Chris Ferguson - Do The Math

With three finals in four years, and now a first-place finish, Chris Ferguson is the undisputed king of the Heads-Up Championship. Read more

Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth - WPT Out Of The Woods

Phil Ivey & Phil Hellmuth both battled their WPT “curse” in L.A., but only one could win the title.

FOR YEARS, THE MEDIA HAS INSISTED UPON calling Phil Ivey “the Tiger Woods of Poker.” But a close examination of their respective careers diminishes the strength of this comparison. Woods is best known for the clutch work he does on Sundays—his record when he’s had at least a share of the lead entering the final day of a PGA Tour event is an amazing 42-3—while Ivey has been far less successful closing the deal.

Ivey’s final-day failures have been particularly evident in World Poker Tour events. At the start of 2008, he’d made seven WPT final tables in his career but failed to win a single one. The last time Ivey had the lead entering the final table of a WPT event—last year’s Mirage Poker Showdown—he got knocked out in fifth place. After five years without a victory on the World Poker Tour, Ivey has lately begun to acknowledge this black mark on his resume, calling it “the Curse of the WPT.”

It appeared Ivey would be getting another chance to rectify this situation after the money bubble popped on the third day of this year’s L.A. Poker Classic, for here is another interesting statistic that has helped define his career: Whenever he has cashed in a WPT event, he has gone on to make the final table.

His play at the start of Day Four only increased the likelihood that he would still be around on the final day of the tournament. After doubling up against Scott Montgomery, a 26-year-old former English teacher from Perth, Ontario, Ivey took sole possession of the chip lead, and just a few hands later he became the first player to amass $1-million in chips. At that point it became almost a foregone conclusion that he would be among the final six players, and the focus shifted to his competition: Who would be joining him at the final table?

As it turned out, the most likely candidate had experienced nearly the same amount of heartache on the World Poker Tour as Ivey—for all his success at the World Series of Poker, Phil Hellmuth has never won a WPT tournament.

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“It is enormously frustrating not to have won one,” he said, “because I’ve been down there so many times. When the WPT first started, in the first 13 tournaments, I made it down to the final 15 like six times.” (It was actually five times in the final 15, plus a sixth time in the top 20, but the point is well taken.)

The way Hellmuth was playing on the fourth day of the tournament, it appeared his dubious streak of WPT futility would be ending soon. He reached an even million in chips after busting Neil Ho in 31st place and would finish the day at $1,399,000, just $144,000 behind the chip leader, Ivey.

Hellmuth continued delivering knockout punches on Day Five—on just the second hand of the day he eliminated David Singer in 18th place—but with 15 players left, his chip stack suffered a major blow in a hand against Montgomery when the Canadian caught a two-outer on the river to double up, prompting Hellmuth to pull one of his famed hissy fits. He fled the table as if it were on fire, complaining about his opponent’s poor play and his own bad luck.

While he may have appeared to be tilting, Hellmuth remained composed enough to make one of the ballsiest calls you’re ever going to see. With 11 players left, he limped in from the small blind, and Blair Hinkle moved all in for his last $410,000 from the big blind. Most players would have folded Q-2 in this spot, but Hellmuth had just watched Hinkle put in a third raise pre-flop with J-9 of hearts against Ivey (who had called and won the hand with pocket kings) and suspected he had the best hand.

“I think I might have you beat,” he said. “I know I should fold, but my gut is telling me I’m right.”

Hellmuth went his gut, and his read was dead-on. Hinkle could only show 9-7 of hearts, and Hellmuth’s queen-high was good enough to take the pot and eliminate his opponent.

When the last 10 players in the tournament were moved to the same table, Hellmuth was the chip leader with $3,885,000 and Ivey was in second with $1,995,000, and it seemed only a matter of time before these two heavyweights would clash.

***
With seven players left on the so-called “TV bubble”—the next player eliminated wouldn’t be making it onto television—the two Phils proceeded to get into a series of confrontations that left one of them stunned and reeling.

In their first battle, Ivey raised under the gun to $190,000, and Hellmuth called from the big blind with two black nines—the very same hand he’d held when he won the World Championship in 1989.

The flop came Q-10-2 with two spades. Ivey bet $250,000, and Hellmuth called before checking in the dark.

The turn card was the ten of diamonds, and Ivey checked as well.

After the king of hearts fell on the river, Ivey bet $500,000, prompting Hellmuth to smack his hands together and cry, “Come on, man. What is this B.S.?”

Hellmuth eventually called, and Ivey casually flipped over his pocket aces, which won the hand and gave him the chip lead with $2.9-million.

Shrugging off the loss, Hellmuth continued to play aggressively. Three orbits later, he opened for $250,000 on the button with Q-10 of clubs, and Charles “Woody” Moore, a retired oil man from Dallas, Texas, moved all in for $590,000 more. Fishing for information, Hellmuth asked Moore what he had. Moore responded that he had a big pair, prompting the tournament director, Cheri Dokken, to intervene.

“You can’t say what you really have,” she warned him.
“Phil tried to trick me,” Moore complained.

“I didn’t try to trick you, Woody. C’mon, you know that.”

“If you’re telling the truth,” Dokken told Moore, “we’re going to have to give you a penalty.”

Moore got off with only a slap on the wrist, but Hellmuth believed he’d been telling the truth.

“I decided to lay my hand down, but I wish I would have called. If I’d made the call and hit a queen and won the hand, I would have had over $5-million in chips. Instead, the very next hand I picked up A-K of hearts and I’m like, This is sweet, man! I just overbet with the Q-10 clubs. I’m probably going to bust somebody.”

Hellmuth opened for $240,000, and Ivey re-raised him $400,000 more. Hellmuth hardly glanced at his opponent before moving all in.
“The problem was the timing of it,” he said. “I was like, Yeah, I get this free $640,000 from Ivey. He can’t call me unless he’s got aces or kings. But he insta-called and showed aces, and I was like, You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Ivey’s aces won him a monster pot and pushed his chip stack to$5.6-million. Hellmuth’s plummeted all the way down to $1.2-million, but he wouldn’t give up. He would go on to bust Wei Kai Chang in seventh place to earn some much needed chips heading into the final day.

“The fact is I ended the day with $2.3-million. I still could have easily won it. You just never give up in these things.”
***
At the start of the final table, Ivey held the chip lead with $4.1-million while Hellmuth was in third with $2.38-million. You would think having a player as dangerous as Hellmuth sitting at the table with him would have concerned Ivey, at least a little, but he didn’t see it that way. In fact, he actually thought Hellmuth’s presence worked to his advantage. In an interview with Kimberly Lansing on WorldPokerTour.com, Ivey called Hellmuth his “lucky charm” because whenever they’d made the same final table in the past—in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the 2000 WSOP and the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the 2005 WSOP—Ivey had gone on to win the tournament.

When Hellmuth was asked about Ivey’s apparent command over him, he scoffed at the idea that those two performances proved Ivey was a better player than him. “He was very lucky in the Pot-Limit Omaha [event in 2000] when he won it because he put his money in in a really bad spot against the guy from Germany [Markus Golser of Salzburg, Austria] when we were four-handed. He got his money in there in a real bad spot all in, and he hit his ace or whatever it was on the flop.

“I don’t think he plays No-Limit Hold ’Em as good as I do,” Hellmuth went on to say. “He might be better at every other game, but not when it comes to No-Limit Hold ’Em tournaments.”

Hellmuth’s words hint at a rivalry between them, but Ivey dismissed that notion in his interview with Lansing. “We’re two different types of poker players. He’s a tournament poker player mostly, and I’m more of a cash poker player who plays tournaments.”

While the audience packed into a walled-off section of the Commerce Casino was hoping to see these two players go after each other, it would be Woody Moore who would tangle with Ivey on the very first hand of the day. After Ivey raised to $240,000 from the small blind, Moore responded by moving all in from the big blind for $1.5-million. Ivey spent nearly five minutes debating what to do before he called. It was a mistake. Moore had A-K, which had Ivey’s A-9 dominated.

“That was a bad call,” Hellmuth said afterward. “He called a million more, but he did have four million. Still, I hated that call. He should have laid that hand down.”

After losing the hand, Ivey dropped all the way down to $2.6-million while Moore took over the chip lead with more that $3-million. The door was now open for Hellmuth to make a charge, but he would suffer his own ill-timed misfortune 10 hands later.

In a battle of the blinds, Nam Le, the only player at the final table who owned a WPT title—he won the 2006 Bay 101 Shooting Stars tournament—bet $140,000 from the small blind after the flop came J-6-3. Hellmuth called, and a king fell on the turn. Le bet $350,000, and Hellmuth moved all in. Le called and exposed K-3 while Hellmuth could only show J-8. “I can’t believe you caught a king,” he groaned.

Down but not out, Hellmuth would hang on for several more rounds before he moved all in preflop with A-9. Moore called with A-Q, which had Hellmuth beat from start to finish. The $229,820 that Hellmuth earned for his sixth-place finish pushed him over the $10-million mark in career tournament winnings, making him only the third player in poker history to do so.

With “The Poker Brat” on the sidelines, Ivey’s presence at the table grew increasingly pronounced. Two hands after Le eliminated Montgomery in fifth place, Ivey raised under the gun to $300,000, and Le called from the big blind.

The flop came A-7-7. Le checked, Ivey bet $400,000, and Le called.
The turn card was the six of hearts, and both players checked.

The ten of clubs fell on the river. Le checked, Ivey bet $800,000, and Le called. Ivey flipped over 9-8, giving him a ten-high straight and a pot worth $3.14-million.

On the very next hand, Quinn Do, a 32-year-old restaurateur from Seattle best known for winning a gold bracelet in the $2,500 Limit Hold ’Em event at the 2005 WSOP, raised to $350,000 from the button, and Ivey called from the big blind.

The flop came K-9-4, and both players checked.

The turn card was the ace of clubs, and, once again, both players checked.

After the eight of hearts fell on the river, Ivey bet $500,000, and Do called. Ivey showed A-8, giving him two pair, a pot worth $1.84-million, and the chip lead.

With two big stacks (Ivey and Do) squared off against two short ones (Moore and Le), the table lapsed into a balanced state of equilibrium for more than two hours until Le suddenly shifted into a higher gear. Making two all-in moves before the flop in a row won him the much needed blinds and antes, and both times he showed his opponents his cards, the first time pocket fives, the second A-6.

On the very next hand, Le opened for $420,000 from the small blind. Sitting in the big blind, Ivey must have thought Le was making another move with mediocre cards and came over the top of him with pocket threes. This time, however, Le had a big hand, pocket aces, and he quickly called. Le’s boisterous cheering section celebrated wildly until the three of diamonds fell on the turn, silencing them. That card gave Ivey an improbable set and eliminated Le in fourth place.

Perhaps sensing that Ivey could not be stopped, Woody Moore tried to bluff him on the next hand by moving all in with an open-ended straight draw, but Ivey had made top two pair with 8-7, called, and won the hand.

Thanks to the chips he’d taken off Le and Moore, Ivey entered heads-up play against Quinn Do with a 4-to-1 advantage. Their matchup didn’t figure to last very long, and it didn’t.

On just the second hand between them, Ivey raised to $560,000 before the flop, and Do called.

The flop came A-8-6, all spades. Ivey bet $700,000, and Do called.

When the ace of clubs fell on the turn, Ivey moved all in.

After four minutes spent mulling his options, Do finally called with 9-8. He had two pair, but Ivey had made a full house with A-8.

Do was drawing dead. The four of clubs on the river meant nothing.

Ivey celebrated in his usual understated fashion with a simple smile, although no one would have begrudged him if he’d pumped his fist a la Tiger Woods. It was a historic win, one that makes the nickname the media tagged him with so long ago seem much more appropriate. The $1,596,100 he earned for coming in first pushed his career tournament winnings to $8,742,652. More importantly, he’d finally ended his drought on the WPT.

One of the players most vocal in his praise for Ivey’s play was the one who now bears the full weight of that Curse. “You have to give Ivey credit,” said Hellmuth. “He played great poker. I saw him make some mistakes, but so what? He made less mistakes than the other players down there. I thought he played beautifully.”

Storms Reback is a freelance writer from Austin, Texas, who co-wrote All In: The (Almost) Entirely True History Of The World Series Of Poker and collaborated with Sam Farha on Farha On Omaha.

Phil’s Follow-Up
The day after his historic win at the L.A. Poker Classic, Ivey took a seat across the table from Alisha Kunze, an online qualifier from Greensburg, Indiana, at the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. He dispatched Kunze about as effortlessly as he had Quinn Do, then proceeded to defeat Johnny Chan, J.C. Tran, and Gus Hansen before falling to eventual champion Chris Ferguson in the semifinals. In just eight days, Ivey won $1,721,100 and earned nearly as much face time on national television as Barack Obama had during that same span.
Just another week in the life of a professional poker player …

LAPC Payouts
1. Phil Ivey $1,596,100
2. Quinn Do $909,400
3. Charles Moore $625,630
4. Nam Le $411,770
5. Scott Montgomery $296,860
6. Phil Hellmuth $229,480

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Serinda Swan - Pokers Hottest Babe

An up-close look at Serinda Swan, a knockout among poker spokesmodels.

WHEN SERINDA SWAN’S THEN-BOYFRIEND opened up an account with Absolute Poker in 2006, and Serinda started playing alongside him and getting hooked on Texas Hold ’Em, she had no idea how perfect her timing was. Just a couple of months later, Absolute began auditioning for a spokesmodel, and Serinda had a leg up on the competition because she actually knew a thing or two about online poker.

“At the audition, they were putting in some poker terminology to test people, like ‘You can satellite in for only two dollars’,” she recalled. “And I remember sitting out in the hallway and listening to a couple of girls being like, ‘I don’t get it, why do we need satellites?’ Honestly, that’s a very common thing to say; if you don’t know about poker, the first thing you’re going to think about is the satellites in the sky. But still, I knew I had a huge advantage. My knowledge of poker gave me confidence. Whenever you go into a room of people who all know a certain subject and you’re pretending that you do, your confidence level will never be as high as it should.”

Serinda nailed the audition and became “the Absolute Poker girl,” adding that to a resume that also includes appearances in movies such as Loch Ness and TV series such as Exes And Ohs. She’s also since gone on to become a Guess jeans model—and a respectable poker player who has her very own $1/$2 No-Limit table every Sunday from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Eastern time at Absolute.

But before you try to take her money, maybe you should learn a little more about her …

How has your game advanced since getting the job with Absolute?
Well, on The Best Damn Poker Show, they showed all of my terrible hands. I was so upset, I got so many MySpace messages, saying, “At least you’re pretty, because you can’t play.” But in general, I’ve gotten my game up pretty well. There’s a difference between being able to play poker and being able to play poker very well. I can play poker. I’m learning the tricks. When I first started, my strategy was limited to “best hand wins,” and I’ve since learned about pot odds and continuation bets, things like that. So I’m starting to apply basic theory to my play.

Do you typically play cash games or tournaments?
I’m better at cash games. It’s instant gratification. When I win a pot, I win a pot, I can leave. I like that a little bit better. But I’m trying to work on my tournament game right now, but I’m not really aggressive with blinds, so I’ve had to learn how to not get blinded out and how to be more aggressive when the blinds go up. In cash games, you can take your time. You don’t have to play a bad hand just because the clock’s ticking.

Do you play live also?
I play online mostly, but I’m in Vegas a lot, so I do tend to play when I’m there. Also, there’s a good poker scene here in Vancouver. I get together with friends and have little home games. And there are a few good casinos near here too, so I take my stepmother, we take a couple hundred dollars down and just go play.

How long have you been modeling?
I started modeling when I was 14. I stayed on that route until I was 18, when I quit, I just kind of got out of the industry. I felt like it was a little too focused on looks and weight and all that fun stuff, so I just figured I should probably go through the next year or two of my life without a weight constraint on me. I decided I was just going to take some time off, and if in a year or so I still fit for modeling, after I found out how I’m naturally going to develop, then awesome. And if not, I’d go do something else. And during that time, I actually got into acting, and I’ve done a few movies and television shows. But lately, it’s taken a turn back to modeling, including signing on with Guess as one of their models. It’s an interesting dynamic right now; I’m trying to figure out what I want to do, whether it’s modeling or acting or hosting, or if I can combine all of those together.

You recently started blogging. How are you finding that to be?
It’s interesting. I’ve never blogged before, but Absolute Poker wanted me to. It’s fun, it’s a great way of just letting loose and talking about your life and letting people get an insight into what I’m doing and what’s going on. It’s just a way for people to get to know me a bit better.

Do you find blogging therapeutic?
Absolutely, you just can let go. A lot of the time, Absolute wants me to write about poker, but most people are coming on my blog just to read about my life and what’s going on; if you want a real poker blog, you’re going to go to Phil Hellmuth or Annie Duke or Mark Seif. You’re not going to go to someone who’s like, “So I was on a $1/$2 table last night, and my pot was $75 and I took it down.” Obviously it’s a little more exciting when it’s higher denominations. But I find it really therapeutic, I can get things off my chest.

What hobbies do you have outside of poker?
Well, I’m extremely active. I have a dog that I take hiking and on runs, and he’s got all his buddies that he goes and plays with. My life very much revolves around my dog, Buddha. But apart from that, I recently started pole dancing classes, which are unbelievable, it’s aerobic, I go to this great place here in Vancouver. You learn how to pole dance, it’s a great workout, but there’s no stripping involved. Guys are like, “Oh, really, how interesting,” thinking that I’m training to be a stripper. I’m like, “No, no, no, hold on.” It’s just a really fun, liberating way to work out, and sometimes I go for three hours, and you’re having so much fun you don’t even notice how hard you’re working out, and then you wake up the next morning and you can’t move!

What qualities do you look for in a man?
I love a funny guy, a guy who can make me laugh, who doesn’t take life too seriously, who is an intellectual—I’m all about the brains. And tall, dark, and handsome doesn’t hurt.

GET TO KNOW … SERINDA SWAN

Age: 23
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 125
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Pets: Buddha, a French bulldog
Favorite Poker Pros: Phil Hellmuth (“I’ve been working closely with him lately, and he’s such a great guy all-around”), Daniel Negreanu (“Because he’s Canadian like I am”), Phil Ivey (“I just think he’s an awesome player”)

5 Questions with Paul Wasicka

All In asks Poker Star Paul Wasicka 5 questions about poker.

1. When’s the last time you went on tilt at the poker table?
When I go on tilt, it’s mainly online. I don’t go on tilt live very easily. I really can’t even remember the last time that I’ve blown up at the table. But online, it happens on a daily basis. I think it’s probably because you’re in the privacy of your own home and there’s really no repercussions for blowing up, whereas if you’re at the table, you don’t want to be that guy that throws his cards and embarrasses himself.

2. You’re obviously a very good heads-up player. All modesty aside, if you and Jamie Gold had come up into heads-up play even in chips at the 2006 WSOP, do you believe you would have beaten him?
Yes. (laughs) It’s funny, I thought going into the final table that he would either go out very early or he would be a commanding chip leader when it got to heads-up, and I said in my interview at the time, and I stand by it, that given the structure of the tournament and my reads on Jamie, I really did feel that even if he had a 10-to-1 chip lead on me, that it wouldn’t matter. You know, he and I are friends, so I don’t want to talk too much trash, but I do feel like if we were to repeat the match given an even number of chips, I’d feel really confident.

3. Of all the famous poker pros you’ve met since becoming famous yourself, who’s the most different in person from how you thought he or she was on TV?
I would probably say Phil Hellmuth. Sometimes he gets kind of a bad rap from his antics at the table, and his personality can come off as whiny and arrogant and all that—and he definitely is whiny and arrogant—but I think that he really is a good guy. He has a good heart, and he and I have become friends, and I definitely respect him not only as a player but as a person too.

4. Who would you say is the best player that the public hasn’t heard of yet?
That’s a good question. There’s a lot of good answers. And there are degrees of public knowledge, because someone like J.C. Alvarado or Jared Hamby, phenomenal players, a lot of the poker world know them, but I don’t know if Joe Schmoe at home knows them. There are a lot of guys like that. Then there are complete unknowns, like my friend Thomas Fuller. We basically learned the game together, and we bounce ideas off of each other, and we’re almost always on the same page, so I think I’d say he’s the best player out there that people have never heard of.

5. Which would you rather do: Finish second in the Main Event again for maybe $4-million or $5-million, or win your first bracelet in some other event for about $500,000?
Money talks. Look, winning a bracelet would be amazing, but … how about winning my first bracelet in the Main Event? Can that be my answer?

The Freewheeling Lee Watkinson

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Bodog Josh Arieh - Seize The Squeeze

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Cover: Pokers Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown - Paired Up

Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown, combining poker and romance on the tournament trail.

LOS ANGELES IS, NOTORIOUSLY, A CITY OF BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. Which is why the photo shoot barely registers a ripple, even among the tourists who have flocked to the Santa Monica pier.

He’s ruggedly handsome, his brown hair cut short, tousled, and gelled in a style that wouldn’t look out of place on Jude Law. His form-fitting shirt accentuates a linebacker’s body that could probably snap Jude Law in two. She has long blonde hair, strikingly pretty features, and the kind of enormous eyelashes that suck you in and don’t let go. Her accessories are Prada and Dolce, and she handles her spiked heels like a pro, despite the dangers posed by the Pier’s rickety planks. They could be fashion models or soap stars.

Except that most fashion models and soap stars can’t calculate pot odds on the fly and change gears three times in 20 minutes just before the bubble bursts. Or hold their own among the world’s best poker players because, well, they are among the world’s best poker players. But Chad Brown and Vanessa Rousso aren’t really like anyone else, which might just be what drew them to each other.
***
Growing up in the Bronx, Chad Brown knew he had the looks to become an actor. He also knew that if he wanted to do something other than emceeing swimsuit pageants and cabarets, he was going to have to try his hand in Los Angeles. In 1990, he packed up and moved across the country, hoping to find work as a bartender a couple of nights a week, leaving his days free to pursue his big break.

“I didn’t realize that there were legalized poker casinos [in L.A.],” said Brown. “I was already, for fun, playing in Italian cafes in the Bronx with my friends.” By “fun,” Brown means impoverishing his opponents: “You realize after a couple of years, hey, I win most of the time and everyone always makes fun—‘Aw, Chad’s here, gonna be another winning night.’ You know, giving me shit.”

Brown didn’t exactly tear up the tables in L.A., but he ground out enough to keep him afloat while grinding through countless auditions. In 1993, his good looks and experience hosting pageants helped him to land his first major role—Ahmad Rashad’s co-host on a new gambling-themed game show called Caesar’s Challenge. “All the guys were great-looking guys, well-built,” recalled Brown, “but I had emcee experience.” Dressed as a Roman Centurion, Brown’s duties were more or less limited to introducing the show and turning letters with a sword. “I was sort of the male Vanna White.”

The show didn’t last, but it provided him the experience and recognition he needed to pursue larger roles. During a pivotal two-week period in 1995, he read for the producers of a new Kevin Pollack sitcom and was one of three finalists for a major role in a Carl Reiner movie. The opportunities “were like making the final table,” except that “winning was the only thing that guaranteed you major success … Either one of those things, my future would have been different.”

What made these particular two weeks so pivotal was a promise he’d made to his best friend Nick, then the chief operating officer of a fledgling medical supply company in Florida. Nick wanted Brown to join his company as the vice president of sales. It was a far cry from his Hollywood dreams, but Brown was and remains a committed realist. “I love acting … but either you’re Tom Cruise and you’re making $20-million a movie or you’re a working actor that struggles from job to job. It’s gambling.”

Brown pledged to Nick that if he hadn’t found full-time work as an actor by the summer of ’95, he’d take the sales job. Neither the sitcom nor the movie panned out, leading Brown to make an emotional visit to his manager’s office, where he announced his sabbatical from acting. He joined Nick in Florida.

Four years later, Brown was back in L.A., the company having gone belly up due, in Brown’s opinion, to the misguidance of the chief executive officer. He quickly discovered that two things had changed during his absence: He was no longer a “name” and would have to resume his acting career from square one; and poker had become much, much bigger.

“I was playing cash games, doing well. I was still sort of pursuing acting, but not with the same enthusiasm. And I was psychologically preparing myself to be content. I could have a good life playing poker.” When Chris Moneymaker won the World Series in 2003, Brown sensed just how big the game was about to become and devoted himself to tournament play. A year later, he found himself at the final table of the WSOP’s first televised Stud event, ultimately finishing second to Ted Forrest. And in a nifty bit of circular irony, a TV producer who happened to see the event decided that Brown would be the perfect host for a new show, The Ultimate Poker Challenge. “So indirectly,” observed Brown, “I got my first big job in front of the camera because of poker.”
***
While Brown was flipping letters in a glorified toga, Vanessa Rousso was getting ready to enter high school in Florida. It was a rare period of inertia for a girl who’d lived in 20 different cities by the time she was 18, the hand dealt to the daughter of a French father and an American mom who loved to travel. She graduated at the top of her class and accepted a full ride to Duke, where she studied economics. One of her professors used poker as a tool for teaching game theory. Rousso, her interest piqued, started using game theory as a tool for crushing poker, at least the low-limit games she found online.

Here’s the thing about Rousso: Her internal clock is faster than yours. “I’m all about efficiency,” she sputtered, fueled by one of the Monster energy drinks that help keep her going. “It’s something that marks my progression in life. I really don’t like to waste time.” With the help of AP credits, she graduated college in just 21/2 years. Duke offered her admission and a partial scholarship to their law school, but she opted for a full ride at the University of Miami. (“It’s a freeroll,” she said. “I’m all about the freeroll!”)

Her decision to return to Florida wasn’t purely financial. She also considered the proximity to both the Hard Rock Seminole Casino and a busy international airport servicing the cities that hosted major poker tournaments. She was still a year away from her 21st birthday, but Rousso, dreaming of the circuit, wanted to hit the ground running. Actually, hit the air flying—upon turning 21, she applied for a pilot’s license.

“We’d fly on a Cessna or whatever from Florida to the WSOP Circuits that were nearby. Where we could make a little flight over, get some hours in on the plane, and then go play a tournament.” Efficient? “Very efficient! Everything has a purpose.”

During one such jaunt to New Orleans, she made the final table of a $200 buy-in, earning $6,500 and her first legitimate bankroll. Several subsequent cashes convinced her that she could she could compete on the Circuit. In early-2006, a vision began to take shape in her mind.

“I basically get this hare-brained idea to play the World Poker Tour $25K main event,” she recalled. “Hare-brained,” because her earnings to date barely exceeded the entry fee.
“So being the businessperson that I am, I sell shares of myself to friends and family, like a thousand dollars a share.”

Rousso turned out to be a pretty good investment, finishing seventh and earning more than a quarter-million dollars against one of the most competitive fields in tournament history. Just 23, she’d captured the attention of the poker world, including the guy who finished ninth: Chad Brown.
***
“There were five tables left,” recalled Brown. “We were already in the money … and so I’m sitting at this table and this pretty young blonde girl comes and sits down in Seat One. I’m like, Who is this girl? She’s a pretty girl, but wait a second? Who is this girl in the $25K with only five tables left?

“And the first thing she does is she acts like she’s some ditzy blonde. She’s like, ‘Oh, do I have to post?’ That was the first sign to me that she’s trying to act like she’s some ditzy blonde … That put the radar up for me to be careful not to underestimate her. But at the same time, I was fascinated by her and also attracted to her and wanted to get to know her.”

Like any good poker player, Brown looked for an edge. “I saw that when she took a couple of beats … she lost her cool a little bit.”
“To put it nicely,” interrupted Rousso.

During a break, Brown approached her, offering to help her with her composure. Maybe over dinner.

It’s not that Rousso wasn’t interested; she was just a little skeptical. “Yeah, right, you can help me with that.”

Brown’s next play didn’t seem to help his case—with no cell phone or scrap of paper to exchange digits, he suggested that she call his room after the tournament.

“If you think that I would ever call some guy’s room,” Rousso remembered thinking, “that I’m that girl, who, you couldn’t get my number because you didn’t have your phone on you? Yeah right. Don’t hold your breath for that … My mom didn’t raise me like that,” she laughed.

“So I didn’t see her afterward,” said Brown, who was the first player to be eliminated from the final table. “We didn’t cross paths again and she did not call the room. So I was like, eh, blow off, no big deal.”

“No big deal,” snorted Rousso.

“Not meant to be,” he continued. “No big deal, wasn’t meant to be. So I run into her like a month and half later, just by coincidence, at the airport.”

“He was doing a photo shoot,” said Rousso, “like a 20 sexiest poker players magazine thing … and he came up to me and he was like, ‘Do you want to be a part of the shoot?’ He was like, all business.” They finally exchanged phone numbers. A month later, Brown called to schedule the shoot. “I was still feeling kind of awkward,” she remembered. “I didn’t want him to think I’d blown him off. So I was like, ‘Don’t I owe you a raincheck or something?’”

It suddenly dawned on Brown that she might be interested after all. During that summer’s World Series, they finally went on their first date. When the Series ended, they decided to travel together to the next stop on the tournament trail. And the next …

They were still traveling together in December 2007, when Brown proposed to her over dinner. They plan to wed this October.
***
When your job keeps you on the road 24/7, as today’s tournament poker does, relationships are not easily forged. “You’re traveling so much that you’d have to be extremely lucky,” observed Brown, “because distance just doesn’t make a relationship grow.” Both feel fortunate to have found a partner in the same line of work.

That’s not to say that poker romance is without its own unique pitfalls. For one thing, there’s the potential of having to compete against your partner in an activity so rooted in individual success. “Early on in our relationship,” recalled Rousso, “we had to acknowledge the possibility that we’d end up at the same table.” Both considered the idea of soft-playing one another to be unethical—not to mention antithetical to their competitive instincts. “We basically have an agreement that in the rare occasions we’re at the same table,” said Brown, “the one thing that we don’t do to each other is to trap … That can, uh, ruin the romance.”

To date, the issue’s been more philosophical than practical—in their two years of dating, they’ve only been seated at the same table twice, something they attribute to what they jokingly call the “Day Two Curse.”

“Basically every tournament,” said Rousso, “one of us makes Day Two, but we never make a Day Two together. It’s always funny. If one of us builds a big chip stack early in the tournament, we’re like, uh oh, it must mean [the other is] going to be out before the day ends.”

Then there’s the issue of separating the work life from the home: “When we start talking poker, we’ll start disagreeing,” said Rousso. “At the end of the day, there’s no right answer. It could lead to an endless debate. We have a rule where basically if you bring up a poker hand, then the other person can talk about it or have an opinion … [We’ll] see what we can learn from our discussion, and move on.”

What’s interesting about these discussions is that the two approach the game with very different styles.

“I’m a lot more aggressive than he is,” observed Rousso. “You’ll see my chip stack going big-small-big-small-big-small-big. Whereas his will slow-climb.”

“I think I change gears more than she does,” countered Brown. “She knows how to change gears very well, but I think I change more. And I think I adapt to the climate of the table.”

“I’m a lot more mathematically, game-theoretically oriented,” she said. “He’s a lot more player-oriented, plays his opponent … I get very emotional. He is the most stable guy you ever met. With poker, that’s an awesome skill set to have.”

He said: “I think that my experience will pick up how other players are playing quicker than she will. She might disagree with me, but that’s not anything lacking in her skill, it’s just experience. You can’t buy experience, you have to experience it.”

All of which raises a frightening conclusion. Many couples, once married, are accused of adopting one another’s habits and manners of speech. What if Brown and Rousso wind up adopting one another’s skills at the table, combining aggression and math-savvy with emotional balance and player-reading skills? Could anyone stop such a poker juggernaut?

“I’m sure that we’ll, like, gradually, what do they call it, regress towards the mean?” surmised Rousso. “Where you slowly adapt to the information that your partner will give you, like he’ll teach me things about reading people, and I’ll teach him things about game theory, and we’ll gradually become more alike.”

Then she laughed, adding, “But I’d say that we’re always destined to have pretty opposite styles.”

Jonathan Grotenstein is a writer living in Los Angeles. He is the co-author of All In: The (Almost) Entirely True History Of The World Series Of Poker, and has collaborated on books with Phil Gordon and Scott Fischman.

The Secret To His Success
Brown’s poker success hasn’t done anything to diminish his love for the entertainment industry. In fact, it still plays a critical role in his success as a poker player.
“One of the things that I learned when I started playing tournament poker, especially when you get deep into like big events, is that it’s hard for a lot of people who are playing to get a restful night’s sleep. If you’re playing like 13 hours of poker in a main event of a poker tournament, it’s not just a regular 13 hours. It’s an intense 13 hours that wears on people.
“So what I discovered is that the only way to get a restful night’s sleep is to go see a good movie. You get absorbed in the movie, which actually sort of like erases all those poker hands. And you get a good night’s sleep and, all of the sudden, now you’re in Day Two or Day Three of the tournament.”

Vanessa Rousso: Career Highlights
YEAR TOURNAMENT SERIES PLACE PAYOUT
2006 $25,000 NLHE Five-Star World Poker Classic 7th $263,625
2006 $5,000 Short-Handed NLHE World Series of Poker 8th $61,955
2006 $5,000 NLHE Borgata Poker Open 1st $285,450
2007 $9,700 NLHE Ultimate Poker Challenge 2nd $65,863

Chad Brown: Career Highlights
YEAR TOURNAMENT SERIES PLACE PAYOUT
2002 $1,500 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo World Series of Poker 3rd $45,400
2004 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud World Series of Poker 2nd $62,320
2005 $9,500 NLHE WSOP Circuit Atlantic City 7th $94,620
2005 $10,000 NLHE WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Rincon 3rd $198,550
2005 $2,000 Stud Hi-Lo World Series of Poker 2nd $89,838
2006 $10,000 NLHE Bay 101 Shooting Stars 6th $200,000
2006 $25,000 NLHE Five-Star World Poker Classic 9th $205,040
2006 £3,500 NLHE European Poker Championships 5th $110,345
2007 $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Poker Open 2nd $84,565
2007 $20,000 NLHE National Heads-Up Championship 2nd $250,000
2007 $5,000 Deuce-To-Seven World Series of Poker 2nd $324,777
2007 $10,000 NLHE World Series of Poker 97th $67,535

David Williams - Pot Size, Position & The Power Of A Pair

Heads-up strategy, Part II: Three more essential tips for one-on-one poker by WSOP Bracelet Winner David Williams.

IN MY LAST ARTICLE, WE TALKED ABOUT heads-up No-Limit strategy in conjunction with my preparation for the NBC Heads-Up Championship. We discussed misconceptions about how easy the strategies for heads-up might look on paper, but how hard they actually are to implement.

This time, I’d like to discuss three more tips related to heads-up play. These strategy adjustments, coupled with the more basic tips of the last article, should get you ready to hold your own in a heads-up match, where psychological warfare really begins to take shape.

The first thing I would like to talk about is trapping in heads-up play, since trapping in a heads-up hand is very different from regular ring game play. In a nine- or 10-handed poker game, the hands that you trap with have to be much stronger than a hand you would trap with in a heads-up poker game. Let’s look at an example:

You have K-Q offsuit out of position pre-flop, and you raise. You’re called by the button, and you see a flop of Q-10-6 and you’re first to act. Checking here would be a bad move, as your vulnerable top pair needs to be protected from giving people free draws at a straight, or opponents catching an ace on the turn, since a hand containing an ace is likely in a full ring game. In a full ring game, top pair is a hand that you want to win the pot with right away, before you give opponents the chance to catch up.

Now let’s look at this same hand, but apply it to heads-up play. You raise from the big blind heads-up, and the button/small blind calls. The flop comes down the same, Q-10-6, and you are the first to act. There is still a straight draw possible. An ace can still come off on the turn, but checking to let your opponent see another card isn’t that bad of a plan here.

What’s the difference?

It’s hard to make a pair—you only connect with the flop about a third of the time—and when you connect with top pair in heads-up play, it’s a monster. You want to feign weakness so that your opponent might either bluff the turn, or pick up a little something to match his hand so he can call you on the river. It’s safe to try and act weak to gain extra bets later in the hand.

Another consideration in heads-up play is position. In heads-up play, the big blind will be out of position for the whole hand, except for pre-flop play. This gives the small blind a huge advantage. You’ll be at the disadvantage of being out of position the rest of the hand, and you’ll need to raise more pre-flop to make sure you won’t have to make too many difficult decisions on later streets.
You want to either end the hand preflop, or end it with a solid continuation bet on the flop should your opponent call your pre-flop bet. I’d suggest a range of three-to-five big blinds. You should also take into account your opponent’s style, because as always, each poker situation is unique to whom you’re playing against. If you are playing against an opponent who frequently calls your raises no matter how big or small, then it is more worth it to just let him do the heavy betting when you have a hand you want to play.

The final tip I’d like to touch on is heads-up poker pot control. Chipping away at an opponent in heads-up is the strategy that most pros like to use. Being aggressive enough to raise pre-flop on the button with a wide range of hands, but then continuation betting, betting out small, or even check-calling keeps the pot in your control and also keeps the pot small.

If you have played enough heads-up, you will really start to develop a sense for when your opponent has something or not. I think heads-up poker is the fastest road to learning to read your opponents, and in doing so, your post-flop play will begin to get better.

With better post-flop play, you want to keep the pots small. Since your skill advantage is superior, you don’t need to get into big confrontations unless you have the goods.

In heads-up poker, it is difficult sometimes to control pot size, as often times you’ll run into the player who has heard that aggressive play is the only way to win heads-up poker. While it is a strong strategy, it’s often misinterpreted to mean that you should try to bulldoze over people, which is not the case. If you can just take more pots than your opponent when you both have nothing, then you have a cushion for the pots that will turn into big confrontations. This way, if you lose that pot, you’re not out of the game just yet, and if you win, then you’ve broke your opponent.

Remember, heads-up poker is just as much about your opponent as it is about your cards. Once you gain a feel for what he is trying to do, counterattack and the chips will fall your way.

This article brought to you by Bodog nation. Play with pros David Williams, Josh Arieh, and Evelyn Ng at BodogLife.com.

KEY HEADS-UP WISDOM
1. Top pair is usually a trapping hand
2. Out of position, end hands quickly
3. Winning the small pots is vital

David Pham - Year of The Dragon

An interview with the amazing David Pham, who just keeps racking up final tables

DAVID “THE DRAGON” PHAM FLIES UNDER THE PROVERBIAL RADAR. You don’t see him on TV much, he doesn’t have an overabundance of endorsement deals, he doesn’t have gimmicks or catchphrases.

But there may not be a more consistently successful tournament player on the planet.

He had an exceptional year in 2007, and was named Player of the Year by CardPlayer while finishing third in ALL IN’s Player of the Year voting. The Dragon took home four tournament victories and 11 top-10 finishes in ’07, and after a hot start to ’08 that saw him record three top-four finishes by early-February, his career earnings were over the $7.1-million mark. That positions him 14th on the all-time money list, and if you eliminate the ridiculous amounts won at the WSOP Main Event final table in ’05, ’06, and ’07, Pham would climb to ninth all-time. To be in that position, without ever having won a million dollars in a single tournament, is simply remarkable.

Playing as well as ever at age 41, the two-time-bracelet-winning Vietnamese-American pro recently sat down with ALL IN at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City to give us a glimpse of what keeps this dragon’s competitive fires burning.

ALL IN: Why are you so successful?
Pham: It is probably because I was poor when I was young. I came from no money, so I understand what it means to have nothing. When you have a chance to make the money in a poker tournament, you have to try as hard as you can. You have to figure out a way to win.

What attracted you to the game?
My family didn’t have any money, so when I came to the United States, I began looking for a good job, so that I could take care of them. I worked really hard for two years before I began playing. I think it was somewhere between 1988 and ’89 that I saw Men [“The Master” Nguyen, Pham’s cousin] walk away from the poker table with handfuls of hundred dollar bills. I was making like $250 a week and every night I would have to sleep on a couch. I knew that if Men could do it, I could find a way to be successful at it as well.

How did you begin learning the game?
I believe you should learn from the best and follow those that are successful in tournaments. When I first started to play poker, I would watch great players from the rail. Nobody knew me, so I just followed the top players. I would watch how they carried themselves at the table and tried to figure out exactly what they were doing that would help them win.

What player left the greatest impression on you?
I once watched Stu Ungar at the Four Queens. Everywhere he moved, I followed him. I really admired the way he played. I didn’t see his hands often, so I focused on his table image and his aggressive play. There is no way he had a hand every time, but he made the other players think he did. Even when he moved to a new table, he would do the same thing. He could read how weak the players were in the blinds and he would make moves on them constantly. I made his style a part of my game.

How do you stay sharp year after year?
Usually I just try to do better than the previous year. I always want to move forward. When I won my first Player of the Year award seven years ago, it was easy, but the last couple of years have been a lot tougher. I have to keep working on my game to be successful. A lot of good Internet players started coming out to tournaments and a lot of good players started coming to the game after the World Poker Tour started broadcasting. It forced me to mix up my game to adjust my style of play. I play a lot of different styles now to keep my opponents confused.

Do you switch your style with every new table draw?
Yes, but I usually wait a while before I make a move. I typically wait 15 minutes to a half-hour, sometimes playing only one hand. I watch how the people move and try to figure out who is aggressive at the table and who I can bully. If you jump right in and make a mistake, it can cost you a lot of money.

Does the tournament blind structure influence your play?
A little bit. You can be much more aggressive early on and this can confuse a lot of people, but once the blinds start to get really big, I tend to become more conservative if I am at a tougher table.

Which do you prefer, being tight or aggressive?
Aggressive is definitely better, because you can collect so many antes and the blinds. For example, if you win three or four rounds of blinds and antes, you have money to, let’s say, play a side pot later in the day. Now many people may not think much of that, but if you didn’t steal those blinds, you might lose out on a big score later simply because you don’t have enough chips to maximize your payout.

Does being so aggressive early on in a tournament ever get you into trouble?
It happens from time to time, but over the long run, I have been very successful with this style of play. Sometimes you will get caught with a weaker hand, but most of the time, I find that I can outplay my opponents even though I have nothing.

What part of your game is your greatest strength?
I think I can out-bluff and outplay my opponents. Let’s say I make a raise with 5-6 suited and the flop comes A-K-4. I figure the guy to play ace-rag maybe, but most of the time he’ll play hands like K-J. I know how to bet to make him lay it down. When a player makes a bet and I make a call, I know I will make the next move and force my opponent to fold.

Is that what separates a pro from an amateur?
Yes. A good pro can get a read on other players and figure out what they are doing about 80 percent of the time.

What does it take to be a consistent winner?
A lot of people say they have run bad for a couple of years, or they’re simply unlucky, but I don’t believe in luck. I am Catholic, so I am not superstitious. Men [Nguyen], on the other hand, is very superstitious. You can’t even ask him if he is out of a tournament or he will get mad. I don’t believe in stuff like that. In the long run, the skill stands out. I have been a consistent winner for a long time now. I don’t always take first, but I am always trying to find a way to get in a position to win. I don’t think you can run bad for a year or two. You have to find a way to win and always be willing to look at what you are doing that keeps you from being successful.
You also have to have a clear head. If you are having family problems or financial issues, you can’t play properly. Your head isn’t in the game and you play scared. That is a major reason why people can’t win tournaments.

What do you do to keep improving your game?
I take care of things outside of poker, so I can concentrate on what is happening at the tables. I always make sure my family is taken care of. As long as I know that everyone is okay, I play well. When I have problems with them, it directly affects my game. Also, when I don’t win for a while, I get hungry and try very hard to find a way to win. I am a really competitive guy. I know I can win, so I try to do my best at all times.

How much time do you spend thinking about poker and is it the last thing on your mind at night?
A couple of years ago, I used to spend most of my time thinking about the game, but now I don’t. Everything is done when I go home. I forget about what happened at the tables. Whether it is good or bad, I just let it go. If I make a mistake in a tournament, I may think about it for a half-hour, but then I let it go. If you think too much, your head is always running and you neglect other important things in your life. Every day is a new day, so you have to let things go if you want to be happy.

You have said how important family is to you. How has your wife helped your game and how does she feel now after you’ve continually found a way to win?
When I married my wife, we were very poor. I didn’t have money to pay the rent. I was playing $3/$6 and $5/$10 and I went broke so many times I can’t count them all. I agreed to go back to work and we opened a nail salon. I actually quit poker for at least five years and didn’t play, but I never stopped thinking about the game. At first she said not to try again, but I kept telling her I could win. This was about 1989. Reluctantly, she agreed, so I knew I had to win. I love my wife. She knew what it was like when I had nothing and I know I can trust her.

Is being successful a worthwhile trade-off from being away from your family for so long?
When you are winning it is okay, but when you are losing, it hurts. My wife and I decided together that I would stay in the game, so she understands what it takes for me to do what I do. Whatever I have is hers, so she can take care of the family. I always told her not to think about the times when we are apart, because when I win, I can provide for my family, so she doesn’t have to worry about it.

Is there anything special you do with all of your winnings?
My family is so big. I have 12 brothers and sisters. Four are in the U.S., the rest are in Vietnam. I opened a business for my brother in Arizona. When I go back to Vietnam, I bring money with me. The first house, I bought for myself, but the second house I bought was for my parents. I usually use my money to help everyone in the family, especially my four kids.

Do you want your children to be poker players?
No. It is a tough life. I want them to be businessmen or engineers, maybe even become a doctor. You have to work hard to be a good player and it takes away from your life outside of the tables. I want them to do well in school, so they don’t have to play poker. I didn’t have that choice because I wanted to give them a chance to do more with their lives. I had to figure out a way to take care of them. Hopefully, they won’t be in the same position I was.

What was your favorite victory of 2007?
I won the $2,500 buy-in tournament [at the Bellagio Five Diamond] in December. It wasn’t for a lot of money, but it was the tournament where I locked down [CardPlayer] Player of the Year. If I don’t win that one, I can’t win the Player of the Year. I killed two birds with one stone. I won over $280,000 and ensured winning the Player of the Year title. If I didn’t win that one, J.C. Tran would have taken home the title. I had come close in earlier events, but it was the $2,500 that guaranteed my win.

Which is more important, the recognition from your peers or the money?
I think it is both. I do well in a lot of events, so I feel like I get some respect from other players. The money is for the family, so that is important. A title may make your career look good, but it doesn’t always justify respect. When people say the money is not important, I disagree. If you don’t have the money to play, you can never get a title, so the two kind of go hand-in-hand. Without money, you can’t support your family and then you can’t concentrate on your career. You have to have both.

How much of a role does luck play in your game?
A lot of pros say it is 50/50 and I agree with that, but over the long run, I think skill takes over. You really can’t get lucky for five straight days. There has to be some level of skill there for you to keep winning. Month by month, you can’t be a consistent winner unless you have the skill to be a winner.

How long do you plan on playing?
I love poker. I’m going to stay and play until I cannot beat the other players. If I get old and my mind goes down, I will stop, but until then, I will keep playing.
n
Michael Friedman is a Las Vegas-based freelance writer and television producer who has worked for numerous publications in the poker industry.

Pham Favorites
A look at the 15 most notable results of “The Dragon’s” tournament career:
YEAR EVENT PLACE PAYOUT
2000 World Series of Poker $2,000 NLHE 4th $47,520
2001 World Series of Poker $2,000 S.H.O.E. 1st $140,455
2003 L.A. Poker Classic $1,500 LHE 1st $457,320
2003 L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 NLHE 4th $80,080
2004 Doyle Brunson Championship $10,000 NLHE 3rd $255,000
2004 World Poker Finals $10,000 NLHE 6th $277,014
2004 Five-Diamond Classic $3,000 NLHE 1st $414,419
2005 Five-Star Classic $3,000 NLHE 1st $270,165
2005 World Series of Poker $1,000 NLHE 4th $154,125
2006 World Series of Poker $2,000 NLHE Shootout 1st $240,222
2007 World Poker Challenge $5,000 NLHE 3rd $182,260
2007 Mirage Poker Showdown $5,000 Heads-Up 1st $135,200
2007 Legends of Poker $10,000 NLHE 2nd $800,815
2007 Five-Diamond Classic $2,500 NLHE 1st $279,845
2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $7,800 NLHE 4th $600,000

Steve Farhood - Cashing Out

IN LAS VEGAS, IT’S JUST ANOTHER HAND of millions, and Eric Stansbury deals pocket sixes to a drug company rep who’s in town for a sales meeting. Frankie Viagra calls four bets before learning that he’s been beaten by a pair of kings. Stansbury dutifully delivers the chips to the winner. What he doesn’t do is ask the loser why he kept donating after the flop brought two overcards and the turn produced a third. Stansbury might’ve cracked a knowing smile, but only on the inside. Like a good player, a good dealer has to know how and when to maintain a poker face.

Hold ’Em in Las Vegas isn’t all about Phil Hellmuth’s bracelets and the Big Game at the Bellagio. It’s also about $65 buy-in tournaments and the accountant from Nebraska who’s happy to blow a couple of Benjamins chasing inside straights at $2/$4 Limit.
Some players dream about making the final table at the WSOP’s Main Event, while others just want to fly home and have a story to share at the office water cooler on Monday morning.

By Vegas standards, the poker room at the Paris is humble. It has eight tables, and according to Terry Severin, one of the room’s shift managers, 98 percent of the players are tourists.

“Eric is an outstanding dealer,” Severin told me. “He has a great personality, and he’s good with the players. People are here to have a good time. Along with the integrity of the game, legalized poker is about customer relations.”

Dealing poker for a living can be just as much of a grind as playing it, and Stansbury keeps in the game by challenging himself.

“I categorize the players and try to figure out what they have,” Stansbury explained. “It makes dealing more interesting and sharpens up my own game.”

Stansbury, 29, has a degree from Central Michigan University. After playing poker in college, he began dealing at a Native American casino in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, near his hometown of Detroit.

Stansbury relocated to Las Vegas 18 months ago. After a short time, he was dealing in the WSOP, and Greg Raymer was helping him with the intricacies of Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo.
“I figured that if I was going to deal,” he said, “I might as well be doing it where I can make the most money.”

At the Paris, Stansbury works 26 to 30 hours a week in six- or eight-hour shifts. He earns $6.30 an hour, and with tips, $150-$175 a day.

“After tournaments,” he said, “80 percent of the winners tip the dealers. But when somebody tips $6 and we have to split it six ways, we just have to accept it.”

On a scale of one to 10, Stansbury rates the average tourist player a 7.5. “More of them know the game than before,” he said, “and I’ve noticed an improvement in the quality of the play. If you enjoy the game, dealing poker is fun, and you don’t have to work too hard.

“For the most part, people are here to gamble, and they’ll pay a substantial amount to see the next card. The only problem comes when somebody’s had too much to drink. But I haven’t had to call security yet.”

Like almost all the dealers in Las Vegas, Stansbury plays poker too. His games of choice are $1/$2 No-Limit or $2/$5 No-Limit, and he says he breaks about even. But he isn’t consumed with the game and has no intentions of becoming a pro. In fact, Stansbury is a writer who is about to publish an online collection of poetry about life experiences.

Is poker poetic? Maybe Stansbury will answer that question. In the meantime, one thing’s for certain: Frankie Viagra sure seems to get a rise out of it.

Does A Stacked Table Equal A Stacked Deck?

The pros weigh in on the positives and negatives of landing at talent-packed table.

ON A RECENT EPISODE OF NBC’S POKER AFTER DARK, Jamie Gold found himself in the final three, seated between Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth, and couldn’t help but comment on the level of difficulty he was facing. Frankly, Gold’s degree of difficulty at the outset wasn’t much better, considering the other three players at the table were Chris Ferguson, Berry Johnston, and Huck Seed.

Of course, Poker After Dark is a made-for-TV version of poker where the tables are always going to be stacked with top names, but even in the “real world” of poker, the luck of the draw sometimes leaves a pro surrounded by other pros in the early stages of a tournament with hundreds, or even thousands, of entrants.

So just what are the pros thinking when they find out their table is full of other pros? For some, they think it’s the worst possible scenario. Others welcome the challenge and think of it as a learning experience. Here’s what 10 of poker’s finest had to say about the subject of landing at a stacked table:

ANNIE DUKE
I hate stacked tables! Yes, you don’t have some maniac breaking you with a bizarre hand, but who wants to play against good players? It’s harder to make money and you have no edge. People who say they like good players because they know where they are at are lying or they don’t understand poker. Give me a table of bad players any day; that is why I play the game!

I understand that you can learn from other great pros being seated with you, but you never want to see that in a big tournament. The toughest table I ever played at was obviously the Tournament of Champions in 2004. The lineup for that table was myself, Phil Hellmuth, my brother Howard Lederer, Johnny Chan, Greg Raymer, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, T.J. Cloutier, and Chip Reese.

SHANNON SHORR
I recently had Scott Fischman, Devilfish [David Ulliott], Ted Forrest, and John Murphy all at my table at the Bellagio $15,000 event, and they are all good players, but I actually liked that table because I didn’t expect them to be re-raising too much. Not Murphy, but the other guys are older guys and they don’t do a lot of re-raising pre-flop, so I could be aggressive. I went in there planning on being aggressive.

At the same time, the way most of us play tournament poker is that we don’t want to play against each other; we try to find the weak spots and exploit those. A lot of guys won’t play back at me, which is nice, so I just have to find those few weak spots at the table. At the Bellagio there weren’t that many, but when there are those spots, it’s great, for sure.

JONATHAN LITTLE
I don’t like tough tables simply because your profit in poker comes from weaker players. The latest two final tables I have reached on the WPT have both been super tough. Five out of the six players were at least fairly well known, either live or online. The Niagara Falls final table included both Scott Clements and Barry Greenstein. At the Mirage, Darrell Dicken, Phil Ivey, and Amnon Filippi were all at that final table that I took down.

DANIEL NEGREANU
I think it’s always better to have a soft table draw because it gives you an opportunity to get some easy chips from bad players. It can be a bit more of a rocky road against bad players, but it’s well worth it.

However, I must admit, when I played in my very first WSOP event in 1998, I had the following table draw as my starting table: Men Nguyen, Erik Seidel, Dan Harrington, Johnny Chan, Humberto Brenes, Dewey Tomko, Huck Seed, and myself. I survived that table and went on to win the tournament.

DAVID SINGER
The thing most people don’t realize is that in tournaments, what table players get is a big part of who is going to do well. When you get a really good table draw at the beginning of the tournament, it is very helpful; conversely, if you get a bad table draw, there is nothing you can do about it. Sitting there and being pissed off about your luck isn’t going to help you.

I just try to pay a lot more attention to my opponents; they really aren’t going to be giving anything away. Actually, at times, that isn’t true. Most of the time they aren’t going to give anything away, but if you pay attention, people have off-days and people aren’t playing the same way every day and it’s very possible, if you are paying enough attention, one guy could play different that day, or he’s not in a good mood for whatever reason. It is very important when you are playing against better players in particular to really watch how they are playing. It is harder to outthink them, but you really have to try and anticipate what they are doing and how they think you are playing. You just have to bear down and concentrate.

JOHAN STORAKERS
I have no problem with a tough draw. Against better players, it’s easier to form an overall picture of the task you have ahead of you. Of course, in my opinion, I would rather have an easy draw because then I can accumulate chips when bad players make mistakes. That way I can avoid getting short-stacked, getting close to 25 times the big blind.

Naturally, every once in a while you get a table with almost all pros. The first event I can think of is when I got to sit between Johnny Chan and T.J. Cloutier in one of the WSOP events in 2002.

JOE SEBOK
The number-one thing you want to see when you sit down is players that you don’t know their name. That is the first thing that you want, a bunch of people that you don’t know, because that means probably they aren’t playing as much poker as you are, at least professionally speaking.

I want passive players at my table, players that are going to call raises and then fold every time an ace hits the flop, or they are never going to raise me unless they have a big hand. I want people that are predicable and are just going to play their hands rather than actually playing the game. That goes along with being a better player. Better players play the other players, and you just want guys who don’t do that.

For me, the worst-case scenario is when Barry [Greenstein] is at the table, for a multitude of reasons. People always complain and they think it is a disadvantage for the other players at the table, but the fact is we are in a big disadvantage. I’m not going to try and bluff Barry out, which means the pots that he’s in, I am super predicable. I’m not going to do anything. If I raise, I have a hand, and same for him. If he raises, he has a hand. If he folds, it’s because he didn’t have anything. He is never going to try and bluff me, he’s never going to try and trap me, and if we are playing together, people can read off that and they can know if it’s a three-way pot and I put in a raise, I have the goods. If he puts in a raise, he has the goods. The other players in the hand have a massive advantage, they literally can figure out what our cards are.

We play super aggressive and we are all about intimidating people, so when we can’t get out there as much and steal as much and attack because there is one player at the table you are purposely trying to stay away from, it’s hard. It basically puts your game somewhat on lockdown, and it makes it difficult to play until you get them out of the hand. It is very, very, very frustrating.

JEFF MADSEN
When a table is stacked, I don’t sit down and think it is a bad draw. I don’t really mind tough tables. I like interesting tables, and sometimes when you have a lot of good players, sometimes I get more comfortable because they all want to feel the table out more so maybe they are all less likely to make moves because there are so many good players. It can give me room to play my game, and I know that they are going to play a little more solid.

If there is a table with people I didn’t know, I wouldn’t know if they are capable of calling all their money off with crap. If it’s someone I have never played with, I really don’t know how they play. At least if it is a bunch of good players, I kind of know where I am at.

CHRIS FERGUSON
I don’t worry about a stacked table too much. Yes, I guess if you are playing against great players you are not going to do as well, but you have to ignore that. You just have to play your game and ignore that you are playing against a table full of professionals. Some of these guys are going to get through, and you want to give yourself the best chance at getting through as well. The way to do that is just to play your game.

I remember a couple of tables where I have had like four world champions in a row on the first table of a tournament. One particularly stacked table I remember was the 1997 World Series of Poker Main Event. I had one unknown player at my table. There was Stu Ungar on my left, two to my left was Billy Baxter, three to my left was Phil Hellmuth, and four to my left was Chris Bjorin. I know Tony Ma was also at that table. This was when there were only about five tables left in the tournament. I just didn’t let that get to me. I wasn’t thinking I was in bad shape at that table, I was just watching and learning and trying to give myself the best chance to get there. It really wasn’t intimidating to me at that point, I was just trying to play as well as I could while watching and learning.

I think I learned a lot watching Stu Ungar play that year. This was back in the day when a lot of professionals were making the final table of the Main Event. Ungar ended up winning it that year.

HOWARD LEDERER
A stacked table is a bad draw, and no one is going to convince me that it isn’t. When I sit down and I recognize six of the eight players that I am seated with and then I hear that the other two are some of these young kids that I have never heard about but they are name players and they are good, that’s not a good thing. I’m not happy about it and it will hurt my equity in the tournament. I would much rather play against people I have never seen before who are not good players.

That being said, I have played a lot of cash games; I have played in some of the biggest, toughest games in the world for years, so I do feel like my game is made to beat that kind of table and I have had some success at those games. I think I do better than most would do in those situations because I don’t have the kind of game that is just going to try to run over the table at every table I’m at; that kind of game is going to have problems at a stacked table. You have to adjust your game, and I have been doing that in big cash games for years, so I don’t get intimidated or get too depressed about it, but I certainly acknowledge the fact that it’s not good for me. I would much rather play against a weak player than a good player.

The toughest draw I have ever had was my opening table at the first $25,000 buy-in tournament at the Bellagio. It was actually documented by the WPT show. In seat order, there were Phil Hellmuth, David Plastik, Huck Seed, Phil Ivey, Peter Costa, myself, John Juanda, and Paul Magriel. Soon after, they brought Erik Seidel and Scotty Nguyen over after a couple of people went broke. It was just this ridiculously loaded table at that tournament. There were like 30 bracelets at that table.

Katie Lindsay is a Los Angeles-based poker writer who contributes to numerous magazines and Web sites.

Jean-Robert Bellande Joins Team Bodog and Cashes in on Survivor Fame

Though he didn’t go as far on Survivor: China as he wanted to, Jean-Robert Bellande is parlaying his experience on the hit CBS reality show into plenty of additional money and exposure. Not only did he get a Poker After Dark invite and a seat in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship thanks in part to his air time in the jungles of China, but he has now signed on with Team Bodog, where he joins David Williams, Josh Arieh, and Evelyn Ng as one of the faces of the popular poker site.

“I’m completely thrilled to be on Team Bodog and to join my friends Josh, David, and Evy,” Bellande announced.

In a separate but related note, the Bodog Poker Open kicked off in March, and amazingly, in the first event ($270 NLHE), Ng finished second and Arieh third out of a field of 377. Not a bad opening statement from Team Bodog.

Cover: Howard Lederer - A Man For All Moments

Howard Lederer has been there, done that , and with a recent million-dollar win, isn’t slowing down. Read more

David Williams - Keeping It Simple Is Stupid

Heads-up strategy: Why relying on hard and fast rules is a recipe for defeat by WSOP Bracelet Winner David Williams.

WITH NBC’S NATIONAL HEADS-UP POKER CHAMPIONSHIP around the corner, I thought it might be a good idea to start thinking about heads-up play, since it is so different than nine- or 10-handed, or even short-handed poker.

As I write this, it occurs to me that the strategies and ideas behind winning heads-up No-Limit Hold ’Em sound, more than any other form of play, like dummy poker: Top pair is the nuts. Raise every time you’re in position. Float or call the flop often with just an ace-high.

On paper, this sounds like the easiest poker game you’ve ever played. However, if you think that’s the case, please stay away from the heads-up sit-and-go tournaments online, unless I’m sitting at the table. My point is that there are common misconceptions that because you are only playing one opponent, your decisions are less thoughtful and everything is robotic. In full-table poker, you often need to have something in order to call. In heads-up play, it’s often true that you don’t need much of a hand to win, and if you have nothing, you can often get away with a bluff.

Trust me, heads-up poker play may be the purest form of psychological warfare this game has to offer. It’s no wonder why the old westerns and Rounders and every other poker movie always comes down to a one-on-one battle between the good guy and the villain.

To get started with our strategy, let’s review those “dummy poker” tips I mentioned at the top of the article, but let’s discuss them in more detail. Then you can pick up on the right way to interpret them:

Top pair is the nuts. In reality, you have to feel out your opponents before you determine this. Most of the time, it’s not wise to lay down top pair, because unlike a normal nine- or 10-handed table, you only have to beat one opponent. Now, while I’m not a hardcore math guy, I do know that it’s not easy to get a pair, and in fact, you only flop a pair in Hold ’Em something like 30 percent of the time. Say the flop comes 9-7-2, and you have 9-4. As weak of a holding as that is, if you bet the right amount of between 50-75 percent of the pot through all streets, your opponent will likely be calling you down with hands like A-7, 7-8, K-2, and even ace- or king-high! Your opponents know how hard it is to flop something, so if you’re not facing re-raises and all-ins, your marginal holding might be the best hand.

Raise every time you’re in position. I am a heavy advocate of raising on the button around 80 percent of the time heads-up. I tend to fold only 2-3 offsuit and other similar hands. And I often only do that if I am short-stacked, since I won’t have the ability to call if re-raised.

More important then the value of your cards is pressure. Again, going on the philosophy of how hard it is to make a pair heads-up, your opponent is making a mistake by calling you with a wide range of hands, since he will be out of position for the rest of the hand and will be virtually clueless on where he is at in the hand. To make this style of play profitable, however, you have to be willing to put out the continuation bet on the flop, often times with no pair, just to keep the pressure on. You’re going to win more pots with nothing heads-up. Therefore, you must also be willing to give up on the hand if your opponents play back at you. For the amount of times you’ll be chopping away and winning the small pots, you have to be willing to let a speculative hand go if you face resistance, since the style you’re employing is working well enough that you don’t need to get yourself involved in a large pot without the goods.

Float or call the flop with an ace high. While this is a risky play, it is a key adjustment you need to make from nine- and 10-handed play to heads-up. Floating the flop, which means calling a flop bet with nothing so that you can steal the pot with a bet on the turn, is used more frequently in heads-up play, often to counteract the types of continuation bets I discussed earlier in this article.

While you will be applying pressure on the button and raising often, you will often find that your opponent might have the same strategy. When this is the case, the best way to find out if the bet he’s making on the flop is for value or for bluffing purposes is to call the flop and see what happens on the turn.

Now, there are many different ways to interpret your opponent’s turn play. If your opponent bets the same amount or smaller on the turn, it could be because he is a bad value bettor and is looking to extract what he thinks is the most from you, or it could mean he’s stabbing at the pot a second time because he feels obligated to do so. If your read on the situation tells you that this is the case, then a feeler raise of two to five times what he bet should be enough to find out if you can take this pot or not. If your opponent checks, the pressure must be applied. We aren’t giving your opponent any free breathing room where it isn’t necessary. We gave him enough to hang himself in the hand, and now he’s seemingly giving up, so that pot belongs to us.

Remember: Heads-up play isn’t as simple as it seems. And if you follow specific “rules” on what to do instead of factoring in your opponent’s style, the stack sizes, and the situation, you won’t get far in the one-on-one version of this game.

This article brought to you by Bodog nation. Play with pros David Williams, Josh Arieh, and Evelyn Ng at BodogLife.com.

Five Questions With Poker Player Barry Greenstein

1. Most players have a favorite starting Hold ’Em hand. What’s yours?
Well, the truth is, no matter what anyone tells you, their favorite starting hand is two aces. Anything else is just some hand they may have won something with. 2-3 offsuit used to be a hand that I’d play to bluff people with when I was younger, and any hand can be effective when you’re playing deep-stack No-Limit Hold ’Em, which is what I used to play. But tournaments are a hybrid where it’s shorter stacked, so you can’t play these garbage hands as profitably.

2. Has the online community ever asked you to say something on TV that was so embarrassing you absolutely had to refuse?
One of the things they’ve asked me to do occasionally is more of an in-your-face type of thing when I beat someone a pot, like they want me to say “Ship it crucial” or “Ship it holla.” But I’ve explained to them that I can’t do anything that would be clearly unsportsmanlike. Even the time on High Stakes Poker, when I won a pot from Erick Lindgren and said “lol donkaments,” that’s one of the most famous incidents now associated with me, I was calling it on myself for making such a big overbet, and I then read that someone else thought I was trying to show Erick up. So I said to Erick, “I hope you realize I wasn’t in any way trying to make you look bad or say anything about you, I was saying it about me making a big overbet.” And he said, “That’s okay, I played the hand like a donkey anyway.” He didn’t take it personally.

3. For entertainment value, what player do you most like to find sitting at your table?
I don’t play to be entertained by my opponents, so it’s not something that I usually think about. But I’d say Phil Ivey, just because when we’re at the same table we joke around with each other a lot because we’re good friends. I know I can put him down and he can put me down and we never take it personally. He’s probably the only one that I would beat out of a big pot and then laugh at him.

4. You seem just about un-tilt-able. When’s the last time you went on tilt at the poker table?
Actually, I’m still on tilt right now, because, in the event I just played in, I’d set up a guy pretty well to put in all his chips, we were two of the chip leaders, and I had two queens and he had A-Q. We got all our chips in the middle and he hit an ace on the turn and busted me. I knew I was going to get him to put in all his chips, and I did, and as a result he’s at the final table. I’m still on tilt, and that was almost 24 hours ago.

5. Every tournament, you give a copy of Ace On The River to the player who eliminates you. Have you ever considered that the players you eliminate may need it more? As the so-called “Robin Hood Of Poker,” isn’t it a bit unusual for you to be giving to the rich like that?

Well, at the final table that I was recently at in Niagara Falls, the tournament director announced to the crowd that I’ll give the copy of the book to whoever knocks me out, and if I win it, I’ll give it to the second-place finisher. And I quickly corrected him, because to me, that would be like an insult. If I knock someone out and give him a copy of my book, it would look like I was saying, “Here, buddy, you have something to learn.” My book is for sale at the normal bookstores and on Amazon.com, but you have to knock me out of a major tournament to get a signed, dated copy with a detailed description of your triumph.

2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship

ALL IN spotlights 10 players to watch at the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

REMEMBER THAT GOD-AWFUL THEME SONG to the inaugural National Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2005? The chorus began “That was a crazy game of poker” (which also happens to be the name of the song), and it stuck in your head as painfully as any song since “Mambo # 5.” The tune was irritating, the lyrics were embarrassing, and as an opener to every show, it had poker fans across the country wearing out the fast-forward buttons on their TiVo remotes.

But damn if the refrain wasn’t appropriate for last year’s Heads-Up Championship.
The 2007 version of the NHUPC was nothing if not a crazy three days of poker. The eventual champion, Paul Wasicka, didn’t even know he was in the tournament until 24 hours before it began. Actress Shannon Elizabeth went all the way to the semifinals and was within one card of reaching the finals. Of the eight players who reached the quarterfinals, six were playing in the NHUPC for the first time and neither of the other two had ever gotten past the second round. Oh, and Don Cheadle beat Phil Ivey.

Simply put, the ’07 NHUPC was full of surprises, and it proved that making predictions about a wild event like this is a dangerous road to go down.

But there are nevertheless certain attributes that make a player a favorite to do well in a heads-up tournament like this, and there are certain elements to the structure that benefit some competitors while limiting others.

Looking at the field of 64, we’ve selected 10 players (listed alphabetically) whom we consider favorites to go all the way, 10 poker pros with the best shot at creating a racket in the brackets. And not only are we identifying them and explaining why they made our elite list of 10, but we’re also speculating as to their “realistic odds of winning.” Note that these aren’t actual betting odds; those will always be lower because the bookmakers like to make money. But these are realistic odds (with 30-1 being the best we could give anyone in a field where the average player is 63-1).

If the tournament plays out with any level of predictability, then these are the 10 players to watch. However, if it turns out to be another “crazy game of poker,” then, well, there are 64 players worth keeping an eye on.

CAESARS PALACE LIVE SCHEDULE
Feb. 29 First Round
March 1 Second & Third Rounds
March 2 Quarterfinals, Semifinals & Finals

NBC BROADCAST SCHEDULE
(all times Eastern)
Episode 1 April 13, 12 p.m.-2 p.m.
Episode 2 April 20, 12 p.m.-1 p.m.
Episode 3 April 27, 12 p.m.-2 p.m.
Episode 4 May 4, 12 p.m.-2 p.m.
Episode 5 May 11, 12 p.m.-2 p.m.
Episode 6 May 18, 12 p.m.-3 p.m.

Annie Duke
The first two years of the NHUPC were not kind to the ladies. No women advanced past the round of 16, and Duke didn’t advance past the first round either year. But in ’07, the ladies turned a corner, with two females reaching the quarterfinals (Kristy Gazes and Shannon Elizabeth) and one (Elizabeth) going a step farther, to the semifinals. And Duke began to turn that corner as well, defeating Jeff Shulman in the first round before falling to eventual quarterfinalist Nam Le in round two.

The bottom line is, the stage is set for a woman to do well this year, maybe even to win the whole thing, and Duke has just the right style, in that she’s never too aggressive, never too passive, and rarely makes huge mistakes. If she can get a little help from the deck here and there, she’ll be extremely difficult to defeat.
Realistic Odds Of Winning: 45-1

Bill Edler
2007 was a dream year for Las Vegas-based pro Edler, as he won his first WSOP bracelet and his first WPT title, pocketed more than $2.75-million, and came within one vote of being named Player of the Year by ALL IN. And significantly, he defeated Barry Greenstein in the finals of a 64-player, $10,000 buy-in heads-up tournament at the Crystal Casino in Compton, California, in February.

Edler has never been invited to the NHUPC before, but that win at the Crystal Casino illustrates that his game is suited to this format. And a win over Greenstein, who has reached at least the third round of the NHUPC every year, speaks volumes. Just because you’ve never seen Edler play on TV before doesn’t mean he isn’t among the elite, and he’ll have his chance to prove it for a national TV audience when the cards hit the felt at Caesars.
Realistic Odds Of Winning: 40-1

Sam Farha
There are some who say that the hyper-aggressive Farha plays too many hands, and when he exits a tournament early, that’s often the reason for his downfall. Fortunately for poker’s ultimate sharp-dressed man, in a heads-up match there’s no such thing as playing too many hands. Farha’s highly active, unpredictable style is perfect for the NHUPC, and his run to the quarterfinals in ’06, which ended in a wild, 31/2-hour shootout with eventual champion Ted Forrest, is testament to what he can do in this setting.

Farha is a master of poker psychology, and his game is rooted in the notion that he can put his opponents on a hand but they can’t begin to guess what he’s holding. In heads-up play, that’s an enormous advantage. Whenever they start a National Heads-Up Omaha Championship, Farha will be the odds-on favorite. Until then, in a No-Limit Hold ’Em event like this, he still has to be somewhere in the top 10.
Realistic Odds Of Winning: 40-1

Chris Ferguson
How could we not include a man who’s reached the finals twice in the three-year history of the NHUPC and who boasts an all-time record of 10-3 in the event? Despite an upset first-round loss last year to Scott Fischman (himself a first-rate heads-up competitor), Ferguson is a force in this tournament—and in poker in general, as he owns five World Series bracelets and last year became the only man to claim three WSOP Circuit rings.

The key to Ferguson’s success is his consistency, in terms of his demeanor, his movements, his timing, and his bets. Nobody is impossible to read, but “Jesus” comes damned close. They say poker is a game of “incomplete information.” Nobody gives out information less complete than Ferguson does.
Realistic Odds Of Winning: 35-1

Phil Hellmuth
Everybody has an opinion about Hellmuth. But there’s one opinion we should all agree on: The man is a hell of a Hold ’Em player.

Eleven bracelets don’t lie. That’s more WSOP titles than anyone’s ever won, and every last one of them came in Hold ’Em. And of course, he won the first NHUPC back in 2005, marking himself as a player to watch in this event every year. He had to skip the event last year due to a scheduling conflict, and that rates to make him extra hungry to go deep, as Hellmuth is nothing if not determined to prove himself over and over.

“The Poker Brat” isn’t afraid to make tough laydowns (as you may have heard, he can dodge bullets, baby), and conceding the small pots so that he can win the big pots is key to the formula that has made him a millionaire many times over. He loves to set traps, and if enough opponents walk into them, he’ll be adding a half-million bucks to his bank account at the NHUPC.
Realistic Odds Of Winning: 35-1

Phil Ivey
You might think it odd that we’d include a player with an 0-3 lifetime record in the NHUPC among our 10 to watch. And we’d agree that it’s odd … if it was any player other than Ivey.

Ivey is generally recognized as the all-around best player in the game today, and though his focus in these events is sometimes questionable—he’d often rather be in a juicy cash game or honing his backswing—you have to figure that “0-3” number bothers him and he’ll show up determined this year. It seems Ivey just needs to get over the hump and win his first-round match, and he’ll instantly become the most dangerous man in the field.

Against Chad Brown in ’06, he had the cards to blame. Against Don Cheadle last year, he had himself to blame. This year, there’s no blame game, no excuses. Ivey needs a win. And that makes him a doubly scary opponent for anyone.
Realistic Odds Of Winning: 40-1

Daniel Negreanu
Somewhat like Ivey, Negreanu is one of those guys who has to be given a shot at winning every poker tournament he enters. When “Kid Poker” is on his game and the cards are being cooperative, he’s a tough out for anyone. And unlike Ivey, he seems to take every tournament seriously. When he’s playing in the NHUPC, there’s no place he’d rather be. He always pushes himself to do a little extra homework, game plan one step beyond, and find a way to move on to the next round.

Negreanu has one quarterfinal NHUPC appearance and an overall winning record of 4-3. Those are good stats, but not good enough for Negreanu. And a first-round exit last year at the hands of friendly rival Mike Matusow only served to stoke his fire.

Every year, Negreanu takes the time at the end of the “pairings party” to fill out his entire bracket with predictions. Perhaps this is the year he’d be wise to write his own name down six times.
Realistic Odds Of Winning: 35-1

Gavin Smith
There are a lot of reasons to get behind mouthy Canadian Smith in the NHUPC. His lifetime record of 4-2 includes an impressive run to the semifinals last year that saw him count Johnny Chan and Andy Bloch among his victims. He plays the river as well as anyone in poker, both in terms of making tough laydowns and making genius bluffs when he senses weakness. And in a recent Poker After Dark showdown, he found himself heads-up and at a chip deficit against Phil Ivey and rallied to win. And he did so completely drunk.

Yes, the luck of the cards had a lot to do with it. Especially when the booze led Smith to a few questionable decisions and the deck bailed him out. But hey, a win over Ivey is a win over Ivey. Sober or sloshed, Smith is a serious threat to win the NHUPC. And if he’s in the middle of a match and finds himself in a hole playing sober, then hey, send a few pints his way.
Realistic Odds Of Winning: 35-1

Kenny Tran
Before last year’s World Series of Poker, most poker fans had never heard of Tran, an L.A. cash game mainstay without much of a national reputation. Then he went and finished fifth in the $50K H.O.R.S.E. tournament and 16th in the Main Event, along the way uttering for the benefit of the ESPN audience some Hellmuthian self-glorifying exclamations. And a new love-him-or-hate-him TV poker star was born.

Tran makes some reckless plays. He makes some jaw-dropping calls. He won’t be run over, and he’ll gladly run you over if you let him. He definitely fits that category of “guys nobody wants in the same part of the bracket as them,” as his pressure and unpredictability can be overwhelming. He’s an X-factor. This will be his first time participating in the NHUPC. But if he makes the impression we expect him to make, it won’t be his last.
Realistic Odds Of Winning: 45-1

Paul Wasicka
If there was a number-one seed at this year’s Heads-Up Championship, it would have to be Wasicka. Not only is he the defending champ, having gone 7-0 in last year’s tournament (including a 2-0 sweep of Chad Brown in the finals), but he made it to the sixth round of the $5,000 heads-up event at the WSOP, extending his winning streak to 12 straight major heads-up matches before he finally lost. You can talk all you want about the role luck plays in poker. But nobody’s lucky enough to win 12 heads-up matches in a row without