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Archive for February, 2011
Monday, February 28th, 2011
This past week Everest Poker announced the four winners of its Live the Dream promotion, where 200 players were selected from over 8,000 applicants to represent Everest Poker at live tournaments, with the top 10 players receiving a 1-year sponsorship.
The promotion was such a success, both in terms of the number of interested players, as well as the performances put in by the 10 players who were selected to represent the French online poker site, that on Wednesday, Everest Poker took the promotion one-step further and signed four of those players as permanent members of Team Everest Poker! The lucky players were:
· Leonard “leoledingo” Truche from France
· Javier “elflacokanu” Martinez from Spain
· Tobias “tobestar11” Wagner from Germany
· Koen “koendb” de Bakker from the Netherlands
All four players have put together solid careers up to this point, and it’s only a matter of time before one of these players comes through with a major victory for Everest Poker. They will be joining a very formidable team of players who already represent the popular French poker site, including: Fabrice Soulier, Valentin Messina, Catarina Santos, Steven van Zadeloff, and Maria Maceiras. The new additions to Team Everest continue the trend of Team Everest players coming from large mainland Europe countries.
Tags: Catarina, De Bakker, Europe Countries, Interested Players, Koen, Lucky Players, Mainland Europe, Matter Of Time, Messina, Netherlands, New Additions, online poker, Poker Live, Poker Players, Poker Tournaments, sponsorship, Tobias, Valentin, victory, Wagner
Posted in Online Poker, Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Jay Rosenkrantz and John Wray are back with the third episode of their hit animated poker series, The Micros. The series follows the lives of three micro-stakes players, each with particular poker traits that has kept them wallowing in the micro-limit games, that was until one of the trio makes a huge score –with the other two owning equal shares of him– in the Mega Millions tournament, and changes the friends’ lives forever.
The first two episodes dealt with a lot of character development, and now that we have gotten to know the players’ quirks, Episode 3 actually starts working on an overall plotline for the show. While not as comical as the first two episodes –which featured a lot of poker slang and products for gags—Episode 3 was the first that seemed to be working towards an overall plot, where the first two episodes would be understood whether you saw them in order or not –The first two episodes had a Family Guy feel to them, while Episode 3 was more of a classic Sitcom.
Episode 3 of The Micros features Rose locked away in an insane asylum for problem gamblers –with a very funny name that I won’t give away– after tossing away a few hundred thousand dollars in the nosebleeds during episode 2. We also see “SwedeTooth” bust from the Aussie Millions, and the episode ends with him challenging another player –who is the author of an extremely comical book– “Headsup for Rollz!”
To watch episode 3 of The Micros you can follow this link to the YouTube page: The Micros Episode 3
Tags: Aussie Millions, Bust, Character Development, Classic Sitcom, Family Guy, Funny Name, Gags, Headsup, Hundred Thousand, Insane Asylum, John Wray, Mega Millions, Micros, Nosebleeds, Plotline, Problem Gamblers, Quirks, Rosenkrantz, Slang, Thousand Dollars
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Friday, February 25th, 2011
888 Poker has taken a major step in an attempt to make online poker feel even more like the real thing; by allowing players to interact and see each other at the 888 Poker tables through the use of a webcam. In a press release issued today 888 Poker unveiled how the cam would work: “The poker cam tables, powered by ooVoo, a leading video communication service provider with a best-in-class mobile video chat solution, will be available from the main lobby and will allow players to see their opponents while playing a Texas Hold’em Cash game.”
In the press release, Hili Shakked, Director of Poker Offering at 888holdings had this to say regarding the new innovation at 888 Poker, “Through the addition of video streams to our hugely successful Poker 6 we are offering an even more personal, inclusive, and social environment. On top of this, the chance to play as part of a team in the Team Tournaments, provides a competitive edge that allows players to meet and play with other like-minded people,”
The system will also alleviate some player’s worries about exactly who they are playing, and could go a long way into cleaning many of the fears of online poker players –poker bots, ghosting and multi-accounting, and other concerns.
The addition of the poker cam comes on the heels of a major overhaul to the 888 Poker site last year, that featured a new layout, design, and upgraded software.
Tags: 888 Poker, Accounting, Cash Game, Communication Service Provider, Competitive Edge, Fears, Layout Design, Like Minded People, New Layout, online poker, Opponents, Poker Online, Poker Players, Poker Tables, Press Release, Social Environment, Video Chat, Video Communication, Video Streams, Webcam
Posted in Online Poker, Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Friday, February 25th, 2011
In a follow-up to last week’s show that saw Travis Makar talk for the first time about his role, and his knowledge, in the Ultimate Bet Poker Super-User scandal the Cold Call Show at DonkDown Radio brought on Brad Booth, who was allegedly one of the most exploited poker players in the Super-User scandal.
Booth’s story was heart-wrenching, and literally explained the extent of the damage done to some players by the scandal. Booth detailed how after he was brutally cheated out of some $2 million on the site, he would borrow money and then lose that, and even went on such life-tilt that he began betting on sports and other self-destructive behavior.
Booth went so far as to detail a day when after he took a bath at the UB Poker tables, Russ Hamilton called him up –after cheating him out of money—and offered to lend him money, which would keep him playing, and of course losing that borrowed money to Russ Hamilton!
He also outlined how some of the accounts he played on at the time –and was cheated on—were closed down so he was unable to receive a settlement from those accounts, which he claimed was over $1 million. Booth also describes smashing five or six laptops and borrowing money from many poker players.
So not only did Booth get cheated out of millions of dollars, the UB scandal basically ruined his life, which he is now trying to put back together –he stated he still has around $120,000 in debt he needs to pay off.
Tags: 1 Million, Betting On Sports, Betting Sports, Borrowing Money From, Cheating, Cold Call, Exploited, Extent, Heart, Laptops, Poker Players, Poker Tables, Radio, Russ Hamilton, Scandal, Self Destructive Behavior, Tilt, Travis, Ultimate Bet Poker
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
The 64 player field for the 2011 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship was released today, and as usual features a collection of the top poker talent in the world, as well as some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment.
Here is a look at the complete field for the tournament:
· Jason Alexander
· Phil Galfond
· Sorel Mizzi
· Patrik Antonius
· Phil Gordon
· Chris Moneymaker
· Eric Baldwin
· Barry Greenstein
· Daniel Negreanu
· David Benyamine
· Bertrand Grospellier
· Scotty Nguyen
· Andy Bloch
· Joe Hachem
· Annette Obrestad
· Liv Boeree
· Gus Hansen
· Dennis Phillips
· James Bord
· Jennifer Harman
· Dwyte Pilgrim
· Doyle Brunson
· Phil Hellmuth
· John Racener
· Joe Cada
· Phil Ivey
· Greg Raymer
· Daniel Cates
· Faraz Jaka
· Vanessa Rousso
· Johnny Chan
· John Juanda
· Kara Scott
· Don Cheadle
· Gabe Kaplan
· Huck Seed
· Nicolas Chouity
· Frank Kassela
· Erik Seidel
· Allen Cunningham
· Eugene Katchalov
· Vanessa Selbst
· Jonathan Duhamel
· Phil Laak
· Emmitt Smith
· Annie Duke
· Howard Lederer
· Gavin Smith
· Tom Dwan
· Erick Lindgren
· Jennifer Tilly
· Peter Eastgate
· Ayaz Mahmood
· Melburn Whitmire
· Eli Elezra
· Thomas Marchese
· David Williams
· Antonio Esfandiari
· Mike Matusow
· Justin Young
· Chris Ferguson
· Jason Mercier
· Ted Forrest
· Michael Mizrachi
The prize-pool has been increased this year –as has the buy-in, going from $20,000 to $25,000—with the winner of the tournament walking away with a $750,000 payday.
The tournament will air on NBC in April and May, and will encompass six episodes:
April 17 – Noon-1PM ET/9-10 AM PT
April 24 – Noon-2PM ET/9-11 AM PT
May 1 – Noon-2PM ET/9-11 AM PT
May 8 – Noon-2PM ET/9-11 AM PT
May 15 – Noon-2PM ET/9-11 AM PT
May 22 – Noon-3PM ET/9-Noon PT
Tags: Barry Greenstein, Bertrand Grospellier, Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, David Benyamine, Erick Lindgren, Greg Raymer, Heads Up Poker Championship, Huck Seed, Joe Hachem, John Juanda, Mike Matusow, National Heads Up Poker Championship, Nbc Heads Up Poker, Nbc Heads Up Poker Championship, Patrik Antonius, Phil Laak, Sorel Mizzi, Tom Dwan, Vanessa Rousso
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
Variety.com is reporting that the Annie Duke/Jeffrey Pollack professionals-only poker league that is being backed by Federated Sports and Gaming is in discussions with the CBS network to broadcast the first season of the tournament series. Variety cites “sources” saying CBS has been in early discussions about televising the new poker tour, although when contacted CBS had no official comment on the matter.
Last week the still unnamed poker tour announced the dates of the first four tournaments that will take place, along with a $1 million freeroll tournament after the season, where only the top 27 players from the tour will receive an entry. The tournaments will be played at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada which is owned by Gavin Maloof, one of the investors in the pro poker league.
The tour’s not so original idea –remember the Professional Poker Tour from around 2005ish– is to have a points system similar to the PGA or ATTP tours for golf and tennis, and only invite the top 200 players to the tournaments. The plan thus far is to feature a $20,000 buy-in Main Event with some type of overlay to entice the top poker players to attend the tournaments.
Each stop will also feature a “Pro-Am” tournament with a $1,500 buy-in where the top 9 finishers receive an entry into the Main Event –the $180,000 in Main Event entry-fees will be deducted from the prize-pool of the Pro-Am—as well as a Charity tournament of some sort.
Tags: 1 Million, Annie Duke, Attp, Cbs, Cbs Network, Charity Tournament, Federated, Gavin Maloof, Investors, Jeffrey Pollack, Las Vegas, Main Event, Palms Casino, Pga, Poker Players, Poker Tournaments, Prize Pool, Professional Poker, Tennis, Vegas Nevada
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
After after almost a year off from major poker tournaments, 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate made his return to the felt yesterday, taking part in Day 1a of the PokerStars.net EPT Copenhagen Main Event. Eastgate was able to survive Day 1 of the tournament, and will enter Day 2 on Wednesday with an above average stack of 73,200 chips.
Eastgate had a wild ride throughout the day, and at one point found himself with about half of his starting chip-stack of 30,000, before mounting a strong comeback to finish the day. Eastgate and the other 130 players remaining from the starting field of 215 are all looking up at chip-leader Mark Hirleman and his 163,400 chips.
Another player just outside of the top 10 is Annette Obrestad who will enter Day 2 with just over 100,000 chips. Here is a look at the Top 10 chip counts from Day 1a of the PokerStars EPT Copenhagen Main Event:
1. Mark Hirleman — 163,400
2. Per Linde — 150,000
3. Danny Neess — 122,000
4. Iulian-Georgian Ruxandescu — 122,000
5. Dean Thompson — 120,000
6. Robert Akery — 119,500
7. Johnny Jensen — 116,700
8. Kenneth Johnsen — 108,400
9. Kurt Fabian — 108,025
10. David Gabrielsson — 107,200
Other notable players who survived Day 1a include Fernando Brito, Johnny Lodden, Allan Baekke, Sigurd Eskeland, Arnaud Mattern, Scott Montgomery, Surindar Sunar, Andreas Torbergsen, and Ville Wahlbeck.
Tags: Akery, Arnaud, Brito, Chip Stack, Dean Thompson, Eastgate, EPT, Iulian, Johnny Jensen, Johnny Lodden, Main Event 1, Mattern, Poker Main Event, Poker Tournaments, Pokerstars Net, Sigurd, Sunar, Wild Ride, World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Main Event
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
Monday, February 21st, 2011
The Cake Poker Network added a new online poker room this weekend as the long anticipated Poker Pros Network joined the Cake team. The Poker Pros Network already has a number of poker pros under contract, with the best known of the bunch being TJ Cloutier. In addition to Cloutier the PPN roster includes two Women’s Poker Hall of Fame members, Marsha Waggoner and Barbara Enright as well as top online poker players and coaches Chris “Fox” Wallace and Jennifer “jennicide” Leigh.
Here is a look at the entire PPN Poker roster of sponsored pros:
· TJ Cloutier
· Marsha Waggoner
· Jennifer Elise Cox
· Vincent Gabel
· Mattias Gabrenja
· Jennifer Leigh
· Michael Schuerpf
· Young Phan
· Jonathan Tamayo
· Kevin Vandersmissen
· Josh Brikis
· James Worth
· Chris Wallace
· Jena Delk
· Barbara Enright
· Charlie Marchese
· Chris Reslock
CEO of PPN Poker Chuck Kidd spoke about how the sponsored players would be utilized by the site in a press release: “We are proud to team with Cake Poker Network, a proven world class organization, to bring this unique PPN experience to the poker world. We have currently signed top online pro players, as well as brick-and-mortar pros, to play at the PPN. The allure of playing against the world’s best online poker players has already been proven. At PPN, we make it easy to interact with the PPN pro players of your choice on your schedule and within your budget.”
Tags: Barbara Enright, Brick And Mortar, Chris Fox, Chris Reslock, Chris Wallace, Delk, Hall Of Fame Members, Jennicide, Jennifer Elise Cox, Jennifer Jennicide Leigh, Jennifer Leigh, Marsha Waggoner, Poker Hall Of Fame Members, Poker Network, Poker Players, Poker Pros, Poker Room, Poker World, World Class Organization, Young Phan
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Monday, February 21st, 2011
With a record setting field the winner of the Full Tilt Poker FTOPS XIX Main Event was looking at a $1.3 million payday, but with so much money on the line a deal at the end was inevitable, and it was the runner-up, Blair “blur5f6” Hinkle who would be the newly minted millionaire, despite losing the heads-up battle to a player using the screen-name “GIAMPP”.
The FTOPS XIX Main Event was a $600 buy-in tournament that sported a $3 million guaranteed prize-pool, but thanks to the Multi-Entry format the number of entrants swelled to an astounding 14,479, with a prize-pool that topped $8.6 million!
Hinkle, a 2008 WSOP champion, entered the final table with the chip-lead, and despite dropping back to the middle of the pack was able to hold on until a deal was discussed during three-handed play, that saw Hinkle use some major powers of persuasion to lock up a $1+ million score.
Despite GIAMPP holding the chip-lead, Hinkle would not deal unless he took home the Lion’s Share of the prize-pool, and it seems that his two opponents, GIAMPP and SirMad, were not willing to risk winding up with 3rd place money and took the deal. By accepting the deal both players were able to guarantee themselves an additional $170,000+ over the structured third place payout.
Here is a look at the final table payouts for the FTOPS XIX Main Event –the largest prize-pool in Full Tilt Poker history:
1. GIAMPP – $877,950
2. Blair “blur5f6” Hinkle – $1,162,950
3. SirMad – $805,440
4. Nayza – $451,745
5. WiLDmAn75 – $321,434
6. J NOCK – $230,216
7. 425wedabest – $165,061
8. beerocrat – $121,624
9. Colonel Mustard – $86,005
Tags: 1 Million, 6 Million, Blair, Champion, Colonel Mustard, Ftops, Full Tilt Poker, Hinkle, Lead, Lion, Main Event, Millionaire, Nock, Opponents, Place Money, Powers Of Persuasion, Prize Pool, Score, Screen Name, WSOP
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
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