Author 'Big Donkey' Archive
A Long Wait for the Final Table
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under Bloggers Corner
After months of speculation, the powers that be at Caesar’s have made an announcement that I’m not happy about. The final table of the Main Event will take place starting November 9th – more than three months after the 10th-place finisher is knocked out of the event.
Why do this? According to the good folks at Caesar’s and their media partners at ESPN, the delay lets them bill the final broadcast as more of a “must see” semi-live event rather than a taped show. (ESPN’s plan is to use hole-card cams on the final table and to broadcast the event within hours after it starts/finishes.)
Tags: Howard Lederer, WSOP
The Week at FTP: One Clever Piggy
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
This time around, we’re talking about the man, the myth, the swine legend that is Allen “Clever Piggy” Cunningham.
For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of sitting across from the quiet Mr. Cunningham at the poker table, all we can say is consider yourself lucky. It’s not that Allen is a bad guy. Far from it – he’s one of the nicest, mellowest people you’ll ever meet. He’s also a bad-ass motherfucker who’ll take every last chip from your stack and get you to thank him for the experience.
Tags: Allen Cunningham, Happy Hour
The Week at FTP: The Comeback Kid
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
The good news: you’re heading into heads-up play at the WPT World Championship where you’re guaranteed to walk away with at least $1.7 million in prize money.
The bad news: your opponent is Team Full Tilt’s Gus Hansen and he’s got a 5-1 chip advantage.
Tags: David Chiu, Gus Hansen
$@&! Slow Rollers
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under Bloggers Corner
As you can see, I just love the slow rollers. I mean, they’re the people who make poker worth playing. Really… they are. And I can dunk.
Now I know everyone has probably slow-rolled at least once in their poker career and that’s OK, so long as it’s not a regular part of your game. For most folks, it was a “This is the first time I’ve ever played live and I didn’t realize I had the best hand” kind of thing, which is perfectly understandable. It happens and, usually, someone at the table explains that what you just did is a breach of poker etiquette. You learn and you move on. Or, maybe you’re playing a really casual home game with some of your friends and you slow roll the nuts just, well, because it’s what’s expected in that game. Fine… no problem.
Tags: Slow Rollers
The Week at FTP: WPT Action
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
It’s that time of year again – the days are longer, the weather is warmer (or really friggin’ hot, depending on where you are), and poker is again the name of the game in Sin City.
With just over a month until the first event of the 2008 WSOP, the game’s biggest names are already gathering in Vegas. For some, it’s a chance to return home and rest up before the six-week poker orgy that is the 54-event series. For others, it’s a chance to sharpen up their games and build their bankrolls in preparation for the upcoming madness. And, for just about everyone, it’s a chance to play the World Poker Tour’s $25K World Championship at the Bellagio.
The Week at FTP: I Didn’t Jinx Seidel!
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Let’s start the week with the really important news; even Big Donkeys get things right once in awhile.
If you’re one of the three people who read my post from last week, you’ll remember that I predicted a WPT victory for Erik Seidel at the Foxwoods Poker Classic. Well, lo and behold, I was right.
Sure, my prediction didn’t earn me anything like the nearly $980K that Seidel took home for the victory, but a couple of fivers from the Monkey, the Captain, and the Inuit will pay for a few brews at the end of the day.
Tags: Erik Seidel, UIGEA
The Week at FTP: Tastes Like Chicken
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Last week we told you about an upcoming hearing on the viability of actually enacting and enforcing the UIGEA. Now we can tell you what happened.
Talk. Lots and lots of talk.
Tags: Erik Seidel, UIGEA
The Week at FTP: It’s Pham-tastic!
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
Last year, David Pham earned his second CardPlayerPlayer of the Year title. Not too shabby.
Now, just four months into 2008, the Dragon is chasing the title yet again. Last week, he took fifth at the WPT World Poker Challenge, which was good enough for nearly $94K in prize money. While the cash is nice (OK, very nice, if you ask us), we know David is really more excited about the fact that he’s now’s in third place in this year’s POY race, and in great position to capture yet another title.
Tags: Brian Hastings, David Pham
Mass-Revolt
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under Bloggers Corner
The sprit of revolution is still alive and kicking in Massachusetts. So for the moment is the political career of Idiot-in-Chief, Governor Deval Patrick − but that’s another story for another day. Still, I was very pleased to see the news earlier this week that Patrick’s proposal to build three new brick & mortar casinos in Commonwealth while at the same time outlawing online poker went up in flames when the House Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies voted against the bill.
Don’t get me wrong, as a former Massachusetts resident, I’m all for building some real casinos in the state. Sure, Foxwoods is located in the nearby Connecticut woods, but it’s still a good 90 minute (or more) drive from the Hub to the poker room which, let’s face it, is just too far for those of us who can suffer from the poker DTs without our regular fix. We want action and we want it now, damn it!
Tags: Online Poker
The Week at FTP: Jen Harman Rules!
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under The Week at FTP
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m writing this week’s post while drunk on Guinness and Jameson’s. Usually, it’s Budweiser and Jack Daniels but hey, it’s a holiday. Let’s celebrate.
Tags: CardRunners, Jen Harman
