Wednesday night’s installment of the Fox Sports Net poker news show “Poker2Nite” featured a stirring tribute to the late Amir Vahedi. Layne Flack paid a visit to the UB.com sponsored series, which airs at 11:00pm ET on Wednesdays.
“Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok recapped his trip to the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in the Bahamas. When asked by fellow host Scott Huff where he finished in the Main Event, Sebok jokingly explained, “They don’t keep finishes in the first three hours.”
Two key hands were recapped. In the first, Sebok held 7-8 on a flop of 7-7-5 and was up against a player with pocket sixes. His opponent bet 1,200 and Sebok made it 4,000. The player with the wired pair of sixes called and the turn was a four. His opponent check-called a bet of 8,000 to a six on the river. Sebok’s foe had made a boat and fired out a bet of 11,000. Sebok called with a straight and promptly lost two-thirds of his stack.
In Sebok’s final hand at the 2010 PCA Main Event, the player in the small blind raised to 1,900 and the “Poker2Nite” host, in the big blind, shoved for 8,500 with pocket tens. However, his opponent made the call and flipped up pocket aces. The board ran out 5-6-7-J-9 and Sebok was eliminated from the $10,000 buy-in tournament.
Attention then turned to the passing of Vahedi. Footage of Vahedi was shown and Sebok commented, “Amir Vahedi was one of the sweetest men in poker. He was always there with a laugh and always there with a word of encouragement. In my poker infancy, he was always there.” “Poker2Nite” closed with Huff telling viewers that Vahedi was the first player he ever interviewed. A portion of the 2005 questioning then aired, with Vahedi noting, “This is my job. I’m having fun while I’m doing it. That’s my personality.”
Flack opened his segment by squaring off against Huff in an arm wrestling match. The six-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner is also a two-time Montana state arm wrestling champion. Flack gave Huff a spot before quickly polishing off the broadcaster. Flack won two bracelets in 2002 and two more the following year before going on a dry spell until 2008. On his streakiness, Flack told his “Poker2Nite” fans, “I used to be such a strong offensive player. When the internet became involved, we had these younger players who were firing hard and going at it. I had to devise a defensive strategy.”
2009 WSOP Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon, donning a blurred out New Orleans Saints cap and a gray hoodie, went “Into the Tank” to recap a hand against eventual winner Joe Cada heads-up in last year’s tournament. Cada flopped top pair, but Moon turned a higher pair to give him the chip lead momentarily.
A segment called “High Stakes, Low Profile” reviewed several highly successful live and online poker players who receive little to no hype. First up was Amnon Filippi, who was the runner-up to Vadim Trincher in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Foxwoods World Poker Classic last April. Huff explained, “He shares information with some of the biggest and best minds in poker and it’s paid off.” Next up was Justin Young, who was the runner-up to Chino Rheem in the 2008 WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Sebok noted, “Sneaky, good player. Another guy with a brain trust.”
Scott “BigRiskky” Clements already owns two WSOP bracelets and two WPT titles, yet his name is overlooked in many poker circles. Sebok added, “I don’t know why everyone and their mother doesn’t know who he is.” Last up was DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija, who Sebok boasted might have “the most No Limit Hold’em potential out of all of these guys.”
Finally, Dana Workman dished out the “Weekly Misdeal,” featuring a satirical look at the week’s poker news. Topics included rumors of former Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole dating Cada, PCA amfAR charity tournament participants, and the L.A. Kings alumni poker tournament.
“Poker2Nite” airs on Wednesdays at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net. Check your local listings for more information.