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Today in the 3-Bet we find Tom Dwan scraping into the Premier League final, Xuan Liu sharing her trials and tribulations as a young female on the poker circuit and world-class poker pros being choked in their hotel rooms.
1) durrrr Turns Tables on Timoshenko, Makes Premier League Final
The eight-player final table at the Premier League V in Vienna is now set with Tom “durrrr” Dwan squeaking his way in as the last man to make the cut.
Finishing fifth overall in his preliminary group, durrrr faced fourth-place finisher Yevgeniy Timoshenko in a best-of-three heads-up match for the last spot.
Down to just 20k in chips in the rubber match, durrr turned it around in two big all-ins – one with AT vs. KJ and the next with KQ vs. J7 - to complete the comeback.
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Durrrr joins top points earners Dan “Jungleman12” Cates, Patrik Antonius and Scott Seiver as the qualifiers from Group B.
Qualifiers from Group A are Matt Frankland, Sam Trickett, Tony G. and Phil Laak, who crushed Andy Frankenberger 2-0 in the other 4 v. 5 heads-up qualifier.
Based on point totals earned in the four qualifying heats, Dwan will start as the short stack when the final starts tomorrow. Chip counts:
Mathew Frankland 400,000 Dan Cates – 380,000 Sam Trickett 330,000 Patrik Antonius – 320,000 Tony G 300,000 Scott Seiver – 300,000 Phil Laak 290,000 Tom Dwan – 280,000Follow the live updates on the Party Poker blog.
2) Xuan Liu Talks Life on Poker Circuit, Female EV
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We’ve touted Xuan Liu as one of the “next big things” in poker before and Card Player magazine seems to agree.
Writer Rebecca McAdam sat down with Liu recently and has published an in-depth Q&A that covers Liu's early struggles in the cash-game world through to her rapid rise up the tournament ranks.
With $1.2 million earnings in the last eight months, two major final tables and a more-than-appealing image, there’s no one better positioned than Liu to capture a big sponsorship deal if she does well at the WSOP this summer.
Among the things Liu tackles in her interview are her mom's ultimatum about poker, her underestimation of tournament players and the implied +EV of being a female at the poker table:
“I think it’s very shallow when someone states that the game is easier for females. There’s a different set of obstacles involved. There may be more opportunities, but it’s also harder to gain respect from your peers.
"If an established male player misplays a hand, it will often be attributed to him having an off-day or some other form of variance. If a female makes a mistake, many will automatically regard the error as a permanent reflection of her ability.”
It's a great interview. Read the full piece here.
3) Poker Pros Choked in Hotel Rooms in Death Plays Poker
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We’re guessing somewhere along the line Vancouver author Robin Spano was screwed over by a poker player. Or she’s just super sick of seeing it on TV.
Author of the Clare Vengel Undercover Novels, Spano has given poker a starring role in ther latest book and it doesn’t work out well for the rounders.
Called Death Plays Poker, this is the gist (with de rigeur “stakes get higher” and “all in” metaphors of course):
World class poker players are being strangled in their hotel rooms, and Clare is given her second big assignment: to pose as a poker player in a major televised tournament, befriend the suspects, and find the killer in their midst.
Her cover role? A trust fund princess who thinks the poker tour is a better idea than college. Posing as Tiffany helps her infiltrate the tour's inner circle, but uncovering the truth is harder than ever among people who lie for a living.
As more players fall prey to the Poker Choker and Clare's cover comes under attack, the stakes get even higher. Should Clare fold and return to her life as a dull beat cop, or go all in and prove her worth?
Read a few sample chapters here. If you're into crime fiction, check out our interview with former PokerListings writer Owen Laukkanen about his new book The Professionals here.
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