The final teams have been picked … Annette Obrestad and Daniel Negreanu did the equivalent of a coin flip when they drew for high-card … and now action is underway.

The WSOPE’s made-for-TV special event:

Team Europe is comprised of – Annette Obrestad, Peter Eastgate, Dario Minieri, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Ilari Sahamies, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, and John Harvey – Betfair Qualifier.

Team Americas in comprised of – Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Huck Seed, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein.

Caesars Cup began at 1 pm on Friday, 25 September at the Empire Casino in London. Play is expected to last until Friday evening, when one team wins four match victories and wins poker’s ultimate bragging rights.

You can follow American coverage here. And for a European perspective, our friends at Betfair have it here.

Aww, sad for Annette_15: The European captain is the only player without a sponsorship patch, and it’s her site’s event!

Click below for a closer look at the trophy that Fake Phil Ivey is just dying to win. Says Fake Phil: “Winning this will be the pinnacle of my career. My patriotism is on the line. I’m doing it for America. I’m doing it for Barack Obama … oh and Jesus, of course, but I’m always doing it for Jesus. Big ups!”

More…

We know her, of course, as something between the Tracy Austin of Poker and Johnny Moss of WSOP-E. But that makes no difference … even in the UK, poker is still poker, and thus Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad for Betfair featuring Annette Obrestad, after a complaint about her celebrated screen name, Annette_15.

From inthenews.co.uk:

The ad for Betfair showed a photo of a young woman with the tagline “Online experience is measured in games, not years. Join the new breed. Annette_15”.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint made about the advert, saying it “was likely to have particular appeal to children and young people, and that, by representing a successful young poker player with the implication she was 15 years old, it could encourage young people to gamble and was therefore irresponsible”.

NOTE TO SELF: Scrap plans for British Under-12 and Under-14 Poker Championships.

More…

If you haven’t voted a few times already, there’s a poll right over there ( –> ) asking you what’s your favorite poker blog by a bona fide poker pro. Daniel Negreanu is running away with it, as he probably should be. My personal fave: Doyle Brunson’s blog.

Not only do I enjoy the Doylism of the Day, but also, Big Poppa can write! In his most recent post, he explains why having backed John McCain doesn’t make him anti-poker any more than it makes him a racist:

First, I’m about as far away from being a racist as you can get. I’ve had black friends all my life, and I mean really good friends. That was back before it was “fashionable” to have blacks as friends.

Hmm, that might be a dig at anyone like me who has specifically been courting black girls, thinking interracial intercourse is about to become all the rage (just kidding LaTasjia — you’re still my #1 shorty). But seriously … check it out — not only does Doyle’s blog have other good blogstuff such as a relatively personal Flickr gallery, but also he was able to make a solid point for voting McCain in four paragrafs that neither Tom nor my dad could do in four weeks of email manifestos and belligerent phone calls. It’s the kinda writing I’ve grown to expect from Brunson, who clearly has refined his skills in the 36 years since authoring Super/System.

Another pretty good one comes from Annette 15. Even though the Michelle Wie of Poker (?) says she’s really more of a forum girl, Annette Obrestad’s blog (added to the poll by a reader) is filled with worthwhile reads from a young pro making her way through the high-stakes world, live and online. I really dug her post introducing “set mining” to me (the phrase, if not the concept), with a simple, straightforward math-based explanation of when it’s worth seeing if you’re pocket pair can trip up.

Anyhow, just a couple that I’ve found worth the clicks and eyeball time, and possibly a few votes.

I swear this isn’t some sort of tribute to Pauly just because his heart recently skipped a few beats and his head may or may not be more messed than usual … his car accident just reminded me: Oh shit! I forgot to post the next podcast … um, I mean are you OK? Need anything? OK … yes, so WSOP … post podcast.

This time Dr.P and I take a leisurely stroll through the Amazon room while discussing bad t-shirts, sunglass technology, and the relationship between Milwaukee’s Best Light, the WSOP, college kids, and Annette_15.

Episode 11: Floorplay

Speaking of women / little girls in poker … here’s an article in The Economist that some of us may have missed last month … about Annette Obrestead’s WSOP-Europe win, and what it means for the game overall, regardless of chromosomes. Gotta wonder what the youngest generation of players thinks about the poker gender gap. My semi-educated guess is that it’s far less relevant to Gen-Y and below.

The latest episode of Beyond the Table is up. Click to listen. In this week’s festive podcast, you’ll hear:

• Dan misses a meeting … too many responsibilities.
• Karridy on the Mathematics of PokerBowl.
• Update on the Karridy vs. Big Robert music video challenge.
• Tom heads out to the California State Poker Championship.
• The resurgent popularity of douchebags?
• Dan runnin’ bad and old men rollin’ bad in Oklahoma.
• BTT improvements.
• Who is Annette_15 and why wasn’t the WSOP Player of the Year at WSOP-Europe?

And if you missed it last week, click here for the Tom Schneider episode of Ante Up! Lots of real content on this show — too much to list, but you will delight in a German guy’s inquiring about Tom’s fondness for the Hammer and the most fascinating recount of a 7-stud Hi-Lo hand I’ve ever heard.

A new episode of (the new and improved!) Beyond the Table is up. We’re still tinkering with the technology you see on the righthand sidebar and below … so any functional usability feedback will be totally ignored because you are probably not smart and we’re tired of fucking with shit warmly received and carefully considered.

Beyond the Table – 4/11/07[display_podcast]

This week, you’ll get the clickable privilege of hearing, Tom, Karridy, and Dan enlighten you about:

Segment 1

• Chris Moneymaker urinating during an interview
• Covering the WSOP as a blogger / “working” the WSOP as a player
• Getting stood up by Cash Poker, and other televised cardsy infomercials
• World Poker Tour moves from Travel Channel to GSN.
• Deal or No Deal strategy
• ZeeJustin kicking simultaneous ass online by playing two tourneys at once
• Criminal poker and the lack of recourse

Segment 2

• Tom heading to Bellagio for the 5-star WPT Championship
• The mathematics of buying in (or not) for $25k
• California players vs. Arizona players
• Poker strategy at The World Series of Golf
• Tom grows up, technologicially speaking

Segment 3

• One-name wonders in Poker (and Soccer)
• Googlefight.com while Tom takes a leak
• Annette_15 — underage online PokerStars phenom, top-ranked online player in the world, and not seeing Gavin Griffin’s penis
• Gavin Griffin wins the EPT Championship
• Teaching Tom to use google to stalk Annette Obrestead
• Males vs. Females online, and lack of interest in Dan’s proposed “Male Minority” tournament