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Yesterdays local paper had an article about a local priest that not only likes to play poker, but must be pretty good at the game as well. His name is Andrew Trapp and the 28-year-old serves as assistant pastor at St. Michael Catholic Church in Garden City Beach, South Carolina.
Now some may see poker as a sin, but I’m not one of them. Personally I feel eating can be a sin…just as most anything in life can be if you abuse it or let it control your life (cept maybe breathing). Yeah, even computer video games for those of you that do nothing but sit and play all day and might be ignoring your family or lifes responsibilities can be living in sin .
Trapp’s thoughts on poker being sin ? “In Catholicism, the sinfulness of playing games of chance is a matter of moderation,” Trapp said. It’s one thing to play for fun or a $10 bingo hand. It’s quite another for a man to gamble away an entire check his family needs to make ends meet. Now I’m no Cathilic, don’t really claim to be anything but a man, but I have to agree with this 100%.
Anyhow, back to the priest. Seems that Trapp likes to play at PokerStars and has won himself a seat in the PokerStars.Net Million Dollar Challenge. He’ll taking a trip to Los Angeles this weekend for TV tapings of the first two episodes. The show is scheduled to begin airing next month on the Fox TV network.
“All you had to do to get on the show was to enter a free online tournament,” he explained. Andrew Trpp made it to the Top 10, then for the second round he had to create a YouTube video and producers of the TV show selected him to compete in the show.
Trapp says that he began playing as a youngster with family and friends just for fun. “I’m pretty good, but not like a pro.” Trap says any winnings will be donated to the church that he attends.
We at CarolinaGambler wish the man luck.
Go to: Carolina Gambler
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In honor of the legendary “real” Dawn Summers I’m going to live-blog a session from the Venetian’s $8-$16 limit hold’em game. And when I say live-blog what I really mean is that I played the session last night and will be writing about it after the fact to make myself seem more spontaneously witty. Pretty sure that’s what Hemmingway did.
6:30pm — Here we are on Table 40, right by the poker room front desk. I like being so close to the rail. This way, when I play horribly, everyone will be able to witness it without having to crane their necks.
Last week I was pondering what I’ve been doing less than optimally over the course of the last month. CK suggested I should “try playing a lower-variance style for a while”. It is a brilliantly simple suggestion that once again proves: (1) how much smarter she is than me; and (2) how much better my life is with her in it. As I’m unracking my blue $4 chips I remind myself to remind myself in about an hour that I’m supposed to be playing lower-variance poker.
6:31pm — No posting at the Venetian. My first hand in the cutoff immediately puts my lower-variance resolution to the test. I play like the true tight-weakie that lurks in my soul and fold 55 after nobody enters the pot ahead of me. It’s been said that limit hold’em starts off as a battle for the blinds but if the table conditions are right I shouldn’t need to worry about battling for the blinds. Also, the ink’s not really dry on that lower-variance resolution yet and I try to wait at least a few days (hands?) before breaking resolutions.
[Results-oriented analysis: the small blind had 66 and flopped a set. Presto was no goot!]
6:41pm — Look at me! I’ve folded for a whole orbit now. I don’t think anyone else has noticed.
6:42pm — It’s my cutoff again. This time I have QsJs. I can’t fold a decent-ish hand from the cutoff in an unopened pot two orbits in a row, can I?
6:42:15pm — No I can’t. I open for a raise and get two callers. An ace and two spades flop followed by a turn king… but I don’t get there. A tight player in the small blind bets the river dark. I’m willing to give him credit for another set because I have never seen him bet dark before and he really is that tight.
There are times when I might piss and moan about missing double-digit draws but not today. I am a Buddhist monk. Also we’re only ten minutes into the day. There’s still plenty of time for my inner rage-aholic to assert itself. After all, F-Train tilt makes flowers grow and who doesn’t like flowers?
[CK can refrain from responding. That was a rhetorical question.]
6:50pm — My opponents must be great. Their play is at such a genius level that I am completely confused by it. A guy who looks and drinks like he fought in the Greatest War opens from under-the-gun and is called by the button. I also call from the big blind with 9d8d, then make my first mistake of the night by not betting a 6-7-9r flop. Instead I get caught up in Fancy Play Syndrome and try to check-raise the inevitable continuation bet. It turns out that the inevitable continuation bet is not so inevitable. The flop checks through to an ugly Ac on the turn. I can’t bet this card — it’s too likely to have hit the pre-flop raiser. I check and both opponents also check again(?). I finally pull the trigger when the river falls Ts to make my straight. They both fold. Way to extract value!
6:55pm — Seems my commitment to a lower-variance style lasted all of 25 minutes. When action folds to my cutoff, I raise Ts9s. Everyone folds, saving me from myself.
6:59pm — A co-worker from the WSOP wanders by the table. He’s on a break from the final table of the Venetian noon tournament and watches me limp JsTs from MP after two limpers. I have position for a four-way flop of Th-8d-4d.
The big blind is an old guy with thin gray hair and rheumy eyes. He plays all of the Vegas mid-limit games, usually dressed in a light white jacket. Although he almost never talks at the table I know his name is Bill and I’m willing to bet he’s unmarried. Bill gives me a shudder every time I see him because it’s not hard for me to imagine myself turning into Bill in thirty years — quiet, miserable, alone and grinding away at pointless mid-limit hold’em games.
I’ve never been able to tell if Bill is a long-term winner. He has more heart than many of the passive players who populate these limits but he also tends to overplay one pair and to make some patently hopeless bets and calls (pot, kettle). When he leads this flop it can mean just about anything — pair, draw, air.
A guy in his late 30s is on my right. He calls after one player folds. He has been playing *very* tight poker while chasing the $25 bonus comp that the Venetian is offering in an effort to attract first-time mid-limit players (you have to play one hour to get the comp). His call puts my jack-ten in a weird spot but, with position, I raise. They both call.
The turn’s a blank, the 3h. Action checks to me. I bet, they both call. We all check the 2h river. I announce “pair of tens”, prompting Bill to quickly turn over Td9h as if it might be any good. Sorry Bill. I chop the pot with the guy on my right, who also has jack-ten. Anthony, my co-worker from the WSOP, shakes his head and goes back to his final table.
“You didn’t think your nine was any good, did you?” I ask Bill. True to form, he smiles without saying a word in reply.
Seriously. Thirty years. I make my second resolution of the night.
7:08pm — Bill gets his revenge. I raise AcQc from middle position and get 3 callers, including Bill from the big blind. We all check all the way down after the flop comes K-K-Jr. Bill takes the pot with J-T. You might think this is weak play from me — and it is! — but I’m back in the lower-variance boat and saw no need to bet a flop that likely hit someone else. They’re calling with their jacks all the way whether I bet or not. In fact Bill probably would have check-raised either the flop or the turn. I’d rather just take my free looks.
7:14pm — I have the button. I also have pocket aces. Good for me, bad for my one opponent who flops top pair. Bad for me, good for my one opponent that she only has $4 behind after calling my pre-flop raise. She would be the first of three players at this table throughout the course of the night who would (functionally) be all-in pre-flop and would reload after the hand. This is the caliber of player I’ve been struggling to beat recently.
7:26pm — Almost an hour in now. The table has been weak and passive. There are two other locals in the game but everyone else is unknown to me — a welcome change from what the $10-$20 game at Mirage has become. When it goes. Which is less and less frequently. Alas, poor $10-$20, I knew it, readers, a game of infinite profit potential, of most awful play.
I open KcQd from middle position. Flops at this table are ranging from three- to five-handed so no surprise that the button and the big blind call. The button is a younger Asian guy but he’s no Crazian. In fact he’s the complete opposite of Crazian (which probably makes him me). He’s the only one to call my bet on the Qs-Tc-8c flop. It’s not a good sign, even less so when the turn is a third club, 7c. I check-call with my own club draw.
The “real” Dawn Summers will tell you that clubs are shiftless and lazy and never get there no matter what CK tries to make people believe. CK would say that clubs already got there on the turn and what more can I expect at this point? That’s my way of explaining that the fourth club does not hit the river. Buuuuuuut, I make top two pair with the Kh. This is one of those situations where I probably have to bet and fold to a raise. Bet, because I’m trying to extract value from hands like QT, T8, 87, and all one-pair hands that might check behind if I check. Fold to a raise because Mr. Anti-Crazian isn’t raising with less than a flush here. He looks confused by my bet but calls anyway. His AdQd is no good. Variance is on my side for a change. Nice!
7:30pm – One hour in, only $77 to the good and needing to cut short this post. To be continued…
Go to: Riding the F Train
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Party $4977 ( + $777 over 94 sngs) Pokerstars $554 ( + $206 over 14 sngs,2 mtt’s and an RTR HU forum win) Full Tilt $95 ( =)
Total $5626 ( + $983 for Sept)
Party Graph for Sept
Go to: Littleacornman’s poker n life blog
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The poker and the Las Vegas communities lost one of their own last week, when entrepreneur and former World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Bob Stupak succumbed to a lengthy battle with leukemia. He was 67 years-old.
To cite just one or two things Stupak will be best remembered for would be doing a disservice to a man whose long list of accomplishments ranges from building the iconic Stratosphere to winning a WSOP bracelet to placing a $1 million bet on the Super Bowl.
In addition to his reputation as an exceptional and well-rounded gambler, Stupak was also considered by many to be a master of publicity. Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman summed up his legacy in a statement he gave to the Las Vegas Review Journal: “Bob was an impresario, a ringmaster in the mold of the promoters who made Las Vegas the great town that it is,” he said. “His ingenuity got him into trouble sometimes, but that happens to folks who try to grab the brass ring.”
It is true that Stupak did not always have the easiest road to success. After a failed attempt at running a restaurant, he opened Bob Stupak’s World Famous Historic Gambling Museum on the Las Vegas Strip. Despite its less-than-stellar location on the northern portion of Las Vegas Boulevard, the museum drew patrons with slot machines, which promised huge payouts for a small investment. Unfortunately, the building burned down just two months after opening. In its place, Stupak built Las Vegas World, a casino with a space motif. Years later, Stupak would pioneer the efforts to build the 1,149-foot tall Stratosphere. While the project was seen to completion, it went bankrupt within its first year of operation and was sold off to Carl Ichan.
Stupak did not let these setbacks keep him down for long, though, and managed to keep himself in the spotlight via a series of outlandish sports bets and other gambling ventures. The Las Vegas Sun reported that Stupak placed a $1 million bet on the 1989 Super Bowl, which garnered quite a bit of media attention, although the paper also suggested that he quietly made some side bets to compensate for the financial blow he would take should he lose. Thankfully, he won.
In exchange for a $100,000 donation to the United Negro College Fund, Stupak was able to suit up for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1996. Stupak’s official website features a video of the event highlighting his charitable contribution, but John L. Smith’s biography of Stupak, “No Limit: The Rise and Fall of Bob Stupak and the Las Vegas Stratosphere,” suggests he could not help but set up some side bets on his basketball prowess for as much as $250,000.
Stupak’s charitable side extended beyond his Globetrotters adventure and he was known throughout Vegas for his philanthropic efforts, which included financing a local park and community center and helping to fight homelessness in the city. He was a civic-minded individual as well, running for Las Vegas Mayor and Nevada Lt. Governor, among other posts, but he failed to win any of his campaigns.
The poker world knows Stupak as a man with a knack for 2-7 Triple Draw. He won his bracelet in the now defunct $5,000 2-7 Triple Draw with rebuys event, a tournament that many of the pros cited as one of the more prestigious bracelets to win. In addition to nabbing the bracelet in 1989, Stupak made three other appearances at 2-7 final tables in the 1980s and 1990s. He also final tabled the World Poker Tour’s first trip to Commerce Casino for the L.A. Poker Classic and made an appearance on the popular “High Stakes Poker” television program.
Stupak is survived by his three children, daughters Summer and Nicole and son, Nevada, as well as two sisters and two ex-wives. Stupak’s body was cremated and there were no plans for a funeral.
Go to: Poker News Daily
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Day 5 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event played out on ESPN on Tuesday night. Jeff Shulman, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and Andy Black were seated at the feature table as the field narrowed from 400 players.
Holding down the fort at Table Two were several brand name pros, including Vitaly Lunkin, Prahlad Friedman, and Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, who will be featured once again on tonight’s installment of the G4 online poker reality show “2 Months, $2 Million.” Lichtenberger raised to 20,000 pre-flop with 10-5 and was met with an all-in from Lunkin, who held A-8. Lunkin told his foe, “It seems to me you are bluffing.” On Lichtenberger’s youth, ESPN announcer Norman Chad quipped, “It seems to me he doesn’t shave yet.”
Back at the feature table, Grospellier had pocket aces cracked by Scott Buller’s pocket kings when a king hit the turn. Needing an ace or jack to hit on the river, Grospellier watched as a benign deuce fell. Meanwhile, Pasha Esfandiary, brother of Antonio Esfandiari, was ousted with aces against pocket fives when a five hit the flop. Antonio changed his last name to end in the letter “i” because he thought it looked better, while Pasha has left his last name unchanged.
Adam Bilzerian, a Vanderbilt University graduate, revealed to ESPN cameras that he renounced his citizenship to the United States after college. He penned, “America: Love it or Leave it, So I Left” and now boasts a passport from St. Kitts and Nevis. He apparently regretted his decision, noting, “You don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone.” Adam was seated directly next to his brother, Dan Bilzerian.
ESPN cameras continuously checked in on Kara Scott, whom Chad ogled for much of the night. Scott doubled up Jamin Stokes with A-K against Stokes’ pocket kings, leaving Chad to note, “Kara Scott Chad should be more careful with our money.” Back at Table Two, Carter Swidler called the all-in raise of Lunkin with pocket nines. Lunkin held A-Q and the two were off to the races. The flop came A-Q-J, giving Lunkin two pair, and a running 2-3 doubled him up. “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” winner Lou Diamond Phillips promptly dropped a pot against Scott Baumstein after Baumstein hit a straight on the river.
Lunkin was crippled when his pocket aces fell to 2-5, while 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate doubled up with pocket kings against Gabe Walls’ Ad-4d. Eastgate’s chips hit the middle on a 7-3-7 board with two diamonds and the reigning champion dodged a multitude of outs to scoop the pot. Black called off his stack with pocket fours against Shulman’s pocket eights on a 10-8-5-2-5 board, leaving Chad to lament, “I didn’t see that blowup coming.” Black appeared very weary during the hand.
In the second episode, which aired at 9:00pm ET, Tom Schneider, the 2007 Player of the Year, began as the chip leader with a stack of 2.2 million. Table Two featured Esfandiari and Phillips, while the feature table remained the same. Scott doubled up at an outer table and, interestingly enough, is just the second woman to cash in back-to-back Main Events. Meanwhile, fellow female player Nichoel Peppe scooped a 2.6 million chip pot, the largest to air during the 2009 WSOP Main Event on ESPN.
At the feature table, Shulman raked in a 323,000 chip pot after raising to 30,000 pre-flop with pocket fours. Grospellier made the call with Jh-10h and the flop came 4-8-K with two hearts. Shulman bet out 60,000 with his set and Grospellier came along to see the deuce of spades hit the turn. Shulman fired out a bet of 120,000 and Grospellier folded. Meanwhile, PokerRoad CEO Joe Sebok doubled up with A-K against Q-7 after spiking a king on the river to stay alive. He had begun to put his backpack on after a seven hit the turn.
Scott doubled up again, but ultimately fell with A-2 against 5-3. The board ran out Q-6-5-5-9, leaving Chad to lament, “I am crestfallen.” Also hitting the exits was Dan Harrington, who departed after his flush draw failed to hit. Heading in the other direction was Phil Ivey, who called an all-in with A-7 against 10-6 on a 6-7-Q board for most of his chips. The turn was a nine and the river was a five, sending Mats Anderson to the rails.
Tuesday’s theatrics ended with Grospellier earning a 1.3 million chip pot with pocket aces against Tyler Patterson’s pocket tens. The board ran out Q-6-3-K-6 and, despite slipping for most of Day 5, Grospellier was back to nearly even. Three women remain along with two former Main Event champions, Eastgate and 2005 winner Joe Hachem.
Starting next week, new episodes will air from 9:00pm to 11:00pm ET on ESPN.
Go to: Poker News Daily
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Two days of play remain in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event and, perched atop the leaderboard entering Wednesday’s battle is Matt Hawrilenko, a 27 year-old poker pro who goes by “Hoss-TBF” online.
Hawrilenko took down a $1 million first place prize for winning Event #56 of the 2009 WSOP in Las Vegas, a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event. He triumphed over a final table that included Matt Waxman and Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka and owns 701,500 chips in London, the only player to eclipse the 700,000-chip plateau. Hawrilenko already has three WSOP final tables in 2009 and has quickly become one of the most feared names on the circuit. Hot on his heels is CardPlayer Magazine founder Barry Shulman, father of WSOP November Nine member Jeff Shulman. The latter was featured heavily in last night’s coverage of the 2009 Main Event on ESPN and was seated at the feature table.
Speaking of the November Nine, two of its members remain in the hunt to repeat Ivan Demidov’s miraculous feat last year. In 2008, Demidov made the final table of both the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas and the WSOP Europe Main Event in London. Antoine Saout, who hails from France, sits with the 24th largest chip stack (202,000), while England’s James Akenhead boasts the 30th biggest tally (153,500). The nine final table members in Las Vegas will take to felts on November 7th, when they’ll return to play down to two. Then, the action resumes late in the day on November 9th to determine a winner. The tournament’s finale will air on cable station ESPN on Tuesday, November 10th.
Also still in the hunt is Doyle Brunson, who was sixth in chips entering play on Tuesday. Brunson has trailed off a bit to own the 21st largest stack out of 36 remaining players. He owns 10 WSOP bracelets, tied with Johnny Chan for second most overall; the duo trails Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth’s 11. Brunson has been shut out of the winner’s circle since 2005 and will look to make a run entering the play down day in the WSOP Europe Main Event. Brunson has 246,500 chips and joining him at Table 1 today are Jason Mercier, 2009 Poker Hall of Fame nominee Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Shulman, among others.
Here are the Top 10 chip stacks remaining in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event:
1. Matt Hawrilenko – 701,500
2. Steven Fung – 648,000
3. Praz Bassi – 471,000
4. Arnauld Mattern – 469,500
5. Barry Shulman – 452,500
6. John Kabbaj – 448,500
7. Peter Gould – 409,000
8. Shandoi Demjan – 367,500
9. Keith Hawkins – 330,500
10. Eric Liu – 330,500
The rest of the field is as follows:
11. Ram Vaswarni – 322,000
12. Daniel Negreanu – 314,500
13. Chris Bjorin – 306,500
14. Thomas Bichon – 305,000
15. Yevgeniy Timoshenko – 285,000
16. Saar Wilf – 273,500
17. Teddy Sheringham – 272,500
18. Andre Akkari – 272,000
19. Tommy Pavlicek – 266,500
20. Anthony Cousineau – 257,000
21. Doyle Brunson – 246,500
22. Christian Harder – 243,000
23. Craig Burgess – 232,500
24. Antoine Saout – 202,000
25. Michael Fasco – 200,500
26. Elizabeth Lieu – 193,500
27. Markus Ristola – 157,000
28. Konstantin Buecherl – 156,500
29. Steve Zolotow – 156,500
30. James Akenhead – 153,500
31. Christian Kruel – 140,000
32. Jason Mercier – 125,000
33. Oyvind Riisem – 113,500
34. Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott – 80,000
35. David Docherty – 71,500
36. Men Nguyen – 63,000
The field will be chopped to nine today and the action is already underway from the Casino at the Empire. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP Europe coverage.
Go to: Poker News Daily
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They are down to 36 at the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, that £10,000 + £350 no-limit hold’em event that began last Friday. Also known as “Event No. 4” or, perhaps, “Event No. 61.” Matt “Hoss_TBF” Hawrilenko is atop the leaderboard going into today’s play.
Hawrilenko won a bracelet this summer at the WSOP at an event I helped cover. In fact, it was the last bracelet awarded in Vegas — Event No. 56, the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event. I wrote some about that one here, particularly noting how most of the attention in the Amazon Room at the time was being directed toward that Ante Up for Africa celebrity-charity event. Meanwhile Hawrilenko was busy taking down a $1 million-plus first prize.
You may also remember “Hoss_TBF” as the fellow who posted some side-splitting chat between himself and Phil Hellmuth on his blog last spring. Hellmuth and Hawrilenko were engaged in a heads-up session of $2,000/$4,000 limit hold’em over on UltimateBet, and Hawrilenko was apparently crushing the Poker Brat. (Obviously hands Hellmuth lost weren’t resulting in pots being shipped his way that session.)
Amid Hellmuth’s chatbox insults of Hoss_TBF’s play, he at one point complained “I should have 50k right now.” To which Hawrilenko wittily fired back “Maybe if you started with 200k.”
Hellmuth also went so far as to suggest Hawrilenko might somehow be cheating during the session, noting threateningly that “Im having scurity review this session first time ever.” Read more about that applesauce in this earlier post, titled “I Am Irony Man.”
Hawrilenko enters the WSOPE Main Event today with 701,500 chips, followed by Steven Fung (648,000), Praz Bansi (471,300), and Arnaud Mattern (469,500). And in fifth place is Barry Shulman (452,500), whose son, Jeff, is, of course, currently in fourth place in chips awaiting that final table of the WSOP Main Event in November.
Speaking of Jeff Shulman, I watched a bit of the coverage of the WSOP Main Event on ESPN last night on which Shulman was featured prominently. They are up to Day 5, I believe, where my buddy Tom Schneider had cruised into the chip lead with more than two million, although he was barely shown. I believe he makes it over to the feature table soon, though, so hopefully we’ll see more of the Donkey Bomber.
Like I say, Shulman was at the feature table and was on camera fairly frequently during last night’s show. Not the most dynamic personality at the table, but interesting enough to watch, I guess. They did a short feature on him at one point that discussed his being the publisher, president, and COO of Card Player. I didn’t watch the entire two hours last night, but during the time I was watching I did not catch them saying anything about his beef with Harrah’s. (Perhaps that may come up during the next few weeks.)
Other notables still with chips at the WSOPE include John Kabbaj (6th), Daniel Negreanu (12th), WCOOP Main Event winner Yevgeniy Timoshenko (15th), Doyle Brunson (21st), Liz Lieu (26th), Steve Zolotow (29th), Jason Mercier (32nd), Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott (34th), and Men Nguyen (36th). There are also two 2009 WSOP November Niners still alive: Antoine Saout (24th) and James Akenhead (30th).
Only 334 entered the WSOPE Main Event this time around (a dip from last year’s 362). Hasn’t been a heckuva lot of hype stateside about the WSOPE, as far as I can tell, but I personally have enjoyed following the coverage thus far over on Betfair and also PokerNews.
And I’ll be following today and tomorrow to see who takes down the sucker, for sure. The first hands of the day have just been dealt and Snoopy and Danafish are there at the Empire Casino with the coverage over on PokerNews. Check it out.
Go to: Hard-Boiled Poker
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888 eyes lucrative South African market | http://thegamingscoop.com | 153871 | Poker | Casino
Go to: poker – Twitter Search
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Did I really just give poker advice?!?
Go to: poker – Twitter Search
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#FATO! RT @r_nagano Eu só não trocaria uma partida de poker po uma partida de futebol. Qualquer outra coisa é totalmente understandable.
Go to: poker – Twitter Search
Yesterdays local paper had an article about a local priest that not only likes to play poker, but must be pretty good at the game as well. His name is Andrew Trapp and the 28-year-old serves as assistant pastor at St. Michael Catholic Church in Garden City Beach, South Carolina.
