Tao of Poker

The Tao of Poker: 2009 Year in Review, Part 2

By Pauly
Miami, FL

And let's get started with the best of the rest of 2009...

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June

The month started with the 2009 WSOP underway...

Day 5: Vitaly Lunkin Who?
Day 6: Scooter Races and Fading the Great Dane

And then I took off on Phish tour. It was only supposed to be a weekend, but I took off for 20 days in total. The reason? I had the Tao All Stars to pick up the slack. I assembled the best writing team in poker to cover the WSOP while I took an extended vacation and returned for the final three weeks.

Here's the sensational contributions from the Tao All Stars...

The Tragedy of Mr. Nice Guy by Benjo
The WSOP Fashion Report - Week 1: The Year of the Makeover by Change100
The BJ Report: Just Another Day in the Office... Phil Ivey Wins His Sixth Bracelet -- and $12 Million by BJ Nemeth
Mean Gene's WSOP Photo Dump, Volume 1 by Mean Gene
All That Glitters by Snoopy
The BJ Report: A Look Back at the First 19 Events by BJ Nemeth
Ladies of the Night: WSOP Version by Poker Shrink
The New Kid in Town by Snoopy
Flipchip WSOP Photo Dump by Flipchip
The BJ Report: A Look Back at the First 31 Events by BJ Nemeth
Fringe: Jeffrey Pollack and the Fine Line by Brad 'Otis' Willis
WSOP Fashion Report, Week 2 & 3: The Douche-O-Meter by Change100
World Series of Penny by Poker Shrink
Mean Gene WSOP Photo Dump Volume 2 by Mean Gene
The Kabbaj Regime by Snoopy

And once I returned to Las Vegas, I was back for good and returned to writing daily on Tao...

Day 27: The Weigh In and the Miami John Incident
Day 28: Lisandro's Hat Trick
Day 29: Jeff Goldblum Is Not Dead
Day 30: Dying HORSE and Never Mind the Pollocks, Here Come the Sex Pistols
Day 31: Horses, Deuces, and DonkeyBombers
Day 32: Undercover and What Does Benjo Think?
Day 33: Gus Hansen Orgasm

* * * * *
July

Michalski was happy that I finally returned so we could record episodes of Tao of Pokerati podcast...

Episode 11.18: The Angry Michalski Episode (5:00)
Episode 11.19: Lisandropalooza with BJ Nemeth (3:49)
Episode 11.20: Pauly Returns (5:07)
Episode 11.21: HORSE Hunting (4:09)
Episode 11.22: The Satellite Economy (5:06)
Episode 11.23: Poker VIPees (3:02)
Episode 11.24: Running Numbers (3:30)
Episode 11.25: Tinfoil HORSE (3:52)
Episode 11.26: DonkTwit Conspiracy (4:54)

I wrote daily recaps of the WSOP on the Tao...

Day 34: David Bach Wins $50,000 HORSE Championship and What Does Benjo Think, Vol. 2
Day 37 - Main Event Day 1A: Summer of George?
Day 38 - Main Event Day 1B: Theme from the Bottom
Day 39 - Main Event 1C: Welcome to the Psychedelic Circus
Day 40 - Main Event Day 1D: No Soup for You
Day 41: Dollar Bill Blues and What Does Benjo Think, Vol. 4
Day 42 - Main Event Day 2B: Schadenfreude
Day 43 - Third Place for Charity
Day 44 - Main Event Day 3: Two Frenchies, One Cup
Day 45 - Main Event Day 4: Bubbles, Leap Frog, and What Does Benjo Think Vol. 5
Day 46 - Main Event Day 5: Rapido and The Rise of the DonkeyBomber
Day 47 - Main Event Day 6: When I'm 64
Day 48 - Main Event Day 7: Evil Lurks on the Cusp of Greatness
Day 49 - Main Event Day 8: Phil Ivey Advances to November Nine

WSOP By the Numbers

The biggest personal highlight during the WSOP Main Event... was getting to play in Dream Team Poker... and winning it! Tao of Pokerati (me, Michalski, and LJ) took down the team side of the tournament while I finished in 13th place. Check out Making Day 2 and Tao of Pokerati Wins Dream Team Poker III.

And yes, Michalski blew through all of his winnings while I spent the majority of mine on self-publishing Lost Vegas and the rest funded my trip to the Phish's Halloween festival, fall tour, and the New Year's run in Miami.


And yes, it returned... Existentialist Conversations with Strippers: Sunshine, Jesus Freaks, and the Afternoon Shift... Consider that new material for the sequel to Lost Vegas!

This has been sort of a tradition... the brooding closing post about Las Vegas that I write when the WSOP is finally over and I have been freed. This year's piece is titled The Story of the Ghost

I appeared on the Poker Beat.

Laydowns is a post inspired by a big fold that I made during a session of online poker.

And for all you Benjo fans, here's the video version of What Does Benjo Think?

* * * * *
August

Not too much report in August mainly because I was having a fun summer and went on vacation to Colorado, Washington State, and New York. But there are a few gems...

There's an adage... "write what you know" hence... Addiction: The Fine Line Between a Hobby and a Habit.

Favre Trumps WSOP? Yeah, fuck Brett Favre.

Slinging is a touching tale about... ah go read for yourself.

Flash Forward: Reunion is how I imagined my 15th college reunion.

I weighed in on some heavy industry news... Party Gaming Buys WPT.

And I was still degen'ing it up with Degenerate Wednesdays: LLWS and Betting on Baseball.

Matt Parvis was named editor of Poker News and he hired me to write a series of Op/Eds and Sunday columns.

* * * * *
September

ESPN aired the episodes of the WSOP Main Event and I penned recaps of their broadcasts...

Main Event Day 2A on ESPN - The Fossilman and Costanza Show
Main Event Day 2B on ESPN - A Kinder and Quieter Hellmuth and the Always Aloof Ivey Time
Main Event Day 3 on ESPN - Aussies, Ivey, and No Shake for Hellmuth
Main Event Day 4 on ESPN - Bubbles and the World Series of Ivey
Main Event Day 5 on ESPN - ElkY and Happy

Embezzle is a few half-baked thoughts about the casino thieves.

My friend and colleague, the Poker Shrink, left the poker industry... for good. I wrote something titled Farewell to the Shrink.

Joe Sebok Signs With Ultimate Bet; Caped Crusader Looks to Bring Law and Order to Online Poker is a reaction Seebs signing with UB.

My friend Trisha Lynn wrote a guest post as the Tao's reality TV show correspondent as she covered Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho's stint on The Amazing Race. Check out... Letters to Pauly: The Amazing Race, Vol. 1.

* * * * *
October

ESPN continued to air episodes of the 2009 WSOP Main Event and I wrote up recaps of the broadcasts...

Main Event Day 8 on ESPN - Liquidity Crisis, Mucking Winners, and Down to 18
Main Event Day 7 on ESPN - Donkeys in the Rye
Main Event Day 6.5 on ESPN - Four Heavy Hitters, Jaws of Ivey, and AngryJulie
Main Event Day 5.5 and Day 6 on ESPN - Introducing the DonkeyBomber

Trisha Lynn returned with weekly updates of the Amazing Race. Check out...

Letters to Pauly: The Amazing Race, Vol. 2
Letters to Pauly: The Amazing Race, Vol. 3 - The Cambodian Monkey
Letters to Pauly: The Amazing Race, Vol. 4 - Digging Through Sand & Snow in Dubai
Letters to Pauly: The Amazing Race, Vol. 5 - Rowboats, Hookahs, and Water Slides in Dubai; Tiff-Ho Move into Second Place

I skipped the WSOP-Europe in London to finish up work on Lost Vegas. I missed the hoopla surrounding Barry Shulman's victory in the Main Event. Here's my reaction... Happy's Dad Wins WSOP-Europe; Happy's Chances in WSOP Final Table Plummet.

Not to be outdone, Happy hired Phil Hellmuth as his coach. That inspired a Karate Kid-themed post titled... Happy Hires Hellmuth.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the 15 members of the media who voted on this year's class into the Poker Hall of Fame. As expected, Mike Sexton got a nod... Welcome to the Poker Hall of Fame... Mike Sexton.

I was told by many of my friends that they thought this was the "post of the year" on Tao. Decided for yourself... Cezanne = The First Tournament Reporter.

I played poker in Schecky's home game... The PMHG: Cheviot Hills.

A weekend session of online poker against Eurodonks inspired... Kafka, Eurodonks, and Repartees.

* * * * *
November

Trisha Lynn returned with one final guest post... Letters to Pauly: The Amazing Race, Vol. 6 - Tiff-Ho Busto.

On the cusp of the November Nine, I recapped one final episode of ESPN's Main Event coverage... WSOP Main Event Day 8, Part 2 on ESPN - Darvin Gump and the November Nine.

The drive from LA to Las Vegas inspired me to write Conceptual Alienation.

Here's the November Nine coverage on Tao of Poker:

November Nine Quick Stats
November Nine Bios
November Nine Final Table - Live Blog
From Nine to Two; Cada vs. Moon
November Nine Heads Up - Live Blog
Joe Cada Wins 2009 WSOP Main Event & Becomes Youngest Champion
Poker Hall of Fame Dinner & Mike Sexton Induction Ceremony

We recorded new episodes of Tao of Pokerati...

Book 12: The November Nine
Episode 12.1: Pre-action Action (1:45)
Episode 12.2: Homme-team Advantage (1:45)
Episode 12.3: For Those about to Rock, We Saout You with Benjo (2:25)
Episode 12.4: Hall of Fame Dinner: Voter Hesitation (1:13)
Episode 12.5: Hall of Fame Dinner: Touched by Sexton (2:45)
Episode 12.6: Not-so-Last Call (3:36)
Episode 12.7: The Final 3 (2:56)
Episode 12.8: Wave the Flag with Benjo (4:02)
Episode 12.9: Cutting down Moon (1:58)
Episode 12.10: Cada’s Commencement (1:25)

French Fried Poker with Benjo & Pauly
Episode 1: The Scarf

After the November Nine ended, I hit the pits for a batch of utter degeneracy... Dilettante Pai Gow.

Oh, and then a bitch accused me of cheating... Golden Angle Shooters at the Nugget.

We also got a bit of sad news... Jeffrey Pollack Vacates WSOP Commissioner Job.

Here's a batch of Reader Mail: Waffles, the Vegas Trip, and Hooters.

I headed down to Central America for a working-vacation and penned Dispatches from Costa Rica, Vol. 1.

The month ended with a piece about The Rise and Fall of Isuldur1.

* * * * *
December

Politics and poker... UIGEA Regulations Delayed Six Months.

I offered up some advice to friends about to hit Sin City... Invading Las Vegas Tips Reprise.

The Godfather of Poker is one of the coolest things that happened to me in a while -- an autographed copy of Texas Dolly's autobiography.

Tao of Poker was nominated for Best Poker Blog in the Bluff Magazine Reader's Choice Awards.

I headed to Las Vegas for the annual bloggers gathering. Here's the skinny...

Dispatches from Las Vegas: Origins
Part I: Taste the Fear
Part II: Friday Night Amateurs and Astin Wins the 6th Annual WPBT Holiday Classic
Part III: Sunday Sunday
WPBT Video

And let's not forget... Life Wagering: Planes, Pac-Man, Sportsbooks, Top Chef, and Parking Meters.

* * * * *
And if you like what you read, I encourage you to vote Tao of Poker for Best Poker Blog in Bluff's Readers Choice Awards. Thanks for your support.

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