Poker News - Complete Poker Coverage at PokerListings.com

Party Poker Offering $2,500 Battle of Malta Packages

Sat, 26 May 2012 09:18:19 -0700

The winner of each Party Poker Battle of Malta qualifier will receive a $2,500 package that includes the €550 buy in, accommodation, flights and a VIP party. The inaugural Battle of Malta is set to take place Nov. 22-25, 2012.

The qualifiers are open to all players who signed up for Party Poker through PokerListings.

PokerListings is currently offering a 100% bonus match up to $500 for players who sign up to the site. Check our Party Poker review for more information.

Players who snag a seat in the Battle of Malta will get an amazing opportunity to travel to beautiful Malta and potentially win a huge sum of cash.

Sometimes referred to as the “Pearl of the Mediterranean”, Malta has a fascinating history as the Romans, Arabs, Normans, French, British and even the Knights of St. John have ruled the Island during certain points of its history.

In recent years Malta has become a major tourist destination for Europeans with its temperate climate, numerous restaurants, bars and clubs.

The tournament itself will see some of the biggest names in poker take to the felt in an attempt to be crowned king or queen of Malta.

With a direct buy in of just €550, the Battle of Malta has the potential to offer an incredible return on investment for the average grinder.

The event will take place at the luxurious Portomaso Casino in St. Julian’s, Malta.

Check our How to Qualify for the Battle of Malta page for more information. Here’s a look at the upcoming satellite schedule for the Battle of Malta:

Party Poker Battle of Malta Qualifiers

Each Party Poker BOM qualifier costs $5.50 to buy into and is open to any player who deposited on the site through PokerListings at one point. The events will take place at 20:00 GMT. Here’s a complete look at the schedule:

June 16, 2012 June 30, 2012 July 14, 2012 July 28, 2012

Titan Poker Battle of Malta Qualifiers

Titan Poker is awarding five $2,500 Battle of Malta packages to PokerListings players. There will be a total of five events to award the packages and each one takes place at 19:00 GMT. The buy in is $10 but there are also numerous freerolls into satellites. Here are the complete dates for the BOM final qualifiers:

June 24, 2012 July 22, 2012 August 19, 2012 September 23, 2012 October 24, 2012

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Marchese Snags $100k High Roller Win from Robl

Sat, 26 May 2012 08:17:26 -0700

Marchese, one of the most respected online pros in the world, came in to the final table third in chips but dominated much of the action to enter heads-up play with a slight lead.

He needed some help to seal the deal, however.

After a back-and-forth match that stayed pretty even until Robl edged out to a 2-1 chip advantage, Marchese found himself all-in with 7♦ 4♦ against Robl's T♣ T♠.

The board came A♠ Q♣ 6♠ 3♠ to the turn, leaving Marchese just three non-spade fives to save him.

The 5♦ miraculously dropped on the river and Marchese was back in the game. Thirty hands later, he was the champ.

On the final hand, Robl min-raised to 500k with A♦ 4♣, Marchese reraised to 1.2 million with 8♥ 8♠ and Robl shoved.

Marchese snap-called and improved to a set on the flop to take the title down.

Having originally busted in the tournament and opting to re-buy, Marchese ended up making it worth his while and takes home $1.1 million in profit.

Robl earned $822,375 for his runner-up finish.

Bonomo Bubble Boy

John Juanda in third ($526,320), Daniel Perper in fourth ($394,740) and Bill Klein in fifth ($263,160) were the other players to cash from an elite field of 32 that started the event.

Justin Bonomo was the unfortunate first to bust at the final table and miss the money.

Official final-table results and payouts below: 1st: Tom Marchese - $1,308,405 2nd: Andrew Robl - $822,375 3rd: John Juanda - $526,320 4th: Daniel Perper - $394,740 5th: Bill Klein - $263,160 6th: Justin Bonomo - $0

Streaming coverage of the $25k final table is set to begin with hole cards and commentary from Tony Dunst and Dan O’Brien at 4:30 pm.

Follow along with both the live stream and the live updates here.

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Streaking Sahamies: Top 10 Weekly Online Winners/Losers

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:39:51 -0700

Sahamies went on a 2,521-hand run that saw him win huge sessions against Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and Ben “Ben86” Tollerene.

When all was done and said, Sahamies had racked up a total of $424k in profit this week.

The Finn is still down nearly $500k on PokerStars but it was right around this time last year that Sahamies began a giant turnaround that eventually saw him finish 2011 with over a million in profit.

Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky, Chris “Genius28” Lee and Zypherin also made waves in the high stakes online games this week and we’ve got a complete breakdown below.

Top 10 Weekly Online Winners

Ilari Sahamies was the biggest winner this week but Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky gave him a serious run for his money as the U.S.-born pro won just under $300k.

Sulsky tends to fly under the radar but it’s getting hard to ignore the young pro as he’s now the biggest winner on PokerStars this year with $2 million in profit.

Meanwhile the other Ben, Ben “Ben86” Tollerene, survived a late-week meltdown against Sahamies to take down $183k.

It’s a pretty sweet time to be Chris “Genius28” Lee. The former Duke University student won recently won his first SCOOP title and dragged in another $215k in the high-stakes games this week.

Add in his first WSOP bracelet from last summer and Lee is quickly establishing himself as one of the best up-and-coming players in the game.

Here’s a complete look at the top 10 biggest winners according to HSDB this week:

1. Ilari “Ilari_FIN” Sahamies: +$424,000 2. Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky: +$294,0003. Terken89: +$243,000 4. LuckyGump: +$227,000 5. Chris “Genius28” Lee: +$215,000 6. Ben “Ben86” Tollerene: +$183,000 7. L0ve2playU: +$135,000 8. azn_baller3: +$128,000 9. longerpig: +$109,000 10. Phisherman36: +$107,000

Dan "w00ki3z" Cates

Top 10 Weekly Online Losers

It’s getting so bad for Zypherin that the poker media is starting to speculate the man behind the account is none other than Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte.

Zypherin continued his extended tailspin in 2012 by losing $554k this week.

To date Zypherin has lost an astounding $2.4 million to take the dubious position as the biggest loser on PokerStars this year. Very few poker players have bankrolls that could handle that level of downswing.

Laliberte was famously rumored to have lost over $15 million on a collection of accounts on Full Tilt Poker in the late 2000s.

Meanwhile high stakes killer Dan “W00ki3z” Cates, known as jungleman12 on Full Tilt, has come back to the high stakes games on PokerStars to mixed reviews.

He immediately jumped to a $144k profit in his first week back but has since lost that amount and another $146k to put him in the red.

Here’s complete look at the top 10 losers this week according to HSDB:

1. Zypherin: -$554,000 2. Dan “W00ki3z” Cates: -$376,000 3. Verve.oasis: -$214,000 4. 0Human0: -$163,000 5. Rompsa: -$144,000 6. Patpatman: -$142,000 7. Mickan1984: -$131,000 8. Eunjong Byun: -$125,000 9. Jens “Jeans89” Kyllonen: -$125,000 10. Katya_18: -$104,000

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Daily 3-Bet: Nadal Signing, Gold Mining, 4 Days w/ Ivey

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:37:28 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find a possible industry-changing signing by PokerStars, look back at the WSOP’s golden moment and remember winsomely when Phil Ivey was Phil Ivey.

1) Rafael Nadal Rumored to Have Signed with PokerStars

Zis ees boosheet.

Wow.

It’s still to be confirmed, but Spanish poker site Pokergenio.com is reporting PokerStars has signed tennis star Rafael Nadal.

No official statement has been made but pokergenio says photographer Enric Bayon told them Rafa was spotted recording an ad for PokerStars on April 30 in Barcelona.

Now a second source, also looking for confirmation, is telling them Nadal has signed for two years and a rumored 12 million euros.

With Spanish legislation now in effect and poker sites sorting out back taxes to be cleared for licensing, this would be a huge coup for PokerStars – and not just in Spain.

Nadal is easily one of the top 10 most recognizable sports stars in the world and having him tagged to poker everywhere he goes can do nothing but help poker’s reputation (and PokerStars' bottom line).

Sorry, Boris Becker. You may have just been usurped as PokerStars' most important crossover poker/tennis star.

2) Stay Gold, WSOP. Stay Gold

Speaking of industry-changing moments, anyone else think we’re on the brink of one of the most important WSOPs in history?

We had our hold steady moment last year, when people were still flush (or stunned) enough to buy-in big, but after a full year away from the online game will the US masses still pony up in droves?

It’s hard to say. With legalization on the horizon, poker resurfacing on TV and a still-growing worldwide player base, this could be the year poker surges back into the public consciousness and moves into the mainstream sports big leagues.

Or, it could be a bigger and more final ebb back to where it was seven or eight years ago.

We know where the current poker tidal wave peaked and started making its way back to sea, anyway: 2006, when almost 9,000 runners hit the Main Event and Jamie Gold redefined televised poker.

Will 2012 be the beginning of a new wave? If it has a chance, the WSOP needs something fun to happen this year. Really fun. Like Jamie Gold fun.

We can’t believe we just said that. But remember how good this was?:

3) Stay Gold, Phil Ivey. Stay Gold

Speaking of tidal waves peaking, remember when Phil Ivey was Phil Ivey? That was awesome.

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PokerListings, 888poker Team Up for Innovative 2012 WSOP Coverage

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:33:04 -0700

Starting May 27, a total of 61 WSOP bracelets will be awarded over the next 51 days and PokerListings will be there for every single one of them with live coverage, news, interviews, blogs, videos, photos, features and more.

Live coverage will be handled a little differently this year as PokerListings handpicked 14 of the biggest events this year and is set to provide comprehensive coverage of each event.

“We looked at the WSOP schedule and realized we could offer better, more interesting coverage if we targeted a selection of tournaments rather than covering every random $1k,” said Matt Showell, Editor in Chief at PokerListings.com.

“We're going full throttle with these featured events to bring readers a truly unique experience when they come to our site for WSOP coverage,” said Showell.

Some of the highlight events include the astounding $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop, the $50k Players’ Championship, $10k 6-Max and of course the $10k No-Limit Hold’em Main Event.

888poker pro Tyler Bonkowski

PokerListings Puts a New Spin on Day 1 Live Coverage

PokerListings will provide coverage of each Day 1 in a format you’ve never seen anywhere else.

Each Day 1 (outside of the Big One, Main Event and Players’ Championship) will take place entirely in a non-traditional live update format.

Some of the various Day 1 formats you’ll see over the summer will include coverage made entirely of photos while others will highlight just the females in the field.

There will also be days where all the coverage on Day 1 will be focused on a single player such as Phil Ivey or Chris Moneymaker. More formats will be announced throughout the summer.

After Day 1 is complete the PL.com live updating team will switch to a more traditional live updating format so readers can follow their favorite pros as they battle to the final table.

As usual a key component of the PL.com coverage will include in-depth interviews with the biggest names in and out of poker.

Last year usual suspects such as Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen and Tom Dwan all provided notable quotes but PL.com also featured several crossover poker players including NBA star Paul Pierce, Sopranos actor Robert Iler and New York Times writer Nate Silver.

Every night readers will be able to find a WSOP 3-Bet recap, which will highlight the three biggest or most interesting stories that happened on any given day.

This PokerListings WSOP video team will also return for the 2012 Main Event with a regular show and standalone interviews.

All of our coverage this year will be sponsored by award-winning online poker room 888poker, which is the only online site that offers 3D and webcam poker.

Here’s a complete list of the featured PokerListings 2012 WSOP live tournaments:

• $3,000 Heads-Up PLO/NLHE (May 29-31)

• $5k Mixed Max (May 31 – June 3)

• $10k Heads-Up NLHE (June 5-8)

• $10k Pot-Limit Hold’em (June 8-10)

• $2.5k 2-7 Triple Draw (June 10-12)

• $2.5k Four-Handed NLHE (June 13-15)

• $10k HORSE (June 16-18)

• $5k Six-Max PLO (June 18-20

• $10k PLO (June 21-23)

• $50k Players Championship (June 24-28)

• $5k No-Limit Hold’em (June 28-30)

• $1M Big One (July 1-3)

• $10k Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em (July 3-5)

• Main Event (July 7-16)

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Robl, Perper Lead Stacked $100k Final Six

Fri, 25 May 2012 07:19:50 -0700

Perper, a young pro from Highland Park, Illinois, has pared his way through the pro-stacked field to bag up 3,415,000 chips for the slight lead over Robl.

Robl, a well known high-stakes pro, is just off the pace with 3,355,000.

Both are now eyeing the $1.3 million first-place prize as are the elite four joining them at the final table..

Sitting just behind in third and fourth are Tom “kingsofcards” Marchese at 2,235,000 and Justin Bonomo, still fresh from his win at the EPT Grand Final High Roller, at 2,105,000.

Long time pro John Juanda, making a somewhat rare tournament appearance these days, is in fifth with 1,875,000. Bill Klein is the short stack with 620,000.

Smith, Seidel Just Miss

The unfortunate final-table bubble boy was Dan "KingDan" Smith, who was knocked out by Bonomo to bring Day 2 to a close.

Also eliminated just before the final six yesterday were Erik Seidel, Sam Trickett, Brian Hastings and Phil Galfond.

While in most cases making it to the TV table means you have a lock on a big payday, one player is still at risk of going home empty handed as the money bubble doesn’t hit until five.

A min-cash is also worth $263,160, making it a $360k swing for the unfortunate bubbler.

The final table gets underway at 4 pm today from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Live streaming coverage with hole cards and commentary from Tony Dunst, Dan O'Brien, and Olivier Busquet starts at 4:30 on WPT.com.

Chip counts and seat assignments for the final table: Seat 1: Bill Klein - 620,000 Seat 2: John Juanda - 1,875,000 Seat 3: Tom Marchese - 2,235,000 Seat 4: Daniel Perper - 3,415,000 Seat 5: Justin Bonomo - 2,105,000 Seat 6: Andrew Robl - 3,355,000

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Rettenmaier Boss in WPT Championship Final Six

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:37:24 -0700

Starting the day with the chip lead but still within striking distance, Rettenmaier rocketed away from the field to finish the day at 6,715,000 in chips and take a commanding lead heading into the six-player final table.

The popular German pro known as "Mad Marvin" will be looking for his first WPT title and first for his new sponsor, Party Poker, when play resumes on Saturday.

With veteran Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi next with 2,560,000 in chips, it’ll take a shocking turn of events for him to fall short but with Mizrachi's experience and two dangerous pros behind him, anything can still happen.

Mizrachi, O’Dwyer and Schulman Lay in Wait

If anyone can overcome a four-million chip deficit, it’s Mizrachi.

With lifetime earnings of over $14 million, there are few situations at the poker table Mizrachi has yet to face and he’s been on the right side of epic comebacks before.

Not afraid of a chip lead.

If Mizrachi can’t get it done, Steve O’Dwyer or Nick Schulman are certainly capable.

O’Dwyer, who sits third with 2,035,00 in chips, has had a year to remember on the European poker circuit with over a dozen final tables and a win at the WPT National Championship in Denmark.

Schulman, a long-time pro who already has a WPT title under his belt, sits fourth with 1,555,000 in chips and likewise won't be intimidated by Rettenmaier's lead.

Underdogs but still in the mix in the final six are Trevor Pope (1,480,000) and Phillipe Ktorza (895,000), who has already battled back into contention after being down to just five big blinds on Day 4.

Moon Busts, Serock Wins Player of the Year

Bubbling the final table in seventh place was WPT Bay 101 winner Moon Kim who had a shot at winning the WPT Player of the Year title with a third-place finish or higher.

Instead, Joe Serock will claim the title for Season X on the back of his 10th-place finish in this event and two third-place finishes.

Joe Serock, WPT Player of the Year.

Serock joins an elite group of past winners of the WPT Player of the Year award including Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Jonathan Little, Gavin Smith and Daniel Negreanu.

Final Table Saturday with Live Streaming

With a day off tomorrow as the Super High Roller plays down to a winner, play will resume on Saturday from the Bellagio in Las Vegas at 4 pm.

Live streaming with hole cards and commentary from Tony Dunst and Dan O'Brien will start at WPT.com at 4:30 pm.

Chip counts and seat assignments for the final table: Seat 1: Michael Mizrachi - 2,560,000 (43 BBs) Seat 2: Marvin Rettenmaier - 6,715,000 (112 BBs) Seat 3: Steve O'Dwyer - 2,035,000 (34 BBs) Seat 4: Nick Schulman - 1,555,000 (26 BBs) Seat 5: Trevor Pope - 1,480,000 (25 BBs) Seat 6: Philippe Ktorza - 895,000 (15 BBs)

For a full recap of Day 6 action, check the WPT Live Updates page.

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Daily 3-Bet: durrrr Air, Negreanu Fold, Dirty Poker Secret

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:04:03 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find the return of NBC’s Poker After Dark (again), Daniel Negreanu explaining his controversial fold at the WPT Championship and Jake Cody’s dirty little WSOP secret.

1) Poker After Dark Cash Game with durrrr, Ivey to Air June 4

Originally rumored to be airing back in March, CardPlayer.com is reporting “a source close to the show” now says the never-before-seen cash game from the Poker After Dark archives will finally air on June 4.

With a $200k min buy-in, the lineup had only truly deep-pocket cash-game players including Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, David Oppenheim, Eli Elezra and David "Viffer" Peat.

Filmed at Aria in Las Vegas, the show was originally scheduled to air late last year before PAD got shut down in September.

In case you forgot how much fun it is to watch durrrr at a TV poker table, check this clip (and the verbal Lederer thrashing at 3:09):

2) Negreanu Explains Middle-Set Fold at WPT Championship

In case you missed it this week, besides dusting off two $100k bullets in the WPT High Roller event Daniel Negreanu also played (and busted) from the $25k WPT Championship.

Prior to his bustout, Negreanu played an interesting hand with JohnnyBax they both tweeted about. Long story short, Negreanu folded middle set on a AJ8dd board. Bax claimed he had aces, but only showed the A♦.

It naturally spurred some discussion among the armchair Tweeterbacks and Negreanu has answered the call for explanation in his weekly rant.

Getting into WSOP mode, Negreanu also introduced his own free Fantasy Pool giveaway (win 1% of his WSOP take) and talked about his own $25k fantasy draft. He then mentioned laser hair removal.

Go here for the fantasy contest; check the rant below (hand analysis at 10:30):

3) Jake Cody’s WSOP Secret: Party After You Win

With the 2012 WSOP just 72 hours away, if you’re looking for tips on how to get yourself off on the right foot there's no better mentor than Brit Jake Cody.

Cody won the very first open event on the WSOP schedule last year - the $25k No-Limit Heads-Up Championship - for almost $900k, which is pretty much the best World Series of Poker foot you can get off on.

Jake’s secret to success? Waking up at the same times, having the same drinks, a Mickey Mouse hoodie and the idea it’s better to wait until after you win to go out and celebrate.

See you at Disneyland:

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Bonomo Soars to WPT Super High Roller Lead

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:03:57 -0700

Bonomo ended with 1.4 million chips and will be looking to add another Super High Roller title to the one he recently took down for €1.6 million at the EPT Grand Final.

Registration in the WPT World Championship Super High Roller remains open until just before the 1 p.m. start on Day 2 but when play concluded on Day 1 there were a total of 32 $100k buy ins (six of which were rebuys) for the massive event.

The field is made up mostly of pros with Dan Smith, Brian Hastings, Isaac Haxton, Galen Hall, Justin Smith, Tom Marchese, Phil Galfond, Jason Mercier, Erik Seidel, Sam Trickett and Andrew Robl on location.

After 10 levels of play the field was cut down to 19 players with Bonomo, Jean Noel Thorel, Tom Marchese, Dan Smith and Sam Trickett all in the top five.

Bonomo had to battle back from an early setback when he lost the majority of his stack in a big hand against Marchese.

Negreanu, ElkY Bust, Rebuy Still Open

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Michael Parziale, Rob Zeps and Clemenceau Calixto all busted on Day 1 but they’ll have the option of rebuying up until 1 p.m. on Day 2.

Marchese, Mercier and Robl were among the players who opted to rebuy on Day 1.

Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu had the misfortune of busting twice before finally admitting defeat.

The official prizepool for the 2012 WPT World Championship Super High Roller won’t be available until alter today but it’s already in excess of $3 million.

With 10 more buy ins the Super High Roller event could potentially surpass the regular WPT World Championship, which is still ongoing with a final table set for Saturday.

Action resumes in the Super High Roller at 1 p.m. today. You can check the WPT live update team to follow along.

Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts at the end of Day 1:

Justin Bonomo – 1.4 million Jean Noel Thorel – 1.2 million Tom Marchese – 1.07 million Dan Smith – 913,000 Sam Trickett – 890,000 Andrew Robl – 813,000 Bill Klein – 740,000 Isaac Haxton – 716,000 Phil Galfond – 710,000 David Sands – 707,000

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Rettenmaier Leads Final 9 at WPT World Championship

Wed, 23 May 2012 22:20:03 -0700

The popular German pro, who recently switched sponsors from Titan to Party, has been near the top of the leaderboard from the jump at the $25k WPT World Championship at Bellagio and heads an elite final nine players into Day 6 tomorrow.

Rettenmaier laid fairly low for most of the day before surging near the end to finish with 3,757,000 chips and the outright lead.

That puts him a solid 600k ahead of second place Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and two million clear of the rest of the field.

Arieh Bubbles, Ktorza Rampages

Starting the day with 19 players and a money bubble that hit at 18, just one unfortunate soul had to go before players could count a profit in this one.

That soul turned out to be veteran pro Josh Arieh, who returned on Day 5 with just seven big blinds and couldn’t make them last longer than 20 minutes.

Bubble boy.

The lucky beneficiary of Arieh busting was Phillipe Ktorza. Ktorza came into the day with even fewer blinds (5) than Arieh but an early double-up got him up to 10 blinds and past the bubble.

Even better, Ktorza hung in a while longer, doubled again, then tripled up and 10 hours later now sits in the final nine in seventh place with 977,000 in chips.

O’Dwyer, Khan, Schulman Lingering

Joining Ktorza, Rettenmaier and Mizrachi tomorrow for Day 6 are a number of veteran players equally capable of making a run at the final six.

Hafiz Khan, Day 4 chipleader, hung on in fourth place and bagged up 1,641,000 to give himself plenty of room to make a move tomorrow.

Dangerous pros Steve O’Dwyer and Nick Schulman also linger just behind with 1,643,000 and 1,350,000 in chips, respectively.

Moon Kim, winner of WPT Bay 101 earlier this year, sits in sixth with 1,139,000 while Trevor Pope (800,000) and Wil Wilkinson (705,000) round out the final nine.

In an interesting twist, Kim can also still win the WPT Player of the Year crown depending on where he finishes.

Joe Serock, who was eliminated 10th today, is the current leader in the WPT Player of the Year race with 2,200 points but Kim can tie him with a fourth-place finish or win the title outright with a third-place showing or better.

O'Dwyer: Might be good at poker.

Three to Go Tomorrow, Final Saturday

As a result of an interesting schedule quirk, players return tomorrow at noon but will only play until three players have been eliminated and the TV final table of six is left.

Then they won’t pick up again until Saturday as the WPT set is in use for the final table of the WPT $100k Super High Roller on Friday.Official chip counts heading into Day 6:

1. Marvin Rettenmaier - 3,757,000 (75 BBs) 2. Michael Mizrachi - 3,124,000 (62 BBs) 3. Steve O'Dwyer - 1,643,000 (32 BBs)4. Hafiz Khan - 1,641,000 (32 BBs) 5. Nick Schulman - 1,350,000 (27 BBs) 6. Moon Kim - 1,139,000 (22 BBs) 7. Philippe Ktorza - 977,000 (19 BBs) 8. Trevor Pope - 800,000 (16 BBs) 9. Wil Wilkinson - 705,000 (14 BBs)

Follow along with both events at the WPT Live Updates page.

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ElkY: The WSOP Big One Bubble Will be Sick

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:50:00 -0700

The Big One for One Drop is the first $1 million buy-in event ever, and Grospellier is one of 30 people who have officially committed to playing.

“I’m lucky because I don’t think about the money too much, I really play for the love of the game, but when you’re on the bubble it’s hard not to think about it,” ElkY told PokerListings.com on a break from the recent €100k Super High Roller at EPT Monte Carlo.

“This bubble was €300k and that’s the biggest I’ve ever played, so a $2 million bubble is going to be sick,” he said.

Grospellier went on to finish third in that tournament, good for almost $820k.

He added that to a career total that tips the scales at $9.1 million. He could triple that by winning the Big One this summer.

The event is capped at 48 players, and it’s expected to hit that cap.

ElkY won his first WSOP bracelet in 2011.

That means the first-place prize will be roughly $18.2 million, the biggest in poker tournament history.

Charity Component is Key

And while the enormous price tag is the first thing people see, the 11 percent of every buy-in that’s going to One Drop is what holds people’s attention.

“It’s going to be the biggest event ever but the fact it’s for a good cause is going to be really good for poker’s image, especially with everything that’s happened in the last year or two,” said ElkY.

Guy Laliberte is the man behind poker’s first seven-figure buy-in, as well as the driving force behind One Drop, a non-governmental organization that seeks to improve living conditions around the world by providing access to water.

“I am surprised it’s been so successful just because it was kind of a crazy idea,” said ElkY.

Grospellier might have been skeptical about whether other players would go for it but he didn’t hesitate to deposit his million to lock up a seat, and make a $111k donation to Laliberte’s NGO.

“Paying 11 percent for charity when it’s a hundred bucks or something is one thing, but when it’s a million it’s a little different,” he said.

“I’m so happy to be a part of it and I think it shows how generous a lot of poker players really are.”

If the Big One at the 2012 WSOP reaches the 48-player cap it will raise over $5.33 million for One Drop.

To put that in perspective, the fourth and final Ante Up for Africa event at the 2010 WSOP raised just $275,000.

11 percent of ElkY's $1 million buy-in will go to One Drop.

The Big One Will Make History

In addition to the biggest prize in poker history, the Big One will award bragging rights that are tough to match.

Joining elite poker pros like Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan and ElkY is a large group of amateur yet immensely wealthy businessmen looking to take down the WSOP’s first ever platinum bracelet.

One seat is being awarded through the Quebec lottery, and the WSOP has implemented an extensive satellite program that will give players a route to the Big One for as little as $65.

“The money will be big but it’s also such a special event, we don’t even know if there will ever be another one,” said Grospellier.

And it’s going to be an exciting event for players like ElkY, players who aren’t afraid to make moves with a ton of money on the line.

“Bluffs are definitely going to work a lot better in this event. People won’t want to bust,” he said.

PokerListings.com will be on location at the 2012 WSOP providing full live coverage of the Big One for One Drop.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Daily 3-Bet: Hellmuth Haters, WSOP Crushers, 10 Dark Horses

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:21:22 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Phil Hellmuth asking for it, WSOP crushers getting their due and 10 other, lesser-known players to bet on having a big world series.

1) Hellmuth Launches New PhilHellmuth.com, Welcomes Haters

We’ll try and keep the gratuitous promotion to a minimum but we'd be remiss to ignore the relaunch of the new PhilHellmuth.com.

Still slightly slim on content, the new design features sections set for Poker, Sports, Lifestyle and Philanthropy and promises “not just a look into the world of yours truly, but also a place where you can share great stuff with fellow fans and me.”

Other sections include a forum (welcome back 1996!), an online shop with Poker Brat merchandise (who needs a motivational speech?) and an mp3 stream of what’s on Phil’s headphones.

Watch Phil talk about the new site from the Aria in Las Vegas, ask people to tell him how much they hate him and show off his new/used BMW Alpina:

2) Le, Lamb, Leah, Buchanan Best World Series Fantasy Picks?

Always bet on Buch.

World Series of Poker Fantasy Drafts are all the rage these days and if you want to know who the best horses to pick are (by actual stats, not poker forum cred) the WSOP puts out a great, comprehensive media guide every year with just the kind of info you need.

Cashing stats are broken down into several categories including most cashes overall, most money won and best cashing percentage with stats all the way back to the beginning of the WSOP in the 70s.

The WSOP media team was even kind enough to break last year's results up by players in 5, 10, 20 or 30 events so you can really see where the value is.

As you might expect there are some givens (Ben Lamb duh) but definitely some surprises. Top cash percentage in 2011 playing a minimum of 5 events? Tommy Le, who cashed four times for an 80% cash rate.

Best cash rate for players with 30 events or more? That would be Mike "goLeafsgo"Leah, who cashed five times for a 16% success rate.

Top number of cashes in the 2000s? None other than Phil Hellmuth with 52. Tops in the 2010s? Canada’s Shawn Buchanan with 17.

In other words, it's your ticket to Fantasy glory. FYI pages 37 and 54 have the goods. Download the media guide here.

3) Shuffle Up and Venti from Rio Starbucks

Speaking of WSOP crushers, we found this "Top 10 Dark Horses at the WSOP" list from new player on the WSOP media scene Shuffle Up and Venti.

By the sounds of it, said media person will be posting updates and highlights entirely from the Rio Starbucks all summer. A few intro pieces are up on the site so far including this list of players you may or may not have heard of.

We like it because a) it mentions our own Top 5 picks and upcoming WSOP coverage and b) it seconds our Marcel Bjerkmann pick.

Seriously. We think this kid is good. Now he just has to win something again.

If you don’t know who he is, check the video below with the ridiculously hot Gael Garcia Diaz. Check out Shuffle Up and Venti here.

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Khan, Rettenmaier On Point at WPT Championship

Tue, 22 May 2012 22:14:18 -0700

Khan, a California native with $2.3 million in career earnings but no major title to his credit, is the outright leader heading into Day 5 with 1.96 million in chips.

Rettenmaier, the popular German and newly minted Party Poker pro, sits just behind him at 1.87 million entering tomorrow.

It’s far from a two-man show however as veteran pros Nick Schulman (1.32 million), Michael Mizrachi (1.17 million), Steve O’Dwyer (1.08 million) and Matt Juteelstad (935,000) are all still in contention.

Mizrachi earned his spot with a double elimination of Jonathan Little and Antonio Esfandiari late in the day, sucking out with QJ on Little's AK and Esfandiari's KJ when a queen hit the turn.

Pros Barry Shulman (353,000), Joe Serock (244,000) and Josh Arieh (127,000) are also still alive but well below the average stack.

Arieh in particular will have a lot of work to do just to survive the money bubble at 18 tomorrow as he sits with just just seven big blinds.

Phillipe Ktorza is even worse off than Arieh with just 5 BBs left, but despite being given the option to continue playing until the bubble broke, one player said he had plans so they called it a night one player shy.

Had to settle for 25th.

Serock, meanwhile, needs to finish higher than 15th place to snag the WPT Season X Player of the Year award away from Will "The Thrill" Failla.

Players will return to the Bellagio at noon tomorrow for the restart with blinds at 8,000/16,000 and a 2,000 ante.

18 Get Paid, $1.2 Million Up Top for the Winner

With a final tally of 152 players, 18 players will get paid at this year’s Championship with a min cash starting at $40,266.

Everyone in the final six is assured of at least $155, 571. The winner will take home an impressive $1,196,858 while the runner-up will score $805,310.

Among the big-name pros to fall just short of a payday despite four full days of play were Jonathan Little (20th), Antonio Esfandiari (21st), Noah Schwartz (22nd), Sam Trickett (25th), David Steicke (27th), JP Kelly (36th), David “Doc” Sands (37th) and Matthew Waxman (40th).

Follow the action live starting at noon tomorrow via the WPT Live Updates page.

The Top 10 and chip counts heading into Day 5:

1. Hafiz Khan 1,966,0002. Marvin Rettenmaier 1,870,0003. Nick Schulman 1,315,0004. Trevor Pope 1,300,0005. Wil Wilkinson 1,197,0006. Moon Kim 1,194,0007. Michael Mizrachi 1,168,0008. John Esposito 1,080,0009. Steve O'Dwyer 1,079,00010. Matt Juttelstad 935,000

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Daily 3-Bet: Thor Score, On Shorr, Jungleman Gift to Poor

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:53:32 -0700

Any suggestion for a future 3-Bet, feel free to leave a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Thor Hansen making a triumphant return to the online felt, Shannon Shorr bringing a new perspective into the WSOP and Dan “Jungleman12” Cates trading good deeds for a free Main Event seat.

1) Thor Hansen Recovering Well, Takes Fourth in SCOOP event

Osten back in action.

The thoughts of the poker community have been with Norwegian poker godfather Thor Hansen for much of the last six months as he’s returned to Norway for medical treatment in his battle against cancer.

By several recent accounts Hansen has responded well and has been doing much better, and if this past week is any indication it seems the reports may even be an understatement.

Reported by our sister site, PokerListings Norway, Hansen returned to the online felt to play in the 2012 PokerStars SCOOP under his screen name “osten” and placed fourth in Event 38-M, $215 HORSE.

Hansen has made over $2.6 million in poker tournaments for his career (and countless more in cash games), so the $8,205 cash might not seem like much, but to show he’s back on the road to recovery that number is pretty priceless.

Best wishes and continued run-good to Thor Hansen from everyone at PokerListings.

For the full report in Norwegian, check PokerListings Norway here.

For more about what Hansen has accomplished in the game and his impact on those who've met him, read this great piece by Michael Craig here.

2) New, Improved Shannon Shorr Back for Seventh WSOP

Remember Shannon Shorr?

New and improved.

Once one of the brightest stars in the game, Shorr had a blazing debut to his poker career in 2006/2007 that included dozens of cashes and a nearly $1-million win at the Bellagio Cup II.

With $3.9 million in career tournament earnings, Shorr has clearly done well for himself as a poker professional.

Still, as most young pros who storm onto the scene tend to find out, it's not always an easy road. The last few years haven't exactly been the smoothest, Shorr says in his latest blog post, and his results over the last year have been underwhelming.

What is encouraging, though? Shorr's attitude and lifestyle changes that have put him in a better place and better state of mind.

He's returned to school to finish his degree, taught himself how to eat right and grown closer to his family in the process.

By any definition he's a great success and, despite the ups and downs of poker, hopes to turn that into more success at this year's WSOP.

If more young players were as thoughtful and reflective as Shorr, the game would be a lot better off.

Read his full post about what he's learned over the last six-and-a-half years in poker here.

3) Dan “Jungleman12” Cates Offers Main Event Buy-In in Exchange for Good Deed

Remember last year when Dan “Jungleman12” Cates raffled off a WSOP Main Event buy-in so a first-timer could live out a dream?

That was pretty great.

Cates is offering up another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a WSOP first-timer this year - only this time it comes with a hook.

Cates is asking players to film themselves doing a good deed and post the video on YouTube. He'll pick his favorites and fans will vote on the winner.

The chosen one will receive the Main Event buy-in, a hotel package for the tournament and a free poker lesson from Cates himself.

Says Cates: “I’m doing this because I remember the days in which I was a low-stakes grinder and I remember all the struggles I went through just to have a shot at amking any kind of real money.”

There are a few rules, so be sure to check them out here. Video of Cates's announcement below:

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Tech Worker Satellites into $1 Million WSOP Big One

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:13:05 -0700

The 33-year-old Nahas, who hails from Ottawa, overcame a 55-player field at the Casino du Lac-Leamy in Quebec to win a seat in the biggest buy-in tournament ever held.

It was originally Nahas’ friend, Keith Hamilton, who won a seat into a qualifier playing slots. Hamilton wasn’t a poker player so he convinced Nahas to play.

Nahas, a casual poker player who works in the tech industry at a company called Irdeto, won that tournament and qualified for the final $25k satellite that took place this week.

He will now head to Vegas to represent Casino du Lac-Leamy at the 2012 WSOP $1 million buy-in Big One this summer July 1-3.

First place is estimated to be the biggest in poker history with $15 million up for grabs if the event hits the player cap of 48.

Nahas will face some of the best poker players in the world including Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, Daniel Negreanu and Jonathan Duhamel.

Surprisingly Nahas won’t be the only recreational poker player in the massive tournament as several wealthy businessman, perhaps thanks to 10% going to charity One Drop, have also committed to play.

Phil Hellmuth

Jeans89, Hellmuth Express Interest in Playing

The Big One for One Drop continues to gain momentum in the poker playing community as both Jens “Jeans89” Kyllonen, Phil Hellmuth and Eugene Katchalov mentioned interest in playing this weekend.

Jeans89, for his part, said he was going to play the event entirely on his own bankroll with no backers. Kyllonen is renowned for his online cash game ability and won $1.3 million in online poker last year.

Meanwhile Hellmuth, who owns an all-time best 11 WSOP bracelets, said he was about 80% sure he was going to play and had already lined up $550k from his backers.

Katchalov is one of the most successful live tournament players in recent history with over $7 million in profit since 2007 and confirmed via Twitter he intended to play.

In an odd move an unknown amateur player from Chicago listed all his action in the Big One on eBay this week. The auction is open to anyone and for $1 million, plus $1,000 to win the eBay auction, they can lock up 100% of the player’s potential winnings.

Vivek Rajkumar, Nick Schulman and Fabrice Tuile are also rumored to play.

There are currently 30 players officially confirmed for the Big One including:

1. Guy Laliberté

2. Phil Ruffin

3. Andy Beal

4. Montreal private citizen group (Sean O’Donnell)

5. Loto-Québec/Casino Montreal seat (Lottery scratch-off/live satellite)

6. Cary Katz

7. Paul Newey

8. Richard Yong

9. Erik Seidel

10. Anonymous – U.S. Venture Capitalist

11. Anonymous – European Hedge Fund Manager

12. Anonymous – U.S. Hedge Fund Manager

13. Anonymous – French businessman

14. Caesars Entertainment seat

15. Caesars Entertainment via June 30 $25,300 satellite at Rio

16. MGM Mirage Satellite seat

17. Bobby Baldwin

18. Patrik Antonius

19. Gus Hansen

20. Daniel Negreanu

21. Johnny Chan

22. Tom Dwan

23. Tony Guoga

24. Jonathan Duhamel

25. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier

26. Daniel Shak

27. Justin Smith

28. Bob Bright

29. Arnaud Mimran

30. Paul Phua

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Nick “GripDsNutz” Grippo Wins SCOOP Main Event

Mon, 21 May 2012 22:15:32 -0700

Grippo, a veteran online grinder from Chicago now living in Costa Rica, took home $798,675 along with the traditional SCOOP watch for the title after a three-way chop with runner-up sp00led from Canada and third-place finisher sosickPL from Poland.

Coming into the final table third in chips, Grippo had taken over the chip lead within the first hour of play and after knocking out German player römpsä to boost his stack up over 2 million never looked back.

By the time they reached three-handed play a deal began to look appealing and after a dozen or so hands play was paused to discuss splitting up the $2.2 million still on the table.

Despite being third in chips at that point it was Grippo who insisted on an even chop, saying "Before we look at numbers ill take an even chop and nothing else."

After some discussion the three players agreed to leave $80k to play for and each took a guaranteed $718,675.

w00ki3z gets a min-cash.

GripDsNutz went on to knock out both sosickPL and SpOOled and that was that for the 2012 SCOOP.

Among the big names cashing in on the SCOOP Main Event were:

Dan "w00ki3z" Cates (58th - $22,748) Sorel "zangbezan24" Mizzi (46th - $24,299) Jon "FatalError" Aguiar (42nd - $24,299) Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen (39th - $25,850) Rory "Mafews' Mathews (35th - $28,435) Ben “NeverScaredB” Wilonofsky (31st - $28,435) Calvin "cal42688" Anderson (27th - $31,020) Griffin "Flush_Entity" Benger (26th - $31,020) William "Altrum Altus" Reynolds (19th - $31,020) Andre Akkari (16th - $41,360) Stefan Huber (14th - $51,700) Matt Frankland (10th - $62,040)

Final Results Event 40-High, $10,300 No-Limit Hold'em, Main Event (*reflects three-way deal):

1. GripDsNutz (Costa Rica) -- $798,675* 2. sp00led (Canada) -- $718,675* 3. sosickPL (Poland) -- $718,675* 4. UrMySponsor (Germany) -- $403,260 5. wizowizo (Germany) -- $284,350 6. hotmark777 (Lebanon) -- $219,725 7. r4st4f4ri (Germany) -- $168,025 8. römpsä (Germany) -- $116,325 9. B4d3m3!st3r (Germany) -- $85,822.00

Ministerborg Narrowly Misses Second Title, ElkY Outlasts 22,000

While the $10k high buy-in Main Event was the ultimate capper on the series, the medium and low buy-in events were also playing out with equally interesting story lines.

Runs the 22k gauntlet but comes up just short.

In Event $40-M, $1,050 N0-Limit Hold'em, PokerStars pro Jude "j.thaddeus" Ainsworth carried the torch for the returning pros on Day 2 but could muster no better than a 23rd-place finish.

Denmark's ministerborg, however, who had already won the high buy-in Event 21 NL, began Day 2 in the Top 10 in chips and narrowly missed joining the rakns of the two-title winners as he eventually fell heads-up to Bulgarian suarez_BG.

In the low buy-in $109 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event, a massive field of 22,128 played down over two days to reach a final table and PokerStars pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was amazingly almost one of the last men standing.

ElkY outlasted over 22,000 players before busting out just before the final table in 14th.

Greek player john_tri80 ultimately took home the title and $198,725.75 while FrandsenDK from Denmark finished second. Fiskin1 finished third while also making the final table in Event 39.

Final results for both events below; for a full recap of all the SCOOP action and the record-breaking numbers, check the PokerStars blog.

Final Results Event #40-M $1,050 NL Main Event:

1. suarez_BG (Bulgaria) - $560,019 2. ministerborg (Denmark) - $417,339 3. hunwei (Australia) - $296,061 4. PSÄ! (Malta) - $205,102.50 5. carrycakes (Mexico) - $152,703.27 6. scrooch025 (Belgium) - $115,927.50 7. Donny "dknight10" Knight (Costa Rica) - $80,257.50 8. Korn2005 (Canada)- $44,587.50 9. IRLMedic (Ireland) - $28,536

Final Results Event #40-L $109 NLHE Main Event:

1. john_tri80 (Greece) - $198,725.75* 2. FrandsenDK (Denmark) - $187,000.00* 3. Fiskin1 (UK) - $110,640.00 4. T_Dot_D (Canada) - $88,512.00 5. flowstone80 (Germany) - $66,384.00 6. Lyznypapa (Poland) - $44,256.00 7. Jonath3501 (UK) - $31,089.84 8. slavOuchka (New Zealand) - $19,915.20 9. MrWeesy (Germany) - $13,276.80

*Based on two-way deal with $20K added to winner's money

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Esfandiari, Schulman Go Big on WPT Day 3

Mon, 21 May 2012 22:09:15 -0700

When the final level expired Schulman had amassed 768,000 chips while Esfandiari held 632,000.

Esfandiari and Schulman are both in the top 25 all-time cash winners on the World Poker Tour and will look to leap even higher up that list with a possible victory in this year’s World Championship.

No one could catch Curt Kohlberg on Day 3, however, as the Boston poker pro picked up 918,000 chips by the end of the day.

A total of 45 players booked an appearance in Day 4 and the field is still littered with poker pros.

Michael Mizrachi, David Steicke, Jonathan Little, Marvin Rettenmaier, Josh Arieh, Joe Serock, Barry Shulman and Steve O’Dwyer are amongst the numerous well-known pros who bagged up chips at the end of Day 3.

Not everyone was so lucky as Vanessa Rousso, John Juanda, Lee Markholt, Phil Hellmuth, Scott Seiver, Todd Terry, Justin Smith and John Racener all hit the rail.

Canadian Daniel Negreanu was eliminated mid-way through Day 3 but not before making an incredible laydown where he folded a set of jacks to Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy who had flopped a set of aces.

Nick Schulman

Registration Closes with 152 Players

In an unprecedented move, the WPT left registration in the World Championship open for Day 3.

When registration finally closed towards the end of Day 3 a total of 152 players had paid the $25,000 buy-in to play. It ended up being the second smallest field in WPT World Championship history.

The players combined to create an overall prizepool of $3.6 million with $1.1 million dedicated to first place. The final 18 players will be paid.

It’s a far cry from 2006 when Carlos Mortensen topped a 639-player field to take down a first-place prize worth nearly $4 million.

That 2006 first-place prize alone is worth more than the entire prizepool at this year's World Championship.

Action resumes at 12 p.m. at Bellagio in Las Vegas tomorrow with the final table set to take place later this week. You can follow the action with the WPT live update team.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

2012 SCOOP Biggest Online Tourney Series Ever

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:06:56 -0700

Instead, the PokerStars 2012 SCOOP is now the biggest and richest online poker tournament series in history.

With a few events still ongoing but registration now closed, the official payout tally reached $65,332,179 across 120 events, beating the previous best of around $64.2 million set in 2010.

The 2012 PokerStars SCOOP has also drawn the most participants in online poker history with 526,154 entries, crushing the previous best of 461,936 in the 2010 SCOOP.

With the US market previously making up a large percentage of players, the rest of the world has picked up the slack with 156 countries represented and over 130 making cashes.

A small group of Americans who have relocated to other parts of the world have also been participating with several, including runaway Player of the Series Shaun Deeb, dominating at the tables.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Mizrachi Bags Lead After WPT Championship Day 2

Sun, 20 May 2012 17:22:08 -0700

Mizrachi, himself a WPT champ and one of the winningest poker players for all time, was down to just 10,000 in chips at one point yesterday before pushing Isaac Baron off a hand with 2♦ 4♦ to move back above the 150k chip mark.

He parlayed those chips into a slow and steady climb on Day 2 today to finish the day at 428,200 – securely in the chip lead and about 50k above second place Rinat Bogdanov.

Rounding out the top five entering Day 3 tomorrow are Frenchman Guillaume Darcourt (356,600), Hong Kong-based high-roller specialist David Steicke (345,500) and online heads-up icon Isaac Haxton (313,500).

Steve O’Dwyer, an Amercian pro who has made a big name for himself in Europe post-Black Friday, sits just off the lead pack in seventh with 301,900.

95 Remain, Registration Still Open

Rettenmaier: Party favorite.

In a bit of an unusual move for the WPT Championship, egistration is actually still open until the middle of Day 3 tomorrow so final numbers and payouts are still to be determined.

As of right now, 95 players remain from 135 original registrants. And as expected, the field is bursting with pros and past WPT winners.

Previous WPT champs of note still in the field include John Hennigan, David Chiu, Nick Schulman, Matt Waxman, Scott Seiver, David Williams and Jake Cody.

Also still in the tournament with a decent shot at a payday are Brian Hastings, Sam Trickett, newly named Party Poker pro Marvin Rettenmaier, John Juanda and Vanessa Rousso.

Big-name bustouts on the first two days have included Sam Stein, Tony Dunst, Vanessa Selbst, Daniel Negreanu, David Benyamine, Isaac Baron, Phil Laak and Erik Seidel.

Catch up with all the action with the WPT live update team starting at noon tomorrow from the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Deeb Makes History, Schwartz SCOOPs First

Sun, 20 May 2012 07:15:27 -0700

With his three titles this year all in Stud, Deeb was clearly in his comfort zone in Event #38-H, $2,100 H.O.R.S.E., with 60% of the games Stud variants.

Adding in a little bit of run good, Deeb was again unstoppable and ran by a final table that included tough pros Jon Spinks, Jon "FatalError" Aguiar, George Lind and Dylan "ImaLucSac" Linde.

With just 85 players registering, the field was void of soft spots with usual suspects like Eugene Katchalov, Bertrand Grospellier and Lind in the mix.

Undaunted, Deeb swept to his fourth title in just two weeks and added $46,325 to his 2012 SCOOP haul, now up to $236,951.39.

Despite his four wins, Deeb isn't the highest money earner in the 2012 SCOOP (Isildur1 - $438k) but he does have a commanding lead in the Player of the Series race.

Deeb's 825 points is nearly double that of second place Drew M Scott. He’s also tied for the lead with 25 cashes and has eight final tables - again double his nearest competitior.

Final Results Event #38-H ($2,100 H.O.R.S.E.):

1. Shaun "shaundeeb" Deeb (Mexico) $46,325.00 2. Jon "LUFCBas" Spinks (United Kingdom) $31,450.00 3. Dylan "ImaLucSac" Linde (Canada) $23,800.00 4. BiatchPeople (United Kingdom) $16,150.00 5. Andrey "Kroko-dill" Zaichenko (Russia) $11,900.00 6. Sivokhan (Ukraine) $8,925.00 7. Jonathan "FatalError" Aguiar (Mexico) $7,225.00 8. George "Jorj95" Lind III (Canada) $5,525.00

Schwartz, Sowers Keep Pros Rolling

Another $174k for Jakeys.

The list of big-name pros with SCOOP titles this year continues to get longer with both Luke “lb6121” Schwartz and Mike “Sowerss” Sowers each earning a SCOOP title of their own last night.

Schwartz, famously known for livening up the online high-stakes cash games as “_FullFlush1_”, won his first SCOOP title in Event #36-H ($5,200 PLO 6-max).

Schwartz topped 134 players overall to take the top prize of $174,200 from the $600k+ prize pool.

Among the pros Schwartz outlasted in his fourth career SCOOP final-table appearance were WSOP bracelet winner Joe "enders555" Ebanks and EPT champ Nicolas Chouity.

Sowers, one of the top online players of the last five years, earned his first SCOOP title in the medium buy-in version of Event #36.

Full results for both events below:

Final Results Event #36-H $5,200 PLO 6-max:

1. Luke "lb6121" Schwartz (United Kingdom) $174,200 2. MrDurden (Canada) $117,250.00 3. Nicolas "niccc" Chouity (Lebanon) $87,100 4. GlassOfBeer (Finland) $56,950.00 5. Jorge "twin-caracas" Arias (Venezuela) $43,500.00 6. Joe "ender555" Ebanks (United Kingdom) $30,150.00

Final Results Event #36-M, $530 PLO 6-max:

1. Mike "Sowerss" Sowers (Costa Rica) -- $61,290 2. BackDoorovic (Sweden) -- $45,967.50 3. TheHood (Australia) -- $34,050 4. Jarfish (Canada) -- $23,835 5. xxMatSon (Finland) -- $17,025 6. gillete (Canada) -- $10,025

Just six events of the 2012 SCOOP remain including all three levels of the Main Event with $5 million total guaranteed.

Watch the action play out today on PokerStars or look for recaps here and on the PokerStars blog.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Faraz "The-Toilet 0" Jaka Drains Field for SCOOP Title

Sat, 19 May 2012 07:53:03 -0700

But, as the rich tend to get richer, Jaka can now add a PokerStars SCOOP title to his resume as he took down an extremely tough field to win Event #33-H, $2,100 No-Limit Hold’em (1R+ 1A), yesterday.

Prize Pool Fattened, Final Table Tough

With one rebuy and one add-on allowed per player, Event #33 drew a solid 175 runners but the prize pool ballooned to a massive $808,000 with 120 re-buys and 109 add-ons.

As expected, dozens of top pros were involved including Team PokerStars pros Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Johnny Lodden, Eugene Katchalov and 2012 Player of the Series lock Shaun Deeb.

For a while it looked like Deeb might make an unprecedented run at a fourth title but he ultimately dropped out in 12th, well into the money but just short of the final table.

That didn’t make the final table much easier for Jaka, though, as Randall “RandALLin” Flowers, Rory “Mafews” Matthews and PokerStars pro Max Lykov were all still around.

None could match Jaka, however, as he took the fourth-largest chip stack and ran it up all the way to the title and a $173,729 payout.

Final Table Results Event #33-H $2,100 NL (1R+1A)

1. Faraz "The-Toilet 0" Jaka (Mexico) - $173,720 2. HC_68 (Austria) - $125,240 3. zugzwang16 (Uruguay) - $94,940 4. römpsä (Finland) - $70,700 5. Max Lykov (Russia) - $48,480 6. Sphinx87 (Poland) - $40,400 7. HITTHEPANDA (Canada) - $32,320 8. RandALLin (Mexico) - $24,240 9. Mafews (U.K.) - $16,160

Dan “djk123” Kelly Narrowly Misses Title #2

With Shaun Deeb, Viktor Blom and a couple of other players notching multiple event wins, the bar has been set high for success this SCOOP.

Dan "djk123" Kelly can put himself in that successful group despite just narrowly missing out on a second title last night.

djk123: Always a threat.

Winner of Event #29-M on Thursday, Kelly made another deep run in Event #34-H, the $5k Limit Hold'em Six-Max, but fell just short in third place.

With just 62 players the field was wall-to-wall pros including Ville Wahlbeck, ElkY and Andre Akkari but it was ultimately high-stakes veteran ibadbeatyou who took home the title and $93,000.

Kelly earned $46,500 for third and pro Bryn Kenney $31,000 for fourth.

Final Results Event #34-H, $5,200 LHE 6-Max:

1st place: ibadbeatyou (Taiwan) - $93,000.00 2nd place: valesco (Canada) - $62,000.00 3rd place: djk123 (Australia) - $46,500.00 4th place: BrynKenney (Spain) - $31,000.00 5th place: MaiseE (Sweden) - $23,250.00 6th place: treezer (Sweden) - $17,050.00

For a full rundown of all the day's action and winners, check the PokerStars SCOOP page.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

PartyPoker Kicks Off Championship Challenge

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:09:47 -0700

Running from now until July 1, PartyPoker players will have a chance to collect one random football player for every 10 Party Points they generate.

There are a total of 64 players up for grabs and all 16 teams of the Euro Cup are represented.

You can win a variety of cash prizes for collecting players but the first player who collects all 64 unique footballers will receive a monster $100,000 prize.

If that seems out of your league you can still win seats in freerolls and up to $20 cash for individual players.

Even better if you collect an entire team you will receive an even bigger prize from $50 for England up to $1,200 for host Euro Cup host Poland.

It gets even better if you collect an entire group, which is four teams, with prizes ranging from $2,000 to $7,000.

You can collect up to 100 football players every day but the promotion will end when the first player collects all 64 players.

2012 WSOP Qualifying Ongoing

If football isn’t your game PartyPoker is also in the midst of its 2012 WSOP qualifying, which gives you a variety of ways to qualify for huge $14,000 packages to the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.

New players also receive access to the special $5,000 bankroll boosters, which take place every week and are an excellent way to bolster your online account balance.

To sign up for an account and be eligible for our exclusive sign-up bonus and freerolls, download the software via our PartyPoker review.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Daily 3-Bet: Boeree Slip, Investing Gift, WPT Old Guns

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:31:53 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to leave a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Liv Boeree lamenting the loss of her fine motor skills, rich investors stealing from poker players and the WPT Young Guns of 2004 showing their age.

1) Liv Boeree: Metal Guitar is a Cruel Mistress

Team PokerStars pro Liv Boeree has won the hearts of poker nerds for several reasons, not the least of which is her love of heavy metal and acumen on the guitar.

She’s dropped a few jaws with her metal riffs before (see video below), but accoridng to her latest blog post a couple of years on the poker circuit have left her more Janis Ian than Scott Ian:

“A few years ago at the height of my axe-nerding, my left and right hands would communicate in near-perfect synergy. Now, they belong to different people.

“The right hand is still half-reasonable, its dexterity perhaps maintained by incessant chip riffling and typing on an iPhone.

“The left hand however has become some redundant object that flaps around blindly along the neck of the guitar, ignorant to whatever signals my once powerful guitar-brain attempts to send it. Sigh.”

Since she doesn’t like “not being good at things,” Boeree says she's going deep into practice mode before the WSOP to get her chops back.

Read her full post here; check one of her finer guitar moments below:

2) Investing is Very Much Like Playing Poker, Rich Guy Says

What would Brandon Adams do?

Want to make a ton of money investing? All you have to do is think like a poker player, Rob Russell says.

In his latest Smarter Investor column, Russell says he was impressed by the poker skills of a fellow financial advisor and thinks the same skills that make a poker player great apply to being a great investor.

Those traits:

Knowing the odds Knowing when to fold Not betting with scared money Checking your emotions Having a disciplined strategy

As Russell says, "If you can apply all of these common traits, then you’ll have an edge over the vast majority of investors and financial advisers.”

Easy peasy, then.

Now get out there and buy some Facebook stock. We saw a movie about it once, looks like a real up-and-comer.

3) WPT Young Guns Not So Young Anymore

In honor of the WPT announcing its Season XI schedule and tomorrow's WPT Championship, we dug up this old clip from the “WPT Young Guns” special in 2004.

Highlighting the best players under 25 at the time, eight years on it’s kinda startling how impressive a lineup it really was – and that none of them at 22-24 would really even qualify as "young guns" anymore (thanks Annette_15).

The line-up:

David Williams Scott Fischman Thomas "Thunder" Keller Joe Cassidy Pete Lawson John D’Agostino

Still a tough table today, really, depending on whether Joe Cassidy is on your left. Let's go to the clip:

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Hastings High: Weekly Top 10 Online Winners/Losers

Fri, 18 May 2012 08:33:58 -0700

Hastings, who is currently residing in Vancouver, Canada, so that he can play online poker, burned through 3,844 hands record a chart-topping $379k in profit on PokerStars.

The American has not been particularly active this year but rejoined the action in April and has been lights out ever since. He’s currently up over $800k on PokerStars this year.

Hastings was hardly the only player to win big this week as Chris “Genius28” Lee and patpatman recorded substantial victories while Viktor “Isildur1” Blom continued to stumble.

Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 winners and losers on PokerStars this week:

Top 10 Online Winners This Week

Brian Hastings stole most of the headlines this week but Chris “Genius28” Lee continues to crush some of the biggest games on PokerStars.

The recent SCOOP winner picked up another $241k this week and has steadily built up a profit of just over $500k in 2012.

Meanwhile Terje “Terken” Augdal continued his strong 2012 with $147k in profit this week. That puts him at just under $700k this year.

The still unidentified patpatman was the second biggest winner this week with $257k in profit. Towards the end of the week patpatman took on Dan “w00ki3z” Cates in $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em and ended up thrashing him for nearly $100k.

Other notable winners this week included verve.oasis, Takechip and EireAbu.

Check below for the complete top 10 winners this week according to HSDB:

1. Brian “$tinger88” Hastings: +$379,000 2. Patpatman: +$257,000 3. Chris “Genius28” Lee: +$241,000 4. Verve.oasis: +$193,000 5. 0Human0: +$169,000 6. Terken89: +$147,000 7. Glosik: +$130,000 8. N0d1ceb4by: +$106,000 9. Takechip: +$87,000 10. EireAbu: +$82,000

Top 10 Online Losers This Week

For yet another week Viktor “Isildur1” Blom is a member of the top 10 biggest losers on PokerStars.

Despite an incredible year in tournaments with a PCA Super High Roller victory and two SCOOP titles, Isildur1 has had a disastrous run online.

This week Isildur1 lost a relatively small $120k but he’s now down an astounding $1.1 million on PokerStars this year.

Only Zypherin (-$1.8 million) has lost more than Isildur1 this year.

Interestingly the incredibly swingy !P0krpartyi was active this week but couldn’t get much going and ended up dropping $198k.

Phisherman36, who was one of the biggest winners last week, took a turn for the worse this week and dropped $167k.

Finally consistent grinder doncraignano had some major issues this week and lost a site-worst $208k.

Here’s a complete look at the top 10 biggest losers according to HSDB:

1. doncarignano: -$208,000 2. !P0krpartyi: -$198,000 3. Phisherman36: -$167,000 4. Kanu7: -$133,000 5. YoussefAhmed: -$125,000 6. Isildur1: -$120,000 7. Zypherin: -$102,000 8. ISILDRooN: -$89,000 9. Sussie Smith: -$83,000 10. JackRich: -$76,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Genius28, djk123 Rise Above for SCOOP Titles

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:09:20 -0700

Lee, a prolific high-stakes online player and 10-Game champ at the 2011 WSOP, outlasted an incredibly tough, 107-player field to win Event 31-H, $2,100 8-Game.

Kelly, likewise a WSOP bracelet winner and one of the best online poker players of all time with over $5.3 million in earnings, dragged his title in Event #29-M, $109+Rebuys NLHE Big Antes.

Three-time WCOOP champ Kelly earned his first SCOOP title and $73,040 after a two-way deal while Lee took home $58,315.

Kostritsyn, ElkY and CHUFTY Make Final Four

As has been the standard so far in the 2012 SCOOP, the fields in the high buy-in, mixed game events have been small but talented and that held true today.

Among the pros knocked out early in the tournament were Martin Staszko, Chad Brown and George Lind while Eugene Katchalov and Scott Clements held on to finish in the top 10.

Team PokerStars pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier made another run at a SCOOP title but ultimately had to settle for third while Lee and Alexander Kostritsyn had an epic, 1.5-hour heads-up match to decide the winner.

In the end, Lee prevailed and claimed his first SCOOP title.

Final Results - 2012 SCOOP Event #31-H ($2,100 8-Game):

1. Chris "Genius28" Lee (Canada) - $58,315.00 2. Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn (Russia) - $39,055.00 3. Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (UK) - $29,960.00 4. Richard "CHUFTY" Ashby (UK) - $20,330.00 5. Kecinpulach (Czech Republic) - $14,980.00 6. Ig123456789 (Ukraine) - $11,235.00

Dan “djk123” Kelly – The Most Unheralded Pro of All Time?

djk123: So good.

When you think of poker pros with over $7.5 million in combined earnings live and online, Dan “djk123” Kelly probably isn’t the first player to come to mind.

The $7.5 million+ range is heady territory - and usually reserved for the Erik Seidels and Daniel Negreanus of the world.

But Kelly has proved time and again he belongs in the discussion of the game’s truly elite and proved it again last night as he dismantled a 1,659-player field to take the biggest share of the $491,400 prize pool.

Kelly didn't have a particularly easy path either as pros Nicolas Chouity and Ankush "pistons87" Mandavia both ran deep. Kelly and Mandavia ultimately decided on a deal to split the top two payouts fairly evenly.

Final Results - SCOOP 2012 Event #29-M $109+Rebuys NLHE (Big Antes)

( * denotes part of two-way deal ) 1. Dan "djk123" Kelly (Australia) *$73,040.06 2. pistons87 (Canada) *$66,542.11 3. Blackbeaty (Germany) $44,226.00 4. matt20 (United Kingdom) $32,923.80 5. kripap (Hungary) $23,341.50 6. ro_Man777 (Germany) $18,427.50 7. djalminha (Portugal) $13,513.50 8. raare01 (Netherlands) $8,599.50 9. YugiohPro (South Korea) $4,914.00

For a full recap of all the day's action plus a preview of the remaining events on the 2012 SCOOP schedule, visit the PokerStars blog.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

WSOP Goes “Blinger” With 2012 Bracelets

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:22:01 -0700

Known as “Jason of Beverly Hills,” Arasheben is renowned for his "lavish, over-the-top diamond masterpieces."

Most notably he's designed the championship rings for the Los Angeles Lakers and Green Bay Packers and several pieces for celebs including Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

The 2012 Main Event bracelet will feature hand-picked round cut diamonds plus all four suits in either rubies or black diamonds. The bracelet will feature 160 grams of 14 karat gold and over 35 carats of diamonds.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to create this masterpiece for the World Series of Poker,” Arasheben said, “and it will go down as the most expensive piece of championship jewelry across all major sports."

"Blinger is Better"

Outside of the Main Event winner, all WSOP champs in Las Vegas and Europe in 2012 will be awarded the new, "blingier" gold bracelet pictured above. The winner of the $1m Big One for One Drop will receive a special platinum bracelet.

2011 WSOP bracelet.

“Blinger is Better,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “Jason grasped the heritage of WSOP bracelets, but was only interested if he could take it up several notches.

“This is a trophy that truly embodies the promise of today’s WSOP – seemingly unthinkable dreams are dealt each year. I challenge anyone to keep a poker face when they see this bracelet in person.”

For more information on Jason of Beverly Hills, visit www.jasonofbh.com.

Bracelets for the past two years at the World Series were designed by Australia-based OnTilt Designs, who created decidedly less adorned, more metallic bracelets.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Top 5 Potential Breakout Players of 2012 WSOP

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:06:04 -0700

It’s an exciting time for poker players and in the span of seven or so weeks players can go from virtually unknown grinders to veritable poker superstars.

This year we tried to highlight a number of both big-name pros and lesser-known players in our version of a WSOP "rookie" report.

Some of these players aren’t complete rookies at the WSOP but for whatever reason have been unable to break through at the series.

Check below for five potential up-and-coming stars of the 2012 WSOP:

1) Viktor “Isildur1” Blom

Who is he?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (say hi to Howard Lederer for us!) for the last few years there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Viktor “Isildur1” Blom.

The young Swede is one of best online cash-game players in the world and has successfully transitioned to tournament poker with recent wins in the $100k PCA Super High Roller and in two SCOOP events.

Arguably the hottest player in poker, 2012 will be the first year that Blom is old enough to play in the big dance.

Blom will easily be the most famous “first-timer” at the World Series of Poker this year and all eyes will be trained on the young Scandi as he tries to trasnfer his success to the most prestigious poker series in the world.

It’s still unknown how many tournaments Blom will actually play at the 2012 WSOP but he has already said he will at least play the Main Event.

What to expect?

It’s tough to say. A lot of players are pointing to Tom “durrrr” Dwan’s first experience at the WSOP in 2008 when he made two final tables.

It’s going to be tough for Blom if he only plays a few events. You'd think the Scandi will be particularly drawn to the Heads-Up, 6-Max and Pot-Limit Omaha $10,000 championship events.

Interestingly Blom sounds like he will not play the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop tournament despite recently winning the PCA Super High Roller for $1.3 million.

Apparently even Blom’s bankroll has limits.

2) Harrison Gimbel

Who is he?

Harrison Gimbel became the youngest ever PCA winner in 2010 when he won the main event down in the Bahamas for $2.2 million.

The 21-year-old from Jupiter, Florida, has been playing poker since he was 13 years old so the WSOP has been a long time coming.

A very skilled online player, Gimbel has multiple cashes in the Sunday majors including final-table appearances in the PokerStars Sunday Million and the Full Tilt Sunday Brawl.

Hardly a one-hit wonder, Gimbel won the Fall Poker Open Championship in Florida for $330,000 and has cashed for $3 million in his live-tournament career.

Think Gimbel is psyched to play the WSOP? That’s an understatement. Check out his Tweet from earlier this month:

Finally figured out my Vegas plans for the summer May 27-July 16. I've been dreaming of this moment for years and it's almost here. #pinchme

— Harrison Gimbel (@Harrison_Gimbel) April 26, 2012

What to expect?

Gimbel could be a serious force at the 2012 WSOP. An experienced online MTT player, Gimbel has already shown the ability to win live tournaments.

He massacred the massive 1,529-field at the 2010 PCA so big fields shouldn’t be an issue for the young star.

Expect him to follow the footsteps of successful WSOP converts like Dan “djk123” Kelly and James “mig.com” Mackey.

3) Sebastian “p0cket00” Sikorski

Who is he?

Sebastian Sikorski, who plays online as p0cket00, hasn’t even committed to playing the 2012 WSOP but could certainly do some damage if he ends up going.

The Canadian is one of the biggest winners ever in the PocketFives database with over $4 million in lifetime tournament earnings.

Sikorski has won two online poker Triple Crowns and currently is fourth in the Canadian online rankings.

Despite a slow SCOOP, Sikorski recently finished in second place on PokerStars Super Tuesday for a $64,980 score.

Interestingly, Sikorski has yet to make any waves on the live poker scene and is still looking for his first big live win.

What to expect?

If Sikorski plays he has to be considered a threat to take down a WSOP bracelet. He, along with Griffin “Flush_Entity” Benger, Matt “ch0ppy” Kay and Russel “rdcrsn” Carson round out Canada’s online poker elite.

4) Marcel Bjerkmann

Who is he?

We’re double-dipping with Marcel Bjerkmann considering we already listed him in our top five players to watch in 2012 but it’s just too hard to ignore this guy.

Bjerkmann is a killer online with over $1.3 million in profit but also has nearly $1 million in live tournaments, mostly thanks to winning the Masters Classics of Poker and Belgian Open Poker Championship.

We had a chance to watch Bjerkmann play in the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event and were impressed. Excellent table presence and straight-up skill mean good things for his future in this game.

There hasn’t been a Norwegian with this much potential since Johnny Lodden was wrecking people for millions in online poker back in the mid-2000s.

What to expect?

Bjerkmann has already proven he can win major live tournaments so all he needs is a bit of run-good at the WSOP and it could be all over for his opponents.

We have a hunch this is his year and he’s going to make quite a dent in Las Vegas this summer.

5) Ben “kidcardiff” Warrington

Who is he?

Ben “kidcardiff” Warrington has had a little live success but has so far been unable to break through at the WSOP. That could change this year.

Warrington, who is from England but currently lives in Spain, has made over $1.4 million online playing as either kidcardiff or benwa1.

Warrington’s most notable score came in 2010 when he took down a $1 Million Guaranteed Rush Tournament on Full Tilt Poker for $185k.

He also has notable final tables in the old $200k guaranteed on Full Tilt and the Sunday 500 on PokerStars.

He’s been playing a fair amount of SCOOP events recently although he’s been lukewarm in the series so far.

Warrington has limited experience in live tournaments but he did place 47th in the 2010 edition of EPT Berlin for $20k.

What to expect?

It’s still unclear if Warrington will play the 2012 WSOP but if he does he could be yet another hot Brit joining the likes of Jake Cody, Sam Trickett and Chris Moorman.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Daily 3-Bet: Hellmuth Radio, Canseco Diary, Best Tumblr Ever

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:13:13 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Phil Hellmuth sharing his verbal rolodex with the radio listeners of Madison, Wisconsin, a heart-wrenching day (or two) in the life of Jose Canseco and the best poker tumblr ever.

1) Phil Hellmuth Drops Names, How Much Things Cost on Wisconsin

Phil Hellmuth fans that have longed to hear his dulcet tones carry them through the post-supper hour have now got their wish.

I tell you about the time I had dinner with Dom DeLuise and Yakov Smirnov?

Hellmuth has signed on to do the “Poker Brat Radio” show on ESPN once a week on FM 100.5 in Madison, Wisconsin, replacing the show his friend Mark “PokerHo” Kroon used to do.

The show only airs live on the actual radio in Madison, not nationwide, but you can still stream it live online here.

The first edition aired last week and the early reviews from 2+2 users are, well, 2+2ish:

"I'm listening now, i'm not that impressed so far," said TrailerParkBoy. “That guy loves to drop names,” said Daniel Ocean.

“He needs a vocal coach,” said synth_floyd.

Some fans are into it though: “Love Phil,” said OJsBludyNife.

Always the voice of reason, BludyNife. Still, great for Phil fans who can check in on how much Phil’s new BMW Alpina cost ($44,500) and who he had dinner with in Palo Alto recently.

If you’re in Madison, tune in to FM 100.5 on Tuesdays at 8 pm EST. Follow PokerBratRadio on Twitter here.

2) Jose Canseco: Welcome to the Poker World

MLB pariah.

Former Oakland A’s Bash Brother and current Major League Baseball steroid pariah Jose Canseco has been slowly inching his way into the poker world over the last few years.

Now living in Vegas, we’re guessing we’re only going to see more of him and we truly hope to see him do well.

In particular we hope to catch up with him after he wins a bracelet at the 2012 WSOP, but until then this amazing piece on Sportsnet.ca by Kristina Rutherford will have to suffice.

It's not pretty, and the talk of poker is marginal (“Canseco may live in Vegas, but he doesn’t live the Vegas life. If it’s not working out, baseball, golf, poker or eating, he’s not interested.”), but the story itself is astounding and definitely worth a read.

Other, better parts:

“Canseco is full of surprises and contradictions. He isn’t stupid or crazy, despite what his misspelled rants suggest. At the heart of it, Canseco is honest, he’s endearing, he’s likeable, even kind. He’s also sad and lonely.”

“He plots a Twitter death and decides he’ll tweet that he was found dead in a bathtub with 14 penguins, then reconsiders. ‘That’s too many. Two penguins is more realistic.’”

Again, check the full piece here.

3) life with face cards Tumblr Feed = Massive Win

We use the Internet for essentially four things:

Playing poker Making comments on YouTube videos Researching B+Bs for our next vacation and Digging around for hilarious animated gifs of babies, pets, celebrities and nut shots.

Given those predilections, the life with face cards tumblr that’s been bouncing around Twitter feeds for the last couple of days is virtually perfect.

Much, much win is to be found including gems like:

"When I misclick call and flop the world"

Get more here.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Shawn “Buck21” Buchanan Earns First SCOOP Title

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:29:48 -0700

Buchanan, a friend of 2012 SCOOP killer Shaun Deeb and a highly regarded online player in his own right, outlasted a field of 82 earlier this evening for his first SCOOP win and $44,145.

The long-time pro from Vancouver, BC, adds his first SCOOP title to an impressive poker resume that already includes a WPT title, a WCOOP title, a runner-up finish in the WSOP $10k HORSE and $4.6 million in career live earnings.

Knocks Off Stacked Field

As with all of the smaller-field mixed–game events in the SCOOP, Buchanan had to top a power-packed field to earn the victory.

PokerStars Team Pros George Danzer, George Lind, Martin Staszko and Jose "Nacho" Barbero all were on the player list as was Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, who managed to make it to 14th place but just shy of the money.

Pros Bryn Kenney and Steven "stevie444" Chidwick also came close but busted shy of the final table in 13th and 10th place respectively.

Making the final table with Buchanan but dropping out in fifth place was another well-respected pro in Scott “BigRiskky” Clements.

For a full recap of all the final-table action, check the PokerStars blog.

Final Results for Event 28- H, $2,100 Razz

1st place: Shawn "buck21" Buchanan (Canada) - $44,145.00 2nd place: sulbystar (UK) - $29,970.00 3rd place: Mrdawwe (Sweden) - $22,680.00 4th place: grapenuts (Canada) - $15,390.00 5th place: BigRiskky (Canada) - $11,340.00 6th place: villepn (Finland) - $8,505.00 7th place: buzzard1881 (Canada) - $6,885.00 8th place: ___akun___333 (Poland) - $5,265.00

Deeb Makes Another Run, Ultimately Falls Short

#whenwillitend

In what's now extremely unsurprising to report, 2012 SCOOP superstar Shaun Deeb again went deep in a Stud-based tournament.

What is surprising, however, is that this time Deeb didn’t actually go on to win the event.

He did make it down to the final two tables in Event 28-M, Razz, but as the short-stack couldn't make much happen and left in 16th place.

The run did earn Deeb another $1,062.60 to bring his total take so far in the 2012 SCOOP to over $176,000.

It also earned him another 20 points on the SCOOP leaderboard and helped increase his lead over second-place joacowalter.

Australian online crusher James “Andy McLEOD” Obst also ran deep but busted right after Deeb in 15th place.

Final Results for Event 25-M, $215 Razz:

1st: Jamie_KK (United Kingdom) -- $17,556 2nd: redeste (Russia) -- $12,936 3rd: itsmeweer (Netherlands) -- $9,480.24 4th: üä-qaypö.wsx (Germany) -- $6,930 5th: bestofiraq (United Kingdom) -- $4,620 6th: RblBA (Russia) -- $3,234 7th: 1diego_35 (United Kingdom) -- $2,310 8th: brsariego (Spain) -- $1,848

For a full recap of the day’s action and an updated look at the SCOOP leaderboard, check the PokerStars blog.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Freeroll Spotlight: Titan Poker Enters Battle of Malta

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:12:08 -0700

The PokerListings BOM freerolls will run weekly from June 2 to Oct. 20, 2012 at 19:00 GMT with the top five players in each freeroll qualifying for a PokerListings Battle of Malta Final.

Each PokerListings BOM Final, which take place June 24, July 22, Aug. 19, Sept. 23 and Oct. 24 at 19:00 GMT, will award one package to the €150,000 guaranteed Battle of Malta. You can also buy in directly to the BOM Finals for $11.

Each package is worth $2,500 and includes the following:

€500+€50 buy-in to the main event 4 nights accommodation at the 5-Star Hilton Hotel Malta Daily Breakfast and buffet meal Access to VIP Opening cocktail party at Club Level 22 Access to side events and giveaways

The Battle of Malta is the first-ever live tournament hosted by PokerListings and will take place at the Portomaso Casino in St. Julian’s, Malta.

The tournament will run for four days from November 22-25 with €150,000 in guaranteed prize money and a €550 buy-in.

$2,000 Bonus, Great Rewards

Want to qualify for the Battle of Malta but don’t have a Titan Poker account? Sign up for a new Titan account via PokerListings and new depositors get four free tokens to participate in $2,500 freerolls.

New players also get to take part in the $25 Booster Freerolls that take place six times a day.

Thanks to a new rewards program, casual Titan players can now easily convert their Titan Points into cash if they stay below the 2,000-point level.

PokerListings players also currently receive a 200% bonus match up to $2,000 when they sign up and open a new account.

To learn more and start playing today sign up via our Titan Poker review.

Keep checking the Titan Poker lobby for more information about Battle of Malta qualifiers.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Daily 3-Bet: Isildur Speaks, durrrr Leaks, Negreanu Master

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:56:54 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to leave a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find the elusive Isildur1 ducking a haircut question, Tom “durrrr” Dwan exposing a few leaks and Daniel Negreanu giving his weekly master class in media relations.

1) Isildur1: Don’t Ask Me About My Hair

Media opportunities with Viktor “Isildur1” Blom are few and far between (we’ve been stymied countless times at live events) so it was great to see the elusive pro answer a few questions in a new interview with PocketFives.

Finally left the flock of seagulls.

Among the topics covered were his recent SCOOP wins, his first World Series of Poker on the horizon, his interest in the $1m Big One (he won’t play) and the current state of online cash games.

One question he wouldn’t answer anything about? His hair cut:

PocketFives: We saw you cut your hair. Who suggested you trim it and how big of a change has that been for you?Viktor Blom: Next question!

While it’s great to see Isildur reaching out a bit to his fans, as you'll see in the interview there’s undoubtedly still a tentativeness to his replies.

Whether it’s just a desire to keep his life private, his Swedish sense of lagom or a lingering discomfort with the media, it’ll be interesting to see how Blom handles the more intense spotlight of the WSOP this summer.

Everybody wants a piece of the great Isildur1 – but will they get it? Check a hint of it in the full interview here.

2) durrrr Breaks Down Pros, Calls Schwartz’s Game Goofy

Speaking of online poker ingénues, Tom “durrrr” Dwan - he of some famously awkward interviews in his early years - has really been stepping up his media game over the last few years.

Making an appearance on Fox TV post-Black Friday to answer some (albeit ignorant) Ponzi scheme allegations was a big step, and even if it didn't come off perfectly it showed a maturity and willingness to step up and be a positive voice in poker.

He'll always be a bit uncomfortable, sure, but you have to respect him for being more available to the media and letting his personality show a bit more.

Following his interview with Tatjana Pasalic at the Manila Millions posted yesterday, an interview from the Premier League set in Vienna popped up today and again shows a new, more open durrrr.

In this one he leaks a few secrets on the games of his Premier League tablemates. It's great - and not just because he calls Luke Schwartz’s game goofy. Clip below:

3) Negreanu Gives Master Class, Calls Jeffrey Pollock Names

There may have been a time when Daniel Negreanu was uncomfortable with the media, but it seems almost impossible to believe.

His opinions aren't always popular, and he's by no means above reproach, but there's no denying his outspoken and generally jovial nature for the last decade - both in the media and at the tables - has positioned him as the most powerful poker player in the game today.

Check Negreanu's weekly rant below for his usual poker banter and some imaginative bleepity bleeps:

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Tweet Relief: Deeb Dominance, WSOP Exodus

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:26:44 -0700

Every week we dredge through hundreds of inane Tweets in the poker world to give you a glimpse of the best the Twitterverse has to offer on poker.

This week people were buzzing about Shaun Deeb and his amazing run in PokerStars' SCOOP this year as well as the start of a mass migration to Las Vegas for the 2012 WSOP.

Deeb changed the game this week by winning his fourth SCOOP title (third in the 2012 SCOOP) and leaping past Viktor “Isildur1” Blom on the SCOOP leaderboard with 645 points.

Unless something catastrophic happens he’s a lock to win POY at the 2012 SCOOP.

This week we’ve highlighted observations from Vanessa Selbst, Randal Flowers, Jeff Madsen, Daniel Negreanu and JP Kelly. Check them out below:

Well, @shaundeeb has now made history--first person to win four SCOOP titles bit.ly/KfbsfE

— PokerStarsBlog (@PokerStarsBlog) May 16, 2012

Why don't you win a holdem event like all the respectable poker players @shaundeeb? #washedup #okfineyourekindofsick

— Vanessa Selbst (@VanessaSelbst) May 16, 2012

Grats @shaundeeb on winning all 3 $2k SCOOP High events that were of the stud variety. What a stud.

— Randal Flowers (@RandALLin) May 16, 2012

If I could make a new pokerstars handle... (and I'm sure this is already someones name)it would be... MakeYouSitOut

— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) May 14, 2012

Watching home videos from 1994. Wow my accent has changed so much. I sounded SO Canadian back then... Eh!

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) May 11, 2012

Any of my followers have a spare million and some gamble in them?Just saw the committed list in CardPlayer and got excited.

— Eric Baldwin (@basebaldy) May 15, 2012

SCOOP is grueling, great structures result in me playing 12 hour days almost every day.No big scores yet, 3 more days to bink one off.

— David Doc Sands (@Doc_Sands) May 15, 2012

Biggest tell in all of poker- if guy picks up his cards to look at them... Huge Fish

— Jeff Madsen (@JeffMadsenobv) May 16, 2012

Going to Vegas tomorrow for the $25k WPT Championship at Bellagio......and staying for 2 months for the WSOP, gonna be a big summer!

— JP Kelly (@JP_Kelly5) May 16, 2012

I hear the Gold Coast calling. The pai gow tables and the bowling alley bar. There's nothing that can be done to stop it. #wsop

— mattshowell (@mattshowell) May 10, 2012

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Deeb Strikes Again With Third SCOOP Title

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:34:42 -0700

In what is quickly becoming one of the most legendary performances in online poker history, Deeb final-tabled both the low and high versions of Event 26, Stud Hi-Lo, last night.

He took eighth in the low event but crushed the high for another $40,330 and his third Stud title of the series.

Deeb now has eight final tables under his belt in the 2012 SCOOP along with 18 cashes for 645 points and a commanding 245-point lead in the Player of the Series race.

Winning his third title wasn’t exactly a walk in the park either as the 74-player field was as tough as it gets. Every player at the final table also had a SCOOP or WCOOP title to their credit and included PokerStars pro Eugene Katchalov.

Still, proving he’s developed a newfound mastery of Stud, Deeb outlasted them all for the win.

Final Table Results for Event 26-H, Stud Hi-Lo

1st shaundeeb (Mexico) - $40,330 2nd PerpCzech (New Zealand) - $27,380 3rd caprioli (Brazil) - $20,720 4th E.Katchalov (Ukraine) - $14,060 5th Fred_Brink (Denmark) - $10,360 6th slammedfire (Canada) - $7,770 7th kasparov007 (Germany) - $6,290 8th DazzleO (Colombia) - $4,810

Deeb Final Tables Another but Lind Gets the Win

Not a bad SCOOP either.

It was almost a low and high sweep for Deeb in Event 26 as he managed to fade a massive field of 2,178 players in the low-buy-in Stud event and earn his seventh final table this SCOOP.

This table belonged to PokerStars pro George “Jorj95” Lind, however, and he took his first SCOOP title and $9,352.58 for the win.

Also having a great SCOOP of his own with 16 cashes, Lind is now third on the overall SCOOP leaderboard with 345 points.

Final Table Results - Event #26-L Stud Hi-Lo :

1. PokerStars Team Online George "Jorj95" Lind (Canada) - $9,352.58 2. peanut_no. 1 (Germany) - $6,615.67 3. vas_panev74 (Bulgaria) - $5,172.75 4. xParaBelluMx (Russia) - $3,811.50 5. Seylo (Switzerland) - $2,722.50 6. Chrucx2 (Denmark) - $1,633.50 7. Shaun "shaundeeb" Deeb (Mexico) - $1,089 8. Team PokerStars Pro George "GeorgeDanzer" Danzer (Germany) - $544.50

Joacowalter Channels Deeb, Wins His Second SCOOP Title

In any other SCOOP, the record of Uruguayan Joacowalter may have been the number one story.

Trailing just Deeb on the SCOOP Player of the Series leaderboard, joacowalter has had an impressive series of his own with a title and several cashes.

Heater continues for Bonomo.

He joined the elite two-time winners club last night as he defeated a small but game field in Event 25-H, $1,050 Triple Draw 2-7.

Among the heavy-hitting pros at the final table with him were Mike “SirWatts” Watson, Justin Bonomo and Dylan "ImaLucSac" Linde.

Bonomo was fresh from a second-place finish this SCOOP and his recent destruction of the EPT Grand Final, but came up short in sixth.

Because of the small field and low buy-in, pay outs were small in comparison but joacowalter did take home $30k for the win.

He's now second on the 2012 SCOOP leaderboard with 400 points.

2012 SCOOP Event #25-H ($1,050 Triple Draw 2-7) Results:

1st place: joacowalter (Uruguay) $30,680.00 2nd place: vovtroy (Russia) $20,650.00 3rd place: ImaLucSac (Canada) $15,340.00 4th place: merla888 (Belgium) $10,030.00 5th place: SirWatts (Canada) $7,670.00 6th place: ZeeJustin (Canada) $5,310.00

For a full recap of all of yesterday's SCOOP events and a look at the SCOOP Leaderboard, check the PokerStars blog.

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Daily 3-Bet: Dwan on FTP, Galfond Begins, Laptops v. Ladyboys

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:33:28 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Tom Dwan delving into Macau, bracelet bets and FTP, Phil Galfond explaining how it all began and two UK rounders living the poker dream.

1) durrrr: Macau Games Growing, FTP Has Some Convincing to Do

If you want to catch up with Tom "durrrr" Dwan these days, you'll have to book a ticket to Asia. Winning $3.8 million pots will keep you there, we imagine.

Bogog pro and TV host Tatjana Pasalic had the chance to catch up with Tom “durrrr” Dwan at the recent Manila Millions, however, and snuck a few questions in.

Cliffs:

Stakes and games getting bigger in Asia everyday Missing online play a lot Sitting out when the fish leaves in live play is tragic Too crazy for poker not to be legalized soon in US The premise of a pro league like Epic is something people want His WSOP bracelet bets aren’t looking good right now

As for FTP: He’ll be a lot more careful getting involved with any site, including possibly a new FTP, but unless they show they have all the money to pay players he’ll never go back.

No mention of the famous $1 million he pledged to pay back, though - sorry microgrinders.

Interview below (skip to 30 secs to avoid the ads):

2) Galfond Begins: Poker, Improv, Poker, Poker, Improv, Poker

Flexing his hugging muscles with DN.

Phil Galfond fans have been clamoring for Phil’s full poker origin story for some time now and their patience has finally paid off.

Phil goes deep into his backstory to the tune of about 5,000 words in his latest blog post – and that’s just for ages 18-22.

In short: he played a lot of poker, did a lot of improv, his roommates thought he was gay, he tried out a few live $10k events, started making $500/h and finally dropped out of college.

So, you know, same old story. An excerpt:

"My good friend Dan (who I’ll meet soon), believes that I like calling because of my personality. I’m a passive person, and I don’t like aggressive people.

"What better way to feel satisfied than to outsmart them and make them feel stupid due to their own aggression?

"It wasn’t long until I started to venture away from the postflop-less SnGs. In February of my Junior year, on the advice of Peter Jetten, I made the transition from my well established roots and solid hourly rate in SnG’s into the unknown world of cash games, where I could exercise my newfound calling muscles.

"Peter told me that there was more money to be made in cash, and Peter was right."

3) Young Brits Leave it All Behind, Play Poker in Paradise

It’s a pretty familiar dream for a lot of poker players in cold, Northern countries: Pack up the laptop, go play poker someplace tropical and live like a king.

You can make the dream happen.

But while a lot of people think about it, few actually do it.

Young UK grinders Simon ‘amatay’ Jones and Cos ‘GreekStein’ Paparestis had the same idea as everyone else, but they actually made it happen and are now living their poker dream in South-East Asia. They don't seem to have any regrets:

“In some places, you get treated a little worse because you’re a foreigner," says Paparestis. "There are scams about and you’ve just got to get your head straight.

“Once you’re wise and not a completely green tourist, it’s an awesome place to live. We can go down the road and eat a four-course meal with drinks for about £2.

"In terms of being a poker player and coming out to grind a roll, it’s awesome.”

Sounds alright, we guess. But what's the downside?

"Out here you’re always panicking about penises, prostitutes and guns in pockets," Jones says.

Ah. If you’ve ever wanted to suss out a life of bungee jumping, ladyboys and poker among ex-pats, check out the feature article on Poker Player UK here.

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PokerStars Officially Launches Zoom Poker

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:42:56 -0700

For over a month players have been able to play Zoom Poker on PokerStars and it’s quickly become one of the most popular variants on the site.

Similar to the currently inactive Rush Poker on Full Tilt, Zoom Poker allows players the chance to instantly switch to a new table after they fold with a new hand waiting for them.

“Zoom Poker offers people a different way to play poker,” said Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu.

“Recreational players, who want more constant action, will be able to fold instantly and wait for better hands, while pro grinders will be able to get in hundreds of more hands an hour and win more. On top of all that, it’s just so much fun to play!”

The fast-paced nature of the game has proven popular to players looking to increase the amount of hands they play and earn even more frequent player rewards.

PokerStars currently offers 21 real-money “pools” of Zoom Poker in No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha although each pool has the capacity for 1,500 players.

At the time this article was published there was already over 5,000 players in the Zoom Poker section of PokerStars.

PokerStars also took the time to release Zoom for Mobile on the Android platform this week.

Players of PokerStars.com, PokerStars.eu and PokerStars.net can now enjoy Zoom Poker on both Android tablets and phones.

Zoom Poker is set for a world-wide release on mobile devices (including iPhone and iPad) this summer.

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New NewsArticle

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:41:38 -0700

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MaiseE Snags SCOOP Win; Isildur1, Deeb Fall Short

Mon, 14 May 2012 23:20:40 -0700

It was another busy day for the 2012 SCOOP with seven events taking place and several notable players making big scores.

JC “PrtyPsux” Alverado took fourth place in Event 20-M $215 Hold’em for $62k.

Online star Chris “ImDaNuts” Oliver nearly won Event 21-H $2,100 No-Limit Hold’em but had to settle for second place for $247,260. Ministerborg won the event for $344,262.

Team PokerStars Pro Martin “AABenjaminAA” Hruby bubbled the final table of Event 22-M $109 No-Limit Hold’em/PLO and picked up over $1,000 for coming in 10th place.

Deeb, Blom Bust, SUNDAYKING Finds His Crown

Ultimately Shaun Deeb and Viktor “Isildur1” Blom fell short in their respective bids for a third SCOOP title in Event 20-H, $2,100 No-Limit Hold’em.

Isildur1 hit the rail in 20th place for $7,820 while Deeb dropped in 16th place for $10,948. After today’s results, Deeb still holds a sizable advantage on the 2012 SCOOP leaderboard with 460 points. Isildur1 is second with 290.

James “mig.com” Mackey made the final table but eventually busted in fourth place for $117,300 while SUNDAYKING won the tournament outright for $293,250.

Final table results for Event 20-H $2,100 No-Limit Hold’em:

1. SUNDAYKING - $293,250 2. brianm15 - $211,140 3. kenny05 - $156,4004. mig.com $117,3005. nachobarbero - $82,110 6. jonyctt - $66,470 7. -MortenVM- - $50,830 8. BrynKenney - $35,190 9. anthonyff - $22,052

Kevin MacPhee

MaiseE Gets Crazy with $107k SCOOP Win

Swedish online high stakes player MaiseE, who is rumored to be William Thorson, put on a spectacular show in Event 24-H $1,050 Turbo Pot-Limit Omaha with one Rebuy and one Add-on.

Kevin "ImaLuckSac" MacPhee nearly made the final tale of the event but eventually finished in 13th place for $8,667. MaiseE outlasted a field of 282 players to take down a $107,422 first place prize.

Here are the complete final table payouts for Event 24-H $1,050 Pot-Limit Omaha:

1. MaiseE - $107,422 2. Milana Jones - $85,327 3. JRADF79 - $80,259 4. LukeFromB13 - $81,694 5. IneedMassari - $37,236 6. AlexKP - $28,890 7. Jamie_KK - $22,470 8. Danny98765 - $16,050 9. TheCleaner11 - $12,198

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Pop Poker: Baseball and Poker in American Culture

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:30:00 -0700

Baseball and poker both originated in the U.S. and both drew upon games invented elsewhere, much like American culture as a whole is in many ways comprised of elements of cultures from around the world.

And just as poker is thought to have come from precursor games like primero (Italy), brag (England), poque (France), and perhaps as nas (Persia), baseball is believed to have come from games originating in Great Britain and Ireland.

Those games include one game in particular that today makes a lot of us think of poker … Rounders.

The first variants of poker played in the U.S. in the early and middle-19th century were all draw poker games. Then Stud poker began to emerge during the Civil War and after.

Baseball also began to emerge as a popular sport during that time, with the first professional leagues starting to appear including the National League in 1876 and later the American League in 1901.

It's not surprising that among the many variants of Stud poker being formulated during the early 20th century was a popular one that was in fact called "Baseball."

Baseball as a Poker Variant

By the time Herbert O. Yardley wrote his important memoir-slash-poker strategy book The Education of a Poker Player in 1957, Baseball was a popular enough game for him to include it in his list of stud variations at the end of the book.

Herbert O. Yardley

As Yardley explains, the game played like seven-card stud except with threes and nines wild, an allusion to three strikes and nine innings in baseball.

Another rule involved being allowed to draw an extra card when dealt a four face up -- kind of like getting four balls and a free pass.

Also, if a player drew a trey among his upcards, he was required either to bet the size of the pot or fold his hand. Yardley's advice was in most instances to fold rather than risk so much.

Actually, the often super-tight Yardley's general advice with regard to Baseball was not to play such a gambling game at all.

"If other players insist on playing this game, except for a round or so," advises Yardley, "don't put your feet under the table."

In other words, don't get comfortable, and maybe consider getting up and having yourself a seventh-inning stretch that continues with a walk right out the door.

Yardley would've liked even less another variation on Baseball stud poker, Night Baseball, in which the hand begins with all players dealt seven cards face down.

The dealer then turns over the top card of the deck, and play moves around the table with players turning over a card at a time.

When one player's card beats the starting card, he can bet or pass, then play continues until the next player can beat the hand of the previous best and so on.

No fan of wild card games or loose play, generally speaking, Yardley didn't much care for the poker version of Baseball.

Many Parallels Between Poker and Baseball

But before becoming an international spy and code breaker, then later a poker author, Yardley was in fact a baseball player in his youth. And he no doubt appreciated the many parallels between poker and baseball.

Even Alex Rodriguez enjoys a game of poker.

Many who have played both games have remarked on the similarly slow pace of baseball and poker, with lots of relative "down time" punctuated by thrilling, adrenaline-fueled moments of excitement.

Both games reward patience, and sometimes highly-complicated strategy.

The parallels extend further, in fact, when one considers how baseball largely revolves around "heads-up" confrontations between pitchers and batters.

Each pitch of an at-bat functions not unlike the betting rounds in a poker hand, with both players constantly making decisions about their approach while trying to "read" their opponents and anticipate counter-moves.

Another parallel between baseball and poker is the way both games incorporate skill and luck, with a lucky bounce or gust of wind in baseball capable of affecting an outcome just as readily as a two-outer on the river.

The Freakonomics of Baseball and Poker

In fact, last spring Freakonomics author Steven D. Levitt and his University of Chicago colleague Thomas J. Miles published a study titled "The Role of Skill Versus Luck in Poker: Evidence from the World Series of Poker."

In the study the pair explicitly furthered the case for poker's skill element by comparing it to America's national pastime.

Focusing specifically on the 2010 WSOP and an analysis of the competitors and results, the pair concluded that in poker "Players who are a priori identified as 'high skill' do indeed substantially outperform other competitors."

While acknowledging they were working with a relatively small sample size, the authors determined that when comparing high-skilled players to their less-skilled counterparts at the 2010 WSOP, the better players won "54.9 percent of the match ups."

Steven Levitt investigated the role of skill in both baseball and poker.

To illustrate further the significance of their finding, Levitt and Miles took a look at Major League Baseball and compared the performances of teams who made the playoffs the previous year with teams that did not.

Again using a somewhat small sample size (just a few years' worth of data), they found "teams that made the playoffs the previous season win 55.7 percent of their games in Major League Baseball against teams that failed to make the playoffs in the previous year."

From there the pair made the following statement on behalf of the skill element of poker: "To the extent that baseball would unquestionably be judged a game of skill, the same conclusion might reasonably be applied to poker in light of the data."

Whether one agrees with the methodology employed here or not, I think we can agree that poker and baseball are both undoubtedly games in which both skill and luck matter.

Baseball and Poker = America

Both poker and baseball are intimately connected with U.S. history and culture, too, with both developing and growing right alongside the nation’s development and growth.

In 1954, the historian Jacques Barzun reflected that "whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball, the rules, and reality of the game." It's hardly surprising that about a half-century later poker author James McManus would paraphrase Barzun's line in a most appropriate fashion:

"Whoever wants to learn the heart and mind of America had better learn poker."

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Daily 3-Bet: FTP Deal Fine, Hwang Time, Micros Reborn

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:40:40 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find the FTP-PokerStars deal reportedly still on track for the end of May, Andy Hwang wins the biggest poker tournament ever in the Big Easy and The Micros is reborn in comic format.

1) iGaming Post Reports FTP/Stars Deal on Track for End of May

Getting info on the FTP-PokerStars deal is like, well, getting info on the FTP-PokerStars deal. It's rare.

And hit-and-miss for accuracy. So take the latest news from iGaming Post with a grain of salt.

Originally citing Full Tilt lawyer Barry Boss, who confirmed there was a court hearing with the DOJ in the US, iGamingPost is saying "a timetable for paying back players has been reached" and an announcement is forthcoming in the last week of May.

Because of the logistics involved with paying back players a date hasn't been set but PokerStars are reportedly, iGamingPost says, "confident that this will happen in the next ten days and will be approved by the US DOJ."

Included in this agreement is supposedly a provision enabling PokerStars to apply for a US license when online poker is fully legislated in the US.

According to some bloggers, however, US states like New Jersey are working on excluding "bad actors," or sites that offered poker to US customers after Dec. 31, 2006, from licensing eligibility in their bills.

No official reports have been made by either Full Tilt or PokerStars.

Long story short: we'll know when PokerStars and/or Alexandre Dreyfus wants us to know.

2) Andy Hwang Wins Biggest Tournament in Big Easy History

New Orleans: Really stuffing the crocodile these days.

While US online poker continues to be in a state of uncertainty, live poker is certainly humming along.

The first gold-ring event of the Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP-C stop was held this weekend and a record-smashing 945 players showed up to play, beating the preiovus record of 833 set back in 2005.

The prize pool for the $355 buy-in event hit $274,995, of which 99 players shared and Yung "Andy" Hwang took $52,249 from for his win.

This was the first-ever ring for Hwang, a pro from Houston, TX, and was well-earned as he beat out WSOP-C stalwarts Josh Evans and Woody Moore at the final table.

With the victory Hwang also earned enough points to qualify for a seat in the upcoming $1 million National Championship, to be played and broadcast by ESPN at the WSOP.

The WSOP Circuit at Harrah’s New Orleans continues through May 21st with eveleven more gold-ring events still to come.

For updates, check the WSOP site.

3) Micros Reborn as Web Comic, Animated Series on Hold

As big fans of The Micros animated series, we’ve been eagerly waiting some hinted-at new content. We got what we asked for today - although in slightly different format with the first-ever Micros Web comic.

The reason why they’ve made the switch to comics for now? Money and time, basically, according to producer John Wray, who posted in the 2+2 forum:

“As it turns out, animation is really 'spensive, so instead of struggling to put out an episode every few months we're going to post web comics featuring the same characters hopefully a few times a week.

“If and when we get sponsored we'll get back to making cartoons, but in the meantime we hope you enjoy these.”

We do enjoy. Check Episode #1 of the new comic below; follow the Micros on Twitter here and like their Facebook page here.

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SCOOP Smashes $30M Guarantee, Deeb Dominates

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:15:00 -0700

With the numbers in for 21 of the 40 scheduled events, the 2012 SCOOP has generated $32,599,494 in prizes. And that number is expected to more than double with a week of tournaments and the main event still to come.

Sitting atop the leaderboard, thanks to two outright victories and a slew of cashes, is Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb.

But Deeb isn’t the only one who’s notched multiple wins so far in this series.

High-stakes legend Viktor “Isildur1” Blom wowed fans this week, overcoming a field of over 8,200 to win his first major online poker tournament and following it up with a win in the high buy-in tier of Event 3 just two days later.

Even more unbelievable, both players are currently still alive in Event 20 with just 21 players remaining at time of publishing.

Deeb, Blom Hunting Third 2012 SCOOP Title

Right now Shaun Deeb is in the lead for 2012 SCOOP Player of the Year with 430 points, trailed by Uruguay’s joacowalter in second with 275 and Viktor Blom in third with 250.

But depending on what happens today on PokerStars, Blom could close that gap in a big way.

Viktor Blom joins Shaun Deeb as the only players to win two SCOOP titles so far in 2012.

Deeb and Blom are among the 21 players remaining in the high buy-in tier of Event 20, $2,100 No-Limit Hold’em.

Also in the top 10 on the overall SCOOP Leaderboard are online MTT legends Anders “donald” Berg from Norway and Calvin “cal42688” Anderson, an American currently playing out of Mexico.

Anderson won two SCOOPs in the space of 24 hours last year, and Berg is the proud owner of three WCOOP titles.

But with almost half of the 2012 Spring Championship of Online Poker still to go, expect the leaderboard landscape to undergo some big changes.

$32 Million Awarded, 153 Countries Represented

This year’s SCOOP is hardly more than half done and already it’s massively exceeded expectations.

More than 280,000 individual entries have been recorded from players in 153 countries around the world.

In excess of 100,000 unique players have entered SCOOP events so far.

It’s too early to tell how this year’s totals will stack up against the 2011 SCOOP but it’s clear that they will surpass what we saw in the SCOOP one year ago.

In 2011 a total of $43 million was awarded over 37 events, each of which had a low, medium and high buy-in tier.

Stay tuned to our Poker News Section for continuing coverage of the 2012 Spring Championship of Online Poker on PokerStars.

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Deeb Wins Again; Mercier, Galfond Chop in SCOOP

Sun, 13 May 2012 13:33:38 -0700

Deeb, who won the $2k Limit Stud event on Wednesday, notched his second win in the $2k Triple Stud event by defeating a stacked final table that included Eugene Katchalov, Stephen “stevie444” Chidwick and Brian “$tinger 88” Hastings.

With just 68 players in the field, Deeb “only” scooped $44,200 for the win but took over the top spot on the 2012 SCOOP Player of the Series leaderboard and became the first-ever three-time SCOOP title winner.

Deeb now has 430 leaderboard points in the 2012 SCOOP to give him a big lead over second place joacowalter from Uruguay with 275. Isildur1 one is in third with 250 points.

Final-Table Results for Event 19 (H), $2k Triple Stud

1st shaundeeb (Mexico) - $44,200 2nd stevie444 (United Kingdom) - $28,560 3rd E. Katchalov (Ukraine) - $20,400 4th JohnSmith (Russia) - $13,600 5th PerpCzech (New Zealand) - $10,200 6th GVOZDIKA55 (Russia) - $7,480 7th $tinger 88 (Canada) - $6,120 8th Spokey (Norway) - $5,440

Katchalov and Deeb also managed to make the final table of the $2k No-Limit Hold’em Shootout earlier in the day but fell out in eighth and seventh respectively.

Pro Andrew Badecker won that event for $60,000 while Jason Wheeler finished fourth.

To make things even more interesting, both Deeb and Blom are also in the top 10 in chips (with 53 left) in SCOOP event #20, $2,100 No-Limit Hold'em, heading into its final day tomorrow.

Mercier, Galfond and Gardner Three-Way Chop PLO Six-Max

Slump over.

In another pro-heavy final table yesterday, Jason Mercier, Phil Galfond and Julian Gardner (runner-up in 2002 WSOP Main Event) chopped the $1k PLO Six-Max event with each taking home about $114k.

Stopping play three-handed to talk about an equal split, the three realized by rule some money had to be left to play for so they decided on $4k.

They immediately went to a flip to decide the champion. Gardner won the flip, the extra $4k and the SCOOP title.

Former November Niner Joe “subiime” Cheong also made the final table but busted out in fifth for $40k.

Final-Table Results for Event #18 (H), $1k PLO Six-Max

1st - Julian 'MrCoco' Gardner, $118,606 2nd - Jason 'JasonMercier' Mercier, $114,606 3rd - Phil 'MrSweets28' Galfond, $114,606 4th - O.Klunssila, $54,560 5th - Joseph 'subiime' Cheong, $40,920 6th - Sira Al Aziz, $27,962

For a full recap of all the weekend SCOOP action, check the PokerStars blog.

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Road to 2012 WSOP Begins at 888poker, PokerStars and iPoker

Sat, 12 May 2012 08:42:59 -0700

This year the WSOP could very well be the richest one ever with an estimated overall prizepool of $200+ million.

As usual online poker giants 888poker, PokerStars, Party Poker, bwin Poker and the iPoker network have provided a compelling variety of ways to qualify for the big dance.

Here’s a look at the top online poker sites and the WSOP qualifiers they’ll be running this year:

888poker

On 888poker you’ve essentially got two ways to get in on WSOP qualifying action:

a weekly $525 satellite into the WSOP Main Event and a weekly $195 satellite into a WSOP side event.

888poker is anything but stingy with their packages as their Main Event one tips the scales at $15,500 while the winner of the side event satellite gets $4,500.

It’s possible to qualify for as little as $1.10 using the 888poker steps program.

**** PokerListings is also running an exclusive freeroll on June 16 for a $6,000 WSOP package. To qualify you just have to sign up at 888 through PokerListings between May 8 and June 14 and make a deposit.

Check our 888poker review for more information and to download the software.

iPoker (Titan Poker, William Hill Poker, Winner.com Poker)

The massive iPoker network has one of the most extensive WSOP qualifying schedules with:

a weekly $525 Main Event satellite a $215 side event satellite and an incredible $25k WSOP Jackpot package that goes to a player who wins six consecutive Sit & Gos.

Check our Titan Poker review for more information.

PokerStars

PokerStars is keeping things simple with the return of the Main Event Passport.

If you win a PokerStars Main Event Passport you’ll get a $13,000 package for the 2012 WSOP Main Event if you choose but you can also use it to play comparable events on the EPT, LAPT, PCA or APPT.

Check our PokerStars review for more site information.

Party Poker

Party Poker has a simple but value-packed WSOP qualifying schedule that offers one $750 buy-in weekly satellite into the WSOP Main Event.

Qualifiers start at just $2 and Party Poker guarantees one package per every 20 players in the tournament.

Party Poker also runs freerolls into the big WSOP satellite. Check

our Party Poker review for more site information.

bwin Poker

bwin Poker offers two WSOP satellites every week. One is into the 2012 WSOP Main Event while the other is into a $1,000 side event.

Both cost $320 to get into but bwin runs a variety of sub-qualifiers where you can get in for far less.

Check our bwin Poker review for more site information.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Daily 3-Bet: Monk WTF, Zuck FU, Negreanu FTB

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:17:36 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find some Korean monks doing some ballsy poker high rolling, a suit guy complaining about Mark Zuckerberg’s hoodie and Daniel Negreanu taking one for the birds.

1) Boozy Monks Gamble Close to $1 Million Playing Poker

A group of Buddhist monks in South Korea were filmed by a hidden camera drinking, smoking and playing poker while ostensibly attending a memorial service at a luxury lakeside resort.

For monks of the oldest and most respected religious order in Korea, this is apparently not good. The video was then leaked to the public and the scandal has rocked the Jogye community, which is actually about 1/5th of the population (10 million people).

Six of the eight monks, including two spiritual elders, have now offered to resign as a result.

The even crazier part of this story? The amount of money reported in the game was roughly 1 BILLION Korean Won or about $875,000.

To which we say: What the f? Either the incense and knick-knack business is off-the-rails booming in South Korea or some monk has some explaining to do.

Check the footage below:

2) Guy in Suit Calls Zuckerberg Hoodie "Immature"

Hates suit guys.

This is only tangentially related to poker but considering the hoodie is so ubiquitous and talk of a poker dress code has been kicking around lately, we think it plays.

Michael Pachter, a financial analyst, did an interview with Bloomberg TV and criticized Mark Zuckerberg for wearing his standard hoodie while doing the rounds raising capital in advance of Facebook’s IPO.

“Mark and his signature hoodie: He’s actually showing investors he doesn’t care that much; he’s going to be him,” Pachter said

“I think that’s a mark of immaturity. I think that he has to realize he’s bringing investors in as a new constituency right now, and I think he’s got to show them the respect that they deserve because he’s asking them for their money.”

To which we say: C’mon, suit guy. And dress-code advocates.

We’re not into flip-flops and dirty T-shirts either but we’ll take a Pius Heinz hoodie gang (how fun was that?) over an ill-fitting button-down any day.

And if we had a nickel for every time some douchebag in a cheap suit tried to pass himself off as professional, we’d have Zuckerberg money.

Follow Zuckerberg’s Hoodie on Twitter here.

3) Negreanu Weekly Rant: Let's Hear It For the Birds

The week wouldn’t be complete without a Daniel Negreanu rant, so here’s his latest.

He’s been in Toronto doing some media stuff and, ho hum, finishing second in a SCOOP event, but he’s managed to post his rant from his brother’s house.

If you're into exotic bird soundtracks, this week's your oyster.

Topics include his aforementioned brother's birds, WSOP rule changes and Australia expansion, Isildur1, things you can say playing online poker you can’t live and a Ray Davis degen story.

Also relevant: he’s not a big believer in suits at the poker table either. Check the rant below:

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Jungleman12 Returns: Weekly Top 10 Online Winners/Losers

Fri, 11 May 2012 09:11:59 -0700

Cates, who re-activated his online account in the last couple weeks, finally put together a few winning sessions and hammered home a $152k win on his w00ki3z account on PokerStars.

The Maryland-native didn’t show any rust in his return to the high-stakes games on PokerStars is already up $291k in profit on the site since returning.

Meanwhile perhaps Viktor “Isildur1” Blom could use a break from the cash games on PokerStars. He lost nearly $200k this week. Despite winning two SCOOP events and the PCA Super High Roller, Blom has had a miserable year online and is down more than a half a million.

Check below for more information on the high-stakes games from this week:

David Eldar

Top 10 Online Winners this Week

The criminally underrated EireAbu smashed his way to an impressive $298k profit to top the charts this week.

It’s getting harder to ignore EireAbu as he’s now up to $1.6 million in profit this year, which puts him in second place overall.

Meanwhile Aussie David “Deldar182” Eldar returned to the high stakes games for another massive profit this week winning $267k.

Eldar is up $725k this year despite playing considerably less hands than some of his colleagues.

Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky added yet another $245k in profit in what has already been an incredibly successful online poker campaign in 2012.

Sulsky is now officially your biggest winner in 2012 with $1.7 million in profit.

Here are the complete top 10 winners this week according to HSDB:

1. EireAbu: +$298,0002. Deldar182: +$267,0003. Sauce123: +245,0004. LUFCBas: +$211,0005. !P0krpartyi: +$204,0006. H@££INGGOL: +$187,0007. Terken89: +$163,000 8. Dan “w00ki3z” Cates: +$152,000 9. Terryhsu: +$133,000 10. Glosik: +$121,000

Benny Spindler

Top 10 Online Losers this Week

While one Ben had a very successful outing this week, Ben “Ben86” Tollerene was routed for $336k.

Tollerene has been hot this year, peaking at over $1 million in profit, but got into trouble over the last couple weeks and is now well short of a million.

Viktor “Isildur1” Blom (-$181k) and Benny “toweliestar” Spindler (-$220k) continue to drop like rocks in the high-stakes games.

Blom has seemingly been unable to win a session over the last few weeks while Spindler is down over $700k in 2012.

Randy Lew, better known as Nanonoko, recorded one of his worst weeks ever dumping a total of $192k into the high stakes games.

Finally Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond, who’s been money since returning to Vancouver to play online poker, finally hit a speed bump and lost $115k.

Here are the complete top 10 losers this week according to HSDB:

1. Ben86: -$336,000 2. Tsubi87: -$250,000 3. Toweliestar: -$220,000 4. Nanonoko: -$192,000 5. Isildur1: -$181,000 6. Nutsinho: -$176,000 7. Doncarignano: -$124,000 8. EDWARDHOPPER: -$123,295 9. Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond: -$115,000 10. Horho: -$102,000

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Daily 3-Bet: Deeb Stud, Chan Buds, Poker Metaphornicating

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:21:34 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find online kingpin Shaun Deeb doing what he does best, Terrence Chan gearing up for one last run at the WSOP and Overheard on CNN sharing some multiplying poker metaphors.

1) Shuan Deeb Wins Again With $2k SCOOP Stud Title

Loldeebaments.

He’s not necessarily a big name to mainstream poker fans, but Shaun Deeb is easily one of the top online poker players of all time with over $5 million in earnings and legendary volume levels.

He can’t punctuate a sentence for shit, but man can he crush some online poker.

Yesterday Deeb continued doing what he does best, adding a $2k Limit Stud SCOOP title to an online trophy case that already included another SCOOP title, two WCOOP titles and dozens more major wins.

Deeb earned $41,600 for outlasting a tough field of 64 players including Eugene Katchalov, Sorel Mizzi, Scott Clements, Alexander Kostritsyn and fellow final-tablists James Obst and Pat Pezzin.

Also making nice runs in SCOOP events yesterday were Mike “SirWatts” Watson and Steve “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer who took home second ($81,221) and fourth ($54,251), respectively, in the $2k No-Limit Hold’em Super Knockout.

For a full rundown of yesterday’s SCOOP action, check the PokerStars blog.

2) Terrence Chan: Last World Series of Poker Hurrah?

If you’ve been following our Terrence Chan reports lately, you’ll know the long-time poker veteran has made a fairly big shift into the MMA world.

End of an era?

He still plays competitively and is a sponsored pro with Hero Poker, but MMA is eating up more and more of his time - and his passion.

With his seventh full year at the WSOP coming up, Chan has written a great post about his always-present excitement but also the likely “end of an era” for him and his friends:

“... for me, the upcoming WSOP feels a little bit different. Within my closest circle of friends -- the guys who comprise what is often referred to as the 'Math of Poker House' -- there is some feeling that the band is breaking up.

“At least one person has expressed the idea that this will be his last full WSOP. Another of our group is working on a new startup and will skip the main event (gasp!).

“Yet another will be foregoing the tournaments entirely, only dropping in on occasion to play cash games. And I find myself questioning my motivation to play poker for a living more and more these days.

“I've been in the game a long time now, and it's getting hard to compete with the young lions who are passionate about grinding the long hours and putting in their work. But if 2012 truly is the last hurrah, then I'm determined to go out with a bang, not a whimper..."

Read the full post here.

3) Overheard on CNN: Dozens of Bad Poker Metaphors

Royal straight flush!

Bad poker metaphors run rampant across mainstream media (so many peace talks, so many poker faces!), but Overheard on CNN has done us the ultimate favor of compiling a bunch all in one place to feel their full glory.

Reacting to JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon saying the US has a "royal straight flush" with the world's strongest military, best businesses, most entrepreneurial workforce and deepest capital markets, CNN commenters piled on with their own poker bon mots.

Some highlights:

"Jamie Dimon sees a 'royal straight flush' with stacked red and blue chips on the table ... most of us see a 'pair of threes' with a handful of one-penny white chips on the same economic table..."

“I know of 16 trillion reasons that the U.S. is not holding a good hand right now, but if we take a few cards and throw away a few bad ones, we could get back in the game."

"I wonder if Dimon thought he had a royal straight flush when JP Morgan had to be bailed out by the feds in 2008."

"That would actually be called a freeroll."

"Sounds like Dimon is bluffing his hand up a bit. Too bad he has a serious tell called reality."

Zing! Love the poker metaphor. Especially when it multiplies. See the full list here.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Tom Dwan Drags Spectacular $3.8 Million Pot

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:55:59 -0700

Dwan won the pot, which amounted to HKD $30 million, against a Chinese businessman while playing No-Limit Hold’em with blinds of $1,300/$2,600.

According to Poker Portal Asia details were sparse on the hand but Dwan apparently picked up ace-ten against his opponent’s ace-deuce.

The flop came an action-heavy A-T-2 giving both players aces-up and a betting war ensued.

Eventually all the money went in on the flop and, after fading any trouble cards on the turn or the river, Dwan picked up the scale-tipping $3.8 million pot.

The article didn’t state whether Dwan ended the session a winner.

If confirmed, the pot would rank as one of the biggest in the history of poker.

Dwan already owns the biggest pot in TV history when he edged Phil Ivey in a $1.1 million cooler on the Million Dollar Cash game back in 2010.

Apparently the big game at Starworld Hotel’s Poker King Club has been going for the last week but Dwan is one of the only big name pros who has been playing it regularly.

Andrew Robl dropped in for one session this week and there’s a good chance it went well as he confirmed his participation in the $1 million buy-in WSOP Big One this summer on monday.

Check Poker Portal Asia for the latest updates on the poker scene in Macau.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

WSOP to Stream 60 Bracelet Final Tables Online

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:00:00 -0700

Up to three final tables a day will be streamed on a five-minute delay with commentary from David Tuchman and a rotating group of player analysts.

Hole cards will not be shown on any of the live streams.

“It doesn't get bigger or better than the World Series of Poker,” said David Tuchman.

“I am excited and humbled to be working with the WSOP to bring the live stream to a hungry and growing audience,” Tuchman added.

The first final table on the streaming schedule is Event 1, the Casino Employees tournament, on May 28th with coverage continuing daily until July 8.

Two Distinct Live Streams

Two distinct streams will be available, with a primary setup consisting of six different cameras and announcer/analyst commentary.

Get your WSOP final table action live online.

The primary stream will focus mainly on flop games and will take place on the main stage inside the Amazon Ballroom at the Rio Hotel and Casino.

When two or more final tables are happening on the same day the secondary setup will be used, which uses the same two-camera “fly-on-the-wall” style that we saw at the 2011 WSOP.

The secondary stream will feature audio directly from the tournament director’s microphone.

Most non-flop games will be streamed on the secondary final table.

Jay “WhoJedi” Newnum will be serving as WSOP Video Coordinator. Players who are interested in providing analysis and color commentary for the live stream are urged to contact Newnum via twitter @WhoJedi.

Veetle.com will return as the official WSOP streaming provider with the videos archived and made available for viewing after the fact.

For the full live streaming schedule check out WSOP.com.

PokerListings.com will be on location in Las Vegas providing daily live coverage, news and photography from the 2012 World Series of Poker.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

PokerListings to Debut €150k Battle of Malta Tourney

Wed, 09 May 2012 22:42:12 -0700

With €150,000 in guaranteed prize money and just a €550 buy-in, PokerListings’ debut event on the live tournament scene is already set to be one of the most high-value, player-friendly destination tournaments on the market.

“After almost a decade of providing live poker tournament coverage,” PokerListings CEO Martin Carlesund said, “we have a good idea what poker players look for in a live event and this one hits those elements.

“With the perfect setting, easy and cheap flights, a stacked lineup of celebrities and poker pros plus built-in media exposure, this is an easy win for mid-stakes players across Europe and especially for the booming poker market in Italy."

Packages are now available to poker site operators for just €1,400. Each includes:

€500+€50 buy-in to the Main Event Four nights’ stay in a deluxe suite at the Five-Star Hilton Malta Daily breakfast and dinner buffet VIP opening cocktail party at Malta’s renowned Club Twenty Two

Expect a high-profile celebrity host, dozens of giveaways and daily side events, making it a guaranteed win for operators looking to further their brand and poker players looking for a big return on a low-range bankroll.

“I’ve toured the world covering poker tournaments,” says Matthew Showell, Editor-in-Chief of PokerListings.com, “and this event combines the best of the best for the low- to mid-stakes tournament player.”

“The climate’s perfect, beers are cheap, the hospitality will be first-rate and, without a doubt, the side games are the softest you’ll find anywhere. If I wasn’t covering it, I’d be playing it for sure.”

On top of offering packages via online qualifiers or their VIP stores, operators will also have access to exclusive branding opportunities onsite including on the final-table felt and on the high-traffic PokerListings.com tournament coverage section.

Five packages are already available via freeroll and five $10 Battle of Malta tournaments at Titan Poker. For more info and to be eligible to play, check here..

For more information about the Battle of Malta, check out the full Operators information kit or Players information kit.

For more branding and package information, contact ivonne.montealegre@pokerlistings.com or matthew.coles@pokerlistings.com.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

New NewsArticle

Wed, 09 May 2012 20:17:51 -0700

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Tweet Relief: WSOP Chatter, Isildurments

Wed, 09 May 2012 14:11:30 -0700

Every week we dig through hundreds of sometimes painfully dull Tweets about poker to bring you the 100% grade-A, top-shelf ramblings about the poker world.

This week the poker community was buzzing pretty hard about Viktor “Isildur1” Blom’s back-to-back SCOOP accomplishment.

With online cash games, live tournaments and now online tournaments it appears the only format of poker Blom has yet to conquer is live cash games. In all likelihood he probably crushes those too, anyways.

In other news the WSOP hosted a press conference that actually revealed some interesting information such as the fact players are going to be able to talk a lot more at the tables and the $50k Players Championship getting axed from the TV lineup.

Check out our top picks from Daniel Negreanu, David “Doc” Sands, David Bach, Adrienne Rowsome and even the man of the moment – Viktor “Isildur1” Blom.

Great job @WSOP for fixing the no talking and celebration rule. Nice to see that when the masses speak, the people at WSOP listen.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) May 8, 2012

Poker joke that'll never make it to TV: Faraz Jaka’s gotten more pairs of queens than a non-denominational wedding chapel in Vermont.

— Joe Stapleton (@twojacksjoe) May 7, 2012

Ho-hum, @RealIsildur1 wins another SCOOPament

— Kevin Mathers (@Kevmath) May 8, 2012

Nice to win the two scoops, can't have a single winning day in PLO tho, don't know what I'm doing wrong there .. #SCOOP2012

— Viktor Blom (@RealIsildur1) May 9, 2012

Just in case you were wondering....I will be doing the reverse @RealIsildur1 and shipping watches at the end of #SCOOP....stay tuned!

— Adrienne Rowsome (@talonchick) May 9, 2012

Isildur1 is the Blom. #scoop

— Short-Stacked Shamus (@hardboiledpoker) May 8, 2012

"Fundamentals are the crutch of the talentless" - @ReynoldsXO via Kenny Powers. #gold

— David Doc Sands (@Doc_Sands) May 7, 2012

I wonder how many infraction points the 2p2 hacker gonna get.

— Troll Cat (@2p2TrollCat) May 8, 2012

Gonna be playing #scoop2012 starting on thursday.Really excited! Haven't played an online tourney in 13 months #soundslikeimDUE

— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) May 9, 2012

Disappointed that 50k Players at WSOP not televised this year. BUT now we can do the right thing and return final table to mixed games.

— david bach (@gunslingerbach) May 9, 2012

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Daily 3-Bet: FTP Rub, Cody Tub, PStars Boom! Switch

Wed, 09 May 2012 11:57:58 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Full Tilt and PokerStars supposedly haggling over price, Jake Cody forced to make some tough decisions and PokerStars turning on the Boom! switch.

1) Full Tilt Price Up? FTP and PokerStars Working with DOJ?

Still holding the cards.

A recent post on the Wicked Chops Insider has revealed the latest info on the Full Tilt/PokerStars deal although it's not much to report.

WCP is saying that their “well-placed sources” have said the deal is still on as reported and that US players are still scheduled to be paid back in full.

When, however, is still up for debate. Given the complexity of the deal their sources say it’s going to take more time to work something out - both between the two parties and the DOJ.

Two rumors have been circulating as well.

One is that the price has gone up a bit. The other is that Full Tilt and PokerStars reps were in court in the US on Tuesday to work out the details with the purchase agreement and the DOJ.

Both are unsubstantiated though. Wish we had more to report, but both sides are on full-scale media lockdown.

For more on the Wicked Chops rumors, subscribe to the Insider here if you like.

2) Jake Cody Can’t Decide Between Vegas or New Hot Tub

Decisions, decision. Photo: Jake Cody.

The life of a high-level poker pro is filled with tough decisions.

Fork over the $100k for the High Roller event because the payout is so big or skip it because the field is so tough? Take the airport shuttle to the hotel or buy a car off some guy in the parking lot?

PKR pro and Triple Crown winner Jake Cody lives that rough life every day and caught us up with his most recent dilemmas in his latest blog post. Among the tough decisions on his plate lately:

Staying in Berlin for an extra week as the Internet was down when he went to book a flight Drinking 3 liters of rum and coke from a bowling ball Bleaching his hair white or wearing a white suit for losing a prop bet Taking a helicopter or a taxi into Monte Carlo (helicopter, duh)

His latest head scratcher? Getting on the business class flight to Vegas he booked months ago tomorrow or just staying in Leeds to hang out in his new hot tub.

Decision, decisions. Quite honestly, we don’t know how he does it.

If he does hit Vegas though, expect to see him in the WPT Championship coming up next week. Check his full post here.

3) PokerStars Launches Boom! Social Media Player

For those of you into "sharing," PokerStars has launched a new software feature called the BOOM! Hand Replayer for sharing hands on Twitter and other social networks.

Players can tweet their hands directly from the PokerStars tables by clicking the new red BOOM! Button, then go to BoomPlayer.com to vote on other players’ hands, watch hands from Team PokerStars Pros and email their own hands out.

To mark the launch PokerStars is also running a promo called the #BOOMAwards during the ongoing SCOOP with 10 awards of 5,000 FPPs.

All you have to do to enter is share your hands through BOOM! and 'splain why they so crazy. Use the #BOOMAwards hash tag and PokerStars will choose the best 10, who will get 5,000 FPPS each.

The best of the 10 will win an extra 5,000 FPPs for the BOOMAward Hand of the Series.

Check a sample Boom! Hand below from PokerStars pro Shane Schleger and sign up for a PokerStars account via PokerListings to access our exclusive freerolls.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Isildur1 Takes Second SCOOP Title in Two Days

Tue, 08 May 2012 20:13:15 -0700

Defeating a field of 8,240 to win Event #2 (medium buy-in) yesterday for $247,200, Blom shocked the online poker world today by knocking off 486 players to win Event #3, 6-Max No-Limit Hold'em (high buy-in), for another $160,000.

The two SCOOP wins are Blom's first. They also put him first on the overall 2012 SCOOP leaderboard with 210 points.

Adding to his win at the PCA $100k High Roller in January, Blom now has over $1.3 million in tournament earnings this year and has firmly established himself as a top MTT player to watch entering the WSOP this summer.

Action Hour Tops Prize Pool Up to $800k

While Blom was busy winning Event #2 yesterday, he was also busy stacking up chips in Event #3 as he entered Day 2 play in third with 46 players remaining.

He used those chips wisely, hanging around the top of the leaderboard right until the final table where he busted a couple of players early to move into the lead.

Sputtering slightly before entering heads-up play with Ruxandescu down about 3-2 in chips, Isildur was on the ropes for a while before a fortuitous double up got him back in contention.

With Blom sinking under 1 million in chips, Ruxandescu opened to 36k and Blom raised to 108k. Ruxandescu called to see a J♠ T♠ 8♦ flop.

Blom checked, Ruxandescu bet 90k and Blom shoved only to see Ruxandescu call and be in front with his queens to Blom's T♦ 4♦.

ElkY: Just missed this time.

The 4♥ on the turn changed everything though, and Blom was back on his way.

Featuring an "action hour" for re-buys with an extra 740 units added, the event smashed its $400k guarantee and hit $800k for the total prize pool.

Blom was the major beneficiary, earning $160k for the win.

The rest of the final six below:

1. Viktor "Isildur1" Blom - $160.0002. Ruxandescu - $118,400 3. BiatchPeople - $88,000 4. Sussie Smith - $60,800 5. B4d3m3!st3r - $44,400 6. snake8484 - $28,400

PokerStars pros Ana Marquez and George Lind finished 26th and 16th, respectively. Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (56th) and Eugene Katchalov (64th) just missed the money.

For a full recap of the action and more from the 2012 SCOOP, check the PokerStars blog.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

ESPN Releases 2012 WSOP Schedule

Tue, 08 May 2012 17:59:51 -0700

In addition ESPN will offer an almost-live presentation of the Main Event final table that will be on a 15-minute delay.

The first-ever $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop will also be presented in an almost-live format with a 15-minute delay.

It’s also the first time that ESPN has televised the National Championship. This year the 100 top players from the WSOPC will gain entry to the contest for free while the top 100 best WSOP players can buy-in for $10,000.

The National Championship will have a guaranteed prizepool of $1 million.

Tuesday Night Poker, No $50k Players Championship

Meanwhile the regular Main Event show will once again return to its Tuesday night time-slot at 8 p.m. ET. All but two of the 29 episodes will premiere on Tuesday.

“Fans know Tuesday night is poker night on ESPN,” said Doug White, ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions.

“Beginning with the Big One for One Drop and the WSOP National Championship, and continuing on Tuesdays with the WSOP Main Event, we will set the stage for this intense competition and continue the excitement through the Final Table in October.”

Long-time poker personalities Norman Chad and Lon McEachern will return as well as last year’s addition – roving reporter Kara Scott.

A noted absence on the ESPN schedule this year is the $50,000 Players Championship, which was likely passed on for the Big One.

“We’re disappointed,” said WSOP executive director Ty Stewart. “Obviously we don’t make all the programming choices.”

Interestingly, because it’s not televised, this year’s $50k Players Championship will be played out entirely in 8-game instead of switching to TV-friendly No-Limit Hold’em for the final table.

To see the complete 2012 WSOP broadcast schedule this year be sure to head over to ESPN.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Pro's Picks - Who to Watch at the 2012 WSOP

Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:00 -0700

What we got back were 15 solid bets for big results at the WSOP, and these sources should know what they’re talking about.

Between them they’ve won more than $24.5 million playing live tournaments, and many millions more playing online.

Kevin Macphee, Davidi Kitai, William Reynolds, Jason Mercier and David Williams give us their top three picks for the 2012 WSOP.

Kevin MacPhee

With over $4.5 million in earnings Kevin “ImaLuckSac” Macphee is one of the biggest winners ever in online tournament poker. He’s also a force on the live circuit with a win at EPT Berlin and eight cashes at the WSOP, including two final tables.

My first pick is Calvin Anderson, he goes by “cal42688” online. He plays the highest stakes mixed games and prides himself on his 2-7 skills. He’s considered to be the best 2-7 player in the internet community and he won two SCOOPs last year. He’s an excellent mixed game player and he’s well respected by all the best players.

Jim "MrBigQueso" Collopy

My second pick is Stephen Chidwick who goes by “stevie444” online. He was famous for winning over 100 WSOP seats online when he was like 18 and too young to play in the Main Event. He’s also been playing mixed games at the highest stakes and he’s an incredibly smart person. And he’s got the bankroll to play every event this summer so he’s a great bet to win a bracelet. And he’s sort of under the radar because people don’t know he plays mixed games. He also got his tutelage from David “Bakes” Baker. They were really good friends and Bakes is an amazing mixed game player.

The last person is Jim Collopy. He’s “MrBigQueso” online and he’s been playing poker since he was like 15 years old. He also plays mixed games. He plays Stud and Razz at the highest levels. All these guys are fantastic No-Limit players too. Queso’s been living with Dan “djk123” Kelly down in Australia who’s obviously on the radar as one of the best. If Jim comes to Vegas and plays a lot of events he’s going to bring a lot of focus and will crush.

Those three guys are the ones I’ve seen come up. I’ve known them since they were like 18 and now they’re 21, 22, 23 and they’ve got live experience and they’ll be winning bracelets over the next few years.

Davidi Kitai

In 2008 Davidi Kitai became the first Belgian player to win a WSOP bracelet, and since then he’s completed a Triple Crown with wins on the EPT and WPT. $2.7 million in live earnings and a spot on Team Winamax represent his credentials and he’s got a unique perspective on up and coming players in Belgium and France.

My first pick will be Tristan Clemencon, a French player on Team Winamax with me. He’s a very good tournament player and he’s very motivated. Last year he turned 21 and it was his first year in Vegas. He played a lot of tournaments, even the $50,000 8-Game. He’s very young but he can play every game and he trained the entire year online at microstakes to master all the games. Last year was his first year so I think this time he will be more comfortable and will do well.

My second choice is Hugo Lemaire who’s a French tournament player. He used to play on the .com sites so he knows exactly how the American players are thinking. He knows how to change gears but also he only plays to win. He never plays for second place.

Kyle "KJulius10" Julius

The third one is a Belgian player named Joël Benzinou. He’s been getting really unlucky this year in every tournament, losing with aces and kings, so I think his run-good has to come sometime. Maybe it will come in Vegas at the Main event. I know he’s really excited and will be really motivated.

William Reynolds

William Reynolds has proved to be a top player both online and live. A win in the $25k High Roller event at the 2010 PCA and a fourth place finish at EPT San Remo the year before stand out as his biggest live scores, while a big victory in the Full Tilt Poker $1 Million Guarantee in 2008.

For my first pick I’ll go with Kyle Julius. He started the year off hot with a second place at the PCA and I think people who start the year off well have the potential to just keep the ball rolling.

Second I’ll go with another person who’s just been crushing lately: David “Doc” Sands. He’s been playing really good poker and getting respect from a lot of his peers. And he had a deep run in the Main Event last year so now he’s got to go back and get a bracelet.

And for my third pick I’ll go with myself because I’ve done nothing at the World Series. I’ve had two min-cashes over two years so I’m going to use the “I’m due” phrase. I feel like I play well there but I just haven’t been able to get a chip stack.

Jason Mercier

Jason Mercier’s list of accomplishments is too long to fit comfortably in one paragraph, but his $7.6 million in earnings should get the point across. He’s got two WSOP bracelets, an EPT title and an NAPT High Roller win under his belt.

Alexander "PostflopAction" Kostritsyn

My three picks for players to watch out for at the WSOP this summer start with my friend Dan O’Brien. I think he’s really hungry and he’s going to be playing a lot of events. He played a ton last year and he actually cashed five straight events, and had a fourth and a seventh and just came up short of the bracelet so I think he’s going to be really motivated and hopefully have a big summer.

Another one to watch for is Alexander Kostritsyn. He’s a Russian pro that’s really tough to play against. I’ve been playing mixed games against him a lot on Stars and he’s really tough.

Third is someone I’m actually going to be rooming with this summer, Isaac Baron. He’s known as westmenlo and he’s sort of unknown to the casual poker fan but all the top players know who he is. A few years ago he was known as the best tournament player in the world. He’s very good and I think you’ll see him deep in a couple big-bet tournaments.

David Williams

David Williams has been cashing in live tournaments since 2004 and in the last eight years he’s racked up over 8.2 million in winnings. He’s got a WSOP bracelet, a WPT title and he’s a member of Team PokerStars Pro.

I gotta go with Eric Froehlich, one of the best players around. He plays all the games pretty well and he’s had some bad luck but that can’t last forever so I think this could be a good year for him.

Next I’m going with Noah Schwartz. He’s been killing it this year and he’s just a great player so I know he’s going to go out there and play his hardest.

Third I’ll take Jason Mercier. Not exactly a hidden pick but he just always seems to win so I think he’s a safe bet.

PokerListings.com will be on location at the 2012 World Series of Poker, shipping live coverage, videos, interviews and news all summer long.

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More Tables, $1m Big One Setting Up Richest WSOP Ever

Tue, 08 May 2012 13:07:00 -0700

Optimism appeared to be at an all-time high for WSOP executive director Ty Stewart and WSOP tournament Jack Effel in a press conference earlier today.

“It appears poker’s darkest days are behind us,” said Stewart, referring to online poker’s Black Friday.

“I think we’ve come back from this stronger than we ever hoped. We’re excited about the prospect of a second boom.”

Stewart went on to say that pre-registration is already very active and there’s no reason to expect this won’t be the richest WSOP of all time.

Among the highlights of the 60-minute press call:

Organizers expect it will be a record-breaking WSOP with a $200+ million overall prize pool (last year it hit $191 million to set the record). Stewart expects the Big One will hit its 48-player cap meaning a first-place prize of $15+ million. During the Main Event, only the final table will be streamed. Organizers believe the live stream diluted the coverage last year. There will be live streaming of other final tables but they have yet to announce which ones. This year the WSOP is really loosening up the rules on talking at the tables. Players will now be able to talk about what they’re holding, provided they don’t show. Organizers are also easing the excessive celebration rules. Players will be forced to verbalize their actions at the final tables in an effort to crank up the excitement. Due to Nevada law, men will still be allowed to play the ladies event although, as usual, it's heavily discouraged. The Chris Ferguson WSOP championship banner will stay up in the Amazon Room. There are no formal plans to honor past WSOP champion Amarillo Slim although Stewart said they would do something eventually. The Poker Players Championship will not be on ESPN this year (although the Big One will be). Stewart said he was disappointed by the decision not to televise it. There will be 92 additional tables this year, located in the Brasilia Room. When you add in the Amazon Room, Pavilion Room and overflow areas like Buzios and the Rio poker room there will be close to 500 tables. Originally envisioned as a one-time event, the $1 million buy-in Big One could potentially return in 2013 if there's enough interest. Right now they're treating it as a one-off. There will be “exhibition” events that don’t award a bracelet but will be played in interesting formats like doubles and bounty. Part of the reason the November 9 was switched to October 9 was so the WSOP doesn’t have to compete with the 2012 presidential election. The recently announced WSOP Asia Pacific at the Crown Casino in Melbourne does not mean the end of the Aussie Millions. In fact the Aussie Millions will run numerous satellites to WSOP APAC.

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Daily 3-Bet: Coren Burn, Phelps Bong, Poker Shit Show

Tue, 08 May 2012 10:56:52 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Vicky Coren getting a last shot in at Amarillo Slim, Michael Phelps telling 60 Minutes about his poker-tinged downfall and a reminder of just how much tolerance people had for poker in 2004.

1) Vicky Coren Gets Last Word on Amarillo Slim

We planned to have Doyle Brunson’s tribute blog as our last word on Amarillo Slim, but Brit Vicky Coren’s last stab at a look back at Slim’s legacy has changed our mind.

Not a word mincer.

In her Guardian UK column this week Coren tries to come to terms with her conflicting views on Slim as a poker player, hustler and possible child molester.

Given Slim’s misogynistic bent, lack of boundaries and her personal experiences with sexism in the poker world, it’s no surprise Coren’s lasting impression is mixed at best.

Still, she does manage to find some sort of peace with him – depending heavily on whether he’s guilty of molestation or not.

She also takes a few parting shots even Slim would appreciate:

“I'm not above pointing out that, 12 years later, my official recorded poker winnings are three times more than his. And he's dead. Good luck catching me now, old-timer.

“But when I met him, I wasn't annoyed by the sexism. I was making my way through a strange, old-fashioned and heavily male-dominated world; they were all a bit like that.

“And he was a 70-year-old Texan in a cowboy hat. When he peered down my top and croaked: ‘Man, you're a healthy young lady!,’ I simply said: ‘Thank you.’” Read the full column here.

2) Michael Phelps: Bong Photo All-Time Low. Thanks Poker!

That's my bong!

Set to become the most decorated Olympic athlete in the history of the world at the London Olympics, Michael Phelps appeared on 60 Minutes this weekend in a segment with Anderson Cooper.

Among the topics were his shot at the all-time record for Olympic medals, his bottoming out after the Beijing Olympics and subsequent return to competitive swimming, his “Hangover-inspired” trips to Vegas and, of course, his famous bong photo (above).

A moment, Phelps says, was his all-time lowest moment. In life.

How does that relate to poker? Phelps has a well-known poker habit and has got pretty good at the game, cashing in a few events even.

His poker play has also brought him into contact with quite a few online poker pros, including Carter “ckingUSC” King, the owner of the aforementioned bong.

The famous photo was shot at a party at King’s house, to which King fessed up to despite not being there.

Congratulations, poker, on sucking down the greatest Olympic swimmer of our time into your murkier depths!

Watch the full 60 Minutes segment here.

3) Poker Was So Popular in 2004 They Even Watched This

Sweet Jesus. Given the current poker climate in the US, it’s hard to believe there was a time people would sit through 90 minutes of Matthew Perry and Dennis Rodman trading quips at a poker table.

But apparently they did, as evidenced by the clip below. If you can’t bear to watch, here are the cliffs:

Dennis Rodman is a gigantic, pouty child Dave Foley is painfully plowing through this gig to pay for an expensive divorce Kevin Nealon, always funny Matthew Perry, always unwatchable Neil Patrick Harris almost wins Mekhi Phifer goes with him a lot All are horrible, horrible poker players

Enjoy:

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Viktor "Isildur1" Blom Scores Huge SCOOP Victory

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:45:00 -0700

Four events in this year’s Spring Championship of Online Poker are done, with three tiers of buy-ins for each, and a handful of big-name pros have already scored victories.

In addition to Viktor Blom, titles have been picked up by Brazil’s Alex Gomes, and recent EPT Monte Carlo final tablist Rodrigo Caprioli.

All told the SCOOP has generated $11,959,830. That’s over the first five events, three of which will conclude this afternoon.

Viktor “Isildur1” Blom Destroys Massive SCOOP Field

Fearless high-stakes online pro Viktor Blom has broken into the world of MTTs in a big way, beginning with his victory in the $100,000 Super High Roller event at this year’s PCA and continuing now with a big SCOOP win.

Blom went wire to wire, crushing his way through a field of 8,240 to win $247,200 in the medium tier buy-in of Event 2: $215 No-Limit Hold’em.

Blom gets even more street cred with this SCOOP win.

Not surprisingly considering the size of the field, the final stages of this event were devoid of familiar names.

Blom carried a big chip lead into his heads-up match with Canadian RaisingRay91. The two wasted little time getting the money in with Blom’s A♦ J♥ holding up against K♥ 8♥ all-in preflop.

Here are the full final table payouts:

1st: Viktor "Isildur1" Blom (United Kingdom) - $247,200 2nd: RaisingRay91 (Canada) - $181,889.76 3rd: szwindel (Malta) - $131,840 4th: Fred_Brink (Denmark) - $87,344 5th: vikAAAA (Russia) - $67,568 6th: rzr900rzr (Antigua and Barbuda) - $51,088 7th: cloaknet (Russia) - $35,432 8th: Gusparo (Hungary) - $19,776 9th: lubor74 (Czech Republic) - $12,772

Not counting Blom, the best performance from Team PokerStars Pro came by way of a 55th finish by Romanian Toni Judet. Sandra Naujoks, meanwhile, finished 637th.

Alex “Allingomes” Wins Event 1 - $2,100 Buy-in

This year’s SCOOP began with a No-Limit Hold’em event of the six-handed variety and the highest tier boasted a $2,100 price tag.

784 players competed, more than doubling the $750k guarantee, and after two days of poker it was Brazil’s Alex Gomes all alone in the winner’s circle.

Alex Gomes increased his winnings on PokerStars to more than $1.3 million.

Gomes is a superstar in Brazilian poker. He won a WSOP bracelet in 2008, came fourth in the PCA Main Event in 2009 and proceeded to win the WPT Bellagio Cup the same year.

All told he’s got more than $3.4 million in live earnings. He’s number one on the all-time Brazilian money list and it’s not even close. Andre Akkari is in second with just $960,000.

Yesterday Gomes won $282,240 and his first SCOOP title. That brings his all-time MTT earnings on PokerStars to over $1.3 million.

Gomes defeated arturitoo of Spain heads-up who received $211,680.

Five players in all scored six-figure paydays in this event, including 2009 WCOOP Event 23 winner Str8$$$Homey who finished fourth.

Dutch tournament pro Johan “busto_soon” Van Til finished ninth.

Here are the full final table results:

1st: Allingomes (Brazil) - $282,240 2nd: arturitooo (Spain) - $211,680 3rd: raidalot (United Kingdom) - $156,800 4th: Str8$$$Homey (Canada) - $109,760 5th: dirty.brasil (Canada) - $78,400 6th: yasunori66 (Japan) - $47,040

Also finishing in the money were Joe “subiime” Cheong (15th), Ignat “0Human0” Liviu (31st), Chris “Genius28” Lee (36th), Mike “pipedream17” Dietrich (39th), Jonathan “apestyles” Van Fleet (43rd), Chris “ImDaNuts” Oliver (44th) and Shyam “G’s zee” Srinivasan (46th).

Rodrigo “caprioli” Caprioli Wins Second SCOOP Title

Rodrigo Caprioli scores his second SCOOP title.

Just one week ago Brazil’s Rodrigo Caprioli was at the final table of the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.

He finished 5th for €315,000 in that event but managed to score an outright victory yesterday in SCOOP Event 4 High, $2,100 Badugi.

A Supernova Elite from Sao Paolo, this was Caprioli’s third SCOOP final table, and his second victory.

Caprioli overcame a tough final table that included Noah “Exclusive” Boeken, Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb and former Sunday Warm-Up winner Zimmy86 from the UK.

Bryn Kenney bubbled the tournament in eighth place.

1st: caprioli (Brazil) - $39,900 2nd: TheHood (Australia) - $25,650 3rd: Zimmy86 (United Kingdom) - $17,100 4th: Exclusive (Netherlands) - $11,400 5th: paulgees81 (Canada) - $8,550 6th: Peshka1502 (Spain) - $6,270 7th: shaundeeb (Mexico) - $5,130 8th: BrynKenney (Spain)

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888poker to Give Away $6k WSOP Package

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:36:42 -0700

Taking place on June 16, the PokerListings $6,000 WSOP 2012 Package freeroll will give the winner a seat in Event 59, $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em at this year’s WSOP.

The winner will also receive $2,000 for travel expenses, seven nights accommodations at the Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas, access to the 888poker players’ lounge and an invite to the 888poker VIP party.

Entry is free for any player signed up via PokerListings who makes a deposit from May 8 through June 14.

The freeroll is already listed in the “restricted” section of the 888poker lobby. Registration opens June 16 and there will be a cap of 3,000 players.

Players who create a new account at 888poker will get an instant $8 free plus entrance to the $100k First Depositors’ Challenge and $3,500 in freerolls during their first month.

PokerListings players also receive a 200% bonus match up to $888.

The 888poker software has benefited from extensive upgrades over the last two years with new 3D graphics, webcam tables and user-generated private tables.

Last year 888poker won the EGR Magazine award as best poker operator.

For more information be sure to check our 888poker review.

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Daily 3-Bet: Doyle Pines, Angry Blinds, Poker Dress Code

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:54:15 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Doyle Brunson paying homage to his old running mate Amarillo Slim, how poker played a part in the Angry Birds phenomenon and why Norman Chad thinks poker needs a dress code.

1) Doyle Brunson Pays Tribute to Amarillo Slim

Nobody in the poker world was closer to Amarillo Slim than his old running mate Doyle Brunson.

Great hustler, poor fighter.

While the rest of the world rushed to praise or pan Slim in their recent obits, Brunson took his time to gather his thoughts and put together a more well rounded look at Slim and his poker career.

Posted on his blog on Friday, Brunson says Slim wasn’t necessarily the best poker player but he was the best at hustling up games:

“People always ask me if Slim was a great player and was he as good as Sailor and me. My answer is no, not quite but he was way above the average player.

"Slims major contribution to our partnership was arranging games and promoting people to play with us. He had a gift of gab that I've never see equaled.

"He was absolutely fearless and could not be embarrassed about anything.”

On the downside, Brunson says, he had to do all the fighting:

“Unfortunately, he was tall and skinny and couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag and Sailor was too easy going, so I always had to do the fighting when things got out of hand"

As you might expect, it's a touching tribute to an old friend. And you can tell Doyle pines for the old days, crazy as they were.

2) Angry Birds Offshoot Inspired by Company Poker Night

No poker, no Angry Birds.

Dig into the most successful Internet startups in the history of the Web and you’re likely to find a few common threads.

Showing up more often than you might think? Office poker games.

There’s no bigger app in the world than Angry Birds and the Finnish company that created it, Rovio, also took part in the poker ritual.

Rovio veterans Antti Stén and Tuomas Erikoinen, who helped build the Angry Birds legacy, are leaving to found their own company but look back fondly on the early poker nights at Rovio:

"Back in the days, about four years ago, Rovio used to have free beers every Friday so people stayed at the office," Erikoinen tells PocketGamer.biz.

"There were twelve of us back then. Every Friday we would kick back, drink some beers and play poker. It was kind of like a tradition.”

Bringing the tradition with them to their new company, Boomlagoon, the two say they “have major plans to have their meeting room double as a ‘big ass poker room.’”

"We want to be the most laid back relaxed employers of all," Erikoinen says.

Employers take note: free beer and poker = industry-defining success. Just a tip.

3) Sartorialist Norman Chad: Poker Needs a Dress Code

Mike Sexton has said it. Now Norman Chad has said it. And despite the fact both of them have atrocious personal style, the question is still in interesting one.

Does poker need a dress code?

Drawing from the European Chess Union’s recent decision to establish a dress code to curtail cleavage, Chad takes the issue on in his latest Couch Slouch blog post. His take (not including several dozen random and confusing asides):

“Chess needs a dress code like Switzerland needs a navy. Poker needs a dress code.

"At the moment, all the twentysomething savants favor shades, baseball caps and hoodies, usually adorned in black. Card rooms these days look like funeral homes with chips.”

Chad also says golf needs a dress code, tennis needs a dress code, bowlers look fine and if there was a rule against short skirts in the early 80s his first marriage wouldn't have happened.

Oh Norm. Check his random stylings here. Watch him rank the top 5 oceans in an odd-colored polo shirt below:

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Lock Poker to Buy Cake Poker, Transition to Revolution Network

Mon, 07 May 2012 08:42:04 -0700

According to the announcement Lock Poker will leave the Merge network to become a member of Revolution Gaming by June 1.

“We are very excited at the prospect of driving the product, marketing and overall vision of the network. It is a dream come true,” said Jennifer Larson, CEO of Lock.

“Merge was a great stepping stone for us but we have outgrown them. We really need to forge our own path to continued success. The only way to do this is to stay true to our core philosophy: partnering with our players.”

The move is expected to be seamless and players should have their bankrolls and VIP statuses switched to the new Revolution Gaming network in a software update on May 31.

According to Larson players will benefit from an improved loyalty program, rakeback and a faster cashout structure on the new Revolution Gaming network.

The site is also set to add more Lock Pros although it already has a very respectable stable with Annette Obrestad, Melanie Weisner, Chris Moorman, Leo Margets and Matt Stout all on board.

Lock Poker, Cake Poker, Bodog and the Merge Poker Network are among the few online poker sites that still accept U.S. poker players.

For more information check our Lock Poker review.

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rUaBot Powers Down Negreanu in $75k Limit Challenge

Sun, 06 May 2012 07:48:17 -0700

The as-yet-unidentified rUaBot, referred to by Negreanu as a "Limit genius," played well but mostly got the better of the cards - especially on the river - to run over the inaugural challenge and add Negreanu's $75k to his bankroll.

The fixed-limit hold'em challenge was the first of its kind on PokerStars and took place across two tables with $200/$400 blinds and players loading up $8,000 with auto-rebuys on each table.

Negreanu Has Good Start But Mostly Downhill From There

After an early rush by rUaBot, Negreanu managed to get a small lead by hand 100 but that was as good as it got.

By the 200-hand mark rUaBot was up five-figures and by 250 was hovering around $12k. Another 200 hands later and rUaBot had close to $45k.

Negreanu managed to stay about even over the next couple hundred hands but another push by rUaBot had the lead back up to $52,900 by hand 713.

From there it was a gradual grind to the finish with the final tally being four hours of play and just 937 hands needed (out of 1,250 planned) for rUaBot to take the full $75k.

Negreanu, likely not hurting financially from the loss after his €900k+ take home from Monte Carlo last week, wasn't too interested in stepping up for a rematch based on his post-game chat:

KidPoker: ggrUaBot: ggrUaBot: sorry for the sick runKidPoker: its ok just glad its over!KidPoker: have never in my life played 2 tables HU LH and I never will againrUaBot: big thanks for playing hererUaBot: ohKidPoker: good night

Two of Negreanu's WSOP bracelets are in Limit Hold'em.

The PokerStars Limit Hold'em Challenge is supposed to be a recurring event, similar to the Isildur1 SuperStars Showdown, but no new challengers have been named.

For more info on the Challenge, check the recap in the PokerStars blog.

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William Hill to Award $30k in WSOP Rake Race

Sat, 05 May 2012 08:26:41 -0700

The William Hill WSOP Rake Race will award $30,000 in 2012 WSOP packages from May 3 to June 3.

Players have the option of generating WSOP points in either cash games or tournaments.

At the cash game tables players earn 10 WSOP points for every $1 in rake generated, or in the case of tournaments, for every $1 paid in tournament fees.

The leaderboards are divided by stake level, which means low stakes gamblers will also be able to get in on the action.

Anything below a $1 big blind counts as low stakes in the cash games while any tournament entry below $20 counts as low stakes in tournaments.

First place in the high stakes division will walk away with a $13,500 Main Event package to the WSOP Main Event. Second provides a $6,000 WSOP side event package. Places 3-18 all award various amounts of cash.

Meanwhile the low stakes leader as of June 3 will receive a $3,700 WSOP experience package with the other 19 places pay cash.

PokerListings players who sign up for William Hill Poker currently benefit from a 200% deposit match up to $2,000. It’s one of the highest bonuses in the industry.

William Hill Poker players also get to take part in the massive iPOPs poker series which is currently taking place across the iPoker network.

For more information be sure to check our exclusive William Hill Poker review.

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Daily 3-Bet: Mercier Slump, Matusow Hump, DNegs Reads Souls

Fri, 04 May 2012 11:21:31 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Jason Mercier bemoaning his longest losing jag, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow bemoaning his reversal of life fortune and the one-man media blitz that is Daniel Negreanu taking on Southern Ontario.

1) Mercier's Longest Losing Streak Ever?

A slump for Jason Mercier – one of the most successful tournament pros ever – is in a very different category than a slump for an average poker player.

Seemingly hitting for a six-figure score every other month for the past four years, Mercier is now facing what he says may be his longest dry spell ever. Tweeted Mercier on Monday:

Haven't really had to deal w this much losing over and over before...Gotta rise above it, and keep playing my A game#ontothenextone

— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) April 30, 2012

The record shows Mercier has still won about $100k so far in 2012 with a third-place in a PCA $5k and a cash in the $10k Bounty at Bay 101 - which would be a banner year for some.

Given the buy-in levels and volume Mercier plays ... yeah, probably fair to say that's a major slump.

Still, he did win the $100k High Roller at the Five-Diamond Classic in December for $700k, so no need to shed a tear for him just yet.

If the Heat lose the NBA final, though, things could get dicey we'd guess. And just to rub it in, ElkY also passed him on the GPI this week too.

2) Remember When Mike Matusow Was Rich? He Does.

Remember about 18 months ago when Mike “The Mouth” Matusow was one of the biggest, baddest, fanny-pack wearing poker players in the world?

Salad days: tossed.

Almost seems hard to believe, but Matusow really was one of the most influential poker personalities around thanks to the exposure and security his monthly FTP nut provided.

It’s a much different story these days, as Matusow told PKR’s Stacked Magazine in its latest edition:

"I lost $185,000 on Full Tilt, but that wasn’t the worst part. Losing my contract with Full Tilt was the worst of it ...

"I thought I was set for life, with a cheque coming every month, and the thought that now I had to go out and play poker for a living was so hard."

To make ends meet, Matusow says he's now humping out to the live games in San Diego five days a week:

“I’m grinding out a living now, playing a lot in San Diego, but it’s not easy. Pros have taught everybody else how to play poker ...

"Between November [2011] and March [2012], I probably won about $125,000, so I’m okay, but you still have bad runs.

"Last week, I lost $75,000 playing poker. That hurt. You have bad weeks and they suck."

Also featured in the piece about Black Friday and its impact are Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem and Brian Rast. Download the PDF of the last edition of Stacked here.

3) Daniel Negreanu: Poker's Coca-Cola to Hellmuth's Pepsi

Never one to rest on his Coca-Cola-esque status in the poker world, Daniel Negreanu hopped off the plane from Monte Carlo and his €600k runner-up finish and immediately hit the media trail again.

Ostensibly in Toronto to play the SCOOP and to squeeze in his Limit Challenge with rUaBot, Negreanu made appearances on Fan590 radio, Canada AM and MTV Canada in the span of about 24 hours.

Whatever you think of Negreanu, you can’t argue he’s done more for poker in the mainstream media (positively that is) than anyone in the history of poker.

Check his clip on Canada AM where he explains how he reads souls (Hint: it’s like a baby) here.

While the title says it's about him getting ready for the WSOP, they never really get into it so here's a reminder of some of his better WSOP soul reads:

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Sahamies Bombs: Top 10 Weekly Online Winners/Losers

Fri, 04 May 2012 09:11:22 -0700

It was a busy week for high stakes as pros like Sahamies, Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and Ben “milkybarkid” Grundy took a massive beating.

On the plus side, Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond, Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky and Fake Love888 (allegedly Patrik Antonius) were able to pick up the slack and book big wins.

Here’s a complete breakdown of the top 10 biggest winners and losers over the last week:

Top 10 Online Winners This Week

Just who is Phisherman36? It’s still not clear but the account, which activated in January, is now up over $600k in 2012.

The last week was the best one yet for Phisherman36 as he picked up an astounding $372,000 in 10,410 hands.

He had some respectable company near the top as noted pros Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (+$275k) and Chris “Genius28” Lee (+$135k) slot into second and third place in overall profit this week.

Lee isn’t as well-known as some of his fellow high stakes players but he’s been money in the bank this year with $288k in profit. Lee picked up his first WSOP bracelet last summer so he’s going to get a shot at another in less than a month.

Fake Love888, the rumored account of Patrik Antonius, posted a rare winning session on PokerStars this week picking up $88k. Since the account activated it's down more than a million but Fake Love888 keeps plugging along.

Meanwhile Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond added yet another $88k victory and is now up over $1.1 million in online poker this year.

Here’s a complete look at the top 10 online winners this week according to HSDB:

1. Phisherman36: +$372,000 2. Sauce123: +$275,000 3. Genius28: +$135,000 4. Muha84: +$133,000 5. Joiso: +$118,000 6. 1-ronnyr3: +$113,000 7. Fake Love888: +$109,000 8. MrSweets28: +$88,000 9. Vaga_Lion: +$87,000 10. Jackovski: +$81,000

Viktor "Isildur1" Blom

Top 10 Online Losers This Week

It’s been one of those years for Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies.

The Finnish pro has been under fire all year long and simply unable to dig himself out of the massive hole he dug earlier in 2012.

Despite some good work over the last few weeks to get even, Sahamies took a massive step backwards with $346k in losses over the last seven days.

After the week’s losses Sahamies is once again down over $700k this year and will need a major comeback if he wants to finish with a profit this year. Fortunately he's done it before.

Right behind Sahamies this week was Viktor “Isildur1” Blom who dumped $190k into the high stakes games on PokerStars.

Technically Blom is down even more than Sahamies, a total of $823k, but he’s got that $500k win against Haxton and the $1.3 million haul at the PCA Super High Roller to fall back on.

Finally Ben “milkybarkid” Grundy continued his extended slide over the last two months by losing $108k.

The U.K. pro peaked at over $500k in profit in the high stakes games on PokerStars but has seen that number reduced to a mere $69k.

Here are the top 10 online losers according to HSDB:

1. Ilari FIN: -$346,000 2. Isildur1: -$190,000 3. Toweliestar: -$169,000 4. LhhmMaoly: -$141,000 5. Azn_baller3: -$121,000 6. Nutsinho: -$108,000 7. Milkybarkid: -$100,000 8. Uwintakeit: -$95,000 9. Takechip: -$89,000 10. Aku1206: -$71,000

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Daily 3-Bet: Trickett Splits, Neuville Hits, Lost Poker

Thu, 03 May 2012 11:48:42 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find British high-stakes crusher Sam Trickett splitting with his sponsor, Serial EPT Qualifier Pierre Neuville living up to his nickname and Jack and Sawyer put their mangos where their mouths are.

1) Sam Trickett Parts Ways with Titan Poker

After two years as a sponsored pro with Titan Poker, British high-stakes icon Sam Trickett has decided to part ways with the poker site.

Originally signing on with Titan in March 2010 along with German pro Marvin Rettenmaier, Trickett announced the split with a tweet earlier today:

Me an Titan have decided to part ways. I have enjoyed representing them and they was a absolute pleasure to work with.Thanks again Titan....

— Sam Trickett (@Samtrickett1) May 3, 2012 A regular in the Macau big games and one of the most sought-after pros for televised cash games, Trickett should have no problem finding a new suitor, if he wants one, before the upcoming WSOP.

Betfair? PokerStars? 888? Odds on favorite anyone?

If we were betting people, we'd put a pound or two on PokerStars. Follow him on Twitter for updates.

2) Serial Qualifier Pierre Neuville Wins (Duh) Online Qualifier Award

Given Team PokerStars Pro Pierre Neuville’s nickname ("Serial EPT Qualifier"), it’s not surprising to hear he won the Online Qualifier of the Year award at the EPT awards in Monaco Tuesday.

There's a reason they call him that.

Qualifying online for a record 23 EPT events in a row to originally earn his nickname, Neuville kept up his blistering pace of qualifying for Season 9 and has now qualified online for 38 of the 40 EPT tournaments he’s played.

Neuville has also put those EPT seats to good use, cashing in the last three main events on Season 9 including the Grand Final, where he finished in 82nd place for €15,000.

If you want to know how his qualifying secrets, check our exclusive How to Qualify for the EPT series here.

The rest of the EPT Season 9 award winners:

Player of the Year: Ondrej Vinklarek Player’s Choice Player of the Year: Roberto Romanello EPT Achievement of the Year: Roberto Romanello Omaha Player of the Year: Khiem Ngyuen Mixed-Game Player of The Year: Salvatore Bonavena Heads-Up Player of The Year: Melanie Weisner Country of the Year: Lebanon

3) Put Your Mangos Where Your Mouth Is

Given the recent addition of our Pop Poker column by Martin Harris, breaking down poker across pop culture, we’ve been kind of obsessed with finding poker in random TV shows and movies lately.

Case in point: this scene in Season 2 of Lost where Jack and Sawyer had a metaphorical dick-measuring contest over a few rounds of Hold’em and few piles of mangoes and bananas.

Ah poker. Always a great plot device to reveal character archetypes.

In the end, of course, several classic lines of “poker” dialog were cemented in TV history and Jack shows he can get in Sawyer’s head. Sawyer, for his part, shows he knows some geography and understands how to cure venereal disease.

To their credit, the writers don’t mangle the poker play entirely, although Jack learning Hold’em in Phuket seems a bit random. Clip below:

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Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen Hunts First SCOOP Title

Thu, 03 May 2012 11:07:00 -0700

The 2012 Spring Championship of Online Poker is running on PokerStars.com May 6-20 and it boasts $30 million in guaranteed prize pools over 120 events.

Mickey Petersen took down the biggest prize of his online poker career when he chopped a $2,100 buy-in SCOOP event in 2010, but he’s looking to win one outright this time around.

“I’ve had so many close calls in the last few years,” Petersen told PokerListings.com at the recent EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.

“I’ve got second twice already and even though I’ve had lots of good results, I just want to win one,” he said.

And Petersen has the momentum to do just that, fresh off his win at EPT Copenhagen in February where he took down more than $444,000.

He’s been traveling the live circuit plus playing online and he plans to spend the summer in Las Vegas going after his first World Series of Poker bracelet.

“I’m planning on playing a lot of mixed game events at the WSOP this year so I think the SCOOP is a great way to get into that mindset and get some experience,” said Petersen.

When it comes to mixed game tournaments the SCOOP offers players a unique opportunity. It’s one of the only places online that can draw big crowds for events like Badugi and 8-Game.

Last year over 107,000 players from 156 countries played SCOOP, and expectations are even higher for 2012.

Big Value in Non-Hold’em SCOOP Events

Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree recently penned a blog post saying she can’t wait for the Badugi event despite never having played a hand in her life.

Liv Boeree will be googling the rules to Badugi before playing SCOOP Event #4.

“It’s a good series of events because you’ll have a lot of No-Limit players jumping into games they don’t know how to play,” said Petersen.

“I remember like two years ago I was playing Five-Card Draw and I had to look up the rules at the beginning of the tournament.

“So if you’re even remotely competent in some of these games it’s going to be really good value,” he said.

With three tiers of buy-ins for each event, players should be able to afford to play other games, even if they’re forced to look up the rules beforehand.

“It’s a great way for those players to get their feet wet with new games without having to spend much money,” said Petersen.

Players to Watch According to mement_mori

Heading into the 2012 SCOOP there are a few players that everyone in the online community has their eyes on.

And while Mickey Petersen is certainly among them, he’s in a good position to shine the spotlight on the other favorites.

“There are a lot of good players but if I had to point at just one it would be Calvin Anderson who plays as cal42688,” said Petersen.

“He’s a good friend of mine and he’s very good at No-Limit and very good at all the other games so I think he’ll be the favorite,” he added.

In 2011 Anderson took down two SCOOP titles in less than two days. And that was in addition to the WCOOP bracelet he had already earned.

“Bryn Kenney and Shaun Deeb are two others to watch out for,” said Petersen.

To get in on the 2012 SCOOP action sign up through PokerListings.com for the best signup bonus on the Internet.

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Negreanu Takes on rUaBot in Limit Challenge

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:40:59 -0700

The match will take place on Saturday, May 5, starting at 2 p.m. ET. The pair will play 1,250 hands of $200/$400 Limit Hold’em. Each player will bring a bankroll of $75,000 to the tables.

rUaBot, who has yet to reveal his identity, began his poker career playing Limit hold’em and has since developed into somewhat of a specialist. He’s made thousands playing Limit Hold'em online.

"In my opinion, fixed limit is more strategic than No-Limit," he told the PokerStars blog.

"In No-Limit, you always have some guessing games like 'would he bluff here or wouldn't he?' Of course, such situations often happen in Fixed-Limit, too, but there is much more space for general strategic adaptions than in No-Limit. I think, setting up your standard game is pure math, but exploiting your opponents patterns is an art... and will always be!"

Red-Hot Negreanu Looking Forward to Limit Battle

Negreanu is no slouch when it comes to Limit poker either. Four of Negreanu’s five WSOP bracelets are in Limit or Pot-Limit Hold’em.

“My goal is not to get crushed,” joked Negreanu on Twitter.

The Team PokerStars Pro also has some experience in heads-up challenges as he was one of the few players to actually win a match against Viktor “Isildur1” Blom in the SuperStar Showdown although he was down overall against Blom.

It may also help that Negreanu is on a bit of a hot streak in 2012 with nearly $1.5 million in high roller live tournament profit. Most recently he finished second in the €25k high roller at EPT Monte Carlo for €600k.

You can view the match this Saturday by logging onto the PokerStars lobby and searching for the heads-up match in the high stakes section of the cash game tab.

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Shawn Cunix Snags WPT Jacksonville Title

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:25:44 -0700

Cunix, a primarily recreational player, outlasted a table full of pros including Will Failla and Tony Dunst to earn $400,600 plus a $25k seat in the upcoming WPT Championship at Bellagio for the win.

Making the win even more impressive, Cunix played the entire event with a broken collarbone after literally saving his son’s life avoiding a four-wheeler accident earlier in the week.

The win is Cunix’s first major tour title and boosts his career earnings up over $1 million.

James Calderaro, Cunix’s heads-up opponent, earned $236,560 for his runner-up finish.

Failla, Dunst Fall First

First WPT final table for Dunst.

Despite coming in as the chip leader, Cunix’s ride to the title wasn’t an easy one as he had to navigate past five experienced pros at the final table.

Will “The Thrill” Failla, already a WTP title holder and final-tablist again this year, entered the final table third in chips and looked to be a threat but fell out first in sixth.

His sixth-place finish did put him back atop the points race for the WPT Player of the Year however.

Tony “Bond18” Dunst, the WPT Raw Deal announcer, made his first-ever WPT final table but couldn’t finish higher than fifth.

Daniel Buzgon, also a WPT final-tablist this year with a third-place finish at the Borgata Open, fell one spot shorter in this one in fourth.

Darren Elias, another respected pro, busted out in third to set the stage for the heads-up match with Calderaro.

For a full recap of the final-table action, check the WPT live updates.

Final-table results and payouts:

1st: Shawn Cunix - $400,600 (includes $25,500 WPT World Championship seat)

2nd: James Calderaro - $236,560

3rd: Darren Elias - $147,850

4th: Daniel Buzgon - $94,624

5th: Tony Dunst - $66,532

6th: Will Failla - $54,70

Check out Cunix’s winner interview with the WPT’s Jess Wellman below:

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Tweet Relief: Amarillo Slim, Monte Carlo Dominate

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:52:55 -0700

Twitter is getting pretty hard to ignore but fortunately for readers who don’t feel like wading through thousands of poker Tweets every week we’ve compiled a list of our favorite posts from the last week.

This week the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo and Amarillo Slim passing away dominated the poker Twittersphere. Despite his controversial status in the poker world, the community at large seemed sad to see Slim pass.

Meanwhile Monte Carlo had several interesting storylines with a woman nearly winning the main event and Daniel Negreanu coming in second in the $25k high roller but it was the exorbitant prices of the area that seemed to strike a chord in the social media community.

We’ve got insightful observations from Doyle Brunson, Scott Huff, Erik Seidel, Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier and more. Interestingly we also feature the first Phil Ivey Tweet in over a year.

Check them all out below:

Poker legend Amarillo Slim passed last night. One of the all time greats in poker! You will be missed Slim!

— Phil Ivey (@philivey) April 29, 2012

Feeling blue after Slim's passing,even though I was expecting it. Sickening to read what some folks are saying about him.#theyjustdontknow

— Doyle Brunson (@TexDolly) April 30, 2012

Haven't really had to deal w this much losing over and over before...Gotta rise above it, and keep playing my A game#ontothenextone

— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) April 30, 2012

What do check-raising and plus-sized women have in common? I haven't done either since 2008

— Fake Gus Hansen(@FakeGusHansen) April 30, 2012

This is delicious! Can I have 2nds? Do you have a to-go bag? - Words never spoken on a plane

— Erik Seidel (@Erik_Seidel) May 1, 2012

Pretty sure I'm leading the Onyx Cup Standings.. Er wait, nevermind but I would be if there was one lol

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) May 1, 2012

You're expensive, MS RT @SavagePoker: Coming back as TD for 2012 @PartouchePoker Tour ME in Cannes.... this year it's 5,000,000€ Guaranteed.

— Short-Stacked Shamus (@hardboiledpoker) May 1, 2012

Not Laurent Tapie, for sure. RT @CalvinAyre: Question of the day – who do you trust in the Poker Industry? bit.ly/Ivsl89 #Poker

— Kevin Mathers (@Kevmath) May 2, 2012

I don't want to say Monte Carlo is expensive, but the McDonald's has a loan officer.

— Joe Stapleton (@twojacksjoe) April 27, 2012

Murder Inc. was technically an LLC.

— Scott Huff (@ScottBHuff) April 30, 2012

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Daily 3-Bet: Slim Truth, Hellmuth < Kessler, Drawing Dead

Wed, 02 May 2012 11:50:23 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we learn the ultimate truth about Amarillo Slim, two pros square off in a “photos with tigers” contest and two more poker players tell their disparate online poker stories.

1) The Truth About Amarillo Slim: His Truth isn't the Truth

The news of Amarillo Slim’s death on Sunday hit the media wires shockingly hard.

Told his truth, not the truth.

We think of him as a big deal in poker, for sure, but it’s surprising how big and how lasting his legacy in the mainstream media still is.

Hundreds of news pieces (kudos to the Vancouver Sun for worst headline – “Famous Poker Pitchman Folds”), RIP tweets and loosely fact-checked anecdotes have been sprayed around the Web since.

None come close to Remembering Amarillo Slim Whichever Way We Wish by Greg Dinkin on Grantland.

Slim’s co-author on his memoir Amarillo Slim in a World of Fat People, Dinkin revisits his life with Slim and, in particular, the time he spent following him around for his research on the book.

His recounting of their visit to Nicholas Cage’s house (“We had brought a copy of the memoir, so I handed Slim a pen and asked him to sign it for Cage. Slim grabbed the pen, looked Nicolas Cage dead in the eye, and said, "How do you spell 'prick'?”) is amazing, but Dinkin truly nails Slim’s essence in several passages, including this one:

“For years, I had been trying to figure out if Slim was lying or not. Remember that Amarillo Slim in a World of Fat People is a memoir.

“It's simply the stories Slim wants to remember — how he wants to remember them. Given that he's a hustler and a con man, I felt it was understood that Slim's truth doesn't necessarily reveal the truth.” Read the full piece here.

2) Phil Hellmuth and Allen Kessler Square off with Tigers

Speaking of ego-driven poker players, two of poker’s most solipsistic pros, Phil Hellmuth and Allen Kessler, had an unintentional “Tiger-off” this week.

Chainsaw ftw.

Hellmuth, true to his name-dropping raison d'être, tweeted a shot of himself playing some golf with Tiger Woods, brought about by Tiger’s participation in a charity poker tournament in Vegas last week.

Kessler, befitting his status in relation to Hellmuth, had a photo of him with a stuffed tiger in what we think is the Jacksonville BestBet casino tweeted by fellow pro Jonathan Little.

Comparing the pics on the right, we’d say it’s a clear victory for Kessler.

For one, the tiger in his photo is paying attention to the camera at least. And for two, Hellmuth’s golf swing is horrific yet still not bad enough to distract us from his Color Me Badd beard.

Kudos Allen Kessler! You’ve taken this week’s best “Poker Pro with a Tiger” photo!

3) Drawing Dead: Feature Length Due in 2012

You may have caught this mini-doc on the upsides and downsides of online poker last year, but with a full-length version due to come out in 2012 it’s worth a revisit.

In short: The film centers around two disparate experiences with online poker:

Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt, who used online poker to become a millionaire, and Michael Korpi Jr, a violinist who was a "victim" of online poker, stole money from his roommate, lost it all, got kicked out of college and was in the process of walking to Boston from Seattle to speak at a problem gambling conference.

Not to trivialize his experience, but Korpi doesn't quite come off as a sympathetic or realistic version of the "problem gambler." Just our read from the clip though.

Check the 12-minute clip below; send feedback to director Mike Weeks on his Kickstarter page.

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Choose Your Dream Tourney with PokerStars ME Passport

Wed, 02 May 2012 08:22:07 -0700

Players who win a Main Event Passport on PokerStars have an option of playing the main event in the following series:

World Series of Poker (WSOP) European Poker Tour (EPT) Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA)

Every package up for grabs is worth a total of $13,000. The promo runs until July 1, 2012, and players can qualify in several ways.

There are cash satellites for the passport, which you can buy into directly, or you can take part in a frequent player points satellite if you don’t want to actually spend any cash.

Fortunately the Main Event Passport on PokerStars will have a steps system so you can potentially qualify for as little as $7.50 if you successfully climb the six-step ladder.

Last year PokerStars qualified nearly 1,000 players for the WSOP Main Event and this year the Main Event passport is the best way to get a seat at the world’s biggest poker tournament.

Players who sign up though PokerListings currently receive a 100% deposit match up to $600. Be sure to check our PokerStars review for more information.

Visit www.pokerlistings.com

Daily 3-Bet: Phil Balks, durrrr Talks, Flushing £1 Million

Tue, 01 May 2012 13:00:20 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Phil Galfond opening up his mailbag and balking at a Full Tilt deal, Tom Dwan opening up on his role in redefining poker and Luke Schwartz and Andrew Feldman sharing their mutual sicknesses with the BBC.

1) Galfond Answers Mail, Reveals Full Tilt/UB Offers

Not to beat our Phil Galfond love to death, but after yesterday’s surprise strategy session on FCP Galfond has offered up his valuable insight to the poker community again today.

No thanks, FTP.

In a new session on his own site called Ask Phil, Galfond has opened up his mail bag and answered some questions sent in by his fans. Among the topics:

What he’d do if he couldn’t play poker (teach or open a business) How he shoved Phil Laak out of a big pot on HSP (wrong read) Plans for $1 million Big One for One Drop (may or may not play)

He also sheds some light on some old sponsorship offers he got from both Full Tilt Poker and UB pre-Black Friday:

“After winning a bracelet in 2008, I received an offer from FTP ... It was similar to what I understand their ‘standard’ deal was, which wasn’t worth very much to a nosebleed player like me. I declined.

“In addition to the money not making a huge difference for me, and the potential for not being allowed to play on other sites (very costly), I was very confident in my game and my future.”

If the legal situation turns around in the US, however, Galfond says he would be open to an offer from the right site for the right price.

Our Phil cup truly runneth over. And as always, Phil's worth a look. Read the full post here.

2) durrrr: "He was a little better than I thought"

Ran "salty" vs. Isildur.

Speaking of great Q and As, Bluff Europe tracked down Tom “durrrr” Dwan somewhere between Macau and Europe and got him to answer a few questions.

A lot of them were about Black Friday and Full Tilt Poker, naturally, which Dwan understandably seems a bit tired of answering.

Still, he does reiterate his anger at how FTP handled the situation and hedged his bets on any more declarative repayment statements:

“I think it’s completely ridiculous that they didn't have all the money … From an ethical standpoint, the only two things they had to do were to make sure they had all the money and make sure there was no cheating. And that shouldn’t be that hard."

On the odds of repayment:

“I’ve heard a lot of rumours. I’ve heard a lot of things. I’m not sure what price I’d put it at. I definitely don’t think that they’re drawing dead and I definitely don’t think that they’re locks to be paid back. I think it’s somewhere in the middle.”

As for his epic loss to Isildur1, durrrr says he was "happy to get action. He was a little better than I thought, but I still liked my side of it. I ran… pretty salty.

“Then I woke up one day and saw that Brian Hastings had beaten him for $4m and almost broke my computer. I was pretty pissed off.”

Read the full interview and what he feels about claims he's redefined poker here.

3) BBC Hangs Out with Luke Schwartz, Andrew Feldman’s Mom

If you haven’t seen this BBC piece on high-stakes poker from last year with Luke “_FullFlush1_” Schwartz and Andrew Feldman, it’s definitely worth a watch.

Reporter Richard Adams takes a ride with Schwartz, rails a session and hears about his epic £1 million losing jag. He also visits with Andrew Feldman and his mom to discuss Feldman’s gambling problem.

Schwartz, to his credit, actually comes off half decent. Feldman, for his part, manages to not cry. Check the clip below:

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Leaked Tapie Email: Plans for New Full Tilt Poker-Like Site

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:46:00 -0700

The Diamond Flush Poker website has published what it says is a leaked email from Laurent Tapie, the executive director of the Bernard Tapie Group spearheading the Full Tilt deal, to 16 “key” employees of Pocket Kings.

In the email Tapie made a dramatic proposal, giving employees the chance to maintain their current salary but instead work for a new poker site under the Game Cubed company Tapie registered earlier this month in Ireland.

The primary condition, however, is they would all need to accept the offer:

I will do this only if I can attract ALL OF the Pocket Kings KEY STAFF to join me. With your help and know-how, we will launch a new website that will be best of breed in 6-7 months.

I know that any such step requires a leap of faith, so here is my offer: as of May 1, I will hire the entire Pocket Kings key staff – every single one of you – at your current salaries and with your accumulated benefits intact. I also will include stock options in the new company, so that we all will share in what I believe to be the exciting upside this opportunity represents.

Read the complete email on Diamond Flush Poker.

New Software, Lost Balances to ROW Players

Tapie went on to say the staff would write entirely new software and launch a new brand with an offer to former Full Tilt ROW players to recover their lost balances if they join the site.

The email was allegedly sent out just hours before Tapie released the official statement where he said the company was pulling out of the Full Tilt deal.

It’s unclear if any employees accepted the offer although at this point it seems unlikely considering Tapie himself called off the Full Tilt deal.

The Full Tilt Poker deal allegedly fell through because the Tapie Group couldn’t reach an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice on a timeline for paying back ROW players.

In the email Tapie wrote the DOJ ultimately refused to accept the Tapie Group’s proposal for repayment of the players on April 14, 2012, because it wanted GBT to pay back 100% of the $184 million owed to ROW players in 90 days.

Bernard Tapie Group attorney Behnam Dayanim, when contacted by PokerListings about the email, said he could only offer "no comment."

Since the BTG/Full Tilt deal fell through, former competitor PokerStars has been rumored to be in negotiations with the DOJ to buy the floundering Full Tilt Poker for $750 million.

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Kurganov Clips Negreanu for EPT High Roller Title

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:30:05 -0700

Coming into the final table fourth in chips but well back of chip leader Justin Bonomo, hopes were high Negreanu could make a move and he did, getting a huge double up early to get back in contention.

By the time play was four-handed, Negreanu had seized control of the chip lead and looked to be in position to win, busting Bonomo and German Phillip Gruissem to enter heads-up way ahead of Kurganov.

But in a back-and-forth heads-up match, Kurganov eventually surged in front and almost put Daniel away before Negreanu pulled back to even.

Ultimately, however, Kurganov just got hit with the deck harder and knocked Negreanu out in a quick succession of hands at the end.

As Negreanu tweeted about his demise:

Ugly finish lost K9 to AA on KJ8 flop then J8 vs 44 board 89284 then 7T vs 59 board 467T3 then AJ clubs all in lost to K3. Bleh.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) May 1, 2012

Dissappointed but still upbeat, Negreanu gave kudos to his opponent:

He played really well and I'm proud of my finish but not exactly happy with it at the moment. 600k Euro pays some bills

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) May 1, 2012

Kurganov takes home €1 million for the championship while Negreanu earned €598,600 for second.

Gruissem, a high-roller specialist with several big cashes to his name, took home third place for €366,000.

Kurganov, who placed second in last year’s £20k High Roller event at EPT London and third in the High Roller at EPT Tallinn, boosts his live earnings up to just under $2 million with the win.

Bonomo Out in Fourth, Runs Grand Final Total up to €1.9 Million

While his run in the 25k High Roller ended in fourth, Justin Bonomo had a week to remember regardless.

Winning the €100,000 Super High Roller for €1.64 million to kick off the Grand Final a week ago, Bonomo scooped another €266,000 for fourth today.

Clipped at the wire.

Adding in €35,000 for finishing 28th in the Main Event, Bonomo packs up just under €2 million for a week's worth of work.

Phil Ivey narrowly missed the final table in this event, finishing in ninth place for €73,200

The full final-table results and payouts:

1. Igor Kurganov €1,080,000

2. Daniel Negreanu €598,600

3. Phillip Gruissem €366,000

4. Justin Bonomo €266,000

5. Artem Litvinov €216,000

6. Noah Schwartz €166,000

7. Nathan Schoo €133,000

8. Max Lykov €100,000

Margets: Ladies Champ.

Margets, Smith Add Side-Event Wins

While most of the attention was focused on the $25k High Roller, four other events played out at the Monte Carlo casino today to wrap up Grand Final week.

Spanish Lock Poker pro Leo Margets defeated Vicky Coren heads-up to win the Ladies title and €16,850.

American Dan Smith also made it an astounding three €5k NL side events in a row when he beat Toby Lewis heads-up in the NL 6-max side event. Smith, who won the first EPT Grand Final €5k for €250,500 and the €5k Turbo for €161,650 took home €118,000 for his latest

The Tournament of Champions freeroll for all previous EPT winners and the €10k Turbo event were still to be decided at press time.

For full recaps of all the day's action, visit the PokerStars blog.

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Titan Poker Revamps VIP Program

Tue, 01 May 2012 08:08:46 -0700

Titan Rewards refers to both an upgraded VIP Club and loyalty plan.

The new reward program is structured around three key elements: 1. Monthly cash for casual players. 2. VIP Club for loyal players. 3. Titan Treasures, an achievement-based incentive plan.

The monthly cash giveaway should be particularly enticing for players who never reach VIP status as this program automatically exchanges frequent player points for cash each month at the rate of $1 for every 100 points.

You can exchange Titan Points for cash up to a total of $20 each month. Titan Bronze players, who generate a minimum of 200 points in a month, receive this benefit automatically on the first of the next month while Titan Gold players can request it.

The VIP Club on Titan Poker has changed considerably as the number of VIP levels has been reduced and the structure simplified.

Now players can generate Titan Points at the same time they are earning Status Points. The higher your status level the more Titan Points you will earn.

In addition players will be instantly upgraded to a higher VIP level on a daily basis as soon as they meet that level’s Status Point requirement.

Finally Titan Treasures is a ground-breaking new incentive program. Similar to the achievements found in games on Xbox 360 and PS3, players will be able to take part in a series of challenges in various aspects of gameplay.

For instance these challenges range from winning a hand with a full house to finishing last in a multi-table tournament.

Players who sign up for Titan Poker through PokerListings currently receive a 200% deposit match up to $2,000. To learn more be sure to check our Titan Poker review.

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WSOP Asia-Pacific Hits Australia in 2013

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:32:44 -0700

WSOP Asia-Pacific will take place at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, a location already popular with poker players for its signature Aussie Millions event.

“Our goal is to establish the worldwide grand slam of poker and use our platform to elevate the game through a series of major championships,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart.

“With WSOP Las Vegas growing annually and WSOP Europe poised for long-term success after five years, the time is right to turn our attention to the dynamic poker scene in Asia and Australia. Given Crown’s success with the ‘Aussie Millions Poker Championship’, we couldn’t ask for a better partner than Crown to establish the Asia-Pacific’s definitive poker festival.”

The inaugural WSOP Asia-Pacific is set to take place April 4-15, 2013. The series will fill out the WSOP schedule over the year and add to the original WSOP and WSOPE.

Perhaps the most well-known poker player in Australia and former world champion, Joe Hachem, was understandably excited about the prospect of the WSOP brand coming to his back yard.

“It’s thrilling to think the World Series of Poker is coming to Australian soil,” said Joe Hachem.

“I know first-hand what a life-changing moment winning the WSOP gold bracelet was and how it served as a catalyst for the growth of poker in Australia and Asia. It will be a dream come true to host a worldwide poker event such as this at Crown. I can’t wait.”

The finalized schedule is expected to be released later this year.

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Charania Wins, Cailly Second at EPT Grand Final

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:24:00 -0700

After the six other players went broke it came down to a flip, with Cailly all-in and at risk of elimination with A-K against Charania’s pocket queens.

The pocket queens held up and just like that Mohsin Charania became this season’s Grand Final champion.

On paper he gets €1.5 million but we know the actual sum was a bit less. When the final two players went heads-up they agreed upon a deal whereby Charania would take €1.15 million, and Cailly €1.05 million.

They left €200,000 on the table which, along with the trophy, went to Charania when he laid claim to every last chip in play.

“I was thinking, ‘Please hold, for the love of god, because I don’t know if I can handle second place.’ That sounds silly with all the money for second and everything but it’s true,’” Charania told PokerListings.com about the final hand.

“So I was half praying that my hand held and half preparing for what would happen if it didn’t,” he said.

Charania has had a string of close calls over the last few years but was clearly frustrated not to have come up with a big win.

“No one can take it away from me now. I won a big live tournament,” he said.

Lucille Cailly, meanwhile, might have left the trophy on the table but she did walk away with more than a million Euros, far and away the biggest score of her career.

Lucille Cailly earned €1.05 million for her second-place finish in Monte Carlo.

Cailly is a 29-year-old tournament pro from Paris who’s been playing poker for five years. Her biggest result previous to tonight was a €29k victory at the now closed Cercle Wagram Club in Paris.

"I definitely underestimated her," Charania said of his heads-up opponent.

"I think I might have had the thinking that she’s a girl, so how aggressive can she be, and I played with her on the outer table when there was about 24 left and she just immediately started raising me every hand and I thought, 'Ok, well that’s going to be a bit of a challenge,'" added Charania.

Charania, who travels the live tournament circuit with accomplished pros Faraz Jaka and Athanasios Polychronopoulos, plans to play the Italian Poker Tour Grand Final in San Remo and the PokerStars SCOOP before heading to Las Vegas to play the 2012 World Series of Poker.

Big Online Talents Book Final-Table Finishes

Making the final table but falling short of victory was a handful of players who are better known online than they are live.

Daniel “Garnerus” Gomez is a Supernova Elite on PokerStars and a former chess champion. He’s been playing online poker for seven years and scored by far the biggest payday of his career when he finished eighth tonight for €130,000.

Gomez was the first player to go from the final table, busting with A-Q all-in preflop against pocket kings.

Canadian Clayton "slammedfire" Mozdzen was the next to go with A-T all-in preflop against Lucille Cailly’s A-Q. Mozdzen is a Supernova on PokerStars who made a final table at EPT Warsaw in Season 6. Mozdzen received €185,000 for his finish here in Monte Carlo.

Rodrigo Caprioli bought into this event with 850,000 PokerStars VPPs.

Michael "Pipedream17" Dietrich, another Canadian, was arguably the most experienced online player at the final table with more than $4.1 million in online winnings.

Dietrich busted in sixth for €245,000 when he ran A♣ 9♣ into Mohsin Charania’s A♦ K♦.

Out next was Brazilian Rodrigo "caprioli" Caprioli, another Supernova Elite on PokerStars. Caprioli bought into this event with 850,000 PokerStars VPPs and parlayed that into a fifth-place finish worth €315,000.

Out in fourth was Italian Sergio Castelluccio who’s biggest score to date was a €200,000 win on the Italian Poker Tour stop in San Remo.

Castelluccio doubled that result when he busted in fourth here for €400,000.

The final player to bust before heads-up play began was 64-year-old Bernard Guigon. A pharmacist originally from France but living in Senegal, Guigon cashed to the tune of €545,000 for his third-place finish.

Here are the final table results for the EPT8 Grand Final in Monte Carlo, adjusted to reflect the heads-up deal:

1. Moshin Charania - €1,350,000* 2. Lucille Cailly - €1,050,000* 3. Bernard Guigon - €545,000 4. Sergio Castelluccio - €400,000 5. Rodrigo Caprioli - €315,000 6. Michael Dietrich - €245,000 7. Clayton Mozdzen - €185,000 8. Daniel Gomez - €130,000

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Daily 3-Bet: Galfond Thinks, Tilly Binks, Slim to Win

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:05:18 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Phil Galfond chipping his two cents in on a Daniel Negreanu hand, spend 210 minutes with Jennifer Tilly and revisit the highs and lows of Amarillo Slim.

1) Galfond Pipes in on Negreanu High-Roller Hand

With the 2+2 forums still down, the only free-for-all poker analysis going these days seems to be over at Daniel Negreanu's Full Contact Poker forum.

Budding friendship continues.

After Daniel's much publicized 2+2 banning last month, he's been answering FAQs and posting some strategy scenarios at FCP a bit more anyway, but his fans got a real treat with his latest post.

Negreanu posted a hand he played with Isaac Haxton from the $25k High Roller at EPT Monte Carlo and let the punters offer their thoughts. To much surprise, high-stakes icon Phil Galfond popped in a few entries down with a detailed analysis.

Among Galfond's insight:

"Assuming this is 9 handed, there's 6500 in the pot before calling his raise. You're a little bit deeper than I generally like to shove (though I think many of these hot-shot young kid tourney pros would disagree), but I think this is a good spot for it.

"Ike will be opening very very wide here, especially if he perceives the button and sb as weaker/tighter players. Did he? He'd open less frequently if there were a tough player on the button or in the sb with between 15 and 25k. Was there? His stack matters too, but not as much for how often he opens."

As we've said before, whenever a poker genius like Galfond offers up his two cents, even if it's at a level where some serious metagame is at play, it's always worth a read.

See the full hand scenario here. Negreanu, for his part, also happens to be doing fine in the $25k as he sits second with 11 players left as we speak.

Check the poker news section for a full report later.

2) Jennifer Tilly Explains Poker Vortex, Bride of Chucky

Loves teh pokerz.

Jennifer Tilly's new role in the Broadway play Don't Dress for Dinner has brought out a new wave of media coverage for her and she's not shying away from talking about her poker life.

Following up on her recent NY Post interview, Tilly spent 210 minutes with a New York Magazine writer and the time was heavily flavored with Tilly's poker life.

Tilly took the reporter to a high-stakes house game in Tribeca, introduced her to her boyfriend Phil Laak, let the reporter sit in on her session and revisited her $100k bink at the tables in Las Vegas.

Explaining her recent choice of poker over acting, Tilly put it this way:

“It’s like drugs,” she says. “You start off playing 25, 50 cents at the kitchen table, and then you play one dollar, two dollars, but you just want more and more thrills. That’s why I think it’s a great thing that I’m taking some time off and doing a play.

“I love theater, and I love acting. I just kind of forgot about it for, like, eight years. I was just in this crazy sort of vortex where I thought that poker was the most important thing in the world.

“Any time I would get a part, I would say, ‘Well, would I rather do this or would I rather be playing poker?’ And the answer was, ‘I’d rather be playing poker.’ ”

She also explains how being in Bride of Chucky gets her props at Popeye's. Read the full piece here.

3) Amarillo Slim: Hustled Willie Nelson out of $300k in Dominoes

One of the greatest gamblers to ever live. One of the most famous poker players ever. A chameleon. Whatever you want him to be. A great hustler.

In his words, he was “delighted by human misery.” To Doyle Brunson, he was a man with more gall than anyone he’s ever known.

In the end, all of it and more is probably true about Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston Jr., who passed away early Sunday morning at the age of 83.

If you haven’t seen it, the Amarillo Slim Anything to Win documentary below will fill you in on some of the more infamous moments in Slim's life as a Texas road gambler, hustler and poker icon.

Even if you know most of the stories, it's still worth a watch. Some of Slim's most famous prop bets listed below the video.

Amarillo Slim's Most Famous Prop Bets:

Hitting a golf ball a mile on a frozen lake—inspired by Titanic Thompson. Wagering that a cat could pick up a Coke bottle. Betting on which sugar cube a fly would land on in an Arkansas jail. Outrunning a horse for a hundred yards (no one ever said nothing about the race being a straight-away). Holding a horse’s tail for a quarter of a mile in San Angelo, Texas. Rafting down the River of No Return in winter in a wetsuit made by Jacques Cousteau Beating Evel Knievel in golf with a carpenter’s hammer and betting that two out of thirty cab drivers in Dallas would have the same birthday. Shooting free throws with a football against a Hall-of-Fame basketball coach. Beating Bobby Riggs playing Ping-Pong with a skillet. Beating a world champion Ping-Pong player with a Coca-Cola bottle. Beating Willie Nelson out of $300,000 playing dominoes in Las Vegas.

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EPT8 Grand Final Winner Mohsin Charania Q&A

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:05:24 -0700

Charania finally got the monkey off his back and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

He defeated a field of 665 tonight in Monte Carlo to claim by far the biggest prize of his career, €1.35 million, and we spoke to him shortly after he was done posing for his first event winner photo.

PokerListings.com: We spoke a few days ago and you told us that even though you’ve had a lot of success you didn’t feel like you’d broken out live. How does it feel to do it tonight?

Mohsin Charania: Unbelievable. I think it’s going to take a few days. Maybe once the money hits my bank account I’ll realize what’s happened. But I feel a real sense of satisfaction and completion. I needed the win and it’ll hit me.

No one can take it away from me. I won a big live tournament.

Mohsin Charania celebrating his EPT Grand Final win.

PL: We see a lot of guys jump into poker and bink a big tournament right away. Does the fact you’ve been working at it for years make it even more satisfying?

MC: Yeah. It gets frustrating. I’m not going to lie. When you travel for a couple of years and you see some guy you’ve never seen before and you might not think he’s the best and he wins a big live tournament and you’re kind of thinking, “Wow, what am I doing wrong?”

I’m sure there are a lot of people out there in my spot who have won a lot online or gotten deep in live tournaments and haven’t been able to run good when it matters.

I have friends that have won and they’ll tell you not to worry, and that it’ll come, but you don’t believe them. When you’ve done it for three or four years you just think, “C’mon that’s bullshit. You just run better than me.”

But I guess it’s true. If you keep at it you’ll get there eventually.

PL: You travel with a couple players, Faraz Jaka, and they were here supporting you. How much does that help when you’re in a pressure situation like this in a foreign country?

MC: Yeah it really is. It’s huge. Faraz, and another friend of mine, Athanasios (Polychronopoulos) who won a bracelet, they’re really more live players, and I can go up to them whenever and tell them I made a mistake or I played a hand this way, and they’ll break it down for you.

And if it’s a mistake then they’re there to help you move on and learn from it. With Athanasios he’s going to tell me if it’s a mistake and help me learn from it.

So when I’ve got them on the rail here I can go up to them and tell them what I had and I can get three or four different perspectives from people who have won so much live and who I respect so much.

Even if I know I played a hand fine, just to have the reassurance of them telling me I played it well, it’s massive.

Heads-up opponent Lucille Cailly

PL: How did you find Lucille Cailly?

MC: Tough. I definitely underestimated her. I think I might have had the thinking that she’s a girl, so how aggressive can she be, and I played with her on the outer table when there was about 24 left and she just immediately started raising me every hand and I thought, “Ok, well that’s going to be a bit of a challenge,” because the rest of field really wasn’t playing that aggressive.

That’s probably why she was able to get so far.

PL: The last hand came down to a flip. Besides the obvious, what’s going through your head when the entire tournament comes down to one coin-flip?

MC: I’m thinking that every card that comes after the flop needs to be a deuce. It’s weird but luckily I’ve been in so many tournaments wishing for a deuce and somehow that river always manages to be a deuce.

I guess if I’m ever up against deuces I’m pretty much screwed.

I was also thinking that even if she won the flip I had about four million back so I was thinking that if I lost, I’m going to have to grind it back and get back to even.

And I was thinking, “Please hold, for the love of god, because I don’t know if I can handle second place.” That sounds silly with all the money for second and everything but it’s true.

So I was half praying that my hand held and half preparing for what would happen if it didn’t.

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Sunday Scoop: CC2332, Slaktaren007 Take Biggest Prizes

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:57:17 -0700

With the EPT Grand Final down to its final day a number of pros hit the online felt including Victor Ramdin, Vanessa Selbst and Martin Staszko but the final tables of all the major events were full of relatively unknown players.

Here’s a more detailed look at what went down in the biggest online poker tournaments yesterday:

PokerStars Sunday Million

As usual the PokerStars Sunday Million reigned supreme in the online tournaments on Sunday.

This week a total of 7,376 paid the $215 buy-in to get it on the contest, which created a prizepool of $1.4 million.

As usual there were plenty of Team PokerStars Pros on hand for the event with Richard Toth, Martin Staszko and Victor Ramdin all in attendance.

As the final table approached, online players CC2332 and Kevin "iacog4" Iacofano began to distance themselves from the field. Iacofano has some live tournament experience and finished fourth in last year's EPT Copanhagen event for $183k.

Indeed it was those two players who would meet heads-up, although there was a three-way deal, with CC2332 eventually getting the best of iacog4. CC2332 took down $176k but iacog4 took nearly the same amount at $175k.

Here are the complete final table payouts (including the three-way deal):

1. CC2332 - $176,949 2. Iacog4 - $175,559 3. Ugulala55 - $149,609 4. MaryPop_SP - $78,185 5. Triathlon4 - $60,483 6. Obafemi 9 - $45,731 7. AW 500 - $31,716 8. Oldrich88 - $17,702 9. Mikael 666 - $11,432

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up

Online poker’s second biggest weekly tournament didn’t disappoint this week with a total of 3,371 runners competing for a piece of the $674k prizepool.

Team PokerStars pros Shane Schleger and Vanessa Selbst both made it into the money although they bowed out far before the final table.

Although the final table was made up of virtually unknown players, Berkyy had made an appearance at a Sunday Million final table in 2010.

Unfortunately the Australian pulled out of a five-way deal that would have seen him paid $75k and ended up busting in fourth place for $38k.

The three-remaining players chopped with Sweden’s Slaktaren007 taking first place for $97k. SDK13 took second place for $81k.

Here are the complete final table payouts:

1. Slaktaren007 - $97,481 2. SDK13 - $81,394 3. Catafract80 - $61,477 4. Berkyy - $38,766 5. Radiihead - $28,653 6. Instigator85 - $21,911 7. Bubys - $15,169 8. Halfrek - $8,427 9. Arsenalfca - $5,393

J.C. Alvarado

PokerStars Sunday 500

The PokerStars Sunday is widely regarded as a “pro’s tournament” with it’s high $500 buy-in and it was certainly true this week with a stack of pros looking to crack the final table.

James “mig.com” Mackey, J.C. "PrtyPsux" Alvarado, Victor Ramdin, Dan “djk123” Kelly, Jonathan “PearlJammer, Turner, Kevin “WizardOfAhhs” Thurman, Shaun Deeb, Toni Judet, Annette_15, Randy “nanonoko” Lew and more were on hand for the elite online event although none of the aforementioned players made it anywhere near the final table payouts.

Instead Argentina’s garompon cruised to a first place payout of $78k. Lithuanian jusc took second place for $56k.

Here are the complete final table payouts (including a three-way deal):

1. garompon - $57,310 2. Jusc - $58,804 3. De bluffer - $62,150 4. Gkap13 - $31,755 5. Ezu1 - $22,075 6. Stev0L_ - $17,520 7. FairLaw - $13,140 8. acalld - $8,760 9. Nikolaus64 - $5,256

iPOPS #1: $200k Guaranteed

PokerStars isn’t the only player on Sundays and the iPoker Network, which includes Titan Poker, Winner.com Poker and ChiliPoker, is hosting the massive iPoker Online Poker Series.

The first event took place yesterday, instead of the usual weekly $200k guaranteed, and it drew 1,899, which created a slight overlay for value-conscious players.

Tdradiannnn took first place for a total of $32k while runner up breeolsen had to settle for $24k.

Here are the complete final table payouts:

1. tdradiannnn - $32,000 2. Breeolsen - $24,000 3. Deise05 - $18,000 4. UpYoursMush - $12,400 5. Plutuplasts - $9,000 6. Souris2a - $7,000 7. Jesper19 - $5,000 8. GerArez - $3,400 9. AMVC16 - $1,900

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Pop Poker: Poker and the Titanic

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:50:00 -0700

Tales of the Titanic have fascinated generations. And as it happens, a few of the stories concerning the ill-fated ship -- both historical and imagined -- involved poker.

Jack’s “Very Lucky Hand”

Coinciding with the event’s centennial is a rerelease of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster Titanic, this time in 3-D.

During its initial theatrical run Titanic broke box office records to become the highest-grossing film of all time (a record since eclipsed by Cameron’s Avatar). Titanic also won a whopping 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture.

While poker is hardly prominent in Titanic -- just a two-minute scene in a more than three-hour movie -- the game does serve a particular purpose with regard to the plot, and even helps introduce a thematic point about the importance of luck the film not-so-subtly advances throughout its lengthy running time.

We first meet Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) playing poker in a Southampton pub, in fact, where he and his friend Fabrizio are involved in a game of five-card draw.

We only witness the end of a single hand involving Jack, Fabrizio, and two Swedes named Olaf and Sven.

Apparently betting before the draw was heavy enough to build a pot full of coins from various countries, a knife, a pocket watch, and a couple of third-class tickets for the R.M.S. Titanic’s scheduled trip from Southampton to New York City.

Leonardo DiCaprio's character wins his way onto the Titanic in a game of poker.

As the camera pans around the table we catch a quick glimpse of Jack’s hand which appears to contain at least a couple of tens and an ace. Fabrizio then leans over to ask Jack about having bet everything they have, to which Jack replies “when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.”

The line is meant to introduce Jack’s bohemian, care-free worldview, although Bob Dylan fans recognize it as a weird lift from “Like a Rolling Stone.”

Meanwhile the Swedes are also in disagreement, with Olaf berating Sven for having risked their Titanic tickets.

During the draw, Sven takes a single card, as does Jack. “All right, the moment of truth,” announces Jack. “Somebody’s life’s about to change.”

Fabrizio and Olaf show busted hands, then Sven turns over two pair, eights and sixes. Jack feigns disappointment, telling Fabrizio he’s sorry. Then comes the smile.

“I’m sorry... you’re not going to see your Mom again for a long time,” Jack says to his friend.

“’Cause we’re going to America! Full house, boys!”

Indeed, Jack punctuates his slowroll by showing tens full of aces to win the pot and tickets. An angry Olaf unexpectedly punches Sven -- not Jack -- and soon Jack and Fabrizio dash onto the ship just a moment before it departs.

“We’re the luckiest sons of bitches in the whole world, you know that!” cries Jack to Fabrizio once they are aboard.

“When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.”

As far as poker scenes go, it’s not the most suspenseful, nor even especially convincing. But it does manage to introduce the young hero and get him on the doomed ship.

Hey, at least Jack didn’t say he had a full boat.

Shuffling Decks on Deck

The remainder of Titanic includes a couple of references back to Jack’s poker game, including his explanation of the “very lucky hand” that landed him aboard and subsequent declaration that “you never know what hand you’re gonna get dealt” and thus need “to make each day count.”

The film does not, however, show passengers entertaining themselves with poker during the days and nights prior to the ship’s fatal crash. It might well have done so, since it’s very likely poker was played aboard the White Star liner, just as it was frequently played on other passenger ships during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

For example, one Titanic survivor, Renee Harris, would share a story for Liberty Magazine two decades after the tragedy in which she described having joined a private poker game that took place in one of the “B deck” suites featuring a private promenade.

According to Harris, it was just after lunch when her husband, Henry, had asked her to sit in on the game. “He explained that in a previous ‘session’ one of the players had been under suspicion, and rather than bar him from the game, this time it would be simpler to let him see that the table was filled.”

“It turned out I was called on to be the eighth ‘man,’” Harris explained, noting that “when the suspected person was pointed out to me I thought he was a minister of the gospel, he looked so virtuous.”

In an interview given years later to Titanic historian Walter Lord, Harris filled in a few more details about the poker game, explaining that they used $1 chips and that she had done quite well for herself. In fact, when she decided to leave momentarily to return to her stateroom she remembers being $90 ahead.

The Titanic

As fate would have it, Harris slipped when descending the stairs and broke her arm, thus preventing her from returning to the game.

In the Liberty article, Harris suggests the fall actually indirectly saved her life, saying that if she had not been sedated at the time of the crash she would have resisted getting in a lifeboat when her husband implored her to do so. Henry sadly did not survive.

Given the amount of study and attention the Titanic has garnered over the past 100 years, it isn’t surprising to find some historians calling Harris’ account of the poker game into question, with a few pointing to contextual clues suggesting she may have been thinking of a game that occurred on another ship entirely.

Even so, given the popularity of poker and the fact that it was such a frequent pastime on passenger ships, it stands to reason the game was played by some during the Titanic’s lone voyage.

Questing for Bracelets, and Other Expeditions

Of course, as the 1997 film also depicts, the story of the Titanic has also long involved efforts to find the sunken ship and discover its many secrets. And as it turns out, that part of the story, too, has a poker connection.

A 1977 Sports Illustrated article profiled an amateur player from Texas named Cadillac Jack Grimm and his quest to win that year's World Series of Poker Main Event. Grimm ended up drawing a seat next to that year's eventual winner, Doyle Brunson.

Perhaps predictably, Grimm failed to survive the first day of play, finishing outside the top 20 among a field of 34. Thus was the article titled “An Amateur Is Burned at High Stakes.”

Financially speaking, the loss didn’t hurt Grimm too greatly, as he was “a millionaire many times over, not from poker but from other forms of gambling, mainly drilling oil wells.”

He also is described as having funded various expeditions such as one to discover Noah's Ark and others to find the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot. The implication is that those quests were as futile as his attempt to beat top pros like Brunson and others at the WSOP.

Cadillac Jack Grimm

Not long after the SI article appeared, Grimm would find himself on yet another quest -- to find the Titanic.

He'd eventually launch three expeditions during the early 1980s to try to locate the sunken ship. Grimm would never earn official credit for finding the ship, although his searches were said by some to have provided valuable clues for later seekers.

The ship would eventually be discovered in 1985 by a team led by Dr. Robert D. Ballard.

A Losing Hand, Poorly Played

There are still more connections between poker and the Titanic, like the one involving the famous poker player and gambler from Missouri who earned himself the nickname “Titanic” Thompson when a defeated opponent woefully declared “he sinks everybody.”

By now the Titanic has become a familiar symbol of failure. However, a number of factors -- unheeded ice warnings, flaws in the ship’s design, shifting tides, a steersman’s wrong turn, the unavailability of binoculars, insufficient lifeboats, further instances of human error and poor judgment, and more -- all had to converge for the tragedy to play out as it did.

One Titanic chronicler, Charles Pellegrino, employed a poker metaphor to describe the so-called “unsinkable” ocean liner going down to cause such a massive loss of life.

The ship “would have needed to cross the Atlantic for more than a century and perhaps for as long as a thousand years before the lining up of so many low-probability events became a mathematical inevitability,” argues Pellegrino in Farewell, Titanic.

“What the ship’s builders and officers did not understand was that the odds of drawing two royal flushes in a row are the same in the first two hands of poker as in any two hands in the next two million.”

Pellegrino has a point. However, hindsight suggests that as happens in poker, the sinking of the Titanic and the tragedy that ensued resulted from a combination of bad luck and a deficiency of skill, with the event made all the more tragic given that the stakes were so high.

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Cailly First Female Finalist in EPT Monte Carlo History

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:00:00 -0700

Cailly, who is already guaranteed the biggest payday of her poker career, sits third in chips behind leader Bernard Guigon and Brazilian Rodrigo Capriolo who heads into the finale in second.

“It’s hard to think that €1.5 million is just seven players away but it would mean the world to me to win,” Cailly told PokerListings.com moments after the final hand.

“To be honest I don’t think I can realize that I’m at the final table of one of the biggest poker tournaments in the world.

“I have no words. I’m speechless,” she said.

When Lucille Cailly made the final table tonight she bested the previous record for a female player at the Grand Final, set by Isabelle Mercier in Season 1 when she finished 10th.

Leading the final table is Bernard Guigon, a 64-year-old pharmacist who lives in Dakar, Senegal. The father of three has been playing Draw Poker since the 1980s but switched to Texas Hold’em just three years ago.

Rounding out the final table in terms of star power is American Mohsin Charania. Despite enjoying massive success online Charania has yet to break through in the online arena.

“It would mean everything to me to make the final table here,” Charania told PokerListings.com on Day 2 of this event.

“I’ve had three or four years of live poker and obviously I’ve won a good amount online but I haven’t really had a breakthrough live yet,” he said.

Chip leader Bernard Guigon.

“Winning this would be the biggest thing ever,” he added.

Here are the official final table chip counts:

1 - Bernard Guigon - 4,900,000 2 - Rodrigo Caprioli - 2,945,000 3 - Lucille Cailly - 2,865,000 4 - Daniel Gomez - 2,665,000 5 - Mohsin Charania - 2,215,000 6 - Michael Dietrich - 1,550,000 7 - Clayton Mozdzen - 1,430,000 8 - Sergio Castelluccio - 1,410,000

Makhija, Wheeler Headline Busted List

Highlighting the list of players who made the top 26 but failed to make the final table is a group of pros that have done big things in the poker world.

When the day began it was live and online pro Amit Makhija on the shortest stack, but he wouldn’t be the first one to hit the rail. The man known as “amak316” online navigated his way to 23rd place, earning himself €40,000.

The first player to go broke this afternoon was Canadian Andrew Pantling and he did it on the very first hand of the day.

Pantling, who won the €5k Heads-Up event here two years ago, was short and got it in with K♦ 6♦ against pocket aces from Lucille Cailly.

Makhija was able to work his stack up to about 20 big blinds before running queens into kings all-in preflop.

UK pro Ben Vinson.

American pro Jason Wheeler, who’s made about $3.1 million playing online tournaments, managed to chip up a bit before flopping two pair against top set to go broke.

Pratyush Buddiga, who finished eighth at the recent EPT Berlin main event, made it to 16th in this tournament before being eliminated.

It was a sick hand that sent Buddiga packing and it started with Bernard Guigon limping with pocket kings. Buddiga then moved all-in with A-8 and had to endure waiting for Guigon, who asked for a full count of Buddiga’s short stack before making the call.

Guigon received no instant karma for the slow-roll. His kings held up to bust Buddiga.

Last among the name players to fall short of the final table was Brit Ben Vinson. The UK pro shoved with 9-T and ran into pocket nines.

The final table will be streamed live with hole cards tomorrow beginning at 8:30am Eastern Time and can be viewed here.

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London Trader Lawrie Inman Born to Gamble

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:30:00 -0700

Inman’s grandfather was a bookmaker. His father was a bookmaker. And he grew up exposed to the world of horse racing from a young age.

Now, barely older than 30, Inman is making seven figures trading futures, owns nine horses and travels to places like Monte Carlo to play poker against the best players in the world.

“I’m wired a bit different to other people, I don’t know. I choked myself for two minutes when I was born so maybe it was the lack of oxygen,” Inman told PokerListings.com at the EPT Grand Final.

Inman’s first experience with poker came by way of friends at the age of 14. As he got older his interest in poker continued to grow.

Making His Mark as a City Trader

During summer breaks from university Inman was working at a bookmakers which also dealt with poker, and he ended up working a six-month stint in customer service at the online poker room Pacific Poker.

Originally from Camberly, Surrey, Inman graduated from Swansea University in Wales in 2002 and moved to London to trade full time.

He was so successful Trader Monthly named him one of its “30 Under 30” in 2006.

A large part of that nod was thanks to a single transaction that made Inman roughly £700,000 in a single hour. Inman was watching a speech by European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet on television and made a big bet on the future of the five-year German government bond known as the Bobl.

Poker is still a recreational pursuit for Inman, but the skills he’s honed in the financial world have stood him in good stead at events like the €10,000 PokerStars EPT Grand Final.

“In trading you’re constantly being given information. Some of that information is maths and probability and some of it is psychology because the markets are basically humans acting a certain way,” said Inman.

But the similarities don’t stop there.

Inman had a horse racing in the UK while he was playing the EPT Grand Final main event in Monte Carlo.

Skills in Trading Pay Dividends in Poker

“It’s so similar because I can sit at my desk for two weeks and be doing all the right things, and just be losing money,” he said.

“Sometimes I’ll be sat at my desk at the end of the day, thinking I’ve done all the right things and made all the right moves, but I just feel like someone’s kicked me in the knackers, so it’s a lot like poker,” continued Inman.

Inman finished 53rd out of 665 players in Monte Carlo, good for a payday of €20,000. He adds that to a record that includes a final-table bubble at the £2,500 Six-Max event at the 2010 WSOP Europe, and a string of solid results at other events around the UK.

But it seems like Inman is a born multi-tasker. He said that trading takes up 90 per cent of his time, but it’s still left him enough energy to play poker and manage his horses.

With three fillies and a male horse at stud in France Inman is looking forward to expanding his business to include breeding.

“I actually have a horse running tonight at Doncaster so I’ll be trying to keep an eye on that and play this at the same time,” he said while on a break from the main event.

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Poker Icon Amarillo Slim Dies at 83

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:23:43 -0700

His death was confirmed by his daughter via WSOP media rep Nolan Dalla and the family released the following statement on the WSOP website:

"We hope everyone will remember our beloved Amarillo Slim for all the positive things he did for poker and to popularize his favorite game - Texas Hold'em."

Renowned for his quick wit and larger-than-life personality, Preston is often credited for making Texas Hold’em what it is today.

One of the original Texas road gamblers with Doyle Brunson and Brian “Sailor” Roberts, Preston and his peers traveled around Texas playing underground poker games before eventually bringing the game to Vegas.

Slim proceeded to win the 1972 World Series of Poker Main Event and turned his victory into dozens of network television appearances including frequent spots on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

From Road Gambler to Poker Exile

By the time the true Texas Hold'em boom came about in 2003 after Chris Moneymaker's win in the WSOP Main Event, however, Slim was no longer in a position to reap the rewards.

In August of that year a grand jury indicted Preston on multiple counts of indecency with a child after his grandaughter had accused him of molestation.

The felony charges were eventually dropped but Preston did plead "no contest" to misdemeanor assault charges.

In an exclusive interview with Nolan Dalla for PokerListings.com, Slim maintained he only plead out to protect his family and that he was decidedly not guilty of any charges brought against him:

Slim: Plead no contest to protect his family.

"Contrary to all these charges and things," Slim said, "I've always been a family man. And now after 80 years I'm going to be accused of being a predator of children? No chance."

Preston was ultimately fined $4,000, given two years probation and ordered to undergo counseling but his reputation continued to suffer throughout the poker community - despite repeated expressions of support from Brunson.

The lack of support from the poker community at large always bothered him, he said, despite the fact no one would confront him about it:

"I have never had anyone say anything negative to me. Whether I was playing, or not playing. I think there are a bunch of hypocrites in the poker world and a lot of them are obligated to me.

"Not a one of them has showed up and stood beside me ... I don't hear from them anymore.

"Some of them could have said something and shown their support. But they didn't."

Much of Preston's life, including many of his old road stories, renowned hustles and legendary prop bets, is chronicled his book Amarillo Slim in a World of Fat People released in 2003.

Preston was born on December 31, 1928 in Johnson, Arkansas.

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Potijk Leads, Buddiga Chases at EPT Grand Final

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:00:00 -0700

Also still in it with a shot at the €1.5 million first-place prize are Ben Vinson, Pratyush Buddiga, Jason Wheeler, Mohsin Charania, Andrew Pantling and Amit Makhija.

Pratyush Buddiga is coming straight off an eighth-place finish at EPT Berlin less than two weeks ago which, as it turns out, is the only reason he’s here in Monte Carlo at all.

“I wasn’t going to come here until I got eighth in Berlin so it’s definitely working out,” Buddiga told PokerListings.com in the day’s final level.

“Coming off the disappointment of the close call in Berlin it’s pretty nice to have another chance at redemption but you never know, I could be out in 26th or I could win,” he said.

Buddiga is a former Scripps National Spelling Bee champion who has notched cashes on the EPT, WSOP and WSOP Circuit since turning to poker just a couple years ago.

Buddiga was sitting with 150,000 in chips when the bubble broke but went on a run from there and finished the night with 970,000, good for seventh position out of the 26 who remain.

“I’ve been lucky in some flips but I’ve been able to chip up a lot without showdown, so even if those races hadn’t gone my way I would still have a stack,” said Buddiga.

UK pro Ben Vinson finished fifth our of 26.

“I had never gone deep in a big tournament before Berlin so I think that’s helping at this stage,” he added.

Vinson, Wheeler, Charania Keep Pros’ Hopes Alive

Also through to Day 4 are a handful of professional poker players who should be familiar to the astute poker fan.

Ben Vinson, a UK pro with a long list of cashes dating back to 2006, finished fifth in chips with just over 1 million, while France’s Lucille Cailly, the last woman standing in this event, is just a few steps behind with 999,000.

Cailly has had two previous EPT results but is now guaranteed the biggest score of her career since everyone who returns tomorrow will pocket at least €35,000.

Two more American professionals, Jason Wheeler and Mohsin Charania, are sitting in the upper-middle class of the chip counts with 903,000 and 875,000, respectively.

Heading into Day 4 dead last in chips is live tournament regular Amit Makhija with 317,000.

Here are the top ten counts heading into Day 4:

1 - Geert-Jan Potijk 1,320,000 2 - Bernard Guigon - 1,212,000 3 - Georges Dib - 1,118,000 4 - Andoni Larrabe - 1,071,000 5 - Ben Vinson - 1,039,000 6 - Lucille Cailly - 999,000 7 - Pratyush Buddiga - 970,000 8 - Anatoly Gurtovoy - 945,000 9 - Sergio Castelluccio - 944,000 10 - Vadzim Markushevski - 922,000

Just a few days ago Justin Bonomo won the Super High Roller for €1.6 million.

Bonomo, Benger Among Busted

American pro Justin Bonomo was fresh off winning the €100,000 Super High Roller event here in Monte Carlo and managed to make a deep run in the main event as well.

Bonomo worked the shortstack like a pro, navigating himself to 28th place and a €35,000 payday. It doesn’t quite stack up to the €1.6 million he won just a few days ago, but in Monte Carlo you need every euro you can get your hands on.

The last surviving member of Team PokerStars Pro was Matthias de Meulder, who finished in 34th place for €30,000.

The Belgian got unlucky to go, all-in preflop with pocket queens against Jason Wheeler’s pocket jacks. A jack on the flop sent the pot to Wheeler and de Meulder out the door.

Canadian online MTT crusher Griffin Benger also went bust today, but snagged his first EPT cash.

Benger got unlucky with pocket tens against A-6 in a big preflop all-in, and then got what was left of his stack in with A-8 against A-9 shortly after.

PokerListings.com spoke with the former pro video gamer about his millions in online poker earnings and what it was like to move from video games to online poker. Check that interview here.

Also busted today but getting a piece of the cash were Erik Seidel (46th), Stephen Chidwick (48th), Sandra Naujoks (51st), Leo Margets (57th), Basil Yaiche (59th), Angel Guillen (66th) Tristan Clemencon (67th) and Noah Boeken (91st).

Day 4 will see the final 26 reduced to eight. Check our Poker News Section for the update.

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Counter-Strike Champ Griffin Benger Wins Millions at Online Poker

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:40:00 -0700

The son of Canadian actress Nicky Guadagni, Benger got his first taste of international travel and high-level competition in professional gaming as a top-ranked Counter-Strike player.

But despite being one of the most dominant players in that corner of the gaming world, his earnings don’t even come close to the $2.83 million he’s made playing online MTTs.

A rabid fan of sports, movies, television, and of course poker, Benger is in Monte Carlo at the EPT Grand Final chasing his dream of winning a major live poker tournament.

PokerListings.com: We know you’ve got a background in gaming, and a ton of online poker results, but tell us a bit more about where you’re from and what your poker career’s all about.

Griffin Benger: Sure. I turned 27 today and I’m from Toronto. I used to be a professional gamer. I played Counter-Strike for a living, so I transitioned into poker because it has a lot of the same skills, mostly being able to sit in front of a computer for long periods of time.

But it’s a pretty natural transition and a lot of people were doing it. Once I got into poker I became really obsessed with it. It’s really one of those games where there’s always room to get better, and that was one of the problems with Counter-Strike, I got to a point where I couldn’t really get much better.

I started playing the low buy-in Sit and Gos on Full Tilt in about 2006 and it was a while before I started playing MTTs. But the first MTT I played was one of the $24+$2 massive field ones on Full Tilt and somehow luckboxed my way to fourth place which boosted my roll a bit.

But I didn’t really get into MTTs until I met Shyam Srinivasan, who is “s_dot111” on Full Tilt Poker and “g’s zee” on PokerStars, and he sort of took me under his wing and I started to blow up a bit.

PL: What was the development of your poker career like? Did you know right off the bat you were going to be able to do this for a living?

GB: It was definitely a gradual thing that developed as an idea as I started to get better.

"I didn’t even know what a light three-bet was."

I started getting into the poker during the tail-end of my Counter-Strike career and started making a bit of money on the side playing on Full Tilt.

After I stopped gaming I was supporting myself playing Sit and Gos, but I sort of hit a wall before meeting some of the better MTT players in Toronto and I was exposed to some strategy and the different ways you can play MTTs. That’s when I started being successful.

PL: Did it blow you away when you were exposed to what the best players were doing in tournaments?

GB: Yeah it definitely did. In Sit and Gos it was possible to be profitable just being a nit so I didn’t know much. I didn’t even know what a light three-bet was. So when I was shown things like light three-betting, ICM and bubble play it was really eye-opening.

I remember when I started if I opened A-Q and got three-bet you’d just be folding, but now sometimes you’re five-bet calling off with A-J for value. It’s just amazing how the game changes and how it’s getting more aggressive.

So it’s a game that’s always evolving and you have to adapt to stay successful.

I think one of the big problems people have is that they see the best players doing all this crazy stuff and they just don’t understand it, so they think it’s just hyper aggressive players getting lucky, but really there’s no perfect way to play a hand.

So a lot of people think you have to stick to some sort of system but really you need to think outside of the box.

You have to have an open mind because there’s always something you can learn from someone who’s playing well. Like, even if I’m better than someone at a lot of things, it doesn’t mean they’re not better than me at something.

"I didn’t even know what a light three-bet was."

PL: What’s it like coming from the Counter-Strike world into poker? There’s got to be a lot more money up for grabs in poker.

GB: In Counter-Strike first place for a tournament was usually between $20k and $50k for a team of five so it’s a lot different.

In poker you don’t have to be the best of the best to make money, whereas in Counter-Strike to win the money you had to beat all the best players in the world and be number one. And there was always someone training harder than you so it was very difficult.

In poker you can be a bit lazier and still make money but it’s the same because if you want to be the best, and that’s something I’ve always wanted to be, you have to put in the work.

PL: Were you the best in the Counter-Strike world?

GB: At one point or another I was probably considered one of the best players in the game, and I was definitely on the best team in the game.

Over the course of the five or six years I was playing professionally I was probably on the number one team half a dozen times so I was certainly one of the biggest players in the game.

PL: Coming from that world, what was it like when you sit down and win something like $110,000 from your home computer?

"I can’t even imagine what winning a tournament like this would feel like."

GB: Oh man it’s just huge. Winning that $110k, and then the $95k or whatever in the COOP was just an incredible feeling.

Ironically, I finished second and third in those tournaments, and there’s nothing like actually winning a tournament.

I think one of my favorite feelings in poker was just a few months ago when I won the BetFair 100 1R1A major for like $27k, which is like a quarter of either of those scores but I actually won. That’s just my competitive side. I’m not happy until I have every chip.

So I can’t even imagine what winning a tournament like this would feel like.

Really just winning any live poker tournament would be amazing. To have all the chips at the end and to take that picture is definitely a dream of mine.

PL: What are your passions and dreams outside of poker?

GB: I’m hugely into television and film. Actually my girlfriend and I might travel to Cannes to see The Avengers because it comes out a week earlier here and apparently there’s an English language theater there.

I went to school for sports broadcasting so that’s what I was doing before I met my backer.

I’m a huge hockey fan obviously, coming from Toronto, and a huge Blue Jays fan so basically sports, movies and television is where it’s at for me.

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PokerStars Brings Zoom Poker to iPhone, iPad and Android

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:45:00 -0700

In January PokerStars introduced real money mobile poker in Italy and followed it up by making the app available in the UK in February, and France just last week.

The app is now available in all areas that have access to the PokerStars.eu client, and it’s coming to more and more .com regions as PokerStars continues their multi-phase release.

The Android version is not available in the Android Marketplace but can be downloaded directly from PokerStars.

“We want to cater to players on whatever devices they may have, wherever they might be and whenever they want to play poker,” said Jeffrey Haas, Director of New Platforms, Mobile & Social Gaming at PokerStars.

The real-money app supports cash games, sit and gos and tournaments in all games and stakes, and once Zoom Poker is introduced it will boast all the same functionality as the PokerStars desktop client.

"Expect to be playing Zoom Poker on your mobile device this summer," said Jeffrey Haas.

“I can’t put an exact date on it but expect to be playing Zoom Poker on your mobile device this summer,” Haas told PokerListings.com.

PokerStars Mobile has been in development since 2010 and it shows. The app is slick and undisputedly sets a new standard in mobile online poker.

Taking advantage of mobile devices’ native gestures and hands-on interface, the app gives players a level of tactile interaction that’s never been possible with a keyboard and mouse.

Players can play up to five tables on tablets and as many as four on smart phone devices.

“We don’t want to force players into a certain behavior, we want to compliment whatever they’re doing naturally so wherever people are, if they’re traveling or watching TV or whatever, we want to be there,” said Danny Kashti, Head of Mobile at PokerStars.

Player Input Drives Mobile Product Development

In the roughly two years that PokerStars has been working on the app, developers have been going straight to the source to understand how players use mobile devices, and how best to tailor the product to players’ habits.

“PokerStars is a company of poker players and our staff has had the earliest version of this software installed on their devices as early as December of 2010 and since then it’s been constantly evolving,” Danny Kashti told PokerListings.com.

“We don’t have the attitude that we know better than the user what the product needs so we’re trying make it easy for poker players to get their feedback to us so we can learn from it,” he added.

"We’re trying make it easy for poker players to get their feedback to us so we can learn from it,” said Danny Kashti.

Since launching the app PokerStars has been communicating with players through their customer support, forums and discussions with members of Team PokerStars Pro in order to continue making improvements.

“We’re very proud of this product but it’s always evolving and there’s always going to be a long list of improvements we want to make,” said Kashti.

Emphasis on Responsible Gaming for Mobile Poker

Because the mobile poker client will give players more access to online poker than ever before, PokerStars has made responsible gaming a priority.

“We’ve worked very closely with our responsible gaming team to make sure that all the functionality we’ve put in place in the PokerStars client is also available on the Mobile app,” said Jeffrey Haas.

Functions include self-imposed deposit restrictions and the ability to cut yourself off from accessing the site for a certain amount of time.

“And we feel like these issues are especially important for the app because players are no longer tethered to their desk so they have more opportunities to play,” said Haas.

Check the App Store and the PokerStars site to find out if the app is available for download in your region.

Here's a sneak peek at the what the app looks like in action.

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PokerStars Offers $250 SCOOP Reload Bonus

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 07:57:06 -0700

Any player who previously had a balance on PokerStars, or even still has a balance on the site, can take advantage. Players receive a 50% bonus match up to a maximum of $250.

You just have to punch in the bonus code ‘MAX250’ when making a deposit prior to May 3.

The 2012 SCOOP runs May 6-20 with a guaranteed prize pool of $30 million across 40 events in a variety of games including No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven-Card Stud and more.

Each tournament also has a low, medium and high buy-in level so everyone can play.

New players can sign up using our marketing code to get a 100% deposit match up to $600. The PokerListings’ marketing code is: pl.com.

PokerStars also runs monthly Sunday Millions qualifiers for PokerListings players who generate 100 VPPs in a single month. The next one is coming up May 26.

New PokerStars players also have access to a total of four $1,000 freerolls every day for an entire month.

For more information check our exclusive PokerStars review for an overview of the software and the various promotions available.

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Charania, Seidel Lurking at EPT Grand Final

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:20:00 -0700

“It would mean everything to me to make the final table here,” Charania told PokerListings.com after the day was done.

Charania, who’s earned more than $3.5 million playing online poker, has had a ton of close calls in big events but has yet to truly break out in the live arena.

“I’ve had three or four years of live poker and obviously I’ve won a good amount online but I haven’t really had a breakthrough live yet,” he said.

“Winning this would be the biggest thing ever,” he added.

Charania rocketed up the leaderboard this afternoon when he doubled through start-of-day chip leader Nick Yunis from Chile.

Yunis six-bet shoved roughly 140 big blinds with A-T and got snapped off by pocket aces from Charania. Left with just 18k Yunis busted shortly after.

After busting Yunis tweeted that he had misread both his and Charania’s stack sizes.

With $3.5 million in online earnings, Mohsin Charania is still looking for his breakout live score.

130 players made it through the day, all of whom will return tomorrow to fight it out for one of the 96 places that will be paid.

Also through with respectable stacks are Germany's Giuseppe Pantaleo (294,400), Canadian Griffin Benger (284,100), David "Doc" Sands (281,800), recent Grand Final Super High Roller winner Justin Bonomo (221,900) and Amit Makhija (215,900).

Here are the top ten chip counts heading into day 3:

Max Martinez (Italy) - 456,300 Mohsin Charania (Canada) - 413,500 Erik Seidel (USA) - 362,200 Anatoly Gurtovoy (Russia) - 339,100 Geert-Jan Potijk (Netherlands) - 324,600 Vadzim Kursevich (Belarus) - 317,800 Lawrie Inman (UK) - 303,500 John Andress (USA) - 301,200 Giuseppe Pantaleo (Germany) - 294,400 Tudor Grangure (Italy) - 293,900

Negreanu, Ivey Among Busted

Plenty of big name pros hit the rail this afternoon but the biggest among them were Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey.

Negreanu went broke with A♥ Q♥ all-in preflop against pocket kings. His opponent made quads by the river to send Kid Poker on his way.

Phil Ivey is no longer with us.

Phil Ivey, meanwhile, busted on his very first hand after being moved to the feature table.

Also out was Canadian Sorel Mizzi, who ran A-K into kings to lose roughly half his starting stack. He went bust shortly after.

Vanessa Selbst and Ville Wahlbeck, two members of Team PokerStars Pro, both went broke in the same hand, not long after Mizzi was eliminated.

Selbst and Wahlbeck both held K-Q on a K-Q-J flop but unfortunately for them another player had A-T for Broadway. The straight held up and the two name pros were gone.

Fatima Moreira de Melo, a member of Team PokerStars Sport Stars, was eliminated in a lost all-in preflop race against Fabrice Soulier.

Soulier would make it within the last ten minutes of the day before getting himself eliminated as well.

Action continues tomorrow at the EPT Grand Final as we play into the money and beyond. Check our Poker News Section for the update.

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Daily 3-Bet: Ivey Sinkhole, $10m Masshole, Negreanut

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:47:02 -0700

Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Phil Ivey sinking further into his divorce proceedings, a $10m poker tournament on hold for seven years in Massachusetts and Daniel Negreanu sharing his obsession with his nut.

1) Ivey Divorce Case Hung Up on $5k Donation

What a difference a year makes.

Of all the millions of dollars that have come and gone from Phil Ivey’s hands, it seems particularly ironic that a measly $5k is sinking him even further in his divorce proceedings.

Rumored to be making over $800k a month from his Full Tilt Poker dividends, any way you cut it Ivey’s divorce from his wife Luciaetta was going to be costly.

But strangely enough it's the $5k donation Ivey made to the judge set that presided over the case that's coming back to haunt him.

Long story short, Luciaetta Ivey filed a petition last September to remove the judge, Bill Gonzalez, because of campaign contributions Ivey made in April 2010 - four months after the divorce was settled.

Her initial appeal was denied but now according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a new order has directed the court clerk to hear oral arguments and revisit the decision.

Ivey's lawyers have argued the campaign donations were made after the case was closed and Gonzalez no longer had jurisdiction anyway.

Ivey was last seen busting out of the EPT Grand Final today but is expected to stick around for the $25k High Roller event. Check the poker news section for more.

2) Four People Die Waiting for Massachusetts Poker Tournament

What $10m looks like, give or take.

The story, from the Metrowest Daily News:

In October 2005, the Massachusetts Lottery introduced a Texas Hold ’Em scratch ticket game offering a $10 million grand prize tournament for 560 randomly selected players.

Almost seven years later, 501 players drawn from the instant-winners list are still waiting for the other 59 players to be picked.

As of this week, 79.8 million of the 80.6 million tickets (92%) had been sold but the state is waiting for the rest to be bought before picking the final contestants.

“Seven years is an unusually long time,” Lottery communications director Beth Bresnahan said. “The game didn’t sell as quickly as the Lottery expected.”

In the interim, four of the initial winners have died (although a family member or proxy can represent them in the tournament).

Truth be told the 500 chosen so far have received $2k in cash and the "end game" tournament isn't really a tournament anyway - the 560 players will be cut to 80 then 16 and then four finalists over three rounds through simulated poker hands randomly computer-drawn.

Still, at least the Lottery commission says all the prize money is still there (take note, Epic Poker).

The winner will get $10 million and the three losing finalists will get $1 million each.

3) Negreanu Films Underwear Drawer, Passes on FTP Comment

We went back and forth on including Daniel Negreanu’s weekly rant in the 3-Bet this week as, well, you only need so many video tours of his hotel rooms and underwear drawers.

On rewatching though, Danny does pull it together for the last half of the vid and makes some helpful suggestions on how to think about your monthly nut (don't live beyond your means), the rampant sense of entitlement among young players and a solid Erik Sagstrom degen story.

He also skirts around the PokerStars-FTP deal, but you can read what he's said so far about it here.

Skip to the 6-minute mark to get to the good stuff. (Note to Daniel: Ease off the bathroom products for real. For a vegan, that's awfully cruel to animals. And never film your closet again).

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World Champ Heinz Leads German Poker Boom

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:00:00 -0700

For the last five months Heinz has been traveling the world, spreading the good word about the game that made him a millionaire at 22 years of age.

But it was Germany where Heinz focused his energy, and he's hoping it will pay off.

PokerListings.com: The WSOP is almost here so tell us, what’s life been like since you won the Main Event?

Pius Heinz: In my personal life not much has really changed. I think I’ve stayed the same person as I was before.

But as far as my professional life, almost everything has changed. I was a total unknown before I won the Main Event and now everyone in the poker world knows me.

I definitely get around a lot more than I used to, a lot of traveling, a lot of interviews and photo shoots. Basically I’ve just got a whole different perspective on the poker world.

Before I only had the outside perspective of a poker player but now I’ve seen how the media works and how parts of the poker industry work.

Sometimes all the attention and responsibilities are hard to deal with but it’s been an amazing experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

PL: The world champion of poker is always looked at as a sort of “Poker Ambassador”. What have you done since winning the Main Event to be an ambassador?

PH: I’ve definitely been focusing on Germany because I feel like that’s where my responsibility is. Poker isn’t necessarily viewed very positively there so I feel like we have a lot of make-up work to do.

"I'm really happy with the way my win was treated and written about in Germany."

I’ve done a lot of interviews and gone on television shows and just tried my best to show people that poker isn’t a game for criminals or whatever stereotypes these people have about it.

So I’m just trying to spread the word that poker is this great game that’s interesting and has so many different aspects.

PL: Poker seems like a game Germans would love. Do you think there's a boom coming in German poker?

PH: There definitely is a lot of potential for big growth. I’ve done my best and I hope what I’ve done has had a good effect.

I'm really happy with the way my win was treated and written about in Germany.

There wasn’t any jealousy and German people tend to be a bit jealous when someone wins something, especially a 22-year-old kid, and that didn’t happen at all.

But it was a big thing to have someone who’s fairly humble and fairly intelligent talking about poker in the mainstream media in Germany.

I just hope going forward poker’s image will keep getting better in Germany and I hope I managed to represent the poker community well for my country.

PL: What was the biggest thing that happened as a result of winning millions of dollars?

PH: Freedom. That’s definitely the most important thing for me, the freedom and the security that came with it.

With the money I got, if I’m not an idiot with it, I can probably live for the rest of my life in a very comfortable lifestyle. If I don’t blow it that is, and I haven’t so far. But I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

I don’t think many 22-year-olds have already reached their life savings goal. I’m so thankful for it.

PL: How do you feel about going back to Las Vegas for the WSOP this summer?

PH: Well, if a lot of people know me now in Germany, everyone’s going to know me in Las Vegas so I’m not sure how crazy it will be.

"Vegas is the place where it all happened so I’m definitely looking forward to going back."

If it takes me like half an hour to get through the halls in the Rio I don’t know if I’ll like it after 30 days.

Vegas is the place where it all happened so I’m definitely looking forward to going back. And I’ve only won one bracelet so there’s definitely room for a couple more.

PL: How much will the experience of playing in front of the cameras and huge crowds help you when you’re playing at the WSOP this year?

PH: That’s definitely something that’s going to come in handy if I’m playing on a TV table this year.

I remember on Day 6 last year it was the first time I had been in front of cameras and the first few hours were definitely weird.

I immediately started losing a lot of chips and I’ve talked to a lot of people who say the same thing, that you start playing badly.

You start thinking about how everyone’s going to see your play and if you mess up a hand you’re going to look stupid on TV, so you definitely worry about that.

It took me like three or four hours to get over that and from there I was just thinking about the hands.

If you could pick someone to win the Main Event this year, as far as having a positive impact on poker, what kind of person would you choose?

PH: I think a woman winning would be amazing. Especially if it’s a good-looking woman.

PL: If you had one tip for someone who had never played at the WSOP Main Event before, what would it be?

PH: Just to enjoy the experience. It’s a long event so don’t spew your chips and have fun.

PL: And what advice would you give the person who wins the Main Event next year?

PH: The exact same thing. Enjoy the experience and have fun.

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Tiger Woods Hosts Charity Poker Tournament

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:51:06 -0700

Tiger’s Poker Night is set to take place tonight with confirmed guests Phil Hellmuth and Doyle Brunson. Hellmuth will emcee the event.

The buy-in is $10,000 but that also includes a suite at for two nights at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay as well as two tickets for Tiger Jam, which features Bon Jovi and friends on Saturday, April 28.

The winner of the tournament will receive a foursome of golf with Woods. Some of the other prizes include a putting lesson with Woods, Pro-Am Spots on the PGA tour, rounds of golf at exclusive clubs around the country, Woods’ memorabilia and a Nike Golf custom club-fitting at the “The Oven” in Fort Worth, Texas.

All proceeds from the tournament go to support the Tiger Woods foundation, which offers a variety of initiatives to give college access to underprivileged youth.

Specific programs include the massive 35,000 square-foot education facility in California and the Earl Woods Scholarship Program.

The tournament begins at 7 p.m. tonight but be sure to check the Tiger Woods Foundation website for more information.

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Daily 3-Bet: Lederer Preaches, Electra Teaches, 2+2 = Hacked

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:48:42 -0700

If you’ve got an inside scoop for a future 3-Bet be sure to hit us up in the comments section.

Today we’re looking at Carmen Electra bringing some excitement to the free-to-play poker world, the unfortunate hack of 2+2 poker forum and a stunning Howard Lederer video that you have to see to believe.

Carmen Electra

Carmen Electra Lights up Pokerist

Actress/glamour model Carmen Electra has signed on to be the face of popular free-to-play Texas Hold’em game Pokerist.

Electra will greet players in the loading screen, main menu and act as a teacher in the game’s tutorial mode.

A long-time fan of poker, Electra opened the first WPT-branded poker room at Foxwoods in 2006 and has hosted various charity tournaments at venues such as Hollywood’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Pokerist is actually the second-biggest free-to-play poker game in the world, with nearly 100,000 daily active users, second only to Zynga’s Texas Hold’em app.

The game is available online on numerous platforms including Windows/OSX as well as on mobile operating systems like iOS and Android. It’s also available directly in Facebook.

It’s not exactly uncommon for sexy celebrities to get their own online poker room. In 2006 Pamela Anderson was the face of the short-lived Pamelapoker.com on the Doyle’s Room network.

TwoPlusTwo Poker Forum Goes Down

If you’re a TwoPlusTwo forum member and you’re reading this article there’s a good chance it’s because you have nothing else to do.

That’s because TwoPlusTwo, the world’s biggest online poker forum, was temporarily shut down earlier today due to an alleged hack.

According to the brief message on the site the forums were closed as the result of a hacker who displayed the ability to access email addresses and encrypted passwords on the message board.

The message suggested that any users who use their 2+2 password for other sites to immediately change it.

For security purposes the forum will remain closed until they figure out how to patch the breach.

A more pressing concern is where we’re going to get funny Photoshops of professional poker players as farmyard animals.

It’s troubling, to say the least.

Howard Lederer Champions Honesty and Integrity in Video

Well this is awkward.

So-called knowledge forum Big Think has posted a video on business ethics by Howard Lederer.

Yes the same Howard Lederer that was involved with the much-maligned Full Tilt Poker that has failed to pay back its players for over a year now.

It’s hard to believe this isn’t a level but we’re thinking it was filmed over a year ago.

Incredibly Lederer starts the article by saying that in the poker industry all you have is your good name and there's no way you could borrow a bunch of money and then not pay it back.

He actually said that.

Check out the complete video below:

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Yunis Leads, Moneymaker Through at EPT Grand Final

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:15:00 -0700

“This was probably the worst, most boring day ever. I think I had a pair once all day,” Moneymaker told PokerListings.com after the day was over.

“The old Chris Moneymaker would have spewed somewhere so I’m happy I was able to maintain some discipline and make it through the day,” he said.

While Moneymaker finished with just 24,000, Nick Yunis was able to stack 191,700 which is good for the overall chip lead heading into Day 2.

Also finishing Day 1B well-stacked was Italy’s Alessio Isaia, France’s Ilan Boujenah, American Tom Marchese and former EPT winner Vladamir Geshkenbein.

Here are the top 10 chip counts overall going into Day 2.

1. Nick Yunis (Chile) - 191,700 2. Ivan Kudriavtcev (Russia) – 186,200 3. Andoni Larrabe Sanchez (UK) – 181,300 4. Martin Kabrhel (Czech Republic) – 167,800 5. Franck Blanc (France) – 160,800 6. David Sands (United States) – 160,300 7. John Eames (UK) – 157,200 8. Alessio Isaia (Italy) – 139,600 9. Malte Moennig (Germany) – 136,900 10. Andres Artinano (Austria) – 125,000

394 players turned up for the second Day 1 heat at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel which, combined with the players from Day 1A, makes for a grand total of 665 for this year’s Grand Final.

Chris Moneymaker

With a prize pool of €6,650,000 this event will be awarding €1.5 million for first, and paying out a total of 96 places.

The winner will also take a bracelet from Shamballa Jewels valued at €25,000.

229 players made it through the day, meaning 394 players will be returning for Day 2. And with only 96 spots getting paid, the majority of the players still in will be walking away with nothing but memories to show for their time in Monte Carlo.

Moneymaker Loves the Grand Final, Hates Monte Carlo

It’s getting close to a decade since Chris Moneymaker won the Main Event and although the former champ is playing less, there are still a few must-attend events on his schedule.

“All the PokerStars events are different and this is probably the most prestigious as far as ones you want to win,” said Moneymaker.

“There are three events I mark on my calendar every year which is this, the PCA and the Main Event,” he added.

And Moneymaker has had success at all three. In addition to his 2003 Main Event victory he scored an 11th place finish at the 2011 PCA main event for $130,000 and cashed in the Grand Final here

But despite being a big fan of the Grand Final, Moneymaker doesn’t look forward to visiting the city.

“Even though I love this event, I’m not the biggest fan of Monte Carlo,” he said.

“I don’t love the $50 cheeseburger.”

Action continues on Day 2 tomorrow from the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel. Check our Poker News Section for the update.

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Seidel "Disgusted" By Full Tilt Actions

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:40:00 -0700

Seidel is in Monte Carlo playing the PokerStars EPT Grand Final Main Event and took a few minutes to talk about Full Tilt Poker and one of the greatest tournament heaters in the history of poker.

The interview ended with Seidel addressing the matter of Full Tilt Poker but for the sake of convenience those questions and answers have been moved to the beginning.

PokerListings.com: Can you comment on your reaction to learning about everything that was happening internally at Full Tilt leading up to Black Friday?

Erik Seidel: Like a lot of people I was pretty disgusted about how things were run and what happened.

Hopefully everything gets resolved but it still doesn’t make up for a year of stress that so many people have been put through. It was a huge financial stress and upset and such a hard year for so many people.

What’s your reaction to the recent talk that PokerStars will be acquiring Full Tilt and players might finally get paid back?

ES: I’m very excited about it. I certainly hope everything goes through without any problems. It’s fantastic for all of us.

PL.com: You’ve had an unbelievable couple of years in tournaments. Is there anything you can point to, to explain your success?

"Hopefully everything gets resolved but it still doesn’t make up for a year of stress that so many people have been put through"

ES: I really have no explanation for it. I think to a certain extent it was just an aberration. If you stick around long enough you’re going to have a good run.

I like to think I was making some good decisions and I was playing okay but it’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on when you have a streak like that.

PL: Is that really how you think about it, as a “good run”, given the frequency and the magnitude of the results you’ve been posting?

ES: I do look at it as a good run. Every time I sit down and play I’m still just trying to figure the game out. I certainly don’t feel like I know exactly how to play or I have some special understanding.

PL: So many of the results you’ve had have come in High Roller events and there’s certainly more of those now than in the past. Do you excel in those events or is just good luck that your good run came in huge events?

ES: I think it helped a lot that I played a few of the early ones last year and got a good feeling for the structures should be played. I think my focus was good last year and really I just enjoy those events more, so when I sit down for a $100k I’m really excited about playing.

I really love being there and I don’t feel that way about events that have hundreds and hundreds of players because you know the parlay of luck it takes to get there, whereas you have so much more control over a high buy-in event with less people, because you don’t have to make it through a thousand players.

PL: You mentioned understanding the structure really well. Do you think there are talented players who enter these events and don’t fully understand them, or don’t have the experience you have?

ES: I think that is true. I think there are some players who are really great players but they haven’t necessarily adjusted to the difference in play that High Roller structures dictate.

I feel like I’m in love whenever I’m in New York.

PL.com: You’ve been around and you’ve played high before so how do you feel when you put down $100k, or $250k or even $1 million like you will this summer at the WSOP Big One?

ES: I find it really exciting. When I played the one here, I’m just so happy to be here and be in the game and to be able to play and make decisions that matter.

I think that has a lot to do with the enthusiasm because you know every decision you make could be a very big swing. But when you’re playing against 800 people, certainly the decisions matter but there’s just so much more luck needed to get through it.

What are you looking forward to about the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop at the WSOP this summer?

ES: I’m very excited about that event. It’s a historic event and only someone like Guy (Laliberte) could put this together. A good percentage of the field are not going to be professional poker players so I think it’s going to be an amazing event and I think everyone’s going to be really excited about it.

PL: I heard you talking about possibly moving away from Las Vegas. Is that true?

ES: Yeah I’m thinking about it very seriously. I’ve lived in Vegas since ’95 and you know, I certainly like it there but I don’t do as much compared to when I’m in New York.

When I’m in New York I’m doing something every day. There’s always something going on. There’s music and theater, or just walking around.

I feel like I’m in love whenever I’m in New York.

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Full Tilt Subsidiary Pulls Out of AGCC Application

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:57:40 -0700

The AGCC confirmed the move earlier this week. Although the Commission gave no reason for the withdrawal, Orinic Limited was believed to have been applying for the licence as part of the potential deal with the Bernard Tapie Group.

Since the Tapie deal collapsed earlier this week there was apparently no reason for Orinic to go forward with the application for the time being.

Orinic Limited was seeking a Category 2 eGambling license that would have permitted them to handle online gambling funds.

The Full Tilt Poker subsidiary was able to avoid getting its Category 1 license revoked last summer because it didn’t host of the games on FTP and wasn’t in violation of any AGCC regulations.

In other Full Tilt Poker news the company has released an official statement addressing the collapse of the Bernard Tapie deal.

“To address issues reported today in the media and on blogs, Full Tilt Poker confirms that its agreement with Groupe Bernard Tapie has in fact been terminated,” said FTP Attorney Barry Boss.

“Despite this development, Full Tilt Poker is more optimistic than ever that its number one goal will be obtained: Full Tilt players will be repaid. Full Tilt Poker has been in settlement discussions with the US Department of Justice. As such settlement discussions are always confidential, we are unable to comment on any rumors related to the details of those discussions. As soon as we have information to share publicly we will do so.”

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Daily 3-Bet: Cates Relates, Heinz Update, Women’s War

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:51:16 -0700

Hit us up in the comments if you have something you’d like to suggest for a future 3-Bet.

Today we’re taking a look at the chromosome Y-lacking heads-up final match in Monte Carlo, some new observations from Dan “jungleman12” Cates and an update with current world champion Pius Heinz.

Dan "jungleman12" Cates

1) Dan “jungleman12” Cates Speaks Up

Dan “jungleman12” Cates has been pretty quiet since Black Friday hit last year.

He’s been active in live tournaments but it’s not quite the same as when he was thrashing Tom Dwan in the durrrr Challenge and winning millions on Full Tilt.

Cates decided to get something up on his blog this week, however, and as usual it was a fascinating read.

Perhaps the most interesting thing is that he’s going to be providing some insight into how he plays every week.

“I’m trying something new: Every week I will be randomly selecting an interesting hand history that is tweeted to me to review via twitter (provided you aren’t one of my competitors, or the hand is not against me). Not sure how well this work or if it will work at all, but I think the result will be fun, interesting, and everyone will benefit from it. So if you have a hand history, tweet it to me, and if you’re selected I will throw you a mention and a hand history review.”

Cates also revealed a number of interesting facts over the course of the blog including:

He’s still playing online and up seven figures since Black Friday He’s going to be back on PokerStars to play Isildur1 soon If he gets his Full Tilt roll back he’s going to rock a party yacht He’s lost money on every tournament he’s gone to except the recent Premier League

Just do yourself a favor and read the complete blog here. And remember to harass him for more posts next time you see him on the street.

Vicky Coren vs. Melanie Weisner

2) All-Female EPT Heads-Up Final

It’s perhaps a sign of the times when two female poker players emerge from an extraordinarily tough 64-player field at the €5,250 buy-in heads-up tournament at the EPT Grand Final.

Melanie Weisner and Vicky Coren are currently playing out the final heads-up match of the tournament and the winner will walk away with €58,900.

Actor David Mitchell, Coren’s fiancée, is playing the cheerleader role in the above photo as he pulls for the English woman to pull off the victory.

Coren dispatched Dori Yacoub to book her seat in the final match while Weisner beat former EPT champ Mark Teltscher.

Weisner and Coren have been waging all-out war against each other with Weisner currently up 2-1 in a best of five series. Despite the battle the pair has been making small talk the entire time and they just opened a bottle of red wine.

The always-witty Coren put it perhaps best on Twitter earlier today.

“And how nice is this - my opponent in the final is the great Melanie Weisner. Ha! Men and poker are so 1986.”

3) Heinz Claims He Had a Read on Staszko in New Interview

Pius Heinz has been the toast of the poker world over the last week as the first German world champion made his first appearance at EPT Berlin since winning the Main Event.

Heinz did the rounds with the German media and he did one particularly interesting interview with DW-TV’s Euromaxx where he claimed he had a read on his WSOP ME heads-up opponent Martin Staszko.

Both players were widely considered to have noted tells in heads-up but this is one of the first interviews we’ve seen where Heinz publically claimed that Staszko wouldn’t make eye contact when he was bluffing.

Plus, a cameo by Boris Becker, who’s happy he doesn’t have to “jump all over the place” anymore.

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Doc Sands Among Leaders at EPT Grand Final Day 1A

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:30:00 -0700

In the number one spot after eight levels of poker is Martin Kabrhel from the Czech Republic who stacked 167,800 to Doc Sands’ 160,300.

All told 271 players made it to the first day of the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo Casino EPT Grand Final Main Event. That’s down from the 302 who played Day 1A of the Grand Final last year when it was in Madrid, and even further down from the 351 who played this same day two years ago.

165 players made it through the day, including a slew of big names like Freddy Deeb, Scott Seiver, JP Kelly, Nicolas Chouity, JC Alvarado, Adam Levy, Joe Cada and Sam Trickett.

Also through to Day 2 is the legendary Phil Ivey, who scored a much-needed double up towards the end of the day to finish with 72,000.

Here are the top ten chip counts after Day 1A:

Martin Kabrhel (Czech Republic) - 167,800 David Sands (Canada) - 160,300 John Eames (UK) - 157,200 Malte Moennig (Germany) - 136,900 Tristan Clemencon (France) - 121,100 Freddy Deeb (USA) - 114,600 Frank Koopmann (Germany) - 113,900 Jason Wheeler (USA) - 112,900 Reza Mostafavi Tabatabaei (USA) - 110,900 Ben Warrington (UK) - 104,800

Doc Sands Crushes Day 1A

David “Doc” Sands has a long list of cashes but the vast majority of them were in North America. Sands has just two results on the EPT.

Day 1A at the Grand Final.

“It’s definitely one of the most prestigious tournaments and it’s a big field and a $13,500 buy-in so overall it’s just an awesome event,” Sands told PokerListings.com

“I find in general the players in Europe are more aggressive than in the US so you have to come into it with a bit of a different style, at least as an American who usually plays on the World Poker Tour.

“I think it’s really important to have a gear where you’re playing tight and a gear where you’re playing just absurdly aggressive,” he said.

Sands’ day started off on the right foot, with a series of confrontations that ended in James Akenhead’s elimination.

Sands won a big pot from Akenhead early, over-betting the river with the nuts and getting called. That hand knocked Akenhead down to about 11k.

Shortly after, Akenhead executed what looked like a squeeze play, forcing Sands to fold after open-raising.

Sands then opened with A-Q and got a few callers before Akenhead three-bet once again.

“I felt pretty darn good about four-bet calling there,” said Sands.

Unfortunately Akenhead had A-K. Fortunately a queen hit the flop.

“From there it was pretty smooth sailing. I had a really good spot when I four-bet A-K and bet-bet-shoved on A-5-7-2-9 and got called with worse,” said Sands.

Day 1B of the EPT Grand Final begins tomorrow. Check out Poker News Section for the update.

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Tweet Relief: PokerStars/Full Tilt Poker Fallout

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:30:37 -0700

Twitter is getting pretty hard to ignore. Especially in the poker world as many of the top pros have taken to the social media service like Scotty Nguyen to Michelob Light.

Fortunately for those who don’t feel like wading through thousands of poker Tweets every week we’ve compiled a list of the best Tweets in the poker world over the last week. If you're looking for more be sure to follow @PokerListings.

This week we’re dealing with a lot of buzz about PokerStars potentially acquiring Full Tilt Poker. Interestingly the story broke through a Tweet from Alexandre Dreyfus, who is the CEO of Chilipoker.

We’ve got the Tweet that started it all, along with interesting reaction from poker super agent Brian Balsbaugh, pros Eric Baldwin, Barny Boatman and comedy gold from FakeGusHansen and Joe Stapleton.

Pokerstars buys FullTilt for a consideration of $750m, including settlement with DOJ and full balances of players (330m).I'm impressed.

— Alexandre Dreyfus (@alex_dreyfus) April 24, 2012

Thanks for your order! Would you like to add a UB for just $.99?

— Eric Baldwin (@basebaldy) April 24, 2012

Lost another $100k in the EPT Super High Roller today. But I'll be fine. As a wise man once said- "Money can't buy you Handsomeness"

— Fake Gus Hansen(@FakeGusHansen) April 24, 2012

GBT never had any intention of buying FTP unless it was handed to them. Listed a couple ulterior motives in a blog few months back.

— Matt Glantz (@MattGlantz) April 24, 2012

I don't want to say Monte Carlo is expensive, but three fingers of Glenlivet costs THREE ACTUAL FINGERS.

— Joe Stapleton (@twojacksjoe) April 24, 2012

Groupe Bernard Tapie: "Poker already dominated by a single player.`" Do they mean Sam Tricket ?

— Barny Boatman (@barnyboatman) April 24, 2012

It's hard to explain the level of corporate hatred btwn PS & FTP.PS w power/control over major FTP shareholders is their worst nightmare

— Brian Balsbaugh (@Balsbaugh) April 24, 2012

If the $750m "all in" figure is correct, I know of 3 vastly more lucrative offers the FTP Board of Directors passed on last summer

— Brian Balsbaugh (@Balsbaugh) April 24, 2012

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Justin Bonomo Victorious at EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:30:00 -0700

Bonomo, an American pro, defeated past EPT High Roller champion Tobias Reinkemeier of Germany to win the biggest prize of his career.

“I think most people are lying when they say winning an event like this is all about the prestige,” Bonomo told PokerListings.com moments after the victory.

“€1.6 million is a lot of money and I’m certainly not rich enough to not care about that,” he said.

Before today Bonomo’s lifetime live tournament earnings totaled over $2.9 million. With this victory that number skyrockets to $5 million.

“I’m a grinder at heart so anytime I get a windfall like this it just goes back into the poker bankroll,” said Bonomo.

“I’ll be able to play more higher-stakes and just keep on trucking,” he said.

Bonomo was one of seven players to re-buy for this event, meaning his investment totaled a massive €200,000.

The American began the final table with roughly 40 per cent of the chips in play and personally eliminated five of the eight final-table players.

The $100k event at this year’s PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final drew 40 runners and represented the world’s best, and richest, poker players.

Duhamel Bubbles, Negreanu Scores Biggest Min-Cash Ever

Eugene Katchalov started the finale table as the shortstack and was the first player eliminated, getting A-6 in against Masa Kagawa’s pocket queens preflop.

Jon Duhamel bubbled.

Out next, on one of the biggest bubbles in the tournament world, was former world champion Jon Duhamel.

The French-Canadian three-bet shoved K♠ Q♠ against Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and was snapped off by pocket aces. Duhamel didn’t even get a sweat on the flop and was forced to walk away with nothing to show for his $100,000 buy-in.

Daniel Negreanu, who would have become poker’s all-time leading money winner had he taken this event down, went bust in 6th place and was the first player to get paid.

In what might have been the biggest min-cash in poker history, Kid Poker took a whopping €310,000.

Bonomo Continues to Dominate

From five-handed on this tournament was definitively dominated by Justin Bonomo.

It began with a three-way preflop all-in that saw pocket jacks for both Bonomo and Reinkemeier come out on top against Masa Kagawa’s K-Q.

Kagawa was out in fifth for €354,500.

Shortly after, it was Patrik Antonius all-in on the river, his two-pair losing out to Bonomo’s rivered straight. Antonius pocketed €443,000 for fourth.

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was the next to go, shoving a flush and open-ended draw and getting called by Bonomo with top pair. ElkY’s missed his many outs and was sent to the door in third place for €621,000.

Reinkemeier Succumbs in Second

Heads-up for €1.64 million.

Justin Bonomo carried a roughly six to one chip lead into his heads-up battle with Tobias Reinkemeier and barely gave up an inch on the way to victory.

After a few small skirmishes the two met in a big preflop all-in confrontation.

Reinkemeier opened from the button to 125k at 25k/50k and Bonomo three-bet to 350k from the big blind.

Reinkemeier considered his options before four-bet shoving to about 1.5 million. Bonomo snap-called with A-Q and saw he was in a race against pocket fours.

An ace on the flop put Bonomo far in the lead and it held up to win the hand and the tournament.

The EPT Grand Final main event in Monte Carlo is now underway so keeping checking our poker news section for more information.

Here are the full results for the EPT Season 8 Grand Final Super High Roller:

1. Justin Bonomo - €1,640,000 2. Tobias Reinkemeier - €1,064,000 3. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier - €621,000 4. Patrik Antonius - €443,000 5. Masa Kagawa - €354,500 6. Daniel Negreanu - €310,000

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