Poker

If you've got money on any US based online poker site (FullTilt/Pokerstars etc withdraw it as quickly as is possible.

Uncle-Sam is out to get your money. The US Government (no doubt encouraged by the land-based American Casino chains) is freezing accounts, attempting to seize the funds of the online poker sites on the other side of the pond;

This is from Bluff Online

Thought it laid it out well

"It’s amazing how much can change in a day. On Thursday evening I was still reeling from Vanessa Selbst and Jason Mercier making an amazing double-double/repeat-repeat by both defending their respective Main Event and Bounty Shootout titles at the NAPT Mohegan Sun. On Friday morning I took a metaphorical punch to the gut when I read that Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker had been indicted with 11 arrests made or extraditions pending.

The Two Plus Two forums crashed as a record 12,000 plus users tried to access the servers at the same time; the Twittersphere exploded as thousands of online poker players, casual fans and those like me in the media tried to work out what was going on and how it could be dealt with. Amidst the “sky is falling” and “pokerpocalypse” Tweets came the likes of Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Phil Galfond, men with bankrolls valued at the price of a small tropical island, telling everyone to make like the t-shirts and bumper stickers: KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON.

Unfortunately, carrying on is simply not an option for the thousands of people in America that make their living from playing poker online. Hours after the indictments, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker announced that they were ceasing operations in the United States. For the past 48 hours or so, there have been no American players on either of the major sites.

“Well, thank the Lord I’m in Europe reading Bluff Europe,” you are now thinking Europeanly while reading this from your house in Europe. Unfortunately you are just as likely to be negatively affected regardless of whether or not you play on the major US sites. Does anyone remember the gargantuan drop in PartyGaming stock in late 2006? This fall happened after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which was slipped in under the Safe Port act in 2006 and effectively banned banks from processing online gambling transactions. Those of you who have been playing poker long enough will remember the fallout of the UIGEA. It was the end of the “golden era” where the highest stakes games played like your local pub tournament and top pair, top kicker was all you needed to take down a five-figure pot. The UIGEA was considered the end of online poker in 2006... and 2007... and 2008... basically, ever since then you can’t go a week without hearing how the games have gotten tougher and that online poker is dying. Well, the UIGEA was just a warning shot. This is the beginning of the battle.

So, to break it down – PokerStars and Full Tilt, the two bastions of US online poker, no longer offer real money games to US customers. Absolute Poker and UB were also included in the FBI shutdowns but are, as of Sunday evening, still offering real money ring games. This won’t last, I should think. Furthermore, the destruction of the cancer in the poker industry known as the CEREUS network is probably a great silver lining from this. The Department of Justice indictment strongly implies that Absolute Poker have continued to lie about their post-scandal ownership as well but that’s a whole other editorial.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it – things will never be the same again. This is the biggest thing to happen to poker since Moneymaker’s win and unfortunately it’s the opposite end of the same spectrum – perhaps a more literal poker “boom”.

The sites in question, believed – truthfully, though the exact definition is debatable – that poker is a game of skill and thus transactions from poker sites don’t qualify as “online gambling transactions”. This, they felt, meant that by setting up shell payment processors and persuading banks to process poker transactions, they were not breaking the law. Whether or not that argument holds up in court is to be decided.

So what’s going to happen now? Is it time to hole up your family in a concrete basement while you sit anxiously by the door cradling a shotgun to guard your tins of beans? Now that the initial panic has died down a bit it seems clear that for those of us living outside the US, online poker isn’t dead. Rumours were circulating that all indicted sites would shut down operations globally within 48 hours of the indictments. Clearly this is not the case as I’m playing $0.1/$0.25 PLO on PokerStars right now. Sick brag.

However, the fallout from this is potentially catastrophic. As much as I’m liking the idea of a Euro-centric poker economy and the opportunities that we’ll get from PokerStars and Full Tilt focussing their energies here, I can’t help but feel that the loss of several hundred thousand American fish is greater than our gain. Briefly, since this editorial is running longer than I intended it (and I would need upwards of 10,000 words to fully articulate everything about this situation) let’s look at some possible negative effects:

Televised poker is largely paid for by poker sites. Poker After Dark will possibly hold onto its timeslot (the best thing on at 2am for sure) in the US but High Stakes Poker and the PokerStars Big Game are likely buried. The North American Poker Tour may have to go and thus the programming that comes with it – ESPN has already removed PokerStars ads from their site and a rerun of the 2007 WSOP was replaced by boxing over the weekend.

Player sponsorships are in jeopardy. Someone like PokerStars’s Daniel Negreanu or Full Tilt’s Patrik Antonius are obviously safe, though they may well have to take a pay cut and be willing to commit to international duties. “B-list” US players, such as those on Full Tilt’s $35 per hour/100% rakeback deal are the most likely casualties.

Live tournaments will be hit hard, perhaps hardest. While the UIGEA didn’t have disastrous impact on the World Series of Poker Main Event that didn’t prevent US players from playing online. This does. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 2005-esque field of four to five thousand at the WSOP in 2011. As mentioned the NAPT will likely be gone and the Onyx Cup has already been cancelled. The EPT will surely survive, which leads us to...

The silver lining is that Europe is now the poker capital of the world. The European Poker Tour is going from strength to strength and emerging markets in Eastern Europe are growing by the day. Asia is another untapped resource – we’ve already had a tantalising glimpse of their gamble in the record-setting Macau cash games. BUT...

The Great Depression of the early 20th century gave birth to the expression that “when America sneezes, the world catches a cold”. Again, I’m not going to sugarcoat this – it’s bad, no matter what positives you take from it. PokerStars have lost a quarter of their player base; Full Tilt almost half of theirs. Remember the Reid Bill? Well, now we’re in the blackout period proposed, just with no warning. My prediction, based purely on being more of a poker industry insider than the average man:

1 – PokerStars and Full Tilt have to adjust and compete with iPoker, PartyGaming and Merge etc. in a European market. I imagine they’ll have little trouble, especially PokerStars who could well make themselves a dominating EU presence.

2 – The high and mid-stakes games will get harder as the US fish no longer play but the regulars making $100,000 or more a year will move to Canada and the UK to continue making their income. The lower stakes games will be business as usual, just with fewer players.

3 – The PPA and the tens of thousands of American citizens now out of work (not just rakeback grinders but poker media and industry workers) will lobby for regulation harder than ever – we’ve already seen it attempted and even now Washington are planning online gambling.

4 – We see, within one to five years, regulated and taxed online poker in the US. Best-case scenario is global gaming where the poker world plays mostly on HarrahsOnlinePoker.com or WSOP.com; worst-case scenario is poker games restricted to individual states or just the US. I can’t see that happening though, why would the US Government want to miss out on a slice of the world’s rake?

PokerStars is already the market leader for online poker in Europe and we can expect to see them doing OK. However, we need to bear in mind that with $3,000,000,000 owed to the US Government ($1.5bn from Stars; $1bn from FTP and $500m from CEREUS) the sites could still go under. Things could still get worse before they get better."

Buyer beware ...

 

This from a U.S. based forum I use, posted on Saturday morning:

The founders of the three largest online poker sites were indicted by the FBI on Friday in what could serve as a death blow to the thriving industry.

Eleven executives at PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and a number of their affiliates were charged with bank fraud and money laundering in an indictment unsealed in a Manhattan court. Two of the defendants were arrested on Friday morning in Utah and Nevada. Federal agents are searching for the others.

Prosecutors are seeking to immediately shut down the sites and to eventually send the executives to jail and to recover $3 billion from the companies. By Friday afternoon Full Tilt Poker’s site displayed a message explaining that “this domain name has been seized by the F.B.I. pursuant to an Arrest Warrant.”

 

If you can't be bothered to read the above - a precis;

The Feds are out to get the US-based online poker closed down.

They have already closed accounts/seized funds in the US ... and are in the process of trying to do the same worldwide.

This does not affect European based sites W Hill/Betfair/Sky etc etc .... and even though Stars and FullTilt have recently registered themselves in the UK - their government seems intent on strangling them.

Get your money off these sites asap - or you possibly could lose it forever!

Dunno how this is going to pan out - it could get messy .....

It doesn't affect me at all - being a, mainly, live player - it should do wonders for the trade of European sites.

 

They've had the 'cross-hairs' firmly on these sites for several years (the Casino/Mafia gambling interests hate the competition, and have massively funded a campaign to persuade/bribe the US politicians to go get the poker sites).

All rather silly really, considering the WSOP numbers will be decimated (as up to half the 9,000 entrants satellite through on-line poker) ..... so Las Vegas will see an enormous 'downturn' as thousands of dollar clutching poker players go AWOL for the two month series of events that make up the World Series.

Did Mr Corleone & chums really think this through properly?

 

So after a very long baron spell and confidence low inducing mistake after mistake, bad bets and bad calls, not raising when i should and raising when i shouldn't i took to reading a little on our great game of poker - it was due time and OMR has countless times in the past posted about reading up on poker etc from books and sites - this is great advice and free advice and a big thanks to OMR after all we are his enemy around the table.

Where as last year Jan to Dec my overall loss was a mere £228 after expenses such as rakes, tips and taxis in 88 tournaments - this year has been a complete wash out apart from one small draw.

With confidence down to about 5% something needed to be done - give up or change or/and learn......

Having been making the right moves at the start of the baron spell most of the time, the amount of river beats became draining on the soul and i became over pessimistic about -

a) - my own play
b) - the ability of other players all being far superior to me

What was i doing different now compared to last year? With the confidence low I needed to review how that could improve and at the Fox club there is a mini library of poker books. I grabbed one and read it and have started another. My play has improved and the confidence at least has returned. I knew that the Fox club was a better standard of player than where i had played at Paddington and even the Sportsman and the Mint

Last night 102 runners at the Fox poker room for a £40 deepstack 15k chips, £5 buy in and £3 for a bouns 1,500 chips... 15 minutes clocks for first 8 rounds, maybe 10, then rising to 20 minutes.

Concentrate Paddy, watch, look and study - I started to do these things with more concentration attached and generally focus more. Avoiding heads up all ins on races at the wrong times and too often ( something that i have recently been doing to much off, at the wrong time in the tournies).

Well the 102 eventually whittled down to 60, then 50 then 40 and then 30 and it was getting late and the last train had gone and in a chip count of 1.4million plus I had about 60k with blinds at 2400/1200.

I managed to double up with a push of A,5 o/s in the small blind position against a woman who often will call me with high cards but with out an ace. It was time for the all in shove and I went all in and she duly called showing Q,9 clubs - whoopee - bollix - flop 2 clubs, turn phew - no club she didn't hit - river saw me home...

A little while later 2 tables were left then just 16 players with 12 player getting into the dosh, it took an age for either table to lose a player.. all of a sudden a double hit on the other table and 14 left. A deal was struck to knock £90 of the the top twp prizes and we all would at least get the majority of our entry dosh back...

The 14 slowly went down to the 10 that made up the final table which I was one of.. I took to the table 115k chips and was in seat 8 - blinds 30k/15k. My first BB was folded all the way to me which was a huge bonus. during the next round a couple of players were knocked out so 8 left and the prize dosh was increasing. with blinds at 40k/20k one player low chip stack was all in and with two others of which one was covered - wahay -two out last 6.

The time was fast approaching 2.45am and the club has to shut at 3am.It had been announced that a chip liquidity split would be made at 2.45am after 3 last hands - basiclaly guaranteeing the 6th place prize to everyone then a percentage pro rata based on chips remaining and your own stack. My stack was bullshyte so with 2.45am fast apporaching and my Bb coming up in two hands - J,9 clubs i place my chips into the middle. One all in followed and the BB followed that. Nothing much came for anyone and i was behind but a 10 or a J on the river gives me the pot but it was not to be....

I didn't mind not winning a handsome prize for the 7 hours and 45 minutes of poker ( my profit was £158) but I was elivated to great joy and happiness at the way I played, my focus and using the stuff that I have taken in from the books thus far...


I remember OMR some time last year having a real bad time of it with bad beats etc and wondering when it will end - it does and also the luck plays a big part. Hitting a 9 early on in the tournie whilst BB pocket 9's having called the raise from my right behind, with a flop of ace,9,5 o/s. q on the turn and the player to my right betting 2,400 both on the flop and river with me meekly calling - the river churning out an ace and I know he hasn't got two aces nor the higher full house... Or having pocket aces when I was BB - one all in, two all in and me calling and knocking two out (lower stacks but aggregate 11k) - the luck of the timing of the pocket aces..


has the new dawn begun? one pay day doesn't make one a winner - but the style of play etc makes a huge difference for the future games.

 

Excellent write up PYA. It will be interesting to hear how the next one goes as well.

 

It will 'swing round' Paddy ..... just keep doing the right things, at the right time, in the right POSITION - the dreaded variance has swung my way, and I'm running like God at the moment.

 

Interesting Pads.

 

wahay - good for you sir - mine is still out of sorts though. nearly 5 months river after river beats - the other night i caught a geezer trying to nick the 10k pot pre flop by pushing his huge stack in ( no need for that if he had a good hand) so my remainder chips of my call went in after the other caller who had a big stack folded - i fancied me cards were live at worse k,10s = he flipped over k,9h - flop k ?h,?h turn ? river jh - thats me luck for the last few months.

the other day pre flop pocket 5's i raise to 100 early position (first level) called a couple of times small blind raises to 300, bb fold, i call all fold.... flop 5,6,4 o/s - s/b bets 875, i re raise to 2300 he goes all in ( i had him cobvered by dobule chip as won an earlier nice pot) - i call as he din't have 6,7 etc IMO from his re raise, best he could have would be the p6's and ho hum if he does well played.

he flips over pocket aces - to my trip 5's
turn 6 - i hit full house but actually not a good card for me on the turn as another 6 he wins - 2 extra outs for him...river a f.ukin ace... percentage wise i was massive on the flop.. thats me luck - loads more sob stories but hey - some moves are just wrong that i make and some reads are poor .. thats poker...

will keep at it = and the reading helps.

 

PYA, to help you in your hour of need ..... I have instructed one of the dealers - Mark (tubby mush, with a tache & beard) - down at you local, the Mint, to give you only good/winning cards from now on.

He knew who you were, and your bruv who plays down there too.

My advice is get talking to him, he's a very knowledgeable fellah - he's dealt to all the biggest names in poker .... and I mean 'The Galacticos' .... and still does (ie at the Palm Beach comps/mega cash games all over the South East).

Now most inexperienced players tend to 'disregard' the guy dealing the cards to them .... afterall they're only 'monkeys' doing a humdrum job for very average money + tips!

Correct with some .... wrong with many.

A lot of the veterans know the game - and even more importantly the players/playing styles - inside out through years of being paid to 'observe'.

Many a WSOP/EPT/GUKPT Champion has formerly been a 'mere dealer' before their clamber up the ladder to fame, and fortune!

There's a dealer at Dusk till Dawn in Nottingham (the premiere poker club of Europe - possibly the World) who 'commentates' as hands are played out.

I don't think he realises he does it - and you've gotta be in seat 1 or 10 to benefit.

He very quietly 'mumbles' to himself as the action goes round/develops, and if you're 'tuned in' to him (and have got perfect phuqqin hearing) it's an eye-opener how aware he is of what's happening.

"That a bluff/he's got two pair/he's missed/looks like trips/busted flush/he's repping the ace ... probably pocket 7s", he'll - almost inaudibly - say to himself, and .... he's nearly always spot on! (and all the dopes merrily plugged into their ipods are blissfully unaware of all this free info from, probably, the best 'player' on the table.

Other dealers - especially on tables populated by rookies - make some really cutting remarks, which go straight over the heads of most the assembled.

The other night I had QQ in mid position - blinds 100/200 - three ***** had already limped, so I 'bumped it up' to 1750 to narrow it down to one caller ... or just take down the pot there, and then.

Well ..... FML ..... I started a 'LimpcallFest'!

"Only five to the flop", announced the Brummie dealer - who looked over to me, cast his eyes to the skies, and smiled in sympathy ..... a massive whooooooooooooooooooosh was experienced by the other four, all desperately glued to the middle, voraciously anticipating the flop!

Double FML - first card out an Ace, then two rags - all check to me .... no dwell, put in the 'feeler bet' .... 3900 (leaving myself enough chips to get away from it, if it came on top - literally!) ... and one, by one, they all fold.

"Nice play, ladies and gentlemen", quipped the dealer - who was the only other person on the table not putting me on an Ace - and he smiled knowingly as he pushed the pot my way.

Getting back to Mark, Perry - heed my advice.

Befriend him, and mine him for information/tips/strategies - he deals at a cash game I play in, and has often played cash/tournaments with me .... and apart from being an exceptional dealer - he's an excellent player too.

The boy knows his stuff - and as I rarely venture down to the Smoke, because of all the phuqqin parking restrictions - he is a veritable library of all Things Poker, and could improve your game no end .... and all for free!

Use him .... knowledge is the key!

 

wow - thanks for that OMR - There is one dealer who my brother was talking to me about who mentioned the above, is this dealer a little bit on the sarcastic side and a bit mimicky, if so i had him down as not likeing me much and for what reason I do not know as i am polite and courteous to all the dealers and most of the players. I think i know who you mean i am sure i know who you mean - i thought his name was John tho... . I agree he knows his stuff and some times when he is dealing I am watching his reactions - on other players moves - the looks generated from his face speak a million stars - I shall try and get chatting to him is it ok to mention you up at Looton to him, to break the ice? He has me down as far too tight and never bluff.

On saturday night i came 5th having played pretty well, the books are helping and also the confidence is coming back and a bit of luck as well. There was a maniac on my table who reraised nearly every hand early doors in the tournie and getting lucky on the river. When I got my chips in he folded twice to me have called my re raise on the flop but against others he was calling the river with uckin k high and such like hands - he helped me get to the final table as he didn't win a hand against me until the last battle as detailed below.

The canut caught me on the final table ( i had mentioned to someone he had tightened up considerably) he minimum raised 10k BB i went all with a,10 he had me covered by about 25k/30k with bb10k ( i know a loose push but i thought he may have folded or i actually didn't mind the call either thinking I was likely winning ) in thinking he had connectors like qj, kq and i didn't want anyone else in and i had played very solid all night, all folded he called showing ak i lost me chips in 5th place... My move was to double up and have a chance at the top prize rather than be blinded out against the other 3 tight players.... the guy who knocked me out went on and won it :-(

confidence - the fear of losing, making a mistake - is a bad mind to have when sitting down at a table. Now have to get my timing right and i am sure I will be back in the business end of tournies like I was last year.

Anyway cheers again - now all i need to do is move house - living where i do in Plaistow plays on me mind near midnight and missing the last train home or not. Over the weekend i slept two nights in me office as it was so much closer to the casino which meant head on desk and an uckin back ache neck ache and wearyness.

Was you at the Fox the other week and knocked me out on a Sunday? It only dawned on me that this guy reminded me of you and he called me Paddy, i think he called me Paddy, i am terrible with faces so that is a disadvantage on the tables.

Wahay its lunchtime..

 

Not me at the Fox .... never been, Perry.

Mark - the dealer - is a little tubby fellah, with a beard ... looks like a Hobbit (he's not there all the time - just when required - as he's self employed) .... and yeah, mention me, no worries.

I sent some poor fellah giddy in a cash game last night.

After quickly spinning up a wunner to £225 on a 1/2 No Limit for Idiots table - a seat was freed up on an adjacent Dealer's Choice (mainly Omaha) feeder table to a rather massive main DC game.

I bade the sheep farewell, and dived off to an 'action table'.

Nico - nice lad - plenty of money - owns an Eyetie restaurant up Bedford way - was the (quite unlucky) 'victim'.

The fellah likes to 'pot it up' pre-flop as you do if you're Italian .....

Well, I've played with him before - and he ain't that good - and will often bluff to take down any fair sized pot, if he senses weakness.

So 6 card Omaha hi £3/£3 (yes, six card ... these are the requirements of such gambling gamblers) was the game and after an hour, or so, of pots moving from seat to seat round the table, came my little coup.

I'd flatted with A Q J 2 2 4 - Nico pots as per - four call to see a flop.

Flop K 10 2 .... mmmm - I flop a (low, very vulnerable set) - I'm up and down - with a flush draw with my 2 4 of diamonds to the A J of diamonds on the flop.

Good hand .... well no, it's not - it is very likely to get battered, and cost the muppet (me) playing it his stack!

However ... the was the Nico factor .... he's loose - not that good - and loves to 'buy' pots with large bets, with all the finesse of his fellow Mediterranean Madmen.

He raises the pot (circa £75) ...... yuk - two cards to come .... and I could well be in awful shape (higher set/higher flush draw).

Convincing myself I was good .... I call, and peel one off.

A total brick (for me), a 7 arrives on the turn .... he shoves all in for the last of his money.

After a ponder, I put him on a wrap around the top straight, with the nut flush draw, and possibly two pair (complicated stuff this 6 card) .... and I'm now getting 3/1 pot odds for the last of mine, of course.

Boggy calls - thinking pair that board, or brick it ........... please!

The blood drained from my face as he turned over K K ???? for top set, but no re-draw.

"Nice hand", I mumbled, quietly praying to The Almighty to put a non pairing diamond out on the river to rescue me from my abject misery ..... as the usual band of Railbirds (poker experts who wander round cardrooms all night, dying to 'replay' any big cash hand, and tell you where you went wrong .... they never actually seem to get to Final Tables, and never pull up to sit down to play cash - strange that!)

Nico screamed, "pair that board .... brick .... brick it" - as the river gave him instant service for his 'gracious demand' .... and the pair hit.

There descended an eerie silence as the poor Italian stared at the rivered pair.

Boggy scooped the £496 pot in ..... that 2 on the river was never in doubt!

Phew.

 

phewwwww indeed - i have often found the biggest pots can often involve someone on the loose/aggresive side holding pocket 2's....rarely seen tight players call a big pre flop bet though with p2's

of to the Mint tonight -so will see if he is there... cheers gl this week end....

I avoid cash games - i am prone to right move/wrong time syndrome in tournies so what the uck I'd be like in cash games i do not know nor want to.... i think i will loosen up a bit now and play more like i did last year... you need chips for the final table and i am too often short stacked and end up playing carp hands anyway... but have got a good few hours poker for me few quid...

I wonder if you would like the Fox or not.

 

talking about p2's above early doors when the blinds were 400/200 ( 15 min clock 20k starting stack) i had them - I was 3rd to bet so raised to 1,200 after a call had been made -all fold back to the initial caller who was very tight, only called and would fold to a decent size bet if he didn't hit.

Flop 2d, ad, 5h, he checks - i know he has da ace with ? so bet 1275 he calls. Turn comes a 7d he checks, i want him out now so bet 2200 - my mistake not enough to get him out, he calls - i did not want to see another diamond but 9d pops out - he checks again i didn't want to check and see as if he had a low diamond with his ace i would lose - so i bet 2200 agian he pondered i knew then he had a diamond a low one i thought - i show my trip 2's he shows the bloody a' with j'd -

luckily at that stage i was up by about the chips i lost to him, from which i had won them... played it quite poorly on refelction on the other hand i could have lost quite a few more chips and had him niely poised after the turn to take a few more chips if no d showed - but would have needed this player to fold a very strong hand - i wonder what he put me on..i didn't ask.

What would you have done OMR - i was trying to represent a biggish hand and the flop was nigh on perfect - plan/play nearly worked out.

Saw Mark last night he mentioned chatting to you etc - he is a pleasant fellow actually, now that was the first time we have spoken...

ended up going out when blinds were 4k/2k i had 17.5k chips out of near 1million. Had a,10 so went all in -geezer next to me goes all in, knew i was gonna be done he had folded several tmes to my bigger hands others fold - he has pocket k's -bad timing i hit the 10 yay j, q and a rogue card was out, out so had outs on the river but not to be...

by the time i'm 60 i hope to be a hugely better player - 9 years to go..

My best play of the night - blinds 800/400 first hand after the break - i had pocket k's -and first to bet so raised to a modest 1800 hoping for a re raise - two called - hmm bollox - please no ace, please you canut no ace - flop ace, 5, 7 o/s - a quick glance at the opponents, a wry smile and a confident bet of 7k - first player fold immediately the other player fiddles around playing with his cards and after some time flicks over the ace - "your kicker is better", shouldn't have done it but showed the table my kings.

 

Not a lot wrong with your play with the trip twos .... you were just unlucky to run into a 'Calling Station' (too scared to raise ... too stubborn/stupid to fold)!

Excellent play with the Kings .... I don't know why so many people call with the Ace rag - then when they get the flop that they 'desired', they don't like the Ace in the middle all of a sudden!

Mark told me you'd chopped a tourny recently - good man!!!! - he's also been trying to get me to come down to one of your £50 Deepstacks down at The Mint (maybe, one night).

 

Cheers OMR - split 3rd/4th prize Friday night - three ways for a lil profit, a plus on the P&L a/c spreadhseet:sign15:

You would have a great chance of winning it unless the maniacs and chancers get lucky like on Friday. let me know if you are going to and I'll but you a beer..

They are just about making the guarantee level of 1k so great value in the guaranteed tournies -i suppose people are taking their holidays etc as less people turning up..

 

Well the WSOP is off to a good (English/Brit) start - as Jake Cody takes down a bracelet;

2011 World Series of Poker
Event #2: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship


Jake Cody Wins


Well, this just in: Jake Cody is a sicko. Less than 15 months removed from his first major tournament victory, Jake Cody has completed his climb to the top of poker's highest mountain. At the tender age of 22, Cody has joined just two other men in achieving poker's Triple Crown. His EPT victory came in Deuville, France in January of last year, and he followed that up with another major title at WPT London just a few months later, Now today, in just his second WSOP event, he's added that elusive (or not so elusive, in Cody's case) bracelet to his trophy case. It's hard to overstate how impressive of an accomplishment it is.

Perhaps it's his soft-spoken tone or his haphazardly spiked hair. Something about Jake Cody indicates he's not much of a threat. But that's not exactly the case. Spurred on by an astoundingly loud cheering section of his countrymen, Cody blasted through his matches today. He used up only one of his three bullets to take all 4.8 million of Yevgeniy Timoshenko's chips, locking up the gold bracelet and sending his throng of supporters into a frenzy. It really was an impressive lesson in heads-up poker from a man who has a strange propensity for being underestimated.

Cody's path to this final was no cakewalk either. He knocked off Brandon Adams in the first round, then bested 2010 Player of the Year Frank Kassela to punch his ticket to to Day 2. Dani Stern was no match for him in their Round 3 contest, and Cody advanced through Jonathan Jaffe in the fourth round to move into the money. He had just one match to play on Day 3, but he admitted in his interviews that Anthony Guetti was his toughest challenge to that point. Cody was dangerously short-stacked for a good while during that match, but he stood his ground and battled back valiantly to take all the chips and earn his spot among today's final four.

Cody's semifinal match was one for the ages. If anyone has so thoroughly beaten Gus Hansen, we can't remember when it happened. Just like the final, Cody needed just one bullet to dispense with Hansen in a lopsided battle that went the opposite way many would have guessed. In the final, Yevgeniy Timoshenko put up a good battle, but Cody was just too much. In what had to be his toughest two tests, he didn't need any of his add-on buttons. Not even one.

So then, the second gold bracelet of the 2011 World Series of Poker goes to the young Brit, Jake Cody. With it comes the Triple Crown, and a good bit of exposure on national television, and more than $850,000 in U.S. dollars. Out of those, we're guessing the Triple Crown means most to the young Brit, and we at PokerNews send our congrats out to Cody and his countrymen for a truly impressive showing here this week!

Two events in, it's already shaping up to be the Year of the Brits in Las Vegas

 

PMSL - Englishman Pez (Matt Perrins) is chipleader on the Final Table of Event 9 ..... having admitted he has never even played Lowball before arriving at the venue!

Go, go, go Matt.

2011 World Series of Poker
Event #9: $1,500 2-7 Draw Lowball

Final Chip Counts (full)

Chip Counts
1 Matt Perrins 293,000
2 Bernard Lee 265,000
3 Chris Bjorin 197,500
4 Thomas Fuller 168,000
5 Josh Brikis 119,000
6 Robin Rightmire 107,000
7 Jason Mercier PokerStars Team Pro (USA) 89,000


1 102,105
2 63,112
3 41,643
4 28,422
5 19,906
6 14,296
7 10,524

 

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii - Bracelet no: 2 for the Brits;
2011 World Series of Poker
Event #9: $1,500 2-7 Draw Lowball

Matt Perrins Wins Event #9: $1,500 2-7 Draw Lowball! ($102,105)

On Saturday afternoon two days ago, Matt Perrins sat down at 5pm and played his first ever hand of Deuce to Seven No Limit having watched roughly half an hour's worth of YouTube videos on the game. Two days later he has now been crowned a WSOP bracelet winner, beating a field of 275 to join his best friend Jake Cody as the second UK player to win a WSOP bracelet this year.

Perrins admitted after that he hadn't been initially sure of what he was doing in the early levels but gradually picked up the game and its similarities to Hold'em. He also said he knew that everyone else was much more experienced than him and he attempted to make it up by consistent aggression to build his stack. He also stated his intent to now play the $10,000 2-7 NL later on the series, something he said he would only have done if he cashed for $10,000 or more.

Buoyed on by another rail of around 20-30 of his friends, Perrins' chip lead never looked in doubt as he managed to whittle down veteran Chris Bjorin's stack to a small amount before finally finishing off the Swede to win the first prize of over $100,000

Congratulations to Matt Perrins, winner of Event #9 at his very first WSOP and look out tonight Las Vegas. The Brits will be out to celebrate this one!


Cheered on by fifty pissed up fans/players singing, "Rochdale, Rochdale's Number Two" - a 2nd WSOP bangle wings it's way to these shores .... and more especially to a small town north of Manc ..... I bet the Rochdale Gazette can't believe it's luck.

Also the Yanks are getting a bit tetchy about the rowdy 'English Rail' every time one of our boys is on a Final Table - phuqq 'em ...... no Green Team at Poker!

 

uckin brilliant!:drinking:

 

The thing is PYA - because you can't enter a Casino till you're 21 in the USA - some of our best players are only 'just' old enough to play the WSOP ...... even though many have been playing top level since they were 18 on these shores!

No wonder that Hellmuth/Matasow/and many other 'Galacticos' have started to suggest seeding in the big tournies ..... they are that worried about the influx of these Pesky Brits!

Praise the Lord for the GUKPT (Grosvenor UK Poker Tour), and places like Dusk till Dawn/UK Casinos/Independent Poker clubs etc for churning out the English Mob that is now terrorising the Yanks on their own turf.

 

Indeed - thats something I hadn't thought off - team England - get your rear end over their and take em on OMR!

Even in the Fox and the Mint you see some of the faces and think kin aider, he can only be 16... but they play with an air of confidence and know the game ( most of the time) Its the mid/late 20's ones who i find the obnoxious ****s - they tend to be the mouthy ones who donk their chips and blame you for calling.. or the real show off/bully types -some can play though.

 

2011 World Series of Poker
Event #11: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship

Currently 23 of 202 left and look who is up there for the Brits .... none other than Watford's very own 'Chufty' - Richard Ashby.

1 Guillaume Rivet 780,000
2 Jason Steinberg 570,000
3 Michael Chow 400,000
4 Richard Ashby 380,000
5 Mikael Thuritz 300,000
6 Viacheslav Zhukov 300,000
7 Eric Buchman 290,000
8 Kirill Gerasimov 285,000
9 Alessio Isaia 270,000
10 Steve Billirakis 240,000

 

2011 World Series of Poker
Event #8: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Down to the last three in Event 8 - and the chipleader is .... a lad from West Kensington.

Seat Player Country Chip Count
2 Sean Getzwiller USA 3,000,000
6 Sadan Turker UK 7,910,000
7 Jon Turner USA 1,680,000

 

2011 World Series of Poker

More UK success .... so close to those elusive gold bracelets.

Event #8: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Sadan Turker finishes 2nd.

Event #10: $1,500 NLHE 6 max

Jockland's David Vamplew finishes 4th.

Event #11: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship

Watford's very own Richard Ashby finishes 4th.

Event #12: $1,500 Triple Chance No-Limit Hold’em.

Plus, two Brits (Watts and Trigg) have made the Final Table of Event #12 ....

Play resumes at 2:30 p.m. PST

Final Table Seat Draw and Chip Counts

1. Nicholas Rampone - 1,500,000
2. David Diaz - 324,000
3. Justin Sternberg - 737,000
4. Matthew Henson - 101,000
5. Andrea Dato - 613,000
6. Steven Watts - 439,000
7. Anders Meli - 658,000
8. Bill Chen - 610,000
9. Corey Hastings - 546,000
10. Richard Trigg - 454,000

 

Where's that phuqqin Green Team when the lads are enjoying themselves?


Jesse May talks the Brits in Vegas
« on: June 08, 2011, 09:51:34 PM »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.thepokerfarm.com/poker-blog/Jesse_may/brits-flow/

It's a good day out for the Barmy Army. Just like in the West Indies for a five day test, the Brits on tour know how to enjoy. And the final table arena in the Rio's Amazon Ballroom is made for the craic. The fact that you can't really see what's going on only makes it more fun. While Americans were raised on constant action, flowing statistics and instant replays to watch the game, for the Brits the only modern convenience required is the cardboard frame with which you can carry six beers in only one hand. Who needs more? Three rows on one side have been staked out early. There sits the Barmy Army when one of their own is in the mix. On the bottom row are the close confidantes, those who are expected to provide the noise. There's Little Dave and James Green from the north, and some twenty-something grinders on their first trip to town. There's the fellow who's dyed his beard green, he'll lead the dancing and nearly get thrown out. There's Sam Grafton and John Eames and all of their boys, starting the chants. There are the big guns at the back, those with bracelets and titles and Miller Lite screwtops in hand, clinking cans and nodding their heads. This is more than British poker. This is a lab, this is a breeding ground, this is a system in which champions are made. This is poker's new Barmy Army and don't let them fool you. Because when you take away the beer, silence all the cheering, and reduce them to the x's and o's one thing remains. They can play.

It's not about the money, and it's not about showing up the Yanks. It's unbridled joy, a love for the game. You work hard, you play hard, and you show up to sweat the final table with a smile on your face. It doesn't matter if you just got busted on the bubble in the room next door, they come to the arena with a beer in hand and sing until their lungs go dry. And it's this spirit of the new British poker that has got Las Vegas talking. It is this spirit that is in dark contrast to the hollow eyes and pained expressions of the zombies walking the halls. It may look like a bunch of boys out on the p i s s, but then you don't really understand. The attitude backs up the play, and the poker backs up the fun. And against this combo, how do the zombies with the straight lipped faces have any chance at all?

I remember back to a day when Daniel Negreanu took sixteen rebuys in the 1000 No Limit. Decadent, heady days of poker, when money was dropped with glee, and registering in three tournaments a day and getting blinded away from one without even saying as much as a hello to your stack was standard fare. Those were the glory days of poker. Dinosaurs roamed the earth and lush vegetation hung low. Brontosauruses with big heads and long tails ruled the steamy marsh. Back then the Brits seemed pale and wispy, thin legged Allosauruses with faces alternating between tomato and bleach, huddled around the hooker bar at three am before staggering off to bed with bloodshot eyes and wondering if the bankroll was better off in a smaller tournament at the Venetian, or a cash game downtown. Waiting for the time when pot limit Omaha would make an appearance on the schedule so they could pile their case money in.

Lol, how times have changed. Matt Perrins walked downstairs a few mornings ago and saw his housemates watching a Youtube video on how to play deuce to seven. I'll have a go, he said. It looks like just playing tournament poker. Jake Cody was the calmest guy in the place while dismantling Gus Hansen before dispatching Yevgeniy Timoshenko, with a game that can only be called a natural. Like Tom Cruise in The Color of Money, you don't know his game. But the Brits do. And even though the Devilfish gets a rousing cheer, "Devilfish give us a wave!" and Neil Channing is revered with open arms, "Shoes off, if you love Channing!" Who is Britain's number one is of no concern. Because every Brit in this group is in the prime of their life. Every single one is in good form. Respect comes when they talk poker, and talk poker is what they do. You can find them in the bright sun on every break, furiously talking hands that don't include bad beats. You can find them comparing notes, retelling lines, and asking opinions from their peers. Don't let the Barmy Army fool you. The beer is only drinking in the poker.

Don't get me wrong, money flows. Money flows throughout. From the two foot bottle of Grey Goose vodka through the bucket of ice, from the Cristal champagne through the hands of the black bodiced server pouring the shots, money flows. From the cage at the Rio to the tournament chips, from the money men to the horses and the books in the black. Money flows.

"Oh ho, look who's showed!" comes a yell from the throng. It's Praz Bansi and Martins Adeniya, on a break from their runs in the room next door. They've come by to show their face. "Get him pissed," Praz says, talking to one and pointing at another. "It's his birthday, innit. Get him pissed till he's puking up!" There's JP Kelly leading a cheer. There's Akenhead and Trickett against the back wall. There's young Jake Cody, who won his bracelet two days before and didn't play today so he could repay the rail.

It was twenty minutes after Cody's bracelet had been won, and the Brits will say they were there. Wine bottles, beer bottles, cardboard frames, plastic beer cups and not a shred of food in sight. It was just ranting, dancing, and Brits going batty. "E-zee, e-zee, e-zee" The empty risers still rattled. Stagehands dressed in black humming England cheers that they just heard, and Jake Cody in the center of the stage by the tall mountain of chips that signified his win. As unflappable as he'd been as when cameras invaded his house before Day Three, when he stood in his pyjamas looking into the bathroom mirror with a placid face, like it was a lazy Sunday for the couch and he said, "I don't get nervous because there's no edge in that," Purity of heart, I believe it's called. Gus Hansen had turned and gave a nod to the crowd on his way off the stage. It was the acknowledgement of a competitor, to the same loud Brits who had taunted him for the last hour and were now cheering him out. I applaud your love of sport. I acknowledge your passion of the fan. It's not malice, there's no ill will, and hopefully this is what turns poker from game into sport. There's a new crop of British poker. And play poker is why they're here.

You can keep the 'New Rugby' .... I'm much happier with the 'New Football'.

 

I had my first game in a little while amongst 6 friends the other day. Was short stacked through the majority of the night but managed to pull it back a bit and get to the final two. Was winning hand after hand in the heads up and had all the momentum.

So next thing I know an A-high flush has appeared in my hand, I went all in, and a win would've given me the lead for the first time in the night. With one card still to show I threw my flush on the table, to be met with my opponents two pair... happy days? Of course he hit the full house on the river, and that was me over with. A good laugh though, and it was one of those exciting hands you get every now and then that make it worth while. You win some you lose some.

 

Look at this for a Final Table ......

Watford's No:1 leads the field ..............

FROM POKERNEWS.COM

Ashby Leads a Stacked Final Nine

Posted 1 minute ago by EricRamsey • Level 18: 4,000-8,000, 2,000 ante
Phil Hellmuth - 8 away from #12
Phil Hellmuth - 8 away from #12

Well, what a showcase of poker this $10,000 2-7 Draw Championship turned out to be!

Our starting field of 126 was reduced by a third after one day of play, and the survivors returned to the felt today for a brisk day of lowball action. From top to bottom, the field was stacked thicker than any event we've seen yet at this Series. Steve Zolotow, Dan Smith, Ville Wahlbeck, Steve Billirakis, Michael Mizrachi, Bill Chen, Erik Seidel, Joseph Cheong -- those were just the players eliminated in the first couple levels of this star-studded Day 2. Also falling by the wayside were the likes of Eli Elezra, Daniel Alaei, Shaun Deeb, Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, and 2011 bracelet winners Matt Perrins and Eugene Katchalov. Jason Mercier, David Williams, and Huck Seed also went out today, those three all missing the money by just a couple spots.

When the field combined to two tables of seven, everyone was guaranteed a paycheck. The layout of the field was ridiculous -- more fitting adjectives escape us at this twilight hour. The final 14 players had a combined 33 bracelets spread among them, and they included three former WSOP Main Event Champions (Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Greg Raymer), a WSOP-E Main Event Champion (John Juanda), and the last two winners of this event (Nick Schulman, David Baker).

Even after Chino Rheem and Brandon Cantu hit the rail, that bracelet count was still strong at 31, but the next elimination dashed that number to bits. Johnny Chan was riding the short stack when his {9-}{7-}{4-}{3-} paired on the draw to fall to Baker's queen-low. The end of Chan's bid to tie Hellmuth with eleven bracelets reduced the field to eleven players, but only nine of them hung on for the rest of the level. Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Benjamin Parker were cut down in the final few hands, and the Day 3 field is locked with nine players set to return.

Richard Ashby will take the big stack of 700,000 into the final day, and he'll be looking for his second final table of this young 2011 WSOP. Everyone in the field is well accustomed to WSOP final tables, though, and there's really no clear betting favorite. Baker and Schulman are still alive in their bids to win a second bracelet in the same event, and a victory from either of those men would make for fantastic headlines. Perhaps no headline would be bigger than Phil Hellmuth snagging bracelet number twelve, though.

This 2011 WSOP badly needs a big story to rush to the presses, and they may well get one here tomorrow. There are a total of 21 bracelets between the final nine, and of the group, only Joe Cassidy has yet to add his name to the list of WSOP champions.

Day 3 commences at 3:00 P.M. on Saturday, and we won't stop until we hand out the bracelet. Until tomorrow, all that's left is goodnight!


Read more: http://www.pokernews.com/live-repor...nt-16-2-7-draw-lowball-championship-no-limit/



1 Richard Ashby 700,000
2 Joe Cassidy 540,000
3 David Bakes Baker 492,000
4 Steve Sung 441,000
5 Hasan Habib 437,000
6 Greg Raymer 355,000
7 Phil Hellmuth 339,000
8 Nick Schulman 306,000
9 John Juanda 171,000

Translates as: this WSOP badly needs an 'American Galactico' to cash - wtf did all these UK unknowns suddenly come from?

The Brits could potentially do even better than last year. Already 2 Bracelets, one 2nd, several 4th's (Spinks, Vamplew, Ashby and Chidwick) plus Trigger with a 6th and Watts in 10th. Nine finals from eleven events is an insane showing.

At one point a couple of nights ago, Turker, Ashby and Vamplew were all leading their final tables - potentially the Brits could've had five bracelets already out of twelve events. Spinks is in with a shout tonight in the shootout but it's a very tough looking field.

 

WSOP Event 16 $10,000 2-7 Draw Championship

1 John Juanda
2 Phil Hellmuth
3 Richard Ashby

Our Watfordian finishes 3rd behind two 'unknowns', and binks $143k (tax free) for his efforts - wp sir.

As for Phil Helmet - He's "the best poker player in the world" (his words, not mine) and he lost heads up with a 3 to1 Chip Lead!

He's never won a non NLHE title - and his last MTT win was in 2007 .... certainly nowhere near being the 'best'!

 

Well that was a long wait for Brit Bracelet no: 3 .....

Event #19: $2,500 Limit Hold em - 6 max

1) Darren Woods (Cleethorpes UK)

Well done son .... enjoy spending some of that $213,431 on a Grimsby S/T for next season!

 

Event #20: $1,000 No Limit Hold em

And one of my pals from HQ - Alex Martin - is currently up to 4th place in this well attended (3,175 players entered) tourny.

He's got 500,000 chips ..... let's hope he doesn't spew.

39 left .... 27 paid ...... Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaan Alex!

 

No Bracelet for Alex - he came a very creditable 5th ..... but $114k for the $1k entry fee should ease the pain.

 

Event #26: $2,500 No Limit Hold em - 6 handed

So near to a UK bracelet win again;

3rd Chris Moorman winning $272k

Other Brit cashers;

12th Dan Morgan for $33k
14th Sam Grafton for $26k
18th Rupert Elder for $26k

 

2011 WSOP so far:

Crazy dimes winging their way back to God's Own Country - approximately $3,100,000 and counting .....

Bracelets

Jake Cody, $851,192

Matt Perrins, $102,105

Darren Woods $213,431

Ten finalists

Richard Ashby x 2, $143,833, $161,379

Jon Spinks x 2, $108,358, $35,476

Sadan Turker, $377,411

Rick Trigg, $55,355

David Vamplew, $141,030

Stephen Chidwick. $198,927

Alex Martin, $114,414

Chris Moorman $271,000

Eleven non final >$10k cashes

John Duthie, $67,346

Toby Lewis, $40,890

Toby Lewis $13,368

Chris Moorman, $25,348

David Jones, $23,426

John Eames, $29,743

Steve Watts, $19,953

Sam Trickett, $12,952

Darren Woods $29,000

Rupert Elder, $25,000

Dan Morgan $33,000

And George Osbourne's share of the loot ....... SFA!

 

Recession ..... ?

The 42nd annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) Presented by Jack Links Beef Jerky at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino has officially reached the halfway point, eclipsing numerous records along the way and positioning this year’s slate of tournaments to shatter several all-time marks. Through 30 events, total WSOP participation is up 11.7 percent, with 33,173 entrants lifting the prize pool 8.6 percent over 2010 levels and establishing a new midway milestone of $55,883,060.

Eleven WSOP tournament records have been broken. They are:


· Biggest Heads-Up tournament prize pool in history ($3,040,000) – Event #2

· Largest live Omaha High-Low Split Tournament in history (925 entries) – Event #3

· Largest live Six-Handed tournament in poker history (1,920 entries) – Event #10

· Biggest Deuce-to-Seven tournament prize pool in history ($1,184,400) – Event #16

· Largest live $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start (3,157 entries) – Event #18

· Largest live $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start (3,175 entries) – Event #20

· Largest consecutive-days starting field sizes in poker history (combined 6,332 entries) – Event #18 and Event #20

· Largest live Pot-Limit Omaha tournament in poker history (1,071 entries) – Event #22

· Largest Mixed-Game (Eight-Game Mix) in poker history (489 entries) – Event #23

· Largest Seniors poker tournament in history (3,752 entries) – Event #30

· Largest live $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start – Event #30 (breaks record established in Event #20)

These new attendance and prize money records come just one year after the 2010 WSOP enjoyed year-over-year attendance growth of 20 percent and set records for nine of the largest 17 live poker tournaments in history. It is also worth noting that these live tournament records aren’t just WSOP-related. In fact, they are the largest turnouts for any poker tournament worldwide – ever.

"We are humbled once again by the incredible turnout from players all over the world,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “It has been a record-setting summer thus far in 2011 and we are confident it will continue through the duration of the tournament.”

In addition to the official WSOP gold bracelet events, all other poker-related business is experiencing tremendous double-digit growth as well. Year-to-date, 79,166 entries have been recorded.

WSOP side action, which refers to all non-bracelet events -- including cash games, single-table-satellites, mega-satellites and daily deepstack tournaments -- are up 45 percent year-over-year.

Cash games have attracted non-stop action featuring 96 live poker tables filled to capacity. The cash games offered range from $1-$2 blinds all the way up to high-stakes competition, including No-Limit with blinds at $1,000/$2,000. Pot-Limit Omaha, a game of growing popularity is generating more than 20 tables spread at a time. This makes for arguably the greatest concentration of Pot-Limit Omaha action anywhere in history.

Additionally, the WSOP is spreading more than 150 satellite tournaments daily throughout the 42nd annual event. This segment is up 18 percent over last year. (Note: A satellite tournament is a lower buy-in event whose prize is an entry into a larger buy-in event). Mega-satellites have been particularly strong, regularly awarding dozens of seats per event and helping feed the larger buy-in bracelet events.

Finally, the Rio’s offering of low buy-in, one-day poker tournaments called “Daily Deepstacks” have been the busiest of all events year-over-year. Players participating in the daily 2 pm tournaments with a $235 buy-in are regularly seeing 800-plus player fields and first place prizes in the $30,000-40,000 range. Three Daily Deepstack tournaments are taking place, at 2 pm, 4 pm and 6 pm and all are seeing sharp increases. These tournaments continue through July 16th.

Tournament Director Jack Effel explained, “It is one thing to plan and prepare to accommodate such a large number of people on a daily basis, but it is truly an amazing feeling to see it all unfold in front of your eyes like we have witnessed at the WSOP in 2011. We are grateful for everyone’s patience throughout and want to thank the players who have showed up thus far. We look forward to welcoming still more players who are still yet to make their 2011 WSOP debut.”
On Friday, June 18, the WSOP sat 5,946 players for the various poker tournaments scheduled that day – the largest number of players ever entered on a single day in live poker history.


A total of 408 poker tables are in use at the Rio this summer during the WSOP. Despite the largest concentration of poker tables at one time anywhere in history, on several days demand has outstripped supply due to the unprecedented number of players descending upon the Rio.

$1k/$2k ...... 'kin hell - now that's what you call a cash game!