Match 1: Darden/Violette/James/Bingham/Warburton/Rogers

Hi all - this is Gordon Pepper, as we do some back up work on the site. Yes, we are on Edition 4 of Poker Royale, but we have yet to see the third series. I know some people are curious to see what happened, so here we go...

Here's how the series works. There will be 6 preliminary matches, which gives everyone 3 chances to collect points. The 3 highest scoring poker players and celebrities automatically advance to the championship match. Everyone else goes home.

We start off Match 1 with these 6 people -

Poker Pros

Paul Darden - Won a World Series Of Poker Bracelet in 2001. This would be a nice tune-up for 2005.
Cyndy Violette - she won a WSOP Bracelet in 2004 and is doing very well in the current Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament.
Kenna James - he's the current California Poker Stats champion. He'd love some more.

Celebrities

Traci Bingham - She's sexy on Baywatch. Can she play poker?
Patrick Warburton - He's on Seinfeld and Less than Perfect, which hopefully won't describe his poker play.
Mimi Rogers - this Austin Powers actress has caused havoc on Celebrity Poker Showdown. What can she do here?

Hand #1 - We start with Darden, who picks up pocket Jacks. Bingham calls with 10/8 off suit, and it look much netter with a A ? 10 ? Q ? on the flop. Unfortunately for her, Darden's Jacks are still in the lead and he bets. Bingham folds it and Darden wins the first pot.

Fact - Traci Bingham dropped out of Howard to pursue her acting career. This doesn't exactly surprise me.

Hand #2 - Rogers has a A ? 6 ? and raises it to $4,000. Bingham calls with a J ? 4 ?. Violette limps in with a 8 ? 6 ? and we see some lady action (get your mind out of the gutter, people!). The Flop has a Q ? A ? 3 ?, and Mimi has a pair of Aces. She raises and Violette folds. Bingham calls and we don't know why. We may see why now with a J ? on the turn as Bingham now has Jacks, but Rogers, with Aces, bets some more. While James flirts with Bingham, a 8 ? shows up on the river. That helps no one, and as they both check on the River, Rogers takes the pot. James - 'You have the bigger pair'. Rogers - 'Well, I have one bigger pair'. Someone needs to hose these people down.

Fact - Mimi Rogers was born with the name Miriam Spickler.

Hand #3 - Darden has a big spaded Big Slick and raises. Bingham has the King and 7 of hearts and calls. The flop shows a pair of queens (? and ? and a 3 ?). Darden raises again and Bingham calls again. The turn is an 8 ?, which sets Bingham up for a flush draw. They both check to the River, which is a K ?. That gives Darden Kings and Queens and he bets at it. BIngham, who is turning into a walking ATM Machine, calls, and Darden gets to take out another withdrawal from her chips.

Fact - Poker pro Phil Ivey lent Paul Darden $10,000 for his 2001 WSOP entry fee. That seems like a wise investment.

Hand #4 - We finally hear from Warburton, who limps in with a Q ? 7 ?. Rogers has a doggy hand (K-9) and also calls, while Darden goes 10-4 good buddy and plays in as well. The flop (4/Q/4) gives Darden trips and raises it to $4,000 and Warburton, with top pair, calls. The Flop is a 8 ? and Darden bets another $12,000. Warburton calls as we see the River. a Q ? shows up, which is disaster for Darden, because that gives Warburton a boat (Queens over 4's). He bids $20,000 and Darden bails out before spending any more money.

Fact - Check a guy's pulse in his neck to check for a tell.

Hand #5 - Rogers raises is up with a A/10 ?. Darden has a pair of Red 8's and re-raises to go all-in. After chatting with Violette for advice, she folds, but not before showing Darden what she has. Darden decides not to show Rogers what he had. That's not very chivalrous, Paul.

Fact - Mimi Rogers has starred in 20 'R' rated movies. Ooohhh, baby. In addition, she posed for Playboy in 1993. Ohhhhhhh, baaaaabbeeeeeee.

Hand #6 - Darden says that he will give Rogers his number once she sees it on TV. Rogers has 'quack quack' (2 ?, 2 ?) and calls. Warburton (who claims to have been a 135 pound wrestler in high school), raises it with a A/Q ?. Rogers bails, but Bingham, with an A ? 5 ?, calls. The Flop is 6 ? Q ? 3 ?, and Bingham is in serious trouble. Warburton with his Queens goes all-in and Bingham, who needs running 5's, will call. Not only is the turn not a 5, it's another queen, and Bingham is out in 6th.

The now-eliminated Bingham says that she needs to do something different. She doesn't know exactly what that's going to be, but she needs to do it because she wants more camera time. I think we see the value of Bingham in this series - and it's not her poker playing.

Fact - With over 180,000 Square feet, Pechanga Casino (which is where this show is being taped) is the largest casino in Las Vegas. Way to plug yourselves, guys.

Hand #7 - James, who no longer has Bingham to ogle over, has a pair of 3's (? and ?) and calls. Warburton calls with a J ? 4 ? as does Rogers with a 9 ? 8 ? and Darden with a K ? 5 ?. The flop is 4 ? 8 ? A ?, which gives Rogers the lead with a pair of aces. It's James, however, that bets at it, and Rogers goes over the top and bets all-in. That scares everyone off and Rogers wins the pot.
Fact - Kenna James met his wife after she accused him of cheating at the poker table. What a nice woman his wife (Marsha Waggoner) must be. James is also a 2003 Bellaggio no-limit champion and has had acting roles. This Chicago native finds this format exciting and wants to go after the people who are in his desired livlihood.

Hand #8 - It's now Violette who has 8's and raises. Jenna, with an A/Q ?, goes over the top and all-in. VIolette, who is very short-stacked, decides to call and we get another showdown. The flop is 2 ? A ? K ?, which gives James Aces. The Turn is a 6 ?, which gives Violette a flush draw, but a 4 ? on the river knocks her out and gives her 2 points for 5th.

Hand #9 - Warburton raises it with a K ? Q ?. Rogers calls with a Q ? 10 ? but Darden re-raises with an 8 ? 4 ?. THis is an obvious bluff attempt - and it works, ad Rogers and Warburton folds.

Hand #10 - Rogers limps in with a Q ?, 9 ?. Darden goes over the Top with a J/2 ? in an effort to try to get more chips. That effort falls flat as Rogers calls. Rogers is ahead and doesn't want to see hearts. The Flop, with a 5 ? 3 ?, 2?, gives Darden a pair of 2's. The turn (7 h) and River (4 ?) are no help and Darden doubles up in ugly fashion. Rogers is on a very short stack...

On Hand #11, Warburton has pocket 10's and calls right into James, who has Red Pocket Rockets and goes all-in. Warburton calls and he is in trouble. The Flop is J ? 2 ? K ? and Warburton needs some help. He gets it on the Turn with a 10 ? and now it's James that needs an Ace. The River...AN ACE! The spaded Ace gives James a huge chip lead (and a funky dance by James) and knocks out Warburton in the process.

Fact - James wants to start his own production company. He's get it if he keeps pulling Aces out of his A$$.

Hand #12 - Rogers, who really has to go all-in, does so with an A/8 ? Darden, who's actually an even shorter stack than Rogers, calls with a Q ? Q ? and James gets out of the way. We get a Flop of 5 ? 4 ? A ? and Rogers takes the lead with the pair of vowels. We get runner runner...5's. That gives Rogers a full house and it gives Darden his walking papers. He finishes in third, while James has a 3 to 1 edge in chips on Rogers.

Hand #13 - Rogers goes all-in with a K/Q ?, and James calls it with a A ? 6 ?. The flop is 10 ?, 2 ?, J ?. No love for Rogers, and a 7 ? on the Turn is no help either. The river is...a J ?  and James wins the first round of the tournament. He wins 10 points and $5,000.

First blood is drawn. Who are the vampires and who are the victims?

Standings -

Celebrities
*Mimi Rogers - 8
*Patrick Warburton - 4
*Traci Bingham - 0

Pros

*Kenna James - 10
*Paul Darden - 6
*Cyndy Violette - 2

* = The Number of matches played


And here's what we are playing for -

Match winner - $5,000
Bonus for making the final Match - $5,000
Runner up in the Championship Match - $10,000
Champion - $50,000

Next week, we get Lance Bass, Morris Chestnut, Jennifer Tilly, Kathy Liebert, Roxci Rhodes and Scott Fischman. That sounds like a nice line-up. Join us in 7 days to see who gets lined in.