Thanksgiving life lessons---Don't sell the cow
for a poker game!

My sister-in-law called me the other day after reading the Thanksiving stories to remind me about a poker story that I forgot to mention. She said "I can't believe you didn't talk about the time Uncle Crawford got up from the poker ta...

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http://www.examiner.com/x-3342-Womens-Poker-Examiner~y2009m11d22-Thanksgiving-lif
e-lessonsDont-sell-the-cow-for-a-poker-game?cid=exrss-Womens-Poker-Examiner

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EPT Vilamoura: Local Antonio Matias wins EPT in
Portugal

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Famous Poker Quotes...

"In a game of poker, I can put the players' souls in my pocket."


------------Beausourire, Haitian Poker Player

Read The Full Article:
http://badbeatsandgreathands.blogspot.com/2008/08/famous-poker-quotes_06.html

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Notes from Poker Academy 101

I spent all day Saturday at Oklahoma Poker Academy learning how to play poker from scratch. As I told the instructor, Jim Price, it was the best time I've ever had playing poker and in the process, I really learned a lot. Now I can hear you sa...

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http://www.examiner.com/x-3342-Womens-Poker-Examiner~y2009m11d22-Notes-from-Poker
-Academy-101?cid=exrss-Womens-Poker-Examiner

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LAPT Playa Conchal: Sulaiman bests Bergren for
title

When Amer Sulaiman boarded an airplane from Toronto to Costa Rica, he never expected to return home with an extra $172,095 in his pocket, let alone an LAPT title. The 45-year old Iraqi-born Canadian resident came to Playa Conchal for a vacation with his girlfriend, but at the last minute, decided to play the tournament. We're pretty sure neither of them are regretting his decision to stay off the beach and in the poker room, as he just became the first Canadian to win an LAPT title.

The LAPT Playa Conchal final table

It took a bit over an hour for the final table to lose its first player. Patrick De Koster moved all-in pre-flop and Eric Levesque called from the small blind, turning up [Qs][Qh] to De Koster's [Ad][7h]. Although the Dutchman paired his kicker on the [9s][7d][5s] flop, he couldn't find any help on the turn or river which fell the [Jh] and the [Ks], sending him home in eighth place.

Carlos Giron did his best to try and chip up during the first two levels of play, but he couldn't get anything going. Down to 241,000, he moved all in from the hijack seat and Sol Bergren looked him up from the big blind. Giron was ahead with [Ah][9s] against Bergren's [Qc][Jc] but saw his hopes of an LAPT title dashed when the board ran out [Ts][Qd][6c][Td][5d], making Bergren two pair. For his seventh-place finish, Giron took $20,098 back to Guatemala.

On the very next deal, Darren Keyes decided to make a stand, shoving for 371,000 from the button. Amer Sulaiman moved all-in from the small blind, having him well-covered. Sol Bergren ducked out of the way from the big blind and the cards went on their backs.

Keyes: [Ah][7h]
Sulaiman: [As][Kd]

Keyes cracked a tiny smile when the flop came down [8d][7d][6c], pairing his kicker, but the [Kc] spiked on the river, taking him out in sixth place for $26,380.

Darren Keyes shakes hands with Amer Sulaiman following his elimination

Five-handed play went on for well over an hour before a short-stacked Francis-Nicolas Bouchard moved all-in from under-the-gun. Everyone folded to Amer Sulaiman in the big blind. Ever the gentleman, Sulaiman stood up from his chair and extended his arm across the table, offering Bouchard a handshake as he said "I call."

Sulaiman turned up [Ah][As]. Bouchard was in bad shape with the [Kh][9s] and although the [Ks][Js][Tc] flop game him a ray of hope, he couldn't catch up on the turn or river, which fell the [6d] and the [Ad]. Sulaiman dragged the pot and took the chip lead with 2.4 million while Bouchard exited in fifth place, earning $32,660. Not bad for his first live tournament.

Once Bouchard hit the rail, the pace of play picked up considerably. Ten minutes later, Sol Bergren opened for 120,000 and was met with a three-bet from Eric Levesque for 700,000. Bergren decided to go with his hand and moved all-in, earning a quick call.

Our two Canadians were in a race situation, Bergren's [8d][8c] up against Levesque's [Ac][Qd]. Levesque's rowdy, cerveza-fueled railbirds began screaming for an ace or a queen, but their man could not improve his hand, the board running out [Jh][5d][4s][3c][7h] to end his tournament in fourth place. He earned $45,221 for his finish.

The dust had hardly settled from Levesque's elimination when there was another all-in, Rogelio Pardo all-in with [Ac][3s] against Sol Bergren's pocket fives. THe [Kc][6c][8d] flop favored Bergren and though Pardo picked up a flush draw on the turn with the [4c], the river fell the [5h], Bergren scoring the KO with a set. Pardo exited in third place to a hearty round of applause from his Costa Rican brethren, earning $61,551.

Pardo's elimination left us with a Canuck-on-Canuck heads-up battle. Here's how the chip counts looked as their match began:

Amer Sulaiman: 2,803,000
Sol Bergren: 2,200,000

Heads-up action begins

With stacks that large relative to the blinds (30,000-60,000/5,000) we knew we were in for a long haul when it came to heads-up play. Although Bergren had played a very aggressive style at the final table up until this point, he changed gears and slowed down, taking a much more passive approach in his match with Sulaiman. By the end of the first hour of heads-up play, Sulaiman had ground his stack up to 3.4 million to Bergren's 1.6 million.

Sol Bergren smiles in the face of his chip disadvantage

Bergren, however couldn't seem to find any momentum. If he flopped a pair, Sulaiman would river a straight. Down to less than eight big blinds, Bergren at last got his chips in the middle with [6s][7s] only to find his hand dominated by Sulaiman's [Td][7h]. The [Th][5s][4c] gave Sulaiman top pair, but Bergren picked up an open-ended straight draw. The crowd held their breath as the dealer burned and turned the [Ac]-- no help to either player. And when the [Qh] hit the river, the LAPT had its first Canadian champion. He'll take $172,095 back to the Great White North.

Congratulations to LAPT Playa Conchal champion Amer Sulaiman

For a look at how all our cash finishers placed, head over to the LAPT prize pool and winners page. To check out the coverage in Spanish, hit up PokerStarsBlog.la. We only know how to say "Bon dia" and "cerveja" in Portuguese, but our Brazilian bloggers have you covered at PokerStarsBlog/br.

If you missed any of the action, here's a look back at all four days of the LAPT Playa Conchal.

Day 1 wrap
Levels 9 and 10
Levels 11 and 12
Levels 13 and 14
Day 2 wrap
Level 15 and 16
Levels 17 and 18
Levels 19 and 20
Level 21 and 22
Day 3 wrap
Level 21 and 22 (continued)
Levels 23 and 24
Levels 25 and 26


Read The Full Article:
http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-final-table-wrap-06161
0.html

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LAPT Playa Conchal Heads-Up Updates

Updates from level 25 and 26 of LAPT Playa Conchal, brought to you by Brad Willis and Change100.

Approximate chip counts, updated throughout the day, are available on the chip counts page. The LAPT tournament structure can be found on the LAPT tournament structure page. The full payout structure is on the prize pool and winners page.

Previous coverage: Day 1 wrap | Levels 9 and 10 | Levels 11 and 12 | Levels 13 and 14 | Day 2 wrap | Level 15 and 16 | Levels 17 and 18 | Levels 19 and 20
Level 21 and 22| Day 3 wrap | Levels 23 and 24 | Levels 25 and 26

Blinds: 30,000/60,000/5,000

5:55pm: Check, please
After a fairly aggressive performance from Sol Bergren at the final table, the heads-up battle has been fairly passive. In fact, a majority of the aggression has been fro the hands of Amer Sulaiman. Even so, there's not much to report, save the fact tat Sulaiman continues to hold the chip lead and Bergren is beginning to look a little frustrated.

5:40pm: Amer Sulaiman grinding his way back
Sol Bergren opened for 150,000 and Amer Sulaiman made the call. Both players checked the [Qd][6c][4c] flop and checked again when the [4d] hit the turn. The river was the [9s] and Sulaiman led out for 200,000. Bergren made the call, but mucked once he saw Sulaiman's [Kh][Qs].

5:20pm: Reversal of fortune

When we started heads up play, the stacks looked a lot like this.

Sol Bergren: 2,805,000
Amer Sulaiman: 2,280,000

Now, they look a lot like this

Amer Sulaima: 2,805,000
Sol Bergren:: 2,280,000

Or something awfully close to that.
5:15pm: Blinds up

We're now about to 30,000/60,000/5,000 blinds.

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SnG's and Xmas lights

The state of being too tired to do anything substantial but the time too early to go to bed without feeling like dinosaur... that's me, right now. So I'm playing a single table sit n' go on Full Tilt and chatting with you!

Well, not chatting, so much, as talking at you. Well, not talking, so much, as typing at you.

Anyway.

So, how many of you have turned on your outdoor Christmas lights? I admit, I'm one of those people that has occasionally turned them on the weekend before Thanksgiving (this weekend). But this year, I have refrained. I did hang the lights 2 weeks ago (because the weather was lovely), but I have not turned them on yet. And I just might hold out until after Thanksgiving, despite quite a few neighbors beating me to it this weekend.

Wow, I'm so exhaustedly restless that I almost just played K3 of spades in early position. hahahaha!!!!

I don't believe I blogged about the Trojan Wars game. What can I say - I'm not fan of rebuys, even when I make it through without having to rebuy. I went out 7th or 8th or something like that (out of 26 or 27 or something like that). Top 4 spots were slated to pay, and the top 5 ended up chopping. As per usual, Ryan put on an excellent game, and as per usual, I didn't take home any pie. (Then I gave away the rest of my money limping into pots and folding in the cash game). I do wish I'd brought my notepad - there was some insanity going on (and, Ed folded a CLASSIC quadruple-up all-in rebuy hand! I think hell froze over that night). Ryan mentioned the possibility of hosting a non-rebuy game in the spring, and I will look forward to that gleefully (as it will probably be the next live poker I play).

What about Vegas? I dunno. I lost half of the incentive to get my butt out there when my presence was no longer vital for room-sharing purposes, and the lure of buying a set of studio strobes for my burgeoning photography work is currently winning out in the desire category. Sure, I'd love to see everybody, as it has been way too long, and I'd love to play hours on end of poker, but... well, I'm not ruling it out, but I'm jonesing for a set of studio strobes pretty bad.

On a totally unrelated note, don't you hate it when you realize that someone in your life is a lot more important to you than you are to them? Damn it, anyway.

Oooh, pocket 10's! Raise and take it. Not a bad outcome.

Then give it all away with suited connectors on that, "Aww, what the hell..." attitude with a gutshot. LOL!

Then double up by flopping a straight after pushing all in and seeing I was totally dominated!

Wow, the poker action is flying around here. Well alrighty then, I'll chill out, since I'm back at the same chip count as when I started that fiasco. Hopefully somebody noted that I'm a donkey that'll chase anything, and it'll pay off for me later.

Who am I kidding? Nobody actually pays attention at this level.

Back to the Christmas thing. I spent the weekend in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Just an overnighter trip... fun place if you like Christmas. (I do, generally speaking). I managed to finish a research paper on photographer Richard Avedon in the car on the way home (thank goodness for mobile broadband, yay Sprint!) But back to Frankenmuth - check it out if you like Christmas. The Bronner's Christmas store was pretty cool, and the little main street area was nice. Lots of neat little shops. We stayed at the Bavarian Inn Lodge, which - while a bit theme-y - was quite nice too. I just wish we'd have had time to partake in the indoor miniature golfing.

Do I play too many suited connectors and one-gappers? Probably.

Since I upgraded to Snow Leopard, my version of Poker Copilot doesn't work anymore. I have to upgrade to the new version of that software for it to work with Snow Leopard, and I haven't gotten around to that. So who knows what my stats are.

Damn you, push-or-fold mode.

Well, that didn't work out so well, even with the nut flush draw. Nice typing at you all, though! :)

Read The Full Article:
http://hellaholdem.blogspot.com/2009/11/sngs-and-xmas-lights.html

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EPT Vilamoura: Local hero Antonio Matias wins EPT
title

There was a story waiting to be written in Vilamoura tonight, one of a child chess prodigy turned poker player winning an EPT event and rocking the poker world after he'd only narrowly missed out three weeks ago in Warsaw. But as anyone who has played this game will know, poker is nothing if not unpredictable.

Instead, in front of huge crowds in Casino Vilamoura, another story will be written. A 54-year old economist named Antonio Matias from Setubal, Portugal, a cash game player who couldn't resist playing in the first EPT in his home country, became the tour's oldest winner. A champion and ?404,793 richer, he is the first winner on home soil since Sandra Naujoks in Dortmund last season.

In the last hand, Neuville, holding [jh][ts] raised 240,000 from the button. Matias called with [8s][7d] for a [jd][7h][8h] flop. Matias was ahead with two pairs to Neuville's top pair and gutshot straight draw. Matias checked before Neuville made it 315,000 to play. Matias made it another 500,000 more before Neuville pushed all in. Matias called, already ahead, and the [7c] gave Matias the full house on the turn. It also won him the title.

The heads-up duel was the conclusion to a thrilling final. The runner-up Pierre Neuville, fulfilling a poker dream held for 50 years, had to settle for ?257,681. But he's shown one or two of the youngsters that at 67 he can still play.

All this began some eight hours ago. Andrei Vlaskenko was first to depart, thanks to the 18-year-old PokerStars qualifier Ryan Franklin who would himself be sent to the rail by Jeff Sarwer two hours later. The French tour veteran Michel Abecassis followed him in sixth place, his chips helping bolster the stack of the chip leader Matias.

The local boy Joao Silva was the obvious crowd favourite. Despite being hamstrung by a short stack Silva would double up through Sarwer twice, lifted out of his chair each time by the roar of the rail. He would eventually depart at the hand of Jan Skampa in a queens vs. jacks showdown, ending the Portuguese player's adventure. Skampa now had the chip lead but there was a thread of chaos weaved into the final and Skampa would be next to leave.

The Czech player hadn't finished stacking Silva's chips when he gave them to Sarwer. Sarwer opened under-the-gun, Skampa raised, before Sarwer re-raised. Skampa then shoved, called in a flash, showing king-nine to Sarwer's pocket queens. The queens held. Sarwer celebrated with a Portuguese-style "Vamos!", followed by a lap of honour. He now had 5 million. Skampa was crushed and would be gone in a matter of hands.

Three players remained, passing chips around for two and a half hours. Pierre Neuville and Antonio Matias knew they couldn't out-think Sarwer, so they tried muscle instead, ultimately using big hands to crush Sarwer's hopes.

Frustrated by what seemed an incredible run of cards that had ultimately stolen the chip lead, Sarwer took a last stand against Matias who re-raised him all-in on a flop of [9c][7h][3c]. He had [9s][5s] and called, but Matias was ahead with pocket tens.

Sarwer needed help, and got it, a [5c] on the turn. For the first time Sarwer released a primal howl before regaining his composure. But the relief was short lived. A [3d] on the river left Matias cheering, now with a bigger two pair, while Sarwer, who seems to be busy cracking poker's code, sought comfort from the likes of Shaun Deeb, Jim Collopy and Jonathan Aguiar, his new entourage gathered on the rail.

The rest is now inked into the EPT history book. Neuville and Matias girded themselves for a heads-up scrap that soon went Matias's way and Neuville graciously conceded the limelight to a new local hero who also wins a seat at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.

"I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world," said Matias. "But it is very satisfying win an EPT in my home country. I just decided to play the way I play, and hope that luck didn't turn its back on me. When I got the chip lead yesterday the only thing I had on my mind was winning."

It's certainly worth a look back at how he did it. Re-live the whole experience at your leisure at the links below:

Player profiles
Level 23
Level 24
Level 25
Level 26
Level 27
Level 28

That's everything there is from EPT Vilamoura. Thanks for following our coverage throughout the week. Our thanks go to Neil Stoddart for his work with his camera and the Portuguese legal system, and the video blog team whose work can be seen in full over at PokerStars.tv.

There's still the action from Costa Rica if you're hungry for more but we're off for a last taste of Portuguese hospitality. Next stop for us is Prague in just over a week's time. See you there.

Cheerio.

* The winning hand was actually [8s][7d]. Matias posed with the incorrect eight.

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LAPT Playa Conchal Levels 25 and 26 updates

Updates from level 25 and 26 of LAPT Playa Conchal, brought to you by Brad Willis and Change100.

Approximate chip counts, updated throughout the day, are available on the chip counts page. The LAPT tournament structure can be found on the LAPT tournament structure page. The full payout structure is on the prize pool and winners page.

Previous coverage: Day 1 wrap | Levels 9 and 10 | Levels 11 and 12 | Levels 13 and 14 | Day 2 wrap | Level 15 and 16 | Levels 17 and 18 | Levels 19 and 20
Level 21 and 22| Day 3 wrap | Levels 23 and 24

Blinds: 20,000/40,000/4,000

3:48pm: Players on break
We're now on a 15-minute break. In the meantime, they will be coloring off the 1,000 chips in favor of the new 5,000 ante.

3:46pm: Close the cooler
All weekend long, there have been giant 35 gallon ice chests outside the poker room. At least one of them is always full of the local brew Imperial. Eric Levesque is not shy about having a few at the table, and nor are his friends on the rail. At one point a few minutes ago, the empty can count stood at 16. Levesque's rail is accordingly louder. Some officials are beginning to chat about whether it might be a good idea to dry the room up for a while.

3:43pm: Canada on Canada action
In a battle of the blinds, Amer Sulaiman raised to 140,000 from the small blind and Sol Bergren called in the big blind. On the flop, [qd][js][[8c], both players checked. The turn, [3d], led Sulaiman to bet 145,000 and Bergren to call. The river, [2c] drew a 300,000 bet from Sulaiman. Bergren though for a few moments before looking Sulaiman up. Bad idea, it turned out. Sulaiman held the mighty [jc][2h] for two pair and then win.

3:32pm: Back to calm, speeches
Not much has happened since Rogelio Pardo's double up. The closest thing we;ve had to action is a hand that just happened in which Eirc Levesque limped in from the small blind and Amer Sulaiman checked in the big blind. On a flop of [jh][[6h][4d], Levesque bet out 65,000 and Sulaiman called. The turn brough the [9h]. This time Levesque checked and Sulaiman bet 150,000. That bet brought another of Levesque's patented speeches.

"You don't seem strange," he said. "Not at all."

And with that, after some more thinking, he folded.

3:14pm: Costa Rica stays alive
If Rogelio Pardo is eliminated, it will leave only Canadians at the table. That almost happened a couple of seconds ago when Sol Bergren came in for a raise to 95,000 under the gun. Pardo moved all in for 225,000 from the button. Bergren only held [3s][4h] but made the call anyway. He was up against [ac][qc].

The flop was disastrous for the Costa Rican: [4d][2s][2c]. The turn, [9s] was no help either. Then the river...[qd].

The Ticos on the rail went nuts and Costa Rica still has a chance to claim this title for the home team.

3:04pm: Updated chip counts

Rogelio Pardo: 280,000
Amer Sulaman: 1,420,000
Sol Begren: 1,890,000
Francis-Nicola Bouchard: 655,000
Eric Levesque: 936,000

2:58pm: Darren Keyes to the rail in sixth place
Just seconds after Giron went out, Canadian Darren Keyes moved all in for 371,000. Amer Sulaiman over-shoved and isolated Keyes.

Sulaiman: [as][kd]
Keyes: [Ah][7h]

The flop, [8d][7d][6c], was uber sexy for Keyes, but the [kc] came on the river and Keyes went out in sixth place for $26,380.

2:55pm: Carlos Giron eliminated
Shortstacked and down to 241,000, Carlos Giron moved all-in from the hijack. Everybody folded to Sol Bergren in the big blind who called with [qc][jc]. Giron held [ah][9s]. The board ran out [ts][qd][6c][td][5d]. Giron was eliminated in seventh place for $20,098.

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EPT Vilamoura: Day 5, level 28 updates

Updates from level 28 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Selected approximate chip counts, updated throughout the day, are available on the chip counts page. The EPT tournament structure can be found on the EPT tournament structure page. The full payout structure and prizewinners to date are on the payout structure page.

Previous coverage: Day 1a | Day 1b | Day 2 | Day 3 | Level 18 updates | Level 19 updates | Level 20 updates | Level 21 updates | Level 22 updates | Level 23 updates | Level 24 updates | Level 25 updates | Level 26 updates | Level 27 updates

Blinds: 40,000-80,000 (8,000 ante)

8.40pm: Antonio Matias wins EPT Vilamoura for ?404,793
And just like that, we have a new EPT champion. Neuville bet 240,000 from the button pre-flop, and Matias called. Then it all kicked off on the [jd][7h][8h] flop. First Matias checked, then Neuville made it 315,000, Matias made it 500,000 more, Neuville announced all in - call!

Matias: [8s][7d] for two pair
Neuville: [jh][10s] for top pair and a gutshot straight draw

But whatever hopes PokerStars qualifier Neuville had left were extinguished when the [7c] turn made Matias a full house. The [2c] river was of no consequence whatsoever.

The locals who remained on the rail cheered as their man from Portugal realised he had become the newest (and oldest) EPT champion, aged 54. A huge, long hug from his tearful wife, and then he was off for interviews and photo shoots.

Neuville had played a blinding tournament, and is our runner-up for ?257,681.

A full tournament wrap will be with you shortly. Thanks for watching.

8.35pm: We have a decision!
Antonio Matias is the EPT Vilamoura champion. Full details of winning hand to follow.

8.30pm: Back again
Here they are again. These are the players' stacks:

Antonio Matias: 7,940,000
Pierre Neuville: 1,710,000

Antonio Matias

Pierre Neuville

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