The PokerNews Strategy Roundup: Railing the Durrrr Challenge, New Sample Videos and Even More PLO from Josh Tieman!
September 5, 2010 by Sit N Go Pro · Leave a Comment
Lots going down over at PokerNews Strategy this week especially if you like PLO. Plus we have new sample videos and much more.
Poker News
WSOP on ESPN Ratings Down 16%
September 4, 2010 by Sit N Go Pro · Leave a Comment
After the first six weeks of coverage of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on cable sports giant ESPN, the ratings are down slightly in comparison to last year’s numbers.
The overall ratings for the first six weeks of WSOP coverage on ESPN have garnered a 0.67 rating, with a rating of 1.0 meaning that approximately 1.1 million viewers were watching a program. This would give the WSOP on ESPN an average of 737,000 viewers over the first six weeks of broadcasting. Compared to 2009, when the first six weeks pulled in a 0.79 rating (869,000 viewers), the ratings have dropped approximately 16%.
Among the demographics, only one ratings group showed improvement over its 2009 numbers. For men above the age of 55, the ratings have gone up to 0.80 from their 2009 average of 0.74. All other demographics have either remained steady or fallen.
After ESPN aired its special WSOP preview episode on July 20th, the Poker Player’s Championship drew two hours of coverage the next week. The battle, which featured brothers Robert and eventual champion Michael Mizrachi, improved the first week ratings over 2009. Those numbers – 0.7 in 2010 versus the 0.6 average in 2009 – were a 15% increase year-over-year.
The next week, the revival of the Tournament of Champions that included some of the top names in the game was featured. Players involved in this final table included former victor Annie Duke, Howard Lederer, Barry Greenstein, and T.J. Cloutier alongside former World Champions Johnny Chan and Joe Hachem. Former World Champion Huck Seed would go on to take the title at one of the most star-studded final tables in recent WSOP history.
The broadcasts of the 2010 WSOP Main Event began on August 10th featuring the second largest field in Main Event history. 7,319 players came to the tables to battle it out for an .9 million first place prize and one of the most cherished bracelets a player can earn. Over the last month, Mike Matusow, 2003 WSOP Main Event champion Chris Moneymaker, 2004 WSOP Main Event winner Greg Raymer, inaugural WSOP Europe Main Event champion Annette Obrestad, and 2008 WSOP Player of the Year Erick Lindgren have been featured as part of ESPN’s coverage.
Last week’s of coverage of the WSOP on ESPN featured some of the most volatile action of the 2010 schedule. The two hours of coverage were from Day 2B of this year’s tournament, with much of that time spent on a feature table that included 1995 World Champion Dan Harrington, 2009 November Nine member Jeff Shulman, top poker pro Josh Arieh. The real highlight of the latest coverage by ESPN, however, was a disputed hand on an outer table between Ted Bort and noted pro Prahlad Friedman.
In one of the most memorable moments caught on a WSOP broadcast, Bort, who is the CEO of Allied Network Solutions, and Friedman were on the river in a hotly contested hand. After Bort pushed his stack to the center, Friedman pondered his decision while Bort annoyingly barked like a dog.
The clock was called on Friedman and, once Rio staff announced the count of one, Friedman made the call. The floor, however, ruled the hand dead because Friedman didn’t make the call in time, saving him from elimination. Although several players protested the decision, it stood and Friedman stayed in the ,000 buy-in tournament.
The WSOP Main Event will continue to be the focus on ESPN over the next ten weeks. The broadcasts, which come in two-hour blocks on Tuesdays from 9:00pm to 11:00pm Eastern Time, will continue to track the most prestigious tournament in poker to its end.
World Team Poker Adds New Countries
September 4, 2010 by Sit N Go Pro · Leave a Comment
In preparation for its forthcoming Championship Event, World Team Poker has added 19 countries to its lineup, including Canada, Pakistan, and Spain. World Team Poker will even receive face time on Fox Sports Net when its tournaments begin debuting in January on Sunday nights for 13 weeks.
Team Canada promises to be among the fiercest in the 30-team field. Shawn Buchanan, Kyle Wilson, Eric Cloutier, Owen “ocrowe” Crowe, Daniel Idema, and Terrence “Unassigned” Chan will comprise the group, which features two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Greg “FBT” Mueller as its captain. Buchanan finished as the runner-up to new DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Dan “djk123” Kelly in the ,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event at the 2010 WSOP, banking 3,000.
Hasan Habib and Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka will co-captain Team Pakistan. A press release distributed by World Team Poker delicately explains, “Pakistan, which is known more for its cricket than poker players, has formed a formidable team of excellent poker talent.” Jaka is the reigning World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year after recording two final tables and four top 20 finishes last season. Also on Team Pakistan are Ayaz Mahmood, Ozzy Sheikh, Owais Ahmed, Mohsin “chicagocards1” Charania, and former Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) Main Event winner Hafiz Khan.
Carlos Mortensen, the WPT’s all-time money leader, will captain Team Spain. Mortensen was the only announced player for the Spanish World Team Poker contingent, but the former WSOP Main Event champ has four WPT final tables to his credit along with three titles. Mortensen has .7 million in career WPT earnings along with .4 million from the WSOP felts, where he’s a two-time bracelet winner.
Team Caribbean Islands is also taking form, with three players having signed up to be part of the fun. Jean-Robert Bellande, a former Bodog pro and “Survivor: China” castaway, will compete for the island nation team alongside Jean “Prince” Gaspard and Amnon Filippi. Among their competition will be Team Germany, which consists of Dan Heimiller, John Galbraith, Kathy Liebert, Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh, and Cyndy Violette. Liebert is being inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame this evening, while Violette is already a member.
Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari will captain Team Iran. Backing him up is an eclectic group of players that includes Reza Golestani, Mojgan Stringham, Shawn “Sheiky” Sheikhan, and Soheil Shamseddin.
Team USA has largely already been determined, with Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, and Erik Seidel taking the floor for the North American nation. Three online poker sites – DoylesRoom, UB.com, and Full Tilt Poker – will be represented.
The 30-team Championship Event will likely occur next month from Las Vegas, although the dates, times, and a location have not yet been announced. The inaugural World Team Poker tournament took place at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas earlier this year and was won by Team China, whose impressive roster of pros includes former WPT Championship winner David Chiu, 10-time bracelet winner Johnny Chan, Winfred Yu, former “Amazing Race” contestant Maria Ho, Chau Giang, Rich Zhu, and Derek Cheung.
Here are the new team captains along with the countries they represent as announced by World Team Poker on Friday:
Greg Mueller: Canada
Hasan Habib and Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka: Pakistan
Jean-Robert Bellande: Caribbean Islands
Peter Costa: Cyprus
Max Stern: Costa Rica
Chris Bjorin: Sweden
Martin Pollak: Austria
Dan Heimiller: Germany
Bruno Fitoussi: France
Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar: India
Toto Leonidas: Philippines
Antonio Esfandiari: Iran
Kevin Song: Korea
Marco Traniello: Italy
Lenny Martin: Russia
Carlos Mortensen: Spain
Roberto Rominelli: Wales
Padraig Parkinson and Donnacha O’Dea: Ireland
Vladimir Shchemelev: Ukraine
Visit WorldTeamPoker.com for more details.
Blair Hinkle & Friends Corn Shucking Prop Bet
September 3, 2010 by Sit N Go Pro · Leave a Comment
Blair Hinkle, Dwyte Pilgrim and Doug “Rico” Carli are all no strangers to the WSOP Circuit events around the country. All were playing at the World Series of Poker Circuit Event in Council Bluffs, which is right on the border of Iowa. To honor the cornfields of the heartland of America, the three engaged in a Corn Shucking Prop Bet to see who could shuck three corn stalks the quickest. The winner of this amazing prop bet wins the admiration of dozens, bragging rights over his poker peers in addition to the grand prize of an all expense paid dinner at the casino.
Blair Hinkle is a young live tournament pro who has a WSOP bracelet to his name, in the 2008 WSOP ,000 No-Limit Hold’em event which won him over a half million dollars. He’s also won online, including the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) 6 No Limit Hold’em event for 6,288. At this particular circuit event he ended up winning the ,600 Main Event which had 251 runners for a ,000 payday. He also received a diamond and gold ring and ,000 to buy into the 2011 WSOP Main Event, in addition to a seat at the Circuit National Championship.
Dwyte Pilgrim is the unofficial WSOP Circuit Master, with over 0,000 to his name in live tournament earnings. He is considered a rising star in the world of live tournament poker and someone to keep an eye out on at the 2011 World Series of Poker No Limit Hold’em events.
Doug “Rico” Carli is an old-school poker player hailing from Ohio who has a degree in mathematics. In addition to poker he’s known to be found at the local golf course or bowling alley.
September 2nd – Daily Deal
September 3, 2010 by Sit N Go Pro · Leave a Comment
On today’s Daily Deal, the coalition of California casinos clarifies its stance on internet gambling legislation, 888 reports its financial results for the first half of two-thousand ten, the World Series of Poker Main Event continues airing on ESPN and we find out who the final nominees are for this year’s Hall of Fame. It’s all ahead… faster than you can say, “I can dodge bullets, baby.”
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
Recently, the Commerce Casino, Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, Hollywood Park, and the California Gaming Association joined in opposition Congressman Barney Frank’s HR 2267, which would create a full licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States.
The four casinos have found themselves in a war of words against the Poker Players Alliance, which has launched an online petition at PlayersBeforeProfits.com to reverse their stance against the groundbreaking legislation. Poker News Daily sat down with card room coalition spokesperson Waltona Manion to explore the coalition’s resistance.
Manion argued,
“We’re looking for Federal enforcement of the same strict licensing and regulation for online poker as U.S. land-based casinos abide by. This means that they have to license all of their employees and the physical operations should be in the U.S. In addition, the hardware and software should be tested and certified.”
She added, “Frank’s bill provides fewer industry regulations and player protections. It imposes lower taxes for foreign online companies than what U.S. casinos pay. It would enable illegal offshore companies to export significant money from our economy.”
We’ll keep you posted as this story develops.
888 Holdings, the gaming operator that owns 888 Poker, announced Tuesday that it will be cutting costs in order to address a loss in profits for the first half of 2010. The company has also decided to scrap its dividend in order to pay for acquisitions after the weak economy and World Cup caused a decline in poker revenue.
888’s first half financial results showed revenues were up 10.5% to one-hundred thirty million dollars, but pre-tax profit dropped by 56% to four point three million dollars. Poker revenue dropped 25% to nineteen point six million.
The WSOP Main Event continued airing on ESPN on Tuesday night with Day Two-B. Two one-hour episodes were devoted to the second Day Two and the feature table included Dan Harrington and Jeff Shulman, who were seated next to each other. Prahlad Friedman and Allied Network Solutions CEO Ted Bort tangled in a hand in which Bort called the clock after pushing all in. Friedman waited until the count reached one and quietly said, “I call,” but floor officials ruled that the clock had expired. Bort turned over top two pair and Friedman mucked.
A maelstrom of yelling ensued. ESPN aired a replay clearly showing that Friedman had called at the one-second mark and the dealer promptly said, “He called.” Nevertheless, another floor supervisor was summoned who also said the hand was dead. Don’t forget that Friedman was also involved in “Ante-gate” with Jeffrey Lisandro.
Finally, the nominees as voted by the fans are in for the Poker Hall of Fame. This year’s class is a who’s who of the poker world, all of whom have distinguished careers warranting their nominations. This year’s class of nominees, who will be voted on by the 16 living Hall of Fame members and a 17-person media panel. Only these 33 individuals cast votes for induction. The nominees are:
1. CHRIS FERGUSON
2. BARRY GREENSTEIN
3. JENNIFER HARMAN-TRANIELLO
4. DAN HARRINGTON
5. PHIL IVEY
6. LINDA JOHNSON
7. TOM McEVOY
8. DANIEL NEGREANU
9. SCOTTY NGUYEN
10. ERIK SEIDEL
Well, that does it for today’s edition of The Daily Deal, and we’ll be back with you on Tuesday of next week. Be sure to visit Poker News Daily every day for the latest poker headlines, and be sure to check us out at twitter dot com slash poker news daily. I’m Sean Gibson, thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you next time. Now go crush those fish at the tables!
