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Phil Ivey Busts WSOP Main Event Final Table

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:33:07 +0100

#fullimg: pic_34619.jpg#

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.

-- Matthew Showell

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Ja Rule is Phil Ivey's Homey

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:27:55 +0100

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.

-- Matthew Showell

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Matt Stout's November Nine Predictions

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:08:40 +0100

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.

But I have to imagine that most players won't want to tangle with Phil until play gets shorthanded and they need to, so he may have an opportunity to pick up a lot of pots based on his image especially in the early stages.

I actually had the opportunity to chat with Phil (sick brag, I know) about the November 9 while we were at the same table deep in Festa al Lago last week. Phil said that he puts his odds to win at 9:1.

That's basically like saying that his chances are as good as if he had a slightly below average stack and all players had an equal skill level.

In a way, it's like saying he's automatically doubled up because he's that much better than the table. I'm not big on betting, but this or 8:1 sounds about right. If he manages to chip up a good amount his chances will definitely be great, but he's going to need to get some chips early if he's going to run the table.

The only player at the table who I think has a better shot at winning than Phil at this point is Eric Buchman.

He's a fellow AC player and Borgata regular, but the reason I give him a better chance is that he has ~35 million, putting him in 2nd overall and over 100 big blinds.

He's also a regular in the big mixed cash games at Borgata, which means that he'll probably be slightly more comfortable than the rest with the high pressure, big money situation.

Although he doesn't play many tournaments, he already had nearly $1 million in lifetime earnings before making the final table. While many of his cashes are in Stud and Omaha games, he has a 2nd place finish in the 2007 WSOP Circuit event at Harrah's in Atlantic City and won the $2,500 New England Poker Classic for $275k in 2004.

He's a well rounded player with a lot of experience and a lot of chips.

The person whose chances of winning I think are underrated the most is Joe Cada. He's the second best NL tournament player at the table after Ivey in my opinion.

He's on the shorter side with ~13 million chips right now but has probably played more NL tournaments than anyone else at the table because of his online volume. I'll definitely take him as my sleeper pick to take it down.

I'm sure a lot of people are wondering why I haven't mentioned Darvin Moon. Although he has a boatload of chips at a whopping ~59 million, he seems to play pretty tight and is clearly the most inexperienced player at the table.

Yang won because he ran the table over and ran well while doing so. Unless Darvin is getting some good training for shorthanded final table play, it's going to take a serious rush of cards for him to finish first instead of just the top four.

I'd also mention that I think James Akenhead is an exceptional player, but is even more shortstacked than Ivey at less than 7 million. If he had over 20 million he'd probably be my pick to take it down.

Obviously this is a NL tournament and anything can happen, so everyone at that final table has a chance to take it down. I don't mean to take anything away from the other players at the table by not mentioning them, because they all deserve praise just for making it to the final table of one of the biggest tournaments of all time.

I wish them all luck and will be sweating the action from my phone while I play day three of the Foxwoods WPT event!

Matt Stout

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WPT Foxwoods Main Event Day 1 and 2

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:57:20 +0100

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.

Here's the lineup...

Seat 1 "Miami John" Cernuto/random

Seat 2 Curt Kohlberg

Seat 3 random satelliter/random young kid w lots of chips

Seat 4 Festively Plump Stoner

Seat 5 Adam "Roothlus" Levy

Seat 6 random satelliter/Chad "lilholdem954" Batista

Seat 7 Gordon Eng

Seat 8 "DontBluffMePLZZZ"

Seat 9 Scott "dorinvandy" Dorin (WCOOP $10k winner)

I got up to 35k early when I flopped an ace holding A K against Seat 3's K K, but spent a while slipping afterwards while I couldn't get much going. I slipped down to 20k through a series of second-best hands, which is what I started the last level of the day with (300/600).

During that level I finally started to get it going and picking up a bunch of pots.

Then Seat 3 minraised UTG and flatted my 3.6k three-bet from UTG+1. He overbet jammed nearly 30k on a Q 8 3 flop holding A Q, and I happily accommodated his desire to play a huge pot with my A A.

My chanting for a Queen failed, and I doubled up to ~65k to end day one headed to the 400/800 level.

I was pretty happy when I saw my day two table draw, except for Poorya "isuckoutonyou" Nazari (2009 PCA winner) being directly on my left. He's a really nice guy who I've become buddies with, but is also a sicko LAG player who I really didn't want to have position on me.

Little did I know, it wouldn't be him that would be screwing with me at the table. A kid named Matthew Milliken was two seats to my left and wanted to play every pot I entered ... even though I was opening fairly infrequently.

After watching him try to run people over for hours, it made it pretty easy to four-bet jam A Q on him about 50 big blinds deep. A tougher spot came up when I had the exact same hand about 80 big blinds deep against him a level later, and I ended up flatting the three-bet and check-shoving on a A 9 3 flop.

Milliken: I only bet because I thought I had the K with it.

Me: So you're trying to pretend you had a big hand? What...K T?

::he continues to pretend he's not completely full of it::

Eventually they made the table a bit worse by adding Chris Moore three seats to my left and Kathy Liebert to my right. Kathy didn't give me much trouble...except for the part of me that loves occasional silence!

We ended up making a fun prop bet though...Foxwoods puts out miniature (key word!) sandwiches in the afternoon for the players since there's no dinner break. I grabbed one of each; tuna, turkey, and ham.

Upon arriving back at the table, Kathy did her normal job of breaking my balls, and bet me that I couldn't finish all three sandwiches before she busted (she had ~25 big blinds). She started the bidding at $1 but I talked her up to $20, which was obviously mine.

Bet a fat man he can't eat three miniature sandwiches? What a fish!!!

It did lead to some interesting situations though...like when someone put her all in and I had to start hounding down that ham and cheese! She folded though, giving me more time to eat and take her money.

Chris played pretty well, but I run too good. He raise-folded on the flop when I had a set of sixes on a A 6 3 in a multi-way raised pot, even though he had almost half of his stack in the pot.

I ended up busting him when my A Q made a full house against his 7 7 after we got it in pre-flop for his last 40k.

I finished the day with 174k going to 1200/2400 (300). The average stack is 156k, 36 places pay, and first place is $910k. It looks like I have a pretty good table draw for tomorrow as well, with Lee Markholt somehow being the only player at the table whose name I recognize.

Hopefully I can find my big jar of rungoodsauce for tomorrow...

Matt Stout

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The Niners: A New MLB Franchise

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:43:15 +0100

#fullimg: pic_34544.jpg# 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.

Batter #1 (Leadoff hitter): Joe Cada

The leadoff hitter needs to be the catalyst for the team's offense. His job is to get into the action anyway he can whether by drawing free cards (walks) or making solid contact hits on the flop.

The leadoff is an aggressive player who steals a lot of pots and puts himself into scoring position with crafty moves like well timed check-raises. He makes life hell for the pitcher and all others who act before him.

The leadoff hitter has the highest on-base average on the team. The kids these days call it being loose-aggressive.

Leading off for The Niners is quick and aggressive short-stop Joe Cada.

Batter #2: Darvin Moon

This player needs to advance the leadoff hitter along the base path and therefore must have the highest hitting percentage on your team.

Based on the way he got to the spot he's in now, is there anyone else hitting at a higher rate than Darvin Moon? There most certainly is not.

No matter what the board throws out there, Darvin Moon's got a piece of it. As GM of this team you can rest assured that big first-baseman Darvin Moon is hitting in the 2-spot.

Batter #3: Eric Buchman

A batter hitting third in your lineup needs to hit for both power and consistency. This player isn't afraid to raise the stakes and go big but has the patience for small ball when the flop is scary or he senses strength in his opponent.

This player is rarely walked because he is followed by the cleanup hitter. This mixture of being devalued yet respected manifests itself as quiet confidence.

Hitting third for The Niners is crafty third-baseman Eric Buchman.

Batter #4: (Cleanup hitter): Phil Ivey

This is a no brainer. The cleanup hitter needs to have the power to clear the base paths and drive home all runners. He is a player who is feared by opponents and subsequently gets a lot of walks and free rides.

People are often afraid to make a mistake against the cleanup hitter and instead opt to get out of his way.

The center fielder and clean-up hitter for The Niners is Phil Ivey. LDO

Batter #5: Jeff Shulman

In an ideal world the 5th hitter should instill as much fear in opponents as the cleanup man. If players think they can give the cleanup a free pass for a chance at the 5 hitter they will.

This creates a problem. The 5 hitter needs history and credentials.

In the 5-spot, seasoned veteran and resident second-baseman Jeff Shulman.

Batter #6: Antoine Saout

Essentially the bottom half of the order mirrors the top with a speedy and efficient 6, a high percentage 7, reliable and versatile 8 and the pitcher or remaining player in 9.

Fitting the bill for speedy and aggressive we have the young import left-fielder Antoine Saout. He had some rough weeks in spring training learning to play ball with his hands rather than his feet but the adjustment period has long since passed.

This Frenchman is a cerebral player and a quick learner.

Left Fielder Antoine Saout will bat sixth for The Niners.

Batter #7: Kevin Schaffel

Given his recent second-place finish at the WPT Legends of Poker, Kevin Schaffel is definitely hitting in this spot for any team I'm managing.

He's proving that his skills in the clutch are no fluke. Kevin has the potential to cement his legacy as Mr. November.

Time will tell. As the oldest member of the nine, Kevin brings experience and saavy to a team that will soon share a spotlight larger than most could ever dream of.

His veteran leadership will pay dividends, let's just hope he can call the game from behind the plate and that his half-century old knees hold up for the remainder of the playoffs.

Based on all this I'm slotting Kevin Schaffel into the 7-spot on the scorecard.

Batter #8: Steven Begleiter

If not for a lack of room up front Steven Begleiter definitely would be hitting higher in this line-up.

His recent performances and his understanding of statistics and trends are major additions to the team. His recent top 10 finish at the Legends shows that his game is still sharp.

He mixes up his game well and keeps opponents on edge.

Right fielder Steven Begleiter hits 8th for The Niners

Batter #9: James Akenhead

It's not that his hands aren't good (or that he doesn't play them well) it's simply that he's still not accustomed to the rules. That is why offensively he is batting last.

Defensively, however, his running side-spin one-hopper bowling/pitching style brought over from his cricket years in England is virtually unhittable for North American batters. He's our "Ace in the hole" if you will.

The ninth batter for The Niners is team pitcher/bowler James Akenhead.

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WPT Foxwoods Main Event Day 1

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:49:34 +0100

Yesterday was Day 1 of the WPT Foxwoods Main Event. I finished the day well above average stack with 84,750 chips. The average is around 51k.

I had a fairly interesting table draw, with Kathy Liebert, who I really enjoyed talking to all day. She was very entertaining and funny.

She even made a bet against the guy next to her who was saying that Miami John is a really good player. She took me vs Miami John, but only if one of us wins the tournament. Obviously, I would be the favorite in this bet.

I think she was also really impressed with the way I played, as I pretty much played perfect all day. Not to mention the fact, I called her hand about 5 times.

I just looked at my table draw for day 2 and it seems to be a fairly tough one. I have Adam Levy, Tommy Vedes, John Hennigan, and Isaac Baron all at my table, who are all pretty solid players from what I've seen.

Isaac is the only one with position on me and I have the whole table covered, so it's not a terrible draw.

Hopefully I can get off to a good start and make my first day 3 on the WPT, then day 4, 5, final table, shippage. WPT title yesssir! You can follow my personal updates on either my twitter page or on www.jasonmercier.com

-- Jason Mercier

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Phil Ivey Full Video Interview

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:59:59 +0100

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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November Nine Profile: Darvin Moon

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:04:01 +0100

Darvin Moon is a man of few words. If he was writing this article it's likely that's where it would end.

He absolutely bulldozed the playdown to the final table back in July, building an enormous chip lead he'll carry into the final table.

58,930,000 represents about 30 per cent of the chips in play and they're all sitting on the patch of felt in front of the logger from Maryland.

Considering Eric Buchman is second with just 34.8 million, Moon has a distinct advantage in the chip department.

Despite his commanding lead few people see Darvin Moon winning this tournament. Moon himself, funnily enough, can be counted among the skeptics.

Just watch the Main Event broadcast and you'll see Moon wasn't exaggerating when he said he got hit with the deck. Moon ran like God and he's the first one to admit it.

The other players at the table must see a target when they look at him but Moon says he doesn't feel a whole lot of pressure to win. He feels lucky to have made it this far and he'll only feel luckier if he goes all the way.

Simple could describe Moon, but not with the connotations you might be imagining. Moon is a blue-collar man who owns and operates a logging business on the East Coast and, according to him, that's exactly what he'll remain whether he wins the Main Event or not.

It's very questionable what kind of ambassador he would make for the game, should he end up winning. He won't be putting much of the money back into poker and he won't be doing a lot of traveling to grow the game.

In fact, he's still not accepting any sponsorship or wearing any patches at the final table.

On the flip side Darvin Moon is an everyman and if he can win the Main Event, with Phil Ivey at the table no less, anyone can.

Maybe we'll see a massive influx of self-employed loggers taking up the game.

Whatever the end result, just making the final nine has wildly exceeded his expectations. We'll have to wait for Saturday to see how it's all going to shake out.

Check out the video we did with Darvin Moon back in Las Vegas and follow all the action with our live Ccoverage of the 2009 ((WSOP)) Main Event final table, starting this Saturday at noon.

More 2009 WSOP Main Event final table profiles

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Watch Phil Ivey on ESPN E:60

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:32:58 +0100

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.

-- Matthew Showell

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How to Mod Your Full Tilt Poker Client

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:31:14 +0100

#fullimg: matrix-table_34500.jpg# All true geeks of the world share an understanding of one very important principal: no matter what it is, it's always better after it's been modded, customized and hacked.

Being a true geek, I've come to the conclusion that using the standard images and sounds that ship with the standard Full Tilt client just won't do.

The beauty of modding your Full Tilt client is that it's actually very simple and will only take as much time as you're willing to put into it.

The first thing to understand is this is 100% legal. Full Tilt ships its software with its sounds and images unprotected and easily accessible. Only you can see the changes you make and it does not affect the game play in any way.

The First Step

Regardless of which way you choose to mod your client, the first step is the same. The golden rule for modding or hacking is universal: back up everything before you do anything.

The only folder you're going to be working with is the Graphics folder found in the Full Tilt program folder. On most computers the Full Tilt program folder can be found here:

C:\Program Files\Full Tilt Poker\Graphics

Copy this folder to someplace safe, like your desktop. This way if anything goes wrong, or you just want to revert back to normal, you can simply copy the folder back (or if all else fails, re-install the program to reset to default).

Copying Folders

There are hundreds of people out there who have modded their clients long before you ever thought about it.

Many of these people will offer up their mods for free or for a fee, depending on how nice they are. You can find these mods in most poker forums. Just search Google to find something like this:

ftp_racetrack_dark.zip || Mirror

All you have to do is copy their folders over your own, re-start your client and you're up and running. Simple as that.

Self-Installing Mods

Some of the more tech-savvy modders out there have created a self-install program for their mods.

These are identical to the previous example, only instead of you having to click and drag folders into the correct spots, you just hit install and it does it for you.

Other than that, there are no differences between a self install and simply having someone send you a ZIP of all the files and folders.

Do It Yourself

The true geek always wants something original, something personal. Even if it sucks, it's just something you can look at and say "I did that."

For that reason, I'm going to show you how to mod the bejesus out of Full Tilt by yourself.

Everything You See Can Be Modded

You can change just about anything you see.

The more you want to change, the more time you're going to have to spend. But to make a really slick custom experience, it only takes a few hours (assuming you're decent with Photoshop).

I'll show you some of the changes I've made and how to make them. To make more, just browse through the Graphics folder and see what you recognize and would like to change.

The Log In

The first screen you see when you start up Full Tilt is the Log-In screen (unless you have it automatically log you in). This is the first screen I've made changes on. The default screen looks like this:

Since that's not very much fun, I made just a few changes:

The biggest change is turning Patrik Antonius into Mr. Burns. To do this browse to:

C:\Program Files\Full Tilt Poker\Graphics\Log-In\Pro-Antonius.png

In there you'll see the photo of Antonius. You want to open that photo and replace Patrik with Mr. Burns (Or whatever you'd like to put there. Other options I considered included: Megan Fox, Foghorn Leghorn and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man).

When editing photos you need to make sure you do not alter the actual photo size, properties or format.

The simplest way to make sure you don't do this is to open the Antonius photo in Photoshop and create a new layer. Put what you want over top of Antonius and then hide the Antonius layer:

Save the photo over top of the old one (you've backed up the original right?) and you've finished your first mod.

As you can see I changed the Full Tilt logo to my own PokerListings logo and I've changed the Chris Ferguson video intro to Stewie.

These two mods will appear in the client lobby as well. You can find the files here:

Logo: C:\Program Files\Full Tilt Poker\Graphics\Logo\Logo.png

Video Cover: C:\Program Files\Full Tilt Poker\Graphics\MIA\Content\start_plate.jpg

Creating Custom Avatars

If you have avatars enabled, this can be one of the most fun things to mod. Here's an example of a Brian avatar I made for myself.

The first thing to note about creating a custom avatar on Full Tilt is that you will be the only user who can see it. The rest of the world will see the stock avatar your custom one is replacing.

To edit an avatar, simply head to this folder:

C:\Program Files\Full Tilt Poker\Graphics\Table\Avatars\Public

In this folder you will see 72 numbered folders. Each folder contains four images which make up each avatar's various moods.

To find your avatar to change, open the public.png picture located at the bottom of the folder.

Find your avatar and count how many places your avatar is from the left. Since the folders start at 0, if your avatar is the 15th from the left, you'll find its images in folder #14.

Open that folder and edit the image 0.png in Photoshop. Change it to whatever you would like, then save your new avatar over the old one.

You will only have your custom avatar for the one "neutral" mood unless you copy your avatar (or a separate version of the avatar) over the remaining .png images in that folder.

You can see your newly edited avatar in the avatar selection list in the Full Tilt Client.

Creating Custom Tables

Modding the log-in screen is fun, but the actual tables are where you spend 99% of your time with the client. This is where you want to spend the majority of your time modding.

Modding the table isn't quite as easy as the other items, but it's not altogether difficult either. The first thing you need to know is that there are two different types of tables on Full Tilt: Classic and RaceTrack.

Most serious poker players use the RaceTrack tables. These tables give maximum area to the playing field, instead of avatars and graphics. But it's up to you to choose which one you like best and mod accordingly.

Tables are made out of multiple parts. There's a background, table, cards, chips, pods (where your username and info is) and other random pieces. You can change as many or as few of these elements as you like.

Before we get into actually modding the tables, there is one more important thing to know. The background and the table are separate files. Each table has its own unique background, while all tables share the same table image.

While the background images are simple JPEG images, the table image is an .SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic). To edit an .SVG you need vector graphic editing software, such as Adobe Illustrator.

In my opinion editing this is far too much work and is too limiting to be worthwhile. Instead of editing this table, replace the table file with a blank/transparent one.

This will leave all tables in the client "table less," with the chips and cards floating in space. This also allows you to add a custom table directly into the background image, giving you the freedom to mod your table separately for each background.

The Table.svg file can be found here:

C:\Program Files\Full Tilt Poker\Graphics\NewTable\RaceTrack\Backgrounds\Table.svg

If you would like to use a blank table, download the file below by right-clicking and choosing "save file as" or "save link as" and replace the Table.svg on your local disk.

Table.svg || Mirror

Now, it's time to create your own backgrounds. When doing this you need to decide what's more important: a cool looking table or a simple, easy-to-use table.

Most people who mod their tables do it to make things as simple as possible. The less distracting your tables are, the less likely you are to make a mistake while multi-tabling 16 tables.

Here are two tables I made for this example. I literally only spent five minutes on each one, as they are only made for this blog (so no need to point out flaws in the comments).

Download the Matrix table

Download the Stay Positive table

How to Install your Background into the Client

You have two options for adding your new table background into the client. The easy way is to open up any Table.jpg file found in any of the folders here:

C:\Program Files\Full Tilt Poker\Graphics\NewTable\RaceTrack\Backgrounds

Edit the file and save over the original. This will replace the table for whichever folder you opened.

If you saved over the Table.jpg file in the Green Carpet folder, when you choose Green Carpet as your table in the client, you will see your new table instead.

The true geek way to do it is to create your own folder for each background you create and add those folders into the table selection list in the client.

Steps to Adding your Folders

1. Create a folder in the backgrounds parent and name it something fitting.

2. Copy a Table.jpg file from any other folder into your new folder.

3. Edit that Table.jpg file however you want (remember to include a picture of a table if you used the blank vector graphic)

4. Save your edited picture

5. Open Backgrounds.ini in Notepad

The Backgrounds.ini file can be found here:

C:\Program Files\Full Tilt Poker\Graphics\NewTable\RaceTrack\Backgrounds\Backgrounds.ini

To open this file in Notepad, right click on the file and choose "Open With." Click on notepad.

You need to replace the default folders in the list and below with your own. Since the default backgrounds no longer have an actual table, you can simply remove them from the list.

Since I created two custom tables, I have both of mine in my list. Your file should look like this (with your folder names in place of mine "StayPos" and "Matrix".

----------------------------------------------------------------

[Backgrounds]

Sys1="StayPos"

Sys2="Matrix"

Sys3="Final"

[StayPos]

MenuName="Stay Positive"

Folder="Stay Pos"

FinalOnly=0

[Matrix]

MenuName="Matrix"

Folder="Matrix"

FinalOnly=0

[Final]

MenuName="Final Table"

Folder="FinalTable"

FinalOnly=1

-----------------------------------------------------------------

You need to make sure that your backgrounds are all above "Final". And all of your tables have FinalOnly=1 as their bottom line. The one background with FinalOnly=1 is the table used for Multi Table Tournament final tables.

You can only have one final table background, and it has to be last in your list. I left mine as I found it.

6. Open Layout.xml in Notepad.

Layout.xml can be found here:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Full Tilt Poker\Graphics\NewTable\RaceTrack\Layout.xml

This folder is filled with settings and information. Be careful not to mess around with anything in here unless you know what you're doing.

Hit Ctrl-F and enter "Marble" into the search box. It should find the word and highlight it here (I've highlighted the section we're going to edit in yellow):

Read through the first line until you get to Red Carpet. This you need to change to the name of the folder you used as the first line in the Backgrounds.ini list.

Change that, and change the id="" to the name used for the id in the Backgrounds.ini (it should be the same as the folder).

If you have multiple backgrounds, continue to edit lines below the first in the correct order. Once you have all your folders names added, you need to remove all lines between your folders and the line with the id="Final Table".

When you're done your file should look like this (only with your folder names in place of mine):

Hit save and you're done. Now start (or re-start) your Full Tilt Client.

When you first open a table the tables might be all white and messed up. Just right-click and choose the name of the background you would like to use.

Once you do that, you're done.

Browse around and make any more changes you like. If you have any questions, post them in the comments box below.

-Lind

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November Nine Profile: Joe Cada

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:59:27 +0100

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.

By all accounts Cada is a competitive but laid back person. He plays soccer and brings the same level of competition to the poker table.

He's said that school didn't hold his attention, and that he attended mainly to placate his mom. If his moderate success in the poker before the Main Event didn't do the trick, the millions of dollars he's going to take home this weekend might.

Cada was signed to the ever-growing ranks of Team PokerStars Pro and has been at a few majors wearing the Stars patch. The Main Event and two other cashes this past WSOP, however, still form the totality of his live resume.

We managed to catch Joe for a few minutes back when first made the November Nine, so take a sec and check out the video below.

If you're a Joe Cada fan you can follow his final table progress by checking out our Live WSOP Main Event coverage. We'll be in Las Vegas so you don't have to be. (I mean, why would anyone want to go to Vegas? ;)

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The WSOP Main Event is Big Time

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:47:21 +0100

#fullimg: pic_34536.jpg# We just got the media guide for the 2009 ((WSOP)) Main Event final table from our good friends at the ((World Series of Poker)), and they had an interesting stat buried deep in the 26-page document.

As you can see from the graphic above the winner of the Main Event will receive more than the winners of the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, the US Open of golf and the US Open of tennis combined.

Including the ninth-place money paid out to all the final table players, and the interest the remainder has accrued since July, there's an astounding $27,220,989 in prize money on the table.

Of course, there's one major difference between poker and those other sports. Golfers and race car drivers don't put up their own cash to play.

Any way you cut it though, that's a lot of clams.

PokerListings.com is flying down to Vegas in just a few days to bring you all the action live so check out our Live 2009 Main Event final table coverage starting noon November 7th.

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November Nine Profile: Jeff Shulman

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:58:22 +0100

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.

Shulman compares his poker game to the boxing style of Floyd Mayweather, lots of jabs without throwing any wild knockout punches. He would rather wear his opponents down than go for broke.

He's realistic about the state of his game, however, saying it's nowhere near the level it was in 2000.

He also has a healthy level of respect for his opponents. After watching previously unknown players like Kevin Schaffel and Steven Begleiter succeed in other big-buy in events since making the final table, Shulman know it's not going to be an easy road to the bracelet for anyone.

The biggest step Shulman's taken to prepare has been hiring legendary WSOP champion Phil Hellmuth as his personal coach, a move that has sparked much debate in the poker world.

Unlike the rest of the November Nine Shulman opted to lay low in the last four months, choosing his wife and two children over the tournament circuit.

Shulman also has a chance to set an interesting record, should he take down the title. Just a month ago his father Barry Shulman won the WSOP Europe Main Event, which means both titles could be held by a father and son in the same year.

Jeff Shulman has been a fixture in the poker world over the last few decades, making over $1.3 million not including this year's main event. He has the skills and he has the experience. Only time will tell if it will be enough.

Check out the video we shot with him back in Las Vegas below, and tune into our Live 2009 WSOP Coverageon November 7th to see how it all shakes out.

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WSOP Photoshop - Bad Moon Raising

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:09:24 +0100

#fullimg: bad_34535.jpg# Another classic WSOP Photoshop. Darvin Moon and Creedence, a match made in heaven.

The 2009 ((WSOP)) Main Event final table is just days away and PokerListings.com will be in Vegas to bring you all the action live.

Check out our Live 2009 WSOP Coverage starting November 7th to follow it all.

-- Ronnie Schwartz

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What to Buy with WSOP Main Event Moneyz!

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:28:02 +0100

#fullimg: pic_34534.jpg# The players at the final table of the 2009 Main Event have a serious problem: Millions of dollars and nothing to blow it on.

Sure, they'll be in Las Vegas and they could burn it up in a haze of pit games and luxury suites, but they'll want something to remember their extravagance with.

We're going to suggest that they do what we do every time we come into a large sum of money, spend it all in once place!

You've probably been told repeatedly to do exactly the opposite and NOT spend it all in one place but that shit doesn't play in this day and age.

Here's our one-stop shopping list to help the November Nine get rid of those pesky millions.

9th Place - $1.2 Million - The Chopard Super Ice Cube Watch

Who doesn't want a watch worth $1.1 million?

I've always said you aren't a true player until you have at least 66 carats of diamonds on your person. Plus, with the leftover $100k you can hire a team of sharp-shooters to keep an eye on your left wrist.

8th Place - $1.3 Million - Kharma's Grand Enigma Speakers

Have you ever listened to Dark Side of the Moon? Have you ever listened to Dark Side of the Moon on ... $1 million speakers?

If you're saying "But Sean you ass-hat, that's only $1 million, not $1.3," you're forgetting:

Million-dollar speakers are only useful as a coffee table unless you get a turntable, pre-amp, power amp and speaker cables.

$300k should hook you up with a nice Linn or MAC setup.

7th Place - $1.4 Million - Lamborghini Reventon

One of the rarest cars ever, Lamborghini only made 20 hand-numbered Reventons. Since the actual price depends on the Euros to dollars conversion at the time of purchase, the price of this car is listed as anywhere from $1.4 to $1.6 million.

Since only 20 were built, and they were all purchased before they came out of the factory, it's not really a car you can buy. But this ride's just far more fun than the oh-so-common Bugatti Veyron.

Also, since Ivey already owns a Veyron, if he finishes in 7th it just wouldn't make sense for him to buy another.

The Reventon, modeled after the F-22 Raptor fighter jet, rocks a disgusting 650 horsepower powerplant. Best of all, the instrument cluster was clearly stolen out of Night Rider.

6th Place - $1.5 Million - All five of the five most valuable comics of all time

Even non-comic-book fans have probably heard the words "Action Comics #1" spoken in that order. If you haven't you should have since it was the first time the world ever read the name Superman.

Sure you could buy a Picasso, or a Van Gogh, but the only reason to hang art on your walls in the first place is to impress company. The kind of company I want to be hanging out with would be much more impressed with these on my wall.

The framed picture above includes (in order from left to right):

Action Comics #1, 1938 (first appearance of Superman) - $440k

Detective Comics #27, 1939 (first appearance of Batman) - $375k

Marvel Comics #1, 1939 (first appearance of the Human Torch and other heroes) - $330k

Superman #1, 1939 (the first comic dedicated to Superman) - $270k

All American Comics #16, 1940 (first appearance of the Green Lantern) - $160k

5th Place - $1.9 Million - 1977 Learjet 36A

You're not a baller until you own your own jet. Sure this baby's over 30 years old, but it seats six, rocks leather club seating and even includes a built-in Freon air conditioner!

Let's be honest, this is the best damn plane you're going to get for $1.9 million. In fact, the plane itself only costs $1.77 million, but I'm assuming the whole taxes + insurance + jet fuel + getting a pilot part of things will probably run you at least the difference.

In fact, you should probably make it to a couple more Main Event final tables if you want to use this plane more than once.

4th Place - $2.5 Million - A two-month stay in the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa at the Palms Las Vegas

There is no single suite available for rent more baller than the Hugh Hef suite at the Palms. Or if there is, I don't want to know about it. Then again with a price tag of $40,000 per night, this better be the greatest suite ever built.

Some of the features of this include:

Outdoor, cantilevered Playboy Jacuzzi pool with glass end (It literally hangs over the building giving you a sick view of the strip... or vertigo)
Full Bar
Gym with sauna and personal spa
In-suite glass elevator
Rotating bed
Extra-large show tub
Poker table
And a private sunbathing area ... with a bar

If it's good enough for the Hef, it's good enough for me.

NOTE: Playboy Playmates to be shown off in the extra-large show tub cost extra.

3rd Place - $3.4 Million - Military Hovercraft

With this military-built gem you can roll up to your next party with style, or invade a small country.

This hovercraft is currently property of the Sri Lanka Navy, but can be yours for as little as $2.7 million. It has a 65-person capacity with a max speed of 50 knots (57 mph).

Yes, this only costs $2.7 million, but that only leaves you with $700k to hire your 64-man private militia.

Nothing says "let's party!" like a hovercraft spewing 64 armor-clad men with Kalashnikovs!

On the plus side, this baby is pretty much green, burning only 39.5 gallons of fuel per hour. Sure the Reventon was a sick car, but it can't carry your newly hired private militia over a lake now can it?

2nd Place - $5.1 Million - 1 Bedroom Manhattan Condo

At the bargain price of only $4.9 million, you can own this one bedroom, 1.5 bathroom condo in the historic 100-year-old Plaza building overlooking Central Park South.

This condo is a pre-war 1,212 square foot simplex with one of the best views in town and 6-star hotel services and amenities.

A beautiful old condo in the greatest city on earth. What more could you ask for?

1st Place - $8.5 Million -Six-bedroom home in Honolulu Hawaii

I'll tell you what more you could ask for: a ridiculously stunning mansion on one of the greatest beaches in the world, that's what's more.

9,200 square feet, 250-foot driveway, marble floors, pool, spa, built-in wine cooler, 270 degree ocean views and a master bedroom larger than my entire 2-bedroom apartment.

After seeing this place, finishing second to end up in a one-bedroom condo in New York seems almost like a punishment. Honestly, just take a look at that view. Sick.

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November Nine Profile: Steven Begleiter

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:52:29 +0100

Entering the 2009 WSOP November Nine final table third in chips and guaranteed $1.26 million, Steven Begleiter has been forced to take poker a little more seriously than he has in the past.

The Chappaqua, N.Y. native enjoys poker recreationally, mainly on the East Coast, and won his seat to the 2009 WSOP Main Event through an amateur league he plays in with his friends.

Their home games run in unison with the school year, September to June, and a portion of each tournament they play is put towards one $10,000 entry to the World Series Main Event.

His buddies can't be too disappointed that Begleiter is representing them in Vegas, since they all have a piece of his action.

By all accounts Begleiter is a work-hard/play-hard type of person. A former executive at banking investment agency Bear Stearns, he currently works as a Senior Principal for the investment firm Flexpoint Ford in Manhattan.

Clearly this man has a knack for dealing with currency. It seems this skill, for Begleiter at least, is transferable to the felt.

In August he finished 9th at the WPT Legends of Poker Main Event, missing the TV final table by just three spots.

Begleiter found himself seated with fellow November Niners Kevin Schaffel and Joe Cada over the course of Legends, giving him a chance to study up on two of his November opponents.

Both players chuckled when reporters inquired about whether they were able to pick up anything that might help them in November.

He's a family man with a wife and three teenage children with whom he's looking forward to celebrating his WSOP success.

Check out the video below we shot with Begleiter in Las Vegas back in July and make sure to follow Steve Begleiter and the rest of the action with our Live Coverage of the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table.

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November Nine Profile: Kevin Schaffel

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:55:00 +0100

Things have changed for Kevin Schaffel since he made the WSOP 2009 Main Event final table. After a tough start to his pro career almost two years ago he's managed to turn things around in a big way over the last four months.

At the beginning of 2008 Schaffel pulled the plug on his family direct mailing and printing business, turning to poker to pay the bills.

A profitable cash game player in the years leading up to going pro Schaffel was nonetheless challenged by the daily grind of playing for a living. He posted small cashes on the EPT and the WPT before playing the 2009 Main Event.

Schaffel already had some Main Event experience, having cashed twice before with a 42nd place finish all the way back in 2004 being his best result. This year he broke through and now finds himself numbered among the nine players with a shot at this year's world championship.

Since July Kevin Schaffel's been a busy man. He got a deal with PokerStars and came within inches of a WPT title, finishing second to Prahlad Friedman at the WPT Legends of Poker for $471,670.

Just last month he bubbled the final two tables at the EPT London Main Event, making it very clear that he's got game to bring to the Main Event finale.

Schaffel has a disarming manner and comes off a bit wide-eyed despite being around big buy-in poker for years.

With over $1.9 million career tournament earnings the only thing missing from Schaffel's list of accomplishments is an outright win in a major event. He'll get his chance in less than a week and there'll be over $7.2 million on the line.

It all gets started November 7th we'll be there bringing it all to you live. Check out our Live 2009 WSOP Coverage to follow Kevin Schaffel and all the other November Niners on the way to this year's world champion.

Check out the video we shot with him in Vegas the day after the final table was set.

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The Main Event Final Table Drinking Game

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:55:07 +0100

If you're anything like us you're going to be enjoying a few adult beverages as you watch this year's ESPN broadcast of the WSOP Main Event final table.

To help you make the drinking part a bit more entertaining we've developed a drinking game based around televised poker.

The game will work with any televised poker but for best results use it for final tables, since they show all full hands.

The rules are simple and, if followed to the letter, will guarantee a drunkening to remember (or not remember).

The Rules

Each participant in the game must draw a card from a standard 52-card deck. This card will determine each player's suit and rank. For example, if I draw the ten of clubs my rank is ten and my suit is clubs.

The drinking revolves around three main parts of the poker being played on the TV and your suit and rank determine when you must drink.

The Board Cards

Each time a card appears on the board those with matching ranks and suits must drink, one drink for each matching rank or suit.

For example, if the flop comes down A T 2 (and I still have the T) I will have to drink twice, once for the club and once for the ten. If the ten had been the T it would mean a total of three drinks, two for the two clubs and one for the ten.

This applies to the flop, turn and river.

The Hole Cards

Matching your rank to the hole cards allows you to give out drinks to anyone you choose.

When a player has your card in the hole you can give away one drink.

For hole cards to play in the drinking game they must be involved in a hand. That means the player holding them must make any action except a fold before the flop.

So, using my T as an example, if someone raises or calls with A T I get to give out one drink to any of the other participants.

As a special bonus if a player has a pocket pair that matches your rank everyone must drink!

Suits have no bearing on this part of the game.

Made Hands

The third component of the game has to do with the five-card hands players on the television are making.

Whenever a player makes a flush in your suit, or a straight with your rank in it, you get to make a traditional drinking game rule.

So, just to be clear, if I have the T and some makes a club flush or a straight with a ten in it I get to make a rule.

The best rules are those that penalize participants for doing common things. Our favorites are:

No swearing
No saying the word "drink"

After coming up with the idea for this game we thought it only prudent to test it out with the last episode of the 2009 WSOP broadcast.

Here's a few quick clips with both of the above rules in effect.

We urge you to enjoy this game responsibly and in moderation!

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November Nine Profile: Phil Ivey

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:55:44 +0100

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.

His wealth is immense. In addition to the money he makes playing poker and gambling he owns a chunk of a little company called Full Tilt Poker.

Since making the November Nine Ivey has had no real tournament results to speak of, but that doesn't mean he's not making money playing poker.

Our best estimate puts Ivey up over $1.6 million on Full Tilt in the last 30 days alone.

Ivey is a machine. Consider this, within a few hours of making the Main Event final table he was in Bobby's room at Bellagio buying into the big game.

Phil Ivey also stands to make a lot more by winning the Main Event than any of his fellow November Niners.

$8.5 million in Main Event prize money
$2 million from Andy Bloch (Ivey bet Bloch $20k at 99 to 1 when there were 2,400 players left)
A rumored bonus from Full Tilt Poker
God (and Ivey) knows how much more in other side bets

Right now there are only two people who have made more in tournament poker than Phil Ivey: Daniel Negreanu and Jamie Gold. If Ivey finishes fourth or better at this final table he will overtake them both.

In addition to the cash, this win will cement him as the all-time greatest player to ever pick up a deck of cards, hands down.

He's got seven WSOP bracelets, two of which he snagged this year before making the November Nine. He's got over $10 million in career tournament wins. He once won $16 million in a single session of heads-up poker against Andy Beal.

He is Phil Ivey and he will win the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

For all the Ivey info you can handle check out his profile here on PokerListings.com. To follow all the final table action live tune in to our Live WSOP Coverage page November 7th.

Here's a video we shot the day after the final table was set. We were one of the only sources with enough pull to get Ivey to stand still long enough to do a video interview that day.

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The World Series of Not Poker

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:52:01 +0100

Well first of all, I'd like to thank my New York Yankees for taking a little bit of the sweat out of the equation for me. I have $4,500 riding on the Yankees to win the World Series, and here's why:

1) The Yankees were nearly a 2:1 favorite to win the Series according to Vegas bookies (who seem to know how things will play out with scary/suspicious accuracy)

2) I have a ton of friends from South NJ and PA area who, for whatever reason, have decided to put themselves through the torture of being Phillies fans

3) I <3 $$$

The combination of these facts led to me doing the first significant sports betting of my life. Normally I bet sports very rarely, and when I do it's $20-$100 between friends just for shits and giggles.

I've committed to never playing table games, slot machines, the lottery, and anything else that's senselessly -EV and high variance since I started playing poker for a living.

However, I simply couldn't resist the temptation to let all of these poor, pathetic Phillie supporters let their sense of loyalty to their team mislead them into placing even money bets with me that team with two championships in its existence could beat the 26-time champion dynasty that is the New York Yankees.

While I was donating stack after stack in Sunday donkaments earlier, I took a lot of consolation in the fact that the Yankees managed to take a 3-1 lead in the Series.

And it was a good thing, too, since I mincashed two tournaments out of the thirty I played and was only able to squeeze ~$500 out of the Lock cash games.

But in all seriousness, it has been a hard fought Series. I honestly didn't expect to see the Phillies put up such a fight in defense of the title. And although the Yankees need to win just one more game out of 3, it's not over yet.

But with that being said, my offer still stands to those who have bets against me that you can buy out for 99% by calling me at 1-800-GOT-OWND.

I'd also like to disappoint all of the Vegas bookies reading this (do any Vegas bookies read my blog? if they do, I wonder why...but then again I wonder why anyone reads it!) by saying that I won't be trying to parlay these winnings with more sports betting if the Yankees do win.

I'll just blow it on travel expenses, taxes, and my girlfriend like I do with the rest of my money!

Also, after a random last minute decision partially fueled by the fact that my 13th place finish at Bellagio last week left me hungry, I'll be heading to the largest and most depressing damn casino in the country: Foxwoods.

Booked a one way flight on Wednesday for the $10k WPT main event on Thursday and will be catching the next flight back out of that miserable POS as soon as I'm done there. Wish me luck!

Matt Stout

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