Poker News

World Poker Tour Reports Second Successive Profitable Quarter

It was announced last Wednesday that World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE), which owns the popular World Poker Tour (WPT) and the up-and-coming subscription online poker site ClubWPT.com, enjoyed its second consecutive profitable quarter with the close of Q2 2009.

While the revenues for the second quarter of 2009 were behind those during the same period in 2008 - from $5.1 million to $4.6 million - WPTE was able to make a profit due to the lower production costs of Season VII of the WPT broadcasts compared to the costs had been previously. In addition, international distribution of WPT broadcasts and the continued growth of ClubWPT.com has been able to push the organization into the black. Overall, income from continuing operations was $370,000 in the second quarter of 2009, compared to a $3.3 million loss in the second quarter of 2008

WPT Enterprises has been able to work itself into profitability from recognizing parts of the company that were under-performing. In the first quarter of 2009, WPT Enterprises cut away WPT China, which had been a drain on its bottom line. For example, the discontinuation of WPT China in the first quarter of 2009 helped WPTE only take a $95,000 loss on the venture in the second quarter versus the $581,000 WPT China lost during the second quarter of 2008.

Operating its own online poker room, wptonline.com, also was one of the appendages cut from the company. WPT Enterprises paid a $1 million charge for the discontinuation of wptonline.com and has seen profits soar with the subscription-based ClubWPT.com. The increase was driven by the Fox Sports Network broadcasts of ClubWPT, which offered online players a chance to win their way into a televised tournament with a $10,000 prize. In fact, the television offerings of WPTE had gross profit margins of 53% in the first two quarters of 2009, compared to just 39% during the same period in 2008.

“We have completed our second successful quarter, demonstrating the significant progress we have made in our turnaround efforts to position the company for future profitability,” Steve Lipscomb, President and CEO of WPTE, stated during the Second Quarter report. “Fox Sports Net completed the initial airing of 26 all-new episodes of Season Seven of the World Poker Tour television series across the U.S. in July as a part of FSN’s Sunday sports block. We also filmed our first Season Eight tour stop in high definition and FSN will air Season Eight of the World Poker Tour television series beginning in late 2009 or early 2010.”

The expectations for the third quarter of 2009 are for continued profitability, albeit on the lower end of the spectrum. WPT Enterprises revenues are expected to be in the range of $3.2 to $3.4 million and, with the lower production and administrative costs, expect to turn a small profit from continuing operations. If Season VII episodes are delivered to foreign markets ahead of schedule, then revenues and profits from the fourth quarter will be shifted into the third quarter of 2009 and could increase profitability further.

The recent success has shown elsewhere on the WPTE scoreboard. The company was able to avoid having its stock offerings de-listed by bringing the price above $1 in June. Currently the WPTE’s stock is trading on the NASDAQ at $1.36, nearly double what it was only three months ago.

Great Week For CardRunners Instructors

CardRunners boasts some of the best young online players in the world teaching you how to dominate the games as they did on their way to the giddying heights of Full Tilt's nosebleed stakes.

Anthrax’s Scott Ian hosting UB tournament

Players can win one of 11 exclusive seats in the Anthrax guitarist's online game next to rock legends and poker pros, all playing for a chance to win a trip to the Aruba Poker Classic.

"UltiimateBet players showed huge support for my first 'home game' on UB back in March," said Ian, who played in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event. "With an Aruba Poker Classic package up for grabs this time, expect the competition to be fierce."

The lineup for the game is expected to include Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Metallica's Kirk Hammett and Greg Tribbett of Mudvayne.

Online players will be able to chat with the musicians throughout using the ((UltimateBet)) software's chat feature.

Joining Ian's metal buddies are a few poker legends as well, including 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and The Celebrity Apprentice's Annie Duke.

Players can win their spot in Scott Ian's Home Game main event qualifier through daily satellites on ((UltimateBet)). Winners will receive automatic entry to the August 18 10,000 UltimatePoints main event, where 10 seats in Scott Ian's Home Game are at stake.

The top five places in Scott Ian's Home Game will be awarded an $8,500 Aruba Poker Classic prize package, and Scott Ian will have a $200 bounty on his head.

For more information check out the tournament schedule at UltimateBet.

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US Attitudes to Gambling Concern Online Players

Following recent action by the US government to seize the funds of poker players, Internet gambling giant Betfair conducted a survey of players. Shockingly, more than half are not even aware their money may be at risk, but more than three quarters of those who are have looked for what they consider to be safer sites.

Grospellier hits stride on Main Event Day 2b

'ElkY' is always dressed up on the blingy side, sporting an array of jeweled hoodies and t-shirts that would make any Ed Hardy fan envious.

More importantly though, Grospellier is easy to spot because he's usually got a giant stack of chips in front of him.

Since turning his focus to poker in 2005, Grospellier has established himself as one of the top No-Limit Hold'em players in the world, with seven cashes at the WSOP in the last three years.

Grospellier is also a dominant figure around the world, winning major events on both the WPT and EPT in the past year to burst out on the poker scene.

Now, with Day 2B officially in the books, Grospellier is poised for Day 3 and he'll return Friday with 208k in chips.

It wasn't a perfect day for Grospellier, but he survives nonetheless.

"I didn't make anything on the flop in the last level, so I dropped down a little bit," Grospellier told PL.com shortly after bagging up his chips.

"I guess that's not so bad, that's a pretty good chip stack. I'm satisfied. There are a lot of good players left but the structure is great. I'm pretty confident."

The Main Event takes a day off Thursday, and a field of right around 2,000 players will return Friday.

648 players will make the money and, with the opening stages of the tournament complete, Grospellier likes his chances for a deep run.

The French No-Limit Hold'em specialist fought through a tricky first two days, picking his spots against an eclectic field.

"The field is big, and amateurs do things that are kind of weird," Grospellier said. "They'll do things like raise with deuce-five, and there are a lot of people moving in before the flop."

The variable of so many unknown players and styles in the Main Event makes it tough for the pros to survive, but Grospellier is right in the mix.

"It's kind of tricky," Grospellier said. "You just have to always be thinking. You have such a mix of players, really good online players, live pros, complete amateurs. So you really have to be careful and be able to assess who's playing at your table pretty quickly."

Despite the fact that nearly 4,500 players have busted out of this year's Main Event, 'ElkY' is still on his guard for reckless amateurs and other assorted brands of donkeys and fish.

"I'm sure there are still a lot of those players in the field," said Grospellier with a knowing smile. "You have to be careful."

Grospellier will join the likes of Phil Ivey, David Benyamine and J.C. Tran on Day 3 of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, which kicks off on Friday at 12 p.m.

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Traply wins first WSOP bracelet for Hungary

Traply, a 22-year-old professional poker player from Budapest, defeated Andrew Lichtenberger in heads-up play to win the $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Shootout.

"I feel amazing," said Traply. "This is one of my poker dreams and it came true."

The victory came after a steady stream of disappointments for the former Communications major.

Traply told PokerListings.com he had weathered a string of defeats before finally scoring Tuesday's big win.

"I played every single No Limit Hold'em event except the $40k and I didn't manage one single cash," he said.

"I ran really, really bad but I guess I can't complain now."

To win the tournament, Traply had to defeat a final table that included the likes of Danny Wong and EPT regular Nasr El Nasr.

El Nasr looked dominant early at the five-handed final table but would flame out in fifth place, with Wong going broke in fourth.

Maxim Lykov would bust in third, leaving Traply and Lichtenberger heads-up with the bracelet on the line.

Traply jumped out to a monster lead early in the heads-up match when his pocket sixes turned a set against Lichtenberger's A-Q after the latter had flopped an ace.

The hand gave Traply a monster chip lead, but Lichtenberger would double up three times to pull back within striking distance.

Ultimately, however, Traply would get his rival's chips in the middle holding A-K to Lichtenberger's A-J.

After a board of blanks, the young Hungarian had won the match.

"The players were really tough," said Traply. "The first table not so much, but my second was really tough and this one was also.

"Compared to an average WSOP tournament this was much tougher. It's not even comparable."

Traply banks $348,728 in prize money to complement the bracelet.  Lichtenberger earned $215,403 for his second-place finish.

And with the win, Traply assumes the role of poster boy for the burgeoning Hungarian poker revolution.

"In Hungary, poker is growing really fast," he said. "It's some kind of poker boom and I guess it will be bigger after my bracelet.

"There are a lot of good online players in Hungary. They're my friends and they were cheering here. I think there will be many more Hungarian successes coming in the future."

The new champ sees himself playing a key role in that success.

"I will be a national hero or something," he said.

Check out the PokerListings.com 2009 WSOP section for more coverage of Traply's victory.

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Bodog Announces July ‘Mini Poker Series’

While much of the attention of the live poker world remains focused on Las Vegas, online players at Bodog have an alternative...

“t_soprano” is a sick player! Wins back-to-back bracelets!

Former Magic: The Gathering player wins his second bracelet of the week.

-Brock now

-Brock before

Brock Parker won his first bracelet on June 7th from the event #14 ($2500 six-handed Limit Hold’em) where he beat Daniel Negreanu in the heads-up battle. Just only four days later he is victorious again in the event #19 ($2500 six-handed No Limit Hold’em).

His poker nick “t_soprano” is infamous among the online players as he is very well know heads-up expert. So it really doesn’t come as a big surprise that Parker has destroyed these two back-to-back short-handed events.

Winning hand:

Joe Serock raises to 200,000 preflop, Brock Parker reraises to 1 million. Serock goes all-in and Parker calls.

Parker: QsQd
Serock: 10d10c

Board: As7s2cKcQc

Parker’s winnings from WSOP 2009 are now staggering $776,433 and he’s got a healthy lead in the Player of the Year ranking as well. Whole poker world is highly amazed of his incredible consistency. Apart from the two bracelets and the money, he has gained huge respect from the poker community – which is something money can’t buy.

Congratulations Brock Parker!

Final results:

1. Brock Parker – $552,745
2. Joseph Serock – $341,783
3. Russell Crane – $220,633
4. Jesse Rios – $148,661
5. Alex Wilson – $104,323
6. Clayton Newman – $76,123

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

“t_soprano” is a sick player! Wins back-to-back bracelets!

“t_soprano” is a sick player! Wins back-to-back bracelets!

Former Magic: The Gathering player wins his second bracelet of the week.

-Brock now

-Brock before

Brock Parker won his first bracelet on June 7th from the event #14 ($2500 six-handed Limit Hold’em) where he beat Daniel Negreanu in the heads-up battle. Just only four days later he is victorious again in the event #19 ($2500 six-handed No Limit Hold’em).

His poker nick “t_soprano” is infamous among the online players as he is very well know heads-up expert. So it really doesn’t come as a big surprise that Parker has destroyed these two back-to-back short-handed events.

Winning hand:

Joe Serock raises to 200,000 preflop, Brock Parker reraises to 1 million. Serock goes all-in and Parker calls.

Parker: QsQd
Serock: 10d10c

Board: As7s2cKcQc

Parker’s winnings from WSOP 2009 are now staggering $776,433 and he’s got a healthy lead in the Player of the Year ranking as well. Whole poker world is highly amazed of his incredible consistency. Apart from the two bracelets and the money, he has gained huge respect from the poker community – which is something money can’t buy.

Congratulations Brock Parker!

Final results:

1. Brock Parker – $552,745
2. Joseph Serock – $341,783
3. Russell Crane – $220,633
4. Jesse Rios – $148,661
5. Alex Wilson – $104,323
6. Clayton Newman – $76,123

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

“t_soprano” is a sick player! Wins back-to-back bracelets!

Haxton chipleader at WSOP’s $40k final table

But neither Greg Raymer nor Ted Forrest scare chipleader Isaac Haxton.

"The internet kids are the ones I'm worried about," Haxton told PokerListings.com.

"[Alec] Torelli's a really good player and so is Dani Stern. Justin Bonomo is a good friend of mine and he's an excellent player."

All of the above will join Team PokerStars' Lex Veldhuis, Full Tilt's Vitaly Lunkin and Noah "fouruhaters" Schwartz at the nine-handed final table tomorrow.

A murderer's row, to be sure, but the 2007 World Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure runner-up likes his chances.

"I feel great heading into tomorrow," he said. "I have one-quarter of the chips in play and my seat at the table is not so bad."

Haxton entered the day among the short stacks with 540,000 to his name, but quickly managed to pull his head above water with a timely treble.

As rivals Andrew Robl, Neil Channing, Andy Black and Brian Townsend succumbed and the potential prize money increased, Haxton built his stack with a bit of small-ball poker.

"I had kings versus queens against Matt Marafioti and busted him for 600k, but it was mostly small pots after that," he said.

Sitting on an average stack when the field consolidated into a ten-handed final table, Haxton took advantage of a fortunate flop to seize control of the tournament.

Holding pocket sixes, Haxton flopped bottom set against then-chipleader Alec Torelli, who had flopped top pair and tried in vain to bully his rival from the pot.

Haxton persisted and doubled through, building his stack up over the 5 million mark and taking the chip lead.

A few rounds later, Tony G was eliminated in tenth place and the final table was set.

"I feel fantastic [about making the final table]," Haxton told PokerListings. "It's great.

"I'm not going to say that it makes me think I'm a much better player than I thought I was a couple of days ago or that it's anything more than me making the final table in a World Series event, but it definitely feels great."

Echoing fellow finalist Justin Bonomo, Haxton told PL.com he thought the level of play in the tournament was somewhat uneven.

"These really big buy-in tournaments have a polarizing effect on the fields," he said. "The high buy-in prices out a lot of the winning - but not high-stakes - online players but there are plenty of rich amateurs who are as willing to play a $40k event as a $10k one.

"There's a high percentage of good players but an assortment of amateurs as well."

With nearly 6 million in chips heading into the final table, Haxton holds a nearly 1.5 million advantage over second-place Vitaly Lunkin and is in great shape to prove Joe Sebok a prophet.

The Poker Road president predicted Haxton would take down a bracelet this year in an article for PokerListings last week.

If the Lizard King can keep his composure in tomorrow's pit of vipers, the bracelet is his for the taking.

Get full coverage of the final table in PokerListings.com's WSOP section.

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Hellmuth talks Stimulus Special

The event is projected to draw as many as 5,000 entrants. The prospect of grinding through that many players isn't too appealing to some pros, but Phil Hellmuth embraces the challenge.

"It's a chance to set a record for one thing," said the 11-time WSOP bracelet winner. "Whoever wins that bracelet deserves it. You beat 5,000 other people."

"It's a great tournament for the pros because you either get a lot of chips right away or you don't."

Hellmuth says he's more prepared for the 2009 WSOP than he's been in years, thanks to a new regimen of physical training. The "Poker Brat" loves the idea of the $1k event.

"I wish they would do a $1k tournament with rebuys," he said.

Designed to encourage players to ante up for an affordable WSOP, this tournament will resemble many major online tournaments, where small buy-ins and huge fields are the norm.

This could give an advantage to online players, but despite his reputation for online success, Jimmy Fricke doesn't seem to be looking forward to the massive numbers expected to show.

"It's a small buy-in tournament with a good structure," Fricke said. "I think the structure needs to be worse. The Main Event is going to take like an extra two days this year, just because of that small increase in chips they gave us.

"When you have such big fields and long levels, you don't need a lot of starting chips."

Fricke started his Friday afternoon playing in the Omaha 8 event, and "Gobboboy" is hoping a deep run will keep him on the sidelines for the Stimulus.

But if he does play, he expects it to be a long grind.

"If you have a bunch of inexperienced players early on, they're going to bust out and the average number of chips is going to skyrocket," said Fricke, whose biggest live cash came in the 2007 Aussie Millions when he finished second.

"If you start us off with 100 big blinds there's going to be too much play," he said. "Then the structure gets worse as the tournament goes on."

The field should include plenty of pros, but some big names are sitting it out.

After busting out of the $40k event yesterday, Howard Lederer is staying home until Monday and the start of the World Championship Seven Card Stud $10,000 bracelet event.

"I always feel like I'm easing my way in," Lederer said. "I've gotten my taste and now I'm going to take a couple of days off. I'm not really looking to try to beat 5,000 people over the weekend."

Other pros, like 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event champion John Juanda plan to play in the $1k stimulus event only if time permits.

Like Fricke, Juanda began Friday afternoon in the Omaha 8 event.

"We're going to get a lot of players, that's for sure," said Juanda, who's cashed 39 times in the WSOP since 2002, in addition to his bracelet win in the 2008 WSOPE Main Event.

"I expect like 4,000 players, maybe more. It's going to be a lot of fun. Obviously, whoever gets really lucky and plays pretty good will do well."

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Online grinders flock to WSOP’s $40k event

As befits an event with a $40,000 buy-in, Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey are attracting the lion's share of the attention.

But a large subset of the tournament population is made up of young online grinders, many of them playing their first World Series.

Justin Bonomo, Vivek "Psyduck" Rajkumar, Mike "SirWatts" Watson, Jonathan Little and Shawn Buchanan are all among the approximately 200 players in contention.

But while those youngsters have managed to translate their online successes into victories in big buy-in live events, players like Shaun Deeb, Adam Junglen, Christian "charder" Harder and Chad "lilholdem" Batista remain best-known by their internet personas.

None of them, however, feels out of their league in this pro-rich event.

"My table's really easy," Batista told PokerListings.com.

He's sharing space with Erick Lindgren, Phil Laak, Ted Forrest and Steve Zolotow and has seen his stack take a beating in the early going.

"I would really like my edge if I could get my chips back," he said.

"There are a couple of guys at my table who are playing as if it's their first tournament ever," said PokerListings blogger Jason Mercier.

Harder and Junglen both told PokerListings they liked their chances.

"My edge can't be that big, but I wouldn't be playing if I didn't think I had a positive expectation," said Junglen.

Harder agreed.

"I think I have an edge, but it's probably the smallest edge I'll have all Series," he said.

"I would obviously rather play against the kind of players who play in the $1,500 tournaments, but it's more fun and exciting to play against pros like these.

"It's my first WSOP and I wanted to start it off with a bang."

None of the online young guns were surprised to see so many of their number in attendance.

"There are a lot of good young online players here at the Series and a lot of people who are willing to back them in tournaments," said Deeb.

"This is the biggest tournament of the Series and it's televised, so that probably helps attract players as well."

"The number of online MTT players seems alright to me," said Junglen. "I'm not surprised.

"There are a lot of really good No Limit Hold 'em players that the general public isn't aware of and that the media might not be aware of either."

At press time, the top of the chip leaderboard was a mix of live pros and their online counterparts, with Laak and Rajkumar dueling for top spot and the likes of Justin Bonomo and Michael DeMichele lurking in the wings.

The news wasn't so good for Harder, however, who was eliminated early in Level 3 after getting all-in preflop with a suited ace-jack against Jay Rosenkrantz's pocket jacks.

Get full coverage of this exciting event in the PokerListings.com WSOP section.

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Sick action continues for durrrr and Ziigmund

For those of you out of the loop, the standard $500/$1,000-blind PLO games have apparently not been high enough for the big high-stakes online players lately, so they've decided to start every hand with a raise and a reraise instead, making the blinds $3,000/$9,000 before they even play the hand.

Even though Sahamies had claimed he wasn't willing to play the ridiculously high $3k/$9k game, he sat heads-up with Dwan last night and played for just over an hour.

Although both players won their fair share of gigantic pots, the session saw Ziigmund make a $200k profit, thanks to winning three of the top-five largest pots.

Considering the blind amounts alone are what the average American makes in about four months at a full-time job, a small profit in this game isn't so bad.

With a combined total of $450,000, here are the two largest pots of the session:

Dwan ahead the whole way.

One missed wrap apiece.

To see more of the session's pots, head to the MarketPulse section.

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Ashton Griffiths wins online $25K Heads Up Championship

Online players dominate the pros at the Full Tilt Heads-Up World Championship

Zach Hall (Umbrella Man) Interview with Poker News Daily

PokerStars, the largest poker room on the planet, sponsored the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) for the second consecutive year, which just concluded at the end of April. The largest tournament was the Main Event from Mar del Plata in Argentina that hosted a field of players from around the world. One of the noteworthy names in the event was Zach Hall, a cash game grinder who received a lot of attention from spectators and media alike because he wore an umbrella hat. His fame caught on like wildfire to the point where on-site media outlets gave his stack updates ahead of poker pros like Joe Hachem and Chris Moneymaker.

PokerNewsDaily.com caught up with Zach “Umbrella Man” Hall to talk about his LAPT experience and find out what it was like going from an online cash game grinder to playing in a live Main Event set in a foreign country.

PND: Can you give a brief introduction of your poker experience?

Hall: I’m mainly an online full ring cash game player and currently play $1-$2 and $2-$4 No Limit Hold’em. I started playing in home games a few years ago and online about a year and a half ago. This was my first big live tournament.

PND: When did you decide that you wanted to play in the LAPT’s Mar del Plata event and how did you get in?

Hall: Almost too late. I was talking to someone online who was going and just thought it looked like fun. I’d had a great month at the cash game tables, so figured I’d splurge on a vacation. I was able to sell half of my action in the tournament to friends, so that helped with the cost. PokerStars was great about responding to my e-mails and making everything work even though I basically booked it a week before the actual event. I wasn’t able to get a flight in until Day 1A, so I needed to make sure I could play on Day 1B; the staff at PokerStars was great about handling that specific request.

PND: We heard reports that a lot of players had trouble getting to the casino and going to extreme measures to get in.  What was your travel experience like?

Hall: Very smooth. I left myself a few hours in between each flight, so I sat around in airports a bit, but it all went according to schedule. The rush hour driving in Buenos Aires is a bit ridiculous compared with what I’m used to, but the driver got me there fine.

PND: How did you come into possession of the now famous umbrella hat and what possessed you to wear it during the tournament?

Hall: During orientation in my freshman year of college, we had one part where we went around to various departments of the university. During the tour, these departments had goodies they gave out, varying from a candy bar to a water bottle to … an umbrella hat.

I actually decided initially to bring it and said if I made the final table, I’d wear it. I found out that a few big news sites and PokerStars.tv were reporting live from the event. After reading about Day 1A I figured if I wore it the first day I played in and knocked out someone famous, they’d mention the hat I was wearing. I didn’t realize it’d turn into as much as it did, but it was kind of fun.

PND: Playing in Argentina in a PokerStars sponsored event seemed to bring out a highly diverse field of players and nationalities. At your first table, four different nations were represented. What was that experience like?

Hall: It was a very unique experience just being there and interacting with people from so many different countries. As for playing, the one minor problem was the language barrier. Not all of the dealers spoke English. I knew some numbers, but I didn’t want to try to say a number, mess up, and have it be binding, so I’d say it in English and use my fingers to make sure and someone at the table would translate. Of course, if I had the chips, I’d just put in my bet in and not worry about verbalizing it. It was also different because almost all of the table talk was in Spanish, which I don’t understand.

PND: You got a lot of attention from poker sites while in the event, including a video interview with the PokerStars.tv crew. Were you prepared for all of the attention that the umbrella hat would bring you?

Hall: Not at all. It was fun, but I thought one reporter crossed the line by shoving a microphone in my face while I was sitting at a table during a hand.

PND: Your popularity during Day 1B was to the point where updates of your stack were being mentioned right alongside players like Joe Hachem. What was the strangest thing that happened due to your newfound popularity?

Hall: Honestly, not much at all. I realized I was getting more interviews than other people, but didn’t realize that I was being reported on as heavily as I was and only found out about the “Umbrella Man” persona during the dinner break. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past Day 1B or perhaps I would have seen some more.

PND: What was your impression of the field and how did you run overall until busting out?

Hall: I always run badly in tourneys, so this was nothing new. In all seriousness, it was nothing special. I did not see any horrible players, but I can say without a doubt that the average player at a $1-$2 full ring No Limit Hold’em game online was better than the average player I saw in this tournament.

PND: Unless the pain is too fresh, could you talk about the hand you were eliminated on?

Hall: The final hand was completely standard. I was on the button with J-9 and 12 big blinds, which was about half of the average stack with antes. The action was folded to me, so I shoved, the big blind woke up with J-J, and obviously called. What made it worse was that I had shoved Q-Q and A-Q earlier and got no action.

PND: Will we see a return of Umbrella Man as you play more major live tournaments?

Hall: I won’t be 21 years-old until June of 2010, so I won’t be playing in the World Series of Poker until then, but I have been looking at the possibility of playing in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour and plan on playing in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure next year.

PND: Since you’ve gained fame and notoriety within the poker industry, do you have any words for your fans?

Hall: I can only hope my next step of fame is from winning a tournament rather than my apparel at the table. I’d rather be recognized for my success, not for my unique choice of headwear.

PND: Did you have a chance to do any sightseeing?

Hall: I explored a bit of Mar del Plata, but not speaking Spanish was a bit tough. Despite the language problem, I still managed to get to the beach, walked around the city, and ate at some of the local restaurants, which were all amazingly good and extremely cheap compared with similar food in the United States.

PND:  Now that the LAPT is done, what do you think is the biggest thing you’ve taken away from the entire experience?

Hall: I went into it knowing that I probably wouldn’t cash, but was hoping that it would just be a fun vacation to get away and do something different. Mission definitely accomplished and on top of that, I was able to meet a number of other online players, several who I had played with in the past.

The PokerNews Top 10: Online Players to Watch at the WSOP

The World Series of Poker — it’s where real faces are put to screen names. When Steve Billirakis took down his first bracelet back in 2007...

Nolan Dalla on the Greatest Poker Player Alive

No one who can rise before dawn three hundred and sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.
-- Chinese Proverb

A few years from now when someone asks, “Who is the greatest living poker player?” the answer might be a surprise.

It won’t be Doyle Brunson.  Not Phil Hellmuth.  Not Barry Greenstein.  Not Allen Cunningham.  Not even Phil Ivey.  None of the proper names that would normally come up in any argument about the most skilled poker professional will be correct.

I predict that in just a few years – when the argument is based purely on poker knowledge and raw skill, or what some might call “natural talent” - the greatest poker player alive is very likely to be someone, somewhere out there now who is living in one of the 150 nations where online poker is played.  He’s putting in incalculable hours of poker playing, day and night, on his home computer.

While many talented players will continue to win money and fame, the most gifted player will be an obsessively focused young person who puts massive amounts of time into his craft.  He’ll likely do this to the detriment of other activities.  He won’t have many close personal relationships.  He won’t play sports.  He won’t be spending his teen years drinking or getting high.  He might even be called “anti-social” by those around him (or her, to be fair), but he will ultimately become the most gifted poker player alive.

Most of his table decisions will be made on autopilot and they will invariably be as correct as a card counter playing basic strategy in blackjack.  More complex decisions requiring deeper contemplation will always be crafted to extract the maximum expected value out of the situation.  He won’t always win, of course; no poker player does.  But his decisions will, without fail, always be astute.  He will, by his 20th birthday, have played thousands of hours of poker and hundreds of thousands of poker hands.  He will have made an immeasurable number of strategic decisions.  By age 25, he will have likely played more hands than Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, or Stu Ungar played during their entire lifetimes.

The point here is that nothing prepares one for success like repetition.

Consider the compelling argument made by author Malcolm Gladwell in his current best seller Outliers: The Story of Success.  Gladwell shows us how extraordinary accomplishment is usually the byproduct of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of hours of hard work, intense curiosity, and repetition.  Indeed, lots of repetition.  Yes, intelligence matters a lot in determining success.  So does luck.  But nothing can match the actual practice of spending incomparable hours perfecting a craft.

In his masterful book (what I consider to be a “must read” if you haven’t picked it up already), Gladwell examines the lives of many successful people, from Bill Gates to The Beatles, in order to prove that the most critical factor in determining success (or failure, by implication) is the commitment of time.  Of course, these lives of famous people have been scrutinized in hundreds of accounts.  But until Gladwell’s revealing book, I’m not sure that anyone truly understood the degree to which the most successful people in various fields focused on improving themselves and ultimately perfecting their trades.

Right this minute, there are hundreds of players who day in and day out are winning vast sums of money online.  They are destined to revolutionize not only how the game is played, but also how it evolves.  All of the torchbearers are playing online.  Their names are largely unknown to the public except by their cagey screen names at online poker sites and various ranking systems that can be found all over the Internet.

What do they do that’s so different from everyone else?  What secret knowledge do they possess which allows them to earn five or ten times the average annual salary of someone working a conventional job?  Two words: Time spent.  Incredibly, many of these players are in their 20s.  Some are even in their teens.  They live all around the world and they are hammering online poker games for millions of dollars in earnings.  These are dedicated craftsmen (and a few craftswomen) who are the real day-to-day winners in the game of poker.  They don’t make headlines.  They make millions in profits while many so-called superstars actually earn very little money by actually playing poker.

The recent “Durrr Poker Challenge” may very well represent the passing of a torch to a new generation.  A decade ago, it was Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Allen Cunningham, Layne Flack, and others who were labeled as the young guns of poker.  Now, those players are in their 30s.  Today, it’s players like Tom Dwan and countless other (mostly anonymous) online winners who are ready to kick their elders to the curb.  The notion that a 21-year-old poker player could seriously challenge the top names in the game would have been blasphemous if not unthinkable just ten years ago.  Now, it’s reality.  Even late legend Stu Ungar (the first real wunderkind) did not burst on the poker scene until he was in his mid-20s.  Even five years ago, many cash game pros welcomed online players into their games with great anticipation.  Times have certainly changed.  If the torch has not quite been passed, it has most certainly has been lit.  That flame in the distance is approaching fast and is going to end up burning a lot of unsuspecting people caught up in the past.

Indeed, the greatest poker player alive (right now) and the person perhaps destined to be the greatest poker player who ever lived is probably sitting somewhere in his basement right now, multi-tabling numerous games, hammering out profit, and most importantly, continuing to improve.  He will eventually leave everyone else behind.  The bar of excellence once established by the likes of Brunson, Ungar, Ivey, and the rest is about to be set a little higher for everyone, especially the generations to follow.

Nolan Dalla on the Greatest Poker Player Alive

No one who can rise before dawn three hundred and sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.
-- Chinese Proverb

A few years from now when someone asks, “Who is the greatest living poker player?” the answer might be a surprise.

It won’t be Doyle Brunson.  Not Phil Hellmuth.  Not Barry Greenstein.  Not Allen Cunningham.  Not even Phil Ivey.  None of the proper names that would normally come up in any argument about the most skilled poker professional will be correct.

I predict that in just a few years – when the argument is based purely on poker knowledge and raw skill, or what some might call “natural talent” - the greatest poker player alive is very likely to be someone, somewhere out there now who is living in one of the 150 nations where online poker is played.  He’s putting in incalculable hours of poker playing, day and night, on his home computer.

While many talented players will continue to win money and fame, the most gifted player will be an obsessively focused young person who puts massive amounts of time into his craft.  He’ll likely do this to the detriment of other activities.  He won’t have many close personal relationships.  He won’t play sports.  He won’t be spending his teen years drinking or getting high.  He might even be called “anti-social” by those around him (or her, to be fair), but he will ultimately become the most gifted poker player alive.

Most of his table decisions will be made on autopilot and they will invariably be as correct as a card counter playing basic strategy in blackjack.  More complex decisions requiring deeper contemplation will always be crafted to extract the maximum expected value out of the situation.  He won’t always win, of course; no poker player does.  But his decisions will, without fail, always be astute.  He will, by his 20th birthday, have played thousands of hours of poker and hundreds of thousands of poker hands.  He will have made an immeasurable number of strategic decisions.  By age 25, he will have likely played more hands than Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, or Stu Ungar played during their entire lifetimes.

The point here is that nothing prepares one for success like repetition.

Consider the compelling argument made by author Malcolm Gladwell in his current best seller Outliers: The Story of Success.  Gladwell shows us how extraordinary accomplishment is usually the byproduct of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of hours of hard work, intense curiosity, and repetition.  Indeed, lots of repetition.  Yes, intelligence matters a lot in determining success.  So does luck.  But nothing can match the actual practice of spending incomparable hours perfecting a craft.

In his masterful book (what I consider to be a “must read” if you haven’t picked it up already), Gladwell examines the lives of many successful people, from Bill Gates to The Beatles, in order to prove that the most critical factor in determining success (or failure, by implication) is the commitment of time.  Of course, these lives of famous people have been scrutinized in hundreds of accounts.  But until Gladwell’s revealing book, I’m not sure that anyone truly understood the degree to which the most successful people in various fields focused on improving themselves and ultimately perfecting their trades.

Right this minute, there are hundreds of players who day in and day out are winning vast sums of money online.  They are destined to revolutionize not only how the game is played, but also how it evolves.  All of the torchbearers are playing online.  Their names are largely unknown to the public except by their cagey screen names at online poker sites and various ranking systems that can be found all over the Internet.

What do they do that’s so different from everyone else?  What secret knowledge do they possess which allows them to earn five or ten times the average annual salary of someone working a conventional job?  Two words: Time spent.  Incredibly, many of these players are in their 20s.  Some are even in their teens.  They live all around the world and they are hammering online poker games for millions of dollars in earnings.  These are dedicated craftsmen (and a few craftswomen) who are the real day-to-day winners in the game of poker.  They don’t make headlines.  They make millions in profits while many so-called superstars actually earn very little money by actually playing poker.

The recent “Durrr Poker Challenge” may very well represent the passing of a torch to a new generation.  A decade ago, it was Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Allen Cunningham, Layne Flack, and others who were labeled as the young guns of poker.  Now, those players are in their 30s.  Today, it’s players like Tom Dwan and countless other (mostly anonymous) online winners who are ready to kick their elders to the curb.  The notion that a 21-year-old poker player could seriously challenge the top names in the game would have been blasphemous if not unthinkable just ten years ago.  Now, it’s reality.  Even late legend Stu Ungar (the first real wunderkind) did not burst on the poker scene until he was in his mid-20s.  Even five years ago, many cash game pros welcomed online players into their games with great anticipation.  Times have certainly changed.  If the torch has not quite been passed, it has most certainly has been lit.  That flame in the distance is approaching fast and is going to end up burning a lot of unsuspecting people caught up in the past.

Indeed, the greatest poker player alive (right now) and the person perhaps destined to be the greatest poker player who ever lived is probably sitting somewhere in his basement right now, multi-tabling numerous games, hammering out profit, and most importantly, continuing to improve.  He will eventually leave everyone else behind.  The bar of excellence once established by the likes of Brunson, Ungar, Ivey, and the rest is about to be set a little higher for everyone, especially the generations to follow.

Poker News in Brief: March 30-April 5

As part of a weekly series we've compiled a list of stories that didn't quite make it into the main news roster but were worth mentioning.

This week we take a look at an honored female poker player finally getting the recognition she deserves along with one of the best online players in the world doing what he does best - win tournaments.

Cyndy Violette headlines 2009 Women in Poker Hall of Fame inductees

On June 5, Cyndy Violette along with June Field and Jan Fisher will be inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame.

Violette is a World Series of Poker bracelet winner and has accumulated more than $1 million in tournament winnings through her career. Field is also a WSOP bracelet winner, but she made most of her mark behind the poker scene by founding two poker magazines as well as two poker cruises.

Fisher enjoys a semiprofessional poker career, but is better known for her role as a tournament director for events as well as co-founding the Tournament Directors Association. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Poker Players Alliance, Ladies Poker Association and Ladies International Poker Series.

This is only the second year of inductions since the creation of the WiPHoF, and these three women will join Marsha Waggoner, Susie Isaacs, Linda Johnson and Barbara Enright in the Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony plus a celebration dinner and dance will take place June 5 at the Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas.

Texas committee passes poker bill

Live poker keeps getting closer and closer to legalization in Texas. This week Texas State Representative Jose Menendez' poker bill got passed by a 6-3 vote in the Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee.

Although the bill must still pass through the House of Representatives there's definitely a chance that poker players will soon be able to actually play Texas No-Limit Hold'em in Texas.

As always be sure to check out poker blog Pokerati as they are following the Texas situation closely.

UFC fighter brandish Ultimate Bet gear

At first it was just a rumor but it appears two "Ultimate" brands are now officially collaborating. Ultimate Bet Poker and the Ultimate Fighting Championship must have come to a beneficial agreement as Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann donned Ultimate Bet gear during his latest tilt that was shown on Spike TV.

Check out topix.net for more information.

WestmenloAA wins SCOOP event 1

Online player Isaac "WestmenloAA" Baron proved once again just how dominant he can be by winning one of the Day 1 SCOOP events on PokerStars.

Baron won one of the middle tier events on Day 1 specifically the $55 6-Max No-Limit Hold'em with rebuys. Despite the event's small buy-in the prize pool was an impressive $641,350 thanks to rebuys.

Baron beat KidCardiff6 in heads-up play to take down the epic $97,805 first place prize.

Read more about it at the PokerStars blog.

New players touched by an iPod at Betfair Poker

From March 25 to April 12, new players have a chance to win an iPod Touch at Betfair Poker.

Any new player who generates 10,000 Betfair Poker points within their first 60 days of their first real-money hand will earn an 8GB iPod Touch. Along the way to 10,000 points, players who reach 1,000 points will also be automatically qualified for a seat in an exclusive freeroll where the top 50 players will also receive an iPod Touch.

Check out the details at Betfair Poker.

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Matt Graham (mattg1983) Joins Ultimate Bet Star Players Team

On Thursday, online poker room Ultimate Bet announced that it had signed World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet holder and top online poker player Matt “mattg1983” Graham to its roster of Star Players. He joins Tiffany Michelle, Tracy Scala, James “P0KERPR033” Campbell, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, “Hollywood” Dave Stann, and Michael Binger.

Graham's WSOP bracelet came after a grueling heads-up match against Bodog pro and “Survivor: China” contestant Jean-Robert Bellande in a $1,500 buy-in Limit Shootout event last year. Graham's win was worth $278,000, solidifying his name as a major force in both the live and online poker worlds. Graham also took down a $5,000 buy-in event held during the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December for $320,000, besting David Matthew heads-up. Finishing in the top ten of that tournament were a talented group of pros including David “The Dragon” Pham, Hafiz Khan, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson.

In a statement released by the Tokwiro-owned online poker site, Annie Duke welcomed her new colleague to Ultimate Bet: "I am so thrilled to have Matt Graham on the team. Matt epitomizes the all-around poker player. He has great results in all of the games, live or online. Matt is an amazing addition to the UltimateBet.com team." Duke and Phil Hellmuth serve as the primary faces of Ultimate Bet, which makes its home on the USA-friendly CEREUS Network. Late last year, the site combined its member base with that of Absolute Poker, creating the popular Network.

Michelle was the last woman standing in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, ultimately finishing 17th and taking home $334,000. Scala won the first season of “Best Damn Poker Show,” a reality series on Fox Sports Net pitting Duke and Hellmuth against each other to see who can groom poker's next superstar. The second installment of “Best Damn Poker Show” just wrapped up and was won by Patrick Karst.

Campbell is one of the top online players and can be found battling it out under the alias “P0KERPR033.” Levy finished fifth in the World Poker Tour's Festa al Lago event last year, banking $266,000. Stann was a contestant on “Best Damn Poker Show” Season One and is well-known for his skills at the blackjack table. Binger has nearly $5 million in career WSOP earnings, although he has not yet won a bracelet.

On his new employer, Graham noted, "I look forward to the opportunity to represent UltimateBet.com both online and in the live arena. I never would have thought I would be a site pro when I began my online poker career at UltimateBet.com four years ago, but now here I am. I am very excited to be a part of the future of this site." Online, the poker prodigy took down the Sunday Second Chance on PokerStars in August for $53,000. In the same month, he also won the PokerStars $100 rebuy, one of the most challenging tournaments in all of poker, for $38,000.

According to PokerScout.com, which ranks online poker traffic, CEREUS sits at number seven worldwide with a seven day running average of 2,400 real money ring game players. Its 24 hour peak, which occurs during prime time hours in the United States, is 3,321. The CEREUS Network is the third largest that accepts players from the United States, trailing only PokerStars (24,400 cash game players on average) and Full Tilt Poker (11,000). Both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet are owned by Tokwiro Enterprises. The Network's Bad Beat Jackpot was hit last week for over $800,000 when a Royal Flush defeated a jack-high Straight Flush.

FullFlush1 spews: The Luke Schwartz interview

That's what railbirds and nosebleed players alike have been asking themselves as __FullFlush1__ leapfrogged his way to the top of the No-Limit Hold'em charts over the past couple months.

The trash-talking __FullFlush1__ has already tallied big wins against Tom "durrrr" Dwan, David "Raptor" Benefield and Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond while playing at the highest stakes available online.

It turns out the man behind the myth is Londoner Luke Schwartz.

Although he's only been playing poker for the past four years, Schwartz built his bankroll and reputation by dominating the cash games on Betfair Poker.

"When I started I was just a donk, but I somehow managed to beat the fish," Schwartz told PokerListings.com. "I went broke a couple times, but I had a couple MTT wins to get me back in."

Since then Schwartz has primarily played cash games, and he's been incredibly successful at it.

Starting in 2009, Schwartz turned his attention to the ultra high-stakes games on Full Tilt Poker. He deposited just $10,000 at first, but has since run that up past $1 million.

The 25-year-old Brit immediately started getting noticed for his complete disregard for some of the most elite online players.

In a recent interview with BBC radio, Schwartz mentioned he had no fear when playing the best players. He's also been known to trash-talk whomever he's playing.

"Some of these spazzes on the Full Tilt rail seem to hate me since I've been making their gods all look like fish," said Schwartz. "It's [funny]."

Although he wouldn't talk about any specific strategies he uses against the top-tier players, Schwartz says he is confident he can win against anyone, even the vaunted Dwan.

"I do have a huge heads-up No-Limit edge on every player on this planet," he said. "[Dwan] has run like god the last few sessions and I'm beating him for like $500,000 so far."

While beating some of the best players online, Schwartz has continued to unleash a barrage of insults against them, including referring to Dwan as "durrrr-balls" and the rest of his crew as "OMGweNerds."

When asked where he comes up with this stuff, Schwartz responded simply, "It comes naturally when the truth stares me in the face."

Never one to shy away from controversy, Schwartz has already said he'd like to take on the $1.5 million, 50,000 hand durrrr Challenge, and pretty much anyone is a fair target.

"The Dangs [Di "Urindanger" Dang and Hac "Trex313" Dang] are quite weak," he said. "They ***hunt Gus [Hansen] and Guy [Laliberte] and that's in mixed. Their No-Limit heads-up game is weak."

One might begin to think that Schwartz has no respect for any other poker players at all, but he did mention there are a number who are very skilled. Sami "LarsLuzak" Kelopuro was one, and he said he likes INTERNET POKERS' game as well.

"Some of the $50/$100 players I think are much better than the OMGweNerds crew and company," Schwartz said.

He was even able to dig up at least one compliment for Dwan, albeit a slightly backhanded one.

"I respect durrrr's stamina and willingness to gamble, even though he's still a nonce-cake," he said.

Schwartz's live tournament results to date amount to under $35k in cashes, and when asked what he would like to accomplish in poker over the next couple years he mentioned he had some interest in winning a major tournament.

A frequent player on the PokerStars European Poker Tour, he also said he hoped to see a few other Brits find the same success he has.

But more than anything, he said he wants to keep dominating the nosebleed cash games online.

"I'd like to send a lot of nits broke all over the world," he said. "I'm done trash-talking - time for OMGweBROKE."

Related articles:

• FullFlush1 back to challenge durrrr
• __FullFlush1__ passes durrrr in Hold'em profits
• __FullFlush1__ trades pots with aejones

Visit PokerListings.com

Barry Greenstein Interview with Poker News Daily

Poker News Daily: When you first started playing poker, did you have any idea you’d become this successful?

Greenstein: I started when I was 12 years-old playing for quarters. I used to golf for money and play poker for money. When I started off, I just wanted to be able to pay for golf with my poker money. I always seemed to do well at it. I played a lot of games when I was a kid and also played a lot of sports. I was always successful at poker and I knew from the time I was a teenager that if I just stuck to poker, I’d be in good shape financially. I used to play on weekends when I was in college and picked up money to pay for things.

I did so many other things in my life and education was always my priority. I liked to learn outside of school. I was a scratch golfer when I was 18 and planned to be a professional golfer more so than a professional poker player. Poker was something I did on the weekends to make spending money.

I wish that some of the younger kids today would play poker a little bit a little more in moderation and carve out a life for themselves. I’m afraid for some of the younger kids, and especially the ones who dropped out of college, who will find that they want to do something more productive than just play poker. When they’re 30, they’ll say that they don’t have anything else they’re able to do for a living besides poker.

A lot of times, I blame the parents. They teach their kids that success means having a lot of money. If you’re an intelligent young kid, poker is probably the best way to make money. I made some money to be able to do things like travel around the world. However, players shouldn’t make poker the only thing in their lives.

You don’t have to be the best at poker in order to do well. You just have to be better than the people you’re playing against. If you’re a decent player, you should be able to find games that you can beat. If you look at the big picture, that will allow you to have a better life.

PND: What job would you have if you weren’t playing poker professionally?

Greenstein: I took some time off from poker to do computer programming when I was in my 30’s, but what I really wanted to do was go back to school, become a doctor, and do medical work. That’s what I was hoping would be my life’s work, but there were financial reasons why I was never able to do what I wanted to do. I always had to come back to poker as a source of income. When I needed more money, I played more poker.

PND: What do you like the least about playing poker professionally?

Greenstein: When you’re doing poorly, there are a lot of bad things about poker. It’s depressing. I’ve certainly laid in bed at night and wondered how anyone can win at poker. It seems so absurd to be playing cards for money when you’re not doing well. Even when I’ve done well and needed the money, I have to admit to myself that there are other people I’ve taken money from. I have to question the morality of that.

For my own children who asked me how to play poker, I tell them to have a passion for something else that’s more productive, more interesting, and more intrinsically fulfilling than poker.

PND: Explain the predatory nature of poker.

Greenstein: I like playing with wealthy, bad players who have enough money where I don’t feel like I’m hurting them or changing their lifestyle. I have, at times, quit playing against people who I knew I was hurting. I don’t have that killer instinct to destroy people. In the games that I play in, everyone is a professional. The way I rationalize what I do when I play against other professionals is I look at it like it’s any other capitalistic endeavor. It was the same way when I was writing software. I thought that I wrote better software than other people and, as a result of that, I might have put other people out of business. In capitalism, some people don’t succeed. In some cases, I could even rationalize winning by saying it’s a good thing that I’m putting other people out of business and forcing them to do something that’s better for them.

The times that I’ve had issues are when I’ve played against people who really can’t afford to play poker. I’ll never lend them money and I’ll let up on them. Other professionals will say that if I don’t take their money, someone else will. I always felt that I could find other spots that were more reasonable for me to make money.

PND: What aspect of playing poker do recreational fans not understand?

Greenstein: Most people have the impression that we’re all multi-millionaires. I don’t know how many times I’ve had people tell me when I’m playing that it must be great to never have to worry about money. I tell them that if I didn’t have to worry about money, I wouldn’t be sitting here playing. PokerStars doesn’t ask me to play in cash games like they do to a lot of other people. I play cash games anyway and I’m really trying to make money. I am paying the bills with my poker money.

I don’t have as much money as people might think. I’ve given money away. I’ve lost money in the World Series of Chinese Poker. People will often look at career winnings, but they forget that money goes to taxes and money goes to expenses. My expenses right now are about $100,000 per month, so if I sit and do nothing, I’m losing over a million dollars per year. I have to make a lot of money.

A lot of people asked me why I signed with PokerStars. With all of the tournaments going on, I couldn’t play in as many cash games. I wasn’t making the money I had been making. I get a monthly check from PokerStars and it helps allay the cost of living for me. I’ve got three kids in college. I’ve got a lot of expenses.

PND: What qualities are often overlooked when considering what it takes to be successful?

Greenstein: Some people don’t have what it takes. There are some people who are just competitive. The most important quality for a successful poker player is psychological toughness. You will go through some downtimes. Bad things are going to happen to you when you play poker. Some people are going to learn from them, whether it was because of their own doing or just bad luck. Some people can’t handle things going against them. I have always felt that I’m the toughest person I know psychologically.

PND: What mistakes are common as people move up in poker?

Greenstein: Most people, when they jump up, jump into much bigger games. You see people who win 20 times in a row and then go broke when they lose once. A lot of people leave at the wrong time and don’t realize that the game is good. The times that you should take a shot at a bigger game are when you’ve been doing well and that game looks juicy. Knowing when to take your shots at the bigger games is really important and I think a lot of people get it wrong. I also see people who are just lazy. When you’re making money, you should try to make as much money as you can.

PND: What are some strengths and weaknesses of online poker players?

Greenstein: The general weakness is that they play their value too much. A lot of that is the internet. You don’t get as many reads on your opponents. You get a lot of tells live and a lot of online players underrate that because they’re not good at it.

PND: Which online players have you been impressed with?

Greenstein: There are a lot of good online players and they’re only going to get better, especially in the live environment. I hate to single anybody out because we’ll see that some of the players who are skilled will destroy themselves in other ways like relationships, alcohol, or drugs. There are so many pitfalls when you play poker. Playing the cards is a small percentage of what it takes to be a successful poker player. We’re going to see some of these players who we think might become the greatest player in the world and, five years later, not hear anything about them. Among younger players, I look for the ones who handle themselves well.

Hansen out-zags ziigmund

Regardless of who sits across from the Great Dane, the $500/$1,000 Hansen Knockout heads-up table on the site is host to a high-stakes bloodbath almost nightly.

For the last half of March Hansen has been on the ropes, ready to fully self-destruct, showering the other nosebleed players in an endless stream of $100,000 pots.

However, he turned his luck around last night, posting a winning session against one of the most feared online players in the world.

Out of the six largest pots in the heads-up session, Hansen took down five - three worth well over $100,000, including the largest pot of the session standing at a whopping $154,000.

More hand replays can be found by clicking to our MarketPulse section, but here's a look at the four largest pots of the session:

A little luck on the turn

ziigmund drawing dead on the turn

That's strong, right?

Set vs. set

With action typically heating up in time for the weekend, check MarketPulse for the latest hands.

Related Articles:

• Gus Hansen: Are the sharks circling?
• Hansen goes off on OMGClayAiken, Urindanger
• Gus Hansen plays Dang-gerous poker
• Gus Hansen and trex313 = BFF?

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