Posts Tagged ‘world series of poker’

As part of their 10th anniversary celebration, PokerStars asked their sponsored players for our early memories of playing on the site. You can find out how I got started on PokerStars in my recent piece for the PokerStars blog:

PokerStars was the first place that seemed to be in it for the long term. They had clearly invested in their product and their personnel. As a result, it seemed to be where all the best players were playing, both those I recognized from TV and the legends of the online poker forums.

What do you remember about the early days of PokerStars? When and why did you start playing there?

Edit: Corrected the prices below, forgot to update them when copy/pasting.

Almost immediately after moving to Vancouver, I’ll be heading to Cannes for the World Series of Poker Europe, most likely just the main event. Although I never considered this event worth traveling for in the past, I expect that the relocation to France is going to make it a very good tournament. I’m looking to sell up to 2/3 of my action at 150% markup. In other words, the buyin is 10K euros or about $13,563 US. With markup, shares will go for

1% = $203.45
5% = 1017.25
10% = 2034.50
67% = $13563

I’ve played nearly 1000 tournaments since January 1, 2008 with 149% ROI. Notable scores include 1st in an FTOPS $2K, 3rd in a WCOOP $500 1R1A, 5th in a SCOOP $300 4-Max, and five cashes in six years in the WSOP Main Event, including three finishes in the top 100.

Preferred methods of payment are PokerStars, Bank of America, ING, or Interac. If none of those are options for you, let me know and we’ll work something out.

Please e-mail me at andrew (at) thinkingpoker.net if you’re interested. Do NOT send money or assume that you have  a piece until I’ve written back to confirm, which may take a day or two.  Read the complete post...

The second installment of my trip report from the 2011 World Series of Poker main event is now appearing in the September edition of 2+2 Magazine. It covers my experiences on Days 3, 4, and 5:

There are people who are good at poker, and then there are people who are downright intimidating, players who are ready to fight for literally every pot that they believe they can win. A player like that is not someone you want on your left when you have a lot of chips. I tightened up my game pre-emptively, folding hands I otherwise would have raised because I knew that Gonzalez was waiting to attack me and I needed better than average cards to stand up to him. I watched him give hell to a lot of others at the table.

If you haven’t read Part 1, you can find it here.

In other news, the weather here in Canmore has been fascinating. Last week it was warm, sunny, and clear. This week clouds rolled in, blanketing the valley in fog and rain. Today they started to clear, and through the breaks in the clouds you can see all the snow that fell in the mountains. I never realized the extent to which the weather could be both cloudy and sunny at the same time!

Card Player magazine just published an interview with me for their “Capture the Flag” series. It was actually conducted soon after the WSOP, which is why there’s so much talk about that and the comparison between tournaments and cash games.

For example:

BP: Can you give our readers a sense of why cash games are a great tool for becoming a better tournament player?

AB: If you only play tournaments, odds are that you don’t have a lot of experience handling turn and river decisions or playing 100 or more big blinds deep. Those situations just don’t come up that much in tournaments. You may not have a lot of heads up or short-handed experience either. So when tournaments like the WSOP main event, which have a really deep structure, roll around, you aren’t going to be as experienced as a cash game player. And if you’re fortunate enough to make a final table, you’ll benefit from the experience of having played short-handed and heads up cash games.

Another great song by SrslySirius

With regard to all the controversy about the WSOP prioritizing ESPN’s interests over those of the players, I do want to ask, “Why shouldn’t they?” I certainly don’t like it and think it is pretty bastardly, but the truth is that they have a monopoly on the greatest poker tournament there is, and most people are going to play it no matter what. Given the choice between the “live feed”, with all the attendant problems of delays, weird schedules, players getting jostled by camera crews, etc. or no “live feed”, I’d opt for the live feed.

That said, that doesn’t have to the choice. Caesar’s could choose to compensate players with reduced rake or to strike a better balance between the interests of ESPN and those of the players. They simply choose not to because ESPN has a lot more leverage than the players do. The reality is that as much as we complain, most of us doing the complaining will continue to play the tournament. Until we demonstrate that we’re willing to vote with our feet and our wallets, it’s silly to expect accommodation. Caesar’s has the best hand, and they are betting it hard for value.

Ethics for Sale

Some of you may have heard that Phil Hellmuth overslept yesterday morning and was getting blinded off in the tournament. Apparently Mike Matusow called security at Phil’s hotel and got them to enter his room and wake him up. I didn’t know any of this at the time, but I was still at my starting table with Russel Rosenblum and Sorel Mizzi when Phil came dashing into the Amazon room, with a floorman shouting after him about whether he knew which table he was going to.

Russel: I wonder if the floor is going to scurry to get me to my seat if I show up late.
Me: I don’t understand why Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke aren’t getting the kind of shit that the Full Tilt guys are getting.
Russel: I don’t want to say too much here, but Phil and Annie are just paid spokespeople, whereas the Full Tilt guys may have been somewhat more that that.
Sorel: That’s… putting it very carefully.
Me: Yes, sorry, I know that. I guess I misspoke. I do understand why they don’t get as much shit as Lederer, but people still put money on UB because Phil and Annie were endorsing them, and those people are never going to see that money. I just don’t think Phil and Annie should be getting invited on stage at the WSOP like they’re the best and brightest in the poker world.
Sorel: But they’re just sponsors. They aren’t on the inside. They don’t know anything more about what’s going on behind the scenes than you do.
Me: Based on what I knew, I wouldn’t have worn a UB patch.
Sorel: But come on, if they are just throwing money at you…  Read the complete post...

I’m about to leave for the airport, and it occurs to me that I haven’t actually posted about my Main Event plans! I’ll be at the 2+2 party tonight and then playing my first day on July 9th, Day 1C. I’m in Vegas until at least the 12th, hopefully longer, so please let me know if you’re in town. I don’t have a lot of plans past the 9th.

Despite the record-setting turnout in the preliminary events, I’m predicting a smaller main event than we’ve seen in recent years. I think the influx at the prelims is largely due to relatively serious American players who in past years skipped the prelims to play online but this year didn’t have that option. I believe most of the players were already playing in the Main Event, so there won’t be the same surge of new players. Add to that the lack of online satellites for US players and I expect to see fewer than 6000 this year. Of course I hope to be proven wrong.

I know the Twitter account hasn’t been too active lately, but now is a good time to start following @thinkingpoker, because there will be plenty to say while I’m in Vegas.

Wish me luck and stay tuned!

As “The Poker Philosopher”, and in honor of one of my favorite non-poker blogs, I occasionally consider the ethical dimensions of a high-profile controversy in the poker community. Today, I consider the WSOP Ladies’ Event, which began yesterday and is scheduled to conclude tomorrow. Older editions of The Poker Ethicist are available in the archives.

Once again this year, a handful of men have entered the WSOP Ladies’ Event, citing a belief that a women-only event is discriminatory and a Nevada Gaming Commission policy that prevents the WSOP from actually excluding, rather than just discouraging, male players. Critics of these men say that they are only playing because they expect the field to be softer (no pun intended) than open events of comparable buy-in.

Do these men have a case for discrimination? Is it ethical for the WSOP to offer an event that excludes (or at least attempts to exclude) players based on their gender?

Shaun Deeb in the 2010 WSOP Ladies' Event

It is. This event serves not to exclude but to include.  Read the complete post...