Poker News

Terrence Chan (Unassigned) Wins WCOOP Limit Hold’em Event

During the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) in April, Terrence “Unassigned” Chan made headlines by winning both the high- and mid-stakes versions of Event #20 (Six-Max Limit Hold’em) on the same day, earning him more than $185,000. It was an accomplishment deemed nearly unachievable by poker aficionados.

On September 18th, Chan once again made headlines in the poker world, this time in the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). Again, it was Six-Max Limit Hold’em and, once again, Chan was victorious, besting a 437-player field in the $1,000 buy-in Event #39 for a payday of $83,030.

Chan entered the final table second in chips and ultimately drew an appealing heads-up match against Cesar “makavelyces” Fuentes, widely considered one of the best high-stakes online tournament players in the world. They began play nearly even in chips with around two million each and it was Fuentes who grabbed control early, cutting Chan’s stack down to 300,000. Chan doubled up and then quickly took over the chip lead when his pocket kings made a full house on a Kd-Qd-4d-Th-Qh board.

Chan chipped away at Fuentes’ stack and eventually Fuentes got the last of his chips in pre-flop with pocket nines against Chan’s Kh-Jc. The Kd-Qc-Qs flop left Fuentes drawing thin and the turn and river were no help, sending him out in second place for $61,180. Chan, meanwhile, added another prestigious Limit Hold’em title to his record as well as his first WCOOP bracelet.

Chan was updating his blog and Twitter account during his run in Event # 39 and expressed his contentment following the victory: “Insane. Just…insane. I kinda run good in these events, y’know?” He also noted in his blog that he hadn’t cashed in his first five WCOOP events of this year’s series, saying, “I have been frustrated in all of them, resulting in poor decisions in many of them.” That frustration has surely dissipated.

A native of Vancouver, Chan is now being mentioned among the best Limit Hold’em players in the world, joining the likes of Matt Hawrilenko, Daniel Negreanu, David Chiu, Ted Forrest, Jen Harman, and Todd Brunson, among others. He regularly plays in some of the highest live limit games in the world while traveling the tournament circuit. Chan has also excelled at No Limit Hold’em. His best finish came at the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP), where he took second place in the $2,500 Event #30 for $287,345. Hoyt Corkins defeated Chan for the title.

Here’s a look at the final results of the PokerStars WCOOP Event #39:

1st Place: Terrence “Unassigned” Chan - $83,030
2nd Place: Cesar “makavelyces” Fuentes - $61,180.00
3rd Place: Vingtcent - $44,792.50
4th Place: SoulMaster7 - $30,590.00
5th Place: Tommy2tyme - $21,850.00
6th Place: KINGKUNG - $13,984.00

George Danzer, Raymond Davis Capture PokerStars WCOOP Titles

PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) continued to attract massive fields this week as each event went above and beyond its guaranteed prize pool. Despite the enormous turnouts, a couple well-known professionals managed to win tournaments in the year’s biggest online poker series.

PokerStars Team Pro member George Danzer took down the $320 6-max Pot-Limit Omaha (Event #19) on Thursday, besting a final table that included Shawn “sbuck21” Buchanan. Danzer defeated “kunkuu” heads up to collect his first WCOOP bracelet and $109,545. “Kunkuu” received $81,750 while Buchanan took third place for $62,130. Danzer is tied with “iacog4” for first place on the WCOOP leaderboard through 20 events.

Raymond “raydavis77” Davis claimed victory in the $320 Badugi (Event #15). Davis, who has more than $1.5 million in live tournament earnings, received $19,912 after making a deal with “bobsmith166” after the two reached heads-up play. Other big names at the Event #15 final table were Danny “THE__D__RY” Ryan (5th), Billy “crocky” Argyros (7th), and Jason “JP OSU” Potter (6th), who has two final appearances at this year’s WCOOP.

The most lucrative tournament of the week was the $530 No Limit Hold’em two-day event, which concluded on Monday. More than 6,000 players participated to generate a prize pool of $3,109,500 with the top 900 earning money. After nearly 23 hours of play over the two days, Hiren “hustla16” Patel walked away with the title after negotiating a three-way chop with “Juancesan” and “colonelkosta.” Patel earned $446,533 for the victory.

Other winners at the WCOOP this week were Thiago “XtheDecanoX” Decano, Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo and high-stakes online tournament regular “iCeVeNoM.” Here’s a look at the results from WCOOP events 10 through 20:

WCOOP #11 - $530 No-Limit Hold’em (2-day)
Entrants: 6,219

1. Hiren “hustla16” Patel - $446,533 (three-way chop)
2. Juancesan - $270,000
3. colonelkosta - $355,000
4. Daryl “aaaaaaaa” Jace - $171,022
5. fabstinho - $130,599
6. CONOW - $99,504
7. GypsieChris - $68,409
8. kidwhowon - $37,314
9. Shazmeister - $24,098

WCOOP #12 - $215 No-Limit Hold’em (4-max)
Entrants: 3,854

1. lebordelaii - $111,457
2. Catafract80 - $63,822
3. pejcao - $40,467
4. SebbyGI - $29,675

WCOOP #13 - $320 Stud
Entrants: 668

1. yhcaep - $33.814.50 (heads-up chop)
2. Ronja211 - $30,814
3. barrosa 50 - $20,040
4. DAVIDOXXX - $15,030
5. sonajero - $10,020
6. ez monney - $7,014
7. BIGtittitilt - $4,509
8. dolphin4 - $3,006

WCOOP #14 - $320 Mixed Hold’em (6-max)
Entrants: 1,564

1. dangdokodang - $70,727 (heads-up chop)
2. yadio - $60,564
3. DonkCommited - $42,201
4. drgonzo10978 - $28,134
5. viti45 - $18,756
6. Tom “SBRounder” West - $11,066

PokerStars WCOOP 15 - $320 Badugi
Entrants: 376

1. Raymond “raydavis77” Davis - $19,912 (heads-up chop)
2. bobsmith166 - $17,312
3. goleafsgo41 - $11,844
4. Cordelia - $8,460
5. Danny “THE__D__RY” Ryan - $5,640
6. Jason “JP OSU” Potter - $3,948
7. Billy “crocky” Argyros - $2,820
8. MadisonAce29 - $2,256

WCOOP #16 - $1,050 No-Limit Hold’em
Entrants: 1,558

1. Thiago “XtheDecanoX” Decano - $249,280
2. Adam “skilled_sox” Ewenstein - $186,960
3. Greg “DuckU” Hobson - $140,220
4. pedmend - $102,438.50
5. Joe “hoodini10” Udine - $74,005
6. O0Brian0O - $57,646
7. Holla10 - $42,066
8. cabbie182 - $27,265
9. amrasaralond - $15,580

WCOOP #17 - $530 NLHE Triple Shootout (10-max)
Entrants: 1,000

1. iCeVeNoM - $91,250
2. dynamoM - $63,500
3. TabberNackle - $47,250
4. Mumtum23 - $35,250
5. 6060606060 - $24,750
6. Vandiesel - $20,000
7. Bambeklis - $15,750
8. Jorge “twin-caracas” Arias - $12,500
9. blanconegro - $9,500
10. bestwoman127 - $7,000

WCOOP #18 - $320 8-Game
Entrants: 999

1. Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo - $50,250
2. vui-qua-di - $37,500
3. JohnSmith - $28,500
4. Aguskb - $19,500
5. Mark “The Omaholic” Roland - $12,870
6. johnny1430 - $9,000

WCOOP #19 - $320 Pot-Limit Omaha (6-max, 1 Rebuy/1 Add-on)
Entrants: 976

1. George Danzer - $109,545
2. kunkku - $81,750
3. Shawn “buck21” Buchanan - $62,130
4. TheTaker - $42,510
5. badbanker70 - $28,056
6. parksy1066 - $19,620

WCOOP #20 - $320 Limit Triple Draw 2-7
Entrants: 468

1. Timmy K - $26,676
2. Roc23rb - $19,656
3. Iteopepe88 - $14,931
4. TurnRiva - $9,828
5. Donkaroo22 - $7,020
6. Aaron “GambleAB” Bartley - $4,492

Poker News in Brief: Aug. 31-Sept. 6, 2009

Not only did the 2009 WCOOP, the biggest online tournament series in the world, kick off on Thursday, but the always popular Barcelona stop on the PokerStars EPT began on Friday.

There's always a list of stories that don't make the front page, however, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature we've compiled a list of those stories below.

This week we'll take a look at a sweet ride that can be won via a popular poker site, a reason for lumberjacks and hockey players to rejoice and some good news for a poker software company.

Play at ((UltimateBet)), Win a Mercedes

UltimateBet continues to celebrate their 10th anniversary by giving its players a chance to win a brand new Mercedes ML-350 at this year's Aruba Poker Classic.

The Mercedes Giveaway is an exclusive one-table 10-player tournament for UltimateBet players with the winner driving away in a fine piece of German engineering.

There are two ways to participate. Players who haven't already qualified for the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic can pay the $200+$15 buy-in for the Mercedes Satellite on Sept. 27 at 9:30 p.m. ET.

The top five finishers in this No-Limit Hold'em event will win $2,000 towards travel, plus their seat at the Mercedes Giveaway in Aruba on Oct. 8.

Meanwhile players who have already qualified for the Aruba Poker Classic will have the opportunity to play a dedicated $500+$30 satellite at 5:30 ET on Sept. 27. This online qualifier will award the top four players with entry into the Mercedes Giveaway in Aruba. Each seat is valued at $6,200.

Of course that only accounts for eight seats. One UltimateBet player feels so confident about the Mercedes Giveaway that he has already purchased his seat with 1.5 million UltimatePoints.

((Bodog)) coming to Canada, eh!

For years Canadian citizens had to be content with the fact that Bodog was essentially the only online poker room they weren't allowed to play.

That all changed this week.

Bodog officially launched the Canadian version of its site, www.bodog.ca, and it appears that everything is virtually identical to the dot-com.

Canadians can deposit using credit cards and UseMyBank.

Bodog remains one of the only rooms where you can deposit as little as $20.

Good first half for Playtech

According to a story by Reuters, online casino and poker software firm Playtech posted a 33 percent rise in first-half earnings.

Perhaps the biggest boost comes from a joint venture with online poker room William Hill that is starting to gain momentum.

In the past, Playtech has helped develop poker software for rooms like Betfair Poker, Titan Poker, CD Poker and the rest of the iPoker network.

Shares in Playtech have gained 15 percent since reaching an 18-month low in July.

WCOOP breaks records

It's safe to say the 2009 WCOOP has had a fantastic start on PokerStars.

Event 6 $109 No-Limit Hold'em on Saturday garnered the attention of 15,674 players and, in doing so, became the most attended WCOOP of all-time.

The gigantic field of runners created a prize pool of just over $1.5 million and eventual first-place winner vakAAttack took down $183,334.

In other WCOOP news, well-known online player Daniel "djk123" Kelly took down his first WCOOP bracelet in Event 2 $215 Razz on Thursday.

Kelly already had an FTOPS title he claimed in 2008. so this just helps cement his reputation as an elite MTT player.

Visit PokerListings.com

Hand of the Week: David Pham vs. Chris Moorman

Our first installment of Hand of the Week comes from the final table of the Full Tilt Poker FTOPS XIII Event #17: $300 Six-handed NLHE with rebuys. The remaining four players had locked up a minimum of $87,334, but a first-place prize of $246,071 was on the line, as well as the coveted FTOPS jersey.

David “The Dragon” Pham entered the final table fifth in chips and removed “rjinnj” in fifth place when his pocket aces held up against a pair of fives. Pham is recognized as one of the most terrorizing No Limit Hold’em players in the world because of his fearless approach toward the game. He has more than $8 million in cashes on the live tournament circuit and has reached seven WPT final tables.

Chris “Moorman1” Moorman is a highly respected online player who is ranked No. 2 on the Pocket Fives World Wide Rankings (as of September 1st). He’ll likely take over the No. 1 ranking, held by Shaun Deeb, after a brilliant performance in this FTOPS event. Moorman has more than $3.6 million in online tournament earnings.

Hand Setup:
Seat 2: Mark “xqsays” Radoja (2,469,184 chips)
Seat 3: footwork (587,356)
Seat 4: Chris “MoormanI” Moorman (2,255,947)
Seat 6: David Pham (968,103)

Blinds are 10K/20K with a 2.5K ante

Preflop:
footwork folds and Moorman raises to 49,750 from the button with . David Pham calls from the small blind with . Radoja folds.

Flop:
Pham checks to Moorman, who fires 80,000 into a pot of 129,500. Pham comes over the top with a check-raise to 220,000. Moorman moves all in, having Pham covered, and David makes the call instantly.

Turn:
River:

Moorman makes a flush on the river and eliminates Pham in fourth place. Chris takes over the chip lead three-handed.

Analysis: Moorman has been the most aggressive player at the final table, if not the entire tournament, so Pham decides to call a raise out of position with suited connectors. With close to 50 big blinds in his stack he probably feels like he can either make a hand and win a big pot from Moorman or get away cheaply if he misses. Moorman has been raising nearly every button and his percentage of pots won without showdown thus far is phenomenal.

The hand plays itself out after an action-packed flop. Pham makes the nut straight and Moorman can conceivably believe that he’s favored against Pham’s range with the nut flush draw, a gutshot straight draw, and an overcard to the board. Should Pham have a hand like two pair here Moorman still has a 43% probability of winning the pot with his monster draw. A set would leave him at a 2-1 disadvantage but Moorman is a favorite against any pair. Thus, he moves in to put Pham to a decision and finds out that he needs help against a made hand.

Moorman gets there on the river and increases his stack to 3,246,460, giving him more than half the chips in play. He and Radoja agreed to chop the prize money once they reached heads-up play and Moorman collected $204,000 for his day of work — the largest score of his career. In the end, Radoja won the tournament and received $206,000 and his first FTOPS jersey.

By The Numbers:
Moorman:
Preflop: 66.6%
After the flop: 36.4% (with 7% chance of a split)
After the turn: 20.5% (with 4.5% chance of a split)

Pham:
Preflop: 31.4%
After the flop: 56.7% (with 7% chance of a split)
After the turn: 75% (with 4.5% chance of a split)

2009 WCOOP starts tomorrow on PokerStars

This year the prestigious online series will offer a total of 45 events and a guaranteed prize pool of $40 million. The WCOOP main event alone will have a $10 million guarantee.

"I don't think any other online tournament even compares," said last year's WCOOP main event winner Carter "ckingusc" King. "It's definitely the biggest online series of the year. It's like our World Series of Poker and we get pretty excited about it."

Last year Carter outlasted over 2,000 players and then beat a final table that included AKJHoosier1 to take down a first place prize of $1.3 million. The total prize pool contained $10,925,000, which easily eclipses most live tournaments.

This year PokerStars is introducing several new features to the popular series. For the first time ever there will be events in 5-card draw and Badugi.

PokerStars will also offer a new low buy-in "Stimulus" event, which is styled after the WSOP event with the same name. Players will have a shot at WCOOP glory for only $109, complete with a $1 million guaranteed prize pool.

"The Stimulus is a great event," commented King. "I wish they would do more of them. The $1 million guarantee is huge. I remember when my bankroll was still relatively small and wanting to play WCOOP events. This is perfect."

Conversely PokerStars will also be offering three high roller events this year with buy-ins ranging from $10,000 for the No-Limit Hold'em event to $25,000 for the No-Limit Hold'em Heads-Up event.

With increased competition from series like Full Tilt's Online Poker Series (FTOPS) and even PokerStars' own Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) organizers have gone out of their way to make WCOOP the premier online series of the year.

PokerStars management opted not to include the multiple buy-in events that were predominate in this year's SCOOP. Essentially every event in the 2009 SCOOP had a low, medium and high buy-in version.

This decision seems to be sitting well with players.

"I would keep the WCOOP as it is," said King. "It's really something special and the schedule is good. They don't need to do anything crazy with it."

As always there will be multiple ways to qualify for every event in this year's WCOOP and satellite buy-ins start at just $1. Even King, who presumably has enough money to buy-in directly, mentioned he plays satellites occasionally.

"I'll probably play some of the extreme satellites," he said. "They are just too good of a value. There's no reason to pass up a seat in the WCOOP main event."

The 2009 WCOOP begins tomorrow with the first event kicking off at 14:30 ET. The series will then run all the way until Sept. 20 when the $10 million guaranteed main event kicks off.

You can check out the complete schedule here.

Visit PokerListings.com

Online Poker — Interview With David ‘SirSands’ Sands

Each week, Card Player TV brings you the Online Zone, a glimpse into the world of high-stakes online tournament players. David “SirSands” Sands is one of the highest-ranked online poker …

Online Poker Tournament Recap: Monday, August 31

PokerStars, the world’s leading online poker site, once again generated the largest turnouts Sunday, as its major events extended well beyond their guarantees. The site, which is preparing for its World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) this week, drew nearly 9,000 players to its flagship Sunday Million tournament. Five players struck a deal and each received a six-figure payday.

PokerStars Sunday Million

A massive field of 8,993 turned out for the Sunday Million on August 30, creating a prize pool of $1,798,600, the largest in months. Last week saw 7,431 participants in the weekend’s largest tournament on the internet, but the site added $300 bounties on each of its sponsored players this week to add some flavor.

Daniel “KidPoker” Negreanu, J.C. Alvarado, Jason Mercier, and Victor Ramdin were among the Team PokerStars Pro players in attendance. Railbirds flooded the chat boxes late into the night as online stars Steve “gboro780″ Gross and David “BodogMaven” Chicotsky made deep runs, but Chicotsky was eliminated in 10th place when he moved his short stack in with 7-4 and found himself up against an opponent’s pocket tens. Gross was taken out in sixth place when his A-K couldn’t hold up against BigBradley’s A-Q and the remaining five players agreed to a deal. The big winner was CesarSPA, who added $208,845.93 to his account, while Georgia’s angiebug4 went on to win the tournament and $126,921.72.

1. angiebug4 - $126,921.72
2. CesarSPA - $208,845.93
3. BigBradley - $173,454.74
4. siggen001 - $131,719.96
5. suckabig1 - $100,530.55
6. Steve “gboro780” Gross - $53,958.01
7. SebiXXXX - $35,972.01
8. Whitfield74 - $19,784.61
9. Spoli4tor - $12,590.21

Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guaranteed

The Full Tilt $750,000 Guarantee attracted 4,144 entrants to build a prize pool of $828,800. Costa Rican pro Felipe “clotilda” Montenegro was the biggest name at the final table and settled on a four-way chop to walk away with $72,000. Montenegro ultimately took fourth place in the tournament, while ADCampbell collected $104,929.51 after earning the win.

1. ADCampbell - $104,929.51
2. ypma - $62,660
3. mich_alumni - $98,967
4. Felipe “clotilda” Montenegro - $72,000
5. zsunset - $34,229.44
6. kenneoin - $25,361.28
7. quivan96 - $19,062.40
8. shhhant - $14,918.40
9. PatrickJ89 - $11,105.92

PokerStars Sunday 500

A handful of online professionals reached the final table of PokerStars Sunday 500, which drew 1,029 entrants this week. Nick “CPT CRUX” Stowell took seventh place for just over $15,000, while Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen finished sixth for $20,322.75. In the end, Laurence “rivermanl” Houghton of the United Kingdom got the best of long-time online tournament specialist faithless to take home a prize of $88,802.70.

1. Laurence “rivermanl” Houghton - $88,802.70
2. faithless - $64,312.50
3. omgfml - $48,877.50
4. WARN-YOU - $35,809.20
5. DeuceBuster - $25,467.75
6. Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen - $20,322.75
7. Nick “CPT CRUX” Stowell - $15,177.75
8. sharam_nuts - $10,032.75
9. MisterJJW - $5,659.50

Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl

New Jersey’s Jims619, who took fifth in the Full Tilt $750,000 Guarantee last week, one-upped himself on Sunday with a runner-up effort in the Sunday Brawl for $63,201.60. PoutsoKefalos bested 2,393 competitors to win the tournament for $97,651.26. Full-time pros kennl and Bryn “OneUponAStar” Kenney also reached the final table.

1. PoutsoKefalos - $97,651.26
2. Jims619 - $63,201.60
3. HellaStacks_ - $46,922.40
4. white_chocko - $35,431.20
5. Javatinii - $24,897.60
6. kennl - $16,279.20
7. mightyscv - $11,012.40
8. blackjustin77 - $7,660.80
9. Bryn “OneUponAStar” Kenney - $5,745.60

Ultimate Bet $200,000 Guaranteed

Ultimate Bet’s Sunday major didn’t quite make its guarantee, as 994 runners played for a prize pool of $200,000. When it was all said and done, MAKE_IT_RAIN and BELANDATOR forged a two-way deal, although the final figures are unknown. They split up the remaining $71,300. Up-and-coming online whiz kid Michael “ROCK3656” Rocco finished third for $18,100 and Eric “SHEETSWORLD” Haber made $4,900 for his eighth-place result.

1. MAKE_IT_RAIN
1. BELANDATOR
3. Michael “ROCK3656” Rocco - $18,100
4. YOD0UG623 - $12,900
5. ANALPROBE - $10,900
6. MSUJENNY - $8,900
7. C00KEMONSTER - $6,900
8. Eric “SHEETSWORLD” Haber - $4,900
9. MAHI-MAHI - $3,400

Chris Moorman: MTT Maestro

Chris Moorman, aka Moorman1 or MoormanI, is one of the UK’s most exciting and promising online tournament players. With almost $4 million in online tournament winnings over the past few years, Chris has established himself as a leading contender amongst the top online MTT players in the world.

Brock Parker - Poker Player Profile

Brock “tsoprano” Parker, is a long time online tournament grinder who exploded in 2009 by winning two World Series of Poker bracelets, mere days apart. After getting a taste of  WSOP final table glory in 2008 – a 6th place in a Limit Hold’em event – Parker decided that what he really wanted was that bracelet, maybe even two. And so, four days after winning the $2500 Limit Hold’em six handed event for $224K, Parker shipped the $2500 No-Limit six handed event for $552K. Brock Parker has also had  success in various other live events, pushing his total earnings up over $1 million.

Hand Dissection - Jordan “scarface_79” Smith

Jordan “scarface_79” Smith won his first World Series of Poker bracelet on June 20, 2009. He bested a field of 1,659 players to capture the $2,000 No Limit Hold’em Event (#36), collecting $586,212 in the process. It was the biggest career cash for 27-year old online poker pro from Texas, who went on to finish 10th in the 2009 WSOP Main Event for $896,730, just missing an opportunity to become a member of the November Nine. Smith also has multiple major online wins, including the PokerStars  Sunday Million and Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan. His lifetime poker winnings (both online and live) are well over $3 million.

Smith took some time with Poker News Daily to analyze a hand he played during his WSOP victory against eventual runner-up Ken Lennaard. This particular hand was the biggest pot of the entire tournament and gave Smith the commanding chip lead.

Poker News Daily: First off Jordan, how do you think your style of play is perceived by opponents? Did you switch your game up at all during the final table?

Jordan Smith: Well, I’m not sure how online players perceive me, some think I’m a total nit, and some think I’m a maniac. But, as far as this tournament, I think I had a fairly tight image, because I was at tough tables the whole tourney and never got a chance to open up much, so I just played fairly solid. But I am still somewhat young, and I had a big stack most of the tourney, so that’s two bad stereotypes going against me for possibly being labeled loose and aggressive. So, perception probably varied for my opponents. I was second in chips coming in to the final table and lost a big flip right off the bat, so I got put back with the pack and sort of chilled after that for awhile and played solid for various reasons.

PND: What are your thoughts on Ken Lennaard?

JS: He plays different than your typical Swede. He is more old school, and more of a flop taker than a 3-bettor. I think he played pretty well for the most part. I played with him on Day 2 and obviously assumed he was your usual over-aggro Scandi, but I gradually realized the longer we played on Day 3 that he was reasonably straightforward.

PND: Did you feel like you had an edge against him heads-up?

JS: I feel like I’m a favorite versus anyone if I’m playing well, but I’m not sure what percentage of that is confidence and what percent is me being delusional (laughs). Whatever edge I felt I had, was probably erased by the fact I was so exhausted and mentally drained by the time we reached heads up. I definitely don’t want to shortchange Ken, he played well. But we were probably flipping on the heads up match on that particular day.

PND: You’ve been heads-up in several online tournaments in the past. What sort of strategy do you normally use? Do you like to influence the action or is it dependent on your opponent’s style?

JS: I really never go in with a certain strategy heads-up – or at any point during a tourney for that matter. I just try to adapt according to stack sizes, blinds size, opponents, the flow of the table, and each individual situation or hand as it comes up. As far as the action goes, it really all depends on the things I’ve just mentioned and mainly my opponent and how deep the stacks are. I just try to find out what the best way to counter his style of play is.

Hand Setup:
Ken Lenaard – 5.8 million chips
Jordan Smith – 4.3 million chips

Blinds are 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante

Cards are dealt:
Ken Lennaard raises to 240,000 from the button and Jordan Smith calls with

PND: Do you always defend your big blind? With what range do you think he’s opening with position?

JS: No, I don’t. But, I’m certainly not going to let someone run me over either. We have sort of awkward stacks, they are quasi-deep, but shallow enough to where pots develop quickly and you can easily get all the chips in. Position is so huge and underrated heads up, and I try to avoid playing many hands out of position. It’s kind of funny that this hand played out the way it did or even took place to begin with, but there were a few factors that made me take a flop in this spot. First, and most importantly, I was kind of on tilt from a hand not long before where I didn’t follow my instincts and paid him off on a big pot which let him catch up to me on chips, and then he proceeded to win most of the handful of pots leading up to this hand taking the chip lead.

Flop:
Smith checks to Lennaard, who fires out 150,000. Smith calls.

PND: Is this a spot where you might lead with a bet? Check-raise? What made you decide on a check-call here?

JS: Sometimes I do (bet), and looking back based on the stack sizes etc., leading out with the intention of shoving if he raised might’ve been the best option here. But I decided to check, and he only bet 150K which was considerably lower than his opening raise which was sort of confusing because he hadn’t really been doing things like this. If he had bet like 350-400K, I probably would’ve just raised to 1.1-1.3 million and called if he shoved (even though it wouldn’t have been fun) because there would’ve been enough in the pot to merit that based on the percentage of times I get him to fold and the equity I have versus his shoving range. But with his super small bet after my check, calling was the easy clear cut option. It seemed he either had a really strong hand or a fairly weak one and was just getting goofy. So I was content to keep the pot small and see what happened on the turn because I truly had no idea what he had.

Turn:
Smith checks. Lennaard bets 300,000. Smith calls.

PND: Does his bet sizing indicate strength?

JS: At this point, I’m thoroughly confused by his small bet sizing, and I’m just calling pretty much drawing at decent pot odds with the possibility of implied odds.

PND: What range of hands are you putting him on now and what is your plan on the river?

JS: I really don’t think he has a monster at this point, but I can’t really put him on a specific range of hands. I really, really hate just check-calling on draws with no other chance to win a pot, especially heads up. I like to be aggressive with draws a lot of times to give myself two chances to win, but in this spot his small bet sizing and our stack sizes really made it hard for me to do that, so I was sort of forced to play passive and draw for cheap. So yeah, sadly my only plan for the river is just for my hand to get there. And I hadn’t shown any strength in the hand, so not many lead bluffs on the river would be believable.

River:
Smith takes the lead by betting out 900,000.

PND: You hit one of your eight outs and make the nuts on the river. Talk a little bit about your thought process here. Why did you feel that leading out would be the best way to get action?

JS: Well, there was a four card straight on the board so I’m guessing he’s not betting very many hands if I check to him, and hopefully he either happened to have a big hand or he tries to make a hero call with whatever. With that scare card, it’s also entirely possible that I am bluffing here, and he also knew I was starting to get frustrated in the match. So I just stuck out a big bet and hoped I could get action.

River:
Smith takes the lead by betting out 900,000. Lennaard moves all in. Smith snap-calls.

Hands Revealed:
BOARD:
Lennard shows (Nine-high straight)
Smith shows (Ten-high straight)

PND: He moves all in and leaves you with an easy call. You now have 8,670,000 chips while he slips to 1,500,000. How much confidence did this pot give you the rest of the way?

JS : Well, I’m not sure if it gave me extra confidence except just for the significant chip lead it gave me, but it sure perked my energy level up and got me off tilt because I was extremely fortunate to not only hit, but for it to be one of the three gin cards that gave him a lower straight and also the fact he decided to shove. He had picked up a diamond draw on the turn, so my eight outs had turned to six, and he had me in fairly bad shape heading to the river. But, yeah, it definitely got my blood pumping to try and finish him off.

PND: Is there anything you’d do differently in this hand now looking back on it?

JS: I definitely could’ve folded preflop, but like I said, I was tired and tilted and felt comfortable playing postflop with his quasi-passive style. But he definitely could’ve made my decisions tougher in this hand after the flop. And I guess I possibly could’ve led the flop and shoved if he raised, but in hindsight that wouldn’t have been good, because he would’ve certainly called my shove with two overs and a double gutter if the hand played out that way. It would’ve been a really interesting postflop all-in showdown if we had played it like that, jack-high versus ten-high in true Potripper form (laughs).

Stephen “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer wins the Full Tilt $1k Monday

375 hopefuls shelled out the $1,060 needed to play in Monday's biggest online tournament over at Full Tilt. Only one would walk away not scratching his head wondering what would have happened if he had played Ace-Jack differently. It was 27-year

Bluff Europe’s Pick of the Best Online Tournaments of the Week

The FTOPS get underway this Wednesday and are guaranteeing a massive $16 million in prize money over the 25 Events. We bring you some of our picks of the week from the series as well as some great freerolls and value tournaments from all over the web.

Everest Poker Announces Five Year Anniversary Promotions

Everest Poker, the official on-felt sponsor of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), is celebrating its fifth anniversary in style. The promotion is highlighted by a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool event featuring a live finale.

The $500,000 Guaranteed will begin with an online tournament on October 4th. However, its conclusion will play out under the hot sun in Las Vegas. The nine finalists who reach the Sin City component of the $500,000 Guaranteed will be invited to stay and watch the feature table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, which will take place inside the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio beginning on November 7th. Step tournament qualifiers for the $500,000 Guaranteed will begin in August. The final Step (#5) is worth $360 and Step 1 weighs in at just $2. Everest Poker players who reach the Las Vegas finale will receive $2,000 to cover airfare and accommodations. In addition, a special five year anniversary party will be held.

Everest Poker has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. On March 4th, 2005, the online poker site hit 10 million hands. On January 1st, 2006, it kicked off the New Year by dealing its 100 millionth hand. On April 17th, 2007, Everest Poker hit a colossal one billion hands. Now, the independent site is on the brink of recording its five billionth hand. Every player who is dealt cards in the five billionth hand on Everest Poker will receive a $5,000 cash bonus. In addition, any player who makes quad fives between July 1st and August 31st will take home 55,555 Summit Points. Only real money ring games qualify for the quad fives bonus and at least one five must be in the pocket. Players need to notify Everest Poker through e-mail in order to receive the massive Summit Point boost and include their Hand ID.

Also a part of the Everest Poker five year celebration is the Daily 5. Players who earn at least five Summit Points per day for one calendar month will qualify for a $5,000 freeroll. Players who earn five Summit Points daily between July 5th and August 4th are able to play in a $5,000 freeroll on August 6th at 18:00 GMT. Players who earn five Summit Points daily between August 5th and September 4th can qualify to play in a $5,000 freeroll on September 8th, also at 18:00 GMT. The site notes, “If you have an off day, we understand. As long as you earn 5 Summit Points 30 out of 31 days, you are still eligible for our freerolls.”

Summit Points can be exchanged for top-tier merchandise in the Store on Everest Poker. During the five year anniversary, players will see 5% to 55% discounts on select items in the Summit Point Store, making their balance go just a little bit further. Items up for grabs include Everest Poker shirts, chipsets, sports bottles, and mouse pads. In addition, the Summit Points Store also showcases an Aston Martin DB9 Coupe, a Cartier Roadster Chronograph watch, a Corum Bubble Royal Flush watch (the same manufacturer as WSOP bracelets), and a Seadoo Seascooter GTI.

Finally, Everest Poker is holding $5,000 Refer-A-Friend Freerolls. Players who refer four or more friends in July or four or more friends in August are eligible to enter freerolls on August 4th and September 2nd, respectively. Both freebies will issue the “Shuffle up and deal” command when the clock strikes 19:00 GMT. Everest Poker explains, “Players who meet the referral requirements for our $5,000 Refer-A-Friend Freerolls will be pre-registered for the tournaments.” The Refer-A-Friend Freerolls are on top of the $50 bonus regularly received per referral.

Poker News in Brief: July 20-26, 2009

EPT Moscow moving to Kiev, Ukraine, durrrr having a $1 million day and both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars setting some online records headline the list.

But there were plenty of smaller poker stories you may have missed that still deserve some ink.

Fortunately, as part of our weekly Poker News in Brief segment, we've tracked down several underrated poker stories that didn't make the front page but are well worth mentioning.

This week we've got a well-known poker player heading into space, more fallout from National Poker week and an online tournament player winning, well, an online tournament.

Online poker debate on CNBC

Yet more mainstream media coverage of the ongoing battle to legalize online poker.

This clip appeared on CNBC and it features John Pappas of the PPA facing off against Les Bernal of Stop Predatory Gambling in a Head 2 Head segment.

Pappas made a fairly succinct argument for regulating online poker while Bernal appeared woefully misinformed about how online poker rooms generate revenue. Score one for online poker.

Number crunch from National Poker Week

Dan Michalski has an interesting post over at Pokerati about some of the numbers that have come out of National Poker Week.

Perhaps the most important number is the 150,000 poker-related letters to members of Congress in July. Pokerati also reported that over 40 lobbyists were engaged with the National Poker Week initiative.

Although poker obviously had a strong presence in Washington this week we've yet to hear much back in terms of getting online poker legalized and regulated.

ESPN to launch online-only poker show

Wicked Chops Poker has a story about ESPN producing a 30 minute online-only poker show.

The show, rumored to be appearing within the next few weeks, has yet to name a host but one has to wonder if current poker commentators Norman Chad or Lon McEachern will be involved.

Guy Laliberte blasts off

In a story that is somewhat related to poker, well-known high stakes poker player Guy Laliberte is getting ready for his trip into space.

Laliberte, who is more famous for starting Cirque du Soleil and being one of the richest men in the world, is scheduled to launch into space on Sept. 30 according to Cnet.

It is believed that Laliberte is spending more than $35 million to become one of the first civilians to make his way into space. We're betting that Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius have a better idea for how Laliberte could have spent $35 million.

Apparently Laliberte is planning on teaching his crewmates on the space shuttle a few card tricks. No word as to whether that includes poker.

Justin Bonomo can still kill online

Although in recent years Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo has started to make a name for himself in live tournaments, he can still take down a big online tournament when he feels like it.

On Tuesday Bonomo outlasted 388 entrants to take down the $1,050 Super Tuesday event on PokerStars. Bonomo bested Mumtum23 in heads-up play to take down a cool $75,855.

It was particularly impressive considering Bonomo's three-year ban from PokerStars for multi-accounting had just been lifted. PokerStars players would do well to avoid ZeeJustin in future tournaments.

Visit PokerListings.com

FTOPS Tournament Series XIII Announced

Full Tilt Poker have now released details and a schedule for the thirteenth incarnation of their Full Tilt Series of Poker (FTOPS) online tournament series. In the last series the tournaments missed several guarantees when the mini-FTOPS series, a smaller buy-in collection of tournaments running in tandem with the large events, was introduced.

Wahlbeck: I’m still quitting

"I'm still planning to quit," Wahlbeck told PokerListings.com.

The 33-year-old Finn has had a WSOP for the ages, picking up a first-place finish in the $10,000 Mixed Game World Championship, a second-place in the $10k 2-7 Draw Lowball World Championship and a third in the $10k Seven-Card Stud World Championship.

He also has a 13th-place finish in the $10k Omaha 8 World Championship and a 12th place finish in the $2,500 Razz event.

"It feels really good to be successful in tournaments," he said.

"I've been grinding for years and I feel like I've taken a lot of bad beats and had a lot of tough spots so everything coming together feels really good."

Wahlbeck has been a poker professional for six years and told himself the 2009 World Series of Poker would be his last.

He has racked up nearly $900k in cashes at the WSOP thus far and finds himself second only to Jeffrey Lisandro in the POY race, but that astounding success hasn't dampened his resolve to leave the game.

"I used to play pretty high stakes and a lot of hours per week and I think I won't do that anymore," he said.

The Finn told PokerListings he doesn't see himself giving up poker entirely, but he'll no longer play professionally.

"Maybe I won't quit tournaments entirely, but I'll definitely cut cash games," he said.

Wahlbeck has said that he started playing poker professionally because he started making more money at the tables than at any of his other jobs.

Prior to the WSOP, he'd logged less than $200,000 in lifetime tournament cashes, but it was in the cash games that the Finn really made his living.

"I haven't made billions or millions of dollars, but I've made a good living out of poker," he said.

His WSOP success is particularly impressive given that his cashes have come in the kinds of nontraditional games that have traditionally been the territory of poker's old guard.

But unlike the mixed-game advocates who populate Bobby's Room and other backroom Big Games, Wahlbeck honed his skills online.

"I play almost entirely online," he said. "Mainly cash games and the bigger online tournaments.

"I play a lot of the mixed games and I feel I'm pretty strong in all of them. A lot of players in these [mixed game] tournaments are good in a few games and have others that they're not great in.

"I try to play solid in Pot Limit Omaha and No Limit Hold'em because I think my edge is smallest there."

He credits fellow Finns Patrik Antonius, Ilari Sahamies and Sami Kelopuro with helping him solidify his game.

"We're all very good friends," said Wahlbeck. "I used to play against Antonius and Ziigmund and LarsLuzak, but those guys are all so tough that I really want to avoid playing them."

So what does he make of the surge in Finnish nosebleed-stakes pros?

"It's probably because we all started really early online, like when online poker began," he said. "Most of the guys who were successful then are successful now."

Wahlbeck also suggested that the popularity of Pot Limit Omaha in his native land might be part of the reason players like Antonius and Sahamies are dominating online.

"PLO is more and more popular in Finland," he said. "Three or four years ago, you couldn't go into a casino in Finland and play anything but PLO."

Antonius, Ziigmund and LarsLuzak are household names in the poker world and Wahlbeck's WSOP success could vault him into the same rarified air as his compatriots.

But he remains adamant he's walking away from the game.

What he'll do instead, however, he hasn't yet figured out.

"I've been playing professionally for six years and it's not the best thing to put on your C.V.," he said.

What he won't be doing is going back to either of his former jobs as a substitute teacher and a freelance journalist.

"Teaching is fun but really rough," he said. "And writing is a grind. It's fun, but it doesn't pay nearly as well as poker."

"Maybe if a good business opportunity comes along, I'll take that."

Regardless of where he ends up, the Finn conceded he's definitely in better shape for a fresh start now than a few months ago.

"Life's a lot more fun now, especially since the WSOP has been so good."

Jeffrey Lisandro's third WSOP bracelet win vaulted the Aussie over Wahlbeck in the Player of the Year race, but the Finn still finds himself in second place overall with 13 events to go.

Keep it locked on PokerListings.com to see if Wahlbeck can regain the lead and pull off a swan song of epic proportions.

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Tentative 2009 WCOOP Schedule Released, PokerStars Seeks Comments

Even though the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is still in full swing, PokerStars is already preparing for September through the release of a tentative schedule for the 2009 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP).

The WCOOP, which is considered the online version of the WSOP, is the longest running online tournament series around, with the inaugural event held in 2002. Back then, the WCOOP consisted of only nine events and awarded $730,000, an astronomical sum at the time. In the past seven years, the WCOOP has grown into a month-long event that last year featured 33 tournaments and paid out just under $40 million in prize money. Over the history of the WCOOP, $104 million has been awarded to its cashing players and 121 champions, who receive a 14 karat gold bracelet along with a huge payday for their achievement.

The tentative schedule issued by PokerStars calls for this year’s WCOOP to begin on September 3rd. PokerStars continues to make the tournament even better by offering more events and larger guaranteed prize pools. This year’s tournament schedule offers 42 tournaments and guarantees prize pools of over $40 million during the 17 days that the WCOOP will run. On September 20th, the traditional $5,200 buy in Main Event takes place alongside the $10,300 High Rollers Event, which has also become a staple of the PokerStars sponsored European Poker Tour (EPT).

Here’s a complete look at what is being advised by the PokerStars brass to be a tentative schedule of events for the 2009 WCOOP:

Sep 3 14:30 $215 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max, $1.25 million guaranteed
Sep 3 16:30 $215 Razz, $200,000 guaranteed
Sep 4 14:30 $215 Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max, $500,000 guaranteed
Sep 4 16:30 $215 No Limit Single Draw 2-7 with Rebuys, $200,000 guaranteed
Sep 5 12:45 $109 No Limit Hold’em, $1 million guaranteed
Sep 5 14:30 $215 No Limit 5 Card Draw, $200,000 guaranteed
Sep 5 16:30 $215 Limit Hold’em, $400,000 guaranteed
Sep 6 12:45 $215 Special Sunday Warm-Up, $1 million guaranteed
Sep 6 14:30 $10,300 No Limit Hold’em, $2 million guaranteed
Sep 6 16:30 $530 No Limit Hold’em, $3 million guaranteed
Sep 7 14:30 $320 Mixed Hold’em Six-Max, $350,000 guaranteed
Sep 7 16:30 $215 Pot Limit Omaha Cubed Six-Max, $500,000 guaranteed
Sep 8 14:30 $320 Stud, $150,000 guaranteed
Sep 8 16:30 $320 Badugi, $100,000 guaranteed
Sep 8 20:00 $1,050 No Limit Hold’em, $500,000 guaranteed
Sep 9 14:30 $530 No Limit Hold’em Triple Shootout 10-Max, $500,000 guaranteed
Sep 9 16:30 $320 Eight Game Mixed Event, $300,000 guaranteed
Sep 10 14:30 $530 Pot Limit Hold’em Six-Max, $400,000 guaranteed
Sep 10 16:30 $320 2-7 Triple Draw, $100,000 guaranteed
Sep 11 14:30 $215 No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys, $1.25 million guaranteed
Sep 11 16:30 $530 Limit Omaha H/L, $400,000 guaranteed
Sep 12 14:30 $530 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em, $1 million guaranteed
Sep 12 16:30 $320 HORSE, $400,000 guaranteed
Sep 13 12:45 $215 Special Sunday Warm-Up, $1 million guaranteed
Sep 13 14:30 $25,500 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em, $800,000 guaranteed
Sep 13 16:30 $1,050 No Limit Hold’em, $3 million guaranteed
Sep 14 14:30 $320 Half Pot Limit Hold’em, Half Pot Limit Omaha, $400,000 guaranteed
Sep 14 16:30 $320 No Limit Hold’em 2X Chance, $800,000 guaranteed
Sep 15 14:30 $320 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys, $700,000 guaranteed
Sep 15 16:30 $530 Stud H/L, $200,000 guaranteed
Sep 15 20:00 $1,050 No Limit Hold’em, $500,000 guaranteed
Sep 16 14:30 $215 No Limit Hold’em Big Antes, $500,000 guaranteed
Sep 16 16:30 $320 Pot Limit Omaha H/L, $500,000 guaranteed
Sep 17 14:30 $530 No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys Six-Max, $1 million guaranteed
Sep 17 16:30 $2,100 Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max, $600,000 guaranteed
Sep 18 14:30 $530 No Limit Hold’em Cubed, $1 million guaranteed
Sep 18 16:30 $1,050 Limit Hold’em Six-Max, $400,000 guaranteed
Sep 19 14:30 $530 Heads-Up Pot Limit Omaha, $500,000 guaranteed
Sep 19 16:30 $2,100 Eight Game Mixed Event, $400,000 guaranteed
Sep 20 12:45 $215 Special Sunday Warm-Up, $1 million guaranteed
Sep 20 14:30 $10,300 HORSE, $1 million guaranteed
Sep 20 16:30 $5,200 No Limit Hold’em Main Event, $10 million guaranteed

The reason that PokerStars is calling this a “tentative” schedule is that the site is seeking input from players as to any changes that could potentially be made to make it better. By e-mailing PokerStars at wcoop@pokerstars.com, the voices of those who make up the tournament fields will be heard. Although there has not been a date announced for the official 2009 WCOOP schedule, it is suggested by PokerStars management to get any comments in quickly so that it can be finalized.

Karl Fenton joins PKR.com pro team

Karl ‘Discomonkey’ Fenton is the latest player to join the pro ranks at PKR.com. The 23-year-old, who has taken a break from his finance degree to play full time, earned his big break in the PKR Sunday Classic in November last year which he won for a $7,500 score. He’s continued that fine form throughout 2009 with online tournament winnings topping the $200,000 mark.

Jeff Carris Tops Jason Somerville for WSOP Shootout Title

Jeff Carris told media members late Friday night that he didn’t normally play tournaments. He then followed that up with, “I should probably start.”

Carris won the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout at the World Series of Poker, besting a final table of 10 players to earn his first bracelet and a prize of $313,673. The 10 players had each won their first two rounds of one-table shootouts to advance to Friday’s final table.

It was one of the most rambunctious crowds we’ve seen gathered at the secondary featured table during this year’s WSOP as it seemed almost every player had some sort of cheering section. Carris had a large group of friends on the rail dressed in bright orange T-shirts that said, “The Wildcat Jeff Carris”, with a picture of Jeff’s head on the body of a lion.

He fed off that support system to eliminate five players from the final table. The first was Ralph Shannon, whose stack had suffered a big hit early in the day. Shannon moved all in for 117,000 preflop and was called by Carris with pocket Kings. Shannon’s K-Q couldn’t improve and he was sent to the rail in 10th place for $13,609.

After the eliminations of Josh Tieman and Mike McNeil, Carris took out Eugene Katchalov in seventh place. Sitting with just over three big blinds in his stack, Katchalov moved all in preflop and Carris called with K-9. Katchalov’s pocket queens were in great shape until he made a set on the river – which gave Carris the winning straight. The New York City native left the Rio with $29,195 for his three days of work.

Brandon Wong was eliminated in sixth place and Joseph Cutler in fifth. Chris Moore then moved his last 300,000 into the middle preflop with K-J and Carris called with A-9. The flop hit both players, as Carris made top pair and Moore picked up a flush draw, but the turn and river bricked for Moore and he was gone in fourth place.

Andrew Margolis, one of the more excitable players at the final table, was sent home in third place. With the blinds at 15,000/30,000 with a 4,000 ante, Carris raised to 80,000 from the button and Margolis reraised all in for around 600,000 from the small blind. Carris called with A-Q, which was in front of Margolis’ K-8. Neither player connected with the flop but an Ace hit on the turn, leaving Margolis drawing dead and out of the tournament with $124,158.

Somerville began heads up play with a 3-1 chip deficit and it didn’t take long for Carris to get the best of him. Just 20 minutes after Margolis’ elimination, a short-stacked Somerville moved his last chips in preflop with Q-6. Carris called with K-5 and after the dealer revealed the board his King-high was good enough to take down the pot and the title.

Here are the final results from Event #22:

1. Jeffrey Carris - $313,673
2. Jason Somerville - $194,004
3. Andrew Margolis - $124,158
4. Chris Moore - $82,322
5. Joseph Cutler - $56,440
6. Brandon Wong - $39,968
7. Eugene Katchalov - $29,195
8. Michael McNeil - $21,981
9. Joshua Tieman - $17,045
10. Ralph Shannon - $13,609

Two more bracelet winners will be crowned Saturday as play will conclude in the $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud and $1,500 No Limit Hold’em events. Fourteen players will play down to a champion in the Omaha/Stud event. Jon “PearlJammer” Turner finished Day 2 as the chip leader with 465,000 chips; Carlos Mortensen is the next closest with 328,000. Other big names still alive include Phil Ivey, Dutch Boyd, and Chad Brown.

Andy “BKiCe” Seth is the chip leader heading into the final day of the $1,500 NLHE tournament. Seth, a well-known online tournament player, will attempt to outplay the other remaining 18 players and earn himself a payday of $607,256. Others still in the field are Alan Jaffrey, Michael Greco and 2008 WSOP Main Event 10th-place finisher Dean Hamrick.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for updates on all of today’s events at the World Series of Poker.

Hellmuth talks Stimulus Special

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Final-Table Takedown — Carter King

South Carolina native Carter “ckingusc” King, 23, has cashed for more than $2 million in online tournaments. In 2008, he chopped and then won the PokerStars World Championship of Online …

ECOOP IV - European Championship of Online Poker IV starts today!

Titan Poker start their ECOOP IV (European Championship of Online Poker) today and this ECOOP is going to be bigger and better than ever before with a total prize pool of a huge $4,550,000 – and that’s guaranteed.

This eagerly awaited top online tournament will start today, May 25th, and continues for 14 action packed days.

ECOOP IV SCHEDULE

ECOOP EVENT	Tournament	Date	Buy-In	Guaranteed Prize
DAY ONE	ECOOP NL Hold’em	Monday 25 May 2009	$200+$15	$250,000 Guaranteed
DAY TWO	ECOOP Limit Hold’em(6 Max)	Tuesday 26 May 2009	$200+$15	$100,000 Guaranteed
DAY THREE	ECOOP NL Hold’em Turbo R/A	Wednesday 27 May 2009	$100+$9	$200,000 Guaranteed
DAY FOUR	ECOOP Limit 7 Card Stud	Thursday 28 May 2009	$250+$18	$50,000 Guaranteed
DAY FIVE	ECOOP NL Hold’em	Friday 29 May 2009	$750+$50	$350,000 Guaranteed
DAY SIX	ECOOP PL Omaha(6 max) 1 Rebuy	Saturday 30 May 2009	$1000+$60	$150,000 Guaranteed
DAY SEVEN	ECOOP NL Hold’em	Sunday 31 May 2009	$500+$30	$500,000 Guaranteed
DAY EIGHT	ECOOP NL Hold’em	Monday 1 June 2009	$2,500+$100	$500,000 Guaranteed
DAY NINE	ECOOP PL Omaha Hi/Lo	Tuesday 2 June 2009	$100+$9	$100,000 Guaranteed
DAY TEN	ECOOP NL Hold’em(6 Max)	Wednesday 3 June 2009	$300+$20	$250,000 Guaranteed
DAY ELEVEN	ECOOP PL Omaha R/A	Thursday 4 June 2009	$100+$9	$150,000 Guaranteed
DAY TWELVE	ECOOP NL Hold’em R/A	Friday 5 June 2009	$100+$9	$300,000 Guaranteed
DAY THIRTEEN	ECOOP PL Omaha	Saturday 6 June 2009	$400+$30	$150,000 Guaranteed
DAY FOURTEEN	ECOOP MAIN EVENTNL Hold’em	Sunday 7 June 2009	$1,500+$80	$1,500,000

If you are new to Titan Poker you are in for a real treat, we are proud to have negotiated a fantastic deal on your behalf. First time depositers must use the Titan Poker Bonus Code VIPTITAN to ensure they get the full package as follows:-

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ECOOP IV - European Championship of Online Poker IV starts today!

Titan Poker start their ECOOP IV (European Championship of Online Poker) today and this ECOOP is going to be bigger and better than ever before with a total prize pool of a huge $4,550,000 – and that’s guaranteed.

This eagerly awaited top online tournament will start today, May 25th, and continues for 14 action packed days.

ECOOP IV SCHEDULE

ECOOP EVENT	Tournament	Date	Buy-In	Guaranteed Prize
DAY ONE	ECOOP NL Hold’em	Monday 25 May 2009	$200+$15	$250,000 Guaranteed
DAY TWO	ECOOP Limit Hold’em(6 Max)	Tuesday 26 May 2009	$200+$15	$100,000 Guaranteed
DAY THREE	ECOOP NL Hold’em Turbo R/A	Wednesday 27 May 2009	$100+$9	$200,000 Guaranteed
DAY FOUR	ECOOP Limit 7 Card Stud	Thursday 28 May 2009	$250+$18	$50,000 Guaranteed
DAY FIVE	ECOOP NL Hold’em	Friday 29 May 2009	$750+$50	$350,000 Guaranteed
DAY SIX	ECOOP PL Omaha(6 max) 1 Rebuy	Saturday 30 May 2009	$1000+$60	$150,000 Guaranteed
DAY SEVEN	ECOOP NL Hold’em	Sunday 31 May 2009	$500+$30	$500,000 Guaranteed
DAY EIGHT	ECOOP NL Hold’em	Monday 1 June 2009	$2,500+$100	$500,000 Guaranteed
DAY NINE	ECOOP PL Omaha Hi/Lo	Tuesday 2 June 2009	$100+$9	$100,000 Guaranteed
DAY TEN	ECOOP NL Hold’em(6 Max)	Wednesday 3 June 2009	$300+$20	$250,000 Guaranteed
DAY ELEVEN	ECOOP PL Omaha R/A	Thursday 4 June 2009	$100+$9	$150,000 Guaranteed
DAY TWELVE	ECOOP NL Hold’em R/A	Friday 5 June 2009	$100+$9	$300,000 Guaranteed
DAY THIRTEEN	ECOOP PL Omaha	Saturday 6 June 2009	$400+$30	$150,000 Guaranteed
DAY FOURTEEN	ECOOP MAIN EVENTNL Hold’em	Sunday 7 June 2009	$1,500+$80	$1,500,000

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WSOP To Offer Players Ability To Help Charities

Over the past five years, poker players have stepped to the forefront for a variety of charitable causes. Online tournaments have raised funds to assist the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other deserving organizations. The Heartland Poker Tour makes contributions to the Disabled American Veterans. There is even an organization – founded by Poker News Daily guest columnist Mike Sexton, tournament directors Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher and philanthropist Lisa Tenner – called Poker Gives, that focuses on using poker to assist in fundraising for charities. Now the World Series of Poker will step up and take poker philanthropy to the next level.

For the first time in its forty year history, the WSOP will offer players who cash during each event on this summer’s schedule the opportunity to donate part of their winnings to an organization that the WSOP has aligned itself with. All that a winning player has to do is to ask the payout clerk to leave one percent of their winnings to the Nevada Cancer Institute and the WSOP will arrange to transfer the funds to the Institute. As with many charitable donations, they are tax-deductible and contributors will receive a letter from NVCI for accounting purposes.

During the run of the tournament schedule, a special VIP lounge will be set up for players who pay a membership fee to be able to use the room. The “Aces Club” will be donating a large portion of each membership taken for access to the room to the Nevada Cancer Institute. As of press time, there are still memberships available and anyone who wishes to access the “Aces Club” should visit the area during the first few days of the WSOP.

One of the most popular fundraisers during the last few years at the World Series has been the “Queens of Heart” that play during the Ladies’ Championship Event. Featuring such players as former WSOP Ladies’ Champion Jennifer Tilly, poker professional Kristy Gazes and actresses Mimi Rogers and Cheryl Hines, the team has raised large amounts of money for women’s causes over the past few years. This year, the WSOP has created a special line of poker clothing for women, available at the Rio and on their website, WSOP Shop. The proceeds from sales of the “Queens of Heart” merchandise will go to the Nevada Cancer Institute, continuing the tradition the team has driven while playing on the felt.

There will be two special charitable tournaments during the run of the WSOP. “Ante Up For Africa” – the cause promoted by actor Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke – will be back for their third annual event. The $5,000 buy in No Limit Hold’em tournament is open to anyone 21 years or older and this year, for the first time, will be a part of the ESPN broadcasts of the WSOP. For the Media Charity Event this year, the players who reach the final table will have donations made in their name to the Nevada Cancer Institute.

Finally, the Championship Event of the World Series will also have a way for players to make their mark in a charitable way. Poker pro Phil Gordon’s charitable cause “Bad Beat On Cancer” and the Nevada Cancer Institute will both benefit from players who donate, much like earlier in the tournament schedule, one percent of their winnings to charity. All contributions are tax deductible and will benefit research into the cure for one of mankind’s worst diseases.

With the WSOP adding in this charitable aspect to their poker schedule, the poker world is once again proving that, while there may be no charity at the poker table, there is a charitable heart inside all who play the game.

End of FTOP’s conclude another Big Sunday in Online Tournaments

Everyone knows that Sunday is the day to settle down with your laptop and a 6-pack of red bull in order to compete for the hundreds of thousands of dollars on offer in all the big online tournaments. Well last Sunday was no different apart from the fact that even more money was up for grabs as the Full Tilt FTOPS came to a close.

“The Bernard Lee Poker Show” Celebrates Second Anniversary

May marks many special occasions in the world of poker. It originally marked the end of the World Series of Poker for several years, and for the past couple of years, it has marked the start of the WSOP, for which thousands of players will make a pilgrimage. This year, in addition to the start of the WSOP, poker fans can also celebrate the continuation of one of the most popular pieces of poker programming in any form of media today.

May marks the second anniversary of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” on 1510AM The Zone in Boston. Hosted by poker professional and Poker News Daily guest columnist Bernard Lee, the show has entertained many in the Massachusetts area as well as those who listen over the internet. Featuring the latest poker news, poker strategy discussions, tournament reports and interviews with the movers and shakers of the poker industry, Lee’s show airs on The Zone from 7-8PM (Eastern Time) on Tuesdays, is simulcast on Rounders Radio (where it is one of the most downloaded podcasts in its first year on the station) and rebroadcast on both outlets throughout the week.

“At the time when we started the show on The Zone, there were no poker broadcasts on radio in the local area”, Lee stated during a phone conversation with Poker News Daily. “Even today, there aren’t that many around. With Foxwoods Resort Casino in the area and its recognition as THE poker destination due to its excellent tournaments and ties with the World Poker Tour, I felt that there would be a tremendous interest from poker fans in the area for such a program on the radio.”

Lee, who earned his poker notoriety with his thirteenth place finish at the 2005 WSOP and has earned over $1 million in tournament winnings in his career, was able to parlay that success into other areas including his show with The Zone. “I have become a part of the poker media and not just a poker player”, Bernard laughed. “With my column in the Boston Herald, my work on ESPN and Poker News Daily and the radio show, I have achieved what I wanted…a life with poker involved in it. I don’t see myself ever stopping!”

Celebrating the second anniversary along with Bernard earlier this month have been former World Champion Greg Raymer and Gavin Griffin, who is the only man to have captured poker’s mythical Triple Crown (EPT, WPT and WSOP championships). Tonight on the program, WPT announcer and WSOP bracelet holder Mike Sexton will be a part of the festivities and – as players prepare for the trek to Las Vegas – next Tuesday’s broadcast will feature the Commissioner of the World Series of Poker, Jeffrey Pollack.

To further engage the listeners in the second anniversary celebration, Lee will be holding two freeroll tournaments at the end of May. One will be a live event at Rockingham Park in Salem, N.H. and the other will be an online tournament. People who would like to partake of either or both tournaments can learn further details through listening to “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” throughout this month.

Lee will continue to broadcast his show during the WSOP and is planning to step to the felt for several events. “I am looking at playing 9-12 events and, if I go deep in some of them, as few as six”, Bernard said. “I may be playing, but I am a part of the media and it will be part of my future shows.” Congratulations to Bernard for the second anniversary of his poker show and may there be many more celebrations in the future, both for the show and for his success on the tables.

Full Tilt presents FTOPS XII Schedule

FTOPS XII (Full Tilt Online Poker Series) is here! This most exciting of online Tournaments is back to banish the credit crunch blues – terrific! This FTOPS is even better with the introduction of miniFTOPS – a series that mimics FTOPS with 25 Events, just the same, but with buy ins at 1/10th of the price. Satellites are running to miniFTOPS now and start at just 60c, brilliant!

The action started on May 6th and continues until the Main Event on the 17th, there are 25 events, all hosted by a professional poker player. There is a guaranteed prize pool of $18m+ and super cool Full Tilt merchandise to be won.

Satellites are running NOW for FTOPS XII from just $2.25, go into the lobby click Tournaments and then FTOPS to see the satellites on offer.

The Satellite Challenge is running again, try and win as many entries as you can and Full Tilt will credit you with the cost of the buy in for every double entry you win. Win more entries than any one else and you will be win the price of two buy ins, second place gets one extra credit.

The Bouncebackabilty Freeroll is back again, exclusively for those players who finished on the bubble, this freeroll is on Saturday May 23rd at 8.00pm UK time (3pm New York). The generous prize is a seat at the Main Event of FTOPS XIII.

On the final table, in any of the events, every player will be given a cool FTOPS jacket. The victors of each event also get a FTOPS jersey and an exclusive gold avatar to be used whilst playing online at Full Tilt Poker.

Enjoy FTOPS XII and miniFTOPS, here is the schedule:-

Event	UK	New York	Host	Game	Guarantee
1	Thursday May 7th 2.00am	Wednesday May 6th 9.00pm	Eric Lindgren	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘em6-max	$1million
2	Thursday May 7th 7.00pm	Thursday May 7th 2.00pm	Rolandde Wolfe	$240 + $16 PL OmahaKnockout	$250,000
3	Friday May 8th 2.00am	Thursday May 7th 9.00pm	Greg Mueller	$500 + $35 NL Hold ‘em3xShootout	$300,000
4	Friday May 8th 7.00pm	Friday May 8th 2.00pm	Trond Eidsvig	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘em1 rebuy and 1 add-on	$500,000
5	Saturday May 9th 2.00am	Friday May 8th 9.00pm	Esther Rossi	$200 + $16 Stud/8	$100,000
6	Saturday May 9th 7.00pm	Saturday May 9th 2.00pm	Ben Roberts	$500 + $35 PL Omaha6-Max	$400,000
7	Saturday May 9th 9.00pm	Saturday May 9th 4.00pm	Joao Barbosa	$100 + $9 NL Hold ‘emRebuy	$600,000
8	Sunday May 10th 7.00pm	Sunday May 10th 2.00pm	Christian Kruel	$240 + $16 NL Hold ‘emKnockout 6-max	$750,000
9	Sunday May 10th 9.00pm	Sunday May 10th 4.00pm	Huck Seed	$500 + $35 NL Hold ‘emHeads Up	$500,000
10	Sunday May 10th 11.00pm	Sunday May 10th 6.00pm	Erik Seidel	$300 + $22 NL Hold ‘em	$1,5million
11	Monday May 11th 7.00pm	Monday May 11th 2.00pm	Martin Klaser	$200 + $16 PL Omaha/8	$200,000
12	Monday May 12th 2.00am	Monday May 11th 9.00pm	Steve Brecher	$1,000 + $60 NL Hold ‘em6-maxAnte From Start	$1,5million
13	Tuesday May 12th 7.00pm	Tuesday May 12th 2.00pm	Markus Golser	$300 + $22 NL Hold ‘em4xShootout 6-max	$300,000
14	Wednesday May 13th 2.00am	Tuesday May 12th 9.00pm	Edward Lederer	$500 + $35 HEROS	$300,000
15	Wednesday May 13th 2.00am	Tuesday May 12th 9.00pm	Jordan Morgan	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘emTurbo	$500,000
16	Wednesday May 13th 9.00pm	Wednesday May 13th 2.00pm	Johan Storakers	$200 + $16 HA (half PL Hold ‘em, half PL Omaha)	$200,000
17	Thursday May 14th 2.00am	Wednesday May 13th 9.00pm	Cole South	$300 + $22 NL Hold ‘em 6-max Rebuy	$1million
18	Thursday May 14th 7.00pm	Thursday May 14th 2.00pm	Mike McDonald	$200 + $16 PL Omaha Heads Up	$150,000
19	Friday May 15th 2.00am	Thursday May 14th 9.00pm	Artie Cobb	$300 + $22 Razz	$150,000
20	Friday May 15th 7.00pm	Friday May 15th 2.00pm	Fabrice Soulier	$200 + $16 NL Hold ‘em	$400,000
21	Saturday May 16th 2.00am	Friday May 15th 9.00pm	Eli Elezra	$200 + $16 Mixed Hold ‘em6-max	$150,000
22	Saturday May 16th 7.00pm	Saturday May 16th 2.00pm	Patrik Antonius	$2,500 + $120 NL Hold ‘em 2 Day Event	$2million
23	Saturday May 16th 9.00pm	Saturday May 16th 4.00pm	Robert Williamson III	$100 + $9 PL Omaha Rebuy	$350,000
24	Sunday May 17th 7.00pm	Sunday May 17th 2.00pm	Svetlana Gromenkova	$120 + $9 NL Hold ‘em Knockout	$1million
Main Event	Sunday May 17th 11.00pm	Sunday May 17th 6.00pm	Jennifer Harman	$500 + $35 NL Hold ‘em	$2,5million

Remember to use our Full Tilt Bonus Code FTPGOLD for a sign up bonus up to $600 plus entry into exclusive freerolls - see our Full Tilt Referral Code page for more details.

“ZeeJustin” wins WSOP-C Main Event

Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo has truly had a rollercoaster of a poker career. His name was first synonymous with dominating online tournaments, then with a cheating scandal.

Scott Clark Comments on Quitting the Best Damn Poker Show

The turning point of Season 2 of Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Poker Show” was the abrupt departure of contestant Scott Clark. Patrick Karst, a member of Team Annie Duke, ultimately won the series, which was in its second season. Clark sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss his experience and quitting the show.

Poker News Daily: Tell us how you became involved with the “Best Damn Poker Show.” What was the sign-up process you went through and what was asked?

Clark: At the World Series of Poker in July, Ultimate Bet held auditions at the Rio over two days. First, you filled out a lengthy questionnaire and hoped they’d call you back for an on-camera interview with a panel of judges who asked about your poker experience, your style of play, and personal achievements. They also asked you to name as many WSOP Main Event Champions as you could in ten seconds. I rambled off seven or eight quickly. I finished my answer and Mark “P0ker H0” Kroon said, “Have you ever heard of a guy named Phil Hellmuth?” I replied, “I heard he has a few WSOP cashes!”

After the on-camera interview with judges, hundreds of contestants hoped to be called back for the final on-camera interview with Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke. Thousands of hopeful applicants also sent in online video submissions. I received word that I had been selected in August and I was very excited to play the game I love on television.

PND: What’s a typical day like on the show? Take us for a behind the scenes tour.

Clark: So many people worked hard on the "Best Damn Poker Show." We had a lot to get done and a small window of time to do it in. There were also egos, personalities, and talent within the contestant pool and very little gossiping, jealousy, or personality clashes. In my opinion, the biggest egos in the contestant pool exited the show early, with the exception of yours truly. The minor disagreements between Annie and Phil were the only drama. Duke and Hellmuth team members often intermingled socially after hours. It was a very interesting time on and off the set.

PND: What was Phil Hellmuth like, in your opinion?

Clark: I think we are similar in many ways. Phil and I are egomaniacs, poker players, and the same age. I use words like “generous” and “thoughtful” when I speak of Phil, much to the surprise of those who inquire. I thought he was an amazing poker mind. I understand Phil and I think he got me. Often, Phil told me what he was thinking with just a glance or facial expression. I like Phil and, ultimately, I failed Phil. I really do not feel good about it.

PND: Phil Hellmuth told Poker News Daily that he found out about your departure while he was in his trailer. Do you regret quitting the “Best Damn Poker Show?”

Clark: I have mixed feelings about it based on the fact that I allowed myself to get into a situation and lost all creative input after the fact. I did not expect Fox Sports Net to be kind. Based on the edited show that aired, I do not regret leaving based on the trust issues I had with its producers after the incident.

PND: The incident was defined as a turning point for Team Hellmuth. Do you agree?

Clark: Yes. Team Hellmuth undoubtedly had the better team. Annie is probably the better coach in a format like this, but Phil possesses a greater poker mind and assesses talent better. Had I returned, I feel Team Hellmuth was a 60/40 favorite at that point. Team Hellmuth member Jason Lee played magnificently after I left. He nearly won an Aruba package in my absence when he shoved in the dark versus Karst.

PND: How has this experience changed your poker career?

Clark: I have not played on Ultimate Bet since the show. I play tournaments online and prefer to play No Limit Hold’em cash games live. I have been concentrating on my live play at Lumiere Place. I play tournaments part-time on Full Tilt Poker and compete in Omaha High-Low home games around St. Louis. I do miss playing at Ultimate Bet. I stated during the auditions, “UB has been very good to me,” and it had been. My online tournament fees and rake dollars are spent in many poker venues, but UB will have to pay me to play there.

PND: Would you consider returning for the Best Damn Poker Show Season 3 if asked?

Clark: I would consider it “unfinished business.” I hated watching Annie celebrate a victory I effectively handed her. I never considered that aspect when I decided to leave the taping of the “Best Damn Poker Show” and it makes me ill. I really do not know the answer to your question. I suppose it is one of those decisions that an individual would have to actually be faced with in order to speculate “what if.”

PND: Are you recognized now as a result of the show? What are people’s reactions?

Clark: I remain pleasantly surprised by how many people actually watched it. I think I put on a good show and assured Annie during the auditions that I would. Most people ask about Phil and his off-camera personality. Overall, they all seem to have enjoyed the show.

PND: Tell us about your 2009 World Series of Poker plans.

Clark: I will be in Las Vegas during the WSOP. Live tournaments do not rank very high on my list of things to do, but the WSOP is a festive atmosphere. You really cannot plan life, Vegas, the WSOP, or poker!

Check out Scott Clark’s blog to learn more.

Online Poker Weekend: ‘TheNutters’, ‘master zulle’ Capture Sunday Majors

Sunday’s action in major online tournaments found two players wrapping up the night’s play with nearly identical champion’s paydays...