand and taking the chip lead away from Wilson.

Five hands later, Allen Cunningham's time had come. The winner of the second event of this year's Series made his move against a still-smarting Brian Wilson. After a flop of 10-4-10, Cunningham attempted to buy the pot with an all in move. Wilson debated, then called and turned up 5-4, giving him two pair. Surprisingly, Allen did not have a great starting hand as he turned up a measly K-3. No help came the rest of the way and Allen Cunningham's dream of becoming a multi-bracelet winner in this year's tournament ended with him in fourth place.

Derek LeForte's run at the championship ended on Hand 163. He had held his own at the final table and had made it from the short stack at the beginning of the night to the top three, but when he was all-in preflop with a K-9 against Brian Wilson's A-6, it was the beginning of the end. No rescue for Derek was coming and he retired from the event in third place.

It was now time for heads up action:

Gale 695K
Wilson 505K

John Gale made some great moves over the next fifteen or so hands. He continued to put pressure on Wilson, forcing his opponent out of hands and chipping away at his stack. John Gale became the first person in this year's tournament to crack the one million chip mark as he had a 10-1 advantage on Brian before the major turning point of the event.

On Hand 176, both players bet the pot furiously preflop until Gale had pushed Wilson all in. In a classic race situation, Gale turned up an A-J and Wilson showed pocket sixes. The flop was good for Brian with 8-4-7, but the turn gave John the lead when a Jack hit. Wilson was down to six outs for his tournament life when the miracle five hit the river, sending the crowd into hysterics and an excited Wilson back into the game.

The very next hand, the two clashed again. Once again, Gale got Wilson to commit his entire stack and had to be pleased when he turned up his pocket tens against Wilson's pocket fours. The crowd had barely calmed from the previous hand when the flop came 4-8-J. The crowd (and Wilson) erupted again as Brian's set stood up and he took over the chip lead.
The two took a needed break as we moved up to the 6/12K level. The two combatants battled over the next eighteen hands, swapping the chip lead back and forth throughout their battle. On Hand 195, both players pot bet each other preflop until Gale was all in. It was soon to be the end as he grimaced when he turned up his K-J against Wilson's A-Q. When the board fell rags, Brian Wilson, born in Illinois and now living in Fort Myers, FL, became the latest champion at the 2005 World Series!

FINAL STATISTICS

1. Brian Wilson, Fort Myers, FL $370,685
2. John Gale, London, England $204,440
3. Derek LeForte, Maple Ridge $112,330
4. Allen Cunningham, Marino Del Ray, CA $89,865
5. Tony Cousineau, Daytona Beach, FL $67,400
6. Steven "Lucky" Liu, United Kingdom $56,165
7. Cyndy Violette, Atlantic City, NJ $44,930
8. Joe Sebok, San Francisco, CA $33,700
9. Burt Boutin, Las Vegas, NV $22,465
10. Matt Lefkowitz, Carmel Valley, CA $15,725

One of the things that the recent success of poker has brought out are the "dotnet" sites that many of the online rooms have started. With the poker rooms not able to advertise their "dotcom" rooms, the minds behind those sites have started a "dotnet" partner to be able to draw players into the world of poker and, thus, advertise themselves. These "dotnet" sisters are a completely free alternative to the "dotcom" world that millions play at every day (for actual money). Of course, the "dotnet" sites are hoping that the players will eventually want to move to the real game at the "dotcom" site.

UltimateBet.net is the first site that is seeing the potential to drum up more visitors and even potentially add on to their main site action with their UltimateBet.net World Poker Challenge. The tournament is a series of six $10,000 tournaments that will start on June 18th, with a final table "winner take all" $200,000 championship set to play on July 23rd. They are the first free site that is offering a major amount of money for their online "dotnet" players in this manner.

UltimateBet.net is offering up 48 chances per week for players to qualify for this championship, with the six winners being flown to Los Angeles to play the weekly tournaments at the Hollywood Park Casino. The six weekly winners will then square off for the big prize come July 23rd.

This isn't a tournament to be taken lightly, either. Each week's battle will be broadcast on Fox Sports Network on Saturday evenings beginning June 18th. It is remarkable that a "free" site can get this airtime, so expect a boatload of UltimateBet.net commercials to be running during the airing of the event!

The free sites are offered as an educational tool for the new players. For someone who doesn't feel comfortable enough with the online game (or potentially isn't comfortable with money transactions online) , it is a way they can get in on the action without a monetary expenditure. These new players can practice their game, risk free, and also learn the game as well.

This also may be the way that online poker rooms circumvent the archaic rules and guidelines of the American government. While their main sites continue to do astronomical business, the "dotnet" sites allow people to play for free (the expenditure for the poker rooms is minimal, at best). If someone sees that they can win big on the "dotnets", they may actually decide to take their shot in the main rooms (the "dotcom"). When you add in the addition of advertising (and we have all seen the increase of "dotnet" advertising on television), it is another way for the poker rooms to increase their bottom lines.

All one has to do is download the UltimateBet.net software onto their computer systems, offer up your personal information (name and address), and start playing the freerolls that the "dotnet" offers for the event. The tournament should offer the chance for someone who plays recreationally to pick up a nice bankroll to make their move into the "real" world of poker!

For more information, go to UltimateBet.net (and make sure it's dotNET!) and learn more!

The laws regarding poker and online gambling are murky at best, especially when you try to understand the U.S. policy toward foreign casinos. Lawyers say that federal law prohibits online gambling, but many of the online sites sit outside the U.S. jurisdiction and the laws simply can not be enforced.

U.S. law also prohibits American companies from being involved with online gambling sites. The U.S. government has made several attempts to stop interactive online sites by taking legal actions against several prominent U.S. companies and media outlets, such as Google and Esquire magazine.

The government's attempt to clamp down on online gambling seems to be failing. Americans place more annual online bets than people in any other country in the world. According to a January New York Time's article, some $7.6 billion is lost in wagering over the internet, with U.S. residents accounting for half of that.

In January 2005, a small island located in the Irish Sea made a major decision that has created its share of waves in the world of online gaming. The Isle of Man decided to reverse a four-year-old law prohibiting internet companies on the island from accepting bets from U.S. residents. Now companies can accept bets from the U.S.

From the beginning, the Isle of Man prohibited U.S. online bets, but without U.S. bet, business came to a grinding halt. Before the law passed, major gambling organizations like the MGM Grand were pursuing residency on the island. But because of the country's strict law, which originally was what attracted gambling organizations to the island, most gaming companies quickly left.

Fast-forward to June 2005, when as early as this week, PokerStars will be officially announcing its move to the Isle of Man. Accounting for more than 10 percent of market share in the poker sector, PokerStars will bring millions in revenue with it. The Isle of Man is going to cash in on this agreement through a licensing fee and by collecting tax revenue.

At this point, this is where online gambling law gets tricky. Thanks to the island's change in law, PokerStars believes it has the right to accept US bets. PokerStars is banking on the fact that because the Isle of Man's defense and foreign policy is protected by England, it falls under the authority and laws of the World Trade Organization.

The WTO's response to the US's prohibition against online gambling has not been favorable to the U.S. In a recent ruling resulting from the complaints by another small country called Antigua, the WTO ruled against the U.S., saying that the it was in contravention of trade rules by illegally restricting access to Antiguan egaming sites. One can only believe that with the strength of her Royal Majesty's best lawyers behind it, PokerStars appears to be holding all the cards.

PokerStars move has once-again begun to generated rumors that it might try to pursue a listing on the London Stock Exchange. This move would only further cement PokerStars legitimacy in the international business community and would severely limit the U.S. capability to enforce laws against it or companies it works with.

PokerStars' move from Costa Rica will also help to increase its image throughout Europe, allowing them to target a new audience that will support its core of US users. Pokerstars is hedging its bet on its European success in another way as well. It is the main sponsor for the European Poker Tour and has launched a major advertising campaign in the U.K.

PokerStars and U.S. law will eventually collide unless changes in are made to U.S. law very soon. With its move to the Isle of Man, PokerStars has taken some of the gamble out of online gaming and might possibly have put itself in position to bust the house.

Our correspondent recently had the pleasure of visiting the London headquarters of The Poker Channel to talk with James Hopkins, Head of Programming about this exciting TV development for poker enthusiasts.

The Poker Channel was launched in the United Kingdom on 23rd March 2005 and is the world's first TV channel dedicated to poker. The Poker Channel is available to all Sky TV subscribers in the UK, as a free to air channel, and is located under the Entertainment section Channel Number 265.

PN: First of all, James, thank you for taking some time out for this.

JH: That's OK.

PN: Perhaps you can just tell us a very brief bit about your background and how you ended up in your current role at The Poker Channel.

JH: I was formerly with Sky Sports (a News Corporation company) for just under nine years producing Poker and Rugby Union programmes. I first produced poker at the Poker Million in the Isle of Man in 2000. That was certainly the first time that poker had ever been filmed live.

PN: Worldwide?

JH: Absolutely. Not all of the programmes in the subsequent Poker Million The Masters series' were live, certainly the finals were, but the Isle of Man was a particularly challenging Outside Broadcast being that it was the first time we had filmed poker at Sky Sports.

During the last three or four years, poker has taken off. I saw an opportunity within poker and resigned from Sky in December (2004) and, along with Crispin (CEO, Crispin Nieboer), set up The Poker Channel.

Crispin is the founder, the channel is his concept. I said to him - this is what I can bring to the table; programming, production, tournaments - give you a production arm to your channel.

PN: Can you explain a bit now about what you now do particularly with regard to the British Poker Open (BPO) which was The Poker Channel's first major tournament?

JH: I would divide my roles up into (a) tournaments and (b) other programming. The BPO, our flagship tournament, was really our first big production. Initially, we had to get some commissions under our belt to fill the schedule, but, we had to go off with a bang and that meant a big tournament. So we really, from scratch, designed the British Poker Open.

We looked to do poker live and on a regular basis We wanted to try and improve poker coverage and include more statistical data- in the Poker Million, we used to cut under the table and not see all the cards. We thought, well, what no-one's really doing is getting all this information onto the screen and the BPO's objective was to achieve this.. Without ever cutting under the table we see all the players' cards as well as the winning percentages for all hole cards. Specially designed software works these out automatically, taking into account the chances of split pots. Doing this also enables the viewers to see which cards the players choose to fold as well as play. The British Poker Open graphics are very advanced as they need to be for live poker. After all, poker coverage is all about getting information across to the viewer.

One thing these graphics have enabled us to do is to have fewer pauses between hands. With no full frame graphics we don't have to pause the deal between hands. Therefore for each blind level we get many more hands in. This is particularly popular with the players.


The BPO was our first big tournament and attracted some of the biggest names in the game from America and Europe, Howard Lederer, Gus Hansen, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and the 2004 World Series Champion Greg Raymer. It has been a stunning success.

PN: Did they enjoy it?

JH: Yes, they did and they loved the live aspects. The short-handed six player format is very different to the American tournaments the big players are used to playing, and they loved the challenge. They are keen to come again next year.

We saw every hand these guys played! When you watch the WSOP highlights, or the World Poker Tour, you don't get this. You only see selected highlights. Seeing every hand gives you a much better idea of how the players play, and what their strategies are. That's unique and that was the BPO!

We have just filmed the PokerStars.com World Cup of Poker finals which is an annual heads-up tournament - the four finalists were Austria, Costa Rica, Norway, and Scotland. We did it in the same venue as the BPO, again with fans and team mates watching in the bar on big screens. The atmosphere was great at the event and this comes across well on screen. Our comprehensive statistics are particularly relevant for heads up play.

We are pitching for many new tournaments. Sponsors love the branding, and that we can film for hours and hours due to having a dedicated channel. We are looking at new formats and are looking to have regular tournaments; heads-up, six-table and eight or nine table formats as well

PN: There's a program called "Barny's Home Games" which is an interesting feature where Barny Boatman (a top European Professional) goes to people's homes and joins in their home poker games. Do you want to give me some background about how that came to be?

JH: Well, it is very important to us to address grass roots poker so, although our tournaments might have a lot of statistical information on screen and the coverage is quite sophisticated, we want to make sure we don't alienate newcomers to the game. One of the ideas that we developed with Barny Boatman was to send him to people's houses to play with them in their home games.

PN: Yes, he's the perfect man for that role!

JH: Barny was quite keen to work with us on the series and has plenty of interesting programme ideas. It is a very exciting format. I think it is great that anybody who has a home game can have a poker professional come round and play with them and teach them a few tricks, and Barny is a great face for the show.

PN: Is there a waiting list for that now?

JH: I think there is and (laughs) personally I've been inundated with requests asking if Barny can come and play at their games! It's important for us because it is not just about spending masses of money on buying in big American productions. It's important to us that we have other programming apart from the BPO and other big tournaments. With regard to documentaries and other programming, we want to make sure that we still address "grass roots" poker and teaching people the game.

PN: Does Barny enjoy his role?

JH: Yes, he does. Home games are a big part of what poker is all about. Barny used to play home games with the other Hendon Mob players (fellow UK professionals Ram Vaswani, Joe Beevers and Ross Boatman) and still does. He has said it himself, it is where he came from, and it's great meet people and enjoy the different games they play. He loves it because it's something a bit different from the regular tournament circuit.

PN: Well, James, it's been a pleasure and thank you for your time.

JH: Thank you

Ed Note: The Poker Channel recently aired the Party Poker World Open. Another televised tourney is qualifying on Party Poker now. Join the fun.

Seven of the first eight World Series of Poker Champions hailed from the state of Texas. What could account for that? Was it something in the water? Were those players really that good? Or was it simply that they were playing the toughest, most exciting poker game ever invented: Texas Hold'em?

Nobody knows for sure why, but the fellows from Texas just dominated the competition when it came to big money, high pressure Texas Hold'em, and Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson was arguably the finest player by the end of the 1970's.

Born in Longworth, Texas in 1933, Doyle grew up with his brother and sister in a small home his father was able to provide them by working at the Planters Gin Co. He recalled his father as "The calmest, most even-tempered individual I've ever been exposed to," and from Doyle's later accomplishments in poker, he must have inherited his calm demeanor from his father.

Summers were filled with play; lots of running and swimming, and Doyle's athleticism carried on at Sweetwater High School. As a seventeen-year old senior he was the best high school one-mile runner in the state, and later at Hardin-Simmons College he was chosen as one of the top ten college basketball players in the country by Dell's Basketball Magazine. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

A summer job at the U. S. Gypsum plant changed all that, as Doyle was injured while on the job. His severely-damaged right leg needed to be immobilized for almost two years, and by the time the cast came off, his basketball days were over. The injury has hampered Doyle throughout his life, but it just made him more determined to succeed in other areas.

The athletic drive and competitiveness he learned in high school and college have served him well in the world of high-stakes poker. Of course, it wasn't always that way. Although his poker winnings paid for his college expenses after his injury, he had intended to be a superintendent of schools when he graduated. However, since no such offer was forthcoming, Doyle took a job selling business equipment. By the end of his first day he was in a poker game, and thinking that the game was a lot more fun (and lucrative), than selling business machines.

Doyle spent several years playing poker in the tough north side of Fort Worth, Texas, hard on the Mexican border. With his friend, Dwayne Hamilton, he learned all forms of poker, and began to excel at any form of no-limit, whether it was hold'em or Kansas City lowball. After moving downtown, to a slightly calmer, higher-limit game, Doyle and Brian "Sailor" Roberts, became friends. Soon, the two were traveling to towns all over Texas looking for good games. Sailor said Doyle was "The most competitive sonofabitch I'd ever met, and that's saying something when you consider the players I've been up against."

As their poker ability improved, so did the size of the games. By the time the two friends ran into Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston, they were used to $1000 pots being won. They were not used to losing, however, and after missing the game in Amarillo, Texas, Slim invited them to his home. He promptly busted both of them in heads-up matches, then loaned them a couple thousand dollars to get down the road to the next game.

Sailor and Doyle spend their nights playing poker, and their days discussing strategy. They shared their bankroll, and a month later they agreed to go partners with Slim. Soon the three friends were playing poker all over the southern circuit, looking for games in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. They also setup bookmaking in Fort Worth and Midland, because there was plenty of oil and cattle money in Texas at the time.

Slim liked the arrangement, since he considered Doyle and Sailor to be two of the most honest people he had ever met. He also thought the two were a good match, since Sailor cursed like a blue-streak, and called Doyle "One of the most polite people he had ever met." Later, Slim would say, "Doyle is as tricky as a rattlesnake without a rattle, so you have to give him some room, and when you do, he steals another pot from you."

When the US Government made it illegal to transmit sporting information across state lines in 1961, Doyle and Slim decided it was time to get out of the bookmaking. "Sailor" stayed with it, and later paid the price with a one-year jail sentence. There were plenty of poker games to get to, and the three partners even bet among themselves when games weren't available.

Slim remembers walking into one of their hotel rooms in Mexico during a vacation and seeing Doyle and Sailor pitching pesos into a hunting cap, and at that point Doyle was stuck eight-thousand dollars. "Oh, boy, they liked to gamble."

The following year, Doyle met his future wife, Louise, in Sailor's hometown of San Angelo, Texas. They were married in 1962, and just a few months later Doyle woke up with a sore throat. Before he new it, the sore throat and pea-size lump on his neck has swelled to the size of a hen's egg.

After two surgeries, Doyle managed to pull-through, even though he was not expected to live. Since money was tight, Louise and Sailor nursed him 24 hours a day for two weeks. Eventually he was strong enough to recuperate at his sister's home, and soon enough he was back playing poker.

The crushing medical bills were heavy on Doyle's mind, but he had a new appreciation for life, and a keener sense of everything around him, including his poker opponents. In fact, Doyle played the best poker he ever remembers, winning 54 straight times in a row. By the time he had a loss, the medical bills were more than paid off.

Doyle spent the next ten years playing mostly in Fort Worth, and also Las Vegas. In 1973 he packed the family up and moved permanently to Las Vegas, and amazingly, his best poker days were ahead of him. His best golf may not have been, as Doyle has admitted to playing some very high stakes golf, and "Sometimes, the other guy played just a little better than me."

Although the World Series of Poker was in its seventh year before Doyle won the Hold'em Championship, he had won the deuce to seven lowball tournament. Not satisfied with winning just the 1976 WSOP Championship, Doyle repeated the feat in 1977. In 1978, Doyle's book, Super System, was published.

Doyle spent an enormous amount of money getting what has been described as the "poker bible" published. He drew from his own experiences, and produced the finest poker book ever published at the time. Not only did he include his own "style" and ideas, but his got the best players of the day to include their own views on poker. That list of the best players and foremost authorities on poker included Mike Caro, Chip Reese, Joey Hawthorne, David Sklansky, and Bobby Baldwin.

Over the next twenty years, Doyle continued to play high-stakes poker with the best players in the world. He stopped playing in most tournaments, but could often be seen in the side-games of major tournaments. He invested his money in some business ventures, like his golf business in Florida with Dewey Tompko and Jack Binion, and thought about writing a second Super System.

In 1998, Doyle entered several of the tournaments at the World Series of Poker, and although he was supposed to be "over the hill", he won the Razz Championship, took second in pot-limit Omaha, and third in deuce to seven lowball. Could this be some strange fluke for a 65-year old player? Not hardly.

Doyle has continued to play in high-limit games since that wonderful return to tournaments in 1998. He plays regularly in the highest games at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, and won his 9th World Championship bracelet in 2003, taking the H.O.R.S.E. title, proving again that a player should be good at all forms of poker.

Doyle's son, Todd, has followed in his father's footsteps, making a name for himself in the high-limit games, and winning a purported $20 million dollars this past year from the likes of Andy Beal, while playing a $100,000 - $200,000 limit hold'em game. It appears Todd has received both good instruction, from his father, and also the innate feel for poker that only Doyle could pass on.

There is no doubt that Doyle Brunson has proven himself to be the best, all-around poker player of the past fifty years, and it's hard to think of more fitting proof of a true champion, than to have their child exhibit some of the same ability. For those of you who are enjoying the sight of Doyle Brunson playing in tournaments like the World Poker Tour on television, remember, this great player won his first World Championship almost thirty years ago. What more can be said?

While the cards are flying in Las Vegas, bookmakers are offering up their best ideas as to who will win the Big One in the World Series of Poker.

Sportsbook.com, a London, England based bookmaking operation, is laying odds on who is going to take the coveted World Championship. Alex Czajkowski, the Marketing Director for Sportsbook.com, said, "There will be a huge audience for this event. We want to offer people the chance to get involved with the action from Las Vegas, even if they can't get a seat at a World Series of Poker table."

It is very interesting to see the names that currently make up their list. The favorite at this time is 1989 World Champion Phil Hellmuth, who can be bet on at 40-1 odds to take the championship. Many players are listed as 50-1 shots to take the title, including past World Champions Scotty Nguyen and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. WPT Champion Tuan Le, 2004 World Series Player of the Year Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and European players Gus Hansen and Ram Vaswani are also locked into that 50-1 shot. Even Hollywood has been able to get some odds, with Ben Affleck being posted as a 150-1 shot and "Rounders" stars Matt Damon and Edward Norton drawing 250-1 odds. Leading the ladies are Jennifer Harman and Annie Duke, who are 60-1 shots, according to the line.

With the Main Event field expected to be over 6,000 players strong, how you can lay out odds for something like this stretches the mind! It does show, though, that you can pretty much lay down a buck on any sporting event, even something as large as the World Series of Poker! You can view the entire list of players at Sportsbook.com, if you are interested in getting the latest line on who will win the biggest poker tournament ever

College dropout Eric Froehlich of Los Angeles became the youngest bracelet winner ever at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) when he outlasted a field of 1049 players the $1500 buy-in Limit Hold'em event at the Rio Pavilion Convention Center.

At the age of 21 years, 3 months, and 29 days, Froehlich is over a year younger than Gavin Griffin, who won a WSOP bracelet in 2004 as a 22-year-old.

Despite being just one credit shy of graduating from college, Froehlich told ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad, "I have no plans to go back to college any time soon...I consider poker to be a better opportunity."

Besides winning the coveted gold bracelet, Froehlich collected the first place prize of $361,910.

In a marathon heads-up battle that lasted over 120 hands, Froehlich ended the tournament at approximately 4am by eliminating Silicon Valley engineering manager Jason Steinhorn, who earned $182,040 for his 2nd place finish.

On Hand 259 with limits at 25000-50000, Steinhorn raised from the button and Froehlich called. On a flop of 9s 2s 2d, Froehlich bet and Steinhorn called. Froehlich bet and Steinhorn called when the Th came on the turn. Froehlich bet and Steinhorn called his remaining chips all-in on the river when the Ts hit the board. Froehlich turned over Ks 4s for a flush and Steinhorn mucked his hand and tap the table to concede defeat.

Froehlich had a chance to win the tournament 2 hands earlier on Hand 257 but was outdrawn on the river, when his pocket Fours were counterfeited on the river against Steinhorn's Ace-Ten on a board of 8d 8c 2d 5c 5s.

Froehlich, who started heads-up play with a 2-to-1 chip advantage, fell behind Steinhorn by a 4-to-1 deficit at one point before coming back to retake the chip lead by winning a big pot on Hand 244. Froehlich raised from the button and Steinhorn called. On a flop of Ks 3h Qh, Steinhorn checked, Froehlich bet, Steinhorn raised, Froehlich re-raised, and Steinhorn called. Steinhorn checked the Kd on the turn and called Froehlich's bet. When the Ad fell on the river, Steinhorn bet and Froehlich called. Steinhorn mucked the hand without showing.

Poker professional Todd Witteles of Las Vegas was eliminated in 3rd place by Froehlich on Hand 131. With limits at 15000-30000, Froehlich raised from the button and Witteles called from the big blind. On the flop of Qc Kh 9d, Witteles checked, Froehlich bet, Witteles raised his remaining chips all-in, and Froehlich called, turning over As Ks for top pair top kicker. Witteles could only present Ac 9h for bottom pair. The Qh on the turn and the 2h on the river brought no help from Witteles, who exited with a prize of $115,810.

Southern California-based college student Adam Hersh finished 4th with a prize of $101,335 when he was eliminated by Froehlich on Hand 87. Froehlich raised to open and Hersh called from the big blind. On a flop of 9h 4h 4d, Hersh checked, Froehlich bet, Hersh raised, and Froehlich re-raised. When the Qs came on the turn, Hersh checked, Froehlich bet, and Hersh re-raised his remaining 15000 chips all-in. Froehlish made a pair of nines with Js 9s whle Hersh could only produce pocket Fives.

Seattle-based poker pro Christian Van Hees, who won the $1500 limit hold'em event at the WSOP over 10 years ago, could only finish in 5th place for his first WSOP money finish in 10 years when he was eliminated by in 5th place by Witteles. On Hand 77, Van Hees bet his remaining 25000 chips before the flop while holding Jc 9d and he was called by Witteles who was holding Ad 6h. Witteles made 2-pair on a board of 7s Kh Ac 6d 8h to send Van Hees home with a prize of $86,855

Canadian television camera operator Devin Armstrong overplayed pocket deuces on Hand 46 to finish 6th. With the limits at 20000-40000, Froehlich bet, Armstong raised, Froehlich re-raised, Armstrong 4-bet, and Froehlist 5-bet. On the flop of Jh 9d 5d, Armstong bet, Frochlich raised, Armstrong re-raied all-in for 28000, and Froehlich called instantly, turning over pocket Aces. The Td on the turn and the 3s on the river sent Armstrong to the rail with a prize of 72,380.

Peter "The Poet" Costa of England and Wing Wong of Southern California were eliminated on back-to-back hands to finish in 7th and 8th respecively. On hand 33 with limits at 20000-40000, Witteles opened the betting, Wong raised all-in for 18000 more and Hersh called. Holdig Tc 3c, Hersh outdrew Wong holding Jack-nine when a the flop of 3d Ts 4d hit the board. Costa exited one hand later when his pocket eights were outdrawn by Witteles' Kd Jd when a King flopped. Costa earned $57,905 for finishing 7th and Wong earned $43,430 for finishing 8th.

Brian Mogelefsky of Huntington, New York was eliminated in 9th place on Hand 29 in a 4-way pot. With limits at 10000-20000, Mogelefsky raised under-the-guy, Witteles re-raised, Steinhorn called from the small blind, Van Hees called from the big blind, and Mogelefsky called all-in. Steinhorn bet the flop of 5h 2d 8h and both Witteles and Van Hees called. When the Td came off on the turn, Steinhorn bet and both Witteles and Van Hees dcalled. Steinhorn bet again on the river when the 7h hit the board and both Witteles and Van Hees folded. Steinhorn turned over pocket Tens for a set while Mogelefsky turned over pocket Kings for one pair. Mogelesfky took home $28,950.


Actuary Zelong "Freeman" Dong of Birmingham, Alabama was down to just 6000 chips after losing Hand 4 to Witteles. With limits at 8000-16000, Dong Raised and Witteles called from the big blind. On a flop of Qh 6d Jd, Witteles bet and Dong called. When the 8d hitting the board on the turn, Witteles bet, Dong raised, Witteles re-raised, and Dong called. Witteles bet and Dong called on the river after the 2s came off. Wittles turned over Ad 5d for the nut flush and Dong mucked.

Dong was eliminated on the next hand when he raised all-in for 6000 under the gun. Witteles raised to 16000 from the small blind and Costa called from the big blind. Witteles bet and Costa called on the flop of Jc Kc 4d. After the 6h came off on the turn, Witteles checked, Costa bet 16000, and Witteles called. Both Witteles and Costa checked the river card of Qd. Witteles turned over QJ for two-pair, Costa turned over AJ for one pair, and Dong mucked. Dong received $15,925 for his 10th place finish.

(Note: The $1500 limit hold'em event was added to the list of ESPN-televised events to replace the $1500 pot limit hold'em event, which could not be videotaped due to a schedule conflict with the final table of $1500 no limit hold'em event. To avoid any more changes in the list of televised events, ESPN and Harrah's entertainment have decided to stretch each of the remaining 12 ESPN-televised WSOP preliminary bracelet events to 3 days so that the final table TV taping can start at 2pm.)

WSOP Event 4 $1500 Buy-in Limit Hold'em Final Table Results

Place Player Hometown Prize
1 Eric Froehlich Los Angeles, California $361,910
2 Jason Steinhorn Cupertino, California $182,040
3 Todd Witteles Las Vegas, Nevada $115,810
4 Adam Hersh Aguora Hills, California $101,335
5 Christian Van Hees Seattle, Washington $86,855
6 Devin Armstrong Toronto, Ontario $72,380
7 Peter Costa Leicester, England $57,905
8 Wing Wong Rowland Heights, California $43,430
9 Brian Mogelefsky Huntington, New York $28,950
10 Zelong "Freeman" Dong Birmingham, Alabama $15,925

Former software developer turned professional poker player Pat Poels of Mesa, Arizona outlast a field of 699 players to win the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $1500 buy-in Limit Omaha High-Low Eight-or-Better Event at the Rio Pavilion Convention Center.

Poels earned $270,100, a record first prize for a land-based Omaha High-Low tournament, and the coveted gold bracelet.

Poels, who had played over 2000 hours of poker each year since 2001, quit his software development job in April to play poker full time.

"My wife is the one who pushed me into it," said the 37-year-old father of three to WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla after the tournament, which ended at approximately 3:30am.

In a heads-up battle that lasted 29 hands, Poels eliminated John Lukas of Las Vegas on Hand 191. With limits at 15000-30000, Poels raised from the button and Lukas called. Both checked the flop of Kc 6s 6h. Lukas bet the turn card of Ts and Poels called. Lukas put his remaining 5000 chips all-in on the river when the 8d hit the board and Poels called instantly, turning over 9d 7c 8c 5h for a 10-high straight. Lukas could only produce two-pair when he turned over Tc 8s Js 9h.

Lukas receives $139,870 for his 2nd place finish.

Poels survived elimination several times during the first day of play during level 6 with limits at 300-600, coming back from being down to 300 chips at the start of level 6 to being 6th position out of 22 at the end of Day 1. He started the final table of 10 in 5th position and built his chip stack while other players faltered.

Jeff Duvall of London, England was one of the players who faltered down the stretch. Duvall lost 285000 chips during the first 6 hands of play at the 15000-30000 limits to finish in 3rd place.

Duvall was eliminated on Hand 162 by Lukas. In a 3-way unraised pot, Duvall bet the flop of 5c Tc Jh and both Poels and Lukas called. Duvall called his last 20000 chips all-in after Lucas bet the turn card of 2d. With the Td on the river, Duvall's two pair of Tens and Fives with a Queen was outkicked by Lukas, who made two pair of Tens and Fives with a King.

Duvall took home $77,170 for finishing 3rd.

Bahram Kianfar of Palm Desert, California lost most of his chips on Hand 148 against Poels. Poels raised under the gun and Kianfar called. On the flop of Ks js 3d, Kianfar bet, Poels raised, and Kianfar called. Kianfar check-called bets by Poels on the turn card of Kh and on the river card of 2h. Poels turned over Kc Jh 8h Ah to make Kings Full of Jacks while Kianfar mucked his hand claiming that he could only make three-of-a kind.

Kianfar was eliminated in 4th place on Hand 152 by Duvall when Kianfar went all-in for his remaining 25000 chips holding Kd 9c 4s 2c against Duvall's Ah Kc 7d Tc. The board of As Kh 9s Qc 7s made Aces and Kings or Duvall against Kings and Nines for Kianfar.

Poker pros "Minneapolis" Jim Meehan and Dan Heimuller were eliminated in consecutive hands at the 10000-20000 limits.

The colorful Meehan was eliminated in 6th place on Hand 122 by Duvall. Meehan raised to open before the flop and Duvall called from the big blind. On the flop of 4d 8c 3c, Duball bet, Meehan raised, and Duvall called. Meehan call his remaining 5000 chips on the turn card of 3h. Duvall turned over 8h 3s Tc 2h for Eights Full of Treys and a possible low draw while Meehan turned over Ah 7c Qh 4h. The Ac on the river gave Duvall a better 7-4-3-2-A low against Meehan's 8-7-4-3-A low to allow Duvall the scoop the pot. Meehan departed with a prize of $48,230.

Heimuller was eliminated on Hand 123. Kianfar raised to open before the flop and both Lukas and Heimuller called. On the flop of Kc 7s 5h, Heimuller checked, Kianfar bet, Lucas called, and Heimuller called. Heimuller called his remaining 5000 chips all-in on the turn card of 4c. Lucas bet and Kainfar called on the river card of Th. Kianfar made two-pair Kings and Tens with Kd Td Ad 4s, Lukas had nut low with Ah 2d 3c 4d, and Heimuller showed 2s 3h 8s Kh before mucking his hand. Heimuller earned $57,875 for his 5th place finish.

Darrell Dicken of Waterloo, Iowas, who started the final table with the chip lead, was bluffed out of a pot on Hand 62 by Duvall at the 6000-12000 limits. Duvall raised to open before the flop, Dicken called, and Kianfar called. On the flop of 2h Qh Td, Duvall bet and both Dicken and kianfar called. Duvall bet the turn card of 6h, Dicken raised, Kianfar folded, and Duvall called. When the scare card of Th hit the board on the river, Duvall bet and Dicken folded. Duvall turned over A-2-3-4 for a complete bluff.

Dicken then lost a big pot to Duvall at the 8000-16000 limits on Hand 79. Dicken raised to open before the flop and Duvall called from the big blind. Duvall check-called Dicken bet the flop of 8h 2h 3c and Duvall check-called Dicken's bet the turn with the Tc. Duvall bet the river card of 3d and Dicken called. Duvall made three-of-a-kind with As 3s 5s Kh and an 8-5-3-2-A low while Dicken could only produce A-A-Q-J for two pair with no low.

Dicken was eliminated by Meehan on hand 81 when Dicken went all-in from the small blind with his remaining 16000 chips and Meehan called from the big blind. Dicken's Ah 2s 7h 9d missed both the low draw and an open-ended straight draw on the flop of 8h 3c Tc when the Th hit the board on the turn and the Qs fell on the river. Meehan produced As 6s 9s 9c for two pair Tens and Nines.

Dicken exited with a prize of 38,585.

Boris Shats of Los Angeles lost most of his chips on Hand 37 with limits at 5000-10000. Kianfar and Dicken called before the flop, Shats raised from the big blind, and both Kianfar and Dicken called. On a flop of As 2c Tc, Dicken checked, Shats bet, Kianfar raised, Dicken re-raised, Shats called, and Kianfar called. When the turn card of Qc hit the board, Dicken bet, Shats called, Kianfar raised, Dicken called, and Shats folded. Dicken checked the river card of 4s, Kianfar bet, and Dicken folded to yield the pot of 130000 to Kianfar.

Shats was eliminated in 8th place on Hand 45 with limits at 6000-12000. Heimiller raised to open, Lukas called, Shats re-raised from the big blind, Heimiller and Lukas both called. On the flop of 4c 9s Qd, Shats bet, Heimiller raised, Lukas folded, and Shats called for a total of 7000. Heimiller turned over Ad Qh 9d 4s for two-pair while Shats turned over As Ah 6d Td. Sharts cold not improve on the turn with the 7h and the river with the Ts. Shats collected $28.940 for his 8th place finish.

The two short stacks at the 10-handed final table were eliminated in successive hands played at limits of 4000-8000.

French poker pro Pascal Perrault was eliminated in 10th place on Hand 5 by Dicken. Dicken put Perrault's remaining 13000 all-in after a series of raises and re-raises before the flop. Dicken's Jc Jd 5s 4h scooped the pot against Perrault's Qs 6s 3h 2h on a board of 2h 8h 9h As Kd. Perrault exited the tournament with $10,610.

Southern California-based poker pro Minh Nguyen was eliminated in 9th place on Hand 6 by Meehan. Nguyen raised before the flop and Meehan called from the big blind. On a flop of Js 9h 6c, Meehan put Nguyen's remaining 14000 all-in after a series of raises and re-raises. Meehan showed 9s 6s Tc 8h for two-pair while Nguyen showed Ac Qs Qh Jc for one pair of Queens. Nguyen got no help from the 5h on the turn and the 4d on the river. Nguyen earned $19,290.

WSOP Event 5 $1500 Limit Omaha High-Low Eight-or-Better Final Table Results

Place Player Hometown Prize
1 Pat Poels Mesa, Arizona $270,100
2 John Lukas Las Vegas, Nevada $139,870
3 Jeff Duvall London, England $77,170
4 Bahram Kianfar Palm Desert, California $67,525
5 Dan Heimiller Plymouth, Michigan $57,875
6 Jim Meehan Minneapolis, Minnesota $48,230
7 Darrell Dicken Waterloo, Iowa $38,585
8 Boris Shats Los Angeles, California $28,940
9 Minh Nguyen Lake Elsinore, California $19,290
10 Pascal Perrault Paris, France $10,610

Scott Wilson has been at Paradise Poker for five years, as Paradise was one of the first online poker sites on the web, and continues to be one of the leading sites in the increasingly crowded world of online poker. In this interview, Scott talks about the current state of online poker, and what life is like in Paradise.

PN: Where do you feel Paradise Poker is in the marketplace today, and where do you think it will be in two years time.

The market when I was first in this, we represented 50% of the market numerically. There was basically us, Planet Poker, and the Highlands Club back in 2000. And very quickly, we had 80% of that market. Now, we're easily ten times the size that we were back then, but we represent single figures in terms of market share. It really shows you what has happened to this market. If you decline from 80% to single digits, market share wise but you grow ten fold...it really shows you that there is something going on here.

PN: So, two years from now, where is it going?

SW: Well, its gotten to the point where the market is saturated with online poker sites, I would say. From those original two or three rooms, you now are at about 500 rooms. Many of these are skins, and parts of networks etc, but I would say there has to be some consolidation in the market place. I say this with bias, because obviously we were consolidated.

We felt in order to stay competitive in the market, and take advantage of some synergies that were offered to us by hooking up with another company, we had to make that move in order to stay competitive with the networks that were growing pretty fast. You have Cryptologic, and Prima Poker and that type of model. Although those aren't as profitable as stand alone operators, if you want to be competitive as far as you what you can offer for prize pools, and you must have this critical mass of 10,000 players or so a night to do that. We are there now, and are quite proud of the progress we have made.

We are sending 200 + players to the WSOP, and between us, Party, and Stars, I think that will represent 1/3 of the field.

PN: You just had your huge event, the Masters Two last week. Talk about how that went, and what plans are in store for more of these types of events.

SW: Exactly. We did Masters one a couple months back, and guaranteed $1,000,000, then we just did Masters two, and pushed the prize pool to $1.5 million. We actually added about $200,000 to that prize pool.

We are doing Masters III on September 17th, and the prize pool will be over $1,000,000. We will also shoot number three for television.

PN: Talk about the transition since the Sportingbet acquisition, and how this will effect Paradise players, as well as the company itself.

SW: Other than a couple companies who started as a sports book, and now offer an inferior in my opinion poker product to what we have, we now are offering a sports book product at Paradise. Also, this is a known, longtime online book, Sportsbook.com so people can trust their money there. Within a couple months, players will be able to transition pretty seamlessly between the sportsbook, and the poker side. Pretty much everyone is trying poker these days, as everyone thinks they are good at poker, so we feel we will have a big influx of players to the Paradise site.

So, we will give players a lot of choice. This new flexibility will allow players more options, and the new influx of players from the sportsbook.com side will maybe be not as mature or developed as players, which will be a big advantage to current Paradise players.

PN: In your position, what will your goals be toward effecting positive change in the online gaming world.

SW: When a customer comes in, and has a problem, we want to make sure that we deal with it appropriately. For example, when we are done with this, I have a longtime customer who has a problem, and I am going to call him myself. I think it is that serious of an issue. This is a longtime player, and this is a serious issue, so I feel the personal contact is worth it.

PN: What do you see as the future of online gaming? Do you see more acquisitions? Rooms merging? Rooms folding?

SW: I don't know about outright folding. Customer base is pretty tough to establish these days. In the early days, we could get players on a per click ad basis for pennies. For the price of a Kool Aid, we were getting new customers. Now, that is just not an option.

If you are a new company, or a similar type of company, and you want to start a poker operation, you have a few choices. You can go out and saddle up to a skin type "white label" operation, or you can acquire somebody. I think as we get more down the line, and some of the mid level operators lose interest, or stop wanting to fighting the good fight, there probably will be some opportunities for larger companies to swallow up those big fish. I do think we are near the height of the number of poker rooms that are out there. Why would you play at a place with four tables, when you can play at a place with 400, and have giant prize pools, etc.

PN: From a software/user perspective, what will the average user be seeing in their online gaming experience five years from now.

That's a tough one to figure out. Its tough to see what players are showing an interest in. When we initially came out, we were really fearing this one room that had fantastic graphics, and we felt people were going to flock to this particular site, as the visual experience was fantastic. Over time, we found out that visuals were not that important for poker players, and that players cared much more about speed of play, and the ability to play several hands at once, etc. The pure game of it is much more important to most players, as opposed to avatars, and bells, and whistles, etc.

A University of Florida law student became the first champion of Absolute Poker's "Win Your Tuition" freeroll tournament.

The tournament, for all college students, paid off handsomely for its competitors. First prize was full payment of the champion's fall tuition, with a laptop for the runner-up and Apple IPod's for the rest of the final table.

Competing for the first time in an online tournament, 24 year old Derek Dilberian of the University of Florida College of Law was able to conquer the 450 player field to take the title. The New Jersey native is in the top five percent of his class and has been named to the Florida Law Review just this spring. He had been paying his college tuition primarily through a series of college loans and odd jobs. He also is a guitarist and moonlights in a rock band. What time is left, he says, he plays online poker.

Asked what the secret to his success was, Dilberian replied, "I act how strong I am. I don't put on a show." When he was asked further how he defeated the 450 player field, he summed his tournament up in one sentence. "At the beginning, you have to be patient because it all boils down to survival. Then, you analyze your opponent's games."

Garin Gustafson, Vice President of Marketing for Absolute Poker, couldn't be happier about the success of the tournament. "This was an entertaining, no cost way for college students to have fun and compete for a chance to pay for school." He expects the entries for the fall tournament to double the 4,000 players who battled for this semester's championship, adding "We're already registering players for this November. After all, how many opportunities do you get to win tuition through playing free poker games?"

Providence College's Tim Mannion was the second place finisher in the event and will have the use of a new laptop computer come the fall semester, and the other final table finishers walked away with IPod's for their efforts. Expect the battle to rage again in the fall as the Absolute Poker "Win Your Tuition" Tournament warms up again!

Want to host your own private online tournament? Poker Stars make it easy

Playing in only his 3rd land-based poker tournament, nightclub owner Issac Galazan won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $2500 buy-in 6-handed No Limit Hold'em event at the Rio Pavilion Convention Center.

Galazan, who referred to himself as "The General" and "Issac G," outlasted a field of 548 players to collect the first place prize of $315,125 and the coveted gold bracelet.

A native of Miami who now lives in Bangkok, Thailand, Galazan pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in the history of the WSOP when he defeated the 18th place finisher of the 2004 WSOP World Championship main event, Harry Demetriou of London, England, in an heads-up match that lasted only 12 hands.

Demetriou, who started the heads-up match with about a 5-to-3 chip advantage, lost most of his chips to Galazan on Hand 90, the 10th hand of heads-up play.

With blinds at 3000-6000, Demetriou called from the button and Galazan checked. On a flop of 2h 6c 5s, Galazan continued his pattern of overbetting the pot all afternoon and evening by betting 30000. Demetriou raised to 90000 and Galazan quickly moved all-in.

Demetriou called instantly and turned over 6d 4s for one pair of sixes with an inside straight draw. Galazan turned over pocket nines, which held up with the Kc came on the turn and the Qh came on the river.

"I think (Demetriou) thought I was bluffing," said Galazan. "I thought maybe I went all-in so fast that maybe he thought I was making a desperate move to win the pot."

"He (Galazan) could have had anything," said Demetriou regarding his call. "I obviously felt I was in front. Even if I were behind, I had 9 outs. I took the chance to try to win (the tournament) right there...Perhaps I should have played small pots and tried to ground him down."

Demetriou was eliminated on Hand 92 when he moved his remaining 150000 chips all-in with Qc 9s and was quickly called by Galazan who turned over Kh Js. The board of 4d 5d 8d 5s 2h were no help for Demetriou, who had to settle for the runner-up prize of $163,850.

Professional gambler Tommy Grimes of Houston Texas was eliminated by Galazan on Hand 80. On a flop of Qd Jd 7h, Galazan bet 20000, Grimes raised to 75000, Galazan re-raised all-in, and Grimes called. Galazan turned over Qs 9s for top pair while Grimes turned over Jc 8s for middle pair. Grimes got no help with the Ks on the turn and 3d on the river to finish in 3rd place for a prize of $85,075.

David Singer of Mamaroneck, New York was eliminated by Demetriou in Hand 61. Demetriou opened under the guy for 22000 and Singer called from the small blind. On the flop of As Jc 7h, Singer checked, Demetriou bet 55000, and Singer called. Both players checked the turn card of 5c. Singer went all-in for 186,500 total on the river when the 6d came off. Demetriou thought for over 3 minutes before calling with Ah 4h, which were good enough to win the pot against Singer's pocket Nines.

Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari, who arrived at the final table as the short stack, busted out 5th place when he lost a "race situation" against Demetriou. With blinds at 2000-4000, Demetriou opened for 15000, Esfandiari re-raised to 59000, Demetriou announced all-in, and Esfandiari called. Esfandiari's Kd Jc missed against Demetriou's pocket Eights on a board of 4h 3d Qc 6c 4s. Esfandiari earned $63,020 for his 5th place finish.

David Barnes of London, England was the first casualty of the final table on Hand 3. Barnes opened for 16000, Demetriou called, Galazan re-raised to 50000, Barnes moved all-in, and Galazan called. Barnes Ah Jh failed to connect against Galazan's pocket Tens on a board of 3h 4s 7h 9c Ks.

2005 WSOP Event 6 $2500 Buy-in 6-Handed No Limit Hold'em Final Table Results

Place Player Hometown Prize
1 Issac Galazan Bangkok, Thailand $315,125
2 Harry Demetriou London, England $163,850
3 Tommy Grimes Houston, Texas $85,705
4 David Singer Marmaroneck, New York $75,625
5 Antonio Esfandiari San Francisco, California $63,020
6 David Barnes London, England $50,415

Editor's Note: In addition to being a poker enthusiast, gambling columnist, and lecturer, John is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and practices in his home state of Pennsylvania. He has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from West Virginia University, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Lock Haven University. You can arrange for interviews, speaking engagements, or ask your question to "the Poker Counselor" at carlisle14@hotmail.com.

I have been playing online poker seriously for two years now. Last year I made about $15k and this year I am on track to pass that figure. Well, I was on track. The last three weeks have been appalling. Whenever I play on PS or UB I have my money in 90% with the best hand. I have been losing so frequently and to utter rubbish that my belief in my winning is shot. It is unreal how I can get beat day after day by under pairs, runner-runner flushes and gut shot straights. My pocket pairs always get cracked by the Ax and my AKs get cracked by the pocket pair.

I guess it is time to stop playing for a while but logic tells me that I would want my money all in any time against the type of player I'm encountering. Do I stop playing and wait for a 'change of luck' or do I soldier on? I am not of the camp that believes online poker is rigged but some days I can well see how people think it is. How long should I take a break for or should I just keep my blood boiling on this losing streak? - Submitted by Redhead through Pokernews.com



Players often mistakenly assume that tilt is a temporary phenomenon. We think that a bad beat will cause us to play recklessly for the next few hands due to the anger over the poor fortunes. After a few hands, we suppose that the emotions will dissipate to allow for more focused play to re- emerge. I label this temporary tilt as "minor tilt," as it is indeed a short-lived negative emotional reaction. What you are experiencing is a full blown case of "major tilt." Your emotional whirlwind has become so encompassing that you question everything: your ability, your motivations, and poker itself. While this major tilt takes hold of your poker life, it creeps into all aspects of your life and feels like a heavy weight to bear. It is within this more severe emotional state that poker players are most personally challenged. In short, these are the kinds of times that ruin would-be formidable poker players.

Overcoming major tilt is no easy proposition. Battling any severe emotional reaction is best accomplished through cognitive restructuring (adjusting the thinking that drives the emotions). Even as a professional Counselor, I am battling emotions that I know I should be able to out-think. After a nasty car accident which caused me to be taken by ambulance to the hospital, I now find it continually uncomfortable to drive past the location of the accident. Although I can label and understand the post traumatic symptomology, and I know quite well how to cognitively restructure, it is still a tough exercise. Your continual bad beats hold some similarities to my car wreck. In some ways, the continual unexpected disappointments at the table have combined to produce traumatic symptoms. You allude to your efforts to mentally work through your sticking points when you mention your "logic" leading you to re-think the situation. You are on the right track, but you have a very long way to go.

I am not a big advocate for avoiding play while tilting. I find that unaddressed emotionality will only boil just beneath the surface, and will quickly resurface when the next bad beat arises. In other words, if you just walk away from the game for a week or two to calm down, you are very susceptible to break down at the next sign of bad luck. Instead of avoiding tilt, I encourage players to endeavor to overcome it. Great players always seem to find a way to do so, and you can as well as you work towards greatness. Face the demons and beat them. Drop down a level or two to find a comfortable buy-in with a comfortable structure. Be sure not to set yourself up for failure - do not EXPECT to take a series of bad beats. The anticipation can only amplify the effects, if it happens. Instead, relish each hand that you happen to win. Pat yourself on the back for each tough lay-down that you are able to muster. In essence, you are attempting to gather your confidence while re-establishing your trust in the game. Your track record (with 15 thousand in profits) displays that you have the makings of a great player. Prove it to yourself by overcoming these dark days of bad beats and bad runs.

I read that online players who call a raise very quickly are usually on a draw. So, I re-raised the guy and ran right into a monster hand. I got busted out of the tournament because I thought I had picked-up an online tell. -Posted at a chat forum by Ashby.

Oops. Chalk it up to experience, Ashby. Remember, live and online tells are not 100% accurate. Instead, they are simply one piece of the puzzle of information to take into account when making a decision. You have to remember that many players are reading the same books of tells and instructional articles that you are. Thus, many out there are intentionally giving off common "reverse tells." Successful use of misinformation can bring some players steady profits. Never allow a tell alone to drive your actions. Make sure that you take your time to evaluate everything that has lead up to that moment of action to make the wisest step.

Maciek "Michael" Gracz of Raleigh, North Carolina won his second major poker tournament of the year by outlasting a field of 826 players at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $1000 No Limit Hold'em with Rebuys event at the Rio Pavilion Convention Center.

Gracz won the first prize of $594,460 and the coveted gold bracelet.

In a heads-up battle that lasted 51 hands, Gracz eliminated C. T. Law of Middlesbrough, England, when Gracz outdrew Law on Hand 136.

With blinds at 10000-20000, Gracz opened for 60000 and Law called. On a flop of Jd 5c 8c, Law checked, Gracz bet 70000, Law raised to 180000, Gracz moved all-in and Law called his remaining chips. Law had Qd Jd for top pair while Gracz had Qs 8s for middle pair. Gracz outdrew Law with the 8h on the turn, and Law got no help on the river with the 6c.

Gracz had taken the chip lead from Law on Hand 93. With blinds at 8000-16000, Law opened from the button for 50000 and Gracz called. On a flop of Ac 2d 8s, Gracz checked, Law bet 60000, and Gracz called. Gracz check-called a 130000 bet from Law on the turn card of 3h. When the 4h hit the board on the river, Gracz checked, Law bet 200000, Gracz re-raised to 620000, and Law re-raised all-in holding Ace-Queen offsuit. Gracz called instantly with Ace-Five offsuit which made a "wheel" straight.

Adding to the $1.5 million he won at the World Poker Tour Cruise to Mexico in March, Gracz has earned over $2 million in less than two years in professional poker tournaments.

"I have been very fortunate and very lucky," said Gracz to ESPN commentator Norman Chad.

The 24-year-old Gracz immigrated to the United States from his native Poland when his mother accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship position 16 years ago. Now a professor of Biochemistry, Gracz's mother motivated him to finish his Bachelor's degree in Finance from North Carolina State University.

"I was spending more time playing poker than going to class," said Gracz to Chad. "My mom sort of kicked me in the butt to make me finish school."

Chuck Thompson of Santa Cruz, California was eliminated in 3rd place by Gracz on Hand 84. With blinds at 8000-16000, Thomas opened from the button for 50000, Gracz re-raised all-in from the big blind for over 400000 with pocket Eights, and Thompson called his remaining chips with Ah Jh. Gracz flopped a set with Kc Ad 8h. The Kd on the turn gave Thompson 4 outs with the two remaining Kings and the two remaining Aces, but Thompson missed when the 9d hit the board on the river. Thompson, who works as a host at Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, California, earned $176,145.

2002 CardPlayer Magazine Player-of-the-Year David "The Dragon" Pham was eliminated by Law on Hand 83. With blinds at 6000-12000, Law opened for 37000 and Pham called from the big blind. On a flop of A-Q-8, Pham checked, Law bet 25000, Pham raised to 105000, Law moved all-in, and Pham called. Law flopped a set with pocket Eights while Pham needed to draw running cards to stay alive when he turned over Ac 5c. Pham was drawing dead when the 6d hit the board on the turn and had to settle for a prize of $154,125.

Shane Schleger of New York was eliminated in 5th place by Gracz on Hand 69 when Gracz picked off Schleger's bluff attempt on the turn. With the board showing 8h 7c 3s 7d, Gracz checked, Schleger moved all-in, and Gracz called with Ad Th after thinking for 2 minutes. Schleger could only produce Ks Js and missed when the Tc hit the board on the river. Schleger exited with a prize of $132,110.

University of Chicago graduate Shae Drobushevich was eliminated in 6th place by Law on Hand 60. Drobushevich moved all in for 106000 with Ad 6s and Law called with Ac Qc. Drobushevich needed to draw running cards to stay alive when a Queen flopped, and was drawing completely dead when a Ten hit the board on the turn. Drobushevich collected $110,090.

French poker pro Pascal Perrault was eliminated in 7th place by Law on Hand 55. On a flop of 8d 6d 4d in a 3-way unraised pot, Perrault checked, Law checked, Gracz bet 35000, Perrault moved all-in for 203000, Law called instantly, and Gracz folded. Law turned over Ad 2d for a flush while Perrault could only produce 8h 5c for one pair. The turn card of 3h left Perrault drawing dead. Perrault took home $88,070.

2001 WSOP Main Event 4th-place finisher and 2004 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars champion Phil Gordon was eliminated by Pham in 8th place on Hand 16. With blinds at 4000-8000, Pham opened for 28000, Gordon moved all-in for 72000, and Pham called. Gordon's pocket Aces were cracked by Pham's pocket Tens when Pham made a set on the turn with the Ten of Diamonds. Gordon, the co-host of Bravo TV's Celebrity Poker Showdown, departed with $66,055.

Southern California-based poker pro Meng La, who started the final table as the short stack, was eliminated by Law in 9th place on Hand 11. La moved all-in for 41000 with Kc Qs and was called by Law with Ad 8d. La missed the board completely while Law made a full house with the board showing 7s 8c Jd 8h Ah. La took home $44,035.

WSOP Event 7 $1000 No Limit Hold'em with Rebuys Final Table Results

Place Player Hometown Prize
1 Maciek "Michael" Gracz Raleigh, NC $594,460
2 C. T. Law Middlesbrough, UK 311,555
3 Chuck Thompson Santa Cruz, CA 176,145
4 David "The Dragon" Pham Cerritos, CA 154,125
5 Shane Schleger New York, NY 132,110
6 Shae Drobushevich Moline, IL 110,090
7 Pascal Perrault Paris, France 88,070
8 Phil Gordon Las Vegas, NV 66,055
9 Meng La Torrance, CA 44,035

Our correspondent recently had the pleasure of visiting the London headquarters of The Poker Channel to talk with Crispin Nieboer, the Chief Executive Officer, about this exciting TV development for poker enthusiasts.

The Poker Channel was launched in the United Kingdom on 23rd March 2005 and is the world's first TV channel dedicated to poker. The Poker Channel is available to all Sky TV subscribers in the UK, as a free to air channel, and is located under the Entertainment section Channel Number 265.


PN: Well, Crispin, first of all I would like to thank you for taking the time out to have a chat about The Poker Channel.

CN: Not at all. It's my pleasure.

PN: I guess it is best to start at the beginning. What events led to the birth of the Poker Channel and your becoming the Chief Executive?

CN: The idea of The Poker Channel actually came to me when I was in the bath! In my previous line of work, my job entailed coming up with ideas for TV channels when I was at Sky TV and, before that, Granada TV.

What interested me about The Poker Channel in particular was I couldn't help but look at the United States and see the incredible success that people like Party Poker and Pokerstars had achieved from sponsoring poker tournaments - like the World Poker Tour televised on the Travel Channel - and see the complete proliferation of poker programming, and sponsored programming, onto networks like ESPN.

I knew it would only be a matter of time until programmes like Poker Million, which already rate incredibly well, and programmes like Late Night Poker on Channel 4 would follow the same process and become much more mass market. So, for me, that's how the idea of The Poker Channel was born.

PN: I imagine the lead up to the official TV launch on 23rd March was both a tense and exciting time for everyone involved.

CN: Yes, it definitely was both tense and exciting! Tense because, when you launch a channel on the Sky platform in the UK, they tend to give you your launch date only a couple of months before you are required to launch and, if you miss your launch date, you don't get one for another 6 or 9 months depending on the time of year.

We were given our launch date in late December (2004) and the launch date was March 7th. Given that it was Christmas and everything else in between, we had a lot to do but we got there and we are very proud that we did it. It was very exciting and it's great to be doing something that is a world first - the world's first dedicated poker channel. We've put together a great team and we've got some great programmes.

PN: Soon after the launch of The Poker Channel, viewers were told about the British Poker Open (BPO) and how this would be the very first time anywhere in the world where a major tournament would be screened predominantly live during its early stages. I assume the idea was to ensure that The Poker Channel would quickly establish a wide audience amongst poker fans?

CN: Yes, the thinking behind the British Poker Open was to create a format that really took poker to the next level in terms of how it is televised. People had previously done live finals, for example, the Poker Million did a live final and did that very well. Shooting more than just a final, shooting the heats live as well, was something that I thought a lot of people felt should be done. It was just a question of how to achieve it.

Shooting poker live is, as I am sure you know, very difficult. You have to get round the table quickly to pass a huge amount of information to the viewer in real time and there can be a lot of dull hands. So to make that as exciting and spontaneous but also informative and to get all the data across in a way that the viewers want was a challenge we thought was there to be taken on.

That was the thinking behind the BPO. It was to prove that live poker could be done effectively and well. Also the other thing we wanted to do with the BPO was to have some of the biggest international and US players come to the UK. I think a lot of British tournaments to date haven't really done that effectively. So, we were very pleased to have the likes of Howard Lederer, Gus Hansen, Jesus Ferguson and Greg Raymer come over and play in it and I think that proved that, after a point, we started to be taken very seriously.

PN: The heats of the BPO were each sponsored by major on-line poker companies such as PartyPoker, Pokerstars, Full Tilt and Betfair who in return sent a mixture of their own on-line qualifiers and sponsored professional players to the tournament. What feedback have you since had from these sponsors and are they likely to repeat the process in future?

CN: We've had positive feedback although it's early days. We will repeat each programme a certain number of times. Some channels repeat as many as ten times but we won't do as many as that. The short answer is, the poker sites have been very pleased with what's happened but they haven't been given a chance yet to be able to see what the performance of the shows has been like. Obviously, for them, they want to get as many eyeballs as possible across their brands when they sponsor something.

Also, we haven't had the chance yet to go out and close deals internationally and we are also talking to terrestrial TV channels. In six months' time, they will be able really to analyse the performance of that sponsorship and how it has done for them. What I would say is that it is very early days for our channel. Things are looking good - we got 0.8 million viewers in our first real month of broadcast and some of the shows, the Party Poker shows for instance, have attracted 500,000 unique viewers cumulatively over the broadcast and the Pokerstars shows, on one airing, have already attracted over 250,000. So they are attracting a hell of a lot of eyeballs which is, in the end, what they want.

PN: A number of top US-based professionals like Lederer, Ferguson, Block, Raymer and Hansen all competed in the BPO. Do you know if they enjoyed the experience of playing in a London TV studio?

CN: Yes, they did. All of them said how much they enjoyed it. In particular, the difference for them was playing live. I think also having a trip to the UK was great. A lot of these guys represent the poker sites and, in the case of Full Tilt, they have a share in the business or run and own it. I think a lot of these guys realise the UK is the new growth area and that the quick and easy growth in the US has already occurred.

We enjoyed having them over and they enjoyed staying. We had Greg Raymer come down (to the studio) most nights and Gus came down two or three nights just to soak up the atmosphere and be in the bar. When we could, we got as many people up into the commentary suite as possible so it went well.

PN: What else does The Poker Channel have lined up in the near future to have us all (in Britain at least) jotting down diary entries?

CN: From 30th May, we have started to broadcast the World Cup of Poker and this is being broadcast every Monday and Wednesday at 10pm. The World Cup of Poker format is sponsored by Pokerstars.com. They've basically created a format which they ran last year, in Barcelona I think, and now they are doing it again this year with us in London. They've taken forty countries and whittled it down to four. We then shot the competition of the four countries playing against each other. There was Norway, Costa Rica, Scotland and Austria.

The reason I was interested in this format is because no-one has really done heads-up in a way that we thought really provided viewers with something that was different, informative, useful and exciting. There has been heads-up broadcast before but I don't think it has been done necessarily that well.

Hopefully what the viewers will see is a way that heads-up poker can be incredibly exciting and it can happen incredibly quickly. Then there are the reads that each player has on each other. It's a very different form of poker. There are nine shows and each show has two matches in it. I think the shows look amazing.

We've then got the World Series of Poker (WSOP) coverage in late June and July. We have a crew over there to follow it and will have weekly updates on the channel. Poker fans in the UK and elsewhere will want to know what is happening as it is happening rather than wait for the edited ESPN version to come out several months later. We are all about giving our viewers what they want when they want it.

We are providing live feeds from partner websites on the channel so viewers can, if they want, go onto a website like Pokerheaven.com, and have their play broadcast live on The Poker Channel on a slightly delayed basis (to prevent any cheating) and we will apply commentary over that so they can have their game analysed. Viewers can text in and make comments and we may also do a radio phone-in type show where the commentator is analysing and watching your game and is taking calls.

So those are three things we have coming up on The Poker Channel shortly. We also have a poker school format, a master class format, coming up which will be more for intermediate and advanced players than just for beginners. There is already a lot of beginners' material out there.

PN: In Britain, before The Poker Channel was launched, there was a plethora of satellite/cable channels broadcasting re-runs of US-based poker shows such as the WPT and, dare I mention, Celebrity Poker. In true US-style, these have an in-your-face "entertainment" bias. Do you regard The Poker Channel as providing a more education-based service for both the new and seasoned poker player or is "show-business" also on the agenda?

CN: That's a good question! Our core aim in our first three to six months is to provide something for the more hardcore poker enthusiast but, going forward, we want to ensure that we can offer something also for a more casual interest in poker and, with regards to that, a more entertainment-focussed rather than just professional tournament player.

So we are looking at, for August and September, shooting one or two entertainment-oriented shows. That may be in one of two forms. Either a celebrity format which we will shoot in August/September or December - we'll certainly do one this year - or a kind of "Poker Idol" format, but not using the "Idol" trademark; rather that is just to give you an idea of the format. That may be called something like World Poker Champion 2005.

That format is again more entertainment-oriented where viewers have the chance to affect the show by voting for players they like or dislike, and where you take a "Joe Public" internet playing amateur and give them a chance to become a fully paid-up sponsored professional, to be sent off to all the tournaments around the world and the live the dream.

That type of tournament along with the celebrity tournament I think is going to be a more wide-reaching format. We wanted to make sure that, if we are going to call ourselves The Poker Channel, we are going to go out to be the core home of poker when it comes to televised poker in the UK. We wanted to be absolutely sure, through tournaments such as the BPO, we were in the bullseye of providing a professional service to hard-core poker enthusiasts and not something that's "Mickey Mouse". But, yes, we will do more entertainment stuff as we go forward.

PN: Moving away from The Poker Channel specifically, what is your vision of the future of TV programming of poker and do you see this embracing live on-line gaming attracting players away from their computers?

CN: I think going forward there will undoubtedly be some more copycat channels that come out replicating what The Poker Channel has started. I don't mind that; imitation is the best form of flattery sometimes and I think it is a big market. So, I think we'll see three or four channels coming out like that in the next 18 months. I'm not sure whether we'll see many that are independent. For example, Pokerzone's launch is associated with a major poker site.

Outside of that, what I see happening is people have talked a lot about interactive TV and the scope for betting on there; the Gaming Act de-regulation has gone through now and at the end of 2006 we'll be able to have casino-based gaming on interactive TV. That's obviously a key opportunity for us and something we've been focussed on from the start, but we shouldn't over-estimate how big interactive TV is compared to the internet. It will always be a tiny percentage of it.

What is useful from a channel perspective is it gives the viewers something else to do while he is watching the channel. It creates greater periods of viewing on the channel and gets the viewer to stay with us longer. From that aspect it is interesting but it is never going to be a huge money-spinner and that wouldn't be the reason we'd do it. It is more of a kind of marketing service for us to give our viewers something else to do on the channel.

In terms of switching, I think the most exciting thing from directly linking the web to the TV is in relation to web-feed programming that we are launching this month on our channel. We are providing, on a slightly delayed basis, coverage of big tournament games happening right now on certain sites so that players from these sites can get themselves known in the market more and we can analyse their play and look at how they are operating. That I think will be, in the near term, the most interesting link between the two platforms.

PN: Turning to you personally, do you find time in your busy schedule to play poker yourself?

CN: We have a game every Friday as a team, when we have time. James Hopkins, our producer, who organises the games, and Chiara Cipriani, our Director of Television, are both very good whereas I am a terrible poker player! I always get beaten by them because I don't have the patience. It's a game that I really enjoy and I guess about once a month I play on my own on-line but I wouldn't like to pretend I am a big winner. James is your man, James is good!

PN: Finally, is there anything else we haven't covered here today that you would like the readers of Poker News to know about?

CN: All I would say is that we are re-launching our channel website (pokerchannel.co.uk). So, for those people who cannot view the Poker Channel yet, you will, by the time this article comes out, be able to view short videos of key programmes, and a whole host of additional content and exclusive information. We've got a huge editorial section on the WSOP, and a team of leading reporters with articles from leading journalist Rolf Slotboom, the voice of poker Jesse May, Dave 'El Blondie' Colclough, and Gary 'The Choirboy' Jones. There's also a new web forum, an SMS poker tips service, results of the key tournaments, and transcripts of all our interviews. So, if you can't watch "Up Close with Greg Raymer" for instance we've got the transcript of the interview on the website. The web-site also allows you to watch edited video footage of our major tournaments, including the moment Greg Raymer took out 2 players at once in the British Poker Open, with a Queen-Eight, versus an Ace-King and pair of Queens. I'll let you see for yourself what happens.

If you have ever been to any poker tournaments, or any convention type things like BARGE, you know the real championship that matters isn't the main No Limit Hold Em event. The championship that people will talk about for decades is the Roshambo Championship. You say you don't know what Roshambo is? Sure you do. Chances are you have played it a hundred times. The more common name for Roshambo is Rock, Paper, Scissors. In some areas, its actually called Paper, Scissors, Rock.

At many poker events, the Roshambo event (unofficial of course) is a nice break from the pressure of the 'real' poker events, and a chance for everyone to let their hair down, and relax.

This event was shot by ESPN, and one would assume that this will air as one of their "Nuts" segments that occur during their WSOP telecasts. The very brief event was held on the main stage immediately preceding the Pot Limit Hold Em Final table (Event #9).

TV's Phil Gordon was the host for the brief event (and Phil needed it to be brief, as he was actually playing in the Pot Limit event - Event # 11). A field of 64 players ponied up $200 each, with $5,000 of the proceeds going to a cancer charity. The winner of this event was actually freerolled into the main event of this years WSOP.

The 64 played down to four last night, and the final four of Roshambo were:

Rafe Furst
Annie Duke
Robert Boyd
Kevin Keller

Each semi-final was a best of seven race, and the competitors were psyched, and ready to go. The first semi-final pitted Robert Boyd against Fill Tilter Rafe Furst. It was a game match , but at the end of the day Robert Boyd was just too much. On "hand" 6, Robert rocked, and Rafe scissored, and that was that. Robert took the match 4 to 2, and was into the finals.

The next match had Annie Duke versus Kevin Keller. Annie had a very special system where she would look at the serial number of a dollar bill, and determine her action from that. Unfortunately for Annie, she took the wrong dollar bill out, and Kevin beat her 4-2 when his Paper wrapped Annie's rock up.

So, the final was set, and the crowd was buzzing. Oddly enough, there was a bigger crowd for this event than there were for about half the final tables thus far.

Kevin Keller shot out to a 3-1 lead, and it looked like Thunder's brother was going to bring the thunder all over Robert Boyd. But, Boyd came rocketing back (with friends Dutch Boyd, and Scott Fischman sweating him), and tied things up at 3 all.

Appropriately, the World Series of Roshambo came down to the last "hand". Robert Boyd scissored, and Kevin papered, and the comeback was complete. Robert Boyd is your 2005 Roshambo champion. Congratulations Robert, they will be talking about this win for decades....or at least minutes.

One of the things that poker has attempted to do during its current popularity is to use the game to raise funds for charitable causes. Phil Hellmuth has attempted to do that with some of his charity work and Clonie Gowen has also lent her name and presence to promote fundraising for United Cerebral Palsy. Of course, it is legend in the tournament poker world that the monies that Barry Greenstein makes from tournament play are all donated to charity, including his favorite, Children, Inc.

Phil Gordon is another that has used his poker playing prowess to raise money for cancer research. In fact, Gordon is on the Board of Directors for the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation. Poker players and many others have pledged to give one percent of their tournament winnings to this organization through Phil's "Put A Bad Beat On Cancer". It is a fundraising drive that has the support of Team Full Tilt (of which Phil is a part of) and many other professionals throughout the rest of their careers, not just through this World Series of Poker.

Gordon is now stepping over to the East Coast to help poker give back to several charitable organizations. Next Shift Enterprises, LLC, a multi-venture business owned and operated by current and former professional hockey players, has announced that Phil will be the "poker host" for their "Pucks, Putters and Poker" festivities being held at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

"Pucks, Putters and Poker" will be a weeklong series of charitable events held from July 25-31. It will bring together the greatest names from the sporting world, celebrities and poker professionals to meet and compete against business people, casual fans and poker aficionados. The gathering will definitely be fun, competitive, exciting and, above all else, philanthropic.

Four charities will benefit from the events at Foxwoods. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the Carson Kolzig Foundation (named for Washington Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig's son, Carson, who has autism), the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation and the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation will be the recipients of the funds raised during this extraordinary week of philanthropy.

"Phil has shown he will go the extra mile to raise funds and awareness for cancer research, both at the poker tables and away from them," remarked Pete LeBoutillier, the business director of Next Shift, LLC. "He also is a star on the professional poker circuit. It seemed that he was an ideal fit for "Pucks, Putters and Poker" and we all look forward to his expertise at Foxwoods."

"I'm thrilled to be part of the event," Phil responded. "I look forward to making this event as big a success as it can be!"

Phil will host a sixty minute poker seminar for participants at Foxwoods and serve as the emcee for the poker tournaments that are featured during the week. Over $70,000 in prizes will be up for grabs there, including a seat at the World Poker Tour's stop at Foxwoods later this year. Additionally, Gordon has donated a two hour private lesson and five copies of his recently released DVD "Final Table Poker with Phil Gordon" to the charity auction that will be a part of "Pucks, Putters and Poker."

For those that are looking for something once the poker portion is done, there will be a six day hockey fantasy camp, an exhibition game featuring current and former National Hockey League stars, a celebrity golf tournament and other special events. In all, it will make the last week of July the event of a lifetime!

To learn more about Next Shift, LLC or about "Pucks, Putters and Poker", be sure to check out their website at nextshiftllc.com or contact Pete LeBoutillier at (410) 740-8748.

In poker, women have already proved that they could easily challenge men, however, poker stays as a majority a male's world and only few women have been internationally recognized yet. One of them is a charismatic and charming girl who has already drawn attention to herself because of her talent and some impressive results. As a matter of fact, a lot of people know Isabelle Mercier since she won the "Ladies Night Out II" World Poker Tour tournament, which took place last year in Los Angeles. Despite a fully booked schedule, she was really kind enough to answer our questions:


PN: Where are you now?

My « home » at the moment is the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas where I am staying for six weeks in order to play in a number of poker tournaments at the WSOP. I am proud to be the roving Ambassador of PokerStars.com and have the opportunity to participate in so many international poker festivals.

PN: How do you feel during these WSOP?

I am doing my best to go grab a bracelet, but I have to admit the fields of players are enormous so it is very challenging. I have four days off at the moment before my next tournament so I will use that time to study my game and work on it. I have cashed-in in two events so far, but most importantly, making it "deep" into those tournaments gave me the opportunity to play with some GREAT poker players. Plenty more to come, so it obligates me to push my own limits further, if I want to do much better in the next events.

PN: During these huge poker tournaments, you have to stay seated for hours, sometimes days, what do you usually do to relax? Do you have a special way to prepare yourself?


It takes me quite a while to get ready for a tournament, I would say about two hours. By the time I wake up, get out of bed, drink a juice, have coffee, take a bath with candles (yes, I do that in the morning!), do the hair, the make-up, and get dressed, have a quick look at my emails, get down at Starbucks and start to walk the mile between my room and the poker room located at the extreme extremity of Rio's convention centre hallway, two hours have evaporated. I listen to loud music in my earphones on my way to the tournament, I find it helps stimulating my preparation to play. It takes quite a drive to go sit down in a tournament and fight for hours to build your way up to victory.
At night, I find it constructive to talk about my play of the day with other poker players, discussing hands and strategies, and so many other elements you can analyse in poker. I think it's a rather important part of the learning process

PN: How did you get to the point to leave a very comfortable position and devote yourself to poker only?

I had a wonderful job as the manager of the poker room in the ACF in Paris, but after five years, it was time to move on to the next step, and this was playing poker professionally. As soon the game exploded on TV and it became possible to be a professional player with sponsorship, poker was a natural for me. I have played all my life and the game has been my passion forever. So, I quit the ACF management and organised an open-door sales weekend, during which I sold everything I owned. Since that day, I have been living out of my suitcase and travelling the world. There is not one person who did not tell me that I was a complete idiot when I made my mind and decided to live my new poker life with my big bankroll of $10,000. LOL! Oh well, I guess I'm a big believer in myself and in my dreams. With reasons. It was not the first time I made that kind of drastic changes in my life. Indeed, in my previous-previous life, I have been a lawyer for the biggest portfolio manager in North America. I had a wonderful career starting and a great office in downtown Montreal. But what the hell, what I really wanted was to travel the world, and the law firm would only give me 2-3 weeks off per year. Again, at the time, I did not own much, so I sold my car, paid my debts, and moved to Paris with about $50 in my pocket. It's when I turn around and look back at myself that I realize what I have become and how much I have learned.

PN: Barbara Enright said: "Women may have a basic advantage over their male counterparts. Psychologists tell us that women possess a sixth sense, and this instinctiveness can be a valuable asset at the poker table." Do you really believe that being a woman could be a strong advantage at a poker table?

I tend to agree with Barbara's quote and I think indeed, having a fine instinct appears to be one major feminine attribute. Not only that, it is also a big quality for a poker player. After knowing the math, reading people is a considerable part of the game, and knowing the math comes to anybody who works on it. Reading your opponents is a harder skill to develop, and it does make a big difference when you possess this weapon within your game. It seems women in general have the delicacy of feeling for others, and therefore, have a greater ability to see through them at the table. As long as they don't let the men intimidate them!

PN:You took part into many televised poker events, recently at the British Poker Open televised by the English Channel ..., how do you feel to play in front of camera?

Playing « live » was a tremendous experience, I really loved it and would do it again anytime! First of all, I love to play on TV with the hole card cameras, in fact, it's the best part of my job. The featured tables usually have a crazy energy coming from all the players at the table, and it's very energizing! Second of all, knowing that the cameras are actually filming your hole cards is a surprising stimulus. You can find yourself doing things you didn't know you were able to do! And third, playing "live" was even more interesting than all the other televised tables I played at, simply because in this one, the spectator is allowed to see every single card you are dealt and how you decide to play a hand, or not to play a hand. Because of that, I think those live televised tables will highly contribute to elevate the level of the game.

PN: Some poker hands are unforgettable. In your opinion what is your best victory? Your worst bad beat?

The victory that is the closest to my heart is my win at the World Poker Tour Ladies Night Out II, last September in Los Angeles. It is my first major title, and it's a tournament in which I played soooooo aggressively, that the legendary commentator Mike Sexton automatically nick-named me Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier. Moreover, this is the performance that actually started my life as a tournament player and representative of PokerStars.com.

As for my worst bad beat, it's the first one I had that is the closest to my souvenir. LOL! It was at the WSOP 2004 and I was playing a single table satellite for the main event. I did not have my ticket yet, and this was the very last night before the event. I played my best game ever and got heads-up with another guy. I battle for my life, and finally flopped a set with my pocket 4s. The flop was K64, and my opponent had AK. Our stacks were about equal, and all the money went in on the flop. Yes! I was so happy to get to play in the WSOP Championship!!!!!..... Until the turn brought a 6, and the river brought another deadly 6. This one hurt so much at the time, partly because it was my first real tournament bad beat, and partly because I did not know better. I was depressed for an entire week, ruining my life and the life of others around me. Overall, it was a good lesson and today I stay happy if I bust out of a tournament on a bad beat. As long as I play good, the rest is not up to me and I cannot get mad about something I have no control over.

PN: What kind of players are you afraid of at a poker table?

I believe you should fear no one if you want to succeed in this game. Only you can really scare yourself out, and in that sense, it is true to say that you and your own fears are your worst enemy in poker. However, I must admit that sometimes you face a player who seem to play perfectly and super strongly every hand ! It becomes hard to defend yourself, he's putting pressure consistently, and he's clearly the chief of the table. Those situations are very uncomfortable, and the souvenir you keep from such a player is often one you will fear in the future. This situation happened to me in the WPT $25 000 at Bellagio last April with David "The Dragon" Pham. So last week, when he arrived and sat directly on my right in one of the WSOP events, I felt baaad. But hey, poker is a very challenging game and that's why it's so fun and difficult. Happily for me, I succeeded in overcoming my fear and I played my A-game against Pham in the WSOP event.

PN: Life of a professional poker player is not easy, what are the advantages and the inconvenients for it?


Personally, I see only upsides of playing poker professionally on the international circuit. I am COMPLETELY free to do whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want. I travel the world and possess no such thing as an apartment, a car, bills, etc. I feel my mind is free. I don't have a watch, I go to bed when I'm tired, I wake up when my eyes open, I eat when I'm hungry, I call room-service if I'm too lazy, press the bell-man button if I have laundry to send, somebody cleans my room every day, brings new sheets and towels, wash my bath, etc. All in all, it does it for me. I see no downsides of playing poker as a living. But everybody is different, and I am sure this insecure and itinerant life would not suit at all many people!

PN: What are your projects for the few next months?

Those days, I am working hard on my new website isabellemercier.com that should be online within the next days. As soon as this is over, I feel I will find again a little free time and freedom for myself! I am taking a Trans-Atlantic cruise returning to Europe after the WSOP in order to play in the WPT in Paris, and this will be my last tournament before fall. I am taking August for vacation, and will spend the first third of the month on a ship in the Caribbean with my best girl friends. We've known each other for 20 years, and we are all turning 30 this summer. This cruise is our celebration and I feel like it's a movie, this can't be happening for real!!! Woohoo! After that, I'll spend some time in Quebec, and will return to Los Angeles at the end of August to defend my title as WPT Ladies Champ.

You are playing mostly tournaments, but what about cash games? Are you playing a lot online?

I am indeed a tournament player more than a cash game player. I enjoyed the action and the aggressiveness I find in tournaments, as opposed to cash games, where you have to be more patient and disciplined. I like the competition, so tournaments suit my game very well. The chips have no value, everybody is financially equal, there's a beginning, an end, and a winner! But tournaments are very challenging and you have to put in hours and days and weeks and years of experience to become real good. So I try to play as often as I can, ideally one tournament a day. When it's not live, I like to train on PokerStars.com. It's my online poker home, and PokerStars.com is the Number One site for online tournaments. I like the fact that I can connect at any time and start a tournament within the next 15 minutes in which a thousand players compete! This is incredibly good value!

The team at Full Tilt has been making this year's World Series of Poker their own personal playground. Allen Cunningham, Phil Ivey and Erik Seidel have all captured bracelets and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Jennifer Harman have played excellently, making a few final tables for each of them. As we begin to hit the homestretch, Team Full Tilt will attack something rarely seen on American television.

On July 13th, the FullTiltPoker.net Championship at the Wynn (the match will be held at the nightclub La Bete in the Wynn) will be broadcast live (meaning it should start around 9PM on the East Coast) on Fox Sports Network. It will be rerun later the same evening, and FSN should be able to get several broadcasts out of it. Up for grabs will be $500,000 in cash among those scheduled to play.

And what a lineup it will be! I know I have always wondered what would be the outcome of a sit and go among the powers of Full Tilt, and now we should see. Scheduled to play in the game are Ferguson, Ivey, Seidel, Harman, John Juanda, WPT Ladies' Night Champion Clonie Gowen, "Celebrity Poker Showdown" host Phil Gordon (having a good Series in his own right), and Andy Bloch. Seeing how they are coming onto his ground, joining the Full Tilt party will be the poker ambassador of the Wynn, 2004 Player of the Year Daniel Negreanu. Serving as the play by play man will be veteran announcer Barry Tompkins with the color provided by Full Tilter Howard Lederer.

While the tournament action should be fast paced and exciting, viewers will be able to see the effects that tournament play has on a player. Each one at the table will wear heart monitors, demonstrating the effects of high stakes play on each of the combatants.

Fox Sports Network was the first (and still the only) network to ever take on the challenge of broadcasting live tournament poker. FSN broadcast the American Poker Championship just last year, and viewers should be able to see that tournament poker is actually a drawn out process, rather than the two hour events that are seen on other broadcasts of tournament poker.

Of course, the lineup is subject to change (do you honestly think that one of the players would walk away from the Main Event if they were still in it?), but it still should be an exciting evening of poker. Mark the calendars, program your TiVo's, and prepare for only the second live poker event telecast in the United States, the FullTiltPoker.net Championship at the Wynn!

Day One B of the World Series of Poker Main Event brought much of the same to the Rio as day one A had.

There were a few more celebs playing, including Oliver Hudson (son of Kurt & Goldie) who busted out about 6 hands in, and Tobey Mcguire who did not make it out of his day one either. Mimi Rogers lasted well into the night, but now has her day free Sunday.

The real story, however was how few of the pros that started this day one made their way through the field, and survived into the second day. This was a bloodbath day for most top pros, and all the 'the fields are too big for the pros to work their way through' comments started being heard again, as dozens of top players could not make their way out of day 1B.

This day played even faster than day one A, with only 595 players making it out of this field, and getting into day two, as opposed to the 650 that made it out of day one A.

Daniel Negreanu was one of the more notable first day exits, as he was at the television table for a couple hours, but he arrived short stacked, and left empty handed not long after that.

Some of the other notables who won't be winning the WSOP this year, and were eliminated today included Kathy Liebert, Phil Gordon, Phil Hellmuth (who had a good sized stack for most of the day), Erick Lindgren, Max Pescatori, Men the Master, Evelyn Ng, Allen Cunningham, Cyndy Violette, David Williams, Annie Duke, Miami John, John Hennigan, and many more bit the dust in day one.

Two recent past champions played today, and Chris Moneymaker survived his day one, although he will need help, as he only has about 7,000 chips at this point. 2002 champ Robert Varkoni lost the 'hubby wife' last longer bet, as he was eliminated, but his wife Olga is actually in the top 20 chip leaders for the end of day 1 B.

The chip leader at the end of day one B is a guy from Norway I haven't heard of. But the guy second in chips Sammy Farha, who spent most of the first day at the TV table. The day truly did play faster, as you notice from the fact that today's chip leader (and Farha) will enter day two with more chips than day one A chip leader Lee Watkinson. Here is a list of the top ten chip leaders from Day one B, and a list of some of the notables who managed to survive day one B.

Haakon Waerstad $169,200
Sam Farha $156,600
Graeme Harrison $142,700
Jeffrey Dziedzic $136,450
Brad Kondracki $131,825
Carmel Petresco $111,900
David Rudling $111,100
Joe Connor $106,975
David "Chino" Rheem $100,175
Scott Lazar $95,825
Olga Varkonyi $80,700
J.C. Tran $68,150
Paul 'X-22' Magriel $64,125
Dutch Boyd $55,550
Young Phan $51,325
Paul Wolfe $48,250
Barry Shulman $46,600
Amir Vahedi $43,975
Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi $37,200
Chip Reese $30,200
Joe Beevers $29,800
Adam Schoenfeld $28,875
Steve Day $26,350
Rafe Furst $20,600
Dan Harrington $20,575
Chris Karagolleyan $19,350
Peter Costa $18,650
Mimi Tran $17,700
Allyn Jaffrey Shulman $16,525
David Sklansky $9,850
Chris Moneymaker $7,575

Today should be an interesting day, as we still have yet to see many top players like Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and many others try to make their mark on the 2005 WSOP main event. See you tomorrow.

While still not manageable, the field of 1,864 players that remained as we began day two of the main event of the WSOP did fit into one single room, and for the first time since the event began, we started to see s glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel.

Indeed, the way the day began, you really wondered if we would make it to Friday, or if we could squeeze this thing into four days. Players were busting out left, right, and center, and for a moment, it appeared we might actually get to the money tonight.

Early casualties included Gus Hansen, who lasted less than 15 minutes, and 2003 World Champ Chris Moneymaker, who made it about an hour further. Other notable bustouts included Dan Harrington, David Sklansky, Barry Shulman, Shannon Elizabeth, Gavin Griffin, Huck Seed, Amir Vahedi, Marcel Luske, PGA golfer Rocco Mediate, Mimi Tran, and a cast of a thousand (really).

For the early part of the day, the room was calm, and as usual the loudest sound you heard was the constant chip chatter. Not the chatter of the players holding the chips, but the sound of the chips being shuffled, riffled, and otherwise handled.

Soon enough, an unfortunate thing began to happen. After a relatively calm day, a couple players started shouting things when they won pots, were dodging draws, doubling up, etc. Of course, the TV crews would flock to these players to film them, and create some 'good TV'. This only resulted in more players doing more dumb stuff. Suddenly, there were players standing on chairs, pounding their chests, and shouting any number of silly things, and all the while the cameras came running.

I would like to make a suggestion for next years WSOP (and all TV tournaments, for that matter). I suggest we enact what I would call the "Johnny Knoxville Rule" for future tournaments. The "Johnny Knoxville Rule" states that any player who acts like a Jackass to get on TV gets a 15 minute penalty - purely at the Tournament Director's discretion.

Back to the poker, though, and I saw as much of it as I could today. I saw a player eliminated by runner runner quads. I saw another player call for all his chips with a hand that couldn't beat the board (his opponent had the nuts). I saw a man wearing a Sesame Street character head. On several occasions, I saw deals being cut with players who had a lot of chips where they came back from a break adorned in tons of gear from an online poker room that they may not have even heard of 30 minutes prior.

All in all, we had some great poker today, and I am really looking forward to tomorrow, where I will actually be able to cover the tournament. Trying to keep track of players at 190 tables is officially impossible. But, now we are down to a manageable 569 players (only nine from the money), and somewhere in the neighborhood of 65 tables. The players will play hand for hand play until they get down to the money. Unfortunately, that will take some time. But, after we make the money, players will fly out the door, and it wouldn't surprise me to be somewhere in the 200-250 player mark at the end of today.

There are still some name players in the field, and it appears we may have a new name on our hands. Lots of unknown players at the top of the chip count ladder, and I guarantee each one of them went to bed with dreams of grandeur. There is still a long way to go, however, and any predictions of greatness are extremely premature. Below are the top 20 chip counts (including Greg Raymer making a run at back to back glory, and Olga Varkoni trying to make it two Varkonis in four years), plus notables. See you tomorrow.

Rod Pardey Jr Las Vegas, NV $464,000
James Pollack Charlotte, NC $447,500
Tim Phan Westminster, CA $445,500
Bryan Stellwagen Huntington, NY $377,200
Bob Hotchandani Belize $372,700
Lee Watkinson Cheney, WA $336,800
Jon Lane Osh Kosh, WI $331,800
Russ Salzer New York $326,000
Greg "Fossilman" Raymer Stonington, CT $318,700
Yakov Hirsch Brooklyn, NY $318,100
Hunter Pappas Birmingham, AL $314,300
Klaus Agesen Aarhus $307,000
Kevin Mason Weehawken, NJ $297,400
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi Hollywood, FL $294,800
Jim Pittman Yorba Linda $289,200
Graeme Harrison Penicuik, Near Edinburgh $281,500
Daniel Bergsdorf Umea $278,600
Willy-Will' Failla Commack, NY $278,500
Jeffrey Dziedzic Stewartsville, NS $275,400
'Minneapolis' Jim Meehan Palos Verdes, CA $211,900
Olga Varkonyi Great Neck, NY $209,500
Jason Lester Miami, FL $208,700
Layne Flack Las Vegas, NV $188,100
JC Tran Sacramento, CA $178,800
Sam Farha Houston, TX $173,600
Hung La Manhattan Beach, CA $161,600
Kenna James Los Angeles, CA $152,800
Paul L. Darden Jr. Hamden, CT $144,000
John Juanda Marina Del Rey, CA $141,100
Joe 'The Elegance' Beevers Hendon, London $128,800
Howard Lederer Las Vegas, NV $127,800
Mike Matusow Las Vegas, NV $120,100
Jim Feist Las Vegas, NV $108,700
Dutch Boyd Las Vegas, NV $103,800
Carl Olson Seattle, WA $96,900
Phil Ivey Las Vegas, NV $89,600
Gavin Smith Las Vegas, NV $84,900
David Plastik Las Vegas, NV $65,100
Clowie Gowen Dallas, TX $64,400
Kirill Gerasimov Moscow, Russia $63,700
C K Hua Rosemead, CA $58,800
Barbara Enright Los Angeles, CA $44,400
Amir 'Papa' Esfandiary San Jose, CA $38,700
Bob Ciaffone Saginaw, MI $34,600
Young Phan Irvine, CA $17,300

When people look to learn the game they have several options. A player can buy a book or a DVD for tutorials, but if they are really committed to learning the game they might consider attending a poker camp like Camp Hellmuth or one of the WPT Boot Camps.

At the camps, players benefit from the personal instruction and their choice of software which helps players understand and improve upon the weaknesses in their game. The two camps have selected Poker Academy software as their training tool.

Poker Academy is one of the leading poker software developers. It has incorporated 10 years of groundbreaking artificial intelligence programming. Its selection by the professional's camps gives the companies credibility in a tough field.

Both camps give the software glowing reviews. "We are very pleased to have Poker Academy on board with Camp Hellmuth and believe that attendees will greatly benefit from the software. After testing many Texas Hold'em software programs, we were convinced that Poker Academy software was the most powerful and practical learning tool on the market," said Camp Hellmuth producer Jeff Goldenberg.

WPT is equally happy with Poker Academy's technology. "Our students will take what they learn in the classroom and then go home and practice using the Poker Academy's Texas Hold'em software. We think Poker Academy will help turn their academic knowledge into practical experience," said WPT president, Ron Reubens.

According to Kurt Lange, president of Poker Academy, everyone can benefit from the software. "Our mission is to help players learn at any level. We feel our software is a great compliment to this endeavor. The artificial intelligence in our software is designed to think like humans, to adapt and improve as the player improves. That's why our training tool will always be fun and challenging to play, and serve as an asset in learning to compete in real-world casinos, tournaments, and online poker rooms."

Poker Academy's software endorsement doesn't stop with the camp either. The company's programs are being used by Lehigh University, one of the United States top learning institutions. Poker Academy recently donated $13,000 worth of software to the university so students could use the technology for computer science and engineering classes and research projects.

According to Hector Munoz-Avila, his students benefit from the use of the program during his "Artificial Intelligence: Game Programming" course. Students in the class study and create algorithms, which are methods of encoding programs that tell computers how to fix problems.

Take heart, if you can't afford to go to a prestigious university or attend a professionally-run camp, you can still get in on the educational action. For a mere $129 dollars a player can download the latest version of the software from Poker Academy's online site, poker-academy.com.

To continue my discussion of how long it is acceptable to wait before acting with the best possible hand I will mention a hand that I was involved in that is bad, but not quite as bad as the one talked about in the previous column. At the 2003 WSOP I was the chip leader in the 5000 buy-in no-limit holdem tournament with about 48 players left with about 55,000 in chips and second place in chips having only about 28,000 when the following hand came up. Now I may not have every detail exactly right but the essential nature of what happened relative to hands, chips, and the positions of players is correct.

We were playing nine handed at 300-600 blinds with an ante of 75. The under the gun player limped from a stack of about 4500, the next player limped from a stack of 11,000, the next player limped from a stack of 23,000, and two more players limped from stacks of about 18,000, the little blind called and I looked down to happily find KK in the big blind. I calculated the pot to have more than 4800 in it and I raised 5000. The raise is one which claims the pot and anyone contesting it will likely have to risk all their chips. It is a reasonable raise but quite large for these blinds and may indicate a wide range of hands as with 55,000 in front of me I can take some risks and represent a big hand without having one.

The first two players pass and I imagine that I am home free, although someone with a hand like AQ suited may call me and get lucky at some point in the hand. In big-bet holdem it is not unusual for one of the first two players to limp in with AA, but the only player I ever saw limp in third with Aces in big-bet was in the eighties when I played a cash game in Reno with a young guy named Phil Hellmuth. I have told the story of this hand many times to illustrate how badly one can play AA and perhaps we will get to it another time... In his defense he was in his early twenties and surely not as arrogant as he later became.

So this player, not famous, but not unknown either, goes into a very long think. Finally someone else at the table calls for the clock. The clock arrives and he raises me 5000 more (leaving himself a little less than 13,000 in chips). I happily move all-in, sure that he has QQ or JJ and then almost fall out of my chair when he turns over AA. It comes 10 high and I lose the hand, and in fact, do not even make the money(!) although I am still well above average after the hand.

This one is more understandable and although not as egregious as the Greenstein-Trumper hand it is still plenty bad enough. At some point bad acting becomes an insult but it is not easy to decide at exactly what point that becomes true.

Okay we will move on to some comments relating to strategy.

KJ suited is a hand that has a lot of value against weak and wild opponents in limit holdem, but is a death trap against tight or good opponents. It amazed me that a recent column in a national publication talked about the various ways that one could lose less with the hand after you began by calling a raise before the flop with the hand against a tough opponent! There is most certainly a way to save those bets—don't play the hand in the first place. This is a hand that will require good judgment after the flop. If you doubt your own ability to determine where you are, or lack the experience to be comfortable making this judgment, do not put yourself in this position. It is simple—you do not have to play the hand! There are three ways to play the hand— 1) behind weakness, rather the player[s] ahead have limped in or raised unbelievably 2) first in with a raise, and 3) as a volume hand (where ideally all the other players take the flop for one bet).

In no-limit holdem the vulnerability of many hands that have value in limit holdem are brought to light. KJ suited is just one of many hands with which you are more likely to lose a big pot than win one. Some of the other hands that play poorly in no-limit are KQ (suited or not), AJ (suited or not), and AQ off-suit behind a raise. There are two reasons for this—1) the potential matchups versus an opponent that shows strength in a pot are usually not favorable, and 2) the odds you receive in a drawing game like limit holdem are usually not there. We will illustrate this further.

The first time you turn over AQ and are against AK, AA, KK, QQ, or even JJ, 10-10, or 9-9 you will feel your hopes reduced to prayers rather quickly. Unless the holdem gods are with you your days are likely numbered. This is even more likely if you hold AJ. Understanding at what stage of the tournament it is acceptable to play such hands is also important as you read about these very same hands at critical moments.

At least with AQ off-suit or AJ suited you are likely to forgive yourself but the first time you turn over KQ off-suit or KJ suited and are against AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, or AQ you will feel not only vulnerable, but stupid. This is not a good feeling.

Secondly the math of poker pots gives immediate direction to the correctness of any call, which is obvious when you stop and think about it. As an example, in limit holdem the pot may have 210 in it and when you bet or call 30 more on the flop you are often getting good odds to draw while trying to complete a hand, but in no-limit holdem you might be facing a bet of 210 or more in the same situation, and now getting 2 to 1 instead of 7 to 1 many draws are no longer sensible. Furthermore this extends to the next street so that while you may continue to get proper odds on your initial decision in your limit game it may become way too expensive to continue to draw in the no-limit game. In many situations in no-limit your draw is for only one more card, not for all remaining streets, this quickly changes the true odds for all drawing hands.

Until next time play good...and get lucky!

At the beginning if the day, 568 players showed up at the Rio with the dream of being a world champion. In addition to their dream, they also knew that eight players would be leaving today with nothing. The tournament had ended the night before missing the money by only eight places, and there were going to be some really nervous people with short stacks sweating out the first hour and a half or so, hoping that their number would not be 561.

The play was painfully slow near the bubble, as play went hand for hand (in hand for hand play - each table must complete their hand before ANY table can start a new hand. This is designed to prevent stalling, and gaining an advantage by playing fewer hands at any given table). We lost three people in the first two hands, so with 65 tables in play, you figured hand for hand play would come to an end fairly quickly. For the next hour and ten minutes, we only lost four more people, and this was a process as slow and plodding as you could possibly imagine.

Finally, we had our bubble boy. Carl Ygborn was busted with about 40 minutes left in the first level of play, and the room erupted in applause. You had to feel sorry for Carl, as he was in the far corner of the room, and had to walk through a room of 560 other players, who were all clapping, shaking hands, and jumping up and down, knowing the worst they could do was $12,500. Carl made his walk with class, and in the middle of his walk was interrupted by Tournament Director Johnny Grooms, who informed him that as a token of appreciation, Carl would be given a free entry into the 2006 WSOP, courtesy of Harrah's. This was a nice gesture for a guy who had to endure a walk that must have felt like the longest walk of his life.

The next two hours were filled with the sounds of dealers yelling "All in, and call" as all the players who had been holding on to make the money threw their remaining chips in at a blistering pace, and we were back to losing two players a minute. Losing two players a minute when you have 200 tables is one thing, but when you are down to 40 tables, and its still happening, it is a sight to see.

This is the new world of internet fed, big bet poker, and its no wonder that the players who want to play small pots are getting forced into making decisions they don't want to make. Players are moving in preflop with 25 big blinds in their stack, over betting pots, and playing the kind of poker seen more and more these days.

Apparently, one player who is very well suited to play in this environment is Greg Raymer. The defending champ is our chip leader. Before you start thinking back to back, consider this. There are still three full days of poker to be played, and I think even Greg is probably still trying to fight those thoughts. Just for fun, I will say this now. If Greg Raymer repeats, it will be the greatest accomplishment in the history of the game, times five.

We started this day with 568 players, and seven went home miserable. We ended this day with 185 players, and all of them are guaranteed at least $39,075. Notable players that bit the dust today included Sam Farha, Layne Flack, "Minneapolis" Jim Meehan, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, Barbara Enright, Kirill Gerasimov (who wins the bad beat of the day award for having his Aces cracked by Kings for a huge pot, and all his money), Clonie Gowan, Gavin Smith, and Young Phan.

Besides Raymer, a few notables such as Phil Ivey (currently 7th in chips), Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow, Can Kim Hua, John Juanda, Kenna James, Lee Watkinson, Joe Beevers, and Paul Darden all still have a chance. Today will be the real moving day, where the huge stacks set themselves up for a run, and the ones who can't hang on will go home. Complete chip counts are below. See you tomorrow.

Greg "Fossil Man" Raymer $1,064,000 in chips
Rodney Pardey Jr. $1,041,000
Brad Kondracki $962,500
Johnny Howard $910,500
Bob Larsen $796,500
Tim Phan $746,000
Phil Ivey $722,500
Steve Marx $679,500
S Bartholomew $659,000
Gabe Wells $655,500
Bryan Stelbuger $648,500
Oskar Silow $638,000
Bob Hotchandani $627,500
Raymi Sanchez Thorn $595,500
Manelic Minaya $594,500
Tex Barch $590,000
Jon Lane $585,000
James Ocson $583,000
David Bergsdorf $579,500
Tom Sartori $574,500
James Pollack $557,500
Karlo Lopez $556,500
Terry Burt $550,500
Joe Berry $542,500
James Buff $542,500
Minh Ly $530,250
Casper Christensen $525,500
Thomas A Roupe $525,000
Gregory Rice $523,000
Aaron Kanter $503,500
Howard Lederer $496,500
Matt Fitzpatrick $490,500
Randal Brooks $490,000
Jon Kalmar $469,500
Hung La $467,000
Nick Gibson $466,000
Nani Awad $460,500
Hunter Pappas $455,500
Mike Matusow $454,000
Sean Daulat $452,500
John McGrane $452,500
Nani Dollison $448,500
Tiffany Williamson $441,000
Mark Forrester $440,000
Yomtov Shabot $427,000
Samir Shakhtoor $414,000
Russell Salzer $412,500
Chris Short $411,500
Can Hua $404,000
Krystal Nelson $395,000
Espen Saltnes $388,000
Marcello Del Grosso $386,500
Kevin Kim $384,500
George Kelly Dickson $377,000
Scott Numoto $376,500
Larry Prugh $372,500
Carmen Menechella $370,000
Russ Hamilton $365,000
John Juanda $354,000
Jose M Rodriguez $352,500
Nick Camarts $348,500
Ron Ware $345,000
David Plastik $342,500
Franklin Caldwell $339,000
Alex Morales $337,500
Sarah Bilney $332,500
Bobby Law $325,500
Jarl Lindholt Joergensen $320,500
Yakov Hirsch $316,500
Tuan Vu $316,500
Chris Drozdowski $315,000
Tom Shaneberger $309,000
Michael Kessler $297,500
Roland Israelashvizi $289,000
Kenna James $287,500
Michael Cribb $282,500
Rafael "Ralph" Perry $282,000
Daniel Shak $280,500
Jason Lester $280,000
Jason Kaplan $274,500
Bing Wang $272,500
Gen Watamabe $271,000
David Richardson $269,500
Terry Myers $269,000
Bjorn Lindenberg $265,500
Tony Pirone $265,500
Patrick Madden $265,000
Paul Vicary $265,000
Scott Lazar $264,500
Niklas Flisberg $260,000
Robert Turner $260,000
Darryl Tennefos $259,500
JC Tran $259,500
Andrew Black $257,000
Bryant King $253,500
Kevin McCarthy $251,000
Joe Stillman $249,500
Joe Simmons $245,000
Shahram Sheikhan $243,000
Paul Mannetta $240,000
Tony Abesamis $237,500
Francis W O'Brien $234,000
Patrick Hayden $233,000
Joseph Hachem $231,000
Erick Richardson $227,000
Josh Prager $225,000
Mark Cole $224,500
Joe Connor $224,000
Mitchell Klein $219,500
Daniel Alaei $219,000
Alan Singer $217,000
Jack Ward $207,500
Webber Kang $206,300
Kevin Wright $202,000
Richard Lapwood $202,000
Richard Kirsch $200,500
Conor Tate $200,000
Dennis Savelkoul $197,500
Anthony Laughing, Jr $192,500
Kelly Zoudo $192,500
Dmitriy Eidelman $189,500
David Steirman $181,500
Lee Watkinson $181,000
Joe Toth $180,500
Stephen Deetz $180,000
Derek Dix $178,500
Joseph Chiosie $178,000
Anthony Hill $173,000
Joe Beevers $173,000
Louie Calvo $170,500
Vadim Shlez $170,500
Louis Lo $169,500
Michaey Leahy $169,000
Adam Friedman $166,000
Dietrich Alex $159,500
Cliff Cantor $159,000
Radu Butan $158,500
Mark Graves $154,000
Mike May $153,500
Kit Phaphon $150,500
Jake Minter $146,500
Glyn Banks $144,500
Bernard Lee $143,000
Peter Hedlund $141,500
Mehrdad Yousefzadeh $136,500
Kevin O'Brien $136,500
Tom Koral $132,000
Steven Dannenmann, CPA $131,000
Per Hildebrand $131,000
Farzad Bonyadi $129,500
Dustin "Neverwin" Woolf $127,000
Tom Pniak $126,500
Alejandro Pachero $126,500
Chris Podlewski $126,000
Babak Rozi $123,000
Kevin Kaikko $122,000
Mark Tenner $112,000
Paul Fisher $110,000
Ayhan Alsancak $109,500
Mark Bryan $109,000
Amit Sander $109,000
Michael P Mollay $104,500
Kjetil Praesttun $102,000
Tom Clark $94,500
Dutch Boyd $92,000
Joe Leibman $88,000
Sean Blanton $87,000
Adam Brosius $86,500
John R "TBR" Brown $85,500
Joseph Vannata $84,500
Matt Fitzgerald $81,500
Michael Capener $80,000
George Thomas Huber $73,000
Doug Gehring $73,000
Martin Cedercrantz $71,500
Frank Hernandez $67,000
Jon Hoellein $63,500
Mike Wattel $62,500
Paul L Darden, Jr. $60,000
Jeffrey Geiger $48,000
Tom Drotleff $41,500
Brett Wiesner $36,000
Ed Pellegrini $23,500
John McLaughlin $16,500
Imad Samouna $7,400

2005 WSOP Main Event List of Finishers

Here is a complete list of the people who have made the money, their final finishing order, and the amount of money they made. At the end of day three, 185 players remain alive, and all of their names can be found in the day three recap.

186th place James Barber $39,075
187. Cliff Pappas $39,075
188. Gregory Fondacaro $39,075
189. Joel Merwick $39,075
190. Daniel Quach $39,075
191. James Peero $39,075
192. Phoung D Tran $39,075
193. David Rheem $39,075
194. Layne Flack $39,075
195. James Meehan $39,075
196. Denis Ethier $39,075
197. Gang Huang $39,075
198. Jani Sointula $39,075
199. Ross Mallor $39,075
200. Andreas Oskarsson $39,075
201. David Silverman $33,197
202. Neil Channing $33,197
203. Per Mikael Hogbom $33,197
204. Christopher Bush $33,197
205. Chris Stull $33,197
206. Tuyen Luong $33,197
207. Joshua Ewing $33,197
208. Jefferey Taylor $33,197
209. Daniel Burns $33,197
210. Samuel Ling $33,197
211. Graeme Harrison $33,197
212. Dennis Orr $33,197
213. Leandro Alvarez $33,197
214. James Pittman $33,197
215. Renee Wexler $33,197
216. Scott Bohlman $33,197
217. Edgar Skjervold $33,197
218. Jenes Voertmann $33,197
219. Garry Bush $33,197
220. Aaron Kline $33,197
221. Thomas Vinas $33,197
222. Mark Napolitano $33,197
223. Sarah Casey $33,197
224. Alen Patatanyan $33,197
225. Eric Mifune $33,197
226. Thomas Madsen $33,197
227. Daniel Grolemund $33,197
228. Jesse Martin $33,197
229. Salvadore Cataldo $33,197
230. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi $33,197
231. Michael Davis $28,375
232. Chris Leggett $28,375
233. Rehne Pederson $28,375
234. Emanuel Failla $28,375
235. John Falconer $28,375
236. Mats Rahmn $28,375
237. Michael O'Malley $28,375
238. Olga Varkonyi $28,375
239. Daniel Cormier $28,375
240. Michael W Chow $28,375
241. Edouart Cardona $28,375
242. Joseph Chee $28,375
243. Jesus Abreu $28,375
244. Gregory D Blau $28,375
245. Shun Tang Tsai $28,375
246. David Icke $28,375
247. John Roh $28,375
248. Martin Morales $28,375
249. William Borsellino $28,375
250. Ugur Mehmet Marmangoz $28,375
251. Jack Eachus $28,375
252. Sol Bergren $28,375
253. Patrick Poels $28,375
254. Thomas Lock $28,375
255. Dat Thien Ly $28,375
256. Harry Varisco $28,375
257. David Claiborne $28,375
258. Norbert Holeting $28,375
259. John Hutchinson $28,375
260. Hung M Tran $28,375
261. Corlan China $24,365
262. Kevin M Mason $24,365
263. Carl Olson $24,365
264. Alan Colon $24,365
265. Barry Neville $24,365
266. Anders Rosander $24,365
267. Eamon Grimes $24,365
268. Nathan Kent $24,365
269. Stephen Allen $24,365
270. William McKinney $24,365
271. Anthony Argila $24,365
272. Marcello Colosimo $24,365
273. Champie Douglas $24,365
274. Jean-Philippe Piquette $24,365
275. Pete Lawson $24,365
276. Robert Ciaffone $24,365
277. Douglas Morgan $24,365
278. William Mkamarek $24,365
279. James Jordan Jr $24,365
280. Leonard Feinzoig $24,365
281. Russell Prentice $24,365
282. Anahit Galajian $24,365
283. Robert Fikac $24,365
284. Eric Miller $24,365
285. Ryan Del Porter $24,365
286. Barbara Enright $24,365
287. Yong In Pak $24,365
288. Andrew Parker $24,365
289. John Parker $24,365
290. David Zeitlan $24,365
291. Jerri Thomas $24,365
292. Peter Campo $24,365
293. Farzad Rouhani $24,365
294. Andrew Barrett $24,365
295. Christopher Hamlyn $24,365
296. Iwan Jones $24,365
297. John Letts $24,365
298. Jay Goldenberg $24,365
299. William Frymer $24,365
300. Klaus Agesen $24,365
301. Paul Zimbler $21,070
302. Corey Cheresnick $21,070
303. David Mogard $21,070
304. Michael Lesle $21,070
305. Aram Zerounian $21,070
306. Tim Gillig $21,070
307. Robert Chasen $21,070
308. Laurent Wigniec $21,070
309. Daniel Sallam $21,070
310. Jason Akau $21,070
311. James Sabinas $21,070
312. Jeffrey Flannery $21,070
313. Kirk Schnerder $21,070
314. Hakan Waerstad $21,070
315. Michael W Deubel $21,070
316. Sammy Farha $21,070
317. Thuan Hu Bui $21,070
318. Duncan Bell $21,070
319. Kenneth Gregerson $21,070
320. Phillip Campbell $21,070
321. David Hickman $21,070
322. Jon Smith $21,070
323. Richard Lowe $21,070
324. Robert O'Brien $21,070
325. Anthony Williams $21,070
326. Matthew Turner $21,070
327. Jared Gilpin $21,070
328. Adam Joens $21,070
329. William Derrick $21,070
330. Jon Finkel $21,070
331. Russell Barnes $21,070
332. Matthew Hilger $21,070
333. Brad Opsahl $21,070
334. Andrew Neister $21,070
335. Gregory Arnold $21,070
336. Clint Kreitzmeier $21,070
337. Sunny Camper $21,070
338. Frank "Spike" Ballas $21,070
339. Daniel Clegg $21,070
340. Jonah Seewald $21,070
341. Kaway Cheung $21,070
342. Hilbery Shirey $21,070
343. Andrew Wynn $21,070
344. Raymond Yee $21,070
345. Alexander Jagdick $21,070
346. Barry Schwartz $21,070
347. Brian Decatur $21,070
348. Steve Hohn $21,070
349. Fred Badger $21,070
350. Robera Alexander $21,070
351. Joe Capps $18,335
352. Gary Friedlander $18,335
353. Louis Werman $18,335
354. Tuan Ly $18,335
355. Thomas Hammers $18,335
356. Anthony O'Hagan $18,335
357. Mark Galasso $18,335
358. Mark McNamara $18,335
359. Keith Donais $18,335
360. Robert Pearson $18,335
361. Laith Salem $18,335
362. Lee Budin $18,335
363. Stephen Dunphy $18,335
364. Richard Cohen $18,335
365. Michael Reed $18,335
366. Derek Van Damme $18,335
367. Eugene Malatesta $18,335
368. Jose Rabledo $18,335
369. Grant Sbrocco $18,335
370. Richard Tomman $18,335
371. Amir Esfandiary $18,335
372. Bo Sehlstedt $18,335
373. David Cleveland $18,335
374. Cameron Hamilton $18,335
375. Kalee Tan $18,335
376. Craig Crivello $18,335
377. Charlie Morris $18,335
378. Karle Wilson $18,335
379. Kerry Petre $18,335
380. James Overman $18,335
381. Joseph Shaffer $18,335
382. Jeffery Gilroy $18,335
383. Alex George $18,335
384. Matthew Overstreet $18,335
385. Christian Gartner $18,335
386. Daniel Gray $18,335
387. Dalton Polasek, Jr $18,335
388. Tracy Scala $18,335
389. Esther C Rossi $18,335
390. Evan Schwartz $18,335
391. Josef Monro $18,335
392. Bradley M Helm $18,335
393. Conrad Stratton $18,335
394. Christopher Lorenzo $18,335
395. Dennis Longoria $18,335
396. Douglas Carlie $18,335
397. Joe Didonato $18,335
398. Kelly Koon $18,335
399. David Arnold $18,335
400. Stephen Rodenbeck $18,335
401. Michael Murphy $16,055
402. Matthew Parvis $16,055
403. Oliver Fink $16,055
404. Ryan Hughes $16,055
405. Chad Moore $16,055
406. James Feist $16,055
407. CarrolHansen $16,055
408. Justin Yu $16,055
409. Matt Vogel $16,055
410. Michael O'Sullivan $16,055
411. Jason Seitz $16,055
412. Stanley Boralskey $16,055
413. Harold Fitzpatrick $16,055
414. Louis Alderton $16,055
415. Yaron Wasserman $16,055
416. Janathon Shecter $16,055
417. Larry Collins $16,055
418. Michael Padilla $16,055
419. Scott Glaze $16,055
420. Thierry Mulin $16,055
421. John William Hopkins $16,055
422. Michael Davis $16,055
423. Nikhil Persaud $16,055
424. Bruno Pisa $16,055
425. Chris Grove $16,055
426. Matthew Szymaszek $16,055
427. Anthony Fagan $16,055
428. Justin Budwey $16,055
429. Hooman Nikzad $16,055
430. Franco Brunetti $16,055
431. Mike Russell II $16,055
432. John Harrington $16,055
433. Tom Peterson $16,055
434. Robert Jarrett $16,055
435. Jason Levine $16,055
436. Tai C Tran $16,055
437. Kevin Shackelford $16,055
438. Salvatore Calandra $16,055
439. Michael Collins Jr $16,055
440. Christopher Smith $16,055
441. Sergey Feklisov $16,055
442. Casey McCarre $16,055
443. Casey Peters $16,055
444. Kirill Gerasimov $16,055
445. Richard Lester $16,055
446. Mark Hylden $16,055
447. Jeff Dziedzic $16,055
448. Ryan McKinney $16,055
449. Henning Frick $16,055
450. Nicholas Venetia $16,055
451. Adan Naglich $14,135
452. Spencer Thomson $14,135
453. Pat McCann $14,135
454. Matthew Paucher $14,135
455. Michael Vitullo $14,135
456. Tuan Nguyen $14,135
457. Michael Ewals $14,135
458. Todd Bourgacelt $14,135
459. Clonie Gowen $14,135
460. Sean Walter $14,135
461. Quan Tran $14,135
462. Raymond Hanson $14,135
463. Michael Soares $14,135
464. Rueben Peters $14,135
465. Stephen Docter $14,135
466. Juan Raveto $14,135
467. Roger Tichenor $14,135
468. Bradley Craig $14,135
469. Jason Fadness $14,135
470. Charles Waddalena $14,135
471. Gavin Smith $14,135
472. Robert Norberg $14,135
473. Doug Briggs $14,135
474. Allan Rippinger $14,135
475. James Goldstein $14,135
476. Matt Dean $14,135
477. Mitch Schock $14,135
478. Thomas Schreiber $14,135
479. Tyrone Zinman $14,135
480. Howard Mash $14,135
481. Matt Hawrilenko $14,135
482. Jeremiah Vinsant $14,135
483. Bruce Rawdin $14,135
484. Brian Haveson $14,135
485. Kevin Lazzaro $14,135
486. Steven Tague $14,135
487. Francis Harris $14,135
488. Ryan Wimmers $14,135
489. Jean Harlan $14,135
490. Gary Margadonna $14,135
491. Erez Savion $14,135
492. Igor Yanovsky $14,135
493. Jimmy Blevins $14,135
494. Derek LeForte $14,135
495. Grant Rist $14,135
496. Christos Psillas $14,135
497. Jonas Lindlof $14,135
498. Theodore Park $14,135
499. Eduard Scharf $14,135
500. William Walter $14,135
501. Robert Jones $12,500
502. Biagio Desantis $12,500
503. K Angeloudis $12,500
504. Meng La $12,500
505. Berad Rygol $12,500
506. Manuel Sanchez $12,500
507. Corey Mandell $12,500
508. Russell Mohr $12,500
509. Jeffrey Kanow $12,500
510. Sassoon Gavrji $12,500
511. Young Kane $12,500
512. Jordan Marinov $12,500
513. Bruce Hardman $12,500
514. William Flachsbart $12,500
515. Reagan Silber $12,500
516. Matthew Kagan $12,500
517. Ken Justin $12,500
518. Guy Calvert $12,500
519. Bill Phipps $12,500
520. Andrew Prock $12,500
521. Elton Beebe $12,500
522. Panayote Vilandos $12,500
523. Austin Moody $12,500
524. Steven Goldberg $12,500
525. Mike Lawrence $12,500
526. Charles Wey $12,500
527. David Rubia $12,500
528. William Beasely $12,500
529. Scott Clements $12,500
530. Robert Atkinson $12,500
531. John Ward $12,500
532. Yan Neiman $12,500
533. Kevin Betsill $12,500
534. Martin Foth $12,500
535. Chris Bane $12,500
536. Troy Wallace $12,500
537. Daniel Piccioli $12,500
538. Vincent Favorito $12,500
539. James Courtney $12,500
540. John Bae $12,500
541. Lee Ford $12,500
542. Sarne Lightman $12,500
543. Thomas Stanek $12,500
544. Young Phan $12,500
545. Oliver Monteaux $12,500
546. David Taylor $12,500
547. Nicholas Matala $12,500
548. Jalae Henson $12,500
549. Larry McFehee $12,500
550. William Bostley $12,500
551. Duc Nguyen $12,500
552. Andre Fridll $12,500
553. Robert Gentile $12,500
554. Nadav Ravid $12,500
555. Donald Delancy $12,500
556. Robert John Kacher $12,500
557. Sergey Khromov $12,500
558. David Anderson $12,500
559. Martin Laliberte $12,500
560. Frederick Brown $12,500

Staying busy, and staying focused, is something I admire greatly. One of my college basketball coaches once told me, "Al, you've got to be mentally tough to excel at this game, you gotta focus, man." Alas, he may have been picking up on one of my weaknesses - staying "in the moment" long enough to make excellent decisions. Poker players learn to do this, or they learn to flip burgers.

In the 1970's, every one of the $10,000 World Series of Poker Champions came from the south, and most of those were from Texas. It must have been something in the water down there. Like Doyle Brunson, Sailor Roberts and Jack Straus, Bobby Hoff was a college athlete in the 1950's. Fresh out of Victoria, Texas, Bobby won a golf scholarship to play for the University of Texas in 1958, but like his fellow Texans, he found that poker was easy - and lucrative. And like so many other players, he was certain that he was a terrific poker player. Golf fell by the wayside.

Bobby realized he wasn't quite as good a poker player when he stepped foot off the University, and when his winnings were gone, he got a job as a dealer in a local casino. Each night when his shift ended, Hoff would find a poker game and play until he was exhausted, or his bankroll was.

After reading Edward O. Thorpe's book, Beat The Dealer, Bobby and a friend started playing blackjack. They learned the 10-count, and watched as their bankroll rose and fell at the whim of the cards. One night that bankroll reached $10,000, but by morning, Bobby was drunk, busted and disgusted. The same thing happened a few months later in Reno. Up, down, way up - busted.

It's a hard life, living on gambling winnings, especially if you have a compulsive nature. Bobby was able to save some serious money after he forming a blackjack team with a well-staked player from Corpus Christi, Texas. After nearly five years of play, the team found it all but impossible to get a decent game in Las Vegas (or even Reno or Lake Tahoe), without getting shuffled-up on or being barred.

The Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas had just put in a poker room, and Bobby began playing seriously again. He ran into some of the better players of the time, and eventually his six-figure bankroll was just a faded memory. Fortunately, his best friend, Sailor Roberts, staked him in other poker games, and Hoff began to beat the local pros.

The games were good, if you didn't mind sitting at the table with players like Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss or Puggy Pearson. Since the early 1960's there had been an exodus of top pros to Las Vegas (ever since Felton "Corky" McCorquodale introduced the game of hold'em there), but W. C. Fields may have had a premonition about the games when he said, "Never give a sucker an even break," and there were plenty of suckers in those games.

Poker author and professional player Bob Ciaffone, calls Bobby Baldwin "brilliant, a pure player, very polished," and while Hoff says he learned a lot about poker from Doyle and Sailor, but he calls Bobby Baldwin the best no-limit player he ever saw. Baldwin was coming off a win in the championship of the 1978 World Series of Poker when the 1979 series started. After three days of play, the field was reduced to just eight players: former champions Johnny Moss and Bobby Baldwin; and challengers Crandall Addington, Hal Fowler, George Huber, Sam Moon, Sam Petrillo, and Bobby Hoff.

Hal Fowler was the short stack, but it was Baldwin who left the final table first when he flopped a set of eights only to be beaten on the river by trip aces held by Sam Moon. That hand set the mood for things to come.

A quiet public relations expert from Los Angeles, Hal Fowler, began accumulating chips at an alarming rate. His runner-runner flush draw took down a pot; his baby pocket pair tripped on the flop and won; his ace-10 held up for high hand. It was a rush that had started three days earlier.

By the time the play was heads-up, Fowler was taking Valiums like candy, and he was certainly relaxed. He and Bobby Hoff fought for over ten hours, the lead changing subtly every hour or so. Two hands stand out in Hoff's mind from the dogfight. The first saw him with a chip-lead of about $150,000 when he got Fowler all-in with a pair of jacks to Hoff's queens. However, a river king paired Fowler's kicker and won him the pot.

Later, Hoff made a preflop raise with pocket aces. Fowler called with 7-6 offsuit. The flop was jack-three-five, giving Hoff top pair, and he bet half his stack. It wasn't enough to scare off Fowler, however, and when a gut-shot four hit the turn, he took down the rest of Hoff's chips and won the championship.

Bobby found no solace in his prize money of $108,000, and his quest for a gold bracelet still haunts him. He finished 25th in the 1993 $10,000 WSOP final, sandwiched between Chip Reese and Mike Sexton, but his 1979 second-place finish remains his best WSOP performance.

There have been plenty good days since then, and The Wizard continues to play poker in Los Angles and at tournaments across the country. The next time I see him on television, I hope it is as the final player standing at his most recent tournament.