Posts Tagged ‘Ben Lamb’

Forbes tabs Jay Farber as 2013’s Chris Moneymaker

Saturday, November 30th, 2013

The poker world has yet to find another Chris Moneymaker, who inspired a boom after winning the 2003 WSOP Main Event. And while it doesn’t look like a Moneymaker replica is coming any time soon, Forbes thinks that Jay Farber could come pretty close.

Forbes recently documented Farber’s rise from a Las Vegas VIP host to the runner-up in the 2013 WSOP Main Event. They described how a man with just $2,155 in poker winnings prior to the Main Event worked his way into a position where he could collect a $5,174,357 payout.

Thanks to his big finish and VIP host job, Farber has now been able to rub elbows with some big-time pros and increase his status in the poker world. “I’m lucky to have a lot of support from a number of pro players,” he told Forbes. “My lifestyle and my job has allowed me to meet and become friends with a number of great players, and they’ve been coaching me and offering advice.”

Some of the pros whom Farber is talking about include Ben Lamb, Shaun Deeb, Keith Ferrer and Brent Roberts. And it’s likely that the 29-year-old will continue befriending poker pros along the way.

Now, as Forbers wonders, the big question will be whether or not Jay Farber ingrains himself in the poker world. If so, maybe he can become the amateur to poker star that Moneymaker did a decade ago.

Of course, it won’t be nearly to the degree that Moneymaker inspired, when millions of people took up the game after seeing him win the ME. But based on his interesting day job and new-found poker success, Jay Farber could definitely be an inspiration to new players who are just starting out.

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Ben Lamb, Tom Dwan 2012 WSOP Absences Explained

Saturday, June 30th, 2012

Every year, the WSOP is a virtual who’s who of poker since the game’s top pros descend on Las Vegas to compete for gold bracelets, glory, and of course major cash. The 2012 WSOP has certainly been no different – save for the fact that a couple of very notable stars have pretty much been MIA.

One of the world’s top cash game players in Tom Dwan and the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year in Ben Lamb have both been noticeably absent in the headlines this year, which had some people scratching their heads about the matter. However, these absences were recently explained after both players showed up to the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop tournament.

Why Dwan was missing

Tom Dwan has never been one who hangs his hat on poker tournament accomplishments or WSOP gold bracelets. That said, it’s no surprise that he was in Macau for most of the 2012 WSOP playing in the massive cash games there. While people are tight-lipped about what happens in Macau high stakes poker games, rumor has it that the blinds reached $3,500/$7,000 at one point. Apparently, the only thing that brought Dwan back was the $1 million buy-in tourney that he registered for. And it’s been a decent decision so far since he’s ranked 10th in chips (out of 37 remaining players) after Day 1.

Why Ben Lamb was missing

Of all the players missing at the 2012 WSOP, Ben Lamb is no doubt the most puzzling. Actually though he hasn’t really been missing, but rather just dividing his time between cash games and WSOP tournaments. As for the latter, Lamb has yet to run good and cash in any tourneys yet. However – just like Dwan – he too is fairing pretty well after ending Day 1 of the Big One for One Drop with 5.77 million chips (currently 8th).

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Pius Heinz wins 2011 WSOP Main Event

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Ben Lamb may have been the talk of this year’s WSOP, but it was Pius Heinz winning the 2011 WSOP Main Event title, along with the top prize of $8.7 million.

Heinz walked onto the final table with 108 million chips, which put him well ahead of the other two remaining players in Lamb (55.4 million) and Martin Staszko (42.7 million). However, it didn’t take long at all for Heinz to have competition since Staszko doubled up through Lamb on the first hand of the final day. It happened when Lamb tried to steal a pot from Staszko with K-J, only to see the 35-year-old Czech Republic native go all-in. Lamb felt that he was pot committed and called; Staszko flipped over pocket sevens, and won the hand after the board provided nothing for Lamb.

Just three hands later, Lamb desperately shoved his remaining chips in with Q-6(o), which didn’t hold up against Staszko’s pocket jacks. With the American now eliminated from the tournament in third place, Heinz and Staszko battled for the title, with the latter holding a 117.3 million-to-88.6 million chip lead.

This was definitely a heads-up match for the ages as both players went back and forth with the lead. At one point, Staszko looked like he was in firm control of the tournament since he’d maneuvered into a 4-1 chip advantage. However, the German Heinz never looked phased, and battled back to be in contention.

On one very critical play, Staszko called Heinz’s shove with Qc-9c because he didn’t think that the 22-year-old had anything. But Heinz held Ah-Qh, and when the board provided no help to either player, the German took a big lead over Staszko. Just a few hands later, Heinz was able to put Staszko away and win the 2011 WSOP Main Event title.

With the world’s biggest poker tournament now in the books, Heinz becomes the third richest winner ever with $8.7 million. Here is a look at how all of the final tablist fared:

1. Pius Heinz – $8,715,638
2. Martin Staszko – $5,433,086
3. Ben Lamb – $4,021,138
4. Matt Giannetti – $3,012,700
5. Phil Collins – $2,269,599
6. Eoghan O’Dea – $1,720,831
7. Bob Bounahra – $1,314,097
8. Anton Makiievskyi – $1,010,015
9. Sam Holden – $782,115

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Ben Lamb is Toast of 2011 WSOP

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Every year, it seems as if one WSOP player stands out above the rest. Last year, it was Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi because of his previous fame, $50k Player’s Championship title, and 2010 WSOP Main Event final table appearance. This year, the shining star at the 2011 WSOP is no doubt Ben Lamb who is now a lock to win the WSOP Player of the Year award.

The 26-year-old has absolutely crushed the competition after winning the $10k Pot Limit Omaha Championship ($814,436), and finishing within the top 12 in three other tournaments. Now all of this would have been enough to put Lamb in a position where he was the best 2011 WSOP player. However, Ben Lamb has taken things even farther by making it to the end of the WSOP Main Event.

When the final table finishes play today, Lamb will be second in chips behind Pius Heinz, and in front of Martin Staszko. But no matter what happens, you can be sure that his name is already etched into WSOP lore since he’s guaranteed a top three Main Event finish on top of everything else.

The financial aspect is definitely worth noting in all of this too because Lamb has taken himself from being a well-paid grinder to being a bonafide multi-millionaire. Counting just his first four cashes, Lamb earned $1.3 million. And when you include his impending 2011 WSOP Main Event cash, he will make anywhere from $4 million to $8.7 million.

You could even say that Ben Lamb has had the best WSOP ever when the tournament field sizes and event skill levels are taken into account (four of the five events he’s cashed in were championships). Of course, that is something up for debate after looking back through history, but Lamb’s 2011 WSOP performance is definitely near the top.

 

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Online Poker Cheating Incidents

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Unfortunately, we’ve seen a number of online poker cheating incidents lately, and some of the biggest names in the game are involved. So without further delay, here is a look at the major online poker scandals, and a description of what went down in each instance.

Jose Macedo (superuser scandal) – Jose “Girah” Macedo, who was once labeled the Portuguese Prodigy, was caught in an elaborate cheating scam where he referred unsuspecting friends to a supposed fish named “sauron1989.” Little did anybody know that Macedo was actually playing as sauron1989. He then asked his friends if he could view the match via Skype’s shared screen feature (to share poker tips), which they obliged to since it was unknown that he was also sauron1989. This gave Macedo access to his opponents hole cards, and essentially made him a superuser.

Haseeb “Dogishead” Qureshi (chip dumping) – Qureshi, who is Macedo’s poker friend, engaged in chip dumping, which involves intentionally playing hands bad so another player at the table can scoop up the chips. In this instance, Qureshi found chip dumping as the easiest way to deliver Macedo $100k since he backed the Portuguese Prodigy. However, this also enabled Macedo to win a Lock Poker challenge, and the victory was later rescinded after Lock discovered what happened. Qureshi has since quit online poker in light of the most recent Macedo scandal (they had close ties, Qureshi’s name is officially ruined).

Dan “Jungleman12” Cates (multi-accounting) – Cates was also linked to both Qureshi and Macedo, and he recently admitted to playing on three of Macedo’s online poker accounts. In an interview, Cates lied about not being involved in multi-accounting, but later admitted to playing through Macedo’s accounts in several $25/$50 PLO sessions.

David “Chino” Rheems (not paying money back) – Rheems has no connection to the aforementioned players, but he’s still earned a bad rap by borrowing money from players, and not paying it back afterward. At one point, Rheems was said to owe Will Molson, Tom Dwan, Joseph Cheong and Ben Lamb over $200k collectively. After winning the first Epic Poker League event, Rheems reportedly started paying people back with his $1 million in winnings.

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Who will win 2011 WSOP?

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

Since there’s a long, boring wait until the November Nine meets to decide the 2011 WSOP Man Event champion, it’s worth taking some time to debate who will win the title. The first thing that sticks out about this year’s competition is how balanced the chip counts are heading into the final table (at least compared to previous years).

Martin Staszko leads all players with over 40 million chips, while Sam Holden is the short stack with just over 12 million. Now this might seem like quite a disparity, but considering how Jonathan Duhamel had 66 million chips compared to ninth place Jason Sentl’s 7.6 million chips in 2010, the 2011 gap isn’t so big. In any case, it looks like everybody has a shot at this point.

Getting into more details about the individual who will win, Bodog places 2011 November odds as follows:

Martin Staszko (40,175,000) – 4/1
Eoghan O’dea (33,925,000) – 9/2
Matt Giannetti (24,750,000) – 13/2
Phil Collins (23,875,000) – 13/2
Ben Lamb (20,875,000) – 7/1
Badih Bounahra (19,700,000) – 9/1
Pius Heinz (16,425,000) – 11/1
Anton Makievskyi (13,825,000) – 12/1
Samuel Holden (12,375,000) – 16/1

Basically, the odds don’t really predict much because they fall in line with each person’s chip count. However, you do have to consider that Staszko figures to hold the best chance since he’s got the chip lead, and has been a full-time pro for around a year now. Likewise, O’Dea is also a strong bet to win it all because he has plenty of live tournament experience, and isn’t far behind Staszko in chips.

The one wild card definitely has to be Ben Lamb because he’s running hotter than anybody in this year’s WSOP. In fact, Lamb is in the driver’s seat to win the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year, and has the most live tournament experience too. Both Phil Collins and Matt Giannetti are certainly strong bets to make a title run because they’ve won millions of dollars online, and are in the middle of the pack in terms of chips.

But even with all of this being said, it’s going to be extremely tough to pick a clear favorite from this group.

 

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Ben Lamb’s Excellent WSOP continues in Main Event

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Ben Lamb has a lot of live poker tournament cashes, which includes a 14th place finish in the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Even still, nobody remembers who finished 14th in a Main Event – unless it’s the last woman standing of course – and Lamb was largely unheralded going into the 2011 WSOP. But this has changed in a huge way, including the fact that he now leads the 2011 Main Event after two days of play.

Now as we all know, the odds are against Lamb holding onto this top spot and winning the $8.71 million top prize. However, it’s a mute point if he fades away and doesn’t even grab a significant cash here.

After all, the Tulsa, Oklahoma native kicked things off by finishing second in a $3k Pot-Limit Omaha event, which earned him $259,918. Later on, Lamb would put himself on the map in a big way by winning the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship ($814,436).

Want some more impressive results? How about when Lamb finished 12th in the Limit Hold’em 6-handed Championship and 8th in the $50,000 Players Championship. When you tally up all of Lamb’s winnings from the 2011 WSOP, he has over $1.3 million among his four cashes. And he has an excellent chance to add even more money since he’s doing so well in terms of chips after two days.

Moving away from Lamb for a moment, it’s also worth mentioning that Patrik Antonius is also going strong after the first two days. The Finn doesn’t play a whole lot of live poker anymore, but perhaps he’s turning over a new leaf since Full Tilt Poker still isn’t running real money games at the moment. It would be nice to see a big name like him make a deep run in the tournament.

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