While all this is going on, the good folks at Image Masters continue to provide us with some great action shots during the tournaments.  Every morning I receive pictures from the day before that I use to enhance the stories I try to bring the readers.  I hope they’ve added to the experience.

Today I bring you some photos from Week 2 of the 2009 World Series of Poker without my ramblings.  A small taste of what we have available, look for a full gallery coming in the next few days.  All pictures courtesy of Image Masters.

Pictures after the jump, click to enlarge:

The Two Faces of Andy Black
Andy Black started off the 2009 World Series of Poker with players talking about his play AND his appearance. He seemed to be rocking the beard and laid back look at the beginning and looked completely different during Week 2. Your investigative blogger will get to the bottom of this before the end of the series.

Phil Ivey collects World Series of Poker bracelet #6 at the daily ceremony from WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

Phil Ivey wasted no time after winning his 6th WSOP bracelet. He hopped right back into action.  Full Tilt pro Beth Shak in the foreground and may be the recipient of the Ivey stare.

Legends side-by-side.  Erik Seidel and Mike Sexton grinding away in Event #15 of the 2009 World Series of Poker.  Seidel came close to winning his 9th WSOP bracelet in the Pot Limit Hold’em tournament had to settle for a seventh place finish.  Seidel is tied with another legend, Johnny Moss, with 8 WSOP bracelets.

Svetlana Gromenkova and Karina Jett were just a few of the Full Tilt pros to represent in the 2009 World Series of Poker Ladies Championship. Gromenkova won this event in 2008 but was unable to defend her title.

“Miami” John Cernuto and John Juanda playing in Event #16 $1,500 Seven Card Stud tournament.  “Miami” John would put up a great fight ending up in 11th.  Juanda had his first shot at bracelet number 5 by making the final table. Juanda’s run ended with a 5th place finish.

Howard Lederer playing in the $10,000 Mixed World Championship.  It’s been a slow start to the series for “The Professor” this year with only one cash to date.  No doubt he’ll be a factor as the series progresses.

Both David Chiu and Huck Seed won their way to the final table of the $10,000 Mixed Championship with a chance to add to their jewelry collection.  Seed collected over $102,000 for his 5th place finish and Chiu was the runner up for $304,000 but no new trophies on his wrist.

Erica Schoenberg only has one cash in the 2009 World Series of Poker but continues her search for a WSOP bracelet.  As a railbird favorite, she is always easy to find in the poker room.

It’s never a dull moment when Perry Friedman is in the poker room.  He started the series by sporting a “Full Tilt Poker grill” (gold hip hop teeth things for us uncool folk) and he added a little twist in Week 2.  It’s tough to see but he rocking the cornrows on each side of his head with Full Tilt spelled out in beads.  Who knows what to expect in Week 3.

Post from: Poker From The Rail

2009 World Series of Poker – Week 2 in Pictures

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Phil Ivey received his 6th World Series of Poker from commisioner Jeffrey Pollack
Photo credit: IMPDI

After some minor technical difficulties, we’re back on the rail and raring to go.  The last two days have been a great adventure in the Amazon room.  From Phil Ivey’s bracelet ceremony to exciting feature table action to a stacked final table at the $10,000 Mix Championship.  The weekend has had just about everything.

The center of the Amazon room was packed in afternoon awaiting the time when WSOP Commish Jeffrey Pollack would award Phil Ivey his 6th WSOP bracelet after his marathon heads up battle in the No Limit Deuce to Seven tournament.  Always one to avoid the spotlight, Ivey raised his bracelet for all to see and paused for the national anthem.  He then bolted the seen to find his next game.

Saturday evening we came very close to adding a third WSOP bracelet for Team Full Tilt when both Huck Seed and David Chiu made the final table in the $10,000 Mix Championship.  The game featured Limit Hold’em, Limit Omaha/8, Razz, Stud, Stud/8, Deuce to Seven TD, Pot Limit Omaha, and No Limit Hold’em.  Surely a game to test all skill levels.

Even though he lead most of the battle David Chiu was eventually caught by Ville Wahlbeck of Finland and fell just short of his 5th WSOP bracelet. Huck Seed was eliminated in 5th.

The star studded $5,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament drew less players than last year but you couldn’t tell that to the fans on the rails. The poker groupies have begun making their appearances in the Amazon Room, becoming a source of entertainment for most and an irritation for some players.

So much attention was drawn to the $5,000 event that few realized that Phil Ivey was gunning for bracelet number 7 just a few feet away in the $2,000 NLHE tournament. They were already in the money and Ivey was poised to make it through to Day 3.

Sunday will bring us a new handful of events that will continue to add to WSOP history.

The point of view from your interpid Rail blogger

Post from: Poker From The Rail

2009 World Series of Poker – Day 11 From the Rail

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So there you have it, Chiu takes a bite out of Boatman and wins the match by a score of 4-3. Check back next week for more fun, games, and idiotic stupidity from yours truly…

Post from: Poker From The Rail

Heads Up: David Chiu Versus Barny Boatman

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Was David Chiu taking down Gus Hansen at the WPT Championship the greatest comeback of all time in a poker tournament? I mean, the guy was like a 5-1 chip dog at the start of heads-up play, that was no small task.

Great question. Unfortunately I can’t answer with any kind of definitiveness. I’m no poker historian here, so I can’t come up with an example of another great comeback off the top of my head. Is this the biggest comeback in history? Definitely not. Is this the biggest heads-up comeback at a major poker event? Maybe. I think the point here is that when play gets to the heads-up stage, all bets are off. Even if you’re Gus Hansen and just finished demolishing a final table and get to heads-up play with a 5-1 chip lead, there are no guarantees you’re going to win.

Am I extremely impressed by David Chiu’s comeback? Absolutely. Whether or not this was the greatest heads-up comeback of all time is a very moot point − what we should be paying attention to here is the fact that Chiu is a very good player and needs to be recognized as such. Many great players fly too far under the radar and get no love from the masses while a few douches (not to be named here) hog the spotlight. Then again, the whole flag draping incident (also not to be discussed here) should garner Chiu the love of the 15 trillion or so people of China, so I don’t think his fan club will remain unpopulated for very long.

The WSOP is just around the corner, any thoughts?

I was hoping to save this one till we got a bit closer to the proceedings, so let me just give a brief response right now. Some thoughts, hmmm. One thought is that I wish I had enough money to get myself into any of these events. Of course, if I had money in my pocket in Vegas it would probably be gone before I even made it into the casino (ahh, strippers, they’re like my Kryptonite).

As for my thoughts on the actual WSOP – I think Full Tilt Poker has a nice chance to bring home a few more bracelets. We only have like 300 pros, so it would be highly improbable that we don’t win at least a few events. At this point, you’ve really got to like the way a few of our players are running – Ivey, Hansen, and Chiu all seem like good picks to take down an event at some point over the summer. I think this is the year that our good pal Andy Bloch wins his first bracelet – $50K HORSE event watch out, you’ve been warned. I’d also love to see Beth Shak win an event, if only for the opportunity to write the headline: “The Shak Attack overpowers the competition, takes down event #X.” One can only hope…

Like you, I really can’t do any math. Are we simply doomed to be losing poker players?

I’m looking into my magic 8-ball at the moment and the reply says; “You, sir, are screwed.” Nothing stings like the sweet whip-crack of honesty.  

Listen, I don’t think you need to be some kind of mathematical genius to be a successful poker player, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. It’s like walking into a knife fight with a banana peel – sure, you might be able to jam that fruit wrapping down your opponent’s throat and suffocate him with it for the win, but there’s no way you’re escaping that fracas without a few nice slash wounds from his knife. In other words, it’s time for folks like us to put down that crack pipe and pick up our Algebra 1 notebooks, lest we be stuck holding a limp banana peel for the rest of our lives. Until next week…

Post from: Poker From The Rail

Reader Mail: Chiu On This!

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The bad news: your opponent is Team Full Tilt’s Gus Hansen and he’s got a 5-1 chip advantage.

That folks, is the scenario that played out in the Bellagio on Saturday when David Chiu staged one of the most dramatic comebacks ever seen on the felt and ended what looked like Gus’ easy march to victory in the WPT’s biggest event of the year. In case you missed the drama, here’s a quick recap of the action:

• Final table play begins with six competitors and Hansen holding the big stack
• Gus knocks four players off the table in just 22 hands and enters heads-up play with 80% of the chips in his possession
• Chiu manages a couple of key double-ups and then takes the chip lead on hand #78
• On hand #80, Chiu catches trip Aces on the river, beating Hansen’s two pair of 10s and 8s, and walks away the victor 

The win earned Chiu, a four-time WSOP bracelet winner, nearly $3.4 million in prize money – the biggest payday of his career.

In another move sure to warm the hearts of poker players all across the land (at least in the continental United States and maybe, just maybe, in Alaska and Hawaii too), Congressman Barney Frank is stepping up his efforts to stop the UIGEA in its tracks.

Frank, along with Congressional life partner Ron Paul, has authored a letter to the heads of the US Treasury and Federal Reserve warning both agencies not to spend any more time trying to implement UIGEA-related regulations. Frank and Paul go on to say the law is seriously flawed at it’s most basic level and that it would be imprudent for the agencies to “devote additional agency resources to this Sisyphean task, especially as we plan to pursue legislation to prevent the implementation of these regulations.”

Way to go Barney and Ron. Just one thing though – most members of Congress seem to have the mental agility of small soap dishes, so referencing tragic figures in Greek mythology may cause their synapses to short circuit. Still, we appreciate your Herculean efforts on behalf of online poker players everywhere.

One of the strangest stories floating around this week involves Phil Ivey and David Blaine. Yes, the Phenom and the Magic Man are apparently friendly enough to break bread – and glasses – at the Tao restaurant in Manhattan.

According to sources, Ivey offered Blaine a very tasty prop bet – $10K to eat a glass from the table. Blaine, ever the entertainer, took the bet and Ivey’s cash after smashing a “large glass” and devouring the pieces.

Post from: Poker From The Rail

The Week at FTP: The Comeback Kid

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