Episode #112: WSOP Expo
MAIN TOPIC
It wasn't all games at the World Series of Poker, it was fun, too. (Get it, fun and games?) Listen to this week's show by clicking here.
Chris and I made a few passes through the World Series of Poker's Gaming Life Expo, which without the online sites of yesteryear morphed into a smaller "men's lifestyle" event this year. But there was still plenty of poker goodies in the big ballroom, so here are some of the highlights:
LONE STAR POKER TABLES: A very unique poker table company, run by real-live Ante Upper Pat Mulry. All of his tables are custom made, and the coolest part is that the drink holders and chip rack are built in as sliders, so they close up neatly.
POKERTEK BAR TABLES: Look for these cool amusement devices in your local bar and tavern soon. Play heads-up poker against a friend (though we can't guarantee you'll get to play Phil Laak or Antonio Esfandiari). Very easy to use, and with a credit card swiper, just as convenient to play as a pool table or a Golden Tee game. (Chris beat me).
PLAY HARD GAMING TABLES: If you're a teetotaler like Chris, you'll have to get your video poker table kicks at home. Play Hard offers three models - a 10-seater, a 6-seater and a 2-seater. (Yes, Chris beat me again. Like he's some sort of poker god or something. Geez).
MONSTER CHIPS: If you can shuffle these big bad boys, you're doing something Chris can't. Use them as a conversation piece (or more likely as a coaster), but these larger-than-life chips are pretty neat. Buck up the full $20,000 for the entire set, including case, dealer button and cards. Ha!
THE NUTZ: Every poker player wants to be holding the nuts. Buy one of these card protectors, and you'll always have the nuts. (Well, metal replicas of real nuts, at least).
OTHER TOPICS
Poker fashion: No one is ever going to accuse Chris and I of being fashionable, but it's a different story with folks like Robert Williamson III, Johnny Chan and Clonie Gowen. USA Today did a fun little read on poker fashion at the table. Can you guess how many high-end pairs of jeans Clonie owns? Try 65.
Phil Laak vs. the Poker Bot: Some smarty pants up in Canada built a computer, gave it a lame name (Polaris - PIP would have been better) and then challenged The Unabomber to beat it.
Daniel Negreanu more animated than usual. Kid Poker will voice three characters in the upcoming Disney cartoon The Replacements. No word on whether any of them will sport PokerStars logos.
Tampa Bay Poker Replay: How smart is it to sit down in a Florida no-limit game late in the night?
One Minute Mystery: Aha! Chris was right! Our opponent was holding "The Cosenza" (A-10). So now we know there are at least two donks out there.
HAND OF THE WEEK
Youv from Israel has taken up HORSE, so we give him a little advice on where he went wrong in a Stud 8 hand.
He brought it in with a 3h-Jd-2c, and rightly took one more card off after he collected the 5h on Fourth Street. But the wheels came off on Fifth, when he picked up the 7h, and called two bets cold when one his opponents was going high, the other had a lower board and many of his "scoop" cards were gone. It gets worse on Six Street, when we get the 4c and raise, and then stick around in a capped Seventh Street when we don't improve.
Our advice: Try to get heads up, don't draw to half the pot unless it's the nuts.
- SCOTT
Christopher Cosenza is co-host of the longest running poker podcast on the planet, Ante Up! He started playing poker seriously in 2003 and his favorite players are Phil Ivey and Kenna James, though he tends to act like Phil Hellmuth if you make a bad play against him.
Scott Long, Ante Up!'s other co-host, is the author of the monthly Bet on It column in tbt*. He began gambling way too young (don't tell the fuzz!) and in the seventh grade, named his state "Gambleland" for a school project (State Animal? Loan shark, of course).
Show's up!
Posted by: Chris Cosenza | August 03, 2007 at 02:23 PM
Only 66m39s? :P
Posted by: FrodoNL | August 03, 2007 at 02:37 PM
I wouldn't have been in the hand to begin with w/ J-10 OS, but after the turn I don't think I can get away from it. Just unlucky that he has A-10, oh well.
Posted by: Matt | August 03, 2007 at 02:40 PM
I love it when I'm right!! Of course it happens so rarely that I have to gloat!!!
Posted by: Chris Cosenza | August 03, 2007 at 02:51 PM
yeah, which is the worse play. Opening the pot for a raise with the Cosenza or calling and committing yourself with J-10 off?
Michael
Posted by: Michael Paul | August 03, 2007 at 05:18 PM
Polaris alt name - Artificial Intelligence Poker System.
Posted by: ScottD | August 03, 2007 at 10:37 PM
Nice. Very nice.
Posted by: Chris Cosenza | August 04, 2007 at 11:59 AM
Great show! Personally, though, I like my nut card protector more. The one I have as an avatar on the forum with a washer and three nuts on top of it. So my nutz are better than those walnutz.
Posted by: jherky | August 04, 2007 at 09:43 PM
Those pole dancers, hysterical :)
What I think is that there is a slight difference between what is known as gambling/(wannabe)high roller-lifestyle and what the poker player considers to be fun. I think the average poker player is a bit more geeky than most people. Not much, but I think that (funny) card protectors, (monster) chipsets, poker books and DVD´s, custom-made pokertables, quality card decks etc, are what they prefer instead of the Playboy mansion style.
Posted by: Erwin Blonk | August 06, 2007 at 07:46 AM
I thought this year's show was much weaker than last year. While I enjoy dunking strippers as much as the next guy, replacing the online poker sites with Gentleman's Clubs did not very work. Did you see Men the Master's stuff? Some of it was actually pretty clever.
Posted by: Joe | August 06, 2007 at 08:05 PM
Is Ante UP having a booth next year like you mentioned on the podcast?
And if so who is going to do the pole dancing?
Posted by: Boil | August 07, 2007 at 02:11 AM
Yikes Boil!!! lol
Posted by: Matt | August 07, 2007 at 08:58 AM
The ladies would vote for Fasso, he is the stud guy. Ask the Bodog girls.
Posted by: Erwin Blonk | August 09, 2007 at 10:47 AM
Wait a sec, Ante Up! boot.... pole dancing..... let me think..... the Pokersluts!!!!!
Posted by: Erwin Blonk | August 09, 2007 at 10:49 AM