Poker: Celebrity Poker Showdown
Game #2.3 -- Michael Ian Black vs. The Devil

Some people just take the hard road for a living. The first time he played in Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," the sardonic and quick-witted Michael Ian Black lost to the tournament's eventual winner. The second time, all he'd have to do to win was go up against the devil -- metaphorically speaking, of course.

As Dule Hill took over Paul Rudd's title of "Card Rack," replacing Tournament 1 player Willie Garson as the resident devil spawn was Norm MacDonald, who, like Garson before him, dispatched foe after foe -- leaving him with, of all people, Michael Ian Black. Those of you who saw Tournament 1 know "Evil Willie" was the first man out of the championship table -- could the hard-luck Black deliver the death blow to this incarnation of the half-inflated dark lord?

This battle between evil and sardonic was the culmination to a downright insane evening at the Palms Casino. Joining Black and McDonald on the felt were Adam Rodriguez, Star Jones and Jeremy Sisto, who was my odds-on favorite to win since he's a smart guy and I once dreamed that I beat him in, of all things, Game 2.3 of "Celebrity Poker Showdown." When in doubt, pick the guy that randomly appears off the top of your head.

Bravo had been hyping all week that someone got knocked out on the very first hand. Does anyone remember Scott Stapp's turn as "What does that mean?" boy in Tournament 1? Tournament 2 had a similar situation, and it involved Adam Rodriguez, who held 10-Q against Norm's J-K.

The community deal went J-K-Q-7-J, giving Norm a set of jacks and Adam a pair of queens. Norm had bet this hand fairly strongly, giving pretty much everyone the indication that he had a hand, and he went all-in after the final jack came on the river. While all of America was mentally folding, Adam did the worst thing he could do -- he called the bet and was eliminated before he could finish his drink.

So strange was this bad call that Phil Gordon, who has never to my knowledge said so much as a cross word about anyone, could only describe it as "crappy."

While Adam got comfortable on the Losers' Lounge couch and received a bit of poker education from Phil, the others went back to battling things out in a rather subdued way. Norm, who had decided to wear all black in some attempt to look daunting, really couldn't have cared less, I don't think.

Meanwhile, Michael was the life of the party, ordering a huge sundae and then having a waitress put an obscene amount of whipped cream on top of it. Gravity then intervened, and in a completely hilarious moment, Tournament Director Bob intoned, "The whipped cream is falling," as the camera cut to this sundae topping listing to the right. Jeremy, sitting to Michael's right, looked to him as if to say "Are you going to do anything about that?" and in pure Michael Ian Black fashion, Michael just watched it fall.

Star and Jeremy, both on the lower side of the chip count, battled in two back-to-back decisions. He was ahead of her and then lost a pot to her, allowing her to double up, and she promptly reversed that on the very next hand. It would come to be her undoing, as now on the short stack, she was forced to pick a hand and go with it -- right into the crosshairs of, as Dave Foley nicknamed him, "devil spawn, and he's Canadian."

Star matched her A-J against Norm's A-9, but Norm flopped a pair of 9's on a flop that went 9-10-5. As if to add insult to injury, the turn was also a 9, and the king on the river failed to help her. Finally, an hour later, Adam had some company in the Losers' Lounge.

This left Jeremy and Michael to battle against Norm, and given how disinterested Norm seemed to be, I was rooting for somebody who actually cared to make a rally and save the day. Norm also violated Rule Number One for me: Do not disrespect Phil Gordon. Sardonically, he asked if anyone had actually seen Phil play poker, and I remember thinking, Yeah, he just won Bay 101's Shooting Star, you jackass.

Jeremy was my favorite because from what little I've seen, he is a very smart man. I also took it as an omen that he was playing in the same game I dreamed he was playing in, and sitting in the exact same seat as well. Plus, he once played Jesus, which would have made for neat Biblical jokes.

(As if that wasn't enough, between commercials I also discovered he was on two channels at the same time, playing a small role in "Clueless" alongside none other than Paul "The Card Rack" Rudd.)

Unfortunately, there'd be no divine intervention for Jeremy Sisto on this day. He went all-in with a pair of 4's against Norm's A-10, and the flop went J-10-J. The 3 on the turn and 9 on the river did nothing, and I was left to recalculate the future. With Jeremy benched, it didn't look good - Norm, like Dule hill before him, had some 30,000 in chips.

Nobody told Michael Ian Black that, however.

For somebody whose strategy was "play poorly and lose," he led a groundswell and finally had some good luck for a change.

The two threw the chip lead back and forth often enough for the blinds to reach the egregious level of $5,000/$10,000. Norm was making strange folds like he really didn't care if he won or not, causing Phil to comment in disbelief, "He's not making me happy." Meanwhile, Michael was playing aggressively -- betting his room key, money in his wallet and a signed photo of David Copperfield at one point.

He would not be denied. On one hand, as Norm goaded him by saying repeatedly the tournament was over, he'd have none of it. When Tournament Director Bob let slip that Michael was somewhat of an underdog, Michael cut him off and told him not to go there (something which kind of caught Tournament Director Bob off guard). At least he honestly seemed to care what happened.

Lo and behold, his suffering paid off. He matched his A-8 against Norm's Q-J, and the deal went Q-4-A-K-4. Aces and 4's beat queens and 4's, and Michael Ian Black advanced to the championship game of Tournament 2, causing yours truly to breathe a sigh of relief. It seems being labeled devil spawn is the kiss of death in this tournament.

For this one night, for Michael Ian Black, the hard road was the high road, and the high road was a very happy place.