WSOP Update #13

A Nguyen-win situation

While several tournaments have come to a conclusion over the weekend, it was the $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. tournament that has grabbed centre stage. Scotty Nguyen (pronounced 'Win' for those not familiar, which is what makes the headline quasi-funny) earns his 5th bracelet and almost doubles his career WSOP earnings taking down the huge $1,989,120 pot by outlasting the strongest field of any poker tournament, including a very good group at the final table.

With big names like Huck Seed, Barry Greenstein and Erick Lindgren at the final table, Scotty was typically charismatic and entertaining. Scotty has played well over the past year, and is ranked 87th on Bluff Magazin'e Player of the Year standings currently, but winning this tournament should give him a huge boost up the standings. His last big splash in the world of poker came at last years WSOP $10,000 main event, where he finished 11th in the massive 8,000+ field, almost making the final table, but still grabbing a very healthy pay day.

Chip and a Chair, anyone? - As the money and the bracelet were brought out on the table the floor made an interesting discovery under the rail where Erick Lindgren was sitting. They found a single 5,000 chip that Lindgren overlooked when he played his final hand. Now, Erick wasn't able to fully cover the last raise Scotty Nguyen made in his knockout hand, but if he'd had enough chips to match Scotty's raise...well, anyone who knows the story of former World Champion Jack Strauss and his "chip and a chair" story would get an eerie feeling. That said, Scotty DID have Erick covered, and when the extra chip was discovered it was merely added to the mass of Scotty's stack.

Other tournaments underway include the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha and the $1500 H.O.R.S.E. tournaments.

Several big names remain in the PLO tourney, including Josh Arieh, Michael 'the Grinder' Mizrachi, David Williams, David Singer and Johnny Chan. Again, I'm rooting for Johhny here. Sure he has a lot of bracelets already (10 to be exact), but he's a class act, a nice guy, and had a cameo in rounders. With 381 entrants, only 87 remain after day 1, all fighting for the top prize of more than $850,000.

Conversely, Phil Hellmuth (11 bracelets, making him the all-time leader) is the early leader in the $1500 H.O.R.S.E. tournament. Amongst the the remaining 183 other players include Joe Hachem, John Juanda, Mike Matusow and Allen Cunningham.

WSOP Update #12

The $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. tournament is underway, and after day 1, only 8 players from a starting 148 have been eliminated. Most notably, Phil Hellmuth made an early departure, and in rare form, Phil exited with grace and class. Self-admittedly, he played poorly, and just prior to his elimination said "Well I didn't think it was possible to go out of this (tournament) on Day One...I like to do things that are tough to do."

David Williams was also eliminated from the tournament. With each player starting with $50,000 in chips, and the blinds being relatively small, plus the mixture of Limit and No-Limit poker, it's not surprising that so few players were eliminated on Day One. Expect the action to pick up today, as the blinds continue to increase, and there will likely be fewer than 50 players remaining by the end of Day Two

Sitting near the top are Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren and a host of other very familiar names. Interestingly, among those top names is Patrik Antonius. The reason I find this interesting is because despite the fact that many top players agree he's one of the very best in the world, he's never won a WSOP bracelet. In fact, he's never won any major tournament, despite several strong showings in WSOP, WPT and EPT events.

Elsewhere, the $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better, Erik Seidel looks for bracelet #9 as he sits in 2nd place, with only 9 remaining. Known as one of the 'nice guys of poker', Siedel will be the clear fan favorite at the final table, as he has been using break time, and even time during the hands he folds, to sign autographs for fans. Although the Phil Hellmuth's have their place, it's guys like Siedel, Doyle Brunson and Daniel Negreanu who will be the true ambassador's of the game.

WSOP Update #11

Phan-tastic!

Congratulations to John Phan for winning the $2500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball - Limit event #40. In doing so, John becomes the only player to win 2 tournaments this year, defeating the likes of Robert Mizrachi and David Sklansky at the final table to cash-in for over $150,000. Phan beat Shun Ichida heads-up, where his experience was very evident. Uchida seemed to be waiting for premium starting hands, and let Phan's big stack steal small pots until Uchida had little choice but to make a move, and lost.

The $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better has burst it's bubble! Only 69 players remain, as the top 72 players got paid from a starting field of 720. Notable names still fighting for the bracelet include Erik Seidel, 2005 WSOP main Event winner Joe Hachem, Chris Ferguson and a name I haven't even heard of in a while, Chip Jett. Once considered a top player despite never winning a WSOP tournament, Chip has been snake-bitten. Chip, I'm rootin' for ya.

A few other events are on the go right now, but it seems like the big names of poker are taking some time off to relax and prepare. With the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event and the $10,000 Main event coming up soon, the players want to make sure they're not burnt out. For the Main event, they are anticipating record numbers again, as they have scheduled 4 different group of 3000 players, for up to 12,000 entrants. This means that there will be 4 "Day 1s" 2 "Day 2s", and it won't be until one week after the start of the event, on "Day 3" that all the player will be in one room at the same time. It's a massive tournament, and very impressive that the organizers do such a fantastic job of ensuring.

One issue I am concerned with is the schedule for the final table of the Main event. If you haven't heard, they are planning something entirely different from anything they've done before. From July 3 to July 14, the players will be put through a mentally grueling endurance battle, one of the things that makes this event so great, to get to the final table. From here, the players will have to wait until November 9th to resume play, with and November 10th to crown the 2008 Main Event Champ. And if no clear winner emerges from all of this, a sack race will be held on consecutive Sundays until a champion can be crowned. Ok, that last part may not be true.

The concept, as always, is about making money. The plan is to broadcast the final table live, and they want to wait a few months because they want a chance to broadcast all the other episodes before the final table begins. It's a great idea as a spectator, I will be watching every second of it, but if I were a player at the final table, I'm not sure I would like the idea so much. Aside from dealing with the nerves for that long, and losing your momentum that you'd spent so long building to get to this point, there are a lot of things that can happen in that period of time.

WSOP Update #10

Benyamine wins first bracelet!

Congratulations to David Benyamine, who won the $10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, beating 234 other players, and snatching a purse of over $535,000. This is David's 4th top 10 finish this year, which has him in contention for Player of the Year for 2008. The final table included Mike 'the Mouth' Matusow (5th) and EPT star Ram Vaswani (7th) as well as Spartan favorite Toto Leonidas.

Greg Raymer is in 2nd place for the $2500 2008 WSOP - 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball . 238 players started the tournament, and only 30 remain, and the top 24 get paid. This will likely be Greg's first cash performance of 2008, although he's been near the bubble a few other times. Of course, Greg made his name famous in the 2004 WSOP Main Event, winning the biggest pot in poker history (at that time) of $5,000,000, and has cashed in 9 other times since then.

In my opinion, Greg is one of the few truly good players to emerge from the WSOP Main Event since it's massive increase in poularity in 2003, plus, you gotta love a guy with a gimmick, Right Fossil-Man? Other notables include John Phan and Robert 'My Brother's the Grinder" Mizrachi.

WSOP Update #9

The $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha W/ReBuys tournament is down to the final table. The prize money is bigger than ever for this event, with the winner taking home $577,725. Only 320 players entered the tournament, but with a record 1350 rebuys (an average of 4 rebuys per person), the final 9 players are looking at a nice payday. Among the notables here, Ted Forrest and Layne Flack are both in very good shape.

Sebastian Ruthenberg wins the $5000 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, despite being at a final table with many top pros. Chris Ferguson, Marcel Luske and Annie Duke were amongst the players at the final table, with Ruthenberg doing battle with the "Holy One", Chris Ferguson. This was the highlight of the tournament, as the heads-up battle lasted more than 3 hours, and started with Ferguson having more than a 2-1 chip leads.

Ruthenburg would battle back to take a slight chip lead, but was then crippled to having just $200,000 in chips, giving Ferguson more that 2.4 Million chips, and a massive lead. Undeterred, Ruthenberg continued to fight back, and would eventually defeat the much more experienced Ferguson.

A couple of other events got underway yesterday, and many big names are popping up near the top of the leader board.

$1500 No-Limit Hold'em event #36 has begun, and after day one, I'm very happy to see Freddy Deeb's name finally surfaced on a leader board. Not only is he one of my personal favorites, but I'm also told I look and act a lot like him at the table, something I don't take as a compliment. Deeb was the winner of last years $50,000 buy-in World Championship H.O.R.S.E. event, earning more than $2,250,000 in prize money. Freddy is in 42 position, with 186 players remaining from the starting 2447 who began the day, another massive event.

In the $10,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, less than half the field was eliminated on day 1, as 123 players remain. Once again Erick "E-dog" Lindgren is right in contention, sitting in 3rd place, and is having a fantastic 2008 WSOP. Lots of other big name players remain, including Shannon Elizabeth. This is not the first time she's been doing well in a WSOP tournament, as she has been playing a lot of poker recently. A lot of other top names remain in this one, and all have their eye on the top prize of more than $500,000.

WSOP Update #8

A couple of interesting final tables will decide a champion today.

First, the $1500 No-Limit Hold'em event is down the the final 9 players, from a starting 2304. Likely one of the biggest tournaments in poker history (aside from the WSOP Main Event, which is expecting 12,000 players this year), making a fantastic payoff for the winner in relation to the relatively low buy-in. This is probably about as close as it gets to a Freeroll at the WSOP, and likely the reason why many of the big names in poker have elected to skip the event. The final table reads not like a list of "who's who", but instead more like "who the heck...". A few players can boast some previous WSOP experience.

Shane Stacey, currently in 6th place, finished 15th in the same event last year. Osmin Darden (possible relation to Paul Darden?) has cashed in previously this year, although only for a little over $3000 from a $1500 buy-in, but currently sits in 5th place. Dean Bui has already cashed in 2 other times this year for a profit of over $20,000, but if short-stacked in 8th place.

At another final table, this time the $5000 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, the names are a little more familiar. Howard Lederer (3rd), his sister Annie Duke (4th) and WSOP Main Event Champ from 2000 Chris "Jesus" Ferguson are all in decent shape, as the final table is fairly evenly balanced from top to bottom. Play continued until 6:30am, in order to get to the final table, sparking a visit from Phil Hellmuth, checking in on the action.

Phil hadn't shaved, and was still wearing the same clothes from the day before, Lederer inquired "What are you doing up? It looks like you haven't slept." Hellmuth replied, "After I busted in that yesterday, I've been playing Chinese Poker all night." At least he hasn't crashed a race car into a light pole.... yet. If you don't know what I'm referring to, last year Phil was allowed to drive a Race Car built for Ultimate bet Poker (the site Phil helped create with a buddy of his), and crashed it into a light pole, causing him some injuries that may have hurt his chances at the Main Event. To see the crash, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D1grMtmLLM

It was a real crash, but the commercial turned this into an opportunity to show how, unlike Phil, their website will not crash.

In a couple of other notable events, the $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha W/ReBuys is down to 41 players from the starting 320. With the top 36 getting paid, look for players like Ted Forrest, Clonie Gowen, Eric Seidel and Layne Flack to use their experience to make it in the money.

For the $1500 Seven Card Stud, the most notable name remaining may well be Jerry Buss. Famed owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, Buss has 3 previous cashed at the WSOP, as well as a heads-up appearance at the final table of a WPT event, where he was schooled by Layne Flack, who frequently gets invites to Buss's home poker games and Laker games. I guess a good performance here would help Buss recover from a miserable showing by his team in the NBA finals.

WSOP Update #7

To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot of interesting news yesterday from the World Series of Poker. Easily the most notable happenings came from the finale of the $3000 No-Limit Hold'em tournament, where John Phan defeated Johnny Neckar to claim his first WSOP bracelet and $434,789 in winnings. Other than David Singer, who finished 5th, Phan was the only big name at this final table, but his experience paid off, much to the delight of all those in attendance, well, except for Neckar, of course.

They battled heads-up for well in excess of 6 hours (no, that's not a typo), and as the players grew tired, the game got a lot more interesting for the spectators.

First, with Phan continually fighting from the short stack, he decided to buy a round of beers (apparently he's a Corona fan) for his cheering section. Then, Phan grabbed one for himself, looked over at Neckar and said "Gonna have to beat you drunk. Not working good sober". Shortly after this, Phan would double up to take over the chip lead.

A while later, and presumably after the beers set in, Phan and Neckar agree to try something new, and play 2 hands in a row completely blind. Not only that, but thy were all-in blind. Sounds more like something that would happen at my home game, but I guess this is what happens when you play the same person heads-up for so long, you just look for an excuse to finish it. After the river, each player would reveal their hands, one card at a time to build suspense. Phan would win the first hand with a 7-high, and then Neckar won the 2nd round, this time with a monstrous pair of 4s on the river, where he would have otherwise lost the tournament to Phan's King-high.

Very reminiscent of a game of poker I saw from the 2004 WSOP, where a group of well-known players players competed in a hilarious game of Blind Man's Bluff. I don't believe they gave out a bracelet for the event, but I know there was a lot of money involved. Here's a clip from it on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0pvcWx7DRw, you have to fast forward to the 40 second mark.

WSOP Update #6

With so many big names at the final table of the $5000 Pot-Limit Omaha W/Rebuys tournament, I guess it's fitting that someone by the name of Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond wins the title and over $800,000 in prize money. Phil Hellmuth would finish in 8th, followed by Daniel Negreanu in 7th, John Junada in 6th, Johnny Chan in 4th, and finally David Benyamine in 3rd, leaving a heads-up battle between Galfond and Adam Hourani. Both players, who can often be found playing high-stakes PLO on-line at Full-Tilt Poker, would then go on to battle for more than 100 hands before Galfond would claim victory

When asked afterwards whether he felt intimidated amid so many high profile pros, Galfond replied with a mix of humility and confidence. "I felt blessed to be here, but I didn't feel outmatched," answered Galfond. "I wasn't afraid. I just wanted to play my best game." Galfond has made several appearances on various made-for-tv tournaments, and is also a noted poker blogger.

The final table is now set in the $3000 No-Limit Hold'em event, and David Singer is looking to add a 2nd bracelet to his collection for 2008. Although he has slightly more than half the chips of the big stack at the final table, David sits comfortably in 3rd place. John Phan is also at the final table, with less chips, but it seems that the grouping between 3rd and 8th is close enough that one hand could easily change the fortunes of any player in that grouping. It's going to be an uphill climb, but I have a feeling Singer will be trying on a 2nd 2008 WSOP bracelet, a feat that would likely put him atop the Player of the Year standings, he currently sits in 13th place.

Here's the top 5 for the 2008 WSOP POY at this point:

Erick Lindgren 185 pts $567,088
Daniel Negreanu 170 pts $378,224
Barry Greenstein 165 pts $390,777
Vanessa Selbst 163 pts $350,391
Jacobo Fernandez-Hernandez 157 pts $425,762

WSOP Update #5

Barry Greenstein wins $1500 7-Card Razz tournament!

After 3 days of strategic limit poker, Barry added a 3rd bracelet to his collection, and $157,619 to his bank account by out-lasting 452 other players. Barry has already cashed-in 2 other times this year, including one other final table appearance. His heads-up battle with Chris Klodnicki lasted 3 hours, and not long before it ended Klodnicki looked over at a seemingly bored Barry Greenstein and asked "are you tired?" Greenstein's expression didn't change in the slightest as he said "not even close....poker doesn't tire me out at all." Greenstein is on record as saying he has previously played for three days straight. Granted those were in his younger days, but nevertheless, it seems stamina is not an issue for the man known as "Robin Hood", because he donates much of his winnings to various charities.

The $5000 Pot-Limit Omaha W/Rebuys event is down to the final table, and not surprisingly, many big names are still in it. Despite only 152 entrants, the top prize will be well in excess of $800,000 due to many rebuys. This is why so many top pros do well in this event, because they can afford to. With 9 players remaining at the final table, John Juanda and Daniel Negreanu are in contention, but more notable, so are Phil Hellmuth and Johnny Chan. With Hellmuth holding a record 11 WSOP bracelets, and Chan just one behind, this could turn out to be quite a battle. Phil is the short-stack at the table, and will have to make a move early. I'm sure Johnny will be rooting for someone to take out Phil early, and then hopefully the rest will be like smelling roses, or oranges, for the Orient Express.

In one of the bigger hyped events of the WSOP, Kenny Tran won the $10,000 World Championship Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em tournament. Earning a healthy $539,040 and a bracelet after surviving the field of 256 players, and 8 different Heads-up opponents, Tran was very grateful to his wife and kids for "letting" him play poker on Father's Day.

Finally, the $3000 No Limit Hold'em event is underway, and 81 player remain from the starting 716. This tournament is most notable because Beth Shak is still alive, and thus gives me an excuse to put her picture beside this feature. Giggity!

Freerollin' to the 2009 WSOP

Ok, I may sound nuts, but here's what I want to do. I want to go to the World Series of Poker in 2009, without putting a penny of my own money towards it. Sounds nuts? Of course it does. Sounds impossible? Well, it's going to be very difficult, but not impossible.

I can't afford to just fly down to Vegas, throw $1500 or more on the table and play in an tournament. I have a full-time job, I have a wife and 2 kids, and I have very little "disposable" income. I put the word disposable in parenthesis because most people that know me and have seen me play poker would argue that all the money I play poker with must be disposable, because it never comes back to me. All this aside, it is a goal of mine to be able to say I played in WSOP event.

Maybe it won't be the main event, maybe it won't even be Hold'em, who knows? But hopefully, at the end of the day, I'll be able to say I sat down and played poker with some of the best players in the world ... and I gave them all my chips.

So my plan is simple, at least, in theory it's simple. I play in some Freerolls on-line where the top players are awarded cash, as opposed to tickets to play in the next level of tournaments. Full-Tilt Poker awards freeroll winners cash, so that's likely where I'll play. With some good luck and decent play, maybe I cash-in a few times, and develop a very small on-line bankroll. It's a start.

Then, I use that cash to play in some small buy-in tournaments. Again, hopefully I manage to cash-in a few times, and increase my bankroll, and so. I think you see where this is going, the idea of starting with absolutely nothing and winding up playing in the World Series of Poker. This strategy involves me playing very well, getting very luck, and most importantly, I'll need to dodge some of the biggest fish in the world of poker. Low buy-in poker is probably the most difficult to make money at, as the quality of poker is often so poor, a good player wouldn't stand a chance.

Internet qualifiers have been littering the WSOP tables since Chris Moneymaker won in 2003 after qualifying through a $39 satellite. He wasn't the first player to use the on-line satellites to qualify, but he was certainly the most famous. In fact, satellite tournaments have been around longer than the Internet, as they were, and still are held live in Vegas and in casinos around the world. All with the dream of the little guy making it big in Vegas.

I could probably put a few dollars into an account at some on-line poker site, make my task a little easier, but this way would make a much better story. And because when all is said and done, likely all I will have left will be a story, I might as well make sure it's a good one.

WSOP Update #4

Negreanu captures 4th Bracelet!

Daniel Negreanu won the $2000 Limit Hold'em event, taking home just over $200,000. Although Daniel was very happy to get the bracelet and the money, the real story here seems to be a side-bet between Daniel and Phil Ivey. As Daniel was celebrating his victory with his mother (there to provide moral suppost and vegan meals for her son) and friends, he was heard yelling "Me 1, Ivey 0". Apparantly, Daniel and Phil have agreed to pay each other $200,000 for each bracelet the other player wins, hence doubling Daniels earnings on the day. Gamblers gambling on their gambling...nothing makes more sense, really.

I guess this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. I've heard some of the high-profile players talk about making $50,000 bets on X-Box games, as well as golf, weight loss and pretty much anything else they can put money on.

16 Players remain in the $3000 H.O.R.S.E. event, and several big names remain in contention for this title. Marcel "how do these damn sunglasses go on?" Luske leads the way as the chip leader, while Jennifer Harmon and Hoyt Corkins are both in very good position. Todd Brunson sits on a short stack, but still has a bit of room to play with.

I guess it's been a good day for the Poker Stars team, as Vanessa Selbst wins the $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha event, and taking home $227,933 in the process. Vanessa outlasted 758 other players on the way to her first WSOP bracelet, becoming the first woman to win a bracelet in 2008 (not including the $1000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em World Championship).

WSOP Update #3

Well, I (sort of) called my shot and was right! In my last blog, I mentioned that if anyone was going to beat Erick Lindgren in the $5000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ReBuys it was going to be Mike "the Mouth" Matusow, and miraculously, I was right. Matusow takes down his 3rd WSOP bracelet and well over $500,000. After defeating Jeff Lisandro heads-up, the Mouth was very emotional, as he often is after any big event, win or lose, and is optimistic about the rest of the 2008 WSOP schedule.

"I don't know much about this game," joked Matusow, "but I know no-limit. If I continue to play like I played this week, it's gonna be a real good World Series."

Daniel Negreanu is still going strong in 4th place in the $2000 Limit Hold'em event, as they're down to the final 10 players. Daniel made a very lucky hand with 10-7 os (his favorite hand, see my interview with him for more) against Derek Lerner where Negreanu rivered a 2nd pair to take down a very large pot, that would have otherwise seen Daniel eliminated from the tournament.

In the $5000 No Limit Hold'em event, several big names are doing very well. 121 players remain from a starting 731. With Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi and Humberto Brenes comfortably near the top of the leader board, other players such as Eli Elezra, Cathy Liebert, Layne Flack (one of my personal favorites) and Gavin Smith will all be working a (relatively) short stack going in to Day 2 of the event.

Another event with notable names got underway yesterday, in the $3000 H.O.R.S.E. event. Personally, I love this style of poker, I think it's the greatest test of a players true skill, as each game Hold'em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, Eights or Better require different strategies. Some players like to try and get by by focusing on the style of poker they're most comfortable with, but the top players know how to play each game. 160 of the 414 players remain, with Todd Brunson, Shannon Elizabeth, Phil Ivey, Marcel Luske, Jennifer Harmon, Annie Duke and Hoyt Corkins all still in the hunt.

WSOP Update #2

The $5000 buy-in, No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ReBuys boasts one hell of a final table. 7 players remain out of 85, and each of them is a very accomplished player. Here's a list of their chip counts going into the final table.

Erick Lindgren 1,104,000
Barry Greenstein 541,000
Mike Matusow 520,000
Jeffrey Lisandro 461,000
David Benyamine 410,000
Tony 'G' Guoga 394,000
Tom Schneider 162,000

Obviously, Erick Lindgren is the favorite to win as he is the chip leader, plus he's on a hot streak having won another event already this year. Having said that, I'd take Mike "the Mouth" Matusow to have the best chance at pulling off the upset.

No matter how it ends, pitting Matusow and Tony G at the same table could be a great show for the spectators, as both are as well known for being agitators as they are for being good poker players. Mike and Tony show why they chose poker instead of soccer as their sports of choice.



Another interesting game still underway is the $2000 Limit Hold'em event. With 125 players left from the starting 479, there are some very high profile names still in contention. Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu are both doing very well. After winning the first WSOP event he ever entered, Daniel hasn't had a whole lot of success at other WSOP, well, at least not for Daniel. He's won 2 other bracelets, and a few Million dollars, but by his standards, he is only looking to improve. Phil, on the other hand, boasts back-to-back WSOP Main Event titles, as well as 9 other WSOP bracelets, making him the all-time leader in WSOP wins.

To find out more about the World Series of Poker's all-time leaders, click here: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/players/index.asp

Interview with Daniel Negreanu

On November 22, 2007, I was lucky enough to be able to Interview Daniel Negreanu while he was at the CFL's Grey Cup (Canada's version of the Super Bowl) in Toronto to promote a Poker Stars charity event and just to enjoy the festivities in his home town. I got to play in a media/celebrity tournament with Daniel, was even able to bluff him off middle pair on a flop, but the real reason I travelled 12 hours (from Ottawa to Toronto and back again during a horendous snow storm) was to talk to Daniel, and see if he was really as nice a guy as he seems to be on TV. I was not disappointed.

You recently decided to join the Poker Stars team. I'm sure you had several suitors, what made you decide to go with Poker Stars?

You're right about one thing, there were a lot of hats in the ring, but for me there was only one logical choice. I played most of my poker even before joining Poker Stars at Poker Stars. I've always felt like the way that they do business is a lot like the way I think and the way that I like doing business - putting the customer first, great support, great software, they were like the leader as far as tournaments go. There are more tournaments being played at Poker Stars on a regular basis than anywhere else. Definitely the hub for tournament poker. And frankly, most people like that and I like it too.

You can play in one tournament after another - there's a whole bunch going on. Plus it just made the most sense for me, you know, thinking about the way things were going with Full Contract poker which was obviously a site that I was affiliated with and that developed and changed, so they merged with Poker Stars and it was all clean and I felt like, for me it was a no-brainer. I talked to my people, if you will, about where to go, and the only place I'd go was with Poker Stars. It's the only one I believe in and I don't like being someone that puts my name or face to something I don't really like, enjoy or use.

In your opinion, what is your greatest accomplishment in poker?

I would say the culmination of 2004 - the entire year. With the way that it finished specifically, I had a great run. With 2004, at the end, I got passed for player of the year in the 2nd last tournament, then in the last tournament with a very large field, I came with the biggest chip lead in the history of the World Poker Tour. I just smoked it, I won the whole thing, so that capped off an amazing year. I won a couple million dollar events that year and like $5 million of winnings and so, it's hard to pick one, but I'd say right then in December of 2004 was just the pinnacle of, like, dude, how good am I? (laughing)

You've always been a great ambassador, not just for poker, but as a Canadian poker player. Is this something you're consciously aware of, or is that just who you are naturally?

I would say that it is who I am, but I'm very conscious of it. I'm very aware of how special, how important it is for Canadians to see Canadians doing well in other places. You know, I grew up being a Mike Weir fan, or any sort of Canadian athlete who did well, you know like Ben Johnson, before he took the 'sterios'. Canadians have a lot of pride in those that represent their country well and I take that very seriously. One of the reasons I started even wearing the hockey jersey in a sense, was to let people know I'm a Canadian and that kind of connected me more to the country. And I take it very seriously. I also feel that Canada is a hotbed of great poker talent. It really is.

What is an average day like for Daniel Negreanu?

Golfing and playing on line. I golf during the day and play poker at Poker Stars at night. It's more convenient. I like to live a more laid back lifestyle. And I'll go to the tournaments and travel. When I come to Canada, I'm going to have some fun. This whole trip, this Grey Cup, I've never been to the event before and it's so much fun so far. People are nuts here. It's great. It's nuts in a great way.

We're seeing more and more "made for TV, invite only" poker events. Which one is your favourite to play in?

Well, I did one that was a lot of fun for me - it was a Poker Stars event, an NHL Charity Shoot-out where they had with me as well as some hockey players. It was mostly fun for me not from the sense of competition, I mean these guys are hockey players, they're not going to beat me (laughing), but it was fun for me in that I got to hang out with these guys - like Brodeur and Luongo - goalies that I've had in my hockey pool before and it was fun to just hang out with them. There are others that I've done and they were fun from a competitive sense, but the one that I enjoyed the most was probably the Shoot-Out.

So you're a big hockey pool fan, are you?

I'm in the most advanced hockey pool you could ever imagine. I'm in the number one hockey pool in the world. I've been in this league for 13 years. We draft 14 year olds. If there's a Slovakian kid with a slap shot who's got head case problems, I know. I know his name is Mike Slovenko or something, you know. Not only do we have a regular roster we have a farm roster of 20 players. I've got the best goaltenders in the world. I've got Lundqvist, Luongo, and Nabokov. Eat some of that! How are you going to beat that! What's better than that?

You have the reputation of being the nicest guy in poker. Is it true?

Nah, it's a bunch of baloney! Nah, I don't know. I don't know what defines 'nice' necessarily. I know that when I play poker, I try to have a lot of fun. I try to engage people. I try to be very conscious of never being someone that thinks they're better than everybody else. I have a group of friends that I grew up with that help ground me, because they don't think I'm nothing but Daniel, you know, they make fun of it when people come asking for an autograph, they're like, "why do you want his autograph? He's just an idiot." I try to surround myself with grounded people, and not really buy into the whole Hollywood blah, blah, blah.

Do you think it's an advantage to be every one's friend at the table?

Yeah, there's no question about it. You know, I know that there's other poker players out there like Phil Hellmuth or Mike Matusow who take the opposite approach, try to get under your skin and make you mad, but I find for me, what works best is people who root for you and then they're easier to play against. They're not trying to get you all the time. When I get knocked out of a tournament often people are disappointed, when they shouldn't be. It makes it easier for them to win, but they groan and say, "ah, I liked playing with him". That helps you in a lot of ways, so I use that to my advantage.

Other players, like Mike Matusow or Tony G, seem to thrive off being an agitator. How do you handle playing at a table with guys like that?

When I play with Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth, it's as simple as this. I understand they're really good people, genuine hearts, except they're 6 years old. I mean, they really are. They're six year old boys trapped in men's bodies. Tony G on the other hand, just gets too nasty sometimes. He did something on a CBS/CBC show that I just thought was way over the top. He was playing against a Russian player, he was degrading him and degrading Russians and I thought, what are you trying to start another war? Are you insane? But I think that overall, jabbing is fun, you know, a little bit of trash talking, but nothing that gets personal or over the top. And nothing with people that don't know you. When I play with Phil and Mike, I needle. I needle them like crazy. You know, I'll do whatever I can to get them off because it's fun for me. Because I know they can handle it and if they can't they shouldn't be dishing it. But I would never do that to someone who came out and played in a tournament for the first time.

You like to talk a lot at the table. Is that just to keep yourself interested in the game, or are you also trying to get a feel for your opponents and where there head is at?

It's just because I talk too much in general. You know, whether I'm at the poker table or not, I just enjoy talking. I just enjoy listening to the sound of my own voice. (laughing) No, that's just who I am. You know, if I was playing poker or whatever I'm doing, if I'm at dinner, you know I like to cook dinner with friends and have drinks and there's like six or eight of us and I like to be in there mixing it up, talking religion, talking politics, you know, whatever, so at the poker table it's just an extension of who I really am.

What do you do to keep yourself focused during a big tournament?

Well, there's a few things that I do. First of all, the day before an event, I avoid everybody, whether its interviews, media. I try to be alone to collect my thoughts and not be drained. I feel like you do too many things leading up to an event and it drains your energy. It sucks something out of you. I like to focus, lay back. No drinking alcohol, I don't do caffeine. I try to eat very well the day before, get a little exercise, and when I take it seriously that way, I do much better. The number one important thing is to make sure I get enough rest. You know, try to think like an athlete would. Like, how would an athlete, if he was playing the Grey Cup game, how would he approach it, what would he do. And I try to think along those lines. Be in the best physical shape that I can and that just automatically helps your mind. Getting oxygen in your brain, making you feel comfortable, and not feel sluggish.

So, I try to just take care of my body. And avoid people. I mean, even parties. I don't like to go …I don't like to talk to a lot of people, because when I talk, I'm blah,blah, blah, so I try to take it easy and just be alone. I also like to watch Rocky. Before a tournament, there's no better music than listening to that! I mean, you watch Rocky and you feel like you can beat anything. Eye of the Tiger baby, he beat Draggo, I mean, Draggo was a machine! And he showed heart and he didn't quit and he kept on going, and if you have that in your mind when you're playing poker, you're like, I'm Balboa, you can't knock me down. It helps you. It sounds crazy, but it's true.

Which Rocky is your favourite one?

My favorite Rocky is Rocky III. The reason for that is actually personal. There's a scene in Rocky 3 where Clubber Lang is training hard. He's just going at it, training hard. And Balboa's at the gym taking pictures, kissing babies, doing all this and taking it very slowly, you know. Doing commercials and doing all this stuff that's not grinding you know, and Clubber Lang kicks his butt. And it's a testament to, you know, you always have to make sure your first priority is the game. All that other stuff has to be put to the side. If you get caught up in that sort of thing, you can easily lose your edge and lose your hunger. So that's why I watch that one (Rocky III) always before tournaments. I'm like, you're not too big for nothing. You've gotta prove yourself every single day.

If any, what adjustments have you made due to the larger tournament fields with so many unknown players involved?

To some degree, anytime you're playing in a tournament with a large field, and you don't really have a lot of information on your opponents, the first twenty minutes is super cool. And I try to really focus during that time - to really focus on what they're doing. And I try to play a relatively basic game where I don't' go over the top with some plays because I really don't know enough about these guys. Once I find out a player's an on-line player, I know somethings about the way that they play because I play regularly at Poker Star and the bigger games, and I know the style of play and the way they think.

That was one of the reasons why I actually started playing more on-line, was to understand the way they think, so that I'd do better in the tournaments when I face them. Playing on line is the absolute best way to learn the fundamentals. You know, I'm fundamentally better now than I've ever been, simply because when you're on line, that's what you're focused on. You have to focus on playing the game well. If you win on line and you're good on line,that's going to translate to good results live.

Which do you prefer to play, tournaments or cash games?

It depends. The small rinky-dink tournaments, are not fun for me. But the same could be said about a cash game. When I'm playing a big game at the Bellagio, that's exciting for me. Or, like, the big huge tournaments that hold a lot of prestige. For me it's all about personal goals. If I set my mind on winning a title, I want to do that. It would be a combination, but both would have to be at the highest levels.

Who do you think is the top player in the world right now?

You know, I would steal a quote from Paul Newman in The Colour of Money, who says at one point, when asked who’s the best pool player in the world, he says, "well the balls roll funny for everybody sometimes." In poker, I think it’s similar, where there’s a lot of guys who play really well and you can put them all in the same hat. I’d say from a consistent perspective, Phil Ivy is a name that’s always mentioned. Patrick Antonius is another one, he’s excellent. Of course when I’m at my best I feel I can play at a level where I don’t think anyone can play better than I can.

Do you have a favorite starting hand?

Ten-seven off-suit. I feel like I owe that hand money because I’ve been so lucky with it over the years.

What hand do you think people mis-play the most?

Ace-queen off-suit. It’s a very difficult hand to play, in that when you play a big pot with it, you’re never in good shape. But a lot of players overplay it because it looks so good. Even when you catch the ace there’s still danger because you can lose to a lot of hands.

Do you have any superstitions while playing poker?

I’m not really superstitious but I’ve always had this weird thing about fifty dollar bills. I don’t like fifty dollar bills. Especially if there’s just one of them, I feel like it’s just dangling. So I’m not really big on fifty dollar bills. All fifty dollar bills. I don’t see the need for them.

I’ve read Phil Hellmuth’s books, is he as good as he thinks he is?


Well, if anybody was as good as he (Phil) thinks he is, they would never ever lose. Doyle Brunson actually said it best. He said "I wish I was as good as Phil Hellmuth thinks he is".

WSOP Update #1

For those of you not aware, the World Series of Poker began on Friday, May 30th with the World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em event, and some noteable names have added to their already impressive list of accomplishments.

Erick Lindgren Captured his first WSOP bracelet winning the $5000 Mixed Hold'em event. Like Phil Mickelson before he won his first green jacket, Erick was considered the best player in the world without a WSOP bracelet, and I'm sure both are very happy to shed that distinction. The final table at this event boasted some very big names, including Justin Bonomo, Howard "The Professor" Lederer and former WSOP Main Event Runner-up David Williams. Along with the bracelet, Erick won $374,505.

This event was new to the WSOP schedule, with the format being standard Hold'em poker, but they would switch from Limit to No Limit at set points. If you've played both version of Hold'em, you can appreciate the difference between them, and therefore understand the adjustments that it would take to be switching between back and forth. I've never tried it (and to be honest, I hate Limit poker, so I likely never will), but it sounds very tough, and therefore much congratulations are deserved to Erick.

Another early winner is David Singer, a member of the Full-Tilt Poker Team. This is also David's first WSOP bracelet, coming from the $1500 Pot-Limit Hold'em event, cashing in a very healthy $214,131 for his effort. This tournament seems to be one that the big names tend to skip, and the final table was a pretty good indication of that, as most players had no experience being at the final table of a WSOP event.

Singer's recent accomplishments include winning the Full Tilt Poker Heads-Up National Championship, and has been at 3 WPT final tables. In 2008 alone, Singers win total is already over $4,000,000!

Poker Etiquette 101

As an experienced poker player, there’s nothing more annoying than playing at a table with a rookie. Rookies are sometimes known to call your all-in with 9-7 off-suit because the first time they had sex was in ‘97, and therefore it‘s their “lucky hand“. They’re also prone to claiming that a straight beats a flush, and despite the fact that everyone at the table agrees with you, they still need to see a “Rules of Poker” card to be convinced.

If you’re shaking your head, painfully recalling similar situations, I am truly sorry. Nothing can ruin a night of poker more than a player, or even worse, multiple players, who clearly have no idea what they’re doing. Not only are they often frustrating, rookies can be very dangerous too.

Poker is a game of luck and skill, so even when you catch a rookie making a bad play, they can easily find themselves raking in the chips when they hit a miracle river card. Even worse, when this happens, they now feel they’re an expert, and begin to offer you advice on how to play poker.

I once played against a first-timer, who began critiquing my play 5 minutes into his first real poker game. It was very frustrating, but I quickly learned to to deal with it by outplaying him time and time again. Unphased by the fact that my arms were getting sore from raking in all his chips, he continued to state “I can read you like a book”. Sadly, owning your own copy of Rounders, or watching poker on TV does NOT make you a good poker player.

Aside from making obviously moronic plays, or not being aware of the rules, there’s more ways that a rookie player can make even the most hardcore poker player pull out his hair in frustration. (At least, that’s my current excuse for baldness.)

Know when it’s your turn - No one wants to constantly remind you that it’s your turn to play. It’s ok to be watching a nearby TV, but make sure that when it’s your turn, you’re ready to go.

Know what to do when it’s your turn - Be aware of what the blind levels are, so when you look at your hole cards to see pocket Aces, you’ll know how much you should raise. Also, be aware of how many people have entered the hand, and if any of them have raised.

Don’t splash the pot - Don’t just randomly scatter your chips in the middle of the table. When you make a bet or call one, first, state you intentions verbally. Count out the appropriate amount of chips, placing them in front of you, but not mixed in with the rest of the chips. This way, anyone questioning how much you’ve bet can easily see the chips, or ask the dealer to count them.

Don’t take too long - You may have seen players on TV taking a few minutes to make a decision, but keep in mind their decision may mean the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some decisions do take a while to make, no matter what the stakes are, you want to make the right decision, just make sure you’re actually thinking about your decision, and not trying to milk the time because you want everyone to think you had a really good hand, when you actually had rags.

Keep your highest valued chips in plain sight - You may think you’re being sneaky, but this one is not only bad etiquette, it’s against the rules too.

Don’t talk about your cards until the hand is over - I don’t know how many times I’ve been in a hand when the flop is dealt, and a player who folded pre-flop groans in disgust, or whispers to someone beside them “I would have flopped a straight”. That’s too bad for you, but you’re reaction may now affect how the rest of the hand is played. Poker is a game of information, and players not in the current hand should have zero affect on the outcome.

Finally, be polite - You don’t have to be everyone’s best friend, after all, you are trying to take their money. A jerk who joins a home game and wins never gets another invite, whereas the nice guy has the opportunity to win even more money next time.

More than anything else, try to have fun, make sure you play within your limits and be respectful of the other players.

Tournaments vs Cash Games

No matter what type of poker you like to play (Hold‚em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud, 5 Card Draw, etc.), you always have the option of playing a tournament or a cash game. Each can offer different challenges, and can severely affect how you play, and how others play. First, let’s look at the differences between the two.

A Cash Games (also known as a Ring Game) is poker the way it was originally meant to be played. A group of players gather at a table, establish rules that govern the game, such as blinds, antes, buy-in and type of poker, and proceed to play. Players are allowed to re-buy if they lose all their money, and they can walk away from the table at anytime with their money, called “cashing-out”.

The picture above is a pre-game conversation on the set of High Stakes Poker. Easily my favorite poker show on tv, it features many of the biggest names in poker, regardless of their affiliations with online gaming sites. Seen here (from left to right) are the Dealer, Johnny Chan, Freddy Deeb, Daniel Negreanu, not really sure, Eli Elezra and Doyle Brunson.

Players are also allowed to cash-out some of their money on the table, and play with what they have left. This is a great idea for someone who has just won a big pot, and wants to make sure they don’t lose it all right away. It allows you to make sure you walk away with a profit, but also minimizes the amount of money you can win in future hands.

For example, you bought into a cash game for $100, and after winning a few pots, you now have $300. You’re up $200, and want to make sure that you leave with a profit, so you cash out $150, leaving you with $150 on the table. This protects your investment, but now the most any player can give you in one hand is $150 instead of the $300 you could have earned.

Cash Games are flexible, allowing new players to enter if there’s room at the table, or even changing the game and rules on the fly. As long as the players at the table agree to the rules, pretty much anything goes, even to the point of adding wild cards and playing “dealers choice” where the rules of the game can alter every hand, depending on what the current dealer wants to play.

Tournaments are more rigid. As with most tournament structures, the end result of a poker tournament is to have one player stand alone, with everyone else’s chips. Once you’ve lost all your money, the game is over for you. There’s no option of walking away if you’ve made a tidy profit, or cashing out some of the money. Tournaments have a set buy-in (sometimes re-buys and add-ons are optional for a specific period of time), and have pre-set times where the blinds/antes raise, in order to force action. The longer the tournament goes, the higher the blinds/antes get.

For any multi-table tournament, there should be a Tournament Director. This person’s job is to ensure that rules and codes of conduct are followed. Probably the most important, and most difficult, job of a Tournament Director (TD) is to keep all tables as close as possible to the same size. For example, a tournament of 81 people would consist of nine tables of nine players each (a standard tournament table holds 9-10 players). When nine players are eliminated, the remaining 72 players would merge into 8 tables. Also, when one table quickly eliminates 2 players, the TD will take one player from another table and add that person to the table with the fewest people. It’s important to keep all tables evenly balanced.


A standard tournament has no maximum size. The 2007 WSOP (World Series of Poker) Championship Event had over 8700 entrants (as shown in the picture above), with a buy-in of $10,000. The event was so huge, that tournament organizers had to split the group into 3 different sections, and combine them into one smaller, more manageable group days after the start of the event. In general, to make money in a multitable tournament, you’ll have to finish in the top 10%-20%, but then the payout should be pretty significant.

So which format is best for you? I guess it’s a personal preference, and a matter of circumstance.

If you’re just having a few buddies over for a fun night, I’d suggest playing a low buyin cash game. It allows everyone to play the entire night, whereas in a tournament, there can be literally hours between when you’re eliminated from one game and another one starts. But if there’s going to be at least 8 or more players, then a tournament may be the best option, especially if you have more players than you can hold at one table.

Multi-table tournaments are a lot of fun, and when 4-5 players are eliminated, they can play a cash game until the tournament is over, allowing other players eliminated to join at any time, and ending when the tournament is done to start another tournament.