A rivalry that has been on hold since last year was resumed recently when mystery poker phenomenon Isildur1 and US poker pro Brian Hastings met to play in an $500/$1,000 pot limit Omaha grudge match that was spread across six tables and 2,776 hands.

Brian Hastings won $4 million from Isildur1 late last year but his win was tainted by allegations that he had been using player notes taken by his buddy and Full Tilt Red Pro, Brian Townsend, on the faceless Swede. This recent game was seen as a chance for Isildur1 to restore justice.

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on whose camp you’re in, there was no scandal this time and Hastings won yet again with Isildur1 paying out a jaw-stopping $1,445,177 to Hastings. This defeat is rumoured to have cleaned Isuldur1 out, again.

Vanessa Rousso says that if she weren’t a poker pro she’d be a life coach. With her poker winnings topping $3.5 million at the ripe old’ age of 27- it seems she might be on to something.

Before becoming a poker pro, Vanessa was a straight ‘A’ student, No. 2 debater in the country, high school valedictorian and studied an undergraduate degree at Duke. Her dream was to be the “queen of Wall Street” as a kid but when she was at law school she became completely side tracked with poker- something she never imagined would happen.

Rousso is outspoken on the question of poker being a sport more than gambling as well as poker being a game of skill.

To help spread the knowledge and enjoyment she has for poker, Rousso has started a poker boot camp where she incorporates game theory into instruction.

“You can’t divorce luck or gambling from poker,” Rousso says. “It’s part of the game. But the skill is in the manipulation of chance.”

Rousso has also come to the conclusion that as a result of being a poker player, she is also a risk manager. “The skill that I’ve honed is knowing how to optimize the growth of my chip stack,” she says. “Which is something that carries over phenomenally in the real world.”

When she isn’t working/playing, her poker free time is spent engaging in yet more risky and adrenaline inducing activities such as sky diving, flying lessons and playing the drums.

This doesn’t mean that she is reckless- Rousso has set up retirement accounts for her mother and two sisters.

I think I could do with some coaching from this woman.

After yesterday’s blog entry featuring some famous quotes I decided to look a little deeper into the man behind the name, Amarillo Slim Preston, and it has to said, this guy is one helluva character. No surprises then to discover that there have been plans for a film to made about his eccentric and colorful life, starring Nicholas Cage, for several years now. The last I heard it was going to be released end of 2009- hmm.

Notoriously awesome things that Amarillo Slim did:

-          Beat Minnesota Fats at pool with a broom

-          Won $300.000 from country music legend Willie Nelson playing dominoes

-          Played poker with presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon

-          Played poker with drug lords Pablo Escobar and Jimmy Chagra

-          Played a highly publicized poker game with porn king Larry Flynt. Mr. Flynt lost a $1,700,000- yowza!

-          Wagered that a cat could pick up a Coke bottle.

-          Rafted down the River of No Return in winter in a wetsuit made by Jacques Cousteau–a bet that earned me $31,000 from Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder.

-          Rode a camel through Casino El Mamounia in Marrakesh, Morrocco

-          Bet a prominent politician that George W. Bush would win the 2000 Presidential election.

-          Won 5 WSOP bracelets, including the main event in 1972

You can’t beat that.

Amarillo Slims Famous Quotes

“Poker is a game of people… It’s not the hand I hold, it’s the people that I play with.”

“Look around the table. If you don’t see a sucker, get up, because you’re the sucker.”

“They anticipate losing when they sit down and I try my darndest not to disappoint one of them.”

“I never go looking for a sucker. I look for a Champion and make a sucker of him.”

“The population in Amarillo has stayed the same over the last fifty years. Every time some woman gets pregnant, some man leaves town.”

“It never hurts for potential opponents to think you’re more than a little stupid and can hardly count all the money in your hip pocket, much less hold on to it..”

Man, we just can’t let the Tiger thing go!

Phil Ivey, arguably the best poker player in the universe right now (watch out Commander Data) has been granted a divorce from his wife; Luciaetta.

The jokes are streaming in because of his ongoing association with   Tiger Woods: his nickname has been ‘The Tiger Woods of Poker’ for some time now although we’re pretty sure he would prefer it to be the other way round where Tiger Woods would be nicknamed ‘The Phil Ivey of Golf’.

Cake cracked some classy jokes about how perhaps his wife left him after mistaking him for Tiger Woods or that Phil had left her after finding out that she slept with Tiger.

You couldn’t make it up…

In the words of Jack Efel, the tournament director of the WSOP; “Something For Everyone” on his description of the 2010 WSOP schedule. He really was truthful.

Firstly, the 41st WSOP will kick off on the 27th of May with the final table once again taking place in November. Again, the third time the final table has been delayed for the sake of television ratings and as per usual the decision to do so is extremely controversial. It does seem however that this decision is here to stay. The main event next year begins on the 5th of July and play continues until the 17th of July when 9 players remain.

Similar to the 2009 schedule, the event will be held at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Vegas and there will be 57 events, among them 1 however there will be quite notable changes and improvements for the 2010 event. The most noticeable changing that being the elimination of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event and the creation of a replacement event – the $50,000 Players Championship. This event will be an eight game mixed event. This tournament will consist of Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, No Limit Hold’em, Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Hold’em, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.

“We are planning for the largest WSOP ever and look forward to welcoming all players to the Rio in Las Vegas next summer.” Jack Effel

“We look forward to following and reporting on the WSOP and getting involved with the community.” James Grant.

I’m sure those of you who have been watching the WSOP November Nine have had a couple of shock surprises what with play beginning on Saturday with 9 Players and now down to 2. I remember watching on one stretch on Saturday night Cada had the smallest chip stack on the table; down to about 2 million, which in my opinion was next to nothing according to WSOP standards and he looked like he was next on the elimination list. But through fantastic play, he made it back by winning numerous small pots to double his chips each time and then proceeded winning multiple big ones.

So we are down to 2. Cada; the 21 year old poker whiz who has earned his keep by playing professionally online and Moon, 46, the Maryland chainsaw wielding logger about to go head to head for the top prize of $8.5 million. From an initial player poll of 6,494 entrants – We’ve seen a ridiculous amount of great play and these guys should be so proud to being going heads up as the final 2.

As much as I’m a fan of Moon, the underdog by far in my opinion, I’m also somewhat rooting for Cada. If he takes this win, he’ll become the youngest main event winner in history, taking that title from Peter Eastgate who won it last year at the tender age of 22.

Moon, who won his $10,000 seat via a satellite in a West Virginia Casino, started off the final table with $58.9 million chips took some huge hits over the weekend, as he says “I’m always comfortable. Give me one chip and I’m comfortable in reference to that fact that as much as he lost, he kept his nerve and did not get on tilt.

Now it comes down to tonight. Second prize is already assured of $5.18 million; however it’s that bracelet that matters.

Who will win? No idea. Let’s watch tonight and I’ll throw my opinion your way tomorrow.