UltimateBet Blog

Championship Sunday

Monday, January 19, 2009 - Gene Bromberg

Yesterday millions of folks tuned in to watch the NFL Championship games. God knows I did–I’m from Pittsburgh, I bleed Black and Gold, and after an emotionally-draining rollercoaster of a game I’m basking in the glow of gridiron glory. But even with the Steelers locked in trench warfare with the hated Ravens my attention was diverted yesterday. A million dollars can catch just about anybody’s eye.

Because that’s what was on the line yesterday during the final event of the UltimateBet Online Championship. We’d guaranteed a $1 million prize-pool, but with an astonishing 1,115 entrants we easily eclipsed that figure. And it was a star-studded field, with the full roster of Team UB pros playing and scores of online superstars taking to the tables in hopes of taking down the $245,188.50 first prize.

It took nearly twelve hours for the winner to finally reveal himself, but as you look at the final table you get some idea of the caliber of the field:

And two of those online superstars tangled in the first decisive hand of the final table, as Thayer “UCF_THAYER” Rasmussen used pocket Tens to send Steve “ZUGWAT” Silverman out in 9th place, good for a $18,955 payday. Mohsin “CHICAGOCARDS1″ Charania then eliminated UBRAMAUCCH when he called an all-in with pocket Nines and they held up. UBRAMAUCHH collected $26,760 for finishing eighth, and after being knocked out in 7th place METROCAT took home a tidy $37,352.50.

CHICAGOCARDS1 was the next to be eliminated, but before you feel too bad for him you should know that in addition to the $48,502 he collected for finishing sixth he also final-tabled another major event last night (at another, unnamed site…OK it was Full Tilt) and that’s not a bad evening’s work. BOOTSWILD was next to go, winning $59,652.50 after he was taken out by the two pair Hafiz “YUNGMONEY209″ Khan made holding Ace-Jack. And then it was Dave “DOUBLEDAVE22″ D’Alesandro’s time to go–after some good-natured banter at the table about how well he’d been running, UCF_THAYER brought an end his final-table run when he rivered a flush to send DOUBLEDAVE22 out in 4th, good for a $71,917.50 payday.

And so the three-handed battle commenced between Thayer “UCF_THAYER” Rasmussen, Shane “THEBUBBLE1″ Pacheco and YUNGMONEY209. UCF_THAYER had the shortest stack of the three but was still very much in contention before his somewhat unfortunate hand. THEBUBBLE1 shoved from the small blind and UCF_THAYER made the call holding As-5s. His hand led THEBUBBLE1’s 9c-7c, but the 4h-7d-6s flop paired THEBUBBLE1 while giving UCF_THAYER an open-ended straight draw to go with his Ace. But the board ran out 6d and Jc and as Pacheco typed “gg sir, sry bout that” Rasmussen was eliminated in third, with $99,792,50 to console him.

The heads-up battle began with the players holding nearly identical stacks and neither was able to land a serious blow until THEBUBBLE1 won a big pot after turning a straight to give him a 2-1 chiplead. But YUNGMONEY209 turned the tables when THEBUBBLE1 re-raised all-in holding Kc-3c and YUNGMONEY209 called holding pocket Jacks. They held up and just that fast YUNGMONEY209 had a $4M to $1.5M lead.

A lead he never relinquished. After the two traded chips back and forth for a dozen hands THEBUBBLE1 open-shoved from the button and YUNGMONEY209 made the call holding pocket Fours. He was racing against THEBUBBLE1’s Qs-10S and with a UBOC title and nearly a quarter of a million dollars on the line it came down to your typical coin-flip situation.

And this time the pocket pair carried the day, as the 2c-5d-Kh flop didn’t change the status quo. The 9s on the turn gave THEBUBBLE1 a gutshot draw to go with his overcards, but the river brought the 7h and that was all she wrote. THEBUBBLE1 won $144,615.50 for finishing as our runner-up, but after nearly twelve hours of battle it was Hafiz “YUNGMONEY209″ Khan who won the $245,188.50 first-prize and the coveted UBOC championship title.

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Repeat Offenders

Sunday, January 18, 2009 - Gene Bromberg

What better way to whet the appetite for tonight’s million-dollar UBOC Championship than with a little rebuy madness? Last night’s No-Limit Hold-Em w/rebuys tournament gave the 357 players in the field a chance to get their gamble on, splash some chips, and sharpen their fangs for the main event. Those players ended up rebuying 398 times and adding-on 372 times (heck, that seems almost miserly) before hunkering down and playing with what was left in front of them. And by the time the final table was reached you could be excused for feeling a touch of deja vu:

A number of the players at last night’s final table have made deep runs in other UBOC events, including NHGGSIKE, who finished 4th in our UBOC H.O.R.S.E event. After showing that he’s no slouch at the no-limit game as well NHGGSIKE added another final-table to his resume but could advance no further, as he went ninth after committing the last of his shortstack with Ah-6c and getting called by EDAV67’s Qd-10h. A ten on the flop and no Ace on the turn or river sent NHGGSIKE out with a $$2,535.75 payday.

PHILBORT was able to improve on his 11th-place finish in the UBOC Heads-Up event, though he didn’t get as far as he probably hoped. He went out eighth after open-shoving with Ah-4s and running into the pocket Tens of JMEWNIE. The board brought no help and PHILBORT added $3,662.75 to his bankroll.

Often it isn’t the final hand that tells the story, but one shortly beforehand. That was the deal with EDAV67, who lost the bulk of his stack when he ran pocket Tens into TOMPHOOLERY’s pocket Jacks. Adding insult to injury, EDAV67 made a straight on the river…but only after TOMPHOOLERY made a full house on the turn. Adding addition injury to, uh, injury, EDAV67 got the last of his chips in holding a dominating As-Qc to DOGMA1975’s Ah-7s. All was well until the river…when the 7h spiked to send EDAV67 out in 7th place. A nice $4,789.75 payday, but a frustrating end nonetheless.

In keeping with the “hey, haven’t I seen you here before?” motif, NIBBLER was the next player sent to the rail. After posting a 12th-place finish in UBOC Event #4 NIBBLER made it to the final table this time before shoving with Kd-3s and running smack into -HALIGON-’s Ad-Kc. The three remaining treys remained hidden in the deck and NIBBLER collected $5,916.75 before leaving the stage.

They say to win poker tournaments you must both win with Ace-King and defeat Ace-King. After completing the first half of the axiom against NIBBLER -HALIGON- closed the circle by using pocket Eights to boot TOMPHOOLERY. After a $48K raise -HALIGON- re-raised and that precipitated a $226K shove from TOM, who rolled over Ah-Kh. The Kd-Qd-7h flop put him in the lead, but for just a heartbeat as the 8h spiked on the turn. But that card gave TOMPHOOLERY a flush draw, one that didn’t hit as the river brought the Jc. Sometimes the race doesn’t go to the swiftest, or even the runner who seems to take an overwhelming lead, and that was TOMPHOOLERY’S fate as he collected $7,325.50 for finishing fifth.

All DOGMA1975 accomplished during the UltimateBet Online Championship was freakin’ winning Event #2 and take home $47,000. He was trying to take down his second UBOC title but with chips running short he moved in with Ks-6H and was called by JMEWNIE’s dominating Kd-Jc. The flop missed them both and a Jack on the turn (and another Jack on the river for good measure) meant the end of DOGMA1975 dreams of a two-fer. But don’t feel too bad for him–in addition to the $8,734.25 he won last night he’s also atop the UBOC Leaderboard, and if he can hang on he’ll win a $12,000 WSOP Main Event package.

Down to three-handed the big chip-leader was a player I haven’t even mentioned yet–NEGATIVEROI. Proving the maxim that you don’t have to knock people out to accumulate vast quantities of chips, NEGATIVEROI held $1.4 million to JMEWNIE’s $255K and -HALIGON-’s meager $170K. And again NEGATIVEROI let others to his dirty work for him, as -HALIGON- shoved from the button with Qh-Js and was quickly called by JMEWNIE holding As-Kh. This time -HALIGON- was not able to work his Big Slick voodoo, as the Ad-7s-10h flop gave JMEWNIE top pair and no Jack came on the turn or river to save the day. -HALIGON- took home $11,833.50 for his third-place finish.

NEGATIVEROI began heads-up play with a 3-1 chip lead, but also perhaps with a bit of baggage. While he hadn’t made a UBOC final table so far, he had reached the final table of our Sunday $200,000 Guaranteed Tournament twice. And on both occasions, he’d finished…second. Would he be able to close the deal this time and capture the title? Sometimes in these pressure-packed situations it helps to get a wee bit lucky, and this time good fortune smiled on him. After he raised to $50,500 JMEWNIE made it $170K straight. NEGATIVEROI moved in, got the call, and he found that his Kc-Kh had JMEWNIE’s As-Kd in dire straights. Kings into Big Slick with the tournament hanging in the balance…that’s a chilly deck. NEGATIVEROI still had to fade an Ace and all sorts of potential draws to book the win, and that’s exactly what he did as the board ran out 3d-Jd-8s-6s-2c to give him the UBOC title and the $28,175.00 first prize. As Big Slick’s final victim of the night, JMEWNIE earned $17,074.05 for finishing as our runner-up.

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Giddy-Up

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - Gene Bromberg

The player who wins the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament at the World Series of Poker gains the unofficial title of Best Player in the World. Last night 335 players took to the tables to try to win the unofficial title of Best Player at the UltimateBet Online Championships. I myself played in the mini-H.O.R.S.E. event that ran concurrently to the main tourament and all I have to say about that is…razz. (Expletive deleted) razz.

Several familiar names made it deep in last night’s tournament, including The Best Damn Poker Show’s host Hollywood Dave Stann (who finished 16th) and wunderkind James “mig.com” Mackey, who finished just off the final table in 11th. One well-known player who did make the final table was Alex “AKJHoosier1″ Kamberis, the top-ranked online tournament player according to PocketFives. Kamberis finished 5th…actually, why not show who made the final table:

By the time we reached the final table the blinds were big in relation to the stacks and one hand could spell the difference between being warily comfortable and clawing for survival. Player after player fell by the wayside, and in this particular order:

  • 8th:          HUNTER129           $1,050
  • 7th:          MAPSFLY                $1,550
  • 6th:          KIDTEXICAN           $2,050
  • 5th:          AKJHOOSIER1         $2,875
  • 4th:          NHGGSIKE              $3,875
  • 3rd:          ALL-IN                   $5,375

The heads-up battle between DRY_BENEFIT and HUSSRAMILTON was a drawn-out affair that didn’t conclude until just past 5am ET. At one point HUSSRAMILTON was down to just $50,502 (with the blinds at 12,500/25,000) but spiked a nine on the river during a Hold-Em hand to stay alive. He doubled up against with K-4 against DRY_BENEFIT’s pocket Jacks (flopping a King) and got his stack up to near $350K before slipping again. But he kept in the game, doubling up with A-2 against DRY_BENEFIT’s A-7 when he turned a deuce, but that merely delayed the inevitable. Playing Hold-Em HUSSRAMILTON raised with 8d-7d and was called. The Jd-10s-6c gave him a gutshot draw and he moved in the last of his chips, only to find that he was up against DRY_BENEFIT’S Ah-7s, which took away three potential outs. The turn brought the Jh and the river the 3c and that, at long last, brought an end to UBOC Event #7. DRY_BENEFIT won $13,500 and the title, while HUSSRAMILTON had to console himself with the $7,875 he won as runner-up.

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The Future Is Now

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - Gene Bromberg

If you were looking for evidence that Texas Hold-Em’s hegenomy over poker has been broken, look no further than last night’s UBOC Pot-Limit Omaha/8 event. A total of 399 players signed up to play a tournament that wasn’t no-limit, wasn’t Hold-Em, and WAS a split-pot game for cryin’ out loud. People have learned that these other forms of poker are great games as well and that they require different approaches if you want to succeed (split-pot games especially). Plus, in general, people are gettin’ pretty good at this Hold-Em game. So if you’re looking for new aquariums to fish from, sharpening your skills in Omaha/8 is a great place to start.

As, apparently, these nine players did, as they outlasted 390 of their peers to reach last night’s UBOC final table:

For a split-pot game the final table was quickly winnowed down to the final four, with the eliminations (and payouts) going like this:

  • 9th:          NOCH08             $1,197
  • 8th:          MOB29                $1,795
  • 7th:          WHOMPADPG      $2,394
  • 6th:          JEFFRY53             $2,992
  • 5th:          WWLLLWW           $3,591

I covered a few Omaha Hi-Lo events at this year’s World Series of Poker and was glad to see that the other reporters and even the floorpersons had some trouble figuring out who the heck won the pot. I mean, the hand that eliminated WANNA_RETIRE in 4th place isn’t that difficult to figure out, but when you’re watching it unfold in online-time and shuffling through two hands, eight cards, and countless permutations, it sets the circuits to sparking:

The board is paired…there’s no low hand…neither player connected with the flop…so THE_CASHIER’s nine kicker plays and sent WANNA_RETIRE into involuntary early retirement. Though the $4,189 he won for finishing fourth should be a nice addition to his portfolio.

When we reached three-handed play THE_CASHIER had about 1.76 million, OMAHAJOHN had around 420,000 and THE MENTOR had around 210,000. The three played about fifteen hands (with THE_CASHIER losing about 300,000 split equally between the other two players) before they all decided that a deal might be a civilized course of action. They called in UB’s online floor manager, came to a quick consensus, and just like that the deal was done. Variance has not had many opportunities to bedevil the players who have gone deep in our UBOC events.

So it was Pot-Limit Omaha/8 last night, and tonight the game is H.O.R.S.E.! A $120+10 H.O.R.S.E. event (with a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool) to determine who is the best mixed-game player of them all. That event starts at 8:30pm ET, as does our mini-UBOC H.O.R.S.E. event, which might be right up your alley if you haven’t played a lot of mixed-games and want to dip your toes in.

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The Dirty Half-Dozen

Monday, January 12, 2009 - Gene Bromberg

As both a hockey fan and a tight-weak poker player the word “shorthanded” has negative connotations for me. But shorthanded play is the wave of the present in poker, with both heads-up and six-handed games becoming more and more popular. Shorthanded games force you to play more hands, play more hands after the flop, make more difficult decisions…in short, you have to play more poker. And last night saw UltimateBet stage it’s $300+20 six-handed Hold-Em event, which featured 793 players. And here are the half-dozen who made it to our 33% roomier final table:

When you’re the table shortstack and you shove from the small blind with Qc-9d you’re no doubt hoping the big blind folds, because you’re only gonna get called by a better hand. That’s exactly what befell ERIKTHEKING7 as his steal attempt was arrested by WHITHERED’s call with a dominating Ks-Qs. No help arrived on the board and ERIKTHEKING7 was dead, long live ERIKTHEKING7.

A few hands later MADMAX91 raised from the small blind, but with a legitimate hand–As-Qd. JBLAZE20 made the call from the big blind and when the flop came 6c-2h-7c MADMAX91 probably though those baby cards hadn’t hit his opponent and so moved all-in. His timing proved poor–JBLAZE20 had flopped a set of deuces and that was pretty much that. MADMAX91 didn’t hit his runner-runner miracle and was out in fifth place.

Many of the UBOC events have ended with the players making a deal and when we were four-handed the players started discussing possible terms. But WHITHERED didn’t seem much interested in dealing and when he put forth a proposal the other players quickly rejected it and we got back to business. After RYANWELCH16 (the chipleader) raised it up UPAYMYMORTGAGE drew the line in the sand and moved all in. RYANWELCH16 called, to find that his Ad-6h was dominated by UPAYMYMORTGAGE’s Ac-Jh. But the situation was reversed about a nanosecond later as the 6d-8s-4d flop gave RYANWELCH16 a pair and when the turn and river brought diamonds he held the nut flush and sent UPAYMYMORTGAGE to the rail in 4th place.

At this point RYANWELCH16 had a huge chip lead with WHITHERED AND JBLAZE20 lagging well behind, but the two shortstacks quickly consolidated, though not in the way JBLAZE20 might’ve chosen. WHITHERED moved all-in from the small blind with Ac-Qs and JBLAZE20 made the call with pocket Fours. The baby pair still led the race after the 9c-3h-6d flop, but the turn brought the Ah and the river the As for good measure to eliminate JBLAZE20 in third.

RYANWELCH16 held a bit less than a 4-1 chip lead as heads-up play started but WHITHERED still wasn’t interested in making a deal. The two traded pots for a bit but WHITHERED wasn’t able to make up much ground before the final hand. There was a raise, an all-in, and a call, and WHITHERED’s Kh-Jh needed some help against RYANWELCH16’s Ad-2c. The 3s-Qh-Qd brought some teasing paint but no real help, though the 5h on the turn did–it gave WHITHERED a flush draw. But the river saw the 10d fall and that withered WHITHERED’s stack and left RYANWELCH16 as the champion of UBOC Event #5 and $66,000 richer.

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It…Begins

Friday, January 9, 2009 - Gene Bromberg

“It” being the third UltimateBet Online Championship, which kicked off this evening with a $100+9 Pot-Limit Omaha with rebuys event. Whew, that’s a mouthful. They say that a rebuy tournament doesn’t really begin until the rebuy period comes to an end, and that happens in about…20 minutes. We’ll be keeping an eye on things as the tournament moves along and posting little updates from time to time. Here’s one–P0ker H0 and Debo are currently in the top 20. Which of course means absolutely nothing. But it’s something!

Actually, not sure if I noticed this at first, but H0 and Debo are sitting at the same table. So that’ll make for some interesting conversation.

UPDATE: OK, the rebuy period is over and we have some final numbers. UBOC Event #1 started with 221 runners, who made 271 rebuys and 228 add-ons. That created a total prize pool of $72,000, which will be divvied up thusly:

1st                     $18720.00
2nd                    $11160.00
3rd                     $7920.00
4th                     $5760.00
5th                     $4716.00
6th                     $3960.00
7th                     $3240.00
8th                     $2520.00
9th                     $1800.00
10th – 12th        $1080.00
13th – 15th        $864.00
16th – 18th        $612.00
19th – 27th        $504.00

UPDATE: Michael Binger is hosting tonight’s PLO w/rebuys event and for the moment he’s the host with the most. Well, almost the most…chips I mean. He’s in 4th place right now, with P0ker H0 and Debo both in the top 15. If you knock out one of our pros tonight you get your buy-in back, but so far Michael, H0 and Debo have refused to cough up their chips and the hundred bucks.

UPDATE: There’s a running joke among my gang that my friend Ted is the Worst Guest Ever. He’s a powerlifter and goes about 285, so when he sits on the couch he tends to take up about 80% of it–and that’s before he lays down and stretches out. He also never wears socks with his shoes (and usually wears shorts in the dead of winter) so you’ve got this big dude rubbing his smelly feet into the microfiber suede. He also brings his own food when he comes over, since most households aren’t stocked with enough protein to stoke his furnace, and watching him joylessly stuff hunks of “meat” (he never bothers to check whether he’s eating chicken, pork, groundhog) into his maw doesn’t do wonders for your appetite. Then there’s the fact that all that protein usually gives Ted some manner of gasterointestinal distress, which he has to work through in your bathroom. Woe betide the host who doesn’t stock up on Lysol when Ted pays a visit.

Anyway, this long-winded and seemingly pointless blather does have a purpose. It would seem my friend Ted has some competition as Worst Guest Ever, as Michael Binger (the host for tonight’s UBOC event) was just eliminated by PHAT_CAT. Who wins his buy-in back despite shoving Michael out the door. Doesn’t seem quite right but, well, that’s poker.

We’re just a few spots from the money (top 27 pay, remember) and both P0ker H0 and Debo are still in the running.

UPDATE: Someday a Ph.D candidate in linguistics or the social sciences is going to write a book about the etymology of online poker names. Anyway, the money bubble just burst in tonight’s UBOC event, and the unfortunate who went out in 28th-place was CUTEFRECKLES. Curious to know how that name came about. H0 and Debo are still around but their stacks are about half the average and so their work is cut out for them.

UPDATE: We’ve reached the final table and P0ker H0 is still very much alive. He arrives at the final table third in chips (Debo went out 17th, alas) and I’ll be following the final table the rest of the way to see how things play out. I’ll be posting a recap tomorrow morning…provided the tournament ends by tomorrow morning. And here’s the makeup of tonight’s final table:

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THIS Is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Thursday, January 8, 2009 - Gene Bromberg

Congratulations–you survived the holidays. You ate the turkey, wrapped the presents, drank the champagne. You’re no longer culturally obligated to gorge yourself stupid, drink yourself silly, and spend hours of quality time with your in-laws. After the five-week sprint from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day you deserve a little breather.

And I hope you enjoyed it. Because it’s over.

Your lazy days and quiet nights come to a blessed end this Friday, when the third UltimateBet Online Championship kicks off. We’re hosting twelve huge tournaments over ten days with over $2 million in guaranteed prize pools. And no matter what your favorite game is–Omaha, H.O.R.S.E., good old-fashioned Hold-Em–you’ll find a UBOC event that fits your particular bill. Here’s the schedule of events:

As you can see there’s gonna be some gambling right off the bat, as the opening UBOC tournament is a Pot-Limit Omaha event…with rebuys. 8:30pm Friday night will not be a good time to be channeling your inner nit. In fact, if you look over the schedule you’ll find just two “normal” full-ring No-Limit Hold-Em events–and one of those is the $1 million-guaranteed UBOC Championship. If that fits your definition of “normal” then you run in much faster circles than I do. But with several deep-stack events, a 128-player heads-up tournament, a sniper event…they say variety is the spice of life, and UBOC3 will…no, I am not going to make a Taco Bell joke here. Let’s just say that every night will bring a new and exciting challenge for the best online poker players on the planet.

Past UBOCs past have seen some remarkable displays of poker prowess. Brock “Maria Nuccia” Parker, a well-known and well-regarded online pro, took down the first UBOC Main Event and won a silver bracelet to go with his $168,450 first prize. Last year saw one of the most astonishing performances in online poker history, as Greg “Wild Duck” Hobson won the $100+9 No-Limit Hold-Em with rebuys event…and then won the $200+15 No-Limit Hold-Em event the next day. Oh, and the day he won his second UBOC event? Greg also final-tabled the $500+30 NLH event that started later in the afternoon. That’s two wins and a final table in about 24 hours. Not that the cake needed icing, Greg also finished fifth in the $500+30 shorthanded NLH event. Back in 17th-century Massachusetts such an extraordinary performance might’ve gotten Hobson burned at the stake. We anointed him UBOC Player of the Year instead. That’s progress.

Now, maybe you’re looking at the UBOC schedule and finding the buy-ins a bit steep. Maybe you invested your bankroll with Bernard Madoff and, well, we know that story doesn’t have a happy ending. But that doesn’t mean you can’t join in on the UBOC fun. If you look at the far right of the schedule printed above you’ll see the “Mini-UBOC” list of tournaments. Every UBOC event (save the six-handed Hold-Em event and the Championship) is mirrored by a tournament with one-tenth the buy-in. Dying for the chance to play in a big H.O.R.S.E tournament or chomping at the bit to join in some rebuy madness? You can jump into a mini-UBOC event and play for a tidy guaranteed prize pool. I think that’s where I’ll be investing my soon-to-be-depleted bankroll.

And it all starts this Friday at 8:30pm ET. We’ll be covering each and every tournament here at the UltimateBet Blog so be sure to follow along with all the action…and maybe you’ll be the player making the big splash during UBOC3.

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