Shovels, Clovers, Valentines, and Squares

Date: Fri, Sep 4, 2009 Internet

FerricRamsium -- who is headed this week to Cyprus to help cover the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic along with F-Train -- was telling us in Kyiv about first playing cards with a relative (an uncle?). Whoever it was, this person shunned the usual names of suits, instead assigning the names listed above.

We all instantly decided we preferred those names for the suits, and thus began using them whenever possible.

“Squares” is particularly inspired, I think. Just turn yr head a little. See?

I continue with pot-limit Omaha, almost always sitting at the PLO25 six-handed tables. Had a nice first hand yesterday in which I not only flopped a valentine straight flush, but somehow got paid off by an opponent. Check it out (RSS readers might need to click through to see the replayer):



The PokerGrump may want to say something here about the mighty two-four (his fave hold’em hand), although I think its power is less obviously applicable in PLO.

A nice way to start a session, that. Found myself thinking a little afterwards about the odds of my having flopping a straight flush like that.

In this particular hand, there were two ways for me to get there with my . I’d need either to come, or .

Let’s see... with four cards in my hand, that makes 48 unknown cards. There are 17,296 possible flops -- (48/3)(47/2)(46/1) -- and only two of them would give me the straight flush. So I think that means we’re looking at a 1 in 8,648 shot here?

I quickly moved on from that bit of trivia, though, and began thinking about how significant suitedness is in PLO. In his first book, Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy, Jeff Hwang has a short section called “The Importance of Being Suited” where he lists a “number of useful purposes” for having even just two suited cards in your hand. In Omaha Poker, Bob Ciaffone also speaks more than once to how vital it is to have suited cards in your hand.

“The importance of being suited even with little cards is obvious,” writes Ciaffone. “Even though you wouldn’t want to play a small flush-draw by itself,” he says, “there are lots of opportunities to play it in conjunction with another reason to be contending for the pot.”

So, says Ciaffone, he might raise preflop with 9-8-7-6 if it were double-suited, whereas he might just limp in if it were not. With the former hand, he can make a straight or flop a big wrap draw, then have a flush draw to back it up as well, which could put him in a situation where he’s freerolling against an opponent who has or is gunning for the same straight. Another small part of the equation is the fact that if he were up against an opponent drawing to a higher flush, he’d have a couple of his opponent’s outs in his hand.

I’ve heard some -- including top pros -- argue that suitedness can be much overrated in hold’em, noting how some players too often talk themselves into gambling with poor starters simply on the basis of their being “sooted.”

I suppose suitedness can be overrated in PLO, too, especially if a player starts getting into the habit of drawing to non-nut hands. But you’re definitely better off overrating suitedness in PLO than underrating it, I’d think. If I’m gonna see a flop in PLO, I always like to see a couple of shovels, clovers, valentines, or squares in my hand.

Have a good weekend, all.

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WCOOP It Up: World Championship of Online Poker Series Starts Today on PokerStars

Date: Thu, Sep 3, 2009 Internet

Sundays come once a week. FTOPS only happens slightly less frequently. But the WCOOP -- that is, the World Championship of Online Poker on PokerStars -- is special. And today it returns.

45 events! Quite a jump from the 33 that were offered last year. This is the eighth year Stars has run the WCOOP, and by now a bona fide tradition has been built up around the series. Stars has even created a special website -- wcoop.com -- for various record-keeping and passing along other WCOOP-related info.

Had hopes of perhaps participating this time around, as I did play in that “PokerStars WCOOP Journalist Event” yesterday afternoon. Was a pretty decent shot at a WCOOP seat, in that only 135 had been invited and 27 tickets were being given away.

Did pretty well for the first hour, nearly doubling my stack without ever having to show hands. (Or making hands, for that matter.) But the blinds rose rapidly, and suddenly the average stack -- which I was just below -- became about eight BBs or so.

That’s when a short stack who’d shoved all in three or four times did so again, and I picked up and decided it was time to gamble. Damned if he didn’t have A-K this time. The flop teasingly came A-Q-4, but a king followed on the turn and I was down to less than three big blinds. Was out soon thereafter in 57th or something.

So I’ll be on the rail, reporting on a few of the events along the way, then live blogging the Main Event at the end. Head over to the PokerStars blog where I’ll be filing reports along with my buds California Jen, Change100, Drizztdj, and Otis.

By the way, I dunno if you guys ever happen to read the PokerStars blog, but it is a terrific one. Very entertaining and talented folks writing over there. Really, if you read their reports from the various circuit events they cover -- the ones either sponsored by PokerStars or at which Stars pros are playing -- you find some of the best poker writing around. Have to say I am always glad whenever I get the chance to help contribute over there.

Given my other obligations, most of my railing and reporting from the WCOOP will be happening on the weekends, so my first recap won’t come ’til Saturday. Here’s the full schedule (all times ET; prize pool guarantees in parentheses):

Event 1 -- Thu., 9/3, 14:30, $215 6-max. NLHE ($1,250,000)

Event 2 -- Thu., 9/3, 16:30, $215 Razz ($200,000)

Event 3 -- Fri., 9/4, 14:30, $215 6-max. PLO ($500,000)

Event 4 -- Fri., 9/4, 16:30, $215 NL 2-7 Draw w/rebuys ($200,000)

Event 5 -- Fri., 9/4, 20:00, $109 8-Game (5-min lvls) ($50,000)

Event 6 -- Sat., 9/5, 12:45, $109 NLHE ($1,000,000)

Event 7 -- Sat., 9/5, 14:30, $215 PL 5-Card Draw ($200,000)

Event 8 -- Sat., 9/5, 16:30, $215 LHE ($400,000)

Event 9 -- Sun., 9/6, 12:45, $215 NLHE ($1,000,000)

Event 10 -- Sun., 9/6, 14:30, $10,300 NLHE ($2,000,000)

Event 11 -- Sun., 9/6, 16:30, $530 NLHE (2-day) ($3,000,000)

Event 12 -- Mon., 9/7, 14:30, $215 4-max. NLHE ($500,000)

Event 13 -- Mon., 9/7, 16:30, $320 7-Card Stud ($150,000)

Event 14 -- Tue., 9/8, 14:30, $320 6-max. Mixed HE ($300,000)

Event 15 -- Tue., 9/8, 16:30, $320 Limit Badugi ($100,000)

Event 16 -- Tue., 9/8, 20:00, $1,050 NLHE ($500,000)

Event 17 -- Wed., 9/9, 14:30, $530 NLHE Trip. Shoot. ($500,000)

Event 18 -- Wed., 9/9, 16:30, $320 8-Game ($300,000)

Event 19 -- Thu., 9/10, 14:30, $320 6-max. PLO (1R1A) ($400,000)

Event 20 -- Thu., 9/10, 16:30, $320 Limit 2-7 TD ($100,000)

Event 21 -- Fri., 9/11, 14:30, $215 NLHE w/rebuys ($1,250,000)

Event 22 -- Fri., 9/11, 16:30, $530 Limit O/8 ($400,000)

Event 23 -- Fri., 9/11, 20:00, $320 NLHE (10-min lvls) ($300,000)

Event 24 -- Sat., 9/12, 14:30, $530 Heads-Up NLHE ($1,000,000)

Event 25 -- Sat., 9/12, 16:30, $320 H.O.R.S.E. ($400,000)

Event 26 -- Sun., 9/13, 12:45, $215 NLHE ($1,000,000)

Event 27 -- Sun., 9/13, 14:30, $25,500 Heads-Up NLHE

Event 28 -- Sun., 9/13, 16:30, $1,050 NLHE (2-day) ($3,000,000)

Event 29 -- Mon., 9/14, 14:30, $320 PLHE/PLO ($400,000)

Event 30 -- Mon., 9/14, 16:30, $320 NLHE (2x Chnce) ($600,000)

Event 31 -- Tue., 9/15, 14:30, $320 6-max. PLO w/rbys ($700,000)

Event 32 -- Tue., 9/15, 16:30, $530 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo ($200,000)

Event 33 -- Tue., 9/15, 20:00, $1,050 NLHE ($500,000)

Event 34 -- Wed., 9/16, 14:30, $215 NLHE (big antes) ($500,000)

Event 35 -- Wed., 9/16, 16:30, $320 PLO/8 ($500,000)

Event 36 -- Thu., 9/17, 14:30, $530 6-max. NLHE w/rbys ($1,000,000)

Event 37 -- Thu., 9/17, 16:30, $2,100 6-max. PLO ($600,000)

Event 38 -- Fri., 9/18, 14:30, $530 NLHE (1R1A) ($1,000,000)

Event 39 -- Fri., 9/18, 16:30, $1,050 6-max. LHE ($400,000)

Event 40 -- Fri., 9/18, 20:00, $215 NL O/8 (10-min lvls) ($200,000)

Event 41 -- Sat., 9/19, 14:30, $530 Heads-Up PLO ($250,000)

Event 42 -- Sat., 9/19, 16:30, $2,100 8-Game ($350,000)

Event 43 -- Sun., 9/20, 12:45, $215 NLHE ($1,000,000)

Event 44 -- Sun., 9/20, 14:30, $10,300 H.O.R.S.E. ($1,000,000)

Event 45 -- Sun., 9/20, 16:30 $5,200 NLHE (2-day) ($10,000,000)

Some interesting-looking events in the mix, such as the turbo-styled 8-game event (No. 5), the four-handed NLHE (No. 12), Badugi (No. 15), and the NLHE tourney with “big antes” (No. 34). That no-limit PLO/8 event with ten-minute levels (No. 40) looks pretty nutty, too.

You might note also how PokerStars has added variety to the starting times throughout, making it a lot more feasible for folks who aren’t in North America to join in the fun.

Good luck to those playing WCOOP events this year. And if somehow you don’t have a PokerStars account already, go get you one.

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iMEGA Suit Claiming Unconstitutionality of UIGEA Dismissed

Date: Wed, Sep 2, 2009 Internet

I wake up this morning and, as I often do, I start the day reading through some of the previous day’s poker news.

Early in my journey I notice an article suggesting what appears to be good news with regard to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. There was a 3rd Circuit District Court decision yesterday regarding the case brought by the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association versus the U.S. Attorney General. You remember that case -- the one in which iMEGA challenged the UIGEA as unconstitutional (for several reasons).

Sounds like the District Court decided to rule against iMEGA and uphold the UIGEA. But somehow its decision is being understood as positive for online poker. So says the article, which ends with the hopeful statement that the ruling represents “a small step in the right direction for the future of Internet gambling.”

But really, that article is not so much an article as just a brief summary of an article appearing on another website. As it happens, the website being referenced is one the journalistic credibility of which has long been questioned thanks to numerous examples of misreporting, citation of “gambling industry insiders” who are in fact the site’s own writers, and frequent examples of sensationalistic rumor mongering.

Nonetheless, I follow the link.

A closer look at the article that appears on the questionable site reveals it, too, doesn’t represent original content, but merely paraphrases an article appearing on the iMEGA website -- that is to say, an article focusing on iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan’s interpretation of the ruling as having clarified that the states, not the federal government, have the priority to say what is and what is not unlawful internet gambling. Says Brennan, since “there are only a half-dozen states which have laws against Internet gambling, [that] leav[es] 44 states where it is potentially lawful.”

To their credit, all three of these articles additionally link to the actual ruling. Which is a good thing. Because if one takes the time to read the actual ruling -- it is just ten pages, after all -- one discovers that, well, there ain’t so much to be all that hopeful about here.

The District Court ruling summarily rejects all of iMEGA’s various claims of unconstitutionality, some of which, such as the claim the UIGEA somehow violates First Amendment rights, seem quite a stretch -- obvious attempts by the group to throw lots of arguments out there in the hopes that one sticks.

The ruling then rejects iMEGA’s appeal that the UIGEA should be rendered “void for vagueness.” “We reject Interactive’s vagueness claim,” say the ruling’s authors. “The Act clearly provides a person of ordinary intelligence with adequate notice of the conduct it prohibits.”

Indeed, in its defense of the UIGEA’s non-vagueness, the ruling points out what those of us who have read the UIGEA already know, namely, that the Act as it is written does not define “unlawful internet gambling” and instead defers to individual states’ laws regarding such. Nor do the regulations that were later finalized offer such a definition, again reiterating the states’ authority here.

So iMEGA’s suit has been dismissed. The UIGEA has not been voided as unconstitutional. In other words, nothing, really, has changed with regard to the UIGEA. It went into effect on January 19, 2009. Banks, payment processors, and other institutions still will be made to comply starting December 1, 2009. And, like it always did, the law defers to individual states to decide what is and what is not “unlawful internet gambling.”

It remains to be seen, of course, whether or not we see any legislation hurried through during the next three months that might alter the legal landscape. It also is not clear at the moment what exactly is going to happen come December, though I think it is safe to say that if nothing changes the chance of your encountering some sort of difficulty when attempting to deposit to your favorite online poker site will perhaps be greater after 12/1/09 than it is right now.

But I’m unconvinced there’s much that is encouraging about yesterday’s ruling. And a little puzzled by how news about it seems to be suggesting there is.

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Topping Off

Date: Tue, Sep 1, 2009 Internet

I said something last post about my playing pot-limit Omaha lately and that things are going relatively well. Added up the month yesterday and it turned out August was the best month of the year for me, despite a horrible start and a week of practically zero play when I was in Kyiv. I did win that media tourney that week -- did I mention that? (ha) -- so, yes, August was nice indeed.

One highly beneficial move I made this summer with regard to PLO was reading Jeff Hwang’s new one, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha, Volume I, which I made reference to here about three weeks ago. As usual, I have been mainly sticking with the $25 buy-in, six-handed tables. I’ve played extended stretches of PLO50 before, where one will encounter a few more savvy players but not a huge difference in skill. Bigger swings, though (natch), so I am remaining within the comfort zone.

The comfort zone largely exists for me over on PokerStars, too, where there are many, many more PLO games going than on any other site. Also my fave (by far) for software and support. Even the bonuses aren’t bad. So probably 80% of the time I’m playing (or more), I’m playing on Stars.

With regard to the software, Stars has added some features over the last few months. Sometimes takes me a while to find them, and I’m sure there are a few of which I’m not even aware. The ones I know about, though, I generally like.

For example, there’s a new security feature I’m using in which I punch in a PIN in addition to my password when logging in. Also just this week figured out there was an option now to show or not to show one’s hole cards when all in. Only just discovered this after seeing several hands in which players were all in prior to the river, but the hole cards weren’t flipped over until the end, including hands in which I was involved. The hole cards will only be shown if all players involved have checked “Show Hole Cards When All-In (Ring Games)” under “Options.” I don’t feel that strongly one way or the other on this one, though I suppose I like the idea of having the choice.

Just below that option is another relatively new feature, the “Auto-Rebuy (Real Money Ring Games)” option. (Other sites have a similar feature, I know.) When you click the option, a box pops up that allows you to modify your auto-rebuying in various ways:



At the PLO25 tables, I am seeing a few players who are auto-rebuying whenever they fall below the maximum buy-in. Have also encountered a few short-stackers who have it set to auto-rebuy their usual $5 buy-in whenever they are felted. (No worries -- eventually that latter group will be rolling heavy weights around and against each other in the fourth circle of Dante’s Inferno, if I’m not mistaken.)

I personally have not chosen the option to auto-rebuy. Not yet, anyway. I do buy in for the maximum, and usually will top off if I ever slip down between $15-$20 or further. But I do it manually -- partly out of habit, but partly because I suppose I like remaining aware of how much I’m up or down overall, something that’s easier to keep track of when not auto-rebuying.

There are certainly a few good reasons to auto-rebuy (something the pros do regularly, I believe). Nothing sadder than making a straight flush versus someone holding the ace-high flush and only having a short stack with which to play. Also, auto-rebuying can perhaps make it more difficult for less aware opponents to keep tabs on how you’re doing.

I recall once many months ago -- before this auto-rebuy feature was in place -- playing at a table with a player who was obviously manually rebuying to the maximum whenever he fell even a quarter below it. Guy was very active, involved in a high percentage of pots, and after a hundred hands or so I’d thought I’d gotten a read on him as a tricky, somewhat capable player.

That’s when I realized he still had exactly $25 in his stack. He might have been decent, but he sure wasn’t winning. Later looked in PokerTracker and realized the guy had dropped two-and-a-half buy-ins during those hundred hands! (Some detective, huh?)

Anyhow, I’m leaving the option unchecked for now, but probably will eventually set it where I want it and take advantage. What are your thoughts on auto-rebuying in ring games?

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The Hard-Boiled Poker Radio Show, Episode 18: Gun Shy Gambler

Date: Mon, Aug 31, 2009 Internet

Hope everyone had a good weekend. I know I did. Needed it, too, after a fairly exhausting week of work and “real” life stuff. Week began with that marathon sequence of plane rides back home from Kyiv, so it took a few days for the body and mind to resume all the normal rhythms. Wasn’t ’til Friday that I was back in sync, to be honest.

What did I do? Played some poker. Missed out on that “WCOOP Bloggers Freeroll” thing that happened yesterday over on PokerStars -- a freeroll satellite that awarded 18 seats into a World Championship of Online Poker event. Got the email but somehow overlooked the details and so never registered.

I did, however, get an invite to another freeroll happening this week, something called the “PokerStars WCOOP Journalist Event” which is also going to be awarding some free tickets into WCOOP events. Will try to make that one. Would be very cool to sneak my way through and somehow land a free seat.

Meanwhile, I’ve been playing pot-limit Omaha, mostly six-handed, and doing fairly well. In addition to collecting some cabbage, I managed yesterday to reestablish my Silver Star status on PokerStars for September. Have maintained that for the most part all year, and with it have been trading FPPs for cash whenever possible.

Also this weekend I pulled together and posted a new episode of The Hard-Boiled Poker Radio Show, this one called “Gun Shy Gambler.” Show starts with a reading from the John Fox book Play Poker, Quit Work, and Sleep Till Noon! (1977). You might recall I wrote something about that book about a month ago. The excerpt is a funny anecdote in which Fox tells about a scheme he came up with to gather statistical data at the poker tables. It is called “Counting Beans,” and yes, the title is meant literally.

The rest of the show is taken up with an episode of the old time radio show The Lone Ranger. A pretty good one, involving a gambler who becomes gun shy after having killed a man, then is forced to deal with his problem when the brother of the man he killed returns to confront him. There’s some card-playing, too, in there.

You can download the show by clicking here. Or just play it right here, if that’s how you roll:



By the way, I have been chatting with someone about the possibility of having the Hard-Boiled Poker Radio Show start airing on one of these internet radio networks. Would probably start out going back to the first episode and playing the old shows -- sort of like putting them into syndication -- then add new ones when the time comes. We’ll see where that goes. I’ll certainly let you know about it here if and when that happens.

One other bit of extracurricular activity this weekend was my first post over on FilmChaw, the movie blog established by our friend and esteemed author of Stupid/System, Julius Goat.

Ever since I saw the 1980 film Humanoids from the Deep, I knew I had a desire to respond. Thanks to Monsieur Goat for affording me the opportunity to do so. Lot of good writers and cool stuff over there at FilmChaw, so if you are into movies (both good and bad), check it out.

Let’s all have a good week. Fall is almost here. Our high temperature today is in the sixties, if you can believe that. Time for football. And the WCOOP! I’ll be doing some writing over on the PokerStars blog for that, recapping a few events and helping live blog the Main Event at the end. And if this freeroll thing works out, maybe I’ll be playing in the sucker, too. A massive schedule -- 45 events! -- this year, with satellites running ’round the clock, natch. For the complete sked and a ton of other info, go to PokerStars’ new WCOOP website for the skinny.

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Cheap Trick Getting Better All the Time

Date: Fri, Aug 28, 2009 Internet

“This next one is from our new album. It just came out this week, and the song is called ‘Surrender.’”

Recognize that, don’t ya?

I like all sorts of music, tending most often to listen to jazz (from Birth of the Cool through ’70s fusion), funk/R&B, so-called “classic” rock, prog rock (with a special affection for German “Krautrock” of the 70s), various ambient/electronic stuff, and what might be called Beatlesque pop.

Regarding the latter, I chose that adjective “Beatlesque” to distinguish a certain kind of popular music -- that kind with connections to Vaudeville/Tin Pan Alley in which the goal is to create those little three-minute pleasure-producers that often combine sweet melodies and singalong lyrics -- from other chart-topping (i.e., also “popular”) varieties.

The Beatles (about whom I’ve written here more than once) transcended genres, sure, but they are their own genre, too. And I have a soft spot for those bands whose ethos tends toward the “Beatlesque.” Which would include acts like XTC/Dukes of Stratosphear, Robyn Hitchcock, Todd Rundgren/Utopia, Klaatu, Belle and Sebastian, Tears for Fears, the Smithereens, Electric Light Orchestra, and others I’m not remembering at the moment. Even Radiohead or Coldplay could be said to fall into the category now and then. In fact, given the extent of the Beatles’ influence, you could probably take just about any popular act from the ’70s onward and find at least one tune that lands them at least temporarily in the category.

The ’70s, of course, is where that quote from above comes from. 1979, specifically, from the Beatlesque band Cheap Trick’s Live at Budokan.

A couple of years ago I wrote a post here about Cheap Trick praising their early career. I still think their first four studio albums, plus the endlessly fun Live at Budokan, are about as good as it gets when it comes to power pop drawing from both the early (“red album”) and late (“blue album”) Beatles modes.

The irony of Cheap Trick’s career, I suppose, is that when they finally fully acknowledged their “Beatlesque” identity and recruited George Martin -- the Beatles’ producer -- to take the helm on an album (1980’s All Shook Up), they kind of lost their way a bit. Still managed to churn out a few modest pop gems here and there, but never (to me) managed to produce anything quite like the consistently enthralling (and rocking) pop suites of their early records. The rock critic Ira Robbins feels similarly, and has written eloquently in many places (including Cheap Trick liner notes) about the band. Here’s his overview of their career.

Now, thirty-plus years after those early days, Cheap Trick is still kicking. And they’ve returned to acknowledging unashamedly their Beatle-ness. In that post from a couple of years ago, I mentioned how the band had performed in its entirety Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band a few times that year in order to mark the 40th anniversary of the LP. At the end of the post I mentioned how cool it would be to hear the performance. I did end up seeing some YouTube clips of it with so-so sound, but hadn’t really come across a decent audio recording out there.

Now there is one. It just came out this week.

A new CD and a DVD of the show have been released, featuring the entire Pepper album, plus a track from the show’s first act when they played non-Pepper Beatles stuff. And it rocks. If you like Cheap Trick and/or the Beatles, pick it up. You won’t be disappointed.

The releases come in time for Cheap Trick’s revival of the Pepper show next month -- in Las Vegas, in fact. I remember all summer hearing the ads for the new performances. There will be nine shows (Sept. 13-15, 17-19 and 21-23) at the Las Vegas Hilton. (More info here.) Wish I could go, but there’s no chance I can escape the “real” life (again) and get over there.

Now that I think about it, the Beatles were pretending to be another band, too, when they did Sgt. Pepper, putting on the costumes and making like they were someone else. Maybe it is this “role-playing” idea that further fascinates me here, since I, too, am so frequently playing a role (as the poker player and reporter, Shamus)? Maybe that’s why I’m digging this new release so much?

Nah. No need for psychological self-scrutiny here. I know why I like Cheap Trick’s Sgt. Pepper Live. Same reason why I like their early records so much.

It kicks ass!

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Make a Point to Double-Check, Double-Check to Make a Point

Date: Thu, Aug 27, 2009 Internet

This summer at the WSOP I finally got around to learning how to play Chinese Poker. A few of us on a break dealt out some hands and I received a quick tutorial. Didn’t take long to see why the game can be so addictive. One of the field reporters had the Chinese Poker application on his iPhone, too, which I thought about adding to mine. But since it wasn’t a free app -- and because I’m cheap -- I passed.

There’s now a free version of the app, which I grabbed before my recent trip to Kyiv, Ukraine and enjoyed playing during random moments along the way. Took me about a hundred hands to realize I wasn’t playing very smartly, and so started looking further into strategy.

Tom Schneider made a couple of Card Player videos a while back in which he talks about Chinese Poker. The first covers basics, like how to deal and some of the default strategies for building hands and avoiding getting scooped. That first one also talks about scoring and points work, which is simple but not obvious to a newcomer:

In the second video, Tom gets into explaining royalties and how they might affect one’s strategy. He also talks about some of the variations like deuce-to-seven in the middle.

These vids were recorded right near the end of the WSOP Main Event. You might recall that Schneider made it all of the way to Day 7, ultimately busting in 52nd place. In fact, I’m remembering that after he busted I ran over during the dinner break and joined Tom and crew while they ate dinner, and sure enough Chinese Poker was being played at the table.

This is also making me recall a very funny story involving Tom from right there at the end of the WSOP that I don’t think I shared here. Story also has to do with my iPhone, as it happens, which I had only just picked up in May right before going out to Vegas.

Long time readers of the blog know about how I met Tom a couple years ago (via his old podcast, Beyond the Table). He and I have been in contact ever since, and this summer had talked a few times and exchanged text messages now and then. So when he was making his deep run in the ME, it wasn't unusual for me to send him a text message wishing him well. Sent during the morning before Day 7, actually.

We got to the first break that day and as I often did took a moment during the break to fire off a text to Vera Valmore: “hey mama... first break about to end... day goin’ well xxx.”

That is to say, I thought I’d sent a message to Vera. It was later that afternoon Tom finally busted, then sometime after that he sent what I assume was a text to all of his contacts passing along the news that he was out.

That’s when I realized -- my earlier message... I’d sent it to Tom, not Vera! I had a feeling as soon as I started texting with the iPhone that at some point I would probably make that mistake. The message app opens to the last person you texted, so if yr not paying attention, it isn’t that hard to send a message to the wrong person. Finally I had done it.

Sent Tom another text, explaining the mix-up. “Disregard the ‘mama’ and ‘xxx’ and replace with ‘dude’ and a high-five” I said.

Funny stuff. Tom got a big laugh out of it, and referred to me as “mama” from that point forward. That was the night I met ’em all for dinner, and then later in the evening had the chance to play for an hour or so with Tom, Julie, and others in the Rio poker room. Got to play both Badugi and deuce-to-seven triple draw for the first time ever live. A highlight of the summer, for sure.

So the moral of the story here is always double-check, whether when setting your hand in Chinese or sending a text to your buddy. In the former case, you might accidentally kiss yr money goodbye. In the latter, you might accidentally kiss yr buddy.

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Talkin’ About Poker on TV

Date: Wed, Aug 26, 2009 Internet

Getting back into the swing of my other “real” life here. Returned immediately to the other job yesterday, the one where I tend not to share with anyone details of my poker-related shenanigans.

Makes for the occasionally curious moment when, say, someone asks “What did you do this summer?” To which I’ll answer vaguely about having “done some writing,” perhaps mentioning my novel, and quickly turn the conversation back around. “What did you do?” I’ll ask.

Funniest exchange yesterday had to have been when a colleague was asking me about the NFL preseason, in particular about how a certain team had been doing. I confessed I hadn’t been following. “You didn’t see the game?” he said. No, I didn’t. “Didn’t you even read about it in the sports page?” he continued. Hadn’t gotten around to it, I said. Been busy. He was incredulous.

“What, have you been out of the country?”

I immediately thought of a particular hand from Day 4 of the EPT Kyiv Main Event, one involving the Dutch player Adrian Schaap and the German Michael Meyburg. There were 13 players left. Meyburg had raised from the cutoff and Schaap called him from the button. The flop brought two aces. Meyburg checked, Schaap bet two-thirds the pot, Meyburg check-raised a little over twice what Schaap had bet, then Schaap went all in.

Meyburg went into the tank, then started questioning Schaap. The whole time the Dutch player sat motionless with his arms folded and eyes closed (see picture).

I felt a little like Schaap when my colleague asked about my recent whereabouts. Just smiled and shook my head non-communicatively. Wouldn’t have been socially acceptable to stand with arms folded and eyes closed, I guess, but that’s how I envisioned myself responding. Like Meyburg, my colleague folded, and the conversation moved elsewhere. In other words, the game continued.

Since I have been out of the country, it’s taking me some time to get caught up once again with what seems like an abundance of poker-related news items that have broken over the last week or so.

A lot of the news has been TV-related. ESPN has decided to ink a new deal with the World Series of Poker, guaranteeing it will continue covering the Series through 2018. That announcement comes as ESPN has begun airing its 2009 WSOP ME coverage.

Not overly surprised by this news, actually, though it wasn’t that long ago -- say the fall of 2007 -- that it seemed as though some were starting to worry that ESPN would lose interest in the WSOP. The vibe has clearly changed since then, with ESPN’s commitment to poker further evidenced by the launching of that new internet-based poker show called “Inside Deal” which I keep hearing is terrific though have yet to get the chance to watch.

NBC’s “Face the Ace” has faded a bit into the background, where it will necessarily remain since subsequent episodes will be aired sporadically on random Saturday afternoons. The new show on the G4 network called “2 Months, $2 Million” has begun to air as well. That’s the one following the adventures of four online players (Jay Rosenkrantz, Dani Stern, Emil Patel, and Brian Roberts) over a couple of months this past summer. A good buzz going around that one, though I’ve yet to see it. Oh, and I guess there is something about yet another poker show, sponsored by PokerStars, that will be airing on the Fox network, too.

Meanwhile, earlier in the month we all heard about struggling WPT Enterprises Inc. (owners of the World Poker Tour) apparently being sold to a group called Gamynia Limited for the relatively paltry sum of $9.075 million. Then came the news this week that Peerless Media Ltd., a division of PartyGaming (who run PartyPoker), made a “superior offer” of $12.3 million and will instead be purchasing the WPTE. Still a ways away from the $700-million figure that some say was apparently on the table some years ago when the World Poker Tour was rockin’ and WPTE’s stock was at its peak.

Folks are speculating about the significance of PartyGaming getting involved here with the WPT. (See, for example, Dr. Pauly’s commentary.) It is certainly intriguing, though I can’t help but marvel at how much less intriguing -- or even significant -- the WPT’s livelihood seems now compared to even just a couple years ago.

There was a period -- lasting, say, from December 2005 when WPT CEO Steve Lipscomb issued that “Open Letter” explaining how the WPT had yet to turn a profit and lasting through April 2007 when the announcement was made that the WPT would be leaving the Travel Channel -- that the fate of poker, generally speaking, seemed closely tied to that of the World Poker Tour. Now, with many other tours growing as well as the several other television shows that have together pushed the WPT off of our radar, whether the WPT thrives or not doesn’t seem all that important in the larger context.

That’s not to say I’m not pulling for the WPT to stick around and succeed. Of course I’d like to see the tour right itself and remain a meaningful part of the pro poker circuit. And I’m also as curious as everyone (still) to learn what exactly PartyGaming is up to moving forward.

But there is a lot else going on that makes news about the WPT’s success or failure seem less urgent right now.

Sort of like the result of a preseason game, you might say.

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Travel Report, EPT Kyiv: Looking Back

Date: Tue, Aug 25, 2009 Internet

About halfway through last week I got an email from a poker media colleague who was thinking about also doing a bit of traveling to cover a non-U.S. poker tournament. Like me prior to going to Kyiv, that’s something he hasn’t done before, and so wondered how I was finding the experience and whether or not I thought it was worth it.

I didn’t have a lot of time to respond, but did shoot him a quick email with a few thoughts, the gist of which was to say I was especially glad I’d made the trip. Sure, for a poker reporter you could look at it in a practical way as a résumé-builder. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have something like covering an EPT event successfully under yr belt. And making a little cabbage is always nice, too. But for me the benefits of the trip go way beyond career stuff or the financial aspects.

Last night Vera Valmore asked me to tell her what I liked most about the trip and what I liked least. I had many answers for the first question, and struggled mightily to answer the second. Had to settle for “not getting enough sleep” and “being away from Vera” as the main downsides to the trip. Meanwhile, had lots to say about what I liked.

Travel is something I have always enjoyed, though never really sought out to do. Have taken many trips all over the world with Vera, but chances are probably slim I’d have gone to all those places without her. So had the invitation to cover EPT Kyiv not come my way, I can say pretty confidently I probably wouldn’t have gone to Ukraine otherwise, unless it came up in some other context. (Yes, I do run good -- in many ways.)

As those who followed the blog last week probably gathered, most of our waking hours were spent at the Kyiv Sport Palace covering the event, so our days were mainly taken up either at the tourney, at the President Hotel (our home-away-from-home for the week), or making the ten-minute walk to and fro. So I didn’t really see a lot of Kyiv beyond what I experienced in those places, although on Saturday I did get to join Eric, Glo, Jeremy, and John for a long walk through the city for some sightseeing and shopping.

Still, I did get to recognize and appreciate a different culture, one that seemed to share a lot with other European cities I’ve visited. One big difference was the cost -- of everything, really -- which was very manageable compared to most other European destinations. Indeed, I spent much less than I expected to during the week, and wasn’t necessarily Hryvnia-pinching my way through the trip, either.

Certain things -- like haggling with taxi drivers over what you’ll pay them -- didn’t necessarily come naturally, though it wasn’t hard to get used to how things were done. Really everyone with whom I interacted was very hospitable and friendly, and while I can’t speak knowledgeably about the current state of Kyiv (economy, crime, other culture, etc.), it certainly seemed a safe, stimulating place to live.

The European Poker Tour -- sponsored by PokerStars.com -- is a very impressive, well-managed operation (in my view). Of course, I haven’t really been on the “inside” for other tours besides the WSOP, and so don’t have a lot on which to base a comparison. But just about everything associated with EPT Kyiv -- the planning and preparation, the accommodations for media, the treatment of players, the functioning of tourney staff (dealers, directors) -- seemed strong evidence that those running the show really know what they’re doing.

Talking with colleagues who’ve covered other EPT events confirmed all of these impressions for me. There’s a ton to consider when taking a tour to different countries and venues, trying to adapt in ways that work for everyone involved. Maybe I’m still a newbie who hasn’t been to enough stops to have developed a more critical eye, but I come away from EPT Kyiv a big fan of the tour and what it has accomplished during its five-plus seasons.

You might remember the story of the power outage on Day 1b (see post), when play in the Main Event was interrupted for 20 minutes or so. Was thinking afterwards of how chaotic such an event might have been at the WSOP, and how negative the reaction would have been. Nothing like that at all at Kyiv, where everyone took it in stride and, really, it just became another interesting facet of an already interesting experience. There are probably a few ways to explain this response, but one is certainly the professionalism and care with which the EPT is run. (Not necessarily implying here that the WSOP isn’t run well -- it is -- but just to underscore my positive response to the EPT.)

Another big plus for me was working with the PokerNews group -- my partner blogger Eric (FerricRamsium), Gloria Balding (GloriaJoy) and Jeremy Firth (twitter / blog) (video), and Jonathan Boncek (photographer). Funny, smart, talented folks, with whom I’m honored to have been able to work. Here’s just one of the many vids Glo & Jeremy put together during the week, one which shows you a bit more of what there was to see when one wandered beyond the hotel and tourney venue:



I mentioned before, also, how cool it was to work with those from the other sites, too, including the PokerStars blog and the several other sites there covering the event. A bunch more quick-witted, gifted, and mutually-supportive people, making for a terrific work environment.

As far as the actual tournament went, I’ve come away a big fan of a few players, including Shaun Deeb, Andrew Malott, and Alex Fitzgerald -- Americans who made the trip and came away from Kyiv having profited. The guys who did well in the Main Event, including the winner Maxim Lykov and a few others, impressed quite a bit, too.

Dunno know how many of the 296 who entered the Main Event I’ll be seeing or running into again, but I have a feeling I’ll be pulling for all of them somehow, given how each played a role in helping form this nice memory for me.

Which was the point of this and the last few posts -- to chronicle and thus help me remember my Kyiv adventure. (Thanks for reading along!)

Back to the usual applesauce tomorrow. Got some news coming regarding the podcast, as well as more info on the novel, too. Oh, and as I resume the “real life” I’ll probably try to play some poker in here somewhere as well, so might be talking about that, too.

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Travel Report, EPT Kyiv: Day 5

Date: Mon, Aug 24, 2009 Internet

Back home, safe and sound. The trip from Kyiv to Frankfurt to Cincinnati to home was relatively smooth, though took about 20 hours total and so I’m afraid I’m too sapped to write much of anything today. That’s a pic out the window from the first leg of our journey, for which we flew Ukranian International Airlines.

The EPT Kyiv Main Event ended somewhat excitingly, with the Russian Maxim Lykov -- who had ended the previous three days as the chip leader -- taking it down. The coverage went well, I think, and in the end it was a very satisfying week of reporting. Was a blast working with Eric, Glo, Jeremy, and John, as well as alongside all of the other folks there reporting for the many different sites.

Speaking of, just before play began yesterday, I was interviewed by a Ukranian poker site called Balaganoff. Grigory, my interviewer, asked me about winning the media tourney, my visit to Kyiv, and my experiences this week covering the event. Here’s the interview, if yr curious. Starts out with a couple of minutes of montage from the media tourney, then comes me (dubbed, natch).

I’ll be back on tomorrow with a few last reflections on the trip. For now, it is time to get some rest.

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Travel Report, EPT Kyiv: Day 4

Date: Sun, Aug 23, 2009 Internet

Was a late one yesterday, with play lasting until after midnight and our wrap-up work not concluding until after 1 a.m. Ended up staying up another hour back at the hotel chatting with Vera Valmore on Skype. I guess it says something about my age to say I’m still flummoxed by the fact that it is possible to chat (with video) with someone 5,000 miles away like that.

Had thoughts of getting up and doing a little more sight-seeing this morning, but was dead to the world until 10:30 a.m., my body clock finally catching up and allowing me to have a decent period of sleep. Of course, we’ve only one more night here in Ukraine, so I’ll be having to adjust again soon.

Final table today starts at noon local time. You can follow the action over at EPT Live, if you like -- a very cool way to follow all of the EPT events. Have to say, they do a lot of things especially well on the EPT.

Gotta get to work, so no time for more today. Might not be back on here for a couple of days actually, as I’ll be in transit. Will surely have some post-Kyiv reflections to share on the other side, but I can say for now it has been a terrific week -- for lots of reasons -- and I’m really glad I decided to make the trip. (But I’ll be glad to get back home, too.)

Signing off from Kyiv. Check out the PokerNews’ live reporting page to see how the tourney plays out.

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Travel Report, EPT Kyiv: Day 3

Date: Sat, Aug 22, 2009 Internet

Was a relatively short day at EPT Kyiv yesterday. At least as far as the Main Event went, anyway. Turned out to be a long, long one for me. Lemme explain.

The plan for Day 3 was to play down from 68 to 32 players, making it four eight-handed tables coming back for today. (The event has been played eight-handed since Day 2, by the way, and the final table -- like all EPT FTs -- will be eight-handed, too.) “Miami” John Cernuto went out early on Friday, as did the last remaining woman, Liya (not Lika) Gerasimova.

Indeed, of our final 32 there are a couple of folks whom some of us knew previously -- such as Americans Andrew Malott and Alex Fitzgerald -- but most hail from Russia or the Ukraine and we only know them thanks to having followed them this week. Some characters and personalities among the bunch, though, so it will be interesting to see how things play out.

Will also be interesting to see how the reporting will go today and tomorrow, as the action will all be shot for broadcast in Europe. I assume we reporters will be on the floor today, but on Sunday the action will move to the main stage (where the week began with the drummers and dancers of the opening ceremony), and we may well be simply reporting from a live feed rather than actually being there near the final table. Whatever the case is, I’m sure all will go well, as tournament organizers have been especially conscientious of the media’s needs all week.

Play ended around seven p.m. or so last night, which meant we were pretty much done with the wrap-up work by eight o’clock or so. Then came the media tournament, sponsored by PokerStars. A neat bonus, as we got to play at the tables, with the EPT cards, chips, and dealers. The top three finishers would cash, with PokerStars promising to deposit into those players’ accounts according to a sked of $150-$100-$50.

It was probably about nine p.m. or so when cards went in the air. How’d it go? As my partner Eric (FerricRamsium) sez, “Ship it!”

Somehow yr humble gumshoe managed to negotiate his way through the field of 40 or so players to take down the sucker, the end coming a little after 2:30 a.m. I don’t think this quite rates me a page on Hendon Mob, but it will serve for a nice memory of EPT Kyiv, dontcha know. Indulge me a quick highlight reel.

Was at Eric’s table to start out (there’s a picture of him there, preparing for battle), and he immediately started mixing it up, open-raising most hands and quickly accumulating chips. Had the supremely bad fortune to draw pocket kings against another player’s pocket aces, though, which crippled him. He did exit heroically, however, going out with the “hammer” (7-2).

We actually had a somewhat slow structure for the beginning and middle stages of the tourney -- at least relative to how these type of events usually go -- with short increases in blinds (and eventually antes) and 25-minute levels. I could afford, then, to be choosy with my hand selection, and therefore didn’t get too randy early on. Picked up pocket kings myself before my initial table broke and they worked out much better for me than for Eric, scoring me a double up and some early breathing room.

Skipping ahead, there were a few instances where I got lucky, for sure, the most notable example coming in a hand about an hour-and-a-half into the tourney in which I’d picked up pocket queens. A novice player -- he’d told us all this was his first time playing poker -- had raised before the flop, I reraised him with position, and he called. The flop came jack-high (rainbow), he checked, I fairly confidently pushed all in, and he called me with A-Q offsuit. Looked pretty good for me, until an ace fell on the turn. I’d already mentally given up the hand when the case queen appeared on the river.

“Miracudiculous,” I said. Afterwards, I was asked by Marc Convey if I’d used my “one-time chip” -- invented by Stephen Bartley, who also made the final table last night. I could honestly say I had not, as once that ace fell it did not even occur to me that there was any way I’d still win the hand. (See here for more on the origin and history of the “one time chip.”)

My opponent actually had me slightly covered in that one -- something I wasn’t even completely sure about when I’d pushed, to be honest -- so the one-outer had saved my tourney life. Play continued, and eventually my other PokerNews colleagues -- Jeremy, Gloria, and John -- would all go out. And head out, too, except for Glo who ended up sticking around and giving me much-appreciated encouragement for most of the night.

Sometime after midnight we’d made it to the final table, at which point I might’ve been close to or even had the chip lead with about 17,000 of the 80,000 chips or so in play. I’d fall back to average eventually, though would build back up, and when Simon of PokerStars went out in fourth I believe I might have had the chip lead again.

At that point it was just me and two Russian players, one of whom was particularly strong -- the best player of the final trio, I think it is safe to say -- and soon he assumed the chip lead. The blinds/antes started going up more rapidly, and I’d become short (down to five or six big blinds) when I got lucky on a big hand versus the new chip leader. He’d limped in the small blind, and I checked the BB with 8-4 offsuit. The flop came J-7-4, he checked, I pushed, and he deliberated for a good while before calling with a seven. Another four then popped out on the turn, the river blanked, and I was still kicking.

Soon thereafter I was heads up with Kirill, the other Russian player, and I believe I had around a 3-2 chip advantage when we started. We went back and forth some, and I chipped up a little more. Then about eight or ten hands in, Kirill shoved from the small blind/button and I quickly called with . Kirill turned over . “Doyle Brunson,” he said with a grin. The board went , and I’d won!

The whole night was a blast. The dealers were a ton of fun, and Clement, our tourney director, was terrific, too. Shaun Deeb, fresh off of taking down the three-handed High Rollers event earlier in the day, was sweating us for a while during the breaks from the PLO event he was playing. Nikolay Evdakov (who also played the High Rollers) had come over to watch as well. In fact, Evdakov had a video camera and was filming us when we were six-handed, at which point Simon delivered an uproarious monologue to the camera explaining to Evdakov how he’d spent €20,000 to enter our tourney and was looking to challenge the Russian next.

We were up early this morning, doing a little sight-seeing and shopping before going in for the noon restart. Really my only chance at seeing something other than the hotel and the Sport Palace this week, so even though I’m short on sleep, I’m pretty wired and ready to go.

As always, be sure to follow along over on PokerNews’ live reporting page as we work down to the final eight. And while yr over there check out the coverage from APT Macau, delivered by F-Train and TassieDevil, too!

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Travel Report, EPT Kyiv: Day 2

Date: Fri, Aug 21, 2009 Internet

Morning, peeps. Halfway there -- three days of play down (Day 1a, 1b, and 2) and three to go. Life in Ukraine still good. Got a better night’s sleep last night, as I think I’ve finally gotten mostly adjusted, time zone-wise. Still feels a little wild to be waking up in eastern Europe, some 5,000 or so miles away from home. Most certainly the farthest yr humble gumshoe has ever ventured.

The weather here in Kyiv has been quite mild, with temperatures in the 70s most days. Been a nice week in that respect, with blue skies and just a few clouds. Was cooler than that walking over to the Sport Palace yesterday morning -- enough so to require a jacket. Inside the arena is a bit warmer (no jacket required), and there is some extra humidity here that may affect those who don’t normally live in humid environments. Comfortable, though.

I mentioned before how there are a number of folks on media row, such as Benjo, Marc Convey, and others with whom I’ve worked and/or know from the WSOP. Forgot also to mention two other familiar faces here in Kyiv -- Kevin and Robbie from the Rio, who are here acting as tournament directors for the various events. Was cool to see them, and a little surreal seeming.

Saw Robbie yesterday and told him I’d been looking for him during the power outage on Wednesday because I wanted to ask him if flash photography was permitted anywhere inside the Sport Arena. (Inside joke, there -- those of us who’ve worked with Robbie are most familiar with his frequent admonitions at WSOP events, wryly delivered in his unmistakable baritone, that “no flash photography is permitted anywhere inside the Amazon Room.”) Told him I’d come 5,000 miles to ask him that.

Play yesterday went quite rapidly, with two-thirds of the 203 returning players being eliminated in just five 75-minute levels. Brought back memories of the final days of the WSOP Main Event this summer, when many players seemed plenty willing to gamble it up with 80-plus big blinds. I don’t think those planning the tourney thought we’d be losing players at quite the clip we did on Thursday, so they’re adjusting the schedule as we go to ensure the tourney stretches out over the scheduled five days of play.

As I say, the plan is three more days, with the final two getting covered for television. Sounds like they’ll be playing down from 71 to 32 players today, then 32 to 8, then have that eight-handed final table on Sunday. As a result we may get to enjoy somewhat shorter days today and tomorrow, meaning Eric (FerricRamsium) and I might get a chance to get out and see a little bit of the city before we leave on Monday. The rest of our crew -- Gloria, Jeremy, and John -- made it out already to shoot some video and take photos yesterday while Eric and I were at the Sport Palace.

As far as reporting went yesterday, all was fairly straightforward. Nothing nearly as exciting happened as Wednesday’s power outage. Some interesting hands here and there, but mostly just chronicling the fast pace of the eliminations and the emergence of the tourney’s big stacks.

Making that fifty-yard walk back and forth between the floor and the laptop does pose a bit of a challenge sometimes, since when sitting at the computer yr too far away from the action to know if something is happening. Also, as I mentioned yesterday, media row is separated from the poker by curtains (in that picture above, the tourney is playing out on the other side). So while we can sometimes hear announcements and such, we can’t really follow anything when on our side.

So it can be hit or miss, sometimes, as far as getting good hands goes. Of course, we’ve reached the stage of the tourney now where we know most of the players by sight, which means when we do get hands they are easier to report. A good thing, since by now just about all of the (relatively few) “name” players who made the trip are busto. “Miami” John Cernuto is still in, as are a couple of others who are somewhat known from other EPT events. But I’m meeting pretty much all of these guys -- and the one lady who is left, Lika Gerasimova -- for the first time.

There’s a €20,000 “High Rollers” event scheduled to begin today, although we’re hearing there aren’t too many players who’ve expressed interest in playing that one. I think Gus Hansen may have stuck around for it, and Shaun Deeb (who went out of the Main Event yesterday) might be wanting to play it, too, although it isn’t certain the tourney will even be played. They’ve had a few other lower buy-in side events this week -- including a ladies’ event -- although the field sizes have been fairly modest for those. We’ll see.

One tourney that will definitely be happening is a PokerStars-sponsored media tourney. We’re to play that not long after play concludes today. Ought to be fun. Will report how that goes tomorrow.

Meanwhile, see you over at PokerNews’ live reporting page.

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Travel Report, EPT Kyiv: Day 1b

Date: Thu, Aug 20, 2009 Internet

Good morning from Kyiv! It’s yr buddy, Short-Stacked Shamus. Or, should I say, SHФЯT-STДCКЗD SHДMЦS?

The second day of play at the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Main Event in Kyiv, Ukraine -- the second of two scheduled “day ones” -- attracted 167 more players, bringing the overall total number of entrants for the event to 296. I know those running the show were hoping to hit 300, but I think that had been considered a somewhat unlikely goal, so 296 ain’t bad.

There are 33 different countries represented, too, which is kind of amazing to consider, especially given the fact that players only had a couple of weeks to arrange to come to Kyiv. We’ll never know, of course, how many would have been there had this event been played in Moscow as originally scheduled. I think in fact there might have been some who came to Kyiv who might not have come otherwise, given the stricter visa requirements over in Russia.

As happened on Day 1a, there were seven one-hour levels played yesterday with no dinner break. For those of us on the reporting side, that basically translates into approximately ten consecutive hours of work -- a bit of preliminary prep, blogging through the eight hours or so it takes to play the seven levels, then doing all the recap stuff afterwards (getting final chip counts, writing wrap-ups, etc.). A long day, then, though not as arduous as some of the days we had at the WSOP.

The press area is located right next to where the tourney is being played, which I’m told is a more convenient set-up than sometimes occurs at these non-WSOP events. Actually we’re all in the same cavernous arena that is the Kyiv Sport Palace, with huge amber-colored curtains hanging down from the ceiling separating the rows of tables at which the media works from the poker tables on the other side. So FerricRamsium and I are continually walking back and forth -- about 50 yards (?) -- between our laptops to the tourney as we gather hands and other items to report throughout the day.

Without question, the most memorable moment yesterday came when a construction crew working near the Sport Palace accidentally cut through the main power line, suddenly plunging the entire arena into darkness. At the time I was on the floor, standing in between two tables and trying to record the action at both.

On my left was Dario Minieri’s table. The Italian had been playing his usually aggressive game, opening most hands with preflop raises and watching his stack go up and down wildly. After more than doubling up early, he’d slipped up and was down around 10,000 or so (from the starting stack of 30,000), and so I wanted to keep an eye on him just in case he happened to bust.

Meanwhile, to my right I had become engrossed in a huge hand developing between another Italian player, Pier Paolo Fabrietti, and a fellow named Alexander Rykov. On the turn the board read . Rykov bet 7,500 into what had already become about a 20,000-chip pot, and Fabrietti called. The river was the , and Rykov again made a bet. Fabrietti responded by pushing all in, and Rykov thought a bit before finally making the call. Fabrietti had Rykov covered by about 10,000, and the pot was now over 100,000.

Somewhat surprisingly, the moment Rykov called Fabrietti tossed his cards to the dealer. He’d obviously missed a draw on that river and had nothing, although it was odd to see him mucking without waiting to see Rykov’s cards. (I ended up chatting about this hand some time later with one of the other players at the table, who said he most definitely would have waited to see what Rykov had before giving up like that.)

It was at the precise moment Fabrietti tossed his cards -- I want to say they were still airborne, in fact -- that the power went out. All of the players at the table instantly pulled out their cell phones and shone the meager bit of light they provided on the table. The dealer leaned forward, anxiously extending both hands out over the chips in the middle. Rykov turned out to have pocket kings, giving him a set. Wild stuff.

At other tables hands had been interrupted midway through, and so those were finished one at a time with the tournament director shining a flashlight. My buddy Benjo snapped that nifty photo pictured above, chronicling the action as we awaited the return of power. Backup generators were cranked up, and after about 20-25 minutes of darkness we were back in business.

Minieri busted soon thereafter. As did Gus Hansen, who arrived very late. He’d apparently bought in earlier, but didn’t take a hand until the middle of the fourth level, and was out at the start of level seven. There were 110 players left at the end of Day 1b, meaning we’ve got 203 total coming back today for Day 2.

The tourney is scheduled to go four more days. No idea how many levels they’ll play today or from this point forward. I did hear that the tourney will be played eight-handed from Day 3 onward (all EPT final tables are eight-handed, btw). Also, there will be television crews on hand for the last two days of play, as I believe they’ll be showing this event in Europe at some point in the near future. There’s also some sort of “EPT Live” feed available online, I think -- I’m sure I’ll learn more about that as we go.

To this point Kyiv has basically been a lot of back-and-forthing for me -- from the laptop to the poker tables and back, and from the hotel to the Sport Palace and back. So not much sight-seeing, but I’m having fun, for sure. Am still struggling to find a good night’s sleep, I’m afraid. Am usually in bed by midnight, but as my body clock still thinks that it is late afternoon, it has been taking me a few hours to shut down the brain altogether. But all in all, so far so good.

Talk at you tomorrow. Meanwhile, you can check in on us over on the PokerNews’ live reporting page. Also, Gloria, Jeremy, and John are doing some location shooting in the city this morning, so there should be some cool video from Kyiv on the site soon. Go over to tv.pokernews.com later in the day for that.

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