$$ Cash 4 Seat $$

How do you define a top poker pro? What are the skills you need?

Of course, most commentators will differ on the nitty gritty, happily spending hours discussing the multiple facets of the all-round player, placing their emphasis on the various skills in the multiple variations, adjusting their opinions based on deep-stack play versus turbo tourneys, ring games versus freezeouts. However, no matter the specifics, there are certain universal truths. You need to be able to play all variations of the game; show aggression where necessary, patience at other times; you need to know how to play the big stack and the short stack; you need discipline and focus.

In two words: you need to be Barry Greenstein.

Out on table Green 42, the furthest from media row, sits the Team PokerStars Pro who goes by that name. And as ever, he’s giving a masterclass in at least three of those skills mentioned above. Unfortunately for Greenstein, those attributes most on display are the final three: knowing how to play the short stack, discipline and focus. He has never been higher than about 20,000 in chips for the best part of two days. But he’s still in there and still fighting. Several thousand other players are not.

Watching Greenstein at the poker table is never going to remind you of a fireworks display or a Scandinavian-only double-flop eight-card Omaha hi-lo sit & go with a bonus prize for the most outrageous all-in move with the least connected cards. But there’s so much more to learn from watching his play: apparently impassive and uninterested, it couldn’t be further from the truth. He is watching and waiting; he is listening and scheming. If there is a more redundant piece of electrical equipment in the room than the boom mic that the TV crew has hovering over his head, I’m yet to see it. Greenstein says nothing, and is unlikely to even if he doubles up or busts out. It’s just not his style.

Instead, he has four towers of chips: two of the dark blue kind, worth 100 each, a half-tower of the yellow 1,000 chips and a quarter stack of the 500s, used primarily for riffling. He’s waiting for a moment to push them all in; he’ll double them up or he’ll bust. If he does the former, he’ll probably be here for another couple of days. If he does the latter, he’ll sign a copy of his book for his vanquisher, he’ll shake their hand and he’ll head silently into the night.

Either way, he has nothing to prove. Greenstein won another bracelet this year. He made the final table of the $50,000 HORSE event, his second in succession and third cash in three attempts in the event that supposedly determines the best players in the world. You know, scratch that “supposedly”. The fact that Barry Greenstein is the only name on every single cash list from that tournament is enough to prove it beyond doubt.

Look up “Top Poker Pro” in the soon-to-be-published “Poker Dictionary” and you’ll see a picture of Barry Greenstein.

Update: There is, of course, something inevitable about this, but before the ink was dry on that last post, Greenstein bust. He did exactly as predicted when the moment came, a signed copy of “Ace on the River” lies beneath seat three, and now its author is off. And yet all that written above still stands. He still has nothing to prove.

There are many significant steps on poker’s modern evolutionary road. The obvious one to most people is Chris Moneymaker’s rise from Tennessee accountant to poker World Champion thanks to a $39 online satellite. Further back still there was Team PokerStars Pro Tom McEvoy’s main event win 25 years ago, when he became the first Champion to have won his entry in a live satellite.

But in between those are two landmarks involving the same person.

The first came in 2000 when the Poker Million, the first event to award £1million to the winner (that was $1.4 million at the time), was staged on the Isle of Man.

The second occurred in a bath tub a few years later, coming to the same guy as he wallowed away in the tub, the idea striking him for a series of poker events to be staged across Europe, culminating in a glamorous grand final.

Of course that man was Team PokerStars Pro John Duthie.

“It’s hard to believe,” said John back in season one of the EPT. “It was just a year and a month and ago I sat in the bath and thought, ‘that would be a good idea.’”

In fact it was a great idea. John had successfully combined his talents for directing drama on TV to doing the same for poker. After countless meetings, negotiations and the backing of PokerStars, the European Poker Tour was born – perhaps the most popular series of events outside the World Series – including the prestigious EPT Grand Final held with the beautiful backdrop of Monte Carlo.

These moments though could easily have gone the other way. Duthie’s aggressive raises against the likes of Teddy Tuil and Ian Dobson back in 2000 could have been cut down had fate dealt them a different hand. For the sake of a bad river card European Poker could have taken an altogether different path.

The same hypothetical asked of Chris Moneymaker’s adventure five years ago - Sam Farha calling Chris‘s bluff - would pose the question of what would the World Series look like today had Chris not captured the imagination of the internet generation?

Thankfully it all worked out differently and today John sits tearing a path through Day 2A, playing with typical gusto and spirit denied him at the EPT - for whilst he may be the creator, CEO and Executive Producer, those titles bar him from playing, making John the most frustrated spectator walking the rail. Between that and a regular battle to quit smoking it can be a heart breaking sight.

But like I said, John is making up for lost time. He started on 62,000, won a few pots, charged headlong at the table chip leader, and made him give way to Duthie pressure. He’s running good - one of the reasons we’re all here - now up to 82,000.

***

Just one of the over 2,000 PokerStars qualifiers here this week is Michael Migdol, who spoke to the PokerStars video blog team about the main event and a little success he’s had elsewhere…

Watch WSOP 08: Michael Migdol Online Qualifier on PokerStars.tv

Hevad Khan has previous form when it comes to popular video clips on the internet. When he was just a wee slip of an online avatar, known simply as RaiNKhan, he proved to the PokerStars moderators that he was not a pokerbot by filming himself playing 26 sit n goes simultaneously on the site in a clip that soon made its way around cyberspace on the poker forums and discussion boards. Just one posting of the video on YouTube has been viewed more than 80,000 times, and it also appears on plenty of other video platforms.

When he made it to the World Series main event final table last year, playing in the colours of a PokerStars Supernova, he earned himself a good deal of television time through his animated antics around the table, footage that has since been cut and spliced together, then set to music, so that YouTube now recognises the search term “Hevad Khan dance”.

This week, RaiNKhan: TV star is back as he became the subject of the PokerStars.tv version of MTV’s Cribs. He invited the video blog team to his Las Vegas house where they watched him play online, work out, and saw his private chef prepare dinner for the champion. We posted the first instalment of what will be a three-part documentary on the all-new PokerStars.tv site last night and it had already been viewed 20,000 times. Khan is quite an attraction in the online video community.

“You like it? You think I should do it again?” Khan asked when I caught up with him around the tables moments ago. Sure, if it’s not too intrusive, I told him. “No, I love it,” he said.

Celebrity is a major part of poker these days, but it’s still far more important what happens on the tables than what happens on ESPN or YouTube. And despite what you might think, Khan knows that better than anyone, which is why he’s got that chef, why he’s going to the gym, and why he’s remaining wholly focused on his game today in the Brasilia Room.

It took me about 15 minutes just to grab a word as he was involved in three pots back-to-back, all of which he won. His table image these days is one of intense concentration and measured aggression, and he’s the very epitome of perfect etiquette. He still enters a lot of pots, usually in position and usually with a raise. That’s the way to do it. Worthy of TV star.

***

So, without further fanfare, here’s the second part of the RaiNKhan PokerStars.tv Cribs documentary. One more part will follow.

Watch WSOP 08: Hevad Khan’s House Part 2 on PokerStars.tv

Remember, all previous video blogs can be found on PokerStars.tv, where you can also find details of a special freeroll tournament to celebrate the launch of the site.

I’ve seen various characters in the crowded Amazon Room and beyond this afternoon. Men walking the halls chomping on foot long Churchill cigars; I’ve seen the spitting image of Stan Laurel complete with bowler; several players sporting Mohicans, a young player in bee glasses, a crazy guy crashing symbols, a UFC fighter with face bulging black and blue (he apparently won last night) and a man playing whilst keeping a stuffed toy penguin on his knee. I think everyone will need a rest after Day 1D.

But whilst this is the fourth day of the main event, as far as this new wave of players are concerned – and it’s by far the biggest of the four opening days – it all starts today. What happened yesterday, the day before, and the day before that, is none of their concern. This is the day of their gunfight in the desert - high noon Sunday.

Except if you’re Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin - in which case it starts at half-past high noon.

A dealer with a good arm will cost you a few rounds of blinds in half an hour, but nothing to seriously hamper your chances. In fact ten minutes after arriving any deficit Victor started with was promptly overturned to the tune of five thousand. Late? No, that 30 minutes was intentional.

A few years ago at the World Series I talked to Victor about his WPT win at Foxwoods. We were talking about his background, his life in the Bronx and the shops he owns in New York City. Thinking I might catch him out I asked him how much he charged for a half gallon of milk. He knew immediately (whilst I forgot). I figured then he was the kind of man who was always on top of his own affairs.

Whether it’s a poker game, how much he sells milk for or how much money it takes Guyana Watch, the charity he supports, to fly a child from his home country to hospital for a life saving heart operation.

This latter point came to many people’s attention after he won the WPT in Foxwoods back in 2006. He decided then to give the organization a large chunk of his winnings, effectively helping to save the lives of several children.

Whether or not the players knew who was due to fill in the empty seat at their table they should by now know he’s a player to be wary of.

After Foxwoods he ran good at the WPT Championship a few weeks later, picking up an additional $146,460 for 11th place. Then three World Series cashes in 2006, one in 2007 and three more this year, not to mention 12 other WPT and EPT cashes in between. I checked all this online. Victor cashes a lot.

So yes, the half hour was intentional. He immediately got stuck into a massage, nodding hello at me (probably unable to speak) rocking to and fro as a massage therapist worked without mercy on his external abdominal obliques. A good position to be in at the start.

Half an hour late, five grand up. This is the last of the day ones. It’s incredible what a break can do.

Sprinkled across the field today in both the Amazon and Brasilia Rooms are the members of Team Moneymaker, each of whom won their seats for $39 – the same amount Chris Moneymaker paid when he won a satellite in 2003 which ultimately led to World Series glory.

Darren Keyes, from Toronto, is one of that team. At the dinner break he reported back on his progress, starting first with a certain player known to most in the game.

Darren Keyes of Team Moneymaker

“Another member of Team Moneymaker told me ‘You got TJ at your table’” said Darren. “Sure enough I turn around and see TJ Cloutier sitting at my table.”

Darren’s start was a slow one, dropping down a few grand before a few hands came along to bump up his confidence and his stack. But like a lot of guys new to this cut throat environment the tendency is to worry, and when raise after raise comes along you start to think you’re the weak link at the table.

Looking for a break and down to 15K, a pot against that man TJ Cloutier himself came along. Darren picks up the action…

“TJ limped in from the cut off seat and the button and small blind both called. I checked from the big blind with 2d8d and the flop came 2c7s4s - everyone checks. The turn brought an 8s for a possible flush and TJ bet out 800. I made the call figuring he was bluffing with one spade.

“The river is a 7h and I check to TJ. He bets out strong with 2,500 and I just totally feel he is bluffing. I make the call and he says ‘you win’. He announces queen high and my pair of 8’s gets me back into the tournament.”

But you can’t beat a Hall of Famer and not expect to take a little flak later…

“Later I limped in the small blind with pocket nines. Alan Barrie in the big blind raised to 900 and I call. The flop came 9-Q-J with two hearts. I check and he checks. The turn card is an eight, I bet out 1,200 and he calls.

“The river is another eight and I check to him to induce a bet and he bites, with $1,900. Now I think about a re-raise but eventually decide he might have queens or kings. So I said ‘well, this might be a wussy play, but I’m just gonna call’.

“He turns over aces and I win the pot. TJ said ‘Wussy? I’ll say it was wussy!’ So now TJ thinks I’m a wuss!”

By the dinner break Darren has 45K. “Happy thoughts, happy thoughts!”

There are other members of the team still in the fight today. Mickey Parkinson, a nurse from Alberta in Canada, played her way close to 30K earlier today. She’s down a bit but still looks like the experience is a fun one, sitting with 21K.

Russell Spaid from Pierre, South Dakota is in a similar way, up to 31K, whilst Quebecois Serge Grenier, just arrived at his new table in the Amazon Room from the Brasilia Room, carried in a bag of chips worth 55K.

Of course at the centre of all this is Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker himself playing today and up to 68,000. No check that, 80,000.

Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker with Donald Hobbs watching from the rail

Just a few moments ago Moneymaker hit a five-outer against a short-stack to build his own pile of chips to 80,000. While he stacked his chips, an opponent said, “Chris, when you pull the horseshoe out, do it slowly. You don’t want to cut anything.”

Chris barely thought before responding, “Nah, you gotta yank it. I’ll probably take some ribbing for that, but I’ll take it, as long as you ship me the pot.”

Donald Hobbs is sweating him on the rail, preparing for his World Series debut tomorrow. Donald, Chris and all the Team Moneymaker players got together for a ‘boot camp’ yesterday, as the PokerStars video blog team report…

Watch WSOP 08: Moneymaker Boot camp on PokerStars.tv

For one guy playing today the World Series main event is just the next stop on a worldwide poker playing adventure. Thanks to his win in the PokerStars Passport competition, 23-year-old Dustin Mele gets to play ten tournaments of his choosing and in any destination he wants. Not a bad prize.

He’s already played a few, ticking off some glamorous locations across Europe as he goes - getting to grips with EPT action in Dortmund, Copenhagen, San Remo and the Grand Final in Monte Carlo, each time edging deeper into the event but yet to find that all important first score.

Passport winner Dustin Mele

As Dustin wrote on the PokerStars blog after his first bundle of tournaments…

“I’m getting more experience, which is very valuable as a poker player. I know that if I can avoid getting unlucky I can take down my first title.”

Dustin’s girlfriend Tracey, who travels to events with him, is not the only one watching over Dustin’s progress. A certain number of PokerStars players also have an eye on proceedings with a little more than friendly support. Ten per cent of any money that Dustin wins on his yearlong furlow on to the poker circuit will be returned, making up part of the prize pool for a special VIP event - with PokerStars matching the amount.

Ten per cent? In the next couple of weeks that could potentially be anything up to $800,000… although Dustin might have a little work to do first.

It’s not his first experience of playing at the World Series, having played in 2006 where he memorably witnessed one of those hands that probably deserves its own X-File.

“It seemed that there was an ace or sometimes two on every flop, and players were betting, raising and flipping over pockets aces. Aces were everywhere. Finally I had the aces, a player raised under-the-gun and I pushed all-in.

“The player that raised was the only caller and the dealer said, ‘Turn your hands up.’ I turned over the ace of clubs and ace of spades. The other player turned over ace of spades and queen of hearts. We both had the ace of spades in our hands.”

It’s the kind of freakiness that could be a drag if the hand was declared dead. None of that happening here though as Dustin takes his day one turn, down a few grand but no major problems early one.

“I have about 22K, nothing really major. Slow but steady.”

But so far the experience has been more of a blast than anything resembling work for Dustin, who already has his timetable in place for where he’s headed next…

“We’ve picked them all – EPT Barcelona, then EPT London, then to Sydney for the APPT, back to the Bahamas for the PCA and then one last EPT in Deauville, France.”

We’ll see him there. First he has a main event to win.

***

Dustin has been interviewed coutless times on his travels, but rarely by someone as lovely as the lady who took him on a tour of San Remo during the EPT event there. Kara Scott is running in Day 1C today and slipped out during her break to give us a brief update.

Watch WSOP 08: Kara Scott Break Time Chat on PokerStars.tv

The story of Chris Moneymaker’s trip to the 2003 World Series has been told so many times, it almost doesn’t have to be repeated. Thing is, there are more than a dozen players here trying to do just that.

Earlier this year, PokerStars ran a series of tournaments aimed at giving players a chance to repeat Moneymaker’s storybook $39 to $2.5 million tale. Thrity-nine bucks and a good finish got players a spot in the $215 final.

Fifteen players won their way onto Team Moneymaker for the 2008 World Series. As we reported yesterday, those players were treated to a Moneymaker Masterclass over at the Palms.

Today, around half of Team Moneymaker is in the field and vying to repeat the Moneymaker experience. m The other half will join us on Day 1D Sunday.

The situation has certainly changed since Moneymaker booked his revolutionary win back in 2003. Today’s Day 1C flight has twice the number of people as the whole Main Event in 2003. By the time the surviving members of Team Moneymaker go to bed tonight, they will have outlasted as many people as Moneymaker did five years ago.

Sitting with the members of Team Moneymaker today is the man himself

Moneymaker is back in the field, playing the last of a few World Series events he chose to play this year. He started this day a couple of hours ago with 20,000 chips like everybody else. He ended the first level of play with 27,000.

In the world of professional gaming it pays to look a little edgy. The millions of fans who tune in to the Star League in South Korea like their World Cyber Games to put on a show, a space-aged one at that, and back in the day when man of the time Bertrand ‘ElkY Grospellier came second in the World Cyber Games, he delivered.

This is what came to mind when I saw him this morning. The Team PokerStars Pro has taken the days off between his last event and now to pamper up and today sports spiked peroxide blond hair and what I think are new sunglasses. Gone is the hoodie with the gold trim and the large sunglasses, in are a sleek jacket and open neck dress shirt and elegant shades. It’s back to space age for the Frenchman. He could easily be on the cover of a marvel comic.

ElkY keeps a neat stack, constantly adjusting it for elegance, symmetry and colour co-ordination. As any book will tell you to do he waits until the action reaches him before checking his cards and when he folds he gets back to his housekeeping. Occasionally he switches the playlist on his headphones.

These are crucial levels for everyone playing in the World Series but especially so in terms of ElkY’s game plan. I spoke to him earlier this week about his World Series this summer and asked if there was any reason for his lack of cashes. There was no concern, it all seemed acceptable.

“I either go out really fast or I go deep” he said, before promptly spinning up a short stack into a battle stack and turning it into a 16th place finish the next day. If he’s still here in 12 hours time we should have a firm indication of how much we’ll be seeing him this week.

It’s an eclectic table for sure, a mixture of the various poker breeds, old and young, large and small, that includes a player in a ten gallon hat with an owl’s foot for luck, PokerStars qualifier Matthew Clark and of course Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari, who in contrast to ElkY wears a Brazil zip up with the poker player uniform of shades, hat and headphones.

You never can tell early on what mood some players are in, often these early hands are a sounding stage for future clashes as players get the lay of the land. But not here, everyone’s had a piece of something, although ElkY’s has been more a donation.

A raise form the seat seven player cost ElkY a few thousand after he’d re-raised; bidding his cards farewell when bet at on a 6-4-A flop. Then it was Matthew Clark’s turn, getting an early start and showing Kings in a pot he raised all the way. On their own they were no good, but with one a club to match the four on the board he was up several grand.

Then ElkY and the busy seat seven player again; a board of 9d8d2c6s, a big bet at ElkY (called) and an ace on the river bet at and called. The Ad7d was good. Something less for the Team PokerStars Pro who mucked for a second time as the victor thumped the table.

It’s early though and like he said, if it goes according to plan it’ll be either a short week or a long week - nothing in between.

There were two parts to Chris Moneymaker’s master class this afternoon. The first related to 15 guys and gals who had won their seat to the world series in a $39 Moneymaker satellite – the same amount that Chris himself spent to win his seat five years ago. The second part of the session related to a young guy by the name Donald Hobbs. It’s a story worth telling.

Back in February 2007 Donald was driving his car near his home in Kentucky when he was involved in an horrific accident that caused his car to burst into flames. Donald literally dragged himself out of the wreckage, suffering 70 per cent burns. As you’d expect he still bears the scars of that day today. But there was another tragic twist to this tale.

Donald had been a haemophiliac since he was a young boy, a painful illness that prevents the blood from clotting, making any mildly adventurous pursuit potentially life threatening. The fact that he had survived the crash was a miracle in itself. That he survived despite his haemophilia was impossible to put into words.

It was during his recovery in Cardinal Hill hospital near Cincinnati that Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker entered the story. Donald’s therapist Michelle Rose began playing poker with her patient, one of his favourite games, hoping it would aid his recovery.

Chris Moneymaker sharing a few tips with Donald Hobbs

A friend of hers who worked the World Series tried to get an autographed picture of his favourite player Chris Moneymaker to him. Chris was not only happy to oblige but when he heard the story of this guy from Kentucky, just a few miles over the state line from his own home in Tennessee, he did more than just send a picture. He went to see Donald in hospital and played some poker with him, playing with straws.

It was then that Chris made a promise, that if Donald was feeling better, and could handle the trip, he’d bring him to the World Series. Not only that but he’d buy him in. That’s got to be a pretty good incentive to work at getting better.

Cut to the lounge at the Palms hotel where Chris is hosting a get together for the Team Moneymaker players. A mixture of veteran players and rookies here to pick up a few tips from a man who knows what he’s talking about.

“I don’t want to change how anyone plays. I just want to help you get through day one” he said, before starting with the basic. Like, was anyone nervous? Two people raised their hands…

“That’s two honest people in the room then..!”

So with the help of Bill Chen, some last minute instruction began – the results of which we’ll learn in the next two days. As for Donald he looked a little in awe of it all - the time spent with Chris, the opportunity right around the corner to play in the biggest game in town.

Chris Moneymaker getting things started

“Chris taught me a couple of things, gave me some advice” said Donald. “We practiced for 30 or 40 minutes a few days ago and it was awesome! I was figuring things out and when we played a few hands together I even caught him bluffing, he was like “there ya go!”

Donald had played with friends at home before this but never against professionals, especially those he’d seen on TV.

“I played a game with Chris and Doyle Brunson and won $50. It was great! I lost it the next week of course!”
Sounds like a guy getting the hang of things.

His brother Dwayne, watching in the wings, who has spent most of his life looking after his brother, described him as a rebellious kid from Kentucky.

“This has really pushed him to get better” said Dwayne. “His attitude has changed and he’s made real improvements. This has really pushed him to get better.”

We hope so. Donald is one determined guy. We wish him and the rest of Team Moneymaker good luck when they take their day 1 seats this weekend.

There is a phenomenon in poker that few people get to experience. While everyone at a tournament table wears a target, those big name pros who have spent hours on television are painted with the biggest bullseye you’ll ever see. It doesn’t matter what big name pro you talk to, the situation rarely varies. When people come in this room, they are looking for a story to tell. They want to be able to say they busted a big name.

Greg Raymer is no stranger to this phenomenon. Since his $5 million win in the 2004 World Seres Main Event, players around the world have settled their scopes on the FossilMan. Sometimes, it works to his advantage. The following year in the World Series, Raymer had a banner year and threatened a repeat appearance at the final table of the main event. Sometimes, though, it works against him. This World Series was one of those times.

Raymer had one of the most frustrating World Series of his poker career. Out of more than 20 tournaments this summer, he cashed in one. The main event was Raymer’s chance to come back, his chance to shake off the bullseye and recover for the year. Before the end of Level 2 today Raymer’s opportunity disappeared.

From a distance, it looked almost peaceful. The crowd gave an appreciative clap and recognized the world champion’s departure. Raymer stood and put his trademark duffel bag over his shoulder. He walked around the rail and toward the back door. The omnipresent ESPN cameras followed behind. It was only as Raymer drew closer to this reporter’s desk that it was clear the FossilMan was done letting the bad beats roll off his shoulders. He had had enough.

The resulting conversation is neither for print–or despite the presence of the TV cameras–for broadcast. Suffice it to say, Raymer found his nemesis at the table today. “He sucked out on me three times,” Raymer said. The final time, the guy ended up having an overpair to Raymer’s top pair. Raymer, usually a cool customer, was decidedly ready to blow off some steam.

It was an illustration of a reality few people recognize. Even some of the top players in the game can have terrible years. Tens of thousands of dollars can be invested without any significant return. As this room filled up with 1,158 people today, it was clear that for many of them this would be the only big tournament they’ll play this year, and maybe in their lifetime. To win this thing…to even make Day 2…takes the confluence of superior skill, good timing, and no small amount of good fortune. The latter did not grace Raymer’s cards this year.

It was the same kind of day for Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu Set over set sent him out in Level 1. He talks about his exit in the video blog below. Be sure to check out all of our video blogs at PokerStars.tv.

Watch WSOP 08: Daniel Busts on PokerStars.tv