Posts Tagged ‘no-limit’
WSOP Circuit Invades Dallas
The WSOP Circuit heads to the Dallas and Ft. Worth area for the first time today when the Choctaw Casino Resort hosts the tour's first stop of 2011.
The resort, one hour north of Dallas in Durant, Oklahoma, will host a total of 51 events over 18 days, including a $1,600 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em main event beginning Jan. 22.
“This is a huge poker market that has clamored for high stakes tournament poker and we’re ecstatic to be hosting a WSOP Circuit in this gorgeous property in Durant,” said WSOP vice president Ty Stewart.
The schedule features a broad selection of games, including PLO, PLO/2-7 triple draw mixed, H.O.R.S.E., Omaha 8 and Hold’em.
There is both a senior's and ladies event as well.
WSOP Circuit leader board points will be awarded, with the player earning the most points and the main event winner earning entry to the $1 million WSOPC National Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas this May.
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URnotINdanger2 Scoops $342k
Palmer played a massive 2,028-hand session of $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em against Richard “Kpederson” Lyndaker.
It was a tight battle in the early stages of the session and Lyndaker even managed to win a huge $91k pot with pocket jacks.
This seemed to wake up Palmer, however, and the Maryland-resident went on to win several pots in the $80k range.
When the session finally ended Palmer was ahead by $342k. It might be the last we see of Kpederson for awhile as he wrote on his blog that he’d probably avoid those stakes for at least the near future.
Although Palmer was the biggest winner last night, fellow high stakes player Di “Urindanger” Dang also had a strong evening winning $256k.
Dang is the biggest winner in the very early stages of 2011 with $661k in profit.
Other big online poker winners from last night included harrington25 with $95k, phonderAA with $40k and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies who took down $39k.
Kpederson obviously took the worst of it last night, dropping $342k, but cadillac1944 was also in bad form losing $182k.
Some of the other players in the losing column were KobeYard85 (-$101k), DrugsOrMe (-$92k) and rytoast (-$58k).
Here’s a look at some of the biggest hands from last night. For more information check our online poker stats section.
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durrrr Challenge 2: Jungleman12 Still Swinging
This first durrrr Challenge session of the New Year lasted roughly six hours with the two combatants playing 2,918 hands of heads-up No-Limit Hold'em at $200/$400 stakes.
Dwan had been in the midst of a comeback the past few challenge sessions, but all that was erased last night with Cates posting a $319,103.50 win.
He now sits $819,213.50 up with a little over 17k hands in the books.
The two traded several big pots last night, including the largest of the challenge so far at $216,505.50, which Cates won with a flush-over-flush.
With almost one-third of the 50,000 challenge hands now in the books, Cates continues to look like a favorite to win his $500k bet at 3:1 odds.
Below are a two of the biggest hands from the latest durrrr Challenge session. For more information check our online poker stats section.
durrrr Challenge 2 by the numbers:
* $113,107,111.50: Total amount wagered
* $1,063,143,492: Toy Story 3's Worldwide Gross in 2010
* $819,213.50: Amount jungleman12 is ahead
* 17,108: Hands played
* 30: Hours recorded
* 15: Sessions played
* $5,400,000: Amount Jungleman12 earned playing online poker in 2010
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SuperStar Showdown: Isildur1 Silences Tony G
As per the challenge rules, Isildur1 and Tony G played 2,500 hands on PokerStars, this time half Pot-Limit Omaha and half No-Limit Hold’em at $50/$100 stakes.
The session would end if either player exhausted their $150k bankroll for the event.
Thanks to some fortunate bounces early on Tony G jumped out to a $47k lead on Isildur1 in the first hour of play.
Of course Tony G was spitting out his usual mix of trash talk throughout the session. When Tony G took the early lead in the Showdown he tried to needle Isildur1 about it.
“Tony G: u feeling ok my man?”
“Tony G: u getting owned by a total donk?”
Isildur1 responded by hitting a broadway straight to win a $47k pot, the biggest up to that point.
It didn’t faze Tony G, however, as the Lithuanian would win a $49k pot 15 minutes later. Tony G hit his own straight to take that one down.
As the clock hit 6:30 p.m. EST, Tony G was leading by more than $60k and Isildur1’s entire $150k bankroll was spread on the four tables they were playing.
Isildur1, who is still rumored to be Viktor Blom, was forced to abandon one table because he didn’t have enough to reload.
Despite the fact there were only three tables going, it was around this time that Isildur1 started to turn his fortunes around.
Isildur1 managed to win three pots that were worth $40k each and in just three minutes Tony G’s lead was erased.
From there Isildur1 shifted his game into overdrive and secured the biggest pot in the session – worth $103k.
Isildur1 won the pot with two-pair while Tony G, who 3-bet shoved, elected not to show his cards.
Despite a few comebacks by Tony G, Isildur1 never gave up the lead after that hand.
Near the end of the session Tony G started to gamble and after a few $10,000 coinflips, was actually getting close to even.
Unfortunately for Tony G his luck flipped yet again and Isildur1 started to pull away in the last 600 hands.
When the final hand was completed, after eight hours and 56 minutes of play, Isildur1 was holding on to a $44k lead. Tony G was humble in defeat.
“Tony G: well done.”
“Tony G: let me go and look for my bike.”
Isildur1 is now 1-1 in the SuperStar Showdown with a loss against Isaac Haxton and a win versus Tony G. Isildur1’s next opponent has not been chosen yet but it’s a good bet the player will be announced during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure later this week.
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Poker News in Brief: Dec. 27, 2010- Jan. 2, 2011
That meant a few of poker's smaller stories may have slipped through the cracks.
Fortunately, we caught them and compiled them in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature below.
This week, Poker After Dark returns, the World Cup captains are named, UB goes back to Montreal and more.
Poker After Dark Returns
The new season of POKER PROductions' Poker After Dark returns to NBC this week.
POKER PROductions inked an agreement with NBC Universal extending the late-night poker show through 2014 in 2010 and the seventh season, filmed at the new Aria Resort and Casino at the City Center complex in Las Vegas, begins airing Jan. 3.
This season will feature more cash games than ever before. Most will be no-limit hold'em, but two weeks will also be devoted to Pot-Limit Omaha with a lineup that should impress fans.
Names like Mike Matusow, Chris Ferguson, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Annette Obrestad, Eli Elezra, Phil Galfond, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, and David Oppenheim will all appear this season.
There will only be three weeks following the traditional Freezout format this season, including this week's "Big Heat," a $100,000 buy-in event featuring John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Huckleberry Seed, Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond.
Leeann Tweeden will once again serve as the show's host with Ali Nejad providing commentary.
Fifty50 Sit & Go's
PokerStars has launched a new online poker Sit & Go format called Fifty50.
Although the tournaments end when half of the entrants have been eliminated, Fifty50's differ from the Double or Nothing format in that half of the prize pool gets split between the winning players equally and the other half is awarded based on chip counts.
Fifty50 events are currently running at the $10 level, but will soon be available at many different stakes.
World Cup of Poker Captains Named
The identities of the team captains for the seventh annual World Cup of Poker have been announced.
Last year, Chinese Taipei took the title. This year it will be Argentina, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, France, Ukraine and the United States battling it out for a $100,000 first prize at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
Slovakia’s team will be led by Team PokerStars Pro’s newest member Dag Palovic. EPT San Remo winner Liv Boeree will lead the UK team while Argentina’s captain is back-to-back LAPT champ Nacho Barbero.
2009 APT champion Neil Arce will lead the team from the Philippines while the Spain squad will be headed up by Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor.
Luca Pagano leads Italy and Arnaud Mattern will captain the team from France.
And Finally, Vanessa Selbst will lead the USA while EPT Kiev runner-up Alexander Dovzhenko captains the Ukrainian side.
The action gets underway in the Bahamas Jan 14.
UB Returns to Poker Pro Canada Classic
For the second straight year, UB will be sending over twenty players to compete in the running of Montreal's biggest poker event, the Poker Pro Canada Classic.
The $1500+150 buy-in No Limit Hold 'em event runs Jan. 27-30, 2011 at the Four Aces Poker Club.
UB is running a series of super satellites and freerolls Jan. 2-16 giving players a chance to win a $2500 prize package that includes a seat plus $850 for travel expenses.
300-plus players and prize pool of $500,000 is expected in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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Tags: 2009, 2010, 2011, Canada, freeroll, no-limit, Online Poker, Patrik Antonius, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, poker show, pokerstars, spain, Tom Dwan, tournament, usa, vegas
SuperStar Showdown: Tony G Steps Up
On Jan. 2 Tony G and Isildur1 will each put $150,000 on the line in 2,500 hands of half No-Limit Hold’em and half Pot-Limit Omaha.
The winner is the player who finishes up after 2,500 hands or completely exhausts the other player’s $150k stack.
Isildur1, who is rumored to be Swede Victor Blom, was defeated by Isaac Haxton in the first edition of the SuperStar Showdown last week.
There were several significant swings in the session but when the final card was dealt, Isildur1 was down $40k to Haxton.
Tony G and Isildur1 already have some history with each other.
Last spring Tony G offered to stake Isildur1 in the PartyPoker Big Game IV in London. Apparently Isildur1 initially agreed to play but backed out at the last minute.
Meanwhile Tony G will be facing a red-hot Isildur1. After racking up some big losses in previous weeks, Isildur1 is currently up more than $300k in the high stakes games on PokerStars this week.
The match is set to go off at 4 p.m. ET this Sunday on PokerStars for anyone who is interested in railing the online poker competition. We’ll also have complete coverage and results on Monday.
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Haxton Receives $91k Present
Haxton, who plays on Full Tilt as luvtheWNBA, opened up four tables of heads-up $50/$100 No-Limit Hold’em against Kpederson and proceeded to destroy the lesser-known player.
The biggest hand of the session, a $23k barnburner, went to the red-hot Haxton when he managed to river a full house against Kpederson.
After nearly three hours and 1,503 hands the session finally came to a close with Haxton up on three out of four tables.
Haxton hasn’t been particularly active on Full Tilt this year but went from -$20k in 2010 to +$70k in one day.
Other big winners on the night included SOLID_FUNDS who picked up $42k, LuckyGump who won $24k and urnotindanger with $22k.
Kpederson didn’t try to get even after his bout with Haxton and finished the night as the biggest loser, down $91k.
Also in the losing column were davin77, who dropped $55k, Niki “RealAndyBeal” Jedlicka who lost $47k and kangis who went down $14k.
Below are a couple of the biggest hands from the Isaac Haxton vs. Kpederson session. For more information check our online poker stats section.
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PokerStars SuperStar Showdown: Haxton Rallies Past Isildur1
durrrr Challenge 2: Dwan Strikes Again
Dwan and Cates hit the $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em tables last night and burned through 1,214 hands in a couple hours.
It was a wild session that saw numerous pots over $100k get thrown back and forth and at one point Dwan was ahead by $354k, dangerously close to getting even in the overall challenge.
Fortunately for jungleman12 he mounted a serious comeback and won the biggest pot of the session when he turned a straight against Dwan’s turned two-pair. Cates got his chips in the middle and ended up winning the $210k monster pot.
Near the end of the session Dwan’s internet cut out in a hand where he held the nut-flush against jungleman12’s two-pair.
Dwan was forced to check it down and felt that he missed a major opportunity causing some fireworks between the two opponents in the chatbox. Initially durrrr lamented his bad fortune, then this happened:
“jungleman12: i thought it was pretty cool” “durrrr: nice douchebag comment ty” “jungleman12: joking obv” “durrrr: pretty off timing” “durrrr: to joke”
When the session finally ended Dwan found himself up $63,362, which helps alleviate his losses in the overall challenge to $503k.
Other than the durrrr Challenge 2 it was a slow night for high stakes online action. ShutTheClubDown was the night’s biggest winner taking down $119k. IReadYrSoul won $31k and Gus Hansen took down $18k putting them in the top five.
ORLOVSKIY was the biggest loser dropping $76k. luckexpress10 (-$43k), O Fortuna PLS (-$31k) and Ziigmund (-$23k) were also in the losing column.
Below are a couple interesting hands from the latest durrrr Challenge 2 session. For more information check our online poker stats section.
durrrr Challenge 2 by the numbers:
92,531,724: Total amount wagered 9,800,000: Times “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga has been purchased online 500,783: Amount jungleman12 is ahead 14,190: Hands played 24: Hours recorded 14: Sessions played 1: Times durrrr has checked down a nut-flush
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Haxton to Challenge Isildur1
Haxton, an experienced grinder with a runner up finish at the 2007 PCA and another second place finish in the 2009 WSOP $40k event, will play 2,500 hands against Isildur1 this Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
Isildur1 and Haxton will each bring $150,000 to four tables and play $50/$100 No-Limit Hold’em until 2,500 hands is complete or one of the players burns through his entire stack. Whoever finishes with a profit will be crowned the winner.
Meanwhile Isildur1, who is rumored to be Swede Viktor Blom, has been busy in his first week as a Team PokerStars Pro.
He won over $280k in his first day on the site and then lost $300k the following day. Add in a few other minor losses and he’s down about $80k in his first seven days on PokerStars.
PokerListings will have full coverage of the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown so be sure to check back on Monday for complete results of Isaac Haxton vs. Isildur1.
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Poker News in Brief: Dec. 6-12, 2010
As a result, there were a few stories that didn't make it on the front page.
Fortunately, we've compiled them for you below in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature.
This week, the PCA schedule changes, the PPA reacts to Harry Ried's planned poker bill, 888 gears up for the Irish Open and more.
PCA Updates Schedule
In response to high player demand and rising interest from International television broadcast interests, some changes have been made to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure schedule.
The $5,250 buy-in NAPT Bounty Shootout Event has been upgraded to a three-day, six-max triple-shootout format with a capacity for 216 players.
Plus, the massive $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller Event is now scheduled to take place Jan. 6-8 and will be filmed for TV.
PPA Reacts to Reid Bill
John Pappas, the Executive Director of the advocacy group the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), released a statement regarding Sen. Harry Reid's proposed bill to license and regulate online poker.
"Lawmakers are acknowledging what PPA has been saying all along – that Americans want to play the great game of poker in any venue they choose and they deserve to be afforded the basic consumer protections that regulation can provide," said Pappas.
"While no bill will give players 100 percent of what we want and deserve, I do believe the legislation will be a victory for the poker playing community over the long-term.
"With the support of millions of Americans, and a growing bipartisan contingent of lawmakers, we are optimistic that Congress can get this done before the end of the year. We urge lawmakers to take action now and not let this important opportunity be missed."
Second Sundays With Maria Ho
UB and its newest Team pro Maria Ho are hosting an online fundraiser to benefit the North Wales Library Sunday.
As a part of UB's 'Second Sundays' the $10 buy-in event is scheduled for Dec. 12 at 2:45 p.m. ET.
UB will match the total funds raised by players, with all proceeds donated to the North Wales' cause.
Established in 1927 in the basement of the local elementary school, the North Wales Library was relocated to its present day location in January 2010. The Library's new venue houses 30,000 volumes and community space for activities.
UB Christmas Freerolls
UB is firing up the freeroll action with its Green Christmas Giveaway Dec. 12-29.
The site is hosting daily freerolls and low-limit Rebuy tournaments featuring satellite seats for its $80K GTD Sniper tourney on Wednesdays and the $200K GTD on Sundays.
PKR Ready For The Holidays
PKR is hosting its annual Christmas Cracker Dec. 23 featuring thirteen events with a total of $238,000 in expected prize pools up for grabs.
Players will also have the opportunity to bag state of the art technology prizes in the Santa's Grotto Freeroll.
Further information on the Christmas Cracker series can be found here.
888poker Hosting Irish Poker Open Qualifiers
This week sees the beginning of the 2011 Irish Poker Open qualifying satellites on 888poker.com.
The Irish Poker Open is the longest running No-Limit Holdem tournament in Europe and 888 is hosting a a $288+12 qualifier every Sunday at 8:05 p.m. GMT where at least one $7,200 package to the Irish Poker Open will be up for grabs.
Sub-satellites into the tournaments are available.
To win your seat to the Irish Poker Open visit 888Poker.
WSOP.com Offers Academy Packages
WSOP.com is offering its players the chance to win one of four WSOP Poker Academy packages worth £5,000 each.
The packages include flights to Las Vegas and five days at Caesars Place, a Master class with WSOP Pros, VIP hospitality and a $1,000 poker tournament.
Newly depositing players can win a package in freerolls set for Dec. 12 and Jan. 2.
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Isildur1 Drops $300k to Galfond
Isildur1, who some claim is Swede Viktor Blom, lost the majority of his stack playing $100/$200 PLO against savvy vet Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond.
Isildur1 is widely considered to be a better No-Limit Hold’em player so his losses in PLO were not a complete surprise.
Swings of this nature are no stranger to Isildur1. Last year Isildur1 went on the mother of all heaters spinning his Full Tilt account up to over $4 million before losing it all and more.
Over on Full Tilt Poker Patrik Antonious was the ultimate winner over a rather slow day. He picked up $147k in the $200/$400 Six-Max PLO games.
Some of the other big winners included new account KobeYard85 with $140k, Limit specialist O Fortuna PLS with $115k, harrington25 with $113k and Gus Hansen with $104k.
Isildur1 was the biggest loser on any site but upstart bemyguestbud saw his hot streak on Full Tilt come to an end losing $274k.
Other notable losers included Phil Ivey, who’s been on a decidedly un-Phil Ivey like downswing lately. Ivey lost a total of $117k over 169 hands.
Also in the losing column were DrugsOrMe who dropped $88k and Andrew Feldman who lost $87k.
For more information about the high stakes action last night, check out our online poker stats section.
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durrrr Challenge 2: Dwan Strikes for $172k
Dwan and Dan “jungleman12” Cates seem to have a recently developed an interest in playing more and last night they logged on and played $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em for 1,440 hands.
There were technically two sessions played and Dwan absolutely crushed the first one for $195k.
Cates made a small comeback in the second session and posted a small win of $23,736k meaning Dwan finished his day with a $172k victory.
It was the first victory for Dwan in the durrrr Challenge 2 in months and it helped alleviate his overall losses to $585k.
jungleman12 appeared to be losing his cool with Dwan after the Team Full Tilt pro took a series of breaks near the end of the session.
Cates quit completely after this transpired in the chatbox:
“durrrr: foods” “durrrr: might shower after” “durrrr: but still shouldn’t b too long” “jungleman12: good bye” “durrrr: huh”
It was an all-around good day for Tom Dwan who also won $357k in the PLO games to finish up a total of $462k on the day. That puts Dwan on $3.4 million in 2010. Good enough to make him the third biggest winner this year.
Unfortunately for Dwan, the player in second place is skjervoy with $3.8 million. skjervoy a big winner last night pulling in $311k.
Gus Hansen also had a very strong night winning $196k. Hansen is once again within striking distance of dipping below the $1 million loss mark.
The biggest losers last night included cadillac1944 who dropped $529k, URnotINdanger2 who lost $342k and KobeYard85 who donated $275k.
Check below for a look at a few interesting hands from the durrrr Challenge 2 session last night or check our online poker stats section for more information.
durrrr Challenge 2 by the numbers:
70,645,640: Total amount wagered 17,200,000: Cost of a loaded 2010 LearJet 85 582,788: Amount jungleman12 is ahead 169,590: Biggest pot raked last night 38,431: Hands remaining 19: Hours logged 11: Sessions played 1: Times jungleman12 asked how long Dwan would be on break in “real minutes not durrrr minutes.”
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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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durrrr Challenge 2: jungleman12 adds $110k
This time around Cates was able to rake $110k from the Team Full Tilt pro in 346 hands of $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em.
Dwan had been slowly clawing his way out of the hole with several small victories but last night’s session essentially erased all his work.
Cates had the fortune of pulling in two pots worth over $50k each, which helped tip the scales in his favor.
The entire session took less than an hour and Dwan implied that he had been playing for over 15 hours when he finally called it a night.
In other high stakes online news last night, Gus Hansen managed to put in an impressive performance winning $172k in the $300/$600 Six-Max PLO games. Despite some positive steps over the last few weeks, Hansen is still down $1.4 million on the year.
FinnishNightmre (+$115k), luckexpress10 (+$71k), ronnyr37617 (+$67k) were also amongst the biggest winners last night.
Meanwhile gamblegambel (-$229k), DrugsOrMe (-$137k), OMGClayAiken (-$75k), Sauce1234 (-$71k) and David Benefield (-$54k) were all in the losing column.
Check below for some of the best hands between durrrr and jungleman12 last night or check our online poker stats section for more information.
durrrr Challenge 2 by the numbers:
60,288,086: Total amount wagered 60,000,000: Cost of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s new chateau in France 755,612: Amount jungleman12 is ahead 10,129: Hands played 6,161: Hands jungleman12 has won 16: Hours logged 9: Sessions recorded 4: Months since the challenge started 1: $1.5 million bonus for jungleman12 if he finishes ahead of Tom Dwan
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High-Stakes Phenom Isildur1 Signs With PokerStars
The online high-stakes star, who took the poker world by storm last fall playing seven of the ten largest pots in online poker history with the likes of Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and Patrik Antonius, including the first two worth over one million dollars, is now a Team PokerStars Pro.
While widely rumored to be Viktor Blom, he has still yet to publicly reveal his identity. PokerStars now says he will do so in the very near future.
“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 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em, but also try to develop my Pot-Limit Omaha game.”
In an attempt to prove he is the top heads-up cash game player on the planet, Isildur1 will be playing a series of high stakes heads-up matches on PokerStars.
The SuperStar Showdown format consists of a single session of 2,500 hands at no lower than $50/$100.
The first match will begin at 6 p.m. ET Dec. 19 with the opponent to be named in the coming days.
"It’s not every day that a player like Isildur1 comes along," said fellow Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu. "If you look up the definition of the term ‘phenom’ you'll see a picture of his face.
"When he is playing, the poker world takes notice. Hate to overuse the poker term ‘sick’ but Isildur’s No-Limit Hold'em game is just that – sick!
"Few people step up to the plate against him, but the ones who have, universally have respect for his raw talent.”
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Urindanger Puts on $300k Clinic
It took the older Dang brother only 91 hands to ship his six-figure paycheck. The majority of his winnings came from cadillac1944 in heads-up $500/$1,000 PLO.
Dang, who sometimes receives criticism for tight play and nitty table selection, has developed a reputation for consistency and this year is no exception. He’s currently up $1.4 million in 2010.
Dang has yet to record a losing year on Full Tilt.
Meanwhile cadillac1944 has been an absolute maniac this week winning over $800k from Tom Dwan, then losing close to a million the next day then winning a small amount the day after that.
As it stands now cadillac1944 is down $1.1 million and will need a big push to get even by the end of the year.
The second big session of the night included Patrik Antonius and Scott “URnotINdanger2” Palmer going at it in $500/$1,000 No-Limit Hold’em.
Antonius has been hot lately but it was URnotINdanger2 got the best of him in the session winning just over $280k.
Other big winners of the night included LokoisBack with $163k, skjervoy with $124k and Gus Hansen with $95k.
In the losing column were Phil Ivey (-$112k), harrington25 (-$103k) and Ingenious89 (-$52k).
For more information on the games check out our online poker stats section.
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durrrr Challenge 2: We Have Action
The pair made up for lost time by logging 2,120 hands of $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em on Saturday.
Although jungleman12 jumped to an early lead going up just over $200k, Dwan would storm back and eventually peaked being up $91k.
Despite both players’ efforts, neither would finish the session with a significant win. Dwan won a paltry $13,000 which means he is now down $646k after 9,783 hands.
Neither player mentioned when the challenge will resume but railbirds are hoping they won’t have to wait nearly two months again.
Although the durrrr Challenge 2 proved to be anticlimactic, there was still some intense action on Full Tilt this weekend.
Di “Urindanger” Dang, who’s been lukewarm lately, made up for lost time by absolutely destroying his competition to take down $655k over the last few days.
Meanwhile David Benefield had one of the worst days of his career losing $608k on Saturday. Benefield lost $368k to Patrik Antonius in $500/$1,000 Cap PLO and the rest in a series of $200/$400 Six-Max games.
IHateJuice (+$354k), Arbianight ($277k) and DrugsOrMe ($231k) were all amongst the biggest winners this weekend while davin77 (-$274k) and GooGie MonA (-$174k) recorded some terrible sessions.
Ziigmund couldn’t stay away from the tables and added -$170k to his well-publicized losses this year.
For more information check our online poker stats section.
durrrr Challenge 2 by the numbers:
58,125,811: Total amount wagered
9,000,000: Tom Dwan’s rumored winnings in Macau in the local currency
645,667: Amount jungleman12 is ahead
9,783: Total hands played
2,120: Hands played this weekend
53: Days since the last durrrr Challenge 2 session
15: Hours logged
8: Total sessions
3: Times Tom Dwan has Tweeted about eating goose.
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DrugsOrMe Derails Gus Hansen
Hansen, who has won over $2 million since mid-October, played 377 hands of $500/$1,000 Cap PLO against DrugsOrMe and couldn’t get anything going.
DrugsOrMe dragged several pots that were worth nearly $100k each and that was enough to overwhelm the Great Dane.
By the time the session finally concluded, Hansen had dumped $299k to DrugsOrMe.
After dipping under the $1 million loss mark for the first time in months earlier this week, Hansen is once again looking at another mountain to climb being down $1.4 million this year.
Meanwhile DrugsOrMe, who wasn’t active on Full Tilt until this year, has earned a total of $1.3 million in 2010.
There was plenty of action on FTP last night as recent upstart bemyguestbud continued his strong play by winning $258k. IHateJuice finally found a way to win against Patrik Antonius and took down $122k.
Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies finally posted a winning session last night. The aggressive Finn only won $67k but that’s a marked improvement from his recent losses.
In the loss column Hansen was king with his -$299k but Antonius (-$122k), luckexpress10 (-$105k), skjervoy (-$91k) and Sauce1234 (-$67k) also had bad nights.
David Benefield also played a huge heads-up session of $100/$200 No-Limit Hold’em against IReadYrSoul that eventually saw him lose $58k.
For more information check our online poker stats section.
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Poker News in Brief: Nov. 15-21
Fortunately, we've compiled them below in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature.
This week Chilipoker comes to the U.S., The Legends of Poker goes back to the Bike, the WPT starts a new series and more.
ChiliPoker goes American
ChiliPoker plans to launch a online subscription poker operation in 2011 that will allow U.S. customers.
The new operation will complement the company's existing gaming businesses. Online subscription poker is legal in a majority of U.S. States.
Chiligaming does not take, and has never taken, U.S. bets and this latest move is expected to position the company well in the event of a regulated U.S. online poker market.
GUKPT Grand Final Begins
The GUKPT Grand Final Festival kicked off inside London’s Victoria Casino this week.
Along with the World Heads Up Championship Nov. 19-22, the full festival runs until Nov. 28, including the £2,500+£125 No-Limit Hold'em main event beginning Nov. 25.
In 2009, the Grand Final was won by Tony Cascarino, beating a field of 183 for £168,800.
Live satellites are currently underway at the Vic.
WPT Signs Bike Extention
Just days inton the PokerStars NAPT event at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, the World Poker Tour announced it had extended its deal with the casino to keep the WPT Legends of Poker at the venue through 2015.
The five-year agreement ensures the Legends of Poker event will maintain its position on the WPT Tour and the WPT televised series as far out as Season XIV.
Held annually in late August, winners of the Legends of Poker tournament include Hall of Famers Dan Harrington and Doyle Brunson, Prahlad Friedman, Mel Judah and John Phan.
The 2010 Legends of Poker was won by Andy Frankenberger, the current WPT Player of the Year points leader.
UKICOOP Satellites Begin
Satellites are now running for the PokerStars UK & Ireland Championship of Online Poker.
The series is set for Dec. 5-12, with satellites now running for all of the Championship events.
$512,000 in guaranteed cash is up for grabs over the course of the 11-event series.
Winner of Player of the Series honors will recieve a UKIPT Passport to the UKIPT events in Nottingham, Manchester, Cork, Newcastle, Brighton, Edinburgh and Dublin.
New WPT Series
The World Poker Tour announced a new series of events this week.
The events will be branded WPT Regional Series Events in the United States and WPT National Series Events in Europe.
No WPT title, Player of the Year points or WPT World Championship buy-in is up for grabs, but the events are branded with the WPT name.
The first WPT Regional and National events include the $4,750+$250 buy-in WPT Regional Series: Florida at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood Florida from Nov. 19–22, the $1,500+$100 buy-in WPT Regional Series: Indiana at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Nov. 20-21 and the €5000 buy-in WPT National Series: Paris at Aviation Club de France in Paris, France Feb. 9–15, 2011.
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Tags: 2009, 2010, 2011, Doyle Brunson, Hollywood, legal, no-limit, Online Poker, pokerstars, tournament
Skjervøy Explodes for $367k
The CardRunners instructor recorded 1,417 hands in varying stakes of Pot-Limit Omaha and essentially dominated everyone that was willing to take him on including Arbianight, Brian Hastings and DrugsOrMe.
Skjervøy was particularly effective against Arbianight and won more than $100k in a heads-up battle.
In total Torbergsen won $367k yesterday, which made him easily the biggest winner of the day.
Torbergsen has quietly put together one of the best overall records in 2010. The Norwegian has earned nearly $3 million this year and CardRunners’ decision to sign him as an instructor looks better and better every day.
Some of the other big winners on the evening included luckexpress10 who won $146k, Gus Hansen who took down $140k and Urindanger with $114k.
Hansen continued his relentless drive to get even in 2010 and is now down only $1.7 million after being down $3.6 million in mid-October.
Yesterday wasn’t as kind to davin77 who dropped $212k, Brian Hastings who lost $165k and URnotINdanger2 who went $145k into the red.
Meanwhile the incredible live high stakes action with Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey and Chau Giang, which you can learn more about in this TwoPlusTwo thread, continues to rage in Macau.
The latest rumor is that a wealthy businessman has agreed to play Tom Dwan at $HK10k/$HK20k heads-up No-Limit provided Dwan show his cards after every hand. Apparently Dwan is stuck $HK10 million.
For more information about the high stakes online games check out our online poker stats section.
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Nguyen Wins His Own FTOPS Event
The 2010 WSOP Main Event ninth place finisher hosted FTOPS XVIII Event 18 – and won it.
Despite his status as an amateur poker player, Nguyen was able to outlast 1,841 players to take first place in the $217 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Rush Super Turbo tournament.
While not the most name-heavy final table Nguyen did have to contend with two very good online players in David “Davidp18” Peters and IWEARGOGGLES.
Neither player could best Nguyen and the Californian took down $78,000 for his efforts.
In winning, Nguyen became just the third player to win his own tournament in the Full Tilt Online Poker Series. Erick Lindgren was the first player to do it when he won in 2008 and Greg Mueller performed the same feat in 2009.
In other FTOPS news, up and coming online sensation Sebastian “sebbau” Bauer took down Event 16 for $274k on Monday.
Jonathan “driverseat” Tamayo, who you might remember from his deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, finished runner up in Event 15 for $28k and finally Jared “TheWacoKid” Hamby placed third in Event 19 for $36k.
FTOPS XVIII continues until Nov. 21 when Gus Hansen will host the $3 million-guaranteed main event.
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DeMaci Leads, Mercier Headlines NAPT L.A. Final 8
The 27-year-old pro from Newport Beach, California has earned more than a million dollars online and needs just a sixth-place finish to eclipse his largest live cash to date – a $98,933 score he collected finishing seventh in one of the many $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em bracelet events at the 2009 WSOP.
But despite a 2.5 million chip lead on his nearest competitor, the final table will be no cake walk for DeMaci.
Team PokerStars Pro and PokerListings blogger Jason Mercier will bring his better than $5 million in career earnings and a boatload of final table experience to the final Thursday.
The hottest player in poker over the past three years, Mercier will come in second in chips looking to secure his second NAPT title after a win in the NAPT Mohegan Sun High Roller Bounty Shootout this past April.
Plus, WPT title holder Joe Tehan and 2006 WSOP Main Event third-place finisher Michael Binger are in the mix.
2007 WSOP Main Event 12th-place finisher Ray Henson, Canadian Team PokerStars Pro Anh Van Nguyen, New Yorker Al Grimes and 21-year-old Penn State student Jacob Toole make up the rest of the final eight.
The $5k PokerStars NAPT L.A. main event drew 701 players to the Bicycle Casino, creating a $3.2 million prize pool with $725,000 reserved for first.
The final table will go off at 2 p.m. PT Wednesday at the Crystal Casino & Hotel in Compton, California to accommodate the ESPN2 film crew.
Here's how the final eight stack up:
1 Christopher Demaci 6,283,000
2 Jason Mercier 3,800,000
3 Ray Henson 3,268,000
4 Jacob Toole 1,975,000
5 Joe Tehan 1,907,000
6 Michael Binger 1,670,000
7 Anh Van Nguyen 1,058,000
8 Al Grimes 982,000
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Racener Hosts as FTOPS XVIII Begins
The first of 34 events, the $200+$16 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament came with an $800K guaranteed prize pool.
But a field of 4,500 laid that to waste, creating a $900,000 prize pool that paid 540 spots.
A three-way deal was struck leaving sir29 the biggest payday ($121,304.16).
Bbut he could managed no better than third as Pageh656 went on to win the event and collect $117,434.48 after beating ZLucky93 ($113,881.36) heads up.
Each tournament on the rest of the FTOPS XVIII schedule will be hosted by a Full Tilt Poker pro, including fellow 2010 November Niners Soi Nguyen, Michael Mizrachi, Fillipo Candio, John Dolan and Matt Jarvis.
Running through Nov. 21, the entire series includes over $19 million in guaranteed cash.
For the full FTOPS XVIII schedule visit the FTOPS gateway page.
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Anderson Grabs WSOPC Hammond Glory
The bartender turned poker player earned $525,449 for the win, surpassing his previous best cash recorded when he finished 242nd in the 2010 WSOP Main Event.
“I definitely think my deep run in the Main Event this year helped me here,” Anderson said. “The $10K is always intimidating if you are new. But having played in it before, it allowed me to focus more.
The atmosphere was kind of similar with all the lights and the television cameras around. So, I think I was used to the pressure somewhat.”
He won his seat thanks to a victory in a preliminary event at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.
Anderson began as one of the shortest stacks at a final table that included online stars Gabe "gp333" Patgorski and David "Doc" Sands, two-time WSOP and WPT finalist Curt Kohlberg, 2005 WSOP Main Event 13th place finisher Bernard Lee, WPT and three-time WSOP finalist Shannon Shorr, three-time WSOP finalist Brandon Adams, four-time WSOP finalist Anthony Hartmann and Mark Owens.
The $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Regional Championship drew 226 players to Horseshoe Hammond in the Chicagoland area, creating a $2,101,800 prize pool - the biggest on the WSOPC in more than three years.
A new concept for this season, Horsehoe Hammond represents the first of Four $10,000 Regional WSOP Circuit Championships on the tour.
The final table will be televised on the Versus Network.
Next up for the WSOP Circuit is a stop at the IP Casino Resort and Spa in Biloxi, MS Oct. 28- Nov. 10.
Here's how the final table finished up in Indiana:
1 Jim Anderson $525,449
2 Gabe Patgorski $324,770
3 Bernard Lee $236,368
4 Curt Kohlberg $174,807
5 Dave Sands $131,299
6 Shannon Shorr $100,151
7 Brandon Adams $77,556
8 Tony Hartmann $60,952
9 Mark Owens $48,615
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Patgorski, Doc Sands Lead Big Name Final at WSOPC Hammond
Patgorski, whose biggest scores include wins in the $100 Rebuy and $100k Guaranteed on PokerStars, is the only player with over 2 million in chips heading into the chase for a $525,449 first-place prize.
In fact, fellow online superstar David "Doc" Sands is the only other player over 1 million in chips.
Two-time WSOP and WPT finalist Curt Kohlberg, 2005 WSOP Main Event 13th place finisher Bernard Lee, WPT and three-time WSOP finalist Shannon Shorr, three-time WSOP finalist Brandon Adams, four-time WSOP finalist Anthony Hartmann, Mark Owens and James Anderson round out the final nine.
The $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Regional Championship drew 226 players to Horseshoe Hammond in the Chicagoland area, creating a $2,101,800 prize pool - the biggest on the WSOPC in more than three years.
A new concept for this season, Horsehoe Hammond represents the first of Four $10,000 Regional WSOP Circuit Championships on the tour.
All nine finalists have already won seats into the $1 million WSOP Circuit National Championship in Las Vegas next May.
Here's how things will look heading into the 2 p.m. CT final table:
Seat 1 Bernard Lee 401,000
Seat 2 Dave "Doc" Sands 1,360,000
Seat 3 James Anderson 345,000
Seat 4 Anthony Hartmann 194,000
Seat 5 Shannon Shorr 905,000
Seat 6 Mark Owens 270,000
Seat 7 Curt Kohlberg 863,000
Seat 8 Gabe Patgorski 2,263,000
Seat 9 Brandon Adams 155,000
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Historic WSOP Africa Kicks Off
History is being made this week as the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is holding tournaments on the continent of Africa for the first time. A stop on the WSOP Circuit, “WSOP Africa” is currently underway at the Emerald Resort and Casino in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, South Africa and will run through the end of the month.
WSOP Africa consists of two events. The first, which started Monday, October 25th, is a $1,100 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament with $300 re-buys for the first three hours and a single $400 add-on available at the end of the re-buy period. Starting stacks were 2,500 chips with blinds beginning at 25/50 and increasing every 60 minutes. This is a three day event with a maximum registrant cap of just 200 players.
The $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em freezeout Main Event kicks off on Thursday, October 28th with a maximum of 500 players starting with 40,000 chips. Once again, blind levels increase every hour and blinds start out at 50/100. Antes will make their initial appearance at level five. This will be a four day event; the field will be narrowed to the final nine by the end of day three, with the final table competition beginning at 10:30am local time on October 31st.
While WSOP Africa is part of the World Series of Poker Circuit, the winners of each of the two events will not be awarded gold rings like the winners at other WSOP Circuit stops. The tournaments also do not count in the WSOP Circuit points rankings – only stops in the United States count – so nobody will earn an automatic spot in the WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas prior to the start of the World Series of Poker next year.
Also taking place during WSOP Africa is the Gus Hansen Charity Event, scheduled for October 27th. R2,000 (USD $287) gets one into the event, while R3,500 (USD $502) gets one a VIP seat at the Great Dane’s table. The Full Tilt Poker pro has had success in World Series of Poker events outside of the United States, winning the £10,000 High Roller Heads-Up tournament at WSOP Europe last month and placing tenth in the £10,000 WSOP Europe Main Event in 2007. All told, Hansen has won $908,782 in World Series of Poker events, just under half ($444,925) coming from that lone bracelet win this past September. Hansen, of course, is scheduled to compete in the WSOP Africa Main Event.
The Emerald Resort and Casino is located on the banks of the Vaal River in Vanderbijlpark, about an hour south of Johannesburg. The casino’s regular poker room is small, housing just six tables, although only four of those are what poker players would actually consider “real” poker tables. Those four feature good, old No-Limit Texas Hold’em, while the other two are really casino games: Casino Hold’em Progressive and River Poker. Two of the tables are reserved for daily cash games starting at 10:00pm, while we presume the other two are for Sit-and-Go tournaments. The Emerald poker room also holds a larger tournament every Sunday at 2:00pm for a minimum of 10 players and a maximum of 40 players. The buy-in is R300 ($43), but the tournament can also be entered for 3,000 Emerald Rewards points.
WSOP Africa comes right on the heels of the WSOP Circuit Regional Championship, which commenced on Monday, October 25th, at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. 226 competitors hit the felts in the $10,000 buy-in event to battle it out for the $525,000 first prize. The final nine players, in addition to receiving attractive paychecks, will earn seats in the WSOP Circuit National Championship.
WSOPC Regional Championships Begin
The $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Regional Championship drew 226 players to Horseshoe Hammond in the Chicagoland area, creating a $2,101,800 prize pool - the biggest on the WSOPC in more than three years.
First place is worth $525,449.
A new concept for this season, Horsehoe Hammond represents the first of Four $10,000 Regional WSOP Circuit Championships on the tour.
Players in the Nationally Televised Regional Championship series are also competing for seats into the $1 million WSOP Circuit National Championship in Las Vegas next May.
Only 100 players will qualify, including all nine Chicago finalists.
Names like Barry Greenstein, Gavin Smith, David Baker, Chris Bell, Chad Brown, Bernard Lee, Nick Binger, Matt Glantz, Blair Hinkle, Frank Kassela, Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler, Kathy Liebert, Jeff Madsen, Jason Mercier, Sorel Mizzi, Vanessa Selbst, Dan Shak, Shannon Shorr, Justin Smith, Matt Stout, and Steve Zolotow all played Monday.
A total of 114 will return for Day 2 at 1 p.m. CT Tuesday with Ryan Julius holding the overnight chip lead.
A winner will be crowned Oct. 28.
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Jewell Crowned as WSOPC Hammond Champ
He had to overcome the biggest field in WSOPC main event history to claim the first place prize of $242k. A total of 872 players bought into the $1,500 buy-in tournament on Friday.
Jewell entered the final table as the massive chip leader with $6 million chips and despite losing the chip lead for a brief period never lost sight of the ultimate prize.
UB Poker Pro Bryan Devonshire was one of the shortest stacks at the final table but made it to seven-handed play where his pocket kings were cruelly cracked by an opponent’s 8-2. Devonshire took $37k for his efforts.
PCA High Roller winner Will Reynolds was perhaps Jewell’s greatest threat at the final table but was eventually ousted in third place. Jewell beat him with A-6 versus A-4. Reynolds won $110k.
Heads-up play between Jared Kenworthy and Jewell lasted close to an hour but Jewell’s victory from that point never seemed to be in doubt.
Finally Jewell managed to hit an important river card while holding Q-J to claim the WSOPC Hammond main event title.
There is one final event to go in Chicago as the very first Regional Championship is set to begin at 12 p.m. today.
Bernard Lee, Matt Stout, Chad Brown, Jason Mercier and Barry Greenstein are all expected to play in the televised $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament.
Here’s a look at the payouts from the WSOPC Hammond main event final table:
1. Kurt Jewell - $242,909 2. Jared Kenworthy - $150,104 3. William Reynolds - $110,567 4. Edwin Choi - $82,414 5. Nick Jivkov - $62,384 6. Corey Souther - $47,772 7. Bryan Devonshire - $37,047 8. Daniel Cohen - $29,087 9. Casey Hayes - $23,120
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Couture Goes All-in for Charity
The charity poker tournament is set to take place Oct. 30 with MMA fighters Tyson Griffin, Ryan Couture, Martin Kampmann, Gray Maynard, Jason Ron, Ray Sefo, Mike Pyle and John Alessio and actor David Zayas scheduled to play.
The event will benefit Xtreme Couture GI Foundation which offers financial assistance to injured veterans and their families. Couture served in the U.S. military for six years before getting into MMA.
Open to the public, the No-Limit Hold’em tournament will begin at 2 p.m. on Oct. 30 at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.
The buy-in will be $225 and rebuys will be available for $100. First place will be $10,000.
In addition to the poker tournament there will be a silent auction, raffles and a Halloween after party.
No stranger to poker, this is the third year that Couture has hosted Operation All-In and he even played in one of the $1,000 buy-in WSOP events this summer.
For more information check the Xtreme Couture website.
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