Historic WSOP Poker Table for Sale
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
You can have this famous poker table in your game room today. Seen here during the final table of the 2005 WSOP Main Event
Want to own a piece of poker history? How about the main event TV table used when Greg Raymer won in 2004, Joe Hachem in 2005, and Jamie Gold in 2006? That's right, the very table where many of poker's elite traded chips in their quest to become a part of poker history.
Check out the auction on eBay for this historic poker table. According to the auction details you'll receive a table cover signed by Jamie Gold when he took down the record $12 million purse in 2006 for a WSOP Main Event.
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
The table where Joe Hachem won the 2005 WSOP Main Event
Carsten Joh wins $664,426 for $1,500 Investment at 2009 WSOP
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Carsten Joh winner Event #51 $1,500 No Limit Hold'Em
Carsten Joh topped a field of 2781 poker players to capture his first WSOP bracelet and $664,426 in cash. The German native played a conservative game during most of the Monday's final table as he slowly accumulated enough chips to remain in the contest. His game plan worked well as he avoided the traps while those around him fell victim to their aggressive play. Heads-up found Joh facing a tough Andrew Chen holding almost the same number of chips; but, this was to be Joh's day of fame. He caught the cards needed in critical hands to finally defeat Chen.
Andrew Chen was obviously disappointed to come so far and get so close to the WSOP gold, then be denied the win in the final hands. Of course, the $412,632 payday will help to keep his spirits up for another day at the WSOP poker tables. Third place and $272,405 goes to David Walasinski.
The event begin with a sell-out crowd of 2,781 players building a prize pool of $3,796,065 distributed to the last 297 players to be eliminated.
The 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event is scheduled to kick off on Noon Friday with the first of four Day 1's. Many are predicting a record crowd for this year's championship event. Will you be one of them?
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Andrew Chen finished second
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Is this pile of loot waiting for you at to the 2009 WSOP at the Rio Las Vegas?
WPT Announces Season VIII Stop and Dates
Time to reread your favorite poker books and polish your chip protectors as the World Poker Tour has revealed the twelve stops for their eighth season. Vegas residents should note that a record four events will be held at the Bellagio this year, so plan your season accordingly.
Bellagio Cup V
July 13-19, 2009 Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Buy-in: $15,400
Legends of Poker
August 22-26, 2009, Bicycle Casino, Los Angeles, CA
Buy-in: $10,000
Borgata Poker Open
September 19-24, 2009, Borgata Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ
Buy-in: To be determined
Festa al Lago
October 20-26, 2009, Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Buy-in: $15,400
Foxwoods World Poker Finals
November 5-10, 2009, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, CT
Buy-in: $10,000
Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic
December 13-19, 2009, Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Buy-in: $15,400
Southern Poker Championship
January 24-27, 2010: Beau Rivage, Biloxi, MS
Buy-in: $10,000
L.A. Poker Classic
February 20-25, 2010, Commerce Casino, Los Angeles, CA
Buy-in: $10,000
WPT Celebrity Invitational (at L.A. Poker Classic)
February 27 - March 1, 2010: Commerce Casino, Los Angeles, CA
Invitation-Only Event
Bay 101 Shooting Star
March 8-12, 2010, Bay 101, San Jose, CA
Buy-in: $10,000
Hollywood Poker Open
March 20-24, 2010: Hollywood Casino, Lawrenceburg, IN
Buy-in: $10,000
WPT Championship
April 17-24, 2010 Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Buy-in: $25,500
Greg Mueller Wins Second 2009 WSOP Bracelet
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Greg Mueller winner Event #50 $1,500 Limit Hold'Em Shootout
Greg Mueller became the fourth player in this year's WSOP to win two events and take down two gold bracelets. Heads up he faced another 2009 player going for double gold, Marc Naalden. In the end it was the more experienced Muelller that finally held all the chips and scored the repeat. Greg Mueller also received $194,854 in cash to add to his earlier win in 2009 WSOP Event #33.
Marc Naalden received takes home $120,614 as runner-up. Millie Shiu hit the gate in third to collect $77,138 in cash.The event attracted a field of 572 runners including many of poker's biggest names. The top 64 finishers walked away with cash.
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Marc Naalden fell one place short
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Millie Shiu becomes one of the few women to make a WSOP final table
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Greg Mueller and friends celebrate his double at the 2009 WSOP
Tilt Hangover
Some people say that they go on tilt after playing bad. They say that just knowing that they made a mistake is enough to send them over the edge. I’m from a totally different way of thinking. I know I’m not a perfect poker player, and that mistakes are inevitable. I accept that, and do my best not to make mistakes. However, when mistakes happen I am grateful that I’m able to pick up on them and learn to (hopefully) never make the mistake again. The thing that really irritates me is when I’ve made the right moves, the right read, have the player right where I want him, and inevitably they catch up and take my chips. Since I like to think that poker is a game of skill, it truly puts me on tilt when I play well and still lose. At least when I play bad and lose, I’ve invested money into my poker education.
The other day I went to play one of the DeepStack Tournaments at the Venetian in Las Vegas. I went into it thinking if I busted out it was no big deal and I would just go play cash game. Since the cash games were so juicy looking I knew I could easily get my buy in back if I busted and still make a profit for the day. I had nothing to lose…or so I thought.
The tournament started off kind of slow. I won a few small pots and lost a few small pots. I was able to limp into a five way pot when blinds were 75/150. I had 5h 3h, and the flop came out 5d 2d 3c. It was checked to me and I led out for 600. The big blind called and everyone else folded. The turn brought a 9d. He checked to me, and I bet 1100 . He looked down at his cards and made the call. I was pretty sure at this point that he probably had a flush. The river came a fourth diamond. He shot me a look and then checked. It seemed as though he didn’t like that fourth diamond hitting the river, and with no diamond in my hand I knew the only way I could win was to bet. If he hit the flush on the turn, he probably had low diamonds in his hand. It was highly likely that I could get him off his hand with a decent size bet. I assumed that a bet of 1850 would be enough to get him off his hand. After some pondering he decided to call and turned over 2c 7d. “Wow,†is all I could say as I sent my cards to the muck.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about the hand. One, I made a good read on my opponent knowing that he was weak, but I couldn’t figure out how he could make the call there. It was the first time I have been so frazzled in a tournament that I literally had to walk away for a few hands to cool off. After clearing my head, I returned ready to play again.
The next few rounds were up and down. I lost a few races with the short stacks on my table, but was able to chip up to above average. Then I got moved to another table with Tommy Vu who had the chip lead on the table. Seat two was a guy in his late twenties or so, who was boasting to the table about his recent cash in a WSOP event. This guy quite obviously had an ego, and this irritated me right away.
The blinds were 400/800, and I looked down at pocket kings in the highjack. Seat two raised to 2200 in early position. I made it 6300 to go, and he called. It was heads up, and the flop came 9 6 8 rainbow. He grabbed a stack of chips and bet, and I immediately moved all in for 15k. I was sure that I was ahead at the time, and wasn’t worried about a set or a straight. He called and turned over Ad 7d. Instead of him hitting an ace or his open ender, he went runner runner diamonds to knock me out. This was a real blow to me because I had been playing well all day with minimal mistakes, and had I won the hand I would have had the chip lead at the table, and in contention for the chip lead of the tournament.
So my fun in the tournament was over, and I should have been putting my name on the list to play cash game and make some money for the day. Instead, I walked over a slot machine, pulled out a hundred dollar bill, and proceeded to take my frustrations out on the max bet button. Before I knew it, that hundred was gone and I was off to the next machine. I realize now, that there was no amount of money short of hitting $100,000 or more that could have satisfied me. It took five machines and five hundred dollars to convince myself that my day of fun and excitement was over. I went home with the worst tilt hangover I’ve ever experienced.
Brandon Cantu Takes WSOP Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-Better
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Brandon Cantu winner Event #48 $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-Better
Brandon Cantu takes a gold bracelet for his playing abilities in Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-Better plus a nice chunk of change, $228,867.On Day 1 Brandon was just 1 in 762 hopefuls taking the felt at the 2009 World Series of Poker;r and, this was no pushover crowd. Many of the poker biggest pros and Omaha specialists were in the mix.
When the final two players met heads-up across the final table it was Brandon Cantu facing seasoned professional Lee Watkinson for the gold. In the initial going it appeared that Cantu was on the short list to leave the building, actually falling behind to the tune of 6 - 1. He then staged one of the classic WSOP comebacks and took down his first bracelet of 2009 giving him a total of two.
Lee Watkinson just missed taking the match and probably will spend some private time contemplating how very close he came before the cards turned against him. While he's sulking he can enjoy the benefits of the $141,873 collected for second. Jocqmin Mathieu completed the top three for $92,946 in cash.
The event pulled in 762 Omana fanatics and built another WSOP million dollar prize pool, $1,040,130 to be exact, paid out to the last 72 lucky players.
Bahador Ahmadi Wins 2009 WSOP Mixed Hold’Em Event
photo by jonathan • www.Jonathanboncek.com
Bahador Ahmadi Winner 2009 WSOP Event #47 $2,500 Mixed Hold'Em
Bahador Ahmadi claimed the 47th gold bracelet awarded at the 2009 World Series of Poker at the Rio Resort in Las Vegas. Playing the same game that got him to the final table proved to be good enough for the win. Ahmadi took advantage of the ultra-aggresive play style of his heads-up opponent, John Guiness, to call when he was in the lead and lay down when he wasn't. The careful play resulted in Ahmadi taking most of McGuiness' chips during the Limit session and then easily calling the all-in bet of McGuiness on the first hand of No-Limit for the win.
Bahador Ahmadi now has an additional $278,104 to add to his play bank and a WSOP bracelet to impress friends and family. John McGuiness left the building with $172,227 in cash for his piece of work. Third place and $112,967 in cash was claimed by Ylon Schwartz after his luck ran out and he hit the rail.
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Ylon Schwartz collected the $112,967 show money
Derek Raymond Latest WSOP Champion Wins Event #46
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Derek Raymond wins 2009 WSOP Event #46 $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-Better
Georgetown University graduate, Derek Raymond, won $229,192 in cash and collected a gold WSOP bracelet for his three days of work at the 2009 World Series of Poker. In the stands was a pack of his friends and his father to witness the accomplishment. Derek Raymond held on to his cool demeanor and steady play after going heads-up with veteran Las Vegas poker pro and Omaha specialist, Mark Tenner. The match could have gone either way as the two juggled the chip lead between them; but, it was Raymond that caught the eye of Lady Luck and received the right cards at the right time.
Mark Tenner had a nice $141,647 payday for his time at the table. Scott Bohlman received $93,199 for third. The event began with 424 players racing for a piece of the $975,200 prize pool. Those players collecting some of that money had too finish 45th or better.
When I asked Derek's father about his son's achievement he proudly replied, "I didn't know he majored in poker."
Mark Tenner came so very close to grabbing the WSOP gold in $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-Better
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Derek Raymond and friends wait for the final flop of the event
John Kabbaj World Champion Pot Limit Hold’Em Player
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John Kabbaj wins 2009 WSOP Event #45 $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Hold'Em
It all came down to the final hand at last night's event #45 final table and what a hand it was. John Kabbaj held pocket Aces while his heads-up opponent, poker veteran Kirill Gerasimov, had pocket Kings. Both players couldn't get the chips into the pot fast enough with Kirill being covered by John. When the dealing was done and the river card was in its final resting place the winner and new Pot Limit Hold'Em World Champion was John Kabbaj.
Kabbaj collected $633,335 and the all important bracelet, his first. Kirill Gerasimov picked up $391,369 for the thew bad beat that knocked him out in second place. Eric 'basebaldy' Baldwin hit the rail in third and left with $183,638 in his pockets.
The event attracted a field of 275 players and paid the top 27.
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Kirill Gerasimov is consoled by a friend moments after losing the final hand
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
The final board
My Trip To The WSOP
After much anticipation, I finally made my way down to the 2009 World Series of Poker last week from Thursday, June 18th to Monday, June 22nd, as I have done for the past four years or so as a way of celebrating my birthday. I’ve been lucky enough to attend the WSOP during the huge expansion years where the attendance has jumped up to unprecedented heights, and although last year was a bit of a let down overall, the feeling around the 2009 Series was that it could once again put the WSOP back on an upward swing in terms of attendance and prestige.
I once again elected to stay at the Rio Hotel, the current home of the WSOP, as it is easily the best way to fully enjoy the event, as you can just walk downstairs from your room at any time and check out an event, play in a satellite or two, and just watch the masters at work.
After a perfect Italian meal at Café Martorano inside the Rio, I headed down to the main WSOP floor to check out the satellite action. I don’t know exactly why I was looking to play in a satellite event since I had zero plans or intentions to actually participate in a large buy-in tournament, but I guess the single tournament format of the satellites appealed to the online SnG player inside me.
I ended up buying into a $125 satellite, with 1st place (all satellites were winner take all) awarding $120 in cash and $1,000 in tournament chips, which can be applied to a normal WSOP tournament. I wasn’t surprised when I sat down at my table and noticed that most of the other players were of the standard tourist fair with limited poker knowledge and almost no single-table tournament experience.
I decided to play the satellite much like I would any of my usual online SnG tournaments, sticking to a fairly tight strategy to begin with and then amping up the aggression and “steal†mentality as the blinds went up. Well, as it turned out I didn’t need to put too much effort into my strategy, as on the third hand I received pocket 8’s in early position and decided to just limp to try and flop big. Three other players limp in behind me and the flop came K-J-8 with two diamonds. I made a pot sized bet and was immediately raised by the player to my left, which was then followed by a call by the player to his right. Figuring I was up against A-K and maybe a diamond draw, I pushed all-in and to my surprise was called by both players.
My first opponent turned over K-J for two pair and the other turned over A-6 of diamonds for the flush draw. With two cards to come I had to dodge a king, jack and any diamond and was lucky enough do so, eliminating both players and tripling myself up very early in the match. From that point on I was able to pick off a number of pots, as simple tournament strategies including continuation bets and betting in position were able to work very effectively against my relatively weak table. Considering that there was never a check-raise throughout that entire satellite, it became very obvious that everyone was going to check a weak hand and fold to a bet.
Overall I ended chipping my stack up comfortably by stealing pots and blinds and didn’t have to show my hand more than twice throughout the entire game, just when I tripled up and then again when I knocked out the 8th player from the table with my pocket 4’s against his Q-10. Once it got to heads up the other player and I decided to make a deal, which ended up resulting in us each taking home $60 in cash and a single $500 tournament chip, which I then quickly sold for $400 on my way out the door.
One satellite down, and I have more than $300 in profit to show for my efforts. Not a bad way to start my WSOP weekend!
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WSOP Info is your source to online poker news and information regarding the WSOP 2008. The World Series Of Poker is the largest Poker event in the world.
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