Identity of Isildur1 May Be Revealed Saturday

In what will either be the worst kept secret ever in the poker world or the most stunning reveal of all-time, the identity of the online phenomenon Isildur1 will purportedly be unveiled on Saturday evening in the Bahamas.

Several poker news sites have announced that the identity of Isildur1 will be revealed at 7:00pm ET on Saturday night during action at the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), currently ongoing at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino. OnlinePoker.net indicated that the Tournament Director of the PCA stated that the announcement of Isildur1’s identity would come while trumpeting the arrival of Viktor Blom, the Swedish pro who has long been rumored to be the man behind the curtain.

PokerNews has also reported tomorrow’s reveal: “There’s a lot of speculation regarding the other identity of Blom, many claiming that he is indeed Isildur1 of nosebleed online fame. We can’t say for sure, but PokerStars is set to reveal the true identity of their newest online pro on Saturday at 7:00pm. Are Blom and Isildur1 the same person? We’ll know for sure in just over 48 hours.”

Players, for their part, have not been keeping the secret very quiet during the Super High Roller event at the PCA… or have they? On their Twitter feeds, players have been calling Blom “Isildur1” when they note to their followers who is at their tables. For example, in his Tweet, 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year Sorel Mizzi gave his table’s roll call: “Got Ashman, Negreanu, Timex, Vivek, Isildur1, and Nick Schulman. Fun!”

This hasn’t stopped some players from promoting different theories as to the true identity of Isildur1. Justin Bonomo noted a thread on TwoPlusTwo and Tweeted, “Coincidence that Hellmuth leaves UB just before Stars reveals Isildur1? Get ready to feel your heads explode Blom fanboys!”

Another Tweeter, Chris Choy, took the time to look over the entry list for the PCA Super High Roller event and noted, “Going through PCA $100K High Roller lineup…  Seat 6 – Koen Berendsen is the only name I don’t recognize… Isildur1, is that you buddy?” Berendsen is a player from the Netherlands who has had some success in the European poker community.

Blom did not fare well in the PCA Super High Roller event, busting before the end of Day 1. Germany’s Tobias Reinkemeier leads Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu and Bryn Kenney as Day 2 plays out. Other players still a part of the action include recent WPT champion Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel “jungleman12” Cates, Eugene Katchalov, and Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger.

The Isildur1 drama has played out over more than a year since the arrival of the Swedish high-stakes player in 2009. Taking on such players as Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Isildur1 grew his bankroll in high-stakes play to record levels. As 2010 came to a close, however, the mysterious Swede decided it was time to take an unprecedented step.

Isildur1 unexpectedly signed a sponsorship agreement with PokerStars in December, guaranteeing a steady income, but also potentially prompting an end to the mystery surrounding his identity. It had been previously announced by PokerStars that Isildur1 would make the PCA his first official live event as a part of the Team PokerStars stable, and Saturday’s announcement of his or her identity will certainly draw the attention of the poker community.

Daniel Cates (jungleman12) Profits $5.5 Million Online in 2010

Before 2010, Daniel “jungleman12” Cates was a nonentity in the online poker world. He began his career at the $0.50/$1 heads-up tables in 2008, made the move to sit and gos, and then went back to cash games. He busted his bankroll, was forced to get a minimum wage job at McDonald’s, and started the cycle all over again. Sound familiar? In 2010, Cates profited a healthy $5.5 million online.

Fast forward to March of last year. Grinding away in his parents’ basement, the Maryland native had built a bankroll big enough to play alongside the likes of like Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, “Isildur1,” and Tom “durrrr” Dwan at Full Tilt Poker’s nosebleed games. He was suddenly having daily swings of $500,000, sometimes more. Cates was a fixture in the biggest poker games on the internet and crushing them on a regular basis.

Cates saw his fame explode in July 2010. He joined the CardRunners team as an instructor and his real name was revealed to the poker community. In August, Cates agreed to take on Dwan in the second edition of the Durrrr Challenge, putting up $500,000 against Dwan’s $1.5 million in a 50,000-hand heads-up match. The community quickly awoke from the coma induced by the lull in Dwan’s first challenge with Antonius and saw some added intrigue generated by Cates’ limited media exposure.

Cates got off to a blazing start and is currently on top by $819,213 through 17,108 hands out of the 50,000 required for completion. He took $319,103 from Dwan in a 2,918-hand session late Monday night to increase his lead further and appears to be in the driver’s seat in the competition, having taken more than $1.3 million from Dwan lifetime.

It wasn’t just Dwan who had troubles with the young whiz kid in 2010. Cates was a big winner against Ivey, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, Aaron “aejones” Jones, and Ashton “theASHMAN103″ Griffin, along with many others. By the end of the year, Cates was the biggest winner in online poker, amassing around $5.5 million in profits according to HighStakesDB.com. He’s now considered by his peers to be one of the best poker players in the world.

Cates discussed his climb in limits in his blog in late 2010: “When making the jump to $25/$50, I ran into some players of a whole other caliber – players that understood the game at a significantly greater level than myself for the first time since I began. Still, I took them on and lost/swung for a decent time. This kind of downswing/recovery combo dragged on for a couple months, but eventually, I fixed all my flaws and even began conquering some of the same players. LOL, I never imagined my $25/$50 win rate would ever be near what is now.”

Cates finished the year as the overwhelming leader in profits on Full Tilt Poker. Norwegian pro Andreas “skjervoy” Torbergsen finished a distant second with $3.7 million, Dwan was third with $3.6 million, Ivey finished fourth with $3.0 million, and Jared “harrington25″ Bleznick landed in fifth with $2.2 million in profits.

Cates reflected on his rise to prominence in his blog: “I can’t say that I’ve handled all my failures appropriately, but I am fortunate that I utilized these failures well and [have] not experienced the extent of setbacks that some of you have felt. Long ago, I dreamed I would succeed if I acted wisely given my circumstances, but to be honest, I did not really imagine it would be to this degree, and especially not this fast.”

Follow Cates’ heads-up challenge with Dwan at DurrrrChallenge.com.

Phil Ivey Finishes 2010 Atop ESPN The Nuts Rankings for December

We might all be putting our new 2011 calendars on the refrigerator, but let’s not put 2010 in our rearview mirror just yet.  ESPN.com’s “The Nuts” poker player rankings for December 2010 were released on New Year’s Eve and showed that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Before we get to the rankings, let’s quickly explain ESPN’s methodology.  Unlike rankings by some poker sites, there is no mathematical formula used in “The Nuts.”  Rather, it is a simple poll by a panel of ten members of the poker media, including our very own Dan Cypra.  The panel attempts to rank the top ten poker players of the moment based on both tournament and cash game results, live and online.  It is an inexact science, of course, but that is part of what makes it fun.

The voting panel includes ESPN.com’s poker crew of Andrew Feldman, Gary Wise, and Bernard Lee (who is also a Guest Columnist for Poker News Daily), Bluff Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lance Bradley and Senior Writer Jessica Welman, ESPNDeportes.com Poker Editor Nahuel Ponce, PokerRoad’s Court Harrington, PokerNews Editor-in-Chief Matthew Parvis and Tournament Reporter Don Peters, and Cypra.

Nine of the top ten players remained the same in December, although some of the order has changed.  Phil Ivey remained in the top spot, a position that should really be renamed “Ivey’s Room.”  He received eight first place votes from the ten-member panel.  Jason Mercier received the other two first place votes, one coming from Cypra, cementing himself in the second position once again.

The two biggest jumps were by Tom Marchese and Vanessa Selbst, both of whom rose three spots.  Marchese climbed from #6 to #3, while Selbst was elevated to the fifth spot from eighth.  Marchese had an incredible 2010, his first year on the live tournament circuit.  In live tournaments alone, he won over $2 million.

Marchese exploded onto the scene with a final table at the Borgata in January and followed that up with a win on the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) in February.  He had three other big-time cashes last year, including final tables in the High Roller Event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final, the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em Championship at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and the championship event of the World Poker Tour‘s (WPT) World Poker Finals, all of which contributed to winning CardPlayer’s 2010 Player of the Year award.

Selbst, who won her first and only WSOP bracelet in 2008, had two huge wins in 2010.  The first was in the Main Event of the NAPT Mohegan Sun in April for $750,000, while the second came in September in the Main Event of the Partouche Poker Tour in Cannes, France, where she won over $1.8 million.

The one new member of “The Nuts” was last month’s “Bubble Boy,” Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi.  The 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of Year placed ninth at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic en route to a $1.9 million year in live tournaments.  With Mizzi’s rise into the top ten, Alexander Kostritsyn dropped out.

As an example of how fluid things can be in the poker world, half of the top ten at the end of 2010 was different than at the beginning of the year.  Daniel Negreanu took the biggest tumble out of the rankings, as he occupied the second spot in January.  The other four poker players – Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Daniel Alaei, Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko, and Barry Greenstein – were ranked seven through ten.  Patrik Antonius came close to falling out of the rankings, finishing the year at #10 after starting out at #3.

The entire list of the ESPN’s “The Nuts” is as follows:

1. Phil Ivey
2. Jason Mercier
3. Tom Marchese
4. Tom Dwan
5. Vanessa Selbst
6. John Juanda
7. Michael Mizrachi
8. Eric Baldwin
9. Sorel Mizzi
10. Patrik Antonius

“The Nuts” is published at the end of every month in the poker section of ESPN.com.

Phil Galfond, Phil Ivey Dominate on Poker After Dark Big Heat Week

On Monday night, the kickoff episode of Big Heat Week on “Poker After Dark” aired. The $100,000 buy-in freezeout was filmed at Aria and marked the start of a brand new season for the NBC poker franchise. The six competitors had a combined live tournament earnings of nearly $42 million along with 18 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets. Full Tilt Poker sponsors “Poker After Dark,” which features a brand new intro.

Every player began with 100,000 in chips and the blinds kicked off at 500/1,000. At the end of the week, the winner will take home a profit of $500,000 for their efforts. Former WSOP Europe Main Event champ John Juanda tangled with Tom “durrrr” Dwan early on with just 5-3 of diamonds and told the table, “I said I was going to play tight to start with, but I just can’t help myself.”

1996 WSOP Main Event winner Huck Seed flopped trip nines in a hand against an active Dwan to move to 128,000 in chips for an early lead. Then, eight-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey hit aces-up on the river and checked. Juanda, holding just king-high, bet 24,000 and Ivey made the call to scoop a pot worth 94,000.

The declaration of “King-high” from Juanda elicited a laugh from Dwan. Ivey then told “durrrr” that if he were involved in the pot, Ivey would not have checked the river: “If it were you, I would have just moved all-in and figured there was a chance you’d call me with king-high. That’s the difference.”

On a flop of 2-4-8, Ivey bet 14,000 with A-3 for a wheel draw after 3betting before the flop and Dwan raised all-in for 58,000 with A-J. Ivey folded and, in the process, “Poker After Dark” commentator Ali Nejad commented, “Do not adjust your sets. Dwan does not have a pair and he’s moving all-in. Get used to it.”

Juanda was put to several tough decisions throughout Monday’s hour-long kickoff episode. In one hand, Dwan raised to 5,000 pre-flop with A-J and Juanda picked up his third pocket pair of the show, this time pocket sevens, and 3bet to 15,000. Dwan put in a 4bet to 45,000 and Juanda tanked, looked at his hand several times, and elected to fold.

Erick Lindgren raised to 5,000 before the flop with A-10 and Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond came along with 7-6 of diamonds. The action flop came 8-9-10, giving Galfond a 10-high straight and Lindgren top pair, top kicker. Galfond checked, Lindgren bet 8,000, and Galfond called to see a six on the turn. Galfond once again checked his straight and Lindgren bet 17,000. Galfond moved all-in over the top for 60,500 and Lindgren mucked his cards.

In the final hand of the night, Galfond showed why he’s one of the game’s elite. He raised to 5,000 before the flop with a meager 7-4 and Seed came along with A-Q of spades. Dwan called with 10-2 of diamonds and the flop came 2-3-Q with two hearts. Seed and Dwan checked their pairs, leaving Galfond to try to bluff at the pot by putting out a continuation bet of 8,000. Both of his opponents called and the jack of hearts hit on the turn, putting three of the suit onboard.

Seed checked, Dwan checked, and Galfond bet 19,000 with just seven-high and no heart in his hand. Seed and Dwan got out of the way and Galfond scooped a pot worth 58,000 in chips. He told his tablemates, “I’m going to have to go to the booth for that one.”

You can catch Big Heat Week on “Poker After Dark” all this week at 2:05am ET on NBC.

Poker After Dark’s 7th Season premiered yesterday - Who will win $600K?

Poker After Dark’s 7th Season started up on NBC yesterday. The new Season starts with a big bang when there’s a 6-handed $100K buy-in Freezeout - winner takes all.

The participants for this amazing Freezeout are Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Phil Galfond, Huck Seed, Erick Lindgren and John Juanda. The poker fans will get their sweet treat right away!

Watch the lates episode HERE.

What makes PAD interesting this season is that there will be PLO cash game week as well. You can check out theair dates here.

Source: Pokerista.net

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Poker After Dark’s 7th Season premiered yesterday - Who will win $600K?

Top Online Poker Winners and Losers of 2010

Whether it was the durrrr Challenge II on Full Tilt or the new Isildur1 SuperStar Showdown on PokerStars there always seemed to be intriguing action of one kind or another on the go. 

From the emergence of relative newcomer Dan “jungleman12” Cates to the continued success of established pros like Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius there were numerous plotlines to the high stakes games this year.

We’ll start by celebrating the five biggest online poker success stories of 2010 before taking a hard look at the five biggest disappointments of the year.

Top 5 Biggest Winners of 2010

5. Di “Urindanger” Dang: $2.2 million

Although Di “Urindanger” Dang tends to fly under the radar when compared to some of his more illustrious colleagues he’s remarkably consistent.

Since he started playing the high stakes games on Full Tilt in 2007, Dang has never recorded a losing year. 2010 was no exception.

Dang did suffer through a few losing months in late spring but he came around in August and by December was up to $2.2 million.

Yet another good Christmas for the Dang household.

Just as scary online.

 

4. Phil Ivey: $3 million

Phil Ivey usually plays far less hands than his online opponents but he always manages to rank as one of the top five winners.

This year Ivey wasn’t particularly active until mid-April, when he went on a $2 million heater. After logging notable victories against Ashton “ASHMAN103” Griffin and Patrik Antonius, Ivey vacated the online tables from May to late August.

In August Ivey got right back to business and quickly peaked at $3.8 million in profit.

Although Ivey coasted for the rest of the year and didn’t play any huge sessions, he still finished with a very respectable $3 million.

3. Tom “durrrr” Dwan: $3.6 million

It was yet another strong year for the poker prodigy originally from Edison, New Jersey.

Once again Tom Dwan was king when it came to volume, playing a total of 296,725 hands in 2010.

The year got off to a rocking start for Dwan and by mid-spring he peaked at an astounding $6.6 million. Unfortunately for Dwan he would come back down to earth over the rest of the year.

Dwan’s biggest obstacle was Dan “jungleman12” Cates. Dwan simply couldn’t solve Cates and lost more than $600k so far in the durrrr Challenge II.

At any rate, Dwan fared far better this year compared to 2009 when he ran into a hot Isildur1 and lost millions.

Millions of reasons to smile.

 

2. Andreas “Skjervoy” Torbergsen: $3.7 million

Perhaps the biggest surprise of this list is a Norwegian by the name of Andreas Torbergsen.

Torbergsen, who plays with his hometown of Skjervoy as his handle, signed with CardRunners this summer and went on to become one of the biggest winners in the high stakes online games this year.

Torbergsen was essentially at $0 in August but by the end of December was up $3.7 million. It helped he won $1 million in a 24-hour period in September and recorded several $500k sessions.

It remains to be seen whether Torbergsen will remain a fixture of the high stakes online poker scene.

1. Dan “jungleman12” Cates: $5.5 million

What more can be said about Dan “jungleman12” Cate’s dominance this year?

Three years ago Cates was flipping burgers but in 2010 he was playing the biggest online games in the world and hardly ever losing.

Cates dominated Tom Dwan in the durrrr Challenge II but also found time to take on anyone else who wanted a piece. His graph reads looks like an escalator (going up, of course). He won hundreds of thousands playing PLO (which he’s still learning).

Although some members of the online community cried variance, Cates was a consistent winner for the entire year.

At any rate, Cates now finds himself in an elite group of year-end winners that includes Patrik Antonius ($8.9 million in 2009), Phil Ivey ($7.3 million in 2008) and Niki Jedlicka ($3.1 million in 2007).

To put it simply: 2010 belonged to Cates.

Top 5 Biggest Losers of 2010

5. Brian “sbrugby” Townsend: – $1.5 million

Brian Townsend had a fantastic 2009 winning $2.4 million to become one of the biggest winners of the year.

2010 wasn’t quite as kind to the former CardRunners instructor.

Although Townsend didn’t use the sbrugby account until summer (more on that later), he didn’t waste any time donating stacks of cash online.

Not the year of Gus.

 

From June to October, Townsend lost $1.6 million and never really recovered, opting to sit out the last couple months of 2010.

Check below for even more on Townsend’s disastrous 2010.

4. Gus Hansen: -$1.6 million

You’d think losing $1.6 million would make for a pretty bad year but it could have been a lot worse for Gus Hansen.

The Great Dane actually got off to a hot start in 2010 and was up $2.3 million after the first couple of months.

Like many high stakes pros, Hansen took a break from the tables during the WSOP but was still up nearly $1 million.

It was during late summer that problems started to arise for the Team Full Tilt member. From July to October, Hansen lost $4 million, the biggest downswing of the year.

Hansen would hit rock bottom in mid-October going down to -$3.6 million.

Fortunately for Hansen he was able to put a steady string of wins together to finish the year at only -$1.6 million. Not the worst year for the recent WSOP bracelet winner.

3. cadillac1944: -$1.8 million

cadillac1944 is the only player on our list who has yet to be identified.

The online account first appeared in late August and that’s about when the losing began.

cadillac1944 quickly dropped down to -$677k by September with big losses against Urindanger and DrugsOrMe.

By November cadillac1944 was down -$1.53 million and finally hit -$1.8 million in early December.

The cadillac1944 account became inactive in mid-December and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether we’ll ever see it in use again.

2. Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies: -$2 milliion

Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, one of the original kings of swing, was up to his old tricks in 2010 with a “win a million, lose a million” mentality.

Sahamies started the year by winning $2 million in spring but then lost $2.6 million over the summer.

The fall looked promising for Ziigmund as he quickly swung his way up to $1.48 million in profit.

Two accounts equals two spots on the 5 biggest losers.

 

Unfortunately for Ziigmund October was a turning point and the Finnish pro went on what he has called the greatest downswing of his career.

Over the next few months Sahamies dropped down to -$2 million with victories few and far between.

2010 was easily Ziigmund’s worst year playing high stakes online poker.

1. Brian Townsend: -$2.5 million

Brian Townsend’s 2010 was so terrible that he made this list twice.

As bad as the game went for Townsend on his “sbrugby” account, it was far, far worse on his red pro “Brian Townsend” account.

Townsend was in bad shape from the very beginning as he quickly lost $300k in early January.

The losses just continued to escalate for Townsend and by May he was down $2.5 million.

It was then Townsend made the decision to leave CardRunners, ditch his red pro account and go back to being sbrugby on Full Tilt.

It didn’t seem to make a difference as Townsend lost another $1.5 million.

If you take both accounts into consideration, Townsend lost a grand total of $4 million this year.

Poker After Dark Big Heat Week Debuts Tonight

For those in need of new poker television content, the NBC franchise “Poker After Dark” returns for its first new episodes of 2011 tonight, featuring the biggest tournament in the history of the program.

Dubbed “Big Heat Week,” “Poker After Dark’s” first tournament of 2011 features a six-man sit and go that brings together competitors who have more than proven their worth in the poker world. Combined, the six players – John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Phil Galfond, Huck Seed, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Phil Ivey – have over $42 million in career tournament earnings, 18 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, a WSOP Main Event title, and a slew of other major championships.

The $100,000 buy-in event guarantees that the victor of this week’s “Poker After Dark” will walk away with a $600,000 payday.

Galfond is the newcomer to the “Poker After Dark” stage, as all of the other competitors have faced the NBC show’s cameras previously. Galfond, who terrorizes the online poker world under the name “OMGClayAiken,” has built a reputation as one of the top No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha players in the game today. His addition to this week’s lineup is indicative of how the show is embracing the “new blood” of the game.

Safe money on who will win this week’s battle should be on Ivey and Juanda, who are veterans of “Poker After Dark” and have racked up two wins each during the run of the show. While Lindgren and Seed have previously appeared on the program, neither has been able to crack the winner’s circle. For his part, Dwan has been a part of previous “Poker After Dark” cash game episodes, but this is only his second foray into the freezeout arena.

“Big Heat Week” will kick off this evening on NBC late night at 2:05am ET, with host Ali Nejad providing voiceover commentary of the action. The sit and go will continue over the next four nights in the same timeslot and a special “Director’s Cut” will air late night on Saturday at 1:00am ET after NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” This show will feature Leeann Tweeden with a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews.

Throughout the first half of 2011, “Poker After Dark” will continue to provide new shows mixed in with encore presentations of some of the series’ best episodes. After this week’s new episodes, Dwan will return to the two-week encore presentation of one of the show’s most memorable cash games. The cash game, which featured a $100,000 buy-in, also featured Phil Laak, Gus Hansen, Eli Elezra, and former World Champions Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth.

The week of February 7th, a new cash game will take to the “Poker After Dark” stage with the highest stakes yet. The $150,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em cash game will feature Howard Lederer, Greg Mueller, Elezra, David Peat, Olivier Busquet, and Laak battling it out for supremacy.

April will bring one of the most eagerly anticipated additions to the “Poker After Dark” lineup. During the week of April 4th, a $50,000 buy-in sit and go will take place featuring some of the “young guns” of the game. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger and UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin will join Melanie Weisner, Annette Obrestad, Brunson, and Dwan, with the winner walking away with $250,000.

During the week of April 11th, Pot Limit Omaha will make its debut on “Poker After Dark” and be featured for two weeks. Joining Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond on the felt for the $100,000 buy-in cash game will be Brandon Adams, Patrik Antonius, Brian Hastings, and Jared Bleznick. The addition of Pot Limit Omaha to “Poker After Dark” should draw a huge audience with the ever-increasing popularity of the game.

Once again, be sure to check your local listings for when “Poker After Dark” runs on your local NBC affiliate.

2010 Poker Memories by Linda Johnson

Time is passing too quickly. We just said goodbye to 2010, but memories of my favorite (and not so favorite) poker moments from the year are still vivid in my mind. I’d like to share a few of my personal 2010 poker memories with you.

Proudest 2010 Poker Memory

Without a doubt, being nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame is the answer to this category. What a thrill it was to learn that I had been nominated along with such a prestigious group as Erik Seidel, Dan Harrington, Tom McEvoy, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein. Congratulations to the 2010 inductees Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington.

Favorite Poker News Story

I loved the coverage given to the Mizrachi family during the WSOP. It seemed like every poker magazine had Michael Mizrachi on the cover. Even mainstream Las Vegas entertainment magazines featured Michael and his family.

Favorite Poker Vacation

The 12-night Card Player Cruises poker trip to the Mediterranean wins in this category. The poker room was a lot of fun as usual, but the highlight was seeing all of the magnificent European ports. We stopped at Cannes/Monte Carlo, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Corfu, Dubrovnik, and Barcelona and had great weather in each.

Favorite Charity Event

Of all of the charity events I was fortunate to participate in during 2010, the fundraiser for MickeysCamp.org was my favorite. Mickey’s Camp was started by Mickey Maurer and is held in Indianapolis, Indiana every August. There is a three-day camp for men and a three-day camp for women. The participants sleep in the same cabins the kids stay at during summer and participate in a variety of activities including fishing, camping, wine tasting, cooking, self-defense, magic, and swimming.

I had the honor of teaching the poker sessions and running the poker tournaments for both camps. Mickey’s Camp has raised more than $1 million dollars for charity since its inception 10 years ago. Honorable mention in this category goes to fundraising events for Poker Gives and Child Rescue.

Most Disappointing Poker News

I am still angry and annoyed that we haven’t been able to overturn the UIGEA, although I think we are getting close. The news that the Washington State courts upheld the ruling making online poker illegal is just plain gross! After the ruling, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars shut down service to Washington residents, a move that should have been met with much more fury and protest from the state’s players.

Favorite Whirlwind Trip

My quick trip to Golden, Colorado for a Poker Players Alliance event qualifies in this category. In less than 24 hours, I flew in and out of Denver and participated in a poker tournament to help Senator Michael Bennett’s campaign. Bennett was elected by a very small margin and I believe he was the victor due to the support of Colorado poker players.

Most Prestigious Poker Event

The winner in this category was easily the Women in Poker Hall of Fame banquet held at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. The Grand Ballroom, decorated by a group of volunteers headed by Lupe Soto and her Board of Directors, took on the look of an elegant bistro/nightclub. Jan Fisher did a great job as the emcee and Jeffrey Pollack and Nolan Dalla delivered passionate speeches. After a delicious dinner, awards were presented, followed by a dance. Congratulations to the 2010 inductees Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, and Billie Brown.

Favorite New Poker Procedure

I love the new rule established at the Commerce Casino that penalizes players who are gone too long from the table. Players who miss several rounds in $20-$40 and higher Hold’em games have $5 taken from their stacks and put into the pot.  Note that this rule was just about to go into effect the last time I played there and so may have been refined since.

Favorite New Poker Social Media Source

I admit it… I am a Twitter addict! I read it as often as I can and follow many of the top poker celebrities’ Tweets. I hate that it takes up so much of my time and makes me feel like a voyeur, but I can’t seem to give it up. Perhaps they will start a Twitters Anonymous in 2011 and I will be a charter member.

Favorite Tournament Series

Few would argue that the World Series of Poker wins in this category. The series expanded into even more square footage at the Rio and saw an increase in total participants. I had three deep runs (16th, 29th, and 31st) out of the five tournaments I entered, yet am not sporting a new bracelet. Congratulations to all of the bracelet winners, but especially to Gavin Smith, who won his first bracelet after many close efforts.

The runner-up award in this category goes to Wild Horse Casino in Pendleton, Oregon. Roland Waters directs a great tournament series with huge player fields. Entrants get rewarded with $75,000 in added money and free dinner buffets every night.

Other favorite poker memories from 2010 include delivering the “Shuffle Up and Deal” opening speech for the WSOP Ladies Event, teaching WPT Boot Camp at many locations around the country, playing in the WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce, and hosting tournaments at the Eureka Open in Mesquite, Nevada, the Rainbow Spectrum of Poker at the Rainbow Hotel in Wendover, Nevada, and the Wild Horse Resort Casino Poker Roundup in Pendleton, Oregon.

I am extremely blessed to be part of this wonderful poker world and am grateful for the opportunities it has provided me. In 2010, I met many wonderful people who share my passion for poker and was thrilled to have so many chances to give back to our community.

Our country is facing tough economic times ahead. I hope 2011 is a prosperous and happy year for Poker News Daily readers.  In closing, I am happy to offer our readers a discount on any 2011 Card Player Cruises trip. Mention Poker News Daily when you book your cabin by January 15th and you will get a $50 per person discount. For more information, go to CardPlayerCruises.com.

Editor’s Note: Linda Johnson is available for poker functions, seminars, corporate events, and charity fundraisers. You can contact her through her website at CardPlayerCruises.com.

Sorel Mizzi Wins 2010 Bluff Player of the Year Title

Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi is the 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year, officials announced on Friday. Mizzi entered the top spot in the Player of the Year rankings in March and never relinquished his lead.

The 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year, Tom Marchese, finished in second place in the Bluff standings. Mizzi ended the 2010 calendar year with a whopping 1,777 points, the highest score ever turned in, while Marchese racked up just 1,257 during the stanza. Others in the top 10 included PokerStars pro Vanessa Selbst, recent World Poker Tour (WPT) event winner Dwyte Pilgrim, and UB.com pro and former CardPlayer Player of the Year winner Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin.

Mizzi got the 2010 calendar year started off on the right foot by taking third place in the Aussie Millions Main Event for $659,000. Tyron Krost took down the marquee poker tournament and Mizzi quickly ratcheted his first six-figure score of 2010. Mizzi then won two preliminary events during the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Snowfest stop in March for nearly $150,000 total.

In April, Mizzi’s victory parade stopped off in Atlantic City, where he won the East Coast Championship Event during the Borgata Spring Poker Open for $170,000. That tournament drew 62 players and featured a top nine that included Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki, David “Davidp18” Peters, and former Full Tilt Poker pro Lee Markholt.

At the end of April, Mizzi final tabled the High Roller Event during the EPT’s Monte Carlo Grand Final for $190,000. Two weeks later, he ran deep in another High Roller Event, this time at WPT Paris. Just footsteps from the Eiffel Tower, Mizzi played second fiddle to Absolute Poker pro Freddy Deeb and walked away with $159,000.

In August, Mizzi placed second in the EPT Tallinn High Roller Event for $98,000. He concluded 2010 by bubbling a pair of WPT final tables, taking seventh in the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $88,000 and grabbing ninth in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio for $59,000. Remember, televised WPT final tables are played six-handed.

All told, Mizzi racked up nearly $1.9 million in earnings from live tournaments tracked by the Hendon Mob database last year. Along the way, he provided poker coaching to November Niner Matt Jarvis, a fellow Canadian. Jarvis ultimately bowed out in eighth place in the $10,000 buy-in tournament in Las Vegas for over $1 million.

Mizzi, who has been linked to several incidents on online poker sites in the past, has nevertheless remained a central figurehead in the industry. He told Poker News Daily in an interview in November that surrounding himself with talented poker friends has been critical: “I think it’s one of the most important things… That is how I got my start. I found players and tried to pick their brains. You know, it’s like anything in life, that’s the best way of learning, you find mentors. At least, for me, [it’s been] finding people where you want to be and trying to pick their brains as much as possible.”

Here were the top 10 players in the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year standings:

1. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 1,777.77 points
2. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 1,257.30 points
3. Fernando Brito – 1,060.53 points
4. David Peters – 1,009.26 points
5. Vanessa Selbst – 986.77 points
6. Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin – 943.92 points
7. Dwyte Pilgrim – 896.23 points
8. Chris Bjorin – 889.25 points
9. Jason Mercier – 882.40 points
10. Chris Bell – 879.63 points

Jason Mercier took down the 2009 Bluff Player of the Year title. Other past winners have included John “The Razor” Phan (2008), Bill Edler (2007), Chad Brown (2006), and Phil Ivey (2005).

Poker News in Brief: Dec. 27, 2010- Jan. 2, 2011

That meant a few of poker's smaller stories may have slipped through the cracks.

Fortunately, we caught them and compiled them in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature below.

This week, Poker After Dark returns, the World Cup captains are named, UB goes back to Montreal and more.

Poker After Dark Returns

The new season of POKER PROductions' Poker After Dark returns to NBC this week.

POKER PROductions inked an agreement with NBC Universal extending the late-night poker show through 2014 in 2010 and the seventh season, filmed at the new Aria Resort and Casino at the City Center complex in Las Vegas, begins airing Jan. 3.

This season will feature more cash games than ever before. Most will be no-limit hold'em, but two weeks will also be devoted to Pot-Limit Omaha with a lineup that should impress fans.

Names like Mike Matusow, Chris Ferguson, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Annette Obrestad, Eli Elezra, Phil Galfond, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, and David Oppenheim will all appear this season.

There will only be three weeks following the traditional Freezout format this season, including this week's "Big Heat," a $100,000 buy-in event featuring John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Huckleberry Seed, Ivey, Dwan, and Galfond.

Leeann Tweeden will once again serve as the show's host with Ali Nejad providing commentary.

Fifty50 Sit & Go's

PokerStars has launched a new online poker Sit & Go format called Fifty50.

Although the tournaments end when half of the entrants have been eliminated, Fifty50's differ from the Double or Nothing format in that half of the prize pool gets split between the winning players equally and the other half is awarded based on chip counts.

Fifty50 events are currently running at the $10 level, but will soon be available at many different stakes.

World Cup of Poker Captains Named

The identities of the team captains for the seventh annual World Cup of Poker have been announced.

Last year, Chinese Taipei took the title. This year it will be Argentina, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, France, Ukraine and the United States battling it out for a $100,000 first prize at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Slovakia’s team will be led by Team PokerStars Pro’s newest member Dag Palovic. EPT San Remo winner Liv Boeree will lead the UK team while Argentina’s captain is back-to-back LAPT champ Nacho Barbero.

2009 APT champion Neil Arce will lead the team from the Philippines while the Spain squad will be headed up by Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor.

Luca Pagano leads Italy and Arnaud Mattern will captain the team from France.

And Finally, Vanessa Selbst will lead the USA while EPT Kiev runner-up Alexander Dovzhenko captains the Ukrainian side.

The action gets underway in the Bahamas Jan 14.

UB Returns to Poker Pro Canada Classic

For the second straight year, UB will be sending over twenty players to compete in the running of Montreal's biggest poker event, the Poker Pro Canada Classic.

The $1500+150 buy-in No Limit Hold 'em event runs Jan. 27-30, 2011 at the Four Aces Poker Club.

UB is running a series of super satellites and freerolls Jan. 2-16 giving players a chance to win a $2500 prize package that includes a seat plus $850 for travel expenses.

300-plus players and prize pool of $500,000 is expected in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

jungleman12 Caps Incredible 2010

Cates, who was already the overwhelming biggest winner of 2010 with $4.9 million in profit, played a marathon 1,172-hand session of heads-up $300/$600 Mixed HA.

Initially Cates lost $250k but he eventually erased the deficit and went on a world-class heater against Patrik Antonius and luckexpress10.

After last night Cates is up $5.4 million in 2010 and barring a catastrophic meltdown he will be this year’s biggest winner.

As of today Norwegian player Andreas “skjervoy” Torbergsen is a distant second with $3.7 million, Tom “durrrr” Dwan is third with $3.6 million, Phil Ivey is fourth with $3 million and finally harrington25 is up $2.2 million.

Unfortunately for Cates, he’s not even close to what the top players have made in previous years. Antonius won an astounding $8.9 million for top honors in 2009 while Phil Ivey raked in $7.3 million in 2008.

In other high stakes news from last night Gus Hansen had a strong outing, winning $149k. It looks as though the Great Dane will fall short of getting even for 2010 since he’s still down $1.6 million but he made up considerable ground over the last few months of the year.

Other winners from last night included hal0zination (+$68k), KobeYard85 (+$57k) and Urindanger ($38k).

On the losing side was Patrik Antonius, who poured $382k on to the tables last night. Most of Antonius’ loses were to Cates.

Antonius will likely finish 2010 with a respectful $550k in profit but down considerably from last year.

Some of the other players who had forgettable nights were DrugsOrMe (-$150k), luckexpress10 (-$120k) and harrington25 ($94k).

For information about the high stakes action from last night check our online poker stats section.

Top Poker News Story of 2010

We’re nearing the end of the 2010 calendar year and, as such, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past 365 days. There were plenty of headlines in 2010, but which one stole the show for our esteemed panel of writers? Poker News Daily asked our staff which poker headline of 2010 stood out.

Dan Cypra: Splintering of Online Poker

2010 saw the continued splintering of the online poker market worldwide. France and Italy now have their very own online poker fiefdoms, while legislation in New Jersey to create the very first intrastate internet gambling framework in the United States is gaining steam. In fact, the measure will be one of the first topics that the New Jersey Assembly tackles in the New Year.

Whether the division of the online poker market is detrimental to the player experience remains to be seen. Many of the FR and IT sites tracked by PokerScout.com hold strong in the top 20 worldwide in terms of cash game volume, but players cannot compete as part of the worldwide pool. Expect this trend to continue in 2011 and beyond, especially in the United States, where a state-by-state legalization of internet gambling appears to be in the cards.

Annie Duke: Year of the Woman

I think the biggest news story of 2010 is the breakout of women in poker, and that is not just because I am one of them. Vanessa Selbst winning two majors was a huge step forward for women in poker and, of course, an incredible accomplishment for her. Leading into that, Liv Boeree’s stellar performance in San Remo was a breakout for her and for women in poker. I guess my win has to get a mention here, too. Women have had a hard time getting true traction in this game and 2010 put an exclamation point on the quality of the women who play.

Linda Johnson: Washington Online Poker Law Upheld

I think the biggest poker news story involved the Washington State courts upholding the 2006 state law saying that playing online poker is a Class C felony, a crime on the same level as child molestation. This prompted Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars to pull out of that market. What a travesty it is for people in that state, many of whom will have to relocate. I think it is also very hypocritical of the government; after all, Washington State residents still can buy lottery tickets online.

Lee Jones: Year of the Near Miss

2010 will be remembered as the “Year of the Near Miss”. We will probably never know how close we got to overt legalization of online poker in the United States towards the end of 2010. Harry Reid tried every possible maneuver to get his bill passed that would have legalized and regulated online poker in the USA. Had it not been for Jon Kyl, the bill almost certainly would have passed and been signed by President Obama.

Despite poker pros’ concerns about the 15-month blackout prior to actual regulated play, I believe that legalization would have (and will eventually) produce a second renaissance of poker that will completely overshadow 2003, the year of Chris Moneymaker and the WPT. It will only be in the light of that second renaissance that we realize how unfortunate the “Near Miss” of 2010 was.

John “JimmyLegs” Wray: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill

Certainly the biggest almost-story was the Harry Reid online poker bill. But it looks like regulated online poker in the States will have to wait. Maybe it’ll be the biggest news story of 2011? Fingers crossed!

Chris “Fox” Wallace: Full Tilt Rush Poker Mobile

I think we will eventually realize that Rush Poker Mobile is the biggest poker news story of 2010. It might not be the biggest story right now, but it will probably bring about some significant legal changes. Seeing people playing poker on the bus, in the halls at work, at the bar, or anywhere that people congregate – and seeing all of those people playing online poker for real money on their phones – will change public perception.

What direction the public perception goes and how the legal aspects work out will have a huge effect on the future of our freedom to play our favorite game. I think Michael Mizrachi‘s trip to the WSOP final table was talked about a lot more at the tables, but Rush Poker Mobile will have a bigger splash in the long-run.

Brett Collson: WSOP Ladies Event

When I first saw Shaun Deeb seated wearing lipstick, makeup, and a cowboy hat at the WSOP Ladies Event, I knew the poker world was about to erupt. Deeb and more than a dozen male players crashed what was supposed to be an enjoyable tournament for female poker players. Instead, it turned into a media circus.

Some of the men claimed they were taking a “gender equality” stance by playing in the $1,000 event; others had lost prop bets. Regardless, all of the women were upset by it, as evident by the standing ovation that occurred each time a male player was eliminated. The unfortunate episode also fueled one of the biggest feuds of the year between Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu, which is another of the most memorable stories of 2010.

Bernard Lee: Michael Mizrachi

For me, it would be Michael Mizrachi. At the beginning of 2010, not many people put Michael Mizrachi in the forefront of poker, but as he arrived at the WSOP, he definitely wanted to make his mark. Mizrachi came out of the gates winning the $50,000 Player’s Championship. In addition to that, he made two other final tables and, of course, who could forget him almost winning the improbable double-double of the $10,000 Main Event as well? Michael Mizrachi had a phenomenal year and has put himself back in the forefront of the world of poker.

Sean Gibson: Michael Mizrachi

For me, the biggest news story of 2010 was the resurrection of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s poker career. Count me in as one of the guys who wrote him off for good, especially when all of the financial trouble started cropping up. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s one of the world’s best players; his run to the November Nine was every bit as magical as Phil Ivey‘s in 2009. Mizrachi is a player we can respect for his past accomplishments and track as one of the big names in the poker industry.

Earl Burton: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill and Jonathan Duhamel

As far as the biggest stories of the year in poker, I am torn between two. The four-year-long battle to overturn the UIGEA, which heated up even more over the past 12 months, seemed to get the hopes up of many of us in the poker community. I was always pessimistic about the passage of any legislation that would allow Americans to play poker online and, in the end, my pessimism proved to be correct.

The second story is Jonathan Duhamel’s victory in the WSOP Main Event. He became the first ever Canadian World Champion, capturing the attention of his country and the world. He was even nominated for Canadian Athlete of the Year alongside such big names as Sidney Crosby and Joey Votto. When you think of players from Canada who came before Duhamel, such as Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith, for him to become the first Canadian champion of the Main Event was a truly significant feat.

Top Poker News Story of 2010

We’re nearing the end of the 2010 calendar year and, as such, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past 365 days. There were plenty of headlines in 2010, but which one stole the show for our esteemed panel of writers? Poker News Daily asked our staff which poker headline of 2010 stood out.

Dan Cypra: Splintering of Online Poker

2010 saw the continued splintering of the online poker market worldwide. France and Italy now have their very own online poker fiefdoms, while legislation in New Jersey to create the very first intrastate internet gambling framework in the United States is gaining steam. In fact, the measure will be one of the first topics that the New Jersey Assembly tackles in the New Year.

Whether the division of the online poker market is detrimental to the player experience remains to be seen. Many of the FR and IT sites tracked by PokerScout.com hold strong in the top 20 worldwide in terms of cash game volume, but players cannot compete as part of the worldwide pool. Expect this trend to continue in 2011 and beyond, especially in the United States, where a state-by-state legalization of internet gambling appears to be in the cards.

Annie Duke: Year of the Woman

I think the biggest news story of 2010 is the breakout of women in poker, and that is not just because I am one of them. Vanessa Selbst winning two majors was a huge step forward for women in poker and, of course, an incredible accomplishment for her. Leading into that, Liv Boeree’s stellar performance in San Remo was a breakout for her and for women in poker. I guess my win has to get a mention here, too. Women have had a hard time getting true traction in this game and 2010 put an exclamation point on the quality of the women who play.

Linda Johnson: Washington Online Poker Law Upheld

I think the biggest poker news story involved the Washington State courts upholding the 2006 state law saying that playing online poker is a Class C felony, a crime on the same level as child molestation. This prompted Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars to pull out of that market. What a travesty it is for people in that state, many of whom will have to relocate. I think it is also very hypocritical of the government; after all, Washington State residents still can buy lottery tickets online.

Lee Jones: Year of the Near Miss

2010 will be remembered as the “Year of the Near Miss”. We will probably never know how close we got to overt legalization of online poker in the United States towards the end of 2010. Harry Reid tried every possible maneuver to get his bill passed that would have legalized and regulated online poker in the USA. Had it not been for Jon Kyl, the bill almost certainly would have passed and been signed by President Obama.

Despite poker pros’ concerns about the 15-month blackout prior to actual regulated play, I believe that legalization would have (and will eventually) produce a second renaissance of poker that will completely overshadow 2003, the year of Chris Moneymaker and the WPT. It will only be in the light of that second renaissance that we realize how unfortunate the “Near Miss” of 2010 was.

John “JimmyLegs” Wray: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill

Certainly the biggest almost-story was the Harry Reid online poker bill. But it looks like regulated online poker in the States will have to wait. Maybe it’ll be the biggest news story of 2011? Fingers crossed!

Chris “Fox” Wallace: Full Tilt Rush Poker Mobile

I think we will eventually realize that Rush Poker Mobile is the biggest poker news story of 2010. It might not be the biggest story right now, but it will probably bring about some significant legal changes. Seeing people playing poker on the bus, in the halls at work, at the bar, or anywhere that people congregate – and seeing all of those people playing online poker for real money on their phones – will change public perception.

What direction the public perception goes and how the legal aspects work out will have a huge effect on the future of our freedom to play our favorite game. I think Michael Mizrachi‘s trip to the WSOP final table was talked about a lot more at the tables, but Rush Poker Mobile will have a bigger splash in the long-run.

Brett Collson: WSOP Ladies Event

When I first saw Shaun Deeb seated wearing lipstick, makeup, and a cowboy hat at the WSOP Ladies Event, I knew the poker world was about to erupt. Deeb and more than a dozen male players crashed what was supposed to be an enjoyable tournament for female poker players. Instead, it turned into a media circus.

Some of the men claimed they were taking a “gender equality” stance by playing in the $1,000 event; others had lost prop bets. Regardless, all of the women were upset by it, as evident by the standing ovation that occurred each time a male player was eliminated. The unfortunate episode also fueled one of the biggest feuds of the year between Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu, which is another of the most memorable stories of 2010.

Bernard Lee: Michael Mizrachi

For me, it would be Michael Mizrachi. At the beginning of 2010, not many people put Michael Mizrachi in the forefront of poker, but as he arrived at the WSOP, he definitely wanted to make his mark. Mizrachi came out of the gates winning the $50,000 Player’s Championship. In addition to that, he made two other final tables and, of course, who could forget him almost winning the improbable double-double of the $10,000 Main Event as well? Michael Mizrachi had a phenomenal year and has put himself back in the forefront of the world of poker.

Sean Gibson: Michael Mizrachi

For me, the biggest news story of 2010 was the resurrection of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s poker career. Count me in as one of the guys who wrote him off for good, especially when all of the financial trouble started cropping up. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s one of the world’s best players; his run to the November Nine was every bit as magical as Phil Ivey‘s in 2009. Mizrachi is a player we can respect for his past accomplishments and track as one of the big names in the poker industry.

Earl Burton: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill and Jonathan Duhamel

As far as the biggest stories of the year in poker, I am torn between two. The four-year-long battle to overturn the UIGEA, which heated up even more over the past 12 months, seemed to get the hopes up of many of us in the poker community. I was always pessimistic about the passage of any legislation that would allow Americans to play poker online and, in the end, my pessimism proved to be correct.

The second story is Jonathan Duhamel’s victory in the WSOP Main Event. He became the first ever Canadian World Champion, capturing the attention of his country and the world. He was even nominated for Canadian Athlete of the Year alongside such big names as Sidney Crosby and Joey Votto. When you think of players from Canada who came before Duhamel, such as Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith, for him to become the first Canadian champion of the Main Event was a truly significant feat.

Top Poker News Story of 2010

We’re nearing the end of the 2010 calendar year and, as such, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past 365 days. There were plenty of headlines in 2010, but which one stole the show for our esteemed panel of writers? Poker News Daily asked our staff which poker headline of 2010 stood out.

Dan Cypra: Splintering of Online Poker

2010 saw the continued splintering of the online poker market worldwide. France and Italy now have their very own online poker fiefdoms, while legislation in New Jersey to create the very first intrastate internet gambling framework in the United States is gaining steam. In fact, the measure will be one of the first topics that the New Jersey Assembly tackles in the New Year.

Whether the division of the online poker market is detrimental to the player experience remains to be seen. Many of the FR and IT sites tracked by PokerScout.com hold strong in the top 20 worldwide in terms of cash game volume, but players cannot compete as part of the worldwide pool. Expect this trend to continue in 2011 and beyond, especially in the United States, where a state-by-state legalization of internet gambling appears to be in the cards.

Annie Duke: Year of the Woman

I think the biggest news story of 2010 is the breakout of women in poker, and that is not just because I am one of them. Vanessa Selbst winning two majors was a huge step forward for women in poker and, of course, an incredible accomplishment for her. Leading into that, Liv Boeree’s stellar performance in San Remo was a breakout for her and for women in poker. I guess my win has to get a mention here, too. Women have had a hard time getting true traction in this game and 2010 put an exclamation point on the quality of the women who play.

Linda Johnson: Washington Online Poker Law Upheld

I think the biggest poker news story involved the Washington State courts upholding the 2006 state law saying that playing online poker is a Class C felony, a crime on the same level as child molestation. This prompted Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars to pull out of that market. What a travesty it is for people in that state, many of whom will have to relocate. I think it is also very hypocritical of the government; after all, Washington State residents still can buy lottery tickets online.

Lee Jones: Year of the Near Miss

2010 will be remembered as the “Year of the Near Miss”. We will probably never know how close we got to overt legalization of online poker in the United States towards the end of 2010. Harry Reid tried every possible maneuver to get his bill passed that would have legalized and regulated online poker in the USA. Had it not been for Jon Kyl, the bill almost certainly would have passed and been signed by President Obama.

Despite poker pros’ concerns about the 15-month blackout prior to actual regulated play, I believe that legalization would have (and will eventually) produce a second renaissance of poker that will completely overshadow 2003, the year of Chris Moneymaker and the WPT. It will only be in the light of that second renaissance that we realize how unfortunate the “Near Miss” of 2010 was.

John “JimmyLegs” Wray: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill

Certainly the biggest almost-story was the Harry Reid online poker bill. But it looks like regulated online poker in the States will have to wait. Maybe it’ll be the biggest news story of 2011? Fingers crossed!

Chris “Fox” Wallace: Full Tilt Rush Poker Mobile

I think we will eventually realize that Rush Poker Mobile is the biggest poker news story of 2010. It might not be the biggest story right now, but it will probably bring about some significant legal changes. Seeing people playing poker on the bus, in the halls at work, at the bar, or anywhere that people congregate – and seeing all of those people playing online poker for real money on their phones – will change public perception.

What direction the public perception goes and how the legal aspects work out will have a huge effect on the future of our freedom to play our favorite game. I think Michael Mizrachi‘s trip to the WSOP final table was talked about a lot more at the tables, but Rush Poker Mobile will have a bigger splash in the long-run.

Brett Collson: WSOP Ladies Event

When I first saw Shaun Deeb seated wearing lipstick, makeup, and a cowboy hat at the WSOP Ladies Event, I knew the poker world was about to erupt. Deeb and more than a dozen male players crashed what was supposed to be an enjoyable tournament for female poker players. Instead, it turned into a media circus.

Some of the men claimed they were taking a “gender equality” stance by playing in the $1,000 event; others had lost prop bets. Regardless, all of the women were upset by it, as evident by the standing ovation that occurred each time a male player was eliminated. The unfortunate episode also fueled one of the biggest feuds of the year between Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu, which is another of the most memorable stories of 2010.

Bernard Lee: Michael Mizrachi

For me, it would be Michael Mizrachi. At the beginning of 2010, not many people put Michael Mizrachi in the forefront of poker, but as he arrived at the WSOP, he definitely wanted to make his mark. Mizrachi came out of the gates winning the $50,000 Player’s Championship. In addition to that, he made two other final tables and, of course, who could forget him almost winning the improbable double-double of the $10,000 Main Event as well? Michael Mizrachi had a phenomenal year and has put himself back in the forefront of the world of poker.

Sean Gibson: Michael Mizrachi

For me, the biggest news story of 2010 was the resurrection of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s poker career. Count me in as one of the guys who wrote him off for good, especially when all of the financial trouble started cropping up. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s one of the world’s best players; his run to the November Nine was every bit as magical as Phil Ivey‘s in 2009. Mizrachi is a player we can respect for his past accomplishments and track as one of the big names in the poker industry.

Earl Burton: Harry Reid Online Poker Bill and Jonathan Duhamel

As far as the biggest stories of the year in poker, I am torn between two. The four-year-long battle to overturn the UIGEA, which heated up even more over the past 12 months, seemed to get the hopes up of many of us in the poker community. I was always pessimistic about the passage of any legislation that would allow Americans to play poker online and, in the end, my pessimism proved to be correct.

The second story is Jonathan Duhamel’s victory in the WSOP Main Event. He became the first ever Canadian World Champion, capturing the attention of his country and the world. He was even nominated for Canadian Athlete of the Year alongside such big names as Sidney Crosby and Joey Votto. When you think of players from Canada who came before Duhamel, such as Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith, for him to become the first Canadian champion of the Main Event was a truly significant feat.

2011 World Series of Poker Begins May 31st

According to a press release sent on Wednesday afternoon, the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will begin on May 31st, one day after the Memorial Day holiday in the United States, and run for 50 days. The final table of the Main Event will be determined on July 19th, at which point the $10,000 buy-in tournament will once again be paused until November.

Despite constant rumors to the contrary, the 2011 WSOP will be held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. If you don’t believe me, I’ll go ahead and quote the press release for you: “The event, as has been its norm since 2005, will continue to be held in the Convention Center of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.” Caesars Entertainment has been rumored to be shopping the Rio, located on Flamingo Boulevard off the famed Las Vegas Strip, but so far no deals have come to fruition.

The only tournament whose dates were laid out this week was the Main Event, which will begin on July 7th and include four starting days. In 2010, Jonathan Duhamel became its first Canadian Main Event champ ever after defeating John Racener heads-up. Three-handed, Duhamel was gifted 80% of the chips in play after Joseph Cheong 6bet all-in before the flop with A-7 when Duhamel held pocket queens. The pocket pair held, Duhamel doubled up, and Cheong was ousted several hands later.

The dates for the preliminary events have not yet been announced, but a full schedule will likely come to life in January. The 2010 version played out at the Rio between May 28th and July 17th, with heads-up play in the Main Event beginning on November 8th. The slate contained 57 tournaments including an all-new $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship won by Full Tilt Poker pro Michael Mizrachi.

Other 2010 bracelet winners included British pro Praz Bansi, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Tex Barch, Dutch Boyd, Gavin Smith, WSOP Player of the Year Frank Kassela, and Phil Ivey, who collected bracelet number eight. Ivey took down a $3,000 buy-in HORSE event for $329,000, outlasting a final table that included math whiz Bill Chen, John Juanda, Jeffrey Lisandro, David Baker, and PokerStars pro Chad Brown.

One of the highlights from last year for Poker News Daily was following the high-stakes bracelet bets of Tom Dwan, who nearly won a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, but fell heads-up to Australian Simon Watt. Dwan reportedly had millions of dollars in bracelet bets on the line, but ultimately came up short. Consequently, Mike Matusow told Watt following his win, “Thank you for saving us all millions of dollars! How does it feel to be every high-stakes gambler’s hero? They’re gonna, like, put you on the wall in Bobby’s Room.” Dwan took home $381,000.

In an important change from 2010, the 2011 WSOP will feature “hard stop times.” After 10 levels of play on any given day, the action will automatically come to a halt. The same WSOP press release explained that the number of players remaining in the tournament when 10 levels were completed was irrelevant: “Once 10 levels have been completed, remaining players will have their chips bagged and tagged and return the next day to continue on in the tournament. Regardless of how many players remain in a tournament, hard stop times will be enforced after 10 levels of play.”

We’ll have the latest WSOP headlines for you right here on Poker News Daily.

jungleman12 Derails Ziigmund

Cates logged on to Full Tilt and in just 76 hands of $300/$600 Pot-Limit Omaha managed to win $97k from the illustrious Finn.

Apparently it wasn’t enough to satisfy Cates as he played a very small session against SOLID_FUNDS in $500/$1,000 Cap PLO and managed to drag another $39k.

In total Cates won $137k last night, which strengthens his position as the overall winner of 2010 with $4.8 million.

The next closest player is skjervoy with $3.7 million then durrrr with $3.5 million and Phil Ivey with $3 million.

Meanwhile Ziigmund is currently the second biggest loser of 2010 with $1.9 million donated to opponents on Full Tilt. Only Brian Townsend has lost more. The former CardRunners instructor is down $2.5 million this year, plus another $1.5 million on his sbrugby account.

Some of the other big winners from last night included dutch_maniak ($102k), Gus Hansen ($59k) and takechip ($41k).

SOLID_FUNDS (-$161k), Ziigmund (-$115k) and tyme2gamb0l111 (-$52k) all had less than ideal sessions last night.

To learn more about the high stakes games last night check our online poker stats section.

The Online Railbird: Antonius & Ziigmund Back on Track, Cates Flounders

SuperStars Showdown: Haxton Bests Isildur1

It took a little more than four hours for Haxton and Isildur1 to burn through 2,500 hands with a very high-profile rail that included Kevin “ImaLucSac” MacPhee, Chad “lilholdem954” Batista and Daniel Negreanu taking in the action.

Haxton and Isildur1 started the session by buying in for $10,000 at four $50/$100 tables. The rules of the challenge stated that whoever was ahead by 2,500 hands or won $150,000 would be crowned the champion.

Isildur1 drew first blood in the event by winning an early $17,000 pot when he rivered a flush with K♣ T♣.

The lead didn’t last and after about one hour of play Haxton laid a sick beat on Isildur1 with Q-J beating QQ.

The suckout seemed to ignite Haxton’s game and by the 820th hand he had built a lead of $16,500.

It didn’t last, however, as Isildur1 rivered a flush with 7♦ 6♦ and raked in a $34k pot. After winning a series of smaller hands Isildur1 was suddenly the one in charge but that wouldn't last either.

Around the 1,000-hand mark Isildur1 was leading by $31,099 and Haxton started to make a serious comeback.

First Haxton scooped a large pot by making it to showdown against Isildur1 with ace-high but a better kicker.

Shortly after the ace-high hand, Haxton hit a flush against Isildur1 and then had the fortune of getting Isildur1 to shove a flopped pair of threes into his aces up.

With 471 hands to go Isildur1 started to take a few more risks and paid the price in the last 100 hands when Haxton won a session-defining $44k pot.

In the hand both players flopped a pair of nines but Haxton eventually secured the pot by having a superior kicker.

When the 2,500th hand was finally played, Haxton found himself up $41,701 and therefore the winner of the first SuperStar Showdown.

Although another opponent has yet be picked, PokerStars representatives did say there will be another SuperStar Showdown very shortly, perhaps at the PCA in the Bahamas.

In other high stakes news Patrik Antonius was the biggest winner on Full Tilt taking down $223k while fellow Team Full Tilt Pro Phil Ivey won $83k. Gus Hansen was also in the mix with a $29k victory.

On the losing side were Dan “jungleman12” Cates who posted a rare $267k loss, IHateJuice who dropped $84k onto the tables and psychobenny who donated $$55k.

For more information on the SuperStar Showdown check our online poker stats section.

The Online Railbird: Ashton Griffin Top Dog with $111,723 During Midweek Action

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Final Table to Air Live on ESPN

Poker News Daily has learned that the upcoming PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) final table in January will air live on the ESPN family of networks.

The PCA is set to begin its 48-tournament schedule on January 6th at the Atlantis Hotel and Resort in the Bahamas, with the $10,000 Main Event set to begin on January 8th. As a part of the festivities, ESPN will cover the final table of the PCA Main Event in its entirety over its family of networks. At the moment, ESPN is dedicating a minimum of five hours of programming time on ESPN3.com and ESPN2.

At 5:00pm ET on Saturday, January 15th, ESPN3.com will open up its coverage of the final table. According to Kimberly Jessup, a spokesperson for ESPN Communications, “The broadcasts on our outlets will be delayed for an hour. By doing this, we will be able to provide hole card camera viewpoints for our audience, enhancing the poker experience.” At 10:00pm, the web broadcast will continue, but ESPN2 will join in to provide a simulcast.

At this moment, it is unknown who will be the commentators for the tournament. For previous ESPN poker broadcasts, Lon McEachern and Norman Chad have provided play-by-play and color. McEachern and Chad have been the voices of the World Series of Poker since 2003.

“For the first time, viewers at home will see a poker telecast from start to finish, with all of the strategy of world-class poker players playing in real-time and completely unedited,” Matt Volk, the ESPN’s Manager of Programming and Acquisitions, stated during the announcement.

PokerStars.net North America Regional Marketing Director, Joe Versaci, is also looking forward to a groundbreaking moment in poker. “This is one of the most exciting announcements ever in televised poker,” Versaci said. “This is the first time people watching online or on TV will be able to see everything that happens at a poker table. So much happens in poker that never makes it to the final television edit, but this will show exactly how top-level players go about winning a massive tournament. There’s so much money on the line… it’s going to be gripping.”

With this broadcast of the PCA, ESPN’s production will become only the second live tournament final table to be broadcast on television in the United States. Although ESPN provided delayed coverage of the final table of the 2010 WSOP Main Event final table through ESPN3.com, it has not attempted to show a tournament in almost real-time.

For the first broadcast of a live poker tournament’s final table, we have to go back to 2004. Fox Sports Net featured live coverage of “Championship Poker at Turning Stone,” which saw such players like John Juanda, Phil Ivey, Paul Phillips, Robert Williamson III, Randy Jensen, and a then-unknown John D’Agostino on the felt. Fox Sports Net used a special scanner to show viewers the hole cards on a five-second delay.

Two other made-for-television events have also been featured live on Fox Sports Net. In 2005, the Full Tilt Poker Invitational was played out live from Monaco and the Full Tilt Poker Championship was shown live from the Wynn in Las Vegas. These tournaments, however, were invitational events, not an open multi-player tournament like the Turning Stone or PCA events.

Howard Lederer Busts on Poker After Dark: Charity in Mind

This week, players with a love for charity are being featured on the NBC series “Poker After Dark.” Dubbed “Charity in Mind,” the six-man sit and go’s opening session on Monday featured plenty of discussion centered on fundraising. The table was stacked with 10 World Series of Poker bracelets and each player was given 20,000 in chips.

Full Tilt Poker pro Howard Lederer was the first casualty of the week. Jennifer Harman raised to 500 before the flop with A-4 of spades and Lederer 3bet to 1,800 with A-K, including the king of clubs. Former MIT Blackjack Team member Andy Bloch made it 5,600 with pocket kings and Harman got out of the way.

Lederer tanked before moving all-in and Bloch thought for about three minutes before making the call with cowboys. The table was surprised that it had taken Bloch that long to call with the premium pocket pair and the flop came 4-4-8 with two clubs, no help to Lederer. A third club on the turn gave “The Professor” a flush draw, but a red five on the river sealed his exit from the $20,000 buy-in sit and go.

Bloch continued to roll. After Harman raised before the flop to 850 with J-5 of clubs, Bloch came along with 7-6 and the flop and came 7-Q-9. Harman led out for 1,250 with air and Bloch called with a pair of sevens to see a deuce on the turn. Both players knocked the table and the river was a nine. Once again, the action went check-check and Bloch scooped the 4,200-chip pot. He was at 45,000, or more than double the starting stack.

Harman bleeding chips was a theme throughout Monday’s kickoff episode. She raised to 800 with pocket tens and Chris Ferguson made the call with pocket aces. The flop came A-2-4, giving Ferguson top set, and “Jesus” checked. Harman put in a continuation bet of 1,100 and Ferguson obliged. Both players checked a deuce on the turn and the river was a 10. Ferguson once again checked, Harman bet 2,600 with a boat, and Ferguson check-raised to a healthy 7,000 with a higher full house. Harman made the call, shipping the pot worth 17,950 to Ferguson in a cooler.

In the last major pot of the night, UB.com pro Annie Duke, whose main charitable work involves Ante Up for Africa, raised to 1,050 before the flop with A-3 and Ferguson made the call with A-Q. The action flop came A-A-7, giving both players trips, but Ferguson held the lead with a queen kicker. Ferguson checked, Duke bet 1,325, and Ferguson came over the top to 3,500. Duke called and the turn was a jack.

Ferguson led out for 6,000 when the hook hit and Duke came along to a three on the river, giving Duke a full house. Now behind in the hand after the three-outer, Ferguson bet 10,575 and Duke called all-in for her “Poker After Dark” tournament life. She raked in a pot worth over 42,000 and the credits rolled for the night. Also at the table, but quiet during Monday’s episode, was Phil Gordon.

“Charity in Mind” marks the final new “Poker After Dark” week of 2010. Catch one-hour episodes all this week at 2:05am ET on NBC. Leeann Tweeden serves as the host of the poker franchise, while Ali Nejad provides commentary.

In the new year, John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Phil Galfond, Huck Seed, Tom Dwan, and Phil Ivey will participate in a week-long $100,000 sit and go starting on January 3rd. Check your local listings for more information.

theASHMAN103 Takes $104k

Griffin, who played over 428 hands of $50/$100 PLO last night, has been known to play slightly smaller stakes than players like Ziigmund and Patrik Antonius but has still amassed $1.4 million in winnings this year.

Last night Griffin’s biggest win came in a $50/$100 Six-Max PLO game against Niki Jedlicka. No one else joined the game and Griffin and Jedlicka played heads-up for 75 hands. Griffin was the definitive winner taking down $86k from the Austrian.

Griffin would go on to win some smaller sessions against Ziigmund to bring his win total up to $104k on the day.

Right behind Griffin in profits was luckexpress10, who earned $103k, mostly from playing Erik “DIN_FRU” Sagstrom at $500/$1,000 Cap PLO.

Noted Full Tilt star Phil Ivey was third in earnings, taking down $88k in $3k/$6k Limit Hold’em against IHateJuice.

The aforementioned Erik Sagstrom was the evening’s biggest loser, pouring $100k from his account onto the tables. Also in the losing column were IHateJuice (-$88k), Niki Jedlicka (-$86k), 4rebmun (-$33k) and Ziigmund (-$31k).

The durrrr Challenge 2 is still MIA, although Dan “jungleman12” Cates played several hands against Patirk Antonius last night.

For more information about the high stakes online action last night be sure to check out our online poker stats section.

Phil Ivey challenges “IHateJuice” into $3000/$6000 Limit Hold’em action

The big $3000/$6000 Limit Hold’em tables are back on Full Tilt. Now there’s some 6-handed and heads up tables, and last night Phil Ivey challenged the German player “IHateJuice” into some heads up action.

There might be some really wild action coming up as we already saw the heads up between “IHateJuice” and Phil Ivey.

“IHateJuice” started the heads up quite weakly and was $200K down really fast. He made a nice comeback in the end and Ivey eventually won only $40K.

Hopefully there’s some good action coming up soon!

Source: Pokerista.net

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Phil Ivey challenges “IHateJuice” into $3000/$6000 Limit Hold’em action

No Dwan, Ivey or Antonius on High Stakes Poker Season 7?

High Stakes Poker didn’t get too many praises in last season when A.J. Benza was replaced by Kara Scott. The upcoming season doesn’t look that promising either.

Full Tilt Poker might forbid their players to participate on the show. The reason for the ban is that the show is sponsored by PokerStars, which is the biggest rival to FTP.

Barry Greenstein writes about it on 2+2 forums:

“I talked to Howard Lederer and Mori.

However, Full Tilt has two major concerns. First is they don’t like their players playing when PokerStars is the sponsor of the show. (I assume Full Tilt can buy ad time but I didn’t check this out with GSN or PokerStars.) Secondly, they were unhappy that PokerStars bought the HSP archives.

In the early seasons of HSP, the players didn’t wear logos, so FTP is concerned that viewers will be able to go to pokerstars.tv and see the FTP players without logos and be confused by their affiliation,” Greenstein writes.

Greenstein doesn’t like the current policy, because everyone would like to see Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey and Tom “durrrr” Dwan on the show.

“Most of us would like to see the three top FTP cash game players on the show along with some of the other characters we have had in previous seasons. If they don’t play, they’ll be replaced by some new young stars of the game, some affiliated and some not,” Greenstein concludes his post.

Only time will tell what happens. Let’s hope that the policy will change, so HSP would get a season waht the fans deserve.

Source: Pokerista.net

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

No Dwan, Ivey or Antonius on High Stakes Poker Season 7?

December 19th – Weekly Update

Welcome back to the Poker News Daily Weekly update where we highlight the biggest stories in the world of poker. I’m your host, Sean Gibson, and let’s get to the news.

Well, It’s shaping up to be an interesting last few days of the current Congressional session for members of the online poker community. On Tuesday, Politico published an article revealing that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was attempting to add a bill legalizing online poker to the measure extending tax cuts.

Politico confirmed Reid’s desires with Senator Orrin Hatch. Senator Jon Kyl, one of the masterminds of the original UIGEA, would not allow the plan to come to fruition. Kyl told Politico,

“[There is] zero chance – no chance whatsoever that would be part of the tax deal. I don’t think it would be the right thing to do.”

We’ll keep you posted on this constantly changing story.

Nearly leading the tournament wire-to-wire, Antonio Esfandiari took down the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour. Esfandiari, a Victory Poker pro, banked eight hundred seventy thousand dollars for his efforts. The tournament can be seen as part of Season Nine of the WPT on Fox Sports Net next year.

Esfandiari edged out fellow Victory Poker pro Andrew Robl heads-up when “The Magician’s” King Jack held against Robl’s Queen Ten on the final hand. Here’s how the final group of six cashed out in the ten thousand dollar buy-in tournament:

1. Antonio Esfandiari – $870,124
2. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – $549,003
3. Vanessa Rousso – $358,964
4. John Racener – $232,271
5. Kirk Morrison – $168,924
6. Ted Lawson – $126,693

Earlier this week, PokerStars took the unexpected step of signing Isildur1. The Swede gained fame by multi-tabling against the world’s best players including Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and Tom Dwan. The signing is atypical for PokerStars, which usually aims to ink established pros who have had a ton of television face time. This time around, they’ve gone with a player without an identity who has yet to play on TV.

As part of his sponsorship deal, Isildur1 will be taking part in high-stakes heads-up SuperStar Showdown matches exclusively played at PokerStars. These matches are feature a format of twenty five hundred hands at stakes no lower than fifty, one hundred. The official word from PokerStars is that these SuperStar Showdown matches will be played either as No Limit Hold’em or Pot Limit Omaha.

Poker News Daily polled the online poker industry to see what reaction several pros had to Isildur1’s signing. CardRunners founder Taylor Caby had this to say:

“I’m definitely excited to see Isildur1 back in the spotlight. As a poker fan, I’ve enjoyed watching him play and I’ll be on the rail when he starts playing again.”

Jay Rosenkrantz, founder of DeucesCracked said:

“Seems like a good move for PokerStars, creating a bit of a distraction too amidst all these legislative happenings. Watching Isildur1 play nosebleeds was better entertainment than anything on television and if they can create that kind of spectacle again, I’m sure it will be a good thing for their business and for poker.”

Unleashed Poker is handing out presents to all of its players this holiday season. Players on the site will have the opportunity to earn numerous prizes as part of Unleashed Poker’s Christmas Giveaways. From now until December Twenty-First, players can pick up exclusive Unleashed Poker swag along with high-end electronics. For those partial to Apple products, iPod Shuffles, iPod Touches, and iPads will be given away.

Players on the virtual felts at Unleashed Poker will earn Frequent Player Points, which can be used for the Christmas Giveaway prizes. Unleashed Poker will give out one FPP for each dollar raked at the tables and every prize has an associated FPP level. Unleashed Poker makes its home on the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network.

Actress Cheryl Hines of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and former World Series of Poker Main Event champ Joe Cada will host the third annual All In For Cerebral Palsy celebrity charity poker tournament at the Venetian’s poker room on Saturday. Proceeds from the event will benefit the One Step Closer Foundation, a non-profit organization whose main goal is to ease the lives of those who suffer from cerebral palsy through financial freedom and social acceptance.

The No Limit Hold’em charity tournament will have a five hundred forty dollar buy-in with unlimited two hundred dollar rebuys for ninety minutes. Half of the prize pool will go for the tournament’s payouts, with the other half going to the foundation. There will also be sports and Hollywood memorabilia available through auctions and an after-party with free drinks courtesy of the One Step Closer Foundation. Players can register at the Venetian Poker Room cage until the end of the rebuy period.

Finally, Full Tilt Poker released a software update on Monday that addressed many of its customers’ requests. Among the new features to the software were an “Auto Add-On” button for rebuys and a “Quick Fold to Any Bet” option for Rush Poker players.

The “Auto Add-On” button was probably the most asked-for feature that Full Tilt’s software was missing up until this latest upgrade. After PokerStars inserted a clickable “Auto Add-On” box for its rebuy tournaments in June of last year, Full Tilt players requested the same. It took well over a year, but the site came through for its multi-tablers who were frustrated about forgetting to add on after the rebuy hour. Full Tilt happily accepts players from the United States.

Well, that does it for a very busy and exciting week in the world of poker. Be sure to stay tuned in to Poker News Daily for the absolute latest in poker news and be sure to follow us at twitter dot com slash poker news daily. I’m Sean Gibson, thanking you for watching and wishing you a sick run this weekend at the tables!

Isildur1 Drops $300k to Galfond

Isildur1, who some claim is Swede Viktor Blom, lost the majority of his stack playing $100/$200 PLO against savvy vet Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond.

Isildur1 is widely considered to be a better No-Limit Hold’em player so his losses in PLO were not a complete surprise.

Swings of this nature are no stranger to Isildur1. Last year Isildur1 went on the mother of all heaters spinning his Full Tilt account up to over $4 million before losing it all and more.

Over on Full Tilt Poker Patrik Antonious was the ultimate winner over a rather slow day. He picked up $147k in the $200/$400 Six-Max PLO games.

Some of the other big winners included new account KobeYard85 with $140k, Limit specialist O Fortuna PLS with $115k, harrington25 with $113k and Gus Hansen with $104k.

Isildur1 was the biggest loser on any site but upstart bemyguestbud saw his hot streak on Full Tilt come to an end losing $274k.

Other notable losers included Phil Ivey, who’s been on a decidedly un-Phil Ivey like downswing lately. Ivey lost a total of $117k over 169 hands.

Also in the losing column were DrugsOrMe who dropped $88k and Andrew Feldman who lost $87k.

For more information about the high stakes action last night, check out our online poker stats section.

Poker Industry Buzzing About Isildur1 Signing with PokerStars

Yesterday, PokerStars took the unexpected step of signing the online enigma Isildur1.  The Swede gained fame by multi-tabling against the world’s best players including Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan.

The signing is atypical for PokerStars, which usually aims to ink established pros who have had a ton of television face time.  This time around, they’ve gone with a player without an identity who has yet to play on television.

As part of his sponsorship deal, Isildur1 will be taking part in high-stakes heads-up SuperStar Showdown matches exclusively played at PokerStars.  These matches are feature a format of 2,500 hands at stakes no lower than $50/$100.  The official word from PokerStars is that these SuperStar Showdown matches will be played either as No Limit Hold’em or Pot Limit Omaha.

Poker News Daily polled a number of big names in the world of poker and asked for their impressions of the Isildur1 signing.

Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby, Founder of CardRunners: “I’m definitely excited to see Isildur1 back in the spotlight. As a poker fan, I’ve enjoyed watching him play and I’ll be on the rail when he starts playing again.”

Brian “BW07507” Wilbur, instructor at LeggoPoker: “I am really glad to see that Isildur1 will be playing again. I think he is great for poker and look forward to watch some of his matches with other high-stakes PokerStars players.”

“Verneer,” coach at CardRunners: “I am surprised to hear that Isildur1 signed with PokerStars since most of the elite heads-up players are all on Full Tilt.  That said, I’m excited that we’ll be seeing more of the biggest high-stakes game catalyst online on a regular basis.”

Dusty “Leatherass9” Schmidt, member of Team PokerStars Pro Online: “It looks like the high-stakes action will be heating up on PokerStars! I can’t wait to sweat what will surely be some epic high-stakes matches.”

Jay Rosenkrantz, founder of DeucesCracked: “Seems like a good move for PokerStars, creating a bit of a distraction too amidst all these legislative happenings.  Watching Isildur1 play nosebleeds was better entertainment than anything on television and if they can create that kind of spectacle again, I’m sure it will be a good thing for their business and for poker.  The SuperStar Showdown matches seem really gimmicky.  What grabbed people’s attention was the mass multi-tabling against Dwan, Ivey, Antonius, and the like, so they need to deliver something on that level.  Otherwise, it’s just another new addition to Stars’ ever-growing young squad of pros.”

John “JimmyLegs” Wray, CardRunners coach: “It seems odd that they’d want him representing PokerStars considering their squeaky clean image and the ongoing battle to convince the world that poker is a legitimate game of skill.  As fun as he is to watch, Isildur1 comes across as a turbo-bonkers degenerate gambler.”

Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, high-stakes tournament pro: “Reading his signing in the headlines caught me by surprise because we are so used to seeing people get signed after making their name and face known on television.  With that said, the mystery behind Isildur1 and his uniqueness is a great thing to market and will create a great buzz for online poker.”

The SuperStar Showdown promotion page is up on the PokerStars website and states that the winner is the one who shows a profit after 2,500 hands or wins all of their opponent’s match bankroll.  Anyone can challenge Isildur1 to a match, assuming they have the bankroll, by sending in an e-mail.  The matches will be seen inside the cash game lobby under “Hold’em,” “No Limit/Pot Limit,” and “Showdown.”

The first match Isildur1 will have will take place on December 19th at 6:00pm ET against a challenger that has yet to be announced.  According to PokerTableRatings.com, which tracks No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha games, Isildur1 is down $2.59 million since the site began following him.  He was also the first person ever to lose a seven-figure pot, but also won a $1.1 million pot against Ivey just two days later.

Although he is down over $2.59 million lifetime, he is up $2.4 million playing No Limit Hold’em cash games.  Isildur1’s identity remains confidential, with many believing that his true identity is Viktor Blom.  His last session of note was back on October 6th, when he lost about $50,000.

PokerStars Signs Isildur1

In a surprising move, the terror of the nosebleed stakes, Isildur1, has signed a sponsorship deal to become the latest member of the Team PokerStars Pro stable.

Although he still has not, as of yet, announced his name or released any photos, Isildur1 becomes the top online cash game player that the largest site in the industry has been able to snare. The announcement today also indicates what the future will hold for the Swedish high roller.

“I chose to join PokerStars because it’s the biggest site and it will be an exciting challenge,” Isildur1 stated during the announcement. “It means a great deal to be playing on a team alongside players such as Daniel Negreanu, Dario Minieri, and Johnny Lodden.”

2011 should bring Isildur1 to the live felt under the sponsorship from PokerStars, something that he admits he is preparing himself for. “My goals now are to improve my live game for some upcoming events,” Isildur1 continued in the PokerStars statement. “(I will) continue to focus on Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em, but also try to develop my Pot Limit Omaha game.”

The news of the signing of Isildur1 to a sponsorship deal excited one of the leaders of Team PokerStars Pro, Negreanu. “It’s not every day that a player like Isildur1 comes along,” Negreanu stated during the announcement. “If you look up the definition of the term ‘phenom,’ you’ll see a picture of his face!”

Negreanu observed that, when the Swedish poker pro takes to the virtual felt, it’s an iconic moment in the poker community. “When he is playing, the poker world takes notice,” the Canadian poker pro explained. “Hate to overuse the poker term ‘sick,’ but Isildur1’s No Limit Hold’em game is just that – sick! Few people step up to the plate against him, but the ones who have universally respect his raw talent.”

To celebrate the arrival of the Swedish pro, PokerStars has already built a promotion around him that is sure to draw plenty of action. The Superstar Showdown will allow players to battle Isildur1. At stakes no lower than $50/$100, Isildur1 will take on all comers for a 2,500-hand heads-up match either in No Limit Hold’em or Pot Limit Omaha. The winner of the Superstar Showdown will be the player who shows a profit for the match after the requisite 2,500 hands or takes the other player’s bankroll.

PokerStars is already fielding plenty of challengers for Isildur1 through a special e-mail that has been established. This e-mail address, showdown@pokerstars.com, is reserved for those who have the bankroll to take on the Swedish wunderkind. PokerStars states in the promotion, “Only serious applicants will get a response.”

For those with lesser bankrolls, PokerStars is also offering a chance to earn your way into a heads-up match against Isildur1. SuperStar Showdown qualifiers will start on December 13th and run through April 3rd. These qualifiers will feed players into finals that will be played on February 13th and April 10th. The winners of these two finals will take a $15,000 bankroll heads-up against Isildur1 and, if the winner is able to take the Swedish pro’s bankroll in the heads-up match, they’ll earn a $10,000 bonus. Be warned, however, that Isildur1 has the same motivation to break the winner. If he does, then he receives the $10,000 bonus.

Perhaps because of the mystery surrounding his identity – many have assumed he is noted pro Viktor Blom, among other players – the poker world stops when Isildur1 brings his bankroll to the tables. Over the past year, Isildur1’s bankroll has been in excess of $5.3 million at its peak according to PokerTableRatings.com and he has battled the likes of Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan at previously unimaginable stakes.

Isildur1 has been involved in all 10 of the largest pots in online poker history according to PokerTableRatings.com and also has the distinction of losing the first ever pot in excess of $1 million. Even with these swings, Isildur1 continues to battle against the best in the game. Visit PokerStars today.

High-Stakes Phenom Isildur1 Signs With PokerStars

The online high-stakes star, who took the poker world by storm last fall playing seven of the ten largest pots in online poker history with the likes of Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and Patrik Antonius, including the first two worth over one million dollars, is now a Team PokerStars Pro.

While widely rumored to be Viktor Blom, he has still yet to publicly reveal his identity. PokerStars now says he will do so in the very near future.

“I chose to join PokerStars because it's the biggest site and it will be an exciting challenge," Isildur1 said. "It means a great deal to be playing in a team alongside players such as Daniel Negreanu, Dario Minieri and Johnny Lodden.

“My goals now are to improve my live game for some upcoming events, continue to focus on Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em, but also try to develop my Pot-Limit Omaha game.”

In an attempt to prove he is the top heads-up cash game player on the planet, Isildur1 will be playing a series of high stakes heads-up matches on PokerStars.

The SuperStar Showdown format consists of a single session of 2,500 hands at no lower than $50/$100.

The first match will begin at 6 p.m. ET Dec. 19 with the opponent to be named in the coming days.

"It’s not every day that a player like Isildur1 comes along," said fellow Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu. "If you look up the definition of the term ‘phenom’ you'll see a picture of his face.

"When he is playing, the poker world takes notice. Hate to overuse the poker term ‘sick’ but Isildur’s No-Limit Hold'em game is just that – sick!

"Few people step up to the plate against him, but the ones who have, universally have respect for his raw talent.”

Antonio Esfandiari Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic After Day 3

It’s magic! Antonio Esfandiari, known as “The Magician,” leads the way after Day 3 of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Esfandiari was also the chip leader after Day 2 and now stands as the only player above one million in chips. A top prize of $870,000 is on the line in the WPT event, which is being housed at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Fifty-four players remain out of a starting grid of 439 and the entire field is in the money. Ali Eslami was the Bubble Boy on Sunday after being ousted from the Five Diamond in 101st place. Eslami committed his chips in a race with A-K against the pocket tens belonging to Scott Vener. There was very little drama when the board ran out Q-7-4-7-J and Eslami departed the Bellagio empty-handed save three days’ worth of memories. The minimum payout in the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament was just over $12,000.

DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija sent former WPT Championship winner David Chiu to the rail late in the day. Chiu was all-in before the flop with K-Q of hearts and ran into Makhija’s A-K. The flop came king-high, giving both players a pair, but Makhija remained out in front with an ace kicker. No help came on the turn or river for Chiu, who was ousted in 63rd place for $13,000.

Phil Ivey and Jason Mercier, the top two players on ESPN’s poker rankings dubbed “The Nuts,” were eliminated nearly back-to-back on Sunday from the Bellagio. Mercier was sent packing as part of a double elimination with K-8 against pocket fours and Doug Lee’s pocket nines. Lee flopped a set and never looked back, sending two players to the rail to vault up the leaderboard. He ended the day with a stack of 702,000, which is good for second place overall. However, Lee is still 300,000 behind Esfandiari.

Eliminated shortly after the money bubble popped was former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champ John Juanda. The Full Tilt Poker pro was all-in pre-flop with A-K of spades and up against Will Failla’s pocket kings and Freddy Deeb’s pocket queens. Failla’s superior pocket pair held for the win and Juanda banked $12,000 for his 92nd place finish.

Here are the top 10 chip stacks entering Day 3 of the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic:

1. Antonio Esfandiari – 1,082,500
2. Doug Lee – 702,500
3. Vanessa Rousso – 694,000
4. Freddy Deeb – 654,000
5. Nick Phillips – 559,000
6. Jerry Young – 550,000
7. Ray Dehkharghani – 522,000
8. Charles Caris – 512,000
9. Bryn Kenney – 458,000
10. Kianoosh Mohajeri – 452,000

Other top-flight poker pros who remain in the hunt for the WPT title include:

12. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little – 449,000
13. Doyle Brunson – 446,000
14. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 436,500
15. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger – 434,000
20. Eugene Katchalov – 365,000
22. Will Failla – 345,000
26. Marco Traniello – 315,000
31. Amit “amak316” Makhija – 287,000
37. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – 237,000
38. Andy Frankenberger – 233,000
39. David “Bakes” Baker – 225,500
45. Tim “tmay420” West – 113,500
53. Allen Kessler – 90,500
54. Jeff Shulman – 56,500

There are 15 minutes remaining in Level 15, where the blinds are 2,500-5,000 with an ante of 500. For those who have busted out of the WPT contest, the Bellagio will be holding a $5,000 buy-in tournament today at 2:00pm local time in the Fontana Lounge. Registration will remain open until 6:30pm. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.