Episode #157: Chris in Connecticut

MAIN TOPIC
Chris calls in from the land of pink carpet and princesses (can't make that up if I wanted to) to give us the lowdown on Mohegan Sun's new electronic-only poker room (live poker returns Sept. 1) and his usual ringing endorsement of Foxwoods. Click here to listen to the show.

OTHER TOPICS

World Series of Poker: Kenna James cashes, Jerry Buss busts in time to catch his Lakers, another Man vs. Machine is scheduled and a doctor abandons his stack to help a fallen player.

Mixed games mania: The Imperial Palace in Vegas is dealing a $3/$6 limit mixed game at 7 p.m. on Sundays. Some crazzzzzy games being offered. We love it.

Gas up at the Commerce: Commerce Casino in L.A. is randomly dropping $50 gas cards into poker pots in July.

Sinatra's home game: Who played in it? It was a fun one: Jack Lemmon, Angie Dickinson, Gregory Peck and more.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: The Seminole Hard Rock Tampa bad beat jackpot is hit for $564,912. Glen Upchurch of Clearwater wins $282,452 for his losing quad 6s, while William Lewicke of Winter Haven takes $141,227 (and the pot) with a straight flush. The other eight players at the table won $17,654 each.

One Minute Mystery: We make the call, and take down the pot when our opponent shows K-6 for top pair, weaker kicker.

HAND OF THE WEEK
It's a Crazy Pineapple hand! Dan, a fellow journalist from Greeley, Colo., offers us a home game no-limit high-only hand with loose players who have been hitting the sauce.

He's dealt K-K-7, pops it 5x and gets two callers. The flop is K-8-6, two spades, and Dan bets pot but can't shake either opponent. He dumps the 7, and the turn is an Ace. With just $5 left, he checks (Chris would have pushed, I kinda like the misdirection), but one opponent bets $2 and both players call. The river is a 6, completing the flush but also filling Dan up. He gets it all-in and takes down a nice pot against two smaller boats.

- SCOTT

We have a new hero

Photo courtesy of WPT

Not sure how this got by me when I was up there, but this is Rich Meli, and clearly he has his priorities in order. What's more important to him ... winning the Foxwoods tournament or winning a banana? This man knows the importance of the yellow fruit! If you don't know who Rich Meli is, don't worry, neither do I. But he has one WPT cash for $27K (19th @ Foxwoods). I remember watching him play but I didn't know who he was. I came across this shot while scanning through WPT photos. I think I'll try to get him to play in the next AIPS event.

-- Chris

Episode #128: Foxwoods interviews

MAIN TOPIC

Chris got some awesome interviews while prowling around Foxwoods this month. Click here to hear the whole show, which includes interviews with:

• Bill Edler: When is he "Bill"? And when is he "William"? And man, he really loves his wife.
• Freddy Deeb: Chris' BFF talks about his big HORSE win, those colorful shirts and why the poker boom will never be over.
• Lee Childs: Ante Up's resident pro chats about how his life has changed now that he's on the pro tour, and why playing online is tougher than playing live.
• Eugene Todd: Trust us, you will be on the floor rolling after this interview, bro.

OTHER TOPICS

Episode guide: Many, many thanks to Ante Upper Nikademus, who's compiled an amazing resource of past Ante Up! shows. Click here to see it.

"Foreign" happenings: First, some U.S. congressmen are fightin' mad that the U.S. Trade Representative isn't asking them for help in dealing with the ongoing World Trade Organization disputes over online gambling. Also, Harrah's is pondering entering the online poker business in Europe.

Knockout tournaments: Don't call them "bounty" tournaments, Full Tilt says, but the online poker site has started "knockout" tournaments where you earn a prize every time you felt a player.

Hotline: Two great calls this week: one about dealing with a bad run of calls and one about unfortunate muckage. (Is that a word? I guess it is now).

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: Derby Lane has rolled out a number of changes, including later hours. Click here for the details.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Nick from Jersey phones in an audio HOTW.

In a $1/$2 no-limit game in an underground card room, he's looking at a $5 straddle and a mess of callers with his 4-4 on the button. He limps in, and hits his set on a flop of 4-5-J. Checked around to him, and he puts in a bet of $25, which chases everyone out but one.

The turn is a 9; he bets $65 and is check-raised to $165. With $320 left, he decides to call.

The river is a 5, and his opponent puts him all-in. Somehow he has the strength to lay this hand down. Good thing, too: His opponent had J-5.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

On a special Tuesday edition, Chip and Karina Jett visit the Ante Up! studios to tout One-Eyed Jack's Pros vs. Joes event and to talk about a whole lot more.

- SCOTT

Episode #127: Jean-Robert Bellande

CBS photo

MAIN TOPIC

Jean-Robert Bellande, recently booted off the hit reality show Survivor, gives us a ring to chat about the show, poker and how the two worked together. This spring, he has a book coming out, Broke and Living Like a Millionaire, and he gives us a preview of some of the humor that'll be in it. And check out the exhaustive, and entertaining, interview with him in Bluff. Click here to listen to the show.

OTHER TOPICS

AIPS: Congrats to two-time banana winner C furbee, and mark the calendar for the Main Event on Dec. 15. Click here for details.

Conn home game: Chris shares some more details from the Ante Up! MeetUp home game in Connecticut.

Don't eat these chips!: The state of Arizona says there is too much lead in Paulsons.

Hotline: Listeners call in to chat about the possibility of a daily show ... as long as it isn't in a parking garage. You, too, can be on the show. Just call toll-free 1-866-371-9605.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: Scott recounts his experience at the Vinny Lecavalier charity tournament, including an odd encounter with Ante Upper and WSOP bracelet winner Don Baruch; the first Battle of the Bay goes to the Silks Cardroom at Tampa Bay Downs; and we chat briefly about the Seminoles' compact with Florida.

One-Minute Mystery: Did you make the call? Well, you're on the rail then, as our opponent had K-10.

HAND OF THE WEEK

SamRiver57 does us the pleasure of letting us break down a pot-limit Omaha High hand.

With an early position min raise, and a call from the cut-off, our hero makes the call from the SB with 10s-7d-10c-5h, and the BB bails. We're not a fan of entering this pot out of position with such a weak holding.

The flop is 10h-6c-Ks, so we hit middle set, but that's dangerous in Omaha, especially with a straight draw on board. Our hero bets out pot, gets the raiser to fold, but the cutoff calls. Ouch.

The turn is 9h, completing two straights and adding a flush draw, none of which we have. But our hero bets out big again, and is raised big by his opponent. Seeing erratic play from his opponent previously, SamRiver moves all in for a small raise and learns he's up against the nut straight. The river is no help.

Our advice: Position is huge in Omaha, and you need a monster - or redraws - to bet confidently out of position. Second set doesn't cut it.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

Chris shares his interviews with pros from his trip to Foxwoods

- SCOTT

Episode #126: Poker boom over?

Bloomberg News photo

MAIN TOPIC

Chris calls in from Foxwoods and the World Poker Tour's World Poker Finals with a startling conclusion: Is the poker boom over? Click here to listen to the show.

Chris says the mood at the event is different than in the past, the number of spectators is way down and the number of entrants has trailed off a tad. Certainly, this is one small piece of the larger discussion, but it's something to think about. Scott poses an interesting, er, "captivating," question: So what if the boom is over? Of course, Ante Up! grew and continues to feed off poker interest, but maybe it's time for a natural market correction, where the worst shows fail, the worst books don't sell and the only quasi-interested players move on to another hobby. What do you think?

OTHER TOPICS

AIPS: Second-to-last event of the year is at 9 p.m. Thursday. Come get your banana! For details, click here.

Gambling bust: WSOP "divisional" champ (darn sloppy media!) Paul McKinney was pinched in a Tennessee poker game raid. They even took his pills.

Phil Ivey's one and only tip: The elusive Tiger Woods of Poker (aren't you glad that silly name has faded away?) finally offers up a tip for FullTilt players, and Scott loves it: Phil says read about poker all you want, watch all the poker you want, listen to all the poker you want, but when you're at the table, play your own game. Ahhhh, music to Scott's ears. Chris, of course, was sorta unimpressed.

This is ... "exhilarating!" Longtime listener and frequent e-mailer Mary "The Opus" offers Scott a "inspiring" list of synonyms for "interesting."

Vinny can play hockey ...: but can he play cards? Scott will find out in Monday's Vincent Lecavalier Charity Poker Tournament at the Hard Rock in Tampa.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: Scott reviews the Hard Rock in Tampa. Bottom line - 24/7 is a great thing.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Engstrok becomes a member of the HOTW's Three-Timers Club (you know what that means everyone - send us some HOTWs!) with a hand where he can't bet a monster.

In a $5.50 45-person SNG on PokerStars, he's dealt Jc-7h in the BB of Level I. The button had min-raised, and our hero calls, as do four others. The flop comes Js-7s-Ah. It's checked around, and the turn is a beautiful Jd. Our hero bets out a tiny 60, which is min-raised by the button (an appropriately named JiveTurkey7). Engstrock just calls, and checks the river 4s. JiveTurkey bets 120, engstrock calls and loses to A-J. Ouch.

It's almost impossible to put Jive on A-J here (who would let four players get a free turn card with flush and straight draws on board?!?!), but alas, anything is possible in low-level online tournaments. The good thing for engstrock: He lost as little money as is humanely possible here.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

Chris' interviews from Foxwoods, plus Jean-Robert Bellande!

- SCOTT

Heading out for last time

I'm getting ready to head out of Foxwoods, and it's a little bittersweet because I really think that, unless some unusual circumstances arise, this will be my last WPT event I cover here. The first time I came it was for the thrill of it and it was out of necessity. Our show was still relatively new and making contacts was very important to the longevity of our product. But now that we've made all of these contacts through the WPT and the WSOP and through basic word of mouth, I just don't know if I need to come here anymore to secure guests and interviews. Each time I come back my stay at Foxwoods shortens. This time I only came for 2 days. Plus I'm doing this on my own time, and if it's not absolutely essential, why should I burn my vacation on this? Right? I didn't even play one hand of poker while I was here. I know I'll be playing in the home game tonight, but to come all the way to Foxwoods and not sit down at $2-5 or $1-2 NL? That's never happened.

I interviewed Freddy Deeb and Bill Edler today, and both guys were very personable and gracious, so that should make for a good show next week, combined with my other interviews and of course Jean-Robert Bellande. It could be one of our best.

As for an update on Lee Childs' dad, Bill, he's at around 110K with the blinds at 800-1600. I'll have Lee keep me posted and will let you know how he finishes up. Deeb is one of the chipleaders and the field is down to about 180 players.

It's been fun Foxwoods, but I must bid you adieu.

-- Chris

Lee Childs ... OUT!

Lee came into Day 2 with less than 24,000 chips so he didn't have much wiggle room. He suffered a setback earlier when he tried to represent an ace on the turn but his opponent wouldn't have any of it and called him down. So with about 11K left David Fox raised preflop to like 3K from UTG and Lee, in the BB looked down at 22. He shoved, forcing Fox to actually have a hand, and he did, AK. A king on the flop ended Lee's run. He says he might play the $5K event at Borgata on Sunday.

But, that doesn't mean the Childs name is done for at Foxwoods. Lee's dad, Bill, is having a great Day 2, soaring to at least 150K right now. One hand I watched he had 89 and turned the aboslute nuts with a board of 6-7-3-10. The player on his left, Paul Spitzberg (you may remember him from this year's coverage of the WSOP main event) shoved for 35K more, and after a little deliberation (we're not sure why) Bill called and Spitzberg turned over 45 for a smaller straight. It took Bill three hands to pile all of his chips.

Other Day 1B notables still alive that I hadn't mentioned earlier: Justin Bonomo and John Juanda.

More later, but I will be talking to Freddy Deeb on the next break.

-- Chris

Day 2 - Foxwoods WPT

I just sat down for the start of Day 2 and a few more players showed up than I thought. Some big names survived Day 1B (Josh Arieh 46K, Freddy Deeb 108K, David Benyamine 80K, Farzad Bonyadi 15K, Mike Binger 37K, Haralabos Voulgaris 20K, Alex Jacob 81K, Al Krux 112K, Nam Le 71K, Kathy Liebert 20K, Jeff Madsen 34K, Eugene Todd (Bro) 31K - and he says he just needs to win the first hand he plays and he'll be right back in it; Isabelle Mercier 28K, Chris Moneymaker 49K, Victor Ramdin 90K, Erica Schoenberg 42K, Nick Schulman 76K, David Singer 21K, - I just talked to him and he's as calm as ever; and David Williams 62K). There are more names, but I didn't want to just fill this post with a list. You can find coverage on CardPlayer if you want it.

I have to stand corrected when it comes to the number of entrants dwindling. The late signups and constantly running satellites made the total number of entrants jump to 575. That's a decent tournament, to say the least, despite still being less than last November's event here.

Do I still think the poker boom is over? Yes. But it's good to know there are a lot of big names here , and there are about 350 players left, so there's still some good poker to be played. One of the best stories for the Ante Up! Nation is Lee Childs' father, Bill. He came up here to play a little blackjack and follow his son. But Lee convinced him to play in a single-table satellite to try to win a seat. After 4 hours (now THAT is one long SNG) he won a spot for Day 1B and today he stands as one of the chipleaders at 71K. Pretty remarkable.

Looking forward to the home game tonight with the Ante Up! Nation and I'll give a report on that sometime in the next few days.

I'll try to have some updates throughout the day before I have to leave for JLBSox's house tonight.

-- Chris

Final Day 1A update

OK, it's 12:30 a.m. and I just got home from Foxwoods. As you may or may not know, Lee Childs made it to Day 2, which will be played Friday. He has around 23K in chips (he rallied to about 40K at one point but a couple of bad beats knocked him down late in Level 5. Even though that stack is under the average and below his original starting stack of 30K, he still feels he doesn't have to panic since he still will have roughly 30 big blinds left.

I talked with Tom Schneider a few times and he finished up at around the mid 30s, as did Bradley Berman. You can see all of the chip counts on CardPlayer, since they are the official media outlet of the WPT (remember how mad they got at me this morning?)

Tomorrow is Day 1B, and I may or may not make it. Though I do enjoy covering the WPT occasionally, this is my vacation too, and I haven't seen some of my friends. So I haven't decided if I am done with Foxwoods or if I'm returning. I'm looking forward to Friday's home game, though I may go to Foxwoods in the afternoon before heading over to JLBSox's house.

Couple of small tidbits before I sign off: I saw Chris Moneymaker playing $25-50 NLHE and I saw Allen Cunningham signing in with his girlfriend, Melissa Hayden. Also saw Paul Darden playing $150-300 Stud/8 (man I wish I could sit in that game!). And the best part of the night, Eugene Todd (Bro) invited me back to his room and I got the greatest interview in the history of Ante Up! The censor beep will be working overtime next week. I can only hope he doesn't tell the same story on Sebok's show (though he probably will).

OK, that's it for now.

-- Chris

Sick beats at WPT

I have seen some really sick beats today, almost as sick as the ones I have had recently. HAHA.

Here's one: J.C. Tran is involved in a hand with a guy and flops trip 9s. JC bets, the other guy shoves and JC calls. The other guy, who was bluffing, folds and starts to walk away. The cards never actually hit the muck and the dealer pulled them out. He dealt the rest of the board and the guy made runner-runner straight to survive. JC wasn't happy.

Here's another one: Hoyt Corkins has QJ and is in a hand with another guy. Flop comes AAJ and they get it all in. The other guy has JJ. Turn was an A blank and river was an ace. They split the pot. Just sick.

Lee finished Level 4 with 24K but has rallied as of late. This is the final level and he's over 40K. Barring a "disaster" he will make Day 2 on Friday.

-- Chris

Levels 1 and 2

After 1.5 levels Lee Childs is at 40K, give or take, and Tom Schneider was at 55K. Not a lot of movement in the way of chip stacks, but you can imagine with 30K to start there's no real reason to force the issue. There will be a 15-minute break in 6 minutes, and then they will start Level 3.

As I look at the WPT merchandise I can see a shirt that says ANTE UP on it. I have alerted the Times lawyers and Steven Lipscomb and he will be hearing from them real soon. LOL!

Turns out Freddy Deeb is here, but I think he is playing tomorrow. I'm not sure I will be coming tomorrow or not, but I might, since we are taping our show at 11 a.m.

I've already been moved three times today by the WPT staff. There's almost no media here, and yet then keep moving me. This time I had to move for Sebok's crew. I gave him some guff for it and he laughed. He says that's what I get for messing with the big boys. Little does he know I have an entire Nation behind me and if choose to unleash its collective power he will be in for a world of pain!

More later.

-- Chris 

Update: LEVEL 2: Lee was at 32.5K after Level 2. The day should end around 9 p.m. Schneider was hovering around 50K still.

Update

OK, I just scanned the room and realized they are starting with 30K in chips. That's the first time that's ever happened. They start at 50-100 though. I saw one hand where Lee Childs raised in the 6th position and was called by Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken behind him. The flop came Ac-9d-Kd. Lee bet out 4K into a 6K pot and after about 2 minutes Dicken folded. So Childs picked up a nice pot there. Also at his table is Bernard Lee. You may remember him from the WSOP when he had the picture of his kids and he always kissed them when he would go all in. John says I should call him Bernie.

Another guy I met the last two times here is playing, his name is Dan Frank, and he's a local guy. I saw him at his table with Tom Schneider, Vanessa Rousso and Alan Kessler. Dan was in a hand with Schneider, and he bet out on the river with a board of Kd-Jd-8h-9d-2s. Schneider essentially minraised and after about 4 minutes Dan called with a set of jacks. Schneider had turned a queen-high straight.

Other pros that I've seen at the tables: Tuan Le, Fred Goldberg, Steve Zolotow, Mimi Tran (who made the final table here last April), Eric "Rizen" Lynch, Bill Edler, JC Tran, Erik Seidel and Hoyt Corkins.

More later,

-- Chris 

Already reprimanded at the WPT

Did you know that I picked out my wardrobe this morning with the sole intention of ticking off the World Poker Tour people? I showed up for my credentials today and got a little flak for wearing a WSOP shirt. Doh! How was I supposed to know I couldn't wear this shirt? Apparently there's a waiver that I am supposed to sign and that waiver says I can't wear any logos. But no one said anything for about 25 minutes after that. They just sort of joked with me. And then someone came over and handed me a black strip of electrical tape and asked me to cover it up. And let me tell you, this person was NOT nice to me when she asked. C'est la vie. I didn't lose my temper I just put the tape on. Tomorrow I'm thinking about wearing a Poker After Dark shirt. LOL! So, just in case I'm caught on film in a segment that airs on GSN, the viewing public doesn't want to know that I choose to wear WSOP gear. Unreal. 

So I'm sitting outside the entrance of the Sunset Ballroom entrance with Ante Upper John Silva, aka yzerman13, and we're making fun of everyone who walks by. He drove 3 hours and we both met Lee "Mr. Final Table" Childs about 15 minutes ago. Lee has some good stories to share so I'll interview him later and we'll use it for the either this show or next week.

Joe Sebok came by and we laughed bout his Canadian nightmare. He's the competition again now so I can't talk to him anymore. HAHA! No, he's real cool. Every time I'm here he comes up to me first and chats. I saw Barry and thought about saying hi but I'll wait till alter.

Whoa! I just had to seperate John from Amnon Filipi. Remember when John had that spat with him at the WSOP? Well, Filipi just walked by and John almost lost it. I had to grab John and pull him into a corner. It was scary. ... OK, I'm kidding. Amnon looked right at him and didn't even recognize him. And John said it wasn't worth needing me to bail him out of the Stonington jail.

Ran into Tom Schneider just now. Great guy. He said he enjoyed being on the show and he's hoping to final table here so he can really move up in the Player of the Year race. He says he's all "tournamented out" and I can believe it. I'm all "tournamented out" too and I don't even play.

I bumped into a certain Survivor contestant and asked him if he would talk to me, but he said he couldn't because of the show. All these rules are really cramping my style. No logos, no conversations with players from Survivor. What's the deal? So the general public ACTUALLY thinks Survivor is going on RIGHT NOW!!! So, he gave me his number and email and we might have him on the show after he gets "eliminated."

Just talked to Chad Brown. He says he really enjoyed being on the show and then he talked to me for about 10 minutes about the nightmare of public relations. I asked him if Vanessa Rousso would want to be on the show and he said she's here so talk to her today. And he gave me her number so that might happen soon too.

OK, I'm gonna go into the room and check out the play, see how things are going.

Haven't seen some of the regulars such as Daniel Negreanu, The Grinder, Cyndy Violette or the Brunsons, and where's Freddy Deeb? Maybe he's playing Day 1b.

-- Chris

 

Episode #116: John D'Agostino

MAIN TOPIC

FullTilt pro John D'Agostino gives us a ring while driving from New Jersey to Connecticut (relax, he wasn't driving!) to talk about poker and donuts. Listen to the show by clicking here. Some topics we discussed:

• The joys of living in Connecticut AND New Jersey
• Coming up through the limit ranks
• Chatting with fans on FullTilt
• Becoming a WPT Boot Camp instructor
• What high stakes poker games are really like, and why he plays on the East Coast instead of Vegas
• Why he hates razz
• And, of course, that quad-miracle that Hoyt Corkins turned at the U.S. Poker Championships.

OTHER TOPICS

PokerWire ends run: But we're sure Joe and Gavin will be back some how, some way.

Rattlesnakes as a weapon: How would you kill a poker rival? We're guessing you didn't think of this. Or, at least, we hope you didn't.

Rob and Amber challenge the odds: Chris proves once and for all how pathetic his life really is, watching the entire season of Rob and Amber Against the Odds in one sitting. Find out how well Boston Rob takes to Daniel Negreanu's advice.

Poker workshops at school: Harvard professor Charles Nesson wants to form a "global poker strategic thinking society" that will offer poker workshops to schools and community centers.

Ante Up! Hotline: A listener calls in with a question about razz antes. Our advice: Be careful stealing in razz. Also, we want to hear some of those funny stories that have happened in your home games. Call us toll-free at 1-866-371-9605. If we get enough good clips, we'll devote a whole show to them.

One Minute Mystery: Our listeners are very smart. They quickly figured out that Columbo has no reason to call with two pair in this Omaha hand with a straight and flush on the board.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay

Alright, hold on tight. There's a lot of action at local rooms. Here are the highlights:

• Sarasota Kennel Club: On Labor Day, one person every hour will get a chance to rack as much as $1,650 in chips in 93 seconds.
• Derby Lane: The $500+$50 entry $250,000 tournament on Sept. 30 is sold out, but you can still win seats with high hands.
• Tampa Bay Downs: The $40 1 p.m. Monday tournament is no juice, and on Saturdays play in $45 satellites for the weekly $230 tournament or the monthly $540 event.
• Tampa Greyhound Track: At 6:30 p.m. Saturday is a $150 tournament that awards a seat in the $5,000 Celebrity Poker Tournament in San Diego. At 2 p.m., a $25 with unlimited $10 rebuys satellite is planned.
• Hard Rock Seminole: One Sunday a month a $100 stud and a $100 Omaha 8 tournament is held.
• Treasure Island Sun Cruz: Every Sunday are $200+$20 satellites for the World Off-Shore Poker Tournament.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Chris lets J-Dag guide him through a recent hand where he had 8-8 in the BB and was isolated against the SB. Chris raised preflop, continue bet on the flop and then checked the turn. When the flush hits on the river, the SB makes his move and Chris has to bail to what turns out to be a bluff.

- SCOTT

Photo credit: World Poker Tour

Episode #102 recap: Barry Greenstein

MAIN TOPIC

The "Robin Hood of Poker" Barry Greenstein joined us for a very lively, entertaining interview that's easily our longest pro interview ever. (And he did it all live from the Bellagio poker room, where he had been playing all night!). To hear the show, click here. Here are highlights:

ACE ON THE RIVER: We delved into his book in good detail, from the dedication, to its strategy lessons to what he left out (hint: making deals at the final table - next week's Ante Up! topic)

CHARITY WORK: It's well known that he donates all of his tournament winnings to charity, especially Children Inc. But he wants you to know he has to pay taxes on his winnings, so people who say he has ulterior motives don't really understand how generous he really is.

JOE: He has plenty to say about this son Joe Sebok and the challenges of being a poker player with a family. Don't miss "his side" of the infamous basketball episode.

WSOP: He's planning on playing several events at the World Series this year, though it depends on the side game action, which he predicts will be drier than in the past thanks to legal challenges. And Bodog has Barry and Joe at 3-to-2 odds to be the family pairing that will cash the most in the Main Event.

TRAVEL: If you've ever taken a loooooong trip, wait to you hear the turnaround Barry had traveling from Reno, to Europe, to Connecticut, to home.

DUSTUPS: Barry gives his side of the Andy Beal matches, and the grief he took from pros, talks about his heads-up matches with Daniel Negreanu and says he hasn't always been as calm, cool and collected as he appears. And check out his player rankings on his Web site. Yes, he's taken some grief for being this open and honest about biggest pros in the game.

OTHER TOPICS

WSOP: The World Series has changed the payout structures this year, making it easier to cash but less lucrative to win. And with online poker sites kicked to the curb, the Gaming Life Expo will be a different affair this year. It's transforming into a "men's lifestyle" event, with race car simulators, golf exhibits and "lovely" women playing volleyball.

KINGS AND LOWS: You know what this game is? Neither do we. But one of our listeners is pretty good at it, and he wants it to become a bracelet event. We're all for it, since it's not hold'em.

WORLD SERIES OF GOLF: Some interesting names made the money at the WSOG. Ever hear of some dude named Phil Ivey?

AIPS: Be sure to sign up for Event #6, and if you finished 5th to 12th in Event #5 and don't think you've received your $5.50 credit, e-mail FullTilt.

OMAHA' S ORIGINS: Don't you love it when Chris and Scott fight like little girls? Some listeners took issue with Scott's claim (from the book Roll the Bones) last week that Texas Hold'em may have originated FROM Omaha. Bottom line, like most everything in poker, no one knows the truth, so it all depends on whom you trust more. So there. :)

ONE-MINUTE MYSTERY: Columbo reigns when he correctly puts his opponent on AK and calls a river bet with pocket Aces.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Barry sticks around to help his analyze a hand from listener John (aka Croker). John gets involved preflop with pocket 4s, and flops an open-ended straight flush draw. Barry wasn't happy with John calling the preflop reraise, but was more bothered by John not making a do-or-die decision on the flop. Without knowing where he stood in the hand, John put himself in a situation where his opponent could draw out on him or bluff him off the hand. And, yes, it was the latter that cost John the pot on the river.

- SCOTT

Coupla things

BRICK CITY: Remember those bricks I talked about that I laid at the $2-4 Razz table recently before moving to the $5-10 table and scoring a big win? Well my job as head mason got transferred to the $5-10 Razz table last night and I finally hit a wall. There were a few crappy hands where I bricked early, but three hands really hurt. I made a 65 (the bets were capped on 3rd and 4th) and lost to a 64 on the river and then I had A234 and A345 to start in a 5-hand span (and those hands saw some serious raising) but of course I bricked all the way on both hands. Before I knew it I was down more than $100. God that sucked. All of those wins that I had posted on the blog over the past week have been erased. I'm still up on FTP, but not so much that I'm happy about it. I'll need to dial it down for a bit so I can claw my way back up again.

WPT FOXWOODS: Just one final reminder that the November WPT event at Foxwoods that I covered will be on TV tonight on the Travel Channel at 9 p.m. ET. If you want to see me, look over Mimi Tran's shoulder a few rows back. I'm wearing a white golf shirt (though the lighting might make it look like I have a light-blue shirt on). It'll be interesting to see what the hands were that got folded. And, if I remember correctly, the final table was over very fast, so we should see a lot of the hands played believe it or not.

-- Chris

Episode #96 recap

MAIN TOPIC

Chris returns from the World Poker Tour event at Foxwoods, and he snagged some great multiquestion interviews with some pros:

CYNDY VIOLETTE: Learn about her positive clothing line, her honesty on her blog and an interesting take on while Doyle Brunson shut done his Web poker room to U.S. players.

"MIAMI" JOHN CERNUTO: Get some insights on razz, gastric bypass surgery, how he got the "Miami" nickname, how evil pocket 10s can be, and do it all with a groovin' Whitney Houston soundtrack.

MICHAEL "THE GRINDER" MIZRACHI: He talks about playing Chinese Poker, how he'll return to Florida when, or if, the $2 bet limits are lifted and get some quick advice from a "special guest."

LINDA JOHNSON: She's busy - very busy. From writing a CardPlayer column, to running CardPlayer Cruises to announcing at the World Poker Tour. And she talks about razz (listen to her: she has a bracelet in it. You don't).

DAVID SINGER: Learn about a string of bad TV beats, why you should really be playing on the East Coast and what he thinks about the ability to chat with pros on FullTilt. And he gives a solid tip for stud beginners. :)

OTHER TOPICS

WAIT, THERE'S MORE THAN HOLD'EM ON TV?: ESPN has announced which World Series of Poker events it'll broadcast this year and, surprise, it's good news! We'll get 6 hours of HORSE (and it's all HORSE, not no-limit hold'em. What a concept), plus at least one Omaha event (and as many as three) and some interesting hold'em events (mixed, pot limit and maybe heads-up). Bad news is four more hours of the Main Event than before.

FIGHTIN' THE GOOD FIGHT: Alfonse D'Amato, the new chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, held a Webcast on Thursday. Chris says you didn't miss much at least in the first 20 minutes, but you can visit their site to read the excerpts and see video highlights.

IF YOU CAN HANDLE HELLMUTH, YOU CAN WIN A TV: Check out PokerListings.com, where you can fun your way through some comic strips with Phil Hellmuth maybe win a 52-inch TV. And then invite us all over to watch the WSOP HORSE tournament.

LUXOR TAKING RESERVATIONS: No, not for hotel rooms. Well, of course, hotel rooms. But now poker tables as well. If you have a group, give the Vegas poker room a ring and get your own table. And food service, too.

THE DEUCE MAKES IT THREE: Well, actually four - that we know of. Sam Minutello, who brought poker tournaments to Derby Lane, then built a class facility at Tampa Bay Downs and then outdid himself at the Sarasota Kennel Club (and made a name for himself at the WSOP), is now helping Tampa Greyhound Track set up their room. But don't worry, One-Eyed Jack's fans, he's not leaving Sarasota. And stay tuned here for a post from Scott over the weekend about local card rooms - what he likes, what he'd like to see. Hopefully, the local members of the Ante Up! Nation will chime in, too.

OMM: Mark these fateful words from Columbo: "Don't be an idiot!" He rushes into a call when his dork opponent bets into a dry side pot, and regrets it when the clues add up to A-A. Ouch.

HOUSEKEEPING: Welcome our new producer, Debbie Wolfe! That's her with the camera. She has big shoes (have you seen the size of Dave's feet?) to fill, but she's doing great work out of the gate ... We're lining up Paul Wasicka as a guest for next week's Poker Ethics show, in part to talk about joint sessions ... We've fixed the link to our very first show, so all you sadists out there can relive the pain ... And don't forget to call in your contribution to the Roll Call for the 100th episode. Dial toll-free 1-866-371-9605.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Matt from, well, somewhere, offers us a more cautious way to play a nut flush draw with bottom pair, and later, the nut flush draw with trips. Playing from the small blind, he checks himself into a corner, and eventually folds when he gets too much heat. Our advice: In a cash game, be less afraid of going broke when you have lots of outs.

WPT photos are posted

There aren't many, but I posted the shots I took while at Foxwoods this time. Again, the photography isn't stellar, but I tried a different camera this time to avoid the blurry shots. I avoided blurs, but it was very dark. I may have a few more shots, but it's highly unlikely. Please go to the gallery and look at them, and click through them if you can. Thanks.

-- Chris

Episode #95 recap

MAIN TOPIC

Chris calls in from Connecticut, where he was an intrepid reporter at the World Poker Tour. Foxwoods made some changes to the structure, which pros seemed to like, but it also made for some weird days.

Chris met up with listeners John Silva and Jason, which was a great time, and he won some cash at the tables, to boot. He also gave us a preview of next week's show, which will include interviews with Miami John Cernuto, Cyndy Violette, The Grinder, David Singer and Linda Johnson. Great work, Chris!

OTHER TOPICS

NO BUCKEYE FANS HERE: Chris teases Scott about Ohio State losing to Florida in ANOTHER national championship game, but Scott "reminds" him that he's been a Florida fan every since he was kid.

CLOUDY IN CONNECTICUT: Well, more like cold. And dreary. And thin-blooded Chris can't handle it.

ROCKIN' ON THE RIVER: Conn radio has lost that lovin' feeling. But there's a new station called The River!

OUT OF THE WOMB: In prep for the 100th episode of Ante Up, it's unanimous - we were terrible on Day 1. Thanks for sticking with us! And speaking of the 100th episode, keep those Roll Call calls coming in.

PEANUT GALLERY: Check out the comments on iTunes about the show. Mostly positive ... except one. Ha!

NEW LEVEL TO CHRIS' CHEAPNESS: He has the audacity to call Scott out for taking back the 2 dollars he "gave" him on the last show. He's worse than that punk newspaper kid in Better Off Dead. But word is, there was at least not-displeased waitress at Foxwoods this trip. But don't ask about the dealers.

WPT MOVING: The World Poker Tour is moving to GSN, formerly the Game Show Network, next season. (Call your cable company and tell them you want GSN! if you're as cheap as Chris is). And High Stakes Poker returns to GSN, for a Monday night poker bloc.

CARDPLAYER ON A DIET: A post on Poker Biz about Bluff's deal with the World Series of Poker seemed a little fishy, and it was traced back to ... CardPlayer! And the granddaddy of poker magazines was absent in Connecticut. Word is some staff shakeups are imminent.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Chris stepped up to $2/$5 no-limit table, and won a whale of hand playing off of his tight table image.

One hand after telling a "live straddlist" to his right that he was playing too tight, Chris bumps it to $30 with QQ under the gun. One caller comes along for the ride, and then Straddlist pops it to $110. Chris squeezes out the limper in the middle by moving all-in.

The Straddlist thinks long and hard, and says he puts Chris on one of three hands, only one of which he has beat. Odd? We thought so. In the end, the guy calls with JJ and Chris wins. (Doesn't he always in the Hand of the Week?)

- SCOTT

WPT @ Foxwoods FINAL UPDATE

Well, it wasn't exactly the tournament to end all tournaments that's for sure. But the Foxwoods Poker Classic did allow me to interview some more players, make a few more contacts for the show, get some more material for future shows, turn a nice profit and come to the realization that I won't be doing this here again for a while.

A couple of corrections from earlier posts. The WPT champ, Raj Patel, owns a hotel in Meriden, CT, but he lives in Rocky Hill, CT, another one of my old stomping grounds when I worked for the Middletown Press in the mid '90s. In the picture Raj is sitting with his winning hand in front of Mike Sexton, Sabina Gadecki and Vince Van Patten. Also, the runner-up was Paul "The Don" Matteo and he lives in the same town where I'm staying this week, Plainville. It's quite remarkable that the top two players are locals, and that they have only been playing for 2-3 years. Matteo said he had talked to Patel earlier in the week and said "We're gonna finish 1-2 this week." Amazing. They called Matteo "The Don" because of the Godfather character Don Matteo and because Paul is in the garbage business.

The players I talked with were very generous and stayed with me for as long as I needed them, agreeing to interviews even though they had planes to catch, personal problems, had just gotten knocked out or they had to get ready for the broadcast, etc. One of the best interviews was David Singer (pictured). He asked me what I did and how the show was going, how many people listened to it, etc. He was just real cool and it was like he cared about who he was talking to. It was a conversation, not an interview. Great guy.

Of course I'll talk about the meetups and my poker playing on the show, but I just want to thank the guys who came out to meet me over the course of the week. It was excellent talking/playing with you and I appreciate your effort, even the Ante Uppers who showed up but never found me. And especially John, who drove more than three hours to come to Foxwoods from New York. That's me and John in the photo in front of the WPT sign.

I can't wait to go home. I should have never booked this trip to end Sunday. I should have shipped out tomorrow. I love being around my family/friends up here, but I miss my wife and family back home. I could never be the type of person who travels all the time away from home without their loved ones. It's just not worth it.

OK, I'm signing off. I won't blog anymore until I return to work on Monday, though I may post my photos in the gallery.

-- Chris

IT'S OVER!!!

Raj raised to 200K preflop and Paul called. The flop was Kh, 5c, 3d. Paul bet 400K and Raj called. The turn was the Ks and Paul bet 400K. Raj called and the river was a 7h. Paul went all-in and Raj instacalled with 4h, 6s for a straight. Paul turned over Kc, 2d.

The final table play was perhaps the worst in WPT history as players were so passive. There were so many problems at this table it's too much to get into here, but I might bring it up on the show Friday. If either of these guys head to the poker room there will be a LONG waiting list to play at their table. But we have a new champ: Raj Patel of Meriden CT.

I'll have a final wrapup later tonight.

-- Chris

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

It's headsup between Raj and Paul "The Don" Matteo and these guys don't know what it is to be aggressive. They have checked down EVERY single hand since it got headsup. It's like Teddy KGB "CHECK CHECK CHECK!" Come on guys, bet!

-- Chris

Hand of the night (so far).

And we're down to headsup! Tony Bagels moved all-in for 2 million with Ad, Ac and Raj, the chipleader called with quickly with Ah, 8h. The flop came 7h, 8s, 8d for trip eights!!! The 6c came on the turn and 3s hit the river to oust Tony Bagels in third place. There is no justice in this game. More to come. Maybe this will be over soon after all. Here comes the money presentation.

-- Chris

Goldberg OUT!

Fred Goldberg is no Chris Moneymaker, LOL!

With the blinds 40K-80K and the antes 10K, Fred raised to 330K (he had 1.1M to start). Paul Matteo (1.6M) called and the flop came 6s, 4s, 2c. Fred pushed and Paul called pretty quickly. Fred turned over two jacks, but no spades. Paul turned over As, 5s. He had 15 outs to win the hand and the 10s came on the turn. The river, a 6h, was inconsequential. Both "pros" are out, and an amateur will win this event!

At this point Raj, who by the way is from my old hometown of Meriden, CT, has 3.45M, Paul has 2.8M and Tony Bagels (that's what they are calling him cuz he looks like a mafia underling) has about 2M.

This is taking forever!

-- Chris

Berger burnt

We have our second casualty: Seth Berger. He pushed all-in with Ac, 5h and then Raj went all-in behind him with As, Ad. The flop made it exciting: 6c, 4s, 3h to give Berger an openender, but an 8S and Ah eliminated his dream. We're down to 4 players after 45 hands. Raj is the overwhelming chipleader with more than 4M and the rest have about a million. More later.

-- Chris

We have our first elimination at Foxwoods!

In what has to be the tightest table in WPT history, Paul Matteo limped in (AGAIN) for 50K with Ah8d and Allen Kessler pushed with Ac10h. With a little deliberation Matteo called the additional 215K. The flop: 6c, 3d, 7d. The turn: 5s. River: 4h. BRUTAL! So long Allen, it was nice, and I'm sure the $137K will make the suckout a little easier to swallow. Our first elimination only took 37 hands. And now Tony is on fire with nearly 1M in chips.

-- Chris

P.S. Now Joe Sebok just said, "These are the worst poker players in the history of the planet. I could beat these guys without ever seeing my hands. Just give me $200K in chips."

Our first big hand

The blinds just increased and we finally had a hand of substance, and it only took 26 hands. Fred Goldberg raised to 150K UTG and it folded to the chipleader, Raj, who went all-in (3M). Fred took some time then called with KK. Raj turned over 33 and Fred had his suits covered so he needed a three. It didn't come and Fred "Call Me MoneyMaker" Goldberg doubled up to almost $2M. He's second in chips.

-- Chris

Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy

Well, we're at the first break, but not much has happened. It's amazing these six players got to where they are because there is NO aggression except from Raj (the chipleader, which is to be expected). There are some raises and calls, but then they keep checking it down to the river. Everyone in press row and even the audience is just laughing because it's getting ridiculous. Why won't these guys bet? I understand that four of them are amatuers, but you have a guaranteed 6-figure payday, loosen up man! If I was in there I'd be raising just about every hand, and you can bank on that. Guys are checking on the end with trips. When I mentioned this would be boring I think underestimated my guess. This is MONUMENTALLY boring. This is one of the few instances when I think it's a GOOD THING that the WPT has those insane television blind structures, otherwise we might be here till Thursday.

On a personal note, I had a massive day at the $2-5 NL table and I think I have a hand of the week coming from it. I have a turned a significant profit after that debacle with Jason, so I'm feeling good about my game, and I wasn't the least bit intimadated.

-- Chris

Anatomy of a final table event

It's pretty interesting how they set this up, with having the audience do fake cheering and fake booing for the editing process later. EVERYONE at the table and the hosts have tons of pancake on their faces. One of the things that's very prevelant is behind the scenes, and I'm talking about the politics, especially between the competing poker sites, etc.

I'm sitting with the crews now on the media perch, and everyone is fighting for their spots, etc. They told me that since I wasn't doing hand-for-hand coverage that I couldn't have a spot. But I told them the Ante Up! Nation comes first and I was here in plenty of time. So I made them squeeze me in. Then, they didn't have a plug for my laptop, so I used the strip on the WPT crew's table. About 10 minutes in one of the WPT guys says they need the strip so they unplugged me, even though they had plenty of outlets. That's fine, my laptop is plenty charged. But these guys are like children sometimes. It's foolish, and I'm starting to understand the thinking behind the Rich Belsky incident. These guys at like two hippos fighting for the right to mate with the fat female hippo in the river. The good ol boys clan doesn't pertain to just NASCAR.

-- Chris

Final Table is about to start

Hey Ante Up! Nation, this is the start of the final table of the WPT event at Foxwoods. It could be the most boring final table in the history of the WPT, but it should still be cool. Here are the chipleaders, and you may know Fred Goldberg. He was the guy who went far in the WSOP Main Event and he looks a little like Chris Moneymaker. ESPN rode that angle for all it was worth, until Goldberg donked it all off.

Raj Patel 3,347,000
Seth Berger 1,505,000
Antonio Cavezza 1,391,000
Fred Goldberg 1,044,000
Paul Matteo 570,000
Allen Kessler 444,000

I'm pulling for Kessler because he was so far down at one point it's ridiculous. Anyway, I will update you as people get knocked out. By the way, I just landed interviews David Singer and Linda Johnson so that will be cool. OK, things are getting started. Blinds are 15K-30K.

-- Chris

P.S. Joe Sebok is sitting behind me and he said "This is the only final table where Allen Kessler can look like a God!"

Day 2 Final Update

Well another long day comes to a close. Only 56 players remain, and to be honest I can't believe they are going to have another 16 hours of tournament play before the final table of 6 on Wednesday afternoon. But then again, I remember the whole hand-for-hand debacle last time. It took forever!!!!

The leaderboard isn't exactly a who's who, and it would probably take you at least six places down before you recognized a player (Ted "Yeah Man!" Lawson, 280K), and if you don't watch a lot of poker then you'd probably have to drop all the way down to 16th place (John "World" Hennigan, 193K). Lawson, for those of you who don't know, is the guy back in 2004 who won the Pot Limit Omaha bracelet, and en route to winning that title misread his hand and thought he had a straight. He's also famous for coaching Lee Watkinson (who then won the same bracelet two years later under Lawson's tutelege).

Chau Giang's impressive run continues, sliding in right behind Hennigan (192K). Other names you might recognize: Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken (157K) and Paul "The Truth" Darden (147K). I'm actually pulling for Darden (pictured) because he's from Connecticut, actually growing up in the same county I lived in and he used to play in the backroom of his dad's pool hall, a place I frequented when I was in college.

Scott's Player of the Year, Nam Le is still alive with 127K, then there's Bobby Bellande, who had a meltdown (60K), Allen Kessler (53K) and Bill Gazes (43). Maybe Gazes shouldn't wear flip-flops. For a full list of the chip counts go here.

That's about it for me. I won't return until the final table on Wednesday. I'm gonna take the next two days off and spend them with my granddaughter and family. I may play a little on Wednesday to get some of that suckout money back, but other than that I'm probably not going to play again at Foxwoods this trip. I might be playing in a home tournament on Saturday, so that's cool.

-- Chris   

Day 2 Update ... The meetup!

So at about 12:10 Blazman walked into the Sunset Ballroom and we chatted for about 15 minutes before another Ante Upper, Jason, showed up. That's me and Jason in the photo. It started to look like we were going to have a big turnout, but then that was it. Everyone either didn't show up by 12:30 and we missed them, or they just couldn't break away. But it was great hanging with the guys. We got a bite to eat at Fuddruckers and then went to the poker room. Blaz doesn't play $1-2 NLHE so he went to his $4-8 O8B table and Jason and I sat down at $1-2.

I should've taken his seat because he made some massive hands!!! He took home a rack and a half and played real solid. Me on the other hand? Not so fortunate. But I got my money in with the best hand every time and was sucked out on when I lost. The best part was I felt like I played impeccable poker regardless of the outcome.

The two hands where I lost most of my stack (and ultimately all of it) both were J-10 suited (which used to be my favorite hand, LOL!). About 30 minutes in I was on the button and looked down at J10d. So it was $10 to go and there was like $40 in the pot already. I called and the flop came A-K-Q two hearts. The initial raiser bet out $25 and I pushed the rest of my stack with the stone-cold nuts. It got folded around to him and he said "I know you have J-10 but I have to call." Then he said "Pair the board, but not the queen!" I thought he had a set and wondered what the hell he was talking about. He turned over AK with one heart. The turn was a heart and he picked up a whole new set of outs. River? Ace of Spades. I HATE MOTORHEAD!!

So I rebought for another $100 and milked it for five hours. (The rake ($60) is really what beat me this time at Foxwoods.). Another hand: I had K9 on the button in an unraised pot. Flop came with a K and someone bet $15, so I raised to $40. He called and another king came on the turn. He checked and I pushed. He called with K7 and a jack on the river made us split. Anything under a 10 and I win a big hand. Good gawd!

So finally I had J10h with $67 left. The flop came 10 high but all diamonds. I bet out $15 because I didn't want someone hitting the flush for free. After one call another guy raised to $60. I studied him and replayed the hand in my mind and there was only one hand he could have: The bare Ace of diamonds. I went all-in and the initial caller folded. Sure enough he was semibluffing with the Ad and the 9d came on the turn. I made a perfect read, my call/reraise was enough to scare the other guy (he had K-10) and I lost a race.

It's the least bad I've felt about losing (and my streak of winning sessions comes to an end at about 2 months) because I made very good reads all day and got my money in with the best of it. But I was entertained, met another fan and really played well despite the outcome.

And I learned something that I didn't know. When I first came to Foxwoods years ago, if you were playing, say, roulette, and you gave the pit boss your Wampum card, they would sign you in, and when you left they signed you out. But you never had to do anything else. So when Jason and I were getting ready to split he said: "Gotta go sign out." And I said "What?" He said if we didn't sign out we wouldn't get our Wampum points. I was floored. I thought once we left and the seat was filled the pit boss recorded that I had left. NOPE!!! So I logged on to the Foxwoods site to see my account and it turns out all of those marathon sessions that I played the last few times I came here I got no credit!!! It's bad enough they treat poker players like crap, but then no one ever told me I had to sign out!!! God, that sucks. So, I signed out and earned like $4 in comp today. Great! I can buy half a hamburger.

Getting back to the tournament, some big names got booted: Mimi Tran, Kathy Liebert, Miami John Cernuto (who I just interviewed and he was very good), Sam Grizzle (and if you don't know who he is, he's the guy that loves to get under Phil Hellmuth's skin and actually popped him in the face once), David Tran, Victor Ramdin (who lost with pocket aces), Mark Seif and James Van Alstyne.

But there are still some big names left as well, including Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken, Hoyt Corkins, Johnny "The World" Hennigan, Bill Gazes (who's wearing some fruity flip-flops),  Bobby Bellande and Chau Giang. Speaking of Giang, he was down to 5K in chips today after a bad beat at 2:45 p.m. and there were about 110 players left. Well, it's now 5:30 and he's got $170K and there are 88 players left. Quite remarkable. Never give up.

-- Chris

Day (yawn) 2

That yawn in the title