Poker From The Rail» Howard Lederer

Team Full Tilt Look to Dominate Live Poker. Again.

AlCantHang — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:28:10 +0000

Things get quite bizarre around me when I find myself going a week’s length of time without serious internet access. I always have my trusty iPhone on my person in case immediate situations present themselves where I need access to a search engine for frivolous trivia answers, but it doesn’t give the outlet for my inter-words or a chance to follow along with things in the poker world. That was the situation I found myself over the last week when I left the grind of the Borgata Poker Open and took a little birthday time away in an island paradise.

So what has happened over the last few days that might be of interest to the casual fan of poker? Members of Team Full Tilt putting a big stamp on the World Series of Poker Europe and an FTP Heads Up grinder collects a WPT win after an huge comeback.

First out of the chute is the easy reporting duty since I was there in person. 1,018 players entered the 2009 WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship, they battled for 5 days until we finally found ourselves looking at a heads up match for the title. Olivier “livb112″ Busquet found himself looking at a massive underdog chip stack going up against blackjack specialist Jeremy Brown. Busquet makes his living tearing through $1,000 Heads Up SnG’s on Full Tilt Poker, booking over $1,500,000 in earnings. Brown’s claim to fame seemed to be chugging a beer per orbit and shots of Patrone with his friends. At one point Busquet was all in with his last 1,800,000 in chips versus the +30,000,000 of Brown, behind and turning lucky. Battle after battle, he eventually turned the tide and took down the title. It will certainly be one of the more interesting telecasts of the new season next spring. You can catch his victory interview with Amanda Leatherman here.

In the big news across the pond, we saw members of Team Full Tilt dominate the early WSOP-E events and making a run at the Main Event as we read/write this post. With just 4 total events during this London-based series, players did not have the luxury of warming up with a bunch of smaller events before jumping after a bracelet. The first event was a standard £1,000 buyin No Limit Hold’em tournament. While none of the Full Tilters ran huge in this starter event, we did have Markus Gloser and John Juanda make the money and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson just miss the final table in 15th.

Event #2 is where things became interesting. Just 158 players bought into the Mix Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha for £2,500 with 18 players getting paid. Team Full Tilt member Vitaly Lunkin and “friend of the blog” Allie Prescott both made it into the money but could not get onto the final table. It was a talented final nine which included Howard Lederer, Hoyt Corkins, Chris Bjorin, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Ian Frazer and Erik Cajelais. In the end, Team Full Tilt had the first off the final table and the last man standing. Howard Lederer was eliminated in the 9th place while Erik Cajelais collects his first WSOP braclet to go along with his WPT Five Diamonds Classic title. Many of the players on the final day were also registered for Day 1 of the £5,000 PLO tournament and there seemed to be a lot of live multi-tabling going on.

Howard Lederer would not let his 9th place finish hamper his efforts in Event #3, £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha sure to attract the best European poker players around. 154 players were in the running to start Day 1 but only 18 would make the money and a chance at the bracelet. Tom “durrrr” Dwan has been known to play a few hands of PLO on occasion (tongue firmly in cheek) but he was unable to crack the final table coming in 14th. Nearly half of the final was composed of the red and white patches of Full Tilt with Robert Williamson III, Hendon Mobster Ross Boatman, Roberto Romanello and Howard Lederer in the last nine. Howard Lederer was poised to capture the second bracelet for FTP but was unable to overcome Jani Vilmunen to finish second. That is back-to-back final table finishes for “The Professor”.

The £10,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event is will underway and there are just two tables left battling it out. John Juanda won the bracelet in 2008 but was unable to defend his title. James Akenhead has a fantastic chance to duplicate the feat by Ivan Demidov last year. Demidov was already set up as a member of the “November Nine” in the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event when he went to Europe and final tabled that Main Event. Akenhead will represent Full Tilt Poker later this year for the WSOP Main Event final table and is now sitting mid-field with 18 players remaining in the European Main Event.

Also looking to make a run at this final bracelet you can find poker legend Doyle Brunson, Hendon Mobster Ram Vaswani, Tony Cousineau, Matt Hawrilenko, Daniel Negreanu, and Jason Mercier. There are no soft spots left in this field. They continue to grind away and hopefully we’ll have just one more great story for Team Full Tilt before the series is complete.

Post from: Poker From The Rail

Team Full Tilt Look to Dominate Live Poker. Again.

2009 World Series of Poker – Week 4 in Pictures

AlCantHang — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:04:59 +0000

Another week has gone by at the 2009 World Series of Poker and things are starting to ramp up. Full Tilt was unable to add to it’s collection of WSOP bracelets but FTP blogger Michael Craig and pro Vitaly Lunkin both put in second place showings. The week started with the NHL Stanley Cup coming to the Amazon Room and ending with the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. kick off. The schedule was lighter than the first three weeks but there was plenty of action to capture.

I present to you the week in pictures from the Full Tilt angle.

The first is by far my favorite photo from the 2009 World Series of Poker. Photographer extraordinaire BJ Nemeth has been capturing some incredible images this year. This photo was taken from atop the bracelet ceremony stage as Phil Ivey picked up his 7th World Series of Poker bracelet. It illustrates the massive amount of players, fans, and media Ivey draws to any event. Click to enlarge and enjoy. More images after the jump.

Photo credit: BJ Nemeth

Rafe Furst playing in Event #38 $2,000 Limit Hold’em. Furst was a rare site in the early portions of the WSOP but has begun picking up steam. He would go on to finish just short of the final two tables in 19th place.

Kristy Gazes and Amanda “Mandy B” Baker playing in Event #39 $1,500 No Limit Hold’em. Gazes had a tough run to fall short of the money but Baker would end the day with her second cash of the WSOP.

Full Tilt pros Steve Zolotow and Chau Giang play in the Pot Limit Omaha World Championship. Neither would figure in the final payouts but other Tilters were up and down the board. Josh Arieh (7th) , Chau Giang (11th), Howard Lederer (12th), Marcus Golser (20th), and Erick Lindgren (27th) would all finish in the money. Vitaly Lunkin lost a heads up battle with Matt Graham for his second bracelet of the year.

Phil Ivey facing off with Erik Cajelais in Event #41 $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout. Ivey had an excellent chance at his third bracelet of the year. He needed to win a 6-handed Round 2 table and 5-handed final table but was unable to overcome some early troubles in the second round. Barney Boatman, David “The Dragon” Pham and Ivey finished 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively.

These two pictures side by side give you a little feeling of what it must be like to be sitting at the table with Ivey and subject to his stare downs.

Howard Lederer takes some time during the Mixed Hold’em event to sign some autographs for fans on the rail. Lederer has 3 cashes during the 2009 World Series of Poker to date. Five Full Tilt pros cashed in the tournament but unable to make the final table. Allen Cunningham, Eric Froehlich, Andy Bloch, Eli Elezra, and Jeff Madsen.

Erick Lindgren playing in the Seven Card Stud Hi-Low World Championship. Lindgren did not make the money in this event but he has 4 cashes in the 2009 World Series of Poker.

If a cage match broke out in the center of the Amazon Room, good money would go on both Scott Clements and Erik Cajelais. Both big guns rarely find anyone willing to start chirping at them from across the table. Some might even fear approaching them. Throw in former hockey player Greg “FBT” Mueller and we would have the start of a good tag team match. Cajelais has yet to cash during this year’s WSOP but Clements has two final tables finishing 2nd and 3rd.

The NHL Stanley Cup came to the World Series of Poker this week. Their hockey awards were taking place across the street and the NHL held a charity poker game in the Amazon Room. WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack is also the half-brother of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. The Stanley Cup was brought to the bracelet presentation area and drew a huge crowd.

The “feature” table was converted for the NHL Charity Shootout Tournament from the standard green felt to a hockey rink. The dealer button was replaced by a hockey puck. Current and former NHL players battled against poker pros for their great charities. Philadelphia Flyer (hometown of your humble blogger) Scotty Hartnell defeated Robert Luongo heads up to win this inaugural event.

Post from: Poker From The Rail

2009 World Series of Poker – Week 4 in Pictures

2009 World Series of Poker Day 27 – Calm before the storm

AlCantHang — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:12:42 +0000

And we’re back after a slight delay due to “technical difficulties” and ready to set off on the closing few weeks of the 2009 World Series of Poker. The big men in charge did us a favor with a relatively slow week but those days are not going to last very long. Yesterday started two small fields, the $5,000 NLHE Shootout and the $2,500 Mix Tournament, and today we only have the Seniors and Razz events.

There will be plenty to keep people hopping all day though, in addition to those two new events we have the continuation of a donakment, World Championship PLO, crazy Shootout format and the 8-game Mix event. Not much push-and-pray action today.

The $5,000 Shootout event drew 280 players making for an interesting format configuration. The players battled it out yesterday on full tables but 30 players return today to play five 6-handed tables. I can only assume that means tomorrow’s final table will be 5 players aiming for the bracelet. Quite a few Full Tilt pros are still alive on Day 2 but three are sitting at one table. Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, and Barny Boatman all drew table 59. Peter “Nordberg” Feldman and David “The Dragon” Pham* also have a chance to make the final table.

I believe yesterday was the first Pot Limit Omaha tournament of the year that played down to 3am without forming it’s final table. This tournament is the $10,000 World Championship event so the play was higher and the stacks much deeper. 5 of the returning players will be sporting Full Tilt logos and trying to bring another bracelet into the family. Markus Golser has a second place chip stack followed by Josh Arieh, Howard Lederer, Vitaly Lunkin, and Chau Giang.

There was plenty of action in Day 1 of the $2,500 Mix Game event. The 8-game tourament (H.O.R.S.E. plus No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha and Deuce to Seven Lowball) drew 412 players with only 153 surviving through the 10 levels. Plenty of big names remain in the field with Andy Black and Jon “Pearljammer” Turner sporting top ten stacks.

The day will help me excercise my poker thesaurus with so many different variation floating around the Amazon and Brasilia rooms. I’ll keep the camera handy and the notepad ready to go.

* Not a real dragon

Chip stacks for restarts after the jump:

Howard Lederer makes Day 3 of the Pot Limit Omaha World Championship

Event #39 No Limit Hold’em
Buyin: $1,500
Number of Entries: 2,715
Net Prize Pool: $3,705,974
First Place Prize: $657,969
Total Spots Paid Out: 270
Players Remaining: 26

1	Michele Iacavone	1,605,200
2	Ray Foley	1,302,000
3	Joe Bartholdi	1,040,000
4	Steve Banner	745,000
5	Chairud Vangchailued	707,000
6	Wei Mu	658,000
7	Shawn Glines	510,000
8	Nam Le	500,100
9	Mohsin Charania	471,000
10	Alex Jacob	433,000
11	Kelvin Crawford	420,000
12	Raymond Davis	401,000
13	Patrick O’Connor	396,000
14	Matt Livingston	388,000
15	Tyler Spalding	339,000
16	Zachary Humphrey	322,000
17	Brandon Cantu	270,000
18	Jonathan Markham	236,000
19	Conrad Monica	224,000
20	Christopher Kolla	207,000
21	Donald Nicholson	207,000
22	Nicholas Derke	200,000
23	Richard Lutes	153,000
24	John Woolen	146,000
25	Jim Mitchell	127,000
26	Steve Mohs	104,000

Event #40 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship
Buyin: $10,000
Number of Entries: 295
Net Prize Pool: $2,773,000
First Place Prize: $679,402
Total Spots Paid Out: 27
Players Remaining: 25

1	Noah Schwartz	1,220,000
2	Marcus Golser	621,000
3	Robin Keston	606,000
4	Matt Graham	586,000
5	Nathan Doudney	585,000
6	Ferit Gabriellson	547,000
7	Stefan Mattsson	484,000
8	Barry Greenstein	467,000
9	Matt Vengrin	389,000
10	Josh Arieh	356,000
11	Richard Austin	331,000
12	Howard Lederer	326,000
13	David Podgurski	261,000
14	Padraig Parkinson	259,000
15	James Taylor	254,000
16	Van Marcus	246,000
17	Vitaly Lunkin	220,000
18	Rodrigo dos Santos	204,000
19	David Williams	198,000
20	Nate Lindsay	171,000
21	Chau Giang	129,000
22	Nenad Medic	128,000
23	Tony Cousineau	100,000
24	Henri Kettunen	100,000
25	Todd Barlow	97,000

Event #41 No Limit Hold’em Shootout
Buyin: $5,000
Number of Entries: 280
Net Prize Pool: $1,316,000
First Place Prize: $348,755
Total Spots Paid Out: 30
Players Remaining: 30

		Table	Seat
1	Mercaldo, Michael	58	1
2	Hougaard, Lars	58	2
3	Feldman, Peter	58	3
4	Hughes, Ryan	58	4
5	Teltscher, Mark	58	5
6	Wong, Danny	58	6
7	Boatman, Barny	59	1
8	Ivey, Phil	59	2
9	Filtz, Justin	59	3
10	Harman-Traniello, Jennifer	59	4
11	Elnasr, Nasr	59	5
12	Saar, Wilf	59	6
13	Baker, David	60	1
14	Benelli, Andrea	60	2
15	Monnette, John	60	3
16	Traply, Peter	60	4
17	Serock, Joseph	60	5
18	Kitai, Davidi	60	6
19	Lykov, Maxim	61	1
20	Veldhuis, Alexander	61	2
21	Makhija, Amit	61	3
22	Frerichs, Jeffrey	61	4
23	Heath, Jonathan	61	5
24	Radoja, Mark	61	6
25	Kibler-Melby, Cort	62	1
26	Gaspard, Jean	62	2
27	Isra, Roland	62	3
28	Pham, David	62	4
29	Lichtenberger, A	62	5
30	Channing, Neil	62	6

Event #42 Mixed Event
Buyin: $2,500
Number of Entries: 412
Net Prize Pool: $947,600
First Place Prize: $241,637
Total Spots Paid Out: 40
Players Remaining: 153

Top 50 chip stacks:

1	Filippi, Amnon	90,000
2	Billirakis, Steve	59,275
3	Black, Andrew	58,200
4	Frangos, Nikolaos	54,550
5	Rasmussen, Thayer	48,425
6	Alioto, Dario	47,175
7	Crain, Eric	46,200
8	Rodriguez, Miguel	45,000
9	Hernandez, Frank	43,700
10	Turner, Jon	41,275
11	Klodnicki, Chris	41,250
12	Mizzi, Sorel	39,525
13	Stoykov, Mihail	39,500
14	Viox, Chris	39,400
15	Koubi, Fuad	37,300
16	Boukai, Rami	36,125
17	Radel, Andrew	35,050
18	Bazin, Stephane	35,025
19	Groysman, Zvi	34,975
20	Rapp, Stefan	34,750
21	Tran, JC	34,700
22	Bronshtein, Yuval	34,375
23	Katchalov, Eugene	33,550
24	Voertmann, Jens	32,400
25	Slezak, Bob	32,100
26	Keiner, Michael	31,600
27	Bonomo, Justin	31,250
28	Luu, Thang	30,900
29	Lilly, Jason	30,225
30	Sabic, Sebastien	29,950
31	Brunson, Todd	29,275
32	Burdsall, Jeff	28,675
33	Williamson III, Robert	28,650
34	Holland, Randy	28,600
35	Lehr, Keith	28,550
36	Binger, Michael	28,200
37	Tims, Jeff	27,800
38	Grishchuk, Alexander	27,750
39	Harman, Jennifer	27,750
40	Chen, Yan	27,575
41	Seidensticker, Tim	27,125
42	Ramos, Felipe	27,050
43	Kostritsyn, Alexander	27,025
44	Altbregin, Sergey	26,875
45	Ankenman, Jerrod	26,850
46	DeGreef, Jeremiah	26,300
47	Davis, Jared	25,375
48	Tunkel, Jeff	25,100
49	Kessler, Alan	25,000
50	Cordovez, Diego	24,725

Post from: Poker From The Rail

2009 World Series of Poker Day 27 – Calm before the storm

No related posts.

2009 World Series of Poker – Week 2 in Pictures

AlCantHang — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:32:09 +0000

We’ve put another week of the 2009 World Series of Poker in the books with more craziness. The crowds continue to storm the hallways of the Amazon Room looking for a table and a chance. The crazies are starting to make their way onto the scene, pros and amateurs are mingling together with a common goal, chip runners stay busy 24 hours a day.

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

Full Tilt Poker Academy – A first look

AlCantHang — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:24:17 +0000

I heard awhile ago that we were about to see the launch of the Full Tilt Poker Academy and I was pretty excited. I know the principle people involved in the project, leaving little doubt that the new site would be impressive and educational. The roster of players involved alone guarantees an increase in poker understanding in just a few sessions.

At first glance you can find four short lessons that will kick start your game:

Chris Ferguson – Bankroll Managment
Andy Bloch – Math Made Easy
Howard Lederer – Betting Basics
Phil Gordon – 5 Common Hold’em Leaks

There are other lessons, sessions with the pros where they walk you through their actions in specific hands, podcasts with various players, and different challenges to test your new skills on the Full Tilt Poker tables.

I’ve only spent a few hours digging deep into the Academy to get my initial response. I will spend the next few days really getting into the material and bring you my thoughts in my next post. I am also looking for other players/bloggers interested in sharing their thoughts. If you would like to contribute, you can leave a comment on the blog or send an email to battleofthebloggers@fulltiltpoker.com.

Other posts about the Full Tilt Poker Academy and challenges:

Full Tilt Poker Academy – First Challenge
Full Tilt Poker Academy – Bankroll Management Challenge
Full Tilt Poker Academy – Pre-flop Play Challenge

Post from: Poker From The Rail

Full Tilt Poker Academy – A first look

Greener Pastures

Big Donkey — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:34:48 +0000

After more than three and half years of wandering the FTP campus, it’s finally time for this Big Donkey to move on. And no, it’s not because of the daily whippings from our maniacal overlord or the constant braying of my cohorts calling me to the tables in soft $3-$6 games all over the Strip. My tenure here has simply run its course. C’est la vie.

I’ve left plenty of other jobs before. Some, I’ve liked – others, not so much. But I can honestly say that I’ve never had a job that, at its base level, was as cool, fun and entertaining as this gig has been day in and day out. In my book, that’s pretty high praise but, then again, I’m a cynical bastard at heart.

Don’t get me wrong. Like any job, there have been days when I’d have liked nothing more than to chuck my keyboard out the window and head for the closest bar. In fact, I may even have done just that on an occasion or two (sorry K-Rich), but when all is said and done, I’ve spent the last 40+ months immersed in all things poker. How can I really complain?

If I wasn’t already a fan of poker before I started working here, having the opportunity to meet and befriend pros like Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Andy Bloch certainly would have made me one. Just having been able to sit with these guys and listen to them talk about their strategies and approaches to the game is an education that every serious – and aspiring – player should experience. The fact that they’re all pretty cool guys was just icing on the cake.

Speaking of cool folks, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my fellow inmates at the asylum we call The Rail. I couldn’t ask for a better backing band than the crew that’s worked with me day in and day out in an effort to keep you, our reader, entertained and informed. I’ll be sad to leave them behind, but I know this blog will flourish in the capable hands and paws of the Inuit, the Captain, and that angriest of monkeys. Good luck to you all and may HDouble have mercy on your souls.

As for me, I’m heading out to stu… wha?! I’m heading off to play stud? Shit! Can someone find me Keith Sexton’s number? Or Friedman’s? Come on… someone’s gotta know where to find Perry….

Anyway… I’ll see you all down the road. It’s been fun. Thanks for reading.

Big Donkey

Post from: Poker From The Rail

Greener Pastures

No related posts.

Random Thoughts

Big Donkey — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:58:51 +0000

It feels like I haven’t posted a lot lately. That’s not because I haven’t wanted to, but rather, because other commitments have kept me away from the blogging keyboard and – honestly – I just don’t have anything really coherent to ramble on about. Shocking, I know. (I’m often capable of ranting/rambling about anything, by the way, which is why… oh, never mind….)

So, with all that in mind (out of mind?), I figured I’d just take the path of least resistance (read: laziness) and put together a list of random thoughts that have flashed through my addled brain over the past few weeks. Enjoy. I hope.

2008, the Year of the Pro – Ever since Nenad-Nenad Medic grabbed the very first bracelet of this year’s WSOP, it seems like the pundits have been calling this the year of the pro. Of course, the fact that a number of big name pros (Lindgren, Singer, Negreanu, Greenstein, Pescatori, etc.) have gone on to grab bracelets throughout the series – and even more have made impressive final table appearances (Andy Bloch and Chris Ferguson, anyone, anyone), seems to be adding credence to the claim.
Still, for as well as the pros are running, I don’t think we can really call the 2008 Series the Year of the Pro unless a big name player takes down the Main Event. OK, maybe we can, but still, I think this title has a lot more credibility if someone other than a random donkey (cough, Yang), takes the title.

The death of televised poker – Maybe “death” is a little strong, but it certainly seems like the game we love to loathe is in intensive care as far as broadcast television is concerned.
GSN recently announced that it’s renewing High Stakes Poker, which is great news for all of us who love to watch our favorite degenerate gamblers in their natural habitat. On the other hand, the once mighty World Poker Tour has gotten the axe, and is currently being shopped around to disinterested buyers. Without a stable TV deal, it seems like the WPT could be sent to the rail and the $10K tournament circuit could be significantly smaller next year. All in all, pretty bad news for pro and amateur players alike.

On the positive side, if the death of the WPT means never having to see Humberto Brenes and his annoying Chark anymore, I would personally consider this a mercy killing. See ya chum.

It really sucks to be the Bubble Boy – Honestly, I’m not mentioning this because of any recent personal experience. Hell, I haven’t even sat at a poker table in more than two weeks (Big Donkey has been going Cold Turkey, but that’s another story).
No, what brings this to mind is that, as I type, Howard Lederer just busted out of the $5K Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo Championship one off the final table after playing for more than 16 consecutive hours. Ouch is an understatement. Even worse – fellow Team Full Tilter Chris Ferguson laid the smack down on the Professor. Still worse than that, Howard’s little sister Annie will be joining Chris at the final table when play resumes. (To say Annie has pwned Howard at past World Series would be kind, seeing as she’s personally knocked him out of four different events over the years. Ah, sibling rivalry – feel the love.)

Anyway, it’s a good thing that Howard isn’t prone to tilting (as far as I know). Otherwise, a beat like that could lead a man down a very dangerous whiskey-soaked path.

Random lists make for shitty posts – Yup, I’ll admit it. This is a pretty shitty post, even by my standards. Oh well, they can’t all be winners. If you want to see something more interesting, feel free to send your comments, stories and extra cash to us here at pokerfromtherail@fulltiltpoker.com.

Until next time…

Post from: Poker From The Rail

Random Thoughts

The Pros Speak (For a fourth time!): Howard Lederer

The Captain — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:20:19 +0000

The last time we spoke with Howard Lederer, we covered a lot of ground. As usual, he was good enough to field a lot of questions and share his thoughts on all things poker. Of everything that we discussed, one question that came up was how – or if – other games relate to poker. As we expected, “The Professor” had an interesting take on what games best translate to poker, but also on how playing games in general helps develop critical thinking skills. Here’s what he had to say:

I think that the game that is most translatable to poker is backgammon. It’s a great game of skill with a healthy dose of luck. It’s a complicated game because you’re dealing with a lot – you have to be thinking with every single move that you make. You’re constantly trying to minimize the effectiveness of the most likely rolls of your opponent and trying to maximize the number of possible good rolls for your next turn. You’re distributing your checkers in a way that makes them flow nicely over a wide range of numbers while trying to minimize the good numbers for your opponent.

In poker, you’re trying to do that all of the time. You’re tying to maximize the chances that the chips you put in the pot are going to come back to you with a nice, healthy return. You’re also thinking about a wide range of potential cards – tying to minimize losses when the cards go poorly for you and maximize your chance of winning when they’re in your favor.

Chess is also a great game – you develop discipline and good critical thinking skills, but there’s been a poor crossover to poker, particularly with players at the highest levels. Although chess requires a great deal of skill to master, it’s a game that rewards your skill too consistently – at least compared to poker. It’s one of the reasons people don’t really gamble at chess.

It’s certainly not a lesser game, but when you reach the level of grand master in chess, one of the skills that you really haven’t learned is how to deal with the luck. I think that someone who has reached that level has a hard time making the transition to a game where they might play great for an evening and then lose. It’s hard to deal with emotionally. On the other hand, backgammon players do this all of the time. And you see that a lot of the world’s best backgammon players have successfully made the crossover. Guys like Gus Hansen and Erik Seidel, amongst others. I can’t give you a list for chess.

Something else that’s developed with or through other games that’s relevant is competitiveness – the desire to beat your opponent. We’re hardwired to compete in this world. In the real world 10,000 years ago, this competition was for food or maybe a territorial skirmish where, in both cases, life was on the line. The beauty of games is that you get to satisfy these urges and no one dies at the end (usually). It’s the idea of engaging in competition, and the fact that there is honor in winning.

I was a pretty good backgammon player, and I think that this competitive drive is what helped me. As my skill developed, I was able to be around world-class players. There was always a certain mentality, a certain approach that they took; it was an uncompromisingly self-critical ability that’s common amongst those who had become world-class. It was this mentality that I applied to poker. I really hadn’t been exposed to people like that before and, if I hadn’t, I don’t think I could have developed the critical ability necessary to become a great poker player. I believe that’s important for sure.

It might not be so much about the games themselves as much as being exposed to the players who have developed that ability. If you’re serious about poker, choose your friends wisely. Find accomplished people that are really excited about the game. That’s what will make you a better player.

Post from: Poker From The Rail

The Pros Speak (For a fourth time!): Howard Lederer

A Long Wait for the Final Table

Big Donkey — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:38:32 +0000

After months of speculation, the powers that be at Caesar’s have made an announcement that I’m not happy about. The final table of the Main Event will take place starting November 9^th – more than three months after the 10^th-place finisher is knocked out of the event.

Why do this? According to the good folks at Caesar’s and their media partners at ESPN, the delay lets them bill the final broadcast as more of a “must see” semi-live event rather than a taped show. (ESPN’s plan is to use hole-card cams on the final table and to broadcast the event within hours after it starts/finishes.)

Needless to say, the plan has drawn decidedly mixed reviews from the poker world. Those in favor of the plan (other than Caesar’s and ESPN) say the delay is actually good for the game, as it will give the media time to develop touchy-feely features on the players and play up the “schmuck next door donked his way into a million dollar payday” stories that everyone loves to hate.

Speaking of million dollar paydays, supporters of the delay also say the move will help bring additional revenue to the table as the last nine players will have better opportunities to score lucrative endorsement deals with poker sites like FTP and other businesses interested in promoting their wares to eager poker players around the world.

The pragmatist in me doesn’t like the aforementioned arguments, but I can see the merits of these positions. The argument that really tilts me, however, is the third “positive” that supporters of this plan cite in their reasoning: the break will give the remaining competitors the chance to recharge, study the opposition and, maybe, even work with poker trainers to plug leaks in their own games or devise strategies to help them win the bracelet.

For me, this just doesn’t feel right. I know there’s precedent for this kind of thing (as Howard Lederer recently mentioned, they do the same thing in the Poker Million), but I don’t think that justifies the change. The Main Event is a poker marathon unto itself. Part of the charm (if an 8,000 player event can have charm) is that the nine final tableists have fought and battled their way through this ridiculous field, and are now playing for what are likely the highest stakes of their lives while running on absolute fumes. It’s like watching the end of a Rocky movie – the cards are flopped in the center of the table and each player takes their best shot at knocking their opponent out. It’s drama.

When the final table starts, the nine players are working based on their experiences at the table over the past 12 days of play and on whatever reads, strategies and theories they’ve developed while starting at – and across – the felt. By giving them an extended break, they’re free to rest up and take time to analyze their games and those of their opponents, and to make changes they may not have been able to otherwise.

Howard may be right in saying that each player has the same opportunities during this break and that the time off doesn’t favor any single player over another, but I’m not sure about that. In the recent past when fields got truly huge, the player who has won the Main Event is the one who had the most stamina and focus at the end of the event. The one who was able to out-think or out-play his opponent in a key hand – maybe because he was sharper or his opponent had finally succumbed to the pressure and strain of so many days of consecutive play.

By delaying the final table, that stamina factor is effectively removed from the game and that, I think, does in fact help “weaker” players who may have not survived very long at the final table in the traditional format.

Of course, there are many more arguments both for and against the new delay and many people smarter than I have already weighed in on each side of this debate. When it comes right down to it, my opinion on this matter means absolutely nothing. The decision has been made, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Post from: Poker From The Rail

A Long Wait for the Final Table

The Pros Speak (For a third time): Howard Lederer

The Captain — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:57:59 +0000

One of the biggest topics in the poker world right now is the new format for the WSOP Main Event. The confirmation that the final table will be delayed for roughly three months sent the poker news and blogging communities into a frenzy of posting activity expressing all manner of opinion on the delay.

While a lot of writers have made valid points both for and against the new format, what we really wanted to know is how individual pros really feel about it. Fortunately for us, we were able to sit down with Howard “The Professor” Lederer and get his thoughts on the subject. In his own words, here’s what he had to say:

I think that it (the delay) will be very cool. It will vastly increase interest across all media for the final event. Because we’ll have these nine players that people know are going to be playing for millions of dollars in a few months, it’s not over. It’ll be shown on ESPN as a news event, not something that happened three months ago. Think about the buzz that the mainstream media will generate: now all of a sudden you’ve got these nine people thinking about and dealing with the pressure of what’s coming up. We’re a reality culture – we want to get to know interesting people. Nine people who might win however many millions of dollars it turns out to be for first place are a lot more interesting to talk to than one person who won three months ago.

As far as taking an extended break goes, it is what it is. If those are the rules, everyone’s going to agree to them before they sit down to play. Everyone will know that if they are good enough or lucky enough to make it to the final table that they’re going to take a three-month break. Maybe they can work on their game, maybe they can get some coaching, or maybe they can even get some mainstream coverage or even professional sponsorship. Certainly, I think that the player that finishes fifth after this three-month delay will be much better known than the player who finished in fifth place last year. I’m not saying that it’s important to every player to become famous, but I think that creating famous poker players is good for the game.

Again, it’s a good thing overall. And there’s precedent for it. I played in the Ladbrokes Poker Million VI tournament where we played our heats early for taped TV in August of last summer. This built up to up to the Championship Grand Final that we didn’t play until December.

Of course things will turn out differently, but that’s how it goes in all of life. Your drive home might turn out differently if you leave an hour later. It just is what it is. It’s a three-month delay that’s going to create a lot of buzz and positive exposure for the game of poker – which is good for the game – and it will change the final table. How it will change it, we have no idea. But it’s all completely fair and I think it will be good.

Post from: Poker From The Rail

The Pros Speak (For a third time): Howard Lederer