Saturday, September 5, 2009 - Phil Hellmuth
A few years ago I was playing in the Bicycle Club’s Legends of Poker $300 buy-in (with multiple re-buys) no limit hold’em event. Things were going along just fine and I was feeling pretty confident. I had just finished second to Daniel Negreanu in the $1,000 buy-in seven-card stud event and I was starting this day with a big stack of chips. To top it off, I really liked the lineup at my table. I knew what the players were doing. There were even a couple of traditionally wild players who I thought, with patience, I good chance of busting. With the blinds at $50-$100, I made it $300 to go with A-A in first position (I hate limping with aces in early position!). Jack Fox, who I normally think of as a semi-wild player, was really toned down and playing strong poker when he called my $300 bet. (Not that I think Jack’s semi-wild style is bad, it is just a dangerous way to play the game!) After Jack called the $300 raise, one of the truly wild players decided to just call my raise with 7-7 in the small blind. This was totally unexpected and out of character for this player! I had seen him re-raise with pairs all day long. I even planned on busting him while he was making one of these moves! When it was his turn to act, I could see he was contemplating making a re-raise, but for some reason he merely called the $300 bet pre-flop. If he had re-raised me pre-flop, I would have busted him. I felt like that what was supposed to happen! Anyway, the flop came down Q-Q-J and the Wild One checked. Now I quickly checked for two reasons. First I had a bad feeling that Jack had a queen and, second, I wanted to try to trap Jack and the Wild One. So much for the best-laid plans of mice and men! Jack checked behind me and the next card off was a 10, making Jack a full house! Now Wild One and I checked and Jack bet out $900. Wild One folded and I quickly called. I was a little concerned but I had seen Jack bluff a lot in the past few years. The last card was a 2, and I checked again and watched Jack moved all-in for about $1700. Now I said to myself, “Hmmm…what could he have? He could have a busted flush draw, and now he’s trying to bluff me. He could have just overplayed a pair of jacks like J-K or J-A. It’s Jack Fox, and maybe he just has 5d-6d or something similar and he’s just trying to outplay me.” I have seen him do some pretty crazy things! I actually thought that he might have 8d-9d or some crazy straight like that! But I set this hand up for him to bluff me by checking aces to him three times, so I better carry through on my plan and call him down.” So I called and left myself with only $700 in chips.
I played my last $700 really hard, but I couldn’t overcome losing all of those chips with the aces. Right after I called Jack, he said, “What a bad call you made against me on the end!” Well, I certainly don’t mind my call against Jack in this hand, which he played perfectly. He didn’t re-raise me before the flop or bet on the flop (if he bets the flop, then I would have probably raised him and won this pot!) I guess I need to re-examine my opinion on Jack being a semi-wild player! The question I’ve asked myself since though is, “Did I misplay this hand?” Upon further reflection, I believe that the answer is yes, I did misplay this hand. Why didn’t I just bet the flop? There was $1,000 sitting out there and Jack would have folded and maybe Wild One would have moved in on me! Perhaps I would have doubled up instead of going nearly broke! Why check the flop and let a straight card come out there for free? Why risk $2650 after the 10 came off? I think that I was also a little bit unlucky that Wild One didn’t re-raise me before the flop, but perhaps I gave something away about the strength of my hand. There are times that I play hands to trap people and sometimes it pays off, and sometimes it doesn’t. Anyway, Jack Fox went on to win the tournament, and Eric Holum finished second! It must have been a nice ride home for Jack and Eric Holum, who drove down from Reno just for this one event. With about $75,000 in winnings sitting between them in the car, right next to those first and second place trophies, I’m sure they thought the trip was worth it!
Tags: Daniel Negreanu, Eric Holum, Jack Fox, Legends of Poker, Phil Hellmuth, Play Poker, Poker Tips
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - Billy Kopp
As the newest Ultimate Bet team pro, I’m excited to share my first blog with all of you. For those of you who don’t know, my name is Billy Kopp and I reside in Erlanger, Kentucky. I am twenty three years old and have been playing online poker for the past five years. I got my start into poker by playing small home games with friends. While going to college at the University of Kentucky, I began to play primarily online. I had success and was able to meet other successful players online who helped me to advance my game.
This summer I made a transition into playing more live events. I had a second place finish in the 5k New Orleans WSOP Circuit event for a nice six figure score. After that I proceeded to play in several WSOP events. I was fortunate enough to get 8th in the 5k no limit event and then 11th in the 10k pot limit event. Finally, I finished in the summer out with a 12th place finish in the main event for a little under $900,000. I can proudly say that Ultimate Bet was by far the best site for me to represent. Due to the help of my agency, Suited Connections, I was able to land a long-term deal with the site. I have played on UB for years and have had success in the biggest multi table tournaments they have to offer including a win in their Sunday major. To date, I have never given substantial time to playing cash games. Now, I will be playing cash games along with multi-table tournaments on Ultimate Bet under the name “billy_kopp”.
Lots of people have been asking me what my next live event will be. I am currently in the process of moving to Las Vegas, so the next event for me will probably be the $5,000 main event in Biloxi, Mississippi at the Beau Rivage in September, followed by the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic in October. Once everything is settled in Vegas I will be playing more live events. On a side note, I want to wish my friend and fellow colleague Adam “Roothlus” Levy good luck in the Legends of Poker tournament going on at the Bicycle Casino right now. Hopefully he can bring home another win for the UB team.
I can’t wait to meet the other team pros in Aruba. I have never played in the Aruba Classic and wish everyone who plays the best of luck. For all of you reading this, I hope to get to play with all of you on the site at some point soon!
Until next time,
Billy Kopp
Tags: Adam "Roothlus" Levy, Aruba, aruba classic, Billy Kopp, las vegas, Legends of Poker, Online Poker, ub, UB Team, Ultimate Bet, 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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Sunday, April 12, 2009 - Phil Hellmuth
A few years ago I was playing in the Bicycle Club’s Legends of Poker $300 buy-in (with multiple re-buys) no limit hold’em event. Things were going along just fine and I was feeling pretty confident. I had just finished second to Daniel Negreanu in the $1,000 buy-in seven-card stud event and I was starting this day with a big stack of chips. To top it off, I really liked the lineup at my table. I knew what the players were doing. There were even a couple of traditionally wild players who I thought, with patience, I good chance of busting. With the blinds at $50-$100, I made it $300 to go with A-A in first position (I hate limping with aces in early position!). Jack Fox, who I normally think of as a semi-wild player, was really toned down and playing strong poker when he called my $300 bet. (Not that I think Jack’s semi-wild style is bad, it is just a dangerous way to play the game!) After Jack called the $300 raise, one of the truly wild players decided to just call my raise with 7-7 in the small blind. This was totally unexpected and out of character for this player! I had seen him re-raise with pairs all day long. I even planned on busting him while he was making one of these moves! When it was his turn to act, I could see he was contemplating making a re-raise, but for some reason he merely called the $300 bet pre-flop. If he had re-raised me pre-flop, I would have busted him. I felt like that what was supposed to happen! Anyway, the flop came down Q-Q-J and the Wild One checked. Now I quickly checked for two reasons. First I had a bad feeling that Jack had a queen and, second, I wanted to try to trap Jack and the Wild One. So much for the best-laid plans of mice and men! Jack checked behind me and the next card off was a 10, making Jack a full house! Now Wild One and I checked and Jack bet out $900. Wild One folded and I quickly called. I was a little concerned but I had seen Jack bluff a lot in the past few years. The last card was a 2, and I checked again and watched Jack moved all-in for about $1700. Now I said to myself, “Hmmm…what could he have? He could have a busted flush draw, and now he’s trying to bluff me. He could have just overplayed a pair of jacks like J-K or J-A. It’s Jack Fox, and maybe he just has 5d-6d or something similar and he’s just trying to outplay me.” I have seen him do some pretty crazy things! I actually thought that he might have 8d-9d or some crazy straight like that! But I set this hand up for him to bluff me by checking aces to him three times, so I better carry through on my plan and call him down.” So I called and left myself with only $700 in chips.
I played my last $700 really hard, but I couldn’t overcome losing all of those chips with the aces. Right after I called Jack, he said, “What a bad call you made against me on the end!” Well, I certainly don’t mind my call against Jack in this hand, which he played perfectly. He didn’t re-raise me before the flop or bet on the flop (if he bets the flop, then I would have probably raised him and won this pot!) I guess I need to re-examine my opinion on Jack being a semi-wild player! The question I’ve asked myself since though is, “Did I misplay this hand?” Upon further reflection, I believe that the answer is yes, I did misplay this hand. Why didn’t I just bet the flop? There was $1,000 sitting out there and Jack would have folded and maybe Wild One would have moved in on me! Perhaps I would have doubled up instead of going nearly broke! Why check the flop and let a straight card come out there for free? Why risk $2650 after the 10 came off? I think that I was also a little bit unlucky that Wild One didn’t re-raise me before the flop, but perhaps I gave something away about the strength of my hand. There are times that I play hands to trap people and sometimes it pays off, and sometimes it doesn’t. Anyway, Jack Fox went on to win the tournament, and Eric Holum finished second! It must have been a nice ride home for Jack and Eric Holum, who drove down from Reno just for this one event. With about $75,000 in winnings sitting between them in the car, right next to those first and second place trophies, I’m sure they thought the trip was worth it!
Tags: Bicycle Club, Daniel Negraneau, Legends of Poker
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