Editor's Note: This column contains information about winners of some events in the 2005 World Series of Poker that will be televised later this year on ESPN.
Tuesday, July 5, 2005, 11:30 a.m. WSOP Daylight Savings Time:
Now it's Simon "Aces' Trumper's turn to tell his side of the story.
In a hand I detailed in a blog a couple days ago, Trumper busted Barry Greenstein in the $10,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha tournament, prompting Greenstein to claim Trumper took as much as 10 minutes to raise with the nuts and then slow-rolled the best hand, and ultimately said people who act like that should not be allowed in tournaments.
My using only Greenstein's side of the story was unfair. I should've had Trumper respond in the same piece, especially after it stirred up a ruckus on poker forums, websites and generated talk among players. So now, pretty much unplugged, here's what Simon says.
"People were writing to me on my site, 'How dare you do that to Greenstein?' 'If you I see you at the table, I'm going to kick your teeth in.'
"Let me tell you what happened. But forget the hand for a minute. This is what happened since the hand. Bruno Fituossi, a tournament director who watched the hand, said to me (Tuesday), 'How come he never said anything when he got up?' He never said a word. I turned the hand over - and I'll explain what happened there - he got up from the table, he looked down at the hand, never showed his hand - so don't get too confident that he had what he said he had; no one ever saw his hand - and off he walked.
"The next thing I know is the next day, and (tournament director) Johnny Grooms comes up to me. He said, 'Are you Mr. Trumper?' I said yeah. He said, 'I have a complaint that you took 10 minutes to reraise with the nuts yesterday.' I said, 'I'll tell you what, Johnny, I don't even need to answer it. Sitting around this table are the players who were here yesterday evening; there's Huck Seed, there's Barny Boatman, there's Tommy Grimes and there's Peter Costa. Ask them. I won't say a word.'
"Now think about it. If I was an American who wants to try to protect myself, I'd say (to those players at the table), 'It couldn't have been more than three minutes; you agree, don't you?' Not me. I said, 'I'm not saying anything.' Huck Seed said, 'Two, three minutes at the most.' Barny Boatman: 'Couldn't have been that long.' Tommy Grimes, 'Well, I didn't think it was longer than two minutes.' Peter Costa: 'Yeah, I would say 2-21/2 tops.' There's four people who could verify it at the table. That was that.
"Twenty minutes later, in comes Barry. He comes straight over to the table, points at me in front of everyone and says, 'Players like you who take 10 minutes to re-raise with the nuts should be banned from poker.' Those were his exact words. And he walked off. Huck Seed and I were like, 'What the hell was that?' The players at the table were gobsmacked. So, off he goes. As far as I was concerned, that was finished. I went up and saw Johnny. I said, 'Listen, you've already verified from the table that that wasn't what happened. He's now come and said this, you need to say something to this guy.' He said, 'OK, I will.' He came up to me 15-20 minutes later and said, 'I saw him at the break and look, you can't do that, Barry. Blah, blah, blah.' As far as I was concerned, that was it. Sour grapes. No problem.
"Then I get home last night about 11:30, 12 o'clock, and I read on the Hendon Mob site somebody said, 'Has anyone see this (ESPN Poker Club) article?' So, I read your article, and I said, 'What the hell is that?' People are on the site saying, 'He's this, he's that.' Whatever. Then someone said, 'Have a look at this forum,' and if you go to the 2+2 forum, there's a whole massive thread on it. And Barry has replied, and in one of the replies, he admitted that he came in to try to upset me. He said 'I tried to rile him.'
"None of this bothered me until I read the whole article. Someone on the Hendon Mob (site) said, 'If you read the whole thing, it sounds to me like Simon did nothing wrong. If you forget the 10-minutes thing that could be wrong, I can't believe he slow-rolled him and it sounds like Barry played like an idiot and is very unhappy with himself, so he's taking it out on Simon.'
"So I read your whole article. Let me put you right on a few things. This is exactly what happened.
"Now, let's put things in perspective. I'm chip leader in the tournament. I've been moved to the worst possible table; they're all good players. I'm not going to be able to dominate with my stack. I've got the second-chip leader on my left, Peter Costa. I've got third- or fourth-chip leader, Barry Greenstein. I'd say he had about $48,000 when the average was probably about $25,000. I had a lot more, probably $70,000. We're in the last level.
"Now, I do know what I'm doing in tournament poker. I am No. 1 in Europe in Omaha. So, I know what I'm doing. So, in the last level, I've got absolutely no need to get involved. I'm just passing, passing, passing. Barry is pretty much in control of the table. He's not interested in just cashing. Barry's making lots of small raises preflop and picking up pots. He's positionally raising and stealing a lot of pots.
"So, this pot comes up. I've limped in for the first time in about half an hour with A-A-8-8-10, double suited -- 8-10 of diamonds, A-8 of spades. Barry raises on the button. I think Tommy Grimes called and I called. The flop comes rag-J-Q, two spades. So, as far as I'm concerned, I'm drawing to a 9 for a straight - obviously the wrong end of the straight, but a straight - a king for the straight or the nut flush. That's my hand.
"Tommy checks. I check. Barry leads out. I think he bet about $4,000. Tommy passes. I'm calling, and the reason I'm calling - two reasons: One is the outs I've got, but the second reason is I'm playing a guy with a lot of chips, therefore if I hit my hand, I might get paid and further increase my chip lead.
"So I call. The turn comes ace of clubs. I check. Now he bets $12,000. Although I'm No. 1 in Omaha, I'm actually better known for No Limit. I've got 29 major No Limit finals. The reason I'm good at No Limit is I have a gut feeling for putting people on hands. Now he says, according to your article, he has K-K-J-10, which means that on the turn he had the nut straight. Maybe he's telling the truth, but that's not what I put him on. I put him on something like A-K-K-something or K-K-spade.
"I'll tell you why: If he had the nuts on the turn with the king flush draw, why is he betting the pot? He wants to keep me in. He's sitting there with the nuts with the backup of the second-nut flush draw. If I had flopped two pair or whatever, why would he want to bet me out of the pot? So, when he bet the $12,000, I thought about it, and in the end, I put him on kings with a king flush draw, and I would've made exactly the same play if I had the blockers with his king flush draw. I could represent the straight and I've got the king flush for backup. That's the hand I put him on.
"If I'm right, then I'm winning with aces. If I'm also right, the 9 is going to be good for me; the king, if I'm wrong, would give me the same straight; and if a spade comes, I'm certain he has the king of spades and I could win a big pot. So, on implied odds, I call.
"The river is a deuce of spades. I check. I did not hesitate. I just checked. He sits there for 30 seconds to a minute. He starts counting his chips down. I'm not looking at him. I'm looking at the pot. He finally bets $17,500. The pot was about $36,000. He had about $11,000-$12,000 left. I'm sitting there thinking to myself, 'I can't believe he bet this.' I'm certain he's got the king flush and I'm certain what's happened here is he did have the straight on the turn and he did make the king flush, he thinks that I also had the straight on the turn and I called because I'm scared of the flush, and on the end I've checked into him and now he can bet into me and I might be stupid enough to call with the straight, hoping he's on a bluff with the bare king. This is why I think he bet. Why would you bet if you think I've called on the turn with the nut flush draw and the worst card comes? Why would you bet when at that stage of the tournament, you've got average chips for the following day? Why would you risk another $17,500 of your chips?
"So, how do I get a world-class player to give me the other $11,000? First, I've checked into him. Secondly, I have to make him think that I think that he's got it and I have only got the straight. So, I separated $17,500 from my stack. I've still got like $60,000. I'm making him think I'm going to call. At this point, he's thinking, 'Great, he's going to call; I'm going to get paid off here with the king flush.' I then count the rest of my chips as if to say, 'If I'm wrong, if he has the flush, at least I've still got $50,000.' This was my process. And then I did what you don't know about in your article: I raised double.
"Now, any professional player should know that when someone re-raises you double, you are in big trouble, especially if you've only got $11,000 or $12,000 left. He now starts thinking and thinking and thinking. His first comment to me was, 'Were you thinking that long with the nuts?' It was about two or three minutes I was thinking. It might've seemed like 10 minutes to him because he was the one sitting there with the second nuts.
"If it was possible to trap a world-class player, would you not check into the guy and if he's dumb enough to bet into you, would you immediately say, 'I raise''? He falls straight into the trap and the guy's got an enormous ego. He feels like an idiot. Don't forget, he hasn't just given me all his chips when he could've checked the hand and come out the next day with an average chip count. How many people would've been thrilled not to have put their last $30,000 in in the last level and done it in front of his peers?
"Now, he thinks and thinks and thinks, and he finally says, 'Nuts is good.' Those were his words. 'Nuts is good.' I said yeah, and turned over my cards. So, obviously he's saying, "I have the king flush.' He pushed his last $12,000 in. Before I've actually re-raised, because we can all make mistakes, I've double-checked my hand. At the bottom I have the 10-8 of diamonds, at the top I have the A-8 of spades, but I couldn't remember which order they were in. I knew they were the top two cards - at which time, by the way, we've got people five-deep around the table - I'm not showboating or anything. I turn the top two cards over. It just so happens, the 8 was the first card. It goes 8-A. I didn't go 'nah-nah-nah-nah' or slow-rolled it or any of that rubbish. I went 8-A. And he just got up and shrugged and didn't say a word.
"So, this morning. Bruno Fituossi says to me, 'If he had a problem, surely he would've said, "I can't believe you did that. How dare you do that?''' He never said a word. Bruno said, 'You didn't slow-roll him.'
"Now, in your article, he says, 'I have the nuts on the turn. I wanted the deuce of hearts to come, but the deuce of spades comes. When he checked to me, I was worried that he might have the nut flush, and really I should've checked it down because I had the king flush and it was a big pot anyway. But I decided to bet $17,500 of my remaining chips, and if he raises me, I know he's got the nuts.'
"Yeah, that's intelligent. Like somebody said, I trapped him beautifully, and obviously, he doesn't like it. Then he said in your article, 'I didn't know who this guy was' and someone said, 'Didn't you know he was some naughty word?' Subsequently, he said, 'People like him shouldn't be allowed to play' and 'Did you know he's got a website?'
"What the hell is he talking about my website for? He's done me a huge favor. The hits have gone through the roof. I normally get 100 a day; I'm getting 500 a day. Unfortunately, I'm also getting people threatening to kick my head in. So, now it's been blown out of all proportion. Two things have been picked up: the slow-roll and the 10 minutes. Neither happened. As a result, I'm getting all these threats. It's disgusting.''
"One other thing: He said in your article, 'When I left the table, all the other players looked at Trumper as if he was a jerk.' You know what actually happened? Tommy Grimes and Barny Boatman said, 'Fantastic play.' They tapped the table and said, 'Great play.' They didn't call me a jerk at all. They thought he was an idiot. Barney couldn't believe the guy called me.
"He said in your article that the reason he called was to prove to the rest of the table that I would think so long with the nut flush. Wow. That's an intelligent reason for calling.
Trumper's version of the events was backed up by Seed and Grooms. As for the time that Trumper took to raise at the end, Seed said it was 2-5 minutes, as did all the other players whom Trumper asked the tournament director to survey.
"It was verified by players that it wasn't 10 minutes,'' Grooms said.
Overall, Seed said, "I didn't think he did anything wrong. It might've been kind of a slow-roll, but I've done it by accident before going through my cards.''
And here's proof enough: On the 2+2 forum, Greenstein himself posted this Tuesday afternoon: "I talked to Huck Seed (who was at the table) and he said it was between two and five minutes.''
And this: "I didn't think Simon should have been barred, but I didn't like what he did and I decided to rile him up.''
Later Tuesday, Trumper approached Greenstein at the table, and Greenstein said they had to talk, Trumper said. Trumper said Greenstein reconsidered how long he believed Trumper waited to re-raise -- five minutes now -- and they eventually agreed to end any kind of festering ill will and carry on playing poker.
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The line to the men's room is out to the hallway near the Rio's poker hangar. Break time for the hundreds playing in a super-satellite to get into the Big One without paying $10,000.
The mega-satellites are at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. A thousand bucks to enter. Win one table, and you're in.
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The $5,000 buy-in Deuce-to-7 re-buy event is underway. Small field. This is a pros' pros kind of event, and here's why: A lot of players will be in for 20 grand pretty quick - serious green - and Deuce-to-7 is not widely played. Certainly the TV masses aren't into it.
David Grey starts at a table with well-known pros Joe Awada, Paul Phillips, Tony Guoga and Sam Grizzle. Sounds tough. But no.
"This is the greatest table you could be at because there's no lowball players,'' Grey says. "This is a game where if you don't have experience, there are a lot of nuances that make it disadvantageous.''
Because it's a re-buy event - you can go all in and lose during the first three levels and just reach into your pocket to buy more chips.
"This wasn't a re-buy tournament until the late '90s,'' Grey said. "The first year it was a re-buy event, I'm at a table with Lyle (Berman, a longtime gambler and the man whose company backed the World Poker Tour). I broke him five times. He re-bought and won the tournament. He needed to finish second just to break even. Paul Phillips said this is the "Buy-A-Bracelet Tournament.''
Indeed, there are some monster pots. Like the one where someone drew two cards and dragged a nice one against John Juanda when he made a deuce-to-7.
"There's a lot of play,'' pro Eric Weiner says. "It's a small field and this is one of the games we play in cash games.''
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Some other tables: Greg Raymer and Juanda; Chau Giang, Johnny Chan and Chris "Jesus'' Ferguson; Barry Greenstein, Billy Baxter and John "World'' Hennigan; Doyle Brunson and "Capt.'' Tom Franklin; John Bonnetti, Erik Seidel and Dewey Tomko.
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A woman watching the Deuce-to-7 event is wearing a shirt that reads: "my pair is bigger than yours.''
Yes. Well. Moving right along . . .
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Barry Greenstein bought into the Deuce-to-7 event that began at noon while still having chips in the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em re-buy tournament that restarted two hours later. So, he was playing two tables at once. That is so poker.
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For all the poker that has been played so far, these next two days are really more like Poker Party Palooza.
Tonight, for instance is the Full Tilt Poker gala. The word "gala'' kind of scared me because the most gala-like outfit I brought is a pair of khakis and a Polo shirt. But that apparently is gala enough.
Full Tilt - the website that began with pros Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Chris "Jesus'' Ferguson, John Juanda, Andy Bloch, Erick Lindgren, Phil Gordon and Clonie Gowen and now includes about 20 other top names - is holding a live auction to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Las Vegas. Among the items are Full Tilt jerseys worn by the team members and a spectacular poker table.
After that, hoo boy. This is like the Super Bowl, what with all the parties, news conferences and other attention-getting maneuvers.
The Bodog.com website is staging a two-day seminar on online gambling that starts at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Mandalay Bay. The speakers include Levitra spokesman and former Bears coach Mike Ditka, Yankees Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson and pro star Daniel Negreanu, who had a memorable 2004 World Series as the Player of the Year and is having a forgettable one this time around.
At noon, Poker Stars is holding a get-together at the Rio that features 2004 world champ Greg Raymer and a poker tournament. That runs until 1:30 p.m.
But starting a half-hour later, over at the chi-chi Plams, is the unveiling of Phil Gordon's new DVD "Final Table Poker.'' That runs until 2:30 p.m..
At 3:30 p.m., the World Series organizers are holding their media day, which includes induction of Crandell Addington and Jack Binion to the Poker Hall of Fame, a press conference with Raymer and tournament organizers and a celebrity/media charity poker tournament at 5 p.m.
I got Andrew J. Feldman registered for the media/celebrity event. Andrew J., see, if the kid producer of the ESPN Poker Club site that you are logged onto. The kid does everything, and apparently is the only one who can do anything for the site when it comes to posting things. But now, he gets to go on a big-boy road trip to the World Series, and the problem is, I won't be available for the celebrity/media deal because I got invited to Howard Lederer's 'World Series of Barbecue,'' an event at Casa Lederer, thrown by Howard and wife Suzie with some help from the Knob Creek bourbon people who signed up Lederer and Erick Lindgren as spokespeople.
The celebrity-media tournament will include Ray Romano and Brad Garrett at the same table. We'll see if everyone loves Raymond's poker playing. Other names expected to take part include James Woods, who pays real money to play in real WSOP events, and Jennifer Tilley, the actress who's dating Phil "The Unabomber'' Laak and a "Unabombshell'' herself who captured a legit World Series bracelet this year in the Ladies No Limit Hold'em tournament.
Maybe the coolest thing of all is that Doyle Brunson will take part, as well. For a guy who probably loses money from cash games by playing in real tournaments, this says something when the poker legend is playing in neither type of real-money action and gives of time that might be better served to get him some rest before the main event.
But wait. There's more. The hits just keep on coming.
The second half of Lederer's "World Series of Barbecue'' happens when Knob Creek sponsors a party at the Rio's Club Flirt at 9 p.m. But an hour earlier, there's the Bodog party at Rain, one of the hot clubs at the Palms.
Oh, and then there's the invitation I got to Gordon's birthday party, set for a 9:30 p.m. kickoff at the Wine Cellar in the Rio.
Yeah, it's a lot, but remember, I go so you don't have to. I'm a giver, not a taker.
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Monday, July 4, 2005, 12:15 p.m. WSOP Daylight Savings Time:
The hallway off to the side of the Rio poker hangar is overrun with dealers. That's because the Rio poker hangar itself is overrun with players. Just for starters, the five lines to buy in to the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em rebuy event stretches about halfway across the hangar.
With a field of about 1,000 players, this is like the main event with a learner's permit when Thursday begins three days of Day 1 with as many as 2,200 players each (although, talk is the Big One will draw "only'' 5,000 players, which is "only'' about double last year).
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Here's what happens is a re-buy event, especially one where you start with only $1,000 in chips: Everybody takes their seat and yells "Re-buy'' so they start with $2,000.
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Lakers owner Jerry Buss is back for this one, and it wasn't too long ago that Buss told me that he believed Phil Jackson humiliated himself with some of the things in his latest book that involved conversations between Buss and self-centered star Kobe Bryant. Buss's point was that Jackson wasn't in the room, so he has no idea what was said or how it was said.
And now, Buss has just re-hired Jackson.
"I told him, 'If you wasn't to know what really happened between Kobe and me' -- obviously only Kobe and I know - "I'll tell you everything you want to know,''' Buss said. "He said it's not important; let's get on and let's win.
"But we were always really good friends. We were never on the outs. We were going to dinner all the time. Five days after I let him go, we were going to dinner. A couple weeks later, we met in New York, had dinner, went to a play together. We've always been good friends because he dates my daughter.''
Interestingly, the wealthy real estate magnate and NBA owner, who usually plays $500-$1,000 limits, doesn't spend the extra $1,000 to re-buy at the start.
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Actor James Woods raises from early position and gets two calls. The flop comes Q-5-6, two diamonds. Woods bets out $300. One fold, then Seat 3 goes all in, and Woods calls. Woos has A-Q offsuit, Seat 3 has wired 7's. The turn comes a 5, the river an ace, and Woods doubles up.''
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After having little luck in a tournament wearing Magic Johnson's Michigan State jersey, Erick Lindgren shows up in Larry Bird's Indiana State jersey.
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Table 9, Some Random Guy wears a black fedora, bib overalls, a Hawaiian shirt and brown socks and loafers. Stop this.
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And another thing: You men who pay anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 and $20,000 for poker tournaments ought to spend a little more on those hairpieces you're wearing. I cannot imagine that you are more embarrassed to go bald than to sit down at a table with roadkill on your head. Stop this, too.
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Lindgren moves all in for his remaining $1,775 on a board of 6-5-9, two diamonds. Seat 7 calls. Lindgren shows 6-2 diamonds for middle pair/flush draw. Seat 7 turns over Q-9 clubs for top pair. Runner-runner diamond-diamond, and Lindgren doubles up. Maybe he has something with Larry Legend.
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1:05 p.m.: Marcel Luske, the singing, talking, Dutchman, and David "Devilfish'' Ulliott, aggressive and entertaining Brit, join James Woods' table. Showtime.
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At the table Luske has just joined is a woman in Seat 10 who is wearing her sunglasses upside down, no doubt a nod to the dapper, delightful Dane. Thing is, Luske doesn't have his signature black sunglasses, and he's wearing the pair that he does have the right way. They are big brown squares of lenses. Woods, who can carry on the way Luske can, tells the Dutchman he looks like Sophia Loren in those specs.
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Luske moves all in for $1,250. Woods folds. Sophia Loren nothing, pal.
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Luske raises to $175 from the cutoff and gets two calls. Luske is singing now. The flop comes K-9-10, all diamonds. Luske checks, the button bets $800, Luske calls. The turn comes the 7 of hearts. Luske checks, the button bets. "These people,'' Luske says, "they always want to give me the money,'' and the button promptly does. Luske re-raises the button all in. Call. The button has A-K for top pair/top kicker. Luske flips over A-8 of diamonds. He flopped the nut flush and sucked in the button. Ballgame.
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One minute to go in the re-buy level. At the break, you can then do a double add-on - another $2,000 in chips. Chaos. You can re-buy, or you can just do an add on. Or you can re-buy AND do an add on. Or you can just go tot the bathroom.
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Woods gets up from his table, ready to be interviewed. But he wants to make a point to the guys with the video cameras, so he tells the dealer to ask his question again.
Dealer: "Mr. Wood, would you like to do an add on?''
Woods: "It WOODS. What's the matter with you?''
Dealer: "Mr. Woods, would you like to do an add on?''
Woods: "I got a fish here (now he's pointing to Devilfish) and I got another sucker here (now he's grabbing Luske). Why would I need an add on?''
Truth is, Woods says he'd rather play against greats such as Luske and Devilfish because "if I haven't hit the flop and I want to go in strong with a bet, they will lay down a hand.''
Woods has been playing big-money tournaments for a while and recently joined with Vince Van Patten to launch their HollywoodPoker.com website.
"When we put together HollywoodPoker, I said I'm dealing with my two favorite communities: Hollywood and Poker,'' Woods says. "I've got a blessed life.''
Now Woods is joined by Andre Boyer, who is also at the table, and is his name doesn't look familiar, just know that the night before, Boyer won the $3,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em bracelet.
"A good poker player has to learn to act,'' Boyer says, "and a good actor has to learn to play poker.''
Interjected Woods: "Unfortunately, I need to learn both.''
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Robert Williamson III is at his enthusiastic and entertaining best: "You know what the second-best thing is to playing poker and winning? Playing poker and losing. I don't like those people who say it's playing poker and breaking even I want a decision.''
And then RW Trips - or just "The Third,'' as his sister/manager Karen calls him - explains how he broke a toe last weekend - was up all night, slept a couple hours, got up to catch a flight to Las Vegas for the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha event, then WHAM! He opened the bathroom door on a toe. Broke it. Pain and agony to follow. "I was so hurting,'' RW Trips said, "that I just gave away that $10,000.''
Just guessing that RW Trips' experience is not part of his new instructional DVD "From the Kitchen Table to the Final Table.''
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Daniel Negreanu is playing two tournaments at once, nursing a short stack in Limit Hold'em and trying to build chips in the No Limit re-buy. His No Limit table includes Scott Fischman. As if Negreanu hasn't had a tough enough World Series already.
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Matt Matros, who came third in last year's World Poker Tour championship and author of the well-done book "The Making of a Poker Player,'' is the short stack at the Limit Hold'em final table, although he wasn't sure whether to count this as making a final table because there were 10 players instead of the usual nine.
"If they announce all the names,'' Matros reasoned, "then I'm counting it.''
They announced all the names.
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No more re-buys, no more add ons, not a lot of chips left in Lindgren's stack. "I went to the Stratosphere (the needle-like hotel with a roller-coaster on top), during the break,'' says Lindgren, whose Series is a lot like Negreanu's, "and they talked me down. I will never play a stretch of tournaments like this again. I think I've played all but about four (of the 37 to date).''
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Overheard in the Rio poker hangar: "Players interested in playing $10-$25 Pot Limit Omaha, go to Table 160. If you're having lunch on Table 160, we're going to have a game, so . . .''
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Todd Witteles wins a $45,000 pot when he makes a flush to crack Eddy Scharf's aces, leaving Scharf with one $1,000 chip, not even enough to post the small blind. And of course, it's Scharf's blind, so he's all in. But whoa, his Q-10 each pair to beat A-4 suited, and he triples up. Three-thousand dollars now, still not enough to post a blind, and of course it's his blind again. But whoa, his A-10 beats K-J, and he quadruples up. Twelve-thousand now.
A little later, Scharf moves 10 of his 12 chips into the pot. Matros raises to $15,000. Scharf calls with his two case chips. Matros shows 10-10, Scharf Q-J of clubs. No suits, no queens, no jacks, no straight. No more Scharf.
By managing his small stack, Matros survives ahead of Scharf and earns an extra $9,000 in real money by moving one spot up the payout schedule.
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There are weird things in poker, and this is one of them: At the Limit Hold'em final tables, Witteles uses a travel-size bottle of Head & Shoulders shampoo as a card protector. No lie. What gives?
"My online name is 'Dan Druff,' so I actually use the logo of Head & Shoulders as my avatar,'' Witteles says. "I went and got a miniature bottle for the final table. I tried to get one for the last time I was at the final table, another Limit final table, but the one someone brought for me was too big. So, this time I got a miniature one. I actually point it at the person I'm against in the hand, so the Head & Shoulders bottle kind of stares them down instead of me.''
Yes. Well. Moving right along . . .
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Last night, Thor Hansen talked about how the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold'em tournament was the toughest he'd played in because the levels were 90 minutes, which allows for a lot of play with $10,000 in chips. Hansen also predicted that the final table would be three Americans and six Europeans, seeing as how Pot Limit is to European players what No Limit is to us. Sure enough, Erik Seidel, Todd Brunson and Jeff Rine made it, as did six Euros. Wonder who Hansen likes in the main event.
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Erik Seidel is all in with A-A-J-4 against Simon Trumper's A-K-Q-Q at the Pot Limit Omaha final table. The flop comes perfect for Seidel: A-5-3. But the rest of the board comes perfect-perfect for Trumper: J-10 for the straight, and Seidel is busted in eighth place.
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Luske is out of the No Limit event. Dang.
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Phil Hellmuth is mad at a dealer in the No Limit event because the dealer apparently exposed Hellmuth's cards when another player asked Hellmuth what he had. The other player did not ask the dealer to flip over the cards, but the dealer did anyway. Hellmuth is right in this case. He then drops an F-bomb, but the dealer does not invoke the 10-minute penalty rule.
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Here's a No Limit hand of a lifetime: A four-way all in with hands of A-A, A-A, K-K and Q-Q. And the Q-Q held by Pascal Perreault scoops the pot worth about $30,000 or so when a queen hits the river.
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Doyle Brunson, who just won his record-tying 10th gold bracelet, rolls down the long corridors leading to the Rio's poker hangar, a big smile on his face, hurrying to catch his son, Todd, who's trying to win his second bracelet in this year's World Series at the final table of the Pot Limit Omaha event. Cool thing. But no. Todd Brunson goes out in sixth place.
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Wild scene at the early-morning finish of Pot Limit Omaha. Rafi Amit has about a 5-1 chip lead over Vinny Vinh after playing heads-up for about two hours. Then Amit utters a naughty word, which is overheard by the tournament director, who issues a 10-minute penalty. This, mind you with a gold bracelet within reach. Amit's supporters went nuts - security had to be called to escort some of them out - and Amit had to be held back at times during his timeout as he continued to be blinded off, and this was no little thing, what with blinds at $8,000-$16,000. So, Amit was losing $24,000 a round, and suddenly Vinh went from $120,00 to a stack of $330,000. Finally, at 4 a.m., after the penalty, after another hour of heads-up play, Amit copped the bracelet.
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Sunday, July 3, 2005, 12:30 p.m. WSOP Daylight Savings Time:
The $10,000 buy-in Limit Hold'em event is underway, and there's Brett Jungblutt, a bracelet winner last year and a former member of "The Crew'' that included Scott Fischman and Dutch Boyd.
Or is that Brett Jungblutt? What happened to the dreadlocks he's been wearing? And the usual attire of a basketball jersey over a T-shirt?
Turns out, some of ESPN's "World Series of Poker'' crew used Jungblutt for poker's version of "Extreme Makeover'' for a segment to air during their broadcasts this summer and fall.
They took Jungblutt to the salon owned by Marco Traniello, the husband of poker pro Jennifer Harman and a player himself. Jungblutt got a haircut, eyebrow waxing, manicure and pedicure, and ESPN bought him a suit.
Must be saving the suit for the main event, because at the table Sunday, the newly shorn Jungblutt wore a Nike hat and a yellow button-down shirt.
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Look at that: Annie Duke wearing sunglasses. Wait a minute. Didn't she say she doesn't wear sunglasses at the table because she wouldn't be able to see the cards? What gives?
"My eyes are infected,'' she says, removing the sunglasses to reveal some awful red streaks in her eyes. "I have an excuse.''
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Phil Ivey raises pre-flop. Four players call. The flop comes 3-10-5, rainbow. Ivey bets, call, raise, fold fold, call, call. The turn comes an ace of diamonds. Seat 3 bets, Ivey calls, Seat 1 calls. The river brings a 5 of diamonds, putting diamonds up. Seat 3 bets, Ivey calls, Seat 1 folds. Seat 3 has a set of 3's. Ivey mucks.
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Hey, look! James Woods! One of my favorite actors. He bets $100 into a board of Q-A-A-3 and gets two callers. The river comes a 6. Woods bets out again, and gets two callers again. Woods turns over A-3 for aces full.
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Woods and four others see a flop of 9-7-5, two diamonds. Everybody checks. The turn comes the ace of spades. Checks all around. The river comes a 3. Woods bets. Everybody folds. Hooray for Hollywood.
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"I'm playing bad and getting lucky,'' Chip Jett says. "I'm lucky I'm only stuck $500.''
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Hey, look! Table 4, Lakers owner Jerry Buss! "I just got back from Italy,'' Buss says. I'll play today and tomorrow and see about the other ones. So many players - God.''
Buss exchanges talk with Daniel Negreanu, who mentions playing heads-up the way Negreanu is with Barry Greenstein in a nine-match series. But no, that's not the wealthy owner's style.
"I don't play for money,'' Buss says. "I play for prestige.''
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Barry Greenstein is peeved. He probably would show signs of anger if this wasn't about 12 hours after an episode that occurred early Sunday morning in the $10,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha tournament.
"I'm fourth in chips with about $45,000 or so,'' Greenstein begins. "I hadn't been raising that many hands before the flop, and I picked up K-K-J-10, spades and clubs. A couple people limped in and I raised the pot to make it $1,650. Two people called, so the pot was a little over $5,000. I got a good flop: Q-J-6 with two spades, so I had an overpair, straight draw and the second-nut flush draw. I bet $4,500, almost the size of the pot. One guy called, Simon Trumper. Now the pot is a little under $15,000.
"The turn is the ace of clubs, which gives me the nuts and the second-nut flush draw. I don't know if he's flopped a set. He checked to me on the button, and I bet $12,000. He thought for 10 seconds and called. So, at this point, he's supposed to have either the nut-flush draw or some straight draws. He doesn't know I have the absolute nuts, so he might think his straight draws are good. He probably thinks I have a set of aces or queens, unless he somehow has them.
"Whatever his call is, he's probably not getting the right odds. He doesn't know I have the nuts. If he has a spade draw, I have two spades out of the deck. If he has a set, I've got one of the cards. He's probably not getting full odds for his call.
"I'm hoping for a small red card that doesn't pair. But a spade comes off (on the river). Now I'm afraid he's going to bet into me if he has the nut-flush draw. But he checks. Now, my question is, should I turn over the second nuts or should I bet it? It might be right to turn it over. It's a real big pot. At this point there's $39,000 in the pot, and I've only got about $27,000 left. So, I said I'll make a big enough bet so that if he raises, he'd almost have to have the nuts. So, I grabbed some chips and bet $17,500.
"And he went in the tank - this is with less than a half-hour to go in the tournament (for the night) - for way more than five minutes. People are thinking of calling the clock on him. It's the end of the night and people want to play. But he's just sitting there, sitting there, sitting there. I'm being courteous in not calling the clock on him. He's looking at me, he's looking at people. Everyone's waiting for him to act. People want him to do something.
"Finally, after 10 minutes, he says, "OK, I raise.'' My last $8,000 or $9,000. At this point, I'm saying the raise only makes sense if he's got the nuts, because I've represented a strong hand. I thought I was beat, but I looked at what I had left and it wouldn't be much if I fold, and it's going to be a pot of $90,000 or so.''
At this point. Greenstein says he's pretty sure he beaten, but he has a specific reason for not wanting to fold: He wanted to confirm that Trumper would sit there for that long - look, three minutes of indecision at a poker table seems like forever --and waste everyone's time when he was holding the nuts all along and not trying to run a bluff with, say, a lower flush than Greenstein held.
"I said I would hate to condemn someone to be a (naughty word) for taking 10 minutes of everyone's time at the end of the night and somehow be mistaken,'' Greenstein said. "So, I called. Of course he had the nuts.
"That's something that real poker players would never do, because then you get everyone doing stuff like that. It's kind of an accepted thing that you don't cheat, you don't certain things, because if some people do it, then everyone now feels they're forced to combat it by doing the same type of thing. You don't slow-roll because then everyone else slow-rolls.
"But when you play in tournaments, you play with people who really don't have a concept of this. I'm not saying everyone, but a lot of these people. These people should be, frankly, eliminated from the sport, so we would have a cleaner sport. People like this shouldn't be allowed to play. That's how severe it is. These are the same types of people who, when they go to a new table and see it's their big blind, they walk to a different table so they don't have to take the big blind. It's this type of behavior that, frankly, shouldn't be allowed. These people aren't real poker players, is all I can say about it. Very irritating to deal with people like that.
"I got up and left. Everyone at the table looked at me like they knew what a jerk he was. Now, when I talk to people - I'm letting people know this is what this guy does; it's important to get the word out when people do stuff like this - and what I've gotten from people is, 'Everyone knows he's a (naughty word). You just didn't know.' His name is Simon 'Aces' Trumper and apparently he has a website.
"Ten minutes isn't what was necessary. He could've taken 15 seconds to give a hint of doubt to me about whether he did have the nuts. There's poker; I understand it. But there's a certain amount of time that's right and certain amount of time that's wrong. No good players would ever do anything like this.''
But wait. It gets worse.
"Even when he turned his hand over,'' Greenstein said, "he turned over the 8 of spades, and then the ace of spades. He slow-rolled his hand.''
Greenstein was so worked up a day later, poker pro Thor Hansen said, that he marched over the to area where Trumper was playing the in the Pot Limit Omaha event and told him to his face that he should be thrown out.
"I've known Barry 11 years,'' Hansen said, "and I've never seen him like that.''
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Karina Jett stands on the edge of the Limit Hold'em tournament area, trying to find husband Chip. But while she's here, let's find out what one of the better women players thinks of actress Jennifer Tilley winning a bracelet in the Ladies Hold'em event.
"It can only be huge for poker,'' she says. "It's on 'Entertainment Tonight,' it's on national news. Nobody said anything about the World Series until Jennifer Tilley won it. Nobody in the world knew unless they were in poker last week that the World Series was going on until Jennifer Tilley won the bracelet. She's the only actor to win a bracelet. That gave it more press, and that can only be a benefit. I don't see any negatives to it. They'll say, 'If Jennifer Tilley can do it, I can do it.'''
Jett credits much of Tilley's success to her boyfriend, Phil Laak. He's the entertaining pro who's best known as "The Unabomber,'' and so, I'm now calling her "The Unabombshell.''
"She has a great teacher,'' Jett says. "I've seen him teach her in the last six months at the table, like at celebrity events. She'll sit by him while he's playing in tournaments - and they'll allow her to - and he'll explain everything to her. He's a really good teacher. He's all about math and odds. He's a really good teacher for her - very patient and very loving. They're a really good couple.''
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Paul Darden looks like he's getting caught in the middle of a raising war with Seat 4 and Seat 7 in the Limit Hold'em event. But he's willing to gamble because Seat 4 "is a guy who will pay you off with no hand,'' Darden says, and he gets paid off from Seat 4 and Seat 7 when he makes 8's full of jacks on the river.
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Playing at a table halfway across the room from where Karina is standing, Chip Jett makes for the exit shortly before a break. He's not out, he's just headed somewhere, and so Karina decides to call his cell instead of walking after him. "I can't fade that (distance),'' she says.
Most people would say, "I can't catch him.'' A poker player says, "I can't fade that.'' That is so poker.
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Seat 4 to Darden: "I'm having trouble beating you.''
Darden: "That's the plan.''
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2 p.m.: There's Ivey. Heading for the exit. Wait. Heading for the exit? You out?
"Yeah,'' Ivey says. "What do you want to do, man? It happens.''
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Pot Limit Omaha, Table 121: Chris "Jesus'' Ferguson, Erick Lindgren, Tony Guoga, Thor Hansen and Tony Cousineau. Pot Limit Omaha, Table 120: Doyle Brunson, Carlos Mortensen, Mel Judah, Juha Helppi, Surinder Sunar. Killer tables. Then Doyle and Lindgren take big hits. Killer tables, I'm telling you.
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4:30 p.m.: Well, look who's rallied. Doyle's got chips. Buckle up. And wake up. Every hand, Doyle's head is down, like he's sleeping, or at least nodding off. In fact, a couple players comment on it, and just then, Doyle snaps his head up. "What did you say? I raise it,'' Doyle said with a smile.
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In Limit, Chip Jett raises from early position and bets big down to the river, playing 2-4 offsuit. You heard me right: 2-4 offsuit from early position. "I play them all from every position,'' Jett says.
Says Eli Elezra from the other end of the table: "They tell me Chip Jett is the worst player - and the best chip builder.''
Jett smirks.
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New Pot Limit Omaha table: Doyle, Jesus, Carlos - three former world champions - plus Erik Seidel, a seven-time bracelet winner himself. Ouch, babe.
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Mortensen raises all in in the dark before the river. Seat 7 folds. In a field this tough, every trick gets played.
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Doyle still looks like he's sleeping between hands, but he's apparently awake during them, what with his suddenly big chip count. At another table, Todd Brunson is building a similar fortress. A Brunson-Brunson final table? How cool would that be?
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Five players see a Pot Limit Omaha flop of K-J-3, no suits. Mortensen bets the pot, making it $8,000 to go. After a lot of thought, Jesus calls the $8,000 and raises it another $8,000. Mortensen goes into the tank, the 2001 world champ considering the move by the 2000 world champ. Mortensen swallows hard and mucks. Turns out, they had almost the same hands: Jesus A-K-J-3, Mortensen K-Q-J-2.
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7 p.m.: Dinner break, and Jesus is mobbed. Fans want pictures and autographs, and Jesus handles every request flawlessly and patiently. One man wants Jesus to sign his black and red hat with a ballpoint pen, so Jesus whips out his own silver Sharpie and signs on the black. The man is a pro, ladies and gentlemen.
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With Pot Limit Omaha blinds at $6,000-$1,200, Tony G, the trash-talking Lithuanian by way of Australia, raises to $3,600. Thor Hansen raises the pot, making it $14,400. That's pretty much all that Erick Lindgren has in front of him, so he calls all in. Same goes for Tony G. Hands, boys.
Tony G: K-Q-J-8.
Hansen: A-A-X-X.
Lindgren: 7-6-5-2, hearts and diamonds. Excuse me? 7-6-5-2?
Seems Lindgren figured he had a hand that wouldn't be counterfeited. He certainly had that.
And then the flop comes 10-10-5, two hearts. The turn of a blank. And the river is a heart. Lindgren triples up with 7-6-5-2. It's official: Anything goes.
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I'm talking with Howard Lederer in the hallway near the exit, another early dismissal for the "Professor of Poker,'' and here comes Doyle on his motorized scooter. Cancel the father-son game.
"Your guy busted me,'' Doyle says to Lederer, meaning Lederer's Full Tilt Poker teammate Erik Seidel, and the fact is, the Full Tilt pros have been busting a lot of people. Led by Seidel, Jesus and Ivey, and despite an unsatisfying showing by Lederer, the Full Tilt pros - there are more than 20 of them - have won somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of the prize money at the World Series while accounting for less than 2 percent of the players.
And here comes Seidel, the big meanie who busted Doyle. "Those guys have enough bracelets,'' Seidel said of Brunson's 10.
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Hansen says the Pot Limit Omaha tournament might be the toughest he's ever played in. For one thing, players start with $10,000 in chips, so everyone has a big stack. For another, the blinds started at $25-$25 and the levels were 90 minutes each, so there was a lot of play, which benefits the better players. This event won't be won by Some Random Guy.
"No chance,'' Hansen says. "No chance at all. That's for sure. My guess is the final table will be six Europeans and three Americans.''
Turns out, the field is so tough that they couldn't even play down to a final table of nine the way it was planned, stopping near 3 in the morning with 17 players left to play to a winner today, no matter if it takes 'til Labor Day.
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Steve Rosenbloom is a regular contributor to ESPN.com and writes a syndicated poker column for the Chicago Tribune.