May
19
by Jake
Poker professional Phil “The Unabomber” Laak is looking to set a new world record for the most hours of poker played in a single sitting.
Taking place at the luxurious Bellagio Poker Room in Las Vegas, starting on June 2, Laak will be looking to break the world record of 78 straight hours of playing poker which was set by Paul Zimbler in the fall of 2009.
Laak will be using the record-breaking attempt to raise money for charity. Camp Sunshine, an organization that provides respite, support, joy and hope to children with life-threatening illnesses and their immediate families through various stages of a child's illness, will be the beneficiary.
Phil Laak is an internationally recognized poker pro, known for his iconic look at the poker table where he wears sunglasses and a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head. He is also a regular on televised poker shows like Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker. His animated personality, banter at the tables and interest in participating in sometimes bizarre propositional bets have also contributed to his renown.
"I have played many enduro sessions of poker, but never anything of this magnitude,” stated Laak. “I know this will test my limits but I love a good challenge and am excited to be trying to beat this record in Vegas’ top poker room."
The AAA Five Diamond award-winning Bellagio will play host to the record-breaking challenge as well as the World Poker Tour’s Bellagio Cup in late June.
Doug Dalton, Director of Poker Operations at Bellagio, said, "We are always thrilled to be a part of history and we believe Phil can break the world record. He is a great customer and friend of ours and the Bellagio Poker Room staff wishes him the best in his efforts."
Follow Phil Laak before, during and after his poker endurance challenge on Twitter at http://twitter.com/realphillaak.
For a sneak peak of what you can expect will happen to the Unabomber, see the Youtube video of Paul Zimbler after playing more than 78 hours of poker last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkgACB7RFi8
Mar
4
by Chad Holloway
The NBC National Heads-up Championship line-up was recently released. I always get excited for this tournament. Not only does it attract some of the best in the business, but it provides a great Fantasy Poker opportunity. Like March Madness, this tournament format allows Fantasy Poker players to fill out a bracket and compete against other players. It is fun and easy to do and seems to give me a rooting interest in the outcome. The official match-ups aren’t revealed until the day before at the official draw party, so you won’t be able to fill out the brackets until then. If you’re looking for a printable, blank bracket, I recommend doing a quick internet search.
So what do I think of this year’s line-up? Well of course there are the usual suspects, those who qualify for the tournament each and every year. These include the past winners (Ted Forrest, Phil Hellmuth, Paul Wasicka, Chris Ferguson and Huck Seed), the past two year’s runner-ups (Vanessa Rousso and Andy Bloch), the recent WSOP Main Event winners (Greg Raymer, Joseph Hachem, Jamie Gold, Jerry Yang, Peter Eastgate, and Joe Cada), and the last WSOP Main Event runner-up (Darvin Moon). It should be fun to see how Cada and Moon fair after their epic WSOP heads-up battle.
I am pretty excited about some of the other players who managed to qualify based on their performances at the WSOP and other tournaments around the world. These include Phil Ivey, Sam Farha, Brock Parker, Greg Mueller, Leo Wolpert, Peiter de Korver, Eric Baldwin, and Jason Mercier. Both Baldwin and Mercier are coming off stellar years and I have a feeling that at least one of these two will go deep in the event.
I was shocked that a couple invitees have declined to participate including the reigning WSOP Player of the Year, Jeffrey Lisandro, and WSOP-Europe winner, Barry Shulman. Both would have needed to fork over the $20,000 buy-in (all players do except the internet qualifiers), but it’s still hard to imagine that they’d pass on such a great opportunity. The selection committee did a good job on extending invites to both Annette Obrestad, the 2007 WSOP-Europe champion and recent 21 year-old, and Kara Scott, the new High Stakes Poker host. Likewise, both Jesper Hougaard and John Paul Kelly, both winners of a WSOP and a WSOPE bracelet in a single calendar year (2008 and 2009), are competing and should give the European fans someone to root for. Speaking of which, I’ve been waiting for years to see Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott and Tony G compete in the tournament (selection committee get on that).
The celebrities are great but not too exciting since they’ve all been there before (Don Cheadle, Orel Hershiser, and Gabe Kaplan); however, it should be exciting to see Jennifer Tilly back in the poker saddle. I’m also not sure about having seven internet qualifiers. Sure, it’s nice to give them a chance, but it’d be kind of boring if two unknowns make it to the final round.
The following players competed in 2009 but weren’t invited back for 2010: Layne Flack, Chad Brown, Scott Fischman, Ivan Demidov, David Pham, John Phan, Kenny Tran, Jonathan Little, Glen Chorny, Brad Garrett, Gavin Griffin, Vanessa Selbst, David Benyamine, Clonie Gowen, J.C. Tran, and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies. I don’t see any names on here that are particularily surprising. I could see both Sahamies and Benyamine getting spots, but I guess they’ll have to wait until next year.
So who are my picks? Its hard to say since the brackets haven’t been announced yet, but I think that Baldwin and Mercier are safe bets. I’m also thinking Gus Hansen will find success this year; however, I think the man to take it down will be none other than the Unabomber himself, Phil Laak. Sure, I might be biased since I write for his blog, but aside from that I think his recent result speak for themselves. He kicked ass in the Premier League heats and the World Open V. I have a feeling he is going to carry that momentum into this event.
The NBC Heads-up Championship takes place March 4-7 at Caesars Palace. The tournament itself will air on NBC in the spring. I’ll be sure to blog about the tournament’s happenings, so check back here for updates. The complete list of participants, in alphabetical order, is found below:
Patrik Antonius, Eric Baldwin, Andy Bloch, Doyle Brunson, Joe Cada, Johnny Chan, Don Cheadle, Allen Cunningham, Pieter de Korver, Annie Duke, Tom Dwan, Peter Eastgate, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Sam Farha, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Jamie Gold, Phil Gordon, Barry Greenstein, Bertrand Grospellier, Joe Hachem, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth, Orel Hershiser, Jesper Hougaard, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Gabe Kaplan, John Paul Kelly, Phil Laak, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Jason Mercier, Dario Minieri, Chris Moneymaker, Darvin Moon, Greg Mueller, Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, Annette Obrestad, Brock Parker, Dennis Phillips, Greg Raymer, Vanessa Rousso, Kara Scott, Huck Seed, Erik Seidel, Mike Sexton, Gavin Smith, Jennifer Tilly, Paul Wasicka, David Williams, Leo Wolpert, and Jerry Yang.
Mar
2
by Chad Holloway
Wow, Phil is kicking ass in the Premier League. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a twelve person tournament ($100,000 buy-in) where each player plays four times at an eight handed table and points are awarded based upon performance. The Unabomber has won his first two heats and has basically clinched a spot at the final table. For more updates check out Phil’s blogs (he’s got some great photos).
Another thing that got me really excited about the Premier League was the fact that Daniel Negreanu put a Fantasy Poker spin on it. Negreanu has long been a pioneer in the Fantasy Poker world, so it was no surprise when he and Roland De Wolfe both decided to do a fantasy draft for some extra cash. As Negreanu stated in his blog:
“Before we even got started I ran into Roland de Wolfe who is always up for a bit of gambling action and we decided to do a draft for the tournament. He won the toss and got to choose if he went first or second. It was a snake draft so 1st pick meant you'd also end up with pick #12 as well. He smartly gave me first pick.”
Their draft went as follows:
1. Evgeny Timoshenko (Negreanu)
2. J.C Tran (Roland)
3. Daniel Negreanu (Roland)
4. Tony G. (Negreanu)
5. Luke Schwartz (Negreanu)
6. Roland de Wolfe (Roland)
7. Vanessa Rousso (Roland)
8. Phil Laak (Negreanu)
9. Ian Fraser (Neagreanu)
10. David Benyamine (Roland)
11. Phil Hellmuth (Roland)
12. Online Qualifer (Negreanu)
Whoever’s team earns the most points will win the bet. Negreanu also made a comment on choosing Laak: “I thought Phil Laak was a bit of a steal at #8, because again, this format suits him well and he's done well in these types of events before.” Obviously he was right because Phil is tearing it up. This is especially cool considering the UnaBomber was an alternate selection after “Texas Dolly” Doyle Brunson had to drop out.
I wish I had known about the Premier League a few weeks earlier and I’m sure I would have done a little draft like this myself. On the bright side, it just goes to show you how popular Fantasy Poker is getting and how a league or draft can spring up around any event. I wonder if Phil will be able to keep up his success this summer at the World Series of Poker. I’d like to see him become a major player in the Fantasy Poker realm, or better yet, see him take home his first bracelet. I guess only time will tell, but until then, let’s hope he brings Unabomber Poker a Premier League title.
Feb
9
by Chad Holloway
Sometimes the answer to tilt is a little Call of Duty.
I’ve made preparations to attend the World Series of Poker circuit event in Council Bluffs, Iowa that runs from February 18 thru March 2, 2010. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play the duration; in fact, I can only manage to go for a few days. I will be there from Feb. 24-26, which isn’t ideal but will still allow me to get some lucrative cash game action in. I will also play their Event #17, a $345 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. tournament. I’m long overdue for a poker excursion and I’ve always enjoyed the circuit events. I’m hoping to have some UnaBomber Poker gear or patches to wear by that time as well.
Poker on TV has been keeping me entertained recently. A couple weeks back I watched Phil claim victory on Poker After Dark by outlasting Annette Obrestad, Mike Matusow, Erick Lindgren, and Phil Hellmuth. Laak also defeated Antonio Esfandiari heads-up for the $120k. which was entertaining to say the least. Speaking of entertaining, watching the two of them heckle Hellmuth as he blinded himself away was priceless. Congrats to Phil on that win. ESPN has also started to air the WSOP-Europe Main Event. I haven’t watched it yet, but it’s waiting for me on my DVR.
In other poker news, I’ve been on a bad run in recent weeks. This isn’t due so much to bad cards, but to my bad play. I’ve been struggling with two major problems: bankroll management and tilt. I’ve been risking way too much money every time I play and can’t seem to walk away when things aren’t going my way. Top this off with some really bad steaming and it makes for a dangerous situation. I’m going to try righting the ship by tightening my game and finding outlets for my tilt other than trying to make things happen. I know how important it is for successful poker players to exhibit control, over themselves and their bankroll, but this is proving easier said than done. It is something I know I need to work on and I’m making it a priority.
I hate to overlap on a topic that Phil talks about often, but I started playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (COD 2) and it is fantastic. I started off terribly but after a few hours I started getting back into the swing of things (I used to play the first one) and quickly rose through the ranks. I haven’t played online with Phil yet, but I should get his gamer-tag . . . for some reason I think that’d be a wicked good time.
My next blog will focus on some more WSOP Fantasy Poker stats. More specifically, I will reveal the top ten six-handed hold’em tournament players; as well as, the top ten Deuce-to-Seven tournament fantasy studs. These lists ought to help you if you’re planning on playing in a Fantasy Poker league this year, so check back for those.