Friday, January 16, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
To succeed in limit poker, you must have the math. The calculations aren’t complicated but if the numbers aren’t encoded into you DNA you will struggle. To win in limit poker your play must be as precise as a Swiss watch and as cooly analytical as a Swiss banker. In no-limit mastery of the math is important, but not definitive. You must also have heart. Or guts. Fortitude, let’s call it. And something else–imagination. You not only have to step into the shoes of your opponent, you must also allow him to step into yours…and then trick him into seeing your lies as the truth. That massive all-in re-raise you just made…a bluff, or are you holding the nuts and daring your foe to make a doomed hero call? As Crandall Addington once said, “Limit poker is a science, but no-limit is an art. In limit you are shooting at a target. In no-limit, the target comes alive and shoots back at you.”
Pot-limit poker lies in the middle ground between the two. There are those who believe pot-limit requires the most skill–you can bet enough to protect your hand and price out draws, but you can’t just shove in your stack after seeing your hole cards. You must see flops. You must build pots. The limits (and excesses) of the other two games is somewhat mitigated.
Last night 532 players took to the felt to display their pot-limit skills in UBOC Event #9. Both Adam “ROOTHLUS” Levy and Matt “WISCOMURRAY” Murray made it deep, but not as deep as the nine players who made last night’s final table:
After JLFOXLKN was eliminated in 9th and PONYNECK in 7th, there was some talk of a chop as no player had an overwhelming chip lead (LOOT613 led as the final table started with $334K). But the negotiations quickly came to an end and play resumed. Lady luck is a fickle one and after LUCKYSNORM went out in 7th the next player bounced from the tournament was LOOT613, the one-time chipleader. Which again got the players talking about a chop, and which led WU_WIZARD to respond to the entreaties with a succient, “Nah”.
And a good decision it was, because after EL_PIEB10, MILKMONEY4ME and FREEZE1873133 were eliminated in turn, GARNET and WU_WIZARD played heads-up for the title. And a long, cautious battle it was, with each player jabbing and feinting rather than throwing haymakers–perhaps illustrating the difference between pot- and no-limit. WU_WIZARD held the chip lead most of the way before GARNET was able to claw back and even take a slight lead. But that advantage was erased when, with the board reading 10h-6h-7d-Qc, GARNET made a $275,000 bet and WU_WIZARD moved all-in. GARNET surrendered his hand and more than half his chips, and the writing was on the wall. GARNET battled back to push his stack back up to $400K, but after limping in and seeing WU_WIZARD make a pot-sized raise, GARNET hit back with a re-raise. But WU_WIZARD had a hand, Ah-Qs, and after he moved all-in the pot-stuck GARNET called and found that his Kd-5c needed help. Help he didn’t get on the Qc-8h-9c flop, and after the 7s turned and the 8s fell on the river GARNET was out in 2nd place (winning $20,025, a much better payday than he would’ve had in a five-way chop) and WU_WIZARD’s self-confidence was rewarded with $34,495 and a UBOC title.
Tags: Poker Poker Poker, poker tournaments, pot-limit tournaments, ub, ub tournaments, UBOC, uboc events, uboc tournaments, ultimatebet, ultimatebet online championships, ultimatebet tournaments
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Thursday, January 15, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
T.J. Cloutier once said that he didn’t care how many people he knocked out of a poker tournament, so long as he knocked out the LAST person. Because, obviously, that meant he’d won the tournament, and that’s the ultimate goal. But as anyone who’s watched poker on TV knows the most dramatic moments are the big confrontations, when all the chips go in the middle, the cards are flipped over, and one player’s life hangs in the balance.
Not that poker players usually need extra incentive to go for the throat, but last night’s UBOC event gave them even more reason to channel the shrieking, befanged beast that lies within. UBOC Event #8 was our Sniper event, where each player has a $30 bounty on his/her head. Knock someone out, collect thirty bucks. Knock two people out, collect sixty bucks. Knock three people out…but I’ve made my point.
So in addition to the money you’d win for cashing there was another revenue stream to be had–collecting scalps. And one of the trophies most prized at UB’s tables is a knockout of Phil Hellmuth, who made a deep run and finished 31st. His run might’ve been deeper had he not been crippled by RAM20INCH and then polished off soon after by CALMJACKAL, which delighted the railbirds watching Phil.
Speaking of the railbirds, some anthropology Ph.D candidate should eschew the indiginous tribes of the Amazon or Papua New Guinea and do a detailed study of people who rail well-known poker players. There’s important and interesting work to be done among those people.
Several other well-known players came close to making the final table, including Jon “PearlJammed” Turner (who finished 12th) and Frank “gator43″ Hernandez (who finished 13th). HUSSRAMILTON, who was the runner-up in Tuesday night’s H.O.R.S.E. event, followed up that impressive result by posting an 11th place finish. And Robbie “CUNNINGHAM” Cunningham finished 16th…here’s a picture of him from the 2008 Aruba Poker Classic:
That’s Liv Boeree standing on Robbie’s shoulders. Good picture of him, yes?
Anyway, there were nine players who DID make the final table, and here there are/were:
And as the final table played down here’s how they placed and cashed:
- 9th: Corey “CMB8757″ Burbick $2,611
- 8th: THALAIET $3,682
- 7th: AGS104 $5,022
- 6th: MICOJONES $6,361
- 5th: TWOLIP69 $7,700
- 4th: RAM20INCH $9,374
As the survivors played three-handed SAILORLOBELL held nearly 60% of the chips in play, and he seized total control when he raised to $33,000 on the button and Jason “TAKNAPOTIN” Somerville moved all-in for his last $303K. SAILORLOBELL called and his Ac-Ks had Somerville’s Kd-Qs dominated. The board bricked for both players and SAILORLOBELL went into heads-up play with a $1.17 million to $315K chiplead over STRIFE23.
A lead that lasted just one hand, as STRIFE23 doubled up when, holding A-3 to SAILORLOBELL’S A-9 and all the money in preflop, STRIFE23 rivered a trey to stay alive and get himself back in serious contention. But despite that brutal beat SAILORLOBELL didn’t falter, winning the next four hands to get his stack back up over $1 million. He maintained that lead until the last hand, as the two players saw a 6c-4s-8s flop and STRIFE23 led out for $50,000. SAILORLOBELL made a small raise to $120,000, and STRIFE23 moved in the last of his chips. To find that his Jc-7c were in bad shape against SAILORLOBELL’s Js-10s. The 8d on the turn and 9c on the river didn’t save STRIFE23 and he finished as our runner-up, winning $20,088. While SAILORLOBELL took home $32,810, an UltimateBet Online Championship title…and $30 for knocking the last person out of the tournament.
Tags: Poker Poker Poker, poker tournaments, sniper tournaments, t.j. cloutier, ub, ub sniper tournaments, ub tournaments, UBOC, uboc tournaments, ultimatebet, ultimatebet online championships, ultimatebet tournaments
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Monday, January 12, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
With apologies to Bob Geldof, how come? OK, Monday’s usually mean a return to the working week, but Monday night’s are usually pretty good, what with the joys of Monday Night Football. Of course, there’s no more football on Monday nights, so what to do?
Well, first off you should clear your schedule and clear your mind for the sixth event of the UltimateBet Online Championship, our $150+12 Pot-Limit Omaha/8 tournament which kicks off at 8:30pm ET. Pot-Limit Omaha…8. Now that’s a game to scramble your brain, yeesh. It’ll take me twenty minutes to decipher each hand to see who was ahead, what draws were out there, what the players need to catch for the scoop…split-pot games are the bane of the poker reporter.
On the odd chance you get knocked out early, fear not. You’ll still have a chance to fully indulge your poker passions, as The Best Damn Poker Show premieres tonight on FSN. Once again Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth assemble their teams to lead into battle, and again there should be some…interesting hi-jinks to follow. Check your local listings for show time–in my neck of the woods it’s on at 11pm, but I’ve heard some other areas are broadcasting it at other times. This is what TiVo was made for, methinks.
Tags: Annie Duke, Best Damn Poker Show, bob geldof, Phil Hellmuth, ub, ub tournaments, UBOC, uboc tournaments, ultimatebet, ultimatebet online championships
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Saturday, January 10, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
There were several familiar faces at the final table of last night’s UltimateBet Online Championship PLO w/rebuys event-Mark “P0ker H0″ Kroon being one of them. As we got down to the money bubble H0 was the shortest stack left and I thought he’d get his chips in sooner than later. I’ve never seen Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster, but last night I witnessed something almost equally remarkable–P0ker H0 playing tight on the bubble. But when the bubble burst (CUTEFRECKLES, sadly was left out in the cold) H0 shifted gears and planted his foot firmly on the accelerator, grabbing pots left and right until he arrived at the final table third in chips:
The first player eliminated was Matt “VENGMONEY” Vengrin, who bubbled the final table of the 2007 Aruba Poker Classic. Matt went out when OUTLAWNYC1 flopped the nut flush and that was pretty much that. THEGRAPER (love that name) was sent to the rail in eighth place when he flopped a flush draw to go with his pocket Queens but failed to improve against TRALAIRA’S Aces. And then, sadly, it was P0ker H0’s time to G0. After a 2c-Ah-4s flop H0 checked and then tanked after OUTLAWNYC1 threw out a bet. H0 moved all in and OUTLAWNYC1 quickly called. Both players had an Ace but OUTLAWNYC1 held two Kings to H0’s two Queens and a King on the river sealed H0’s fate:
VBILLER was next to fall, as DANTML flopped a set against him then made the nut straight on the river to lock up the pot. TRALAIRA had the bad fortune to get the last of his chips in only to see OUTLAWNYC1 flop a full house that left him drawing dead. “I’m getting very lucky,” OUTLAWNYC1 said in chat, and after making another huge hand said, “I flop monsters!”.
Grayson “THE_DEAN221″ Nichols was unlucky to flop trip Aces, only to find that DANTML had done the same and had him slighly outkicked. Nichols didn’t catch on the turn or river and that sent him out in fourth place.
And then there were three, with OUTLAWNYC1 holding a bit more than 50% of the chips in play. There had be talk during the final table about making a deal–idle talk, for the most part. But down to three-handed OUTLAWNYC1 again raised the topic and the three players paused to discuss possible terms. Making deals at a final table is a new feature here at UltimateBet (H0 talked about making a deal because he wanted to see how it would work) and the three players chatted back and forth about possible scenarios while a UB manager provided equity calculations and made sure all three players understood the chop and agreed. It took a bit of time, but when all was said and done the three players were satisfied and UBOC Event #1 came to a quiet end.
I happen to think dealmaking at final tables is perfectly acceptable and totally reasonable. The money in the prize pool belongs to the players, they have the right to discuss among themselves if they want to alter the payouts. If history has taught us anything, it’s that no chip-lead is ever safe, and since the payouts increase almost geometrically at the top of the ladder it’s understandable that players might want to lock in a nice score and not risk losing a huge chunk of change to a horrid beat. Having a representative from UB in on the proceedings helps ensure a player doesn’t get browbeaten or bamboozled into taking a really bad deal, so this is definitely a positive step. Plus, it was geting on 4AM and I (along with several of the players, I think) were getting woozy.
So, congratulations to OUTLAWNYC1, DANTML, AND RIMMER27, who can say without fear of contradiction that they were still standing at the end of the opening event of the UltimateBet Online Championship. We have a $300+20 No-Limit Hold-Em event starting at 2:30pm ET and the $500+30 Heads-Up event at 5:30pm ET. That’s right, two UBOC events today (and two mini-UBOC tournaments as well), so don’t miss out.
Tags: h0, mark kroon, matt vengrin, P0ker H0, plattsburgh, plo w/rebuys, poker tournaments, pot-limit omaha, rebuys, ub tournaments, UBOC, ultimatebet online championships, ultimatebet tournaments
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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:
Tags: online tournament, Poker Poker Poker, poker tournament, poker tournaments, pot-limit omaha, UBOC, uboc3, ultimatebet online championship, ultimatebet online championships
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