Posts Tagged ‘Live Tourney’

Tom Dwan gets beat in Live Million Dollar Challenge

Posted By : CarbonPoker November 20th, 2009

durrrrTom Dwan has made a big name for himself in the poker world through his online exploits and bold challenges that he commonly issues.  The latest challenge has him taking on a number of noted live poker pros in a Million Dollar Challenge being put on by Matchroom Sport in London.  The first leg of the challenge had Dwan taking on Marcello “luckexpress” Marigliano.

Both players bought into this heads-up matchup for $250,000 which set the stage for a marathon playing session; the match lasted 12 hours and saw 500 hands play out.  When all 500 hands had been played, it was Marigliano who held the advantage with $272,500 compared to Dwan’s $227,500.

The fact that Marigliano ended up winning the challenge is very interesting since the statistics would indicate otherwise.  Dwan was able to win 55% of the hands, and was more aggressive on the button after raising 84% of the time.  However, the end results obviously indicate that Marcello Marigliano was the winner.

After the heads-up match was over with, Marigliano told Matchroom Sport, “In the end, I won a small amount, but I’m happy though as I won with bluffs.  He raised a lot pre-flop and you have to play tight, but I made some good moves, and I’m happy I proved I can play with Tom.”

The matchup with Marigliano is only the first part of the challenge since Dwan will be facing off against llari Sahamies today in 500 hands of Pot-Limit Hold’em; this is going to be shown on the Sky Sports network in 2010.  After Sahamies, Dwan will take on Sammy “Any Two” George.  This match is very interesting since George is known for his tendency to play any two cards that he holds.

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Cowboy Poker Players are Tougher Than You Are

Posted By : Comb Over-Under November 16th, 2009

cowboypokerUnless you spent the weekend rasslin’ gators, curing diseases or base jumping with one of those bat suits you weren’t anything nearly half as extreme as playing Cowboy Poker.

More intense than Hold’em and crazier than Badugi, Cowboy Poker requires balls, tenacity and… bulls.

Featured at Rodeos across North America, Cowboy Poker is pretty beautiful in its simplicity: a few cowboys (see: totall bad asses) sit in some chairs around a poker table. A bull is then released down the chute to charge at the table. Last player sitting wins. And, yeah, the bull seems to hate their flush draws more than a red cape.

This past weekend at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton, Will Evans took down his third straight Cowboy Poker title and $500 in the process.

In truly awesome Canadian form, Evans compared the bull’s force to being about:

“tens times harder than a real hard bodycheck in hockey.”

I suppose that was approximated, but still. Holy @&$*.

The next time I sit down to an ‘intense’ SnG or cash game, I’ll think of Will Evans and realize onlinePLAYahh82930 isn’t nearly as intimidating as a bull.

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Women Outraged after another Man Wins a Ladies-Only Event

Posted By : CarbonPoker November 16th, 2009

doubtfireEvery year more and more women are taking up the game of poker in an effort to win money.  And many of them choose to use ladies-only events as a good starting place for their career.  But recently, a lot of these women are finding out that ladies-only events aren’t just for the ladies anymore.  That’s because some men have been making their way into these poker tournaments that are only supposed to be held for female players.

Greg Sessler was the latest man to benefit from such a move as he took down a WSOP Circuit Event in Lake Tahoe.  The tournament was called the “Lake Tahoe Ladies Championship” and it was a $340 event.  96 players entered the tourney, and Sessler was one of them after he claimed he wanted to participate because he had the day off, and was looking for somewhere to play poker.

Sessler definitely picked a good time to take the day off since he ended up winning the Ladies Championship, and he earned a $9,900 payday for doing so.  The crowd was definitely against Sessler as they were cheering every time a male was eliminated from the supposed ladies-only tournament.  However, he was able to come through and take the victory despite the crowd being against him.

With Sessler’s victory, and Abraham Korotki winning a Ladies No-Limit Hold’em event in September, many people are starting to question the appearance of men in women’s events.  The WSOP covered themselves on this issue by saying, “The WSOP isn’t a political organization and can’t be expected to get involved in debates about sexism, discrimination, or other polarizing issues which may be applicable to poker tournaments.”  Even with this statement, many will still be questioning why Korotki, Sessler, and others are allowed to play in these female tournaments.

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2009 WSOP Main Event Winners List – Final Table Money Results

Posted By : Comb Over-Under November 10th, 2009

wsop chipsThe 2009 WSOP Main Event is in the bag. It’s time to look at the important stuff. The field of 6,494 competitors fought it out for a little over $61Million in prize money.

The Final Table was the longest in the event’s history – logging over 17.5 hours of play until only two remained.

Joe Cada was the eventual winner – beating out Darvin Moon in heads up action last night.

Here’s the breakdown of the Final Table Winners:

Joe Cada – $8.55Million

Darvin Moon – $5.18Million

Antoine Saout – $3.48Million

Eric Buchman – $2.5Million

Jeff Shulman – $1.95Million

Steven Begleiter – $1.59Million

Phil Ivey – $1.4Million

Kevin Schaffel – $1.3Million

James Akenhead – $1.2Million

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Joe Cada Wins 2009 WSOP Main Event, $8.55Million

Posted By : Comb Over-Under November 10th, 2009

cada joe champ wsopIt’s finally happened. After months of play/hype the 2009 Main Event of the World Series of Poker is over.

Joe Cada is the youngest WSOP Main Event winner, surpassing Peter Eastgate. Cada is only 21 years old.

The heads up portion of the Main Event lasted 88 hands as Cada bested Darvin Moon. Cada’s winning hand was pocket 9s over Moon’s suited Q-J. The board didn’t help Moon out and Cada walked away with the biggest pay day of his poker career.

Moon started out the heads up play quite aggressively, as he was down by more than 2-1. It was effective early, but Joe Cada hung on for the eventual win.

Moon took home $5.18Million for his troubles and will probably be glad to move out of poker’s biggest spotlight. The unsigned amateur never relished the promotional side of poker, but I’m sure he’s alright with the financial aspect.

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In-Depth Look at Cada vs Moon in WSOP Final Showdown

Posted By : CarbonPoker November 9th, 2009

darvin-moonThe last day of the WSOP Main Event ended nearly 4 months ago when the final table was set.  This past Saturday, Main Event play finally picked up again with final table play continuing all weekend as the field was whittled down to two players.

And for all of the talk about how Phil Ivey could find his way to the title despite sitting 7th in chips or how Darvin Moon would choke his big lead away because he wasn’t a veteran players, the final showdown is set: Darvin Moon versus Joe Cada.

Much was made about Darvin Moon coming into the Main Event final table because he held 30% of the chips in play and was simply known as the logger from Maryland.  He had no flashy tournament resume or heroic online feats to back up his journey to the final table.  Instead, Moon’s prior poker experience was relegated to playing in small tourneys around his area.

One of the small tournaments Moon played in (a $130 satellite in Wheeling, West Virginia) would change his life since it earned him a spot in the WSOP Main Event.  After grabbing his spot in the Main Event, Moon was able to gather 58,930,000 chips before the final table – 24,130,000 more than the next closest competitor. Joseph_Cada

Moon’s opponent, Joseph Cada, had a much different road to the WSOP.  He definitely fits into the college-dropout-turned-poker-pro class of players that have been popping up in recent years.  However, unlike a lot of these players, Cada didn’t earn his success on the Internet but rather through live play at Casino Windsor and later in bigger tournaments.  Cada already has 11 WSOP cashes to his credit which is astounding for a 21 year-old, and he is guaranteed to add a big one when his duel with Darvin Moon concludes.

If you had to give one player the experience advantage then it would definitely be Cada, but Joseph is also at about a 2-to-1 chip disadvantage going against Moon.  The odds are definitely on Moon to come out on top, but don’t count out Cada since he survived elimination several times to make it this far.

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WSOP Main Event 2009 Heads Up Final Starts at 10PST

Posted By : Comb Over-Under November 9th, 2009

wsop_bracelet_newDarvin Moon and Joe Cada.

Those are the final two players remaining in the Main Event of the 2009 World Series of Poker. After prelim rounds, winners, losers, months of promotion and the longest final table in WSOP history, these two have outlasted over 6K worth of players.

Heads up action goes off tonight at 10pm PST — so you East Coasters better get in a nap now, or prepare for a long night of poker.

Cada entered the final 9 in 5th place and now holds over a 2-1 chip advantage of Moon.

Think you know who’ll win? Hit the comments and let us know!

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Heads up Pairing Set for WSOP Final – Cada vs Moon

Posted By : CarbonPoker November 8th, 2009

wsop chipsThe field of 6,494 players is now down to two.

17.5 hours into the November Nine, Joe Cada and Darvin Moon are the only ones left. In an action packed session of playing, these guys got their in drastically different ways.

Cada needed to make many key double ups to keep his tournament life. Moon started with 60million, dropped to 30, and then roared back.

Final Count going into the WSOP Final – Heads up:

136, 925 , 000 – Joe Cada

58 , 875 – Darvin Moon.

You’ll get more updates from me after I’ve slept.

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Three Remain in WSOP Final Table – 9amEST Update

Posted By : CarbonPoker November 8th, 2009

The November Nine has played well into the night, and only three competitors remain.

The final table has seen 275 hands. Including the heads up portion, last year’s final table only saw 274 hands. This has turned into an absolute marathon.

Young Joe Cada now has the lead after hitting trip 2s with an all-in call against Saout’s pocket Queens.

Remaining:

Joe Cada

Darvin Moon

Antoine Saout

The players will finally get a break when it down to two.

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4am EST Update- Moon is the Leader, Begleiter out in 6th

Posted By : CarbonPoker November 8th, 2009

Darvin Moon has regained the lead and continues to sit stoically at the table as he sends another player to the rail.

This time, Steve Begleiter was sent packing as Moon’s A-Q beat Steve’s QQ with a river’d Ace. The Penn and Teller theatre went crazy, except for Moon. Who can blame the guy as he’s theoretically outmatched on poker’s biggest stage – yet continues to win.

Here is the updated chipcount:

Darvin Moon – 63,925,000
Eric Buchman – 53,250,000
Antoine Saout – 51,725,000
Jeff Shulman – 15,525,000
Joseph Cada – 10,350,000

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