Wednesday, November 16, 2005
I watched the Final Table coverage of the WSOP last night. It was pretty entertaining. It could have been really entertaining had Matusow lasted longer. Something about that guy makes me like him. Sure he's a donk, but an entertaining donk. Actually, I'm not sure he's a donk, but in the few hands I've seen him play on TV and the hands I've watched him play online, he has played the role of TURBO-LAG-DONK.
Here's my opinion on each of the final table participants (based on the few hands they showed from each person on television):
Aaron Kanter - Ummmm...he's invited to my home games. Absolutely GAVE away his chips to Tex Barch. A little hint. You have top pair, SHITTY kicker, and no draws, and you get raised twice on the flop, you are more than likely beat. Give it up!
Tex Barch - One cool customer. He seemed to be a pretty solid player and didn't act like a complete tool when he won/lost a hand. He made an excellent read on Kanter with the 2 pair. I'm not sure I could have made that call at that point in the tournament. I'm not sure all the details of what his chipstack would be like had he folded, but there were a lot of hands that beat him. The only thing that would allow me to make that call would be the fact that it was against Kanter. After watching him play, I would have had to put him either on a set, K-10, or a WAY overplayed flush draw. Had I not known the final outcome of the WSOP, this guy would be my #2 pick after Matusow.
Andrew Black - How can you not like this guy? He's got a super-soft attitude, but sure is aggressive with his chips. I love watching the aggressive players. A very likeable guy. A little tip for you Mr. Black: turn your glasses over. Be original!
Mike Matusow - Definitely my favorite at the table. This guy is nonstop entertainment. Once again, invited to all my kiddie home games. Mike is a loose aggressive player (to put it mildly). It brought the biggest smile to my face when he flopped that king on the KK vs AA hand. It was great to watch him jump up and down to the crowd. Too bad, he still lost the hand.
Steve Dannenman - This was the coolest guy at the table. A much better player than he let on. He might not have given himself a chance but after watching the river value bet he put on Hachem in that first heads up hand, I definitely found out who was the better player between the two. He's also a funny guy. He was definitely having a good time.
Joseph Hachem - The champ. He's a decent player that has not chance of repeating that success. I put him more in a Chris Moneymaker class of player as opposed to a Greg Raymer. He played his short stack very well at the final table though.
Daniel Bergsdorf - Hrmmm... I don't remember a damn thing about this guy. I had to read the tournament summary to remember the hand where he lost with JJ vs. Barch's TT.
Scott Lazar - I didn't like this guy. I think he tried to hard to be a "personality" for the TV and failed miserably. He seemed to play fairly decent to begin. However, he really had a nice meltdown to end his run.
Brad Kondracki - Another guy I don't remember much about. I remember he was the quiet young guy with the small chipstack. That's all I have on him :)
I played a little bit of $3/6 6 max before and after the WSOP coverage last night. I stuck with Full Tilt and had a decent session while clearing about $70 of my bonus. I read alot of complaints about Full Tilt's bonus sucking, but it seems to clear fine at the $3/6 limit. I still have $230 in bonus money left to clear on this site and could actually clear it fairly quickly if I could find some time to play.
I'm getting frustrated with my lack of play lately. I want to play, but can't fit in the time. It seems like there is always something going on. On Mondays, I bowl. That ties me up until about 9:00 pm by the time I eat. Tuesday is a good poker day, but I usually eat dinner with the parents and the WSOP comes on at 8:00. Now that the WSOP is over, I will play a lot more on Tuesdays. Wednesday is another bowling night which ties me up until 9:00pm. Thursday is a "free" night, but I'm usually eating with the parents or something, so I don't get a lot of time for poker again. Friday has been my main poker playing night. But sometimes I go out with friends or whatever. Saturdays and Sundays, I usually get some more playing time in, but not like I want. I usually have household chores that need tended to. If I could just get more play in during the week, I'd be happy.
I'm currently looking for a replacement on my Monday bowling league, so that would free up that night. The reason for looking for a replacement is personal related, not just because I want to play mroe poker. The WSOP is finished on Tuesday. Wednesdays will always be bowling up until April I think. Hopefully I will get some more time put in the tables soon.
That's all I have for now. Peace Out!
-Wes