It's back...
Tonight, we get the $1,000 No Limit Hold 'Em final table and the $2,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hold 'Em final table. The NLHE event shouldn't be anything special, although I'm hoping for more than a series of all-in bets. The Omaha event, on the other hand, is highly anticipated!
As usual, before reading on, I suggest you go here and listen to "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy." That'll get you fired up!
8:00 pm CT
(Clemens has already giving up 2 dingers. 6-0 AL)
The players for the 1K NLHE are: Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow, John Juanda, Paul Phillips, Lee Markholt, Ram Vaswani, Gerry Drehobl and Reggie Cardiel.
8:01 pm CT
Negreanu comes in with 56s, Markholt comes all in with AQo, followed by Vaswani's all in with Cowboys. Negreanu naturally folds. Vaswani flops a boat and turns quads. Ouch. Markholt is out in 8th.
8:03 pm CT
We're learning how to play again.
8:04 pm CT
Juanda gets A9o and makes a bet. Negreanu gets one of my favorite hands, JTs, and he calls. Everyone else gets out. The flop is T-J-4. Negreanu checks to Juanda who makes a stab at it. Negreanu comes way over the top and Juanda has to fold. Nice play.
8:05 pm CT
First commercial break... checking in on the All Star game, and the NL has a runner on second with Scott Rolen at the plate and two outs. Rolen gets plunked and Sosa comes up with 2 on and 2 out. Sosa shatters his bat, but singles knocking in one.
8:09 pm CT
We're back. About $366,000 will go to the winner. Negreanu is the chip leader and gets pocket 10's ("Long Distance?"). Vaswani comes all-in behind him with pocket 3's ("Crabs"). Negreanu calls and the crabs are in trouble. The flop is 2-2-8. The turn is another 8 and the river is a 6. Vaswani is out in 7th.
8:11 pm CT
It's time to meet the Negreanu family. His mom packs a lot of food apparently. (The NL only got that one run, 6-1 AL after one inning.) And apparently Negreanu's friends only win because his mom is cooking.
8:12 pm CT
Phillips gets pocket 7's ("Sunset Strip"?) and he moves all-in. It's a shame he didn't have pocket 6's for Phillips 66, right!?! Matusow is considering a call. We don't know his cards yet. He calls with AJs. Everyone else folds. It's a pocket pair vs. sutied overcards. The Flop is Q-6-T, the turn is a 9 for the diamond draw and a straght draw. The river is a 5... no help for Matusow despite about 27 outs. Poker blogger Paul Phillips doubles up. Mike and Paul chat it up. Definitely better characters at this table than last week!
8:14 pm CT
Second commercial break... the AL hasn't scored again, but The Rocket is on the bench. Big Ben Sheets is tossing out there now, and Randy Johnson is in the bullpen. AL's got a runner on now with one out.
8:16 pm CT
We're glancing at the other tables now as they play Omaha and Moneymaker is apparently trying his luck at this game.
8:17 pm CT
Cardiel gets AJo and makes a bet. Juanda has 85s, and decides to play it. Hmmm... interesting. In fact, he moves all-in. Why? Does he have a read? Looks like he's trying to push around an amatuer. It doesn't work. Cardiel calls. The flop is 9-3-6, two diamonds and Juanda has a flush and straight draw. The turn is another 9, no help. The river is an 8 and Juanda amazingly doubles up. Lucky bastard, right?
8:20 pm CT
Matusow looks at A4o. He moves all in. The "Mouth" makes a play, he's pretty short-stacked. Juanda has AK, and you gotta play Big Slick. He calls. Juanda is a huge favorite. The flop is 4-5-T, and Matusow takes the lead. It's getting crazy at this table! The turn is a 3. The river is a T and Matusow doubles up. I guess it's only fair after Juanda's last play. Matusow is living it up now... what a character. Negreanu is giving it back.
8:22 pm CT
It's time to learn a little more about the "Mouth." He tells us he loves to talk. And then he proves it. Quite a few players have rolled their eyes. That's fun though, I love it. At least he respects the game... unlike Vogl, last week's winner. Matusow promises no "blow ups."
8:23 pm CT
Third commercial break and the NL hasn't made up any ground. Still 6-1 AL and Mulder seems to be doing just fine. Damn that Mulder is good, isn't he? Ooooh, it's time for Barry Larkin's swan song. Was he good enough to warrant a "final season pity appearance?" Maybe his last seven injured seasons have soured me on him.
8:25 pm CT
Back to poker. We've still got 6 players. Cardiel (an Ultimate Fighter) bets with "Long Distance." Negreanu looks down at QJo, and as the small blind, figures he'll take a stab at the flop. It comes Q-Q-3. Negreanu is one lucky guy, huh? Negreanu slow plays with his check, and Cardiel bets big, figuring there's no Q over there. Negreanu calls, and Cardiel wonders if Negreanu has the Q. The turn is a 5 and Negreanu checks and Cardiel bets again. Now Negreanu is fooling around with the amatuer and he smooth calls. The river is a 7. Negreanu goes all-in. More great play. Cardiel moves all in, showing he's an amatuer. He's out in 6th. Negreanu is a huge chip leader.
8:28 pm CT
Matusow gets KTo and just calls the BB. Juanda gets A8s in the SB and he decides to just call. Phillips in the BB looks at K6s and he just checks. Three see a flop of T-7-7 and Phillips gets a flush draw. Matusow bets on his tens. Phillips considers a call. Matusow sings the Jeopardy theme. Phillips calls. The turn is the 4 of hearts and Phillips gets his flush. He bets out 20K and Matusow asks for a chip count. Mike can't call. He has to know the turn was the flush. Matusow goes all in anyway and knows he's dead. The river has to be a T or 7, but it's just a 2 of hearts. The "Mouth" is out in 5th and poker blogger Phillips gets more chips.
8:31 pm CT
Going into the fourth commercial break, Matusow says what we're all thinking, "I'm not sure what made me do that." It was a terrible call. Phillips bet guaranteed he had the flush. Why else would he just call after the flop? The Big Unit is on the mound now and the AL has two more runners on base. Looks like the Yankees will have home field in the World Series.
8:34 pm CT
Moneymaker busts out in Omaha long before the final table. What a name he's made for himself. The biggest in televised poker? It's a shame guys like Johnny Chan and Eric Seidel aren't more famous (at least they were in Rounders). Of course, my guy is The Professor.
8:36 pm CT
Four left. Three pros and a fish. Negreanu gets "Long Distance." It's a popular hand tonight. Drehobl calls with J-8o. The flop is 2-J-8 and the both check. Drehobl is slow playing. The turn is a 3 and Negreanu bets out. Drehobl is playing this well and calls. Negreanu is shocked. The river is an Ace and Negreanu certainly can't bet. He just checks. Drehobl bets 50K and Negreanu thinks he's got him read with Ax suited on a flush draw. He's wrong, but he's a loser either way. Negreanu calls knowing it's a loser, but he wanted information and it cost him a little.
8:39 pm CT
"Dead money" Gerry Drehobl gets a profile. Quite a coup for an amatuer. He came to Vegas in an RV. Wow. He's been playing for just 6 months and this is a family vacation. That's like a dream of mine (except the RV part).
8:40 pm CT
Drehobl looks down at pocket Q's ("The Hilton Sisters") and he bets out. Juanda's got AJo and he's probably remembering the J8o Drehobl played earlier. Phillips gets pocket 8's ("Snowmen") and he moves all in. Phillips likes medium pocket pairs. Drehobl has to call and that means Juanda will get out of the way. Phillips is way behind. The flop is 6-A-T, no help for the poker blogger. The turn is another T. The river is a 5 and Phillips is out in 4th. The amatuer, Drehobl, actually becomes the chip leader. What's going on!?!?
8:42 pm CT
The fifth commercial break starts with an ad for the DVD of Rounders. The NL is still getting its ass kicked, 6-1. Boooo-ring... they should all be watching poker.
8:44 pm CT
We get to see some chip tricks now in the weird feature "Nuts." Of course, I'll watch Evelyn Ng do anything. I gotta say, the chip tricks beats last week's "cut a pickle with a card." I've been working on my shuffle, it's not bad.
8:45 pm CT
Juanda gets AQo in the SB and just calls the BB. Hmmm, why not raise? Negreanu has 89s and the flop is 3-A-K putting Negreanu on a flush draw. They both bet. The turn is a 9 giving Negreanu a pair, but he's still behind. Juanda makes a big bet and Negreanu really must consider folding. He's wondering why Juanda would have just called the BB if he had an Ace. And if he doesn't have an Ace, why is he betting now? Negreanu calls. Amazingly, Juana moves all in in the dark... before the river. I've never seen that in televised poker. The 5 of clubs on the river doesn't help Negreanu, and he folds. That was fun, but if the heart would have come, Juanda was out. Weird move.
8:48 pm CT
Juanda looks at A9o and bets. Negreanu gets KQs and moves all in. Drehobl must love watching this. Then he looks down at "The Hilton Sisters" again and moves all in. Juanda has to fold. And Negreanu knows he's in big trouble. The flop is 8-3-3, only one diamond. The turn is a 5. Negreanu needs a K. The river is a 7 and Negreanu is out. Lo, how the mighty have fallen. Drehobl is slaying the dragons. Negreanu says what we're all thinking as well... this amateur may actually outlast the pros at the final table. We'll see.
8:51 pm CT
Sixth commerical break and the All Star game is in a commercial as well. The game is back, and it's still 6-1 AL.
8:54 pm CT
The money is on the table... not quite as impressive as the money from the Big Event. We're heads up: amatuer vs. pro. It's final thought time from the final two. The only advantage of the amatuer is that he might be hard to read because amatuers are usually unpredictable. Juanda still has to be the favorite, right?
8:55 pm CT
Juanda gets T5s and calls the BB. Drehobl has 82o. The flop is 4-K-3 rainbow, no help for anyone. Juanda bets 20K and Drehobl has to fold. Why full with your chips when you've got nothing? He does fold. Good lay down.
8:56 pm CT
Drehobl looks at Cowboys. It's easy to play when you get the cards sometimes. He bets 48K. Juanda looks at ATo and might actually raise. He just calls. The flop is 7-Q-7. That should give Drehobl pause. He checks and so does Juanda. The turn is a 6 of clubs and they both have a flush draw, but Juanda's is better. Drehobl checks and Juanda bets. Drehobl raises. Nice play. Juanda re-raises all in. That's a shock. Drehobl calls and flips his Kings. The river is 4... of spades. Juanda is out and the amatuer wins his bracelet. Wow. It's not like some duffer wins on the PGA tour. Makes me wanna head right to Vegas for the next WSOP!
9:00 pm CT
(The AL is now up 7-1.)
It's time for PLOHE. The players are: Chris Ferguson ("Jesus"), Robert Williamson, Chau Giang, Ming La, Jeffrey Lisandro, Paul Maxfield, Mike Wattel, Dave Colclough, Karsten Johansen.
9:01 pm CT
I'm a fan of Omaha. It's my second favorite game. Ferguson plays the first hand with AK85. Williamson has KK44, double flush draw and calls. Lisandro plays A965. The flop is 6-Q-6 and Lisandro has trip 6's. Ferguson checks and Williamson bets his flush draw. Lisandro moves all in. "Jesus" gets out of the hand. Williamson asks for a count. He's gotta figure Lisandro for a 6. With his first bet, he almost has to call, and does. The turn is a 9, giving Lisandro a full house and Williamson's flush draw is irrelevant. The river is another 9 and Lisandro doubles up.
9:05 pm CT
It's time to learn Omaha, and I'm guessing a lot of people are watching this a little more closely than the Texas Hold 'Em explainer. Giang gets KQT7, double flush draw and he bets. La calls with JT97. Ferguson calls with AJ55, double flush draw. The flop is Q-3-2 rainbow. It's checked all around the turn is a deuce of clubs. Giang has two pair and the club flush draw and bets. La folds, he was already dead. Ferguson doesn't have much and probably has to fold. He does. The rabbit cam shows us Ferguson made the right play because the Q wouldn't have helped him at all.
9:08 pm CT
First commercial break. The NL is still down 7-1 with a runner on first in the 4th. Now there's two on.
9:11 pm CT
It's time for the "Jesus" profile. The NL just scored to make it 7-2 with runners on 2nd and 3rd. We're learning that Ferguson has a photographic memory.
9:12 pm CT
La gets AA99 rainbow and bets enough that Ferguson would have to move all in. Ferguson is so short stacked he has to call all in with 9542 rainbow. Ouch. The flop is 7-Q-T, no help at all. The turn is a 3 giving Ferguson a straight draw. Only a 6 will help, but instead it's an Ace. Ferguson is out in 9th. "Jesus" is crucified. (Hmm, that was pretty blasphamous.)
9:14 pm CT
Giang raises with AK87, double flush draw. Maxfield calls with 8765. Connectors are good cards. The flop is 8-4-2 giving Maxfield a lot of draws including flushes and straights. Maxfield bets all in. Giang is considering the call while the table chats about geography. Giang calls. He's ahead but now, but an underdog in the hand. The turn is an A, putting Giang ahead in the hand. The river is a K, and Maxfield goes out in 8th.
9:17 pm CT
Second commercial break. We've got some interview with The Rocket going on. I'm not sure why. He's getting a bunch of awards. Now it's in commercial. Oh well.
9:19 pm CT
Wattel gets AQT8 rainbow and he bets. Williamson gets KK97 and he bets even bigger. It's folded around and Wattel has to decide whether to go all in. He does. Williamson is a 3-2 favorite. The flop is 5-K-A, putting Williamson way ahead. Wattel needs a J. The turn is a deuce. The river is a 6 and Wattel is out in 7th.
9:21 pm CT
We get a comparison between American poker and European poker. The wimpy Euros prefer Omaha. It's clearly a wimpier game, wouldn't you all agree? We learn table talk is banned in Europe. How boring. From both sides of the pond, they agree the Americans are bolder and brasher and the Euros are fancier and more passive.
9:22 pm CT
Karsten Johansen goes out in 6th, we never see the hand.
9:23 pm CT
La plays AQJ8. Williamson calls with 7654. The flop is A-6-5 and Williamson has a big hand with two pair a flush draw and an open ended straight draw. La has the Aces but probably needs to fold. Williamson likes to talk and I like watching him. Especially since he said he'll bring the gold to America. Now a Euro is complaining about Williamson talking. Screw the Euros!!! (No offense to any of my European readers.) La calls. Williamson is an 83% favorite. The turn is a T giving La a few more outs. The river is a Q of hearts and Williamson's flush knocks out La in 5th.
9:26 pm CT
Third commercial break and the NL is actually making a run. It's now 7-4 going to the bottom of the fifth.
9:29 pm CT
Williamson gets AA64, single flush draw and he bets big. Colclough bets big with QJT7, double flush draw. Williamson raises and Colclough has to go all in. The flop is AJ8, giving Colclough a flush and straight draw. The turn is another Ace and it's all over for Colclough in 4th place.
9:33 pm CT
Williamson looks at AJT8, all hearts. Too bad he can't use them all. Williamson bets. Giang plays QT42 from the SB. Lisandro raises with AQ76 and Williamson calls. The flop is 5-J-7. Lisandro has his flush draw, Williamson has his pair. Lisandro bets and Williamson moves all in. Lisandro calls, he's actually ahead in the hand. The turn is a 6 giving Lisandro two pair. The river is an 8 giving Williamson a better two pair, and Lisandro is out in 3rd.
9:36 pm CT
Fourth commercial break and the baseball game is also in commercial. I'm guessing the AL is still ahead. It's back and Thome is in the game. All right! It's still 7-4 AL. Just put a few men on base in front of Thome and he'll get the NL right back in this one!
9:38 pm CT
Heads up action for $188,000. Two pros battling for this bracelet. We're now learning more about Williamson. It seems he'll gamble on anything, including kicking a ball on a roof. It's a bet he lost, twice.
9:40 pm CT
Giang looks at KQQ9 and bets. Williamson has QJ98. Both are looking at a club draw. The flop is 8-6-Q. Giang's got a set, Williamson two pair. Giang bets big and Williamson raises. I'm sure he thinks top two pair is the best hand. It's not. Giang is an 84% favorite and he moves all in. If Williamson calls, he could be eliminated. He calls. Looks like we're about to see a suckout. The turn is a 5 giving Williamson two straight draws. The river is a T and Williamson doubles up. Yep, I'd call that a suckout. Giang is getting bleeped. Williamson is explaining his hand to the crowd. It probably wasn't the best decision, but sometimes you get lucky.
9:43 pm CT
Fifth commercial break. Uh oh. The AL got a couple more and it's a 9-4 lead. Now a Thome grand slam doesn't even tie it. The NL sucks.
9:45 pm CT
Giang has Q866, double flush draw. Williamson's got KT97 and calls. The flop is 3-6-5 and Giang has a set of 6's and a diamond draw. Williamson's got a worse diamond draw and a straight draw and bets. Giang moves all in and Williamson calls. The turn is a J. Williamson can only win with an 8. The river is another J and Giang wins with a full boat.
9:47 pm CT
It's time for the Giang profile. Guys like Howard Lederer are singing his praises, he must be pretty good.
9:49 pm CT
Giang plays 7542. Not a great hand. Williamson raises with K864. Giang calls. The flop is 8-6-2. Williamson flops top two pair, but he's actually an underdog because of all of the draws. Giang moves all in and Williamson calls. The turn is a T. Giang has 5 cards that bring him a straight. The 9 comes on the river and Giang doubles up again. Williamson got his money in with the best hand, but he was still a dog. That's Omaha!
9:51 pm CT
Sixth commercial break and the NL has two on, 1 out and they're down 5 runs. Jack Wilson (who?) is at the plate. He flies out weakly. What did you expect, it was Jack Wilson. Thome is up. A homer here and it's a two run game. Come on, Jim!!! Some guy from Tampa Bay just struck him out. Like I said, the NL sucks.
9:53 pm CT
Williamson bets with K854, three spades. Giang checks his BB with A962, two clubs. The flop is 3-6-9, two spades. Giang bets with his top two pair, Williamson has a straight draw and a flush draw. The turn is an A. Giang's top two pair just got better. Giang bets enough to force Williamson all in. Giang is a 3-1 favorite, Williamson should fold, can't risk it all on a one card draw. Williamson calls for the rabbit cam and folds. The river card wouldn't have helped him, so he made the right play.
9:57 pm CT
Williamson is in big trouble now. Giang looks at KT86. Williamson has AA72 and raises. Giang calls. The flop is 9-3-7 giving Giang a straight and a flush draw. Williamson moves all in and Giang calls. It's Rockets vs. the draws. Giang is a huge favorite. The turn is a 4. Now Giang is just a slight favorite. The river is the K of diamonds and that's the flush Giang was looking for. He's the champ of Omaha. Williamson finishes in 2nd. Now that was fun to watch!