Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.
Today in the 3-Bet we find Phil Hellmuth getting hit with an unexpected panic attack, New York Times election guru Nate Silver getting some hands in at the 2013 Aussie Millions and the Flying Dutchman Marcel Luske releasing the victory balloons after a Sunday Warm-Up win.
1) Hellmuth Wiped Out Post-WSOPE, Has Panic Attack
After becoming the only man to ever win both the WSOP and WSOPE main events, a frenetic schedule led Phil Hellmuth into some sort of panicked stupor, he says in a new interview.
Overseas this past week for the WPT's debut event in China, Hellmuth chatted with CalvinAyre.com's Tatjana Pasalic and explained how spreading himself thin came back to bite him:
"After the WSOPE I got a little bit sick. Not physically, mentally exhausted. Tried to do something crazy. Was up till 4 a.m, started drinking on the early flight around noon, MC’d Eva Longoria’s tournament, that’s like 7-8 hours on the mic.
"That was Saturday. Sunday flew into LA, gave John Legend a private lesson, he’s a really cool rock star; and then MC’d Bill Clinton’s event. At that point, I was exhausted.
"Then I had to fly to Chicago by Tuesday, I played poker with a bunch of billionaires from there – lost a bit! A really fun group and then I MC’d their event, another eight hours on the mic. That’s when I hit the wall and it was just…I can’t do this to myself.
"I ended up having a panic attack a month later. Panic attacks are not fun."
It's not clear why it took a month to kick in but his fans can rest assured a lot of rest since - including two hours of TV a day - has Hellmuth back feeling shipshape again. Check the full interview here.
2) Prognostication Guru Nate Silver Gets Back to Poker Roots
After an incredible rise to political stardom this fall, New York Times blogger Nate Silver is taking some time off in January to get back to his other favorite pasttime - playing poker.
Correctly predicting the vote in all 50 states and virtually guaranteeing an Obama win beforehand, Silver deservedly became America's golden boy. From high-profile media appearances to skyrocketing sales of his new book, it's assuredly been a whirlwind for the former baseball stat geek and online poker grinder.
In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Silver says he plans to take a breather from political prognosis and hit up the 2013 Aussie Millions for some poker R&R.
In preparation he's been hitting the tables in Atlantic City to make sure he's adjusted his playing algorithm to the proper frequency:
“I went to Atlantic City last weekend and played in a small tournament so I’m trying to take this pretty seriously . . . I busted out pretty early and lost but I was happy with how I played. And I’ve been reading a lot of books and developing strategy because the game is changing how it is played.”
“It’s become much more sophisticated and aggressive. It’s really a battle of wits. The nice thing about poker, if you have a theory about how a hand is going to play out you can put your chips on the line.”
Read the full piece here.
3) Flying Dutchman Chops Sunday Warm-Up for $75k
Wondering what everyone's favorite novelty-sunglass-wearing singing Dutchman (apologies, Rolf Slotboom) has been up to lately?
Former WSOP camera-fav Marcel Luske has been keeping his chops up online, apparently, and the work paid off with a four-way chop in yesterday's Sunday Warm-Up on PokerStars.
The $75k score looks to be Luske's largest since a runner-up finish at ITP Nova Gorica in 2010.
Somewhere in Holland, we imagine the victory balloons released (ideally 99 of them) and Luske's Poker Song queued up for an extended spin on the juke box. Raise 'em up!
Visit www.pokerlistings.com