The WPPA Tournament of Champions continues at the Orleans today with a $1000 Omaha Hi-Lo event. Registration problems have apparently been solved and the turnout was good considering the event. A few well known professionals were observed in the group of 38 entrants. Charlie Shoten was playing well at one of the tables while Richard Brodie, Lion Tales Blog, was building his stack at another. Yesterday’s winner, Dan Heimiller, continued in the action today after he outplayed everyone in the Limit Hold’em event on Wednesday to take home the $7,440 first place money. Greg Fund was second, winning $4,465 in prize money and Max Pescatori received $2,975 for third. The event tomorrow, Friday at noon, will be a No-Limit Hold’em shootout with a $1000 + $40 buy-in. The number of players is expected to show a dramatic increase over the past couple of days.

The WPPA tournaments are designed to favor the better poker players and move the luck factor to a less important role in determining the winners. The blind structure begins low and has small incremental increases allowing the more skilled player to have an opportunity to play a solid “A” game without the worries of becoming short stacked from paying rapidly increasing blinds. The time segments for the different levels of blinds and antes are longer, again an effort to favor the better player. I believe this structure is much better for the game, the players and provides a good image for the sport. It proves that poker is very much the game of skill with luck no longer being the determining factor since it is equally distributed around the tables and drops out of the equation. Yesterday’s final table match offered exactly this situation, lasting into the early evening with the highly skilled final three players using all of their abilities in their efforts to win the contest. The crowd gathered round the table watched some great poker and appreciated the good show from the trio. The highly competitive poker industry needs more tournaments with this blind and time structure. It is good for the game.

Tomorrow, Friday the 1st, sees the first day of Binion’s Ten Days of Hold’em Tournament’s $5,000 Main Event. The players will be competing for the money and the $10,000 seat in the ESOP 2005 Main Event at the Rio and the final WSOP final table at the Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas. Come play for the seat and an opportunity to become part of history during the next World Series of Poker.

Posted by flipchipro at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The turn out for the WPPA Tournament today at the Orleans Hotel and Casino here in Las Vegas was light. The $1000 Limit Hold’em attracted 19 players including WPPA founder and Chairman, Louis Asmo (center, red shirt in photo). Felicia Lee was on hand watching over the event so I had an opportunity to visit. She said that a daily noon No-Limit Hold’em event will be scheduled for the remainder of the tournament. The scheduled daily events will begin at 2:00 pm each day. We discussed the possibility that the TV sponsor will fund a daily free roll No-Limit tournament with players competing in the free event for a seat in the WPPA tournament of Champions Main Event. This is contingent on the parties working out the details of the funds transfer to everyone’s satisfaction. I think this is a very innovative and original promotion to generate interest in the newly formed WPPA and hope they can get the free rolls up and running. We also discussed the very low juice (as low as 2%) for the WPPA events and I admit I’m somewhat confused as to why this advantage for the player isn’t of more importance. Remember, it’s your money so keeping more of it in the prize pool is a good thing. I will continue to provide details and progress reports. Thursday offering will be a $1,000 + $40 Omaha Hi-Lo contest.

The entrants for the Horseshoe’s Ten Days of No’Limit Hold’em Tournament attracted an even smaller crowd with 15 entrants paying $3,000 for a seat in today’s event. The final table was in progress and the chip leader was Amir Vahedi, professional poker player and WSOP champion. Amir made the 2003 WSOP Main Event final table and finished 6th in the tournament. He is probably best known as Ben Affleck’s poker tutor and deserves much of the credit for Ben’s first place finish in the California Championship this year. Amir was exhibiting his aggressive, unpredictable style of hold’em play today, much to the chagrin of the other players. His in your face style usually solicits complaints from the other players and today was no exception, so the floor people were kept busy rendering order to the proceedings. I liked Amir’s “Poker is a Sport” sweatshirt. Thursday’s event will be a $1000 No-Limit Hold’em Crapshoot. The first day of the $5,000 Championship Event is Friday.

Posted by pokerprof at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tomorrow I should be sufficiently recovered to go to the Orleans and cover the ongoing Inaugural WPPA Championship Tournament. The big tournament began on September 16th and continues through October 12th. I should have some photos, interviews and results after tomorrow's visit. I will try to locate Felicia, WPPA spokesperson and poker blogger extraordinare. Her website has the latest updates for the WPPA tournament and she has posted additions to the schedule of events including details covering the very low juice, so, check it out. The scheduled WPPA event tomorrow is the $1000+40 buy-in Limit Hold’em tournament. WPPA satellites at the Orleans begin daily at 8:00 am and main events begin promptly at noon. In other Las Vegas tournament news the Horseshoes’s Ten Days of Hold’em continues and tomorrow’s offering is a $3000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em contest starting at noon. Super satellite’s every night at 7:00 pm with a $225 buy-in.

From the “You heard it here first department,” the rumors about the Affleck poker movie are apparently more than rumors. The following article was released today giving our reported rumor some substance and providing additional details of the film project. Most of it we got right. I will continue to check out the progress of this project, referred to as a “mockumentary” style comedy. The budget for the movie will be a low $10 million.

With the recently televised WSOP Invitational Tournament of Champions having been won by Annie Duke this article covering the success and future for female poker players offers some interesting reading. Annie has proven that the girls are not only as tough as the boys but on some days they are unbeatable. Any doubt of the female role in the high stakes world of professional poker was put to rest after Annie overcame a terminally short stack to beat the field of nine of the best male poker players on the planet. Not only did she win the bragging rights as the champion of champions; but, she earned the $2 million winner-take-all prize.

The Schedule of Events for the Orlean's WPPA and the Horseshoe's Ten days of Hold'em Tournaments can be viewed by clicking the Continue reading link below.

Schedule of Events for the WPPA Tournament of Champions 2004

Posted by flipchipro at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I got into an interesting conversations with Bob from playersbooks the other day on the subject of reads and reading people. Basically he talked and I listened. The object of poker is to move as many chips as possible from the opponent's stacks into my stacks on any given hand. As the skill of the players increase the cards become less important, while the perception of what the cards are becomes very important. Bob contends there are four basic levels of reading cards and poker players.

Level 1: Reading your cards – This first level is fairly obvious, if you don’t know what your hand is and where it places in the entropy of the board you should probably forgo the game… well except for the Omaha Hi-Lo split event in the WSOP (winner misread his hand and thought he had a straight), but that's Omaha

Level 2: Reading your opponent's hand – This is where those unconscious activities and habits become tells. If you have a solid read on what your opponent is holding then the lay-downs and re-raises become a far easier decision even if it isn't always a more profitable one. A a little good advice from Chris Ferguson on this subject, "If you're not sure whether to fold or call, fold. If you're not sure whether to call or raise, raise."

Level 3: Reading what your opponent thinks you have. It’s one thing to get a read on an a opponent, and quite another to get a read on that player's read of you! It gets a bit complicated, all of this I thought, they thought, I thought.... stuff, but I offer teh following example: You’re a rock and decide to bluff the hand, you already have a good read on your opponent that and you know he has second/third pair. You can then structure your bets to convince the opponent to lay down his hand by making him believe your hand is superior. This is also the level where the false tell comes into play. That is, an intentional action that is designed to be picked up by other players and appears to be an unconscious tell. For example, I puff out my cheeks every time I bluff the pot… do it a couple of times, then when I have the nuts I puff out the cheeks and my observant opponent is convinced I'm bluffing again an throws more of his chips into my pot.

Level 4: Reading what the other player thinks you think their hand is. Wow, now it really gets complicated by adding another layer of logic and deceit. Perhaps a simpler way to think about this is it's the same as level 3 except you put yourself in your opponents head and see it from their point of view. Another example, You think the other player is on a medium pocket pair but you give off false tells so your observant opponent concludes that you think they are holding a drawing hand. All of this gets more and more complicated as we add new skills to our game. I'm nt at all surprised that the Hollywood crowd typically rises quickly through the ranks and become tough players once they gain some real game experience. The advanced skills a player has to develop to play an "A" level game requires considerable acting abilities. Remember that appearing weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak becomes more and more difficult as you move up in the ranks and your opponents are experts at correctly calling your hand. A common thread that all of the great pros share is the almost magical ability to place players on a hand. For some is is a born with knack, but the rest of us must study, practice and develop this prerequisite skill.

I’m not sure how deep this rabbit hole goes; but, I suspect it can go pretty damn deep on occasion. Personally, I’ve never progressed beyond reading what another player has. One of the greatest poker players in the world, Chip Reese, once commented, “If you never play someone on the next level you don't even know that level exists. It's almost like another dimension.”

Posted by pokerprof at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Week in review for 09.26.04

Well, quite a week, I discovered a couple of new blogs including Suerte o Muerte (Luck or Death) which uncovered a jewel on Pot Odds. David put up a neat post (with photos) on the Hard Rock bill board debacle. I just read on Maudie’s blog that the WPPA has a TV deal with the gameshow network! This is bloody good news for the players.

"No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." --P.J. O'Rourke

Yes, content was taken, I'm going to let sleeping dogs lie for the moment.

Posted by pokerprof at 5:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another Saturday night in Las Vegas. I am staying home tonight since I have a touch of Vegas Throat and don’t feel up to a night out. The doctor says the condition is from the ultra low humidity we have here in Vegas (almost always in the single digits). Hang out long enough here in the desert and you will know all about the condition. Hopefully it will be gone by tomorrow and I will be back covering the local tournament circuit.

Since I’m housebound today I'm catching up on the reading and learning what the rest of the world thinks about the poker scene. I found this article from Australia claiming that Poker is the “New American Drug,” replacing the time-honored staples of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. Nothing really new in the article, apparently a filler, but certainly another take on the world wide poker craze. An interesting stat is the Las Vegas poker industry growth quoted as 33% over the past year. The author, Robert Lusetich, further stated that the other traditional Vegas games have remained relatively unchanged showing little to no growth (not true). The comparison of poker to all things illegal and immoral is not a fair one for the sport. Poker probably has been America’s favorite pastime for a long time and now it has become America’s TV darling. Everyone with a television can watch poker around the clock and dream of the day they are there winning millions in a major tournament. What other leisure time activity offers so much fun and a profit too?

The nines list this week covers some problems we all experience with our game, namely tells.

9. Yelling “Yeehaw!” everytime I have a pocket pair.
8. Everytime I bluff I say,”Call this if you don’t like money.”
7. Shaking the entire table when I have the nuts.
6. Sweating profusely when I know I’m beat.
5. Begging the other players not to call or raise.
4. Wearing mirror glasses that shows the table my hole cards.
3. Discussing my cards with the cocktail girl during the hand.
2. Having to constantly ask other players what hands are best.
1. Hyperventilating when I look at my hole cards and see Pocket Rockets!

That's it for today. Tomorrow has the Week in Review and J. Santos' "Muck It" cartoon.

Posted by flipchipro at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Action all over Vegas this weekend. Satellites for the WPPA at the Orleans begin on Sunday with the first tournament event on Monday. The No-Limit Hold’em tournament at Binion’s Horseshoe is running daily events with another $1,000 Buy-in Ho-Limit Hold’em contest on Saturday. Super Satellites are scheduled every evening at 7:00 pm with a buy-in of $225. The Plaza continues to host the Ultimate Poker Challenge with another tournament this Saturday. All of this plus the regular scheduled offerings of poker tournaments at many of the Las Vegas Casinos. I can’t imagine being involved in the poker industry and living anywhere but Vegas. I can hop in the car and within fifteen minutes be in any of a dozen casino poker rooms. Damn, am I ever the lucky one!

One of our industry insider friends (movies, not poker) tells us that Ben Afleck is going to star in a movie about poker set in Las Vegas. With all of the interest and celebrity involvement in the sport I think the movie, done properly, could be a big box office draw. I am typical of most Las Vegas residents and believe that the city is rarely portrayed accurately in the movies. Hopefully, this production will make a serious effort to offer the real Vegas instead of the Hollywood version. The latest TV shows mostly dwell on the stereotyped, negatively conceived characters that make most of us natives head for the channel changer. The rumor says the project will be handled by Insomnia Entertainment, a Las Vegas based film Company. A little research revealed the Chairman and CEO of this production Company is Mr. Breitling (Yes that Breitling, as in Poster and Brietling, owners of the Golden Nugget). I am hoping that Mark Burnett, reality TV giant and producer of the really bad "The Casino" TV series about the Golden Nugget, stays far away from this project. Maybe the movie will offer a strong poker story line with Las Vegas as the background. Make the movie about poker that happens to be in Vegas; not a story about Las Vegas, a place where people play poker. You have to work at taking a bad photo of Las Vegas and all of the neon, so here’s hoping for a great poker movie.

Posted by flipchipro at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Binion’s Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas held the first of nine tournaments today to open the “Hold’em at the Horseshoe” tournament’s ten day run. All nine of the events are No-Limit Hold’em with today’s event being a $500 buy-in. The field closed with 208 entrants and a prize pool of $95,680. Tomorrow's tournament has a $2,000 buy-in so prize money should show a marked increase. Sunday will see a Ladies only $1,000 buy-in and the final event is a $5,000 buy-in two day championship affair. Each of the daily winners will receive a seat in the Championship event. The best all-around player determined by accumulated points awarded for order of finish in each event will receive a $10,000 seat in the 2005 WSOP Main Event. For additional tournament information call 800.634.6811 ext. 7397 or visit the Horseshoe’s website.

The third season of the WPT, World Poker Tour, held its tournament at the Borgata in Atlantic City. The Borgata Poker Open concluded on Wednesday, September 22. Daniel Negreanu won the Championship $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em final. The four day contest had 302 entrants and a prize pool of $3,020,000. Daniel collected $1,117,400 first place money. David Williams, coming off a second place in the 2003 WSOP Main Event, finished in second place again and takes home $573,800 while Josh Arieh went out in third place and received $286,900. The World Poker Tour is the most popular show in the history of the Travel Channel and will continue on its winning streak for years to come. WPT Enterprises announced it was extending its commitment to the host casinos by exercising contract options to extend the agreements to ten years. WPT also announced the development of an exclusive professional player only tour circuit. Poker is the newest “old” game around and apparently it is not a fad but a sport that is destined for increased popularity and growth.

Posted by flipchipro at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I watched the first few minutes of the ESPN World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions last night and then left to meet the Poker Prof and a marketing guru friend for dinner. On the way out of the restaurant I saw the last couple of minutes (no sound) of the event on the TV in the bar and was quite surprised that Annie Duke appeared to have won. Phil Hellmuth was storming around doing his brat act so I assumed he finished second. Annie was down to $48K in tournament chips and all-in when I left so she must have made one hell of a comeback. I am looking forward to watching the show when it is repeated. This ESPN offering has all the elements of an entertaining and exciting sports show. I saw the initial spat when Doyle pointed out that Phil was slow playing every hand to gain camera time. Most of the other players’ agreed with Doyle’s observation. Annie is to be congratulated for her tough play resulting in winning the $2 million dollar winner-take-all prize money. She beat some of the best poker players in the world. The results from this tournament held earlier this month has remained a well kept secret until last night's show. The rumor here in Las Vegas said the participants had to sign non-disclosure agreements that included a hefty monetary penalty if any information about the results was leaked.

Annie Duke is one of the select professional players in our soon to be released Player Bio Section. She was born in Concord, NH in 1964 and attended Colombia University where she took a double major in English and Psychology. Annie is married to husband Ben and they have four children. The family resides in Las Vegas. Her brother, well known professional player Howard Lederer, taught her the basics of the game and then convinced Annie to play in the 1994 WSOP where she finished 13th in her first event and 3rd in another. She collected more than $70,000 in winnings that first year of play.

Annie received her largest tournament payday with the $2 million purse. She had to defeat nine tough male pros including her brother, Howard Lederer. Four players at the table are former WSOP World Champions including Doyle Brunson with nine WSOP bracelets, 1987/88 back-to-back WSOP Champion Johnny Chan, 2004 $5 million Champion Greg Raymer and 1989 WSOP Champion Phil Hellmuth, also a nine bracelet man. T.J. Cloutier, the best poker player that hasn’t won the WSOP main Event, Chip Reese considered to be the best all-around poker player in the world, WPT champion Phil Ivey, WSOP champion Daniel Negreanu and Howard Lederer with two WSOP bracelets.

When the invitation only roster was made public the Las Vegas smart guys believed that Annie did not belong with this elite group of poker players and was chosen as the token female to gender balance the table. Winning the event proves that not only did she belong with the group; but, this day she was the very best of the ten. We congratulate Annie for her determination, skill and win.

In a follow-up to yesterday's post about the Caribbean Poker Classic, a land based tournament in St. Maartens, I found this article giving additional details for the December tournament. I uncovered this article about the merchandising of the WPT including the ultimate gift for the poker player in your life, a $25,000 seat in the Championship event which is predicting a prize pool of more than $20 million. Make the final table and you will become an instant TV celebrity playing with well known legends of the game.
[Be sure to read all the other great write-ups from the WSOP Tournament of Champions -PokerProf]

Posted by flipchipro at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have been working on a number of different projects for the blog lately without time to do any of the fun stuff, like play the game. Amazing, I now spend the majority of my time writing about poker and not playing poker. Some of the things we will be offering very soon is a comprehensive Professional Poker Player bio section. The Prof is writing all of the back-end code so expect much in the way of bells, whistles and user friendliness. The section will feature each player’s personal information, a player’s past performance record and photos we have taken of the player. You will have available all of a particular player’s photos we currently have in our galleries simply by clicking on the thumb. A gigantic effort that should debut in the next few days. I have finally sorted the Final Table Challenge photos and they will be available in a separate gallery. Tournament action all over town ensures I will not have much time for playing, sleeping or eating. Managing this blog effort is beyond a full time job (I thought I was retired); but, I will press on so our growing readership will continue to have a direct Las Vegas and Vegas Poker connection.

Another interesting article about online poker and poker playing bots. Mike Brunker, MSNBC reporter, published his findings on the subject today and after interviews with experts on both sides of the industry the consensus believes the bots are already here. They may or may not be capable of beating online poker in their current form but it is only a matter of time until the super poker playing bot is developed and becomes a dominate force in the Internet poker business.

Computers have been routinely beating live players at games for years now. IBM’s chess playing machines rarely lose and blackjack bots can easily turn a profit under casino rules; so, what’s the problem with poker? The game is incredibly complicated with layer upon layer of interconnected decisions required during every hand to produce a consistent winning strategy. Some advanced thinkers believe the dehumanized bots, once fined tuned, will be capable of besting even the better players most of the time. The lack of emotions and the inability to sense fear while calculating and acting on the thinnest of margins balanced against a particular opposing player’s profile favor the bot.

How do we know the little avatar sitting next to us on PP is not a piece of code in some poker playing geek’s computer? Well, according to the article we don’t. They very well may exist right now. Probably, though, the profit producing, poker playing bot is still somewhere down the Ethernet road because the first time a developer creates a consistent winning bot it will become big news. Bragging rights, especially of being the first, are much more important than the money; so, the bot and its inventor will quickly become public knowledge. Will this advance in technology kill Internet poker? No, of course not. People will continue to play and the industry will continue to grow no matter what. Just like the casino slot machine industry that continues to grow and prosper even though we all know for a fact the machines cannot be beaten. Bots as online poker players are coming and they will be tough competitors. I believe the great Internet poker players, just like their live game counterparts, will always be capable of finding and exploiting the bot’s weakness.

The MSNBC article covers bots that are created and operated by players. They also cover the measures the Internet poker sites are taking to protect the players. What about the bots that may be created and operated by those on the other side of the table. The Internet casino employees or even highly placed management and site owners? A few months ago, I was discussing this very topic with an individual that works within the poker industry. I had observed first hand some very suspicious multiple coincidences during play at an online site. I watched a “player” come into the table and make hand after improbable hand then quickly lose all of his bankroll to another newcomer that only played him. The first player quickly left the table once the money was transferred and the second player left in a few more minutes without playing another hand. I theorized that the lucky player was a bot and the second player that took his money was a harvester bot. No one would suspect that anything was really going on after the first “lucky player” also lost all of his winnings (winnings composed of all of the other player’s money) to a third party, in fact, I remember being happy to watch the person no longer make the impossible draws and lose all of his stack. After thinking about the situation, I realized it could be a very slick method of cheating. My insider friend believes that the online casinos would not risk the discovery of doing something so blatant, especially considering the incredible profits the online casinos reap. I think my friend forgot to add in the “greed factor.” I had the unfortunate luck to work for a guy whose wealth is measured with the big “B.” He has more money than most third world countries and yet he would lie, cheat, threaten and even steal from his employees if it represented a financial gain, however small. He had no compassion for anything other than money. Would the casinos run player bots to increase their profits? I already have my opinion. What’s yours?

Posted by flipchipro at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Fours Queens Poker Classic completed its 2004 run last night with the final hand of the $5000+150 No-Limit Hold’em event being dealt. Joe Beevers of the Hendon Mob won the Championship when his pocket Aces put Jesse Jones and his Q-3o all in. The board showed 6-A-2-3-Q giving Joe the win and $72,660 first place money. Jesse Jones picked up $45,290 for his second place and Cary Katz got $28,870 for third. The event attracted 39 entrants and collected a total prize pool of $189,150. The All-Around Best Player was Ad Toms of the UK receiving an expense paid trip and entry in the Caribbean Poker Classic Tournament in St. Maarten, December 5-11, right after the St. Maarten Open IPF tournament beginning November 20, 2004.

Joe Beevers is one of the four members of the Hendon Mob. He lives in London (Hendon), England and has been playing professional poker for a number of years. He won the Irish Open No-limit Hold’em Championship in 2003. Joe is typical of the European players and he exhibits considerable skill and restraint at the poker table. He brings in-depth game knowledge and patients; so, no surprise he bested the Four Queens’ field; in fact, the Poker Prof had made him the odds-on favorite to win. Always displaying his well mannered, gentleman style and affinity for Armani clothes, Joe Beevers is a very positive image for the sport. The Poker Prof and I congratulate Joe and all the competitors at this year’s Four Queens Poker Classic. We also thank Bonnie Damiano, her staff and dealers for providing a fun time. With few exceptions the event was professionally managed and controlled.

Poker tournament action continues in downtown Las Vegas at Binion’s Horseshoe later this week with the start of ten days of No-Limit Hold’em events. The first event is a $500 No-limit Hold’em tournament on Thursday, September 23. Daily winners will receive a seat in the $5000 final event on Friday, October 1. More information for this No-Name tournament can be had by calling 1.800.634.6811 ext. 7397 or you may visit the Horseshoe for complete details and a schedule of events. The Ultimate Poker Challenge at the Plaza continues filming their two day events beginning each Saturday. The WPPA, World poker Players Association, begins its first ever Championship of Poker Tournament at the Orleans Hotel and Casino here in Las Vegas on Monday, September 27. The first event in the 12 day run is a $1,000+40 No-Limit Hold’em contest. More information can be had by calling 1.888.365.7111 or 1.702.365.7150 or visit the Orleans website for complete details. You can email for information about the Orleans WPPA tournaments at poker@coastcasinos.net.

Our friends over at Call, Raise or Muck It have an interesting bit of observation about the recently televised final segment of the ESPN WSOP Main Event. They taped the shows (pre-bleeped version) and then did some analysis work in their sound studio/audio lab and confirmed what all of us thought we may have heard. The final 4 Queens tournament play-by-play from Debbie Burkhead is available by clicking on the continue reading link below. We also thank Debbie for providing timely and detailed tournament information.

Evening Results
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Event #18 $120 No-Limit Hold’em
Prize Pool: $7,566
Entries: 45 Rebuys: 33
1. Ad Toms $2,621
2. Montaser Hamadi $1,590
3. Robert Miller $830
4. Richard Roberts $605
5. Beryl Cahapay $530
6. Christine Wilson $455
7. Joyce Lazarus $380
8. Steve Walmsley $305
9. Joe Edgerton $250

Midday Results
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Event #19 $230 No-Limit Hold’em
Prize Pool: $5,626 Entries: #29
1. Sayed Hussein $2,250
2. Sarah Hale $1,408
3. Johnnie Walker $844
4. Alan Barnacle $618
5. Doug MacQuown $506

Championship Event
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Main Event #17 $5,150
No-Limit Hold’em
Prize Pool: $189,150 Entries: 39
1. Joe Beevers $72,660
2. Jesse Jones $45,290
3. Cary Katz $26,870
4. Jeff Slack $19,305
5. O’Neil Longson $15,525
6. Thor Hanson $9,500

Best All-Around Player
Ad Toms, from the UK

By Debbie Burkhead

And the Winner is. . . Joe Beevers

The Main Event at the Four Queens Poker Classic resumed play at noon with six players remaining.
Play began with $1,000-$2,000 blinds and a $300 ante.
At 1:45 there were still six players remaining and Joe Beevers still had the chip lead with $118,000. Cary Katz was still in second with $85,000, Jesse Jones moved from 5th place to 3rd place with $62,000, Jeff Slack dropped to 4th place with $59,000, Thor Hanson dropped to 5th place with $40,500 and O’Neil Longson was still in last place with $24,000.
At 1:55 the blinds increased to $1,500-$3,000 with a $500 ante.
Fifteen minutes into the new level Jeff moved all-in for $53,000 and Thor Hanson called all-in for $49,500. Jeff showed A-Q and Thor turned over A-K. The board came Q-5-6-3-10 and Jeff took the pot with a pair of queens, sending Thor home in 6th place and $9,500 in cash.
Three hands later Jeff raised $7,000, O’Neil reraised all-in for $21,000 and Jeff called. O’Neil showed pocket fours and Jeff turned over A-10. The board came 10-8-7-3-3 and O’Neil had to settle for a 5th place finish and $15,525.
At 3:35 the blinds rose to $2,000-$4,000 with a $500 ante.
Five minutes into the new level Joe raised $12,000 and Jeff called. The flop came A-10-5, Jeff moved all-in for $22,000 and Joe called. Jeff turned over A-2 and Joe showed A-9. The turn card came another ten and Joe was in the lead with his nine kicker. The river card came a three and Jeff was sent to the rail in 4th place with $19,305.
At 4:10 Cary had $7,000 remaining after posting the big blind. Jesse raised from the small blind and Cary called all-in with K-5. Jesse showed A-2 and the board came 2-3-9-2-6 giving Jesse the win with a set of deuces. Cary took a 3rd place finish and $26,870.
At heads up, Joe Beevers was in the lead with $280,000 in chips to Jesse’s $110,000.
This is the second time in less than a week that these two guys battled heads up. Jesse and Joe went at it in the $1,060 Limit Hold’em last Thursday and Jesse came out the victor.
Within minutes of heads up play Joe raised all-in preflop and Jesse called. Joe showed A-9 and Jesse showed A-K. The board was of no help to Joe and Jesse’s A-K won the pot and gave him the chip lead with $245,000 to Joe’s $145,000.
At 6:20 the blinds increased to $3,000-$6,000 with a $1,000 ante.
Joe was now in the lead again with $252,000 to Jesse’s $138,000.
At 5:50 Joe called blind from the small blind and Jesse blind checked. The flop came 6-A-2, and they both checked. The turn card came a three, Joe bet $10,000, Jesse looked and moved all-in for $105,000, Joe immediately called and showed pocket rockets. Jesse showed Q-3 for a pair of threes and was drawing dead. Jesse did hit a queen on the river but it didn’t help and he was forced to take a 2nd place finish with $45,290.
Joe Beevers, from England, a member of the Hendon Mob was declared the winner and received $72,660 for his 1st place finish in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship Event at the Four Queens Poker Classic.

Posted by flipchipro at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out Tao of Poker for an interesting categorization of the various online names and handles used by online players in his Wednesday, September 15 entry. Call Raise or Muck It has the complete details of Final Table Challenge posted and an interesting rumor about the World Poker Tour. I found Poker Roadtrip’s examination of civility an interesting read. Felicia Lee has a report on some of the cheating scum at the 4 Queens while Glenn has a poker comic. Finally, Hank has a great look at the element of aggression in poker.

In other news, I’ve finally finished one of my massive projects. Robert’s Rules of Poker Version 5 is live and has some new features to make it even more web-friendly. First, every section can now be printed individually from that section. Second, I’ve placed the altered text in a slightly different shade to make it easy to see what has changed. Finally, all the terms now have pop-up definitions! Simply hover over a word or phrase and the definition should pop right up (Of course, you can still click on the word or phrase to go to the definition). This project would not have been possible without the masterful work of Bob Ciaffone, the author of these wonderful rules.

Posted by pokerprof at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The poker rooms here in Las Vegas are responding to the current popularity of poker with innovative additions to spread games intended to attract the newbie poker players fresh from their computers and television. Some of the rooms now offer ring game no-limit hold’em for the players on a limited budget. The money is controlled by limiting the buy-in to a small number, usually $100 or less, and allowing a rebuy only when your chips total less than the buy-in. All other rules and strategies of no-limit hold’em apply. This provides the amateur player an opportunity to gain no-limit hold’em experience in a casino atmosphere without having to mortgage the farm. Since this is not a tournament you do not have to worry about increasing antes and blinds; in fact, think of it as a no-limit hold’em tournament with unlimited rebuys forever. Next trip to Vegas you may want to give the limited, no-limit hold’em games a go. Although there is a limit on your buy-in, there is no-limit on your winnings.

I found an article on David Carruthers, CEO of BetOnSports.com, and his recently launched campaign to persuade US legislatures to legalize online gaming. Mr. Carruthers has more than two decades in the gaming industry where he worked for Ladbrokes Racing in the UK and now BetOnSports based in Costa Rica. He acknowledged that even though his task is monumental, “It’s like pushing an elephant upstairs,” it must be addressed since the majority of online bettors are in the United States. Everyday the US is losing its share of billions of dollars of tax revenues and, more important, the opportunity to regulate and control the online gaming business. The Internet gaming industry is expected to bring in $7 billion this year from more than 1800 offshore gaming sites. Conservative projections of the online gaming business predict more than $18 billion in revenues by 2010. All of the taxable profits are flowing out of the US and into bank accounts in the Caribbean and the United Kingdom where the online activity is legal and controlled. Carruthers went on to say, “The U.S. mania to wipe out online gaming seems to be more about legislating morality than catering to the wishes of the country's citizens. Online gaming is entertainment. It's not one of the seven deadly sins. But some people think it is." During a summit Thursday attorney, Bill Heberer, complained that the Justice Department is using the 1961 Wire Act to discourage US companies from accepting commercials from Internet gambling web sites, hence the disapperance of Party Poker’s sponsorship of the WPT. The morality thumpers are accusing BetOnSports and other online wagering sites of being deliquent and negligent in encouraging responsible gambling. Carruthers plans to conduct summit meetings in major US cities where discussions among Internet represenatives , educators, public officials and attorneys can address how to develop federal regulations for Internet gaming. The findings from these summits will be compiled in a white paper that will be released shortly after the November election.

During my trip downtown yesterday to cover the Four Queens Poker Classic final event I noticed a row of limos parked at the curb below where I parked in the Queen’s garage. After a few minutes I realized that these rolling hotel suites were bringing a continuous stream of happy wedding parties to the court house across the street for the prerequisite marriage license. During the few minutes I watched a half dozen of the limos pull in and out. This week’s Nine List follows.

9. Marriage license vending machines in every hotel.
8. Drive through wedding chapels.
7. Half off coupon for divorce.
6. You can spend your entire honeymoon in a poker room.
5. One-stop wedding centers in 7-11 convenience stores.
4. Two free Circus Circus buffet passes.
3. Complimentary copy of Britney Spears’ “Guide to a Successful Marriage.”
2. The minister, maid of honor, best man and ring girl are all Elvis impersonators.
1. Every Vegas marriage license comes with an expiration date!

That's it for today. Tomorrow has the Week in Review and J. Santos' "Muck It" cartoon.

Posted by flipchipro at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The ESPN WSOP Main Event has generated much interest in the Greg “Fossilman” Raymer cat eye glasses. The unique to the poker table, novelty glasses were purchased from Disneyworld by Greg when he and his family were there on vacation. They are laser holographic images that appear to be a set of feline eyes that typically change to iridescent greens and yellows. The glasses had the effect of unnerving some of the players and probably distracted many more. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a table full of players with wild and crazy eyewear at the next WSOP, maybe even some of the glow on demand contacts lenses. I have heard rumors that some of the people in charge of the events want to ban sunglasses in any form unless the player can produce a valid prescription. I believe this to be another bad “micro-manage” effort by those non-player rules-makers; similar to the no decals or visible logos rule that prevents players from collecting any sponsor money. Although I have not found a local source for the Fossil Man glasses; apparently, Poker Puff, our Main Coon, has.

The main Event of the Four Queens Poker Classic, $5000+150 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em, got underway today at noon with a small field of 39 players. Someone should have checked the schedule before committing to this date for other poker tournaments around the country that would be a draw for the professionals. The 39 seated entrants did include the three touring pros of the Hendon Mob. I will continue coverage of this event to the final hand. Tomorrow the Ultimate Poker Challenge will be filming another episode at the Plaza and I will be there. I’m off to check out the No-Limit Hold’em tournament at Sam’s Town tonight. I may enter the event and test my skills. The ST tournaments usually attract a mixed crowd of tough locals and hopeful visitors so the play can be tricky and difficult. I have to continue to remind myaelf of Mike Matusow's one word advice, “Survive, survive, survive.” The tournaments typically sell out quickly and have a long alternate list so have to get going. Results later.

Posted by flipchipro at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

What a day for poker. I was at the Four Queens Poker Classic this afternoon and watched the $1000+60 Limit Hold’em event for a couple of hours. The tournament was down to two tables and all three Hendon Mob members that made the trip to Vegas for the Classic remained in the competition. Terry Myers of Yuma Arizona, winner of an event at the Orleans Open/2004, was at another of the two tables with a nice stack of chips. Ron Rose, two-time WPT Champion, was playing in a $540 SnG single table satellite and entertaining the table with his humorous poker stories.

Tomorrow, Friday 09/16/04, is the first day of the $5000+150 No-Limit Hold’em Championship event. Satellites will continue right up to the noon start time. The main Event will run for three days with the last nine players for the final table decided on Saturday. The final table will be played on Sunday starting at 4:00 pm and action will continue until a single player is crowned the Four Queens Poker Classic Champion. Many of the professional players are expected to compete in the final event. I will be there to cover all the action and provide results with photos of the event. We will post the play-by-play from Debbie Burkhead once available. The evening events, $100+20 No-Limit Hold’em, will be offered on Friday and Saturday evening at 7:00 pm. The popular evening tournaments are limited to entrants so you may want to register early. The Bubble free roll tournament for everyone that finished one out of the money will be played on Sunday, October 5 at 2:00 pm. The Best All-Around Player will be announced at the close of the main event tournament. The winner will receive an all expense paid trip to the Caribbean Poker Classic and a trophy. Second place will receive $750 and a five night stay at the Four Queen Poker Classic 2005, while third place will pick up a five night stay at the Four Queens Hotel during the ‘05 tournament.

The Ultimate Poker Challenge continues down the street at the Plaza and the next event will be played on Saturday. Contestants are playing for a seat in the semi-final event that leads to the final table and millions in prize money. All of the Ultimate Challenge tournaments are filmed for television.

I finally had an opportunity to see the ESPN World Series of Poker Main Event final tonight. As always I was entertained by the show and enjoyed seeing the hole cards and strategies the players attempted to use. Everyone got lucky at least once and even though Greg Raymer had a run of great hole cards and seem to catch every flop I was pleased to see him win. I thought Williams had considerable beginners luck and I salute him for giving much of the credit to Marcel Luske. Throughout the event Marcel provided great coaching and encouragement to the young player. I was quite disappointed with Josh and his lack of consideration for the other players and the TV audience. I guess the sport needs its bad boys and this year’s WSOP was provided with exactly that ”crew.” Josh’s behavior during the final event was the window dressing for this group of “everything bad that happens to me after I make a stupid decision is the fault of someone else.” Most of us go to sporting events to see the great players do great things while others go to see the adversarial players be adversarial. Tonight I got a plenty of both.

By: Debbie Burkhead
Jesse Jones Comes from Behind to Capture a 1st in Limit Hold’em

Today’s event was a $1,060 Limit Hold’em event.
The final five players began at 9:30 p.m. with 45 minutes remaining at the $600-$1,200 level with $300-$600 blinds.
Larry Wright, from McQueeney Texas, nicknamed “Texas Bandit” was the chip leader with $23,000, Mike Vanier, from Lincoln, Nebraska was in second place with $12,100, Joe Beevers, a Hendonmobster, was in third with $10,000, Chris McHugh, from Las Vegas was in fourth with $8,600 and Jesse Jones, from Las Vegas was in fifth place with $4,400.
At 10:10 Chris McHugh and Joe Beevers got into a raising match after a flop of 8-K-K until it was capped. The turn card came a deuce and Chris bet out, Joe raised and Chris called all-in with his last $500. Chris showed pocket 10’s and Joe rolled over K-J for trip kings. The river card came a jack and Joe took the pot with kings full. Chris was forced to take a 5th place finish and $2,530 in cash.
With four players remaining, at 10:30 p.m. the limit rose to $800-$1,600 with $400-$800 blinds.
On the second hand after the limit increase Larry Wright put all his money in on an ace high flush draw against Jesse Jones’ set of sixes. The turn and the river brought no spades and Larry was forced to take a 3rd place finish and $3,095.
Then there were three. Jesse Jones was in the lead with $24,000, Joe Beevers was in second with $20,000 and Mike Vanier was in third place with $14,000.
At 11:30 the limit rose to $1,000-$2,000 with $500-$1,000 blinds.
At 11:40 Mike had $1,500 remaining after posting the small blind. Joe raised, Mike called all-in for his $1,500 and Jesse called. The flop came 3-4-Q and it was checked by both Joe and Jesse. The turn card was a seven and once again they both checked, the river card was an eight and it was checked again. Joe showed A-6, Mike turned over 4-5 and Jesse showed the winner with 9-7 for a pair of sevens.
Mike took home $4,220 for his 3rd place finish.
It was heads-up between Jesse Jones, with $37,000 in chips and Joe Beevers with $21,000 in chips.
This was Jesse’s first final table appearance at the Four Queens Poker Classic and it was Joe’s third time at the final table.
Unofficially the tournament ended at 11:55 when Jesse thought he had beat Joe with a straight. The dealer pushed Jesse the pot, Joe congratulated Jesse and the Tournament Director headed for the prize pool to pay the players. When I asked what had happened they began to recap the hand and realized that Joe had also made the straight. Joe was given back the $3,500 he started with and play resumed.
Another key hand was when both players flopped sets and Joe was all-in on the flop. Jesse flopped a set of fours and Joe flopped a set of sevens.
That got Joe back in the game with $27,500.
It was a roller coaster ride for the next half hour.
At 11:30 Joe was back down to $8,000 and Jesse got him all-in with a 5-2-Q flop. Joe flopped a pair of fives and Jesse flopped a pair of queens. The turn nor the river helped Joe and it was officially over, this time.
Joe had to settle for a 2nd place finish and $7,035.
Jesse Jones came from behind with the shortest stack with five players remaining to take the win and the $11,250 in cash.

Posted by flipchipro at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Four Queens Classic Poker tournament in downtown Las Vegas is in the final week of play. The Noon tournament was a $1000+60 No-Limit Hold’em. A Stud Hi/Lo $200+30 event started at 2:00 pm today. The evening tournament tonight is a $200+30 No-Limit Hold’em contest that gets under way at &:00 pm. Tomorrow, Thursday 09/16/04, will feature another $1000+60 Limit Hold’em tournament. The Main Event, $5000+150 No-Limit Hold’em begins play at noon on Friday, 09/17/04, with a second day on Saturday and the final table played on Sunday at 4:00 pm. If you have plans to win one of the Poker Classic events then get down to the 4 Queens soon.

I was wandering around the tournament floor taking a few photos of the players when I noticed Ron Rose having lunch at one of the empty tables. He had his new book “Poker Aces, The Stars of Poker” available for sale so I thumbed through the publication and was impressed by the subject, content and quality. This is not another “how-to” poker book; but rather, it is a collection of 89 professional poker players. Each of the player listings are presented on a two page spread featuring a well written bio and full color photographs. The left margin has Personal Notes for a quick reference guide to the player’s personal information while the lower right margin has all of the player’s major accomplishments and wins. The player’s favorite self-quote appears at the upper right. I found the book to be a great reference of the well know and not-so-well known tournament players in the industry today. The book is printed on heavy gloss paper in full color. The 180 page book is published by Via Quinta Press. The easiest way to purchase your copy of this publication is to go directly to Ron’s web site and order your copy. The publication retails for $29.95. I give it a must have if you are interested in the poker stars playing in tournaments around the world. You see them on TV playing for millions and mnopw Ron brings you the rest of their story and much more.

How about the rest of the story about Ron Rose? Who is he? The Poker Prof and I spent the afternoon with Ron at the Four Queens today and heard some most interesting stories from this outspoken, intelligent professional poker player. Ron, like many of his peers, had a life before becoming a full time poker player. He's been a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and a member of the American Stock Exchange His wife is a lawyer back in Ohio where the couple lives. Ron might well be the most accomplished poker player that most people don’t know. Did you know he won the first “WPT Battle of Champions”? Well, he did and you can see a rerun of this very event with eleven of the toughest poker players around competing for a quarter of a million dollars. It’s being shown tonight on the Travel Channel at 9:00 pm pst. Ron also won a WSOP bracelet, took first place in the 2003 WPT World Poker Challenge No Limit Hold’em Championship, 2002 first place Aviation Club Summer Tournament, 2002 first place Spring tournament, 2002 first place Hall of Fame Classic, and in 2001 he won an unprecedented three titles at the Aviation Club Summer tournament netting him the best all around player award. An incredible list of wins and awards for a player most people can't name on sight. Ron writes books with the same high level of skill that he brings to the poker table so after you watch tonight’s tournament go to Ron’s website, www.ron-rose.com, and take a look at his new book. For those that prefer to buy at the book store the book is available at Barnes & Noble Booksellers as well as Amazon.com.

Posted by flipchipro at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Final table Challenge was played today at Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino and the event lasted well into the night with the final hand being dealt at 10:20 pm. We will provide complete coverage and results on Wednesday’s post. The tournament was played before a live audience and filmed for national TV. I will provide more details of the television airing schedule of the first installment once details are available. This is the first event in a series of tournaments leading to the Final Table Challenge Championship. Today's winner received $50,000 in first place money while the runner up walked away with $25,000. The Final Table Challenge is an opportunity for amateur poker players to compete in high stakes No Limit Hold'em tournaments on national television. Each week will see a different group of players from qualifying events around the country playing the Final Table event here in Las Vegas at Sam's Town Hotel and Casino. The winner will receive in addition to the $50k a seat in the season finale Championship event. You can also qualify to play in one of the weekly events if you are chosen as the “wildcard” player. To be considered for the next Final Table Challenge tournament "wildcard" player simply register at the FTC website and then send in a tape describing yourself. Complete instructions may be found on the site. The first episode wildcard was Angela Lambert of Valencia, California who finished in sixth place after being selected as the eleventh player. You are guaranteed a minimum of $5,000 and a trip to Vegas if you qualify through a regional tournament or are selected as the wildcard.

The tournament is hosted by nationally known TV personalities John Daly and the glamorous Symba. Expert play-by-play commentary is handled by former WSOP champion, Susie Isaacs and 1983 WSOP main event champion, Tom McEvoy. We will offer a gallery of tournament photos; but until we have an opportunity to process our images we offer a few samples of today’s action. Additional photos can be seen in the continue reading link below.

More Four Queens Poker Classic results will be posted once available.

Posted by flipchipro at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have spent the day at Sam’s Town with the Final Challenge production people, players, host and families. The stage is set and everything is ready for the event to be played tomorrow, September 14th. The eleven players will begin play at 10:00 am and the freeze-out No-Limit Hold’em event will continue until there is only one. The TV audience will be allowed in during the 2:00 pm break. The players are from around the country and won their seats by winning a qualifying tournament at a regional casino. The Prof and I will be there from beginning to end with camera in hand and offer more tournamnet details, results and photos tomorrow. The tournament will be filmed for weekly installments that will be televised on national television. Expert commentary for the play-by-play will be provided by 1983 World Series of Poker Champion, Tom McEvoy, and two time WSOP winner, Susie Isaacs. The show will be hosted by former “Real TV” host, John Daly.

The eleventh “wildcard” player is a young lady, Angela Lambert, whom qualified through a series of interviews and auditions and will join the ten tournament qualifiers. The special table for the event will offer high resolution hole card cameras at each player’s position. We were back stage during the testing and setup of the table and got a photo that shows the incredible amount of technology required to provide the audience with hole card views.

More results from Debbie Burkhead at the Four Queens Poker Classic available for your information continue reading link below.

By Debbie Burkhead

Billy Duarte Captures a 1st in Pot Limit Hold'em

The remaining five players in the Pot Limit Hold'em event took their places at the final table at 6:40 p.m. with seven minutes remaining with $200-$400 blinds.
David Karno, from New Orleans, in seat five was in the lead with $21,300, Mark Heintschel, from San Marcos, California in seat one, was in second place with $17,000, Billy Duarte, known to some as Boston Billy, was in third place with $12,000, Doug Kalen, from Berkeley, California was in fourth place with $10,200 and David Levi, from Las Vegas was in a little trouble with $4,800.
There were no casualties in the last seven minutes and at 6:50 the blinds increased to $300-$600.
Five minutes into the new level the two David’s went head-to-head. David Levi went all-in with his remaining $1,600 on the flop and David Karno called. Levi showed A-5 and Karno turned over K-8. The flop was good to Levi when it came A-K-9 but the river came an eight, sending Levi home in 5th place with $2,180.
At 7:30 the blinds increased to $500-$1,000.
At 7:45 the remaining four players took a short dinner break.
Billy Duarte moved up to chip leader with $26,500, David Karno dropped to second with $19,800, Mark Heintschel dropped to third with $11,300 and Doug Kalen was trailing with $7,700.
At 8:15 the remaining five players began play with 50 minutes remaining in the previous level.
At 8:25 Billy Duarte raised $2,500, Mark Heintschel reraised all-in for $3800 more and Billy called. Mark showed pocket deuces and Billy turned over pocket sixes. The board came 4-K-4-10-8 and Mark was sent home with $2,670 for his fourth place finish.
At 8:50 Doug raised to $3,000 and Billy called. The flop came 9-8c-5c, Billy bet and Doug called all-in for his remaining $1,400. Doug showed K-8 and Billy showed K-9 for a pair of nines. The turn and the river card came a 5 and Doug had to settle for a 3rd place finish and pocketed $3,640.
At heads-up Billy was the chip leader with $49,900 to David’s $15,800.
Two hands later Billy and David got involved in a hand that got all of David’s chips in the pot preflop. David showed K-J and Billy turned over A-Q. The board was no help to David and he had to settle for a 2nd place finish that added $6,060 to his bankroll.
Billy Duarte was declared the Pot Limit Omaha Champion and received $9,700 for his 1st place finish.
Billy is originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts but relocated to Colorado about 15 years ago. He is a retired dog breeder, a widower with seven children and 15 grand children.
Billy just recently began playing tournaments and already has several final tables to his credit and two 1st place finishes.
He took a first at the World Poker Open in Tunica last year in the Pot Limit Omaha and a first at the recent Legends in Omaha high.
Billy was bitten by a mosquito that was carrying the West Nile Virus a little over a year ago and it caused him to lose his memory for about 10 days.
Billy was an avid smoker prior to his bite but due to his memory loss he couldn’t remember if he ever smoked, so he hasn’t had a cigarette since.
He also told me about the day he went to play poker during the time of his memory loss and he couldn’t remember if a king beat a jack but apparently he has had a full recovery because he knew an A-Q beat a K-J tonight.

Posted by flipchipro at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A week in review for 9.12.04

The 4 Queens Results and Photo Gallery are being updated (almost) daily. First off, I noticed that David G. Schwartz, who runs the UNLV World Series of Poker (WSOP) exhibit has a brand new blog called the Die is Cast. This week I ran across some great posts on strategy and psychology. First, the poker chronicles offers a look at how (theoretically) to earn 100k a year playing poker for a living. Anisotropy has a post on the lessons (re)learned from playing. Finally, Crazy game of Poker has a good trip report post after a couple weeks of hiatus.

See the extended text for the latest 4 Queens Poker Classic report.

By Debbie Burkhead

Eric Napoleon Comes from Behind to Win the Omaha-8-or-Better

Today’s Omaha 8-or-Better event started at noon and the final ten players took their seats at the final table at 6:55 with 38 minutes remaining at the $300-$600 limit.
Joe Beevers, nicknamed, “The Elegance,” was the chip leader with $12,125, O’Neil Longson was in second with $11,125, Eric Napoleon, nicknamed, “Pot Monster,” was in third with $8,950, Ken Seale, nicknamed, “Scorpion,” was in fourth with $6,175, Mike Chow was in fifth with $6,075, Kurt Van Hortleben was in sixth with $5,525, Geoff Waxler, nicknamed, “Dead Heat,” and Ram Vaswani were tied for seventh place, Sam Silverman was in ninth place with $4,375, and Tom Brownscombe, who finished 4th in yesterday’s no-limit event, was in last place with $3,875.
The bad news was the next player out wouldn’t receive any cash because only nine places would make money.
At 7:30 Tom Brownscombe was that unlucky player. He got all his money in with 7-6-4-3 against Sam Silverman’s A-J-10-2. The flop came 7-8-9 and it was all over for Tom.
At 7:35 the limit rose to $400-$800 with $200-$400 blinds. Ten minutes later the remaining nine players took a dinner break and at 9:45 they resumed play.
At 9:20 Geoff Waxler put his last $200 in on the small blind and took an early out with king high. Geoff collected $815 for his ninth place finish.
At 9:30 the limit increased to $600-$1,200 with $300-$600 blinds.
Five minutes into the new level Mike Chow got all his money in with K-Q-Q-J. The board came Ks-6s-5-K-3s and Ken Seale scooped the pot with J-Js-8s-9 when he hit the spade flush on the river. Mike pocketed $1,085 for his eighth place finish.
At 10:15 Kurt Von Hortleben lost to a lower low and the nut flush for high. Kurt took $1,360 for his 7th place finish.
At 10:20 the limit increased to $1,000-$2,000 with $500-$1,000 blinds.
At 10:30 Ram Vaswani was down to his last $500 chip after flopping a pair of aces holding A-J-3-5 against Eric Napoleon who also flopped a pair of aces holding A-6-6-10. On the turn another ace came keeping Ram in the lead with his jack kicker but disaster struck on the river when the dealer turned a ten giving Eric the aces full of tens. Ram had to settle for a sixth place finish and collected $1,630.
At 10:50 Ken called all-in with his remaining $1,000, O’Neil called, and Eric called. The flop came 10d-7d-4d, O’Neil bet, Eric raised and O’Neil called. The turn card came a seven, O’Neil checked, Eric bet and O’Neil called. The river came a four, and it was checked by both players. Eric showed the nut flush with A-8 of diamonds and scooped the pot, sending Ken Seale to the rail in fifth place with $1,900.
At 11:15 O’Neil Longson was left with $1,000 after posting the big blind. Eric called, Sam raised, Joe called, O’Neil called all-in and Eric called the raise. The flop came 4-5-7 of diamonds, Joe bet, Eric called and Sam called. The turn came a jack, Joe bet, Eric folded and Sam called. The river came a king, Joe bet and Sam called. Sam and Joe split the pot and sent O’Neil home in 4th place with $2,175.
Eric was in the lead now with $34,000, Sam was in second with $20,500, and Joe was a little behind with $13,000.
Two hands later Joe went all-in with A-K-Q-2 and was called by both remaining players. The board came J-10-6-2-10 and scooped the pot with a pair of sixes. Joe took home $2,985 for his 3rd place finish.
At 11:25 the limit rose to $1,500-$3,000 with $1,000-$1,500 blinds.
At 11:45 Eric won the last hand of the tournament and sent Sam home in 2nd place with $5,705.
Eric Napoleon, from Austin, Texas was declared the winner of the $540 Omaha 8-or-better.

Posted by pokerprof at 6:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is the anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy so I thought it would be a good time to share a couple of J. Santos’ cats. He painted the wooden cravings shortly after 9-11, left them on my table then headed for somewhere in Mexico. I didn’t realize how much that day had affected and depressed him until he recently returned and we talked while he was drawing our first “Muck It” cartoon. J and I offer the Santos'cats, 9 & 11, to honor and remember those that fell victim to the evilness of mankind.

The WPPA, World Poker Player Association, is getting considerable attention here in Las Vegas. I blogged about this organization during the Orleans’ Open/2004, my first contact with the group. The WPPA has made giant strides since I wrote about the scheduled tournaments to be held at the Orleans Hotel. My friend, fellow blogger and world class stud/razz player, Felicia Lee, is now a member of the WPPA and has considerable information as well as email for any of your questions. Felicia is an outspoken lady dedicated to the future good of the poker industry and she plays a mean “A” level game. You may want to give the WPPA some serious consideration.

I ran across this article from reporter Jim Hubley of the York, PA newspaper, “York Daily Record,” so now have confirmation of a fact of poker. The game is truly America’s most popular past time, even among the too young to do anything crowd. I begin my poker education when I was preschool age growing up in Texas. My cousins and I would find a shady spot after Sunday dinner and argue the finer points of the game while the adults drank good bourbon and branch water and argued the finer points of the game. One of my uncles gave me a “brand new” deck of playing cards for my sixth birthday and told me there was a living for life if I applied myself.

The Nines List for this week.

The top nine “facts” tourists believe about Las Vegas that are False.

9. Everyone in Las Vegas lives in a hotel.
8. Pedestrians have the right of way.
7. A betting system can beat the casinos.
6. All Vegas men are organized crime members.
5. The movie, “Ocean’s Eleven,” is a true story.
4. Drinking and driving is a group sport.
3. The taxi driver has a license to drive.
2. Your kids will have a good time in 110 degree heat.
1. Free hotdogs are free!

That's it for today. Tomorrow has the Week in Review and J. Santos' "Muck It" cartoon.

Posted by flipchipro at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Everywhere we look today there are poker players in tournaments being filmed by Hollywood camera crews making a television show. Is it poker or is it showbiz? Will the new breed of super player we discussed earlier come with a SAG card? This Tuesday at Sam’s Town the pilot episode of the Final Table Challenge will be played and filmed. Nine players from around the country will join one wildcard player for a Final Table showdown and $50,000 first place money. The tournament will then be edited with some sitcom type stuff featuring a regular cast of actors. Depending on the success of this first pilot, the tournament and the TV show may become a weekly offering on national television with a different group of players joining the regular cast each week. The finale will be the winners of the weekly shows playing in a semi-final round leading up to the final main event. Not only can you win a big pile of money but you will become a nationally known poker champion. The audience for this show at the Sam’s Town Live showroom will be on a first come seating basis.

The WPC, Women’s Poker Club, tournament at the downtown Horseshoe will begin their main event tomorrow, Saturday, at 9:00 am. The Horseshoe’s daily 2:00 pm No-Limit Hold’em tournament will also be available. Anyone with an extra $1000 can take a hike down Fremont to the Plaza Hotel and enter the Ultimate Poker Challenge where you will be joined by another fifty to one hundred poker players, amateur and professional, attempting to qualify for a seat in the semi-finals and then on to the final event with millions in prize money. The action at the Plaza gets underway at noon. All of the Ultimate events are filmed and are currently being broadcast on national TV. Just another opportunity to become a showbiz star. The Four Queens Poker Classic is one more downtown tournament in full swing. I have only covered downtown. Poker tournaments at the strip casinos and the outlying local rooms add up to 24/7 live poker tournaments here in Las Vegas. Poker players have their choice of tournaments action.

The players that fit into the “I’m already rich and famous” class can rest comfortably knowing that Bravo is committed to another round of the “Celebrity Poker Showdown.” They have signed up twenty-five new celebrity players and even have a new sponsor, NetZero, after the former sponsor, Cingular, dropped out because the players were drinking cocktails and uttering bleeped curse words. Can you just imagine that? Celebrities, alcohol, cussing and poker all on the same TV show, the shame of it all. Yea right. Makes me want to throw my damn Cingular cell phone into the bleeping dumpster.

Rumor says the All In Magazine will be offering another issue in the near future. The web site has been updated with a new cover shot; but, no information is available as to when we can expect to receive our copy.

The latest Four Queens Poker Classic event play-by-play from Debbie Burkhead
can be found in the extended entry. The Nine's List and more poker happenings around Vegas tomorrow.

By Debbie Burkhead

Yohanes Muruz Storms Through the Final Nine
to Capture 1st Place in the No-Limit Hold’em Event

Today’s No-Limit Hold’em event drew 130 players and created a prize pool of $20,661.
There were 20 minutes remaining in level 10 with $100-$600 blinds and a $100 ante.
Jordan Mayors went to the final table in the lead with $24,000, Yohanes Muruz was in second with $23,200, Tom Brownscombe was in third with $19,800, Gary Schneider was in fourth with $16,700, Maximo Martinez was in fifth with $12,600, Ron McMillan was in sixth with $12,500, Tim Ramsey was in seventh with $8,300, Herb Vandyke was in eighth with $6,800, Mike Moskowitz was in ninth with $4,200 and Mike Pugliese was trailing with $2,000.
Shortly after the final table play began Herb Vandyke called all-in with Jh-10h against Max’s pocket queens. Herb flopped a straight flush draw but neither the turn or the river helped his hand and the pocket queens took the pot. Herb took 9th place and $755 for his finish.
On the very next hand Ron McMillan moved all his chips in with pocket queens only to get called by Gary Schneider with pocket rockets. The board brought no help for Ron and he had to settle for an eighth place finish and $1,135 in cash.
Just after Ron’s departure Tim put all his chips in with 7-8 of spades and got called by Gary holding 7-10 of hearts. The board came 7-5-5-3-9 and Gary’s 10 was the key card. Tim had to settle for a 7th place finish and pocketed $1,515.
At 7:45 the blinds rose to $500-$1,000 with a $100 ante.
Maximo Martinez was the next casualty when he took his A-K against Yohanes’ pocket kings. Maximo took $2,270 for his 5th place finish.
It wasn’t long after Max departed the final table that Tom Brownscombe was collecting $3,025 for his 4th place finish. Tom put the remainder of his chips in with 10-2 against Yohanes’ pocket eights, big mistake, Yohnanes was knocking players out left and right and Tom was no exception. Tom pocketed $3,025 for his 4th place finish.
Gary was the next player to take on Yohanes and once again Johanes sent him to the rail. Yohanes flopped a straight draw and the turn card finished it off. Gary took 3rd place and $3,785.
At heads up, Yohanes was in the lead by $18,000 and Jordan offered Yohanes a deal he couldn’t refuse. Jordan took 2nd place and $6,880.
Yohanes was declared the no-limit champion and took home 1st place bragging rights and $12,480 in cash along with a beautiful chip set trophy.

Posted by flipchipro at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The action continues at the Four Queens Poker Classic with two a day tournaments. Today’s offering was a $300+35 Stud event at noon and a $100+20 No-Limit Hold’em with one rebuy at 7:00 pm. Many poker celebrities were there today watching and taking part in the events. The Hendon Mob is in town and playing in the tournaments and satellites. Oklahoma Johnny was seen watching the evening tournament. Tom McEvoy was playing in the evening tournament sitting comfortably behind a large stack of chips. We will post complete results once available along with Debbie Burkhead’s great play-by-play.

Across the Fremont pedestrian mall the Women’s Poker Club begin the WPC Vegas Showdown tournament at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino. The tournament events begin tomorrow in the first floor tournament area next to the poker room. The ladies will be holding daily events for the next couple of days with the final event scheduled for 9:00 am Saturday, 09-11-04. A great opportunity for any ladies wishing to compete in a big-time poker atmosphere and win some money and a little fame. A fun time is guaranteed by this poker playing group of gals.

More bad news for the Las Vegas monorail. The train opened yesterday after closing down when one of the cars lost a wheel assembly. The monorail was repaired and reopened yesterday morning only to have even more parts fall off and immediately shut down again. The closure this time may be for an extended period of time since it involves some parts added after a driveshaft fell off during the initial shakedown period. The private project that has been creating traffic jams for months on Vegas surface streets during the construction phase will apparently continue to create problems for Las Vegas. Probably the final solution will involve millions of taxpayer dollars to bail out the problem plagued project. The publicly touted clean air we will all realize from all of the parked autos appears to be just more spin doctor smoke screens fouling our already dirty air just like any other pollutant. If you are looking for the Las Vegas Monorail version of the Simpson’s Monorail song you can find it here.

By Debbie Burkhead

Chad Layne Played Catch-up to Capture the No-Limit Hold’em Event

Today’s No-Limit Hold’em event began at noon and at 7:00 p.m. the final ten players took their seats at the final table.
The blinds were $300-$600 with a $100 ante.
Marlen Milne was in first chip position with $25,000, Kevin Coon was in second place with $21,700, Sarah Casey, from Las Vegas made her second appearance at the final table in third with $19,700, Sarah placed 2nd in the $230 no-limit event on Friday, September 3
Chad Layne was in fourth with $18,400, Warren Karp was in fifth with $17,300, Gene Collens was in sixth with $16,800, Jeff Rine was in seventh with $13,300, Todd Tucker was in eighth with $14,300, Max Pescatori was in ninth with $11,600, and Mick Cowley was in last place with $5,300.
At 7:40 the blinds increased to $500-$1,000 and the anted stayed at $100.
Two hands before the dinner break Warren Karp raised $4,000 and Todd Tucker moved all-in for $7,800 and Warren called all-in for $3,600 more. Todd showed A-J and Warren turned over A-6. Warren caught a straight on the turn and left Todd with $200.
On the very next hand Todd went all-in with his remaining $200 and caught two pair for the win and increased his stack to $1,400, then went to dinner.
Marlin had increased his lead to $28,300, Kevin moved up to $23,100, Sarah was still in third place with $19,700, Jeff jumped up to fourth place with $18,700, Warren increased his chip stack but was still in fifth place with $18,500, Gene was still holding on to sixth with $18,300, Chad dropped from fourth to seventh with $15,400, Mick moved up to eighth place from last place with $12,100, Max dropped to ninth place with $6,000 and Todd was in real trouble with only $1,400.
Play resumed at 8:45 with 32 minutes remaining in level 11.
On the first hand after the dinner break Todd raised all-in with his remaining $1,400 and Kevin called the $400 more from the big blind. Todd showed K-6 of clubs and Kevin showed J-8 of hearts. The flop came J-8-6 but no king came and Todd took $945 for his 10th place finish.
At 9:00 Max moved all-in with A-8 and got a call from Gene, holding A-J. The board came K-2-10-A-J and Max collected $1,415 for his 9th place finish.
At 9:20 the blinds rose to $800-$1,600 and a $200 ante.
Jeff Rine moved all-in for $8,900 and Chad called. Jeff showed A-9 and Chad rolled over pocket jacks. The flop came with a nine to give Jeff a pair but no more help after the flop and Chad’s jacks took the pot. Jeff pocketed $1,885 for his 8th place finish.
At 9:55 Warren moved all-in for $11,000 with pockets threes and Gene called. The flop came with an ace to give Gene the lead and neither the turn or the river produced a three. Warren had to settle for $2,352 and a 7th place finish.
At 10:00 the blinds went to $1,000-$2,000 with a $300 ante.
At 10:10 Gene raised and Sarah moved all-in and Gene called. Gene showed pocket threes and Sarah turned over A-Q. The board came void of aces or queens and Sarah had to settle for 6th place and $4,830.
Two hands later Chad got Marlen all-in before the flop and showed him pocket rockets. Marlen had Q-9 and received no help on board. He took a 5th place finish along with $3,300 in cash.
At 10:35 Mick raised $8,000 and Gene moved all-in for $27,000 and Mick called. Gene showed J-Q of diamonds and Mick turned over pocket fours. The board flop a straight draw for Gene and turned a flush but neither the straight or the flush came on the river and Gene had to settle for 4th place and $3,770.
The blinds increased to $1,500-$3,000 with $400 ante at 10:40.
At 11:20 the blinds went to $2,000-$4,000.
At 11:25 Chad bet $12,000 on a flop of 5-7-10, Kevin raised $20,000 more and Chad moved all-in for $9,000 more and Kevin called. Keven showed 9-5 and Chad turned over 10-9 for the lead. The turn and the river were no help to Kevin and he was left with $9,000.
On the next hand he was all-in with pocket sixes against Mick, holding 4-3 when the flop came 3-4-7 and again no help for Kevin, he finished 3rd for $5,185.
Chad Layne and Mick Cowley were heads up with Chad in the lead with $100,000 to Mick’s $62,000.
On the third hand of head’s up play it was checked by both players. The flop came A-7-8 and it was checked again. The turn card came a 5 and Mick bet $6,000, Chad raised to $16,000, Mick moved all-in and Chad called with the nuts, 6-4. Mick was drawing dead with pocket kings and had to settle for 2nd place and $9,430.
Chad was down to the felt several times at the final table but managed to rebuild until he had all the chips.
Chad Layne was declared the winner of the $335 no-limit hold’em event and carried off $16,030 to add to his bankroll.

Wayne Haynes Hits Pay Dirt on his Fourth Final Table Appearance

Today’s Seven-Card Stud event began at noon and at 6:30 p.m. the final eight players took their seats at the final table.
There were 15 minutes remaining in the $600-$1,200 with a $100 ante.
Ram Vaswani went to the final table the chip leader with $25,100, Glenn Smith was in second place with $10,400, Bruce Corman and D’arcy Christensen were tied for third with $9,700, Ed Klien was right on their heels with $9,500, James Tippin was in fifth place with $7,000, Wayne Haynes was in sixth with $6,400 and Nat Cooper was in trouble with $3,000.
Ten minutes into final table play Nat Cooper took an early out in 8th place and pocketed $620.
At 6:45 the limit increased to $800-$1,600 with a $200 ante.
At 7:20 Glenn Smith, Bruce Corman and James Tippin got involved in a multi-action hand that send two players to the rail. James took out both Glenn and Bruce when he caught a flush on the river.
Bruce took home $826 for his 7th place finish and Glenn added $1,035 to his bankroll for his 6th place finish.
Three hands later D’arcy Christensen ran into some bad luck and had to settle for a 5th place finish and $1,445.
At 7:45 the remaining four players took their dinner break.
Ram was still in the lead with $27,600, Wayne jumped up to second position with $20,200, Ed was in third place and James was trailing with $7,800.
At 8:45 the limit went to $1,000-$2,000 with a $200 ante.
At 9:05 Ed Klien went up against Ram Vaswani. Ram made two pair on the river to send Ed home in 4th place with $1,965.
At three handed James had the chip lead with $32,200, Wayne was still in second and Ram had dropped to last place with $13,500.
At 9:10 the limit rose to $1,500-$3,000 with a $200 ante.
Five minutes later Ram went all-in on sixth street with aces and fives and James called with 10’s up. Ram’s hand didn’t improve on seventh but James hit another 10 for the full house.
After coming to the final table the chip leader Ram was forced to take a 3rd place finish and collected $2,685.
At 9:20 it was heads-up between James Tippin and Wayne Haynes.
At 9:25 Wayne took the chip lead away from James when his pocket threes held up in a sizeable pot.
On the next hand Wayne pushed queens all the way to the river and made two pair to beat James out of another big pot.
On the next hand Wayne was rolled up with nines but James escaped the trap when he folded.
Wayne had a commanding chip lead with $52,800 to James’ $18,20 and before the next hand was dealt Wayne offered James $500 more to take a hike. James excepted and the tournament ended at 9:30.
James took the 2nd place finish and added $5,045 to his bankroll.
This was Waynes fourth final table at the Four Queens Poker Classic. He finished 4th in the Omaha 8-or-better, 3rd in the no-limit hold’em, 2nd in the Seven-card Stud 8-or-better and finally takes a 1st place finish in the $335 Seven-card stud event.

Posted by flipchipro at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The ESPN broadcast of the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event is almost as good as being there live. I get to relive all the drama and excitement again and the broadcasts offer the hole cams so now I know the players hole cards and can analyze their play accordingly. Remembering the hands from the live play and, now, knowing the cards and how they are being played gives me an entirely different perspective on many of the hands. I typically over-estimate the value of an opponent’s hand strength so I probably am easier to bluff since I will often toss; but now, the hole cams show that very often I’ve been mucking not only the best hand but the only hand. Watching how the pros play in different situations with every conceivable two hole cards is not only a how-to playing lesson; but, it is an exact player study open to anyone with a TV and cable. Even though most of the hands played end up on the editing room floor and this is by no means a complete look at any player, it is still very valuable information. I’m sure that most of the pros now spend considerable time studying the telecast of their peers and how they play. The poker shows are the game films of poker and when combined with full time coaches some of the professional players are adding to their growing support staff I’m certain we will see a very different poker game played by a very highly prepared player in the near future.

The senior players of today have survived through skills that go beyond what can be learned, you could say they have a knack for the game. Most of the older players learned the game and how to win as a means of climbing out of poverty and eating on a regular basis. They can study you for a few minutes and then make the correct decision so the dealer is pushing the pots to them more often than you. During one of the ESPN WSOP 2004 Main Event shows we see Doyle Brunson move in with a stone cold bluff, and then we all watched as the younger player with the best hand hit the muck. How did Doyle know that he could run the bluff and succeed? I have watched this episode repeatedly and can’t detect any discernible clue; but, obviously, Doyle had picked up some trivial tell, so insignificant that it didn’t show on camera, and made his play. I am also aware that his reputation often influences other player’s decisions to quit the hand and very rightly so. Doyle is one of those few people that have enjoyed a good life because of his poker skills and he continues to beat the young poker stars that come loaded with education, proper poker playing theories and youthful aggressiveness. When Fischman was knocked out of the WSOP main event tournament by Brunson and he said, “Nice hand Doyle,” I was momentarily stunned by the apparent lack of respect for the old master but quickly realized it is a game that favors youth and next time it might be Mr. Brunson saying nice hand.

I am waiting for the next generation of super star players that will combine the natural “Old Master” playing knack with all of the modern playing aids. These unbeatable super players will be products of a professional team of support people that educate, prepare, train, groom and spin the young protégés onto the stage of big-time poker competition. The meteoric rise in popularity of tournament poker and the very large prize pools guarantee the emergence of the poker superstars. They will enjoy movie star status and live the lifestyle of any other rich and famous athlete. Poker is rapidly becoming a top ratings draw on television with shows being developed and introduced almost every week so the new players will be expected to be entertaining. The day will come when you will see poker player dolls on the shelf next to the Barbies at Wal Mart. Merchandizing will provide millions in income to the players that can fulfill all the expectations and win tournaments. There are already mumblings and efforts to organize players into professional associations so a defined tournament tour can’t be far behind. The World Poker Tour has been blazing down this path, although their tournaments are exclusively WPT, for a couple of years now. I expect to see a defined annual tour of poker professionals and amateurs playing tournaments around the world as an organized group. Sporting events are always great draws attracting millions of watchers and that’s why advertisers will stand in line to sponsor poker shows. The poker industry currently has openings for thousands of new people on both sides of the table. There are many fortunes waiting to be claimed by poker professionals, most of whom will not be classified as a player, instead they will have titles that include producer, director, cinematographer, coach, strategy coach, tell coach, playing coach, publicist, marketing manager, player therapist, wardrobe, hair, makeup, host, set designer, tour director, travel coordinator, color commentator and , hopefully, poker blogger. I love the poker business and love to write about and photograph the many events. I also enjoy playing the game and dream of winning the final hand of the main Event at the next World Series of Poker, slipping on that coveted bracelet and having my photograph displayed alongside Hellmuth, Bronson, Moss, McEvoy, Moneymaker, Ferguson, Nyugen, Chan, Harrington, Raymer and all the great poker champions.

Posted by flipchipro at 8:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Well, I finally have a photo of Felicia to add to the collection, she took 3rd in the 7-card-stud event at the 4 Queens Poker Classic the other day. The details of this are in Debbie Burkead’s report in the extended text, but the better read is over at Felicia’s blog.

I noticed an interesting headline today. Teen gambling is on the rise thanks to televised poker and the availability of on-line poker, my hunch is that this is exactly the ammunition conservatives and special interests will seize upon to pass hasher prohibition laws and as a case for further eroding digital anonymity. Time will tell.

Also in the extended text is the latest repot from Debbie Burkhead on the $335 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event. Oh, and Chris Ferguson now has a web site.

The Final Table of the 7-Card Stud
8-or-Better was Sexier than Most

By Debbie Burkhead

As the final table gathered it seems to be better looking than most. Why you asked, because there were four women seated at this final table.
The $230 Seven-card stud Hi/Lo event drew 59 entrants and created a prize pool of $11,446.
At 5:50 p.m. the final eight players took their seats at the final table with 23 minutes remaining at the $400-$800 level with a $50 and a $100 bring-in.
Glenn Smith, from Las Vegas sat down at the final table with $19,250 and the chip lead, Wayne Haynes made his third final table today and was in second with $14,925, Billie Walter was in third with $7,725, Terry Myers was in fourth with $6,500, Darlene Wood, who came in 3rd in last nights ladies event was in fifth with $3,775, Sue Bryd, from Reno was in sixth with $2,775, Bill Mullins was in seventh with $1,925, and Felicia Dyer was in last place with $1,675.
At 6:00 p.m. Darlene Wood took an early out in 8th place and collected $345.
At 6:10 p.m. the ante rose to $100 with a $200 bring in at the $600-$1,200 level.
Bill Mullins was the next casualty and received $461 for his seventh place finish.
At 6:50 p.m. the level rose to $800-$1,600 with a $200 ante and a $300 bring-in.
There were no casualties at that level. At 7:40 p.m. the limit increased to $1,000-$2,000 with a $200 ante and a $400 bring-in.
At 7:45 p.m. the remaining six players decided to pass on the dinner hour and just took a 15 minuted break and continued playing at 8:00 p.m.
At 8:15 p.m. Billie Walker, the second lady to depart the final table, put her last $1,000 in on the river with 6’s and 5’s only to be beat by 8’s and 3’s. Billie collected $570 for her 6th place finish.
There were five players left and two were women, Sue Byrd and Felicia Dyer were struggling but doing their best to hang in there.
Sue Bryd’s luck ran out at 8:30 p.m. With only $200 remaining she called with A-Q-8 of spades, hit the king of spades on fifth street only to miss on the river. Sue took $800 for her 5th place finish.
Five minutes later Glenn Smith got his pair of sevens beat by aces on the river and was sent home in 4th place with $1,085.
Two hands later Felicia Dyer, the last lady sitting took 3rd place and $1,490.
At 8:45 p.m it was heads-up between Terry Myers and Wayne Haynes.
Terry was holding on to the lead with $41,000 to Wayne’s $18,000.
Within five minutes of heads-up play Terry had Wayne down to the felt.
Terry made aces up and left Wayne with only four $100 chips.
On the very next hand Wayne had his pair of jacks beat by Terry’s pair of ladies.
This was Wayne’s 3rd final table this week. He took 4th place in the Omaha Hi/Lo on Thursday, he finished 3rd in the No-limit hold’em event on Monday and he finished in 2nd place in today’s Seven-card stud 8-or-better. If things keep going in this direction look for Terry to make a 1st place finish before the Four Queens Poker Classic ends.
Terry Myers, from Yuma, Arizona was declared the champ in today’s event and added $4,175 to his bankroll. Terry finished in 4th and 12th in two of the evening events and took a 13th in one other day event.

Richard Roberts Plays his first Pot Limit Omaha Event and Takes 1st Place

Today’s Pot Limit Hold’em event began at noon and at 6:05 p.m. the final ten players took their seats at the final table.
The blinds were $500-$1,000 and the raise was $2,000-$3,500.
Nine places paid cash and Andrew Tahoe was the unlucky one to exit in 10th place. Normally the bubble position is the end of the road but at the Four Queens Poker Classic anyone who busts out on the bubble is invited back on September 19 to participate in a Bubble Tournament.
Shortly after Tahoe’s departure we lost Charles Edwards. Charles took home $1,320 for his 9th place finish.
At 6:30 Richard Roberts flopped a set of queens against Mick Crowley and sent him home in eighth place with $1,760.
Two hands later Ram Vaswani eliminated Carl Bailey. They both flopped a pair of aces but Ram had him out kicked from the go and added insult to injury when he caught a second pair on the river. Carl was sent home in 7th place with $2,191.
After the break the level increased to $800-$1,600.
The chip leader was Richard Roberts with $81,500, Ram Vaswani was in second with $64,500, Terry Myers was in third with $38,200, Jim Sugarek was in fourth with $34,200, D’arcy Christiansen was in fifth with $5,000 and Tom Christopher was in last place with $4,200.
On the first hand after the break Tom Christopher raised all-in with K-K-9-4 and Richard called him with Ad-9d-7-8. The flop not only came with an ace, it came with two diamonds. There was no waiting the turn produced another diamond and Tom was sent to the rail in 6th place with $2,675.
At 7:30 D’arcy was all-in on the big blind for $1,600. Terry, Ram and Richard all called preflop. The flop came Q-7-K, Terry bet, Richard raised and Terry called all-in with his remaining $13,800. D’arcy showed 7-7-8-9 for a set of sevens, Terry turned over K-Q-J-7 for two pair and Richard turned over Q-Q-10-4 for a set of queens. The turn came a three and the river came a 10 and Richard’s trips held up. He eliminated both D’arcy and Terry.
D’arcy took 5th place and $3,075 and Terry took 4th place and $3,515.
It was three handed with Richard Roberts in the lead, Jim Sugarek in second place with $26,000 and Ram trailing with $22,300.
Two hands later Ram got all his money in against Richard. Ram showed 10-7-6-4 and Richard showed J-10-Q-9. The board came 6-9-8-5-7 giving Richard a straight on the River.
Ram Vaswani was sent home in 3rd place with $4,835.
It was heads up between Richard Roberts and Jim Sugarek. Jim had $26,000 in chips and Richard had all the rest.
On the third hand of heads up play Richard took the remainder of Jims chips. Richard showed Q-10-8-2 and Jim turned over A-A-10-5. Richard made a pair on the flop and two pair on the turn to beat Jim’s aces.
Jim Sugarek finished in 2nd place and collected $15,380.
Richard Roberts was declared the Pot Limit Omaha champ and pocketed $15,380.
Richard hails from Mesa, Arizona and claims this was his first attempt at a Pot Limit Omaha event. He also came in 2nd in the Orleans Championship No-limit hold’em event this past year for $78,000.

Posted by pokerprof at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Ultimate Poker Challenge tournament at the Plaza Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas played down to a final table today and the winner will be determined tomorrow when play resumes at noon. All of the final table action is filmed broadcast on national television in a twenty-six week series. We will provide photos and results of the second event finish once available. Forty-four entrants begin this second qualifying event on Saturday.

The Four Queens Poker Classic annual 19 day tournament is in full swing just up Fremont Street. The Sunday evening tournament was Ladies Hold’em/Stud $120 1RB with Anna Yeranosian winning the event and taking away $2,055. Second place paid Ramona Howze $1,285 and Darlene Wood received $770 for her third place finish. The Sunday noon event #5 was a No-Limit Hold’em $200+30 Buy-in. Paul Dahl won $11,950 for first place, Luc Mai takes home $6,590 for second and Wayne Haynes receives $3,610 for finishing third. Tournament continued today with a $7-card Stud Hi/Lo $200+30 Buy-in event at noon and a $100+20 No-Limit Hold’em evening tournament. Super satellites for the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em main event begin Sunday evening at 9:00 pm. The satellites will continue daily until the main event begins on September 17th. Another play-by-play from Debbie Burkhead is available in the extended entry below.

Henry Chow was Declared the Champ in the Limit Hold’em Event

The $230 buy-in limit hold’em event drew 111 entrants and created a prize pool of $21,534.
At 7:00 p.m. the final ten players took their seats at the final table. The blinds were $400-$800 at the $800-$1,600 level.
Xavier Andrade sat down at the final table with $28,000 and the chip lead, Henry Chow was in second with $18,500, Rich Centanaro was in third with $14,800, Walt Cheevers was in fourth with $14,000, Mike Rabinowitz was in fifth with $10,400, Tim Gamber was in sixth with $7,000, Tom Cherry was in seventh with $6,900, Robert LaBella was in eighth with $5,000, Bill Miller was in ninth with $3,300 and Mitch Merritt was in last place with $2,500.
Shortly after the final table began play Mitch got all his money in with A-K only to be called by J-10. The flop came J-10-10 and the rest was history. Mitch had to settle for $300 for his 10th place finish.
At 7:45 the remaining nine players went on dinner break and at 8:45 play began with $500-$1,000 blinds at the $1,000-$2,000 limit.
At 9:05 Tim Gamber got all his money in with pocket eights against Henry Chow and his A-J. Tim was looking good on the flop and the turn but the river produced a jack and Tim was sent home in 9th place with $430.
At 9:15 Robert LaBella play K-5 of diamonds for the remainder of his chips and got called by K-Q of clubs. The board was of no help to either player and Robert was forced to take an 8th place finish and pocketed $645 for his days work.
At 9:20 the limit went to $1,500-$3,000 with $1,000-$1,500.
At 9:45 Walt Cheevers called all-in with his remaining $500, Bill Miller called, Tom Cherry called on the small blind and Mike Rabinowitz checked. The flop came 10-2h-9 and it was checked around. The turn card came an eight of hearts and again it was checked around. The river came the ace of hearts and it was checked around. Walt showed Q-9 and Tom showed the winner with 7-8 of hearts for the flush. Walt finished in 7th place and received $864.
Two hands later Bill Miller was all-in on the big blind with his last $1,000. Xavier and Rich both called and checked it to the river. Bill showed 10-2 and Xavier showed A-5 for the ace high win. Bill took home $1,075 for his 6th place finish.
At 10:00 the level rose to $2,000-$4,000 with $1,000-$2,000 blinds.
On the first hand Rich and Xavier went heads up and Rich called his remaining $3,000 on the river. The board came Q-J-K-8-K and Rich’s J-6 lost to Xavier’s Q-6. Rich was forced to take $1,280 for his 5th place finish.
At 10:30 Xavier called all-in preflop with his last $500 against Henry and Mike. The board came 3-8-Q-10-3, Xavier showed K-8, Mike turned over A-10 and Henry showed the winner with A-Q. This was Xavier’s second final table appearance, he finished 5th in the opening limit hold’em event and today he was sent home in 4th place with $1,705.
At 10:40 the level increased to $3,000-$6,000 with $1,500-$3,000 blinds.
At 11:05 Tom Cherry raised all-in with his remaining $1,200 and got called by Henry. Tom showed A-3 and Henry turned over a pair of sevens. The board was no help to Tom and he collected $2,130 for his 3rd place finish.
Heads-up play began with Henry in the lead with $83,500 in chips to Mike’s $27,500. Two hands into heads up play Henry offered Mike a deal he couldn’t refuse and Mike took 2nd place.
Hong Kong born Henry Chow from Sugar Land, Texas was declared the winner and carried home a beautiful chip case trophy and a pocket full of cash.

Posted by flipchipro at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Before I get stared on the review, I’d like to point out a couple of additions to the site. The 4 Queens Poker Classic photo gallery is now live and the tournament results for the events are being updated daily. See the extended text of this post for the latest excellent tournament report from Debbie Burkhead.

The other project I’ve been spending a lot of time on is the Poker Links Directory. Basically, there are too many good poker links to list them all on this blog and besides, I have yet to find a link directory I really like that is well maintained. The poker link section has a couple of bells and whistles including a rating system, broken link report tool and a fairly easy to use add-a-link page. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Now, on to the review.

This week, Otis brings the world a look at the “The Mouth” Matusow vs. Greg “Fossilman” Raymer from the recent WSOP Main event episode on ESPN. Next, You can read about poker at the Bellagio from both the dealers and the player’s perspective. There is a great Borgata trip report from Genius of the poker and finally, The Poker Chronicles has an interesting post on when to use a call in Calling as a Weapon.

Stinger (from a great post by Poker Grub):

They scream how I could call a raise with 4-6, that the place was rigged, that I must work for Party, that they have no chance, that I must be a bot.

I [PokerGurb] defend myself by saying: "STACK OVERFLOW ERROR 321591"

by Debbie Burkhead

Pizza Man, “Bush” Xhindi Won The $230 No-Limit Tournament

The $230 buy-in no-limit hold’em event with a rebuy drew 121 entrants that created a $40,158 prize pool.
At 9:45 p.m. with 15 minutes left in the 12th level the final ten players took their seats at the final table. The blinds were $800-$1600 with a $200 ante.
Don Bennett sat down to the final table with $41,700 and the chip lead, William Knowles was in second with $33,300, Sarah Casey was in a close third with $31,200, Hazbi “Bush” Xhindi was in fourth place with $27,100, James Aresco was in fifth with $19,800, Robert Taylor was in sixth with $18,600, Bob Greco was in seventh with $14,300, Aubrey was in eighth with $8,400, James Tippin was in ninth with $6,700 and Kenneth Ng was in last place with $4,800.
At 9:55 Robert Taylor made a preflop all-in raise of $3,900 and James Tippin called all-in with his remaining $3,500. Rob showed A-J and James rolled over pocket deuces. The board came A-Q-7-5-3 and James was forced to take 10th place and $560.
At 10:00 the blinds rose to $1,000-$2,000 with a $300 ante.
Two hands later Aubrey Vincent got all his money in against James Aresco but the bad news was James was holding pocket rockets and Aubrey’s K-5 was no match. Aubrey was sent home in 9th place with $805.
At 10:40 the blinds increased to $1,500-$3,000 with a $400 ante.
Sarah Casey, the only lady to date to make a final table, raised to $10,000 on the button hoping to pick up the blinds and antes but Kenneth Ng, on the small blind looked down to find pocket rockets. He reraised all-in for $16,500 and after some thought she called the raise. Kenneth turned over his aces and Sarah showed Q-J. The board came Q-9-4-6 and the river card came another queen sending Kenneth home in 8th place with $1,205.
At 11:20 the blinds went to $2,000-$4,000 with a $500 ante.
At 11:50 Hazbi raised to $15,000, Sarah moved all-in, William Knowles called all-in and Hazbi folded. William showed pocket eights and Sarah turned over pocket kings. Sarah’s kings held up and William was forced to take $1,605 for his 7th place finish.
Three hands later Sarah raised to $12,000 and Robert Taylor called. The flop came J-A-3, Sarah checked, Robert moved all-in and Sarah called. Robert showed K-Q and Sarah turned over A-9. The board came J-A-3-9-7 and Robert was sent home with $2,010 for 6th place.
Two hands later Bob Greco moved all-in for $31,500 with pocket threes and Sarah called with pocket rockets. Sarah’s rockets held up and Bob took $2,410 for his 5th place finish.
At 12:30 Hazbi raised to $21,000 and Don Bennett reraised all-in for $2,500 more and Hazbi called. Don showed K-4 and Hazbi turned over A-6. Hazbi’s ace high scooped the pot and Don took home $3,213 for 4th place.
After a dozen all-ins at the final table Aubrey Vincent was sent home in third place with $4,010.
Heads up play began at 12:40 with Hazbi and Sarah even in chips.
Ten minutes later Sarah called from the small blind and Hazbi checked the big blind. The flop came A-5-6, Hazbi bet $17,000, Sarah moved all-in and Hazbi called. Sarah showed A-8 for a pair of aces but Hazbi flopped two pair with his 5-6. Hazbi’s two pair held up and Sarah was forced to take 2nd place and $7,290.
Hazbi was declared the winner and took home $13,230 for his 1st place finish along with a beautiful chip set trophy.

Henry Chow was Declared the Champ in the Limit Hold’em Event

The $230 buy-in limit hold’em event drew 111 entrants and created a prize pool of $21,534.
At 7:00 p.m. the final ten players took their seats at the final table. The blinds were $400-$800 at the $800-$1,600 level.
Xavier Andrade sat down at the final table with $28,000 and the chip lead, Henry Chow was in second with $18,500, Rich Centanaro was in third with $14,800, Walt Cheevers was in fourth with $14,000, Mike Rabinowitz was in fifth with $10,400, Tim Gamber was in sixth with $7,000, Tom Cherry was in seventh with $6,900, Robert LaBella was in eighth with $5,000, Bill Miller was in ninth with $3,300 and Mitch Merritt was in last place with $2,500.
Shortly after the final table began play Mitch got all his money in with A-K only to be called by J-10. The flop came J-10-10 and the rest was history. Mitch had to settle for $300 for his 10th place finish.
At 7:45 the remaining nine players went on dinner break and at 8:45 play began with $500-$1,000 blinds at the $1,000-$2,000 limit.
At 9:05 Tim Gamber got all his money in with pocket eights against Henry Chow and his A-J. Tim was looking good on the flop and the turn but the river produced a jack and Tim was sent home in 9th place with $430.
At 9:15 Robert LaBella play K-5 of diamonds for the remainder of his chips and got called by K-Q of clubs. The board was of no help to either player and Robert was forced to take an 8th place finish and pocketed $645 for his days work.
At 9:20 the limit went to $1,500-$3,000 with $1,000-$1,500.
At 9:45 Walt Cheevers called all-in with his remaining $500, Bill Miller called, Tom Cherry called on the small blind and Mike Rabinowitz checked. The flop came 10-2h-9 and it was checked around. The turn card came an eight of hearts and again it was checked around. The river came the ace of hearts and it was checked around. Walt showed Q-9 and Tom showed the winner with 7-8 of hearts for the flush. Walt finished in 7th place and received $864.
Two hands later Bill Miller was all-in on the big blind with his last $1,000. Xavier and Rich both called and checked it to the river. Bill showed 10-2 and Xavier showed A-5 for the ace high win. Bill took home $1,075 for his 6th place finish.
At 10:00 the level rose to $2,000-$4,000 with $1,000-$2,000 blinds.
On the first hand Rich and Xavier went heads up and Rich called his remaining $3,000 on the river. The board came Q-J-K-8-K and Rich’s J-6 lost to Xavier’s Q-6. Rich was forced to take $1,280 for his 5th place finish.
At 10:30 Xavier called all-in preflop with his last $500 against Henry and Mike. The board came 3-8-Q-10-3, Xavier showed K-8, Mike turned over A-10 and Henry showed the winner with A-Q. This was Xavier’s second final table appearance, he finished 5th in the opening limit hold’em event and today he was sent home in 4th place with $1,705.
At 10:40 the level increased to $3,000-$6,000 with $1,500-$3,000 blinds.
At 11:05 Tom Cherry raised all-in with his remaining $1,200 and got called by Henry. Tom showed A-3 and Henry turned over a pair of sevens. The board was no help to Tom and he collected $2,130 for his 3rd place finish.
Heads-up play began with Henry in the lead with $83,500 in chips to Mike’s $27,500. Two hands into heads up play Henry offered Mike a deal he couldn’t refuse and Mike took 2nd place.
Hong Kong born Henry Chow from Sugar Land, Texas was declared the winner and carried home a beautiful chip case trophy and a pocket full of cash.

Posted by pokerprof at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Downtown is full of hundreds of poker players this holiday weekend. All of the poker rooms are packed with tournament and ring game players vying for a piece of the prize pie. The daily $60 No-Limit tournament at the Horseshoe was in full swing with 142 paid entries. The Ultimate Poker Challenge at the Plaza was entertaining 55 players that paid the $1000+60 buy-in into the No-Limit Hold’em qualifier. The Four Queens Poker Classic had the room full of hopefuls playing in the $200+30 Limit Hold’em contest. Both the Four Queens and the Plaza run daily satellites for their respective tournaments. The Poker Classic at the 4 Queens continues through September 19th while the Ultimate Poker Challenge at the Plaza runs twenty-three two-day qualifers, then two semi-finals and the final table event. The Ultimate Poker Challenge has the distinction of being the first nationally syndicated poker series ever.

The Four Queens Classic continues to attract many known players to the downtown casino. The low dollar buy-in for these initital events gives everyone an opportunity to play and perhaps sit next to a poker star. The Labor Day holiday guarantees a large field and a worthwhile prize pool. The Horseshoe daily tournaments remain popular with players and offer poker players another downtown opportunity for No-Limit Hold'em tournament experience. The experienced staff runs a smooth operation at the historic Binion's Horseshoe. We will continue to offer results and Debbie Burkhead's play-by-play from the Poker Classic at the Four Queens.

The Las Vegas monorail system has not had a good week. The damn thing just doesn’t want to stay in one piece with parts continuing to fall off. This week one of the guide wheels separated from a car and plunged into a parking lot behind the Venetian while loaded with happy MAGIC convention goers. Apparently this wasn’t the first time a fifty pound wheel has separated from a car. The monorail was immediately shut down and remains closed until the engineering staff can determine what caused this latest problem. Last week one of the train car operators opened the doors on the wrong side of the train and had any of the riders tried to exit they would have dropped three stories. The monorail has proven to be rather buggy, even though a couple of extra months of testing was required and delayed the scheduled opening; so, I thought it fitting that this week’s Nines List should be monorail related.

9. Half off Circus Circus buffet with every ticket.
8. To join the “Mile Long Club.”
7. High Tech Muggers.
6. Spitting on the cars below.
5. Those cute flight attendants.
4. The great meal service.
3. Free hot tubs in every car.
2. Where else can you have this much fun for three bucks.
1. Liability Lawsuits.

That's it for today. Tomorrow has the Week in Review and J. Santos' "Muck It" cartoon.

Posted by flipchipro at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

More Four Queens Poker Classic action today at the Fremont Street casino. Today’s offering at noon was a $200+30 No-Limit Hold’em with 1 rebuy. The 7 pm tournament this evening was a $100+20 No-Limit Hold’em event. Tomorrow will be a $200+30 Limit Hold’em contest and the 7 PM tournament will $100+20 Hold’em with rebuys. The Classic is drawing good crowds and this holiday weekend will fill the town and the tournament so if you plan to play it would be a good idea to get there early.

An interesting bonus of this year’s Poker Classic is a special Bubble Tournament. Everyone finishing on the bubble (one out of the money) will gain entry into the Bubble Tournament on October 5 at 2 pm. This offers players a little something other than the disappointment of being one out of the prize money.

Saturday is a big poker day at the downtown Plaza Hotel. The second installment of the Ultimate Poker Challenge tournament will begin at 12:00 noon and continue through Labor Day. This $1000+60 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament is one of twenty-six qualifiers for the semi–finals leading to the final table where the lucky players will compete for millions. All of the events are being filmed and will be offered on national TV. A great opportunity to become a millionaire and a TV celebrity. Eric Seidel won the first qualifier and will be playing in the semi-finals. A lot of poker action in downtown Las Vegas this holiday weekend including the daily hold’em tournament at the Horseshoe.

The midday tournament on Thursday, $100+20 Omaha Hi-Lo was won by Johnny Ahles taking home $3,810. Second place paid $2,100 to Vaughn Reuther and Jack Larson picked up $1,155 for his third place finish. Alan Bounds finished on the bubble and qualified for October’s Bubble Tournament. We will post additional results as they become available. You can read Debbie Burkhead’s great play-by-play and a list of everyone finishing in the money by clicking on the extended text link below.

Midday Results
Thursday, September 2, 2004
Event # 2 $120 Omaha Hi/Lo
Prize Pool: $11,543 Entries: 119
1. Johnny Ahles $3,810
2. Vaughn Reuther $2,100
3. Jack Larson $1,155
4. Wayne Haynes $925
5. Charles Edwards $695
6. Tom Christopher $575
7. John Amendola $460
8. Bonnie Rattner $345
9. Joe Fedak $233
10. Jim De Martini $160
11. Ray Rumler $160
12. Ted Spires $160
13. Jim Rye $140
14. Ron Rogel $140
15. Aaron Woods $140
16. Dan Kenworthy $115
17. Darge Dreyer $115
18. Jerry Dennis $115
Bubble Alan Bounds

By Debbie Burkhead

The Omaha Hi/Lo event at the Four Queens Poker Classic drew 119 entrants.
The final ten players took their seats at the final table at 7:00 p.m.
Wayne Haynes sat down to the final table the chip leader with $21,000, Charles Edwards was in second with $15,000, Vaughn Reuther was in a close third with $14,500, Bonnie Rattner was right on their heels in fourth place with $14,000, Jack Larson was in fifth with $13,500, Johhny Ahles was in sixth with $7,500, Tom Christopher was in seventh with $6,000, John Amendola was in eighth with $3,000, Joe Fedak was in ninth with $1,500 and last nights bubble finisher, Jim De Martini was in real trouble with only one $500 chip.
On the first hand of final table play Jim De Martini was all-in on the small blind and took a bad beat on the river. Jim was forced to take $160 for his 10th place finish.
At 8:45 the limit increase to $1,500-$3,000 with $1,000-$1,500 blinds.
At 8:55 they lost two players. Bonnie Rattner was the small blind, and Tom Christopher was the big blind. Jack Larson called $1,500, Johnny Amendola called all-in with his remaining $1,500 and Bonnie Rattner called all-in for $500. The board came K-3-5-2-5 and Jack scooped the pot and sent Bonnie home in 8th place with $345 and John collected $460 for his 7th place finish.
Two hands later Tom Christopher called all-in preflop against Jack Larson with his last $1,500. Tom showed A-A-Q-7 and Jack turned over 3-6-4h-10h. The board came Q-7-Kh-5h-9h and Jack scooped another pot with runner runner to make his flush. Tom received $575 for his 6th place finish.
On the very next hand Charles Edwards was taken out when Wayne Haynes and Johnny Ahles split the pot. Charles collected $695 for his 5th place finish.
At 9:15 Wayne Haynes got all his money in against Johnny Ahles. Wayne showed A-9-8-5 and Johnny turned over A-K-7-4. The board came 10-J-2-8-K and Johnny’s pair of kings scooped the pot. Wayne pocketed $925 for his 4th place finish.
At three handed Johnny had taken over the lead with $40,000 in chips, Jack was in second with $30,000 and Vaughn was slightly trailing with $25,000.
At 9:30 the remaining three players decided to split the remaining prize money and play for the trophy.
At 9:50 Jack Larson was the first casualty after the deal was made. Johnny made a wheel to scoop the pot and sent Jack home as the 3rd place winner.
On the very next hand Johnny took out Vaughn with a A-Q high. They both flopped a diamond draw, Johnny with A high and Vaughn with jack high. Vaughn was forced to take 2nd place and his share of the prize pool.
Johnny was declared the winner of the Omaha Hi/Lo event and took home his share of the prize pool plus the chip set trophy.

Posted by flipchipro at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Update: The tournament results are now being entered. See the extended text for Debbie Burkhead excellent write-up of the first event.

The second day of the Four Queens Poker Classic continues at the downtown Las Vegas Casino with a Omaha Hi-Lo 8/OB today at noon and a No Limit Hold’em Sunset tournament this evening at 7 pm. The results of all the tournament events will be available right here in a searchable database by the weekend. The tournament is drawing a crowd for each of the events. Some of the known professional players are entering the early tournaments so if you have ever wanted to play with a poker star and haven’t had the thousands usually needed for the buy-in now would be a great opportunity to fulfill the dream. The sunset event tonight was a $100+20 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em with Men “The Master” Nguyen playing at one of the tables.

Yesterday’s first event, Limit Hold’em was won by Knox Pressly, Stan Schrier was second and Kenny Robbins took third. The evening No Limit Hold’em with one rebuy contest was won by Ronnie Timput of Las Vegas earning $8,778, David Bravman of Philadelphia PA took second and $4,835 while William Knowles Of Ft Wayne IN was third receiving $2,660. Tomorrow, Friday, the noon tournament is a $200+30 with one rebuy No-Limit Hold’em contest and the sunset event is $100+20 No-Limit Hold’em.

The wheels came off. That’s right, a wheel fell off one of the new monorail trains (read our earlier monorail article) that runs up and down the Las Vegas strip. Fortunately, the fifty pound piece of hardware landed in a parking lot behind the Venetian Hotel and didn’t hit anyone. The system is now shut down until the engineers can determine what went wrong. Apparently this was not the first time the monorail lost a wheel. During the shakedown and system testing phase prior to bringing the monorail on-line another wheel fell off. Maybe someone should do them a favor and send them an application to join the AAA auto club. They could just call for road service when they have tire trouble. I’ve never had a wheel fall off that was changed by AAA. The problem couldn’t have happened at a worse time since the largest convention, Men’s Apparel Guild in California, is in town with 100K people trying to get to the convention center. Maybe next year.

--By Debbie Burkhead

The opening limit hold’em event at the Four Queens Poker Classic drew 194 entrants.
The final ten players took their seats at the final table at 7:30 p.m.
Knox Pressly had the chip lead with $27,300, Gerald Hughes was in second place with $24,900, Xavier Andrade was in third place with $23,800, Andrew Rosenberg was in fourth place with $19,900, Stan Schrier was in fifth place with $15,500, Kenny Robbins was in sixth place with $14,100, Alfred was in seventh place with $9,400, Michael Millstone was in eighth place with $9,100, Paul Erb was in ninth place with $7,400 and Gerald was in last place with $5,500.
At 7:45 the same 10 players went on dinner break and returned at 8:45.
Michael Millstone was the first casualty finishing in 10th place and taking home $265.
At 9:10 Gerald Rosenberg was down to his last $500 chip. The blinds were $1,000-$1,500 and called all-in with pocket 10’s. The flop came 9-A-K and Andrew Rosenberg bet from the big blind, Gerald Hughs folded leaving the two Rosenbergs heads-up. Andrew was in the lead with his K-Q. The turn card came a four and the river was a jack sending Gerald home with a 9th place finish and $375.
At 9:20 Gerald Hughs put the last of his chips in with K-9 against Pressly’s A-10. The board came 9-4-3-2-A and Hughs was forced to take home $565 for his eighth place finish.
At 9:40 Alfie Reice placed his last $500 chip in the pot for the big blind. Xavier Andrade called with 6-9 of diamonds and Alfie showed A-3. The board came J-J-7-K-9 and Alfie was sent home in seventh place with $750.
At 9:45 Paul Erb collected $935 for his sixth place finish when he went up against Kenny’s pocket rockets with his pocket sixes.
At 10:05 the limit increased to $2,000-$4,000 with $1,000-$2,000 blinds.
Knox was in the lead with $40,000, Kenny was in second with $32,000, Xavier and Andrew were tied with $29,000 and Stan was in last place with $26,000.
At 10:45 Xavier raised Andrew’s big blind, Andrew reraised and Xavier called all-in. Andrew showed A-2 and Xavier turned over K-J of clubs. The board came 7c-Qh-2c-Ac-2s and that river deuce sent Xavier home in fifth place with $1,130.
Five minutes later Andrew raised with pocket jacks, Knox reraised and Andrew reraised all-in. The board came K-7-9-5-8 and Andrew was forced to take fourth place and $1,505.
At 10:50 Knox had the chip lead with $90,000 in chips, Stan was in second with $57,500 and Kenny was in trouble with $8,000.
At 11:00 Kenny raised all-in with his remaining $5,000 and Knox called from the big blind. Kenny showed 5-3 and Knox turned over 7-2. The board came 2-2-5-J-6 and Kenny was sent home in third place with $1,880.
At heads up Knox had the lead with
$114,000 to Stan’s $41,500.
At 11:30 the limit increased to $4,000-$8,000 with $2,000-$4,000 blinds.
After 45 minutes of heads-up play Stan was in bad shape with only $6,000 in chips and Knox made Stan an offer he couldn’t refuse. Stan took second place and $3,425.
Knox was declared the winner and received $6,210 along with a beautiful set of poker chips and case.

Posted by flipchipro at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The first event of the Four Queens Poker Classic was held today a Limit Hold’em affair that attracted 194 entrants. The prize pool was $18,815 with a payout of $6210 to the winner. The buy-in was $120 with no rebuys. I played in the event and sat there looking at nothing for the better part of three hours and finally went out when my Ac5c lost to a KQo when a king hit the board and I never improved. I have never been happier having the second best hand and getting knocked out of a tournament (an explanation follows next paragraph). I got there late and wouldn’t have entered a limit tournament; but, I got my seat before realizing it wasn’t No Limit.

I have a complaint about today’s tournament and speak for the majority of players at my table. The four seat was occupied by a drunk. He held up the game every hand, every bet and never stopped a constant stream of jibberish and insults. One of the players sitting next to the guy finally left the table and brought one of the floor people over. All he did was watch for awhile, and then he told the cocktail runner to stop bringing the triple shots of Crown Royal, only beer. Three of the players literally gave away their chips and split since the aggravation of this idiot’s behavior was just too stressful. Of course the Gods of poker smiled down on the dude so he was making miracle catches. The play was so slow that we were only seeing about half the number of hands as the other, normal tables. I am usually quite tolerant and try to be understanding but this was too far over the top, even for me. Most of the tournaments I play in would have seen this clown out of the action immediately and some would have seen him escorted off the property. I really feel as though I wasted my entry fee today. I was given a substandard product that did not get close to what a reasonable person expects from a major tournament. Had this been anything else I had just blown $120 for I would have been yelling for a refund. Instead, I left feeling as though I had been cheated out of my money. Enough of this whining, I need to act like a man and shut up!

While at the table I did get to see one of the players make four of a kind and then five hands later he made a royal. More luck in a few minutes than most of us have in a year. I should have the results of today’s tournaments and will post this up tomorrow. I did get the information on the daily satellites. Rather simple, they start at 9 am and are ten handed single table playing the same game as the noon event with a $45 buy in paying $350 to the winner (the house keeps $100 in all the sats), another satellite running is a single table $65 buy in paying $550 to the winner and is No Limit Hold’em. Next week $120 buy in satellites will be offered and by next weekend the super satellites for the $5000 main event should begin. Despite having a disappointing day dealing with the drunk the crowd was friendly and having a good time. The tournament is under the direction of Bonnie Damiano, last year’s Poker Classic Director and Host. I noticed many familiar faces among the dealers and staff. Tomorrow will see the action continue at noon with a $100+20 buy-in Omaha Hi-Lo 8/OB no rebuy at noon and a $100+20 No-Limit Hold’em event with one rebuy at 7 pm. Satellites begin at 9 am.

Posted by flipchipro at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)