Party Poker Blog

Have no fear, there is an uber poker post from yesterday if you wanna read massive poker content. Just scroll down to Sunday's post. It got a thumbs up from Hank, and that's all that matters.

So here's the list of players signed up for the Monty Memorial Poker Blogger Tournament for poker bloggers and their readers. ANYONE can play, so feel free to join the fray.

Here's the skinny: $20 entry fee. If you could sign up with Pacific Poker through my link and then email me your screen name, you are in for a fun time.

This Sunday night, the 22nd.
9pm EST.

Deadline to sign up is this Thursday at Noon. If you don't email me by then, it's too late.

As it stands, listed below are an excellent mix of bloggers and readers, about 40-45 thus far. Best of all, the bounties are starting to pile up. If you knock out a player with a prize next to his name, you win said booty. Everything from cash to booze to poker books. Pretty damn cool. If anyone wants to add a bounty, just leave it in the comments or email me.

Damn, if we end up with 50 players that's $1000 in prize money. Sweet!

Let me give you the skinny on the setup - I am trying VERY hard to have Pacific increase our starting chip stack from 800 to 1500. I'm calling, emailing, you name it. Wish me luck. I'm also trying to determine the payout but they aren't responding to changes to this, so who knows. Let's hope they come through but remember, this is all for fun, it ain't the WPT.

That being said, I hope everyone can understand there is only so much customization they can offer. I'm working on getting what I can...

And so...I present to you the list of players for the Monty Memorial Tourney. Bloggers are listed first with links to their respective sites and then the esteemed readers.
Please double check your screen name:


AntMaude
Badblood
boygza Bottle of Spanish wine, picked by BG, the connoisseur
chrishal DVD's of "Championship Poker and the Plaza" and "American Poker Championship"
fatguy44 A CD of The Gourds, Shinebox
crabasa
dogbert Signed Phil Helmuth book "Play Poker Like the Pros"
gosain
doubleas
CantHang Bottle of SoCo
hdouble
he1ixx
jcostale
Jofus
Iggster
Kodies
Maguro
mashashi
MonsterZ
otisdart $50 cash bounty
sloejack
TCommish
tpfelt
Undrchvr
Up4Poker
VARoad
EireChad
jerge88

albethke
BlindJP
Canesfan
dannmizz
f2aler
G8rEngr
h8vegans
hotlead
Kahrhoff
KnoxTN
Landow
MMMan1
Mstephan
mtammen
NemoD
ThGamer
vanzylb
lostalex
voodooey
dankhank


Damn, this is gonna be a blast. Again, anyone who wants to play, please sign up with Pacific Poker with my link and email me your screen name.

I'm still waiting on Pauly and Felicia and MeanGene and several other Big Name poker bloggers. All assured me they are going to play. Also, one of the bigger names in blogging will be playing but he doesn't want to be "outed". He's gonna be coy and hide. :)

Al thinks there should be a "last longer" bet between Boy Genius and Genius of Poker - Battle of the (self professed) Genius's, and I concur. A tip of the Guinness to AL for helping with bounties and more.

Alrighty then, that's enough for now. Damn, I hate moving that last uber-post down so quick....I drank a ton of beer while posting that. So let me leave you with two snippets.

First: Hellmuth and Moneymaker Chats on ESPN.com - chatting Tuesday at 2 and 3pm respectively. Here is a link:
Poker Chat

I'd love to get in there and give ol Phil a taste of the whip (hey Phil, how did it feel to have old man Sam Grizzle kick yer ass?) but sadly, I'll be working.

And so I leave you with this question about Daniels Negreanu's poker career:

----

Questions for D. Negreanu

> When did you start playing poker?
>

I started playing at about the age of 15.


> How long did you play before you decided to start playing high limit
> poker?


I moved up gradually. From 17 to 21 I basically played 10-20 and
sometimes 15-30 or 20-40. When I turned 21 I started frequenting vegas
and went back and forth between 10-20 and 20-40, depending on my
bankroll. At 22 I had a little tournament success so I started to
consistently play 20-40 and dabbled in 40-80. By 23, I regularly
played 40-80 and quickly jumped to 80-160. Since then, I always
dabbled, or took a shot at the bigger games. Before the Atlantic City
tournament I was playing mostly 100-200 hold'em, and again took some
shots at bigger games. After the tournament I decided to play the
bigger games on a consistent basis, and that's where I am now.


>
> How long did it take you to be successful at those limits?
>


Moving from toronto 10-20 games to vegas 20-40 games was my toughest
adjustment. I came from toronto where I could push the weak players
around, to vegas where they pushed back! I didn't know how to deal
with that. The first time I went to vegas, I didn't have a shot in
hell of winning. By my third trip, I'd figured it out and started to
consistently beat the game. Once I was able to beat the 20-40 game,
the further adjustments were still difficult, but I was a much better
player by then so it was a little easier. When I started played 40-80,
I was a winning player immediately, same goes for 80-160 and 100-200.
The same isn't true for 200-400 and up. It took me a good two months
of lessons before I finally understood the subtle differences of
playing mix games with better players. Till that point, my bread and
butter was always hold'em, and I played other games for kicks. For the
most part my experience in other games came from playing tournaments.


> What is the hardest aspect about playing high limit poker?
>


There are so many difficult aspects about playing higher. The game
doesn't flow like a 15-30 game. If you walk into the bellagio, you can
play 15-30 at anytime, day or night. That's not the case with the
bigger gsmes. If you want to play, you typically have to play nights,
and sometimes not till 10 or 11. Then when you get there the game
might suck! I mean, you may have to sit with 3 other pros and cycle
your money around and hope a live one sits down. Sometimes they
don't. If that happens, you're not sure how long the game will last
and you may have a wasted night on your hands.

For that reason, I tend to take it easy during the week, and try to
work extra hard on the weekends when the games should be a little
better. If I'm in a good game, I'll stay until I have to keep my eyes
open with toothpicks:-)

Also, you have to be good at reading other professionals weak games,
and force them to play those, you can't be taken advantage of by
playing only their best games. There is one guy at Bellagio, that when
I come in he says,"why don't we play stud, razz, and hi-lo regular."
NO THANK YOU!! I'll counter with hold'em, omaha h/l, and stud h/l, my
three best games. Usually we have to come to some sort of a
compromise, like maybe stud, holdem, omaha h/l, and stud h/l. That's
ok with me, I can use the stud round to take my washroom breaks:-)

One more thing, the swings can be huge, especially when you are
playing short handed. Playing 200-400 you can easily go through 10,000
in one dealer if you have some bad luck. You need to have a lot of
emotional control, the others are hoping you go off. They are like
hungry vultures waiting to rip you apart and spit out the bones. A lot
of the time you'll see a game with four professionals, each one waiting
for the other to take a bad beat and start splashing money around like
it's going out of style. Sometimes, you'll even sit with a player you
KNOW is capable of playing superstar great poker, and if they do you
are an underdog. But this same player, might also be capable of self
destruct, and a solid, simple, disciplined player will beat him in the
long run. Even though that "simple" player may not have a tenth of the
talent as the superstar.

> Good luck to you and thanks for the insight.
>


No problem, I actually enjoyed reminiscing about my past.
Daniel Negreanu