TOURNAMENT 2
EPISODE 4
It's time once again for another round of the second tournament of CELEBRITY
POKER SHOWDOWN, the charity tournament with BIG stakes! There
will be five games of five celebs each, with the winner of each game
advancing to the Final Table and a big piece of the $250,000 Cingular
Wireless(TM) Prize Pool for
his/her charity.
Tonight, we have five brand new celebs scratching it out for their share of
the prize pool:
| CELEBRITY
|
BIO
|
Sean Astin
playing for National Center of Family Literacy
|
You may know him as the title character of
"Rudy"...but chances are you know him as the hobbit Samwise Gamgee
in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Will he be lord of the
table...or will his play be ANYTHING but precioussssss? |
Lauren Graham
playing for Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program
|
She's best known as Lorelai Victoria Gilmore from
the WB's hit Gilmore Girls, but she also had a role in the Billy Bob
Thorton film "Bad Santa". Will her wish come true six month in
advance...or will this girl's night be out early? |
Chris Masterson
playing for Citizens Commission on Human Rights
|
This young actor plays Francis on FOX's Malcolm
in the Middle and had a role in "Scary Movie 2". Will be
stuck in the middle with all the chips...or will the others' play freak him
out too much? |
Matthew Perry
playing for the Lili Claire Foundation
|
Matthew just completed his tenth and final season
as Chandler Bing on Friends...and starred in the flopped movie sequel
"The Whole Ten Yards". Will this be "The One where a Friends
character survives"...or will he drop the ball at the 9-yard line?
|
Sara Rue
playing for Susan G.Koman Breast Cancer Foundation
|
Sara plays the protagonist Claude Casey in Less
Than Perfect as well as a role in the thriller "The Ring".
Is she a "ringer" to win this table...or will her play be WAY less
than perfect?
|
Each celebrity will start with $10,000
worth of
chips and the game will continue until one celebrity has all $50K in
his/her possession, thus making him/her eligible for the Final Table later
in the year. At the announcers' position beside the Losers' Lounge are new
host Dave Foley and poker expert Phil
Gordon. They'll be calling the action emanating from the main room.
All right, enough of this tap. As Tournament Director Robert
Thompson says, let's SHUFFLE UP AND
DEAL!
Initial blinds are $100
(SB) and $200 (BB). The Dealer Button (D) starts on Sean.
| Lauren | Sara | Sean (D) | Chris (SB) | Matthew (BB) |
| J♥ 4♦ |
A♥ 6♠ |
5♦ 2♥ |
K♣ J♣ |
K♦ J♠ |
| FOLD |
FOLD |
FOLD |
Raises to $600 |
FOLD |
|
|
WIN $900 |
|
|
Matthew had almost the
same hand as Chris...but he's a "tight" player, only playing hands
he's 99% sure he can win. While this is good strategy early on, you
don't want to play too tight when the antes and blinds increase.
Sean wanted to check...but, since there's a "bet" in play (the Big
Blind), he's informed that he can only call, raise or fold. Sean chooses
the latter. Matthew replies, "That is the most elaborate bluff I
have ever seen!" |
Between hands, Sean and Matthew announce that they're
friends and will hang out after the tournament. Sean says it's cool have a
Friend as a friend...to which Matthew replies, "Well, we can't all
be 'Lord of the Rings'!"
| Sara | Sean | Chris (D) | Matthew (SB) | Lauren (BB) |
| J♣ 10♣ |
K♦ 2♣ |
A♦ Q♥ |
5♥ 4♣ |
K♥ 5♦ |
| FOLD |
FOLD |
Calls $200 |
FOLD |
Raises to $500 |
|
|
Calls $300 |
|
| FLOP: 7♥ J♥ 9♦ |
|
|
|
|
CHECK |
|
|
Bets $1000 |
|
FOLD |
|
|
WIN $2100 |
|
|
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Chris Masterson | $10,600 |
| Sara Rue | $10,000 |
| Sean Astin | $9900 |
| Lauren Graham | $9800 |
| Matthew Perry | $9700 |
| Sean | Chris | Matthew (D) | Lauren (SB) | Sara (BB) |
| A♦ 9♥ |
A♥ K♥ |
10♥ 4♥ |
J♦ 8♥ |
K♦ 9♦ |
| Raises to $900 |
Raises to $2000 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
FOLD |
| As Sean ponders, a
chant comes from the crowd: "RU-DY! RU-DY! RU-DY!" |
| Calls $1100 |
|
|
|
| FLOP: 10♣ 3♠ Q♦ |
| Chris flopped a
straight draw, needing a Jack for Broadway. Doesn't need it, though;
he's way ahead. |
| CHECK |
Bets $4000 |
|
|
|
ALL-IN
$7900 |
Calls $3900 |
|
|
|
| TURN: 10♠ |
| Poor Matthew; had he
not been so tight, he'd've had "30 miles of bad road" and would be
leading. As such, Sean needs a 9 to stay out of the "Mt. Doom"
that is the Losers' Lounge... |
| RIVER: K♣ |
| ...but he's downed
by...ahem..."The Return of the King"! :) |
| 10♣ 10♠ A♦ K♣
Q♦ |
K♥ K♣ 10♣ 10♠ A♥ |
|
|
|
| OUT
- 5th Place |
WIN
$20,100 |
|
|
|
Sean sulks to the Losers' Lounge and shakes hands with
David. He then goes over and shakes Phils hand...who promptly tells him,
"That was not good." Sean shows Phil the booklet that Phil gave
to the celebs to help them play better Texas Hold 'Em...but Phil tosses it away,
saying Sean doesn't need it anymore. Ah, well, at least the National Center of Family Literacy
gets $5000 for his participation. Sean says he was "showing the Notre
Dame spirit" (apparently forgetting how poorly Notre Dame football has been
lately). He then mock-cries on David's shoulder as we return to the
action.
| Matthew | Lauren (D) | Sara (SB) | Chris (BB) |
| K♥ 10♦ |
K♣ 10♥ |
8♥ 3♦ |
9♠ 7♦ |
| Raises to $400 |
Raises to $800 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
| Calls $400 |
|
|
| FLOP: A♥ 9♦ 8♣ |
| CHECK |
Bets $1000 |
|
|
| FOLD |
|
|
|
|
WIN $2900 |
|
|
| The best thing about
playing against a tight player like Matthew is you can scare him out of a pot
even if you have only a semi-decent hand. If a tight player checks, you
should bet...and bet fairly big to win the pot when the tight player folds. |
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Chris Masterson | $21,100 |
| Lauren Graham | $10,600 |
| Sara Rue | $9700 |
| Matthew Perry | $8600 |
| Chris | Matthew (D) | Lauren (SB) | Sara (BB) |
| K♠ J♣ |
3♥ 2♣ |
9♣ 5♣ |
Q♥ J♦ |
| Calls $200 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
Raises to $600 |
| Calls $400 |
|
|
| FLOP: 8♦ 2♠ 7♦ |
|
|
|
Bets $800 |
| FOLD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIN
$2100 |
| Sara was on a bluff; she had no
pair or draw and, yet, she bet big. CHRIS didn't have anything, either,
so he folded. |
| Sara | Chris (D) | Matthew (SB) | Lauren (BB) |
| 7♦ 4♣ |
K♣ 6♣ |
9♦ 7♠ |
Q♥ J♦ |
| FOLD |
Raises to $600 |
FOLD |
Raises to $1200 |
|
FOLD |
|
|
|
|
|
WIN $1900 |
| King-6 suited isn't as
strong a hand as one may think. It's better to have cards closer
together in rank, making it as good a chance to get a straight as a
flush. Lauren was right to raise...and Chris was right to fold. |
Blinds are now up to $200 (SB) and $400 (BB).
| Chris | Matthew (D) | Lauren (SB) | Sara (BB) |
| 8♦ 6♣ |
A♦ Q♣ |
7♥ 5♦ |
7♣ 2♠ |
| FOLD |
Raises to $800 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
|
WIN $1400 |
|
|
| Matthew FINALLY gets a hand he's
comfortable with! Unfortunately, no one else did. Sara had the
"Beer Hand", the worst starting hand in Hold 'Em. |
| Lauren | Sara (D) | Chris (SB) | Matthew (BB) |
| 7♦ 7♣ |
J♠ J♦ |
A♣ 8♠ |
Q♠ 4♠ |
| Raises to $1000 |
Raises to $2000 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
| Calls $1000 |
|
|
| David calls the Jacks
"hooks" and the 7s "walking sticks". At this, Phil
tells him, "All right, Vince Van Patton." (Vince Van Patton is one
of the commentators on the World Poker Tour, in case you didn't
know...so it's sort of a slap to the WPT.) When the boys fold, Chris
mutters, "Cat fight." |
| FLOP: Q♣ K♣ 3♦ |
| Matthew: "No matter what
happens, can you two wrestle afterwards?" |
| Bets $1000 |
Calls $1000 |
|
|
| TURN: 10♣ |
Sara now has a straight
draw. A crowd member yells at her to go all-in...causing Sean back in
the Lounge to say, "Don't fall victim to the crowd!" Sara
yells back at the crowd, "Is this YOUR money?!"
Sara calls "time"...which is legal in tournaments. Usually
tournaments allow players to speed up play by "calling the clock",
giving players a set amount of time to make a call. But calling time
gives players a LITTLE more time to think.
Lauren: "Phil didn't tell me about 'time' during my 'private morning
session'."
David to Phil: "Is THAT what you call them?" |
| CHECK |
Bets $3500 |
|
|
| FOLD |
|
|
|
|
WIN
$10,100 |
|
|
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Chris Masterson | $19,900 |
| Sara Rue | $12,900 |
| Lauren Graham | $9500 |
| Matthew Perry | $7700 |
| Chris | Matthew (D) | Lauren (SB) | Sara (BB) |
| 7♥ 2♦ |
7♠ 3♥ |
K♦ J♥ |
K♣ 5♣ |
| FOLD |
FOLD |
Raises to $1200 |
Calls $800 |
| FLOP: 4♥ A♣ J♣ |
|
|
Bets $2000 |
Calls $2000 |
| TURN: A♥ |
| Sara "dekes"
for her chips out of turn. Reaching for chips especially with a smile
like Sara has) is a "tell" of weakness...and, apparently, Lauren
picks up on it... |
|
|
ALL-IN
$6300 |
FOLD |
|
|
WIN
$12,700 |
|
| Chris | Matthew (D) | Lauren (SB) | Sara (BB) |
| 5♠ 2♦ |
J♠ 10♣ |
Q♠ 8♥ |
4♠ 8♣ |
| FOLD |
Raises to $1200 |
Calls $1000 |
FOLD |
| FLOP: 3♠ 10♠ A♣ |
| Matthew has flopped "middle
pair". He has a chance... |
|
|
Bets $4000 |
|
| ...unless, of course, someone
who KNOWS he plays tight scares him out with a big bet. |
|
FOLD |
|
|
|
|
WIN $6800 |
|
The price of poker has gone up; blinds are now $300 (SB) and $600 (BB).
| Lauren | Sara (D) | Chris (SB) | Matthew (BB) |
| K♦ 8♣ |
K♠ J♦ |
A♥ 9♦ |
J♥ 6♥ |
| Raises to $1400 |
Calls $1400 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
| FLOP: Q♥ 5♦ 7♦ |
| Though Lauren has
nothing (and even less than Sara), she asks Sara how much she has
left. This is also legal in tournament play; at any time, a player can
ask another how much s/he has left. This is usually an indication that
the asking player is going to "tap" the other player, or put
him/her all-in. |
| Bets $3000 |
FOLD |
|
|
| WIN $6700 |
|
|
|
| Sara | Chris (D) | Matthew (SB) | Lauren (BB) |
| K♥ 8♥ |
9♦ 6♣ |
K♠ J♣ |
6♠ 4♦ |
| FOLD |
FOLD |
Raises to $1500 |
FOLD |
|
|
WIN $2100 |
|
| Another disadvantage
of being a consistently tight player is that, once players catch on to that,
they will stay away from him whenever he bets, assuming he has a monster
hand. You can get many chips from collecting just the blinds every with
good hand. |
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Chris Masterson | $20,000 |
| Lauren Graham | $16,200 |
| Sara Rue | $7800 |
| Matthew Perry | $6000 |
| Lauren | Sara (D) | Chris (SB) | Matthew (BB) |
| J♦ 2♣ |
J♣ 6♥ |
8♦ 7♥ |
Q♠ 8♠ |
| FOLD |
FOLD |
Calls $300 |
CHECK |
| Since
Matthew had $600 in the Big Blind already and no one has raised him, he can
check and see the Flop for free. |
| FLOP: 9♦ K♠ 7♣ |
|
|
Bets $1200 |
FOLD |
|
|
WIN $2400 |
|
| Matthew may have been right to
fold this time; Chris' "mullets" made him a mild favorite. |
| Matthew | Lauren (D) | Sara (SB) | Chris (BB) |
| Q♥ 4♥ |
3♥ 2♦ |
J♥ 10♣ |
A♦ 5♥ |
| FOLD |
FOLD |
Raises to $1200 |
Calls $600 |
| FLOP: 9♠ 9♦ K♠ |
|
|
CHECK |
Bets $3000 |
|
|
Calls $3000 |
| TURN: J♦ |
|
|
ALL-IN
$3000 |
FOLD |
|
|
WIN $11400 |
|
In the Lounge, Sean has all sorts of notes as he
watches the action. He prefers to call the area the LEARNING Lounge, since
he's learning more and more about poker with each hand.
| Lauren | Sara (D) | Chris (SB) | Matthew (BB) |
| Q♦ 8♥ |
K♣ Q♥ |
K♠ 9♦ |
10♠ 7♥ |
| Raises to $1200 |
Raises to $2400 |
FOLD |
FOLD |
| Raises to $4200 |
Calls $1800 |
|
|
| FLOP: Q♠ 9♥ 8♣ |
| Ooooooo. Lauren flopped two
pair! Sara was a 75% fave before the Flop, but now Lauren's an over
90% fave. |
ALL-IN
$12,000 |
ALL-IN
$7200 |
|
|
| Lauren's
bet is lowered to match Sara's all-in. Sara needs a King to stat
around. |
TURN: 6♠
RIVER: A♦ |
| WIN
$23,700 |
OUT
- 4th Place |
|
|
As Lauren become the chip leader, Sara shows Phil's booklet
to the camera and says, "I had to do it." She goes into
the Losers' Lounge. Phil AGREES that Sara made the right move, calling
with "top pair" on the Flop. Sean says, "I know it's not
saying much, but you played better than me." Sara takes SOME solace
in that the Susan G.Koman Breast Cancer Foundation gets $5000. Sara says
that's good because "You have to protect the ladies". Then an
awkward moment appears when Sara says that the spouse should be made to give
breast exams to the woman...to which David says, "You shouldn't have to
MAKE the guy touch your breasts." Well, uh,...back to the action...
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Lauren Graham | $27,900 |
| Chris Masterson | $17,000 |
| Matthew Perry | $5100 |
| Matthew (D) | Lauren (SB) | Chris (BB) |
| 5♦ 4♦ |
Q♠ 10♠ |
A♠ J♥ |
| FOLD |
Raises to $3300 |
Calls $2700 |
| FLOP: 4♥ Q♦ 6♥ |
|
Bets $4000 |
FOLD |
|
|
|
|
WIN $10600 |
|
Antes have gone up to $0 and blinds are now $400 (SB) and $800 (BB).
| Lauren (D) | Chris (SB) | Matthew (BB) |
| 4♠ 4♣ |
Q♦ J♦ |
4♥ 3♠ |
| Raises to $1600 |
Raises to $4500 |
FOLD |
| Matthew: "Oddly,...I'm
going to fold." |
| FOLD |
|
|
|
WIN $6900 |
|
| There's a switch: CHRIS
semi-bluffed LAUREN out of a pot. Actually, Lauren's "Darth
Vader" ("dark" fours) and Chris' suited connectors were pretty
much a coin flip. |
| Chris (D) | Matthew (SB) | Lauren (BB) |
| 9♠ 5♦ |
K♣ Q♦ |
Q♥ Q♣ |
| FOLD |
Raises to $2900 |
Raises to $6300 |
|
ALL-IN
$4300 |
Calls $2000 |
| EWWW!
Matthew finally gets a hand to go all-in with...and someone else has a
BETTER hand to CALL with! Lauren's about a 4-to1 favorite. |
FLOP: 6♦ 7♠ A♥
TURN: 6♥ |
| Matthew needs a
King or it's all over... |
| RIVER: 10♥ |
|
6♦ 6♥ A♥ K♣ Q♦ |
Q♥ Q♣ 6♦ 6♥ A♥ |
|
OUT
- 3rd Place |
WIN $8600 |
Matthew is very sad as he arrives into the Lounge, greeted
by David, Sean and Sara. After ordering drinks, David comments about
Matthew's tight play...and Matthew ADMITS that he played TOO tight. David
ALSO comments on his Friends counterpart David Schwimmer losing in HIS
CPS game last year...but Matthew can live with it since, according to him, he
and Schwimmer will never see each other again. He takes a mild bit of
comfort that the Lili Claire Foundation will get 5 "large".
But, now, it's down to HEADS-UP action between the WB star and the FOX
star. Which of these so-called "minor-league network" actors
will get the silver chip? We'll find out as we SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL!
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Lauren Graham | $33,900 |
| Chris Masterson | $16,100 |
| Lauren (D) (SB) | Chris (BB) |
| K♥ 3♥ |
5♥ 4♣ |
| Raises to $2000 |
FOLD |
| WIN $2800 |
|
| Here, Lauren starts to talk it
up with Chris, asking for a new "Chris Fact" each hand.
Chris says he's "bi-curious" (look it up if you don't know). |
| Chris (D) (SB) | Lauren (BB) |
| 3♥ 3♦ |
10♦ 5♥ |
| Raises to $2500 |
FOLD |
| WIN $3300 |
|
| Chris was born on Long Island |
And, now, it's time once again for HOW WOULD YOU
PLAY IT!? We'll only show you Chris' hand and see if you can determine
what to do as Lauren plays along.
| Lauren (D) (SB) | Chris (BB) |
| ????? |
K♠ 7♠ |
| Chris has no pets. |
| Raises to $1900 |
Calls $1100 |
| Lauren
raised rather strong, but "you" (as Chris) have a strong hand
yourself. Folding is not an option, but the hand's not string enough
to raise. So, the best thing to do is call and see what the Flop has
in store. |
| FLOP: 2♦ 3♦ 3♠ |
| "You" don't have either
of "your" cards paired, but "you" DO have two "overcards".
Plus, the first one to bet into a pair on the Board usually wins. The
best bet would be about $3000 of "your" remaining chips. |
|
Bets $5500 |
| Calls $5500 |
| "You" overbet the
pot. And Lauren actually CALLED...without much thought, mind
"you". This should worry "you", since
"you" should be putting her on a flush draw. |
| TURN: A♥ |
| There's still nut flush chance for
Lauren...and "you" have no pair of "your" own.
"You" delay to try to pick up a "tell" from Lauren...who
gives none noticeable. Finally,... |
|
CHECK |
| Bets $4000 |
FOLD |
| The big bet by Lauren shows
either a flush draw...or a bluff at a flush. "You" shouldn't
take chances and should fold (like Chris does). |
| WIN
$18,800 |
|
| Unlike Chris, however, you get
to see what Lauren had...and it was J♦ 8♦.
She WAS on a draw. |
| Chris (D) (SB) | Lauren (BB) |
| K♦ 3♠ |
3♣ 2♣ |
| Raises to $2400 |
Calls $1600 |
| FLOP: 10♥ A♣ J♦ |
|
CHECK |
ALL-IN
$6300 |
FOLD |
| WIN
$11,100 |
|
| Chris (D) (SB) | Lauren (BB) |
| 6♥ 3♦ |
J♥ 9♠ |
| Raises to $2700 |
Calls $1900 |
| FLOP: Q♥ A♥ Q♠ |
|
Bets $4000 |
| FOLD |
|
|
WIN $9400 |
| Chris TRIED to bluff...but
Lauren's call before the Flop and big bet afterwards forced him to fold. |
| CURRENT CHIP COUNT |
| Lauren Graham | $40,800 |
| Chris Masterson | $9200 |
I won't bore you...much: what follows is a number of hands
where one bets big and the other one folds to win the pot without a Flop.
Let's get to a hand where the Flop actually takes place, shall we?
Blinds are now $500 (SB) and $1000 (BB).
| Chris (D) (SB) | Lauren (BB) |
| 7♥ 2♣ |
K♦ Q♣ |
ALL-IN
$7300 |
Calls $6300 |
| Chris
MUST be "on tilt"; no one should even consider CALLING the Beer
Hand, let alone putting all their chips in! There's still a chance,
though; Lauren IS the fave, but only about a 68% fave. |
| FLOP: 7♣ 8♠ K♠ |
| Ooooo...Chris flopped
a pair...but so did Lauren. |
| TURN: 9♦ |
| Only a 7 or a 2 can
keep Chris' game alive... |
| RIVER: A♠ |
| Nope... |
| 7♥
7♣ A♠ K♠ 9♦ |
K♦
K♠ A♠ Q♣ 9♦ |
| OUT
- 2nd Place |
TOURNAMENT
WINNER! |
And, so, while Chris' Citizens Commission on Human Rights gets $5000 (and
Thomas Ridge cancels the phone call to him about that), it's Lauren Graham who
become the second female this season to get silver
chip that signifies a Final Table participant. The Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program
has a chance at receiving the $100,000 Grand Prize...IF Lauren survives the
Final Table!