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« one to beam up . . . | Main | sleep, sleep tonight and may your dreams be realized »
July 23, 2005
two men enter, one man leaves
Every Sunday, 1983 World Series of Poker champion and respected author Tom McEvoy plays a heads up poker match with the weekly tournament leader at PokerStars.
From time to time, Tom isn't able to play, so someone else from Team PokerStars is called up off the bench to play, and this week, it's me!
So if you've ever wanted to "watch" me play poker, you'll have a chance Sunday the 24th at 2pm EDT. Just login to PokerStars, and search for player "Wil Wheaton" to find the table.
I'm playing against the Dutch sensation Noah Boeken, who goes by "Exclusive" on PokerStars. He's got impressive credentials, and the scouting reports all include the word notorious(!) . . . so it should be a great match (or a quick and bloody evisceration of yours truly. ;)
Update: Going into this match, all I wanted to do was play good poker, not make any huge donkey moves, represent Team PokerStars honorably, and feel proud of myself when I was done, win or lose. There were a couple of hands where I think I messed up, but luckily they didn't cost me too much, and I'm very happy with the way I played. I didn't feel like I was playing scared, I got lucky when I needed it — which was a nice change of pace.
We played for 190 hands . . . and somehow, I won the match. Holy. Shit. I was seriously on the ropes for a bit, and I managed to battle my way back against a very good, solid opponent who played a fantastic game.
Thank you to everyone who watched and cheered me on. That was really fun :)
Wil,
By posting this, you may end up crashing their servers ;)
My main purpose for posting this comment is not to reply to your post, but to congratulate you on being such a stunning author.
A week ago I walked into my local Northern Virginia library and saw, sitting on the new hardcover shelf, "Just a Geek". I read your site regularly, and I had been meaning to pick up both of your books, but I hadn't yet gotten around to it - so I snatched up your book and went home.
Wil, your book was the first book in a LONG time that I have read cover-to-cover in one sitting. This is not a statement on the length of the book, but on the quality of it.
I congratulate you on such an outstanding work, and look forward to reading "Dancing Barefoot" very soon.
Posted by: ShadowyFigure05![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.wilwheaton.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 23, 2005 08:12 PM
Ah, now I see the downfall of buying this new iBook.
So, I'm guessing your Linux switch never panned out?
Posted by: Jack Johnson at July 23, 2005 08:44 PM
Awesome, Wil.
Say, do you have to be a paying member of pokerstars to see it, for I am not. Also, how can you search for a player with pokerstars? I have been wanting this feature and haven't been able to find it.
Thanks and good luck, mate.
Posted by: Cory at July 23, 2005 08:44 PM
The PokerStars client runs in wine, straight out of the box — you just download it and use the wine-roller to open it. I've tried all the other clients, and none of them (other than the java ones) work on Linux.
Posted by: Wil at July 23, 2005 08:47 PM
As far as I know, anyone who downloads the client can watch any tournament that's not specifically maked as "private."
The Find A Player thing is in the Requests menu . . . or you can go directly to tournament number 10190111
Posted by: Wil at July 23, 2005 08:52 PM
Yeah, it must only be for paying members, it's grayed out for me. Shame.
On the other note, how fucking cool is it that Wil responded to me? I feel special. heh.
Goodluck agian, wil.
Posted by: Cory at July 23, 2005 08:59 PM
2pm, eh? Dang, I'll be working then. Guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow night to hear about your [victory|defeat].
Kick some ass!
Posted by: Quanta at July 23, 2005 09:31 PM
I'd love to watch you, but it's at 5am my time. I'll be content with hearing all about how you kicked ass (or got your ass kicked).
Posted by: Zkid at July 23, 2005 09:39 PM
I think greyed out just means you can't sign up for it, I'm pretty sure anyone can watch.
Posted by: NotALamer at July 23, 2005 09:50 PM
Going to use your l33t card protector in the tournament tomorrow Wil?
Posted by: NotALamer at July 23, 2005 09:53 PM
Yeah, I figured it out, stupid me. I was using PokerStars.net and not PokerStars. I'm such a n00b. Thanks for the help guys.
Posted by: Cory at July 23, 2005 10:58 PM
Hey! I just signed up so I could say, good luck with the tourney tomorrow & hopefully I can be there to watch! 2:00pm eastern, so 11:00 am pacific, right???
Good luck again!!
Posted by: sweetness25 at July 23, 2005 11:14 PM
That's wicked Wil. Good luck!
Posted by: drdrew at July 23, 2005 11:25 PM
Noah Boeken is a former Magic: The Gathering player. He is friends with David Williams (also a former Magic player). Noah was considered one of the best players in the world, and will be considered for the Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame next year.
Just throw out bad references to Magic cards during the match to see if it throws him off his game.
Good luck Wil!
Posted by: fletcherp at July 23, 2005 11:36 PM
Hey Wil,
Just wanted to wish you good luck, I'll be tuning in to watch.
Cheers,
Paul
Posted by: paulieyo at July 24, 2005 12:41 AM
for some reason every time i read pokerstars my brain says pornstars... must be something wired wrong in there.
in any event it looks like a blast.
Posted by: B at July 24, 2005 01:27 AM
Good luck. Win some for Me! then Give it to me (just kidding!)
Posted by: friend at July 24, 2005 02:56 AM
Wishing you the best of luck in todays Heads Up match! XOX...Debilfish
Posted by: debilfish at July 24, 2005 05:34 AM
Best of luck Wil - and remember to have fun!
Posted by: sparky1234 at July 24, 2005 05:35 AM
Hey Wil,
Just wanted to say good luck.
It looks like there's going to be a lot of observers for the game this week.
Chris
Posted by: Chris at July 24, 2005 05:35 AM
I don't think I will be near my computer when the tournament is on, so I will say now, good luck and play smart!
at July 24, 2005 06:32 AM
Good Luck Wil. You were the straw that broke the back of my reserve and led me to sign up with Pokerstars...when I'm in rehab for my gambling addiction I'll be thinking about that...Play patient, but you know that...
Posted by: Iakaris at July 24, 2005 08:49 AM
The Hendon Mob don't have anything to do with Exclusive, he's just listed on their database (as most players who've cashed in a tournament somewhere are).
Good luck against Exclusive, I think you may need it, he's very good...
Posted by: Sciolist at July 24, 2005 09:07 AM
Arrgh! No folding on the button preflop! Nooooo!
Posted by: Marty at July 24, 2005 11:20 AM
They need to turn off observer chat for these things... this is pretty bad.
Go Wil!
Posted by: cbergstrom at July 24, 2005 11:25 AM
Does Wil win the $1000 if he wins this?
Posted by: cbergstrom at July 24, 2005 11:40 AM
one-on-one poker. I'd forgotten how much folding there is pre-flop. Yikes.
Early on, Wil, you had him down to 500$ or so, I was so surprised that it was over so quickly -- but of course, things change...
Now it's flipped, at the 25/50 mark, and just when it's really getting interesting, i've got to take off. Sigh.
I almost wish there was a 'full-hand/learning' spectator mode, where you could see both hands. Of course, in order to make that work, it'd have to be a full play behind, but that'd be worth it, just to see why hand.
Ooh.. nice play with the pair of nines! That was a good hand for me to leave on. Keep playing like that, and you're sure to win!
at July 24, 2005 11:43 AM
Until I watched the observer commentary on this game I hadn't realized just how much flak you took from idiots on the internet. You deserve a lot of credit for putting up with all that garbage and sticking around.
Posted by: Metheus at July 24, 2005 11:47 AM
nice magic comment, wil ;)
Posted by: Gino at July 24, 2005 11:56 AM
Metheus: My thoughts exactly. Of course, anonymity + audience = lame people.
Posted by: cbergstrom at July 24, 2005 11:57 AM
Crazy, crazy match. Never seen headsup go this long online before. Win or lose, you're both playing great.
Posted by: ScottB at July 24, 2005 11:59 AM
Woot! Will up 2130 to 870 at the break. Go Wil go!
Posted by: cbergstrom at July 24, 2005 12:00 PM
I'm on the 5 minute break from watching Wil play Noah...very exciting. Good play Wil!
Posted by: ElizabethDay at July 24, 2005 12:02 PM
WIL WINS!@!#!
Posted by: cbergstrom at July 24, 2005 12:06 PM
And there it goes. Congratulations!
Posted by: ScottB at July 24, 2005 12:06 PM
GO WIL!!!!! BEAUTIFUL LAST HAND!
That was a great match, I loved watching it. Congratulations!
Posted by: Gino at July 24, 2005 12:07 PM
Well played, wil. I couldn't get in the chat (no current bankroll in PS), but I really appreciated when you dropped the HAMMER. That's poker blogger pride!
You beat a good player. Well done!
Posted by: CJ at July 24, 2005 12:08 PM
Wil wins at 68 minutes in at 75/150, with A/2o vs 7/8suited... flop came with a gutshot and flush draw for Exclusive, but he didn't hit it and Wil takes it home!
Posted by: cbergstrom at July 24, 2005 12:08 PM
Congrats on beating Exclusive, that sure ended quickly after the break. I was worried there with two diamonds on the flop but it turned out ok.
Posted by: NotALamer at July 24, 2005 12:08 PM
YAY WIL!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats!!!!! That was an awesome match!! You did great!!!!
Posted by: sweetness25 at July 24, 2005 12:09 PM
YAY WIL!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats!!!!! That was an awesome match!! You did great!!!!
Posted by: sweetness25 at July 24, 2005 12:10 PM
Congratulations on a great game Wil.
I thought you were a gonner there for a while, superb comeback.
Chris
Posted by: Chris at July 24, 2005 12:12 PM
Good Job Wil,
A very impressive match! Nice come back from being the short stack.
Wish you all the best as you continue with PokerStars.
Cheers,
Paul
at July 24, 2005 12:12 PM
Congratulations, Wil!
It seems most poker sites allow you to deposit money via a few services: firepay, neteller, etc. paypal (which i use) is never in that list. i'm not terribly keen on just giving more folks my bank acct info, so does anyone have anything good/bad to share about, say, firepay and neteller?
at July 24, 2005 12:42 PM
PayPal decided a while back not to support transactions with online casino gaming sites, including poker. Neteller and Firepay both seem to be pretty reputable, I've used Neteller in the past and had no problems. However if you're at all serious about poker, I'd recommend setting up a separate bank account for your poker money anyway. Keeping poker money segregated from your general funds is pretty important IMHO.
Posted by: ScottB at July 24, 2005 12:52 PM
I personally use NETeller, they are indeed reputable - they're a publically traded company. We have literally thousands of transactions every week through them.
That was a good match, well played. Here's my MSN log:
20:03 Andrew: that was a pretty good match
20:03 Lee: That was a *great* match.
There you go, it's official, Lee Jones was impressed.
Posted by: Sciolist at July 24, 2005 01:16 PM
Can anyone tell me why I couldn't find the game? I used locate player and searched for both Wil Wheaton and Exclusive, but couldn't find them. Where was I supposed to search? Maybe I can catch it next time.
Posted by: jubalation at July 24, 2005 01:30 PM
Awesome job, Wil. It was really a back and forth match and you pulled it out in the end. That was a great call with the pocked 9's, I wouldn't have been able to make it myself.
Congrats again.
Posted by: Cory at July 24, 2005 01:38 PM
Great Heads Up Match WILL!! I was rooting for you the whole way!! Congrats!
xox
at July 24, 2005 01:46 PM
Hey wil, I just saw your picture on the PokerStars client for the first time. Awesome
\o/
Posted by: Cory at July 24, 2005 01:58 PM
Wil,
Well let's just say I opened an account just 15 min before it started, so naturally I didn't get to post in progress ;-)
Anyhow, it was a fun game to watch and you made a great comeback just before the break, now if I can just learn how to speak pokereese, I'll be all set!
And tell me, is that the typical chat you have to put up with whne people realize that it's 'you' they are playing/observing? If it is, my hat's off to ya for putting up with so much bull, 'course you do have many a supporter as well so I guess it all balances out in the end ;-)
Keep up the good work!!
Posted by: Budo at July 24, 2005 02:21 PM
Hey, that's great news Wil!
What a nice way to represent PokerStars by defeating such a worthy opponent!
"All you need is a little success, and I think it will suit you." --Monique, the French love interest from the movie "Better Off Dead" (1985)
This should boost your poker confidence! Good for you!
Posted by: CaptainNaraht at July 24, 2005 05:48 PM
Congrats on the win, Wil. I wish I could have been there to see it. Maybe you will get the call for the Sunday Heads-Up Match again, now that you have shown your mastery.
at July 24, 2005 06:40 PM
That's very kind, Dave, but I wouldn't call it "mastery." :)
I'm happy with my play, but I was *way* behind on the last hand until the turn. It could have easily gone the other way.
Also, I told Anne when I called all-in with my nines, "I'm either the smartest player in the world, or I'm making the worst call of my life right now." Luckily, my read was right, and he didn't catch any of his outs on that hand.
I'm thrilled with the win, but I don't want to start overestimating my skills, or break my arm patting myself on the back.
Posted by: Wil at July 24, 2005 06:51 PM
Well done you!
Posted by: Cookie at July 24, 2005 07:55 PM
holy smokes, congrats on the win! I wish I could've watched, but I was slaving away until late hours at work.
congrats again. :)
Posted by: Brandice at July 24, 2005 08:08 PM
i watched the whole thing, LOts of F-tards in chat, I couldnt say anything, my chat would not function so I couldnt support you against those that would trample your being.
Great Game, UP down UP down, UP and BLAMMO!!!! You did to him what so many have done to you.
Well done.
Hope we get to see more of you in Pokerstars.
Rawk ON!!!!!
at July 24, 2005 08:25 PM
i just took a quiz and YOU are my "famous blogging twin"! feel special!
Posted by: jmeisthejam at July 24, 2005 08:48 PM
congrats, wil! man, it's awesome you won. you've been a great sport through the games and definitely deserve a moment in the spotlight. thanks for keeping an amazing blog up to date for us curious onlookers :). you're really becoming a hero to lots of people. take good care.
Posted by: wheaton_fan_#8 at July 24, 2005 09:17 PM
Space Nerd Wil Wheaton defeats Magic Nerd Broken Noah Boeken, and just plain old Nerd um, me, rejoices!
I'm a recent fan, Wil, and signed up to congratulate you here. As always, thank you for everything.
Posted by: hindered.net at July 24, 2005 09:22 PM
Cripes this blog has been reduced to another boring poker blog. . Moving on to a more interesting blog...
Posted by: craigg75 at July 24, 2005 09:46 PM
Hey craig, no one is forcing you to read this.
And wil, don't sell yourself short on the last hand. When the money went into the pot, you were a favorite (albeit slight). And frankly, you were NEVER behind on the hand... you just weren't favored after the flop.
Posted by: CJ at July 24, 2005 10:24 PM
Congratulations, you poker player, you.
Posted by: griff at July 24, 2005 10:50 PM
Congratumalations on the win, Wil! I knew you could do it!
Okay, I didn't really know. But I was rootin' for ya anyways! :)
Posted by: Quanta at July 25, 2005 12:23 AM
Congrats Wil! Way to go and represent PS! Keep up the success.
Posted by: Eban Crawford at July 25, 2005 12:50 AM
Wil wrote:
>That's very kind, Dave, but I wouldn't call it "mastery." :)
I almost put a smiley after "mastery" in my comment, but I didn't want to detract from the compliment. :) I know that you are well aware of your strengths and weaknesses at poker, and that it takes luck as well as skill to win at the game. Still, you should rightfully feel good about your win. Success breeds confidence, and confidence breeds success, you know. You may not be a master now, but your improvement is something to be proud of.
at July 25, 2005 05:12 AM
You were right Will, a lot of senseless chat during the match. Congrats on your win.
at July 25, 2005 06:01 AM
Hi Wil,
Congrats on your win Wil. I admit to watching the World Poker Tour on TV but have no idea in heck what is going on.
Glad to see your confidence is much better and will only get better after more wins!
XOXO
R
at July 25, 2005 08:33 AM
Congratulations on the win! On a side note, have you considered sending a different picture to Team Pokerstars? The current one looks a little... Corey Feldman. Sorry.
Posted by: Sumo at July 25, 2005 08:39 AM
WAY TO GO WIL! WAHOO! Congratulations! You played a really great game. Cool under pressure baby! I don't know a lot about Poker, but I really enjoyed watching you play. Hope I get to see you play again soon.
Posted by: SciFiGeekGirl at July 25, 2005 09:13 AM
Hey Wil, congrats on winning! You deserved it! You surfed the luck plane and came out on top of a beautiful wave of slack.
I hate to have to change the subject especially after such a great story, but this one I know you must be made aware of and would be outraged at after hearing.
Chip Salzenberg went to his superiors at Health Market Science in King of Prussia, PA. HMS uses computer programs to hijack people's computers for the purpose of harvesting e-mail addresses and consumer information.
In response to his letter to his superiors that told them HMS was commiting TENS OF THOUSANDS of violations of Pennsyhlvania law in regard to hacking of an open proxy, HMS responded by having all of Chip's computer equipment, wireless router and cable modem, CD's and DVD and even his paper files.
The police seized all this after HMS convinced a judge that Chip had been accessing information illegally and stealing trade secrets , even though Chip had worked as an administrator at HMS for more than two years and was allowed by his managers and superiors to access the information remotely from his home.
The whole story of Chip Salzenberg can be read on http://geeksunite.net/ - To all the readers of WWdN, please share this with as many people as you can.
Wil, again I apologize for my breach of Nettiquette in posting this to what should be your blog of triumph and victory for Team PokerStars. If you can, please cut this posting to the blog out so you can post it as a seperate blog entry.
Posted by: Governor Rocknar at July 25, 2005 09:24 AM
Everyone should go read CJ (http://www.upforanything.net/poker/) because he's got some of the best/worst comments from the chat. My favourite was :
AcecardZ [observer]: can't play yoda in a sit n go... he'd FORCE you to fold
Onyx_Hokie [observer]: "This is not the flop you're looking for."
at July 25, 2005 10:46 AM
good job wil. I have been so busy packing, as we will be moving closer to our beloved ratboy soon, so I missed this til just now and thus missed seeing you win the match although I am sure it was an interesting game.
as you can tell I lost my anonymity, as it seems I have lost the password to my normal acct.. that or it is just glitched beyond repair.. no idea.
sigh.
still me though
Posted by: Lanitta at July 25, 2005 10:47 AM
You're link to Tom McEvoy is off. I think you added an extra ".
Posted by: Kenyon at July 25, 2005 06:37 PM
If you have a computer running 10.4.x, and this thread interests you, I think you'll dig this widget:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/games/scenariopoker.html
Got an ace-high straight on my first hand after installing it and won 630 chips. Guess you could call me hooked.
Posted by: duf at July 25, 2005 09:07 PM
I think you look totally Sesame Street............One of these things is not like the other.............
Posted by: Ganton516 at July 25, 2005 10:37 PM
I don't think Wil does Macs much anymore with the problems he's had with them recently. I'm sure he still has an iBook for keeping up his blog and his e-mail but that's about all he'd use it for now. I tried to get on PokerStars.com but they DON'T have any downloads for Mac.
Posted by: Governor Rocknar at July 26, 2005 12:00 AM
OFF TOPIC, but wanted at the top
GOD SPEED DISCOVERY......Eileen Collins is a SFnH.......
at July 26, 2005 12:41 AM
hullo wil!
i only just found this site of yours (watching all the st:tng dvds lately, decided to play around online and see what had happened to ya), so unfortunately, i could not watch your poker match! but that's okay, i'm having a blast reading your posts and interviews etc etc :D if your books are anything like those, i'm definitely gonna hafta get me a copy or two! ;)
congrats on the game!
~maiko
Posted by: nkicroft at July 26, 2005 02:42 AM
I'm not a huge fan of that picture either, it's the same one that's on imdb but it's cropped. I think the one pokerstars uses and the one at the top of the page look way better.
Posted by: NotALamer at July 26, 2005 05:31 AM
Being a Magic geek this is my favorite quote that's posted over at http://www.upforanything.net/poker/:
(wil pulls out his Magic trash talk. Noah is a world-class Magic: The Gathering player.)
Wil Wheaton: you wanna blow this off and play magic instead?
Wil Wheaton: i've got a great black and blue deck
I'll tell ya what Will...I'll play you in poker if you'll play me in Magic. ;)
Posted by: Chaz at July 26, 2005 08:34 AM
Just wanted to add my words of congratulations, Wil. You were down pretty far (more than 4:1) more than once, and managed to do the 3 things you need to do to win any tournament: (1) play well, (2) get lucky and (3) not get unlucky. Well done!
...dan
Dan Goldman
Vice President of Marketing
PokerStars.com
at July 26, 2005 10:20 AM
Hey Dan,
I would love to play on PokerStars.com also but there aren't any downloads available for Macintosh users. Will PokerStars.com have something available for Mac OSX in the near future?Thanks!
Posted by: Governor Rocknar at July 26, 2005 01:26 PM
Congratulations and everything... But enough with the poker journal entries. I'm telling you this for your own good, damnit.
Posted by: richelle at July 27, 2005 04:57 AM
Geez, and I though "Poker" was either a rude encouragement shouted to friends at a smokey bar, or a type of dance that old people try to teach to the young...
Was I wrong.
Good going Wil!
Posted by: Nyarl at July 27, 2005 05:14 AM
Geez, and I though "Poker" was either a rude encouragement shouted to friends at a smokey bar, or a type of dance that old people try to teach to the young...
Was I wrong.
Good going Wil!
Posted by: Nyarl at July 27, 2005 05:14 AM
I'm amazed that people think it's appropriate to tell Wil what he can and can't write about in his own blog. He happens to like poker; why shouldn't he write about it?
Besides, he has to finish the WSOP story.
Posted by: Andrew at July 27, 2005 05:36 AM
get a sense of humor nyarl. i'm obviously just poking fun about all the poker-related entries. ;)
If it came off sounding rude then i'm sorry.
at July 27, 2005 09:30 AM
Just thought i would stop by and say i just bought just a geek. I enjoyed it a lot. So thank you, and keep it up. Sending a little mojo your way...
Posted by: G_RAM at July 27, 2005 09:40 AM
Just thought i would stop by and say i just bought just a geek. I enjoyed it a lot. So thank you, and keep it up. Sending a little mojo your way...
Posted by: G_RAM at July 27, 2005 09:40 AM
Congratulations on your win. I wish I could have watched, but it's illegal in Indiana to gamble online. I don't know if it's illegal to open the account, but I'm a chicken and don't want to find out the hard way that it is.
Posted by: Kim the fangirl at July 27, 2005 03:12 PM
Wil, greetings from a long time ST:TNG fan and now poker aficionado. Congrats on your addition to the PokerStars team, and your win in place of Tom. I've been playing NL Hold'em now for 2 years and loving every minute of it! We hold a weekly Monday game of up to 16 people here in LA(for fun of course, no money involved, that would be illegal...) and it's the greatest. One in our group played in the 2005 WSOP $2000 Limit event and took out Daniel Negreanu before going out in 24th place. Another in our group is now (as of a few months ago) the agent of Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, and (hopefully) is sharing in the prize for Matusow's 9th place/final table finish in the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Keep up the good work, and I'll be sure to check back more frequently. And should ever want some friendly poker action here in LA...
Posted by: Green Monster at July 28, 2005 03:34 AM
Been a long time sci-fi fan. thought it was great someone close to my age was actually on the show. Been on pokerstars for about a year now.. though i don't play for real money.. maybe i am a coward or a sly guy for not losing any. But i think it is cool. I saw the link to your site from pokerstars.. checked it out.. very cool. kind of mixed because of the loss of Mr. Doohan.. but cool to find out that you like poker too.. my name is amccaul1976 on there if you ever need the practice I'll probably be on the play money tables or tourniments.. good luck with whatever your doing... oh ya don't worry about that hooter's girl. Just get a better agent and just one primo movie your back bigger than ever.. not that any of us really think you left.
Posted by: amccaul1976 at July 28, 2005 08:59 PM
By the way, I've been lurking around Pokerstars since this post, to watch you play in a more informal environment, but I haven't managed to find you yet - what are good times to look for you on Pokerstars?
Posted by: Metheus at July 28, 2005 09:03 PM
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