Mike Schneider, a 22 year old American, won the Party Poker Millions V tournament and walked away with the $1 million first prize.  The final 6 players of the 528 starters, began play at the final table at 2pm EST aboard the Holland America Lines ship Westerdam.  The final 6, all American males, included Kenna James, Drew Chitiea, Scott Buller, Richard Joel and Devon Miller.  Miller was the short stack going into today’s play and was knocked out within the first few hands.

Richard Joel went All-In with pocket 8s on the turn, but lost to Drew Chitiea who drew a 2nd King on the river. Joel finished 5th winning $250,000.  Chitea in turn went down to Kenna James, when he went All-In with Q-10, but lost to James 3 kings, finishing 4th. Scott Buller finished 3rd winning $500,000, when his All-In was called and won by Kenna James.  James, is reported to have not had “the cards” throughout the day, when he lost when he was Blinded “All-In”, giving the 22 year old from Minnesota the big win.

Mike Schneider’s contingent of over a dozen, loud and loyal friends cheered him on. These same friends spent much of wednesday night hooping and hollering about how their friend was going win it all.  Schneider sat there, throughout the evening, listening, contemplating, but not saying much at all. Whether just his personality or his game face, Schneider brought the same, quiet determination to the table and walked away a winner.

I guess student loans won’t be a problem for this “Man from Minnesota”.  I never came up against Mike and am grateful. As the 5th Party Poker Millions final ended, it was clear that another exciting tournament had pleased almost all those who had entered.

Personally, I met a lot of great players and nice people in the tournament. Despite my sloppy play (mainly from lack of sleep) the vast majority of players, though tough competitors, are just nice, friendly people.

Finally one word about www.CardPlayerCruises.com: Excellent. Linda Johnson and her staff of dealers and floor people have kept dozens of tournament and money game tables going nearly 24 hours a day.  These folks are not just top professionals, but friendly, helpful and on top their game.  Look for the finals on TV soon, but when you see David Lamb announcing from Table side, realize that he was not just announcer, but the tournament director and a man who is a true poker professional in Reno and a regular member of the team that runs the WSOP every year in Las Vegas.

We’ll I’m off looking for some dead money…..and hoping that it’s not sitting in MY pocket.

AllPokerPlay

Yes, I busted out before midnight and will not be playing for the $1 million at the final table.

BUT - I FINISHED 89TH and in the money! This is my first major, live tournament and and the biggest money I’ve ever come back from the casino with.

I’m tired and a little sad, but having set my original goal as finishing in the top 25% (2005’s payout line) i’m happy to say, i finished 89 of about 525 players (forgive my looseness with the numbers, it’s not really easy to get accurate numbers as the tournament is running), about the top 18%, better than my original goal.

The funniest moment of the tournament, to date, was when one player introduced himself to another palyer “I’m labor lawyer from Toronto, what do you do?” To which a loud, but friendly voice replied: “I’m a prosecutor”………The room became silent….. “Don’t worry, this isn’t my jurisdiction!” The room then broke out it laughter. Well as we all know there are many debates about whether online poker is legal or not in the USA, so having an American prosecutor in the game was quite amusing.

Well off to the bar and then to bed. More on the last round and final table in the next couple of days.

AllPokerPlay

Well the results of the first round have been posted. Hendrick Witt, of Denmark is in the Lead with 84,000 chips. I am sitting in 89th place. The top 99 finishers will get at least $16,000 in prize money and first place will pay $1 million. This prize is down from 2005’s $1.5 million first prize, due the tournament field having 200 fewer entrants.

I played tight and aggressive throughout the day, only making a few bad plays. As the field narrowed, I found myself at a table filled, with what i’ve been calling “The Sunglass Boys”. These 20-30 year olds, sit with their mirrored glasses, trying to steal blinds and bluff their way into large pots. Well, when you have the cards, it’s time to stomp these little boys! And I did. After losing half my stack to 1 or 2 of these guys, I took it back, plus some in the last hour of the first round.

This has been my first major poker tournament, and after playing for 8+ hours, with 3 15 minute breaks all day, I can say it is mentally and physically straining. Thank G– I don’t have hemorhoids! But seriously, a stiff back, sore neck and numb butt is just part of the territory!

Tonight it’s 207 players, starting (after we leave jamaica) at 8pm, playing until 3am or only 18 players are left. If I’m still in at the end of the night, i won’t only be exstatic, but surprised. On the other hand, several final table finishers from last years event and the most famous Pro on the cruise, Barry Greenstein, was knocked of yesterday’s elimination round. So “I beat Barry Greenstein!”, even if i never played a single hand against him!………

Well, i’m off for swim, then lunch and a walk around Ocho Rios. But come 8pm, i’ll be at the tables, fighting for my share of the $5+ million prize pool.

So until i’m knocked out or in the final 18, tonight,

AllPokerPlay signing off

Well the first round is finished and the 535 players have been whittled down to 208 and I’m still alive. I’ve got $25,000 in chips and probably just below the average, but i won’t know until they post the standings later tonight.

For now, I’m off to dinner

AllPokerPlay

The clock is ticking and for those who may know a bit of Yiddish, I’ve got spilkas! Ants in the pants, nerves, wobbly knees, etc.

Now i spent about 5 hours playing 2/4 holdem yesterday and i’ve got to say that i’m pretty happy, i broke even, despite going in to showdowns with today’s potential opponents, just to see what they’ll play. So far, most of the hands have been decent, but i’ve been smart/lucky enough to avoid their strongest hands.

So here I sit, in my cabin, the ship moving a bit more than i’d like (proabably 2 ft. waves our there) but maybe it will shake things up and land me in tomorrow night’s 2nd round.

Finally a word about the cruise. This cruise is from Card Player Cruises (not affiliated with Card Player Magazine) who have arranged to operate a pokerroom with over 50 tables throughout our time at sea. Yes Party Poker is the worlds largest poker room, but this week, the Westerdam is the largest poker room at sea! It’s been a fun cruise, lots of young folks, but also lots of 35-55 folks too. So if you want to go on a first class cruise and play poker, visit www.cardplayercruises.com.

Well here goes nothing - I better finish in the money, the cost of the booze and internet service is likely to bust me otherwise!

A nervous AllPokerPlay - off to the tables - wish me luck!