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Author Archive
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Let Khan ‘Rain’
Online poker players have a lot to be proud of in 2007. Many of these up-and-coming players — like Hevad “Rain” Khan, Shain “Shaniac” Schleger and Justin Bonomo — came through the poker ranks on the Internet. They then distinguished themselves at the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP). While Internet players outnumber established pros by a wide margin, every great poker player to come will rise up from the Web.
Why?
Well, first off, the sheer number of Internet players — there are now more than 100 million players worldwide. Second, the learning curve is faster because of the number of hands played. For example, there are some Internet players — no more than 24 years old — who have played more hands than I have in my 25-year career! This is because you play roughly 25 hands per hour in the real world compared to 400 hands per hour (when playing four or more games at once) online. Third, there is so much information on how to play the game these days, from books and DVDs, to taped final tables where you can see all of the hole cards.
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Winning My First UBT Event
This column is normally devoted to no-limit Hold ’em and the tactics used in various hands, but this week I’d like to give you a Ultimate Blackjack Tour (UBT) final-table hand as well as a World Poker Tour (WPT) final-table hand. The WPT runs on the GSN (Game Show Network) and the UBT runs on CBS right before college football every fall (also airing in Australia, Canada and France).
On Sunday, July 15, I played a “Celebrity” final table on the UBT, along with poker stars Annie Duke, Robert Williamson III, Freddy Deeb and champion blackjack players Ken Einiger, Hollywood Dave and Renee Angelil. Angelil and I were the last two standing for the pretty tricky last hand.
Since I bet first, and had a chip lead of $13,000, I wanted to make sure that I had the “Low,” which means I’d be guaranteed the tournament even if the dealer won the hand (the dealer wins any given blackjack hand around 56 percent of the time). So I bet $22,000, knowing that I could surrender 50 percent of the bet and still beat Angelil if he lost the hand. Angelil bet out $60,000, making sure that he had the “high,” winning the tournament if he won the hand.
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An American Champion
Jerry Yang is living the American (poker) dream. From the rags of his youth, Jerry is now a multimillionaire, thanks to a winning hand at the 2007 Word Series of Poker.
A few months back, Yang, who came to America three decades ago from Laos, entered a $265 buy-in satellite at Pechanga Casino in Southern California, and won first prize — a seat at a 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) table. Fast-forward to the final table, and Jerry takes the event and a staggering $8.25 million — the most international final table ever. Players were from the United States, Canada, Russia, England and South Africa.
Unbelievably, the chip leader — 31-year-old Dane, Philip Hilm — heading into the final table, with more than $25 million in chips, was the first player eliminated. It’s easy for me to say this, but I do not believe that Hilm should have finished any worse than fourth place. With the blinds and antes super small in comparison to Hilm’s massive chip stack, there is no way that he should have exited before midnight (the final table started at noon), unless he had a series of bad beats. This was not the case, and Hilm busted himself by 1 p.m. while making a massive blunder that will go down in the annals of poker history as one of the biggest “blow ups” ever.
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Crashing And Getting Knocked Out At WSOP
More than 6,300 people played in the main event of the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP). While the number is down from last year’s 8,700, no one this year was forced to play in the main event. And those who did play came to Las Vegas of their own accord. And why not? You get to play in the biggest, most prestigious poker tournament on Earth, if only you have the $10,000 buy-in.
My own adventure began when I was inducted into the “Poker Hall of Fame.” That same weekend, while filming a commercial, I wrecked a NASCAR vehicle in the Rio Hotel’s parking lot. The video of my car accident is at Splashcastmedia.com. Still, it wasn’t a very auspicious start to the main event, which I was knocked out of right before the dinner break. Here’s one hand that really nailed me:
With the blinds at $200-$400, I picked up A-K, and limped in for $400 — with around $17,000 in chips in front of me (we started with $20,000). The guy right behind me (Player A) made it $800 to go and three players called the $800. When the action came back to me, I reraised it $3,000; and then Player A called me, along with — surprisingly — the player in the small blind. There was now $14,000 in the pot going to the flop, and it comes down K-7-7. The player in the small blind checked, I bet $2,000, Player A called, and the small blind folded his hand. The turn was a J, and I hated it. I gazed into Player A’s eyes, and I did not like what I saw.
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‘Seinfeld’s Prisoner; Black has the Keys!
It all came down to the July 5 finale of Bravo’s “Celebrity Poker Showdown,” and all of the players earned the right to play by winning their five-player heat. Combined, these winners will give their New Orleans-based charities $900,000; with the winner getting a cool $500,000 for their charity! We have Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”), Michael Ian Black (“The Pleasure of your Company”), Ida Siconolfi (the bravotv.com winner), Keegan-Michael Key (“MADtv”), and Robin Tunney (“Prison Break”). Comedian Dave Foley and I co-hosted, and made our picks at the top of the show: I picked Alexander because he can handle the big stage and big money. Foley picked Black, who is clearly the best player of the 25 that were invited down to New Orleans to play. By the way, Foley picked Black, Alexander and Siconolfi to win their individual heats, and I picked Tunney. Together, we picked four out of five!
Early on, Black takes a commanding lead through some good play and good luck. Black eliminates Key when his A-10 outruns Key’s 8-8 (Q-Q-10-7-4): before the flop the 8-8 was a 12-to-10 favorite over the A-10. Black then busts Siconolfi when his A-J beats her A-10: the A-J being a 2-1/2-to-1 favorite over the A-10. With $250,000 in chips in this thing, Black reaches $195,000 in chips. If it was a fight, we’d stop it!
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You Bluff Me, I Bluff You
I’m playing poorly in the $5,000 buy-in short handed no-limit hold ’em event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and I cannot seem to climb out of this funk. I’m tired (to be expected during this 45-day-long marathon), hungry and I’ve blown off another $5,500 with 10-3 off suit on the last hand before dinner break.
I’m still fuming during dinner with a close friend and my parents. My griping goes on for more than an hour, but, when I return to the table, I’m feeling much better. I still have $16,000 in chips. And, many times in past games when I’ve felt this wiped, I still found my way to the chip lead.
After three hands, they break my table and I’m redrawn to another table. On the fifth hand at my new table, with the blinds at $400-$800 and a $75-per-man ante, I limp to first position with 9c-8h. Everyone folds except the blinds, and the flop comes down Jh-5h-4h (I need a heart to make an eight-high flush). Both blinds check, I bet out $1,200, the player in the small blind folds, and the player in the big blind calls. The turn card is the Kd, the big blind player checks, I bet out $3,000, and he folds, but not before showing the Jd! I love that I stayed so aggressive in this hand. I knew that my opponent would think that I may have a big hand, like A-K or Q-Q, because I limped into the pot in first position.
