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And Now, the Finale
When I was invited to London to compete in the Premiership of Poker, I jumped at the chance to play.
The Premiership, an internationally broadcast competition, works like this: 12 world-class players play six six-player “heats” for points. The players with the highest-four point totals would advance to the six-player finale. The players with the middle four point totals would then play head’s-up matches, with two of them advancing to the six-player finale. In the six-player finale, each player would take their point total times 10,000 to determine the size of their chip stack.
Surprisingly, four of the five pre-tournament favorites; England’s David “Devilfish” Ulliot and Roland de Wolfe, Australia’s Tony G, and Russia’s Kiril Gerasimov finished in the bottom four. Both women in the 12-player field won their head’s-up matches to claim the final two spots in the finale; Vicky Coren beat English citizen Andy Black, and American Liz Liu beat American Kenna James. I won four heats, with one third and one sixth place finish, for 35 points. Thus, I began the finale with $350,000 in chips — as the chip leader — along with Coren ($200,000), Liu ($230,000), Germany’s Eddy Scharf ($310,000), Norway’s Juha Helppi ($270,000), and Englishman Ian Fraser ($260,000).
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Patiently Wait for an All-In Moment
Having won four out of my first five heats in the Premier League of Poker (for a total of 32 points), I was guaranteed the chip lead in the finals.
Loyal readers know that several weeks ago several world-class poker players like myself were invited to London to compete in the Premiership of Poker. We each competed in six “heats” for points, with the top four scorers (plus two top scorers from consolation heats) would compete in a six-player finale. In the finale, each player would take their point total times 10,000 to determine the size of their chip stack (for example, 28 points equals $280,000).
Knowing that there were players in my sixth heat that desperately needed points: how should I play it? Should I play super aggressively, pushing around the players that needed points — and thus couldn’t make a stand — early on? No, I had tried that tactic in my fourth heat, after I won the first three heats, and I found that you couldn’t push around these players. They were playing their hands, not their point’s position. Too bad, I would have loved to run over the table with super aggressive play! Option two was to play super-tight poker, and wait out the others, because I felt that their weakness was a lack of patience. I was going to play super-patiently; I was going to the tactic that brought me four wins. Why change now?
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Little Drama in Playing it Safe
After winning my first three heats, and surging to an almost insurmountable point lead (24 points) in the Premiere League, I finished in sixth place (zero points) in my fourth heat.
When I was invited to London to compete in the Premier League, it looked like it was going to be a great chance for me to get some International exposure. The Premier League works like this: a dozen world-class players compete for points in six “heats.” Six players (the four top scorers, and two winners from consolation heats) compete in the finale. Going into the finale each player has their points multiplied by $10,000.
Going into the fifth heat, I was thinking that three points would lock me into the top four, and an automatic advancement to the six-player finale. I also clearly remembered my hot start at the “2006 Super Stars of Poker” on Fox Sports Net, and the way I faded in my last few heats. I was determined not to fade this time around. Thus, I entered the heat with a super conservative tact. I would wait for the other players to tango and bust themselves. Unfortunately, my five opponents also took that tact, and nothing exciting seemed to happen for a long time. My opponents were Andy Black, Vicky Coren, Ian Schafer, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliot and Tony G.
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Even Last Place Keeps Me Going in the ‘League’
Working on my fourth heat in the Premiership of Poker (I also refer to it as the Premier League), the internationally broadcast London invitational continued to provide me with a great chance to get some international exposure.
Longtime readers know that I’ve been writing about the League in my last few columns. For those just tuning in, the event works like this: 12 invited world-class players would each play six separate six-player “heats.” Points are awarded based on performance. Each heat would be a random drawing, so that you could face the same opponent several times. The top-four players and two players from secondary “heats” advance to the six-player finale, with their chip stacks to be 10,000 times their point totals.
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Third Time’s a Charm
I continue my tales of the Premier League in London on my third heat. For those of you just tuning in, the internationally broadcast Premier League invites 12 world-class players to compete in several heats. Ultimately, six players compete in the finale. Four of the final players are chosen based on their scores. Two are chosen from secondary “heats.” Each player took their point total times 10,000 to the six-player finale. Each heat would be broadcast as an hour-long TV show.
On Day 2, I won my first heat, then played in another heat featuring Eddie Scharf, Vicky Coren, Juha Helpi, Kiril Gerasimov and David Devilfish Ulliot. I was the only player to play in two heats in one day. Would the fatigue catch up with me? Would I “donk off” my chips? Or, could I win three in a row? Early on, Devilfish kept raising my blinds, and I told myself that he wasn’t going to run me over, not today! With the blinds at $3,000-$6,000, Devilfish opened on the button for $18,000 with As-8s, and I moved all-in for $70,000 with 7h-5h. The Fish studied a full minute and finally called. Amazingly, the flop was 8-6-4! I had flopped a straight, and I had gone from first one out had I lost the pot — and zero points — to chip leader with $140,000!
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A ‘League’ of My Own
Last column, I began talking about my first game at the internationally covered Premier League in London. Poker’s exploding worldwide, and this was a great chance to get my name, and my brand, out there.
The Premier League in a nutshell: 12 world-class players vie for points in six “heats.” The top four scorers and the top two winners of heads-up matches advance to the finale. Also, each player took their point total times 10,000 to the six-player finale (28 points equaled $280,000). Each heat would be an hour-long TV show. We ended up with a 14-week series.
After winning my first heat, I had the early lead in the Premier League with eight points. In addition to playing on Day 1, I also did the commentary for the second heat that same day. Thus, I came in a bit tired Day 2, and I had scheduled myself to play both heats that day, back-to-back. Oh well, if you let fatigue get to you in poker, you’ll rarely win. I have spent the last 20 years dealing with fatigue in poker, and I feel like I’m finally handling it well. So off we went in my second round heat featuring: Andy Black, Tony G, Kenna James, Roland De Wolfe, and Liz Liu.
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