Tuesday, August 18, 2009 - Roothlus
Hey guys. It’s been a wee bit since I last blogged. Not going to lie, I’ve been a blogging hiatus. The WSOP kind of totally consumed me but don’t fret my blogettes, I’m back! This year’s WSOP was definitely one I’d like to forget. I played 21 events with only 2 cashes for a whopping total of $10k. I will say this though, I definitely ran bad but I wasn’t too happy with my play this year. I had a great year last year with 6 cashes in 17 events so the fact that I didn’t have a great WSOP wasn’t a huge surprise to me. I do think I learned a bit and improved my game throughout it, which is all you can do when trying to get through a rough patch like this.
I saw the Main Event as a last chance to salvage a subpar year but that didn’t go well either. Although, I definitely played excellent throughout the tournament my bustout hand was not my finest moment. I didn’t make a mistake in the hand but I accidentally angleshot and accidentally slowrolled a guy in the same hand. I stress that it was completely unintentional and I would never do that to anyone period. I decided to setmine with 66 against a tight good player and the flop came A96 rainbow. The raiser bet 6800 and when I went to call an extra 5k chip stuck to my fingers and I made it 11800. I was forced to make it 13600. I didn’t mean to do it but it accidentally worked out. So I go back to listening my music and I expect him to take a while. About five minutes go by and I look at him and it looks like he’s in the tank and he never motioned like he was shoving or anything. I look at the dealer and he gives me a blank stare. Two more minutes go by and the dealer motions to me that it’s on me. Apparently he went all in within 30 seconds of my minraise but I never noticed it and everyone thought I was in deep thought. I say to the guy, “I’m so sorry, I call” and flip over my set of sixes. The guy says “It’s cool man” and flips over a set of Aces. LOL. Funny how it worked out. Definitely one of the more interesting hands I’ve ever played.
I took it easy the end of July and wanted nothing to do with poker. At the very end of July I moved to Los Angeles finally. I’m rooming with another poker player, Amak316, and a good friend of mine. I’m ecstatic for the move and I know that I will really enjoy it. We decided to go to San Diego for a few days and I’m not sure which city is better but man is it a close decision. I’ve even been a decent sleep schedule compared to my Las Vegas schedule. On a good day I’d be waking up at 12PM in Las Vegas. That’s me sleeping in LA. And yes, I know 12PM is still super late but I’m a poker player, whaddya want from me?
Last Sunday I played had a pretty good win of $38k when I won the 50 rebuy. I’m not joking the person I played heads up could’ve been in a freeroll and been a losing player hah. Even though I really didn’t have to put too much effort into heads up, a win is a win! And there’s no better feeling than winning a tournament. I’m playing the Bike WPT next week and hopefully I’ll carry my online success over to that. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed. I’m definitely due to make a big live run before the end of the year. So wish me luck! Next time I talk to you I’ll have a WPT win under my belt 
. Peace guys.
–Adam “Roothlus” Levy
P.S. Look for upcoming training videos of me at DeepstackUniversity.com
Tags: Adam "Roothlus" Levy, las vegas, Main Event, Poker Poker Poker, WPT, WSOP
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Sunday, July 19, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
I’ve been home for 48 hours and the “real world” is finally starting to feel more real and less surreal. Doing laundry, scrambling an egg, grocery shopping…these mundane chores are an absolute delight after seven weeks in Vegas. Of course, even though the Rio is no longer the center of the poker universe, the World Series of Poker isn’t over yet. It’s just gone on hiatus until November 7th, when the November Nine returns to the Rio to determine the next World Champion.
And that’s the weird thing about leaving Vegas now that the final table of the Main Event is delayed–you don’t know who wins. Who takes home the lion’s share of the money. Who enjoys the ultimate triumph and who sufferes the ultimate heartbreak. You know, the good stuff.
So I’m not quite ready to leave Vegas behind, not quite ready to put the World Series in the rear-view mirror. Because the November Nine will be coming up sooner than you think. And when it does Joseph Cada will be right there, sitting at the final table and trying to take his place among poker’s immortals.
Tags: 2009 main event, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, joseph cada, Main Event, world series of poker, WSOP, wsop main event
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Friday, July 17, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
There is a story in the Detroit News today about Joseph Cada, who is the youngest member of the November Nine. Here’s what it looked like on the front page:
There’s a line from the article I thought was a bit amusing. Here’s Joe’s mother, Anne Cada:
“We had 15 people all huddled around the computer getting updates,” she said Thursday. “There was a delay in what’s going on there and the updates on the computer and all the sudden I got a call from Joe and all he said was ‘I made it.’ The place just erupted with the loudest ovation.”
I found it amusing because some of my friends were writing the updates that Joe’s mom was reading, and as I watched the crowd going nuts after Darvin Moon eliminated Jordan Smith in tenth place I took this shot of Joe, who was probably talking to his mon:
Tags: 2009 main event, 2009 november nine, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, joseph cada, Main Event, november nine, world series of poker, WSOP, wsop main event
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Thursday, July 16, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
We thought, based on stack sizes, the blinds, the rapidly escalating payouts, that it would take a very, very long time to get down from 27 to nine. Last year we didn’t finish until 4:30AM. The year before it took even longer to get to the final table. And with more chips on the table and a slower structure, we all thought we’d be playing until, oh, dawn.
We thought wrong.
We have reached the final table of the 2009 Main Event and the second November Nine is set. As has been the case all day and all night, it was Darvin Moon who was the catalyst. Already the huge chipleader, Moon called a raise by Jordan Smith with pocket eights and flopped top set. All the money went in after the flop and that’s when Smith saw that his pocket Aces had been cracked wide open. The 5h on the turn gave Smith a gutshot draw, but the 10h fell on the river and pandemonium broke out among the already raucous crowd.
Here’s the lineup for the November Nine (chipcounts are still being verified by PokerNews):
Seat 1: Darvin Moon
Seat 2: James Akenhead
Seat 3: Phil Ivey
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter
Seat 6: Eric Buchman
Seat 7: Joe Cada
Seat 8: Antoine Saout
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman
And for those who have complained that the last few Main Event final tables lacked star power, I direct your attention to Seat 3, where Phil Ivey resides. Ivey may get the lion’s share of the attention over the next four months as he goes for his third bracelet of 2009 and his first World Championship, but there are eight other stories we’ll be hearing until the fall. And Darvin Moon, with something in the neighborhood of 60 million chips, will be one of the most talked-about players in poker.
Much, much more on this tomorrow and in the coming days. Heck, in the coming months. It’ seems impossible to believe but it’s true–the 2009 World Series of Poker is on hiatus until November.
Tags: 2009 main event, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Main Event, november nine, world series of poker, WSOP
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
When play wrapped up last night the talk around the room was how long it would take to reduce the field from 27 players to the November Nine. “A long, LONG time,” was the consensus, though the particulars were up for some debate. One friend said that anyone who thought we’d wrap up before 7AM was crazy. I took the under on that, but I thought we’d still be here when the Dawn touches the Rio with her crimson fingertips.
Well, we’ve been playing for just three-and-a-half hours and we’re halfway there. We’re down to 18 players and consolidating to the two feature tables. Can they players keep up this up? The math says that as the stacks deepen, and the payouts dramatically increase, the pace will slow. The players will tighten up until the squeak. The deliberations will drag on and on and on. And last year we got down to 18 without much fuss…and Dean Hamrick wasn’t eliminated in 10th until 4:30 in the morning.
So, we shall see. The news so far is that Billy Kopp has a monster chip stack, 26.2 million to Darvin Moon’s 2nd-place stack of 18 million. Phil Ivey has slipped way down, to just 5.5 million. And Antonio Esfandiari was one of the early casualties, going out in 24th place. But all that’s happened in the first two levels–we may play many, many more before the night (and day) are done.
A few quick pics from today. The main Feature Table:
Billy Kopp, at the start of play today:
Joseph Cada:
George Caragiorgas, who was eliminated in 20th place:
I’ll be posting a lot more pictures at our WSOP Photo Gallery and posting more pics and updates on Twitter. So you can follow along with the Main Event action while you play in tonight’s Ante Up for Africa freeroll!
Tags: 2009 main event, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, 2009 wsop main event, Main Event, world series of poker, WSOP
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
We’re down to 28 players, and play will cease for the night when we hit 27. Tomorrow, we’ll play down to the November Nine, and already there’s speculation flying about how long it’ll take to reduce the field by two-thirds. A friend who covered the 22-hour WSOP-E final table and the 19-hour H.O.R.S.E. final table this year says she thinks we’ll be playing tomorrow until 7AM Thursday morning. Most of my media mates are favoring the under on that, but I don’t know, she’s an expert on super-marathon poker sessions.
Billy Kopp is still the chip leader but the field has caught up to him. Darvin Moon is just a few thousand behind, and lurking just under two million away is the fearsome figure of Phil Ivey. Stephen Begleiter has around 11.8 million, and the other player in eight figures is CardPlayer publisher Jeff Shulman, who seems to have cornered the market on the orange 5,000 chips:
After losing players every few minutes before the break and one immediatelyafter, play has slowed. We’ve had I think two all-ins but the short-stacks doubled through and now the players are hunkering down, not wanting to be the last player to see his tournament end before Day 8. And we’ll probably see the same sort of behavior tomorrow, so maybe 7AM isn’t that that outlandish a target.
But we’ll see. And here’s a bit of what I saw today. Billy Kopp, late in the day:
Jesse Haabak, stylin’
George Caragiorgas has been sitting right along the rail all day in a spot where I can’t get a good shot of him (those of us wearing red media badges aren’t allowed on the floor, limiting my angles of attack). But I did get this one:
The Amazon Room might be 3/4 empty, but the part still in use is still packed with fans straining to see the action, especially at the Feature Table:
Gotta lose one more before we shut down for the night. Could happen in five minutes…could happen just after dawn. Gotta wait and see.
UPDATE: It took closer to five minutes than five hours to get down to 27. Joe Ward was eliminated in about the worst possible way–his AK had Jamie Robbins’ AQ dominated through the flop and the turn, but the Qh spiked on the turn to give Robbins the pot and bring a crushing end to Ward’s Main Event. Here’s a shot of Ward yesterday, in better circumstances.
That’s it for tonight, play will resume at noon and not end until the we know the latest incarnation of the November Nine. Will that happen on Wednesday, or at lunchtime Thursday? Nothing to do but wait and see.
Tags: 2009 main event, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, 2009 wsop main event, Main Event, world series of poker, WSOP
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
So let’s say you’re Billy Kopp, and you’re the chip leader in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event. You have about 4 million more than the player in second place. This is a good situation, yes? You’re already guaranteed a nice payday, but you’re in prime position to make a run at the $8,546,435 first prize and the ultimate poker glory. Now, what would be the absolute worst thing that could possibly happen? Well, how about this:
That is Phil Ivey sitting directly to Billy’s left. Phil Ivey, winner of two bracelets this year, seven overall, and considered by most to be the best poker player on the planet. Phil Ivey. With chips. In position. Watching every move you make, every breath you take.
The good news for Billy is that Ivey took a hit a bit ago, doubling up Blair Rodman and reducing his stack to just south of 9 million. The bad news is…Ivey’s still there. And he’s probably gonna be there for a good long while. This is a perfect example of how there’s more to luck in poker than how the cards play out–your table draw and seat assignments can hugely affect play. If Kopp had position on Ivey he could be far more comfortable opening pots, knowing that Ivey and his huge stack were out of the hand.
But that’s not the reality on the ground, and so far Kopp hasn’t shown an adversion to mixing it up with Ivey and putting chips in the pot. And let’s remember that while Ivey is Ivey, Billy Kopp is the chip leader. There are 43 players left, we’ll play until we’re down to 27. And then let’s see how the Kopp and Ivey show played out.
Tags: -billy kopp, 2009 main event, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, 2009 wsop main event, Main Event, phil ivey, world series of poker, WSOP
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Sunday, July 12, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
Phil Hellmuth and Scott Ian were the last members of Team UltimateBet to be eliminated from the Main Event, but there are still (at least) two players sporting the black-and-gold of UB as play resumed today. And one of those players, Scott Buller, is gonna be on TV in a couple of months. After taking 2nd in the Seniors Event this year, Scott found himself at the ESPN Feature Table and all-in with pocket Kings against Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier’s pocket Aces. It seems almost unfair that a player like ElkY should EVER be allowed Aces, but that’s the dilemma Scott found himself in. After a Qd-10d-3h flop Scott was looking for some runner-runner flush/straight possibility, or a King…and that’s what spiked on the turn, the Kc, and when ElkY couldn’t catch an Ace or a Jack on the river Scott doubled up to over 500K. Here’s a shot of Scott at the Feature Table just before that hand:
One player who didn’t have immediate worries about busting is Tom Lutz, who came into play today 3rd in chips with 1.6 million. Which is a ton of chips…until you realize that to win the Main Event you need to collect almost 195 million chips. Eh, heck, 1.6 million is still a lotta chips:
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Main Event, scott buller, tom lutz, world series of poker, WSOP, wsop main event
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Monday, July 6, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and other Harrah’s executives just concluded a meeting with around 150 players who hoped to play in the Main Event today but were turned away because the field was capped. The players were told that because of operational issues no additional players would be admitted to the Main Event.
“We are sorry, and I am sorry,” Pollack said in his opening statement. “The last thing that we ever want to do is deny people entry into our event.” But, he went on to say, “as was the case with ten other events at this year’s WSOP, we simply reached capacity today.”
As you might expect the players weren’t satisfied with Pollack’s statement and peppered him with questions. The biggest points of contention were why Harrah’s website says their Main Event capacity is 3,000 when they capped the field at around 2,700, and what specific “operational issues” prevented Harrah’s from putting more players in the field. Pollack said introducing alternates into play today wouldn’t be fair to those players, and that playing ten-handed today wouldn’t be fair after the first three days were played nine-handed. He also said that if they re-opened registration for a “Day 1E” then perhaps a thousand people might show up to play, which could have repercussions as the Main Event plays down from there.
“You have my word and my promise that this is going to be topic one as we plan for 2010. I have pledged every year that we will do better than the year before, and I think we’ve lived up to that promise,” Pollack said. “This is probably the single biggest challenge that we have faced in the past four years, and I promise that we will look at this and find the solution so this isn’t repeated next year.”
But the players weren’t especially interested in plans for next year–some of them have traveled thousands of miles to play in the Main Event, one said that playing in this tournament was a life-long dream and now he was being turned away. Another player brought up the fact that in just about every other tournament late registration was allowed, “In all the other events that started at noon you could sign up at two o’clock, and then today at ten o’clock they were shutting people out?”
A number of people also asked Pollack about reports that a number of well-known players who tried to register after the field was capped got in anyway–Pollack said that so far as he knew every player in the field had registered on time and that a number of famous players (Ted Forrest, Minh Ly and Tom Franklin among them) were not able to get in the field.
Pollack conceded that this is the first time that players have been turned away from the Main Event under his watch (and perhaps the first time that’s happened in Main Event history). “Just to be clear, we are not doing this happily,” Pollack said. “We’re not in the business of turning people away.” To which one player replied, “What part of $3 million don’t you like, bro?”
It was an unhappy outcome for all concerned. This is one of those situations where everyone had good intentions and everyone got screwed. It’s one thing to say that the players should’ve registered early, that they should’ve played on one of the earlier days…but the fields were smaller than last year (when no players were turned away) and there was no notification on Harrah’s part (until last night) that Day 1D might sell out. And if you’re flying from New York, or Oslo, or Buenos Aires on Sunday to play on Monday it’s impossible to change your plans at the last second. For many of the players in the room, this was their first time to the World Series and they might not have had an idea of the sheer size and scope of the event. They thought (quite reasonably) that they could show up at noon, plunk down $10,000, and take a seat. Because that’s they way it’s always been.
But today, the World Series of Poker was a victim of it’s own success. There were 150 people in that room desperate to give Harrah’s $10,000…and Harrah’s had to say, “I’m sorry, we can’t take it”. The WSOP is so popular that today the players strained it beyond it’s ability to cope. There are only so many tables, so many dealers, so many floorpersons available to work the tournament. If another 500 players sat down at 5pm to play in a makeshift Day 1E it might’ve caused gridlock as the Main Event tried to get through the Day 2s and Day 3 and into the money.
After the meeting was over a number of disgruntled players crowded around Tom Franklin, who acted as a spokesperson for the players. He told them to calm down, that the decision was made and it was final. One player said he couldn’t believe he was going to miss the Main Event and Franklin said, “I’ve played 30 in a row and I can’t believe I’m going to miss this one.”
About an hour after the meeting Jeffrey Pollack came up to Media Row to say that he’d be willing to discuss what happened today further during the press conference that’s scheduled for Thursday. And while he was here he said, again, “We’re going to fix this, THAT I know”. It’s unfortunate that no one, not the players nor Harrah’s, saw soon enough that something was going to break today.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Main Event, main event shut out, main event sold out, players turned away main event, world series of poker, WSOP, wsop sold out
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Monday, July 6, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
The end of the World Series came early for Brandon Cantu as well, as he was eliminated just before the last break of the evening. Cantu made a move against a player who’d flopped a set of Jacks on an A-J-6, and after the call Brandon was drawing at a mircle with Ks-8s. A Queen fell on the turn, giving Brandon a gutshot draw, and as he screamed “Ten! Ten!!” the dealer placed an Ace on the river that gave the 50,000-chip pot to his opponent. And not long after the period was placed at the end of Cantu’s World Series when he was all in on the flop against a player who turned the nut flush.
But his disappointment at being eliminated today should be tempered by the fact that he had a fantastic Series. He finished second in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold-Em event, losing out on his second bracelet in cruel fashion when he was heads-up with Ray Foley. But he rebounded from that bitter defeat a few days later by racing out to a huge chip lead in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/8 tournament and then coming from behind to defeat Lee Watkinson to finally capture his second bracelet. A shot of that earlier, happier time:
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Brandon Cantu, Main Event, world series of poker, world series of poker main event, WSOP, wsop main event
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