Poker Video :Phil Ivey's Poker Face - Funny

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Best Poker Video

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Phil Ivey's Poker Face - Funny

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LAPT Rio: The end of the beginning

A couple of weeks ago, two young Dutchmen left their homes in Amsterdam for a holiday in South America. When they return to Europe in a few days from now, one of them will be $228,000 richer, and will be known as the first ever champion of the PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour.

"We were in the neighbourhood, so we thought we'd give it a go," explained that particular 19-year-old, named Julien Nuijten, as he described the thought process that led him from Argentina to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take part in the largest poker tournament ever to be hosted in the continent.

While his definition of "neighbourhood" might need some work, Nuijten's poker playing is already in tip-top shape. He outlasted 313 others, each stumping up $2,500, to take down this magnificent tournament. It was probably worth the brief diversion.

In truth, few could deny that Nuijten deserved this one. The Brazilian PokerStars blogger, Maria, first noticed him in the corridor of the Intercontinental Hotel on Friday and she reported there and then that she thought she had just seen the potential champion. He seemed focused, confident, calm and determined and already had the demeanour of a winner, she said.

Sure enough, we all watched as his 10,000 starting stack grew relentlessly for two days, acquiring all the chips of Team PokerStars Pro's Humberto Brenes early on day one, then increasing hour on hour. Late last night, with ten players remaining in the field, Nuijten was still among them and, guess what, he still seemed focused, confident, calm and determined.

When he found pocket aces to blast away Alex Marques's pocket kings, we had a final table, and we had a monstrous chip leader. By 9pm tonight, we had a winner.

The final table began today in Rio with these nine players still in with a shout:

Julien Nuijten (Holland) -- 970,000
Vitaly Kovyazin (USA) -- PokerStars qualifier -- 380,000
Alex Brenes (Costa Rica) -- 324,000
Nikolai Senniger (Germany) -- PokerStars qualifier -- 318,000
Juan Carlos Burguillos (Venezuela) -- 297,000
Rafael Pardo (Colombia) -- PokerStars qualifier --- 278,000
Eduardo Henriques (Brazil) -- 275,000
Oliver Kugler (Germany) -- PokerStars qualifier -- 176,000
Severin Walser (Switzerland) -- PokerStars qualifier -- 175,000

They did their interviews, they told us their biographies, and then they lined up to be snapped in front of a photographic mural showing an aerial view of Rio. Then they were allowed to play some poker.

The opening exchanges were fairly tight, but it was less than 20 minutes before we lost our first contender. Severin Walser was among the quieter people in what had been a boisterous tournament area, boosted by huge and vocal crowds throughout the three days. But he was also the person who probably understood the most of what was going on around him, boasting fluency in at least five languages in addition to his native Swiss/German.

He also had one of the most glittering poker resumes, with a final table appearance at the 2007 World Series under his belt, where he finished fourth in a seven-card stud event from a final table featuring Daniel Negreanu, Jeffrey Lissandro and Howard Lederer.

But he know that in poker, the cards speak, and his suited ace-jack couldn't beat Rafael Pardo's aces, all in pre-flop. Goodbye, Auf Wiedersehen, adios, au revoir Severin.

The next man out was one of a strong Latin American contingent in Rio. Juan Carlos Burguillos, from Venezeuela, had bludgeoned his way through the field yesterday afternoon, and cruised onto the final table with round about the average in chips. But he began sliding in the wrong direction today and was on the receiving end of a sickening two outer (more of those later) against Nikolai Senniger that left him crippled.

He soon found himself shoving all in behind a suited queen-eight. Oliver Kugler, from Germany, called with an ace and it stayed good. Burguillos was out, and the noise in the tournament room was turned down from 11 to just 10 with the elimination of the Latin American.

It was another Latin American who followed Burguillos out the door, although Rafael Pardo will look back on this tournament as one of the most profitable investments of $7 in his life. The Colombian entered the PokerStars "steps" qualifying tournaments at level one, costing all of $7.50. He progressed all the way to the online final, earned his seat for this tournament, then started his ascent all over again in the bricks and mortar environment.

He made it all the way to the final table, but was another one who spent the first hour or so card dead, else playing into the big stack of Julien Nuijten. Eventually, Pardo got his stack into the middle and earned a potential triple up when both Nuijten and Vitaly Kovyazin called. But when Nuijten bet into a dry side pot on a king-high flop, Pardo probably knew he was drawing thin. Sure enough, although his nine-eight had made middle pair, Nuiten had the king and the Colombian was done.

The six remaining all had a decent enough chip stack, but some knew they were under greater threat than the others. Oliver Kugler, one of two German players who had made it to the final, fell into this category, but ended up departing the tournament knowing he hadn't done much wrong. Kugler, who moved to Rio from Hamburg four years ago, found pocket queens and gradually built up a sizeable pot against Vitaly Kovyazin.

But the flop and turn was all a bit black and club-shaped for Kugler's red queens and by the time he was all in, Kovyazin's ace of clubs had made the nut flush. Kugler was out.

As previously mentioned, the Latin Americans had received wonderful support here in Rio, with an intrigued crown migrating from the beach or soccer stadiums to the Intercontinental Hotel to shout, cheer and sing throughout three days. The player who thrived most in this environment seemed to be the vibrant Eduardo Hernandes, who fittingly sported the iconic canary-yellow Brazil soccer shirt yesterday, and reliably became the subject of all the best photos in the tournament.

No one wanted to see him eliminated, but he took the fall in fourth place when his 7-8 was out-done by Nuijten's A-5. The crowd, of course, had erupted when an eight flopped, but the ace on the river sealed it and he was gone. Our photographer was on hand to get the sorry elimination photo, but who wants to see that, when we can look again at Eduardo in happier times yesterday.

I make no apology for the repetition, because if one photo could sum up the whole tournament in Brazil, this would be it:

Eduardo's departure left us with four, and it also left Julien Nuijten and Vitaly Kovyazin with the big stacks that they continued to trade with one another. More quietly, at the other end of the table, was a man named Brenes, who has a name scarcely associated with silence at a poker table. But with brother Humberto looking on, the younger Brenes -- Alex -- had steadily progressed to the final four.

And even though he would go no further, Brenes did earn at least half an hour in the spotlight as he raged, raged against the dying of the light. A huge hand against the other short stack, Nikolai Senniger, (A-Q versus 10-10) left Brenes with 7,000 in chips, which was less than a big blind. It was all in the next hand, of course, with a dominated ace, but he rivered a seven to double up.

Then Brenes found ace-king, good for another double up, and then I think he doubled up again, although the crowd became so thick with Costa Rican supporters watching the phoenix rise from the flames that I couldn't even see. I didn't need to, either. The roars of triumph or howls of anguish could be heard in San Jose.

As it was, there were three or four roars, followed by one of those squeals. His Q-3 ultimately wasn't good enough and Brenes made his way from the tournament floor, having established that there are two men with that name worthy of attention.

Nikolai Senniger had found his way to the last three with a minimum of fuss. And he must have been delighted when the two huge stacks in front of Julien Nuijten and Vitaly Kovyazin began taking each other on. At one point, Julien put Vitaly to the test for all his chips and the American looked like he might call at one point. In the end, he folded and lived to fight another day.

So Nikolai was undoubtedly in the sights of the two leaders, but ended up getting fairly unlucky to depart in third. The PokerStars qualifier from Germany found jacks and got it all in pre-flop. Not bad, but desperately unfortunate when your opponent has found kings. There was no outdraw and Senniger took his leave, $86,350 richer.

That left Julien and Vitaly to duke it out for first. They had been the most aggressive players all day, and when I interviewed them both before the final table, they had spent a good deal of time discussing each other's game, having played together all day yesterday. They both seemed to have the measure of each other, and they also had almost the same amount in chips. It was going to be a belter.

Vitaly, who originated in Russia but emigrated to the United States in the 1990s, had made a final table of a World Series circuit event in 2006 and had found a home at the tables of Foxwoods and Atlantic City on the east coast. But he had qualified for the Rio jaunt online, winning a 10,000 FPP satellite on PokerStars, which effectively meant he was freerolling.

By contrast, Julien was a direct buy-in, with no major poker tournament results to his name. But he'd been in similar situations to this one, having won the world championship of "Magic: The Gathering" when he was just 15. "Magic" players, including Dario Minieri and Noah Boeken of Team PokerStars Pro, have frequently found their experience to stand them in good stead around the poker tables. And so it seemed again with the emergence of Julien.

The heads-up battle was all we expected, and more. Vitaly's tactics seemed to be to raise in position pre-flop, or call Julien's pre-flop bets, and make a decision once three cards were in the middle. Julien's seemed to be exactly the same. Both players were sliding in stacks of 100,000, then check-raising as though their life depended on it.

Julien took the lead, then Vitaly hauled it back, when he hit a two-outer on the river after Julien had picked off a bluff. So they grinded some more.

The final hand was typical, with both players entering the pot with sub-standard starting cards, and then both getting a piece of the flop and expecting to trap the other. In the end, it was Julien whose trap was deeper: he'd flopped trips with his 8-7 when Vitaly's Q-5 had hit top pair. It all went in on the turn and Julien's hand held up. That was that.

All in all, it's been an amazing three days in Rio. More than 300 turned up for this first event on a whole new tour, which bettered anyone's expectations. As we packed up our things to disappear into the Rio night, one phrase was repeated more often than any other among journalists, players, dealers and staff:

"See you next year."

This was only the beginning.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2008/05/lapt-rio-end-of-beginning.html

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Famous Quotes from Stewie Griffin

Stewie: [hitting on some co-eds] I must say, the most recent campus sporting event was quite spectacular.
Co-ed: Aw. Are you in a fraternity, little boy?
Stewie: Not yet, but I'm thinking of joining I Felta Thigh.

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http://badbeatsandgreathands.blogspot.com/2008/05/famous-quotes-from-stewie-griff
in.html

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On Pigeons

*** WARNING: NO POKER CONTENT ***

Pigeons are one of nature's most under-rated creatures. Known in local circles as flying rats, these noble creatures of the air are actually a marvel of evolution and the triumph of mother nature over man.

The pigeons of our cities are descendents of European birds designed to live on cliff sides. Cliff sides offered a perfect place to build nests safe from predators, and it didn't hurt that pigeons need little to make nests.

The pigeon first emigrated to America when their cliff-dwelling predecessors were transported to the New World for food and their message-carrying abilities. Once in the United States, pigeons escaped from captivity and thrived in their new environment.

Then came cities, and pigeons that had to scrap on cliff sides suddenly had man-made industrial cliffs and ample foodstuffs. It didn't hurt that pigeons, having evolved for an environment with limited food options, were natural scavengers with an omnivore's diet. Consequently, the cliff-dwelling aviators thrived and continue to thrive in today's cities.

But pigeons are much more than opportunistic birds. Their innate homing ability, combined with their quick speed and ability to fly long distances, made the lowly pigeon an extremely useful bird during past wars.

The feral rock pigeon, the pigeon most common in cities today, has a natural homing ability that allows it to return to its home from any location in the world, even if the pigeon has no idea where it is. Scientists have still not come to a definitive conclusion about the pigeon's homing ability, but various theories have been proposed. Perhaps the most interesting is the idea that homing pigeons are able to sense the Earth's magnetic fields and use this sixth sense to return to their point of origin. Two other theories postulate that pigeons rely on the position of the sun and visible cues to make their way home, or upon atmospheric smells. When near home, pigeons also rely on visible landmarks and cues. Whatever the case, the pigeon's natural homing ability proved useful in wartime conditions, where smoke from explosions often made visibility nil for the flying creatures. Even with zero visibility, pigeons were able to find their way home.

The pigeon's homing ability is not the only thing that makes pigeons ideal as message carriers. Pigeons can fly up to 62 m.p.h. for over 10 hours at a stretch. That's 620 miles in one trip, an impressive and useful feat for a bird commonly thought of as vermin.

Their homing ability and their ability to cover large distances quickly made pigeons a natural messenger for modern man. The first evidence of man utilizing the pigeon dates back as early as the 1100's in the Middle East. Homing pigeons were also used by Genghis Khan.

In more modern times, the United States relied heavily on pigeons during wartime. In World War I, for instance, American pigeon Cher Ami was awarded a French metal for heroic service for successfully delivering 12 messages. On its last trip, Cher Ami successfully delivered a message that saved the lives of over 200 U.S. soldiers, even after Cher was shot in the wing.

And here's another fun fact: Pigeons are largely monogomous. Once finding a mate, pigeons will stay with that mate until death. Only then, does the majestic pigeon seek new mates.

Also: There are indications that pigeons are among the few animals to pass the "mirror test," a test to determine whether an animal can recognize its own reflection. Other animals with passing grades: chimpanzees, orangutans, dolphins, elephants and man!

Until next time, make mine pigeons!

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HighOnPoker/~3/285666515/on-pigeons.html

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Another Sign of Our Recession

Gaming companies have been under severe pressure, and the Wall Street Journal reports after hours tonight that Tropicana Entertainment LLC is filing for bankruptcy protection.

Kentucky-based Tropicana -- with a small casino kingdom that includes the famed Tropicana Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and a host of small regional casinos -- missed an interest payment Friday on a $1.32 billion loan with lender Credit Suisse Group, said two people familiar with the matter. Tropicana isn't expected to make the payment, these people said. Missing the payment terminates a forebearance agreement the company had with bondholders, putting further pressure on the gambling company (WSJ.com).

The Business Courier of Cincinnati had a story on the Cincinnati-based firm last week, laying out the company's struggles with bondholders to force the firm into bankruptcy to gain access to the lucrative land under the Tropicana in Las Vegas. The company's press release regarding the filing and pending reorganization.

Read The Full Article:
http://ccexplore.blogspot.com/2008/05/another-sign-of-our-recession.html

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WSOP Satellite Headquarters at Caesars Palace

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com Caesars Palace Las VegasUnofficially, The World Series of Poker has started at Caesars Palace Poker Room with Mega Satellites 3 times a day, every day, May 1st thru the 27th. The official start of the 2008[...]

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http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/pokerblog/archives/006505.php

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It's time for the World Poker Crown

by BSN

What do you get when you mix four Canadians, three Dutchmen, one German, one Italian, and one Pole?

If your answer is World War II, you couldn't be more wrong. These are the finalists for The World Poker Crown Final Event at Perlada Castle in Barcelona, Spain between May 8th to May 10th. The final event will be broadcast live on television and the internet, and you can watch it at the World Poker Crown website.

You and I have a chance to win, also. The folks at 888.com are also giving away four tickets to the WSOP including a $10,000 buy-in to the 2008 WSOP Main Event, the 888.com Qualifiers' Welcome Party, $2,500 for travel and $2,000 spending money, and 10 days? accommodation in the Venetian.

So how did these lucky bastards poker players get the opportunity to play in the final event? They were the final players of an online tournament, and now they're going to be playing for $1,000,000 in a world-televised tournament. Not a bad gig, eh?

That "eh" was for those four Canadians. There are no Americans so we're going to have to adopt some of these folks. Canadians are almost American, right?

Ahem.

So, head over to the World Poker Crown website and check out the entry requirements to win your trip to the WSOP, and watch that tournament because with a million dollars at stake anything can happen.

Read The Full Article:
http://bigslicknuts.blogspot.com/2008/05/its-time-for-world-poker-crown.html

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Lucky grinder

by BSN

I can't tell you how many times I've been dealt T5o in the past week. Unreal.

But, the poker grind is going ok. Still up and down, but long term the slope is positive. I can't really say it's going well, though, because I've made a couple dumb moves where I've smacked my head and said 'what are YOU thinking'?!?!?!

Better lucky than good, though, knowwhatimean?

Read The Full Article:
http://bigslicknuts.blogspot.com/2008/05/lucky-grinder.html

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Arieh Out, ZeeJustin In at Bodog

Atlanta's own Josh Arieh is out at Bodog, and Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo is in as a sponsored player at Bodog (read this interview with Bonomo, I assume by Haley). Of course, Bodog hasn't gotten around to erasing Arieh's image throughout their website. I've tried to interview Arieh several times, as I've been especially interested in his decision to remain in Atlanta rather than uprooting his wife and three daughters. Bonomo should have been snapped by a site a long time ago as he's a threat in any tourney he enters.

The dismissal of Arieh two months after adding Jean-Robert Bellande is a bit more curious to me. Bellande has little tournament success to show for his last thirty months. Here is a nice comparison of Arieh vs Bellande vs Bonomo over the last few years (08/07/06):

• Bellande ($9.4k, $44.7k, $105.1k)
• Arieh ($71.7k, $193.1k, $561.1k)
• Bonomo ($229k, $574.8k, $275.4k)

I'm sure the folks at Wicked Chops could chime in on the matter as they've always been close to Bodog Poker. Arieh's website is no longer there; I haven't checked it in quite awhile. I'll try to track him down through contacts to get his thoughts. Again, I'd say picking up Bonomo is a no-brainer for anyone. His previous transgressions may have kept him from being signed up by PokerStars or FullTilt, but that would only be a wild guess of mine.

Read The Full Article:
http://ccexplore.blogspot.com/2008/05/arieh-out-zeejustin-in-at-bodog.html

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