September 2005 Archives

Updated below

Indeed, folks, it appears we have a connection from the home of the European Poker Tour in London. After several hours of running around and sweating, it appears we will not only have a tournament here, but also some tournament coverage. Keep your eyes here. Once things get rolling, I'll get everything updated and let you know what's going on.

At the moment, there are a couple of hundred sweaty folks standing in a line to find out whether they'll be playing today's flight or Saturday's.

Back with some real reporting in a bit.

Update

The fight here is not so much about the players' choice in footwear, the lack of a wireless connection, or the gross influx of players who arrived at 2:30pm sharp for the flight draw. While those issues have all been points of contention, the biggest issue now is, indeed, getting this shindig underway. In the interim, however, I've scrounged up some numbers and matters of protocol that may be of some interest to the folks reading at home.

While the final number of players is still a matter of question, there is little doubt we'll hit very close to the 256-player maximum. Those players are currently being split into two flights, one of which is scheduled to begin today at 4:00pm. The second flight of players will play tomorrow at 3pm.

As it currently stands, both flights will play until either 4am or until the flight is winnowed down to 12 players. Given that we reach 12 players each day (I'll concede to having my doubts), the final 24 players will begin Sunday at 2:30pm and play until there is a winner. The final table is scheduled be eight-players strong.

Each player will begin with 10,000 in chips. The blinds will begin at 25/50 and go up every hour or so. It appears at this point that the top 24 players here will be making the money.

Among the familiar faces I've seen so far: Baard Dahl, Luca Pagano, Isabelle Mercier, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Xanthos Bambos, Noah "Exclusive" Boeken, Mike Lacey of Antes Up, John Caldwell of PokerNews, Tony G., among many other well-known online players who I've yet to determine their superhero identies.

It appears we may be getting close to an actual "shuffle up and deal" moment. With that, I suspect, the real fun, and hence, real reporting should begin.

Back in a bit.

With WCOOP barely a memory, PokerStars got back to its big-money Sunday tournaments. Nearly 1600 people ponied up $530 and built a prize pool of nearly $800,000. Here's how the final table shook out.

PokerStars Sunday $700,000 Guaranteed Results

1. TheTakeover (New York, NY) $175,670.00
2. Foxman (Sweden) $103,805.00
3. koule11 (Praha, Czech Republic) $67,872.50
4. uhadmoney (Randers, Denmark) $50,305.50
5. finnemann (Lier, Norway) $40,723.50
6. Erwino (Judenburg, Austria) $31,940.00
7. Barny Rubul (Austin,TX) $23,955.00
8. slimshaggy (Cimarron, KS) $16,608.80
9. 75900 (Palm Beach, FL) $10,939.45

Congratulations to all the players.

You'll notice there is no report from the Sunday tournament this week. That's because The PokerStars Blog is packing up its stuff and moving to Europe for the next couple of weeks to join to the European Poker Tour in London and Austria. Beginning later this week, you'll start seeing all the news from the EPT right here.

2005 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Results and Coverage

WCOOP Event #1 ($500 NL Hold'em) Results
WCOOP Event #1 ($500 NL Hold'em) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #2 ($200 PL Omaha) Results
WCOOP Event #2 ($200 PL Omaha) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #3 ($200 Heads-Up NL Hold'em) Results
WCOOP Event #3 ($200 Heads-Up NL Hold'em) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #4 ($2000 Short-Handed PL Hold'em) Results
WCOOP Event #4 ($200 Short-Handed PL Hold'em) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #5 ($200 NL Hold'em) Results
WCOOP Event #5 ($200 NL Hold'em) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #6 ($200 Limit Hold'em) Results
WCOOP Event #6 ($200 Limit Hold'em) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #7 ($500 PL Hold'em) Results
WCOOP Event #7 ($500 PL Hold'em) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #8 ($1,000 NL Hold'em) Results
WCOOP Event #8 ($1,00 NL Hold'em) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #9 ($300 Seven Card Stud) Results
WCOOP Event #9 ($300 Seven Card Stud) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #10 ($1,000 NL Hold'em Triple Shootout) Results
WCOOP Event #10 ($1,000 NL Hold'em Triple Shootout) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #11 ($500 Omaha Hi-Lo) Results
WCOOP Event #11 ($500 Omaha Hi-Lo) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #12 ($500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo) ResultsWCOOP Event #12 ($500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #13 ($500 PL Omaha) Results
WCOOP Event #13 ($500 PL Omaha) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #14 ($1,000 Limit Hold'em) Results
WCOOP Event #14 ($1,000 Limit Hold'em) Final Table Report

WCOOP Event #15 ($2,500 NL Hold'em) Results
WCOOP Event #15 ($2,500 NL Hold'em) Final Table Report


Other Coverage

Who is #1PEN?

Who is PokerMillion?

Joe Sebok Speaks

"You're at the final table of the richest tournament of ANY kind in online history."
--PokerStars Card Room Manager Lee Jones as the WCOOP Main Event final table got underway

It was 3:42am on America's eastern shorelines. The sun was still below the horizon, but the late-night infomercials on television were good enough indicators of the time. It was late. Juan Valdez himself wouldn't start a final table this late. Of course, poker players are nocturnal beasts, and in Europe, it was already breakfast time. So, let the chips fall where they may.

When the final event of PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker crested the $3.5 million mark, the online gaming world felt the paradigm shift. In a matter of just 15 days, WCOOP had done what no other online poker series had done before. It had climbed up to fight with the big boys. Which big boys? The brick and mortar, multi-million dollar poker festivals. By the time the cards were in the virtual air on Event #15, WCOOP had generated an amazing $12,783,900 in prize money, making the 2005 WCOOP not only the biggest ever online poker event, but the third biggest poker series (live or online) in all of 2005. Only the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour Championship Events at Bellagio had been bigger.

Now, the 1494 players in the WCOOP main event, a $2500 affair, had been whittled down to just nine. Tenth through eighteenth place finishers had all earned nearly $30,000 a piece. That in itself is a big prize for most online tournaments. Now, the final nine were about to compete for the remaining $2 million in the pot. Indeed, that's more than $2 million to split between nine people.

With the difference between ninth and first place being more than $800,000, the task ahead for the nine players was not at all insignificant. Here is how they stacked up as the $2 million dance began.

Seat 1: PICKLED EGG (Las Vegas, NV) $565,328
Seat 2: Panella86 (Eddystone, PA) $1,533,144
Seat 3: tralala (Stockholm, Sweden) $1,195,282
Seat 4: Vendetta (Stockholm, Sweden) $909,938
Seat 5: salas777 (Los Angeles CA) $390,482
Seat 6: aaaaaaaa (Saugus, MA) $1,238,006
Seat 7: lollylu (Boca Raton, FL) $509,102
Seat 8: JERRRY (Buffalo Grove, IL) $691,041
Seat 9: Buster Love (Las Vegas, NV) $437,677

The remnants of the bubble were still dripping from the table when the final nine started. Infamous Tony G. (aka wraptduck) had announced himself to the table and was preparing to make his run for the big money when his legs were cut out from under him and he fell in tenth place.

But, he was not the only "name" at the table. Buster Love, who in recent months has made a PokerStars Sunday final table, was there as well. It just so happens that he is Mark Seif, poker pro and two-time 2005 WSOP bracelet winner. Rumors surrounded PICKLED EGG as, well, because Las Vegas was his home city and he announced he was in Atlantic City this week (where the Borgata is hosting a WPT event). However, the EGG wasn't cracking. His identity would remain a secret.

With just two minutes expired on the final table clock, Seif made a huge move from the small blind. The player who called himself "delicious," aaaaaaaa, came in for a standard 3x the BB raise, making it $60,000 to go. Seif came over the top, pushing all-in, making it $411,677 to play. Aaaaaaaa called with pocket nines. Seif showed 4hAh. He turned a flush draw, but didn't improve beyond that. Just like that, Mark "Buster Love" Seif was out in ninth place, cashing for $56,025.

After a break, the levels went up to 15,000/30,000, and the action broke out. Tralala came in for a standard raise, then aaaaaaaa came of the top and made it $300,000 to go. Not to be outdone, lollylu pushed all in for $412,602. Tralala was not messing around and pushed in the rest of his chips, making the total bet $1,274,782. Then and only then did aaaaaaaa give up. It would prove to be bad luck for lollylu. The designer gifts distributor from the American southeast held pocket queens. Tralala, a Swedish poker pro, held pocket aces. Lollylu's queens didn't improve and she busted out in eighth place. Her winnings totaled $85,905.

On the very next hand, tralala against proved to be a player's end. Salas777 pushed all-in pre-flop for $238,482. Tralala called in the big blind with AJ. Salas777's KQo didn't improve and he was out in seventh place, cashing for $123,255.

Panella86 would take over tralala's grim reaper role. JERRRY came in for a 4x the BB raise, Panella86 came over the top and raised enough to put JERRRY all-in. JERRRY called with pocket sevens. Panella86 held jacks. The jacks held up and JERRRY was out in sixth place. His efforts were worth $160,605.

With five players remaining, PICKLED EGG started to make a run, chipping up with calculated aggression and getting near one million in chips. Eventually, the five remaining were nearly even in chips. It was 5:02am ET and the game showed no signs of ending soon.

Then the chips started to move. Players took some big pots without showdown and Panella 86 opened up a sizable chip lead. Aaaaaaaa looked like he was on the edge of busting when he caught the perfect match-up: his aces versus PICKLED EGG's pocket kings. The hand was enough to give aaaaaaaa a playable stack again. Then aaaaaaaa, who had refused a five-way deal earlier, decided to make a move at the wrong time. Facing a raise and a call before him, aaaaaaaa pushed all in with 8d3d for more than 711,000. Vendetta made the call with AJ. Aaaaaaaa never improved and he was out in fifth place for $197,955.

With four players remaining and PICKLED EGG thinking about the WPT tournament starting in a few hours, the players discussed a deal. EGG was unhappy with the percentage-based formula, as many shortstacks have been throughout WCOOP. He asked for a premium. Panella86 said, "Egg, I don't want to give you what your getting, let alone more."

At 5:42am, the deal was off and the cards were back in the air. Twenty minutes later, PICKLED EGG had a little more than a million in chips. His opponents all had around two million. Then Panella86 fell back some and Vendetta moved up into the chip lead.

PICKLED EGG was still looking to double up and he thought he might have a chance. Panella86 limped in under the gun. PICKLED EGG found AJ in the big blind and pushed all in. The timing was bad. Panella86 held KK. PICKLED EGG couldn't improve and he was out in fourth place, cashing for $242,775.

With three players remaining, the stacks were relatively even, though you might not have known it by listening to Panella86. He told his opponents, "I rate my 2.2 million like seven million versus you guys."

But when the two Swedes would not give in to his request for more money, Panella86 conceded the deal. The deal gave each player more than half a million dollars in cash and left $50,000 and the WCOOP bracelet for first place.

It would not be long before the hand of the tournament. Tralala came in for a standard raise and Panella86 called in the big blind. The flop came down 2cTh6c. Panella86 checked, tralala bet out about 2/3 of the pot, and Panella called. The turn was the five of hearts. Panella86 checked, tralala bet out, and Panella86 raised all-in. Tralala called, showing a pair of kings. Panella86, who would've been crippled if he lost, showed A3 suited in hearts. He need a heart, an ace, or a four on the river. The heart fell and tralala was out in third place, cashing for $540,877.

Panella86 had more than six million in chips to Vendetta's 1.27 million. He would use them fast. Eventually he would put Vendetta all in. Vendetta called with top pair top kicker on a 5h6s4s flop. Panella86 only had two overs, a jack and a ten. But a ten on the turn ended the contest.

It started fifteen days before. Nearly $12.8 million later, the biggest event in online poker history was over and had crowned its champion.

Thanks to the thousands of people who played for making it a memorable event.

WCOOP Event #15 Championship Results

1. Panella86 (Eddystone, PA) $577,342.00
2. Vendetta (Stockholm, Sweden) $573,735.00
3. tralala (Stockholm, Sweden) $540,877.00
4. PICKLED EGG (Las Vegas, NV) $242,775.00
5. aaaaaaaa (Saugus, MA) $197,955.00
6. JERRRY (Buffalo Grove, IL) $160,605.00
7. salas777 (Los Angeles CA) $123,255.00
8. lollylu (Boca Raton, FL) $85,905.00
9. Buster Love (Las Vegas, NV) $56,025.00

Click here for a list of all cash winners.

Editor's note: A full WCOOP Event #15 Report will be out later on Monday

The fourth annual World Championship of Online Poker has crowned its champion. The 15 WCOOP events generated an amazing $12,783,900 in prize money, making the 2005 WCOOP not only the biggest ever online poker event, but the third biggest poker series (live or online) in all of 2005. In the championship event, the final three players chopped the remaining prize money, each earning more than half a million dollars. Then Panella86 walked away with the championship WCOOP bracelet.

Thank you to everyone who played in the events for making WCOOP the amazing series that it is.

WCOOP Event #15 Championship Results

1. Panella86 (Eddystone, PA) $577,342.00
2. Vendetta (Stockholm, Sweden) $573,735.00
3. tralala (Stockholm, Sweden) $540,877.00
4. PICKLED EGG (Las Vegas, NV) $242,775.00
5. aaaaaaaa (Saugus, MA) $197,955.00
6. JERRRY (Buffalo Grove, IL) $160,605.00
7. salas777 (Los Angeles CA) $123,255.00
8. lollylu (Boca Raton, FL) $85,905.00
9. Buster Love (Las Vegas, NV) $56,025.00

Click here for a list of all cash winners.

Something was happening. No one knew it at the time, but PokerStars Championship of Online Poker was on its was to becoming the third biggest poker festival in the world. Ever. It only sits behind the 2005 World Series of Poker and the 2005 WPT Championship events at Bellagio.

In the penultimate WCOOP event, the prize pool once again crested over the guarantee and, although limit poker isn't know for its adrenaline production, the battled for the Event #14 bracelet was intense and more than fun to watch.

Here's how the final nine players stacked up.

Seat 1: ram00 (Salt Lake City, UT) $95,391
Seat 2: Devin1 (Highland Lakes, NJ) $133,502
Seat 3: imSMARTurDUM (Huntington Beach, CA) $286,280
Seat 4: mcstuntz (Hertfordshire, United Kingdom) $148,060
Seat 5: jennicide (Wilmington, DE) $61,834
Seat 6: Juice It Up (Fairfield, OH) $261,107
Seat 7: tibster (Vienna, VA) $200,334
Seat 8: sambot (Paris, France) $280,639
Seat 9: DietDrPoker (Anchorage, AK) $247,853

It's not even been a year since I blogged the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and dealt with a deluge of requests for pictures of a player named jennicide. Since then, she has gone on to greater fame, created her own web site, and will soon appear in a televised poker tournament.

What's more, she stepped up to the plate in Event #14 and masterfully played a shortstack (made so short when her aces ran into a set of kings) all the way to the final table. Unfortunately for her fans, her stay at the final table would not last for long. Sitting at the 8,000/16,000 level with only $61,000 in chips, jennicide made her move from the button, coming in for a raise with A7s. The small blind folded, but tibster, in the big blind, re-raised. The flop seemed promising for jennicide: Ah2d8h. It wasn't her suit, but it was her ace. She was all-in by the turn, only to tibster had flopped two pair with A8. Jennicide was out in ninth place, cashing for $10,976.

The chips were moving around the table at lightning speed. Player imSMARTurDUM moved up into the chip lead. Ram00 doubled through mcstuntz with a pair of sixes versus an unimproved AKs. But the player we all were watching sat in the nine seat. DietDrPoker was making moves and building a nice stack of chips. Ram00 soon discovered, messing with the Dr. was bad medicine.

Ram00 had barely more than $60,000 in chips and decided to take a stab at a pot by re-raising DietDrPoker. Ram00 held Ad7h and made top pair on a TdAcJc flop. Ram00 and DietDrPoker capped the flop and by the turn, a king, ram00 was all in. Thing is, that king was the card that made all the difference. DietDrPoker held a pair of queens and had turned the straight. Ram00 could only respond, "ouch" and leave with eighth place and $17,150.

Juice It Up had the juice, no doubt. With more than $200,000 in chips, he had a good chance. But again, the DietDr came to play. While we never saw what Juice It Up was holding (after calling a raise in the big blind from DietDrPoker) it seems a safe bet he was holding an ace. He got a lot of his chips in the middle with the board reading 2c4c5s3c. The problem was, DietDrPoker held the king-high flush. Five minutes later imSMARTurDUM made aces full of kings against Juice It Up's trip kings. Juice It Up departed in seventh place and $24,010.

Tibster would be the next to go. He was looking to pick up some chips and got in a pre-flop raising battle with Devin1, who was also short-stacked. Tibster was ahead with an ace, but Devin flopped a king to pair the one in his hand. Tibster was crippled then fell in sixth place a few hands later. He cashed for $30,870.

McStuntz, who had hit some incredible hands to make it to the final table (including hitting trip-eights against The Grinder after re-raising with T8), finally saw the luck turn against him. His pair of nines couldn't run down DietDrPoker's QQ. Needing chips, the ultimate dramatic hand, must have been hard to watch. In a fine example of the ye olde suck, re-suck, McStuntz went into the flop (KcQdKh) and turn, an ace, behind. On the turn, he paired the ace in his hand. But then, sambot's JJ re-sucked when a ten fell on the river. McStuntz was gone in fifth place, earning $37,730 for his efforts.

Devin1's stack was eventually in trouble. He had very few chips left and got in pre-flop with Q7 after posting the small blind. The Q7 was no good against AK and Devin1 was out in fourth place, cashing for $47,334.

By that point, DietDrPoker had opened up a commanding chip lead, with more than one million chips. ImSMARTurDUM had around $150,000 when he found QQ. DietDrPoker took a shot with AT and flopped a queen. ImSMARTurDUM was out in third place and cashed for $63,112.

It seemed DietDrPoker's chip lead was insurmountable and sambot briefly entertained the idea of a deal. After much discussion, they could not come to terms.

That's when it started: the nest heads-up match so far this year in the WCOOP events. Fighting tooth and nail, sambot clawed back to even the score. Then, the players were able to strike the deal. It was an even split, with $10,000 and the WCOOP bracelet going to the winner.

Often times, when a bulk of the money is taken off the table, the level of play deteriorates. That was not the case here, as the players battled again for an inordinate amount of time. Finally, winning three 400K+ pots within five hands, DietDrPoker finally wore down sambot and laid him to rest.

DietDrPoker took home more than $139,000 and the WCOOP bracelet.

As a tireless reporter, I wanted very badly to introduce you to DietDrPoker. Alas, I must respect PokerStars privacy policy and the wishes of the player. In this case, DietDrPoker wishes to remain anonymous. The player told me, "I have always considered being a poker player a bit like being a burglar in that it is much more advantageous to be stealthy, and UNKNOWN. Many 'plays' are successful because of the mere fact that a given opponent does not know or believe the capability exists within me to make such a play, whereas a known player does not have that advantage of opponent-underestimation. My idea of a successful day at the tables is if I hear muttering about what a sucker I am.

"The art of poker playing is akin to the art of magic: revealing ones identity and level of expertise is about as conducive to winning at future poker games as a magician showing his bag of tricks and AFTERWARDS getting hired, (or not hired as the case would surly be). Certainly I am not saying it is ethical to make misrepresentations, for example to tell people you are just learning, or ask whether a straight beats a flush, that type of aggressive 'suckerism,' but I feel there is nothing wrong with NOT bragging or being identified."

With that, I'll let DietDrPoker fade back into the shadows and let the gleam of the WCOOP bracelet remain the only shining light.

Very nicely done, Dr.

WCOOP Event #14 Final Table Results

1. DietDrPoker (Anchorage, AK) $139,799.00
2. sambot (Paris, France) $129,799.00
3. imSMARTurDUM (Huntington Beach, CA) $63,112.00
4. Devin1 (Highland Lakes, NJ) $47,334.00
5. mcstuntz (Hertfordshire, United Kingdom) $37,730.00
6. tibster (Vienna, VA) $30,870.00
7. Juice It Up (Fairfield, OH) $24,010.00
8. ram00 (Salt Lake City, UT) $17,150.00
9. jennicide (Wilmington, DE) $10,976.00

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

Who says limit hold'em can't be exciting? WCOOP Event #14 was a $1000 buy-in limit event and it turned out to be one of the best poker matches of the entire online festival. It culiminated in a fantastic heads-up match between DietDrPoker and sambot. After a grueling back and forth match, DietDrPoker emerged victorious, winning nearly $140,000 and the coveted WCOOP bracelet.

A full report will be out on Sunday. Until then, here are your final table results.

WCOOP Event #14 Final Table Results

1. DietDrPoker (Anchorage, AK) $139,799.00
2. sambot (Paris, France) $129,799.00
3. imSMARTurDUM (Huntington Beach, CA) $63,112.00
4. Devin1 (Highland Lakes, NJ) $47,334.00
5. mcstuntz (Hertfordshire, United Kingdom) $37,730.00
6. tibster (Vienna, VA) $30,870.00
7. Juice It Up (Fairfield, OH) $24,010.00
8. ram00 (Salt Lake City, UT) $17,150.00
9. jennicide (Wilmington, DE) $10,976.00

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

Seat 1: spawng (Kelowna, BC, Canada) $439,379
Seat 2: chibbles (Greenfield, WI) $120,412
Seat 3: danube (Linz, Austria) $308456
Seat 4: 1Ires (Odessa, Ukraine) $30388
Seat 5: colson10 (Seattle, WA) $342986
Seat 6: omaha kid (Port Orange, FL) $81883
Seat 7: bucksy (Croydon, United Kingdom) $211238
Seat 8: bluemangroup (Houston, TX) $77268
Seat 9: ZZSER (Oulu, Finland) $187990
So, who were the familiar faces? The first was colson10. I'd been watching him climb through WCOOP fields for the past couple of weeks with the expectation that he would make a final table. He'd done it before. It's been about six months since I saw colson10 take second place in Deauville, France at the European Poker Tour French Open. The guy can play.

The second familiar face was danube, aka Sigi Stockinger. Sigi is an Austrian pro I met in London last May. As a member of Team Austria, one of the four PokerStars World Cup of Poker teams that advanced to the semi-finals of the world-class event. If you live in the parts of the world where The Poker Channel broadcasts, you might have seen Stockinger playing strong for Team Austria.

This night, however, was all about WCOOP Event #13, PL Omaha, and the action would be fast and furious from the beginning of the final table.

Short-stacked and looking to make a move, omaha kid found 6h2s4sAh and pushed all-in after a raise form colson10. The timing could not have been much worse. Colson10 held 9sJs7cJh, made a set on the flop, and the omaha kid was out in ninth place for a $5,760 payday.

Bluemangroup, who had been near the top of the leaderboard for the last several hours of the tournament, had run out of tricks. He, like omaha kid, needed to double through. He picked up Jh7hKdQd and decided that was the hand. He, too, suffered some rough timing. Chibbles held 3s4sAdAc. His aces held up and bluemangroup was out in eighth place. He earned $9,000 for his efforts.

ZZSER was not quite as short-stacked, but still needed some chips. Holding 9h7s8sTd, he flopped the bottom end of a king-high straight, and got all his chips in the midddle. Once again, the timing was ugly. Spawng had flopped the ace-high street. ZZSER was out in seventh place. He won $12,600.

Two minutes later, 1Ires departed in sixth place. Also short-stacked, he pushed with 8cThAhKc, no match for danube's Qh9cKsKd. 1Ires won $16,200.

Play finally slowed down just a bit, but the action would be remain just as brutal. Danube came in for a raise with 2cAhKdKc in early position. Spawng called in the big blind. When the flop came down AsAd3d, danube had to be somewhat pleased. That was pretty evident when he bet out, then called all-in to a spawng check-raise. What spawng revealed was more than disheartening for the Austrian. Spawng held two threes in the hole for the flopped full house. Danube did not improve and he was out in fifth place, taking home $19,800.

The win for spawng gave him a commanding chip lead. It seemed the only person with a chance was colson10. Bucksy, with only 77,000 in chips at the 6,000/12,000 level, decided to make his move. Facing a raise from the small blind, colson10, bucksy pushed all in from the big blind with AcJcTh4h. Two fives and two kings on the board didn't hit bucksy's hand. Worse yet, colson10 held a king. Bucksy was out in fourth place, winning $24,840.

With three players remaining, chibbles doubled through spawng, and after several hands, the players had relatively even stacks. They worked out a chip-count deal, leaving $10,000 and the WCOOP bracelet for first place.

Colson10 had his sights set on the bracelet and nearly had it in his grasp. He put a huge dent in spawng's stack after making an ace-high straight. But spawng fought back on a subsequent hand, turning kings full of aces to Colson's flopped trip-aces. Colson10 then knocked out chibbles, making queens full of kings to chibbles' trip-kings. Chibbles finished third and won $51,203.

Going into heads-up play, spawng and colson10 had nearly even stacks. Spawng opened up an early lead. Then came the hand that would end it all.

Colson10 raised pre-flop and got a call from spawng. The flop came down 6c2h8c. Colson10 bet out, spawng raised, colson10 pushed all-in, and spawng called. Colson10 showed 6sKdKc3d. Spawng showed QcJhJc3c. Colson10 had the bigger overpair, but spawng held the flush draw. The needed club came on on the turn and colson10 was out in second place.

Spawng took home the WCOOP bracelet and $66,787. Congratulations to all the players.

WCOOP Event #13 Final Table Results

1. spawng $66,787.00
2. colson10 (Seattle, WA) $56,610.00
3. chibbles (Greenfield, WI) $51,203.00
4. bucksy (Croydon, United Kingdom) $24,840.00
5. danube (Linz, Austria) $19,800.00
6. 1Ires (Odessa, Ukraine) $16,200.00
7. ZZSER (Oulu, Finland) $12,600.00
8. bluemangroup (Houston, TX) $9,000.00
9. omaha kid (Port Orange, FL) $5,760.00

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

In one seat was a man who made a European Poker Tour final table this year. In another seat was a member of one of the semi-final teams in PokerStars' 2005 World Cup of Poker. Seven other players rounded out the table for the last Omaha match of this year's WCOOP. When it was over, spawng took home the 13th WCOOP bracelet of the year.

A full final table report will be out later on Saturday. Until then, here are your final table finishers.

WCOOP Event #13 Final Table Results

1. spawng (Kelowna, BC, Canada) $66,787.00
2. colson10 (Seattle, WA) $56,610.00
3. chibbles (Greenfield, WI) $51,203.00
4. bucksy (Croydon, United Kingdom) $24,840.00
5. danube (Linz, Austria) $19,800.00
6. 1Ires (Odessa, Ukraine) $16,200.00
7. ZZSER (Oulu, Finland) $12,600.00
8. bluemangroup (Houston, TX) $9,000.00
9. omaha kid (Port Ornage, FL) $5,760.00

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

After four tournaments, a private donation, Barry Greenstein donating his winnings from a WCOOP event, and PokerStars matching all funds 100%, the contributors have put together $127,805 that will be sent to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.

Conceived and hosted by Team PokerStars member Wil Wheaton, the four tournaments brought out the best in an already spectacular PokerStars community. I, for one, am proud to know Wil and proud to work with and for some of the best people in the poker world. PokerStars players are the best on the internet and these tournaments showed it. Thanks to everyone who participated and gave your time and money to such an important effort.

Friday night capped off the relief tournaments with a $100 tournament. Wil Wheaton not only showed up, but made the final table. In a spectacular repeat, peacecorn made two charity final tables in a row. Talk about a player who plays with grace and skill.

Again, thanks to all of you. Good karma is coming 'round the bend. Here are the results from Friday night's final table.

$100 Hurricane Katrina Relief Tournament Results

1. Rocket123 Glenwood Spg., CO)
2. coastergal (Hazlet, NJ)
3. Wil Wheaton (Los Angeles, CA)
4. normiesdad (Fairfield, CT)
5. sappy123 (Carol Stream, IL)
6. Quaternion (Fairbanks, AK)
7. peacecorn (FL)
8. Freud4u (Springfield, MO)
9. GoPhish (Laughlin, NV)

Editor's note: After making a WCOOP final table, Joe Sebok, two-time 2005 WSOP final table finisher, professional poker player, and son to Barry Greenstein agreed to let us know what it's really like for a pro player at a WCOOP final table. The following is his account.

VIRTUALLY ALL THE RIGHT MOVES...ALMOST

by Joe Sebok

My gaze turned just slightly more intense. I flexed and unflexed my knuckles in anticipation of what was to happen next. Did this fellow have the stones to move into me? I had been raising almost every hand, mercilessly taking down pot after pot, but was now to be the moment when someone finally stepped up to end my reign of terror? Was it possible that all those uncontested pots were just a set-up for my eventual downfall? "Pass me a piece of pizza," I asked my dad as I settled on my decision and lowered the boom with one final...click?

That's right, it's that time of year again. Poker championship season. What's that you say? The World Series is already over? Well, right you are, but the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is in full swing and if you think the action there is any less fast and furious than the real thing at the felt, well you clearly haven't been check-raised by an opponent named AAUfoldNOW from Springfield, Ill yet.

The competition at the other prestigious brick and mortar tournaments has absolutely nothing on the WCOOP, and I should know, as I just finished up play at the final table of event #5, the $200 re-buy no-limit hold'em event. It was an amazing 13 hours which, unfortunately, culminated in my being knocked out first of the nine participants at the final table. Still, an unbelievable ride which I would like to share.

I sat down in front of my monitor at 12 noon, high noon may perhaps be a more appropriate description here, and settled in for some tournament poker. The day started off well enough. I moved up pretty quickly at my table and certainly was one of the aggressors. I have really kicked the hostility level up in my game ten-fold since the World Series ended this year. It is starting to really make sense to me how to be the one always picking fights, but also always to be picking fights at the right times. As most of us know, poker is a game of selective aggression. You need to be willing to attack at any time, but must be sure that that time is right. In my poker infancy I would often get confused and run right into a buzz-saw occasionally. Unfortunately I didn't have the card-sense yet to be able to smell when the trap was being laid for me, and not the other way around. Well, I am starting to figure it out a little better now.

I got so aggressive in the early going that the players began calling me "Desperado" at the table. As in, "Jeez, you play like a freaking desperado," as one of my opponents said. The real difference in my game from the other players' at my table that day was simply that I was willing to put all of my chips into the pot at a moment's notice, and willing to be knocked out if it came to that. As Amir Vahedi has said, "You must be willing to die, in order to live."

Life on the "felt" was very comfortable those first few hours. I was playing well, and hitting plenty of cards when I needed to. My stack kept rising ...30,000...50,000...70,000. "Come and get me, you desperado," my name-giver typed to me during one hand. Now, when someone baits you into calling their all-in raise it usually inevitably means that they have AA or KK. It is just that simple. Here was my dilemma though, I held JJ and had about four times as many chips as my opponent. Still, it was probably a bad call. I made it anyway, and he flipped up his aces and confirmed my fears. It was my day though, at least in the early going, and I flopped a J and sent him packing. I have to be honest with you. It bugged me for about 15 minutes after that I had made the call after my read had been dead on. An issue of not following my reads would plague me later on in the tournament as well.

When I reached 90,000 in chips my dad came in and decided to sit down and watch me play. This was about six hours into the tournament. Now I can't deny that it certainly isn't bad to be able to have Barry Greenstein come in and take a seat next you, counseling you through the later stages of such a big tournament. Let me assuage your fears though, as he did not actually play for me, as you may think. We would occasionally talk through hands when things got a little dicey though.

At any rate, our partnership became one with the feel of student driver/instructor. Every time I was driving fine and parallel parking like a pro, we would have a conversation like this:

"Joey, you really need to raise in here again."

"But Bear, I have a 9-4 off. Come on, you are being ridiculous."

"I'm telling you, these guys are so scared of you that you should be raising every hand. If they refuse to stop you, then you shouldn't stop yourself."

It was basically a situation in the car that Bear felt the need to jam his foot over mine down on the accelerator. Now remember, I drive fast, real fast, on my own already. Apparently though, Bear fires up his car with rocket fuel. In this way the real component of my game that was affected was my aggression level.

Things went great until my pocket 9's ran into my opponent, genoa st's, pocket 10's. Genoa st took a huge pot off of me and things were looking grim. I was back down to 200,000 in chips and had to fight for my very life. Once again, however, the poker gods saw fit to send me some hands. We went to the final nine with me, luckily, having fought my way back to second in chips, with 2.3 million. It was a nice comeback, and I was proud that I didn't just throw in the towel.

From there on it was all downhill though. I picked up some nice hands, but they were greeted by even nicer ones. I had, in succession, 10's v. A's, AQ v. AK, and then the real killer JJ v. KK. This final hand is worth mentioning because I made a nice read and didn't follow through in tune with my instincts.

Genoa st raised in under the gun. Now he had been playing very well the entire tournament and picking his spots perfectly. I looked down at JJ and made a decision to just call. I had a feeling that I was up against a big hand and didn't want to be raised out of the pot. All the action folded back to genoa st and we saw the flop. It came 10 8 7, with two diamonds. genoa st made a standard bet, and I had a big decision to make with my overpair. Now this is where it gets dicey...

"Jeez, I don't like it. I think he has aces or kings," I said. "I think you need to move-in here," I was answered by my dad. "No way. I put him on a huge hand, and I think I am right on here. He has been playing cautiously all day."

"I don't think it matters. You have odds, an overpair, plus a gutshot. You gotta do it." Bear said.

The rest is history. I deferred to Bear and my day would all but end there. I went against my better judgment and moved in. Genoa st immediately called and showed me KK. The board bricked out and I was left to take one final desperate shot with a weak ace. That shot failed and I was out in 9th. Extremely disappointed would be an understatement to describe how it felt.

I have to say though, the whole experience was completely thrilling and I have developed a newfound healthy respect for the online game. It was full of so much action, and enough differences from the felt game to warrant its own strategies and it's own excitement. There is also something to being able to say, "Fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, damn it, for the love of all that is sweet on this earth, FOLD!" out loud during a bluff, which is very freeing.

Hopefully some of you will take a shot in a few of the final WCOOP events. I look forward to seeing you out there on the virtual felt...

Take Care,
J (fidallio)

Online poker is suited for anonymity. It's suited for convenience. It's suited for playing in your underwear. It's suited for being able to convince yourself that, despite any evidence to the contrary, there is a very good chance you are the best player at the table at all times. After all, who are these schlubs, anyway, right?

Of course, it's rare you know who is behind the screen name and avatar. I'd suggest that many times, you'd be quite surprised.

Sometimes, though, the cloak of anonymity falls off, and you find yourself staring at someone you really didn't expect to see at your WCOOP table.

Thursday night, as WCOOP Event #12 (Stud Hi-Lo) began, six of the players found themselves looking at the immistakable avatars of none other than WSOP bracelet-holders Chris Moneymaker and Scott Fischman.

Here's how the final nine stacked up to each other at the beginning of the final table.

Seat 1: chuiwon (El Cajon, CA) $63,232
Seat 2: emptyseat88 (Henderson, NV) $166,532
Seat 3: yamaha r 1 (Park Ridge, IL) $177,679
Seat 4: Consagres (Severna Park, MD) $100,179
Seat 5: Bunsen (Tempe, AZ) $389,080
Seat 6: Money800 (Bellevue, TN) $297,919
Seat 7: I_eatt2loud (Davis, CA) $51,753
Seat 8: Clockwork (Los Angeles, CA) $76,126

Chuiwon and I_eatt2loud came the final table with the shortest stacks and at the 10,000/20,000 level, they only had about one hand to play. Chuiwon came out of the gates first and doubled his stack through Money800 (that's Moneymaker, in case you weren't paying attention earlier). Then chuiwon turned right around and gave almost all his chips to I_eatt2loud on a subsequent hand. Moneymaker exacted his revenge on chuiwon and knocked him out in eighth place shortly thereafter. Chuiwon won $6,612 for his efforts.

Moneymaker proved to be an unlikely force in the Stud Hi-Lo game. Known more as a NL Hold'em specialist, Moneymaker was not expected to do as well in Event #12 as he did. Out to prove the skeptics wrong, Moneymaker rolled over the table. Immediately after knocking out chuiwon, Moneymaker found two aces in the hole and rode them all the way to a victory over Consagres, who left in seventh place, taking home $9,257.

I_eatt2loud saw what was happening to the shortstacks and decided to make a stand. With ThAh/Kh as his first three cards, I_eatt2loud pushed hard against Clockwork, who had two kings in the hole. By the end of the hand, Clockwork had made kings up, but I_eatt2loud had rivered his flush. Clockwork left in sixth place, earning $11,902.

I_eatt2loud would not be around for too much longer. He took a massive hit against emptyseat88 (Scott Fischman) after taking a hand all the way to the river, then mucking. He then picked up kings in the hole and got all-in against Moneymaker. Moneymaker ended up making trip-queens by the river and knocked I_eatt2loud out in fifth place. I_eatt2loud won $14,547.

Having busted three of the first four final table players, it seemed no one could stop Moneymaker. Yamaha r 1 chose to dispell that idea as quickly as possible. He took a nice chunk out of Moneymaker's stack to even the score a bit. Then the players traded some chips around for a bit before the biggest hand yet of the final table came up.

At the beginning of the hand, the chip counts stood as such:

Seat 2: emptyseat88 (385353 in chips)
Seat 3: yamaha r 1 (112358 in chips)
Seat 5: Bunsen (441080 in chips)
Seat 6: Money800 (383709 in chips)

Bunsen brought it in with a 2s showing, Fischman raised with the ace of hearts showing, and Bunsen called. Bunsen drew the 3s to Fischman's 7d on fourth street. Fischman bet out, Bunsen raised, and Fischman called. By sixth street, Fischman was showing Ah7dQc2h to Bunsen's 2s3s8s4h. Again, Fischman bet out, Bunsen raised, and Fischman called. Fischman check-called the river, then mucked his hand after Bunsen showed a king-high spade flush (made on the river) and a six-high low. The pot was worth more than 320,000 in chips.

The win gave Bunsen a 3-2 chip lead over Moneymaker, who sat in second place. Yamaha r 1, last in chips, needed to make a stand. He decided to take on Moneymaker who hit king-king on his fifth and sixth cards to make kings up and send yamaha r 1 out in fourth place for $18,515.

That, folks, is where the real game began. Moneymaker. Fischman. And a virtual unknown. A guy they call Bunsen.

With three players remaining, Bunsen held a slight chip lead over Moneymaker and Fischman. The two WSOP bracelet-holders were willing to do an even three-way chop, but Bunsen wanted none of it if he didn't get more money than the other two. There were surely people out there who were asking...who is this guy?

As it turns out, Bunsen, known in the real world as Matt Mortensen, knows a thing or two about a thing or two. He told the table he plays 12 hours of stud hi-lo a day. It is...HIS game.

In fact, Bunsen plays $30/$60 stud hi-lo for a living, once making nearly ten grand in four hours of play. It's what he does. The 27 year-old recently left college to play cards full time. Now, he was up against two champions. The thing is, he was up against two hold'em champions. Bunsen had them on his home field.

At first it seemed Bunsen's hubris would get the better of him. Moneymaker and Fischman went to town on Bunsen's stack. Moneymaker made the wheel to scoop a $250,000 pot against Bunsen. Then Fischman took a $300,000 pot off him with a 6-high low and no better than a pair of sevens for the high. Then Fischman scooped another one with a full house. It seemed Bunsen was crippled and would be punished for not taking the deal.

Then something happened. Down to less than $100,000 in chips, Bunsen made a run, including taking a monster hand off Moneymaker with an ace-high flush and six-high low when Moneymaker's low draw missed.

That is where things would turn south for Moneymaker. After a fantastic night, he started coming up second-best too many times, the worst of which was was making aces up when Fischman had rolled up sixes that eventually turned into a boat. Down to jut one small bet, Moneymaker eventually succumbed to Bunsen, taking third place and winning $25,497.

As heads up play began, Fischman had a sizable lead on Bunsen, but per his usual form, Bunsen again closed the gap. This time Bunsen asked if Fischman wanted to chop and Fischman refused.

From there, it would go pretty much down hill for Fischman. No hand he could put together could best Bunsen's. Bunsen opened up a 2-1, then 3-1, then 5-1 chip lead. Fischman could not come back.

Bunsen later said, "Fischman was easier playing heads up. He's a good player, but his style is more suited to hold'em than 7 stud. So, I was able to exploit a couple of weaknesses a number of times. I also called him down on some of his bluffs."

With that, Bunsen took home the WCOOP bracelet, and the right to say he beat to champions.

WCOOP Event #12 Final Table Results

1. Bunsen (Tempe, AZ) $66,125.00
2. emptyseat88 (Henderson, NV) $39,675.00
3. Money800 (Bellevue, TN) $25,497.80
4. yamaha r 1 (Park Ridge, IL) $18,515.00
5. I_eatt2loud (Davis, CA) $14,547.50
6. Clockwork (Los Angeles, CA) $11,902.50
7. Consagres (Severna Park, MD) $9,257.50
8. chuiwon (El Cajon, CA) $6,612.50

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

Moneymaker. Fischman. A WCOOP bracelet on the line. It was 7-card Stud Hi-Lo and one man stood in the way of the two WSOP bracelet-holders. His name was Matt Mortensen (aka Bunsen), a guy who told the two champions that he spends 12 hours a day playing the game of the night. Deals were made, deals were refused. When it was over, Bunsen took first place and the WCOOP bracelet outright.

Stay tuned for a full tournament report on Friday. Until then, here are your final table finishers.

WCOOP Event #12 Final Table Results

1. Bunsen (Tempe, AZ) $66,125.00
2. emptyseat88 (Henderson, NV) $39,675.00
3. Money800 (Bellevue, TN) $25,497.80
4. yamaha r 1 (Park Ridge, IL) $18,515.00
5. I_eatt2loud (Davis, CA) $14,547.50
6. Clockwork (Los Angeles, CA) $11,902.50
7. Consagres (Severna Park, MD) $9,257.50
8. chuiwon (El Cajon, CA) $6,612.50

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

Another night, another twenty grand to the American Red Cross. On Thursday night, PokerStars and Team PokerStars member Wil Wheaton put on the third of four Hurricane Katrina Relief Tournaments and, with PokerStars 100% matching funds, raised another $21,296.74. The total going to the American Red Cross now stands at $72,876.74 with one tournament to go. Here are the final table results from Thursday night's event.

$50 PokerStars Hurricane Katrina Relief Tournament Final Table

1. Flesnessman (Grand Rapids, MI)
2. Ms.SFH (Placerville, CA)
3. CW21 (Georgetown, TX)
4. frunken dish (Coppell, TX)
5. shogusumi (Portland, OR)
6. peacecorn (FL)
7. EricC007 (Hopedale, MA)
8. Aloeman (McAllen, TX)
9. Hearts&Roses (Longwood, FL)

There is one more hurriance relief tournament Friday night at 9:30pm. If you want to donate, please click on "Tourney" and "Special" in your PokerStars lobby to register.

There was a time a a youngster that I stood on the sporting field and heard the phrase, "It's like kissing your sister." I didn't have a sister, nor did I particularly want one. And if I had, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to kiss her. Chances are she would look something like me and, folks, that's not something I want to kiss.

But what? What is like kissing your sister? A tie, that's what.

And such is the beast that is Omaha Hi-Lo. It's a game where the best is not always the best. The best is the worst and the best combined, and that's where things get tricky. If you do not alone have the best and the worst at the same time, chances are you're going to tie. Or get quartered. Or worse yet, you might just lose. And like my childhood hero George Brett once said, "If a tie is like kissing your sister, losing is like kissing you grandmother with her teeth out."

WCOOP Event #11 was a limit version of this wretchedly frustrating game. It's the game where action junkies get their fix, the chasers sometimes win, and no hand is a fantastic favorite pre-flop.

It also happens to be quite a bit of fun.

Here's how the final table shaped up when the final nine sat down.

Seat 1: ballbanger (Lombard, IL) $38,944
Seat 2: NOWHY (Oswego, OR) $171,247
Seat 3: musher (Las Vegas, NV) $217,220
Seat 4: 77KEETER88 (322222 in chips)
Seat 5: DirtyTowel (Ann Arbor, MI) $178,078
Seat 6: Stupid-Cing (Las Vegas, NV) $244,626
Seat 7: yellowhat (Paris,France) $205,756
Seat 8: TOPTEN (S.Elmonte, CA) $201,106
Seat 9: TheMuppet (London, United Kingdom) $258,301

With the final table in place, most of the stacks hovered around the same level, with the exception of ballbanger, who was desperately shortstacked with barely enough chips to play one hand. As such, he tried to make a move soon. And so it was unfortunate that he drew the big blind as soon as he sat down. Holding 9d3d6cQs, a queen-high flop and open-ended straight draw was good enough to get the rest of his chips in the middle. His hand never improved past the queens, there was no low on board, and two pair bested ballbanger's pair of queens. He was out in ninth place, cashing for $5,880.

TOPTEN would be the next to go, learning that no stack is safe in Omaha Hi-Lo. Starting with more than $200,000 in chips, TOPTEN couldn't make a hand and over the course of his stay at the table his stack dwindled away to nothing. His eighth place finish earned him $9,187.

For those not familiar with the game, when a player wins both the high and low hands, it's called a "scoop." (Incidentally, that's my dog's name as well). It's the best of all outcomes for a player in a hi-lo game. TheMuppet showed the table how to do it with 2sAcQsJs, nailing the nut low and no better than a pair of queens for the high. Musher, who would soon prove a force with which to be reckoned, scooped two back-to-back pots and moved into the chip lead. 77KEETER88 scooped when he needed to. In for all his chips, 77KEETER88 flopped the nut flush on a board where no low would be possible. He doubled up at just the right moment to stay alive.

Stupid-Cing, who came to the table with a lot of chips, had been lobbying for a chop since the first hand. No one would take him up on it. He, too, suffered the inability to make a hand and finally decided to go with Js9h8sJd preflop. An ace on the flop and no jack coming, Stupid-Cing was out in seventh place, cashing for $12,862.

TheMuppet, who had put on quite a show for the entire tournament, started losing ground in the middle stages of the finall table. And so it happened that both he and 77KEETER88 both got all in against DirtyTowel on a flop of 4hJs8d. We never saw either losing players' hand. We were only treated with DirtyTowel's TcAc7dKs which ended up making a an ace-high straight and knocking both TheMuppet and 77KEETER88 out at the same time. 77KEETER88 started the hand with fewer chips, so he placed sixth and took home $16,537. TheMuppet took fifth and $20,212.

Musher and DirtyTowel stood close the the chip lead with NOWWHY close behind and yellowhat bringing up the rear. With very few chips left, yellowhat got all his chips in pre-flop with 4cAc6c9h. Musher's As5c2h7c was good enough to scoop the pot and send yellowhat out in fourth place and $25,357.

With three players remaining, musher took command of the game, but eventually fell back to a point to where the remaining three were nearly even in chips. Then, came the hand that shifted the balance of power.

In a battle of the blinds, NOWHY limped in from the small blind and called a raise from musher in the big blind. The flop came out 4sJdJh. NOWHY bet out and got a call. The turn was 5d. NOWHY bet out again and again got a call. The river was the eight of spades. NOWHY bet out, got raised, re-raised, and then musher only called. Musher's 7h6s5cAc was good for the four to eight straight and the low. NOWHY's 2s2c6dJc was crushed. So was his stack. Though he worked his way back, musher scooped another final pot, beating NOWHY's two pair with a turned straight and the wheel for the low. NOWHY was out in third place and cashed for $33,810.

With only two players remaining, musher and DirtyTowel worked out a deal based on chip percentage. They played it out for $10,000 and the WCOOP bracelet going to the winner. On the final hand, musher flopped a full house that crushed DirtyTowel's straight.

Musher at one point said he has a child on the way in just about a week. Eighty grand should just about cover the first year of parenthood, buddy.

Congratulations to all the players.

WCOOP Event #11 Final Table Results

1. musher (Las Vegas, NV) $81,289.00
2. DirtyTowel (Ann Arbor, MI) $63,137.00
3. NOWHY (Lake Oswego, OR) $33,810.00
4. yellowhat (Paris,France) $25,357.50
5. TheMuppet (London, United Kingdom) $20,212.50
6. 77KEETER88 (Bakersfield, CA) $16,537.50
7. Stupid-Cing (Las Vegas, NV) $12,862.50
8. TOPTEN (S.Elmonte, CA) $9,187.50
9. ballbanger (Lombard, IL)$5,880.00

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

Anyone who has been a parent for any length of time knows, the kids ain't cheap. So, with one on the way in just about a week, PokerStars player "musher" could use a little money. Wonder how he fancies $81, 289? After nearly twelve hours of Omaha Hi-Lo, musher walked away with first place and the WCOOP bracelet.

A full report will be out on Thursday. Until then, here are your final table finishers.

WCOOP Event #11 Final Table Results

1. musher (Las Vegas, NV) $81,289.00
2. DirtyTowel (Ann Arbor, MI) $63,137.00
3. NOWHY Lake (Oswego, OR) $33,810.00
4. yellowhat (Paris,France) $25,357.50
5. TheMuppet (London, United Kingdom) $20,212.50
6. 77KEETER88 (Bakersfield, CA)$16,537.50
7. Stupid-Cing (Las Vegas, NV)$12,862.50
8. TOPTEN (S.Elmonte, CA) $9,187.50
9. ballbanger (Lombard, IL)$5,880.00

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

So, here we are the OK Corral.
--Lee Jones as the final table WCOOP Event #10, a triple-shootout, began

If you listen clearly enough, you'll hear the whistle from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." If you watch closely enough, you'll see a tumbleweed bounce across the screen. If your nose is good enough, you'll smell the whiskey, sweat, and fear in the air.

Or not. These kinds of shootouts are much safer, involve fewer real injuries, and don't have Val Kilmer playing the tubercular Doc Holiday. While I will admit to at least twice muttering "I'm your Huckleberry" during the final table of Event #10, it seemed a safe bet that anyone who had made it this far was not going to require paramedics when it was over.

That said, I did smell someone lighting the blaze of glory, and if the fire's a burnin', somebody is bound to get burned.

Per the shootout format, everyone had won two consecutive sit and go touraments, and started the final table with $1500 in chips. Here's how the table set itself up.

Seat 1: pstarfish (Mesa, AZ)
Seat 2: Acey-Deucey (McAllen, TX)
Seat 3: pianolegs (New York, NY)
Seat 4: harthgosh (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Seat 5: WhiteDrgn888 (Aliso Viejo, CA)
Seat 6: jpapola (Howell, NJ)
Seat 7: Empire2000 (Tenafly, NJ)
Seat 8: weways (Auburn, ME)
Seat 9: Buckeye 119 (Gahanna, OH)

The first requirement of any good shootout is that someone fire the first shot. For the first few hands, all that could be heard was the loading of the weapons and the occasional test fire. Once everyone had their sights set, harthgosh fired the first shot over the bow. She came in for a 5x the BB raise and got a call from pstarsfish who had limped in from early position. The board came down Ks2s3s/Qd/8h. Pstarsfish check-called the flop, check-raised the turn, and checked the river with harthgosh. Pstarsfish showed JcKc for a loss to harthgosh's AdKd. Harthgosh had scored the first real shot and the final table of the triple shoot-out was off and running.

Harthgosh may have fired the first shot, but it was clear from the beginning that jpapola, a college student and part-time poker player, had brought the biggest gun. Having qualified for Event #10 in a $17 satellite, jpapola had nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain. Over the course of three big hands, jpapola won a nice pot without a showdown, one another with pocket jacks, and then another with pocket aces versus AK. The last of the three sent pstarsfish out in ninth place for $10,850 and gave jpapola the undeniable chip-lead. He went on to take a nice bundle of chips from pianolegs who finished the hand with top pair/top kicker to jpapola's overpair.

Jpapola's stack made most of the others at the table look small. Hence, some of the smaller stacks started looking to double through. Weways did it with JJ versus harthgosh's AQ. Pianolegs did it with a pair of threes that eventually made a full house.

Empire 2000 tried to do the same thing. He found AK and decided it was his hand. Unfortunately, it was like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Jpapola held pocket jacks, made a set, and sent Empire 2000 out in eighth place for $16,800.

Sometimes the fates are working against you and Weways (he of the best screen name at the table) found that out the hard way. In the same orbit, Weways lost with pocket kings against A9 and pocket aces versus pocket tens. It was enough to send him out in seventh place and $23,800 in cash. A full-time poker player, weways has cashed for bigger amounts in the past, but is never one to turn down money. As he told me later, "My girlfriend and I just bought a house and haven't even made our first mortgage payment on it yet. So, I think we may just take a good chunk out of this win and put it away in a safety deposit box or something for when times aren't so good."

If you've ever seen the movie shootouts where somoeone gets shot but continues to fight on, pianolegs was that guy. His stack was up and down all night. After being short-stacked early on, he fought back to nearly the chip lead, then proceded to double up two shorter stacks after calling an all-in with second pair, and then calling an all-in with KT versis A9 pre-flop. Still, pianolegs would not go away.

In every good shootout, there is that moment where the bullets are flying so fast, it is impossible to dodge them all. Victims are falling in the dusty streets. The dirt and muck fill the air and it is impossible to see who is alive and who is dead. Finally, that moment came in Event #10.

It was a three-way all in. Pianolegs held AK of hearts. Harthgosh had a pair of queens. Buckeye 119 held pocket kings. Harthgosh knew she was behind before the flop hit, but knew she was nearly out when a king and two hearts fell on the flop. And, really, Buckeye 119 had to know it was coming. Indeed, a third heart on the river tripled-up pianolegs and sent harthgosh out in sixth place and $30,800.

WhiteDrgn888 and Acey-Deucey were nearly even in chips when WhiteDrgn888 found AQ and thought it good enough to get all the chips in the middle. Unfortunate timing, however. Acey-Deucey held pocket aces and sent WhiteDrgn888 out in fifth place for a $38,290 payday.

Pianolegs, riddled with bullets, still found a way to work his way up to the chip lead. Facing a raise from Acey-Deucey, Painolegs fired back and re-raised. After some thought, Acey-Deucey re-raised all-in. Pianolegs went in the tank. Losing would not kill him, but it would put him on life support. Finally, he called with pocket sixes, only two see he was up against the two biggest guns in the deck. Acey-Deucey held acey-acey. The aces held up and two hands later painolegs was out in fourth place, cashing for $46,900.

Buckeye 199, also in on a $17 satellite, had been fighting and shooting strong, but ended up getting unlucky. He called all-in with AK versus Jpapola's JT. A jack and ten on the flop was enough to send Buckeye 119 out in third place a few hands later. He cashed for $63,000.

With two players remaining and jpapola behind in chips, he at first turned down a deal offer from Acey-Deucey. A few hands later, jpapola, playing with just a $17 buy-in, changed his mind and accepted a chip-percentage deal. After that, Acey-Deucey opened up a chip lead, then played a pair of kings a little slow to get jpapola all-in with top pair on the board. Acey-Deucey ended up making a set of kings on the river to beat jpapola's pair of queens.

With that, Acey-Deucey was the last man standing in the PokerStars Corral.


WCOOP Event #10 Final Table Results

1. Acey-Deucey (McAllen, TX) $150,026
2. jpapola (Howell, NJ) $122,974
3. Buckeye 119 (Gahanna, OH) $63,000
4. pianolegs (New York, NY) $46,900
5. WhiteDrgn888 (Aliso Viejo, CA) United States $38,290
6. harthgosh (Vancouver, BC, Canada) $30,800
7. weways (Auburn, ME) United States $23,800
8. Empire2000 (Tenafly, NJ) United States $16,800
9. pstarfish (Mesa, AZ) $10,850

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

By WCOOP standards, Event #10 was a fast one. It took just more than six hours to thin the field from 635 to one. The triple shootout just moved lightning fast.

Of the final three players, two of them had parlayed $17 satellite wins into tens off thousands of dollars. Buckeye 119 turned $17 into $63,000. Jpapola turned $17 into $122,974.

A full final table report will be out on Wednesday. Until then here are your final table results.

WCOOP Event #10 Final Table Results

1. Acey-Deucey (McAllen, TX) $150,026
2. jpapola (Howell, NJ) $122,974
3. Buckeye 119 (Gahanna, OH) $63,000
4. pianolegs (New York, NY) $46,900
5. WhiteDrgn888 (Aliso Viejo, CA) United States $38,290
6. harthgosh (Vancouver, BC, Canada) $30,800
7. weways (Auburn, ME) United States $23,800
8. Empire2000 (Tenafly, NJ) United States $16,800
9. pstarfish (Mesa, AZ) $10,850

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

Call it what you will. Call it "running well." Call it "lucky." I call it pretty neat. When we reached the final table of WCOOP Event #9, there were names that I'd already written about here during the WCOOP coverage. Ziggy47 had placed sixth in Event #1 for $53,585. Lenny had placed ninth in Event #6 for $4,879. And there they were again, back at another WCOOP final table.

The event this time was Seven-Card Stud, a different kind of event to be sure. It is the only stud event in all of the World Championship of Online Poker and it just happened to be ziggy47's first-ever seven-card stud tournament.

Here's how the final table looked going into the final eight players.

Seat 1: Kenjh (Mystic, CT) $311,648
Seat 2: Lenny (Long Beach, CA) $78,880
Seat 3: SUPERTYR (Copenhagen, Denmark) $312,251
Seat 4: Umass43 Hold (Gilbert, AZ) $93,003
Seat 5: MickBt23 (Bowling Green, KY) $238,435
Seat 6: smukke (Copenhagen, Denmark) $61,792
Seat 7: ziggy47 (Lewis Center, OH) $222,152
Seat 8: schwah (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) $236,839

Lenny was in need of finding a hand early. He'd been fairly careful leading up to the final table and he was looking for a hand to make a move. With only 9s4c4h showing, Lenny got all his chips in by fifth street. We then saw that Lenny, with a pair of eights concealed, had made two pair. Schwah had started with a pair of kings in the hole. Although Schwah went on to make two pair with kings and sevens, Lenny drew back-to-back aces for his final two cards to make a better two pair. Schwah, an American living in the Ukraine, let out an exasperated "errrrrhkjhg" that I have not found in either country's dictionaries. I believe it can be loosely translated to mean, "Nice hand, sir."

Lenny did not hold on to his chips for long. On a subsequent hand, though we didn't see his cards, chances are he was behind from fouth street when Kenjh made two pair, aces and threes.

With several shortstacks in need of chips, it was fairly common that several players were all in by fourth street. They'd pick a hand and go with it. Umass43 Hold picked JhAcAs9d and the cards served him well when he made a full house to beat trip queens. Similarly, smukke was all-in from the deal with Kd6hQc and made a straight to crack schwah's two-pair.

It couldn't last forever, however, and finally a shortstack gave up the ghost. Lenny, all in on fourth street with TdTc9d6c would not further improve and eventually Kenjh would river a set of fours to send Lenny out in eighth place and $4,665.

Schwah's stack needed some help. It came in the form of being deal four hearts in his first four cards. All his chips were in the midddle and he implored the deck to bring a heart. In dramatic fashion, the card waited until the river to fall and save schwah from seventh place.

Smukke could not be saved. He barely had a big bet in front of him when he was dealt nines in the hole and went with them. They would not stand up when his opponent made a pair of tens. Smukke was out in seventh place, cashing for $6,531.

Schwah, from the paradise of Ukraine, managed to hang on again, making trip queens to double his stack, stay alive, and again save him from being the next out. That place was reserved for Umass43 Hold who had fallen to a desperate level in chips. He got his remaining chips in the middle, but his tens and deuces were no match for aces and kings. Umass43 Hold was out in sixth place for $8,397.

Ah, schwah. Your time has come, friend. You couldn't really blame him for getting all his chips in the middle by sixth street. He had a pair of kings to his opponent's 9c4sQhKs showing. It was what you couldn't see that hurt. Kenjh had started with rolled up nines, the hand that would eventually take down the monster pot. Schwah was out in fifth place for $10,263.

Ziggy47, he of the two final table appearances, lost a good portion of his chips when what appeared to be a good hand (we never saw his hole cards) ran into a flush. With very few chips left, Ziggy found ThAh/Qc to start and went with it. Sadly for Ziggy47, it went nowhere. He was out in fourth place, adding another $12,875 to his ever-growing bankroll.

Eventually, MickBt23 was the shortest stack at the table, but still had $223,048 in chips at the 15,000/30,000 level. No one could blame him for getting all his chips in the middle after making two pair with aces and tens by fifth street, especially since he was looking at his opponent's ThQc9d6s. Again, though, as is often the case, it was what you couldn't see that spelled the difference. SUPERTYR held J8 in the hole. By the time MickBt23 had made his two pair, SUPERTYR had made the straight. MickBt23 left in third place, taking home $17,167.

And that's where it got...oh, well, let's be honest. That's where it got boring.

SUPERTYR and Kenjh both had nearly even stacks and the blinds had stopped moving. The game was going nowhere. SUPERTYR had business meetings to attend and it appeared the game would never end. The players begged Lee Jones to overlook the rules that required $7500 to stay on the table for first place. Lee stuck to the rules as long as it seemed reasonable, then finally relented. As it says in the TDA rules:

Floor people are to consider the best interest of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances can, on occasion, dictate that the technical interpretation of the rules be ignored in the interest of fairness. The floor person's decision is final.

The players played a couple of ulimate capped-betting hands to decide the winner, and SUPERTYR won the bracelet (and the ability to go on to his business meetings in Denmark).

Congratualtions to all the players.

WCOOP Event #9 Final Table Results

1. SUPERTYR (Copenhagen, Denmark) $35,733.90
2. Kenjh (Mystic, CT) $35,733.90
3. MickBt23 (Bowling Green, KY) $17,167.20
4. ziggy47 (Lewis Center, OH) $12,875.40
5. schwah (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) $10,263.00
6. Umass43 Hold (Gilbert, AZ) $8,397.00
7. smukke (Copenhagen, Denmark) $6,531.00
8. Lenny (Long Beach, CA) $4,665.00

Click here for a list of all cash winners.

I had this sinking feeling that I'd seen a couple of the blokes before. Sure enough, WCOOP Event #9's final table featured two people who had already made WCOOP final tables this year. Lenny and Ziggy47 were the first two players to make repeat WCOOP final table performance in 2005.

Seven-card stud is just a different game. It takes a different skill, a different mindset, and a different temperment. Even after the final two players made a deal to split the money and leave $10,000 and WCOOP bracelet to play for, the blinds stopped moving and so did the game. Finally, after they begged for so long, Lee Jones stepped in and allowed the players to chop the remaining money.

Sometimes, things happen. Remarkably enough, there are even TDA rules to handle those situations. TDA Rule 31 states "Floor people are to consider the best interest of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances can, on occasion, dictate that the technical interpretation of the rules be ignored in the interest of fairness. The floor person's decision is final."

Here are your final table results. A report will be out later on Tuesday.

WCOOP Event #9 Final Table Results

1. SUPERTYR (Copenhagen, Denmark) $35,733.90
2. Kenjh (Mystic, CT) $35,733.90
3. MickBt23 (Bowling Green, KY) $17,167.20
4. ziggy47 (Lewis Center, OH) $12,875.40
5. schwah Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) $10,263.00
6. Umass43 Hold (Gilbert, AZ) $8,397.00
7. smukke (Copenhagen, Denmark) $6,531.00
8. Lenny (Long Beach, CA) $4,665.00

Click here for a list of all cash winners.

That's how much will be going to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief thanks to the 2212 people who signed up and battled it out in the first of four PokerStars Hurricane Katrina relief tournaments hosted by Team PokerStars member Wil Wheaton. Each of them contributed $4.99 and PokerStars matched every buy-in 100%. And this is just the first of four tournaments.

Hurricane Katrina Relief Tournament #1 Final Table

1. DavidK (Arlington, MA)
2. stardawg (Winnipeg, MB, Canada)
3. bobbyc72 (Homer Glen, IL)
4. WINNER'circl (Philadelphia, PA)
5. HermWarfare (Bronx, NY)
6. Wayloss (Rochester NY
7. viale 36 (Schaumburg, IL)
8. livingrich (N. Las Vegas, NV)
9. gt2hvefath (Bowling Green, OH)

Thanks and congratulations to all of you. There are still three more tournaments this week if you'd like to donate. Just click on "Tourney" and "Special" in your PokerStars game lobby to register.

PokerStars and Team PokerStars member Wil Wheaton will host a $5+$0 No-Limit Hold'em freezeout tonight at 9:30pm ET to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

PokerStars will match every buy-in 100% and donate the proceeds to the American Red Cross. Final table players will receive the following prizes:

1st-3rd: Autographed Chris Moneymaker biography
4th-5th: Autographed Tom McEvoy book
6th-9th: Autographed Evelyn Ng poster

All final table members will receive an autographed Wil Wheaton book.

Please click on "Tourney" and "Special" in your game lobby to register. Click here for more details.

It's the type of thing that could make a brick and mortar casino operator go sleepless. To sleep would mean to dream, and to dream would mean to have nightmares about that million dollar guaranteed tournament looming on the horizon. Maybe there was a day when PokerStars might have cringed a bit bout a million dollar guarantee. However, as we reached the halfway point in the World Championship of Online Poker, the guarantees of the seven previous events (save one that was capped for logisitcal purposes) lay in broken little pieces all over the virtual card room floor.

So, it was little surprise (but still really neat) to see the WCOOP Event #8 $1 million guarantee get shredded on Sunday, when 1790 people signed up to create a $1,790,000 prize pool. Every one of the top four prizes had six digits. Count'em. Six.

And as if the ruins of the guarantee weren't enough to talk about, the man with the chip lead had quite a story himself. VikingVII had pillaged and plundered his way from--get this--a Frequent Player Point freeroll to the biggest event yet in the World Championship of Online Poker.

I don't care how you spell it folks, that is just one sweeeet parlay, regardless of how he would eventually finish up. How did he finish? Well, read on, friends.

Here's what the final table looked at when the final nine sat down to dance:

Seat 1: DJ16097 (Delray Beach, CA) $395,617
Seat 2: Dewana (Madison Heights, MI) $383,118
Seat 3: jerrod (Avon, CT) $720,720
Seat 4: animalmother (Las Vegas, NV) $722,962
Seat 5: Illuminee (Borlange, Sweden) $415,298
Seat 6: ayaz (Houston, TX) $283,510
Seat 7: ElkY (Seoul, Korea) $293,761
Seat 8: VikingVII (Petaluma, CA) $1,178,582
Seat 9: bILiaRds (Tucson, AZ) $81,432

Behind the eight ball

BILiaRds, he of the hard to type screen name, was no stranger to the WCOOP money. He cashed in Event #1 and had battled his way all the way to the final table of the only bigger event. On the short stack, he needed to find a hand pretty quickly. He decided AQ would do. Unfortunately for him, Illuminee held pocket kings at the same time. Ugly timing, to be sure. BILiaRds would never find an ace, and just to rub some Morton's in it, a king fell on the river. BILiaRds was out in ninth place cashing for (the following is not a mis-print) $24,523.

It's all just a game

Who is that in the seven seat? He looks like a combination between a modern day super hero and the Terminator's long, lost son. He, in fact, is ElkY, one of the most famous pro-gamers in the world. Like poker and Magic: The Gathering, the young and talented players of the biggest and baddest video games can make some serious dough playing video games for a living. That's what ElkY, a native of France now living in Korea, does. ElkY won PokerStars.com's first Pro-Gamer Challenge back in January, a single table tournament for the top gamers in the world. Now, ElkY is proving his talents in the video game world are translating to poker.

"Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends. We're so glad you could attend, step inside, step inside."
--PokerStars' Lee Jones channeling Emerson, Lake, and Palmer as Event #7's final table began

Sometimes, there are events that happen within events. At this year's World Series of Poker, there were stories within stories. Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson shooting for their tenth WSOP bracelets while Phil Hellmuth steamed on the rail. A host of poker players calling a cancer-stricken friend of the poker blogging community in his last living days. Barry Greenstein dedicating a newly-won bracelet to that same young man.

In the online poker world, those human stories are fewer and farther between. But Saturday night, one of those stories started to emerge. Poker pro Barry Greenstein emerged from the shadows and announced not only was he going to play and then later co-host PokerStars Radio during the final table, but that he would donate any of his winnings to the Hurrican Katrina relief effort. With that pledge made, PokerStars announced it would match the pledge 100%. Greenstein battled through the long night, eventually finishing in 16th place and together with PokerStars contributed $10,665 to the hurricane relief effort.

The effort was a sight to behold and quite fun to watch. Thanks to Barry for making such an effort to finish strong and high in the money. All of you can help out this week, too. On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, PokerStars and Wil Wheaton will host Hurricane Katrina relief tournaments. All buy-ins (with the exception of one penny) will go to the American Red Cross. PokerStars will match all donations 100%. Click on "Tourney" and "Special" in your game lobby to register.

With all that behind us, there was a $500 buyin PL Hold'em table to play, and play they did. Here's what the final table looked like when the final nine players sat down.

Seat 1: Az nutnut (Phoenix, AZ) $323,474
Seat 2: fat&50 (Royal Oak, MI) $287,941
Seat 3: celentan1o (Moscow, Russia) $577,920
Seat 4: TillerMaN (Glasgow, United Kingdom)$426,149
Seat 5: Hold_emNL (Edison, NJ) $375,246
Seat 6: Caleros (Clemson, SC) $173,442
Seat 7: Birdman266 (Las Vegas, NV) $415,365
Seat 8: kwil20 (Delta, BC, Canada) $162,741
Seat 9: NOXQZEZ (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $220,222

If you take anything from this report, it should be this: Never give up. Kwil20 came into Event #7's final table with fewer chips than any of his opponents. He would eventually be dubbed the Comeback Kid. It began early on as he found AQ and re-raised all-in. He ended up in a race with Hold_emNL who had a pair of jacks. An ace on the flop doubled up the self described "Sheriff of Nottingham of Poker" and began a run that wouldn't end for quite a while.

Perhaps the early double throgh put a scare into the table. Players stopped playing hands to the river for a while and for a period of time seemed to be literally afraid of flops.

The game finally opened back up when Az nutnut decided to make a stand and re-raised all-in with pocket tens against NOXQZEZ pair of aces. Az nutnut was crippled and departed in ninth place for $8,887.50.

Fat&50 was looking to double up and he picked 55 to do it. Celentan1o held AQ but it was no good from the flop when a five fell. What that hand lacked in drama, the next hand made up.

Caleros, celebrating his birthday from Clemson, South Carolina, had been playing fairly tight, so when he came over the top of Hold_emNL's raise all-in, Hold_emNL had to think for quite a while before calling all-in with a pair of queens. Sure enough, Caleros was holding aces. With all the chips in the middle and cards face-up on the table, all that remained was the board, where the first card off the deck was a queen, a card that was set to ruin Caleros's birthday. With only two outs remianing, Caleros watched three more inconsequential cards fall.

And then he watched an ace fall on the river. Hold_emNL was out in eighth place, cashing for $13,627.50.

"That's a real birthday present right there," Caleros said.

TillerMaN was in need of chips and finally decided to make his move with A8. Sitting in the small blind, he pushed all in after celentan1o raised from the button. Celentan1o called with QJ. The flop brough a queen to move Celentan1o ahead. The flop also brough an eight, but TillerMaN's hand improved no further and he was out in seventh place. He took home $19,552.50 for his efforts.

Fat&50 likes his pocket fives. Presto is a monster for him. Birdman266 would be the next victim and the next to bite the dust. He got his AQ in against fat&50's pocket fives. Again the fives held up and Birdman266 was out in sixth place, cashing for $25,477.50.

Shortly thereafter, fat&50's luck would turn bad. His A9 would not be able to run down NOXXQZEZ's AQ. Then his AQ would run up against kwil20's AK. He would not be much longer for the evening.

But the birthday boy would be the next to go. Caleros got all his chips in on a 5h7d2s flop. He held T5 to kwil20's A7. What did the birthday present equal? How about fifth place and $31,402.50.

Perhaps the most dramatic hand of the evening ended one man's hopes at a bracelet. Holding A2 of diamonds, fat&50 got all his chips in the middle with the nut flush (and Royal flush draw) on a 9dQcKdJd board with only the river to come. Celentan1o called with KJ, two pair. No doubt the money was going in. The doubt was about what would happen on the river.

A jack would happen on the river to give celentan1o a full house and send fat&50 out in fourth place for $38,512.50.

With three players remaining, it was time to talk a deal. NOXQZEZ, on the short stack, battled and battlle and until got what he wanted. In the end might have wondered whether he shouldve dealt at all.

In two back-to-back hands NOXQZEZ crippled celentan1o, first by rivering two pair with A7 against celentan1o's pocket nines, then crushing celentan1o's AT with AJ. Celentan1o was out soon thereafter in third place, cashing for a very respectable $92,000.

But NOXQZEZ could not make a full comeback against the Comeback Kid. Kwil20 took a $1.6 million pot off NOZQZEZ without having to show down a hand (it looked like NOXQZEZ was on a diamond flush draw). Finally, NOXQZEZ got all his money in with pocket sixes against Kwil20's QT. A ten on the river ended it all. Kwil20 was the champion.

Congratulations to all the players.

WCOOP Event #7 Results
(results based on three-way chip count deal)

1. kwil20 (Delta, BC, Canada) $114,000
2. NOXQZEZ (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $78,400
3. celentan1o (Moscow, Russia) $92,000.00
4. fat&50 (Royal Oak, MI) $38,512.50
5. Caleros (Clemson, SC) $31,402.50
6. Birdman266 (Las Vegas, NV) $25,477.50
7. TillerMaN (Glasgow, United Kingdom) $19,552.50
8. Hold_emNL (Edison, NJ) $13,627.50
9. Az nutnut (Phoenix, AZ) $8,887.50

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

What a night. It started with the announcement that poker pro Barry Greenstein (aka crazyplayer) was playing in WCOOP Event #7 and was going to co-host the final table broadcast on PokerStars Radio with Poker Talk Show's Rick Charles. Then Barry told us he was going to donate any winnings to the Hurricane Katrina relief fund. Then PokerStars announced it would match Barry's contribution 100%. Then Barry went on to take 16th place and cash for $5332.50. That's $10,665 that will go to help the folks on the Gulf Coast as they recover from the hurricane. That's in addition to the tons of money and matching funds that will be raised by this week's Hurricane Katrina relief tournaments, hosted by Wil Wheaton on PokerStars.com. If you have the time and cash, please go sign up for one or all four of the tournaments. PokerStars is matching all donations 100%.

And then there was a final table, where some hard core Pot-Limit Hold'em played out and kwil20 took home more than $110,000. A full report will be on on Sunday. Until then, here are your final table results.

WCOOP Event #7 Results
(results based on three-way chip count deal)

1. kwil20 (Delta, BC, Canada) $114,000
2. NOXQZEZ (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $78,400
3. celentan1o (Moscow, Russia) $92,000.00
4. fat&50 (Royal Oak, MI) $38,512.50
5. Caleros (Clemson, SC) $31,402.50
6. Birdman266 (Las Vegas, NV) $25,477.50
7. TillerMaN (Glasgow, United Kingdom) $19,552.50
8. Hold_emNL (Edison, NJ) $13,627.50
9. Az nutnut (Phoenix, AZ) $8,887.50

Click here for a full list of cash winners.

The Robin Hood of poker is at it again. Poker pro Barry Greenstein will host PokerStars Radio tonight for the final table of WCOOP Event #7. Click here to listen when the tournament gets down to the final table.

As it happens, Greenstein is actually playing in Event #7 today under his screen name crazyplayer. In true Greenstein fashion, he plans to donate any winnings tonight to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. In the continuing effort to help the ravaged Gulf Coast, PokerStars will match any contribution Greenstein makes with his winnings.

Click on "Tourney" then "WCOOP" then "Event #7" to watch the action.

"It's like watching hummingbirds play lacrosse."
--PokerStars Radio commentator Wil Wheaton commenting on the speed of the action in WCOOP Event #6

Sure, the fast cars and fast girls are fun. They're exciting and unpredictable. You never know when you start whether you'll be in victory lane or upside down in a ditch from the start. That's no-limit hold'em.

But, the more pragmatic of gamblers (and I'm almost sure there is such a thing) sometimes like to dance with who brung'em. They like the staid and traditional approach of a game that offers fewer gambles. She may not be the girl you want on prom night, but limit hold'em is the one that's always been there for you.

To be sure, the skill is different. And despite some folks' assertions that it is an inherently flawed game, there is a sweet science to it that makes it derserving of a spot in PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker. And by the end, Wil Wheaton and co-commentator Rick Charles were having a hard time keeping up with the action.

Who says limit hold'em is too slow?

Here's what the final table looked like when the final nine sat down.

Seat 1: GINGER KING (Malton, United Kingdom) $254,454
Seat 2: KaiserShosa (Encino, CA) 395,770
Seat 3: barr_b2 (Columbus, OH) $230,557
Seat 4: ActionJeff (Norfolk, MA)$544,289
Seat 5: davmcg (Glasgow, United Kingdom)$527,122
Seat 6: Lenny (Long Beach, CA) $75,877
Seat 7: bdawg31 (Mechanicsburg, PA) $198,611
Seat 8: DANICA (Copenhagen, Denmark) $580,938
Seat 9: Mackas (Newtownabbey, United Kingdom)$1,644,882

Squiggy didn't make the show

...but Lenny did. After suffering an unfortunate beat just before the final table, the man from Long Beach needed a good win pretty quickly at the final table. From the button, he decided to make his move. He came in for a raise and got called by bdawg31 in the small blind. The flop came out JcQdAh. Bdawg31 checked, Lenny bet out, and bdawg raised Lenny all-in. Lenny called. Bdawg31 showed AQ for top two pair. Lenny held QT. The king he needed didn't come and Lenny was gone in ninth place for $4,879.94.

Mackas had come to the final table with the biggest stack and did not let up as play continued. Holding QT, he capped a pot pre-flop with DANICA, flopped top pair, turned two pair, and rivered a full house on a QJ2/T/T board. DANICA came in for a raise on the turn, so it appears Mackas was up against AK an rivered the full house, but we'll never know. As $504,000 in chips slid over to Mackas, DANICA's hand went in the virtual muck.

barr_b2 is barbequed

While a lot of pro players have been playing in WCOOP, there expectedly have been a lot of part-time players as well. Barr_b2 is one of them. A business analyst for a large company, the 30 year-old spends a lot of time working, playing poker, and playing golf. He was already looking at his biggest tournament cash to date when he got into his final hand.

After raising and getting re-raised pre-flop, barr_b2 saw a flop of Ac8s9d. He and bdawg31 capped the betting. By the end of betting on the turn, a four, barr_b2 was all in. The river, a nine, paired the board, but was irrelevant. Barr_b2 held AT to bdawg31's AJ. Barr_b2 was out in eighth place for $7,408.96. Less than 12 hours after his win, the business-minded man hadn't yet planned to spend his winnings.

"I just got en