Poker News

Prahlad Friedman Discusses Signing with UB.com

Brand new to Team UB.com is bracelet winner Prahlad Friedman, who joined the site following the departures of Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth. Friedman sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss joining the USA-friendly CEREUS Network site.

Poker News Daily: Tell us why you signed with UB.com following your now-famous Tweet in November saying you’d be “selling out” by joining an online poker site. Did you have a change of heart?

Prahlad Friedman: I had a change of heart. It was all because of friends and family. They all convinced me that I could do greater good by signing and having more exposure and influence. We live in a society where the people who are the most well known have the greatest influence. I felt this could get me out there a little more. There’s also a charity component to my deal.

PND: What can you tell us about the charity portion of your agreement with UB.com?

Prahlad Friedman: There’s a good chunk of money that I’ll be giving to charity every year. I’ll be posting on Facebook and Twitter for any charities people think are awesome and I have a few ideas of my own. There are many options out there.

PND: What sparked your original stance against signing with an online poker site?

Prahlad Friedman: I’m just super liberal. I was raised vegetarian and I meditate. I’ve always liked underground hip-hop. I’ve always been on the outside. Now, I’m trying to mix it up and work from the inside out. I can turn a lot of heads, make people healthier, and help with charity. I don’t view it as selling out.

PND: You were affected by the cheating scandal on UB.com. What does Prahlad Friedman signing with UB.com say about the site moving forward?

Prahlad Friedman: People should know I’m not a donkey. I’m not going to sign if I thought there was anything going on. I obviously feel like the site is different and new now. Anybody who had to do with that scandal is gone.

PND: With Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth now gone from Team UB.com, can you be the main face of an online poker site?

Prahlad Friedman: I’ve always been a leader. I’ve always been outspoken. For quite a few years now, I haven’t been afraid to do interviews and be in front of cameras. I’m comfortable and have always been a point guard.

PND: What were your thoughts when you found out that Duke and Hellmuth were leaving?

Prahlad Friedman: They’re going to make the decision that’s best for them; it didn’t raise any concerns for me. They’ve been there a while and wanted a change of pace or had a change of heart just like I did. People change and the fact that they’re out is hopefully good for them and I know they’ll do well in the future. It also gives me an opportunity to be at the forefront. One of the things that most attracted me to this deal was the creative control I’ll have in commercials, clothing lines, and charitable things.

PND: What details can you share about the interactions you had with UB.com following the cheating scandal? Were you reimbursed?

Prahlad Friedman: It’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve had. I’m sure a lot of people feel differently, but I was pumped to get money back and it was a large sum. They took care of me and it reinforced to me that I was one of the best poker players in the world. Any money I had lost was because I was cheated off of it. Every site has had its problems with weird things happening and you have to improve and move on.

PND: What were your thoughts about Daniel Negreanu calling you out for signing with UB.com?

Prahlad Friedman: At first, people were recommending that I not read TwoPlusTwo and Twitter because if there’s anything negative, it can get to you, but I couldn’t help myself. I read Daniel Negreanu’s comments and I’m not hating on him. We’re friends and fellow vegans, but he feels strongly about UB. I don’t have problems with the things he said. I just feel a lot differently than he does.

PND: Were you surprised at some of Negreanu’s comments?

Prahlad Friedman: I knew from the past that people are going to bring up tough questions and criticize me. People have been criticizing me since I was on the scene. You can’t let those things affect you. People have different ideas. That’s what makes the world interesting.

PND: You broke Steve Nash’s consecutive free throw record on an episode of “Poker2Nite,” which was quite impressive. Tell us about your preparation for that attempt.

Prahlad Friedman: I’ve always been intense about things I do. Playing basketball competitively has been my main goal since I could hold a ball. All I did was shoot 500 or 1,000 shots a day for years and years. I’d sneak my way into gyms as a youth and I was obsessed with basketball.

Usually, when I go out and shoot, I’ll make 40 or 50 in a row, and my best is 118. The world record is 5,200 shots in a row, which would be awesome to break, but could be out of reach. I thought Nash’s record was within reach and broke it on the third try. I’d like to do it again, improve upon it, and make it so people will have a tough time beating it.

PND: We’d wager that many poker players know you best for your World Series of Poker Main Event run-ins with Ted Bort and Jeffrey Lisandro.

Prahlad Friedman: It seems silly that I’m known for those. I can’t blame people because ESPN is one of the biggest outlets and millions of people watch it. In the future, they can hopefully remember me for other things. I don’t like to be remembered for drama, so it is a little funny that these controversies come up. I’m looking to get past them.

PND: Are you focused on winning a second WSOP bracelet?

Prahlad Friedman: I haven’t played enough tournaments recently to have a really good chance. I’d love to win two, though, and with this signing with UB, I think I’ll play more. I’ll put myself in a good position to win another one.

Catching Up with WSOP Circuit Points Leader Kevin Calenzo

Robert Croak of DeepStacks Live Interview

Robert Croak recently announced that he’s joining DeepStacks Live as a partner. Croak has gained huge acclaim as the creator and CEO of SillyBandz. He brings his expertise as a master marketer and brand manager to take the DeepStacks brand to the next level.

In this exclusive interview with Poker News Daily, Croak explains first how he got involved with DeepStacks and how the relationship first developed.

“Well I think it all comes back to a hand in poker I had against Mike Matusow about three years ago. We were playing against each other in a cash game at the Bellagio. He was trying to bully the table and I don’t get bullied very well. He raised pretty big pre-flop, I called in the dark, the story goes he bet on the flop and I then looked to see I flopped the boat. I just shipped it all in and he called, and got runner runner for a royal flush. It was a sick, sick hand that nobody believed and some guys from Full Tilt where there too and took some pictures. From that, a gentleman that works with Mike that’s a good friend of mine … he introduced Chris (Torina) and I and the rest is history. I have a long history in business development, marketing and brand building and poker so I thought it was a good marriage.”

When asked to comment about leveraging some of the big name pros that are associated with the DeepStacks brands, such as Michael Mizrachi, Adam “Roothless” Levy and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Croak explained, “They are definitely paramount to the growth of this thing … but what we’re going to be able to do is create a better product … and try to pick up on key markets throughout the country that are looking for more of a marquee tournament.”

Croak also discusses in the interview what his role will be and confirms that he will have day-to-day responsibilities as part of his new role with DeepStacks Live and their other entities. His final comments talk about how the 2011 schedule is shaping up.

The Showdown – Episode 1

Pro poker player Jon Friedberg debuts his new show The Showdown. Jean-Robert Bellande is the guest in this first episode.

Friedberg is a successful business entrepreneur who moved to Las Vegas in 2004 but gained fame in the world of poker online under the names PokerTrip and Reactrix. During his peak, Friedberg was ranked as one of the top tournament players in the world according to PocketFives.com. In 2006 he won a World Series of Poker Bracelet by besting 2,890 players to win the 2006 WSOP Event #17 bracelet, in No Limit Hold’em. Since then he has placed at several other final tables and has accumulated over $2 million in live and online winnings.

In his debut episode of “The Showdown” Friedberg talks about what he will bring to the Poker News Daily audience. “I’m very happy to be here on Poker News Daily … and I’m really looking forward to a really fun run here. My goals and intentions for the show are to entertain, to inform and to educate. I plan to do that by having a really good group of guests on my show. I’m really not kidding when I say that my guests will vary anywhere from poker players to porn stars. There’s going to be a lot of interesting topics and a lot of fun discussions we’re going to have on this show.”

Friedberg’s first guest in The Showdown history is none other than reality TV star and pro poker player Jean-Robert Bellande, who has gained fame for wild bankroll swings and for his Twitter banter. However, before Bellande came out to talk the Vegas lifestyle and poker, Friedberg gives an interesting take on the current state of live tournament buy-ins and getting fish back into the player pools.

“If you think about it,” Friedberg explains, “If we could lower the buy-ins to maybe $3,500 or $5,000 or something, maybe shorten the structures a little bit, I think that would really bring a lot more amateurs back into the poker world.”

Topics that Friedberg and Bellande discuss include his sponsorship deal with the Aria poker room, improper bankroll management and getting a backer, which Bellande candidly speaks about. It’s a rare look into a player that likes to play big cash games with his entire roll on the line while at the same time tries to pay off his backers immediately and play with his own roll. By Bellande’s own admission he’s already gone bust a few times in just the last six months. In addition to that subject, Bellande also talks about the Vegas lifestyle and how he likes to party, but not too much, at the most famous Las Vegas Strip Club, Spearmint Rhino.

The interview with Bellande ends with a discussion of how he plans to build his bankroll and move into 2011 with enough to play through the entire World Series of Poker slate of events.

The Showdown with Jon Friedberg is exclusively seen on Poker News Daily with new episodes airing every Tuesday. For those of you that want to give feedback, Friedberg welcomes all tweets on Twitter on his account @JonFriedberg.

The Showdown is sponsored by UB.com, and is offering a 111% deposit bonus for first time depositors.

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.

Sorel Mizzi Wins 2010 Bluff Player of the Year Title

Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi is the 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year, officials announced on Friday. Mizzi entered the top spot in the Player of the Year rankings in March and never relinquished his lead.

The 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year, Tom Marchese, finished in second place in the Bluff standings. Mizzi ended the 2010 calendar year with a whopping 1,777 points, the highest score ever turned in, while Marchese racked up just 1,257 during the stanza. Others in the top 10 included PokerStars pro Vanessa Selbst, recent World Poker Tour (WPT) event winner Dwyte Pilgrim, and UB.com pro and former CardPlayer Player of the Year winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin.

Mizzi got the 2010 calendar year started off on the right foot by taking third place in the Aussie Millions Main Event for $659,000. Tyron Krost took down the marquee poker tournament and Mizzi quickly ratcheted his first six-figure score of 2010. Mizzi then won two preliminary events during the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Snowfest stop in March for nearly $150,000 total.

In April, Mizzi’s victory parade stopped off in Atlantic City, where he won the East Coast Championship Event during the Borgata Spring Poker Open for $170,000. That tournament drew 62 players and featured a top nine that included Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki, David “Davidp18” Peters, and former Full Tilt Poker pro Lee Markholt.

At the end of April, Mizzi final tabled the High Roller Event during the EPT’s Monte Carlo Grand Final for $190,000. Two weeks later, he ran deep in another High Roller Event, this time at WPT Paris. Just footsteps from the Eiffel Tower, Mizzi played second fiddle to Absolute Poker pro Freddy Deeb and walked away with $159,000.

In August, Mizzi placed second in the EPT Tallinn High Roller Event for $98,000. He concluded 2010 by bubbling a pair of WPT final tables, taking seventh in the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $88,000 and grabbing ninth in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio for $59,000. Remember, televised WPT final tables are played six-handed.

All told, Mizzi racked up nearly $1.9 million in earnings from live tournaments tracked by the Hendon Mob database last year. Along the way, he provided poker coaching to November Niner Matt Jarvis, a fellow Canadian. Jarvis ultimately bowed out in eighth place in the $10,000 buy-in tournament in Las Vegas for over $1 million.

Mizzi, who has been linked to several incidents on online poker sites in the past, has nevertheless remained a central figurehead in the industry. He told Poker News Daily in an interview in November that surrounding himself with talented poker friends has been critical: “I think it’s one of the most important things… That is how I got my start. I found players and tried to pick their brains. You know, it’s like anything in life, that’s the best way of learning, you find mentors. At least, for me, [it’s been] finding people where you want to be and trying to pick their brains as much as possible.”

Here were the top 10 players in the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year standings:

1. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 1,777.77 points
2. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 1,257.30 points
3. Fernando Brito – 1,060.53 points
4. David Peters – 1,009.26 points
5. Vanessa Selbst – 986.77 points
6. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – 943.92 points
7. Dwyte Pilgrim – 896.23 points
8. Chris Bjorin – 889.25 points
9. Jason Mercier – 882.40 points
10. Chris Bell – 879.63 points

Jason Mercier took down the 2009 Bluff Player of the Year title. Other past winners have included John “The Razor” Phan (2008), Bill Edler (2007), Chad Brown (2006), and Phil Ivey (2005).

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!

Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke Out at UB (Updated with Exclusive Interview with Joe Sebok)

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.

The Showdown with Jon Friedberg Debuts on Poker News Daily in January

We’ll be ringing in the New Year in a big way here at Poker News Daily, as bracelet winner Jon Friedberg will be debuting “The Showdown” during the first week of January on our site. Friedberg will interview several of the game’s most prolific names in the weekly video series; in fact, the inaugural episode will feature a no-holds-barred discussion with former “Survivor” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande. The show is sponsored by UB.com.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. We are looking forward to seeing “The Showdown” come to life next week. Tell us how you became interested in hosting poker talk shows.

Jon Friedberg: It was something I accidentally stumbled across back in 2007. I was invited to be a guest on “The Circuit” and one of the hosts didn’t show up. I came on and it was just Rich Belsky and I. We had good chemistry and he thought I did well, so he asked me if I wanted to be a host of the show, so I accepted and did that for a while.

During the 2007 WSOP, CardPlayer was launching CardPlayer TV. I was asked if I wanted to have a segment on a new show where I would be interviewing players. The first episode I did, my interview lasted eight minutes and they said it was a little long to use as a segment, so asked if I wanted my own show. It sort of happened and I ended up having my own show on CardPlayer TV during the 2007 WSOP.

I enjoyed talking to players and detailing their thoughts and lifestyles to poker fans. The only thing I didn’t like was coordinating schedules with poker players. They’re tough to pin down and not good about scheduling.

After that, I took a hiatus. There was a little bit of a transition in my poker career where I wasn’t having results on the tournament circuit and didn’t feel there was much value in it anymore. I was looking to get into some ventures and continue playing, but not traveling as much. I started to think back to how much fun I was having when I was hosting my own show. I decided to talk to a few sites and sponsors to see if I could pull something together.

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.

PND: What can we expect from your interview with Jean-Robert Bellande?

Jon Friedberg: We all know he loves to play beyond his bankroll. He’s very open and honest about what he Tweets and doesn’t hide losses or winnings that we know of. He mentions certain things that we don’t know much about like the “Rhino tax,” which means he’s going to Spearmint Rhino in Las Vegas and spending money on dances and such. I want to ask what a typical night at the Rhino is like for him, how much he spends, and whether the girls flock to him because he’s a baller.

He also Re-Tweets insults that people send him. I’m going to address a lot of questions about Twitter, what his philosophy is about bankroll management, and what would happen if he does go broke.

PND: You won a WSOP bracelet in 2006 in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Did your legitimacy in the poker world noticeably increase after the victory?

Jon Friedberg: Back then, Scott Clements and I were the only two ranked online players to come out and win bracelets. At that time, a lot of guys who are now superstars gave me respect like Steve “gboro780” Gross and Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul. I definitely got a ton of respect because of the bracelet win back then.

Now, people don’t have the same level of respect for my game because I don’t play as much as before, so I don’t have the same results. They respect my knowledge of the lifestyle of the game and my candidness of putting people on the spot and asking them questions that other members of the poker media don’t have the courage to ask.

PND: Who is the top poker talk show host right now?

Jon Friedberg: Joe Sebok. I enjoyed “Poker2Nite.” I think he’s also done a great job on PokerRoad.

PND: What future guests can we expect to see on “The Showdown” with Jon Friedberg on PND?

Jon Friedberg: Shaun Deeb, Antonio Esfandiari, Dwyte Pilgrim, and Tom Marchese. Dwyte came out of nowhere and a lot of people don’t know anything about him. The #1 question I’d want to ask him is, “Why there aren’t more African-American poker players? Does poker not appeal to them?” I also want to ask about his shit talking.

Visit UB.com today.

Gibraltar Raises Taxes on Online Gambling Companies

The British territory of Gibraltar has announced that it will be drastically inflating its taxes on all online gambling firms starting in January, a decision that could prove costly for several online poker sites. Online gambling companies are currently paying just a 1% tax in Gibraltar, with a ceiling of £425,000, but starting next month, they’ll be forced into the same 10% tax rate as other Gibraltar businesses pay.

Gibraltar has been an ideal location for many online gambling sites due to the low tax rate and has become something of an “online gambling capital” as a result. Poker rooms such as PartyPoker and 888poker currently hold their headquarters in the territory and the online bookmakers Ladbrokes and William Hill made the move to Gibraltar in 2009 – a decision that was expected to cost the Treasury of the United Kingdom about £12 million per year.

Gibraltar’s first minister, Peter Caruana, said the tax increase has been called for by Gibraltar government’s decision to conform to European law. “To comply with EU law, we must phase out the tax exempt company in 2010,” Caruana said. “However, in order to sustain our successful economic model, we must retain a commitment to a very competitive corporate tax model.”

Party Gaming, which owns and operates PartyPoker from Gibraltar, recently released details concerning its long-awaited merger with online gambling giant bwin. Party Gaming said in a statement that it would keep its headquarters in Gibraltar while bwin continues to operate in Austria. Whether the news of the tax increase changes those plans remains to be seen. “We’ve known about this for some time and we’ve factored it in,” said Party Gaming spokesman John Shepherd. “The tax is still going to be very low.”

According to a report in The Guardian, while online companies will now pay the standard 10% tax rate paid by other businesses, they will still not be subjected to any Value Added Tax (VAT), meaning that Gibraltar will remain an attractive setting for gambling companies. VAT is a consumption tax only on the “value added” to a product, material or service – similar to the state sales tax that most U.S. residents pay.

Many experts seem confident that the tax increase won’t cause companies like Party Gaming to flee to other locations. Victor Chandler, Chairman of independent bookmaker Victor Chandler International, expressed his assurance in an interview with regional newspaper El Pais: “Nobody will leave, although we’ll all complain about the tax going up.” Chandler began his U.K.-based company in 1946 that does much of its business online, including sports betting, casino games, and poker.

The decision will likely add up to big things for Gibraltar in the near future. Under the current 1% tax rate, Gibraltar collected £10.5 million in revenue from online gambling taxes in 2009. So long as online gambling firms decide to stay put, the government can expect to see that number magnify in the coming years.

Online gambling has proven to be an extremely important source of revenue for Gibraltar and it is believed that 2,000 people currently work in the sector, which is around 12% of the island’s workforce. The industry has also helped to protect the local economy against neighboring Spain’s harsh economic conditions. Of Gibraltar’s 30,000 residents, only 600 (2%) are unemployed. The bordering Spanish city of La Línea de la Concepción is estimated to have 10,000 of its 65,000 inhabitants (15%) out of work.

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.

Rainbow Casino in Wendover Hosts Spectrum of Poker

Poker is alive and well in Wendover, Nevada, about 110 miles from Salt Lake City on the Nevada border. The Rainbow Spectrum of Poker is going on through December 19th. Jan Fisher and I, two members of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, are hosting the tournament series and giving entrants a complimentary seminar on December 18th at Noon local time prior to the start of the $500 buy-in Main Event. The casino is adding money to each tournament, including $5,000 for the Main Event. A list of the schedule of events can be found at WendoverFun.com.

Jody Russell is the Poker Manager for the Wendover Rainbow and Montego Bay Casino Resorts and has been in Wendover since June, having come from the Peppermill in Reno. I interviewed Jody about poker in Wendover.

Linda Johnson: Tell us about some of the special promotions available at the Rainbow and Montego Bay card rooms.

Jody Russell, We have lots of promotions for our players including Football Squares on Sunday and Monday nights, with a $100 winner for every score made. Squares are awarded to players who make any full house of jacks or better. The Quadzilla promotion awards $25 to anyone who gets quads and an additional $500 is given if the same player gets quads twice in 24 hours.

Thursday nights feature a Nifty 50 bonus from 2:00pm to 6:00pm. With two hours of play, players who bought in for at least $50 receive an extra bonus dollar for every year they are older than 50. The Set Cracked Jackpot awards $100 from 1:00am to 4:00am to anyone who flops a set using a pocket pair and gets beat.

Linda Johnson: Who is your major clientele?

Jody Russell: The bulk of our players drive from Salt Lake City. Local players consist mainly of gold miners, casino workers, and retirees. We also have flyaway packages from many cities in the United States that include roundtrip air and a three-night stay in a deluxe room at the Rainbow, Peppermill, or Montego Bay Resorts.

Linda Johnson: Why would someone come play poker in Wendover?

Jody Russell: We have a very player-friendly atmosphere and great poker action. We track players and give room and food comps based on the amount of their play. In addition to the promotions above, we also add money to many of our tournaments and have Royal Flush, Bad Beat, and Full House Jackpots. I think our players enjoy the fun and games they get here. For the Rainbow Spectrum of Poker, we are offering a $25 room rate on weekdays and a $65 room rate on the weekends. Everyone who enters one of the events also receives a free buffet ticket.

Linda Johnson: Thanks for taking time to talk with me Jody and congratulations on getting 215 players in your first event. I’ve only been here 24 hours, but I’m having a great time and you’re definitely right about the great action in the games!

Shane Warne Interview with Poker News Daily

Former cricket star Shane Warne has taken his competitive edge to the poker felts recently and is a sponsored pro of 888. He was the life of the party during this year’s World Series of Poker and sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss his newfound passion.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. How did you get into poker originally?

Shane Warne: I played with friends and teammates. It’s a great way to socialize with friends.

PND: Are there any aspects of cricket that carry over into poker?

Shane Warne: The strategy of setting someone up for a play for their wicket and taking all of their chips are very similar.

PND: Who or what has been most influential on your growth as a poker player?

Shane Warne: I get some great advice from 2005 WSOP Main Event champion and good friend Joe Hachem.

PND: Talk about how you became involved with 888.

Shane Warne: I really enjoy the fun and social part of poker.  I have a social game with my friends every couple of weeks. I felt 888 represented the fun and social aspects of the game of poker the best. I have been with 888 since early 2007 and it has been a great experience. They are a great organization and a group of people I am more than happy to represent.

PND: You’re known for being a car aficionado. What is the next major car purchase you’re looking to make?

Shane Warne: I think I would like to buy a classic such as a 1966 Fastback Mustang.

PND: You’ve played poker across the world. What place is your favorite and why?

Shane Warne: I enjoy going to Las Vegas. No one knows me, which is great. When I’m walking with Joe Hachem, someone will interrupt and ask me to take a picture of them with Joe. I say, “No worries mate” and I find it all quite amusing.

PND: Tell us how you got started in cricket originally.

Shane Warne: I have enjoyed the game since I was young. During the 1983/1984 season, I played for the University of Melbourne Cricket Club in then the Victorian Cricket Association under 16 Dowling Shield competition. The following season, I joined the St. Kilda Cricket Club near my home of Black Rock. I played in the lower elevens and over a number of seasons progressed to the first eleven. I was then chosen to train at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide.

PND: What was the highlight of your cricket career?

Shane Warne: While there have been many deliveries and wickets over the years that have meant a lot to me for different reasons, it is impossible to go past the “Gatting Ball” back in 1993, as it literally changed my life.

PND: What has been the highlight of your poker career?

Shane Warne: I played in the High Roller event in Melbourne at the Crown Casino a couple of months ago and came in third for $40,000. The winner got $150,000 and I should have won. I got all of my chips in with pocket 10s against pocket eights and the guy hit an eight on the river. I was unlucky.

PND: What advice do you have for aspiring cricket players?

Shane Warne: Work hard and have fun.

Visit 888 for more details.

High Stakes Poker Season 7 Taping at Bellagio This Week

This week, the seventh season of the GSN cash game franchise “High Stakes Poker” will begin taping at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip. Last year, the action emanated from the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas and a source close to GSN told Poker News Daily that the change in venue was due to a “production decision.”

No members of the media are allowed inside the “High Stakes Poker” suite for Season 7. Instead, what happens in the small makeshift poker room will remain a closely guarded secret until the seventh cycle of the show airs beginning in February on GSN. “High Stakes Poker” will return to its Sunday night time slot and feature with the same faces as last year: PartyPoker pro Kara Scott conducting interviews from tableside and former “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan flying solo in the booth.

The constantly-changing list of pros scheduled to turn out over the next three days includes Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, recent World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic winner Antonio Esfandiari, David “Viffer” Peat, Phil Laak, Jason Mercier, Phil Galfond, and former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Scotty Nguyen, who will be making his “High Stakes Poker” debut. The same source also relayed that several amateurs will join the fray.

One player who won’t be gracing the “High Stakes Poker” felts this year is Daniel Negreanu, one of only a handful of players who have competed in every season to this point. Negreanu explained via Twitter why he wouldn’t be able to make it to Las Vegas in time: “Sad news: At airport headed home, which means the trip is over. Have a commercial shoot when I land, which means no HSP for me this year.” Negreanu had been in Sydney for the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final, where he made the final table and finished ninth.

Lex Veldhuis will also be a no-show for “High Stakes Poker” at the Bellagio. Veldhuis Tweeted earlier today, “Crazy busy week. Leaving for Vegas on Monday. Have to get all my shit done. Had to cancel for High Stakes Poker.”

Also potentially absent from the “High Stakes Poker” felts this season will be Full Tilt pros, although our source could not confirm or deny their attendance. Greenstein, a PokerStars pro, explained the dilemma on TwoPlusTwo: “Full Tilt has two major concerns. First is they don’t like their players playing when PokerStars is the sponsor of the show… Secondly, they were unhappy that PokerStars bought the HSP archives. In the early seasons of HSP, the players didn’t wear logos, so FTP is concerned that viewers will be able to go to PokerStars.tv and see the FTP players without logos and be confused by their affiliation.”

In previous years, the press was invited for interviews prior to the action. In fact, when the filming of Season 7 was scheduled to take place last month, Poker News Daily was invited to watch the action unfold. However, due to the change in location to the Bellagio this month, a source close to GSN told Poker News Daily, “We have all of these new players, a new venue, and new elements. It’s a small space. It’s super tight and we just want to focus on the game play.”

“High Stakes Poker” will once again boast a $200,000 buy-in for Season 7 and, unlike NBC’s “Poker After Dark,” no change to Pot Limit Omaha is expected. Instead, the GSN series will continue spreading high-stakes No Limit Hold’em. One-hour episodes will once again grace the small screen next year, as has been the case in years’ past.

Sorel Mizzi WSOP Coaching Interview

Sorel Mizzi was the poker coach for November Nine member Matt Jarvis. It was Mizzi’s hope to coach Jarvis all the way to the win at the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event, however, Jarvis fell short and was eliminated in eighth place.

When asked about the relationship he has with Jarvis, Mizzi explained, “Basically it started around the World Series of Poker Europe … that’s where we met. We played a cash game together, coincidentally it was with Grinder as well. We kind of talked about the possibility of me helping him out and coaching him. When I first played with him and first saw him play I was surprised at how much talent he actually had. I was also happy that we had similar styles.”

Mizzi is an accomplished professional poker player, but does not own any WSOP or WPT hardware and has never made a final table at the WPT, but has three World Series of Poker final tables to his name. His best Main Event finish came in 2007 where he finished 208th. Mizzi, however, does have an excellent resume of cashing in tournaments and his estimated live tournament earnings actually exceed $2.5 million. He is also known for his online poker exploits, having won the Event #7 of FTOPS III, a $216 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament that won him over $90,000. He also won Event #8 of FTOPS IV for almost $41,000. He also has a win in the PokerStars SCOOP tournament series.

Sorel Mizzi was asked about having a strong foundation of friends in the poker industry. He stated, “I think it’s one of the most important things. It’s one of those things that is how I got my start. I found players and I tried to pick their brains. You know, it’s like anything in life, that’s the best way of learning, you find mentors. At least, for me, finding people where you want to be and try to pick their brains as much as possible.”

Mid-Stakes No Limit Hold’em Replay with CardRunners

It’s more than your average replayer video. In this $400 NLHE session (blinds are $2-$4), Janda is replaying every single hand where he voluntarily puts money into the pot. If you’ve ever wondered how those dollars just keep adding up, tune in for expert commentary on the small pots, big pots, and everything in between.

Here is some of the dialog from the video’s page on CardRunners:

Question: In spots like this where raising or calling does not appear to be more EV either way should we take the more dominant strategy of being aggressive and raise pre?

If the EV is the same then it doesn’t matter, so do whatever is easier or you think will be more beneficial to you later on.

For example, if someone folds to 3-bets PF too much, but I have a hand which is good enough to call even if it is the same EV as 3-betting (say they are both +1bb ev) then I would call since I plan to be 3-betting him nonstop in the future and want him to take as long as possible before he gets fed up and starts playing back.

There are a few general notions that work decently well in fish but I think are theoretically wrong. CBing small on all or most dry boards is one of them. If that flop hits our range harder than his and he usually calls a CBet no matter what our sizing, we either need to either bet the same size with our entire range or always bet small as a bluff and large for value which I’m not too fond of. So assuming 100bb stack sizes I would rather just bet bigger if the flops hits our range hard, and only alter my bet sizing against players who I know are pretty bad and it won’t matter.

Improve your poker game with CardRunners. CardRunners offers all the tools you need to learn poker, including new videos released daily, strategy forums, pro interviews and more.

Isildur1 is now part of Team PokerStars!

Finally we got some news about Isildur1’s sponsorship deal. PokerStars announced today that the mysterious Isildur1 has been signed to their Team.

Isildur1’s identity wasn’t revealed just yet, so it might or might not be Viktor Blom. PokerStars informed that Isildur1’s real name MIGHT come out to public some day. All news are good news as now we can begin to rail Isildur1’s games on PokerStars.

Isildur1 also gave a brief interview to PokerStars:

“I chose to join PokerStars because it’s the biggest site and it will be an exciting challenge,” Isildur1 said. “It means a great deal to be playing in a team alongside players such as Daniel Negreanu, Dario Minieri and Johnny Lodden.”

“My goals now are to improve my live game for some upcoming events, continue to focus on no-limit heads-up Hold’em, but also try to develop my Pot Limit Omaha game.”

PokerStars annonced a new concept on the site as well, it’s quite much like the “Durrrr Challenge”, but not so lengthy. Read more about the Showdown here.

Source: Pokerista.net

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Isildur1 is now part of Team PokerStars!

Poker News Daily Weekly Update

Hello and welcome to the Poker News Daily Weekly Update, I’m your host Sean Gibson and I’ll be bringing you this week’s top headlines in the world of poker. Let’s get right to it!

Players on UB.com and Absolute Poker will be able to make it a lot more difficult for their accounts to be compromised through the use of security tokens. The security measure was introduced this week and can be purchased in the UB Points Store.

If you’ve never heard of a security token, it’s a small device that generates a numeric code. When you log into your UB.com or Absolute Poker account, you’ll need your user name and password along with the code generated by the security token. If you don’t have all three pieces of information, you won’t be able to sign in. The code randomly generates and will be different from login to login.

If your user name and password are compromised, a would-be hacker won’t be able to log into UB.com or Absolute Poker without the code generated by the security token. Visit UB.com or Absolute Poker for more information about it and how to purchase one.

If you are a well-known poker player who has something valuable to sell, it looks like this is the right time to do so. Peter Eastgate put up a World Series of Poker bracelet, as did Eskimo Clark. Now, Team PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso is offering up her yellow two thousand seven Lamborghini on eBay.

Rousso purchased the sports car last year as a treat for herself with her poker winnings. In a video interview with CardPlayer, Rousso said that she had been planning the purchase since she was teenager. Even though she could afford to pay the sticker price for the vehicle, she bought it used to benefit from the depreciation in value in its first year.
This model originally retailed for one-hundred eighty thousand dollars, but you can head to eBay to buy it now for just one-hundred twenty-six thousand bucks.

This month, PartyPoker is holding the Five Star Poker Challenge, offering thirty-one freerolls worth five thousand dollars each plus other high-stakes cash prizes. All you have to do to take full advantage of the Five Star Poker Challenge is rack up five Party Points in a single day. Then, PartyPoker will grant you entry into a five thousand dollar freeroll the next day.

If you qualify for five of the aforementioned freerolls, you’ll score entry into a fifty thousand dollar freeroll that will be held on January Second. You’ll be ringing in the new year in style as you vie for a five-figure prize pool, all for playing on one of the world’s largest online poker sites.

After a nearly two-month break, the Durrrr Challenge between Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Dan “JungleMan12” Cates returned last week. Two sessions were held, the first of which totaled thirteen hundred hands and saw Cates win thirty-five thousand dollars. Then, an eighty-minute session saw another seven-hundred hands played with Dwan cutting into Cates’ lead by forty-seven thousand bucks. Cates now leads by six-hundred forty-five thousand dollars overall after nearly ten thousand hands. Fifty thousand hands are required for completion of the Durrrr Challenge.

Cates had been at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City playing a tournament prior to the resumption of the Challenge. Meanwhile, Dwan was last seen playing in nosebleed cash games in Macau along with players like Phil Ivey and Chau Giang.

Rush Poker Mobile has been pulled from the Android Market. Originally, the program was unavailable “due to maintenance,” but Poker News Daily has learned that offering real money gambling could be to blame.

On the Android Market’s website, language against real money gambling games is given …

“Apps with gambling themes or that include simulated gambling should be rated ‘Teen’ or above. Real gambling is not allowed in Android Market.”

Whether the app will be reintroduced to the Market in play money form remains to be seen.

Rush Poker Mobile’s departure from the Android Market doesn’t mean that players can’t use it. Instead, the application is still available from Full Tilt Poker’s website. A web-based version is available, as is a QR code that can be scanned. You’ll need Flash Version Ten Point One or higher on your phone in order to use Rush Poker Mobile.

The World Series of Poker Circuit has added two new stops to the ongoing season. From February Seventeenth to March First, the WSOP Circuit will invade the Palm Beach Kennel Club Poker Room in Florida. The state, which recently saw a vast expansion of poker, is also hosting a World Poker Tour stop next year and is quickly becoming a hotbed of poker.

Also hosting a new tour stop is Harrah’s Chester, located on the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. The state has seen the recent expansion of table games and will now attract a flood of poker players between April Twenty-Eighth and May Ninth. The Chester poker room features twenty-five tables and Harrah’s officials will also turn its convention center into a fifty-table poker room for the full slate of Circuit events.

Finally, Peter Eastgate’s two thousand eight World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet, which had been up for auction on eBay, sold for one hundred forty-seven thousand dollars. Overall, it saw a stunning one hundred sixteen bids. Eastgate put the bracelet up for auction to benefit UNICEF. The identity of the buyer is not yet known… and if it’s you, please shoot us an e-mail at support@pokernewsdaily.com…

Well, that does it for this week’s PND Weekly Recap and we invite you to visit our site every single day for the latest news in the world of poker. If you haven’t done it yet, also be sure to follow us at twitter dot com slash poker news daily. I’m Sean Gibson and have a terrific week at the tables!

Eskimo Clark’s WSOP Razz Bracelet Auctions for $4,050

In an auction that closed on Wednesday, the 1999 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet won by Paul “Eskimo” Clark in a $1,500 Razz event fetched $4,050. The auction attracted 15 bids after a starting price of $1,000 was established. The lucky winner was “n***x,” whose identity is not known due to eBay privacy rules.

The bracelet is located in Ireland, leaving many to speculate that Clark had already sold the bracelet. “anarcnub,” who had no previous eBay activity, was its seller this time around and the pre-owned item was numbered 220700037337. The bracelet contained 117.1 grams of 18k gold and was a little over eight inches in length. The description of the Razz bracelet reminded would-be bidders, “This is an exquisite piece of gold jewelry that rarely comes on the market.”

Due to the bracelet being located outside of Clark’s home country and the seller having no previous history on eBay, posters on TwoPlusTwo contemplated whether the auction was legitimate. One TwoPlusTwo member wrote, “The seller has no previous transactions and is from Ireland. I think it is safe to assume that Clark sold this years ago. So what are the odds that this is just a fraud?”

Another poster noted that the eventual buyer might have scored the deal of a lifetime: “If this is true, then by its gold content alone, it is worth more than $5,000. I may have to buy it and melt it down.”

Clark has over $600,000 in WSOP earnings to his name along with three bracelets. His first came in 1992 in a $5,000 Limit Seven Card Stud event and was good for $122,000. His aforementioned Razz bracelet came with a bounty of $84,000 and saw Clark defeat a final table that included Ron Agar and Men “The Master” Nguyen. Clark’s final piece of hardware came in 2002, when he won a $1,500 Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low tournament for $125,000. All told, he has 20 in the money finishes in WSOP events, but owns just two cashes since 2007.

In 2004, Clark was the runner-up to Mike Kinney in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) World Poker Challenge in Reno. He banked $310,000 for his deep run and has a total of four WPT cashes to his credit. According to the Hendon Mob database, Clark owns $2.7 million in career tournament winnings.

Clark’s bracelet sold for 1/36th of what Peter Eastgate’s WSOP Main Event bracelet auctioned for on eBay last week. Eastgate, who won poker’s most prestigious tournament in 2008, put up his bracelet to raise money for UNICEF and fetched a winning bid of $147,500. The Danish player, who retired from poker earlier this year citing financial independence, held the title of youngest Main Event champion ever until Joe Cada broke his record one year later.

The identity of the buyer of Eastgate’s bracelet is not yet known either. Some in the industry have suspected that an online poker site like PokerStars or Full Tilt would buy the bracelet for promotional purposes, but so far, no one has come forward to claim responsibility. When Poker News Daily asked Eastgate’s team for an interview, we were told, “At this time, he is not interested in doing any interviews regarding the sale of the bracelet. I am sure it will be made public who the buyer is in due time.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest industry gossip.

Vanessa Rousso Selling Lamborghini Gallardo on eBay

If you are a well-known poker player who has something valuable to sell, it looks like this is the right time to put your items on the market.  Peter Eastgate put up a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, as did Eskimo Clark.  Now, Team PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso is offering up her yellow 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo on eBay.

Rousso purchased the sports car last year as a treat for herself with her poker winnings.  In a video interview with CardPlayer, the GoDaddy Girl said that she had been planning the purchase since she was teenager.  Even though she could afford to pay the sticker price for the vehicle, she was smart and bought it used, benefiting from the depreciation in value in its first year.

And for those who think the sale is a sign that she is “busto,” think again.  In the video, she said that she figured she could resell the Lamborghini in a year for about what she paid for it, so to her, it was like driving the luxury ride for free for a year.

The car is not up for auction, but rather for a fixed price of $126,500 via eBay’s “Buy it Now” option.  Celebrity Cars Las Vegas, which is the exotic auto dealer that is facilitating the sale for Rousso, is also allowing interested buyers to negotiate through the “Make Offer” alternative.  A $500 deposit is required within 48 hours of when the sale closes.  Not sure about whether you can afford it?  You have plenty of time to wrangle up the cash, as the listing does not end until December 17th unless someone buys the car first.

Rousso is the third owner of the 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo, which has been driven just 12,875 miles.  Under the hood is a five-liter, V10 engine and the transmission is selectable – either automatic or a special six-speed manual “E-Gear.”  The interior is black leather with yellow stitching.  It is equipped with everything one would expect in a six-figure luxury automobile like a navigation system, rear view camera, heated seats, and a dual zone climate control.

This model originally retailed for $180,050 and Rousso’s asking price seems to be in line with the market.  Seeing as how there were only 5,000 Lamborghini Gallardos produced in 2007, it is not easy to find comparable listings, but similar models are for sale around the world for about the same price.

In her live tournament career, Rousso has won over two-and-a-half million dollars.  The highlights include a win in the 2009 European Poker Tour Grand Final High Roller Championship ($749,467), a runner-up finish to Huck Seed two months earlier in the 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship ($250,000), a victory in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2006 World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open ($285,450), and a seventh place finish in the 2006 WPT Championship ($263,625).

She has also had great success online, including a $700,000 payday when she placed second in the 2007 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Main Event.

Eastgate auctioned off his one-of-a-kind WSOP Main Event bracelet for $147,500, having set the minimum bid at $16,000.  The proceeds were used to benefit UNICEF.  Shortly before Eastgate’s auction ended, a bracelet won by Clark found its way to the world’s largest online auction site.  Clark won the bracelet in a $1,500 Razz event at the 1999 WSOP.

Buy Rousso’s Lamborghini.

Phil Laak Boasts Pink Mohawk, Sling on PokerStars Big Game

Despite the high-stakes action and non-stop chatter, the appearance of Phil Laak stole the show this week on the PokerStars-sponsored “Big Game.” The series airs nightly on FOX and features a “Loose Cannon” online qualifier squaring off against a table full of sharks. PokerStars stakes each “Loose Cannon” with $100,000 and qualifiers keep any earnings from the felts after 150 hands. Chris Rose and Joe Stapleton serve as hosts, with Amanda Leatherman conducting interviews from the floor of the “Big Game” suite in Los Angeles.

Laak was fresh off his ATV accident when the show was filmed and was in the midst of having his arm confined to a sling for six weeks. He also sported a pink mohawk and was mainly forced to use one arm to look at his hole cards and place bets. Despite his various ailments, Laak was his usual garrulous self.

The $200/$400 game is Pot Limit pre-flop and No Limit thereafter and features a $100 ante paid entirely by the player on the button. Thirty-five year old cancer survivor David Fishman is this week’s “Loose Cannon” and made his presence felt early, firing three barrels against PokerStars pro David Williams on the third hand of Monday’s kickoff episode. He ultimately pushed out a bet of $10,000 on the river with a busted straight draw and forced Williams to lay down a pocket pair to win a pot of $21,000.

In the largest pot of the episode, UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth check-called a bet of $20,000 from entrepreneur Bill Perkins with pocket tens on a board of 3-J-5-6 with two clubs. Perkins held K-2 of clubs for a flush draw, but whiffed when a red deuce came on the river. Both players checked and Hellmuth raked in a pot worth $76,000. Perkins was quickly down $49,000 on his “Big Game” debut.

Also debuting this week on the “Big Game” was a segment dubbed “Couch Cannon.” In it, all players’ hole cards were concealed except the “Loose Cannon’s.” In the “Couch Cannon” hand, Laak ultimately raised on the flop with air and Fishman, holding top pair, second kicker, shut it down to scoop a $40,000 pot for the win.

After 4betting before the flop to $25,200 with A-K, Perkins laid down pocket fives and Hellmuth was quickly up $51,000 on the night. Perkins, however, clawed back towards even after drawing out on the river in a hand against Williams. Perkins check-called a bet of $4,600 from Williams with 4-3 on a board of 9-2-7-4 for a pair of fours. Williams held 9-6 for top pair and the river came another four, giving Perkins trips. Williams bet $11,400, Perkins min-raised to $22,800, and Williams called, giving the $61,000 pot to the businessman and amateur poker player.

2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Cada is also part of this week’s cast, but was extremely quiet during the opening episode. Late in the night, Cada boasted an Aggression Factor of 0.0, the least active player at the table, while Perkins was the most active player at 9.0.

By the end of the night, Hellmuth was up $54,000, Fishman was up $30,000, Cada was up $1,000, Perkins was down $22,000, Williams had lost $28,000, and Laak was down $34,000. Every player started with a stack of $100,000. New episodes of the “Big Game” air late night every day this week on Fox in most markets. Check your local listings for details.

George “Jorj95? Lind Video Interview

George Lind, better known as Jorj95 online, is one of the sickest long-term grinders in online poker history. His exploits have earned him the top honor of the PokerStars VIP system in SuperNova Elite status every single year it has been available. We caught up with Jorj95 at the NAPT Los Angeles stop at the Bicycle Casino.

Known more for his online exploits, he was asked about transitioning into the world of high stakes tournaments. Lind responded, “Well, I was a live player first and I started in 1999 playing live. It wasn’t until 2005 that I started playing on the internet. So, I did play live for a few years… It’s a lot slower obviously, playing live, but it’s a lot more interesting in a way too because there’s a lot more to think about.”

Lind was the very first member of the 2010 class of SuperNova Elite players, as covered in this article – Jorj95 Becomes First PokerStars SuperNova Elite. To earn this level, Lind accumulated one million VIP Player Points (VPPs) on March 30th of this year. Lind estimated that he played approximately 80,000 Sit & Go tournaments during that time span, which averages out to about 50 hours per week playing hyper-turbo Sit & Gos. On October 21st he made it to 2 million VIP points, meaning he’s still “just” a SuperNova Elite but continues to rack in the reward bonuses that go with hitting additional milestones. Upon hitting SuperNova Elite, it’s estimated that the rewards equal out to about $115,000.

With the status level comes automatic buy-ins to major tournaments (or a cashout prize payout), which Jorj95 uses to travel and play in some of the most exotic destinations, as well as participate in some of the biggest online tournaments. He finished in 8th place in the prestigious $10,300 HORSE High Roller event during he 2008 PokerStars WCOOP which grossed him $30,900. In 2010 he finished second in the SCOOP Stud event for a $44,400 payday. At the WSOP he finished in tenth place at the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Championship for $43,833. He has played in such destinations as the European Poker Tour (EPT), Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) and the North American Poker Tour (NAPT).

It’s estimated that George Lind has over $750,000 in lifetime earnings just by playing online Sit & Gos at PokerStars. He is a member of their Team Online Pro stable.

Poker Players Celebrate Thanksgiving

Poker players are no different than others in the United States when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving. Like many across the nation, some travel to see family, some travel with business on their minds, and others take a moment to give assistance to those who truly need it.

At the top of the list for traveling is Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch, who tried to get a head start on the Thanksgiving rush by flying on Wednesday. Unfortunately, yesterday was the same day as the “National Opt Out Day” in which some flyers threatened to protest the recent uptick by the Transportation Security Administration in their screening procedures. Bloch was able to report that, despite the threats, traveling via the friendly skies was not very hectic.

“For those flying soon out of LAX, airport is relatively empty and no lines at TSA security,” Bloch reported through his Twitter account to his followers. He followed that up moments later, Tweeting, “Still a limited # of advanced imaging scanners in LAS, so pretty much business as usual. You’d have to go out of your way to get a pat down.”

Another player who is on his way home after a hectic month is Main Event Champion Jonathan Duhamel. After touring New York City doing interviews about his recent victory earlier this month, Duhamel Tweeted on Wednesday, “About to get in a taxi to JFK airport, should be quite crazy there! Gonna be home in couple of hours then Canadian COOP HU!”

Christian “charder30” Harder also decided to get in some final tournaments prior to taking some time off for Thanksgiving: “Home sweet home. Played a bunch of online tourneys today, lost a little bit, but was fun. Thanksgiving shenanigans until Sunday.” Recent World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open champion Dwyte Pilgrim also looked forward to a break, posting on Facebook, “For the next couple of days, I’m not a poker player! I’m a professional family man! Have a safe and happy holiday!”

Others in the poker world were exercising their cooking chops in preparation for Thanksgiving. Perhaps looking for some further suggestions, Beth Shak Tweeted to her followers, “So excited to cook for Thanksgiving! What are some of your favorite recipes?” Poker journalist Jessica Welman took on the arduous task of baking, Tweeting, “My first cheesecake w/ a homemade crust is baking right now. I’m a lil nervous, but here’s hoping Thanksgiving starts out on the right foot.” Apparently, the experiment was a success because while Tweeting congratulations to Christina Lindley for winning a USA COOP event on PokerStars, Welman included a Twitpic of a tasty looking cheesecake.

Some in the poker community were reflective on this Thanksgiving. Linda Johnson Tweeted, “It’s so cold in Las Vegas today. I feel so bad for all the homeless people. Going to hand out some food and coats at the mission tomorrow.” Thinking of those who are defending the U.S. overseas, Carbon Poker pro Shannon Elizabeth sent out good wishes: “I want to send all of my love & support out to Rough Riders Platoon stationed in Iraq right now – thank you guys for everything you do!”

Although Thanksgiving is at hand, a couple of poker’s stars were looking forward to the next holiday on the agenda. New UB.com pro Maria Ho Tweeted, “I am proud to admit that I’m one of those people who love to listen and sing along to Christmas songs on the radio a whole month beforehand,” while Joe Sebok stated on Twitter, “I am thinking it’s about time to get a little Christmas tree for the pad.”

Poker News Daily would like to wish all our readers a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Pot Limit Omaha Post-Flop Theory with CardRunners

Popular Pot Limit Omaha instructor LearnedFromTV launched an instructional video series on CardRunners, attempting to go over most post-flop scenarios. This series, which is broken out into at 12 parts, goes into some of the finest theory detail that PLO has ever seen. This video comes from the eighth in the series. Here’s the teaser for this video from CardRunners:

Introducing one of the most ambitious series ever presented at CardRunners, LearnedFromTV launches an instructional masterpiece on PLO postflop theory. In this, the eighth of 12 parts Tom continues his discussion on turn and river play and the different techniques available to play profitably

Here are some comments from the coach in the video’s thread:

My plan right now is to release two in december on river play and two in january on using holdem manager and propokertools to finish the series.

Improve your poker game with CardRunners. CardRunners offers all the tools you need to learn poker, including new videos released daily, strategy forums, pro interviews and more.

Adam “Roothlus” Levy Video Interview

Adam “Roothlus” Levy is a poker player with over $3 million in career earnings and a true beast of online tournament poker. Sponsored by UB.com, Levy is coming off a sick run in the World Series of Poker Main Event where he finished 12th.

Much of the interview focused on Levy’s mindset following such a deep run in the Main Event, with Levy pointing out that it’s both very exciting and at the same time, very disappointing. “It’s still definitely fresh in my mind. Up until the Main Event ended I felt like it was kind of lingering but now that it’s over I can close the book on it… and not having to hear some guy did this or some guy did that while I got twelfth place. It’s time to move on.”

When asked about being bounced from any major tournament, Levy responded, “It’s not easy. It took me months. It’s the sickest you are ever going to feel for winning that amount of money… Honestly, if I won a WPT for that same amount of money I would have been ecstatic, but the fact that I won that money for getting twelfth and that close to the final table, it’s pretty tough to deal with. Honestly, I did not like poker for a good month.”

When looking ahead at 2011 and how he likes his chances, Levy said, “Yeah, there’s a lot of good stuff going on. As far as US poker goes, it went through a lull and it’s back now.”

Levy has enjoyed online success with his biggest score in 2010 coming at Full Tilt Poker in a $200 buy-in $750,000 Guarantee where he took second place for $102,018. Levy is a professional poker player currently residing in Orlando, Florida and is a noted soccer enthusiast. He has been sponsored by UB.com since late 2008.

Nik Persaud wins World Heads Up Championships

Eric “Basebaldy” Baldwin Video Interview

Eric “Basebaldy” Baldwin joins us for an interview, filmed at The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles during the North American Poker Tour stop in Los Angeles. Baldwin is a player quickly gaining steam as one of the fastest rising stars in live tournament poker.

Baldwin first made a comment about some of the internet exclusive players making their debuts at this event. He said, “You see a lot of online guys try to win the tournament on Day 1. You need to realize that folding one orbit in live poker feels like an eternity, especially when you see bad players at your table because you just want to own them every hand. You learn that lesson the hard way when you first make that transition.”

In this interview, Baldwin is asked about playing tough fields such as the $5,000 Main Event during the NAPT LA. “I’m starting to get used to it honestly, after playing as much as I have in the last year. But, you try and not look at their name or their reputation, you try and just reduce it down to how they are playing. You can get caught up in saying ‘oh my god it’s so-and-so’ and let that affect your play, but you can realize they are humans too, figure out how they are playing and go from there.”

Baldwin is winding down what will surely be looked at as another banner year in 2010 on the live circuit, highlighted by his runner-up finish at the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championship Event which earned him just over one million dollars. He was also the 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year award winner and a sponsored pro at UB.com. He owns a WSOP Bracelet he earned in 2009, from the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event which came with a prize payout of $521,991 as well as a deep run in this year’s WSOP Main Event, finishing 59th out of 7,319 players for a $138,285 payday.

David Chicotsky (The Maven) Interview with Poker News Daily

At the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, David “The Maven” Chicotsky was among those on the rail of Joseph “subiime” Cheong, whose 6bet all-in before the flop with A-7 against Jonathan Duhamel’s pocket queens sent him out in third place. Poker News Daily caught up with Chicotsky in the lobby of the Penn and Teller Theater to get his take on the action and get the inside scoop on the world of poker coaching.

Poker News Daily: Why are you here rooting on Joseph Cheong?

David Chicotsky: He’s a buddy of mine and he’s the best player here. He has a math degree, a psychology degree, a statistics background, and he’s super levelheaded. I think that’s the biggest thing going for him: he’s really calm, collected, and has a lot of experience playing 10,000+ tournaments online.

All that said, John Dolan is amazing. He’s another online pro. John Racener is an online and live pro. What can you say? At 22 years old, Racener has $1.5 million in live earnings and $1.5 million online. Must be nice.

PND: When you coach your students, can you teach someone to be levelheaded or is that a trait you either do or do not have?

David Chicotsky: I had to learn it along the way and it’s something that I definitely espouse to my students. I’ve hired Sam Chauhan in the last year and, in general, our big philosophy is no partying whatsoever. If you win a hand, you don’t celebrate. If you lose a hand, you don’t cry about it. Over time, you get numb to it.

The best analogy I can think of is you driving around in a car all day long. Every red light you get to, you get unhappy. Every green light you get to, you get excited. By the end of the night, you’d be emotionally drained.

PND: How did you get into the poker training business originally?

David Chicotsky: From the get-go, I was training a whole family of players how to play – a brother, a sister, a cousin, and an uncle. This was five or six years ago and they all became good players. One or two of them went on to do good things and I was just very surprised how well everything translated.

In 2004, I didn’t know anything about poker. I grew up as a kid playing Five Card Draw at camp and forgot all about it. When I got out of grad school, one of my friends, who is a genius, was making $1,000 a day in cash games. I was making $300 or $400 a week grinding sales, so I said, “Hey, you have to teach me how to do this.” He basically mapped it out with an Excel program. I was lucky in the sense that I had he and his brother lay out what to do.

I was able to have guys who were smarter than I am break down the game. Then, I was able to get on my own two feet and met Ari Engel, who at the time was the #1 online player in the world according to PocketFives.com. After I trained with Ari, it was almost immediate. Within one week, I got third in the $100K on Bodog and won two other tournaments. I went from having $1,100 in my account to $17,000 one week later.

PND: You’ve been in the training business for a while. Are you still very active?

David Chicotsky: It’s very active. We just sold 21 seats to a boot camp last month. We’re halfway sold for this month’s online boot camp, which is our first online boot camp ever. Every Wednesday night, my former students are able to watch me play in entirety. They can see my hole cards, they can hear me talking, and they can ask me questions while I’m playing. At this point, we have a huge community.