Nov
23
by Katrina Lim
I've been running cold but at least my buddy Boosted J made a nice cash.
It’s been way too long. I went to Singapore, ate a lot, and enjoyed hanging with the family. I have decided to become a professional traveler. I leave for the Caribbean in 3 weeks, Italy in February, and Alaska in May. In between, I’ve been trying to qualify for Bahamas in January like an idiot. Why do I set myself up for dumb ass failure? And how do I do this? I will tell you how. I understand now why women get a bad rap in poker. I’ve seen firsthand that poker is more 90% luck, and 10% skill…when it comes to ladies’ tournaments. I am a glutton for punishment. I am running so bad right now, probably the worst ever. However, running badly in ladies’ tourneys is very consistent. All losses are bad beats. I am ALWAYS leading at showdown and end up getting raped on the river. Amazing. The cure? Stop playing ladies’ tournaments. But I am such a dumb ass that I can’t stop. A true degen. Terrible. And to console myself from these ridiculous beats? Book flights around the world. Rent villas in Tuscany and hire a private chef to teach me how to cook. Take weeklong cruises.
Now I am seriously debating whether or not I should play the NAPT at the Bike this weekend. I don’t know if I can handle another 1 or 2 outer. My patience has torn. Thank God I don’t allow poker to affect my personal life. I still see it as a part-time job. But lately, it’s become a cancer eating away at me.
So I even decided to try something new. I dabbled at the limit tables for a couple of weeks. Tried my bad luck at $5/$10 and $10/$20 tables. Shockingly, I was doing well. Then it came crumbling down. Thank God I have no bills to worry about. No credit cards. No debt. Just a disease. The degen disease. How do I stop it? Do I really want it to go away? Uh, no. That would make life too boring for me. I need to get angry at something once in a while. If I was happy all the time, people would think I was a freak. No balance. Surely one cannot be happy all the time? So I need an anger outlet and poker is the perfect scapegoat.
I am waiting for Season 9 of WPT to premiere. I wanna see how fat I look on tv again. I was cheering for Justin Smith at the final table of the Bellagio Cup where he took out Phil Ivey, but only took 2nd. We were sitting with Matusow and Forrest in the stands cheering for Justin. Nice cash for Boosted J. We were hoping for Justin and Phil to go heads up, but Justin busted out Phil. Oh well. I chatted with Phil last weekend too and he remembered my “soft hands”. Just ask me out already. I won’t turn you down. Geez! Who knew the greatest poker player in the world is shy? I thought I was the shy one.
I am planning a surprise birthday party for BFF and it’s in 2 weeks!! Gonna be the biggest party of the year! Everything’s all set! Been so busy with poker and oh yeah, the 9-5. Thank God for a real job. A nice paycheck every 2 weeks is amazing. It allows me to still shop well, eat well, and play well, especially when poker is killing me.
A big CONGRATS to Unabomber for winning his first WSOP bracelet. Just the first of many to come, Boss Man! You rule.
Now, a promise to all of you. I will blog a lot more again. Cuz I am going to focus on playing live more now. Will be hitting the LA casinos again to grind some supplemental income. With the holidays fast approaching, my time will only get busier, but I want to keep y’all in the loop. I love Turkey Day cuz I love food. Then with Christmas around the corner, I love even more food. I can’t wait for 2011. Supposedly, 2011 is going to be a very profitable year for me. Please Chinese zodiac, be right!!!
In the meantime, I must make Unabomber proud and continue my degen ways. So see y’all at NAPT this weekend. I’m the playa with the Unabomber gear on, yo!
Nov
18
by Chad Holloway
I arrived in Los Angeles last week for the North American Poker Tour Main Event at the Bicycle Casino. This was actually my first trip to L.A. so I was quite excited. PokerNews had us staying at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel downtown and the place was simply awesome. Actually, historic is more like it. In fact, eight Oscar ceremonies were held there during the Academy's early years of 1931, 1935–39, and 1941-42, and Bob Hope hosted the Academy's 50th Anniversary banquet there in 1977. The hotel has also been used in a number of films including Chinatown, A Star is Born, Splash, Bachelor Party, Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, True Lies, Independence Day, Blow, Ocean's 11, The Nutty Professor, Bugsy, Blue Streak, In the Line of Fire, Wedding Crashers, The Italian Job, Daredevil, National Treasure, Spider-Man, Alien Nation, Prom Night, and Iron Man. Even more impressive, the hotel’s swimming pool was the same one used in the 1999 film Cruel Intentions.
To top it off, in 1960 John F. Kennedy gave his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination was given at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel and even set up his campaign headquarters in the Music Room (now the Lobby), with running mate Lyndon B. Johnson in the Emerald Room. Now the hotel was being overrun by poker players. Go figure.
The NAPT itself was being held at the Bicycle Casino, AKA the Bike, about 20 minutes from the hotel. I was really impressed with the place as a whole. The room was huge and they had games of every variety and limit. Unfortunately my schedule didn’t allow me time to play, but I imagine the action was good. The Main Event was held in a hall off the gaming floor and it attracted some of the biggest names in poker including Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, Vanessa Rousso, and many more.
The player I was most excited to see was the man himself, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak. I’ve been writing this blog for a little over a year and had never had the opportunity to meet Phil in person. I introduced myself and Phil was genuinely excited to meet me. He praised my work with the blog and asked how the fantasy poker stuff was going. He even said come WSOP time he’ll give me some inside information on what events he’ll be playing (essential to know in fantasy poker leagues). One of the photographers managed to grab a photo that shows me reporting the action right behind Phil, which I’ve included in this blog.
Phil also took the time to introduce me to his girlfriend, Jennifer Tilly, and she was as nice as can be. I always enjoyed both on TV but like them even more now that I’ve met them in person. Hopefully I’ll have the chance to spend some more time with them in Vegas come WSOP time.
As far as the tournament, Laak actually had an impressive performance and made a deep run. The field started with 701 players and Phil was still there when the money bubble was cracked at 104 players. Laak made it all the way to Day 3 when the following hand came up. As I wrote in my live update on PokerNews:
“With about 50,000 in the pot and a board reading Kc-Kd-2d, Joseph Melancon checked from the big blind to Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, who bet 20,000. Melancon then grabbed two stacks of blue chips, totaling 200,000, and pushed them forward. Laak wasted little time in calling all in for 190,000.
Melancon: {Jd}{8d}
Laak: {9d}{9c}
Laak was ahead but up against a flush draw. Unfortunately for him, the turn was the {4d} and he was in trouble. He would need either a nine of king on the river. The dealer burned and put up the {7d}. Laak was eliminated from the tournament while Melancon increased his stack to 600,000.”
Laak ultimately finishing in 59th place and added a NAPT cash to his résumé. I wish he could have made the final table, and I believe if he could have won that hand he would have had a great chance. He was playing well and seemed in great form. If his bracelet at the WSOP-Europe is any indication, we can expect big things from Laak in the future.
The final table of the NAPT L.A. saw some big names in Jason Mercier (seventh), Michael Binger (sixth), and Anh Van Nguyen (fourth). In the end it was poker pro Joe Tehan who outlasted them all, in fact he knocked out all the players at the final table, and took down the $725,000 first-place prize. Congrats to Joe Tehan on a well-fought victory in the NAPT Los Angeles.
Nov
10
by Chad Holloway
PokerNews recently flew me down to Biloxi, Mississippi to cover the WSOP-Circuit Main Event at the IP Casino Resort & Spa. The hotel and casino were impressive and I was happy to cover the event with my PokerNews teammate, Mickey “123md” Doft, the best tournament reporter in the business. Jay “WhoJedi” Newnum was also there taking care of the WSOP website, so I knew I was in for a good time. Even though I was looking forward to being in Mississippi, the real excitement and place I really wanted to be was in Las Vegas for the return of the November Nine.
I followed along on PokerNews and watched the streaming feed on Saturday as Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi positioned himself to win the whole thing by claiming the chip lead. The hand between him and Matthew Jarvis was the sickest hand since the 2005 WSOP when Mike Matusow’s pocket kings ran into the pocket aces of Scott Lazar. There were quite a few sick hands that developed, mainly because everyone was playing so well. I think this year’s final table had the highest quality play in years. Unfortunately Mizrachi couldn’t win the title, ultimately finishing in 5th place. Nonetheless, he has the series of a lifetime and his success will surely go down in poker history.
As for the WSOPC in Biloxi, the tournament itself wasn’t too exciting. T.J. Cloutier was there and cashed in 18th place. The final table was also pretty wild. We went from nine-handed play to heads-up in 90 minutes, but then variance caught up and the final two players played back and forth for five hours. Ultimately the winner was Travis Lutes, who took home $95,253 and locked up a spot in the Circuit National Championship $1 Million Freeroll which will take place at Caesars sometime in May.
During Day 2 of the tournament, action ended early and we were able to watch the live feed of the WSOP Main Event heads-up match between Jonathan Duhamel and John Racener. I personally want Racener to win, but he started with a 6-1 chip disadvantage so we knew his chances weren’t great. Regardless, it was fun watching it with Doft and WhoJedi while enjoying a few drinks. Our cocktail waitress, named Blair and in my opinion the cutest server working at the IP, brought WhoJedi and I a steady flow of drinks. Her southern accent kept us amused as did her outfit, or lack thereof. Pretty soon we were feeling good and decided to play a little roulette. I rarely play anything in the pit, but we both managed to win a little.
Before I forget to say it, congratulations to Jonathan Duhamel on becoming the first Canadian to win the WSOP Main Event. This can only be good for poker and although I’ve never met him, I hear Duhamel is a really nice guy and will be a great ambassador to the game. I’m sure I’ll get the chance to write some things about him over the course of the next few weeks. Speaking of which, I have articles posted daily over at PokerNews.com, so check them out and let me know what you think.
As I write this, I have a day to spend in Biloxi playing poker before I fly out to Los Angeles for the NAPT event at the Bike Casino. I’ve never been to L.A. before and am looking forward to the trip. Unfortunately, I’m not going to have much time to see the sights. I might wake up extra early and pay a visit to Hollywood Boulevard though. I know if I don’t that I’ll regret it later. I’ll be sure to blog from L.A. about any and all exploits, and I guarantee there will be some.
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Tags: wsop, biloxi
Nov
1
by Chad Holloway
This past summer I worked free lance as a poker reporter/blogger for PokerNews at the 2010 World Series of Poker. I must have done a decent job because I was recently offered, and accepted, a position with PokerNews as a senior writer. This means I write articles on a daily basis for PokerNews.com and also travel to various locations and do some reporting assignments. In fact, I leave in a few days for the WSOP-Circuit event in Biloxi, Mississippi followed by a trip to L.A. for the N.A.P.T. event at the Bike Casino. I’ve never been to L.A., so I’m really looking forward to that.
I know I’ve mentioned the 2010 ESPN Fantasy Poker League and I’ve finally written an article about it. The article should appear in the December issue of Poker Pro Magazine, so please check it out. However, I do want to let you know how things turned out. If you recall, this year’s draft featured twelve participants including Daniel Negreanu, Eric Baldwin, Andrew Feldman, Gary Wise, Howard Lederer, Lance Bradley, Dennis Phillips, Bernard Lee, Mark Seif, Gavin Smith, Chops from WickedChopsPoker, and myself.
Here are how the teams shaped up with each individual player’s point total in parentheses:
Chops: Phil Ivey (63), Carlos Mortenson (69), David Benyamine (2), Faraz Jaka (59), Brock Parker (61), Abe Moussari (64), Thomas Marchese (53), Josh Arieh (3)
Negreanu: Daniel Negreanu (31), Scotty Nguyen (16), David Chiu (134), Justin Smith (22), Todd Brunson (25), Freddy Deeb/Steve Billirakis (97), Brett Richey (16), John Monnette (16)
Feldman: Jason Mercier (30), Bertrand Grospellier (17), Chau Giang (17), Scott Seiver (45), David Pham (0), Alexander Kostritsyn (96), David Sands (51), Ryan D’Angelo/Vladimir Shchemelev (35)
Wise: Allen Cunningham (2), Daniel Alaei (162), Andy Bloch (19), Eli Elezra (11), Isaac Haxton (21), Tom Schneider (7), Nick Schulman (46), Vitaly Lunkin (16)
Lederer: Barry Greenstein (11), John Juanda (223), Robert Mizrachi (125), Chad Brown (40), Matt Glantz (65), Amnon Filippi (6), Ralph Perry (0), Thor Hansen (0)
Phillips: Erick Lindgren (28), Jeffrey Lisandro (41), JC Tran (16), David Singer (15), Brandon Cantu (11), Greg Mueller (8), John Phan (1), Nam Le (14)
Seif: Tom Dwan (97), Phil Galfond (2), Ted Forrest (8), Doyle Brunson (0), Jennifer Harman (102), Johnny Chan (2), Mark Seif/Greg Raymer (3), Eric Froelich (2)
Bradley: Erik Seidel (85), Howard Lederer (0), Chris Bjorin (6), Yevgeniy Timoshenko (6), Patrik Antonius/David Baker (132), Kenny Tran (0), Andrew Litchenberger (0), Dan Kelly (117)
Lee: Chris Ferguson (12), Michael Binger (11), Paul Wasicka (1), Eric Baldwin (29), Max Pescatori (11), Dwyte Pilgrim (32), Roland De Wolfe (0), Jonathan Little (46)
Baldwin: Scott Clements (25), Matt Hawrilenko (0), Justin Bonomo (17), James Mackey (0), Shannon Shorr (13), Justin Young (10), James Van Alstyne (8), Michael Katz (1)
Smith: Huck Seed (14), Gavin Smith (80), Jeff Madsen (9), Steve Sung (0), Bryan Devonshire (2), David Oppenheim (76), Chris Bell (70), Vivek Rajkumar (19)
Holloway (Team Poker Pro): Phil Hellmuth (56), Sorel Mizzi (36), Mike Matusow (9), Annette Obrestad (13), David Williams (6), Jason Somerville (149), Phil Laak/Michael Mizrachi (91 + Main Event), Amit Makhija (50)
If you do the math, you will discover that I managed to take the whole thing down. Here are the official results:
Final Standings
1st- Chad Holloway: 576*
2nd- Howard Lederer: 470
3rd- Priess Chops: 374
4th- Daniel Negreanu: 357
5th- Lance Bradley: 346
6th- Andrew Feldman: 291
7th- Gary Wise: 284
8th- Gavin Smith: 270
9th- Mark Seif: 216
10th- Bernard Lee: 142
11th- Dennis Phillips: 134
12th- Eric Baldwin: 74
*Includes Main Event points up until November Nine, but will earn more based upon Mizrachi’s finish at the final table.
It was really exciting to win this league. I’ve long prided myself on my Fantasy Poker knowledge and this gave me the reassurance and credibility I needed. I just wish I would have taken some of the other player’s offer to bet at the beginning of the year. I can’t get into specifics, but many of the participants were making bets in the five figures! Oh well, I’ll just have to be content with the sweet taste of victory.