Brandon Cantu
Saturday, September 26, 2009 - Brandon Cantu
Finally, my favorite time of the year has arrived. This particular time of year in the poker world is filled with travel, layovers in airports, international tournaments, and lots of hotel rooms. Of course to me traveling is one of my favorite things in life, if not the single most important one. However, this time of year also brings about my other passion in life. Perhaps, this passion could almost be referred to as my true life calling – Fantasy Football. At last, football season has finally started again.
First off, I should mention that I had a decent week playing online. I was getting a ton of emails, texts, and twitter messages after I was running bad one day. I even threatened via twitter to quit playing poker forever is this playing kept up. Despite what everyone says, that I run “like god,” I still have terrible weeks. Regardless, a couple days later I ended up winning the Ultimatebet.com $30 NLH w/ re-buys and the Stars $50 NLH w/ re-buys on the same day. That made up for the previous days and brought even more tweets and texts that I am indeed one of the luckiest player on the planet. Hopefully, I will be able to find some time to play online over the next few weeks. I do leave this coming Wednesday for London and running around Europe a bit and then Aruba for the UB Classic, so we will see if I can get some online time in.
Despite how much I love to travel, this is one of the only times you will hear me say that I do not want to leave home. Last night was the start of the NFL football season and the start of my second job, a Fantasy Football General Manager. I live and breathe for Fantasy Football. The last few years I had made some pretty good money playing. This year, I tried to find as many leagues as possible and I have to say, it was a pretty dry year for finding leagues to get in for whatever reason. I was only able to get in four leagues – a $5k, $2k, $200.00 and $200.00. The $5k is league filled with mostly online players, such as the likes of: MrSmokey, “yellowsub”, Big Joe, Christian Harder, Mike “inissint” Glasser, to name a few. The $2k league has a very similar lineup of players. One of the $200.00 leagues is with Matt Brady, Dave Fox and others. The last $200.00 league is with my friends from high school.
I believe that I find my biggest edge in Fantasy Football – even over my Hearts game. I study and review NFL teams, roster moves, upcoming scouting of opponents, the whole gamut. My teams this year are very strong. I am expecting big things this season. I hope that I can remain focused through mid-October with the travel. But, I am ready to go. Bring all these online players on in Fantasy; they don’t know what they are in for.
As I finish writing this, I am getting more and more upset that I am leaving for Europe now. Not only must I continue on my path of becoming the best Fantasy Football GM in history, but I am going to miss Sundays at my house, which are usually filled with online poker, friends, catered food, drinks, pool/hot tub and 4 big screen TVs on the wall for all our viewing pleasure. Oh well, I am going to leave and play hard for UltimateBet.com.
Tags: Aruba, Football, London, Poker Poker Poker, UB Classic
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Saturday, September 5, 2009 - Brandon Cantu
I touched on my recent online play in my previous blog. The last week, I was able to fit in some play online at UltimateBet.com. However, I spent the majority of my week by going back home and catching up with old friends. This week marks my 10 Year high school class reunion. It is also the weekend of my annual high school 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Although I do make it a point to go back home and hangout with my good friends who still live there, this week will be filled with many old friends who have moved to other states, other countries and rarely get a chance to hangout and go out with.
Monday: I headed from Las Vegas to Oregon, catching a flight and anxious to get back and see everyone. I will be staying with my good friend, Tony Eggertson throughout the week. Tony and I have been friends forever and we stay at each other’s place whenever we come in and out of town.
Tuesday: I got up decently early and went shopping most of the day, had lunch as Tony and I met up with our friend, Jake. At around 7:00 pm, we all headed out to dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. After dining and chatting about who was going to be coming to town over some drinks, we headed to a local home game and played some friendly poker. 5 AM came fast, us guys headed to a breakfast spot and then headed home.
Wednesday: With the previous last night/early morning, we ended up sleeping till about 2 PM. I wanted to make sure I spent some quality time with my grandparents, so I headed over to meet with my Grandpa and met him at his local hangout, Jolly’s. My Grandfather introduced me to cards and instilled a bit of gamble in me at an early age. I have discussed this in past interviews and/or articles – Grandpa introduced poker to me and we continue to play games and gamble a little bit when we get together. At Jolly’s, I proceeded to drop about a $500.00 dollar loss in pull-tabs. I just could not hit anything. Grandpa couldn’t either. It was fun though spending time with him. After, I went back to Tony’s and played online for a while on UltimateBet.com. Later that evening, we headed over to Chevy’s for a light dinner and some margaritas. Since the guys and I had a pretty late night the previous day, we decided to get back early, stay in, hit the couch, watch Braveheart and sip on a few drinks.
Thursday: We woke up and relaxed throughout the day. We got the social bug around late afternoon and we decided we needed to head out. Tony and I met up with some friends from High School at a restaurant called Oba’s, which is one of the better restaurants in Portland. We ordered their staple entree – Prime Rib. After a solid dinner, we moved along to a bar/lounge called Departure. It was a perfect night and elected to go outside and drink, relax and tell stories about the old days. We were starting to get text messages about more and more people starting to get into town for the reunion.
Friday: One of the biggest days of the year for me and one of the best as well – the annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament. My team consisted of my friends Sean, Kevin and myself. I felt we had one of the best chances to win this tournament. 6 teams, 18 total players. Last year, and as we continue to get older and older, we had some injuries (broken arm in one instance) and I hoped our team would withstand all adversity, go without the need of a substitute or be forced to play shorthanded. Format is to play to 30 points each game with 6 total games to the finals. Due to some weather issues, we were forced to consider some potential changes but everything worked out fine. After battling through the field, my team came away with the championship and the trophy. This next year, I will be able to let everyone know who the champion is and rub it in their faces. I love this tournament! Looking back over the tournament field, it is truly amazing to see everyone who was able to make it. We had friends fly in from New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Virginia, Wyoming to name a few states as well as from as far as Columbia and Taiwan. Great group of friends, so nice to see them. That night we hit the town hard with all the boys. We made the rounds throughout the bars and ended up at one of the larger clubs. The night couldn’t be finished without crushing some Taco Bell at 4 am.
Saturday: I tried to sleep in as late as I possibly could as today is the official 10 Year High School Reunion. Before everyone met up over at Tony’s to have a drink or two and wait for our entire group, I moved in slow-motion, recovery mode. Once we had our collective group of Tony, Jake, Will, Dave and the rest, we headed over to Edgefield where our reunion was taking place at a resort (old workers camp reconstructed into a resort) – hotel, conference rooms, bars, restaurants, etc. Seeing everyone from high school is an experience, which I am sure many can relate to. It was a great time and after getting all the guys to fly in from around the world for the basketball tournament and then this, I knew the night could get out of hand. I was having an amazing week. Typical of our group of guys, we had decided to throw an after party at the resort. We rented out an entire floor with about 10 rooms, bought beer, wine, liquor, had some food brought it and partied until the early morning.
Sunday: On very little sleep, some of the guys and I met up for breakfast. It would be some time before I see a few of them again, so we chatted about the week and nights and replayed the stories and laughed and laughed. After some goodbyes, the remaining headed back over to Tony’s, where we watched some movies and just had a lazy day.
Looking back over the last week and taking in the events, I can say it was an amazing week. I am fortunate to have a great group of friends, some of which I get to see quite frequently. Others, not so much. Therefore, continuing the tradition of our 3-on-3 tournament is a great event for us. The reunion was interesting, of course, but it was essentially a continuation of the basketball tournament and the party continued to go day and night. Also, I was able to fit in a few playing sessions online on UltimateBet.com, jump into a home game for fun and try to get some work in between all the dinners, drinks and catching up with old friends. I am now back in Vegas gearing up for a few weeks on the road. I have London, Amsterdam, UltimateBet’s Aruba tournament all coming up in September and October.
Good luck to everyone who is playing on the road. I hope to see you in Aruba. Travel safe.
Brandon Cantu
Tags: Amsterdam, Aruba, las vegas, London, New York, Online Poker, Play Poker, San Francisco, Seattle, Ultimabet, Virginia, Wyoming
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Saturday, August 29, 2009 - Brandon Cantu
Prior to signing my sponsorship deal and joining an elite group of pros on Team UB, I had played some online poker. My play was quite irregular, consumed basically with Sunday tournaments and random cash games here and there. I have become known as a live player rather than an online one. However, since signing on with UltimateBet and post WSOP, I have really begun to dig into online poker and cash games much more.
At first, I was playing at my personal $5-$10 table on UB. I realized I wasn’t mentally prepared for it. I was coming off live play all summer at the WSOP. I had some less than stellar sessions, to say the least. I dug down, I refocused and began with some $2-$4 NL tables and started grinding; 5 tabling. What I found was that I was actually enjoying playing online for 10 hours a day. Not to mention, I was playing great. I was getting cards and I was winning. I moved back up to $5-$10 NL tables and still had success. This was about the time that I found some great heads up games. I have noticed since I started playing a ton on UB, heads up games have been the most profitable for me.
I have had some pretty decent online tournament results as well. In early August, I final tabled a UB $120.00 buy-in. I was just getting warmed up for the month and finished 5th for $2000. Things were progressing nicely. On August 16, I was playing the Sunday $500.00 buy-in with a $100k GTD. One particular hand in this tournament has gained notoriety within the Pocket Fives forums. This hand was actually a huge point of the tournament for me as well; a tournament that I went on to win for $36,000.00 and beat out PSMONEY heads up. The aforementioned “misclick” truly did take place and it gave me the energy I needed to close this one out. Lots of people like to say that I “run like god” and either get extremely lucky or blow up with terrible plays. For as many fortunate situations that have rolled my way, an even greater amount of detrimental rolls have come my way. Below, you will find the PocketFives discussion:
http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/7/pretty-sick-misclick-on-ft-of-100k-by-brandoncantu-4586074
I’m watching the FT and this happens. They were playing each other pretty hard. I have no idea if it really was a misclick, there was a pretty good pause before the call.
Stage #1835606603 Tourney ID 4539058 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit 4,000 – 2009-08-16 21:13:14 (ET)
Table: 24 (Real Money) Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 4 – WAMMERMOUTH (106,719 in chips)
Seat 5 – BRANDONCANTU (275,282 in chips)
Seat 6 – BLEWJOB (202,157 in chips)
Seat 7 – POCKETSET444 (104,229 in chips)
Seat 8 – PSMONEY (74,995 in chips)
Seat 9 – XWYWROTX (88,618 in chips)
WAMMERMOUTH – Ante 400
BRANDONCANTU – Ante 400
BLEWJOB – Ante 400
POCKETSET444 – Ante 400
PSMONEY – Ante 400
XWYWROTX – Ante 400
BRANDONCANTU – Posts small blind 2,000
BLEWJOB – Posts big blind 4,000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
POCKETSET444 – Folds
PSMONEY – Folds
XWYWROTX – Folds
WAMMERMOUTH – Folds
BRANDONCANTU – Raises 99,999 to 101,999
BLEWJOB – All-In(Raise) 197,757 to 201,757
BRANDONCANTU – Calls 99,758
*** FLOP *** [10d 8h 10s]
*** TURN *** [10d 8h 10s] [Ac]
*** RIVER *** [10d 8h 10s Ac] [10c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BRANDONCANTU – Shows [Jd 8d] (Full house, tens full of eights)
BLEWJOB – Shows [Qh Kc] (Three of a kind, tens)
BRANDONCANTU Collects 405,914 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot(405,914)
Board [10d 8h 10s Ac 10c]
Seat 4: WAMMERMOUTH (dealer) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 5: BRANDONCANTU (small blind) won Total (405,914) HI:(405,914) with Full house, tens full of eights [Jd 8d - B:10s,B:10d,B:10c,B:8h,P:8d]
Seat 6: BLEWJOB (big blind) HI:lost with Three of a kind, tens [Qh Kc - B:10s,B:10d,B:10c,B:Ac,P:Kc] Seat 7: POCKETSET444 Folded on the POCKET CARDS Seat 8: PSMONEY Folded on the POCKET CARDS Seat 9: XWYWROTX Folded on the POCKET CARDS
The chat:
BRANDONCANTU: misclick
BLEWJOB: fml
<< Result for Hand 1835606603 >>
XWYWROTX: lol
BRANDONCANTU wins (405,914) with (Full house, tens full of eights).
XWYWROTX: misclick ftw
Player BLEWJOB has finished the tournament in # 6 place.
PSMONEY: jesus
BRANDONCANTU: OMG
WAMMERMOUTH: wow
BRANDONCANTU: whata misclick
XWYWROTX: haha
XWYWROTX: so sick
WAMMERMOUTH: obvious misclick but damn it worked well
<< Result for Hand 1835608931 >>
Two days after the $100k GTD win, I was playing a VIP 45 Seat tournament. I had a bounty on my head and I was about to make the VIP players earn it. I got off to a slow start as I wasn’t really picking up any hands. I was also playing some other cash games at the time. I then made some plays, doubled up and was moving. I got real focused real fast. I ended up finishing 4th which netted me $400.00. The final table had some really good players. I watched the remainder of the tournament and NIGHTMAREFIS ended up outlasting DONKINITUP, who each took home $1,200.00 and $800.00 respectfully. I must say, these VIP 45 Seat tournaments are a good time.
Mentally, the last few months being a member of Team UB, has improved my game. I feel so comfortable logging into the UltimateBet client, it continues to feel like a home game for me. I am so relaxed and focused. I have easily played the best online poker of my life since joining UltimateBet. I am going to keep working on my online game to improve even more but I cannot lose focus of my live playing goals for the remainder of 2009.
Good luck everyone with all the upcoming travels and tournaments. See you on the road. Look for me playing on UltimateBet.com at both my $5-$10 NL 6-handed and $5-$10 NLHU tables.
Brandon Cantu
Tags: Brandon Cantu, cash games, Online Poker, Team UB, ub, Ultimate Bet, VIP, WSOP
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Saturday, August 22, 2009 - Brandon Cantu
The past few days I have been looking at my schedule for the upcoming months. I will be traveling quite a bit and look forward to seeing as much of the world as much as possible each year. Traveling has becoming one of my favorite past times and has become a traditional post World Series of Poker activity.
Last year, immediately after the WSOP, I traveled to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with my agent and good friend, Matt Palmer. As I have previously mentioned, I have stayed in Vegas since the WSOP lounging at home, playing a ton on UltimateBet.com and just relaxing. However, I now have the itch to get on some planes, play some poker and visit some destination spots.
Looking ahead in August, I will be heading to the World Poker Tour’s “Legends of Poker” at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California on August 22nd. After winning my second WSOP bracelet this year, I wouldn’t mind making a strong run at another WPT victory. My stay in California will be about a week.
After the Bike tournament, I return to Vegas to quickly repack for the next stop, which is Portland, OR, for my 10 Year Class Reunion. Though I get back regularly with all the boys and old friends; 3-on-3 basketball tournaments, Holiday parties, some NBA games, etc., I look forward to seeing classmates who I have lost ties with. All in all, it will be good to be back in my hometown. Portland weather is perfect this time of year and will be an added bonus to reconnecting with old friends.
After a week or so back home, I will again return to Las Vegas planning to play online before heading out to London for the WSOP Europe. Two of my good hometown friends, Tony and Dave traveled with me last year. We were able to travel Europe a bit after the WSOPE and this year should be quite similar. This year I plan on traveling to Amsterdam, a destination I look forward to exploring for a few days I have free time. This year I will be traveling with poker player and friend, Allie Prescott. He and I both traveled to Venice for the WPT event and are going to continue our adventures post WSOPE.
Once the European travels are done, I will be flying directly to UltimateBet.com’s Aruba Classic, October 3rd – 10th. I am very excited for this tournament. Not only because Aruba is beautiful and that I will have friends attending, but that I am a sponsored UltimateBet Pro. It almost feels like it will be a “home game” for me. It will be nice to see some of the UB staff I met at the WSOP this summer, as well as play and visit with all the other UB Pros.
I feel lucky to have the opportunity to see so much of the world. Safe travels to everyone else that is also making the rounds the next few months. Good luck.
Brandon Cantu
Tags: Amsterdam, aruba classic, Bicycle Casino, Brandon Cantu, Bycicle Casino, Costa Rica, Legends of Poker, Matt Palmer, NBA, Nicaragua, Poker Poker Poker, ub, Vegas, WPT, WSOP, WSOPE
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Saturday, August 15, 2009 - Brandon Cantu
After the World Series of Poker, Las Vegas seems to get back to normal, at least what is considered to be normal for those of us who live here. The hype of the tournament subsides and most people leave town to get away. Before I even begin to make some moves, I need some R &R.
My friend Dave from my home town came to town. He lives and works in Charlottesville, VA. With some extra time on my hands after the tournament and a friend in town, I found reasons to get bottle service at one of my favorite clubs in town, XS. My neighbor and good friend, Jeff Madsen came along to join us. This club with its ambiance and cabanas were perfect place to unwind with some good friends. I must say, I have never met a night at XS I didn’t like.
After enjoying the table and friends for a bit at XS, I decided to make my way over to the pool area of XS where tables of black jack are set up. I played for about an hour and turned $1200 to $6000. I seem to do well on XS nights for whatever reason.
In my downtime I also went saw a movie, Bruno. Sacha Baren Cohen is hilarious in this movie and I must say is a great follow up to one of his other movies I enjoyed, Borat. Bruno became an instant classic in my book. I liked it almost as much as The Hangover, which may be one of the best comedies of all-time.
Three of my favorite things to do here in my free time here in Las Vegas are watching Howard Stern on Demand, smoking Hookah, and hanging out at my pool. My time since WSOP has significantly consisted of those three things:
The Howard Stern show on demand is by far my favorite show. I watch it religiously on demand. His antics and regulars make any day a good one. I need to find a reason to get a request to appear on that show. Maybe, I should start a scandal??? Just playing. Recently, regular Howard guest, Blue Iris passed away of a heart attack. Very sad.
If I’m not at home or playing poker, most likely the next spot to check for me is Paymon’s hookah spot. It’s a local favorite and a place I sometimes tend to consider a 2nd home. There is something so relaxing about sitting on Persian couches, eating hummus and smoking the hookah flavor of the month. Often times this is the starting point before heading out for the night. Great place. Good times.
What is summer in Las Vegas without being poolside? Last year I order these oversized chaise beds for hanging out by my pool. It makes my pool feel like a casino resort cabana in my backyard. Having friends over, good food, gin and beers poolside are all signs life is good.
From the clubs and gambling to hookah and hanging out by my pool. My unwinding time after the tournament has proved to be amazing. I love living in Las Vegas.
Brandon Cantu
Tags: Brandon Cantu, las vegas, Poker Poker Poker, WSOP, XS
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Saturday, July 18, 2009 - Brandon Cantu
I attended UltimateBet.com’s 10th Anniversary Party at Studio 54 in the MGM. A group of us met up beforehand at a bar inside the MGM for a round of drinks before we rolled over to the party. As we got to 54, we ran into Annie Duke and Joe Reitman who showed up simultaneously. Before, we actually went inside, I shot PokerListings.com’s “Rail Rewind”, as I had the #4 rewind story, “The $50k H.O.R.S.E. Final Table Begins Today”.
UB’s party was a great time. Not only was I able to spend time with fellow UB pros, but I was able to meet some of the UB staff and put faces to names. Being there and reviewing my sponsorship decision, I am realizing I have found a good home in UB. I really feel like I am wanted, that everyone is working together, and that the future is bright. I do not feel like I could be shelved like other pros are with other sites.
The scene at the party: Hellmuth was lowered on a platform to open the night, naked body paint models in Roman theme, acrobatic dancers, live music performance, open bar, lots of pros, media and UB staff. Ultimate Bet put on a good show. It was a great way to kick off the start of the Main Event which began shortly after and to celebrate their milestone anniversary.
As it got later on into the night, I heard that some friends had tables at XS in the Encore. A group of us left the UB party, grabbed some cabs, and headed over for a little after-party. XS was amazing, as usual, and the good times continued.
As it got late, I decided to head out with a couple of people who were remaining. I had to be up to play in the morning and now is not the time to party until the sun comes up. I did, however, sit down for a few hands of black jack, which turned out to be quite profitable. Every once in a while it is nice to sit down and gamble a little bit, just release and forget about life for a bit.
- Brandon Cantu
Tags: Annie Duke, Encore, Joe Reitman, MGM, Studio 54, ub, XS
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009 - Brandon Cantu
In a previous blog, I mentioned that my second place finish was not going to be the highlight of my 2009 World Series of Poker and greater things would be coming. Less than a week later, I was final tabling my second consecutive event and making a run at my 2009 goals; to secure sponsorship and to win a major tournament. This was my chance to build a legacy and to receive respect from my peers as a top-level player.
I will admit it right off the bat – PLO 8-or-better is not by best game. As a matter of fact, I needed to study the board for an extended period of time to see where I was at every once in a while. However, I know how to play the game and I was able to roll through this event in similar fashion to my Bay 101 WPT title. Though I consider myself very competitive, looking at the final table, Lee Watkinson and a French player, Mathieu Jacqmin, were clearly the best players. I don’t think that is very debatable.
I was feeling pretty good throughout the entire event. On Day 2, I was at $1 million in chips and had about 33% of the total chips in play. Going into the final table, I was still sitting in first place with $1.1 million in chips and was still pushing hard. At one point, I started to slide a bit.
I then switched gears and waited for premium hands and the right spots to press. With patience and some good play, I reached my second Heads-Up for a bracelet spot, in under a week. At this time, I knew I had to close.
Heads-up play started with Watkinson as massive chip leader. Lee had about $2.5 million to my $900k. I even got down to about $600k at one point. My strategy was to chip away, gain some momentum and work my way back into it. I slowly grew my stack to $1.5 million and from there I was ready for the kill. I WON. I ended up taking it down for my second WSOP bracelet!!! It couldn’t feel better. Money comes and goes, but bracelets can never be taken away from you.
I was surrounded by my great family and friends; Uncle Mike, Grandpa Ron, Esther Taylor, Gavin Smith, Devo, Rick Fuller and many more. Thanks to everyone for all the support.
Looking back, things worked out interestingly for me. Based on my experience and skills, I should have won Event #39 $1,500 NLH event and not the PLO 8-or-Better. Battling against Lee Watkinson, who is just an amazing player, in an event that I am not as strong in, was not the ideal situation. It all worked out though. Success can be measured in subjective levels. For me, it is not all about measuring final tables. Rather, it is calculated by setting my goals and subsequently focusing and working hard to achieve them.
I am playing well. I am feeling good. Life is pretty good right now.
Brandon Cantu
Tags: Bracelet, Poker Poker Poker, poker tournaments, WPT, WSOP
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Sunday, July 5, 2009 - Brandon Cantu
Reflecting back at the beginning of this World Series, I had been running stale. I picked up an early cash in event #7 – $1,500 NLH, but it was insignificant. Reviewing the last few weeks, it was apparent that my head just wasn’t where it should be. As the WSOP suddenly neared the Main Event, I woke up the other day and felt a sense of urgency and with that urgency, I found clarity. Since that day, I have felt locked in with my game. The timing couldn’t be any better. I wanted to put together a series of good events rolling into the Main Event.
Fast forwarded to now, Event #39. There’s been a huge gap in cashes. I registered for the $1,500 NLH feeling good. For whatever reason, I thrive in these high register tournaments and 2,700 showed up to play this one.
Started Day 3 with 26 players left. I came into the day really short, and just had to sit back and wait to pick up hands. Before, I probably wouldn’t have maintained composure and been so patient but, my game is getting better and I was able to keep my cool. I couldn’t be aggressive, so I had to find the right situation and the right hand(s) and go with it. I was fortunate enough to double up a couple of times. It was then time to put the pressure on the other players. I felt like the best player in tournament. I felt like it was mine to lose.
16 left. I really felt like the other players were now starting to get scared of me. I started running over the game at this point.
As the Final Table was set, I was ready to earn my second bracelet. I wanted it badly when I got to this point. I started the final table with $800,000 in chips and in 6th place of the remaining 9. Like always, my friends came out to support me, Gavin Smith, Jeff Madsen, Rick Fuller, Esther Taylor, Allie Prescott, to name a few.
Playing solid and picking up steam, I played my way to Heads Up portion vs. Ray Foley. I had a chance to win this thing a couple of times and was in great spots to do it. Heads Up with my AQ vs. A7 for the win. Flop came 5 8 8, turn 6 and river 5!!!!! Unbelievable. This moment was extremely hard to take. Just as I felt I was going to win, I chopped the pot. Shortly thereafter, we got in. I had K 9 vs. Foley’s 10’s. I spiked a King on the flop, but the turn brought another 10-ball and for a second time, I just couldn’t close.
On the final hand, I held J7 off, and raised $300,000. Foley called and we saw the flop. Flop then came J 3 9 rainbow. Foley checked, and I made it $400,000. Foley instantly shoved. I tanked it for a little bit. I knew for sure that he could have a Jack with a better kicker than mine. I sensed it, but I just didn’t think that I could lay down top pair. In other situations and previous events and years, I would just ship that instantly. But, I am getting calmer, thinking deeper, and evaluating situations to fullest. With serious reservations, I still went ahead and made the call. Foley showed J Q and I was in serious trouble. Turn and River came 10 and 5, which was no help to me. Foley won.
Ray Foley played great heads up. He deserved the win. Second place, is not the bracelet result that you would typically look for and be thrilled with. However, I felt my game shift, my mentality shift, and my stamina shift. I feel really good right now. Again, now is the perfect time to lock-in like this and I fully expect major things coming up. This will not be the highlight of my World Series, mark my words.
Brandon Cantu
Tags: Bracelet, Main Event, Poker Poker Poker, WSOP
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Saturday, June 27, 2009 - Brandon Cantu
Well ladies and gentlemen; I have officially completed a deal to become UltimateBet’s newest sponsored pro. It is an exciting step for me and I am thrilled to be a part UB, a team that features both Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke. I believe UB has the best days ahead of them and I am certain that, not only do I feel I have much to contribute, I will be appreciated as an important asset to the team.
I attended Annie Duke’s charity event – “Sucking Out On The Rivers.” The event took place at the Hard Rock and obviously was a great way to raise more awareness and money following Annie’s Celebrity Apprentice run. The event was attended by pro players showing support. Andy Bloch, Joe Reitman, Joe Sebok, Howard Lederer, and now fellow UB teammates, Hollywood Dave and Matt Graham showed up, to name a few. The abundance of Annie impersonators and chill environment were added bonuses to the already good cause. Fun was had by all. I am a fan of the Hard Rock poker room. The bar is close and television sets are above most tables. As I stepped out for a phone call, I even spotted Phil Ivey throwing some dice.
All and all, it was the perfect day to announce that I was officially a member of UB. For me, joining a team is more than just putting on a patch. I want to be an active team member throughout. This event gave me an opportunity to do just that. From the red carpet to conduct some interviews to hanging out with some of the UB Pros, it was engaging. It was the ideal event that provided some excitement versus just a standard press release announcing my involvement.
Earlier, while I was working through my options for pro sponsorship, I strongly considered UB despite an unfortunate situation that had taken place. I must admit, I felt in the past as though UB handled things poorly. However, after spending time and working with Annie, my opinions have changed. I trust and know that she is monitoring all of UB and am confident that her involvement continues to translate over to other players’ opinions of the site. Not to mention Phil Hellmuth is also a friend. I know that both of these players would not continue to associate themselves to the brand should issues still remain potentially threatening. I believe UB has turned the corner and is committed to excellence. As I said, the best years of UB are ahead throughout online poker and I feel good about being a part of it as it happens.
As I look back on my first day on the clock for UB, I can recall a success: a great event showing UB Pros commitment to charitable causes, fellow UB Pros showing up to support and the fine environment throughout. This is a great start to what should be a very good year for both me and my UB team.
- Brandon Cantu
Tags: Annie Duke, Celebrity Apprentice, Hard Rock, Phil Hellmuth, Sucking out on the rivers, ub
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
It was apparent early in the evening that it might be a big night. Brandon Cantu was among the chip leaders of the $1,500 No-Limit Hold-Em tournament, while Matt Graham was the chip leader of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship. I followed both final tables as they played down, with Brandon bounding up and down the leaderboard while Matt held steady near the top.
For a time it looked like Alex Jacob might put a hammerlock on the Hold-Em event, but he lost a huge pot to Ray Foley and was eliminated soon after. Just a few minutes later Cantu eliminated Wei Mu and we were down to heads-up play. The players took a brief break and I ran back to get a pop. A near-fatal mistake–as I walked back to the final table I saw the crowd suddenly press forward against the rail. I broke into a run and arrived to find Brandon out of his seat and the dealer spreading cards on the felt. All the money went in before the flop and Cantu had Foley dominated, A-Q to A-7. The 5s-8h-8d flop kept Cantu in the lead, but when the 6c fell on the turn Foley picked up a straight draw. His fingers steepled against his lips, Brandon watched the dealer burn and turn over the…5h. That put two pair on the board, both their Aces played, and the pot was chopped up.
That didn’t seem to discourage Brandon, who was the more aggressive player and won the majority of pots large and small. On the hand that proved to be the turning point Foley raised to 300,000 and Brandon shoved. Foley called and his pocket tens needed to hold off Brandon’s K-9. This they failed to do–Cantu caught a King on the flop and the crowd went wild as Brandon jumped out of his chair and circled around the table. He pressed the balls of his hands into his mouth, as if to keep himself from screaming out of anticipation and anxiety.
And then, on the turn, the dealer revealed the…10s. Foley hit his two outer and Brandon slumped forward on the table. So close to victory, twice, and now the two players reversed stacks and it was Foley who had the 2-1 lead. The end came soon after–Cantu raised preflop, Foley called, and the flop came Jh-3d-9c, and when Ray checked Brandon bet 450,000. Foley check-raised all-in, and after some thought Cantu made the call.
To find that his J-7 was dominated by Ray’s Q-J. This time there was no come-from-behind story–the board ran out 10c-5s and Ray Foley was mobbed by his friends. While Brandon Cantu stood, shook Foley’s hand, and slowly walked off the stage and out of the Amazon Room. It’s hard to imagine how one must feel after playing poker for three days, outlasting 2,713 players, being THAT CLOSE to your ultimate goal, and then see it snatched away so cruelly. And maybe it is a good thing it’s hard to imagine, because it had to be utterly devastating, especially after how well Brandon had played over the last three days.
I didn’t have much time to dwell on Brandon’s unfortunate end because Matt Graham was about to take on Vitaly Lunkin for the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha crown. Lunkin, who won the $40,000 No-Limit Hold-Em tournment that kicked off this World Series, built up a big chip lead as the night wore on. But after Graham knocked Van Marcus out in 3rd place the two entered heads-up play nearly even in chips.
And Matt had the best of it early on, taking a few sizeable pots from Lunkin and building a 1.8 million chip lead. But then followed a huge hand where Graham flopped top two and Lunkin bottom two and the nut flush draw. All the money went in and Lunkin made his flush on the turn. Matt failed to make a full house on the river and Vitaly seized a big chip lead.
Things looked bleak until Matt doubled up when he turned the nut straight and Lunkin made the 2nd-nut straight. That got Matt back up to 3.2 million chips…but not for long. Again the money went in before the flop, with Matt holding Qs-Qh-8s-7h to Lunkin’s Ac-Kc-5s-3d. Matt seemed amazed Lunkin called his all-in bet with that hand, but his amazement turned to disbelief when the flop came Ad-2c-4c, giving Vitaly a wheel and the nut flush draw. The 2d on the turn gave Matt some outs but the 6d fell on the river and Lunkin ran out to a massive 8.25 million to 600,000 lead.
But Graham refused to lose. He doubled up, doubled up again (both times dodging the usual gaggle of outs you find in PLO) and then doubled AGAIN when he cracked Lunkin’s Ad-Ah-9c-6d with 9h-8c-7s-5c. Lunkin flopped top two pair but Graham picked up a wrap, and he made his straight on the turn. This time it was Vitaly who wasn’t able to boat up, and just like that Matt was back in the chip lead. “This was the hand we were waiting for!!!” said Matt’s friend Scott Seiver. “Wait until Vitaly has aces and trap him!”
And the end came just ten minutes later. After a 6d-4h-10 flop Graham check-raised Lunkin and the Russian chose to call. The turn brought the 9s, Matt bet 1.1 million, and Vitaly moved in. Graham quickly called and showed that he’d flopped a set of tens, while Lunkin had a gutshot and flush draw. Standing now and with his friends gathered just a few feet away, he shouted “Hold!!” as the dealer set the As on the felt. And then, pandemonium, as Matt realized he’d won the hand and rushed into arms of his ecstatic friends.
There was a bit of drama still left, however. The players’ stacks were so close that it wasn’t quite clear that Matt had Vitaly covered. It took a minute to count down the stacks and verify that, yes, Matt Graham was the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Champion. Another round of high-fives and hugs, and a friendly handshake with the classy champion Vitaly Lunkin. And then it was time to sit at the table with the chips and the bracelet and smile for all the cameras, what every poker player dreams happens to them when they sit down at a World Series of Poker Event. For Matt Graham, last night was the second time that dream came true.
I’ll be posting more pictures of the two final tables tomorrow…err, today. It’s 6AM and I have to be back to the Rio by 2PM at the latest to photograph Matt’s bracelet ceremony. Wonder if Sao Paolo is serving breakfast this early…
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Matt Graham, matt graham second bracelet, matt graham wsop bracelet, world series of poker, WSOP
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