Card Squad http://www.cardsquad.com Card Squad http://www.cardsquad.com/media/feedlogo.gif Card Squad http://www.cardsquad.com en-us Copyright 2012 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Jamie Gold Wins Another Poker Tournamenthttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/12/08/jamie-gold-wins-another-poker-tournament/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/12/08/jamie-gold-wins-another-poker-tournament/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/12/08/jamie-gold-wins-another-poker-tournament/#commentsFiled under: ,

Greg Raymer, when recently asked if Jamie Gold would get respect or not as the 2006 WSOP champion, said that he (Greg) and Joe Hachem weren't truly respected as champions until they'd won another tournament. Greg said that if Jamie Gold could win another tourney, maybe he'd earn some respect from fellow players and the poker community. Greg wisely didn't comment on what an epic douchebag Jamie Gold was at the WSOP.

Well, Jamie Gold just won another poker tournament, but will it earn him the respect he wants?

The 2006 World Series Champion took a break from his reality show about America's Hottest Mom and sat down at a tourney put together by his sponsor, BoDog dot lame. He worked his way through a deadly field, populated by such notables as UFC champ Phil "The NY Badass" Baroni, CFL Hall of Famer Tom Europe, and multiple-bracelet holder* Michael Eklund, who you may know from Bloodrayne II. When the bodies were counted, Jamie Gold stood atop them all, winning a shiny new watch. Seriously.

Wow, Jamie. Way to get out there and earn that respect, man!

So . . . uh . . . if beating a bunch of D-list celebrities is all it takes to earn respect in the poker world, I expect to be invited to every tournament in the world from here on out.


*Ha! Ha! Not really.
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]]>BoDogJamieGoldWil Wheaton2006-12-08T15:35:00+00:00Doyle's Room takes over Pamela Pokerhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/11/13/doyles-room-takes-over-pamela-poker/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/11/13/doyles-room-takes-over-pamela-poker/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/11/13/doyles-room-takes-over-pamela-poker/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The eleven people in the world who were shocked and stunned when Pamela Anderson withdrew her endorsement of Pamelapoker.com last week can rest a little bit easier today: According to Online Casino News, Doyle Brunson's poker site, Doyle's Room, has stepped in to take over.

For those of you who really need to have your online poker experience associated with a nearly-naked woman of questionable intelligence, don't worry: Cindy Margolis has just signed a deal to endorse Tropical Poker.

And here's something I managed to miss during the 2006 WSOP: There was apparently a staged "wedding" between Pam and Doyle, which, according to Michael Craig, wasn't pretty: Two people who attended, both respected journalists, told me it was a fiasco. Pam looked ridiculous flouncing around in a bridal veil. Doyle Brunson was there and looked stricken. Neither journalist had ever spoken to Doyle, so neither was up to speed on his involvement in online poker - the commitment, the financial opportunity, the competition, etc. - but both had the same message for me: What on earth was Doyle Brunson doing this for?

I love Michael's writing not just because he always gets right to the heart of a story, but because he writes about the absurd aspects of the poker world with a dry, ironic humor that I wish I could match on my own. Witness Michael's reaction to Pam's, uh, thoughts, in her online diary:

1. Pamela Anderson writes like a fourth grader.

2. Pam has a pattern, from what I can tell from reading her diary, of getting into businesses and then disavowing her involvement in them.

3. Anderson disclosed in her diary that she is now, for the first time, applying her own make-up. From September 2: "The most liberating thing I've done lately is learn to do my own makeup. "

4. She talks about her new (third) husband, Kid Rock, with the same enthusiasm she talked about poker a few months ago. Rock, you might want to keep your bags packed.

You really need to go read the rest in Michael's entire post titled, "The Short, Brief Life of Pamela Anderson's Poker Site."

(Trashy picture of Pamela Anderson found on Google Images, and included for Bad Blood, per his request.)
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]]>PamelaPokerWil Wheaton2006-11-13T17:00:00+00:00Pamela Poker Joins Stardust, Klondike, Jim Leachhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/11/10/pamela-poker-joins-stardust-klondike-jim-leach/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/11/10/pamela-poker-joins-stardust-klondike-jim-leach/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/11/10/pamela-poker-joins-stardust-klondike-jim-leach/#commentsFiled under: ,

Pamela Anderson, who made a name for herself bouncing along the beach in slowmo on Baywatch, then rocketed herself into infamy and permanent celebrity status with the honeymoon video that made the catchphrase "You're so f'in rad, lover! Where are we, baby?" a national phenomenon, has closed her online poker site, PamelaPoker.com.

The former Baywatch actress, Hepatitis C carrier, and Playboy model wrote on her website that she was getting out of the online poker business because, there were "[t]oo many shady areas" and that "I made a mistake getting involved in something I know nothing about for a quick buck! Yuck. So unlike me. Glad it's over."

Displaying her brilliant understanding of the game, Anderson also wrote, "I really don't want to encourage people to gamble." So we shouldn't expect PamelaLotteries or PamelaHorseRacing or PamelaFantasySports any time soon. Dang.

Also displaying her brilliant understanding of the Internets, she uses Comic Sans, embedded music and enough javascript and flash to cover Ted Stevens' bridge to nowhere six times.

All seriousness aside, I'm sure Pamela will find a way to come out of her foray into the online poker world stronger and wiser. I mean, you don't win the World's Sexiest Feet award five times if you don't know what you're doing, right?

Right?

What?

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]]>PamelaAndersonWil Wheaton2006-11-10T01:07:00+00:00Dick Van Patten Charity Tourney This Weekendhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/11/09/dick-van-patten-charity-tourney-this-weekend/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/11/09/dick-van-patten-charity-tourney-this-weekend/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/11/09/dick-van-patten-charity-tourney-this-weekend/#commentsFiled under: , ,

This weekend, the Dick Van Patten charity poker tournament will be played at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, a community about two hours east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs.

The tournament will raise money for the US Marine Corps, and a bunch of well-known personalities have been invited to play, including a few of Dick Van Patten's former television co-stars, and his son Vince, who is on some poker show that apparently is solely responsible for the current poker boom.

The Desert Sun has a highly entertaining story today, where they posed some poker-related questions to a few of the invitees and printed their answers. I learned that Connie Stevens likes to "play with the guys every now and then because I think it's so much fun." and she's a self-admitted "a gutsy player, and they never know what the hell I'm going to do." And I also learned that Eileen Davidson "tried to fake out James Woods once by making faces, but I just couldn't."

If you're in Indio this weekend and would like to play, it's limited to 400 players, with a $300 buy-in. More details are in TFA, linked below.
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]]>CharityTournamentsDickVanPattenWil Wheaton2006-11-09T15:18:00+00:00Doyle's Room 50th Bounty Tournamenthttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/27/doyles-room-50th-bounty-tournament/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/27/doyles-room-50th-bounty-tournament/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/27/doyles-room-50th-bounty-tournament/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Doyle's Room will be hosting a special tourney tomorrow night (Thursday, September 28th) in honor of it being their 50th Bounty Tournament. Mike Caro, Doyle, and Todd Brunson will have bounties on their heads as usual, but Nicky Hilton, Cyndi Violette, and Hoyt Corkins are also scheduled to make an appearance. They will also be awarding the tournament winner a gold ring, as pictured.

As always, if you knock out one of the aforementioned pros/celebrities, you will win $500. If you knock out two, it is $15,000. Knock out all three, and you will win $50,000.
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]]>doyle brunsondoylesroomnicky hiltontodd brunsonJoanne Lutynec2006-09-27T21:01:00+00:00Shana Hiatt's No Compete Clausehttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/25/shana-hiatts-no-compete-clause/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/25/shana-hiatts-no-compete-clause/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/25/shana-hiatts-no-compete-clause/#commentsFiled under: ,

Brett Love, from our sister site TV Squad, posted this about former WPT hostess Shana Hiatt over the weekend, so I thought I would share a bit with you guys:

It seems that Shana has been trying to get a couple different gigs, but has been hampered by a disputed no compete clause in her WPT contract. But now a judge has granted an injunction on Hiatt's behalf. According to the ruling, the WPT can no longer keep Shana from pursuing the two poker related jobs at NBC that brought the whole matter to the courts. It remains to be seen whether the WPT is going to try and fight the injunction, but I think the more Shana Hiatt on TV poker the better.

To read the full post, as well as to watch some video starring the lovely Ms. Hiatt, you can click on the 'read' link below.
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]]>shana hiatt videoShanaHiattVideowptJoanne Lutynec2006-09-25T16:39:00+00:00Vince Neil's 2nd Annual Off The Strip Charity Tourneyhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/16/vince-neils-2nd-annual-off-the-strip-charity-tourney/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/16/vince-neils-2nd-annual-off-the-strip-charity-tourney/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/16/vince-neils-2nd-annual-off-the-strip-charity-tourney/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Last year Mötley Crüe's lead singer Vince Neil hosted the first annual "Off The Strip" charity poker tournament at 'The Joint' in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and he is getting ready to do it all over again.

The buy-in is $500 plus $50, and rebuys and add-ons will be available. Only 150 entrants will be able to participate, and the final table will compete for a guaranteed prize pool of $50,000. Besides the tournament, a silent auction will be held and all proceeds raised from that and the tourney will be donated to the T.J. Martell Foundation through the Skylar Neil Foundation, the charity Vince Neil set up in honor of his daughter who passed away at a young age due to cancer.

The tournament will be held on November 5th. If you are interested in playing, you can contact 'The Joint' at 702-693-5000.
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]]>charity poker touranmentmotley crueskylarvince neilVinceNeilJoanne Lutynec2006-09-16T13:15:00+00:00Pamela Pokerhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/01/pamela-poker/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/01/pamela-poker/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/09/01/pamela-poker/#commentsFiled under: ,

Alright, I really have seen it all now. In further proof that just about anyone can get their own online poker room, I give you Pamela Poker - Pamela Anderson's new (ok, new-ish, I'm a little late on this one) poker site. Why am I surprised? If Cindy Margolis can do it, why not Pam? Hell, I should just open my own poker room, it can't be that hard.

All jokes aside, I am happy for my fellow Canuck, I can't blame her for getting on the poker bandwagon while it is still hot. What does bother me however, is her actual poker website. There is a link that says 'Pamela Anderson Blog'. I was thinking it had to be one of two things - either a blog written by Pam herself, or at the very least a poker blog with relevant content. Boy was I wrong. When you click on it, you are brought to a Blogger page, yes, but is not written by Pam, and it has nothing to do with poker. It is just one more outlet for them to increase her web presence. The entries have titles such as:

Pamela Anderson's iconic status is on the rise
Kid Rock obsessed with Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson pays surprise visit to winery

Puuuuleeeeeze. After reading this I went back to her site and saw another link - Poker Diary. Once again I got my hopes up that there may actually be some poker-related written content on her site, but no such luck. When you click on that link you are just redirected to yet another 'About Pam' page.

Message to the Marketing Team and Management of Pamela Poker: We get it. She is hot. She is famous. She works with PETA. We know, really. Is it truly stretching the imagination so much that you can't see the value in having some actual poker content on your site, or at the very least, have one of your blog/diary links be even remotely about the game?
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]]>blogkid rockpamela andersonPamelaAndersonpamelapokerpoker diaryJoanne Lutynec2006-09-01T15:10:00+00:00Weintraub Builds Poker Loungehttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/08/07/weintraub-builds-poker-lounge/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/08/07/weintraub-builds-poker-lounge/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/08/07/weintraub-builds-poker-lounge/#commentsFiled under: ,

The Ocean's Club is now open, complete with fully stocked bar, lounge area, poker tables, and dining. Sounds like the kind of place I would like to spend most of my free time. However unless you are actually involved with the filming of the movie Ocean's 13, you can't get in.

Producer Jerry Weintraub built the lounge for Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and the rest of the Ocean's 13 cast based on a design that was inspired by Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. It seems they haven't skimped on any of the details either, providing custom made "Ocean's" poker chips and a wall of fame with headshots of the entire cast.

If you'd like to take a look at how the other half lives on their lunch break and after work, click on the 'read' link below. (There is a full video as well.)
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]]>brad pittBradPittfrank sinatraFrankSinatrageorge clooneyjerry weintrauboceans 13Oceans13pokerpoker loungerat packJoanne Lutynec2006-08-07T16:36:00+00:00Play Poker against Pam Andersonhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/05/04/play-poker-against-pam-anderson/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/05/04/play-poker-against-pam-anderson/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/05/04/play-poker-against-pam-anderson/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Actress, Playboy Playmate, and model Pam Anderson will be Doyle Brunson's special guest star for tonight's Bounty Tournament over at Doyle's Room. Pam will be playing alongside Doyle himself and Mike 'The Mad Genius' Caro.

Pam Anderson has a special bounty on her head - knock her out and you will win $500. The remaining format is the same as the other bounty tournaments - if you knock out either Doyle or Mike Caro, you win $250. If you K.O. any two of them, you will receive $10,000. If you happen to knock out all three, you earn the grand prize of $25,000. The buy-in for the tournament is $25.00 plus $2.50.

Doyle's Room has also set up a new feature that allows you to try their bounty tournaments for 'free'. You must make a deposit into a real money account and play in the bounty tournament, but afterwards they will rebate your entry if you don't place in the money. For full details, instuctions, and the fine print on this promotion, click this link.

Image: Doyle's Room
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]]>bounty tournamentdoyles roomfoyle brunsonmike caropam andersonPamAndersonpokerpoker tournamentJoanne Lutynec2006-05-04T15:45:00+00:00Paris Plays Poker...Loses Bentleyhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/05/03/paris-plays-poker-loses-bentley/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/05/03/paris-plays-poker-loses-bentley/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/05/03/paris-plays-poker-loses-bentley/#commentsFiled under:

Can you honestly picture Paris Hilton sitting still long enough to read dozens of poker books, let alone one? How about studying hand histories, grinding it out at lower limits for years, learning the difference between plays and player types, knowing odds and probabilities? I didn't think so. So how is it that she thinks she can all of a sudden be a poker player? It isn't something you just choose to do one day and automatically expect to win on a consistent basis, so I had to laugh when I heard she lost her $178,000 Bentley in a game. Serves her (or anyone else who thinks they can just take the game up) right, is all I can say.

Party Poker has apparently offered her a chance to win back the expensive auto though, if she takes them up on the challenge to play Mike Sexton. (Though I'm not sure how that really qualifies as a 'chance', since he will simply destroy her heads-up.)

According to various reports, her parents Rick and Kathy have barred her from the family casino and have asked her to get therapy for gambling. Paris, of course, states that she is really lucky in Vegas and always wins. Maybe it is time for someone to point out to her that even though luck is involved, poker is a game of skill and maybe she should stick to baccarat or craps.
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]]>baccaratcrapshiltonloses bentleymike sextonparisparis hiltonParisHiltonparty pokerplays pokerJoanne Lutynec2006-05-03T21:05:00+00:00Gilbert Arenashttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/04/18/gilbert-arenas/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/04/18/gilbert-arenas/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/04/18/gilbert-arenas/#commentsFiled under: , ,

I saw this funny article today about NBA basketball star Gilbert Arenas. Supposedly, he likes to play poker online.

He loves the competition so much that he's been known to play poker during halftime of the Washington Wizards games.

Arenas just sits at his locker and plays while everyone else on his team gets ready for the second half.

Arenas said he likes to play at halftime because, "It's just a mental challenge, to keep my mind going.''

Arenas is big on playing video games too and he's also a pretty good pool player and bowler. His high score in bowling is 277.

He even confessed to staying up really late at night to play poker and video games online. He doesn't do that anymore. He joked that he replaced that habit with watching movies.

I guess he has to get his poker fix somehow, so why not play it at halftime especially when you're as good as he is on the basketball court.

Many thanks to AlCan'tHang for sending me this link.
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]]>Derek McGuire2006-04-18T21:55:00+00:00Heads-Up this Sunday Sunday Sundayhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/04/15/heads-up-this-sunday-sunday-sunday/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/04/15/heads-up-this-sunday-sunday-sunday/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/04/15/heads-up-this-sunday-sunday-sunday/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

2006 National Heads-Up ChampionshipThe 2006 National Heads-Up Championship, from Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, will begin airing tomorrow on NBC, at noon Eastern.

The first broadcast features matches between 2005 runner up Chris Ferguson and 2005 winner (and self-proclaimed greatest poker player in the history of life, the universe, and everything) Phil Hellmuth, as well as Paul Phillips and Jennifer Tilly. If you miss an episode on Sunday, it will repeat the following Friday on CNBC, at 8PM and again at 11PM Eastern. If last year was any indication, this tournament will be highly entertaining to watch over the next six weeks.

When the show is over, if you have an urge to watch more heads-up poker, you can get on the Internets, come to PokerStars and watch me play this week's tournament leaderboard leader, Payperwiew, in a heads-up match at 2PM EST. He was supposed to play Isabelle Mercier (sigh) but she is unavailable, so I am coming off the bench to represent the team. I'm sure Isabelle's absense will be a huge disappointment to many fanboys, myself included.

It's free to watch, too. Just download the client and find the match in the lobby under the Tourney tab.
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]]>heads-upWil Wheaton2006-04-15T13:35:00+00:00Don Cheadle Wins the Playboy Mansion Tournamenthttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/26/don-cheadle-wins-the-playboy-mansion-tournament/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/26/don-cheadle-wins-the-playboy-mansion-tournament/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/26/don-cheadle-wins-the-playboy-mansion-tournament/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Actor Don Cheadle won the Urban Health Institute charity poker tournament at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, CA last night.

Cheadle was one of the many celebrities on hand to help support UHI. Shannon Elizabeth, Oliver Hudson, Tara Reid, Anthony Anderson, L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss, N.Y. Yankees manager Joe Torre, Morris Chestnut, and Kim Coles were among the celebrities in attendance.

There were many top pros at the tournament too such as Gavin Smith, Daniel Negreanu, Mel Judah, Erick Lindgren, Cyndy Violette, Hoyt Corkins, Steve Dannenmann, Josh Arieh, David Williams, Amir Vahedi, and Jean Robert Bellande.

Dr. Pauly and seven other of the luckiest poker bloggers on the planet including Spaceman, CJ, Joe Speaker, Chad from Pokerama, Boy Genius, Bobby Bracelet (see photo) and AlCantHang were invited to cover the event.

They even took time to call me up and tease me during the cocktail hour. Stay tuned for links to their trip reports.

For now, check out these links. CJ also has a picture of himself with some of the playmates.

CJ with playmates

Boy Genius also has an audio post worth checking out.

BG's audio post
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]]>Derek McGuire2006-03-26T22:37:00+00:00Thoughts on Hellmuth Hosting Celeb Poker Showdownhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/23/thoughts-on-hellmuth-hosting-celeb-poker-showdown/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/23/thoughts-on-hellmuth-hosting-celeb-poker-showdown/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/23/thoughts-on-hellmuth-hosting-celeb-poker-showdown/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Yesterday I mentioned that Phil Hellmuth has been selected to take over Phil Gordon's spot on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown. As you all know - I am not the world's greatest fan of Mr. H, and I am sure many of you are expecting a rant out of me. To be fair, why would you expect anything less? Last week when I announced that Phil Gordon was leaving CPS, I stated:

"It is still up in the air who will be Phil's replacement, and all I can say is please let it be anyone but Phil Hellmuth."

A little foreshadowing, perhaps? I had a feeling they would ultimately choose Hellmuth, but I'm not going to rant. Ok, ok. Maybe just a little.

Obviously, I am not pleased with their choice, but it isn't necessarily for the reasons you may think. I'm more disappointed by who they didn't choose, rather than by who they did. I believe there are many talented, deserving individuals who would have been a better choice and could have used this opportunity to further build their careers rather than Phil. Examples? My first choice would have been Phil Laak hands down. Hands. Down. However, it doesn't really matter now (or ever) who I thought would fit the bill - there were many - but they have made their choice and we have to live with it, look forward to it, or not watch it. It is our choice.

(more...)
        I suppose the hardest pill for me to swallow is that I just don't like the idea of Hellmuth matched with Foley. I can't see it yet. Maybe they will play very well off each other, but at this time I just can't visualize it. To be fair, I haven't seen enough of Phil acting like a normal human being to really be able to picture him standing alongside and interacting with someone who I believe to be comic genius. Maybe he can pull it off - I will reserve further judgment on that aspect until he proves or disproves that on his own.

Worst case scenario is that it becomes an outlet for Phil to constantly attempt to convince the world that he is the greatest thing since...well, since Phil Hellmuth, and Bravo encourages him to do so. If he just truly sucks he won't last long anyways, so that isn't even a worry.

Ultimately, this could prove to be one of the best things to happen to Phil. He has a history of success in his life, and I hope he steps up to the challenge this presents and conducts himself with a modicum of dignity. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want anyone to host the show who wasn't at least somewhat sarcastic or satirical, but there is a difference between being satirical, funny and egdy, and ridiculing someone. I want him to make fun of the celebrities, we all know that is one of the dynamics that makes the show funny since so many of them are simply terrible poker players. I just hope that he recognizes the line between making fun of, and downright insulting someone. That is the balance I hope he is able to find.

So will I watch it? Well, it isn't necessarily first choice on my list of TV shows to watch even now. I already dedicate over 70 hours a week writing about, reading about, or playing poker, so watching a show involving mostly bad poker players doesn't really appeal to me much. That said, I am sure I will check out at least the first few episodes. What I am hoping for is to be proved wrong. I would love to eat my words and say that I truly enjoyed watching him host the show. I have little faith that I will use the word 'enjoy' while describing it, but stranger things have happened.
  
(photo: PhilHellmuth.com)
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]]>celebrity poker showdownfoleyhellmuthphil gordonphil hellmuthPhilHellmuthpokerJoanne Lutynec2006-03-23T09:45:00+00:00Hellmuth New Host of Celebrity Poker Showdownhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/22/hellmuth-new-host-of-celebrity-poker-showdown/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/22/hellmuth-new-host-of-celebrity-poker-showdown/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/22/hellmuth-new-host-of-celebrity-poker-showdown/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Yesterday I mentioned that it was becoming Phil Hellmuth Day here at Card Squad (well, to be fair, I said it was pick on Phil Hellmuth Day) but now it seems like the entire week is revolving around the Poker Brat.

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems the rumors are true. Phil Hellmuth is the new host of Celebrity Poker Showdown.

I'm going to let this one sink in for a moment before commenting further, (I'm sure we will all have something to say about this one) but in the meantime you can read the press release which is posted in it's entirety over at Wicked Chops Poker.

(special thanks to snake at Wicked Chops Poker!)
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]]>card squadcelebrity poker showdownnew hostNewHostphil hellmuthPhilHellmuthpokerpoker showdownJoanne Lutynec2006-03-22T18:40:00+00:00Phil Laak to host VH1 charity poker tournamenthttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/21/phil-laak-to-host-vh1-charity-poker-tournament/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/21/phil-laak-to-host-vh1-charity-poker-tournament/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/21/phil-laak-to-host-vh1-charity-poker-tournament/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

In June, the VH1 Classic Rock-n-Roll Celebrity Poker Tournament will be held at the Flamingo in Vegas, and Phil 'The Unabomber' Laak has been selected for hosting duties.

Several musicians will also be participating in the tournament including Jane Wiedlin (the Go Go's), Vinnie Paul (Pantera), Dusty Hill (ZZ Top) and Sully Erna (Godsmack), among others. The tournament will be televised on VH1Classic later in June.

It's a pretty sweet deal if you win this tournament - you not only determine which charity gets the proceeds of the prize pool, but you also win a $10,000 seat to the North American Poker Tour Invitational at Hollywood Park Casino. Further, you are able to program music videos and sit in as an on-air host at VH1 Classic for a day. That last bit doesn't excite me too much personally, but I am sure that it would appeal to a number of people.

The general public can enter this tournament via CelebrityPokerPlayer.net's website - though I am not sure offhand what their specific rules or reg's are.
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]]>phil laakpokerpoker tournamentvh1vh1 classicVh1ClassicJoanne Lutynec2006-03-21T10:18:00+00:00Poker and the Cola Warshttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/15/poker-and-the-cola-wars/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/15/poker-and-the-cola-wars/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/15/poker-and-the-cola-wars/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Ahhhhh Cola Wars. I can't think of any other two products in history that have been the cause of so much favoritism, brand-loyalty, or fodder for debate as Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

When I was little, we had the choice of Having a Pepsi Day or Buying the World a Coke. Then we watched with wide eyes as a little child consoled Mean Joe Greene with a bottle of Coca-Cola, while the Pepsi Generation was off somewhere Catching That Pepsi Spirit.

While Coke spent decades inducing emotions in their customers, celebrities have always played an integral role in the marketing campaign of Pepsi. It wasn't always without incident, however. Madonna's campaign was pulled for being too controversial and Michael's hair caught on fire ending his Pepsi-pitch, but the celebrities continued to line up - Shaquille O'Neal, Britney Spears, Cindy Crawford, Faith Hill, Michael J. Fox, Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, and many, many others have hawked the product at one time or another.

Yeah I know, this blog is about poker. I'm getting there...wait for it.

We all knew it was only a matter of time before one of the Soda Giants picked up on poker's popularity and got their grubby little hands in the mix. Pepsi didn't disappoint - well, Diet Pepsi, actually. Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Hellmuth are apparently going to play some Hold'em against The Can (yes, against a can of Diet Pepsi) and you just gotta know that beat beats will ensue. Adding a little flavor to the mix will be actor Jay Mohr, acting as The Can's agent.

Personally I can't wait to see Phil blow up in true Hellmuthian fashion when he loses to a piece of aluminum. As we all know, if it weren't for luck, he would win them all.

It's just a can; Phil. It's just a can.
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]]>britney spearscindy crawfordcoca-colacokecola warsColaWarsdiet pepsifaith hillhellmuthmadonnanegreanunguyenpepsipepsi generationpokerray charlesshaquille o'nealJoanne Lutynec2006-03-15T14:34:00+00:00Phil Gordon is leaving Celebrity Poker Showdownhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/14/phil-gordon-is-leaving-celebrity-poker-showdown/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/14/phil-gordon-is-leaving-celebrity-poker-showdown/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/14/phil-gordon-is-leaving-celebrity-poker-showdown/#commentsFiled under: , ,

We discussed this last November, and apparently the rumors are true. Phil Gordon's contract has expired and he won't be returning to Celebrity Poker Showdown.

All In Magazine quotes Phil as saying:

"I no longer have any contracted obligations to the producers of Celebrity Poker Showdown, so I am ready to move on... After 42 episodes of Celebrity Poker, I just want to see people play in turn, bet more than $200 into a $5K pot, and know when they have the nuts. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than saying 'Phil Hellmuth loses another big pot, and it looks like he's ready to implode!' on national television."

It is still up in the air who will be Phil's replacement, and all I can say is please let it be anyone but Phil Hellmuth. Our readers mentioned who they thought should fill in, and the most popular responses were:

Daniel Negreanu
Mike 'The Mouth' Matusow
Gabe Kaplan
Greg Raymer
Phil Laak
Clonie Gowan
our own Wil Wheaton

So, I'm going to ask again and see if you have a different opinion now. Who do you think should replace Phil as the new host of Celebrity Poker Showdown?
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]]>all incelebrity poker showdownCelebrityPokerShowdownclonie gowandaniel negreanukaplanlaakmatusowmike the mouth matusowphil gordonpokerraymerwil wheatonJoanne Lutynec2006-03-14T14:30:00+00:00ESPN: Deserving Players Snubbed for Heads Up Championship - UPDATED WITH CORRECTIONhttp://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/06/espn-deserving-players-snubbed-for-heads-up-championship/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/06/espn-deserving-players-snubbed-for-heads-up-championship/http://www.cardsquad.com/2006/03/06/espn-deserving-players-snubbed-for-heads-up-championship/#commentsFiled under: , ,

I wondered how the players for the National Heads Up Championship were chosen. If poker people were deciding, they'd probably use a formula which took into account things like player of the year ranking, major tournament performance, and lifetime achievement in the poker room to fill their field of 64 players.

But this is on network television, so there are network television producers involved, which means some very deserving players would be left out, for the sake of including players who would possibly make for good TV.

Like Sean Sheikhan, for instance. I agree with Chris Hanel, who said, "Sean, please, if you somehow come across this blog, know this: You are here because you were an asshole at exactly the right time, and network execs like 'interesting personalities.' Every piece of TV time you have ever earned has only made you more of a horse's ass in my eyes and in millions of other americans."

See, I can understand putting Captain Jerkstore in the match, because he's supposed to be a guy you love to hate (not me; I just lothe the guy and tune out whenever he's on) . . . but Renee Angelil? You may know him as Mr. Celine Dion. I know him as the guy who helped triple me up at the WPT Invitational on day two. (Please see correction, below.)

Here's how it went down. From UTG, I look at pocket aces, so I raise it up 3x the BB. It's folded to Renee, who is three seats behind me. He re-raises me, and I do a little dance in my mind. It's folded around to Amon Filippi in the BB, who thinks for a very long time, talking to himself about what his odds are, how much of a dog he thinks he is . . . while he talks, I put him on a medium pocket pair, sixes through eights. Calling leaves Amnon with just a few hundred behind, so he pushes. If I call Amnon, I have about 2000 behind, so I go ahead and push, too. The action goes back to Renee, who thinks for about five seconds before calling. Amnon turns up 77 (nice read, Wil), I turn up my aces, and Renee -- who has a HUGE chip stack at this point, and doesn't need to take any risks -- shows poket jacks. My aces held up, and I won over T100K on the hand.

But, uh . . . how in the world to you call two all-ins with pocket jacks there? When the original raiser was UTG? If you've got a huge stack, why do you even risk a coin-flip there? Don't you just let one short stack knock out another? And I'd just doubled up, so I'm only pushing with a very narrow range of hands here, wouldn't you think?

But this guy (who was very nice, just didn't seem like a very solid player, is all) took a seat at the National Heads-Up Championship instead of Michael Gracz, Steve Dannenman, Hoyt Corkins, or Phil Gordon. Do you think it has anything to do with Celine Dion headlining a show at Caesar's Palace? Probably not. I mean, that would just be stupid. Right?

CORRECTION: I fucked up real good here. The player I'm talking about was mis-identified in all the live blogs which I used to jog my memory on players' names and faces. The player with the jacks was not Renee Angelil. In fact, I don't know who it was, and I can't find photos of him anywhere online.  After looking at some photos from Lasvegasvegas, and the Hendon Mob page for Mr. Angelil (posted in comments by Texter. Thank you,) the player who helped triple me up is clearly not the same guy. I deeply regret the error, though I still question the wisdom of the play when it was made. I'm also pretty confident that, though Mr. Angelil has a respectable history of tournament cashes (which I do not), his relationship with his wife and her relationship with Caesar's played a part (even if it was a small part) in his selection over, say, someone like Steve Dannenman.

Most of the players who were chosen absolutely deserve to be there, and there is no doubt in my mind that when this airs next month, it's going to be fantastic television, but, as ESPN observes, this is as close to poker's All-Star game as you get. Shouldn't the players be chosen accordingly?
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]]>National Heads Up ChampionshipNationalHeadsUpChampionshipWil Wheaton2006-03-06T15:08:00+00:00