Entries from May, 2009
2009 World Series of Poker Day 5 – Two Bracelets, 1 Corvette Coming
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
After a crazy Day 4, we expect more of the same today. Day 1b of the $1,000 “Stimulus Special” will probably take the same path as Day 1a with poker rooms full of hopeful players. The next two bracelets will also be awarded today in the $40,000 40th Anniversary tournament and the $1,500 Limit Omaha/8 event. On top of that we will get to see the new Champions Invitational which will pit former World Series of Poker Main Event winners against each other trying to take home that sweet 1970 red Corvette Stingray.
As expected, the $40k final table is stacked with some of the best players in the world including 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Greg Raymer. Full Tilt pro Vitaly Lunkin takes his shot with the second biggest chipstack at the table and poker legend Ted Forrest starts off with a short stack. The ESPN feature table will be packed with railbirds and they will be very vocal supporting their favorite player or friend.
The $1,500 Limit Omaha/8 had quite a few pros bust near the end of Day 2 including Erick Lindgren and Eli Elezra. It was a late night and they stopped play with an odd 19 players remaining that will play down to a bracelet winner before they are done. Ed Smith leads the field with 433,000 chips and Ed Cheng is sitting on a micro-stack.
Competing with the $40k for the most attention will be the new Champions Invitational which have a field full of former WSOP Main Event winners vying for the “Binions Cup” and the car. ESPN will also be recording and running this event later. There will be one noticable stack getting blinded off as Greg Raymer will be concentrating on the $40k final table.
Today promises to be as memorable as we’ve seen this year.
Chip counts after the jump.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker – Day 4 From the Rail
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Day 4 turned out to be exactly what we thought it would be. Near 3,000 players started Day 1a of the $1,000 “Stimulus Special” and it was pure craziness. Dealers yelling out “seat open” so often that it went from interesting to comical to barely noticeable within an hour. Players filled the Amazon room, Brasilia Room, and the Miranda Room. Some poor souls were even forced to play in the hallways of the casino (pictured above). They had to deal with the curious wanderers and folks trying to their way to pool at the Rio. Action everywhere.
The players came and they left quickly. Of the ~3,000 that started, only 375 would be around for Day 2. The hallways were full of bad beat stories and crying calls to the loved ones back home. Chain smokers crowded around the ashtrays outside the Poker Kitchen taking turns bending any ear that would listen to their tales. Most of the major pros were waiting for their spots to pick on the softer underbellies, but few would survive the carnage either.
Amanda Baker and Paul Sexton were just a few to get through the day with chips. It was a solid structure for the buyin and a great value, it was just too tough for most to avoid the sick mine field with their sanity in check or a seat in the game. Most are now looking forward to their next tournament or sitting back analyzing their first WSOP event.
The day wasn’t all about the $1k craziness. We also had the $40,000 tournament play down to it’s final table and the $1,500 Limit Omaha/8 was down to 19 players by the end of the night. These were the two big games that had the rail packed to the point of being impassable. Big names were in the games and sitting right up by their fans.
Records are being set each day and the first weekend of the WSOP has kicked everything in gear. Day 4 ended with a World Series of Poker Launch Party but we will get back to that later.
FTP pro Gavin Smith in Event #3. I will use any excuse to post a picture of Lacey Jones
Photo credit: Wicked Chops Poker
Popularity: 12% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Gavin Smith, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker Day 4 – Running of the Lemurs
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
A sea people waiting to play in the $1,000 Stimulus Special
Not too far in the future we will see the start of another brand new event to the World Series of Poker. As a nod to the difficult economic times, the “powers that be” offered up the lowest buyin open event. Event #4 is being called the Stimulus Special and has just a $1,000 buyin. The response has been predictable with long lines and a ton of buzz throughout the Rio.
The interest really spiked when rumors started floating around that Day1a was already set to sell out and Day1b on Sunday going quickly. Players were being told to not wait until that last moment to register or they might get shut out of the tournament. This will most likely be the largest live tournament field outside of a World Series of Poker Main Event. There will be two Day 1’s with near 3,000 players each day.
Just like magic, moments before hitting the publish button I received an email with the following statement:
But the most impressive feat thus far has been the sellout of Event #4 – a $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament. Billed as a “stimulus special,” it has blown away the then-record 3,929 entrants who participated in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament at last year’s WSOP – by selling a capacity of approximately 6,000 entries.
The new mark means the $1,000 event, which features two start days (May 30 and 31), is the largest non-WSOP Main Event tournament ever played. Registration for Event #4 is now sold out, with a maximum capacity of approximately 3,000 players per start day – or 6,000 players total.
6,000 players across two days. I expect quite the spectacle from the moment they start slinging chips. As the next two days go along we will be featuring some of our online qualifiers and track their progress through this monstrous field. Consider this an open invitation to anyone who won their way in via a Full Tilt satellite, let the men with the keyboards and notepads know who you are.
3,000 players in several rooms isn’t the only action we’ll be following. The $40k Event #2 is down to 23 players heading into their Day 3 and the Limit Omaha/8 Event #3 will have 197 players pick up where they left off. There are plenty of Full Tilt pros still alive with Andy Bloch again leading the way.
Chips counts heading into Day 4 after the jump.
The dealers prepare for a busy day before the crowds are allowed to enter
Popularity: 12% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker – Day 3 From the Rail
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Day 3’s interesting story began with Mike Matusow and ended with players making the cash in the $40k and huge field for a non-NLHE game. There were players spread across the Amazon and Brasilia rooms throughout the day so the mileage on my legs quickly escalated.
Mike Matusow entered the day by entering the $1,500 Event #4 Limit Omaha/8 tournament which kicked off prompted at noon. Matusow was also set to start Day 2 of the $40k tournament but was in desperate straights as one of the shortstacks. He would have two hours in the LO8 game to build a stack before he would switch games and try to hit a few double ups to get back in the game.
His first piece of luck came with his Event #4 seat draw. There were 918 players in the tournament taking up most of the Amazon Room and half of the Brasilia room, yet he drew a table which was just a few feet from his $40k seat. He made some noise early with some scoops and 3/4 pots, he was looking comfortable and dialed in when he switched seats and prepared to battle away.
Early on he caught aces and found someone willing to double him up. A little breathing room grew to a big stack when again hit big with set over set. Dr. Tim Lavalli, who worked with Matusow on his biography, told us in media row that “The Mouth” was dialed in. Only bad luck would do him in today.
Unfortunately bad luck is the one bullet no one can dodge when it’s ready for you. Matusow caught some hits to his stack then lost out in a battle of the blinds when Keith Lehr insta-pushed with Ace-crude and his 7’s went down in glorious flames with the spiked ace. He shook the beat off long enough to get his shortstack in the middle in the LO8 only to lose as a favorite again.
Bad luck catches up even to the best when they are in the zone.
The punctuation on the story comes in the experience of first time WSOP player Chris King, Full Tilt qualifier into the $1k Stimulus tournament. He has a story to tell his friends before he even takes his seat in Day 1a. We were sitting in the suite doing a profile interview, taking down some information and chatting with fellow FTP blogger Michael Craig. A casual conversation in the quiet room where Matusow’s name even came up.
We were wrapping up and Matusow, turned up to 11, came through the door full of sound and fury. Chris King’s first experience at the world series of poker was getting first hand details from the man himself on the bad turn of events over a short time span. An experience and lesson on bad luck that he can take into his tournament on Saturday.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Mike Matusow, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker Day 3 – Sweet Ride
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
1970 Red Corvette sitting in the Amazon Room
Will be awarded to the winner of the Champions Invitational this weekend
Day 3 of the 2009 World Series of Poker will see them crown the bracelet winner of Event #1 in a new ceremony at a special setup, the first non-NLHE tournament with the $1,500 Limit Omaha/8, and the continuation of the $40,000 deepstack event. Event #2 played down to 89 grinders with notions of glory in this inaugural tournament, there was plenty of action at the end of the day where players fortunes drastically changed from where they expected to finish the day.
Last year the $1,500 LO8 tournament drew 832 players and I set the unofficial, friendly wager line at 800. Everyone is taking the over. I think we’ll see a nice selection of European, online, and pro players looking to lock up their first bracelet of the year early. Mike Matusow has already stated that he’ll start playing Event #3 for a few hours before retaking his seat in the $40k tournament where he is sitting on a shortstack. I think if the big guys can dodge the low-limit Omadonks there’s a great chance we’ll see a pro take down a bracelet in this tournament.
Brian Townsend has the top chipstack for Team Full Tilt, sitting with 609,000 after a big next-to-last hand of the night. He’s followed up Andy Black, Phil Ivey, Josh Arieh and Huck Seed among others. ESPN has been busy all morning refining the lighting system around the TV feature table where they’ll get one step closer to the $1,981,000 first place prize. One of the biggest story-lines is the strong play and big stack of poker Moses Chris Moneymaker, he’s sitting in second with 805,000 in chips. It’s impossible to calculate the number of players who started playing this game as a result of his monumental victory in the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. The railbirds are already beginning to clutter the hallways and there is still more than 2 hours until play resumes.
We will be back during the day if something interesting occurs and with a wrap up at the end of the day.
Full chip counts for Day 2 of Event #2 after the jump.
Popularity: 13% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker – Day 2 From the Rail
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
“Poker From The Rail” watching poker from the rail
It’s a bit of a misnomer saying “poker from the rail” since this time around I’m sporting a media badge which allows access inside the rail to get the action up close. The above picture is a view of just some of the railbirds during Event #2, that’s a few of the spectators trying to get a view of Phil Ivey who is positioned right up against it. It’s a huge crowd and this is a small event, the major donkaments will make it impossible to get through the crowd.
201 players showed up for the big $40,000 deepstack NLHE tournament, a four day event which will pay the top 27 with first place pocketing just shy of $1,900,000 and a shiny new bracelet. As expected the field stacked with the most famous poker players in the world and obviously there wasn’t an easy table in the field.
Popularity: 13% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker – Interview with Andy Bloch
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Andy Bloch playing in the 2009 World Series of Poker $40,000 Event #2
Photo credit: Gene Bromberg
Andy Bloch is one of the top players on Full Tilt and a player everyone wants to engage in conversation. He is playing in the 2009 World Series of Poker trying to win his first bracelet, sporting his own congregation of railbirds and fans. He can be found supporting many charities with his time, money and participation.
Andy took time out to speak with Tuscaloosa Johnny prior to kicking off his WSOP campaign and answer some questions about his experiences, goals, and the success of Full Tilt Poker.
Andy Bloch Q & A
by Tuscaloosa Johnny Kampis
One of the founding members of Full Tilt Poker, Andy Bloch is a Harvard law school graduate and former player on the M.I.T. blackjack team. And in case you haven’t heard he’s also a heck of a poker player with more than $4 million in tournament winnings, with several World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour final table appearances.
I first met Andy in 2004 during my first trip to the WSOP. At the time the oldest poker tournament was still held at Binion’s Horseshoe and Full Tilt Poker was in beta testing. My how things have changed. I caught up with Andy on Sunday as he played the $750,000 Guaranteed and the Put a Bad Beat on Cancer charity event on Full Tilt Poker, and was preparing for the nearly two months long 2009 WSOP.
The World Series of Poker is starting this week. Are you looking forward to it?
“Of course, that’s what you look forward to throughout the whole year. Every year you have five or six weeks of work and the rest of the year you look forward to getting back to the World Series.”
So the World Series is like Christmas for poker players?
“Except it’s like five weeks so it’s 40 days of Christmas, and you get to come back in November – or at least you’re hoping to.”
Popularity: 13% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Andy Bloch, Bloggers on the Rail, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker Day 2 – Big Guns Firing
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
While yesterday was technically the first day of the 2009 World Series of Poker, today will bring the first open tournament and the monster 40th Anniversary $40,000 buyin Event #2. This field is sure to be one of smaller of the entire series but certainly the most star studded. We’ll see the top Full Tilt Poker pros throughout the Amazon Room and the final table is sure to worthy of the ESPN treatment. This is one of only four tournaments which ESPN will be broadcasting.
Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer and Mike Matusow are already confirmed to be playing and less than 100 were registered as of late in the evening. Estimates around the blogger and twitter world have people betting the size of the field will be around the 250 mark, that would make a nice neat prizepool of a cool $10,000,000. The tournament kicks off at noon and you can follow the action and your favorite pros on the Full Tilt Poker WSOP Coverage page. I’ll be back with a few posts throughout the day as the action continues and a wrapup at the end of the day.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker Day 1 – Soft Opening
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
The empty Amazon Room at the Rio, waiting for the crowds
Photo credit: Flipchip at LasVegasVegas.com
Today is the first of the 2009 World Series of Poker and they’re starting off with an easy one. Event #1 brings the yearly $500 Casino Employees Event which will pack a good number of tables with local dealers, TD’s, etc from around Las Vegas. It doesn’t have the impact of the rest of the open events but the room will be buzzing as the first time the cards go in the air.
While Event #1 gets going, the rest of the room will be concentrating on the newly opened cash games and the many satellites going on. Many of your favorite pros began taking shots at winning their way in cheaply to the $40,000 40th Annual Event #2 which will draw a crowd of who’s who in the poker world. Event #4 on Saturday will also be sure to be historic with the first $1,000 Stimulus Tournament, numbers being thrown around are predicting it to be the largest non-Main Event field in the history of poker.
The feature table waiting for action
Photo credit: Flipchip at LasVegasVegas.com
Popularity: 15% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, WSOP
Full Tilt Poker Academy – Five Common Hold ‘em Leaks
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail, Full Tilt Poker Academy
With the World Series of Poker just a few days away, this might be my last push at running a Full Tilt Poker Academy challenge 5 Common Hold’em Leaks. This went also went quickly right on the tail of doing the Pre-Flop Play Challenge which shared many similarities to this one. Hand selections before the flop, action after the flop, and overall profitability while dodging situations for big down swings.
The challenge was completed over a weekend of multi-tabling the microlimit NLHE games again with the same results. I’m also using the lessons learned through the Bankroll Management challenge to grind my bankroll properly without ever risking the entire thing with one swing of variance.
Listed below are the tasks for the challenge as well as some of my notes.
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Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Full Tilt Poker Academy, Phil Gordon
