The World Series of Poker Event #8, $2000 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys, at the Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada ended today with Chau Giang of Las Vegas taking his third WSOP bracelet and the top prize of $187,920. He beat final table chip leader, Robert Williamson of Dallas, who collected $103,580 for second place. Jeffrey Lisandro of Italy took third place and $56,940. The two day event had a field of 145 entrants and a prize pool of $569,440.
Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, 2000 WSOP Champion, finished in ninth position and collected $11,380. The action continues with first day elimination in the $1,500 Buy-in No-Limit Hold’em. The 2004 WSOP continues to set records for the number of entrants and the event prize pools with the ninth event being no exception.

2004 World Series of Poker
Daily Report
April 29, 2004

Event #8
Pot-Limit Omaha (with re-buys)
Buy-In: $2,000
Number of Entries: 145
Number of Re-buys: 112
Number of Add-ons: 44
Prize Money: $569,440

Official Results:

Placed Name Location Amount
1st Chau Giang Las Vegas, NV $187,920
2nd Robert Williamson III Dallas, TX $103,580
3rd Jeffrey Lisandro Perth, Australia $56,940
4th David Colclough Birmingham, England $45,560
5th Meng La Torrance, CA $34,160
6th Karsten Johansen Copenhagen, Denmark $28,480
7th Mike Wattel Phoenix, AZ $22,780
8th Paul Maxfield Stoke-on-Kent, England $17,080
9th Chris “Jesus” Ferguson Pacific Palisades, CA $11,380
10th James Hoeppner Las Vegas, NV $7,980
11th Michael Pancer San Diego, CA $7,980
12th Chris Bjorn London, England $7,980
13th Seyed Sarkeshik Northampton, England $6,840
14th Dewey Tomko Winter Haven, FL $6,840
15th George Pitsilides Virginia Beach, VA $6,840
16th O'Neil Longson Las Vegas, NV $5,700
17th Erick Lindgren Martinez, CA $5,700
18th Bruce Corman Nottingham, England $5,700

Against All Odds: Chau Giang Wins Third World Series of Poker Gold Bracelet

At the table I hear people say, ‘Poker is luck.’ That is 100 percent wrong. If they are losing, it is because they're doing something wrong. Poker is skill, it isn't luck. In the long run, day after day after day, you cannot get lucky all the time.
-- Poker Champion Chau Giang (as told to Dana Smith in a 1994 interview)

If CHAU GIANG was named “John Smith” and was from Oklahoma instead Vietnam (by way of Florida and Colorado), he would probably be one of the most famous poker players in the world. Instead, GIANG shuffles around casinos and cardrooms in relative anonymity. Although GIANG routinely plays in poker games with the highest limits in the world – try playing $2,000-4,000 limit as your regular Thursday night poker game – he rarely gets recognized publicly for the immense poker talent he maintains and the bankroll management he exercises. He sits down among, plays with, and often defeats the living legends every poker player will recognize – be it Brunson, Berman, Baldwin, or Reese. His peers universally agree that GIANG possesses a brilliant poker mind and is one of the toughest players in the world to beat – whatever the game, whatever the limit, and whatever the decision.
The story of how this former cook making $160 a week evolved into a high stakes poker player is astounding, but also secondary to the more remarkable story of how GIANG departed his native Vietnam to come to the United States. GIANG, who’s parents were Chinese, fled Vietnam in a small boat – risking everything he owned to taste freedom in America. In a sense, it was an “all in” bet GIANG was willing to make. When his ultimate gamble paid off with his arrival in the United States in 1978, GIANG began working laborious, minimum wage jobs to support himself and build a better life.
GIANG later moved to Colorado and took a job as a cook in a Chinese restaurant. Barely making ends meet, GAING started playing in a low-limit poker game and eventually discovered he could make a better living at the green felt table rather than frying rice inside a steamy kitchen. Convinced he could succeed, GIANG took another gamble when he came to Las Vegas. He started in low limit games, then moved up to higher levels as his bankroll and confidence increased. Within the first year, GIANG made $100,000 at the poker tables in Las Vegas. When the Mirage opened a few years later, GIANG was regularly seen in the biggest game in the room – often playing $500-1,000 limit and higher.
“Poker is poker, whether the player is English, Chinese, or American,” GIANG said ten-years ago in an interview with Card Player’s Dana Smith. “A smart player always stays in action; he knows how to preserve his bankroll and he stays off the rail.“
Unfortunately, GIANG had to learn that lesson the hard way, as he gambled away most of his early poker winnings on baccarat. That meant he had to get back to playing poker and stick with it, and at the same time – eliminate the “leaks” that are so self-destructive to a poker bankroll.
GIANG began playing tournaments in the early 90s and won two gold bracelets at the World Series of Poker – for Ace-to-Five Lowball in 1993 and Omaha High-Low Split in 1998. Despite his success, GIANG quit the tournament circuit for many years – choosing instead to focus on high-limit cash games. He didn’t play at the World Series of Poker for a number of years and only recently decided to return to the Horseshoe, because – he says – “tournaments are the only place to find a big game.”
GIANG came to the final table of the $2,000 buy-in event at this year’s World Series of Poker low on chips, with only $64K against chip-leader ROBERT WILLIAMSON III ($129K), the popular Dallas-based pro who was seeking his second win at the World Series. In an incredible turn of events, six of the nine finalists busted out within the first hour of play – leaving just three players. When Australian-born Jeffrey Lisandro, who now lives in Italy, busted out in third place, it looked as if the final table might end in record time – less than two hours. But then, the real battle began.
WILLIAMSON and GIANG battled it out for three hours, with WILLIAMSON holding a decisive chip lead most of the way. WILLIAMSON played brilliantly, giving the utmost respect to his opponent, while at the same time trying to capitalize on his chip advantage – which endured around the 2 to 1 mark (favoring WILLIAMSON). During the clash, GIANG almost faltered and went down to just $60K at one point, versus WILLIAMSON’s $642K. Out-chipped by a massive 10 to 1 margain, GIANG never showed any loss of confidence and retained his composure throughout. GIANG wavered and forth between $60K and $250K in chips for most of the final hour, before winning two big pots which put him into the chip lead for the first time.
GIANG won the final hand of the night on a flush draw that got there on the river:
GIANG: K-10-8-6 (two diamonds)
WILLIAMSON: 9-7-x-x
The flop came 9-7-3, with two diamonds. GIANG had a diamond flush draw. WILLIAMSON had two-pair. WILLIAMSON was “all in.” WILLIAMSON picked up a straight-draw on the turn, but a king of diamonds on the river completed GIANG’s flush.
Afterward, ROBERT WILLIAMSON, 33, admitted he was extremely disappointed with the defeat. “I would have given Chau all the money – I just wanted the bracelet,” he said. “I wanted to give the gold bracelet to my father.” For the time being, WILLIAMSON will have to settle for the gold bracelet he won in Pot-Limit Omaha in 2002.
CHAU GIANG, age 49, once again defied the odds. The man who started with nothing, evolved into a success, and became a millionaire playing poker, is married and has three children (ages 8, 5 and 3). In a sense, this World Series of Poker win was emblematic of a life that began with serious disadvantages, yet which ultimately yielded immense personal and financial awards and achievement.
“I wanted to win this tournament so bad for my children,” GIANG said after his win. “My children asked me – why don’t we ever see you on TV? So, I played this one for my children.”
When ESPN shows GIANG’s performance at this final table to a national audience, GIANG’s three children will surely be watching and smiling. They will have good reason to be proud of their father. And we, as poker players, all have good reason to be proud of CHAU GIANG.

Tournament Report by Nolan Dalla
Media Director – World Series of Poker

Posted by pokerprof at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The seventh event, $1000 Buy-In No-Limit Hold’em with Rebuys, at the 2004 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada attracted 538 entrants and a prize pool of $1,261,700. The last ten players started the final table at approximately 3:30 pm local time when early favorite Howard Lederer was eliminated in eleventh place. Gerry Drehubl of Spokane, Washington finished first and collected $365,900 beating John Jaunda of Marina Del Rey, California. Second place paid $193,200. Daniel Negreanu of Las Vegas, Nevada finished third and got $100,940 for his efforts. Local crowd favorite Mike Matusow, exhibiting his usual enthusiasm and banter, finished fifth taking home $ 75,700. Winner, Gerry Drehubl, has only been playing poker for a few months making his victory even more spectacular. The final table became a marathon that lasted more than eight hours. The 538 entrants had 534 rebuys. Congratulations to all the money finishers and especially Gerry for his great play and first WSOP bracelet.

And here is the offical report from the WSOP Wire.

Event #7
No-Limit Texas Hold'em
Buy-In: $1,000 with Re-Buys
Number of Entries: 538
Number of Re-Buys: 534 plus 262 add-ons
Prize Money: $1,261,700

First-time Amateur Gerry Drehobl Demolishes World’s Top Poker Pros in Epic Marathon Victory

This proves that if you have a passion for something and dedicate yourself to it, you can succeed at it.
-- Gerry Drehobl (after winning 2004 WSOP Event #7)

It’s a story that’s been told a thousand or more times, but never gets old. David slays Goliath. Rocky defeats Apollo Creed. Moneymaker triumphs. The latest giant-killer is named GERRY DREHOBL, the owner of a small aviation-related business in Spokane, WA. Incredibly, DREHOBL began playing poker only six months ago. When he came to Las Vegas this year to play in his first major poker tournament, no one, not even DREHOBL himself could have possibly imagined the most implausible of poker victories. DREHOBI overcame immeasurable odds and defeated a huge field of 537 players - including former world champions Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Hellmuth, Huck Seed, Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston, and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson - en route to his first tournament victory and a whopping payout of $365,900 in prize money. In fact, the total prize pool of over $1.2 million dollars is now the second event to exceed a million dollars in prize money.
Even more remarkable was DREHOBL’s crafty performance at the final table - against what was undoubtedly one of the toughest and most colorful in recent memory. Poker’s explosion has created huge tournament fields, which, in turn, have made final tables reminiscent of the old game show, “What’s My Line?” Fact is, most final tables are now comprised of relatively unknown players, and with each passing event we are introduced to several new poker personalities. But this table was different for many reasons. First, there were a number of poker “superstars” present in the finale - well known players sure to attract attention. In a sense, it was a dream table for the ESPN broadcast crew, which televised the event for expected showing during the summer, enticing hundreds of spectators to gather on the second floor of the Horseshoe Casino-Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. Those in attendance were fortunate enough to witness poker history being made by a 49-year-old first-time poker player and consummate underdog.
Play began at 5:30 pm PST. The first key hand of the night took place when PAUL PHILLIPS took pocket kings up against JOHN JUANDA's pocket 8s. The kings prevailed, and PHILLIPS quickly doubled up to $120K.
BRIAN STRAHL was the first player to go out when he lost with pocket 5s. An ace on the flop gave JOHN JUANDA top pair with A-J, and it was all over for STRAHL, a 29-year-old poker player from Atlantic City, who was playing at his third final table dating back to 2003. STRAHL collected $25,240.
When asked if he could have possibly avoided elimination by not committing all his chips with the pocket 5s, STRAHL responded, “If I did everything right, I would still be over there playing.”
The elimination of one player from the final table was significant for one bizarre reason. Chip-leader DANIEL NEGREANU had reportedly made 27 re-buys in this event (essentially investing $28,000 in himself to win), which meant that the two-time bracelet winner would need at least an 8th-place finish to ensure a profit. With STAHL’s departure, now NEGREANU would be guaranteed a profit.
LEE MARKHOLT had been primarily responsible for knocking out the "Professor" of tournament poker, Howard Lederer, when there were just ten players remaining. Accordingly, Lederer finished on the “TV bubble.” About an hour into the final table, MARKHOLT had about $100K and blinds were $3K-6K. He found A-Q and announced "all in" after RAM VASWANI had made an initial raise with pocket kings. The pair cowboys became the four horsemen of the apocalypse when the final board showed K-9-9-K-x. Quad kings was massive overkill, and MARKHOLT took his place on the rail as the 8th place finisher. He received $37,860.
“I had a pretty short stack and had to make a move,” MARKHOLT said afterward. “A-Q was the best hand I found, so I had to go with it. With a short-stack, you don’t have a lot of decisions to make.”
Down to seven, RAM “CRAZY HORSE” VASWANI was low on chips. The pro poker player is part of the “Hendon Mob,” a group of four top London-based players who have terrorized the European circuit with their poker skills for nearly a decade. However, CRAZY HORSE wasn’t able to corral his opponents at this final table and was bucked off the final table in 7th place - good for 50 grand.
Chip leader NEGREANU continued to add to his chip castle. As he stacked yet another pot, he was taunted incessantly by the player on his immediate right - MIKE “MOTORMOUTH” MATUSOW. "You're my hero," MOTORMOUTH snarled in jest. "There's nothing like beating a hero up” - which evoked laughter from the standing room only crowd.
About an hour later, it was NEGREANU who got to laugh when he busted REGGIE “THE WRECKER” CARDIEL. The flop came Q-Q-3 and CARDIEL was the aggressor on the hand, betting $45K. NEGREANU smooth called. A five on the turn put two diamonds on board, and CARDIEL bet out again. NEGREANU called. A third diamond fell on the river, and CARDIEL checked. NEGREANU moved "all in" with Q-J and CARDIEL called reluctantly with 10-10. That was a big mistake, since NEGREANU had trip queens. THE WRECKER was towed away from the final table in 6th place with $63,080.
“You can’t complain about winning sixty thousand dollars,” CARDIEL stated. “But when you get so close to the really big money, then it’s a big disappointment.”
The circus sideshow between NEGREANU and MOTORMOUTH continued. At one point, Tournament Director Matt Savage listed DANIEL NEGREANU's impressive tournament resume, to which MOTORMOUH replied, "Do we have to listen to this again?" Moments later, MOTORMOUTH took another verbal jab at NEGREANU when he barked out, "I remember the last tournament we played (together), I busted you! You remember that, don’t you, Daniel?" More laughter. Even NEGREANU was smiling.
More table madness: As NEGREANU continued to increase his chip lead, MOTORMOUTH squawked, “Don’t get used to stacking those chips, Daniel. Those chips are on temporary loan.”
But there were some serious moments, too. MOTORMOUTH caught a huge break when he tried to make a move with A-4 and got called by JOHN JUANDA with A-J. MOTORMOUTH was “all in” and looked to be in a horrible position shape before the flop - essentially drawing to a three-outer (fours). The MOTORMOUTH’s jaws stopping flapping for an instant as he hoped for a miracle. An act of divine intervention gave MOTORMOUTH a four on the flop, and the colorful Las Vegas pro was granted a temporary reprieve.
Unfortunately, MOTORMOUTH lost everything a short time later. MOTORMOUTH flopped top pair with kings and made a large bet, which was called by dot.com dilettante, PAUL PHILLIPS. The sandal-wearing winner of several major tournaments and emerging poker celebrity caught a flush on the turn. When PHILLIPS bet out on the river, it was enough to put MOTORMOUTH “all in.” MOTORMOUTH called and showed two pair. No good. PHILLIPS’ hand won and MOTORMOUTH took $75,700 as the 5th place finisher.
“They were all moving in, and I didn’t want to play many hands. I was hoping they would break each other….On the last hand I had two pair and I knew (Paul Phillips) didn’t have a set, so I called with the rest of my chips. Of course, that was a mistake,” said MIKE “MOTORMOUTH” MATUSOW.
After a break, blinds increased to $4K-8K. JOHN JUANDA was the first player to deal a serious blow to NEGREANU’s chip lead, when he made top pair with jacks and was called reluctantly by NEGREANU with pocket 8s. The hand essentially put all four finalists close in chips, and the outcome seemed wide open. GERRY DREHOBL sat quietly most of the evening, absorbing the unfolding drama around him. For the most part, he assumed a conservative strategy and played far fewer hands than his three “world class” opponents.
But DREHOBI suddenly came alive on a big hand when he was dealt Q-Q. DREHOBL made it $40K, and JUANDA called. PHILLIPS, with 8-8 moved "all in." DREHOBL moved "all in" over the top, and had more than enough chips to cover PHILLIPS. JUANDA thought, then folded, and showed A-J. The crowd gasped when the flop came A-10-6 (which would have paired JUANDA's ace) and watched as two successive blanks fell on the turn and river -- resulting in a $350,000 pot for DREHOBL and a 4th place finish for Mr. Dot.Com -- otherwise known as the amiable PAUL PHILLIPS. This was PHILLIP’s second final table at this year’s WSOP (he finished 2nd a few days ago).
“I think I played as well as I could,” PHILLIPS said in a post-game interview. “The thing about these tournaments is - it’s not that hard to take second or third place or (make a final table). But it’s really hard to win. I can say that from personal experience, having so many 2nd and 3rd place finishes.”
To just about everyone’s surprise, DREHOBL was now the chip leader with over $700K. The motley trio of battled back and forth for nearly two hours. During the marathon, NEGREANU managed to lose about half his stack -- with most of those chips going across the table to JUANDA. At the next break, the chip counts stood at: DREHOBL ($725K), JUANDA ($443K), and NEGREANU ($164K)
NEGREANU became desperate to stop the flow of chips out of his stack. He moved “all in” after an initial raise by DREHOBL, and knew he was in serious trouble when DREHOBL nearly beat NEGREANU into the pot with his chips. NEGREANU’s instincts were correct. DREHOBL woke up with pocket kings, and NEGREANU’s petty king-queen looked like a couple on the verge of a divorce. The board failed to overturn the decisive odds in DREHOBL’s favor, which meant the final table was down to just three players. NEGREANU, who has two gold bracelets from the World Series of Poker (wins in 1998 and 2003) received $88,320 for 4th place.
“Third sucks,” said NEGREANU afterward in reference to coming in third. “I always play to win. But I feel that I played well. I don’t think I got outplayed - I got out-carded.”
When asked about investing $28,000 in this tournament (with multiple re-buys) - which “unofficially” may be the largest number of re-buys ever recorded by a single individual in a major tournament -- NEGREANU retorted that he expected profit. “All those people were laughing at me in the beginning - what an idiot! What an idiot! Well, they all lost two or three thousand. Well, I made $70-something thousand and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.”
When heads up play started, DREHOBL enjoyed slightly better than a 2 to 1 chip lead:
DREHOBL: $900K
JUANDA: $400K
The two finalists were about as different as they could possibly be:
JUANDA DREHOBL
Age: 33 49
Birthplace: Indonesia Rapid City, SD
Occupation: Poker Pro Business Owner
Marital Status: Single Married
Children: 0 7
Education: Master’s Degree N/A
Tournament Wins: 20 (est.) 0
WSOP wins: 3 0
Years Playing Poker: 10+ .5
Most observers expected the more-experienced JUANDA to gradually peck away at DREHOBL’s big stack. JUANDA was clearly more savvy at heads-up play and might have been able to take advantage of DREHOBL’s more rigid standards for getting involved in big pots. Therefore, it was quite a surprise that the heads-up match between the polar opposites lasted only three hands.
At 12:30 am, DREHOBL was dealt K-K to JUANDA’s Ac-10s. DREHOBL raised pre-flop and JUANDA called. On the turn, the board showed Qc-7c-7d-6c (three clubs on board) and JUANDA bet $50K. DREHOBL raised $110K. JUANDA announced “all in” on the semi-bluff nut flush draw - and DREHOBL called. A blank 4 fell on the river, which make DREHOBL the unlikeliest of poker champions. JOHN JUANDA received $193,020 as the runner up.
JUANDA was good-natured about his defeat. That’s why you play the game,” he said. “Everyone has a chance to win.”
DREHOBL was the first to agree. “I hoped I could get here someday - five years or ten years, or however long it took,” DREHOBL said later in reference to his relative inexperience as a poker player and newcomer status to the excitement of the World Series. “But this proves that if you have a passion for something and dedicate yourself to it, you can succeed at it.”
“I never expected to be able to come here and compete against the top level players. I thought I’d come (to the Horseshoe) to get a chance to play and learn.”
Immediately following the final hand, at the pinnacle of his fame and glory as poker’s newest champion, DREHOBL’s wife rushed from the crowd and ran onto the ESPN stage where the final table was held. Tears of joy streamed down her face as the two embraced.
“I’m so excited. I’m so proud of him,” she said.
GERRY DREHOBL must have shaken dozens of hands, from those offering congratulations, as he exited the room. He rocketed from total obscurity to “poker champion” overnight -- overcoming one of the toughest final tables in history.
--Price of an entry fee: $1,000
--Price of double add-on: $2,000
--Net value of a World Series of Poker gold bracelet: Priceless

Official Results:
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
Placed Name Location Amount
1st Gerry Drehobl Spokane, WA $365,900
2nd John Juanda Marina Del Rey, CA $193,020
3rd Daniel Negreanu Las Vegas, NV $100,940
4th Paul Phillips Las Vegas, NV $88,320
5th Mike Matusow Las Vegas, NV $75,700
6th Reggie Cardiel San Diego, CA $63,080
7th Ram Vaswani London, England $50,460
8th Lee Markholt Eastonville, WA $37,860
9th Brian Strahl Atlantic City, NJ $25,240
10th Fabrice Soulier Paris, France $13,880
11th Howard Lederer Las Vegas, NV $13,880
12th Cal Dykes Las Vegas, NV $13,880
13th Dutch Boyd Culver City, CA $11,360
14th Roger Easterday Las Vegas, NV $11,360
15th David Colclough London, England $11,360
16th Jonathan Azoulay Los Angeles, CA $8,840
17th Diego Cordovez Palo Alto, CA $8,840
18th Mel Judah London, England $8,840
19th Arash Ghaneian Marina Del Rey, CA $6,300
20th David Grey Henderson, NV $6,300
21st Ajay Shah Belgium $6,300
22nd David Cossio El Paso, TX $6,300
23rd Lee Wosk Golden, CO $6,300
24th Lawrence Jelsma Edmond, OK $6,300
25th Captain Tom Franklin Gulfport, MS $6,300
26th Trung Ly Las Vegas, NV $6,300
27th John Bolten Overland Park, KS $6,300
28th Cy Jassinowsky Johannesburg, South Africa $4,420
29th Gene Applehans Westminister, CO $4,420
30th Daniel Quach Monrovia, CA $4,420
31st Richard Brodie Kirkland, WA $4,420
32nd James Grimes Houston, TX $4,420
33rd Brian Haveson Newton, PA $4,420
34th Phil Ivey Atlantic City, NJ $4,420
35th Ian Dobson Ildridge, UK $4,420
36th Jeffrey Freedman Simi Valley, CA $4,420
37th Douglas Farmer Corrales, NM $3,780
38th Derek Tomko Winter Haven, FL $3,780
39th Larry Bernstein Galloway, NJ $3,780
40th Barbara Enright Hollywood, CA $3,780
41st Thomas McCormick Fargo, ND $3,780
42nd Scotty Nguyen Henderson, NV $3,780
43rd Yueqi Zhu Rowland Heights, CA $3,780
44th Thomas Pniak Naperville, IL $3,780
45th Jerry Leva Houston, TX $3,780
46th David Weisberger Far Hills, NJ $3,160
47th Blake Buffington Arlington, TX $3,160
48th Christopher Ackerman Hackettstown, NJ $3,160
49th Ross Boatman Hendon, England $3,160
50th Ron Rose Las Vegas, NV $3,160
51st Robert Thompson Chicago, IL $3,160
52nd Randal Heeb Paris, France $3,160
53rd Gene Resnick Hidden Hills, CA $3,160
54th Barry Greenstein Rancho Palos Verdes, CA $3,160

Tournament Report by Nolan Dalla

Posted by flipchipro at 2:25 AM | Permalink

This can be summed up in one sentence, I don't believe in luck. I do believe in statistical improbability. One of my favorite player types is a luck player, which I define as someone who believes in non-related factors (eg lucky charms) or that previous hand outcomes directly influence the current hand. Let me break this up into three basic types of luck players. The ‘lucky charm’ player, the ‘winning/losing streak’ player and the 'lucky cards’ player.

It seems a great mass of people still believe luck is a factor in poker. The only games I play where luck is a quantifiable factor are some of the RPG (role-playing game) systems. Now let's look our three generic luck player types and see how we can recognize them and profit from their luck.

First, the lucky charm player, the person who bring his miniature velvet portrait of Elvis to the table and rubs its nose before each hand. There is a way to sometimes influence the psychology of this player, have your own 'luck charm' and have something bad happen to it during the course of game. The lucky charm player will interpret this event to mean you are now unlucky and hopefully, this will influence their decision making processes and they will play loose pushing more statistically improbable hands against you. This will then increase your statistical chances of winning against them. I do indeed love my lucky charms! But only for breakfast.

The second type is the winning/losing streak mentality a player who wins (or looses) several consecutive hands and begins playing more statistical improbable hands. Looser play when winning or far tighter play (or just tucks in his tail and leaves) after loosing. This player automatically creates a slight statistical advantage for you when on a 'winning streak' and should only be encouraged! When on a losing streak, you can prevent his tighter mentality by 'cleaning the luck board'. One of the best methods I know to archive this purging is trading seats (unlucky seat) or getting a fresh deck (unlucky cards).

Finally, the ‘lucky cards’ player, such as the fellow who caught back to back 4-of-a-kinds with a 4-10 offset in the winter of '71 at the Polar-Bear Clubs annual Freeze-a-Thon. Again there is great opportunity for advantage against this player type, if they bet heavily before the flop and you can read them as having the 'lucky hand'.

I know this is brief to cover such a wonderful topic as luck and poker, but this a quick look at where I stand on the topic. And for any luck players reading this, it’s all lies! Horrible lies to coax you out of following your luck! Don't believe a word of it, and please e-mail me any on-line ID's you use so I can join you and see your luck in action.

Posted by pokerprof at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (2)

"Midway upon the journey of our life I found that I was in a dusky wood; for the right path, whence I had strayed, was lost. Ah Me! How hard a thing it is to tell the wildness of that rough and savage place, the very thought of which brings back my fear! So bitter it was, death it little more so: but that the good I found there may be told I will describe it more so." -Dante Canto 1 from A Divine Comedy

Well, Dante summed it up for me quite nicely, playing in another Satellite.

I hold pocket queens (Q Q)

and call the big blind hoping to slowplay the pot, up comes the flop

Q K 5

now there are 5 people in the hand and I'm doing a mental jig over that pot I'm about to collect. A $50 bet comes in front of me (each player starts with $200 in chips) and I call, two players drop out. It's three players on the turn which comes up a

K

Now, the player in front of me bets another $25 and we both call. My thinking is if either had a king boat they would bet stronger. The river turns up another

5 (board is Q K 5 K 5)

The player in front of me throws another $25 into the pot, I call, and my shadow moves all-in, now I am thinking he caught the the 5 boat, the player in front on me calls. I knew one of them had a better hand, but I was blinded by my ladies and called anyway. In front of me was a king 7, and behind me pocket 5's! Both the boats sank and I'm out in 8th place. Live and learn I suppose. I did pick up a couple of lessons from this, I'll be far more prudent when there is the probability of a better full house and I'll always keep in mind the full house might not be good! This was early into the tournament before I had a feel for the types of players at the table, had I folded on the turn (which in retrospect I should have) then I might have recovered and had a chance to get a fix on the player styles (by and large the players at these satellites are not overwhelmingly great). It's not often queens full is the worst hand played, and I still can't get over the quad 5's.

Posted by pokerprof at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The sixth event, Pot limit Hold’em, of the World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas is now complete. Minh Nguygen of Spokane, Washington won the first place money, $155,420, from the prize pool of $500,940. Lorne Persons of Eau Claire, Wisconsin took second place and $80,140. Joe Bartholdi of Las Vegas, Nevada completed the top three and took home $40,080. The final table completed play in just over four hours for the fastest finish to date this year. Minh’s runner,runner heart flush beat Lorne’s tens up giving Minh his second WSOP championship bracelet.
1996 WSOP Champion Huck Seed finished eight and collected $15,020. The event attracted a field of 363 players for the two day event. No photos this time, the event was actually finished before I set foot in the Horseshoe.

Official Daily Report
April 28, 2004
Event 6
Pot-Limit Texas Hold’em
Buy-in: $1,500
Number of Entries: 363
Prize Pool: $500,940A Nguyen-Nguyen Deal at the World Series of Poker:
Minh Nguyen Wins Second Gold Bracelet !

1st Minh Nguyen Spokane, WA $155,420
2nd Lorne Persons Eau Claire, WI $80,140
3rd Joe Barholdi Las Vegas, NV $40,080
4th Andreas Dassopoulos Los Angeles, CA $35,060
5th Kiril Gerasimov Moscow, Russia $30,060
6th Hoang Ta Westminster, CA $25,040
7th Tony Bloom London, England $20,040
8th Huck Seed Las Vegas, NV $15,020
9th Steve Ford Orange County, CA $10,020
10th Barny Boatman London, England $6,020
11th Young Phan Garden Grove, CA $6,020
12th Can Hua Rosemead, CA $6,020
13th Roy Brindley Dublin, Ireland $5,000
14th Scott Fischman Las Vegas, NV $5,000
15th David Trong Vancouver, Canada $5,000
16th John Barch McKinney, TX $4,000
17th James Grimes Houston, TX $4,000
18th Andy Lakey Temecula, CA $4,000
19th Howard Lederer Las Vegas, NV $3,000
20th Aviv Shahaf New York, NY $3,000

This (win) was really special to me. But nothing beats the first time you win a bracelet.”
Minh Nguyen (following his second career WSOP championship)

Nearly a year to the day when he won his first World Series of Poker title, MINH NGUYEN triumphed yet again, winning his second gold bracelet within a one-year period. NGUYEN’S first conquest came on April 21st, 2003 when he won the $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low and pocketed $106,000. This time, NGUYEN topped a powerful field of 363 players and won $155,420 and became the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em champion for 2004.
The final table began with nine players. ANDREAS DASSOPOULOS, a 69-year-old retiree, started with a slight chip lead at $98K - over LORNE “THE ROCKET” PERSONS, an insurance salesman from Eau Claire, WI ($92K) and MINH NGUYEN, a top respected tournament pro from Washington State (with $84K).
After battling for about a half hour, four players went out within a 20-minute period. STEVE FORD started off with $36K and holding A-K) called in “all-in” raise by JOE BARTHOLDI, with Q-Q. FORD needed an ace or king to fall, which didn’t - and FORD was driven off the final table in 9th place with $24,500 in prize money.
Moments later, 1996 world champion HUCK SEED went out when he was desperately low on chips and made his last raise with a weak ace. DASSOPOULOS picked up J-J and poisoned SEED’s chances for victory. SEED, who is currently 10th on the all-time money winner’s list at the World Series with nearly $2 million in lifetime earnings in this tournament alone, added $15,020 to his bankroll for a 8th place finish.
Next, TONY BLOOM moved “all in” with pockets 8s and was called by MINH NGUYEN with A-Q. A queen flopped and doomed BLOOM’s hope of winning. TONY BLOOM, a pro sports bettor and hedge fund manager with wins at the “Aussie Millions” and several major tournaments in England, was the 7th place finisher - worth $20,040.
HOANG TA, who plays most of the Southern California tournaments, lost the majority of his chips when he experienced the “nightmare” of nightmares for poker players. TA had 5-5 and flopped a 5, giving him a set. Normally, such a thing would be the perfect trap hand, but not when your opponent flops a higher set. This time, LORNE PERSONS had pocket 10s and hit a 10 on the flop. TA was crippled by the defeat and went out a short time later when his K-Q fell to DASSOPOULOS’ A-6 suited. An ace on the flop hung HOANG TA out to dry in 6th place - worth $25,040 in prize money.
KIRIL GERASIMOV, from Moscow, Russia burst upon the tournament scene a few years ago when he became the world champion “Heads Up” player in 2002, then finished second at the Bellagio tournament in 2003. GERASIMOV started with “presto” (5-5), which crashed and burned when DASSOPOULOS was dealt hold’em’s best hand - pocket aces. The aces prevailed, and GERASIMOV went “back to the (former) USSR” with a mountain of rubles -- $30,060.
It was anyone’s tournament to win at that point, as all of the four remaining finalists were very close in chips. ANDREAS DASSOPOULOS expected to catapult into the chip lead when he was dealt K-K, but instead took a bad beat when MINH NGUYEN made a straight on the turn. DASSOPOULOS, who came into the finale with the chip lead, finished a disappointing 4th. A payout of $35,060 helped to soften the blow.
With every player guaranteed to make at least 40 grand, the chip counts stood as follows:
ROCKET: $219K
NGUYEN: $183K
BARTHOLDI: $143K
Play resumed with blinds at $3K-6K. JOE BARTHOLDI, who cashed for $42,000 less than two weeks ago at a major Las Vegas tournament, became more aggressive, hoping to take advantage of some timidity on the part of his opponents. But BARTHOLDI made a big mistake when he came over the top of MINH NGUYEN with a re-raise holding a hand that took way the worst of it. BARTHOLDI had A-8, which was dominated by NGUYEN’s A-10. BATHOLDI loved the flop when it came Q-9-8, good for a pair (and the mathematical advantage with two cards to come). But a 10 on the river was a nail in the coffin for BARTHOLDI. Third-place paid $40,080.
When heads-up play commenced, LORNE “THE ROCKET” PERSONS enjoyed a slight chip lead -- $285K to $265K. On the first key hand, THE ROCKET slow-played his A-K perfectly after the flop came A-K-9. That was good enough to take a $100K pot and NGUYEN mucked his hand without showing. THE ROCKET took a 3 to 1 chip lead on the next hand when he moved in with enough chips to cover NGUYEN after the flop came 10-7-5, with two diamonds. NGUYEN made a move at the pot with a bet of $40K, and THE ROCKET came over the top. NGUYEN folded. A dozen hands later, NGUYEN was down to just $75K in chips and it seemed the tournament was about to end.
Sure enough, the final table was about to end - but not in the way many might have expected. In an amazing half-hour turnaround, NGUYEN seemed to get the better cards and became the aggressor, moving THE ROCKET off his game, and slowly building his stack back to the point where he was in contention. Arguably, the key hand of the tournament took place when NGUYEN was dealt A-8 of hearts versus THE ROCKET’s 8-9 of diamonds. The flop came 9-5-5 with two hearts and when the commotion died down, NGUYEN was “all in” on the flush draw. NGUYEN caught a heart on the turn, and in a stunning turn of events had seized the chip lead away from THE ROCKET.
It took another 45 minutes to ultimately decide the winner. The final twenty minutes or so were a disaster for the insurance man from Wisconsin. He was handcuffed by a run of dismal cards and watched in frustration as NGUYEN’s stack continued to grow.
The final hand of the night was dealt about 4 hours into the final table:
THE ROCKET: 10-10
NGUYEN: 10-3 (of hearts)
THE ROCKET was a huge favorite, and hoped to trap NGUYEN for a big payoff when 6-5-3 flopped. THE ROCKET checked his overpair, giving NGUYEN a free card. A second heart fell on the turn, which opened up the possibility of a flush for NGUYEN. That looked dangerous to THE ROCKET and he made an “all in” bet, which was called instantly by NGUYEN. A third heart came on the river, and NGUYEN was the new champion.
The runner up was LORNE “THE ROCKET” PERSON. He collected $80,140. The winner, MINH NGUYEN was thrilled with his victory. Afterward, he admitted that the last year has not been easy on the tournament trail. After cashing big at last year’s World Series of Poker, Nguyen ran cold for several months and hoped to regain to energy at this year’s championships.
“I thought I was going to win,” NGUYEN said following his victory. “I told everyone that I would win in less than four hours.” Sure enough, the final table clocked in a 3 hours and 50 minutes.
MINH NGUYEN is a cardroom manager and host in Spokane, WA. He has now cashed eight times at the World Series of Poker. Including 11th in the main event last year (netting $80,000). Nguyen is the first player to make two final tables at this year’s WSOP. He finished 7th in the $1,500 buy in Seven-Card Stud event last week.

Places 21 through 36

21st Glenn Scott Pixley, CA $3,000
22nd Phil Gordon S. Lake Tahoe, CA $3,000
23rd Mark Wilds Biloxi, MS $3,000
24th Kenny Levy Rockville Center, NY $3,000
25th Gabriel Thaler Cupertino, CA $3,000
26th Aaron Virchis Southampton, England $3,000
27th Nez Coburn Minneapolis, MN $3,000
28th Bashar Satoot Burbank, CA $2,000
29th TJ Cloutier Richardson, TX $2,000
30th Tony Guogo Melbourne, Australia $2,000
31st Richard Guillory Lake Charles, LA $2,000
32nd David Plastik Las Vegas, NV $2,000
33rd Bernie Rygol Munich, Germany $2,000
34th Frank Sinopoli Hollywood, FL $2,000
35th Brian Ragauckas Secausus, NJ $2,000
36th Donald Thompson Olympia, WA $2,000

Posted by flipchipro at 11:37 PM | Permalink

First off, I ran across an old post on RGP that lead me to Home Poker Tourney a wonderful site with everything needed to start home poker games and tournaments. From building your own poker tables to ettiquite and rules, a must read, if (like me) you've overlooked this gem of a site. Next up something not poker related *gasp*, but well worth reading for a good solid belly laugh, the 6,000,000 hit wedding dress on eBay modeled by the ex-husband and being sold to buy beer. This is one the funniest items I've seen on the net in quite some time. Well, I'm off to see what is happening at event #6 of the WSOP and should have details posted tonight.

Posted by pokerprof at 4:48 PM | Permalink

The World Series of Poker Event 5, $1,500 Buy-In Omaha Hi-Lo is now history. The two day event ended late tonight with Curtis Bibb taking the top spot from second place finisher Paul Phillips. Rick Fuller rounds out the top three. Curtis collected $160,000 from the $516,120 prize pool. Paul picks up $82,580 for his second place finish and Rick gets $41,340. The event attracted a field of 374 players. Poker superstar, Phil Hellmuth, finished 17th, just ahead of the 18th player out, World Poker Tour Host and Commentator, Mike Sexton. Both players received $4120 in prize money. Final table chip leader, Mickey “Mouse” Mills, won $25,800 for his 6th place finish. Now, let me see if I understand this. Omaha is the poker game kinda like Hold’em only you get four hole cards in your hand and all of your chips are in the middle of the table, right? No! It’s also Hi-Lo! You do twice the work for half the money. Our congratulations to all the money finishers and especially to Curtis Bibb for his hard fought win and first WSOP bracelet.

Posted by pokerprof at 3:36 AM | Permalink

The $1500 Buy-In Limit Hold’em finished this evening at the Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas with Aaron Katz of Los Angeles, California taking home his first WSOP champion bracelet and $234,940 in first place money. Aaron took charge of the four handed table and never looked back. Second place finisher, Richard Gardner-Brown of London, England, got $121,480 for his efforts. David Pincus of Davis, California rounded out the top three and received $62,120 for third place. The lone female player at the final table, Cecilia Mortensen of Madrid, Spain, finished eight and takes away $25,180. The two day event attracted 609 entrants and had a prize pool of $839,040.

Posted by pokerprof at 1:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, I tried my hand at one of the $50 single table tournaments down at the Horseshoe today. This was, in fact, my first live tournament. The top two finishers take a seat in a super satellite, so I sat down got my $200 in chips and went at it. The first hand I play is pocket kings, a player ahead of me goes all-in, I call and win my first ever live tournament pot. The next few hands I win without showing my cards and run up my stack to about $600 in chips, watching 4 players get up in the process. I don't play any cards for a while and the blinds start eating into my chip lead. So when my stack is around the $500 mark I pick up pocket threes. There is some betting before the flop, I call and the flop comes 9-3-3. I bet $200, a player moves all in and I call. the turn and river bring no change. He shows pocket rockets which lose to my quads. We are down to three. The player on my right is a tight "nuts only" lady and the player on my left is a loose "raising station" player. He won three all-ins that defied game statistics (I recall one hand he had 5-3 of clubs, went all-in before the flop went and was called by pocket Q's, the flop brought a Q and he made a river flush). So it's the three of us with 100-200 blinds, I pick up a 10-J of diamonds and limp in. The fellow to my left goes all-in, I call (thinking he was trying to steal the blinds and and he shows a 8-3 offsuit. The flop comes 5-8-10 with one diamond. I am sitting on the top pair and thinking I'm about to knock him out, turn comes As, no help, river comes another 3 and I lose to his two pair. I am now very short stacked. The next thing I know the tight playing lady has called one of the Mr. Loose Players bluffs and he and I are dead even again. I catch a J-4 on the big blind the loose player moves all-in, I call. He shows a A-8. The flop, turn and river doesn't help either of us and his Ace high takes the pot and I am out in 3rd place. All told I don't think I did too badly in my first live tournament and will certainly try a few more soon. I'll post up the details from $1,500 limit hold-em event as soon as it completes.

Posted by pokerprof at 9:22 PM | Permalink

I played in one of the single table fifty dollar buy-in tournaments at the Horseshoe today. The final two players win seats in one of the Super Satellites and have a shot at a Ten Thousand Dollar seat in the World Series of Poker Championship event. Each player starts with $200 in tournament chips and the blinds in the no-limit event are $5-10. The limits go up every ten minutes so you can’t wait for the locks. The first ten minutes I had a mixed bag of mucks so tossed and watched four people go bust. The limits changed and I caught a J-Q of spades in the big blind. Two players called and the flop brought a 3-8-9 with two spades. I bet and had one caller. The turn brought the ten of hearts giving me the Q high straight. The river was a blank. I bet and the other player raised. I re-raised and he called showing two pair. The pot nearly doubled me up. I watched for most of the next ten minute round and caught a suited 10-J of hearts on the but