WPT Starts and Five Diamond Poker Classic Kicks off

Date: Thu, Dec 1, 2011

� The biggest worldwide tour in poker, the World Poker Tour (WPT) has been flying around the world in recent times and this week is pulling into its first stop in the Czech Republic with the WPT Prague. The main …

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Four Holiday Poker Destinations

Date: Thu, Dec 1, 2011

Got some time off or paid holiday slots coming your way this festive season? Instead of taking a standard pleasure trip, you may want to consider adding a little bit of poker to your adventures. There are many great poker …

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Rep Barney Frank Announces Retirement

Date: Wed, Nov 30, 2011

In what can only be seen as a blow to those thousands of poker players seeking online poker legislation in the United States, Rep. Barney Frank, a major supporter of the poker community has announced his retirement from politics and …

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High Stakes Cash Game Action in Macau Heats Up

Date: Wed, Nov 30, 2011

With the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau Main Event having come and gone and with a host of big name players in town, it was not going to be long before the high stakes cash games kicked off and …

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Great Poker Gifts: the Live Grinder

Date: Wed, Nov 30, 2011

In the last article on Great Poker Gifts we talked about a couple of suggestions towards making purchases for casual poker players. This time around we are going to take a look at picking up a few gifts for those …

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Tobey Maguire Agrees to pay out $80,000

Date: Tue, Nov 29, 2011

Hollywood actor and part-time poker player Tobey Maguire has come to a settlement with Brad Ruderman after a lawsuit was filed against him relating to a high-stakes home game with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Ruderman filed a …

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Ultimate Home Game: Setting Chip Values

Date: Tue, Nov 29, 2011

Unless you have extensive prior experience as a home game organiser, chances are you don’t really know what goes into setting the correct chip denominations based on the buy-in per player. The value of the chips needs to reflect how …

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WPT Marrakech Reaches Final Table

Date: Mon, Nov 28, 2011

Fresh off the heels of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) first ever stop in Jacksonville, Florida, the popular tournament tour has headed off to somewhat warmer climates in Marrakech, Morocco.  A total of 274 players paid their €3,000 for entry …

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Randy “Nanonoko” Lew Takes Down APPT Macau

Date: Mon, Nov 28, 2011

Whilst one big name returned to the poker scene at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau main event this week, another had a breakthrough result taking home the title. That man is online prodigy Randy Lew, better known by …

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Weekly SNG tip: Six-handed vs Ten-handed Games

Date: Mon, Nov 28, 2011

When it comes to the different types of SNGs that are available based on how many players are seated at each table, there are two options. There are ten-handed games, which are what the majority of online users participate in, …

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My 2010 WSOP Plans

Date: Thu, May 27, 2010

The World Series of Poker is going to be kicking off very soon and once again I am excited that I will be able to make the trek back down to Las Vegas for at least a week to partake in as much of the annual festivities as possible. My birthday falls towards the end of June, which provides a perfect opportunity to visit the WSOP during the height of most of the big events, which is good for when I want to both gawk at pros and then hit up the tables myself.

I’m not all that interested in large buy-in events, so typically my WSOP poker experience is kept mainly to the single-table events and cash games. My Dad actually enters in a few of the $1,500 tournaments, so I try to help him out as much as possible by winning as many tournament chips as possible in the numerous satellite events that the WSOP makes available. The number of inexperienced players at these games is really incredible and I’m able to really do some damage thanks to my online SNG knowledge. The only drawback is that, baring any side deals, you have to win these satellites in order to win anything, so you can’t pull the usual constant aggressive techniques over and over again like you can in a SNG where you’ll make the money once you hit the top three. Still, I’m able to adjust pretty easily and normally end up winning a few of these satellites.

After I help my Dad win a few buy-ins I then like to hit up the cash games, though table selection is more important than ever since there are sometimes just as many sharks in the room as there are fish. Normally I’ll scope out random tables for 15min or so and get a feeling for how strong or weak the players are and then try and at least plan which tables I want to move to if a spot opens up, as the chances of me getting the exact table I want immediately is slim. These cash games can be very juicy too since the tourists come with their wallets full.

The rest of my trip is normally spent just riding the rail and watching many of the best players in their world hone their craft. Watching these guys and girls on TV is no comparison once you get the chance to see them play in person and that alone is reason enough to try and make time for a quick down to this year’s WSOP. Remember that it goes on for a full month, so see if you have the ability to come on down, you definitely won’t regret it.

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Phily Ivey Gets Own High Stakes Vegas Poker Room

Date: Tue, May 25, 2010

This weekend Phil Ivey joined the very exclusive club of professional poker players honored with their own poker room in Las Vegas, with Bobby Baldwin being the only other player having received a similar honor. “The Ivey Room” made its debut this past weekend at the Aria Hotel, where inside sits a single poker table, multiple 42-inch flat-screen TVs, and direct access to over 480 safety deposit boxes at a private cashier’s cage. Player’s in the room can also enjoy complimentary beverage service and 24/7 table-side dining.

The room is situated next to the 24-table poker room that was unveiled at the Aria when it first opened back in December 2009. A special $1 million invitation-only freeroll event was used to launch the room on May 22nd, with the winner taking home $250,000 in prize money, with a $100,000 bounty also placed on Phil Ivey, making him a target for everyone in the tournament.

“We were thrilled that Phil agreed when we asked if he would consider putting his name on the room,” said Aria President Phil McBeath in an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He continued, “Phil is a great guy, a longtime friend both of the MGM Mirage family and mine personally, and remains a fan favorite in the world of poker.”

The Aria appears to be courting Ivey heavily with hopes of having “The Big Game” moved from the Bellagio over to its own property, but no plans have been announced by any of the pros that frequently attend the game. It looks like “The Ivey Room” will run limit games in the $1,000/$2,000 range and no-limit games starting at $200/$400.

“I am honored that Bill and the entire team at ARIA have decided to place my name on their one-table high-limit room. With its recent opening in December, ARIA has established itself as a leader in the gaming industry and I look forward to playing at ARIA’s Poker Room soon,” Ivey said.

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WPT Spanish Championship Has Crowned a New King

Date: Mon, May 24, 2010

A new king has been crowned at the WPT Spanish Championship in Barcelona, Spain. Ali Tekintamgac is the big winner in the Spanish Championship. Nine players returned to duke it out for the championship prize of €315,000 + WPT Championship Seat 2011 + Tiffany bracelet. Ali Tekintamgac entered the final table as the chip leader with 1,522,000 in chips, and Triston Clemoncon was the low man on the totem pole with only 139,000 in chips to start the day.

Play started out at level 22 with blinds at 8,000/16,000 and 2,000 ante. Tekintamgac raised from early position with 9 9, and Manuel Cuberos Lopez Cozar moved all in with AQ. With a swift call from Tekintamgac the board ran A Q 9 6 K to send the first player of the final table to the rail.

Gomila Romero was sent packing in 8th place after he pushed with pocket 6’s. He ran into two huge hands, AK and JJ, and wasn’t able to come out on top. Not too long after Emil Per Mattsson took 7th place when he pushed with A J, but it proved to be no good against the K K of Roberto Garcia Santiago.

Mads Hansen was able to double up, but a few rounds later he found himself at risk again. He got into a back and forth preflop battle with Manuel and then Hansen was all in with A Q vs. A 10. The board ran out 4s 7c Kd Jc Qh to give Manuel broadway. It was a brutal beat for Hansen as he was sent to the rail in 5th place.

As three way action commenced, Ali Tekintamgac had retained his chip lead on the table. Manuel Blaschke became the 3rd place finisher when he tried to push Tekintamgac around at the wrong time. Blaschke pushed with K 8 offsuit and Tekintamgac had pocket aces. The board ran dry for Blaschke.

Tekintamgac had a huge lead over Roberto Garcia Santiago going into heads up play. It didn’t take long for Santiago to push with 9d 8h against Tekintamgac’s 5c Qc. The board came Kh Ah 5h Qd 2d to give Ali Tekintamgac the big win.

Final table prizes are as follows:

1. ALI TEKINTAMGAC – 315.000€ + WPT seat in Las Vegas final + Tiffany bracelet
2. ROBERTO GARCIA SANTIAGO - 160.000€
3. MATS ERIK IREMARK- 81.000€
4. MANUEL BLASCHKE – 71.000€
5. MADS SMITH HANSEN – 61.000€
6. TRISTAN QUENTIN CLEMENCON– 51.000€
7. PER EMIL MATTSSON – 41.000€
8. BARTOLOME GOMILA ROMERO– 31.000€
9. MANUEL CUBEROS LOPEZ COZAR – 21.400€

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The Spanish Championship Has Begun

Date: Sun, May 23, 2010

The World Poker Tour is in the process of finding its newest poker champion at the Barcelona Spanish Championship. This event had two start days which proved to draw a record breaking crowd to this event. The buy in for this championship event was an affordable €3,200 + €300 buy-in. Tournament Director Thomas Kremser announced that there were 326 players who entered which totaled the prize pool at over 1 million euro. The top 36 players will be paid. First place will take home €315,000, $25,500 seat to the WPT World Championship, and a Tiffany bracelet.

At the end of Day 2, only 44 players remained. Per Linde, the 3rd place finisher at the Grand Prix Paris event, ended the day with the chip lead. Edgars Strupka and Paulo Da Silva Pereira were trailing closely behind him. Although some players were hoping to make the money by Day 2, they would have to wait for the bubble to burst on Day 3.

Day 3 had 44 players return at their chance for a championship title. The top 36 players are guaranteed €4,900, and none of the remaining players wanted to go home with empty pockets. It was Erik Friberg who ended up being the bubble boy when he pushed with A 4 offsuit against the JJ of Mats Iremark.

As Day 3 came to a close, the final table was set. Nine hopefuls will return on Day 4 to battle for their chance to make poker history. Ali Tekintamac will go into the final table with the chip lead. Tristan Clemencon will have his work cut out for him, as he will be the short stack at the final table.

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