Reading an old interview with Antonio Esfandiari, I found this tidbit about Phil Ivey. Of course.

You've said some of your past behavior at the table embarrasses you.

"I used to be a little too rowdy and maybe had a little disrespect at times. I remember one time at the L.A. Commerce a few years ago, I busted Phil Ivey. And, I remember standing up on my chair and making a ruckus. There were cameras everywhere. I sat back down, and about a half-hour later, I was like, 'Wow. What did I just do? I made a complete ass out of myself.' So, the very next time I saw Phil Ivey, I went up to him and apologized."

How did Phil take the apology?

"He was very cool about it. I was really out of line, and I remember Jeff Schulman wrote an article about how Phil Ivey was busted by a classless player. And then, after I won the tournament two years later, he wrote, 'Antonio won the tournament in a very classy way.' So, everybody thinks I've come around from that bad behavior. It wasn't really obscene - it was just a couple incidences that were a little out of line.

Very cool of Phil to let it slide. He probably knows how exciting it would be to beat him as it's something that doesn't happen everyday.

Posted under Other players

Phil Ivey's new teammate at Full Tilt Poker is Hal Lubarsky. He's a 44 year old pro who has been playing in Vegas for 15 years. Oh, and he's blind.

Hal Lubarsky’s dream was coming true: at 29 years old, he was on his way to Las Vegas with aspirations of becoming a professional poker player. A regular in the $150-$300 H.O.R.S.E. games around town, Hal found himself mixing it up with some of the best in the world. “I was extremely well-known in cash games. I’ve played with all the big names except for Doyle (Brunson) and Chip (Reese),” he said during an interview with MSNBC.

But after grinding it out in Vegas for 15 years, Lubarsky began feeling the effects of a condition that would change his life. Hal learned that was born with retinus pigmentosa, a hereditary dystrophy in which abnormalities in the retina lead to visual loss. Many with the disorder don’t become legally blind until their 40s or 50s and maintain some of their sight.

He plays with a reader who whispers him the cards in his ears. I don't really see a problem with this, but I can see how some would. For instance, what if his reader was someone like Phil Ivey? It'd be hard to gauge who was the pro and who was the one being dealt the cards don't you think?

Posted under Other players

Everyone wants to know what poker players are worth. Most of the pros that you see on television aren't as rich as you would imagine. A lot of them are staked in most of the major tournaments you see them on television. Phil Ivey would seem to be the exception though. With his consistent money finishes, high stakes cash game success and stake in Full Tilt Poker it would seem that Phil Ivey would be a very wealthy man. Our friends at the Poker King Blog attempted to analyze.

Now in terms of his poker / gambling bankroll, we have a few facts that we can use:

1. Phil Ivey, according to many people in the game, is one of the most winningest players in the "Big Game."

2. Phil Ivey, as part of the Corporation, won a significant amount of money from Andy Beal.

3. Phil Ivey is a very successful tournament player.

4. Phil Ivey once signed up for a $10 million dollar SNG. Only one other player signed up.

5. He has enough money to "forget" that he had $750k in chips stashed at the Commerce casino.

Read More...

Posted under Other players

Looks like Daniel Negreanu won't be collecting another $200K from Phil Ivey this year. As John Juanda takes home the 2008 WSOPE Main Event.

The 2008 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event champion is John Juanda.

Clocking in at a seemingly infinite 19 hours and 10 minutes, this was the longest final table in the 39-year history of the World Series of Poker. Measured in time from start to finish, the duration of this "final nine" exceeded the mind-numbing 16-hours played in the $1,500 buy-in Razz championship, won by O'Neil Longson (29 June 2005).

Ivey is famous for prefer the cash game to the tournament because his per hour earnings average out higher. If he'd have stuck around this one, that'd be especially true.

Posted under Other players

We talked earlier about the $200K bet between Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey for this year's World Series of Poker. Ivey already paid Negreanu $200K earlier this year, will he have to again? He could.

362 people took part in the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, and after three days of play, 24 remain. Justin "BoostedJ" Smith is the current chipleader with a stack over 650k. Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu is currently in second place with 610k, while John Juanda is in third with roughly 580k in chips.

There's stil quite awhile to go, but Ivey has to be sweating. A win for Negreanu would put him into second on the all-time money list. Quite an impresive feat. You have to wonder if Phil is going to call him tonight on a side bet.

Posted under Other players