Jons wins the event!

About 15 minutes ago, Jon made an excellent call, and took down the tournament in a record 2 hours and 20 minutes. We are heading home.

heads up play cont. 6:36pm

jon surrenders; joe takes the blinds and antes

--------

jon in the bb
bet, call
flop is 5-3-9
joe bets 25k; jon raises to 75k; joe goes all in.
Jon studies the board and thinks for 4 minutes.
asks for a count.
Joe has less tha
Jon calls with Q-9
Joe has K-8
turn is 8;
river is a 4
Jon WINS and WINS the tournament.
1st place is $21247.
Joe Fernadez wins $12000.

heads up play cont. 6:31pm

check;check
flop is 10-J-Q
joe checks; jon bets 10k; joe releases; jon shows an 8-9 for a straight

--------

jon's BB
joe surrenders and jon wins 1/2 bet

--------

jon's button
jon calls; check
flop is J-7-3
joe bets 20k; jon releases

--------

jon's BB
joe throws it away.

a tough head-up battle here, in event #3.

--------

joe takes down the next, as Jon surrenders

--------

jon's BB
joe completes; check
6-Q-4
check; check
2
Jon bets 9k; joe calls
river is a 10
Jon bets 20k; raised by joe to 100k
jon lets it go.

heads up play continues 6:25

Level 17 times is up after this hand

jon's BB
joe completes; jon raises 10k; called
10-2-9
jon bets 16k; joe calls
turn is 2
jon checks; joe checks
river is an 8
jon checks; checks
A-6 vs. Jon's A-J
Jon wins a moderate pot

--------

Starting level 18
Blinds are at $3k/$6K with $500 ante.

Joe takes down the first pot with a preflop bet.

---------

jon completes
4-6-10
check; check
5
jon bets 20k; joe lets it go.

---------

right now jon has joe out-stacked maybe 600K to 400K

---------

jon's button
call; check
flop is 5-J-Q
joe checks; jon bets 6.5K, takes it down.

--------

jon's BB
flop is 4-2-3
joe bets 15K; jon raises to 45K; called
turn is a 9
jon bets out 60k; joe lets it go; jon takes down a pretty good sized pot

heads up play continues 6:19p

next pot, I was IMing, and I missed something. Joe took down a small pot

------

jon's button
jon completes; joe raises to 15k; jon calls
6-2-3
joe checks, jon checks
J
joe bets 25k; jon calls
K
joe checks; jon bets 60k; joe calls

jon shows J-x; Joe shows K-7; joe wins a big pot

--------

jon's bb
joe bets 30k; jon surrenders

--------

by the way $9000 in real money will differentiate 1st and 2nd place

---------

small pot
A-Q is shown by Joe and he takes it down.

---------

jon's BB
flop is Q-A-9
jon check; check
J
check; check
river is 5
check; check; Joe mucks. Jon wins a small pot

heads up play starts

Jon starts heads up play with a chip lead of 650k vs 350k

first hand goes to Joe.

a couple of hands are played, and Sexton is telling stories...

Q-2-3 in a 2-way flop
4
jon bet 5k
joe calls
river is a K
check; check;
joe wins with pocket 10s

--------

another 2-way pot develops
5-k-5
joe 12k; jon releases

--------

we will see a flop again
10-Q-7
joe checks; jon checks
Q
Jon bets 5K and takes that pot down

3-handed play continues 6:10p

on the Button
Jon raises to 15k; called by joe; baron calls
3-way flop
flop 3-2-9
joe checks
baron checks
jon fires 25k
joe releases; baron thinks for a couple of minutes and goes all-in; Jon insta-calls.
joe A-2
jon 8-8
7d
rivers a 9
Jon knocks out Baron, Baron collect $8568.

3-handed play continues

2 way pot
flop is 2-7-4
joe bets 20k and takes it down

--------

a couple of hands progress, and Sexton is making a number of announcements about the "other" WSOP final table. So I miss a hand. Jon was in a 2-way flop, but lets it go after one bet from Joe.

--------

jon's sb
A-4-2
in a 2-way
6
K on the river
check, check
Jon wins a small pot.

------
button.
2-way pot Joe and Baron
A-J-2
10
check, bet 11k, joe calls
10 on the river
joe checks, baron checks.
Joe wins a small pot with Aces and Tens

-----

BB
baron raises and takes it from the sb.

--------

SB
jon completes; 2 players
Q-10-Q
check, check
King
jon bets 7000 and takes it down

3-handed play continues

couple of hand later...

-------

jon's bb
joe calls
baron raises to 22.5k
jon folds. joe calls
flop is 9-3-10
baron bets 50k and joe gives it up

-------

jon's sb
baron raises joe calls
5-3-8
river 4
check, check; Joe's A-J takes down the pot

-------

all in
Jon goes All In after Baron put 20k into the pot
baron lets it go; Jon takes the pot down

3-handed play continues

Jon makes it $8k on the button,
and takes down the blinds and antes.

-------

joe folds on the button; baron raises; jon goes all-in
baron folds. Jon takes in the pot.

--------

2way flop.
jon check; joe bets 20k
jon calls
turns 4
check; check
river; check; check
jon shows Kings and 7s and takes down the pot

3-handed play continues

three handed play is really hard to blog, I've discovered

3 hands later

Baron goes all in.

Jon instacalls and shows AT
Baron Is dominated with his A8

flops is 5-j-8
turn is a K
river is a 4
Baron doubles up

starting level 17, starting fast

We are starting level 17 4-handed.
Galen in seat 2, Joe in seat 6, Baron is seat 8, and Jon in seat 9.

first hand is a 3-way flop.
first hand Jon check-raises all in on the river. Against Galen.
Galen has an Ace and top pair; Jon has 2 pair;
Galen is out in 4th earning $5948

players on break before level 17

Jon is down 100K for the day, and is considering his strategy for level 17.
Level 17 is 2.5K/5.0K with a 500 ante.
He is at an M of 30.
The players are on a 15 min. break.

jon's BB
jon calls on the button
baron calls
jon raises 10k
joe calls
baron folds
playing 2-way pot, the flop is 8-9-10
Jon bets out 20k
joe calls; the turn is another 10; jon checks; joe makes a pot-sized
bet of 50k. Jon goes into the tank for a couple of minutes, before making
a huge laydown of pocket queens.

-----------

jon's button
a 2-way pot
Galen & Joe.
after the flop, Galen goes all in, and Joe gives it up.
Galen shows K-K.

-----------

Baron raises 10k
Joe calls. the flop is 9-3-9
check, baron bets 27K, joe goes all in; baron folds

-----------
Jon's BB

Joe calls on the button; Galen completes; Jon checks.
the flop is 3-10-10
check, check, Joe bets 8k
Baron calls, Jon calls.
turn is a K
check, check, check
the river is a 10
check, check, check

Everyone turns over the cards, and Jon wins it with 6-6
for a full house.

------

two hands later...

the flop is J-10-9
Galen bets
Jon has raised. Galen reraises all in.
Jon asks for count. The count is 95K. Jon goes in the tank for 2 minutes, then folds.
Galen shows Q-8 for the second nuts. Good laydown Jon!

the table shrinks again

Jon out of position.
Jon raises for 14k
kenneth pushes all in
Joe calls and turns over 10-10.
Kenneth shows A-8.
10-Q-Q-3-K
and Kenneth is out in 5th, collecting $4490

the table shrinks

Chad and Galen are in a pot. The flop comes 10-6-10;
Chad pushes; Galen calls (Galen is in 2nd chip position)
Chad shows K-4 and Galen shows K-10.

I didn't see the turn/river (as Jon and I were talking about
the position problem of the 2nd stack on his left).

But Chad is eliminated in 6th place, taking home $3470.

level 16 starts

Level 16 starts with Jon in the SB; baron raises and takes it.

next hand; jon's button, Jon raises and takes it.

next hand; Baron raises and takes it.

next hand; baron raises, called; one bet after the flop and Baron takes it down

3 more hands where a single bet takes it down.

Chad at Risk

On Jon's BB
Chad moves all in for 30500
folds around to Jon, who thinks for a minute, then calls.
Chad shows an A-4; Jon a Q-10;
the flop is 9c-4c-5c (and Chad is ahead)
3d on the turn, no help.
Rivers an Ace, and Chad doubles up through Jon.

in the next hand, jon bets out and takes down the pot.
Then shows a 7-2 offset!

That's a message to the table, I'm not sure what the message is....

about to begin level 16

then,
seat 4 Chad pushes, and no action.

A short break in the action as they color up all the black chips.

They are beginning level 16, with blinds at 2k/4k and 500 chip antes.

jon knocks out a player

player 7 Bill Haynes goes all in
called by Jon in seat 9 and both blinds, Ken in seat 5 and Joe in seat 6.

The flop comes; Jon puts a bet, Ken and Joe fold.
Jon shows K-2, makes a straight and takes out Bill Haynes.


two hands later

Galen is knocked out in seat 2. I was too busy typing and missed the action.

Jon plays a hand

Jon raises to 10K; Galen calls;
flop comes
K-10-3
check, check
turn is a 3
check, check
river is a K
check, check,

Jon shows an A-Q, Galen an A-J and they split that pot



Nelson at risk

raise of 11k, Nelson goes all in seat 1, Galen calls in seat 2.
Nelson shows A-Qs
Galen shows K-K

K-K take the pot. Nelson is extremely short-stacked.


Next hand, Nelson puts it all in. Called by Tom in seat 3. Chad folds.
Tom wins the pot.

Nelson is out in 9th place, winning $1400.

play continues

first all in:

Joe in seat 6 bets it all, and is called by Bill in seat 8.
Joe turns over A-A, and Bill has A-K.
Joe makes an Ace high flush and doubles up -- about an 160K pot.

Jon just played a pot, calling the raiser, but lets it go on the
first bet on the turn
7-k-8-A

meet the players

Meet the players

seat 1 62300, milpitas ca, 58 yr old, Nelson Chew

seat 2 148900, bremord tx, 51 yr old, Galen Peiskee

seat 3 14800, reno nv, 44 yr old, Tom DeJong

seat 4 42100, sacramento CA, 28 yr, Chad Vitale

seat 5 133700, roseville ca, 36 yr, Kenneth Fitzgerald

seat 6 77900, turlock ca, 59 yr, Joe Fernadez

seat 7 71700, modesto ca, 48, Bill Haynes

seat 8 66600, s. lake tahoe, 33 yr, Baron Weller

seat 9 406600, Jonathan Schwartz, Campbell CA, 22 yrs old,

play begins

Button is starting in seat 4, blinds remain at 15k/30k.

first hand, all in (seats 5 & 6), both show A-Q vs A-Q, and no improvement, and a split pot.

hand 3. raise and take for Bill Hanes

next hand. raise by

next hand. seat 6 enters, called by seat 8, jon calls.
Flop comes K-10-6.
Jon checks, Joe continuation bets 30K, Baron folds, Jon raises to 60K and Joe folds.

WSOP Circuit Event Nov 9 08

This is Jon's Dad, Allan, reporting live from Harvey's South Lake Tahoe, where Jon has been playing in a $550 NLHE WSOP Circuit Event. Yesterday, day 1 of this event, Jon played for 13 hours, battling a field of more than 150 players, to emerge chip leader as the money bubble, then the final table bubble approached.

He finished day 1 after 1am last night, and we are about to resume play with just the final 9 for this event.

How NOT to play poker.

I played so bad today it's sick. I have no idea what just happened, I guess some days you're just not all there. Here's a hand where I misplayed pretty badly. It was a 50 player $30 live donkament. I started with 2400 in chips, blinds were 25 and 25. I'm in the small blind with J3 of diamonds. A few players limped, I checked and the big blind checked. the flop comes KKJ. I check and it checks around to this guy who plays a little loosey-goosey at times and he bets 150. I call and the big blind calls. Now, here's where I should have been totally done with the hand. First of all, I read the bettor for strength, but I decided to call anyway. And then when the big blind overcalls, I have to know I'm in trouble. Best case scenario is both players have QT.

So there's about 600 in the pot and the turn is a 5. It checks around. The river is another 5, so basically nothing has changed. Either both opponents missed their draws or I'm beat. Maybe the flop bettor has an underpair to the board, but he wouldn't bet the underpair on the river. If the flop bettor bets here, he either missed a straight draw, has total air, or he has a king. Maybe AJ or QJ. So I check, the big blind checks and now the flop bettor bets 500. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided a pot sized bet here didn't want a call. The big blind folds a jack face up and the bettor turns over K8.

I was a little steamed and mentally berated myself for calling him down when I knew I was beat. "If I was really in the zone," I said to myself, "I could have check folded the flop." Sure I had a read that he was strong, but a read isn't everything. Can I really just check fold here? I know I'm supposed to be the World's Nittiest Poker Blogger, but this just takes nittiness to a whole new extreme. The fact of the matter is I played it so passively, I got myself stuck in a pretty tough spot. I basically had to guess whether he had a draw, or he had a hand. If I bet the flop, I can gauge the strength of his hand based on how he acts on his hand, not just how far back he's leaning in his chair or how casually he throws his chips into the pot. Basically, when I check the flop, I'm forced to call because he could have anything. He has position and when it's checked to him, he'll bet a draw, he'll bet a hand, and he'll bet air. So now I've put myself in a spot where I have to guess. On the other hand, if I bet out on the flop, I'll have a better idea of where I'm at based on how the rest of the table reacts to my bet.

Here's the soundbite, bumper sticker, nugget of wisdom from this hand. If you're out of position and you can call a bet, then you should bet yourself. You have to use your bets not only as a way of building pots or winning pots, but of gaining information. If I check and he bets, I have to call and I've learned nothing about the strength of his hand. Whereas if I bet, I've committed the same amount of chips I would have anyway, and I get to learn something about my opponents hand. In this spot, with a weak jack in a multi-way pot, I should have bet out and then if I'm raised, I can confidently lay my hand down, having lost the minimum, rather than committing a third of my stack just guessing whether or not he has it.

"But he could raise you with a draw. Or if he knows you're making probe bets out of position, he can raise you with nothing, knowing most of the time you're going to lay it down. Isn't betting out and then giving up just a bit... nitty?" Well, maybe. But here's the advantage of playing it that way. If I bet out and he has a draw, first of all, he's probably just going to call. And even if he does have the draw and he decides to raise, well, go ahead and take it. If he has QT, it's basically a coin flip with two to come (maybe 55/45), so I'm happy to sacrifice a little equity there for the times when I'm a slight favorite, to save a lot of money for the times when I'm a huge dog (or drawing stone dead.) Second of all, if he knows I'm making out of position probe bets, and he's going to raise me with air, fine. Let him take a few small pots, because eventually I'm going to make the same bet with a huge hand and he's going to get into trouble. The key is to be consistent. If you're making a lot of small bets with weak hands, you should be making the same bets with big hands. You never want to be predictable (bet with nothing and check with a monster, or vice-versa.)

Cliff Notes:

1. Playing marginally strong hands passively out of position can get you into a lot of trouble, basically calling off a lot of money trying to catch a bluff.
2. If you can call a bet, then you should go ahead bet.
1. Set the price yourself.
2. Don't give up control of the hand.
3. Gain information about the strength of your opponent's hand.
4. Give your opponent a chance to fold.
3. Use small bets to gain information. Take into consideration every action your opponent makes in response to your actions and try to put the pieces of the puzzle together to put him on a hand or range of hands.

Until next time, this is the World's Nittiest Poker Blogger saying sometimes it's best to give up on a marginal situation to wait for a better spot.

WSOP Rumor: final table delayed three months?

Rumors have been circulating that Harrah's and the World Series of Poker plan on implementing a little change for the 2008 Main Event. The word on the street (or I guess the word on the superhighway, as it were) is that the Main event will be played down to the final nine as usual, but then play will halt for three months and the final table will be played out some time in November 2008.

I guess the idea is that during this three months, ESPN will have time to edit and broadcast the opening sessions of the Main Event leading up to the final table. Then in November, the final table will play out and be broadcast semi-live. When I first heard this idea, I was completely opposed to it. Now, after hearing lots of peoples' opinions on the matter, I'm beginning to see both sides of the argument.

Supporters of this idea argue that it will be huge for the popularity of poker. Think about how much hole-card cams changed the game, and how much people were opposed to the idea when it first came out. There's no question that the hole-card cam was one of the main factors leading to the explosion of poker as entertainment. So who knows, maybe turning to the Main Event final table into a Superbowlesque spectacle might actually bring in some more viewers. The other argument is that during this three month period, the final table competitors will have time to basically media-whore themselves. They can go on talk shows, promote the event, get sponsorship deals, etc. This will be beneficial to the player because of the added potential of more exposure, sponsorship money and so on. This will be beneficial to the viewer as well because it will give us time to get to know these people and develop a rooting interest. Also, when the final table airs, we won't know who ends up winning, so it will be more exciting and less anti-climactic.

Personally, I've watched the final table live on PPV the last two years and I loved it. Even without the hole cards and without the editing, it has definitely been one of the events I most look forward to throughout the year. Admittedly, I am of a very small minority. The general masses would not enjoy watching 15 hours of poker, without any hole-cards no less. So, I don't blame ESPN at all for wanting to draw in more viewers. Hey, that's business, I understand. However, I honestly can't see the general public watching an entire final table, even with the hole-cards. They don't want to see 20 hands in a row with no flop. That being said, I don't know how much editing they plan on doing, but I think the general public is fine with the two hour show they have now that shows 20 or 30 huge, exciting pots. That's what they want to see. They don't want to watch poker, they want to watch some ass-clown with a shark yelling "ALL IN!!"

But that's all good and fine. If ESPN wants to take that risk, more power to them. The biggest problem I have with this proposal is how much it changes the dynamic of the game. What it basically does is it changes the Main Event into a 6000 player satellite tournament, where the final nine players move on to a new tournament, the "Championship." A poker tournament is all about building momentum and learning about your opponents' game. Stopping play for three months is absolutely ridiculous. How much can a player's game change in three months? Some of these people will be completely new players three months down the line. Is it really fair to the better players who make the final table for the weaker players to get three months to study and practice and get coaching? I admit it will make for better TV to watch nine people who actually know how to play poker, but from an EV standpoint it's absolutely unfair to the Allen Cunninghams and the Lee Watkinsons who waded through a field of thousands and got to know how his opponents play, only to come back three months later to play for millions and the World Title against basically eight complete strangers.

Finally, the whole hype machine, Superbowl-of-poker extravaganza argument has one serious flaw. As far as I know, the final table will be played in a sequestered area where everyone will have to sign confidentiality agreements so ESPN will be able to edit it down and broadcast it before anyone finds out who wins. Well, great, it will be cool watching it on ESPN not knowing what's going to happen. The only problem is, how is there going to be this electric grand-spectacle atmosphere with no audience? It sounds like a petty grievance, but just think about it. What would the Super Bowl be without shirtless drunk dudes yelling at the top of their lungs? Or for that matter what would the Main Event Final Table be without "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oy, oy, oy!" Sporting events are sporting events because of the audience, period.

So, I guess I'm prepared for Harrah's to go either way on this. Whatever happens, the Main Event will always be the Main Event. Although, I am leaning towards wanting to keep it the way it is, but that's probably just because I'm a huge nit.

Daniel Negreanu: the Mike Tyson of poker?

This is a quote from Kid Poker's latest blog entry:

"I'm in that killer mindset, like I literally want to eat people's brains. Just literally rip their brains to shreds after an appetizer of ripping their hearts out of their chests, taking a big bite out of them, and then spitting the blood back in their faces."

I really have nothing to say about this. I just think it's hilarious. I hope he does as well as he seems to think he's going to do in Monte Carlo. Best of luck to you, Daniel.

Welcome to the World's Nittiest Poker Blog

Hello, internet. I decided to start a blog. Mostly to just rant about crap you may or may not care about. I'll be talking my own poker experiences. Maybe some interesting hands, or brag about a tournament I won. I'll try not to tell any bad beat stories, unless the hand in question presents a learning opportunity, in which case it's not really a bad beat story anymore.

I'll also talk about goings on in the poker world. News, gossip, juicy tidbits about Lee Watkinsin's monkeys. Who knows?

So sit back, grab a snack, and prepare to explore the wild wonderful world of poker form yours truly, the world's nittiest poker blogger.

-Jon