Pokerati » Hevad-Khan

A Bigger, Louder WSOP for 2012? - Table talk and celebration encouraged at Series, required at feature tables

Dave Ferrara — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:10:56 +0000

Jack Effel expects a “huge and great” 2012 World Series of Poker.

It certainly won’t be a quiet one.

“The poker room is not church,” Effel, the tournament director for the past 6 years, told poker media today. “You can talk in the poker room. We just feel that we need to set the tone to put the fun back into poker.”

A trimmed down WSOP TD Jack Effel promises to go easy on players who want to chat it up at the tables this year.

Table talk and celebration are allowed once again — and even encouraged, Effel and WSOP executive director Ty Stewart said.

“We’re going to relearn what it’s like to be at a poker table, understanding the verbal strategy,” Effel said.

Just don’t expose your cards, or talk when someone else has yet to act. Essentially, you can yap all you want if you’re closing the action.

This is something of a level, as one reporter pointed out: WSOP knows the ESPN cameras are on all the players who know the cameras are on them.

“We’ve rewritten the rules to say we want you to celebrate, just don’t get crazy,” Effel added, putting the kibosh on the 4-year-old “Hevad Khan rule.”

Players at a feature table are even required to announce their action.

At any given point between May 27 and July, there will be as many as 500 poker tables at the Rio. That’s the largest ever for a single event, Effel said.

This year’s WSOP offers 61 bracelets for events including a $1,500 “ante only” event, a $2,500 4-max event, a $3,000 heads-up NL/PLO event, and a $5,000 mix-max event. They’ve also added a couple quirky non-bracelet events, such as the $560 bracelet bounty, where players receive $500 for knocking out a bracelet winner, and a $560 (per player) doubles tournament, where players share a chip stack and alternate at each level.

They also announced the return of daily deep stack tournaments.

Stewart feels good about the prospect of a “second boom for poker,” even with Full Tilt player funds in limbo a year after Black Friday.

“This game is stronger than we all even hoped,” he said. “It has become truly global, and it is here to stay. It appears poker’s darkest days are behind us.”

A few other highlights from the conference call:

With a series of satellite events and a $25,000 mega satellite, the directors expect to fill the 48-player $1 million One Drop charity tournament to reach capacity.
Instead of the standard food comp, players this year will receive Caesars Total Reward credits for bracelet events based on the size of the buy-in.
The main event final table has been pushed up to Oct. 28, instead of the following month, when it would have interfered with the presidential election.

Team PokerStars Shakeup? WCOOP seeing Stars prune its roster of pros

Mark Gahagan — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:28:42 +0000

The WCOOP has reached day three, but already some noise has been made outside the hundred of thousands of guarantees that Stars is running each day. No fewer than three pros are no longer signed with Pokerstars, and all without much fanfare or even explanation from Stars as to why they removed them from their rosters.

Hevad Khan, core reason behind the “Hevad Khan” WSOP tournament rule, out.

Gavin Griffin, first player ever to lock up an unofficial triple crown, consisting of a WSOP bracelet and WPT and EPT titles, gone.

Peter Eastgate, 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion, sayonara.

In the end, these three all seem to make some sense. Peter Eastagate has quit retired from poker, though its anybody’s guess how long this haitus retirement is going to last. And if Hevad’s and Gavin’s Hendon Mobs are any indication, neither player has done anything particularly spectacular in the last two years. This coupled with high profile signings of David Williams and Vanessa Selbst earlier this year may have prompted Stars to trim the fat with regards to its pro holdings. Whether they stop here or not is anyone’s guess, but it will be interesting to see if at least the non-retired pros get picked up by a new site in the near future.

(Way) Outside the WSOP – Day 21 Evening Update

Kevin Mathers — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:31:28 +0000

Recapping the sextet of tournaments underway Thursday afternoon:

Klein leads PLO final table

Loren Klein (850,000) leads the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha final table, which has 8 players remaining as they take their dinner break. Play will resume around 8:30pm, follow the hands as they’re played out at PokerNews.

Idema idolizing limit holdem bracelet

Seven players remain at the $10,000 Limit Holdem World Championship final table, with Daniel Idema holding the chip lead with 1,163,000 with seven players remaining. Michael Mizrachi finished in 8th place to move into a tie with James Dempsey for the WSOP Player of the Year lead, but Jameson Painter (3rd in chips with 953,000), moves past both of them with a win. Updates of the action on the table and at the rail is at wsop.com.

Gonzales leads 1500 NL

Christopher Gonzales (260,000) leads the field of 130 players remaining as they return from dinner break in the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem event. Six more levels of play are on tap for the field, see who goes deep and who goes home over at PokerNews.

Leary tall in the saddle in $1,500 HORSE

The $1,500 HORSE event has 100 remaining, with 80 making the money later this afternoon. Dustin Leary (132,000) holds the chip lead, followed by Jeff Shulman (125,000), Tom Dwan (66,000), Jason Mercier (61,000) and Robert Mizrachi (50,000). Wsop.com has all the mixed-game updates.

Benyamine leading 5k NL 6-max field

Day 1 of the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem 6-max event drew a smaller than expected field of 568, with a $2,100 tournament at the Venetian held at the same time. David Benyamine (80,000) holds the chip lead, followed by Dave Ulliot (65,000), Hevad Khan (62,000), Andrew Lichtenberger (55,000) and Isaac Haxton (53,000) among the early leaders. PokerNews will be following the action during the evening.

PLO/PLH event underway

The last tournament to start this afternoon was the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Pot-Limit Holdem event. The early chip leader is Matt Vengrin with 26,000, followed by Chris Reslock (24,000), Daniel Negreanu (19,500), Layne Flack (17,000) and Vitaly Lunkin (16,200) among the notables. Follow wsop.com for more updates and chip counts.

ESPN.com Inside Deal w/ Hevad Khan

Kevin Mathers — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:46:14 +0000

Episode #11 features Hevad Khan and news from around the poker world.

(Way) Outside the WSOP – Day 2b Evening Update

Kevin Mathers — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:55:36 +0000

The remaining 1700 players are currently playing the fourth and final level of play today for day 2b, which will join the survivors from yesterday to return Friday at noon as the field will be together for the first time. Troy Weber remains the chip leader with 475,000 in chips. Other notables with chips: Brian Lemke (275,500), Phil Ivey (265,500), Kenny Tran (220,000), Hevad Khan (177,000), Antonio Esfandiari (173,000), Tony Hachem (155,000), Phil Hellmuth (139,000), Ville Wahlbeck (109,000), Kirill Gerasimov (105,000) and Tuan Le (102,000).

Notable eliminations: Bernard Lee, Robert Williamson III, Phil Tom, David Sklansky, Gavin Griffin, Howard Lederer, Scotty Nguyen, Todd “Dan Druff” Witteles (who was at the ESPN feature table with Hellmuth), Shannon Shorr and Erick Lindgren.

Check out the updates and chip counts at wsop.com here and more stuff from Pokerati during the late hours. WSOP Media tournament and media briefing tomorrow, I’ll be with Team Pokerati in spirit in the tournament. The Commish has quite a few announcements tomorrow, including the Poker Hall of Fame nominees so come back tomorrow.

(Way) Outside the WSOP – Day 1c Evening Update

Kevin Mathers — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:09:56 +0000

The Day 1c field has returned from its dinner break a few minutes ago, with two more levels to play today. The difference between this field and the first two Day 1′s is that the field as well as tomorrow’s field will play 5 two-hour levels. When Day 2a commences Tuesday, they’ll also play 5 two-hour levels, while the Day 2b field will play 4 levels. A field of 1,697 were registered today, and there’s a possibility that Monday’s Day 1d field could be sold out. If not, it will certainly be the largest Day 1 field with well about 2,300 already registered.

Notable names already eliminated: Annie Duke, Daniel Negreanu, Evelyn Ng, John Caldwell, Lacey Jones, Chino Rheem, and Jamie Gold. The unofficial leader at this time is Jeff Lisandro, looking for his 4th bracelet this year, leading the field with 132,000 in chips. Other notables with stacks include Hevad Khan (94,000), Joe Hachem (88,000), David Singer (78,000), Justin Bonomo (56,800), Brett “gank” Jungblut (51,000), Scotty Nguyen (49,000), and Dan Harrington (47,500). Other chip counts and live updates can be found at the wsop.com site here.

More updates later this evening from Team Pokerati, and another update from me in the morning recapping who’s left at the end of the night.

(Way) Outside the WSOP – Day 10 $1,500 6-max and $2,500 HA conclusion, $2k NL and $10k 8-game Day 2, $2,500 NL and $2,500 Limit 6-max Day 1

Kevin Mathers — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:08:21 +0000

Two players won a WSOP bracelet earlier this morning, but the vast majority of the discussion will be on Phil Ivey, who took down his 6th WSOP bracelet in Event #8 $2,500 NL 2-7 Draw Lowball. While he collected under $100,000 from this event, he surely picked up a few million in bracelet bets with his fellow poker players, recouping some of those millions he had lost last year when he made similar bracelet bet wagers. John Monnette was looking for his first WSOP title, and he did not go down quietly, as the pair were heads-up for over 3 hours. Both had each other on the ropes, but Monnette was able to double up twice to take a huge chip advantage, but Ivey battled back like he had a few million dollars riding on the result. Several pros were on the rail watching the action, more than a few hoping that the professional from San Diego, California would knock off Ivey. Unfortunately for them, Phil would double up himself to retake the chip lead, finally eliminating Monnette when his 7-6 low crushed them pocket 7′s of Monnette. You can follow all the action as it transpired last night over at Pokernews, where I also wrote the recap that will appear later this morning.

Joining Phil Ivey at the bracelet ceremony today will be Travis Johnson who took down the $1,500 NL Holdem event a few hours ago taking over $666,000 in what appears to be his first tournament cash. Might as well make your first cash include a WSOP bracelet.

Two events that weren’t able to make their final table by the 3am deadline will both return at 1pm today to play down to a champion. The scheduled event for streaming on the Bluff Magazine website is the $1,500 NL Holdem 6-max event, which is down to their final 8, who’ll be seated as listed:

Table 154:
Seat 1: Carman Cavella 1,059,000
Seat 3: Charles Furey 1,169,000
Seat 4: Bryce Yockey 1,489,000
Seat 6: Bryn Kenney 656,000

Table 155:
Seat 2: Manny Minaya 339,000
Seat 3: Praz Bansi 630,000
Seat 5: Ken Aldridge 411,000
Seat 6: Peter Gould 780,000

Page 2 for more tournament activities today:

The $2,500 Pot-Limit Holdem/Pot-Limit Omaha event is down to their final 18 players, with Daniel Makowsky and Rami Boukai leading their respective tables. Other notables looking for that elusive bracelet include: Ben Grundy, Surinder Sunar, Hevad Khan, Tony Cousineau and John Kabbaj.

The two tournaments that kicked off on Thursday move to Day 2, as 232 players will return at 2pm today in the $2,000 NL Holdem event with Patrick Stemper the chip leader at 165,000. Other notables returning: Jason Mercier, Jose Rosenkrantz, Phil Hellmuth, Kevin Song, Jason Potter and non-fan of texting/Twittering at the table, T.J. Cloutier.

The $10,000 Mixed Event World Championship sees David Oppenheim as the day 1 leader, with Daniel Negreanu, Jimmy Fricke, and Eric Froehlich among the big names remaining when they return at 2pm for more mixed game action.

Both tournaments today will consist of more Hold’em than you can shake a chip at. With the 12pm tournament being the $2,500 NL Holdem event, which was won last year by Duncan Bell who rang up $666,777 in a field of nearly 1,400. The 5pm event is the $2,500 Limit Holdem 6-max event, which makes its debut at this year’s WSOP. The WSOP Resource Guide projects a field of 1,537 for the NL event, while in the Limit 6-max event, a field of 250 are expected. Take the over on both projections, with at least 1,700 in the afternoon, and closer to 370 for the Limit event. Follow the action over at www.worldseriesofpoker.com for updates throughout Friday, and check into Pokerati later to see if the evil that is texting and Twittering under the table is stopped once and for all.

(Way) Outside the WSOP – Day 9 $2,500 NL 2-7 FT, $1,500 NL conclusion, $1.5k NL 6-max and $2.5k HA day 2, $2k NL and $10k 8-Game Day 1

Kevin Mathers — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:28:04 +0000

A WSOP record 7 bracelet events were underway on Wednesday afternoon, three of them eventually reaching their conclusions. As noted in my report last night, Jason Mercier got some success in the US, taking home a bracelet in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event, my report is up on PokerNews now. The $1,000 NL Holdem Stimulus Special was won by Steve Sung, taking home over $770,000 and his first WSOP bracelet. The very occasional PokerRoad blogger was under 1m in chips when play was 7-handed but went on a rush to take the chip lead in just under a blind level. Final table chip leader and occasional web page designer Dan Heimiller would finish in 6th place, one of many to succumb to Sung’s success. “Pete the Greek” Valindos was the final victim denied a chance at this 2nd WSOP bracelet, when his pocket eights weren’t good enough for Sung’s pocket kings, but Vilandos does have over $470,000 to cushion that blow. More details on how that final table went down will be up on PokerNews later today.

The $10,000 7 Card Stud World Championship was a battle of the ages, literally. In what appears to be a record for a non-senior event, Freddie Ellis (74) bested Eric Drache (66) to take down the title as Ellis becomes the sixth African-American (Phil Ivey, David Williams, Walter Smiley and Carolyn Gardener being the other five) to win a WSOP bracelet. As Nolan Dalla noted in his tournament report, the distinction all six players have is that they each have won a bracelet in seven card stud. Here’s a bonus piece by Benjo on Eric Drache, from the Tao of Poker site.

The $1,500 NL Holdem event wasn’t able to reach their final table, as 33 players were left at 3am. They get to return at 1pm today to play down to a final table. This final table was scheduled to be streamed later this afternoon at bluffmagazine.com, but that’s definitely not happening at the scheduled 2pm start time. Follow them on Twitter for the latest updates on that situation. Notable names remaining: Michael Martin, Francois Safieddine, and Jeremy Joseph.

One final table that is known is the $2,500 NL 2-7 Lowball Single Draw event. When play began Tuesday afternoon, there were several big names among the 35 remaining. Those players all fell by the wayside, except for Phil Ivey, here’s how the final table will look when they come back at 2pm today.

Seat 1: Raphael Zimmerman – 238,000
Seat 2: Eric Kesselman – 119,400
Seat 3: John Monnette – 259,000
Seat 4: Rodeen Talebi – 94,500
Seat 5: Yan Chen – 159,000
Seat 6: Elia Ahmadian – 136,900
Seat 7: Phil Ivey – 106,300

Today’s other events on the next page:

The $1,500 NL Holdem 6-max event returns today at 2pm with 105 players remaining, all players making the money as they wind their way down to a final table scheduled for Thursday afternoon. David Fox is chip leader (186,600) with other notables coming back include: Doug Lee, Bill Chen, Todd Witteles, Rafe Furst and Joe Awada.

The $2,500 1/2 PL Holdem, 1/2 PLO event finished play with 99 players, of which only 45 make the money when play resumes at 2pm. Jamie Rosen (110,200) will start the day in front, with Tony Cousineau, Michael Mizrachi, Ben Grundy, Hevad Khan and Nam Le among the established players near the top of the leaderboard.

Two more WSOP bracelet events get kicked off today, starting with 12 noon’s $2,000 NL Holdem event. Last year, Matt Keikoan outlasted a field of 1,593 to take down $550,000. This year’s WSOP Staff Guide projection sets the field size at 1,672, so I’ll take the over as well as I’ll estimate nearly 1,800 will be seated. The 5pm event, the $10,000 Mixed Event World Championship is a combination of eight separate games (HORSE, NL Holdem, PLO, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball), with the games alternating every eight hands. Last year, Anthony Rivera, a young cash game specialist, beat a field of 192 to collect nearly $500,000 in winnings. The staff guide projections for this event was set at 202, but I’ll estimate the field will be a bit smaller, around 185. As usual, www.worldseriesofpoker.com will be home to updates all during the day starting at noon, and head back to Pokerati for more blogging goodness.

Opening for Layne Flack

Dan Michalski — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:38:08 +0000

Tune in to Wise Hand Poker on Rounders Radio … right now Gary is talking to Hevad Khan, and then I go on to talk about … um … uh … (Gary, are you busy right now? I gotta question for you …) … and then after all that, he’ll have on Layne Flack, where he promises to ask him about hanging with Russ Hamilton and his most recent dalliances with the law.

Listen live.

Eventually you’ll be able to find the podcast here.

Breaking NBC Headsup News

Kevin Mathers — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:31:38 +0000

Ivan Demidov is not able to attend the NBC Heads-Up event at Caesars’ Palace this weekend due to visa issues. Hevad Khan will take his place, which was announced by Mori Eskandani on Gary Wise’s podcast on Rounders Radio.

Dating Tips from the Pros

Kevin Mathers — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 14:30:48 +0000

Valentine’s Day is today, so who better to get some advice on love than from professional poker players! Caroline Presno at the Huffington Post asked Joe Hachem, Chad Brown, Isabelle Mercier and Hevad Khan on how to use poker strategy to win at the game of love.

RE: DanM Live on Wise Hand Poker

Dan Michalski — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:23:06 +0000

This was my “career horoscope” yesterday:

Assuming you understand others is a big mistake. Bypass the analysis and stick to your own work.

Oops, but oh well, too late now … The podcast is up.

Because ~~Gary Wise relies on me to tell him and his listeners how to think~~ Hevad Khan canceled … (right)click here to listen to/download the entire episode (including the opening segment with Dewey Tomko) or press the buttons below to hear my segment — where GW hems and haws as I analyze the 60 Minutes and Washington Post pieces, then speculate wildly on the cheating scandals and their relationship to the present business/legal/political landscape and what it all may or may not mean for the future of the ~~entire world!~~ poker industry.

Wise Hand Poker (feat. Dan from Pokerati) 42:08
RoundersRadio

Hevad Khan takes down the Caesars Palace Classic

Kevin Mathers — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:34:39 +0000

Hevad Khan, the most infamous member of last year’s WSOP final table for example, took down the $10,000 Caesars Palace Classic and the $1,000,000 first place prize earlier this morning. The behavior that earned him his own rule for the 2008 WSOP (will there be a Scotty Nguyen rule in 2009?) has been severely toned down since then. Now that Beyond the Table has returned, does this mean the return of Genghis Khan to call in to congratulate him as well? The rest of the tournament results can be found over at the best tournament database out there: www.thehendonmob.com .

(Way) Outside the WSOP – (Day 21 Evening Update)

Kevin Mathers — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:05:33 +0000

Happenings for this evening as I found out from Jen I’ve become a member of the WPA all over again:

The $5,000 Stud 8 or Better World Championship is down to the final 3, with Team Full Tilt Pro Chris Ferguson the dominate chip leader. Marcel Luske finished in 4th, Annie Duke finished 5th, you can catch all the action at the WSOP site here.

The other final table for today already has its champion, to find out who it was, click on the jump:

Luis Valedor, a player so good he has three Hendon Mob database entries, just took down the $1,500 NL Holdem event #32 taking down over $570,000 and a coveted bracelet. Anthony Signore finished in 2nd, other results can be found here. Vermont resident Shane Stacey finished in 5th for $166,682 and for the moment passing Kentucky in the World Standings.

The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/rebuys event is down to their final 25, with Kyle Kleockner in the lead. Other notable names include Layne Flack, Erik Seidel, Ted Forrest and Dario Allioto. Nikolay Evdakov cashed for the 7th time this Series, finishing in 30th. Clonie Gowen (wearing her FTP patches), finished in 34th. Their progress can be found here.

The $1,500 Seven Card Stud event is down to their final 23. PokerStars Team Pro Chad Brown is chip leader, Sabyl Landrum, Al Barbieri and Bryan Devonshire are the other notable names in the field. Watch how they do here.

The fourth edition of the $1,500 NL Holdem event drew a field of 2,447 that is already down to under 500 as they’ve returned from their dinner break. Among the early leaders, Freddy Deeb, Hevad Kahn, Tom McEvoy and Shannon Shorr. Other chip leaders and updates can be found here.

The $10,000 Omaha Eight or Better World Championship drew a field of 235, and only 3 are gone so far. Among the early leaders: Ram Vaswani, Bruno Fitoussi, Pokerati’s own Tom Schneider, and Mike Matusow. Follow the exciting split-pot action here.

More exciting news to come during the evening and tomorrow from me…

All In on Chan and a Draw Go Energy Drinks!

Dan Michalski — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:50:19 +0000

Johnny Chan is so serious about making All In Energy Drink a success that he has dyed his hair red and is throwing a tournament that almost sounds too good to be true.

You know that feeling when you shove all-in with nothing … You’re pretty sure it was the right play, but you’re nervous it wasn’t, but even then oh well, because if your read was off at least you’ve got two live little unders working on your behalf?

Uh-huh … That’s kinda how I feel, having recently put $300 into Johnny Chan’s All In Energy Drink(s).

All In is all over the WSOP this year — they’re the official energy drink, making them the Red Bull alternative at the tables, and their patches are all over players. In an effort to drive online sales and overall poker-player awareness, they’ve got a big booth right outside the Amazon Room, too, where the promotion they’re pushing is a $500k free(ish)roll on July 1 and 2 … which I will be playing in because I bought 144 cans of the stuff. Yep, should be arriving at my doorstep any day now … [whistling phrroo-hoo] .. yep 12 cases make me one of their top 1,000 customers … yep, any day now …

It all made sense mathematically at the booth … I’m getting a bunch of energy drinks (and energy water) for a Sam’s club price ($2/can). And I actually like the stuff — the root beer is totally unique and fantastic in my minority opinion. So in making this purchase, I get to play in a fun tourney where not only am I competing for a $125k first prize, but also there’ll be a bunch of pros in it with $1,000 bounties attached to their heads. Positive EV, right?

click to enlarge

The only thing that’s giving me a little grumble in the tumble is that the numbers don’t seem to add up on the other side of the felt. I mean let’s see, the prize pool is $500k “guaranteed” … the promotion says it’s limited to 1,000 players … I paid $300, people who bought multi-cases of All In before me got in for only $100 … now the price is $500 … and then all the pros who may or may not be freerolled … and two WSOP main event seats added to the prize pool. Would probably sound better were it not for All In’s play with the word “cases” … technically I bought 12, even though it would be 6 if I were buying 144 cans of just about any other beverage. I dunno, it just kinda feels like the Poker Bowl, ya know? The difference, of course, is that this event has Johnny Chan’s name and backing attached to it, but when it comes to honorable reputations among the top 3 bracelet winners of all times … um, let’s just say Phil Hellmuth is a solid second.

But hey, I’ve got an open mind, an enthusiastic desire to bust some pros, and if I wear the patch that came with my receipt, I get free All In root beers throughout the duration of the WSOP! (Go Hevad Khan-ish behavior!) Should be interesting to see what happens — because either this tournament is a model for corporate-sponsored events in the future, or it’s gonna prove a money-loser for All In. Could be both and just a marketing loss-leader, of course, assuming the 144 doses of an unregulated, arguably addictive product sold over the internet arrive by US mail.

UPDATE: Still waiting …

Running Strange

Dan Michalski — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:56:39 +0000

Tom busted out on his first hand of today’s $1,500 NLH event. Here’s how it went down … Donkey Bomber shows up and is looking for his seat. A floor guy directs him to his table — only he sends him in the wrong direction, and when he finally makes it to his seat, turns out he was just a table away when he asked for directions. Oops.

So he arrives having missed the first hand … no biggie, right? Takes his seat and the first two cards he sees are both queens. So he raises … Bill Edler re-raises (to about 1,500 — virtual half-stacks) and Hevad Khan calls. So Tom concludes that there’s no way Hevad has aces or kings — he woulda just shoved — and Edler was just letting Tom know who’s gonna be boss at the table … so Tom goes all-in.

Edler calls (with pocket 5s) and Khan calls (with AK). Edler would end up flopping a 5, and Hevad also paired one of his big-boys … so just like that, Tom is out. But wait, there’s more …

A floor guy had come over to the table to let players know that some of them were in the wrong seats … including Edler and Khan. Hevad woulda had the pocket 5s, and Edler woulda been in the ded big-blind’s stack … something like that. But in general, everything woulda been different.

Kinda funny/ironic … especially since dealers are being extra-cautious about checking IDs.

Hevad Khan: A Changed Beast?

California Jen — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 01:49:08 +0000

In a podcast interview with Gary Wise on Rounders Radio last week, Hevad Khan spoke about his online poker accomplishments, his sixth place finish at the 2007 WSOP, and his antics during the WSOP main event.

Gary put him on the spot about the controversy that HevadÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s monkey noises and other antics caused after the ESPN airing of the WSOP. (For example, PokeratiÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s own Tom Schneider launched into an editorial about it here.)

Some of HevadÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s comments:

Ã¢â‚¬Å“There was one thing that I did regret, and that was when Ed de Haas told me to act normal. ESPN didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t show it, but after I called his bluff and sang a song for awhile, I realized how much of a dumb ass I was beingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ I was so regretfulÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ I was like, Ã¢â‚¬ËœIÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m really sorry about that, man.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬Â

In reference to tournaments heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s played since the WSOP: Ã¢â‚¬Å“In my defense, I went to London and Austria, and I was drinking a lot of Red Bull but I wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really crazyÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ It didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t match up to the World Series, so I didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care.Ã¢â‚¬Â

To answer GaryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hypothetical about being faced with Humberto rivering a big pot against Hevad: Ã¢â‚¬Å“I would not have been happy with it. ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s rubbing it in someoneÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s face. To some people, the way I came across on ESPN, it kinda looked like I was going a little bit over the topÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ It looked childish and goofy as opposed to offensiveÃ¢â‚¬Â¦Ã¢â‚¬Â

Ã¢â‚¬Å“I had a lot of time to reflect after the World Series, and there were times when I was over the topÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ I look at it different nowÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve made it, so I can take the game competitively now and be more professional about it.Ã¢â‚¬Â

While certain parts of the interview certainly show that Hevad is still very young and has a lot to learn about sportsmanship and a career in poker, others demonstrate that he may have learned something about human behavior after watching his performance. Only the future will tellÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

BTT: Monkey Business

Dan Michalski — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:49:00 +0000

The listeners have spoken, and it’s official:

16 percent of all poker podcast fans prefer Beyond the Table!*

Woot!

Click for the latest episode of the second-best poker podcast ever!

Or download via Door #2 here.

Extra-fun times this week:

A show about nothing and where Tom puts his fingers.

Sal the old man loads up his iPod.

Dan on “What’s Goin’ On?” in the poker world — EPT London, Jose Canseco, and Absolute super-users.

The BTT gang ventures back to the online felt.

Monkey noises with Fake Hevad Khan; Fake Humberto Brenes loves Beyond the Table; and Tom goes hip-hop — calls for death in the name of etiquette.

Karridy calls for more dead presidents on TV, fewer Full Tilt pros.

No seat for Karridy in a big-little $5/$10 game.

Bonus monkey noises from Tom.

* Poker podcast poll results

The Poker Industry Continues to Disappoint Me

Tom Schneider — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:39:13 +0000

Poker must be the most boring activity in the world. Why else would the industry focus its cameras on the most ridiculous people?

We have spelling bees and Scrabble championships on TV and none of the competitors have little Ã¢â‚¬Å“charksÃ¢â‚¬Â and make munching sounds then yell their name Ã¢â‚¬Å“HUMBERTO, HUMBERTOÃ¢â‚¬Â. None of them spell a tough word and start making animal sounds while moving their bodies in hunchback dance moves. Could you imagine Humberto as a little kid competing in a spelling bee and yelling his name every time he spelled a word correctly, then getting out a little Power Ranger and acting like he is going to hit the little girl he is competing against?

We as poker players should want nice people with lots of money to come play with us. Do you think when Bill Gates sees Hevad Kahn doing his monkey noises and strange gyrations he says to himself, Ã¢â‚¬Å“boy I want to play with that guy? Maybe I could get that guy to represent Microsoft.Ã¢â‚¬Â IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m guessing not; however, I guess thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s exactly what Pokerstars says. He is now a face on Pokerstars. Why would any company want to associate with these embarrassing people? Answer, they get a lot of exposure on TV. Michael Vick is getting a ton of exposure, I hear he likes gambling too, and heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s available for about 5-10 years.

Poker is reaching the lowest common denominator, and itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a joke. I am really tired of people having to exhibit ridiculous behavior in order to get noticed in poker. There was actually a guy at a featured table at the main event who made balloon animals for the other players at the table. Are people really this desperate to get on TV? The answer is clear. Therefore, I have compiled a list of things that IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m willing to do at a featured table next year.

Bring a large block of ice and chisel an ice sculpture of Norman Chad.

Recite poetry

Dress in renaissance clothing and use a turkey leg as a card protector while spouting such phrases as Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh my damsel, you must taketh the spoils of the pot for you are a most worthy adversaryÃ¢â‚¬Â

Strap a fake bomb to myself and continue to chant in some middle-eastern bogus language so security is forced to find someone who speaks my language

Wear no shirt and have on masking tape underwear

Last but not least, play my best, be nice and have fun.

Is that not enough anymore?

I would love for these idiots not to be shown on TV. Why? There are so many reasons but here are just a few.

These kinds of behaviors encourage others to be more ridiculous, and they must be more over-the-top in order to get attention. That reminds me of the WWF (World Wrestling Federation)

Imagine if all players behaved this way, poker would suck so bad, all decent people would be done. It would take forever to play one round because each player would have to shout their name, do some monkey dance and then hold up their cards to the audience and start singing.

Whether they believe it or not, these people are not entertaining. They are not characters of the game. They are trying way too hard. Characters act themselves which is what makes them unique. These types of people will be remembered as inconsiderate and juvenile. They are irritating, rude and most of all show horrible sportsmanship. Could you imagine Tiger or Phil behaving this way on the golf course? Tiger would not have received all of the wonderful spoils he has gotten without class and composure.

I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mind the occasional fist pump on a really important hand; however, most white guys suck at that.

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m tired of people defending these celebratory idiots. HeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a nice guy away from the table. I keep hearing this. I disagree. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s like saying besides beating his wife, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a great guy. Great guys donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t stomp on someone after a devastating loss. They beat their opponent then shake their hand. I have seen cage fighters kick the shit out of their opponent then go hug them when the match is over.

LetÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s get our industry out of the gutter and make poker entertaining because of the cunning, calculating guts that the best players have.

Doing the RaiNKhaN Dance

Dan Michalski — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 23:33:59 +0000

One of the ~~criticisms~~ observations about young-punk online phenoms when they play live tourneys is that they don’t know how to compose themselves when not in front of a computer. Like they struggle when it comes to controlling their physical bodies. Of course plenty don’t really give a shit, either.

Check out this fun video of Hevad Khan gettin’ jiggy with, er, something:

Thanks, Shuttergypsy, for the link!

ALT HED: Automated Tell Machines?