Posts Tagged ‘Gavin Smith’
Tilt on Tilt Violence
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
They’re heading into Day 2 of the second event of the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe and a Tilter is leading the way as they head towards the money. Only 158 players put down the £2,500 for the mixed Pot Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha tournament but they only dropped down to 24 players, with 18 of those making the money. Eric Cajelais will bring his intimidation back to play down to a winner. Cajelias is sitting with 145,000, also alive are Team Full Tilt are Howard Lederer and Vitaly Lunkin. Men Nguyen, Allie Prescott, and Hoyt Corkins are also in contention.
Here at The Borgata I am spending my time watching a bunch of grinder fight their way through to make the $925,000 payday along with the televised WPT final table. Getting down close the bubble we had two big Full Tilt pros battling it out against each other and entertaining the rail in the process. Bill Gazes joined the table with Gavin Smith and local poker legend “Joey the B” Brooks right up against the rail and things were entertaining. Until just before the dinner break. Smith and Gazes were both sitting with decent size stack when Smith 3-bet the preflop raise of Gazes. Push, call, and all the chips were in the middle with Smith holding AA and Gazes a lowly little pair of 6’s. No sweating involved as a 6 was waiting in the door.
Day 3 of the WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship where they’ll make the money and play down to 27. Still kicking around in the event we have Bill Gazes, Steve Brecher, Mike “GoLeafsGoEh” Leah, Justin “TooRoothlus” Levy (brother of “Roothlus), Kathy Liebert, Matt Brady, Michael Binger, Chris Reslock, and Lee Childs.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bill Gazes, Bloggers on the Rail, Erik Cajelais, Gavin Smith, Steve Brecher, WPT
2009 World Series of Poker – Day 2a Pictures
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Sometimes things just go way over the top when you’re dealing with the biggest poker tournament in the world. You’ll see some crazy things along the rails, loud player disagreements, whack jobs dressed in all types of getups looking for camera attention. Then you have the times when a table pulls the attention of every player and media outlet in the room.
Actor/comedian Brad Garrett drew a table that was far away from the rail and virtually in the center of the blue section. 5 time bracelet and 1984 Main Event winner Berry Johnston was also at the table. Garrett was laughing it up with the players at the table and anyone who would listen. To the point where his table was completely surrounded by every media outlet with a badge to get there. Witness the picture above and below.
Before long players at the other tables were begging the floor staff to deal with the situation. It will certainly make good TV for ESPN when it airs, but neither Garrett or Johnston would move on to Day 3.
Images from the rest of Day 2a after the jump:
Popularity: 14% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Amanda Baker, Berry Johnston, Beth Shak, Billy Argyros, Bloggers on the Rail, Chris Ferguson, Fabrice Soulier, Gavin Smith, Greg Mueller, Jack Ury, Mike Matusow, Roland de Wolfe, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker – Main Event Day 1a Pictures
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Perry Friedman rocks the Full Tilt Poker “grill” to go with his corn rows
I’ve generally stuck to doing a “Week in Pictures” during the preliminary events of the WSOP but I now realize that I’ll be getting more photos than I know what to do with now that we’ve come to the Main Event. So now we’re going to switch up to daily posts as long as we continue to get quality images.
Day 1a started with 1,116 and finished with 821 players. A good number of Team Full Tilt survived to see Day 2.
More photos after the jump:
Popularity: 8% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Allen Cunningham, Beth Shak, Bloggers on the Rail, Eli Elezra, Erik Cajelais, Gavin Smith, Greg Mueller, Jerry Yang, Jon Turner, Michael Gracz, Perry Friedman, Roland de Wolfe, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker Day 18 – Seat Open!
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
![ev25 day1 ids 4476 impdi web 2009 World Series of Poker Day 18 Seat Open!](/poker-from-the-rail/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ev25_day1_ids_4476_impdi-web.jpg "Jon \\"Pearljammed\\" Turner at the 2009 World Series of Poker")
Jon “Pearljammed” Turner leads Event #25 at the 2009 World Series of Poker
Photo credit: IMPDI
I’m running out of terms and having trouble thinking of a new way to describe what happens during the weekend $1,500 No Limit Hold’em events. How many times over seven weeks can I use the terms donkey, lemur, pushmonkey, etc? I may have to start a contest to keep my content and vocabulary up to date. “Seat Open!” will be the call of the day.
Today’s noon event will draw near 3,000 players and I ran into every single one of them this morning. My standard procedure is to be firmly planted in my media row seat by no later the 10:30am. It’s quiet in the Amazon Room and I can get more work done before I hit the tournament floor. Today I did not get to the hallowed halls until just before noon, found myself swimming against a constant stream of weekend warriors pushing their way into their respective rooms to see how fast they can dust off 4500 in chips.
My plan is to watch the finals of the Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo tournament where Full Tilt is well represented. Phil Ivey and Steve Wong are alive and Jon “Pearljammed” Turner leads the final 14 players in the tournament. Also playing are Carlos Mortensen, Dutch Boyd and Chad Brown. They will play down to a winner later today with first place taking home over $220,000 plus the bracelet.
There are also two other non-NLHE events to keep my attention. The field for the Limit Hold’em event was smaller than your average push/pray festival and there are some sharp people at the top heading into Day 2. Richard “Quiet Lion” Brodie, Bill Chen, Justin Bonomo and Noah Boeken are just a few in the top 10.
Only 198 registered for the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha/8 tournament which usually means it’s easier to locate the bracelets in the event. 59 players return and attempt to make tomorrow’s final table. If my fuzzy memory is correct, the only events to stick to the schedule have been Pot Limit tournaments. Three of the top 10 will be sporting Full Tilt gear. Roland De Wolfe, Richard Ashby and Andy Black are just a few of the FTP pros still in contention.
Finally, the fun 5pm tournament. It will be my first time covering a live Heads Up tournament. Spread throughout the Amazon, Brasilia, and Miranda rooms will be the 256 players who drop $10,000 on the latest “World Championship”. They’ll play two heads up matches today bringing the field down to 64 at the end of the day. The field is capped at 256 and spots were nearly full at the start of the day.
I’ll need to sharpen my elbows to make it through the railbirds but I’m a veteran now.
Chip counts of the restarts after the jump.
Gavin Smith cashed in the H.O.R.S.E. event saving him from chopping off his hair
Photo credit: IMPDI
Popularity: 16% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Gavin Smith, Jon Turner, WSOP
2009 World Series of Poker Day 15 – Shootout in the Amazon Room
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
There are only a few events on the schedule which turn the Amazon Room into some massive den of insanity. the $1,000 has to be on top of that list with bustouts at an insane rate. I have no idea what to expect when they run the Heads Up Championship here in a few days. Today brings us the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout event.
If you are unaware of the Shootout format, here is a quickie lesson on today’s event. 1,000 players will play 100 SnG’s 10-handed. The winner of each table will be moved to a new 10-handed table where they will play down to the final table. Put quite simply, all you need to do in order to earn a 2009 World Series of Poker bracelet is win 3 straight Sit n Goes with the world’s toughest players. Cake.
I suspect it will be an easier event to cover since tables will not be breaking and moving players around the room. And it will be easier on the players as they will only be playing one round today, one round tomorrow and the final table on Day 3. Those players who win their table early will not be forced to stick around for half a day waiting for their next assignment.
Only one bracelet will be awarded today when the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em 6-max event plays down to their winner. Brock Parker is looking to pick up his second bracelet this year, also winning the 6-max Limit Hold’em event just days ago over Daniel Negreanu. 10 players remain in the event.
The $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em and $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. return for their Day 2. Erik Seidel and Roland De Wolfe lead the pack in the PLH event and David Singer trying to bring home a braclet in H.O.R.S.E.
The 5pm new tournament of the day will bring the entertainment. It will be a small but distinguished field that enters the $10,000 World Championship of No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball. It just sounds fun typing it out that way. You’ll be able to find me sitting in the Brasilia Room most of the afternoon and evening where I’ll probably run out of notebook paper writing down the stories.
In entertainment news today, we find out whether Full Tilter Gavin Smith will be shaving his head. He made a proclamation via Twitter that if he doesn’t cash in an event by Tuesday he would be chopping the locks. He has a reprieve until today because he’s still alive in $3,000 HORSE tournament. I’m torn as to which result I would like to see.
Chip stacks for the restarts after the jump:
Popularity: 13% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Gavin Smith, 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 preview – Gavin Smith profile
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
As the WSOP Commisioner keeps telling everyone who will “listen” on twitter, the 2009 World Series of Poker is less than a month away from kicking off. Full Tilt Poker is in the process of putting together a team to bring you all you need to know from the floor of the poker room to the backroom interviews with your favorite pros to the pre-game post-game parties and festivities. No stone will be unturned.
As we quickly approach the series, we will start running some profiles of various Full Tilt pros as they attempt to put their stamp on poker history.
Gavin Smith is our first profile from Tuscaloosa Johnny. I’m very familiar with Gavin from his exploits around the poker world as well as the skill he shows at the table and the generosity away from it. Back in the fall of 2006 I was running a little charity function for Cystic Fibrosis and Gavin offered his time and services. In no time flat we had ourselves a little $1,000 charity SnG with all the proceeds going to charity and the prizepool coming from the man himself.
Then he stuck around and the rest was Gavin Smith lore.
Gavin Smith is one of a kind
Known for both his prodigious talent and ability to have a good time, Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith is a fan favorite among poker connoisseurs.
It was actually another casino game that got Smith hooked on poker about 15 years ago. He traveled with some friends to a charity casino in Ontario to play blackjack. A $5-$10 limit Hold’em game broke out and Smith took a seat and won. He kept playing the game for fun and side money until 1998 when he went with a friend to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut for the World Poker Finals. Smith made two final tables and was hooked. He went home and sold out his interest in an underground poker game he helped run and hit the tournament trail.
“It was impossible. It was so hard,” Smith said of his start into the poker life.
Popularity: 32% [?]
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Gavin Smith, Guest Posts, Tuscaloosa John, WSOP
2008 North American Poker Championship Final Results
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Gavin Smith, Brandon Schaefer and your humble hippy author making fools of ourselves
A Canadian not named Gavin Smith wins the 2008 North American Poker Championship in Niagra Falls, Ontario.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Gavin Smith
2008 North American Poker Championship – Gavin Smith makes final TV table
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Gavin Smith makes the televised final table of the North American Poker Championship
Photo credit: WorldPokerTour.com
Gavin Smith goes into the final day of the 2008 North American Poker Championship looking to win his second WPT title and his first on his home Canadian soil. He’ll being play sitting second in chips and will have to deal with Kathy Leibert on his right.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Gavin Smith
2008 North American Poker Championship Day 4
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Erik Seidel playing Day 3 of the North American Poker Championship
Photo credit: WorldPokerTour.com
Gavin Smith and Erik Seidel lead the Full Tilt charge at Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagra Falls, Ontario. More after the jump.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Erik Seidel, Gavin Smith
