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Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
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No one has mentioned Dan Smith of Toronto, who plays at the Annex Chess Club. and has also played the Saturday Rapid twice. He currently stands in 20th place in the main event with 5,700,000 in chips. I'm sure many would consider him among the favorites to finish on top, seeing how he was the top money winner on the planet last year with just shy of $5 million in tournament winnings!
No one has mentioned Dan Smith of Toronto, who plays at the Annex Chess Club. and has also played the Saturday Rapid twice. He currently stands in 20th place in the main event with 5,700,000 in chips. I'm sure many would consider him among the favorites to finish on top, seeing how he was the top money winner on the planet last year with just shy of $5 million in tournament winnings!
Dan is also "an online tournament legend" as detailed in this brief bio.
Click on "Chip Counts" for the chip counts of the finalists.
Click on "Results" for the cash winnings of the non-finalists.
Click on "Prizepool" to see the distribution of the money.
Of the 37 Canadians listed on the non-finalists list, I don't recognize any of them as being (tournament) chess players.
No one has mentioned Dan Smith of Toronto, who plays at the Annex Chess Club. and has also played the Saturday Rapid twice. He currently stands in 20th place in the main event with 5,700,000 in chips. I'm sure many would consider him among the favorites to finish on top, seeing how he was the top money winner on the planet last year with just shy of $5 million in tournament winnings!
Vlad, sorry to inform you that you are reading the list wrong. It looks like you are of the impression that this event is still happening and Dan Smith is still playing and in 20th place. This event actually took place in early July. The standings that you refer to are the final standings, except that the top 9 players are to return to Las Vegas in November to play out the final table.
What this means is that Dan Smith FINISHED 20th. The 5,700,000 chips are shown in red with a minus sign in front of them and is shown under the 'Trend' column. This means that on his final hand, Dan Smith was all in for that amount of chips and lost the hand. So his Main Event is over, only the top 9 players are still alive for November. Notice that only the top 9 still have Chip Count > 0.
They changed the format a few years ago to have this new 'November 9' final table. This was to stretch out the media interest and exposure of the event, I suppose.
Only the rushing is heard...
Onward flies the bird.
Vlad, sorry to inform you that you are reading the list wrong. It looks like you are of the impression that this event is still happening and Dan Smith is still playing and in 20th place. This event actually took place in early July. The standings that you refer to are the final standings, except that the top 9 players are to return to Las Vegas in November to play out the final table.
What this means is that Dan Smith FINISHED 20th. The 5,700,000 chips are shown in red with a minus sign in front of them and is shown under the 'Trend' column. This means that on his final hand, Dan Smith was all in for that amount of chips and lost the hand. So his Main Event is over, only the top 9 players are still alive for November. Notice that only the top 9 still have Chip Count > 0.
They changed the format a few years ago to have this new 'November 9' final table. This was to stretch out the media interest and exposure of the event, I suppose.
According to that link, Dan Smith was born in New Jersey and resides in Las Vegas.
Yes, that's Dan who plays chess in Toronto. He has a condo at the foot of Spadina near the waterfront.
As for his Las Vegas residency - what else can he do with all those millions that he wins? And the winnings in the list you post do not include the big numbers won overseas. Moving large sums of cash has its own inherent dangers - the taxman, the money laundering police, etc.
While he was growing up in New Jersey, Dan won the state junior chess championship and still plays in the 2200 range - as you can see if you look up his Saturday Rapid rating - 2167.
Yes, that's Dan who plays chess in Toronto. He has a condo at the foot of Spadina near the waterfront.
As for his Las Vegas residency - what else can he do with all those millions that he wins? And the winnings in the list you post do not include the big numbers won overseas. Moving large sums of cash has its own inherent dangers - the taxman, the money laundering police, etc.
While he was growing up in New Jersey, Dan won the state junior chess championship and still plays in the 2200 range - as you can see if you look up his Saturday Rapid rating - 2167.
Glad I could help with the links.
So Vlad, have you tried investing in Dan giving you some poker lessons and bankrolling you into a major tournament or two? This goes on all the time on the poker circuit, successful players bankrolling other players they feel could turn out to be consistent winners.
Or is poker not your thing?
Vlad, I am going to send you a PM later today, maybe late tonight.
Only the rushing is heard...
Onward flies the bird.
I asked Dan if he gave poker lessons. His answer was basically, "Who could afford me?"
If you ever watch some of the live interviews of poker players, they give some strange answers to questions, such as>>>>
Q: "In Hold'em what is your favorite hand?"
A: "10, 5" !
Q: "Why 10, 5 ?"
A: "Because I can be a part of any straight!"
Now why would they say that?
Obviously the person does not want you to improve your game! The weaker the opposition, the better the winnings!
A more important question I asked Dan was, "Do you ever play backgammon?" "No, never.", was his reply.
I asked Dan if he gave poker lessons. His answer was basically, "Who could afford me?"
If you ever watch some of the live interviews of poker players, they give some strange answers to questions, such as>>>>
Q: "In Hold'em what is your favorite hand?"
A: "10, 5" !
Q: "Why 10, 5 ?"
A: "Because I can be a part of any straight!"
Now why would they say that?
Obviously the person does not want you to improve your game! The weaker the opposition, the better the winnings!
A more important question I asked Dan was, "Do you ever play backgammon?" "No, never.", was his reply.
Oh well, too bad.
The 10, 5 thing does make some sense: the 5 could be part of any straight from a wheel (A,2,3,4,5) to a 9-high (5,6,7,8,9). The 10 could be part of any straight from a 10-high (6,7,8,9,10) to a Broadway (10,J,Q,K,A). So if you were in a gambling mood, 10-5 would be a good start hand, even better if it were suited.
But obviously you don't want to call every time pre-flop with 10-5. Players like Daniel Negreanu or Gus Hansen might, though.
I think some players would be ok with improving your play, if they are investing in you. The condition would be that if they are ever at the same table with you, they are going to do things differently than what they taught you -- or if they don't, they're going to make you THINK they are!
Also, some players write lots of teaching books. Phil Hellmuth Jr., Dan Harrington, Phil Gordon, Doyle Brunson, David Sklansky, Negreanu and Gus Hansen come to mind. In writing a book, you risk raising the level of everyone, including the Las Vegas tourists, and thus making your daily living at the cash games more difficult, so the publishing deal would have to be good. Harrington in particular has several good books on how to win at cash games.
Vlad, a backgammon question: what would you estimate the ratio of luck to skill is in serious tournament-level backgammon? I'm sure it varies wildly, but if you had to put a general overall ratio to it, what would you think?
Only the rushing is heard...
Onward flies the bird.
The 10, 5 thing does make some sense: the 5 could be part of any straight from a wheel (A,2,3,4,5) to a 9-high (5,6,7,8,9). The 10 could be part of any straight from a 10-high (6,7,8,9,10) to a Broadway (10,J,Q,K,A). So if you were in a gambling mood, 10-5 would be a good start hand, even better if it were suited.
But obviously you don't want to call every time pre-flop with 10-5. Players like Daniel Negreanu or Gus Hansen might, though.
I think some players would be ok with improving your play, if they are investing in you. The condition would be that if they are ever at the same table with you, they are going to do things differently than what they taught you -- or if they don't, they're going to make you THINK they are!
Also, some players write lots of teaching books. Phil Hellmuth Jr., Dan Harrington, Phil Gordon, Doyle Brunson, David Sklansky, Negreanu and Gus Hansen come to mind. In writing a book, you risk raising the level of everyone, including the Las Vegas tourists, and thus making your daily living at the cash games more difficult, so the publishing deal would have to be good. Harrington in particular has several good books on how to win at cash games.
Vlad, a backgammon question: what would you estimate the ratio of luck to skill is in serious tournament-level backgammon? I'm sure it varies wildly, but if you had to put a general overall ratio to it, what would you think?
10 5 offsuit is considered the weakest starting hand right up there with 7 2. In NL Holdem when you play spec hands coordinated hands like suited connectors are more desirable.
I asked Dan if he gave poker lessons. His answer was basically, "Who could afford me?"
If you ever watch some of the live interviews of poker players, they give some strange answers to questions, such as>>>>
Q: "In Hold'em what is your favorite hand?"
A: "10, 5" !
Q: "Why 10, 5 ?"
A: "Because I can be a part of any straight!"
Now why would they say that?
Obviously the person does not want you to improve your game! The weaker the opposition, the better the winnings!
A more important question I asked Dan was, "Do you ever play backgammon?" "No, never.", was his reply.
Oh well, too bad.
In case you haven't seen this interview, Vlad, here's 'The Dan Smith Story'.
The 10, 5 thing does make some sense: the 5 could be part of any straight from a wheel (A,2,3,4,5) to a 9-high (5,6,7,8,9). The 10 could be part of any straight from a 10-high (6,7,8,9,10) to a Broadway (10,J,Q,K,A). So if you were in a gambling mood, 10-5 would be a good start hand, even better if it were suited.
But obviously you don't want to call every time pre-flop with 10-5. Players like Daniel Negreanu or Gus Hansen might, though.
I think some players would be ok with improving your play, if they are investing in you. The condition would be that if they are ever at the same table with you, they are going to do things differently than what they taught you -- or if they don't, they're going to make you THINK they are!
Also, some players write lots of teaching books. Phil Hellmuth Jr., Dan Harrington, Phil Gordon, Doyle Brunson, David Sklansky, Negreanu and Gus Hansen come to mind. In writing a book, you risk raising the level of everyone, including the Las Vegas tourists, and thus making your daily living at the cash games more difficult, so the publishing deal would have to be good. Harrington in particular has several good books on how to win at cash games.
Vlad, a backgammon question: what would you estimate the ratio of luck to skill is in serious tournament-level backgammon? I'm sure it varies wildly, but if you had to put a general overall ratio to it, what would you think?
Poker players who think 10, 5 is a playable hand are called 'chasers' - the kind of players you make the best wins against. First you decide what they're chasing then put them 'all in' before they catch.
As to your suggestion that Dan Smith could profit by backing me in a tournament - What's in it for him?
Let's say he backed me for a month of tournaments and I got lucky and we won $500,000 of which he would be entitled to at least 80%. So, what use is an extra $400,000 to a man who makes millions every year?
As for your backgammon question - its probably one most often asked -
When two highly skilled players are playing, its ALL luck.
When two imbeciles are playing, ditto, ALL LUCK.
When a pro plays the imbecile, the pro will win 9 sessions out of ten.
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