$$ Cash 4 Seat $$

by Chad Brown

I really enjoy Christmas. It is the time of the year I get to spend with my family, and after traveling all over the world, it’s great to have a couple of weeks to just chill. Now, after having two weeks of relaxing, I’m really looking forward to going to the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

This year they have many more side events, more then ever before. If you’re playing poker day in day out, it can burn you out - it can take away the winning edge. These two weeks help to rest up and re-energize.

The PCA is a great way to start of the New Year on the right foot. And if i get knocked out of the main event, I can jump right into another tournament the next day.

I wish all of you a happy and prosperous New Year - and hope to see you all in the Bahamas.

You might have seen a little less of Chad Brown at the WCOOP tables in recent days. That’s because he was busy padding his bankroll by several hundred thousand dollars in live events. Now that he’s done with that, he’s ready to move on to WCOOP, where he’s suggesting you better watch out for him.

Here’s what he had to say upon his return from the American Gulf Coast.

by Chad Brown

Taking a short break from WCOOP, Vanessa and I were the hosts of the Gulf Coast Poker Championship. Vanessa was also teaching a poker boot camp the day before the main event. So I decided to play in the PLO rebuy tourney.

I arrived in Gulfport at 4:45pm. I called my friend Mark Davis and asked how much time I had left to enter the tourney. He told me only 10 minutes. I asked him to buy me in and that I should be there in 30 minutes. He did and I arrived and started to build my stack back up.

At the end of the rebuy period, I had not rebought, but decided to do a double add-on. It was a good decision as I coasted to the final table as the chip leader and was never challenged. I won the event and received $32,000, a white gold bracelet, and a Beau Rivage trophy. It was my 2nd straight final table in Mississippi. The month before I made the final table in the World Poker Open in Tunica, with fellow PokeStars Pro teammate Chris Moneymaker. I finished fourth place in that and Chris came in third.

Feeling great about my chances going into the main event, I had a goal of doing something I had never done in my poker career: win back to back events. I had made three final tables in a row before. In 2006 when I won Bluff Magazines’ Player of the Year, I made the final table in the EPT London, won the 5k WCOOP HORSE event on PokerStars and then final tabled the 5k no-limit hold’em at the Bellagio.

The day didn’t start out well as I took beat after beat and lost numerous pots on the river. But with good pot management and a great structure I was able to survive. A key to this tournament was when I had about 13 big blinds left and I had raised under the gun with A-J suited.

An older man who was at my table and not doing anything crazy, min-raised me from early position. Everyone folded to me. Now normally I would just go all-in in this spot, but felt I was behind and decided to call. I missed the flop and the old man pushed all in. I mucked, thinking I could find a better spot.

I got moved to another table and was down to 2,500 in chips with the average at about 38,000. I got lucky and doubled up a couple of times. With me now holding 20,000 in chips, a wild player limped in under the gun and the next player min-raised. It was folded to me on the button and I woke up with pocket kings.

I decided to slow play, knowing there was a chance the under the gun player could come back over the top. He just called and we saw the flop. It was 5-5-2 rainbow and was checked to me. I bet half the pot, and the wild player shoved 45,000 all-in. The other player mucked and I called to see my opponent’s A-2 offsuit. My kings held up and I was on my way to my third final table in a month.

A very talented young player named Tyler Smith became the monster chip leader at the table. After he busted most of the players there, we were heads up and I was playing for a chance at my first back-to-back victories. He held a 2.5 to 1 chip lead on me.

The key hand of the match was a hand that went like this:

He raised on the button and I called with K-9 off. The flop came 9 high and we both checked. The turn was a [Qs] putting up 2 spades. I checked and he bet. I raised him and he re-raised. I called.

The river was an ugly [As]. I checked and he bet around the amount of the pot 400,000. If I called and lost, the match would be essentially over. He would have had a 2.4 million to 400,000 lead.

I studied the situation for about three minutes and decided to go with my instinct that he was on a move.

I was right.

He had T-2 offsuit and now I had the chip lead.

After I chipped up to a dominating chip lead, the last hand went like this: Tyler limped on the button and I checked. The flop came 3-5-6 rainbow. I checked and he bet. I min-raised ( something I did often in this match) and he went all-in. I called…because I had the nuts: 4-7.

Tyler turned over 9-4 clubs. There was a club on board, but the turn and the river blanked out. I won the Gulf Coast Poker Championship and achieved my goal of back-to-back victories. Tyler played well and I believe we will hear a lot more from him.

Now, with another several days of WCOOP left, I plan on doing some serious damage.

Chad Brown is a member of Team PokerStars Pro

Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown is not only a deserving member of his spot on Team PokerStars Pro, he is also a frequent contributor to the PokerStars Blog. He’s been having a year of final tables and is planning to do just as well in the 2009 World Championship of Online Poker. We asked him to give us his thoughts on the world’s biggest online tournament series.

by Chad Brown

The World Championship of Online Poker is coming up and with my recent success at the WSOP (2 final tables) and another final table right after that in Tunica at the World Poker Open, I am really excited to play in WCOOP. In poker you go on streaks, both hot and cold. A lot of players take breaks when running cold. But when you’re running hot, you just can’t wait to play in the next big event and WCOOP has just what the doctor ordered.

I’m expecting record prize pools, as PokerStars has grown even bigger than the year before. And for you players that don’t have the big bankrolls, there are plenty of tournaments with the smaller buy ins that still have big cash prize pools. And of course, there are always plenty of satellites for the bigger buy ins. What’s more, you’re going to be able to play with many members of Team PokerStars Pro.They will all be playing in many events and this gives you an opportunity to play and chat with some of your favorite players. So, even if your not at my table, please come to my table and say hi.

Best of luck to you all.

Chad Brown is a member of Team PokerStars Pro and plays on PokerStars under the name ChadBrownPRO.

Chad Brown’s best chance at a WSOP bracelet in 2009 came in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em championship. A tough limit hold’em player in his own right, Brown tore through the field and looked good for the victory. And then there was the worst possible river you could imagine. In this final installment from the 2009 WSOP, Chad Brown leads us to that moment.

by Chad Brown

The WSOP limit hold’em championship had all the best limit hold’em players in the world. I was playing very well on Day 1 and knew that there could be no mistakes with this tough competition. I made it through Day 1 with an above average chip stack and finished Day 2 in the money. I came back on Day 3 with the final table in sight.

With around 16 players left, there was a key hand that I did not play. There was a raise by a loose player in early position and Howard Lederer re-raised. It was folded to me in the small blind. I had pocket nines and I folded. Howard was heads up with the loose player and the flop came down with a 9-high board with two spades. I thought, wow, I would have flopped top set! But I live by the philosophy of not playing results. I know laying down the nines in this spot was the right decision. The turn and the river put up running spades and Howard won the hand with the nut flush, as he was holding two aces in his hand. If I would have played this hand, I would have left myself very short and probably would not have made the final table.

So, I make it to the final table and, with the exception of one player, everyone is world class at limit hold’em. I recognized that to win this bracelet, I would have to play my very best and catch some breaks. I think there were six players left when we saw the pot of the night.

There was a raise and a re-raise and the action moved to Daniel Alaei. Daniel was one of the chip leaders to start this hand and he cold called two bets on the button. The re-raiser, Pat Pezzin, plays a style very similar to Lederer. The big blind re-raised and Pat capped it. Daniel had pocket nines and, because of all the money in the pot, he had to play after the flop came up 5-6-8. He knew he was behind, but he had six likely outs to take the lead. The flop and the turn were capped. Daniel missed on the river and was able to lay it down. Pat, of course, had the rockets and won a massive pot. It crippled Daniel in the process. I felt he was one of the tougher players at the table. I’m sure Daniel realized it was a mistake to call Pat’s re-raise under these circumstances, but it’s that kind of mistake that can make the difference.

With three players remaining, I was facing Pat and Greg Mueller. I had won a bunch of small pots and had a big chip lead. Pat was the short stack, but was still okay. This tournament had a great structure and gave us a lot of play. Then came the hand of the tournament for me.

Pat had raised on the button and I called from the small blind with [Ad][2d]. Greg called in the big blind. The flop came queen-high with two diamonds and we all checked. The turn put up a seven and I bet. Greg raised and Pat mucked. I made the call drawing to the ace high flush, but I actually thought my ace might be good. I have played a lot with Greg and know he is capable of making a play there with a draw. Bingo, the [4d] fell on the river. If I won this pot, I’d have about 90% of the chips in play and am almost certain to win my first bracelet. I checked thinking that Greg would bet if he missed a straight draw and he could have hit a smaller flush. He bet just as planned. I raised, he re-raised, I re-raised and he re-raised. I stopped and look at the board. The [3d][5d] made a straight flush. I said aloud, “I can’t believe you made a straight flush.”

I should have mucked, but I paid off with the hope, not that he would be bluffing, but that there was a remote chance he misread his cards. That was the only hope there was, but he did indeed have the straight flush. I was crushed. That was the bracelet.

It wasn’t over for me. I was still chip average, but I lost every hand after that, and in all of them–with the exception of the last hand–I had the best of it on the flop and would get sucked out on the turn or river. I finished in a disappointing third place, but to be honest, I was very proud of the way I played and thought I gave myself the best chance to win. Greg went on to victory and followed that up with yet another bracelet. They were his first and second bracelets and were well overdue.

Chad Brown has seen a lot of things in poker, and he is one of few people to ever see the ultra-rare occurrence of ESPN’s Norman Chad making the money at a WSOP event.This week we’re looking at some of Brown’s experience’s at this year’s WSOP and Chad has been kind enough to write a few words for us about seeing the great white whale of WSOP money finishes.

by Chad Brown

Stud-8 tourneys are among the easiest to win. I already have a runner up finish in the same event at the WSOP and I actually won the Stud-8 event at the Bellagio Cup a few years back.

On the bubble in this year’s World Series, I had well above chip average, so making the money wasn’t a problem. ESPN’s Norman Chad who has never cashed in a WSOP event was one of the very short stacks battling for his first-ever wsop cash. It took a while but he made it. We redrew and I got Norm at my table with 1,000 in chips. The antes were 200 with a 200 bring in. There was no money increase unless you moved up another ten spots, so Norm would have to be going all in soon. On the next hand Norm had an ace showing and the first three players mucked to him. But wait! Norm folded. What? Norm folded? Does he have a last longer with another short stack? I saw him at the WSOP Main Event and needled him about it. Lon was there and we had a good laugh. I think he must have been in shock that he finally cashed.

It was onto another final table for me. This time it is a very easy table. I had an above average chip stack. Three key hands determined how my final table turned out. In two hands I had a low draw, straight, and flush draw with a pair going to the river. The two other players in the hand were going high. Not only didn’t I scoop, but didn’t hit my low either. The third key hand was similar. The other players were going high. I made a wheel on sixth, but one of the players made a flush on the river and I only got half. I finished in fourth place and that was that.

Once again I was very happy with my play and did all I could do to win it.

That’s poker.

Now that we’ve temporarily taken a break from the 2009 WSOP, it’s time to look back on a couple of stories that fell by the wayside during the month of coverage. Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown had a pretty darned good Series, but it was not without its hurdles. Below, he tells us about how a bad pick from the lunch cooler turned into one sick run.

by Chad Brown

Going into this event I felt very confident about doing well. I started the day at the gym and got in a nice workout before the tourney. I arrived on time and feeling good after my work out. I bought a chicken wrap and started the tournament. After two hours of play I was 1,000 above chip average and I started to feel ill. I believed it was from the chicken wrap. I made a couple of visits to the bathroom and thought I would start to feel better, but I only started to feel worse.

We were approaching the dinner break and I asked a floor man if I could resign from the tournament and get my buy-in back, since I was 1,000 above average. He checked for me, but said they couldn’t do anything. I figured on the dinner break I would go out to the pool, rest, and hopefully feel better afterwards.

As I was walking back, I felt like I could pass out. My friend Mike Ross saw me and thought I looked so bad he wanted to take me to the hospital. I declined, determined to finish what I started. I was at the table with my head down between hands trying to rest. When we got to the 400-800 level, I started to get the chills badly. I text a friend of mine who was staying in the Rio and asked him to bring me sweat pants and jacket. I decided my best option was to skip this level (even though I was only chip average ) and go out to my car and rest with the heater on to warm up. Thankfully, this plan worked and I felt well enough to continue. I got back and was now half chip average, but was able to pick up a couple of pot and come back on Day 2 in the top five in chips.

I felt much better on Day 2 after what I still think was food poisoning. After getting into the money, I felt I had a really good shot at winning the tournament. There weren’t many good players left. One of the really good players was Phil Ivey, but he was a little below average. We re-drew when we were down to 16. I had Carlos Mortensen at my table. I think Carlos is one of the best No-Limit Hold’em players in the world. In OE, I like having him at my table.

The first hand I played with Carlos was in Stud-8. I raised on third street with a five door card. I had aces in the hole and Carlos re-raised me with a king. Everyone folded and I just called. I caught an ace on fourth giving me three hidden aces. I bet out and Carlos called.

On fifth. I pulled a jack and checked. I wanted to disguise my hand to get the most value on it. Carlos also checked. On sixth, we both caught an eight. I bet and he called. Going into the river, I bet blind and he called blind, leading me to believe he was drawing dead. I told him before I looked that I had three aces. He said he had two kings and two eights. He squeezed his last card to find the case eight. I checked my river, realized I hadn’t filled up, and conceded the hand.

We moved to Omaha, and without describing each hand, suffice it to say I lost the next two hands in row to Carlos and he had to once again hit runner-runner to beat me. I finished in 14th place. Phil Ivey went to the final table short and was able to capitalize on an easy final table to win his 2nd bracelet for the 2009 WSOP.

It was almost a storybook finish, but I was happy to do as well as I did in light of the circumstances from the night before.

by Chad Brown

WCOOP will be starting Friday, and I for one will be looking forward to it.

Two years ago in the then biggest buy-in of online poker history–the first $5,000 HORSE event–I was fortunate to come in 1st place, winning about $225,000. It was very exciting moment in an already-great year. I went on to win Bluff Magazine’s Player of the Year. I think that was the year that PokerStars really started to separate itself from everyone else as the best in the world in online tournaments.

I cashed in the WCOOP Main Event in the following year. Better than that, my fianceé Vanessa Rousso came in 2nd place winning more than $700,000. What was memorable about that was we were in Phoenix, AZ for a baseball tournament I was playing in. Outside of poker, baseball is my passion. During part of the tournament, Vanessa was actually playing in our dugout and all my teammates were rooting her on. My team made it to semifinals, falling short of our goal of winning the championship, but to all my my friends there,it was amazing how much money Vanessa won playing part of the time in the dugout. They thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

So with WCOOP coming up, whether you’re playing in a baseball tournament or your passion is safaris in Africa, bring your laptop and don’t miss out on PokerStars’ new record-breaking buy-ins this year. Who knows? Maybe you will impress your friends and bring home a big check.

The PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker begins this Friday, September 5 at PokerStars.com. Chad Brown is a member of Team PokerStars Pro.

Chad Brown’s words belie the tone in his voice.

“I’m underperforming,” he said of his 2008 World Series performance so far.

Still, there is a hint of optimism in Brown’s voice. And there should be. He’s already made the money in three big events in this year’s World Series. He’s won in the neighborhood of $65,000, including the money he made for an eleventh place finish in the $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Rebuy event. What’s more, just like last year when he took second place in the same event, Brown took no rebuys and no add-on.

“It’s a very rare accomplishment,” he admitted.

Still, despite Brown’s hesitancy to talk big, he’s more accomplished than many of the pros on the circuit. It’s tough to get him to serve as his own PR agent, though, at least in terms of how well he is doing this year.

“I cashed three times and I bubbled twice, which was disappointing,” he said.

Disappointing because Brown had his sights set on a record. His own.

Last year, Brown cashed a record eight times in World Series events. This year, he was aiming for nine.

Chad Brown

It would have been much more attainable had Brown’s bubble luck gone another way. Take, for instance, what happened in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event.

Sitting with an M of ten, Brown was on the button with a pair of tens. Play folded around to the cutoff who came in for a raise.

“My instinct told me he had a big hand,” Brown remembered.

Brown worked out the play in his head. If his opponent had queens or jacks, Brown thought might have the opportunity to push the guy off the hand if an ace or king came, not to mention the possibility of what would happen if a ten fell on the flop.

So, Brown made the call, only to see the small blind push all-in. Before Brown had much time to consider his move, the cutoff re-pushed. It made Brown’s fold easy.

Sure enough, the cutoff held pocket queens. Right fold at the right time, save the ten on the river that would’ve given Brown his set and the win.

And so it happened that Brown picked up pocket jacks soon thereafter against the same player. This time, he got it all-in to see his opponent’s…wait for it…pocket queens. No miracle for Brown and he was out on the bubble.

Brown’s luck didn’t improve in the Seven Card Stud Championship. Near the bubble, he lost five hands in a row where he started with the best hand. The worst of the five was having the chance to four-bet on third street with aces in the hole. He was up against QQ/J and felt good, as one jack had already been mucked. It ended up not mattering. His opponent ran out a flush and that was that.

That’s a problem with goals. A lot of people would be proud and somewhat satisfied with Brown’s performance so far this year. Brown, however, is thinking about the possibility of not breaking his 2007 record. He thinks it’s unlikely he can cash six more times before the end of the 2008 Series.

“But not impossible,” he said.

That’s where you hear that optimism in Brown’s voice. He may be disappointed now, but he hasn’t counted himself out yet.

Good luck the rest of the way, Chad.

The skies were cloudy in Monte Carlo this morning, but by the middle of the afternoon, the sun broke through and cast the spotlight on Team PokerStars Pro’s newest members.

PokerStars announced this morning it has added Gavin Griffin and Chad Brown to its stable of elite poker players. Both men are here in Monte Carlo and will be playing in the PokerStars EPT Grand Final.

For Griffin, this announcement comes at an appropriate time. It was just one year ago on this same property that Griffin won the EPT Grand Final title and more than $2 million. He returns this year to defend his title, but this time under the banner of Team PokerStars Pro. Griffin rose to fame in 2004 when, at 22 years old, he became the youngest person ever to win a World Series bracelet. After winning the EPT Grand Final, Griffin went on to win a World Poker Tour title, making him the first player to ever win the “triple crown” of poker (for more on this subject, don’t miss the video blogs at the bottom of this post).

“This is the team I want to play with,” Griffin said. “I am proud to be a part of this line up.”

Griffin will play at PokerStars under the name ‘GavinGriffin.’

Chad Brown has made a handsome living since 1993 when he first cashed in the World Series. Since then, he’s been a major player on the poker scene. Over the years, he’s been seen at many a final table, not the least of which was the 2006 World Championship of Online Poker $5,200 HORSE victory for $223,000.

“I’m ecstatic to be with Team PokerStars Pro,” Brown said. “I am looking forward to winning a few bracelets and contributing to the Team.”

Brown will play at PokerStars under the name ‘ChadBrownPro.’