Match 6: Laak/Williams/Williamson/Leifer/Pescatelli/Murphy - August 12

Now we go to the days of yesteryear...well, not quite. It's all about gender this week as the female comedians (Leifer, Pescatelli and Murphy) go up against the male pros (Williamson, Williams and Laak). Murphy and Williams are both in the bottom half of their standings, and they could both use a good showing to get out of there.

Laak is asked about his hoodie, which he calls his 'psychic shield'. He adds that the hoodie is in a special case. Interesting.

FACT - According to Romance Magazine, 24% of women would rather see a comedy DVD than have sex. Apparently, none of them have seen Laak's act.

Hand #1 - Leifer has a K/7 ?, while Williamson has an A ? 7 ?. Meanwhile, Williams has 2's and Pescatelli has 5's. They all stay in to see a J ?, 5 ?, 6 ? and a set of 5's from Pescatelli. Everyone checks to Leifer, who bets. Tammy calls, Williams calls, and Laak folds. The Turn - J ? and Pescatelli has a boat. Williams notices that Pescatelli liked that Jack. Sure enough, she goes all-in. Everyone all bails and the femme fatales strike first as Tammy shows everyone her boat.

FACT - Leifer has been playing poker on the road for 25 years. As the person currently on top of the leader board, she knows when to fold, unlike the male comedians (Curry and Rodriguez)

FACT - Murphy performed a comedy show for the San Francisco Giants. She talked about it during this hand, which is...

...Hand #2 - Williams decides to play a 3/5 ?. Leifer has a Q/4 suited (?). Pescatelli has a Q/4 suited (?). The Flop - a K ? 5 ? 6 ?. Williams pairs his 5;s, but Laak, with a 7/3 off-suit, has a straight draw and Pescatelli has a flush draw with another heart. Williams bets and everyone drops out - including Pescatelli and Laak.

FACT - Comedian Jerry Lewis was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.

Hand #3 - Leifer has pocket Jacks, but she only limps in. The pros say that it's a bad move, because it allows people like Williams (9 ? 3 ?), WIlliamson (7/2 ?), and Pescatelli (9 ? 4 ?) to call with garbage. Sure enough, it comes to hurt her as the Flop (Q ?, 4 ? 4 ?) gives Pescatelli a set of 4's. To compound it, Leifer now goes all-in and Pescatelli calls. Seeing that she is in trouble, Leifer has no choice to watch as Aces come up on the Turn and River, and Leifer leaving in last place and with no points. Remember that first place that Leifer had? It's now in grave peril.

FACT - Pescatelli played poker with her 12 brothers. Apparently, she learned a lot.

Hand #4 - Let's Play with a Pro. This pro is Williams, with a K ? 10 ?. Everyone folds except Murphy, who calls from the small blind, and Laak, who checks. The Flop is J ? 6 ? 10 ?, and Williamson pairs the 10's, but Murphy is the one who bets. Williams calls as we see a Turn - 4 ?. This time, Murphy goes all-in. Williamson folds with the 10's and Murphy wins...on a stone cold bluff. Oops.

FACT - The first comedian with a Platinum Album is Steve Martin.

Hand #5 - Williams, who picked up Cowboys (? ?) goes all-in. Williamson, who has an A/10 ?, and who thinks that Williams is playing on-tilt, calls. Oops. like last episode, Williamson guesses wrong - but like last episode, he could be bailed out. Why? The Flop, with a A ? K ? J ?, gives Williams Trip Kings, but a Queen will give Williamson a straight. The Turn - the Q ?! Williamson has the straight, but if the board pairs up, Williams has a full house. The River - 3 ?. No Full House and no $5,000 for Williams, who is out in 5th place.

FACT - David Williams, who claims to be a Closet Nerd, had an interview with Playboy Magazine. With his loss, Williams right now probably feels quite naked.

Hand #6 - Murphy has Big Slick (A ? K ?). She limps in, which allows Williamson (Q p 7 ?) and Pescatelli (10/8 ?) call. The Flop - a 7 ? 6 ? 7 ? give Williamson trip 7's, and Big Slick isn't looking too slick. Williamson checks to set the trap, and he has a victim - Pescatelli, who bets at it. Murphy raises, and Williamson, as expected, reraises. Pescatelli wisely bails, but Murphy doesn't. 'I'm gonna play, because it's fun to be in'. The Turn is a 4 ? and Murphy has no shot of winning the hand. Williamson bets, and Tammy, who has now seen Sue's hand, tries to convince her to bet, because they are brothel buddies. Uh...ok. She does call, and on the River (2 ?), Williamson goes all-in. Murphy calls, and she is sent packing by Williamson's set of 7's. So much for Tammy, who may be calling for Sue's demise, just because they are competing for the same points. Hmmm...Sue leaves us with On-line Poker - Entertainment at home with your pants off. There are some people that I just don't want to envision with their pants off...

FACT - Pescatelli, who's had surgery on her vocal chords, never talks an hour before a performance. She may have spoken too much for Murphy's benefit.

Hand #7 - Williamson bets a chunk with a K/J ?. Pescatelli has a pair of Joeys though (? ?) and calls. Laak has Big Slick (A ? K ?) and goes over the top and goes all-in. The Flop - 9 ? Q ? 6 ?. The Turn is a 3 ? and none of these cards help either of them. The River does - a J ? which gives Pescatelli trips and the double-up win. Laak promises that he won't send packages or hitmen after her. That's so nice, Phil.

FACT - Laak has driven his motorcycle over every state in the continental U.S. For the last hand, he drove into the state of Confusion

Hand #8 - Williamson plays a Q/10 ?. which forces Laak to go all-in if he wants to play. Pescatelli doesn't want to play. Laak, severely crippled with his loss to Pescatelli, goes in with a K ? 2 ?. Phil's in the lead...until the Flop, with a which is a 3 ? 10 ? 4 ?. The Turn is an A ?. The River - a 2 ?, which does pair up Laak's deuces, but the 10's that Williamson has is better and Laak leaves in third.

FACT - Laak first entered a poker room while looking for a pool room. He is now free to play billiards.

Hand #9 - Williamson has a big $434,000 lead to Pescatelli's $166,000. Tammy calls with K/10 ?. Williamson decides to go over th e Top with an 8 ? 4 ?, but Tammy calls and Williamson's hand is caught in the cookie jar. The jar starts to shut on Williamson with a 7 ? 2 ? K ? on the Flop, which pairs Tammy's Kings. a J ? on the Turn shuts Williamson out and Tammy doubles up.

FACT - 'All-in Pink' means that you have a diamond or heart flush.

Hand #10 - As Tammy has been doing well, she's gotten an invite to play with the pros in Vegas. Nice. It won't be nice if she plays against Williamson's 10's, as he raises them. Pescatelli calls with Q ? J ?? Uh...ok. The Flop - 9 ? 5 ? 6 ?. Williamson goes all-in. Tammy knows that Williamson doesn't bluff that much, and she knows that she has garbage - but she calls anyway. Why, Tammy, why? The Turn is an A ?, the River is a K ? and Williamson, who doubles up to over $500,000, puts Pescatelli on Life Support.

FACT - Williamson, when growing up, learned to play because when he lost all of his chips, he had to go to bed. There's good training for you.

Hand #11 - Pescatelli needs to double up twice just to be in the game. Pescatelli plays with a 3 ? 2 ?? Ick. Williamson goes K/3 ? and bets $50,000, but doesn't say all-in - though it would put Tammy all-in. She calls, and against a 4 ? 8 ? 9 ? on the Flop, she's in hot water. The Turn is a 6 ?, and Tammy needs a 2 or a 5 to stick around. The River - a 2 ?! Tammy sticks around.

FACT - Now why $50,000? Because it sounds easier to call when you hear numbers than all-in. People who want you to go all-in will say it, so be careful...

Hand #12 - Pescatelli calls with a J/8 ? and Williamson limps in with a 4 ? 2 ?. The Flop is a 6 ? 8? 10 ?, which both people check to. The Turn (9 ?) and River (3 ?) gives Tammy the win - unless Williamson bets at it. He does with $60,000. Pescatelli calls, and Williamson, although still in the lead, loses another $60,000 to Pescatelli.

FACT - Entertainment Weekly declared Chris Rock as America's funniest person. So why isn't he here?

Hand #13 - Williamson starts with a K/6 ? and goes all-in. Pescatelli has Big Chick (A ? Q ?) and calls. A win by Pescatelli will give her a huge lead, and a 7 ? J ? 3 ? helps her. A 4 ? non the Turn gives Williamson a win with a 5, 6 or King. The River...2 ?. Pescatelli not only doubles up, but has a huge $582,000-$18,000 lead.

Hand #14 - Williamson has to go all-in (thanks to the blinds) with a A/J ?. That's a good hand - better than Pescatelli's J ? 2 ?, but the Flop, with a 2 ? Q ? 4 ?, gives Pescatelli low pair. A Turn of 3 ? can give Williamson a straight with a 5, but a J ? gives Pescatelli 2 pair and the match. She wins her first match and grabs $5,000 for her cause.

FACT - a 10/2 is called a Brunson, because that's what Doyle Brunson had to win his Main Event at the World Series of Poker. Pescatelli is no Brunson, but you can call her the champion.

Pescatelli gets a huge win, and Williamson's second placed finish also puts him in the final table, should he keep his position. On the flip side, Williams, with only 1 more match to go, is in 4th, while the people chasing him have games in hand. He is in deep trouble, as is Murphy, with Wuhl only 2 points behind her and a game in hand.

Comedians
***Tammy Pescatelli - 22 - $5,000
**** Carol Leifer - 17 - $5,000
***Sue Murphy - 10
**Robert Wuhl - 8
***Paul Rodriguez - 6
***Mark Curry - 5

Pros

****Phil Laak - 34 - $10,000
****Robert WIlliamson - 26 - $5,000
***Kathy Kolberg - 24 - $5,000
****David Williams - 14
**Linda Johnson - 12
*Connie Kim - 2

Next week - the sexes are reversed. The male comedians go up against the female pros. Join us in 7 days to see if the male comedians have any shot of doing what the female comedians did (my guess is no).