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Wednesday, June 3, 2015

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EPT11 Grand Final: Hello again Mr Poker Player Man

The view across Monaco

I couldn't end the EPT season without looking back on a moment that happened in EPT Deauville. We wrote about it on the Blog, and it turned out to be about more than a poker player having a bad day.

I first met Boutros Naim on the staircase outside the Deauville tournament room. He'd suffered a beat so bad that it was as though he were speaking in a trance. I think he'd had aces three times, and been crushed each time. The man needed to talk.

I ran into Naim again in Malta. He'd read the piece, but laughed at the idea of being this kind of ghost, cast away by the poker gods. He was instead a businessman, anthropologist, proud father and staunch pragmatist when it came to the crazy game of poker.

As a man who cannot bear the injustice in poker, Naim at least realises he's powerless to resist. And yet meets with success from time to time.

He played the entire Season 11 on the back of a super satellite win in Prague. It was to the Super High Roller, which in his own words he would have been mad to play. And so he cashed it in, and with the money free-rolled the rest of the season.

Now, having suffered none of the bad beats of France, we caught up on a few highlights of the year, notably his cash finish in Barcelona, in which he put his unconventional style to full use.

"In four days I played 23 hands!" he laughed. "I folded my way to 61st! And I don't bluff... everybody believes me when I bluff!"

Naim, 65, has always been a poker player, but turned to hold'em just three years ago. His bad back means sport is no longer possible, and it can make a day at the poker table an agony. But forget the physical pain. It's the mental kind that he can only laugh at. "In swimming or tennis effort rewards you, but not always in poker. I hate the injustice! There's no justice!"

But Naim, who lives 12 minutes away from the tournament room, keeps coming back, albeit having a tempestuous relationship with the cards. Case in point: while some dread being excluded from games, Naim insists on it.

When he busts from an online tournament Naim excludes himself for 12 hours. In his mind it prevents any attempt to chase losses or to put those injustices to right. Actually after he saw me on the stairs in Deauville he went back to his room and excluded himself for a month. He has these rules. He's also not a cash game player either, and winces at the thought of multi-tabling.

"No cash games for Boutros Naim!" he said, rubbing his temples. "No multi-tabling. I get a headache! One table. No more!"

But despite the anguish, the torture even, of modern poker, Naim keeps coming back. As he says, he's a man living every minute of his life as well as he can, whether that's in his converted stable in Monaco, or wherever he escapes to when the weather gets hot and the Grand Prix turns things noisy, or at the poker table. One year, missing his son who was studying at Harvard, he signed up for grad school to be near him, hopping on the train to Foxwoods at weekends. "I played like an idiot!" he said, as an aside.

So as we come to the end of another season, this is a salute to players like Boutros Naim, whose fondness for poker doesn't really fit the younger, more modern mould. Instead he's that type of player who can teach you a few things at the table, from all that stuff he's learned away from it.

"You know, I didn't make a single mistake", he said before we parted. "But I died with pocket aces - vanquished!"

He was talking about Deauville again. We both laughed at that.

To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.

Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

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Gambling Proliferation Attacked by Therapist Without Evidence

A California family therapist says increased exposure to gambling availability is causing more problem gambling, but his only evidence is anecdotal, while scientific research indicates otherwise.

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Internet Casino Bill Hearing Delayed

The committee hearing on Barney Frank's bill regulating online casinos and Internet gambling has been moved from Friday to a date to be determined.

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Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Delaware Fights On for Sports Betting Rights

Delaware authorities announced they have decided to pursue the right to operate single-game sports betting and gambling to the US Supreme Court.

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Battle of the Planets: pushed and lived, push0rdie claims title after three-way chop

Free money was a raining down on our SnG players once again tonight as the $50,000 Battle of the Planets triple shootout freeroll would spread that cash among 81 of the 553 players who cashed their monthly tickets in tonight. After nearly five hours of play push0rdie, dfunks, and Paulharvey3 would lay down their check-raises as all three split up $24K in the end with push0rdie taking home the lion share of $9,900.00 and the October title.

Supernova Elite fricirics, who chopped up TCOOP Event #25 for $72K last year, would fall just short of making the money today after falling in 83rd place with 81 places paying a minimum of $195.00 to OlddirtyDonk heads-up. A few minutes later with the blinds up to 150/300 ante 25 seregkabull leading 5,591 to 3,409 chips over tiburonbig would raise to 5,100 from the button as tiburonbig made the call all-in holding [Kd][As]. Pocket threes [3h][3s] needed a trey on the turn [Js] [9c] [4c] [3c] [Ah] to claim the last money spot.

psychodave29 was trying to make another October trip to the final table after chopping up this freeroll back in October of 2011. But, fell short today in 49th place ($195.00).

freshfish33 caught the first seat to the final table in just an hour with the assurance of $775.00 and a possible $12,000.00 for the second round win. Down to two tables left Liebe-STUCK was finally stuck by thanhtam09 who advanced to the third round as all eyes moved to Table 8 for the final match between KKLLMMOO and Drew_mansel.

With the blinds up to 125/250 ante 25 and Drew_mansel holding a 7,709 to 5,791 chip lead the action was to min-raise from the button as KKLLMMOO called to see the two diamond [Kh][5d][2d] flop. KKLLMMOO checked as Drew_mansel followed through with a 735 bet and KKLLMMOO called. [5h] on the turn and the out came the same action except this time KKLLMMOO check-raised all-in after Drew_mansel's 1,250 chip bet. Holding the turned boat [Ks][5s] Drew_mansel quickly called as KKLLMMOO's [2s][Ts] was drawing dead.

The nine survivors would reconvene at Table 1 for the final table below:

Seat 1: dfunks (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: freshfish33 (1500 in chips)
Seat 3: mrlogik (1500 in chips)
Seat 4: push0rdie (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: thanhtam09 (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: DomBusiness (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: bernardc (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: Drew_mansel (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: Paulharvey3 (1500 in chips)

Last month everyone was a chatterbox looking to make a quick deal and split up the final table funds nine ways. Today, all was silent in the chat box as our final nine got right down to business with fresh 1,500 chip stacks and blinds at 10/20.

Need for improvement

Paulharvey3 would be looking to improve on a seventh place finish at the BOTP final table back in March of 2012 earning $1,700.00. The Canadian would get off to a great start tonight in search of that title after knocking out freshfish33 in the second level. With the blinds at 15/30 freshfish33 and Paulharvey3 would trade bets until 2,230 chips sat in the middle after a [9s] [Kd] [6c] flop got both players excited. No fluke as to why the exuberance as freshfish33 flopped top pair top kicker with big slick [Ks][Ac] but Paulharvey3 notched a set [6h][6d]. The trip sixes would finish off the Russian after the [8c] and [9h] fell to ship $775.00 to freshfish33 in ninth place.

All business

Play would settle down for the awhile as the next elimination would not occur until the 50/100 level. Holding just 930 chips DomBusiness raise all-in from the small blind holding [7c][4c]. Also shortstacked, but holding a better hand, bernardc would call leaving 27 chips behind with [9c][Ac]. A four on the flop and a seven on the river [Jd] [4d] [2c] [Qc] [7h] would knock bernardc nearly out. On the next hand the scraps would be shoveled over to thanhtam09 as bernardc collected $1,200.00 in eighth place.

Assured a better place

Paulharvey3 helped his own cause for improving over the last trip here with this hand below:

RSS readers please click through to view video

thanhtam09 tried to open shove [2h][Ah] around the table for 957 chips, but Paulharvey3's [Ac][Qh] made the quick call from the cutoff seat and passed through the [5d] [7c] [Js] [3s] [Ad] board to send thanhtam09 home in seventh place ($1,700.00).

Small stack battle

After the long layoff between knock outs just eight hands later we would have another. With the blinds up to 75/150 mrlogik shoved for 844 from the cutoff as DomBusiness went all-in for 860 from the small blind holding [Qs][As]. Dom dominated mrlogik's [Ad][9d] preflop and post-river as neither player hit the [2c] [3c] [Th] [6h] [7d] board ending mrlogik's night in sixth place ($2,200.00).

Push or die

Well, not horrible poker advice in the late stage of this final SnG as another quick elimination would leave this freeroll with four remaining. Just six hands later and the blinds still at 75/150 push0rdie would min-raise from the cutoff as Drew_mansel pushed for 1,380 total from the small blind. Holding [Qd][Jd] push0rdie made the call and was staring up at Drew_mansel's dominating [Ad][Jh]. No worries as a turned pair of queens [6h] [4h] [2s] [Qc] [9c] would end Drew_mansel's night in fifth place ($2,735.00).

Everybody wins!

The final three would immediately move into chop talks but the negotiations for dividing up the remaining $24,000.00 in the prize pool would prove difficult. Comparisons of ROIs and assorted chatter almost broke the deal. But, Paulharvey3 would agree to the deal below at the last moment before the PokerStars Host was ready to put the cards back into air:

push0rdie: $9,900
Paulharvey3: $7,750
dfunks: $6,350

With nothing left to play for, push0rdie would take home the official title after knocking out the remaining players a few hands later to be named the October Battle of the Planets Triple Shootout freeroll champion!

PokerStars Battle of the Planets Triple Shootout freeroll (10-27-13):

Players entered: 553
Places paid: 81
Prizepool (freeroll): $50,000.00

(* denotes part of three-way deal)

1. push0rdie (Norway) *$9,900.00
2. dfunks (Mexico) *$6,350.00
3. Paulharvey3 (Canada) *$7,750.00
4. DomBusiness (Romania) $3,350.00
5. Drew_mansel (Belarus) $2,735.00
6. mrlogik (Latvia) $2,200.00
7. thanhtam09 (Vietnam) $1,700.00
8. bernardc (Netherlands) $1,200.00
9. freshfish33 (Russia) $775.00

David Aydt is a freelance contributor

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