Posted by CarbonPoker on 16th July 2009

cousins of ron mexicoThanks to everyone who came out for the CarbonPoker Blogger Tourney yesterday. We had an active chat, some decent poker play, and (as expected) PUNTE from WithLeather busted out first. Check out the site for the prop-bet-decided unicorns that will be popping up throughout the day.

For those of you who missed it, you can check out the Live Chat of the Event and re-live Cousins of Ron Mexico’s win, my respectable 2nd place showing, and AwfulAnnouncing’s aggro play.

I’m expecting a flood of questions about how to get in on the next event, SO, here it is:

We’re going to be regularly hosting blogger tourneys from here on out. They’re going to be bigger, better and have much larger fields. This was the trial run and we’ve figured out some ways to make it better.

If you want in, keep watching the blog and CarbonPoker on Twitter for further announcements. To get in, you need to be a contributor to a legit blog. Hit up the comments section or Twitter with your blog’s URL

For all you poker bloggers out there, get ready, because we’re rolling out something massive in the coming weeks that I’m pretty sure you’ll love.

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Posted by CarbonPoker on 16th July 2009

phil_ivey_01-1After a crazy and fast Day 8 of the Main Event of 2009′s World Series of Poker, we’re down to the final nine players. Phil Ivey made it, to the cheers of a packed rail at the Rio. Seriously — they were going mental for this guy.

After 27 started the day, poker fans were treated to some insane action. Billy Kopp pissed away a commanding chip lead on a 5-high flush. Kopp finished in 12th place after many were speculating that he would play tightly and coast into the final table with a strong lead.

The last remaining poker babe, Leo Margets, left the event to the boys. She was the first out on Day 8.

The $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event will be played out in November — giving the poker industry plenty of time to feed the hype and attempt to make household names out of the players NOT named “Ivey”.

Here is how the final table will shake out:

Seat 1: Darvin Moon – 58,930,000
Seat 2: James Akenhead – 6,800,000
Seat 3: Phil Ivey – 9,765,000
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel – 12,390,000
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter – 29,885,000
Seat 6: Eric Buchman – 34,800,000
Seat 7: Joe Cada – 13,215,000
Seat 8: Antoine Saout – 9,500,000
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman – 19,580,000

As you can see, Darvin Moon holds a pretty dominant stack. But if we learned anything from the Koppian actions that took place, No Limit Hold’em can turn anyone out on their ear.

Final action is going to take place November 7-10. Stay tuned for more breakdowns, player profiles and all your poker news.

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Posted by CarbonPoker on 15th July 2009

Welcome to the CarbonPoker Blogger Tourney Live Chat.

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Posted by CarbonPoker on 15th July 2009

La BambaEveryone expects the professional poker players to do well in the World Series of Poker Main Event, but few would expect a non-poker celebrity to find success in the WSOP.  However, several celebrities made their way deep into the Main Event which surprised fans and players alike.  Here’s a quick look at the celebrities who had a successful WSOP Main Event run:

Lou Diamond Phillips

Phillips has been out of the limelight for a while as it’s been years since he starred in La Bamba, but the poker community definitely took notice of him after he went farther than any other non-poker celebrity in the Main Event.  Some thought Lou even had a chance to win it all before he finally busted out in 186th place.  For his excellent showing at the WSOP, Phillips received $36,600 which is more than almost 6,000 other players can say they received.

Jordan Farmar

Since Farmar had never even played Texas Hold’em before the 2009 Main Event, nobody expected the Los Angeles Lakers player to do anything.  However, Farmar defied the odds and made it through almost 3 days of play before being knocked out of the tournament.  This is quite an accomplishment for a true poker rookie! He must have had a few games with Lakers owner Jerry Buss.

Shane Warne

This former international cricket star showed that he has a presence on the poker table too as he was also able to make it to the third day of play in the Main Event.  Unfortunately, Warne’s flush was topped by a full house which is truly a bad beat for someone who was looking to double up on a great hand.
costanza hat
Jason Alexander

Alexander used his experience from TV shows like NBC’s Heads-up Championship to perform the same feat as Warne and Farmar in making it to the third day of the WSOP.  Jason, who is best known for his days as George Constanza on “Seinfeld”, will no doubt be back next year looking for a strong tournament run.

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Posted by CarbonPoker on 15th July 2009
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Posted by CarbonPoker on 14th July 2009

wsop_bracelet_newWith only Event 57 to be decided, and my fantasy poker team in great form, here is a look back at the 2009 World Series of Poker.

It was a year of multiple-bracelet winners, some dominant performances and packed card rooms at the RIO – and all over the strip.

As usual, we saw a lot of first-time winners and more established online players rising above the brick and mortar crowd to get some of the coveted jewelry.

CarbonPoker player, JP Kelly took down the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event in my favorite result of the 09 WSOP.

Below is the full list of events and winners from this year’s action:

WSOP Event Winner
Event #1 Casino Employees NLHE – $500 Andrew Cohen – $83,778
Event #2 No Limit Hold’em – $40K Vitaly Lunkin – $1,891,012
Event #3 Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8 or Better – $1,500 Thang Luu – $263,135
Event #4 No Limit Hold’em – $1,000 Steve Sung – $771,106
Event #5 Pot Limit Omaha – $1,500 Jason Mercier – $237,415
Event #6 World Championship 7 Card Stud – $10K Freddie Ellis – $373,744
Event #7 No Limit Hold’em – $1,500 Travis Johnson – $666,853
Event #8 2-7 Draw Lowball – $2,500 Phil Ivey – $96,361
Event # 9 No Limit Hold’em Short Handed – $1,500 Ken Aldridge – $428,259
Event #10 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha – $2,500 Rami Boukai – $244,862
Event #11 No Limit Hold’em – $2,000 Anthony Harb – $569,199
Event #12 World Championship Mixed Event – $10K Ville Wahlbeck – $492,375
Event #13 No Limit Hold’em – $5K Keven Stammen – $506,786
Event #14 Limit Hold’em Short Handed – $2,500 Brock Parker – $223,688
Event #15 No Limit Hold’em – $5K Brian Lemke – $692,658
Event #16 Seven Card Stud – $1,500 Jeff Lisandro – $124,959
Event #17 Ladies No Limit Hold’em – $1,000 Lisa Hamilton – $195,390
Event #18 Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8 or Better – $10K Daniel Alaei – $445,898
Event #19 No Limit Hold’em Short Handed – $2,500 Brock Parker – $552,745
Event #20 Pot Limit Hold’em – $1,500 JP Kelly – $194,434
Event #21 HORSE – $3K Zac Fellows – $311,899
Event #22 No Limit Hold’em Shootout – $1,500 Jeff Carris – $313,673
Event #23 2-7 Draw Lowball – $10K Nick Schulman – $279,742
Event #24 No Limit Hold’em – $1,500 Peter Vilandos – $607,256
Event #25 Omaha/7 Card Stud Hi-Lo or Better – $5K Phil Ivey – $220,538
Event #26 Limit Hold’em – $1,500 Tomas Alenius – $197,488
Event #27 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8 Better – $5K Roland De Wolfe – $246,616
Event #28 NO Limit Hold’em – $1,500 Mike Eise – $639,331
Event #29 Heads Up No Limit Hold’em – $10K Leo Wolpert – $625,682
Event #30 Pot Limit Omaha – $2,500 JC Tran – $235,685
Event #31 HORSE – $1,500 James Van Alstyne – $247,033
Event #32 No Limit Hold’em – $2K Angel Guillen – $530,548
Event #33 Limit Hold’em – $10K Greg Mueller – $460,836
Event #34 No Limit Hold’em – $1,500 Eric Baldwin – $521,932
Event #35 Pot Limit Omaha – $5K Richard Austin – $409,484
Event #36 No Limit Hold’em – $2K Jordan Smith – $586,212
Event #37 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split 8 Better – $10K Jeff Lisandro – $431,656
Event #38 Limit Hold’em – $2K Marc Naalden – $190,770
Event #39 No Limit Hold’em – $1,500 Ray Foley – $657,969
Event #40 Pot Limit Omaha – $10K Matt Graham – $679,379
Event #41 No Limit Hold’em Shootout – $5K Peter Traply – $348,728
Event #42 Mixed Event – $2,500 Jerrod Ankenman – $241,637
Event #43 Seniors No Limit Hold’em – $1,000 Michael Davis – $437,358
Event #44 Razz – $2,500 Jeff Lisandro – $188,370
Event #45 Pot Limit Hold’em – $10K John Kabbaj – $633,335
Event #46 Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better – $2,500 Derek Raymond – $229,192
Event #47 Mixed Hold’em – $2,500 Bahador Ahmadi – $278,804
Event #48 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better – $1,500 Brandon Cantu – $228,867
Event #49 HORSE Championship – $10K David Bach – $1,276,802
Event #50 Limit Hold’em Shootout – $1,500 Greg Mueller – $194,854
Event #51 No Limit Hold’em – $1,500 Carsten Joh – $664,426
Event #52 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em – $3K Jorg Peisert – $506,800
Event #53 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo-8 or Better – $1,500 David Halpern – $159,390
Event #54 No Limit Hold’em – $1,500 Tony Veckey – $637,276
Event #55 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball – $2,500 Abe Mosseri – $165,521
Event #56 No Limit Hold’em Short Handed – $5K Matt Hawrilenko – $1,003,163
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Posted by CarbonPoker on 14th July 2009

wsop chipsWith 8 Tables and 64 players remaining in 2009’s Main Event of the WSOP, there are some extremely heavy hitters remaining.

This is the kind of competition that gets the poker world buzzing. Any time big names have potential to make the final table, it’s great for the sport.

Here are the chip leaders:

Darvin Moon – 9,745,000 (Table 2)
Billy Kopp – 8,2425,000 (Table 5)
Phil Ivey – 6,345,000 (Table 4)
Steven Begleiter – 6,315,000 (Table 1)
Lacay Ludovic – 5,965,000 (Table 4)
Antonio Esfandiari – 5,610,000 (Table 8 )
Antoine Saout – 5,195,000 (Table 7)

Big boys, right? In addition to the leaders, we’ve got some other notables lurking and still very much in contention. Joe Sebok, Jeff Shulman, Dennis Phillips, Prahlad Friedman and Adam Bilzerian are still in the hunt.

Any picks? Any prop bets on prop bets? I’d put up my house, car and family that says Ivey has some massive action on him making the final table.

We’ll keep you posted as Day 7 heats up and we get closer to November’s final table.

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Posted by CarbonPoker on 14th July 2009

The_Final_CountdownWith only one day to go until the CarbonPoker Blogger Tourney, things are getting pretty intense.

I’ve locked myself to my computer, practicing for the event. I’ve read my own poker strategy posts again and again and I’ve been reading all the other competing blogs to try and spot some weaknesses (there are many).

For the No-Limit Hold’em event tomorrow at 7pm EST — feel free to come in and watch — there will be a full table of 10 competitors, a live chat thread on the CarbonPoker Blog and me dominating the action. What else could you hope for?

Stay posted for the full lineup of players, side bets, nicknames, recaps and guest posts.

Don’t forget that there’s a $500 prizepool at stake — so in addition to the smack talk, there will be some pretty decent (or stupid) poker being played.

This is going to be the first of many blogger poker events, so if you’re out there writing on the web, let me know in the comments or on Twitter ( @carbonpoker ).

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Posted by CarbonPoker on 13th July 2009

cardschipsAmong the most attractive prospects to poker players with small bankrolls is the concept of poker satellites.  A satellite allows players to earn their way into huge online tournaments or even win a seat in a giant land-based tourney all for the cost of a few dollars or more.

Unfortunately, the drawback to satellites is that the cheap buy-ins allow tons of people to enter them which makes for some huge tournaments.  This is why you need to have a sound strategy for wading your way through these enormous events.  But the strategy will change depending upon which type of satellite you enter.

Winner Takes All

As the name implies, a winner takes all satellite means that only one person is going to emerge victorious.  Some satellites will award other players with additional prizes such as online tournament credits, but the big prize is going to the top person.  Aside from the fact that you obviously need some luck here, there is also strategy to be employed too.

The basic strategy is that you’re going to be doing a lot of pushing since you need to double up frequently.  The goal isn’t to slide into the final table, it’s to win!  You need to play aggressively and build a big chip stack early just to have a chance.  You also have to have the mentality that, if you lose, you’re only out a few bucks anyways.

Multiple Package Satellites

Satellites which award multiple packages (or entries to the next tournament level) allow you to play a little more relaxed since you don’t even need to win to be a winner.  As long as you make it past the bubble, you’ve automatically earned your prize.  For the most part, you can play these multiple package satellites more like regular tournaments while looking to pick spots and build your chip stack in a normal manner.

Of course you need to get pretty aggressive when the bubble draws near if you’re one of the short stacks in the satellites.  That’s because everyone at this outset plays pretty tight seeing as how they’re almost in the prize package area, and this is your best chance to steal blinds and small pots.

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Posted by CarbonPoker on 13th July 2009

dusty schmidt

Online poker pro/amateur golfer/internet entrepreneur, Dusty Schmidt, recently lost his amateur golfer status after the USGA learned about an awesomely bad-ass challenge that he was pushing.

Schmidt offered up a cool $1 Million prop bet to anyone that could beat him in 10 Heads Up matches and 72 holes of golf. Although no one took the action, it generated a lot of press for Schmidt and unfortunately grabbed the attention of the USGA.

The United States Golfing Association pulled Schmidt’s amateur status, stating that since he violated the ‘spirit of the game’. Schmidt played a brief stint as a professional golfer before an untimely heart attack at 23. He was granted amateur status again and began playing poker as he went through rehab.

Schmidt was registered for a full slate of amateur tourneys this summer, yet the USGA will bar him from playing – unless his requests to remain amateur are allowed.

I can understand a slap on the wrist from the USGA, but a dropping his amateur status after the proposition of a prop bet? No body took the action, so it was really just a clever piece of self-promotion.

The stuffiness of the USGA is pretty evident here. It’s plain to see that Dusty is going to land on his feet after this – with over $3Million in poker profits – we’re all pulling for him here.

If he does lose the status, I hope someone at least takes the action. Does Phil Ivey golf?

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