Poker News

Tiffany Michelle Talks Politics on Fox Business Network

If someone would have asked you who you thought would be a good person to appear on a national news program to discuss politics, we're guessing that UB.com's Tiffany Michelle would have been way down your list.  Sure enough, however, Michelle was Neil Cavuto's guest Tuesday on his Fox Business Network show, "Cavuto," comparing President Barack Obama's persistence with his health care plan to a poker player playing bad cards.

In the five-minute conversation, titled "Obama Making a Bad Bet?" on the Fox Business website, there was no debate on whether the proposed health care reform plan was good; it was simply assumed it was bad and that the majority of Americans are against it.  Cavuto's interview consisted of repeatedly asking Michelle to compare the President's health care efforts to playing poor hands.  For her part, Michelle came off fairly well, indulging Cavuto by using poker metaphor after poker metaphor to describe Obama's health care reform strategy.

Some tidbits:

Neil Cavuto: Taking a look at what the President's doing… a good gambler, I understand, or someone who bets a lot, understands, or thinks, that he or she has a good hand.  Am I right?
Tiffany Michelle: Yeah, generally you have a good hand, or you know if you have a bad hand, how to maneuver with that hand and take advantage of your opponent's weaknesses.

Cavuto: Now, the President, fairly or not Tiffany, is viewed to have a bad hand right now because prior cards he's dealt have turned out to be, you know, threes and fours.  They haven't really worked out.  Yet he continues playing the same hand.  What is the strategy behind that?
Michelle: [Preceding portion of answer snipped] What often happens for some players is you continue to push the issues, you continue to play the bad hands, you continue to get in sticky situations, and what really needs to happen is you need to step away from the table, you need to clear your head.

Tiffany Michelle laid it on thick, inserting poker comparisons at every turn.  Some of her best lines included:

"Here we are, let's say we're deep in the World Series, we're coming close to the bubble, you can taste that final table and the money and it's not looking like it's going to happen."

"Not only did Barack Obama in his first year in office decide to tackle one of the toughest issues in U.S. politics… it would be like me approaching Phil Hellmuth on my first day of my poker game and saying, 'Hey, Phil Hellmuth, you have 11 bracelets.  I want to challenge you heads-up.'"

"Talk about Scott Brown, that was a really bad beat for Barack Obama and the Democrats, who really thought they had a good chip lead there.  You know, they thought they had a lock on this tournament."

Members of the poker community universally panned the interview.  The reactions, however, were split between those who detested the fact that Michelle was chosen as the poker representative and those who simply thought that the interview itself was horrible.

He added, "I thought it was evenly presented, the gambling expert knew as much about gambling as the politics expert new abt politics," as well as, "I think it was more shady that TM passed herself off as a gambling expert with a clue abt politics to promote herself."

"Hollywood" Dave Stann, one of Tiffany Michelle's fellow UB.com pros, was more disgusted with Fox Business, Cavuto, and the interview itself, Tweeting, "WTF FoxNews? Generic gambling terms dissing Obama, then using pro gamblers as pawns 2 back it up? I dodged their invite 2day, thank fuck!"

Summing it up for someone who asked what the interview was all about, Stann tweeted, "fucking Fox presenting right-wing editorial talking points as 'news' then interviewing pros as 'evidence' of Obama ineptitude."

Some of the more entertaining comments on the interview came from the Two Plus Two forums.  Forum poster "TheTruthSpeaks" wrote, "While I was watching it I kept waiting to wake up as this certainly must be a dream or something. I mean surely I didn't really just see Tiffany Michelle on a news channel talking about politics while using horrible poker analogies to do it.  This has got to be the first sign of the Apocalypse."

"Randomness28" may have had two of the best quotes on how ridiculous the interview concept was, first saying, "Funny that the Q is 'How is Obama playing his hand?' .... so they decide to bring in a poker player for analysis. Someone should tell the staff of Cavuto's that 'playing his hand' is just a figure of speech.  Next on Cavuto: 'Are Republicans a move ahead of Democrats in setting up for 2012? We bring in chess GM to discuss this.'"

He later added, "Equivalent of this would be for Fox to pose the Q: How is the Obama administration going to kick off its second term in office? And to bring in a third string kicker of a Junior College to answer the Q."

Judge the Tiffany Michelle Fox Business interview for yourself.

Tiffany Michelle got her start in the poker world in 2006, when she served as an on-air host for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) coverage on Sirius Satellite Radio.  In 2007, she appeared on-camera, hosting various segments and conducting interviews for PokerNews.com.  Michelle officially turned heads the following year when she was the last woman remaining in the WSOP Main Event, eventually bowing out in 17th place and earning $334,534.  She was exposed to a nationwide audience in 2009 when she and fellow poker pro, Maria Ho, competed on the hit CBS show, "The Amazing Race."

Patrik Antonius Dumps $826k

Antonius' session started at $300/$600 Pot-Limit Omaha against Tom "durrrr" Dwan and Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies.

Dwan, who had been at the table for 30 minutes prior to Antonius taking a seat, left just a few hands after Antonius's arrival.

Just 20 minutes later, Dwan's spot at the table was taken by Cole South, setting the cast for the remainder of the session.

Despite his best efforts, and multiple re-loads, Antonius seemed doomed to end up on the short end of the stick, dumping over $800k in just two and a half hours.

Fellow Finn Sahamies took the largest chunk of profit from Antonius, thanks in part to winning the biggest pot of the session – worth just over $281k. In total, Sahamies won just over $436k.

Including another $252k profit mostly from a heads-up session against South and a $14k loss on another table earlier this morning, Sahamies earned a massive $674k for the day, making him the most profitable player on the year with over $1.5 million.

After making over $257k from Antonius and an additional $118k from $100/$200 PLO, it was looking like a big session for South until he sat down at $300/$600 PLO to play Sahamies heads-up again. The $252 loss left him with just over $165k profit on the day.

Dwan, who has been busy playing live poker at the Aussie Millions, added $164k to his comeback by playing a mix of PLO and No-Limit Hold'em. This latest profit leaves Dwan down only $240k on the year.

Below you can see the three largest pots from the day, or you can head to MarketPulse to see the rest.

 

 

 

 

 

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ESPN Inside Deal Airs First Show of 2010

The ESPN poker franchise “Inside Deal” returned on Tuesday with the first episode of 2010. Joining the series, which emanated from a new set, were Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas and 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Joe Cada.

The show began with a discussion of the CardPlayer and Bluff Player of the Year awards for 2009. CardPlayer named UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin as its winner, while Bluff crowned PokerStars’ Jason Mercier. On which publication was more accurate, “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee explained, “Understand that this is not apples to apples. These are two completely different Player of the Year formulas. If you had to look at it, I think CardPlayer has it a little more open for most players.”

Lee noted that poker pro Amnon Filippi bumped him from the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event, while Cada staked co-host Laura Lane into the ladies’ event. Now, Lee and the rest of the poker world have their sights set on the PokerStars-backed North American Poker Tour (NAPT), which resumes on February 20th at the Venetian: “I’ve said from the beginning that being able to qualify online is going to increase registration, prize pools, and interest in any tournaments. So far, over 160 players have qualified for the Venetian event. That’s more than some of the WSOP Circuit Events had all last year.”

Pappas joined “Inside Deal” via phone to catch listeners up on the good word from Capitol Hill. The Executive Director of the one-million member lobbying group explained the biggest challenge of 2010: “There is this continuing cloud of grayness as to what is legal and what is not legal. We have a six-month reprieve to get that Congressional clarification to make sure that it is clear that playing poker over the internet is not an unlawful internet gambling transaction.” The PPA is pushing for a markup of Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267 in February.

Cada, donning a festive array of PokerStars logos, told “Inside Deal” viewers that the pressure for him to perform has ramped up dramatically: “There is definitely more pressure now, especially because of the way I won my final table.” Cada hit the deck hard during the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event and defeated Maryland logger Darvin Moon heads-up.

One of the rumors flying around the poker world during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was that Cada was dating former Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole. The rumors ultimately proved false, but Cada is still trying to wrap his head around his celebrity status: “I am still trying to get used to everything. The rumors are not so great. All my friends back home asked me about it and there are so many rumors going on.”

A comprehensive breakdown of a hand between Moon and Cada heads-up aired featuring Lee and ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman dishing out strategy. The crew then asked Cada to reveal his mentality headed into heads-up play in poker tournaments: “I start off slow when I start heads-up because I don’t know how they play. A lot is their frequency of calls pre-flop and stack sizes. If the stack sizes are deeper, then you’re able to raise more from the button.” Cada was an online heads-up specialist prior to his win last November to become the youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever.

A new segment called “Snap Calls” featured discussion of Huck Seed’s chances to make it eight cashes in a row in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, the number of new girlfriends Cada will have this year (Cada said under 1.5), the future of online poker legalization, whether Bernard Lee would claim a title in 2010, and whether Cada would win another bracelet in this year’s WSOP.

Hoyt Corkins Leads WPT Southern Poker Championship Final Table

DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins will take a commanding chip lead into the final table of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Southern Poker Championship. The tournament marks Corkins’ sixth WPT final table.

Corkins sent Andy Philachack packing on the final table bubble. Philachack pushed his chips in with A-K and found himself ahead of Corkins’ A-Q. However, the flop came A-Q-4, giving Corkins top two pair and leaving Philachack rooting for a king or running cards for a straight. It was not meant to be, as the board ran out 6-10 to set up this afternoon’s televised six-handed final table, which will air as part of Season 8 of the WPT on Fox Sports Net. Philachack took home $67,000 for his seventh place showing at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi, the site of the Southern Poker Championship.

Corkins won the Season 2 Foxwoods World Poker Finals and was also the runner-up in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Three seasons later, Corkins returned to a final table at the Bicycle Casino’s Legends of Poker and, during Season 6, Corkins claimed second in the Gold Strike World Poker Open in Tunica. His most recent final table appearance came in December 2008, when Corkins finished sixth in the prestigious Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

Corkins, decked out in DoylesRoom attire following Tuesday’s play, told WPT Live Updates Hostess Amanda Leatherman, “I want to get first or second because that would give me 4,000 WPT Points. There are only three people in that club – Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Gus Hansen.” Corkins has $2.6 million in career WPT earnings and is one of the most recognizable faces in the game today.

Knocked out in eighth place was top female pro J.J. Liu. In her final hand, Liu moved all-in over the top of a raise by Jonathan Kantor. James Reed called, Kantor re-shoved, and Reed got out of the way. Kantor flipped up pocket aces, while Liu showed pocket eights. The board ran out 9-6-4-K-J and that was all she wrote for Liu, who has two WPT final tables to her credit. Liu finished fourth in the Season 4 Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic and took second in the Season 5 Bay 101 Shooting Star event.

The top 18 players in the WPT tournament finished in the money and the title of Bubble Boy went to Sam Rashid. As has been a theme in the Southern Poker Championship, Rashid ran into a higher pocket pair, as his kings could not draw out on Narinder Khasria’s aces. The board came 9-3-2-Q-10 and the field rejoiced as Rashid exited empty-handed in 19th place.

Players were jolted awake in the early morning hours today by the hotel’s fire alarm after smoke was reported on the ninth floor. Jared Jaffee, who made Wednesday’s final table, commented to the WPT’s B.J. Nemeth, "I knew the world would end if I ever made a final table." The Beau Rivage is the tallest building in Mississippi at 32 floors and features 1,740 guest rooms.

Among those still remaining in the WPT Southern Poker Championship is Mississippi native Tyler “Tydean” Smith. He was the executioner of James Guinther, who was eliminated in 10th place for $25,000. Guinther was all-in pre-flop with pocket tens, but ran into Smith’s pocket jacks. He couldn’t dig himself out of the 4:1 hole and Smith boosted his chip stack to 750,000 as a result. Smith reached the final table of the Southern Poker Championship for the second straight year; he took fifth in 2009.

Heading into today’s finale in Biloxi, Smith sits in second place on the leaderboard with a stack of 1.17 million, trailing Corkins’ pile of 2.07 million:

1. Hoyt Corkins - 2,069,000
2. Tyler Smith - 1,169,000
3. Jerry Vanstrydonck - 1,044,000
4. Jonathan Kantor - 894,000
5. Jared Jaffee - 762,000
6. James Reed -377,000

The six remaining players are competing for a top prize of $739,000, while each is assured an $86,000 payday for making the final table:

1st Place: $739,486
2nd Place: $366,643
3rd Place: $196,829
4th Place: $135,079
5th Place: $106,134
6th Place: $86,837

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.

Corkins Guns for Second WPT Title

Corkins will attempt to join an elite group of players who have won two WPT titles when the final table plays out from the Beau Rivage in Biloxi Mississippi.

 “It is a big deal,” said Corkins. “I want to get first or second because that would give me 4,000 WPT points and only Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen and Phil Ivey are in that club.”

It’s been a long time coming for Corkins, who won his first WPT title at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods in 2003. Since then Corkins has cashed 12 times on the WPT and made four final tables.

To make his way into the WPT record books, Corkins will have to beat a relatively unknown but skilled final table that includes Tyler Smith, Jonathan Kantor, Jerry Vanstrydonck, James Reed and Jared Jaffee.

Both Jaffee and Kantor recorded wins in the Southern Poker Championships’ preliminary events and Smith has over $300,000 in life-time tournament earnings.

A trio of notable poker pros fell just short of the final table. WSOPC winner Andy Philachack came in seventh, bubbling the final table, WPT Ladies Night winner J.J. Liu came in eighth and Jason Mercier horse Dan O'Brien came in ninth place.

The final table begins at 4 p.m. CT. Here are the current chip counts:

Hoyt Corkins – 2.06 million
Tyler Smith – 1.1 million
Jerry Vanstrydonck – 1 million
Jonathan Kantor – 894,000
Jared Jaffee – 762,000
James Reed – 377,000

 

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Aussie Millions: Main Event Day 2

Day 2 of the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event is in the books. The remaining players from all three Day 1 flights met in the same room for the first time today. Play was split between the Crown Poker Room and Studio 3, where film crews have been...

In Mother Russia, Pot Limit Omaha beats you!

Besides WSOP and WSOPE final tablist Ivan Demidov, we don’t hear a great deal about Russian poker players – the game lost its sport status recently and it means that the poker industry in Russia has suffered horribly.

Day 1c complete at Aussie Millions main event

The Aussie Millions $10,500 main event reached the same high numbers it has been hitting since its inception, with a total of 746 players in 2010. That's an increase on last year of 65 players and is just 34 players short of the 2008 record.

Phil Laak launches his own poker room

There has been an ongoing trend when famous poker players have launched their own poker rooms. Doyle Brunson, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott and Tony G are just a few examples who have their own signature sites. Now Phil “Unabomber” Laak is starting up at the Cake Poker Network.

Phil Laak

Actually, having your name on a poker room is considered to be a notable sign that you have done something good in the poker industry. Phil Laak’s Unabomber Poker will open on Cake Poker Network soon. Laak is planning to play and have his new blog maintained on the room.

“By joining a network that focuses on player rewards and accepts players worldwide, we knew we would be starting out on the right track. I love getting involved from the ground up,” Laak stated his new experiment during the announcement.

Cake Poker will open seven other rooms along with Unabomber Poker, as they announced earlier today. There are 55 poker rooms on the Cake Poker Network after the eight rooms join them and according to PokerScout.com there’s averaging 2.100 real money ring players every day.

Source: PokerNewsDaily

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Phil Laak launches his own poker room

Mizzi Finds Aussie Millions Magic in Melbourne

And after a final table appearance at a 2009 Aussie Millions prelim and a deep run all the way to 16^th in the main event last year, who can blame him?

"I hit a lot of sets in Australia," he joked. "But seriously, I have a really good feel for the table dynamic here. There's something about Australia. Maybe it's the air here that just helps me get in the zone a lot easier.

"Right now I'm playing the best poker I've ever played. Most of my reads are right on and feel like I have a good idea of where people are."

Wednesday, the 23-year-old Canadian found himself among the chip leaders on Day 2 of the 2010 Aussie Millions main event and appeared primed for yet another deep run.

"For some reason, every time I'm in Australia, I'm really focused," he said. "Maybe it's because I travel 25 hours to get here, so I might as well sit down and just focus on the task at hand."

Playing under the screen names Imper1um and zangbezan24, the Betfair Poker pro is nothing short of an online poker legend.

And while the live results have followed, including more than $1.6 million in career earnings over just the past four years, something is still missing from his resume.

Among several deep cashes, Mizzi finished third in the 2007 Irish Open, second in the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe's £5k Pot-Limit Omaha and second again in the 2009 WSOP's $5k PLO.

However, a major poker title still eludes him.

"If you look at my results I have a lot of finishes from 10^th to 30^th and it's funny, because online, that's usually where I dominate," he said. "When 10-30 people are left, I go in for the kill. But live, I've just been running really bad at the end of tournaments.

"It really bothers me that I've never won a major tournament. I've actually only won just one live tournament, a side event at Bellagio. It was nice, it was a $3k buy-in with 160 players, but, you know, it's not a big deal. You don't get that much satisfaction out of winning something like that."

The good side of coming so close, so many times is that Mizzi has stayed focused on his ultimate goal of winning a major title. But that certainly doesn't make him want it any less.

"I see lot of people that win a couple of tournaments and they lose that desire," he said. "I don't want to end up like that and having these close finishes just gives me more thirst and gets me more focused on achieving my goals.

"In the end, though, a title is very important to me. I really want to get that monkey off my shoulder. Hopefully I'll win a big event this year, maybe even this one."

To follow Mizzi's progress and comprehensive coverage of the entire 2010 Aussie Millions main event, tune into PokerListings' Live Updates through the Jan. 30 final table.

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Online Poker Community Donates $1.5 Million to Haiti Earthquake Survivors

The online poker community has raised $1.5 million for victims of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti earlier this month, according to a press release distributed by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).

Full Tilt Poker saw 22,785 donations come in from concerned members of the industry for total donations of $293,211. In a gracious showing, the world’s second largest online poker site doubled contributions from its patrons for a total donation of $586,423, or over one-third of the figure cited by the PPA. Aid for Haiti play and no-play tournaments were held on Full Tilt Poker and a special user account was created to accept incoming transfers benefiting the relief efforts.

As expected, PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato, a former three-term Republican Senator from New York, was elated to see the giving mood of the online poker community. In a press release distributed by the lobbying organization this week, D’Amato commented, “Like the rest of the world, the poker community is eager to do anything it can to aid Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake. I applaud PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Cake Poker for providing poker players across the globe an easy way to make a contribution. The generosity online poker players are showing makes me even more proud to be part of this community.”

PPA Executive Director John Pappas echoed D’Amato’s sentiments in an interview with the online poker forum PocketFives.com, calling the massive effort “a tribute to the generosity of the poker community.” Pappas added that the seven-digit donation mark does not include private contributions made by poker pros and other members of the industry to organizations like the Red Cross and UNICEF, which hit the ground in Haiti shortly after the epic January 12th tremor.

The PPA revealed that 50,000 online poker players have donated a total of $760,000, an average of about $15 each. With online poker sites matching the funds dollar-for-dollar, the total amount generated surpasses $1.5 million. On PokerStars, donations are being accepted until January 31st at Noon ET. No-play Haiti Earthquake Relief tournaments have buy-ins ranging from $1 to $1,000. Text found on PokerStars’ website succinctly explains, “You will not need to play an actual tournament; instead, all of the 'entry fees' go straight to the fund.”

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, also created a special player account called “Haiti Fund.” Users can transfer funds to the account and PokerStars will match all money raised for the relief effort. The website, which has campaigned for a variety of charitable causes like Ante Up for Africa over the years, reminded its clientele, “PokerStars has been quick to facilitate this after previous disasters, and once again it is giving you an easy way to donate cash.”

Meanwhile, Cake Poker, a USA-friendly site that features Lee Jones as its Poker Room Manager, is taking donations until Midnight ET on January 31st. Five “holding tanks” were created for players to donate to the cause in $5, $25, $100, $200, and $500 increments. Past charity efforts by Cake Poker include involvement in the Aces and Angels Celebrity Poker Tournament and Oregon’s West Side Poker Club.

Other sites, including RedKings, UB.com, Absolute Poker, and DoylesRoom held poker tournaments last week to raise money for the cause. On the CEREUS Network, 717 players turned out for a $5 rebuy benefiting earthquake victims. In addition, customers on the Network’s two sites, UB.com and Absolute Poker, can donate their player points in each room’s store. On DoylesRoom, a special Haiti Bounty saw Academy Award nominee Mickey Rourke hit the felts.

A magnitude 5.9 aftershock hit Haiti shortly after and the Red Cross noted that three million people may have been affected. We’d like to salute members of the poker community who donated.

Cake Network Explodes with Unabomber Poker

With his trademark sweatshirt and sunglasses Laak is one of the most recognizable poker players in the world but has rarely had a major poker room sponsorship deal.

He mentioned he was thrilled to start Unabomber Poker.

“We knew we wanted to launch the sickest poker site possible," stated Laak.

"By joining a network that focuses on player rewards and accepts players world-wide we knew we would be starting out on the right track. I love getting involved from the ground up.”

Laak burst onto the poker scene by winning the WPT Celebrity Invitational in 2004 and has since made big scores at the WSOP, WPT and Poker After Dark.

The Irish-American most recently outlasted Luke “Full Flush” Schwartz, Mike Sexton and Andy Black to win the PartyPoker.com World Open V for $250,000.

Laak will blog regularly on the Unabomber Poker website.

“The addition for of Unabomber Poker to the Cake Network is cause for great excitement,” said a Cake Network spokesperson. “Phil’s enthusiasm for the game is infectious and brings great energy to the network.”

Cake Poker also launched seven other partner sites including 7Win Poker, Redback Poker, Amsterdams Poker, Safari Poker, Dime Line Sports, Rags2Riches and Burro Poker.

 

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Poker in Twitter: Deauville, Football, Kat von D and Victoria Coren’s duck.

Poker News Daily scours the Twitter feeds of hundreds of poker players to bring you the funniest, most interesting, weirdest Tweets of the last few days. This weekend saw many players tweeting about the tournaments they were in, which included the UBOC, the LAPC and the EPT Deauville. Other popular topics this week were football (the poker world seems to support the Saints almost unanimously) and other sports, as well as new houses, tattoos by Kat von D, and a river card made to measure for Eric Mizrachi.
The online cards were good for some and cruel to others: while Dave “Hollywood_Dave” Stann challenged players to face him at Ultimate Bet: “Rockin UBOC on UB right now...come join so I can felt you, too ”, Liv Boeree was not having such a great day: “finished 42nd in UBOC 8 for $6300. Set of 33s get it all in on turn... he rivers 9 for higher set. Laptop across the room time.” Eric Mizrachi could have shared some of his luck with her, as he boasted a screenshot from a spectacular river card in Poker Stars:  “Deliver the nice river, Ty @pokerstars_com http://twitpic.com/zmlrd”

Tournament manager supreme Matt Savage kept the world informed of the progress of the LAPC, starting with a comment on his famously grueling schedules: “We have completed days 1A/1B or .5 of the 51 events at this years @LAPokerClassic! Not sure what I was thinking when I made this schedule?” Apparently Mr. Savage is superstitious, since he made Dave Stann back off from certain comments that might bring the tournament ill luck: “@Hollywood_Dave please do NOT mention LAPC = Going Well and Obama Presidency = F'ing Up Country in same tweet! You may jinx us here in LA.” No jinx was apparent to Rob Perelman, who tweeted in delight: “Heads up pot. Final board A4444. Check check. Then 2nd guy tries to muck. This is why I love the @LAPokerClassic!” Some of poker’s hottest ladies were in attendance after trotting the globe in The Amazing Race last year; Tiffany Michelle posted a picture of her view from the table: “http://twitpic.com/z4bfu - Playin the 1st LAPC event, nice view - this girl follows me everywhere ”

The poker world followed the NFC very closely last weekend, and the general feeling seemed to favor the Saints, although Doyle Brunson voiced his admiration for the Vikings’ legendary quarterback: “Brett Favre has balls the size of basketballs.” Favre was the man of the day, with praise and heckles piled on him via Twitter. Gene Bromberg tried to be fair: “I gleefully join in on Favrebashing, but that should've been a flag. Low, late hit, gotta call that”, Justin “BoostedJ” Smith blamed it on the team: “@shannonelizab The vikings aren't even giving Favre a chance to win”, and Joe Sebok cheered and booed: “yes, saints! boo favre & vikings. city of new orleans deserves this... ” Shannon Elizabeth, who tweeted throughout the game, was a happy fan when the fat lady sang: “Congrats Saints! GREAT GAME!!”

The EPT Deauville had two excellent commentators in Vicky Coren and Isabelle Mercier, both of whom tweeted frequently with updates on their own performance and those of friends and team members. Coren had never been able to survive Deauville’s Day 1, and was hoping this year would be it: “It's Day 1 of the Deauville EPT. I've played this three times before and never survived Day One. Let's see if I can break my duck” (“Breaking one’s duck” is a British expression, originally from cricket, that means doing something for the first time.) Coren tried hard, and kept updating on her status to add to the suspense: “We started with 30k in chips. I went down to 4k, now up to 20k, tiptoeing between the outdraws. Two more levels and the duck gets it...” The duck, however, remains unbroken, as she got busted out in Day 1 once more. Fellow Brit Matthew Grant commiserated with some historic consolation: “@VictoriaCoren Nevermind, the only victory that matters near Deauville happened in 1944 ” Coren marveled at Mercier’s youthful looks when they sat together: “Ex Team Pro Isabelle Mercier is on my table, looking incredible. She just doesn't age, that woman. Is it a French thing?” It may have been Mercier’s joy at playing in Deauville, which she tweeted happily about: “Deauville Deauville! Always loved this French little piece of paradise... Especially when it's GAME DAY !!!! ... http://bit.ly/5V41EV” Mercier’s joie de vivre did not last very long, however, as she tweeted from her Facebook account: “Busted out few hours ago holding pocket 10's against poker Jacks and pocket Aces!!! Turned blue and slowly getting... http://bit.ly/4sN0Rb”

Celebrity tattoo artist Kat von D, from the TV show LA Ink, has been leaving her mark on the poker world. First she tattooed Tiffany Michelle, who shared a photo of her tattoo: “Pics of my tatt that Kat did on her show are on my website www.tiffanymichelle.com under the 'Film, TV, Shows' Gallery ” and more recently on Pearl Aday, as tweeted by heavy metal poker star Scott Ian: “Kat Von D shooting Pearl right now.” If he does not shape up to his crazy prop bet, Joe Sebok could be next.

Sebok got some unflattering tweets regarding his stunning new LA home – @DougLeePoker remarked acidly: “@JoeSebok Wow, sick place! and all you had to do was align yourself with a company that has stolen millions from their customers. Well Done!” Sebok’s affiliation with Ultimate Bet is evidently not well accepted by the poker world.

There were many random tweets on off topics that seemed too interesting to pass by, so here is a brief overview of the weird and wonderful tweets of this weekend. There is the cheerful but always cryptic Marcel Luske: “Just an other day,,, more news ,, more twitters , more closely 2 Our goalls & destiny,so enjoin the day & feel great & help others . {;”, a very happy tweet from Eric Mizrachi: “Got some GREAT NEWS today, my friend Myrielle "Meeyu" Pierre survived the earthquake. C U tomm Meeyu! http://twitpic.com/y267b”, some naughtiness from Gavin Griffin: “We just backed into someone's driver's side door and left an 8 square inch dent. Gave em 100 bucks. Win”, and a recognition of friendship from Daniel Negreanu: “I just counted. The number of good friends of mine that are unabashed media whores: zero! All my friends are so normal”, while Doyle Brunson experienced new things: “Got back from a recording session. I'm just a West Texas hillbilly, all that chit amazes me.”

The Tweet of the day is a tie between Jeff Madsen and Howard Lederer. Madsen quipped: “Tiger woods supposedly in Mississippi for sex Rehab. I'll b in Biloxi soon, maybe I need to check myself in?”, while Lederer pointed out: “Went to see Nadal tonight at Aussie Open and saw the best homemade fan sign ever at the match. It read "Go Nad." LOL”
If you are as addicted to Twitter as we are, be sure to follow us @PokerNewsDaily so you can stay up to date on all the breaking news in the poker world and be a part of some PND Twitter exclusives in the coming weeks.

UB Poker Event Tops Record Books

The Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament drew 628 players, creating a prize pool of $1.57 million – the richest in UB’s 10-year history.

Online player SEBBAU was the biggest winner taking down the tournament and the $330,900 that came attached to first place.

Celebrated UB player DOOSHDOTCOM1 also made an appearance at the final table but ended up finishing in fifth for $86,350.

"Despite going out just before the money in UBOC 8, the tournament still left me with an incredible feeling as we ended up building the richest prize pool in the history of UB," said Joe Sebok.

"I think it sets the tone for what I think will be the best UBOC ever for our players. 2010 is just the beginning of great things to come for UB and our community."

Team UB was out in full force with Phil Hellmuth, Sebok and Liv Boeree all playing the tournament.

Boeree was the only UB pro to cash, coming in 42^nd place for $6,280.

UBOC 4 continues all week with the $1 million-guaranteed $1,050 buy-in main event scheduled for this Sunday.

Click here to learn more about the UBOC schedule or sign up for an account.

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Phil Laak, Cake Poker Network Launch Unabomber Poker

In the online poker world, having a room named after you is perhaps the most notable sign that you have made your mark in the industry. From DoylesRoom, fronted by the legendary Doyle Brunson, to Devilfish Poker, hosted by top English pro David “The Devilfish” Ulliot, many professional poker players have made the move to the online world with their own iconic rooms.

The Cake Poker Network announced today that top pro Phil Laak will join its family of sites with his own room. Called Unabomber Poker, the site will feature Laak in action on the network and through a blog that will be available on the site. Along with the announcement of Unabomber Poker, the Cake Poker Network also announced the addition of seven other new network poker rooms, including 7Win Poker, Redback Poker, Amsterdams Poker, Safari Poker, Dimeline, Rags2Riches Poker, and Burro Poker.

“We knew we wanted to launch the sickest poker site possible,” Laak stated during the announcement of the new venture. “By joining a network that focuses on player rewards and accepts players worldwide, we knew we would be starting out on the right track. I love getting involved from the ground up.” A Cake Network spokesperson added, “The addition of Unabomber Poker to the Cake Network is a cause for great excitement. Phil’s enthusiasm for the game is infectious and brings a great energy to the network.”

With the addition of the eight new rooms, the Cake Poker Network now encompasses a total of 55 online poker sites. Some of the most popular sites offered by the Cake Poker Network include DoylesRoom, PokerHost, Lock Poker, Gutshot.com, and its own eponymous site. The Cake Poker Network is among the Top Ten in the online poker industry by cash game traffic, according to the poker industry tracking site PokerScout.com, averaging 2,100 real money ring game players.

Unabomber Poker offers many of the player amenities that are a fixture of the Cake Poker Network. Through participating in the action on the site, players earn Gold Chips and Gold Cards that can be exchanged for cash, merchandise, or free play in tournaments on the network. Unabomber Poker will also participate in the Cake Poker Network’s premier monthly event, the $250,000 Guaranteed.

Laak is arguably one of the most visible players in the game today through both his play and his exuberant behavior at the table. He exploded on the poker scene in 2004 with a victory in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Invitational at the Commerce Casino and has remained a formidable foe at the tables since then. In 2005, Laak was runner up to Johnny Chan at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event when Chan captured his tenth bracelet. In a brief six-year career, Laak has earned slightly over $1.8 million from the tournament poker circuit.

Laak is famously called “The Unabomber” because his attire at the poker tables – a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses – gives Laak a resemblance to the forensic sketch of notorious convicted mail bomber Theodore Kaczynski. Laak can confound players with antics at the table such as push-ups, talking to the cards, and offering buyouts to players to show their winning hands. Away from the felt, Laak also makes a great deal of noise. He has one of the most high-profile poker relationships with former WSOP Ladies’ Champion Jennifer Tilly and has been a part of television show “I Bet You” with his longtime friend and former roommate Antonio Esfandiari.

Daniel Negreanu Comments on Phil Ivey Taking All-Time Money Lead

Over the weekend, Phil Ivey placed second to Dan Shak in the $100,000 Challenge at the 2010 Aussie Millions Poker Championship at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia.  For his efforts, Ivey won $553,776 ($600,000 AUD), vaulting him into the top position on the all-time live tournament money list.  His total of $12,813,990 is now $381,623 ahead of Daniel Negreanu's $12,432,367.

For his part, Negreanu has been far from a sore "loser."  In fact, Negreanu expressed his admiration for Ivey in his poker journal on his website, FullContactPoker.com:

"It's my belief that Phil Ivey is the best poker player in the world, and that includes every format," wrote Negreanu.  "I've played live with him, and cash, Hold'em, Stud, Omaha, whatever, and he is just the most consistently good player at everything - include [sic] online based on what his results look like. I don't think anyone has won more money online, live play, or tournament poker, than Ivey. Pretty strong."

Fortunately, Negreanu does not feel like this turn of events diminishes his place in the poker world, nor should he.  Like any good competitor, Negreanu is using Ivey's success as an impetus to achieve even more in his career.

"It's actually kind of fun for me," Negreanu blogged after Day 1 of the 2010 WPT Southern Poker Championship at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi.  "I'm glad he did so well because it motivates me to try and pass him again. I was up about $200,000 so I think I'll need to finish 2nd or 1st to regain the lead. Should be a fun year from that perspective."

"Kid Poker" also commented on Ivey's mindset, saying, "Another misconception about Ivey is that he 'Doesn't really care.' He does. He definitely cares, because he is a competitor. It's not all about the money for him, otherwise he wouldn't bother. I think he's got something to prove in 2010. Not to the poker world, everyone with half a brain knows that Ivey is the best. I think he has something to prove to himself. 2010 could be a monster year for him."

In the last half year, Phil Ivey has won nearly $2,000,000 on the live tournament circuit, allowing him to overtake such players as Phil Hellmuth, Jamie Gold, Joe Hachem, and Scotty Nguyen on the all-time money list (based on current money standings), in addition to Negreanu.  While his Aussie Millions take was sizable, Ivey's rise on the leader board was aided primarily by his seventh place finish in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event, where he won $1,404,014.  He also won two bracelets during the 2009 WSOP, bringing his lifetime total to seven.

If it is any consolation for Negreanu, he remains ahead of Ivey on the inflation-adjusted money list (thanks to thehendonmob.com for this information), $13,816,957 to $13,305,078.  He is still second on that list, though, to Hellmuth, whose inflation-adjusted total is $13,876,255.

Well, How Did I Get Here by Lee Jones

I made a pretty big laydown recently and was probably as proud of it as I was of any big pot I’ve won recently. Long ago, David Sklansky reminded us that a bet you don’t lose spends just as well as a bet you win.

This happened in a regular home game of mine; my knowledge of the players certainly helped my decision and emphasized the importance of paying attention to your opponents and learning their habits.

We were playing $1-$1 No Limit Hold’em, but that doesn’t really tell the story. As will happen in games without a buy-in cap, we had all ended up with stacks much bigger than the $100-ish that’s typical in online games with those blinds. I had over $400 and the stacks around me were of similar size or bigger.

Rory limped in for $1. Rory likes to play pots and could have just about anything. In middle position, Ben raised to $6, a fairly standard raise in this game. I looked down at J-T suited. Ben doesn’t usually open very light and big pairs made up a meaningful percentage of his pre-flop raising range. Those were exactly the hands that I was hoping to beat if I could hit a flop; I didn’t want a 4bet from Ben shutting me out of the pot early. I flat called.

Now, Steve called behind me. That made me upset. I should have looked left and thought about him. Steve likes to gamble, but he’s nobody’s fish and tends to do his gambling with position. I was stuck between Ben’s raise and Steve’s call behind me. I wished I had 3bet Ben and gotten the button; Steve would have folded anything but a premium hand to my re-raise. Now I’d made my bed and would have to lie in it.

My bed started to look like a feather mattress with silk sheets when the flop came down T-T-2 with two spades. My cards were red, but what did I care? I had just out-flopped all three of them (Rory had called the raise, saying something about pot odds). In particular, I thought I could stack Ben and his pocket queens or whatever big hand he had. Rory checked (as expected), but then Ben checked. Ruh-roh. If he had something like A-K, he wasn’t going to plow forward on a flop like that against three opponents. On the other hand, it would be very much in Steve’s idiom to pick up the $25 in the pot with a button bet and at least I could trap Steve for the probe bet he tossed out. I checked.

As he was supposed to, Steve bet $20. Then things really looked up. Rory called the $20.  Rory probably suspected Steve of the same thing I did and was hoping he could get Steve to slow down. Rory would make that play with as little as A-2 for bottom pair. I mentally locked and loaded a check-raise to about $75. That would blow them off whatever they had and I’d… “I’m all in.”

What?

Ben had paused briefly and then announced he was all-in for about $250. Suddenly, my world made far less sense. Ben is a thinking, competent player. He knows that Steve, Rory, and I are thinking competent players.

“Sorry, guys. This is going to take me a minute.” For years, when you needed an extra thought to make my playing decision, you simply said, “Time.” That would freeze the action for the extra handful of seconds and then you could act. However, in this world of televised poker tournaments, people confuse that announcement with somebody “calling the clock” on another player. “Are you calling the clock on yourself?” I’ve been asked. So, I’ve become more specific in my requests.

Ben would not play a big pair that way. If he had queens, he’d fire right into that pot and plan (hope) to take it down on the flop. Check-raising like that would only play right into the hands of somebody holding a ten. Either Steve or I could hold a ten and all of us knew it.

As I was pondering the situation, I experienced one of those exquisite moments of synchronicity that make you wonder about life. The Talking Heads were on the stereo and I found myself singing out loud along with David Byrne, “And you may say to yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?’” Everybody chuckled and I relaxed. I couldn’t put Ben on a big pair no matter how hard I tried. He wasn’t making some Nth level sophisticated play against the entire field. He had the case ten and it was bigger than mine; he didn’t raise with T-9.

“I fold.”

Now it was Steve’s turn to tank. He didn’t take as long as I did, but he was obviously struggling. Odd – I thought that he was on a stone-cold steal. He folded relatively soon and it was on Rory. Even Rory had to have a think. Finally, he showed Ben a flush draw, threw it in, and said, “I don’t want to gamble.” “You’ve got a big ten,” I told Ben. “Close,” he replied, turning up pocket deuces; he’d flopped the full house. “Wow, I had jack-ten. I had four outs.” “No,” said Steve, “One out – just like me. I had pocket jacks.” Ben stared at us. “You folded jacks and you folded jack-ten?” We nodded.

You could see the wheels turning in Ben’s head. “What if I’d flatted Steve’s bet?” I laughed – “Oh, I check-raise to $75. Steve calls because he thinks I think he’s stealing. Rory calls for pot odds. You shove and who knows what happens at that point, but if we call, you have to fade two whole outs. You probably win a $500 or $600 pot.” Ben shook his head saying, “I guess I pulled the trigger too soon.”

I honestly don’t know if I could have made that laydown in the heat of a 15-second online decision. Fortunately for me, it happened where I had the time and the graciousness of my fellow players to let me work through the possibilities and make the right decision… instead of burning down the house.

Lee Jones is the Card Room Manager of Cake Poker and has been in the online poker business for over six years. He is also the author of “Winning Low Limit Hold’em,” which is in its 15th year of publication.

UBOC Event #8 Features Largest Prize Pool in UB.com History

The $2,600 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament (Event #8) held as part of the ongoing Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) featured a $1.57 million prize pool, the largest in the 10-year history of UB.com.

Newly minted UB.com pro Joe Sebok gave his take on the record-shattering prize pool in a press release distributed by the USA-friendly online poker site on Tuesday: "Despite going out just before the money in UBOC Event #8, the tournament still left me with an incredible feeling as we ended up building the richest prize pool in the history of UB. I think it sets the tone for what I think will be the best UBOC ever for our players. 2010 is just the beginning of great things to come for UB and our community." A total of 628 players competed in the $2,600 buy-in affair, which easily surpassed its $1 million guaranteed purse.

When the smoke cleared, it was a battle between two Germans heads-up, as SEBBAU bested PHILBORT to scoop a $331,000 first place prize after a heads-up chop. As part of the deal, PHILBORT took home $250,000, more than a traditional chip chop would have given him, and SEBBAU banked $291,000. Then, the duo played on for $40,000 in prize money. In the final hand of UBOC event #8, PHILBORT was all-in with pocket fives against SEBBAU’s A-7. The flop came 2-7-K, giving SEBBAU a pair; he never looked back, earning $331,000.

UB.com pro Liv Boeree bumped Sebok from the $2,600 buy-in Six-Max event to claim Sebok’s $2,500 bounty. Boeree was the only UB.com sponsored pro to make the money. Here’s how the final table shook out in the richest tournament in the history of UB.com:

1st Place: SEBBAU - $330,900
2nd Place: PHILBORT - $250,000
3rd Place: GROENGRAS - $146,010
4th Place: GIT PAPER - $102,050
5th Place: DOOSHDOTCOM1 - $86,350
6th Place: UPAY4RHINOS - $70,650

In UBOC Event $10, a $150,000 Guaranteed Mixed Pot Limit tournament, a total of 422 players threw their hats into the ring. Although the tournament fell short of its guarantee, Jack “011POKERDR” Pan banked a healthy $40,500 for the win. Pan final tabled an event held during the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) in September for $23,000 and finished second in the Full Tilt $200 rebuy last May for $43,000. Heads-up, Pan defeated KANYEKWELI, who earned $23,000.

Other UB.com members who made the final table of Event #10 included ALL_DAY_DHI3 (third place for $16,125), SAILORLOBELL (fourth place for $11,625), Scott “SCOTTYTHEFISH” Sitron (fifth place for $8,625), JOES2828 (sixth place for $6,150), Justin “TRUESYALOSE” Truesdell (seventh place for $4,650), and ROCKRAINES (eighth place for $3,150). Sitron finished 32nd in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $253,000, while Truesell won a Circuit gold ring in Tunica one year ago in a $1,080 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event.

The UBOC and its corresponding MiniUBOC series continue through Sunday, January 31st. On that day, the $1,050 buy-in UBOC Championship Event will kick off. The two-day tournament begins at 4:00pm ET and will likely see some of the top names in poker take to UB.com’s virtual felts.

Two UBOC events will play out today. Event #11 is a $215 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Cubed tournament (one rebuy plus one add-on). At least $100,000 will be up for grabs and accomplished pro Matt “mattg1983” Graham will serve as its host. Event #12 is a $215 buy-in HORSE tournament with at least $50,000 up for grabs. UB.com blackjack guru “Hollywood” Dave Stann will host the contest, which kicks off at 8:05pm ET concurrently with Event #11.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest UBOC results.

Jared Jaffee Leads WPT Southern Poker Championship with 27 Left

Twenty-seven players remain in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Southern Poker Championship. Jared Jaffee leads the way entering the play down day on Tuesday, with Tyler Smith hot on his heels.

Smith made the final table of last year’s Southern Poker Championship, which featured Allen “AawwNutz” Carter coming out on top. Smith finished fifth and earned $134,000, the first and only WPT cash of his career. Smith told WPT Live Updates Hostess Amanda Leatherman following Monday’s action, “I started the day with 90,000 and early, I got crushed. The first level, I dropped down to 45,000 and then I won a race with nines against A-10, which doubled me up to 100,000. Right after that, I pulled off a full house and got action from four people, so that catapulted me to 230,000.”

Smith amassed a healthy stack at the expense of WPT Season 6 Player of the Year Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little. Smith was all-in pre-flop with A-K against Little’s A-Q. The board ran out K-K-Q-2-J and Smith’s trip kings were good enough to scoop the pot. The hand pushed Smith to 365,000 chips and he ended the day with 462,500, trailing only Jaffee’s 546,000.

Jaffee sent Team PokerStars Pro member Chad Brown to the rails after his pocket aces withstood Brown’s pocket eights. The board came K-J-5-7-K and the better pocket pair held to take down the pot. The hand propelled Jaffee to 463,000 in chips; he piled on another 80,000 before the day was through. Jaffee sent an opponent with pocket kings to the rail holding pocket aces. He spiked a one-outer on the river for the win after Tommy Vedes claimed that he mucked A-5 pre-flop.

The money bubble will burst today, as the top 18 players will walk away with cash. Among those vying for the $739,000 top prize is Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo, who is fresh off a fifth place showing in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event. D’Angelo sent Keith Lehr to the rails after Lehr called all-in on a board of 10-3-2-K-Q with four hearts. D’Angelo flipped up the ace of hearts for the nut flush, while Lehr mucked. D’Angelo owns a stack of 304,500 entering Tuesday’s play, good for eighth in the WPT Southern Poker Championship.

Crowd favorite Daniel Negreanu was once again involved in an unorthodox hand. In it, he pushed pre-flop, was called by the original raiser in the hand, and Justin “Boosted J” Smith shoved over the top. The original raiser promptly pulled out a phone to crunch the numbers before being stopped by tournament officials. He ultimately called, putting Negreanu at risk with A-10 of diamonds against A-K of clubs and pocket queens. The board ran out five cards eight or lower and Negreanu hit the exit.

Who remains in the hunt, you ask? Here are the chip counts after two days of play, according to the official website of the WPT:

1. Jared Jaffee - 546,000
2. Tyler Smith - 462,500
3. Jonathan Kantor - 412,500
4. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey - 380,000
5. Tommy Vedes - 336,500
6. Sam Rashid - 319,500
7. Shawn Quillin - 307,000
8. Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo - 304,500
9. Justin “Boosted J” Smith - 280,000
10. Hoyt Corkins - 276,000
11. Dwyte Pilgrim - 246,000
12. Ken Harbaugh - 244,000
13. James Reed - 221,500
14. Dan O'Brien - 205,500
15. Jerry Vanstrydonck - 202,500
16. Vitor Coelho - 201,000
17. Ayaz Mahmood - 199,000
18. Narinder Khasria - 190,000
19. Seamus Cahill - 171,000
20. Kathy Liebert - 123,500
21. James Guinther - 123,000
22. Andy Philachack - 120,000
23. James Blackmon - 95,500
24. J.J. Liu - 93,000
25. Benjamin Tollerene - 86,500
26. Ken Perry - 70,500
27. Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins - 70,000

When play concluded on Monday, the blinds were at 1,500-3,000 with a 400 ante. The cards hit the air on Tuesday at 2:00pm CT from the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Poker Players Donate to Haiti Relief

In years past, the poker community has shown just how generous it can be, with tournaments to help struggling nations and charity poker games to help people in need. It just came natural that the poker community would somehow help the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquake they endured.

European Poker Tour Deauville Day 5: Jake “neverbluff67″ Cody Takes the Trophy

The last eight players were back in the Casino Barrière on Monday to take their seats under the lights and TV cameras around the finale table of EPT Deauville. The lineup card was an impressive one, and it figured to be a great day of poker...

The Other Hachem: Life In Joe’s Shadow

Yet thanks to a huge year on the PokerStars Australia New Zealand Poker Tour, where he cashed in four of five events on the way to winning Player of the Year honors, Hachem's brother Tony seems to have found a way out from under it.

“People would say I was just Joe’s brother, that I can’t play,” Tony said. “But now I’ve made a number of final tables and cashes. In my mind, poker is all about consistency and I think I’ve proved I have that.

“People say that it’s tough playing in Joe’s shadow, but I try to be positive about it and use it to my advantage. I was given an opportunity, I took it by the horns and I’m running with it.”

There’s always been a lot more to Tony Hachem than just being the brother of the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event champion.

He cashed in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, made a final table at the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza in Las Vegas that same year and found a career best score of NZ$54,000 when he finished runner-up at the 2008 New Zealand Poker Championship.

Plus, PokerStars has always seen him as a marketable character with great networking skills, a socialite with celebrities Down Under and a popular figure amongst the ever growing community of poker players in the region.

As a result, Tony was sponsored by PokerStars for a number of tournaments, a move that immediately garnered its fair share of criticism regardless of Tony's track record.

“People have said to me, ‘What does it take to be a PokerStars pro? Can I just change my name to Hachem,’” explained Joe.  

“I’ve heard it all before and a lot worse,” added Tony. “It’s like, ‘You are Joe’s brother, so you got a sponsorship,’ but that’s not how it is.

“All I can say is when people are given opportunities, they either let them pass or they make the most of them and I made sure I made the most of this one.”

Wearing the PokerStars patch, Tony made 15^th at ANZPT Adelaide for AUD$5,870, 17^th at ANZPT Sydney for AUD$8,874, 16^th at the ANZPT’s 2009 Melbourne Texas Hold'em Championship for AUD$5,450, and 18^th ANZPT Queenstown for NZ$3,015.

As a result, 43-year-old Joe couldn’t be more proud of his 36-year-old little brother.

“He was just consistent and honestly pretty unfortunate not to have a major score,” Joe said. “The thing is, I’m really happy he did something in his own right. He deserves it.”

Tony’s name is rarely written, by the mainstream or poker press, without mention of Joe.

But the ever-humble younger Hachem grew up idolizing his big brother and says he doesn’t mind.

“Honestly, being Joe’s brother isn’t a bad thing,” he said. “He’s always going to be my brother.

“The game of poker is growing around the world and Joe is a big part of that, here and abroad. I guess people are just going to have to get used to the idea that Joe’s got a younger brother who loves the game, loves interacting with the people and can play a little too.”

While he had the sponsorship before, the spoils of winning the ANZPT Player of the Year title includes a cheque for AUD$60,000 and a spot on the Team PokerStars Australia roster.

What that means is Tony will be playing in the second season of the ANZPT kicking off in Adelaide next month, several stops on the upcoming fourth season of the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour and the 2010 Aussie Millions, where he has already made 11^th in a prelim for AUD$9,144 and started play on the final day one flight of the main event Tuesday, just a few tables over from Joe.

“There are some things in poker that I want to achieve this year,” added Tony. “I really want to win a tournament or at least maintain the consistency I had last year and I think the Aussie Millions will be a good start.”

To follow the progress of the Hachem brothers, and the entire 2010 Aussie Millions main event, tune in to PokerListings’ Live Updates through January 30.

Visit PokerListings.com

Tiffany Michelle Comments on New Amazing Race Cast

The pairings for the 16th cycle of the Emmy Award winning reality series “Amazing Race” were released last week and, this time around, no poker players will make the journey. Competing last season was UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, who hit the “Amazing Race” circuit with Maria Ho. Michelle sat down with Poker News Daily to preview the new season, which kicks off on February 14th on CBS.

Poker News Daily: This cycle’s cast list includes former housemates on CBS’ “Big Brother,” Miss Teen South Carolina 2007, and a Major League Baseball third base coach. Who’s your horse?

Tiffany Michelle: It’s interesting to see that there are three all-female teams this season. Last year, it was a really young, competitive bunch. The producers have to keep it to where everyone’s strengths, weaknesses, and abilities are on par with the others in that season. We thought it was weird that there wasn’t an old couple or a mom and daughter last year. This year, they opened it up again.

I’ve been watching the initial meet the cast videos and I think the cowboys (Jet and Cord) will be a fan favorite. The ones that stood out to me were the detectives (Louie and Michael). That’s an interesting type of person to put on the show.

PND: Were you surprised to see that no poker players will journey out for this season of “Amazing Race”?

Tiffany Michelle: Doing enough in the entertainment business, I have some insight into how casting works. You can’t exhaust one group of people. You want to keep it new and fresh every year and that’s why we were brought on last year. Each season, they’ll reach out to grab people from all walks of life. As hot of a topic as poker is, each of the poker players who have been on reality shows were there for a reason. I don’t think you’ll see a huge influx of poker players on reality shows.

PND: What about poker players gives them a leg up on the competition in a series like “Amazing Race”?

Tiffany Michelle: Your outlook on life, games, and competition is different than the everyday person’s. Poker encompasses psychology, mathematics, aggression, and observation. Poker is very similar to chess in that it requires a lot of mental stamina and gamesmanship. Poker players are used to approaching games from a different point of view.

PND: There has been a trend on the show to include racers who have already appeared in front of television cameras and in the public eye. Does that give anyone an edge?

Tiffany Michelle: After Phil [Keoghan] says go, you are not even aware of the cameras or audio guys. Within the first day, you’re oblivious to having a camera crew. They’re good at not getting in your way too.

PND: This installment’s cast is rumored to travel to places like Chile, Argentina, Singapore, and Seychelles. If you had the chance to run the “Amazing Race” again, where would you go?

Tiffany Michelle: Warm places like Australia, the Caribbean, and some lovely tropical destinations. This season, it’ll be a little bit colder and you won’t hit a lot of hot spots. A lot of our season’s cast wanted to go to Africa because it’d be an incredible experience. That was one place that I thought would be awesome. From a technical standpoint, it’s hard to pull that off, though. We went to Vietnam, which they said for years they had tried to do.

PND: How’d you fare at the L.A. Poker Classic?

Tiffany Michelle: I only played one event. Maria and I both played and it was nice to be back in the saddle. Now, I am off to Panama and I’ll be back at the Commerce Casino after that. I’m trying to decide between doing the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) or L.A. Poker Classic Main Events. In two weeks, I’m going to Las Vegas to do a show with the Harlem Globetrotters. We’re going to suit up and play against them. I’m pretty sporty, but basketball is my worst sport.

PND: We read on Twitter that you were reviewing movies for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. What’s your involvement with them?

Tiffany Michelle: I’m a member of SAG, which is the union for acting, entertainment, film, and television. Every year, whereas the Emmys and Oscars are voting on by academies, actors vote on the SAG Awards. During awards season, they send you movies to watch and you vote. I always get a slew of current nominees.

I thought “Inglorious Basterds” was incredibly phenomenal. I thought it was an amazing movie. “Up in the Air” was cool too. I’m a girl, so of course I loved “It’s Complicated.” For television shows, I love “Glee” and Kevin McHale is a friend of mine.

PND: How have you been faring in the ongoing Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC)?

Tiffany Michelle: Sunday was the $2,500 buy-in $1 million guaranteed. I played it even though I don’t play short-handed poker. I can play six-handed, but I know there are a lot of specific strategies with regards to starting hands.

David Benyamine signs up for Premier League

David Benyamine may be best known as a high stakes cash player but he’ll get the chance to show his tournament mettle after signing up for PartyPoker.com’s Premier League series next month.

Aussie Millions Day 1b concludes

Almost 500 players have now competed in, or are still competing in, the 2010 Aussie Millions $10,500 Main Event, taking a shot for what will no doubt be a seven-figure first-place prize.

McDonald, Eastgate Fall Short at EPT Deauville

Cody, a 21-year-old poker pro from Rochdale, U.K., outlasted a field of 768 players to claim the first place prize of €847,000.

Organizers had plenty of compelling story lines with McDonald looking to become the first two-time EPT winner and Eastgate trying to win his first major tournament since taking down the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

Eastgate, a member of Team PokerStars Pro, entered the eight-player final table as the short-stack and couldn’t get anything going.

It didn't take long before Eastgate found himself on the rail in 8th place after his pocket tens were bested by K-9.

The Danish pro has never won an EPT title although he came close in London this year eventually finishing second to Aaron Gustavson.

McDonald entered the day with an average stack and made it considerably farther than Eastgate getting all the way to three-handed play.

Unfortunately for McDonald he ran into trouble at that point and finally lost a flip for his tournament life. The young Canadian pro claimed €295,000 for his efforts.

McDonald won EPT Dortmund in 2008 and very nearly won it again in 2009 but eventually finished in fifth place.

Despite the fact it was Cody's first time competing at the EPT, it took him less than an hour to beat heads-up opponent Teodor Caraba.

It was a disappointing event for French poker fans who saw a number of their most well-known players fall painfully short of the final table.

Most notably Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier who came in ninth place after running into pocket aces with ace-queen, effectively becoming the final table bubble boy.

Winamax Pro and actress Alexia Portal finished in 10^th place after losing a coin flip for her tournament life.

Meanwhile French poker legend Bruno Fittoussi, who came finished runner-up in the 2007 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. event, bombed out of EPT Deauville in 14^th place.

With Deauville complete the EPT will travel to Copenhagen for the Scandinavian Open, which is scheduled to take place Feb. 16-21.

Visit PokerListings.com

McDonald, Eastgate Fall Short at EPT Deauville

Cody, a 21-year-old poker pro from Rochdale, U.K., outlasted a field of 768 players to claim the first-place prize of €847,000.

Organizers had plenty of compelling story lines with McDonald looking to become the first two-time EPT winner and Eastgate trying to win his first major tournament since taking down the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

Eastgate, a member of Team PokerStars Pro, entered the eight-player final table as the short-stack and couldn’t get anything going.

It didn't take long before Eastgate found himself on the rail in 8th place after his pocket tens were bested by K-9.

The Danish pro has never won an EPT title although he came close in London this year eventually finishing second to Aaron Gustavson.

McDonald entered the day with an average stack and made it considerably farther than Eastgate getting all the way to three-handed play.

Unfortunately for McDonald he ran into trouble at that point and finally lost a flip for his tournament life. The young Canadian pro claimed €295,000 for his efforts.

McDonald won EPT Dortmund in 2008 and very nearly won it again in 2009 but eventually finished in fifth place.

Despite the fact it was Cody's first time competing at the EPT, it took him less than an hour to beat heads-up opponent Teodor Caraba.

It was a disappointing event for French poker fans who saw a number of their most well-known players fall painfully short of the final table.

Most notably coming up shy was Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, who finished in ninth place after running into pocket aces with ace-queen, effectively becoming the final-table bubble boy.

Winamax Pro and actress Alexia Portal finished in 10^th place after losing a coin flip for her tournament life.

Meanwhile French poker legend Bruno Fittoussi, who finished as the runner-up in the 2007 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. event, bombed out of EPT Deauville in 14^th place.

With Deauville complete the EPT will travel to Copenhagen next for the Scandinavian Open, scheduled to take place Feb. 16-21.

Visit PokerListings.com

L.A. Poker Classic Unique Opening Event Draws Sizeable Field

Poker tournament participation has recently been holding steady or, in some cases, even showing a decline in many American casinos. The opening event of this year’s L.A. Poker Classic has bucked this trend.

The L.A. Poker Classic, held annually at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, is recognized as one of the preeminent tournament events on the yearly schedule. It opened up play on January 20th with one of the more unusual events on its 51 tournament slate. The $300 buy in No Limit Hold’em event featured a guaranteed $1 million prize pool, which automatically ensures that a deep field will contend for the championship.  Tournament director Matt Savage, who has been lauded for his tweaking of tournaments since he took over as the main man at the Commerce last year, had another surprise in store for the Commerce contestants.

For the opening tournament, Savage scheduled four Day Ones and. Players who were eliminated on any of the first three Day Ones could enter again. With the ability to reenter the tournament, players were highly aggressive over the first three days of competition. Savage’s innovation for the first event on the L.A. Poker Classic schedule led to one of the largest tournament fields outside of a World Series of Poker (WSOP) event in history.

After the carnage of the first four days was completed, a total of 3,791 “unique” players had entered the event, according to a Tweet from Savage. Of those original entries, another 2,083 buy ins were received from players who had been eliminated, but felt they still had a chance at taking down the tournament. When Day Two of the tournament began on Sunday, 5,847 buy ins were recorded, eclipsing the guarantee by over $754,000.

With 3,791 players into the tournament, 540 took away at least $600 for their troubles; however, the majority of the prize pool was divvied up on Day Two. The 72 players who survived the first four days would earn a minimum of $1,980 for their efforts. Leading the way was Tim Telesio of Moreno Valley, California, but he was hotly pursued by several top Los Angeles pros such as Michael Woo, Cuong Nguyen, and Gevork Kasabyan.

The battle for the final table raged well into Monday morning. Nguyen and Kasabyan were victims of the early action on Sunday, but Woo was able to drive to the final table and finished in sixth place. Taking the championship early on Monday was Darrell Cain, who started the day in 25th place. Cain, who calls Sacramento home, was able to defeat Rocky River, Ohio’s Michael Blocksidge in heads-up action to win the “Bronco Buster” trophy (based on the Frederic Remington bronze statue of the same name) and the first place prize of $363,936.

Savage’s innovative tournaments will not be limited to just the opening event of this year’s L.A. Poker Classic. In an attempt to cater to players of all disciplines of poker, Savage has brought such games as Badugi, Chinese Poker, and an Eight-Game Mixed event to center stage at the Commerce during the L.A. Poker Classic. Perhaps Savage’s best innovation, however, is the Ironman Tournament.

The Ironman Tournament, which will be played on February 21st, is a creation from what some would say is the more sadistic side of Savage’s mind. In the $2,000 event, there are no breaks, whether for personal reasons or meals. A player can leave the table at any time, but the player continues to be dealt and blinds are posted appropriately. Play continues until a champion is determined, with the winner taking 50% of the prize pool and a seat into the World Poker Tour (WPT) L.A. Poker Classic Championship Event. No deals are allowed and a security guard stationed outside of the restroom ensures that everyone washes their hands.

The innovative Ironman Tournament was a success when it was unveiled last September. Savage debuted the concept during last year’s Commerce Casino Hold’em Series and 64 players took to the felt for the tournament. After over 19 hours of play, Brett Radin walked away with the $51,160 first prize, defeating a field that included 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Gavin Griffin, Matt “mattg1983” Graham, and defending WPT L.A. Poker Championship winner Cornel Andrew Cimpan.

Savage’s reputation for staging the best poker tournaments in the game today, as well as his innovative game creations, should have the L.A. Poker Classic on the minds of anyone connected to the poker world. The tournament schedule currently in action continues play through the month of February and will end the first week of March with the completion of the WPT Championship Event.

Dwyte Pilgrim Leads WPT Southern Poker Championship After Day 1

Two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event ring holder Dwyte Pilgrim leads the field of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Southern Poker Championship after Day 1. A total of 106 players remain of the 208 who bought in on Sunday afternoon.

The tournament, emanating from the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi, drew a field of 283 players in 2009. The 208 who turned out yesterday to cough up the $10,000 buy-in meant that attendance dove by a sizable 27%. Pilgrim leads the survivors with a stack of 175,900 chips, comfortably in front of the second place tally of Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, who holds 152,100. Pilgrim claimed a pair of WSOP Circuit rings in March 2009 after taking down a $560 buy-in tournament at Caesars Atlantic City before flying cross-country to Harrah’s Rincon and winning the site’s $5,150 buy-in Championship event.

Little is no slouch, either. He was the WPT Player of the Year during Season 6, when the Florida native made final tables at the Mirage and North American Poker Championship and bubbled a third at the Gulf Coast Poker Championship at Biloxi. All told, Little has nearly $3.5 million in career WPT earnings to his name and two titles. Little took down a pot early on Sunday with pocket aces against pocket queens on a 10-9-8-2-2 board. Little's opponent check-called a bet of 7,775 on the river to boost his stack to over 41,000; he finished the day with nearly six times that total.

DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija was a late Day 1 casualty at the WPT Southern Poker Championship. Makhija committed his chips with pocket kings on a board of J-3-2, but his opponent spiked a straight with 4-5. Jeff Madsen, meanwhile, was all-in holding the nut flush draw, but blanked out to hit the rails. Madsen is a Full Tilt Poker Red Pro.

Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka was flushed down the drain on Sunday. The runner-up in the Bellagio Cup V, which began airing as part of the WPT’s Season 8 kickoff on Fox Sports Net last night, Jaka called all-in with K-3 after a flop of K-J-4. However, his opponent flipped up pocket jacks for a set, which held for the win. Jaka made two final tables during Season 8 of the WPT, finishing second in the aforementioned Bellagio Cup and taking third in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for a combined $1.3 million.

The top 10 at the end of Day 1 of the WPT Southern Poker Championship features rock solid poker talent:

1. Dwyte Pilgrim - 175,900
2. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little - 152,100
3. Jonathan Stanton - 142,100
4. Chad Brown - 138,000
5. James Jewett - 135,500
6. Sam Rashid - 125,700
7. Shawn Quillin - 118,300
8. Scott Standridge - 117,600
9. Hoyt Corkins - 115,600
10. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey - 113,200

Other notable names among the 106 players remaining in the field include:

Paul Wasicka - 107,500
Daniel Negreanu - 81,200
Matt “All In at 420” Stout - 73,100
Ty “puffinmypurp” Reiman - 71,400
Justin “Boosted J” Smith - 68,600
J.J. Liu - 67,800
Josh Arieh - 67,200
Tommy Vedes - 66,300
Kathy Liebert - 53,300
Adam “Roothlus” Levy - 46,900
Nick Schulman - 40,000
Allen “AawwNutz” Carter - 38,200
David Singer - 34,000
Jonathan “driverseati” Tamayo - 25,900
Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler - 17,600
Michael Binger - 13,000

When play wrapped up on Sunday, the blinds were 300-600 with a 75-chip ante. The Southern Poker Championship runs through Wednesday, when the newest WPT champion will be crowned. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the Biloxi tournament.

Aussie Millions: Main Event Update and $100,000 Challenge

The 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event is underway. We've seen two Day 1 flights take the felt. The second flight of Day 1 saw ten more players enter the field than on the first flight, bringing the total number of entrants so far to 476, with more...