Poker News

BoylePoker launches Irish Open qualifiers

The Irish Open is one of the top tournaments on the European circuit and Boylepoker.com is giving players even more incentives to qualify.

Pacific Poker offers a great $8 free Campaign for the first 50.000 new players - and more!

Get $8 free to Pacific Poker through our great new promotion! Create a new account and download the Pacific Poker’s special Bankroll Management client to get all the great benefits.

- In order to cash out the $8 free, players must wager 20x the bonus amount

- Players making a deposit are eligible to recieve their first deposit bonus

- This bonus is available for only the first 50.000 players that claim the bonus

- Players will recieve $8 free instantly

- All players who will take the benefit of the bonus will be upgraded to the regular client between February 8th and February 15th

Click this link and download Pacific Poker’s Bankroll Management client!

You can learn more about the Bankroll Management client: here

Your next step is the WSOP 2010 Promotion!

Soon after you have claimed your bonus, the second phase starts and you’re eligible for the great WSOP promotion as well: 8 ways to the WSOP, which is launched at February 8th! 8 ways to win 1 of 88 seats to WSOP 2010!

WSOP 2010 promotion is open to all depositors!

Note that players from the following countries are not eligible for the bonus offer: Argentina, Albania, Bosnia, Brazil, Serbia, China, Croatia, Georgia, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, North Korea, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Slovenia, Vietnam, Columbia and South Korea.

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Pacific Poker offers a great $8 free Campaign for the first 50.000 new players - and more!

Irish Open structure amended

PaddyPowerPoker.com has announced details of changes to the structure of the Main Event of this year’s Irish Open.

Doyle Brunson joins PartyPoker Premier League

Doyle Brunson is the final pro to be added to the PartyPoker Premier IV event that takes place in Las Vegas next month.

LA Poker Classic package on offer from Online Forum Challenge and Full Tilt

A pair of special Online Forum Challenge events takes place at Full Tilt Poker next week and there are some very juicy prizes to be won including a trip to the LA Poker Classic worth $2,500.

Ilari Sahamies and Cole South against Patrik Antonius

There was a very interesting 3-handed Omaha session on Full Tilt Poker yesterday. There was no fishes involved as the three fearless lads clashed against each other.

Foes on the poker table, friends outside the game. Antonius and Sahamies.

Ilari Sahamies started the session with a heads up against Patrik Antonius, but shortly after Cole South joined their tables. And as you can guess, the game got very aggressive when all three got deep stacks in front of them.

It was Patrik Antonius who ended up losing this time around. They played $300/$600 Pot-Limit Omaha and Sahamies won almost all the big hands.

Ziigmund and Antonius in the biggest pot of the session - $281k
Cole South cracks Ziigmund’s top set - $268k
Also Antonius manages to win a big pot - $258k

In the end Antonius left the tables when he was around $810k down leaving Sahamies and South counting their winnings from the last 24 hours. Sahamies was up $454k and South $386k. South was running hot on PokerStars as well as he won nicely from “nutsinho” playing heads up.

Ziigmund: how much u end up?
Cole South: no clue, was playing a bunch of games and not sure what i won where
Cole South: u
Cole South: i was stuck a lot at first here
Ziigmund: totally up
Ziigmund: like
Ziigmund: 600
Cole South: live results says around +400k but a bunch of that was mix and 50100 plo
Ziigmund: when started with patrik
Cole South: not a bad day to be ziigmund
Ziigmund: lost for durrrrr 200
Cole South: gg
Ziigmund: gg

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Ilari Sahamies and Cole South against Patrik Antonius

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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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.

Bluff Europe Weekend Round-Up

Most of the poker stuff that has been happening has been happening in Melbourne. The Aussie Millions is upon us, the $10,000 Main Event has kicked off and consequently the high-stakes action on Full Tilt has been subdued. PokerStars are still going strong on the tournament front, though:

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.

Negreanu and Rousso to play in next month’s PartyPoker’s Premier League

PartyPoker has revealed that the latest additions to the Premier League Poker IV line up will be Daniel Negreanu and Vanessa Rousso.

Bluff Europe Weekend Round-Up

Most of the poker stuff that has been happening has been happening in Melbourne. The Aussie Millions is upon us, the $10,000 Main Event has kicked off and consequently the high-stakes action on Full Tilt has been subdued. PokerStars are still going strong on the tournament front, though:

Everleaf Online Poker Network Merges with UPN

The Everleaf Gaming Network and Universal Poker Network (UPN) have combined forces to form a larger network that will attempt to attract more players. The new network, yet to be named, was officially formed on January 19th and will also be adding Victory Poker to the system on February 1st, according to Victory Poker officials.

The new network is expected to attract cash game traffic similar to Betfair, which averages around 600 real money ring game players at any given time. PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, started tracking UPN in October. It began with 60 to 70 cash game players and, just before the merger with Everleaf, the number grew to around 300. PokerScout reported that Everleaf had around 100 cash game players in October, but that number dipped to 70 to 80 before the networks combined.

Prior to the merger, UPN was a Europe-only network with the Euro as its currency. Everleaf Gaming allowed U.S. players and had the U.S. dollar as its currency. The new combined network will accept players from the U.S. and promises a multi-currency system as well as a new cashier with more deposit methods. Players can have their bankroll in Euros or U.S. Dollars and they can request a one-time change in base currency by e-mailing support with their user name.

The networks did not provide players with an e-mail about the merger, which created some confusion among customers who were unaware. "No emails were sent out regarding this as the date for the merge could have and was delayed," said a spokesperson for Everleaf. "We did have a pop up notice on our poker room for the last seven days to ensure everyone was made aware of this merger."

The unification will bring together more than two dozen rooms in the new network. UPN had eight rooms going into the merger: PokerDruum.com, 5Poker5.com, MyNamePoker.com, ABDigitalPoker.com, PokerKingBet.com, BrasilianPoker.com, FullKingsPoker.com, WarriorsPoker.com, WinPKR.com, and ThePokerPanther.com.

Everleaf Rooms had 21 rooms, including Poker4Ever, Raider Poker, and Minted Poker. According to a release from Minted Poker on January 21st, the new network has developed improvements to its software to ensure a better playing experience. The enhancements include table filters, an auto re-load option at cash tables, new avatar uploads, and a $1,000 freeroll to celebrate the new merger, which will take place on Saturday, January 23rd. The entry is 50 Player Points.

"We work hard at Mintedpoker to improve your playing experience," read a statement from the online poker site. "With these additional features Mintedpoker really is one of the best sites to play poker on the internet."

The new network is currently working out some minor software kinks, but is online and running games as scheduled.

No Decision Handed Down in Kentucky Internet Gambling Case

The Kentucky Supreme Court failed to hand down a decision on Thursday in the case involving the seizure and potential forfeiture of 141 internet gambling domain names.

The list of sites that could be affected includes PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Officials from the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) and others involved in the case had anticipated a Thursday release of the Kentucky Supreme Court's decision. However, none was passed down as the day came and went.

A press release distributed by iMEGA on Thursday added that the next time the case could be addressed is late March. iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily what his reaction was to no decision being rendered by the Commonwealth's highest court: “Everyone was surprised in Kentucky. The rumor mill thought the decision was going to be rendered. That could have been why their attorneys acted so quickly at the end of December, so if they got an adverse decision, they could keep it alive.”

No dates for releases of court opinions are listed in February. The next date shown for verdicts to be handed down on the Kentucky Supreme Court's calendar is March 18th. Others include April 22nd, May 20th, June 17th, August 26th, September 23rd, October 21st, November 18th, and December 16th. Twenty pages' worth of decisions were handed down on Thursday in the Frankfort court.

Back in October, oral arguments were heard by the six of the seven justices that comprise the Kentucky Supreme Court. In December, two months after the proceedings occurred, attorneys for the Commonwealth filed a motion to add names to its original complaint. Its counsel explained the reasoning behind identifying more defendants two months after oral arguments transpired: “In the course of the litigation and the Commonwealth’s continuing investigation, the Commonwealth has learned the identity of certain entities and individuals involved in internet gambling operations, some of whom are U.S. citizens.”

The motion called for a hearing in front of Judge Thomas Wingate on January 20th. However, because the motion was never acted on by the Kentucky Supreme Court, no such hearing took place. Wingate upheld the initial seizure order as part of a decision rendered in October 2008. The last-second move by Commonwealth attorneys to add names to the record, to some in the industry, indicated that the Kentucky Supreme Court was readying to hand down a verdict. However, those inclinations ultimately proved to be false.

The case centers on whether domain names, which are housed in the depths of cyberspace, constitute “gambling devices” under Kentucky state law. The two-word phrase traditionally refers to physical objects like roulette wheels and slot machines that you'd find in an underground casino. The domains were allegedly seized without due process back in September 2008. Wingate mandated that the affected sites cease taking customers from Kentucky immediately, else risk losing access to their domain name worldwide.

For now, it appears that the future of domain names like FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com will remain up in the air in the Bluegrass State. Also involved in the case is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry's 1.2-million member strong lobbying force. The PPA filed an amicus brief to the Kentucky Supreme Court charging that poker is a game of skill and therefore not gambling under state law.

Original estimates pinned a decision in the Kentucky Supreme Court between three and six months after oral arguments took place, or sometime between January and April. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on the case.

Liv Boeree Appears in Maxim UK

Maxim UK describes this poker player as a “very sexy guitar-wielding, card-playing, telly-hosting farm girl.” Who is she, you ask? UB.com’s Liv Boeree, of course. Boeree appeared in a recent edition of the scandalous magazine.

The photographer in the Maxim UK shoot, Alan Barry, allegedly asked Boeree to pose on a toilet and the Brit obliged. She told Maxim UK, who inquired about the unique shot, “It seemed a shame to let such a lovely chrome toilet not be included in the shoot. It wasn't me that made the toilet sexy, it was the toilet that did all the work. It really was such a pretty thing.” Boeree appears in two colored dresses on Maxim UK’s website: red and black. In the now-infamous toilet shot, she is hunched over while wearing a skimpy black dress.

Boeree grew up on a farm, leading to a flurry of questions concerning her background. Maxim asked whether she enjoyed rolling around in hay. Boeree responded, “Hay is preferable to straw for sure, it's way less scratchy.” She revealed that her favorite farm animal is a pig, leading to a highly insightful question from Maxim: “Have you ever masturbated one, like Rebecca Loos? If you haven't but had to, would you?” Boeree bluntly responded, “No. And no. What is wrong with you people?”

Boeree also noted that she is a fan of strumming the guitar and her favorite riff is from “Cowboys from Hell” by the band Pantera. Maxim UK inquired as to whether she could play the guitar solo from the Guns N' Roses hit “Sweet Child of Mine.” The UB.com poker icon admitted, “I can't - it's never one I've really tried to learn. Give me a month and I'll play it for ya though.” Her ultimate rock superstar group would include James Hetfield of Metallica, Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom, Adam Duce from Machine Head, and Vinnie Paul from Pantera.

Maxim UK finally got around to asking about poker, Boeree’s profession. She revealed that the most she’s ever won in a day is $42,000 and recapped an interesting run-in with porn star Ron Jeremy: “He mentions how he's just learned to play poker so I ask him a particular hand related question: Which would you prefer... 6-9 or Jack King Off. Say those fast and what do you get? Well Mr. Jeremy didn't get the innuendo in the names and proudly stated that he'd always choose Jack King off over 6-9.”

On the online poker forum TwoPlusTwo, posters were buzzing over the shoot and its corresponding in-depth interview, a link to which was posted three days ago. TwoPlusTwo member “hdbets” critiqued the quality of the photo shoot: “pretty bad photos, they lack a decent production, lighting and wardrobe... even Liv being a very beautiful woman doesnt look that great.” Others were seeking out more skin: “Thats got to be the lamest Maxim spread i've ever seen, she's like fully clothed.”

Boeree has established herself as one of the top poker commentators in the business. She’s reported for outlets like WorldSeriesOfPoker.com, Gutshot TV, and Challenge TV. Her aforementioned $42,000 cash came in May 2008, when Boeree won the $2,000 buy-in Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship, defeating American Lenna Martyak heads-up.

Besides Boeree, other members of Team UB include Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok, and Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, who is the reigning CardPlayer Player of the Year. UB.com and its sister site, Absolute Poker, comprise the CEREUS Network and happily accept players from the United States.

GUKPT Bolton Main Event starts today

First and foremost is a new sponsor. The Tour will now be run in association with GCasino.com, which will be opening its online poker room next month. Former sponsor BlueSqpoker.com will remain involved though and will continue to offer online satellites.

Antanas “Tony G” Guoga Joins Team PartyPoker

Continuing to add to an already impressive lineup, it was announced early Thursday that top poker professional Antanas “Tony G” Guoga has signed a sponsorship deal with PartyPoker.

Guoga, who has been at the forefront of the international poker scene for the past decade, will make his first showing for Team PartyPoker at the Aussie Millions, which began today and is one of the top non-U.S. tournaments on the poker schedule. According to Guoga’s new blog at PartyPoker, he will be participating in the $100,000 Challenge tournament scheduled to start on January 23rd, which draws some of the toughest competition in the game today and features defending champion Howard Lederer. Tony G will also join fellow Team PartyPoker members Bodo Sbrzesny and defending Aussie Millions champion Stewart Scott along with 43 qualifiers from PartyPoker for the Aussie Millions Main Event. The AUD $10,000 tournament will feature three starting days that begin on January 24th and will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Net.

As a part of the new sponsorship deal, Guoga will also be part of one of PartyPoker’s upcoming special events, the PartyPoker.com Premier League IV. This invitation-only tournament is scheduled to take place in February in Las Vegas and includes a formidable lineup. Such players as former World Champion and 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, current World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko, poker Triple Crown winner Roland De Wolfe, noted poker “bad boy” Luke ‘FullFlush’ Schwartz, and dangerous tournament pro J. C. Tran are scheduled to take to the felt, presenting Tony G with tremendously difficult opposition.

Guoga’s own online poker site, TonyGPoker.com, has been merged into the PartyPoker family. Those players who are a part of TonyGPoker.com will be moved to Noble Poker. Guoga will continue to be an integral part of his online promotions, such as the Sunday Bike Ride (moving to Noble Poker), and will play on PartyPoker under the name “TonyG.”

“We’re delighted to welcome Tony to Team PartyPoker,” a PartyGaming spokesman commented about the newest arrival to the organization. “Tony is undoubtedly one of poker’s biggest characters in the game and a personal deal for him made huge sense. We are also happy to have acquired the assets of TonyGPoker.com and look forward to welcoming his players on board.”

Guoga isn’t called “The Mouth From Down Under” for nothing. Known to dismiss his beaten opponents from the table with a curt “On Yer Bike!” Guoga has already issued a challenge for those PartyPoker members playing in the Aussie Millions. “If one of the Party qualifiers knocks me out of the Main Event, I will buy them a bike,” Guoga stated. “First of all, however, I will ride it out myself… I know when it is bike time!”

In his first blog entry on PartyPoker, Guoga also throws down the gauntlet against one of his Premier League IV foes. After speaking glowingly of Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and “High Stakes Poker” announcer Kara Scott, Tony G dropped the hammer on Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz: “He’s rude, obnoxious and I cannot wait to bust him up. This kid is not the kind of player you feel you can learn from – you just want to bust him.”

Guoga certainly has the ability to bust up many players at the table. His lifetime earnings at the tournament poker tables total nearly $4 million and include the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II championship in 2006. He was also the runner-up in the 2006 PartyPoker Intercontinental Poker Championship in Las Vegas and has cashed 15 times at the WSOP.

Famous for his mouth, it is Guoga’s philanthropic efforts that have earned him a great deal of respect from players and fans. After he won the first ever Asian Poker Tour (APT) event in Singapore in 2006, Tony G donated half the prize money to charity and, after taking down over $200,000 in a Moscow poker tournament in 2007, he turned over the entirety of his winnings to Russian orphanages.

With the addition of Guoga, Team PartyPoker is becoming a formidable challenge in the tournament poker world. After not sponsoring pros for much of its existence, PartyPoker has certainly drawn top talent to its roster. Along with Guoga, Sexton, Sbrzesny, and the two Scotts, other members of Team PartyPoker include France’s Remy Biechel, England’s Ian “The Raiser” Frazer, and Brazil’s Felipe "Mojave" Ramos.

PartyPoker Adds Tony G

Famed loudmouth Tony G will bring his abrasive style of poker to a team that already includes Mike Sexton, Ian Frazer, Bodo Sbrzesny, Remy Biechel, Stewart Scott, Felipe “Mojave” Ramos and the recently signed Kara Scott.

Tony G will make his PartyPoker debut at the upcoming 2010 Aussie Millions.

“I cannot wait to start playing for Team Party on the circuit,” said Tony G. “I’ve always loved Party and what better way to kick off than at the Aussie Millions. I am also really excited about the Premier League in February - it is the best event in poker in my eyes.”

Tony G has been one of the hottest players in the Premier League’s recent events with a second and third place finish.

As part of the deal with PartyPoker, Tony G’s signature poker site TonyGPoker.com, will be moved to the PartyPoker-owned Noble Poker. The transfer should be relatively painless as both sites are on the iPoker network.

“We are delighted to welcome Tony to Team Party,” said a PartyGaming spokesman. “Tony is undoubtedly one of poker’s biggest characters in the game – a personal deal for him made huge sense. We are also happy to have acquired the assets of TonyGPoker.com and look forward to welcoming his players aboard."

Born as Antanas Guoga in Lithania, Tony G moved to Melbourne, Australia, when he was 11 and began playing poker at the age of 18.

Tony G quickly built a reputation for aggressive play and trash talk at the tables. In 2003, Tony G made the final table of the WPT Euro Finals of Poker in Paris, which established him as an upcoming player to watch.

Since then Tony G has accumulated nearly $4 million in tournament earnings with large scores at the Asian Poker Tour, WPT, WSOP and PartyPoker World Open.

In 2007 Tony G won the Moscow Million for $205,000 and donated the entire first place prize to Russian orphanages.

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Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz Added to PartyPoker.com Premier League IV Roster

As the PartyPoker.com Premier League IV draws closer, the field of 12 continues to take shape.  On Tuesday, PartyPoker.com announced that poker's newest bad boy, Luke "FullFlush" Schwartz, has been confirmed as the fifth player for the February contest.  Schwartz joins Premier League III winner J.C. Tran, 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, World Poker Tour (WPT) Season 7 world champion Yevgeniy "Jovial Gent" Timoshenko, and "Triple Crown" winner Roland de Wolfe in the exclusive event, which will take place February 11th to 18th in Las Vegas.

Schwartz caught the attention of the poker world in 2009 by racking up seven-figure profits online, all the while beating an impressive list of players.  Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, Brad Booth, Tom "durrrr" Dwan, and David "Raptor" Benefield were among his victims.  Perhaps more than his poker skill, it was his "in your face" personality that really turned heads.  Known to trash talk to his heart's content, Schwartz cemented himself as one of online poker's most controversial figures when he called Dwan and Di "Urindanger" Dang "gay" in a public interview.

In October 2009, Schwartz took his behavior to another level, stealing a sandwich from a food stand after busting out of the European Poker Tour (EPT) London event.  Having been previously banned from Grosvenor Casino properties for not obeying the dress code only to have the ban lifted in time for EPT London, he was banned once again for his actions.

Schwartz may be young, but he is far from intimidated by the already strong field.  "For sure there are some big names playing but I have to be a huge favorite," he told PartyPoker.com.  "They need to know that I’m coming with my sharky hat on and it's gonna be a whole week of soul owning from Full Flush."

"He is poker's new villain, no question about that," Daniel Negreanu once wrote in his blog.

Seven players are yet to be determined and all but one will be hand picked by PartyPoker.com.  The final competitor will be a PartyPoker.com online qualifier.  A total of 16 qualifiers will square off in Las Vegas, battling it out in a series of sit and go tournaments to determine which skilled player will receive the final (and free) seat in the PartyPoker.com Premier League IV.  In addition, PartyPoker.com will evaluate each of the 16 qualifiers and select one to receive a $100,000 sponsorship deal from the site.  While one would assume that the winner will have a leg up on the competition, PartyPoker.com will also consider personality and marketability in addition to poker skill, so even those who do not win the 12th seat will have a chance at the sponsorship deal.

The PartyPoker.com Premier League has a unique format.  The 12 players will compete in a series of six-handed sit and gos, or "heats," with points awarded based on the order of finish.  Once all the heats are completed, the top four point winners will advance to the six-handed Grand Final.  The next four players will face off in heads-up matches to determine the fifth and sixth members of the final table.

With a $100,000 buy-in and $300,000 added by PartyPoker.com, the prize pool for the Premier League IV will be a whopping $1.5 million.  The action, including the battle for the 12th seat, will be televised in Europe, with Team Party's newest member, Kara Scott, serving as host.

Full Tilt Launches Rush Poker

The premise to Rush Poker is non-stop action. In the game players are put into a large player pool but face a different table of opponents in every hand they play.

If a player is dealt a sub-optimal hand, they also have access to a “Quick Fold” button which instantly transports them to a new table and then automatically folds their hand on the old table when action gets to them.

 “Rush Poker is the greatest innovation since poker started on the internet,” said Team Full Tilt Pro Chris Ferguson.

The frenzied pace gives players the ability to play more hands than ever before.

It’s unlikely to get a read on a particular player, however, as it’s rare to play a big hand against the same player more than once a session.

Full Tilt is currently offering Rush Poker in No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha at stakes $.05/$.10 to $.50/$1. At the time this article was published there were over 5,000 players on the Rush Poker tables.

You can find Rush Poker in the main menu in the Full Tilt lobby. To learn more about Rush Poker or sign up for a Full Tilt account click here.

You can also check out PokerListings’ strategy writer Dan Skolovy’s thoughts on Rush Poker here.

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Schwartz Joins Premier League IV Lineup

 “I can’t wait to get to Vegas and crush the field in the PartyPoker.com Premier League,” said Schwartz.

Schwartz will join the already announced Phil Hellmuth, J.C. Tran, Yevgeniy Timoshenko and Roland De Wolfe in the $100,000 buy-in tournament. This is the first time the shootout-style event has been held in Vegas.

Despite the number of skilled poker players, Schwartz likes his chances in the event.

“For sure there are some big names playing but I have to be a huge favorite,” he said. “They need to know that I’m coming with my sharky hat and it’s gonna be a whole week of soul owning from Full Flush.

Schwartz made a name for himself playing online as Full Flush on Full Tilt Poker and beating some of the best online players, including Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond for over a million.

He was perhaps most well-known for his tirades where he would refer to Dwan as “durrrr-balls” and the entire online high stakes community as “OMGweNerds” in the chatbox.

He made the final table of another well-known PartyPoker tournament last year – the World Open V – but was eventually ousted in fourth when his A-T failed against Austrian qualifier Jan Veit’s K-J.

According to PartyPoker officials they were reluctant to add the controversial young player.

“We did a lot of soul searching rather than soul owning before deciding to invite Luke into the Premier League,” said a PartyPoker spokesperson. “The fact is that he is a great player and he will certainly ignite the line-up and we haven’t even completed it yet.”

More players will be announced to the Premier League IV in the coming weeks.

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Hellmuth and Schwartz added to PartyPoker Premier League IV line up

Players competing in the fourth season of the PartyPoker.com Premier League could be forgiven for asking for a set of earplugs as part of their buy-in after the news that ‘Poker Brat’ Phil Hellmuth and Luke ‘_FullFlush_’ Schwartz will both be taking part in the $1.5m event.

Innovation award nomination for RealDealPoker.com

The creators of the groundbreaking Cut N’ Shuffle dealing system, RealDealPoker.com, have been nominated at the European Poker Awards next month.

Full Tilt to Double Guaranteed Prizepools

As part of the $25 Million Double Guarantees Week, Full Tilt will double the money offered in each of its guaranteed prizepool tournaments for one week.

The promo includes tournaments like the Sunday Brawl, which will be bumped up to $800,000 guaranteed and the Sunday Mulligan, which will offer $400,000 in guaranteed cash.

Full Tilt’s biggest tournament – the Sunday $750,000 guaranteed – will be upgraded to $1.5 million guaranteed for the promotion.

Full Tilt representatives are already speculating it will be the biggest Sunday ever for the site in terms of cash awarded.

Other notable tournaments affected by the $25 Million Double Guarantees Week include the $1k Monday, which will offer $600k guaranteed, the Daily Dollar, which will double to $20k guaranteed and the $200k Double Deuce, which will be boosted up to $400k guaranteed.

For more information check the Full Tilt website.

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$25 million double guarantees week at Full Tilt Poker

Full Tilt Poker is giving players the double their tournament winnings next week by boosting the prize pool in all of its guaranteed events. For one week only a whopping $25 million has been added.

Bluff Europe Weekend Round-Up

The first BluffEurope.com weekend round-up of 2010 brings news from the Bahamas as PokerStars turns the islands into the centre of the poker universe while on the other side of the globe Full Tilt hosted the largest ever tournament in Australia. Online, six-figure pots were played routinely. Here it all is:

Cole South has a +$275,146 weekend

It was a relatively quiet weekend at Full Tilt Poker, but if you’ve been reading our online news section long enough you’ll know that it certainly doesn’t mean no one won or lost six figures.

Dusty “leatherass” Schmidt joins DragTheBar

Dusty “leatherass” Schmidt, the consummate grinder who kicks lumps out of high-stakes games on Full Tilt and PokerStars yes the hardest games on the Internet – despite mass-multi-tabling, has left his position as lead instructor of StoxPoker in order to assume that role at fledgling video training site DragTheBar.

Titan Poker Launches World Challenge

Starting this month players on Titan Poker will compete in a series of country-specific and regional online poker tournament leagues in an effort to represent their country and challenge the world.

Players will be ranked based on their results over an 18-week span and the top poker players in each league will advance to a final round of eight scheduled tournaments.

The culmination of the promotion will see five players selected to represent Titan Poker in Vegas with $13,000 packages to the 2010 WSOP Main Event, which cover travel and accommodations.

Titan Poker is gearing the competition to both novices and poker regulars alike as each have a chance to scoop a coveted WSOP seat.

To learn more about the promotion or check the latest results on the World Challenge leaderboard go to Titan Poker’s website.

Visit PokerListings.com

Titan Poker Launches World Challenge

Starting this month players on Titan Poker will compete in a series of country-specific and regional online poker tournament leagues in an effort to represent their country and challenge the world.

Players will be ranked based on their results over an 18-week span and the top poker players in each league will advance to a final round of eight scheduled tournaments.

The culmination of the promotion will see five players selected to represent Titan Poker in Vegas with $13,000 packages to the 2010 WSOP Main Event, which cover travel and accommodations.

Titan Poker is gearing the competition to both novices and poker regulars alike as each have a chance to scoop a coveted WSOP seat.

To learn more about the promotion or check the latest results on the World Challenge leaderboard go to Titan Poker’s website.

Visit PokerListings.com