Here’s your weekly roundup and congratulations go out to ZELDAPS28, JOHNNYBELOW, DARRENELIAS, CHARDRIAN, DSANDS25, BIGDOGPCKT5S, LILA_S, SCANGAD, SCANGAD, LEDERJOE, SPYDER97 and SMITN_KITTEN for taking down the big guarantees and to our deal maker DAVEVEGAS92!
Tags: guarantee, roundup, tournament
I want to give a BIG, HUGE “THANK YOU” to the poker community for all the support you’ve shown Maria and I during The Amazing Race. I’ve really appreciated the tweets, messages and comments that I’ve received from each one of you. Specifically, thanks to all my online UB poker friends for your support. I love UltimateBet for getting behind me on The Amazing Race and bringing YOU tons of tournaments and free money as apart of the “Tiffany Michelle Amazing Freerolls” promotion. There are still two more freerolls for you to play so check it out and meet me at the tables: http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-promotion/tiffany-michelle-amazing-freerolls
I hope you enjoyed watching this season as much as we did. I think the countries, tasks and the diverse personalities of the cast made for some entertaining TV, fingers crossed for Emmy number EIGHT! Although Sunday night brought the end of Maria’s and my Race I REALLY enjoyed the overall episode and I was in tears by the end. Recounting the terribly hard, freezing and frustrating day that we had in Amsterdam was emotional but ultimately I was touched by Maria’s beautiful words, friendship and how we left every ounce of our hearts & souls on that cow-pie filled field, ha ha 
Just a few “behind the scenes” details regarding Sunday night’s episode that you didn’t get to see and many of you have asked about:
THE QUITTING THING: Technically we didn’t “quit”. If you are unable to complete either side of a Detour you incur a 24hr penalty. After three hours of attempting BOTH sides of the challenge between our physical exhaustion, our drenched clothes and the weather (50mph winds blowing directly towards us in the golf game) we finally realized that we could not complete the Detour and were getting weaker with each attempt. Obviously we knew that by taking the 24hr penalty it was almost certain we’d be eliminated unless it was a non-elimination leg. At that point was when Phil came out to the field to eliminate us. We did not have the option of going to the Pit stop since you have to complete the Detour in order to get your next clue, telling you where the Pit Stop is located.
THE HYPOTHERMIA THING: Between the dinger and golf challenge in Amsterdam we spent over THREE HOURS attempting both side of the Detour, in soaking wet clothing, in stormy, windy, freezing weather giving our best efforts between the two! You couldn’t tell on TV but the hammer for the carnival dinger was over 40lbs! At one point, on our second attempt at the golf, EMT’s had to come out to the field and take me off because they were worried I was getting hypothermia. You’ll notice that towards the end of the episode I’m wearing a gray, long sleeve which they made me wear if I was to continue the golf challenge even though the Detour rules stated that teams could only do it in the provided farmer long johns! The EMT’s assessed my condition and felt that continuing in the given weather conditions could be a hazardous to my health, therefore production had to make a medical exception because I was so soaked to the bone and uncontrollably shaking. CRAZY!
THE GAY THING: Editing might show otherwise but we said from DAY ONE that we thought Sam & Dam were the “token gay team” this season… come on, as a poker player our reads aren’t THAT off! Ha ha. Even though they only came out to the rest of the Racers in the Dubai airport they personally told us early on in Vietnam which confirmed our initial instincts. I think audiences were confused when we talked about “loving” them or how cute we thought they were, thinking we actually had romantic crushes as compared to just platonically loving them for being great guys and good friends to us on the Race… and yes super sexy!
Stay tuned, there are tons of Race stories still to share now that I’m allowed to discuss it so there is plenty more to come! Maria and I have a crazy week of elimination press coming up as well as a trip to New York this weekend to do the CBS Morning Show. Of course we’ll keep you posted so you can follow all the action. Again, thank you for the love and support… it means the world to me.
xx
Tags: amazing race, Amsterdam, CBS Morning Show, New York, Poker Poker Poker, Tiffany "Tiffany M" Michelle, ub, ultimatebet
I followed along with the November Nine coverage most of the day and most of the night, but when it hit 2AM and there were still 7 players left I gave up and hit the hay. Yesterday’s final table was the longest in WSOP history, and we’re not done yet. Darvin Moon and Joe Cada will battle heads-up for the title Monday night and if they play like they did yesterday it should be a most, um, interesting match.
Because the play yesterday was a bit…unorthodox. Yes, let’s call it that. I don’t think anyone could argue that both Moon and Cada ran good yesterday. Very good, in fact. Twice Cada was all-in holding an underpair to his opponent’s pocket pair…and flopped sets. Twice Moon put a ton of chips at risk holding Ace-Queen and found himself dominated–once by Phil Ivey’s Ace-King, once to Steven Begleiter’s pocket Queens–and won both hands, sending Ivey and Begleiter to the rail. Moon made some seriously odd moves as well, once re-raising to 15 million and then, when Begleiter moved in for 21 million and with Moon needing to put just 6 million more in for the call, Moon folded. My friend Pauly called it “The Worst Fold in Tournament Poker History” though perhaps Moon’s 15 million bet was The Worst Raise Ever.
But Moon still has a chance to win the bracelet, though he’ll have to overcome a 2-1 chip deficit to Cada, who at one point was seriously short-stacked before doubling up then winning those two huge hands where he was a 4-1 dog going into the flop. If you’re gonna run good, really really good, the final table of the WSOP Main Event isn’t a bad place for it to happen. And goodness knows it should make for some exciting TV come Tuesday. I saw pics taken from the Penn and Teller theater and the stage looked awesome, and the huge crowds that filled the space (at least for the first eight hours or so) lent it a real major-sporting-event feel. From what I read Cada’s supporters were an especially obnoxious lot, with lots of alcohol consumed and some inappropriate shouts coming from that part of the room. Irritating perhaps if you’re rooting for someone else, but it should again make for great television
I don’t envy the ESPN producers who had to endure an 18-hour final table and then are working frantically to turn that footage into a finished show in 48 hours. Nor did I envy my poker-blogging brethren who dug their trenches and fought the good fight all day and all night (and part of the next day). Those of you who have attended a final table understand why poker, for all it’s charms, will never be a major spectator sport. It takes a long time to play a final table, especially a fairly deep-stacked one. And not every hand is a riveting clash of titans marshaling their stack for the Final Confrontation. It took 276 hands to eliminate seven players, and that’s a long day’s work.
I may live-blog the broadcast on Tuesday, give my impressions of what went on (which of course is MUCH easier than covering the event live!) and experience the final table the way most people do, on TV in a (mercifully) edited format. Should be an interesting show, especially as we don’t know yet how it all ends.
Tags: 2009 november nine, 2009 world series of poker, darvin moon, joe cada, world series of poker, WSOP
Hey fellow UB-ites. I was just trying to think of a way to say people of UB. UBians? I dunno. UB-ites doesn’t sound too bad. Either way, I digress (already). So I’ve been m.i.a. the past couple of weeks. Aruba came and went, not like a midday rain shower, but more like a category 5 hurricane where you’re lucky to get out alive with your liver still in tact. After Aruba, I came home for a couple of weeks, tried to get back into a good fitness schedule and book some wins in cash and tourneys. I did pretty well with all three. Went to the gym a respectable amount, broke even in cash, which considering how seldom I play cash is also respectable, and even won 2 tourneys with a couple other solid cashes.
Then I left for Las Vegas for the Caesars Classic $5k Main Event, which was my first visit back to Vegas since I moved away 3 months ago. It’s always nice to go back to a place you once lived and enjoy all the things you loved about the city. Vegas is a great place for that. If you live there it loses a bit of it’s luster but if you visit there’s so much to do with so little time it seems like an amazing city. And it is, amazing…for tourists. I went to Naked Fish, the place where I was Poker Punk’ed, to enjoy some delightful sushi and even got to Carne Vino, which is definitely one of my favorite steakhouses. I would highly, HIGHLY, recommend it to any steakhouse lover. I still think the food in Vegas is the best part of Vegas. I was really impressed with myself. I barely drank while I was there, didn’t got to a club, and didn’t even have an itch to go to the infamous Spearmint Rhino. I did get to hang with friends and stay at four different places while I was there. I guess you could say I was a vagabond and while my back wasn’t happy with me sleeping on couches day in day out, it’s definitely a good way to do Vegas if you know a lot of people. It keeps things interesting. As far as the tournament went, I played extremely well. Made some sick plays, grinded my shortstack when I needed to, but ultimately fell short of the final table and reshoved A10o into Kathy Liebert’s AQo to bust in 12th. One thing it did do was motivate me to play more live poker after a rough 2009 on the live circuit. I’m actually typing this blog on my way to Foxwoods.
So the meat of the blog is my Halloween experience! Awesome. Just awesome., but it started off really stressful and I was on the verge of giving up on the whole night entirely. My Halloween journey started around 8ish when I went to go pick up my friends and bring them back to my place so we could all take a limo from one place. Getting a limo on Halloween in a busy city is a must. Last year we couldn’t find a cab and we had to walk a mile home. I went to go pick them up about 15 minutes from my place. It was already starting to get busy and the only parking available was next to a fire hydrant. Oh, perfect, I’m only waiting for a couple of minutes so that’s fine. So I tell my friends to come out but since they are girls, saying “I’ll be right there”, never means that. I waited patiently in the car but because we were kind of on a time crunch I called them and even got out of my car in an attempt to go up to their apartment and make them hurry up. I left my blinkers on because I wanted people to know I was going to be leaving shortly. They said they were on their way and I decided to wait outside my car while they came down. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes but when I went to turn the car on, the starter made a clicking sound, and the engine wouldn’t budge which was weird because the windows, lights, and radio all worked. Regardless, I’m screwed. We assess the situation and I get in contact with my Infiniti roadside assistance who thankfully dispatched someone right away to be there within 30 minutes.
While we were waiting for the repair vehicle, fire trucks came racing down the street and stopped on our block. At this point, I really start to lose it. My car isn’t starting and it’s parked next to a fire hydrant. I would just feel horrible if there really was a major fire and I was blocking the fire hydrant. But thankfully for my own sanity’s sake, it ended up just being a false alarm. PHEW! The repair truck came and gave me a start and we were off Ricky Bobby style. I really did some excellent driving while we jammed out to fun songs to get us pumped for the night.
Oh yea, one key thing: I still had to get into my costume! Luckily it was this Cookie Monster costume I bought online the other day at a website aptly named BuyCostumes.com. It was just a one-piece costume and within 10 minutes I was ready. Unfortunately I had to park my car in front of a garage because parking was so brutal on my street. You think I would’ve learned my lesson but nope. The limo driver needed to get through so I had to move my car regardless. Of course, as luck would have it, the car didn’t start AGAIN. Like come the f on! So I had to have Amit, my roommate a.k.a. Amak316, and the only other guy there help me move my car in neutral uphill. There’s a picture of it somewhere and it’s hilarious but we did it. We pushed it into the limo’s old spot. Somehow it all came together and all ten of us in the limo were off to our Halloween adventure!
We went to this club called Madame Royale which was throwing a Halloween party hosted by Ryan Cabrera. Inside was a blast. Apparently, chicks dig Cookie Monster. Everywhere I walked girls would be like OMG that’s Cookie Monster. I even got some props from random dudes. It definitely was a hit and if I could wear that Cookie Monster costume everywhere, all the ladies would have to watch out !
The next stop was a house party which was a nice change from the fast-paced style of any club. I ended up finding someone wearing a TinkyWinky costume and jokingly told him we should throw down and the winner of the fight would officially be crowned the best children’s show! What’s funny is later on in the night I found out I knew the guy and neither of us realized it initially. The alcohol was scarce at the house party so I got creative and used wine as my mixer for vodka. After that, it was official: I was drunk. The rest of the night was a blur. I know at one point I was chatting up with a homeless guy while trying to rap with Jeff Madsen on the side of the street while waiting for our limo who also coincidentally broke down. But that’s the best part of any drunken night, trying to piece together what happened the next morning.
I hope your Halloween was at least as crazy and fun as mine. If not, you disappoint me! Well, until next, keep killing it at the tables and living your life to the fullest off of them!
Tags: Aruba, Caesars Classic, Foxwoods, halloween, Live Poker, Poker Poker Poker, tournaments, ub, Vegas
Unless you’ve been living in a fortified bunker you know that today’s the day the World Series of Poker Main Event resumes and we find out which of the November Nine will be our next champion. Well, actually we’ll find that on Monday, because today they play down to heads-up and then resume the match at 10pm Monday night. So, actually, we’ll probably find out who the next World Champion is on Tuesday. And then Tuesday night ESPN shows their Final Table broadcast. Complicated stuff, I know.
And if you don’t want to know what happens or who wins before that broadcast, I advise you return to that fortified bunker and pull that heavy metal door shut. Because in this age of blogs and Twitter and Facebook and texts and the myriad other ways we communicate with one another (talking, even) it’s well-nigh impossible to remove yourself from the grid without deliberate action on your part. So if it’s a nice day in your part of the word, a camping trip might be advisable. Take the car out for a long, long, long drive? Get yourself arrested on a minor (and here I stress MINOR) charge and be a guest of the state for the weekend. These are all ideas for those who want to be on tenterhooks for ESPN’s broadcast.
For those who will be keeping an ear to the ground there are a few options for news. UltimateBet is sponsoring the live coverage over at Bluff Magazine, and Annie Duke and Hollywood Dave will be tableside providing commentary. You can visit the re-launched WSOP.com for a live-viewer and video updates and all sorts of info from the final table. PokerNews will of course be providing hand-for-hand updates and chip counts throughout the day. ESPN’s Andrew Feldman will have a live-blog of the final-table, as will my friend the infamous Dr. Pauly. And then whatever particular poker publication you prefer as well.
So we’re almost ready to go, play begins at noon Vegas time (3pm on the East Coast) and unless you have an elephantine memory you may need a refresher of where we stand. Here’s some info about the situation as play resumes:
Current Level: 33 with 7 minutes and 16 seconds remaining
Blinds: 120K/240K with a 30K ante
Next Level: 150K/300K with a 40K ante
Chip Count:
Darvin Moon – 58,930,000
Eric Buchman – 34,800,000
Steven Begleiter – 29,885,000
Jeff Shulman – 19,580,000
Joseph Cada – 13,215,000
Kevin Schaffel – 12,390,000
Phil Ivey – 9,765,000
Antoine Saout – 9,500,000
James Akenhead – 6,800,000
Seating Assignments:
Seat 1: Darvin Moon (Oakland, MD) – 58,930,000
Seat 2: James Akenhead (London, UK) – 6,800,000
Seat 3: Phil Ivey (Las Vegas, NV) – 9,765,000
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel (Coral Springs, FL) – 12,390,000
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter (Chappaqua, NY) – 29,885,000
Seat 6: Eric Buchman (Valley Stream, NY) – 34,800,000
Seat 7: Joseph Cada (Shelby Township, MI)- 13,215,000
Seat 8: Antoine Saout (St. Martin des Champs, France) – 9,500,000
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman (Las Vegas, NV) – 19,580,000
November Nine Payouts:
1st $8,547,042
2nd $5,182,928
3rd $3,479,670
4th $2,502,890
5th $1,953,452
6th $1,587,160
7th $1,404,014
8th $1,300,231
9th $1,263,602
Five years ago when I started to play poker “professionally” I was a bad player in a lot of ways – I played too many hands out of position and played too passively in bad situations. These bad tendencies were carried over from when I played poker primarily for recreation (in other words, the last 20 years of my life). But I was also patient and really good at reading people. This allowed me to take some appropriate risks and make really big laydowns. The net result of my bad habits and natural ability made me a winning player, but just barely.
In the beginning I played live poker exclusively. I had never played a hand of online poker before 2005. Up until this time, I thought the internet was only good for shopping and porn. As I began to take poker more seriously, I studied and improved my game by reading books by Brunson, Sklansky and Harrington. I also began to discuss hands with other players on a regular basis. But my game really began to flourish when I started to play online and could play many more hands per hour. I think this is a really common path for poker evolution.
In the spring of 2005 I decided that I needed some experience with the new breed of online players that I was hearing about and that I would probably be facing at the WSOP. So I deposited $600 on a site and never looked back. I started with sit n goes and was making money pretty easily. Soon my bankroll was built up and I was playing some of the biggest buy in tourneys available.
The rapid pace of on line play really accelerated my learning curve. It was also extremely lucrative compared to the somewhat limited action that was available to me in Reno, NV. I could always count on a game being there, never had to wait in a queue and didn’t have the “hassle” of driving 10 minutes to a casino (yeah, I’m spoiled). It was then that my game really started to mature. I was playing pretty well and making decent money. The highly mathematical nature of online play worked great for me (I have a degree in engineering and a minor in mathematics). But there is always room for improvement. In the last year I’ve been working closely with Annie Duke and her coaching has improved my game by an order of magnitude.
But amidst this continued improvement, I’ve run head long into a really confusing situation: In five years of professional play I’m endanger of recording the first losing live tournament year on my books. I’m not stuck big, but I am stuck. This really bothers me. Sure there have been several moments during the year where if I hadn’t gotten unlucky, I would’ve had a cash big enough to put me in the black: I had over half the chips in play five-handed at a final table only to take 6 bad beats from the same bad player for 5th place, I had set over set at the WSOP Main Event, a two-outer on the turn late on day 2 of the Aruba 5k and several others. But the truth is that in many ways this year, I have de-evolved in some ways as a player.
Basically, I have allowed those people reading skills that made me successful early to get a little rusty. I blame the internet. When playing online, it’s very rare for me to fold Aces or Kings (or any other overpair for that matter) on a flop or turn unless something about the board or betting pattern combined with previous history just screams “you’re beat!”
Also, I think my patience has suffered recently. Again, this may be partly due to the rapid fire, multi tabling experience that I’ve grown accustomed to online. If I bust out of a tourney online, it’s barely a blip on the radar because in all likelihood, I’m in four others already. And if I’m card dead on one table for 100 hands straight, no big deal – I’m probably getting good cards in the 500 hands I’m playing at other tables. Not so in live play. If you bust out in the first level of a tourney, you may not be able to get back into action for a few hours, or even a day. But I think this year I’ve had trouble readjusting to the slower pace of live play. I’ve gotten frustrated and as a result, got my money in bad for my tourney life on too many occassions.
So what’s this all mean to me? Well, I’m focusing on resurrecting my live play skill set. I’ll also continue to use the cyber world to make money and hone my situational skills. And if I do, I’m pretty sure I’ll still end the year in the black. Wish me luck!
Tags: Aces, Bad Beat, coaching, evolution, Kings, online, Poker Poker Poker, Professional
It’s logical to introduce changes that improve our site. That’s why we’ve redesigned our raise logic. Log on to UltimateBet right now and you’ll see that our raise button is now labeled “raise to”. When you want to raise to a desired amount, you won’t have to factor your initial bet into the equation, which is already on the table. That’s right! You can simply enter the amount you wish to raise to and click on the “raise to” button.
You may recall that if you wished to raise before, while already having a bet in front of you, you would first need to determine the amount you wished to bet before subtracting the amount already in front of you. Our new raise logic now let’s you decide how much you’d like to bet, and you can just enter the amount, which will be your full bet.
We’ve introduced this change thanks to your valuable feedback and to bring our game in line with industry standards. If there’s anything else you’d like to see, then please let us know. You can post your suggestions right into the blog. Don’t forget to check this space regularly f the latest news, promos, and all things poker.
Tags: Poker Poker Poker, Raise Logic, Software Update, ub
I’m here at Foxwoods (for those that don’t know, it’s a casino complex in the middle of nowhere in particular in Connecticut) and I’ve been playing three days solid trying to win my seat into the WPT. It’s not going well so far. I got pretty close by winning my way into the final act but then bombed from that so now I’ve only got a day left to get in. Argh! Anyway, gotta keep positive so fingers crossed today’s the day. One good thing that has come of the trip so far however was being invited to go over to ESPN to film an episode of the Inside Deal. Appearing on the show with me was Chad Brown, who’s one of the nicest guys I’ve met through poker. We got to see all the famous studios in ESPN and shown all around the complex, which is HUGE. I’m fairly sure I saw some famous American sports stars but being from the wrong side of the pond I couldn’t tell you who they were! Anyway, the episode is here and ready for viewing… http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4619206
Gotta love our acting! Ahem…
Tags: Chad Brown, espn, Foxwoods, Poker Poker Poker, The Inside Deal, WPT
Some people might think playing poker it is just a matter of saying: I call, I raise or I fold. I guess all that people have never played poker as you and I, along with millions of online and live Poker players know that it is a tough job not so many can handle. You might be thinking, what is this guy talking about? Oh well, let me explain you.
Basically I have a couple of reasons to blog about this. The first will be that the other day I was talking to this VIP customer over the phone that was playing more than 15 tournaments at the same time. I know this is a regular for you guys but still amazing to many others like me, who doesn’t live from Poker.
This customer told me that he was already tired and he wanted to take a break, but sitting out was not an option so he kept playing for 3 hours more… impressive, that’s all I have to say. I guess you´ve been there before and I admire you. That’s what I call a poker lover.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot the second reason! Ultimate Bet and the CEREUS poker network just introduced a great feature specially created for those who play zillions of tourneys at the same time like you: exactly! The now famous Synchronized Breaks.
Synchronized Breaks is the answer to that question you have been asking yourself during the last week. Yes, the one that says: Why is it that all my tourneys are going on break at the same time every single hour? I am glad this blog is helping you somehow.
It is a pretty simple feature but more important a helpful one. From now on, the majority of Multi Table tournaments within the CEREUS network will go on break at the 55th minute of every hour. It doesn’t matter if the game started 25 or 55 minutes ago, they all will go on break at this specific minute. And do not worry about it; all hands will be completed before the break starts.
Some important details I suggest you double check, such as: this is not an add-ons break, can be reviewed by clicking here. Or you can always give us a call at any time you want and we will address any question you might have.
I am so glad now the 15 tournaments VIP guy will be able to at least go to the bathroom or to take a smoke break or to grab a snack. It really doesn’t matter what you do, as soon as it takes 4:59 minutes.
So, now that you are more than aware of this new feature Ultimate Bet introduced due to your demand, help us out by spreading out the word with your poker buddies. I am sure many of them have been waiting for this glorious 5 minute breaks.
I am finishing a little different this time….. Take a Break! J
Tags: break, Cereus, features, Multi Table, skills, Synchronized, tournament
Hi all,
It’s been a while…
So 2 weeks ago my brother Nick and I were geared up to go on a 5 day trip off the coast of Mexico to dive with great white sharks (in cages of course!) and tuna fishing. However, 30 minutes before getting on board the boat in San Diego we got a call from our Mom telling us that our grandmother had just passed away. She was 85 and had been sick and in pain for a few years so it was not unexpected. We of course canceled our trip and drove to LA to be with our family. My Mom and aunt were already there and I know it was hard on them losing their mother. But it is hardest on our grandfather… They were married during World War 2 and have remained so for 65 years, despite being displaced from their homeland in Ukraine during the war (caught between Hitler and Stalin), moving to Venezuela after the war (where my Mom was born), and then to LA where their jewelry store was destroyed in the Rodney King riots. I spent most Thanksgivings over the past ten years with them since I lived in CA and now vegas. I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose someone you’ve been with your whole life. We had a traditional Russian Orthodox funeral and burial last week, which was really beautiful.
My older brother Rick was also in town for the week and he and Nick and I had some down time to hang. We ended up playing a lot of Wii Sports Resort… Really fun game.
Anyways it was good to spend time with the family, although not under optimal circumstances.
The whole experience reminded me what was important in life.
So now I’m back in Vegas for a bit… I played online tournies this Sunday for the first time in a while… No luck in the UB events but I did manage a win the HORSE tourney on another site.
Later this week Nick and I are going on our shark diving/tuna fishing trip… should be awesome!
After that, I’ll be going to the Taj in Atlantic City to play their $2500 PLO and $5000 NLHE main event.
Till next time…
Michael Binger
Tags: h.o.r.s.e., Michael Binger, Poker Poker Poker, ub, Vegas
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