Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized
One of the more interesting topics that was raised in panel discussions (panel 1, panel 2) over the past two days concerned how an amateur should handle the daunting challenge of playing against a top pro. If you manage to qualify for a big buy-in tournament like the Aussie Millions, you’re probably going to end up at a table with a player whose face is known to you and everyone else in the room.
How should you handle it?
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(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5, rated) Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized
The title of this post is an irrefutable fact. For those of you who might have missed the ESPN WSOP Nuts segment on Mr. Brodie, I’ll tell you a little bit about his background. A brilliant computer scientist, he left Harvard to work for XEROX, where he wrote code for early word processors. He was hired away by Microsoft, and once there he did most of the original programming for Microsoft Word. He’s reaped the rewards that came form being the 71st employee (or thereabouts) of one of the most successful companies in recorded history.
Richard now spends his time pursuing his interests, one of which is poker. Like many of the brainy pros, Richard is an advocate of game theory and its applications in poker.
He plays poker because the game presents a challenge that intrigues him. He wants to be known as a world-class player, so he’s putting in the time and thought that will allow him to achieve that goal.
I’m fortunate enough to share a couple of other interests with Mr. Brodie — cigars and Scotch. This afternoon we ventured to a cigar shop in the Crown, where we smoked a light Cuban Partagas and sipped Lagavuilin.
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(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5, rated) Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized
This morning there was another chance for the online qualifiers to learn from the Howard “The Professor” Lederer started the day’s activities by giving a talk with the title The Road to Poker Mastery: A Different Path. Following his talk there was a Q&A session with an all-star panel that included Gus Hansen, Steve Zolotow, Clonie Gowen, Ben Roberts, Steve Brecher, Mark Vos, David Chiu, Robert Mizrachi, John Juanda, and David Singer.
This was an amazing opportunity to pick the brains for the game’s best thinkers.
Howard ‘The Professor’ Lederer giving some poker lessons
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(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5, rated) Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized
Below we have a typical, if poorly executed, photo of poker pro Carlos Mortensen. I draw your attention to the railbirds in the upper part of the frame. These folks are watching the poker, but they’re not especially interested in the 2001 World Champion. Rather, they’re checking on the progress of the guy sitting across from Carlos, Chris Svenski.
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(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5, rated) Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized
The Main Event of the Aussie Millions starts today. Half of the field will begin today; the remainder will play the opening levels tomorrow. This morning, a few hours before the start of play, a number of Full Tilt’s pros gathered in a function room in the Crown Promenade to talk with Full Tilt’s qualifiers. Before the morning was over, qualifiers would hear advice from Clonie Gowen, Andy Bloch, Chris Ferguson, Ross Boatmen, Richard Brodie, Ben Roberts, David Singer, Huck Seed, and Greg Mueller.
Clonie Gowen started the event, giving a short talk on the advantages women have when they play against men. She made it clear from the start that women didn’t need to use their wiles to get the best of their male opponents; women could simply use men’s instincts against them.
Matt Savage (world-famous tournament director), Andy Bloch, and Clonie Gowen
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(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5, rated) Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized
Yesterday Full Tilt Poker hosted a freeroll for its Aussie Millions qualifiers. But this wasn’t your average freeroll. For starters, there was a hefty $60,000 in the prize pool. Also, the overall quality of was a bit higher than you’d find in your average freeroll. To give you an idea of the level of play, consider the lineup at one of the starting tables. It included Erik Seidel, David Singer, Lee Watkinson, David Grey, Perry Friedman, Chris Ferguson, and Farzad Bonyadi. The Full Tilt pros were out in force.
The two qualifiers who shared the table with this murderer’s row were presented with both a daunting challenge and profitable opportunity. There was a bounty on each pro. The minimum bounty was $250, and an additional $250 was added for each WSOP bracelet or WPT title held by the individual pro. Erik Seidel, with 7 bracelets, had the biggest bounty — $2,000.
One of the qualifiers at this table, thebryguy5, was amazed by his opponents. “My heart was pounding,” he said, “talk about being nervous.”
Full Tilt qualifier, thebryguy5 playing with David Singer, Lee Watkinson, and David Grey
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(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5, rated) Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized
Last night, the pros, the qualifiers, and their guests loaded onto two boats for a dinner cruise on the Yarra river. There was great food, plenty of drink — and some gambling. John Juanda, Jeff Madsen and Patrik Antonius couldn’t stand to be away from a deck of cards for too long, so they kept a continuous game of Chinese Poker going.
Jeff Madsen deals Chinese Poker as John Juanda watches
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(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5, rated) Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized
The traveling gambler has some options during the month of January. Major tournaments are played in Tunica, Atlantic City, and here, half a world away, in Melbourne, Australia. I spent a good portion of each of the last two Januaries in Tunica. And I pop down to Atlantic City at all times of the year; it’s only two hours from my New York home.
Now that I’ve seen some of Melbourne, I’ve had to re-think what a poker trip can offer.
In the US, the major gambling cities exist because of legalized gaming. Most of us wouldn’t think of traveling to southern Nevada, northern Mississippi, or the southern most portion of the Jersey coast if there weren’t world-class casinos in these spots. Our country’s destination cities–the ones that draw tourists from around the world–don’t have major hotel/casinos.
Melbourne is quite different. The Crowne complex, which includes two beautiful hotels, a massive casino, a multiplex, and a number of shops and restaurants, is as nice as anything in the US. It compares favorably to the likes of Borgata and Bellagio. And it’s right in the middle of this vibrant, diverse city’s downtown.
You can leave your room at the Crowne Tower and be at Aquarium in two minutes; a pedestrian bridge that spans the Yarra River will take you there.
Bridge over the Yarra River, Picure taken form a doorway of the Crowne Casino Mall
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(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5, rated) Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized
The main event for the Aussie Millions doesn’t start for a few days. Today there was no poker on the schedule. Instead, there were three activities to choose from. 1) Golf. Most of the Full Tilt pros are addicted to the game, so those who participated in this outing could be sure to spend time with Erick Lindgren, Phil Ivey, and some of the others who can’t get enough of the links. 2) Rest and recover from what might be a serious case of jetlag. And 3) An Outback Tour. This day trip wouldn’t go to the actual Australian Outback, but would stop at some nice spots outside of Melbourne.
I don’t play golf, and I slept just fine last night, so I headed out with about 80 qualifiers and their guests on the tour.
We loaded into three coach busses at 9:00 am and drove out of the city and through some suburban neighborhoods. Within an hour, we were in an area of rolling hills that were dotted with vineyards and fruit orchards. It was pretty, reminiscent of the wine region outside of Santa Barbara. Later in the day we’d return to the area for tastings and lunch. But the first stop was twenty minutes further on. We were headed to the Healesville Sanctuary, where we would see and learn about many of Australia’s native species.
Just beyond the entrance, we came upon this looker — an emu.
Emu
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(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 5, rated) Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized
I’ll save you the gory details of the 31-hour odyssey that took me from Brooklyn, NY to Melbourne. Suffice to say that the trip was exhausting. But we’re all here now — me, the online qualifiers, and the pros — and we’re ready to enjoy what promises to be a very special couple of weeks.
The festivities started this evening with a cocktail party in Breezes, an indoor/outdoor bar in the Crowne Tower. There was an open bar and some very high quality finger foods for all to enjoy. The crowd mixed easily, and pockets formed where small groups discussed the passion they share. Andy Bloch discussed his experiences at the final table of the $25k WSOP HORSE event with a qualifier.
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