February 2007 Archives

By Dennis Oehring

I doubt few would have predicted that Chris Ferguson, who started the last episode with only $9000 in chips when the blinds were $800/$1600, would emerge as this week's winner. This match featured more swings than an elementary school playground.

On the second day of the match, Sam Farha was the first player eliminated when he flopped a pair of jacks with a king kicker, only to lose to Ted Forrest's pair of jacks with an ace kicker. Talking with Shana Hiatt after the match, Sam admitted that he played too fast, and that this style of play, which Farha is known for, was probably the wrong strategy in this format.

Ted Forrest, the consensus favorite to win the match according to one poll conducted on an Internet forum, was eliminated shortly after Farha when his top pair and gutshot straight draw fell victim to Tony G's set of nines. This would set up nearly three episodes of fourhanded play before the next player would be eliminated.

The players passed their chips back and forth, dodging elimination on several occasions. At the start of play on the last episode, Tony G had over half the chips in play, and Ferguson was the decided underdog with less than 5 times the big blind in chips. But Tony would lose a couple of hands, giving Hansen the lead and making the spread only $18,000 between him and Ferguson on short stack when the blinds reached $1500/$3000.

Clonie Gowen pushed in her remaining $22,800 in chips from the small blind with a suited Q 8 against Gus Hansen in the big blind, but Gus woke up with a pair of kings to eliminate Gowen in 4th place. Hansen now had half of the chips in play when three-handed action began, but then the following hand came down.

Ferguson found pocket aces on the button, and moved all in for his last $20,500 in chips. Hansen went all in with a Q 8 suited, and Tony G called with an A 9. Ferguson's aces held up for the main pot, tripling him up, while Tony won the side pot with his ace high, and Chris now found himself the chip leader and Gus the short stack.

Hansen would then move all in for his last $20,900 with the K 10 of spades, but Ferguson called with pocket threes. Hansen did not improve, and play was now heads-up between Chris and Tony, with Ferguson enjoying a 2:1 chip advantage.

The conclusion of the match came quickly, as Chris picked up K Q and raised enough preflop to put Tony all in. With a K J, Tony called, only to find himself dominated. A flop of 9 3 J gave Tony the lead in the hand, but Chris picked up additional outs with a gutshot straight draw, needing either a Q or a 10 to avoid doubling Tony up. The turn blanked, but the river brought the 10 Chris needed to complete his straight and win the match. Congratulations, Chris, on a most impressive victory!

By Dan Gati

Poker After Dark is now entering its seventh week of original programming, and while there may have been a few growing pains in the beginning, the show appears to have hit its stride.

One aspect of Poker After Dark that hasn't changed since its inception is the Director's Cut, the Saturday night show that recaps the week of play and features an interview with the winner at the end of the show. The Director's Cut also incorporates the players' thoughts and opinions on the biggest hands of the week.

So what's so good about the Director's Cut? Aside from the music that plays in the background of every show, viewers get some insight as to why a pro made a particular play and what the thought process was behind that play. Sometimes, the decisions are easy -- a player is down to a few precious chips and the only move is all-in. Other times, like in this hand in last week's show, there is a deep analysis that only a pro like Howard Lederer can provide.

What's on tap for future Director's Cut shows? There will be even more insight from the players as the producers have pledged to ask more directed questions and get more detailed answers. There will also be more hands included in the show so viewers will get a better sense of exactly what happened during the week.

In the meantime, if you can't watch the entire week of Poker After Dark, and you don't have the time to watch all the episodes on the NBC Sports.com/poker website, you should definitely tune in on Saturday nights to catch the Director's Cut. You'll definitely like it, and you might even learn something.

By Dennis Oehring

"Commentators Week" on Poker After Dark saw Howard Lederer demonstrate why he is considered one of the best in the game. Being on the short stack in early 6-handed play, Howard stayed focused, played great poker, caught some cards late in the match, and rallied to win the $120,000 prize money.

The match was highly entertaining as well as instructional. The stories Mike Sexton related about poker legends Stu Ungar and Jack Straus in and of themselves made watching the match worthwhile. I learned some things about both players that I never knew before. And seeing what hands these poker analysts selected to play, especially when combined with having position, were elements of the match that I know will help my own short-handed game.

Chad Brown got off to an early chip lead, only to find himself the first player eliminated. Next to visit Shana at the bar was Michael Konik, who nursed a short stack for as long as he could before finally finishing in 5th place.

Mike Sexton then found himself on the short stack, and with the blinds escalating needed to make a move. With the blinds at $1000/$2000, he pushed all in for his last $10,200 in chips with the K deuce of clubs, only to be called by Lederer from the big blind with a dominating K Q. No help came for Sexton, and the match became three-handed.

Gabe Kaplan held the chip lead to begin 3-way play, but was soon relieved of most of his chips when Lederer woke up with pocket kings and called an all in bet made by Gabe holding an A 5. Howard made a full house on the turn, and Gabe was drawing dead to the river, leaving him with only a few thousand chips. He made his final stand holding an A 4 against Phil Gordon's K J, and was a favorite to win, but four clubs hit the board and Gordon, who held the J of clubs, made a flush to send Gabe out in 3rd place.

This left Howard and Phil heads-up, but Lederer held a 3:1 chip advantage. After trading blinds for a half dozen hands, Lederer won the match when Gordon pushed all in with a K 9 only to find himself dominated by Howard's K Q. A queen on the flop all but sealed Howard's victory.

By Dennis Oehring

The last of the brief profiles on each of the dealers appearing on Poker After Dark features Angie Border. The introductory article on all of them can be found by clicking here. Let's get to know Angie, who I affectionately refer to as "da bomb."

Angie moved to Las Vegas in 1989 from Lafayette, LA, after coming out for the World Series of Poker, falling in love with Sin City, and never returning back home. She was soon hired as a poker dealer at the Mirage. She recalls that her boss told her she was the worst dealer he had ever hired in his poker career, but in time made more progress than anyone he had ever seen. When Bellagio opened, she moved there to deal the higher limit games, and still works there as a dealer and occasional floorperson.

She has dealt games with buy-ins up to $5 million, including the game between Andy Beal and "The Corporation." She enjoys dealing the higher limit games because of the excitement the huge pots generate, but stresses that it has been in the lower limit games where she has made the most friends over the years. Angie says that while money comes and goes, friendships last a lifetime, and that makes her job even more fulfilling.

Angie has been involved in televised poker for more than 5 years. She has dealt 7 WPT final tables in addition to her work with HSOR and POKER-PROductions. Her work with the WPT has enabled her to travel to different locations, Aruba being her favorite. She feels that the personas of the players come out more strongly in televised events, one of many reasons she enjoys dealing on camera. She says that her favorite professional player is Mike "The Mouth" Matusow.

Her husband of 15 years, Robbie, also dealt poker at Bellagio for 7 years before applying what he learned in the box to his own game, and has now played for a living for 4 years. Robbie had a fifth place finish in the 2005 WPT Ultimate Poker Classic in Aruba, an event won by Freddy Deeb. Angie and Robbie have one daughter, Britany, and Robbie dedicated the success he had in Aruba to her. In her spare time, Angie enjoys cooking and playing in poker tournaments, where she is a welcome sight to many in these largely male-dominated events.

By Dennis Oehring

On Saturday, February 10th, the supersatellite for the final seat in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship was held at Caesars Palace. The event, which had a $230 buy-in with $200 rebuys during the first hour and a $200 add on at the break, drew approximately 70 players, including yours truly. I was hoping to improve upon my 7th place finish from last year, but unfortunately, didn't come close to doing so.

But my lackluster performance is not the story here. One of the pros attending the event, Marco Traniello, outlasted the field to capture the final seat. I had the opportunity to speak with Marco (seen here at the 2006 Intercontinental Poker Championship) briefly before the event started, and I could tell he was focused and really wanted to win. And win he did, and I couldn't be happier for him!

Marco's victory marks the first time in the history of the NHUPC that a husband and wife will both compete, and conjures up some interesting potential scenarios. Marco's wife, of course, is Jennifer Harman, one of the players invited to play in the elite field of 64. This makes the drawing party that will be held on the evening of March 1 even more interesting.

If Marco and Jennifer both wind up in the same bracket, then it would be possible that they may have to face one another for the right to advance in this single elimination tournament. But if they wind up in different brackets and each goes on to win their respective bracket, then there is a chance that they could face each other in either the semifinals or the finals. This just adds a little more drama to an already exciting field.

As mentioned in an earlier blog, Jennifer and Marco are my favorite poker couple. Regardless of how the draw turns out, I wish them both the best of success in this year's championship.

By Dennis Oehring

The third of four brief profiles on each of the dealers appearing on Poker After Dark follows. The introductory article on all of them can be found by clicking here. Let's get to know John Waltermeyer, who says he is known by most as simply John W.

John has been dealing poker for ten years, eight of them at Bellagio, where he occasionally also serves as a floorperson. In addition to dealing Poker Superstars III, High Stakes Poker, and the NHUPC, John has dealt four final tables for WPT events held at Bellagio. He is a regular dealer in the "Big Game" in Bobby's Room (where this picture was taken), and has dealt the game between Andy Beal and "The Corporation."

A 31-year-old Las Vegas native, John says that when he was 20 he actually wanted to get away from Las Vegas for a while, and together with his girlfriend Jessica moved to Arizona where they were married in 1996. He began dealing poker at the Mazatzal Casino in Payson, AZ, ironic in the fact that he ended up getting involved in the gaming world after never having the slightest intention of doing so while growing up in Sin City.

Through his appearances as a television dealer for HSOR and POKER-PROductions as well as his work at Bellagio, John can not only lay claim to having dealt to most of the top players in the world, but also at the highest limits. In his spare time, John enjoys playing poker, and is very much into performance cars and racing, referring to himself as a horsepower freak. He also loves electronic gadgets of any kind. He and Jessica now reside in Las Vegas with their four dogs.

By Dennis Oehring

Here is the second of four brief profiles on each of the dealers appearing on Poker After Dark. The introductory article on all of them can be found by clicking here. This one will deal (pun intended) with Mary Gregorich.

Mary (seen here dealing the final table of the 2006 National Heads-Up Poker Championship as well as solo) originally hails from Vassar, MI, and has more than a decade of experience dealing poker. From 1990-1992, she dealt poker at an Indian casino in Mt. Pleasant, MI, which was called The Saginaw Chippewa Fund Raising Project, but is now known as The Soaring Eagle Casino. When she moved to Las Vegas, she dealt at the Silver City Casino (since shut down) for one year before moving to the Mirage in 1993, where she dealt in what was then the hub of the poker universe until 1998.

During her time at the Mirage, she met the people associated with HSOR and POKER-PROductions, who were very impressed with her abilities. Oddly, since leaving the Mirage, Mary has not worked regularly as a dealer, although she has dealt on poker cruises put on by Card Player Cruises.

Mary made her debut into televised poker in December of 2004 with the filming of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament II at Morongo Casino in California. Since then, she has become a regular dealer for all of the events put on by the above production companies, including PAD and HSP.

Mary now lives with her husband and three children in Las Vegas. If the name Gregorich sounds familiar, it's because her husband is professional poker player Mark Gregorich. Mark contributed to Doyle Brunson's book Super System II, and serves as a columnist for Card Player magazine.

By Dennis Oehring

This match, to me, was the most entertaining to date. It featured two 10-time bracelet winners in Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth, two good friends in Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak, the consistent play of Erik Seidel, and the good-natured Jennifer Harman. The banter at the table was great, and the poker was pretty darned good, too. To view the match in its entirety, click here.

Several things struck me during this match. The first was how often Phil Hellmuth tried to limp into pots or raise with mediocre hands, only to get raised or reraised by players acting behind him, forcing him to lay his hand down. Playing small ball poker is one of Phil's strengths, but this strategy didn't seem to work very well for him during the match.

Another was how much the players seem to enjoy the show's surroundings, as the set for Poker After Dark is very luxurious (no, it's not a real suite). Watching Phil Laak lay down on the floor after going all in against Phil Hellmuth, and being joined by Hellmuth lying down on the sofa while contemplating his decision to call I found very amusing. I don't think I've ever before seen anyone fold a hand from a leather sofa in a poker game.

The real story of this match, however, was how Phil Laak clawed his way back from being the short stack to win. When play was 4-handed, at one time Laak only had $12,000 in chips compared to Esfandiari's $56,000. Using aggressive play and a little luck, Laak would eventually knock out both Hellmuth and Harman, and have a 3:1 chip advantage over Antonio once heads-up play began.

What really impressed me was the uncanny reading ability that both Laak and Esfandiari exhibited. There were several instances where their reads on each other were absolutely spot on. Both of these pros have developed their skills immensely within a relatively short period of time, and I believe they are two of the more underrated players in the game today.

Antonio and Phil are the best of friends, and nothing brings them greater satisfaction than beating the other. The excitement Laak demonstrated when he won was genuine. I talked with Phil after his victory and he told me that there were no words to describe how great he felt after felting his friend. The rivalry that exists between them makes watching them play even more fun, and to me is certainly good for the game.

by Dennis Oehring

As promised, here is the first of four brief profiles on each of the dealers appearing on Poker After Dark. The introductory article on all of them can be found by clicking here. Let's begin with Danette.

Danette Denise Morway (shown here with Freddy Deeb and dealing the final table at the 2005 National Heads-Up Championship) began dealing poker at the Mirage in 1995, where she remained until February 2006. She then transferred to Treasure Island and helped open TI's new poker room, and is currently employed there as a shift manager. In addition to the shows mentioned in Part 1, she also dealt the final table for the WPT Mirage Poker Showdown in 2005.

Danette is originally from Kailua, Hawaii, and moved to Las Vegas fourteen years ago. She came to Las Vegas on a recommendation from her cousin, Angie Border, who is another of the dealers you will meet soon. Danette met her current husband seven years ago in the Mirage poker room, where he was playing side action games while a Harrah's tournament was going on.

Danette has a 14-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, and a 2-year-old son with her current husband. She states that Dr. Amir Nasseri, who played on the first season of High Stakes Poker, was the doctor who delivered her son. Nasseri drove all the way back to Las Vegas from Los Angeles two days after the death of his father in California to do so, and Danette says that Nasseri is probably the player she loves the most for that reason, aside from her husband.