Highlights From the ESPN Fantasy Poker League

This article appeared in the December 2010 issues of Poker Pro Magazine and Online Poker Pro Magazine as well as on their respective websites.

Highlights From the ESPN Fantasy Poker League

‘Poker Pro’ Writer Wins It!

By Chad Holloway

Earlier this year, prior to the World Series of Poker, I had the opportunity to participate in the world’s most famous fantasy poker competition, the 2010 ESPN Fantasy Poker League. The league is an invite-only affair and, given I write fantasy poker material for this publication, I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation. This year’s draft featured 12 participants: Daniel Negreanu, Eric Baldwin, Andrew Feldman, Gary Wise, Howard Lederer, Lance Bradley, Dennis Phillips, Bernard Lee, Mark Seif, Gavin Smith, Chops (from WickedChopsPoker) and myself.
The rules of the draft were simple. It was a snake draft, meaning the person with the last pick in a round (which, as the new guy, was me) would have the first pick in the next. Since there were 12 teams and eight rounds in the draft, it meant 96 players would be selected.
The scoring based on the following criteria:

1 point for making the money 2 points for making the top 505 points for making the top 20 10 points for making the final table (up to a tournament with a field size of 100 players) then one additional point for each 100 players after that, then:1 additional point for ninth 2 additional points for eighth 4 additional points for seventh 6 additional points for sixth 10 additional points for fifth 15 additional points for fourth 20 additional points for third 30 additional points for second 40 additional points for first

Double points awarded for all events with buy-ins of $10,000 or more.
The draft itself was conducted via a conference call back in May (before the first WSOP eent), where some additional rules were ironed out. Most importantly, an option to add/drop players was established. In the league, each team could drop one player any time during the WSOP and replace him or her with an undrafted player. This was a one-time option and allowed us to observe how certain players were playing, and adjust accordingly.
Below you will find the results of the draft, including the draft order, each team’s selections, and the number of fantasy points each individual player scored. If two players are listed, it means the former was dropped and replaced by the latter. (For more on the draft itself, feel free to check out Feldman’s write-up in the poker section of ESPN.com.)

Chops: Phil Ivey (63), Carlos Mortensen (69), David Benyamine (2), Faraz Jaka (59), Brock Parker (61), Abe Moussari (64), Thomas Marchese (53), Josh Arieh (3)

Negreanu: Daniel Negreanu (31), Scotty Nguyen (16), David Chiu (134), Justin Smith (22), Todd Brunson (25), Freddy Deeb/Steve Billirakis (97), Brett Richey (16), John Monnette (16)

Feldman: Jason Mercier (30), Bertrand Grospellier (17), Chau Giang (17), Scott Seiver (45), David Pham (0), Alexander Kostritsyn (96), David Sands (51), Ryan D’Angelo/Vladimir Shchemelev (35)

Wise: Allen Cunningham (2), Daniel Alaei (162), Andy Bloch (19), Eli Elezra (11), Isaac Haxton (21), Tom Schneider (7), Nick Schulman (46), Vitaly Lunkin (16)

Lederer: Barry Greenstein (11), John Juanda (223), Robert Mizrachi (125), Chad Brown (40), Matt Glantz (65), Amnon Filippi (6), Ralph Perry (0), Thor Hansen (0)

Phillips: Erick Lindgren (28), Jeffrey Lisandro (41), J.C. Tran (16), David Singer (15), Brandon Cantu (11), Greg Mueller (8), John Phan (1), Nam Le (14)

Seif: Tom Dwan (97), Phil Galfond (2), Ted Forrest (8), Doyle Brunson (0), Jennifer Harman (102), Johnny Chan (2), Mark Seif/Greg Raymer (3), Eric Froehlich (2)

Bradley: Erik Seidel (85), Howard Lederer (0), Chris Bjorin (6), Yevgeniy Timoshenko (6), Patrik Antonius/David Baker (132), Kenny Tran (0), Andrew Litchenberger (0), Dan Kelly (117)

Lee: Chris Ferguson (12), Michael Binger (11), Paul Wasicka (1), Eric Baldwin (29), Max Pescatori (11), Dwyte Pilgrim (32), Roland de Wolfe (0), Jonathan Little (46)

Baldwin: Scott Clements (25), Matt Hawrilenko (0), Justin Bonomo (17), James Mackey (0), Shannon Shorr (13), Justin Young (10), James Van Alstyne (8), Michael Katz (1)

Smith: Huck Seed (14), Gavin Smith (80), Jeff Madsen (9), Steve Sung (0), Bryan Devonshire (2), David Oppenheim (76), Chris Bell (70), Vivek Rajkumar (19)

Holloway (Team Poker Pro): Phil Hellmuth (56), Sorel Mizzi (36), Mike Matusow (9), Annette Obrestad (13), David Williams (6), Jason Somerville (149), Phil Laak/Michael Mizrachi (91 + Main Event), Amit Makhija (50)

Final Standings

1st Chad Holloway: 576*
2nd Howard Lederer: 470
3rd Chops: 374
4th Daniel Negreanu: 357
5th Lance Bradley: 346
6th Andrew Feldman: 291
7th Gary Wise: 284
8th Gavin Smith: 270
9th Mark Seif: 216
10th Bernard Lee: 142
11th Dennis Phillips: 134
12th Eric Baldwin: 74

*Includes Main Event points up until November Nine, but will earn more based upon Mizrachi’s finish at the final table.

As you can see, I was lucky enough to claim the 2010 ESPN Fantasy Poker League title and become this year’s champion. I readily admit that the main reason I won was because I dropped Phil Laak in favor of Michael Mizrachi after his victory in Event 2 $50,000 Player’s Championship (I did not get points for that win, however, since I picked him up afterwards). The victory was especially exciting considering it was my first year in the league and I took the title from Negreanu, who dominated in 2009.
This was not just my first year in the league, but it was also Baldwin’s inaugural outing. I had the opportunity to talk to him about our rookie experiences.
“I’m surprisingly happy with how things turned out this year,” he joked. “I wanted to draft a large selection of friends who were unlikely to score me many points. I did this for two reasons. One, as a rookie in the league, I believe this sets the bar for my fantasy abilities perfectly low, opening the door for many side-bet hustling opportunities next year. Second, I get to give my friends a hard time about their poor performance and how they let me down.”
Unlike Baldwin, ESPN analyst Wise was a veteran of the league.
“This is my fourth year in the pool, and my lack of preparation showed. I’m proud to say my team was decidedly mediocre,” Wise proclaimed. “Draft day was also travel day for me and with the preparations for the latter winning out over the former, I was woefully unprepared. I started out the Series in last place by a healthy margin, so finishing in the middle was about as good as I could have expected.”
As one of the veterans in the league, I asked what the main difference was between our draft and years past. “I like that the side action amongst the big boys has gotten bigger, because that’s going to enhance the attention the draft gets, which is good for everyone,” he said.
I can confirm that during the draft there were some hefty prop bets being made between some of the league’s heavy hitters. The wagers were pretty significant, but unfortunately I have been sworn to secrecy when it comes to the specifics. I will say that I did not make any bets, which is unfortunate considering I won!
I also asked Wise who he thinks is the best fantasy poker player.
“I think it’s probably Daniel Negreanu,” he replied. “Daniel treats the draft as seriously as any hand of poker he’s ever played. He brings a genuine enthusiasm to the endeavor of outmaneuvering the other participants, and he brings a knowledge of both live and online guys. His teams generally do really well as a result.” Given that the league has been around for a while and has developed a history of smack talk, I decided to ask both Wise and Baldwin whom they would like to see finish last in the league next year.
“Every year it’s Dan Michalski [of Pokerati.com who had been a staple of the league since its inception],” Wise said. “Dan knows his business and politics, but his dedication to those endeavors means he’ll make questionable choices come draft time. Dan exceeded expectations this year by sleeping in and missing the draft.”
While Wise targeted someone not even in this year’s draft, Baldwin went the other way and took a shot at the champ. “I would love to see Chad finish in last place next year because even though we can see in the standings he has this year locked up, he decided to add ‘possibly more depending on Mizrachi’s finish’ after his point total.”
All I know for sure is that to be the best, you have to beat the best, and in the 2010 ESPN Fantasy Poker League, I somehow managed to do just that.


Chad Holloway is a semi-professional poker player from Baraboo, Wisconsin, who specializes in Fantasy Poker. He currently writes poker material for Predictem.com, is a featured blogger at UnaBomberPoker.com and is a staff writer for PokerNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChadAHolloway.

How Social Media Can Help Your Fantasy Poker Game

The following article appeared in the October 2010 issues of Poker Pro Magazine and Online Poker Pro Magzine as well as on their website (http://www.pokerpromagazine.com/how-social-media-can-help-your-fantasy-poker-game.html)


How Social Media Can Help Your Fantasy Poker Game

Surefire Ways to Find Out Which Events the Pros Will Be Playing in

By Chad Holloway

I believe Fantasy Poker is a game that is constantly evolving. That was never more apparent than at the 2010 World Series of Poker when Full Tilt Poker (FTP) hosted the most advanced Fantasy Poker competition to date. In that league, participants were able to choose 15 poker players for each of the events at the WSOP, with the option to change the starting lineups right up to the start of the tournament. This "interchangeable" format proved to be a revolutionary advancement in a game where most leagues only allow a single lineup for all events.

The thing that makes the interchangeable format so appealing is that it puts Fantasy Poker on par with other fantasy sports by allowing participants to take it as serious or carefree as they like. If it’s something they’d rather not devote their time and attention to, they can simply pick a team and keep the same roster for the entire Series; on the other hand, if they want to take it a step further, they can put serious time and effort into researching the various aspects of Fantasy Poker and update accordingly.

This includes finding out what games certain players are proficient in, any recent success and most importantly, if they will even be playing in the tournament for which they’ve been selected.
Information pertaining to this last aspect can be particularly difficult to find, for a plethora of reasons, which is quite a shame since such info can make or break your Fantasy Poker team; after all, you can’t earn points if your selected player isn’t even playing the event.

For example, let’s say you want to pick Phil Hellmuth for a $1,000 no-limit hold’em event at the WSOP. You already know Hellmuth is a solid choice for a no-limit tournament, given his track record, but how do you know if he’ll even register for a low buy-in tournament? This is the great "registration question" of Fantasy Poker leagues around the world.

When I was working for PokerNews at the 2010 WSOP, I updated my FTP lineup based on information gathered at the WSOP and via social media outlets. Now not everyone has the benefit of being at the tournament venue; however, most people have access to the latter via the Internet.

There are three primary social media outlets that have proven particularly effective in registration research: blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

Let’s examine each outlet individually and their potential impact on Fantasy Poker.

Blogs

Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Scotty Nguyen and Phil Laak are just a few of the individuals who regularly blog about their personal experiences, opinions, successes and other noteworthy events. They will often blog about their upcoming itineraries, including the slate of tournaments they’re planning to attend. This is especially true when the WSOP, WSOPE, Aussie Millions and European Poker Tour events roll around.

Take Negreanu, for example. He is notorious for blogging about his tournament schedule, usually doing so weeks in advance of any given tournament. This provides his readers with a great deal of information that proves essential to Fantasy Poker success. Not only does Negreanu tell you what tournaments he will play for sure and when you should start him, but he also lists the ones that he has no interest in playing at all, in which case you’ll want to start someone else. If everyone did this on his or her blog, choosing who to start in Fantasy Poker would be easy.
However, as fascinating as blogs can be, they do come with a number of problems. First, they are not always up to date. Some players only blog once every few weeks, meaning there is a good chance their plans have changed or become outdated. Second, you often have to read through a lot of entries to find information applicable to Fantasy Poker since a lot of poker players’ blogs deal, ironically, with things other than poker. This is not to discourage you from using blogs in your Fantasy Poker research; on the contrary, if you’re willing to work through these roadblocks, blogs will provide you with a great deal of useful information.

Facebook

Facebook has proven especially useful in the Fantasy Poker world because of its up-to-the-minute capabilities. Poker pros are constantly updating their statuses, often including their event schedule and tournament updates. All you have to do to gain access to this information is send them a "friend" request. I personally have around 200 poker "friends" on Facebook and have found that most players are more than happy to accept a request. For those pros who prefer to keep their Facebook profile personal, there are a number of fan pages devoted to various players that you’ll be able to access.

Once you’re "friends" with a poker player, you’ll be able to receive any status updates relevant to Fantasy Poker. In the meantime, you’ll also be able to check out his profile, view pictures, and do all the other good Facebook stuff that people do. If you’re really daring, and polite, you can even send them a message. I’ve sent a few Fantasy Poker questions to various players and have found that most respond with a quick answer. If you find Facebook useful, you’ll no doubt find it even more effective when used in conjunction with Twitter.

Twitter

For those of you who don’t know what Twitter is, Wikipedia describes it as "a social networking and micro-blogging service, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., that enables its users to send and read other users’ messages, called tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page."

Essentially, Twitter allows you to follow a people, in this case poker pros, and read their up-to-the-minute Tweets (which can be set up to appear on their Facebook pages). Twitter has had a major influence on Fantasy Poker by becoming the go-to place for accurate registration information.

Poker players are aware that people are interested in knowing what tournaments they will be playing; as such, most use their Twitter accounts to post the tournaments they’ll be playing, followed by updates on how they are doing in the tournament. These updates can, and often do, come several times per hour. On top of this, Twitter allows you to customize who you follow, meaning you can subscribe to updates from your favorite players and those on your Fantasy Poker roster.

At the 2010 WSOP, I used Twitter on a daily basis to keep abreast of registration news. This allowed me to select fantasy players I knew would be playing in a certain event, thus improving my chances of earning points. This research paid off time and time again, but never more so than in Event 36, $1,000 no-limit hold’em, when I selected former November Niner Scott Montgomery, who had Tweeted that he was planning on playing a few hours before the tournament even began. Montgomery went on to win and scored me some major fantasy points; in fact, that selection pushed me toward the top of the leaderboard and allowed me to finish in 343rd place, which was among the top 2 percent of the field.

Setting up a Twitter account is free and you can add poker players at your leisure. For those of you who are interested, I’ve provided a list of some of the most popular poker player Twitter accounts.

If you play in an "interchangeable" Fantasy Poker league, I highly recommend you use Twitter and other social media outlets to help determine your starting roster.

You might just find that it ups your game and leads you to Fantasy Poker success.

Follow Them on Twitter
Annie Duke . . . AnnieDuke
Phil Hellmuth . . . phil_hellmuth
Daniel Negreanu . . . RealKidPoker
Doyle Brunson . . . TexDolly
Scotty Nguyen . . . TheScottyNguyen
Jennifer Harman . . . REALJenHarman
Erik Seidel . . . Erik_Seidel
Barry Greenstein . . . barrygreenstein
Annette Obrestad . . . Annette_15
Mike Matusow . . . TheMouthMatusow
Eric Baldwin . . . basebaldy
Jean-Robert Bellande . . . BrokeLivingJRB
Michael Mizrachi . . . TheGrinder44
Gavin Smith . . . oleGSmith
Todd Brunson . . . ToddBrunson
Justin Smith . . . BoostedJ
Greg Raymer . . . FossilMan
Vanessa Rousso . . . VanessaRousso
Joe Sebok . . . joesebok
　
Chad Holloway is a semi-professional poker player from Baraboo, Wisconsin, who specializes in Fantasy Poker. He currently writes for Predictem.com and is a featured blogger at UnaBomberPoker.com

UBOC5 Recaps for PokerNews

In August of 2010, I covered the fifth installment of the Ulitmate Bet Online Championship. The series consisted of 20 events over a twelve day period. Below are the links to the articles that appeared on PokerNews:

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/uboc5-deja-vu-for-billy-kopp-in-uboc5-championship-chaz-man-8809.htm

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/uboc5-brock-parker-and-kevin-saul-cash-in-event-18-final-tab-8805.htm

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/uboc5-corey-burbick-final-tables-event-15-event-16-cancelled-8798.htm

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/uboc5-mackey-makes-second-final-table-joe-ender555-ebanks-ta-8790.htm

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/uboc5-chad-batista-and-tony-dunst-just-miss-event-11-final-t-8783.htm

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/uboc5-allrgctonuts-takes-down-event-7-tiffany-michelle-makes-8764.htm

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/uboc5-two-pros-square-off-in-heads-up-event-james-mig-net-ma-8757.htm

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/uboc5-trishelle-cannatella-cashes-dougtheasian-and-yumi555-c-8754.htm

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/uboc5-antesvante-diverter-excel-in-event-3-8750.htm

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/uboc5-joshua-pbdrunks-vanduyn-wins-event-1-and-final-tables-8740.htm

2010 WSOP Fantasy Poker Recap

The following article appeared in the September issue of Poker Pro Magazine and Online Poker Pro Magazine.

They can be found at:

http://www.pokerpromagazine.com/2010-wsop-fantasy-poker-recap.html

http://www.onlinepokerpromagazine.com/articles/1974-2010-wsop-fantasy-poker-recap.html

2010 Fantasy Poker Recap
Poker Articles - September 2010

If You Picked Mizrachi or Kassela, You Have Some Serious Bragging Rights

By Chad Holloway

The Main Event final table is set, which means the 2010 World Series of Poker is on hiatus until November, but what a summer it has been. Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi redeemed himself by winning his first bracelet in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship and then becoming a member of the November Nine; Men “The Master” Nguyen won his seventh bracelet, tying him with Billy Baxter, while Gavin Smith finally got his first taste of WOP gold; and Dan Kelly took down the $25,000 Six-Handed Event, earning himself a spot in the “Brunson 10” in the process. All the while, Fantasy Poker enjoyed a year like none other.
This year saw Fantasy Poker grow by leaps and bounds. There was the ever popular ESPN Fantasy League with the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer, Eric Baldwin and myself; Full Contact Poker (FCP) once again held its popular pick’em game, where participants chose a side of a matchup and tried to decide who would earn more throughout the WSOP; and Full Tilt Poker (FTP) hosted the most complex and comprehensive league in Fantasy Poker history.
Most Fantasy Poker leagues, including FTP’s, are based upon how much money a player earns at the WSOP. This year, one name stood above the rest in Michael Mizrachi, who was a stud in any league based upon cash winnings even without the undetermined figure he will earn for his November Nine appearance. Likewise, Dan Kelly was thrust toward the top of the list after he took down the $25,000 buy-in event. In addition, new poker superstars emerged in Vladimir Shchemelev, a previously unknown banker from Russia, and Pascal Lefrancois, a young player from Quebec.

Here is a list of the top money earners in the 2010 WSOP (not including the Main Event final table):

Top 2010 WSOP Money Earners
Michael Mizrachi $1,684,051*
Dan Kelly $1,338,609
Frank Kassela $1,255,314
Pascal Lefrancois $1,203,985
Vladimir Shchemelev $1,144,617
Jeffrey Papola $1,061,302
Daniel Alaei $1,001,704
Tomer Berda $1,000,494
Shawn Buchanan $ 874,951
Jason DeWitt $870,881
* (not including Main Event)

On the opposite end of the spectrum are those pros who were skunked at the WSOP and didn’t earn a single dollar in open events. Among those were some of the biggest names in poker, including: Howard Lederer, Freddy Deeb, Gus Hansen, Doyle Brunson, Layne Flack, Kathy Liebert, Chris Moneymaker, Phil Laak and Joe Cada. Fantasy Poker players, myself included, expected many of these names to have a big year, only to be sorely let down; as a result, their value in future drafts has certainly deteriorated.

Those whose stock has gone up include the top performers in the WSOP Player of the Year race. Last year’s race was dominated by multiple bracelet winners and eventually won by Jeffrey Lisandro, who took home an astounding three bracelets. This year, there was only one multiple bracelet winner in Frank Kassela, who took home gold in the Seven-Card Stud High-Low Championship and the Seven-Card Razz event; in addition, he placed third in the $25,000 Six-Handed event and added three more cashes along the way. Kassela is a WSOP veteran (he was at the final table when Johnny Chan won his tenth bracelet) who finally had his breakout year.
Another player who was on fire was the previously mentioned Michael Mizrachi. He started the summer with a victory in the $50,000 Players Championship and then added three more cashes, including two more final table appearances in Championship events. This doesn’t even include his performance in the Main Event, where he managed to make the final table and will compete for the World Championship – and poker’s biggest payday – in November. In fact, if Mizrachi can win the title, he will tie Kassela for P.O.Y. and share the title.
These two players were without a doubt the biggest Fantasy Poker Studs in 2010.

WSOP Player of the Year Race

Frank Kassela 290 pts
John Juanda 225 pts
Vladimir Shchemelev 210 pts
Dan Heimiller 205 pts
Michael Mizrachi 190 pts*
James Dempsey 185 pts
Jeffrey Papola 180 pts
Men Nguyen 180 pts
Richard Ashby 180 pts
*(not including Main Event)
Many Fantasy Poker leagues award points based on the number of cashes a player amasses. This number is not always indicative of cash earned or tournaments won; instead, it is usually an indicator of consistency. Last year, Daniel Negreanu and David “Bakes” Baker had eight cashes apiece. This year, two more players managed to match that number in Canada’s Shawn Buchanan and Allen Kessler, with Buchanan netting more than twice as much in earnings.
Although neither managed to nab a bracelet, they both showed they have what it takes to perform.

Here is a list of the “leading cashers” at this year’s WSOP:

Top 2010 WSOP Cashes
Shawn Buchanan 8 ($874,951)
Allen Kessler 8 ($373,733)
David Baker 7 ($709,896)
Dan Heimiller 7 ($271,687)
Will Failla 7 ($228,752)
Christian Harder 7 ($143,367)
Tad Jurgens 7 ($86,100)
Pat Pezzin 7 ($81,227)
11 players tied with six cashes

Fantasy Poker League Results

Full Contact Poker, which is Negreanu’s forum site, has hosted a variety of Fantasy Poker competitions over the years. FCP decided to do what they did last year and offer the popular free Fantasy Pool. This pool featured over 50 matches where players chose who they thought would win more money over the course of the WSOP (not including closed events and the Main Event).

A few examples of the matchups were Daniel Negreanu vs. Phil Ivey; Todd Brunson vs. Doyle Brunson; Phil Hellmuth vs. Erick Lindgren; and David “Devilfish” Ulliott vs. Eli Elezra.
One point was awarded for each correctly predicted match. Unfortunately, I didn’t do too well, earning 25 points and tying for 784th place.
Below is a list of the top performers, who each earned prizes. For a complete list of results, check out http://fullcontactpoker.com/wsop/.

2010 FCP Top Fantasy Performers
Name:……….Points:….Tiebreaker:
xiang90……………...39……………$350,000
bigchill23……………36……………$235,000
FARGOpokerND …35……………$135,775
mplolz………………..35…………..$220,000
nilez……………….....35…………..$36,367
danara……………….35……………$250,000
takedown88………....35……………$300,000
IngeMat……………...35…………..$400,000
garnes44……………35……………$425,000
roelos………………..35……………$435,000
silicon……………….35……………$458,000
maxcon007………..34…………..$175,000
wixkaz……………….34……………$76,000
Cloud2k4…………..34…………….$225,010
Y2gray……………….34…………….$40,000

Full Tilt Poker
The most popular Fantasy Poker league this year was the one hosted by FTP. In that league, participants chose 15 players for each tournament, five each for an “A,” “B,” and “C” team. The scoring was based on how much money the selection earned in the event. If they were on the “A” team, they would be awarded three times the amount they actually earned; likewise, they would earn twice as much if on the “B” team and the exact amount if on the “C” team.
The impressive feature of this league was that it allowed participants to change their roster for each event right up until the start of the tournament. This option really brought it to the same level as other fantasy sports and favored those who put the most effort in. This included finding out who would be playing what events, usually by scouring blogs and Twitter accounts.
The Main Event counts in that league, but the final standings have already been determined. This was done by awarding any players in the November Nine prize money according to their chip stack. For example, Mizrachi’s stack is in seventh place, so for the FTP league he will be awarded seventh place money. Luckily, I had Mizrachi on my “B” team along with some other players who did quite well. This allowed me to jump up a few hundred spots in the final event and finish the league in 343rd place (out of about 25,000 players).
Another fun feature of this league is that it allows for participants to compete against various Full Tilt Pros. Below are some lists highlighting the current FTP Fantasy Poker Leaders and the performances of some VIPs:

FTP Fantasy Poker Winners
1.) SexyFF220…….. $15,279,299
2.) ERDEImarius….. $14,514,226
3.) magaloche94…... $14,352,261
4.) boostn…………. $14,261,916
5.) Jebawa…………..$14,245,005
6.) danmonkeyTHM… $14,175,224
7.) etrong……………. $13,854,020
8.) stacbern…………. $13,562,076
9.) JTski23………….. $13,553,347
10.) wd1head…. $13,538,457

FTP VIP Fantasy Poker Standings
45. Perry Friedman……..$12,150,912
343. DISCO_CHAD……..$8,891,904*
401. Eric Froehlich………$8,677,666
3017. Rob Hollink ……… $5,153,598
3694. Berry Johnston …… $4,864,305
3851. Joe Beevers……….. $4,799,095
4480. Jordan Morgan…… $4,592,134
7221. Steve Zolotow…….. $3,908,036
8208. Andy Bloch.………. $3,715,556
10880. Phil Gordon……….. $3,309,648
*the author of this article
This year’s Fantasy Poker season has been intense, and I haven’t even looked at my favorite league yet, which is the popular, highly publicized, invite-only ESPN Fantasy Poker league hosted by Andrew Feldman. It includes some of the top professionals in the poker world and I was given the opportunity to participate for Poker Pro magazine.
How did I do? Well, let me just say that I had Mizrachi and Jason Somerville on my team, both of whom earned me a load of points. In a future article, I will write an in-depth report on the 2010 ESPN Fantasy League with player insights and reveal how I managed to do against the best in the business.


Chad Holloway is a semi-professional poker player from Baraboo, Wisconsin, who specializes in Fantasy Poker. He covered the 2010 World Series of Poker and currently writes poker material for Predictem.com and is a featured blogger at UnaBomberPoker.com.

The WSOP on ESPN: Matusow's Misdeal, Obrestad Ousted and More

This article appeared on PokerNews.com and was my first featured article. My past work had been in the form of live reporting and blogging. It can be found at: http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/08/the-wsop-on-espn-matusow-s-misdeal-obrestad-ousted-and-more-8693.htm


The WSOP on ESPN: Matusow's Misdeal, Obrestad Ousted and More
2010 August 11, Chad Holloway

“Here we go again,” Lon McEarchern announced as ESPN began its coverage of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event. Although 7,319 players entered this year’s “Big One” and created a prize pool of $68,798,600, this week’s installment focused exclusively on Days 1a and 1b. The first hour of broadcast highlighted the 1,125 players from Day 1a who began play in pursuit of the world championship and $8,944,138 first place prize. Before action got under way, last year’s world champion, Joe Cada, was featured in a montage devoted to his journey to the final table and subsequent victory. As he stood in front of the ESPN final table, Cada remarked: “This is the table, and the journey to get to this table begins now.”

Quick Start for the Mouth: On the first hand at the featured table, the blinds where at 50/100 when Alex Carr raised to 250 from early position with . Mike Matusow made the call from the cutoff with , as did Gerhardt Maurer from the button with the and an unknown card. Allen Carter called from the big blind with and the first hand of the tournament was contested four-handed. After the flop, action was heads-up between Matusow and Carter. When the hit the turn, Carter bet 1,050 and Matusow tested the waters with a raise to 3,000. Carter called but mucked after Matusow bet 4,400 when the came on the river. Matusow was off to a quick start by taking down the first hand and a pot worth 12,650.

Table Two: The secondary feature table was home to 1988 Main Event runner-up, Erik Seidel. In a hand against Matt Groves, Seidel held on a flop of against the Groves. Seidel coyly checked and Groves bet 675, which Seidel smooth-called. The action was the same but the bet size was 1,650 when the appeared on the turn. The river was the and once again Seidel checked. Groves threw out 3,825 and Seidel called, turning over his cards and taking down the pot.

Day 1a Notables: A number of recognizable faces were shown spread around the tournament floor including 2009 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event Champion Barry Shulman and six-time bracelet winner T.J. Cloutier. Ted Forrest, also present, was short-stacked early and called all-in with on a flop of against Laurie Hilton’s . The turn delivered the and the hit the river, giving Forrest quads and doubling his short stack.

Weight Loss Prop Bet: Lon McEarchern and Norman Chad mentioned Forrest’s new weight loss bet with Matusow. Forrest needed to lose another 20 lbs., in addition to the 25 he had already lost, to win $2 million. Later in the broadcast, a feature explored the bet in detail, showing Forrest in the gym and Matusow’s rampant criticisms. The bet’s origin began when the 5’11” Forrest claimed he could weigh less than 140 pounds. Matusow bet $1 million to Forrest’s $50,000 (20-1 odds) that he couldn’t do it by July 15 and another $1 million to $100,000 that it couldn’t be done by September 24. That meant if Forrest weighed less than 140 lbs. by July 15th, he’d win $2 million. Since the WSOP was filmed before the deadline, the broadcast didn’t report the outcome.

Spoiler Alert: Forrest weighed in at 138 lbs. on July 15 and Matusow was out $2 million.
Main Event Advice: ESPN asked poker’s biggest-name players what advice they had regarding the Main Event. Even though there was a plethora of advice from various players, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak put it best when he said, “Everyone is bleeding in this thing, the trick is to bleed the slowest.”

Former World Champions: Bobby Baldwin (four-time bracelet winner and 1978 Main Event champ), Chris Moneymaker (2003 Main Event champ) and Greg Raymer (2004 Main Event champ) were among the former world champions in action. Raymer’s day started off badly when he found himself calling John Bennett’s all-in with on a board of . Raymer needed to improve against Bennett’s but couldn’t do so when the hit the river. Raymer was left with only 1,200 and was eliminated a short time later when his pocket eights ran into an opponent’s pocket aces.
A Women’s World: Two of the Main Event’s past “Last Woman Standing” were in action on Day 1a in Tiffany Michelle (17th in the 2008 WSOP) and Maria Ho (38th in the 2007 WSOP). Both Michelle and Ho’s performances brought them notoriety in the poker world and led to their being cast on the hit reality television show The Amazing Race.

Speaking of TV: Ray Romano of Everybody Loves Raymond fame, was playing in his fourth WSOP Main Event and looking to improve on his best finish back in 2008 when he advanced to Day 2.

Scrabble Boots: Erik Seidel told a story about his mother being hustled in a game of Scrabble by a man named “Teddy the Kid” to the tune of $160-$170. Seidel explained: “I was just so enraged at him that he actually came into my home and, you know, hustled my mother that I went and waited for him and we ended up playing backgammon and I beat him out of all the money he had.” He went on to tell a story of how they played for Teddy’s boots and Seidel won. “He had to walk home in the snow in his socks,” Seidel laughed, “I still have that boot too . . . that’s my favorite trophy.”

Checkmate: Jeff Sarwer, a former chess prodigy who won the Under Ten World Championship at the age of eight and then disappeared (his family lived in Europe under aliases), was shown in a hand against Peter Feldman. There was 4,850 in the pot with a board reading when Feldman checked and Sarwer bet 2,000, forcing his opponent to fold. Sarwer’s reemergence saw him cash three times at the 2010 WSOP in addition to his first Main Event appearance.

Grinding: Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, who won the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship a couple weeks back on ESPN, was in action and bet 6,000 on a board of . Brendan Reid called and mucked after seeing Mizrachi’s full house. Mizrachi had an awesome WSOP in 2010, and it appeared his Main Event was following suit.

Cloutier Ousted: T.J. Cloutier solemnly made his exit from the tournament with his hands in his pockets. He walked off the tournament floor to his awaiting scooter, sat in the seat, and made a hasty exit from the Amazon Room in a scene that seemed like it could be its own Hoveround commercial.

Dealer Error: Matusow was on the short stack when the dealer accidently exposed an ace as his first card, which was put into the muck. “If this other one is an ace I vomit and puke right now, that’s all,” Matusow said as he squeezed out the . Matusow then flipped up the card in disgust and said, “Can a human being really, truly run worse than that?”

Romano Roasted: Ray Romano was all-in with on a board of and was up against Martin Schirp’s . The river was the , giving Schirp a straight flush and sending Romano to the rail. Apparently not everybody loves Raymond.

Matusow Silenced: Shortly after boasting, “I think I’ve gone broke on Day 1 twice in twelve years,” Matusow found himself all-in on a flop of with . He was about to eat his words as Allen Carter was ahead with a flopped set of eights. Matusow couldn’t find help and became one of the 359 players eliminated on Day 1a.

The second hour of ESPN’s broadcast featured the participants of Day 1b, including Dan Harrington, Erick Lindgren, Phil Laak, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Jean-Robert Bellande, Gavin Smith and the long-awaited debut of Annette Obrestad, who won the 2007 WSOP Europe at the age of 18. Day 1b saw 1,489 hopefuls pony up the $10,000 buy-in for their shot at poker glory.

Bad Start: Annette Obrestad’s Main Event debut was looking good when she looked down at and the flop came . Brenan Steffens, who held , called Obrestad’s 1,025 bet on the flop and was in bad shape. The turned the tables and Steffens picked up a better full house. Obrestad bet 2,550 and Steffens smooth-called. When the hit the river, Obrestad bet 5,050 and was reraised to 12,000 by Steffens. She looked dismayed and said, “So sick, so ugly.” Surprisingly, Obrestad slid her cards into the muck as she explained, “I’m gonna look like a donkey if I was wrong.”

Batman: Dan Harrington was in a pot against an opponent dressed in a Batman costume when his bet forced the caped crusader to fold. “Alright,” Harrington muttered, “Batman’s arch enemy wins this round.”

All That Glitters Is Not Gold: Jamie Gold, who won the Main Event in 2006, made his exit early on Day 1b. “That was fast,” he said as he left the tournament floor. Since his win four years ago, Gold has not made it past Day 1.

Year of the Woman: The 2010 WSOP was anticipated to be the year of the woman, but that wasn’t the case. In fact, the Main Event was the last chance for a woman to take down an open event and there certainly were a number in contention. In addition to Obrestad, other Day 1b ladies included Liv Boeree, Thuy Doan and Erica Schoenberg.

Lindgren Loses: Erik Lindgren, the significant other of the aforementioned Erica Schoenberg, was short-stacked and checked a flop of holding . His opponent, Fabricio Ascari, bet 4,500 only to have Lindgren move all-in for 7,350 more. Ascari made the call but fell behind when the hit the turn. Lindgren was in great shape to double with his flush, but the on the river sent Lindgren packing and his streak of never cashing in the Main Event continued.

The Right Mindset: For months, the poker world has been infatuated with Sam Chauhan, the mindset coach who has worked with the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari and Gavin Smith. Chauhan made his WSOP television debut in a feature alongside Smith, who attributed his first bracelet win to his positive attitude, which he cultivated with Chauhan’s help.
Grospellier Gone: Bertrand Grospellier was all in holding the on a board of and was in trouble against the straight of his opponent. The river was no help and Grospellier couldn’t improve on his 122nd place finish from 2009.

Celebrities: Robert Iler from The Sopranos, Jennifer Tilly and 1988 World Series (of Baseball) MVP Orel Hershiser were just a couple of the celebrities playing in Day 1b.

Fun Flop: Gabe Walls four-bet Steven Thomsen all-in preflop with and Thomsen made the call for his tournament life with . There was 41,225 in the pot when the flop came down , giving Walls trips and Thomsen a flush draw. “That’s a fun flop,” Walls said as the hit the turn. Thomsen shot up from his seat in celebration when the came on the river to give him the come-from-behind victory.

The Curtain Falls: Annette Obrestad’s debut came to an end when, on a flop of , she reraised to 19,950 (leaving herself just one blue 100 chip behind) with and was called by Chris Bjorin’s . Obrestad’s last chip went in when the appeared on the turn, but the on the river was no help and the young phenom was eliminated from the tournament as Day 1b came to a close.

World Series of Poker Fantasy Projections

This article first appeared in the June 2010 issue of Poker Pro Magazine. It also appeared on their website at http://www.pokerpromagazine.com/world-series-of-poker-fantasy-projections.html


Poker Articles - June 2010

Some Tips for Picking a Winning Team This Year

By Chad Holloway

The World Series of Poker isn’t just poker’s biggest event, it is also Fantasy Poker’s biggest event. Those who love to handicap (and wager on) the players and pit their personally chosen teams of pros against all comers have a field day during the WSOP.
Every year, fantasy fanatics gather to form leagues, draft teams and compete for prizes while rooting for their favorite players on poker’s biggest stage.

Since 2005, Fantasy Poker has spread among the masses and every year participants ask one simple question: Who will be a Fantasy Poker stud and who will be a dud?
Trying to predict who will be the top Fantasy Poker performers can be a difficult and tedious task. It requires research into past tournaments, different variations and performances outside of the WSOP. Luckily, I have done much of this work for you and have come up with some solid predictions.

Based on recent success, experience and preparation, here is a list of five poker professionals I believe will earn big fantasy points at the 2010 WSOP.

Phil “UnaBomber” Laak

The Unabomber has been on a roll in the past year. In October 2009, Laak became the PartyPoker.com World Open V champion, winning $250,000. He followed this up with an awesome performance at the Premier League and cashed in the NBC National Heads-Up Championship. On top of this, he has been traveling the world, playing in some of the biggest cash games – with success. Laak has become a consistent performer, and he’ll have a big Series if he can carry that momentum into the summer.

Fantasy Assessment (2009 WSOP Winnings: $0; Noteworthy Post-2005 WSOP Finishes: 2nd, 22nd, 11th, 9th, and 24th; Number of Post-2005 WSOP Final Tables: 2): I may be going out on a limb with this prediction. Laak’s numbers certainly do not suggest that he is a consistent performer at the WSOP. He was basically non-existent at last year’s Series and has only made two final tables in his career. So, why will 2010 be different? I can think of two reasons. First, Laak is one of the hottest players on the circuit right now. Second, he recently launched a new website and what better way to introduce it to the poker world than by tearing it up at the WSOP When it comes to Fantasy Poker, Laak is a high risk, high reward player.

Phil Hellmuth

Hellmuth had a terrible year in 2009. He even acknowledged it on his blog when he wrote: “2009 was my worst year ever in poker. I did tons of stuff wrong and I actually lost money for the year. Some people say that the reason that I did poorly was because the players in the fields vastly improved the way that they play poker, and that I am now outside of the top ten in the poker world.”

Hoping to get back on track to winning his 12th bracelet, Hellmuth vowed that 2010 will be a return to glory. He’s already taken some positive steps toward that goal, having made the final table of the World Poker Tour’s Bay 101 Shooting Star and hiring renowned “Mindset Guru” Sam Chauhan. Last year Phil Ivey reigned supreme, could 2010 be the year of a new Phil?

Fantasy Assessment (2009 WSOP Winnings: $87,208; Noteworthy Post-2005 WSOP Finishes: 10th, 8th, 2nd, 6th, 1st, 3rd, 1st, 6th, 8th, 3rd, and 4th; Number of Post-2005 WSOP Final Tables: 10): No final tables and no big cashes for Hellmuth in 2009? When it comes to Fantasy Poker, there is no doubt that Hellmuth underperformed. With that said, don’t expect that to be the case this year. There are very few players who have a deeper passion for the game than the “Poker Brat.” As we’ve all seen, Hellmuth doesn’t deal with defeat well. With a renewed drive and determination, look for him to redeem himself at this year’s WSOP.

Members of the “Brunson 10”

As of this writing, six members of the “Brunson 10” have been officially announced, including some of the biggest names in the online poker world: Chris Moorman, Amit Makhija, Zachary Clark, Dani Stern, Alex Kamberis and Steve Gross. Together, the “Brunson 10” have unparalleled online success and millions in winnings. This will be the first WSOP for the “Brunson 10” as a group, so look for them to make a statement. As the new faces of Doylesroom, you can bet they will be playing in numerous events, looking to make the site proud with a victory.

Combined Fantasy Assessment (2009 WSOP Winnings: $616,237; Noteworthy Post-2005 WSOP Finishes: 13th, 24th, 4th, 9th, and 17th; Number of Post-2005 WSOP Final Tables: 2): The bulk of the Brunson 10’s winnings ($548,315) came from Stern’s fourth-place finish in the 2009 $40k No-Limit Hold’em Event, which means their collective WSOP performances in the past haven’t been all that impressive. None of the players has a bracelet, but that could very well change this year. These players have a great sponsorship deal, will be playing numerous events, and will be working hard to show that they deserve to be a member of Brunson’s elite club. I predict that at least a couple of these guys will make some noise at this year’s WSOP.

Faraz Jaka

Jaka, who goes by “The-Toilet O” online, is probably the least recognizable name on this list, but that is all going to change in 2010. So far this year, Jaka has made three televised final tables, including a second in the WPT Bellagio Cup V and a third at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, making him the only player to make two final tables during the WPT’s eighth season. His other final table came at the North American Poker Tour High Roller Bounty Shootout. There is no doubt that this 24-year-old California native is among the hottest players in poker headed into the WSOP.

Fantasy Assessment (2009 WSOP Winnings: $436,914; Noteworthy Post-2005 WSOP Finishes: 28th, 18th, and 3rd; Number of Post-2005 WSOP Final Tables: 1): Jaka had some success last year when he took third in a $5,000 Six-Handed Hold’em event for $400,525. He is currently at the top of the leaderboard for the WPT’s Player of the Year and has plans to play numerous events leading up to the WSOP. His preparation, combined with his unique style of play, should spell fantasy success.

“Sometimes I do stuff that might be fundamentally wrong, but at the same time, it works within my system and the way that I play. More importantly, it makes me more unpredictable,” Jaka says. “When people learn [the fundamentals] they all play the same way, so people can’t really figure out what I’m thinking, why I’m thinking and what I am doing to some extent.”

Annette Obrestad

The poker world has waited patiently for the 2010 WSOP ever since a young Norwegian poker prodigy shocked the world by taking down the 2007 WSOP Europe main event. Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad became the youngest bracelet winner ever at the age of 18, one day shy of her nineteenth birthday. Now that she is finally 21, Obrestad will make her Las Vegas WSOP debut.

Fantasy Assessment (2009 WSOP Europe Winnings: $0; Noteworthy Post-2005 WSOP Europe Finishes: 1st; Number of Post-2005 WSOP Europe Final Tables: 1): It’s hard to make a prediction about someone who has never played in Vegas’ WSOP. With that said, Obrestad has proved her chops in Europe and online; in fact, I can’t recall a player who has had more anticipation surrounding them. Not only will she be making her WSOP debut, she will be making her Fantasy Poker debut as well. If Obrestad’s track record is any indication, expect her to have a strong showing and possibly add another bracelet to her résumé.

Of course this is not an all-inclusive list of potential fantasy stars. Other players you may want to keep an eye on include: 2010 NBC Heads-Up Championship winner Annie Duke; Player of the Year contenders Sorel Mizzi and Dan Shak and WSOP Circuit phenom Dwyte Pilgrim.
Other players such as Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu are no-brainers each year and will complement any fantasy roster. If you want to get creative, don’t be afraid to go out on a limb and take a chance with a player; you might get lucky and land a superstar like Jeffrey Lisandro was last year.

With new events and innovative changes, the 2010 WSOP is shaping up to be one for the history books; likewise, this year’s Fantasy Poker season should be bigger and better than any before.

Chad Holloway is a semi-professional poker player from Baraboo, Wisconsin who specializes in Fantasy Poker. He currently writes poker material for Predictem.com and is a featured blogger at UnaBomberPoker.com

All-Time H.O.R.S.E. Studs

This article first appeared in the March 2010 issue of Online Poker Pro Magazine. It also appeared on their website at http://onlinepokerpromagazine.com/articles/1566.html


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Current Issue - March 2010
All-Time H.O.R.S.E. Studs

Ride These All-Around Players to the Finish Line

By Chad Holloway

Who are the best Fantasy Poker players? Like any fantasy sport, this is bound to change from year to year. In Fantasy Poker, this can be particularly hard to determine for two reasons. First, Fantasy Poker scoring is subjective based upon the system implemented in each league, such as points based upon finish, cash earned and final table bonuses. Second, the best players need to be judged based upon their performances in all the variations of poker, not just hold’em.
This means that in order to determine the best Fantasy Poker players, one must consider a specific variation and look at a player’s finish, number of cashes, final tables and earnings. This is not easy information to obtain. It means poring over pages of statistics, while spending hours making calculations and ranking players. Lucky for you, I’ve made it easier for you.
I’ve undertaken an extensive project of compiling players’ statistics in the different variations of poker since the 2005 World Series of Poker (the unofficial year Fantasy Poker began). I have constructed a list of all the players who have cashed in a WSOP event, a specific variation, along with their earnings, number of cashes and finish. By doing this, I’ve been able to compile a list of the best-performing players, while determining the top Fantasy Poker players, in each variation.
This month, I’ve compiled the statistics from the nine H.O.R.S.E. events (an acronym for hold’em, Omaha 8-or-better, razz, stud, stud eight-or-better) since the 2005 WSOP. This includes the annual $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship, the 2007 S.H.O.E. event and multiple $3k and $5k buy-in events. By dissecting these statistics, I have come up with a list of what I consider to be the ten best Fantasy Poker Studs in H.O.R.S.E. events.

10. Doyle Brunson

No one has been around the poker scene longer than “Texas Dolly.” He is well versed in every variation, playing them regularly for the highest stakes in Bobby’s Room. He made the final table of the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship in 2006, which was won by his good friend, the late Chip Reese. Although he won’t be playing the lower buy-in H.O.R.S.E. events, Brunson will always be a contender for the $50,000 Championship. In addition, Brunson won a bracelet in the 2003 WSOP Limit H.O.R.S.E. event, which is not included in these statistics.

Total H.O.R.S.E. earnings: $407,904
H.O.R.S.E. final tables: 1
H.O.R.S.E. cashes: 3 (8th, 16th, & 22nd)
H.O.R.S.E. Money List Rank: 23rd

9. Huck Seed

Seed ranks 15th on the all-time H.O.R.S.E. money list since 2005. This is because he managed to make two $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. final tables, finishing fifth and seventh. The 1996 Main Event winner and 2008 NBC Heads-Up Champion is a threat in every poker format and variation; in fact, his H.O.R.S.E. winnings account for more than 20 percent of his all-time WSOP earnings. Winning big money while booking solid finishes at multiple final tables makes Seed a H.O.R.S.E. Fantasy Poker stud.

Total H.O.R.S.E. earnings: $569,769
H.O.R.S.E. final tables: 2
H.O.R.S.E. cashes: 2 (5th & 7th)
H.O.R.S.E. Money List Rank: 15th

8. James Van Alstyne

Van Alstyne wouldn’t have made this list if it wasn’t for his performance at the 2009 WSOP. Van Alstyne finished second in the $3,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event, coming up one shy in the 452-player field, and then went on to beat 770 players and win the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event less than a week later. These numbers translated into huge Fantasy Points and allowed Van Alstyne to shoot up the H.O.R.S.E. fantasy charts.

Total H.O.R.S.E. earnings: $439,899
H.O.R.S.E. final tables: 2
H.O.R.S.E. cashes: 2 (1st, 2nd)
H.O.R.S.E. Money List Rank: 22nd

7. Mike DeMichele

You probably best remember DeMichele as the man at the end of Scotty Nguyen’s inebriated assault at the 2008 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. DeMichele ended up finishing runner-up to Nguyen in that event, not only proving his class in the process, but his H.O.R.S.E. skills as well. The year before he demonstrated this by going deep in the $2,500 buy-in event, meaning his earnings from those two events alone account for 89 percent of DeMichele’s WSOP earnings. DeMichele is a young, up-and-coming player who obviously has a knack for H.O.R.S.E.

Total H.O.R.S.E. earnings: $1,251,174
H.O.R.S.E. final tables: 1
H.O.R.S.E. cashes: 2 (2nd, 17th)
H.O.R.S.E. Money List Rank: 7th

6. David Bach

Bach has performed well in the past two $50,000 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. Championships, finishing 11th in 2008 and claiming victory in 2009. Although the 2009 final table was not broadcast on television, Bach’s success in H.O.R.S.E. tournaments has been recognized by poker pros and fans alike. In fact, his H.O.R.S.E. performances account for the two biggest WSOP cashes in his career and has placed him in the fifth spot in post-2005 H.O.R.S.E. earnings. If the trend continues, Bach will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

Total H.O.R.S.E. earnings: $1,436,646
H.O.R.S.E. final tables: 1
H.O.R.S.E. cashes: 2 (1st, 11th)
H.O.R.S.E. Money List Rank: 5th

5. Freddy Deeb

The poker world was wondering who would take down the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship in 2007; after all, they had some big shoes to fill following Chip Reese. The winner turned out to be none other than Deeb, who took down his second bracelet and a $2,276,832 payday. That victory still accounts for almost 70 percent of his WSOP earnings. Deeb continued his H.O.R.S.E. success by finishing 14th in last year’s $50,000 event. All told, Deeb is the all-time leading money earner in H.O.R.S.E. events, which is reason enough for him to make this list.

Total H.O.R.S.E. earnings: $2,360,462
H.O.R.S.E. final tables: 1
H.O.R.S.E. cashes: 2 (1st, 14th)
H.O.R.S.E. Money List Rank: 1st

4. David Singer

Singer proved his H.O.R.S.E. chops by making back-to-back final tables in the first two $50,000 Championships. He battled some of the world’s greatest poker players and finished sixth in both events. Singer has gone deep in two other events, bringing his H.O.R.S.E. cashes to four, which is tied for first. With one bracelet and 23 WSOP cashes, Singer has shown himself to be a consistent and seasoned pro, and as anyone can attest, consistency is a key element in Fantasy Poker success.

Total H.O.R.S.E. earnings: $791,605
H.O.R.S.E. final tables: 2
H.O.R.S.E. cashes: 4 (6th, 6th, 37th, 41st)
H.O.R.S.E. Money List Rank: 11th

3. John Hanson

Who is John Hanson? He only has three WSOP cashes, and it seems odd that he would be ranked so high on this list. Hanson may not be the most well-known poker player, but he has certainly made his presence known in the H.O.R.S.E. world. Hanson finished third in the 2007 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. Championship, where he earned $852,480. Obviously not content, Hanson took the poker world by surprise when he finished second in that same event last year for another $789,199. This made him the fourth highest post-2005 H.O.R.S.E. earner, the highest finish without having won the $50,000 title.

Total H.O.R.S.E. earnings: $1,641,679
H.O.R.S.E. final tables: 2
H.O.R.S.E. cashes: 2 (2nd, 3rd)
H.O.R.S.E. Money List Rank: 4th

2. Barry Greenstein

It’s hard to find a more focused and dedicated poker player than Greenstein. His three bracelets and 44 WSOP cashes are testament to his consistency and skill. Greenstein’s play in H.O.R.S.E. events since 2005 has been quite impressive, making two final tables and amassing four cashes, which is tied for the top spot. He made back-to-back final tables in the $50k Championship, finishing seventh in 2007 and sixth in 2008. Greenstein’s success, coupled with the number of events he plays each and every year, is enough to earn him the No. 2 spot on the H.O.R.S.E. fantasy stud list.

Total H.O.R.S.E. earnings: $825,693
H.O.R.S.E. final tables: 2
H.O.R.S.E. cashes: 4 (6th, 7th, 12th, 43rd)
H.O.R.S.E. Money List Rank: 10th

1. Phil Ivey

No surprise here. Ivey’s success in 2009 is one of poker’s greatest achievements, which makes it easy to overlook his H.O.R.S.E. accomplishments. Ivey is tied for first with four cashes in H.O.R.S.E. events, including a third-place finish in the inaugural $50,000 Championship. A regular in online nosebleed games and in the “Big Game,” Ivey is accustomed to playing mixed games on a daily basis, and, in fact, started out as a stud player. He has a total of seven bracelets, one coming from a victory in the 2002 $2,000 Limit S.H.O.E. event. Often considered the best poker player in the world, you can bet Ivey has his sights set on the $50,000 “Players Championship.” The fact that Ivey not only cashes in H.O.R.S.E. events, but makes final tables as well, makes him a valuable fantasy asset. Combine this with his determination, unparalleled skill and continued success, and Ivey is the No. 1 all-time H.O.R.S.E. Fantasy Stud.

Total H.O.R.S.E. earnings: $851,022
H.O.R.S.E. final tables: 2
H.O.R.S.E. cashes: 4 (3rd, 4th, 12th, 24th)
H.O.R.S.E. Money List Rank: 9th

There are a few other players who deserve honorable mention in H.O.R.S.E., including Andy Bloch ($1,153,920 in earnings from one final table and 2nd and 15th place finishes), Gavin Smith (only $238,881 in earnings but three cashes in H.O.R.S.E. events – 10th, 11th, and 21st), and Dewey Tomko ($479,765 in earnings, one final table, and three cashes – 7th, 10th, and 35th).
Next time I will determine the top ten Fantasy Poker players in another poker variation. In the end, I hope to compare the statistics from each variation and determine the top ten Fantasy Poker Studs of all-time.

Chad Holloway is a semi-professional poker player from Baraboo, Wisconsin, whose specialty is Fantasy Poker. He currently writes poker material for Predictem.com and is a featured blogger at UnaBomberPoker.com.

Who Are the World’s Best 6-Handed Tournament Players?

This article first appeared in the March 2010 issue of Poker Pro Magazine. It also appeared on their website at http://www.pokerpromagazine.com/tips-for-surviving-unti-the-world-series.html


FANTASY POKER

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Poker Articles - March 2010
Who Are the World’s Best 6-Handed Tournament Players?

By Chad Holloway

Who are the best players to pick for your fantasy poker team? This is the question I’ve been exploring over the past few months. When determining the best fantasy poker players, we must take into consideration scoring factors such as the various systems (points based upon finish, cash earned, final table bonuses, etc.) and how the players perform in the different variations of poker, not just hold’em. This is because the best fantasy poker players are those who perform consistently in as many events as possible.
Recently, I’ve been looking at a single poker variation and compiling relevant statistics, including a player’s finish, number of cashes, final tables, and earnings. The stats are gathered from events as far back as the 2005 World Series of Poker (the unofficial year fantasy poker began). By doing this, I’ve been able to compile a list of the top performing players, while determining the top fantasy poker selections, in each variation.
This month I’ve compiled and analysed the statistics from the 14 six-handed hold’em events since the 2005 WSOP. The 2010 WSOP will feature a new $25,000 buy-in six-handed NL hold’em event that will draw the biggest names in poker and surely change many of the names on this list, but until then, I have determined what I consider to be the ten best fantasy poker studs in six-handed events.

10. Eugene Katchalov

Although his six-handed earnings aren’t all that impressive, Katchalov has managed to notch four cashes in six-handed events, more than any other player. All of these cashes were top 50 finishes, which translate into major fantasy points, and of his 15 WSOP cashes, 25 percent have come in six-handed events. With such consistency, Katchalov cracks the top ten and becomes an excellent choice for fantasy players in any six-handed tournament.

Total six-handed earnings: $37,378
six-handed final tables: 0
six-handed cashes: 4 (15th, 25th, 25th, 32nd)
six-handed Money List Rank: Tied for 123rd

9. Daniel Negreanu

Negreanu is one of the most well-known poker players in the world. He has four bracelets and came close to his fifth when he finished runner-up to John Brock Parker in the $2,500 limit hold’em/six-handed event last year. Negreanu’s stats in six-handed events aren’t overly impressive, but if he can continue his success from last year, he will surely add to them. This will prove especially true in any future limit six-handed events, where Negreanu truly excels. Add to this the fact that Negreanu likes to play numerous events and has a sponsorship deal, and it’s easy to see that he has real value.

Total six-handed earnings: $177,132
six-handed final tables: 1
six-handed cashes: 2 (2nd, 8th)
six-handed Money List Rank: 38th

8. Charidimos Demetriou

All of Demetriou’s ten WSOP cashes have come in hold’em events, with two in six-handed events. What does this mean? It means you can expect him to play a lot of hold’em events, including the six-handed variety; in fact, Demetriou’s best finish came in the 2005 $2,500 short-handed event where he finished second to Isaac Galazan. Demetriou has made two six-handed final tables, which is an impressive feat in itself. Needless to say, it seems this man has a knack for six-handed action.

Total six-handed earnings: $222,569
six-handed final tables: 2
six-handed cashes: 2 (2nd, 6th)
six-handed Money List Rank: 31st

7. Ralph Porter

A former equity options trader, Porter has thirteen WSOP cashes, including a bracelet for his victory in the 2008 $1,500 six-handed event. He has $931,950 in WSOP earnings, meaning 41 percent of that came from his six-handed performances. Porter tends to stick to the $1,500 and $2,500 buy-in events, which can be valuable since many of the top pros tend to avoid smaller buy-in events. Not only has Porter shown he is a consistent player, he has proven he has the ability to close as well.

Total six-handed earnings: $386,577
six-handed final tables: 1
six-handed cashes: 3 (1st, 25th, 52nd)
six-handed Money List Rank: 15th

6. Bill Chen

Since 2000, Chen has proven himself a serious player. He plays all the games well and has managed fourteen WSOP cashes, including two bracelets. One of these bracelets came for winning the 2006 $2,500 six-handed event and was good for his biggest cash to date, $442,511. A couple other deep performances have given Chen a total of three six-handed cashes. Willing to play both small and big buy-in tournaments, you can expect Chen to compete in most, if not all, of the six-handed events in future WSOPs.

Total six-handed earnings: $462,843
six-handed final tables: 1
six-handed cashes: 3 (1st, 19th, 64th)
six-handed Money List Rank: 12th

5. Alex Bolotin

Bolotin, also known as “Diesel,” has an impressive 14 WSOP cashes for $1,082,720. More than half of these winnings have come from his two impressive finishes in six-handed events. In 2006, Bolotin made his first six-handed final table when he finished fifth in the $2,500 event. He followed this up a year later when he made another final table and finished runner-up to Bill Edler in the $5,000 six-handed event. One of the few players to have made multiple six-handed final tables, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bolotin continue his success in the six-handed format.

Total six-handed earnings: $582,978
six-handed final tables: 2
six-handed cashes: 2 (2nd, 5th)
six-handed Money List Rank: 7th

4. Russ “Dutch” Boyd

Most people remember Boyd for his performance in the 2003 WSOP Main Event, where he finished twelfth. After battling through some personal issues, Boyd returned to claim his first bracelet in the 2006 $2,500 short-handed event, where he defeated none other than 2005 WSOP Main Event Champ Joe Hachem. That win accounted for nearly 74 percent of Boyd’s career WSOP earnings. He added another six-handed cash – fifth in the 2007 $5,000 event – to join the elite company of players who have made two six-handed final tables.

Total six-handed earnings: $645,081
six-handed final tables: 2
six-handed cashes: 2 (1st, 5th)
six-handed Money List Rank: 5th

3. Bill Edler

Edler burst onto the poker scene when he won a publication’s Player of the Year award. That was the same year he won his first and only bracelet by taking down the $5,000 six-handed event for a staggering $904,672. Edler fell off the radar in 2008 when he failed to cash, but came back on the scene in 2009 when he managed two cashes, both in six-handed events. Edler is a solid short-handed player and he should not be overlooked.

Total six-handed earnings: $929,361
six-handed final tables: 1
six-handed cashes: 3 (1st, 38th, 49th)
six-handed Money List Rank: 2nd

2. John “Brock” Parker

Parker won back-to-back events at the 2009 WSOP, both of which happened to be six-handed tourneys. These were the first two cashes in six-handed events for Parker, who has a total of 15 WSOP cashes, and he sure made them count. He took down Negreanu in heads-up play in one event and Joe Serock in the other. Parker defeated some tough opponents on his way to victory and showed he is a force when it comes to six-handed play. It will be interesting to see if Parker can keep up his six-handed success in the coming years. My guess is that he will.

Total six-handed earnings: $776,442
six-handed final tables: 2
six-handed cashes: 2 (1st, 1st)
six-handed Money List Rank: 4th

1. Matt Hawrilenko

Hawrilenko has been a solid performer at the WSOP since 2005, notching fourteen cashes. He finally had his big breakthrough in 2009 when he took down the $5,000 six-handed event for over a million dollars and his first gold bracelet. The win catapulted Hawrilenko to the top of the all-time six-handed money list, which was padded by two smaller cashes in previous events, both of which were top 50 finishes. With a padded bankroll, you can expect Hawrilenko to return to the game where he has found the most success.

Total six-handed earnings: $1,021,502
six-handed final tables: 1
six-handed cashes: 3 (1st, 20th, 42nd)
six-handed Money List Rank: 1st

Of course there are other players who deserve honorable mention. A number of players finished high on the all-time six-handed money list due to a single victory. These include Joe Commisso ($911,855 - third on the list), Joshua Brikis ($619,608 - sixth), Dario Minieri ($528,418 - ninth), Hoyt Corkins ($515,065 - tenth) and Doyle Brunson ($367,800 - 17th). In addition, a number of players who didn’t make the list showed consistency with multiple cashes. They include Terrence Chan, Gioi Luong, Men Nguyen, David Daneshgar and Tony Guoga who each had three six-handed cashes.
The top ten six-handed fantasy poker players ought to change with the $25,000 event this year, and it’ll be interesting to see how things pan out. In my next article, I will explore another poker variation and come up with a new top ten list. In the end, I hope to compare the statistics from each variation and determine the top ten fantasy poker studs of all-time.


Chad Holloway is an amateur poker player from Baraboo, Wisconsin, who specialises in fantasy poker. He currently writes for Predictem.com and is a featured blogger at UnaBomberPoker.com.