More episodes coming your way … because really, is there a better way to enjoy the full WSOP experience without being in Las Vegas? (Well I mean other than following Mathers here, on 2+2, Poker Road, and twitter …)

Of course you’ve known for years that I’m nowhere near so prolific as Pauly. That’s why he has a book coming out — I think like today! — and I’ve got just overlapping outlines, partial sample chapters … and now the occasional TOP episode previously unpublished here, but of course always available in the complete Tao of Pokerati archives for the chronologically demanding.

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Episode 42: Donkament Bomber

[audio:tao/TOP_W10_42_DonkamentBomber.mp3]

Dan and Pauly keep a bird eye’s view on DonkeyBomber’s run during Day 2 of a donkament from the press box and find the easiest way to spot him is by his pants. They also chat about another Pokerati player — Toothless Bob — who was running great but suddenly went AWOL, as various types are known to do as we all get deep into the WSOP.

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Episode 43: Bad Beat Bar WTF!

[audio:tao/TOP_W10_43_BadBeatBar_WTF.mp3]

What do Benjo and 7 Mexicans have in common with a flaring mob of Americans and Africans demanding someone at Harrah’s change the channel? Bad beat, obv. We’ve all heard stories, but Dan takes Pauly to the Bad Beat Bar itself, a comfortable but sparsely populated spot in a Rio Convention Center spillover area that feels more like a university commons than sports bar.

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WSOP 2010 Insta-flashback …

The World Series had just gotten underway and Pauly, Dan, and Benjo preview the upcoming World Cup …

Episode 20: Benjo’s Bets and Conspiracy Theories

[audio:tao/TOP_W10_20_BenjosBets.mp3]

Benjo explains his bets and talks about rigged-game conspiracy theories that our favorite Bulgarian bartender shared with him. Pauly and Dan pontificate on the gross discrepancies in World Cup lines between Harrah’s properties and off-Strip sports books.

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Though we’ve had a handful of cashes and a couple deep scores (in non-open events), Pokerati’s crew of patch-wearing competitors have admittedly struggled. Now, more than a month into the 2010 WSOP, we know it’s not gonna be about who can rack up the most bracelets (and pieces of Pokerati) in pursuit of Player of the Year, but who can pull out a big save … preferably before the main event!

Toothless Bob is still alive, btw — I mean in life, not any tournament — for those who were concerned. Turns out he just lost his phone and needed to wander aimlessly for a few days to shake off his early departure from the Seniors event after reportedly flopping Aces-full and running into flopped quads.

And Tom hasn’t gone totally broke yet — though he might be coming to believe those high buy-in mixed-game events (you know, the ones where every table has multiple world-class pros) might not be the best use of bankroll compared to low-cost no-limit events.

For Harris, a former WSOP dealer now working as both dealer and floor guy at the Venetian, it’s been all about low-cost no-limit events … and so far he’s gone 0-for-3. And while that’s just mathematically how these donkuli sometimes work, I’m not so sure @85Nutz was necessarily expecting the ill effects of regularly repeated run-bad on a not-yet super-accomplished player’s psyche.

It’s the kinda thing that can really shake a player’s confidence in his game. However, this weekend, armed with pre-game leak advice from The Maven (who happened to play at his table in a previous $1k) and a poker counseling session with DonkeyBomber on big-field strategy, Team Pokerati’s weekend warrior made his first Day 2 of 2010 … not necessarily in great shape, but a successful grind to get him to a point from where he’s propelled himself to a final table before.

Here’s the note he sent his WSOP backers, who are all petulantly waiting for a return on their money enthusiastically cheering him on:

I’m sorry for the late update, my phone died right as we finished for the night. Here are the stats going into tomorrow.

Total Entries: 3128
Players Left: 446
My Chip Count: 12,425
Avg Chip Count: 21,040
Blinds: Level 9 – 300/600 w75 ante (15 minutes left in level 9)
Places in Money: 324
324th: $1,886
1st: $485,642

We restart tomorrow at 2:30 Vegas time. We will be moving into the famous Amazon Room to table 334, seat 6. I’m off to get some rest after a long day.

You can follow the run-up to cash in the latest weekly $1k and other events here. Many Pokeratizens know Richard Ferro; he goes into Day 2 fourth in chips.

Other notables positioning themselves to avoid and/or absorb bad beats as the field races toward the bubble and beyond include Jeff Madsen (23rd, 42k) and Chris Moneymaker (24th, 41k).

Mickey Appleman, David Levi, David Sklansky, Terrence Chan, Lyle Berman, Antonio Esfandiari, and JJ Liu all have slightly above average stacks.

Sorry to leave any ‘Ati-first readers hanging for a week without easiest access to the latest Tao of Pokerati take on happenings at the World Series. Of course you all are smart … and presumably know to find any episode you (or I) may have missed in the Tao of Pokerati podcast archives here. Seriously, check ’em out … there’ve been some good ones.

Pauly skipped town a couple days ago … I guess with Rio security responding to all the billboard advertising around their property for Dr. Reefer, the Happiness Consultants, Legal Cannabis Scrips ‘R Us, etc. by cracking down on 420 breaks at the WSOP, Pauly decided if he was gonna leave the Rio, he might as well keep on driving (then flying) to the nearest Phish concert.

But no worries … He’ll be back in a few days; in the meantime Benjo and I gotcha covered. Last night, with two final tables going on at the main stage, we found ourselves in one of those spots where two additional bits of exciting Amazon action were taking place simultaneously, with galleries overlapping in a single aisle as remaining players were well past their bubbles and getting nearer to big-money prizes.

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Episode 35: French Man Kissing (w Benjo)

[audio:tao/TOP_W10_35_FrenchManKissing.mp3]

There’s a real s’affrontent going on in the $10k heads-up, with Bertrand Grospellier, arguably the #1 player in France right now, battling Benjo’s pal Lucovic Lacay, currently the top contender capable of dethroning him. All the excitement has the French guys on the rail madly … kissing? Benjo breaks down the questionable nature of these public displays of Euro-affection.

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NOTE: Lucovic would end up beating Elky, who earned $38k in the Round of 16, while Lacay moved on to the final 8 where he is guaranteed at least $92k.

Episode 36: Touching Tom Senior (w Benjo)

[audio:tao/TOP_W10_36_TouchingTom.mp3]

DonkeyBomber‘s going deep in the Seniors event, but did Dan ruin his chances for a bracelet in “the oxygen event) with some inappropriate touching? Player superstitions aside, there’s some real concern about Toothless Bob, who was going into this event as the Team Pokerati favorite but may or may not have shown up to play.

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