World Series of Poker update

Day 6 at the World Series of Poker was rough for many of the players I was following.

First elimination was Joe Hachem. He couldn't get anything going on day 5 or 6 and ended up pushing all-in short-stacked with jack 9 suited. Joe was called by pocket 4's but his hand didn't improve and he finished 103rd.

Kenny Tran was struggling near the bottom stacks, doubling up occasionally but not staying far enough ahead of the blinds. He pushed with a suited ace, got called by pocket 8's, didn't improve and bust out in 86th place.

Also hitting the rail on day 6 were one-time chip monster Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier in 122nd, one-time chip leader Matt Affleck in 81st and last year's champ Peter Eastgate in 78th.

The story of the day was the rise and rise of Phil Ivey. He had sat in the middle of the pack for much of the tournament but by the end of day 6 he was in 3rd and looking very dangerous. Midway through day 7 he's still cruising along in 2nd place and the field has narrowed to just 29 players left in action.

Phil Ivey, the man to watch

PokerStars update

I had a friend's 30th on Saturday night and had a big night on the town for the first time in ... ummm ... well, ages! Got to bed about 4am which is something I don't usually do, didn't get anywhere near enough sleep and was up by 10am. One panadol, plenty of water, some fresh air and some Red Rooster for lunch and I was feeling human again.

With Triple J's Hottest 100 of all-time on the radio, I was keen for a quiet afternoon so fired up the laptop and played online at PokerStars.

I've been on a bit of a roll of late, winning a tournament each of the last 3 days I've played. This continued yesterday and I actually won 2 in one day which is new for me. Since I've decided to focus on smashing the $1 games before putting $2 tournaments back in the mix, I've really been doing well in the 45 man turbos. This month I've cashed in 25 out of 71, won 5 of them, second in another and three 3rds.

With two wins yesterday, I've already smashed my monthly goal of 4 wins and am now at 6 with more than two weeks to go. I'm very pleased that my win ratio in heads-up situations is so good this month ... 3:1 compared to previous months 1:5. I'm ahead of my other goals so far too ... profit $113 (goal $100) and in the money 29% (goal 25%).

I'm waiting till this evening to see if yesterday's results puts me in to the top 3% of PokerStars tournament players on Official Poker Rankings. I'm currently rated 96.94% over the last 120 days and 96.65% for 2009.

Bankroll: US$437

Smells Like Teen Spirit took the #1 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of All-Time

World Series of Poker update

We're now midway through day 5 in the World Series of Poker and with 232 players remaining out of the 6494 starters, one of Assassinato's mates Matt Affleck currently leads the field.

The poker community would love for one of the big name pros to take down the Main Event and this year there are a number still in contention. Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier has been at the top of the leader board for the last few days and is currently in the top 20 while my boys Joe Hachem and Kenny Tran aren't far behind. Phil Ivey is also roughly midfield and has plenty of time to make a move.

From last year's Main Event, Dennis Phillips and defending champion Peter Eastgate are both still well in the hunt.

PokerStars update

After my 3 day break from poker I jumped back in to the action on Monday night. It started well enough, min-cashing my first 45 man tournament but things got ugly as I then failed to cash 13 tournaments in a row before again min-cashing a 90 man tournament to end the night. I don't think I was playing badly as I made it down to the final 2 tables on 9 of those 13 tournaments but couldn't win hands at the right time to get me on to final tables and in the money.

Tuesday went a lot better. After the disappointment the night before I was focussed and crushed early, cashing 3 of the first 4 tournaments including a win a 3rd and a 5th (all 45 man tournaments). I trailed off a bit but still had another 2nd a 5th (45 mans) and a min cash in a 90 man. So the results from Tuesday (6 cashes from 18 games) made up for the losses of the night before.

Last night I planned to play a little in the afternoon and then watch some DVD's (Seven Pounds and Role Models) later in the night. I forgot that poker is on OneHD on a Wednesday night so the DVD's would have to wait. Unfortunately, the poker turned out to be a replay of the PCA that I had seen a few weeks earlier ... but I of course still watched it.

The night started well with a 5th in a 45 man before a stretch of 6 non-cashes. After some dinner I cranked it up a level tho and cashed 5 of the last 8 tournaments including a win in a 90 man and three 4ths. I was pleased that I had two good finishes in the 90 man tournaments because it had been a week or so since I had a top 3 finish in those so to finish with a win was nice.

The win was a hard-fought one. I was struggling for chips with about 30 to go and would have been close to the bottom of the chip-count. I pushed all-in twice with pocket 3's, once out-running ace queen and another time getting called by a big blind short-stack with 3 8 suited. After getting to a comfortable stack I then started to actually get hands and come final table was well placed.

Final table started a bit rocky when my ace jack couldn't hold up against a short-stack all-in of ace 2 suited and another caller with queen jack off. A 2 hit the flop and it was good enough to win. The same short-stack later pushed all-in from the button 5 handed, the small blind big stack then re-raised strongly and I loved it because I had aces! As I was re-raising my wireless internet connection dropped out so I was frantically trying to reconnect. Thankfully I managed to, button turns over king ten off, small blind has kings and my aces held up to take down a massive pot.

3 handed I raised solidly from the button with pocket queens, I get re-raised all-in by a shorter-stack who has ace 9 off ... 9 on the flop, ace on the turn ... groan. I exacted some revenge shortly after taking him out and getting to heads up with a slight lead. The other person took down a few early pots but the turning point would be when they min-raised from the small blind and I called with king 2 off. Flop comes king 9 9 with two spades which I didn't really think much of. First to act I checked, assuming my king was good, he bets, I re-raise strongly and he calls all-in. He turns over 5 6 of spades so I'm sweating no more spades and thankfully I take it down. He's almost out so I re-raise with ace 3 suited, he turns over ace queen but I flop a flush and its over.

I thought the king ten button, kings small blind, aces big blind seemed cold short-handed on the final table but I just across this from the World Series:

McKusick Gains Heat From a Cold Deck

There's was a ton of commotion over at table 72 in the orange section just a brief moment ago. We turned to the table to see three players all in. One player held and another player held . Both were terribly dominated by the third player's .

The board ran out , to give the player holding the the nut flush. That player was Ken McKusick out of Baltimore, Maryland and he now has nearly 120,000 chips.

To make things even more interesting, two players in the hand held jacks and another player held pocket sevens. Cold deck much?

Solid lay-down from the pocket jacks. You'd be pretty unhappy if you were the guy with the aces ... "but I have trips!!"

Bankroll now just under US$400 and I'm already just one win short of my goal of 4 tournament wins for the month.

Top 2009 WSOP Performances

I came across this great summary on PokerNews this morning about the top performances so far from the World Series of Poker. Not surprisingly "Aussie" Jeff Lisandro (pictured below) leads the way with his ridiculously good form this series with 3 final tables which he converted in to 3 bracelets.

Once day 2b finishes this afternoon, I'll update you on the Main Event.

The PokerNews Top 10: Top 2009 WSOP Performances | PokerNews.com

It has been a summer full of amazing individual achievement at the World Series of Poker, with no less than four players winning multiple bracelets, and several others with five or more cashes and several deep runs. With only the Main Event to go, it’s a good time to look back and consider the top ten performances from this summer. It should be noted that the following list does not strictly mirror the points model employed by the WSOP to determine its player of the year, although many of the names on this list appear at the top of the POY list as well. Nor does the list rate players strictly according to the number of cashes a player has accumulated or total winnings earned, but rather the overall consistency of a player’s achievements at this year’s WSOP, with added weight given to those who managed to realize the goal of every poker player who enters a WSOP event by capturing the bracelet.

10. Barry Greenstein -- 7 cashes, 2 final tables, total winnings $161,243; Daniel Negreanu, 8 cashes, 2 final tables, total winnings $331,860

Both Greenstein and Negreanu came up short this summer in their quests for bracelets, but both once again ably proved themselves as belonging among poker’s elite. Greenstein’s seven cashes came in a variety of games (limit hold’em, mixed hold’em, pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud hi-low 8-or-better, H.O.R.S.E., no-limit 2-7 draw lowball). The California resident made two final tables this year, finishing ninth in the $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha event (No. 40) and fifth in the $2,500 Mixed Hold’em (Limit/No-Limit) event (No. 47).

Negreanu’s eight cashes also came in many different varieties of poker (limit hold’em, mixed hold’em, PLO/PLH, seven-card stud, seven-card stud hi-low 8-or-better, Omaha hi-low 8-or-better, 2-7 triple draw). Toronto’s most famous poker player managed a fourth-place finish in the $10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low 8-or-Better event (No. 18) and had a near miss by finishing runner-up in the $2,500 Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event (No. 14).

9. John Juanda -- 4 cashes, 4 final tables, total winnings $170,745

The 2008 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event winner had a stellar 2009 WSOP, making no less than four final tables. Born in Indonesia and now residing in California, Juanda finished fifth in the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event (No. 16), fourth in the $10,000 World Championship No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event (No. 23), ninth in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event (No. 30), and fourth in the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Limit event (No. 55).

8. Steve Sung -- 2 cashes, 2 final tables, 1 bracelet, total winnings $883,380

Sung earned his first ever WSOP bracelet in the so-called “Stimulus Special” $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event (No. 4) during the first week of the series. That meant he bested the largest field in any event this summer -- 6,012 -- outside of the Main Event itself. The native of South Korea, who now makes his home in California, followed up on his Event No. 4 victory with an impressive third-place finish in the $10,000 World Championship No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw event (No. 23).

7. James Van Alstyne -- 3 cashes, 3 final tables, 1 bracelet, total winnings $519,080

Van Alstyne’s summer just kept getting better as it went along, with three final tables all in mixed-game events. Born in Georgia and currently residing in Las Vegas, Van Alstyne finished sixth in the $10,000 World Championship Mixed Event (No. 12) in which players play eight different games (the H.O.R.S.E. games, plus 2-7 triple draw, pot-limit Omaha, and no-limit hold’em). Then he finished as the runner-up in the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event (No. 21). Finally he broke through and won Event No. 31, the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, thus capping off a remarkable WSOP.

6. Greg “FBT” Mueller -- 3 cashes, 3 final tables, 2 bracelets, total winnings $709,635

After taking seventh in the $10,000 World Championship Seven-Card Stud event (No. 6), Mueller came back two weeks later to win another of the $10,000 World Championship events, the Limit Hold’em event (No. 33). Then the one-time professional hockey player from Vancouver turned around and became the fourth player this summer to win multiple bracelets when he took another limit hold’em event, the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout (No. 50).

5. Ville Wahlbeck -- 6 cashes, 4 final tables, 1 bracelet, total winnings $1,082,176

Not only did all of Wahlbeck’s cashes this year come from deep runs, but five of the six came in the $10,000 buy-in World Championship events, the only exception being his 12th place finish in the $2,500 Razz event (No. 44). During the first week of the Series, the Finnish pro took third in the $10,000 World Championship Seven-Card Stud event (No. 6), first in the $10,000 World Championship Mixed Event (No. 12), and 13th in the $10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low 8-or-Better event (No. 18). He then nearly won the $10,000 World Championship No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event (No. 23), finishing runner-up. Wahlbeck then capped off his WSOP with a sixth place in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event (No. 49).

4. Brock Parker -- 4 cashes, 2 final tables, 2 bracelets, total winnings $806,870

Along with Wahlbeck, Parker was the talk of the WSOP in the early going after he became the first player this summer to win two bracelets. In fact, the Maryland native’s victories came in two consecutive events, as Parker entered the second the day after winning the first. Both were also in short-handed events, the first in the $2,500 Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event (No. 14), and the second in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event (No. 19). Parker would additionally cash in Events 29 and 50, both also hold’em events.

3. Phil Ivey -- 5 cashes, 3 final tables, 2 bracelets, total winnings $356,994

Ivey added to his already formidable stature in the poker world by capturing two more bracelets this summer, bringing his overall total to seven. Ivey won the $2,500 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event (No. 8), then also landed the $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better mixed event (No. 25). The native of California and New Jersey resident would additionally final table the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout (No. 41), as well as cash in another hold’em event (No. 13) and a pot-limit Omaha event (No. 30).

2. Vitaly Lunkin -- 4 cashes, 3 final tables, 1 bracelet, total winnings $2,696,385

Lunkin ends the summer as the highest earner over the first 56 events -- by a long shot -- having started off the Series in grand fashion by winning the prestigious $40,000 buy-in 40th Annual No-Limit Hold’em event (No. 4). After scoring a modest cash in the $10,000 World Championship Mixed Event (No. 12), the Russian would come close to winning a second bracelet on two more occasions, finishing runner-up in Event No. 40, the $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha event, then taking fourth in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event (No. 49) after having had a sizable lead at the final table.

1. Jeffrey Lisandro -- 6 cashes, 3 final tables, 3 bracelets, total winnings $807,521

Lisandro tied an all-time WSOP record this summer by winning three bracelets, taking down the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event (No. 16), the $10,000 World Championship Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better event (No. 37), and the $2,500 Razz event (No. 44). The native of Australia who now makes Italy his home just missed another final table, finishing ninth in the $10,000 World Championship Seven-Card Stud event (No. 6), and additionally cashed in a pot-limit Omaha event (No. 35) and a pot-limit Omaha hi-low event (No. 27).

3 days ... no poker

I just posted on my FaceBook profile that I haven't played poker for 3 days ... not surprisingly, within minutes a number of my friends came back wondering if I was sick, my internet was broken or just general shock. Yes, it has been a while since I've had a few days off from playing.

So what's been going on? Well, just had stuff on, just haven't been on my laptop, just had other things to do.

Friday afternoon I left work a little early as one of my best friends had invited for dinner and a night at the Broncos. I hadn't seen him for a while so it was good to catch up with him as well as a number of other friends that came to the game. After the NZ Warriors scored an early try to shock the crowd and of course the Broncos, Brisbane fought their way back in to the game and rolled over the top of the Warriors in the second half. Beers before the game, beer during dinner, beer during the game and I ended up crashing the night at Steve's place.

The next day started with a casual chat with Steve and his wife before Steve showed off his ever-improving culinary skills with the chef-standard omelette. That afternoon I went to the start of an old friend's bucks party which was barefoot bowling at Moorooka (where I used to live). It was a beautiful afternoon and perfect for lawn bowls and a couple of beers. The form on the greens was rather inconsistent to say the least, but I did have my moments. That night I went to the parents for dinner and as always mum cooked up a feast! Bowls was supposed to include a BBQ lunch but it didn't happen so by the time I got to the parents I was STARVING. Mum delivered the goods with a malaysian curry buffet and I'm pretty sure I had thirds. After that settled there were some home-made chocolate brownies straight from the oven ... mmmmmmm.

Sunday morning is always a leisurely affair at the folks place. Sleep in, have breakfast and enjoy hours of Foxtel programming. Simpsons, Sex & The City and plenty of property/renovation shows. After lunch I eventually hit the road, did some grocery shopping, got to the gym and then had dinner. Still ... no poker played.

When I finally did get online tonight, I of course caught up on goings on at the World Series of Poker. In the final event before the Main Event, one of Assassinato's friends, Faraz Jaka came 3rd in the $5K 6-handed no-limit hold'em picking himself up a cool $400K prize money. I'm sure he's disappointed not to have won but its a great result in a field of 928 players. Good going Faraz!

The Main Event itself got underway yesterday and day 1b finished today. With almost 1000 players starting both days its very hard to find out how players you follow got on. It'll be easier to figure out who's in and who's out when we get to day 2 and 3.

Anyway, I promise there will be more poker talk next post ...

The Brisbane Broncos in their Lance Armstrong inspired yellow jerseys

July off to a flyer

Having not played online poker for the last few days, I was sort of itching to get on PokerStars tonight. Quiet afternoon at work so I shut up shop half an hour early and headed home. The original plan was to get changed and head to the gym but convinced myself it would be too packed and I would go later.

My first two tournaments didn't go too well, two 45 man tournaments that I made the final 2 tables of but couldn't get lucky at the right time and failed to cash. The next two went better and I min-cashed another 45 man finishing in 7th while I was focussed more on the final table of a 90 man tournament that I had made.

The 90 man tournament was a huge comeback as I was in trouble with about 30 players left. I ended up getting my short-stack in a 5 way pot and caught top pair on the flop, someone bet out on the turn with pocket kings and I hit another jack on the river to survive and chip up massively. I played the final table fairly well but as usual was facing a chip deficit when it came to heads up. The blinds were so high relative to the chip stacks at this stage that I had to be aggressive. I took down a large pot and had a huge lead but I couldn't my opponent to the sword. I kept pushing pre-flop with an ace in my hand and twice including the knock-out hand I got called by queen jack and he caught a jack. On the final hand it came on the river for him so I finished in 2nd. I kept getting my money in whilst ahead so I'm happy with how I played the heads-up battle.

Surprisingly, after that tournament finished I managed to walk away from the laptop and did actually go to the gym for a cardio session.

After a shower and something to eat I was back on PokerStars for a few more games. Two hours of Stars of Poker was on OneHD so I didn't plan on playing for too long. Like the afternoon games, the first 90 man tournament didn't go too well finishing 26th. The other 3 games went a LOT better tho.

I final tabled the last 3 games I played, first finishing 3rd in a 45 man tournament before getting a 1st place in another one. The final game of the night was a 90 man and thanks to a few eliminations late I came 3rd.

So out of 8 tournaments played, I cashed 5 times, won 1, second in 1 and third in 2. It had been a while (start of June) since I had actually won a tournament so it was nice to chalk up a win on the first day of the month.

Bankroll US$367