Final Table Radio Show 2011 Year in Review

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2011

Final Table #151: Poker Year In Review

Today on the Final Table radio show, we recapped the biggest poker stories of 2011, with help from two of the industry's top reporters, Chad Holloway of Poker News and Kevin Mathers of AllVegasPoker.com. Among the items we discussed:

• the impact Black Friday had on players, tournaments, cash games, sponsorships, and the poker media;
• how near-live streaming coverage of the WSOP Main Event has changed the way we watch poker on television;
• the loss of most other TV poker shows, including "High Stakes Poker" and "Poker After Dark";
• the launch of the Epic Poker League and its chances for success going forward;
• whether we'll ever see Full Tilt founders Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson playing poker publicly again;
• our picks for the person who had the most impact on poker this year.

Listen, then click here to subscribe to these podcasts via iTunes!

We do The Final Table show every Tuesday 3pm to 4pm CT on 590 KFNS radio from the poker room of Harrah's St. Louis.

http://dennisphillipspoker.blogspot.com/2011/12/final-table-151-poker-year-in-review.html

First Article for Ante Up Magazine

Ho-Chunk brings bad beat to Dells and Nekoosa

November 22, 2011, Chris 

Ho-Chunk Gaming introduced a bad-beat jackpot to its Wisconsin Dells and Nekoosa poker rooms this year. The former property, located in South Central Wisconsin about an hour north of Madison, is a 12-table room that regularly spreads limit and no-limit Texas Hold’em, pot-limit Omaha and Omaha/8; as well as a full slate of tournaments. Likewise, Nekoosa spreads all the same games, albeit in their cozier three-table room. Not surprisingly, both rooms have experienced a spike in traffic since the introduction of the BBJ.

Compared with other casinos around the country, Ho-Chunk’s BBJ is actually quite kind. Only eligible in hold’em games, Ho-Chunk’s BBJ is triggered whenever aces full of 10s (or better) are beaten by four of a kind (or better). Both players must use both of their hole cards, and cannot utilize community cards consisting of three aces. Finally, there must be a minimum of four players playing at the start of the hand to qualify.

Once hit, the BBJ is distributed not only to the loser (40 percent) and winner (20 percent) of the hand, but anyone playing in the rooms at the time (20 percent). This means you could be playing at a $2-$4 limit hold’em game in Nekoosa and still receive part of the BBJ when it’s hit in a $1-$2 no-limit game in Wisconsin Dells, and vice versa.

“The bad-beat jackpot at Ho-Chunk has been great,” local player Dan Almerli said. “The action seems to have picked up and it’s reassuring to know that if I take a horrendous beat, I stand to win a small fortune as opposed to losing a few hundred in the hand.”

Many BBJs in other casinos require quads to be beaten, so it was a shock to see Ho-Chunk’s BBJ take so long to hit. After last being hit in late May at a meek $20,472, Ho-Chunk’s BBJ wasn’t struck for another five months, swelling to a little more than $160K, until on Oct. 30.

Eric Barka’s pocket aces improved to aces full of queens only to run into the quad queens of Andrew Westrum. What’s more, there were only two tables in action, which meant everyone else in the room took home $4,420.95.
“It was nice seeing the bad-beat jackpot get so large, as it certainly brought in some new money,” Almerli said a few days after the BBJ was hit. “I just wish I would have been there when it hit.”

While he may have missed the big jackpot, Almerli was still eligible for the reserve, which started the BBJ anew at a healthy $60K (25 cents of every $1 dropped goes to the reserve BBJ). Needless to say, if you’re looking to play some poker, with the possibility of a nice payday, look no further than Ho-Chunk Wisconsin Dells and Nekoosa.

— Chad Holloway is Ante Up’s Wisconsin Ambassador. He’s also a senior writer for PokerNews.com and contributes to Phil Laak’s Unabomber Poker Blog. Email him at anteupchad@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter @ChadAHolloway.

http://www.anteupmagazine.com/featured-column/ho-chunk-brings-bad-beat-to-dells-and-nekoosa.htm

Visiting the WSOP-Circuit Hammond

When I heard that PokerNews would be live reporting the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, I knew I’d be selected as one of the bloggers; after all, I lived just a hop, skip, and a jump away in central Wisconsin. I'd never been to this particular venue before, which is basically in Chicago, so I was more than willing to go. In fact, if I've never been somewhere before, I'm always willing to depart on a new adventure.

After making the three-and-a-half hour journey, I arrived at the Horseshoe on Thursday, the day before the Main Event. I got there at noon for the sole purpose of playing the $350 buy-in Omaha Hi/Low event, which I consider to be one of my stronger games. I promptly registered in the lobby and made my way into The Venue, the Horseshoe’s gigantic theater. When I say this place is big, it’s an understatement. It was like being in a stadium, and believe me when I say everyone who is anyone has played on their stage. Some of my favorites who have performed there, as evidenced by the framed photos in the lobby, are Joel McHale, Tracy Morgan, Hank Williams Jr., and Brad Garrett, just to name a few.

Once I tracked down my seat among the 99 tables, I unpacked my things and settled in for a day of O8. Unfortunately, my tournament proved to be very uneventful. I had no significant hands and pretty much blinded away, with my elimination coming just shy of the dinner break. While I hated to bust, it opened up my evening, so I decided to head to the hotel (the Horseshoe Hammond does not have a hotel on their property) and meet up with my co-worker for the event, Paul Oresteen.

I’d like to say that something interesting happened that night, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Instead, I got a good night’s sleep and prepared for Day 1a of the Main Event. Now, I’ve been to quite a few WSOP Circuit stops before, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the large turnout that piled into The Venue. An astounding 912 players threw down $1,600, already surpassing the field from 2010. Not only was I impressed by the field’s size, I was taken aback by the quality. Some fairly big names turned out for their shot at WSOP Circuit gold including Kathy Liebert, Allen Kessler, Chad Brown, Dwyte Pilgrim, Josh Brikis, and Mark “Pegasus” Smith (check out my interview with Pegasus here).

I also enjoyed seeing a lot of poker players from my regular circle. Being so close, plenty players from Wisconsin made the trek to Chicago, including Mark “P0ker H0” Kroon. For those who don’t know Kroon, he is an old-school player who jumped on the online poker fad early on. If there were godfathers of the online realm, he would be one of them. Kroon was actually eliminated on Day 1a on the third hand when pocket kings cracked his pocket aces. Lucky for him, there was a rebuy option and he tried again on Day 1b.

Even though it was smaller than the first flight, Day 1b still attracted 703 players, bringing the total to 1,615 players — the largest turnout for any Main Event in WSOP Circuit history. I must admit, I am a big fan of the re-entry. Not only did it increase the field and juice the prize pool, it allows players who’ve suffered a bad beat to give it another whirl. Kroon was the perfect example of this. As previously mentioned, he busted early on Day 1a from a sick beat and then reentered on Day 1b. He ended up finishing in 16th place and totally redeem himself, all thanks to the re-entry option. Without it, Kroon would have traveled all the way to the event, played three hands, and then likely have been so tilted as to never return. Can't say that I'd blame him.

For a look at the WSOP-Circuit Hammond results, click here.

Now, I wish I could relish you with tales of intrigue and entertainment from Hammond, but the life of a poker blogger is not always glamorous, especially when a tournament is in full swing. I worked a lot, and used any downtime to sleep. However, there were certainly a few things I enjoyed during my visit. Here are some cliff notes and random thoughts regarding my time in Hammond:

- The staff was great. Friendly and courteous, they weren’t shy about handing out comps. As far as the tournament goes, the staff at the event was comprised of the best professionals in the industry. That includes floors, dealers, and everyone else involved with putting on the almost two-week long affair.

- Speaking of comps, we ate the buffet for free every night. The food was good and there was a great selection, which isn’t always the case with casino buffets. I really liked the fact that their selection was broken down into five categories: Asian, Latin, Italian, Seafood, and American Grill, not to mention the desert bar.

- The Horseshoe Hammond is huge. Riverboats casinos tend to be a little cramped, but this one was bigger than some land-based casinos I’ve visited. Tons of slots, dozens of table games, and a nice poker room made this a top-notch gaming establishment.

- I didn’t like the fact that the property charged for alcohol and other beverages like juice and Red Bull. One of the cocktail waitresses even told me that they’re likely to start charging for soda and water soon. I understand wanting to maximize profits, but I spend enough in casinos without having to fork over $3 for a glass of orange juice.

- I almost forgot to pick up a $1 chip for my collection. You see, I grab a chip from every casino I visit as a sort of souvenir. Luckily, I remembered on the last night there and grabbed a white $1 Horseshoe chip.

While the venue was great, the city of Hammond itself wasn’t very impressive; in fact, I found it to be a little grimy. Being situation on Lake Michigan, the Horseshoe Hammond is nestled among factories, a marina, and railroad tracks. The combination of factory fumes, pollution, and aquatic life didn’t soothe the senses, and it wasn't exactly easy to get “a breath of fresh air.” Add to the fact that the area was a bit dated and rundown, and there didn’t seem to be a lot to do off the casino property. While this certainly bodes well for the casino, it wasn't exactly conducive to someone looking to get away from the constant chorus of slot machines. Anyway, this was rendered a moot point given my busy schedule, but I still labeled Hammond as derelict.

All in all, my jaunt to Indiana wasn’t that bad. The poker scene in the Midwest is second to none, and I expect the Horseshoe Hammond to continue setting the standard for WSOP Circuit success. Large fields, lucrative prize pools, and a well-run event makes the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond a must for any poker player. While I wouldn’t go to Hammond for a vacation, I’d head there for the poker action any day of the week; with that said, I’m sure I’ll be back sooner than later.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway.

Picture courtesy of Cake Poker Blog.

A Trip to Canterbury Park's Fall Poker Classic

On October 1, 2011, I made the three-hour drive between my house and Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota (just South of the Twin Cities). Canterbury was actually the first poker room I was ever in, way back in 2002. I hadn’t paid a visit in over five years, but I thought I’d head up there for their annual Fall Poker Classic, which has grown in both size and prestige in the past few years.

The Fall Poker Classic is Minnesota’s premiere poker series, spanning 16 days and 32 events. For a look While I wasn’t able to stay for the entirety, I took a few days off to play in some events and try my luck in their clever “Survival tournaments,” which are designed to offer a no-limit/pot-limit cash-game like experience in a state that allows neither version (more on this later).

I arrived at Canterbury Park about an hour before the first tournament, Event #1 $300 No Limit Hold’em, and promptly made my way to the cardroom, which is inside a massive race-track facility (Canterbury Park is a premiere horse-racing track). After registering, I made my way to the tournament floor and was immediately impressed. They had a nice spread for the players that included a continental breakfast, quality tables, professional dealers, and cultivated a comfortable space for a poker tournament. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much luck in that tournament. I got off to an early start, but then I picked up pocket queens and called in opponent’s all-in preflop bet. He held 10-9 of diamonds and ended up hitting trips to take a chunk of my stack, which was followed closely by my elimination.

That evening I tried the $100 NLHE bonus event, which was essentially a Turbo. I have a lot of experience in those and did quite well. However, all my hard work was for naught as they paid 30 spots and I busted in 32^nd place. I nursed a short stack for a long time before trying to steal with A6o only to run into pocket queens in the big blind. I was pleased with my play, but bubbling is very demoralizing.

The following day I played Event #2 $150 NLHE, but it was fairly uneventful and I busted in Level 4. Since I couldn’t play the evening’s Seniors Event, I decided to try out the “Survival Tournaments,” which are essentially a no-limit hold’em cash game with a twist. You see, in order to satisfy state requirements, the game must be a tournament format. So, each player would buy in for a predetermined amount (i.e. $300, $500, $1,000, etc.) and would get chips totaling that amount. The game would then begin and would last for a predetermined time (two hours, three hours, etc.). When that time is up, the game is over, and players cash out whatever amount they have in front of them.

It is a really intriguing and clever concept, and it worked really well. I usually don’t like playing with a time limit, but in this instance it seemed to inspire action. My opponents had the mentality that they needed to see as many hands as possible because the clock was ticking, which proved especially true in the last half hour. Basically, they were playing a turbo tournament strategy in a cash game. Not a good idea. I employed the standard cash game strategy of playing tight and waiting for a hand, and I got paid each and every time. I ended up playing two of these Survival Tournaments, and that ultimately contributed to me coming home with more money than when I left.

On Tuesday, I played Event #3 $200 NLHE and was doing quite well. I slowly chipped up, hit a couple sets, and then received a crucial double when a short stack moved all in with A6, I shipped all in over the tops with queens, and a guy holding AK called. My queens held and that pot put me right back in it headed to the dinner break. An hour later, we returned and I proceeded to lose every single hand I played, busting in 33 place when 20 got paid. Another close, demoralizing finish.

I should also note that there were a few notables in attendance in CardRunners’ Michael Schneider and “Minneapolis” Jim Meehan, the latter actually finishing as runner up in Event #7 for $9,533. My visit to the Fall Poker Classic came to an end after that as some pressing matters caused me to leave a couple days earlier than expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Thanks to the Survival Tournaments, I returned with more than I took, and I had the chance to meet a lot of fine people, like Michael Hochman, Senior Director of Card Casino Operations (you can check out my interview with him on PokerNews).

Here are the results for the first week of the Fall Poker Classic:

- Event #1 $300 NLHE / 244 entries / $71,004 Prize Pool / Henry Holderness ($17,680)

- Bonus Event $100 NLHE / 256 entries / $24,832 Prize Pool / Mike Levine ($6,186)

- Event #2 $150 NLHE / 235 entries / $34,193 Prize Pool / Aaron Johnson ($8,513)

- Bonus Event $100 Seniors NLHE / 153 entries / $14,841 Prize Pool / Al Giardina ($3,857)

- Event #3 $200 NLHE / 219 Entries / $42,486 Prize Pool / Adam Dahlin ($11,047)

- Bonus Event $100 Ladies NLHE/ 91 entries / $8,827 Prize Pool/ Lori Cosner ($2,471)

- Event #4 $200 Omaha Hi/Lo / 131 entries / $25,414 Prize Pool / Casey Schams ($6,608)

- Bonus Event $100 NLHE / 233 entries / $22,601 Prize Pool / Eric Eelkema ($5,628)

- Event #5 $200 Mix Limit O8/Hold’em / 81 entries / $15,714 Prize Pool / Doug Fink ($4,400)

- Bonus Event $100 All-in or Fold NLHE / 74 entries / $7,178 Prize Pool / Keith Lindgren ($2,010)

- Event #6 NLHE $200 NLHE / 244 entries / $47,336 Prize Pool / Nate Fair ($11,787)

- Bonus Event $100 Mix Limit O8/Hold’em / 127 entries / $12,318 Prize Pool / Ryan Pick ($3,202)

- Event #7 $300 NLHE / 234 entries / $68,094 Prize Pool / Blake Bohn ($16,955)

- Bonus Event $100 NLHE / 300 entries / $29,100 Prize Pool / Gerald Cunniff ($7,239)

If you ever get the chance to go to Canterbury Park, be it for the Fall Poker Classic or just to play, I highly recommend it. They run a nice poker room and it proved one of the most satisfying poker experience I’ve had. If you’re interested in keeping atop the Fall Poker Classic, be sure to follow them on Twitter @CanterburyPoker. You can also follow @ChadAHolloway as I’ll be tweeting the results daily.

*Picture courtesy of Minnesota Poker Magazine.

Various Interview Links

I've done quite a few interviews in the past few months and have decided to include some links. Aside from the regular podcasts I do for PokerNews, I've done the following interviews.

The Final Table Radio Show with Dennis Phillips & Paul Harris: On Tuesday, August 30, 2011, I discussed an infamous hand between Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth that had played out on Poker After Dark. Also on the show were guests Brian Rast and Matt Affleck.

http://dennisphillipspoker.blogspot.com/2011/08/final-table-135-brian-rast-matt-affleck.html

First-Ever PokerNews Video: While playing my first-ever World Series of Poker event at the 2010 WSOP ($1,500 H.O.R.S.E.), the PokerNews video crew was kind enough to do an interview with me. It was a lot of fun and a pleasure to be interviewed by the lovely Nicki Pickering.

http://www.pokernews.com/video/wsop-2011-chad-holloway-987689952001.htm

Short Stacked Radio: This radio show debuted on July 5, 2011 and has proven a tremendous success in its short history. I've had the opportunity to be on Short Stacked Radio on two different occasions, and I expect to do many more shows in the future.

Episode 17: In addition to myself, guests included professional poker coach Donna Blevins, Maryann Morrison of WomanPokerPlayer.com, Scott Long of Ante Up Magazine, and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi.

http://shortstackedradio.com/2011/08/short-stacked-radio-episode-17-michael-the-grinder-mizrachi-chad-holloway-scott-long-maryann-morrison-donna-blevins/

Episode 24: In addition to myself, guests included Landon Blackhall of PokerNews, Rich Muny of the PPA, and 2011 November Niner Eoghan O'Dea.

http://shortstackedradio.com/2011/08/short-stacked-radio-episode-24-2011-wsop-november-niner-eoghan-odea-landon-blackhall-ppa-weekly-update-rich-muny-chad-holloway/

My First Article on the PokerStars Blog

The following article appeared on the PokerStars Blog on Wednesday, July 27, 2011.

http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2011/the-global-poker-index-085437.html

It was my first article on that site and was written as part of a PokerStars/PokerNews partnership.

THE GLOBAL POKER INDEX

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by Chad Holloway on July 27, 2011 9:28 AM

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"Who are the best live tournament poker players in the world today?" That's the question the recently launched Global Poker Index (GPI) will answer on a weekly basis. A product of Federated Sports + Gaming (FS+G), the GPI is a ranking system that will determine the top 300 live tournament poker players in the world.

The GPI was developed by the commissioner of the Epic Poker League, Annie Duke; FS+G's CIO, Eric Faulkner; and Don Schlesinger , a prominent blackjack authority, statistician, and the Chief Strategy Officer of The Volatility Exchange. The ranking system, which is patent pending, is designed to be the most comprehensive poker ranking system ever assembled by taking into account an array of factors other rankings tend to overlook.

According to the GPI website, players will be ranked "based on their performance by finishing in cash positions in qualifying tournaments occurring over the previous 36 month period . . . Each player's individual GPI score is an aggregate of scores in events over the previous 36 month period, measured from the day the GPI is calculated. The score for a given event is derived from a combination of their finishing place percentage, buy-in and aging factor."

Now we know what you're thinking . . . "This is going to be just another run-of-the-mill ranking system like the CardPlayer and Bluff Player of the Year races." However, nothing could be further from the truth. It all gets a bit mathematical and technical, but the aforementioned factors are what will surely distinguish the GPI from all the rest. We won't get into the details regarding the finishing-percentage and buy-in factors, but you can read all about them on the GPI's website, GlobalPokerIndex.com.

With that said, we thought we'd have a brief look at the third factor that truly sets the GPI apart from the competition, that being the "aging factor." According to the GPI: "Aging factor refers to the weighting of results by their recency, where more recent results are weighted more heavily than past results." After all, the GPI is designed to determine the best tournament poker players in the world . . . today!

In order to successfully accomplish this, the GPI will institute a 36 month aggregation period broken down into six different periods of six months each. Here's a look at the said periods, along with the associated point multipliers:

Aging Factors

Period 1 (0-6 months) - 3.0 multiplier

Period 2 (7 to 12 months) - 2.25 multiplier

Period 3 (13-18 months) - 1.2 multiplier

Period 4 (19 to 24 months) - 0.6 multiplier

Period 5 (25 to 30 months) - 0.25 multiplier

Period 6 (31 to 36 months) - 0.25 multiplier

The GPI will then take each player's top three results from each of those periods, for a total of 18 results, and use them in their calculations. In addition, the rankings are assured to constantly change as results move from one period to another, eventually dropping off the back end of the 36-month window.

This was perfectly evidenced by the last two weeks of the GPI between Team PokerStars Pros, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Jason Mercier. Last week, Mercier was atop the rankings with 2,459.89 points while Grospellier was right behind with 2,446.83 points. Fast forward one week and you'll see that ElkY overtook the #1 spot with his same number of points while Mercier dropped to second with 2,434.30 points. How did Mercier lose points? Simple, his results from the 2008 WSOP recently fell outside the 36-month window and no longer count on the GPI.

Jason Mercier

As you can see, the GPI will constantly be in flux, ensuring movers and shakers in each week's rankings. Speaking of those ranking, they'll released on GlobalPokerIndex.com, EpicPoker.com, PokerNews.com, and USAToday.com, with the latter promoting the rankings on a mainstream media platform.

Here are some other quick notes regarding the GPI:

In order to qualify for the GPI, tournaments must have 21 or more players and a buy-in of $1,500 USD (or other currency equivalent) or higher that is open to the public, and is not specialty or selected audience events such as charity, seniors, doubles, satellite, women, team, employee, executive and CEO events.

A field-size cap is applied at 2,500 entrants (the 99th percentile of qualifying events) so larger events don't skew the GPI rankings.

Any caps will be reviewed once a year and can change if the 99th percentile number happens to have increased/decreased.

Only three results from each period will be counted so as to avoid rewarding players who play a lot of volume with a small percentage of cashes/results.

We don't like to brag, but right now the top three spots on the GPI belong to Team PokerStars Pros. With that said, we're confident that our pros will be well-represented on the GPI week in and week out. If you want to keep tabs on the GPI, be sure to visit their Twitter and Facebook page. In the meantime, have a look at the latest GPI Top Ten list, as well as how some of your favorite Team PokerStars Pros rank:

The Top 10 as of July 18, 2011

1 | Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier | 2,446.83
2 | Jason Mercier | 2,434.30
3 | Eugene Katchalov | 2,248.83
4 | Erik Seidel | 2,197.38
5 | Samuel Stein | 2,168.85
6 | Sorel Mizzi | 2,135.88
7 | Fabrice Soulier | 2,133.87
8 | David Baker | 2,027.32
9 | John Juanda | 2,013.63
10 | Vanessa Selbst | 2,011.05

ElkY atop the Global Poker Index

Top Team PokerStars Pro Rankings as of July 18, 2011

1 | Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (France) | 2,446.83
2 | Jason Mercier (United States) | 2,434.30
3 | Eugene Katchalov (Ukraine) | 2,248.83
10 | Vanessa Selbst (United States) | 2,011.05
14 | Daniel Negreanu (Canada) | 1,950.89
29 | Barry Greenstein (United States) | 1,718.12
38 | Max Lykov (Russia) | 1,668.29
50 | Pierre "Serial Qualifier" Neuville (Friend) | 1,590.91
51 | Victor Ramdin (United States) | 1,586.27
58 | Chad Brown (United States) | 1,561.18
60 | Alex Kravchenko (Russia) | 1,558.88
63 | JP Kelly (UK) | 1,532.65

My First-Ever WSOP Event: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.

On Friday, June 10, 2011, I played in my first-ever World Series of Pokertournament, an event at least 15 years in the making. I’ve always wanted to play in a WSOP event, and regretted not doing so in my previous visits. I decided this was the year and decided Event #17: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. would be it. I’d have gone with a no-limit event, but I figured the limit format of the H.O.R.S.E. would ensure I’d get my money’s worth.

I wasn’t thrilled that the tournament started at Noon, considering I had worked until 3:30 AM that morning, but I was at the Rio and ready to go at the start of the tournament. Interestingly, I was in my seat (Table 53 Seat 5) in the Pavilion waiting for things to start, I got a phone call from the producer of the History Channel’s Pawn Stars TV show. I had submitted some old WSOP photos for consideration and they called me to schedule a time to film. Needless to say, I was super excited and it put me in a great mood for the tournament.

*I’ll be sure to write more on the Pawn Stars experience in a future post.

Now I’ve been working the WSOP for three years, having covered dozens of tournaments, but this was the first time I’d actually paid to be there. Instead of hovering around the tournament floor, bouncing from table to table, I paid $1,500 in cold hard cash. I was no longer a vulture scavenging for the remnants of action; I was a hawk eagerly looking for easy prey.

Things got off to a fast start. During the first round, which was hold’em, I picked up pocket queens and bet every step of the way as the board ran out 2-Q-6-2-7, giving me a full house. Surprisingly, I got paid off by two players. Not bad for the first hand I ever won at the WSOP. A few minutes later, Matt Savage took his seat to my immediate right. I’d never met Savage before, but I knew him as the Tournament Director for the World Poker Tour. Not long after, former WPT champ Tuan Lewas moved two to my left. Needless to say, the table was getting tougher.

I managed to chip up to 5,600, from a starting stack of 4,500, by the end of Level 2.Come Level 5, I was sitting with 6,150, which right around the time 1998 WSOP Main Event Champion Scotty Nguyen sat down at my table in Seat 8. I love me some Scotty, baby, and I knew it was going to be a fun day. Win or lose, at least I’d get to play with a World Champion.

Two things happened right before the dinner break. First, Savage was busted by Le. Second, I took a shot at busting Nguyen in a hand of Omaha Hi/Low. Unfortunately for me, the distinction of the man who knocked Nguyen out of the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. eluded me as he survived to triple up. Had I knocked him out, I had a nickname all picked out. I was going to insist people call me the “H.O.R.S.E. Whisperer,” at least for awhile.

After dinner, I returned to a stack of 9,800, which was above the average of 7,200. Nguyen busted a short time later, which was followed by our table being broke. I was moved to Table 41 where I encountered the second most-famous Chad at the table,Norman Chad. I was looking forward to some good conversation with ESPN’s color commentator, but he was unusually quiet. I chipped up a little at Table 41 before breaking again and being moved to Table 2. Obviously this table wasn’t going to break at all on Day 1, so I was happy to see the most notable players at the table were 2008 Main Event fourth-place finisher Ylon Schwartz and 2008 Ladies Event Champ Svetlana Gromenkova.

Around this time I did an interview for PokerNews which was really cool. Being a part of the PokerNews team is great because everyone is in you corner and pulling for you. Unfortunately, with only two levels to go in the night, the cards went cold. The big blinds and antes began eating away at my stack and before too long I was well below the chip average. With only 6,500 remaining, I made a stand in the Stud Hi/Lo round after making a 6-5-3-2-A low on sixth street. Schwartz bet the entire time and I had a bad feeling he had made a better low; however, with just 1,600 back, I called off on the river. Sure enough, Schwartz rolled over a wheel to scoop the pot. Good game me.

While I didn’t cash, I was happy with my performance. I busted around 200^th place (out of 963), meaning I cracked the top 20% of the field. I truly look forward to my next WSOP event, and hopefully my first cash. In my next post, I’ll bring you up to date on my various fantasy poker leagues, and also fill you in on some of the more interesting things that have happened in Las Vegas and at the WSOP. In the meantime, be sure to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway.

*Picture courtesy of PokerNews

**This entry appeared on the Unabomber Poker blog, for which I write, on June 21, 2011.

My Profile in My Hometown Newspaper: the Reedsburg Time Press

This write-up on my rise to Senior Writer of PokerNews was done by Ken Leiviska and appeared on the bottom-front page in the Saturday, May 14, 2011 edition of the Reedsburg Times Press. It also appeared on their website, which can be viewed here:

http://www.wiscnews.com/reedsburgtimespress/news/local/article_c43ee51c-7e27-11e0-aa2a-001cc4c03286.html

Ken Leiviska, Times-Press | Posted: Saturday, May 14, 2011 7:34 am | (1) Comments

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North Freedom native Chad Holloway has made it big in the professional poker world as a senior writer for Poker News.Contributed / Chad Holloway

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North Freedom native Chad Holloway went "all in" following his life's passion, and now he's cashing in with the job of his dreams.

The 28-year-old Reedsburg resident has made his living as a senior writer for PokerNews.com since October 2010. He likens the website to "the CNN of the poker world."

Writing daily poker articles for the website is one of his duties, but Holloway also covers major poker events about once a month. He gets to stand in the background of famous poker stars such as Daniel Negreanu and Madison native Phil Hellmuth as he blogs the live action.

"That's my favorite part of the job because it allows me to travel," he said, adding that he's been to Argentina, the Bahamas, Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the last eight months.

But the job also is a big challenge, he said. Some days will be 14 hours of work as he follows the action at the poker tables, Holloway said.

"At times it's grueling and you're tired, but when you really have a passion, or love it like I do, there's nothing else I'd rather be doing," he said.

That passion has been tested in the last few years.

Holloway had to give up other career paths to follow his dreams. That story is something that's in high demand, he said.

"I get asked all the time, people always want to know the story of, ‘How'd you get into that? How'd you get that gig?'" Holloway said.

He said it all started when he dropped out of law school at Tulane University to pursue a career knew he'd enjoy.

"After two semesters of law school, I just did not have a passion for it at all," Holloway said. "I realized I would be very unhappy doing that for the rest of my life."

While studying law in New Orleans, he found a passion he wanted to pursue at Harrah's Casino. Holloway said he turned $400 of spare cash into nearly $2,000 in his first week at school.

He knew starting a career as a poker player was unlikely, but he wanted to stay in the industry. Holloway found a Craigslist job to write about poker and did so for about a year, building up a portfolio of work.

"That was my first foot in the door for poker writing," he said.

But at only $12 an article, it wasn't a career. Holloway picked up other odd jobs along the way to support himself.

In January 2009, he took a leap and emailed all the poker industry personalities he knew and asked them how they got the jobs they had. The response was not encouraging.

"The overwhelming response that I got back was that you just don't make it in this business," Holloway said. "But I did get one back that said you're best bet is to basically work freelance and submit your articles to publishers and see if they like your stuff. I took that to heart."

Holloway said he knew it was important to find a niche to get noticed, so he started writing articles about fantasy poker, which is like fantasy football. The publisher of Pro Poker Magazine liked his column and picked him up in May 2009.

That summer Holloway was able to land a freelance job with Bluff Magazine to cover the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the biggest poker event of the year. He described it as an unpaid internship since he had to pay his own way and the small wage he made was only enough to make it a break-even experience financially.

Believing his poker writing days likely would be limited to covering the WSOP, blogging and writing his fantasy poker column, Holloway got his teaching certificate and was student teaching in the spring of 2010 at Sauk Prairie High School.

He applied for a freelance job with PokerNews to cover the WSOP in 2010. To his surprise, he got the job. But it wasn't an easy decision to leave a stable career in teaching.

"Just like the game of poker, it was a gamble," Holloway said. "In hindsight I'm so glad I made that choice."

His father, Larry Holloway, is one of the people who gave him some advice with the decision.

"I always told him he could do anything in life he wanted and he would succeed at it," he said, adding that he supported his decision to go to the WSOP. "I'm truly proud of him."

When the WSOP was over at the end of summer, Holloway emailed the editor-in-chief at PokerNews, Matthew Parvis, to see if there was other freelance work he could do. He was happy to learn there was an opportunity for him to cover a poker tournament in Argentina in September.

When he was in the Southern Hemisphere, a longtime PokerNews writer quit. Holloway was offered the full-time job.

"It was really a no-brainer for me," he said. "It was the opportunity I always hoped for as far as breaking into the industry. It just doesn't happen. Luckily for me, it did."

Offering Holloway the job was a no-brainer for Parvis, who said he met him at the WSOP in 2009.

"Chad brings a very unique attitude to the table," Parvis said. "Working events can be very tough with long hours and it can really be a grind.

"Chad has the ability to take those things with a grain of salt," he added. "He's really positive all the time."