Last year, three of the regular winners of the “Big Game,” the $4,000-$8,000 rotation game at the Bellagio, made the final table—Phil Ivey, Chip Reese, and Doyle Brunson.  This year we can expect the big game to be similarly represented. Ted Forrest, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein are among those who could go very deep. 

According to Greenstein, those who beat the big game manage a long-term profit of one-quarter of one big bet an hour. And while 2k/hour is an impressive wage, it’s amazing to think that the most one can take out of any game is half a small bind. With that kind of margin, every decision is crucial. Think of it this way: If you miss one river value bet, you’ve cost yourself four hours of profit.

To beat the highest level of competition at the highest stakes, the winning players need to possess a vast array of tools. Frankly, as a hammer-wielding no-limit hold ‘em player myself, I’m not even sure what many of these tools will look like.

But I’ll do my best to figure it out. Over the next few days, I’ll be following Ivey, Harman as others as they progress through the $50k HORSE event. Hopefully, I’ll be able to learn a thing or two and pass on the knowledge.

I'm back home in Scottsdale now. It's Thursday night but I'll be back in Vegas by Friday night, if not sooner. As I was leaving the Amazon Room for the last time on Tuesday, I see Forrest. I've seen him for a total of 2 minutes this Series and we traded hellos. I was in the middle of interviewing Phil Hellmuth for the cover feature for the August issue of BLUFF, the bane of my existence, so we didn't have much time.

So I asked him point-blank, "Ted, you want me to sell the Lincoln on eBay?"

"The Lincoln is gone. I sold it."

I swear, you could hear my howls echoing through the cavernous room. I not only couldn't believe it but I couldn't find a way to express my shock.

"Yeah, some guy who does body work came by and asked if I wanted some work done on it. I said no, so he offered me $800 for the car."

"I was going to sell it as a piece of poker history on eBay. Who knows what we could have gotten?"

At this point, I mentioned to Phil Hellmuth, who was getting paid his $74,000 (which he had to pay towards his debt to Phil Ivey back in the final table studio) that Ted sold his green Lincoln. This car had been won by Tom McEvoy as player of the year at a tournament in 1994, turned over the Hellmuth, who was backing Tom, and then eventually to Ted, who was backing Hellmuth. It was featured in the Introduction to SUICIDE KING and I only this year actually got to see the car. (Ted repossessed the BMW of a player he and some other pros were losing money on - the player won some money and did not pay his backers. He felt bad for the guy and gave him the Lincoln as a consolation prize.)

Ted said, "You probably could have gotten more for it. It WAS $800. He came back the next day and said something extra was wrong with the car. I gave him $200 back."

I was pretty upset at the time but it was probably all for the best. The way things were going, especially with that car's history, Ted probably would have ended up OWING money to the guy who bought it.

And I didn't come away empty handed either. When I first saw the Lincoln in Ted's driveway this spring, I snatched the "L" from the "Lincoln" off the front bumper. But keep it to yourself. That body-repair guy apparently has a lot of chutzpah and I don't want him coming after me for it.

Making its first appearance at the World Series in 1976 in a tournament won by “Doc” Green, stud hi-lo has been a fixture at the WSOP ever since (with the small exception of 1985 and 1986 when it wasn’t played). Amongst the big names who have won bracelets in this event are Doyle Brunson (1976), Chip Reese (1979), Johnny Moss (1981), Mike Sexton (1989), Men “The Master” Nguyen (1995), “Miami” John Cernuto (1996), Phil Ivey (2002), and John Juanda (2003).

As I walked around the room I observed the last name on the list, John Juanda, make a particularly astute play. Heads-up against one other player and showing strong low potential, Juanda checked to his opponent on fourth street, enticing him to stay in. His opponent fell for the trap and stayed all the way to the showdown where Juanda showed him a pot-scooping wheel.

This two-day event will finish up tomorrow night.

I spent all last night in front of the computer, watching progress on Day 2 of the $2500 NLHE and $2000 Stud EOB. Mike Matusow had a lot of chips in the Hold 'Em and Ted Forrest seemed to be hanging around forever in SEOB. They are both good friends and, while I wouldn't blow off my daughter Valerie's dance recital just to hang out with my poker friends, it would be necessary to do just that if either made the final table. Part of why I'm writing this blog is to give you a perspective you can't get on the Series anywhere else. Standing in the shadows of Matusow and Forrest and soaking up the things I can get from them and the things I know about them is EXACTLY the kind of stuff you can't get elsewhere. In addition, both were collaborators on the FULL TILT STRATEGY GUIDE and Ted wrote the chapter for the event he was in.

I tried calling them both during breaks. I was sent through to their voicemail. No surprise. In both instances, their voicemail boxes were full, accepting no new messages.

Again, that's not too surprising. I tried sending Mike a text message; who knows if it went through. And Ted? His last phone looked like it was made of lumber. I just don't see him as a texting sorta guy. I left Matusow a message at home and sent a text message to Ted's girlfriend Roxanna.

For me, there could be no happy ending. I'd be thrilled if one or both of them made the final table - I also wrestled with what I'd actually DO during the final tables if they were in the Sequestarena or if they BOTH made final tables - but I would have to explain to my ten year-old daughter how my job (and not "poker" or "my buddies") required that I miss her recital, even though I previously made great pains to assure I'd be there.

And if they both faltered short of the promised land, my time with my family would be saved, but I would lose a great opportunity (or two) to share something special with you. And I want my friends to succeed.

Agonizingly, both Mike and Ted finished 2 spots short of the final table. It was past 3 AM when Forrest went out.

Today I awoke disappointed but a little less addled by uncertainty. I finished up the Shannon Elizabeth posts, thought about what World Series events I'd play on my return, did I couple radio interviews to promote the FULL TILT STRATEGY GUIDE, and started plotting the cover feature on Phil Hellmuth for the August BLUFF ... if Phil ever called me and if I decided to do it.

I also took care of a number of errands: mailing books, picking up a prescription, picking up dry cleaning, getting the car washed. It was during this last errand that my cell phone rang. The noise from the vacuums was overwhelming. The parking lot was chaos. I couldn't make out the voice on the other end.

"Who is this?"

They said a name. I still couldn't hear.

"WHO?"

"Phil Hellmuth."

So far in the 4 hours of play I've learned that trying to blog on a blackberry sucks, Mike Matusow talks a lot, Ted Forrest likes to prop bet, bluffing with king high in stud 8 is a bad idea, and Perry Friedman sould not dye his hair with a red skunk stripe. After the dinner break I'm looking forward to my impending showdown with the tiny swashbuckler, Pescatori. Ciao

Direct download: 032507PokerWireRadioTedForrest.mp3