Posts Tagged ‘usa’
PokerTime Launches MyPokerLab Tracking and Analysis Suite
If you play on the popular Microgaming Network site PokerTime, downloading MyPokerLab, a free poker tracking and analysis suite, is a must. You’ll instantly have access to what the site dubs “a personalized poker tuition service that will help you to play better, plug your leaks, and boost your bankroll. Analyze your game while you play – get real-time information and advice on every aspect of your game.”
A high-octane five-minute introductory video appears on MyPokerLab’s website that reviews the major features of the service.
Central components include quizzes, which present users with questions like, “You hold 7d-8d on a flop of 6h-9h-2s and face multiple opponents. How many clean outs do you have?” In addition, charts ripe with information display stats like the number of hands played, profit or loss, and BB/100.
Plus, you’ll be able to view key metrics like Voluntarily Put Money into the Pot (VPIP), Pre-Flop Raise percentage (PFR), cbet percentages, and turn aggression percentages. All are paramount to understanding how you play and where your weaknesses are.
Throughout your years of schooling, you received report cards showing your performance in easy-to-understand letter grades like A, B, and C. MyPokerLab takes the same concept and applies it to concepts like post-flop aggression, stealing, 3bets, and showdowns. Suggestions for each category are given in order to help you improve and plug any leaks you may have.
Major poker topics are reviewed in case users aren’t familiar with all aspects of the game. One sample topic shown, for example, is bet sizing. Text found on MyPokerLab gives the following advice for players deciding how much of a bet to fire out in a hand: “In No Limit, your bet should be between 50% and 100% of the pot, with the majority around 75%.” The topic also includes a discussion of the commitment threshold and the optimal times to increase or decrease your bet sizes.
The site touts “hundreds of in-depth videos” and features forums to allow you to interact with other users. Recent posts are displayed on the dashboard when you log in. Plus, you’ll be able to share questionable hands with others in the click of a button and view hands posted by fellow users. Many members of forums like PocketFives.com and TwoPlusTwo will attest to the fact that the key to improving your online poker game is debating and discussing hands with others. MyPokerLab allows you to do so quickly and easily.
MyPokerLab also offers articles on a variety of poker-related topics and you can enlist in a linear course that includes basic and advanced concepts. The site has incorporated social networking sites into its fold and is completely free to use. The pricing is a far cry from advanced poker analysis software like PokerTracker and Holdem Manager, which can run nearly $100.
To download MyPokerLab, you’ll first need to download, install, and create an account on PokerTime. Remember that the site is on the Microgaming Network and does not accept players from the United States. You’ll be playing alongside users of other Microgaming Network sites like Gnuf, Ladbrokes, Purple Lounge, and Unibet. According to the poker tracking site PokerScout.com, the Microgaming Network is the eighth largest worldwide, with a seven-day running average of 1,640 real money ring game players. It’s the fifth largest network worldwide that does not accept USA players.
Once you have set up a PokerTime account, download MyPokerLab and log in with your online poker credentials. Then, you’ll be perfecting your game in no time. It’s very rare to see this type of computing power free of charge, so make sure to take advantage of MyPokerLab if you have a PokerTime account.
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Doyle Brunson Comments on Dan Kelly Bracelet Run, Dental Surgery
Dan “djk123” Kelly solidified his bid to become a member of the DoylesRoom Brunson 10 by taking down the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Among those rooting him on at the final table was Doyle Brunson, the namesake of the popular USA-friendly site. Brunson sat down with Poker News Daily to share his thoughts on Kelly’s bracelet run and update us on his health following dental surgery.
Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Tell us what this year’s WSOP has been like compared to past years.
Doyle Brunson: It’s been a nightmare for me. I haven’t done well at all. I think I played eight events, made the second day six times, and never cashed. That’s the ultimate torture because the hard part of these tournaments is getting through the first day, which I accomplished, and then I would just go card dead. The second and third days in these tournaments are fun. It’s the old cliché, “Wait until next year.”
PND: Talk about why you’re here railing Dan Kelly at the Six-Max final table.
Doyle Brunson: It’s all to do with the Brunson 10. We’re trying to get the 10 best young players we can find. We’ve had a long, long list of kids wanting to be members of the Brunson 10 and so we took the four most promising candidates and had a race here at the World Series of Poker. The one that did the best would become a member of the Brunson 10.
We have some amazing young players and Daniel’s one of them. He looks like a 14 year old kid, but he’s a nice boy. We take that into consideration too – what kind of person they are – and try to get high-caliber guys to start with. Daniel is obviously a nice kid.
PND: A few months ago, you underwent extensive dental surgery. Tell us how you’re feeling now.
Doyle Brunson: That’s what’s bugging me. I have seven implants that are driving me crazy. I thought it was going to be a four or five-month procedure and it’s already been eight months. I have two or three more months to let my gums heal. That’s a big procedure. I didn’t realize it, but it’s like you get on a merry-go-round and can’t get off.
World Poker Tour Brings Back Kimberly Lansing for Season 9
In an overhaul of sorts for Season 9, the World Poker Tour (WPT) has brought back Kimberly Lansing. Her role, you ask? According to a press statement released on Saturday, Lansing will “provide show opens, breaks, commentary, and perspective, including player interviews that will serve to bring out the human interest side of playing for high stakes.”
Sunday marks the first day of play in the Bellagio Cup VI, the kickoff U.S.-based event of Season 9 of the WPT. With buy-ins for several upcoming tournaments slashed to encourage more participation, Season 9 may mark a rebirth of sorts for the age-old series that first appeared on the Travel Channel back in 2003.
Lansing last appeared on WPT programming in Season 6. On why she will rejoin the tour’s ranks for the forthcoming cycle, WPT President Adam Pliska commented in the same press release, “We believe the WPT anchor represents a significant step forward in poker programming and Kimberly is a natural fit for the position. Her charisma, style, professionalism, and knowledge of the sport have earned her the respect and attention of players throughout the poker community.”
Party Gaming purchased the WPT late last year, leading some to believe that PartyPoker pro Kara Scott may make her way to the small screen. However, Lansing will become a mainstay at live tournaments located at casinos around the United States. Also receiving more exposure during Season 9 will be WPT hosts Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, who will now attend the starting day of every U.S. event. Despite the Bellagio Cup starting on Sunday, Van Patten sits in 101st after Day 2A of the World Series of Poker Main Event holding a stack of 174,200.
The WPT held a press conference on Saturday morning to announce the changes for Season 9 and also officially introduced Matt Savage as its Executive Tour Director. Savage, a co-founder of the Tournament Directors of America, will work hand in hand with players, casinos, and tournament staff to provide a seamless experience for WPT players. Savage added, “There are so many exciting changes at the World Poker Tour and I’m looking forward to having a big role in the WPT’s continued success. This is an amazing team and I’m proud to be working with them.”
Also debuting during Season 9 will be the Royal Flush Girls, who include 2007 Miss Kentucky USA Michelle Banzer, “FHM Singapore” cover girl Sunisa Kim, and Formula Drift car builder Melyssa Grace. All told, six Royal Flush Girls will film vignettes for WPT programming, including a behind-the-scenes tour at the host venue. The Royal Flush Girls will be on-hand this weekend at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip.
The WPT last held an event on U.S. soil in April, when newly signed PokerStars pro David Williams took down the $25,000 Championship event. Williams defeated UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin heads-up in a final table that also included Shawn Buchanan, David Benyamine, Billy Baxter, and John O’Shea. Attendance for the 2010 WPT Championship was down over 40% from 2009, when 338 players took to the felts in a tournament won by Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko.
The seventh and eighth seasons of the WPT appeared on Fox Sports Net. However, no official announcement has been given as to whether the ninth season will also air on the cable station, although a statement is expected in the near future. Seasons 1 through 5 of the WPT aired on the Travel Channel, followed by a brief hiatus to GSN for Season 6. GSN officials opted not to air Season 7, leading to WPT landing on Fox Sports Net.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WPT news.
Tags: 2009, 2010, bellagio, buy-ins, David Benyamine, high stakes, interview, kara scott, pokerstars, tournament, usa, vegas, WSOP
WSOP Main Event Day 2a: 100% Lebron Free
A total of 2,412 players packed into the Rio on Day 2a with hopes of building a giant stack before the last level expired.
Full Tilt Poker Pro Corwin Cole entered as the chip leader with 228,000 but his status as chip leader was soon usurped by rotating group of players that included Cole South, Dwyen Ringbauer, Dragan Galic and Sammy Farha.
Greg Mueller, Sara Underwood, Garry Gates, Tyler Cornell, Steve O'Dwyer, Daniel Alaei, Ted Forrest, Will Failla, Tom McEvoy, Fatima Moreira and Steve Wong were all among the over 1,000 players to be eliminated on Day 2a.
Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh, who has been a ghost in the poker world for the last year, was surprisingly dominant at her table building a stack of approximately 150,000.
Daniel Negreanu lived it up on the ESPN stage all day, delighting hundreds of railbirds as he bantered with the table and tried to make some sick reads. The Team PokerStars Pro member will have his work cut out for him on Day 3, however, as he finished with only 27,500.
Joe Cada is starting to put together an impressive title defense as he finished with nearly 100,000 chips.
By the time the smoke had cleared on Day 2a approximately 1,260 players remained.
Patrik Antonius, Johnny Chan, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Amanda Baker, Robert Mizrachi and Amanda Baker all finished the day with over 200,000 chips.
All the aforementioned players will reconvene for Day 3 on Monday at 12:00 p.m. but tomorrow Steve Billirakis, Alex Kostritsyn, David Benyamine and thousands more will meet tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. to fight out for Day 2b supremacy.
We'll be right there with you with live updates, videos, photos and more.
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PokerStars Sponsors JohnnyBax’s Stable in WSOP Main Event
PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, is sponsoring some of the most well known, successful players in this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. From Daniel Negreanu to David Williams to Vanessa Rousso, the USA-friendly site has a noticeable presence in the world’s most prestigious poker tournament.
Last year, the poker industry watched as internet poker sensation Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy railed Joe Cada throughout his historic Main Event final table run in November. Josephy, along with Eric “sheets” Haber, routinely field a stable of players for the Main Event and this year is no exception. However, Poker News Daily has learned that PokerStars has officially sponsored the group in 2010.
Unfortunately, Josephy, a bracelet winner, ran a set into the nut straight on Day 1D after all of the money went in on the turn. The board failed to pair on the river and that was all she wrote for the East Coast native, who cashed twice in this year’s tournament extravaganza for over $10,000 combined. He’ll now watch from the sidelines as his stable forges on. The group includes players like Nick “fu_15” Maimone and Jamie “TheNew” Robbins, who finished 15th and 11th in last year’s Main Event, respectively.
Poker agent Dan Frank is responsible for brokering one of the largest player deals we’ve seen in terms of the number of people involved and will oversee its execution on the floor of the Amazon Room. Cada was seated at the ESPN feature table on Wednesday for Day 1C and finished with a stack of 67,150, good for 254th overall. He became the youngest WSOP Main Event champ in history last year after defeating Darvin Moon heads-up for $8.5 million.
Josephy’s bracelet came five years ago in a $1,500 Seven Card Stud tournament. In 2006, he blasted through the field of the World Poker Tour Championship and banked $146,000 after finishing 12th. The same year, “JohnnyBax” landed in second in the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic for $446,000 in a tournament won by Devon Miller. Josephy wasn’t done there, however, taking second in a $4,800 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event held during the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for another $187,000.
Last year, Josephy finished third in a $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event at the WSOP, narrowly missing out on his second bracelet and banking $166,000 in the process. Online, he’s been no slouch. Three weeks ago, Josephy took down the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl for $78,000, his largest online score according to PocketFives.com. He sits at #59 in the site’s Online Poker Rankings on the strength of holding the 46th best Pro Poll score worldwide.
Cada, meanwhile, tuned into the UFC fight in Las Vegas last Saturday before gearing up for his Main Event title defense. He faced off against Poker News Daily’s own Sean Gibson in a penalty kick competition the day before and fell four goals to three. Frank served as the goalie for the competition and together with Cada has offered up a challenge to anyone in the poker community.
For $1,000, anyone – even you – can challenge Cada to a best-of-five penalty kick competition with Frank once again in goal. However, rather than using palm trees as a goal as we did in our competition, a real net must be used. Frank told Poker News Daily that Cada was “devastated” after losing the prop bet, but we’re sure that an $8.9 million top prize in the Main Event this year would mollify any hard feelings.
PokerStars will continue to receive exposure through Josephy and Haber’s stable today as Day 2A kicks off from the Rio in Las Vegas. The field will showcase the survivors of Day 1A and Day 1C.
Tags: 2010, aced, Daniel Negreanu, darvin moon, full tilt poker, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, usa, vegas, WSOP
PokerStars Sponsors JohnnyBax’s Stable in WSOP Main Event
PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, is sponsoring some of the most well known, successful players in this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. From Daniel Negreanu to David Williams to Vanessa Rousso, the USA-friendly site has a noticeable presence in the world’s most prestigious poker tournament.
Last year, the poker industry watched as internet poker sensation Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy railed Joe Cada throughout his historic Main Event final table run in November. Josephy, along with Eric “sheets” Haber, routinely field a stable of players for the Main Event and this year is no exception. However, Poker News Daily has learned that PokerStars has officially sponsored the group in 2010.
Unfortunately, Josephy, a bracelet winner, ran a set into the nut straight on Day 1D after all of the money went in on the turn. The board failed to pair on the river and that was all she wrote for the East Coast native, who cashed twice in this year’s tournament extravaganza for over $10,000 combined. He’ll now watch from the sidelines as his stable forges on. The group includes players like Nick “fu_15” Maimone and Jamie “TheNew” Robbins, who finished 15th and 11th in last year’s Main Event, respectively.
Poker agent Dan Frank is responsible for brokering one of the largest player deals we’ve seen in terms of the number of people involved and will oversee its execution on the floor of the Amazon Room. Cada was seated at the ESPN feature table on Wednesday for Day 1C and finished with a stack of 67,150, good for 254th overall. He became the youngest WSOP Main Event champ in history last year after defeating Darvin Moon heads-up for $8.5 million.
Josephy’s bracelet came five years ago in a $1,500 Seven Card Stud tournament. In 2006, he blasted through the field of the World Poker Tour Championship and banked $146,000 after finishing 12th. The same year, “JohnnyBax” landed in second in the Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic for $446,000 in a tournament won by Devon Miller. Josephy wasn’t done there, however, taking second in a $4,800 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event held during the Foxwoods World Poker Finals for another $187,000.
Last year, Josephy finished third in a $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event at the WSOP, narrowly missing out on his second bracelet and banking $166,000 in the process. Online, he’s been no slouch. Three weeks ago, Josephy took down the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl for $78,000, his largest online score according to PocketFives.com. He sits at #59 in the site’s Online Poker Rankings on the strength of holding the 46th best Pro Poll score worldwide.
Cada, meanwhile, tuned into the UFC fight in Las Vegas last Saturday before gearing up for his Main Event title defense. He faced off against Poker News Daily’s own Sean Gibson in a penalty kick competition the day before and fell four goals to three. Frank served as the goalie for the competition and together with Cada has offered up a challenge to anyone in the poker community.
For $1,000, anyone – even you – can challenge Cada to a best-of-five penalty kick competition with Frank once again in goal. However, rather than using palm trees as a goal as we did in our competition, a real net must be used. Frank told Poker News Daily that Cada was “devastated” after losing the prop bet, but we’re sure that an $8.9 million top prize in the Main Event this year would mollify any hard feelings.
PokerStars will continue to receive exposure through Josephy and Haber’s stable today as Day 2A kicks off from the Rio in Las Vegas. The field will showcase the survivors of Day 1A and Day 1C.
Tags: 2010, aced, Daniel Negreanu, darvin moon, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, usa, vegas, WSOP
Phil Hellmuth 2010 WSOP Entrance and Interview
Phil Hellmuth‘s entrance at the WSOP is now a yearly event and the 2010 edition definitely did not disappoint. The UB sponsored poker pro made his way into Day 1C of the World Series of Poker Main Event in lavish style with a dance routine and loud music introducing his entrance into the tournament. Our camera was strategically placed next to Joe Sebok, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and Gavin Smith and picked up their hilarious commentary of this epic event which drew hundreds (if not close to a thousand) people. We captured the festivities outside the Rio and followed up with a quick interview with Hellmuth in this video.
World Series of Poker Main Event Day 1c complete; 1,674 survive
UB.com Sends Team Pros, Online Satellite Winners To WSOP Main Event
The World Series of Poker’s Championship Event is now halfway through its four Day Ones, with UB.com sending its stable of pros from Team UB to battle. Joining the crew from UB.com are a slew of online players who won their way into the event through satellites on the site.
According to a spokesperson for UB.com, 158 players won their way to Las Vegas through the variety of means provided by the site. “Until the final Day One (Day 1D), we won’t have an accurate count of how many have actually made the journey to the WSOP,” the spokesperson stated. To encourage players to make the trek to the Rio, UB.com has created a stake for those players to share, even if they don’t cash in the WSOP Championship Event.
For players who have won their way to Sin City through satellites on UB.com, there is a guaranteed $1000 awaiting them if they wear UB.com apparel. This guaranteed money goes up on a graduated scale to a minimum of $3750 if more than 52 of the qualifiers heads to Vegas to take their shot at the World Championship. If a UB.com branded player makes it to the money, they will earn substantially more, depending on how many of the qualifiers show. If more than 52 UB.com qualifiers show up and no one makes the money, the players will each earn $5000 just for going to the WSOP.
As to Team UB.com, several players have already been in action on the felt at the Rio. On Monday’s Day 1A, two of the top players from the squad, Matt “mattg1983” Graham and Tiffany Michelle stepped up to carry the UB.com banner. Of the 1125 players who took part in action on Monday, only 762 will come back for action on Day 2A, with Matt and Tiffany both still alive; Tiffany is significantly below her starting stack of 30,000 in finishing the day with 12,950 chips, while Matt has been able to add to his starting stack and will enter Day 2A with 58,450.
Tuesday saw a few more of the Team UB.com pros enter the fray at the Rio. WSOP double bracelet holder Brandon Cantu was joined by Mark “PokerH0” Kroon and Joe Sebok for play, with two of them not making the cut. “PokerH0,” according to the UB.com blog from “Mean” Gene Bromberg, was cooled on two occasions, once running pocket Queens into pocket Kings, then being shown the door when his Big Slick couldn’t catch up with the Queens he once held.
Sebok, who had one mini-cash during the run of the 2010 WSOP, was a bit more fortunate than “PokerH0.” Joe made the dinner break and, as accurately stated by Bromberg, “…and one hand beyond.” With a dwindling stack, Sebok made a stand with pocket fives and was looked up by A-6. Once his Presto had been vanquished, Joe headed for the door of the Rio.
Cantu, who has picked up a couple of cashes over the WSOP schedule for just under $10K, has had the best run of Team UB.com members in the Championship Event to this point. Of the 1489 runners who came to the line on Tuesday, Cantu is a part of the of the 1017 who will live to play on Day 2B (Days 1A and 1C take Day 2A, while Days 1B and 1D will take Day 2B). According to WSOP statistics, Cantu finished 189th for the day, with a chip stack of 65,025.
The rest of the Team UB.com stable will be storming the WSOP castle over the next two Day One’s. On Wednesday, Phil Hellmuth will make his usual grandiose WSOP entrance as an MMA fighter, with actual MMA warrior Wanderlei Silva as a part of his entourage. In the past, the eleven-time WSOP bracelet winner has made his entrance as General George Patton and Julius Caesar, just to pick some memorable ones.
Entering the Rio much more subtly will be the remaining members of Team UB.com. Led by Poker News Daily guest columnist Annie Duke, Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp, defending CardPlayer Magazine Player of the Year Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Anthrax guitarist extraordinaire Scott Ian, WSOP Circuit Rincon champion Bryan Devonshire, the always dangerous Michael Binger, Adam “Roothlus” Levy and Gary “Debo34” DeBernardi will all be on the tables on Wednesday afternoon. UB.com has also tapped former Miss USA Shanna Moakler for a seat at the WSOP Championship Event; “Hollywood” Dave Stann will also be a part of the fray, but his decision between Days 1C and 1D isn’t known at this time.?
UB.com July Second Sundays to Benefit Crystal King Foundation
This month’s running of the UB.com Second Sundays charity poker tournament will donate its funds to the Crystal King Benefit Foundation. The $10 buy-in tournament will pan out at 14:45 ET on July 11th and former “Amazing Race” contestant Tiffany Michelle, a member of Team UB, will host.
UB.com will match all of the proceeds raised from the tournament and then donate the entire prize pool to the Crystal King Benefit Foundation. In addition, those who play will be in the running for over $2,000 in added prizes.
What is the Crystal King Benefit Foundation, you ask? The fund came about when mother Crystal King and her three-year-old twins Camrea-Rose and Caden were involved in a major traffic incident two months ago. Caden died in the wreck with a semi, while Camrea-Rose and Crystal survived, albeit with a multitude of life threatening injuries. UB.com got wind of the family’s plight through PokerRoad.com and PokerPlayersUnite.org and decided to get involved.
Michelle, who has traveled the world as part of her participation in “Amazing Race,” commented in a press release distributed by UB.com on why she chose to host July’s event: “There is a lot of money thrown around in poker on a regular basis and it’s causes like this and the ability to help that make what I do for a living worthwhile. I’ve seen first hand the emotional and financial stress that comes from awful accidents like this one. Being a friend or bystander, it’s hard not to feel completely helpless. This is such a significant way to lend a hand.”
The top 10 on the leaderboard in July 11th’s running of the Second Sundays event will walk away with prizes. In addition to helping out a cause near and dear to Michelle’s heart, participants will also be vying for entries into UB.com’s $200,000 Guaranteed weekly flagship event and a wireless poker controller. The player who eliminates Michelle from the charity event will claim a $66 ticket to the UB.com $7,000 Guaranteed, redeemable at 21:30 ET the same day as the Crystal King Benefit Foundation tournament.
PokerRoad personality and UB.com pro Joe Sebok hosted the June Second Sundays tournament, which resulted in nearly $5,700 being raised for the National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases Association. The player who knocked Sebok out, “Bob5Bob,” claimed the $66 bounty and promptly took third in the $7,000 Guaranteed for $800 – not a bad way to spend an evening. A total of 284 players bought in.
For those who don’t have time to partake in a multi-table tournament, but still want to donate to the Crystal King Benefit Foundation, funds are being accepted through the UB.com player account “CHARITIES.” The account has a first name of “Charity.” Members of Absolute Poker, which makes its home on the USA-friendly CEREUS Network alongside UB.com, can also participate in the Second Sundays fundraising efforts.
The inaugural Second Sundays event took place in March and benefited the San Antonio Aids Foundation. UB.com and Absolute Poker happily accept real money action from the United States. Besides Michelle and Sebok, UB.com pros include reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Annie Duke, 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, and blackjack guru “Hollywood” Dave Stann.
Carbon Poker Signs Shannon Elizabeth
This week, the USA-friendly online poker site Carbon Poker inked “American Pie” actress Shannon Elizabeth to become its newest sponsored pro. Elizabeth, who has briefly been sponsored by other online poker rooms, will now join the flagship site of the Merge Gaming Network.
Carbon Poker spokesperson Peter Hampton commented in a press release distributed by the site on Wednesday, “We’ve been on the hunt for a face for our brand who is a recognized star and also a respected member of the poker community. Shannon easily meets both criteria and offers a creative edge that we’re thrilled to have on board. We’re launching several promotions that will involve players playing against Shannon and getting to know her both inside and outside of poker.”
Many in the poker industry remember Elizabeth’s role as Nadia in the 1999 movie “American Pie.” Her other credits include Harriet on “Love Actually,” Toni on poker-themed flick “The Grand,” and Justice on “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” Elizabeth also reprised her role as Nadia on “American Pie 2,” which was released in 2001.
In addition to her work on the big screen, Elizabeth has appeared on an array of television shows, including “Just Shoot Me,” “The Twilight Zone,” “That 70s Show,” and “Cuts.” She’s also had success on the live poker felts, reaching the semifinals of the 2007 National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Elizabeth trumped René Angélil, husband of singer Céline Dion, in the first round that year before disposing of Jeff Madsen in the round of 32.
PokerStars pro Barry Greenstein was Elizabeth’s foe in the round of 16, followed by the wily Humberto Brenes in the Elite Eight. In the semis, Elizabeth took on Paul Wasicka, the runner-up in the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event to Jamie Gold. Wasicka ultimately got the best of the talented actress, who banked $125,000 for her efforts. In addition to her success in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, Elizabeth has a quartet of in the money finishes at the WSOP.
The Merge Gaming Network has grown leaps and bounds in recent months following the addition of Players Only and Sportsbook.com in April. According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, the Merge Gaming Network is the 16th largest worldwide by volume at cash game tables with a seven-day running average of 650 players. Other Merge Gaming Network sites include Iron Duke, Poker Host, Poker Nordica, and RPM Poker.
Elizabeth will be sharing her thoughts frequently on the Carbon Poker Blog and also bring a series of videos to life. What their content is remains to be seen, but overall, Carbon Poker officials are over the moon at the latest acquisition: “The addition of Shannon Elizabeth highlights Carbon Poker’s commitment to becoming one of the top ten poker sites by 2011.”
A private party featuring Elizabeth is planned in Las Vegas on the night of July 4th. Elizabeth will more than likely play in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event, which begins on July 5th with the first of four starting days. Elizabeth has never cashed in a WSOP event boasting a buy-in higher than $2,000 and may look to buck that trend this year. The Main Event is one of three WSOP tournaments that will air on ESPN beginning later this month.
Visit Carbon Poker for more information. Remember, USA players are welcome.
Just 12 remain in Event #51, $3,000 Triple Chance NLHE
Tags: usa
June 30th – Daily Deal
Welcome back to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily. Today, we’ll catch you up on the latest news and notes from the two thousand ten World Series of Poker, take a look at California possibly legalizing internet gambling, and go over brand new promotions from Full Tilt and PartyPoker.
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
To kick things off, we’ll go back to the Rio in Las Vegas once again to recap the action from the two thousand and ten World Series of Poker. Event number forty five was a fifteen hundred dollar no limit holdem tournament and was won by American Jesse Rockowitz for just over seven hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Event number forty-six was a five thousand dollar Omaha high low tournament which was won by Chris Bell who bested both Dan Shak, who finished second, and David “DevilFish” Ulliott who finished third. For his efforts, Bell rung in three hundred and twenty-seven thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, a non-bracelet event took place amid huge fanfare from the Rio in the WSOP Tournament of Champions. Players in this event had to either previously have won it or be voted in through a fan poll. There were five huge casualties on Day 1 of the event, starting with legend Doyle Brunson. Other players busting include two thousand nine world series of poker champion Joe Cada, Andrew Barton and Dan Harrington. The other casualty turned out to be defending champ and WPT host Mike Sexton, leaving seventeen players remaining. Mike “the mouth” matusow is your chip leader, being followed by Huck Seed, Johnny Chan and Scotty Nguyen.
Today, lawmakers in the California Senate Governmental Organization Committee will debate the merits of legalizing and regulating online poker. Senate Bill 1485, introduced by Inglewood Democrat Rod Wright, could help shrink major budget shortfalls in the west coast state. Among those not in favor of the proposed legislation is the Poker Players Alliance.
The PPA takes issue with the bill granting licenses to only three internet gambling “hubs.” In addition, the one million member strong organization disagrees with the bill’s criminalization of those who play on sites not granted licenses. In a letter sent to Wright in late June, the PPA cautioned,
“The measure as drafted would immediately criminalize online poker play well before any of the hubs are operational. It could easily be a year or more before online players could play legally.”
PPA California State Director Steve Miller is testifying at Tuesday’s hearing. As more develops in California, we’ll be reporting the latest as it breaks.
Starting this week, PartyPoker is bringing back its popular Card Rush Instant Win promotion, only this time, it’s super sized. Card Rush XL offers one-point-eight million prizes up for grabs, including cash, freeroll entries, and special leaderboard points. The promotion, which is sure to cause a massive traffic boost on PartyPoker, ends when every card has been given away or July thirty-first, whichever comes first. To claim a card, all you have to do is rack up fifteen Party Points.
Meanwhile, players in the United States can head to Full Tilt Poker, which is dishing out trips to the upcoming WPT Bellagio Cup in Las Vegas. Three direct qualifiers will be held on Full Tilt Poker, the first of which takes place today at twenty-one hundred Eastern Time. In addition, Step Seven sit and gos, which have a buy-in of twenty-one hundred dollars, will award WPT Bellagio Cup prize packages. The tournament has a $10,000 buy-in and begins on July 11th.
Thanks for joining me on the Daily Deal. Don’t forget to visit PokerNewsDaily.com and be sure to follow us at Twitter.com/PokerNewsDaily for the latest in poker news. This is Sean Gibson, wishing you deep runs in all your tournaments!
June 28th – Daily Deal
Welcome to the June 28th edition of the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily, and in it we’ll wrap up a busy weekend at the 2010 World Series of Poker and interview Bernard Lee about his 21st place finish in a $1,500 WSOP No Limit Hold’em event.
No one has a case of the Mondays here at Poker News Daily. I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal. Let’s first get to some news at the World Series of poker.
We start with the end of Event number 42 which was a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em affair. A couple of big names made the final three tables in Humberto Brenes and our own Bernard Lee but in the end it was American Dean Hamrick taking it down for the bracelet and $600,000 first place prize. Event number 43 was the ten thousand dollar horse championship and features a ton of huge name in the mix. Players like Brian Townsend, Scott Fischman, Carlos Mortensen and Matt Glantz were left when the field was just ten, but it was Ian Gordon who bested them all for just over $611,000.
Event number 44 was the mixed holdem event which plays both limit and no limit varities of the game and had a $2,500 buy-in. A big name took this down as Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith finally broke through for his first ever WSOP bracelet. Smith is one of the more well liked pros for his “Frank the Tank” attitude away from the tables and won over a quarter million for taking this event down.
As we just mentioned, Foxwoods sponsored pro and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee finished twenty first in a fifteen hundred dollar No Limit Hold’em event, his largest cash in a Las Vegas WSOP event in two years. Normally you can catch Bernard hosting the Hijack Seat right here on Poker News Daily, where he interviews the game’s top pros live from Las Vegas. But right now he joins us from Las Vegas via the newsmaker hotline to discuss his latest deep run.
[BERNARD LEE INTERVIEW]
Thanks for joining me on the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily. Don’t forget to enter into our Final Table promotion and join us out here in Vegas in November to win a VIP vacation to see the finale of the World Series of Poker’s Main Event. And if you haven’t already, bookmark our site to catch the latest poker news and exclusive access interviews. We’ll see you tomorrow.
California Online Poker Bill to be Debated Tuesday
On Tuesday, Senate Bill 1485 will be debated in the California Senate Governmental Organization Committee. The measure, introduced by Rod Wright (D-Inglewood), paves the way for legalized and regulated online poker in the west coast state, which has been plagued by budget shortfalls.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians has come out against SB 1485, with tribe spokesperson Patrick Dorinson telling the Palm Springs Desert Sun newspaper, “We’ve always supported the concept of intrastate poker in California because of consumer protections, revenue to the state, and the fact it would bring the game out of the shadows. But we cannot support the bill in its present form.”
According to a separate article by the Palm Springs news outlet, the measure governing online poker has been granted special consideration despite the legislature’s full plate: “Because more than 20 pending measures are expected to be heard [on June 29th], the online legislation has been given a special order of business status. That guarantees a hearing start time for 3:30pm.” The proceedings will take place in Room 3191 of the State Capitol in Sacramento.
SB 1485 authorizes three “hub operators” to provide legal internet gambling games to California residents for a period of five years. Because of its legalized status, an operator must fork over “at least 20% of its gross revenues” to the state’s newly created Internet Gambling Fund every month. Moreover, California residents who play on unauthorized channels will feel the long arm of the law and every online poker player must be at least 21 years of age.
California regulators will be examining a number of factors to determine whether an outlet is worthy of being one of the three hubs, including “quality, competence, experience, past performance, efficiency, reliability, financial viability, durability, adaptability, timely performance, integrity, security, and the consideration promised to the state.” Hub applicants will undergo an exhausting vetting process.
Text found at the beginning of SB 1485 notes that legal live poker exists en masse in California; however, the state has not yet elected to tackle the internet version of the game: “The state currently maintains and implements substantial regulatory and law enforcement efforts to protect thousands of Californians who play real money poker in licensed California card rooms and tribal government casinos, yet the state provides no licensing requirements, regulatory structure, or law enforcement tools to protect millions of Californians who play the same games daily for money on the internet.”
During the upcoming 2010-2011 season of the World Poker Tour (WPT), the most populated state in the Union will play host to the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino in August. After a six-month hiatus, WPT officials will return to California for the annual Celebrity Invitational and L.A. Poker Classic, both of which are held at the Commerce Casino. Finally, in March 2011, the WPT’s premier bounty event, the Bay 101 Shooting Star, will emanate from San Jose.
The text of SB 1485 claims that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) authorizes internet gambling “as long as all players and the online wagering activities are located within the state and the games are not played by minors.” The UIGEA was attached to an unrelated port security measure in the final minutes of the 2006 Congressional session. Mandatory compliance with its regulations occurred on June 1st of this year after a four-year delay.
Hollywood Park, the Commerce Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and The Bike have joined the Morongo Tribe in its opposition to the legislation, according to the Desert Sun. The opposition implored, “We believe what plays in California should stay in California. By licensing foreign operators and Las Vegas gaming interests, this bill allows money to leave the state instead of helping California’s economy.”
Read the text of SB 1485.
Event #47, $1,000 NL, underway with 476 players remaining
June 25th – Daily Deal
Today’s Topics: 2010 WSOP Update, Survivor and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame Nominees.
Happy Friday! On today’s edition of the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily, we’ll take a look back at a busy day in the two thousand ten World Series of Poker. Also, we’ll figure out whether a poker player may be on the newest cycle of Survivor and review the Women in Poker Hall of Fame nominees. It’s all straight ahead on the Daily Deal!
Well there was almost huge news from the Rio as another top pro made a final table. This time it was Phil Hellmuth looking for bracelet number twelve as he made the final table of Event number forty one, which was the fifteen hundred dollar omaha eight or better tournament. As you might know, all eleven of Hellmuth’s bracelets are in No Limit Hold’em, but he wasn’t able to go the distance and finished a very impressive seventh place. The winner of this one turned out to be Steve Jelinek who became the fifth person from the UK to win a bracelet in the 2010 WSOP.
According to a rumor, poker players will make their return to the popular CBS reality series Survivor next season. Survivor: Nicaragua, which is in the midst of filming, will apparently feature a high-stakes poker player. Who that is has yet to be determined. A mystery poster on TwoPlusTwo who goes by the name “HeyIzDro” first reported the news, saying that producers had called him to gauge his interest. He initially turned down the offer in order to play in the World Series of Poker, but later notified readers that he was headed to Nicaragua to film.
Posters broke down players they’d like to see on the show, including Tom Dwan,Jamie Gold, and Huck Seed. Those who have been relatively absent from the WSOP and are possibilities to appear are Johnny Chan, Peter Eastgate, Prahlad Friedman, Patrik Antonius, and Clonie Gowen. Survivor: Nicaragua will air later this year on CBS.
Finally, seven ladies have received nominations to be enshrined in the Women in Poker Hall of Fame.
Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, J.J. Liu, Phyllis Caro, Nani Dollison, and Betty Carey.
The general public can visit Women In Poker Hall of Fame dot com before July fifteenth to vote. Two players will be inducted into the Hall in August.
Finally, don’t forget to sign up for UB.com through Poker News Daily before July thirtieth, deposit, and rack up one Status Point. When you do, you’ll be automatically entered into a freeroll on August fifteenth. The winner of the freeroll heads to sunny, warm Las Vegas in November to watch the final table of the Main Event play out. Plus, everyone who makes the freeroll’s final table gets seats to the UB.com two hundred thousand dollar guaranteed Sunday Major.
Two more prize packages for the Main Event final table will be given out in points races held in June and July. Whoever amasses the most number of Status Points each month will head to Sin City to soak up the November Nine and witness poker history. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see one player take down what is expected to be a top prize of between eight and nine million dollars.
I’m Sean Gibson. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you again on Monday.
Tags: 2010, Annie Duke, freeroll, Jennifer Harman, ladies, Patrik Antonius, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, Tom Dwan, tournament, usa, vegas, women, WSOP
Bebb-Jones appeals against US extradition
June 24th – Daily Deal
A very Happy Thursday to everyone! Today on the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily, we play paparazzi for Tiffany Michelle’s twenty-sixth birthday party and address a rumor that Phil Ivey won’t play in the WSOP Tournament of Champions and bring you the latest news from the Rio.
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily. More bracelets were handed out at the Rio in Las Vegas for the 2010 World Series of Poker. In Event number 36 it was former November Niner Scott Montgomery who won the $1,000 buy-in no limit hold’em tournament. He outlasted over 3,000 opponents for his first bracelet and nearly a half million dollars. Event number 39 was the $1,500 no limit holdem shootout which was won by Steve Kelly. The 21 old is an online cash game pro and made almost $400,000 for winning this event. Finally, it was Frank Kassela winning Event Number forty for his second WSOP bracelet this season. This time it came in the $2,500 dollar Razz event with Kassela winning over two hundred and ten thousand dollars.
In a recent installment of the ESPN Poker Edge Podcast, Full Tilt pro Phil Gordon revealed that Phil Ivey may skip this year’s WSOP Tournament of Champions, “I heard that Phil Ivey is not even going to play. I was told that because there is a bracelet event the same day as the TOC, Phil isn’t going to play the TOC… You might be seeing Ivey running back and forth from the TV table.”
According to Pokerati, Ivey has a five million bet with Howard Lederer that he’ll win two bracelets by the conclusion of the two thousand eleven WSOP, so he can ill-afford to miss events. On this week’s ESPN’s Inside Deal, poker pro Barry Greenstein, who was also voted into the Tournament of Champions, weighed in on whether he thought Ivey would play, “I haven’t even talked to Phil about it. I would guess he would play. What he was probably concerned about was the way they had it set up initially, it was going to conflict with him playing in events and he has a bunch of side bets.”
Ivey was the top vote getter for the WSOP Tournament of Champions. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if he’s in attendance.
Finally, it wouldn’t be a poker show without an inside look at Tiffany Michelle’s birthday bash. The poker diva and last woman standing in the two thousand eight World Series of Poker Main Event celebrated in style, hitting up Crystals at CityCenter in Las Vegas. Joining her were “Amazing Race” team member Maria Ho, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and several other pros.
Michele was seen posing on the red carpet at the Eve Nightclub and noshing on a three-tier chocolate cake crafted by the Gimme Some Sugary Bakery. Rather than describe it to you, here’s a picture for you to chew on.
Thanks for joining me on The Daily Deal. Don’t forget to visit PokerNewsDaily.com and be sure to follow us at Twitter.com/PokerNewsDaily for the latest in poker news. This is Sean Gibson, wishing you the best of luck at the tables!
Tags: 2010, Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, poker show, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, usa, vegas, woman, WSOP
June 23rd – Daily Deal
It’s Wednesday here on the Daily Deal! We have some great stories from the world of poker, including the latest action from the two-thousand ten World Series of Poker. Plus, we’ll check out the latest political efforts from the Poker Players Alliance and tell you how you can win your way to watch the November Nine in sunny Las Vegas for free.
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
Another bracelet was awarded yesterday, this time in event number thirty eight, the ten thousand dollar pot limit hold’em championship. Hungarian player Valdemar Kwaysser became the second player from his country to win a bracelet this year and took in a prize of just over six hundred and seventeen thousand dollars. Notable finishes in this event include Vitaly Lunkin in twenty third and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow in twenty sixth place. Many have been saying that this year at the WSOP is the year of the Brit or even the year of the European players, but don’t be fooled, when we look at the stats there’s no question about American domination. As you can see Americans have twenty five bracelets, six times more than players from the UK and in terms of money won, have almost five times as much as the nearest nation which is Canada.
Earlier this week, two-thousand four World Series of Poker Main Event champ Greg Raymer authored an e-mail to members of the Poker Players Alliance. Raymer asked players to visit AmericaSpeakingOut.com and support the legalization and regulation of online poker. The Republican-oriented website, according to Raymer’s e-mail, focuses “on how to continue to make this great nation prosper. I believe we shouldn’t pass up this unique opportunity to share our message of personal freedom and liberty with these members of Congress.”
Raymer’s call to action worked, as the issue had received over 700 votes by mid-Tuesday. Poker players will recall that banks and other financial institutions were forced to comply with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA, on June first. A mark-up hearing on legislation favorable to internet gambling is expected next month in the House Financial Services Committee. In the meantime, do your part to help legalize this great game in the United States by visiting ThePPA.org today.
Finally, Poker News Daily wants to send you – YES, YOU – to the final table of the two-thousand ten World Series of Poker Main Event in November. All you have to do is sign up for UB.com through PND between June first and July thirtieth, deposit, and generate one UB Point. When you do, you’ll automatically be entered into a freeroll on August fifteenth on UB.com. The winner will head to Las Vegas in style to watch the Main Event wrap up. The other members of the final table in the August freeroll will earn a spot in the site’s two-hundred thousand dollar Guaranteed, a two hundred fifteen dollar value. So instead of waiting to watch who wins the Main Event on ESPN from your couch, you can watch it live and in person with VIP treatment. There’s an article about the UB.com November Nine promo up on the front page of PND right now. We’ll see you in November!
That does it for today’s episode of the Daily Deal, be sure to come back all day long for the latest in poker news and for exclusive interviews with the biggest names in the industry. This is Sean Gibson, and I’ll see you next time right here on the Daily Deal.
Tags: Canada, european, freeroll, interview, legal, Online Poker, poker player, Poker Players Alliance, usa, vegas, WSOP
Dakota Man Wins Bodog Champion Camp
The North Dakotan won the package earlier this month after he took part in a Bodog freeroll, which was exclusive to PokerListings.com players.
"Winning the WSOP package was awesome although it was a bit of a surprise," said Blair.
Blair originally finished second in the freeroll but thanks to the initial winner being disqualified due to age restrictions he was awarded the package.
Blair is now headed to the 2010 WSOP where he will not only play in the $10,000 Main Event but also experience Las Vegas like a high roller with extras like expensive dinners, shopping sprees and helicopter tours.
A six-year poker veteran, Blair has been to Vegas several times but this will be the first time he's going to experience the biggest tournament in the world.
"I've won many mid-stakes tournaments online but nothing really to brag about," said Blair.
A total of 6,494 players entered the Main Event last year creating a prize pool of $61 million and Blair will get a shot at taking home a life-changing amount of money this year.
"If I won the Main Event I'd buy a nice house in my home town and take a nice long vacation."
Although the 2010 Champion Camp freerolls are now complete, PokerListings is offering extensive coverage of this year's WSOP with live updates, news and videos.
Be sure to check our coverage as we follow Blair, and thousands of other players, as they attempt to win it all and become a poker world champion.
Visit PokerListings.com
Poker Pro Tiffany Michelle Celebrates 26th Birthday at Crystals
UB.com‘s Tiffany Michelle turned the big two-six last week and to celebrate, she had a Friday night of dinner and dancing at Crystals, part of the new CityCenter development in Las Vegas.
Michelle was joined by fellow Team UB pros Liv Boeree and Adam “Roothlus” Levy, sponsored adult film actress Samantha Ryan, Absolute Poker‘s Trishelle Cannatella, “Amazing Race” partner and poker player Maria Ho, and 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year Jeff Madsen at actress Eva Longoria Parker’s Beso restaurant to start the evening. Being from Los Angeles, Michelle was already a fan of the first Beso location in Hollywood and her opinion was no different of its Vegas sibling. Michelle Tweeted, “Now one of my fav restaurants is in Los Angeles AND Vegas…”
After dining on lobster, the birthday girl moved the party to the Eve nightclub, also at Crystals. Michelle and her entourage walked the red carpet, posed for pictures, exchanged pleasantries with fans, and then headed inside for drinks and dancing.
No birthday is complete without a cake and Michelle’s was something to see. Created by Gimme Some Sugar bakery, it was a three-tier chocolate cake with cookies and cream filling and chocolate ganache. The top and bottom tiers were wrapped in pink fondant, while the middle tier was black. Pink and black playing card suits wound around the tiers, while a gold chain (edible, we assume) hung from the top. Attached to the chain were brass knuckles and Michelle’s nickname “HOT CHIPZ.” A gold dollar sign adorned the top of the cake.
Always finding the time to Tweet, even on her special night, Michelle posted, “Off the hook at @Eve_NightclubLV. Best bday ever, not to mention the SICKEST cake.”
Michelle has not had much good fortune in this year’s WSOP and has yet to find herself on the right side of the money bubble. She has one lifetime cash at the annual tournament series; it was a big one, as she was the last woman standing in the 2008 Main Event, placing 17th for $334,534. She will get her chance to be the top female in the Main Event once again starting in a couple of weeks, as the big $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Championship kicks off on July 5th at the Rio. Last year, she was absent from the Main Event to film the CBS reality series “Amazing Race.”
She has had more success online, however. Last Thursday night, she Tweeted, “Seriously, 4 as BAD as I’ve been running @ the WSOP/Rio… I’m making up for it on UB.” Michelle proceeded to place second in that night’s $15,000 Guaranteed rebuy on the USA-friendly online poker site.? Play with Michelle by visiting UB.com.
Tags: 2008, absolute poker, Hollywood, Online Poker, poker player, Tiffany Michelle, tournament, usa, vegas, woman, WSOP
Annette Obrestad Eyes Second WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 NLHE Shootout
Full Tilt Poker pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad is within inches of capturing her second World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. Obrestad famously took down the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event, the first ever running of the £10,000 buy-in tournament, and banked £1 million. She’s making her Las Vegas WSOP debut this year and a bracelet win would be the icing on the cake for the 21 year-old.
Fourteen players remain in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Shootout, the 39th event of the 2010 WSOP. Among them is Obrestad, who, prior to the tournament series, jumped from Betfair to the USA-friendly Full Tilt Poker. Now, she’s vying to become the first woman to win an open event at the 2010 WSOP and the latest in a string of pros to capture hardware this year, a list that includes Phil Ivey, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.
The field of 14 survivors will split into two tables of seven. The tournament began with 1,400 competitors and, in a shootout format, players must win their tables in order to advance. Tuesday’s finale saw Obrestad compete against a starting group that included Scott Sitron and Fatima Moreira de Melo, whom she beat heads-up to move on to Wednesday’s finale. The top 14 players are guaranteed $7,000, with a grand prize of $382,000 on the line.
Poker pro J.C. Tran is one major obstacle that stands in Obrestad’s path to her second WSOP bracelet. Tran won the Main Event of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker in 2006 for nearly $700,000. One year later, he took down the World Poker Tour’s World Poker Challenge for $683,000. Tran has two WSOP bracelets, which came in 2008 in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event and last year in a $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha contest. All told, Tran has over $2 million in career WSOP and Circuit Event earnings. The action picks back up at 2:30pm PT today.
The lone bracelet awarded on Tuesday went to Hungary’s Valdemar Kwaysser, who took down the Pot Limit Hold’em Championship (Event #38) for $617,000. Kwaysser outlasted a field of 268 and edged out Canadian Matt Marafioti heads-up. Five countries were represented at the final table; the only bracelet winner in contention, Blair Rodman, finished in eighth place.
Kwaysser joined Peter Gelencser and Peter Traply as the only residents of Hungary ever to take down WSOP events. Kwaysser, 26, lives in Budapest and has been playing poker for five years. On the Hungarian poker community, he told WSOP officials, “We help each other a lot. I truly believe that why Hungary has done so well, considering the size of the country which is small, is because we all stick together, and we learn together, and discuss poker together.”
DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Dani Stern took fifth in the Pot Limit Hold’em Championship and cashed for $161,000. Stern finished one spot on the leaderboard ahead of PokerStars North American Poker Tour Venetian winner Tom Marchese, who banked $123,000 for his sixth place showing. The man who Marchese defeated in the televised Venetian tournament, Sam Stein, was the final table bubble boy in Event #38.
The Pot Limit Hold’em Championship marked the second in the money finish of the 2010 WSOP for Marchese and the first for Stern. Here’s how the final table cashed out:
1. Valdemar Kwaysser – $617,214
2. Matt Marafioti – $381,507
3. James Calderaro – $284,845
4. Konstantin Bucherl – $214,106
5. Dani Stern – $161,934
6. Tom Marchese – $123,264
7. Peter Jetten – $94,394
8. Blair Rodman – $72,754
9. Alexander Kuzmin – $56,404
Two events fire up today from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. At Noon PT, a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament will begin. Five hours later, the cards hit the air in the $10,000 HORSE World Championship. Keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP results.
Tags: 2008, 2010, canadian, full tilt poker, Online Poker, Phil Ivey, pokerstars, tournament, usa, vegas, woman, WSOP
June 22nd – Daily Deal
On today’s Daily Deal by Poker News Daily, we round up Monday’s action at the two-thousand ten World Series of Poker which featured a huge name take down a bracelet and take a look at Time Magazine’s article about online poker math brats.
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
Once again we’ll begin with huge news from the Rio in Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. In a dramatic comeback victory, Phil Ivey won his eighth bracelet in the three thousand dollar horse event. He battled against four other bracelet winners at the final table including Jeffrey Lisandro, John Juanda and Bill Chen. Ivey battled Chen heads-up and faced a three to one chip deficit when heads up play began. He is now tied with Erik Seidel for fifth place in the career bracelet list. After he had won the event he said, “I think I can win 30 gold bracelets. I think I can reach that if I keep playing and stay healthy.” At this pace, Ivey would reach 30 bracelets when he reaches 48 years of age.
In the June twenty eighth edition of Time Magazine, which is currently on newsstands, writer Dan Kadlec authored an article entitled “Attack of the Math Brats.” In it, Kadlec broke down the rapidly changing landscape of the poker industry, focusing specifically on the growth of the internet generation. Eleven-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth told Time Magazine why he turned in a losing year in two-thousand nine:
“The reason I won eleven bracelets is my ability to read opponents. These new guys are focused on the math. And they are changing everything.”
For those who aren’t familiar with why online poker players are so successful, Kadlec broke it down in black and white by saying “If the long term is defined by, say, a thousand tournaments, that was a lifetime for pros, who could compete in maybe thirty live tournaments in a year. But when you play online, you can play thirty tournaments a night.”
Despite the article being slanted towards the overwhelming success of online poker pros like David “The Maven” Chicotsky, one established veteran isn’t sold. Mike Caro, known to the poker world as the “Mad Genius,” told Time, “I know I’m pretty much alone in this view. But I actually think these internet kids are easier to read.”
Finally, PND would like to wish all the dads out there a happy belated Father’s Day. Poker pros extended their well-wishes over the weekend, including this gem from Joe Sebok that appeared on Twitter:
“Happy Father’s Day to the big man, @barrygreenstein. A bracelet seems like a good gift to give yourself.”
Nice encouragement, Joe. Thanks for joining me on The Daily Deal. Thanks for joining us as always here at Poker News Daily.com and be sure to come back for more of the latest in poker news. I’m Sean Gibson and I’ll see you tomorrow!
June 21st – Daily Deal
On a Monday edition of the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily, we bring you the latest action from the 2010 World Series of Poker, talk about Perez Hilton’s feud with Shannon Elizabeth, and break down the latest signings by World Team Poker.
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
We’ll start with a recap of the weekend’s action from the Rio in Las Vegas from the two thousand and ten World Series of Poker. Event #32 was the five thousand dollar no limit holdem event and it all came down to online pro Jeffrey Papola and Men “The Master” Nguyen. Papola already had finished second at another six handed event this year and Nguyen is famous in poker circles from his distinguished career. But this time, Papola took down the event for his first ever bracelet for over $667,000.
Another well known pro in David Chiu finished in second place in Event #33, the Pot Limit Omaha/Hold’em event. Chiu ended up being bested by American Jose Luis-Velador, who won during the holdem round by flopping top pair with seven six offsuit against Chui’s overcards which never drew out. By winning the event, Luis-Velador won $260,000.
Finally, the seniors were out in force, and when I say seniors I actually mean it – as event number 34 took place. An astounding three thousand one hundred and forty two players who were age eligible came out for the event. Former player of the year Tom Schneider finished in forteenth place, as the event was eventually won by Florida native Harold Angle, who won a bacelet and nearly a half million dollars for this $1,000 buy-in tournament.
Gossip guru Perez Hilton posted an e-mail from an anonymous source – and we all know how reliable those can be – regarding a home game that Shannon Elizabeth was allegedly running. The writer of the e-mail states, “Last Friday, a few friends and I were invited to a house poker game in Los Feliz and it turned out to be Shannon Elizabeth’s house… This is kind of cool and we at first think it’s really a treat to be playing poker with her.”
Then, the e-mailer accused that Elizabeth took a $25 rake out of a $70 pot, calling the act “nuts.” The e-mail has drawn a tremendous amount of criticism from posters on Hilton’s website and on TwoPlusTwo, where the concept of a “time collection pot” was discussed. In that case, there is no rake charged, but at certain time intervals, a set fee is taken from a pot. Overall on both threads, Elizabeth has more support from posters than Hilton does. Elizabeth responded on her twitter account saying she’s been in Vegas this whole time for the World Series of Poker, and I tend to believe her – SINCE I SAW HER AT THE RIO ALL WEEK LONG.
World Team Poker, which is fresh off hosting its inaugural event at the Golden Nugget and will host its World Championship in October, has inked top female pros Kathy Liebert and Cyndy Violette to Team Germany. Liebert’s and Violette’s parents are both from the European country and the duo will join Thor Hansen on the German squad.
Meanwhile, World Team Poker signed Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari to Team Iran. He’s the first announced member of that team, which will be one of twenty-four vying for the World Championship title. World Team Poker allows substitutions during play and saw Team China take down its first event held in May.
Finally, the cable giant ESPN is still mulling the possibility of broadcasting the newly announced Los Angeles leg of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour. NAPT L.A. will pan out in November from the Bicycle Casino. An ESPN spokesperson told Poker News Daily, “There is nothing in the works yet, but our programming team expects to meet with PokerStars on possibilities.” Starting next month, the two-thousand and ten World Series of Poker will begin airing on the network.
Thanks for joining me on The Daily Deal. Don’t forget to visit PokerNewsDaily.com and be sure to follow us at Twitter.com/PokerNewsDaily for the latest in poker news. All this week we’ll have new editions of THE DAILY DEAL as well as CardRunners strategy videos and interviews with the biggest names in poker. Thanks for tuning in!
Time Magazine Profiles Online Poker Math Brats
In the June 28th issue of Time Magazine, author Dan Kadlec chronicles the “Attack of the Math Brats.” Using a defining image of five young guns – including Jason Lee – reclining on a couch playing online poker on their laptops, Kadlec reviews how the age-old game has been uprooted in recent years.
The four-page article begins with UB.com pro and 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth representing the old guard of poker. On “The Poker Brat’s” losing year in 2009, Kadlec narrates, “He blames the new breed of math nerd, those guys using a mountain of sortable data from the millions of hands played online to dominate the game.” Hellmuth explained, “The reason I won 11 bracelets is my ability to read opponents. These new guys are focused on the math. And they are changing everything.” Also profiled is 10-time bracelet winner Doyle Brunson.
Kadlec then dives into how the online poker world and Chris Moneymaker’s epic win in the 2003 WSOP Main Event changed the industry forever. Revenues from online poker sites nearly topped $5 billion worldwide last year. In addition, the Time Magazine article cites data from PokerAnalytics noting that Texas Hold’em, the “Cadillac of Poker,” accounts for 87% of all online play.
Kadlec even dives into the rules of Texas Hold’em, which take the author just seven sentences to explain: “There are perhaps 20 key probabilities… that have guided every serious player for generations. The odds of hitting your hand haven’t changed; that won’t happen as long as a deck consists of 52 cards.” Successful coach David “The Maven” Chicotsky, who operates a Las Vegas poker school, candidly admitted, “If you’re not willing to go all-in with bad cards, you’ll never win.”
The ability of online poker players to decrease their learning curves drastically was then highlighted. Kadlec remarked, “If the long term is defined by, say, a thousand tournaments, that was a lifetime for pros, who could compete in maybe 30 live tournaments in a year. But when you play online, you can play 30 tournaments a night.” He added that the online superstars of today employ a wide variety of poker software tools to excel, noting, “Old pros like Hellmuth and Brunson have been caught off guard.”
Not everyone is a believer in the internet generation, however. Poker author Mike Caro, who makes his home on the USA-friendly online poker site DoylesRoom, told Kadlec, “I know I’m pretty much alone in this view. But I actually think these internet kids are easier to read.” Caro published his acclaimed “Book of Poker Tells” in 2003. “The Mad Genius of Poker” has also authored “Caro’s Most Profitable Hold’em Advice” and “Caro’s Fundamental Secrets of Winning Poker,” among other periodicals. You can get “Poker Tells” on Amazon for less than $20.
Brunson called today’s poker tournaments a “crapshoot” and revealed that he plays Hold’em only 10% of the time. Despite Brunson’s less-than-optimistic remarks, Kadlec explained that the old guard isn’t going quietly. Hellmuth hired mindset coach Sam Chauhan and has also been conversing with fellow UB.com pro Brandon Cantu, who is just 29 years-old. To put that relationship into perspective, when Hellmuth won the WSOP Main Event in 1989, Cantu was eight.
Despite Hellmuth’s preparation, Kadlec provided an important reminder: “When Hellmuth enters the Rio this year decked out as a mixed martial arts fighter – his latest in a string of Main Event grand entrances – the math brats will be waiting.” Hellmuth already has two cashes in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, including a 15th place showing in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament. However, Hellmuth hasn’t made a final table in a bracelet event in two years and has been shut out of the winner’s circle since 2007.
Check out the June 28th edition of Time Magazine for more information on the math brats.
Tags: 2009, 2010, Doyle Brunson, Online Poker, Phil Hellmuth, poker player, tournament, usa, vegas, WSOP
Perez Hilton Alleges Shannon Elizabeth Runs Questionable Home Poker Game
Earlier last week, infamous Hollywood gossip monger Perez Hilton aimed his somewhat twisted view of the celebrity life at none other than one of poker’s more visible celebrity players, actress Shannon Elizabeth.
In a blog on his website entitled “Shannon Elizabeth Is NOT Going To Like This” on Thursday, Hilton posted an e-mail he received from an anonymous source regarding a home game that Elizabeth was allegedly running from her home in Hollywood. The writer of the e-mail states, “Last Friday, a few friends and I were invited to a house poker game in Los Feliz and it turned out to be Shannon Elizabeth’s house… This is kind of cool and we at first think it’s really a treat to be playing poker with her.” The writer then goes on to describe what they found to be alleged objectionable practices.
The e-mail to Hilton says that not only was Elizabeth not participating in the game, she would also only come in to “collect money from people and take a rake from the pots.” The writer of the e-mail recalled, “One pot I was in had only $70 in it, but the dealer took $25 out for the house. Anyone who plays poker knows this is nuts.”
Hilton’s source continues with a statement that contradicts what the writer said at the start of the e-mail in that “it was a treat to be playing with her (Shannon).” The writer’s contradiction comes at the end of the e-mail: “The few times I have played with her, she’s thrown childish hissy fits and stormed off, throwing cards and chips. She’s mean, immature, disrespectful, and just an all-around shallow greedy has-been.”
The story has generated a great deal of activity on not only Hilton’s blog, but also on poker message boards. On Hilton’s site, many of the posters call him out for randomly publishing an e-mail that cannot be confirmed through investigative channels and note that he posts information that could be potentially litigious. Others note that Elizabeth couldn’t possibly have been in the game, as during the time period in question, she was in Las Vegas playing at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Elizabeth notes this through her Twitter account when she calmly posted, “In response 2 the Perez thing-it’s so silly & untrue cause U can go back & look at my postings & see I was in Vegas @ The WSOP competing.”
On TwoPlusTwo, an eight-page thread was generated before moderators shut it down. Many posters brought out the possibility that the hand explained in the e-mail is what is called a time collection pot. In that instance, there is no rake charged, but at certain time intervals, a set fee is taken from a pot. Overall on both threads, Elizabeth has more support from posters than Hilton does.
Hilton seems to make a living out of being a lightning rod for controversy in the Hollywood gossip world. His history of controversy dates back to 2005 and, more recently, he has been the focal point of several brouhahas in the entertainment community. In 2009, when he was a judge for the Miss USA pageant, he infamously asked Miss California representative Carrie Prejean her views on same sex marriage, which received abundant coverage in the mainstream media. He also had a backstage face-off with will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas and, the same week as the Elizabeth poker story, posted questionable pictures of an underage Miley Cyrus.
Elizabeth has been a part of the poker community for several years, earning various short-term sponsorships from several online poker rooms. She has been on several made-for-television events playing poker for her primary charitable cause, Animal Avengers. She has been a fixture at the WSOP over the last few years, earning four cashes, and famously finished in third place in 2007 at the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.
Jeffrey Papola Wins WSOP $5,000 NLHE Six-Max for First Bracelet
Online poker guru Jeffrey “jpapola” Papola came out on top in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event (#32) at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Papola became the first person ever to finish 1-2 in Six-Max events at the WSOP, having also taken second in Event #26, a $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Short-Handed event. Papola is a sponsored pro of the USA-friendly site RPM Poker.
Papola has run well at the WSOP in the last two years. In 2008, he took 90th in the Main Event for $64,000 and finished 249th in the same tournament last year for $33,000. Papola already owns over $1 million in WSOP earnings in 2010 and, following his bracelet win, hopped on a plane and headed home to New York. Papola is in his third year of law school at Pace University and told WSOP officials following Saturday’s play, “I’m not exactly sure what I want to do with [law school]. I have learned a lot of things. But as far as practicing law, I do not see myself being able to do that, because I really do not like the 9 to 5 thing.”
Papola denied Men “The Master” Nguyen his second WSOP bracelet of 2010 and eighth overall. Nguyen took down this year’s Seven Card Stud World Championship for $394,000 and banked $360,000 on Saturday night. Nguyen leads the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year standings entering Sunday’s play in Las Vegas with three cashes and one bracelet. He’s part of a three-way logjam for first place with 2010 WSOP bracelet winners Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and James “Flushy” Dempsey.
After sparring for four hours heads-up, Papola came out on top when his pocket jacks outlasted Nguyen’s K-10 of spades. Coverage found on WSOP.com details Nguyen’s final moments: “He shook Papola’s hand before collecting his things and stepping away from the table. Nguyen’s smile disappeared quickly, though, and he had a few unkind words for one of the dealers.” Nguyen is one of the more controversial characters in the industry, but was nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2009.
The first casualty of the six-handed final table went to Full Tilt pro Erick Lindgren. He ran pocket queens into Nguyen’s pocket kings on his final hand and the board came 4-5-2-6-8. Lindgren cashed for $82,000 in his ninth WSOP final table. Lindgren’s bracelet came in 2008 in a $5,000 Mixed Hold’em event, when he bested an extremely talented final table that included Justin Bonomo, Victory Poker pro Andrew “good2cu” Robl, Roland de Wolfe, Chino Rheem, Howard Lederer, reigning World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Williams, PokerStars pro Pat Pezzin, and Isaac Haxton.
Here’s how the final table cashed out in Event #32:
1. Jeffrey Papola – $667,433
2. Men “The Master” Nguyen – $412,746
3. Mark Radoja – $262,902
4. Bruno Launais – $173,123
5. Orlando Delacruz – $117,595
6. Erick Lindgren – $82,303
Also wrapping up on Saturday was Event #33, $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha. Jose-Luis Velador has only made it to the final table of a WSOP tournament twice; both times, he’s emerged as the champion. Velador outlasted former WPT Championship winner David Chiu heads-up. In the pair’s final hand, Chiu called all-in with A-10 on a flop of 6-3-2 for ace-high and Velador showed 7-6 for top pair. A running 9-J secured the second bracelet win and $260,000 payday for Velador, while Chiu was denied his fifth WSOP title.
On his second piece of hardware, Velador told tournament officials, “It means a lot to me. I mean, any bracelet is always going to mean a lot – especially beating so many tough players. This was a very tough final table.” In fact, the finale had three gold bracelet winners: Velador, Rob Hollink, and Chiu. Hollink, who won the 2005 European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final in Monaco, took third on Saturday and banked $116,000.
Hollink’s exit occurred during Omaha play. He was all-in before the flop with Qh-10d-8h-4d against Velador’s Kh-Kd-9d-7h. The flop came Q-8-3 rainbow, giving Hollink some hope with two pair. However, a running 6-3 improved him to kings-up, giving him a commanding chip lead entering heads-up play against Chiu. Here were the final results:
1. Jose-Luis Velador – $260,517
2. David Chiu – $160,902
3. Rob Hollink – $116,359
4. Craig Gray – $85,030
5. Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee – $62,791
6. Victor Ramdin – $46,861
7. James Mitchell – $35,331
8. Gavin Cochrane – $26,906
9. Matt Sterling – $20,698
The final three rounds of the $10,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em World Championship will play out today from the Rio featuring Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, Alexander Kostritsyn, Lucovic Lacay, Ayaz Mahmood, Vanessa Rousso, Ernst Schmejkal, Jason Somerville, and Kido Pham. None of the eight survivors has won a bracelet.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP headlines.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 2010, european, Justin Bonomo, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, usa, vegas, WSOP
Master Falls Short: WSOP Day 23 Recap
There were thousands of poker players in the Rio with six events on the schedule and two final tables.
There were seniors, H.O.R.S.E. players and heads-up specialists all looking to bring their best poker game.
Nguyen and Papola grabbed most of the attention but here's a closer look at what occurred on Day 23 of the 2010 WSOP:
Event #32 - $5k No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed
The final day of Event 32 brought out a star-studded group of 12 players that included Erick Lindgren, Men "The Master" Nguyen and French upstart Anthony Roux.
Lindgren seemed to be the best choice to win the event as he was one of the chip leaders by the time the final table of six was set.
Instead the Team Full Tilt Poker pro was the first player to bust and Nguyen and upstart online player Jeff Papola would host a marathon heads-up battle.
After approximately five hours of heads-up play, Papola emerged the victor and took home a massive $667,433 first place prize, not to mention a shiny new WSOP bracelet.
Event #33- $2.5k Pot -Limit Hold'em/Omaha
Jose Luis Velador already had a bracelet to his name but now he has two. Today he took down $260,517 when he won the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha/Pot Limit Hold-em mix.
Players dropped like flies from the start until only 4 time bracelet winner David Chiu stood in Velador's way.
The pace didn't slow down once it was heads up. It only took about thirty minutes for the match finish. David Chiu took home $160,902 for second place.
Event #34 - $1k Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship
A total of 428 players took to the felt on Day 2 of the widely popular Seniors Event.
The goal was to play all the way down to a final table of nine but by 3 a.m., well past early bird special time, tournament directors decided to call it a night with 26 players remaining.
T.J. Cloutier, Susie Isaacs and Barry Johnston were among the notables finishing in the cash.
On Sunday the 26 remaining players will play down to a winner.
Former WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider is the most well-known player still in the running to ship a bracelet in this event. He's 14th in chips with 284,000.
Play resumes at 2:30 p.m.
Event #35 - $10k Heads-Up Hold'em Championship
The latest $10k Championship event drew lots of railbirds to the Amazon Room, as poker's best squared off in heads-up play.
The max 256 entrants registered for this event, and we played down to the final 8 today.
Antonio Esfandiari and Sorel Mizzi were amongst the notables eliminated in the cash.
Ludovic Lacay and Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier clashed in a match that pitted two of France's best and most beloved players with Lacay coming out on top.
Vanessa Rousso will be representing the ladies tomorrow. She beat out Vivek Rajkumar to earn her way into Day 3.
The matches resume at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Event #36 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em
The $1k No-Limit Hold'em events continue to draw huge numbers, as 2,530 players came out for Day 1a.
By the end of the day only 298 players remained, which means over 85 percent of the field was cut down in one day.
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Dennis Phillips and PL.com blogger Jason Mercier all fell to the rail today while Scott Montgomery Neil Channing, Liv Boeree and Marco Traniello all lived to see the light of Day 2.
Day 1b begins at noon tomorrow with another huge turnout a probability.
Event #37- $3k H.O.R.S.E.
Players continue to flock to H.O.R.S.E. events at the 2010 WSOP as 479 players bought into Event 37, which beat last year's total.
The pros were more than willing to play with biggies like Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth all paying the $3k to play.
All the aforementioned players survived the day and are among the 219 players who will attempt to make the final table on Sunday.
Play resumes at 3 p.m. Sunday.
For more information on how the day played out at the series, click through to the PokerListings WSOP page.
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Tags: 2010, Daniel Negreanu, full tilt poker, ladies, no-limit, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, poker player, tournament, usa, WSOP