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Take one part WPT, mix with
twenty-five parts celebrity editions of any game show and
reality show you can think of... and you get Celebrity Poker
Showdown, a six-part elimination tournament to decide who is
the best home-game poker player in Hollywood and win part of a
$250,000 prize pool. And it's all for charity, of course.
Recaps by Chris Wolvie, GSNN |
FACT FILE:
Hosts: Dave Foley and
Phil Gordon
EP: Joshua Malina, Marcia Mule, Andrew Hill Newman,
Bryan Scott
Packager: Bravo
Airs: Thursdays at 9:00pm ET on Bravo |
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Web design by Jason Elliott. Logo by Chico Alexander.
|
|
What follows is a
televised-hand-by-televised-hand account. Obviously,
since it's only a two-hour show, most hands are not
televised so you're going to see a lot of jumping of the
dealer button.
What's a "dealer
button"? What's "all-in"? What the heck is this weird
poker game they're playing? Well, I'll do my best to
give the rookies out there a run-down while maintaining
the flow of the hands for the veterans.
From Las Vegas, Nevada, where EVERY day is a holiday,
Bravo presents CELEBRITY POKER SHOWDOWN! Five
celebrities have taken time from their Christmas/Hannukah/New
Year's parties to descend on the Palms Casino and play
No Limit poker for their charities. When the dust
settles, one of them will advance to the Final Table and
compete for part of the $250,000 prize pool.
Host Kevin Pollack, who ALWAYS knows how to throw a
party (as long as celebs are around) introduce us to
this week's gamblers:
CELEBRITY
|
BIO
|
Coolio
playing for Heritage Begins Within |
Coolio is a
well-known hip-hop artist, best known for his hits
"Gangsta's Paradise" and "Fantastic Voyage". Will
he get a bad rap tonight or will he leave with a
"gangster roll" for his charity? |
Shannon Elizabeth
playing for Animal Avengers |
Elizabeth has been
in the first two "American Pie" films and was
recently in the romantic comedy "Love Actually".
But will she actually have a chance at this poker
table or will she end up with pie in the face? |
Ron Livingston
playing for ACCION International |
Livingston played
an ADA in The Practice before becoming Jack
Berger on HBO's Sex and the City. Will he
be disbarred early or is there a certain "zsa-zsa-zsu"
in the air for his poker talents? |
Paul Rudd
playing for Project ALS |
Rudd has been in
many critically-acclaimed films like "Cider House
Rules", "200 Cigarettes" and "Romeo + Juliet".
Will he be smoking the table, or is he fortune's
fool? |
Sarah Silverman
playing for Habitat for Humanity |
Silverman's
starting to become a sought-for actress. She
stars as Hadassah Guberman on Crank Yankers
and was recently in the Jack Black film "School of
Rock". Will she rock and roll here or be hung up
to dry? |
Each celeb starts with $10,000
worth of chips and the game will go until one celebrity
gets all $50,000. That person then earns the right to
play in the Final Table for a lion's share of that
quarter-million dollar price pool.
The game, if you haven't figured it out
by now, is No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. A dealer
button will be passed around the table after each
hand to show the dealer where to start handing out cards
(to the right of the button). The two players to the
right of the button post blinds, forced bets to
insure there's money in each hand. Each player is dealt
two cards face down, called hole cards. They'll
then decide to call the highest bet, raise the bet or
fold their cards and remove themselves from the hand.
After the bets are in, three community cards, called
the flop, are dealt face-up on the table. After
another round of betting (and/or folding), a fourth card
is turned up, called the turn or fourth
street. More bets (and/or folds) are made, then the
fifth and final community card, the river or
fifth street, is turned up. After more bets/folds,
the best five-card poker hand (made of any combo of the
five community cards and the two hole cards) wins the
pot. The game is called no limit because, at any
time, any celebrity can go all-in and bet all
their chips. But, if they LOSE the hand they go all-in
with, they're eliminated from the tournament
At the announcers' position beside the
Losers' Lounge are your hosts Kevin Pollack and poker
expert Phil Gordon. They'll be calling the action
emanating from the main room and greet those that bust
out.
If this were boxing, I'd say, "Let's get
it on!" But it's poker... so let's SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL!
Initial blinds are $100 (SB) and $200
(BB). The Dealer Button (D) starts on Nicole.
Coolio
|
Sarah
|
Paul (D)
|
Shannon
(SB) |
Ron (BB)
|
K?
3? |
?????
|
A? 9?
|
?????
|
?????
|
Raises to
$600 |
FOLD
|
Raises to
$1,000 |
FOLD
|
FOLD
|
Raises to
$2,600 |
|
Calls
$1,600 |
|
FLOP: 8?
Q?
A? |
Coolio flopped a "nut flush draw"; one more club
gives him the best possible flush. |
\/-- Coolio,
the first one after the dealer button who's still
in, acts first |
CHECK
|
|
Bets
$1,000 |
|
Calls
$1,000 |
|
TURN: 5? |
CHECK
|
|
Bets
$1,000 |
|
Calls
$1,000 |
|
RIVER: Q?
COMMUNITY: Q? Q?
A?
8?
5? |
Bets $500
|
|
Raises to
$1,000 |
|
Calls
$500 |
|
Q?
Q?
A?
K?
8? |
|
A? A? Q?
Q? 9? |
|
|
WIN $11,500 |
|
Had Coolio bet more than the meager $500, the
bluff MIGHT have worked. Now Paul is in a
commanding lead. |
Shannon
|
Ron |
Coolio
(D) |
Sarah
(SB) |
Paul (BB)
|
6? 4? |
?????
|
9?
9? |
?????
|
Q? 10?
|
Raises to
$500 |
FOLD
|
Raises to
$1,000 |
FOLD
|
Raises to
$1,500 |
FOLD
|
|
Raises to
$2,000 |
|
Raises to
$3,100 |
|
ALL-IN
$3,100 |
|
|
Paul has "tapped" Coolio, meaning he bet exactly
the same amount of chips Coolio has left. Should
Coolio lose (and it's still a close race since Paul
has two "overcards" or cards of higher rank than
Coolio's 9s), he's out of the tournament. |
FLOP: 7?
Q? 3? |
Paul flopped a pair of Queens. Only another 9
can save Coolio now. |
TURN: 2?
RIVER: 9? |
OW! Coolio had a 17.5 to 1 chance of getting one
of the two remaining 9s...and he got one! Coolio
"doubles up", or effective doubles his chip total.
|
|
9?
9? 9?
Q?
7? |
|
Q?
Q? 10? 9?
7? |
|
WIN $6,800 |
|
Paul: "Coolio just kicked me in the 'nines'!" |
CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
Paul Rudd |
$14,500 |
Ron Livingston |
$11,900 |
Shannon
Elizabeth |
$9,400 |
Sarah Silverman |
$7,400 |
Coolio |
$6,800 |
Ron |
Coolio
|
Sarah (D)
|
Paul (SB)
|
Shannon
(BB) |
A? 10? |
A? K? |
?????
|
Q? Q? |
?????
|
Calls $200
|
Raises to
$1,000 |
FOLD
|
Raises to
1,800 |
FOLD
|
Calls
$1,600 |
Calls
$800 |
|
Coolio's Ace-King is "Big Slick", the best
non-paired hand in Hold 'Em... but it's PEANUTS
compared to Paul's "ladies". |
FLOP: 6? 6? Q? |
Paul just flopped a "boat" or full house! The
odds of that happening were 136 to 1! |
Paul is first to act this time
---> |
Bets
$3,000 |
|
FOLD
|
Calls
$3,000 |
|
Most pro players would check the full house and
"slow roll" the opponents (make it look like he has
next to nothing in order to sucker players into
betting). But Paul knows that Coolio is an
aggressive player and he knows Coolio is going to
call any bet he makes. |
TURN: 7? |
Coolio needed two Aces or two Kings in a row to
beat Paul. He's "drawing dead" now; nothing can
help him. Of course, HE doesn't know that. Here,
Paul asks Coolio how many chips he has left. Coolio
doesn't answer him straight. Paul doesn't really
have a right to know how much another player has
left. |
|
Bets 2,200
|
|
|
ALL-IN
$2,000 |
|
Paul's bet is reduced to $2,000 to cover Coolio's
all-in. Coolio is out of the tournament...and he
knows it when Paul flips over his cards. |
RIVER: 7? |
|
7? 7? 6? 6?
A? |
|
Q? Q?
Q?
7? 7? |
|
|
OUT |
|
WIN $15,600 |
|
Coolio bemoans the
fact that Paul had Queens "wired" (as the hole cards)
all the way to the "Lounge" (he refuses to call it the
"Losers' Lounge". Kevin greet him and informs him that
Heritage Begins Within will get 5 "large" for his
participation. Coolio says he was told by pros to play
Ace-King all the way to the end and he all but curses
Paul's incredible luck. Ah, well, Coolio gets a chance
to sip his cocktail and do a little "MST3K" work with
the others as he watches the action...which we'll get
back to right now.
Paul |
Shannon
(D) |
Ron (SB)
|
Sarah
(BB) |
J?
3? |
4? 2? |
A? Q? |
????? |
FOLD |
Raises to
$500 |
Calls
$500 |
FOLD
|
Shannon is on a stone-cold
bluff; no self-respecting poker player would hold on
to deuce-four. It's especially bad because Ron has
"Big Chick". |
FLOP: Q? 7? 3? |
Another nut flush draw, this time for Ron. Ron
looks at his cards to make sure he has a spade.
Sarah points out that this is a "tell", something a
player does that shows those who watch carefully
enough what his/her cards are. |
|
Bets
$1,000 |
|
|
Raises to
$2,000 |
Calls
$1,000 |
|
Shannon continues with the bluff. |
TURN: 9? |
And there's the nut flush. Shannon ALSO has a
flush, but it's Queen-high whereas Ron's is
Ace-high. She is drawing dead. |
|
Bets
$2,000 |
|
|
Calls
$2,000 |
|
RIVER: 10?
COMMUNITY: Q? 10? 9? 7?
3? |
|
ALL-IN
$6,500 |
|
|
FOLD |
|
|
WIN $15,700 |
|
Had Ron wanted to, he could have bet relatively
low and made Shannon put in more of her chips. He
should have known that Shannon had a decent hand
since she was calling all his big bets. |
Blinds have gone up
to $200 (SB) and $400 (BB).
Ron |
Sarah (D)
|
Paul (SB)
|
Shannon
(BB) |
10?
3? |
????? |
A? Q? |
A? Q? |
FOLD |
FOLD
|
Raises to
$1,000 |
Calls
$600 |
Two "Big Chicks". Shannon
only puts in $600 because she already has $400 in on
the Big Blind. In the Losers' Lounge, Coolio is on
a cell phone telling someone that Paul has something
going on with the dealer to always get such good
hands. |
FLOP: K? 2? 8?
|
|
Bets $800 |
Calls
$1,000 |
TURN: J?
|
BOTH Paul and Shannon are drawing dead,
technically. Neither of them can make a flush, so
neither of them can make a better hand no matter
what the river comes up. If both stay to the end,
they'll split the pot. |
|
CHECK |
Bets $500 |
|
Calls
$500 |
|
Paul made a mistake and said, "I'll see the $500
and I'll raise it." Tournament director Robert
Thompson informs Paul that since he already said
"I'll see the $500", he must only call the bet. The
reason for this is that Paul could have picked up a
tell from Shannon after calling and, if he saw
something he liked on Shannon's expression, he could
then raise. A "string raise", as this is called, is
bad poker etiquette and illegal in tournament play;
Paul should have just said, "I'll raise it," and
THEN he could decide how much to raise it. Even
worse for Paul is that he's more-or-less informed
Shannon that he MIGHT have a better hand and, thus,
may not get any more chips out of her. |
RIVER: 2?
COMMUNITY: 2? 2? K?
J?
8? |
|
CHECK |
CHECK
|
|
2? 2?
A? K? Q?
|
2? 2? A?
K? Q? |
|
WIN $2,300 |
WIN $2,300 |
In poker, suits mean nothing in determining ranks
of hands. Paul and Shannon have the same five-card
hand: a pair of deuces with Ace-King-Queen. The pot
is split evenly. |
CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
Paul Rudd |
$22,300 |
Ron Livingston |
$15,700 |
Sarah Silverman |
$7,400 |
Shannon
Elizabeth |
$4,600 |
Blinds are up to $400 (SB) and $800 (BB).
Sarah
|
Paul (D)
|
Shannon
(SB) |
Ron (BB)
|
????? |
10?
3? |
A? Q? |
10? 2? |
FOLD |
Raises to
$800 |
Calls
$600 |
Calls
$400 |
Ten-two hole cards are
sometimes called "Doyle Brunson". That's because
poker legend Doyle Brunson won the World Series of
Poker not once but TWICE with those two hole cards.
|
FLOP: A? 6? 10? |
Everyone's flopped a pair...and Shannon has "top
pair", matching one of her hole cards with the
highest card on the flop. |
|
Bets
$500 |
FOLD |
|
Raises to
$1,000 |
Calls
$500 |
|
THIS time, Paul did it right, saying, "I'll raise
$500." |
TURN: 3? |
Paul now has two pair. Had Shannon re-raised
before the turn, she MIGHT have scared Paul out. |
|
CHECK |
|
|
Bets
$2,000 |
Calls
$2,000 |
|
RIVER: J?
COMMUNITY: A? J? 10? 6?
3? |
Shannon needed an Ace or a Queen...but she didn't
get it. |
|
CHECK |
|
|
Bets $800 |
ALL-IN
$800 |
|
|
10? 10?
3? 3? A? |
A?
A? Q?
J? 10? |
|
|
WIN $10,000 |
OUT |
|
Shannon sulks back to the Losers' Lounge to talk with
Kevin and Coolio. Animal Avengers gets $5,000 and
Shannon is happy for that. She's also happy to give
insights and rhetoric about the last three players while
sipping cocktails.
Ron (D)
|
Sarah
(SB) |
Paul
(BB) |
K? 10? |
A? 6? |
Q?
J? |
Raises
to $2,000 |
Calls
$1,800 |
Raises
to $3,600 |
Calls
$1,600 |
Calls
$1,800 |
|
FINALLY, Sarah is in a
pot! Paul almost goofed again...but when he said
"I'll see the $2,000", he had his hand on a lot
more than $2,000 worth of chips. He was then
obligated to make the minimum raise.
|
FLOP: 7? 9? 2? |
|
CHECK
|
CHECK
|
Bets
$1,500 |
FOLD
|
Calls
$1,500 |
Sarah folded the best hand. Had she bet
instead of checked, one or both of the guys MIGHT
have folded instead. |
TURN: 2? |
|
|
CHECK
|
CHECK
|
|
|
RIVER: 3?
COMMUNITY:
2? 2?
9? 7? 3? |
|
Bets
$1,000 |
Calls
$1,000 |
|
2? 2?
K? 10?
9? |
|
2? 2? Q?
J? 9?
|
WIN $15,800 |
|
If only Sarah had stayed in. After this, she
takes her "lucky pen" and flings it across the
table. Open signs of aggravation is a tell of a
player "going on tilt", or being so frustrated
with the way you are playing that you make mental
mistakes that may cost you the tournament.
|
Several hands later, where the blinds go up to $300
(SB) and $600 (BB),...:
Ron (D)
|
Sarah
(SB) |
Paul
(BB) |
A?
10? |
6? 4? |
Q?
9? |
Calls
$600 |
Calls
$300 |
CHECK
|
Since Ron and Sarah only
called the Big Blind, Paul wasn't obligated to put
any more chips into the pot. |
FLOP: 9? K?
6? |
|
CHECK
|
Bets
$600 |
Raises
to $2,000 |
ALL-IN
$300 |
FOLD
|
Now it's Paul that folds the best hand. Ron's
bet is reduced to cover Sarah's all-in. Sarah has
the best hand, but not by all that much. |
TURN: J?
|
Ron needs and Ace or 10 to make a better
pair...or a Queen to make Broadway, an Ace-high
straight. A King or 9 would give Sarah two pair.
|
RIVER: 3? |
A?
K? J? 10?
9? |
6? 6?
K? J? 9?
|
|
|
WIN $3,000 |
|
If only RON had stayed in. Such is the way of
poker. As Kenny Rogers so eloquently put it, "you
gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em".
|
CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
Paul Rudd |
$25,000 |
Ron Livingston |
$22,000 |
Sarah Silverman |
$3,000 |
And a few hands
after that:
Paul
(D) |
Ron
(SB) |
Sarah
(BB) |
A? 2?
|
J? 2? |
A? 3? |
Calls
$600 |
Calls
$300 |
CHECK
|
FLOP: Q? Q? 6? |
Phil Gordon likes to says that, with a pair on
the board, the first one to bet usually wins.
|
|
CHECK
|
CHECK
|
Bets
$1,600 |
FOLD
|
FOLD
|
WIN $3,400 |
|
And we just saw why. Sarah thought Paul might
have had a third Queen, but she "mucked", or
folded the best hand...again. |
Ron (D)
|
Sarah
(SB) |
Paul
(BB) |
?????
|
A? K?
|
J? 9? |
FOLD
|
Calls
$300 |
Raises
to $1,600 |
|
Calls
$1,300 |
|
FLOP: J? 10?
Q?
|
Sarah flopped "Broadway". Paul can't make a
flush, so he needs an Ace to tie her...or there
are other way (two Jacks being the most obvious)
to beat her. |
|
ALL-IN
$800 |
Calls
$800 |
When the cards are
flipped over, Sarah sees that Paul can still tie
or beat her...and swears like a sailor.
|
TURN: 10?
|
Now things get interesting. An Ace still
ties...but a 10 or a Jack makes a full house,
which beats a straight hands down. |
RIVER: 9? |
|
A? K?
Q? J? 10? |
J?
J?
10? 10?
Q? |
|
WIN $4,800 |
|
Paul
(D) |
Ron
(SB) |
Sarah
(BB) |
10? 10? |
K?
Q? |
?????
|
Raises
to $1,200 |
Raises
to $4,000 |
FOLD
|
Calls
$2,800 |
|
FLOP: 10?
8? 6? |
Paul has flopped "30 miles of bad road"...or
three 10s. |
|
Bets
$4,000 |
|
Calls
$4,000 |
|
TURN: 8?
|
BOAT! Paul has 10s full of 8s...and Ron's
drawing dead. Sarah calls the pair of 8s on the
Board "snowmen"...but talking about the hand while
it's in play - especially when you're not involved
- is bad etiquette...and illegal in most pro
tournaments. |
|
CHECK
|
|
ALL-IN
$15,200 |
FOLD
|
|
WIN
$31,800 |
|
CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
Paul Rudd |
$34,000 |
Ron Livingston |
$13,000 |
Sarah Silverman |
$3,000 |
Blinds are now up to $400 (SB) and $800 (BB).
Ron (D)
|
Sarah
(SB) |
Paul
(BB) |
Q? 8? |
K?
6? |
Q? Q?
|
Raises
to $3,000 |
ALL-IN
$3,000 |
Calls
$2,200 |
FLOP: 9? 10? A? |
Ron has an inside straight draw, needing a Jack
to make Broadway, Sarah needs some help. |
|
PASS
(ALL-IN) |
CHECK
|
CHECK
|
|
|
TURN: 5? |
Now Paul has a nut flush draw...and Sarah needs
a King to stay alive. |
|
PASS
(ALL-IN) |
Bets
$2,500 (Side) |
FOLD
|
|
When Paul bet, a side pot that only Ron and
Paul were playing for was started, since Sarah had
nothing more to contribute. However, since Ron
folded, Paul wins the side pot automatically.
Sarah can still win the main pot, however, with
the King of Diamonds or King of Hearts (King of
Spades would give Paul a flush). |
RIVER:
J? |
|
A? K?
J? 10? 9? |
Q? Q?
A? J?
10? |
|
OUT |
WIN $9,000 (Main)
WIN $2,500 (Side) |
Too bad for Ron...he'd've made his
straight...and won. |
And so it is that Sarah retreats to the Losers'
Lounge with Kevin, Coolio and Shannon. Sarah's all
right with Habitat for Humanity getting $5,000 thanks to
her. And she's notes that Paul has the chip lead (not
knowing it's a 4-to-1 lead).
So it's heads-up action between a TV actor and
a movie actor. Who will come out on top?
Ron
(SB) |
Paul
(D) (BB) |
10? 3? |
Q? 3? |
Raises to $1,600
|
FOLD |
WIN $2,400 |
|
All
Ron won with that raise was Paul's Big Blind...but
every little bit helps against the overwhelming
chip leader. |
A few hands later...
Ron
(SB) |
Paul
(D) (BB) |
9? 2? |
6? 5? |
Raises to $1,600
|
Raises to $3,600
|
FOLD |
|
|
WIN $5,200 |
The
bluff didn't work twice. Paul's "suited
connectors" gave him a lot of opportunities, so he
re-raised, forcing Ron out. The difference is Ron
lost $1,600, twice what he gained in the last
televised hand. |
Paul
(SB) |
Ron (D)
(BB) |
A? J? |
K? Q? |
Raises to $4,000
|
ALL-IN
$8,800 |
Calls $4,400 |
|
Paul is a 58% favorite to knock out Ron. |
FLOP:
A? 8? A?
|
Paul has won the tournament. Ron is drawing dead
against the three "bullets" (Aces). |
TURN: 10?
|
Even if a Jack comes up to
make Ron's straight, Paul would have a full house,
Aces full of Jacks. |
RIVER:
K? |
A? A?
A? K? 10?
|
A?
A? K? K? Q?
|
WIN $17,600 |
OUT |
So ACCION International gets $5,000 thanks to
Ron...but Paul Rudd, who dominated the game all night
long, wins the silver chip from Kevin that signifies his
entry into the Final Table. He will play for the $100G
share of the $250G Prize Pool for Project ALS!
Only one spot left...who will take it? |
|
|
|