Oh The Irony

It’s always amusing to see a public figure shoot themselves in the foot and in poker it’s never more amusing than when it’s everybody’s favourite WSOP Champ/buffoon Phil Hellmuth.

I was reading his latest blog for this column and was thinking to myself, “Hmmm, Phil's blog is kind of boring this week, I'm not sure if there's much to say about it”, when I came across the final paragraph:

“I also sent out an email today to NBC pitching them on a commercial where I would play Greg Grunberg's "Matt Parkman" character from the hit television show "Heroes" a heads up poker match. Ding, ding; Parkman vs. the "Poker Brat!" Parkman can read... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 31 July

By Hugo Martin

Lucky Jim is Almost on the Breadline, Calvin Ayre Looks to be Going that Way Too, Steve Sung Has been Flipping, Smelly Punter 86ed From the Borgata

Helpless Helpless Helpless

Poker. Why do we all play it? To win. To lose. I think it’s because the human condition requires that we are always in action. And in a poker player’s case that action is some form of poker – live cash, online donkament, heads-up, no limit holdem, pot limit Omaha, whatever, as long as there is a game.

This has to be somewhat true because all of us play when we know we shouldn’t. Take Lucky Jim for instance. He’s currently homeless and his job as a cycle courier has slowed down a bit due to the summer holidays. He’s basically potless, but still finds a way to play PLO online.

“Foolishly, I called in at the Gutshot on the way. My friend in Scotland had paid £500 into... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 24 July

By Hugo Martin

Anna Wroblewski Finds the WSOP Rough Going, Chips Missing at the WSOP Again, DY on Hellmuth, Poker King is Fed Up with Sponsorship

Poker Is Rough

I guess it’s not too surprising that with the WSOP over most blogs are silent. Players have retreated home, licking their wounds and scratching their heads. It’s amazing to read some players’ blogs before the WSOP – they honestly believe they are going to win a bracelet.

I guess that same self-belief is what makes them play well, but surely these pros are the ones who know that winning a tournament is like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. It doesn’t take long for self-confidence to crumble once things don’t go their way. From there it’s a short hop to TILT and then we get to burn-out and hatred of poker and the WSOP in general.

For a good flavour of post-WSOP comedown check out more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 17 July

By Hugo Martin

Negreanu on UB, Nat Arem on UB, Tony G Vs Tiffany Michelle, Andy Ward on Tiffany, Raptor Busts Out of WSOP ME, Vicky Coren's Vegas Memories

 

The Plot Thickens

If you’re not up to date with the latest developments in the UltimateBet scandal I suggest you read this thread at twoplustwo.com. A brief summary of the thread would be that connections have been made between the holder of the super-user account and Russ Hamilton, winner of the ’94 WSOP and former owner of UB.

In other words, it now seems very probable that the super-user was not just a rogue employee acting on his own, but someone who had ties with people right at the top of the company. That’s basically it in a nutshell although there are many other facets to the story (nobody is sure who actually owns UB at the moment, for instance); like I said, read that thread.

Daniel Negreanu is... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 10 July

By Hugo Martin

Vicky Coren on the Oldest Game, Poker King Lists the Non-Cashers, Michael Craig has a Run-In with the Devilfish, Lucky Jim Nearly has his Face Kicked In

Call Me

When Vicky Coren was invited to play on some TV poker tournament a while ago the producers asked her to come up with a nickname. Obviously these TV producers didn’t know the nickname rule whereby it doesn’t count if you make it up yourself.

For some reason Vicky couldn’t think up one herself and so asked various poker players around the Vic what she should call herself. I won’t go into all the various suggestions the regulars came up with apart from resident poker cynic and wit Ashley Alterman who came up with the excellent nickname Call Girl. I’m still mystified as to why Vicky didn’t use this brilliant moniker.

What am I going on about, I hear you ask. Well, it appears that between hands at this years WSOP ME, Vicky is reading more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 3 July

By Hugo Martin

Eric "Rizen" Lynch Leaves UltimateBet, Neil Channing Has Many Shirts, Paul Wasicka Appeals to Lady Luck, Victoria Coren Appeals to the Greek Gods

Rizen Leaves UltimateBet

Part of Ultimatebet’s image building strategy since their super-user account debacle recently has been to make some big profile signings in the form of internet legends Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and Eric “Rizen” Lynch.

As you’d expect from a poker community with fire in its belly both of these players have come in for a lot of flak. Whilst I can understand why people would feel the need to criticise others for taking a sponsorship deal from a company with questionable integrity, I am still bemused at how self-righteous poker players can be from behind the safety of their laptops.

Well it seems that a lot of observers’ feelings and thoughts on the matter will now be vindicated as Rizen has pulled out of his deal with UB. more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 26 June

By Hugo Martin

Doyle Brunson Loses 5 Times in a Row, John Tabatabai in the Desert, Shaniac on the Fragility of your Chipstack, Anna Wroblewski is Feeling the Pain

 

Torture For Doyle

By now you’ve probably read a whole load of blogs full of bad beats – yep, we’re 4 weeks into the WSOP so that means full-on burnout and poker hatred. Even the mighty Doyle Brunson is not impervious to World Series ennui.

“Torture…day after day. What the King of England did to William Wallace in Braveheart pales in comparison to me in the past month. I was the bubble boy again in the $10,000 Omaha 8 or better tournament. I was the chip leader with 250k with only 40 players left and didn’t make the money, which was the final 27 players.”

If you walk around the Amazon Room about now you’ll see plenty of players with the equivalent of what the GIs in Vietnam used... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 12 June

By Hugo Martin

Annette_15 Vs Marc Goodwin, Antonius Wants to Play Heads-Up, Quiet Lion Wins a Car, Rob Sherwood on How to Win a Satellite, Life of Ivey

Annette Vs Mr. Cool

I don’t normally bother with blogs that are full of poker strategy in this column, but Annette_15’s recent update is not only quite amusing, but also is a good illustration of how sophisticated her thought processes are when it comes to dissecting a poker hand and deciding upon the right course of action.

Annette has been accused in the past of being arrogant, but I think that is unfair. It’s more likely a combination of her Scandinavian temperament (she’s from Norway, remember) and her youthful confidence. And that confidence has not lapsed into hubris; the fact is, she has put in the hours and the millions of hands online. She “gets” poker, more specifically tournament poker, and this has turned her into a pure LAG machine.

Other players who can’t... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 5 June

By H ugo Martin

Hellmuth and Raffi, Eskimo Clark in the Tao of Poker, Terrence Chan asks for a Doctor, Negreanu on Rebuys, The Hevad Khan Rule, Shaniac Won't Tell You How Many Chips He Has

Hellmuth Whistles a Sad Tune

The WSOP is in full swing now and the blogs are overflowing with bloggage. Where better to start than World-Series-of-Poker-Champion-eleven-bracelets-Captain-of Team-Ultimatebet Phil Hellmuth himself.

Now you don’t need me to tell you that Hellmuth suffers from delusions of grandeur as well as a ludicrously fragile ego that is looking for constant validation.

This latest blog, however, finds Phil in a weird mood. In some nightclub at the Bellagio by himself after his friends have gone off to bed, Phil reflects on getting knocked out of WSOP Event #2 within an hour (he played the tournament in his NASCAR suit by the way, thanks for letting us know that Phil).

“It seemed... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 29 May

By Hugo Martin

Annie and Phil Silent about UltimateBet, Matt Matros on Alternates, Daniel Negreanu Looks Forward to the WSOP

 

No Comment

Unsurprisingly many of the blogs are static this week with no new updates; it’s the calm before the storm that is the WSOP. I guess a lot of players are on their way right now to Vegas. Expect the next entries on your favourite blogs to be all about air travel and airports.

Two blogs that I thought would be full of content are Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth’s. Surely they would both be announcing that they had decided to give up their ties with Ultimatebet? After all, when you are in the business of gambling, integrity and trust are the most important issues.

In case you have no idea what I am going on about I am actually referring to another superuser account scandal similar to the Absolute Poker one that happened a few months ago.

Funnily enough, UltimateBet is under the same... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 22 May

By Hugo Martin

Chip Craziness in Paris, TJ Remembers Lending Money, Poker Players are all Algae, Hellmuth Up for Auction, Devilfish Sings

Les Donkaments Sont Fous

Here’s a good one; did you hear about the guy who got knocked out of a tournament with his own chips? Bond 18, blogging at Poker From The Rail, has just been playing at the Aviation Club in Paris where he witnessed this very occurrence.

As we all know, the French, especially Parisians, take their food very seriously and one of the more civilised things about playing tournaments at the Aviation is that they always have an hour's break for dinner, come what may.

Anyway, what happens is that two players come back after the dinner break and sit in each others’ seats without realising it. Naturally a big hand takes place where one player knocks the other... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 15 May

By Hugo Martin

Annette Attracts Jealousy, Final Table Delay could Spark 9/11-Style Violence, Amy Calistri Looks Back, Matt Maroon Looks Forward to Legalisation

Envy

One constant in the poker world is envy. How often have you heard that the latest big winner of a tournament is actually a terrible player who just got lucky? In my never-ending search for the ultimate poker blog I came across this article about Annette_15. Now I might be going out on a limb here, but I’m guessing the author, Eric, is a tad envious of Miss Obrestad’s recent results.

“The opportunity that was given to players in Europe to play in the World Series, in my view, should never have happen. But it did. So now we have history made outside of the World Series of Poker traditions. The first woman to win a main event should have happened here, in the United States at the... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 8 May

By Hugo Martin

Daniel Negreanu likes the Final Table Delay, Andy Ward Doesn't, Hellmuth - Yes he Can, ZeeJustin Joins Bodog, Dave Hellmuth

Negreanu Likes Delay

As you already know, there has been a lot of brouhaha about the delayed WSOP Final Table. It seems like most pros and players are up in arms about it. What we really need is some sort of players advisory committee for the WSOP. Oh wait, we already have one; Howard Lederer, Daniel Negreanu, is Annie Duke on it too? I have no idea. As far as I can see the only thing these guys did was come up with the $50k H.O.R.S.E tournament.

Anyway, to be fair, Daniel Negreanu has put his point of view forward about the Delay (as it will now be called).

“We need to take a step back to the Becky Behnen era circa 2004 and realize that the WSOP... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 1 May

By Hugo Martin

WSOP Final Table Will Delayed for TV, Andy Ward at the Party Poker World Poker Open, Doyle Jokes Around, The Waster Pronounces Devilfish Dead

Live From the WSOP

You may remember a few weeks back there was talk of ESPN delaying the final table of WSOP Main Event for a possible live broadcast. At the time it seemed ludicrous and absurd – surely ESPN were taking the piss, right?

Well, according to Terrence Chan, the final table of the WSOP $10k Main Event, the Big Dance, the one that all poker players dream of winning, is going to be delayed until November. This allows them to broadcast the lead up to the final table (all nicely edited plus all their ever-important player profiles and crucial extras like the ever-so-funny “The Nutz” ) and then they can cap... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 24 April

By Hugo Martin

Greenstein Frustrated in Monte Carlo, Snoopy in Monte Carlo, Karl Mahrenholz gets Slow-rolled at the Bellagio, Antonius gives it the Needle, Brunson gives it the Hustle, Hellmuth Vs Laliberte

Frustrated in Monte Carlo

A week is a long time in poker and now that the $25k WPT Grand Final is well and truly underway (17 players left as I write) it already seems like a lifetime ago that the EPT Grand Final happened in Monte Carlo.

A week, however, is about how long it takes for all the various bloggers to get their shit together so now is about the time that more stories start seeping out of the woodwork.

One such blogger is none other than Barry Greenstein who has an audio blog at PokerRoad.com. I guess the great man can’t be bothered to type or has trouble finding a secretary to dictate his words of wisdom to. Anyway it appears he had a frustrating time of it in Monaco, although he’s not actually referring to the tournament... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 18 April

By Hugo Martin

Hachem loses it in Monte Carlo, Shaun Deeb is annoyed at Neil Channing, Doyle Brunson is ready for his match against Antonius, R.I.P Brandi Hawbaker

Hachem Vs Deck

Well, another big tournament is over and congrats to the winner etc etc, but let’s be honest, the most exciting moment in Monte Carlo (I’m talking about the EPT Grand Final in case you haven’t worked it out) was when Joe Hachem lost his cool and threatened to punch out Woody Deck.

According to reports, on the river Hachem tapped the table when he saw his opponent’s hand and went to throw his hand in the muck. At this point a couple of players asked to see his hand. When he refused Deck accused him of angleshooting and being a Diva. Hachem now blew up and apparently had to be restrained by Antonio Esfandiari who was on the next table.

If, like Andy Ward,... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 10 April

By Hugo Martin

Lucky Jim Sick of Drinking, Doyle Brunson on getting Highjacked, Gus Hansen on Multi-Tabling, WSOP Final Table Live?

Sick

Lucky Jim’s blog never fails to entertain although his latest update makes for rather depressing reading. Jim has decided to go back to AA as he has been drinking too much.

“…I cycled to the Gutshot where I had four double G&Ts, then met a friend for dinner at Fabrizio's where I had a bottle and a half of red. I actually managed to throw up whilst cycling home without having to stop. The next day I wondered why my room smelt.”

Nice, those very words seem to come alive off the page. Jim seems to have no problem chronicling his pitiful life for us and I’m sure a few of his readers have thought to themselves, “There but for the grace of God go I”. Or maybe not.

Still, I... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 3 April

By Hugo Martin

Doyle Brunson's Wife tells him how to Play, Barry Greenstein recalls some Lucky Hands, Gus Hansen uses the Force, Matt Maroon on the Perfect Poker Set-Up

 

The Missus Knows Best

I received a bit of stick for constantly putting Doyle Brunson’s blog in this column every week, but when you get to his age and can still compete in the biggest cash games on the planet then any insight you can provide must be worth reading. Plus he seems to be one of the few bloggers around who reliably updates at least once a week.

There has been a lot of talk recently about recession in America; how long will it last, has it actually started yet and so on. Well proof that a new economic slump has truly arrived in the form of Doyle’s latest blog:

“After a long drought we finally had a cash game at The Bellagio. We lowered the stakes to $1500-$3000 limits and picked up some new players. I think... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 28 March

By Hugo Martin

Anna Wroblewski on Poker Degeneracy, The Archie Karas Story Continued, Doyle Goes Bananas

Are You A Degenerate?

Anna Wroblewski at Poker Road has written a razor sharp description of your typical poker player:

“Poker players are a different breed of people. Most are insomniacs. Many are lazzzzzzy asses…selfish, stubborn, dishonest people who are usually never happy.”

Hmmm, I resemble that comment. Ok, not the insomnia part except when in Vegas. As for the part about being happy – give us a break Anna, it’s hard to retain a cheerful disposition when all around you are a bunch of idiots who can’t play, yet somehow they still find a way to walk through the raindrops…

Ok, I’m joking obviously and I have to say she makes a fair point. It... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 20 March

By Hugo Martin

Annie Duke vs Jim Leach, Losing player tries to Jump out of the Borgata, Doyle Brunson vs Patrik Antonius, TJ and the Prince, A slap on the wrist at the Empire

Duke vs Leach

Annie Duke doesn’t really seem to play poker anymore. Instead she spends her time promoting and teaching at WPT Boot Camps and appearing in horrible poker-based TV shows with the likes of Phil Hellmuth.

I can’t imagine anything worse than one of these boot camps. What goes on at these things anyway? Somebody like Duke tells you that you must go all in with AK when the blinds are x/x and your stack is y. Some of us learnt those ancient secrets the hard way.

I would rather learn how to parlay my vast arsenal of poker skills into earning bucket-loads of money by “teaching” at a poker boot camp thingy…

One thing Annie does do these days, however, is testify in Washington on behalf of the poker industry and community which we should all be grateful for. Recently she... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 13 March

By Hugo Martin

Doyle Brunson on Bookmakers, How Archie Karas moved his Piles of Cash around, TJ Cloutier Vs Daniel Schreiber, Julian Thew follows the Signs, Lucky Jim feels lazy

 

Doyle Vs The Bookies

Doyle Brunson has been quite busy lately from the sounds of it, but it’s good to know his priorities are still in the right place.

“I had three important meetings; the Extreme Poker Show at the Venetian sent a group in to discuss tactics as did High Stakes Entertainment – the golf tournament guys. The third meeting was maybe the most important…my bookie who owed me money from basketball.”

Unlike certain other name players who seem to spend more time on the business of poker and gambling than the actual game itself the Big Poppa is a true gambler. Obviously there is a lot of dough to be made from the various endorsements and deals on the side that have appeared since the boom, but at... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 6 March

By Hugo Martin

Andy Ward enjoys The Poker Den, Phil Hellmuth vs Durrr, Shaniac at the WPT Invitational, ZeeJustin on Men The Master, Jonathan Little Abuses his Rakeback, Archie Karas on how he beat Chip and Doyle

The Poker Den

Andy Ward has been enjoying The Poker Den TV show this week on British television. Forget about High Stakes Poker, this is the show according to Mr. Ward.

“The play is about the same, the commentary is much worse (Gabe Kaplan rules), but there's so much additional comedy that it's just great.”

Of course the comedy that Andy refers to here is purely unintentional; I have tried to watch this show, but find the production values so excruciatingly poor that I can’t bear it. I’m glad that Andy finds it entertaining as he has managed to express perfectly one of the ludicrous features of this poor man’s relation to High Stakes.

“What's meant to be... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 28 February

By Hugo Martin

Doyle Brunson on Luck, Brandon Adams Procrastinates, David Young on Poker, Kevin Saul gets Slow-Rolled, Patrik Antonius Spots a Hustle

Luck is Expensive

Many jokes have been made about poker players’ lack of hygiene and I can certainly remember sitting next to some world class non-bathers in my time, especially when playing in downtown Vegas. Obviously these degenerate gamblers don’t have the time for a shower as they need to get to the cardroom ASAP.

Doyle Brunson offers another explanation on his blog why sometimes in a game you might have to deal with an unpleasant whiff.

“Superstition is a strange thing. It seems gamblers are more inclined to be superstitious than most people. I have known poker players who wouldn’t change their clothes, even their underwear, when on a winning streak. I try to sit upwind from them when they are doing that.”... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 21 February

By Hugo Martin

TJ Cloutier on Hellmuth, Hellmuth in London, Hellmuth talked off the Table, Doyle Keeps his Punters Happy, Players who don't want to play "Bad" Players, Bad Old Days at the Vic

Number-Two

TJ Cloutier and Phil Hellmuth have been good pals for a long time. In fact, one of my earliest memories of the WSOP was watching Hellmuth come bounding across the room at Binion’s Horseshoe in order to tell TJ a bad beat story.

Poor old TJ was obviously trying to get out of it in a cash game and now he had to pretend to be sympathetic as Hellmuth told him his tale of woe. It should go without saying that the whole of the ‘Shoe heard the story too.

Thankfully the fact that they are best buds still doesn’t stop ol’ TJ from posting some funny stories about our favourite WSOP champ. In his current blog TJ recalls an early conversation with the PokerBrat:
more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 14 February

By Hugo Martin

Adams v Antonius on the Golf Course and Tennis Courts, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke in London, Archie Karas, LuckyJim on Bluescouse

Fore!

Following last week’s blog about Guy Laliberte bluffing him Brandon Adams at Always Bluff continues to speculate about his golf/tennis bet with Patrik Antonius.

“The bet is 100k in tennis in July, 2 of 3 sets straight up, on clay, and 100k in golf, 18 hole stroke play on a fairly difficult course. Right now he’s way behind in golf (like 20 shots behind) and I’m way behind in tennis (prob 6-1, 6-2 if we played now) and he’s an infinitely better athlete. Plus he’s in shape and I’m not. I think I’m the favorite b/c if I play a lot of golf I’ll have him drawing dead there and there’s no way that I’ll be dead in the tennis if I work. Plus from what I can tell he has... more...

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Hugo's Blogspotting: 7 February

By Hugo Martin

Bluescouse is Selling his House, Brandon Adams gets Bluffed by Guy Laliberte, Doyle Brunson checks out Laliberte's Bugatti, Gus Hansen plays Online

House For Sale

In a post that has generated over eighty comments Bluescouse has now decided to bite the bullet and sell his house. And why not? He bought the said domicile with poker money so naturally he’s going to sell it for poker money too.

“bar my final £600 i've bust everything i've been lent.... so i've decided to sell the house. it's something that's been on my mind for awhile. whenever i'm broke it always seems stupid having money invested in the house but having nothing to play with.”

Mike Caro once famously wrote that you should never spend your bankroll and I guess buying a house would be spending a large chunk of one’s bankroll. Could Rembrandt work without paint? Pele without a... more...

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