First Flight Has Landed

Play has ended for the day for the flock of flight one here at Bellagio's 5Star Poker Classic. Those who have survived enjoy an off day tomorrow while the second flight takes the field. They'll reconvene on Wednesday as a combined field of some 350 players.

The structure of the tournament -- a split field, long rounds, lots of starting chips -- seemed to invoke a cautious strategy today. Everyone realized that there was not a lot of upside in making a lot of big moves. With only some 50 players being eliminated in the course of play, an average chip stack would barely budge, from $50,000 to something above $60,000. Therefore, measured moves, small stabs and the odd blind-capture would be enough to position one well for Wednesday's play. Or anyway, so claimed no less an authority than Annie Duke, and I quote: "You're just kind of going, 'Don't let me be stupid.' That's a hard task for me, by the way." Hard, but not apparently impossible. Annie finished play today at a comfortable (and just above average) $69K.

Well above average, and therefore likely a bit more comfortable, was Eric Weiner, who went on a tear late in the day, eliminating among others the event's defending champion Martin DeKnjiff, en route to a solid first-day finish of $231K. So far as we know, only Scotty Nguyen, with about $235K, finished higher.

While there's not a lot of upside to early big moves, nevertheless sometimes, as the saying goes, "Desperate times call for desperate measures." Consider the case of Barry Greenstein, down below his starting benchmark of $50K and looking to make something happen. He raised on the button with 9-7 offsuit, got one caller, flopped a straight and doubled through. Now, you know and I know that 9-7 offsuit is not a first class hand in anyone's book, but in the hands of a first class player (with a little bit of luck, of course) it can turn into a monster.

Apparently the "get creative" idea was infectious, because on the very next hand, Greg Raymer, sitting just to Greenstein's left, managed to win a big pot with a just-okay holding of K-J. When his forlorn opponent noted the relative weakness of Greg's hand, Greg replied, "I don't think I'm gonna get you by playing perfect." Whether that's gamesmanship or a bit of high-level tournament truth I shall leave to you to contemplate, gentle reader.

In the meantime, note the names of the fallen: Mark Seif, Dan Harrington, John Juanda, Layne Flack, John Hennigan, Freddy Deeb, and many other worthy and skilled opponents failed to find either the cards, luck, or opportunity to survive today's play.

Among the living:

TJ CLOUTIER -- 65K

PHIL IVEY -- 55K

BARRY SHULMAN -- 52K

ERIK SEIDEL -- 85K

PAUL WOLFE -- 26K

BARRY GREENSTEIN -- 113K

CHRIS BIGLER -- 53K

THOMAS KELLER -- 130K

KATHY LIEBERT -- 57K

PHIL HELLMUTH -- 58K

GREG RAYMER -- 150K

DOYLE BRUNSON -- 53K

GUS HANSEN -- 10K

CHRIS FERGUSON -- 78K

HOWARD LEDERER -- 52K

ANDY BLOCH -- 93K

CHRIS BIGLER -- 36K

ALAN CUNNINGHAM -- 58K

Some grace notes:

I mentioned to Kathy Liebert that I'd posted her popcorn picture and she told me that what she really needs is an endorsement deal from Coca-Cola, because apparently she mainlines the stuff. She said she'd cut me in for a taste if the deal came through, so Coke, if you're out there… step up, eh?

Early on I asked Andy Bloch if he was having fun. He hooked a thumb to the player on his left -- John Juanda -- and said, "I was till he sat down." Shortly thereafter, Andy busted John. Are we having fun now? I guess that would be a yes.

In a pressure-cooker like this, even dealer's make mistakes. I saw one worthy pasteboard pitcher take the cards, square them and box them, cut them, and start dealing the next hand. When, well, everyone at the table pointed out that he had neglected the small matter of actually shuffling the cards, he sheepishly called the cards back and started over.

Strategy note: Rare as a hand like pocket aces is, you sure see it turned over a lot at the showdown in a tournament like this. Much more often than trash, even inspired trash like Greenstein's 9-7. The inarguable logic: Good cards win; play good cards.

Gus Hansen continues to challenge for the "grace under adversity" award. Never in a strong chip position, he nevertheless continues to battle. I saw him make a big move from the small blind to win a seemingly unwinnable pot, when a lesser player would have been content to nurse his short stack and hope for better cards. Gus is a scrapper, and though he's down, don't count him out.

Here's Gus, with his hat-turned-backward, don't-mess-with-me mien.

Department of Without Them This Would Not Have Been Possible: Here's a picture of Steve Lipscomb and Lyle Berman, the brains, energy and money behind the World Poker Tour. To say that the poker community owes this pair a debt is just to grossly understate.

The Bald Leading the Bald: Steve Zolotow and Jim McManus check out the action. Remember your Bible, kids: Blessed are the bald, for they shall inherit the earth.

And while the whole earth may not be up for grabs tonight, the first prize for this tournament has been announced at a not fricking inconsiderable $2,856,150. I'll have the full pay table for you tomorrow, but let's just suffice it to say that if you're Scotty Nguyen, Eric Weiner or one of the other chip leaders (or even UB warrior Nathaniel Fox struggling along in the middle of the pack) those visions dancing in your head tonight are not of sugarplums. More later, -jv

Middday Report - a Fossil and Some Found Objects

It’s a given that no one wins these tournaments on the first day. All right? A given. Just like it’s a given that early leads are meaningless in the marathon that is modern tournament poker. Many is the first day chip leader who has found himself riding the rail on day two. In fact, some tournament players don’t like to be deep early on. They can’t handle prosperity, they say. A big stack is just a big excuse to make big mistakes. They’d rather feel imperiled, for the focus to their concentration that the feeling of peril brings.

Me, I’d rather take and hold a big chip lead, because a big stack not only forgives a multitude of sins, it affords some freedom, creativity, and the chance for bully behavior. That said, I know what it’s like (from dreadful recent personal experience) to be seduced into reckless adventures with one’s own big chip standing… that little voice inside the head that says, “Go on, get out of line with A-Q offsuit. You’ve got plenty of chips. You can afford it.

That’s the sort of autoseduction that happens to the likes of me, but I can’t see it happening to Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, the first player at this year’s 5star main event to accumulate a chip stack of any real note. At the end of the second round of play, he has almost tripled up, to $143,000 plus, and that ain’t hay while the blinds are still relatively low – just $100 and $200 with a $25 ante as play resumes at level three. Every time I pass by his table it seems I find him with a big bet in the pot and a cold stare lasered at any opponent with the temerity to consider a call. He’s cool, precise, and utterly unafraid to bet. A big stack in the hands of a Greg Raymer, then, is a much different proposition from a big stack in the hands of, say, me.

And let’s not forget that Fossilman moved out to a big chip lead on day one of the 2004 World Series of Poker main event, a lead he never really relinquished en route to victory in that tournament. So the early smart money is on Raymer at least to continue to be a force… to use a big stack as the club it can be, and not to fritter it away on unnecessary gambles.

Here’s Fossilman, puttin’ on the stare.

FOUND OBJECTS (1): Russ Rosenblum (a final table finisher – fourth place if memory serves – in this event last year) found himself winning a pot with pocket kings. Not a particularly noteworthy hand, apart from Russ’s analysis after the fact: “The only reason I just called your raise,” he tells his defeated foe, “is I thought you had two aces, and I wanted to see if an ace would come off on the flop. Then it did, and I’m too bad a player to get away from my hand.

FOUND OBJECTS (2): Gus Hansen, short stacked but still game, checks down a ragged board to a foe who turns over AK offsuit and declares that he has “the best of nothing.” Gus tables pocket threes and says, very much like a kid who has discovered one last unopened present on Christmas, “Ooh, I have a pretty good nothing, too.” As of this writing, Hansen, the estimable Dane, continues to battle on.

FOUND OBJECTS (3): Talking of Christmas presents, jovial pro Mark Seif (seen below losing an arm wrestling match to yours truly) found himself sharing a table with a pair of amateur father-and-son players. When someone else objected to a father and son playing at the same table – creating the possibility of collusion, one supposes – the son was moved to another table. Mark lamented the move, noting that he would happily have run the risk of team play because even as a team the pair seemed pretty much totally ineffective, giving rise to a new phrase for your poker lexicon: no cluellusion.

Okay, given that the numbers are meaningless and irrelevant, here are some to numerals of note at the end of the second level of play today. Remember that players started with $50k, so that’s your benchmark.

PHIL IVEY -- 67K
TJ CLOUTIER -- 51K
STEVE ZOLOTOW -- 50K
ERIC BRENES -- 57K
ISABELLE MERCIER -- 49K
CHRIS BIGLER -- 94K
NATHANIEL FOX -- 60K
GREG RAYMER -- 143K
THOMAS "THUNDER" KELLER -- 60K
PAUL WOLFE -- 60K
JOHN "WORLD" HENNIGAN -- 62K
JIM McMANUS -- 50K
JEFF SHULMAN -- 45K
ANNIE DUKE -- 75K
CHRIS "JESUS" FERGUSON -- 61K
SCOTTY NGUYEN -- 130K
LAYNE FLACK -- 63K
HOWARD LEDERER -- 58K
DAN HARRINGTON -- 75K

And finally, here's Kathy Liebert, one of the fewer than ten women in today's first flight. As of this writing, she's holding her own at 47K, but considering her "breakfast of champions" popcorn reinforcement, holds out excellent prospects for the future.



No word whether the popcorn people are considering an endorsement deal, but in this superheated Brave New Poker World of ours, anything is possible. More later, -jv

First Flight has Taken Off

Registration is closed here at the Bellagio 5Star, and cards are in the air. In the end, some 450 players ponied up $25,500 in cash, satellite wins, backers’ bucks or some combination of all of the above for their chance at a chunk of the $1.125 million prize pool (someone please check my math; as an adder I’m a pretty good speller.)

Some facts and figures to keep in mind as we go forward:

Tournament players start with $50,000 in chips, and blinds are $50 and $100. With 90 minutes of play per round, that seems like a nice leisurely pace. However…

Antes kick in at the 3^rd level of play, starting at $25 and going up from there. Smart players will include the antes into their calculations, of course, recognizing that the antes amount to at least an extra big blind’s worth of outlay for every round of play. If you’re not winning your fair share of uncontested pots, you’ll fall pretty rapidly behind once the antes become a factor.

Never fear, though. With a field of 450 players, the prize money will go 100 places deep. That means that almost a full quarter of the field will get paid. As we’ve already discussed, the bottom of the pay table will feature pretty modest numbers compared to a $25K buy-in (don’t have the exact numbers, campers, but soon will). However, if you’re here on a satellite tip – as many of the players are – then any payday is a good one.

On the other hand, to win anything, you’re going to have to move through a pretty prestigious field. Virtually all the big names are here. Howard Lederer and Erik Seidel. Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke. Juanda. Ivey. Raymer. Doyle. TJ. A Shulman or two. Scotty Nguyen. It’s big dogs as far as the eye can see down there on the tournament floor. You can’t run with ‘em, you’d better just cozy up on the porch.

So, of course, we’re rooting hard for our UB warriors, the five UB players who qualified online for this event. Only one of them is in today’s starting flight. His name is Nathaniel Fox. Screen name Harry Dong (probably wasn’t thinking about things like blog reporting when he selected that screen name.) He hails from Rockport, MA, and he looks a little like this.

Good luck, Harry, er, Nathaniel. We hope you go big.

They’ll play the first five levels today, and again the first five levels tomorrow, with the second wave. On Wednesday and Thursday, they’ll play five more levels each. Friday’s play will continue until six players are left, and the TV table is set. Sunday… gosh, it seems like a long time from now…the winner will be crowned. Among his or her prizes will be a paid entry into next year’s $25K monstrosity. Nice to know what you’ll be doing in April of 2006, I suppose. Me, I don’t even know where I’ll be at midnight.

But I know where I’ll be till then: collecting and crunching numbers for you, in partnership with my able UB aides Tommy and Alejandro. I’ll be bringing you the chip counts – so far as I am able – of the poker stars you know, the emerging chip leaders, Team UB and our UB warriors at least twice a day. If that’s not enough numbers for you… uhm, come on out to Vegas; I’ll give ya my press pass and you can go get the cheese yourself.

For now, I’d like to close with a little photo essay titled, “Dealers have too much time on their hands.” It seems that each dealer has his or her own way of assembling and arranging the chips at their table before the start of the tournament. Here’s a modest representative sample of the dealer’s art. I suppose you might title this essay, “JV’s got too much time on his hands,” but oh well.

More later, including pictures of real, you know, people. –jv

While The Night is Yet Young

Before the night grows old and I grow incapable of coherent sentence structure, let me post some pix from the World Poker Tour Red Carpet Party at Caramel in Bellagio.

Here we have Clonie Gowan and Chris Ferguson, competing for the who-has-more-radiant-hair prize. (Sorry, Chris, I love you like a brother, but my money's on, you know, Clonie.)

Antonio Esfandiari and David Williams in the company of strangers. Sucks being them, huh?

Here’s another Clonie shot, this time with Eric Morris, publisher of BLUFF magazine. Eric tells me that Bluff is now beaming from space on Sirius Satellite Radio. Why does this not surprise me?

Daniel Negreanu and Evelyn Ng. See, this is what I’m talking about: Don’t they know they have to be up tomorrow and playing world-class poker? With the confidence of youth, they’re of the opinion that they can win the party AND win the tournament. Who knows? They just might do it, too,

Okay, campers, it’s midnight in Vegas. The party at Caramel is still going strong. Not only that, there’s another party at Light lined up after Caramel, and probably a fair number of these hearty souls will be on hand to open Drai’s, the noted after-hours club in the bowels of the Barbary Coast, when it cracks the seal on its party at… lordy, lordy… 3 AM. Where you live, no doubt, decent people will have long since gone to bed. But this is Las Vegas, the Land That Time Forgot, and decent people here remember the words of the ad campaign: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – especially if it happens in the wee small hours.

More later, -jv