Fulltilt Poker's Fantasy Freeroll

Full Tilt Poker hosts a Fantasy Poker for the 2010 World Series of Poker. You can pick pro poker players who you'll think will do well in certain events, and get points depending on how much money they make. Well, thanks to the fine ITM performance of Andy Bloch and John Juanda in Event #2 The $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship, I was one of the top 2000 who won a seat into the FTP Fantasy Freeroll $2K Guaranteed. Only 626 registered for the tournament, which was a 7-game mixed, featuring the poker games of Limit Hold'em, Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low, Limit Razz, Limit Omaha High-Low, Limit Seven Card Stud High, No Limit Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha High.

The first level of Limit Hold'em turned out well for me to put me at a slight chip lead on my table. The second level of Stud High-Low was equally good, but it wasn't until the Omaha High-Low game that my chip stack dwindled, mostly because it was just limit, and most of the players really chased rivers, and no matter how ahead I was on the flop, it was just sad to see a suck out on the river. I also think I played too many hands, and go too excited with small pocket pairs that would hit a set, only to be beaten by a higher set. I recovered a bit on the next level of Limit Seven Card Stud, and I think I am masterful at Seven Card Stud, considering my ability to memorize what's been folded from the face open cards of other players, and be able to count my outs and draws, and to also know if I'm ahead or not.

Eventually, it was at the game of No Limit Hold'em where I busted out, with my pocket 10's pushing all-in preflop to be called by AQ, and an A on the turn to bust me out at 543. Oh fudge. I still have much to learn about the other games of poker, but it's good that I can expand my versatility at the felt by trying to master all these games. After all - poker is a continuous learning experience, and I couldn't consider myself a real poker player if I didn't master the other games. 

Well - so now that's out of the way. The other thing I have to look forward to today is the Independence Day Weekend Php2 Million Guaranteed at The Metro. Hopefully, an ITM finish for me, or even better - the win!

2010 NBA Finals: Bet on Total Points of Kobe Bryant To Go UNDER 29.5 In Game 4

Los Angeles Lakers all-star Kobe Bryant is averaging 29.0 points per game throughout the playoffs, and is averaging 26.7 PPG in the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. Kobe Bryant scored 30 in Game 1 at the Staples Center when the Lakers won, but his scoring suffered to just 21 points in the Game 2 loss at home to the Boston Celtics. In Game 3, Kobe Bryant scored 29 in the win against the Boston Celtics.

I'm predicting that adjustments made by the Boston Celtics defense on Kobe Bryant will make it more difficult for him to score 30 points in Game 4, especially since the Boston Celtics will be much hungrier to book the win. Certainly, Kobe Bryant will light up the scoreboard, but he might have a hard time making 30 points in Boston, and against a very angry Green Machine.

2010 NBA Finals: Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers +3.5 in Game 4

The 2010 NBA Finals have been a hard one to call with the Boston Celtics losing one at home, and the Los Angeles Lakers losing one at home. Now, with Game 4 up for grabs, the Boston Celtics will hope to regain some home court advantage in order to seal the deal and avoid going down 3-1 in the series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers are slight underdogs, but they are certainly capable of stealing another one from the Boston Celtics just like they did in Game 3 when the Los Angeles Lakers destroyed them 91 to 84.

It might be a closer game on Game 4, especially with the Boston Celtics struggling to survive. But maybe the +3.5 points given to the Los Angeles Lakers just might be enough for them to win against the spread even if the Boston Celtics might walk away with a two point win.

Of course, I'm hoping the Los Angeles Lakers will pull through, and inch their way closer to another NBA Championship. After all, I have a purple heart.

2010 WSOP: Steven Gee Wins Event #13 $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em

Steven Gee, a 54 year-old poker pro from Sacramento, California, won his first career WSOP bracelet and $472,479 in prize money for outlasting 3,042 players in Event #13 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, A $1,000 buy-in No Limt Hold'em event.  

Steven Gee had this to say, "When I first started playing, there was no online poker or videos. I learned from the school of hard knocks." And for winning a WSOP bracelet, Steven Gee said, "It’s really big. It’s not that I’m insecure. I’m very secure about what I do. But this is a validation if you are a poker player. The thing about poker today is that no matter how good you are in cash games, even if you crush the games, nobody knows who you are. The tournament players are the rock stars today. So, this is what you do if you want to be known and get validation for what you do as a poker player.”

The other results and payouts at the final table are as follows:

2nd: Matthew Vance (USA) - $292,232
3rd: David Baker (USA) - $206,813
4th: Nicholas Heather (Ireland) - $149,702
5th: Jeffrey Gross (USA) - $109,621
6th: Daniel Thomas (USA) - $81,203
7th: Kyung Han (USA) - $60,833
8th: Jared Hamby (USA) - $46,077
9th: Mats Gavatin (Sweden) - $35,290

2010 WSOP: Carter Phillips Wins Event #16 $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em (Six Handed)

Carter Phillips, a 21-year old poker pro from North Carolina, just won his first WSOP bracelet when he outlasted 1,663 players to bag Event #16 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em six-handed tournament. Carter Phillips also bagged $482,774 for the win, and is the sixth youngest WSOP bracelet winner in history.

The six-handed final table was also the second youngest final table in WSOP history, with the average age at 22.8 years old.

The results of the final table and the payouts are as follows:

2nd: Samuel Gerber (Switzerland) - $298,726
3rd: Craig Bergeron (USA) - $189,661
4th: Hugo Perez (Peru) - $124,690
5th: Russelll Thomas (USA) - $84,256
6th: David Diaz (USA) - $58,483

2010 WSOP: Frank Kassela Wins Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split World Championship

Frank Kassela bested 170 players to win his first WSOP bracelet and $447K to win Event #15 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, a $10,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split Eight or Better World Championship, which had the richest prize pool in poker history for a Seven Card Stud High Low Split event at $1,598,000.

The final table included former WSOP bracelet winners like Steve Zolotow, Jennifer Harman, John Juanda and Dario Minieri. However, the big winner was Frank Kassela, a 42-year old businessman, who resides in Memphis, Tennessee. Frank Kassela went heads-up against his good friend and poker pro Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, but the 4-to-1 chip advantage of Frank Kassela was just too much to overcome in a Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split game.

The other results of the eight-handed final table are as follows:

2nd: Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler - $276,485
3rd: Jennifer Harman (USA) - $173,159
4th: Steve Zolotow (USA) - $125,379
5th: John Juanda (USA) - $97,989
6th: Kirill Rabcov (Russia) - $78,142
7th: Vladimir Schemelev (Russia) - $63,456
8th: Dario Minieri (Italy) - $52,366
Vladmir Schemelev has an early lead in the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year Race. He is the first player to make three final tables in the 2010 WSOP, and also the first player in history to make three final table in three designated "World Championship" events in a single year, including the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship, $10,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud championship, and this $10,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split.

2010 NBA Finals: Bet On Total Points and Rebounds of Pau Gasol To Go OVER 31.5 in Game 3

Los Angeles Lakers star forward Pau Gasol scored 25 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals, despite losing to the Boston Celitcs 103-94. When the Los Angeles Lakers won in Game 1, Pau Gasol had 23 points and 14 rebounds. Throughout the NBA Playoffs, Pau Gasol averages 20.4 PPG and 10.9 RPG. So far in the NBA Finals, Pau Gasol averages 24.o points and 11.0 rebounds per game.

There is no doubt Pau Gasol is hungry for another NBA championship ring, and it is pretty clear that he has brought his A game to the 2010 NBA Finals. He is certain to be consistent in this series against the Boston Celtics, and it would be wise to bet on the total points and rebounds of Pau Gasol to go OVER 31.5 in Game 3 of the 2010 NBA Finals.

2010 NBA Finals: Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers +2.5

The Boston Celtics will have the home court advantage on Game 3 of the 2010 NBA Finals, and they'll be carrying the momentum of that huge road win at the Staples Center of Game 2. Oddsmakers are being unkind to the Los Angeles Lakers by giving them only a +2.5 points to cover the spread. That's sick!

By the way things go, it looks like the Boston Celtics might go on to win by double digits.

According to the trends, the Los Angeles Lakers have been 4-1 against the spread in their last give games as an underdog on the road. However, the Boston Celtics have a 4-1 record against the spread in their last five home games.

I may be a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, but it's tough to beat the Boston Celtics at home. My money's on the Boston Celtics on this one. It's just the wise move.

This Is Disgusting!!! GodMaldito73 Is An Idiot!

Read it and weep!

PokerStars Game #45234722047: Tournament #266611046, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2010/06/08 11:42:13 ET
Table '266611046 90' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Johann's Mom (1000 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: asowood (990 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 3: billy penkie (970 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 4: GodMaldito73 (1030 in chips)
Seat 5: arsebata (970 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 6: JJ Duque (1010 in chips)
Seat 7: bacolod_jary (1030 in chips)
Seat 8: welcoat (1000 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 9: tckc27 (1000 in chips) is sitting out
bacolod_jary: posts small blind 10
welcoat: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to JJ Duque [Qh Qd]
tckc27: folds
Johann's Mom: folds
asowood: folds
billy penkie: folds
GodMaldito73: calls 20
arsebata: folds
JJ Duque: raises 60 to 80
bacolod_jary: calls 70
welcoat: folds
GodMaldito73: calls 60
*** FLOP *** [Th 7h 4s]
bacolod_jary: checks
GodMaldito73: bets 920
JJ Duque: raises 10 to 930 and is all-in
bacolod_jary: folds
GodMaldito73: calls 10
*** TURN *** [Th 7h 4s] [5h]
*** RIVER *** [Th 7h 4s 5h] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
GodMaldito73: shows [Jc 8s] (a straight, Four to Eight)
JJ Duque: shows [Qh Qd] (a pair of Queens)
GodMaldito73 collected 2120 from pot
JJ Duque finished the tournament in 972nd place

The idiot goes all-in on a bluff for a gutshot straight draw with the 9, and instead makes runner-runner to make a straight four to eight! How wrong is that?

2010 WSOP: Yan Chen Wins Event #14 $1,500 buy-in No Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball

Poker pro Yan Chen of Irvine, California, finally made a break-through to win his first career WSOP bracelet when he bested 250 players in Event #14, a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Deuce-To-Seven Draw Lowball tournament of the 2010 World Series of Poker. It was the third final table appearance for Yan Chen in a WSOP event, and his fifth time to cash in the money. Yan Chen also won $92K for his first place finish.

The other results of the final table is as follows:

1. Yan Chen (USA)— $92,817
2. Mike Wattel (USA)— $57,375
3. Nick Binger (USA)— $37,857
4. Derric Haynie (USA)— $25,839
5. Todd Bui (USA)— $18,096
6. James Bord (UK)— $12,997
7. Alexander Kravchenko (Russia)— $9,568

2010 WSOP: Matt Matros Wins Event #12 $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold'em

Matt Matros is a poker player, a poker write, and a featured coach for stoxpoker.com. He entered the 2010 World Series of Poker with more than $1.3 million in tournament winnings throughout his career, but what still evaded his winnings was a WSOP bracelet. Well, not anymore!

Matt Matros finally got the proverbial "monkey" off his back, and booked his first WSOP bracelet win at Event #12 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, which was a $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold'em tournament.

Matt Matros bested 625 players to win the WSOP bracelet and $189K to go with it. Entering the final table, Matt Matros was the lowstack, but eventually climbed up to win it all, including a very fine showing at the heads-up showdown with runner-up Ahmad Abghari.

he results of the final table payouts were as follows:

1st: Matthew Matros (USA) - $189,870
2nd: Ahmad Abghari (USA) - $117,272
3rd: Terrence Chan (Canada) - $83,185
4th: Georgios Kapalas (Greece) - $59,838
5th: Adrian Dresel-velasquez (USA)- $43,647
6th: Jason Potter - (USA) $32,281
7th: Jameson Painter - (USA) $24,198
8th: Roberto Truijers - (Netherlands) $18,385
9th: Mark Burford - (USA) $14,149

2010 WSOP: Simon Watt Wins Event #11 $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em

Simon Watt of New Zealand bested 2,563 in Event #11 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event. Simon Watt was a winner in the Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) of Pokerstars, and can now include a WSOP bracelet to his win with more than $600K in cash to go along with it.

Simon Watt also becomes the hero of the likes of Eli Elezra and Matt Matusow, who made a prop bet with Tom "durr" Dwan for one million dollars if Tom Dwan could win a WSOP bracelet throughout the 2010 World Series of Poker.

Well, Tom Dwan almost made it, but fell short at second place, making $380K, and still in danger of losing the million dollar prop bet to Mike Matusow and Eli Elezra among others. Tom Dwan was pretty disappointed with the loss in heads-up play, and walked out of the event pretty quickly, asking the tournament director if he could just return the next day for his stuff.

Finishing in third place was David Randall of Westerville, Ohio, taking home $270K.

In fourth place was Austin McCormick of Chesterfiled, Missouri, who won $194K.

Jason Young of Suffern, New York, finished at fifth and is $142K richer.

Michael Smith of Hiram, Georgia, made it to sixth place to win $105K.

Marvin Rettenmaier of Leonberg, Germany, finished seventh and won $78K.

Kyle Winter finished an eighth to take home $59K and Eric Ladny finished at ninth to win $45K.

2010 WSOP: Men "The Master" Nguyen Wins Event #10 $10,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud World Championship

Men "The Master" Nguyen outlasted 150 players to win his seventh WSOP bracelet and first place prize of $394K, making his WSOP career winnings to $3 Million. It was his fourth time winning a WSOP bracelet for a Seven-Card Stud event.

The runner-up of Event #10 was Harvard PhD hopeful Brandon Adams, who collected $243K for his win.

Third place wen to Steve Billirakis from Genoa, Illinois, a former WSOP bracelet winner, who took down $152K.

Fourth place finisher was Nikolay Evdakov from Moscow, Russia, who earned $110K. Evdakov holds the all-time WSOP record for most cashed in a single year with 10. This cash is his 17th in three years at the WSOP, more than any other player in that time span.

Fifth place finisher was Joe Cassidy from Costa Mesa, California, earning $86K, and marking his 12th time to cash at the WSOP.

Sixth place finisher was Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, who won $68K. Michael Mizrachi currently holds the top spot in the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year race, following his victory at Event #2 The Poker Players Championship. This is his second final table appearance in just 10 events so far in the 2010 World Series of Poker. He shares that distinction with Vladmir Schemelev of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Speaking of Vladmir Schemelev, he was the seventh-place finisher and earned $55K, and is second to Michael Mizrachi in the race for the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year, following his second place finish in The Poker Players Championship behind Michael Mizrachi.

Eighth place went to Sirious Jamshidi, who won $46K, marking his ninth time to cash at a WSOP event.

Dan Heimiller barely missed making his second final table appearance as only 8 were taken to the final table. Dan Heimiller busted out at 9th.

2010 WSOP: James Dempsey Wins Event #9 $1,500 Buy-in Pot Limit Hold'em

James Dempsey, one of England's top online poker pros from Brighton, UK, was the big winner of Event #9 $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold'em tournament. James Dempsey outlasted 650 players to win a first place cash prize of $197K amd his first WSOP bracelet. James Dempsey became the second Englishman to win a WSOP bracelet, following the win by the Hendon Mob's Praz Bansi in an earlier No Limit Hold'em event.

Several English supporters cheered on the win for James Dempsey throughout the eight hours of final table action, making the final table scene look more like a soccer match rather than a poker event. Things were so loud that ironically Mike "The Mouth" Matusow complained that the boisterous fans were too noisy. Well, you're loud that way too, Matusow!

The runner-up was Steve Chanthabouasy of Portland, Oregon, who collected a $121K prize.

Third place went to Joanne "JJ" Liu of Las Vegas, Nevada, who cashed $86K, making her 14th ITM finish in the WSOP.

Fourth place went to Mark Babekov of Farilawn, New Jersey, who won $62K.

Fifth place went to Scott Haraden of San Diego, California, who won $45K.

Sixth place finisher was Amen Kara from Brea, California, who earned $33K.

Seventh place went to Joseph Williams of Winnipeg, Canada, and he earned $25K.

At eighth place was Edward Brogodon of Thorndale, Arizona, who colelcted $19K.

First to bust from the final table at ninth place was Gregg Wikerson of Denver, Colorado, who earned $14K.

Event winner James Dempsey made a comment about winning his first WSOP bracelet, and said, “It’s great to win a tournament. But there’s no reason why this should hold any edge of another tournament. You play for money. Like someone can come in third in a tournament and make like $300,000 but if you win another event you might get first and its $200,000 – that to me does not make any sense at all. Poker players play for money. It’s great to win a major tournament. But I just think there’s too much put onto winning a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. You want to try and win one, of course. You win more money. But you see people playing three events at the same time. It’s just stupid.”

2010 NBA Finals: Bet on Ron Artest To Score OVER 13 Points in Game 2

13 points is the bar for Ron Artest to beat? That's too easy!!!

In game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, Ron Artest scored 15 points. In the game before that, in the Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns, Ron Artest scored 25 points. In the last two games, Ron Artest averages 20 PPG. And he'll just keep getting better. It's his time, and Ron Artest is here to play!

The NBA playoff stats of Ron Artest are deceiving since it shows that he averages only 11.7 per game. But his stats have since improved, especially in the Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns where he averaged 15.0 PPG.

In Game 1 against Boston, Ron Artest was 50% from the field on 5 of 10 shooting, and 60% from 3-point territory with 3 of 5. Staples Center advantage is there too for sure!

Bet on Ron Artest to score OVER 13 points. In fact, I bet he could even score OVER 17.5 points.

2010 NBA Finals: Bet on Kobe Bryant To Score OVER 32 points

Can Kobe Bryant score OVER 32 points in Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics?

YES! Without a doubt! Kobe Bryant averages 29.5 points per game in the NBA Playoffs. In Game 1, oddsmakers put a prop bet if Kobe Bryant would go OVER or UNDER 29.5 points, and he scored 30 to go OVER. This time, the oddsmakers stretched the bar a bit to 32, and still I believe Kobe Bryant will go over 32 points.

In his last 3 games, including the last two against the Phoenix Suns in the Conference Finals, Kobe Bryant scored 30-37-30, making it an average 32.5 PPG. Considering this trend, I'm pretty certain that Kobe Bryant can make it 33. After all, he will be playing in his home court Staples Center, and he is certain to score big there.

Besides, just like I said in Game 1 - the Boston Celtics do not have an answer on the defensive end for Kobe Bryant. Ray Allen and Michael Finley will tire trying to guard Kobe Bryant. In Game 1, Ray Allen got into early foul trouble, and Tony Allen just couldn't match up against Kobe Bryant. Paul Pierce tried his hand at defending Kobe Bryant, but that just left the middle very vulnerable for the big forwards. Also, Paul Pierce is just a bit slow to guard Kobe Bryant.

Bet on Kobe Bryant to go OVER 32 points !

Resorts World Manila To Host Satellites for 2010 Asian Poker Tour

The Asian Poker Tour will be holding the 2010 APT Philippines Main Event in August 23rd to August 29, 2010 at the Resorts World Manila.

As the official venue of the 2010 Asian Poker Tour, Resorts World Manila will be hosting a series of satellites to the main event, which will have a buy-in of $2500 +$200 with a $2 Million guaranteed prize pool. The satellite series is aptly called the RWM Satellite Series.

One of the first major qualifiers if the RWM Satellite Series PHP 500K Guaranteed. This satellite will deal at 2PM on Sunday, June 13th with a buy-in of Php 5,000 + Php 500.

The tournament champion will win Php 40,000 in cash pus a seat to the APT Philippines 2010 Main Event worth $2,700. Players who finish second to fifth will get another shot at the main event as they qualify for the RWM Satellite Series Finale to be held on August 21, where at least TEN main event seats are guaranteed. The RWM Satellite Series Finale will have a buy-in of Php10,000 + Php1,000.

Apart from these prizes, the top eighteen players of the RWM Satellite Series 5OOK Guaranteed will also receive cash prizes.

The structure of payouts is as follows:

1st - Php 40,000 plus 1 seat to APT Philippines 2010 Main Event
2nd - Php 79,000 plus 1 seat to RWM Satellite Series Finale
3rd - PHp 34,000 plus 1 seat to RWM Satellite Series Finale
4th - Php 24,000 plus 1 seat to RWM Satellite Series Finale
5th - Php 19,000 plus 1 seat to RWM Satellite Series Finale
6th - Php 25,000
7th - Php 20,000
8th - Php 15,000
9th - Php 10,000
10th - Php 9,000
11 to 12th - Php 8,500
13 to 15th - Php 7,000
16 to 18th - Php 6,000

For more information on the RWM Satellite Series and the APT Philippines 2010, click here.

2010 NBA Finals: Bet on Total Assists of Rajon Rondo To Go UNDER 8.5

NBA Finals Game 2 prop bet - Total assists of Rajon Rondo To go OVER or UNDER 8.5.

I bet on total assists of Rajon Rondo to go UNDER 8.5. The average assists per game of Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo throughout the NBA playoffs is 9.6. In fact, he makes most of his double-doubles by getting at least 10 assists. He averaged 10.2 APG in the first round against the Miami Heat. He averaged 11.8 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

However, his assists per game average depreciated in the Conference Finals against the Orlando Magic, where he only averaged 8.0 APG.

In Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Staples Center, Rajon Rondo only managed a game-high 8 assists. It's a game high, but we've seen him do better earlier in the playoffs. In his last two games against Orlando, he only dished out 6 assists each game. In the last 3 games of Rajon Rondo, he's only averaged 6.8 APG.

Rajon Rondo better step up in the assists department, and key players like Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett should be making the assists of Rajon Rondo count by converting into points. Rajon Rondo also can't be too sloppy with his passing. At present, Rajon Rondo averages 3.1 turnovers per game in the playoffs.

However, Rajon Rondo will have a difficult time getting those dishes with Kobe Bryant guarding him and guards like Derrick Fisher and Jordan Farmar able to rotate. In fact, it would be easier for Rajon Rondo to score 15 points instead of give out 9 assists.

2010 NBA Finals: Bet on Total Points and Assists of Paul Pierce To Go Under 24.5

One of the interesting prop bets of Game 2 of the NBA Finals is if the total points and assists of Paul Pierce will go OVER or UNDER 24.5

Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce is averaging 19.4 points in the NBA playoffs and averaging 3.6 assists per game. His average stats fall below the 24.5 set by NBA oddsmakers. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals at the Staples Center, Paul Pierce managed to score 24 points to lead all Celtics players and also dished out 4 assists. If the prop bet was presented then, Paul Pierce would've been OVER.

However, I believe that he can't do it again in Game 2. In game 2, I'll bet on the total points and assists of Paul Pierce to go UNDER 24.5.

The Boston Celtics don't have one particular leading scorer throughout their NBA playoff games. One day it could be Paul Pierce, and the next day it could be Ray Allen or Kevin Garnett. That's good in the sense that it shows a well-rounded team.

But if that trend follows, then Paul Pierce led the scoring in Game 1 with 24 points, and someone else will step up to be the scoring leader for Game 2. Also, Paul Pierce scored 12 of 24 his points in the free throw line, a stat which I'm sure will change after adjustments will be made to the way Paul Pierce will be defended.

For now - I'll stick to the stats of Paul Pierce. 19 points average and 3 assists average. That to me says UNDER.

2010 NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers vs Boston Celtics +5.5 in Game 2

The point spread from Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals and Game 2 is just the same. The Los Angeles Lakers have to win by 6 points to cover the +5.5 point spread given to the Boston Celtics.

Well, Game 2 is at the Staples Center, home of the Lakers, so the home court advantage will make it tough for the Boston Celtics. Then, there's the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers destroyed the Boston Celtics 102-89 in Game 1, winning it by a decisive 13 points, and maintaining an 8 to 10 point margin most of the fourth quarter.

So yes! The Los Angeles Lakers can easily clear 6 points to beat the spread. That's a no-brainer.

2010 French Open: Bet on Rafael Nadal To Beat Robin Soderling

World number two Rafael Nadal of Spain is believed to be one of the best clay-court specialists in the world. In fact, he has won the French Open four times, and will be looking for a fifth title should he defeat Robin Soderling of Sweden in the 2010 French Open Finals.

However, it might not be an easy task for Rafael Nadal. As history shows, it was Robin Soderling, who knocked out Rafael Nadal last year in Roland Garros. But that was last year. This year, Rafael Nadal is 21-0 when playing on clay surfaces, and has won the clay-court tournaments in Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid this year before heading to the French Open. In the 2010 French Open, Rafael Nadal has not dropped a single set.

Robin Soderling hasn't had the dominating game like Rafael Nadal. Surely, Robin Soderling has dropped some sets, but he's also maintained the composure to finish off the match. In fact, Robin Soderling had an amazing win to beat number one seed Roger Federer in four sets, and a great turn around against Tomas Berdych to come back from being down 2 sets to 1, and win it in five sets.

Robin Soderling admits that Rafael Nadal is playing great tennis, and is hard to beat, but Robin Soderling knows that he's beaten Rafael Nadal a couple of times, and he knows that he can beat him. "But every match is a new match, and every match is different, " Soderling adds.

Rafael Nadal isn't taking Robin Soderling lightly.

"I just try to play, play and play my bets tennis. That's what I had to do. If it's not like this, it will be almost impossible to win over Robin, because he's playing amazing level. He's very aggressive and it's very difficult to stop him. I have to play my best tennis, and that's what I gonna try to do," explained Rafael Nadal.

A $100 bet on Rafael Nadal nets a profit of $22, for a 22% return of investment. Still better than bank interest on a good day.

Meanwhile a $100 bet on Robin Soderling nets a profit of $275. Sounds juicy, but there's a reason why he's not a favorite.

2010 WSOP: Pascal LeFrancois Wins Event #8 $1,500 Buy-in No Limit Hold'em

23 year-old college student Pascal LeFrancois of Montreal, Canada, outlasted 2,341 players in the $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tourney in the 2010 World Series of Poker to win his first ever WSOP bracelet and a first place cash prize of $568K.

Canadian Pascal LeFrancois dominated the final table, which was represented by six countries. Second place went to Max Steinberg of the United States who earned $352K for his efforts.

Third place went to Kevin Howe from the United Kingdom and earned $249K.

Fourth place went to Daniel Wjuniski of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who won $179K.
David Aue of Houston, Texas, USA, finished in fifth place and made #130K, and also made his second ITM finish in this 2010 WSOP after moneying in Event #3 the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em.

Sixth place went to Jim Anderson from Canberra, Australia, who cashed $96K.

Seventh place was Kurt Di Sessa of Oakland, California, USA, who won $72K.

Eighth place went to Josh Brikis of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, who earned $54K. Last year, Josh Brikis finished second in a WSOP No Limit Hold'em event and won $619K.

Ninth place finisher and first to bust from the final table was Saar Wilf from Tel Aviv, Israel, who received $41K. Saar Wilf cashed in the WSOP Main Event championship last year and at the WSOP Europe Main Event championship.

In this same event, Phil Hellmuth finished in fifteenth pace, and extended his lead as the all-time WSOP leader in cashes with his 76th.

Also historical is the winner's photo of Pascal LeFrancois. It is the first time in the history of the WSOP that a bracelet winner had his winning photo taken without a shirt on.