TOURNAMENT 4
EPISODE 5

CELEBRITY POKER SHOWDOWN comes at ya once again from the Palms Casino in beaautiful downtown Vegas. Five more celebs are battling it out in a no-holds barred at No Limit Hold 'Em for your pleasure. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?! What about if we tell you they're fighting for a hunk of the Net Zero Internet(TM) $250,000 Prize Pool? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!? Oh, you ARE? Good.

Two vets and three newbs fight for the final spot at the Final Table:

CELEBRITY BIO

Angela Bassett
playing for Save Africa's Children 		Angela has played both Tina Turner in "What's Love Got To Do With It" and the title character in "The Rosa Parks Story: but is best known as Stella Payne in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back". Will she groove to the Final Table or get out-legged?

Jeff Garlin
playing for Greater Chicago Food Depository 		Jeff played Jeff Greene on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm before being Eddie Murphy's foil in "Daddy Day Care". Can he take care of this crowd or will he lose HIS enthusiasm along with all his chips?

Dave Navarro
playing for Cure Autism Now 		The one who brought Jane's Addiction back together came THIS CLOSE to winning it all last season. Can he finally replace that silver chip with a gold one or will he be "Caught Stealing" again?

Mekhi Phifer
playing for the Vine Group 		The star of "O" and the recent remake of "Dawn of the Dead" has been operating rather well as Dr. Gregory Pratt on the hit NBC series ER. But can he put the others in a coma or will HE be stuck saying "OH!"?

Emily Procter
playing for Cancer Research & Prevention Foundation 		Formerly from The West Wing, Emily moved from the "peacock" to the "eye", playing Calleigh Duquesne on CSI: Miami. Can she improve on her lackluster performancre from the very first CPS game or will she be forced to resign again?

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 winning the "coveted" silver chip and making him/her eligible for the Final Table later in the year.  At the announcers' position beside the Losers' Lounge are host Dave Foley and poker expert Phil Gordon.  They'll be calling the action emanating from the main room.

All right, let's stop yippin' and start chippin'.  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 Emily.

(As per tradition, the hosts pick a winner. Dave picks Navarro while Phil says he HAS to go with Emily.)

Dave Angela Emily (D) Jeff (SB) Mekhi (BB)
Q♥ J♠ 10♦ 6♣ A♥ 8♠ J♣ 2♠ 4♠ 4♦
Raises to $600 FOLD FOLD FOLD Calls $400
46%       54%
FLOP: J♦ J♥ 3♠
92% 8%
Dave flopped three hooks! Mekhi flopped two pair but...he's in trouble
Bets $1000
Raises to $2000 Calls $1000
TURN: K♠
95% 5%
Mekhi can only win with one of the last two 4s.
Bets $1000
Raises to $2000 Calls $1000
RIVER: 2♠
COMMUNITY: J♦ J♥ K♠ 3♠ 2♠
NUTS! DEAD!
CHECK
CHECK
J♠ J♦ J♥ K♠ Q♥ J♦ J♥ 4♠ 4♦ K♠
WIN $9300



Angela Emily Jeff (D) Mekhi (SB) Dave (BB)
Q♠ 2♦ 7♣ 3♣ 6♠ 3♥ K♦ J♠ 7♦ 5♦
FOLD FOLD FOLD Calls $100 CHECK
64% 36%
FLOP: 4♥ 8♥ Q♦
64% 36%
Dave has a gut-buster straight draw...but Mekhi's still in the lead.
CHECK CHECK
TURN: 3♠
79% 21%
CHECK CHECK
RIVER: 6♦
COMMUNITY: Q♦ 8♥ 6♦ 4♥ 3♠
DEAD! NUTS!
EEEP! He got the straight!
CHECK CHECK
K♦ Q♦ J♠ 4♥ 8♥ 3♠ 6♦ 8♥ 7♦ 6♦  5♦ 4♥
WIN $400


CURRENT CHIP COUNT
Dave Navarro $14,900
Angela Bassett $10,000
Emily Procter $10,000
Jeff Garlin $9900
Mekhi Phifer $5200



Emily Jeff Mekhi (D) Dave (SB) Angela (BB)
A♦ 2♣ 8♦ 4♠ 7♣ 5♣ K♣ 6♦ A♣ 10♣
FOLD FOLD FOLD Calls $100 Raises to $600
David asks the crowd, "Do you want to see a Flop?" After the crowd cheers in the affirmative...
FOLD
WIN $800



Mekhi Dave Angela (D) Emily (SB) Jeff (BB)
10♣ 5♣ 8♥ 5♦ A♣ 2♠ 4♦ 3♣ 6♣ 4♣
FOLD FOLD Calls $200 FOLD Raises to $400
Calls $200
60% 40%
FLOP: 7♣ J♥ K♣
57% 43%
Jeff now has a flush draw.
Bets $500
FOLD
WIN $1400
Proof positive that you don't have to HAVE "the nuts" to win; you just NEED the "nuts" to bet!


Hand 7

Angela Emily Jeff (D) Mekhi (SB) Dave (BB)
5♦ 3♣ A♦ 10♠ K♥ 5♠ Q♣ 8♠ A♣ 3♥
FOLD Raises to $600 FOLD FOLD Calls $400
76% 24%
FLOP: 10♣ 3♦ 10♦
99% < 1%
Emily flopped "thirty miles of bad road"! Dave has two pair...but now HE'S the one in trouble! The best HE can do is tie...and only running Aces can make THAT happen.
Bets $1000
Raises to $2000 Calls $1000
TURN: 6♠
NUTS! DEAD!
CHECK
Bets $2000 Calls $2000
RIVER: 7♣
COMMUNITY: 10♣ 10♦ 7♣ 6♠ 3♦
CHECK
Bets $5000 Calls $5000
Emily SAYS "$5000"...but only puts in $2500. In tournament poker, what you say is what you must do. So she doubles what she puts in.
10♠ 10♣ 10♦ A♦ 7♣ 10♣ 10♦ 3♥ 3♦ A♣
WIN $19,300


CURRENT CHIP COUNT
Emily Procter $19,400
Jeff Garlin $11,100
Angela Bassett $9800
Dave Navarro $5300
Mekhi Phifer $4400



Hand 8

Jeff Mekhi Dave (D) Angela (SB) Emily (BB)
J♣ 4♥ A♥ 10♣ 10♦ 6♠ Q♦ 10♥ 3♣ 2♦
FOLD Calls $200 FOLD Calls $100 CHECK
FINALLY a three-way Flop!
43% 26% 31%
FLOP: 2♣ 8♣ K♥ (read by Jeff)
21% 12% 67%
CHECK Bets $400
Calls $400 FOLD  
22% 78%
TURN: A♦
87% 13%
And Mekhi gets his "joker", the card he needed to pull ahead.
Bets $800
ALL-IN
$3800		 FOLD
WIN $6000
Before folding, Emily asks Mekhi to show his hands. Shaking hands are usually a sign of a good poker hand.



Hand 9

Mekhi Dave Angela (D) Emily (SB) Jeff (BB)
K♣ 10♥ 7♥ 4♣ K♠ 2♣ 10♠ 3♣ 8♥ 6♥
Calls $200 FOLD Raises to $400 FOLD FOLD
Calls $200
69% 31%
FLOP: A♠ A♣ 4♠
72% 28%
Jeff says, "If someone has Aces, they have more than two." In tournament poker, it's not proper to talk about a hand during it, ESPECIALLY if you're not involved in it. I'm sure Robert Thompson spoke to Jeff about this during the break.
Bets $500 Calls $500
TURN: 7♣
87% 13%
CHECK CHECK
RIVER: 7♠
COMMUNITY: A♠ A♣ 7♣ 7♠ 4♠
SPLIT! SPLIT!
Both have the SAME HAND: Aces and 7s with a King kicker. The odds of getting a tie on the river were about 10%. At this point, Jeff asks for a "side bet" with Emily: "All my chips for your...bra."
CHECK Bets $1000
FOLD
WIN $3100

Blinds are now $200 (SB) and $400 (BB).

Hand 10

Angela Emily Jeff (D) Mekhi (SB) Dave (BB)
10♥ 7♠ 7♣ 7♥ J♣ 5♣ A♠ K♥ A♦ Q♣
FOLD FOLD FOLD Calls $200 Raises to $800
Calls $400
How in the HELL can Emily fold a pocket pair?!
72% 28%
FLOP: 2♠ 3♥ 6♠
85% 15%
Dave stares right at Mekhi, a sign of a weak hand.
CHECK Bets $500
Calls $500
TURN: 4♦
88% 12%
A 5 will make a split pot again.
CHECK CHECK
RIVER: 9♥
COMMUNITY: 9♥ 6♠ 4♦ 3♥ 2♠
CHECK CHECK
A♠ K♥ 9♥ 6♠ 4♦ A♦ Q♣ 9♥ 6♠ 4♦
WIN $2600


CURRENT CHIP COUNT
Emily Procter $17,900
Jeff Garlin $10,400
Angela Bassett $10,400
Mekhi Phifer $7700
Dave Navarro $3600



Jeff Mekhi Dave (D) Angela (SB) Emily (BB)
A♣ J♠ 10♥ 4♣ 7♥ 2♦ 8♥ 5♥ 4♥ 3♠
Raises to $900 FOLD FOLD Calls $700 FOLD
63%     37%  
FLOP: K♥ 10♦ Q♣
97% 3%
BAM! Jeff flopped "Broadway"! BUT...Angela CAN still win with running diamonds.
CHECK
Bets $600 Calls $600
Angela tossed $1000 into the pot...but didn't say "raise", so that's considered a call (and a need for change).
TURN: J♦
96% 4%
No way Angela can win now...but an Ace will split the pot.
CHECK
Bets $2000 FOLD
WIN $5400



Dave Angela Emily (D) Jeff (SB) Mekhi (BB)
J♦ 3♦ 5♣ 2♣ 9♠ 7♣ A♠ 4♣ Q♣ Q♥
Calls $400 FOLD FOLD FOLD CHECK
21%       79%
FLOP: 7♥ 8♥ 3♠
20%       80%
Bets $1000
Calls $1000
TURN: 6♣
17%       83%
Bets $1000
ALL-IN
$2800		 Calls $1800
RIVER: 6♥
DEAD! NUTS!
6♣ 6♥ 3♦ 3♠ J♦ Q♣ Q♥ 6♣ 6♥ 8♥
OUT - 5th Place WIN $8600

After three games, Navarro FINALLY sees the Losers' Lounge up close and personal. He calls his wife Carmen Electra en route, saying, "I lost huge...and your ex-husband (Dennis Rodman) won!" As he sits with Dave, he says he had hoped his choice of fashion (a black t-shirt with a portrait of Jesus Christ on it) would stop the bleeding. But he DOES have a $5 side bet as to who each person thought would win and he's still in it. Oh, yeah, and $5000 goes to Cure Autism Now. About his last hand, Phil Gordon says, "Even Jesus Christ wouldn't play Jack-three for all His chips." Dave retorts, "He would...but then the cards wouldn't be Jack-three." Navarro asks for some Prozac(TM) as we go to commercial.


CURRENT CHIP COUNT
Emily Proctor $17,300
Mekhi Phifer $12,100
Jeff Garlin $11,700
Angela Bassett $8900

And, once again, we're ready to play Phil Gordon's favorite part of the show: HOW WOULD YOU PLAY IT? We will play as if we are Mekhi Phifer this hand and tell you how you SHOULD play it.
Emily Jeff (D) Mekhi (SB) Angela (BB)
????? ????? Q♣ 6♥ ?????
"You" (aka Mekhi) have a mediocre hand in the Small Blind. "You" should wait to see what those before "you" do before you call the Big Blind, which would be only $200.
FOLD FOLD Calls $200 CHECK
Since Emily and Jeff folded, "you" were right to call. Had Angela raised instead of checked, "you" should have bailed out. But, since she checked, that should give "you" an indication that her hand is about as weak as "yours".
FLOP: 7♠ 9♣ 6♠
OK, "you" have a pair of 6s...BUT there's a straight draw possibility out there. "You" should test Angela's hand with a bet.
CHECK Bets $400
It's a small bet...might as well call.
Calls $400
TURN: Q♥
OK, now "you" have TWO pair...so make a BIG bet, about the size of the pot.
CHECK CHECK
I said BET, not CHECK!
RIVER: 10♥
COMMUNITY: Q♥ 10♥ 9♣ 7♠ 6♠
ALL-IN
$11,300		 FOLD
"You" bet WAY too much for Angela to call. But the GOOD news is that she didn't call all-in immediately...meaning she didn't have the 8 to make a straight.
WIN $12,900
Angela had K♠ 5♦. She was on a straight draw but "you" out-flopped her. Mekhi could have gotten a little MORE money out of Angela, but I'm sure he'll be happy with fleecing $400 more from her shrinking stack.



Jeff Mekhi (D) Angela (SB) Emily (BB)
10♥ 7♦ A♥ K♣ 4♥ 4♦ 10♦ 6♥
FOLD Calls $400 Calls $200 CHECK
Here, Jeff asks Mekhi to give him a nickname...and the best Mekhi can come up with is "Jeff the Chef".
42% 34% 24%
FLOP: 3♦ A♦ Q♠
83% 11% 6%
Bets $500 FOLD
Raises to $1000 Calls $500
85% 15%
TURN: 8♣
95% 5%
Only "Darth Vader" can help Angela now ("dark 4s", get it?)
CHECK
Bets $500 Calls $500
RIVER: 8♠
COMMUNITY: 8♣ 8♠ A♦ Q♠ 3♦
NUTS! DEAD!
Bets $1000
ALL-IN
$11,000		 ALL-IN
$4200
Mekhi's bet is lowered to match Angela's...and Angela is out of the game!
A♥ A♦ 8♣ 8♠ K♣ 8♣ 8♠ 4♥ 4♦ A♦
WIN $16,600 OUT - 4th Place
Mekhi is the new chip leader...and Angela is the newest resident of the Lounge du Losers.

As Angela enters the Lounge, she says she was very nervous...and that she KNEW Mekhi was going to skunk her. Navarro adds, "Didn't I tell you? It's all fun and games until there's money on the table." Speaking of money, 5 grand goes to Save Africa's Children. With that out of the way, let's get back to the action.

Mekhi (D) Emily (SB) Jeff (BB)
10♥ 8♦ 10♦ 8♥ 6♦ 3♠
Calls $400 FOLD CHECK
61%   39%
FLOP: K♥ Q♥ Q♣
75% 25%
FOLD
WIN $1000
Jeff COULD have checked, just in case Mekhi's hand was as lousy as his own.


CURRENT CHIP COUNT
Mekhi Phifer $21,800
Emily Proctor $17,500
Jeff Garlin $10,700

Blinds are now $300 (SB) and $600 (BB).
Jeff (D) Mekhi (SB) Emily (BB)
7♠ 6♦ J♦ 6♥ 7♦ 3♦
Raises to $1200 FOLD Calls $600
56%   44%
FLOP: 3♥ 5♥ J♣
28% 72%
CHECK
FOLD
WIN $2700
This is the third time "Jeff the Chef" folded when he could have just checked.



Emily (D) Jeff (SB) Mekhi (BB)
J♥ 8♥ K♦ 8♠ 7♦ 6♦
FOLD Raises to $2000 Calls $1400
57% 43%
FLOP: 2♠ 5♦ A♣
69% 31%
CHECK CHECK
TURN: J♣
86% 14%
CHECK CHECK
RIVER: 5♥
COMMUNITY: 5♦ 5♥ A♣ J♣ 2♠
NUTS! DEAD!
CHECK CHECK
Welcome to the "Check Republic".
5♦ 5♥ A♣ K♦ J♣   5♦ 5♥ A♣ J♣ 7♦
WIN $4000



Jeff (D) Mekhi (SB) Emily (BB)
J♦ 5♦ 9♥ 4♥ Q♠ 9♠
Raises to $1200 FOLD Calls $600
Emily says, "I'll see that and raise you $1000." This is called a "string raise" and is illegal in tournament play. This is because there's too much of a chance of picking up tells in the pause between "see" and "raise". Therefore, it's only a "call".
39% 61%
FLOP: 5♥ 9♦ 4♦
54% 46%
Emily to Jeff: "I know I'm beating you right now!"
(Not really; she may have a pair of 9s, but HE has a flush draw)
Bets $2000
Raises to $4000 Calls $2000
TURN: K♣
33% 67%
CHECK
Bets $2000 Calls $2000
Jeff starts to dance in his seat and says to Emily, "Please call me."
RIVER: 8♦
COMMUNITY: K♣  9♦ 8♦ 5♥ 4♦
NUTS! DEAD!
And he MAKES his flush!
CHECK
ALL-IN
$3900		 FOLD
WIN $18,600
Jeff danced around the table. Emily was "pot-committed" at this point...but the "tell" was WAY too obvious for her to ignore.


CURRENT CHIP COUNT
Mekhi Phifer $19,700
Jeff Garlin $18,000
Emily Proctor $12,300



Emily (D) Jeff (SB) Mekhi (BB)
Q♦ 7♠ J♥ 8♥ K♠ 5♠
FOLD Raises to $2600 Calls $2000
45% 55%
FLOP: 3♠ 4♣ 9♠
15% 85%
Mekhi has the best hand AND a flush draw,
Bets $2000 Calls $2000
TURN: 4♦
10% 90%
Bets $2000 Calls $2000
RIVER: 6♠
COMMUNITY: 4♣ 4♦ 9♠ 6♠ 3♠
   
And there's ANOTHER River flush...not that Mekhi NEEDED it.
Bets $1000 ALL-IN
$11,900
FOLD
WIN $26,100
Mekhi to crowd: "Drinks are on me...for EVERYBODY!"



Jeff (D) Mekhi (SB) Emily (BB)
A♣ 5♥ K♠ 3♣ 6♠ 6♣
Raises to $2600 FOLD Raises to $4600
ALL-IN
$8900		 Calls $4300
Emily's 6s are a decent hand three-handed, even with Jeff's overcard...
32%   68%
FLOP: 3♠ A♥ 5♦
88% 12%
...until THAT happens. Jeff has flopped two pair and only another 6 can save Emily from doubling him up.
TURN: J♣
95% 5%
RIVER: 5♠
NUTS! DEAD!
5♥ 5♦ 5♠ A♣  A♥ 6♠ 6♣ 5♦ 5♠ A♥
WIN $18,100



Mekhi (D) Emily (SB) Jeff (BB)
Q♣ J♦ K♠ 7♠ 10♦ 3♠
Calls $600 Calls $300 FOLD
Jeff, LEARN HOW TO @#$%ING CHECK!!!
42% 58%  
FLOP: 3♦ 5♥ A♠
25% 75%
Bets $2000
Calls $2000
TURN: 10♣
21% 78%
ALL-IN
$3500
Calls $3500
Emily's in good shape to double-up herself. All she needs to avoid is a face card and...
RIVER: K♦
NUTS! DEAD!
...uh....never mind.
A♠ K♦ Q♣ J♦ 10♣ K♠ K♦ A♠ 10♣ 7♠
WIN $12,800 OUT - 3rd Place


After enduring two straight suck-outs, Emily shleps to the Lounge to join Navarro, Angela, Phil and Dave. In a "sour grapes" moment, she says she was VERY concerned about making her flight tomorrow. Phil comforts her by saying that she was just terribly unlucky in those last two hands. What's worse is that Navarro lost the side bet! But he DOES try to get Emily into giving him a "private tutoring lesson". (Oh, so THAT'S what they call it in Vegas, huh?) At least Emily is able to give 5 "large" to the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation.

But now, after a LENGTHY chat between the ER man and the Curb Your Enthusiasm man, it's time to play HEADS-UP for that final silver chip. So let's SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL!


CURRENT CHIP COUNT
Mekhi Phifer $32,500
Jeff Garlin $17,500

Blinds are now $400 (SB) and $800 (BB).

Jeff (D) (SB) Mekhi (BB)
8♥ 8♣ 7♠ 7♦
Raises to $2000 Calls $1200
Two pocket pairs going against each other...but, of course, "snowmen" have it all over the "mullets". See?
81% 19%
FLOP: 10♦ 7♥ 2♥
16% 84%
JACKPOT! Mekhi's flopped the "slot machine"! Jeff needs an 8 or running hearts to pull ahead.
CHECK
Bets $2000 Raises to $4000
Calls $2000
TURN: A♣
5% 95%
Bets $2500
Raises to $5000 Raises to $7500
ALL-IN
$11,500		 Calls $4000
Jeff needs one more "snowman" or...
RIVER: Q♣
DEAD! NUTS!
...the tournament's OVER!
8♥ 8♣ A♣ Q♣ 10♦ 7♠ 7♦ 7♥ A♣ Q♣
OUT - 2nd Place TOURNAMENT WINNER!

Jeff's charity, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, gets $5000. But it's Mehki Phifer who knocks out "The Chef" in one hand of heads-up action amd who gets the "illustrious" silver chip that signifies a Final Table participant. The Vine Group has a good chance of winning the $100,000!

And, so, the Final Table is set! Mekhi Phifer will join Dennis Rodman, Neil Patrick Harris, Matthew Perry and Kevin Nealon for the last three-fifths remaining of the Prize Pool...with one leaving with $100,000 for his charity!