I know January Player of the Year rankings mean about as much as a WSOP main event Day 1 Level 3 chip lead, but still, a quick look at CardPlayer’s 2009 POY, and I can tell you that it looks different from any other year I’ve looked at it this early — with so many non-Americans high on the leaderboard.

We’ll see if this holds up and says anything about the level of skill worldwide … it may just be reflecting the growth of international tournaments. Still … it’s different, and noted.

Seated from left: Eli Elezra, Doyle Brunson and Alan Meltzer, Standing: Tom Dwan, Phil Laak, David Peat, Mike Baxter and Dario Minieri at the taping of GSN’s High Stakes Poker at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino for the show’s highly anticipated upcoming fifth season.

I’m assuming Dan’s at the Golden Nugget watching the taping of day 1 of the latest season ofHigh Stakes Poker, but for those that want to know when it airs, Card Player is reporting that season 5 of HSP will air starting March 1 at 9pm ET on GSN. The network made a recent decision to make Sunday their “Poker Night”, with Season 6 of the World Poker Tour episodes at 6pm ET, and previous seasons of High Stakes Poker at 8pm ET. As mentioned before, the minimum buyin will be $200,000, with the blinds $400/$800 with a $200 ante. Last year’s taping of a $500,000 minimum buyin game last season appears to be gone, as it tightened up the play to the producers’ dismay.

Today’s also the 45th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s death, we should probably note. JFK was a little before my time, of course, but Stu Ungar (1953-1998) … his tragic end actually played a significant role in piquing my interest in the professional game. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it at the time, but something about his obit caught my eye … age 45, “of as yet undetermined causes” … you might argue that he was the first rock star of poker — with triumphant on-stage performances and a self-inflicted final exit, a la Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain.

I have this multi-drawer file I call Dead Story Office — not about the deceased, but full of notes and documents (from mostly pre-poker days) on stories that never quite came to fruition — and one of them: “World Series of Poker”. Though I didn’t quite see how it all came together (and in retrospect it couldn’t be more of an uh-duh observation) I was pretty sure Ungar had to be a major and fascinating character.

If you’ve got nothing better to do, click below to rummage through the manila folder where I’ve carried a guy I never knew with me through four homes and two external offices over the past 10 years:

More…

While the poker community focuses a great deal of attention on the Kentucky governor’s attempt at censorship and the potential for Rep. Barney Frank to do something with H.R. 6870 after it recently passed in the House Financial Services Committee, there are a few other poker news nuggets to pass on.

~Without so much as a press release to announce it, it seems that UltimateBet has signed Michael Binger as one of its newest team members. Oh, Michael, you too? Adam Levy has also joined the team, again with no official notice from the UB staff. The news came via Mean Gene’s UB Aruba blog and a picture posted from the welcome party.

~Short-Stacked Shamus gave his take on the recent issue of CardPlayer magazine in which Jeff Shulman said that CP was unaware of Scotty Nguyen’s unsportsmanlike behavior at the 2008 WSOP $50K HORSE event because of restricted media access at the final table. Disingenuous was the word over at Hard-Boiled Poker.

~It seems that the Eastern Europeans love them some internet gambling, and no recession will get in their way. A researcher with Global Betting and Gaming Consultants shows that a steady increase will continue because of favorable broadband and law changes, not to mention the Eastern Europeans’ “propensity to gamble.”

~Evidently, Senator John McCain likes him some gambling, specifically high-limit craps. How negative EV… The New York Times has looked into McCain’s ties to Indian gaming, and the gaming industry in general, and dug up some interesting info about lobbyists and McCain’s connections to them.

~The more I hear about WSOP “November Nine” chipleader Dennis Phillips, the more he seems like a great guy whose inner philanthropist has been able to shine with his $900K take-home money and potential for the $9.1 million first prize. In this episode of PokerRoad Radio released during the Borgata Poker Classic earlier this month, the guys sat down with Phillips and coach Roy Winston (huh?) where he explains that decision and his future plans.

Just watched this week’s episode of the WSOP … and saw Phil Laak in the Old Man disguise for the first time. Couldn’t help but think, as pointed out by a commenter, how is this any different than someone’s having two different accounts online?

He gave an interview in July to CardPlayer* where he talks about the stunt sociological poker experiment, the benefits of anonymity, and how players can change their live persona at the table over the years.

*CardPlayer goes embeddable!?! Great, now what’ll we bitch about? Nice!

Best pic of Phil in disguise here.

Stumbled across this billboard the other day just a couple blocks away from the Rio.

Interesting to see a poker pro 1) with Mike Tyson-esque tats running up his face; and 2) with no reference to his pokering nor a Full Tilt logo anywhere in sight. Of course probably not a bad idea for anyone in the poker biz to diversify their life portfolio … but I can’t help but wonder if last year’s main-event final tableist doesn’t want anyone in the poker world to actually see his Sigfried and Roy side exposed. Actually, I guess it would be bizzaro Sigfried and Roy, or Roy’s evil brother … regardless … who knew Lee Watkinson wanted to sell you knives and skulls to wear at your next formal dinner?

The recent CardPlayer coverboy’s billboard is located just south of the Rio on Dean Martin Dr. (Industrial) facing to the northeast. That means anyone driving in from the south won’t see it, because it will be behind them; but nor will anyone heading to the WSOP from the north … because they would exit I-15 on Flamingo about a third-mile before Lee Watkinson’s topless torso graces their field of view. The only way a poker player might see this sign is if he were leaving the Rio to grab a quick bite at the In-n-Out Burger.

The website he’s pimping — www.leewatkinson.com — doesn’t seem to be fully converted yet for his fashion line … it’s actually about poker … but it does have some funny pictures of Lee taking on an orangutan as a poker protege.

Hey Jen, check it out … Pauly has some interesting thoughts on the matter: [via Wicked Chops daily email]

If you play online poker (especially if you are one of the blind fools still playing on UB), it’s in everyone’s best interest to spread the word on this important thread…

Superusers and Silence: How UltimateBet let players get cheated for millions by Steven Ware & Cornell Fiji (2+2)

One of the more interesting things to me, however, is a comment from Change100:

Funny, how on the day you post about the UB cheating scandal, Card Player.com is running these two headlines:

“Absolute Poker Offering Up to 100% Reload Bonus”

and

“Ultimate Bet RAI$E Program Gives Money for Points”

Duly noted. And that, dear readers, is something to keep in mind as you follow the WSOP on the internet this summer. We know your company internet time is limited, after all … and though we “professional” bloggers don’t have nearly the resources of the big-boy poker media, you can probably trust us more not to greedily lead you astray.

Though we make our livings, too, covering poker, it was only a few years ago that we made virtually no money whatsoever … we did it just for funsies and booze/tax deductions … and because of these faint but not-too-distant memories, it’s a little easier for the independent bloggers out here to be semi-principled and give you coverage not driven by the pursuit of potentially dirty cash. Drugs and hookers notwithstanding, of course.

It seems that Doyle Brunson has been called out – by buddy Patrik Antonius – to play a heads-up match.

Patrik told CardPlayer during an interview that he would play Doyle any game for any amount of money. Doyle seems a little irked in his recent blog post because he doesn’t like playing heads-up, and he seems to be a taken off guard that Patrik issued the challenge through a magazine article. Since they are friends, it seems that Patrik should have approached Doyle directly, wouldn’t you think?

I really like Patrik and I think he is a great player, but he cast the gauntlet and I’m prepared to do battle. So, I accept his challenge.

I think he made a mistake when he said, “I’ll play him any game for any amount.” I’ve got 7-10 different games, all of which I’ve played in Las Vegas casinos for high stakes, that I’m willing to commit to for at least a seven figure match. There will be no animosity between us; we are both pros who love a good gamble. It will be interesting if he accepts and I’m sure we will both have a great time playing.

Seven figures, huh? Can some math genius figure that out for me? That’s a lotta dough!

The Final Four is set … and PokerStars, Ultimate Bet, and Bodog have all been fully eliminated. The upcoming matches:

Phil Ivey vs. Chris Ferguson
Huck Seed vs. Andy Bloch

Holy crap, it looks like it will be some actual hardcore competition amongst four notably accomplished players. Who woulda thunk it?

Also totally shocking commendable is that CardPlayer’s coverage is kicking butt …

More…

Last week was the Chinese New Year — we’re in the year of the Rat — and to celebrate, CardPlayer had Tom Schneider explain to all the white kids out there how to play what has never really been known as the Yellow Game.

ALT HED: I miss Sang.

Click here to watch Uncle Tom’s video lesson about properly arranging your cards in Chinese Poker.

Just got the latest CardPlayer in the mailbox and discovered there’s a part II to Bob Pajich’s year in review, titled “Poker’s 2007 Odyssey: A Review of the Year’s Historic Events Concludes.” Didn’t realize there was gonna be a sequel.

Beyond the Table listeners heard Dan mention Part I in the most recent episode, and how despite referring to 100-plus players the article failed to name a certain 2007 WSOP Player of the Year and BTT co-host.

So I had something to look for here in part II. Let’s see . . . over 50 names highlighted in this one. No way. Yr kidding me . . . .

I think I know what the lost Angry Julie segment might have been about.

Strange. Just listened to the latest episode of Beyond the Table, the first of the new year. If you haven’t queued up “ . . . Who Needs Enemies?” yet, let me forewarn you. The guys talk about poker. That’s right. Poker. I mean like all the way through.

What the hell?

After a brief rundown of the several January tourneys presently ongoing, Tom offers some winning wisdom regarding tourney selection. Then, prompted by a question from Karridy, there follows a smart, insightful discussion about differences between cash game players and tourney players. Yeah, I know. “Smart” and “insightful” usually ain’t what us BTT fans are looking for. But there it is.

Next the trio turn their attention to Dan’s first poker session after moving to Vegas, as well as the rambling, gambling fortunes of Dan’s friend, Bob. The show concludes with a stunner of sorts regarding CardPlayer’s recent 12-page, comprehensive overview of “Poker’s 2007 Odyssey: A Review of the Year’s Historic Events.” (Hint: The article ain’t as comprehensive as one might have hoped.)

Oh, there were opportunities for the hosts to get away from the pokery content. Other topics arise, such as Dan’s sex life, Barack Obama, and froteurism. (Not at the same time. Ahem.) But somehow none of these offered enough turbulence to divert Beyond the Table from its poker-specific flightpath.

Do let the BTT hosts know how you feel about this strange new development by calling the listener line at (888) 820-8091 or emailing theshow(at)beyondthetable(dot)com.

Curious … we all know the regular hubbub over ladies events — are-they-discriminatory-or-not-and-who-cares-oh-look-there’s-a boy-in-a-dress-ok-cards-in-the-air. But am wondering if the ladies honored in this article about their forthcoming induction into the new Women in Poker Hall of Fame might find the CardPlayer hedline offensive. Because you know, Binion’s isn’t even like on the Strip, let alone a place you should expect to see Linda Johnson topless, right?

Tom Schneider’s memorable 2007 is coming to an end — WSOP Player of the Year, 7th in CardPlayer’s POY, 96th in Bluff’s — oy, now he gets to start all over. But before he does, we get a sense of where this semi-regular blogger‘s accomplishments fit into the bigger word beyond poker (or, as Scotty Nguyen says, “Poker Beyond!”) … as Tom has been chosen as a finalist — and poker’s only representative — for ESPN’s 2007 All-SportsNation Team.

Click here to vote, preferably for Tom.

The Top 5 get the Espy honors. Currently the leaders are Randy Couture, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Tom Brady, Alex Rodriguez, and Brett Favre … with Tiger Woods following just a single percentage point behind. Yikes, tough competition for Tom — dare I say tougher than any he has seen at the poker table? — but kinda cool that he’s (at the time of this posting) right ahead of Dirk Nowitzki and tied with Kaká.

Seriously, click on over … for the sake of poker players everywhere to further boost the ego of everyone’s second-favorite Beyond the Table cohost.

CORRECTION: Tom is ranked 96th overall for the past two years by Bluff. For 2007 he finished 158th, compared to 76th in 2006.

Tom Schneider has snuck ahead of J.C. Tran in the CardPlayer Player of the Year race. Currently in 5th place, he’s only 7 points behind Bill Edler for 4th. With a lot of big action coming up — Bellagio 5-diamond and the Venetian NPL main event and probably some others — it could get pretty exciting down the December home stretch.

So while a few pros have convinced me I shouldn’t be poo-pooing Tom’s chances to win it all, I will go out on a limb and say he really needs a big payday to get those top honors, as he looks a little weak in at least one column:

RANK	PLAYER	POINTS	FINAL TABLES	WINNINGS
1	David Pham	5,410	10	$1,534,242
2	Jonathan Little	5,272	9	$2,503,145
3	Scott Clements	5,138	6	$2,206,981
4	Bill Edler	4,777	7	$2,757,042
5	Tom Schneider	4,470	7	$733,589
6	J.C. Tran	4,458	5	$2,364,097
7	David Fox	3,788	8	$566,152
8	James Van Alstyne	3,588	7	$731,158
9	Jared Hamby	3,573	5	$1,252,311
10	Danny Wong	3,406	7	$869,975