Sunday, November 23, 2008 - Gene Bromberg
It’s been almost two weeks since poker crowned its new World Champion—it’s Peter Eastgate, for those of you who forgot to emerge from your cave until well after ESPN’s broadcast. There’s been quite a bit of discussion about whether Harrah’s decision to delay the final table for 117 days was a good idea, but by one barometer the delay was a hit—ESPN’s ratings for the final table were up 50% from a year ago.
It’s important to recall that slumping television ratings were one of the big reasons why Harrah’s chose to put the final table on hiatus. The last few years the ratings for poker shows have been going down, down, down, and as with any TV show there’s always the risk of cancellation when the numbers fall. Part of the decline was probably due to some poker fatigue among the viewing public—in addition to expanded WSOP and WPT coverage it seemed like every cable channel developed some contrived and unspeakably awful poker show. Pardon me for refreshing your memory of Celebrity Poker Showdown and Poker Royale: Battle of the Sexes.
But the big problem is that most poker telecasts air months after the tournament is over and the champion crowned. There are a number of media outlets that provide live event coverage and scores of sites and blogs (including this one) that post interviews and updates and photos as well. It is well nigh impossible for poker fans NOT to know who won a tournament before they sit down to watch it on TV. And that kills much of the drama. Sure, you might tune in to see the hole cards of two players involved in a huge (but not decisive) hand, but if you already know who eventually takes it down…why bother watching?
By delaying the final table four months and then broadcasting the action the day after the bracelet was awarded Harrah’s was hoping to preserve much of that drama. Hardcore fans could, if they wished, try to avoid poker news outlets for 48 hours and hopefully keep themselves in the dark. While the general public could check their local listings, find that ESPN was broadcasting a poker tournament with a $9 million first prize, and decide that this was something worth watching.
Broadcasting the final table two days after it was played was a half-measure that ended up a half-success. Yes, the ratings were up. Yes, the Penn & Teller theater (where the final table was held) was packed to the rafters with hundreds of rowdy fans. And much of that excitement came through during the ESPN broadcast, which did a good job of conveying the energy in the room, the drama of the moment, and the personalities of the players. I’m still kicking myself for not going out there to see it in person.
The thing is, ESPN only aired two hours of that compelling coverage. Three, if you include the “pre-game” show that offered features on each of the November Nine. And that’s just not enough time to give viewers a true sense of what went on.. The final table took 274 hands and over 15 hours to play. Only two hours made it to air (far less, actually, when you subtract those pesky commercials). The heads-up battle between Eastgate and Ivan Demidov was a back-and-forth epic that lasted 104 hands. ESPN showed two of them. You’ll hear critics who say that people don’t want to watch 15 hours of players stealing the blinds and antes. My response is that, A) people watch endless hours of golf on TV and therefore must have a high tolerance for long periods of low drama, and B) any activity can be made interesting if presented in a creative and engaging manner. Two of the most popular TV shows feature amateurs singing songs everyone already knows and borderline celebrities performing formal dance routines. ANYTHING can be made appealing to the viewing public, if it’s done with wit, style, and respect for the audience. Well, maybe just two out of three.
The ideal situation would be a live broadcast of the final table (or as live as would be acceptable to the Nevada Gaming Commission), followed perhaps by an edited final-table broadcast that’s similar to what we see today (hole cards, better production values, featurettes, etc). I can’t see how it’s in poker’s long-term interest to expect it’s most ardent fans to AVOID hearing news about the game’s biggest event. Remember, in most sports much of the revenue derives from advertising, advertising that is presented during live broadcasts of the game. Asking fans to avoid watching or hearing about the final table also means that advertisers on poker sites aren’t getting their message to their full target audience during the most important event of the year.
The final table of the Main Event should DRAW people’s eyeballs to what’s happening at the Rio, not force them to shut their eyes so they can enjoy the drama of a truncated recap two days later. Once upon a time (actually it was just 30 years ago) the NBA Finals were broadcast on tape delay. Olympic coverage was embargoed until prime time. Today the idea of not showing major sporting events live is ludicrous. The technology is there for the final table to be live-streamed online, as ESPN360 did with a number of WSOP preliminary events and as many European Poker Tour events are shown. It’s time for poker to stop apologizing for itself and broadcast the game’s most important event in living color.
Tags: 2008 world series of poker, 2008 wsop, espn, espn poker, espn world series of poker, final table, Poker Poker Poker, world series of poker, world series of poker coverage, world series of poker main event, WSOP
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Sunday, November 23, 2008 - Phil Hellmuth
Another few days, another $20,000’s!!
We raised $850,000 for the CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) in one night last Wednesday in NYC at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. I was the emcee, and I did it for free. It feels good to help raise money for these charities. What is going on here with my traveling? In one month, I went nor cal to Las Vegas to NYC, then back home to nor cal: I did this loop not once, but twice! Then Friday I’m off to Phoenix, then straight to London! That’s three big multi-city trips in one month. Working out helps keep my energy levels up high, but I’m pretty exhausted right now.
Friday night I played at UB, and lost $10,000. Tonight (Monday night) I did it again! I guess that I forgot how to book a win online!!! I could have played better both times, and I played $50-$100 blinds, so that $10,000 isn’t that much to lose. FYI – because of the $22 million refund, the action at UB is INCREDIBLE right now!!!! The last hand I lost, I had $3,200 in front of me, when Player XX raised it up (or reraised it up) for the 20th time in 30 hands. We all knew Player XX was ready to pop, but in the meantime he won all twenty hands!! Normally incredible aggression in a six handed game is costly, but it sure looks good when you get away with every raise and reraise. Finally, Player XX opened, and I smooth called with As-Ks, gambling that someone else would reraise him with A-Q, or A-J, or a bluff. The flop was Qs-8h-2s, and Player XX bet out $600, I made it $1,500 hoping that Player XX would rebluff me all in with a semi-draw like J-10 or simply air, or that he had a smaller flush draw, but I knew that there was a great chance that I had the best hand and that I would win the pot right then and there. In any case, Player XX moved me all in, the next two cards were a 6c-4d, and Player XX showed me a set of eights!! Are you kidding me? I mean, all those crazy over the top aggressive moves, and he shows me a set, sigh. Still, I could have caught my flush, couldn’t I have? I quit the game, and so did Player XX wisely. Player XX probably hopped back into a game and blew off a bunch of that money later on, I mean, how could he keep winning playing like that? I really DID NOT want to quit that game! That $22 million refund has a lot of bad players playing high limit poker at UB right now!! The games are juicy.
Tags: Phil Hellmuth
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Sunday, November 23, 2008 - smokin_aces
Why do we play Poker? Apart from the enjoyment of the intense mental battles, the adrenaline rushes and the thrill of the chase, we want to win MONEY. There are a million ways to get cold hard cash, but there is an undeniable allure to using our instincts and wit in a battle infiltrated by fate and destiny. We all believe that at different moments in time we’ve got ‘a feeling’ or that we’re tuned in to something no one else has yet noticed. The idea that we can act on these in a manner defined as gambling has a classic appeal that has been around for centuries. This appeal is no more closely mirrored than in Poker’s unlikely sibling, financial investing.
The close relationship of playing Poker versus playing in the stock market has been documented many times. It’s no secret that Poker’s harrowed champions share many attributes of successful investment gurus. The object of this column is to spend time examining some of the qualities, philosophies and techniques of the historic and present day hero figures from both the world of Poker, and the financial investment community. With ‘luck’ and perseverance, we’ll outline some areas we can all stand to improve, in hopes that collectively we’ll increase our returns on both fronts.
Discipline is not specific to either Poker or investing. Most people’s first connotation of the word is negative, and usually involved ‘being disciplined’ as a result of a childhood wrongdoing. In the present context, we’re interested in learning ways to discipline ourselves to remain true to the strategies and theories we’ve selected away from the table, and before the market opens. (It should be noted that we’re making the assumption your Poker/investing style is not a series of aimless, wanton acts with no preconceived game plan, void of reason or logic) This isn’t the place to discuss actual strategies, but we can discuss the importance of remaining consistent with your chosen one. Mathematically speaking, in order to make gains over time, you’ll have to be comfortable with an average rate of return much lower than what most would consider a large profit. Sure there will be times when you make profits in leaps and bounds, but there will also be other times when you lose big. As long as you’ve got the discipline to consistently bet on the odds in your favour while wagering an amount you can lose without busting out for good, chances are good you’ll profit in the long term.
We want to hear stories of how you’ve used an element of discipline either in Poker or as part of an investment strategy, and how it’s benefitted you. As well, if you’ve suffered a loss because you failed to remain disciplined, tell us about that as well.
Tags: investing, Poker Poker Poker, Poker Strategy
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Sunday, November 23, 2008 - smokin_aces
Or at least he was in ’89. Celebrities can sometimes achieve ‘star’ status in a relatively short period of time. Too often their star fizzles out and they become another flash in the pan one hit wonder, destined to strive desperately for at least ‘c’ list exposure. More often than not, just by surviving the Hollywood School of Hard Knocks they’ve turned their name into a minor commodity. Most probably hope their perceived value can be applied to a smaller stage. It probably goes without saying that no celebrity’s goal is to end up as fodder for some tabloid media outlet’s ‘Where Are They Now’ list. We’ll meet them halfway. Our intent here is not to point, jeer and laugh from the cheap seats while recanting some washed up tv icon’s painful descent into obscurity. Instead, we’ll highlight ex-A listers who picked themselves up after years of tequila sucking and infomercial host auditioning, dusted themselves off and got serious about Poker.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s we waited with baited breath each week to watch Winnie, Paul and Kevin stumble through early adolescence. “The Wonder Years” was our endearing glimpse into the coming-of-age struggles and dysfunctions of a post-war patriarchal America. The main character Kevin (played by Fred Savage) was as American as apple pie.
Soon after the show began airing Fred Savage took the teen-zine covers by storm and was recreated in poster form on the closet doors of young girls everywhere. It was only a matter of time until Fred Savage joined the Hollywood glitterati and claimed his throne as another misbehaving, talented Icon. It turned out his career in the limelight would come to a grinding halt after the show ended in 1993. Although he had appeared in some large grossing movies prior to and during the Wonder Years (The Boy Who Could Fly 1986, The Princess Bride 1987, The Wizard 1989) he didn’t continue his rise in Hollywood as a grown up actor.
Thankfully for all his fans (myself included), he survived many obstacles and was able to take supporting roles in numerous small budget productions. In fact, in recent years Fred has re-established himself as a Hollywood mainstay with his role as Mitch Crumb in the successful TV comedy ‘Crumbs’. However, arguably his highest profile public sightings have been rubbing elbows with the Professional Poker set. That’s right, “Kevin Arnold” is now a calculating poker odds maker trying his hand at the Pro Poker circuit. He appeared as a competitor on Bravo’s ‘Celebrity Poker Showdown’ alongside Jennifer Tilly and Brett Butler. He was even subjected to commentary by the ‘beloved’ Poker icon (and UB’s own) Phil Hellmuth. Fred also made a memorable appearance on the first episode of “World Poker Tour – Hollywood Home Game”, going all in against Aisha Tyler to benefit the Childhelp USA charity. As well, he’s been spotted in Vegas many times recently with fat stacks of chips and hordes of hot models frolicking around him. Ok, that last part isn’t true. But just like Kevin Arnold’s obsession with his sultry classmate and neighbour Winnie Cooper, he can wish.
Tags: Celebrities, Poker Poker Poker
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Saturday, November 22, 2008 - P0ker H0
The Kitchen Sink, meaning the 5k 6 handed UBOC event. Last night I played the $160 satellite to earn entry into every single UBOC event, except the 5k event. Its valued at around $3,000 and I highly recommend playing as many as you can until you win. You could try 20 times and as long as you win 1 of those times, you are getting bought into all the UBOC events at a discounted rate. The UBOC starts this January so there will be 2 more months of trying to win your way in. UB will also be running a MINI-UBOC at 10 percent the buy ins of the regular UBOC for those that might not have the bankroll, but like the competition. Satellites for all MINI-UBOC event are running also.
Look for “Everything but the Kitchen Sink” satellites and best of luck to everyone in the up and coming UBOC.
Tags: the kitchen sink, UBOC
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Saturday, November 22, 2008 - smokin_aces
The latest Bad Beat Jackpot winner at Ultimate Bet took home a cool $200437.89! Our winner hearts13 could do a number of things with that fat bag of cash. If it was me, I’d peel a cool Hundred Grand right off the top and put that in the bank. Then I’d drop 10K on a lavish visit to some friends in Thailand and Australia. Now I’m left with $90,000. As a performance/luxury car enthusiast I’m thinking only one thing. If I was going to drop that wad on a car, what is the best car I could buy with $90 K from that Bad Beat Jackpot? So, our mission is to compare two types of cars that come within 2K of the $90,000.
This week’s theme is Luxury Performance Sedans. We’ll choose one American car and one European. Today’s Euro flavour is the Audi A8.
We added a few key upgrades to push it within a mortgage payment of the Bad Beat Jackpot payout. Our build comes to $88, 600.00.
On the other side of the pond we chose the Cadillac STS-V.
Even with all the options we could only max out the cost of the Caddy at $83,375.00 but threw in a 12 speaker Bose sound system, and the ‘Blaster’ flamethrowing theft deterrent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrzMGdYWZc These upgrades rounded out the total cost to $89, 700.00. Luckily for the Audi A8, we’re focusing on performance and convenience, and not the ability to deafen children or permanently disfigure would-be carjackers.
It turns out these two models are quite comparable in many respects. Both weigh about the same, with the A8 at 4321 lbs, and the STS-V at 4233 lbs. That’s pretty beefy for a car, but bear in mind these are not compact cars. Although both pack a powerful V8, there are some stark contrasts. The STS-V is catapulted from the line by a 4.4 L Supercharged Northstar V8 with 469 hp and 439 lb-ft of torque. It redlines at 6,700 rpms (a little low) and has a boastful 9.0:1 compression ratio. The A8 is dressed for success as well, albeit with not quite as impressive raw specs. Under the hood the Audi has a 4.1 L Spark Ignition Direct Injection V8 with 350 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. You can wind the Audi up to 7500 rpm before redline and it has a 12.5:1 compression ratio. As the savvy car enthusiast is already aware, horsepower can be misleading. American car manufacturers are famous for conceptualizing a massive engine and then building cars around it. German automakers are known for developing extremely sophisticated, efficient vehicles capable of effectively distributing power while maximizing handling characteristics, resulting in cars with lower specs outperforming many cars classed higher on paper. The true test has been around for over 50 years. What goes from 0 to 60mph in less time? Here’s where it gets interesting. The STS-V hits 60mph in 4.8 seconds while the Audi dragged it’s ass a bit and took more than a whole second longer at 5.9 seconds. Regarding fuel efficiency, based on the speed test and horsepower rating, the results were not surprising. The Caddy gets an estimated 13 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway. The significantly less thirsty A8 gets 16 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway. Strangely the Audi also has a larger fuel tank than it’s competitor (23.6 gallons vs 17 gallons). So while the Cadillac wins over short distances, in an endurance race consisting of long distance stages, the Audi would reach the finish line sooner, cheaper and with less stops.
The Audi brand is notorious for their almost exclusive inclusion of their all wheel drive ‘Quattro’ package, present on nearly almost every class and model they make. This feature is much less common on American cars, but in this case the STS-V is outfitted with Cadillac’s AWD drive system.
Where the Audi will shine is the handling department. The Cadillac has a front and rear mix of coil spring, independent suspension with front and rear anti-roll bars. The Audi however is complete with Fully Pneumatic air suspension struts in each wheels, with automatic damping characteristics constantly adjusted by sensors. This means the Audi could outperform the Caddy in race like settings with quick switchbacks and hairpin turnarounds. In fact, that would be a very interesting race to watch. The Audi A8 is more nimble, while the Cadillac STS-V is faster.
Although I’m a long time Audi lover, comparing these two amazing machines has made my impression of the new Cadillac STS-V change significantly. It looks as if GM is no longer competing solely with other American luxury vehicles. This car is entering uncharted territory, where a Cadillac is poised to directly compete with the BMW 5 series, and some Mercedes Benz types, along with our subject, the Audi A8. In this contest, if it was a battle of brawn, I would choose the Cadillac STS-V. (and still have a bit of scratch leftover) However, cars are a very personal thing, and for many intangible reasons, my winner is the Audi A8.
With all these things in mind, put yourself in the same position as hearts13 . Consider you’ve just won the Ultimate Bet Bad Beat Jackpot. What would you buy, and why?
Tags: Bad Beat Jackpot, cars, Poker in the Car, Poker Poker Poker
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Saturday, November 22, 2008 - smokin_aces
Halfway through the third time watching Lady Gaga’s video for her brand new single “Poker Face”, I realized the song is about poker. Sort of……. Lady Gaga, while stunning visually, is not exactly an artist exuding depth and talent. Instead you get the impression she was the face and body matched by record executives to songs that didn’t make a Gwen Stefani album. However, that said, I’ve not recently seen the game of poker made to look so….uhhhhh….screw it, SEXY! The song’s lyrical content is basically a strung together montage of x-rated double entendres made from familiar poker lingo. Granted, with Lady Gaga’s over the top sex appeal oozing from every pore in her taut body, she could make unclogging a toilet sound sexy with the right beat.
From the very first chord progression you’re happy. The brief but obvious ‘nod’ to ‘Sweet Dreams’ is enough for the first time listener to feel welcome. These cheap parlor tricks are par for the musical course these days, so ironically it gets a pass. The first audible line other than the voice that may be Timbaland reciting “Mum mum mum mum” around 20 times, is “I wanna hold em like they do in Texas Plays”. That line must be about her desire for multiple sex partners. As a patriarchal old school man, that frightens me, so I like it. “Fold em let em hit me raise it baby stay with me, I love it” has all the sentiments of a veiled cry for domination. Again, scary but alluring. It starts getting more interesting when she hits the pre-chorus. “OH OH OH, I’ll get him hot, show him what I’ve got, OH OH OH”. At this point in the song I realized that she chose poker as a theme so that she could make references like this without sounding like a complete tramp! It’s brilliant really (I mean if it had actually worked that is). Poker has many phrases that can be twisted to sound sexual, and Lady Gaga has exploited this to the fullest extent.
However, her sultry delivery on phrases like “I’m bluffin with my muffin”, while pointing to her crotch (classy), travel from “ambiguous-land” right into “fucking obvious-ville”. She spends the first half of the song using poker as a way to skeeze up the airways while hiding behind the “perception” curtain, and then blasts right into full blown lyrical porn. However, her (and I say her as if these creative decisions were hers) less-than-subtle re-interpretations of phrases from the poker lexicon actually do make you want to play poker…..covered in baby oil, with a harem of beautiful women, lying on a leopard skin rug.
Tags: music
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Saturday, November 22, 2008 - Cardroom
The buzz around the office these days is that CEREUS will be launching *very* soon and we couldn’t be more excited! What is CEREUS? CEREUS is big guarantees, higher stakes ring games, exciting new promotions, superior tournament and ring game structures, top notch customer service, fast payouts and the most exciting part …. *twice* as many players! You want to step up your game? Then it’s time to get CEREUS.
The Card Room
Tags: Cardroom, Cereus, software
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Friday, November 21, 2008 - smokin_aces
As you may have noticed, Ultimate Bet is lucky enough to have many well established Professional Poker players on our team. We’ve got players with different styles, strengths, outlooks, backgrounds and even fashion sense! They didn’t become pros overnight, in fact many worked hard for YEARS to get their game sharp. What better way for poker players of all abilities to improve their game, or even their lives by asking questions directly to a Pro? Well here’s you chance to do exactly that!
We’re giving you access to the best poker resource on the planet. Of course, there are a lot of you, so in order to make this work, we’re going to select the best question each week to ask our Pro. Here are the details:
Every Friday afternoon, this blog will announce which one of our pros will be answering the winning question.
In order to enter, write your question into the comments of each Fridays ‘Ask A Pro’ blog post before Sunday at 8PM EST each week.
You will see the answer to the winning question posted each Thursday of the following week.
Since you’ll know which pro will be answering your question, feel free to make it specific to them!
SO LET’S BEGIN!!!!!!
The pro answering this weeks question is none other than……….(drumroll)………ANNIE DUKE!!!!
Annie has lot’s to say, and plenty of experience to back it up. To get your question answered by Annie Duke, enter it into the comments section of THIS BLOG POST and check back next Thursday to find out if your question gets selected, and answered by her!
Don’t miss your chance to communicate directly with Annie Duke!!
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? ASK ANNIE A QUESTION NOW!
Tags: Annie Duke, Ask A Pro, Pro Questions
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Friday, November 21, 2008 - John Greene
In the office the other day, somebody brought up the fact that the Japanese word for “Ultimate” is pronounced “sai-ko.” A lively debate ensued over who is the “Ultimate Psycho,” and here’s who we came up with.
Robin Williams in ONE HOUR PHOTO
Freddy Krueger
Robert DeNiro in CAPE FEAR.
Hannibal Lecter
Norman Bates from PSYCHO.
Mickey and Mallory From NATURAL BORN KILLERS.
Gary Freakin' Busey
Jason Vorhees
Heather Ledger as The Joker
This guy.
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