It's never a great time for a poker player. In fact, there's probably no worse time than moments after the bust out, especially in a tournament of this magnitude, with this much attention focused on one table, with this much money at stake. And it was a bitterly disappointed David "Chino" Rheem who just walked away from the final table, busted in seventh … [Read more...]
2008 World Series: Phillips finds a reason to be cheerful, Rheem not so much
November 9, 2008 By
Rheem eliminated, Phillips doubles There are a lot of trite phrases that come to mind when watching somebody lose with A-K vs A-Q. They are trite because it happens often enough to inspire such phrases. It doesn't happen so often, however, to take the sting away. That's what's just happened to David "Chino" Rheem. Rheem open-shoved with As-Kc and … [Read more...]
World Series 2008: Thrills, spills and brainaches
November 9, 2008 By
Craig Marquis eliminated in sickest fashion With less than five million chips and an M of less than 5, Craig Marquis just open-shoved for 4,925,000. His 7h-7d looked pretty good against Scott Montgomery's Ad-Qs. It looked much, much better on the 7c-Ah-Td flop. The tournament director went through the long recitation of ways Montgomery could suck out. "He … [Read more...]
2008 World Series: Have we seen this before?
November 9, 2008 By
At last year's Main Event final table, spectators from Denmark watched aghast as their man - Philip Hilm - went from dominant chip leader at the start of play to first man out, giving all his chips to the eventual champion Jerry Yang with a misplaced semi-bluff. The serried ranks of supporters from St Louis, Missouri, are today watching with fingers, … [Read more...]
2008 World Series: Shuffled up, and dealing has begun
November 9, 2008 By
Any reporter running out of ways to describe how poker has changed over recent years need only set foot in the Rio Hotel and Casino this morning. Countless articles have been written about the vast numbers of players, the influence of online poker, the newly dominant aggressive style of play, etc. But until today, I've never seen organized armies of … [Read more...]
2008 World Series: Ylon Schwartz
November 7, 2008 By
12,525,000 chips Ylon Schwartz has been playing competitive table games for most of his life, having started playing chess in Washington Square Park in Manhattan ever since he was 13-years-old. Now 38, the Brooklyn native reverted to the more profitable world of poker after 12 years of competitive chess and is now fifth going into the final table of … [Read more...]
2008 World Series: Peter Eastgate
November 7, 2008 By
18,375,000 At just 22-years-old, Peter Eastgate is the youngest member of the November Nine and has his sights set firmly on the record books as well as the $9 million first prize. Already the first player from Denmark to make the final table of the World Series Main Event, Eastgate could supplant Phil Hellmuth as the youngest world champion of all … [Read more...]
2008 World Series: Ivan Demidov
November 7, 2008 By
24,400,000 chips Ivan Demidov is the form player coming into the final table, having used his break from the World Series to play in, well, the World Series. Demidov returned to Europe after his heroics in Las Vegas and made the final table of the World Series Europe Main Event in London. He finished third, earning more than $600,000, and became the … [Read more...]
One hundred to win piece of Million Dollar Man
October 10, 2008 By
Do you want a piece of PokerStars Million Dollar Man Darus Suharto? You can't buy a share of his winnings right now, but you can win it this weekend. It is understood, buying a piece of someone in a tournament is always a tricky proposition. Even if you have a lot of confidence in the player, the tournament world is a fickle place and the chance of … [Read more...]
Chris Moneymaker wins Million Dollar Men TOC
October 1, 2008 By
It was like a cage match in which metal chairs, chainsaws, and howitzers were fair game weapons. Competing were the Pattons 21st century poker. Four of them had World Series championship bracelets. The other five have a chance at one in just a few week. In what PokerStars billed as the World Series Tournament of Champions, part of the month-long … [Read more...]