Texas Dolly

A biography of Doyle Brunson by Damian M. Moorman, Dayton2Vegas.com

Doyle Brunson is the original cowboy of poker. Known as the “Godfather of Poker”, he is referred to by many as the greatest to ever play the game. At age 74, he is a living legend in the poker world and will always be one of the biggest names in the game.

Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson revolutionized the game of poker in the late 1970s when he released the book Super System. His book included general poker strategies and other important tactics of the game never before written about. It also combined other card games, including Razz, Stud, and Draw, with the help of other writers. Super System has gone on to sell over 300,000 copies!

Doyle Brunson has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets. He won his first gold bracelet back in 1976 when he captured the first of two Main Event Championships. He then won the Main Event the next year, collecting $340,000. His most recent bracelet was won at the 2005 WSOP in the $2,500 buy-in short-handed event. The first place prize of $367, 800 was more than the amount he won for the Main Event back when he repeated in 1977.

Growing up, Doyle was a great athlete. His hobby was basketball, where he excelled as a young kid. Brunson was on the All-State Texas basketball team as a teenager and also ran a mile in 4:43. A knee injury ended Brunson’s dreams of pursuing sports as a career, so he turned to poker. He started playing draw poker in illegal games in Fort Worth, Texas, in the late 1960s. At these games, Brunson met other top players like Amarillo Slim, which they developed into a great relationship. Brunson ended up settling in Las Vegas where draw poker turned to Texas Hold’em in the 1970s. He has never looked back since.

Doyle was born on August 10, 1933, in Longworth, Texas. He's now one the oldest players competing at the highest level and he still remains a force at the table. Doyle plays regularly in “Bobby’s Room” at the Bellagio in the biggest cash game in the world. Todd Brunson, Doyle’s son, is also a successful poker player who has won a WSOP bracelet of his own.

Besides being a successful author, Doyle has found other ways to benefit from the “business side” of poker. Doyle endorses an online poker room, titled Doyle’s Room, which was founded in 2004.

In January of 2006, BLUFF Magazine voted Doyle as the number one most influential force in the world of poker. Brunson was the first person ever to earn one million dollars from tournament poker. As of 2007, his winnings in tournaments alone exceed over 4.9 million dollars. “Ten deuce” is a nickname given to him, and the poker hand, after Brunson won two Main Events with those same hole cards.

Doyle Brunson, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, will be remembered forever for his aggressive play, signature cowboy hat, revolutionary book, and above all, lifting the game to new and incredible heights. It's safe to say that there may never be someone who will do as much for the game of poker in their lifetime as Doyle Brunson has done over the past 35 years.

No Country for Milkshakes

Check out this SNL skit making fun of a few of the top Oscar nominated movies of this year. Haha, this is a classic! =P

Watch it now!

KingPrussia seeks feedback

Below are three hands posted by KingPrussia for review. I list the post identical to how he showed it to me. The comments throughout the hand (written to the right) are from him. I posted my analysis below the hand history.

Start at the top and read through the three hands. Think about if, when, and where this player made a mistake. How could he have fixed it? Sometimes we could've avoided making a mistake while playing poker if only we would've folded, raised, bet more, checked, just called, moved all-in, seen the trap, bet less, and so on...

I decided to look at these three hands because it's good not just to look back at the hands you play but to look at how the world (majority of people/average poker players) play hands. Usually it ends up with them calling too much and not folding enough, but maybe KingPrussia is different.

His post starts now:
3 hands within a 10 minute span.looking for evidence of poor play, poor bet sizes, etc. results included. thoughts appreciated. thanks.

Hand #1 Full Tilt Poker Game #5833636632:
Table Winery Ridge
- $0.50/$1
- No Limit Hold'em
- 20:27:30 ET - 2008/03/29

Seat 1: sagitarius09 ($47.80)
Seat 2: benjikome ($151.05)
Seat 3: BOASK ($92)
Seat 4: samtan56 ($22.30)
Seat 5: C YoNUTS ($31.50)
Seat 6: Blind Supremacy ($27.35)
Seat 7: KingPrussia ($131.80)
Seat 8: rollthadice4 ($74.10)
Seat 9: Poachey ($140.05)

BOASK posts the small blind of $0.50
amtan56 posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #2

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to KingPrussia [9d 9c]
Blind Supremacy folds
KingPrussia raises to $3
rollthadice4 folds
Poachey calls $3
sagitarius09 folds
benjikome folds
BOASK calls $2.50
samtan56 folds

*** FLOP ***
[3d 9s Kd]

BOASK checks
KingPrussia bets $5
Poachey calls $5
BOASK folds

*** TURN ***
[3d 9s Kd] [Qd]

KingPrussia bets $10
Poachey calls $10

*** RIVER ***
[3d 9s Kd Qd] [2s]

BOASK adds $11
KingPrussia checks
Poachey bets $10
KingPrussia calls $10

*** SHOW DOWN ***
Poachey shows [6d 7d] a flush, King high
KingPrussia mucks
Poachey wins the pot ($57) with a flush, King high


Hand #2 Full Tilt Poker Game #5833652959:
Table Winery Ridge
- $0.50/$1
- No Limit Hold'em
- 20:28:54 ET
- 2008/03/29

Seat 1: sagitarius09 ($49.30)
Seat 2: benjikome ($151.05)
Seat 3: BOASK ($100)
Seat 4: samtan56 ($20.80)
Seat 5: C YoNUTS ($30.50)
Seat 6: Blind Supremacy ($27.35)
Seat 7: KingPrussia ($103.80)
Seat 8: rollthadice4 ($74.10)
Seat 9: Poachey ($169.05)

C YoNUTS posts the small blind of $0.50
Blind Supremacy posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #4

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to KingPrussia [Ac 7c]
KingPrussia calls $1
ollthadice4 folds Poachey calls $1
sagitarius09 folds benjikome calls $1
BOASK folds samtan56 calls $1
C YoNUTS calls $0.50
Blind Supremacy has 15 seconds left to act
Blind Supremacy checks

*** FLOP ***
[8c 8d 6c]

C YoNUTS checks
Blind Supremacy has 15 seconds left to act
Blind Supremacy checks
KingPrussia bets $3
Poachey folds
benjikome calls $3
samtan56 calls $3
C YoNUTS folds
Blind Supremacy folds

*** TURN ***
[8c 8d 6c] [Jc]

KingPrussia checks
benjikome bets $8
samtan56 calls $8
KingPrussia has 15 seconds left to act
KingPrussia raises to $22
benjikome calls $14
samtan56 has 15 seconds left to act
samtan56 folds

*** RIVER ***
[8c 8d 6c Jc] [6d]

KingPrussia checks
benjikome has 15 seconds left to act
benjikome bets $38
KingPrussia calls $38 <== i know i'm beat but look him up

*** SHOW DOWN ***
benjikome shows [9c 8s] a full house, Eights full of Sixes
KingPrussia mucks
benjikome wins the pot ($140) with a full house, Eights full of Sixes


Hand #3: Full Tilt Poker Game #5833744648:
Table Winery Ridge
- $0.50/$1
- No Limit Hold'em
- 20:36:41 ET - 2008/03/29

Seat 1: sagitarius09 ($57.80)
Seat 2: benjikome ($223.55)
Seat 3: BOASK ($100)
Seat 4: DarceD ($98.50)
Seat 5: konsul8 ($98.50)
Seat 6: Blind Supremacy ($26)
Seat 7: KingPrussia ($47.80)
Seat 8: rollthadice4 ($73.10)
Seat 9: Poachey ($171.70)

Blind Supremacy posts the small blind of $0.50
KingPrussia posts the big blind of $1
The button is in seat #5

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to KingPrussia [Ah Tc]
rollthadice4 calls $1
Poachey folds
sagitarius09 folds
benjikome folds
BOASK folds
DarceD has 15 seconds left to act
DarceD folds
konsul8 folds
Blind Supremacy adds $0.50
Blind Supremacy folds
KingPrussia raises to $3
rollthadice4 calls $2

*** FLOP ***
[4c Qd As]

KingPrussia checks
rollthadice4 checks

*** TURN *** [4c Qd As] [Kh]

KingPrussia bets $3
rollthadice4 calls $3

*** RIVER ***
[4c Qd As Kh] [Ts]

KingPrussia bets $5 <=== prolly should c/c here?
rollthadice4 raises to $14
KingPrussia calls $9

*** SHOW DOWN ***
rollthadice4 shows [Jh Kd] a straight, Ace high
KingPrussia mucks
rollthadice4 wins the pot ($38.50) with a straight, Ace high
His post ends now.

Hand 1 was fine.
I'd like to see a bet a little over half the pot on the flop though. You bet $5, I say $6 or $7 is still cheap enough to draw in gut-shots/top pair and looks more like a continuation bet rather than a trap. The turn lead is good, make him pay to draw with QJ (inside straight on flop, pair on turn, dead to four outs against your set). The river was near perfect. I like check-calling in that spot as you did. Great hand... well, for minimizing losses. However, it seems as though the bad luck in hand 1 caused you to play worse in hands 2 and 3.

Hand 2 shouldn't have happened.
You should fold A7s UTG at a large table. Four-handed is one thing, but UTG at a table of 7, 8, 9, or 10 players, A7s must be an auto-fold PF. You played this hand fine though until the river. When your opponent bet out and then called your re-raise on the turn, it is a big sign of strength both by him and you. This large amount of strength you showed throughout the hand would definitely deter him from trying to bluff you on the river.

With a board of 8-8-6-J-6 (3 clubs), your opponent could've had four hands (two beat you, two don't); eights full, sixes full, a smaller flush, and Jacks-up. If he had sixes full, he may have made a small value bet to get your flush to pay him off, and if he had eights full (which he did), he most likely would've bet big knowing he could essentially beat any hand that you check-call with.

The reason why you shouldn't have called his river bet is that he wouldn't have bet a hand worse than yours. The river would've scared his smaller flush (T9s) into checking, and he wouldn't have value-bet a Jack on a board that scary. You shouldn't have called the large river bet in this hand. Besides folding PF, if you would've check-folded the river, then you would've played this hand very well.

Hand 3 was not played bad until the river... again.
This hand was a little different whereas both you and your opponent appeared much weaker, therefore making a bet from him more likely that it would be a bluff (due to him not raising any time during the hand and also thinking that you might be weak). Notice that I said "bet" and not "raise". His raise on the river should've have ended the hand for you as it seemed clear that he drew out on you by making Broadway.

Your river bet was not the best play. If you're capable of folding to a raise on the river, then a small value bet in hopes to get a worse hand like a smaller two pair to call you is not a terrible play. But you didn't bet small enough for any hand but a straight to call/raise you. Also, you didn't fold. It would've been a better play to bet small and fold to a raise on the river or check-call in attempt to induce your opponent to bluff bottom pair trying to represent a straight. Three hands... two wrongs and a right. I'd say you shouldn't have let the set of nines losing to a flush loosen you up and cause you to play worse immediately afterwards.

All that being said, the check-call on the river during your first hand shows great discipline and instincts for the game, as you felt that you may be beat even with such a strong hand and no raises from your opponent. Keep playing like you did in the first hand and you'll be on your way to great success!

-Damian M. Moorman
Dayton2Vegas.com

Consciousness

At the final table in the $2,000 Hold'em event in the 1997 World Series of Poker, poker pro Dan Heimiller wore a T-shirt with lettering on the front that said: "I DO WHATEVER THE VOICE IN MY HEAD TELLS ME TO DO."

The User Illusion, an amazing book analyzing and discussing recent studies on brain and human consciousness, suggests that the conscious is really only the tip of the iceberg. Therefore, we possess a lot more knowledge than we are consciously aware of.

This excerpt from The User Illusion briefly sums of this idea:

"During any given second, we consciously process only sixteen of the eleven million bits of information our senses pass on to our brains. In other words, the conscious part of us receives much less information than the unconscious part of us. We should trust our hunches and pursue our intuitions because they are closer to reality than the perceived reality of our consciousness."

The lesson for poker is that we ought to try to tap into this "other knowing," if possible. The way to do this is to first realize that it exists, and second, to remain clearheaded enough to be receptive to it. A final point is that we have to have the courage to act on it, too – to be able to "pull the trigger" (bet on our hunches). If this knowledge is available but we are not receiving the signal, it is of no use (Zen and the Art of Poker, p. 119).

Purchase Zen and the Art of Poker: Timeless Secrets to Transform Your Game today at Amazon for only $3.99!

The Best Female Poker Player Ever

A biography of Annie Duke by Damian M. Moorman, Dayton2Vegas.com

Annie Duke is a professional poker player. She holds the record for most World Series of Poker cashes by a female and also has one gold bracelet. She is simply the best female poker player in the world.

Annie was born on September 13, 1965, in Concord, New Hampshire. She went to school at Columbia University, where she double majored in English and psychology.

Annie started playing poker professionally with the help and guidance of her older brother. Her brother is Howard Lederer, two-time WSOP bracelet-winner. Howard had already been a winning poker player when he mentored Annie to her own success. At Annie’s first tournament, she finished 13th and ironically knocked out her brother on the way to scoring a nice cash. She won over $65,000 in her first month of playing professionally, which led to her move to Las Vegas, NV.

Annie finished 10th place at the 2000 World Series of Poker Main Event. The amazing thing about this accomplishment is that she was eight months pregnant at the time! Annie won her first WSOP bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo in 2004.

She also won the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where she defeated Phil Hellmuth heads-up to win $2,000,000. At the time of her victory, Annie broke the record for the most money ever won in a single tournament by a female.

Annie, a sponsor of Ultimate Bet, has also received a lot of publicity for coaching Ben Affleck on how to play poker. Affleck credits her with his major tournament win at the 2004 California State Poker Championship.

Annie is still a big threat today at the poker table. In last year’s Main Event, Annie finished 88th out of 8,773 entrants! As of 2008, Annie has won more than 3.4 million dollars.

There is a good chance Annie is on television whenever poker is being covered. She is featured on many shows for her outgoing personality and expert analysis. In 2006, the Game Show Network (GSN) aired Annie Duke Takes on the World, a special which showed her playing against unknown poker players. Annie proved her vast knowledge in multiple fields as she set a record on the NBC show 1 vs. 100 when she answered 35 straight trivia questions.

When Annie’s not with her four children, she will most likely be around a poker table in someway or another. She will easily be remembered as one of the best female poker players of all-time. However, Annie would argue that she is one of the greats of the game. She often times skips the “women only” tournaments to play with the guys. Her record has proven that she is one of the top tournament players, male or female, in the game today.

Huge Bluff on Ultimate Bet

D2V update 4/26/08: Click here to see the hand in a user-friendly format!

Hand summary: I successfully made a big re-raise all-in bluff against an opponent who was playing super-aggressively in previous hands at a $2/$4 No-Limit cash game on UltimateBet.

Hata19 was playing extremely aggressive for around 30 minutes during this particular cash game session. We were playing $2/$4 No-Limit on UB. My screen name is Auto Kash. Not only was Hata19 playing way too loose and aggressive in normal circumstances, but he was raising from the BB around 80% of the time when one or more players had limped. I decided to take a stand against him in this hand by calling a pre-flop raise, 6.5x the BB (six and a half times the big blind = 26$), with only A4 suited. I chose to do this because I was in position and planning on moving in on the turn without a hand if he had bet big on the flop and turn, playing for value if I got lucky on the flop, or folding later on if I felt like he was trying to trap me. He was playing very fast with bad hands and betting small with strong hands. I see this mistake fairly often online and it makes the strength of their hand easier to read.

Below is the hand history with zero additions or subtractions. Hata19 put in $181 of his $394 (45.93%) that he started the hand with before folding to my all-in raise on the turn. Usually it is not a good idea to move someone all-in on a stone cold bluff when they've invested nearly half of their stack, but I went with my strong read that he was holding a hand that he couldn't call with, and furthermore, a hand like a small suited connector (76s) that my Ace high was good against.

When deciding to bluff, it's crucial that you try and represent a hand that's superior to what you believe your opponent is holding. Don't just bluff someone randomly. Try to build a story with your actions throughout the hand that's easy for your opponent to read and allows them to incorrectly place you on a better hand. In this hand, I decided to play as if I held a hand KJo or A2s. If I did have these two hands, I most likely would have played them the same: limping in on the button (no raise), just calling on the flop, and then moving in on the turn. If you build the story in a hand in which you're bluffing, it'll make folding for your opponent easier and even satisfying.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Hand #50379091-1772 at Douglas (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 02/Feb/08 20:15:35

Auto Kash is at seat 0 with $442.80.
oddeye is at seat 1 with $404.
Hata19 is at seat 2 with $394.
588pokerplaye is at seat 3 with $454.90.
trowe22 is at seat 4 with $797.40.
DamigeX is at seat 5 with $377.35.
The button is at seat 0.

oddeye posts the small blind of $2.
Hata19 posts the big blind of $4.

Auto Kash: Ad 4d
oddeye: -- --
Hata19: -- --
588pokerplaye: -- --
trowe22: -- --
DamigeX: -- --

Pre-flop:
588pokerplaye calls.
trowe22 calls.
DamigeX folds.
Auto Kash calls.
oddeye folds.

Hata19 raises to $26.
588pokerplaye folds.
trowe22 folds.
Auto Kash calls.

Flop (board: 2s 2d Jc):
Hata19 bets $45.
Auto Kash calls.

Turn (board: 2s 2d Jc 8c):
Hata19 bets $110.
Auto Kash goes all-in for $371.80.
Hata19 folds.
Auto Kash is returned $261.80 (uncalled).

Hand #50379091-1772 Summary:
$3 is raked from a pot of $372.
$.50 jackpot contribution is raked.
Auto Kash wins $368.50.
----------------------------------------------------------------

I wanted to put this hand on here to show that it is important to know who your opponent is while deciding the right way to play your hands. Again, if I hadn't been watching Hata19 play super-aggressively with bad hands in attempt to steal unraised pots, I wouldn't have been able to pick up this pot ($191 profit).

Keep your focus on the players at your table and follow your reads!

P.S. "Huge Bluff on Ultimate Bet" is Dayton2Vegas.com's 100th post ever! =)

*Click here to check out CardPlayer's full list of poker vocabulary/abbreviations/etc.

D2V update 4/26/08: Click here to see the hand in a user-friendly format!

Live in the Moment

One day a hunter went up into the mountains hunting for birds. All day he saw not one bird, and so became hungry and tired. The sun was setting in the west, and it was evening. It was getting dark and he lost his way. He decided to walk slowly in a southern direction since his house was in the south.

Just then a tiger jumped in front of him and gave out a ferocious roar. The hunter, completely forgetting about being hungry, tired, and lost, ran as fast as he could, because his gun was for killing birds and not tigers. He was tearing along, totally unaware of where he was running. Just as the tiger was about to grab him, he fell into a deep miner’s hole. Luckily he caught onto a strong vine, and he sighed, “Oh my God, I’m safe.” He was dangling from the vine as up above the tiger roared viciously. Just as he had regathered his senses and was feeling safe, he heard a strange noise below. He looked down, and saw three huge snakes anxiously waiting for him to fall down. He didn’t know what to do, for he could not climb up or climb down. He felt desperate.

Just then he heard more noises above him. He looked up and saw a black and a white mouse eating away at the vine. He was getting more and more desperate. His mind was totally clear of all wants and desires, and he was only thinking that he was already dead. His mind was totally empty.

Suddenly he heard the buzzing of a bee above him and he saw that it was making honey. The honey was dripping down the vine. He tasted the honey, which was sweet, and his only thought was that he was hungry, and so ate the honey. He forgot about the tiger, the mice, and the snakes. He only ate the honey.

Purchase Zen and the Art of Poker: Timeless Secrets to Transform Your Game today on Amazon for only $3.99!

"Become more acutely aware of what's happening right now, this very moment." -Phil Jackson, Sacred Hoops

B. Wills Art

I wanted to start off my interview section by talking to a fellow student. I decided to go with the University of Dayton's most driven artist, Benjamin Wills.

Benjamin Wills is the full name of the artist, businessman, and anthropologist, who goes by B. Wills (BWillsArt.com) under his work. Ben is a sophomore at UD, majoring in Political Science, Criminal Justice. His hometown is Canton, OH. He uses his talent as an artist to help out many people. He strives to help out the public schools in Dayton, OH, as well as those in the Canton area. His artwork is truly original, usually drawn by hand with minimal tools as soon as a fresh idea arises in his head. His artwork, which is displayed on his website BWillsArt.com, covers various topics such as politics, sports, music, film, and more. Ben also uses his website as a outlet to express his own ideas on the aforementioned topics. He is always open for criticism and comments, whether they are directed towards his ideas or more importantly, his artwork.

Below is an excerpt from the interview I had with Ben, written in Q & A form:

Dayton2Vegas.com: What can people expect when they visit BWillsArt.com?
Benjamin Wills: They can expect to see opinionated sports articles, thoughts, movie reviews, and drawings. They can also expect to laugh if they don't take life too seriously!

D2V: What made you decide to donate to Dayton City Schools?
BW: I decided because the city school system is horrible. Rich Dayton kids call their student neighborhood "The Ghetto" when the real ghetto is right up Main Street.

D2V: Who do you consider as your heroes?
BW: My family members.

D2V: What do you say to people who disagree with you for giving money to charity?
BW: I laugh because it is a funny thing to be mad at someone for.

D2V: Okay, on the lighter side... do you have a girlfriend?
BW: No, but I wish I did.

D2V: Alright, what's next for you as an artist and a college kid? Name some of your future plans.
BW: Business, charity, beaches, New Orleans, Cali, boats, beers, babes, a quick nap at my place, then we hit the tizown.

D2V: Any last words that you'd like to tell the people?
BW: Read my thoughts and help me help hurricane victims this summer, whenever!

Ben and I enjoying a few Jooses while listening to Third Eye Blind!

Benjamin Wills is truly a compassionate and generous individual who is striving to help out many people by donating funds to charities with the money he makes through his artwork. If you'd like to visit his artwork and help him out, then go to his website at BWillsArt.com today!

BWillsArt.com

D2V's latest addition: "The Spotlight"

I'm always looking for interesting topics and stories to cover around the entertainment world. I've been in contact with a few celebrities in the world of sports, poker, music, and movies so far. I'm working on a few articles and interviews from my conversations with them that I'll post on Dayton2Vegas.com as soon as they're finished! The interviews have been extremely funny, candid, interesting, informative, and always entertaining. Stay tuned!

I was lucky enough to interview Brad "Yukon" Booth about his life as a professional poker player. Brad has played everyday for over twelve years and has become an Internet legend. In those twelve years, he once stayed in the Bellagio for nine months straight, waking up in the morning and strolling down to play high-limit cash games. He's played on GSN's High Stakes poker, NBC's Poker After Dark, NBC's Nation Heads-up Championship (where he just finished 9th out of 64), ESPN's WSOP, and many more. I just watched him on the Travel Channel last night when he finished 3rd at the WPT's Mandalay Bay Poker Championship for $320,000!

How good is he? Let's just say that Phil Hellmuth, Jr. referred to him as "the greatest poker player you've never head of." Not a bad compliment from the Poker Brat. His article/interview will be posted later on this week! =)

Booth and Hellmuth signing autographs for fans. (Photo courtesy of Nick Rehg)

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter! =)

Argosy Results (Part I)

Argosy Casino
Lawrenceburg, IN

I recorded all of my notes, hands, results, wins, losses, and entertaining stories from the past week while playing at the Casino. I literally kept a pencil and notebook under my chair to record data on the spot.

My original idea was to play $3/$6 Limit the whole week and record what I won or lost an hour. My plans changed after noticing how bad people were playing at the No-Limit tables. I haven't played at the Argosy casino for a while and I forgot how well I did playing No-Limit cash games. I play the absolute perfect way against these players. I read people extremely well and while on my medicine, I have more patience and discipline than Mother Teresa. So, I decided to play No-Limit the last time I went to the casino and it definitely paid off!

Below is the raw data and numbers from my four sessions over break thus far. On March 24th, I'm going to post the entertaining part of this venture. I can't wait to write about the guy who gave a million to one odds that a 16 seed wouldn't beat a 1 seed because "It's never ever happened, ever." Also, the old guy who gave me a $5 chip for calling him sir politely. I'll be sure to cover the "online is rigged", "aces always lose", "Dayton wouldn't win a single game if they played in the ACC", and so many other classic lines from the brilliant regulars at the casino. Stay tuned. =)

$3/$6 Limit Hold'em Session 1:
Date: March 15, 2008
Buy-in: $120
Cash-out: $138
Hours: 4
Session 1 per-hour: + $4.50
Session 1 total: + $18

$3/$6 Limit Hold'em Session 2:
Date: March 16, 2008
Buy-in: $120
Cash-out: $32
Hours: 2
Session 2 per-hour: - $44
Session 2 total: - $88
Overall: - $70

$3/$6 Limit Hold'em Session 3:
Date: March 17, 2008
Buy-in: $120
Cash-out: $59
Hours: 1.5
Session 3 per-hour: - $40.67
Session 3 total: - $61
Overall: - $131

$1/$3 No-Limit Hold'em Session 4:
Date: March 20, 2008
Buy-in: $300
Cash-out: $1,713
Hours: 11.5
Session 4 per-hour: + $122.87
Session 4 total: + $1,413
Overall: + 1,282

*Spring Break at the Argosy totals: $1,282 profit in 19 hours (+ $67.47/hour)

-Pictured above and to the right is a $100 chip from Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg, IN. I'm not gonna lie to you, it was pretty sweet shuffling a stack of ten in my hand while playing No-Limit.

Rae Rae!

Wow! Where do I begin? Spring break was amazing!

Check out my "UC Law's Karaoke Night" post to read about last weekend with Gabrel, Clay, and Rieman.

The UD game was a lot of fun. We beat Cleveland State and now play Illinois on Monday. If we beat them, we'll then have a chance to play OSU in the third round of the NIT! Thanks to Nick Pfeff for the wonderful hospitality Wednesday and for teaching me a new drinking game called "Eat Shit". We ended the night at Milano's on Brown St. where I won over twelve stuffed animals from the claw. Caroline and Annie enjoyed picking their favorite tie-dye Easter bunnies from the collection. I really am close to mastering the claw. $14 = 12 animals... not too shabby.

I wish Rachel could have been here all week but she's doing better things in Ecuador. Well, at least that's what they were supposed to do. I haven't heard a single word from her for over a week!

2008 New Year's Kiss with Rachel =P

I can put up pictures of me kissing Rachel because this is my damn website. Haha, just kidding. I'll stop the mushy crap and get back to poker very shortly...

Erika is home from Florida and Gabe is back from Cincinnati so this weekend will be great. We're celebrating Easter at our house on Sunday at 4pm. Over 50 people from our family will be here which means that it's highly likely that a poker game will bust out. I'm not kidding. Anyway, the celebration starts tonight at 10pm at Adobe Gila's at the Greene.

Come home Rachel! =)

Go Flyers!

UD game tonight against Cleveland State in the NIT!

$4 a ticket... how could I resist?

Turn on the TV, 'cause I'm rushing the court when we win.

UC Law's Karaoke Night

J. Clayton Brett was home in Dayton for Spring Break this past week. He's currently a senior at UF but I know him from grade school and high school. He was at UD every night but one which made for some hilarious and entertaining moments.

We saw There Will Be Blood (only my fourth time in the theater) which he absolutely loved! We played a lot of heads up poker. We played Five-card Draw, Omaha Hi, and of course, No-Limit Hold'em.

On Friday, we headed to Cincinnati to visit Gabe. Mike Rieman, future UC Law student, was already wasted by the time we showed up. We went on campus for Karaoke night. It was awesome! Gabe obviously dominated when he sang "Unchained Melody" mid-way through the night. Everyone went crazy while he was singing. There was around 100 people there and I'm pretty sure at least half came up to talk to him afterwards. "You should be on American Idol!" "Do you have a band?" "You have such a great voice." etc. It was so much fun... especially since the $3 cover charge (which Gabe paid) meant all you can drink Bud Select, Bud Light, and Miller Light. Not too shabby.

Check out a clip of Gabe singing "Unchained Melody" on YouTube.com! (0:50/6:26)

This is a picture of the crowd. Gabe, Mike, Clay, and I are double-fisting at the top-right part of this picture.

After Karaoke, we went back to Gabe's apartment and then out to O'Bryanville (O'Bryan Park?) and visited a few bars. Thanks to Gabe for a great night and a good farewell to Clay, at least till this summer! =)

Argosy

Spring break = poker at the Argosy

I'm going to do an article titled "Spring Break at the Argosy Casino" which will be published next week here on Dayton2Vegas.com. I'm going to write about the bad beats, my results, interesting hands, and everything else notable from a week at the Argosy.

It's 5:40 PM on Sunday, March 16th. I'm finishing up some script writing and I'm heading to the Casino right now. It's a little over an hour from Dayton to Lawrencesburg, IN, where the Argosy Casino is located.

I'm going to play $3/$6 limit everyday at the Argosy. I'm doing this to try and record results/data that has less variance then a no-limit cash game. Although I believe when a player is better than his opponents, playing No-Limit Hold'em is the more profitable game in the long run. You can exploit your opponents weaknesses way more often in No-Limit than in Fixed Limit games. However, in one week at the Argosy, the chances I profit each hand, hour, session, day, and in the whole week is much greater if I play $3/$6 Limit.

The luck factor is lower in the short term in Limit Hold'em but higher in the long run, while the luck factor is higher in the short term in No-Limit Hold'em but smaller in the long run.

The difficult part is describing what constitutes short and long term, but that's a whole different blog post. Stay tuned for updates each night when I return from the Argosy. My final article will be posted on March 24th!

Music

"Good music makes you homesick for a place you've never been."

Damian's old blog

The Moneymaker Effect

A biography of Chris Moneymaker by Damian M. Moorman, Dayton2Vegas.com

Chris Moneymaker is one of the most famous names in all of poker. He is the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion. He is also credited for the poker boom, which is often referred to as the “Moneymaker Effect”.

Moneymaker was born November 21, 1975, in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee. He has since quit his job as an accountant to pursue a career as a poker player and an ambassador of the game. He lives with his wife and daughter Ashley, who was born just a few months before the 2003 WSOP.

Moneymaker won his first and only WSOP bracelet at the 2003 WSOP Championship Event. This was at the same time ESPN began utilizing poker cams for viewing pleasure. He won a $10,000 seat for the Main Event after winning a satellite tournament which cost $40 at PokerStars.com. The 2003 WSOP Main Event, Moneymaker’s first live tournament ever, is the tournament credited for the start of the poker boom.

During the 2003 WSOP Main Event, Moneymaker pulled off the infamous all-in bluff with “King high” against Sammy Farha, the eventual runner up. This particular hand is known as the highlight of the tournament and referred to by many as one of the greatest bluffs in poker history. Norman Chad, an ESPN commentator, called Moneymaker’s all-in move “the bluff of the century.”

“Moneymaker”, a name perfect for poker, is Chris’ real last name. He is not shy to use his name to his advantage, as he is now a celebrity spokesman for Harrah’s Entertainment and Poker Stars. Moneymaker has found consistent financial success off the table, with projects such as his autobiography, Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker, which was released in March of 2005. Moneymaker’s book, which has sold over 40,000 copies, has been received favorably from the poker community.

The downfall to all of his success is the public criticism that Moneymaker receives almost daily for his poker ability, or lack thereof. Many online bloggers and critics believe Moneymaker is the most overrated player of all-time. Chris has yet to cash in the Main Event since his win in 2003, and has not won another bracelet at the WSOP. However, Moneymaker has not disappeared completely in the poker world, as he finished 2nd at a World Poker Tour event, which earned him $200,000. Moneymaker still must prove himself to skeptics over and over again at the poker table. Moneymaker’s latest cash at the $10,000 buy-in European Poker Tour Main Event, where he finished 17th place out of 392 of the world’s best players, is a strong argument that he really can play the game.

Whether Chris Moneymaker is a quality poker player or a fluke, he has done more for the game than almost anyone else. His inspirational victory at the 2003 WSOP has catapulted him to legendary status. Doyle Brunson took poker from underground games in Texas to the casinos of Las Vegas, but Moneymaker took the game from casinos right into our family rooms.

The “Moneymaker Effect” has lifted the game of poker to incredible new heights producing never-before-seen prize pools and huge fields of players. The poker world has changed forever with the invention of “pocket cams” and the Cinderella story of Chris Moneymaker. With his dark shades, fearless all-in bluff, priceless last name, and boy next door charm, Moneymaker has made a place for himself in poker history.

New Oscar Poll Added!

What is the best movie to never win an Oscar?

You decide!

*The list of the best movies never to win an Oscar were narrowed down to the following films:

The Sixth Sense
It's a Wonderful Life
Fight Club
American Graffiti
Seven
Psycho
The Gangs of New York
The Green Mile
Scarface
The Shining
The Shawshank Redemption
The Terminator
Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
Requiem for a Dream
*random order

Vote now!

The poll will close on April 18, 2008 at 11:59 PM.

Best Movie w/ No Oscars?

What is the best movie never to win an Oscar?

I've been researching the history of the Academy Awards lately and I compiled a list of movies with zero Oscars to its name. Listed below with each movie is the year it was released, the number of Academy Award nominations (if any), and each specific category.

In order of most Oscar nominations:

The Color Purple (1985)
11 Oscar nominations (Picture, Actress, Supporting Actress (twice), Writing, Cinematography, Music - Score, Music - Song, Art Design, Costume Design, Make-up)

The Gangs of New York (2002)
10 Oscar nominations (Picture, Director, Actor, Writing, Cinematography, Sound, Music - Song, Editing, Costume Design, Art Direction)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
7 Oscar nominations (Picture, Actor, Writing, Cinematography, Sound, Music - Score, Editing)

The Sixth Sense (1999)
6 Oscar nominations (Picture, Director, Support Actor, Supporting Actress, Writing, Editing)

American Graffiti (1973)
5 Oscar nominations (Picture, Director, Supporting Actress, Writer, Film Editing)

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
5 Oscar nominations (Picture, Director, Actor, Editing, Sound)

City of God (2002)
4 Oscar nominations (Director, Writing, Cinematography, Editing)

Die Hard (1988)
4 Oscar nominations (Sound, Editing, Effects - Sound, Effects - Visual)

Psycho (1960)
4 Oscar nominations (Director, Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction)

Rear Window (1954)
4 Oscar nominations (Director, Writing, Cinematography, Sound)

Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
4 Oscar nominations (Sound, Music - Score, Effects - Sound, Art Direction)

The Green Mile (1999)
4 Oscar nominations (Picture, Supporting Actor, Writing, Sound)

12 Angry Men (1957)
3 Oscar nominations (Picture, Director, Writing)

Hotel Rwanda (2004)
3 Oscar nominations (Actor, Actress, Writing)

Toy Story (1995)
3 Oscar nominations (Writing, Music - Score, Music - Song)

Singin' in the Rain (1952)
2 Oscar nominations (Supporting Actress, Writing)

Young Frankenstein (1974)
2 Oscar nominations (Writing, Sound)

American History X (1998)
1 Oscar nomination (Actor)

Batman Begins (2005)
1 Oscar nomination (Cinematography)

Fight Club (1999)
1 Oscar nomination (Sound Effects)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)
1 Oscar nomination (Writing)

Requiem for a Dream (2002)
1 Oscar nomination (Actress)

Seven (1995)
1 Oscar nomination (Editing)

-All of the remaining movies received 0 Academy Award Nominations:

A Christmas Story (1983)
Animal House (1978)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Donnie Darko (2001)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
Heat (1995)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
King Kong (1933)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Scarface (1983)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
The Shining (1980)
The Terminator (1984)

What movie do you think is the best to never win an Oscar? Comment with your top 5. The official poll is coming soon once the list is narrowed down by you! Stay tuned...

Poker Poll Results!

The readers of Dayton2Vegas.com have chosen who they believe is the "Best Poker Player" out of these elite six!

6th place - Doyle Brunson (2%)

5th place - Johnny Chan (5%)

4th place - Daniel Negreanu (11%)

2nd place (tied) - Phil Ivey (13%)

2nd place (tied) - Chip Reese (13%)

1st place - Phil Hellmuth, Jr. (52%)

Poison Ivey

A biography of Phil Ivey by Damian M. Moorman, Dayton2Vegas.com

Phil Ivey is considered by many as the greatest poker player alive. He has taken over this title from the late Chip Reese and has earned every bit of respect given to him by his peers.

Ivey was born on February 1, 1976, in Riverside, California. He moved to New Jersey when he was just a few months old. When Ivey was just a teenager, he began honing his skills in Atlantic City. He played with a fake ID under the name Jerome.

Phil Ivey is extremely dangerous at many poker games, especially No-limit Hold’em. He plays completely fearless and has amazing instincts. Ivey plays “small pot poker”, similar to Phil Hellmuth Jr. and Daniel Negreanu, because he realizes he has the biggest edge on his opponents post-flop.

He came into the spotlight in the poker world at the World Series of Poker in 2002 where he won three bracelets that year! Phil Ivey’s three wins in the same year at the WSOP ties him with Ted Forrest and Phil Hellmuth Jr. for the most ever in the same year. His biggest cash at the WSOP came with his fifth bracelet in 2005, when he won the $5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha championship for $635,603. He is also known for his great results in the main event. Between 2002 and 2005, he finished in the top 25 three separate times.

Ivey has also faired well at World Poker Tour events. He has made over 3 million dollars and made eight final tables. Ivey also made a final table, finishing second place, at his first ever European Poker Tour event. No one is safe from Phil Ivey when he sits down at the poker table. Ivey has shown that he is not just a one trick pony also. He can play multiple games and displays his talent at “The Big Game”, the biggest cash game in the world, where he consistently wins money playing against the top players in the world.

Phil Ivey is famous for winning many big tournaments at the WSOP, WPO, Bellagio, and other great results at the WPT and EPT, but he has also dominated players elsewhere. In 2005, Ivey took home $1,000,000 when he won the Monte Carlo Millions. Just one day after that million dollar cash, Ivey won the “FullTiltPoker.net Invitational” for $600,000. Not a bad two-day pay day!

Ivey is one of the most well known tournament Hold’em players ever, but considers himself a cash game player at heart. The money up for grabs in tournaments just doesn’t compare to what Ivey can make playing side games. In 2006, Ivey won over $16,000,000 in only three days playing heads up against Texas Billionaire Andy Beal. After losing to Ivey for three days straight, Andy Beal vowed to quit poker forever. Phil Ivey has this effect on other players. Ivey speaks with his actions, both his play and his darting eyes, but never with his temper. He is respected by his peers and displays great emotional control at such a young age. Ivey won all five of his WSOP bracelets before he was 30 years old.

Ivey now lives in Las Vegas, NV, with his wife high school sweetheart Luciaetta. He's still playing in tournaments and winning as much money as he ever has. He took home a Poker After Dark title in the first season, banking $120,000. He can be seen playing on TV almost daily on GSN’s High Stakes Poker, ESPN’s Pro-Ams, NBC’s Heads-up Championship, FSN’s Aussie Millions cash games, and many more shows. He is a member of Full Tilt Poker and one of the most recognizable faces in the game today.

On February 28, 2008, Ivey won the L.A. Poker Classic. Ivey outlasted almost 700 other top professionals to take home the first place prize of $1,596,100. The final six players, which included Phil Hellmuth, Jr. and Nam Le, were extremely tough. Less than a week after Ivey's win at the L.A. Poker Classic, he came 3rd at NBC's National Heads-up Championship for $125,000!

Phil Ivey, five time WSOP bracelet winner, doesn’t stop succeeding at poker tournaments. He's a cash game specialist and easily the most feared player to sit at any poker table, no matter the game, stakes, or players. Maybe the scariest part of all is that Ivey is so young and has many great years ahead of him.

Top 15 Performances

My Top 15 Favorite Acting Performances:

1. Daniel Day-Lewis – My Left Foot
2. Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
3. Robert De Niro – Raging Bull
4. Paul Newman – Cool Hand Luke
5. Leonardo DiCaprio – The Aviator
6. Edward Norton – American History X
7. Daniel Day-Lewis – The Gangs of New York
8. Al Pacino – The Godfather: Part II
9. Anthony Perkins – Psycho
10. Jim Caviezel – The Passion of The Christ
11. Marlon Brando – The Godfather
12. Daniel Day Lewis – In The Name of The Father
13. Peggy Ann Garner – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
14. Leonardo DiCaprio – Blood Diamond
15. Sean Penn – Mystic River

How to put another player on tilt

by Damian M. Moorman, Dayton2Vegas.com

Mike Matusow and Antanas “Tony G” Guoga are two of the best at putting their opponents on tilt. These guys can talk, but they also have game to back it up. Matusow and Tony G have combined to make over seven million dollars in tournament cashes over the last ten years. This terrible twosome yells, points, mocks, and even sings their way to controlling the table, and with it, their opponents’ emotions. So how can we use similar tactics to put our opponents on tilt? Let’s take a closer look at the two players mentioned above.

Mike Matusow is known, for better or for worse, as a talker. He is nicknamed “The Mouth” for a reason. He throws his opponents off by using many different tactics. It is not a coincidence that he is most talkative after someone loses a big pot. His non-stop chatter angers many players at his table. He also verbally taunts other players when he wins a pot or when they make a bad play. He makes other players scared to play against him in fear of what he might say next. The Mouth will say, or sing, just about anything to get opponents on tilt. No one likes to be mocked or disturbed when they are concentrating. Mike Matusow knows this and utilizes it at the table.

Now let’s take a look at Tony G. If you are not sure if you have ever seen him play, I would bet that you haven’t. Tony G is one of the most memorable players in the game today because of his antics at the table. Many people believe his tactics to tilt opponents are disrespectful and immature, but few claim that they are not effective. Tony G might even be a level above Mike Matusow as a trash talker because he usually gets even more personal with his words. While Mike Matusow may force his opponents to play worse, due to annoyance or frustration, Tony G makes his opponents play the way he wants them to play.

We are most likely not going to be as good at being bad as Mike Matusow or Tong G, but we can still put players on tilt. I am not advising you to taunt or berate players because I do not know who you sit down at the table with regularly. After seeing many of the things these two characters say to other opponents, it may be safer for you to pass on the verbal attacks. Still there are other ways to force your opponents on tilt.

One player I believe is very good at frustrating his opponents does so without ever saying a word. I see this man playing $2/$5 No-limit side games at Argosy casino, located in Lawrenceburg, IN. He is not an arrogant and flashy player like The Mouth or Tony G. He uses his silence to aggravate players. I have seen this guy play multiple times and have yet to hear him talk. It upsets other players so much when he doesn’t respond to their small talk. This is not the only passive way he can tilt his opponents. When he raises another players’ bet, he uses both hands and crosses the chips in the shape of an “x”. Besides realizing that they have just lost the pot to this man, his unique way of raising them adds insult to injury. I have seen players so upset with the creative way he raises that they have slammed the table and walked out of the poker room cursing. One player, an older lady, was so upset with him after a pot she lost that she attempted to mock him by mimicking the way he bet for nearly an hour. In his quiet and non-confrontational way, he managed to put players on tilt without saying one word.

It is a gift to be able to get inside the mind of another player and figure out what kind of a hand he is holding. This is the same for figuring out what makes an opponent go on tilt. Work on it the next time you play. Don’t lose focus of the ultimate goal, which is to make your opponents play worse. Avoid being rude for no reason but try finding out how to make a player lose concentration. Sing an annoying song, make a sarcastic comment about a bad play, bet in a weird fashion when raising another player, or remain quiet when asked about a past hand. Put your opponents on tilt and reap the benefits.

Jesus Walks... and dances.

A biography of Chris “Jesus” Ferguson by Damian M. Moorman, Dayton2Vegas.com

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, born on April 11, 1963, in Los Angeles, California, has won over six million dollars in poker tournaments over the last fifteen years. He is a Doctor of Philosophy from UCLA and is known as one of the best tournament poker players of all time.

Ferguson is also one of the smartest poker players to play the game. Chris comes from an extremely educated family. His mother has a Ph.D., as well as his father, Thomas Ferguson, who presently teaches game theory at UCLA. Chris is also an expert in game theory, which he utilizes at the poker table. He earned his Ph.D. from UCLA in computer science in 1999. After graduating from UCLA, Ferguson focused very hard on poker. The following year he won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in a Seven Card Stud event and then his second at the Main Event Championship. He won 1.5 million dollars for his 2000 Main Event win. Not a bad year for the Doctor of Philosophy!

Ferguson won five bracelets at the WSOP from 2000-2003. He is known for being able to compete at the highest levels in many different forms of poker. His bracelets range from Seven Card Stud, Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight or Better, and No-Limit Hold’em. Ferguson is a very analytical player and is famous for his motionless posture and unreadable poker face. Ferguson is the only player in the world to have won three WSOP circuit events.

Chris Ferguson earned the nickname “Jesus” mainly for his appearance at the table. His trademark image consists of his long dark hair, beard, black shades, and a cowboy hat. While often times Ferguson displays what could be called miraculous judgment at the table, his appearance is responsible for earning him one of the best nicknames in poker.

A legendary story surrounding Ferguson is that he once turned his online poker bankroll of $1 into over $20,000. Since there were many doubters of his well-known story, Ferguson decided to silence his critics. As a member of Full Tilt Poker, Jesus Ferguson vowed to turn $0 into $10,000. Ferguson documented all of his tournament and cash game results. He took on this highly publicized challenge to teach young poker players about the important and underrated concept of bankroll management. After 16 months, Ferguson reached his goal when he crossed the $10,000 mark while playing in a $25/$50 No-Limit cash game. He didn’t stop there as he managed to take $0 all the way up to $30,000 in less than a year and a half. He didn’t do it for the money. In fact, all the money that was made on this endeavor was given to charity by Jesus, go figure.

Ferguson has also done very well in poker tournaments outside the WSOP. In the short four year run of NBC's National Heads-Up Championship, Jesus has stood out from the rest of the field. He has made it to the finals three times which is an unbelievable accomplishment. He defeated Andy Bloch on March 2, 2008 to win the Heads-Up Championship and the $500,000 prize. He also came in second place out of the field of 64 pros in back-to-back years in 'o5 and '06. He has cashed in many World Poker Tour events and is looking for his first win this year.

Jesus Ferguson is one of the greatest tournament poker players of the last fifteen years. Along with Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, and Phil Ivey, Ferguson has dominated huge fields to win tournaments consistently. His amazing results at the WSOP have taken Jesus to legendary status in the poker world. He is on the top ten all-time WSOP list for number of bracelets, top five list for most WSOP cashes (times in the money), and top twenty list for most WSOP winnings. New players rise and fall very fast in the poker world because they lack the control and patience of Jesus Ferguson. It’s a safe bet that he will be a consistent force in poker for many years to come.

TwoFifty.org

Keep track of how many movies you have seen on the Internet Movie Database's Top 250!





You can check out which movies I have seen by clicking the meter above. I'm not even over halfway through them all yet!

The Poker Brat

A biography of Phil Hellmuth, Jr. by Damian M. Moorman, Dayton2Vegas.com

Phil Hellmuth, Jr. was born on July 16, 1964, in Madison, Wisconsin. He left school at Madison-Wisconsin as a junior to pursue poker professionally. The poker world would never be the same.

Phil Hellmuth, Jr. is regarded by many as the greatest No-limit Hold’em player of all-time. He has won the most World Series of Poker tournaments ever. Hellmuth’s eleven wins, equaling eleven bracelets, all have come in Hold’em as well. Hellmuth prides himself on outplaying his opponents, which many times follow with him berating their play.

“He (Hellmuth) is the greatest tournament No-limit Hold’em player ever,” said Johnny Chan. This is a powerful statement from a player who many people also consider to be one of the all-time greats. Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson are tied for the second most WSOP bracelets with ten each.

Hellmuth has earned quite a reputation as the bad boy of poker. He is referred to as the “poker brat”, but Phil doesn’t mind. He has used this image to make money and he has done it very well. Hellmuth has found financial success outside of poker in many different ways. He has a website, PhilHellmuth.com, which sells just about every kind of merchandise you could imagine. Hellmuth’s site sells T-shirts, poker chip sets, DVDs, hats, and more. You can even sign up for his newsletter, The Two Nine Times, a name referring to his winning hand at the 1989 Main Event. He has also written a New York Times’ best-selling book called "Play Poker like the Pros," among other poker instructional books. Hellmuth endorses the online poker site Ultimate Bet through television commercials and magazine ads. Hellmuth also owns many shares in companies including CardPlayer magazine.

Phil Hellmuth will be the first one to tell you how well he has done on and off the table. He has provided ESPN with some of the best shots and entertaining clips over the past few years. Whether you are one of the people who loves him or one that hates him, he remains one of the most popular names in the business.

In his personal life, Phil Hellmuth is a very down-to-earth guy. He is married and has two sons, Phillip and Nicholas. He currently resides in Palo Alto, California. Hellmuth's financial success has given him the opportunity to donate lots of money to numerous charities. Many of the other top professionals say that he is very difficult to play with on the table but is a genuinely nice guy and a loyal friend.

Hellmuth is also a member of the poker hall of fame. Hellmuth became the youngest player ever to win the WSOP Main Event when he defeated two-time winner Johnny Chan. Hellmuth still holds that record today along with most cashes, most final tables, and most bracelets. Hellmuth has won $5,604,386 at the WSOP over the years and is ranked seventh on the All-time Money List. All of these records help distinguish Phil Hellmuth, Jr. as the greatest ever to play No-limit Hold’em tournaments.

Atonement = Best Picture

My top five movies of 2007 (in order):

5. Charlie Wilson's War

This was the Oscar's biggest snub of the year. This movie was really good and deserving of an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. However, since it was not as strong as the top four, I'd understand having one of the following movies as the fifth nomination: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Eastern Promises, American Gangster, Zodiac, or as the Academy decided - Juno.


4. There Will Be Blood (National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film)

The top four movies are amazing. I personally liked watching TWBB the most just because of Daniel Day-Lewis' performance. I've seen it four times in the theater already. It's my favorite acting ever (followed by De Niro in Raging Bull, Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke, and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator). I would rate TWBB #4 because the last third of the movie lost the magical touch Paul Thomas Anderson created in the beginning.


3. Michael Clayton

This was a very interesting film with a great story and even better performances by George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, and Tilda Swinton. I picked Tilda Swinton to win because I thought her performance was shockingly strong. Most roles are written for men to shine on screen but with Tilda, you get to see one of the best actresses around today (along with Cate Blanchett).


2. No Country For Old Men (Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture)

The Coen brothers' epic/horrific/masterful thriller was my favorite movie of the year. I went to see this the first day I could and was stunned walking out of the theater. I drug my friends and family to the movies to watch it because no one had heard of it at the time. They enjoyed it as well which led to everyone saying "Call it" for the following weeks. The directing was maybe the best I have ever seen. I would have given the Oscar to the Coen brothers for directing, but not the Best Picture. It would have been maybe the third or fourth time the Best Director wouldn't have won the Best Picture as well.


1. Atonement (Golden Globe Winner for Best Motion Picture - Drama)

This was the last of the Best Picture nominees that I saw. I went to see it thinking that it was going to be a good chick-flick. I was shocked after watching it. Atonement was absolutely amazing! I realized this movie was something special right from the very beginning. The score is very unique and deserving of the Oscar it won for Best Score. The writing (based on the novel by Ian McEwan) was spectacular. The ending is the best from the whole year, and that's saying a lot. Atonement's ending is one that no one can see coming and is extremely intelligent. The acting is strong, especially by Saoirse Ronan. How Joe Wright didn't receive an Oscar nomination for Best Director is beyond me. The Coen brothers are amazing and I believe should have won but Wright was snubbed from a nomination. If you haven't seen Atonement because you were scared of seeing a chick-flick and didn't give it a chance, I strongly suggest you see it.


Best Picture: Atonement
Best Director: The Coen brothers

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem
Best Actress: Julie Christie
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton

Best Screenplay: Atonement
Best Cinematography: No Country for Old Men
Best Score: Atonement