Poker Pros

Phil Hellmuth Jr. has earned the title for the world’s best No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament player in the world. Not only is he a great poker player, but he continues to break records and set standards for the industry. In 2007 he broke the world record for the most World Series of Poker Championships totaling 11 bracelets. It started in 1989 when 24 year old Hellmuth became the youngest poker player to win the Main Event. Then in 1993, he set the record for the most bracelets won in a single year.

Aside from being a dominating force at the table, Phil Hellmuth is famous for his big personality. Known as the “Poker Brat,” he doesn’t hold his tongue towards the other players at the table. His fits over other players’ “bad” plays have become an entertaining spectacle. He is one of the most colorful characters in the industry, and always keeps the viewing audience entertained. Love him or hate him, his talent at the table are known worldwide.

Hellmuth has over 9 million in tournament wins, and is sponsored by UltimateBet.com. His tournament success has also influenced best selling poker books including Play Poker Like the Pros, and multiple instructional DVDs. He is also a strong believer in giving back by supporting charities like Heifer International which benefits developing villages in the world’s poorest countries.

Phil Ivey and his wife Luciaetta Ivey ended their seven year marriage. They filed a joint divorce petition on December 22, 2009, and a Nevada judge granted their request on December 29, 2009. Luciaetta and Phil were high school sweethearts who tied the knot in May of 2002. Over the years Phil has credited Luciaetta with taking care of everything allowing him to focus completely on poker. The records pertaining to their divorce were sealed, and statements have not been made as to the reasoning of the split.
Phil Ivey has accumulated a great deal of wealth since the two have been married. He currently holds seven World Series of Poker bracelets, and has earned more than $12 million in tournament winnings. His online poker career is even more impressive as he has made over $15.6 million. This does not even take into account the amount he has earned in live cash games. It is not known if the Iveys had a prenuptial agreement or not.
It is yet to be seen if this will be a civil split, or if there will be angst amongst the two. Always one to put a brighter spin on things, Doyle Brunson made a statement on his twitter account, “Yep, Phil Ivey got divorced. Do you suppose he will be able to find any girl friends?” There is probably a line already forming in front of his house of beautiful girls ready to take the role of Mrs. Ivey.

Phil Ivey is feared by many at the poker table, and many believe he is the best poker player in the world. Born in 1976, Ivey found his love for poker at a young age. After being taught to play poker by his grandfather, Ivey found himself dreaming of becoming a professional poker player. At the young age of 18, Ivey began playing poker in Atlantic City and gaining valuable information at the tables.

In 2000, the 23 year old Ivey won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in a Pot Limit Omaha event. This was an impressive feat with big names like David “Devilfish” Ulliot, Phil Hellmuth, and Amarillo Slim on the final table. Then in 2002 Ivey beat all the odds by winning three bracelets at the WSOP which is the most anyone has ever won in a single year. Currently Phil Hellmuth, Ted Forrest, Puggy Pearson, and Jeff Lisandro are tied with Ivey for that title.

Ivey continued to make impressive finishes in many high profile tournaments. In 2005 he won his fifth WSOP bracelet in a pot-limit Omaha event. WSOP 2006 saw Ivey at a few final tables and cashing for over $800,000. He also cumulated several World Poker Tour final tables, and wins at the Monte Carlo Millions, Bellagio, and Commerce Casinos. He also continued to impress his peers with his cash game play by consistently killing the biggest and toughest games around.

Phil Ivey is turning 2009 into a year of anticipation for poker fans all over the world. Ivey was able to add his 6th and 7th WSOP bracelet in a 2-7 Draw event and Omaha/Stud Hi-lo event. He also beat over 6,000 people in the Main Event for his chance win the most prestigious event in poker.

Phil Ivey has over $12 million in tournament wins, 7 bracelets, and multiple World Championships. His reputation speaks for itself.

I find myself far more interested in this year’s WSOP main event final table than practically any other WSOP final table in history simply for one reason, Phil Ivey. His presence in the November Nine I believe represents the most important opportunity in poker since Chris Moneymaker won it all in 2003 and set the poker boom in motion. Would I feel the same way if it had been a poker pro of equal fame in this position instead of Phil Ivey? Nope.

The reason Ivey’s presence is so important is that I feel that poker, especially on the mainstream level, needs more pros taking down the big titles. Sure it was great to see guys like Moneymaker and Jamie Gold take home the main event bracelet, but after awhile you start to wonder just how unbalanced the luck to skill ratio in poker is when year after year we are seeing unknowns and amateurs winning the biggest tournaments.

With Moneymaker’s victory in 2003, the phrase “Anyone Can Win” was coined, and while that was the absolute best case scenario for driving hundreds of thousands of new players into the game, it is now time for the poker giants to take back what is theirs, as poker is now popular enough on a global level to appreciate just how amazing it would be to see a top tier pro win the most important poker event of the year.

To me, Phil Ivey winning the main event here in 2009 would help keep poker moving in the right direction for years to come. He’s widely considered to be the best in the game (a notion that is mentioned every five minutes on the ESPN during this year’s WSOP coverage), and if he wins it all in November, the marketing and exposure explosion to follow will be unlike anything we’ve seen before.

Ivey’s sponsors will back the money truck up to his house in an effort to help maximize the opportunity to use him as the greatest poker ambassador ever. The tour will be driven by a slogan something along the lines of “The greatest player wins the greatest event”, and as a result, Phil Ivey will hands down become the most recognizable poker player in the world by the end of 2010. Put any other player in his spot for the November Nine, and the response if they won would not be half as powerful, even if it was someone like Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth or even Jennifer Harmon.

Poker NEEDS Phil Ivey to win the main event this year, and as much as I like Darvin Moon and the rest of the November Nine, I just don’t see another Cinderella story giving poker the much needed restoration it so desperately needs. Good luck Phil!

When I first heard that four professional poker players were going to be semi-nude in a special issue of ESPN The Magazine, I, like I assume most players would, hoped that the featured players would be along the likes of Vanessa Russo and Jennifer Tilly. Instead what we got was a topless Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Scotty Nguyen.

“We’ve always been committed to showing fans a different side of the sports and athletes they love,” said Gary Belsky, editor-in-chief of ESPN The Magazine. “This issue, from the amazing photos to the innovative journalism, is just our latest effort to do that. We’re very happy with the results.”

Ok, so there is one saving grace in the form of Jennifer Harmon, who also appears in the only poker-themed shot of the issue. Overall, 80 professional athletes participated in the Body Issue, covering every sport from NASCAR to sumo wrestling. Interestingly, poker was the only sport that featured a co-ed image, and Harman didn’t need much convincing to jump on board.

“I got a phone call from one of my friends at ESPN,” said Harman. “He said that it was going to be a good shot and that it would be done with a lot of class.”

“This was the only co-ed photo shoot we did for the magazine, so that’s huge,” said Sarah Turcotte, the general editor for ESPN who worked on that particular photo shoot. “To go topless in front of your competitors, that’s tough…But the other players immensely respected Jennifer going into it, having already competed with her in high-stakes poker games.”

Overall, I guess I can’t really complain with the choices, as these easily are four of the most recognizable poker pros in the world, and thankfully we were spared from having someone like Doyle Brunson or Dan Harrington in the photo. Would it kill the magazine to use Jennifer Russo next time though? Just sayin’.

The summer was filled with tons of prop bets during the World Series of Poker, and they aren’t over yet. Gus Hansen has another bet laying 55:1 for $20,000 that Phil Ivey will win the Main Event in November. No one is sure at what point the bet was made in the tournament. Perhaps the bet was made when there were 200 players left, or maybe it was made when there were 40 players left. Whatever the case, Hansen stands to make a million dollars if Ivey is able to pull through and take home a main event bracelet.

Of course there are plenty of bets going around on whether or not Phil Ivey is going to be able to pull out a win at the final table. He isn’t the only pro at this year’s November Nine, but he is certainly the most notable face still in the game. Aside from Gus Hansen rooting his buddy on, there will likely be a large crowd of other notable pros sweating the final table and looking for big payouts from their prop bets as well.

There is a new group of poker pros that are entering the ranks of the world’s elite poker players. The Asian Poker Tour (APT) has put together a group of six Asian players to represent them. They are being called the poker pack and are already making quite a name for themselves. The group includes J.C. Tran, Naam Le, Steve “MuGGyLiCiOus” Sung, David “Chino”Rheem, Kwan Soo Lee, and Quinn Do.

J.C. Tran head the pack and has certainly made a name for himself over the last several years. He has two World series of Poker bracelets, and he has taken home a World Poker Tour win. Having cashed in several other tournaments, he has won over $7 million dollars in his poker career.

Nam Le is another household name that has been scooped up by the APT. Last year, Le won the Asian Pacific Poker Tour Macau High Roller event in which he earned over $470k. He has had an impressive 79 cashes since 2004. With several television appearances, and over $5.8 million in tournament wins he will surely be around the poker media for some time to come.

Steve “MuGGyLiCiOus” Sung rose through the ranks of high stakes online poker, and in 2006 he started making a name for himself in live tournament events. During the 2009 World Series of poker he really started getting everyone’s attention when he took first place in the largest non-Main Event tournament in the world. The stimulus event had over 6,000 people enter, and Sung outlasted every one of them to take home a first place prize of $771,106 and the bracelet. Later in the Series, he took home a 3rd place finish in the Deuce to Seven Lowball event which proved that he was a great all around player, and not just some young hotshot.

David “Chino” Rheem made a name for himself at the 2008 World Series of Poker where he made a final table appearance. He took home over $1.7 million for his 7th place finish, and received a whole lot of T.V. time. He then went on to prove his skills were no fluke and took down the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $1.5 million and the title. He has since continued to prove that he is a dominating force on the tournament trail, and with over $4 million in tournament winnings he will be around for a long while.

Quinn Do hasn’t been broadcast in the poker media like some of the other members of the pack, but he is building a strong tournament resume for his young age. In 2005 he earned a bracelet for a Limit Hold’em event, and later that year took home another first place in the Bellagio Five Diamond Event. In 2008 he took a second place finish in the LA Poker Classic for more than $900k. He currently has over $2 million in tournament winnings.

Kwan Soo Lee is probably the least known player in the pack. He has a $73k Asian Poker Tour cash for his 4th place finish. He made a name for himself as a gamer and Starcraft Champion, but still needs to prove himself in the poker arena. If he is anything like the other Starcraft poker players out there, this is only the beginning of what is to come of Kwan Soo Lee.

A new facet of poker is beginning to open up with the concept of team poker tournaments. Last November, The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas hosted a team poker event. This event was private and only open to the industry, but it had such a following that Dream Team Poker decided to make it a public event. On March 27-29th Caesars Palace will be hosting the event for any team of three that would like to play. The scoring system is different than regular tournaments, as the two top finishing team members accumulate points for their team. The strategy is a little different than most tournaments as well. There might be an advantage to having one teammate play super aggressive in order to gain as many chips as possible. If there is a tough opponent, one teammate might try to play every hand against him in order to try to bust him out. Team poker opens the doors for new concepts of play and strategy.

For their first public event, Dream Team Poker has had an overwhelming response of interest. They’ve even had to close registration three days before the event starts because they have already sold out the capacity of their room. As of now, there are more than 10 teams on the waiting list to be allowed to play the event. This $1650 buy in tournament ($550 per player), is not shy of its celebrity players either. Johnny Chan, Shannon Elizabeth, and Michael Binger are just a few that are signed up on teams so far.

Don’t let the title fool you, this wasn’t an underground back room poker game that involved Jamie Gold and half a dozen 10-year-olds in a no-limit ring game. Instead, the 2006 WSOP Main Event champion hosted a fundraiser tournament for the Children Uniting Nations charity, a non-profit organization that provides mentoring to at-risk and foster children.

“Some things are more important,” said Gold. “These kids need our help.”

The event took place on Oscar night and was held in conjunction with the Hollywood Reporter/Children Uniting Nations Gala. A handful of big name poker players including Howard Lederer made an appearance, since he and a number of his pro poker compatriots were already in town to play the LA Poker Classic.

This isn’t the first benefit Gold has hosted either. Rather, he has emceed close to 50 events since his 2006 WSOP win for a number of different organizations including MDA/ALS, the Sunflower Organization, and the MS Foundation. Combined, Gold has helped to raise over $110 million for the charities.

After you’ve won millions of dollars and worldwide fame by playing poker, what else is there left to do? Well, if you’re Daniel Negreanu, how about taking a single crisp $10 bill, transferring it to a online poker room, and turning it into $100,000? “Kid Poker” got the idea after hearing about how poker pro Chris Ferguson attempted to go from playing freeroll events and rising up in levels until reaching $10,000 using only the winnings since the start of the experiment. Long story short, Ferguson succeeded.

$10 doesn’t afford much leg room to work with, so Daniel has opted to start at a $0.01-$0.02 micro-limit cash game, disciplining himself to only move up in levels when his bankroll allows it. You gotta wonder though just how long it’ll be before he tires of winning $0.10 pots when he could be in the high-limit rooms making hundreds of thousands of dollars.

One problem Daniel is going to run into though, is that micro-limit play is often very ridiculous. Players are almost always going to call you down to the river, and pushing opponents out of pots is practically impossible. This is going to eliminate almost all of the advantages that Negreanu would have against a regular table of players that are playing at a higher staked level. He could simply catch a terrible run of cards or bad beats and blow through his $10 bankroll in no time.

Ironically, this means that Daniel’s road to $100,000 will actually get easier as he moves up in level and the opponents get better, because he can then unleash his full arsenal of poker weapons. Still, it is fairly amusing to think that the famed pro could get felted by a couple of first time players in the early stages of the experiment.

Got a few spare pennies in your online account? Maybe you could try to stop the kid on his way to six figures. Personally, I can’t afford it.

Personally, heads-up play is not the strongest part of my poker game, and I don’t typically play for any considerable amount of money on average. Now I have to imagine just how nervous I’d be if instead of winning a few thousand, I could potentially lose a few million. Sound fun? Maybe if you’re Phil Ivey, he’s just accepted a heads-up challenge laid down by Tom Dwan, who went public saying that he would play any player in the world in a high stakes game.

The challenge put out by Dwan was to play 50,000 heads-up hands online in either no-limit Texas hold’em or pot-limit Omaha with blinds at $200-$400. And that’s not all either, the challenge also stipulated that they must be playing at least four tables at a time. That many hands at that level means that millions of dollars could easily be moving back and forth across the table.

To make the proposition more tempting for players like Ivey, Dwan offered 3:1 odds on an additional payout bonus where if he loses, he’ll pay an extra $1.5 million to his opponent, while if he wins, the opposing player forks over just an additional $500,000. According to poker pro Barry Greenstein, it will take about a month to play through all 50,000 hands if played on four tables at four to five hours per session.

"I don't get enough people to play me heads up. Even though there is more money to be made in other games, rather than playing heads up at one or two tables, it's so interesting and you learn a lot," said Dwan. "I think I might have an edge here, but it's more to have fun and gamble a bit. That's why I'm making this challenge."

Phil Ivey, who many consider to be not only one of the best poker players alive, but also potentially the greatest heads-up player, agrees that Dwan’s online expertise may give him a slight advantage at the start of the match. “The funny thing is, he probably does have an edge,” said Ivey. “There’s something tempting about that million and a half to $500,000.”

I wonder if they’ll let us watch the room while they play, but with so much money on the line, both pros will probably want the ease of mind of knowing that no one is watching their every move. As soon as I hear more about this legendary heads-up battle, I’ll give you all an update.

Several professionals players at the table were talking about the number of cashes they have at this year’s WSOP. It was actually quite interesting to realize that so few players could have over twenty cashes between them. After the conversation Men “The Master” Nguyen walked over to me and said:

“You know how many cashes I have this year.”

“Yes, I do Men, you have four.”

“Right and that amounts to how much.”

I held up my fingers about an inch apart.

“Right” said Men “Poquito.”

By the way, Men now has five cashes after his 4th place finish in the 2-7 Draw Lowball event for a not so poquito $128,045.

Is Forrest burnt out? That could be a question on some lips as Ted has yet to cash this series. Does he look burnt out in the photo taken yesterday in a suite at the Rio? Not to me. Even though it is the WSOP and he is Ted Forrest, the action junkie, Ted has been spending time with his 18 year old daughter Kristen.

Kristen lives in NY, not a regular stopover on Teds casino to casino drives. She is on summer vacation so Ted took poker break after the HORSE event to spend time with his tennis loving Daughter.

Ted is a shrewd businessman and it is common knowledge he has shares in a lot of gaming companies.

I asked him if he was worried about recent developments (both in Washington and Texas). " I may be able to make it work to my advantage.I will give you the scoop in a few weeks. "

Good luck in the big one.

Ray Bitar, CEO of TiltWare, announced today in the closed Full Tilt Suite that Gus Hansen will make the Full Tilt team a perfect dozen. Bitar said that they had just signed the deal and they'd get Gus's picture up on the big board as quickly as they could.

"Gus is one of the last best players," said Bitar.

If only Gus knew that all he had to do was take a free picture, (see our photo). The Great Dane took the mic and said that he's been doing his own thing for the past few years, but that he's happy to be a part of the team.

"I've been friends with Howard for a long time. I've learned a lot from Howard and Phil Ivey, and I've also taught them some things, too." said Hansen.

If you found yourself in need of big money to save your home or business, what would you do? Take a second job, sell some items on eBay, cut back on expenses? How about hitting the poker tournament trail and trying your hand against the best in the world, all in hopes of hitting a big score and securing your American Dream?

Sound crazy? It didn't to Susan Genard and her then boyfriend Tim Rhys. Together with their 4-year old son they set off in 2003 for a life on the poker circuit - hitting Foxwoods, Bellagio, Commerce Casino, and finally, the 2004 World Series of Poker. The goal? To win enough money to save their struggling independent film company.  They decided to document their journey, and as a result have assembled an impressive collection of candid interviews with many of poker's big names.

Daniel Negreanu's got a good new video blog up. In it, he outlines a proposed schedule for the WSOP 2007.

The most interesting new event he talks about is a bracelet-only heads-up event ... meaning you have to already be a bracelet-winner to participate -- heads-up format. Brilliant. Not sure how his proposed $5k heads-up idea would work out -- logistically it would be a difficult tourney to run on a WSOP scale -- but the other one would create excitement similar to what the HORSE event added this year.

He's also got video of his stand-up comedy routine performed at the 2003 PartyPoker Million, which includes funny impressions of Phil Hellmuth, Ming Ly, Erick "E-dog" Lindgren, and Ziggy Marley. Well worth the click. (Just wait for it to download in full, then come back to watch ... damn streaming video.)

The pictures aren't quite exact, but I swear if you saw Carl Olson yesterday, you would've seen him with his mouth hung slightly open, head tilted nearly the same, and wearing el mismo blue Full Tilt hat that Phil Ivey wears. Dominating his table in the $2,000 NL Event, Carl Olson is the Blonde Ivey. Quiet, 24 year-old hunk that he is, Carl Olson finished Day One 14th in chips with $54,700. I had a chance to talk to him before he started today: "I went from $40,000 - $75,000 when they were playing down from 215 to 198. Over the course of three orbits I basically doubled my stack without having to show down. I volunteered to show AK and 99 once, but I never had to show a hand," said Olson. The bubble, like usual, had most of the players on guard, and Olson took advantage.

change100 has been kicking butt on the WSOP fashion scene, so I knew I had to jump on this the minute Gavin Smith said, "Have you seen poker's new Urkel?" He pointed over to Phil Ivey...or at least I thought it was Ivey.

Sure enough, Ivey is sporting a new look today. The contact lenses, hat, and the probing glare all appear to gone. Time will only tell if this is a permanent shift toward geekdom, or just a a temporary ploy to psych out his opponents.

Yesterday I walked through the sea of players in the $2,000 NL Event and was startled when I saw Howard Lederer seated at a table in his Full Tilt jersey. With all the legal battles flaring off this week, I just thought he'd be working on those, instead of bracelet. How silly of me, this is poker.

But I still think that the rights that Howard, and many other pros, are fighting for are worthy of more attention. Earlier this week Amy reported on the players that filed the Antitrust Lawsuit against the World Poker Tour Enterprises, and you can find a longer article about it on Poker News. Please also read Howard's own words about the struggle on the Full Tilt Blog, "It Was Time To Do Something."

So you're coming out to Vegas for the WSOP and you want to really live it up, but you're not exactly sure how. In Vegas, you can get just about anything for the right price, but how about a couple of once in a lifetime poker offerings that will make your trip really memorable?

For Peyton is a charity dedicated to raising money for the family of Natasha Novoa, who passed away earlier this year after a battle with ovarian cancer. Several big names in poker have been working to raise funds for this worthy cause, donating books, lessons, and other poker items for a charity auction. Two items are up for auction right now that would complete any WSOP experience - tickets to a WSOP gala at PURE, complete with Gavin Smith to make sure you meet every pro you want, and the 4th Annual WSOB, hosted by Howard Lederer.

Auctions end soon, so get your bid in now!

There are lots of "confrontations" on the felt at the World Series. The ones between the professionals and the amateurs are often fun. The classic ones, however, are usually when we see the pros toe-to-toe; head-to-head; mano-a-mano; or in this case mano-a-womano. These can be truly inspiring, a real learing experience for the up & coming players. Then again, sometimes they are just down right funny or sick. You be the judge.

Evelyn Ng was riffling her chips pondering a call, when David “Devilfish” Ulliott, who was at the table but not in the hand, said:

“Make your move Asian Persuasion. That is what they call you, isn’t it.”

The superstars of poker were out in droves today as the $5000 shorthanded NLHE event kicked off, and I combed through hundreds of tables in search of poker fashion's most fabulous AND most offensive. I'm pretty sure Kristy Gazes thinks I have a foot fetish, as it took six tries to get a good shot of her black and white snakeskin heels. Semi-live and in color, here are my picks for today's poker fashion winners and losers.

People have different goals in tournaments.

That was the theme of a seminar given recently at the World Series of Poker by Barry Tannenbaum, a professional limit player in Las Vegas and a longtime Card Player columnist.

Some players just want to make the money while others will be unhappy with anything less than first place.

“If you’re playing to make the final table or to win you won’t cash as often,” Tannenbaum said. “If you’re intent on winning, at some point you will have to sacrifice safety for gain.”

Double Bubble, Toil and Trouble, Rivers Burn and Roommates Couple?

Jean-Robert Bellande had an “interesting” day this past Sunday. First, he joined the House of Cards reality television show as the “new surprise roommate” then he managed to bubble in not one but two events on the same day.

When most people think about the World Series of Poker, they think about the Main Event - that grueling poker marathon that tests the best players in the world while simultaneously giving the anyman a chance to make a name for himself. Televised coverage of the Main Event was what brought tournament poker to the world and as a result, that's the game that has fueled the poker boom. Walk in to any casino these days and you'll have your pick of No-limit games, but if you're looking for any other form of poker, you're likely out of luck.

Everyone tells me it’s his lucky hat. Some even think it makes him look pretty bad-ass, adding some needed edge to his good-guy image. I don’t care how many final tables Andy Bloch has made in that black and gold snakeskin cowboy number. It’s the most tragic piece of headwear I’ve seen so far at the WSOP AND I’m including state school fratboys in furry pimp hats. He’s gonna look at those photos from the $50K H.O.R.S.E. event in two years, turn to his lovely wife and wonder, “what the hell was I thinking?"

I saw a Rubenesque woman shaking Paul Darden's hand and telling him he's her hero. He was tremendously gracious, letting her keep his hand in perma-shake. I think Paul is great, too, but I wanted to hear it straight from her—Lucy from Lubbock, Texas.

"I started watching poker on TV when my husband started playing, and I can't stop. It's on the travel channel in Lubbock. And I just love watching Paul," she said.

"My husband is out there playing and this morning he took some credos with him. One is about patience."

"I told him before he started, 'Be like Paul.'"

I was starting to feel for this husband, being told to play like Paul Darden. I think I'd be walking home if I said, "Honey, can you please play like Paul Darden today? Oh, and tonight, can you still pretend to be him?"

But Lucy was genuine. Her affection truly heartfelt. She explained, "Paul is so patient. He waits and waits and waits for a good hand, and then he wins with it. He does it again and again, and then 3-4 hands later he bluffs and it's just great."

So, cheers to Lucy from Lubbock, and all the best of luck to Paul at table 56 today!

With two WSOP cashes already in the bank this year to go with two last year, Allen Kessler is a well known face on the poker circuit. What he may be better known for, among us media types, is his 'always ready with a quote' personality. So I couldn't pass this story up, even though I might be accused here of sloppy seconds.

The HORSE event is a very tricky beast to structure. With the five rotating events the blind and betting structure can be just fine in one event and then be totally out of whack in the next. The problem is that Hold'em and Omaha have a flop and you see 71% or 78% of your total hand after just one round of betting. In the Stud and Razz events you have five rounds of betting with a single card addition in each of the last four rounds.

This little story comes from WSOP event #14: $1,000 No Limit Hold'em with rebuys. Rebuy events with a load of pros playing are more fun to watch than bartender at the Parisian Palace.....OK nevermind, you had to be there for that one, I mean two.

You all know Phil Gordon, what you may not know is that Phil loves to chat, talk, cajole and generally have a good talkative time at the table. You may not know Mike Odeh but to know him is to love him or not. Mike is also a great table talker; so when the two of them were seated at the same table to start the Rebuy event, I thought it might be a good place to hang-out for a spell. Phil was the first to try and convince the table that rebuy meant "loose" as in "if we don't get some rebuy chips on this table early, we might as well go home, those other tables are moving chips and making those rebuys."

One advantage to being a poker player from Alabama is that Hoyt Corkins by default takes a liking to you and invites you to his summer barbecue.

The “Alabama Cowboy�? and his longtime girlfriend, Natalie, hosted the ‘cue at their Spanish Trail home for a number of friends and fellow players on Saturday afternoon.

Among the guests were Greg Raymer and his wife, Cheryl, David Plastik, Richard Brodie (a.k.a. Quiet Lion) and Ted Lawson, who won a WSOP Omaha tournament on ESPN last year. There were also a number of friends and associates, including former Playmate and Top Pair magazine proprietor Jill Ann Spaulding and her little poodle named Hold’em, complete with pink painted nails.