Thoughts on the WSOP FT

[Howard Treesong]

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true. utter lack of confidence by the final table participants. you look at HSP and the players have a certain level of confidence (unwarranted at times) which leads to faster play and more "side chatter" which is good for entertainment and for the game.

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Hellmuth talked about this on the broadcast last night. He said that a lot of players over the years have reached the final table and self-destructed because they subconsciously feel that they are over their heads, that they don't really belong there.

And of course, a bunch of mental-midget posters here jumped all over him, because anything Hellmuth says must be wrong, and began making fun of the power of positive thinking school of poker.

Phil can be truly annoying, but he both knows how to play the game and he knows how to analyze the game as an observer.

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I thought Phil's part of the broadcast was outstanding except for this one single bit; this part seemed right out of Tony Robbins to me.

[suzzer99]

The Corey Zeideman "story", and subsequent ripping by PG and whatshisname, was by far the highlight of the whole FT for me. "The dentist had no door!" WTF was he thinking?

[Howard Treesong]

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The Corey Zeideman "story", and subsequent ripping by PG and whatshisname, was by far the highlight of the whole FT for me. "The dentist had no door!" WTF was he thinking?

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I went to bed after Khan went busto; approximately where is the Zeidman bit? I tivoed this and so have it, and now feel compelled to watch.

[suzzer99]

Hmmmm somewhere when there were 4 left, but that doesn't tell you much. Best way might be to search that monster WSOP thread in the WSOP forum for "dentist". That should tell you exactly when it happened. Fairly late in 4-handed I think. After most of the other guest stars.

[Ignignokt]

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People still talk to Oliver after his stellar work with JJ Liu?

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I was about to say, it's a bad sign when your agent tries to keep his client list a secret (last year he wouldn't divulge the player he was about to make huge in China).

Then there's getting bounced from last year's WSOP after his attempted ambush interview of Dutch Boyd. (He still hasn't managed to get that interview, AFAIK. Too bad - I'd LOVE to see those two tangle.)



WRT the FT, I grew tired of Yang very quickly - I know, he's a great guy, but between the excruciating deliberate moves and chip handling and tanking and his invoking God to win pots and his sudden shift to screaming Price Is Right winner every single time he won an all-in...well, meh.

Yet still I like him better as champ than Jamie Gold.

Gordon was just fine, although it's a sick pleasure to watch any pro try and guess at hands (like Rahme's last all-in: "He doesn't seem to sure of himself here, I think he wants Jerry to fold...(time passes) oh, I think he WANTS a call"). A lot of 2+2ers will be beside themselves that he was so dismissive of the board geeks, but yeah, we've got a LOT of board geeks here. Not sure who you'd have replace him - Gabe Kaplan is way too old to be able to hold his bladder during a 15-hour FT.

Khan needed to tone it down a touch. It seemed like he was trying to milk a "trademark." But do you really want to be known for making faces and grunting?

Overall, though, I really was bummed that Scotty tilted so close to the FT. My sense is that almost everyone was playing with Ms of 20 and 30 just like they would with a short stack, taking incredible chances on marginal hands (although taking their sweet frickin' time to do it), and it's hard to make a 3-barrel bluff work in a climate like that.

[JackCase]

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true. utter lack of confidence by the final table participants. you look at HSP and the players have a certain level of confidence (unwarranted at times) which leads to faster play and more "side chatter" which is good for entertainment and for the game.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hellmuth talked about this on the broadcast last night. He said that a lot of players over the years have reached the final table and self-destructed because they subconsciously feel that they are over their heads, that they don't really belong there.

And of course, a bunch of mental-midget posters here jumped all over him, because anything Hellmuth says must be wrong, and began making fun of the power of positive thinking school of poker.

Phil can be truly annoying, but he both knows how to play the game and he knows how to analyze the game as an observer.

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I thought Phil's part of the broadcast was outstanding except for this one single bit; this part seemed right out of Tony Robbins to me.

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I didn't see any pop psych in what he said. It was no different than saying that there are place kickers who can't convert in the big game or golfers who can't putt for big money.

[Howard Treesong]

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suzzer,

I didn't see Khan interviewed by Phil, but I watched his PokerNews bustout interview and he came off really great. Unfortunately, rather than excitement and enthusiasm, his antics at the table came off super idiotic imo.

I think this FT is going to show you the power of editing by a professional team at a big money outfit like ESPN. I'm thinking some well edited shots of Jerry praying to the Lord will help set up an epic confrontation of good God-fearing Christian vs. serious hardcore gamblers like The Russian and The Pro (Canadian Asian dude).

The progression of table talk from "YOU CALL, IT ALL OVER, BABY!" to what we saw at this year's FT is indeed sad. Definitely the most serious (and boring) feeling group of guys in recent years.

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I just watched the segment where Khan appears with Phil and Ali. Khan mostly just babbles. He speaks very very fast and says some silly things; he seems like a nice guy and all, but I didn't get much insight from any of his comments.

[Dids]

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"Chad's strat advice and observations are MUCH better than Gordon's."

its fun to rag on gordon but i have no idea how you could honestly think this dids.

i watched a few hours worth, it was pretty entertaining. needed more guys like hellmuth in the booth.

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Chad's stuff is simple, but it's usually not wrong. He's like Poker 101.

Gordon is trying to teach Advanced Poker 308 and doing it badly imo. I think he said a number of things that were just flat wrong.

[wpr101]

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I agree with ELD, the editing will make this a battle between the holy vs. stone cold Ruskies and Canadian pros.

Yang's 10 percent donation promise guarantees this.

I'm not a Gordon fan, but I don't understand the hate. It's hard to talk for 12 -14 hours straight, and doing so insures lots of slip ups. That said, his ripping on 2+2 demonstrates a lack of self confidence.

Only other thing strange was that long boring denistry story from Corey Ziedman. Or should I say ZZZZZiedman.

P.S. Favorite part: Matasow there in the booth and Gordon pointing to everyone in the massive crowd and saying: "These are all the people Mike owes money to."

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What did Phil Gordon say about 2+2? I hate Phil Gordon.

[russellmj]

I picked up the FT at about 7pm so I missed the early craziness.
On Yang taking too long: I don't mind him doing the whole Jesus Ferg thing while he made his decision, but he went way overboard. Taking up to a minute sometimes to get around to looking and then capping his cards.

On Ali being better than anyone at poker commentating:
Ali was surprised to hear the word "orbit" being used. This needs no further close examination.

I love Phil's math skillz and he uses them for good analysis, but still prefer Chad. Actually, I prefer Gabe Kaplan.

The best part for me was listening to PG disagree with virtually everyone who offered any analysis. It made me smile.

Edit: I also felt sadness when they pulled out the lol donkaments.