Curtis Mayfield III's Poker Blog

WSOP Heads-up with Joe Cada and Darvin Moon

what a whirlwind of a weekend. The only thing I did all weekend is watch the world series of poker play down from 18 players to 2. I watched the broadcast more than a couple of times because I wanted to catch all of the nuances and detail that I could. The intrigue with Ivey and Jeff Shulman at the table was exciting. Unfortunately, neither Ivey nor Shulman made it to heads-up play.That privilege belongs to Darvin Moon and Joe Cada.

Now that the two finalists have fought through all of the field it is kind of ironic that Cada made it this far at all. Cada was short stacked many times throughout the tournament even when it got down to 18 players. But somehow he managed to continue to double up and catch a card when he needed it. Conversely, Moon has been the big stack since getting down to 18 players and seemed as if he would not relinquish that spot. True, Moon did hit a couple of rough patches at the final table but he managed to fight his way bank into contention. Now, Cada holds almost a 3 to 1 chip lead over Moon. I do not anticipate Moon winning this tournament at this point. Cada has plenty of heads-up experience and I think Moon, although he will compete, is ready for this all to be over so he can get back home.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Monday, November 09, 2009 - 15:44 | login or register to post comments

WSOP Final Table in progress

I am sitting here watching the WSOP feed checking out every hand. I know it's kinda crude but it is actually kind of fun as I am using my imagination to fill in the blanks. Anyhow, everyone seems to be playing particularly cautiously early on. No real big pots until Darvin Moon lost one and went down to $51 million. He quickly recovered and went back up to $59 million shortly thereafter.

Phil Ivey has been steady and has inched up on his chip count to $11 million. Only one player is out now and that is James Akenhead. So now we are down to eight players and I expect the action to begin to speed up a bit now. I still suspect Darvin Moon will finish in the top three or four at the very least unless he blows half his stack on a really bad play. He has enough patience to wait for a hand when he does play. That could be a very good trait to have at this table as the action unfolds.

New Age Poker?

I was just reading an article in Bluff Magazine about how the game has changed. The players have become more savvy and knowledge is literally everywhere a web page can be found. The only way to not know how to play the game of poker is to close your ears and eyes because it surrounds us every day. Even the new players have a fairly good understanding of the game now. Before all of the TV came along it seemed like most people were in the dark. I mean that literally.

Were we better off before the poker boom? Would bankrolls be fatter had Chris Moneymaker never won the main event?

I doubt it. Eventually something or someone would ignite the game and catapult it to where it is today one way or the other. Things happen for a reason. Yes, it is a little tougher to make that nightly profit after your session but there is still plenty of dead money to be had. The real question is are you making the necessary changes to keep pace with today's game. If not, then you are probably going to continue to watch your bankroll dwindle into nothingness while those of us that have adjusted to the new more aggressive style of play continue to grind it out. It's the new age of poker now. Are you ready for that?

2009 WSOP final table is a world of opportunity

The 2009 WSOP final table will be a lot of fun to watch. We have a mix of several players both young and older that are all battling it out for $8.5 million US. That is a lot of money even to a multi-millionaire like Phil Ivey. I know Darvin wants to go back into the woods and disappear and I am sure he will do just that. However, the rest of the field will surely want to capitalize on the opportunities that will present themselves to the winner. Aside from Ivey everyone at the table could use the extra bankroll boost. Jeff Shulman is a seasoned professional poker player and has pretty much grown up on the game with his father heading up CardPlayer magazine.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Thursday, November 05, 2009 - 08:10 | login or register to post comments

2009 WSOP Final Table Saturday

Finally the last broadcast has been made and we now know how Darvin Moon picked up all those chips. After watching it play out I was left shaking my head wondering why he never even made a probe bet to see where he was at in the hand. Sure, it certainly appeared that his flush would be the best hand but I wonder why he didn't just flat call or even fold to such a large raise on the turn. Had he done so he would have remained at the table and able to pick a better spot.

To me it seemed as if it never crossed his mind that Moon could have had a flush and it would likely be larger than his. Even if he did end up folding the best hand he would have had around $10 million or so after the hand had he folded and still been in contention. That's just my thoughts on it but in the heat of battle we have all made moves that we have regretted later. On the other hand it was not very likely that Moon would have a flush too and it certainly had the appearance that Moon was simply on a draw to an Ace of diamonds. In any event we now have our final table and it ought to make for some good TV. I'm looking forward to it!

Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho eliminated

Yes! It's all over for poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho on the Amazing Race reality show. I gotta tell you that this was painful to watch from the day one debacle to the crying and whining end of Tiffany and Maria. I am all for poker players doing there thing and taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. However, I am not in favor of making yourself and the game of poker look bad in the process. No matter how they may have thought things out initially their plotting and scheming early in the race set the tone for how they would be perceived throughout.

Hopefully we can all take a break from reality TV for a while until the next poker player decides to take someone up on the offer of a reality show. I suppose that I will focus a little time on the 2 months 2 million show and see how that is playing out. At least the show is about poker players playing poker. Maybe showing poker players in their natural habitat is the way to go. Ya think?

Phil Ivey folds best hand on ESPN

You heard me right. Phil Ivey folded the best hand. I had heard about this situation from a friend of mine. He seemed so shocked that Ivey had folded his flush, on national TV no less. Finally, I caught the episode just the other night on ESPN. Personally, I don't consider it a major deal. Why? Because, contrary to popular belief , Phil Ivey is human. He is capable of being fatigued just like the rest of us. In this case he misread his hand. Nothing more and nothing less than what we all saw. Typically that comes from fatigue when a person of his skill level makes that kind of mistake.

Ivey is notorious for playing marathon cash game sessions before big tournaments. We still don't know exactly why the misread took place but that's my theory and I'  sticking to it. The fact of the matter is that Ivey will not be doing such a thing when it comes to playing this Main Event final table. i can assure you of that folks. I expect Phil to be hyper-focused and if he can double up early I believe he will make a legitimate run for the gold. Let's just hope he gets enough sleep before the final table begins.

Poker on Halloween

As I am writing this article I am getting excited about going out and playing a big Deep Stacks Halloween poker tournament. There is a short four day series going on at my local casino and from what I hear the action has been great. I love playing their "special" tournaments because the structure is great and the levels are 30 minutes at the least. This gives me plenty of time to build a stack and make a run at it.

I stopped by my trusty costume store looking for something to wear for the event. My wife flat vetoed two outfits I won't mention but I thought they were rather amusing. I suppose listening to her is better than ending up in divorce court. However, I do realize she was looking out for my best interest. Anyhow, I ultimately decided to go with the Viking horn hat. I won't be surprised if I happen to see several others with the same outfit considering that this place is in close proximity to the casino. Only time will tell.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Friday, October 30, 2009 - 03:25 | login or register to post comments

Main Event final table thoughts

As the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table approaches I can't help but think how foolish this entire delayed table has been the past three years. Now that we are literally days away from seeing the November nine for the first time since July I can't help but wonder what a publicity blunder this has been. I have not seen one of these guys promoting the game or appearing on a talk show or anything. I have not heard Harrah's discuss how they are going to improve upon this foolishness to anyone. For some insane reason no one wants to admit that the delayed final table is absolutely pointless.

It's time to admit that the delayed final table is useless. It doesn't build excitement and it certainly does not bring additional players to the game of poker or the Harrah's brand. It's time to go back to the tried and tested format of playing the Main Event out until we have a winner. No more nonsense about promoting the game or bringing in new fans. All of that was just talk that never got backed up by Harrah's or anyone else. It's sad that Harrah's failed to capitalize on what once was a great idea but somehow lost their way in the process of implementing it.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Thursday, October 29, 2009 - 03:51 | login or register to post comments

High Stakes Poker still searching for new host

It looks like we are still waiting for the folks at High Stakes Poker to name a replacement for A.J. Benza. It had been rumored that Shauna Hiatt would be his replacement. Shauna, as most of us are familiar with, was the hostess on the World Poker Tour until 2005. Since then she has had stints on various other poker shows but nothing long term. Shauna has set the bar for every hostess in the business. She projects well on TV, she does not ask dumb questions and she is reasonably knowledgeable about the game although I would prefer that she actually played the game too. But that is not a glaring flaw because she is so comfortable in front of the camera.

Posted by Curtis Mayfield III on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - 14:32 | login or register to post comments