Ante Up Poker Magazine Podcast:

After returning from their trip to Jacksonville for the Chad Brown NLHE Championship host Christopher Cosenza & Scott Long come on to discuss a horribly played limit hold’em hand. Once they recap the hand they move on to discuss the pro heavy field that was found in the Chad Brown tournament. If you are looking for a show that contains some poker news along with some strategy talk then this might be a good choice for you. Check out the show on the Ante Up site or download it directly from iTunes.

CardRunners – Pro Chat:

Ever wondered how the top players make the transition to adding a new game into their skill base? This weeks Pro Chat guest is Brian Townsend who discusses his thought process when learning and mastering a brand new game. This podcast is a good one to have in your playlist if only to gain an insight into how some of the top players think. You can either listen to the show on the CardRunners site or download it from iTunes.

Perspectives Weekly:

Although this is not technically a podcast it is a part of my weekly, or whenever a new show gets published, must listen to list. This week host J. Todd catches up with Joe Brennan, iMEGA Chairman, to discuss the current intrastate gaming regulations that various states are proposing. Although this is a short show, that at times has other shenanigans that could be removed and replaced with more content I recommend subscribing via YouTube so that you are able to keep up to date with the episodes. You can watch this weeks show on the APCW site or just watch it below.

The Poker Beat is back … (attempting) to make sense of all that is going on in the poker world. In this episode, BJ, Huff, and I discuss (at length) PokerStars’ record-setting 149,000 player $1 tourney; the opening of the Aria poker room (and what this may or may not mean over at the Bellagio); the ridiculousness of 17 $1k rebuy tourneys at Bellagio’s upcoming 5-star Classic; everything that is the PCA; PokerStars getting in bed with the Venetian for the new NAPT; and over at Full Tilt, all things Isildur … and, of course, the second red-pro suspension of Brian Townsend.

on PokerRoad

The Poker Beat
Huff, Nemeth, Michalski
1/07/10

[audio:http://www.pokerroad.com/upload/radio/23/audio/TPB1710.mp3]

BTW, a little breaking-ish news on this episode — and perhaps an indication of the perceived threat of the NAPT-Venetian, which just so happens to coincide with the LAPC, the usual early-year destination for the LA-LV poker masses … anyone who buys into the $10k WPT-LAPC main event at the Commerce before February 19 now will receive a seat in the televised $200k WPT Invitational. Neato!

It seems like Beanie from Bluff (the website, not the magazine) isn’t the only one with data mining on his mind these days. Joining Paul in expressing their dismay over this increasingly common trend are the folks over at 2+2 who are starting an online petition to try and convince sites like Stars and Tilt to completely ban the use of TableRatings.

Which brings us to Brian Townsend, a Full Tilt Poker pro and popular CardRunners instructor who has recently learned something about bans and TableRatings. It seems that Townsend, Cole South, and Brian Hastings got together to brainstorm strategies for taking down Isilidur1 shortly before Hastings booked his incredible $4.2 million win against the Swedish phenom.

While their strategizing was in no way a violation of FTP’s Terms of Service, the fact that they poured over a Townsend-supplied database of hand histories in order to decipher Isildur’s playing patterns was — and, as a result, Townsend is now playing without his red status for 30 days. Our buddy Matt Parvis has the full story over at Poker News.

Boys will be boys, and those of us in poker’s minority know this. The Wicked Chops entities made “hot girls” the norm for poker media, and the PokerListings guys have jumped on board with this gem, including comments about how their telephoto lenses are always “extended and ready.” Seriously, guys? Argh! But I’ve gotta be honest… The other side of that coin is that girls will be girls.

Believe it or not, there are some hot boys in poker who, with just a glance across the table, can make us drop our, ummm, chips. It is true that many of them, while looking good with their rock-hard abs and chiseled upper arms, do have poker “performance issues” (most of my hot boy picks didn’t exactly show positive results at the WSOP), but sometimes poker is hard! Even without final tables or gold bracelets, they still to stand out from the masses – at least 6 to 8 inches, I assume. Here are a few:

Chad Brown
Now that is what the gym is for. Not only is he in shape but he shows it off with his tight-fitting shirts. And he’s well-spoken and intelligent. Go on witcha bad self. Turn-ons: playing poker and traveling the world with wife Vanessa Rousso, donating to various charities, and working out.

Erick Lindgren
Not sure if he has rock-hard abs because his shirts aren’t tight enough, but he is athletic and good-looking. Best of all, he’s got a fantastic dry sense of humor. Turn-ons: playing poker tournaments, engaging in a little one-on-one on his home (basketball) court, and remembering reporters’ names (hi, Erick!).

Patrik Antonius
A list of hot boys would not be complete without Patrik, who likely was just born looking so amazing. His model good looks make everyone’s heads turn when he enters a room. Turn-ons: playing the highest stakes poker games in the world, living in Monte Carlo with wife Maya, and being a hot dad to his baby.

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Today’s $1,500 Omaha 8 or Better tournament drew a record (for Omaha 8 ) 918 participants, with the eventual winner taking home over $263,000. No clear chip leader has emerged from the field, but some notable players who won’t take home a bracelet include : Barry Shulman, Mike Matusow, Jerry Buss, and Allen Cunningham. As the players near their 90-minute dinner break, nearly 600 will be enjoying their meal.

The 40th Annual $40,000 NL Holdem tournament is now in their hour-long dinner break, with 44 players remaining. For those who were wondering if there’s injuries in poker, 2008 WPT Championship winner David Chiu was receiving treatment for an injured right wrist. How this injury came up is unknown, but an explanation may come out shortly. Justin Bonomo entered the break as chip leader with 1,350,000 in chips, with Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis in 2nd with 1,335,000, and Greg Raymer 3rd at 1,326,000. Day 1 chip leader Bruno Fitoussi was eliminated shortly before the dinner break. When the players return, they have another four levels or 18 players remaining, whichever comes first.

For anyone looking to play in this weekend’s $1,000 Stimulus Special and hasn’t registered, there are over 4,400 who have done so, with over 2,200 registered for day 1a Saturday already. The expected cap for each day 1 is 2,800 and it looks like it’ll be at least one day could be sold out shortly unless more tables get added. Stay tuned for more stuff during the evening.

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.

JKPrevo over at PokerWorks adds his two cents to the multi-accounting debate, which I find particularly valuable because he …

1) admits that he, too, is a multi-accounter (and unlike Townsend in ’08, a winning player!)

2) gives a great real-world example of how the letter of this online poker law doesn’t exactly add up with the spirit of it:

At the WSOP this year, Joe Sebok showed up with a full prosthetic makeup by a Hollywood professional. He looked older than me by a bunch and certainly didn’t appear as himself. There was some confusion at the time he took his seat and a private conversation with one of the TD’s people got him the seat. No multi-accounting there but it does demonstrate the deception available with such a setup.

Not to discredit Prevo, but he does have one factual inaccuracy (unless there’s something Jen’s not telling us?):

OK, I have insulted Jen – a good looking girl – married to an attractive but folliclely challenged fellow. Let’s get back to trashing Brian.

Umm … though California Jen and DanM do love to bicker, she’s already let me know that she’s not really into dudes who insist on multi-accounting, no matter how bald they get.

CORRECTION: Oops, it was Phil Laak, not Joe Sebok, who did the make up thing. (Thanks, Jen, for pointing that out.) I still think Prevo’s point about brick-and-mortar anonymity applies. Not so sure about my marriage and multi-accounting metaphor.

CardRunners and Full Tilt pro Brian Townsend admitted to multi-accounting on PokerStars and Full Tilt.

He wrote an admission and apology on his blog this week, noting that he had two accounts on PokerStars and two on Full Tilt (where he has a contractual obligation as a Full Tilt pro!). Full Tilt has suspended his “red pro” status for six months but didn’t seem to want to ban him from the site for clearly breaking the rules. PokerStars has not taken any action that has been made public. And to make up for his actions and show his remorse, Townsend is donating $25,000 to a charity and removed all but $100,000 in his online accounts. (If these actions evoke sympathy from anyone, please let me know.)

On one hand, Townsend did own up to his wrongdoings and apologize.

On the other hand, where to begin? Good-looking kid with everything going for him – great poker successes as a high-stakes player live and online, management gig at CardRunners, Full Tilt pro, fame, respect, good reputation – and he risked it all “because I enjoy anonymity when playing smaller and am very prideful in what I do.” He clearly sees what goes on in the online poker community and knows what happens to players caught multi-accounting. But instead of admitting to needing or wanting to move down in limits due to a recent downswing, he played under other accounts. I guess that risk didn’t pay off.

Is there something unclear about the multi-accounting rule on online poker sites? One account per player. You can play 40 games at once if you like, but use the same account. Simple, no? If you don’t agree with the rule, protest it and work for change. But for now, buck up and deal with it.

What’s happening at the WSOP while waiting for the arrival of Phil Hellmuth and the UB Army at 2pm:

A little over half of the 1,928 that started play on Day 1c get to return on Wednesday to meet those who remained after five playing five levels on Sunday. Henning Granstad appears to be leader with about 228,000 in chips. Other notables near the top: David “Bakes” Baker, David Singer, Brad Booth, Evelyn Ng, Brian Townsend, Nenad Medic, and Jeff Madsen.

Today’s the final day for people to sign up for the Main Event, as registration closes at the end of Level 2, or at 2,700 entrants (whichever comes first). Over 2,000 have already signed up, and today’s attendance looks to be the highest for a Main Event in history (2,299 on day 1d in 2006 is the current record). At the moment, first place looks to take down about $9,000,000 when November rolls around, and about $850,000 would be given to each of the “November Nine”.

12:25 Update: Pauly is reporting almost 2,500 entered for today, pushing the total over 6,800 (2nd most in Main Event history). First place will pay over $9,600,000.

More updates during the day…

It’s that time of year again. The NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship is on the horizon, and many players have already confirmed that they’ll pay the $20k to get some camera time compete in the event. Sixty players have been announced, leaving four open seats for qualifiers yet to be announced.

Festivities will begin on February 28th at Pure Nightclub at Caesars in Vegas with the drawing party to determine the match-ups. The following day brings the first matches, and a winner will be determined and get his/her $500k on March 2.

Previous champs Paul Wasicka, Ted Forrest, and Phil Hellmuth will be playing, as well as numerous first-time players like David Singer, Bill Edler, Scott Clements, Jerry Yang, Brian Townsend, Tom Dwan, celebrities Jason Alexander and Brad Garrett, MLB player Orel Hershiser, and the 2007 CardPlayer favorite WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider.

Click below for the list of players:

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Garth Brooks was once described as looking like “a thumb wearing a cowboy hat.” Here Tom can be seen trying to establish himself as the Garth Brooks of Poker.

The latest post about Donkey Bomber’s troubles on the Iberian Peninsula reminded me … he was also on the cover of CardPlayer magazine recently. Perhaps this honor is a curse? Three covers ago, CP featured Brian Townsend — and inside was an interview where he explained how one can go from a small-stakes online player to a monster buy-in new-guy on High Stakes Poker. Of course, at the same time, Townsend, known as SBRugby in the online world, was chronicling on his own blog how he had been in the midst of a multimillion-dollar downswing and was considering giving up poker altogether. Oops!

Click here to read the really good interview with Tom. My favorite line from the first Pokerati blogger ever to grace these pages:

Over time, the one thing I learned is that I’m going to surround myself only with people who make me feel good. It’s amazing if you do that how much more successful you can be in everything.

LAS VEGAS–Just like old times … I’ve got so many super-fascinating browser tabs open I can’t keep up with them all. So please, allow me to unload:

The major tournament action underway is the LEGENDS of POKER at the BIKE in CALIFORNIA. Perhaps we’ll swing by …

MIKE MATUSOW, with his second-place finish in the main event of the BELLAGIO CUP III, is no longer broke. Apparently his $670k payday left him with 50 grand all to himself. In the real world this means he now qualifies for a loan. In the poker world it means he no longer does, unless he goes broke again.

DANIEL NEGREANU’s got a pretty good skill column this week, talking about manipulating table image to better reap the rewards of shifting gears. Hmm, something to think about?

From the Dept. of: Awesome … PHIL HELLMUTH will appear on The Surreal Life. Might an ass-kicking be inevitable, as he moves into a house with RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE, MISS CLEO, NANCY MCKIBBEN (who?), DABNEY COLEMAN, and the uber-pumped CARROT TOP.

BILL RINI, whom I consider an expert in matters of online cheating, has up a video that I thought was informational warning about a new form of MARKED CARDS circulating. But upon closer look, turns out to be just an ad hawking the illicit poker gear (compliments of GOOGLE).

Interesting (biased?) article here on what Google supposedly does to keep online poker seekers away from the bad poker sites.

Speaking of cheating … has anyone heard word of who might have been the high-stakes players allegedly swindled in major cheating scam at the BORGATA? Famed cheating consultant STEVE FORTE, of course, was one of the guys busted, even though he uses the journalist’s beloved excuse of “I was just working on a story!” Suddenly scary: the notion of tapping into hole-card cams.

Suddenly needed: a big-time poker security accreditation system?

Check it out … DUGGLEBOGEY is back to his old tricks sticks:

Glad to see the return of some more friendly faces.

Here’s a great article on the rise and fall of an ONLINE PRO — how you can go from $10k to $1.5 million and back down again. It coincides with a semi-related story about KaiBuxxe / RealAndyBeal — a 22-year-old Austrian and former MAGIC player who is tearing up the world of POT-LIMIT OMAHA.

And BRIAN TOWNSEND (aka “sbrugby”) — an online superstar turning to live games — is in the midst of a $3 million downswing. This according to his own blog. [via PokerKingBlog]

Dude, tell me about it … I’ve been running similarly bad:

POKER IS HARD!

Looks kinda like a PARTYGAMING stock chart, no?

SHANNON ELIZABETH was unable to play in the Victoria Poker Championships in AUSTRALIA … because she got carded at the door and didn’t have her ID. The male contingent of Pokerati has always wondered why ladies go anywhere without their license/passport/prescription.

Speaking of Australia, it may have slipped under your radar that the AUSSIES, along with CANADA and MACAU, have joined the WTO dispute against the UNITED STATES over the UIGEA. The beef started by ANTIGUA and BARBUDA seems to be growing some teeth, as others fighting against the chief enemy of AL QAEDA include COSTA RICA, INDIA, and … the EUROPEAN UNION. Think this fight isn’t about the future of international online economies as much as it is about poker?

A group called IMEGA continues to challenge the controversial internet law in court, and have their fingers crossed that a federal judge in New Jersey will issue a TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER in September.

Speaking of lawsuits and court actions in September, attorney and PPA representative LEE ROUSSO has a hearing set for his suit, which challenges the Constitutionality of WASHINGTON STATE’s law that makes playing online poker a felony on par with CHILD MOLESTATION.

A CARIBBEAN BUSINESS CONGLOMERATE will be entertaining a bunch of AMERICAN CONGRESSPEOPLE in November to explain Antigua’s WTO stance, among other things. In attendance will be CHARLIE RANGEL (D-NY-Taxes) and BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS-Homeland Security),

AMERICA ONLINE wants in on online poker. Or at least online SPORTS BETTING, as AOL has entered into an internet bookmaking contract with a GERMAN company, FLUXX, which will target punters in the UK.

A good article from the BRITISH PRESS here — describing the UIGEA as a “TROJAN HORSE” given to the European gambling industry.

Meanwhile, British online gaming company WILLIAM HILL says they are having a hard time keeping poker players, because the EUROS really want to take on the AMERICANS (at Bodog, for example).

Over in the PHILLIPINES, they have (finally) opened up a bar-and-grille with amateur Texas Hold’em tourneys (scroll down near the bottom).

The nightly non-wager Hold ‘Em tournaments at the Player’s Den hope to further sharpen the skills of the Pinoys in this ultimate mind game where we can eventually excel worldwide.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

You may notice a lot of linkage today from this PokerKing guy. He has a lot of good stuff to read, including this article on why JERRY YANG is bad for ONLINE poker. Maybe maybe not, but I tend to agree with the wisdom of LOU KRIEGER, who recognizes that poker is a long-term game, and Yang couldn’t have come at a better time.

Here’s one of the more balanced takes on the JERRY YANG FOR PRESIDENT campaign.

Did anyone else catch High Stakes Poker 3 on Monday? It’s a great episode this week … with Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, et al. We see David Williams needled for his bling, and he retorts by skillfully wielding “the Sang” (9-2 … kinda like the Hammer, only a wee-bit stronger). And then Yukon Brad Booth shows up and buys in with a cool $1 million in cash, suddenly posing a new threat to Brian Townsend’s fortress of bills. Awesome, great poker.

But the real battle in this episode (which repeats tonight) seems to be taking place off the table — between the two announcers, Gabe Kaplan and AJ Benza. If this is new shtick … well then good job, because it’s pretty entertaining. But even better, you get the sense they truly don’t like each other and are in the midst of a career catfight … especially when Kaplan calls out Benza for having his agent complain about Gabe to GSN.

Benza, is actually a pretty interesting sparring partner for Kaplan. For one, he’s a former blogger for the not-so-poker blog Oddjack. Before that, his broadcasting claims to fame included a studio brawl with Stuttering John (from Howard Stern) that eventually came to blows in the hallway.

Click below to see what Pokeratizens had to say about these two just last month:

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