November 2005 Archives

When the end of the month arrives, the prize pool in PokerStars' Sunday $700,000 Guaranteed tournament gets huge. This week, the prize pool was more than $880,000 and the top three players each walked away with more than $100,000 in prize money.

I also recognized some familiar faces at the final table. I met Strassa2 earlier this year at the EPT event in Vienna and then later at an EPT event in London. I crossed paths with Brett Favre at the World Series of Poker this year.

Here are the final table results.

PokerStars $700,000 Guaranteed Results
(results based on three-way deal that left $10,000 for first place)

1. Williamhill (Bergen, Norway) $147,316
2. incha (Sudbury, Ontario, Canada) $124,742
3. majic1111 (Fort Collins, CO) $111,177
4. icecreams (Edinburg, TX) $55,503.00
5. kevmike (Chicago, IL) $44,931.00
6. Brett Favre (Sherman Oaks, CA) $35,240.00
7. strassa2 (Durham, NC) $26,430.00
8. laurentia (Hajduszoboszlo, Hungary) $18,324.80
9. doctor max (Hillsborough, NJ) $12,069.70

Congratulations to all the players.

How one poker hand cost Joe Hachem a World Series of Poker Circuit Championship

by Nolan Dalla
Photos courtesy of Image Masters Photography and World Series of Poker

One single poker hand can change a life. One poker hand can create a new star out of someone previously unknown. One poker hand can validate a deeply personal decision made years earlier, against the well-intended advice of parents and peers. One poker hand can be riveting to behold, and even more extraordinary to analyze.

The poker hand of all poker hands took place precisely at 4:20 pm PST on Tuesday, November 22nd in Las Vegas. The loser of the hand was destined to walk away shell shocked in frustration as the fifth-place finisher. The winner of the hand was to ultimately soar to victory in the World Series of Poker Circuit championship held at Ballys-Paris -- an event which will be nationally televised later by ESPN. The hand essentially cost one player $352,000. It was -- the hand of the year.

2005 World Series of Poker champ and member of Team PokerStars Joe Hachem arrived at the final table with a decisive chip lead. Four hours later, only five players remained. Hachem retained the lead with 360,000 in chips. His closest rival was a 29-year-old Vietnamese native named Thang 'Kido' Pham.

What happened was a bombshell or an abomination, depending upon one's perspective. The hand clearly demonstrates that poker tournaments can be either won or lost within seconds. It all started when Joe Hachem was dealt pocket Kings. After J.C. Tran made an initial 18,000 raise, Kido Pham re-raised another 50,000. Hachem must have thought he was in final table heaven.

Pondering his move, Hachem re-raised again up to 150,000. Tran immediately folded and Pham moved over the top with an all-in re-raise, for 157,000 more. Hachem later admitted that he feared his opponent having pocket Aces. But there was no way to lay down the big hand. Hachem called and Tran knew immediately he had made the wrong move at the wrong time. Pham sheepishly showed J-10, a huge underdog to Hachem's powerhouse K-K. With 650,000 in the pot at stake (about half of the chips in play), it was to be the turning point of the final table.

"I didn't want to play a big pot," Hachem said later. "But I made the right read and was the leader by a mile."

Team PokerStars' Joe Hachem, 2005 WSOP champion, proved he wasn't just a flash in the pan. He made the final table of the Ballys/Paris World Series of Poker Circuit Event in Last Vegas. Not only that, he entered final table play with the chip lead.

It seemed Hachem was destined to win another one. And then an odd thing happened. Kido Pham, at the time sitting second in chips, decided to push all-in pre-flop with JT. Hachem was happy to call with pocket kings.

Two jacks on the flop and Hachem was behind. He would not improve. He placed fifth and won nearly $90,000.

Congrats, Joe.

After three days of play, Team PokerStars' Joe Hachem (aka the 2005 World Series of Poker Champion) has advanced to the final table of the World Series of Poker Circuit event at Ballys/Paris in Las Vegas.

As you likely noted during coverage of the WSOP main event, Hachem is among the most patient of players and when his money goes in you can count on seeing a hand. His opponent's found that out over the last few days, especially on the final hand of Day 3, in which Hachem knocked out Max Pescatori and Minh Ly at the same time. Hachem held KK to short-stacked Max's A4o and Minh's JJ. Word has it Lee Watkinson held pocket queens on the hand and then laid them down after seeing all the action.

Hachem's stack had been hovering around the average since Day 1, but now he's going to the final table with the chip lead.

Play will resume at 2pm Vegas time on Tuesday.

Well done, Joe.

More than 3400 people turned out for PokerStars' big $500,000 Guarantee on Sunday. With more than $680,000 in the prize pool, the competition was intense. After more than eight hours of play, here's how the final table turned out. Congratulations to all the players.

PokerStars $500,000 Guaranteed Results
(Results reflect four-way deal that left $10,000 for first place)

1. Mafews (Edinburgh, United Kingdom) $85,000
2. DingSing (Bergen, Norway) $94,217.80
3. 64chady (Hayden, ID) $70,000
4. RolldUpTrips (Coral Springs, FL) $60,000
5. backhauldrct (Lincolnshire, IL) $30,717.00
6. eddieboy (Orlando, FL) $23,891
7. kennyho (Staten Island, NY) $17,747.60
8. mrstardust (Gävle, Sweden) $12,286.80
9. McShove (Northfield, MN) $7,372.08

The next few weeks are going to be pretty fun at PokerStars. On any given day or weekend, you can qualify to go just about anywhere. Not only are the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure satellites always running, not only are satellites to EPT: Monte Carlo, and a WSOP Circuit running...now there are two more cool events on the qualifying board.

This weekend you can play in satellites to the European Poker Tour's Scandinavian Open in Copenhagen, Denmark and the Aussie Millions in Australia. For EPT satellites, click "Events" and "EPT" in your tournament lobby. For Aussie Millions satellites, click "Tourney" and "Special" in your game lobby.

Click here for more Scandinavian Open satellite information or click here for more information on the EPT.

Click here for more Aussie Millions satellite information.

The end of 2005 is a big time at PokerStars. Right now, players have the opportunity to qualify for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the WSOP Circuit, and the European Poker Tour. Pretty good time for a bonus, eh?

From now through November 27, PokerStars is offering its players up to $120 in free cash on their next deposit. That's bonus cash that can help you win a seat to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which from experience I can tell you is one heckuva cool trip. Satellites for the Bahamas trip start at $2. I'll be there and you should be, too.

And if you're feeling more on the European side, I can also recommend the EPT Monte Carlo trip. This year, there's a brand new venue which is said to be one of the nicest places in the world. Oh, and I'll be there, too. Life's hard, huh?

So, get on the stick and get to qualifying. If you need a little more information, click here for complete deposit bonus details.

More than 3300 people came out for PokerStars big Sunday $500,000 Guaranteed event. With a prize pool of more than $666,000, the competition was as tough as you'd expect. When it was all over, here's what the final table results looked like.

PokerStars Sunday $500,000 Guaranteed Results
(results listed in order of finish and based on four-way deal that left $10,000 for first place)

1. Joseba (Aubervilliers, France) $66,597.05
2. Foxman (Northpole, Sweden) $105,302.66
3. NoxirE (Goteborg, Sweden) $78,090.69
4. rndee8 (Lees Summit, MO) $51,889.10
5. Beardie (Livingston, United Kingdom) $29,988.00
6. Oswaldo (Helsinki, Finland) $23,324.00
7. TwistedEcho (Stafford, United Kingdom) $17,326.40
8. oscartotti (Essex, United Kingdom) $11,995.20
9. guayana14 Caracas, Venezuela) $7,197.12

It happened quietly on Monday. There were no marching bands or Congressional speeches, but it happened nonetheless. PokerStars dealt its three billionth hand. Three billion. That's getting close to rivaling McDonalds hamburgers. That's a lot of anything.

On the receiving end of some of those three billion dealt hands are several PokerStars players who have racked up a million hands of their own. A million. Sheesh. Let's consider this for a minute.

Say the idea of online poker disappeared into a black hole about five years ago. Say you still wanted to rack up a MILLION hands. Here's what you would have to do (all numbers being general approximations of the brutual life in a brick and mortar poker room):

1. Convince your tablemates to play at a reasonable pace and get in 30 hands per hour

2. Play for 40 hours a week (yeah, it's a real job, folks)

3. Play for 50 weeks out of the year (two weeks vacation)

Now, do this...play for nearly 17 years.

As one PokerStars employee put it, that's 16.6 years of bad beats condensed into just a few years online. That's a lot of pain to stomach in such a short amount of time.

But, look at it this way: If you can handle that, you can handle anything. And that's what this is all about, right?

Hachem Hits TV; 180s go 24 hours; PokerStars wins award

Joe TV

Ah, the trappings of fame. First it was ESPN, then it was Leno, now 2005 World Series of Poker champion Joe Hachem is getting some more time in front of the camera.

That's a behind the scenes look at a recent TV shoot starring none other than Team PokerStars' Joe Hachem. Look for Hachem's new PokerStars commercials to come out later this month.

Do a 180 all day long

Boy, you folks really like those 180s. A trial run of 180-player Sit & Go Tournaments on PokerStars proved that they were the kind of thing the players like. I just heard today, the 180s have hit the schedule fulltime. You'll find them 24-hours a day on the Tourney/All or Sit & Go/Mutli-Table tabs.

Also, word on the street is these tournaments have been so popular, we'll likely start seeing more of these kinds of tournaments with different buy-ins and player limits in the future.

PokerStars named Best Poker Operator

You likely already know PokerStars is the best place to play poker online. It's apparently no secret to one of the top online gaming magazines either. eGaming Review has named PokerStars.com the "Best Poker Operator of the Year." Noted for its diversity of games and software stability, PokerStars stood out from the field of competitors. The judges also noted that PokerStars is home to the online gaming world's most ambitious tournament poker players and a respected collection of World Series of Poker Champions.

Not too shabby, eh?

The Sunday $500,000 Guaranteed continues to be a monster tournament. This week it drew more than 3400 people and generated a prize pool of nearly $700,000. After a two-way deal, the top two finishers both walked away with more than a hundred grand in their bankrolls. Here are your final table results.

Sunday $500,000 Guaranteed Results
(Results based on on two-way deal that left $10,000 for first place)

1. gunnygirl (Oslo, Norway) $115,400
2. DaPhatAce (Chicago, IL) $105,400
3. chrille_swe (Upplands Väsby, Sweden) $51,750
4. StratoS (Oslo, Norway) $40,020.00
5. #1PEN (Newport Beach, CA) $31,050.00
6. Two Ones (Deadwood, TX) $24,150.00
7. kingsanti (Buenos Aires, Argentina) $17,940.00
8. Karthur (Pyrmont, Australia) $12,420.00
9. obstante (New York, IN) $7,452.00

I knew it had to happen eventually. It was just too perfect a fit to not happen. Today, it is finally official.

Joe Hachem, the 2005 World Series of Poker champion, today signed an agreement with PokerStars.com, the world's largest tournament poker site. Hachem, who won the record $7.5 million top prize at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas in July, will represent PokerStars.com as a sponsored player and ambassador.

The signing of Hachem gives PokerStars.com a public relations triple crown. Currently, 2003 WSOP champion Chris Moneymaker and 2004 WSOP champion Greg Raymer both serve exclusively as PokerStars.com representatives. The addition of Hachem means that PokerStars.com has locked up the last three world poker champions. In addition, Tom McEvoy, 1983 WSOP Champion and renowned poker author, is also a part of Team PokerStars.

Joseph Hachem, age 39, was born in Lebanon. He emigrated to Australia as a child, and now lives in Melbourne with his wife and four children. Hachem worked as a mortgage broker and chiropractor before taking poker seriously, first as a hobby and then as a semi-professional. He has played actively at PokerStars.com since 2001.

While former champions Moneymaker and Raymer won their way into the WSOP directly through PokerStars.com, Hachem's road to fame and fortune was paved by a close friend. Hachem decided to attend the 2005 WSOP when a fellow Australian won his seat at PokerStars.com. Hachem's wife encouraged him to enter the world’s most prestigious poker tournament, and he entered and won his seat in a satellite tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino. Hachem blitzed through an all-time record field of 5,618 players and won the largest prize in poker history. It was the biggest, richest, and longest poker tournament ever.

"Joining Team PokerStars is a natural decision for me," said Hachem "PokerStars.com is the site where I really picked up on the intricacies of tournament poker. The wide selection of tournaments and games is so great that I become a skilled player within a relatively short time-frame. The truth is -- I never would have even have come to the World Series of Poker if my Aussie friend not qualified online at the site. PokerStars.com is the gateway to making poker dreams come true and becoming a world champion."

Since Hachem's victory, he has become an international celebrity. Hachem appeared as a guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has been featured in hundreds of media outlets throughout the world. During his year-long reign as the champion, Hachem plans to continue playing in major poker tournaments, making public appearances, and sharing his unique personal story with journalists. But at least one thing will not change for Hachem. He says he will continue playing and developing his skills as PokerStars.com.

"This entire experience has been a dream come true for me," said Hachem. "To join Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer is a real honor. I hope that my association with PokerStars.com will encourage others out there to pursue their goals in life, whatever they might be. It sure worked out for me."

It's a big week for a couple of PokerStars players.

Crankyman

First off, Tim "crankyman" Ramsey has less reason to be cranky this week. He just won the $2000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event at the Indiana WSOP Circuit Event. Ramsey pocketed $72,630 and a WSOP ring after defeating a 104-strong field, including David "The Dragon Pham, John Phan, Liz Liu, Scott Fishman, and Men the Master. What's more, he also cashed in in the $1500 event the day before.

I met Ramsey earlier this year in Vienna where he'd traveled to compete in Season 1 of the European Poker Tour. He made the final table there, as well. Congrats, Tim. It's nice to see you on a good run.

Dogger9

I met few people who weren't fascinated by the tale of Bernard "Dogger9" Lee. The Frequent Player Point WSOP qualifier had an amazing run at this year's WSOP and wrote up this amazing nine-part account of his efforts.

After a long wait, we'll finally start to see Bernard on TV. If the editing hasn't been too harsh, I'm told we'll see him on TV tonight and next week. Here's the schedule as I have it.

Nov 1st--9pm ET
Nov 8th--8pm amd 9pm ET.

I suspect it will be both fun and brutal to watch.