PokerStars 2X: July a month unlike any other
June 30, 2008
One of the great things about writing this blog is that I am sometimes privy to some advance information about what’s going to happen at PokerStars. This is one of those times. Many of the details are still secret, but…
2008 World Series: The boy from Brazil
June 30, 2008
Beneath the stage of the $50K HORSE final yesterday was the $2K no limit hold’em event, smaller in stature perhaps but no less significant in terms of there being a bracelet at stake. It featured among others PokerStars sponsored…
2008 World Series: The pony club
June 30, 2008
When the poker explosion occurred some time earlier this decade, long-time players of the game could be heard sneering that it wasn’t poker that was taking over the world, it was no limit Texas hold ‘em. “There’s more to poker…
2008 World Series: Here yesterday, gone today
June 30, 2008
The pot limit Omaha started and the pot limit Omaha ended as far as Team PokerStars Pro were concerned. It was a lesson in short-and-sweet for our three returnees, each of whom busted in a slippery 15 minute period,…
2008 World Series: Coren making up for lost time
June 30, 2008
As we mentioned earlier in the week, Victoria Coren has finally made it Vegas and is itching to play as much as she can. Today, she very well may be playing a move out of Barry Greenstein’s book. Today, she…
World Series of Poker: the Scotty Nguyen Syndrome
June 30, 2008
First and foremost, congratulations to Scotty Nguyen for taking down the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. and being the first player to hold the Chip Reese trophy. Scotty has an amazing track record over nearly 20 years of playing poker. His record, of course, includes the 1998 World Series of Poker main event championship and tournament earnings approaching Ten Million Dollars. Now Scotty adds to his legend, taking down the most prestigious tournament in professional poker.
But like so many great careers there is a dark side to Scotty’s, one episode of which took place last summer at the 2007 WSOP main event. With twelve players remaining in the hunt for the final table nine, Scotty Nguyen was the chipleader and, as we all know, he did not make the final table. That crash and burn troubled Scotty for many months and will probably never be forgotten in poker lore.
Fast forward to this summer, the very next World Series of Poker main event and add to the mixture: the delayed final table. Combine these two events and I offered to you the “Scotty Nguyen Syndrome”.
Syndrome: a predictable, characteristic pattern of behavior, action, etc., that tends to occur under certain circumstances
I don’t know when it will hit and it will not affect all players at the same moment but somewhere around 18 players or 27 players; maybe even as high as 36 or even 45 players for some, it will appear. This is not just the World Series of Poker Final Table, no this is the “November Nine”, the “Fall Final”.
And as sure as it will be 108 degrees in Las Vegas, each an every player who survives to Day Six on July 13th and certainly to Day Seven on July 14th, each of those players will experience the “Scotty Nguyen Syndrome”.
To get that close to four months of publicity and interviews and endorsements and fame and potential fortune and who knows what else… The “SNS” is going to massively effect play whenever it sets in. Players will get tight, really tight; decisions will take longer, a lot longer; tempers will shorten, in some cases really, really shorten; table talk, hand winning celebrations and anything resembling angle shooting will be scrutinized, analyzed and penalized? Floor decisions will be magnified out of all proportion, imagine giving a player a two round penalty on the bubble!
The final table bubble itself will be much bigger, extending out to at least 27 players. The media coverage will be more intense and more critical than ever before. And the players…? Well the players will not be themselves because they will be playing under the influence of the “Scotty Nguyen Syndrome”.
Rumor has it that Corona will lessen but not alleviate the symptoms of the syndrome but there is a rebound effect if you excede a twelve pak in less than two full tournament levels. Perhaps Harrah’s should supply extra massage staff for the final four tables or just rig cold showers above the tables like they do in hazardous material labs. And people say poker is not a sport…..
The Orleans Open begins July 5
June 30, 2008
If you didn’t make it into the World Series, never fear. The Rio isn’t the only place for big tournaments.
The Orleans is offering their annual Orleans Open beginning July 5 and running through July 20.
All 16 events take place one per day beginning at noon in the Mardi Gras room. Buy-ins range from $200 to $2000.
Events are:
#1 July 5 $200 No-Limit Hold’em
#2 July 6 $200 Omaha Hi-Lo
#3 July 7 $200 Limit Hold-em
#4 July 8 $200 7-card Stud
#5 July 9 $300 No-Limit Hold’em
#6 July 10 $300 7-card Stud Hi-Lo
#7 July 11 $300 Omaha Hi-Lo (”Battle of the Sexes”)
#8 July 12 $300 No-Limit Hold’em (LIPS tourney)
#9 July 13 $330 No-Limit Hold’em
#10 July 14 $500 No-Limit Hold’em
#11 July 15 $500 “Battle of the Ages”
#12 July 16 $500 Casino Employee Event
#13 July 17 $500 Mixed Limit/No-Limit Hold’em
#14 July 18 $1000 No-Limit Hold’em
#15 July 19 $1000 Omaha Hi-Lo
#16 July 20 $2000 No-Limit Hold’em
The $200, $300, and $500 tournaments are one-day events. The $1000 and $2000 tournaments are two-day events.
All levels are 45 minutes each.
If you play in the tournament, you can get $55 rooms Sunday-Thursday and $100 Friday-Saturday between July 2 and July 23. Use the code 8ORLC07 at this link.
For more information and to print out a registration form to pre-register, click here.