PokerListings Blog

James over at CodingtheWheel.com has written two really fantastic posts on how to use color coding on Full Tilt to revolutionize your table selection.

As James says in the first blog, "What's arguably the single biggest deficiency of the losing poker player at any limit? Poor table/game selection."

This solution helps you identify at a glance the quality of players on Full Tilt tables.

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Judging by these two videos having only 330, and 100 views at the time of writing this, none of you have ever witnessed the glory of Phil Galfond's acting debut.

According to Galfond, these videos were made to help a friend of his out with her film project.

According to me, they're goddamn hilarious.

The only question I have is this: how is it possible for these to have been kept a secret for over two years?

Without further ado, I give you the first of two short films: Mark and Amy.

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Joe Cada's been putting in work with the mainstream media appearances. Most recently he showed up on CNN's American Morning.

It's a big step up from what we've seen from WSOP Main Event champions before and whatever you may think of Joe Cada's victory it's good to see him doing so much since.

Letterman, CNBC, WWE Raw and now the most trusted name in news: CNN.

Check out the clip below and let us know what you think of Cada in the comments below.

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As we reported a few days ago current youngest-ever WSOP Main Event winner Joe Cada was on David Letterman last night.

As far as we're concerned this falls squarely into the "Good for Poker" category. Just talking about the main event and how much money is up for grabs in the mainstream media is a great thing.

Cada managed to pull off his four minutes without using any made up words and on the whole came off as a relatively responsible poker professional.

Check out the clip here while it's still available on Youtube. We'll try to find a version that won't be taken down but unfortunately the rest of world can't watch the official video on CBS.com.

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The main geezers from PokerRoad, Joe Sebok and Scott Huff, have gotten themselves a for-real TV show on Fox Sports and it airs tonight at 11 p.m.

We've been fans of their radio shows since the start, and we've even been on them a few times, so we're happy they're bringing their own special brand of idiocy to the television box.

Sponsored by UB, Poker2Nite is an entertainment/news format show that will cover everything that's going down in the poker world.

Poker news shows are notoriously difficult to make interesting, even to poker nerds, so we're interested to see what the PokerRoad guys have up their sleeves.

Tune in to Fox Sports tonight and tell us what you think in the comments below.

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It's common knowledge that Hollywood celebrities play poker. What isn't so commonly known is that many of them have Twitter accounts where they tweet about it all.

We've put together a handy list of the biggest and best actors, musicians and Hollywood personalities that play poker and have Twitter accounts.

This list, and others, can be found by following PokerListings.com on Twitter.

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It's only been a week since Joe Cada became the youngest player ever to win the WSOP Main Event and already he's doing more than some have done in an entire year of being champ.

Cada made a brief appearance at the announcer's table on WWE Raw last night and he's rumored to be showing up on David Letterman tonight.

Cada's a clean cut kid and it can't hurt to see someone like that promoting the game on a big-time TV show like Letterman.

The episode airs at 11:35 p.m. on CBS so check it out to see Cada in action.

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PokerListings touched down in Lake Tahoe yesterday for the World Series of Poker Circuit main event that starts tomorrow.

Since getting here we haven't spent a whole lot of time in the casino. Given what's right outside that shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

We understand that not everyone in the poker world likes going outside, however, and we think Tahoe might be just the place for them.

The photo above was taken from my hotel room, you can even see me in the window's reflection.

That means if you're an online player with a serious aversion to fresh air and normal human activity, you'll still have a chance at seeing some sights.

The WSOP Circuit $5k starts tomorrow at noon and you can follow all the action by checking out our Live Coverage page.

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In case you haven't noticed, Twitter has added a new "list" feature that they proudly describe as "a great new way to organize the people you follow and discover new and interesting accounts."

And really, how can anyone argue with Twitter? With the way they've expanded it's hard to criticize anything they decide is a good idea.

So to help quench your thirst for poker pro info, we've kicked things off with the first of what will be many lists.

In case you haven't seen them before Twitter Lists are essentially a custom made filter that puts a bunch of Tweeters together on one page. It's just that simple.

Our first list combines the awesome power of the world's most famous live poker pros who have Twitter accounts.

You can find it at: http://twitter.com/#/list/_PokerListings_/poker-pros

If you're not already following PokerListings.com on Twitter you can do so here.

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Just 72 hours after the conclusion of this year's WSOP Main Event final table WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced his resignation.

It came as a bit of a surprise but by all accounts there are no nefarious secrets behind this situation.

While Pollack's resignation is probably more interesting to people in the media and the industry, fans of the WSOP should recognize that Pollack has played a big part in the improvements we've seen at the Series over the last few years.

The November Nine concept and huge increases in the player fields and prize pools are two of the most visible results of Pollack's tenure as WSOP Commish.

Pollack had a vlog on RawVegas.tv so it's only fitting that he sat down with them to talk about it all.

We've got the three-part video interview embedded right here for you to watch so check it out.

For parts 2 and 3 make sure you're on the post page!

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I don't play too many tournaments but it's British Columbia Poker Championship time again and I'm gonna play all three events.

I showed up for the $500 event on Thursday to find bracelet winner and River Rock regular Robert Cheung and three other solid regulars I recognized at my table.

It was pretty shitty/surprising to get such a bad table draw in such a small tournament. But hey such is life I guess.

Not much too talk about, I busted half way through Day 1. I was pretty card dead all day which seems standard in live tournaments as far as I can tell.

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Its official just like a referee whistle:

Tom "durrrr" Dwan has personally confirmed that he has indeed started a poker blog.

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Joe Cada's win at the 2009 WSOP Main Event has had time to sink in and we're ready to bring you the heads-up installment of our November Nine photo blog.

Taking photos is my favorite part of the job and that goes double for the Main Event. This year our hats are off to the WSOP staff for making it so easy to get great pictures of all the action.

We were all over that stage and we have the photos to prove it. Here's a visual account of the heads-up match with a few words for context. But don't worry; you won't have to do much reading.

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My father once taught me a very important lesson: Always use the proper tool for the job.

If playing online poker is your job, or even your hobby, you're going to want the right PC.

The first thing to know is that you don't have to buy the most expensive computer and accessories to get what you need. You just need to know what you're looking for.

If you do it right, getting the optimal grinder's PC won't actually cost you all that much.

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Even without the four-month break, this year's Main Event final table would have been one of the most talked about in history.

The reason behind that is obvious: Phil Ivey.

In the last two years Phil Ivey has been elevated from regular poker player to this mythical creature whose exploits don't even seem real.

When he made the final table it was guaranteed to be huge. But with the ESPN hype machine working 24/7 during the four-month break, this final table was the most anticipated ever.

Those extra months allowed Ivey and all the November Niners to do interviews and remind people to tune in and watch the WSOP final table.

All the lead up means more viewers. The numbers aren't in yet but it has to be the most watched WSOP final table in history and as far as I'm concerned the more people watching poker the better.

Even without Phil Ivey there were some great story lines at the table. You had the disgruntled Jeff Shulman claiming he would throw the bracelet away should he win. You had the logger from Maryland who ran hotter than the sun in Darvin Moon. Then you had Joe Cada, who could eclipse Peter Eastgate as the youngest Main Event champion ever.

And that's just the short list. The rest of the players all had stories of their own and they could all play poker, so it wasn't surprising that they gave us a great final table.

Some WSOP ME Final Table Highlights:

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Poker and The Simpsons: two of the greatest things to come out of modern civilization.

While some bloggers might spend their time doing things like raising awareness for the world's social problems we prefer to look at all the times our favorite game has been showcased on our favorite TV show.

Everyone has priorities.

Over the years there have been a ton of poker scenes in The Simpsons. Whether it's Homer's deficient intelligence or Fat Tony's unabashed dishonesty, poker has made some of the most hilarious Simpsons moments possible.

Here are our favorites.

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Well it's been a long time coming in my poker career, but I've finally made my first televised final table!

I'm really excited but am trying to stay focused on the goal. No matter how much money is on the line this is just like any tournament I play: I came to win.

It's a huge deal to make it this far but there's still a big difference between the $166k I'm currently guaranteed and the $910k first place prize.

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Skill and luck play parts in any poker tournament victory. It's just that sometimes one seems a lot more important than the other.

That was the case at the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event as both Darvin Moon and Joe Cada were bailed out repeatedly by the generosity of Lady Luck.

We're not here to make judgment calls on how these two played but one thing is for sure, a few big bad beats stand out in the minds of those that watched the playdown yesterday.

And so, we bring you the four biggest suckouts that helped pave the way to the heads-up match for Darvin Moon and Joe Cada. These weren't the only ones at the final table, but they were the most memorable.

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As you're (hopefully) aware the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event went from nine players to two yesterday in a long-winded 17-hour session.

We were there for every second of it, camera in hand, and we managed to get some good shots of the action.

Instead of making you sort through them all to find the best ones we're going to put them all in one place. Luckily for you that place is right here.

Welcome to the first installment of the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table photo blog.

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Today is Day 4 of the WPT Main Event at Foxwoods. There are 27 players left, I'm 12th in chips right now, with just below average stack.

Today we are supposedly playing down to 10 players, and then day 5 we will play from 10 players to 6 for the TV final table. I am hoping to make my first WPT final table, and hopefully get my first WPT win.

If I am able to pull this one off, I will become the third player to win the triple crown (WSOP bracelet, EPT title, WPT title), and also the first player to ever win a quadruple crown (WSOP bracelet, EPT title, WPT title, and online series title).

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The poker world just had a knife plunged into its heart and that knife came in the form of a bad beat laid on Phil Ivey at the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Ivey was the fan favorite, the best player not only at this table but at any table anywhere where poker is played.

We wanted him to win the Main Event and, chances are if you're reading this, you did too.

It wasn't to be however. He played well and despite losing a few key pots he put himself in a great spot to make a run at the title.

In the end he went out like so many of us have, holding the best hand and watching helplessly as the dealer laid his demise down on the felt.

A-K for Ivey against Darvin Moon's A-Q. A queen on the flop and it was all over.

Ivey gets seventh place and $1.4 million and change but the poker world gets nothing but a pervading sense of disappointment.

Ivey, our hats are off to you. You're still the man. Even if we now know for sure that you're mortal.

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There are plenty of poker pros in the seats at the 2009 WSOP Main Event but the only real celebrity we've seen is Ja Rule, and he's here to support Phil Ivey.

Other players might have gangloads of supporters cheering every time they're in a pot but Ivey has Ja Rule.

We're big fans of the lifestyle Ja Rule portrays in his videos. Jet skis, amazingly beautiful women, popping bottles of expensive drink, all good things.

We think Ivey's down with that stuff too so it's no wonder these two hit it off. Anyway, one thing's for sure, if Ivey wins and Ja Rule's still around it's going to be a sick afterparty.

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Anyway, onto some predictions and opinions about the November Nine ... bear in mind that I haven't watched all of the available ESPN footage, so I may be missing some info about players' tendencies and capabilities.

First, I don't think Phil Ivey has nearly as good of a shot as most people seem to think (since 90% of people seem to be sure he'll win it seems).

Yes, Ivey is at least one of the best, and probably the best player in the entire world. He's clearly the best player at the final table. But with blinds soon going to 150/300k (40k) and the average stack at nearly 22 million, Phil only has 9.8 million.

He's not in panic mode or desperately shortstacked, but he doesn't have as much room to maneuver as he'd like to.

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Despite the fact that I've played played 4,327,981 tournaments at Foxwoods and cashed in exactly one, I decided to make the trek across country to grind out one more stupid donkament.

After my run in such a tough field at Bellagio and being so close to my first WPT main event final table that I could taste it, I just couldn't talk myself out of playing one of the softest WPT events of the season.

The structure of the event is pretty good when it matters, even though it's a bit fast early on. We start with 30k chips at 50/100 and it's 200/400 (50) by level four, but they don't skip the 2400, 5k, or 10k big blind levels.

My table draw for day one wasn't exactly what I was hoping for in a Foxwoods tournament. It would be a great draw at Bellagio, don't get me wrong, but the field is a LOT different here.

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With one World Series (baseball) drawing to a close and the final table of another (poker) set to kick off Friday, we thought we'd bring you a not-so-useful cross-genre analogy just for shits and giggles.

Welcome to the first ever World Series of Poker November Nine baseball team.

Players: The nine dudes at the final table, silly.
Manager: Me
Team Name: The Niners

Although this blog may not have any value or pertinent relevance, at the very least let it be an exercise in thinking outside of the (batter's) box. B'doom ching!

So as GM of this unique squad it is my duty to delegate positional defense as well as arrange the most effective offensive line up. The assignment is as challenging as it is pointless. I look forward to it.

So without further ado, I present to you The Niners.

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