Poker From The Rail
a Poker Blog brought to you by Full Tilt Poker
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Mike Matusow signing copies of Check Raising The Devil outside the Amazon Room
It’s Ladies day here at the 2009 World Series of Poker as the $1,000 Ladies Only event kicks off at noon. There will be some top pros scattered throughout the Amazon Room including actress Jennifer Tilly who’s picture is plastered all over the Rio advertising this event. We’ll be on the look out for some idiot men who will no doubt try to play the event in disguise.
The big event today, no offense to the ladies, is the $10,000 Limit Omaha/8 Championship which will bring a different kind of exclusive group of players. It takes a special kind of person to master LO8 and these players will be trying to collect some hardware. Mike Matusow took yesterday off from playing just to make sure he was ready to hit this event with everything in his arsenal. If he’s got everything dialed in he has to be one of the favorites in the field to take it down.
We will have two more bracelets won at some point in the day. The $2,500 No Limit Hold’em and $2,500 Limit Hold’em both finished up before hitting their final table but will play down to a winner today. Phil Ivey is still in the NLHE field but severly shortstacked when he walks in the door. I suspect we’ll see an early push from the legend looking for his second bracelet of the year.
On a personal note, I’ll be trying to win my way into the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event today when we throw down in the Battle of the Blogger Tournament of Champions at 20:00ET (17:00 Amazon Room time). I’ll be going up some of your favorite bloggers and some of the best players in the group. My odds are very long and chances slim but I’ll be doing my damnedest to take a day off and play the big game.
Chip counts for the restarts after the jump:
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Battle of the Blogger Tournaments, Bloggers on the Rail, Mike Matusow, WSOP
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.
Tags: 2009 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Mike Matusow, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Everyone in the poker world is familiar with Mike Matusow and his famous “meltdowns” from the coverage on TV and stories all over the internet. He had the famous flip out on WSOP Champion Greg Raymer, the time spent in prison shortly afterward, then his victory in the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. These stories are well known and well publicized.
The mistake most make is judging Matusow completely on the stories and his reputation. As with most, his life is much more than his reputation. It’s been several years in the works but you will finally have the chance to read Mike Matusow’s story straight from the man himself.
Mike Matusow: Check-Raising the Devil, his new autobiography, is due out on May 12th and will give the reader more background into the man you only see on television or the internet. Short review after the jump.
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
The last chance for a Full Tilt red letter pro to final table the WPT World Championship rested on the shoulders of Jennifer Harman. Unfortunately she busted before they halted play for the day in 11th place. Ross Boatman also ran deep for the Hendon Mod, Jeff Madsen made the final two tables but David Grey busted early in they day.
Poker legend Scotty Nguyen goes into the day with a chip lead. He is looking for his 7th WPT television table and second WPT victory.
While no big name Full Tilt pros will be sitting at the final table, that doesn’t mean we don’t have a few video interviews / snippets left for your enjoyment. After the jump you can see Mike Matusow all fired up and Andy Bloch going through nailing a straight flush.
After the jump.
Tags: AlCantHang, Andy Bloch, Bloggers on the Rail, Jennifer Harman, Mike Matusow, WPT
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Nick Schulman led most of Day 4 at the 2008 Five Diamond Poker Classic
Photo credit: WorldPokerTour.com
The 2008 Five Diamond Poker Classic is down to the final two tables and three Tilters are representing. Nick Schulman spent a large part of the day with the chip lead but took some hits as the day went along. Robert Mizrachi is sitting 9th in chips and Mike Matusow is looking to add to his Foxwoods WPT final table from earlier in the year.
Allen Cunningham, David Oppenhein, and Andy Bloch all came up short on Day 4 but added to the list of Full Tilt pros cashing in the $15,000 Main Event. Day 4 played down from 55 to 18, Day 5 will kick off at noon Vegas time and they will play down to the final 6 for the TV table.
Chip counts and payouts after the jump
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Mike Matusow, Nick Schulman
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Mike Matusow playing in the 2008 Five Diamond Poker Classic
Nick Schulman leads the long list of Team Full Tilt members heading into Day 4 of the Five Diamond Poker Classic at the Bellagio. He is joined by Allen Cunningham, David Oppenheim, Andy Bloch and Mike Matusow. Several Tilters were knocked out near the bubble and four made into the money but not onto Day 4.
Several World Series of Poker Main Event champions were also eliminated on Day 4. Poker legends Phil Hellmuth and Johnny Chan joined the tournament host Doyle Brunson on the rail after the bubble burst. 55 players start out the day still holding onto a chance to win the $1.5 million first place prize.
After the jump you will find chip counts for the Tilters going into Day 4.
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Mike Matusow, Nick Schulman
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
David Pham at Foxwoods World Poker Finals
Photo credit: WorldPokerTour.com
Last week was a good one for David Pham. On November 11th he finished fourth in Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $240,344 then turned around and finished third the very next day in FTOPS X Event #16 for near $112,000. By any measure, that is one fine week.
The rest of Team Full Tilt seemed to dominate the event even without collecting the win. Get the rest of the numbers after the jump.
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, David Pham, Mike Matusow, WPT
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Mike Matusow hosted FTOPS X Event #1
FTOPS X kicked off last night with a monster $1,000,000 guarantee tournament which drew a huge crowd. 5,124 players paid $216 for the 6-max superstack game paying out $195,000+ to the winner. The tournament lasted a crazy 9.5 hours finishing in the wee hours of the morning. Winner davin77 must have really been dragging since he was playing from Germany.
Recap after the jump.
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, FTOPS, Mike Matusow
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under Reader Mail
Here we go again – madness, mayhem, Reader Mail! The WSOP Main Event has reached its final nine players and is now on a four month hiatus, so let the discussion begin. Email us at pokerfromtherail@fulltiltpoker.com with any comments, questions, or conspiracy theories about the battle for Tiffany Michelle’s breasts. On to the show:
Tags: Mike Matusow, WSOP
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Hold on… don’t celebrate yet. We’re not going anywhere. Sorry to burst your bubble.
As for our Full Tilt Poker pros and the WSOP Main Event – stick a fork in ‘em because their done and the Big Dance is going to be won by some random donkey. (Technically, there are a couple of not-so-random donkeys left in the field like the lovely Tiffany Michelle, but that just doesn’t have the same ring to it, you know?)
Tags: Mike Matusow, WSOP
Most Popular Posts
- (none)
Authors
Blogroll
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
sweet!...Disclaimer
The opinions expressed by this blog and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt Poker is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the author of this blog nor any content contained herein.
