Nov
7
7
#898 – WSOP Final Table Update #6 – BEGS is Magic
Shauna took this picture of Steven Begleiter’s crew after Steve won the best, boldest … baddest pot of the day:
Nov
7
7
#897 – WSOP Final Table Update #5 – Caprice, 2009
James Akenhead busted in ninth place at 4:40 PM. He moved all-in with pocket threes and was called by Kevin Schaffel with pocket nines.
I don’t know James but I’m increasingly impressed that he is becoming one of the world’s elite tournament poker players. Just 26, he has already cashed in more than two dozen tournaments. Unfortunately, he is emerging as a tragic figure, known for where he has fallen just short.
Nov
7
7
#896 – WSOP Final Table Update #4 – The Roar from the Theatre
At 3:23 PM, a wave erupted from the Penn & Teller Theatre. It felt like the place was shaking. I was standing, on my way to the exit to speak with James Akenhead right after he busted. He was all-in against Eric Buchman and, based on the betting, it was clear there was no way he had much of a chance.
That roar was for Chance.
Nov
7
7
#895 – WSOP Final Table Update #3 – What I Saw the First Hour (& Twenty Mins)
It’s 2 PM and they’ve played about 25-30 hands. Because they continue to play as I write, this entry is going to be a little choppy. You can follow the hand-by-hand on Pokernews.com – and their coverage is great – but here are some things I noticed that will hopefully put you a little closer to the action.
Nov
7
7
#894 – WSOP Final Table Update #2 – The End of the Waiting
It’s 12:34 PM as I write this. We are officially 11 minutes late. Someone was doing some short interview before the final table introductions so, after telling the audience to make a lot of noise – no encouragement needed – they pleaded with the audience to be quiet for a few minutes. It was like trying to ask for your virginity back.
At 12:38, tournament director Jack Effel announces, “The biggest day in poker history has finally arrived.”
Nov
7
7
#893 – WSOP Final Table Update #1 – Wake-Up Call
It’s 11:25 AM on Saturday as I start this post. I’m in the Penn & Teller Theatre, thanks to the personal exhortation of Penn Jillette himself. Cards are supposed to be in the air for the Final Table of the Main Event of the 2009 World Series of Poker in exactly 58 minutes, so I’ll try to cram as many introductory notes and details into this post as I can before play starts.
Nov
7
7
#892 – Looking For Ivey, Part IIIA – Why is Phil so Good at Poker?
What is it that makes Phil Ivey such a great poker player? It seems like he is so successful in so many areas of poker – all kinds of cash games, online and live, all forms of tournament poker – that he is doing something that everybody else isn’t.
I don’t think it’s anything that mysterious or elusive. Phil hasn’t developed some strategy that is unique or better than what everybody else has developed. Essentially, he does the same things as everybody else. He just does them BETTER.
Nov
6
6
#891 – Hard Labor for Michael Craig
These next several days will be among the busiest in the history of The Full Tilt Poker Blog by Michael Craig. So you know what to expect and when, these are the activities you can expect to read about: [By the way, my Relay For Life Charity Tournament on Full Tilt is not until November 22 at 18:00 ET but I'm still looking to write some gushy column about the forums that are going out their way to help promote the cause. Let me know what you and your chums are doing, mrchaotic@aol.com.]
Read on below for the full blog to find out what’s coming in the next several days in the following areas:
*FTOPS XIV
*The Main Event Final Table
*Looking For Ivey
*Blogger-Showdown Payoff
*Vegas travel features including the conclusion of Adrift in Vegas.
Nov
5
5
#890 – WSOP Final Table Update #1 – Spoils of War
I received a copy of a message that appeared on someone’s Facebook status yesterday. This person, who we’ll call Lucy, updated her status as “Looking for Bugatti Veyron 16.4, another day in the life of my job.” Anybody reading this would have one of two questions: (1) What is a Bugatti Veyron 16.4? and (2) Who is it for?
Nov
4
4
#889 – Looking For Ivey, Part IIC – Outtake: The Unbearable Lightness of Ivey
As I told you in The Ivey Code, Phil spent his off-time during the 2008 World Series of Poker drumming up action. His bracelet bets were the talk of the Seriess. But remember, Phil Ivey bets on EVERYTHING. During one event, I was sitting at a table with Howard Lederer when he told me he got a call from Erik Seidel that day at 3am.
