Event #6 – $300 NLHE, 142 entrants

1st – Brian Belle ($13,388)

2nd – Lewis Campbell ($7,024)

3rd – Beanz McGriff ($4,132)

4th – Larry Vance ($3,306)

5th – Jerrard Parfait ($2,479)

6th – J.R. Hamilton ($2,066)

7th – Kai Landry ($1,653)

8th – Michael Andrews ($1,240)

9th – Dwight LeMoine ($826)

Event #7 – $500 NLHE, 156 entrants

1st – Joseph “J-Money” Phelps ($24,513)

2nd – Steven Faillici ($12,862)

3rd – Chris Lang ($7,566)

4th – Brian Delatte ($6,053)

5th – Christian Mascagni ($4,540)

6th – Sue Whigham ($3,783)

7th – Ali Jafari ($3,026)

8th – Scott Weinberg ($2,270)

9th – Lance Cone ($1,513)

Event #8 – $300 PLO, 74 entrants

1st – George Guzman ($12,921)

2nd – Ryan Lenaghan ($7,178)

3rd – Robert Campbell ($3,947)

4th – Randy Edmonson ($2,871)

5th – Danny Grassi ($2,512)

6th – Ron “Grumpy” Ware ($2,153)

7th – David Halpern ($1,795)

8th – John “Texas Troll” Tollefsen ($1,436)

9th – Mark Gallagher ($1,077)

Event #9 – $500 6-max NLHE, 172 entrants

1st – Michael Raimon ($24,192)

2nd – John “the Dancer” Riola ($15,016)

3rd – Brad Jones ($9,593)

4th – Timothy Miles ($6,674)

5th – Mike Anderson ($4,588)

6th – Chris Morrison  ($3,337)

Event #10 – $300 NLHE, 263 entrants

1st – John “the Melon” Lallo ($18,560)

2nd – Alex Wood ($11,479)

3rd – Scott Frost ($7,270)

4th – Aaron J. Cole ($5,931)

5th – Michael Hallen ($4,783)

6th – Chris Hildebrandt ($3,826)

7th – Philip Sparta, Jr. ($3,061)

8th – Curtis Terry ($2,487)

9th – Kristopher Smithson ($1,913)

Event #11 – $300 NLHE, 323 entrants

1st – Chris Tipper ($22,558)

2nd – Johnny Stephenson – ($13,863)

3rd – Michael Huckman – ($8,694)

4th – Paula Halata – ($7,049)

5th – Quentin Stephens – ($5,639)

6th – Bobby “Spider” Henderson ($4,465)

7th – Ken Hall ($3,525)

8th – Joseph Sylvester ($2,820)

9th – Donald Veloz ($2,115)

Event #12 – $500 PLO/PLO8, 99 entrants 

1st – John “Texas Troll” Tollefsen ($15,365)

2nd – Brent Keller ($9,603)

3rd – Chad Burns ($6,122)

4th – Birol Lermi ($4,321)

5th – David Nixon ($3,481)

6th – George Guzman ($2,881)

7th – Donald Harris ($2,401)

8th – Jason Brice ($2,041)

9th – James Haley ($1,800)

Event #13 – $1,000 NLHE, 262 entrants 

1st – Robert “the Thorn” Rosengarten ($61,629)

2nd – Abdul Al-Magableh ($38,121)

3rd – Manny Minaya ($24,143)

4th – Chad Ferrell ($19,696)

5th – Chean Chin (a.k.a. Ken W) ($15,884)

6th – Will “The Monkey” Souther ($12,707)

7th – Ryan “Loveshack Dave” Gafford ($10,166)

8th – James Jewett ($8,260)

9th – Alan Ramkhalawan ($6,354)

Event #14 – $300 PLO8, 114 entrants

1st – Keith Ezykowich ($8,791)

2nd – Anthony Bertuccio ($5,307)

3rd – Anthony Douglas ($3,400)

4th – Alton Torregano ($2,654)

5th – Mitchell Smith ($2,073)

6th – Brent Carter ($1,659)

7th – Michael Scherer ($1,327)

8th – Thomas “Cotton” Elliott ($1,078)

9th – Geoff Bouvier ($912)

Event #15 – $300 NLHE, 544 entrants

1st – Kai Landry ($35,620)

2nd – Gaven Arza ($22,558)

3rd – Vincent Dellapi ($13,582)

4th – Shawn Pilot ($11,319)

5th – Jonathan Evans ($9,261)

6th – Clint Schafer ($7,282)

7th – Bryon Williams ($5,699)

8th – Dennis Terry ($4,512)

9th – Christopher Duprey ($3,324)

Event #16 – $300 PLO w/ Rebuys, 94 entrants

1st – Leonid Shteyn ($19,928)

2nd – Robert Campbell ($12,455)

3rd – Ed Rodger ($7,939)

4th – Brandon Jarrett ($5,605)

5th – Nick Graphia ($4,515)

6th – Charles Wight ($3,736)

7th – Justin Jones ($3,114)

8th – Joel Harwood ($2,647)

9th – Shahnam Mohajerin ($2,335)

Event #17 – $500 NLHE, 375 entrants

1st – Dave “LoveShack” Gafford ($43,650)

2nd – Michael Murphy ($26,826)

3rd – Vlad “Ted” Ventsko ($16,823)

4th – Richard Estep ($13,641)

5th – Ben Thomas ($10,913)

6th – Michael K. Nguyen ($8,693)

7th – Richard Kirsch ($6,820)

8th – Ken Weider ($5,456)

9th – Tony Taylor ($4,092)

Event #18 -  $1,000 PLO, 30 entrants

1st – Brent Keller ($14,550)

2nd – Jason Gladden ($8,730)

3rd – Thomas Randack ($5,820)

Event #19 – $300 Ladies NLHE, 184 entrants

1st – Lisa Wilder ($14,189)

2nd – Annette Martin ($8,567)

3rd – Tabatha Michel ($5,488)

4th – Sue Tolson ($4,283)

5th – Terri Turner ($3,347)

6th – Amee Dave ($2,677)

7th – Lisa Atwin ($2,142)

8th – Trish Marks ($1,740)

9th – Judy Lablanc ($1,472)

I’ll post the results from the Main Event later o when I have some more time to write.  I also previously wrote up a review on the poker room down at Harrah’s New Orleans, but since returning to play there in my down time, I realized there are some things I need to change about the review.  So stay tuned for that as well.

Event #5 – $500 NLHE, 128 entrants

1st – Jess Jackson ($20,115)

2nd – Joe Pepe ($10,554)

3rd – D.D. Wininger ($6,208)

4th – John L. Sullivan ($4,966)

5th – Chris Chevalier ($3,725)

6th – Bobby Toye ($3,104)

7th – Elias Hourani ($2,483)

8th – Daniel Jimenez ($1,862)

9th – Matt “Cub” Culberson ($1,242)

So far, the first four events have been played.  The first event saw the largest field for a WSOP-C event in New Orleans in more than two years with 572 entrants.  Here’s final table finishers for the first four events.

Event #1 – $300 NLHE, 572 entrants

1st – Casey Lang Chiasson ($48,272)

2nd – Kirk Danna ($25,468)

3rd – Norman Rockwell ($13,317)

4th – Allen Perry ($11,652)

5th – Chip Ervin ($9,987)

6th – Daniel Walsh ($8,323)

7th – Matthew Bourgeois ($6,658)

8th – Dennis Booze ($4,994)

9th – Jacob Naquin ($3,329)

Event #2 – $300 Omaha-8, 81 entrants

1st - Robert Campbell ($8,485)

2nd – Vittario “Victor” Iemolo ($4,714)

3rd – Thomas Witherspoon ($2,593)

4th - J.R. Hamilton ($1,886)

5th - David Moyer ($1,650)

6th - Janie Martinez ($1,414)

7th - Rusty Moss ($1,179)

8th - Ian Crozier ($943)

9th - Brad Millar ($707)

Event #3 – $500 NLHE, 341 entrants

1st - Nancy Birnbaum ($51,269)

2nd – Todd Wood ($26,461)

3rd – Tyler Smith ($13,230)

4th - Keechi Settlemyre ($11,576)

5th - Shawn P. Quillin ($9,923)

6th - Larry Price ($8,269)

7th - John Payne ($6,615)

8th - David Chocheles ($4,962)

9th - Randal DuBois ($3,308)

Event #4 – $300 PLHE, 75 entrants

1st - Pat Peercy ($7,857)

2nd - Preston Derden ($4,365)

3rd – Corrie Wunstel ($2,400)

4th - Joe Nieten ($1,746)

5th - Danny Grassi ($1,528)

6th - Wayne LeBlanc ($1,310)

7th - Elliot D. Howze ($1,091)

8th - Ali Jafari ($873)

9th - Thomas “Eddy” Pullens ($655)

Things should be great once I get there.  I’m heading to Atlantic City on Tuesday until then, so I’m in for an awesome week and can’t wait.

The second annual Balkan PokerNews challenge will be held in Bulgaria from May 11-17, 2009.  The events will be held at the Grand Casino International in Varna, Bulgaria.  The event last year was the first annual, but still showed a lot of promise coming from the tournament.  This year’s Main Event boasts a €100,000 guarantee.

• Event #1 – €50+5 w/ rebuys
• Event #2 – €50+10 satelitte
• Event #3 – €150+15 PLO with one rebuy and a add-on
• Event #4 – €750+50 Main Event w/ €100,000 guarantee
• Event #5 – €250+20 NLHE

This is a great event for all players, but especially the European players looking for more affordable events.  Cash games will usually get up and running as well with €1-2, €2-5, and €5-10 NLHE and PLO being the most common games spread.

Varna is an awesome place and the tournament will be a ton of fun.  It’s sunny, there’s an amazing beach right across the street from the casino, the people are awesome, and the nightlife is tons of fun.  Oh, and there’s poker!

I’ll be getting some new articles up soon, hopefully later tonight or tomorrow at some point.  Since returning from SC, I’ve been grinding a lot and trying to win some cheap seats to the Mini FTOPs coming up next month.  I came in 1700th out of over 20,000 people the other day in the $33 SCOOP event on PokerStars for a small profit.  I also staked a buddy that cashed, so the tournament turned out to be a good little win for me seeing that I was able to win two seats for a total of $10.

Stay tuned for things to come!

Tony "Bond18" Dunst

After a long drive home from Atlantic City a couple days ago, I picked up the February issue of Bluff Magazine and sifted through the pages to find an article written on the subject of James Bond.  After the author went through the mistakes made while having James Bond play poker, he listed a group of professional poker players that we should have sent as Bond.  Kenny Tran, Phil Hellmuth, Greg Raymer, and Phil Ivey were the four choosen prospects, but there was one person I thought should have easily been included that wasn’t.  That would be Mr. Tony “Bond18″ Dunst.

I’ve met Tony and hung out with him.  The dude has amazing poker skills and as his nickname suggests, an affinity for a James Bond type lifestyle.  Dunst can almost always be seen decked out in a very fashionable suit with a pair of cool shades on and a lovely woman attached to his arm.  In my opinion, he would have to be the number one choice for a poker player taking the place as James Bond and I’m surprised he wasn’t even included in the conversation!

Phil Galfond

Admist of the great ongoing debate of the legality of online gambling, Bluefire Poker has issued a challenge to President Barack Obama himself and any other active member of the United States Congress.  Headed by high-stakes online poker professional, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, the online training site’s team is willing to put up $1 million against $1 from the President or another member of Congress.  The goal is for the pros to prove once and for all to members of the United States Government that poker is a game of skill, not luck.

The challenge comes at a time when Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) prepares the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).  Also just recently, poker was ruled a game of skill, not luck, in a Pennsylvania court hearing.  If the pros lose the challenge, the $1 million will be donated to a charity of choice.

Although the game structure is not yet known, the folks at Bluefire Poker had this to say in their official press release, “The specific terms of the game are to be announced but the format will include an equal number of chips at the start of the game. The length of the game must also be long enough to demonstrate the advantage of skill because Poker prowess and experience demonstrate themselves over time – in the long-run, the better player wins the game because the player’s skills increase the odds of success.”

The press release also mentioned, “The legislative debate centers on whether or not Poker is a game of chance or skill, and this debate determines the legality of online gambling, according to legal and legislative experts on the subject. No one in their right mind would turn down this challenge if Poker were a game based on luck, because the odds are so far in their favor – putting up $1 for a chance to win $1,000,000 for the charity of their choice.”  (The official full press release can be viewed here.)

Despite the amazing odds being laid out, much of the poker community doesn’t seem to believe that the challenge will take place, including Galfond.  “Although I think it’s unlikely we’d get taken up on this, I’d love to play to prove that poker was a game of skill. I really hope that the word gets out. Even if no one takes us up on it, the fact that we’re legitimately offering $1,000,000 to $1 should convince some people that there’s more to this game than just luck (or that we’re out of our minds),” said Galfond in a recent blog entry on the website.

Much to Galfond’s wishes, it looks like the word is spreading.  Fox News received news of the challenge and talked about it recently on one of their broadcasts.  Presenting the story for Fox News was former World Poker Tour hostess Courtney Friel.  It’s also fitting that the deadline acceptance has been set for March 17, 2009, St. Patrick’s Day.

It’s certainly no big secret that President Obama plays poker occasionally, as he’s openly stated himself.  That may just be the catalyst needed to get the challenge off the ground.  It will be interesting to see if the politicians take the pros up on this offer and how things play out.

If your opponents are constantly getting their money in bad against you and stuck having to get lucky, aren’t you doing the right thing?  So snap out of your depression for the moment and see the light, you’re actually running better than you believe.  If you want to be a serious poker player, you need to be focused on the decisions you make and how your opponents react to those decisions.  By getting your money in good, your putting yourself in profitable situations more often than your opponents are against you.  You may have a losing session or go through streaks where you drop money over a few sessions, but in the long run things will turn around.  Trust me, they will.

Every poker player believes they are the worst running player in history.  Well, most recreational, amateur, and losing players think this way.  If that’s you  and you want to excel, you’re going to need to snap out of that mind frame.  So much of poker has to do with your confidence level and if you’re not playing at the top of your game and believing in yourself as a player, you’re not going to be able to focus on making the correct decisions while you play.  It’s better you learn this now because things are only going to get worse.  Not that I’m trying to deter you, but the more poker you play, the more beats you will will endure and the crazier some of them will seem.  The greatest winning players out there all have confidence in their games and they know that in order to beat great players, it’s going to take a lot of luck.  It’s just part of the game.

There’s another aspect to running bad and that’s when you are constantly running your good hands into better hands and your monsters are smashed by bigger monsters.  That’s also going to happen in poker, but once again, it’s not all terrible.  I believe Chris “Jesus” Ferguson wrote an article on Full Tilt’s website a while back arguing that it’s bad if you’re always getting your money in good.  There are going to be times in poker when it’s correct to gamble and to take shots at pushing some of your weaker, more marginal holdings.  Winning players don’t just hold the nuts every time.  Even some of the best players get lucky once in a while.

The key is to balance getting your money in good with once in a while getting it in bad.  I’m not advocating that every once in a while you just ship it in with complete air, but you’ll need to steal sometimes, bluff sometimes, pull squeeze plays, and make some moves.  Sometimes, these moves get picked off and you’ll be stuck having to get lucky.  Don’t beat yourself up if you find your hands getting smashed by better ones.  You must play to win and make the best decision in the long run, so be it if someone wakes up with a better hand sometimes… that’s poker.

When you get hit with the variance stick that we all do, take a step back and evaluate your play.  If you’re honestly playing solid poker, it’s okay to smile and keep pushing through it.  The luck will change and your hands will hold more often than not.