A Nguyen Win!!!

Scotty Nguyen Wins Event 45 - $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship!!!

I'm on break from class and had to check in on the action, but according to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-world-series-of-poker/event-45-50000-h-o-r-s-e-world-championship/ Scotty has finally taken down the top prize bracelet, the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, the $1,989,120 cash prize and the admiration and envy of the Poker World.

Congratulations Scotty!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

The Monday Morning GRIND Continues

The battle wages on in Event 45 - $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. 3 players continue to play even at this hour. This is Day 5 of this grueling event which tests the stamina of even the most seasoned of pros. Within poker's upper echelon "this" event is considered to be the greater measure of "who is the best" as opposed to the Main Event. Currently, Scotty Nguyen enjoys a commanding lead with a 10,085,000 chip stack, then Michael DeMichele with 3,040,000 and finally Erick Lindgren with 1,675,000. I would like to say that we'll be crowning a winner soon, but I'm not that foolish to make such an assertion. None of these men will be going down quietly. Top prize is $1,989,120, with second at $1,243,200, and finally 3rd at $781,440. ALL substantial wins, but there's still the matter of the shiny little trinket and the extreme bragging rights that go along with this event. Also according to "loganmark" of PokerNews.com, Erick Lindgren will take the lead in the Milwaukee's Best Light WSOP Player of the Year standings, as he is currently assured of finishing at least in 3rd place in Event #45. According to his post, although there are still a few POY eligible events yet to be played, it will be very tough for anyone to take it away from Lindgren. Way-to-go "E-Dog!" I've been saying all along that my loyalties were definitely being challenged by this event, because of the fact that both Scotty and Erick were both still in it. I still think it is far from over... and we'll just have to wait and see. Follow along with all the action being reported over at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-world-series-of-poker/event-45-50000-h-o-r-s-e-world-championship/day5/. ***EDIT*** No sooner did I hit "Publish Post" and head back over to check the standings at PokerNews.com and I read that Erick Lindgren has been eliminated by Scotty Nguyen. Scotty now has over 12 million in chips. Go SCOTTY!

Event 48 - $2,000 No Limit Hold'em came to a close over 7 hours ago, when Alexandre Gomes finally bested the field of 2,317. He takes home the WSOP bracelet and a whopping $770,540. Congratulations. And from the sound of it Gomes and his fellow Brasilians are probably still celebrating!

Event 49 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em continues on at this hour as well. The field has been narrowed from its 2,718 initial entrants to a final 10, but its going to require one more casualty before the players get to call it a night. It could still be a while, as there has been little action for the last several hands, in which there have been very few flops even seen. Hang in there players! For that matter hang in there Pojo and Shamus who continue to provide bleary-eyed coverage.

Event 50 - $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship Day 1 came to a close a little over 3 hours ago with the field narrowed down to 87 players, of the original 381 who began. Only the top 36 will get paid in this one. Currently Josh Arieh enjoys the chip lead at 368,000, which is 151,000 more than his closest competitor. Day 2 will begin later today.

Event 51 - $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. narrowed its huge field of 803 players down to just 192 in a single day. Top prize will be $256,412 for this event. A number of familiar faces still remain in this event. which will get back underway later today.

Event 52 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em is the only event on tap to begin today. Then, tomorrow only one event is slated Event 53 - $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout. To be followed-up by the Grandaddy Event 54 which is the epic 39th Annual World Series of Poker Main Event which will begin its 1st of 4 Day 1's on Thursday. Stay tuned!

Time to get some work done...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Two more WSOP bracelets awarded, and NDPT #9 follow up

Event 45 - $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship will head into Day 5 today with only the final 8 remaining. This event promises plenty of excitement, with its All-Star cast of characters. I'm not even really sure who to be rooting for! The top three includes Erick Lindgren, Scotty Nguyen, and Barry Greenstein! I'm hoping E-Dog picks up his 2nd bracelet but at the same time Scotty is one of my favorites as well. But this thing is far from over though, and only time will tell, and I'm sure it'll be in to the wee hours of the morning. Hope you're all getting some sleep now, and getting ready for the war to come.

Event 46 - $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Six-handed on the other hand has come to an end and there we find Joe Commisso claiming the bracelet and the thus far the top payout in this year's WSOP of $911,855! Congratulations. According to PokerNews.com his heads up matchup against 2nd place finisher Richard Lyndaker went on for a whopping 209 hands.

Event 47 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Low has ended and Ryan Hughes walks away with the bracelet having bested the initial 544 entrants. He pockets $183,368 for his efforts, and this makes his 2nd WSOP bracelet. Congratulations.

Event 48 - $2,000 No Limit Hold'em returns for its Day 3 where the final 9 of the starting 2,317 will battle it out for the bracelet and a top prize payout of $770,540.

Event 49 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em will head into Day 2 today, with 215 players remaining from the starting 2,718 who began yesterday.

Event 50 - $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship and Event 51 - $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. will get under way today.

Back East, you'll recall that NDPT #9 was held last night, here at the home of cheer_dad. Turnout was lower than is normal but in the Summer months many other conflicting obligations tend to get in the way. A number of the NDPT membership has the baseball All-Stars season to contend with. And not to mention the fact that I didn't even announce this tournament until the day before! All things considered 19 players was still a pretty good turnout, and was enough so that the game can be counted in the NDPT Points Race!

Here's how the action played out, or at least who got paid:
1st Steve "All-In" Allman, 2nd Mike "hide the Jack Daniels" Westbrook, 3rd Brian Murray (a.k.a. cheer_dad), 4th Teresa "Big Red" Murray

And with 9 NDPT tournaments on the books so far, here's how we're looking in the points race:

1st Teresa Murray 129

2nd Brian Murray and Steve Allman tied with 121

4th Vince Post 106

5th Julie Wolfe 102

6th JR Ruble 101

7th Dan Rempel 76

8th Del Minturn 73

9th Matt Jackson 72

10th Eric Shuman and Dennis Rempel tied with 70

For the entire breakdown head over to http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=ptNl6_cpXDHlDaBaHIU7NVA&hl=en for the master list.

Big Red and I hope everyone had a great time last night. Next months tournament duties fall to the Wolfe-pack. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll be able to make it to the games, while juggling baseball tournaments throughout the month. We have one scheduled for every weekend in July! See you all real soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP Saturday update, and NDPT #9 is tonight!

Event 44 - $1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/Rebuys has ended and we find Max Greenwood at the top of the heap. He takes home $693,444 for the victory along with the WSOP bracelet. Congratulations.

Event 45 - $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship enters Day 4 with 24 of the 148 remaining in the fight, and only the top 16 will find themselves in the money. These titans of the game will return to the Amazon Room at 3:00pm PDT to continue. We'll be waiting!

Event 46 - $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Six-handed is down to the final table, having thinned the original entrants from 805 to just 6.

Event 47 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Low has been narrowed down to the final 13 of the initial 544 and will get back underway at 3:00pm PDT.

Event 48 - $2,000 No Limit Hold'em will enter Day 2 with 198 players. This number down from the original 2,317 player field which started.

Event 49 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em just got underway and the reports "say" that the event is sold out, with the monitors in the Amazon Room showing 2,699 players. Oh yeah... poker's dead! : P Also being reported by PokerNews bloggers is that Nolan Dalla announced that John Bonetti passed away last night. A moment of silence was observed in the room. Rest in Peace John.

Meanwhile back at the ranch... my day has been a blur so far. Baseball practice was today at 10:00 for 2 hours. I then came home, and immediately began on the lawn. Hour and a half later that's out of the way, but wait there's more. Vacuum out and clean up the pool. Shower, then rehydrate, and grab a quick bite, while updating the blog. (Yes, I give til it hurts!) Next up is getting the basement ready for tonight's NDPT Tournament #9! Counting the chips, setting up tables and chairs... all the while working on laundry.

I'll see many of you soon. Don't forget game time is 7:00pm EST! Sharp-(ish) :)

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP updates, and NDPT #9 is tomorrow

Event 43 - $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo finished up last night with Martin Klaser coming out on top of the 720 entrants, winning the WSOP bracelet and $216,249 prize. Congratulations to him. Erik Seidel did pull out a 4th place finish.

Event 44 - $1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/Rebuys will reconvene at 2:00pm PDT where the final 9 will battle it out for the top prize of $693,444. Hmmm with only 879 entrants, there were a helluva lot of rebuys involved!

Event 45 - $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship will enter its 3rd day of play today with 67 of the initial 148 remaining. And it is still an absolute "PRO-a-palooza." I really hope there is some extensive TV time for this one. I firmly believe that this is the game of games now.

Event 46 - $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Six-handed still has a way to go with 96 of the initial 805 still remaining when Day 2 reconvenes today.

Event 47 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Low enters Day 2 today with 117 of the original 544 remaining. Still a number of high-profile players remain in this one, including Marco Traniello currently with the 3rd largest chipstack!

Only, Event 48 - $2,000 No Limit Hold'em is scheduled to get underway with it Day 1 today. Stay tuned for all the latest updates, but for the real analysis head over to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/.

ALSO, back here in the Mountain State... I will be hosting NDPT Tournament #9 tomorrow night June, 28, 2008 at 7:00pm. I sent out a notice very late, so hopefully everyone sees it. The baseball tournament that was in the way of us having a poker tournament has been rescheduled and the weekend magically cleared itself right up! Hope to see you all tomorrow night.

Have a good Friday everybody.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Cincinnati Reds Legends Camp... part 2

I won't go overboard but here's a few more of the shots from the Cincinnati Reds Legends Camp.

Cole with "Gapper"

While looking around for info on "Gapper" I came across the following link that gives background on ALL of the Mascots of the MLB. There are some really cool stories on their origins. Check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_mascots.
Gapper is the current mascot for the Cincinnati Reds. He was first introduced as the furry companion to Mr. Red, the long-time mascot in the winter of 2002 as the franchise was preparing to move to their new home, Great American Ballpark. The mascot was created by David Raymond's Raymond Entertainment Group, the founder being the man inside the Phillie Phanatic costume from 1978 to 1993. A young fan won two season tickets for submitting the winning name.

Major League Hopefuls! : )

Aiming for the fence!

Bringin' heat...

Herm and Leo were among the most enjoyable of the professional staff.

Thanks to all those who made the Cincinnatti Reds Legends Camp a success! You made a lot of wonderful memories for at least 2 little boys, one my 9-yr-old son, and two the boy inside of me that just refuses to grow up. My son asked on the ride home about the professional baseball players, "so their job was to play baseball?" My answer, "yup, getting paid to play a game." To myself I thought, and son if the whole baseball thing doesn't work out, there are an awful of other guys getting paid to play a game of a different sort, involving a deck of cards and some clay chips! : P Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Cincinnati Reds Legends Camp... part 1

I wanted to go back and post up some of the pictures that we were able to take at the Cincinnati Reds Legends Camp held in Marietta, OH, June 23-25, 2008. Cole and I had a great time at the camp and learned a lot going through the drills that were being taught and he got to meet some of the all-time greats from the great game of baseball. Scroll down, take a look at the pictures, and I've included some of the bios of the players that I found out on Wikipedia.com. Enjoy!

Above is my son Cole (obviously) with Leo Cárdenas.

Leo Cárdenas (Leonardo Lazaro Cárdenas Alfonso) (born December 17, 1938 in Matanzas, Cuba) was a prominent shortstop in American Major League Baseball for 16 years (1960-75). A right-handed batter and thrower, Cárdenas was a dangerous hitter in his prime and a superior fielder. He played for the Cincinnati Reds (1960-68), Minnesota Twins (1969-71), California Angels (1972), Cleveland Indians (1973) and Texas Rangers (1974-75), batting .257 with 118 home runs in 1,941 games. He was a National League All-Star in 1964-66 and 1968 and an American League All-Star in 1971. Cardenas led NL shortstops in fielding percentage in 1963 and 1966. He tied an AL record for assists by a shortstop in 1969 (570), and led in fielding percentage in 1971. He is also a member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Leo Cárdenas Shortstop Born: December 17, 1938 (1938-12-17) Batted: Right Threw: Right MLB debut July 25, 1960 for the Cincinnati Reds. Final game September 26, 1975 for the Texas Rangers. Career statistics AVG .257, Hits 1725, HR 118, Teams Cincinnati Reds (1960-1968)

Minnesota Twins (1969-1971) California Angels (1972) Cleveland Indians (1973) Texas Rangers (1974-1975) Career highlights and awards All Star 1964-1966, 1968, 1971. Gold Glove in 1965

Above is Jim Maloney teaching the kids proper pitching form...

James William Maloney (born June 2, 1940 in Fresno, California) is a former righthanded pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Cincinnati Reds (1960-70) and California Angels (1971). One of the hardest-throwing pitchers of his era, Maloney boasted a fastball clocked at 99 miles per hour, threw two no-hitters, won 10 or more games from 1963 to 1969, and struck out more than 200 batters for four consecutive seasons (1963-66). He won 23 games in 1963 and 20 in 1966. But Maloney was overshadowed by eventual Baseball Hall of Fame pitchers Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, Don Drysdale and other National League contemporaries. Arm miseries shortened his career, robbing him of the chance to pitch for the "Big Red Machine" -- the fabled Cincinnati NL dynasty from 1970-76. Maloney was able to pitch in only seven games for the 1970 Reds, and was winless in three starts. Maloney attended Fresno State University and the University of California, Berkeley before signing with Cincinnati. Over his career, he won 134 games (all with the Reds) and lost 84, with an ERA of 3.19. In 1973, he was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. No Hitters: Maloney pitched two games in which he gave up no hits through nine innings in 1965, while going on to win 20 games that year. His first hitless nine-inning performance in 1965 was on June 14 against the New York Mets. It lasted 10 innings, including 18 strike outs, but Johnny Lewis led off with a home run in the 11th inning (Maloney lost the game 1-0). At the time, that game was officially recognized as a no-hitter, but the rules were later changed to omit no-hit games that were broken up in extra innings. His first official no-hitter came in August 19 against the Cubs, which he won 1-0, and his second came on April 30, 1969, in which he beat the Astros 10-0 at Crosley Field. The very next day, Don Wilson returned the favor on the Reds, pitching his second career no-hitter. The double no-hit feat was the second in Major League history, the first having been accomplished by Gaylord Perry and Ray Washburn—in September of just the year before.

Jim Maloney Pitcher Born: June 2, 1940 (1940-06-02) (age 68) Batted: Left Threw: Right MLB debut July 27, 1960for the Cincinnati Reds Final game September 21, 1971for the California Angels Career statistics Record 134-84 ERA 3.19 Strikeouts 1605 Teams Cincinnati Reds (1960-1970) California Angels (1971) Career highlights and awards All-Star (NL): 1965 Led N.L. in shutouts in 1966 (5) Three no-hitters Won 23 games in 1963.

Cole (again) with Herm Winningham

Herm Winningham, Herman Son Winningham (born December 1, 1961, in Orangeburg, South Carolina) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. Drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round of the 1981 MLB amateur draft, Winningham would make his Major League Baseball debut with the New York Mets on September 1, 1984, and appear in his final game on October 3, 1992. Winningham was a member of the Cincinnati Reds team that defeated the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series. TeamsNew York Mets: 1984 Montreal Expos: 1985-1988 Cincinnati Reds: 1988-1991 Boston Red Sox: 1992

Herm Winningham Center Fielder Born: December 1, 1961 (1961-12-01) (age 46) Batted: Left Threw: Right MLB debut September 1, 1984for the New York Mets Final game October 3, 1992for the Boston Red Sox Career statistics Batting Average .239 Hits 452 SB 105 Teams New York Mets (1982) Montreal Expos (1985-1988) Cincinnati Reds (1988-1991)) Boston Red Sox (1992)) Career highlights and awards Drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round (9th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft.

Above Ron Oester teaches hitting fundamentals to the kids.

Ron Oester, Ronald John Oester (born May 5, 1956, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. Bill James described him as "a quiet, efficient player who was always overlooked". Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 9th round of the 1974 MLB amateur draft, Oester made his debut with the Reds on September 10, 1978, and appeared in his final game on October 3, 1990. Oester was one of the few major leaguers who did not wear batting gloves. He perpetually developed blisters on his hands, and according to teammates, they would develop into deep wounds on his palms. On July 5, 1987, during a Mets-Reds game at Riverfront Stadium, the New York Mets' Mookie Wilson slid hard into second base during a double-play attempt. During the slide, Oester, who was playing second, collided with Wilson. His cleats got caught in the turf, and he tore his left ACL. Oester did not return to action until July 16, 1988. Oester was a member of the Cincinnati Reds team that defeated the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series. Although he lost the starting second baseman job to Mariano Duncan that season, Oester was one of the team's top pinch hitters, hitting .299 that season and going 2-for-4 (.500) in the postseason. He is currently the manager of the Cincinnati Steam.

Ron Oester Second Baseman Born: May 5, 1956 (1956-05-05) (age 52) Batted: Switch Threw: Right MLB debut September 10, 1978 for the Cincinnati Reds Final game October 3, 1990 for the Cincinnati Reds. Career statistics Batting average .265 Home Runs 42 RBIs 344 Teams Cincinnati Reds (1978-1990) Career highlights and awards 1988 Hutch Award

Above Cole hangs out with Mr. Redlegs

Mr. Redlegs is a mascot of the Cincinnati Reds. He was reintroduced in 2007 to play a supporting role, along with Mr. Red. Mr. Redlegs appeared as a patch on the Reds' uniforms for two seasons in the 1950s. In 2008, Mr. Redlegs gained national notoriety by falling off of an ATV during pre-game antics. This caused the large, baseball-shaped head to fall off of the Mr. Redlegs costume, exposing the head of the person inside the costume.

I'll continue this in part 2, with a few more pictures and such, so as not to anger the Blogger-gods.

Regards,

cheer_dad

a H.O.R.S.E. with no name and Thumper too...

Event 42 - $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em World Championship has come to an end, and left at the top of the 2,218 player pile is Dan Lacourse, who takes home the WSOP bracelet and the 1st place cash out of $368,832. Congratulations.

Event 43 - $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo not long ago narrowed its field down to the final table of 9 and play will resume at 2:00pm PDT. Currently Erik Seidel is second in chipstacks to Jon Maren. Seidel will be going for his 9th WSOP bracelet, and a top prize of $216,249. Stay tuned.

Event 44 - $1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/Rebuys will enter Day 2 today with 115 of the initial 879 players remaining. Far too early to make any guesses on the outcome of this one.

Event 45 - $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship will resume today at 3:00pm PDT. A PRO heavy field will battle this one out. There remain 140 players in this event, and only the top 16 will payout. A top prize of $ 1,989,120 awaits a winner. This one will as always be exciting.

Event 46 - $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Six-handed and Event 47 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Low will both get underway today. Stay tuned to all the fine reporting over at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/. If you think the bloggers/reporters are doing a great job like I do, let 'em hear it!!! Praise is welcomed. As for other comments, follow the "Thumper" philosophy. "If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all."

Regards,

cheer_dad

I'm a little behind, but the WSOP marches on

Event 39 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em has crowned (errr braceletted) it winner David Woo. According to reports David made the final table (finishing fifth) in this same event last year. This year however he closed the deal and takes home his first WSOP bracelt and a whopping $631,656. I'd say, time well spent!

Event 40 - $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw which drew 238 entrants has come to a close with John Phan besting the field, taking home the bracelet and $151,896 for the top spot. Robert Mizrachi and David Sklansky also appeared at the final table of this event, finishing 4th and 6th respectively.

Event 41 - $1,500 Mixed Hold'em came to a close as Frank Gary bested the field of 731 entrants to take down the bracelet and the $219,508 payday. Congratulations.

Event 42 - $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em World Championship has been whittled down to the final 9, and play will resume in this event today at 2:00pm PDT.

Event 43 - $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo is down to the final 69 and will resume today at 2:00pm PDT, where they will narrow it down to the final 9. Erik Seidel, Joe Hachem, Chris Ferguson, and Chip Jett still remain in contention for the top prize.

Event 44 - $1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/Rebuys and Event 45 - $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship get underway today. Stay tuned to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/ for all the latest on this and all the best in WSOP coverage.

Sorry I missed posting yesterday, but I experienced melt down after Day 2 of the Reds Legends Baseball Camp, and had to take advantage of some much needed sleep after that and last night's All Star practice. I'll try to post up again today, to catch the world up on my goings on.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Monday WSOP and George Carlin's passing

Event 38 - $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em has crowned its winner, Davidi Kitai, who bested the field of 605 entrants. According to the reports I'm reading it was a long, hard fought battle waged before he final took down his first WSOP bracelet and the $244,546 top prize. Congratulations.

Event 39 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em is down to the final 9 of the original 2,720 who started the event. Day 3 will get underway today at 2:00pm PDT. Currently in the chip lead is Thom Werthmann. The action fires back up today at 2:00pm PDT.

Event 40 - $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw is down from 238 to the final 30 players. Only the top 24 get paid in this event. So, there are still 6 who will go away empty handed. Still among the hopeful are Greg Raymer, Robert Mizrachi, Bill Chen, David Sklansky, and Dario Alioto. Still to be won is the bracelet and top prize of $151,896. It will start at 2:00pm PDT as well.
Event 41 - $1,500 Mixed Hold'em is down to 98 of the intial 731 players. The top 72 will make the money, of course all are aiming for the top prize of $219,508. This one starts up at 3:00pm PDT.

Event 42 - $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em World Championship has been under way for nearly an hour now. Too much is still going on to provide you with any accurate reports at this time.

Stay tuned to the great reporting over at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/. I'll recap as best I can.

In other news... Whitney and Teresa made it back yesterday morning from NYC. Of course they were exhausted. And yes there were purses bought as is their norm. A bit of sight seeing was done. as well. I'm glad to have them back.

Today was the first day of the Cincinnati Reds "Legends" Camp, held in Marietta, OH. Cole and I headed up this morning, to join in the action. It was a lot of fun. I think Cole learned a lot, and actually I enjoyed it and learned some things from the professionals that were helping to conduct the event. Cole picked up a souvenier ball, and grabbed a few signatures. My favorite players were Henry Winningham and Ron Oester. These two really captivated the boys and made a real impact on thiem. 2 more days of the camp remain and I think we're looking forward to it all.

Still on tap for tonight, if it doesn't rain, is All Star practice is tonight. So, I think we're both just taking it easy for a while, so we don't fall asleep later.

Finally, I wanted to make mention of the loss of George Carlin. It was reported that the comedian was taken to the hospital following complaints of chest pain. According to this article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/06/23/carlin.obit/index.html?eref=rss_topstories, he was 71 years old. His wit, shocking nature, and cynicism were his absolute trademarks. He will be missed.

But now, I'm starting to nod off, from having too much sun today, I'm gonna lay down and unwind for about an hour and a half.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Sleepy Sunday at the WSOP

Event 36 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em has been won by Jesper Hougaard. This makes his first WSOP bracelet and the $610,304 prize ain't too shabby either. Congratulations.

Event 37 - $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low World Championship has ended and atop the 235 initial entrants one came out on top, David Benyamine! This makes his first WSOP bracelet and the $535,687. Congratulations. Also, note that Mike Matusow scored a 5th place finish in the event.

Event 38 - $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em has been narrowed down to the final 9, which will reconvene today.

Event 39 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em will begin its Day 2 at 2:00pm today, with 218 of the initial 2,720 entrants remaining.

Scheduled to get underway today are Event 40 - $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw and Event 41 - $1,500.

I'm looking forward to all the continued action. You can never have too much poker,,, right?

Hope all is well with each of you.
Stay tuned to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/ for all the continuing action.

Regards.

cheer_dad

Saturday update WSOP

Event 34 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha w/Rebuys has been won by Layne Flack. The bracelet and $577,725 are all his. I know there's plenty to dispute about it being the year of the "big-name" pro, but there are an awful lot of them climbing to the top of the poker pyramid this time around! But this is still a game of the individual and therefore, congratulations Layne! The temptress Clonie Gowen continues to put her name out there for me to see among those who cash out. She finished 34th in the event. She knows I read all these results... Shameless. : ) But now I refuse to acknowledge you unless you're higher in the cashout listing.

Event 35 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud has crowned its winner Mike Rocco, for a cool $135,753. He bested the field of 381 players to take it down. Congratulations.

Event 36 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em will resume today at 2:00pm PDT when the final nine come together competing for the first place prize of $610,304.

Event 37 - $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low World Championship will also reconvene today with the remaining 18 of the original 235 fighting it out for the top prize of $535,687. A whopping 7 of the 18 are Full Tilt sponsored, including Mike Matusow, who is currently in 2nd place.

Event 38 - $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em enters Day 2 today with 63 of the original 605 players remaining. Pssst although short-stacked Clonie's still in there!

Getting underway today will be Event 39 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em and Event 40 - $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw.

For all the latest stay tuned and be sure to check out the in-depth coverage over at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/.

Currently Cole and I are doing the bachelor thing while Big Red and Whit are off on their bus trip to New York City. We didn't get to sleep in at all, when I was called to come into work for an application restart, before 8:00am this morning. In other excitement today... laundry (shudder.)

We had our 2nd All-Stars practice last night and the boys look really good. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they perform. Good Luck boys. Our first tournament is scheduled for next weekend down at Tri C.

Regards,

cheer_dad

It's Friday at the WSOP.

Event 32 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em has its winner, Luis Velador, after besting the field of 2,304 players. He takes home the WSOP bracelet and $573,734. Congratulations to him!

Event 33 - $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low World Championship has been won by Sebastian Ruthenberg after coming out on top of the 261 entrants. Top prize for the event was $328,756. To get there he and Chris Ferguson battled it out heads-up for over three hours! According to the post at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-world-series-of-poker/event-33-5000-seven-card-stud-hi-lo-wc/ when it came down to the final two, Ferguson enjoyed a 2-to-1 chip lead. Ruthenberg came from behind and got a slight edge, only later to get crippled back to 200,000 chips, and STILL managing to climb back out of the hole one more time to finally take it down. congratulations to him! Other notables who finished near the top were Marcel Luske in 4th, followed in 5th by Annie Duke!

Event 34 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha w/Rebuys is down to the final 9 of 320 initial players. They will get started on Day 3 today at 2:00pm PDT. $577,725 awaits... Ted Forrest is currently 2nd in chips to Kyle Kloeckner. A couple of other notables with respectable chip stacks are Dario Alioto and Layne Flack.

Event 35 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud is down to the final 8 of the original 381. They start back up at 3:00pm PDT.

Event 36 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em will begin Day 2 at 2:00pm PDT, where the remaining 189 will continue to narrow the field.

Event 37 - $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low World Championship started Day 1 with 235, which has been weeded down to its final 123. A number of noted pros remain in this high-dollar event, among them and near the top in third and 4th in chips are Annie Duke and Erick Lindgren. Oh and Roland De Wolfe is in there too, so were bound to have more of those little cliches of "Hungry like de Wolfe" in the Live Reporting section of http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/.

Event 38 - $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em is slated to get underway today at noon.
There's so much more to come! Stay tuned.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Dario wins #31, Annie leads #33, and more about Clonie : )

Event 31 - $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-handed has been won by Dario Minieri. This makes his first WSOP bracelet and a $528,418 payday. Congratulations, and sorry about the whole Harry Potter thing. : )

Event 32 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em is down to the final table of 9 from the original 2,304. They will reconvene today at 2:00pm PDT. A top prize of $573,734 awaits.

Event 33 - $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low World Championship is STILL grinding away as of now. They are down to the final 10 of the initial 261 starters. Plenty of star power in this one, with Annie Duke currently in the chip lead, and still in the running Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, Marcel Luske, and David Benyamine. I hope we get to see a little of this final table in the ESPN coverage as well! Oh and incidentally GO ANNIE!!!

Event 34 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha w/Rebuys has ended for the night, with 49 of the initial 320 remaining. The top 36 get paid in this event, with a top prize of $577,725. There are a number of recognizable pros still in this one, but I'll mention only one... and cross my fingers and channel some luck and good fortune your way... CLONIE GOWEN, currently 11th in chip stack.

Event 35 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud is down to 70 of the original 381 and will get back underway today.

Scheduled to begin today are Events 36 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em and 37 - $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low World Championship. For all the latest and greatest head over to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Flickr diversion

Okay, I don't know what it is, or what it's supposed to be, but the idea intrigued me. It also turned out kinda cool too! So, I'll credit who gave me the idea, and even back to the one who did it to them too. I saw it over here http://gadzooks64.blogspot.com/2008/06/flickr-meme.html and Gadzooks found it over here
http://pokerwolf.blogspot.com/2008/06/flickr-game.html.
All of us poker players, all of us bloggers, you do the math.

Here's how it works, go give it a shot...

Flickr game:

The Rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker).

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? cheer
2. What is your favorite food? lasagna
3. What high school did you go to? south
4. What is your favorite color? tie dye
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Miranda Kerr
6. Favorite drink? Killian red
7. Dream vacation? Caribbean
8. Favorite dessert? dirt cake
9. What you want to be when you grow up? poker player
10. What do you love most in life? family
11. One Word to describe you. compulsive
12. Your flickr name. cheer_dad

Credit for the photos above:
1. Cheers!, 2. Escape, 3. Endure, 4. DSC03019adj Woodstock, 5. 01, 6. mmmm Killian's, 7. It's breathtaking!, 8. dirt cupcakes, 9. Untitled, 10. The Avenue in mist and sun, 11. Obsessive Compulsive Gardener, 12. Cheers, Dad! Pop-Up Card

Anyway, that's it. Thought some of you could use a diversion from the WSOP coverage. Me? Hell no! I've had the PokerNews Live Reporting window up the whole time I worked on this flickr thing. : )

I know... issues.

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP, still going strong

Event 29 - $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em is in the books now as John Phan takes home the bracelet and $434,789, having outlasted the field of 716 players. Congratulations. David Singer was the only notable sponsored (Full Tilt) player which made it to the final table and ultimately finished in 5th place.

Event 30 - $10,000 Limit Hold'em World Championship came to an end when the 218 initial entrants were reduced to the last man standing Rob Hollink. Congratulations. He takes home the WSOP bracelet and the $496,931 top prize. Others recognizable at the final table included JC Tran who finished in 5th place, and Andy Block who took down 7th.

Event 31 - $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-handed has FINALLY reached a final table. The 1,012 have been whittled down to the final 6. Unfortunately, Scotty Nguyen was eliminated on the final table bubble. I really hate to see that, Scotty has become one of my favorite players if for no other reason than how gracious he was when I saw and met him in Las Vegas and snapped a very candid picture of a man exhausted/hot/and dying for a smoke. Despite it all, he hammed it up for the camera, and gave a signature, "It's me, baby!" He takes home 7th place prize of $50,508! Current chip leader is the "Harry Potter" of poker, Dario Minieri, with nearly more than half a million chip lead over his nearest competition. Play gets underway again today at 2:00pm PDT.

Event 32 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em has been survived by 166 of the initial 2,304 players. Among the posts from the Live Reporting over at PokerNews I found the following tidbit of information posted by loganmark, "Another Record Broken -- Another announcement was made after the players were "in the money." The players congratulated Phil Hellmuth on a record WSOP cash. As if holding a record eleven WSOP gold bracelets wasn't enough, Hellmuth currently enjoys the record for most WSOP cashes with 65." As if he wasn't already insufferable enough... ugggh. Alright, alright...sorry, Congratulations Phil.

Event 33 - $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low World Championship Day One has completed with 120 of the initial 261 remaining. There is still an absolute smorgasbord of pros in this event, and I would predict this to be an exciting event, one that the folks at ESPN should consider giving at least some final table air time.

Scheduled to begin today are Events 34 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha w/Rebuys and Event 35 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud. For all the latest and greatest in reporting be sure to head over to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/. I'll give quickie recaps and obviously BIASED commentary for those who want the low-dose versions, and for those among you stuck behind an accursed proxy.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Continuing the coverage, WSOP

Event 27 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em has been won by Vitaly Lunkin, for a cool $628,417 and the WSOP bracelet. Congratulations on the long fought victory over the initial 2,706 entrants.

Event 28 - $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys which was absolutely chock full of professional players in the mere 152 entrants has come to an end. When the dust settled Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond emerged as the victor. Actually, despite the all-star cast of pros, the final heads up competition came down to two online players, well known to the online community, Phil of course and ultimately the #2 finisher Adam "the houdini" Hourani. Both are regulars on Full Tilt's PLO (high stakes) area. Phil Galfond took down the bracelet and a staggering $817,781 top prize. Adam Hourani didn't fair too terribly either pocketing himself a tidy $493,748. David Benyamine took 3rd for $316,307, Johnny Chan $246,874 in 4th, PokerNews sponsored Kirill Gerasimov in 5th, with $192,870. John Juanda in 6th with $154,296, Daniel Negreanu continues his cashing ways in the number 7 spot with $123,437, and right behind him in 8th was Phil Hellmuth at $100,292, and the final member of the final table in 9th Brian Rast with a respectable $84,863. Congratulations to all, but well of course more so to Phil Galfond! : )

Event 29 - $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em will continue today beginning at 2:00pm PDT when the final 9 reassemble to play it down to the final winner. 1st prize payout is $434,789. Matt Vengrin starts the day with the chip lead with over 200K more than his next closest competitor. Only David Singer remains in the middle of the pack as a recognizable pro in the running. Stay tuned.

Event 30 - $10,000 Limit Hold'em World Championship will get under way today at 2:00pm PDT as well, when the final 9 return to the table. Among those still in the running that you might recognize are Andy Block and JC Tran. Top prize is $496,931.

Event 31 - $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-handed picks back up today with 73 of the initial 1,012 players continuing to battle it out for the top prize of $528,418. Most notable in the running are Dario Minieri (currently 2nd in chip stack), Scotty Nguyen, Bill Chen, and Max Pescatori.

Debuting today are Event 32 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em and Event 33 - $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low World Championship. According to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/ Eli Elezra is expected to return to defend his title in the event, which he won in last year's competition, earning his first ever WSOP bracelet.

I would have posted my updates sooner today, but work had a firm grip on some delicate portions of my person that I'd rather keep intact! It's just one documentation nightmare after another.

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP and NDPT updates

Good Morning All! I've got some catching up to do on the events and happenings at the WSOP 2008 and here at home, so let's get to it shall we...

In Event 25 - $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em World Championship Kenny Tran emerged as the victor after going heads up in 2 games with Alec Torelli, and takes home $539,056 and the WSOP bracelet. Congratulations on the win.

Event 26 - $1,500 Razz finally wound its way down to a winner, and when the dust settled we found Barry Greenstein to be the last man standing. He bested the 453 players and took home the bracelet and the $157,619 prize. Congratulations Barry!

Event 27 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em inched its way through Day 1 and 2,706 players to get to the final 20. This event will reconvene at 2:00pm PDT. Ultimately a top prize of $628,417 will be awarded. We'll just have to wait and see on this one.

Event 28 - $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys is still playing, as I'm writing this post up. They are down to 12 players of the initial starting 152. That's some grueling hours kids! A look at those who remain and it's no secret why. Among those still standing are Daniel Negreanu (the current chip leader) David Benyamine, John Juanda, Johnny Chan, Chris Ferguson, and Phil Hellmuth. Ultimately the top prize of $817,781 will be awarded.

Event 29 - $3,000 No Limit Hold'em has ended Day 1 with 81 of the initial 716 starting players remaining. Sadly, 9 of those who return tomorrow, will eventually bust out and get nothing as only 72 places payout in this event. However, there's still $434,789 and a bracelet being fought for.

Event 30 - $10,000 Limit Hold'em World Championship has ended for the day, just a couple of hours ago. 98 of the original 218 players remain to battle it out for the $496,931 top prize. Only the top 27 get paid in this event.

Event 31 - $2,500 No Limit Hold'em Six-handed gets underway today at Noon PDT.
For all the latest updates and the blow-by-blow head over and read all about it at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/.

In other news here close to home...

When I arrived this morning I found in my Inbox an email from Vince and Teresa Post letting me know that they had returned from their most recent Las Vegas trip. They had a great time, as always, and posted up a few pictures that they snapped at the Rio, while taking in the WSOP action for themselves!

In other happenings, the NDPT Tournament #8 of the year was held Saturday night as I mentioned before. Let's recap this one. Turnout was relatively light with only 20 players seated at 3 tables. It's the time of year, when a lot of other conflicting obligations and vacations kick in, so the lower numbers are expected and no I won't begin to lament on the decline in popularity of poker in the Mountain State. We'll show 'em next time just how popular it remains. After a hard fought battle Teresa "Big Red" found herself seated behind a mountain of chips and the winning hand. For her efforts she pocketed $200 plus I don't know how many $5 bounties at this point. She and Eric S went heads-up for quite a bit before she finally took it down. Eric took the 2nd place payday, followed by newcomer Charles Roberts and then Mike Westbrook. Congratulations to the winners! The NDPT Points Standings have been updated out on my Google Docs at http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=ptNl6_cpXDHlDaBaHIU7NVA&hl=en. Very quickly though, Teresa has moved into the points lead with her most recent victory. This race is still anyone's to be won though, since we're only 1/2 through the year at this point, and the fact that only your TOP 10 finishes will count toward the total of the year. Once we reach the 10th game, things will start to heat up. I imagine there will be some oddball strategy crop up as a result of it.

But the story of the night, doesn't end there. In keeping with the spirit of the WSOP and the late nights that are the norm, the NDPT crew played on into the night and even what some might term morning. It was around 4:00am when some of us crawled out of the poker room to call it a night. Among those degenerates were Steve, Eric S, Mike, and Big Red and I. Earlier in the evening Del was probably one of the top cash game winners, but I don't recall exactly what he cashed out for. As the night went on and the Jack Daniels took a firmer group on us at the table, the pots and the stacks continued to get larger. Steve cashed out for well in excess of $100. Big Red and I combined had over $140, each with our initial buy-in of $20.

One incident in particular has occupied a great deal of my thinking since Saturday night. There was a hand at the final table that in which two players were all in preflop and turned up their cards to show one had a pair of 6's and the other a pair of 9's. Before ANY board cards were dealt and turned up, the deck was inadvertently dropped, cards exposed, and the deck could not be legitimately re-assembled. At the time... a discussion ensued between a number of us and the ruling at the time was to declare the hands dead and redistribute the chips to the players and replay the hand. Having re-evaluating Robert's Rules of Poker and a discussion thread over at the Home Poker Tourney Forums http://forums.homepokertourney.com/index.php/topic,16171.0.html, I have determined that my ruling was actually incorrect. Granted I can't do anything about it now, the ruling stands and cannot be retracted from that situation, BUT moving forward, the ruling will be should the situation arise in the future to gather ALL the cards from the "fouled" stub (all the cards in the dealers hand at the time the deck was dropped re-assemble them, reshuffle them, and then continue as before, (i.e. with burn and flop, etc...) That answer was sought out from Bob Ciaffone himself, who wrote the rulebook himself. Difficult to argue that. For an extensive dialogue on this head on over to Home Poker Tourney yourself and read the thread which already had 54 replies to it.

As always I hope everyone had a great time getting together for some poker. At the next tournament consider the gauntlet already thrown. Big Red, you're goin' DOWN!!! Just after we'd consolidated to 2 tables, I was beginning to feel the pinch of a short stack. and the blinds were at 50/100. The flop came Jack high, giving me top pair with a King kicker. I proceeded to make a big bet there on the turn insta shoved. Unfortunately for me, my wife began shaking her head letting me know I was crushed. She shoved in and then flipped over her A-J!!! Where's the loser's lounge? So, it's like I said, I've got some serious payback to do.
If you have any questions or comments respond to this blog post and I'll get back to you.

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP update

Event 23 - $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em Blair Hinkle Wins $507,563 AND joins his brother Grant Hinkle in scoring a WSOP bracelet for 2008! Recall that Grant took down Event #2 for a $ 831,462 payday. Congratulations to them both for a phenomenal year!

Event 24 - $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em/Omaha has finally been claimed by Max Pescatori for a payday of $246,471. Allen Cunningham was only able to hold on so long and claim the 4th place finish of $76,205. Congratulations to everyone in this event.

Event 25 - $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em World Championship is down to the semifinals, with only the final 4 remaining, still chasing the $539,056 payday. Vanessa Selbst will play Alec Torelli, while Kenny Tran will face off against Jonathan Jaffe. The winners of those battles will then compete in a best 2 out of 3 to claim the top prize of $539,056.

Event 26 - $1,500 Razz resumes today at 3:00pm PDT. The field is down to the final 8, and most notably still in the running with the 2nd largest chip count is Barry Greenstein. Good Luck Barry!

Event 27 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em will continue today with 224 of the initial 2,706 players still battling it out.

Event 28 - $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys continues today with 54 of the 152 remaining. The field is absolutely littered with Full Tilt Poker sponsored pros! Only the top 18 will get paid out in this event., with a top prize of $817,781.

Event 29 - $3,000 No Limit Hold'em is now playing, in early reports Jennifer Tilly enjoys the chip lead.

Event 30 - $10,000 Limit Hold'em World Championship will start today at 5:00pm PDT.

As always, head over to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/ for all the latest and greatest.

Cole and I are off to the movies now... so I'll check back later and give you the scoop on everything that went down in last night's NDPT #8! Pssst... BIG RED WON, but more later!

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP update, and NDPT #8 tonight

Event 21 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Scott Seiver won his first WSOP bracelet and the $755,891 first prize. Congratulations on a long, hard-fought battle.

Event 22 - $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. Jens Voertmann finally bested the field of 414 entrants to take down the top spot, WSOP bracelet and $298,253 for his trouble. Sadly, Marcel Luske could not battle his way back and busted in 3rd place. Hopefully, his win of $110,264 will soften the blow just a bit. Jennifer Harman finished up in 8th position with $30,851 as well.

Event 23 - $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em has narrowed the field down to the final 9 from the original starting 1,344. The $507,613 prize awaits one of them, as action gets underway again today at 2:00pm PDT.

Event 24 - $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em/Omaha has whittled the pack down to the final 9 as well, from its starting 457. Most notable remaining at the final table and currently 2nd in chip count, is Allen Cunningham. This event will reconvene at 3:00pm PDT.

Event 25 - $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em World Championship heads into Day 2 toay with 32 of the original 256 players remaining. A number of pros still remain in this heads up war, including Erick "E-Dog" Lindgren! He's on fire this year!!! Additionally, David Williams, Gavin Griffin, Kenny Tran, Robert Mizrachi, Sammy Farha, and Vanessa Selbst. (Sadly, Clonie Gowen went out in 60th place, but $14,438 kept her from leaving empty handed.) Clonie, if you're sad and need a shoulder to cry on... cheer_dad's here for you! : )

Event 26 - $1,500 Razz enters Day 2 with 104 of the initial 453 players remaining. They'll get under way today at 3:00pm PDT. The bracelet and $157,619 awaits the eventual winner. The current chip leader is Barry Greenstein. Not far behind him in 6th place is the Vanessa Rousso. Hang in there! She is another I would really like to see take down the WSOP bracelet this year. (Sorry Barry, but I'm sure you'll understand.)

Event 27 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em and Event 28 - $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys are on tap for today.

And then there's also this lesser known event known only to a select few of you as NDPT #8, that'll be a little further away from the Vegas glitz. That's right, cheer_dad plays host tonight to yet another gathering of the low-stakes and lower-standards crowd. The cards get in the air tonight beginning at 6:00pm EST. Last count had us at around 24 players. See you all real soon.

I'll also have to recap a little of the action from last night at the Yanok's poker night. Thanks to Brian and Shelley for being fantastic hosts. Big Red and I only made it for Game #2 of the night, but just couldn't really make anything materialise. We both made the final table, but just couldn't outlast the pack, with our short stacks. I got the remainder of mine in on a flush draw, with 2 callers, but there was no other spade to be found. To the rail I went. I'll have to find out how that ended up. In game #1 I believe JR (Uncle June) took it down, in a big way, but I think he has some commentary he wants to post up on this, so I think I'll let him do a guest post to recap the action that I wasn't there to see.

That's all for now... but as always stop back by for further updates, but for the in-depth blow-by-blow coverage, head on over to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/. What you haven't bookmarked it yet!!!

Regards,
cheer_dad

Daniel Negreanu wins Event 20, and other WSOP coverage

Event 19 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha, Vanessa Selbst finally took down the win, the bracelet and the $227,965. Congratulations! She bested the field of 759 players on the roller-coaster that is Pot-Limit Omaha. Reading through Shamus' and MarcC's posts over at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-world-series-of-poker/event-19-1500-pot-limit-omaha/ when play came to heads-up between Selbst and Jamie Pickering, Pickering would routinely raise pot, without looking at his cards.

Event 20 - $2,000 Limit Hold'em has ended as well, and on top of the mound of chips we find none other than Daniel Negreanu! I recall catching up on the action last night and at the time they were down to 3 players and Daniel was the short-stack. His playing style and raw talent undoubtedly served him well. This makes Kid Poker's 4th WSOP bracelet. He not only takes home the $204,874 prize money but thus far in the series (due to a side bet between he and Phil Ivey that each would pay the other $200,000 each for every bracelet the other wins) he has some excess cash (nearly the equivalent of his win) to throw around. Congratulations Daniel on the win and once again proving why you are one of the best!

Event 21 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em has FINALLY come to end for the day (just about an hour and a half ago!) They are down to the final nine and will resume play today at 2:00pm PDT. A whopping $755,891 payday will await one of them. I do see that Michael Mizrachi, Humberto Brenes and Eli Elezra busted (but cashed) not long before the final table was set. We'll have to wait and see who ultimately makes the it to the top.

Event 22 - $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. was narrowed down to the final 16 of 414 players about a half-hour ago. Play will resume at 3:00pm PDT today. Marcel Luske is currently in the chip lead and heads up an all-star cast of players. Currently third in the chip count is the ever popular Jennifer Harman. I would really like to see one of these two come up with the win in this one. I have always liked Marcel's table demeanor and Jennifer's drive and spunk. Good luck! $298,253 and the bracelet await a winner, which will come likely in the early morning hours tomorrow.

Event 23 - $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em has concluded Day 1 play having thinned the herd from 1,344 to 136 players. Top prize in the event is $507,563 but action is far from over in this one. Just sit back and wait and see.

Event 24 - $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em/Omaha has concluded Day 1 as well, getting the 457 initial players down to 85. Play will resume at 3:00pm PDT.

Event 25 - $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em World Championship and Event 26 - $1,500 Razz will both begin today.

This is my short day at work (not short enough) but tonight we are scheduled for our final baseball game of the season, and then as soon as that's over we'll all be heading over to the Yanok's to make Poker Game #2 of the night. Then, again tomorrow night poker is on the agenda at our house where we play host to NDPT Tournament #8 of the 2008 season. This one (so far) has a lighter turnout, because Summer is upon us and schedules are tight, but to all those who show up as always it'll be a great time.

See many of you tonight at the Yanok's and the rest tomorrow night at my house.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Mike Matusow takes down Event #18, and other updates

Event 18 - $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw w/ Rebuys Mike Matusow took down the top prize of $537,862, and adds to his collection a THIRD WSOP Bracelet. Yes, I was rooting for E-Dog, but I can't begrudge The Mouth! You can't help but like the guy! You gotta give him his due. Winning the 100K prop bet for losing the 60lbs, and now winning this. Congratulations Mikey!!! Good luck to you in the rest of the Series!
Event 19 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha is now down to the final 9 from the original 759. Currently, Vanessa Selbst is at the top of the heap with nearly 3X the chips of her closest competitor. A $227,965 payout and a shiny bracelet awaits!

Event 20 - $2,000 Limit Hold'em is STILL GOING ON! Talk about your marathon sessions! They are finally down to 9 of the original 480. Daniel Negreanu still remains in this game, and has recovered more than a few times from losses. $204,874 still awaits its winner.

Event 21 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em has completed Day 1 and 121 players remain of the original 732. There's still a lot of poker to be played in this one, for now though, hopefully they're getting some sleep.

Event 22 - $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. has called it a day as well, down to 144 of the original 414. A large contingent of pros still remains in this event and things are too close to call.
Stay tuned to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/ as always...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Good night boys and girls...

I have no clue now... for whom I should hope to win. Tough crowd... "E-Dog" I had hopes for you making the two-bracelet year (it can still happen.) Mikey "the mouthed one" I was ready for that too. Now yet another favorite Barry Greenstein is still in the running. Jeffrey Lisandro however holds quite the commanding lead. Take down what is due!

Regards,

cheer_dad

P.S. Eagles drawing tomorrow night, Friday at the B-Ball fields, and the Yanok's dual tournament on Friday, then follow up for Saturday with the NDPT #8 at my "F-ing" house. Get over it... Nikki, expect to see a lot more of my dumb ass. By the end of the year you will have out-played us all!

Jaffrey, Jaffray, and Jeff... hmmm

Okay, stick with me for just a moment. This is Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, poker pro and one of only two ladies who still remain in Event 19 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha. (Thanks Shamus for pointing this out. )

That wouldn't have given me much cause for alarm, had it not been for also finding the name Alan Jaffray listed among the players to have already been eliminated from the same event. This coming on the heels of that same said "Alan" appearing in a dress on Day One of the LADIES ONLY Event, and the controversy which surrounded that event. Which "he" writes of over here http://jnala.livejournal.com/431274.html. And I covered in an earlier post. All that was okay until I finally took a look at the picture shown below of Mr. Jaffray and then sent it to my buddy JR, with my comments.






To which JR replied with an email including the photo to the left next to the photo below saying, "isn't it funny how much he looks like this guy.........








Jeff Shulman, of CardPlayer magazine....."

And I'm left suddenly stunned and a little weirded out by it all.

Regards,

cheer_dad

A Hump Day WSOP Update

Event 15 - $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em World Championship crowned its winner, Svetlana Gromenkova last night. She claims the bracelet and $244,702. Congratulations Svetlana! Let me also pause to say that I fully support continuing on with the TRADITION of the Ladies Event, despite Alan Jaffray showing up dressed as a lady and trying to play in the tournament, go here http://jnala.livejournal.com/ to see for yourself. You may have to scroll down to the June 8th, 2008 post in order to see "him" in all his glory (shudder.) Let's not pretend that he was doing this because he felt that his basic civil liberties were being violated. Read deep enough in the comments and you'll find a post by "undersupervised" http://jnala.livejournal.com/430861.html?thread=747533#t747533 which expresses my thoughts on the issue, quite well. But like me, this poster felt like the odd man out, as judged by all the comments to the contrary of our opinions. I couldn't help (as usual) voicing my opinion as well! Suddenly, Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady" comes to mind. Then, frighteningly after that The Kinks, "LOLA!" AHHH, moving right along. Okay, one more... "that's not a Sheila!" The real CRAZY thing is the fact that Mr. Alan Jaffray finished 5th in the WSOP Event #5, $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em with Rebuys for a whopping $164,963 payday. According to his site, he's played in "15 WSOP events total in my life, and I've made two final tables. Wouldn't mind keeping up that ratio. :)" Go figure...

Event 16 - $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo has a winner too. Andrew Brown bested the field of 553 to take home the bracelet and the $226,483, of course. You gotta give him his due on this, as the 25-year old had to go heads up against Ted Forrest for quite some time to lay claim to the title! Congratulations Andrew!

Event 17 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout is in the history books now as well. Jason Young came out on top of the 1,000 total entrants, pocketing the $335,565, and accessorizing with the gold bracelet. Congratulations Jason!

Event 18 - $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw w/ Rebuys is down to the final 9, and play will resume later today. This event was very PRO-HEAVY from the get go, but there's definitely STAR POWER in this final table. My boy Erick "E-Dog" Lindgren could make bracelet #2 in this one, as he currently holds a healthy chip lead entering into the final day of play, at 1,100,000 in chips. The closest competitor is Mike Matusow in 2nd with 540,000 in chips! The other 7 easily recognizables are: Jeffrey Lisandro, Barry Greenstein, Tony 'G' Guoga, David Benyamine, and Tom Schneider. But let me say it again... "GO E-DOG!!!"

Event 19 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha went from 759 players to 46 in Day 1! According to the bloggers of the event MarcC and Shamus, "...that works out to more than 70 players per level!" I haven't seen an Omaha game that wild since, the last time I played over at Shuman's!

Event 20 - $2,000 Limit Hold'em has whittled down the pack from 480 to 125 players. Still lots of poker to be played. Notably Daniel Negreanu is currently in 4th place with 32,200 (17,000 off the leader Daniel Makowsky.) This is still anyone's game.

Event 21 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em and Event 22 - $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. will get under way at Noon PDT today. Stay tuned...

As always... thanks for all the fantastic reporting and writing going on by the fine folks over at PokerNews, http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/. I'm just recapping and giving my take on it all; they're doing all the WORK. Thanks!

In other poker news, this time far from the Vegas glitz and glamour, a handful of the NDPT contingent got together in the basement of cheer_dad last night while the lovely Big Red was playing host upstairs to a "ladies only" event of her own, a "Candle Lite" party. (Kinda like TupperWare or Home Interiors, only not...) But in the basement the game was a familiar NLHE. Just a simple little cash game, but I for one had fun. I know, it's ALWAYS more fun when you're winning. I was getting cards though. Heck, even I can't argue that one, I mean you all saw me hit more than a couple straights and flushes. And how about those friggin' QUAD KINGS! I'm doing my happy dance right now, and showing my "Oh Face." I more than doubled up for the night. Hope you all had a good time! Of course, I did so well there that I'll likely find myself card dead on Friday at the Yanok's tournament night (2 games) and the following night back at my house for NDPT Tournament #8 of the year. So c'mon guys take it easy on me. : )

Regards,

cheer_dad

What a crock...

I'm finding that there are other stories within the series to be told. Click on over to the Poker Grump's blog http://pokergrump.blogspot.com/2008/06/something-fishy-is-going-on-in-wsop.html and read all about the man who would be queen, or at least has too much time on his hands. Seriously, go read it for yourself. The small remainder of my rant will lack meaning otherwise.

There's always some liberal idiot in the crowd, trying to stir something up, when most everyone else is sitting back just thinking, "stop being such a dick!"

Sorry, some things just really irritate me.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Interesting to note WSOP Event #11

Head on over to Shamus' blog for a very interesting post about WSOP Event #11, regarding a deal that was reached by the final 3 players! I guess I'd never really thought about this aspect in the Series, but I guess it makes sense. Go read all about it.
http://hardboiledpoker.blogspot.com/2008/06/2008-wsop-day-10-lets-make-deal.html

Regards,

cheer_dad

Continuing the WSOP coverage

Event 14 - $10,000 Seven-Card Stud World Championship is over and Eric Brooks outlasted the 157 players to lay claim to the $415,856 and the bracelet. According to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-world-series-of-poker/event-14-10000-seven-card-stud-wc/payouts/ "this is Brooks' first professional cash in a major tournament. Brooks will donate his entire winnings to the Decision Education Foundation, whose mission it is to teach the science of decision making to youth in grades K through 12." Congratulations Eric on the win, and on your generosity! Erik Seidel who I mentioned earlier on the blog, made it to 5th place and a $92,825 payout.

Event 15 - $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em World Championship is down to the final 9 and will recommence at 2:00pm PDT. The last notable that was left in this event was "First Lady of Poker" Linda Johnson, but she unfortunately went out in 23rd place, for a $5,848 payout.

Event 16 - $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo is down to the final two tables (18 players) and play will start back up again later today. Among the hopeful contenders remaining are Scott Clements and Ted Forrest, each being one of the four players left with over 200,000 in chips. A $226,483 payday awaits.

Event 17 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout. WOW, this one went friggin' LATE... or Early. No matter how you slice it almost 19 hours of poker play is a LONG TIME! My hats off to snoopy1239 and danafish the bloggers who covered the action, and will continue to do so at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-world-series-of-poker/event-17-1500-nlhe-shootout/. The original 1,000 starters are now down to the final 10. Having bested their respective tables, each will now start off with 300,000 in starting chips. Go gets some sleep!

Event 18 - $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw w/ Rebuys will resume today at 3:00pm PDT with 39 of the initial 85 remaining. Top prize in this one is a $537,862 and will payout the top 14, the bottom of which is $26,025. The field is absolutely littered with pros. Really. Too many to name, but of the 39, there are only 14 names which I don't immediately recognize. Look for yourself, http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2008-world-series-of-poker/event-18-5000-nl-2-7-draw-rebuys/chip-counts/day2/.

On tap to start today are Events #19 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha and #20 $2,000 Limit Hold'em.

Stay tuned...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Okay, maybe I'm obsessive about the WSOP

Event 13 - $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em... we have a winner: Duncan "Pumper" Bell and he takes home the $666,697 and the bracelet! Congratulations Mr. Bell! You'll recall that I mentioned that there was a player from Fairmont, WV named Steve Merrifield. Although he didn't win the event, he DID make it to 2nd place. Unfortunately, his pocket 10's ran smack dab into pocket Aces!!! Ouch! Sorry Steve, but hopefully the $428,949 cushions the blow just a bit. We look forward to seeing again in the future. Hey with a little extra cashflow, we might even see you again in another WSOP event in the near future. Congratulations to the both of them!!! And thanks MeanGene for the excellent coverage. Don't forget to read all about it over at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/.

Event 14 - $10,000 Seven-Card Stud World Championship is currently down to the final 5. The only recognizable pro still in the running for the top prize is Erik Seidel, but to get there, he's going to need a double-up very , very soon. Hang in there Erik!

Sadly, Evelyn Ng went out in 48th place in Event 15 - $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em World Championship. I was rooting for her! Good luck through the remainder of the series! As of now, only 23 of the original 1,190 ladies remain.

Event 16 - $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo still has 81 of the original 553 players left. There's still plenty of poker to be played before morning... : )

Event 17 $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout and Event 18 $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw w/ Rebuys are far from over and there's much too much still to happen. We'll just have to wait on those.

Back here on the homefront, Cole and I returned from the baseball game and went for a quick swim in the pool. Ahhh, now that was relaxing. Unfortunately tomorrow it's back to the old grind. How can I possibly be expected to focus on work while the Series continues to roll along? We'll see what tomorrow brings us.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Monday morning WSOP.

Event 11 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout has come to a close. Phil Tom found himself at the top of the heap earning the $477,990 and a WSOP bracelet. Recall that I mentioned that Greg Mueller remained in this race, and although he didn't get to the top he didn't go away empty handed in 2nd place, winning $298,638. Regardless, the big congratulations goes to to Phil Tom!

Event 12 - $1,500 Limit Hold'em has come to a close. Jimmy Shultz bested the field of 880 and took it down. He earned the bracelet and the $257,105. Congratulations are in order! Also, worth mentioning is Vinny Vinh's 3rd place finish and his $99,099 payday. Erick Lindgren unfortunately just missed a final table appearance in this event, exiting in 10th place for $14,774. Well at least this'll cover his Main Event buyin and maybe couple of buffet meal tickets. : )

Event 13 - $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em gets back underway today at 2:00pm, having thinned the herd down to its final 9. Of great interest to me is the presence of the man in Seat 2, Steve Merrifield who hails from Fairmont, West "by-god" Virginia. With 1,109,000 chips remaining he is one of only 4 players left who is over the 1 Million chip mark. Steve we've never met you but know this that the members of the NDPT here in the Mountain State will all be pulling for you! Good Luck! The bracelet and $666,777 remain to be claimed.

Event 14 - $10,000 Seven-Card Stud World Championship made it down to the final 8 when Phil Ivey bubbled in 9th. The top prize remains to be won, $415,856. Notable Erik Seidel still remains in the running but is short stacked, compared to most of the field. Currently in the chip lead is David Oppenheim with 508,000 in chips.

Event 15 - $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em World Championship enters Day 2 today at 2:00pm PDT. Of the original 1,190 only 61 players remain. Still recognizable in the remaining field are Evelyn Ng and Kathy Liebert. A $244,702 payday awaits some lucky lady!

Event 16 - $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo gets day 2 started today at 3:00pm PDT. They are down to 169 of the original 553 in this event. Still among the hopeful for this one are Josh Arieh, David Williams, Scott Clements, Dutch Boyd, David Chiu, and Barry Greenstein, among others.

Event 17 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout gets under way today at Noon PDT.

Event 18 - $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw w/ Rebuys starts up at 5:00pm PDT.

Stay tuned for additional updates but as always head over to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/. Those bloggers are doing the job I only wish I could do. : )

I on the other hand have been taking care of an oil change on my truck, fixing the chemical levels in the pool, mowing the lawn and sweating my ass off, in the 95+ degree heat here at home. One of our last 2 baseball games is scheduled for tonight, more sun, more sweat...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Weekend WSOP update, and Shuman recap

Somewhere along the line I neglected to report anything about Event 9 $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em / Six-Handed. Sorry kids, it wasn't intentional. The field of 1,236 was finally narrowed down to its last man standing and Rep Porter walked away with the WSOP bracelet and $372,929. Congratulations!

Event 10 - $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better reached its final yesterday as well and found Farzad Rouhani on top. He pocketed the $232,911 for his trouble along with the WSOP bracelet. Others recognizable in the field were John Cernuto, Michael Mizrachi, and Hoyt Corkins among others.

Event 11 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout is still underway. Only the final table remains, with six players battling it out. We'll have to continue watching this one. The only real notable still in the running is Greg Mueller. We'll have to wait and see.

Event 12 - $1,500 Limit Hold'em has entered Day 3 with only 18 of the original 880 remaining. Currently Vinny Vinh is at the top of the pack, with over 330,000 in chips. But Erick Lindgren is still in the running on this one too. Obviously I'd like to see him pick up another bracelet! Whoever finally takes it down will have the $257,105 waiting for them.

Event 13 - $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em is still under way and will work its way down to the final 9 before calling it a night. Still among the field are Theo Tran, Lee Watkinson, and Liz Lieu (yum.)

Event 14 - $10,000 Seven-Card Stud World Championship has whittled the original 158 down to 72 as of the time I'm writing this. Only the top 10 will get paid for their time and effort. Still in the running... Daniel Negreanu, Cyndi Violette, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Greg Raymer, David Benyamine, Annie Duke, Phil Ivey, and Scotty Nguyen. Okay so there's still a lot of 'em.

Event 15 - $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em World Championship. Only 3 1/2 rounds into the event and the field of 1,190 has already been thinned down to 550. These ladies mean business!

Event 16 - $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo doesn't get under way until 5:00pm PDT, but is expected to be a very popular event. For coverage of this and all the other events please point your browser to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/. Or I'll have it out here eventually to the faithful among you.

As promised I want to go over some of the details of the game at Shuman's house. I think, without a doubt that the BIG WINNER of the night was none other than Steve "All-In" Allman, who cashed out for a whopping $365 having bought in 2 times during the night ($20 each.) I caused one of those feltings during an Omaha hand. Unfortunately, for Steve we both flopped a full house, I just happened to have the BIGGER one, with Q's full of 10's! If I recall I really only hit 2 good hands the whole time, but in this crowd and the pots they play. That can be enough. I more than tripled up which is a big accomplishment for me in the cash game. The other hand that I recall was a hold'em hand that bot me really kick started. From late position I looked down at Kh-10h. I ended up trying to limp, but got raised by the guy after me, to $2 total. Most others jumped out, but I decided ehhh, I'll give it a shot this time. All night I'd been seeing raises from a lot of guys with absolute trash hands. I had no way of knowing whether this was good or bad. Anyway, the flop came out Ah Jh 4c. I checked it, and it goes back to the intial bettor. He bets out a meager $3. I do a quick count of my outs. Nut flush draw, gut shot straight draw, AND the elusive Royal draw among that as well! The thing that made it really interesting is that he was so excited about his hand, that he thought he'd shoved everyone out and flipped over his SET of JACKS at that point. I said regardless I'm making the call. The turn was a blank... BUT again, he only bet $3. The River showed me the heart I needed. I shove all in... and he still calls!!! Whatever, ship it! He was a little miffed at me for a while, saying I should have told him I saw his hand, and should have let him take back his bet. AHHH, NO! Sorry, thank you, come again. Big Red also had a helluva night! She cashed out for like $125 after buying in for a total of $40. I'm sure there were bigger winners than the two of us, but for once it was nice to have a good/quick session at the tables. JR commented later about the night telling all about Steve's incredible run of luck. He said they played on until 4:00am at which time, Allman treated JR and Russell to breakfast. JR, said he'd never seen anything like Steve's run of cards, and the beat downs he was putting on people. Congrats Steve, now I'll expect you to lose some of that back this weekend. : )

Hope to see many of you this weekend for NDPT Tournament #8! As always the WSOP recaps will continue.

Regards,

cheer_dad