All Star Week Day 3: Challengers crank up the pressure
by Chris Edge
Last year the inaugural All Star week went right down to the wire, with both sides deadlocked at 17-17 going into the final match of the series. The Pros ultimately prevailed to come out on top 18-17 victors.
Today the prospect of a repeat scenario seems as distant as ever, with the Challengers on Tuesday racking up a further four victories, surging them into an unprecedented 8-2 lead. In short, the Challengers have been running away with it.
On Wednesday the Pros pinned their All-Star hopes on WSOP stalwarts Hevad Khan, Ivan Demidov, Joe Cada, Joe Hachem and Johnny Lodden to get their beleaguered campaign back on track.
True to form however, it didn't start at all well for the Pros. Multi-tabling sensation Hevad
Khan was first to the felt, pitted against the Chicago-based, 'InstantLei'. Any observers who logged on eager to watch the drama unfold will have been left sorely disappointed as neither player showed up for the first 73 hands - with stacks dead-even on 2500 apiece.
On Hand #74 some 5 minutes in, InstantLei finally took his seat and can hardly have believed his luck to find a markedly unoccupied seat on the opposite side of the baize. In the easiest tie of the round, InstantLei raised every single hand to coast to victory after 16 minutes, with Khan sat out and automatically folded.
Onto match 12 at 14:00 ET and up stepped Russian Ivan Demidov, charged with negotiating the Challengers' 'Timmy K' in the day's Single Draw 2-7 Lowball event. First blood went to the Challenger, who had managed to chip up to 3200 at the half way stage after one hand in which he bet after drawing 2 cards to reveal the winning [9c][3h][7h][8c][5d], for a 9,8,7,5,3 low.
Just 2 minutes later Demidov had all but wiped out Timmy K's lead in one foul swoop, his 9,5,4,3,2 low getting the better of Timmy K's 9,7,6,5,4, and enough to rake the 1500 pot.
That took Demidov to 2900 in chips, a lead he would never relinquish. After 58 hands Timmy K raised to 180, then called a Demidox re-raise to 420. Timmy K stood pat, and with good reason: his 9,7,6,5,4 representing a relative powerhouse in single-draw. Demidov drew one card and hit the miracle [2s] to take down Timmy K with an 8,7,4,3,2 low, and restore some much needed cheer to the Team Pro ranks.
Match 13 saw reigning WSOP Main Event Champ Joe Cada go tête-à-tête against the
returning Hurloon, who on Tuesday saw off the challenge of David Williams.
Cada would go on to pose an altogether trickier threat for the Czech challenger, and add a further $1k to the Pro prize pool after 15 minutes of play.
Most of the damage came in the 20th hand. Hurloon made it 40 to go pre-flop, then called after Cada pumped it up to 140. The flop fell [7s][5d][8s]. Cada received calls of 200 and 420 on the turn and river, before Hurloon folded to his 1540 shove. What either player had is anyone's guess, with Cada opting not to show.
The following 52 hands passed with little noteworthy action, Cada all the while maintaining his lead and never falling below 2900 in chips. Hurloon finally found a hand to go to war with after 15 minutes, committing his stack after some pre-flop jostling with [Ad][9s]. Off to the races we went as Cada called with [7c][7d] for two wired 7s. The subsequent [3d][2c][2h][7s][Ks] board handed Cada victory and reduced the overall deficit to 9-4 in favor of the Challengers.
The penultimate match of the day drew another observer favourite from Day 1, caprioli, back to the fore. His opponent for the PLO Match 14, yet another Main Event champ in the form of Joe Hachem.
With neither Moneymaker nor Raymer registering victories in their respective matches, Hachem was keen to buck the curse of the Main Event winners and prolong the Pros' recent Day 3 resurgence.
Such hope soon faded however, as caprioli marched into a 3:2 chip lead after just the 3rd hand. Hachem raised pre-flop to 100, looked up by caprioli. The flop brought an intriguing [Kc][7d][Qs][Tc], which drew checks from both parties.
The action hotted up again with the [Td] falling; caprioli betting then calling a 300 raise from Hachem. Both players slowed on the [2h] river, with caprioli showing [9h][3s][Th][Ts] for the winning, three 10s.
caprioli went on to add a further chink in Hachem's armour on hand 21. The former check-called Hachem's bet on a flop of [4h][7c][8h], before both checked the [2c] turn. The [4c] river elicited a bet from Hachem, looked-up by caprioli. It proved decisive as caprioli turned over [4d][Qc][Td][9h] for trip 4s, which had got there against Hachem's [9s][Tc][Kd][Ks].
Hachem never recovered and the white flag was raised just 4 hands later. The [5d][5c][6h] flop gave Hachem three 5s holding [7d][9h][Qd][5h], and ample reason to ship his remaining 1000 stack to the middle.
caprioli was gambling with the [7h][Ac][8s][Qh] for an up-and-down straight draw, which duly came in on the [4c] river to restore the Challengers' 6 game lead.
Nordic pro Johnny Lodden lined up against Czech player 'Brezi26' in the final match of the day at 20:00 ET. The chip lead see-sawed back and forth early on, with the first all-in confrontation witnessed after just 10 minutes of play.
Lodden opened the action with [Tc][Ts], re-raised to 400, then called Brezi26's 5-bet shove. The board ran out an emphatic [Kc][Kd][As][2s][6h] to hand the Challenger's [Ad][Qd] the 3460 pot and the chip lead.
Stacks evened out at the half-way stage, as Lodden assumed the role of aggressor, applying pressure both pre-flop and on the flop. On the half-hour mark Lodden's typically Scandi-approach paid dividends as he re-took the chip lead. Further exchanges late on saw Brezi26 claw back some lost ground, with neither player able to command a dominating chip advantage. The blinds soon caught up with both after 45 minutes play however, and coerced their stacks into the middle.
After Brezi26 raised to 300 with [7c][7s], Lodden shipped it in with [4h][Kd]. Naturally, Brezi26 obliged, a 70% favourite. The [5c][9c][8h] flop was kind to the Challenger, although the [8c] turn added counterfeit outs to the remaining 3 Kings in the deck to sweat.
Just like that Brezi's two sevens were toast as the [9h] river slammed to give Lodden the same 9s and 7s, his King kicker playing to hand him the 4288 pot and all but seal the deal.
Sure enough Brezi26 pushed his remaining 1574 into the middle just hands later. Lodden looked him up with [Th][Kd] and fortune favoured the Norwegian again as the virtual dealer dropped [Ts][Ks][5h][6s][8d]. With that Lodden ended the day on a high note for the Pros, who now sit 5 matches adrift the Challengers at 5-10.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
All Star Week: Pros seek to restore battered pride
by Chris Edge
Following their disastrous start to All Star Week on Monday, PokerStars Team Pro lined up Tuesday determined to cut into the Challengers' overnight 4-1 lead in their quest to take home a 2nd successive title.
First out of the blocks for the Pros was 2003 WSOP Main Event winner, Chris Moneymaker. Once the champion of the underdog, Moneymaker nowadays finds himself sat on the Pros' side of the fence, here seeking to register only their 2nd win of the campaign.
Flying the flag for the Challengers in the NLHE event was seasoned online cash-cow, 'MOJOEX1'. Any hopes of a speedy turnaround in fortunes for the Pros were short-lived however, with the match consigned to history after only 8 minutes.
Much of the damage to Moneymaker's cause was done after raising a MOJOEX1 turn bet to 900 with the board reading [7d][Ks][9c][3h], only to then fold to an all-in 3-bet.
That left Money down to 1080 in chips, a near 4:1 deficit he was never able to recover from. Down to just 810, some pre-flop sparring saw the chips eventually find their way to the middle; [7c][As] for MOJOEX1, vs Moneymaker's [Qd][Ad]. The poker gods were with the Challenger on this one, as the board ran out [3h][6s][7h][Ts][8s] to felt the former WSOP Champ and lengthen the Challengers' overall lead.
Next up to enter the fray was popular UK journalist-come-pro, Vicky Coren. Her opponent: the Canadian, '72good'.
The match didn't go quite to Coren's expectations, immediately expressing her surprise at the game choice: "what? what are we playing? I was expecting holdem lol"
One might surmise Omaha Hi/Lo is not Coren's particular fortay, given her rather frank admission just moments later: "you should be alright, I haven't played this game in about 5 years lol"
The London-based pro's fears proved justified as 72good went on to exploit Coren's apparent rustiness and build a steady lead throughout the match, with a series of probing bets that caught the Pro off-guard.
The ever-gregarious Coren later commented "I just ate a bowl of cheerios too fast"; an apparent bout of indigestion accounting for several pots gone awry, with Coren seemingly content to perpetrate her own demise.
Fourteen minutes in and 72good's early work all came undone. A series of bets and raises on the [2s][3d][Qs] flop saw Coren all-in with [As][3h][4s][Ac] to 72good's [4d][Ad][Kc][7s], for Ace-high and a solitary straight draw to boot. The resulting [Th] turn and [Kh] river slid the 2380 Coren's way and restored parity.
That particular dent to the Challenger's stack did little to reign in his aggression and he was soon back up to the heady heights of 4115 in chips to Coren's 885, displaying much of the same, probing formula that had served him well for much of the match.
Coren was afforded brief restbite for her troubles late on, earning a double up when her [Jd][Ac][Jh][7c] was enough to see off 72good's [Kh][8d][Ah][Ts] after an all-in tussle on the [Qh][Td][5d] flop and subsequent [5s][5h].
However moments later and her efforts proved in vain; a pre-flop 5-bet all-in by the Pro holding [Jd][Ac][2d][Ks] resulting in a board of a [8h][3d][As][Kd][Ts] - enough to hand 72good's [4c][Ad][Ah][7d] victory and make it 2/2 on the Day for the Challengers.
It was next the turn of recently-signed PokerStars Pro and all round nice guy David Williams, to put a stop to the Pro's downfall. Standing in his way in Match 8 was Prague-based, 'Hurloon'.
The chip lead changed hands on several occasions throughout the opening skirmishes, with Williams eventually coming out on top at the half-way stage by just 690 in chips. Much of the frenetic NLHE matches we had seen hitherto in the series had displayed all of the blood-and-thunder, 'all-in poker' that separates NLHE from the rest; with matches often over after the 8 minute mark.
Williams' and Hurloons' affair was proving a much closer-run thing altogether, with small-ball, raise-and-take-it poker the order of the day.
It was the latter who was first able to gain real headway in the match, establishing a 3:2 lead after 20 minutes in when Williams called down a 250 river bet on a board of [Kc][8s][Ks][Td][2s], only to be shown [Kh][7h] for a very deceptively played trip 3's.
Hurloon was able to capitalise on his newly-found riches, with a series of pre-flop and continuation bets building his stack up to a Match-high of 4550. With blinds at 25/50 Williams eventually shipped it all-in pre-flop holding [Ah][9c], and was looked up by the dominating [As][Th]. Williams was to encounter kicker-trouble on the resultant [2s][6c][2h][5d][Qs] board, to make it a remarkable 87.5% win rate for the Challengers.
A familiar face provided the competition for Match 9 of the series, as Monday's success story 'jimenezzzz' faced off against another former WSOP champ, Greg Raymer.
FossilMan managed to race into an early 3:2 lead after Hand #4 in the Limit Hold'Em round. The action went check, bet, raise, raise, call on the flop with Raymer holding [Ac][9c] for the nut flush draw - which got there on the [4c] river. jimenezzzz called Raymer's final 100 bet, only to muck upon seeing the bad news.
FossilMan capitalized on his early lead to build his stack up to 3421 a quarter of an hour in, with the Razz round responsible for much of Raymer's early dominance. Yet just 2 minutes later and a pivotal 7 Card Stud hand swung the chip lead jimenezzzz's way following some check-betting-calling all the way to 7th street.
FossilMan kept the pot small on 4th and 5th street with [2c][Ah] and [2c][Ah][9c] showing, calling all jimenezzzz had to throw at him. jimenezzzz's final 120 river bet proved decisive, revealing [6c][3c][Jc][Tc][9h][Kc][5d] for a King-high flush to relent Raymer's charge.
FossilMan went on to lose further ground throughout the 7 Card Stud round, with jimenezzzz taking his stack as high as 4779 after showing down [6s][Tc][Ts][Ah][5s][Td][Jh] for 3 tens made on 6th street; enough to take down a 1312 pot.
Raymer's fate was eventually sealed after moving all in on a turn of [Ac][Js][7s][3h]. He was insta-called by jimenezzzz, understandably so when holding the powerhouse [Ad][Ah]. Raymer sheepishly revealed [Qd][6d] for a bluff-gone-wrong. The irrelevant [Tc] river compounded the Pro's misery to make it a bad day all round for former world champs.
2 hours later and all-eyes turned to Portuguese Pro Henrique Pinho, as the Pros faced the humiliating prospect of a Challenger whitewash for the 2nd consecutive day.
The Challengers' conqueror from before, 72good was back to do his part in the history-making and hammer a firm nail into the Pro's coffin.
72good was indeed proving too good for Pinho in the early running, amassing a 3:2 chip lead by the 10-minute stage. A series of check-folds from Pinho aiding 72good's cause, making for some nervous viewing for the onlooking Pros.
The Challenger was not only running good but also being paid off with marginal holdings. In one such hand and with 240 in the middle 72good induced a call from the thinnest of value-bets on a [5h][8d][Ts][4s][4c] board, showing [Qh][8h] for 8s and 4s.
Fate turned on 72good just minutes later, and a cold-deck soon signified the start of a recovery from Pinho. A well-timed flopped set of 9s bettered 72 good's riverred 2-pair, with the eventual [8d][3h][9h][5h][4c] board earning the Portuguese Pro the double-up, and putting him right back into contention. Pinho then went on to make a great river-call in the latter stages holding just [As][Jh], for ace-high on a [Qc][3c][9d][5h][8c] board - enough to take the 1118 pot and the chip lead.
[Ac][Jc] again proved Pinho's lucky charm with the chips finding their way into the middle in the final hand. 72good's dominating [Ah][Ks] finding no favours on a nasty [Jd] turn, following a safe [7d][Qs][Qh] flop. The [2d] river ended the match to finally salvage some much-needed pride and leave the Pros to lick their wounds overnight, leaving the scoreboard at a Challenger-dominant 8-2.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
PokerStars applauds passage of the Internet Gambling, Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act
PokerStars issued the following press release this morning:
PokerStars, the world's largest poker site, welcomes news of the successful mark up of H.R. 2267: The Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act in the House Financial Services Committee by an overwhelming, bipartisan margin of 41-22.
The bill, sponsored by Committee Chairman Barney Frank, offers a long overdue common sense approach to internet gaming regulation in the United States. PokerStars wholeheartedly supports the efforts of Chairman Frank and the bill's proponents.
This bill represents the most significant US legislative accomplishment in the history of the internet gaming industry. The Committee vote was one step in a road to passage of H.R. 2267 in the US Congress. Further steps are required and a great deal of hard work for the legislators lies in store.
It is important to note that H.R. 2267 was passed out of Committee with the addition of certain amendments. Two in particular warrant additional comment:
Representative Brad Sherman offered language accepted by the Committee which would in part render as unsuitable for licensure any person who fails to certify in writing that it and its affiliated business entities have never committed an intentional felony violation of Federal or State gambling laws.
Ranking Member Spencer Bachus and Representative Michelle Bachmann also sponsored an amendment, accepted by the Committee, which would in part render unsuitable for licensing any person who knowingly participated in illegal internet gambling activity after enactment of the UIGEA in 2006.
The UIGEA by its clear terms shall not be construed as "altering, limiting or extending any Federal or State law or Tribal-State compact prohibiting, permitting, or regulating gambling within the United States". Therefore, in light of the more comprehensive view on this point set forth in Rep. Sherman's amendment, the Bachus/Bachmann amendment, with its UIGEA timeline, appears redundant (as Ranking Member Bachus himself observed during the mark up).
Nevertheless, PokerStars supports the provisions in both amendments as neither would adversely affect the availability of a license for a respected operator such as PokerStars. As reflected in legal opinions provided to PokerStars, its activities in the US are and at all times have been lawful.
Paul Telford, PokerStars' General Counsel stated that "PokerStars maintains its strong support for H.R. 2267 and encourages the full House and ultimately the Senate to move quickly to secure passage during the current Congressional term. PokerStars, a pioneer in operating online poker under stringent regulatory frameworks, looks forward to working with incumbent and new operators in promoting a safe and healthy online poker industry in the United States, as it currently does under similar licensing models in Italy and France".
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Twitter Poker League: 3detch wins first #tpoker league
by Joanne Haslam
The first season of the PokerStars Twitter Poker League has ended after eight weeks of busy point gathering, leader board checking, and lashings of Twitter #tpoker banter. There was so much going on it's a surprise anyone found time to win a poker tournament. 1,244 Twitter poker players assembled for the season finale, some with good claims to the 100 leader board prizes, others more interested in winning a share of the $1,244 prize pool.
Bra boy84 had won 40 points from back-to-back Twitter tourney wins, but failed to cash in his other Twitter tourneys. 3detch had played every game and with two final tables and three cashes was just three points behind the leader. Danilo1012 was 5th on the leader board with 30 points; he'd need a big finish to overtake the pair, but as the tourney progressed this became a possibility.
Bra boy84 busted
Bra boy84 really only needed a cash to take the league win, but he never really got into the game. He finally fell in 724th when his [Ks][Qc] was beat by stratten's [Ad][7d]. He was stuck on 41 points and would be watching the tourney from the sidelines, hoping his rivals fell on their swords to gift him the win.
3detch had played solid poker throughout the league season and he wasn't going to make it easy for bra boy84. 123rd place might not sound like a poker finish worthy of celebration, but it was in this case, the cash was worth 5 points - enough to take 3detch to the top of the league. However Danilo1012 would still be around to give him a scare...
3detch tweeted: "With tension watching the game Danilo1012 at #tpoker." There were a few others railing the final stages 'with tension' or bizarrely celebrating his skills with a chat box campaign calling for "Danilo for President".
Danilo1012 knew this wasn't going to be easy, he had to make the top 3 to win the league.
Bubble trouble
With 10 players remaining Danilo1012 was the short stack but still fighting. He saw a flop from the small blind with [Ad][3h]. Tessary and Dreams78 were along for the ride, and they all checked the [5c][6c][9c] flop. It was when the turn card [As] was dealt that everything kicked off. Danilo1012's all-in was called by tessary, the big blind player had been playing his [Ah][Qs] sneakily slow. Danilo1012 couldn't beat that queen kicker and was out. His performance made this a closely fought race and gave tweeters plenty to tweet about in the final stages of the tourney; his 10th place was still good for 3rd in the #tpoker league.
Danilo1012's bubble elimination meant the final table chat box was full of congratulations for 3detch. Bra boy 84, and danilo1012 were both keen to congratulate the winner and wish him well with his $700 Step Ticket prize. Of course while the leader board win was being debated the final table players still had work to do...
Final table chips
Seat 1: xkr1 (301,982 in chips)
Seat 2: winona1978 (148,708 in chips)
Seat 3: enjoy2playAK (108,513 in chips)
Seat 4: ashphx (260,624 in chips)
Seat 5: LABUBONICA (346,848 in chips)
Seat 6: sfrol (145,424 in chips)
Seat 7: flickerflick (120,820 in chips)
Seat 8: tessary (291,641 in chips)
Seat 9: Dreams78 (141,440 in chips)
Tessary won a sizeable pot in the first hand at the table, his [Kc][Qc] hit the flush on the turn [Ac], and that ace got winona1978 in deep with an [Ah][Kh].
Dreams78 nightmare
Dreams78 was the next to hit [As][Ks] trouble, simply calling under the gun with the hand and then playing along when xkr1 raised. On the [Js][8d][2d] flop Dreams78 check-called xkr1's all-in. Xkr1 showed [Kd][Jd] for top pair and a flush draw. An [Ah] on the turn gave Dreams78 a pain-free moment, but the [4d] on the river killed all hope. Dreams78 was out in 9th place, and may or may not, have wanted the following advice from the guy who won his chips, "Next time push this hand pre-flop and I fold my KJs."
When winona1978 bet out on a [4h][Ac][5h] flop he was re-raised by LABUBONICA. Winona1978 was not for folding, and LABUBONICA was ready to go all the way with him; on their backs time. It was [Ah][Qd] for winona1978 and [8h][7h] for LABUBONICA. A [Th] river brought the flush and winona78 was the unlucky loser, finishing in 8th place.
Not enjoy 2playthat
Enjoy2playAK told the table he was lowering his card playing standards due to a severe shortage of chips, "Soon gonna push any2. Just that u know :P"
When he pushed it wasn't quite 'any two' but deciding to make a stand with [Ah][Jc], calling sfrol's all-in bet. Sfrol showed [8c][8s], and the pair was enough to take it. As it turned out the king-high board would have suited his name, it didn't suit A-J. Down to six players.
Flickerflick went all-in twice with no takers, and the third time found a double-up with [Ad][Tc] versus xkr1's [Ac][7c].
Then Flickerflick raised with [As][Ad] and was called by tessary and LABUBONICA. Flickerflick thought the [9d][5c][4c] flop good enough for a bet, and worthy of an all-in re-raise when tessary raised back at him. Tessary had hit the set with [4d][4h] to beat aces, so a 6th place exit for Flickerflick.
Pass the chip lead
The chip lead had swung around the table, no one holding on to the elusive title for more than two or three hands, but at this stage of the game LABUBONICA, tessary and xkr1 had what I like to call 'happy stacks' while ashphx and sfrol had what I see as, 'need work' stacks.
Ashphx got to work with that 'needs work' pile of chips, pushing all-in from the button with [5d][5h]. Sfrol who also held a 'needs work' stack made the call with [Kc][Qs]. The [Qd] on the turn decided ashphx's tournament fate, and he exited typing 'gg' through gritted teeth with good grace.
LABUBONICA won a few pots without showing cards and was gradually gaining the advantage. Xkr1 was in last place chips-wise but had a plan for that. He started raising. In fact he raised all-in seven out of eight hands, winning blinds and antes like nobody's business. He had LABUBONICA asking with concern: "Are u tilt¿?"
Perhaps it was inevitable that one of these bets was going to be called. Xkr1's eighth all-in was called by LABUBONICA with [Th][Ts]. Xkr1 was still perfectly live with [Qc][Jc] although the rest of the table might have been wishing him a goner - that pesky all-in prone German was making life difficult for everyone.
There were a couple of clubs to give xkr1 flush draw hope, but hope doesn't win chips like a pair of tens can. Xkr1 out in 4th place.
If chips were mountains...
LABUBONICA increased his lead with xkr1's elimination, and if the three players' chips were mountain ranges then LABUBONICA would be the mighty Himalayas, tessary the Alps, and sfrol the Brecon Beacons in Wales. Or minus the geography lesson it would be LABUBONICA 1,142,464, tessary 512,806, and sfrol 205,480.
Sfrol tried to fight back with his small Welsh mountain of chips, he raised with [Kc][Jc] and LABUBONICA called with [5d][5c]. The [Tc][9c][6d] flop got sfrol betting out again. LABUBONICA was having none of that and re-raised. Sfrol pressed his case yet again with an all-in bet. LABUBONICA was chip-happy and chose to call. He must also have been happy to see he was ahead with his low pair, but the [Qs] on the turn gave sfrol the straight and he took the pot.
Three-handed play was cagey with LABUBONICA holding the lead but not powering ahead. Then sfrol pushed all-in with 270,000, [As][8d] in his hand. LABONICA had enough chips to try to take him down with a [Kd][7d]. The ace high won, and sfrol fought on. Next Tessary lost a big pot holding [Ac][Js] on a jack-high board, LABUBONICA hit the straight to leave Tessary looking for an all-in hand. When sfrol raised a few hands later Tessary found [Ts][Td] and pushed. Sfrol called with [Ad][Kh] for one of those classic poker confrontations. The classic [Ks] on the flop put an end to tessary's game.
Six, six, six - six
Heads-up now. LABUBONICA was ahead with 1,013,524 but there would still be plenty of play with sfrol fielding 852,476. LABUBONICA eased ahead, a steady pattern of raised pots and continuation bets sending chips to his corner.
Sfrol clawed some back, all-in with [6d][Js] on a board showing two sixes. LABUBONICA must have thought his [6c] would win the match - but no. His lower [8s] side card sent the pot to sfrol. Sfrol climbed back to 800,000.
The final hand was another side-card battle, this time LABUBONICA had the best of it. Sfrol re-raised all-in with [Ac][Jd]. LABUBONICA made the call with [Ah][Qd]. The flop didn't change anything, and [Ah][Qd] was the #tpoker tournament winning hand. Well done to LABUBONICA for claiming the win in the final game of the Twitter Poker League season.
Top 100
So now league points will be totted up, leaderboard tables published, and the best 100 Twitter Poker League players will share $2,100 of Step Ticket prizes. Congratulations to 3detch for winning the league in its first season. Thanks to all players who participated in the league and tweeted their thoughts tagged with #tpoker for other Twitter League players to follow.
There'll be a brand new league season starting next week, with eight tournaments to prove a point to the rest of the #tpoker world. We hope you'll add your name to the leader board and grab a share of the prizes. You can find more information by visiting the Twitter Poker League website. Or follow PokerStars on Twitter for news, competitions, league reports and all manner of fun for tweeting types.
It's hard to believe we're already well in to season two of the PokerStars Italian Poker Tour. This series has surpassed all expectations and is now one of the most hotly-contested events in the European poker calendar.
Tomorrow sees the start of IPT Venice, a €2,000 (+ €200) buy-in tournament held in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Casino Ca' Noghera is the place to be, but if you can't make it you can follow all the action on our sister Italian blog. There you'll find Matteo Viola hard at work bringing you the words and photos. Don't read Italian? A small problem, you may think, but by using Google's translation tool you'll be up to speed in no time! Warning: the tool does not come with free arm-waving and wild Italian gesticulation.
Watch out for a host of big names in Venice, including the Italian faction of Team PokerStars Pro and Team PokerStars Online as they battle to repeat the trick pulled off by Luigi Pignataro, who won the title and €190,000 in the season's first event in San Marino in June.
Luigi Pignataro
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
SHIP_IT.NET ships July 27 Super Tuesday after three-handed deal
The final $1,000 + 50 Super Tuesday of July on PokerStars drew a field of 402 players, creating a $402,000 prize pool This was a slight increase from last week's 384 participants, with the final 45 making the money, with the winner expecting to take down the first prize of $77,787.
A handful of Team PokerStars players participated in the Super Tuesday tournament, however none lasted long enough to make the money. Team PokerStars PRO Veronica "princesa" Dabul was the last member of Team PokerStars with chips, eventually finishing 63rd, two tables short of the money.
The final table bubble was burst on in a hand between chip leader Peetoon and alwaysnice. Peetoon made a raise from UTG +1 to 12,500 as alwaysnice called from the big blind. The flop came down [8d][5c][4d] with alwaysnice check-raising Peetoon's 17,500 bet to 56,000 as Peetoon made the call. The [5h] on the turn had alwaysnice moving in for their final 152,653 with Peetoon making the call with [qh] [qd]. Alwaysnice wasn't feeling so nice, revealing [ad][8s], when the [Jh] came on the river meaning a 10th place finish, good for $6,030. The final table was at table 27 with play resuming at level 30, with blinds at 2,800/5,600 and a 700 ante:
Seat 1: anybodybut17 (102808 in chips)
Seat 2: D0N4LdO (177436 in chips)
Seat 3: thechips55 (97926 in chips)
Seat 4: justcall6969 (282654 in chips)
Seat 5: tonyton55 (84021 in chips)
Seat 6: Peetoon (671915 in chips)
Seat 7: SHIP_IT.NET (148609 in chips)
Seat 8: Altrum Altus (366467 in chips)
Seat 9: foolflash (78164 in chips)
Justcall6969 eliminates two for Tuesday
The final table went just five hands before the first elimination as D0N4LdO 4-bet all-in their last 112k with [9s][9d] with justcall6969 calling with [Ad][Kh]. The [Jc] [As] [Th} flop moved justcall6969 into the lead. D0N4ldO was unable to retake the lead as the turn and river went [2c][8c], earning $7,035 for a ninth place finish. A few hands later, justcall6969 added to their stack by calling thechips55's UTG shove with [Kc][Qc] with[As][Qd]. The board ran out [8d] [6s] [4d] [4h] [4c], leaving thechips55 without chips, collecting $9,648 for an eighth place finish.
Three-way all-in, anybodybut17 sent packing
Play had moved to level 31 with blinds at 3200/6400 with an 800 ante as the action at the Super Tuesday final table didn't slow down. as the three shortest stacks -- foolflash, anybodybut17 and tonyton55 put all of their chips in the middle before the flop. Tonyton55 had the other two players covered, as well as having the best hand: [kc][kd] with anybodybut17 holding [qc][qs] and foolflash holding [th][9s]. The [4s] [8d] [8c] flop was good for tonyton55, but the [7d] gave foolflash an open-ended straight draw. The [Jh] on the river moved foolflash from worst to first with a runner-runner straight, as Anybodybut17 was eliminated in seventh place for $13,668.
Peetoon pockets pair of protagonists
Play slowed down as the remaining six players stole blinds and antes for several hands. However, Peetoon would retake the chip lead from justcall6969, first disposing of tonyton55's stack when Peetoon's [7d][7h] held up against [As][Jc] as the board ran out [8h] [4s] [2h] [2s] [4d], leaving tonyton55 with a sixth place finish with $17,688 appearing in their account. On the very next hand with blinds now at 3,600/7,200 with a 900 ante, Peetoon opened with a raise, as foolflash moved in from the big blind for last 129,492 with [Ad][3c]. Peetoon made the call with a dominating [as][8s]. The flop was [9c] [Tc] [8d], the [Qh] gave foolflash hopes for a chop with a Jack, which disappeared when the [4c] appeared on the river instead. Foolflash finished in fifth place, earning $22,914 for the effort.
Altrum Altus sent to rail by Ace
Altrum Altus started the final table second in chips, but the chip stack was moving in the wrong direction when their final hand happened. Altrum Altus made a raise to 14,600 with justcall6969 and Peetoon both calling from the blinds. The flop of [Ts][Qh][4h] had Peetoon bet 24,000, followed by Altrum Altus shoving for 161,458 holding [Ks][Kd]. Justcall6969 folded while Peetoon made the call with [ah][5h]. The call was rewarded when the turn brought the [Ad], with the [3d] river meant Altrum Altus leaving the virtual table in fourth place, cashing for $33,165.
Fortunate five favors SHIP_IT.NET
Play was now three-handed with Peetoon and justcall6969 holding most of the chips, while SHIP_IT.NET was down to just over 100,000 as the players wanted to discuss a deal. It took some time for someone to help with the numbers while play continued. SHIP_IT.NET moved in with [5d][5c] over justcall6969's raise, making the call with [Ac][9c]. The flop of [3s][ad][7d], along with the [2c] turn left few outs available. Fortunately, the river was the [5h] as SHIP_IT.NET doubled up to over 250,000 in chips, still in third, but hoping to make his move.
A deal is made, a tournament is finished
During the :55 minute hourly break, a PokerStars representative appeared at the table to negotiate a deal among the remaining players. Here's how the chip stacks looked, along with the adjusted figures if a deal was made:
SHIP_IT.NET stated he would rather have $55,000. Peetoon was reluctant to contribute, while justcall6969 countered to give $1,500. That wasn't enough for SHIP_IT.NET's needs, and after a few minutes, justcall6969 decided to give SHIP_IT.NET the $2,685.60 needed to complete the deal, and all three quickly agreed left to play for TLB points and bragging rights.
The trio played another 25 hands before deciding to end the tournament by going all-in every hand. On the first hand, SHIP_IT.NET won the first hand when his [kh][5d] outflopped Peetoon's [aC] [9h] and justcall6969's [8h][3h] to take the lead. The second hand saw Peetoon turn a straight, eliminating justcall6969 in third for $59,930.30. The final hand of the tournament had SHIP_IT.NET waking up with [jd][jc] while Peetoon held [Ah][3d]. The chance of a double-up didn't happen, with the final five cards dealt being [2h] [5s] [2d] [Kd] [Qd], giving Peetoon the second place finish, but pocketing the most money, $65,366.70. That leaves SHIP_IT.NET with the Super Tuesday victory, good for $55,000.
Qualify now for your shot at riches in The Bahamas
Take a good look at the young gentleman in this photograph. This is Harrison Gimbel, who became the youngest ever PokerStars Caribbean Adventure winner in January. With victory came respect and admiration from the poker world. Oh, and the small matter of $2.2 million. That's a lot of money for a 19-year-old. His reaction at the time? "I feel like a rock star," he said.
Well, as you likely know by now the PCA, held at the luxurious Atlantis resort in The Bahamas, is a yearly affair and gives you the chance to follow in Gimbel's golden footsteps and make millions for yourself.
Even though the 2011 festival next January may seem far off, there are plenty of ways for you to win your seat on PokerStars right now. And already many of you have done just that.
Harrison Gimbel
You can find full details about how to bag your seat on the PokerStars PCA page, but here is a summary to start you on your way...
The PCA Mega Path
Put your FPPs (Frequent Player Points) to work by using them to enter Mega Path satellites to win your trip of a lifetime to The Bahamas. Starting from just 5 FPPs, you can make your way through the rounds until you get to Round 9, where there are PCA prize packages up for grabs. You can also buy-in directly to any round at any time.
To register, open the PokerStars lobby and click 'Events' >> 'PCA'.
So far more than seven million FPPs (yes, you read that right) have been used by PokerStars players on the Mega Path.
There's only a month left until the Round 9 on August 29, so start planning your assault now.
Weekly $700 satellites
These are running each Sunday at 6pm (ET) and offer a great way of securing your package (which includes Main Event entry, accommodation and more). Team PokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth has won his seat this way already.
Step 6
Enter the special $2,000 + $100 Step 6 qualifiers (again click on Events >> PCA in the PokerStars lobby).
Other routes to Bahamas glory will be announced soon, so keep an eye on the PCA page for more announcements.
Good luck, and we look forward to welcoming you to The Bahamas!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
All Star Week Day 1: Team PokerStars Pro takes a beating
by Chris Edge
With the dust settling on the World Series for another year, the focus for many Team PokerStars Pros shifts from the live to the virtual scene, with the second annual All Star Week.
Over the course of this week the ranks of Team Pro square off against an array of recent top performing PokerStars players in a series of 35 heads-up matches.
Yesterday's first day of five matches did not go well for the Pros - they lost 4-1!
The curtain raiser pitted Team Pro and WPT winner Alex Gomes against Spanish-based 'jimenezzzz' in the opening NLHE event.
Following a conservative opening jimenezzzz stole the chip lead thanks to some well-timed check-raises and generally revealing winners when play reached showdown. Twelve minutes into the match and jimenezzzz took a firm grip on proceedings to extend his lead to a near 3:1 chip advantage. With the board reading [7h][3d][5c][Qh] Allingomes fired out a bet of 90, duly called by jimenezzzz holding a lowly [4s][3h]. The [3c] river proved Gomes' downfall; calling a 330 bet, only to be shown trip 3's by jimenezzzz.
Loser: Alex Gomes
Minutes later and it was all over; jimenezzzz hitting gin on the [9d][5d][4c] flop holding [9h][5c], to Gomes' [Ad][Ah], for two red aces. All the money found its way in the middle on the [Th] turn, with jimenezzzz fading the eight outs on the river to chalk up the first victory for the Challengers and prompt a "gg" from the vanquished Pro.
Two hours later it was the turn of 'traction1' to face off against Team Pro. He would need to overcome Brazilian heavyweight, Andre Akkari (aakkari) in the Limit Stud event of the series.
A fiercely contested encounter saw aakaari gain much of the early momentum, aided by several continuation bets that forced traction1 out of the action. Just three minutes into the match and aakkari surged into a 2:1 chip lead after raising a 7th street bet from traction1, showing down [Kh][Ad][4h][6c][Ah][3d][6s] for two pair; enough to better traction1's holding.
At one point traction1 was down to just 876 as aakkari continued to apply pressure with the dominating stack. Undeterred, traction1 rallied before a big hand 11 minutes in all-but restored parity.
Loser: Andre Akkari
Following some jousting back and forth, both players made it to 7th street with 720 in the middle. aakkari displayed some pot control to check-call traction1's 100 river bet, only to be shown the winning [Ah][Qc][Qh][9h][9s][Kc][Js].
It was 2 pair that again set traction1 up for victory approaching 40 minutes in, earning a 200 call on the river and with it the chip lead for the 1st time in the match, holding [8c][8h][5c][7h][9s][3d][9d].
Only minutes later and down to just 670 in chips, Akkari's fate was sealed when he committed his remaining stack on 4th street. traction1 obliged and again his [Kh][7c][7d][Qd][8c][4c][4h] was enough to take victory and double the Challengers' lead.
Match 3 between Team Pro Canada's Greg DeBora and challenger 'caprioli' proved a much shorter affair. The early exchanges saw caprioli race to an early 3:2 chip lead, after receiving a 490 call on the river with a full house, holding [2s][Ts]. Lady Luck's allegiance remained with caprioli as the very next hand he showed down [8s][Js] on a [6s][4s][8c][Ac] [8d]. His three eights enough to take the 1820 pot and a 4:1 chip lead.
Loser: Greg DeBora
Eight minutes in and the Challengers had established a 3-0 lead, after DeBora pushed his remaining 1255 into the middle on the [5c][4h][Kc][7d] turn, holding [7s][6d]. caprioli snapped him off with [6h][Ks], and his top pair held up to make it an impressive 3/3 for the Challengers.
traction1 returned to the felt for the Limit Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Match 4, hoping to replicate some of the good form demonstrated against Andre Akkari. His adversary on this occasion was Dutch Pro Ruben Visser.
Loser: Ruben Visser
Most of the early skirmishes favored traction1, who got a real stranglehold on the match 26 minutes in, with both players having made lows after the 3rd draw. Unfortunately for Visser, his (Lo: 9,7,6,5,4) was no match for the dominating (Lo: 9,7,5,4,3) of traction1.
rubenrtv went on to reduce the 4:1 deficit on the half-hour mark, standing pat after the 3rd draw with (Lo: T,7,5,4,3) - enough to better traction1's (Lo: J,9,4,3,2). Only three hands later and the writing appeared on the wall for traction1, who lost a huge 3200 chip pot after calling rubenrtv's river raise, and subsequently mucking after being shown the monster 7,5,4,3,2.
Five minutes later, and the see-sawing chip lead reversed yet again; traction1's 8,7,6,4,3 enough to take the 1800 pot, and driven a decisive nail in Visser's coffin. At 18:45 ET and boasting a 6:1 chip advantage, traction1 called Visser's 90 all in bet following the third draw, revealing (Lo: J,9,8,7,4) against Visser's (Lo: A,8,7,5,3), and taking with it, the 4th straight scalp for the Challengers!
Match 5 saw badblood1, representing the Challengers, line up against Team Pro Chad Brown, keen to restore some battered pride to the Team Pro cause before the day's end.
Much cagey to-ing and fro-ing early on set the pace for much of the match; with Brown understandably apprehensive over the prospect of a Day-1 whitewash. His cautious approach helped badblood1 chip up 3:2 by the half way stage, himself adopting some Negreanu-esque smallball poker to steal pots in favorable situations.
Brown recovered to eat into badblood1's lead and after hand #97 there remained little to separate the two. Blinds stood at 25/50 and stacks at 2510 v 2490 in favor of Brown, with the match continuing in the same, cagey tone.
Winner: Chad Brown
badblood1's aggressive approach once again dwindled Brown's stack until he was reduced to all-in/shove poker at the 35-minute level. Brown duly committed his stack on Hand #142 but yielded no call. Moments later his stack found its way to the middle again, and the prospect of a clean-sweep by the Challengers suddenly seemed a very real one upon badblood1 calling. That was until the moment badblood1 revealed the anti-climatic, identical KT. To no-one's surprise the pot was chopped up and we played on.
Then came the pivotal 'Hand That Might Have Been'. With both players all-in on the [Ts][6d][4c] flop, Brown's [6c][2h] was in dire straits and needing urgent help against badblood1's [8d][Td]. The inconsequential [Ac] left Brown drawing to five outs on the river, 91% likely to hit the felt and hand victory to the Challengers yet again. The cards had other ideas, however, and in true Hollywood fashion the [6s] spiked like a lightning bolt, to hand Brown the chip lead late on.
It was a cruel blow to badblood1, who six hands later shipped it in with [8d][Qh]. Brown obliged with [Ad][Ts], and the [6c][5c][Kh][Tc][8s] board sent Match 5 the Pros' way to leave the scoreboard at 4-1 to the Challengers after Day 1's play.
Join us tomorrow to see whether the Pro's can avenge their Day 1 performance and claw back some of their lost ground. You can follow the action in the PokerStars lobby, going to Tourney >> Special.
For the 11 challengers there is $1,000 to be won in each individual match, plus they'll get to share a $25,000 prize if they win the series. For Team Pro, any winnings they get will be added to a special $11 fan tournament on PokerStars at 4pm ET on August 8.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday Million July 25, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
PokerStars Sunday tournament results 7-25-10
Last we checked, Canada Day was earlier in the year. Our Canadian friends took the day off and did a bunch of Canadian things. We remember it clearly, largely because we were a little jealous.
So, with the above completely understood, you can probably see why we were like, "Wha?" when Team PokerStars Canada blew up yesterday during the Sunday tournaments.
One $215 Mixed Hold'em final table alone consisted of Team PokerStars Pros Pat Pezzin, Greg Debora, and An Van Nguyen. If that wasn't enough, Pezzin came in runner-up in a fixed limit Omaha event. Outdoing them all was Canadian Team PokerStars Online player Steve Paul who hit the $530 NLHE event for a fifth place finish and $25,863. It was as if someone poured run good in the Canadians drank up.
Pat Pezzin
In news not necessarily related to the Canucks, here are some of the bigger stories that came out of the Sunday tournaments this weekend.
Good luck to everyone this week, Canada and beyond.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Catch the All Star Week action as Team PokerStars Pro defends title
Like the imminent arrival of a new supply of Atomic Fireballs, the official candy of PokerStars Blog, we look forward to the start of All Star Week. Why? Because starting today it pitches players from Team PokerStars Pro against a challenging team in a series of heads-up matches across all poker disciplines. And no Pro wants to lose face.
The problem for Team Pro is they are up against some of PokerStars' best players - folk who have excelled in WCOOP, SCOOP, the Sunday Million and the Tournament Leaderboard. It all makes for some pretty tasty matches.
For the 11 challengers there is $1,000 to be won in each individual match, plus they'll get to share a $25,000 prize if they win the series. For Team Pro, any winnings they get will be added to a special $11 fan tournament on PokerStars at 4pm ET on August 8.
In other words, although some might quite like to see a Team Pro fall flat on his/her face, most will be cheering them on so there is more to play for in the fan event.
Today's five opening matches feature Team PokerStars Pros Alex Gomes, Andre Akkari, Greg Debora, Ruben Visser and Chad Brown. The full schedule is printed below.
Chad Brown
There are 35 matches in total, and last year Team PokerStars Pro squeaked the title by 18-17. To check out the action, open up the PokerStars lobby and click on Tourney >> Special.
Have fun!
1 26/07/2010 12:00 ET NLHE Alexandre Gomes v jimenezzzz
2 26/07/2010 14:00 ET Stud André Akkari v traction1
3 26/07/2010 16:00 ET NLHE Greg Debora v caprioli
4 26/07/2010 18:00 ET 2-7TD Ruben Visser v traction1
5 26/07/2010 20:00 ET NLHE Chad Brown v badblood1
6 27/07/2010 12:00 ET NLHE Chris Moneymaker v MOJOEX1
7 27/07/2010 14:00 ET PLO8 Vicky Coren v 72good
8 27/07/2010 16:00 ET NLHE David Williams v Hurloon
9 27/07/2010 18:00 ET HORSE Greg Raymer v jimenezzzz
10 27/07/2010 20:00 ET NLHE Henrique Pinho v 72good
11 28/07/2010 12:00 ET NLHE Hevad Khan v InstantLei
12 28/07/2010 14:00 ET 2-7SD Ivan Demidov v Timmy K
13 28/07/2010 16:00 ET NLHE Joe Cada v Hurloon
14 28/07/2010 18:00 ET PLO Joe Hachem v caprioli
15 28/07/2010 20:00 ET NLHE Johnny Lodden v Brezi26
16 29/07/2010 12:00 ET NLHE Jose Barbero v caprioli
17 29/07/2010 14:00 ET Badugi JP Kelly v Timmy K
18 29/07/2010 16:00 ET NLHE Lex Veldhuis v MOJOEX1
19 29/07/2010 18:00 ET LHE Marcel Luske v 72good
20 29/07/2010 20:00 ET NLHE Noah Boeken v MOJOEX1
21 30/07/2010 12:00 ET NLHE Joep Van Den Bijgaart v caprioli
22 30/07/2010 14:00 ET L5CD Maridu Mayrinik v Timmy K
23 30/07/2010 16:00 ET NLHE Anh Van Nguyen v MOJOEX1
24 30/07/2010 18:00 ET 8-Game Darus Suharto v badblood1
25 30/07/2010 20:00 ET NLHE Tom McEvoy v caprioli
26 31/07/2010 12:00 ET NLHE Tony Hachem v Hurloon
27 31/07/2010 14:00 ET O8 Julian Thew v Timmy K
28 31/07/2010 16:00 ET NLHE Victor Ramdin v badblood1
29 31/07/2010 18:00 ET Razz Bill Chen v Timmy K
30 31/07/2010 20:00 ET NLHE Veronica Dabul v MOJOEX1
31 01/08/2010 12:00 ET NLHE Pat Pezzin v 72good
32 01/08/2010 14:00 ET PL5CD Victor Ramdin v InstantLei
33 01/08/2010 16:00 ET NLHE Vanessa Selbst v papadelpoker
34 01/08/2010 18:00 ET Stud8 Randy Lew v Brezi26
35 01/08/2010 20:00 ET NLHE Richard Toth v Brezi26
Monday, July 26, 2010
BarneyR2005 beats B Buddy to grab nearly $245K and Sunday Million title
The last Sunday of each month is special. Not only are the regular Sunday tournaments on tap for players looking for the biggest guarantees and best fields on the internet, but PokerStars hosts some special tournaments for its players. There is the Battle of the Planets, a freeroll competition solely for the top players on the weekly sit-n-go leaderboards with a $50K prize pool. And there is the $1,000,000 Turbo Takedown, a stellar prize pool set up for anyone with 3,000 Frequent Player Points, and a tournament that puts bounties on PokerStars Team Pros as well as awards an Audi TT to the ultimate winner. So July 25 was kinda a big deal.
And then there was the Sunday Million, the biggest guarantee in online poker's weekly offerings. With its standard buy-in of $200 + $15, the guarantee was set at $1.5 million, and players couldn't have been more anxious to take a chance at it. That resulted in a registration number of 8,319, which prompted the prize pool to grow to $1,663,800.00. As the tournament moved forward, the top 1,260 players were paid for their efforts, and the final table neared after a few more hours.
Finally, it was during hand-for-hand action that marlin5555 put his tournament on the line with an all-in move for 2,703,411 chips. Original raiser B Buddy folded, but dehoo called from the big blind with [Ad][9d]. Marlin5555 showed [Ac][Tc] for the chance to double-up, but the [8c][Qs][Ah][9h][2c] board did not agree. The two pair eliminated marlin5555 in tenth place, for which he was awarded $8,818.14.
B Buddy making no friends, only taking names
It was about 15 minutes shy of the ten-hour mark of the tournament that the final table was set, and it happened in the middle of Level 35, with blinds at 200,000/400,000 and a 40,000 ante. The starting chip counts were as follows:
Seat 1: nenita02 (2,691,048 in chips)
Seat 2: BarneyR2005 (12,323,682 in chips)
Seat 3: BWFCLEE (3,469,267 in chips)
Seat 4: Cukbandit (4,317,891 in chips)
Seat 5: dehoo (17,750,105 in chips)
Seat 6: RonaldKosh (13,404,071 in chips)
Seat 7: bostero27 (5,798,694 in chips)
Seat 8: kirbyi17 (2,479,980 in chips)
Seat 9: B Buddy (20,955,262 in chips)
B Buddy came on strong as action got underway, as it only took a few hands for the chip leader to grab another 15 million chips from dehoo. Soon after, B Buddy neared the 30 million chip range to solidify that lead.
But it was one of the shorter stacks who chose to get involved next. BWFCLEE made the decision to risk 2,809,267 chips with [Ac][Qc] preflop, and original raiser BarneyR2005 called with [Ts][Th]. The race was on until the [Tc][As][8s] flop hit to give BarneyR2005 the set of tens. The [7s] on the turn changed nothing, and the [Qd] on the river was too little too late for BWFCLEE, who finished the tournament in ninth place with $12,894.45.
A few rounds later, another battle between dehoo and B Buddy ensued, as the two got involved to see the flop of [8c][9c][5s]. Dehoo was the first to bet, and B Buddy check-raised. Dehoo responded with an all-in move for 9,513,105 chips, and B Buddy made the call with [Ah][9h] for top pair. Dehoo showed [Qc][Tc] for the flush draw, but the [5h] turn and [2d] left him still waiting. And the eighth place prize of $18,301.80 was awarded to dehoo.
One of the original short stacks, kirbyi17, saw his stack cut in half during the first few rounds of action, and the all-in move came for his remaining 1,079,980 chips from the small blind with [Kc][8d]. B Buddy was in the big blind and made the call with only [3s][2s], but the flop came [4d][5c][Ad] to give him the straight. The board completed with [Ac] and [Qs], and that eliminated kirbyi17 in seventh place with $33,276.00.
Play was moving along at a fairly rapid pace thus far, and it wasn't letting up. Bostero27 moved all-in preflop for just less than 2 million chips, and nenita02 called with [Ac][Tc], which dominated the [As][4d] of bostero27. The board was a rather uneventful [2d][8h][8s][7c][8d], and that sent bostero27 packing in sixth place, which was worth $49,914.00.
No deal to see here, just keep it moving
Talks of seeing chip-chop numbers were quickly squashed when B Buddy, who then had more than 40 million chips, explained succinctly that he was not interested in a deal. With that, they moved on.
But everyone didn't move on for long. Cukbandit was down to little more than 1 million chips and pushed it preflop with [As][4h]. BarneyR2005 called from the big blind with [7c][4c] and hit the flop immediately when it came [7d][Td][Jd]. That pair of sevens held as the [Jc] turned and the [3h] rivered to end the hand. Cukbandit was gone in fifth place with $66,552.00.
And in the time it took to write up the last hand, another all-in was in progress. RonaldKosh made a big push preflop with [Ac][9s] and 8,094,071 in chips. BarneyR2005 called from the big blind with [7d][7s]. Another race was on, but the [8s][3s][7c] put the kibosh on that by giving BarneyR2005 the set of sevens. The [5d] and [2s] completed the hand, and RonaldKosh was sent off in fourth place with $83,190.00.
Striking distance
The last hand put BarneyR2005 within close striking distance of B Buddy, and the gap quickly closed as the two battled for the chip lead. It was the first time during final table action that B Buddy had someone to worry about.
And a short while after, the following hand resulted in a change of the lead:
RSS readers click through to see replay
Still in swift play mode, a big hand developed that started with B Buddy raising all-in and nenita02 calling all-in for 5,701,838 chips. B Buddy showed only [5d][3d], and nenita02 dominated with [Ks][Js]. But B Buddy caught a five on the [4c][8c][5s] flop, and the [Ac] turn and [9h] allowed that pair to stand. Nenita02 went out in third place with $124,785.00.
How the table turns so quickly
The two players were heads-up before the 10.5-hour mark, and it was BarneyR2005 on top as the chip counts showed:
Seat 2: BarneyR2005 (43,831,754 in chips)
Seat 9: B Buddy (39,358,246 in chips)
The battle ensued and found both players taking the chip lead at various points during the match, but BarneyR2005 refused to let up on the aggression. Finally, with BarneyR2005 holding more than 70 million of the chips in play, B Buddy took a chance with [Ah][7s]. BarneyR2005 called with [9d][7d], and the board came [9h][Ks][7h][4d][4c] to give BarneyR2005 the best two pair. That left B Buddy eliminated in second place with $178,858.50.
BarneyR2005 claimed victory in the July 25th edition of the Sunday Million, and the reward was $244,749.39 and the coveted title.
For more information on ways to register and qualify for upcoming Sunday Million tournaments, visit the Sunday Million page.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Turbo Takedown: Conning to victory, coNNBoyle takes down $60K and Audi in win
Several Team PokerStars pros tried their hand tonight at breaking thru the 17,281 player field of the $1 Million Turbo Takedown but only a handful would break into the top 5,000 to claim a little money. Anders "Donald" Berg (382nd Place - $260.00), Christophe "chrisdm" de Meulder (216th place - $350.00), and Julian Thew (212th place - $350.00) would all reach the final 500 but were unable to get within sniffing that great new car smell of the Audi TT and dropped off their $100 bounties before leaving.
Task cracked
Taska85 was sitting on the bubble with a comfortable 2.7 million in chips and facing a 345,000 raise from muezzo with the blinds at 80K/160K ante 16K. Looking down at ace-jack [Jh][Ac] and figuring muezzo for a button steal Taska85 would go all-in as muezzo had slightly less chips but a higher kicker [Qh][As] and made the call. An all low board drizzled out [5s] [6s] [7h] [2c] [8d] and Taska85 was chopped down to 111,122 chips. Those scraps were eaten up by APZ19 who's [8s][9d] would beat out the [Kh][6h] leaving Taska85 off the final table in tenth place ($8,000.00)
Click image for larger picture
Seat 1: muezzo (5345152 in chips)
Seat 2: coNNBoyle (13838222 in chips)
Seat 3: knif1807 (6463144 in chips)
Seat 4: APZ19 (5896874 in chips)
Seat 5: growby (10284413 in chips)
Seat 6: sgc0458 (796679 in chips)
Seat 7: naka34 (1937084 in chips)
Seat 8: pain-bg (3366390 in chips)
Seat 9: mossified84 (5535042 in chips)
mossifed84 got the race for the AudiTT going in a hurry by doubling-up off growby in the final table's very first hand for an 11.2 million chip pot with blinds starting off at 80K/160K ante 16K.
Feeling the pain
It would take two full levels (100K/200K ante 20K) before our first elimination which seemed to open the gates of several others wanting to leave quickly tonight. sgc0458 had only 706,716 chips in early position, made the most of them by open shoving with pocket eights [8c][8h]. pain-bg two seats over would re-shove and covered holding big slick [Kh][Ac]. A king on the door [Kc] [5h] [Qh] [6c] [7d] on sgc0458's night was over in ninth place ($10,000.00).
And they all come tumbling down
Four hands later muezzo was sitting UTG with just 1.1 million in chips holding a medium suited ace [Ah][8h] and shoved. Chip leader coNNBoyle was not make a big stack call here after matching the bet and turning over pocket rockets [Ad][Ac]. Slight scare on the [6h] [Ts] [Qh] flop gave muezzo some breath of life for the nut flush, [9s] on the turn opened up some straight outs. But the [5c] river was not the right five and muezzo buzzed off in eighth place ($12,500.00).
You been... MOSS-IF-IED
As a Minnesota Viking's fan my heart broke a little bit seeing number 84 get shuffled off to the New England Patriots but much like the talented wide receiver mossifed84 showed he can race with anyone. The very next hand after muezzo left, mossified84 re-shoved on the all-in bet of naka34 holding pocket jacks [Js][Jd]. naka34 could only turn up an over card [Kd][Ts] and was unable to connect at all with the [2c] [9h] [3d] [2s] [6d] board ending his night in seventh place ($15,000.00).
Done with the all-in's? I think not
Just another three hands later, and one hand after APZ19 doubled up off mossified84, knif1807 and pain-bg went toe-to-toe preflop for a 7.4 million chip pot. Watch the results below:
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Big slick [Ad][Kd] for knif1807 and pocket tens [Tc][Ts] for pain-bg. King on the flop and an unnecessary ace on the river [8h] [Jd] [Kc] [3d] [As] directed those 7.4 million chips to knif1807 as pain-bg limped from the final table with an extra $17,500.00 finishing in sixth place.
Jackedy Jack Don't Talk Back
On the very next hand, the biggest pot of the tournament played out with coNNBoyle and knif1807 both holding over 14 million in chips with blinds at 100K/200K ante 20K. Both would be all-in preflop with coNNBoyle just holding 300K more in chips. Watch the 29 million chip pot play out below:
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coNNBoyle: [Jd][Jc] knif1807:[Qc][Qs]
In one of those jaw-dropping flops BOTH coNNBoyle's outs would hit [Jh] [Js] [2s] [7d] [3s] giving him quad jacks as knif1807's 989:1 shot did not come with running queens and thus a very expensive bad beat story in fifth place ($20,000.00).
A moment to exhale
After that block of all-ins and eliminations, the final four would actually part thru three levels reaching the 175K/350K ante 35K before asking another person to leave the table. mossified84 would lose some steam four-handed and was down to 6.4 million chips while trying to make something happen with a three-bet shove in the big blind over growby's small blind raise to 1.05 million. growby with nine million chips called the massive raise with [Jd][8d] as mossified84 was slightly ahead holding [Ks][Tc], live cards for all until two jacks fell on the flop for growby [Jc] [Jh] [2s]. mossified84 could not find running cards on the [4s] turn and [Ac] river to catch up and the Randy Moss fan was out in fourth place ($25,000.00).
Straight outta here
We would move our three-handed table into the ninth hour of play and blinds at 200K/400K ante 40K with the chip stacks fairly even (coNNBoyle - 20.6 million, growby - 18.9 million, and APZ19 - 13.8 million). Chop talks started and stopped several times but never got enough legs to stop the tournament. growby would led out for a three time the BB raise from the button as APZ19 would call from the big blind. [Jh] [5h] [6s] flop and both players checked. APZ19 would check the turned [7s] as growby bet two million and was called. On the rivered [4s] completing a flush draw, APZ19 would shove for 10.6 million. After turning the nut straight [9c][8c] growby had a decision for a big chunk of his stack and made the right call as APZ19 turned up the [As] but the second card was a club [5c] finishing APZ19's day in third place ($30,000.00) as heads-up play would commence for the Audi TT.
This goes in the winner's garage
Host YbrahimC here but not needed yet
Heads-up play would start with connBoyle slightly down 20.4 million to growby's 33 million and blinds at 200K/400K ante 40K. The players would summon Host YbrahimC to the tables but were unable to get enough traction to stop the clocks for a deal. As the players moved through that level and the 225K/450K ante 45K level without a winner but the chip stacks becoming dead even for nearly the entire level.
A new host, but old rules
As the players tried to chop up the beautiful car you see above in to smaller pieces, Host Tanner came on to explain that the car cannot be a part of the chop talks and only the $100,000.00 left in the prize pool was open for discussion. They both agreed to a five-minute break as the cards went back into the air without a deal in place.
Looked up and it was over
growby was looking to take over the race to the Audi TT holding a sizable lead of 36.2 million to 17.2 million and the nug nuts holding the tires in place fell off. First, growby would raise to two million as the blinds were capped at 250K/500K ante 50K and coNNBoyle wasted no time in shoving for 17.1 million holding big slick [Ad][Kd]. growby thought for a few moments and made the call with a dominated [Kc][Qs]. They would both pair their king but the ace kicker played on the [2s] [2d] [Ks] [7c] [Tc] board and 34.4 million chips slid to coNNBoyle. Two hands later growby again led out for two million as coNNBoyle again shoved as growby made the call holding [Qh][8h]. Pocket tens for coNNBoyle was out in front and made a big leap when a third ten appeared on the flop [7c] [Td] [Kh]. No heart or potential straight card on the turn [8c] meant the Audi TT was going to be shipped to coNNBoyle along with the $60,000.00 first prize!
Congrats to all of our 5,000 cashers this evening and hope you will be back next month the next $1 Million Turbo Takedown.
The fields for the Sunday Majors here at PokerStars continue to climb back to normal as one World Championship is firmly in the rear view mirror until November, and the other World Championship, as in the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) starts up in September. 4,265 players paid their $215 tonight cracking the $750,000 guarantee Sunday Warm-up and creating a prize pool of $853,000.00 paid out to 630 places. Let's go to the felt!
87 is 86'd
Bubble time and the difference between a potential six figure payday and a $5K consolation prize awaits. LVSEO would lead out UTG for 328,000 as the blinds just moved up to 80K/160K ante 16K, folded around to ATHIED87 on the low end of the chip count in the big blind holding [Ks][9c] he would shove for 1.7 million. Costing of the stack LVSEO would calm cut the chips out and made the call with big slick [Kc][Ah]. No nine for ATHIED87 came down the [4c] [Qs] [2c] [Qh] [7c] board and our final table was set as ATHIED87 took down $5,118.00 in tenth place.
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Seat 1: BigFlopper01 (9933184 in chips)
Seat 2: BFGI800 (2620584 in chips)
Seat 3: Ivan MC 2007 (4832073 in chips)
Seat 4: AB1001 (3262380 in chips)
Seat 5: Patonius2000 (6691895 in chips)
Seat 6: LVSEO (5350831 in chips)
Seat 7: strflushtome (3079193 in chips)
Seat 8: drew5927 (4621150 in chips)
Seat 9: Sick´nSocial (2258710 in chips)
Not very social
Sick' nSocial was sitting with the least amount of chips at tonight's Sunday Warm-up final table with just over ten big blinds as the first hand was folded to him in the cutoff holding a small suited ace [2d][Ad]. Sick' nSocial would shove those 2.2 million chips in as BigFlopper01 on the button held a big hand, pocket jacks [Jd][Js], and quickly made the call. No wheel and no diamonds found their way onto the [Ks] [Ts] [6h] [8s] [3h] board and Sick' nSocial left the table gracefully in ninth place ($6,824.00).
We're going with grabbing a four-pack of Red Bull
Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein dropped by for hosting duties tonight and quipped during the hourly five minute break "I'm going to take a five minute break let me know what happens". Hour nine had eight players still vying for the six figure payday and BigFlopper01 holding a sizable lead as the table's only player over ten million in chips as Patonius2000 at eight million and drew5927 were the closest competitors.
No straight, no flush, no chips
Back from the break at blinds up to 100K/200K ante 20K, Patonius2000 led out from the cutoff for 442,568 as strflushtome would shove from the small blind holding [Ah][Td] for 1.9 million chips. drew5927 folded the big blind as Patonius2000 had a suited big slick [Ad][Kd] and eased by the five cards across the middle [3h] [2c] [9d] [7s] [Qs] and collected the 4.2 million chip pot without incident. strflushtome was unable to catch a ten and took home $10,662.50 in eighth place.
Big Bully
Crippled in a five million chip preflop coin flip against LVSEO, Ivan MC 2007 was down to just 806,534 chips in the small blind and facing a raise from BigFlopper01 that would but put him all-in. Holding [6c][Ac] Ivan MC 2007 would shove those chips into the middle as BigFlopper01 made the math call holding [7h][Js]. Watch the "I knew it would hit the river" video below:
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The eight indeed would hit the [5d] [Th] [9d] [3h] [8c] river giving BigFlopper01 the straight, the two million chip pot, and forcing Ivan MC 2007 to take the party elsewhere in seventh place ($19,192.50).
Nancy Drew Mystery Solved: BigFlopper01 did it
The rich got richer as drew5927 with just 1.6 million chips, open shoved holding a modest [4s][Ks] but BigFlopper to the direct left held a not-so-modest [As][Jh] made the quick call. A trail of cards [Qs] [6c] [Td] [6d] [5c] led the chips to their rightful owner as BigFlopper acquired another pelt and drew5927 became the next victim of the seemingly unstoppable chip leader and left with hammerific score ($27,722.50) in sixth place. July has been good for drew5927 as just two weeks ago he notched together a final table at the Sunday Million finishing 5th for a $63,000.00 score.
We're still playing for $133,818.64 right?
Just three hands later with the blinds moving up to 125K/250K ante 25K LVSEO and AB1001 would mix it up preflop. LVSEO spammed the five key for a 555,555 chip raise as it folded to AB1001 in the big blind who would shove for 1.8 million chips holding pocket nines [9h][9s]. LVSEO started the hand with over 11 million chips and had plenty to make the call holding pocket tens [Th][Td]. Lots of broadway cards found the [Ac] [4h] [Jh] [Kd] [As] board as LVSEO's tens held and AB1001 was done in fifth place ($36,252.50).
Court Full of Kings
As the blinds just moved up to 150K/300K ante 30K LVSEO would raise to 666,666 as BigFlopper01 bumped it to 1,555,555. Patonius2000, who was unable to gain traction tonight, was down to 5.9 million and shoved those chips in. LVSEO was undeterred and re-shoved for 15 million as BigFlopper01 left the tax for the re-steal on the felt and folded. Watch the video below for the results:
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Not needed LVSEO would hit the other two kings in the deck [2d] [2h] [Kh] [Ks] [7d] for quad kings [Kd][Kc] as pocket nines [9c][9d] were not lucky for the holder once again and Patonius2000's night ended in fourth place ($48,194.50). This was Patonius2000 second big score of 2010, after taking runner-up honors at the 2010 SCOOP $2,100 PLO Event #11 and earned $75,000.00
Squeezed out
Sitting in-between two huge stacks, BFGI800 had nowhere to run and a shortened stack of just 1.6 million chips after paying the big blind and was facing a raise from BigFlopper01 for the remainder of his stack. Heads-up [Ah][3s] looked really good at that moment so BFGI800 would make the call and saw that [9d][Ad] twinkling above BigFlopper01's name. Neither player would match their kicker on the [Th] [Js] [5d] [2s] [8s] board and heads-up play was about to begin after BFGI800 received $70,372.50 in third place.
Shotgun marriage of money
Do you? I do.
Do you? I do.
And so it was done, no fuss as LVSEO gave up a little and the chop nuptials were signed. With LVSEO in a slight lead 25 million to BigFlopper01's 17 million, they both took six figure paydays shown below:
LVSEO $113,192 BigFlopper01 $110,000
The wheels come off quickly
On the seventh hand of heads-up play LVSEO opened up the lead to 27 million over BigFlopper01's 15 million as both would flip preflop for a 30.3 million chip pot. BigFlopper01's pocket fours [4h][4s] would survive on the [Qs] [9s] [5c] [3s] [Th] board over LVSEO's [Ad][6h] as LVSEO was knocked down to 12.3 million chips. Five hands later we would name this week's Sunday Warm-up champion and award the extra $10,000. With a flop of [2c][3c][2h] both players would get their chips in the middle, watch it play out below:
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LVSEO laid the trap perfectly with pocket rockets [Ah][Ad] as BigFlopper01's top pair [3d][7d] could only hope for one of two treys in the deck.
Turn card: [3h]
Did not wait for a dramatic river as the three gave BigFlopper01 the lead and the resuck would not hit [9c] giving BigFlopper01 the final 24.6 million chips and the extra $10,000.00 as this week's Sunday Warm-up champion! BigFlopper01 laminated about being the chip leader of the Sunday Million two weeks ago on the same final table with 6th place drew5927 and finishing in 9th for $11,625.00, BigFlopper01 will not have to worry about that missed shot any longer after taking down $120,000 tonight.
Be sure to check out PokerStars.TV for the Sunday Wrap show later on this week for commentary and hole cards revealed from tonight's big hands.
Battle of the Planets: Chip chop for final nine as NeoNyx7 crowned the champ
Hard play before a soft ending is one way to describe today's $50,000 Battle of the Planets Triple Shootout Freeroll. 438 players would start out on 81 tables to play down to a winner assuring themselves of at least $195.00. Each made their way here today thru a series of qualifiers while playing their favorite Sit and Go tournaments.
One Team PokerStars Pro and two Team PokerStars Online players were in action today. Joep "Pappe_Ruk" van den Bijgaart, Grayson "spacegravy" Physioc, and Diego "vgreen22" Brunelli all cashed in their tickets for their work on the SnG's this month. Bijgaart and Brunelli would both get down to heads-up play at their first table of five-handed play and both would fall just short of cashing. BcuziGotHiGh took out Brunelli with a 5,131 to 2,369 chip advantage and getting [Jd][Ad] to hold over the [9h][Kh] of the Team Online player, all-in preflop. Joep was all-in preflop at a bigger disadvantage holding [4d][As] to shturmanas' [9c][Ac] and watched two nines spill out on the [9s] [Jc] [Tc] [9d] [Ah] board to end his day.
Grayson had other ideas however as he would carry the Team Online flag forward to the next around after his heads-up opponent gustavctba tried to slow play aces after flat calling a min raise preflop with the two in a near dead heat in chips. After the coordinated [6s][9d][5d] flop gustavctba checked to trap as Physioc led out for 400. gustavctba would shove immediately and Physioc covered him by only a few chips and called just as quickly turning up the flopped straight [7h][8s] and after the [Ks] turn, 81 players would start up round two of the triple shootout.
simpledude16 would claim the first seat to the final table very quickly while Physioc got down to three-handed play with boobySMILES and ParalllyTisT. It took some short-stacked wizardry to get to that point as Grayson had only 600 chips with 75/150 blinds but managed to grind his way back over 2,000 when he caught pocket fours [4h][4d] on the button and shoved for 2,130 total. ParalllyTisT however was waiting in the big blind with jacks [Jh][Js] and quickly sent the Team PokerStars Online player home in 19th place ($195.00) after a [8d] [7h] [9d] [7c] [5d] paintless board came down.
Grayon Physioc: in the money, out of the chop (19th place)
At Table One where the final nine would reconvene, reza_proton and zachfranks squared off for that final seat and a sizable difference in pay. It would take a nasty beat to determine the winner, watch it play out below:
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Cracked aces again, this time it was zachfranks' [Ad][As] going down to reza_proton's flopped set of nines [9d][9s] on the [5c] [2d] [9h] [6d] [Qs] board and our final table was set up below:
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Seat 1: reza_proton (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: Wyldemavrick (1500 in chips)
Seat 3: simpledude16 (1500 in chips)
Seat 4: Bilesy (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: ParaIIIyTisT (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: eSPoNJa.WZ (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: buhtuk12 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: NeoNyx7 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: MarinaFrank (1500 in chips)
Rome was built quicker than this
In one of the stranger deals seen at the Battle of the Planets Triple Shootout, the players decided to take a chip chop deal instead of dividing the remaining prize pool nine ways. reza_proton wanted a few extra hundred as the other eight finally found a way to give it to him after 15 minutes of negotiations. See the fruits of their labor below:
It would dissolve into a shove-fest as the other players slowly got the message that buhtuk12 was going to shove every hand as he would take out reza_proton, Wyldemavrick, and Bilesy on the first hand after the chop with an ace on the river [5h] [4s] [4d] [7d] [As] while holding [Ah][Js].
The skillful negotiator simpledude16 who got the largest piece of the pie exited in sixth shortly after as buhtak12's [9c][Jd] ran down his [9s][Ac] when a jack flopped and runners gave buhtak12 a boat [8s][Qs][Jc][9h][9d].
NeoNyx7 would trim the party's field to one left after taking buhtuk12's chip lead after the hand below and constant shoving without losing until ParallyTisT, buhtuk12, and MarinaFrank finally raised the white flag and ended the all-in fest to its conclusion.
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Congrats to all our final table players in taking away something for nothing, and be sure to start the hunt for next month's Battle of the Planets Triple Shoot freeroll tickets!
