August 2005 Archives

From the comfort of my dry home, I sat and watched the storm of the century roll through the Gulf of Mexico. I hoped, like everyone else, the hell storm would fall apart or drift back into the ocean. I thought of my friends on the coast, the good times I've had in the Big Easy, and the tens of thousands of people who couldn't find safe passage to places north. Then I woke up and saw the destruction. Such a familiar place suddenly looked so unfamiliar. Like many of you, I'm sure, I wondered what, if anything, I could do. Team PokerStars member Wil Wheaton was thinking the same thing.
So, coming up on September 12th and 14th, PokerStars.com and Wil Wheaton will host two Hurricane Katrina Relief tournaments with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross. PokerStars will be matching every buy-in 100% and will be offering prizes to the winners. Wil will also be offering autographed copies of one of his books to every member of both final tables.

The event on September 12th will be a $5+$0 No-Limit Hold'em freezeout at 9:30pm.

The event on September 14th will be a $20+$0 No-Limit Hold'em freezeout tournament at 9:30pm

Within the next day or soAs of right now, you'll find the tournaments under the "Tourney" and "Special" tabs.

I spoke with Wil a bit ago and he mentioned he often realizes that you can find the best in people during the worst of times. I couldn't agree more.

Go give it your best.

It's been about six months since I met Abdulaziz Abdulaziz. He'd qualified online for the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo. I watched him throughout the week and couldn't have been happier when the smiling, hard working young man made the final table.

After the tournament was over, I went out with some folks for a nightcap. On my walk back to the Hotel Hermitage, I ran into Abdulaziz walking with a friend. He was still smiling. I thought to myself, "There's a man who had a good time."

So, this weekend, I made it a point to watch the first PokerStars.com EPT qualifiers for the event in Barcelona. As the field wound its way down to the final two tables, I recognized Abdulaziz's screen name, neyek (he gave me permission to use his name). Sure enough, he won his seat in the Barcelona event and will return to the EPT circuit bent on repeating his final table performance.

In all this past weekend, thirteen people qualified for Barcelona event. Two of them qualified using nothing but their Frequent Player Points. Satellites are still running for the Barcelona event, as well as the events in London and Baden.

Hopefully, I'll see some more familiar names on the winners list.

For the tournament-minded, Sunday marked the one week-point until the biggest online poker event in the world begins. With the World Championship of Online Poker seven days away, more than 3000 people showed up for the warm up, PokerStars Sunday $500,000 Guaranteed.

When the tournament reached the final nine players, this is what it looked like.

Seat 1: MrSmokey1 (Chicago, IL) 1697208
Seat 2: jugman (Barcelona, Spain) 919623
Seat 3: tmacnatedogg (Lyndonville, VT) 527020
Seat 4: Shinomori (Norrkoping, Sweden) 1369476
Seat 5: ninel11 (Moscow, Russia) 528516
Seat 6: nite404 (Kungsbacka, Sweden) 796442
Seat 7: jonasof87 (Oslo, Norway) 1230104
Seat 8: IncognitoNYC (Sarasota, FL) 762516
Seat 9: ImYrHuklbery (Stanton, CA) 436595

With the blinds at 30,000/60,000, many of the players were playing with stacks that wouldn't be around for very long if something good didn't happen for them. With just a little more than 500,000 in chips, tmacnatedogg decided to make his move. Sitting in the small blind and facing a raise from the jonasof87, tmacnatedogg pushed all in with a pair of nines. If he was hoping for a race against big cards, he'd soon realize he was hoping against hope. Jonasof97 held a pair of queens and sent tmacnatedogg out in ninth place and $7,143.12.

Where tmacnatedogg found no luck, ninel11 found a beautiful double-up. With just 488,516 in chips, ninel11, sat in the big blind. IncognitoNYC came in for a raise. Ninel11 must've smiled to look down and see two black jacks. Within seconds, ninel11 was all-in against IncognitoNYC's AQ. The flop came down Ac9dJh and ninel11 picked up a huge pot.

Playing position can be a dangerous thing at the final table. Indeed, if you put a player on a steal, re-stealing from late position can be a profitable tactic. However, if you choose the wrong time to make that move, you can be on the rail pretty quickly. To wit, nite404 sat in the cutoff with more than 800,000 in chips. In his hand, he held J3o. Shinomori, sitting two seats on the right, came in for a standard raise. Nite404's spidey sense must've picked up on something, because with a less the premium holding, nite404 pushed all in. The immediate call might've been an indication nite404 had made a mistake. Shinomori held AKo, ended up making two pair, and sent his fellow Swede, nite404, out in eigth place for $11,905.20.

After a few rounds of blinds, a couple of players found themselves relatively short-stacked and in need of a double up. Within a few hands IncognitoNYC used a pair of queens to double through Shinomori's pair of sevens. ImYrHuklbery (my favorite screen name at a final table yet, by the way) doubled through MrSmokey1 with A6 vs. 89.

IncognitoNYC still needed to doubled up again and found his chance with TT versus Shinomori's AQ, but an ace and queen on the board assured IncognitoNYC would not be known as the first place finisher. The man from Florida left in seventh place and $17,196.40.

Undeterred by IncognitoNYC's bust out, ImYrHuklbery went on a run, doubling through twice, once against Shinomori with AQ vs A8, then against jugman with AJ vs. KT. Then he picked up AA and busted ninel11, holding 44, in sixth place. Ninel11 picked up $23,149 for the effort.

Finally, ImYrHuklbery's good fortune ran out. He got his chips in with KQ against Shinomori's AQ. This time, ImYrHuklbery couldn't hold on. He took off in fifth place and a cool $29,763.

MrSmokey1, who had been playing a great tight tournament game, then fell apart on two consecutive unfortunate hands. First, his 99 fell to KTs, when jonasof87 made a straight flush (9-K) to MrSmokey1's set of nines. Then his A8 fell to Shinomori's 22. MrSMokey1 left in fourth place and $38,361.

With only three players remaining and a lot of money on the line, the players decided it was time to look out for their bankrolls, play it smart, and cut a deal. They chopped it up based on chip count, then played a few quicks hands to determine the winner of the final $10,000. Shinomori, the well known member of the Swedish contingent, maintained his first-place position and took first place in the last major tournament before WCOOP begins.

PokerStars Sunday $500,000 Guaranteed Results 8/28/05

1st-- Shinomori (Norrkoping, Sweden) $106,725.97
2nd-- jugman (Barcelona, Spain)$82,294.00
3rd-- jonasof87 (Oslo, Norway) $72,233.02
4th-- MrSmokey1 (Chicago, IL) $38,361
5th-- ImYrHuklbery (Stanton, CA) $29,763
6th-- ninel11 (Moscow, Russia) $23,149
7th-- IncognitoNYC (Sarasota, FL) $17,196.40
8th-- nite404 (Kungsbacka, Sweden) $11,905.20
9th-- tmacnatedogg (Lyndonville, VT) $7,143.12

If you've already started trying to qualify for the European Poker Tour, you'll be interested to know that PokerStars.com will be rolling out satellites for two more EPT events this weekend.

Satellites for the EPT event in Baden, Austria will start Saturday August 27 and satellites for the EPT event in London will begin Sunday August 28.

Seventy-six people have already won satellites to the August 27th Barcelona qualifier. One seat is guaranteed and it appears now that at least four seats will be awarded.

Check back here next week for a review of the folks who have already won their seat to one of the most fun poker tours in the world.

It's not going to be too many weeks until we'll pull up stakes and move this blog back on the road for the European Poker Tour. I noticed last night that there are already hundreds of people trying to qualify for the first event of Season 2 in Barcelona. Last season, we started blogging the events with only four contests remaining. Regardless, there were many stories to tell. For all of Season 1 on the EPT, click here. Or, if you'd just like to see the final reports from each event, look at the list below.

Scandinavian Open Report
EPT Austria Report
French Open Report
Monte Carlo Grand Final Report

Here's what it looked like as the final table players sat down.
Seat 1: MeltonOk (Noble, OK) (1092429 in chips)
Seat 2: TheHawk (Medford, OR) (490736 in chips)
Seat 3: Buckeyeadrif (Locust Grove, GA) (2210158 in chips)
Seat 4: EY400 (Los Angeles, CA) (808114 in chips)
Seat 5: Harvalish (Devon, PA) (239408 in chips)
Seat 6: toddlock (Long Branch, NJ) (612815 in chips)
Seat 7: jimenezzzz (Mataro)(944896 in chips)
Seat 8: bigfish729 (Husnes, Norway) (1564729 in chips)
Seat 9: doggfish (Ontario,Canada) (176715 in chips)

No matter how many times you hear it, sometimes one can forget the old axiom, "Don't go broke in an unraised pot." Toddlock learned it the hard way. After limping into the pot from the samall blind and watching jimenezzz check his option, toddlock flopped second pair with J6 on a 567 flop. Toddlock bet the pot, jimenezzz moved all-in, and toddlock called. Jimenezzz showed 84 for the flopped straight. Toddlock's hand didn't improve and he departed in ninth place for $7032.96. PokerStars cardroom manager Lee Jones was also back tonight with a few quips of his own.

Lee Jones: "Hey Todd-- you've got a lock on $7K -- great match!"

Harvilish would be the next to go. Shortstacked and in dire need of a double-up, he pushed with AQ. Buckeyeadrif made an isolation re-raise out of the big-blind and forced The Hawk to fold his little blind. The board was ten-high at the river and Buckeyeadrif took down the pot with KT. Harvilish departed in eighth place and $11,721.60

Lee Jones: "Harvalish -- you're no fish. For $11K just make a wish! Great game."

On the very next hand, shortstacked doggfish called all in with a pair of fours against jimenezzz's pair of tens. He couldn't improve and received one a very Google-worthy quip from Lee Jones to go along with his $16,931.20.

Lee Jones: "No squalus'ing for you dogg - $16K is a great day's work. Well done."

It was at this point that everything slowed down. For the next thirty minutes, we saw very few flops and even fewer rivers. When the players sprang back to life, it would be at the expense of TheHawk. He was shortstacked and finally decided to go with two live cards. As it turned out, his 56s was not any good against jimenezzz's A9. TheHawk took off in sixth place with $22,792 extra in his bankroll.

Lee Jones: "Great flop Hawk, but no such luck. You get to fly away with $22K. We'll see you soon, I'm sure."

MeltonOk was also shortstacked and had no choice but to get all in with TT. Jimenezz woke up with 44 in the big blind, flopped a four, and sent MeltonOk out in fifth place and $29,304.

Lee Jones: "You're more than OK, Melton - you're $29K richer. Great match!"

Again, the finall table play went back in he tank. Close to another thirty minutes passed before bigfish729 finally saw what must've looked like a playable hand at that point. He made a stand with A8 against EY400's JJ. The jacks held up and bigfish779 found himself on the shortstack. He left a few hands later when his pair of eights couldn't hold up to jimenezzzz's AQ. Bigfish729 left in fourth place and ) $37.769.60.

Lee Jones: "Hey fish -- you're worth $37K more now. Well done!"

Three-handed play last for a while. Finally, EY400 decided to make a move at the wrong time, getting in with jack-high against Buckeyeadrif's flopped set of nines. EY400's third place finish earned him $48,840.

Lee Jones: "Great match EY - you can buy an ES600 or so with your $48K!"

For a game that lasted for so long, the heads-up match only lasted three hands. Going into heads-up play, the players were stacked like this:

Seat 3: Buckeyeadrif (4847946 in chips)
Seat 7: jimenezzzz (3292054 in chips)

On the third hand, Buckeyeadrif min-raised with a pair od tens, jimenezzzz pushed all in with AJ. Buckeyeadrif called, flopped his set, and finished the eight-hour event in first place.

Sunday $500,000 Guaranteed Results (8/21/05)

1st: Buckeyeadrif (Locust Grove, GA) $130,240
2nd: jimenezzzz (Mataro) $78,144
3rd: EY400 (Los Angeles, CA) $48,840
4th: bigfish729 (Husnes, Norway) $37.769.60
5th: MeltonOk (Noble, OK) $29,304
6th: TheHawk (Medford, OR) $22,792
7th: doggfish (Ontario,Canada) $16,931.20
8th: Harvalish (Devon, PA) $11,721.60
9th: toddlock (Long Branch, NJ) $7032.96

If you've noticed it's been a little quiet around here for the past few days, you should know that there's a good reason for it. We've been working hard behind the scenes to launch the second season of the most exciting and fun poker event in Europe.

Today begins the second season of the European Poker Tour. With stops from Barcelona to Monte Carlo, the EPT will once again rage across the European landscape.

European Poker Tour Schedule

BARCELONA Sept. 16-17
LONDON Sept. 30 - Oct.2
BADEN Oct. 4-6
DUBLIN Oct. 29-30
COPENHAGEN Jan. 25-28
DEAUVILLE Feb. 8-11
MONTE CARLO March 8-11

Satellites for next month's event in Barcelona are already available in the PokerStars tournament lobby. Just click on "Events" and "EPT" in your tournament lobby for the chance to win your seat for as little as $5.50. For more, head over to the PokerStars EPT page.

You can learn all you need to know about the EPT by clicking on the official site of the tour.

It's only been a few months since I finished off the tour in Monte Carlo and I'm already ready to be back in some of Europe's most historic cities. Once again, I'll follow the tour from country to country and provide all the news that's fit to print (and, likely, some that is not). Last season, I chronicled all the events for PokerStars and the EPT on this other site. This season, all of the EPT news will be found right here on the PokerStars.com Official Blog.

Surely, I thought, my eyes must be deceiving me. Perhaps, the screen name brainwash had been burned into my corneas and I was simply having flashbacks to the three other times in the past three four months that the same man had made the final table in the big Sunday tournament. But after blinking several times, I realized that it was, in fact, true. Brainwash had made it again.

The final table of this week's $500,000 Guaranteed tournament was one that you didn't want to miss. With more than $637,000 in the prize pool, the players refused to give up any ground. When a four-way deal was offered, one player turned it down, despite the fact he was last in chips. Then, he went on to win the whole thing. Here the the results from this week's contest:

PokerStars Sunday $500,000 Guaranteed Results 8/14/05

1st-- El Capitano (Amsterdam, Netherlands) $127,520
2nd-- tralala (Stockholm, Sweden) $76,512
3rd-- emilie (Bordon, Great Britain) $47,820
4th-- Jeffray73 (Milmort, Belgium) $36,980.90
5th-- brainwash (San Clemente, CA) $28,692
6th-- Krusty (Thunder Bay, Ontario) $22,316
7th-- DMD FLUSH (Houston, TX) $16,577.60
8th-- armen13 (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec) $11,476.80
9th-- DDDoubleUp (Oslo, Norway) $6886.05

Congratulations to all the players, especially brainwash, who has now made four Sunday final tables in the past four months. A full final table report will be out on Monday.

While I hope you check in here regularly for news from the world of PokerStars, I would be remiss if I didn't point out a few things I've noticed recently on the web. Here's a quick overview.

Isabelle Mercier of Team PokerStars has been doing some good work on her own web site. The site is flashy and is written in both English and French. You'll find a blog, a gallery, and a long list of other neat things to review.






If you haven't been reading Team PokerStars' Wil Wheaton's blog over the past several years, you've been missing out. Wil recently gave the keynote speech at BARGE and retold a version of his fantastic "Lying in Odessa" story that marked his emergence in the world of poker.





Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh, a frequent and valued PokerStars player, is making the break into the big time. She's developed a new web site for herself with a blog, bio, gallery, and such. Word on the street is we'll be seeing her on TV sometime this year. You can find her new site here.




Also, the PokerStars Crew seems pretty active as well.

So, keep coming back here, but if you find yourself with a neeed to click elsewhere, try out the links above. They won't disappoint.

With less than a month until PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker begins, I decided to take a little look at how signups were going. It only takes a quick glance at the sign-up list to determine a few things. First, the 15 days of WCOOP are going to be rich with players and money. Second, if you play, you could very well be competing against some of the most well-known players and enthusiasts in the world. Just a cursory scan of the events shows Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, Chris "Money800" Moneymaker, Evelyn "evybabee" Ng, and Wil Wheaton, all of Team PokerStars.

Satellites of just about every type are available in PokerStars' tournament lobby now. You can win into events for just a few bucks or, even better, your Frequent Player Points.

Below you'll find a schedule of all the events with their dates, buy-ins, and guarantees (in bold).

9/4: $500+$30 No-Limit Hold 'em ($800,000)
9/5: $200+$15 Pot-Limit Omaha (rebuys)($200,000)
9/6: $200+$15 No-Limit Hold 'em Match Play ($200,000)
9/7: $200+$15 Pot-Limit Hold'em Short-Handed 6/Table ($200,000)
9/8: $200+$15 No-Limit Hold 'em (rebuys)($700,000)
9/9: $200+$15 Limit Hold 'em ($150,000)
9/10: $500+$30 Pot-Limit Hold 'em ($350,000)
9/11: $1000+$50 No-Limit Hold 'em ($1,000,000)
9/12: $300+$20 Seven Card Stud ($150,000)
9/13: $1000+$50 No-Limit Hold 'em Triple Shootout ($700,000)
9/14: $500+$30 Limit Omaha High/Low ($250,000)
9/15: $500+$30 Seven Card Stud High/Low ($150,000)
9/16: $500+$30 Pot Limit Omaha ($250,000)
9/17: $1000+$50 Limit Hold 'em ($400,000)
9/18: $2500+$100 No-Limit Hold 'em ($2,500,000)

The action at the $500,000 Guaranteed final table was fast, furious and sometimes moved so quickly that it was hard to follow. More than 3400 people signed up for the event and built a prize pool of more than $680,000. When the smoke cleared, this is how it looked:

PokerStars Sunday $500,000 Guaranteed Results 8/07/05
Order of results reflects cash payouts and four-way deal based on chip count that left $10,000 in the pot for first place

1. ACESEDAI (Alameda, CA) $83,950
2. Riverloser (Helsingborg, Sweden) $79,690
3. fred9609 (Las Vegas, NV) $78,178
4. xxxeasymoney (Colorado) $66,854
5. biotop (Zurich) $30,663
6. BritishSteel (Richboro, PA) $23,849
7. JTMONEY_420 (Muscatine, IA) $17,76.40
8. MOJOEX1 (Hallandale, FL) $12,265.20
9. jusgivithere (Waterloo, Ontario) $7,359.12

Congratulations to all the players.

Note: Some other duties could get in the way of a full tournament report for this week's PokerStars $500,000 Guaranteed event. My apologies to the players who were some of the most polite and gracious I've seen at a final table in some time. Well done to you all.

I suppose it's now time to put the World Series of Poker to bed. Although it was quite a ride and a fantastic time, there are several things on the horizon that will be filling this space. Keep your eyes here for breaking news on the World Championship of Online Poker and the second season of the European Poker Tour.

All of that said, I thought it would be good to put all of Bernard "Dogger9" Lee's stories in one place. If ever there were a man deserving of an archive to go along with his $400,000 cash at the WSOP, Lee is the man.

The Big Dance with Dogger9 (Parts 1-9)

Part 1--Before the Storm
Part 2--Goal Keeping
Part 3--Shuffle Up and Deal
Part 4--A picture is worth 105,800 chips
Part 5--In the money
Part 6--The biggest laydowns
Part 7--Making it to Binion's
Part 8--Stepping into history (first half)
Part 8--Stepping into history (second half half)
Part 9--You can go home again

Note: One of the greatest PokerStars stories to come from the World Series of Poker was that of Bernard "Dogger9" Lee, a Frequent Player Point qualifier who caught everybody's eye as the real deal. Lee has agreed to chronicle his journey for the Official PokerStars Blog. His trip report will be published here over the next several days. Enjoy.

Part 1--Before the Storm
Part 2--Goal Keeping
Part 3--Shuffle Up and Deal
Part 4--A picture is worth 105,800 chips
Part 5--In the money
Part 6--The biggest laydowns
Part 7--Making it to Binion's
Part 8--Stepping into history (first half)
Part 8--Stepping into history (second half half)

Part 9--You can go home again
by Bernard Lee

Day 9: Friday, July 15th
I rolled over in bed. The clock read 10:09am. I had slept well for nine hours, my longest sleep of the week. I awoke with a sense of calmness that I had not felt for days. But, I missed the tension, anxiety and anticipation that had driven me forward all week.

This morning, my cell phone had over a dozen messages from family and friends congratulating me on my run at the 2005 WSOP. Also, the Boston Globe and Boston Herald wanted final reaction interviews. They asked me about yesterday's action, my "entourage," my last hand, my plans for the prize the money and how I was returning home.

Over the course of the day, I either saw or spoke to all my buddies that had flown in yesterday. Charlie had to leave early in the morning. Before he left, he told me, "I've been a spectator at the last two Super Bowls and this was just as, if not more, exciting. It was like standing on the sidelines with one of your good friends playing the in game. This was incredible. I wouldn't have missed it for the world." DooJin left in the early afternoon. Bob and Sasha had a red-eye flight later that night. They planned to enjoy more of Vegas and I would see them back at the office. My dad, brother and I would meet up later in the afternoon so they could come with me to collect my winnings and then enjoy a celebratory dinner.

For lunch, I had an appointment with Rich Korbin, Director of Marketing for PokerStars. During our meal, I happened to see Joe Hachem and his entourage. I gave him a handshake and hug, "Joe, good luck, today. I hope everything goes well. Win this, my friend."

"Thanks mate. But, I may need some of your good thoughts and prayers, Bernie."

"You got them, Joe. Good Luck! Go get 'em." I sat back down with Rich. As we continued our conversation, he asked if I would be interested in writing a blog (this one that you are reading) for PokerStars. I was honored and accepted immediately.

After lunch, I picked up my father and brother and we drove down Flamingo Road to the Rio to secure my winnings. Walking in to the casino, they flanked me like bodyguards. At the cage, the cashier told me I had a choice of cash, check or wire transfer. I chose to wire the money into my account at home. I pictured myself being rather paranoid and worried if I had to carry a $400,000 check all the way home (can you imagine me with a briefcase of cash?).

After signing all the paperwork, we went back to the hotel and watched the replay of the 2nd round of the British Open. It was Jack Nicklaus' farewell at St. Andrews. And I thought last night was emotional. This was the first time I had relaxed and watched TV in over a week. While we watched Jack stride over the bridge on the 18th for the final time, I made reservations at an upscale Italian restaurant for 7:00pm. I also got caught up reading the PokerStars blog for the recap of yesterday's events. I got slightly choked up reading Brad "Otis" Willis' comments about my elimination.

During dinner, my father, brother, and I discussed whether we would go to see the final table action. Although I was disappointed that I had not made the final table myself, I was still first and foremost a big fan of poker. The day would be a historic one, the last day that WSOP played at the world-famous Binion's. We decided to go.

When we arrived, the players were on dinner break. Before play resumed, I sought out Brad and thanked him for his kind words in yesterday's PokerStars blog recap. At this point, only seven players were left, and unfortunately, one of the two remaining PokerStars players, Brad Kondracki, had already been eliminated in 8th place. Shortly after play resumed, Daniel Bergsdorf, the final PokerStars hope exited in 7th place. Congratulations to both Daniel and Brad for an excellent tournament. The action was slow to develop since the remaining players played cautiously -- who could blame them with $7.5 million at stake. While we took in the action, I was glad to have had the chance to say good-bye to many of the staff members at Harrah's and the WSOP team (Johnny, Jack, Nolan, Beverly, Sara, Greg, Guppy). Thanks for all your help. See you next year.

At about 1:00am, we left Binion's after that level was completed since I had an early flight in the morning. There were still five players remaining. Good luck to all. My father, brother, and I chatted for a little bit in my room, and then I finished packing and said good night. Have a safe flight. I'll see you again when I get back home.

Day 10: Saturday, July 16th
I drove away from the hotel early in the morning to catch my 6:30am flight back to Boston. The dream week was ending. I was returning to real life. I assumed that I would slip back quickly to my previous world of anonymity. That morning, I happened to wear a PokerStars polo shirt since I had run out of regular clean clothes (I had only packed clothes for 6 days). I quickly realized that the internet and PokerStars had made me recognizable even outside the poker world when the hotel receptionist and airline ticket agent knew my face. A couple of people asked me how I did. One woman even told me how sad she was when I was eliminated. I was truly humbled that people I had never met before were rooting for me.

In the airport, I observed a mother with her 2-year-old son (the same age as my son Noah). The little boy asked where his Daddy was. My eyes welled up. I couldn't wait to see my son and daughter to give them a real kiss instead of just one on their pictures. Emotionally and physically exhausted, I immediately fell asleep on the plane. I woke upon arrival in Boston. I turned on my cell phone to tell Katie I had landed and suddenly received a call from an unknown number: "Bernard, have you just landed? This is the Boston Herald. We are here to take a few pictures of your arrival back home." They took pictures of my wife, son, daughter, and me at the baggage claim. Another new experience, to say the least.

When I landed in Boston, I learned that Joe Hachem had won. I can't be happier for him! We played for two days on the same table and he is a truly great guy. Sometimes nice guys do finish first! Many may say I'm Monday morning (or really Saturday afternoon) quarterbacking because he's the champ, but Joe knows the truth. Additionally, I believe that his win will be great for the game of poker. It should significantly increase the fan base in the land Down Under. What a great new ambassador for poker. Congratulations, Joe! Don't forget us little people now that you are the World Champion. (I spoke with him a few days later and he was the same guy that I played with, sincere and humble.) Hope to see you again soon.

Eleven days ago, I had flown out of Boston as an "unknown." In Las Vegas, I made a tiny ripple in the poker world. Now, I have come home to the open arms of my family. My unbelievable week was over.

Please indulge me as I have to thank a few people (I'll try my best to make it brief and not like the Academy Awards). First and foremost, I want to thank my family and friends for all their support. Without everyone calling me and encouraging me, I don't know how I would have made it through the week. Special thanks to: Mark -- next year, baby; DooJin -- thanks for being my brain/on-site manager the last few days; Dad and Ken -- thanks for coming, it meant more to me than you know; Dave and Max -- thanks for the steady coaching and analysis all week long. Most importantly, without one incredibly wise and patient woman, I would not have even left for this event. Occasionally, she kiddingly reminds me, "You are so lucky to have married me." Katie, I cannot agree more. I love you very much. Thank you for letting me follow my dreams. Additionally, my wife has faithfully and painstakingly edited every paragraph of this blog. All of the eloquent, descriptive imagery and sophisticated words are hers (ha, ha, that is me editing again-- Katie). And, lastly, my kids. Noah and Maya, I am sorry I was away so long. But, Daddy is home and will hopefully make up for lost time. I love you both.

I want to thank ESPN (especially Matt M., Norm C., Adam and Steve R.) for befriending a regular guy and granting me the chance to tell my story. Also, thank you to the entire Foxwoods poker staff (especially Kathy R., Mike, Glenn, Lenny and Brian S.) who have all always treated me with kindness and respect. Without Foxwoods, I would not have had so many opportunities to practice and hone my ability playing live.

Finally, I want to send my sincere thanks to PokerStars, not only for the opportunity to play at the 2005 WSOP Main Event, but also for allowing me to share my experiences here on this blog with countless other poker aficionados. Thank you also to these individuals at PokerStars -- Dan, Rich, Brad, Courtney, Lee, Mad, Kristin. You all are truly the best.

I hope you enjoyed the week as much as I did. As determined as I was to "get out of each day," I am equally determined not to be "just a flash in the pan." I hope to see you at a tournament some time soon. Until next time, this is Bernard "Dogger9" Lee signing off from PokerStars -- Where Poker Players Become World Champions.

Note: One of the greatest PokerStars stories to come from the World Series of Poker was that of Bernard "Dogger9" Lee, a Frequent Player Point qualifier who caught everybody's eye as the real deal. Lee has agreed to chronicle his journey for the Official PokerStars Blog. His trip report will be published here over the next several days. Enjoy.

Part 1--Before the Storm
Part 2--Goal Keeping
Part 3--Shuffle Up and Deal
Part 4--A picture is worth 105,800 chips
Part 5--In the money
Part 6--The biggest laydowns
Part 7--Making it to Binion's
Part 8--Stepping into history (first half)

Part 8--Stepping into history (continued)
by Bernard Lee

As play was about to begin, I went over to my "entourage" for one last round of high fives and fist pounds. I also noticed that my "lucky" cameraman was at my table -- Adam from ESPN. We had become friends over the week and I was thankful to have friendly face nearby. Thanks Adam for the "lucky" fist pounds and pieces of gum. I truly appreciated your support during the week. Finally, as I prepared to sit down, my genie lamp/good luck charm appeared -- ESPN's Norm Chad. After posing in a quick picture with him, I rubbed his jacket for good luck. Let the day begin.

Blinds were 20K and 40K, ante 5K. As play began, I caught a few cards early. I re-raised with JJ (he folded) and took the blinds with AK. That was all I got during the first level. The large blinds and antes were eating away at my stack. I ended that level with exactly the same number of chips I had started the day with -- 770K. We had lost only 2 people so far and I thought this was going to be a long night. However, as the next level got underway (blinds were 30K and 60K, ante 5K), all of a sudden, people were departing much more rapidly. First, Greg Raymer, the 2004 World Champion was eliminated at 25th place -- an impressive repeat performance by Greg after his big win in 2004, to pass nearly 5600 people for 25th in 2005. Please give a warm round of applause for "Fossilman." My mentor, Tuan "Tommy" Vu was eliminated in 22nd and Phil Ivey (the odds makers favorite going into today) left at 20th. While these high profile exits were happening, I caught a couple of small hands (AQ and QQ) before the hand that set the stage for a classic showdown between Shahram "Sean" Sheikhan and myself. First, let's give Sean a lot of credit because he started the day as the shortest stack at 210K and built his chip stack to over 2 million. In this fateful hand, Sean raised to about 250K in early position. When I looked down, I saw the dream hand -- AA. After a moment, I announced "All-In," pushing all of my 825K chips in front of me. Everyone folded around and the showdown began. Sean asked me if I wanted him to call or fold and kept calling out my name. For almost two to three minutes, he tried to get a tell on me, whether or not to call. During the entire time, I just kept staring straight ahead and at the picture of my kids, which is what I always do. Although you would think I would be very nervous, I was very serene. I thought if I lose with the best hand possible, I can go home to my family in peace and not second guess myself. After what seemed like an eternity, Sean announced the words that I was hoping for -- "I call." Ecstatically, I jumped out of my seat, flipped over my Aces, as he begrudgingly showed his Queens. I picked up my pictures, began to rub them for good luck and said to myself, "No Queen! No Queen!" The flop brought J J 9. So far, so good. "No Queen! No Queen!" The Turn...3. "No Queen! No Queen!" The River...2. YES!! I jumped high in excitement as I had doubled up and my chip stack was near 2 million. Once again, I had doubled up early in the day, which was similar to the last two days. I was determined to make it through the day. After stacking my chips, I ran over to my "entourage" for hugs and high fives. The round ended shortly thereafter and I went to dinner break with 1,790K in chips and only 18 players remaining.

I felt a bit restless at dinner. Then, we all returned to the room and re-drew for seats at the final two tables. Once again, I avoided the TV table. From the beginning of the week, I told everyone, "I don't want to be on the TV table until I have to be there. And that would be the final day." This round started with the blinds at 25K and 50K and the antes were 10K. I picked up a 10K chip in my hand and showed everyone at the table. "This is what we started our first day with – pretty cool huh?"

This put the whole week in perspective. At this point, I knew it would be a long night, but just like the past two days, I had my mission -- focus on each level, survive the day and move on. At least I drew a friendly table. Joe Hachem was on my right, Conor Tate was on my left and John McGrane was across from me. Unfortunately, John was the first to go. I was one of the first to greet him after he lost. I congratulated him on a fabulous tournament. I told him, "Remember yesterday. You were fighting just to get to 36th and $274,090. Today, you made it to 18th and $350,000." Congratulations to brilliant fellow that I hope I can call a friend. John, I hope to see you again soon. Johnny Howard was eliminated in 16th -- another person I was sad to see go. Johnny, you were a solid player and, more importantly, a very sincere person. I look forward to seeing and playing against you again.

As for me, I started out the level with a slightly bad break. Brad Kondracki, another PokerStars player, was the short stack and went all-in. I looked down to see AdQd. I thought that he might be trying to steal the blinds with Ace-something (lower than a Queen) and then I would be approximately a 70 to 30 favorite. After a moment to think about it, I called. Brad shook his head as he turned over T8. UGH! I would rather he had Ax. Now, I was only about a 60 to 40 favorite. Nevertheless, let's see what the flop would bring and, to my dismay, a Ten hit on the flop and it held up to double Brad up. My stack decreased to 1.2 million, but I was still in decent shape. I got caught trying to take the blinds with AT by Tiffany, but shortly thereafter, I picked up a hand with TT. I raised all-in with the TT and Tex Barch thought about it a while and finally mucked. After showing my TT, Tex announces that he mucked TT as well. WOW! I can't believe he didn't call me (he had close to 4 to 5 million chips. Thanks for the respect Tex). At the end of this level, I was around 800K -- very short stacked. But, I still believed. I had to hold on and survive.

When play resumed, I could not find a hand. For almost an hour, the cards were nowhere to be found. Then, a slight rush occurred. 55 -- I picked up the blinds. 99 -- I picked the blinds. Then, an unusual hand developed. I had Kc7h in the big blind and three large stacks limped into the pot. I checked my option. It was the first hand all day where so many people had limped into the pot. The flop came down Ks6c3d. Not bad, but I was worried that one of them had a King and a better kicker, so I checked. When the next two checked as well, Aaron Kanter pushed in 200K. I guessed Aaron was trying to steal the pot. "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be," I exclaimed as I pushed all-in with my final 660k into the pot. The other two quickly folded and Aaron began to think. As he kept contemplating, I knew I had him beat after the flop. If Aaron had a King, he wouldn't have thought twice and called because the extra 460K since he was the chip leader at the time (near 7 to 8 million). Thus, I knew he had a 6 (or maybe a 3) with a decent kicker in his hand. Finally, he called and flipped over Qc6s. He had only five outs. With my family pictures in hand, I watched the turn ... Jh. I actually jumped prematurely because I originally thought it was a King. I must have upset the poker gods with that pre-jump because the river was a 6d! It was OVER. I bent over for a second, hands on knees, sad, not because of the bad beat (although what a bad beat at this stage of the tournament as I was about a 90 to 10 favorite going into the river), but because I would no longer be playing in the 2005 WSOP Main Event. I was having so much fun and I was sad that it was over. Nonetheless, I was extremely proud of my showing. I stood up to shake the hands of my fellow competitors. Conor Tate was the first to come over and give me a hug. Joe Hachem hugged me shortly after telling me, "I'm sorry mate. You played great." I told Aaron I was afraid to go against him because he had so much luck during the day. Oh well, the poker gods determined that it was my time to go. I picked up my family pictures and put away my Foxwoods card protector and sunglasses. Before I exited the area, I turned once last time to the crowd to thank them for all their support. I was somewhat embarrassed by their applause, but happy that I had made a few more friends.

During my final interview with ESPN, Matt asked me how I felt. I truly felt at peace with myself. I went in with a solid hand after the flop and I simply got "rivered." I played my heart out -- there was nothing more I could have done. I said to Matt, "I may have had better single days in my life -- my wedding, the birth of my two kids -- but this has been the week of my life." What a ride! ESPN followed me into the hallway as I called my wife to tell her the news. "Honey, I got knocked out. Tell the kids I love them and I'll be home soon." Katie told me that she loved me and how proud of me she was. She and the kids couldn't wait until I got home and would meet me at the airport. After signing the commemorative table, I received my money receipt for my winnings. I would need to go back to the Rio to pick up my winnings in either cash, check or wire transfer. When I looked down at the slip of paper, it hit me. I stared at the numbers, $400,000. WOW!

The trip back to the hotel was, of course, fairly somber. Everyone gathered in my room and we chatted about the day. I thanked everyone again for making the trip out to see me. I truly believe that I was blessed to have such a remarkable week. It was just sad that it was over.

(Coming up tomorrow...what it's like when it's over)