Poker News

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

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)

durrrr Challenge 2: Jungleman12 Still Swinging

This first durrrr Challenge session of the New Year lasted roughly six hours with the two combatants playing 2,918 hands of heads-up No-Limit Hold'em at $200/$400 stakes.

Dwan had been in the midst of a comeback the past few challenge sessions, but all that was erased last night with Cates posting a $319,103.50 win.

He now sits $819,213.50 up with a little over 17k hands in the books.

The two traded several big pots last night, including the largest of the challenge so far at $216,505.50, which Cates won with a flush-over-flush.

With almost one-third of the 50,000 challenge hands now in the books, Cates continues to look like a favorite to win his $500k bet at 3:1 odds.

Below are a two of the biggest hands from the latest durrrr Challenge session. For more information check our online poker stats section.

durrrr Challenge 2 by the numbers:

* $113,107,111.50: Total amount wagered

* $1,063,143,492: Toy Story 3's Worldwide Gross in 2010

* $819,213.50: Amount jungleman12 is ahead

* 17,108: Hands played

* 30: Hours recorded

* 15: Sessions played

* $5,400,000: Amount Jungleman12 earned playing online poker in 2010

PokerStars Gears Up For ANZPT 3

The second season wrapped up last week following Jonathan "xMONSTERxDONGx" Karamalikis' victory at the Grand Final in Sydney, Australia, when he got the best of a star-studded final table that included Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu (9th), WSOP, WPT and EPT Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe (8th), and 2008 APPT Macau Champ Eddy Sabat (6th).

Now organizers have confirmed the third season of the PokerStars.net ANZPT will kick off in Adelaide, Australia Feb. 2-6.

Season 2 saw eight events across Australia and New Zealand with a combined prize pool of $4,318,979.

But Season 3 promises to be even bigger with return trips to Adelaide, Perth, Sydney (twice), Canberra, Queenstown, Gold Coast, Melbourne and whispers that more locations will be announced as the tour rolls on.

Once again, there will be a Player of the Year competition rewarding the highest points-scoring player over the entire ANZPT with a sponsorship package to four Asia Pacific Poker Tour events, and either the Aussie Millions Main Event or the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event.

Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem has won the title two years running.

As always, PokerStars is planning a series of online poker satellites into the events.

More information can be found on the ANZPT website.

Howard Lederer Busts on Poker After Dark: Charity in Mind

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vanessa Rousso Goes Broke on PokerStars Big Game

It took all of one episode for Vanessa Rousso to go busto on the PokerStars sponsored “Big Game,” which airs on Fox. This week’s table, which was spread with $600,000, saw online qualifier Bob Ferdinand, affectionately dubbed the “Loose Cannon,” spar with five of the game’s top pros. At stake is a $50,000 North American Poker Tour passport, which currently belongs to David Fishman. Ferdinand is the final “Loose Cannon” of the season.

The action on the “Big Game” is Pot Limit pre-flop and No Limit thereafter with blinds of $200/$400 along with a $100 ante paid entirely by the player on the button. Each “Loose Cannon” is staked $100,000 from PokerStars and keeps any profits.

In the first major pot of Monday’s kickoff episode, Ferdinand check-called a bet of $4,000 from UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth with A-J on a flop of Q-Q-A for aces-up. Hellmuth held Q-6 in the hand for trips and the turn was a seven. Ferdinand once again check-called, this time a bet of $12,000, and the river was an ace, giving the amateur a better full house than Hellmuth. Ferdinand fired out $18,500 and Hellmuth began to reel, lamenting, “Is this even possible?” Hellmuth called reluctantly, shipping the $73,800 pot to the qualifier.

Hellmuth would exact revenge with K-Q against Rousso, who held K-J on a king-high board. The pot totaled $54,000 and initiated Rousso’s downward spiral. On the next hand shown, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier bet out $3,600 on a flop of 7-7-K with two clubs holding pocket nines, including the nine of clubs. Rousso, who had A-5 of hearts, made it $8,000 and the turn was the six of clubs, giving Grospellier a flush draw.

Rousso checked when the six hit and Grospellier hit the table as well to bring the deuce of clubs on the river. Rousso continued firing, this time $16,000, and Grospellier called, scooping the $55,000 pot with a flush. Rousso was down $55,000 through just 12 hands out of the 150 played during the week.

Introduced in recent weeks on the “Big Game” is a segment dubbed “Couch Cannon” in which only the hole cards of the “Loose Cannon” are revealed, allowing the audience at home to play along. During Monday’s installment, Hellmuth rivered trip nines against Ferdinand with A-9 to draw out on top pair. The pot, the largest of the night, amounted to $113,000 and shaved Ferdinand’s stack by $56,000. He was down $21,000 at the time.

Rousso’s witching hour came after she raised pre-flop to $1,000 with Q-J of hearts and received a 3bet from DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija, who pushed it to $3,500 with pocket jacks. Rousso came along and the flop came 10-4-J, giving her top pair against Makhija’s set. Rousso check-called a bet of $4,000 and the turn was a queen.

Rousso checked two pair and Makhija moved $10,000 in chips to the center of the table. Rousso shoved over the top for $35,800 and Makhija called with his set. The DoylesRoom pro told Rousso that she could run the river as many times as she wanted and so four final cards were dealt. A three, nine, king, and deuce fell on the four river runs and Makhija scooped the entire $87,000 pot, the second largest of the night. Rousso collected her belongings and headed for the exit, refusing to rebuy.

At the end of Monday’s episode, Makhija was up $37,000, Hellmuth was up $33,400, Grospellier was up $26,700, and Ferdinand was $5,400 in the black. Poker pro Abe Mosseri was down $3,100, while Rousso was busto. A new pro will take to the felts in her place on Tuesday night.

You can catch the PokerStars sponsored “Big Game” late nights on Fox. Check your local listings for more details.

Daniel Negreanu Prevails in PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge Finals

The finals of the PokerStars sponsored “Million Dollar Challenge” aired on Sunday afternoon on Fox and featured 21 year old mother of one Jessica Cupini taking on show front man Daniel Negreanu. At stake was a $1 million grand prize.

A four-man sit and go to play Negreanu heads-up was held featuring four previous “Million Dollar Challenge” contestants. Cupini, the first challenger to appear on Season 2 of “Million Dollar Challenge,” squared off against lovable Texan Johnny Whitt; Ray Reid, the son of a preacher; and Carmenlita Cothron, the season’s only $100,000 winner.

Cothron was the first player eliminated. The sign language interpreter crippled her stack after doubling Cupini up with 8-5 of hearts against 6-3 of diamonds on a board of 9-6-8-3 with two hearts. Cothron had a bundle of outs on the river, but a queen of diamonds hit to send her stack plummeting to one small blind. Reid eliminated her on the next hand shown with A-8 against 8-5.

Whitt hit the deck in third place after Cupini flopped a set of jacks on a board of 5-8-J. Whitt moved all-in by the river after pairing his ace, but Cupini had him beat with a set. Whitt, who promised to build a deluxe chicken coop if he won the $1 million grand prize, settled for a trip to the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. He sought comfort in the arms of his wife and son, who were in the audience.

On the final hand of the Challenge of Champions, Cupini once again flopped a set of jacks. This time, the board came A-J-3-A and Reid checked with A-8 for trips. Cupini shoved with pocket jacks for a boat and Reid called all-in for his tournament life after a few seconds of deliberation. Cupini earned $100,000 and received a chance to play Negreanu for seven-figures.

Negreanu played for Make-A-Wish foundation and would receive $100,000 for the global charity if he outlasted the challenger. Each player was stacked with 40,000 in chips and the price of poker kicked off at a hefty 500/1,000.

Two notable hands from the final match were shown. In the first, Negreanu bet 4,000 on a flop of 10-2-J with two diamonds holding A-7 of the suit for the nut flush draw. Cupini raised to 11,000 with 10-7 for middle pair and Negreanu moved all-in over the top. Cupini tanked before releasing her hand and Negreanu quickly gained a 2:1 lead in chips.

Then, Negreanu called pre-flop with 10-2 and Cupini knocked the table with K-4 of hearts. The flop came K-Q-J, giving Negreanu a straight draw and Cupini top pair. The challenger led out for 4,000 and “Kid Poker” obliged. The turn was an ace, filling Negreanu’s straight, and Cupini open-shoved all-in. Negreanu swiftly called and the final card was a three, giving the PokerStars pro the win in the Season 2 finale of “Million Dollar Challenge.”

All was not lost for Cupini, who walked away with $100,000 in cash plus a trip to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Cupini told Negreanu, her coach throughout much of the show, “I got to play the best poker player in the world twice” and the credits rolled. Negreanu also defeated Cupini in a $100,000 match in the season opener on September 19th.

PokerStars has not officially announced whether “Million Dollar Challenge” will return for a third season sometime in 2011. However, the show’s promotions page still appears on the PokerStars website. PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker site and happily accepts players from the United States.

Ryan D’Angelo Leads WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic After Day 1

One day of play is in the books in the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo, who took fifth in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, leads the pack after Day 1 in Las Vegas with a chip stack of 192,500. The field numbered 391 when all $10,000 buy-ins were accepted on Day 1, with registration remaining open until 5:00pm local time on Saturday for Day 2. Last year, 329 players coughed up $15,000 apiece.

We really can’t believe we’re writing this, but Joseph “subiime” Cheong was bounced from the WPT Five Diamond after 6betting all-in before the flop with A-J and running into D’Angelo’s pocket jacks. If this seems eerily familiar to a hand that occurred at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table, it is. In that tournament, Cheong crippled his stack after 6betting all-in pre-flop with A-7 three-handed and running into eventual winner Jonathan Duhamel’s pocket queens. The wired pair held each time.

North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun champ Vanessa Selbst, a PokerStars pro, also met her demise on Friday at the Bellagio. Selbst got her money in good, holding pocket nines on a board of 8-6-6-3 for nines-up. Her opponent tabled 10-8 for eights-up and watched with glee as the river came another eight, giving him a full house and the win. On dropping the massive pot, Selbst proclaimed to the world via Twitter, “Oh yeah, now I’m busto instead of being the chip leader.”

Trending in the right direction on the first day of play was former Bodog pro and “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande, who committed his stack with J-8 on a flop of 8-8-6 for trips. His opponent showed pocket nines, which added an open-ended straight draw when a seven hit on the turn. However, Bellande faded his opponent’s outs on the river and doubled through to 48,000. He finished the day at 65,050, good for 88th overall out of the 287 survivors.

2010 WSOP November Nine Bubble Boy Brandon Steven made his presence felt at the WPT Five Diamond on Friday. Steven sent formidable pro Scott Seiver packing during Level 3 to move to 52,000 in chips. Steven, however, failed to survive to Day 2.

Also finding the rail was Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, who Tweeted the details of his untimely exit: “Bluffed every hand to get to 60k Level 1. Level 2 I made real hands and got sucked out on to get to 40k. Lost rest KK vs AA. Not fun.” Others joining Bonomo on the rail on Day 1 included Chino Rheem, UB.com pro Joe Sebok, and Shawn Cunix.

In case you’re wondering, Sebok was ousted in particularly brutal fashion. His chips found the middle with pocket queens on a flop of 10-5-2. However, his opponent had spiked a set with pocket deuces and Sebok’s WPT woes continued. Sebok has a pair of seventh place finishes on the WPT, which runs its final tables six-handed.

Here are the top 10 chip stacks entering Day 2 at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic:

1. Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo – 192,500
2. Amirouddine Alibay – 185,200
3. Albert Kim – 157,100
4. Antonio Esfandiari – 149,550
5. Niema Mostafavi – 145,800
6. Phil Ivey – 143,225
7. Maciek Gracz – 138,850
8. Matt Keikoan – 133,775
9. Justin Young – 131,200
10. Kirk Morrison – 130,075

Other brand name pros remaining in the top 50 include:

12. John Hennigan – 120,500
16. Chau Giang – 115,000
22. Peter Jetten – 104,175
41. Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka – 84,050
42. Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko – 83,750
45. David Chiu – 82,950

Registration will close at 5:00pm local time at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Among those rumored to be buying into the $10,000 tournament on Day 2 is Kathy Liebert. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT coverage.

Phil Laak Boasts Pink Mohawk, Sling on PokerStars Big Game

Despite the high-stakes action and non-stop chatter, the appearance of Phil Laak stole the show this week on the PokerStars-sponsored “Big Game.” The series airs nightly on FOX and features a “Loose Cannon” online qualifier squaring off against a table full of sharks. PokerStars stakes each “Loose Cannon” with $100,000 and qualifiers keep any earnings from the felts after 150 hands. Chris Rose and Joe Stapleton serve as hosts, with Amanda Leatherman conducting interviews from the floor of the “Big Game” suite in Los Angeles.

Laak was fresh off his ATV accident when the show was filmed and was in the midst of having his arm confined to a sling for six weeks. He also sported a pink mohawk and was mainly forced to use one arm to look at his hole cards and place bets. Despite his various ailments, Laak was his usual garrulous self.

The $200/$400 game is Pot Limit pre-flop and No Limit thereafter and features a $100 ante paid entirely by the player on the button. Thirty-five year old cancer survivor David Fishman is this week’s “Loose Cannon” and made his presence felt early, firing three barrels against PokerStars pro David Williams on the third hand of Monday’s kickoff episode. He ultimately pushed out a bet of $10,000 on the river with a busted straight draw and forced Williams to lay down a pocket pair to win a pot of $21,000.

In the largest pot of the episode, UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth check-called a bet of $20,000 from entrepreneur Bill Perkins with pocket tens on a board of 3-J-5-6 with two clubs. Perkins held K-2 of clubs for a flush draw, but whiffed when a red deuce came on the river. Both players checked and Hellmuth raked in a pot worth $76,000. Perkins was quickly down $49,000 on his “Big Game” debut.

Also debuting this week on the “Big Game” was a segment dubbed “Couch Cannon.” In it, all players’ hole cards were concealed except the “Loose Cannon’s.” In the “Couch Cannon” hand, Laak ultimately raised on the flop with air and Fishman, holding top pair, second kicker, shut it down to scoop a $40,000 pot for the win.

After 4betting before the flop to $25,200 with A-K, Perkins laid down pocket fives and Hellmuth was quickly up $51,000 on the night. Perkins, however, clawed back towards even after drawing out on the river in a hand against Williams. Perkins check-called a bet of $4,600 from Williams with 4-3 on a board of 9-2-7-4 for a pair of fours. Williams held 9-6 for top pair and the river came another four, giving Perkins trips. Williams bet $11,400, Perkins min-raised to $22,800, and Williams called, giving the $61,000 pot to the businessman and amateur poker player.

2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Cada is also part of this week’s cast, but was extremely quiet during the opening episode. Late in the night, Cada boasted an Aggression Factor of 0.0, the least active player at the table, while Perkins was the most active player at 9.0.

By the end of the night, Hellmuth was up $54,000, Fishman was up $30,000, Cada was up $1,000, Perkins was down $22,000, Williams had lost $28,000, and Laak was down $34,000. Every player started with a stack of $100,000. New episodes of the “Big Game” air late night every day this week on Fox in most markets. Check your local listings for details.

How to Play Sets and Trips in Poker

One of the most exciting hands to flop is three-of-a-kind. When I flop a set or trips, my primary goal is to figure out how to get as many chips as possible from my opponent. Naturally, though, there are many things to consider, starting with the type of three-of-a-kind that presents itself.

For those of you who are new to poker, I would first like to clarify the difference between a “set” and “trips.” A set is a three-of-a-kind made with a pocket pair and one community card. Trips is a three-of-a-kind made with one of your hole cards and a pair on the board. This vocabulary distinction is not important when it comes to how you play the hand, but rather when describing the action to somebody. The listener will understand what happened better if you use the terms “set” and “trips” appropriately rather than interchangeably.

Holding a pocket pair, the chances of flopping exactly a set are 10.78%. Most people I have seen like to slowplay sets, which is understandable since a set has a strong likelihood of holding up through the river. But, like any hand, there are times to slowplay and times to put the pedal to the metal.

Slowplaying is most appropriate when you think your opponent is weak, regardless of whether you have position on him. Your hand is very strong – let him see a cheap turn and/or river in hopes that he catches a card that he thinks gives him the best hand. Out of position, another opportunity for slowplaying is if you have reason to believe your opponent is a chronic bluffer and didn’t hit anything on the flop. For example, maybe you have J-J and put him on A-K on a flop of J-7-2. If you think he might bluff at the pot, check to him and let him hang himself with a bluff. You can just smooth call and let him do the same thing on the turn and river, or better yet, let him hit his ace or king.

In position, most other scenarios lend themselves to playing fast. Think your opponent has a strong hand, such as an overpair or top pair? Raise him if he leads out and bet if he checks, hoping that he check-raises you. If there is no ace or king on the flop, bet or raise to try to get the most out of that betting round. Aces and kings tend to be scare cards and players really slow down if one shows up and they don’t have one in the pocket. Therefore, you don’t necessarily want to slowplay only to have one of those scare cards appear on the turn or river, causing your opponent to pack it up. And, of course, if the flop presents flush or reasonable straight possibilities, you may want to make your opponent pay to chase a draw.

What about set-over-set? Don’t worry about that. While it happens, it’s rare enough that you shouldn’t even think about it. If you get stacked by a better set, so be it. Similarly, don’t worry about letting your opponent draw to a better set. That’s a two-outer and again, just bad luck if it happens.

As for trips, you will flop that hand 1.35% of the time with unpaired hole cards. Many people consider trips worse than sets because someone else can flop a full house and beat you. That’s true, but like set-over-set, that’s not really something to worry about, as there is only a 0.74% chance of someone flopping a boat with a pair in the hole. The bigger vulnerability to trips is someone else outkicking you with the same trips, particularly if you have trip aces with a low kicker. In the case of flopping trip aces with a weak kicker, betting/raising is usually the best way to go. If you have the best hand, you’ll probably take it down right away and if you have the worst hand, you’ll probably get raised/re-raised. While it isn’t fun to get raised in that situation, the benefit is that you’ll have a good idea that you’re beat and can get out without losing a huge pot.

I have read strategies that say to slowplay trips most of the time because aggression on a paired flop will scare most players away. But this isn’t necessarily true most of the time. It is true that the main problem with trips versus a set is that it’s harder to camouflage your hand, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play them fast. Slowplaying can work if you put your opponent on a middle pair (ex: 7-7 on a flop of A-A-4) or bottom pair (ex: K-Q on a flop of A-A-Q). There’s a solid chance that your opponent will play these hands aggressively, as he’ll know there is a low probability of you having trips.

Of course, there is some risk if he has middle pair and hits a boat on the turn or the river, but you can take your chances with the two-outer. Flopping trips with top kicker can also be a decent time to slowplay, but if your opponent comes out firing, feel free to jam the pot and pray he also has trips.

In all other situations, I like to be the aggressor, whether that means leading out, raising, or re-raising. If I think my opponent has an overpair, then let’s get into a betting war. If I think he flopped top pair to my bottom trips, then bombs away. If I think he’s on a flush or straight draw, then I want to make it expensive for him to try to hit his draw.

Randy “Nanonoko” Lew Video Interview

Randy “Nanonoko” Lew is one of the most popular online grinders in poker today. We caught up with Nanonoko at the NAPT Los Angeles stop for a rare on-camera interview to discuss online poker, his sponsorship deal with PokerStars and his live tournament play. We even got a quick comment regarding a recent downswing (his first) at the tables.

Nanonoko has enjoyed immense success at online poker since he began only a few years ago. Prior to that, Randy Lew was still known by his online name, but in the professional video game industry. He was one of the top Street Fighter players in the world and would compete in international competitions. His hand-eye coordination, coupled with his high intelligence, made for a perfect fit in the world of 24-tabling online poker at PokerStars.

Two years ago articles were being written about Lew grinding and killing the small and medium stakes games. In 2009, Nanonoko continued his amazingly consistent play and win-rates at the mid-stakes games with occasional trips into high stakes play. Now in 2010, he’s been continuing his assault on bankrolls at the high and nosebleed stakes games, be it full ring, 6-handed or even Heads Up matches. His deal with PokerStars allows him to participate in many live tournaments in addition to playing the bigger buy-in weekly tournaments on PokerStars.

In this rare interview, Nanonoko talks about his beginnings in the world of professional video gaming. He goes on to talk about playing in the NAPT and how close he feels to that one big score to put him on the tournament map, although many already know his status in the poker industry. The interview serves as a great method of insight into one of the most popular and consistent online grinders today.

According to various poker databases, Lew has amassed over $2,000,000 between online cash games and online tournaments and consistently ranks high in terms of most popular search terms. He currently resides in Northern California.

Kim Fredericksen Leads NAPT Los Angeles After Day 1B

The second of two starting days in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour’s (NAPT) Los Angeles stop is in the books and Kim Fredericksen leads the survivors of Day 1B with a stack of 237,000. The final field size was 701 players, meaning that a top prize of $725,000 will be awarded.

One of the key pots of Day 1B on Saturday belonged to former UB.com pro Michael Binger, who held J-10 on a flop of 7-8-9 for the nuts. His opponents held pocket eights for middle set and 6-5 for the sucker end of the straight and Binger’s hand held to balloon up the leaderboard at the Bicycle Casino event. All told, he amassed the 13th largest Day 1B stack at 141,800.

Members of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine were out in full force over the weekend. On Friday, Soi Nguyen and Matt Jarvis failed to survive Day 1A. Yesterday, Michael Mizrachi and John Dolan were also cast away. The last November Niner standing in NAPT LA was Jason Senti, who finished seventh in the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event last week and was ousted late on Day 1B. None made Day 2 in Los Angeles.

Freedy Deeb was eliminated on Day 1B in a set-over-set situation. Also heading to the exit was PokerStars pro David Williams, whose A-K could not withstand A-Q. The flop came K-Q-5, keeping the former Bodog front man out in front, but another queen on the turn improved his opponent to trips. His opponent apologized for applying the bad beat and a disappointed Williams responded, “I don’t think you’re sorry, but you don’t have to be. You don’t have to apologize. We’re here to win.”

Jamie “thecronic420” Rosen sent Victor Ramdin away after flopping a boat with A-10 on a board of A-A-10. Ramdin held the case ace for trips and was promptly dispatched. Rosen bagged up nearly 90,000 chips after Day 1B, good for the 39th largest tally in the room.

Victory Poker pro Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, a former World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year, hit the rail at The Bike on Saturday after his A-J was well behind another player’s J-10 on a flop of J-10-3. No ace fell on the turn or river and Little came up empty-handed. He is fresh off a win in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary tournament during the Festa al Lago last month for $152,000.

As you might expect from a tournament sponsored by the world’s largest online poker site, there are a wealth of young internet hot shots remaining. Here’s how the top 10 looked at the end of Day 1B:

1. Kim Frederiksen – 237,000
2. Hafiz “hafizzle” Khan – 210,200
3. Blake Kelso – 207,500
4. David “Blue Knight4” Sesso – 200,000
5. Michael Kamran – 180,000
6. Cezary Swiech – 175,100
7. Getty Mattingsley – 173,800
8. Matthew Schulte – 167,200
9. Mike “SowersUNCC” Sowers – 151,400
10. John Smith – 151,200

Other players who remain and own top 50 chip stacks after Day 1B include:

13. Michael Binger – 141,800
16. Eric “sheets” Haber – 137,000
19. Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese – 134,000
35. Brett Richey – 94,900
43. Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul – 84,300
46. Kathy Liebert – 81,300
48. Joe Cada – 78,900

The blinds stood at 500-1,000 when play concluded on Days 1A and 1B. Today’s action kicked off at 1:00pm PT and the field will slowly work toward the money bubble, which will burst when 104 players remain. The minimum payout in the $5,000 buy-in contest is $7,500 and the top six will walk away with six-figures.

WSOP Main Event Final Table Airs on ESPN

On Tuesday night, the final table of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event aired on ESPN. As ESPN announcer Norman Chad described, the group of nine had five pairs of sunglasses, five baseball caps, one visor, three hoodies, and two sets of earnings.

Matt Jarvis dropped 50% of his stack early after a failed bluff with A-J on a board of 2-5-10-7-8. Joseph Cheong held 10-6 in the hand for top pair and Jarvis’ rocky 2010 WSOP Main Event final table began. Soi Nguyen, the lone amateur at the final table, was bumped in ninth place after his A-K could not outrace Jason Senti’s pocket queens. Nguyen earned $811,000 for his storybook run in poker’s most prestigious tournament.

After bleeding half of his stack, Jarvis hit the rail in eighth place when his pocket nines fell short of Michael Mizrachi’s A-Q of diamonds. “The Grinder” flopped trip queens, but Jarvis turned a boat when a nine fell. However, the Canuck came up short on the river, which was an ace. Chad quipped, “It’s not possible” and Mizrachi, who had half of his chips at risk, shot up to third on the leaderboard with a better full house. Jarvis’ final hand was nearly identical to one played between Chris Moneymaker and Phil Ivey in the 2003 Main Event.

Cheong claimed a pot worth 30 million to become the chip leader at the Penn and Teller Theater, one of over 20 lead changes that occurred at the final table. Then, Senti moved all-in for his last 16 big blinds with K-7 and received a taker in Cheong, who turned over A-9 of clubs. Senti remarked, “That’s bad,” but watched as a four-diamond board gave him a flush.

Holding K-7 of spades for a flush draw on a flop of Q-5-Q with two of the suit, Filippo Candio raised all-in for 18 million, prompting Jonathan Duhamel to muck pocket aces and John Racener to fold pocket tens. Then, Senti was eliminated at the hands of Cheong with A-K against the eventual third place finisher’s wired pair of tens. Cheong spiked a straight on the river to seal Senti’s respectable seventh place showing.

John Dolan was ousted in sixth place after running Q-5 of diamonds into pocket fours. Treading in the opposite direction was Racener, who doubled up through Mizrachi with A-K against A-8 of diamonds.

The defining pot of five-handed play saw Racener raise to 2.3 million with A-Q of spades and Duhamel 3bet all-in with Big Slick. Racener called all-in and found a queen on the flop to double up. After entering final table play as the overwhelming chip leader, Duhamel was now nursing the short stack. ESPN commentator Lon McEachern gave his take on Racener’s double up: “For the hockey playing Duhamel, that was like a cross-check to the teeth.”

On the very next hand, Duhamel, seemingly on tilt, got his chips in with A-9 against Mizrachi’s pocket threes. The Canadian turned trips to double up and Mizrachi hit the rail shortly thereafter in fifth place. Mizrachi ran top pair into Duhamel’s overpair in his final hand, sending the Full Tilt Poker pro and 2010 bracelet winner into the Las Vegas night. The Mizrachi crew would later celebrate their phenomenal WSOP run at the Wynn.

Candio, who was completely silent following the Main Event’s dinner break, was ousted in fourth place. Candio was all-in pre-flop with K-Q of diamonds and Cheong asked for a count before looking him up with A-3 of clubs. Cheong spiked an ace on the flop and had the Italian drawing dead to the river.

Duhamel picked up a pot worth 57 million after rivering a pair of kings and then the hand of the night occurred. Cheong 6bet all-in before the flop with A-7 and Duhamel called all-in with two ladies to set up the largest pot in WSOP history at 176 million. The board came 3-9-2-6-8 and Duhamel stacked 80% of the chips in play. Cheong’s stack dove to just five big blinds and he was eliminated a few minutes later.

Two hands from heads-up play were shown on ESPN, but Racener’s lone double up did not make it to air. In the final hand of the 2010 WSOP Main Event, Racener called all-in before the flop with K-8 of diamonds and could not draw out on Duhamel’s A-J. Reigning champ Joe Cada and Tournament Director Jack Effel presented Duhamel with the bracelet and confetti flew onto the Penn and Teller Theater stage as the WSOP crowned its first Canadian Main Event winner.

The entire final table, which took about 17 hours of real time, aired on ESPN for two hours and five minutes. If you missed it, you can catch a replay in primetime this Sunday at 8:00pm ET on ESPN2.

“Luckexpress10? wins $80k from “Ziigmund” in just six hands

It looked like Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies beat his bad downswing, but it didn’t last long. “Ziigmund” got in a $200/$400 Pot-Limit Omaha heads up match against Marcello “luckexpress10″ Marigliano earlier today - and it lasted for six hands only.

Marcello “luckexpress10″ Marigliano

Even though the session was quick, Sahamies managed to lose 80,000 dollars, two buy-ins, in just six hands.

Ziigmund goes all-in on turn. Marigliano isn’t afraid to pay with the nut straight against Ziigmund’s possible flush:

All-in on flop, Marigliano’s trips are good:

Marigliano has been spotted on Betfair and Entraction high stakes tables as well, but there hasn’t been decent action for him. Marigliano is known as “sansonne” on Betfair and “Luckex” on Entraction.

Source: Pokerista.net

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“Luckexpress10″ wins $80k from “Ziigmund” in just six hands

Duhamel, Racener Go Heads-Up for Main Event Glory

The 23-year-old from Boucherville, Quebec will bring a better than 6:1 chip lead into heads-up with Floridian John Racener in Las Vegas Monday following an exciting 14-hour playdown to the final two.

The 2010 November Nine saw Soi Nguyen run ace-king into Jason Senti's queens to become the first player eliminated at the Rio Saturday.

Then Matt Jarvis exited eighth in a hand that thrust Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi back into contention.

Mizrachi called a Jarvis shove with ace-queen and the Canadian found himself racing for his tournament life with pocket nines.

Two queens on the flop gave Mizrachi trips, but a nine on the turn seemed to save Jarvis, making him a full house.

It was not over, however, and when an ace fell on the river, Mizrachi had a bigger full house and Jarvis was done.

The group went to dinner seven-handed and returned to see Senti bust seventh with ace-king in another cruel hand that saw him flop trips and Joseph Cheong turn pocket tens into a runner-runner straight to beat him.

Then John Dolan ran out of steam pushing Q♦ 5♦ and getting the call from Jonathan Duhamel on pocket fours.

The four's held and just five remained as the final table entered its eleventh hour.

Mizrachi fell from grace next, slipping down the leaderboard before commiting the last of his chips with top-pair queens only to find Duhamel with pocket aces.

Italian Filippo Candio was out soon after shoving king-queen into Joseph Cheong's ace-three and failing to improve after an ace on the flop.

Three-handed, Cheong six-bet shoved ace-seven offsuit into Duhamel's queens and missed, handing the French Canadian the largest pot in WSOP history and a massive chip lead.

Cheong said goodbye third soon after and Duhamel will bring 188,950,000 in chips to Racener's 30,750,000 when heads-up play begins Monday night at 8 p.m. PT in Las Vegas with the 2010 WSOP Main Event title on the line.

First place is worth $8,944,138 while $5,545,855 is reserved for second.

Check the site Sunday for a few words from the planned Duhamel and Racener press conference and tune into Pokerlistings WSOP Live Updates Monday at 8 to catch all the heads up action until a 2010 WSOP Main Event winner is crowned.

Jason Mercier, Gary Payton Trump Million Dollar Challenge Contestants

It was another rough week to be a contestant on the PokerStars-sponsored “Million Dollar Challenge.” The poker game show, which airs around NFL coverage on FOX every other Sunday, pits online qualifiers against celebrities and PokerStars pros with a chance at $1 million on the line. Longtime sportscaster Chris Rose serves as its host.

After defeating football legend John Elway in the first round to earn a $5,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure package, Lauren Gallant moved on to face PokerStars pro Jason Mercier. At stake this time around was $25,000 in cold, hard cash. “Million Dollar Challenge” front man Daniel Negreanu was moved to an isolation booth, where he could communicate with Gallant via an earpiece. In addition, Mercier could invoke the dreaded “Dome of Silence” twice during the match, cutting off all communication between Negreanu and the challenger.

To say that Gallant struggled would be putting it lightly. After raising pre-flop, Gallant bet out 3,000 with K-5 on a flop of 10-9-A with two spades. The challenger had whiffed completely and Mercier called her continuation bet holding A-5 of spades for top pair and the nut flush draw. The turn was the four of spades, filling Mercier’s flush, and the action went check-check to a deuce on the river. Mercier, holding the nuts, invoked the “Dome of Silence,” moved all-in, and Gallant got out of the way. In the process, she shipped one-quarter of her chips to the bracelet winner.

Then, Gallant got it all-in before the flop with A-6 of hearts. Mercier, however, woke up with A-10 and made the call. The flop of 2-Q-9 didn’t change matters, but Gallant spiked a six on the turn to move ahead with a pair. The river was a dagger, as a 10 hit to give Mercier a higher pair with the re-suck. Just like that, Gallant was eliminated, but still earned a 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize package for her run to the second round of the “Million Dollar Challenge.”

The next challenger was Loren Watterworth, an ICU nurse who faced off in the first round against nine-time NBA All-Star Gary Payton. Negreanu sat by Watterworth’s side throughout her abbreviated match, which saw her raise to 5,000 before the flop with A-2, only to see a raise to 8,000 from Payton, who held A-K. Watterworth called for time to discuss the bet with Negreanu, who contended that she had too much money in the pot to fold. Consequently, Watterworth called and the flop came 10-4-7, missing both players. Payton bet 3,000 and Watterworth laid it down, falling to just 5,400 in chips after starting with 20,000.

Watterworth ultimately doubled up to 10,000 after her A-K withstood Payton’s 9-7. Watterworth flopped trips and never looked back, giving the nurse some life. However, the trash talking Payton prevailed after Watterworth errantly moved all-in on a flop of Q-7-Q holding just 6-2 of spades for six-high. Payton, who seemed unwilling to lay any hand down, called with K-2 and, once again, a contestant was drawing to a six. This time, the turn was a four and the river was an ace, sending Watterworth home empty-handed. Payton claimed $5,000 for the Gary Payton foundation, a charity that helps keep kids off the street.

Sunday marked the second straight week in which no challenger advanced to the third round. The next new episode of the PokerStars “Million Dollar Challenge” will air on November 7th on FOX. Check your local listings for more information.

Soi Nguyen Wins 19.5 Million Chip Pot on ESPN’s WSOP Coverage

On Tuesday night, the field of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was chopped from 48 players to just 27. As the action quickly approached the November Nine, the eliminations were fast and furious. You can catch ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 WSOP Main Event every Tuesday at 9:00pm ET.

Danish pro Theo Jorgensen continued his strong run in the Main Event by knocking out a player early on with 9-7 against pocket eights. Jorgensen actually flopped two pair in the hand and never looked back. Meanwhile, Joseph “subiime” Cheong relegated former chip leader Evan Lamprea to the rail with pocket tens against A-J. Cheong led the field after Lamprea’s elimination.

At the feature table, Michael Mizrachi continued to carry the flag for the Mizrachi clan after all four brothers made the money, as he doubled up through William Thorson to move to 45 big blinds. Also doubling was PokerStars pro Jonathan Duhamel, who moved all-in over the top of a bet by Matt Berkey on a board of 6-3-6-8-2. Berkey called and tabled 10-6 for trips, but Duhamel showed pocket eights for a turned full house. Duhamel moved to 7.8 million in chips while donning his signature hoodie.

Also trending in the right direction was Jason Senti. The Bluefire Poker instructor was all-in and behind with A-J of spades against A-K on a flop of A-J-6. The turn and river blanked out for his opponent and Senti doubled to 6.2 million, or 75 big blinds. Scott “BigRiskky” Clements also doubled up to keep his WSOP Main Event bracelet hopes alive after cracking Ben Statz’s pocket kings with A-K.

The hand of the night featured Soi Nguyen all-in with K-J against Jorgensen’s A-3 of clubs on a flop of K-5-9 with two clubs; a mammoth pot of 19.5 million was up for grabs. The 10 of diamonds hit on the turn and the river was an offsuit three to double up Nguyen, who became the new chip leader. Amazingly, Jorgensen dropped 80% of his stack on a draw and Nguyen immediately busted out his cell phone to begin spreading the word. Then, John Dolan doubled up and Hasan Habib tripled his stack to close out the first of two one-hour episodes.

To kick off the second hour of coverage, which began at 10:00pm ET, Brandon Steven flopped the nut flush to knock out Jonathan Driscoll in 39th place and Jacob Toestesen in 40th place. Driscoll was angered that Steven had begun celebrating on the flop and muttered, “You should gloat more after you win.” Meanwhile, Senti continued to climb the leaderboard, leaping into fourth place after knocking out Edward Ochana.

Mizrachi eliminated Corey Emery after turning the nut straight against Emery’s set and he moved to over seven million. Then, Senti was at it again. This time, he took out German pro basketball player Michael Skender after hitting a full house on the river. Consequently, Skender’s run in the 2010 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas ended in 31st place.

PokerStars pro Johnny Lodden was on the brink of elimination twice against Duhamel, but managed to forge chopped pots each time. In the first hand, Lodden held A-5 of diamonds against Duhamel’s A-9 of spades, but the river put two pair on the board, chopping the pot. Nearly the exact same scenario occurred later on in the broadcast, as Lodden’s A-J chopped with Duhamel’s A-K.

Then, Jorgensen’s Main Event run came to an abrupt end. The one-time chip leader was all-in with A-K on a board of A-6-4, all clubs. John Racener made the call with A-Q, including the queen of clubs, and hit a queen on the turn to take the lead in the hand. Jorgensen was sent away in 30th place and Racener picked up a pot worth 5.6 million.

Finally, Pascal LeFrancois busted Bryn Kenney in 27th place with pocket aces against pocket deuces to set up the final 27 and the field erupted in applause as Day 7 came to a close. Catch Day 8 next Tuesday at 9:00pm ET on ESPN.

Pat Pezzin Hot Tub Interview

PND Editor Dan Cypra continues his “Hot Tub Interview” segment, hosting PokerStars Team Pro, Pat “TorontoToro” Pezzin. This interview was filmed at the PokerStars cocktail reception just after Day 1A had concluded from the World Series of Poker Main Event. Pezzin is a sponsored pro, hailing from Canada, who has played in the $10,000 Main Event five times, having cashed once.

Pezzin is a member of the PocketFives.com forums and has over $460,000 to his name in online tournament earnings. Having played poker for well over a decade, he brings a lot more experience to the tables, be it virtual or in person, than most of the pros he faces. A recent big score was the PokerStars SCOOP Event #9 which won him $65,9000 and a 6th place finish at the SCOOP Event #28 for $46,600. Both of those events were played in May of 2010. He also made waves at the WCOOP and took 7th place in the $10,000 High Roller event for a $43,200 payday. His largest tournament score in a live event was in June of 2009 when he finished second in the $10,000 World Series of Poker Limit Hold’em event for $285,200.

Pat Pezzin, formerly known as “TorontoToro” at PokerStars before becoming a sponsored pro, built his reputation on trips to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. There he would play mixed cash games and in 2004 starting making regular cashes in tournaments. Aside from his WSOP exploits, he has cashed at three World Poker Tour events.

In Canada, Pezzin isn’t just known for being one the country’s top poker players as he’s also one of the top Bocce players as well. He has represented Team Canada in Bocce at events around the world.

Daniel Negreanu Drops $200,000 on Monday’s Big Game Episode

After ending up $16,000 last week, Russell Harlow became the first “Loose Cannon” to return for a second go-around on the PokerStars-sponsored “Big Game.” To start this week’s festivities, $700,000 was spread across the six-handed table and Harlow told “Big Game” hostess Amanda Leatherman that it was time to “go big or go home.” You can catch the “Big Game” late night every day this week on FOX.

The “Big Game” boasts blinds of $200/$400 and a $100 ante paid entirely by the player on the button. The action is Pot Limit before the flop and No Limit thereafter and the maximum buy-in is $500,000. The “Loose Cannon” qualifier with the highest earnings total at the end of the season takes home a $50,000 PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) prize package.

In the first major pot of the night, PokerStars pro Barry Greenstein led out for $10,000 with A-Q of diamonds on a flop of Q-2-3 with one diamond for top pair. Daniel Negreanu, holding pocket kings, came along, as did DoylesRoom namesake Doyle Brunson, who spiked a pair of threes. The turn was the three of diamonds, giving Brunson trips, and the “Godfather of Poker” led out for $21,000. Greenstein and Negreanu both called to see a four of diamonds on the river, filling Greenstein’s flush.

Greenstein moved all-in for $60,000, Negreanu tanked before folding, and Brunson called to send the $232,800 pot to Greenstein. Negreanu and Brunson each added $100,000 to their dwindling stacks.

Negreanu continued to bleed chips, calling Brunson’s $86,100 all-in on a board reading 10-7-10-5 with 7-4 for tens-up. Brunson turned over pocket rockets for aces-up and the pair agreed to run the river twice. Both final cards favored Brunson, who raked in a $223,800 pot. Brunson quipped, “I love to play small ball,” and Negreanu was down $141,000 after just nine hands.

Harlow continued to prove that he was anything but timid by 3betting to $22,000 with A-8 of diamonds on a flop of 10-7-9 for a two-way straight draw. Lex Veldhuis, the original bettor on the flop with A-J of spades, abandoned ship, as did Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, who held K-Q of the suit. The pot boosted Harlow’s “Big Game” profits to $35,000.

The big pots kept coming on an electrifying episode of the PokerStars “Big Game.” After missing straight and flush draws on the turn and river against Greenstein’s top pair, Negreanu fired out a bet of $32,500 on a board reading 6-10-Q-5-4 with K-J of clubs for king-high. Greenstein called behind with Q-8 and scooped a $111,200 pot, pushing “Kid Poker” even further into the red.

In the final hand of Monday’s kickoff episode, Bonomo, holding A-J of spades, checked a flop of 8-7-Q with two spades. With 10-6 of spades, Veldhuis bet $6,700 and Bonomo made it $18,000. Veldhuis moved all-in for $107,000 and Bonomo called quickly to build a $223,000 pot. Veldhuis elected to run it only once and an ace on the turn and three on the river sent the $223,000 bounty to Bonomo. By the time the hour-long show had wrapped up, every person at the table sans Harlow had played a pot worth at least $200,000. Brunson actually played two and won one.

At the end of 29 hands, Greenstein and Bonomo were each up over $100,000, while Negreanu was $201,000 in the hole. Harlow was up $18,000, adding about $2,000 to his stack during the episode. Watch “Big Game” nightly on FOX. Check your local listings for station and channel information.

Nick Schulman Featured on MTV’s World of Jenks

On Monday night, the new MTV series “World of Jenks” featured an in-depth look at the tumultuous life of poker pro Nick Schulman. After winning the 2005 World Poker Tour (WPT) Foxwoods World Poker Finals for $2.1 million, Schulman blew through his bankroll in just a year.

Yesterday’s installment of “World of Jenks,” a documentary featuring young host Andrew Jenks, began in Las Vegas for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). With the Main Event just days away, Schulman, his girlfriend, and others discussed the upcoming $10,000 buy-in tournament. Schulman relayed, “It always trips me out that someone is going to win the tournament and they don’t even know it.” This year’s Main Event will shell out a top prize of nearly $9 million when it resumes in four weeks.

Back in Schulman’s Las Vegas hotel room, he battled with John “World” Hennigan in Chinese Poker. At the same time, he hit the felts of his home site, Full Tilt Poker, and took down a $10,000 pot. Hennigan and Schulman also forged a prop bet centered on throwing playing cards into an ice bucket across the room.

The party then moved to B.J.’s Cocktail Lounge, where round after round of Southern Comfort was ordered. Among those in attendance was former WPT champ Daniel Alaei, who dropped $1,500 in a game of roshambo. The next day, Jenks explored Las Vegas while Schulman played poker and won $34,000. The pro candidly explained, “If you look at the money, poker’s probably not for you.”

After primarily focusing on the high life of poker players, “World of Jenks” dove into Schulman’s dark side. He used to have major anxiety attacks in school and promptly dropped out. He also noted that he still suffers from attacks when he’s alone, especially at night. However, poker provided him with a sanctuary from his anxiety, likely a reason that he chose to become a staple of the industry.

Schulman and Jenks then flew to London to tape a poker television show. The one-day trip ended with Schulman taking third in the event in which the top two moved on. Visibly upset, Schulman admitted, “The losses stick with me and the wins just evaporate.” While in London, Schulman told Jenks how he lost over $2 million following his breakthrough victory at Foxwoods: “I was a maniac. Every day, I just wanted to be in action… It’s like rags to riches to rags, fast.”

Back in Sin City, Schulman bled chips in the Main Event. In a critical hand, the Full Tilt Poker pro picked up pocket kings and moved all-in on a queen-high board after the turn. His opponent flipped over A-Q, but another queen on the river sent Schulman packing. Schulman explained his mindset following the bad beat: “It’s just depressing. When the World Series is over, it’s another year until it starts again.”

In the closing scene of the half-hour episode, Jenks and Schulman cruised the Nevada desert in a convertible. Schulman told viewers, “If poker doesn’t go as I envision, I think I’ll walk away from the game… It’s exhausting and it doesn’t feel like a lifelong thing for me.” In the closing credits, it was revealed that he’s currently taking a break from the game by traveling across the United States with his brother.

Schulman returned to the World Poker Finals feature table in 2007, where he was the runner-up to Michael Vela and banked $864,000. In 2009, Schulman earned his first WSOP bracelet in the 2-7 Lowball World Championship, defeating a final table that included John Juanda, David Benyamine, and Ville Wahlbeck. This year, he finished ninth in the $50,000 Player’s Championship and took seventh in the HORSE Championship for a combined $231,000.

Watch the entire episode of “World of Jenks” featuring Schulman by clicking here.

Filippo Candio Chips Up, Gets Penalized on ESPN WSOP Coverage

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi entered Day 6 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event second in chips and took his seat at the feature table alongside poker pro Peter Jetten. A total of 122 players remained including Mizrachi’s brother, Robert.

Breeze Zuckerman exited in 121st place for $57,000 as this year’s Last Woman Standing. In her final hand, Zuckerman ran K-10 into UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin’s pocket aces. Then, Tony “Bond18” Dunst, fresh off being hired as the host of the “Raw Deal” segment on World Poker Tour (WPT) broadcasts, had his aces cracked by A-Q. In an interview with ESPN, Dunst admitted that he’d consider wearing a tuxedo if he made the Main Event final table.

Pocket aces were everywhere on Day 6. Filippo Candio doubled up with them against pocket queens and began screaming hysterically in one corner of the Amazon Room. Harrah’s officials issued Candio a one-round penalty for his outburst and he was all but mute for the rest of the broadcast. Before being assessed his punishment, Candio told WSOP floor staff, “I didn’t know this rule.”

Also surviving to see Day 6 was Jean-Robert Bellande. The former Bodog pro and “Survivor: China” contestant unsuccessfully tried to knock out a player with J-5 of spades. He was up against Big Slick, but his opponent, Jose Nadal, promptly flopped trips to take down the pot.

Robert Mizrachi’s miraculous run through the 2010 WSOP Main Event came to an end when he was all-in with A-10 for eight big blinds and up against A-K. ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad noted, “They have set a sibling standard for all future large families to shoot for.” Robert took 116th place for the same $57,000.

Ben Straate was eliminated as part of a three-way all-in that saw Theo Tran nearly triple up to over one million in chips. Rob Pisano, who was also in the hand, then exchanged words with Tran at Table 2. In the final hand of the first one-hour episode, Michael Mizrachi, now the Last Mizrachi Standing, picked up J-10 of spades and sent a player with A-7 of diamonds to the rail to become the new chip leader at 5.6 million.

The second episode, which began at 10:00pm ET, also featured action from Day 6. Candio made his way to Table 2, while former tennis pro and assistant to Patrik Antonius Nick Rainey was ousted in 106th place. Tran was then sent packing after running two pair into a straight and, at the feature table, Jetten dumped more than half of his stack. Jetten called the all-in of Brock Bourne with A-K on a board of Q-J-K-8-K only to see Bourne table pocket jacks for a full house.

Theo Jorgensen, who once defeated Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen in a boxing match, won a pot of 5.6 million to become the new chip leader with over eight million. Then, Baldwin doubled up with K-J of clubs against A-4 of diamonds to keep his run towards the 2010 WSOP November Nine alive. Also chipping up was Alexander Kostritsyn, who held one of the top stacks in the Amazon Room at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Jorgensen headed to the feature table, putting all three of the largest stacks together. Then, Gary Kostiuk, who was recently diagnosed with MS, was eliminated in 85th place for $79,000 after running pocket tens into the cowboys of eventual 10th place finisher Brandon Steven. Moving in the other direction was Jerry Payne, who doubled up courtesy of Michal Wywrot after cracking pocket queens with K-J. Payne turned a king and no lady came on the river.

In the last major action of Day 6, Candio 5bet all-in before the flop with A-K and received a call from Manuel Davidian, who held pocket tens. With a pot worth 5.4 million up for grabs, the dealer spread out 2-K-6-8-3 and Candio pressed on. In lieu of celebrating loudly, Candio chose to sing to himself softly.

Next Tuesday, the action from Day 7 will air starting at 9:30pm ET on ESPN.

Jason Mercier Up $130,000 on PokerStars Big Game

New episodes of popular poker television shows are airing in droves this week, among them the PokerStars-sponsored “Big Game,” which airs late night on Fox. This week, the six-handed cash game table was stacked with over $1 million and Russell Harlow took to the felts as the online qualifier dubbed the “Loose Cannon.” PokerStars staked Harlow with $100,000; the Loose Cannon who banks the most money at the end of the season takes home a $50,000 PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) prize package.

The action before the flop on the “Big Game” is Pot Limit and then No Limit thereafter. Tony G came to the felt with the largest stack at $500,000, the maximum allowed, and the blinds were $200/$400 with an ante of $100 paid entirely by the player on the button. Harlow works the graveyard shift as a bakery delivery driver.

UB.com pro Phil Hellmuth was the table captain early, raising to $2,000 before the flop with A-6 and receiving calls from Antonio Esfandiari (pocket jacks) and PartyPoker pro Tony G (9-6 of hearts). The flop came 10-8-10 and Esfandiari led out for $4,400 with an overpair to the board. Tony G got out of the way and Hellmuth pushed the action to $14,400 with ace-high. Esfandiari called and the turn was a three.

Hellmuth continued to be aggressive despite having air and bet $17,000. Esfandiari once again called and the river was a five. Esfandiari checked and Hellmuth dramatically tanked before betting $22,000. Esfandiari opined, “You should get an Academy Award for that one” and sent his hole cards into the muck. The pot was worth $91,000.

Hellmuth continued to get frisky and picked up pocket kings in a hand against Jason Mercier, who was dealt pocket threes. The flop came 9-Q-3, all clubs, and the action went check-check. Hellmuth held the only club in the hand and the turn was an offsuit queen. Mercier checked his set and Hellmuth fired out a bet of $7,000. Mercier check-raised to $20,700 and Hellmuth came along. The river filled the “Poker Brat’s” flush and Mercier moved all-in for $67,200. Hellmuth got out of the way, telling Mercier that he thought he had nines-full, and Mercier increased his stack to $129,000.

Then, the hand of the night occurred. Harlow raised to $1,400 with pocket jacks before the flop and Tony G made the call with a wired pair of threes. Mercier called out of the blinds with 6-5 and flopped the nuts on a 2-4-3 board. Mercier checked his nut straight, Harlow bet $4,000 with an overpair, and Tony G raised to $12,000 with middle set. Mercier pushed the action to $29,000, Harlow wisely abandoned ship, and Tony G put Mercier all-in.

Mercier happily called all-in and, with $237,000 in the middle, the two agreed to run it once. The turn was an eight and the river was a six, doubling up Mercier to $237,000. It was his second major pot of the night and Mercier ended Monday’s kickoff episode up $130,000. On the flip side, Tony G was down about the same amount when play concluded on Monday.

The Loose Cannon also got his licks in by the time 30 hands had been played. Harlow raised to $1,300 pre-flop with K-7 and Esfandiari 3bet to $4,300 with A-5. Harlow called despite being out of position with a weak hand, but was rewarded when the flop came K-4-K. Harlow bet $5,000 with trips and Esfandiari raised to $17,400 with ace-high. Harlow deliberated before just calling and the turn was a nine. Harlow continued to stay aggressive, betting $20,000, and Esfandiari folded to give the qualifier a $64,000 pot. Harlow ended play on Monday up $6,700.

You can catch the PokerStars “Big Game” every night on Fox. Check your local listings for airtimes.

EPT Heads-up - Juanda vs Vamplew; action resuming shortly

The Sunday Scoop: Pearljammer, j.thaddeus Book Big Scores

The Sunday Million drew 7,638 players creating a $1,527,600 prize pool.

But while sola100 claimed the $229,143.87 first prize, the biggest news may have been a third-place showing by darrenelias, just one week removed from his sixth-place finish in the WCOOP main event.

Full Tilt’s $750k Guaranteed drew 3,291, meaning the site had to kick in $91,800 to make the guarantee. In the end, RolldUpTrips took down the title and $96,759.43.

But it was pros like Jon “Pearljammer” Turner and Jude “j.thaddeus” Ainsworth who literally stole the headlines this week.

Ainsworth won the PokerStars Sunday Second Chance, beating a field of 1,330 to grab the $48,305.60 first prize, while Turner booked close to a six-figure score winning the PokerStars Sunday 500 for $87,400.00.

Hafiz “hafizzle” Khan (4th) and Travis “TravestyFund” Rice (7th) also made the final table there.

In the meantime, a player by the name of GODBLESSAMERIC grabbed six figures from the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl, taking home the title and $105,641.20.

And although the UB $200K Guaranteed drew just 908, forcing an $18,400 overlay, J4D3DR4G0N still walked away with $44,920 for the win there.

Carmenlita Cothron Wins $100,000 on PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge

On Sunday, the PokerStars-sponsored “Million Dollar Challenge” returned to Fox. The program can be seen before or after NFL games on the network and features poker pros and celebrities battling against an online qualifier. This week, Carmenlita Cothron, a sign language interpreter, took to the stage.

First up for Cothron was former Super Bowl champion John Elway. Each player began with 20,000 in chips and Negreanu was seated alongside Cothron. He could not see her hole cards, but was able to offer up advice and insight as needed. In addition, Cothron was granted one time out to consult with “Kid Poker” in a critical hand.

Cothron called the big blind with J-9 and Elway raised to 2,800 with K-Q of hearts. Cothron came along and the flop came 9-10-Q, hitting both players hard. Elway bet 3,000 with top pair and a gutshot straight draw and Cothron called behind with bottom pair and an open-ender. The turn was another queen and the football icon moved all-in for his last 1,800 with trips. Cothron called and watched as a nine hit on the river to give Elway a double up with a better full house.

Elway moved all-in for nearly his entire starting stack with J-4 of diamonds and Cothron called with A-3. The board ran out Q-K-6-2-5 and Cothron earned a $5,000 trip to the Bahamas for the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Then, it was on to face a PokerStars sponsored pro, this time with $25,000 hanging in the balance. Cothron drew 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Chris Moneymaker and Negreanu moved to an isolation booth where he could see the qualifier’s hole cards and communicate with her through an earpiece. Moneymaker could shut off all communication between Cothron and Negreanu twice during the match by invoking the “Dome of Silence.”

Cothron doubled up early on after Moneymaker moved all-in with 8-5 of clubs on a board reading 2-3-4-10 with two clubs for straight and flush draws. Moneymaker used the “Dome of Silence,” but Cothron correctly called all-in with the best hand. The river was a red seven and Cothron doubled up to 34,000. She held all but 6,000 of the chips in play and had a stranglehold on the match against Moneymaker.

In the final hand, a crippled Moneymaker moved all-in with J-3 of clubs and Cothron insta-called with Q-3. Negreanu told Cothron that he would have folded the marginal holding, but the better starting hand held and Cothron collected $25,000. She was then met with the decision of whether to take the cash and dash or face Negreanu heads-up for $100,000 and a spot in the Tournament of Champions later in the season.

Cothron’s mother made the decision easy, telling the viewing audience, “If she needs $25,000, I’ll write her a check. Let’s go forward with this thing.” Accordingly, Cothron went for it and ultimately emerged victorious against the four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner. She raised to 2,000 pre-flop with Q-10 in the match’s final hand and Negreanu called with J-9 of hearts. The flop came 9-4-4, giving Negreanu two pair, and he check-raised to 8,000. Cothron called with what ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad would dub “squadoosh,” but promptly hit a queen on the turn to take the lead.

Negreanu moved all-in for 9,200 when the face card peeled off and Cothron tanked before calling. The river was a king and Cothron walked away with $100,000. She’ll face off against other winners of the $100,000 prize in the Tournament of Champions at the end of the season. The winner of that sit and go moves on to face Negreanu heads-up for $1 million.

The next new episode of the PokerStars “Million Dollar Challenge” airs on October 10th on Fox before or after coverage of the NFL. Season 1 of the poker game show can be seen on GSN. Check your local listings for more details.

Gus Hansen Takes WSOPE £10k Heads-Up Title

The man they call the Great Dane finally finished off online MTT killer Jim Collopy in the previously-delayed final round of their best-of-three match for the WSOP Europe’s £10,350 Heads-Up High Roller title.

Following the win, Hansen said it truly felt like the monkey was finally off his back.

“I have been playing the World Series since my good friend Huck Seed won it in the mid 90s,” he told PokerListings.

“Back then I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I’ve had a lot of attempts since then and I was fairly close a couple of times.

“I’m actually a little bit surprised it came in a heads up event, but I’m really happy to win it.”

Hansen and Collopy split the first two rounds of the best of three final early Friday morning before the match was put on hold due to the late hour.

With both players jumping in the WSOPE main event Friday, the match was put on hold indefinitely until a suitable time to play could be worked out.

With both players out of the main, they jumped back on the Casino at the Empire felt to finish at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Collopy took the lead right out of the gate and by the end of the first 40-minute level looked to have built a 2:1 chip lead.

However, Hansen was slowly grinding his way back in the match when he rivered a boat against Collopy’s trips, got the money in the middle and doubled up to take control.

The two traded pots for a while until the end of the fourth hour of the match approached and Hansen called a Collopy pre-flop shove with pocket fours.

Collopy had king-four and after the board bricked out, Hansen had his first WSOP bracelet.

Gracious in victory, he was quick to applaud Collopy’s effort.

“I felt I was up against it right from the get go,” he said. “I felt like Jim had adjusted from the first two matches. He definitely caught me by surprise; all the credit to him for really adjusting from the first two matches and really putting me on the spot in the third match.”

Sporting crutches and a cast on his foot from a recent Achilles injury, Hansen said his condition made things difficult.

“I’m not trying to make any excuses,” he said. “I think I played a good match. I guess it’s one of those things that happens. I’m just glad I could win the bracelet.”

For the win, Hansen will add £288,409 to his more than $10 million in career tournament earnings.

Collopy took £178,211 for second.

But instead of planning some wild celebration for his first win in a World Series event, Hansen said his plans included a quiet dinner with a few friends in London Sunday.

“Never underestimate a good night’s sleep,” he said.

Hansen-Collopy Heads Up Final On Hold

Danish legend Gus Hansen moved through to the final pushing past the UK’s Andrew Feldman in the semis and sat waiting as online MTT star Jim “Mr_BigQueso” Collopy took care of the venerable Ram Vaswani to meet him there.

The best two of three match began with the veteran Hansen pouncing on young Collopy and beating him into submission over the course of the two hours.

Up one to nil, Hansen took a stranglehold on the second round as well and built a solid 2:1 chip lead within the first hour.

His first bracelet seemed within reach when they both flopped trips and Hansen went runner-runner to make a flush and drag a massive pot.

However, Collopy cracked Hansen’s kings to fight back to even as late night turned to early morning in London.

Collopy took the lead and soon after the two got it in with Hansen holding queens against his nines.

A nine on the flop gave Collopy the win in the second round and tied at one all, the two agreed to come back and play the rubber match either in the afternoon or evening Friday.

The time will be determined sometime Friday, allowing both players to get in on the second Day 1 flight of the WSOPE main event.

The £10k Heads-Up event originally drew 103 of the best poker players on the planet to the Casino at the Empire in London’s Leicester Square.

First place is worth £288,409 with £178,211 going to the runner up.

50 minutes with Daniel Negreanu - Watch the video!

Daniel Negreanu gave an interview to PokerTube while playing some WCOOP tournaments.

Negreanu chats about cash games, TV-shows, favourite games, Phil Hellmuth and many other topics.

You’ll get a quick peak to Daniel’s play in PLO and 7 Card Stud tournaments. Daniel also mentions that he will enjoy the tournament trips abroad more in the future, as he has now only concentrated to the tournaments and his hotel room.

Watch the whole interview below (click the picture):

Source: PokerTube

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50 minutes with Daniel Negreanu - Watch the video!

Johnny Chan Perfect on Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship

On Saturday at 9:00pm ET, the Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship continued airing on GSN. The third round of regular season matches began with Phil Hellmuth teaming with Toto Leonidas, Annette Obrestad teaming with Annie Duke, Phil Laak teaming with Phil Ivey, and Phil Gordon teaming with Jennifer Harman. The unique match boasted four players named Phil and the first all-female team.

Each pair received 50,000 in starting chips and players alternated action by street. Each team is randomly assigned and, out of the 32 players that entered, 16 will make the post-season after four preliminary matches. Players are not allowed to talk strategy at the table while their team has cards. Instead, teams are allotted one 30-second time out to confer.

Harman and Gordon doubled up through Obrestad and Duke after flopping a king-high flush against the nut straight. Then, the contingent of ladies was out in fourth place after running Q-10 into the pocket tens of Gordon and Harman. They received zero points for the regular season standings and Duke, a UB.com pro, was nearly assured to miss the playoffs.

Laak committed his team’s chips pre-flop with A-Q and ran into Hellmuth’s Big Slick. Hellmuth called all-in and watched in agony as Laak’s team flopped two pair. Hellmuth and Leonidas headed for the exit in third place and received four points apiece.

In the match’s final hand, Ivey moved all-in before the flop with a wired pair of threes and Gordon made the call with pocket jacks. The board ran out 10-5-6-7-8 and Gordon and Harman claimed the title and 20 points. Through three regular season matches, Gordon has racked up 44 points, with Doubles Poker Championship commentator Brandon Adams speculating that 35 will be needed to make the playoffs. Ivey and Obrestad each stood at 31 points with one match to go in the regular season.

The second set of matches to unfold on Saturday night featured Huck Seed pairing with Carlos Mortensen, Mike Matusow teaming with Allen Cunningham, PartyPoker front man Tony G teaming with Johnny Chan, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan teaming with Victory Poker’s Antonio Esfandiari.

Doubles Poker Championship viewers were able to see Seed and Mortensen deliberate in a time out speaking only Spanish, although the team was the first to depart. Seed and Mortensen were all-in with K-3 and up against the pocket eights of Matusow and Cunningham. The flop came 3-8-3, giving Matusow and Cunningham a boat against trips and the better hand held for the win when the case three failed to come.

Chan raised to 8,500 pre-flop with pocket nines and Esfandiari made the call with J-10 of diamonds. The flop came 8-8-4 with two diamonds and Tony G led out for 8,000. Dwan pushed all-in and Tony G called. The percentages showed a virtual coin flip until a nine fell on the turn to give Tony G and Chan a boat, leaving Dwan and Esfandiari drawing dead. Dwan tossed a $5,000 casino chip to Matusow, presumably as payment for a last longer bet, and his team was eliminated in third place.

The final hand of the night saw Matusow open-shove with K-2 and Tony G call with pocket sixes. The board ran out five cards seven or lower and Tony G and Chan claimed victory. For Chan, it marked his third straight title. The former back-to-back World Series of Poker Main Event champ is the lone player to have 60 regular season points through three matches, while Seed owns 40.

Chan told Full Tilt Doubles Poker Championship host Lacey Jones why he’s been so successful: “The secret is patience, discipline, just watching the other players play, pick up a little bit here, pick up a little bit there, and just finish the hand.” You can catch new episodes every Saturday at 9:00pm ET on GSN.

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