Just Poker Talk

• 2008 World Series of Poker Dates Announced

Harrah’s Entertainment has announced the 2008 dates for the World Series of Poker. The WSOP for 2008 will be held starting May 30th, 2008 and continue with over 50 separate events through the conclusion of the Main Event on July 17th, 2008. Once again the WSOP will be held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Exact dates for the specific events have not yet been determined according to WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

“The team is still hard at work on the schedule of events for next year,” said Jeffrey Pollack, WSOP Commissioner, “but we’ve received so many requests for the dates that we decided to announce them now.” Source

The WSOP hopes that the Main Event registrations get back to at least as many as the 2006 Main Event. Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) seemed to contribute to the reduction in entries for the 2007 Main Event.

Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger posted numerous times about the WSOP and the WSOPE and if you missed them you can see them here.

2007 WSOP Main Event and bracelet was won by Jerry Yang with a straight he hit on the river when he was heads up against Tuan Lam. Tom Schneider was the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year by winning two WSOP bracelets. Freddy Deeb won the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship and bracelet.

During the 2007 WSOP tournament there were 55 events. The events received record numbers of players. While Harrah’s has not announced the details yet of the events, don’t be surprised if there are even more events during the 2008 WSOP. Information on the specific events will be on the WSOP site soon.

Click the Lions Banner or =====> Detroit Lions to go to my other blog.

Feel free to add any Poker related comments, they are welcome always.

WSOP, WSOP Main Event, Jerry Yang,  Freddy Deeb, Tom Schneider 

• Poker Calculators
  • Texas Hold ‘Em
  • Omaha

• Poker Podcasts

• Poker Forums

• Norway to Ban Online Poker?

The Norwegian Minister of Culture is planning to introduce new legislation that would ban online gambling. The legislation would reportedly work very similar to the United States Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA). UIGEA stops Financial entities from making deposits to Online Gaming sites.

It was only a little over a month ago the Norway resident 19 year old Annette Obrestad won the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event. Annette was the youngest player ever to win a WSOP Championship bracelet and the only female to win the WSOP Main Event. Annette collected over $2,000,000 for winning the WSOPE Main Event.

Annette had quite a Online Poker reputation for her Poker ability. The online forums are full of her Poker achievements, which if the Internet forums can be trusted are quite impressive. Annette started playing Online Poker when she was 15 and according to her she has never deposited any funds to any Online Poker site. Again reportedly, she has won several hundred thousand dollars in winnings from the Online sites.

Photo Source: Poker News

I find it ironic that if the proposed Norway ban on Online Poker had been in effect just a few years ago Annette possibly would not have become such a great Poker player. Also, she probably would not have had the money for the $20,000 buy-in for the WSOPE Main Event. She would never had accumulated the Poker skills that allowed her to amass the bankroll that she now has at the tender age of 19. Annette is a member of Team Betfair and writes a blog for CardPlayerNorge site, again probably opportunities she would not have had if not allowed to play Online Poker from her home in Norway.

Here are some other Just Poker Talk UIGEA posts

Click the Lions Banner or =====> Detroit Lions to go to my other blog.

Feel free to add any Poker related comments, they are welcome always.

Online Poker, UIGEA, WSOP, WSOPE, Annette Obrestad,

• Poker Calculators
  • Texas Hold ‘Em
  • Omaha

• Poker Podcasts

• Poker Forums

• Jean Robert Bellande Survivor
• Photo Source: CBS Survivor

Have you seen Jean Robert Bellande on Survivor China? I posted previously about Jean Robert being part of Survivor China. I have to admit I was a little surprised at the way CBS Survivor has been showing him. And they have been showing a lot of him. Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger should have known that Jean Robert would not make many friends on the Survivor Island. Given the way he plays poker with the tableside manner of Phil Hellmuth and combine that Poker attitude with the lack of food and rest on Survivor, that makes even the most likable people behave horribly, it is no wonder we see the worst of Jean Robert.

On the latest episode CBS Survivor showed him causing much trouble with the sleep arrangements. Not only does it appear that Jean Robert has a bad snoring issue but ‘needs’ to sleep next to the young women of the tribe. The young women of the tribe are shown on CBS Survivor discussing how much they hate sleeping next to Jean Robert and how they avoid it at all costs.

In one very damaging segment to Jean Robert’s fans was when he was discussing strategy with another member of the tribe. Jean Robert got into a discussion about one of the women of their tribe that was very frank and of a sexual nature. That was bad enough but Jean Robert was talking loud enough that the women and another member of the tribe heard the discussion.

Because of Jean Robert’s size and strength he is valuable on the challenges thus far that have mostly been physical in nature. He has helped his tribe win most of the events so far. Jean Robert does not seem to be very popular with his tribe-mates. It seemed during the last episode, after his tribe lost a challenge, he would be voted off the Island, but he survived. Kind of like he went All-In and nobody called. It will be interesting to see how long he can last and how much weight he loses.

Click the Lions Banner or =====> Detroit Lions to go to my other blog.

Feel free to add any Poker related comments, they are welcome always.

Poker, CBS, Survivor, Jean Robert Bellande,

• Poker Calculators
  • Texas Hold ‘Em
  • Omaha

• Poker Podcasts

• Poker Forums

• WSOP Video Game

World Series of Poker2008: Battle for the Bracelets new Video Game is using Phil Hellmuth as it spokesperson for it initial advertisements that have been airing on Television this week. Phil challenges you to ’Beat the Poker Brat’ on WSOP 2008: Battle for the Bracelets.  You can go to Beat the Brat to get a sample of what the game is like and play a Hold ‘Em tournament against Phil and Johnny Chan, Chris Ferguson and Mike Matusow.

Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger tried the site and found some things good and others not so good. The graphics are pretty good and the avatars look just like the Poker Pros. There were some things that hopefully the developers don’t really have in the actual video game and are only part of the ’sample’ website. For example the betting actions on the sample are very rudimentary. No check button so if you want to check you hit the call button. To bet you have to click bet and then click on chip values to accumulate an amount to bet. You can’t just make a pot bet, you have to click on chips until you reach the amount you want. If everyone bets and raises around to you then you have to look above the other player avatars to see how much they bet to know how much it will cost you to call. If you are first to act and your holding is not worth betting and you just want to check you hit the call button. If you are the big blind and there have been no raises to you and you want to check your option you hit the call button.

I made an assumption that I would see some of Phil’s tableside manner that I have posted about a few times, but I was mistaken. Only music from the website. Again I am thinking this is just from the ’sample’ website and the actual video game is much better. I was actually disappointed that neither Helmuth or Matusow had anything to say about what an idiot player I was. I did knock them both out though and got Heads up with Johnny Chan. I couldn’t beat Johnny and finished 2nd.

Click the Lions Banner or =====> Detroit Lions to go to my other blog.

Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger Michael and how he looked when he knocked out Phil Hellmuth in the video game Beat the Brat challenge. I thought he would hit me with a bunch of his usual lines about how I couldn’t play poker and didn’t I know who he was and all that, but nothing. He just left the table. 

Feel free to add any Poker related comments, they are welcome always.

WSOP, Beat the Poker Brat, Johnny Chan, Chris Ferguson, Mike Matusow, Phill Hellmuth, Hold ‘Em,

• Poker Calculators
  • Texas Hold ‘Em
  • Omaha

• Poker Podcasts

• Poker Forums

• WSOP 2007 Main Event Hevad Khan on ESPN

Watching the ESPN broadcast of the WSOP 2007 Main Event over the last few weeks I have noticed a few things:

1. ESPN has not showed much bad behavior that was so prevalent on the broadcasts last year. Maybe that means there wasn’t as much such behavior.
2. Lots of the Hollywood crowd made it a long way in the Main Event.
3. Norman Chad is as funny as ever to Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger.
4. Lots of recognized Poker ‘names’ made very long runs in the Main Event.
5. Hevad ‘Rain’ Khan got way too much ESPN time.

Yes, Hevad Khan did finish 6th in the Main Event and won almost $1,000,000 in prize money. So he deserved a lot of ESPN air time finishing that well in the WSOP Main Event. If what you read on the Internet is even partially accurate, he is an outstanding Online Poker player. Just like Humberto Brenes with the Shark, Hevad Khan with the screams and dancing around and fist pumps is an act I only needed to see once. I would much rather see more hands shown on the ESPN broadcasts instead of the ‘Act’ that Hevad Khan puts on seemingly every time he wins a hand. I understand getting excited when you win a hand especially as the Main Event was getting near the Final Table. But Khan was doing this ‘Act’ as early as day 3 on the ESPN broadcasts. I have tried to figure out what this did for Khan. Did it help him play better? Did it put other players on Tilt? Did it make other players try to take him out with marginal hands just to get some peace and quiet? I have a hard time believing that he puts on this act in his home games. I guess I am left with, it is Khan that is on Tilt, maybe not the Poker Tilt but some type of Tilt for the 30 to 45 seconds the act lasts. I do have to give Khan credit for consistency though, he did go into the act everytime. In this earlier post I discussed some of the behaviors that take the fun out of poker for me. I will have to go back and update the post to include Shark and ‘Rain’.

Click the Lions Banner or =====> Detroit Lions to go to my other blog.

Your ‘Dead Money’ blogger Michael probably will never be in a poker game with either the Shark or ‘Rain’ but you never know I might find myself contributing to their chip-stack and having to put up with their shtick.

Feel free to add any Poker related comments, they are welcome always.

WSOP, WSOP Main Event, Hevad Khan, Humberto Brenes,

• Poker Calculators
  • Texas Hold ‘Em
  • Omaha

• Poker Podcasts

• Poker Forums

• 2007 Main Event Scottie Nguyen - Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda

Back while the WSOP 2007 Main Event was underway I posted about Day 6 of the Main Event that outlined Scottie Nguyen’s rapid fall from near chip leader with 13 players left to eliminated in 11th place. I felt bad at the time as I was secretly pulling for Scottie Nguyen to win the 2007 Main Event. But after watching the ESPN version of Day 6 of the Main Event and seeing how Scottie was knocked out by Philip Hilm in essentially two hands made me feel worse. Scottie was interviewed by ESPN shortly after being eliminated and it just seemed like he was thinking, as we all do at times, I Coulda done this, or I Shoulda done this, or if I Woulda done this, and he would have been still alive and heading to the Final Table and for his 2nd Main Event Bracelet. Of course it was not to be. I was surprised at his All-In push on a bluff and how it reminded me of your ‘Dead Money’ blogger, when Scottie lost most of his chips. I can tell you that is a move I have made numerous times and too many times my opponent sees right through me and calls my bluff and I go home. Hilm didn’t have to read a bluff as he had Scottie beat and he knew it. To that point of the Day 6 play, ESPN had been showing mostly excellent play by Scottie, but this cleary is a play he regretted. We all make plays that we regret and think about long after making them, but I suspect this move will haunt Scottie for a very long time.

In case you did not get a chance to watch the ESPN broadcast here is how the hands that eliminated Scottie played out.

Round 29 Blinds 80,000/160,000 and Antes 20,000

• Hand that Cripples Scottie and Vaults Hilm to the Top

Scottie starts the hand with about 9.1 million in chips and Hilm has 6.8 million. Action folds around to Scottie and ESPN telecast shows that he has . Scottie raises the blind to 530,000. Hilm with calls. The flop brings , Scottie with top pair and top kicker puts out 600,000 and Paul just calls with his set. Scottie checks the turn  and Hilm bets 1,200,000. Scottie, who can’t win the hand, thinks for a little while and then announces he is All-In. Paul quickly calls and Scottie cringes at the site of the set of fives Hilm has, and the fact that he is drawing dead. Tournament officials count out the chips and Hilm now has 16,600,000 and Scottie is left with 2,300,000. The look on Nguyen’s face indicates he knows that he made a very serious mistake and his hope to win the Main Event is over.

•  Hand that Eliminates Scottie Nguyen in 11th Place, $476,926 

Paul Hilm again in the hand with Scottie and Paul raises the blind to 480,000. ESPN shows that Hilm has . Scottie in the Big Blind calls and he has . Scottie sees the flop of  and with a flush draw pushes All-In. Paul calls and when the turn is and the river  Scottie Nguyen’s Main Event ends.  

Shortly after the 1st hand when Scottie lost most of his chip stack ESPN’s Lon McEachern noted that ‘the once cocky former champion now looks tired and ready to accept his demise’.

In the post bust out interview on ESPN Scottie said: ‘This is a good lesson for me, I was doing good, playing good and I got too cocky and too confident’. He mentioned how disappointed he was and how angry he was at himself. He just wanted to out of there and go home.

WSOP, WSOP Main Event, Scottie Nguyen,

• Online Poker Weekend Results

Full Tilt $750,000 Guarantee

Full Tilt had 3,709 players participated in Full Tilt’s $750,000 Guarantee. Buy in is $200 for the event. Full Tilt had to contribute $8,200 to make the prize pool $750,000 Guarantee. Pro players that cashed were Chip and Karina Jett finishing 490th and 472nd respectively and David Singer lasted until 47th. ’splashthaap0t’ outlasted all and took home the Championship and the $132,787 prize. Photo Source: Fult Tilt Poker

Here is how the final table ended up.

1st: splashthaap0t $132,787
2nd: bigegypt $80,250
3rd: dag2 $52,500 
4th: Deviland $41,400 
5th: P0KERPR0 $31,050 
6th: UboughtMyBMW $23,025 
7th: aquanaut $17,250 
8th: El_Imbecil $13,500 
9th: muchaka $10,500 

PartyPoker $300,000 Guarantee

PartyPoker had 1,487 players this weekend in the $300,000 Guarantee tournament. Tournament Buy-In was $200 so a $2,600 contribution by PartyPoker was needed to make the $300,000 Guaranteed prize pool. When play was down to four players a deal was struck after much discussion. The payouts for the final table are below and reflect the first four places chopped.

1st: Hjarno $49,000 
2nd: hertigafkorv $30,000
3rd: dani2611 $30,000
4th: Smakkies $21,050
5th: Liverpul  $13,800
6th: garbage_  $10,350
7th: zillick $7,950
8th: chuckchuk $5,250
9th: Zonck $4,050
10th: mmcessa $2,850

Bodog $100,000 Guarantee

Bodog was able to get 747 players this weekend all with a Buy-In of $100. Bodog was  short $25,300 of the Guaranteed prize pook and made up the difference. 8BallDeluxe won the Bodog Championship and the $25,000 first place prize money. The final table payouts ended up like this:

1st: 8BallDeluxe $25,000
2nd: carman111 $14,300
3rd: looshle $9,200 
4th: bearbeer $6,900 
5th: PV01 $5,500 
6th: whodey1978 $4,500 
7th: eltico $3,500 
8th: quietwinner $2,500 
9th: joseph k $1,600

The Online sites are hoping that in the upcoming weeks, that the entries pick up and they no longer have to contribute to the Guarantee prize pools.  

Click here ====> Just Poker Talk Online Poker to see other Online Poker posts.

Click the Lions Banner or =====> Detroit Lions to go to my other blog.

Feel free to add any Poker related comments, they are welcome always.

Poker, Online Poker Weekend, FullTilt Poker, PartyPoker, Bodog, Chip Jett, Karina Jett, David Singer,

• Poker Calculators
  • Texas Hold ‘Em
  • Omaha

• Poker Podcasts

• Poker Forums

• Rhynie Campbell wins WPT Turks & Caicos Poker Classics 

Rhynie Campbell who started the Final Table with the 2nd least amount of chips worked through the 5 other players at the WPT Turks & Caicos Final Table to win the Championship and the $436,675 prize money. Rhynie outlasted the field and won the Championship on the 206th hand of the day.

Picture Source: CardPlayer

• Final Table Eliminations
• Erik Cajelais Eliminated in 2nd Place $225,000

Erik Cajelais raises from the big blind to $124,000. Rhynie Campbell moves All-In and Cajelais calls and turns over. Campbell displays. The flop was good for Cajelais giving him 2 pair. The turn is the and Campbell has an inside straight draw. When the river brings the Campbell hits the set of 10s and wins the Championship on the 206th hand of the Final Table.

• Alan ‘The Usher’ Sass Eliminated in 3rd Place $125,000

Rhynie Campbell raises to 60,000 and Alan Sass moves All-In for around 200,000. Campbell calls and shows and Sass has. Campbell gets help from the flop heading with an inside straight draw. The turn is just what Campbell needed when thebrought the straight. The river is a blank and ‘The Usher’ is eliminated on the 176th hand of the Final Table.

• Chris Sims Eliminated in 4th Place $70,000

Chris Sims re-raises All-In and Erik Cajelais calls. Sims has and Cajelais has and Sims is behind and needs help. The board brings a flush and straight draw for Smith but he doesn’t hit either of them and is eliminated on the 140th hand of the Final Table.

• Trevor Hebert is Eliminated in 5th Place $50,000

Trevor Hebert raises All-In and Erik Cajelais comes over the top to isolate against Hebert. Cajelais shows and Hebert has. The board doesn’t pair either of Heberts hold cards and doesn’t fill the flush for him either. Trevor is eliminated on the 126th hand of the Final Table.

• Nam Le is Eliminated in 6th Place $30,000

Nam Le re-raises All-In for his remaining 54,000 in chips. Rhynie Campbell re-raises to eliminate all but Le from the hand. Campbell has ahead of Le’s. The board brings a on the turn and two other diamonds on the flop to give Le a back door flush draw. The river is a blank and Campbell wins with a Ace kicker. Le is eliminated on the 37th hand of the Final Table.

Check out other Just Poker Talk WPT posts here.

Click the Lions Banner or =====> Detroit Lions to go to my other blog.

Feel free to add any Poker related comments, they are welcome always.

WPT, WPT Turks & Caicos Poker Classics,  

• Poker Calculators
  • Texas Hold ‘Em
  • Omaha

• Poker Podcasts

• Poker Forums