Posts Tagged ‘Asia’
The Other Hachem: Life In Joe’s Shadow
Yet thanks to a huge year on the PokerStars Australia New Zealand Poker Tour, where he cashed in four of five events on the way to winning Player of the Year honors, Hachem's brother Tony seems to have found a way out from under it.
“People would say I was just Joe’s brother, that I can’t play,” Tony said. “But now I’ve made a number of final tables and cashes. In my mind, poker is all about consistency and I think I’ve proved I have that.
“People say that it’s tough playing in Joe’s shadow, but I try to be positive about it and use it to my advantage. I was given an opportunity, I took it by the horns and I’m running with it.”
There’s always been a lot more to Tony Hachem than just being the brother of the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event champion.
He cashed in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, made a final table at the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza in Las Vegas that same year and found a career best score of NZ$54,000 when he finished runner-up at the 2008 New Zealand Poker Championship.
Plus, PokerStars has always seen him as a marketable character with great networking skills, a socialite with celebrities Down Under and a popular figure amongst the ever growing community of poker players in the region.
As a result, Tony was sponsored by PokerStars for a number of tournaments, a move that immediately garnered its fair share of criticism regardless of Tony's track record.
“People have said to me, ‘What does it take to be a PokerStars pro? Can I just change my name to Hachem,’” explained Joe.
“I’ve heard it all before and a lot worse,” added Tony. “It’s like, ‘You are Joe’s brother, so you got a sponsorship,’ but that’s not how it is.
“All I can say is when people are given opportunities, they either let them pass or they make the most of them and I made sure I made the most of this one.”
Wearing the PokerStars patch, Tony made 15th at ANZPT Adelaide for AUD$5,870, 17th at ANZPT Sydney for AUD$8,874, 16th at the ANZPT’s 2009 Melbourne Texas Hold'em Championship for AUD$5,450, and 18th ANZPT Queenstown for NZ$3,015.
As a result, 43-year-old Joe couldn’t be more proud of his 36-year-old little brother.
“He was just consistent and honestly pretty unfortunate not to have a major score,” Joe said. “The thing is, I’m really happy he did something in his own right. He deserves it.”
Tony’s name is rarely written, by the mainstream or poker press, without mention of Joe.
But the ever-humble younger Hachem grew up idolizing his big brother and says he doesn’t mind.
“Honestly, being Joe’s brother isn’t a bad thing,” he said. “He’s always going to be my brother.
“The game of poker is growing around the world and Joe is a big part of that, here and abroad. I guess people are just going to have to get used to the idea that Joe’s got a younger brother who loves the game, loves interacting with the people and can play a little too.”
While he had the sponsorship before, the spoils of winning the ANZPT Player of the Year title includes a cheque for AUD$60,000 and a spot on the Team PokerStars Australia roster.
What that means is Tony will be playing in the second season of the ANZPT kicking off in Adelaide next month, several stops on the upcoming fourth season of the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour and the 2010 Aussie Millions, where he has already made 11th in a prelim for AUD$9,144 and started play on the final day one flight of the main event Tuesday, just a few tables over from Joe.
“There are some things in poker that I want to achieve this year,” added Tony. “I really want to win a tournament or at least maintain the consistency I had last year and I think the Aussie Millions will be a good start.”
To follow the progress of the Hachem brothers, and the entire 2010 Aussie Millions main event, tune in to PokerListings’ Live Updates through January 30.
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Amazing Race 16 Cast Does Not Feature Poker Players
The cast for the 16th cycle of the Emmy Award winning CBS reality series “Amazing Race” does not include any poker players. In its last season, the show featured Maria Ho and UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle.
Ho and Michelle represented the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively. The duo finished sixth in the around-the-world competition after their journey abruptly ended in the Netherlands, where a series of intense physical challenges proved to be too much for Ho and Michelle. A high striker, a common carnival game, proved fatal on one-half of the leg’s Detour, while windy conditions made a unique game of golf using wooden shoes unbearable on the other half.
A total of 11 teams will set out on the “Amazing Race” course for Season 16. Headlining the group are two “Big Brother” cast members from Season 11, Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder. The couple is “newly dating” according to CBS and will mark the latest pair to join “Amazing Race” after appearing on another CBS reality franchise. Schroeder is 31 years-old and from Norridge, Illinois, while Lloyd is nine years younger and hails from Charlotte, North Carolina. Lloyd lists her lifetime goals as, “to be a dental hygienist, and to get married and have kids.”
Also appearing on the 16th running of “Amazing Race” is Caitlin Upton, who will travel to the four corners of the Earth with her boyfriend, Brent Home. Upton was Miss Teen South Carolina USA 2007 and famously uttered the following response to a question about people being unable to locate the United States on a map: "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future, for our children."
Upton’s phrases “the Iraq,” “U.S. Americans.” and “like such as” have become staples of modern lingo, although the beauty queen is now three years removed from her escapade. In a video posted on CBS.com, Upton commented, “I’m stubborn and I hate losing, probably more than he does, and I have a very short fuse, so if somebody gets in my way, there’s going to be some trouble and I’m going to need somebody there to calm me down.” The couple may soon be engaged; both are models.
Cleveland Indians third base coach Steve Smith, 57 years of age, will run the “Amazing Race” with his daughter, Allie Smith, who is 23 and works in marketing. Smith was a coach on the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team that won it all in 2008 and also worked with the Florida Marlins and Texas Rangers. The elder Smith lists his biggest challenge as “not getting lost because we tend to get lost in our own neighborhood.” “Amazing Race” requires a keen sense of direction, as racers travel to countries where English is not the primary language, so road signs and other markers can often be confusing.
Rumored locations that teams will travel to this season include Bariloche, Argentina; Puerto Varas, Chile; and Singapore. The rumored departure city is Los Angeles. The show premieres on Sunday, February 14th at 8:00pm ET on CBS, the same time slot as it held last season.
Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne took down the 15th installment of “Amazing Race,” whose finish line was ironically in Las Vegas. Besides Ho and Michelle, notable cast members vying for the $1 million top prize last time out included Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy and Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap, who ran the race with her husband, Brian.
Antanas “Tony G” Guoga Joins Team PartyPoker
Continuing to add to an already impressive lineup, it was announced early Thursday that top poker professional Antanas “Tony G” Guoga has signed a sponsorship deal with PartyPoker.
Guoga, who has been at the forefront of the international poker scene for the past decade, will make his first showing for Team PartyPoker at the Aussie Millions, which began today and is one of the top non-U.S. tournaments on the poker schedule. According to Guoga’s new blog at PartyPoker, he will be participating in the $100,000 Challenge tournament scheduled to start on January 23rd, which draws some of the toughest competition in the game today and features defending champion Howard Lederer. Tony G will also join fellow Team PartyPoker members Bodo Sbrzesny and defending Aussie Millions champion Stewart Scott along with 43 qualifiers from PartyPoker for the Aussie Millions Main Event. The AUD $10,000 tournament will feature three starting days that begin on January 24th and will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Net.
As a part of the new sponsorship deal, Guoga will also be part of one of PartyPoker’s upcoming special events, the PartyPoker.com Premier League IV. This invitation-only tournament is scheduled to take place in February in Las Vegas and includes a formidable lineup. Such players as former World Champion and 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, current World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko, poker Triple Crown winner Roland De Wolfe, noted poker “bad boy” Luke ‘FullFlush’ Schwartz, and dangerous tournament pro J. C. Tran are scheduled to take to the felt, presenting Tony G with tremendously difficult opposition.
Guoga’s own online poker site, TonyGPoker.com, has been merged into the PartyPoker family. Those players who are a part of TonyGPoker.com will be moved to Noble Poker. Guoga will continue to be an integral part of his online promotions, such as the Sunday Bike Ride (moving to Noble Poker), and will play on PartyPoker under the name “TonyG.”
“We’re delighted to welcome Tony to Team PartyPoker,” a PartyGaming spokesman commented about the newest arrival to the organization. “Tony is undoubtedly one of poker’s biggest characters in the game and a personal deal for him made huge sense. We are also happy to have acquired the assets of TonyGPoker.com and look forward to welcoming his players on board.”
Guoga isn’t called “The Mouth From Down Under” for nothing. Known to dismiss his beaten opponents from the table with a curt “On Yer Bike!” Guoga has already issued a challenge for those PartyPoker members playing in the Aussie Millions. “If one of the Party qualifiers knocks me out of the Main Event, I will buy them a bike,” Guoga stated. “First of all, however, I will ride it out myself… I know when it is bike time!”
In his first blog entry on PartyPoker, Guoga also throws down the gauntlet against one of his Premier League IV foes. After speaking glowingly of Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and “High Stakes Poker” announcer Kara Scott, Tony G dropped the hammer on Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz: “He’s rude, obnoxious and I cannot wait to bust him up. This kid is not the kind of player you feel you can learn from – you just want to bust him.”
Guoga certainly has the ability to bust up many players at the table. His lifetime earnings at the tournament poker tables total nearly $4 million and include the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II championship in 2006. He was also the runner-up in the 2006 PartyPoker Intercontinental Poker Championship in Las Vegas and has cashed 15 times at the WSOP.
Famous for his mouth, it is Guoga’s philanthropic efforts that have earned him a great deal of respect from players and fans. After he won the first ever Asian Poker Tour (APT) event in Singapore in 2006, Tony G donated half the prize money to charity and, after taking down over $200,000 in a Moscow poker tournament in 2007, he turned over the entirety of his winnings to Russian orphanages.
With the addition of Guoga, Team PartyPoker is becoming a formidable challenge in the tournament poker world. After not sponsoring pros for much of its existence, PartyPoker has certainly drawn top talent to its roster. Along with Guoga, Sexton, Sbrzesny, and the two Scotts, other members of Team PartyPoker include France’s Remy Biechel, England’s Ian “The Raiser” Frazer, and Brazil’s Felipe "Mojave" Ramos.
Tags: 15, 5, announcer, Asia, Brazil, charity, Dang, France, high stakes, High Stakes Poker, Howard Lederer, Joins Team, kara scott, king, Las Vegas, member, Mike Sexton, Moscow, Online Poker, online poker site, PartyPoker.com, Phil Hellmuth, player, Poker, Poker Hall, poker site, Poker.com, Pro, qualifier, runner, runner-up, Russia, Stewart Scott, The Sun, tournament, vegas, World Poker Tour, WSOP
PartyPoker Adds Tony G
Famed loudmouth Tony G will bring his abrasive style of poker to a team that already includes Mike Sexton, Ian Frazer, Bodo Sbrzesny, Remy Biechel, Stewart Scott, Felipe “Mojave” Ramos and the recently signed Kara Scott.
Tony G will make his PartyPoker debut at the upcoming 2010 Aussie Millions.
“I cannot wait to start playing for Team Party on the circuit,” said Tony G. “I’ve always loved Party and what better way to kick off than at the Aussie Millions. I am also really excited about the Premier League in February - it is the best event in poker in my eyes.”
Tony G has been one of the hottest players in the Premier League’s recent events with a second and third place finish.
As part of the deal with PartyPoker, Tony G’s signature poker site TonyGPoker.com, will be moved to the PartyPoker-owned Noble Poker. The transfer should be relatively painless as both sites are on the iPoker network.
“We are delighted to welcome Tony to Team Party,” said a PartyGaming spokesman. “Tony is undoubtedly one of poker’s biggest characters in the game – a personal deal for him made huge sense. We are also happy to have acquired the assets of TonyGPoker.com and look forward to welcoming his players aboard."
Born as Antanas Guoga in Lithania, Tony G moved to Melbourne, Australia, when he was 11 and began playing poker at the age of 18.
Tony G quickly built a reputation for aggressive play and trash talk at the tables. In 2003, Tony G made the final table of the WPT Euro Finals of Poker in Paris, which established him as an upcoming player to watch.
Since then Tony G has accumulated nearly $4 million in tournament earnings with large scores at the Asian Poker Tour, WPT, WSOP and PartyPoker World Open.
In 2007 Tony G won the Moscow Million for $205,000 and donated the entire first place prize to Russian orphanages.
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Tags: 2010, 5, Asia, Australia, cent, EUR, kara scott, Mike Sexton, Moscow, player, Poker, poker site, Poker.com, Russia, Stewart Scott, tournament, WSOP
PokerStars’ NAPT Looks for Success in a Crowded Market
PokerStars Announces North American Poker Tour
Look out, North America! Long absent poker events sponsored by PokerStars, the continent will host the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) beginning on January 20th at the Venetian, with another stop planned for Mohegan Sun.
Model Joanna Krupa, who was introduced to the PokerStars family during the fourth installment of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” will serve as the NAPT’s on-screen host. A television deal is in the works and PokerStars officials have employed 411, the same company that produces the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN, to create each episode. The identity of a television partner should be released in the next two weeks.
PokerStars players from the United States and Canada currently have to hop on an airplane and travel to far away lands for PokerStars-sponsored tournaments. PokerStars-backed series include the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT) Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), and U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT).
At the Venetian in Las Vegas, the final tournament of the casino’s Deep Stack Extravaganza will be the $5,000 buy-in NAPT Main Event. The fun in Sin City will take place from February 20th to 24th and side events will also play out. From Las Vegas, PokerStars NAPT officials will travel 2,600 miles due east to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The tournament series in the popular East Coast casino will see its Main Event held from April 7th to 11th as the kickoff of a brand new poker festival.
Negreanu commented in a press release furnished by the world’s largest online poker site, “I'm really looking forward to the launch of the NAPT. PokerStars.net has done an excellent job sponsoring meaningful tournaments around the world with the EPT, LAPT, APPT, and various other local tours – and it’s exciting to see them coming to my home town of Las Vegas! With the addition of the NAPT, I'll have a chance to play some tournaments on home soil and I'm very excited about that.” 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso are among the bevy of site pros who are expected to turn out.
Technically, the first tournament of the NAPT was the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is ongoing from the Atlantis Resort and Casino across the harbor from Nassau in the Bahamas. Satellites to the Venetian and Mohegan Sun tournaments will take place on PokerStars, which happily accepts players from the United States. Besides Cada, other WSOP Main Event champions to call the site home include Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Tom McEvoy (1983).
In North America, the NAPT will compete against several longstanding brands such as the World Poker Tour (WPT) and WSOP Circuit. The WPT is in the midst of filming its eighth season, the first with the backing of Party Gaming, which purchased the rights to the series in October. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten continue to bring the WPT to life each week on Fox Sports Net. The WSOP Circuit has been crisscrossing the United States since 2004, stopping at various Harrah’s properties along the way. Circuit staffers are now camped out in Tunica, Mississippi for the fifth stop of the 2009-2010 season. The series gets underway in the Deep South on January 20th from Harrah’s Tunica.
Krupa has graced the covers of a handful of brand-name magazines, including “FHM,” “Maxim,” “Playboy,” and “Stuff.” She appeared on Season 9 of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars” and also tested her sports skills in the network’s “Superstars.” Krupa defeated 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski on the fourth episode of the “Million Dollar Challenge;” Kosowski would later go on to defeat Negreanu and earn the $1 million grand prize.
Additional stops for Season 1 of the NAPT will also be announced.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, 5, ABC, aced, actor, Asia, Australia, Canada, Caribbean, Connecticut, EUR, Europe, european, European Poker Tour, Greg Raymer, Ireland, Joe Hachem, king, Las Vegas, member, Mike Sexton, model, North America, oil, Online Poker, online poker site, Peter Eastgate, player, Poker, Poker Festival, Poker Hall, poker site, pokerstars, Pro, Russia, Russian Poker Tour, skill, Tom McEvoy, tournament, United States, Vanessa Rousso, vegas, World Poker Tour, WSOP
Mohsin Charania (chicagocards1) Interview with Poker News Daily
Poker News Daily: How did you get into poker?
Mohsin Charania: I never saw “Rounders.” I never saw poker on television. I was a junior in college [at the University of Illinois] and I went over to one of my friend’s places. He was going to play poker at a home game in a dorm room and I was bored, so went with him. That is literally what happened. I met Ravi “govshark2” Raghaven and some other people. I started playing $0.10/$0.25 and $0.25/$0.50 with them once or twice a week. Then, we started going every day making money and paying rent off these rich kids.
PND: You were paying rent off of a $0.25/$0.50 poker game?
Mohsin Charania: Well, we would play $0.10/$0.25 and buy in for $20 or $25 and there would be eight of us. There’d be $250 worth of buy-ins on the table and everyone would bust, so there would be $500 on the table. We’d be five- or six-handed and up it to $0.25/$0.50, then $1/$2, and then at some point, there would be two or three people who cashed out. Eight people would never cash out.
Then, I started playing $1/$2 with Faraz “The-Toliet” Jaka and Andy “BKiCe” Seth at this thing called The Poker House. At the time, I thought Jaka was some super-aggressive monkey, but then I figured out he was actually really good at poker. I don’t know, I just went to the home game and played.
PND: When did you start playing outside of the home games around campus?
Mohsin Charania: I turned 21, went to the casino, made a couple thousand dollars, and felt super excited. You don’t want to know how I lost $200,000 in my first three months playing poker, do you?
PND: Of course we do.
Mohsin Charania: That was in January of my junior year I think, 2006. That summer, I had a couple thousand dollar bankroll from the home game, went to the casino, and built it up to $10,000. I met this Asian kid at the home game who took me to Las Vegas for a week. I had $10,000, played $2/$5, and grinded it up to $20,000. Then, I played $5/$10 and grinded it up to $40,000 and then played $10/$20 and got it up to $100,000. Then, I started playing $25/$50 and $50/$100.
PND: You did all of this in the span of a week?
Mohsin Charania: No, we kept extending our flights because we were making so much money, so it was more like two weeks. After two weeks, I’d run a couple grand up to $180,000. Then, I lost two $100,000 pots and that was the first time ever that I was super tilted. I lost all the rest of the money. I had to use my mom’s debit card to fly home. Then, I got a credit card under my name because I was 21, deposited on Bodog, and won the site’s $100,000 Guaranteed. I got really lucky, I deposited $500, won that tournament, and then got third in it the next week.
PND: So you didn’t start playing online until after that ill-fated Vegas trip?
Mohsin Charania: Yeah. I was a live pro. I remember the pots I lost. I was sitting there with bundles of cash in front of me and I got it all-in with K-Q on an A-J-10 board. I remember telling the kid I had a straight and I was willing to take the pot right now. He said, “I’ll gamble with you,” and called with a set of jacks; the board paired on the turn.
PND: Were you playing $50/$100 with people you know?
Mohsin Charania: It was Brad Booth, Kenny Tran, and Mimi Tran. I want to say Jaka was there also, but I don’t know if he was in the game. I was crushing the game because I was running so good. I won a $50,000 pot when I had aces to kings.
PND: Did that trip teach you the importance of bankroll management?
Mohsin Charania: Well, I don’t really play cash games anymore. I play tournaments now. Online cash games are too hard. I used to play a lot of $5/$10 and $10/$20 on PokerStars. Two summers ago, I made $80,000 playing cash games on PokerStars, but then I started running really bad. I didn’t have the roll to play $10/$20 and I can’t play $5/$10 disciplined.
PND: Would you say online cash games are the toughest form of poker around right now?
Mohsin Charania: Oh yeah. They’re unbeatable. PokerStars $2/$4 - you have to be really good to beat that.
PND: You put off law school at Northwestern University to play full-time. When do you plan on going back?
Mohsin Charania: If I continue to struggle the way I have the past couple of months, I’ll go back.
PND: Do you like the idea of being a lawyer as much as being a poker player?
Mohsin Charania: Yeah, I hate being a poker player. Poker playing is very bipolar. I love it when I’m winning, but it is absolutely the worst feeling in the world when I’m losing. If you asked me the same question last January or February when I was crushing, I would have told you I was never going back.
Tags: 5, Asia, bodog, brad booth, buy-ins, gamble, interview, king, Las Vegas, law, lawyer, member, Mimi Tran, News Daily, player, Poker, Poker News Daily, poker player, pokerstars, Pro, tournament, usa, vegas
PokerStars ANZPT Season 2 Schedule Announced
The first six events of Season 2 of the PokerStars-sponsored Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) were announced in recent days, with Adelaide set to host the first event from February 9th to 14th.
The buy-in for the kickoff tournament of the tour’s second season weighs in at AUD $3,000 and the festivities will be held at the Adelaide Casino. The venue’s Poker Manager, David Galpin, commented in a press release distributed by the world’s largest online poker site, “We are looking forward to the return of the ANZPT in Adelaide after the wonderful success of the first year and we are excited to see the event grow and flourish.” The Main Event is capped at 360 players and preliminary tournaments will get underway in the Australian city on February 2nd.
In an interesting rule found on the ANZPT’s website, iPods are not allowed at the Adelaide event due to government policy. In addition, the casino has a strict stance against string betting and out of turn bettors will forfeit their contribution to the pot should they ultimately choose to fold. Poker players who win their way in through PokerStars will tour wineries and other nearby attractions during their trip.
After Adelaide, a brand new ANZPT event in Perth will play out, with the Burswood Entertainment Complex serving as the epicenter of the Australian poker market beginning on March 17th. The AUD $2,500 buy-in Main Event will name a champion four days later and the field is capped at 300 runners. On the new event, Jason Barry, General Manager of Table Games at Burswood Entertainment Complex, commented in the same release, “We feel this is just what our players have been waiting for and we expect big numbers will take part in the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth tournament.”
A total of five events made up Season 1 of the ANZPT, which kicked off in February in Adelaide. Tournaments followed in Sydney, Melbourne, Queenstown, and Queensland. In the finale of ANZPT Season 1, Scott Kerr earned AUD $168,075 for defeating a field of 249 players back in August. The largest field during Season 1 turned out in Sydney, where nearly 500 players took to the felts. The conclusion of that event saw Paren Arzoomanian scoop the AUD $246,500 first place prize.
A combined 1,309 players took part in Season 1 events and nearly $3 million in prize money was doled out. Here is the schedule for what promises to be a lively Season 2 on the PokerStars-backed ANZPT:
ANZPT Adelaide: Adelaide Casino
February 9th to 14th
Buy-in: AUD $3,000
ANZPT Perth: Burswood Entertainment Complex
March 17th to 21st
Buy-in: AUD $2,500
ANZPT Sydney: Star City Casino
April 21st to 25th
Buy-in: AUD $2,200
ANZPT Queenstown: Sky City Queenstown
July 17th to 25th
Buy-in: NZD $2,500
ANZPT Gold Coast: Conrad Jupiters
August 11th to 15th
Buy-in: AUD $2,500
ANZPT Melbourne: Crown Casino
October 8th to 11th
Buy-in: TBD
More stops will likely be added to Season 2 of the ANZPT, although no further information was available at the time of writing. A tournament leaderboard held during the first season of the tour saw Tony Hachem emerge victorious after cashing in four of the five ANZPT Season 1 events. For his leaderboard win, Hachem took home entry into Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) events as well as the 2010 Aussie Millions. Chris Levick, who finished in second place on the leaderboard, gained entry into every ANZPT Season 2 event.
In addition to the ANZPT and APPT, PokerStars also sponsors the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT), Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), and U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT).
Tags: 15, 2010, 5, Asia, Australia, cent, EUR, Europe, european, European Poker Tour, Ireland, king, leader, manager, Mania, Online Poker, online poker site, player, Poker, poker player, poker site, pokerstars, Pro, queen, runner, Russia, Russian Poker Tour, Sydney, tournament
Top Ten Poker Events of the Decade: Part 2
We’ve reviewed half of the top ten poker events of the soon-to-be-completed decade. Now, let’s take a look at the top five events that have shaped the game as we know it during the past ten years.
5. Taking America’s Game to the World
As the middle of the decade approached, poker, and more particularly tournament poker, was still primarily an American pastime. With the introduction of the European Poker Tour (EPT) in 2004, the rest of the world increased its awareness of the game. Like its predecessors in the United States in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and World Poker Tour (WPT), the EPT brought the game to a new audience and further heightened the “poker boom.”
The EPT, developed by the online poker giant PokerStars, started small in 2004 with only seven events on its schedule. By the time it was in its fourth year, the EPT had grown to 11 tournaments with buy-ins that rivaled its brethren in the U.S. and had proved that a poker tournament schedule outside of the United States could be tremendously successful. It also led to the creation of many of the international tournament schedules that exist today, including the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), and Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour (GUKPT).
4. Poker Faces its Strongest Challenge, the UIGEA
The steamroller that online poker had become would, in 2006, face its strongest challenge ever. Passed through the halls of Congress in the United States as a rider to a key port security bill, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) threatened to kill the growth of online poker just as it was reaching its pinnacle. Since that time, the poker world has, at the minimum, reached a plateau.
While many inaccurately suggest that the UIGEA makes online poker illegal in the United States, the bill successfully scared many people who would either enter into the game or who had played it. It also had a significant effect on many poker tournaments in the United States; the WSOP Main Event has never returned to its peak numbers of 2006 and other poker tours have either seen a drop in the number of entrants or no growth.
3. Lights, Camera, Action… Poker Comes to Television
Turning on the television at the start of the decade to watch poker was literally impossible. The 2000 and 2001 WSOP Main Events were filmed as documentary-style broadcasts instead of an actual sporting event and appeared on the Discovery Channel. There were no other poker television broadcasts that could be found.
Perhaps sensing the coming wave, ESPN bought the rights to the television broadcasts of the WSOP and, in 2002, presented a more sports-friendly coverage of the tournament series. In 2003, ESPN expanded even further, covering preliminary events and dedicating extensive coverage to the Main Event. After the “Moneymaker Effect” of that year and the ensuing “poker boom,” ESPN has stuck with the WSOP and, in 2009, signed an extension of its broadcast contract with Harrah’s that ensures the WSOP will be on ESPN airwaves well into the next decade.
Add into the mix the wealth of celebrity poker shows, the debut of “High Stakes Poker” on GSN, and network television’s continued dalliance with the game and there is now poker on the “idiot box” at all hours of the day.
2. World Poker Tour Comes into Existence
In 2002, the entrepreneurial minds of Steve Lipscomb and Lyle Berman convinced the Travel Channel to sign on to an innovative idea of a worldwide poker tour, much like what professional golf has. Their creation, the WPT, took viewers to exotic locales that people might never have a chance to experience. In coordination with these picturesque areas, the broadcast of high-stakes poker tournaments captivated audiences. When it hit the airwaves, the WPT forever changed what had once been the exclusive world of high-stakes gambling.
In the eight years since it first was broadcast, the WPT has not only made poker players household names, but also created the first exposure to poker that many people had experienced. The WPT has also created many new millionaires from previously unknown poker players and pointedly exposed the strategy of the game through the innovative “hole card” camera. Without the creation of the camera, it is entirely likely that the WPT would have never seen the light of day.
1. The Birth of Online Poker
In 2000, there were literally only a handful of poker rooms in existence and, with a few exceptions, none of them made an impact on the world of poker. As more poker rooms opened, more people became accepting of a virtual “poker world.” As internet connections became more reliable, the online poker world was the major impetus for many to enter into any involvement with the sport.
As of 2009, there are hundreds of online poker rooms with tentacles that reach every corner of the globe. Poker enthusiasts can now hook into the internet and play with millions of like-minded people at any time, day or night. Add into the online poker room explosion the wealth of poker training sites, forums, and news outlets and it is easy to see that, without the internet and online poker, we may never have seen the renaissance in the first decade of the 21st century.
Tags: 2009, 5, Alliance, Asia, buy-ins, cent, Congress, EUR, Europe, european, European Poker Tour, golf, high stakes, High Stakes Poker, internet gambling, Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, king, law, legal, Online Poker, online poker room, player, Poker, poker player, poker show, poker training site, pokerstars, Pro, tournament, United States, World Poker Tour, WSOP
Mangas Gaming Acquires Everest Poker
Mangas Gaming, which also owns BetClic, Expekt and Bet-at-Home, will hold 60% of Everest Gaming stock with the remaining 40% held by current shareholder GigaMedia.
“We are very proud that Everest is joining our group,” said Isabelle Parize, CEO of Mangas Gaming.
“It is a great company; it is a brand with an outstanding awareness in the world of poker, well known for its know how, its platform reliability and its strict policies. Mangas Gaming is reinforcing its position as a major European player in both online poker and sports betting.”
Established over 10 years ago, Everest Poker has a strong presence in Europe and Asia and is consistently one of the biggest online poker rooms in the world.
Everest Poker is also one of the few rooms that runs its own proprietary poker software and is the exclusive poker table sponsor for the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
“We were looking for a reference partner with complementary activities to ours,” said Arthur Wang, CEO of GigaMedia. “Our strategy is to participate in the growth of this innovative and dynamic industry in Europe. We are glad to do it alongside the French leading sports betting and online gaming group.”
Mangas Gaming has a presence in more than 25 countries and over four million customers. Earlier this year the Mangas-owned BetClic announced it had signed famous poker pro Isabelle Mercier as a consultant and sponsored player.
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Tags: 5, Asia, CEO, EUR, Europe, european, Isabelle Mercier, king, Las Vegas, online gaming, Online Poker, online poker room, player, Poker, poker software, Pro, software, sports betting, vegas
Bodog Founder Calvin Ayre Featured in National Post
On Saturday, the National Post ran an article entitled “Calvin Ayre online gaming tycoon,” a profile of the founder of the popular online poker room, casino, and sports book Bodog. Ayre donned a Bodog Fight shirt for the interview’s image.
Diane Francis was tasked with interviewing Ayre in Antigua and the news outlet described the internet mogul as “semi-retired.” The article begins with Francis asking Ayre about the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), approved by better than a 3:1 edge in the House of Representatives before being attached to the SAFE Port Act at the urging of then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). When asked if Canadian authorities had pursued Ayre in any capacity related to the 2006 law, he told the Post, "No. I haven't lived in Canada for ten years or been in the Canadian tax system. The legal system did not allow me to do this in Canada. Now I like living in the tropics.”
Ayre revealed that he owns the rights to the domain name Bodog.com and licenses the rights to the network to affiliates located around the globe. In the United States, for example, Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, a Canadian outfit, owns the rights to market the brand. After recently releasing “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, Bodog’s stable of poker pros currently stands at three: Evelyn Ng, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, and David Williams.
The Post then inquired about Bodog’s revenue figures. Ayre explained, "My current deals aren't revenue based and are all different structures which I don't talk about. Forbes audited our books and based the number on the same multiple that the British public companies were trading at, or more than $1.5 billion. In 2006, Bodog made US $320 million in revenues and 25% profit." After the UIGEA was passed into law, online poker sites with publicly traded parent companies like PartyPoker and Pacific Poker exited the market, leaving sites like Bodog, PokerStars, and Full Tilt Poker to pick up the slack.
On the current legality of online poker in the United States, Ayre told the Post, “Poker is not illegal to bet online in the U.S. because it's considered a skilled game. It's a gray area, but there are lots of American companies with poker sites.” This year, Bodog forged its own poker network and will purportedly begin accepting non-Bodog domains into its ranks next year. Jonas Odman, Vice President of the Bodog Network, told Poker News Daily that a “unique solution” to rakeback will help differentiate the family of sites from others in the industry.
In September, Ayre served as the keynote speaker at the Budapest Affiliate Conference. He told event organizers at the time, “I’m very flattered to have been asked to be this year’s keynote speaker in Budapest. The iGaming space is the birthplace of the Bodog brand, and it remains one of the must dynamic and fascinating sectors in the entertainment space.” In addition to Morris Mohawk, Bodog’s licensees include Bodog Europe and Bodog Asia. The former recently opened its doors to Canadian online poker players.
According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, Bodog is the 15th largest site or network worldwide with a seven-day running average of 860 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, around 1,500 cash game players call the site home. Its traffic is comparable with that found on PKR and every Sunday, the site hosts its $100,000 Guaranteed, a $162 buy-in event that kicks off at 4:00pm ET. The tournament regularly sees a $20,000 to $30,000 overlay, with $29,000 kicked in by the site last week.
Read the entire Calvin Ayre interview with the National Post.
Tags: 15, 2009, 5, Asia, Bill Frist, bodog, Canada, canadian, cash game player, cent, China, David Williams, EUR, Europe, Evelyn Ng, founder, full tilt poker, game player, internet gambling, Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, interview, Jean-Robert Bellande, king, law, leader, legal, Majority Leader, Mohawk Gaming Group, News Daily, online gaming, Online Poker, online poker player, online poker players, online poker room, online poker site, online poker sites, player, Poker, Poker News Daily, poker player, poker site, pokerstars, President, Pro, Senate, Senate Majority Leader, skill, tournament, United States
Joe Hachem Thinks Poker Will Get Bigger in Australia
In his article in The Sydney Morning Herald Joe Hachem reminds us that in just 23 years ago there was no poker being played in casinos in Australia. It is hard to imagine that poker, which is so prevalent game in Australian casinos nowadays, hit the floors in 1987.
The WSOP and WPT bracelet winner thinks that the popularity of poker has not yet reached the level of popularity that the sport has achieved in America, but the popularity and number of competitors are growing in Australia.
Joe Hachem is the godfather of the Australian poker scene.
As a professional poker player, the PokerStars pro is happy that the popularity of his profession is growing. He is satisfied about the growth of popularity so far, as the standard of the events available in Australia has continued to improve and tournaments also attracts more international talent.
Hachem thinks the key element to the growth of poker in Australia has been the internet and online poker, which he thinks is “a great way to learn, polish your game, and even compete in some serious tournaments”.
For Hachem, tournaments are the best format of poker. Today there is plenty of big tournaments for Australians to choose from. There is annual Aussie Millions in January and PokerStars sponsored Asia Pasific Poker Tour, the biggest poker tour in the region. Hachem thinks at the present a professional player could play a full season of events only in Australia without travelling to international tournaments “and boast an impressive record of events”.
Even though Hachem is pleased with the way things are now, he hopes that the wins of Australians Grant Levy and Martin Rowe in APPT in past years will produce more local talent. He believes that with more great local wins, more people will support poker and the popularity of poker will continue to rise in Australia.
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Joe Hachem Thinks Poker Will Get Bigger in Australia
Tags: 2009, 5, Asia, Australia, Joe Hachem, Online Poker, player, Poker, poker player, pokerstars, Pro, professional poker player, Sydney, tournament, WSOP
Joe Hachem Comments on the State of Australian Poker
With the conclusion of the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) in Sydney, Australia last week, another successful season came to an end and one more Aussie champion was born. Online qualifier Aaron Benton won the AUD $6,300 Grand Final Main Event to become the third straight Australian-born player to capture the title. Additionally, fellow Aussie and former APPT champion Van Marcus defeated a tough field to win the APPT Tournament of Champions.
2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion and Team PokerStars Pro member Joe Hachem recently wrote an article in the Sydney Morning Herald discussing the growth of poker in Australia. Hachem, who was born in Lebanon and moved to Melbourne at age six, talked about the APPT, the Aussie Millions, and the poker culture that has taken over Australia since his life-changing victory in 2005.
"Obviously we are yet to reach the heights of popularity that the sport has achieved in America, where every major tournament is televised and attracts thousands of live spectators, but the popularity and the competitors continue to grow," Hachem wrote. "For a professional player, I always hope we'll get to that point. The growth so far has been satisfying as the standard of the events available in Australia continue to improve, as we attract more international talent as well as retain our best home-grown players."
That home-grown talent has made some serious noise in 2009. Jeffrey Lisandro (born in Perth) won three WSOP bracelets in 2009 while capturing Player of the Year honors in a year that saw five different players win multiple events. Lisandro, known better as a successful cash game player, now has four bracelets and joins fellow Aussies Hachem, Mark Vos, Gary Benson, and Mel Juda as WSOP champions.
In January, Bilambil Heights native Stewart Scott earned $1,865,724 by winning the Crown Aussie Millions Main Event. Scott became the first Aussie to keep the prestigious title in his home country since the event went international in 2003. The event, which was first introduced in 1997 as a $1,000 buy-in Limit Hold'em tournament, has developed into one of the biggest poker events on the planet. The number of entrants has increased every year since 2003, helped greatly by Fox Sports Net's broadcast that reaches millions of homes internationally. Poker fans were able to watch Gus Hansen claim the title in 2007 and Alexander Kostritsyn defeat Erik Seidel to win it in 2008.
Benton, who already had a claim to fame coming into the APPT Grand Final as a former contestant in the Australian edition of “Big Brother,” collected AUD $594,000 for his victory in Sydney last week. Benton bested a field of 396 players, including seven Aussies at the final table. Though the tournament drew fewer entrants than the past two years (561 in 2007 and 477 in 2008), Hachem is still pleased with the direction the game is headed in his homeland.
"From the Aussie Millions and this weekend's Pokerstars.net APPT, (the largest poker tour in the region) to smaller events that still offer a genuine challenge like the ANZPT (Australia New Zealand Poker Tour), a professional player could quite happily now play a full season in this country and boast an impressive record of events," Hachem said.
The 2010 Aussie Millions gets underway on Thursday, January 14 with a $1,100 No Limit Hold'em event. Several similar preliminary events will take place up until the $10,500 Main Event kicks off on January 24.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, 5, Asia, Australia, cash game player, cent, Erik Seidel, game player, Gus Hansen, Joe Hachem, member, player, Poker, pokerstars, Pro, qualifier, Stewart Scott, Sydney, tournament, usa, WSOP
PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final: Aaron Benton Takes The Title
Bluff Europe Weekend Round-Up.
The Grand Final of the PokerStars Asian Pacific Poker Tour took place at the Sky City casino in Sydney, with almost 400 players competing in the event before one man took down the grand prize.
Aaron Benton wins APPT Grand Final
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The Nightly Turbo: Lodden Thinks, Poker Power Hour, Poker2Nite
APPT Grand Final Day 2 wraps up
ESPN Ranks Top Poker Players; Phil Ivey Number One
Who is the top all-around poker player in the world? Online or live, cash games or tournaments, whose game reigns supreme over the rest of the industry? According to a panel of experts organized by ESPN.com, the answer is Phil Ivey.
The voting block consisted of ESPN’s Andrew Feldman, Gary Wise, and Bernard Lee, along with Bluff’s Lance Bradley and Michael Friedman, Poker News Daily’s Dan Cypra, and PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Court Harrington. Each of us was asked to name our top ten players in the poker world irrespective of whether we were talking about online or live play, tournaments, cash games, or game type. In the end, the first ever list of “The Nuts” was compiled.
Topping the chart was Ivey, the seventh place finisher in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Ivey won two bracelets in preliminary tournaments leading up to the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, one in Deuce to Seven Lowball and one in Omaha/Seven Card Stud High-Low. He owns seven bracelets and over $5 million in career WSOP earnings. Coupled with nearly $3 million in high-stakes cash game winnings off Swedish poker pro Isildur1 alone, Ivey makes a strong case as the top name in the business. Out of the seven pollsters, six chose Ivey as their top dog. The lone exception was yours truly.
My pick for best poker player today was Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko. While players like Ivey have been successful, Timoshenko has dominated high-profile events. In April, Timoshenko took down the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship for $2.1 million, one year after winning the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Macau Main Event. He finished 25th in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event and proved his online prowess by winning the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event for $1.7 million in September. He followed that performance up with a victory in the Full Tilt $1K Monday. His stakes aren’t as high in cash games as Ivey’s, but he’s also not a member of Team Full Tilt.
Second overall on “The Nuts” was Patrik Antonius. Another participant in the high-stakes games against Isildur1, Antonius lays claim to winning the largest pot in online poker history, $1.3 million, set last month. Friedman noted, “I know this may be controversial, but I think Antonius may be the best online cash game player out there at the moment.” Going against Antonius is his lackluster performance in tournaments; he has not turned in a live score of over $20,000 since May of 2008, according to HendonMob.com.
Rounding out the top three was Daniel Negreanu, who was not ranked by Poker News Daily. Negreanu has final tabled the Main Event of WSOP Europe in back-to-back years and recorded eight in the money finishes in the Las Vegas series in 2009. Negreanu has been actively involved on televised poker programs like “High Stakes Poker” and the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” serving as one of the game’s top ambassadors. His cash game accolades seem less obvious than Ivey’s and Antonius’, who Poker News Daily ranked as #3 and #6, respectively.
So who did the seven pollsters rank in the first ever edition of ESPN’s “The Nuts”? Here is the illustrious list of today’s top poker players:
1. Phil Ivey
2. Patrik Antonius
3. Daniel Negreanu
4. Tom “durrrr” Dwan
5. Barry Greenstein
6. Jason Mercier
7. Jeffrey Lisandro
8. Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier
9. Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond
10. Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko
Others who received votes included Tommy Vedes, Isildur1, J.C. Tran, Allen Cunningham, Steve “gboro780” Gross, Scott “BigRiskky” Clements, Michael Binger, Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, David “The Dragon” Pham, Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Dan “djk123” Kelly, Antoine Saout, Brian Townsend, Brock “t soprano” Parker, and Matt Hawrilenko. Check out the full ESPN list for more details on each player selected.
What do you think? Should Ivey have been number one? Leave a comment here and let us know!
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PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final Day 2: Grigg Ascends
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APPT Grand Final Day 1c concludes
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Poker Psychology: The Complete Circle
The game of poker is warfare of an unusual type. You battle it out with chips and cards instead of armaments and physical strength, using conflicting information to make the best decisions possible. Some players come to the felt with a major part of their arsenal muted; they lack the psychological support to allow them to attack poker properly.
While many people talk about the mathematics, strategy, knowledge of opponents, and heart that it takes to play poker competently, most do not acknowledge that you need to have the psychological abilities to be at the maximum of your abilities. One of those psychological factors is having what I call “The Complete Circle.”
The Complete Circle is made up of three components: support from family, support from knowledgeable poker friends, and non-poker interests. If you have only one or two parts of this circle, you are not reaching your full potential.
The first part, support from family, is perhaps the most critical part of building The Complete Circle. For some in the poker world, they face ridicule and sometimes outright dislike from family members regarding their pursuit into the world of poker. It can be parents, a spouse, or any significant other who, if they do not agree with what you are doing, can cause you to have apprehension at the tables.
For example, look at many of the popular Asian players in the game today. In the Asian culture, gambling is looked at as the bottom of the barrel when it comes to society and can have an effect on the particular person’s game. You can read the stories of many of these Asian players that admit that they lied to their parents about their poker pursuits. It wasn’t until they rectified this situation and received the blessing of their parents that they were able to fully extend their skills at the tables.
When it comes to spouses or significant others, that can be even trickier. A partner, through repeated arguments about the money and time involved in the game, can induce a player to not be at their best. You probably have seen this in action at the felt… a player moves from the table to take a cell phone call, has their significant other badger them about when they will be home or a bill that could be paid with the chips sitting on the table, comes back, and they return on significant tilt.
It is critical to poker success to have your significant other firmly behind you in your chosen hobby or occupation. Why do you think most poker players have significant others that are involved in some way, either recreationally or professionally, with the game? It is not only a situation of “birds of a feather,” but it is also has basis in a firm understanding and support.
The second part of The Complete Circle, support from knowledgeable poker friends, is good for the growth of your game. Instead of ruminating about particular issues such as bad beats, the play of particular hands, or alternative strategies in the recesses of your own mind, having several poker playing compatriots to bounce these questions off of can expand not only your knowledge of the game, but also give you a fresh insight. These friends can come from a multitude of areas. Poker forums, for example, allow players to build a network of confidants.
The final part of The Complete Circle is non-poker interests. Do you truly believe that a radio DJ, after playing music for several hours a day, goes home and does the same? Do you think a mechanic, after grinding over vehicles for a living, goes home and works on his car? The ability to step away from what is a focal point of your life is important to keeping a fulfilling life.
While it is important to have a passion for the game of poker, it is also important to have outside interests that can release your mind from that pursuit. The change of pace is critical to recharging the batteries and perhaps even re-feeding that passion that is important to success. Having anything be a 24/7 pursuit not only leads to burnout, but it also stunts the ability to make adjustments to your mindset and skills to become better.
By having The Complete Circle filled, you will have made a substantive stride towards success at the tables. It will clear your mind, allowing you to focus on the tasks at hand, and will relieve outside pressures that can distract you from your pursuit at the tables. It is a segment of the psychology of poker that you can change to improve your game immediately.