What follows is a televised-hand-by-televised-hand account on the WPT Championship.  Obviously, since it's only a two-hour show, most hands are not televised so you're going to see a lot of jumping of the dealer button.

What's a "dealer button"?  What's "all-in"?  What the heck is this weird poker game they're playing?  Well, I'll do my best to give the rookies out there a run-down while maintaining the flow of the hands for the veterans.

After twelve tournaments in ten cities (and one cruise ship) and millions upon millions of dollars, the World Poker Tour returns to where it all began: the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event: the "World Series" of po...oh, wait, that's being used...the "Super Bowl" of poker, the WPT Championship!  The prize pool: $2,691,750!

Aside from the ten WPT Champions (and two runners-up to repeat champs) who won the automatic seats, 99 more coughed up $25,000 of their own scratch to sit amid the poker elite. Through four days of rough competition, six players emerged to take part in the Final Table, the winner to become an instant millionaire! The final six were (along with chip count entering the final table):

PLAYER	CHIP COUNT
Alan Goehring 40, ex-junk bond analyst and trader from New York, never won a tourney	$2,597,000
Kirill Gerasimov 32, European Heads-Up Champion, qualified through $180 super-satellite	$784,000
Phil Ivey 26, "Tiger Woods of Poker", 3-time WPT Finalist	$637,000
James Hoeppner Las Vegas CPA, won Legends of Poker No-Limit Hold 'Em event	$568,000
Doyle Brunson 69, poker uber-legend, wrote "Super System" (proclaimed "Bible of poker")	$522,000
Ted Forrest 38, high-stakes professional, native of Las Vegas	$445,000

(pictures from worldpokertour.com)

That's right.  Not a single WPT Champion from this year made it.  Not even Howard Lederer and Gus Hanson, the two two-time winners, made it.

The chips are on the table, the dealer is ready, the "Hole Cams" are in working order, Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patton are ready for the call...time to shuffle up and DEAL!

Initial ante is $3,000 and blinds are $15,000 (SB) and $30,000 (BB).  The Dealer Button (D) starts on Doyle.

Ted	Alan	James	Doyle (D)	Phil	Kirill
Q 3	6 5	6 2	A Q	K 9	A 4
FOLD	FOLD	FOLD	Raise to $80,000	FOLD (SB)	FOLD (BB)
			WIN $143,000
TRIVIA: Doyle won a $1 million bet that he could lose 100 pounds; he went down to a "slim" 298 pounds.

Phil	Kirill	Ted	Alan (D)	James	Doyle
6 3	10 3	8 2	K Q	7 6	9 5
FOLD	FOLD	Raise to $90,000	Calls $90,000	FOLD (SB)	FOLD (BB)
FLOP (first three community cards): J 2 6
		Bet $90,000	Calls $90,000
TURN (fourth community card): 4
		Bet $90,000	FOLD
		WIN $513,000
LINGO: The fifth community card is called the "River". TUTORIAL: In Texas Hold 'Em, the game being played, players use any combination of the two cards in their hands (hole cards) and the five community cards to make their best five-card poker hand.  So Ted had a pair of 2s, one in his hole (2) and one from the Flop (2).

Kirill	Ted	Alan	James (D)	Doyle	Phil
9 4	J 9	K 5	9 4	5 4	A 7
FOLD	Raise to $70,000	FOLD	FOLD	FOLD (SB)	Calls $40K+ (BB)
FLOP: 8 A 4
					CHECK
	Bet $100,000				Call $100,000
TUTORIAL: Action after any community cards are laid down starts with the player after the "dealer".  Before the flop, the two players after the dealer post "blinds" to ensure there's money in the pot and, since these are considered bets, the action starts with the player after the second (or big) blind.  This is why Phil was first to act instead of Ted after the flop.
TURN: 7
					CHECK
	CHECK
RIVER: Q COMMUNITY: A Q 8 7 4
					Bet $150,000
	FOLD				WIN $523,000
HAND UPDATE (HU): Phil had two pair, Aces and sevens.  Ted could've had a straight if a 5 had come up on the River instead of the Queen.  As such, Ted ended up with only ace-high.

Ted	Alan	James	Doyle (D)	Phil	Kirill
A 8	A 4	4 2	J 3	J 10	Q 10
Calls $30,000	Raise to $90,000	FOLD	FOLD	FOLD (SB)	FOLD (BB)
Raises to $300,000	FOLD
WIN $543,000

James	Doyle	Phil	Kirill (D)	Ted	Alan
J J	6 4	8 7	K K	8 7	Q 2
Raise to $130,000	FOLD	FOLD	Raise to $250,000	FOLD (SB)	FOLD (BB)
ALL IN $496,000			Calls $246,000
TUTORIAL: They're playing No-Limit Hold 'Em, which means that, at any time, a player can go "all in", or bet ALL his chips on the hand he has.  If he loses the hand, he's out of the tournament. HU: Kirill's pair of Kings is an 82% favorite over James' pair of Jacks.
FLOP: 2 6 A TURN: 4 RIVER: 4
JJ44A			KK44A
OUT 6th place			WIN $1,055,000

Kirill	Ted	Alan (D)	Doyle	Phil
K 6	Q 3	A 6	Q J	Q 2
FOLD	Raise to $80,000	Calls $80,000	Calls $65,000 + (SB)	FOLD (BB)
TUTORIAL: Since Doyle already had $15,000 in on the small blind, he only had to put up $65,000 to call Ted's raise.  If Phil had called, he'd have only needed to put in $50,000, having $30,000 in on the big blind.
FLOP: 4 2 4
HU: Doyle has what's called a "flush draw", meaning he needs another club to make a five-card flush.
			ALL IN $397,000
	FOLD	FOLD	WIN $682,000

Alan	Doyle	Phil (D)	Kirill	Ted
8 4	Q 6	8 2	K 9	A 5
Call $30,000	FOLD	FOLD	Calls $15,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
FLOP: Q K 5
			CHECK	CHECK
Bet $70,000			Raise to $320,000	FOLD
FOLD			WIN $495,000

Doyle	Phil	Kirill (D)	Ted	Alan
10 8	Q 8	K 2	7 6	5 4
FOLD	Raise to $90,000	FOLD	FOLD (SB)	Calls $60,000 + (BB)
FLOP: 10 6 J
LINGO: Phil now has and "inside straight draw", also known as a "belly buster" or "gut shot".  He needs a 9 to make a straight to the Queen.
				CHECK
	Bets $90,000			FOLD
	WIN $300,000

Kirill	Ted	Alan (D)	Doyle	Phil
K Q	Q 6	5 2	Q 5	Q 2
FOLD	FOLD	Calls $30,000	Calls $30,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
FLOP: 4 10 8
			CHECK	CHECK
		CHECK
TURN: Q
			CHECK	Bets $100,000
		Raise to $300,000	FOLD	FOLD
		WIN $505,000
HU: Phil was an overwhelming favorite.  Alan only had a 2% chance of winning.  But he bluffed Doyle and Phil into thinking he had more than just Queen-high.

Doyle	Phil	Kirill (D)	Ted	Alan
10 4	J 4	K Q	8 8	A 5
FOLD	FOLD	Raise to $60,000	ALL IN $330,000 (SB)	FOLD (BB)
		Calls $270,000
FLOP: J A 3
HU: Kirill went from a slight underdog to a slight favorite.  He can win with a diamond, a King, a Queen or a ten, a grand total of 17 "outs".
TURN: 7 RIVER: 4
		AKQJ7	88AJ7
			WIN $705,000
LINGO: Ted just "doubled-up", or won double his all-in bet.  17 "outs" out of 38 cards in the deck, and Kirill couldn't get a one.

Kirill	Ted	Alan (D)	Doyle	Phil
10 3	Q 9	8 2	A 2	A 3
FOLD	Calls $30,000	Calls $30,000	Calls $15,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
FLOP: 10 Q 4
			CHECK	CHECK
	Bets $50,000	Calls $50,000	FOLD	FOLD
TURN: 10
	CHECK	Bets $100,000
	Calls $100,000
RIVER: 4 COMMUNITY: 10 10 4 4 Q
	CHECK	Bets $200,000
At this point, Ted talks to Alan, trying to get some clue whether he's bluffing or not.  Alan doesn't help, saying, "I'd give you advice, but I'm involved in a pot right now.  Any advice would be conflicting."
	FOLD	WIN $635,000
HU: Another successful bluff.  Alan only had the hand on the table: 10s and 4s.  Ted had QUEENS and 10s...and got bluffed out of the pot.

Ted	Alan	Doyle (D)	Phil	Kirill
10 7	6 4	K 8	9 5	Q J
FOLD	FOLD	Raise to $90,000	FOLD (SB)	ALL IN $897,000 (BB)
		FOLD		WIN $1,017,000

Alan	Doyle	Phil (D)	Kirill	Ted
J J	Q 8	A 4	Q 7	A J
Raise to $60,000	ALL IN $526,000	FOLD	FOLD (SB)	ALL IN $513,000 (BB)
Calls $466,000
HU: Alan had to call the higher (Doyle's) all-in bet.  Had Alan folded, Doyle's bet would have been dropped to only cover Ted's bet.  All three now have a stake in this pot.  Someone is going out.
FLOP: 3 6 5 TURN: 2
HU: If a 4 comes off on the River, all three will split the pot, since the best any of them can do is the straight to the 6 on the table.
RIVER: 9
J J 9 6 5	Q 9 8 6 5			A J 9 6 5
WIN $1,595,000	OUT 4th place			OUT 5th place
HU: Alan wins both the all-ins.  Doyle goes out in 4th since he bet more than Ted.

Alan (D)	Phil	Kirill
6 4	4 2	K Q
Raise to $60,000	FOLD (SB)	Calls $30,000+(BB)
FLOP: 9 9 Q
		CHECK
Bet $90,000		Calls $90,000
TURN: K
		CHECK
CHECK
RIVER: 7 COMMUNITY: 9 9 K Q 7
		Bet $100,000
FOLD		WIN $424,000
HU: Here, Kirill shows his winning hand.  Though not against any rules, some people believe that you shouldn't show your hand unless you have to prove yours is the best hand.  It's not only considered shameless bragging, but it gives away some of your strategy.

Phil (D)	Kirill	Alan
A 4	8 4	K 2
Raise to $90,000	FOLD (SB)	Calls $60,000+(BB)
FLOP: 8 A 2
		CHECK
CHECK
TURN: Q
		CHECK
CHECK
RIVER: 4 COMMUNITY: A Q 8 2 4
		CHECK
Bet $140,000		FOLD
WIN $344,000

Kirill (D)	Alan	Phil
A K	6 3	A Q
Raise to $100,000	Calls $85,000+(SB)	ALL IN $846,000 (BB)
Calls $746,000	FOLD
LINGO: An Ace and a King in the hole is usually called "Big Slick", and is the strongest non-pair hole combinations you can get.  Ace-Queen in the hole is sometimes called "Big Chick".  But, against Big Slick, Big Chick is a 3-to-1 underdog.
FLOP: 6 K 3 TURN: 2
HU/LINGO: At this point, Phil is "drawing dead"; no card in the deck can help him.  If an ace came up, that would give Kirill Aces and Kings.
RIVER: 10
K K A 10 6		A K Q 10 6
WIN $1,801,000		OUT 3rd place

So after five days of poker, it comes down to a Russian who SPECIALIZES in heads-up matches, and an ex-junk bond analyst who has never won a tournament in his career.  The runner-up leaves with a half-million...but the winner leaves as Vegas' newest millionaire!

Alan Goehring

Kirill Gerasimov

Time to crown the first-ever WPT Tour Champion!  SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL!

Alan (D)	Kirill
K K	A 4
Calls $15,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
HU: Even in "heads-up", there are still blinds to post.  The dealer posts the Big Blind (which is still $30,000 at this point) and the other posts the Small Blind ($15,000).  Thus, since Alan did raise, Kirill can just check and not have to bet.
FLOP: 7 7 J
	CHECK
CHECK
TURN: 7
HU: Alan "flopped" 2 pair (Ks & 7s), then turned a full house (Three 7s and two Ks) in the turn.  Only four of a kind and a straight flush can beat this hand.
	CHECK
Bets $50,000	Calls $50,000
RIVER: 7 COMMUNITY: 7 7 7 7 J
HU: The full house is up-ended by the four 7s on the board - the odds of that happening were 54,145 to 1!  Kirill has won this hand because his highest whole card is an Ace while Alan's is a King.
	Bets $200,000
Calls $50,000
7 7 7 7 K	7 7 7 7 A
	WIN $566,000

Blinds are now $25,000 (SB) and $50,000 (BB).  No ante is required now.

Alan (D)	Kirill
K 7	7 6
Calls $25,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
FLOP: A 10 8
	CHECK
Bets $50,000	Calls $50,000
TURN: 8
	Bets $150,000
Calls $150,000
RIVER: 4
	ALL IN $2,273,000
FOLD	WIN $2,773,000
HU/LINGO: Kirill was possibly bluffing having two spades in the hole, making a "nut flush" (highest possible flush on the board).  In truth, Alan could've won with the King kicker..

Kirill (D)	Alan
6 4	7 5
Calls $25,000 + (SB)	Raises to $100,000 (BB)
Calls $50,000
FLOP: A 3 7
	Bets $100,000
Calls $100,000
TURN: J
	CHECK
Bets $300,000	Calls $300,000
RIVER: Q COMMUNITY: A Q J 7 3
	CHECK
ALL IN $2,848,000	FOLD
WIN $3,848,000

What with one thing or another, several more winning Kirill hands passed by...)

Kirill (D)	Alan
9 6	Q Q
Calls $25,000 + (SB)	Raises to $100,000 (BB)
Calls $50,000
FLOP: 5 Q 3
HU/LINGO: Alan has three Queens, or a "set of Queens".  He is the 98% favorite to win this pot
	CHECK
CHECK
TURN: 5
HU/LINGO: Even better, Alan now has a full house or "full boat".  This "boat" is "Queens full of fives"; his Queens plus the Queen and two 5s on the board make up the full house
	Bets $100,000
ALL IN $3,698,000	Calls ALL IN $1,655,000
HU: Alan had less chips to go all-in with than Kirill, so Kirill's bet is reduced to match Alan's all-in bet.  Even if Kirill loses (which he will since there's no way he can get a better "boat" or four-of-a-kind), he'll still have chips.
RIVER: 8
5 5 Q 9 6	Q Q Q 5 5
	WIN $3,510,000

Kirill (D)	Alan
J 6	A 8
Calls $25,000 + (SB)	Raises to $100,000 (BB)
Calls $50,000
FLOP: J 6 5
	CHECK
Bets $100,000	Calls $100,000
TURN: 10
	CHECK
Bets $320,000	FOLD
WIN $720,000

Alan (D)	Kirill
8 5	7 3
Calls $25,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
FLOP: 3 2 J
	CHECK
CHECK
TURN: 8
	CHECK
Bets $50,000	Calls $50,000
RIVER: 8 COMMUNITY: 8 8 J 3 2
	CHECK
Bets $200,000	Calls $200,000
8 8 8 J 5	8 8 3 3 J
WIN $600,000

Kirill (D)	Alan
A K	Q 9
Calls $25,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
FLOP: K Q 2
	CHECK
Bets $100,000	Calls $100,000
TURN: 2
	CHECK
CHECK
RIVER: A COMMUNITY: 2 2 A K Q
	CHECK
Bets $200,000	FOLD
WIN $500,000
LINGO: Alan was looking at a very decent hand with Queens and dueces.  But, sensing Kirill had a better hand, he "laid down" his hand.  This means he folded a good hand at a good time.

Alan (D)	Kirill
8 7	K 6
Raise to $100,000 (SB)	Calls $50,000 + (BB)
FLOP: 5 10 A
	CHECK
Bets $120,000	FOLD
WIN $320,000

Alan (D)	Kirill
10 5	K 7
Calls $25,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
FLOP: 5 7 4
	Bets $100,000
Calls $100,000
TURN: 6
	CHECK
CHECK
RIVER: 2 COMMUNITY: 7 6 5 4 2
	CHECK
CHECK
5 5 10 7 6	7 7 K 6 5
	WIN $300,000

Alan (D)	Kirill
Q J	K 4
Calls $25,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
FLOP: Q J K
LINGO: When all face cards show up on the flop, it's sometimes called "Picasso".  That's because, in poker lingo, a face card is also called a "paint" card.
	CHECK
Bets $60,000	Calls $60,000
TURN: 10
	CHECK
CHECK
RIVER: A COMMUNITY: A K Q J 10
HU/LINGO: The hand is over.  The only way that "Broadway" - an Ace-high straight - can be beat in this case is if someone has the King and Jack of hearts in the hole to go with the Ace, Queen and ten on the board.  This would be a Royal Flush, the best possible hand in poker.
	CHECK
CHECK
A K Q J 10	A K Q J 10
WIN $110,000	WIN $110,000
HU: Since neither could better the straight on the board, and since that means that have the same five-card hand, the $220,000 pot is split evenly between them.

Alan (D)	Kirill
9 7	5 4
Calls $25,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
FLOP: 7 K 6
	CHECK
Bets $50,000	Calls $50,000
TURN: J
	CHECK
CHECK
RIVER: 2 COMMUNITY: K J 7 6 2
	CHECK
Bets $90,000	Raises to $290,000
Calls $200,000
7 7 K J 9	K J 7 6 5
WIN $780,000
LINGO: Alan could have checked and won the pot easily, but he decided to try a "value bet", which is a small bet you make with a marginal hand (like the pair of 7s Alan had) in order to either get your opponent to fold.  Turns out he didn't need it, but Kirill's ill-timed bluff earned Alan $290,000 more than he would've if he had just checked.
LINGO: Kirill, knowing he was beat, tossed his cards to the dealer without showing it to Alan.  This is called "mucking" and it's essentially a sign of surrender, a way to tell your opponent, "Take the pot and let's move on."

Kirill (D)	Alan
8 6	8 5
Calls $25,000 + (SB)	CHECK (BB)
FLOP: 4 5 8
LINGO: Alan has "flopped the top two pair".  This means that, on the flop, he matched the top two cards on the board with the two in his hand, giving him 8s and 5s.  Kirill only "flopped the top pair";  Had the 4 been matched by someone, it would have been called the "bottom pair".
	Bets $50,000
Raise to $300,000	ALL IN $4,350,000
Calls ALL IN $1,103,000
HU/LINGO: Again, since Kirill had less chips, Alan's bet is reduced to cover Kirill's all-in.  Kirill has an "inside straight draw"; he needs a 7 to make a straight.
TURN: 7
HU: Kirill has made his straight.  But Alan still has a few "outs". Catching a 6 on the river would split the pot.  The last 8 or a 5 would give him a full house and the championship.
FLOP: 8
8 7 6 5 4	8 8 8 5 5
OUT 2nd place	WIN $2,306,000

Alan Goehring presented with the gold bracelet which Vegas casinos usually
give high-stakes tournament champions. (pictures from worldpokertour.com)

Alan wins his first-ever tournament, and it turns him into only the second millionaire (Gus Hanson was first) in WPT's first season!  In all, $12,275,418 has been given away this year in the 13 tournaments.

SEE YOU NEXT SEASON ON THE WORLD POKER TOUR