Posts Tagged ‘Online Poker’
Nine-Way Chop Ends PokerStars Fifth Anniversary Sunday Million
Early Monday morning, the battle in the Fifth Anniversary PokerStars Sunday Million came to a close, setting records for both its prize pool and player count.
Last week, when PokerStars announced that the guaranteed prize of the fifth anniversary of its Sunday Million would be $5 million, it was safe to assume that it would draw huge numbers. When the site added on a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 as another reward for the victor, it added fuel to an already sizzling fire.
By the time late registration had ended in the early rounds of the tournament, an astounding 59,128 players had coughed up the $200 buy-in to participate in the event. The prize pool – $11,825,600 – was the second largest in online poker history, eclipsed only by last year’s World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event. Adding in the cost of the car, the Fifth Anniversary PokerStars Sunday Million featured a prize pool that bested $12 million.
Even though the tournament was one of the largest online events ever, the pace of play was rapid. It took slightly less than five hours to get to the 7,450th place player, who would earn a minimum cashout of $354.76. The main goal, of course, was the top prize of over $1 million and that Italian sports car.
Seven hours into the tournament, players continued to drop by the wayside as the event reached the 1,000-player mark. Although the elimination of 58,000 players came quickly, the final 1,000 battled it out for the next five hours to determine the final table. Once “pbrsquad” was vanquished in tenth place, the final table was set.
According to the PokerStars Blog, this is where the tournament became more interesting. With “Syndrome1977” holding the chip lead with 107.7 million over “Bdbeatslayer” (92.6 million), the final table players took some shots at thinning the herd. After a few hands in which “Syndrome1977” gave up the chip lead to “wrzr123,’ the table was paused and discussion of a chop began.
After almost an hour of chatter, the players were able to divvy up the roughly $4.7 million remaining in the prize pool. Taking the lion’s share was the chip leader, “wrzr123,” who walked off with over $844,000, but every player came away from the deal with at least $263,000. Set aside as the remaining prize was the Lamborghini.
Over the span of the next hour-and-a-half, the combatants for the Lamborghini came down to two players. “Bdbeatslayer” went on a massive run after the deal was struck and came into heads-up play holding a 4-1 lead over “sheppyshape.” The duo battled for roughly another half-hour before “sheppyshape,” holding pocket sevens, committed his stack to the center of the table. Unfortunately for him, “Bdbeatslayer” held a dominating pair of nines. After an uneventful board, “Bdbeatslayer” was the victor of the largest PokerStars Sunday Million in history.
1. Bdbeatslayer – $671,093.81 and a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
2. sheppyshape – $465,647.02
3. wrzr123 – $844,209.87
4. guccyka – $411,090.13
5. Syndrome1977 – $799,842.09
6. zeurrr – $518,402.33
7. nhar818 – $441,541.06
8. Jan10004 – $311,023.33
9. Battmeister – $263,888.06
Visit PokerStars for more details.
Weekly Freerolls: The Hits Keep Coming
This week the Titan Poker takes center stage with an epic $5,000 freeroll set to take place on Thursday. The event costs just 25 Titan Points to buy in, so make sure you get a piece of the action.
Also worth looking into this week is the $2,500 William Hill freeroll, which kicks off later today, and the Betfair $3,000 freeroll on Sunday.
As a reminder PokerStars will once again be offering a mega-freeroll on Jan. 15 with $15,000 in Sunday Million tickets. Every player that earned 100 player points in December is eligible so be sure to check if you qualified without realizing it.
If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up for an online poker account.
William Hill is running an exclusive $2.5k freeroll for PokerListings players in the first week of January.
Date: Jan. 8 Value: $2,500 Buy-in: 10 William Hill Points Sign up herePokerListings players will want to check out the Betfair Poker $3,000 freeroll on Jan. 9.
Date: Jan. 9 Value: $3,000 Qualify with: 5 frequent player points Qualify between: December 1-31 Sign up herePokerListings players will have access to a $500 freeroll by 888poker.
Date: Jan. 11 Value: $500 Qualify with: 100 status points in December Sign up hereTitan Poker is running a $5,000 freeroll for PokerListings players that costs just 25 Titan Points to buy into.
Date: Jan. 13 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 25 Titan Points Sign up herePokerListings players have access to exclusive monthly $2,000 freerolls on PartyPoker.
Date: Jan. 15 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 100 Party Points Earned Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up hereAbsolute Poker runs $5,000 monthly tournaments for PokerListings players.
Date: Jan. 15 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands in December Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up herePokerListings players get a shot at the UB Poker $5,000 exclusive monthly tournaments.
Date: Jan. 16 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands in December Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up herePoker770 is hosting an exclusive $1,000 freeroll for PL.com players.
Date: Jan. 16 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: New deposit Qualify between: Any day before Jan. 16 Sign up herePokerStars is running a massive $15,000 Sunday Million freeroll on Jan. 16.
Date: Jan. 16 Value: $15,000 in Sunday Million tickets Qualify with: 75 VPPs Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up herebwin Poker is running exclusive monthly $1,000 freerolls for PokerListings players.
Date: Jan. 23 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: 50 frequent player points Qualify between: May 15-Jan. 22 Sign up hereVisit www.pokerlistings.com
The Online Railbird Report: Galfond Makes 2011 Debut, “URnotINdanger2″ Cleans Up, and Isildur1 News
Prahlad Friedman Discusses Signing with UB.com
Brand new to Team UB.com is bracelet winner Prahlad Friedman, who joined the site following the departures of Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth. Friedman sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss joining the USA-friendly CEREUS Network site.
Poker News Daily: Tell us why you signed with UB.com following your now-famous Tweet in November saying you’d be “selling out” by joining an online poker site. Did you have a change of heart?
Prahlad Friedman: I had a change of heart. It was all because of friends and family. They all convinced me that I could do greater good by signing and having more exposure and influence. We live in a society where the people who are the most well known have the greatest influence. I felt this could get me out there a little more. There’s also a charity component to my deal.
PND: What can you tell us about the charity portion of your agreement with UB.com?
Prahlad Friedman: There’s a good chunk of money that I’ll be giving to charity every year. I’ll be posting on Facebook and Twitter for any charities people think are awesome and I have a few ideas of my own. There are many options out there.
PND: What sparked your original stance against signing with an online poker site?
Prahlad Friedman: I’m just super liberal. I was raised vegetarian and I meditate. I’ve always liked underground hip-hop. I’ve always been on the outside. Now, I’m trying to mix it up and work from the inside out. I can turn a lot of heads, make people healthier, and help with charity. I don’t view it as selling out.
PND: You were affected by the cheating scandal on UB.com. What does Prahlad Friedman signing with UB.com say about the site moving forward?
Prahlad Friedman: People should know I’m not a donkey. I’m not going to sign if I thought there was anything going on. I obviously feel like the site is different and new now. Anybody who had to do with that scandal is gone.
PND: With Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth now gone from Team UB.com, can you be the main face of an online poker site?
Prahlad Friedman: I’ve always been a leader. I’ve always been outspoken. For quite a few years now, I haven’t been afraid to do interviews and be in front of cameras. I’m comfortable and have always been a point guard.
PND: What were your thoughts when you found out that Duke and Hellmuth were leaving?
Prahlad Friedman: They’re going to make the decision that’s best for them; it didn’t raise any concerns for me. They’ve been there a while and wanted a change of pace or had a change of heart just like I did. People change and the fact that they’re out is hopefully good for them and I know they’ll do well in the future. It also gives me an opportunity to be at the forefront. One of the things that most attracted me to this deal was the creative control I’ll have in commercials, clothing lines, and charitable things.
PND: What details can you share about the interactions you had with UB.com following the cheating scandal? Were you reimbursed?
Prahlad Friedman: It’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve had. I’m sure a lot of people feel differently, but I was pumped to get money back and it was a large sum. They took care of me and it reinforced to me that I was one of the best poker players in the world. Any money I had lost was because I was cheated off of it. Every site has had its problems with weird things happening and you have to improve and move on.
PND: What were your thoughts about Daniel Negreanu calling you out for signing with UB.com?
Prahlad Friedman: At first, people were recommending that I not read TwoPlusTwo and Twitter because if there’s anything negative, it can get to you, but I couldn’t help myself. I read Daniel Negreanu’s comments and I’m not hating on him. We’re friends and fellow vegans, but he feels strongly about UB. I don’t have problems with the things he said. I just feel a lot differently than he does.
PND: Were you surprised at some of Negreanu’s comments?
Prahlad Friedman: I knew from the past that people are going to bring up tough questions and criticize me. People have been criticizing me since I was on the scene. You can’t let those things affect you. People have different ideas. That’s what makes the world interesting.
PND: You broke Steve Nash’s consecutive free throw record on an episode of “Poker2Nite,” which was quite impressive. Tell us about your preparation for that attempt.
Prahlad Friedman: I’ve always been intense about things I do. Playing basketball competitively has been my main goal since I could hold a ball. All I did was shoot 500 or 1,000 shots a day for years and years. I’d sneak my way into gyms as a youth and I was obsessed with basketball.
Usually, when I go out and shoot, I’ll make 40 or 50 in a row, and my best is 118. The world record is 5,200 shots in a row, which would be awesome to break, but could be out of reach. I thought Nash’s record was within reach and broke it on the third try. I’d like to do it again, improve upon it, and make it so people will have a tough time beating it.
PND: We’d wager that many poker players know you best for your World Series of Poker Main Event run-ins with Ted Bort and Jeffrey Lisandro.
Prahlad Friedman: It seems silly that I’m known for those. I can’t blame people because ESPN is one of the biggest outlets and millions of people watch it. In the future, they can hopefully remember me for other things. I don’t like to be remembered for drama, so it is a little funny that these controversies come up. I’m looking to get past them.
PND: Are you focused on winning a second WSOP bracelet?
Prahlad Friedman: I haven’t played enough tournaments recently to have a really good chance. I’d love to win two, though, and with this signing with UB, I think I’ll play more. I’ll put myself in a good position to win another one.
Tags: Annie Duke, charity, cheat, Daniel Negreanu, interview, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, tournament, usa, WSOP
Editorial - Prahlad’s signing is good for UB – is it good for poker?
Prahlad Friedman Joins Team UB
Just weeks after announcing the site had parted ways with longtime team members Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth, the signing of one of the most feared online poker cash game players in the world comes as a shock, considering Friedman had previously rejected the concept of sponsorship and was one of the largest victims of a cheating scandal on UB that saw insiders gain access to opponent's hole cards.
Friedman, who plays under the names "Spirit Rock" and "Mahatma" online, has a World Series of Poker bracelet, World Poker Tour title, and more than $2.3 million in career live tournament earnings.
He believes this is a new era for himself and the site.
"UB is headed in a new direction, and I really like the team they've put together," he said. "Everyone on the team has interests away from poker. They're young, hip, cool -- people I enjoy hanging with and whose games I respect."
Almost as widely known for the rap video he made for the ESPN The Nuts segement during a deep run in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, UB says the addition of Friedman to its roster of young, talented poker pros makes the team immediately stronger and louder.
"One word to describe Prahlad Friedman joining UB.com? Epic," said fellow Team UB pro Joe Sebok. "We've netted one of the biggest cash game players of all time, an achievement that really speaks to the strength and attractiveness of UB heading into 2011."
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Prahlad Friedman Joins Team UB.com
Following last week’s overhaul at Team UB.com that saw Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth depart on the same day, the USA-friendly CEREUS Network site has picked up its newest pro. On Thursday, site officials announced that Prahlad Friedman had joined Team UB.com.
Friedman seemingly hinted at joining an online poker site back in November. The 32 year old California native Tweeted, “I said I would never sign with a poker site. Should I ever reconsider? What y’all think? I would have to get over the fact that I’m ‘selling out.’ I’m the only player in the world that hasn’t wanted a deal that I know of.” UB.com promoted Friedman as “one of the world’s greatest cash game players, online and off, with millions in winnings earned since 1999.”
Friedman’s first major live cash came eight years ago in the Main Event of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio, where he booked $101,000 for his runner-up finish to Full Tilt Poker’s Erick Lindgren. One year later, he notched his first (and so far only) World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in a $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em tournament and banked $109,000 in the process.
In 2005, Friedman played second fiddle to Chris Ferguson in the WSOP Circuit Championship at Harrah’s Rincon to earn another $363,000. One year later, this author remembers being at the Rio in Las Vegas and following Friedman through the WSOP Main Event. There, he turned in a 20th place finish for nearly a half-million dollars and fell just short of the coveted Main Event bracelet.
He’d make amends in August 2009, when Friedman took down the Legends of Poker, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). His victory in the California poker tournament was worth a colossal $1 million and saw Friedman outlast a final table that included November Niner Kevin Schaffel, Todd Terry, Toto Leonidas, and Sam Stein.
Friedman was a victim of the superuser scandal that rocked UB.com and drew the ire of PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu for signing with the site that had wronged him. “Kid Poker” responded to a variety of Tweets last weekend, among them one sent to fellow poker player Alex Outhred that read, “Like you, I’ve known him for years, which makes it all the more shocking. I’ve defended Prahlad on many occasions. Can’t here.”
Negreanu added to Outhred, “UB will always have to offer more than face value [for a sponsorship] because given a choice that’s close, no one would choose UB. Or shouldn’t… UB has to offer more money obv. He used to say it wasn’t about the money. I don’t believe that anymore… He used to speak out against all corporations, claiming he stood for something. Then, the money was right and his tune changed… I get it happens. I’m disappointed it did happen. I’ve always liked Prahlad and still do despite his decision. Just shocking.”
Nevertheless, Friedman will join UB.com just in time for the sixth UB.com Online Championship, or UBOC, which gets underway on January 16th. The 29-event series will stretch all the way until January 30th, when a $1,050 buy-in Main Event will kick off. The $1 million guaranteed feature tournament will deal No Limit Hold’em and be played as a Monster Stack.
Running alongside the sixth UBOC schedule is a MiniUBOC series, which features the same 29 tournaments, but with buy-ins that are generally one-tenth as large. The MiniUBOC slate ends with a $55 buy-in Monster Stack Championship Event that comes with a $50,000 guaranteed purse.
Following the departures of Hellmuth and Duke, UB.com’s stock of pros now includes Friedman, Joe Sebok, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Brandon Cantu, Tiffany Michelle, and Maria Ho. The site happily accepts players from the United States and joins Absolute Poker on the CEREUS Network.
Play with Prahlad Friedman today only by visiting UB.com.
The Midweek Briefing: Allen Cunningham Among Weekly Major Winners
Jordan Young (Jymaster0011) Wins PocketFives.com 2010 Yearly PLB Crown
Michigan online poker pro Jordan “Jymaster0011″ Young was named the winner of the 2010 PocketFives.com Yearly Leaderboard PLB title this week, accumulating 19,057 PLB Points to take the honor from 2009 champ Chris “moorman1″ Moorman. Young barely bested the 18,979 points of 2010 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year Taylor “taypaur” Paur, who finished as the runner-up in the PocketFives.com Yearly PLB race.
Young, who is currently ranked #1 in the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings, made huge waves on August 1st when he won two Sunday Majors on the same day, an accomplishment considered to be one of the greatest in online poker history. Young won the Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guaranteed for $132,787 and, just hours later, took down the Sunday Brawl for another $104,951. The scores were the biggest of his young career.
“I think it’s completely ridiculous,” Young told PocketFives.com about his unforgettable Sunday. “I know I’ll never have another day online like that again. I might have a bigger payday online, but it’s going to be because of one tournament; it’ll never be because of winning two really big tournaments. At the time, I didn’t realize how amazing I ran that day. It was a big stress reliever to set myself up comfortably financially.”
Young’s August heater continued with a victory in a $100 tournament on PokerStars on August 25th for $14,418 and then a win in the Full Tilt Poker $150 Rebuy for $79,784. He added another massive score in December, taking down the Full Tilt Poker $150 Rebuy again for $76,623. That victory helped him win not only the Yearly PLB title, but also the Monthly PLB race for December. He earned the same honor in August after his two Sunday Major wins.
Paur, who plays as “tramp$d0pray” on PokerStars and “ambiguosity” on Full Tilt Poker, had a pair of six-figure scores of his own in 2010. The 22-year-old California native won the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl in April for $101,852 and then collected the biggest payday of his poker career in May by winning FTOPS Event #29, a $150 Rebuy, for $192,228. Paur claimed the #1 ranking on PocketFives.com in June before relinquishing it weeks later. He currently stands at #2 in the Worldwide Rankings behind Young.
Rounding out the top five on the Yearly leaderboard were Mickey “mementmori” Petersen, Paul “paulgees81″ Volpe, and Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek. Peterson’s biggest payout came in May, when he took second in SCOOP Event #19, a $2,100 buy-in event in which he earned $161,660. Volpe, from Philadelphia, didn’t find a six-figure score in 2010, but was consistent throughout. He collected 15 scores of at least $20,000, including a victory in the Wednesday Quarter Million on PokerStars for $51,367.
Jarzabek, who also finished in the Top 10 in the CardPlayer Online Player of the Year Rankings, picked up his biggest cash of the year on the third day in January, when he won the PokerStars Sunday $100 Rebuy for $77,976. Here’s a look at the final results of the 2010 PocketFives.com Yearly PLB Leaderboard:
1. Jordan “Jymaster0011″ Young – 19,507.77 PLB Points
2. Taylor “taypaur” Paur – 18,979.23 PLB Points
3. Mickey “mementmori” Petersen – 18,922.16 PLB Points
4. Paul “paulgees81″ Volpe – 18,378.20 PLB Points
5. Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek – 18,350.73 PLB Points
6. Adam “Squee451″ Sherman – 17,970.93 PLB Points
7. Zachary “HustlerGrune” Gruneberg – 17,689.70 PLB Points
8. Chad “evechad” Eveslage – 17,651.23 PLB Points
9. Jeremy “daisyxoxo” Fitzpatrick – 17,636.64 PLB Points
10. Steve “gboro780″ Gross – 17,613.39 PLB Points
Online Poker Spotlight: Daniel “notontilt09″ Weinman
The Nightly Turbo: Mindset Coaching for 12, Feds Freezing Online Poker Cash in Washington, and More
Tags: Online Poker
UB.com and Absolute Poker Add More Money, More Winners to 2011 TLB
For many, the New Year means a fresh start and an opportunity to make positive changes. Online poker rooms are no exception. The CEREUS Network, comprised of UB.com and Absolute Poker, has revamped its Tournament Leaderboard (TLB) for 2011 and will award more money to more players.
The biggest change has been made to the Multi-Table TLB, where CEREUS will be dishing out $116,000 in prizes to the year-end leaders along with $15,000 in total to the top 20 players each month. For the yearly TLB, the overall winner will receive $10,000 plus a $10,000 seat in the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. The runner-up will receive $5,000 and a WSOP seat. The rest of the top ten at the end of the year will also receive cash prizes and the top 100 will have the opportunity to play in an exclusive $50,000 freeroll.
At the end of each month, the player atop the multi-table TLB (for that month only) will win $5,000, second place will get $2,500, and third place will receive $1,000. Fourth through tenth places will bank $500 and the remainder of the top 20 on the monthly TLB will get $300.
St. Louis resident “C_SWEENZ” finished 2010 atop the multi-table TLB and won $10,000 plus a seat at the 2011 WSOP Main Event. “Winning the 2010 leaderboard was a huge rush and great accomplishment! I’ve played a lot of hands and learned a lot,” said “C_SWEENZ” in a CEREUS Network press release. “I’m looking forward to improving my all-around game by continuing to play all of the great tournaments on UB and making another run for 2011. Good luck at the tables everyone!”
“FUTUREPROQQ,” from Lincoln, Nebraska finished second in the TLB and will also play in the WSOP Main Event on the poker network’s dime; he also collected $5,500.
The Sit and Go TLB is divided into three groups: Diamond, Heart, and Spade. Diamond is for players competing in sit and gos with buy-ins of $6.50 or lower, Heart is for $6.51 to $25 buy-ins, and Spade is for $26 buy-ins and higher. For each division, a player’s highest total score for 20 consecutive tournaments is what counts, which means that you aren’t rewarded for simply playing around-the-clock.
There are only weekly TLB prizes for sit and gos. A total of $1,000 will be split among the top 50 players every week in the Diamond group, $3,000 will be spread among the top 40 in the Heart group, and $5,000 will be chopped among the top 20 in the Spade group. All monetary prizes are awarded in Tournament Dollars.
At first blush, the TLB formula seems complicated, but it’s really not. For multi-table tournaments and sit and gos, points are calculated by taking the square root of the total prize pool and dividing by the player’s final position taken to the power of two-fifths. Got that? In other words, the two inputs that matter are the total prize pool and the final standings.
The formula was devised not to take into account the buy-in directly so that the TLB field will be level for users of all bankrolls. The buy-ins come into play when determining the prize pool, but since more players will typically register for lower buy-in tournaments, the prize pools will tend to even out. Higher buy-in events have tougher fields and lower buy-ins have larger fields, both presenting their own challenges.
Taylor Paur (ambiguosity) Wins 2010 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year
Earlier this week, Taylor “ambiguosity” Paur was named the 2010 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year after edging out defending titleholder Steve “gboro780″ Gross in the final days of December. Paur stockpiled an all-time record of 11,030 points for the year, besting previous winners Gross (2009), Alex “AJKHoosier1″ Kamberis (2008), and Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron (2007) in that department.
Paur, 22, won the Full Tilt Poker $75,000 Guaranteed on December 27th for nearly $25,000 to help put a stranglehold on the crown. In total, he amassed more than $1 million in online poker earnings for the year, making up more than two-thirds of his lifetime winnings. He won 13 tournaments in 2010, six of them for scores of $80,000 or more. His biggest payday came in May when he took down the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) $150 Rebuy for $192,228.90.
Paur’s biggest feat, though, may have been fending off Gross, whose accomplishments in online tournaments are simply unparalleled. Gross, who has more than $5 million in earnings since 2005, finished as the runner-up to Kamberis in the 2008 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year race before earning the honor in 2009 and finishing runner-up again in 2010. His consistency and dedication to the game have landed him among the elite players in the industry.
Rounding out the top five in the 2010 Online Player of the Year standings were Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek, Chris “Gettin Daize” Oliver, and Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet. Jarzabek, who helped open the online training site Tournament Poker Edge this year, totaled $782,355 in winnings to claim a spot in the Top 10 for the second straight year. Oliver, meanwhile, burst onto the scene in 2010 and spent several weeks as the #1 ranked player on PocketFives.com.
There’s a certain set of criteria for tournaments that count toward Card Player’s Online Player of the Year standings. Sites included in the rankings include PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, UB.com, Cake Poker, Absolute Poker, and Bodog and only tournaments with a buy-in of $100 or more qualify. The prize pool of a tournament must be at least $100,000 and prize packages such as trips or live tournament buy-ins do not count.
Here’s a look at the Top 20 in the 2010 Card Player Online Player of the Year Standings:
1. Taylor “ambiguosity” Paur – 11,030 points ($1,099,435 in earnings)
2. Steve “gboro780″ Gross – 10,320 points ($1,023,658 in earnings)
3. Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek – 9,932 points ($782,355 in earnings)
4. Chris “Gettin Daize” Oliver – 9,268 points ($854,769 in earnings)
5. Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet – 9,164 ($859,489 in earnings)
6. Zach “HustlerGrune” Gruneberg – 8,984 points ($776,347 in earnings)
7. “kirbynator” – 8,878 points ($1,143,749 in earnings)
8. Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy – 8,874 points ($837,089 in earnings)
9. Raj “BadcardsAA” Vohra – 8,688 points ($1,319,012 in earnings)
10. Aditya “Intervention” Agarwal – 8,432 points ($739,105 in earnings)
11. Mark “dipthrong” Herm – 8,250 points ($811,208 in earnings)
12. Jamie “TheCronic420″ Rosen – 8,126 points ($664,588 in earnings)
13. Jordan “Jymaster11″ Young – 8,088 points ($751,593 in earnings)
14. Nick “Grippolio” Grippo – 8,044 points ($688,878 in earnings)
15. Ross “zestfullyclean” Myers – 7,960 points ($618,388 in earnings)
16. James “croll103″ Carroll – 7,898 points ($712,167 in earnings)
17. Mickey “mement_mori” Petersen – 7,792 points ($737,838 in earnings)
18. Ryan “ryanbluf” Karp – 7,712 points ($648,334 in earnings)
19. “mralan2950 – 7,710 points ($777,994 in earnings)
20. Chris “cdbr3799″ Dombrowski – 7,704 ($817,196 in earnings)
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, absolute poker, bodog, buy-ins, cake poker, full tilt poker, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, trips
Silly Bandz Creator Partners with DeepStacks Live
In one of the most intriguing business pairings in recent years, Robert Croak, the creator of Silly Bandz, a popular line of toy bracelets, will become the newest partner in DeepStacks Live. If you’re not familiar with Silly Bandz, Business Week called the product “the biggest success in modern day toy selling,” while during a segment on “Ellen,” show host Ellen DeGeneres comically labeled them “rubber bands.”
Silly Bandz has sold over $200 million of the product according to “Ellen,” which includes Bandz themed for Facebook’s FarmVille, teen heartthrob Justin Beiber, Hershey’s, Barbie, SpongeBob Squarepants, and Dora the Explorer. The traditional Silly Bandz run about $6 per bag and the company also sells watches and other wrist wear.
Croak commented in a press release distributed by DeepStacks officials on Wednesday, “Much like SillyBandz, which I’ve often said is the right product at the right time, DeepStacks Live is an optimal product, coming of age at the perfect time. The company has gained serious momentum in the last year. It’s my goal to make DeepStacks Live an even more valuable franchise.” Croak is an avid poker player, which may have helped pique his interest in joining the DeepStacks Live team.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect about Silly Bandz is its rabid Facebook following. Its page has over one million fans on Facebook, where the company is currently touting its end of the year holiday blowout: “Seasonal Silly Bandz BlowOut! Only $2 per pack! Holiday I, Holiday II, Rudolph, and Halloween packs are on sale for $2 each! Now through Jan. 31st.” Its Facebook page also touts sea creature bandz, Rad bandz, and Build-A-Packs.
The SillyBandz Twitter account (@sillybandz) has over 16,000 followers and posts similar messages as its Facebook feed. In all likelihood, Croak will bring his experience in social marketing to DeepStacks Live in 2011.
DeepStacks Live’s team of instructors includes several top live pros including Mike Matusow, Michael Mizrachi, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and 1983 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Tom McEvoy, a PokerStars pro. Mizrachi made waves in 2010 by taking down the all-new $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship and following up that performance with a final table appearance in the Main Event. The two cashes were good for nearly $4 million combined.
DeepStacks Live has not yet announced its 2011 live training schedule, which the site promises is “coming soon.” In the interim, DeepStacks Live CEO Chris Torina is looking forward to working with his newest investor: “Robert’s success is unparalleled. He will be a hands-on partner. I am eager for him to bring his enormous business, marketing, and design resources and unique approach to DeepStacks Live. This is a recipe for huge success.”
Affiliated with DeepStacks Live is DeepStacks University, which provides top-tier poker training instruction to eager students online. Besides the five aforementioned poker pros, Team DeepStacks’ stable of instructors includes T.J. Cloutier, online poker wunderkid Matt “mattg1983” Graham, Tristan “Cre8ive” Wade, Alex Outhred, and Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh, who has appeared in FHM Online and Playboy.
The online version of DeepStacks runs $99, which includes the first two months of poker training. Then, the price drops to $29.95 per month.
Online Poker Politics: Looking Forward at 2011
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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Poker World Bahamas-Bound as PCA Begins
The 11-day poker festival that is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure gets underway at the Atlantis Hotel & Casino with the first of 48 events - A $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller event that will feature poker's elite.
In fact, 26 players have already registered, including stars like Phil Laak, Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Bertrand Grospellier, Tom Marchese, Sorel Mizzi, Antonio Esfandiari, Vivek Rajkumar and online poker phenom Ashton Griffin.
With 24-hours left to get in on the action, Pokerstars is expecting it to be the largest and richest Super High Roller poker tournament in history.
Of course, the $10,000 Main Event runs Jan. 8-15 this year and will feature a tape-delayed televised final table with hole cards revealed on ESPN and PokerStars.tv, in addition to a unique behind-the-scenes look at the PCA right here on PokerListings.com.
Last year, 19-year-old Floridian Harrison Gimbel outlasted a record-setting 1,529-player field to ship the $2.2 million first-place prize and organizers are expecting an even larger field this time around.
To follow all the action from a perspective never seen before in live tournament reporting, click through to PokerListings' Live PCA coverage beginning Friday, Jan. 8.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Daniel Cates (jungleman12) Profits $5.5 Million Online in 2010
Before 2010, Daniel “jungleman12” Cates was a nonentity in the online poker world. He began his career at the $0.50/$1 heads-up tables in 2008, made the move to sit and gos, and then went back to cash games. He busted his bankroll, was forced to get a minimum wage job at McDonald’s, and started the cycle all over again. Sound familiar? In 2010, Cates profited a healthy $5.5 million online.
Fast forward to March of last year. Grinding away in his parents’ basement, the Maryland native had built a bankroll big enough to play alongside the likes of like Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, “Isildur1,” and Tom “durrrr” Dwan at Full Tilt Poker’s nosebleed games. He was suddenly having daily swings of $500,000, sometimes more. Cates was a fixture in the biggest poker games on the internet and crushing them on a regular basis.
Cates saw his fame explode in July 2010. He joined the CardRunners team as an instructor and his real name was revealed to the poker community. In August, Cates agreed to take on Dwan in the second edition of the Durrrr Challenge, putting up $500,000 against Dwan’s $1.5 million in a 50,000-hand heads-up match. The community quickly awoke from the coma induced by the lull in Dwan’s first challenge with Antonius and saw some added intrigue generated by Cates’ limited media exposure.
Cates got off to a blazing start and is currently on top by $819,213 through 17,108 hands out of the 50,000 required for completion. He took $319,103 from Dwan in a 2,918-hand session late Monday night to increase his lead further and appears to be in the driver’s seat in the competition, having taken more than $1.3 million from Dwan lifetime.
It wasn’t just Dwan who had troubles with the young whiz kid in 2010. Cates was a big winner against Ivey, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, Aaron “aejones” Jones, and Ashton “theASHMAN103″ Griffin, along with many others. By the end of the year, Cates was the biggest winner in online poker, amassing around $5.5 million in profits according to HighStakesDB.com. He’s now considered by his peers to be one of the best poker players in the world.
Cates discussed his climb in limits in his blog in late 2010: “When making the jump to $25/$50, I ran into some players of a whole other caliber – players that understood the game at a significantly greater level than myself for the first time since I began. Still, I took them on and lost/swung for a decent time. This kind of downswing/recovery combo dragged on for a couple months, but eventually, I fixed all my flaws and even began conquering some of the same players. LOL, I never imagined my $25/$50 win rate would ever be near what is now.”
Cates finished the year as the overwhelming leader in profits on Full Tilt Poker. Norwegian pro Andreas “skjervoy” Torbergsen finished a distant second with $3.7 million, Dwan was third with $3.6 million, Ivey finished fourth with $3.0 million, and Jared “harrington25″ Bleznick landed in fifth with $2.2 million in profits.
Cates reflected on his rise to prominence in his blog: “I can’t say that I’ve handled all my failures appropriately, but I am fortunate that I utilized these failures well and [have] not experienced the extent of setbacks that some of you have felt. Long ago, I dreamed I would succeed if I acted wisely given my circumstances, but to be honest, I did not really imagine it would be to this degree, and especially not this fast.”
Follow Cates’ heads-up challenge with Dwan at DurrrrChallenge.com.
Ultimate Bet loses Duke and Hellmuth
Inside Gaming: Bellagio Discontinues $25k Chip, Casinos Coming to Ohio, and More
Top Online Poker Winners and Losers of 2010
Whether it was the durrrr Challenge II on Full Tilt or the new Isildur1 SuperStar Showdown on PokerStars there always seemed to be intriguing action of one kind or another on the go.
From the emergence of relative newcomer Dan “jungleman12” Cates to the continued success of established pros like Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius there were numerous plotlines to the high stakes games this year.
We’ll start by celebrating the five biggest online poker success stories of 2010 before taking a hard look at the five biggest disappointments of the year.
Top 5 Biggest Winners of 2010
5. Di “Urindanger” Dang: $2.2 million
Although Di “Urindanger” Dang tends to fly under the radar when compared to some of his more illustrious colleagues he’s remarkably consistent.
Since he started playing the high stakes games on Full Tilt in 2007, Dang has never recorded a losing year. 2010 was no exception.
Dang did suffer through a few losing months in late spring but he came around in August and by December was up to $2.2 million.
Yet another good Christmas for the Dang household.
4. Phil Ivey: $3 million
Phil Ivey usually plays far less hands than his online opponents but he always manages to rank as one of the top five winners.
This year Ivey wasn’t particularly active until mid-April, when he went on a $2 million heater. After logging notable victories against Ashton “ASHMAN103” Griffin and Patrik Antonius, Ivey vacated the online tables from May to late August.
In August Ivey got right back to business and quickly peaked at $3.8 million in profit.
Although Ivey coasted for the rest of the year and didn’t play any huge sessions, he still finished with a very respectable $3 million.
3. Tom “durrrr” Dwan: $3.6 million
It was yet another strong year for the poker prodigy originally from Edison, New Jersey.
Once again Tom Dwan was king when it came to volume, playing a total of 296,725 hands in 2010.
The year got off to a rocking start for Dwan and by mid-spring he peaked at an astounding $6.6 million. Unfortunately for Dwan he would come back down to earth over the rest of the year.
Dwan’s biggest obstacle was Dan “jungleman12” Cates. Dwan simply couldn’t solve Cates and lost more than $600k so far in the durrrr Challenge II.
At any rate, Dwan fared far better this year compared to 2009 when he ran into a hot Isildur1 and lost millions.
2. Andreas “Skjervoy” Torbergsen: $3.7 million
Perhaps the biggest surprise of this list is a Norwegian by the name of Andreas Torbergsen.
Torbergsen, who plays with his hometown of Skjervoy as his handle, signed with CardRunners this summer and went on to become one of the biggest winners in the high stakes online games this year.
Torbergsen was essentially at $0 in August but by the end of December was up $3.7 million. It helped he won $1 million in a 24-hour period in September and recorded several $500k sessions.
It remains to be seen whether Torbergsen will remain a fixture of the high stakes online poker scene.
1. Dan “jungleman12” Cates: $5.5 million
What more can be said about Dan “jungleman12” Cate’s dominance this year?
Three years ago Cates was flipping burgers but in 2010 he was playing the biggest online games in the world and hardly ever losing.
Cates dominated Tom Dwan in the durrrr Challenge II but also found time to take on anyone else who wanted a piece. His graph reads looks like an escalator (going up, of course). He won hundreds of thousands playing PLO (which he’s still learning).
Although some members of the online community cried variance, Cates was a consistent winner for the entire year.
At any rate, Cates now finds himself in an elite group of year-end winners that includes Patrik Antonius ($8.9 million in 2009), Phil Ivey ($7.3 million in 2008) and Niki Jedlicka ($3.1 million in 2007).
To put it simply: 2010 belonged to Cates.
Top 5 Biggest Losers of 2010
5. Brian “sbrugby” Townsend: – $1.5 million
Brian Townsend had a fantastic 2009 winning $2.4 million to become one of the biggest winners of the year.
2010 wasn’t quite as kind to the former CardRunners instructor.
Although Townsend didn’t use the sbrugby account until summer (more on that later), he didn’t waste any time donating stacks of cash online.
From June to October, Townsend lost $1.6 million and never really recovered, opting to sit out the last couple months of 2010.
Check below for even more on Townsend’s disastrous 2010.
4. Gus Hansen: -$1.6 million
You’d think losing $1.6 million would make for a pretty bad year but it could have been a lot worse for Gus Hansen.
The Great Dane actually got off to a hot start in 2010 and was up $2.3 million after the first couple of months.
Like many high stakes pros, Hansen took a break from the tables during the WSOP but was still up nearly $1 million.
It was during late summer that problems started to arise for the Team Full Tilt member. From July to October, Hansen lost $4 million, the biggest downswing of the year.
Hansen would hit rock bottom in mid-October going down to -$3.6 million.
Fortunately for Hansen he was able to put a steady string of wins together to finish the year at only -$1.6 million. Not the worst year for the recent WSOP bracelet winner.
3. cadillac1944: -$1.8 million
cadillac1944 is the only player on our list who has yet to be identified.
The online account first appeared in late August and that’s about when the losing began.
cadillac1944 quickly dropped down to -$677k by September with big losses against Urindanger and DrugsOrMe.
By November cadillac1944 was down -$1.53 million and finally hit -$1.8 million in early December.
The cadillac1944 account became inactive in mid-December and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether we’ll ever see it in use again.
2. Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies: -$2 milliion
Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, one of the original kings of swing, was up to his old tricks in 2010 with a “win a million, lose a million” mentality.
Sahamies started the year by winning $2 million in spring but then lost $2.6 million over the summer.
The fall looked promising for Ziigmund as he quickly swung his way up to $1.48 million in profit.
Unfortunately for Ziigmund October was a turning point and the Finnish pro went on what he has called the greatest downswing of his career.
Over the next few months Sahamies dropped down to -$2 million with victories few and far between.
2010 was easily Ziigmund’s worst year playing high stakes online poker.
1. Brian Townsend: -$2.5 million
Brian Townsend’s 2010 was so terrible that he made this list twice.
As bad as the game went for Townsend on his “sbrugby” account, it was far, far worse on his red pro “Brian Townsend” account.
Townsend was in bad shape from the very beginning as he quickly lost $300k in early January.
The losses just continued to escalate for Townsend and by May he was down $2.5 million.
It was then Townsend made the decision to leave CardRunners, ditch his red pro account and go back to being sbrugby on Full Tilt.
It didn’t seem to make a difference as Townsend lost another $1.5 million.
If you take both accounts into consideration, Townsend lost a grand total of $4 million this year.
No one suffered more than Townsend in 2010.Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, Gus Hansen, high stakes, Online Poker, Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, pokerstars, Tom Dwan, usa, WSOP
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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Titan Poker Hosting New Year Super Sale
The New Year Super Sale tournaments begin Jan. 7 with discounts ranging from 50% to 80% off the regular online poker tournament buy-in prices.
This includes Friday's $60,000 Guaranteed event with a 50% discounted buy-in of $50+$5, and an 80% discount for the High Roller Monday $35,000 Guaranteed; Monday Night Omaha $5,000 Guaranteed; and Super Tuesday $30,000 Guaranteed.
The series wraps up Jan. 16 with the $100+$9 buy-in Sunday $200,000 Guaranteed, a 66% discount off the usual buy-in cost.
Titan Poker is also staging a series of Sit & Go satellite tournaments for its New Year Super Sale events.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Poker After Dark Big Heat Week Debuts Tonight
For those in need of new poker television content, the NBC franchise “Poker After Dark” returns for its first new episodes of 2011 tonight, featuring the biggest tournament in the history of the program.
Dubbed “Big Heat Week,” “Poker After Dark’s” first tournament of 2011 features a six-man sit and go that brings together competitors who have more than proven their worth in the poker world. Combined, the six players – John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Phil Galfond, Huck Seed, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Phil Ivey – have over $42 million in career tournament earnings, 18 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, a WSOP Main Event title, and a slew of other major championships.
The $100,000 buy-in event guarantees that the victor of this week’s “Poker After Dark” will walk away with a $600,000 payday.
Galfond is the newcomer to the “Poker After Dark” stage, as all of the other competitors have faced the NBC show’s cameras previously. Galfond, who terrorizes the online poker world under the name “OMGClayAiken,” has built a reputation as one of the top No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha players in the game today. His addition to this week’s lineup is indicative of how the show is embracing the “new blood” of the game.
Safe money on who will win this week’s battle should be on Ivey and Juanda, who are veterans of “Poker After Dark” and have racked up two wins each during the run of the show. While Lindgren and Seed have previously appeared on the program, neither has been able to crack the winner’s circle. For his part, Dwan has been a part of previous “Poker After Dark” cash game episodes, but this is only his second foray into the freezeout arena.
“Big Heat Week” will kick off this evening on NBC late night at 2:05am ET, with host Ali Nejad providing voiceover commentary of the action. The sit and go will continue over the next four nights in the same timeslot and a special “Director’s Cut” will air late night on Saturday at 1:00am ET after NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” This show will feature Leeann Tweeden with a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews.
Throughout the first half of 2011, “Poker After Dark” will continue to provide new shows mixed in with encore presentations of some of the series’ best episodes. After this week’s new episodes, Dwan will return to the two-week encore presentation of one of the show’s most memorable cash games. The cash game, which featured a $100,000 buy-in, also featured Phil Laak, Gus Hansen, Eli Elezra, and former World Champions Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth.
The week of February 7th, a new cash game will take to the “Poker After Dark” stage with the highest stakes yet. The $150,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em cash game will feature Howard Lederer, Greg Mueller, Elezra, David Peat, Olivier Busquet, and Laak battling it out for supremacy.
April will bring one of the most eagerly anticipated additions to the “Poker After Dark” lineup. During the week of April 4th, a $50,000 buy-in sit and go will take place featuring some of the “young guns” of the game. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger and UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin will join Melanie Weisner, Annette Obrestad, Brunson, and Dwan, with the winner walking away with $250,000.
During the week of April 11th, Pot Limit Omaha will make its debut on “Poker After Dark” and be featured for two weeks. Joining Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond on the felt for the $100,000 buy-in cash game will be Brandon Adams, Patrik Antonius, Brian Hastings, and Jared Bleznick. The addition of Pot Limit Omaha to “Poker After Dark” should draw a huge audience with the ever-increasing popularity of the game.
Once again, be sure to check your local listings for when “Poker After Dark” runs on your local NBC affiliate.
Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway Ends January 9th
If you’re looking to take advantage of the Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway, then you’re running out of time. The promotion over at Full Tilt Poker comes to an end on January 9th at 23:59 ET, which means that there are only a few more days left to be rewarded for trading in your hard-earned Full Tilt Points (FTPs) on the world’s second largest online poker site.
Starting on January 10th, one day after the Holiday Giveaway ends, big changes will take place at the Full Tilt Store. Text found on Full Tilt’s website explains, “We will be updating the prices of certain items in the Full Tilt Store beginning on January 10th to correspond with the changes in the Full Tilt Points system implemented earlier this year. Merchandise such as electronics and clothing will be re-priced to more accurately reflect their value.” Meanwhile, items like tournament tickets will retain the current prices.
The Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway rewards those players who spend 7,500 FTPs or more in the Full Tilt Store or Black Card Store. Players who spend between 7,500 and 14,999 FTPs will earn a free Step 1 ticket in addition to their chosen product in the store. Players who spend between 15,000 and 39,999 FTPs will receive a Step 2 ticket on the house. Anyone who trades in between 40,000 and 74,999 FTPs will see a free Step 3 ticket come their way.
But wait, there’s more! Spend between 75,000 and 139,999 FTPs and you’ll take home a free $50 cash bonus. Finally, players who spend 140,000 or more FTPs will get a $100 cash bonus on top of their store purchase. Full Tilt Poker will credit any cash bonuses and tournament tickets earned by January 11th.
Anyone who purchases an item during the Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway, regardless of its price, will take home a seat into the $50,000 Holiday Giveaway Freeroll. The $50,000 freebie comes your way on January 16th at 14:15 ET. Remember, the Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway is your last chance to take advantage of the existing Full Tilt pricing structure. Also, you’ll need to play at real money ring games on Full Tilt Poker in order to clear any cash bonuses you receive.
The Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway has been running since December 16th and now enters its final week. Among the cutting-edge electronic items you’ll find in the Full Tilt Store are a Sony Bravia 46-inch HDTV (334,300 FTPs), a 64 GB iPod Touch (85,000 FTPs), and an 8 GB Flip video recorder (51,500 FTPs). For you golf enthusiasts out there, purchase Phoenix golf bags for 35,000 FTPs or a sleeve of white Titleist balls for 4,000 FTPs.
Players can also purchase branded and unbranded Full Tilt Poker security keys, which are handheld devices that display an eight-digit code that must be entered when logging into the USA-friendly site. A would-be hacker without that code won’t be able to sign in. providing an extra layer of security for your online bankroll.
If Santa neglected your canine companion this year, look no further than a Full Tilt Poker dog tank top for 3,000 FTPs. For the same price, you can also get a Full Tilt hoodie for your puppy to protect him or her from the cold winter. Multiple stress tools and branded outwear are also available, so visit Full Tilt Poker today to check out the store’s inventory.
Isildur1 Defeats Tony G in PokerStars SuperStar Showdown, Earns $44,000
On Sunday, the second ever SuperStar Showdown took place on the virtual felts of PokerStars and featured sponsored pro Isildur1 facing off against PartyPoker’s Tony G. After the 2,500-hand encounter, Isildur1 booked $44,000 in profit and was declared the winner, boosting his SuperStar Showdown record to 1-1.
Following the match, Tony G sought comfort on the TwoPlusTwo forums and posted a four-paragraph recap. He closed by calling for another round with Isildur1, who many believe he backed earlier this year: “Now, I need everyone to lobby for a rematch that is fair, and my sponsor deserves it. Let’s replay this thing on my home turf at PartyPoker ASAP and I will add $50,000 to the pool, as a contest of this magnitude deserves some money added and we will hide Isildur1’s identity. That is not up for discussion.”
Tony G and Isildur1 fired up two tables of $50/$100 No Limit Hold’em and two tables of $50/$100 Pot Limit Omaha on Sunday, with each table stretching for 625 hands. However, Tony G’s lack of multi-tabling experience may have ultimately led to his demise, according to text found on the PokerStars Blog: “Although he is quite seasoned when it comes to nosebleed-stakes cash games, unlike Isildur1′s previous challenger Isaac Haxton, the name Tony G is not exactly synonymous with multi-tabling online heads-up matches.”
Tony G shot out to an early lead after his wired pair of aces held up in Omaha, but Isildur1 bounced back in Hold’em by hitting a spade flush on the river to scoop a $20,000 pot. Isildur1 then made another flush in Omaha to extend the lead even further, but Tony G ended up $23,000 after the first 207 hands. After 561 hands, it seemed that the match could be out of reach, as the PartyPoker pro had built $47,000 in profit.
Then, perhaps hubris set in for Tony G, who asked his opponent in the chat box on one table, “u feeling ok my man… u getting owned by a total donk old man… start pressing some all-in buttons boy… are you even qualified… are you committed to this?” Isildur1 responded to the pep talk by raking in a $45,000 pot after making Broadway in Omaha to best Tony G’s king-high straight.
After 1,000 hands, Isildur1 was back in it and trailed Tony G by just $22,000. Then, text found on the PartyPoker Blog detailed, “In a three-hand sequence that spanned less than three minutes, Isildur1 entirely eroded Tony G’s profits and was back in the black to the tune of $2,450.” Isildur1 then scooped a $27,000 pot with top two pair against Tony G’s pair of eights. Following that hand, another $70,000 was pushed Isildur1’s way after spiking a set of sixes in Omaha to move ahead $46,000. By the halfway point in the second SuperStar Showdown, Isildur1 was up $77,000.
Tony G scooped an $82,000 pot after making the nut flush to bring the contest closer to even, but Isildur1 struck back by landing a monster pot worth $124,000 with a straight in Omaha. Tony G then proceeded to fume about the rules of the SuperStar Showdown, labeling the match a “freak show” and a “farse” in the chat.
Tony G fought back after his tirade, running hot in Hold’em to draw Isildur1’s lead to just over $7,000. However, when the smoke cleared, Isildur1 recorded his very first SuperStar Showdown win and received the following concession speech from his nemesis: “I have been humiliated… well done… let me go and look for my bike.” Interestingly enough, Isildur1 booked just $500 of his profit in No Limit Hold’em, but dominated in Pot Limit Omaha.
The next installment of the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown has not yet been announced. Officials from the world’s largest online poker site had hinted at another one occurring during the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which starts this week, but no announcement has been made.
The Sunday Briefing: “He77_Razor” Kicks Off 2011 Online Sunday Season With $270K+ Win
The Sunday Scoop: Brianm15 Does it Again
The PokerStars Sunday Million carries a $1.5M Guarantee, but that was laid to waste when 9,466 players dropped the $215 buy-in for a chance at online poker glory.
With a $1,893,200 prize pool up for grabs, Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier made a deep run that ended in 87th, but it was Brianm15 who stole the headlines this week.
After making seventh last week, he finished ninth in his second Sunday Million final table in a row, proving his 2009 Sunday Warm-Up win was no fluke.
He earned $13,252.40, but the big cash was reserved for winner He77_Razor, who grabbed $270,353.82 beating stevemruk ($198,786) heads-up. touchmynuts1 had to settle for third, but still managed to collect a healthy $140,948.74.
The Sunday Warm-Up had a million dollar prize pool of its own thanks to the 5,046 players who got in on the action.
A chip-chop three handed left $10k for first and three six-figure scores for the top three players.
7de9 took the title and $138,294.81 beating Anita seku ($114,190.71) heads-up, while pawnUz ($106,216.74) took third.
Meanwhile, KJulius10 just missed a six figure score, collecting $86,995 in the $530 Sunday 500.
He got past a field of 1,122, including a final table that featured EPT Berlin winner Kevin "ImaLuckSac" MacPhee (5th).
The hotly contested $109 Rebuy almost handed out six-figures for the winner as well, thanks to 1,268 entires, 2,245 rebuys and 1,088 add-ons.
In the end, lissi stinkt took first and $83,968.25 beating a final table that included Team PokerStars Pro and back-to-back LAPT champ Jose "nachobarbero" Barbero (3rd).
The guarantees were rendered moot on Full Tilt as well, with 4,556 creating a $911,200 prize pool that paid 648 players in the site's $750k Guarantee.
mcc3991 beat Hungarian pro Andras Nemeth heads up to take the title and $157,601.15.
The $95,676 second-place prize wasn't enough for Nemeth, however, as he went on to finish 12th in the Sunday Mulligan for another 2,279.70.
Meanwhile, The Sunday Brawl drew 3,044, creating a $608,800 prize pool that left $121,760 for first. neker2013 gladly grabbed that and his first Sunday Major win.
Finally, 1,011 players ensured there would be no overlay for the $200k GTD on UB.
NO1TK took 45,151.26 out of a $202,200 prize pool with a win against a final table that also included Shannon "BLUFFFORRENT" Shorr (7th).
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2010 Poker Memories by Linda Johnson
Time is passing too quickly. We just said goodbye to 2010, but memories of my favorite (and not so favorite) poker moments from the year are still vivid in my mind. I’d like to share a few of my personal 2010 poker memories with you.
Proudest 2010 Poker Memory
Without a doubt, being nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame is the answer to this category. What a thrill it was to learn that I had been nominated along with such a prestigious group as Erik Seidel, Dan Harrington, Tom McEvoy, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein. Congratulations to the 2010 inductees Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington.
Favorite Poker News Story
I loved the coverage given to the Mizrachi family during the WSOP. It seemed like every poker magazine had Michael Mizrachi on the cover. Even mainstream Las Vegas entertainment magazines featured Michael and his family.
Favorite Poker Vacation
The 12-night Card Player Cruises poker trip to the Mediterranean wins in this category. The poker room was a lot of fun as usual, but the highlight was seeing all of the magnificent European ports. We stopped at Cannes/Monte Carlo, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Corfu, Dubrovnik, and Barcelona and had great weather in each.
Favorite Charity Event
Of all of the charity events I was fortunate to participate in during 2010, the fundraiser for MickeysCamp.org was my favorite. Mickey’s Camp was started by Mickey Maurer and is held in Indianapolis, Indiana every August. There is a three-day camp for men and a three-day camp for women. The participants sleep in the same cabins the kids stay at during summer and participate in a variety of activities including fishing, camping, wine tasting, cooking, self-defense, magic, and swimming.
I had the honor of teaching the poker sessions and running the poker tournaments for both camps. Mickey’s Camp has raised more than $1 million dollars for charity since its inception 10 years ago. Honorable mention in this category goes to fundraising events for Poker Gives and Child Rescue.
Most Disappointing Poker News
I am still angry and annoyed that we haven’t been able to overturn the UIGEA, although I think we are getting close. The news that the Washington State courts upheld the ruling making online poker illegal is just plain gross! After the ruling, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars shut down service to Washington residents, a move that should have been met with much more fury and protest from the state’s players.
Favorite Whirlwind Trip
My quick trip to Golden, Colorado for a Poker Players Alliance event qualifies in this category. In less than 24 hours, I flew in and out of Denver and participated in a poker tournament to help Senator Michael Bennett’s campaign. Bennett was elected by a very small margin and I believe he was the victor due to the support of Colorado poker players.
Most Prestigious Poker Event
The winner in this category was easily the Women in Poker Hall of Fame banquet held at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. The Grand Ballroom, decorated by a group of volunteers headed by Lupe Soto and her Board of Directors, took on the look of an elegant bistro/nightclub. Jan Fisher did a great job as the emcee and Jeffrey Pollack and Nolan Dalla delivered passionate speeches. After a delicious dinner, awards were presented, followed by a dance. Congratulations to the 2010 inductees Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, and Billie Brown.
Favorite New Poker Procedure
I love the new rule established at the Commerce Casino that penalizes players who are gone too long from the table. Players who miss several rounds in $20-$40 and higher Hold’em games have $5 taken from their stacks and put into the pot. Note that this rule was just about to go into effect the last time I played there and so may have been refined since.
Favorite New Poker Social Media Source
I admit it… I am a Twitter addict! I read it as often as I can and follow many of the top poker celebrities’ Tweets. I hate that it takes up so much of my time and makes me feel like a voyeur, but I can’t seem to give it up. Perhaps they will start a Twitters Anonymous in 2011 and I will be a charter member.
Favorite Tournament Series
Few would argue that the World Series of Poker wins in this category. The series expanded into even more square footage at the Rio and saw an increase in total participants. I had three deep runs (16th, 29th, and 31st) out of the five tournaments I entered, yet am not sporting a new bracelet. Congratulations to all of the bracelet winners, but especially to Gavin Smith, who won his first bracelet after many close efforts.
The runner-up award in this category goes to Wild Horse Casino in Pendleton, Oregon. Roland Waters directs a great tournament series with huge player fields. Entrants get rewarded with $75,000 in added money and free dinner buffets every night.
Other favorite poker memories from 2010 include delivering the “Shuffle Up and Deal” opening speech for the WSOP Ladies Event, teaching WPT Boot Camp at many locations around the country, playing in the WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce, and hosting tournaments at the Eureka Open in Mesquite, Nevada, the Rainbow Spectrum of Poker at the Rainbow Hotel in Wendover, Nevada, and the Wild Horse Resort Casino Poker Roundup in Pendleton, Oregon.
I am extremely blessed to be part of this wonderful poker world and am grateful for the opportunities it has provided me. In 2010, I met many wonderful people who share my passion for poker and was thrilled to have so many chances to give back to our community.
Our country is facing tough economic times ahead. I hope 2011 is a prosperous and happy year for Poker News Daily readers. In closing, I am happy to offer our readers a discount on any 2011 Card Player Cruises trip. Mention Poker News Daily when you book your cabin by January 15th and you will get a $50 per person discount. For more information, go to CardPlayerCruises.com.
Editor’s Note: Linda Johnson is available for poker functions, seminars, corporate events, and charity fundraisers. You can contact her through her website at CardPlayerCruises.com.
Daniel Negreanu Speaks Out on Rumored Prahlad Friedman UB.com Signing
Late last week, poker pros Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth parted ways with UB.com, a USA-friendly site on the CEREUS Network. Word quickly spread that Prahlad Friedman would be signing with UB.com as a replacement in the coming days, sparked in part by his name appearing on Duke’s old biography page.
Over the weekend, PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu bantered on Twitter about Friedman’s rumored signing. Negreanu congratulated Hellmuth for leaving UB.com last week and then fired off a series of Tweets blasting Friedman’s decision. His first thoughts were, “So disappointed in @prahladfriedman signing with the devil who stole millions from him. He was so ‘anti-sellout’ and then he did the unthinkable… They must have paid him a lot to join the dark side and endorse the exact same people who ruined him. So sad and so mind-boggling… The current owners of AP/UB are spending Prahlad’s money. They must be mocking him at this point. Cheat the dude and watch him endorse us!”
Among those responding to Negreanu was bracelet winner Jon Friedberg, who inquired, “Is that official? I thought just speculation. Smart biz move for @UB if it’s true, despite any opinions about him or them… And again if true, then they obv convinced him that they’re not shady anymore. He’s a very bright guy. Anxious to see if true.” Negreanu retorted, “Sure, totally cheat and destroy a guy and then offer him a deal. That company is no less shady today and they cannot prove otherwise?” “Kid Poker” added, “It’s true and you are all being lied to if you think the infrastructure of the company has been miraculously cleaned up.”
In other responses to inbound Tweets, Negreanu replied, “I also like Prahlad a lot, just disappointed he would do something this stupid after years of saying he’d never sign with a site.” Negreanu countered other nay-sayers by continuing to rip the Blanca Games site: “Imagine a world where crooks weren’t held accountable and continue to rob people with no recourse? The world should know… I’m all about 2nd chances in the right circumstances; this isn’t one. They are no more transparent today than in the past.”
Negreanu’s series of Tweets sparked the ire of two-time bracelet winner Matt Keikoan, who fired, “I can see people like @RealKidPoker, sitting behind his $4 mil a year PokerStars contract, w/ his nose up in the air, judging other people.” Negreanu countered, “I spoke out against UB when I was broke, always will. Prahlad is the one who said he’d never sign with a site and then chose UB… I was dead broke and turned down a deal with them. I don’t hate Prahlad, I’m disappointed he made what I think is a bad move.”
Keikoan asserted on Sunday, “And what, PokerStars is some great moral company, out for the good of all mankind? Gimme a break.”
One of Negreanu’s followers asked the PokerStars front man what would happen if his home online poker site experienced a scandal similar to the one that unfolded on UB.com. Negreanu claimed he’d be exiting stage right: “If anything like that were to happen (it won’t) my morals would have me resign immediately.” PokerStars recently found itself in hot water over a scandal involving Chinese players in its Double or Nothing games.
A possible signing by Friedman would signal a changing of the guard of sorts at UB.com, whose roster of sponsored pros would become remarkably younger. It currently includes players like Maria Ho, Tiffany Michelle, and Joe Sebok.