Poker News

UBOC 4 Main Event Hits Sunday

Every day from now until Sunday, UB will run a five seat guaranteed tournament at 9:50 p.m. ET for $109.

The top five finishers are guaranteed to win a seat into the $1,000 buy-in UBOC 4 main event.

Arguably the best option for qualifying, however, will be the massive 100 seat guaranteed tournament UB has scheduled for Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET, just a few hours before the main event kicks off. That satellite will also carry a $109 buy-in.

The UBOC 4 main event will be hosted by 11-time WSOP bracelet winner and Team UB member Phil Hellmuth.

"This has got to be not only my favorite UBOC so far, but my favorite online tournament series ever," said Hellmuth.

"There's another $1 million event coming up on Sunday with plenty of satellites to get you into it, and if it's anything like last Sunday's big $1 million Guarantee that ended up having a $1.5 million prize pool, it's going to be huge."

The UBOC 4 main event will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. For more information or to sign up for an account check the UB website.

 

Visit PokerListings.com

Online Rounders Dominate PCA Final

The chip leader going in will be the same man who led the final 24, Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo.

An online pro for the past six years, D’Angelo has two PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker titles on his resume, but his live experience also includes a third-place finish at a World Series of Poker $2k event in 2008.

Considering the more than 750 online qualifiers at the event and the wealth of online players in the field, D’Angelo said the 2010 PCA has played a lot more like an online MTT than your typical live tournament.

“In a lot of other tournaments you can’t get away with raise sizes like you would online,” he said. “Here it plays pretty much like an online tournament. A lot of three-betting and cold four-betting. I really haven’t taken part in that though. I guess I’m not as crazy as some of these younger Internet kids here who just spit fire and get in there with nothing.”

Thanks to the flopped queen he used to crack EPT Founder John Duthie’s aces and rake a ten-million-chip pot, another online pro will come into Monday’s final eight second in chips.

Morton, Illinois’ Ty Reiman has almost $1 million in online earnings and actually won the first live tournament he ever played at the Heartland Poker Tour’s Turning Stone $1k in 2007.

Like D’Angelo, he feels the PCA has played much like an online tournament so far.

“I really don’t feel like it’s that different from any other online tournament,” he said. “Maybe it’s just because that queen hasn’t really set in yet.”

Fellow U.S. online regulars Tom Koral, Harrison Gimbel, Benjamin Zamani and Zachary Goldberg join PokerStars qualifier Aage Floenes Ravn from Norway in rounding out the final eight.

But it’s 2009 WSOPE champ and CardPlayer publisher Barry Shulman who will come into the final table third in chips and on the hottest streak of his poker career.

The suddenly resurgent Shulman won a WSOP bracelet in 2001 before most of these players had even heard of poker.

Now, despite being the least experienced player when it comes to the online style, he appears to have adapted.

“Historically I play better against better players,” he explained. “(The WSOPE) was the toughest field I’ve ever played with. It was impossible to find people just dumping off chips. Here is a whole different story, because it’s such an aggressive situation.

“My own play was actually the same, but this was different because they just play so differently. There is so much action versus what I saw in London.”

The action could slow down when the final table begins, however, as the online players adapt a strategy similar to playing Sit & Go’s.

“I tend to play final tables like a Sit & Go,” said D’Angelo. “I just like to see what everyone is doing, try and feel everybody out and play a solid game. Once the blinds get higher that’s when we start moving chips.”

“The table is really good,” added Reiman. “There are a lot of online players who I’ve played with. I’m just going to try and play my game, not get into too many big pots and let the smaller stacks dwindle out. Then, once we’re four-handed or five handed, we go to battle.”

To follow all the action and see who takes down the 2010 PCA and its $2.2 million first-place prize, tune in to PokerListings’ Live Updates beginning at 12 p.m ET Monday.

Visit PokerListings.com

Moorman Takes Online Honors

The Brit, who plays under the screen name Moorman1, was ranked #1 worldwide on PocketFives’ list of online tournament players.

His online tournament wins in 2009 included $28,000 in a $65k Guarantee and $88,166 in a Daily $100 Rebuy in February, $39,750 in a $150k Guarantee in March and $52,950 in a Daily $100 Rebuy in September.

But in addition to online tournament scores, the PocketFives ranking system also incorporates a polling system to determine the top ranked players.

The PocketFives’ community, chock full of some of the best online players in the world, were asked to select the players that they believe will be successful in the future based on past performances and Moorman’s name came up often enough to push him into the #1 ranking.

He was also ranked fourth in both the CardPlayer and Bluff Magazine Online Player of the Year rankings in 2009.

Moorman has over $1.7 million in lifetime tournament earnings, including nine career titles and 148 cashes.

Visit PokerListings.com

Chris Moorman makes Sunday Million final table

Despite coming to the final table of the Sunday Million with the largest stack – he probably had his opponents ready to just roll over and give up right there – Chris Moorman secured an eighth place finish in the world’s largest regular online tournament.

Eric Baldwin Joins UB

The signing comes just days after Baldwin secured CardPlayer’s Player of the Year honors with 6,994 POY points and $1.5 million in tournament winnings including a WSOP bracelet in 2009.

So far this year, UB has signed Joe Sebok, Billy Kopp, Brandon Cantu and Liv Boeree.

“I am eager to be a part of UB’s new brand direction,” said Baldwin. “I carefully weighed my sponsorship opportunities over the last couple months and after meeting with UB officials and the Team UB pros, it’s very clear that UB is the perfect fit.”

Baldwin has only been playing poker for a few years, but in that time he has built a reputation as an extremely talented player at both live and online tournaments.

He has already recorded victories at the WSOP, the Venetian Deep Stack and the WPT Five Diamond series.

Baldwin has also won a number of major online tournaments including the Full Tilt Sunday $750k Guaranteed, the Bodog $100k guaranteed and PokerStars Super Tuesday.

In total, Baldwin has amassed over $2.6 million in tournament winnings.

“Eric Baldwin isn’t just a new UB.com pro, he is UB,” said Annie Duke, UB’s cardroom consultant. “Eric loves the game more than anything else in the world, he plays to win, and he’s respected for his passion at the tables. We really couldn’t be more ecstatic to have the Player of the Year on our team.”

You will be able to find Baldwin on UB tables under the username "eric_baldwin." Online players at UB can use the site’s buddy list feature to find out where he is playing at any time of the day.

Visit PokerListings.com

PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge Winner Mike Kosowski Recaps Win

On the December 27th episode of the FOX poker game show “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” Mike Kosowski, a first responder on September 11th, 2001, defeats Daniel Negreanu heads-up to earn $1 million. He sat down with Poker News Daily to recap his run.

Poker News Daily: Tell us how you earned a spot on the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge.”

Mike Kosowski: I think my dog, Joe DiMaggio, was one of the reasons I made it so far. When I won the 16,000-person online tournament, they tell you to make a video. I had an idea to use my dog. My son taped it and we put the dogs on the poker table with us. I said, “Sometimes, we can’t find enough people for a game.” The game happens to be Bella, my son’s dog, winning with a royal flush.

PokerStars liked it so much that they called me back. They re-interviewed me and told me I’d be an alternate. I flew to California hoping that I’d get on and, sure enough, I got picked as the first alternate. I lost and thought it was all over with, but they needed a fourth person for a sit and go to face Daniel Negreanu and I beat that field of three. I did well and got my shot against Negreanu, who is probably one of the best pros in the game today.

PND: How’d you convince your wife to let you film on your wedding anniversary?

Mike Kosowski: We were going out to put a down payment on a space for our 25th wedding anniversary when I got the e-mail saying that I was picked. She asked what I wanted to do and she knew it was my dream. She said when we get back, we’ll have the party, and that’s what happened. When you think about the odds, I have to consider myself to be one of the luckiest guys in the world. I survived 9/11 and the odds of me getting out of there that day were tremendous. Then, I won the show.

PND: Do you have any plans for the money?

Kosowski: The dog will get new bowls and bigger bones for Christmas. We’re talking to a financial planner right now. I was on a fixed income being retired before this. I’ll put away some for my son’s college and my daughter’s wedding. We’re also donating to two charities, the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund and City Harvest.

PND: How did you get started in poker?

Mike Kosowki: I read “Super System” 1 and 2 and started getting serious around 2005. That’s when I showed my wife. I was watching the World Series of Poker and playing online. I walked upstairs and changed the channel on the television. My wife watched for about a half-hour and said that Daniel Negreanu was pretty good. I said I’d be playing against him one day and will beat him. Seven to ten days later, I had a dream about it. She thought I was losing it.

PND: You seemed to get run over by Joanna Krupa in your first match of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge.” Did you take away anything from it that helped you succeed down the stretch?

Mike Kosowski: I was very nervous. Daniel was my coach and I lost. What happened was that I out-bet myself out of the game. I was backing out of a lot of hands and, even when I had a decent hand right before the end with A-7, she re-raised me and I folded. I got stuck with 6-9 and had to call. I was that low on chips and she beat me.

After that, the nervousness was over with. I thought the tournament was over for me anyway. We did the sit and go for a spot at the final table in another location and I knew I wouldn’t lose if I sat back and played my game. The sit and go went well for me. I had trip tens and trip aces to knock people out. Everything worked well in the first sit and go. In the second sit and go, which was for the shot to play Daniel, I was nervous again. I told myself that if I don’t stay aggressive, then I’m a loser. I caught some great cards to start and when I was chip leader, it was easy to make a few calls.

PND: How often do you play poker? Will you play more as a result of this win?

Mike Kosowki: I play $1 and $2 games with a few buddies of mine once a week and I haven’t been to Atlantic City in about six months. I chopped a tournament down there three years ago and go about three times a year. I’m not much of a big gambler, but I like to play online. I don’t think that’ll change much now.

The great news was that after I won, PokerStars offered me the chance to go to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for the Main Event. I’ll be bringing the whole family and get a shot at that tournament. I never thought in my life I’d be in a $10,000 tournament. My dad always told me never to bet anything more than what is in your pocket. I’m grateful to the people at PokerStars for letting me go.

The Season 1 finale of “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” airs on Sunday, December 27th following NFL coverage on FOX.

Poker News in Brief: Dec. 14-20, 2009

There were a few other big poker stories with Harrah’s releasing the official 2010 WSOP schedule and Mangas Gaming acquiring Everest Poker but for the most part the poker world has started to get quiet as the lead up to Christmas begins.

Fortunately there are always a few stories that don’t make the front page here at PokerListings and we compile them for you every week in our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature.

This week we’ll look at a PokerListings player winning a trip to Australia, another World Series of Poker Circuit winner, the Aria Poker Room opening its doors and more.

PokerListings Player Wins PartyPoker Aussie Millions Package

PokerListings player gimeyoursbr capitalized on an exclusive PartyPoker freeroll in a big way last week.

The 35-year-old Brazilian won a $15,000 package to the biggest tournament in the Southern Hemisphere – the 2010 Aussie Millions.

“I will try my best and see where it takes me,” he said after winning. “I am very excited about getting to know Melbourne and the nearby cities but once I am playing at the Aussie Millions I will be 100% concentrated on it.”

gimeyoursbr has been playing poker professionally for three years now and once hit the jackpot on PartyPoker for a large score. Suffice to say he’s a fan of the site.

“They are pretty good and getting big again,” he said. “That is terrific.”

PartyPoker is making a huge push to send players to the Aussie Millions this year with more than 27 packages already awarded.

Chris Klodnicki wins WSOPC Harrah’s AC

Poker pro Chris Klodnicki finally found the tournament victory he’d been looking for at the 2009 World Series of Poker Circuit Harrah’s Atlantic City main event this week.

Klodnicki outlasted 194 players to win $215,915 and a WSOPC ring.

“I feel great,” said Klodnicki. “I was having a pretty off year and this ended the year on a great note. I was starting to lose my confidence and this picked it up a lot.”

Noted online player Kyle Bowker finished in second place for $128,357.

Outside of a Borgata side event win, Kodnicki’s list of career cashes is full of second place and third place finishes. Klodnicki is perhaps most well known for coming in 12^th place in the 2008 WSOP Main Event for nearly $600,000.

Aria Poker Room Opens

Poker players have yet another place to frequent in Las Vegas as the multi-billion CityCenter development opened its doors for business this week.

The 61-story ARIA holds the development’s casino and poker room. The poker room offers 24 tables complete with a closed off high limits room. Players will find limits of $1-3, $2-5, $5-10 on a daily basis although the room will spread higher ones based on demand.

Other hotels at CityCenter include the 400-room Mandarin Oriental resort and the upscale non-gaming hotel Vdara with Harman boutique hotel opening late next year.

Bonus Blizzard coming to Pacific Poker

Pacific Poker is giving its players a reason to be jolly over the Christmas season.

The online room will be running its “Bonus Blizzard” promotion during certain hours from Dec. 16-22.

If players are at the Pacific Poker tables during the right hours they could potentially receive a bonus of $8 all the way up to $888 just for being there.

Players can keep an eye out for Bonus Blizzards in a countdown timer in the main lobby. There’s no limit to the amount of bonuses that players can win and players who are multi-tabling will have an even better chance at taking home a hefty bonus.

PartyPoker Introduces $25/$50 PLO Table

PartyPoker launched a $25/$50 Pot-Limit Omaha table this week in an effort to kick-start the high stakes games on the site.

The gamble seems to have paid off as the room has since added several other high limit tables to keep up with player's requests.

“Demand meant we recently introduced a new $25/$50 Pot Limit Omaha table but since then we have had to open up more tables for high stakes action,” said a PartyPoker spokesperson.

“We used to have big limit games but this is the biggest game we have had at PartyPoker.com for a long time. The high stakes action has picked up.”

UB.com Set to Run Bubble Buster Promo

Players who make the money in UB.com’s upcoming Ultimate Bet Online Championship 4 will have the opportunity to win up to $1 million in extra cash.

As part of the Bubble Buster promotion any player that cashes at least twice in UBOC 4 will have shot at winning anything from a seat in a $10,000 freeroll all the way up to a $1 million cash giveaway to a player who makes 11 cashes in UBOC 4.

With over $4 million guaranteed, UBOC 4 is the biggest online tournament series available on UB.com. The series will run Jan. 20-31 with the $1 million guaranteed $1,050 buy-in main event is scheduled for Jan. 31.

PKR Teams Up with Nuts and Loaded

PKR poker announced a partnership with IPC Media, publisher of mainstream UK men’s magazines Nuts and Loaded, this week.

Players on PKR poker will now have the option of playing their favorite games while being surrounded by images of women in the popular magazines.

Players will also have the opportunity to customize their avatars with Nuts or Loaded t-shirts.

Meanwhile magazine readers will benefit from poker trips from Team PKR Pro as well as trip reports from high stakes tournaments around the globe.

"We think that the collaboration with IPC Media is a perfect matchup of brands,” said PKR marketing director Simon Prodger. “Nuts and Loaded readers are spot on for us, and by having branded environments within our game, we offer them a unique poker experience."

Visit PokerListings.com

PartyPoker Offering 25 Aussie Milllions Prize Packages

Ever since the popular online poker room PartyPoker signed 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event winner Stewart Scott as one of its sponsored pros, it has gone out of its way to promote both online and brick and mortar poker in Australia.

This weekend, PartyPoker is offering players a chance to win one of 25 seats in the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event for just $600.  On Sunday, December 13th, the site will host two separate online satellites, one for citizens of Australia and New Zealand and one that is open to the rest of the PartyPoker customer base.  Both will feature a $600 + $40 buy-in, although many players will have won their way into the tournaments for much less since the site has been running micro-satellites.

The Aussie-only tournament will give away five tournament packages, each valued at $12,000.  The package includes buy-in to the AUD $10,000 Aussie Millions Main Event, hotel accommodations at the Crown Promenade in Melbourne, and $500 to be put towards travel expenses.  The tournament will begin at 2:45am ET.

The open field tournament will get underway a little later in the day at 2:30pm ET.  It will reward seats to the top 20 finishers and offer a slightly more lucrative version of the Aussie Millions prize package.  In addition to the buy-in and the hotel accommodations, the package will also include $3,500 to cover travel expenses.  Should a non-Aussie take part in the early tournament, PartyPoker will not offer any additional money to cover travel expenses.  Conversely, if a player from Australia or New Zealand wins one of the $15,000 packages, they will still receive the full $3,500 to cover travel.

Stewart Scott commented on the satellite tournaments in an official statement from PartyPoker: “I’ve been playing at PartyPoker.com for five years. These great packages are an amazing opportunity for other players to play in this huge tournament. Claiming the Aussie Millions title has been the highlight of my career and I’d love to see another PartyPoker.com player take the title.”

PartyPoker gave away 96 seats to the Aussie Millions in November as part of the site’s Gladiator promotion.  The players who earned at least 1,000 PartyPoints each day in November won their way into the event and the site doled out even more seats as part of a series of online tournaments featuring Scott.

Scott is the reigning Aussie Millions Champion and the first local player to win the tournament since it took on its new moniker and became one of the premiere events on the international tournament circuit.  In January, Scott defeated a field of 681 players to take down the AUD $2 million first place prize.  Peter Rho of Las Vegas finished in second place and earned AUD $1 million.  Other past winners of the Aussie Millions include Alexander Kostritsyn of Russia and Team Full Tilt member Gus Hansen.  Last year’s event also played home to one of the biggest live cash games in history with a minimum buy-in of AUD $1 million.

The previous Aussie Millions event boasted a guaranteed first place prize of AUD $2 million.  The Crown Casino is expecting an even larger turnout than 2009 and the tournament’s official website is predicting more than 800 runners in the upcoming Main Event.  There will also be a host of side events, including an AUD $100,000 buy-in High Rollers Event, a Heads-Up Event, and several Pot Limit Omaha events.  In total, the Crown will offer 20 different tournaments from January 14th to 31st, including the Main Event, which will run from January 24th to 30th.

Justin Shronk Memorial Poker Tournament Draws 359 Players

The online charity tournament in honor of late poker media member Justin Shronk went off without a hitch last weekend and drew more than 350 players who wanted to pay memory to the PokerRoad family member.

The $5 + $5 tournament donated on Full Tilt Poker the entirety of the registration fee to the Justin Shronk Memorial Fund at Shronk’s alma mater, Temple University in Philadelphia.  Shronk earned his degree from the university’s School of Communications and Theater (SCT) and a scholarship has been established in his name to support other students majoring in Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media.  According to a statement from SCT, the scholarship aims to help students who need financial aid and preference is given to candidates who have lost a parent.  Shronk lost his own father while in school.

The scholarship also pays honor to the spirit of the much-loved poker writer and producer.  “The recipient of the scholarship should also exemplify some of the same characteristics that Justin exhibited during his life - an absolute passion for everything media, a great wit and sense of humor, loyalty in his friendships, and someone who would take a job for less money to be able to do the work that he loved,” the scholarship description stipulates.

The fund at Temple was established over the summer when Shronk’s cousin, Brian Lemke, won a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and $692,690.  He donated $20,000 of that prize money to set up the endowment at Temple and PokerRoad friends and fans have contributed as well.

Sunday’s online tournament drew a slew of fans, fellow media members, and top poker pros who wanted to pay homage to their fallen friend.  Kevin “GetPWN3D” Saul, Amit “amak316” Makhija, Eugene Todd, Lee Childs, and Red Pros Andy Bloch, Michael Craig, Mandy Baker, Aaron Bartley, and Kristy Gazes played. So did PokerRoad founder Joe Sebok and site contributors Amanda Leatherman, Scott Huff, Joe Stapleton, Bryan Devonshire, and B.J. Nemeth.  Many of the pros shoved all-in early to give PokerRoad fans a chance to double up, while several others registered and simply blinded out in order to make a donation to the scholarship fund and prize pool.

The top 36 finishers made the money and several of them expressed an interest in donating their winnings to the cause.  The final table featured Leatherman, Matt Waldron of Life’s a Bluff, PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Rachel Crader, and several others, with Waldron and Leatherman taking first and second place, respectively.

"I had a blast playing and I'm so happy that so many people showed up in honor of Shronk,” Leatherman said on PokerRoad after her second place finish.  “I'm sure he would have wanted me to win, but congrats to Matt Waldron (laughs). Thanks to all the PokerRoadies for rooting me on the entire time! We miss you ShronkDaddy!"  Leatherman also told Poker News Daily she planned to donate her winnings to the Shronk scholarship.

On the site’s forums, Shronk’s mother, Kim, expressed her gratitude for the large tournament turnout. “This whole tournament and the great turnout helped me realize that Justin lives on in the hearts of the many that he brought laughter to.”

The online poker tournament is not the only fundraising effort for the scholarship fund lately.  Lemke recently final tabled the U.S. Poker Championships at the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City.  He sported a UB.com patch for the televised event and donated all of the money he earned from the patch deal to the scholarship fund and the Patrick Cunnane Kids Education Foundation.

Those interested in making a donation to the Justin Shronk Scholarship can do so via Temple’s official website.  Donators must specify the SCT and the Justin Shronk Memorial Scholarship in order to direct the donation to the specific scholarship.

Top 10 Poker Players Right Now

When it comes to listing top 10 of poker players, I’m sure that if 100 person would make the list, there would be 100 different lists of players. Still, there are some players that almost everybody would put in their list.

So this list is not the top 10 of all time, but the top 10 of players who have achieved great success recently. From bottom to top, espn top 10 list looks like this:

10. Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko. Timoshenko has been on a tear recently, winning both live and online tournaments, WPT Championship tournament, WCOOP main event and $1K Monday win among them.

9. Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond. One of the best online cash game players in the world, who consistently wins in nosebleed games at Full Tilt Poker. Has been having a rough year in 2009 though and there for he shouldn’t be listed here.

8. Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. Former Starcraft professional, who won Two World Championship of Online Poker titles in September 2009. Has won over 2 millions in tournaments this year live and online.

7. Jeffrey Lisandro. Won three WSOP bracelets this year and the POY rankings of WSOP 2009. Master of seven card games of poker.

6. Jason Mercier. A tournament poker powerhouse who had another great year in 2009. Nine final tables in 2009, which resulted in four wins and two runner-up finishes.

5. Barry Greenstein. “The Bear” is a familiar figure playing the biggest cash games in the world at Bobby’s Room, but he can also put together good results in tournaments. Greenstein managed to cash 13 in 2009 including seven at the 2009 WSOP.

4. Tom “durrrr” Dwan. One of the most creative poker players in the world. Dwan is an online poker legend, but after losing over six million dollars in November, he shouldn’t really be on this list.

3. Daniel Negreanu. The all-time tournament winnings leader and the master of small ball poker. Managed to make it to the final table of the WSOP Europe Main event second year in a row, finishing in second place after couple tough bad beats.

2. Patrik Antonius. Antonius is a no-brainer on this list. Antonius is a player who Andrew Feldman thinks is “maybe the best online cash game player out there at the moment”. I agree.

1. Phil Ivey. If Antonius was an obvious pick, Phil Ivey is even more. Ivey is the player who everybody who knew anything about poker would pick in their top 10 list. Didn’t win the WSOP Main Event, but managed take few millions out of Isildur1 in last weeks. The best poker player in the world overall.

Ivey is the number one.

As I said in the beginning, it is hard to list poker players, but I thinks this list has couple obvious flaws. It is not fair to have Galfond and Dwan listed in a “who’s hot” list when they obviously are not hot. Why Joe Cada is not listed, he just won the most coveted title in the poker world?

In my opinion, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies should be on this list instead of Galfond and Brian Townsend instead of Dwan, but not necessarily on same places on the list. Both made huge profit in November and arguably are the players who are hot right now in online poker world.

Source

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Top 10 Poker Players Right Now

Online Poker Tournament Recap for November 30th

Brazilian online poker pro Caio Cesar “caio_pimenta” Pimenta was the big winner on the virtual felts Sunday with his victory in the PokerStars Sunday Million, the site’s weekly flagship event. Pimenta outlasted a field of 9,077 players to claim a prize of $259,243.98, the 19-year-old’s largest online score to date.

PokerStars trumped every other site on Sunday with its $1,815,400 prize pool in the Sunday Million. Joining Pimenta at the final table was Team PokerStars Pro member Johnny Lodden, who ultimately took fifth for $72,616.00 after his A-K couldn’t catch up to the pocket kings of Pimenta. The Brazilian pro began the final table with the chip lead and went wire-to-wire, scooping the final pot of the tournament when he made a full house against runner-up KillerMendez.

Several other online pros had success on PokerStars on Sunday. Anthony “holdplz” Spinella took down the Sunday Second Chance after besting a loaded final table that included Michael “anakinso” Goodman, Bryan “Squirrely1″ Sapp, Adam “akat11″ Katz, and Walter “JLizard” Wright. Spinella earned $49,613.12 for his efforts. Laurence “rivermanl” Houghton headlined the final table of the Sunday Warm-Up and took fourth place for $52,296.40. Joe “floes” Serock also made that final table, collecting $11,570 for his eighth place finish.

On Full Tilt Poker, “WooohSaaah” was the winner of the $750,000 Guaranteed, earning $154,233.71. Michael “Pot Odds 3” McNeil took eighth in the event for $15,721.20. In the Sunday Brawl, mikkelstrack walked away with $96,010.22 after defeating a field of 2,794 players and a final table that included Carder “SpazIsPlusEV” England (fourth place for $40,792.40) and Andy “BKiCe” Seth (sixth place for $18,999.20).

Here’s a look at the results from Sunday’s major online tournaments:

PokerStars Sunday Million
$215 buy-in, 9,077 entrants

1st: Caio Cesar “caio_pimenta” Pimenta – $259,243.98
2nd: KillerMendez – $164,562.50
3rd: floriverboy – $135,156.53
4th: joaoMathias – $90,770.00
5th: Johnny “johnnylodden” Lodden – $72,616.00
6th: buddahead9 – $54,462.00
7th: LAPINKY – $36,308.00
8th: BRzRoll – $19,969.40
9th: bo0ort – $12,707.80

Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guaranteed
$216 buy-in, 4,367 entrants

1st: WooohSaaah – $154,233.71
2nd: Hand Banana7 – $93,366.46
3rd: Beat Man – $61,138.00
4th: jesseja77 – $48,037.00
5th: city17 – $36,071.42
6th: sweepybreedy – $26,726.04
7th: based – $20,088.20
8th: Michael “Pot Odds 3” McNeil – $15,721.20
9th: I use 5cards – $11,703.56

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up
$215 buy-in, 4,628 entrants

1st: Mr. Shanish – $116,468.22
2nd: angevert – $106,468.22
3rd: $saxo$ – $106,468.22
4th: Laurence “rivermanl” Houghton – $52,296.40
5th: cspdealer – $39,338.00
6th: CruSader1981 – $30,082.00
7th: Bahneyyy – $20,826.00
8th: Joe “floes” Serock – $11,570.00
9th: melano26 – $7,404.80

Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl
$256 buy-in, 2,794 entrants

1st: mikkelstrack – $96,010.22
2nd: YrrsiNN – $72,201.87
3rd: Snusarn1 – $72,630.71
4th: Carder “SpazIsPlusEV” England – $40,792.40
5th: Jotagran49 – $28,498.80
6th: Andy “BKiCe” Seth – $18,999.20
7th: PrishChips31 – $12,852.40
8th: uzzyking – $8,940.80
9th: dadoudinet – $6,705.60

PokerStars Sunday 500
$530 buy-in, 1,033 entrants

1st: liutas.a – $89,147.90
2nd: Blue Knight1 – $64,562.50
3rd: SENORSEXY – $49,067.50
4th: Jeremy “JBurleson” Burleson – $35,948.40
5th: Jason “Taknapotin” Somerville – $25,566.75
6th: Jason “JERRRY” Glass – $20,401.75
7th: aylinka18 – $15,236.75
8th: EMakers9186 – $10,071.75
9th: hitthehole – $5,681.50

Cake Poker $250,000 Guaranteed
$268 buy-in, 1,286 entrants

1st: PIIIGEEEOOON – $63,607
2nd: thepokerkinq – $44,654
3rd: LawyerDad – $29,812
4th: IL LAUREATO – $22,038
5th: paulgees822 – $14,906
6th: xfaithlessx – $11,276
7th: SomeDumGuy – $8,256
8th: Kakakahahaha – $6,168
9th: iamchainsaw – $5,204

PokerStars Sunday Second Chance
$215 buy-in, 1,366 entrants

1st: Anthony “holdplz” Spinella – $49,613.12
2nd: Bryan “Squirrely1” Sapp – $36,062.40
3rd: Adam “akat11” Katz – $27,320.00
4th: parksy1066 – $20,490.00
5th: bbs99 – $14,343.00
6th: Michael “anakinso” Goodman – $11,611.00
7th: The Mooks – $8,879.00
8th: SPOTLIGHT19 – $6,147.00
9th: Walter “JLizard” Wright – $3,824.80

UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed
$215 buy-in, 1,054 entrants

1st: Ben “XTHESTEINX” Zamani – $39,267.00
2nd: 99NVRLOSEZ – $35,945.00
3rd: Adam “AKAT11” Katz – $19,077.40
4th: CHIPMICK09 – $13,596.60
5th: JMEWNIE – $11,488.60
6th: ILIKEPONIES – $9,380.60
7th: BAZOOKA87 – $7,272.60
8th: ANIMAL5050 – $5,164.60
9th: Nick “SHIPKINS” Grippo – $3,583.60

Poker2Nite Host Scott Huff Interview with Poker News Daily

Poker News Daily: Tell us about the feedback you received from the first episode of the UB.com-sponsored poker news show “Poker2Nite” on Fox Sports Net.

Scott Huff: People in the poker world seem to be excited about the show and hope that we can do a good enough job with it to last beyond our 13-episode run. The majority of people enjoyed it and sensed our nerves. Everyone felt like it moved quickly and was paced well. They felt like we needed to be the team we once were with PokerRoad and be less rigid.

PND: Along with Joe Sebok, you represent quite a young broadcast team.

Huff: I was sweating our YouTube hits after we put the first show up online. People have been putting up their own versions of the show and one of the comments was, “Look – babies delivering poker news.” I guess I didn’t realize it, but I got a lot of people Facebooking me and Tweeting me that we looked young. Until someone pointed it out, I didn’t even think of it. I’m just hoping that it doesn’t take away from the credibility of the show. Once we get comfortable, the youth will translate and it will be a positive thing for us. Most of the people consuming this content are young people anyway.

PND: Have you received any feedback from Fox Sports Net?

Huff: I haven’t gotten much feedback. What I’ve gotten is that the guys who were with us in studio have seen it and really liked it. Overall, they liked the product the first time through and thought we didn’t do anything offensive. They are more concerned with us not breaking the network’s rules.

PND: Talk about developing the content for each show.

Huff: We got lucky in the timing of the first show being right after the World Series of Poker and we didn’t want to leave off Durrrr signing with Full Tilt. With any news and anything related to poker, you have to let what’s out there be your guide as to what content to discuss. This week, we’re covering a charity tournament because we don’t have a huge World Poker Tour event to structure the show around.

PND: Speaking of Durrrr, what’s your take on the high-stakes action on Full Tilt Poker that has also featured Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and Isildur1?

Huff: I don’t understand how anyone gambles as high as they do. It’s more interesting to me what the online tournament grinders are doing and what the mid- to high-stakes players are doing. When I know that $1 million will be exchanged every 15 minutes, it’s not as interesting. It just seems psychotic.

PND: How do you, Sebok, and the rest of the crew divide tasks to create “Poker2Nite”?

Huff: Joe Stapleton is the head writer on the show. Joe Sebok and I are in a support capacity as far as coming up with lines and such. Overall, I think we’re all trying to throw ideas out there for segments and we’re all in for that part. A ton of the workload is falling on Stapleton as far as the script goes, but we’re all in there for ideas week in and week out. We already have things planned out for the next few weeks and will get content from the WPT Five Diamond at the Bellagio. We are hopefully a three-headed beast and we have a producer who helps us rewrite spots where he knows things can sound better. It’s definitely a collaborative effort.

Poker News Daily readers can catch “Poker2Nite” every Wednesday at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net. Check your local listings for full details.

ECOOP V Kicks Off, thanasis1982 Event #1 Champion

The fifth European Championship of Online Poker (ECOOP) has gotten off to an excellent start on Monday, with “thanasis1982” becoming its first tournament winner.

In its fifth year, the ECOOP has become the top tournament schedule on the iPoker Network, which is comprised of such rooms as Titan Poker, Celeb Poker, and Paddy Power Poker. This year’s tournament series, which started on Monday and lasts until December 6th, runs the gamut in a test of poker skills and boasts guaranteed prize pools that are sure to draw sizeable fields. If the remainder of the schedule goes as Event #1 did, ECOOP V should be one of the top online tournament schedules of 2009.

Event #1 was a $215 No Limit Hold’em tournament that attracted 1,241 players from across the European continent, Canada, and other hot poker spots outside of the United States. While it didn’t crack the $250,000 guarantee, 150 players were guaranteed to walk away with at least $275 for their efforts. Starting with 3,000 chips and 20-minute levels, however, it would also be an endurance test for those who took to the virtual felt.

After the elimination of “VeniVidiVici78” in 11th place, the final table players were guaranteed a payday of $3,500. As the time worked into the wee hours of Tuesday morning, the players slowly dropped away until only “analika” and “thanasis1982” remained to battle for the championship. The final cards came when the tournament clock clicked to 9 hours and 17 minutes of play, when “thanasis1982” was able to vanquish “analika” to take the $52,500 first place prize. While disappointed that there wasn’t an ECOOP championship to go with the money, “analika” walked away with a consolation prize of $27,500.

This year’s schedule will be a total test of a player’s skills, as it features challenging events in many disciplines of poker. Texas Hold’em and Omaha dominate the schedule, but there are also tournaments in Stud, Omaha Hi/Lo, and rebuy formats on the schedule. The remainder of the 13-day schedule and the guaranteed money for each tournament lines up as follows:

November 24th: Seven Card Stud
$250+$18 buy-in
$50,000 guaranteed

November 25th: No Limit Hold’em Turbo
$100+$9 buy-in
$200,000 guaranteed

November 26th: No Limit Hold’em
$750+$50 buy-in
$350,000 guaranteed

November 27th: Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo
$100+$9 buy-in
$100,000 guaranteed

November 28th: Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max
$1,000+$60 buy-in
$150,000 guaranteed

November 29th: No Limit Hold’em
$500+$35 buy-in
$500,000 guaranteed

November 30th: No Limit Hold’em
$2,500+$100 buy-in
$500,000 guaranteed

December 1st: Pot Limit Omaha R&A
$100+$9 buy-in
$150,000 guaranteed

December 2nd: No Limit Hold’em Six-Max
$300+$20 buy-in
$300,000 guaranteed

December 3rd: Limit Hold’em Six-Max
$200+$15 buy-in
$100,000 guaranteed

December 4th: No Limit Hold’em R&A
$100+$9 buy-in
$300,000 guaranteed

December 5th: Pot Limit Omaha
$400+$30 buy-in
$100,000 guaranteed

December 6th: ECOOP V Main Event
$1,500+$80 buy-in
$1.5 million guaranteed

All totaled, over the 14 tournaments that the ECOOP V features, there are guaranteed prize pools that total over $4.5 million.

Steven Begleiter on Bloomberg: “I’m probably a one tournament a year guy”

Last Friday, former Bear Stearns executive Steven Begleiter joined Bloomberg news hosts Mark Crumpton and Lori Rothman to discuss his sixth place finish in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and his future in the game.

Crumpton incorrectly stated that the WSOP Main Event was a $10 million buy-in poker tournament, but, nevertheless, Begleiter turned out in a coat and tie with no logos for Full Tilt, which he represented in Las Vegas earlier this month. On his skill level compared to the eight others at the final table of the $10,000 buy-in tournament, Begleiter explained, “I thought I was pretty good for the guys I played against [in my home game]. I didn’t think I’d go toe to toe with Phil Ivey. That’s the great thing about the Main Event: it allows humble amateurs and pros to go side by side and they can’t use their big money skills to pressure you.”

Many in the industry have wondered what will happen to the 2009 version of the WSOP Main Event November Nine. Main Event champion Joe Cada, now five days removed from his 22nd birthday, has vowed to remain a regular in the online tournament scene and build his presence in live events. Runner-up Darvin Moon will likely return to the forests of Maryland and continue logging. Begleiter told Bloomberg what to expect in the future from the financial guru: “When I made the final table in July, my partners were very good in allowing me to have the time I needed to play a few more tournaments, but now that it’s over, I’m probably back to being a one tournament a year guy.”

Begleiter’s experience in the financial services industry may have helped fuel his run in the WSOP Main Event. With 6,494 players entering, Begleiter outlasted all but five and earned $1.6 million. He revealed the corollaries between the two industries to Crumpton and Rothman: “There are definitely some. You need to have an affinity for understanding your probabilities pretty quickly, but really your opponents are telling you stories. You either have to believe them or not. A lot of us in the investment business, we hear a lot of stories. We decide whether we believe them or not and we put our chips to work in one way or another.”

Today’s poker world is full of players in their 20s. According to Begleiter, some in the industry could excel in the world of Wall Street: “I got to meet a lot of people in their 20s who were very good card players that, were we still at Bear Stearns, I would have tried to get them to come join the firm. One of them coached me, Jonathan Little, who is a very accomplished player. People like him would do very well here on Wall Street.” Little is a two-time World Poker Tour (WPT) champion, having taken down the Season VI Mirage Poker Showdown and Season VII Foxwoods World Poker Finals. In Season VI, he captured Player of the Year honors.

Bloomberg’s hosts then asked if the 47 year-old amateur poker player was present at Bear Stearns for its eventual collapse and sale to J.P. Morgan. Begleiter responded, “It was really my only job. I started right out of college and I was there until we closed. I had a pretty good seat on what was happening and it was really my second family. It was a great disappointment the way things ended.” After his WSOP Main Event run in July, Begleiter took ninth in the WPT Legends of Poker for $39,000.

The five and a half minute segment ended with an uninformed Rothman asking if Begleiter had ever played “electronic poker.” The poker world will now wait and see if Begleiter truly becomes a one tournament per year player or if he’ll be more of a staple on the circuit.

Shaun Deeb quits poker tournaments

Shaun Deeb, known more commonly by his fans as “Shaun f***ing Deeb”, is an online tournament legend – a pinnacle grinder who aims to, and often does, finish top of every leaderboard on PokerStars. The Team PokerStars Pro is one of the original online legends.

Absolute Poker Pro Matt Vengrin to Judge Miss California Teen USA

First, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso signs up to be a judge on the E! reality competition show “Bank of Hollywood.” Now, Absolute Poker Pro Matt Vengrin is following suit and branching out, serving as a judge in the upcoming Miss California Teen USA pageant.  The event, which wraps up Sunday, will determine who will succeed reigning Miss California Teen USA Chelsea Gilligan of Beaumont.

“As a poker player, I know how fierce competition can be,” said Vengrin in a statement from Absolute Poker.  “Just like playing in the World Series of Poker (WSOP), these girls are in for a grueling, but fun weekend, and I’m excited to be an integral part of the experience.”

Fittingly for Vengrin, the event is taking place at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage.  The casino’s theater, called “The Show,” played host to the preliminary rounds of the competition on Saturday and the finals are taking place Sunday afternoon.  Though the completion did not get underway until this weekend, the pageant contestants have been preparing for the event for months, including an October orientation in Palm Springs and preliminary interviews at the Riviera Resort this past Friday.

According to the Miss California organization’s official website, Vengrin and the other judges will be evaluating the contestants based on their performance in the interview, evening gown, and swimsuit competitions.  The site lists judging criteria as “character, poise, confidence, and personality.”  The winner will represent the Golden State at the Miss Teen USA pageant, which will take place in the summer of 2010.  The current Miss Teen USA crown holder is Stormi Henley of Tennessee.

This latest appearance is another boon for Vengrin in what has been a landmark year for the online poker pro.  Earlier this year, he parted ways with Full Tilt Poker, which signed him to a Red Pro sponsorship agreement.  In June, news broke that Vengrin was a new spokesperson for Absolute Poker.  Other sponsored pros on the Absolute Poker roster include Lacey Jones and recently-signed “Real World: Las Vegas” alum Trishelle Cannatella.

In September, Vengrin, who plays online under the screen names “plattsburgh” and “vengmoney,” made waves in this year’s PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) by making three final tables, which was enough to tie him with WCOOP Player of the Series Dan “djk123” Kelly for most in that department.  Over the course of 2009, Vengrin has racked up more than $250,000 in online tournament winnings and recently had a deep run in the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic, where he finished in 27th place and won $21,327.

The New York native has had his fair share of live poker success as well, most notably a third place finish in a $3,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Event at the 2008 WSOP.  Vengrin netted $167,973 for his finish and his lifetime live poker tournament winnings are at almost a half-million dollars.

Vengrin’s participation with the pageant is not the first time poker and beauty queens have crossed paths.  Poker players like Clonie Gowen and Tiffany Michelle are both former pageant contestants; Gowen held the title of Miss Teen McAlester, Oklahoma in her youth.

Zhivago2, Obiedman Win FTOPS XIV Poker Titles

Full Tilt Poker’s 14th installment of its Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) came to a close Monday morning when a champion was crowned in the $535 buy-in Main Event. Austria’s “zhivago2” outlasted a record-setting field to earn a payday of $418,839 and the gold FTOPS jersey.

Full Tilt’s newest team member, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, hosted what would ultimately be the largest Main Event in FTOPS history, attracting 5,471 players for a prize pool of $2,735,500. Nearly 70 Full Tilt Red Pros took part in the historic event, with Dave Colclough’s 250th place finish topping them all. Brandon Adams, Jeff Madsen, Gary Jones, and Soren Kongsgaard were the other Red Pros to make the money.

Former Full Tilt Red Pro Adam Junglen was the biggest name to reach the final table, which got underway at around 7:00am ET after an exhausting 11 hours of play. Junglen entered the final table third in chips, trailing “kinheim” and eventual champion zhivago2. Andrew “bankrollme87″ Touchette was fourth in chips as the final nine was formed, but the online pro was sent to the rail in sixth place when he got all of his chips in on a 9s-8d-6s board with 9d-3d against the 9h-7h of “ItsTime2Win.” The better kicker held up and Touchette exited with $90,271.50.

After kinheim (fifth place, $131,167) and “dfunks222” (fourth place, $175,072) were eliminated, the final three players agreed to a deal that would secure a payout of at least $290,000 for each of them. With some extra money set aside for the winner, Junglen and zhivago2 got tangled up in a pre-flop raising war that would end the pro’s tournament life. ItsTime2Win raised from the button, zhivago2 called, and Junglen three-bet to 1.4 million from the big blind. ItsTime2Win folded and zhivago2 put the pressure on Junglen by moving all-in. Junglen called with pocket sixes and was in a race against zhivago2’s Qs-Jh. The Jd-8h-5d flop left Junglen needing help, but the turn and river were of no assistance and he collected $290,418 for his third place finish.

zhivago2 took a sizable lead into heads-up play and was able to finish off ItsTime2Win after a lengthy match. On the final hand, zhivago2 bet two million on a 9h-5c-2d board and ItsTime2Win moved all-in for around 11 million. zhivago2 called with pocket jacks and was in great shape against the Ac-3c of ItsTime2Win. The 6c and 3h came on the turn and river, respectively, and zhivago2 was the new FTOPS Main Event champion. ItsTime2Win earned $316,554 as the runner-up.

Here’s a look at the final results from the FTOPS XIV Main Event:

1. zhivago2 – $418,839.16
2. ItsTime2Win – $316,554.40
3. Adam Junglen – $290,418.94
4. dfunks222 – $175,072
5. kinheim – $131,167.23
6. Andrew “bankrollme87″ Touchette – $90,271.50
7. nuts7878 – $58,813.25
8. Valuechecking – $41,032.50
9. Dr Fill Good – $28,722.75

The biggest prize of the FTOPS XIV series went to “obiedman,” who won the Two-Day $2,500+$120 No Limit Hold’em Event #22 on Sunday. A 938-player field of the best online tournament players in the world participated to create a prize pool of $2,345,000.

Full Tilt Red Pro Gary Jones had the chip lead late into the tournament and earned a seat at the final table, but found himself short with four players remaining and moved his remaining stack in with Ad-3c. “Timvd20” called with pocket fours and the pair held up to eliminate Jones in fourth place for $193,463. Timvd20 was the next player to hit the rail after losing much of his stack to obiedman and then running pocket threes into the pocket aces of “Supa4real.”

An entertaining heads-up ended with each player holding trip queens on a Qc-Qd-9d board. However, obiedman’s Js kicker bested the 10s kicker of his opponent and obiedman made a full house with the Jc on the river to win the Event #22 title and $539,350. Supa4real, who also final tabled the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Two-Day Main Event in September, earned his largest online cash to date of $340,025.

Here are the results from FTOPS XIV Event #22:

1. obiedman – $539,350
2. Supa4real – $340,025
3. Timvd20 – $252,088
4. Gary Jones – $193,463
5. the_real_magic – $146,563
6. TheAlligatorNo1 – $105,525
7. Ahvall – $70,350
8. DanOBrien – $54,873
9. Rabbit_hunterSA – $39,865

Fair Poker Absorbed by Noble Poker

Two sites on the iPoker Network have merged into one, as members of the online poker room Fair Poker have had their accounts transferred to Noble Poker.  Players on Fair Poker recently received a notice informing them of the change and offering a deposit bonus as a welcome to the new site.

The e-mail from Fair Poker assured users their username and password would remain unchanged and the entirety of their Fair accounts would show up once they log into Noble Poker.  Fair Poker’s website has already been re-branded as Noble Poker and makes no mention of why the changeover occurred.  Gibraltar-based Noble Poker set up shop in 2004 and offers users a range of Hold’em, Omaha and Omaha High-Low cash games, sit and gos, and multi-table tournaments.

Noble offers a daily $100,000 Guaranteed tournament, a monthly Sunday tournament with a $1 million prize pool, weekly Sunday tournaments with a guaranteed prize pool of $250,000, and satellites to other major iPoker Network events like the European Championship of Online Poker (ECOOP).

This change comes just before the launch of ECOOP V, hosted by fellow iPoker site Titan Poker.  The online tournament series gets underway on November 23rd and satellites are already running on Noble and other iPoker affiliates.  The upcoming two-week long series features 14 tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $100 to $2,500 and there will be more than $4.5 million in guaranteed prize money up for grabs.  Satellites for the event have been running since September 21st and players can win their way in for as little as $1.50.  Sites on the iPoker Network, run by Playtech, currently do not accept U.S. customers.

Fair Poker, also established in 2004, was best known for its Jackpot Sit and Gos and loose action at the cash game tables.  Noble Poker, which is a substantially larger site than Fair Poker, also has a reputation for juicy cash game tables in addition to its ever-growing multi-table tournament schedule.

According to the official e-mail to Fair Poker customers, iPoints earned will transfer over to Noble.  Those points will go towards eligibility in Noble’s VIP Crown program, which rewards loyal customers with a player points store, monthly freerolls, VIP rake races, and other special promotions.  There are six VIP Crown levels based on how many points that players earn each month, with the highest level reserved for those who rack up at least 35,000.

Other than the e-mail to customers, which referred to the Noble Poker transfer as an “upgrade,” none of iPoker’s sites offer any explanation as to why the Antigua-based Fair Poker closed its doors.  It was one of the smaller rooms on the iPoker Network, which hosts over 30 online poker rooms including Titan, Noble, Chili Poker, William Hill Poker, and Expekt.  Neither Playtech’s nor iPoker’s websites featured any press release detailing the change.  Fair Poker is still listed on iPoker’s site as one of the poker rooms in its expansive network, but the link to sign up for Fair Poker directs users to Noble Poker information.

PokerStars hosting bad beat on cancer event

Rowe was the last woman standing in the 2009 Borgata Poker Open ladies event. Unfortunately for her that wasn't enough to win the tournament as Abraham Korotki, a 65-year-old man from New Jersey, was the ultimate victor.

The PokerStars sponsored "Bad Beat Poker Challenge" will take place Thursday, Nov. 12, at 9 p.m. EST. The buy-in will be $10 with $10 rebuys available throughout the first two levels.

There are a large number of prizes up for grabs donated by poker pros Daniel Negreanu, Jamie Gold, Vanessa Rousso, Gavin Smith, Joe Sebok, Phil Gordon, Matt Glantz, Tom McEvoy, the entire cast of 2 Months, 2 Million, and UFC star Tito Ortiz.

First place is a 2 Months, 2 Million scholarship, which includes a lifetime subscription to training site Deucescracked.com. The subscription is valued at $10,000.

Other notable prizes include attending a taping of the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge, a night of drinks with the PokerRoad crew and one-on-one coaching sessions from players like Daniel Negreanu, Tom McEvoy and Jay "Pr1ynnyraid" Rosenkrantz.

All proceeds from the online tournament will go towards the Prevent Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit group which helps educate women on prevention and early detection.

The event can be found in the Private Tournament section on PokerStars.com. You can make a direct donation by clicking here.

Visit PokerListings.com

Poker News in Brief: Nov. 2-8, 2009

If you're looking for spoilers just check out our Live Coverage, but this is about the stories that didn't make the front page this week.

As part of our Poker News in Brief feature we've compiled a list of those lesser-known stories below.

This week we're going to look at a new poker tour in Europe, the passing of a celebrated poker player, Brandon Cantu winning yet another online tournament and more.

ParadisePoker launches new European tour

ParadisePoker is the latest online poker room to enter the live tournament scene and will offer a series of tournaments throughout Europe in 2009/2010.

The first season of the ParadisePoker Tour will include stops in London, Prague, Madrid and Bulgaria.

The ParadisePoker Tour will begin with a £550 tournament at the Empire Casino in Leister Square, London on Dec. 12 with a guaranteed prize pool of £100,000.

It's possible to qualify for the event on ParadisePoker for as little as €1.10. Click here for more information.

Poker world loses Hans "Tuna" Lund

Hans "Tuna" Lund, perhaps best known his epic heads-up battle against Mansour Matloubi at the 1990 WSOP Main Event, succumbed to cancer early Friday morning.

Lund began playing tournament poker way back in 1977 and since then he accumulated nearly $3 million in tournament winnings, two WSOP bracelets and two Main Event final table appearances.

Despite retiring from the game in 1997 to spend more time with his children Jimmy and Lilly, Lund still played the occasional tournament.

His most recent cash at the WSOP came in the 2007 Main Event where he finished 319th for $39,445.

A resident of Sparks, Nevada, Lund was 59 years old.

Playtech releases new iPoker update

Poker sites like Titan, William Hill, CD Poker, Bet365 and ChiliPoker will benefit from some new features thanks to a software update to the iPoker network.

Playtech released the new iPoker client on Wednesday and users now have access to tools like auto top-up, buddies functionality and a sharp new interface.

Other innovations include a multi-currency option, five-step seat finding feature, hand-for-hand mode in tournaments and a new tournament time-bank that offers player a predefined allotment of extra time throughout the tournament.

Brandon Cantu dominating UltimateBet games

Las Vegas Team UB pro Brandon Cantu is having one hell of a year.

Just this past Sunday, Cantu won the signature UltimateBet $100,000 guaranteed tournament for $34,580. In August he won the same tournament for nearly $37,000.

Cantu also won the weekly heads-up tournament leaderboard match on UltimateBet.

Each week the tournament leaderboard winner faces off against a Team UB pro for $1,000. Team UB pros have won the event for three straight weeks meaning the prize pool is up to $4,000 for next Saturday.

Cantu's success in 2009 hasn't just been online either. This summer Cantu won his second WSOP bracelet by taking down the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event for $228,867.

The aggressive poker pro is up to over $3 million in lifetime tournament earnings as well as several hundred thousand earned online.

Sites offering Belgium Poker Championships qualifiers

Satellites for the Belgium Poker Championships began this week on PokerStars.com, Everest Poker and bwin Poker.

On PokerStars, the satellites start at just $5.50, which are the first step in qualifying for the $215 monthly final.

Meanwhile, on Everest Poker, players can attempt to climb the Sit 'N' Go steps which start at just $2 and go all the way up to $360.

Finally, bwin will hold a freeroll later this year with first place winning a seat in the Belgium Poker Championship.

Last year Sijbrand Maal won €315,875 for outlasting 842 players in the 2008 Belgium Poker Championships.

The 2009 Belgium Poker Championships will take place this Nov. 21-29 at Casino de Namur.

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospeliler, Ludovic Lacay, Davidi Kitai, Lex Veldhuis and Marcel Luske are all confirmed to play with several other big-name poker players expected to sign up.

Visit PokerListings.com

Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet Introduce Synchronized Breaks

A recent change to the tournament schedules at CEREUS Network sites Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet has online grinders rejoicing at the fact that it will now be even easier to bolt to the bathroom during a long session of online tournament play.  The two rooms are the latest to adopt the practice of synchronizing breaks.

Like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker before them, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet’s five-minute breaks will run from 55 minutes past the hour to the top of the hour.  This means that even if a tournament has not been running for an hour, players will still go on break at 55 after in order to stay synchronized with the rest of the schedule.

There are a few exceptions to the new synchronized break policy.  For example, any tournament that is still in the late registration period will not go on break at the scheduled time.  Regular tournaments that are still in the first blind level at 55 minutes past the hour will also skip the five minute break, as will Turbo and Ultra Turbo tournaments that are in the first two levels of play.  Multi-table sit and gos will also not be taking part in synchronized breaks, but the official statement from CEREUS suggests that this exception may be a temporary one.  If users are ever unsure about whether or not a tournament has synchronized breaks, they can check the lobby for verification.

Earlier this month, Team Ultimate Bet Pro Adam “Roothlus” Levy informed members of the online poker forum PocketFives.com that synchronized breaks were coming by November and also filled them in on some potential changes on the site.  He said the room would be revamping its tournament schedule to cater to the needs of high-stakes multi-table tournament players, including moving up the popular $300 buy-in $100,000 Guaranteed deep stack tournament one hour from its current 5:30pm ET start.

Ultimate Bet pro Annie Duke told Poker News Daily, “When Full Tilt rolled it out, our developers were doing things related to CEREUS, which was a long process. I’m excited that the tournament schedule has some changes coming over the next couple of weeks.”

There has yet to be any official statement from Ultimate Bet regarding changes to the tournament schedule, but a press release from CEREUS did announce that they have implemented a new “Raise To” button.  Previously, players had to subtract the amount of the initial bets from their raise.  The new “Raise To” button allows users to simply type in the amount they would like to raise to.

Full Tilt Poker first introduced synchronized breaks in April and PokerStars followed suit in August.  While the concept has been a big hit among online tournament regulars who were previously unable to step away from their computers without inevitably missing hands, several players have noticed some timing issues that are cutting players’ breaks short.  When PokerStars first started synchronizing breaks at 55 minutes past the hour, the tournaments on both Full Tilt and PokerStars would go on break at almost exactly the same time.  Now, several players have noticed that there is almost one minute between the time in which PokerStars players are sent on break and when Full Tilt players are sent, cutting down noticeably on the time they can spend away from the virtual tables.

Despite the timing discrepancies, synchronized breaks have still been a big success overall and this recent step by CEREUS suggests that a five-minute break at the end of the hour is on its way to becoming an industry standard.

Limit Hold’em……a solved game?

Many people have been discussing the relative merits of Limit Hold’em recently with regards to it being a “solved game”. There is no other form of poker that relies so heavily on statistics and mathematics than Limit Hold’em. But while it is a game that can in theory be “solved,” we are certainly a long way from the day when vast numbers of players are going to take the time to do so.

The use of tracking software has also taken us a gigantic step closer to achieving perfection and in Limit Hold’em, there are computer programs that are available now that can play a very powerful game indeed. This has been proven by the latest man vs. machine encounters over the past couple of years or so.

So just how do you go about playing a very strong game of limit? Well first and foremost you need to do an awful lot of work and study, and taking advantage of a good training site with top class Limit players as the tutors will be a gigantic start.

In Limit Hold’em it is possible to construct generic ranges from all positions, which can be accurately moulded around the actions of every single opponent. For instance if you are in the big blind and the cut-off open raises, depending on the rate at which this player makes this action from this position in this situation then you can start to compile a range to play with against your opponent’s range. Once you have enough reliable data on your opponent (I use Poker Office as my software of choice) then you can begin the process of compiling your default range against them.

Software like Poker Stove can be of immense help here, as it can assist us in calculating the equity of every hand that we hold against the likely range of our opponent. So if for instance the player in the cut-off is a solid player, we can look at typical ranges for players in that position who are solid and see with what percentage of their range they are open-raising.

There will be minor differences among players, but solid players tend not to be too dissimilar from each other. Once we know their basic range, calculating our own range to play effectively against theirs is a lot simpler. Note: it actually gets far more involved than this, as a player’s own individual post-flop skill and tendencies impact on your range substantially.

But once you have your default range in place then you can begin to fit the rest of your game around that and make any necessary adjustments that need to be made. This in principle is the same as basic strategy in the game of blackjack. Most of the time you are following this basic strategy but there will come a time where it is correct to deviate and to do something else – these are referred to as “strategy deviations”.

Of course, solid players will have different ranges than loose-aggressive players or tight players for example, but a player’s VPIP (Voluntarily Put Into Pot) and PFA (Post-Flop Aggression) will dictate what type of player they are anyway with reasonable accuracy.

If you begin to understand the likely ranges of your opponents and what range you need in place to combat that, and then couple this with a sound post-flop game, you will see why certain people think that Limit Hold’em is close to being solved.

I also think that as you move up through the levels in Limit Hold’em, game selection becomes crucial probably more than in any other poker variation. The value in Limit games above $20-$40 is becoming less and less, and many players at the higher limits are multi-tabling at lower levels in an effort to increase it.

There will always be weaker players with money dropping into these games: maybe they won big in some large online tournament and have a large amount in their account, maybe the site is attached to a sportsbook and has the facility to allow large sports bettors to drift across with substantial money who are itching to play at a serious level.

But these players are well in the minority and you may have to sit at an empty heads-up table all afternoon before the player that you were hoping to see actually shows up. Even then, there is no guarantee that they will stick around for long. If you start to push them around and take their money they could just leave the table, or to make matters worse, if they are the hit and run type then they could do the same and leave with your money.

I am aware of a few high stakes limit players who actually don’t make much more than $100k-$200k a year now simply because the games have become substantially tougher and they cannot see enough action. I don’t know about Limit Hold’em being solved but there are answers further down the limits for those that care to look and don’t have an ego.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson is sponsored by Cake Poker and can be seen at www.cakepoker.com/thedean and on his blog at www.pokersharkpool.com

Late starter Bloch in the hunt at WPT Festa

For the first time ever, the Bellagio allowed Festa al Lago players to register for the event all the way up until the start of the tournament's ninth 90-minute level - Late on Day 2.

But while critics argue beginning with a 60,000 chip starting stack when the blinds are more than ten times what they were in Level 1 leaves you at a disadvantage, Bloch, who started in the middle of Level 8, sees things a little differently.

"In reality, if everybody was an equal player, then there would be a slight advantage to coming late because you would be slightly closer to making the money," said the Team Full Tilt Pro. "If you think you're slightly better than the average player who shows up on time, and your only goal is to maximize how you do in this one tournament, then yes, show up on time.

"But the thing is, there is more to life than one poker tournament and you can spend that whole day doing whatever you want, whether its playing online poker, playing a cash game or doing something that doesn't involve poker at all, and that's what I chose to do."

While the players that started the tournament in Level 1 began with 600 big blinds, Bloch came in at a time when the starting stack was worth just 50, along with players like Freddy Deeb and Chris Ferguson, who are also still in the fray at Festa.

But Bloch, who holds two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School, says the proximity to the money bubble, even considering there was still more than half the field left in the tournament when they started, gives the late starters an ever so slight mathematical edge.

"Think about it," he said. "If you could buy in on the bubble, there would be a huge advantage, you would just need to outlast one player and you'd get your money back and more.

"To win the poker tournament, you are probably better off to start on time, but to win at poker, in general, you are probably better off playing a big online tournament or a cash game or whatever else you want that first day.

"Your time has value, and your goal isn't just to maximize how much you can make in this one tournament, it is to maximize how much you make in all the tournaments you play and all the enjoyment you can get out of life in general."

While he is certainly applauding the Bellagio's move to extend registration to the event's second day, Bloch has been critical of the tournament structure here and at other major tournaments of late.

Starting stacks have grown across the board in high-stakes tournament poker in an attempt to add more play, but Bloch suggests this "deep stack poker" is all just an illusion.

He says the big starting stacks may give players more room to maneuver in the early stages, but these structures often get faster at the most critical times.

"It looks like there's a lot of play, but there really isn't," he said. "I'd rather gamble early and have the good structure late. Here, when you get to the middle part of the tournament, close to the money, the average stack has about 50 big blinds. When there's a raise in front of you, you're really not left with too many options."

Bloch said he would like to see more levels added to the later stages of major tournaments to put the play into the events when it really counts and if major tournament directors don't want to get on board, he may just try it himself.

"I just think a couple of us pros should get together and maybe, one at a time, say, 'This is the structure I want to do,' and we try it," he said. "We find a casino that will do it, charge us less juice. We can look for the one that give us the best offer and do it ourselves."

For now though, Bloch finds himself in the final 37 at Festa al Lago with a chance to add to his more than $4.2 million in career tournament earnings heading into Day 4 Saturday on a just-below-average stack.

Corwin Cole leads the field on around one million chips with Jonas Entin right behind him and a host of top pros, including Deeb, Ferguson, Mark Seif, Dutch Boyd and PokerListings blogger Matt Stout, still in the hunt.

To follow all the Festa al Lago action, click through to PokerListings' Live Updates beginning at 12 p.m. PST.

Visit PokerListings.com

Bodog Poker Open IV Dates Announced

In the world of online poker tournament series, there are a few that are “must play” events for online professionals. The annual PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and the quarterly Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) normally come to mind first, but Bodog has built its own franchise that has done very well, the Bodog Poker Open. Recently, the dates were announced for the fourth version of Bodog’s preeminent online tournament series and some special prizes have been added for the eventual champion.

The Bodog Poker Open IV is scheduled to start on November 1st and will wrap up one week later on November 8th. The weeklong schedule features several tournaments that will test the skills of the players involved in Limit, Pot Limit, and No Limit Texas Hold’em. It also has been split into two divisions that will enable anyone to get into the game.

The Bodog Championship Series features the seven main tournaments that run from a $50 rebuy to the $500 Championship Event. These tournaments should draw the cream of the internet poker world to battle it out on the virtual felt. The second division, called the Bodog Contender Series, features eight tournaments that cost 10% of the buy-ins of the main schedule, but will still be profitable for their eventual champions.

There are other additions that should make the Bodog Poker Open IV a schedule that will be well-attended. Each tournament in the Championship Series has money added to the prize pool, ranging from $2,500 for Event #6 ($150 Limit Hold’em) to the $25,000 that will be added to the Championship Event’s prize pool. In the Contender Series, two tournaments, the $10 No Limit Hold’em event (#1) and the Contender Championship Event, have money added to them.

Each player who wins one of the preliminary tournaments on the Championship Schedule will also earn a seat into the Championship Event along with a chunk of the prize pool. For those playing on the Contender Schedule, the winners of preliminary events will take home a seat into the Championship Series Main Event, while their final tablemates will earn a seat into the Contender Series Main Event. Finally, the eventual champions of both divisions’ Main Events will be featured in CardPlayer Magazine and Bodog’s online outlets, including the “Bodog Beat.”

For those who don’t want to pony up the full buy-in for either the Championship or the Contender Schedule, there are ways to qualify for the tournaments on the cheap through a very extensive satellite schedule. For as little as $0.50, players can work their way into the mix for playing in any of the Bodog Poker Open scheduled events on either side of the ledger. Players can even use Bodog Poker Points to enter into special satellite tournaments that can get them into a tournament for no monetary outlay.

Back on May 3rd, the Bodog Poker Open III wrapped up its Championship Event by crowning “biffsworld” as the victor. “biffsworld” vanquished the 279-player field, which included Bodog poker professionals Jean-Robert Bellande and Justin Bonomo, and took home the $40,283 first prize. “biffsworld” is expected back to defend his title, joining “scarface0928” (Mid-Main Event champion) and “winjack” (Mini-Main Event champion), who also earned titles during the Bodog Poker Open III. With the Bodog Poker Open IV less than two weeks away, the action should be picking up significantly as players attempt to win their way into the weeklong tournament series.

Mike Sexton Previews the WSOP November Nine

The entire poker world is anxiously awaiting the final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, which will be played this November.  The finalists have been dubbed the “November Nine” because of the four-month delay of the final table.  It’s a final table that has created tremendous interest because it has everything – an amateur with a massive chip lead, three guys in their 20s, and great players from around the world.  It’s also got Phil Ivey – and that is huge for the WSOP.

I often get asked, “Who do you think is the best poker player in the world?”  Well, when asked the same question years ago, Doyle Brunson said, “You judge a hunter by the number of furs he brings home”  (I love that phrase).  Well, nobody has brought home more “fur” than Phil Ivey.  I consider Phil Ivey to be the best player in the world.

Ivey is the best in every poker category you can come up with – cash games, tournament poker, and online poker.  I would bet that he’s the most successful cash game player of all-time and he will become the all-time tournament money leader if he finishes in fourth place or better at the WSOP Main Event final table.  If he’s not the most successful online player out there, then he’s certainly one of them.  When it comes to playing poker (and that includes all games), put Ivey at the top of your list.

One thing’s for sure – in addition to most players, Harrah’s, the WSOP, and ESPN are thrilled that Phil Ivey is at the final table. Because he’s there, I look for ratings for the WSOP final table to at least double from last year.  And that’s good for poker.

OK, here are the November Nine and their chip counts:

Darvin Moon – 58,930,000
Eric Buchman – 34,800,000
Steven Begleiter – 29,885,000
Jeff Shulman – 19,580,000
Joe Cada – 13,215,000
Kevin Schaffel – 12,390,000
Phil Ivey – 9,765,000
Antoine Saout – 9,500,000
James Akenhead – 6,800,000

The November Nine chip leader is Darvin Moon.  He’s a 45 year-old amateur poker player from Oakland, Maryland.  Playing in his first-ever big-time tournament, he could become the next Chris Moneymaker.  Moon is an amazing story.  He won his seat in a qualifying tournament in West Virginia and thought about taking the $10,000 first place prize and putting it in the family business.  His brother talked him out of that and encouraged him to go ahead and enter the WSOP (brother knows best).  Experience or not, with nearly 60 million in chips, I can’t imagine anyone being a bigger favorite than him to win.  Will it be a “Full Moon” in November?

Starting in second chip position with nearly 35 million is Eric Buchman.  Eric is a 29 year-old pro from New York.  He’s been a pro for about 10 years and this marks his 23rd cash at the WSOP.  Prior to this tournament, he had nearly $1 million in career tournament cashes.  With his experience and chip count, he could be the man to beat.

In third chip position with nearly 30 million is 47 year-old Steven Begleiter from Chappaqua, New York.  He was a strategist for the investment bank Bear Stearns for nearly 25 years.  He qualified for the WSOP Main Event on the Newcastle Poker Tour and poker league.  He’s really popular there, as he plans to donate 20% of his winnings to his poker league.  Now that is a friendly game!

The only guy who has been to the WSOP Main Event final table before is 34 year-old Jeff Shulman, the editor of CardPlayer Magazine.  He’ll be starting out in fourth chip position with nearly 20 million.  Shulman created a controversy by saying he would “throw the bracelet in the garbage if I win”  (that’s because of his strong opinion of unfair media treatment by the WSOP).  Like most, I’m shocked by that statement considering Shulman is in the business of promoting poker.  Shulman’s experience could bode well for him in November, but hopefully he’ll change his mind about throwing the bracelet in the garbage.

On a side note, that 2000 WSOP Main Event is still vivid in my mind because I felt I had a real shot to win it.  I ended up finishing in 12th place and was knocked out by Shulman (who was the big chip leader at the time and won a race for all of my chips).  It turned out to be a heartbreaking tournament for Shulman as well because, for the first time in WSOP history, only six players made it to the TV table and Shulman was the massive chip leader with seven players left.  He ended up going out seventh.

The youngest player at the table, 21 year-old Joe Cada from Michigan, will be starting out in fifth chip position.  If he wins, he will break Peter Eastgate’s record of being the youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever.  Cada plays a lot of heads-up poker and likes his chances if he gets short-handed.  He’s young, confident in his abilities, and believes he’s got a good chance to win.

Kevin Schaffel, 51, has been playing poker for 30 years.  This super nice Floridian claims to be “semi-retired,” but he is a scratch golfer and plays a lot of poker.  Do you think he works much?  Kevin recently finished second in the WPT’s Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino and, I can tell you, he played very well there.  If he doesn’t dub any shots on the green felt in November, he could very well be crowned champion.

Phil Ivey is “the man” at any poker table.  Although he’s starting in seventh chip position with less than 10 million in chips, many are wagering on him to win.  I’m sure he feels pretty good about his chances and why wouldn’t he?  He’s already won two bracelets at the 2009 WSOP and then bet $20,000 on himself to win the Main Event at 100-1 odds when there were still 2,400 players left!  Like many, I would love to see Ivey win.  I think it would be great for the poker world if the greatest player in the game won the biggest event in poker.

Antoine Saout, 25 years-old and from France, will be starting in eighth chip position.  He qualified for this tournament by winning a $50 online satellite.  Word has it that he crushes online tournaments.  I know some French players who really respect his game.   When he told his mom he wanted to become a poker pro, she was not happy.  With this finish and becoming a guaranteed millionaire, mom has changed her mind.  “Bon chance,” Antoine!

James Akenhead, 26, from England, discovered poker a few years ago while he was pursuing his other love, pool.  He practiced pool 10 hours a day and was ranked 15th in the U.K. in nine-ball at one time.  Akenhead has been a poker pro for three years and several top players from England have told me that he’s a very tough player.  Although he’s starting on the short stack, if he can double up early, they really like his chances.  A Hall of Fame poker player once said, “Poker is like pool.  Some days you make every shot and other days you hit nothing but the rail.”  Can this pool player parlay the short stack into the title?

One thing’s for sure:  It’s going to be a great final table in November.  Like all poker players, I can’t wait.

PokerStars Enters Guinness Book of World Records for Most Online Poker Players

While the “brick and mortar” casino world continues to suffer double-figure drops in win rates and declines in attendance, September proved to be a lucrative month for PokerStars with the completion of its eighth annual World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). In addition to another highly successful run of the preeminent online poker series for PokerStars, the WCOOP also helped to provide another world record for the number one site worldwide.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, which verified the results, September 6th saw PokerStars defeat its own world record for most players hosted by an online poker room. On that day, during which the WCOOP was in full swing, PokerStars recorded 307,016 players taking part in tournament, cash game, and free poker games on the site. Players were arranged around 42,814 tables and, once verified by Guinness record-keepers, smashed the previous mark by over 100,000.

PokerStars, which has held the record since its inception in 2008, and its major competitor, Full Tilt Poker, went at each other only two months ago to set the previous mark for most players online at once. Back in July, both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars ran tournaments in an attempt to set the record for the largest online poker tournament ever held. PokerStars brought in a total of 65,000 players for its version of the record-breaking attempt, while Full Tilt attracted only 50,000. PokerStars was close to 200,000 total players once the tournament and other action was counted.

The most recent world record for PokerStars was more than likely due to the massive outpouring of players during the WCOOP and its various satellite events. On September 5th, WCOOP Event #6, the $109 No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament, drew an astounding 15,675 players. This didn’t take into count the number of players who were participating in Event #7, the $215 Pot Limit Five Card Draw, satellite tournaments, or play money games on the site.

On September 6th, a Sunday and the traditional “big day” for online tournament players around the world, the WCOOP featured three huge events that drew traffic. In addition to Event #9, a $215 No Limit Hold’em tournament that attracted 11,131 runners and was won by Slovakia’s “ternoplayer,” Event #10, the $10,300 High Roller tournament (299 players and won by Sweden’s “Sumpas”) and the first day of Event #11, the two day $530 No Limit Hold’em event (drawing 6219 players and won by the United States’ “hustla16”) were also in action. Once the numbers were counted up, it cracked the previous record set by PokerStars back in July.

While their physical counterparts battle through the recession, it is apparent that the online poker world is quite healthy. Congratulations to PokerStars for its most recent record, which should stand for quite some time.

PokerStars World Cup of Poker VI Reaches Live Finals

After weeks of gruelling online tournaments, the final nine teams are ready to jet off to the Bahamas for a live poker final at the sixth PokerStars World Cup of Poker. The United States, Chile, Canada, Italy, Finland, Norway, Croatia, Taiwan and defending champions Germany will be battling it out in the luxury resort in January.

PokerStars racks up another world record

The online giant drew 307,016 players on 42,814 tables Sept. 6, which was more than enough for a new world record.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records it was the most players ever recorded on an Internet poker room, breaking PokerStars own record by more than 100,000 players.

At this rate, PokerStars is only competing with itself for online traffic records and the site still holds the record for the largest poker tournament ever held at 65,000 players on July 19, 2009.

As the world's largest poker site, PokerStars has more than 27 million members worldwide and has dealt more than 33 billion hands since it launched in 2001.

The online site has since expanded to include a number of live poker tours including the European Poker Tour, ((Asian Pacific Poker Tour)) and the Latin American Poker Tour.

The PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker main event is also the world's most lucrative online tournament.

Yevgeniy "Jovial Giant" Timoshenko won $1.7 million for taking down the event Sept. 21.

Visit PokerListings.com

Yevgeniy Timoshenko (Jovial Gent) Wins 2009 WCOOP Main Event

Continuing what has been one of the most successful years that a professional poker player could have, Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko won the Main Event of the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), earning over $1.7 million for his efforts.

The two-day $5,000 buy in event, which started on Sunday, saw an astonishing 2,144 players willing to either pony up the entry fee or satellite their way in. This field outpaced the $10 million that PokerStars guaranteed and set up a prize pool of $10.72 million.

As is expected for what has become the preeminent online tournament of the year, top professionals and celebrities were bountiful and some performed extremely well. PokerStars Germany sponsored pro Katja Thater (305th place) was able to find her way through the first day to the money and, on the celebrity side, baseball Hall of Fame member Orel Hershiser showed that he has been a diligent student of the game by finishing in 217th place. When the play ended for Day 1, 178 were left in the fight, led by poker professional Jason Dewitt.

Dewitt brought one of the more interesting stories to the festivities of the WCOOP. In what is potentially a first-ever occurrence in the world of poker, Dewitt was also participating in the World Poker Tour (WPT) event that is taking place at the Borgata when Day Two of the WCOOP began. Tournament officials made the landmark decision to allow Dewitt - playing online under his “TheMasterJ33” moniker - to bring a computer close to the tables to allow him to multi-task.

Dewitt appeared to handle the adversities of playing in both events well. Although he wouldn’t be able to maintain his chip lead in the WCOOP Main Event (eventually being eliminated in 87th place), his play in the WPT tournament - where Dewitt admitted he was “trying to build a big stack or bust” prior to getting back into the action of the WCOOP - enabled him to finish in 15th place when action ended.

Timoshenko, under his “Jovial Gent” nickname, came to the final table of the WCOOP Main Event in excellent shape with slightly over 10 million in chips, only two million off of chip leader Dan “djk123” Kelly. The duo held over half of the chips in play and it seemed to be only a matter of time before they hooked up to decide the championship.

After “Udon Wannit” doubled up through “PeachyMer,” Kelly administered the killing blow, eliminating “PeachyMer” in ninth place. Kelly then went on to dismiss both “Mudvaynes” and “Chong94” in seventh and sixth place, respectively.

Timoshenko held back through these early eliminations, but got into the flow after about an hour and a half. Timoshenko eliminated “Xaston” in fifth place and then sealed the tournament, for all effective purposes, when he and Kelly (who had fallen into second place) went to war. After a pre-flop battle where Kelly pushed in the remainder of his 10 million-plus stack with pocket tens, Timoshenko snap-called with pocket kings. A king on the flop all but sealed the hand and, once the turn and river blanked, Kelly was out in fourth, $643,200 richer. As the 2009 WCOOP Player of the Series, he is on his way to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January.

With Kelly’s dismissal, Timoshenko held a dominant chip lead over “Udon Wannit” and “reddeevil” and continued to apply the pressure. He dismissed “reddeevil” in third place and, only a few hands later, locked up the title. On a 6-K-8 flop, “Udon Wannit” bet out only to face a reraise from “Jovial Gent.” “Udon Wannit” decided that Timoshenko was pushing him around and made a stand all-in with 6-5 for bottom pair; “Jovial Gent,” however, had the goods when he showed K-6 for a flopped two pair. Once the turn and river ran dry, “Udon Wannit” was out in second and Timoshenko was crowned the 2009 WCOOP Main Event Champion.

The final table played out as such:

1st Place: Jovial Gent - $1,715,200
2nd Place: Udon Wannit - $1,286,400
3rd Place: reddeevil - $933,712
4th Place: djk123 - $643,200
5th Place: Xaston - $482,400
6th Place: Chong94 - $375,200
7th Place: Mudvaynes - $268,000
8th Place: Supa4real - $182,240
9th Place: PeachyMer - $96,480

Timoshenko, when he was only 20 years-old, won the inaugural stop of the Asian Poker Tour (APT) in Macau in August of 2008, pocketing $500,000 for his efforts. He then made the final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe £1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, finishing in third for £55,350.

After taking a break to turn 21, Timoshenko unleashed his skills on unsuspecting WPT regulars, taking the Championship title in April for $2.1 million. Over the past year, he has won almost $3 million in live tournaments and, with his win in the WCOOP Main Event, drove his lifetime poker winnings to almost $5 million.

High-stakes rounders flock to PokerStars

With thanks to its list of cash game oriented high-stakes pros, Full Tilt has been the top site for high-stakes games over the last couple of years.

But perhaps due to the WCOOP bringing the biggest online tournament day of the year to PokerStars Sunday, the high-stakes Full Tilt regulars were sitting around a PS full ring $200/$400 No-Limit Hold'em table, hoping for newly rich fish.

Tom "Hold_emNL" Dwan, known as durrrr on Full Tilt, took the largest PokerStars pot of the night worth nearly $100k after flopping trip queens against his opponent's under-pair.

But Dwan was just one of the Full Tilt regulars to spend the night on PokerStars with David "BenyamineX" Benyamine, Tom "kingsofcards" Marchese, Rich "nutsinho" Lyndaker and Ashton "theASHMAN103" Griffin all sitting in on the action.

While the $200/$400 action was in full swing over on Stars, Cole South was sitting with Patrik Antonius and Gus Hansen on Full Tilt's $200/$400 Pot-Limit Omaha tables.

The session couldn't have gone much better for South, winning the top four largest pots of the night, together worth over $600k.

Gus Hansen's night was almost the exact opposite of South's. Not only was he on the losing end of all four of South's pots, he also managed to lose the 5th largest pot of the night to Dwan who flopped a full house to take down $112k.

Although a shift of high-stakes cash games from Full Tilt to PokerStars is possible, it's more likely once the action buzz of the WCOOP is gone, the regulars will return to Tilt to pick on Hansen, and flip for Ferraris with Ziigmund.

Below are some of the more interesting hands of the night. Head to MarketPulse antime to see all the biggest hands.

The largest PS hand of the night.

Cole South's top pot.

It's hard to beat the nuts.

Visit PokerListings.com