The Poker Reporter Blog

Last week it was Eric Cartman singing Lady Gaga's Poker Face, but this time it's someone so much better.

On BBC 1's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Christopher Walken did a dramatic reading of the pop hit. Second to only Morgan Freeman in the talking game, Walken is simply brilliant.

We're hoping this sparks a new fad of great actors doing dramatic readings of crappy pop music lyrics.

Kenneth Branagh doing Flo Rida's Low? Ian McKellen reading Soldia Boy?

So, check it out below in all its glory and tell us how much you like Christopher Walken in the comment section below.



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It's November 1st and we've got the inside dirt on everything you might have missed this week. We do our best to report on every little thing but, sadly, a few things always slip through undetected.

Luckily for you we take the time to recap it all. Go there now!

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Life, like many things, has both a start and an end.

From our first breath to our last we're destined to play out the stories of our lives. Each one of us has a different story and we each live with varying degrees of uncertainty about what will happen next.

Our lives are like books. Each day is like a page and tells our story. Stories unravel in numerous ways and sometimes we neglect to question ourselves about how we are viewing it.

Ask yourself, objectively, who are you in the story of your life?

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It used to be Mad Magazine, but in the modern era it's South Park: The thing you have to get on to be considered truly big-time.

This week Lady Gaga's song was sung by Cartman, meaning Lady Gaga is now a legitimate star. We assume she's planning some sort of party to commemorate the occasion right now.

We'd also like to stress that we don't condone Cartman's attitude towards the noble cetacean.

Without further ado, here is Cartman singing Poker Face.



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It seems like Ohio is a dangerous place to play live poker, giving us yet another reason why online poker is just plain better.

Another stick-up job went down in Solon, Ohio on Monday, adding to the already long list of poker-related crimes in the state of Ohio. The criminals, armed with assault rifles, relieved the players in this game of around $11,000, their wallets and their pants (?).

Players in the game seem to be blaming the host, since he advertised the game on the internet. We can only assume he was hoping for more poker players and not the gun-wielding criminals who showed up.

The full story with quotes from one of the players can be found here on Cleveland.com

The player who is quoted in the story was actually present at another armed robbery last April, when seven bandits, again with the assault rifles, took off with $75k of private cash game money.

This latest robbery came just two weeks after a man was shot in a Toledo bar, apparently over a dispute relating to a poker game. This was the second shooting in this bar in a week so it's probably not poker's fault.

That story's here on the FOX Toledo website.

Anyway, to make a long story short, if you live in Ohio PLAY POKER ONLINE. The perks include not getting robbed at gunpoint, not getting shot, and being able to play in your underwear.

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We've seen people playing poker underwater, but we've never seen pirates playing poker underwater before. This past weekend that's exactly what happened at the Key Largo Pirates Fest.

Apparently someone has organized a festival to give people with the uncontrollable urge to dress like a pirate an opportunity to do so in a looting- and pillaging-free setting.

We're not sure about the authenticity of this festival given that one of the activities was underwater poker, assisted by scuba gear for all participating pirates.

Pirates were a gambling group of people but as far as we know they didn't have poker back in the pirate days, or scuba gear for that matter.

At any rate, here's a video of them playing. Kind of gives a new meaning to the old saying, "If you can't spot the fish at the table in the first ten minutes …"



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2M2MM is over, done, kaput. The season finale just went up and we've got it embedded here for you to watch.

All in all the season did not suck. It managed to hold our attention for ten episodes and it succeeded in giving the audience a look at what's possible playing high-stakes online poker.

We're not going to preview the finale for you here so just surf on down the page and see it for yourself.

We're interested in what you thought of the show as a whole, and the future of reality poker TV, so drop it in the comment section below.

If you're on the main blog page click through to the post page to see the embedded video.

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Before the first hand of the EPT Warsaw High Rollers event had been dealt every player in the field was high-fiving each other patting each other on the back, since they had all made the final table.

Sure there were only eight people in the event, the exact number of seats at the final table on the EPT, but who are we to rain on their parade?

Making the final table is a big accomplishment, regardless of how many players enter. To your right is Sami Kelopuro at his most excited, stoked about making a real live EPT final table. This is the happiest we've seen him in years.

Dario Minieri, Florian Langmann, Gianni Giaroni, Illia Kainov, Michael Lundell, Oleh Okhotskyi, David Steicke and the aforementioned Kelopuro were the only ones to drop the €13,000 to get a seat.

The action just got going in this event and it's scheduled for three days of play which is probably a bit generous. We're not sure how long it's actually going take but check back here on the blog for more updates.

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While the PokerListings reporting machine is busy in Las Vegas right now with WPT's Festa al Lago, a main event has begun on the EPT in Warsaw.

This is one of the non-televised stops on the PokerStars European Poker Tour, and generally a smaller tournament compared to the more central destinations.

Our friends at the PokerStars Blog are doing a valiant job covering the action so if you're dying for live coverage check them out here.

The Bottom Line

- Total field of 203

- 148 remain going into Day 2

- €358,644 for the winner

- €1,145,826 total prize pool

- Carter Phillips is chip leader

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Frequent player points are a great way to promote extended play; the more you play, the more you earn.

And with your FPPs you can get everything from TVs to cameras to cars to poker clothing (Please don't).

But even though the loyalty programs have gotten better, there are some things you're just never going to be allowed to buy.

But hey, we can still dream can't we?

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Ask nine out of ten children what they want in life and they're going to say a slide in their living rooms. The sad thing is that 8.9 out of ten kids' dreams of slides go unfulfilled. Phil Galfond has given hope to children worldwide, however, by installing a slide in his living room.

Maybe his parents used to tell him that the house wasn't a jungle gym and he vowed to prove them wrong. Maybe he needed an escape route from the bedroom and the stairs just didn't cut it.

Whatever the motivation, the result is sheer awesomeness. Some people might argue the aesthetics of having a giant metal tube coming through the ceiling into your living room but I say to them, "Shut up."

Galfond is finally doing something worthwhile with his poker winnings. Watches and cars are all well and good but nothing says, "I've got too much money," like a giant slide built into your living room.

Check out Galfond's blog for a couple more pics of his condo.

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October 15 is Blog Action Day, the day when the otherwise ineffectual and self-centered blogging world is directed towards something worthwhile.

The issue is climate change and if you read this blog you're probably already part of the solution, whether you realize it or not.

By playing online poker you are literally saving the world. There, I said it. So go ahead and contact all those people in your life that said you'd never amount to anything and that playing online poker was a waste of your life.

I might be a little narrow in my definition of saving the world but as a blogger on the internet I feel I'm entitled to a certain amount of creative license.

The fact that you have to play poker is a given, there's no changing that. So, you're presented with two options: Drive to your local casino and use up a bunch of gas in the process, or sit on your couch and play on your computer.

If you chose the latter I applaud your good judgment and hearty social conscience! So the next time someone brings up Al Gore and An Inconvenient Truth, just tell them you play online poker.

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2M2MM is back with another episode and it's a good one if you like poker.

While it still falls short of catering perfectly to the online degenerate it spends a ton more time focusing on the play than any other episode so far.

It's also the first episode where the $2 million goal seems like it might have been, at some point at least, attainable.

Krantz goes on a big downswing and the crew locks themselves in the war room for 36 hours to try to get something going.

You'll have to watch to find out for yourself but suffice to say, they get something going.

If you're on the main blog page right now click through to the post page to watch the vids.

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Another week has elapsed and another handful of poker happenings has slipped through our fingers. We reported so much! We don't know how it could have happened. Luckily we've got them right here for you. Go there now.

• Richard from PokerTube did this long interview with Phil Ivey during the WSOPE. They talk about a bunch of stuff including the much talked about hand years ago against Paul Jackson at the Monte Carlo Million.
  
  Go here for that.
  

• If you want to see what it's like at the final table of the Sunday Million, check out PokerStars.tv's recap of yesterday's. No big names that I know but plenty of big money.
  
  Check it out here.

• 2p2 thread saying Erica Schoenberg and David Benyamine are no longer together. If there's one place you can go for truth and credibility it's internet forums.

  2p2 picked it up from a rumor printed on PokerNews. If there are any confirmations out there leave it in the comments below.

  Check out the thread here.

• Wicked Chops applies the Q Score concept to poker players, putting together a top ten based on things like familiarity and likeability. Not too many surprises on the names at the top of the list but worth a look.

  Check it out here.

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The new episode is up and it's another solid 20 minutes of the 2M2MM crew nerding it up and trying in vain to get a little closer to their $2 million goal for the summer.

Some things we already knew were hammered home in this episode. Emil is a big nerd for Star Wars, Brian is pretty much the whitest guy on the face of the earth and just because you make millions playing poker doesn't mean you've got game with the ladies.

We're always skeptical about poker shows but we're enjoying this one.

Watch the episode below to see what we're talking about. If you're on the main blog page click through to the post page for the vid.



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The WSOPE just ended and EPT London is up and running. Basically a ton of stuff has happened in the last week and even though most of it got special attention somewhere on PokerListings, a few things slipped through the cracks.

Go there now.

• Someone from a site called TheNutz.TV taped a video of the WSOP Main Event heads-up match between Daniel Negreanu and Barry Shulman.

  It's funny because we had our computers set up literally right beside the guy filming this video at the WSOPE and we thought he worked for Betfair. Not sure if you're allowed to film this since it's an ESPN event but maybe it's all legit.

  Anyway, there are a couple of crazy hands and with a casino full of drunk British people it's pretty hype.

  Click through here to watch it.

• The Washington Post did a full piece on Darvin Moon, chip leader at this year's WSOP Main Event final table. It should be interesting to see Moon in November and this article goes into some detail on his personality. Complete with quotes from Bluff's Lance Bradley!

  Click here to check it out.

• Famous footballer Teddy Sheringham cashed in the WSOPE Main Event and is featured in this article from the Sun. Also mentioned is Daniel Negreanu's prop bet with Liverpool goaltender Jose Reina. Five shots and Daniel only has to make one for £12,000.

  Click through for that.

• Matt Glantz won the £20,000 High Rollers event at EPT London and we found the blog he writes. He recaps the final table in detail with some narrative and commentary thrown in.

  Click here to go there.

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It appears nosebleed-stakes loudmouth Luke "__FullFlush1__" Schwartz is on the outs with the Grosvenor Casinos again, following a rather unsightly incident at PokerStars EPT London.

The durrrr-obsessed Brit told PokerListings last week he had been banned from Grosvenor's flagship property The Vic after refusing to take his hat off inside the casino.

After well-known London bookmaker Eddie Hearn vouched for Schwartz, the ban was lifted, allowing him to hit the felt at the London Metropole for EPT London, being run by staff at the Vic.

However, moments after busting out on Day 2, Schwartz reportedly refused to pay for a pickle and cheese sandwich at the food stand outside the tournament area, angrily claiming he was a VIP and should be treated as such.

He walked off with the sandwich, security was called and after a bit of arguing back and forth, an unrepentant Schwartz was banned from Grosvenor Casinos across the UK once again.

Word is he will also be given a warning from PokerStars and the EPT.

It's time to lock your doors America! With FullFlush losing options for high-stakes tournament action in Europe, he could be headed across the pond.

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Every year since its inception the EPT London main event has been at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino, "The Vic". This year it's been moved a few blocks down Edgware road to the Hilton Metropole hotel and we've got to say, it was a good decision.

As you can see from the photo above there's plenty of room for the 400+ players at the felt on this Day 1b.

While this room is big and airy the Vic was small and cloistered. The media room was miles away from the tournament area but even worse, the players in the tournament just didn't have enough room to feel comfortable.

When a tournament table broke, instead of giving players a bit more room, they would immediately fill it with a cash game.

It's indicative of most casinos in Europe, the size that is. North Americans who have been to Vegas or Foxwoods are used to a sprawling metropolis of a casino but out here there just isn't enough space.

The Hilton will do the job and since we'll be here reporting on EPT London for the next week we're glad for it.

Click through to check out all the live coverage.

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Downswings are depressing.

On a downswing people associate more negative value to bad outcomes than positive value to good outcomes. This imbalance gradually shifts overall disposition.

Every lost race goes from a 50/50 coin flip to a personal attack from the universe. Often the "universe" takes a more tangible form. You blame the dealer or become convinced the site hit the doom switch against you.

The best medicine to combat this imbalance is self-awareness. We must be cognizant of our own reactions to absolutely everything. As fast as one hand is over, two new cards come our way.

Lingering pessimism will affect current and future hands. Negativity leads to scared or reckless play; both poor options. The tilting is rooted in the initial imbalance of (supposed) objectivity.

Overlooking objectivity is the reason tilt is often so long lasting. Recalibrating the scale, with continuous effort, will yield better short and long-term results at (and away from) the poker table.

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The PokerStars EPT London High Roller Event started today and even though we weren't doing full live updates we stopped by on a break from the WSOPE Main Event to see what was shaking.

They got almost 80 players which is pretty impressive when you consider it cost £20,000 for each and every seat. A bunch of big names were in but there were three that stood out.

In the photo above we see Andrew Feldman and Tom Dwan who happened to be sitting at adjacent tables today. These two players have something in common. Both have been singled out in the rants of Luke "__FullFlush__" Schwartz.

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In the last week PokerListings has posted a combined total of 39 news articles, blog entries and strategy pieces but still, somehow, a few things managed to slip through the cracks. I blame the economy. Go there now.

• It seems like even when Phil Hellmuth has nothing to do with something he still does his best to be the center of attention. In addition to coaching Jeff Shulman for the upcoming November Nine Main Event finale he was on the Hardcore Sports Radio show saying some not so nice stuff about Harrah's and their plans to enter the world of online poker.
  
  You can stream the show by finding it on the HCS site or download it directly by following this link.

• Patrik Antonius did an awesome interview with Inside Poker where he pretty much tells it like it is. Well, he tells it like he thinks it is at least. The highlight has to be his burning desire to break Mark Vos's nose.
  
  Check that out right here.
  
  
• If you like baller shit (who doesn't?) check out this piece from the Las Vegas Sun on the most ballingest suites in Vegas. Of course we've partied in them all but it might be interesting for you. *
  
  Check that out here.
  
  *So not true it makes me want to cry.
• It was Annette_15's birthday this week and she celebrated here in London with the Betfair Poker crew. Lee Jones was in on the action and wrote a blog post about it on the Cake Poker Blog.
  
  Obviously expensive food and exclusive spots so check it out here.

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We do a ton of interviews for stories here on PL.com but every once in a while there's just too much good stuff to fit into the feature. In those cases we think it's only fair to give you a look at the full and unabridged interview.

That's exactly what we've done here.

What follows is the transcript from an interview done by our News Editor Martin Derbyshire with Andrew Feldman at the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe.

If time and/or patience is an issue for you check out the feature news story here.

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Variance. As poker players we deal with it regularly.

The impact of any card can be favorable or hit us like a devastating blow. It is a powerful force and it lasts a long time, especially when we lose.

Some people control anger internally; others explode externally with verbal and physical releases. It's a matter of demeanor and circumstance. Anger management is as varying as the people who use it.

Common to most, however, is that devastating losses (from a statistical anomaly) are far more memorable in the long run than several positive outcomes which are statistically "expected." Poker is the perfect example to illustrate this.

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Here at PokerListings.com we've always got an eye open and an ear to the ground for what's happening in the poker world and beyond. Sometimes a few things slip through the cracks and don't get their own posts. Get off our case, we were busy. Go there now.

• If you're like us and can't get enough Phil Ivey content this story from Barry Greenstein is a must-listen. He tells a story about Phil, Barry and John Hennigan betting big money at Shadow Creek and answers the question, "Why is Phil Ivey special?" This comes to us from his audio blog on PokerRoad.com.
  
  
• The new Inside Deal is up on ESPN. This week they've got Daniel Negreanu and Michael Binger on the show. Check it out for a topical round-up of everything that's gone down this week in the poker world.
  
  
• We found this awesomely translated article on Dutch high-stakes player "Icallsowhat". Some highlights include:
  
  "Now may the tax be comfortable, because of a bald chicken you can not pick." and "Jin did not panic when jars of tens of thousands of dollars suddenly to his nose and his final pass rapidly dwindling."
  
  
• The 2009 World Series of Poker Europe presented by Betfair is underway with the final table of Event 1 playing out tomorrow. PL.com is on the scene and we'll be shipping full coverage of it all. Follow the final table here and keep an eye on the WSOPE page for everything else.
  
  
• Big ups to our strategy writer who had his biggest week playing cash. Check out the graph and some thoughts from Dan in his blog here.

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This week's episode of 2M2MM is online on the blog and definitely worth a watch. Hands down, my favorite episode yet.

When it comes to poker, the boys are not having the summer they had hoped. Before this episode started the crew was up only $160k, and things do not start out well in episode 5.

After getting into a somewhat heated argument with Dani, Jay goes on life tilt and decides he needs to get out of dodge for some homecooked comfort like only your mother can provide.

When at home, he promises to buy his mom front-row tickets to see Barry Manilow if they hit their $2mil target before playing from his old room with his brother sweating.

In an effort to change up the dynamic of the house, the rest of the boys get talked into going out on a triple date with Brian and his lady. Not only do Amil and Dani find dates at the Playboy club for the next day, but the date ends with the girls back at the house behind closed doors.

Even though they might not be running so well in poker, the boys still managed to get lucky in Vegas.

The Penalty stunt this week has all the potential in the world to be an awkward painful experience for all involved, but you're going to have to watch the show to see how it all turns out.

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