Match 4: Curry/Murphy/Pescatelli/Leifer/Kolberg/Williams/Johnson - July 29

We are back for another episode, and for the comedians, it's been no laughing matter. Hopefully, Mark Curry, Sue Murphy and Tammy Pescatelli can change all that, as their team is trailing in points, 42-40. The comics have to be smarting themselves, after seeing comedian Carol Leifer win last week. They send up Kathy Kolberg, David Williams and Linda Johnson to play. It's very serious for another reason - though it's only Match #4, only Murphy and Kolberg is in the top half of their groups, which means that unless these guys start winning points, they won't be around for the post-season.

FACT - Pescatelli wants to know how to flirt better. Maybe she'll be able to flirt with the money.

Hand #1 - Kolberg wants to play an A ♦ 7 ♣. Everyone else folds and Kolberg wins the first hand.

FACT - Sue Murphy likes to sky dive. Hopefully, she'll find a safe place to land today.

Hand #2 - Murphy calls with an A/5 ♦. Johnson, with only a Q ♦ 5 ♠, raises. The Flop is  4 ♣ 3 ♣ 7 ♠, and Johnson, with only a straight draw, bets. Murphy calls. The Turn is a 10 ♣, which is no help to anyone, but with a flush draw on the table, Johnson bets $40,000. Murphy has all red cards, so she folds.

FACTS on David Williams - He won the 2005 Youngblood Tournament. He also quit SMU (though he hopes to go back) with a 4.0 GPA. He says that he feels more accomplished with finishing first in a limit hold-em tournament at the Bellagio.

FACT - An Ace/King is called 'Big Slick'. An 'Ace/Queen' is called 'Big Chick'.

Hand #3 - Murphy has a K/5 ♠ and calls. Pescatelli has a 9 ♥ 8 ♠ and calls. Curry has...uh oh...BIG CHICK! (A ♠ Q ♥). Curry raises. Pescatelli (who really has no business being in this hand) calls, while Murphy bails. We see a Flop of  3 ♠, A ♦ 4 ♦ and Curry pairs his vowels, while this gives Pescatelli no help. Pescatelli bets and Curry, of course, goes all-in. Tammy calls, which makes me want to say...Wha? The turn is a 4 ♥ and Tammy is drawing dead. The river (Q ♣) is irrelevant and Curry doubles up, while making Pescatelli the short stack.

FACT - Mark Curry admits that he is a Julia Child fan. He just cooked Tammy on that last hand.

Hand #4 - It's time for the MYSTERY HAND. No one knows what anyone has. We see Williams Q ♠ 10 ♣ and we see him call. Everyone else (except Curry) plays. The flop is massive - a 9 ♦ J ♦ K ♥ gives Williams a straight. Everyone checks - including Williams. The Turn is a 5 ♦. Uh-oh. There's a possible flush on the board. NOW Williams bets and everyone else folds - except Pescatelli, who calls. The river is a 10 ♦. If Tammy has a diamond, she has a flush and Williams loses. Sure enough, Pescatelli goes all-in and Williams will pay
her off if she has a diamond. She does - an A ♦ 10 ♥ gave her the flush and she doubles
up.

FACT - The very first tournament that Kathy Kolberg played in, she won. The winning hand? 4 Queens. Nice. The prize for first? $30,000. Niiice.

FACTS on Tammy Pescatelli - She's been on Jay Leno, as well as the Last Comic Standing Series. She says that if she wasn't a comic, she'd be a diplomat. She prefers to sit back and let other people make fools of each other - sort of like her poker play. We'll see if that's an effective strategy.

FACT - The world record for a stand-up comedy set is 36 hours.

Hand #5 - Kolberg has some lovely ladies (Q ♦  Q ♣) and goes all-in. Pescatelli has Big Slick (A ♥ K ♣) and calls. The flop is a 4 ♦ 10 ♦ 7 ♥, and Kolberg is looking good. The 9 ♣ on the Turn and the 3 ♣ on the River is also good for Kolberg, who doubles up. Pescatelli sees a chunk of her chips go bye-bye as she drops to the short stack.

FACT  - Jay Leno started by working for free. He made 20 million in 2004.

FACTS on Kathy Kolberg - She's the daughter of Jack Keller and placed first in the Aussie open. She wanted to play poker to learn about her father, and she finally met him over the phone. AwwwwBarf.

FACT - After his big second place win at the WSOP in 2004, David Williams paid off his mom's house. Awwwleagh.

Hand #6 - Murphy is even shorter stacked than Pescatelli and has to go all-in on the ante. Pescatelli calls with K/6 ♠. Murphy is actually ahead with an A ♠ 8 ♣, but Curry calls with an A/10 ♥ and he's now in the lead. The Flop has a 5 ♥ 7 ♠ 4 ♣. Curry still has the lead, but Pescatelli has an open-ended straight draw. She bets and Curry raises to put her all-in. Pescatelli calls - and it's a good one, as an 8 ♠ comes up and Tammy has her straight. The river is a 2 ♣, which makes Tammy the winner of the hand. Murphy is out in 6th place, and Pescatelli, who didn't realize that she had the straight, triples up at the expense of Curry. D'oh!

FACT - Jeff Foxworthy has sold the most comedy albums with 15 million.

Hand #7 - Curry has red deuces and as he is the short stack (thanks to the last hand), he raises. Pescatelli with a...J ♠ 10 ♣? Huh? Williams also calls with a Q ♣ 6 ♠ and Johnson joins in with a A ♠ 3 ♥. The Flop, with a K ♠ 10 ♦, J ♦, favors Pescatelli, who now has 2 pair. Williamson and Johnson are both on straight draws and Curry needs a pair of runners for a flush. Williams bets $40,000, which forces Curry or Pescatelli to almost go all-in. Curry doesn't want to try, but Pescatelli does and calls. The turn, a 3 ♣, help no one and Williams bets another $20,000. That does force Tammy to go all-in and she calls. The river is a 7 ♦, which does not give Williams his straight and it allows Tammy to double up for the second straight hand.

FACT - David Williams used to work on Texas Railroads before turning to poker.

Hand #8 - Kolberg raises with a A ♠ 8 ♣. Pescatelli has red 5's and calls. Williams will limp in with a 8/7 ♥ as will Johnson with a 9 ♥ 3 ♣. Williams, like Murphy on the hand #6, has to go all-in on the ante and does with a J ♠ 3 ♥. As we get a family pot, the Flop, a 2 ♠ 7 ♣ 10 ♥, helps out Williams, who has 7's. Everyone checks to the Turn, a A ♥, which gives Kolberg Aces. The river, a 8 ♣, gives Kolberg the win with a dead man's hand, which is appropriate for Curry, as his chance for winning the match is now dead. Kolberg makes a huge bet that forces everyone to go all-in to call except Williams, who is the chip leader. Pescatelli wants no part of this, and neither does Johnson, while Curry is forced into it. Williams, who had his 8's paired on the river does call - and will not like what he sees. Williams loses a huge chunk of chips to Kolberg, while Curry is out in 5th place.

FACT - Mark Curry has read all of John Steinbeck's works. He'll have a lot more time to read them now, as he has been eliminated.

Hand #9 - It's now Johnson's turn to go all-in with the blinds. Kolberg (A ♠ 4 ♠) and Pescatelli (7 ♦ 3 ♣) join in, but a Monster Flop of Q ♦ A ♦ A ♥ gives Kolberg a set. Everyone checks to the turn, which is a J ♥. Kolberg bets and Pescatelli bails. The river is a 5 ♣, which gives Kolberg another pot and eliminates Johnson from the competition.

FACT - Kathy Kolberg was once a probation officer. She just shipped Linda Johnson away to confinement.

Hand #10 - Kolberg raises with a K ♠ 6 ♦. Pescatelli, who has an A ♦ 6 ♠, goes has a big raise. The flop is Q ♥ Q ♠ 8 ♦ and Kolberg goes all-in on a bluff. Pescatelli calls and Kolberg's hand is caught in the cookie jar. The Turn is a K ♣ and Kolberg, who now has Kings, catches lightning in a bottle. The river is a 7 ♣ and Tammy is out the door.

FACT - Gus Hansen was voted one of People Magazine's sexiest men in 2004.

Hand #11 - The win over Pescatelli gives Kolberg a huge $426,000 to $174,000 lead over Williams. Williams raises with a K ♥ 10 ♠. Kolberg has an A/3 ♠ and goes over the top. Williams calls - and he's behind in the hand. The Flop is a J ♣ A ♥ 9 ♦ and Kolberg pairs her Aces. The turn is a 7 ♥, and Williams needs a 7 or a Queen. A 4 ♥ is not it, and Kathy Kolberg wins the match and gets into the financial bling bling.

FACT  - The good luck coin that Williams has is a present from pro player Michael Mizrachi. It helped David, but he's used to finishing in second, as...well...you all know about the 2004 WSOP. Second place in this, however, is a good place to be. Let's see who's there.

Comedians
** Carol Leifer - 16 - $5,000
**Tammy Pescatelli - 12
**Robert Wuhl - 8
**Sue Murphy - 6
**Marc Curry - 4
**Paul Rodriguez - 2

Pros

**Phil Laak - 20 - $10,000
**Kathy Kolberg - 18 - $5,000
***David Williams - 12
**Linda Johnson - 12
**Robert WIlliamson - 8
*Connie Kim - 2

* = The Number of matches played

Next week - the Unabomber comes back, while Mark Curry wants to get his own comedy. Join us in 7 days to see who gets the last laugh this time.