More on this later... but, Scotty won the HORSE tournament last night. E-dog finished third putting him on top of the POY race for the WSOP.
I'm moving into my new apartment so I don't have much time right now. I'm gonna finish the blog on the home game domination from last week. I have a game tomorrow night as well so I'll post the big hands.
Peace all!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
RIP John Bonetti
Poker professional John Bonetti passed away yesterday. He won three bracelets and cashed over 32 times at the World Series of Poker. He had won over 4 million dollars in tournaments throughout his career. Bonetti had been battling with spinal cancer since 1992. He was one of Phil Hellmuth's best friends. Read Phil's words on the late poker pro.
Check out 2008 WSOP Player of the Year Race!
*Niky E. breaks Hellmuth's record for most cashes in a year with nine so far!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Razor wins AGAIN!
John" Razor" Phan won his 2nd gold bracelet of the 2008 World Series of Poker last night! Amazing! He now pulls into the lead of the Player of the Year race. Phan gets back into the action tonight looking to win his third!
Phan's two bracelets were won in the same week! He won Event #29 and #40 cashing in for almost $600,000 between the both of them.
Michael Binger's brother Nick Binger entered the final table of a WSOP event last night with the chip lead but fell just short of a bracelet finishing in third place.
My poker life:
*I played at a home game last night ($1/$2 No-Limit) near my house. I have a lot of great hands to talk about and finally blog some advanced strategy! I cashed out over 7.5 times my original buy-in. How sick is that? I'll post very soon with all the entertaining details. Thanks!
Phan's two bracelets were won in the same week! He won Event #29 and #40 cashing in for almost $600,000 between the both of them.
Michael Binger's brother Nick Binger entered the final table of a WSOP event last night with the chip lead but fell just short of a bracelet finishing in third place.
My poker life:
*I played at a home game last night ($1/$2 No-Limit) near my house. I have a lot of great hands to talk about and finally blog some advanced strategy! I cashed out over 7.5 times my original buy-in. How sick is that? I'll post very soon with all the entertaining details. Thanks!
Monday, June 23, 2008
City of God (2002)
Two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer.
-Four Academy Award Nominations
(including Best Director)
-#16 on IMDb.com's Top 250
-Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94% (top critics)
-D2V: 93
Sunday, June 22, 2008
David Benyamine wins 1st bracelet!
David Benyamine (pictured below) won his first gold World Series of Poker bracelet last night and jumps to second place in the Player of the Year race! Benyamine won Event #37 and pocketed over $535,000 for first place!
Jesper Hougaard won Event #36 and won over $600,000! Most of you won't recognize his name but he's most famous for playing at the same table with Jamie Gold in last year's Main Event at the featured table. He has a shaved head and called out Gold's hand on a few occasions.
*I start school tomorrow back at UD for one of my last undergraduate classes of my life! It's getting close to graduation time and all I can think about is getting through and getting on with poker full-time.
Jesper Hougaard won Event #36 and won over $600,000! Most of you won't recognize his name but he's most famous for playing at the same table with Jamie Gold in last year's Main Event at the featured table. He has a shaved head and called out Gold's hand on a few occasions.*I start school tomorrow back at UD for one of my last undergraduate classes of my life! It's getting close to graduation time and all I can think about is getting through and getting on with poker full-time.
I'm headin' over to Clay's house right now to watch There Will Be Blood.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Back on Top!
Layne Flack wins Event #34! He won the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament and pocketed over $575,000, the biggest cash of his career. "Back-to-Back" Flack now has six WSOP bracelets! Only Hellmuth, Chan, Brunson, Moss, Seidel, and Baxter have more bracelets than him! Amazing!
Chris Ferguson came 2nd a few nights ago and 3rd earlier this summer in a WSOP event. He has had a great year and is looking for his 6th bracelet as well. Mike "The Mouth" Matusow is deep yet again in a tournament looking to be the first person to win two bracelets at the 2008 World Series of Poker. I'll post tomorrow on the outcome of the tournament.
"Super" Dario Minieri won a bracelet in Event #31 a few nights ago. It was a six-handed event so you can imagine he played like a maniac and outdrew people a few times. Anyway, congrats to the Poker Stars member on his first bracelet.
Chris Ferguson came 2nd a few nights ago and 3rd earlier this summer in a WSOP event. He has had a great year and is looking for his 6th bracelet as well. Mike "The Mouth" Matusow is deep yet again in a tournament looking to be the first person to win two bracelets at the 2008 World Series of Poker. I'll post tomorrow on the outcome of the tournament."Super" Dario Minieri won a bracelet in Event #31 a few nights ago. It was a six-handed event so you can imagine he played like a maniac and outdrew people a few times. Anyway, congrats to the Poker Stars member on his first bracelet.Friday, June 20, 2008
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button trailer!
Check out the new trailer (English version)!
Oscar nominatons:
Best Actor: Brad Pitt
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett
Best Actress (supporting): Tilda Swinton
...I can't wait!
Oscar nominatons:
Best Actor: Brad Pitt
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett
Best Actress (supporting): Tilda Swinton
...I can't wait!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Argosy Casino w/ Clay
I'm headed towards Argosy Casino later this afternoon with Clay (UF grad/Vanderbilt first year law student). We're going to relax and have fun grindin' it out at a low-limit table and then spend the night in Cincy celebrating the inevitable cash victory!
I watched Lars and the Real Girl last night with Rachel and it was really fun. Rachel loved it because Ryan Gosling's character "Lars" may even be sweeter than "Noah" from The Notebook. I liked it for the creative and extremely original Oscar-nominated screenplay as well as Gosling's great Golden Globe nominated acting. For a little more on Gosling, read "Who are the best young actors?" from my Everything Movies blog.
Congrats to Tiger on his US Open win! I saw a NIKE commercial with him and his dad. His dad's voice was over old photos and tapes of Tiger playing golf as a kid. It's a sweet commercial. As they show young tiger hit a shot and look over at his dad with that stare of a champion, Eye of the Tiger if you will, his dad says "Sometimes after a great shot, Tiger would look over at me without saying a word, and give me that look, that Tiger look that said 'how about that' with great pleasure. I told him when he was young time and time again that he had an advantage over anyone because he would never meet someone that was more mentally tough than he was. Never." Wow! How sick is that? And I think it's true. It motivated me to really focus on poker and especially the mental side. I want to be a fierce competitor at the table. I want players to hate playing against me. I want to try everything in my power(s) to win, but accept losing, and to do it with grace and class. I want to come back better the next time I play and to truly be the best. It's funny how a 30-second NIKE commercial can get me going but that's the effect Tiger has. He is the greatest golfer of all-time and fought through a lot of pain to take down his 14th Major Championship (65th PGA win). By the way, he's now 14 for 14 when going into the final round of a major with the lead! Simply the best.
I watched Lars and the Real Girl last night with Rachel and it was really fun. Rachel loved it because Ryan Gosling's character "Lars" may even be sweeter than "Noah" from The Notebook. I liked it for the creative and extremely original Oscar-nominated screenplay as well as Gosling's great Golden Globe nominated acting. For a little more on Gosling, read "Who are the best young actors?" from my Everything Movies blog.
Congrats to Tiger on his US Open win! I saw a NIKE commercial with him and his dad. His dad's voice was over old photos and tapes of Tiger playing golf as a kid. It's a sweet commercial. As they show young tiger hit a shot and look over at his dad with that stare of a champion, Eye of the Tiger if you will, his dad says "Sometimes after a great shot, Tiger would look over at me without saying a word, and give me that look, that Tiger look that said 'how about that' with great pleasure. I told him when he was young time and time again that he had an advantage over anyone because he would never meet someone that was more mentally tough than he was. Never." Wow! How sick is that? And I think it's true. It motivated me to really focus on poker and especially the mental side. I want to be a fierce competitor at the table. I want players to hate playing against me. I want to try everything in my power(s) to win, but accept losing, and to do it with grace and class. I want to come back better the next time I play and to truly be the best. It's funny how a 30-second NIKE commercial can get me going but that's the effect Tiger has. He is the greatest golfer of all-time and fought through a lot of pain to take down his 14th Major Championship (65th PGA win). By the way, he's now 14 for 14 when going into the final round of a major with the lead! Simply the best.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Hellmuth falls short of bracelet but...
Phil Hellmuth Jr. made his first final table (Best Final Table of All-Time) at the '08 WSOP a few days ago but was knocked out in 8th pl
ace. Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond won the tournament. Most of you probably won't recognize his name but he is one of the best new players in the game, alongside Tom "Durr" Dwan. Although he looks like a UD Flyer playing $.25/.5 at Marianist 2nd floor lobby, Phil Galfond plays extremely high stakes online and has also been on GSN's High Stakes Poker.
The Year of the Pros continues at the WSOP this year as John "Razor" Phan won the latest gold bracelet in Event #29. "Razor" has won over 3.4 million dollars in tournament poker over his career. Some of you might remember him from the '04 WSOP when he was at the final table of a Stud tournament with Marcel Luske and Joe Awada. He's nicknamed "Razor" for his aggressive playing style and for his razor sharp hair... seriously.
ace. Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond won the tournament. Most of you probably won't recognize his name but he is one of the best new players in the game, alongside Tom "Durr" Dwan. Although he looks like a UD Flyer playing $.25/.5 at Marianist 2nd floor lobby, Phil Galfond plays extremely high stakes online and has also been on GSN's High Stakes Poker.Hellmuth has now cashed twice in a row and is currently deep in a No-Limit tournament. In Event #32, Hellmuth is around 100th in chips with 166 players left out of a huge field of 2,304. The buy-in was $1,500 (I'm playing in this tournament next year!) and the tourney resumes in six hours. He is towards the bottom in the chip count but that's nothing new to the Poker Brat. His extremely tight play makes it unusual for him to pick up a lot of chips early in a large tournament. He always hangs around and picks his spot better than any player in the world. I expect him to stay towards the bottom for a few more hours until he traps someone for a huge pot. One of the best parts about his game, maybe only second to his amazing reading abilities, is his ability to change pace at the end of a tournament. He mixes it up at the final table, loosens up his starting hands, and many times runs over the final few players. This is one of the main reasons he's so dangerous and is regarded as the greatest tournament Hold'em player of all-time. Follow the Phil Hellmuth show today at WorldSeriesofPoker.com.
The Year of the Pros continues at the WSOP this year as John "Razor" Phan won the latest gold bracelet in Event #29. "Razor" has won over 3.4 million dollars in tournament poker over his career. Some of you might remember him from the '04 WSOP when he was at the final table of a Stud tournament with Marcel Luske and Joe Awada. He's nicknamed "Razor" for his aggressive playing style and for his razor sharp hair... seriously.Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Best Final Table of All-Time?
Phil Hellmuth, Jr. has finally cashed in the World Series of Poker this year! And just when I doubted his heart and dedication, he makes a final table in Pot-Limit Omaha (Event #28). He's going to be playing for his 12th bracelet later today at what I think is the greatest final table of all-time.
The final ten players:
Phil Hellmuth 11 bracelets
Johnny Chan 10 bracelets
Jesus Ferguson 5 bracelets
Daniel Negreanu 4 bracelets
John Juanda 3 bracelets
David Benyamine
Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond
Brian "tsarrast" Rast
Kirill Gerasimov
Adam Hourani
The final ten players:
Phil Hellmuth 11 bracelets
Johnny Chan 10 bracelets
Jesus Ferguson 5 bracelets
Daniel Negreanu 4 bracelets
John Juanda 3 bracelets
David Benyamine
Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond
Brian "tsarrast" Rast
Kirill Gerasimov
Adam Hourani
Monday, June 16, 2008
"The Year of the Pros"
Barry Greenstein just won the Razz (Event #26) bracelet a few minutes ago in Las Vegas! The pros continue to dominate as "Sick Call" Kenny Tran won the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Heads-up Championship (Event #25) tonight as well!
I'm headed to Columbus for a few days to spend some time with Rachel. =) We're going to watch Lars and the Real Girl (*RT=81, 1 Oscar nom) and The Savages (*RT=90, 2 Oscar noms). I'm excited to finish up seeing the best films of 2007.
Update on the Poker Brat: Phil Hellmuth Jr. is 5th in chips with 20 people left in the PLO tournament. The top 18 cash so he's close to making it 13 years straight with at least one cash! Can he win bracelet number 12? Stay tuned...
I'm headed to Columbus for a few days to spend some time with Rachel. =) We're going to watch Lars and the Real Girl (*RT=81, 1 Oscar nom) and The Savages (*RT=90, 2 Oscar noms). I'm excited to finish up seeing the best films of 2007.I watched Atonement (*RT=82, 7 Oscar noms, 1 win - music) again tonight with my family. It's amazing. What's surprising is that many people (you) haven't seen the Golden Globe Winner for Best Picture yet. It's great! Yes, it's kinda a chick-flick, but Joe Wright's directing is worth seeing it alone. It's one of the best films I have seen in the last five years. Check it out at McDonald's for $1 you cheap bastards!
*RT=Rotten Tomatoes
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Poker Brat, Italian Pirate, & Hickle bros.
Hellmuth's record is in jeopardy! Alright, not his 11 bracelet record but his personal record of 12 straight years at the WSOP with at least one cash. He hasn't cashed yet and the WSOP is halfway done! Check out his latest tournament results. He's sixth in chips with 56 people left in a Pot-Limit Omaha tournament. Can he possibly win his first non Hold'em title? We'll see.
A tale of two brothers: Blair Hickle won Event #23 last night which goes along great with his brother's Event #2 win. They become the first brothers to win gold bracelets in the same year at the WSOP! Check out the story at CardPlayer.com!
Allen Cunningham came close last night but fell short of his sixth bracelet. The Italian Pirate (Max Pescatori) won the event which was his second gold bracelet. Below is a picture of Max after winning his first gold bracelet.
A tale of two brothers: Blair Hickle won Event #23 last night which goes along great with his brother's Event #2 win. They become the first brothers to win gold bracelets in the same year at the WSOP! Check out the story at CardPlayer.com!
21: The Man behind the Movie
by Damian M. Moorman, Dayton2Vegas.com
"21" is the number one movie at the box office this month, bringing in over 70 million dollars in ticket sales in three weeks alone. The movie is about six college students, known as the MIT Blackjack team, who won millions of dollars at Las Vegas casinos after learning how to count cards. "21" is inspired by the New York Times Best Seller Bringing Down the House.
Last week, I was fortunate enough to talk to Andy Bloch, one of the main "players" portrayed in the movie. I interviewed Andy about his early career as a part of the MIT Blackjack team, his views on "21", and his amazing success at the poker table.
In 1994, one of the founders of the MIT Blackjack team recruited Andy while he was attending MIT. Andy took on almost every role during his six years on the team. He started out as a "spotter" and became a "big player" within a few months. The "big player" is the role glorified in "21" as the person who risks the most money at the tables. His most important responsibilities came while he was a manager for the team.
"My responsibilities included keeping records, making sure reports and transfers were done properly, calculating the splits of winnings, training, recruiting, getting the team to come to a consensus, or making decisions when they didn't," said Bloch.
Andy went to the Las Vegas premiere of "21" after being comped a ticket by the real "Mickey Rosa", the character played by Kevin Spacey. He came away with mixed emotions. While he was thrilled to see his extraordinary story come to life on screen, he also wanted to play a bigger role in the production of the film. Andy tried previously to get his own version of the story to the big screen, but his attempt fell short.
"I wrote a script a few years ago, but we didn't feel it was finished. Perhaps if I would have pushed it more, we could have gotten it filmed before '21', but I didn't know if there was anyone in Hollywood that would be willing to go against the movie rights to Bringing Down the House," Bloch commented.
The film has created some controversy much like the book it's based upon. The author of Bringing Down the House, Ben Mezrich, presents the book as nonfiction, although it contains many significant fictional elements. This may be one of the reasons why MIT refused to allow "21" to be shot on their campus. Bloch also noticed that a few of the casino scenes were very similar to situations depicted in his own DVD, "Beating Blackjack", which came out two years ago.
After leaving the team, Andy went on to play poker professionally. Nicknamed "The Rock" because of his solid playing style, Andy uses his mathematical abilities to the fullest when calculating percentages at the poker table. His success may have something to do with his strong educational background. Andy earned two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School.
"It helps, but conventional wisdom isn't enough," responded Bloch.
Bloch realizes that winning against top players requires more than just the analytical skills he obtained in school. Whatever the key ingredient to winning might be, Andy has an abundance of it, as he has gone on to win over 3.2 million dollars in poker tournaments since his MIT Blackjack days.
"21" is the number one movie at the box office this month, bringing in over 70 million dollars in ticket sales in three weeks alone. The movie is about six college students, known as the MIT Blackjack team, who won millions of dollars at Las Vegas casinos after learning how to count cards. "21" is inspired by the New York Times Best Seller Bringing Down the House.
Last week, I was fortunate enough to talk to Andy Bloch, one of the main "players" portrayed in the movie. I interviewed Andy about his early career as a part of the MIT Blackjack team, his views on "21", and his amazing success at the poker table.
In 1994, one of the founders of the MIT Blackjack team recruited Andy while he was attending MIT. Andy took on almost every role during his six years on the team. He started out as a "spotter" and became a "big player" within a few months. The "big player" is the role glorified in "21" as the person who risks the most money at the tables. His most important responsibilities came while he was a manager for the team.
"My responsibilities included keeping records, making sure reports and transfers were done properly, calculating the splits of winnings, training, recruiting, getting the team to come to a consensus, or making decisions when they didn't," said Bloch.
Andy went to the Las Vegas premiere of "21" after being comped a ticket by the real "Mickey Rosa", the character played by Kevin Spacey. He came away with mixed emotions. While he was thrilled to see his extraordinary story come to life on screen, he also wanted to play a bigger role in the production of the film. Andy tried previously to get his own version of the story to the big screen, but his attempt fell short.
"I wrote a script a few years ago, but we didn't feel it was finished. Perhaps if I would have pushed it more, we could have gotten it filmed before '21', but I didn't know if there was anyone in Hollywood that would be willing to go against the movie rights to Bringing Down the House," Bloch commented.
The film has created some controversy much like the book it's based upon. The author of Bringing Down the House, Ben Mezrich, presents the book as nonfiction, although it contains many significant fictional elements. This may be one of the reasons why MIT refused to allow "21" to be shot on their campus. Bloch also noticed that a few of the casino scenes were very similar to situations depicted in his own DVD, "Beating Blackjack", which came out two years ago.
After leaving the team, Andy went on to play poker professionally. Nicknamed "The Rock" because of his solid playing style, Andy uses his mathematical abilities to the fullest when calculating percentages at the poker table. His success may have something to do with his strong educational background. Andy earned two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School."It helps, but conventional wisdom isn't enough," responded Bloch.
Bloch realizes that winning against top players requires more than just the analytical skills he obtained in school. Whatever the key ingredient to winning might be, Andy has an abundance of it, as he has gone on to win over 3.2 million dollars in poker tournaments since his MIT Blackjack days.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
WSOP update!
Allen Cunningham is going for his 6th bracelet in just a few minutes at Pot-Limit Holdem/Omaha, Event 24! He's at the final table and currently second in chips. Max the Pirate and Minh Ly are at his table but he's in a good spot to win number 6. Check out the hand updates live at WSOP.com. He's going for four bracelets in four years (plus two circuit rings)!
Congrats to my Mom and Dad today! It's their 28th wedding anniversary! =)
P.S. Anyone betting against Tiger?
Congrats to my Mom and Dad today! It's their 28th wedding anniversary! =)
P.S. Anyone betting against Tiger?
Friday, June 13, 2008
Negreanu Wins!
Daniel Negreanu wins his 4th bracelet!!!
The tournament just ended a few minutes ago. Congrats to Daniel for picking up his fourth bracelet in the same limit tournament he won four years ago at the '04 WSOP.
It's definitely been the year of the pros so far at the World Series of Poker. Now where the hell is Phil Hellmuth, Jr.? Alright, he hasn't been playing as many tournaments this year but he is pretty deep in a No-Limit tournament and has a chance to set yet another record by extending his 'cash record' tomorrow if he stays alive.
E-dog, Negreanu, Matusow... now it's time for Ivey, Chan, and Lederer to pick up a bracelet. Check back to Dayton2Vegas.com for more updates soon!
*Also, I'd like to just tell Joe D. if he's reading this to probably lay down A9 next time there's a raise and a re-raise to a Q-9-9 flop. You never know when the donkey's holding Queens-full. Haha! Congrats on the 202 straight bowling... maybe the best of the summer. We'll see...
The tournament just ended a few minutes ago. Congrats to Daniel for picking up his fourth bracelet in the same limit tournament he won four years ago at the '04 WSOP.
It's definitely been the year of the pros so far at the World Series of Poker. Now where the hell is Phil Hellmuth, Jr.? Alright, he hasn't been playing as many tournaments this year but he is pretty deep in a No-Limit tournament and has a chance to set yet another record by extending his 'cash record' tomorrow if he stays alive.
E-dog, Negreanu, Matusow... now it's time for Ivey, Chan, and Lederer to pick up a bracelet. Check back to Dayton2Vegas.com for more updates soon!
*Also, I'd like to just tell Joe D. if he's reading this to probably lay down A9 next time there's a raise and a re-raise to a Q-9-9 flop. You never know when the donkey's holding Queens-full. Haha! Congrats on the 202 straight bowling... maybe the best of the summer. We'll see...
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Mouth strikes gold!
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow won his third WSOP bracelet last night beating an extremely tough final table in 2-7 Lowball, Event #18. E-dog made his third top 10 finish the this year's series and finished in 3rd place. Congrats to Mike!
Check out Daniel Negreanu at the final table right now for Event #20 (Limit Hold'em)! You can watch all the hands and updates by clicking here.
*I found a new apartment in Kettering, OH last night that I'm going to move into at the end of the month. It's a sweet place, pool right outside, two bed-rooms, kitchen, bathroom, dishwasher, garden apartment, etc. Eddie Van Moorman, my begatzu (half beagle/half shih-tzu) is comin' with me as well. I'm gonna stay there at least six months until I graduate from UD in December. Then it's poker-time!
Check out Daniel Negreanu at the final table right now for Event #20 (Limit Hold'em)! You can watch all the hands and updates by clicking here.
*I found a new apartment in Kettering, OH last night that I'm going to move into at the end of the month. It's a sweet place, pool right outside, two bed-rooms, kitchen, bathroom, dishwasher, garden apartment, etc. Eddie Van Moorman, my begatzu (half beagle/half shih-tzu) is comin' with me as well. I'm gonna stay there at least six months until I graduate from UD in December. Then it's poker-time!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Phil Hellmuth's latest blog
I Miss my Family
BY: PHIL HELLMUTH
PUBLISHED: Tuesday Jun 10, 2008 09:45 AM
The last week: USA Today, beer can, bad luck, depression, I miss my family!
First of all, how cool was my Friday (until Juanda busted me-below)? My article in USA Today (Sports section) came out both online (7 million readers) and in the newspaper (7 million readers), and my beer can appeared all over the WSOP! I even bought six cases for the VIP room, and for my room.
The last few years I've chuckled a bit as my fellow pros took tons of days off because they couldn't handle being at the WSOP every single day. Many of these pros had excuses for why they weren't here [Harrah's did this, I had aces and lost, the floor man did that, the structures are blah, blah, blah]. I vowed to avoid excuses (we all play under the same conditions), keep my nose to the grindstone, and play as hard as I could every day. Let me tell you something, when you're not cashing every day, or any day, being at the WSOP is a lot tougher deal! Have I been playing my best game most days? I'm not sure anymore! It is hard to separate out the luck factor: in the $5,000 "Shoot out" I made it to three handed and put all of money in before the flop with K-K (Juanda had A-A). The very next day in the $2,500 no limit Hold'em I put all of my money in with K-K before the flop, but my opponent had A-A. Two days in a row, sigh. Today in the $1,500 buy in shoot out I picked up J-J on the button, everyone folded, and I limped in to trap Humberto Brennes. Brennes called, the big blind made a huge raise, and I moved all in, and he showed me, well you know what he showed me! On the turn he hit three aces, and I wasn't even drawing live! In the 2-7 no limit I picked up a pat nine (9-8-7-3-2) and moved all in only to run into a better pat nine. Meanwhile I lost every hole in a nine hole golf match today, which I played in between the $1,500 NLH and the 2-7 tournaments, for $7,200 to P0ker H0 and Debo.
The good news is that I know that these things happen. I don't want anymore bad beat "Stories" like the ones above, and I'm not going to tell anymore bad beat stories in my WSOP BLOG, period. I know that I'm being tested (although it really isn't life or death!) and I need to keep on trucking. On Sunday I realized that yes I miss my family a ton, but this is where I'm supposed to be right now. Being at the WSOP is my destiny each year, and I embrace that! I need to come in every day with my best stuff, and if it isn't good enough, then I need to play better the next day. I need to work out, meditate, and think through my strategies at the end of each day. Was I too tight? Was I too loose? Did I make enough moves? Did I make too many moves? Does the fact that I haven't cashed yet have anything to do with my tactics, or is it all just bad luck? Judging by the fact that so many pros have cashed, final tabled, and won events, I must not be playing my best game yet, otherwise I would have cashed once or twice, right? The rest of the WSOP, all I can do is stand up, be a man, show up every day, and try my absolute hardest every single day.
BY: PHIL HELLMUTH
PUBLISHED: Tuesday Jun 10, 2008 09:45 AM
The last week: USA Today, beer can, bad luck, depression, I miss my family!
First of all, how cool was my Friday (until Juanda busted me-below)? My article in USA Today (Sports section) came out both online (7 million readers) and in the newspaper (7 million readers), and my beer can appeared all over the WSOP! I even bought six cases for the VIP room, and for my room.
The last few years I've chuckled a bit as my fellow pros took tons of days off because they couldn't handle being at the WSOP every single day. Many of these pros had excuses for why they weren't here [Harrah's did this, I had aces and lost, the floor man did that, the structures are blah, blah, blah]. I vowed to avoid excuses (we all play under the same conditions), keep my nose to the grindstone, and play as hard as I could every day. Let me tell you something, when you're not cashing every day, or any day, being at the WSOP is a lot tougher deal! Have I been playing my best game most days? I'm not sure anymore! It is hard to separate out the luck factor: in the $5,000 "Shoot out" I made it to three handed and put all of money in before the flop with K-K (Juanda had A-A). The very next day in the $2,500 no limit Hold'em I put all of my money in with K-K before the flop, but my opponent had A-A. Two days in a row, sigh. Today in the $1,500 buy in shoot out I picked up J-J on the button, everyone folded, and I limped in to trap Humberto Brennes. Brennes called, the big blind made a huge raise, and I moved all in, and he showed me, well you know what he showed me! On the turn he hit three aces, and I wasn't even drawing live! In the 2-7 no limit I picked up a pat nine (9-8-7-3-2) and moved all in only to run into a better pat nine. Meanwhile I lost every hole in a nine hole golf match today, which I played in between the $1,500 NLH and the 2-7 tournaments, for $7,200 to P0ker H0 and Debo.
The good news is that I know that these things happen. I don't want anymore bad beat "Stories" like the ones above, and I'm not going to tell anymore bad beat stories in my WSOP BLOG, period. I know that I'm being tested (although it really isn't life or death!) and I need to keep on trucking. On Sunday I realized that yes I miss my family a ton, but this is where I'm supposed to be right now. Being at the WSOP is my destiny each year, and I embrace that! I need to come in every day with my best stuff, and if it isn't good enough, then I need to play better the next day. I need to work out, meditate, and think through my strategies at the end of each day. Was I too tight? Was I too loose? Did I make enough moves? Did I make too many moves? Does the fact that I haven't cashed yet have anything to do with my tactics, or is it all just bad luck? Judging by the fact that so many pros have cashed, final tabled, and won events, I must not be playing my best game yet, otherwise I would have cashed once or twice, right? The rest of the WSOP, all I can do is stand up, be a man, show up every day, and try my absolute hardest every single day.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
There Will Be Blood
"I'm going to eat you."
I think this is what Daniel whispers into Eli's ear after the confession scene at the church. I believe Daniel refers to "the whisper" at the end of the movie with the following quote:
Plainview: [to Eli] I told you I was going to eat you! I told you I was going to eat you up!
There Will Be Blood has stuck in my head for months now since I watched it opening night. I have spent hours discussing TWBB with other admirers and I have not even come close to appreciating all that this film has to offer.
For a long time I wondered if I would ever again see an actor in a role that was as amazing as the likes of Marlon Brando's "Terry Malloy" in On the Waterfront (1954), Paul Newman's "Luke" in Cool Hand Luke (1967), or Robert De Niro's "Jake La Motta" in Raging Bull (1980). After watching There Will Be Blood, I can assure you that the time has come. Daniel Day-Lewis, as "Daniel Plainview", is one of the greatest roles I have ever seen. It is not just the best performance in film this year (an automatic Oscar win for DDL), but it is a performance that I believe people will talk about for many years to come.
Thanks to the amazing Paul Thomas Anderson, a five-time Academy Award nominated director/writer/producer, TWBB displays a vision and artistic excellence from start to finish, in every detail, and in every scene like few films preceding it (Citizen Kane, The Godfather, The Shawshank Redemption). The ability to create in depth discussions of the story and its characters' emotions and ambitions long after viewing the film is a powerful thing that TWBB accomplishes.
I am going to see There Will Be Blood tonight at my house to once again attempt to get inside the minds of Upton Sinclair, Paul Thomas Anderson, and especially the greatest actor of our time, Daniel Day-Lewis.
There Will Be Blood received eight Academy Award Nominations including (in alphabetical order):
Best Achievement in Art Direction - Jack Fisk (art director), Jim Erickson (set decorator)
Best Achievement in Cinematography - Robert Elswit
Best Achievement in Directing - Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Achievement in Editing - Dylan Tichenor
Best Achievement in Sound Editing - Christopher Scarabosio
Best Motion Picture of the Year - Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published - Paul Thomas Anderson
I think this is what Daniel whispers into Eli's ear after the confession scene at the church. I believe Daniel refers to "the whisper" at the end of the movie with the following quote:
Plainview: [to Eli] I told you I was going to eat you! I told you I was going to eat you up!
There Will Be Blood has stuck in my head for months now since I watched it opening night. I have spent hours discussing TWBB with other admirers and I have not even come close to appreciating all that this film has to offer.
For a long time I wondered if I would ever again see an actor in a role that was as amazing as the likes of Marlon Brando's "Terry Malloy" in On the Waterfront (1954), Paul Newman's "Luke" in Cool Hand Luke (1967), or Robert De Niro's "Jake La Motta" in Raging Bull (1980). After watching There Will Be Blood, I can assure you that the time has come. Daniel Day-Lewis, as "Daniel Plainview", is one of the greatest roles I have ever seen. It is not just the best performance in film this year (an automatic Oscar win for DDL), but it is a performance that I believe people will talk about for many years to come.
Thanks to the amazing Paul Thomas Anderson, a five-time Academy Award nominated director/writer/producer, TWBB displays a vision and artistic excellence from start to finish, in every detail, and in every scene like few films preceding it (Citizen Kane, The Godfather, The Shawshank Redemption). The ability to create in depth discussions of the story and its characters' emotions and ambitions long after viewing the film is a powerful thing that TWBB accomplishes.
I am going to see There Will Be Blood tonight at my house to once again attempt to get inside the minds of Upton Sinclair, Paul Thomas Anderson, and especially the greatest actor of our time, Daniel Day-Lewis.
There Will Be Blood received eight Academy Award Nominations including (in alphabetical order):
Best Achievement in Art Direction - Jack Fisk (art director), Jim Erickson (set decorator)
Best Achievement in Cinematography - Robert Elswit
Best Achievement in Directing - Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Achievement in Editing - Dylan Tichenor
Best Achievement in Sound Editing -
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published - Paul Thomas Anderson
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Citizen Kobe
No longer can Erick Lindgren be called "the greatest player to never win a bracelet." I think it's safe to say that Gus Hansen now holds that record. E-dog won his first bracelet last night in Event #4, beating Juston Bonomo heads-up for the title. Congrats!
Also, David Singer won Event #3 last night. He's one of my favorite players and I'm glad he won his first bracelet last night also. He's won over 4 million dollars in the last 5 or six years playing poker. He was at the final table back in '03 when Moneymaker started the poker boom. Along with Dayton's best, the late Chip Reese, David Singer has complete control of his emotions at the table. He's a guy every young poker player should try to model their game after as he is extremely tight early in tournaments and then aggressive in later rounds.
Back to Dayton: Clay is here for the summer! We went to the Argosy last night with Gabe and sat in the 2,3, and 4 seats at a limit table. It was really fun and we all did well, maybe a little bit due to the fact that Gabe split the "Splash the pot" drawing for $150. =)
We went back to Gabe's place in Cincy and what else could we have done but watch what the American Film Institute calls the greatest film of all-time, Citizen Kane. I never get sick of this movie. It's amazing. Some of the one-liners written by Orson Welles are badass... and still being considered badass by a 22 year-old over 65 years later is pretty impressive. If you haven't seen the movie, check it out. It's not boring. If you say you hate it just because it's black and white, I'll fight you. Go watch Rush Hour 3 and stop reading my blog. If you want to watch an amazing director/actor/writer producing the most creative and influential art in American film history, then watch nine-time Oscar nominated Citizen Kane. It's simply the best.
Alright, time to go check out my new apartment in Dayton. I'm excited to movie in July 12th and be really close to campus. I'll post some pictures later on of the new crib. Am I allowed to say crib?
I'm going bowling tonight with Clay and the rest of the crew at UD at Poelking Lanes. It's gonna get a little crazy...
Sports: My prediction is LA wins in 6. Mark that down by the way. Kobe is the man - the best player/competitor since MJ and he'll take the Finals MVP along with the championship in the next few weeks.
Also, David Singer won Event #3 last night. He's one of my favorite players and I'm glad he won his first bracelet last night also. He's won over 4 million dollars in the last 5 or six years playing poker. He was at the final table back in '03 when Moneymaker started the poker boom. Along with Dayton's best, the late Chip Reese, David Singer has complete control of his emotions at the table. He's a guy every young poker player should try to model their game after as he is extremely tight early in tournaments and then aggressive in later rounds.
Back to Dayton: Clay is here for the summer! We went to the Argosy last night with Gabe and sat in the 2,3, and 4 seats at a limit table. It was really fun and we all did well, maybe a little bit due to the fact that Gabe split the "Splash the pot" drawing for $150. =)
We went back to Gabe's place in Cincy and what else could we have done but watch what the American Film Institute calls the greatest film of all-time, Citizen Kane. I never get sick of this movie. It's amazing. Some of the one-liners written by Orson Welles are badass... and still being considered badass by a 22 year-old over 65 years later is pretty impressive. If you haven't seen the movie, check it out. It's not boring. If you say you hate it just because it's black and white, I'll fight you. Go watch Rush Hour 3 and stop reading my blog. If you want to watch an amazing director/actor/writer producing the most creative and influential art in American film history, then watch nine-time Oscar nominated Citizen Kane. It's simply the best.
Alright, time to go check out my new apartment in Dayton. I'm excited to movie in July 12th and be really close to campus. I'll post some pictures later on of the new crib. Am I allowed to say crib?
I'm going bowling tonight with Clay and the rest of the crew at UD at Poelking Lanes. It's gonna get a little crazy...
Sports: My prediction is LA wins in 6. Mark that down by the way. Kobe is the man - the best player/competitor since MJ and he'll take the Finals MVP along with the championship in the next few weeks.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Bodog days of Summer
Watch an interview with WSOP 2008 Event 1 winner Nenad Medic from CardPlayer.
I'm headin' to Argosy in a few minutes and then to my brother Gabe's place in Cincy. We're gonna watch one of the Coen brothers' best movie, Fargo (AFI Top 100, IMDb.com's Top 250).
Good luck to my old roomie Doug W. on his pursuit of happYness with online poker. He's grindin' it out on Bodog and doin' really well playing sit-n-go and limit cash games. Maybe he won't go to Pre-Med school at OSU after all...
Check out a cool article about the early steps that led to the World Series of Poker.
*Moormallard recorded four new tracks including fan favorite "On the Radio" last weekend in Miamisburg. New pictures and uploads coming soon on Dayton2Vegas.com
I'm headin' to Argosy in a few minutes and then to my brother Gabe's place in Cincy. We're gonna watch one of the Coen brothers' best movie, Fargo (AFI Top 100, IMDb.com's Top 250).
Good luck to my old roomie Doug W. on his pursuit of happYness with online poker. He's grindin' it out on Bodog and doin' really well playing sit-n-go and limit cash games. Maybe he won't go to Pre-Med school at OSU after all...
Check out a cool article about the early steps that led to the World Series of Poker.
*Moormallard recorded four new tracks including fan favorite "On the Radio" last weekend in Miamisburg. New pictures and uploads coming soon on Dayton2Vegas.com
Monday, June 2, 2008
Nenad Medic wins 1st Gold Bracelet!
Nenad Medic outlasted a final four that will surely make for great television on ESPN in a few months. Andy Bloch (on his 39th birthday), Mike Sexton (OSU graduate), and Kathy Liebert (woman) finished out the top four.
Nenad won his first bracelet and nearly $800,000 for first place. Read about the final table from CardPlayer's coverage.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
The Foot Fist Way
An inept karate instructor struggles with marital troubles...
Check out the trailer for this hilarious movie by clicking above.
WSOP underway!
Andy Bloch holds the chip lead at the final table for the first event. The final nine players are extremely tough.
Event 1 at the 2008 World Series of Poker: $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em
Andy Bloch leads the final table which includes Patrick Antonius, Mike Sexton, Nenad Medic, Kathy Liebert, and Phil Laak, just to name a few. Wow! The series is off to a great start. I'll keep you updated with the biggest stories from this year's WSOP.
*Dayton2Vegas.com will update everyday in June so check back!
Event 1 at the 2008 World Series of Poker: $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em
Andy Bloch leads the final table which includes Patrick Antonius, Mike Sexton, Nenad Medic, Kathy Liebert, and Phil Laak, just to name a few. Wow! The series is off to a great start. I'll keep you updated with the biggest stories from this year's WSOP.
*Dayton2Vegas.com will update everyday in June so check back!
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