March 2008 Archives

The name may already be familiar to you –a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York; a town in New South Wales, Australia; a former Las Vegas hotel or even as a fictional Caribbean Island in the TV series Airwolf - but this here is the real San Remo, the seaside...more

The final days of March lived up to their lion-like reputation. The quarterly $1,050 Sunday Million went off with 1,869 players and offered a potential $366,000 prize. Instead, the top three players in this week's Sunday Million cut a deal and earned more than $200,000 apiece! All the final table...more

Note: Last Sunday, Team PokerStars Pro Hevad Khan took down the Sunday Warm-Up for nearly $100,000. Brazilian PokerStars blogger Maria took the opportunity to chat up RaiNKhAN and get his take on the win and everything that's happened to him since the 2007 World Series. For the original version of...more

In the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona sits a man who holds a unique distinction. George Lind III, also known as jorj95, can claim something no one else can: he is officially the first PokerStars VIP Club Supernova Elite of 2008. Supernova Elite is the highest rung of the ladder in...more

Among many a parent, the idea of introducing their children to horses is among the best and worst ideas they will ever conceive. Introduction to the equine world provides a sense of responsibility, discipline, and enjoyment that is unparelleled in an age of video games and televised pablum. At the...more

The Easter Sunday holiday didn't put much of a dent in the crowds at PokerStars tournament tables, nor did it slow down one member of Team PokerStars Pro. Hevad "RaiNKhAN" Khan took down this week's Sunday Warm-Up for nearly $100,000. In other Sunday news, well-known player pbdrunks pulled a double-shot...more

This Sunday of tournaments was one in which people wanted everything they earned at the tables. For the first time in a while, each one of the big Sunday contests finished without a chop. As a result, the people who won this weeekend...won big. C00LHandNuke took down the Sunday Million...more

EPT Warsaw champion Michael Schulze It was not the late night epic of the EPT Copenhagen two weeks ago but the final of the EPT Warsaw had all the tension, the drama, and notably the long hours you’d expect from one of the major tournaments of the world. As...more

12.40pm -- Ricardo Sousa from Portugal, eliminated in second place for PLN 1,1220,600 Ricardo makes it 150k from the small blind and Michael quickly re-raises, 500k in total. Ricardo announces all-in with Michael is ready to call, showing As-6s to Ricardo's black pocket sevens. Both players are on their feet...more

There may be a break in the poker but there's no let up in the action from the bar......more

12.05am -- The level ends and players take a 15 minute break. The latest chip counts... Ricardo -- 1,990,000 Michael -- 1,600,000 11.50pm -- Ricardo makes it 125k and is called. The flop comes 2c-7d-3c and Ricardo makes it 200k. Michael folds. 11.35pm -- The same pattern re-emerges. Bets or...more

Kara Scott has the latest at the level 22 break......more

6.20pm – Play stops for a one hour dinner break. The latest chip counts are below... Christian Öman – Sweden – 228,000 Mehdi Ouakhir – France – PokerStars qualifier – 747,000 Michael Schulze – Germany – 1,526,000 Ricardo Sousa – Portugal – 510,000 Mathias Viberg – Sweden – PokerStars qualifier...more

Seat 1: Trond Erik Eidsvig, 23, Aalesund, Norway – 220,000 chips Trond is truly a poker phenomenon. The young Norwegian is on his third final table in one season of the EPT – a record. He won €250,800 for 5th place in Barcelona at the start of EPT Season...more

Happy faces everywhere. Sure, they’re in the bar but the EPT Warsaw is cocooned by the sense that it’s been one of the most enjoyable on the tour so far. Excellent service, welcoming staff and the casino officials breaking tables to allow room for press and spectators alike. The short...more

There may not be an official record book but I think it’s correct to say that this was the shortest day of play in EPT history. From Raul Paez’s elimination in 26th all the way to Claus Nielsen’s departure in tenth took just two hours 40 minutes – including breaks....more

At this stage there’s a tendency for pots of note to be those that include either an elimination or a double up. But Ricardo Sousa and Claus Nielsen – two of the big stacks on table one – tangled in a hand that would have serious ramifications down the line....more

Whilst players take a 15 minute break here are the latest chip counts... Ricardo Sousa -- Portugal -- 850,000 Niclas Svensson -- Sweden -- 90,000 Mathias Viberg -- Sweden -- 220,000 Claus Nielsen -- Denmark -- 325,000 Christian Öman -- Sweden -- 105,000 Jean Claude Perrot -- France -- 100,000...more

No one is quite sure what happened, but in the space of twenty minutes nine players were eliminated, reducing the tournament from three tables to two in quick time. Dan Pedersen finished next in 23rd place ahead of Henrik Gwinner and Italian Piergiorgio D’ancona. PokerStars qualifier Ken Hicks Jr. went...more

There’s a five minute delay at the start as the dealer stacks Juan Mercieras’ chips which, with him still en route, are tipped out in a big mess on the table. That took five minutes - the first elimination took another five - an unsurprising one in Raul Paez Corral...more

The video blog team caught up two PokerStars qualifiers before the start of play. First chip leader Juan Macieras from Spain, and Craig Hopkins of the UK......more

Just 26 players return for day three of the EPT Warsaw where our final table will be decided. Spain’s Juan Lapido Maceiras leads into today, the PokerStars qualifier finishing on 388k last night, a full 43k ahead of second place Claus Nielsen, a press room blogger in a previous life,...more

When Andy Black started today his stack of just over 40k was about average. Pretty soon he’d be climbing high at close to 100k and whilst he never really got above that, his role at the EPT Warsaw was never in doubt - part jester, part adrenalized bully, part tournament...more

Railbirds on one side, press on the other. The last thing you wanted to do was move all-in because people already standing close to you found ways to get closer. That must have been what Italian Cristiano Blanco thought as he was eliminated in 33rd place by PokerStars qualifier Ken...more

It’s the first thing you learn in order to blend in at the table. Get it wrong and you’ll look all shades of bad. Chip riffling, done by some of the best, courtesy of the video blog team......more

It happened in Dublin and in Warsaw it looks to be happening again. A forward march to the top of the hill by Andy Black only to march all the way back down again. Had he suffered such a mugging out on the streets the crowds would have parted for...more

PokerStars qualifier James Honeybone now fills the spot left by Theo Jorgensen. The mighty have fallen in numbers today and Jorgensen is just one in a long list that includes the likes of Johan Storakers, Marc Goodwin and Daniel Carter. PokerStars Sponsored Player Danny Ryan caught the unluckiest break when...more

Play has now reached the dinner break at the end of level 12. For the latest chip counts click here. The video blog team have the details......more

There may not be cameras at the EPT Warsaw but there’s little doubt which table would be the feature one had there been. It’s table one, squeezed into the far and dark recesses of the tournament area, beneath electric fans vaguely trying to push the flow of fudgy warm air...more

David Robinson is just one player here via the PokerStars.com qualification route. On a late night surge yesterday he finished day one on over 50k. He caught up with the video blog team earlier today......more

“I’ve only played about 85% of hands.” This is Andy Black who has just seen off another player and is calling on authorities to provide more body bags. PokerStars Sponsored player Danny Ryan is also at this table – Andy Black’s table of death. Andy Black Everything Andy does is...more

In the course of reporting on an EPT you might not notice a player’s name. You may even read over it the second time when he plays another EPT a few weeks later. Shame to admit it, but you might pay no attention to it the third time either. This...more

As touched upon yesterday poker legend and WSOP bracelet winner Mel Judah has played eight EPT events but has never made it through to day two. This time is different though, as he explained to the video blog team......more

The EPT Warsaw steps up in seriousness today as the two fields from days 1a and 1b unite on a forward march to the money. From 359 starters 130 remain, and a further 98 of those will leave the Casino Poland today empty handed, unless a loose headed distraction spin...more

For a full list of combined chip counts at the end of day one, click here. That’s the door closed on day one. 359 players over two days, with the remnants, numbering 58, looking back on the last eight hours wondering what all the fuss was about. Actually that’s not...more

The button moves to Andy Black. He checks his cards, mucks, hops up and limbos to the other side of the rail just six feet away. It’s cigarette time – paid for in some part by a colourful bar chart stack of 50k. Across from him Johnny Lodden is all-in,...more

Another aspect of the poker world examined in detail by the video blog team......more

Despite Thomas Wahlroos doubling-up any sense of camaraderie between him and Andy Black would soon disappear when the Irishman saw him off with a rapier thrust from the ugliest of hands. Calling Wahlroos’s all-in with A-K; Andy showed T-6, catching a ten on the flop to send the Finn to...more

Sightseeing? During an EPT? A totally ludicrous suggestion to some players but for others the chance to get away for a few hours and experience the town it took you 18 hours to get to is a welcome opportunity to relax, as PokerStars qualifier Mark Hirleman and Kara Scott found...more

Two tables get the attention in level five. First, what can only be described as the ‘stress table’. Thierry van den Berg at one end having the tension massaged from his shoulders; Mads Andersen at the other end getting the life massaged back into his. Duelling pros. Duelling masseuses. We’re...more

It’s the dinner break and players have to walk up 36 steps to reach ground level, the bar, or the lift back to their room for an hour of rest before heading back down the 36 steps to the tournament room. But for some, it’s the first seven steps that...more

There’s a brief roar – one of those victory noises that can’t be helped and always leave the roarer feeling bad afterwards. But it signals the end of Luca Pagano’s tournament. In a three way pot with Niclas Mattesson and Azem Elezaj Luca had A-Q, to the A-J of Azem...more

Dave Colclough is out in level three; a couple of big hands sending him to the rail, although some would say that with the number of times he’s finished on the bubble this was the humane option. Dave Colclough (right) next to Andy Black before his elimination With a name...more

Tuesday was one of those days on Walll Street that makes everybody happy. The markets rallied and just about everybody ended the day on a high note. When the closing bell rang on the NASDAQ, one Montel Williams did the ringing. Just behind him stood Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin....more

by Dustin Mele EPT Copenhagen was great. The tournament was very well structured and the hotel and casino were very nice as well. The first day I arrived, I was exhausted from a friend's birthday party the night before and there was no room for sleep because the PokerStars welcome...more

by Chris Capra Take two world champion poker players, Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer Throw in a little comic relief in the form of Jason Alexander, Sprinkle a little baseball star power with Orel Hershiser, Mix together on a $1/$3 No Limit Hold’em cash game on a private table, Join...more

Cards are in the air with 160 players on day 1b... Down two flights, turn right into the casino, around the first bunch of tables, down a small gangway, down four steps, turn left past two tables and you run into table one. Here sit Polish player Dariusz Paszkewicz as...more

Its boundaries are always changing, thanks to a flexible rail. Certain levels are trickier than others. Smooth periods are easily managed until suddenly, and from out of nowhere, you find yourself trapped in a dry patch wondering what the hell happened, struggling to get out. Take the wrong turn and...more

It’s only after play ends that the day one landscape can be evaluated. 190 players began today, some with fire in their heart others with fear in their bones. The trick was to forget all that and make it through eight full hours of play ahead of the man or...more

The closing stages of day 1a and a final five hands to finish the day - and all as table line ups begun to get interesting. Julian Thew, armed with a beer, switched tables to sit opposite Trond Eidsvig, whilst behind him Daniel Ryan sat with Magnus Petersson and Daniel...more

Michel Wisniewski He wears glasses that would ordinarily be seen wrapped around the head of a spitfire pilot, his hair is pink and he once represented Poland in the Eurovision song contest. It doesn’t exactly make him Dylan but he’s one of the highest selling musicians in Poland and...more

Gino Alacqua pinches his temples with his finger tips. This is the pose we saw on the final table in Prague; his concentration pose – his attack pose, primed as he is to demand that his chips unleash hell. No wait, not this time. He folds behind another pre-flop raise....more

The end of the road tournament wise for Kara Scott but that just frees her up to do video blogs for the rest of the week! Starting with this one......more

There’s been something like a low in this level after the dinner break. Normally after dinner you might watch TV for a while, take a nap, and at the very least let your digestive system restore your energy levels to standard. That process is taking its toll in level five....more

Sadly it’s not going to be Kara Scott’s day. The EPT presenter is out, head held high but walking towards the rail in level four. It all started in a hand that cost her dearly against a player new to her table. In a jacks against queens situation Kara...more

On table 11, talk is of soccer... Johannes Strassmann Johannes Strassmann is discussing his plans with Joe Elpayaa to see games at the European Championships in Switzerland and Austria later this year, and then, via a subtle link, talk returns to poker. How exactly? Well, general chit-chat about soccer often...more

Warsaw marks EPT Presenter Kara Scott’s first glimpse of the tour from the other side. Usually found in front of the camera talking to the players this time she is one, and the video blog team tracked her progress before the start......more

True to his online form Mark Hirleman is getting stuck in. This may be his first EPT but he’s no stranger to the tournament scene. I have a slight amendment to make to my earlier post - I originally said he was top of the PokerStars.com tournament leader board –...more

James Honeybone has perhaps the best name on day 1a and has also travelled the furthest to get here. The New Zealander took three flights over 21 hours to reach Warsaw and this morning put aside the jet lag to talk to the video blog team......more

Play is underway in Casino Poland. As touched on earlier, it's a basement den two floors into the ground beneath the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Over 20 tables have been shoehorned into all corners and into space between the other features you’d expect in a European casino –principle activities being roulette,...more

Warsaw was once a brutalised city, beholden to the whim of various powers, but now its buildings reach into the sky, a symbol of if anything, it’s new found aspiration in the middle of the European Union. On the banks of the river Vistula on the Masovian Plain, the twenty-first...more

Downtown Warsaw and the Foksal nightclub. It’s the premier venue for night time entertainment in the heart of the Polish capital and whilst there may be little to differentiate between the clubs that host EPT welcome parties, be it Warsaw, Copenhagen, Dortmund or Prague, there is always the anticipation of...more

Over the past seven years, PokerStars players have had an opportunity to go just about everywhere. PokerStars has sent players to the United States for the World Series and produced champions. PokerStars has sent players to the European Poker Tour and created even more champions. Just last year, the Asia...more

Just the one chop in the Sunday Million on a weekend that saw the United States emerging as the big winners in the big tournaments. Crowded fields once more and some hefty prizes, as well as the obligatory late finish bringing the weekend to a close. Here are all the...more

A few weeks back, I asked in this forum, "How long will it be before the Sunday Million hits 8,000 players?" I guess the answer was, "Just a few weeks." This weekend, the PokerStars Sunday Million welcomed 8,063 players to its virtual tables for the big event. The first weekend...more

Today is like a holiday you can't mark on your calendar. You know it's going to happen sometime around this date, but you can't say exactly when. That simple fact almost makes it more exciting. It's like someone saying, "Christmas morning is coming but I'm not going to tell you...more