Tomorrow will be one hell of a long day while we play out the Heads Up stage and then the Final Table of the Premier League here in Las Vegas.

Fantastic dinner at the Oyster Bar

My fellow Party Pro Ian Frazer won his heat yesterday of course and we all had to celebrate!  That meant that instead of getting an early night like I have been all week, I went out for a fantastic dinner at the Oyster Bar at the M Resort with about 10 people.

The food was so damn good and as nice as the room service is here, I’m glad I finally got to eat a proper meal.

After dinner, it seemed like a good idea to all go and play a bit of poker. Come to think about it, it was probably the Poker and NOT the meal that gave me a late night and tired eyes this morning.

Dump a glass of wine all over poor Jesse May

After watching so much poker being played in the Premier League, it was nice to actually be the one playing again. It was a really good laugh and I think our table raised the roof a bit with our noise and antics. After an early double up with a set of QQ, I really didn’t manage anything else.

Oh, except to be clumsy as usual and dump a glass of wine all over poor Jesse May who was sitting beside me at the table. Hey, at least it wasn’t red!

Ian Frazer cracking some “traditional” jokes with Kara Scott

Ian Frazer is in Las Vegas at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Classic. The first WPT report was published last week. The following is Ian’s experience from the day 3, and it includes sidebets with Antonio Esfandiari. Plus another Frazer video poker tip and a chance to play Ian heads-up for $500.

WPT Bellagio Las Vegas Day 3

Well not the best start for the main event, I am told, cards in the air at 1pm. So I wander down around 1.15 to miss all the kafuffle that goes on at the start of a big tourney, only to find the first level was nearly over DOH!

It started at 12pm and there are 5 x 1hr 30mins levels each day with 60k in starting chips. My table looks ok-ish at first glance, but I find out pretty quick that I have the winner of the $5k tourney two days ago and $5k WSOP bracelet winner to my left and next to him is Baldwin who has just been voted Card Players, player of the year and also won the $1k rebuy tourney for a cool payout of $200k, Elky came 8th by the way and needed 7th to break even is that mad or what. Further round is Jimmy Tran so there is not going to be any easy spots for stealing.

The $5k winner to my left is pretty much centre of attraction, he seems to be in all the big pots and when he passes he claims the 2nd best hand every time (I like this but can see straight through it) His chip stack is up and down like a yo-yo, I figure he won’t last very long or have massive chips early he looks like he’s in a hurry.

He is also the brain in a game for side bets with Antonio Esfandiari and another on the next table. This guys voice is one of those really loud and annoying ones that you would hate if things are not going right for you but fortunately I was okay and it was keeping me very amused. For those of you, who do not know the rules for this game. It is the most stupid, immature, trusting and egotistical way to gamble but better than listening to an iPod I suppose.

Basically two or more players will choose a subject with a number as a spread to gamble on over/under or closest to the line, which the brain declares after telling the players “IM LOCKED IN” ha-ha, you gotta love it. The players take it in turn to decide on the subject for the brain here are a few of the subjects I heard to give you an idea, the stakes are not chicken feed either! Ha-ha it just tickles me no end.

1st Question

Antonio: okay brain how much money do I need not to have an orgasm for 6 months…oh and you know I can do anything right?

Brain: Does this include involuntary?

I am thinking what the hell does that mean! What are these guys ever on?

2nd Question

Another: Brain how many one night stands in Vegas tonight?

Brain: Does a couple count as one or two?

Antonio: Na that’s only one man, and we are not talking hookers here right!

Brain: Okay I am in the tank!

Brain then starts to work out how many bars and clubs and what night it is etc and then declares okay “IM LOCKED IN”…………ha-ha I just cannot believe it these guys are killing me. Last one I promise.

3rd Question

Antonio: Brain how many girls has Bin laden bedded in the last year?

Brain: Do you mean the last 365 days because he is probably dead?

Antonio: well his last 365 days then.

Brain goes through all the rig moral of sayings again and this time he even searches Bin Laden on his iPhone, ha-ha I mean what did he tap in for crying out loud. I haven’t bothered with the other answers but this time brain says okay two.

Antonio: Two! For a man with a billion dollars and a penis Two! are you crazy brain.

I gather he gambled for more, anyway the brain made a really bad play in a 3 way pot and he was out and that was the end of the brain game. (Sob).

Back to the game and I am treading water, nothing much is happening I am on 80k in chips and we are on the last level of the day.

I make a big squeeze after a small raise UTG with 5 callers I hold 10dJd and figure I want to force some play now. UTG passes which I obviously love, but then I get called in two spots. Flop Qc9s6c (that’ll do) I lead straight at it no pause, with half pot bet. I get one call. It is now a big pot and I figure the caller has a suited club ace or even straight & flush draw as this guys range was pretty wide, especially calling down. The turn brings 2d I am so certain I have a good read on his hand so I bet 2/3rds and the guy moves in on me, dam I have got this so wrong, I still have 22k so I pass and he shows 99.

I got the hand so wrong and felt gutted. I then found myself all in later after my pre-flop raise hit 2nd pair with a flush draw against top pair and that was the end of my WPT.

Ian Frazer’s poker tip of the week

Ian Frazer’s Christmas bounty tournament is on this Sunday. Last week Ian discussed how to play against crazy loose poker players, the week before he discussed strategy for early levels of tournament play. The tip of the week is on why you need to concentrate if you want to be a winning player.

Head over to the Partypoker Facebook page for details on how to you can win a $500 head-to-head match against Ian Frazer.

Ian Frazer has been at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Classic this week.  Read on to see how the PartyPoker ambassador has progressed in the first two days at the Bellagio and a curious appearance from a hungover Devilfish!

At the bottom of the post we have another edition of Ian’s video tutorial series.

WPT Bellagio Las Vegas Day 1

Well I am here, my flight was only 5% full and Vegas seems really quiet, without all the cowboys here for their annual Rodeo festival it would be like a ghost town I am sure. It is also the coldest I have ever witnessed it here, I’m thinking this is going to be 100% working trip and no messing.

I register for the $5000 NLH side event and after 1 hour there is only 50 runners, this is not looking good. I play for 3 hours hardly moving a chip as there are a string of young guns on my table that obviously all know each other and they are persisting in making outrageous moves and raises then showing each other after. I think this is so funny; it’s like a competition between them and there’s loads of whispering going on. I am sure you know what I mean. The others at the table hate this but they’re not really seeing the potential.

I figure it is absolutely no good locking horns with these guys yet unless I have a hand, but then as the blinds get bigger I can use my image to work for me. I feel so confident I will outlast them all and find some good spots.

We are 4 hours into the tourney there are now 118 runners and Devilfish walks in, he is un-shaven, looks like he just got up and tells me he’d been party-in all night and had an hour’s kip (nothing changes then). Well he immediately doubles up and before the end of level 5 has 60k in chips. Ha-ha way to go eh!

Back to my game and I am so card dead it’s a joke AQ twice and JJ in BB with a walk ha-ha. I am down to 6500 there are still 4 of the young guns there but with 3 new players. The blinds are 200/ 400 with ante and I find A7 on the button when a player next to me over raises so I push, he calls with 7 10 and I double up Wallop! The next hand same guy raises again I push with Q2 and he folds. I get this guy again the next round and then make a couple of moves on one of the young guns and I have 48k Luvvly jubbly. We now break and down to one young gun left, I just knew it.

We play another level and there are 52 players left 1st prize $200k, I did get QQ that level but no action.

I get raised from last young gun in 2nd position it’s a weak raise which normally meant ace rag or connecting face cards from him and decide to play I have Jc3c (I know it’s bad, but timing felt good) so I re-pop 4X, I know he doesn’t like it but he calls. Flop Ac2c4x, this is great flop for me and I bet ¾ pot, he tanks and calls. I have to give him credit for an ace and put him on A9- ish, I figure he can’t have A2 or A4 as he would have re-popped it and the initial raise was too small for AK.

However he could have AA the vibe I am getting from him is more like raggy ace and he is worried about his kicker; he started the hand with 20k more chips than me, so I figure he can pass if I don’t hit. Turn comes another Ace, now I am in trouble as I know he has an ace and probably gonna find it very hard to fold even though he thinks I have AQ/AK. I take my time and decide to check hoping for a free river and take a view but if he bets, depending on the size I was going to push representing the big hand or fold.

Well that’s exactly what happened, my check induced a bet, I asked how many he had left to ensure he was aware he can pass and then I pushed and he sighed rocked backwards but then called anyway and was jumping for joy when he saw his A7 against my draw, which I missed. In hind sight I am obviously gutted about being out and playing the hand that way against him, but he did have enough chips to pass and I sold the story perfectly but these plays only work against top players DOH!

Off to the bar and some Chinese!

PS not sure what happened to the fish.

WPT Blog Bellagio Las Vegas Day 2

There are two super satellites going on today for the $15400 main event, plus lots of single table satellites for varying amounts. There are no other tourneys of any value on so I decide to play an $1800 one table; I am first to register and then leave to get some coffee. When I get back, the table is seated and about to start, I am gutted the line up is really strong and I think there is no value here what so ever. The good thing is we get 20k in starting chips so lots of play.

I don’t play a hand for the first level (20mins) and then get AK in BB with a 3 bet and call so I make it 5X and take the pot. The guy to my right who flatted the action said “big bet” as he passed and I said big hand man and left it like that.

One round later I’m big blind the same guy 3 bets me I have 33 so I double the action he re-doubles and I push all in. He thinks for a milli-second and passes I now show one 3 ha-ha I figure this can get me action as I am going to lock up now for a while.

The very next round same guy raises in cut off I have AJ on button and call, the flop comes AK5 he pushes with K9 I snap call and he is first one out. Wallop!

I am now feeling good and don’t get involved at all until we get 6 handed where I put in a few re-raises and accumulate a nice stack.

I stay patient as there are 2 short stacks and I am not giving any free chips. After a cagey few levels, we are 3 handed, Kenna James & Noah (a Vegas & world circuit regular) there is nothing for 3rd $2k for second and $15500 for the winner. After a good bit of fun I eventually get the better of Noah with my KK v 44 and I am heads up with Kenna with a 2/1 chip lead. We are good mates and decide on a split I take $11k and the game is over. I am very pleased with that as it was a tough table.

It is only early and I am playing the main event tomorrow so I decide to watch a show and get some food to keep me out of trouble for the night.

PS Fish was spotted in Pure last night so figured he didn’t make final table.

Ian Frazer’s Poker Video Tutorial

In honour of the young guns that Ian encountered on day 1 of his trip to Vegas this week the European Open champ discusses how to adapt your game to crazy loose players.  We’ve all encountered this problem at the poker table so Ian’s pro tips will come in handy next time you sit down with hyper-aggressive players.  Last week Ian discussed strategy for the early levels of tournament poker. As a Christmas bonus we’ve organised an Ian Frazer bounty tournament for the 27th of December, head over to the partypoker facebook page for details on how to register.

Here’s Debbie’s review of the tournament.

Talk about an adrenalin pumping, edge of your seat moment prior to the game commencing. With five minutes to go and only 14 players seated, my eyes could not believe what I was seeing. The seats started filling one after another, the hype was awesome. 45 players finally took the Stylsey Challenge, with loose, erratic online poker.

With Ian Frazer low stack early having the pressure of decision making, he became a casualty very early in the challenge. I guess us being the bounties with $150 on our heads, we became targets with myself being eliminated shortly after.

Whilst I was railing for the remainder of the challenge I witnessed some awesome play and decision making, made by these players. Fantastic effort by Brooke for placing 2nd, all the plaudits go to  Chris for taking down the 1st “Stylsey Challenge” at PartyPoker.com. So it is one up to the Brits, but I’m sure one of us Aussies will take down the next one. I’m looking forward to the next “Stylseys Challange”. BRING IT ON!!!!!!!

The next tournament will be played on the 27th of December, perfect for all of you with a Christmas hangover.  This time the bounty stakes have been raised.  Whoever knocks out either Ian or Debbie will get a free pass to the next $300K Guaranteed tournament worth $215 and the eventual winner will also get free entry on top of the first prize.

Head over to the PartyPoker facebook fan page for full details (you will need to login before you can add yourself to the event).  And don’t forget to add yourself as a fan so you can keep up to date with future exclusive tournaments.

FRAZER’S POKER TIPS

To help you get your game in order before the action kicks off Ian has produced a series of video tutorials.  We will be presenting them on the blog every Thursday running up to the big day.  To start things off Ian discusses the danger of overplaying big hole cards in the early stages of a poker tournament.

Keep his thoughts in mind when you face him at the poker table and you could well be the one to claim his scalp!

We have a stellar line-up for for Heat 1 that includes Partypoker pro Ian Frazer, WSOP Main Event finalist James Akenhead, online phenomenon Luke ‘FullFlush1′ Schwartz and WPT and WSOPE winner Yevgeniy Timoshenko.  Battling it out with the pros are two amateurs, Christain Schafer and Jorg Muller, who have qualified through our World Open tourneys online at partypoker.com.

The action has been fast and furious in the early session with Yevgeniy taking an early chip lead but with the new deep stack structure allowing players more freedom to push their chips around things are bound to change.  As you might expect Luke Schwartz has been in a talkative mood on and off the table and has already got himself into a little bit of trouble, more on that a later!

Play will continue throughout the day at the Palm Beach Casino in Mayfair. We’ll have more updates as the game progresses and you can keep right up to date with the live action as it happens over at our twitter feed @partypokernews.

Mike Sexton Previews the PartyPoker.com World Open V

Heat One

Andy Ward
James Akenhead
Luke Schwartz
Yevgeniy Timoshenko
Jason Adams
Ian Frazer
Christian Schafer

As a member of the November 9, James is the Pride of England. After reaching the final table of the WSOPE Main Event he has completed an amazing double! That says it all and he is certainly one to watch! I expect high stakes online player Luke Schwartz to talk it up. He is going to be entertaining and fun to watch.

Timoshenko has to be a favourite on this table. He has achieved so much and he i still only 21-years-old with wins at the Asian Poker Tour, the $25k buy-in WPT Championship as well as being an online superstar! I am so impressed with him, before the final table of the WPT Championship he went out and bought a suit and got a haircut! He is one of the good guys in poker. What impresses me mainly, however, is that he has made over $2 million in tournaments without the WSOP! That is quite something. He is a superstar now as well as being a superstar of the future.

Timmy won the Asian Poker Tour Macau in 2008 (pictured)

I love the way Ian Frazer plays– he lets his game do the talking. He’s got loads of tremendous tournament results and is highly regarded.

Mike’s picks

James Akenhead
Luke Schwarz
Yevgeniy Timoshenko
Ian Frazer

Heat Two

Phil Laak
Simon Zach
Andy Greekfish
Nathan Lee
JP Kelly
Remy Biechel
Wayne O’Brien
Gustav Ekerot

Phil Laak is undoubtedly one of the most liked pros on the circuit – a WPT champion who is always entertaining. I have never been at a table where people don’t have a great time when he’s around.

JP Kelly has to be watched. Here’s a guy that has won a bracelet at the WSOP and WSOPE this year. That pretty much says it all and he’ll be a local favourite.

Remy Biechel is a great up and coming player who cashed in the Main Event this year. This PartyPoker.com ambassador is excellent with a short stack – if he gets low certainly don’t count him out!

Remy Biechel (pictured)

Mike’s picks:

Phil Laak
JP Kelly
Remy Biechel

Heat Three

Sammy George
Jennifer Tilly
Paul Zimbler
Neil Channing
Roland De Wolfe
Mike Sexton
Patrick Funke
Robert Sherwood

Neil Channing and Jennifer Tilly (pictured)

I have a very tough heat here – I would much prefer to have been in heat two. Jennifer Tilly has a WSOP bracelet, while Neil Channing has a phenomenal record and has to be one of the favourites here.

Roland De Wolfe is a brilliant player and as a triple crown winner he is highly respected. He’ll be the hardest to put on a hand and the player with the most imagination at the table.

I do fancy my chances – I wont be a walkover for anybody. Whoever wins will certainly have their hands full!

Mike’s picks

Jennifer Tilly
Neil Channing
Roland De Wolfe
Mike Sexton

Heat Four

Scott Fischman
Ryan Fronda
Layne Flack
Simon Craig
Antoine Saout
Teddy Sheringham
Johannes Nord Jorgensen
Fabian Quoss

A couple of years Scott Fischman was a real superstar – this star has faded slightly but he’s a very tough pro and is going to be hard to beat here.

Layne Flack is my pick to take down this down. ‘Back-to-Back’ Flack is the only player to win back to back bracelets at the WSOP. Also a WPT champion, he is my favourite.

Like James Akenhead, Antoine Saout has reached the November Nine and made the final table at the WSOPE Main Event. It’s remarkable that two guys have done this great double. This no fluke – Antione is no one time wonder.

Mike’s picks

Scott Fischmann
Layne Flack (nap)
Antione Saout

Heat Five

Liam Flood
Andy Black
TBC
John Magill
Andrew Feldman
Bodo Sbrzesny
Paulo Melo
Richard Makkinnon

This is all about the Irishmen for me. Andy Black is one of the most imaginative players in the poker world. His stack will never stay level. Liam is an archaic old school player and I can tell you one thing – he will be the only player at the table wearing a tie!

Andy Black (pictured)

I’m looking forward to seeing Bodo Sbrzesny, I heard great things about his first appearance at a PartyPoker event. He’s very creative and to see him lock horns with Andy Black is going to be very entertaining. They are two gunslingers – it is going to be a matter of who hits the target!

Mike’s picks

Liam Flood
Andy Black
Bodo Sbrzesny

Heat Six

Marty Smyth
Roberto Romanello
Ellis Reuben
Dixie
Tom Dwan
Bruno Fitoussi
Felipe Ramos

Marty is a highly respected and a top class pro. Tom Dwan – this guy is taking the poker world by storm and you have got to make him favourite here.

Bruno Fitoussi is definitely one to watch. He runs the Aviation Club but people don’t realise how good a player he is. He doesn’t play a lot of events but when he does he always does well. People think about him as a businessman but he definitely plays a better game than people think.

Felipe Ramos is one of the sensations of South America. Brazil is an up and coming hotbed of the poker world and he is certainly one not to write off.

From left: Ian Frazer, Bodo Sbrzesny, Remy Biechel, Mike Sexton and Felipe Ramos

Mike’s picks

Marty Smyth
Tom Dwan
Bruno Fitoussi
Felipe Ramos

Overall

This is a phenomenal field featuring very successful pros that have proven themselves in the biggest events. It is certainly going to be great entertainment as there are a lot of guys here who can talk and a lot of very creative players. Every single heat is not one to miss and whatever happens it looks like an extraordinary final table will be created which you wont want to miss.

My tip – watch out for the online qualifiers. They may not have profile at the moment but these guys have some game!

World Series of Poker”® and “WSOP”®, WSOPE”® are registered trade marks of Harrah’s License Company LLC. No license, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not licensed by or otherwise affiliated with Harrah’s License Company LLC or the World Series of Poker®, in any way.

Action gets underway at the fifth edition of the Partypoker.com World Open this weekend in London and with the line-up and schedule now finalised we are sure to be in for a great tournament.

It’s not often that you get so many poker superstars playing in a European tournament but we have managed to secure some of the hottest names in the poker world to battle it out for the $250,000 prize.

There will be a strong presence from across the pond at the $10,000 buy-in no limit tourney, amongst the many American players attending will be online phenomenon Tom ‘Durrrr’ Dwan, Phil Laak and Layne Flack

These are who guys who are sure to feature prominently when the cash is handed out at the final table.

There will also be a strong British contingent with the likes of PartyPoker Team member Ian Frazer, November Nine WSOP Main Event challenger James Akenhead, former footballer turned poker player Teddy Sheringham and the trash-talking Luke ‘Fullflush1′ Schwartz all in contention to take home the crown of World Open V champion.

Along with the great and the good of the poker world, ten amateurs who qualified through our exclusive World Open V tournaments will be sitting down at the tables.  Included in these ten is Johannes Nord Jorgensen, who secured his package by winning the recent PartyPoker.com in the Sky event in Copenhagen, Johannes has proved that nerves don’t get the better of him at 50m in the air, let’s see how he does now he’s competing on Terra Firma.

The tournament structure for this year’s World Open has changed with eight-seater qualifying heats and a tripling of stacks sizes to allow players to be more creative and aggressive at the tables.  Last time out Belfast’s Marty Smyth won the World Open picking up a cool $250,000 for his troubles but in the latest odds on offer over at PartyBets.com Marty trails behind strong favourites Dwan and Vietnam born JC Tran.  As the tournament progresses be sure to return to our bookie for the latest World Open V betting odds.

The tournament draw has thrown up some exciting heats, with so much poker talent on show some of the big names will face an early exit.  The prime example being Heat 1 which includes Ian Frazer, James Akenhead, Luke Schwartz and recent WPT and WSOPE winner Yevgeniy Timoshenko.

With only the heat winner guaranteed a place in the final (runners up go into a round robin heat for the last final spot) we are going to be treated to one of the most competitive and combustible poker tournaments on the circuit.

You can keep up to date with the live action from 11th October here at the PartyPoker blog and also by following us on Twitter @partypokernews

A record 2924 players took part in Day 2B and there were players and tables almost in every available bit of floor space. For the first hour of play today they did not let any spectators into the various tournament rooms. Rumour spread that this would continue all day which had many people concerned if they were supporting friends or family but the doors opened about 1pm.

PartyPoker had 35 players taking part today and we were hopeful that some of our guys would continue the good work done already and keep picking up the chips. It was therefore quite a surprise when one of our highest stacked players, Bodo Sbrzesny who started the day on over 100,000 chips, walked back into the suite after only an hour. Bodo managed to get his chips in good holding aces against an aggressive pre-flop raiser only to have his aces cracked when his opponent who had pocket queens spiked an unlikely queen on the river.

No sooner had I heard that cruel story then I saw fellow GrassRoots player, Ian Frazer marching down the corridor talking into his phone. Ian had obviously busted as well. Last I heard he went round to the Bellagio to get over his disappointment with some high stakes cash game action.

In the first level today we had a steady stream of guys who’s tournament was over. The good thing about the Mike Sexton Suite today was that Mike was there most of the day even though was not playing so he could offer some commiseration and I could offer a cold beer.

The Danish guys on the fuseball table

By the time we had played 2 levels and the players had their dinner break, over 900 players who sat down this morning were now out of the tournament. This made it easier for railbirds like me to move around as tables were collapsed and removed creating more space.

Over at the ESPN feature table, Phil Hellmuth was mixing it up with PartPoker player Daniel Vorbeck. Daniel told me that Phil was playing very well and picking up a lot of pots by scaring players off them. That sounds like Mr. Hellmuth.

As the afternoon wore on it was clear that we may not end the day with very many PartyPoker players and that proved to be true. By the time they bagged up the chips in the evening we had Ptter Hammer from Norway as a Day 2b chip leader with 229200 chips. There was also a new overall chip leader in Amir lehavot who was on a staggering 610,000 chips which is more than 175,000 more than his nearest rival.

PartyPoker players chip counts – end of Day 2B
Petter Hammer 229,200
Gustav Ekerot 147,400
Glenn Slater 161,900
Rasmus Hansen 145,800
Philip Boer 125,900
Todd Sisley 104400
Randy Armitage 64300
Jonas Gutteck 62800
Ludvik Sindiri Ludviksson 60400
Salvador Villaluz 37800
Fabian Quoss 28700
Jonathan Driscol out
Philip Green out
Stefan Kahlert out
Fredrick Andren out
Claus Anderson out
Anthony Lansdell out
Sebastian Panny out
Jack Powell out
Ricky Tang out
Ricardo Sibelo out
Marcos Palermo out
Ian Frazer out
Morten Christiansen out
Marlis Sawicki out
Joakim Noren Olsson out
Aaron Armstrong out
Bodo Sbrzesny out
Anthony Keogh out
Jonathan Karamalikis out
Jens Klaning out
francisco A out
Florian Langmann out
Jeppe Neilsen out
Paul Foltyn out

Tomorrow is a day off for players and staff alike but on Day 3 (Friday) we will have 26 PartyPoker players in the approx 2100 strong field all hoping to make it into day 4 when the bubble is expected and players will make the money. I’ll be back on Friday.
Jeremy Coleman

WSOP Blog 2009 Day 4

There are 2 tourneys today, both $2,500 but the afternoon one is six-handed so I opt for that. I bike ride for 1hr 20 mins in the gym, then lounge around the pool before heading off to the Rio at 4.30pm. Like a doughnut I find out this tourney is Limit! OMG I hate the game, so I decide to get a refund and play some cash at the Venetian.

There is a $5-$10 PLO that’ll do, so I sit with $5k. There are local guys and two German pros who I know. I can honestly say that my cards were so dead for about an hour and half that even I couldn’t find a raise. I decided not to panic as I have 5 or 6 hours to burn and ordered some food to eat table side (this is something I don’t normally do, I like to sit properly when I eat). I have been playing for nearly 3 hours and I am down to $3,350.

There is one local guy who raises everything that moves. When I pick up Ah Qh 5c 4c and raise in position 3, he pots me I think why not? I am going to represent AA-xx so I re-pot him. There is another guy in the middle who started the hand with $1,700. Now he’s all in and the original raiser moves all in with his $8,000 stack…oops! I have completely messed this up, but hey – I have to call now. Sure enough I river a heart for the nuts and win a $9k pot. Very nice “Raiser” I think, ha-ha.

10 minutes later I get a call from Devilfish wanting to go out. That was all I needed so I upped and went.

The Fish got a dance-floor table in Pure which is the club in Caesars Palace (nice place).

I met him and Michael Greco over there and in we went. We shared a table with a guy and his daughters who had a poker club in Montreal.

Well, seven half-litre bottles of Grey Goose later and I was all over the place (I hadn’t had a drink for 4 days). I will post a few of the pictures we took – the funniest was Devilfish dancing up on a podium to Lady Gaga’s poker face…….ha-ha brilliant!

The night is not entirely done yet, I got back to my hotel and remember stumbling through the casino floor trying to find the elevators. I stopped at a roulette table, where there was lots of noise going on. I pulled out $400 and put it on 8. The dealer says it’s $200 maximum, so I asked him: “Am I in Vegas or a sweet shop in Thornton Heath?” No one knew what the hell I was on about, but I moved $200 on to 10 and yes you’ve guessed it, 10 pops in. Luvvly jubbly, another $7k in the posh.

So although no poker at the Rio today I still showed another $10k or so profit after last nights excursions.

Night night from me.

Ian Frazer

WSOP Blog 2009 Day 3

Wow! Up early this morning, let’s get the gym out the way first.

On the bike doing a couple of 30 mins programmes (the gym here, by the way, is absolutely fantastic) and Roland De Wolfe comes in. “Just gonna bang out a quick mile on running machine” he says. He’s so funny, I love him, but he runs like a heavy weight boxer. We arrange to meet in 2 hours to go to the Rio.

I walk through the casino and see Roland playing Baccarat. I said, “Come on, we are going soon”. He agrees and asks to cash out. They hand him three white $5k chips, but then realise he owes $300 juice. “But I want the white chips” he cries. “So I offer him $300 cash just to get him the chip back so we could go. He says: “Don’t worry son, I will win it.” OMG, I didn’t want to hear that. So he bets $500 on bank. Six player results later and he’s £16k in the hole chasing $300. Thank god the next one came bank – he got out of it! He said: “Okay, cash me in.” They added his chips up and he was a little short of another white chip because of the juice again. I said, “Well, you’re not going to do that again.” He looked at me like I was nuts and said: “Come on, it cant be bank again!” Ha ha ha, Roland kills me.

We leave, and I go to his room to borrow a razor. He is in one of the Rio’s penthouses – wow, what a gaff! The best hotel room I have ever been in. He gives me a razor, takes me into the sports room, fully equipped with American pool table, big screen etc, and then challenges me to $500 a game. Anybody who knows me won’t bother asking who won. (I have a table at home.) :-)

Okay we are at the Rio and it’s the $2,000 NLH. I arrive at my table to find it is going to be the 3^rd one to be broken, so there is no time for image building here and I decide to crack on and try to build a quick stack, I figure I have two to three hours.

I go into attack mode raising and re-raising and after a funny couple of hours I have 9k chips. We get broken and on my new table I play very tight, the first hand I play is about 40 mins in there is a raise and 2 calls I am on the button with 3h 5h so I make a call too. The flop comes 4-6-7 with one heart. The original raiser bets the pot, and they all pass to me, and I flat call, hoping for a picture or an ace. (I figure he must have big pair and he will think I have a good draw because of my call.) I am going to get him so good! Turn brings a 9c although not ecstatic its still a good card for me as he can think it hasn’t hit me properly anyway. He bets out, I raise, he calls, and a 10 comes – he has 8-8. He bets I call and I am down to 1,800 chips. Luvvly!

The next round there is similar betting a raise and calls I am on button again and call with Kh 3h. The flop is 3 hearts. I check-raise all-in and the guy has Ah-Jh. Luvvly jubbly, out again!

The ending to this day gets better though as I head over to the Bellagio to catch their $1k tourney there is only 65 runners and I get to last 4 and chop the money I get $10k according to chips.

Off to bed and ready for Day 4.