Cute little time-waster
Mine? "The 'Tangman." I think I'll be sticking with evilbilly.
A journal following the ups and downs of a poker junkie who has set a goal of graduating from his apprenticeship in five years.

Stolzmann is currently a 23-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison. He was born in Sheboygan, WI and started playing poker about four years ago. He now plays semi-professionally – both online and in occasional visits to major poker tournaments. His biggest win to date was 4th place in the Costa Rican Classic (2004), where he collected $15,000. Stolzmann’s biggest influences have been his father and girlfriend – both of whom are at this tournament. He won his entry fee into the main event by finishing among the top spots in a super satellite. He has been able to survive the first three days of the main event – ranking 48th out of 161 players after Day One, and 20th of 27 players after Day Two. He comes into Day Four -- 4th in the chip count. Stolzmann is the youngest player at the final table – with the least amount of experience at this level. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the pressures of playing in front of WPT television cameras, against some of the top players in the game.
On Jan 27 2005 1:01 PM, BKimbler wrote:
Last night at a low limit home game.... I get AQs in SB with 3 of us left in the game. Button calls the .50 blind.... I raise to $1.50 and BB calls. Button raises all in making the bet $2.25 to me - I call and so does BB.
Was it wrong for me to call that?
The flop comes Q T 8... I raise all in for $15. I am promptly called by J9o and J9s diamonds... Needless to say, one makes the Straight and the other makes a Flush... i'm out.
How would you have played it? Checked on it... HELP!
-----
On Jan 27 2005 1:24 PM, BostonJD wrote:
You lost under $20.00 on a slightly bad beat... If that is so perplexing that you have to post about it on the internet, maybe you should be playing Yahtzee?
-----
On Jan 27 2005 1:32 PM, BKimbler wrote:
I am trying to improve as a player... No one in my poker circle will up the ante so, i'm stucking playing $5 buy-in and I'm not mad about losing $$, i'm wondering if I played it wrong.
What i'm perplexed about is why you have to be an asshole with your answer?
-----
On Jan 27 2005 2:40 PM, evilbilly wrote:
Now that's a good question that deserves a response. People get on here bitching about spam and bad beat stories all the damn time, but as soon as someone asks a poker question, they jump all over him, either calling him an idiot or saying his question isn't worthy of a serious response because there wasn't enough money involved.
Note to the RGP community: If you are really concerned about the decline of the newsgroup, try reaching out to the few players who get on here with poker-related questions, instead of bashing them over the head for daring to ask a question that is "beneath" you. Every time you post a smart-ass response to someone who is at least trying to engage in a discussion about the game, you're stifling others from getting involved and ceding yet another inch of content to the spammers.
The hostility that many posters display toward new players is an arrogance that can perhaps be afforded at the present, but which will ultimately cost us all. Someday, poker will no longer be the "hot thing" and new players, who we all require to help our profit margins, will be harder to come by. Insulting and embarrassing new players will do nothing to promote the game, and it certainly won't improve the poker discussion on RGP.
Jack Binion World Poker Open - Main Event - Day 3
No-Limit Texas Hold’em
Buy-In: $10,000
Number of Entries: 512
Prize Money: $4,832,773
1st place - $1,465,944
2nd place - 773,448
3rd place – 384,322
4th place - 336,282
5th place – 288,241
6th place – 240,201
SEAT 1: Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Hollywood, FL
Chip Count – 515,000
Mizrachi is a 24-year-old professional poker player born in Miami, Florida. He grew up wanting to become a medical doctor, started playing poker at the age of 15, and eventually dropped out of college to play full time. Mizrachi’s biggest win to date was first place in the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic II at the Bellagio held in Las Vegas (Dec. 2004), where he was victorious in the $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event – worth $274,000 in prize money. Poker seems to run in the Mizrachi family; His brother, Robert, is also quite successful and has several in-the-money tournament finishes. Mizrachi is known as “The Grinder” for his solid consistent playing style, which isn’t flashy, but which seems to win the money more often than not. This strategy and persona is in stark contrast to his rivals at this table, particularly the more flamboyant Nguyen and Negreanu. It will be interesting to see how much he mixes it up with the bigger stacks – particularly chip-leader Chiang, sitting two seats to his left. To his credit, “The Grinder” was dead last in the chip count coming into Day Three, ranked 27th of 27 players (starting with just 37,000 in chips with blinds starting at 3,000-6,000). But he somehow managed to survive and rocketed up to a chip count of over half-a-million coming into today’s finale. Mizrachi is married to wife Aidilay, and has one son, Paul William.
SEAT 2: John Stolzman, Madison, WI
Chip Count – 517,000
Stolzman is currently a 23-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison. He was born in Sheboygan, WI and started playing poker about four years ago. He now plays semi-professionally – both online and in occasional visits to major poker tournaments. His biggest win to date was 4th place in the Costa Rican Classic (2004), where he collected $15,000. Stolzman’s biggest influences have been his father and girlfriend – both of whom are at this tournament. He won his entry fee into the main event by finishing among the top spots in a super satellite. He has been able to survive the first three days of the main event – ranking 48th out of 161 players after Day One, and 20th of 27 players after Day Two. He comes into Day Four -- 4th in the chip count. Stolzman is the youngest player at the final table – with the least amount of experience at this level. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the pressures of playing in front of WPT television cameras, against some of the top players in the game.
SEAT 3: Chau Giang, Las Vegas, NV
Chip Count – 1,406,000
Despite his innumerable poker accomplishments, today’s chip leader, Chau Giang, shuffles around casinos and cardrooms in relative anonymity. Although Giang routinely plays in the highest limit games in the world -– try playing $2,000-4,000 limit as your ‘regular’ game –- he rarely gets recognized publicly. He sits down among, plays with, and often defeats the living legends every poker player will recognize –- be it Brunson, Berman, Baldwin, or Reese. Peers universally agree that Giang possesses a brilliant poker mind and is one of the toughest players in the world to beat –- whatever the game, whatever the limit, and whatever the challenge. But poker is just a small part of Giang’s incredible story. He is of Chinese decent, and fled Vietnam in a small boat in 1979 -- risking everything he owned to taste freedom in America. In a sense, it was an ‘all in’ bet Giang was willing to make. When his ultimate gamble paid off with his arrival in the United States in 1978, Giang began working laborious, minimum wage jobs to support himself and build a better life. He later moved to Colorado and took a job as a cook in a Chinese restaurant. Barely making ends meet, Giang started playing in a low-limit poker game and eventually discovered he could make a better living at the green felt table rather than frying rice. Convinced he could succeed, Giang took another gamble when he came to Las Vegas. He started in low limit games, then moved up to higher levels as his bankroll and confidence increased. Within his first year as a pro, Giang made $100,000 at the poker tables in Las Vegas. When the Mirage opened a few years later, Giang was regularly seen in the biggest game in the room –- often playing $500-1,000 limit and higher. GIANG began playing tournaments in the early 1990s and won two gold bracelets at the World Series of Poker –- for Ace-to-Five Lowball in 1993 and Omaha High-Low Split in 1998. Despite his success, Giang withdrew from the tournament circuit for many years –- instead focusing on high-limit cash games. But he was drawn back to tournaments last year for the strangest of reasons: His children boldly asked why they never see their poker-playing father on television. Giang answered the challenge by winning his third WSOP gold bracelet last year. Giang is now 49-years-old and is married with three children. In a sense, poker has been emblematic of a life that began with serious disadvantages, yet which ultimately yielded immense personal and financial awards and achievement. His prospects? His five opponents all know – Chau Giang will be a formidable force with the chip lead coming into today’s final table.
SEAT 4: Raja Kattamuri, Dallas, TX
Chip Count – 330,000
‘Raj’ was born in India. He is a 28-year-old electronics engineer who now lives in the Dallas suburb of Irving, TX. He is the best-educated of today’s finalists, with a Masters Degree in electrical engineering from UC-Santa Barbara. Kattamuri is also the most recent tournament winner sitting at the final table, fresh off his first-place finish in the $2,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em event here at the JBWPO less than a week ago, good for a $127,000 win – plus a seat in this event. Kattamuri’s road to Day Four has been rocky. He finished Day One ranked 6th out of 161 players in the chip count. Kattamuri had a fabulous Day Two, as he blasted into the chip lead going into the third day of play. In fact, Kattamuri had over a million in chips and was 100,000 ahead of the second-ranked player. Day Three brought mixed results. Good news was that he made it to the final table. The bad news was that Kattamuri took some beats and actually backtracked in the chip count. He comes in with 330,000, which is a mixed blessing. Kattamuri is certainly able to maneuver chips and make things interesting, as evidence by what happened in this tournament two days ago. But the high blinds will necessitate that Kattamuri find a hand quickly and double up with it early. If he does this, watch out – it could be a very exciting final table.
SEAT 5: Scotty Nguyen, Henderson, NV
Chip Count – 1,210,000
The 1998 world poker champion needs no introduction to serious poker fans. “The Prince” of poker has long been one of the game’s most colorful characters – both at and away from the table. Scotty Nguyen has a unmatched style all his own, whether it’s his white leather boots, blue-tinted shades, gold necklaces and pendants, incessant chatter, Michelob-guzzling toasts, or relentless aggression when he senses opponents’ weakness. He’s won four WSOP gold bracelets. He’s appeared on late night talk shows. He’s been in a movie. In short, he’s done it all. Nguyen is one of four foreign-born players at the final table. Like rival Giang, Nguyen fled his native Vietnam in 1978. After winning the world championship in 1998, his life became an open book. It seemed, everyone wanted to be seen with, talk to, and party with ‘The Prince.” Nguyen has encountered the usual ups and downs of the business and has weathered the storm well. The husband and father of five children now lives in Henderson, NV. He comes into the final table as one of the game’s most feared players and is clearly one of the favorites to win. Interestingly, Nguyen was not in good chip position until the end of Day Three. He had an average stack after Day One. He was ranked 23rd of 27 remaining players after Day Two. Now, he’s jumped up into second in the chip count. Side Note: Even if Nguyen loses chips, he remains one of poker’s best ‘short stack’ players. He is never out of a poker tournament until his last chip is gone.
SEAT 6: Daniel Negreanu, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)
Chip Count – 1,173,000
The hottest player in poker right now is unquestionably -- Daniel Negreanu. “KidPoker” has been ‘the force’ over the past year – which includes both live action and tournaments. He was Card Player magazine’s “Player of the Year” in 2004. Among other titles, he won the Bellagio’s Five Diamond World Poker Classic on the World Poker Tour last month – good for $1,770,000 in prize money. He also won his third gold bracelet at the 2004 World Series of Poker (Limit Hold’em). Negreanu was born in 1974 to Romanian parents in Toronto, Canada. He quit high school to play poker full time and beat most of the home games. Confident he could make a good living, Negreanu came to Las Vegas but failed the first time he tried to beat the middle-limit games on The Strip. Negreanu returned home to Canada and was determined more than ever to succeed as a poker player. He took the game even more seriously and began studying. He could be seen at many tournaments watching final tables intensely, learning how to play in short-handed situations. He also learned more about his opponents, including many top pros he would eventually face in tournaments. Negreanu’s breakthrough came at the 1999 World Poker Finals at Foxwoods, and his first WSOP came later that year. Negreanu went through a tough transition when he moved from Canada to play in Las Vegas full time. However, he stuck with the game and soon began writing about his experiences. His column in Card Player became a reader favorite, along with countless Internet reports and articles -- many posted at HYPERLINK "http://www.pokerpages.com" www.pokerpages.com. Negreanu, now aged 30, has evolved into one of poker’s brightest stars, and most respected players. He routinely plays in the biggest cash games and wins the most prestigious poker tournaments. He comes to this final table ranked 3rd in the chip count. It will be interesting to see how the top three players, both in terms of experience and the chip count, adjust their play to each other. All eyes will be on “KidPoker” to see if he can win the $1,465,944 first prize.
Report by Nolan Dalla – JBWPO Media Director
Tournament Director – David Eglseder
Co-Tournament Director (Horseshoe) – Ken Lambert, Jr.
Co-Tournament Director (Gold Strike) – Robert McGovern
Friday Night Freeze Out
No Limit Texas Hold'em - Cash Tournament
Location: Harrah's Poker Room
Dates: January 28, February 18, March 25
Time: 8pm
Buy-in: $500+$50
330 Player maximum
Single table tournaments will also be held throughout the day of the Freeze Out. The tournaments will be $55+$10 winner-take-all, with one winner from each single table tournament winning a seat in the Freeze Out.
Harrah's Atlantic City Poker Information Center (609-441-5741) is available for additional information.




With Daniel Negreanu capturing another player of the year award, he is currently pegged as the favorite for to win the WPT World Poker Open. Negreanu is listed at 25/1 odds. Right behind Negreanu are three of the best in the game with Men “The Master” Nguyen, Gus Hansen and John Juanda all sitting at 30/1. Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Scott Fischman, Antonio Esfandiari, and poker’s powerhouse female competitor Annie Duke are all listed at 35/1 odds. Howard Lederer and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson are both listed at 40/1, with Chip Reese, Jennifer Harman, Erick Lindgren and Sammy Farha sitting at 45/1 odds.
WPT veterans Barry Shulman, Dan Harrington and Doyle Brunson are all positioned at 50/1 odds, with Phil Hellmuth, Erik Seidel and Greg “Fossil Man” Raymer at 55/1 odds. The Boatman clan, Barny and Ross are both listed at 95/1 odds with former World Series of Poker Champion Chris Moneymaker. The long shot option has a deadlock tie between Team Bodog members Terence “Chang83” Liu and John “RedWingFan” Kozlinski. Both players qualified with Bodog.com Poker to represent the company at the WPT World Poker Open in Tunica, Mississippi. Both Team Bodog members are listed at 125/1 odds.








1. John Gale, Bushy, United Kingdom, $865,600
2. Alex Balandin, New City, NJ. $484,700
3. Michael Westerlund, Gothenburg, Sweden, $306,400
4. Patrick Hocking, Medford, OR, $207,700
5. "Miami" John Cernuto, Las Vegas, NV, $155,800
6. Nenad Medic, Canada, $112,500

Card Player magazine, the world's leading poker publication, has launched a new Web site at http://www.CardPlayer.com that offers expanded content, customization tools, and an enhanced version of its proprietary software enabling amateur and professional poker players to track and analyze their tournament play results.
The magazine also is inaugurating a new monthly freeroll No-Limit Hold'em tournament with a $1,500 prize and a grand prize competition for the year's top 100 players. Players automatically qualify for the monthly tournament by posting to site message boards, shopping at the online store, or ordering a magazine subscription.
Visitors to the new Web site can register for free membership that qualifies them to create a personalized home page comprised of modules tailored to their specific needs and interests. Module choices range from poker news, a poker odds calculator and a poker room directory to Player of the Year, World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker updates. Members will also receive their own free CardPlayer.com email address, 50MB of storage space and calendaring capabilities.
The site's proprietary Card Player Poker Analyst software provides a variety of filters enabling users to analyze both their live game and tournament performance based on whatever data is most critical to them, including location, placement, winnings and game type.
Content upgrades include a new section that lists and describes every special tournament, with ongoing updates that will include Card Player web TV programs, major tournament reporting, player profiles, Card Player's Poker Schools, a blog section, and a specialized women's area. Expanded data on World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker, amateur poker, and tournament results is also planned.
"With these upgrades, our Web site will continue to be the primary destination on the Internet for anyone who loves the game of poker," said Barry Shulman, publisher of Card Player magazine. "It is simply the most comprehensive, customizable and informative online resource dedicated to poker, hands down, and it's still entirely free."
Ultimate Poker Babes, from the producers of Ultimate Poker Challenge, America's #1 poker television program, now bring you a fun, sexy, reality game show where the cards are mandatory and the clothing is optional. The version you can't see on TV is three hours of UNCUT, UNRATED, strip poker fun. Seven babes play in one competitive game of "Sexy Hold'em."
The Ultimate Poker Babes open casting call drew lots of sexy women, all vying for a chance to be one of the lucky seven. Watch as they compete in a delicious game of Sexy Hold'em and attempt to capture the world's attention with a Strip-Or-Dare -- for the Ultimate Poker Babes crown and thousands in cash and prizes! "This is the real no-limit, high-stakes poker and gives new meaning to going all-in," said Dan Pugliese, Executive Producer.
As a bonus, the DVD contains the complete Ultimate Poker Babes: Casting Call, a full-hour of behind-the-scenes footage, including up-close and personal interviews with sexy women from around the world -- from an exotic med student to the girl next door, plus exclusive photos not available anywhere else. For more information, please visit http://www.ultimatepokerbabes.com.
Ultimate Poker Babes, is the first in a series of strip-poker tournaments featuring beautiful girls from around the world and will be presented in Las Vegas for three days beginning January 25, at NATPE in booth 448.
1. John Gale, Bushy, United Kingdom, 1,330,000
2. Alex Balandin, New City, NJ, 1,261,000
3. Michael Westerlund, Gothenburg, Sweden, 1,072,000
4. Patrick Hocking, Medford, OR, United States, 527,000
5. "Miami" John Cernuto, Las Vegas, 291,000
6. Nenad Medic, Canada, 142,000
2005 Jack Binion World Poker Open
Horseshoe Casino Hotel and
Gold Strike Casino-Resort, Tunica, MS
Daily Report
January 10, 2005
Event #4
Limit Texas Hold’em
Buy-In: $500
Number of Entries: 628
Number of Re-Buys: 869
Prize Money: $697,527
Official Results:
1. Tony Hellmann, Louisville, KY, $201,365, plus seat in the $10,000 buy-in main event
2. Pat Heneghan, Chicago, IL, 106,238
3. Freddy Deeb, Las Vegas, NV, 55,500
4. Davood Mehrmand, Frankfort, Germany, 48,606
5. Jeremy Tinsley, Houston, TX, 34,718
6. Zeb Strawn, Charlotte, NC, 34,718
7. Darrell Strock, Dallas, TX, 27,775
8. Alan Katzen, Memphis, TN, 20,831
9. Jack Ward, Gulfport, MS, 13,887
10. Herb Kelso, Ridbelands, MS, 7,638
11. John Barch, McKinney, TX, 7,638
12. Paul Maxfield, London, England, 7,638
13. James Myers, Fayetteville, GA, 6,250
14. Steven So, Calgary, Canada, 6,250
15. Jerri Thomas, Las Vegas, NV, 6,250
16. Joe Spell, Mansfield, GA, 5,011
17. Billy Duarte, Beithoud, CO, 5,011
18. Collin Wilson, Atlanta, GA, 5,011
19. Elias Hourani, Houston, TX, 3,579
20. Greg Jensen, Matterhorn, CO, 3,579
21. Joey Vitale, Tampa, FL, 3,579
22. Dave Potter, Wildwood, MS, 3,579
23. Greg Aston, Ft. Worth, TX, 3,579
24. “King” Nick Browning, Union, OH , 3,579
25. Tony Cousineau, Daytona Beach, FL, 3,579
26. Scott Fischman, Las Vegas, NV, 3,579
27. Randy Murfin, Nixa, MS, 3,579
28. Todd Urbina, Alexandria, LA, 2,505
29. Michael Lutes, Bloomington, IN, 2,505
30. Josh Jones, Des Moines, IA, 2,505
31. George Miller, Gary, IN, 2,505
32. Dan Heimiller, Poughkipsee, NY, 2,505
33. Justin Young, Moorehead City, NC, 2,505
34. Ross Tyler, La Mesa, TX, 2,505
35. Don Mercer , Sneads Ferry, NC, 2,505
36. Men “the Master” Nguyen, Bell Gardens, CA, 2,505
Just Say No!
Kentucky Tax Accountant, Tony Hellmann Wins First Major Poker Tournament: Jack Binion World Poker Open Breaks Three-Day Attendance Record as Early Prize Pool Surges over $2.2 Million
Poker has become so big now, that playing for six figures is standard practice. The turn of a single card at any key point in a tournament can be worth $100,000, or more. Given that big time poker tournaments routinely award half-a-million dollar prize pools, there are bound to be countless thrilling moments at just about every final table – including screams, shouts, fist pumps, tears, and victory dances.
Event 4 of the Jack Binion World Poker Open had none of that. In fact, it might very well have been the most restrained final table in recent memory. There were no loud outbursts. There were no emotional victory speeches. There were no encouraging chants from the rail. There were just nine expressionless men crowded around a table, which very much looked like your average Monday night poker game – except the pots were little bit bigger. Okay – a lot bigger.
Still…. Maybe it was the cold, foggy weather outside deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. Maybe it was the fact that this final table, held on a Monday, immediately followed one of the busiest weekends in poker history. More than 2,500 poker players had streamed through the Gold Strike and Horseshoe Casinos in the previous two days alone, a record. Or, perhaps it was quite simply that not every final table necessarily has memorable confrontations and great strategic showdowns.
None of this should take away from Tony Hellmann’s achievement. After all, the semi-retired tax accountant from Louisville, KY who is a familiar face on the tournament trail did something extraordinary. He topped a massive field of 628 players and ultimately won $201,365 in official figures (although a deal between the two finalists was reportedly struck). Hellmann overcame numerous obstacles, including a small stack size at the start of the final table, and ultimately took first prize in the tournament.
After playing for 14 hours during the previous day, the nine finalists took their seats at the final table on Day Two. Players were eliminated in the following order:
9th Place – Jack Ward (not to be confused with another poker player with the same name from Alaska) came in second-lowest in chips, and only lasted a few hands. Ward, who has previously won poker tournaments in Los Angeles and Reno is a 55-year-old auto broker from Gulfport, MS. This marked his highest finish yet at the JBWPO. He collected $13,887 for 9th place.
8th Place – Alan Katzen finished second in the Limit Hold’em event here last year, but could do no better than 8th place this time around. He took a tough beat when he lost to a full house on the river. The retired restaurateur from Memphis received $20,831 for two days of poker playing.
7th Place – Darrell Strock, a real estate agent from Dallas, was playing in his first poker tournament ever. He beat out 621 other players, but could not knock out anyone from the final six. Strock won $27,775.
6th Place – Zeb Strawn had a tough task on Day Two, as he arrived with the lowest stack of the final nine. Outchipped by over 10 to 1 to the leader at all times, Strawn scratched and clawed his way into a 6th-place finish. The 35-year-old self-employed poker player from Charlotte, NC received $34,718.
5th Place – If there was a tragic figure at this final table, it was without a doubt, Jeremy Tinsley. He was certainly one of the two odds-on favorites to win the finale (along with tournament pro Freddy Deeb). But Tinsley suffered some horrendous bad beats that destroyed his chance to become a three-time JBWPO champion. Tinsley, who has won the Pot-Limit Omaha event twice in years past, took his worst beat with A-Q versus A-J in an ‘all in’ situation for his opponent. When a Jack flopped, Tinsley had lost over half of his stack. After a few more beats and a bad run of cards, Tinsley – a poker pro from Houston – exited a disappointing 5th, worth $41,662.
4th Place – Davood Mehrmand was certainly the most animated and unusual player at the final table. The Iranian-born businessman-turned poker player hummed songs and talked to himself throughout the close of the tournament. But his psychological ploys failed to bring the decisive moment needed by Mehrmand to win the tournament. Mehrmand took an awful beat on the final hand with A-6 versus A-5 and was ‘all in.” When a Five rained down on the river, Mehrmand was no longer singing. The colorful poker personality who now lives in Frankfurt, Germany and is also an accomplished backgammon player, received 4th place prize money of $48,606.
3rd Place – Well-known Las Vegas poker player Freddy Deeb came to the final table up 2 to 1 over everyone else, and must have liked his situation – holding chips against his two final adversaries -- Tony Hellmann and Pat Heneghan. But by this stage, the blinds were so high that the last thing any player could do was play passively. By this time, Hellmann had seized the chip lead and it took only a few pots to wipe out what was left of Deeb’s stack. Deeb has now played every year at the JBWPO and added $55,550 to his lifetime earnings in this tournament.
The last two players reportedly cut a deal and then played on. Tony Hellmann enjoyed a 3 to 1 chip lead at the start and never relinquished. At one point, Pat Heneghan staged a brief comeback, spiking a Ten on the river to make a pair against Hellmann’s two overcards. But Hellmann ended the night holding Q-2 versus Heneghan’s 10-7. The final board showed A-K-Q-9-6 giving Hellmann a pair of Queens.
Pat Heneghan, a 52-year-old retired employee from the City of Chicago, had won major tournaments previously – including events at The Orleans and online tournaments. He was officially paid $106,238 for his second-place finish.
At the conclusion of the tournament, as several bystanders were leaving the tournament area, Hellmann did what was unquestionably the most interesting thing at the final table. He took out a small badge and clipped it on his shirt pocket. Written on the badge was the word “YES” with a large red streak stripped across the letters. In other words -- “NO!”
When asked what the badge meant, Hellmann smiled and said: “I wear this because if people try to borrow money from me, I can just point to the word and keep quiet. I really have trouble saying ‘no’ to people, so this might be a warning to everyone that I don’t lend money.”
Who would have expected such shrewd financial prudence….from a tax accountant?
Final Table Started at: 4:05 pm CST
Final Table Ended at: 7:35 pm CST
Report by Nolan Dalla – JBWPO Media Director
Tournament Director – David Eglseder
Co-Tournament Director (Horseshoe) – Ken Lambert, Jr.
Co-Tournament Director (Gold Strike) – Robert McGovern
Great news! Due to the overwhelming response to the 2005 World Series of Poker Circuit Tournament, we've added two additional $500 No Limit Hold 'Em Tournaments -- one on Wednesday, January 12 and one on Friday, January 14 -- at Harrah's Atlantic City.

Going to Cardplayer's website, I fired up the odds calculator. They only allow you to enter a maximum of five players, and that's probably more realistic. I enter AdAs for one player, then AhKc, Js10d, Jc2c and 9s7s for his four opponents. So what are the odds of of AA winning in that one particular scenario? 52 percent. I next make the AK suited (hearts) and AA's chances dropped to 46 percent.
Just for funnzies, can you guess which hand was second-best, at least in terms of odds of winning? It was the 9s7s, with 19 percent.
OK, you still have the best of it, but you only have a 1:2 chance of winning the pot. Not really comforting to know that when you are playing against a table where you're virtually guaranteed to face four thick-headed opponents no matter what, you're still only about a coin-flip favorite AGAINST THE FIELD with the best possible starting hand. I certainly wouldn't bet my house if I knew that I'd be facing large number of opponents.
That is why I'm saying that these games are much tougher to beat. If the BEST you can hope for at a table full of maniacs and calling stations is a coin-flip favorite, you will need a lot of them in order to come out a significant winner. But you're not going to get a whole lot of them. In fact, you're going to be folding a significant number of hands, and a lot of times you're going to be the poor sap holding AK in the above scenario, with less than a 7 percent chance of winning
Seriously?
You don't want to coin flip where you put 1 bet in the pot, and other people put 3 bets in?
Seriously?
You think this is HARDER to beat?
Seriously?
You'll have more losing sessions and some emotionally draining downswings, sure. But you're gonna come out a much bigger winner long term. That's what matters.
Sung to the tune of "Imagine"
Imagine there's no bad beats
it's easy if you try.
No 5th-street suck outs,
no beats by the Queen-Five guy.
Imagine all the people,
playing perfectly....(heeheeee-eee)
I can say you're an idiot,
but you're not the only one
bitching about bad players who
raise with King-Nine under the gun.
Imagine there's no fishes
it isn't hard to do.
No weak players to profit from,
and no one limping with Jack-Two.
Imagine all the people
playing perfectly....(heeheee-eee)
I can say, you're an idiot,
but you're not the only one
bitching about bad players who
draw to inside straights just for fun.
Imagine no runner-runner beats,
I wonder if you can.
No need for raises or value-bets
a perfect-playing clan.
Imagine all the people
sharing the pots & paying rake. (aaa-aaa-ache)
I can say you're an idiot,
but you're not the only one.
bitching about bad players who
play bottom pair just for fun.