All Posts Tagged: Industry Insider

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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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 adieu, I present to you The Niners.

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In the past when we've done a feature interview with a high-stakes player we run the entire transcript here in the blog. Because this one is Phil Ivey we did you one better and videotaped the entire interview for you to watch.

This is 13 minutes of pure and uncut Ivey and it's worth watching. Ivey is one bad dude and anything he says is worth listening to. This is our very own Martin Derbyshire kicking it with Ivey and talking about a ton of different stuff.

Ivey opens up and has a frank discussion which is great to see. There are some epic quotes in there so check out the video below. Click through here for the feature news story.

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

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The E:60 Episode featuring Phil Ivey aired on ESPN and we've got it right here for you to watch.

The media attention is really ramping up with the November Nine final table just a few days away and this is a great addition to the array of Ivey-oriented content on offer.

And goddam is Ivey a baller. ESPN gets access that is unheard of in the poker media. On the jet, in the suite, at the high-stakes pit games. Check this video out. You won't be disappointed.



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21 years old and already a successful online pro, Joe Cada has a chance at becoming the youngest Main Event winner this weekend in Las Vegas.

He's got 13,215,000, good for fifth in chips, and with blinds of 120k/240k when the November Nine return he'll have a bit of room to maneuver.

Cada has stacked over half a million dollars in tournament earnings but describes himself as a cash game player.

His biggest MTT result was almost $150,000 courtesy of taking down the $750k guarantee on Full Tilt.

He's won some money before but we'll see how comfortable he is in front of the TV cameras with millions of dollars on the line.

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One of the most well known of the 2009 November Nine, Jeff Shulman has one distinct advantage over the other eight players: This is his second time at the final table of a WSOP Main Event.

This year Shulman enters the finale fourth in chips but back in the year 2000 he held a commanding lead over the rest of the table, which included one Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.

One bad beat set the stage for Shulman's elimination in seventh and paved the way for Jesus to become a world champion.

Now, just nine years later, Shulman has another chance at winning the biggest tournament in poker.

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The 2009 WSOP Main Event final table is less than a week away and before we do the deed we wanted to get you in the mood with a fresh series of profiles. The first choice was obvious: Phil Ivey.

Unlike the vast majority of the poker world Phil Ivey didn't have to make the November Nine to get a spot in the limelight. The limelight follows Ivey wherever he goes.

Entering the final table seventh in chips with 9.765 million he's got his work cut out for him.

Ivey is a mythical figure that walks among us. Even before this year's World Series of Poker, he was regarded by most as the best all-around player in the game.

He crushes online. He crushes live. He treats tournaments, cash games, prop bets and high stakes pit games as his personal ATM.

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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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With the final table of the main event of the WSOP coming up, I wanted to make a prediction. My prediction is not about who is going to win, but about who I think is going to make a run at the win.

I'm predicting James Akenhead to go on a rush, early, and finish in the top 4, possibly even win it. I had the chance of playing against James in the WSOPE main event for a ton of hours, and let me tell you, the kid's game is SOLID.

Also, he's a super nice guy, and I would like for him to take that shortstack and run it up.

As for an update on me, I played the 5k at Caesars a few days ago, and that obviously didn't go so well. Played pretty well, just had aces cracked twice for big pots near the end of day 1 to bust.

I played on Stars a ton in the last week, making the final two tables of seven online MTTs with zero final tables. 11th, 13th, 14th, 13th, 13th, 14th, and 18th, UGH, it hurts so bad.

I'm going to play MTTs on Stars all day today, and then tomorrow I'm off to Foxwoods to play the last prelim (5k) and the main event.

I will probably be going home after that and then heading to Portugal for the next EPT.

Big Sunday coming up, then my WPT title. One time?

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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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78% of people who filled out an online poll on www.wsop.com believe Phil Ivey will win the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

This confirms to us that people are generally dumb and that online polls are in no way accurate.

Ivey is the greatest, no question, but he's still fallible and it's not like he's won every final table he's ever been at.

Lest we forget, he made seven WPT final tables before winning his eighth. There are only six players at WPT final tables.

The funny thing is, part of me can't argue with backing Ivey in something as big as the Main Event. This is the biggest opportunity in Phil Ivey's life and he has a way of pulling it out when he needs to.

Anyway, the rest of the November Nine can't be too happy seeing how low they're rated by the public (or at least that part of the public that votes in online polls about poker).

Here's how the rest stack up.

- Phil Ivey 78.05%

- Darvin Moon 6.57%

- Jeff Shulman 5.62%

- Eric Buchman 2.34%

- Joe Cada 2.18%

- James Akenhead 2.1%

- Antoine Saout 1.11 %

- Steven Begleiter 1.1%

- Kevin Schaffel 0.75%

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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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ESPN's Inside Deal is running through the November Nine crew, well, the ones wearing PokerStars patches. This week they have Kevin Schaffel and we've got it embedded right here for you to watch.

Like we've said before, Inside Deal is doing a good job of legitimizing the poker news show format. They have a real set, real hosts and they cover pretty much everything of note, at least topically.

What's not so great are the intros. I know they're just supposed to be fun, quick little gags but for the most part they come off pretty labored.

In today's Laura Lane has her hands tied behind her back so that's something at least.

Watch the video below and tell us what you think in the comment section at the bottom.



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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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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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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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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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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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