September 2006 Archives

There's an excitement that builds toward the zenith of any poker series. In my trips around the world to various poker tournaments, I've noticed the early rushes of excitement, the calm plodding through the middle of the series, and then finally, a mad rush of adrenaline that leads everyone to the big event.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #15 was among the fastest-moving tournaments of all in this year's World Championship of Online Poker. In a series in which final tables routinely began in the early morning hours, the Pot-Limit Omaha event had reached the final table and eliminated its first player before the midnight hour on the American east coast.

The final table included many familiar faces, including the mug of one famous Costa Rican, Team PokerStars' Humberto Brenes.

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Seat 1: MailMan99 (237043 in chips)
Seat 2: Humberto B. (246053 in chips)
Seat 3: trollguttn (277492 in chips)
Seat 4: DONKAFIDE (278190 in chips)
Seat 5: starsky (167176 in chips)
Seat 6: HaffaHaffa (351709 in chips)
Seat 7: LuckyLady519 (224392 in chips)
Seat 8: Trabelsi (306993 in chips)
Seat 9: KILLER ACE (78452 in chips)

I met LuckyLady519 in the Bahamas earlier this year after he became the first person to win the PokerStars World Championship of Battleship Poker. He played a tough and fantastic game to get to the final table. His time there, however, would be short. From the big blind, LuckyLady519 called a raise from Humberto Brenes, LuckyLady519 saw a flop of 3s-9s-Qh. With As6c8sJc, the nut spade draw and a queen-high gutshot straight draw, LuckyLady519 check-raised Brenes all-in. Brenes called for 83,000 more with a pair of queens. The single pair held up and LuckyLady519 left in ninth place, earning $6,502.50.

DONKAFIDE was the next to go. Trollguttn came in for a raise and DONKAFIDE called with AsKc4cJs. When the flop came down 2s-4h-7s, trollguttn bet out and DONKAFIDE raised all in with his pair of fours and nut flush draw. Trollguttn called. The turn was an ace, giving DONKAFIDE two pair, but the river was a three. Trollguttn held 6sAh3c5c and made the seven-high straight on the river. DONKAFIDE left in eighth place, taking home $9,970.50.

At first it would look like Humberto Brenes wouldn't last to see the end of the final table. He was hurt badly when his rivered ace-high flush was bested by Trabelsi's full house. Brenes was left with fewer than 100,000 chips. While he could've titled off the rest of chips, he remained tenacious, and managed to hold on while others busted out. KILLER ACE ended up taking the seventh place after getting all-in pre-flop with 4dKc8dKh. Trabelsi, holding 8hQh5cJs, ended up making a flush on the turn to bust KILLER ACE and hand him a $13,872.00 payday.

Brenes began to storm back after winning a huge pot against trollguttn. Trollguttn had flopped two pair, but Brenes flopped the nut straight and it held up. Just a couple of minutes later, Brenes flopped a set and made a full house against Trabelsi and doubled up again. Suddenly, the Costa Rican shark looked like he could make a run for the title.

The players went on to fight for another twenty minutes before MailMan99 found himself very low on chips and moved all-in with 5c3dKdKc. His good hand didn't hold up when Trabelsi's Td6d8h5h made two pair. MailMan99 finished in sixth place for $17,990.25.

Soon thereafter, starsky sat in the big blind. Four of his five opponents limped in and saw a flop of Th8hTs . Starsky flopped the heart flush draw bet out, and then called all-in. Trabelsi held a ten, Starsky missed his heart, and the final table had its fifth place finisher. Starsky made $22,325.25.

Humberto Brenes' move up through the chip count ranks would soon be eclipsed by Trabelsi's efforts. First, Trabelsi crippled HaffaHaffa after turning a full house to crack HaffaHaffa's aces. Then, Trabelsi knocked off trollguttn with a set of jacks versus a pair of fives. HaffaHaffa finished in fourth place for $27,093.75. Trollguttn finished in third place for $36,847.50.

Those eliminations pitted the player from Finland against the Team PokerStars' member from Costa Rica. it would only take ten minutes and one huge hand to finish the match. On a flop of Js-7c-8s, the players went to war, eventually getting all the money in. Brenes held 6d6sAsKd for a pair of sixes with the nut flush draw. Trabelsi held Jd9dTc6h for the flopped straight. Brenes didn't improve and finished runner-up in Event #15 for $58,089.00. Trabelsi, the man from Finland, took home the Event #15 gold bracelet and an impressive $93,852.75.

A full list of money winners can be found on the PokerStars WCOOP Event #15 results page. Final table results can be found below.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #15 Final Table Results

1. Trabelsi (Finland) $93,852.75
2. Humberto B. (Costa Rica) $58,089.00
3. trollguttn (Norway) $36,847.50
4. HaffaHaffa (Sweden) $27,093.75
5. starsky (United Kingdom) $22,325.25
6. MailMan99 (Sweden) $17,990.25
7. KILLER ACE (France) $13,872.00
8. DONKAFIDE (United States) $9,970.50
9. LuckyLady519 (United States) $6,502.50

On the eve of the biggest tournament weekend in PokerStars history, Finland's Trabelsi put on a Pot-Limit Omaha clinic in WCOOP Event #15. After getting heads up with poker superstar Humberto Brenes, Trabelsi won more than $93,000 and the Event #15 WCOOP gold bracelet. A full list of money winners can be found on the PokerStars WCOOP Event #15 results page. Final table results can be found below.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #15 Final Table Results

1. Trabelsi (Finland) $93,852.75
2. Humberto B. (Costa Rica) $58,089.00
3. trollguttn (Norway) $36,847.50
4. HaffaHaffa (Sweden) $27,093.75
5. starsky (United Kingdom) $22,325.25
6. MailMan99 (Sweden) $17,990.25
7. KILLER ACE (France) $13,872.00
8. DONKAFIDE (United States) $9,970.50
9. LuckyLady519 (United States) $6,502.50

"Turning Stone casino is about two hours away. That is the closest thing I have for live poker," he said. "I play online and then try to travel to the tournaments. I'm going to the Trump Taj Majal for the USPC." --Kyle "kwob20" Bowker, the day after winning 2006 WCOOP Event #5 for more that $100,000

I hate to be redundant. I really do. The neat thing about the World Championship of Online Poker is that I get to introduce you to a new PokerStars player every time an event is over. It's fresh every day. Well, today, I just can't do that, because you already know the winner of Event #14.

Kyle "kwob20" Bowker at the 2006 WSOP

Yeah, that's Kyle "kwob20" Bowker. Just a week after winning the 2006 World Championship of Online Poker Event #5, Bowker traveled down to Atlantic City and set up shop at the Taj, ready to play in the United States Poker Championship events. While there, he fired up Event #14 in his hotel room and sat down to play. There, in the middle of a casino hotel room, Bowker made online poker history.

Though the 2006 WCOOP made history last week when spawng became the first person to ever win a second WCOOP bracelet, no one had ever won two WCOOP bracelets in the same year. Early Friday morning, Kyle Bowker changed that.

"What can I say?" Bowker mused, "I am on the rush of a lifetime."

With three tables remaining, my eyes were on Bowker and Greg "Fossilman" Raymer. Earlier in the week, Raymer had mentioned that, while he holds the 2004 WSOP Main event no-limit bracelet, he still believed stud high-low was his best game. He made good on the statement by making a run for the Event #14 final table. He finished in 19th place.

Bowker, however, continued his rush, by making the final table with eight other tough players, including Evelyn, who was sitting at his second final table of the 2006 WCOOP.


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Seat 1: PokerJ2006 (156294 in chips)
Seat 2: MOJOEX1 (157066 in chips)
Seat 3: Fooge (86980 in chips)
Seat 4: TroppoBravo (420313 in chips)
Seat 5: kwob20 (116268 in chips)
Seat 6: nutspp (199075 in chips)
Seat 7: doidovarrido (91274 in chips)
Seat 8: Evelyn (225230 in chips)

Fooge sat on the shortest stack when final table play began and needed to pick up a hand quickly to remain in action. On a deal of 5cKc/Ks, he got all his chips in against Pokerj2006, who unfortunately for Fooge, held 5hAh/As. Fooge didn't improve and finished in eighth place, earning $5,839.05.

For a half hour play continued and PokerJ2006 couldn't build his stack any more. This time, he was the one dealt kings (AdKd/Kc). He went to battle with Evelyn, who started with Ac8d/3h. Evelyn improved on fifth street when he paired his ace. PokerJ2006 didn't improve and departed in seventh place for $8,773.10.

After being forced to post the bring-in on countless hands, doidovarrido made s short run before getting crippled in a huge pot with ToppoBravo. TroppoBravo rivered the wheel for the scoop. A few minutes later, TroppoBravo knocked off doidovarrido and MOJOEX1 in the same hand. All three players had low draws, none of which got there, and TroppoBravo's rivered two pair was good for the high and the double elimination. MOJOEX1, who started with more chips, finished in fifth for $14,757.40. Doidovarrido pocketed $11,736.20 for sixth place.

Ten minutes later, Bowker started his final table assault. Nutspp started off with a good low draw that never materialized. Kwob20 attacked with a pair of sixes and a 7-6 low he made on seventh street. Nutspp took fourth place and $18,127.20.

From that moment forward, watching Bowker play was like being on the business end of a bungee cord. The up and down nature of his stack was something akin to watching the stock market on a day the Fed makes a big announcement. Finally, Bowker seemed to settle into a groove and started getting hit in the head with the deck. In a key hand against Evelyn, Bowker made queens full of sixes in five cards and got Evelyn to play hard all the way to the river. Evelyn lost most of his stack on the hand and eventually succumbed in third place when his pair of nines didn't hold up for the high against TroppoBravo. Evelyn, in his second 2006 WCOOP appearance, won $25,302.55.

Although TroppoBravo was able to win a big hand to bring his chip count even with Bowker's, he couldn't find a way to win. Bowker played as aggressively as ever, got hit in the head with the deck, and in ten minutes rolled over TroppoBravo, finally finishing off his opponent with a pair of aces against a pair of kings and a busted low draw. TroppoBravo earned $40,089.00 for his fantastic second place finish.

As for Bowker, he's riding his rush in Atlantic City.

"It's unbelievable to win two events in the last two weeks. I did plan on doing well in the WCOOP, but I could not have expected this," he said. "No limit hold'em is my game, so, to win in two other events is fulfilling also. The final table was much tougher for me than the last time. Every time I would game some momentum I would get knocked back down. I tried to hang around and bide my time. When we got three-handed, I finally got the card rush I had been patiently waiting for. Now I have to find a way to get into the $10,000 main event here [in A.C.]."

A full list of money winners can be found at the PokerStars WCOOP Event #14 Results page. Final table results are below.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #14 Final Table Results

1. kwob20 (United States) $68,267.50
2. TroppoBravo (Italy) $40,089.00
3. Evelyn (Germany) $25,302.55
4. nutspp (Spain) $18,127.20
5. MOJOEX1 (United States) $14,757.40
6. doidovarrido (Norway) $11,736.20
7. PokerJ2006 (Australia) $8,773.10
8. Fooge (United States) $5,839.05

For the first time in World Championship of Online Poker history, a player has won two WCOOP bracelets in one year. Kyle "kwob20" Bowker, winner of the 2006 Event #5, now owns two WCOOP bracelets after winning Event #14, Seven-Card Stud High-Low. Kwob20 won more than $68,000 in Event #14, bringing his total winnings to more than $170,000 in this year's WCOOP. A full list of money winners can be found at the PokerStars WCOOP Event #14 Results page. Final table results are below. A full final table report will be out later on Friday.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #14 Final Table Results

1. kwob20 (United States) $68,267.50
2. TroppoBravo (Italy) $40,089.00
3. Evelyn (Germany) $25,302.55
4. nutspp (Spain) $18,127.20
5. MOJOEX1 (United States) $14,757.40
6. doidovarrido (Norway) $11,736.20
7. PokerJ2006 (Australia) $8,773.10
8. Fooge (United States) $5,839.05

After years of playing no-limit hold'em tournaments, just about any poker player can settle into a routine strategy. In fact, for the many levels of a nine or ten-handed no-limit hold'em tournament, a player can put himself on autopilot. Sometimes a break from the routine is a good thing. How best to do it? I can think of a couple of ways and WCOOP Event #13 had both of them. Event #13 was played pot-limit, instead of no-limit, and with only six players per table. Short-handed play requires a wider range of starting hands. Pot-limit allows for more nuance and post-flop poker play.

As in many events leading up to Event #13, players were amazed at the brilliant structure devised by PokerStars' tournament team. When the players reached the final table bubble, the stacks were still deep enough to allow for a lot of play. It took more than an hour for the bubble to finally burst. When it did, these six players faced each other for the bracelet.

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Seat 1: DeathsHead26 (400480 in chips)
Seat 2: Lenny (433388 in chips)
Seat 3: Goodfella_84 (306571 in chips)
Seat 4: dnKid (1489431 in chips)
Seat 5: spaceMe (1082179 in chips)
Seat 6: Tulkaz (640451 in chips)

The final table began with a lot of action, that included some serious poker play and a one world-class call by PokerStars player Lenny, who has made several WCOOP final tables in the past and won an event in 2003. Still after playing for the rest of the 10,000/20,000 level, all six players remained. After looking at the chip-count numbers, the players did what no final table in the 2006 WCOOP has done yet--they chopped up the prize pool with all the players still at the table.

With everyone guaranteed a nice payday, the play opened up even more and the eliminations began. On the very first hand back from the deal discussion, Tulkaz doubled through Lenny with pocket queens vs. J9. The double-up would only be a short reprieve however. Shortly after doubling up, Tulkaz chased a flush and ending up missing in a huge hand versus spaceMe. Crippled, he finally got all his chips in with AJ against Lenny's pocket fives. Three threes on the board gave Lenny a full house and knocked Tulkaz out in sixth place. The early deal paid him $27,581.00.

Ten minutes later, Goodfella_84 came in for a raise with KQ, then called all-in when Lenny came over the top with A9. An ace and a nine on the flop was the beginning of the bad news and the end of the tournament for Goodfella_84. $26,780.00

DeathsHead26, one of the happiest final table players yet this year, ended his day in much the same way. Facing a raise from spaceMe, DeathsHead26 jammed with pocket jacks. SpaceMe called with with A4, flopped an ace, and sent DeathsHead26 to the rail in fourth place. Thanks to the deal, DeathsHead26 made $34,259.00, nearly $10,000 more than he would've made otherwise.

Three-handed, Lenny came in for a raise with AQ and got a call from both dnKid and spaceMe. SpaceMe check-raised Lenny all-in on a flop of Ts-Td-4d. Lenny made the call with his two overs. He wasn't drawing dead, but he might as well have been against spaceMe's pocket fours and flopped full house. Lenny departed in third place and added $40,156.00 to his lifetime WCOOP winnings.

Heads-up play didn't last ten minutes. After building a 3:1 chip lead, dnKid got into a raising and re-raising battle with spaceMe. The chips were all in before the flop and dnKid's AQ was good against A9. SpaceMe took home $47,113.00 and dnKid won an impressive $87,560.00.

A full list of money-winners can be found at the PokerStars WCOOP Event #13 results page. Final table results are below.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #13 Final Table Results
Results based on finishing order and a six-way deal that left $10,000 for first place

1. dnKid (United States) $87,560.00
2. spaceMe (Germany) $47,113.00
3. Lenny (United States) $40,156.00
4. DeathsHead26 (United States) $34,259.00
5. Goodfella_84 (Canada) $26,780.00
6. Tulkaz (Denmark) $27,581.00

Event #13 was not unlucky at all for six talented players who played the short-handed Pot-Limit Hold'em game for more than 12 hours. A six-way deal at the final table gave everyone there a fantastic payday. In the end, dnKid took the lion's share of the cash and the 14k gold WCOOP bracelet. A full list of money-winners can be found at the PokerStars WCOOP Event #13 results page. Final table results are below.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #13 Final Table Results
Results based on finishing order and a six-way deal that left $10,000 for first place

1. dnKid (United States) $87,560.00
2. spaceMe (Germany) $47,113.00
3. Lenny (United States) $40,156.00
4. DeathsHead26 (United States) $34,259.00
5. Goodfella_84 (Canada) $26,780.00
6. Tulkaz (Denmark) $27,581.00

One of the most common questions I get in my inbox is, "Are there any known pros at the WCOOP final table?" That question is invariably followed by, "Can you tell me who they are?"

My answers never vary.

Yes. And probably not.

Simply put, PokerStars has a strict privacy policy that provides players anonymity unless and until they provide permission to disclose their identity. Sometimes the players don't mind. Sometimes they do. I can say this: You'd be amazed at who is playing in this year's WCOOP.

And I can also say this: The winner of WCOOP #12 is somebody you'd probably recognize if you follow poker and watch televised poker events.

Mr. Shhhhhhh (that's seven h's, in case you lose count like I do) has been around PokerStars for a while and many people would recognize his Steve Buscemi avatar and great successes. What you may not know is what other kinds of success he has enjoyed. With his permission, I can tell you that he has won a major televised poker title and has also scored some major cashes in many other high-profile events. He's been playing on PokerStars for more than three years and is a regular in the upper-limit Omaha games. His screen name and avatar go together, taken from the movie "Things to do in Denver When You're Dead." Steve Buscemi's character, Mr. Shhh, was known as the "most lethal hitman this side of the Mississippi."

As for PokerStars' Mr. Shhhhhhh, he spent most of Tuesday knocking off people on both sides of Mississippi and across the wide seas. Here's what the final table looked like when the final eight sat down (simultaneous eliminations on the bubble resulted in an eight-handed final table).

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Seat 1: OlliPolli (150780 in chips)
Seat 2: katyrix (176544 in chips)
Seat 3: hasumutas (725122 in chips)
Seat 4: 011180 (613849 in chips)
Seat 5: mrrain (458084 in chips)
Seat 6: Nati Thunder (651811 in chips)
Seat 7: Mr. Shhhhhhh (306883 in chips)
Seat 9: kdhspyder (174427 in chips)

In the early stages of final table play, katyrix suffered the loss of more than 100,000 chips and with around 76,000 with which to play, ended up in the big blind for almost half of his chips. Facing a raise from hasumuts, katyrix got all the chips in the middle pre-flop holding Jd-4s-Ts-2c. It would not be good against hasumutas' 4d-Qs-Ah-Ac. Katryix finished in eighth place, earning $8,599.80.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Shhhhhhh scored his first victim at the final table. With OlliPolli already in for a raise with a short-stack, Mr. Shhhhhhh went over the top with As-7c-Ah-4s. Already well-committed to the pot, OlliPolli called for just 5,780 more with 7h-5s-Kh-2s. By the river, both players had made spade flushes, but Mr. Shhhhhhh's ace-high flush was best. OlliPolli was out in seventh place for $11,531.55.

The next elimination came by way of mrrain being all in pre-flop with 8h-7d-Ad-2h against Nati Thunder's 5d-Qc-As-2c. Both players paired their ace, but Nati Thunder paired his queen, as well. With no available low, mrrrain was out in sixth place, earning him $15,088.74.

There have been a few deals struck so far in the 2006 WCOOP, but none that came through with five players remaining. Event #12 changed that. With five players left, Mr. Shhhhhh held the lead, but most of the stacks were within a couple blinds of each other. With that in mind, the players chopped the pot based on chip-count and played for $10,000 and the Event #12 bracelet.

With the deal made, Mr. Shhhhhhh pulled out his deadly Omaha skills and went to work. He started by terminating Nati Thunder. Mr. Shhhhhh flopped a pair of sixes, a gutshot draw, and a low draw then called Nati Thunder's all-in. Nati Thunder was significantly ahead with a pair of aces and a better low draw. Nati Thunder's high-hand got better on the turn when he made two pair, but his low draw was counterfeited at the same time. The river spelled doom, however, as Mr. Shhhhhhh's pair of sixes turned into trips and eliminated Nati Thunder in fifth place. The deal got him $33,644.00. Even Mr. Shhhhhhh recognized in the chat bar, the beat was "sick."

With the taste of the kill still fresh, Mr. Shhhhhhh went in for the kill again. After calling a raise in the big blind with 3s-9h-6d-2d, Mr. Shhhhhhh's flopped well against hasumutas' Ah-Ks-Qh-Ac. The flop, 9s-4d-3d, got the players all in. Mr. Shhhhhhh made nines full of threes on the turn, didn't see an ace on the river, and crippled hasumutas. O11180 cleaned up the mess a few minutes later and eliminated hasumutas in fourth place. The man from Russia won $36,833.00.

011180 may have been the cleaner, but he soon found himself getting cleaned. After coming in for a raise with Jd-Ah-Ks-9s and getting called by kdhspyder and seeing a flop of 5c-Jh-2h. When kdhspyder bet out, 011180 pushed in the rest of his chips. He looked like he might be ahead, but Khdspyder held 4c-3h-Kd-6h for a monster draw--open-ended straight draw, a flush draw, and a low draw. Kdhspyder missed on the turn, but hit his flush on the river to eliminate 011180 in third place for $35,351.00.

That left kdhspyder and the silent killer, Mr. Shhhhhhh, heads-up for the title. The battled back and forth for eight minutes before Mr. Shhhhhh put a serious hurting on kdhspyder, earning 1.8 million chips in a hand he didn't even have to show down. Two minutes later, it was all over. Mr. Shhhhhhh got khdspyder all in on a flop of 2s-7s-8d. Mr. Shhhhhhh held 4d-6h-5d-Ad for the made second-but low and an open-ended straight draw. Kdhspyder held Ks-7c-Ac-Qs for a pair of sevens and a worse low draw. The turn blanked for both of them, but the river brought a six to full-in Mr. Shhhhhhh's straight and knock kdhspyder out in second place for $36,903.00.

Mr. Shhhhhhh, though already a poker success, was gracious in his win. He said, "I can't be any happier with PokerStars and what it has meant to me for these past few years. Before I started playing live, I had no clue about no-limit hold'em.. I only dabbled in limit poker and decided that, in order to try and win the big bucks, I needed to learn no-limit. And what a place to hone those skills."

Though he tightened his hold'em game on PokerStars, he's also done very well in the Omaha arena. "I owe all my Omaha expertise to the great players in the 75-150 ring game that PokerStars always has and where I've spent countless hours in the last couple years."

After a tough 13 hours of play, Mr. Shhhhhhh was a champion again. "I'd never ever played Pot-Limit Omaha/8 before yesterday, but I really, really enjoyed the game in so much as it's a great way to punish people who have substandard hands and/or drawing to half the pot with no redraws, etc. There were many times when I three-quartered people for all my stack in the pot, and many times when I avoided just that proposition.... As far as Omaha strategy, I owe it all to my practice on PokerStars."

Indeed, Mr. Shhhhhhh is a man that has proven more than once, he plays to win. And as for his identity...well, I'm not about to mess with the namesake of the "most lethal hitman this side of the Mississippi." That's just as well left in silence. Sssshhhhhhh.

A full list of money winners can be found on the WCOOP Event #12 results page. Final table results are below.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #12 Final table results
Results based on five-way deal that left $10,000 for first place
Simultaneous eliminations on the bubble resulted in eight-handed final table

1. Mr. Shhhhhhh (United States) $56,080.00
2. kdhspyder (United States) $36,903.00
3. 11180 (United States) $35,351.00
4. hasumutas (Russian Federation) $36,833.00
5. Nati Thunder (United States) $33,644.00
6. mrrain (United States) $15,088.74
7. OlliPolli (Finland) $11,531.55
8. katyrix (United States) $8,599.80

With less than a week remaining in the World Championship of Online Poker, the bracelet battles are getting even more intense. More than 1,300 people signed up to play in the Omaha Hi-Lo event. When it was over, the well-known Mr. Shhhhhhh captured the bracelet and won more than $55,000. A full list of money winners can be found on the WCOOP Event #12 results page. Final table results are below. Afull final table report will be out later on Wednesday.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #12 Final table results
Results based on five-way deal that left $10,000 for first place
Simultaneous eliminations on the bubble resulted in eight-handed final table

1. Mr. Shhhhhhh (United States) $56,080.00
2. kdhspyder (United States) $36,903.00
3. 11180 (United States) $35,351.00
4. hasumutas (Russian Federation) $36,833.00
5. Nati Thunder (United States) $33,644.00
6. mrrain (United States) $15,088.74
7. OlliPolli (Finland) $11,531.55
8. katyrix (United States) $8,599.80

The first time I ever played seven-card stud for stakes of any consequence and in a live casino, it was in a dark corner of Bally's in Atlantic City. I remember the room being darker than a poker room should be and having blackjack tables available on the rail to keep the gamblers happy while they waited to sit down. Apart from the scotch-drinking walker on my left, the only other memorable thing about the game was the old man in the one-seat. He groused, he cajoled, and he won--a lot. From the moment I sat down, I knew this man had been playing stud since before my father was born. The man was old enough that I wasn't sure which would break first, his physical well-being or the game. I remember thinking at the time, seven-card stud just might die when this guy does...and that might be tonight.

I'm wrong a lot.

The resurgence of poker's popularity has brought with it a new appreciation for games considered to be in their twilight. PokerStars WCOOP Event #11 may not have been the biggest event, but it, no doubt spoke to the world's appreciation for seven-card stud. More than 650 people showed up to play for nearly $200,000. The final eight players came from just two countries--the U.S.A. and Germany.

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Note: The above image is from the PokerStars Marine theme

Seat 1: davebreal (60866 in chips)
Seat 2: jcsacc (123828 in chips)
Seat 3: hurricaneace (271636 in chips)
Seat 4: Sassenage (344436 in chips)
Seat 5: nikstar (193287 in chips)
Seat 6: Evelyn (185586 in chips)
Seat 7: morten (325536 in chips)
Seat 8: BJCAS (137325 in chips)

Davebreal, exceptionally low in chips after some early final table losses, managed to finish in eighth place. With barely enough chips to post the ante and small bet, davebreal took a chance with Ad4s/2c. The chance came at a bad time. Sasesenage had aces in the hole and made a set on fourth street. Davebreal earned $3,744.90.

Over the course of the next 20 minutes, jcsacc found himself in the same position--too few chips to see a hand to the end. He started with a pair of eights versus nikstar's pair of jacks. His hand never improved and he departed in seventh place, earning $5,755.32.

BJCAS, with more than 80,000 in chips at the 7,500/15,000 limit, called the bring-in and a raise with KhTs/Jh. On fourth street, he made a pair of kings and came out betting against hurricaneace who was showing JdQc. BJCAS and hurricaneace both blanked on fifth street and BJCAS check-called one bet. Sixth street is where things started to get ugly. BJCAS made a queen to give him the open-ender to Broadway to go with his pair of kings. Hurricaneace made another club. Both players checked. The river was the killer. BJCAS made his ace for Broadway, but hurricaneace made his club for a flush. All the money went in and BJCAS went out in sixth place for $7,686.90.

Evelyn is well-known on PokerStars, having been around for nearly as long as the site itself. By and by, Evelyn's stack deteriorated to a terminal level. Morten dealt the death blow and sent Evelyn out in fifth place for $9,855.00. Hurricaneace was the next to go, after losing most of his chips in a previous hand and getting everything in before fourth street against everybody else at the table. The three remaining players checked it all the way down and hurricaneace never made better than king-high. For fourth place, he picked up $12,239.91.

Three-handed, the players had deep enough stacks to play poker for a long while. It took another half an hour before another player found the rail. Morten, another long-time PokerStars player, started with an ace showing and by fifth street was committed to the pot against Sassenage, who by that time had made a pair of queens. The rest of Morten's board wouldn't even pair-up and he was out in third place.

When heads-up play arrived, the nikstar and Sassenage were basically even in chips and cut a quick deal. The deal ended up being the quickest thing that would happen. Head-up play lasted for 45 minutes, during which time the players traded the lead many times. In the end, the United States nikstar captured the title and the WCOOP bracelet.

A complete list of people who cashed in this event can be found on the PokerStars WCOOP Event #11 results page. Final table results are below.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #11 Final Table Results
Results based on to-way deal that left $5,000 for first place

1. nikstar (United States) $39,548.00
2. Sassenage (Germany) $33,517.00
3. morten (Denmark) $16,950.60
4. hurricaneace (United States) $12,239.91
5. Evelyn (Germany) $9,855.00
6. BJCAS (United States) $7,686.90
7. jcsacc (United States) $5,755.32
8. davebreal (United States) $3,744.90

The hold'em craze may still be in full swing, but 7-card stud is still alive and kicking, as well. More than 650 people showed up on a Monday for PokerStars WCOOP Event #11, $320 7-card stud. The final table matched the United States against Germany in a battle of old school poker. When it was over, the United States' nikstar captured the Event #11 bracelet and won nearly $40,000. A complete list of people who cashed in this event can be found on the PokerStars WCOOP Event #11 results page. Final table results are below. A full final table report will be out later on Tuesday.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #11 Final Table Results
Results based on to-way deal that left $5,000 for first place

1. nikstar (United States) $39,548.00
2. Sassenage (Germany) $33,517.00
3. morten (Denmark) $16,950.60
4. hurricaneace (United States) $12,239.91
5. Evelyn (Germany) $9,855.00
6. BJCAS (United States) $7,686.90
7. jcsacc (United States) $5,755.32
8. davebreal (United States) $3,744.90

Livin' the dream
--posted by fans in 2+2 immediately following Jason "strassa2" Strasser's WCOOP victory

Jason "strassa2" Strasser spent the entire summer in Las Vegas. Though he'd already traveled overseas several times to compete in major brick and mortar tournaments, until 2006, he wasn't old enough to play in the WSOP. At age 21, he astounded competitors with what was surely a game that had matured far faster than Jason's age might suggest. In Las Vegas, it was not uncommon to find Strasser yawning behind a teetering mountain of chips. He went deep more often than he did not. By August, Strasser already had enjoyed a year that most poker players would envy.


Strasser at the 2006 WSOP

Before the World Series of Poker Main event, Strasser cashed in four major events, including a no-limit hold'em WSOP final table finish. By the end of the main event, Strasser had gone very deep and cashed again. In the first eight months of 2006, Strasser has cashed for nearly $200,000 in major brick and mortar events alone. That's not to mention the money he earned playing online (as that amount is not so much a matter of public record, I'll leave it to Strasser to divulge his winnings if he wishes).


Strasser on his way to a cash at the 2006 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure


As Blogger-in-Chief for PokerStars, I've had the pleasure of watching Strasser play in four different countries. Each time, he has played with a wry poise and respect one rarely finds in a 21-year-old player. Despite the fun of watching him play, a theory developed midway through this year's WSOP that my presence in his vicinity more often than not ended in some unfortunate circumstance that resulted in his demise. Strasser claims to never have believed I was a jinx, but that didn't stop me from believing it all the same (To wit: The night Strasser made a no-limit hold'em final table at the WSOP, I was buried in a bunker preparing for main event coverage).

Apparently, the jinx doesn't carry across the intertubes.

Part of my blogging duties here require me to sweat major events online at PokerStars. As such, I spent about seven hours sweating Strasser as he rode roughshod over the field of top players. Event #10, the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, was overrun with insanely good players. As the field narrowed to fewer than 100 runners, railbirds were beside themselves with the selection of well-known players. Among those players was none other than Jason Strasser.


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Note: Table background created using Hyper-Simple PokerStars Theme

Seat 1: elementry (780516 in chips)
Seat 2: BarnyBoatman (1395975 in chips)
Seat 3: sappy123 (2021497 in chips)
Seat 4: MaltLiquor40 (828444 in chips)
Seat 5: razeit (2021880 in chips)
Seat 6: strassa2 (3022563 in chips)
Seat 7: NNICOLAS (1063231 in chips)
Seat 8: thugmoneymkr (438978 in chips)
Seat 9: Pipestew (716916 in chips)

With the blinds at 30,000/60,000 and a 6,000 ante, the big-stacked players had some room to breathe. Other players were starting to feel the pressure. Pipestew, with a little more than half a million chips, made the decision to open-raise all-in with KQ. Razeit, sitting on more than 1.7 million chips, made the call from the small blind with pocket eights. An eight on the flop didn't lock Pipestew out of the pot entirely, but it might as well have. Razeit made a full house by the turn and a queen on the river was useless for Pipestew. For ninth place, he earned $28,267.00. That's right--more than 28 grand for ninth place. Sometimes I think online poker won't stop amazing me, and then something like WCOOP comes around and I'm impressed all over again.

Three hands later, my notes began as follows: HOLY [expletive] BIG HAND.

By virtue of his big stack (and in step with the way he'd been playing all day) Strasser came in for a raise. More often than not, a Strasser raise either ended the hand before the flop or shortly thereafter. Very rarely did Strasser end up showing down a hand. One player was already grousing about the frequency at which his blind was being nicked. Now, Strasser was in for a standard raise, and sappy123 jammed from the big blind. Strasser was left with a decision about whether to call for a little less than half his stack. The decision came quickly. Strasser called and turned up pocket eights to sappy123's AQ. The drama ended quickly. Strasser flopped a set and turned a full house. Sappy123 was out in eighth place, earning a whopping $46,702.00.

The next elimination would play out much the same way (but without as good of a starting hand for Strasser). Facing yet another Strasser raise, elemntry jammed with pocket eights. Strasser, with 160,000 of his chips already in the pot, only had to call 120,000 more. He did so with the Brunson, T2, flopped a ten, and made two pair on the turn. Seconds later, elementry counted himself as another Strasser victim and found the rail in seventh place. A prize of $61,450.00 likely made the exit easier to handle.

One time chip monster, NNICOLAS, eventually fell on hard times and found himself with fewer than 400,000 chips at the 40,000/80,000 level, few enough to certainly justify an all-in open raise with KJ. MaltLiquor40 made the call from the big blind with A3. NNICOLAS never improved and left in sixth place for $82,343.00, which I can only assume will spend very well in his native Argentina.

Razeit decided to make his move next. Facing a standard raise from BarnyBoatman, Razeit jammed with AQ. BarnyBoatman made the easy call with pocket kings. Although Razeit made a queen on the flop, he couldn't improve enough to avoid leaving in fifth place, the first of five people who were guaranteed a six-figure payday. Razeit's share was $105,694.00.

Less than one minute later, BarnyBoatman was the one to pick up AQ and came in for a raise. MaltLiquor40 picked up pocket jacks and moved all-in for more than a million more chips. BarnyBoatman called in a shot, made his ace on the turn, and sent MaltLiquor40 out to look for a drink in fourth place. Buying drinks for his buddies shouldn't be too difficult with his $129,045.00 in winnings.

Three-handed, there was an ever-so-brief discussion of a deal which promptly fell through when Strasser suggested he take $360,000 and let the other two players split the rest. BarnyBoatman said, "You must be joking," and play resumed. While I'm not one to believe in the Curse of the Deal-Killer, BarnyBoatman may have tempted fate a little bit when he said, "3rd is ok anyway."

Seconds later, after losing a big pot to thugmoneymkr and facing a raise from Strasser, BarnyBoatman pushed all-in for more than 2.5 million chips. Strasser called in a shot with AQ. BarnyBoatman showed A6. Around the world, and in one particular dorm room in North Carolina, a collective groan recognized the six on the flop. While Strasser would admit that he benefited from a couple big suckouts along the way to the final table, he didn't necessarily want to fall victim to one at such a critical time. One second later, the turn was out and no help. And then the river...a queen. Strasser said later, when the queen fell, his dorm room looked more like a riot.

Success for Strasser meant BarnyBoatman was gone. The man had played a fantastic game for 13 hours and no one doubted the guy had serious game. He earned $155,345.60 for third place.

That left Strasser heads up with the ever-talkative thugmoneymkr. The man with the monkey icon was eager to take some money off the table instead of putting more than $175,000 at risk in a heads up battle. The chat bar looked like this:

thugmoneymkr: u wanna take some dough outta the pot- or shoulda we race for 170k?
strassa2: id rather gambool

And so, gamble they did, though not for an exceptionally long time. Less than 15 minutes later, thugmoneymkr came in for a raise and Strasser called. The flop came out 8d-9h-8h. Strasser checked, thugmoneymkr bet out, and Strasser called. The turn was a jack. This time, Strasser check-raised thugmoneymkr all-in. After a lot of deliberation, thugmoneymkr said, "gotta call ya..." and made the call. Strasser turned up J9 for two pair, besting thugmoneymkr's AJ. The turn had been great for both of them, but more so for Strasser.

Obviously, as a devotee of PokerStars, I'm excited when any of the players there make a big score. That said, I think Strasser is an exceptional example for his contemporaries. He represents a lot of what is good about online poker right now. While he's still young, his skill is undeniable. Though he's made major cashes for more than $600,000 this year alone, he is still respectful of the game and his place in it. His demeanor, maturity, and self-deprecating sense of place in poker is laudable. All are traits from which a lot of people, young and old, could learn.


Strasser at the 2006 WSOP

Congratulations to Jason Strasser and every one else who made big scores in Event #10. A full list of money winners can be found on the PokerStars WCOOP Event #10 results page. Final table results are below.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #10 Final Table Results

1. strassa2 (United States) $442,440.00
2. thugmoneymkr (United States) $266,693.00
3. BarnyBoatman (United Kingdom) $155,345.60
4. MaltLiquor40 (Canada) $129,045.00
5. razeit (United States) $105,694.00
6. NNICOLAS (Argentina) $82,343.00
7. elementry (United States) $61,450.00
8. sappy123 (United States) $46,702.00
9. Pipestew (United States) $28,267.00

PokerStars WCOOP Event #10 sniffed at history. The $2.45 million prize pool was the second biggest multi-table freeze out tournament in PokerStars history (the 2005 WCOOP Main Event is still the biggest). Thirteen hours of battle ended with one of PokerStars' most well-known players winning first place and more than $440,000! Jason "strassa2" Strasser rode roughshod over the field and captured the biggest prize of the 2006 WCOOP so far. A full list of money winners can be found on the PokerStars WCOOP Event #10 results page. Final table results are below. A full final table report will be out later on Monday.

Strasser at the 2006 WSOP

PokerStars WCOOP Event #10 Final Table Results

1. strassa2 (United States) $442,440.00
2. thugmoneymkr (United States) $266,693.00
3. BarnyBoatman (United Kingdom) $155,345.60
4. MaltLiquor40 (Canada) $129,045.00
5. razeit (United States) $105,694.00
6. NNICOLAS (Argentina) $82,343.00
7. elementry (United States) $61,450.00
8. sappy123 (United States) $46,702.00
9. Pipestew (United States) $28,267.00

There's an American guy out there somewhere that is proud, but not too proud. That is, he just won a hundred grand, but he doesn't see that as any reason to go shouting his name and hometown from the rooftops. In fact, he sort of has more important things to worry about. The man we know only as uncforte is a full-time student in a Ph.D. program in Neurobiology. That's the sort of thing that will take up a little bit of a guy's time.

Still, he has time to play poker and has been for the past four years, just about the time he signed up to play on PokerStars.

"I think it's by far the best site out there with the best players and the best chance to improve your game," he said.

Four years and a few big wins under his belt, the improvement in his game finally paid off in the form of a World Championship of Online Poker bracelet. Saturday was just turning into Sunday on the American east coast when uncforte and eight other players reached the final table of the Event #9, Pot-Limit Hold'em, final table.

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Seat 1: derkderka (61010 in chips)
Seat 2: InSpiritu (378489 in chips)
Seat 3: Claret1 (166584 in chips)
Seat 4: myteduck (135819 in chips)
Seat 5: EC10 (240909 in chips)
Seat 6: remen (405848 in chips)
Seat 7: trollguttn (314456 in chips)
Seat 8: eirivi (179308 in chips)
Seat 9: uncforte (855077 in chips)

The whole of the final table took just a little more than an hour to finish. Short-stacked eirivi was the first to go, earning $7,938.75 for an ninth place finish after running AK into uncforte's pair of kings. The second elimination came before the rest of the players had time to click the hand history on the previous hand. Remen's AJ caught lucky against Claret1's AQ and sent Claret1 out in eighth place for $12,318.75

Despite the pot-limit variation of the game, the third elimination would come in the same was as the first two: All-in pre-flop. This time, it was myteduck's pocket tens versus InSpiritu's big slick. An ace on the flop sent myteduck out in seventh place. His efforts earned him $16,698.75.

EC10 seemed poised to double up and didn't seem deterred by the all-in pre-flop losses in the first few minutes of the table. He got AK all in against remen's AT. Again, a three-outer booted another player from the table. EC10 was gone in sixth place. He added $21,900.00 to his bankroll for less than 12 hours work.

Just one minute later, the very same match-up went the exact opposite way. Derkderka got all his chips in pre-flop with AT versus trollguttn's AK. This time, there would be no miracle card and derkderka was out in fifth place ($27,375.00).

After an abbreviated discussion about a deal, play resumed and sent trollguttn out in fourth place. His AQ couldn't outrun against uncforte's AK. Fourth place earned trollguttn $32,850.00.

Again, a deal discussion broke out and fell apart just as quickly. With no deal in place, the battle seemed to take on a greater sense of urgency. Remen's doubled up against uncforte with pocket kings to take the chip lead. Then uncforte laid a tough beat on remen. His pocket jacks spiked a two-outer against remen's pocket queens.

Seemingly crippled, Remen refused to back down and managed to double up twice. Not only that, he outlasted InSpiritu, who couldn't make A7 outrun uncforte's pair of jacks. InSpiritu won $43,854.75 for third place.

Heads-up, the players managed to come to terms on a deal. The entire game would end with two huge hands. First, both players made huge hands (a set for uncforte and a straight for Remen), on the river in a pot worth 1,310,752 chips to remen. Then, on the very next hand, with nearly even stacks, the players got all-in on a flop of Qs-4s-2c. Remen held QJ to uncforte's AQ. With that, it was all over and uncforte had his first WCOOP bracelet.

"It obviously was a pretty unbelievable experience," he said. "For me it vindicated how I feel about my poker game and making over 100,000 dollars isn't so bad either."

Still, uncforte isn't losing his mind over winning a hundred dimes. You won't find him holing up in a Las Vegas hotel shooting for a chance to play in the big game. He has other plans for his future.

"Despite any success I may have at the poker table, I have no plans to ever abandon my studies or future aspiration to run a research group at an academic institution," he said.

For a full list of money winners, visit the PokerStars WCOOP Pot-Limit Hold'em results page. Final table results can be found below.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #9 Final Table Results
Results based on two-way deal that left $10,000 for first place

1. uncforte (United States) $105,329.00
2. remen (United States) $80,000.00
3. InSpiritu (Sweden) $43,854.75
4. trollguttn (Norway) $32,850.00
5. derkderka (United States) $27,375.00
6. EC10 (United States) $21,900.00
7. myteduck (United States) $16,698.75
8. Claret1 (United Kingdom) $12,318.75
9. eirivi (Norway) $7,938.75

The EPT came to the traditional world of the Victoria Casino in the heart of London, and swept away the usual stuffiness of poker at this staid English poker venue. It felt like a friendly tournament, a tournament where even the stars had a human face. Joe Hachem and Vanessa Rousso watched the final table, the WSOP champion supporting his friend, runner-up Emad Tahtou, while Vanessa sweated every move that boyfriend, Chad Brown made. Vicky's win here feels like some old English fairy tale with a happy ending - with our 'English Rose' princess taking the top prize. Of course I know it's poker, and so there's nothing fairy tale about it all, not really; but humour me a little with this happy whimsy please...

I'm blogging on 'home turf' in London today, so I know how what Vicky's win will mean in London poker circles. Vicky is known by almost everyone who plays poker in the UK, and I suspect she'd call the Vic her poker home. Many UK poker players will smile when they hear the news that she won.

My thoughts of the final table?

-- Three players out before I'd even memorised their names.

-- A table dominated by the 'beautiful people' with celeb's supporting from the sidelines.

-- Emad Tahtou great big stack play, he'll be a dissapointed runner-up.

-- The amazing hand where Jan Sjavik called with pocket threes, the joy when the call was so right, the pain when the hand would still lose.

But most of all I'll be thinking excitedly - the Vic's Vicky won! Vicky Coren somehow seemed to calmly smile her way to success at this EPT final table, and I'm smiling that she did.

You can talk to me about 'First woman EPT winner,' or, 'Cheques for £500,000' but the thing that I'll be thinking is that this EPT win is a Good Thing for EPT poker, it's a popular win for poker players in the UK, for players in my home town, for players in the Vic... As Vicky remarked, with her ever-charming smile, "They've got me on the list for a game already!"

Vicky Coren the winner of the London EPT

Since the no-limit hold'em craze adrenalized the poker world in 2003, there has been a term circulating among the seasoned tournament rounders.

Well-rounded.

While few will deny that no-limit hold'em is still the Cadillac of poker, many poker players are defining their skill, and even themselves, by how well-rounded their game is. Sure, they say, I can play no-limit hold'em, but if you want to find a truly skilled poker player, find somebody that can play all the games.

This summer, the World Series of Poker hosted the first-ever $50,000 buy-in HORSE tournament, a rotation game of Hold'em, Omaha 8/b, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, and Seven Card Stud Eight-or-Better. There were more than a couple professional poker players who said the monster event should eventually determine the world champion for the year. While that's not likely to happen any time soon, there are few people who will deny that it takes a significant amount of poker skill to advance to the final table of a HORSE tournament.

This year, for the first time ever, PokerStars added HORSE to its World Championship of Online Poker series. Even the numbers people at PokerStars had little idea how popular the event would be. The $200 event drew nearly 1,800 people and built a prize pool of more than $350,000.

After countless rotations through the five games, eight people made the first HORSE final table in WCOOP history.

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Seat 1: p10ker (717431 in chips)
Seat 2: thumbers (662612 in chips)
Seat 3: Siren (564848 in chips)
Seat 4: thag (229132 in chips)
Seat 5: F.Briatore (1154296 in chips)
Seat 6: fat&50 (511216 in chips)
Seat 7: LakersRule (331092 in chips)
Seat 8: TheTownhouse (324373 in chips)

The final table begin with the Hold'em round already in progress and every member of the final table managed to survive the game. However, as the limits went up to 40,000/80,000 in the Omaha hi-lo round, the final table would lose its first player. Down to 114,373 in chips after a rough hand, TheTownhouse was sitting in the small blind and facing a raise from F.Briatore. TheTownhouse typed a cryptic "nvfdkjwnwjkdvnkjsafdnkjvsnf" in the chat bar and put the rest of his chips in the middle. He was called in two places. By the river, TheTownhouse's Qc-Ah-Kh-Qs decent starting hand lay in ruin. P10ker, who had called on a discount frown the big blind, made a full house with his 7h-Th-2c-3c and knocked TheTownhouse out in eighth place. TheTownhouse earned $7,551.60, which is no small sum. As it happens, TheTownhouse is signed up for another WCOOP HORSE event, so we may see some of him next weekend. More on that at the end of this report.

With TheTownhouse gone, the remaining seven players finished off the Omaha hi-lo round. That's when things started to get a little ugly. Even among well-rounded players, Razz is not a game that gets played with any regularity. It's can be safely assumed that the remaining players had less experience in this round than any other. What's more, the limits moved up to 50,000/100,000. For the shorter stacks, playing any hand to the river would likely mean playing for all their chips. That's exactly what happened to Siren.

Short-stacked and starting with 2h3s/8c, Siren came in for a raise and got called by Fat&50 who held 7c8h/3d. Fourth street, a four for Siren and a six for Fat&50, was enough to get all of Siren's chip in the middle. The rest of Siren's cards were ugly, Qs,9h,Jc, and Fat&50 caught a four he needed to make his better (er...worse) hand. Siren departed in seventh place, earning $10,788.00.

Before the Razz part of rotation was over, it would end another player's tournament. LakersRule, who had lost most of his stack during Razz, finally decided 9s8c/6c was good enough to start making his move. He was all-in by fourth street and the situation as dire as it looked. By the end, he had a ten-high low, to P10ker's nine-high low. LakersRule was out in sixth place, earning $14,384.00.

With three of the five games under their belt, the final table players would only play one more game before the tournament was over. With the limits at 75,000/150,000, the seven-card stud game would eventually kill off all but one of the final table.

The first would be thag, a player with a stack that had been destroyed in recent hands. With fewer than 70,000 chips, thag was only able to post his ante and call one bet with Th3s/3d. By the river, he would have two pair, but it wouldn't be enough to best Fat&50's Broadway straight. Thag was out in fifth place and took home $18,339.60.

P10ker had been the man to beat since the final table began. It seemed no one could best him. However, with the limits as high as they were, any pot played past fifth street was going to be a monster. P10ker's first major loss was losing a pot worth 1,026,128 with an unimproved pair of sevens to F.Briatore's two-pair. But, just a few minutes later, P10ker stormed back when his pair of tens improved to a set on fifth street and was good for 1.6 million chips. Then, just a few hands later, he started with a pair of aces. Unimproved, it was enough to knock out thumbers, who started with QhAd/Jd and couldn't manage to improve. Thumbers earned $22,654.80 for her fourth place finish.

With three players remaining, P10ker decided he didn't feel like discussing a deal. However, after starting with an ace showing, he ended up losing a massive 2,017,500 chip pot to F.Briatore who made queens full of sixes by sixth street. P10ker's luck would not get any better. To wit: after getting Fat&50 all in on before fourth street, P10ker saw Fat&50's Kc9d/7d turn into nines full of threes. The hand crippled P10ker and he exited a few hands later in third place, earning $30,566.00.

With P10ker gone, F.Briatore suggested that he and Fat&50 chop up the prize pool. Fat&50, who incidentally made a final table in the 2005 WCOOP, didn't respond. Instead, he came in for a raise with 4sJs/3s and F.Briatore called with Qh7c/Kh. On fifth street, F.Briatore had made Qh7c/Kh2dKs. Fat&50 held a simple 4sJs/3s4dTh. Somehow, the hand developed into a series of bets, raises, and re-raises that put Fat&50 all-in. By the river, both players had two pair, but F.Briatore's kings-up was good enough to win the first HORSE event in WCOOP history. Fat&50 won $46,748.00 and F.Briatore raked in $79,112.00.

While Event #8 will certainly be the largest HORSE event this year in terms of the number of participants, there could be an event with a bigger prize pool. Next weekend, PokerStars will host Event #16, a massive $5,000 buy-in HORSE event, hosted by world class player and Team PokerStars member, Barry Greenstein.

For a full list of money winners in Event #8, visit the WCOOP HORSE results page. Final table results are below.
PokerStars WCOOP Event #8 Final Table Results

1. F.Briatore (Germany) $79,112.00
2. fat&50 (United States) $46,748.00
3. p10ker (United Kingdom) $30,566.00
4. thumbers (United States) $22,654.80
5. thag (United Kingdom) $18,339.60
6. LakersRule (United States) $14,384.00
7. Siren (United States) $10,788.00
8. TheTownhouse (United States) $7,551.60

10.57pm -- Vicky Coren has won the London EPT, just a short heads up game with Emad Tahtou. Just 2 hands played...

It all happened very quickly, but both players saw a flop of 5, 3, 4. Emad moved all-in and Vicki called instantly. Emad showed 8 8, and Vicky had 6-7 for the flopped straight.

Vicky Coren is the winner of EPT London, she looked stunned as this was announced to the crowd, and she was handed a cheque for £500,000.

10. 50pm -- Vicky has 2.2million chips, Emad 1.7 million.

10.40pm -- Woohoo! What a hand... Jan Sjavic raises to 60,000, Vicky Coren re-raises to 250,000. Jan thinks for a moment, then he calls. On the flop of 9 10 10 Vicky is first to act - she goes all-in. Jan has a long think. Jan has a longer think. He shifts uncomfortably in his chair, the chips are counted, he thinks a LOT more... He doesn't look happy. Vicky just sits as still as a statue.

Vicky has just slightly more chips than Jan - if he calls it's for his tournament life.

9 10 10 on the flop, Vicky all-in, Jan to act. What will he do? The people around me start to debate what Jan may have, what Vicky may have... "He'll fold for sure," someone tells me. Vicky calls the clock on Jan. He sits, and sits, and thinks... It's been at least 5 minutes now. Thomas Kremser starts to count down, as Jan still doesn't move... "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 , 4..."

With 3 seconds left to act, Jan declares, "call."

The crowd press forward to see the cards, to see if their guesses were right. What did you guess?

Vicky has Ace Jack. Jan has pocket threes.

The turn is dealt - it's a Jack. The river I didn't see. The Jack put Jan out of this tournament, despite his great call. Vicky Coren looked shaken as both players stand up. Someone doubted she'd won the hand, her face looked like that of the loser.

As I headed away from the final table, I heard Emad boast, "I folded 9 10!"

Two players left. Vicky and Emad, they're about even on chips.

10.02pm -- Vicky Coren declares, "All-in." Michael Muldoon on the big blind calls. Vicky has him covered. Vicky shows Ace Ten of hearts, Michael has pocket sevens. The flop is Ad 8d 5c. So Vicky likes that ace... The turn's a Qd. Michael has a diamond in his hand - and more hope... The river the Ace of Clubsc. Michael is out in 4th place. His prize £110,000.

10.54pm -- Jan raises, Vicky re-raises all-in. Jan asks for a chip count, but it's too much for him, he folds. Vicky leans over, "Good pass," she tells him. But she would, wouldn't she?

9.48pm -- More news from the Vic stairs.... "172" a fellow poker reporter said to me. I wondered if it he was talking about somebody's chipcount?

"172 steps," he said. "I've counted them."

It's a long, long, up and down journey to bring you news from the London EPT. And this post is proof, if any were needed, that poker reporters have many skills - it's not just chips we count.

8.45pm -- The 4 players remaining are now on an hour long dinner break. I'll be back with more updates when they come back. Remaining places payout like this:

1st £500,000
2nd £285,900
3rd £168,600
4th £110,000

8.39pm -- Vicky's short of chips now, I just heard she lost a big hand without even showing cards. She bet out 60,000 from under the gun. Jan Sjavic re-raised another 100,000. Vicky over the top for another 200,000. Sjavic goes all-in...After some thought Vicky folded. Must have been a big hand for Sjavic.

Chipcounts now:

Emad Tahtouh 1,600,000
Jan Sjovik 1,200,000
Michael Muldoon 450,000
Vicky Coren 350,000

Emad Tahtouh, our chipleader

8.35pm -- Chad Brown is out. Jan raises to 70,000, Chad goes all-in. Jan calls with 99, Chad has Q 8 and is hoping for a Queen... No help for Chad and he leaves to be comforted by his Team PokerStars girlfriend... Vanessa was supposed to be playing PokerStars Tournament Leader Board match tonight, but asked Victor Ramdin to play in her place so she could watch Chad's EPT game. Now he's out early perhaps she can go home and play?

8.15pm -- On the way to the casino floor, in the back corriders of the Vic, I saw a man with a bucket and a sponge wiping the marker pen writing off a gigantic yellow cheque. I wondered whether he was up to no good? I thought he might wipe clean the big yellow cheque, then write his own name on the blank cheque, and pay it in to his bank. Perhaps I should have alerted casino security staff? I decided it would have been easy to catch him if he was heading down the Edgeware road to Barclays bank, with the big yellow cheque under his arm...

8.10pm -- Jules Kuusik has just been knocked out in 6th place, winning £44,000. Mike Muldoon held A J versus Jules's A 5. A jack on the flop was not what he wanted to see, another jack wasn't going to improve his spirits any. Handshakes all round, before the meaningless river was dealt. 5 players now.

8.00pm -- Chips now:

Chad Brown 600,000
Emad Tahtou 1,400,000
Michael Muldoon 750,000
Jan Sjavic 400,000
Jules Kuusik 350,000
Vicky Coren 700,000

7.45pm -- Vicky wins a nice pot. On a flop of 2h 10h Jh vicky bets 60,000. Chad raises another 120,000 Vicky calls. They both check the 9d on the turn. When the 3s appears on the river Vicky bets 100,000. Chad folds.

7.30pm -- Chipcounts as play resumes after the short break:

Emad Tahtouh 1,100,100
Chad Brown 929,000
Vicki Coren 662,000
Michael Muldoon 636,000
Jan Sjavic 435,000
Jules Kuusik 309,000

7.26pm -- The players are on a 5 minute break. Chad spends most of it passionately kissing girlfriend Vanessa Rousso. I did have my camera, but sadly UK Gaming Law forbids me taking any pictures on the gaming floor. Oh, and of course I respect their privacy..!

Emad walks past, "I wish I had a rail like that."


Team PokerStars Vanessa Rousso - the prettiest railbird in town?

7.01pm -- Jules Kuusik moves all-in with A K. Chad Brown in the blind calls with A 9. A dramatic few cards for Jules... The flop is A 9 T... Jules looks like he's out. The turn is an 8... The river a King! Jules survives, and doubles up. Rumours abound that the dealer worked in a fairground. Aparently he used to operate the rollercoaster.

6.59pm -- Emad and Vicky in a big hand, the betting on the turn. The board is Q Q 9 10... Vicky bets, Emad re-raises all-in. Lots of table chat as Vicky thinks, smiling and running through every possible hand that Emad might have... She finally folds. She pouts crossly when Emad doesn't show.

6.55pm -- In the press room we have a live feed of the TV table, but there's no sound. It's not the easiest way to follow a poker tournament - yet it's a long, long, journey through the casino to get to the final table. So we're all doing our best to keep on top of things... Someone asks, "So who has the chiplead?" Three poker reporters answer at once. "Vicky", "Chad Brown", "Muldoon!" Make of that what you will.

6.49pm -- Overheard on the stairs... Sid Harris walking with the TV crew: "You'll always find me on the final table. I just don't stay there very long."

6.44pm -- We've lost another one! Peter Hedlund goes all-in, he's called by Michael Muldoon who shows AK. Peter shakes his head and shows KQ. The flop 7h 4h 8s, the turn Js, the river 4h. Peter is out, and our 7th place finisher wins £36,600

6.33pm -- Sid re-raises Vicky. After just a moment she calls. Sid holds 99 Vicky JJ. K 4 8 K J on the board. Sid Harris out in 8th place for £29,300.

6.26pm -- Play is underway, Joe Hachem is calling the hands at this televised table. I'll add updates here when anything of interest happens.

Mad Harper has been busy researching our final table players, here's plenty of information to help you pick who you want to win. Go on, pick a name even if you don't know any of them! It'll make following the coverage more fun... I usually root for the player with the silliest name. Ok, that's just a 'me' thing...

And today I'm a serious and imparial tournament reporter. I'll bring you live updates as soon as play resumes. Shame Schweinebarth went out, isn't it?

Seat 1: Chad Brown from Los Angeles, USA - 759,000 chips
Actor and TV presenter Chad is well-known in the US for his hosting of the Ultimate Poker Challenge television series. A prolific tournament player, Chad arrived in London alongside girlfriend, Team PokerStars' Vanessa Rousso. Originally from New York, Chad grew up in the Bronx and learned poker playing in the neighbourhood cafes. Chad has cashed at several WSOP events including 3rd in the 2002 $1,500 Omaha hi-lo split event, 2nd in the 2004 $1,500 7-card stud event and 2nd in the 2005 $2,000 seven-card stud hi-lo event. Brown made back-to-back final tables at last year's WSOP circuit events, including a third place finish behind Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Prahlad Friedman.

Seat 2: Emad Tahtouh. 25 from Melbourne, Australia - 680,000 chips
In 2005, Emad qualified for the WSOP and talked his best friend Joe Hachem into coming with him. Some three weeks later, Joe was World Champion and $7.5 million richer. But Emad's recent performances show he is no mere poker sidekick. He won $70,000 at this year's WSOP after coming 7th in the $5,000 Pot Limit event and in the last two weeks has come second in two events at the Victorian Poker Championships in Melbourne - with combined winnings of over $40,000. Emad has been playing poker for years but went pro some four years ago, playing mainly in small live tournaments at his local Crown Casino in Melbourne. He is now a regular in the high limit cash games on PokerStars.

Joe Hachem with his friend Emad Tahtou

Seat 3: Sid "El Sid" Harris, 61 from Hove, Sussex, UK - 270,000
Sid describes himself as a "gifted poker amateur" but his day job is writing. He is the author of several books on food and horse-racing including the "Anti Atkins Diet". Sid has had a run of success in the last few months including a £14,400 win at the South of England Poker Championship in Southampton three months ago and two £10,000 wins in Luton and Brighton in the last six weeks.

Seat 4: Michael Muldoon, 25 from Belfast, Northern Ireland - 570,000 chips
Civil servant Michael has been playing poker for eight years - mainly in home games and at local casinos. In the 2004 UK Open at the Vic, he "bluffed all his chips off in seven minutes". Making the final table this year is by far his biggest success so far. Michael is being cheered on by three friends from Northern Ireland, including two other EPT players - Joe Rafferty (who went out in 24th place) and Brendan Walls.

Seat 5: Jan Sjavic, 42 from Oslo - 460,000
Jan started his poker life playing in underground cardrooms in Oslo and is now one of the most respected poker players in the country. He won the European Championship at the Victoria Casino in 2001 and is a major force in high-stakes limit games in Vegas. Jan has been a professional player for seven years, and also now runs his own poker site.

Seat 6: Peter Hedlund, 38, from Stockholm - 380,000
Peter was one of the very first players to join the EPT circuit - winning € 1,100 for 25th place at the first event in Barcelona in 2004. He also won € 19,000 in a side event at last week's Barcelona event and has made the money three years in a row at the WSOP - with his 99th place last year netting him $77,000. Peter, a popular character in Stockholm cardrooms, is well-known for his excitable behaviour at the table. Journalist Ola Brandborn said: "He talks non-stop. I was playing with him once and offered him $50 to shut up for an hour, but he just laughed and threw the money back at me, saying he knew he wouldn't be able to keep quiet for that long!"

Seat 7: Jules Kuusik, 36 from Stockholm - 240,000 chips
Jules turned pro some three years ago and plays mainly online, coming 3rd in the Swedish internet championship in 2004. This is one of his first appearances at a large live tournament although he only narrowly missed the money at this year's WSOP. Last week, he came to EPT3 Barcelona and made it through to Day 2. Before taking up poker, Jules ran a chain of recruitment agencies.

Seat 8: Vicky Coren from London - 600,000
Londoner Victoria Coren is a well-known television presenter, newspaper columnist and author. Among her many media commitments, she presents TV poker shows and writes a weekly poker column for the Guardian. Vicky is known to supplement her income with regular visits to the cash games here at the Victoria casino. She has impressed onlookers and rivals with her sophisticated play at this EPT event- 'she's a charming person, with a few tricks up her sleeve', says Norwegian pro Allan Dyrstad. Victoria has cashed in several major tournaments here at 'The Vic' and was the winner of the 2004 Celebrity Poker Challenge.


Vicky Coren

Oscar Schweinebarth is out. Oscar moves all-in pre-flop with pocket fives, and is called by Emad with KQ. A queen on the river puts Oscar out, and he takes home £10,000. The TV table are setting up, play will resume soon.

Our final table players and their approximate chips:

Chad Brown 759,000
Emad Tahtouh 680,000
Vicki Coren 600,000
Michael Muldoon 570,000
Jan Sjavik 460,000
Peter Hedlund 380,000
Sid Harris 270,000
Jules Kusik 240,000

Vicky Coren moves all-in with AK, and Michael Abecassis finds KK. An Ace is the second card dealt, and Abecassis is out. Vicky now on 600,000. Then there were 9...

Emad Tahtou has just been cursing his misfortune whilst Joe Hachem nods sympathetically, Joe's been watching his friend on the rail since the start of play. Emad held 66 on a flop of Ad 5d 6c. Jan Sjavik re-raised and Emad was happy to see his opponent all in with 8d 10d - just a diamond flush draw against his set. He was not happy to see the diamond on the river..!

Emad feeling down after losing a big pot.Joe Hachem and Katja Thater are sympathetic.

Ashley Hayles goes out in 11th place. He lost most of his stack to Emad Tahtou on an 8 high flop. Emad held A 8 and Ashley 44. Emad celebrated his double up with a high-five to his buddy Joe Hachem.

A little while later, Ashley, super-shortstacked moves all in with 9 6. Oscar Schweinebarch calls with A 10. No freindly cards for Ashley, so Hayles out in 11th place for £10,000

Peter Hedlund just found a good hand at the right time, the shortstacked player doubling up with KK when Michel Abecassis raised with Ace-ten.

We're now playing on one table, down to 10. Looking for our televised final table of 8. Emad Tahtou is chipleader at present...

They'd hoped to play to a final table of 8 yesterday, but didn't manage this. 12 players return, 4 won't make the final, 7 won't win. Just checking my maths, hope those figure are right? It's not really very complicated. All these players want to win, and there's £500,000 for the player who does. Play's just got underway... Jonas Molander is out early. Michael Muldoon winning his chips. Jonas went all-in pre-flop and was called by Muldoon. Jonas had Q 6, Muldoon pocket nines. Nothing to help the young Swede, he goes out in 12th place for £10,000.

There are crowds around the two remaining tables, making it hard to follow the action and bring you chipcounts, but I'll do my best. It looks like Peter Hedlund is now very shortstacked.

The 2 remaining tables of the London EPT

You know something is wrong when you're lying in bed with your boyfriend thinking about other men. I was wishing I could meet someone new, then I started wondering about finding happy endings... I was thinking about Chad Brown, the EPT London chipleader. I wished I'd managed to meet him to chat about this tournament, I was wondering whether he'd have a happy ending at the final table today and win?

So don't worry. My boyfriend and I are just fine. We're still in the 'madly in love' stage so if I'd met Chad Brown I'd have tried to tell Chad all about him. And if we did talk boyfriends/girlfriends I'd be doing my job as a serious poker journalist, as he might tell me all about his girlfriend, Team PokerStars' Vanessa Rousso.

Hand stories are good too. I've been dreaming the play of hands, and chip counts, and thinking 'Why did he play it that way?' as I make my breakfast toast. I decided I was going too far when I found myself opening a box of Coco Pops to colour up the Cheerios... As you can see, poker is on my mind right now, and luckily my boyfriend is tolerant of this.

Anyone who cares anything about poker must see the final table shape up today and wish they were there. I like this feeling, I like feeling the same as the players I'm writing about. Do you think maybe Chad Brown, and Vicky Coren, and Jonas Molander, and all the rest are shaping their breakfast cereals into chip stacks this morning too? And if I can't be there to win the London EPT, then watching it, and sweating every hand from close to the table, will just have to do. Or else I can win the London EPT in my head, with a key hand when I re-raise 100,000 cornflakes and my opponent folds and then says, "Jo, will you stop daydreaming..!"

So I'll give my boyfriend a kiss, and then head to work, and feel lucky that work means poker, and daydreaming, and talking to people like Chad Brown. I wonder if Vanessa Rousso feels this way this morning too?

The oatflakes are worth 100...

For the first time in PokerStars WCOOP history, players were able to sit down for a mixed game. Event #8, $200 HORSE, drew almost 1,800 people and paid out more than $350,000. In an event that lasted more than 13 hours, F.Briatore walked away with a piece of history, the first-ever WCOOP HORSE bracelet. For a full list of money winners, visit the WCOOP HORSE results page. Final table results are below. A full final table report will be out later on Sunday.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #8 Final Table Results

1. F.Briatore (Germany) $79,112.00
2. fat&50 (United States) $46,748.00
3. p10ker (United Kingdom) $30,566.00
4. thumbers (United States) $22,654.80
5. thag (United Kingdom) $18,339.60
6. LakersRule (United States) $14,384.00
7. Siren (United States) $10,788.00
8. TheTownhouse (United States) $7,551.60

It's a different poker world in pot-limit land, but that didn't stop nearly 1,100 people from signing up to play in the $500 Pot-Limit Hold'em WCOOP event. After a battle that lasted eleven hours, a man from the United States, uncforte, discovered pot-limit hold'em just might be his forte. He won more than $100,000 and a WCOOP bracelet. For a full list of money winners, visit the PokerStars WCOOP Pot-Limit Hold'em results page. Final table results can be found below. A full final table report will be out later on Sunday.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #9 Final Table Results
Results based on two-way deal that left $10,000 for first place

1. uncforte (United States) $105,329.00
2. remen (United States) $80,000.00
3. InSpiritu (Sweden) $43,854.75
4. trollguttn (Norway) $32,850.00
5. derkderka (United States) $27,375.00
6. EC10 (United States) $21,900.00
7. myteduck (United States) $16,698.75
8. Claret1 (United Kingdom) $12,318.75
9. eirivi (Norway) $7,938.75

Tournament officials have decided to end the night's play. 12 players will return tomorrow at 3pm, all hoping to reach the final table. Players returning on Sunday and chip counts at end of play today are as follows:

Chad Brown 611,000
Peter Hedlund 523,500
Emad Tahtouh 504,000
Michael Muldoon 422,000
Ashley Hayles 324,000
Jules Kusik 196,500
Jan Sjavik 294,500
Michael Abecassis 277,500
Vicky Coren 222,500
Jonus Molander 222,000
Sid Harris 213,000
Oscar Schweinebarth 173,000

I'm still not sure if day 1A + day 1B= day 2 or day 3? Or maybe it's Day 3 for players who started on Thursday's day 1A, but Day 2 for players who started on Fridays's day 1B? And now it's 3am and it's Sunday not Saturday - isn't Sunday supposed to be day 4? All this is very confusing, but I know there's one thing I can call tomorrow and that's the final day. That means a final table... And I do know final table = exciting. Join us tomorrow at 3pm GMT for all the action!

I heard Neal Channing had 370,000 chips, and now I hear he's out... He lost it in 3 hands, I missed the details of the first, but in the second key hand for Neal I hear in a hand he raised, Emad re-raised all-in for his 90,000 chips. Neal calls with K J, but Emad has A J. Nothing to save Neal. I'm sure that he was as unflustered as usual by this hit to his stack.

On the very next hand Neil goes all-in with pocket Tens. Michael Muldoon calls with pocket Sevens. Muldoon hits a straight and Neil is unlucky to be out 13th place, he takes home £10,000.

Others losing it lately:

13th Neil Channing £10,000
14th Tim Flanders £10,000
15th Tom Parker-Bowles £10,000
16th Isabelle Mercier £10,000
17th Alan Glover £6,000
18th David Finney £6,000

Neal Channing unflustered as he goes out in 13th place

Team PokerStars Isabelle Mercier was shortstacked and just went all-in with A7, she was called by a player with QQ. She kissed nearly everyone at the table before she left, to smoke nearby with friends. She was obviously disappointed and not very talkative, her only comment to me, "I was unlucky." Then she shrugged and went back to her contemplative cigarette.

Tom Parker-Bowles went out in a rather comical way. He learned that the casino bar closed at 2am, but quite fancied a beer... He joked to Neal Channing about this. "Well how about if we go to an off-licence?"

Neal pointed out that these would be closed too.

"Well I know where I can get a drink - at home..."

A little later he went all-in. Perhaps he wasn't expecting so much action when he did? Neal Channing called, as did Tim Flanders. Cards turned over and it's K J for Tom, A J for Neal, and Tim Flanders turned over QQ.

Neal looked unflustered... But an ace on the flop meant Neal won a huge pot. Tom can go home and get that beer now...

13 players left.

Neal Channing unflustered as an ace hits

It's hard to count mountains of chips, hundreds of chips, stacked erratically, of different denominations. It's much easier to see how many with the shorter stacked players, although in some ways there's less point... Tom Parker-Bowles asked me rather desperately in a pre-bubble break, "Who are the shortstacks?" Now the answer is, "You!"

There are 16 players remaining. Chad Brown still has a multi-coloured mountain, and Tom Parker-Bowles a tiny pile that means it's all-in or nothing. The TV people need to count chips, so accurate chipcounts from the feature table have been provided for us press guys. A mixture of careful counts and guesstimates listed here, but as best I can tell remaining players have the following chips:

Vicky Coren 287,000
Jules Kusick 132,000
Jan Sjavic 323,000
Isabelle Mercier 64,100
Peter Hedlund 560,000
Jonas Molander 280,000
Chad Brown 755,000
Ashley Hayles 265,000
Tom Parker-Bowles 81,000
Tim Flanders 168,000
Michael Muldoon 136,000
Neil Channing 160,000
Emad Tahtouh 185,000

Another trick I've discovered to bring you information... If you can't find it by any conventional means, steal it... An official's clipboard left lying around revealed the following facts about the order of exit so far:

18th A.Glover
19th DC Finney
20th Torben Sneijberg
21st Mike Ellis
22nd Shannon Shorr
23rd Barny Boatman
24th Acon Hubermand
25th Joe Rafferty
26th Frank Bastow
27th Erich Kollman
28th Jeffrey Rogers
29th George McKeever
30th Samir Shakhtoor
31st Lalit Khajuria
32nd Tomasa Feminella

Sorry about the lack of updates, connection problems at the Vic. You haven't missed very much, it seems there's also a connection problem between the cards being dealt and the 'all-in' reflex of the players downstairs in the cardroom... It's become a case of raise and all fold. Peter Hedlund, Chad Brown and Emad Tahtou have mountains of chips. Jonas Molander has a hill of chips. Isabelle Mercier and Vicki Coren mole-hills...

At the feature table Isabelle just went all-in, everyone folds. The big blind shows 9 3os and there's a small round of applause from everyone at the table. The crowd follow suit and cheer too...

There's lots going on at the three remaining tables of this London EPT event. 20 players remain now. 'Name' players we've lost recently are Allain Huberman, Barny Boatman, and Joe Rafferty...

Joe Rafferty sat on a chair looking miserable, and writing a text, no doubt that was miserable too. He said, "I hung in there. No aces. No kings. No queens. No luck..."

Neal Channing just doubled up, going all in for 83,600 he's called by Shannon Shorr in the big blind, and in a stripy jumper...

Neal looks unflustered as he turns over A 10. Shannon 'Stripy Jumper' Shorr looks nervous as he turns over A K. Two tens on the board and a lucky Neal Channing rakes in a big pot, as he stacks it he still looks unflustered.

A couple of hands later Shannon pushes all-in for his remaining 67,000. Chipleader Chad Brown thinks for just a little while, then declares, "Call." He has 8 8, Shannon has A K - yet again.

Chad hits an 8 on the flop, and Shannon's out, probably to kick anything he can find beginning with the letters A and K. Apples, aardvarks, androids, kites, kats..? Or maybe not, perhaps he'll be as unflustered as Neal Channing..?

Neal Channing unflustered as a 10 hits

Donnacha O'Dea is out on the bubble, moving in for around 30,000 with 99. Erich Kollman called with KK and Donnacha departs in 33rd place, just outside the money.

The chiplead is close between Chad Brown and Ashley Hayles. Chad is an actor, poker player and commentator, from LA. His tournament record includes money finishes in several WSOP events, back to back final tables at 2005 World Series of Poker circuit events, and a 6th place finish in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars Tournament.

Players who'll be paid, and their chips:

Chad Brown 460,000
Ashley Hayles 450,000
James Molander 280,000
Vicky Coren 130,000
Isabelle Mercier 80,000
Emad Tahtou 190,000
Neal Channing 110,000
Joe Rafferty 27,000
Alon Kumerman 47,000
Barney Boatman 120,000

A reminder of the payouts:

1 £500,000
2 £285,900
3 £168,600
4 £110,000
5 £58,600
6 £44,000
7 £36,600
8 £29,300
9-16 £10,000
17-24 £6,000
25-32 £4,000

Chipleader Chad Brown

Ross Boatman is out, on only 20,000 chips Ross moves all-in, running into the big blind's Kings.

Andy Black is also out, getting his chips in the middle with 6 7 on an A 7 J flop.

Peter Hedlund doesn't fold his A 8. No good karma for Black, looks like he's wearing his pyjamas today, maybe he wanted an early night?

It's nearly the bubble...

Jonas Molander raises to 12,000, Vicky Coren re-raises all-in for 74,800. Jonas calls. Jones is feeling happy with Aces, Vicky is a damsel in distress with pocket eights. An eight on the flop and Vicky is saved. Jonas takes his bad beat well.

Vicky and Jonas on the TV table

Jeff Johanson had been to college, but it wasn't really his thing. He'd worked some technical support jobs after that, but, really, that wasn't his thing either. Three days ago, the 23-year-old Edmonton, Canada resident, decided to deposit some money at PokerStars.

"Primarily to play tournaments and satellites for WCOOP events," he said.

It looks like the young Canadian may have found his thing.

Jeff "yaaaflow" Johanson

Less than three days after making his first deposit at PokerStars, Jeff "yaaaflow" Johanson is a member of an elite community of people who hold PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker bracelets.

After battling through more than 1,800 other players, Johanson began the Event #7 final table in fourth chip position.


Click image for full version

Seat 1: tow75 (820301 in chips)
Seat 2: UH Big Tex (767397 in chips)
Seat 3: Frejdig (336829 in chips)
Seat 4: dalzini (466104 in chips)
Seat 5: MADEin (611840 in chips)
Seat 6: wheelz21 (506815 in chips)
Seat 7: yaaaflow (604130 in chips)
Seat 8: in_da_riva (330368 in chips)
Seat 9: MikeMcD (236216 in chips)

The limit nature of the event didn't allow for a shove'em-in-and-hope final table. Still, as the blinds increased, there was an ever-heightening sense of urgency that eventually left players--either by suck-out or hopeless hope in their big cards--with an opportunity to get all their chips in the middle before the flop. MikeMcD was the first to go. Starting with a pair of sixes, he was all-in pre-flop against wheelz21's AT. A ten on the flop left MikeMcD with precious few outs, neither of which came. He left in ninth place, earning $4,492.80.

Twenty-five minutes later, Frejdig found a pair of tens in front of him. With fewer than 150,000 chips in front of him, he decided he was ready to roll. Despite the king on the flop, he helped cap the betting. As it turned out, he was capping the bets with a miniscule chance of winning. His opponent, tow75, held KQ, enough to win the pot and bounce Frejdig in eighth place, a night's work worth $7,413.12.

Perhaps the no-limit nature of the current poker society is rubbing off on limit events more than we realize. The third elimination of the final table began with a raise and re-raise before a flop of 6d-4d-5h. That flop brought a series of raises and re-raises that ended up with a capped pot and in_da_riva all-in. By the river, the board was ten-high. As it turned out, in_da_riva's AJ was no good to UH Big Tex's...AQ. In_da_riva was out in seventh place for $9,360.00.

With six players remaining, half of them were Canadian. As Jeff "yaaaflow" Johanson put it, his native Edmonton "has gone poker crazy as much or more than most places." This night, the Canadians were doing well. Unfortunately for the folks from the land of the maple leaf, they would lose a player very soon. After flopping top pair with a king kicker on a nine-high flop, wheelz21 got all his money in. At the time, he likely didn't realize how bad a shape he was in. His opponent, UH Big Tex, held pocket kings and the best hand held up. Wheelz21 pocketed $12,916.80 for his sixth place finish.

Over the next little while, tow75's stack dwindled to such a dangerous level that he ended up getting his stack in the middle with QJ. The fates were not with him. UH Big Tex held KJ. Already a favorite, UH Big Tex made a flush on the turn to lock tow75 out of the pot and send him out in fifth place for $16,660.80.

With the next money jump out of the way, it was just a matter of seconds before he event found its fourth place finisher. MADEin got all his chips in the middle with a pair of fours against yaaaflow's AJ. Yaaflow ended up making a pair of aces and sending MADEin out in fourth place, good for $20,030.40

Three-handed, the players decided to gamble a little bit less and cut a deal based on chip-count that left $10,000 and the WCOOP bracelet for the winner. With the money chopped up, the shortest stack at the table, dalzini, fought for a good long while before succumbing in third place when his A7 couldn't outrun UH Big Tex's J2. After the chop, dalzini earned $30,608.00.

Finally, the game was heads-up. That would not mean, however, that it would end soon. In one of the longest heads-up battles so far in the 2006 WCOOP, yaaaflow and UH Big Tex battled for 40 full minutes before yaaaflow finally captured the title. For second place, UH Big Tex won $46,378.00.

Finally, just a few days after putting money into PokerStars for the first time, yaaaflow was more than $60,000 richer and had a WCOOP bracelet to his name.

"It was a phenomenal feeling," he said. "The atmosphere, including the radio show, was great and absolutely promoted fun at the table. I felt incredibly lucky to do as well as I did, and very, very proud of the eventual finish."

For a complete look at the money winners, check out the PokerStars WCOOP Limit Hold'em Results page. Final table results can be found below.

PokerStars WCOOP Event #7 Results
Results based on three-way deal that left $10,000 for first place

1. yaaaflow (Canada) $60,419.00
2. UH Big Tex (United States) $46,378.00
3. dalzini (United Kingdom) $30,608.00
4. MADEin (Canada) $20,030.40
5. tow75 (Denmark) $16,660.80
6. wheelz21 (Canada) $12,916.80
7. in_da_riva (United States) $9,360.00
8. Frejdig (Denmark) $7,413.12
9. MikeMcD (Sweden) $4,492.80

Dean Saunders, winner of the Tooting home game March 23rd 2005, is now out. Dean had 120,000 chips and pocket Kings. He ran into Aces held by our new chipleader Ashley Hayles. Dean said, "I'm gutted." But no more tiny Tooting games for him, he tells me he has a sponsor and will play the rest of this EPT season.

I gathered a few chipcounts in the break.

Ashley Hayles 460,900
Isabelle Mercier 49,000
George McKeever 22,000
Donnacha O'Dea 45,000
Ross Boatman 36,000
Joe Rafferty 39,500
Chad Brown 300,000
Andy Black 83,000
Shannon Shorr 68,000
Michel Abecassis 41,000
Neil Channing 96,000
Barny Boatman 146,000
Vicky Coren 50,300
Jonas Molander 284,000
Emad Tahtou 255,000

42 players left playing on 6 tables. Average chips are 94,800. Blinds are 2000/4000 with a 400 ante.

Just heard Isabelle went all in with JJ, was called by a player with AQ. A queen on the flop, but a jack on the river saved Isabelle. She's now up to around 100,000...

Dean Saunders, former Tooting home game regular, soon to be an EPT superstar?


Isabelle Mercier, now sponsored by Burberry?

We missed the exact details of this hand, but the Hendon Mob's Ram Vaswami is out. Fellow Hendon Mobster Barny Boatman went all-in preflop, Ram thought long and hard and called all-in. Barny held JJ, and put Ram out. Barny's now on 135,000 chips.

Ram Vaswami

PokerStars have a new tournament reporter in London poker legend Pedro. I asked him for his thoughts on the EPT. "What's the EPT?" he said, scratching his head.

I explained, he looked dismissive. "It's a young man's game. I don't play tournaments any more," he said. He then proceeded to tell me how much his house was worth, and his recent poor health, and how he was 5th in a tournament in 1999...

Pedro decided to show an interest in this young man's game and sat for a while watching the TV table. He brought us the news of a very young man of poker, going out of this tournament.

Johnny Lodden was the day 1A chipleader but hasn't made much progress sin