Posts Tagged ‘2011’
The Online Railbird Report: A Quick Look Back at 2010; Dang Off To Fast Start In 2011
Dates are Set for 2011 WSOP
Tom Dwan loses $320,000 to jungleman12 in durrrr challenge
Poker After Dark Big Heat Week Debuts Tonight
For those in need of new poker television content, the NBC franchise “Poker After Dark” returns for its first new episodes of 2011 tonight, featuring the biggest tournament in the history of the program.
Dubbed “Big Heat Week,” “Poker After Dark’s” first tournament of 2011 features a six-man sit and go that brings together competitors who have more than proven their worth in the poker world. Combined, the six players – John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Phil Galfond, Huck Seed, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Phil Ivey – have over $42 million in career tournament earnings, 18 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, a WSOP Main Event title, and a slew of other major championships.
The $100,000 buy-in event guarantees that the victor of this week’s “Poker After Dark” will walk away with a $600,000 payday.
Galfond is the newcomer to the “Poker After Dark” stage, as all of the other competitors have faced the NBC show’s cameras previously. Galfond, who terrorizes the online poker world under the name “OMGClayAiken,” has built a reputation as one of the top No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha players in the game today. His addition to this week’s lineup is indicative of how the show is embracing the “new blood” of the game.
Safe money on who will win this week’s battle should be on Ivey and Juanda, who are veterans of “Poker After Dark” and have racked up two wins each during the run of the show. While Lindgren and Seed have previously appeared on the program, neither has been able to crack the winner’s circle. For his part, Dwan has been a part of previous “Poker After Dark” cash game episodes, but this is only his second foray into the freezeout arena.
“Big Heat Week” will kick off this evening on NBC late night at 2:05am ET, with host Ali Nejad providing voiceover commentary of the action. The sit and go will continue over the next four nights in the same timeslot and a special “Director’s Cut” will air late night on Saturday at 1:00am ET after NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” This show will feature Leeann Tweeden with a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews.
Throughout the first half of 2011, “Poker After Dark” will continue to provide new shows mixed in with encore presentations of some of the series’ best episodes. After this week’s new episodes, Dwan will return to the two-week encore presentation of one of the show’s most memorable cash games. The cash game, which featured a $100,000 buy-in, also featured Phil Laak, Gus Hansen, Eli Elezra, and former World Champions Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth.
The week of February 7th, a new cash game will take to the “Poker After Dark” stage with the highest stakes yet. The $150,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em cash game will feature Howard Lederer, Greg Mueller, Elezra, David Peat, Olivier Busquet, and Laak battling it out for supremacy.
April will bring one of the most eagerly anticipated additions to the “Poker After Dark” lineup. During the week of April 4th, a $50,000 buy-in sit and go will take place featuring some of the “young guns” of the game. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger and UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin will join Melanie Weisner, Annette Obrestad, Brunson, and Dwan, with the winner walking away with $250,000.
During the week of April 11th, Pot Limit Omaha will make its debut on “Poker After Dark” and be featured for two weeks. Joining Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond on the felt for the $100,000 buy-in cash game will be Brandon Adams, Patrik Antonius, Brian Hastings, and Jared Bleznick. The addition of Pot Limit Omaha to “Poker After Dark” should draw a huge audience with the ever-increasing popularity of the game.
Once again, be sure to check your local listings for when “Poker After Dark” runs on your local NBC affiliate.
Isildur1 Defeats Tony G in PokerStars SuperStar Showdown, Earns $44,000
On Sunday, the second ever SuperStar Showdown took place on the virtual felts of PokerStars and featured sponsored pro Isildur1 facing off against PartyPoker’s Tony G. After the 2,500-hand encounter, Isildur1 booked $44,000 in profit and was declared the winner, boosting his SuperStar Showdown record to 1-1.
Following the match, Tony G sought comfort on the TwoPlusTwo forums and posted a four-paragraph recap. He closed by calling for another round with Isildur1, who many believe he backed earlier this year: “Now, I need everyone to lobby for a rematch that is fair, and my sponsor deserves it. Let’s replay this thing on my home turf at PartyPoker ASAP and I will add $50,000 to the pool, as a contest of this magnitude deserves some money added and we will hide Isildur1’s identity. That is not up for discussion.”
Tony G and Isildur1 fired up two tables of $50/$100 No Limit Hold’em and two tables of $50/$100 Pot Limit Omaha on Sunday, with each table stretching for 625 hands. However, Tony G’s lack of multi-tabling experience may have ultimately led to his demise, according to text found on the PokerStars Blog: “Although he is quite seasoned when it comes to nosebleed-stakes cash games, unlike Isildur1′s previous challenger Isaac Haxton, the name Tony G is not exactly synonymous with multi-tabling online heads-up matches.”
Tony G shot out to an early lead after his wired pair of aces held up in Omaha, but Isildur1 bounced back in Hold’em by hitting a spade flush on the river to scoop a $20,000 pot. Isildur1 then made another flush in Omaha to extend the lead even further, but Tony G ended up $23,000 after the first 207 hands. After 561 hands, it seemed that the match could be out of reach, as the PartyPoker pro had built $47,000 in profit.
Then, perhaps hubris set in for Tony G, who asked his opponent in the chat box on one table, “u feeling ok my man… u getting owned by a total donk old man… start pressing some all-in buttons boy… are you even qualified… are you committed to this?” Isildur1 responded to the pep talk by raking in a $45,000 pot after making Broadway in Omaha to best Tony G’s king-high straight.
After 1,000 hands, Isildur1 was back in it and trailed Tony G by just $22,000. Then, text found on the PartyPoker Blog detailed, “In a three-hand sequence that spanned less than three minutes, Isildur1 entirely eroded Tony G’s profits and was back in the black to the tune of $2,450.” Isildur1 then scooped a $27,000 pot with top two pair against Tony G’s pair of eights. Following that hand, another $70,000 was pushed Isildur1’s way after spiking a set of sixes in Omaha to move ahead $46,000. By the halfway point in the second SuperStar Showdown, Isildur1 was up $77,000.
Tony G scooped an $82,000 pot after making the nut flush to bring the contest closer to even, but Isildur1 struck back by landing a monster pot worth $124,000 with a straight in Omaha. Tony G then proceeded to fume about the rules of the SuperStar Showdown, labeling the match a “freak show” and a “farse” in the chat.
Tony G fought back after his tirade, running hot in Hold’em to draw Isildur1’s lead to just over $7,000. However, when the smoke cleared, Isildur1 recorded his very first SuperStar Showdown win and received the following concession speech from his nemesis: “I have been humiliated… well done… let me go and look for my bike.” Interestingly enough, Isildur1 booked just $500 of his profit in No Limit Hold’em, but dominated in Pot Limit Omaha.
The next installment of the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown has not yet been announced. Officials from the world’s largest online poker site had hinted at another one occurring during the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which starts this week, but no announcement has been made.
The Sunday Briefing: “He77_Razor” Kicks Off 2011 Online Sunday Season With $270K+ Win
Club4Aces.com has a €8,000 VIP chase in January
The very popular Club4Aces campaigns are back in January (1.-31.01.2011), you have the opportunity to compete in campaigns worth of €8,000! It’s the same competition as in last month, but C4A added two more levels to give out even more prizes!
Their own Network promotions can be found here. I.e. there’s 3 x €60,00 Nonstop Rake promotions!
10 x €800 VIP Chase
Your goal is to reach certain point levels to get some bonus cash.
When you reach a level, you’ll share a €800 pool with the other players who have reached the same level. When you reach the next level, you’ll share other €800 pool with the players at the same level and so on. It’s really simple: the more levels you reach, the more money you’ll get. If you reach the highest level (17,000VIP) you’ll get your share from all 10 levels! If you’re the only one reaching certain level, you’ll get the whole level pool for yourself.
Levels and VIP Points:
LEVEL - VIP Limit - Prize pool
10 17,000 €800
9 13,000 €800
8 10,000 €800
7 7,500 €800
6 5,000 €800
5 4,000 €800
4 3,000 €800
3 2,000 €800
2 1,000 €800
1 500 €800
Last month’s prizes were shared like this (nota that three players took half the pot, so there’s REALLY easy money for you to grab!):
The race is open for all HighStakesNews.com, Pokerista.net and Pokerihai.com customers! You can Follow the competition on our Competitions page.
To take part of the competition, follow the instructions below. And while you’re doing it, grab the €5,000 First Deposit Bonus.
Create your account, take part of the promotions!
Follow these instructions to create your new account to Club4Aces
1. Clear your cookies from the browser
2. Use the following link to visit the Club4Aces website: CLICK HERE
3. Fill out the needed forms and use the following Signup Code: pokerista5000
4. Download and install the poker client
5. You’re ready to play. To make sure you’re part of the program, send us an e-mail including your Player ID (highstakesnews@gmail.com) and we’ll double-check that you’re all ready to begin to play.
The Rules of the competition:
- “January 10 x €800 VIP Chase” will be held from 1st January (00:00:00CET) to 31st (23:59:59CET) January 2011
- Only the VIP Points from Entraction Network will be accepted in the VIP Chase
- You cannot participate the Chase by playing at the Play Money tables
- All HighStakesNews.com/Pokerista.net/Pokerihai.com customers are automatically part of the Chase
- The prizes will be paid as how the players will position themselves in the Leaderboard
- The results will be tracked and announced by Club4Aces.com
- The prizes will be paid according to the Leaderboard
- While taking part the December Chase, you can still participate in the other bonus promotions as well
- You cannot team play. That is absolutely forbidden. If some account shares multiple IPs, this account will be banned from the competition
- If players won’t reach certain level, C4A will keep the prize money
- C4A holds all the rights to close player accounts if there are violations against the rules. All the possible prizes will be confiscated from the violators
- C4A holds the rights to quit the Chase and/or change the rules at any point if they have to
You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com
2010 Poker Memories by Linda Johnson
Time is passing too quickly. We just said goodbye to 2010, but memories of my favorite (and not so favorite) poker moments from the year are still vivid in my mind. I’d like to share a few of my personal 2010 poker memories with you.
Proudest 2010 Poker Memory
Without a doubt, being nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame is the answer to this category. What a thrill it was to learn that I had been nominated along with such a prestigious group as Erik Seidel, Dan Harrington, Tom McEvoy, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein. Congratulations to the 2010 inductees Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington.
Favorite Poker News Story
I loved the coverage given to the Mizrachi family during the WSOP. It seemed like every poker magazine had Michael Mizrachi on the cover. Even mainstream Las Vegas entertainment magazines featured Michael and his family.
Favorite Poker Vacation
The 12-night Card Player Cruises poker trip to the Mediterranean wins in this category. The poker room was a lot of fun as usual, but the highlight was seeing all of the magnificent European ports. We stopped at Cannes/Monte Carlo, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Corfu, Dubrovnik, and Barcelona and had great weather in each.
Favorite Charity Event
Of all of the charity events I was fortunate to participate in during 2010, the fundraiser for MickeysCamp.org was my favorite. Mickey’s Camp was started by Mickey Maurer and is held in Indianapolis, Indiana every August. There is a three-day camp for men and a three-day camp for women. The participants sleep in the same cabins the kids stay at during summer and participate in a variety of activities including fishing, camping, wine tasting, cooking, self-defense, magic, and swimming.
I had the honor of teaching the poker sessions and running the poker tournaments for both camps. Mickey’s Camp has raised more than $1 million dollars for charity since its inception 10 years ago. Honorable mention in this category goes to fundraising events for Poker Gives and Child Rescue.
Most Disappointing Poker News
I am still angry and annoyed that we haven’t been able to overturn the UIGEA, although I think we are getting close. The news that the Washington State courts upheld the ruling making online poker illegal is just plain gross! After the ruling, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars shut down service to Washington residents, a move that should have been met with much more fury and protest from the state’s players.
Favorite Whirlwind Trip
My quick trip to Golden, Colorado for a Poker Players Alliance event qualifies in this category. In less than 24 hours, I flew in and out of Denver and participated in a poker tournament to help Senator Michael Bennett’s campaign. Bennett was elected by a very small margin and I believe he was the victor due to the support of Colorado poker players.
Most Prestigious Poker Event
The winner in this category was easily the Women in Poker Hall of Fame banquet held at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. The Grand Ballroom, decorated by a group of volunteers headed by Lupe Soto and her Board of Directors, took on the look of an elegant bistro/nightclub. Jan Fisher did a great job as the emcee and Jeffrey Pollack and Nolan Dalla delivered passionate speeches. After a delicious dinner, awards were presented, followed by a dance. Congratulations to the 2010 inductees Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, and Billie Brown.
Favorite New Poker Procedure
I love the new rule established at the Commerce Casino that penalizes players who are gone too long from the table. Players who miss several rounds in $20-$40 and higher Hold’em games have $5 taken from their stacks and put into the pot. Note that this rule was just about to go into effect the last time I played there and so may have been refined since.
Favorite New Poker Social Media Source
I admit it… I am a Twitter addict! I read it as often as I can and follow many of the top poker celebrities’ Tweets. I hate that it takes up so much of my time and makes me feel like a voyeur, but I can’t seem to give it up. Perhaps they will start a Twitters Anonymous in 2011 and I will be a charter member.
Favorite Tournament Series
Few would argue that the World Series of Poker wins in this category. The series expanded into even more square footage at the Rio and saw an increase in total participants. I had three deep runs (16th, 29th, and 31st) out of the five tournaments I entered, yet am not sporting a new bracelet. Congratulations to all of the bracelet winners, but especially to Gavin Smith, who won his first bracelet after many close efforts.
The runner-up award in this category goes to Wild Horse Casino in Pendleton, Oregon. Roland Waters directs a great tournament series with huge player fields. Entrants get rewarded with $75,000 in added money and free dinner buffets every night.
Other favorite poker memories from 2010 include delivering the “Shuffle Up and Deal” opening speech for the WSOP Ladies Event, teaching WPT Boot Camp at many locations around the country, playing in the WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce, and hosting tournaments at the Eureka Open in Mesquite, Nevada, the Rainbow Spectrum of Poker at the Rainbow Hotel in Wendover, Nevada, and the Wild Horse Resort Casino Poker Roundup in Pendleton, Oregon.
I am extremely blessed to be part of this wonderful poker world and am grateful for the opportunities it has provided me. In 2010, I met many wonderful people who share my passion for poker and was thrilled to have so many chances to give back to our community.
Our country is facing tough economic times ahead. I hope 2011 is a prosperous and happy year for Poker News Daily readers. In closing, I am happy to offer our readers a discount on any 2011 Card Player Cruises trip. Mention Poker News Daily when you book your cabin by January 15th and you will get a $50 per person discount. For more information, go to CardPlayerCruises.com.
Editor’s Note: Linda Johnson is available for poker functions, seminars, corporate events, and charity fundraisers. You can contact her through her website at CardPlayerCruises.com.
Poker News in Brief: Dec. 27, 2010- Jan. 2, 2011
That meant a few of poker's smaller stories may have slipped through the cracks.
Fortunately, we caught them and compiled them in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature below.
This week, Poker After Dark returns, the World Cup captains are named, UB goes back to Montreal and more.
Poker After Dark Returns
The new season of POKER PROductions' Poker After Dark returns to NBC this week.
POKER PROductions inked an agreement with NBC Universal extending the late-night poker show through 2014 in 2010 and the seventh season, filmed at the new Aria Resort and Casino at the City Center complex in Las Vegas, begins airing Jan. 3.
This season will feature more cash games than ever before. Most will be no-limit hold'em, but two weeks will also be devoted to Pot-Limit Omaha with a lineup that should impress fans.
Names like Mike Matusow, Chris Ferguson, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Annette Obrestad, Eli Elezra, Phil Galfond, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, and David Oppenheim will all appear this season.
There will only be three weeks following the traditional Freezout format this season, including this week's "Big Heat," a $100,000 buy-in event featuring John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Huckleberry Seed, Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond.
Leeann Tweeden will once again serve as the show's host with Ali Nejad providing commentary.
Fifty50 Sit & Go's
PokerStars has launched a new online poker Sit & Go format called Fifty50.
Although the tournaments end when half of the entrants have been eliminated, Fifty50's differ from the Double or Nothing format in that half of the prize pool gets split between the winning players equally and the other half is awarded based on chip counts.
Fifty50 events are currently running at the $10 level, but will soon be available at many different stakes.
World Cup of Poker Captains Named
The identities of the team captains for the seventh annual World Cup of Poker have been announced.
Last year, Chinese Taipei took the title. This year it will be Argentina, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, France, Ukraine and the United States battling it out for a $100,000 first prize at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
Slovakia’s team will be led by Team PokerStars Pro’s newest member Dag Palovic. EPT San Remo winner Liv Boeree will lead the UK team while Argentina’s captain is back-to-back LAPT champ Nacho Barbero.
2009 APT champion Neil Arce will lead the team from the Philippines while the Spain squad will be headed up by Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor.
Luca Pagano leads Italy and Arnaud Mattern will captain the team from France.
And Finally, Vanessa Selbst will lead the USA while EPT Kiev runner-up Alexander Dovzhenko captains the Ukrainian side.
The action gets underway in the Bahamas Jan 14.
UB Returns to Poker Pro Canada Classic
For the second straight year, UB will be sending over twenty players to compete in the running of Montreal's biggest poker event, the Poker Pro Canada Classic.
The $1500+150 buy-in No Limit Hold 'em event runs Jan. 27-30, 2011 at the Four Aces Poker Club.
UB is running a series of super satellites and freerolls Jan. 2-16 giving players a chance to win a $2500 prize package that includes a seat plus $850 for travel expenses.
300-plus players and prize pool of $500,000 is expected in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Tags: 2009, 2010, 2011, Canada, freeroll, no-limit, Online Poker, Patrik Antonius, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, poker show, pokerstars, spain, Tom Dwan, tournament, usa, vegas
Poker Players Ring in the New Year
Over the past few days, poker’s most prolific Tweeters have been actively preparing for the New Year. Whether they were traveling or reflecting on the year that passed, it provided a great deal of entertainment.
The New Year’s celebrations got off to a start as early as Wednesday, with model and poker player Christina Lindley Tweeting, “Beginning an absurdly fun Vegas week w some troublemakers right… now.” As New Year’s Eve came, Lindley sent out a Twitpic of a shiny silver mini and Tweeted, “Picking up the NYE dress from the tailor.” Also journeying to Las Vegas was PokerStars “Big Game” hostess Amanda Leatherman, who fired off, “Goodbye North Carolina! It’s time to go to Vegas and forget about all the things I did here.”
Other poker players had not quite decided what to do to celebrate the New Year. DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit Makhija admitted to his followers, “Last minute before New Year’s and I’ve been slacking on making plans. Anyone less lazy than me have New Year’s plans that Tara & I can crash?” For their part, both Antonio Esfandiari (“Gearing up for my annual NY Eve party. It’s going to b a madhouse.”) and Alec Torelli (“Off to Atlanta for New Year’s.”) seemed a little better prepared to usher in 2011.
Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, and Marco Traniello were celebrating New Year’s with each other. After Traniello Tweeted at the others, “r u guys ready to party ?,” Negreanu responded, “the house is full and we all got spray tans, so yeah, we are ready.” Fresh off of his departure from UB.com, Phil Hellmuth’s plans for New Year’s Eve included, “sit(ting) in Jerry Buss’ box for Lakers game, then we hit Drai’s!”
The last few days of 2010 also led to some experimentation by “High Stakes Poker” hostess and PartyPoker pro Kara Scott. She Tweeted, “Bleurgh. Spent much of tonight trying to perfect a rum/coconut drink for tomorrow and am now completely sick of it. Margaritas for everyone!” Tiffany Michelle will be celebrating New Year’s Eve in Hawaii, but took time to chirp, “Counting my blessings today. Some people are stuck in snow storms, rain, & freezing weather while I’m surfing in the warm waters of Hawaii.”
The New Year brings those pesky resolutions along with it and poker players were no different in putting their thoughts for 2011 on Twitter. “This year I wish @philnolimits places 2nd to me in WSOP Main Event,” Rafe Furst jabbed at his buddy Phil Gordon. Allen Bari took the New Year as a chance to change his table demeanor, Tweeting on Friday, “This time tomorrow I will be a really nice and respectful guy at the poker table, I will smile and not berate at the table.” This prompted World Poker Tour Tour Director Matt Savage to fire back, “@allenbari it is January 1st not April 1st. You know that right?”
Adam “Roothlus” Levy vowed through Twitter, “My 2011 resolution is to get more Main Event coverage by doing far worse.” Meanwhile, Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis was not feeling well as the New Year approached, Tweeting, “Is this really the day to get sick? Woke up sneezing and I feel cold and weak. Hope it’s gonna be better during the day.”
Some poker players were also glad to see the previous year fade to the past. “Oh, 2010, you crafty little bitch,” UB.com’s Joe Sebok Tweeted. “You’re good, I’ll give you that. Quite good. Only 14 more hours of you though and then poof, gone.” Full Tilt’s Justin “Boosted J” Smith also took time to look at the year gone by: “I want everyone to think about all the great things that happened to them in 2010… even if it was a rough year… small laughs to big things.”
Perhaps the venerable Kevin “Kevmath” Mathers summed up everyone’s thoughts for the New Year: “This year had its share of good and bad times. Hoping 2011 will have more of those good times for myself and everyone else!”
With 2011 off to a roaring start, Poker News Daily would like to take the time to wish all of our readers a happy and prosperous New Year.
Online Poker 2011: Make Your New Year Profitable at the Tables
Happy New Year!
Tags: 2011
Prahlad Friedman Joining Team UB.com?
It’s been a chaotic week for the CEREUS Network online poker room UB.com. Thursday saw the departure of its two highest profile pros, 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Annie Duke and 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. According to UB.com pro Joe Sebok, however, a new pro will be announced next week, and all signs point to Prahlad Friedman joining the team.
Sebok posted on his blog on Thursday, “While it’s true that two of our members have moved on, don’t think that we aren’t restocking the talent. We’ll be announcing our newest Team UB member next week and I am crazily pumped about it.” Possible free agents in the poker market include CardPlayer Player of the Year Tom Marchese, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, and Friedman.
Sebok added that Team UB.com will have a brand new look in 2011: “UB has, and will continue to have, a whole new look and feel for our team and our newest signing exemplifies that, so stay tuned for that announcement next week. Going to be a bit of a doozy.” The team appears to be of a younger breed right now and includes players like Sebok, Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, and Adam “Roothlus” Levy.
Speaking of Friedman, Bluff Magazine was among those who sourced two Tweets from Friedman in late November that questioned whether he would ever ink a deal with an online poker site. Friedman pondered, “I said I would never sign with a poker site. Should I ever reconsider? What y’all think? I would have to get over the fact that I’m ‘selling out.’ I’m the only poker player in the world that hasn’t wanted a deal that I know of.” Friedman, 32, has a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and a World Poker Tour (WPT) title under his belt.
In a screen shot posted on TwoPlusTwo, posters who typed in the URL of Duke’s biography on UB.com were met with text for “Prahlad Friedman,” leaving many to believe that the youngster will be the newest sponsored pro. When we visited the same web page on Friday morning, our browser instead forwarded to the default Team UB.com landing page. Poker News Daily has learned that the announcement of the room’s newest pro could take place as soon as Monday.
The Russ Hamilton-led cheating scandal on Ultimate Bet affected Friedman, among others. As such, his signing, according to one TwoPlusTwo poster, could signal the end of an era: “I think, for many of us, UB is forever tainted. However, in the world of PR, signing Prahlad would be a very, very good move as a sign of different times ahead.”
Other members of the online poker community took the opposite line. One TwoPlusTwo regular questioned, “Why would Prahlad accept this offer from UB? I mean, the company that stole money from you and now you are accepting their sponsorship deal. I just can’t understand!” Whether Friedman will actually become the next sponsored pro of the CEREUS Network poker site remains to be seen.
Friedman has been involved in two incidents at the annual WSOP that have both played out on ESPN. In 2006, “Ante-gate” erupted between Friedman and Jeffrey Lisandro over a possible missed ante by the latter. Friedman asked Lisandro whether he put out his ante, which led to a war of words. In 2010, Friedman clearly said, “Call,” after tablemate Ted Bort called the clock on him. However, Rio floor staff ruled the hand dead and Bort tabled two pair. Friedman quickly mucked what he claimed to be a weaker two pair, leading to a swarm of controversy.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest.
Tags: 2010, 2011, Annie Duke, cheat, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, Tiffany Michelle, WSOP
Pro Poker Seminars Opens for Serious Players
Come the beginning of 2011, there will be another alternative for poker players beyond such offerings as the World Poker Tour (WPT) Boot Camp and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Academy.
Billing itself as a school for “serious” poker players, Pro Poker Seminars will be stepping into the training arena. Their first ever three-day seminar is scheduled for the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada from March 11th to 14th and will delve into such subjects as tilt prevention, tournament theory, live tells, and Omaha strategy. The seminar costs $1,199, but included are a suite for three nights, meals, study materials, and a special tournament featuring bounties on the instructors in attendance.
The instructors for the seminar should bring a wealth of experience in poker. Such noted poker authors as Dr. Alan Schoonmaker, Lou Krieger, and Chris “Fox” Wallace are scheduled to head the classes and will be readily available for discussion about poker during the off hours. The website for Pro Poker Seminars states, “Our seminars are more like intensive college courses than the story-time and glad-handing you get with some poker camps. These aren’t fantasy camps; this is serious poker education.”
“We did some research into what was available on the market and while there is a great deal of real training in the online marketplace, most live education amounted to glad-handing and story-telling with the old guard,” Pro Poker Seminars Co-Founder Adam Stemple stated in an interview. “These pros have great stories from the old days, and some interesting insights into the game, but they aren’t in tune with the high aggression levels and much stronger players in today’s game. We don’t want any part of that market; we want to help players who are serious about their games with real poker education.”
The seminars offered by Pro Poker Seminars have an affordable price in comparison to some of their competitors. The WPT Boot Camp normally runs around $1,895 and offers tournament instruction and cash game lessons. There, you can find such instructors as Linda Johnson, T.J. Cloutier, Todd Brunson, Kenna James, and Eric “Rizen” Lynch.
The WSOP Academy has a wealth of venerable poker names behind it and also offers qualified instructors. Its most recent “November Nine” camp was offered for $1,899 at the Rio and featured several strong performers at recent WSOP events. Former World Champion Greg Raymer headed a list of instructors that also included former WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider and WSOP Main Event final table players David “Chino” Rheem, Kevin Schaffel, and Steve Begleiter. Some of the WSOP Academy’s multi-day camp instructors include Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, and Mark Seif.
Depending on your bankroll and level of interest in the game, there are many choices for poker training seminars. According to Pro Poker Seminars partner Aliera Brust, the company is looking to provide a dozen events in 2011. For more information on the upcoming Reno event, visit the Pro Poker Seminars website.
December 31st – Weekly News Update
Welcome once again to the Poker News Daily weekly news update. I’m your host Sean Gibson and I’ll be delivering the top headlines for the week in the world of poker – and what a week of news it was!!
Our first story rocks the world of online poker as superstars Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke are officially parting ways with UB.com for different reasons. Both have been the faces of UB.com and represented for nine years. We did get a comment from Annie Duke about HER decision to leave UB.com:
“After some thought, I made a decision to leave UB.com because I would like to explore other avenues of business and personal growth. I realized I needed to spend my time on other things.”
Duke has stated that she has no intentions of signing on with another poker site. She said that she is moving on from UB.com to persue other projects on a full time basis. Hellmuth continues to be one of the biggest names in the world of poker and his departure, although rumored in the last few weeks, still comes as a huge shock. As more develops in this story, stay tuned right here at poker news daily for the latest.
Another online poker industry icon is moving on as Lee Jones earlier this week announced his resignation from Cake Poker. Jones posted on the TwoPlusTwo forums on Tuesday:
“This is a brief announcement to let you know that, as of yesterday, I have resigned my position at Cake Poker and will not be making any further posts here. Their management has made some strategic decisions with which I’m not comfortable.”
Jones, who also is a guest columnist here at our site told us that he simply wasn’t comfortable with some of the decisions that the Cake management was making. Jones refused to comment further but added that he hopes to remain in the poker industry and says he has a couple of irons in the fire. Jones rose to fame in the online poker industry originally in roles with PokerStars, the EPT and at CardRunners.
For those of you that can’t get enough Isildur1 action, the next SuperStar Showdown match has been announced. Coming off a loss to Isaac Haxton, Isildur1 will now face the notorious Tony G in a high stakes battle. You might remember that it was Tony G that supposedly staked Isildur1 for a comeback bid and reportedly knows the Swedish player’s identity. The match will take place on Sunday, January 2nd at 4pm eastern time on PokerStars. The game will be half no limit hold’em and half pot limit Omaha at $50-$100 blind stakes. Interested parties can rail the action at PokerStars by looking for tables labeled showdown under the Omaha tab or under the Holdem, No Limit all tables tab.
Jon Friedberg, known online as pokertrip will be debuting a new talk show right here, exclusively on Poker News Daily. Friedberg will host the new show, called “The Showdown” every week here at PND, and promises to feature some of the game’s most prolific names. Set to start during the first week of January, Friedberg’s first guest will be former Survivor castaway Jean-Robert Bellande. When asked about his new home here at PND, he stated:
“I see myself not as a member of the media, but rather a fellow poker player who sees eye-to-eye with players I interview. I don’t have any problems asking questions that other poker media might be scared to address. My passion is to share the lifestyles, strategies, and thought processes of poker players.”
Be sure to catch the first episode of “The Showdown” right here at Poker News Daily next week!
In recent days, Party Gaming and bwin announced merger plans to form a giant online gaming group that will become effective sometime in the first quarter of 2011. It’s expected that this merger will create the biggest largest listed online gambling business. The new company will operate worldwide with its existing brands and both bwin and Party Gaming will retain most of the core of their brands but be operated under a new umbrella company. Bwin’s CEO had this to say:
“Our products and target markets complement one another perfectly, and we can continue to expand our technology lead in all key product segments: sports betting, poker, casino, bingo, and games.”
Now that the year is over, CardPlayer has officially crowned Tom Marchese the 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year. His epic run in 2010 saw him make 11 final tables in major live tournaments to the tune of over $2 million in profits. The highlight of 2010 for Marchese was the win at the NAPT Venetian Main Event for over eight hundred thousand dollars. He beat out Dwyte Pilgrim, Sorel Mizzi and Vanessa Selbst for the award. Marchese had four six-figure paydays in 2010 with final tables at the European Poker Tour, World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker.
Well that wraps up a very exciting and busy week in the world of poker as well as our last weekly news report of 2010. Be sure to come back to poker news daily for all the latest poker headlines every single day and as a reminder, be sure to catch John Friedberg’s new show, “The Showdown” right here next week along with another episode of our weekly news recap. I’m Sean Gibson wishing you a very happy and safe new years!
Tags: 2010, 2011, Annie Duke, cake poker, european, high stakes, interview, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, usa, WSOP
£50,000 January giveaway at PokerStars
Hellmuth, Duke Leaving UB
Seperate statements regarding the departure of each were released on the UB blog Thursday.
The statement regarding Duke, who gained some noteriety finishing runner-up to Joan Rivers in Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice on NBC in 2009, claims she has decided to pursue "other projects" on a full-time basis.
“I have nothing but positive things to say about UB and my experiences with the brand, management and the incredible people who work hard daily to deliver a terrific online poker experience,” she said.
Hellmuth, who's $11,445,927 million in career earnings put him fourth on poker's all time money list and 11 WSOP bracelet wins still marks the most of any player, will apparently remain a regular on the poker circuit, despite a few lean years recently.
"Today we are announcing that UB.com and Phil Hellmuth have mutually parted ways," the statement read.
"It has been great working with Phil over the last decade and we know we’re with the rest of the poker world when we say that we look forward to Phil’s next move on the world poker circuit."
The statement on Hellmuth also says Team UB will continue building with young, aggressive poker pros who today’s online poker players can identify with.
Some additions to Team UB, rumored to include Prahlad Friedman, Dwyte Pilgrim, and Tom Marchese, are expected in early 2011.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Phil Hellmuth Leaves UB.com in Major Shakeup
It’s been a busy day for all of us in the online poker community. Just hours after Annie Duke announced her exit from UB.com to pursue non-poker business interests, site icon Phil Hellmuth departed as well. A statement posted on UB.com reveals that the two sides “mutually parted ways.”
Hellmuth was recently seen on ESPN’s coverage of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour’s (NAPT) Los Angeles Bounty Shootout wearing patches for the Aria Casino in Las Vegas and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Academy. Curiously absent were any logos for his home poker site, UB.com. Hellmuth also appeared on NBC’s “Poker After Dark” devoid of UB.com logos, leading many to believe that he was on the outs with the USA-friendly CEREUS Network room.
Duke left UB.com earlier today in order to extend her foothold in the business world. She commented in a statement posted on UB.com, “I have nothing but positive things to say about UB and my experiences with the brand, management, and the incredible people who work hard daily to deliver a terrific online poker experience.” Duke and Hellmuth had been with UB.com since 2001, the year the online poker site was launched as Ultimate Bet and two years before the modern poker boom.
Duke told Poker News Daily that she does not plan to sign with a competing online poker site; whether Hellmuth feels the same way is not yet known. Duke’s brother, Howard Lederer, is one of the main faces of Full Tilt Poker, which also accepts action from the United States. Hellmuth, who is widely regarded as one of the top tournament players on the planet, could also head to a site like PokerStars or Victory Poker.
Hellmuth owns the record for the number of WSOP bracelets won at 11 and number of WSOP cashes at 79. Along the way, he’s racked up $6.2 million in WSOP earnings alone and is a rumored contestant on the 2011 installment of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars.” He’s one of the top marketable faces in the poker industry and has coined several memorable phrases including “I can dodge bullets, baby” and “Idiot from Northern Europe.”
Hellmuth won the 1989 WSOP Main Event at age 24 and, for the next 20 years, held the record as the youngest champ ever of the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament. Before anyone knew who Chris Moneymaker was, Hellmuth had already amassed seven bracelets; in fact, he racked up three pieces of hardware in 1993 alone.
In 2009, November Niner Jeff Shulman asked Hellmuth to help him with his short-handed game in preparation for the Main Event final table. As a result, Shulman took fifth place for $1.9 million.
Today’s two high-profile departures leave UB.com stocked with a pro roster that includes PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok, bracelet winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, and Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, the Last Women Standing in the 2008 and 2007 WSOP Main Events, respectively. Also remaining on the Team UB roster are Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Brandon Cantu, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and Anthrax’s Scott Ian, among others. The group appears to have become noticeably younger sans Hellmuth and Duke.
Prior to announcing his exit from UB.com, Hellmuth Tweeted the prices of several sports tickets he was monitoring: “New Years Eve L.A. Lakers/Sixers tix, Row 5, center court trading for $460 apiece. Tix for once a year Rose Bowl on 40 yard line, 44 rows up: $350 apiece!”
Earlier this week, Lee Jones announced his resignation from Cake Poker as its Card Room Manager, citing “strategic decisions with which I’m not comfortable” made by Cake management. Cake Poker Tournament Director Serge “andanthar” Ravitch followed suit in what is traditionally a slow week for poker news.
Poker News Daily has heard rumblings that UB.com may add another pro to its roster early next week. Who that could be remains to be seen, but rumors seem to indicate that it’s Prahlad Friedman. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this developing story.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2011, Annie Duke, cake poker, full tilt poker, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, pokerstars, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, usa, vegas, women, WSOP
Tom Marchese Recaps 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year Title
This week, Tom Marchese officially claimed the 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year title after an epic run that saw him make 11 final tables in major live poker tournaments according to the Hendon Mob for over $2 million. Marchese, who recently signed with the management firm Poker Icons, sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss the year that was.
Poker News Daily: Congratulations on capturing the CardPlayer Player of the Year honors. How does it feel?
Tom Marchese: It’s pretty awesome. It’s one of those things where it wasn’t on my mind to start the year and I found myself in the race. As it got closer, it was something I wanted to win and put effort into.
PND: What was the highlight of 2010 for you?
Tom Marchese: It has to be the NAPT Venetian Main Event win. Going into that, no one knew me on the live scene, so it put me on the map. I had just final tabled a tournament in Atlantic City and had all the confidence in the world.
PND: When did you start gunning for the award?
Tom Marchese: After the WSOP. Before that, I just played main events and don’t think I played any buy-ins below $5,000. After the WSOP, in the race for the Player of the Year title, I decided to grind smaller tournaments and make a run. I don’t know if I could grind them all the time, but I enjoyed it.
PND: You recorded 11 final tables in major tournaments according to Hendon Mob this year. Tell us about bursting onto the poker scene in 2010.
Tom Marchese: I’m sure a lot of people thought my previous online success was just me getting lucky, but people have to realize that some of the best players in the game come from an online background and don’t have a lot of live experience. People realized that my game is as good as anyone else’s. I wanted to play a bunch live and get in some travel in 2010. I was hoping to freeroll a year of traveling, so I didn’t have super high expectations.
PND: Speaking of traveling, what is your favorite tournament location?
Tom Marchese: My favorite poker trip was to Aruba, which was actually canceled this year. It’s one of the nicest beaches I’ve been to and has a very relaxed atmosphere. When you go to the Bahamas, the weather’s good, but it’s really obvious that you’re at a poker tournament. I also went to Portugal for EPT Vilamoura and played in the Partouche Poker Tour. Those were both on the beach and really fun. I’m looking for a beach and nice weather when I travel.
PND: What has it been like watching yourself on ESPN as part of the network’s NAPT coverage?
Tom Marchese: I enjoy watching, although I prefer watching the NAPT I won. At first, it was pretty weird to watch myself on TV with a bunch of friends where you can see your physical tendencies, but it’s very cool to be on ESPN2.
PND: We understand that you conducted a few coaching sessions with WSOP November Niner Matt Jarvis.
Tom Marchese: I helped him leading up to the Main Event final table. I just did a session or two right before it and went over some strategies. We were talking about good opening positions based on what stack sizes were difficult to 3bet you and what players to stay away from. It was a general, common sense approach to having 30 big blinds. When you have that stack, it’s important to be looking for the best opening spots and not just every opening spot. You’re only going to have so many opportunities to raise/fold.
PND: You seem to be quite humble both in this interview and at the table. Is that how you are in real life?
Tom Marchese: That’s how I am. Many of my friends don’t play poker or play and have less success. If you don’t stay down to Earth, what friends are you really going to have? I’m just fortunate to have the success I’ve had this year. It’s important to keep working hard.
PND: How are your friends and family taking it?
Tom Marchese: They all think it’s awesome. Whenever I’m playing live, my Dad texts me for updates, which is cool because he was against poker when I started. Up until this year, my friends thought I was just getting by. Now, they think it’s awesome that I’m on TV. Everyone is really happy about it.
PND: How did you convince your Dad that poker could be a viable career?
Tom Marchese: I did my best to show him cash game graphs and explain that the game wasn’t luck. When I was in college and my grades weren’t the best, it’s understandable that my parents thought I was just gambling.
PND: What goals do you have for 2011? Will we be seeing a repeat Player of the Year performance?
Tom Marchese: The repeat is on my mind. At least for the start of the year, I’ll play a pretty heavy schedule and see what happens. If I enter the WSOP and I’m in the race, I’ll try to defend. I’ll definitely be playing all of the good U.S. main events and will probably make it to Europe a few times for London. San Remo, Vilamoura, and Partouche. No matter what, I plan to play a lot.
PND: We wanted you to dish out a few awards of your own. First, who is the Most Improved Tournament Player of 2010?
Tom Marchese: Dwyte Pilgrim. It seems like his game came together pretty well this year. You can expect him to continue improving in 2011.
PND: Who will be the Breakout Tournament Player of 2011?
Tom Marchese: Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger or Bryn Kenney. Both of them have gone deep in the WSOP Main Event and always have good stacks. They have both run bad deep.
PND: Who is the Best Female Tournament Player?
Tom Marchese: Vanessa Selbst. She is far and away the best.
PND: Who is the Best Online Tournament Player?
Tom Marchese: It’s still Steve “gboro780” Gross. His online results lifetime are pretty much in a class above everyone else.
PND: Finally, what was the best Christmas gift you received?
Tom Marchese: Spending time with my family. These days, I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford anything I want, so I’m a difficult person to buy for. I got clothes and I appreciate them, but having seen my family so little this year, it has been great to spend time with them.
€10,000 New Years Freeroll at BetClic Poker - Only 11 Raked Hands to Qualify
2011 Satellites: Live Poker Tournaments You Can Qualify for Now
PokerStars ANZPT Season 3 Taking Shape
The third season of the PokerStars-backed Australia-New Zealand Poker Tour, or ANZPT for short, is taking shape. A total of eight events are on the docket, starting in February with a trip to Adelaide for an AUD $2,400 buy-in tournament from the 2nd to 6th. The event’s field is capped at 200 runners.
From Adelaide, the ANZPT crew will travel to the Burswood Casino for ANZPT Perth from March 23rd to 27th. The stop features an AUD $2,500 buy-in Main Event that, like the Adelaide event, is capped at 300 players. Following the sojourn to Perth, PokerStars officials will pack their belongings and head to Sydney, where the Star City Casino will host another AUD $2,500 buy-in Main Event. The Sydney stop is capped at a healthy 500 entrants. You can catch the marquee tournament starting on April 13th; it will crown a champion four days later.
The fourth stop on the ANZPT Season 3 schedule is at the Jupiters Hotel and Casino for ANZPT Gold Coast. The AUD $2,500 buy-in event takes place between May 17th and 22nd and will reach capacity when 350 players have punched their tickets. Following the Gold Coast festivities, ANZPT Canberra will play out at Casino Canberra. The tournament takes place from June 10th to 13th and is the smallest event capacity-wise at 240 players.
Three other ANZPT events are on the books for Season 3. However, PokerStars has not yet announced a buy-in or dates for ANZPT Queenstown, ANZPT Melbourne, or ANZPT Darwin. What is known is that the trio of tournaments will take place at the SkyCity Queenstown, Crown Melbourne, and SkyCity Darwin, respectively.
The first stop in Adelaide features a 13-day festival of poker that includes 16 events starting on January 25th. The richest tournament on the docket is not the Main Event, but rather the AUD $4,000 buy-in Big Stakes Event, which will pan out on February 6th. The series features several strict regulations, including one regarding betting and raising. Text found on the ANZPT website explains, “Adelaide Casino is very strict regarding string bets/raises – it is recommend that players announce the amount of the raise or release all of the chips in hand over the line in one single motion.”
If you have an iPod, leave it at home because the popular Apple device will not be allowed at ANZPT Adelaide due to government regulations. In addition, according to PokerStars, “If you act out of turn and the intervening player bets more, you forfeit your out of turn bet if you fold.”
In October, Danny “Brotha D” Leaoasavaii came away with the win in Darwin, the final stop of the second season of the ANZPT, and picked up AUD $57,000. ANZPT Season 2 Player of the Year Tony Hachem finished 10th in the tournament, adding another AUD $5,000 to his poker bankroll, and Billy “The Croc” Argyros also made the final table.
For winning the ANZPT Player of the Year title, Hachem took home entry into four PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) events as well as either the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event or the Aussie Millions Main Event. Hachem logged 252 Player of the Year points during Season 2 and edged out John Maklouf, who accrued 233. Amazingly, the top 51 players on the ANZPT Season 2 Player of the Year leaderboard hailed from Australia.
Here is the preliminary schedule for Season 3:
ANZPT Adelaide: Adelaide Casino
AUD $2,400 buy-in
February 2nd to 6th
ANZPT Perth: Burswood Casino
AUD $2,500 buy-in
March 23rd to 27th
ANZPT Sydney: Star City Casino
AUD $2,200 buy-in
April 13th to 17th
ANZPT Gold Coast: Jupiters Hotel & Casino
AUD $2,500 buy-in
May 17th to 22nd
ANZPT Canberra: Casino Canberra
AUD $2,200 buy-in
June 10th to 13th
ANZPT Queenstown: SkyCity Queenstown
TBD
ANZPT Melbourne: Crown Melbourne
TBD
ANZPT Darwin: SkyCity Darwin
TBD
Visit PokerStars for more details.
Full Tilt Poker Super Sit and Go Madness Returns January 7th
Start 2011 off on the right foot by heading to Full Tilt Poker, the site of Super Sit and Go Madness. This popular promotion returns once again to Full Tilt and is offering over $150,000 in cash and prizes. Full Tilt Poker happily accepts players from the United States and is the second largest online poker room in the business.
Super Sit and Go Madness begins on Friday, January 7th at 16:00 ET and will run for 48 hours until Sunday, January 9th at 16:00 ET. The sit and gos you can take advantage of are highlighted in green in the Full Tilt Poker lobby and divided into four groups. The first, dubbed Group A, consists of sit and gos with buy-ins ranging from $1 to $2. Group B consists of sit and gos with buy-ins ranging from $5 to $11 and Group C contains single-table tournaments with $20 to $35 price tags. The final Super Sit and Go Madness group is Group D, which contains high roller $50 to $110 buy-in sit and gos.
The Full Tilt promotion is divided into 24 two-hour time blocks. Points will be awarded to players based on their performances during those periods and at the end of every 120 minutes, cash prizes will be awarded to the top seven players on each Group’s leaderboard, ranging from $1 to $500. A total of 28 players will walk away with money every two hours, giving Full Tilt faithful plenty of opportunities to boost their bankrolls.
In addition to the two-hour leaderboards, an Overall Leaderboard will be kept for every Group; each will contain the best performances of every two-hour time block. Text found on Full Tilt’s website details how the Overall Leaderboards work: “So, if a player in Group A earns 100 points for the 22:00 ET to 00:00 ET period on Friday and then 150 points for the 00:00 ET to 02:00 ET period on Saturday, it’s only the 150 points that will be reflected on the Overall Leaderboard.” The top two players on each Overall Leaderboard will stamp their tickets into a $5,000 freeroll to be held on January 15th at 15:05 ET.
Action junkies can check out Super Turbo Sit and Gos that dole out starting stacks equal to just 10 times the big blind. A typical Super Turbo Sit and Go lasts about 15 minutes and any points you earn in them for Super Sit and Go Madness leaderboards count for two-fifths as many points.
Full Tilt Poker players who are fortunate enough to capture victories in three separate Super Sit and Go Madness tournaments will earn entry into a $75,000 Freeroll. The freebie takes place on January 15th at 16:50 ET and any players who receive a tournament ticket are eligible to vie for a $75,000 prize pool.
Finally, the Madness Raffle returns and offers up more than 1,000 prizes. When you cash in a Super Sit and Go Madness tournament, you’ll receive a ticket for the Madness Raffle, a drawing for a grand prize of a Full Tilt Poker Deluxe Home Game package that includes a tricked-out standalone poker table, a 500-piece poker chipset, and two poker deck cases.
In addition, a total of 210 Steps tickets and 900 pieces of Full Tilt gear will be given out through the Madness Raffle. Remember, only tournaments that appear in green in the Full Tilt Poker lobby are tracked for Super Sit and Go Madness, so choose wisely.
Visit Full Tilt Poker for more details.
Party Gaming and bwin to Retain Brands Following Merger
In recent days, Party Gaming and bwin announced merger plans to form a giant gambling group that could become effective toward the end of the first quarter of 2011. The merger, which had long been rumored before the companies signed an implementation agreement in July, is expected to create the world’s largest listed online gambling business.
The new company will operate worldwide with its existing brands under the name of bwin.party Digital Entertainment plc in which current bwin shareholders will hold a 51.6% stake, while current Party Gaming shareholders will hold 48.4%. Both bwin and PartyGaming will retain most of the core of their brands, but will be operated under the new umbrella company, which will be based in Gibraltar and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Party Gaming will keep its main headquarters in Gibraltar, while bwin will continue to operate from Austria.
The companies issued a 478-page document to shareholders on Thursday giving a detailed outline of the planned merger. Shareholders will vote on the merger at a joint annual general meeting on January 28th. Should the general meetings of both bwin and Party Gaming approve the merger, all shareholders holding bwin stock when the merger is effective will receive 12.23 Party Gaming shares denominated in GBP for each bwin share.
“The online gaming industry is going through a phase of consolidation, making market players’ size and geographic diversification more crucial than ever,” said Norbert Teufelberger, Co-CEO of bwin. “Our products and target markets complement one another perfectly, and we can continue to expand our technology lead in all key product segments: sports betting, poker, casino, bingo, and games.”
According to the document, the merger would create a business with unaudited net revenues of €696.2 million, unaudited clean EBITDA of €193.7 million, unaudited profit after tax of €99.4 million, and unaudited net assets of €1.27 billion after consolidation adjustments for the year 2009.
Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Office of Party Gaming, will join Teufelberger to become Co-Chief Executives of the merged company. Current bwin Co-Chief Executive Manfred Bodner will become a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the enlarged group. Said Ryan, “This is a transformational opportunity for both our companies to create the world’s largest listed online gaming business. With market-leading positions in poker, sports betting, casino, and games, the enlarged group will have a winning formula to exploit the growing online gaming market, supported by a strong balance sheet, significant cash flow generation, and a highly experienced management team.”
The merged company will continue to focus on business-to-consumer products, an area in which it enjoys considerable strength. However, because of the financial gains added through the merger, the company will also encroach into business-to-business and business-to-government endeavors. Teufelberger explained, “Our many years of online know-how, healthy balance sheet, and one of the largest pools of poker liquidity in any regulated market will make us an attractive business partner.”
There will also be focus on regulated and newly opened markets, as the company intends to make plans to enter the U.S. market if and when the current situation changes for the better. In 2006, bwin stopped taking bets from U.S. residents due to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Party Gaming, which operates the popular online poker room PartyPoker, followed shortly thereafter.
Potential “Big” Hiatus in Durrrr Challenge
According to a conversation initiated by DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Dani “ansky” Stern that found its way to TwoPlusTwo, we may see a hiatus in the second incarnation of the Durrrr Challenge featuring Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Dan “JungleMan12” Cates. There has been no action in the ongoing challenge since December 16th.
The chat was posted on December 24th on TwoPlusTwo and featured Stern asking Cates, “Are you and Tom playing any time soon?” In response, Cates took three messages to write, “idk… Seems like there will be a big hiatus… Tom is hard to work with.” With Christmas on Saturday and New Years Day next weekend, it’s possible that we might not see more play in the Durrrr Challenge until the calendar turns to 2011.
Posters on TwoPlusTwo did not take well to the possibility of the Durrrr Challenge taking a break. One poster wrote about the potential wrath of Full Tilt Poker front man Howard Lederer: “[Dwan] should approach it in a more professional way. Or else Howard’s gonna call and say, ‘Dude that’s twice now that you made us announce that challenge big time and then you let us down by not playing it. PokerStars snatched Isildur1 and he’s playing. You’re making Full Tilt look like the site that that doesn’t deliver; that disappoints the players. We’re cutting your allowance by 50% until you finish them both.’”
Not everyone on TwoPlusTwo was critical of “durrrr,” however. One poster came to Dwan’s aid: “He obviously has a ton of commitments, combined with a social life and girlfriend. When you have as much money as he does, playing a challenge like this isn’t a number one priority.”
Other members of the online poker community offered up suggestions for future cycles of the Durrrr Challenge: “If this format wants to have any future, there has to be a clause that it has to be finished in 3-6 months or something like that. And if it isn’t finished by then, they have to play the rest of the hands in one session. If someone gives up during that session, he automatically loses.”
The first installment of the Durrrr Challenge featured Dwan squaring off against fellow Full Tilt Poker pro Patrik Antonius. The last play in that match-up occurred in August. Through nearly 40,000 hands out of the 50,000 required for completion, Dwan has profited $2.1 million off Antonius. The lack of action and a steep deficit have led many in the industry to believe that Antonius has accepted a buyout, although Full Tilt has not given any official word that a deal has occurred.
In his match against Cates, Dwan is down by $500,000 after 14,190 hands. Cates and Dwan are battling in No Limit Hold’em, whereas Antonius and Dwan are dueling in Pot Limit Omaha. The latter match is nearing the two-year mark.
Dwan spent Christmas Day in New Jersey watching a family member utilize Full Tilt’s Rush Poker Mobile application. He Tweeted, “At Christmas w/ my family and just saw Rush Poker on my cousin’s phone, pretty crazy.” Meanwhile, Cates revealed that he was by himself this Christmas: “Roommates went home, going to be by myself for couple days. It’s better and worse in a couple ways.”
If Dwan is up by $1 or more at the end of the 50,000 hands, then Cates will owe $500,000. If Cates is up by at least $1 at the end of the Challenge, then Dwan will owe $1.5 million after giving any taker 3:1 on his money. In either case, the winner keeps the spoils of the 50,000-hand marathon. Visit our sister site, DurrrrChallenge.com, for more details.
Poker News in Brief: Dec. 20-26, 2010
All that action made for a busy week in the PokerListings news room and there a few stories that didn't quite make it to the front page.
Fortunately, we've complied them below in our weekly Poker News In Brief feature.
This week Dag Palovic signs with PokerStars, the LAPC gets mature, PKR names it's Player of the Year and more.
Palovic joins Team PokerStars
Slovakian Dag Palovic has joined Team PokerStars Pro.
The 37th place finisher in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event has two EPT final tables on his resume and more than $750k in career live tournament earnings.
He is also the number one ranked player on Slovakia's all time money winners list.
Betfair Live!
Betfair Live just wrapped up in Vienna, Austria where the main event attracted a robust 595 players.
Markus Stoeger took first and over €30k in prize money.
Online poker satellites for the next Betfair Live events in Kiev, Ukraine (Jan. 17-23) and London, UK (Feb. 12-13) have begun on the site.
Commerce to Host LAPC Senior Championship
Commerce Casino will host the first ever LA Poker Classic No Limit Hold'em Senior Championship Feb. 23.
Only people aged 50 and above will be allowed to compete in the $545 buy-in event.
"By giving our more mature players an opportunity to compete against others more in keeping with their own mindset, playing style, speed and experience, we create an environment that is exclusive and yet more relaxing," said Tournament Director Matt Savage.
The event is just one of 53 set to go off during Commerce's 2011 LA Poker Classic.
PokerStars Macau Announces 2011 Calendar
PokerStars Macau at the Casino Grand Lisboa has released its events calendar for 2011 this week.
The schedule features the Macau Poker Cup series beginning Feb. 21; the Macau Poker Cup Championship Oct. 7-16; the Macau Millions Apr. 2-10; and the annual Asia-Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau event in November.
For the complete schedule please go to www.pokerstarsmacau.com.
PKR names POY
PKR asked its players to cast votes for the 2010 PKR Players of the Year awards and the results were released this week. The Tournament Player of the Year award went to Norway's Ovnis, who accumulated $80,000 in tournament winnings including 12 major titles and 23 cashes of $1k or more.
The Cash Game player of the Year award went to PKR Team Pro Beyne, the first player to cash-out $1 million on the site this year.
Finally, Forumite of the Year honors went to Ireland's Pkr1princess.
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Jeff Sarwer Interview with Poker News Daily
Poker Icons, a leading global poker agency, added one of the game’s brightest rising stars to its roster of pros earlier this month. Former Canadian chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer became one of the most fascinating figures on the international poker scene this year. The 32 year old is rapidly becoming a feared presence on the live circuit despite picking up the game just a short time ago.
Sarwer was a chess wunderkind who at the age of eight became World Chess Champion for those under 10. However, after being taken away from his abusive father, Sarwer and his sister changed their names and fled to Europe, disappearing from the public eye for nearly two decades.
In 2008, Sarwer resurfaced and began playing on the PokerStars European Poker Tour. Since then, he’s racked up more than $500,000 in live tournament earnings and was deemed “probably the greatest mind to enter the tournament poker world in history” by fellow poker pro Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar. Poker News Daily recently got a chance to speak with Sarwer about his aspiring poker career:
Poker News Daily: You’ve been traveling the tournament circuit for more than two years now. Overall, how would you grade your experience as a poker pro? Is this something you see yourself doing for a long time?
Jeff Sarwer: For the next few years, I think people will see me a decent amount out there. I am still learning and haven’t played a lot of the big live events like the Aussie Millions. The experience has been great; I have had the chance to meet some great people who have a lot in common with me. As for grading, I think I have done better than I expected since I have been really active for only about a year and have had some strong results. My start has been great, so I want to keep going and see where it takes me.
PND: Your chess talents have been widely documented. Have you considered returning to the game and possibly training to become a world champion?
Jeff Sarwer: I have no intention of making a run for the world title since I missed so many critical years of training. I might come back on an ambassador level, but for now, poker is getting my spare time.
PND: Chess is a game of perfect information, whereas poker is a game of imperfect information. How do your chess skills transfer to the poker table?
Jeff Sarwer: Paying attention to detail, feeling when people are getting nervous, remembering things, and leveling people – these are all things that both games have in common. Chess might be a game of perfect information, but we are only human and not machines, so how useful is the perfect information that is right in front of you? It’s information that you have to analyze, filter, and try to get to the root of what the other guy is up to, which is really hard to do with so many things going on. So “owning” people’s minds is a very important part of chess too.
PND: You’re very talkative and cheerful at the poker table. Is this a tactic used to gain information from opponents?
Jeff Sarwer: My main reason for this is that I would rather be in a good mood if I am going to be at the table with the same people all day, but it doesn’t hurt to have them want you to stay.
PND: Who are some of your poker influences? Are there any players in particular who have helped make the transition easier?
Sarwer: Absolutely. You can thank the young internet generation for spending time with me and inspiring me. In Europe, there were guys like Anton Wigg, Kevin Stani, and a couple of guys my age like Arnaud Mattern. In North America, there were guys like Sorel Mizzi, Jonathan Aguiar, and Shaun Deeb. I thank them all for letting me spend time around them and see how they do things.
PND: What made you decide to choose Poker Icons to represent you?
Jeff Sarwer: They are the biggest poker agency out there and I have met the people behind the company quite a few times before, so we know each other well and have established a good connection. It’s an easy fit for both sides.
PND: What are your plans for 2011?
Jeff Sarwer: Travel around, play in some new events, produce my film, stay healthy, and have some twists and turns that I don’t see yet.
PND: A film? Tell us a little about it.
Jeff Sarwer: I am finishing the final draft of a script with director Gordon Anderson about my childhood with my manic depressive dad. If you want a taste of what stuff we will be talking about, go to BBCWorldService.com.
2011 Poker Predictions
Now that another year is in the books, I get to bring out my prognosticating skills once again and dazzle you with my ability to see into the future. What will we expect to happen in 2011 in the world of poker? Read on to find out.
Black Card Adjustments
This is hardly a bold prediction, as we’ve been told on both the TwoPlusTwo and PocketFives.com forums by Full Tilt site rep “FTPDoug” that an adjustment for the Black Card promotion is coming, most likely in the middle of January. The site underwent heavy criticism for altering its rakeback method, which was to the detriment to the vast majority of the player base, while rolling out what Full Tilt officials felt was a compromise in the Black Card program.
What we might see is another tier added to the Black Card program, perhaps something like a “Red Card” that rewards another Full Tilt Point multiplier for those who average 1,000 points per day. Either way, we’ve been promised that this adjustment will be an improvement for players.
PokerStars Will Kill Short-Stacked Games
Maybe this is more wishful thinking, but the clamoring of many on the forums hasn’t gone on deaf ears. When PokerStars decided to forge a compromise between the short-stackers and everyone else by offering three tiered games (Short, Regular, and Deep) the site did what many thought would happen and that’s kill the small- and mid-stakes full ring games.
Right now, the games are as bad as they have ever been, but by eliminating the Short buy-in tables, all will be right again with the world and the SuperNova and SuperNova Elites of the world will continue their grind. PokerStars is aware of how its main base of regulars feels, so something will be done.
Another Merger?
We saw the merger between two superpowers in online gaming, Party Gaming and bwin, finally complete, with the two set to come together in 2011. One trend we’ve continued to seen, given worldwide legislation, is that smaller sites aren’t growing, but rather staying the same or shrinking. According to various industry reports, the online poker industry is shrinking at 1% annually.
According to PokerScout.com, notable gainers year-over-year include the Merge Gaming Network (up 134%), 888 (up 8%), and PokerStars (up 7%). Notable losers include Everest Poker (down 64%), Cake Poker (down 59%), the iPoker Network (down 31%), and the CEREUS Network (down 31%). It’ll be very hard to imagine some of the smaller networks not going belly up or merging with others in order to survive today’s shrinking market.
More Live Events
Although some casinos may not like to admit it, online poker does a great job of getting them exposure when special tournaments are held. The PokerStars-backed North American Poker Tour (NAPT) has been a huge success in its first year, with many at PokerStars pleased at the response the series has received from their player base. Online poker players, contrary to belief, do like to get out of the house and travel. Expect more live event tie-ins in 2011 and perhaps the start of something new with Full Tilt in the United States.
Isildur1’s Identity Revealed
In 2011, we’ll finally know the true identity of PokerStars sponsored pro Isildur1. Everyone has speculated for over a year that it’s Viktor Blom and there’s been nothing to make us think it’s anybody else. Although I have met quite a few big name pros who claim to know his identity and refuse to spill the beans, someone will slip up or PokerStars will pull a publicity stunt to let us all know it’s Blom.
No Legislation for the United States
With the recent election, there’s no real hope for legalized and regulated online poker in the United States in the next two years. Just expect more talk, no action, and continued reports of payment processors being targeted by the Federal Government. Meanwhile, there’s potential in New Jersey and California for intrastate internet poker.
Tags: 2011, cake poker, legal, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, skill, tournament, viktor blom
2011 Poker Predictions
Now that another year is in the books, I get to bring out my prognosticating skills once again and dazzle you with my ability to see into the future. What will we expect to happen in 2011 in the world of poker? Read on to find out.
Black Card Adjustments
This is hardly a bold prediction, as we’ve been told on both the TwoPlusTwo and PocketFives.com forums by Full Tilt site rep “FTPDoug” that an adjustment for the Black Card promotion is coming, most likely in the middle of January. The site underwent heavy criticism for altering its rakeback method, which was to the detriment to the vast majority of the player base, while rolling out what Full Tilt officials felt was a compromise in the Black Card program.
What we might see is another tier added to the Black Card program, perhaps something like a “Red Card” that rewards another Full Tilt Point multiplier for those who average 1,000 points per day. Either way, we’ve been promised that this adjustment will be an improvement for players.
PokerStars Will Kill Short-Stacked Games
Maybe this is more wishful thinking, but the clamoring of many on the forums hasn’t gone on deaf ears. When PokerStars decided to forge a compromise between the short-stackers and everyone else by offering three tiered games (Short, Regular, and Deep) the site did what many thought would happen and that’s kill the small- and mid-stakes full ring games.
Right now, the games are as bad as they have ever been, but by eliminating the Short buy-in tables, all will be right again with the world and the SuperNova and SuperNova Elites of the world will continue their grind. PokerStars is aware of how its main base of regulars feels, so something will be done.
Another Merger?
We saw the merger between two superpowers in online gaming, Party Gaming and bwin, finally complete, with the two set to come together in 2011. One trend we’ve continued to seen, given worldwide legislation, is that smaller sites aren’t growing, but rather staying the same or shrinking. According to various industry reports, the online poker industry is shrinking at 1% annually.
According to PokerScout.com, notable gainers year-over-year include the Merge Gaming Network (up 134%), 888 (up 8%), and PokerStars (up 7%). Notable losers include Everest Poker (down 64%), Cake Poker (down 59%), the iPoker Network (down 31%), and the CEREUS Network (down 31%). It’ll be very hard to imagine some of the smaller networks not going belly up or merging with others in order to survive today’s shrinking market.
More Live Events
Although some casinos may not like to admit it, online poker does a great job of getting them exposure when special tournaments are held. The PokerStars-backed North American Poker Tour (NAPT) has been a huge success in its first year, with many at PokerStars pleased at the response the series has received from their player base. Online poker players, contrary to belief, do like to get out of the house and travel. Expect more live event tie-ins in 2011 and perhaps the start of something new with Full Tilt in the United States.
Isildur1’s Identity Revealed
In 2011, we’ll finally know the true identity of PokerStars sponsored pro Isildur1. Everyone has speculated for over a year that it’s Viktor Blom and there’s been nothing to make us think it’s anybody else. Although I have met quite a few big name pros who claim to know his identity and refuse to spill the beans, someone will slip up or PokerStars will pull a publicity stunt to let us all know it’s Blom.
No Legislation for the United States
With the recent election, there’s no real hope for legalized and regulated online poker in the United States in the next two years. Just expect more talk, no action, and continued reports of payment processors being targeted by the Federal Government. Meanwhile, there’s potential in New Jersey and California for intrastate internet poker.
Tags: 2011, cake poker, legal, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, skill, tournament, viktor blom
2011 Poker Predictions
Now that another year is in the books, I get to bring out my prognosticating skills once again and dazzle you with my ability to see into the future. What will we expect to happen in 2011 in the world of poker? Read on to find out.
Black Card Adjustments
This is hardly a bold prediction, as we’ve been told on both the TwoPlusTwo and PocketFives.com forums by Full Tilt site rep “FTPDoug” that an adjustment for the Black Card promotion is coming, most likely in the middle of January. The site underwent heavy criticism for altering its rakeback method, which was to the detriment to the vast majority of the player base, while rolling out what Full Tilt officials felt was a compromise in the Black Card program.
What we might see is another tier added to the Black Card program, perhaps something like a “Red Card” that rewards another Full Tilt Point multiplier for those who average 1,000 points per day. Either way, we’ve been promised that this adjustment will be an improvement for players.
PokerStars Will Kill Short-Stacked Games
Maybe this is more wishful thinking, but the clamoring of many on the forums hasn’t gone on deaf ears. When PokerStars decided to forge a compromise between the short-stackers and everyone else by offering three tiered games (Short, Regular, and Deep) the site did what many thought would happen and that’s kill the small- and mid-stakes full ring games.
Right now, the games are as bad as they have ever been, but by eliminating the Short buy-in tables, all will be right again with the world and the SuperNova and SuperNova Elites of the world will continue their grind. PokerStars is aware of how its main base of regulars feels, so something will be done.
Another Merger?
We saw the merger between two superpowers in online gaming, Party Gaming and bwin, finally complete, with the two set to come together in 2011. One trend we’ve continued to seen, given worldwide legislation, is that smaller sites aren’t growing, but rather staying the same or shrinking. According to various industry reports, the online poker industry is shrinking at 1% annually.
According to PokerScout.com, notable gainers year-over-year include the Merge Gaming Network (up 134%), 888 (up 8%), and PokerStars (up 7%). Notable losers include Everest Poker (down 64%), Cake Poker (down 59%), the iPoker Network (down 31%), and the CEREUS Network (down 31%). It’ll be very hard to imagine some of the smaller networks not going belly up or merging with others in order to survive today’s shrinking market.
More Live Events
Although some casinos may not like to admit it, online poker does a great job of getting them exposure when special tournaments are held. The PokerStars-backed North American Poker Tour (NAPT) has been a huge success in its first year, with many at PokerStars pleased at the response the series has received from their player base. Online poker players, contrary to belief, do like to get out of the house and travel. Expect more live event tie-ins in 2011 and perhaps the start of something new with Full Tilt in the United States.
Isildur1’s Identity Revealed
In 2011, we’ll finally know the true identity of PokerStars sponsored pro Isildur1. Everyone has speculated for over a year that it’s Viktor Blom and there’s been nothing to make us think it’s anybody else. Although I have met quite a few big name pros who claim to know his identity and refuse to spill the beans, someone will slip up or PokerStars will pull a publicity stunt to let us all know it’s Blom.
No Legislation for the United States
With the recent election, there’s no real hope for legalized and regulated online poker in the United States in the next two years. Just expect more talk, no action, and continued reports of payment processors being targeted by the Federal Government. Meanwhile, there’s potential in New Jersey and California for intrastate internet poker.
Tags: 2011, cake poker, legal, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, skill, tournament, viktor blom