Friday, November 20, 2009 - Annie Duke
There have been so many transitions the last two weeks around here. Obviously, the main transition as far as UB is concerned is the big rebranding. Ultimatebet.com is now UB.com and that is really exciting…mainly because everyone always called Ultimate Bet UB anyway and, honestly, there are fewer ways to mistype it in your browser now! Seriously, that is not for nothing because I am the worst with the typos because I type so fast. There are so many ways to screw up Ultimatebet: Utlimatebet, Ultimeatbet, ultimatebte…you get the piture. How am I going to screw up UB.com? Especially now that Firefox automatically corrects misspellings of “com”!
Anyway, I am really exciting about the rebranding. I think it is such a positive change for UB.
On the not so positive side, I am really sad about Jeffrey Pollack’s departure from the World Series of Poker position. Jeffrey has been Commissioner there since 05 and has really done amazing things with that brand. I don’t think people remember what the WSOP was like before Pollack got a hold of it. Of course, prior to the brand being bought by Harrah’s, the WSOP was being run at Binion’s by the Behnen family who had acquired it from Jack Binion. When Jack ran the WSOP it was amazing in terms of how player friendly it was. I mean, sure, the structures sucked but tournaments were being completed in one day then so they kind of had to. But juice was incredibly low, less than 5% and the main event had ZERO juice. Comps flowed freely as well. If you were playing the events you basically never paid for any food during the whole tournament and that included at the yummy Binion’s steakhouse. Those were the good old days for sure (except that hardly anyone was playing poker tournaments back then lol).
When Becky Behnen took the tournament over from Jack the player friendly days were over. Juice went up and up and up. Comps no longer abounded. I was so upset personally about the direction the WSOP that I didn’t even play in 2002 except for exactly just the main event. It would take an army to keep me away from the WSOP and that year there is apparently an army keeping me away because of the way I thought players were being treated.
Now in walked Harrah’s and right from the start it looked bad. Still no comps, higher juice, no relationship with the players and, here was the worst thing, all of a sudden every tournament at the WSOP was No Limit Hold’em. Every day it the tournament was NLH and in the $1500 buy-in range. It was like Harrah’s knew nothing about poker at all and was taking its lead only from what was on TV. The rich tradition of the WSOP is supposed to be about all of poker, not just the small part of it that is NLH. We were losing the ability to reward Omaha play, split game play, limit play and all the other games that make up the rich world that is poker. For all intents and purposes, the WSOP might as well have been called the World Series of No Limit Hold’em.
Now, at the same time as this was happening at the WSOP, the WPT was also acting as a very poor partner to the players. At the time, the WPT set structures at the final tables to accommodate 6 hour windows (apparently after 6 hours they would have to pay overtime). Setting structures by how long you want to film rather than what is good for the players who paid the entries and the fees is preposterous, of course. What that meant was that you could have a tournament that leading into the final table had smooth 90 minute levels with no doubles ever and at the final table the levels would revert to an hour with the blinds doubling each level. At heads up, the levels went to 30 minutes. That is as player unfriendly as it gets and was directed by the WPT’s attitude that the Poker itself was the star of the show and the players were completely interchangeable. With that attitude there is no reason to treat the players well at all and it showed in the way they treated us.
So enter Jeffrey Pollack. Jeffrey had a completely different idea, a revolutionary idea even . He felt that the WSOP could not succeed without the players. That when folks watched the coverage on ESPN they were there to see the players and their personalities and that could not be disconnected from the poker. He understood that the folks who actually buy-in and pay those entry fees are human beings, poker players even. So he reached out and really created a partnership with the players, most notably by forming the Players Advisory Council, which I was proud to be a member of. The PAC had tremendous say in the schedule and the structures of the tournaments and I think the WSOP now has a schedule that really represents the whole of what poker is with structures that are amazingly player friendly. Jeffrey, with the PAC, really brought the WSOP back from the brink of becoming the World Series of No Limit Hold’em.
Outside of his hand in insuring that the poker at the WSOP was great, he always worked hard to make sure the experience of the players was great, too and that the players who had endorsements could fulfill their obligations and the ones who didn’t could still get a logo deal if they were lucky enough to get to a final or featured table. That, of course, is all good for poker. Jeffrey really has been a generous partner to the players and, in a very real sense, the players’ protector and defender at that brand. So I am sad and a concerned to see him leave the brand. I fear for what the relationship with the players will look like in the future if the people remaining at the WSOP don’t take the lesson from Jeffrey that success at the WSOP must be a partnership with the players.
Here’s hoping the powers that be at the WSOP and Harrah’s have taken note of the legacy of Jeffrey Pollack. His success comes from his bridging the gap with the players. His egacy is that of a great friend to the community and that is an amazing legacy to leave.
Tags: espn, Firefox, harrah's, jeffrey pollack, NLH, Players Advisory Council, Poker Poker Poker, ub, ultimatebet, WPT, WSOP
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Tuesday, November 17, 2009 - ProductMan
UltimateBet has been dominating the poker scene for over a decade. When we first started dealing digital cards, the internet was a vastly different place. It was all about 56K modems, Windows 98, and something called a Pentium. Since then the internet has been moving at light speed. Could you have imagined twitter, youtube, facebook, podcasts, and blogs back in those days? The fact is things are always evolving, especially in the world of technology. Perhaps the only thing that’s stayed the same is that we still have cards at our core.
We’ve added tons of great features over the years like avatars that let you add an extra dimension to your poker personality. Our hand history improvements let you relive your glory and learn from your mistakes. We brought you blackjack 3 years ago and don’t forget our unbelievable 7 Deuce and Horse tables. We’re proud of our new table schemes and popular promos like our Bad Beat Jackpot, RAI$E, and our lucrative Tournament Leaderboards. Let’s not forget the extra tourneys and players we added through the CEREUS network a year ago.
You can expect tons of exciting changes before the year is out. Stay tuned and let us know what you’d like to see. You can always post your feedback into the blog. It’s almost 2010, so you should probably get in the blogosphere, or whatever they’re calling it these days. We love hearing from you!
Tags: 7 Duece, Bad Beat Jackpot, blackjack, Horse Tables, RAI$E, tournament leaderboards, ub
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Saturday, November 14, 2009 - Michaelbinger
Hello all,
I just got back from one of the most amazing trips of my life. My brother and I went diving with great white sharks and fishing for tuna about 200 miles off the coast of Mexico. We had to skip the WPT at Foxwoods, but wow was it worth it.
We met our fellow travelers on Wednesday morning in San Diego, boarded a bus for the port of Ensenada Mexico, and departed on a long distance fishing boat called the Searcher. There was a crew of 6 or 7 and 16 passengers. We left port around 2pm and headed out into the Pacific for our 18 hour journey to the remote Guadalupe Island. Shortly after leaving port, we were graced by dozens of dolphins and some whales.
For dinner we had an amazing gourmet meal prepared by the on-board chef Charles. Did not expect to be eating that good on a boat!
We arrive to the island the next morning and promptly get to our business. A suitable spot is found, the water is chummed, and the cages are put in the water. The cages are about 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 10 feet tall and hold up to 4 people at a time. The water is sufficiently cold to warrant full body wet suits; oxygen is supplied from the boat through a tube and regulator. My brother and I were part of the first group to go in… some 30 minutes or so passed before the first shark showed up… a 15 foot great white. Quite a beast! At this point you become more aware of the large open window in the cage… just about big enough for the shark to pop in and grab a little human snack. However, after a little while it becomes clear that no such thing will happen… these guys are cautious creatures… and anyways they don’t really like the taste of human flesh. They do however swim within arms reach of the cage regularly, prompted both by curiosity as well as the bait… there are large tuna carcasses attached to a rope on the surface near the cages. Watching them go for these is quite a sight.
Words don’t really do this justice… so check out the pics below and more on my facebook page, where you’ll also find some video.
Our second full day we pulled in the cages and did some fishing instead. First we were after yellowfin tuna, a staple for many sushi dishes. They were biting in a big way… I had my line out for all of 30 seconds when I hooked one. They are quite the fighters… it took 15-20 minutes or so to land him… a 50 pounder. I ended up catching another pretty quickly. Then I hooked a monster… this guy was fighting much harder than the others. I fought with him for almost 30 minutes before a great white was spotted circling the boat and I was warned that they often pick off tuna from the lines. I see the shark head down into the depths where my fish was, and next thing I know my fish goes bananas. I couldn’t see him but I felt it. Then all of a sudden the pressure on my line subsides… but I still have something on there… putting up a little bit of a fight. I reel in as quickly as I can and finally catch a glimpse of about 2/3’s of a huge tuna fish shimmering in the depths! Then wouldn’t you know it, Mr. Shark comes back and intercepts the remainder of his meal, putting the poor tuna out of his misery and giving me quite a fish story. I got sharked! The crew actually has a term for it… they call it paying your taxes! This is one tough tax man! Later on I hooked another tuna (and in the process my line snapped the line on a fish my brother had been fighting for a long time… sorry Nick!) and eventually got shark chomped again… however this time he left me the head to bring aboard. Check out the pic! After everyone had caught their fill of yellowfin tuna, we changed locations in pursuit of yellowtail snapper (Hamachi to sushi aficionados). I managed to catch one of about 15-20 pounds. By evening time we were getting hungry… and as luck would have one of the crew members is an experienced sushi chef. We had the most amazing fresh sushi ever.
It was a great day… and Nick and I took home about 60 pounds of fillets of sushi grade tuna and yellowtail which are currently vacuum sealed and in our freezer. I pan seared some last night… yum!
Day 3 we were back in the water in the cages diving with the sharks. Another amazing day, with perfect weather and 2 great whites showing up and hanging out with us most of the day. There were times when both were very close to the cage simultaneously.
Towards evening it was time to say goodbye to Guadalupe Island and start chugging on our 18 hour journey back to civilization. There were some serious swells and several on board got sick. The next morning we were entering Ensenada bay when a pod of 6-8 Orca whales (Killer whales) was spotted at the mouth of the bay. We diverted to check them out. While ooohing and aaahing we notice a huge group of dolphins… well over a hundred. They were booking it from the interior of the bay along the rocky abutment heading towards open water. The crew tells us that yes, orcas do eat dolphins, and that the orcas had essentially trapped the dolphins in the bay. The dolphins were trying to escape. At this point the orcas take off from frolicking near our boat and plot an intercept course. They split the dolphins into two groups; one heads out to sea and relative safety while the other heads back into the bay where they must bide their time. And at least one poor dolphin got picked off from the rest of the group… we watched in fascination and horror as the orcas chased it down, caught it, threw it in the air and then proceeded to eat it. A flock of seagulls descended to fight over the leftovers. The crew said they had never seen anything like that before. We were very fortunate to have witnessed such a raw and uncensored act of nature.
Really an amazing trip… made me realize why I played poker again… so that I can have the flexibility to have these experiences.
Last night I played a bit of poker online… including the VIP freeroll on UB which I hosted. I ended up winning it for $1200! Nice to run good.
Best of Luck,
Michael Binger
Tags: Foxwoods, Michel Binger, Online Poker, Poker Poker Poker, ub, VIP Freeroll, WPT
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Thursday, November 12, 2009 - Annie Duke
I am really excited about some awesome changes in the blind structures at UB. I designed the structures that we have been using for years and I have always been pretty damn proud of them. But even a good thing can become better and last week I ripped back through those bad boys and made some big changes with the help of Roothlus :) The changes are huge. Amazing. Crazy! Okay. I know I am exaggerating but I am really excited about them.
We have added tons of level including the 250/500 level for all tournaments. That is a big change because it means you don’t get that big 50% jump anymore from the 200/400 level to the 300/600 level. That is a big jump that I am so psyched we have reduced to two 25% jumps instead. IN our deepstack tournaments, we had this crazy 5/10 level in there which, when you start with 5K in chips was pretty useless. So we got rid of that but added in a 25/50 level instead. I love that change. Start a little higher so the hands in the first round might actually matter but smooth out the structure later so you aren’t just losing a level.
The change to the deepstack events is part of a new policy that some tournaments will now have different structures than others, depending on buy-in and starting stack. Tournaments which start with more than 3K in chips now have a different structure than those that start lower and any tournament with a $500 buy-in or more has a new structure. In total:
1) For events 3K chips and higher the 5/10 level has been removed but a 25/50 level has been added. In total 7 new levels have been added to the structure
2) In events starting with less than 3K chips, a total of 7 levels have been added
3) In event with a buy-in of $500 or more, the 5/10 level is removed replaced by the 25/50 level. In total 11 levels have been added to those structures
4) The UBOC final has a total of 21 levels added to it
5) All tournaments now have antes introduced at the 100/200 level rather than the 150/300 level
6) The structures for limit tourneys have also been revamped and the antes in stud tourneys have been changed to be in line with other sites.
7) The antes in stud cash games have been revamped as well.
I am really excited about all of these changes. The stud changes in particular really fix a problem that UB had in general that the antes and bring ins were often much too high a percentage of the small bet. Those have now been brought in line with industry standards which is nice because it increases the skill level of the game to know how to adjust to antes.
All in all, the new structures give you, the player, much more bang for your buck. No crazy all-in fests on UB. Every tournament on the site now offers more play for your buy-in. I am pretty proud of the changes
Tags: Adam "Roothlus" Levy, tournaments, ub, UBOC
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Monday, November 9, 2009 - Tiffany M
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
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Sunday, November 8, 2009 - Roothlus
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
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Friday, November 6, 2009 - ProductMan
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
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Tuesday, November 3, 2009 - Michaelbinger
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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Monday, November 2, 2009 - Joe Sebok
What’s up UB?! Hope that all are doing well and life is nothing but good out there. I have tried to play more and more on the site recently, had a couple of winning small sessions playing the $1-$2 game, and then got my ass kicked pretty good one day as well. I just like sitting around with ya’ll and chatting it up as well, so that has been more my focus with playing on the site so far. Seems I haven’t had enough time to really get serious with the cash game playing much, which explains the small stakes. I’ve played the Sunday $200k as well a few times, but haven’t managed to get anything going there at all. I’ll have to check with Cantu about how he does it. That fool seems to win a UB tournament every other week. Wtf? How is he pulling this off? Big wowzers…
I’m writing from Miami airport, on yet another business trip out of the country. I swear, you would think I was more important with all of these trips I am taking all the time. Haha. One this is sickly for sure: I am racking up mad frequent flyer miles. Just flew here from Vegas this morning, where I had just finished up taping my very first episode of “Poker After Dark”…but hopefully not my last. I always think I talk so much more than other poker players that they will want my ass on those shows. We’ll see if this inaugural Seebs episode sparks them to bring me back. I can always hope. My lineup featured Howard Lederer, Ali Nejad, Gabe Kaplan, Mark Gregorich, and Kara Scott and the theme was media-based. Was a total blast. You’ll have to wait for it to air to see who won though.
It’s unbelievable that the WSOP final table is just around the corner, and by corner I mean next weekend. I am sickly excited and am obviously pulling for Phil to work some magic and somehow take down that title. It’s hard for me to see anyone disputing that he is the best that has ever played if he can win that bracelet. I think he will have moved solidly past Chip and Doyle for all around dominance with a win there, and that’s to say nothing of his online game, where he crushes too. The dude is a total machine.
Speaking of the final table, be looking for me to do some commentating on the Bluff show that UB is sponsoring. Should be a blast and I’m excited about it. We’ll also be recording some “PokerRoad Radio” episodes as well, so be looking for those. Basically, it’s going to be a seriously busy weekend in Las Vegas coming up. I’ll also have a pretty big announcement that we are going to be letting out of the bag during next weekend as well, so be paying attention for that.
All of you be good, and I’ll holler at you soon!
peace,
J
Tags: Ali Nejad, bluff, Brandon Cantu, gabe kaplan, Howard Lederer, Kara Scott, Mark Gregorich, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, Poker After Dark, Poker Poker Poker, Poker Road Radio, tournaments, ub, Vegas, WSOP
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Sunday, November 1, 2009 - P0ker H0
Getting back to the grind after Aruba sure isn’t EZ . The parties were non-stop and the best! The Dan Band was so much fun! The poker was non-stop, and Matt Savage and his staff /dealers ran the best tourneys I have ever played in. All the UB staff need a really BIG thank you for all they did…Melissa, Jo, Gustavo, and Ernesto just to name a few. You and all the other hard working UB employees that came from Costa Rica and all over the world make Aruba the #1 destination in poker.
The best way I know to get rid of the Aruba hang-over is VEGAS BABY !! I leave for Vegas next Thursday to teach at the WSOP Academy, http://www.wsopacademy.com, Nov. 6-8 with Phil ,Greg Raymer, Shawn Rice and a lot of other great pros. Attending one of these camps will surely help take your game to the next level . If you would like to attend our cash academy, coming up Dec. 5-6th, for FREE and get $1000.00 for travel, listen to my radio show every Sunday night at 9pm EST, “The Ultimate Poker Show,” on http://www.roundersradio.com. I will be giving out the passwords for the Sunday night $5.00 and free roll tourneys that can get you eligible for Vegas.
UB is also running steps for a 12k package for Foxwoods and a 17.5k for the Bellagio. I love playing these steps while I’m playing MTTs. The main reason is that when you play steps remember “tight is right”. I find if I am playing these with other MTTs it helps me play a little tighter, and anybody that has played with me knows that I need that. J A couple of nights ago I bought into 3 step 7s for 97.15 each. I lost one and built the other two up to a step 9 and 10. Last night I played the step 10 and chopped the Foxwoods seat with a very good player, “maximilian71”. I was ahead in chips so I got 8,500 he got 7k . My 291.45 investment in the step 7s paid off nicely, plus I still have my 750.00 step 9.
Hope to cya all in the steps soon or better yet loose your hang-over and join me in Vegas Baby…
H0
Tags: Aruba, Bellagio, Costa Rica, greg raymer, Matt Savage, P0ker H0, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Poker Poker, rounders radio, ShawnRice, The Dan Band, The Ultimate Poker Show, ub, Vegas, WSOP Academy
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