NNP Part 2

   OK, I 've got a few minutes left here and will try to get another quick NNP in the books, or on the pages or on the screen... whatever!?! Next on the list, as mentioned will be:

***Eoghan O'Dea*** pronounced "Owen O'Day"

will rejoin the final table with $33.9 million in chips and in second place. This 26 year old Irishman followed in his dad's footsteps by pursuing and realizing the achievement of making the final table at the WSOP Main Event. Eoghans father, Donnacha, reached the final table in 1983 and again in 1991. This is not the first successful tournament for Eoghan though. He finished 2nd at the 2008 Ladbrokes Poker Million for $260,000 and a 2nd place finish at the 2009 WPT Marrakech Main Event for just over $388,000. He has also had five WSOP cashes ( three this year) putting his career live tournament earnings well over $700k. Eoghan is also an accomplished on-line player (intruder123) with a win in the iPoker Euoropean Championship and a 2nd place finish in the Poker Millions. Not a bad resume for a tenty-six year old, but there is still room for improvement and additions..."You dream to win the WSOP Main Event," he says in a recent interview.  "It's the best in poker and that would be pretty amazing for me to win it. Achieving that dream is a pretty big factor... apart from the money!"..... to be continued, next up, Matt Giannetti.

chapel out.......... .GetSome.GIVEBACK.GetHome.

     

The "November Nine".... circa 2011

    Just a few weeks back 6,865 people decided to come off the hip for $10k... plus travel and lodging expenses... to compete in the largest live tournament event on the planet, the WSOP Main Event! Each of these players having their own attitude, game plan, personality and establshed goals to bring to the table(s). For some it might be... just get me through day one without my nerves causing me to puke on someone! For others it might be... just get me in the money. And for others it might be... please, please please don't show me on tv, my wife thinks I'm at a motivational conference for work! But I can pretty much stake my oldest sons college fund on the notion that ALL of the players want to be announced as a November Niner. (Don't worry, I have 2 daughters!)

    Throughout eight loooong days of grinding it out on the felt  6,856 of these players recieved invitations that were unwelcoming for the most part. These invitations were to request their attendance "on the rail". For some I'm sure it was devastating, especially if it was provided to them before the announcement of "the bubble boy(/girl). For those who made it into the money it may have been just as diffcult, but less painful. And for those who made it further, maybe into day seven or eight it had to be heartbreaking. Knowing you had made it that far and gotten soooo close, only to be rivered by a 4 flush board to cancel out your flopped straight that would send you to the rail to observe the November Nine announcement instead becoming a participant.

    As you now know the November Nine has been established and they are now "on break" for the next four months. These nine men are now home with a healthy chunk of change already added to their bankroll (9th place money was paid out to all the niners at the conclusion of forming the final table). If you watched any of the coverage of the Main Event you have had the opportunity to get to know some of the niners already. You've seen their faces, heard their voices, gotten a tidbit of information from the announcers and may have even googled them to find out more. I'm sure there will be plenty of interviews and information provided from and about each of these players, but for now,and the next few days, I will introduce you to the November Nine circa2011. I will begin with:

***Martin Staszko***  will rejoin the table in November as the chip leader with $40.1 million in chips. Martin is the first player fro the Czech Republic to make the final table at the Main Event and is the second oldest player at 35 years. He has been an online player for several years. Before coming to Vegas for the 2011 WSOP he had only played in four major live events, these being on the EPT circuit. (European Poker Tour). His play at these tournaments provided him with just over $83k. Once he arrived in Vegas though, he wasted no time trying to accumulate as much felt experience in the WSOP by playing in fifteen events on the 2011 WSOP schedule leading up to the Main Event. Apparently that new found experience has paid off quite well for Martin. With his play thus far in the 2011 WSOP he has already surpassed his lifetime total of events played and cash won. Will he be the next  Main Event Champion!?! 

    Next, maybe tomorrow, we will take a look at the young Irishman "Owen"....Eoghan O'Dea that is.

           ........ .GetSome.GIVEBACK.GetHome. .....chapel out 

Poker Etiquette... Does It Really Matter!?!

    Etiquette in Poker is similar to sportsmanship in other venues. Some may even be established as "unwritten rules" that are accepted and for the most part adhered to by all parties involved. Poker etiquette is no different, unless you are new to the tables and you are picking up habits, so-called strategies and outright unacceptable behavior from what some might call poker wannabes. Once you have establisehed yourself as a poker player, not necessarrily a gambler but a.... poker player.... you too will hopefully feel the same way as most poker players do about poker etiquette.

    For me, the most irritating thing to see and have to deal with is.... splashing the pot! "Splashing the pot" is a term used to refer to the action of a player who intentionally, unnecessarily and sloppily thrusting their chips onto the table into the middle of the pot disrupting other players table space and most commonly the established pot on the table.  And my question is... !?!Why!?!   This action generally forces the dealer to have to gather up the chips, re-stack and count them in order to ensure the bet, call or raise is correct. All this does is slow the pace of the game down! Especially if there is an established pot on the table from previous bet collections and the splash disrupts the pot. Splashing the pot can usually be stopped rather quickly if you are playing in an organized event that provides a floor manager. Of course, that means you now have to wait on the floor manager to make it over to your table. Usually before it even gets to that point, if the splasher is provided a warning from the dealer it can be eliminated even quicker... but if you are in a home game or in a tournament that doesn't provide a floor manager it will be up to the players or host to encourage the splasher that this action is unnecessary and unacceptable.

    Unless I am missing out on something here I don't see any advantage or strategic purpose of the splash. Unless of course you just want to irritate the other players and dealer. Note to splasher... splashing does not create or provide others at the table that you are some big shot at the table or in the poker community. If anything it is going to reveal your inexperience and immaturity on the felt. So please, please, please.... the next time you want to be recognized or gain some attention at your table, try check raising an aggressive player with a chipstack that can double you up and let the pace of the game flow, please!   

....................GetSome.GIVEBACK.GetHome..................... chapel out!

Back in the Saddle... AGAIN!

    Wow! It's been almost a year since I last posted anything here at "Gettin'Hammered!" So much has happened over the past year I don't even know where to begin.
   Well, poker related... I finished 3rd in the Victory Poker Pro Challenge. Thanks! to all of you who voted!! Don't remember the total number of votes but we did get into the 6k range I think!?! Not too shabby for a small town poker player from South Carolina! During the competition I had the opportunity to meet many interesting people across the globe and have continued to stay in touch with most of them. As a result of one of those meetings during the competition I joined a Poker Team that is based in Canada. The founder of the team is Jeff Burnett, aka... the AceTenBomber... Jeff is well known in the poker world throughout Canada and has been interviewed on several occasion in several top Poker magazines. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to travel to Canada for 11days to meet Jeff and play in The Montreal Open. The Montreal Open is an annual charity event sponsored by FullTilt and many other companies to help raise money for the Miriam Foundation. This foundation provides help, education, love and support to families with members suffering with autism. We also spent quite a bit of time playing poker at The Playground Poker Club just outside of Montreal. This place was awesome. Tournaments scheduled everyday, cash games running all day from noon-6am, and the food.... the food from "The Rail Bistro and Grill" was fantastic!! Can't wait to get back up there again!!  I've also had the opportunity to meet up with my brother Jason, aka TripJax, and play in some local charity events, cash games and who would miss out on the annual NewYear'sDay Tourney, oh yea, he did this past year (but for a good reason!)  I have been pretty busy either playing in local tournaments, charity events and/or dealing in many cash games as of late! AND, starting July30th I will be hosting some pretty nice  EOS(every other saturday)Tournaments. July30th a 6maxShootOut will get things started. Also have a HeadsUp Bracket, a DeepStack Freezeout and a MainEvent scheduled. All tournament players will be provided with a hot meal and beverage (July30th, Rib-Eyes off the grill!) and there will be cash games available as well!! Want more info about the tourney dates, times and details just shoot me an email at chapelnchill@yahoo.com. I won't even get into the BlackFriday mess with on-line poker! Got alot to do today to get ready for a tournament later so I will end it here for now. Hope to be able to get back in here before this time next year. Got a lot of cool stuff to talk about, just need more time to get it going! GetSome.GIVEBACK.GetHome..................chapelout!

In Pursuit of Victory...TeamVictory!

   Yep! I am still alive...and kicking! Just wanted to get the word out that I am competing for an opportunity to become VictoryPokers next PokerPro! I could use all the help in the pursuit. Just follow the link provided http://contest.victorypoker.net/victorypoker/   My video is named "Railing is NOT an option...i felt!" I got a late start in the contest, submitted my video over two months into the contest, but I have acquired enough votes to move into sixth place thus far. The deadline for video entry was actually scheduled for today but it has been extended until Oct.31st  so there's still a chance to get your own video in the running. The lucky winner get $100,00 in tournament buy-ins, a furnished condo on the Vegas strip, a new car, a new watch and much, much more!   !!GETyourGAMEonHERE...VictoryPoker.net...GETyourGAMEonHERE!! chapelout

A Tale of Two Hands...

  Today, yesterday now, I had the opportunity to participate in an annual New Years Day tourney.This was the 6th annual and my third. Good times...good times! Started the day meeting up with my bro' Tripjax at a local bar...Wild Ace Pizza and Pub. Had a calzone and several "hazed and infused" drafts. Gooood stuff. Then finished it all off with two shots of Evan Williams Honey Reserve Bourbon, even better stuff. If you are ever in Greer, S.C. Wild Aces is a great spot to hang out. Great food and plenty of options of cold beverages.
   Anyway, back to the purpose of the post.  After looking back over my tourney play there are two hands that I will remember most. The first one is being dealt as the announcement that the next hand will be "the final table". At this point I have about 15k in chips and I'm the dealer. First to act goes all-in which is about half my stack and I am ready to call, until  there is a snap call from the chip leader at the table. As the action folds to me I look down at AK. If I call I put my tournament life at risk. Win the hand I am the chip leader ,or close, going to the final table. Lose the hand and I go short stacked. I FOLD.  I show my cards as I fold and get ribbed for it. I proceed to deal and the flop comes A9K...J..K! Wow, what I would do to have that hand back. Well, about 2 hours later and being 1 of 3 remaining in the tourney I am dealt that hand again, AK. Again I have about 15k but in the big blind this time. First to act folds and small blind put out a bet that put me close enough to all-in as you can get. This time, and it being only the second time I get AK in the whole tourney, I go all-in. Of course chip leader calls, by the way, same chip leader as earlier. This time I feel pretty good, look down to see AK suited vs. A 10 off. All goes well until the river, and I exit in third place to a 10. In hindsight I CALL hand 1 and fold hand 2. Do it all over again....I play both hands the same way I did.
   Got NO complaints here though. Had a GREAT time! Couldn't ask for a better group of people to hang out and play cards with, and the hosts...  they are AWESOME!!! Thanks for opening up your home to us. Cant wait to do it again. Gotta go for now, my bed is calling me...calling me a fool for not being in it. Good night to all and all the best in 2010!    -chapel out-