The game was five-card pot-limit Omaha, one designed to add another layer, a fifth dimension if you like, to a game already laced with volatility. The result was a typical SCOOP final, one filled with good players, good play, and a winner worthy of the accolade "SCOOP champion". That was...more

One of the newest games to hit the PokerStars lobby, Pot-Limit 5-Card Omaha is exactly like regular PLO, but with the bonus of an additional hole card. Hand values increase, redraws are vital, and the nuts, or something very close to them is most often the winning hand. This isn't...more

Short-handed Big O with rebuys. How much more exhilarating excitement can you ask for? For extreme skiers, 6-max Big O is like a run down the treacherous, icy slopes of Mt. Everest. In the ultimate thrill-seeking event, I Am Benjami faded 3,362 players to become the latest SCOOP champion. The...more

Win your first table, make the money. It sounds easy enough. But to get a shot at the big cash, players had to dispose of two more tables of ten. A format favored by SNG wizards and tourney grinders alike, Event #18-L offered the potential to turn a $27 investment...more

SCOOP Event #20-M promised players a big payday in a short amount of the time. A Zoom poker tournament combined with a turbo structure was the perfect recipe for continuous action and fast play. 2,653 players bought into the event creating a $530,600 prize pool and a nice $83,834 to...more

When some events come up on the SCOOP calendar, you just know they're going to be special final tables. SCOOP 2013 Event 18-High, $2,100 NLHE (10-Max, Shootout) had all the makings of that: a steep price point and a shootout format that is favored by many pros who see it...more

Triple shootout. The mission is clear: win three shootout tables. It's that simple. Knock down three "SNGs" in a row and become the next champion in the Spring Championship of Online Poker. Costa Rica's reelhugefish made it look easy. Really easy. reelhugefish faded a sold-out crowd of 1,000 runners and...more

ZOOM poker has revolutionized the way online poker is played. No longer do we have to wait....ever. It's non-stop, card-flinging action, and the perfect way to reduce a multi-table tournament field of over ten thousand players to a winner inside five hours of game time. Rkdel from the Czech Republic...more

There's no older saw in tournament poker than the one about "a chip and a chair." As long as you're in the game, the reasoning goes, you can still win. More often than not anybody who catches himself thinking that ends up busting out pretty quickly, especially when it comes...more

I didn't have much sleep before going to the EPT Final, because my nephew was born at 5am on day 1a. Obviously I had to stay in London to rail that in. Luckily, I was playing day 1b. So, after an hour's sleep and a dawn hospital visit to meet...more

Before I got into poker I was a professional billiards player. I had quite a bit of success in my home country of Romania and in the rest of Europe. As a professional, I practiced a lot. If a big tournament was coming up, I would practice seven to eight...more

I just got back a few weeks ago from a trip to Japan. I went right before WSOP Asia Pacific, and I am really glad I did because I'll be busy over the next couple of months with the EPT and SCOOP, and then with the WSOP this summer. I...more

Before this SCOOP came along, I decided to take a long poker trip around Europe. My first stop was in Berlin for the EPT. It's a great city and I absolutely loved it. After the tournament ended, I stayed in Berlin for about a week then went straight to Monte...more

Many poker players would answer "competition" when asked about what motivates them most in poker. If I was asked, I would answer it's the game itself - or rather my passion for gaming. I have been playing cards since I was seventeen and there have been no other worlds in...more

Within the poker community in my country the only thing anybody talks about is the Colombian LAPT in the city of Medellin, and it's just around the corner. This tournament was voted the best stop of the LAPT Tour in 2011. It also broke records with nearly 700 players playing...more