Posts Tagged ‘pokerstars’
Nine-Way Chop Ends PokerStars Fifth Anniversary Sunday Million
Early Monday morning, the battle in the Fifth Anniversary PokerStars Sunday Million came to a close, setting records for both its prize pool and player count.
Last week, when PokerStars announced that the guaranteed prize of the fifth anniversary of its Sunday Million would be $5 million, it was safe to assume that it would draw huge numbers. When the site added on a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 as another reward for the victor, it added fuel to an already sizzling fire.
By the time late registration had ended in the early rounds of the tournament, an astounding 59,128 players had coughed up the $200 buy-in to participate in the event. The prize pool – $11,825,600 – was the second largest in online poker history, eclipsed only by last year’s World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event. Adding in the cost of the car, the Fifth Anniversary PokerStars Sunday Million featured a prize pool that bested $12 million.
Even though the tournament was one of the largest online events ever, the pace of play was rapid. It took slightly less than five hours to get to the 7,450th place player, who would earn a minimum cashout of $354.76. The main goal, of course, was the top prize of over $1 million and that Italian sports car.
Seven hours into the tournament, players continued to drop by the wayside as the event reached the 1,000-player mark. Although the elimination of 58,000 players came quickly, the final 1,000 battled it out for the next five hours to determine the final table. Once “pbrsquad” was vanquished in tenth place, the final table was set.
According to the PokerStars Blog, this is where the tournament became more interesting. With “Syndrome1977” holding the chip lead with 107.7 million over “Bdbeatslayer” (92.6 million), the final table players took some shots at thinning the herd. After a few hands in which “Syndrome1977” gave up the chip lead to “wrzr123,’ the table was paused and discussion of a chop began.
After almost an hour of chatter, the players were able to divvy up the roughly $4.7 million remaining in the prize pool. Taking the lion’s share was the chip leader, “wrzr123,” who walked off with over $844,000, but every player came away from the deal with at least $263,000. Set aside as the remaining prize was the Lamborghini.
Over the span of the next hour-and-a-half, the combatants for the Lamborghini came down to two players. “Bdbeatslayer” went on a massive run after the deal was struck and came into heads-up play holding a 4-1 lead over “sheppyshape.” The duo battled for roughly another half-hour before “sheppyshape,” holding pocket sevens, committed his stack to the center of the table. Unfortunately for him, “Bdbeatslayer” held a dominating pair of nines. After an uneventful board, “Bdbeatslayer” was the victor of the largest PokerStars Sunday Million in history.
1. Bdbeatslayer – $671,093.81 and a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
2. sheppyshape – $465,647.02
3. wrzr123 – $844,209.87
4. guccyka – $411,090.13
5. Syndrome1977 – $799,842.09
6. zeurrr – $518,402.33
7. nhar818 – $441,541.06
8. Jan10004 – $311,023.33
9. Battmeister – $263,888.06
Visit PokerStars for more details.
Weekly Freerolls: The Hits Keep Coming
This week the Titan Poker takes center stage with an epic $5,000 freeroll set to take place on Thursday. The event costs just 25 Titan Points to buy in, so make sure you get a piece of the action.
Also worth looking into this week is the $2,500 William Hill freeroll, which kicks off later today, and the Betfair $3,000 freeroll on Sunday.
As a reminder PokerStars will once again be offering a mega-freeroll on Jan. 15 with $15,000 in Sunday Million tickets. Every player that earned 100 player points in December is eligible so be sure to check if you qualified without realizing it.
If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up for an online poker account.
William Hill is running an exclusive $2.5k freeroll for PokerListings players in the first week of January.
Date: Jan. 8 Value: $2,500 Buy-in: 10 William Hill Points Sign up herePokerListings players will want to check out the Betfair Poker $3,000 freeroll on Jan. 9.
Date: Jan. 9 Value: $3,000 Qualify with: 5 frequent player points Qualify between: December 1-31 Sign up herePokerListings players will have access to a $500 freeroll by 888poker.
Date: Jan. 11 Value: $500 Qualify with: 100 status points in December Sign up hereTitan Poker is running a $5,000 freeroll for PokerListings players that costs just 25 Titan Points to buy into.
Date: Jan. 13 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 25 Titan Points Sign up herePokerListings players have access to exclusive monthly $2,000 freerolls on PartyPoker.
Date: Jan. 15 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 100 Party Points Earned Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up hereAbsolute Poker runs $5,000 monthly tournaments for PokerListings players.
Date: Jan. 15 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands in December Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up herePokerListings players get a shot at the UB Poker $5,000 exclusive monthly tournaments.
Date: Jan. 16 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands in December Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up herePoker770 is hosting an exclusive $1,000 freeroll for PL.com players.
Date: Jan. 16 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: New deposit Qualify between: Any day before Jan. 16 Sign up herePokerStars is running a massive $15,000 Sunday Million freeroll on Jan. 16.
Date: Jan. 16 Value: $15,000 in Sunday Million tickets Qualify with: 75 VPPs Qualify between: Dec. 1-30 Sign up herebwin Poker is running exclusive monthly $1,000 freerolls for PokerListings players.
Date: Jan. 23 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: 50 frequent player points Qualify between: May 15-Jan. 22 Sign up hereVisit www.pokerlistings.com
2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller Day 2: Schulman Leads the Final Table
Identity of Isildur1 May Be Revealed Saturday
In what will either be the worst kept secret ever in the poker world or the most stunning reveal of all-time, the identity of the online phenomenon Isildur1 will purportedly be unveiled on Saturday evening in the Bahamas.
Several poker news sites have announced that the identity of Isildur1 will be revealed at 7:00pm ET on Saturday night during action at the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), currently ongoing at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino. OnlinePoker.net indicated that the Tournament Director of the PCA stated that the announcement of Isildur1’s identity would come while trumpeting the arrival of Viktor Blom, the Swedish pro who has long been rumored to be the man behind the curtain.
PokerNews has also reported tomorrow’s reveal: “There’s a lot of speculation regarding the other identity of Blom, many claiming that he is indeed Isildur1 of nosebleed online fame. We can’t say for sure, but PokerStars is set to reveal the true identity of their newest online pro on Saturday at 7:00pm. Are Blom and Isildur1 the same person? We’ll know for sure in just over 48 hours.”
Players, for their part, have not been keeping the secret very quiet during the Super High Roller event at the PCA… or have they? On their Twitter feeds, players have been calling Blom “Isildur1” when they note to their followers who is at their tables. For example, in his Tweet, 2010 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year Sorel Mizzi gave his table’s roll call: “Got Ashman, Negreanu, Timex, Vivek, Isildur1, and Nick Schulman. Fun!”
This hasn’t stopped some players from promoting different theories as to the true identity of Isildur1. Justin Bonomo noted a thread on TwoPlusTwo and Tweeted, “Coincidence that Hellmuth leaves UB just before Stars reveals Isildur1? Get ready to feel your heads explode Blom fanboys!”
Another Tweeter, Chris Choy, took the time to look over the entry list for the PCA Super High Roller event and noted, “Going through PCA $100K High Roller lineup… Seat 6 – Koen Berendsen is the only name I don’t recognize… Isildur1, is that you buddy?” Berendsen is a player from the Netherlands who has had some success in the European poker community.
Blom did not fare well in the PCA Super High Roller event, busting before the end of Day 1. Germany’s Tobias Reinkemeier leads Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu and Bryn Kenney as Day 2 plays out. Other players still a part of the action include recent WPT champion Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel “jungleman12” Cates, Eugene Katchalov, and Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger.
The Isildur1 drama has played out over more than a year since the arrival of the Swedish high-stakes player in 2009. Taking on such players as Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Isildur1 grew his bankroll in high-stakes play to record levels. As 2010 came to a close, however, the mysterious Swede decided it was time to take an unprecedented step.
Isildur1 unexpectedly signed a sponsorship agreement with PokerStars in December, guaranteeing a steady income, but also potentially prompting an end to the mystery surrounding his identity. It had been previously announced by PokerStars that Isildur1 would make the PCA his first official live event as a part of the Team PokerStars stable, and Saturday’s announcement of his or her identity will certainly draw the attention of the poker community.
A Look Back at the 2010 PCA Final Table
Tobias Reinkemeier Leads PCA Super High Roller Event After Day 1
One day of play is in the books in the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller Event at the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). Thirty-eight players put up the six-figure admission fee and, when the smoke had cleared after nine levels, Tobias Reinkemeier held a stack of 896,000 for a slight lead over Team PokerStars Pro front man Daniel Negreanu.
Reinkemeier doubled up late in the day with pocket queens against Bryan Colin’s A-10 to move to 420,000 in chips and eventually bagged up more than twice that total to make a run at the $1.5 million top prize. The $100,000 buy-in event set a new standard for tournaments at the PCA and brought out some of the game’s best, including Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. “Elky” watched as Negreanu and 2010 Bluff Player of the Year Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi hit top pair on an ace-high board. Grospellier, who was all-in against both, sent his final hand into the muck to depart in 25th place.
Grospellier wasn’t the only star to exit the Super High Roller Event on its opening day. Viktor Blom, the many presumed to be behind the “Isildur1” moniker, was also in the house and called all-in on a board reading 9-A-7-9-3. His opponent, Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar, tabled K-9 for trips. Blom mucked and that was all she wrote for the Swede, who lasted eight levels.
For Blom, the start of the day was ominous. Text found on the PokerStars Blog details the opening minutes of his $100,000 buy-in tournament run: “‘Long travels’ is how Blom described it, having just flown from London to New York to Miami to Nassau five hours late and without his baggage. He’s now filling in waiver forms.”
North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Bounty Shootout champ Ashton Griffin also found the rail on Thursday in the Bahamian poker tournament. Griffin committed his stack pre-flop with Q-10, but ran into Nick Schulman’s A-2. The board ran out A-J-2-K-A and, despite making a straight, Griffin fell to Schulman’s full house on the river.
Jason “JCarver” Somerville’s pocket jacks were no match for Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari’s pocket aces to seal his exit from the $100,000 buy-in tournament. Also without chips was math whiz Bill Chen, whose A-5 found trips on a 5-7-5-6-8 board, but David Benyamine, one of the few Full Tilt Poker pros in the tournament, held Q-9 for a straight.
Departing in particularly brutal fashion was DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins. The “Alabama Cowboy” called all-in with ducks on a board of 2-9-6-5-10 only to see that Bryn Kenney had rivered a set of his own with pocket tens. Among those seated at the same table were Phil Laak and Jason Mercier, the latter of whom told Kenney, “I really didn’t think you had two tens.”
Twenty-three players remain at the end of Day 1 of the three-day tournament, whose final table will be filmed for airing on ESPN2. Here’s how the field stacks up entering Day 2 on Friday:
1. Tobias Reinkemeier – 896,000
2. Daniel Negreanu – 848,000
3. Bryn Kenney – 828,000
4. Nick Schulman – 705,000
5. Daniel “jungleman12” Cates – 622,000
6. Eugene Katchalov – 551,000
7. Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar – 483,000
8. Jason Mercier – 459,000
9. Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger – 444,000
10. Caio Pimenta – 409,000
11. Sandor Demjan – 401,000
12. James “Andy McLEOD” Obst – 390,000
13. Antonio Esfandiari – 330,000
14. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – 324,000
15. Humberto Brenes – 318,000
16. Mike “timex” McDonald – 269,000
17. Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi – 249,000
18. Shawn Buchanan – 209,000
19. David Benyamine – 202,000
20. Matt Glantz – 148,000
21. Bryan Colin – 134,000
22. Justin “Boosted J” Smith – 116,000
23. Phil Laak – 99,000
The action will pick back up at Noon ET today and five places will pay out when the tournament wraps up on Saturday. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2011 PCA.
Image courtesy PokerStars Blog
Tobias Reinkemeier leads PCA Super High Roller
2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller Day 1: Reinkemeier Leads After One Expensive Day
Prahlad Friedman Joins Team UB.com
Following last week’s overhaul at Team UB.com that saw Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth depart on the same day, the USA-friendly CEREUS Network site has picked up its newest pro. On Thursday, site officials announced that Prahlad Friedman had joined Team UB.com.
Friedman seemingly hinted at joining an online poker site back in November. The 32 year old California native Tweeted, “I said I would never sign with a poker site. Should I ever reconsider? What y’all think? I would have to get over the fact that I’m ‘selling out.’ I’m the only player in the world that hasn’t wanted a deal that I know of.” UB.com promoted Friedman as “one of the world’s greatest cash game players, online and off, with millions in winnings earned since 1999.”
Friedman’s first major live cash came eight years ago in the Main Event of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio, where he booked $101,000 for his runner-up finish to Full Tilt Poker’s Erick Lindgren. One year later, he notched his first (and so far only) World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in a $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em tournament and banked $109,000 in the process.
In 2005, Friedman played second fiddle to Chris Ferguson in the WSOP Circuit Championship at Harrah’s Rincon to earn another $363,000. One year later, this author remembers being at the Rio in Las Vegas and following Friedman through the WSOP Main Event. There, he turned in a 20th place finish for nearly a half-million dollars and fell just short of the coveted Main Event bracelet.
He’d make amends in August 2009, when Friedman took down the Legends of Poker, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). His victory in the California poker tournament was worth a colossal $1 million and saw Friedman outlast a final table that included November Niner Kevin Schaffel, Todd Terry, Toto Leonidas, and Sam Stein.
Friedman was a victim of the superuser scandal that rocked UB.com and drew the ire of PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu for signing with the site that had wronged him. “Kid Poker” responded to a variety of Tweets last weekend, among them one sent to fellow poker player Alex Outhred that read, “Like you, I’ve known him for years, which makes it all the more shocking. I’ve defended Prahlad on many occasions. Can’t here.”
Negreanu added to Outhred, “UB will always have to offer more than face value [for a sponsorship] because given a choice that’s close, no one would choose UB. Or shouldn’t… UB has to offer more money obv. He used to say it wasn’t about the money. I don’t believe that anymore… He used to speak out against all corporations, claiming he stood for something. Then, the money was right and his tune changed… I get it happens. I’m disappointed it did happen. I’ve always liked Prahlad and still do despite his decision. Just shocking.”
Nevertheless, Friedman will join UB.com just in time for the sixth UB.com Online Championship, or UBOC, which gets underway on January 16th. The 29-event series will stretch all the way until January 30th, when a $1,050 buy-in Main Event will kick off. The $1 million guaranteed feature tournament will deal No Limit Hold’em and be played as a Monster Stack.
Running alongside the sixth UBOC schedule is a MiniUBOC series, which features the same 29 tournaments, but with buy-ins that are generally one-tenth as large. The MiniUBOC slate ends with a $55 buy-in Monster Stack Championship Event that comes with a $50,000 guaranteed purse.
Following the departures of Hellmuth and Duke, UB.com’s stock of pros now includes Friedman, Joe Sebok, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Brandon Cantu, Tiffany Michelle, and Maria Ho. The site happily accepts players from the United States and joins Absolute Poker on the CEREUS Network.
Play with Prahlad Friedman today only by visiting UB.com.
Jordan Young (Jymaster0011) Wins PocketFives.com 2010 Yearly PLB Crown
Michigan online poker pro Jordan “Jymaster0011″ Young was named the winner of the 2010 PocketFives.com Yearly Leaderboard PLB title this week, accumulating 19,057 PLB Points to take the honor from 2009 champ Chris “moorman1″ Moorman. Young barely bested the 18,979 points of 2010 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year Taylor “taypaur” Paur, who finished as the runner-up in the PocketFives.com Yearly PLB race.
Young, who is currently ranked #1 in the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings, made huge waves on August 1st when he won two Sunday Majors on the same day, an accomplishment considered to be one of the greatest in online poker history. Young won the Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guaranteed for $132,787 and, just hours later, took down the Sunday Brawl for another $104,951. The scores were the biggest of his young career.
“I think it’s completely ridiculous,” Young told PocketFives.com about his unforgettable Sunday. “I know I’ll never have another day online like that again. I might have a bigger payday online, but it’s going to be because of one tournament; it’ll never be because of winning two really big tournaments. At the time, I didn’t realize how amazing I ran that day. It was a big stress reliever to set myself up comfortably financially.”
Young’s August heater continued with a victory in a $100 tournament on PokerStars on August 25th for $14,418 and then a win in the Full Tilt Poker $150 Rebuy for $79,784. He added another massive score in December, taking down the Full Tilt Poker $150 Rebuy again for $76,623. That victory helped him win not only the Yearly PLB title, but also the Monthly PLB race for December. He earned the same honor in August after his two Sunday Major wins.
Paur, who plays as “tramp$d0pray” on PokerStars and “ambiguosity” on Full Tilt Poker, had a pair of six-figure scores of his own in 2010. The 22-year-old California native won the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl in April for $101,852 and then collected the biggest payday of his poker career in May by winning FTOPS Event #29, a $150 Rebuy, for $192,228. Paur claimed the #1 ranking on PocketFives.com in June before relinquishing it weeks later. He currently stands at #2 in the Worldwide Rankings behind Young.
Rounding out the top five on the Yearly leaderboard were Mickey “mementmori” Petersen, Paul “paulgees81″ Volpe, and Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek. Peterson’s biggest payout came in May, when he took second in SCOOP Event #19, a $2,100 buy-in event in which he earned $161,660. Volpe, from Philadelphia, didn’t find a six-figure score in 2010, but was consistent throughout. He collected 15 scores of at least $20,000, including a victory in the Wednesday Quarter Million on PokerStars for $51,367.
Jarzabek, who also finished in the Top 10 in the CardPlayer Online Player of the Year Rankings, picked up his biggest cash of the year on the third day in January, when he won the PokerStars Sunday $100 Rebuy for $77,976. Here’s a look at the final results of the 2010 PocketFives.com Yearly PLB Leaderboard:
1. Jordan “Jymaster0011″ Young – 19,507.77 PLB Points
2. Taylor “taypaur” Paur – 18,979.23 PLB Points
3. Mickey “mementmori” Petersen – 18,922.16 PLB Points
4. Paul “paulgees81″ Volpe – 18,378.20 PLB Points
5. Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek – 18,350.73 PLB Points
6. Adam “Squee451″ Sherman – 17,970.93 PLB Points
7. Zachary “HustlerGrune” Gruneberg – 17,689.70 PLB Points
8. Chad “evechad” Eveslage – 17,651.23 PLB Points
9. Jeremy “daisyxoxo” Fitzpatrick – 17,636.64 PLB Points
10. Steve “gboro780″ Gross – 17,613.39 PLB Points
Around the World with Lynn Gilmartin: Bahamas Baby
Double or nothing
I'm thinking of trying out the “double or nothing” STT format on PokerStars. It seems that the correct strategy is to basically fold 99% of your hands and try to make the money, i.e. half the table. Also I assume my bankroll requirements can be loosened as they're quite low variance.
Giles, Brighton
Tags: pokerstars
Online Poker Spotlight: Daniel “notontilt09″ Weinman
Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier have an interesting sidebet
The two PokerStars pro players, Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier have made an interesting sidebet. If one of them gets deep in a tournament then the other one has to pay up.
Negreanu and Mercier have proven to be excellent live players, if not one of the best ones today. Now they need to pay to each other depending how they will be placed in the tournaments during 2011.
Basically the sidebet goes like this: every money position will cost $2,000 to the other player. Final table place costs $5,000, ending up in top 3 will cost $10,000 and a tournament win is worth $25,000.
Negreanu has a similar bet going on with Daniel Alaei and Mercier has one with Frank Kassela.
Source: Pokerista.net, Bluff Europe
You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com
Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier have an interesting sidebet
PCA 2011 starts today with a $100K Buy-in Highroller Tournament - “Isildur1? is playing as well
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure 2011 starts today in Bahama. The first event is a $100K Buy-in Super Highroller Tournament.
Even though the Buy-in is so high, there was already over 30 players signed to the tournament. Many players have bought in through the PokerStars client, including “Isildur1″.
Let’s hope there will be more players signing in today and the prize pool gets really big. It is also interesting to see if PokerStars will reveal who “Isildur1″ is, because if they won’t, there are always people who can count the players in such a “small” tournament.
You can follow the tournament updates from Pokernews website.
Source: Pokerista.net
You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com
PCA 2011 starts today with a $100K Buy-in Highroller Tournament - “Isildur1″ is playing as well
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 event begins today
Taylor Paur (ambiguosity) Wins 2010 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year
Earlier this week, Taylor “ambiguosity” Paur was named the 2010 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year after edging out defending titleholder Steve “gboro780″ Gross in the final days of December. Paur stockpiled an all-time record of 11,030 points for the year, besting previous winners Gross (2009), Alex “AJKHoosier1″ Kamberis (2008), and Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron (2007) in that department.
Paur, 22, won the Full Tilt Poker $75,000 Guaranteed on December 27th for nearly $25,000 to help put a stranglehold on the crown. In total, he amassed more than $1 million in online poker earnings for the year, making up more than two-thirds of his lifetime winnings. He won 13 tournaments in 2010, six of them for scores of $80,000 or more. His biggest payday came in May when he took down the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) $150 Rebuy for $192,228.90.
Paur’s biggest feat, though, may have been fending off Gross, whose accomplishments in online tournaments are simply unparalleled. Gross, who has more than $5 million in earnings since 2005, finished as the runner-up to Kamberis in the 2008 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year race before earning the honor in 2009 and finishing runner-up again in 2010. His consistency and dedication to the game have landed him among the elite players in the industry.
Rounding out the top five in the 2010 Online Player of the Year standings were Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek, Chris “Gettin Daize” Oliver, and Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet. Jarzabek, who helped open the online training site Tournament Poker Edge this year, totaled $782,355 in winnings to claim a spot in the Top 10 for the second straight year. Oliver, meanwhile, burst onto the scene in 2010 and spent several weeks as the #1 ranked player on PocketFives.com.
There’s a certain set of criteria for tournaments that count toward Card Player’s Online Player of the Year standings. Sites included in the rankings include PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, UB.com, Cake Poker, Absolute Poker, and Bodog and only tournaments with a buy-in of $100 or more qualify. The prize pool of a tournament must be at least $100,000 and prize packages such as trips or live tournament buy-ins do not count.
Here’s a look at the Top 20 in the 2010 Card Player Online Player of the Year Standings:
1. Taylor “ambiguosity” Paur – 11,030 points ($1,099,435 in earnings)
2. Steve “gboro780″ Gross – 10,320 points ($1,023,658 in earnings)
3. Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek – 9,932 points ($782,355 in earnings)
4. Chris “Gettin Daize” Oliver – 9,268 points ($854,769 in earnings)
5. Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet – 9,164 ($859,489 in earnings)
6. Zach “HustlerGrune” Gruneberg – 8,984 points ($776,347 in earnings)
7. “kirbynator” – 8,878 points ($1,143,749 in earnings)
8. Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy – 8,874 points ($837,089 in earnings)
9. Raj “BadcardsAA” Vohra – 8,688 points ($1,319,012 in earnings)
10. Aditya “Intervention” Agarwal – 8,432 points ($739,105 in earnings)
11. Mark “dipthrong” Herm – 8,250 points ($811,208 in earnings)
12. Jamie “TheCronic420″ Rosen – 8,126 points ($664,588 in earnings)
13. Jordan “Jymaster11″ Young – 8,088 points ($751,593 in earnings)
14. Nick “Grippolio” Grippo – 8,044 points ($688,878 in earnings)
15. Ross “zestfullyclean” Myers – 7,960 points ($618,388 in earnings)
16. James “croll103″ Carroll – 7,898 points ($712,167 in earnings)
17. Mickey “mement_mori” Petersen – 7,792 points ($737,838 in earnings)
18. Ryan “ryanbluf” Karp – 7,712 points ($648,334 in earnings)
19. “mralan2950 – 7,710 points ($777,994 in earnings)
20. Chris “cdbr3799″ Dombrowski – 7,704 ($817,196 in earnings)
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, absolute poker, bodog, buy-ins, cake poker, full tilt poker, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, trips
PCA $100,000 Super High Roller Field Includes Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier
On Thursday, the first ever $100,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Event will kick off the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The inaugural running of the tournament has attracted nearly 30 players so far and Saturday’s final table will be filmed for coverage on ESPN2.
In a press release sent out by PokerStars on Thursday, the names of 26 entrants appeared, including a variety of members of Team PokerStars Pro. Among those who will take to the felts in the richest tournament in PokerStars Caribbean Adventure history is Daniel Negreanu, whose Twitter spat about Prahlad Friedman’s rumored signing with UB.com has taken center stage in recent days. Negreanu owns four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, the most recent of which came in 2008 in a $2,000 Limit Hold’em tournament.
The hottest player on the tournament circuit right now, Jason Mercier, will also participate in the $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller Event starting tomorrow in the Bahamas. Mercier is firmly entrenched in the #2 spot on the ESPN poker rankings dubbed “The Nuts” and recorded five in the money finishes at this year’s WSOP. Mercier final tabled the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Los Angeles Main Event for $84,000 in November and won the tour’s Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout for $475,000 earlier in 2010. Mercier is a former European Poker Tour (EPT) champ and WSOP bracelet holder.
The 2010 CardPlayer and Bluff Players of the Year will also head to the Bahamas for the six-figure price tag tournament. Tom Marchese and Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi are both listed among the 26 entrants so far. Marchese is six weeks removed from a win in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event during the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic and claimed CardPlayer’s 2010 Player of the Year honors. Mizzi, who earned the 2010 Bluff Player of the Year title, won two preliminary tournaments during EPT Snowfest in March 2010 for a combined haul of $140,000, just enough to cover tomorrow’s buy-in.
Bryn Kenney, who drove deep in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, will be part of the festivities at the Atlantis Resort and Casino, as will Scott Seiver. Other players who will make up the extremely talented field include Lex Veldhuis, Unabomber Poker front man Phil Laak, former “Big Game” player Bill Perkins, Humberto Brenes, Eugene Katchalov, Dan Shak, Bill Chen, Bryan Colin, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins, Victory Poker’s Antonio Esfandiari, Masa Kagawa, Nick Schulman, Matt Glantz, James “Andy McLEOD” Obst, Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar, Shawn Buchanan, and Ashton Griffin.
Needless to say, there won’t be any soft spots in the field. The 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure schedule features 48 tournaments that span a 10-day period.
On his way down to Nassau for the tournament series, Negreanu posted on Twitter on Wednesday morning, “That’s random. Three bums sit right behind me on my flight and they look very much like Antonio Esfandiari, Jonathan Duhamel, and Sorel Mizzi.” Before that, Negreanu remarked that he was taking advantage of the in-flight internet offered aboard Delta Airlines: “I love Delta; you are beautiful baby. Wifi on my flight to Atlanta means I can get some VPPs on PokerStars.Headed to PCA, obv, traveling solo.”
On January 15th, the final table of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event will air on ESPN3.com and ESPN2. You can catch the action beginning at 5:00pm ET that day on ESPN3.com on a one-hour delay. Five hours later, ESPN2 will join the telecast in progress. Hole cards will be shown during the broadcast, which will make for a unique experience for viewers unable to make the trip to the Bahamas.
Visit PokerStars for more details on the 2011 Caribbean Adventure.
Tags: 2008, 2010, 2011, ashton griffin, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, european, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, WSOP
Silly Bandz Creator Partners with DeepStacks Live
In one of the most intriguing business pairings in recent years, Robert Croak, the creator of Silly Bandz, a popular line of toy bracelets, will become the newest partner in DeepStacks Live. If you’re not familiar with Silly Bandz, Business Week called the product “the biggest success in modern day toy selling,” while during a segment on “Ellen,” show host Ellen DeGeneres comically labeled them “rubber bands.”
Silly Bandz has sold over $200 million of the product according to “Ellen,” which includes Bandz themed for Facebook’s FarmVille, teen heartthrob Justin Beiber, Hershey’s, Barbie, SpongeBob Squarepants, and Dora the Explorer. The traditional Silly Bandz run about $6 per bag and the company also sells watches and other wrist wear.
Croak commented in a press release distributed by DeepStacks officials on Wednesday, “Much like SillyBandz, which I’ve often said is the right product at the right time, DeepStacks Live is an optimal product, coming of age at the perfect time. The company has gained serious momentum in the last year. It’s my goal to make DeepStacks Live an even more valuable franchise.” Croak is an avid poker player, which may have helped pique his interest in joining the DeepStacks Live team.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect about Silly Bandz is its rabid Facebook following. Its page has over one million fans on Facebook, where the company is currently touting its end of the year holiday blowout: “Seasonal Silly Bandz BlowOut! Only $2 per pack! Holiday I, Holiday II, Rudolph, and Halloween packs are on sale for $2 each! Now through Jan. 31st.” Its Facebook page also touts sea creature bandz, Rad bandz, and Build-A-Packs.
The SillyBandz Twitter account (@sillybandz) has over 16,000 followers and posts similar messages as its Facebook feed. In all likelihood, Croak will bring his experience in social marketing to DeepStacks Live in 2011.
DeepStacks Live’s team of instructors includes several top live pros including Mike Matusow, Michael Mizrachi, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and 1983 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Tom McEvoy, a PokerStars pro. Mizrachi made waves in 2010 by taking down the all-new $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship and following up that performance with a final table appearance in the Main Event. The two cashes were good for nearly $4 million combined.
DeepStacks Live has not yet announced its 2011 live training schedule, which the site promises is “coming soon.” In the interim, DeepStacks Live CEO Chris Torina is looking forward to working with his newest investor: “Robert’s success is unparalleled. He will be a hands-on partner. I am eager for him to bring his enormous business, marketing, and design resources and unique approach to DeepStacks Live. This is a recipe for huge success.”
Affiliated with DeepStacks Live is DeepStacks University, which provides top-tier poker training instruction to eager students online. Besides the five aforementioned poker pros, Team DeepStacks’ stable of instructors includes T.J. Cloutier, online poker wunderkid Matt “mattg1983” Graham, Tristan “Cre8ive” Wade, Alex Outhred, and Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh, who has appeared in FHM Online and Playboy.
The online version of DeepStacks runs $99, which includes the first two months of poker training. Then, the price drops to $29.95 per month.
2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure: Over 20 Confirmed for Super High Roller and Over 1,000 Registered for Main Event
David “Viffer” Peat wants to play the SuperStar Showdown against “Isildur1?
Tony G lost his Showdown against “Isildur1″ a few days ago on PokerStars and before they played the Challenge, he wrote on his blog that he would like to play a live challenge match against “Isildur1″ during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure which is played from 7th to 16th of January.
There has been no refusal from PokerStars yet, so we might see that happen.
But now also David “Viffer” Peat wants to take a live challenge against “Isildur1″. “Viffer” wrote on 2+2:
“Id like to take the challenge live at pca. we can play 1 table 150k deep unlimited rebuys, cant quit unless 150k looser or 2500 hands.
Im open for other offers, or if not interested i understand.”
According to some rumors, “Isildur1’s” identity will be revealed during PCA, which makes sense, as then the live challenges are possible to be played.
At least there will be more SuperStar Showdown’s online and the third one is already being planned.
Source: Pokerista.net, Poker.org
You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com
David “Viffer” Peat wants to play the SuperStar Showdown against “Isildur1″
Richard “nutsinho” Lyndaker taking a break from high stakes
Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier in tournament prop bet
New style Sit N Go games at PokerStars
Poker World Bahamas-Bound as PCA Begins
The 11-day poker festival that is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure gets underway at the Atlantis Hotel & Casino with the first of 48 events - A $100,000 buy-in Super High Roller event that will feature poker's elite.
In fact, 26 players have already registered, including stars like Phil Laak, Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Bertrand Grospellier, Tom Marchese, Sorel Mizzi, Antonio Esfandiari, Vivek Rajkumar and online poker phenom Ashton Griffin.
With 24-hours left to get in on the action, Pokerstars is expecting it to be the largest and richest Super High Roller poker tournament in history.
Of course, the $10,000 Main Event runs Jan. 8-15 this year and will feature a tape-delayed televised final table with hole cards revealed on ESPN and PokerStars.tv, in addition to a unique behind-the-scenes look at the PCA right here on PokerListings.com.
Last year, 19-year-old Floridian Harrison Gimbel outlasted a record-setting 1,529-player field to ship the $2.2 million first-place prize and organizers are expecting an even larger field this time around.
To follow all the action from a perspective never seen before in live tournament reporting, click through to PokerListings' Live PCA coverage beginning Friday, Jan. 8.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Isildur1 hits G spot to beat Tony G out of $44,280 – on yer bike!
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure begins this week
Top Online Poker Winners and Losers of 2010
Whether it was the durrrr Challenge II on Full Tilt or the new Isildur1 SuperStar Showdown on PokerStars there always seemed to be intriguing action of one kind or another on the go.
From the emergence of relative newcomer Dan “jungleman12” Cates to the continued success of established pros like Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius there were numerous plotlines to the high stakes games this year.
We’ll start by celebrating the five biggest online poker success stories of 2010 before taking a hard look at the five biggest disappointments of the year.
Top 5 Biggest Winners of 2010
5. Di “Urindanger” Dang: $2.2 million
Although Di “Urindanger” Dang tends to fly under the radar when compared to some of his more illustrious colleagues he’s remarkably consistent.
Since he started playing the high stakes games on Full Tilt in 2007, Dang has never recorded a losing year. 2010 was no exception.
Dang did suffer through a few losing months in late spring but he came around in August and by December was up to $2.2 million.
Yet another good Christmas for the Dang household.
4. Phil Ivey: $3 million
Phil Ivey usually plays far less hands than his online opponents but he always manages to rank as one of the top five winners.
This year Ivey wasn’t particularly active until mid-April, when he went on a $2 million heater. After logging notable victories against Ashton “ASHMAN103” Griffin and Patrik Antonius, Ivey vacated the online tables from May to late August.
In August Ivey got right back to business and quickly peaked at $3.8 million in profit.
Although Ivey coasted for the rest of the year and didn’t play any huge sessions, he still finished with a very respectable $3 million.
3. Tom “durrrr” Dwan: $3.6 million
It was yet another strong year for the poker prodigy originally from Edison, New Jersey.
Once again Tom Dwan was king when it came to volume, playing a total of 296,725 hands in 2010.
The year got off to a rocking start for Dwan and by mid-spring he peaked at an astounding $6.6 million. Unfortunately for Dwan he would come back down to earth over the rest of the year.
Dwan’s biggest obstacle was Dan “jungleman12” Cates. Dwan simply couldn’t solve Cates and lost more than $600k so far in the durrrr Challenge II.
At any rate, Dwan fared far better this year compared to 2009 when he ran into a hot Isildur1 and lost millions.
2. Andreas “Skjervoy” Torbergsen: $3.7 million
Perhaps the biggest surprise of this list is a Norwegian by the name of Andreas Torbergsen.
Torbergsen, who plays with his hometown of Skjervoy as his handle, signed with CardRunners this summer and went on to become one of the biggest winners in the high stakes online games this year.
Torbergsen was essentially at $0 in August but by the end of December was up $3.7 million. It helped he won $1 million in a 24-hour period in September and recorded several $500k sessions.
It remains to be seen whether Torbergsen will remain a fixture of the high stakes online poker scene.
1. Dan “jungleman12” Cates: $5.5 million
What more can be said about Dan “jungleman12” Cate’s dominance this year?
Three years ago Cates was flipping burgers but in 2010 he was playing the biggest online games in the world and hardly ever losing.
Cates dominated Tom Dwan in the durrrr Challenge II but also found time to take on anyone else who wanted a piece. His graph reads looks like an escalator (going up, of course). He won hundreds of thousands playing PLO (which he’s still learning).
Although some members of the online community cried variance, Cates was a consistent winner for the entire year.
At any rate, Cates now finds himself in an elite group of year-end winners that includes Patrik Antonius ($8.9 million in 2009), Phil Ivey ($7.3 million in 2008) and Niki Jedlicka ($3.1 million in 2007).
To put it simply: 2010 belonged to Cates.
Top 5 Biggest Losers of 2010
5. Brian “sbrugby” Townsend: – $1.5 million
Brian Townsend had a fantastic 2009 winning $2.4 million to become one of the biggest winners of the year.
2010 wasn’t quite as kind to the former CardRunners instructor.
Although Townsend didn’t use the sbrugby account until summer (more on that later), he didn’t waste any time donating stacks of cash online.
From June to October, Townsend lost $1.6 million and never really recovered, opting to sit out the last couple months of 2010.
Check below for even more on Townsend’s disastrous 2010.
4. Gus Hansen: -$1.6 million
You’d think losing $1.6 million would make for a pretty bad year but it could have been a lot worse for Gus Hansen.
The Great Dane actually got off to a hot start in 2010 and was up $2.3 million after the first couple of months.
Like many high stakes pros, Hansen took a break from the tables during the WSOP but was still up nearly $1 million.
It was during late summer that problems started to arise for the Team Full Tilt member. From July to October, Hansen lost $4 million, the biggest downswing of the year.
Hansen would hit rock bottom in mid-October going down to -$3.6 million.
Fortunately for Hansen he was able to put a steady string of wins together to finish the year at only -$1.6 million. Not the worst year for the recent WSOP bracelet winner.
3. cadillac1944: -$1.8 million
cadillac1944 is the only player on our list who has yet to be identified.
The online account first appeared in late August and that’s about when the losing began.
cadillac1944 quickly dropped down to -$677k by September with big losses against Urindanger and DrugsOrMe.
By November cadillac1944 was down -$1.53 million and finally hit -$1.8 million in early December.
The cadillac1944 account became inactive in mid-December and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether we’ll ever see it in use again.
2. Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies: -$2 milliion
Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, one of the original kings of swing, was up to his old tricks in 2010 with a “win a million, lose a million” mentality.
Sahamies started the year by winning $2 million in spring but then lost $2.6 million over the summer.
The fall looked promising for Ziigmund as he quickly swung his way up to $1.48 million in profit.
Unfortunately for Ziigmund October was a turning point and the Finnish pro went on what he has called the greatest downswing of his career.
Over the next few months Sahamies dropped down to -$2 million with victories few and far between.
2010 was easily Ziigmund’s worst year playing high stakes online poker.
1. Brian Townsend: -$2.5 million
Brian Townsend’s 2010 was so terrible that he made this list twice.
As bad as the game went for Townsend on his “sbrugby” account, it was far, far worse on his red pro “Brian Townsend” account.
Townsend was in bad shape from the very beginning as he quickly lost $300k in early January.
The losses just continued to escalate for Townsend and by May he was down $2.5 million.
It was then Townsend made the decision to leave CardRunners, ditch his red pro account and go back to being sbrugby on Full Tilt.
It didn’t seem to make a difference as Townsend lost another $1.5 million.
If you take both accounts into consideration, Townsend lost a grand total of $4 million this year.
No one suffered more than Townsend in 2010.Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, Gus Hansen, high stakes, Online Poker, Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, pokerstars, Tom Dwan, usa, WSOP
PokerStars SuperStar Showdown: Isildur1 Rides Off with $44,280 of Tony G’s Money
Tags: pokerstars
Isildur1 Defeats Tony G in PokerStars SuperStar Showdown, Earns $44,000
On Sunday, the second ever SuperStar Showdown took place on the virtual felts of PokerStars and featured sponsored pro Isildur1 facing off against PartyPoker’s Tony G. After the 2,500-hand encounter, Isildur1 booked $44,000 in profit and was declared the winner, boosting his SuperStar Showdown record to 1-1.
Following the match, Tony G sought comfort on the TwoPlusTwo forums and posted a four-paragraph recap. He closed by calling for another round with Isildur1, who many believe he backed earlier this year: “Now, I need everyone to lobby for a rematch that is fair, and my sponsor deserves it. Let’s replay this thing on my home turf at PartyPoker ASAP and I will add $50,000 to the pool, as a contest of this magnitude deserves some money added and we will hide Isildur1’s identity. That is not up for discussion.”
Tony G and Isildur1 fired up two tables of $50/$100 No Limit Hold’em and two tables of $50/$100 Pot Limit Omaha on Sunday, with each table stretching for 625 hands. However, Tony G’s lack of multi-tabling experience may have ultimately led to his demise, according to text found on the PokerStars Blog: “Although he is quite seasoned when it comes to nosebleed-stakes cash games, unlike Isildur1′s previous challenger Isaac Haxton, the name Tony G is not exactly synonymous with multi-tabling online heads-up matches.”
Tony G shot out to an early lead after his wired pair of aces held up in Omaha, but Isildur1 bounced back in Hold’em by hitting a spade flush on the river to scoop a $20,000 pot. Isildur1 then made another flush in Omaha to extend the lead even further, but Tony G ended up $23,000 after the first 207 hands. After 561 hands, it seemed that the match could be out of reach, as the PartyPoker pro had built $47,000 in profit.
Then, perhaps hubris set in for Tony G, who asked his opponent in the chat box on one table, “u feeling ok my man… u getting owned by a total donk old man… start pressing some all-in buttons boy… are you even qualified… are you committed to this?” Isildur1 responded to the pep talk by raking in a $45,000 pot after making Broadway in Omaha to best Tony G’s king-high straight.
After 1,000 hands, Isildur1 was back in it and trailed Tony G by just $22,000. Then, text found on the PartyPoker Blog detailed, “In a three-hand sequence that spanned less than three minutes, Isildur1 entirely eroded Tony G’s profits and was back in the black to the tune of $2,450.” Isildur1 then scooped a $27,000 pot with top two pair against Tony G’s pair of eights. Following that hand, another $70,000 was pushed Isildur1’s way after spiking a set of sixes in Omaha to move ahead $46,000. By the halfway point in the second SuperStar Showdown, Isildur1 was up $77,000.
Tony G scooped an $82,000 pot after making the nut flush to bring the contest closer to even, but Isildur1 struck back by landing a monster pot worth $124,000 with a straight in Omaha. Tony G then proceeded to fume about the rules of the SuperStar Showdown, labeling the match a “freak show” and a “farse” in the chat.
Tony G fought back after his tirade, running hot in Hold’em to draw Isildur1’s lead to just over $7,000. However, when the smoke cleared, Isildur1 recorded his very first SuperStar Showdown win and received the following concession speech from his nemesis: “I have been humiliated… well done… let me go and look for my bike.” Interestingly enough, Isildur1 booked just $500 of his profit in No Limit Hold’em, but dominated in Pot Limit Omaha.
The next installment of the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown has not yet been announced. Officials from the world’s largest online poker site had hinted at another one occurring during the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which starts this week, but no announcement has been made.