Every year on December 31st, we look back at the previous twelve months and think, "There is no way PokerStars will be able to outdo itself after this year." Every year, we are proven wrong. In 2008, PokerStars broke nearly every record on the books. It topped itself in as...more
Team Ireland landed in the finals of the World Cup of Poker IV, England did it the year before, and Scotland did it the year before that. 2009, however will see these nations gathered together under the banner of Team United Kingdom as they go for the gold in the...more
Joined by Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater, Team Germany made the finals of last year's World Cup of Poker, but unfortunately had to say "Auf Weidersehen" in seventh place. Now, after plowing through five teams of their fellow countrymen, Team Germany 1 is set to make a repeat appearance with...more
In the poker year that was 2008, Italy made a lasting impression. Luca Pagano was voted the EPT Player of the Year. Dario Minieri won his first World Series of Poker bracelet and Max Pescatori won his second. San Remo hosted their first EPT event, and though American Jason Mercier...more
We may be in the middle of PokerStars' World Record Week, but this weekend was where the biggest action happened. In just the span of one day, we saw the world's biggest ever poker tournament, the biggest ever Sunday Million, the biggest ever Sunday Warm-Up, and more than $12 million...more
The fields were super-sized during World Record Week and December 28th's special edition of the Million drew a mind-boggling 16,260 players to the felt creating a prizepool of $3,252,000, easily surpassing the $2.5 million guarantee placed on the event in honor of World Record Week. As the tournament neared the...more
PokerStars went for the record books this weekend--the Guiness Book of World Records to be precise, putting together the largest poker tournament in history--a 35,000 player, $10+1 buy-in event with a guaranteed prize pool of $500,000. Selling out days before cards ever went on the screen, the capped starting field...more
On a weekend laden with free money getting tossed into the ring, why not join PokerStars' biggest monthly freeroll? For 5,000 FPPs you receive a seat for a shot at a prize pool worth $1 million and a $100,000 first place prize. Tonight's $1 Million Turbo Takedown featured 9,532 players...more
As part of World Record Week here at PokerStars, several tournaments received a money injection into their guarantees. The Sunday Warm-up, normally a guaranteed $750,000, became a $1 million guarantee, and just so people would not confuse this tournament with the "Sunday Million" the marquee weekly PokerStars tournament's guarantee...more
Every team needs a captain and why should Team PokerStars Pro be any different? The details are still under wraps about the PokerStars All-Star Weekend, a new online team competition debuting next year, but to settle the captain's job, Team PokerStars Pro decided to do it as only poker players...more
What better way to end a successful year (or slide back into the black) with a nice four to five-figure score from a freeroll? PokerStars rewards its players in many ways, but for the serious SnG players the biggest perk is a free entry into the Battle of the...more
PokerStars bloggers Change100 and Johnny Kampis will be live blogging the whole of the Team PokerStars Pro Championship Match. Click refresh to see the latest updates. This match will be an 8-game mixed contest with 29 players. The top three finishers will be awarded money for charity. The winner will...more
After facing an eighth place elimination in last year's edition of the World Cup of Poker, Team Mexico is back for a repeat appearance in the live finals and looking to proudly represent Latin America. An eclectic foursome with diverse backgrounds has qualified to play under the Mexican flag. One...more
The current temperature in Halifax, Nova Scotia is somewhere around 14 degrees Fahrenheit. It is snowing, and chunks of ice drift through the ocean waters that surround the small province off Canada's eastern coast. In only a few weeks time, four lucky Nova Scotians will leave this frozen winter landscape...more
What is the only thing harder than getting to the top? Ask a top athlete, an A-list actor, a business tycoon, and yes, even a poker player this question and they'll all have the same answer. Staying at the top. Last year, Team USA came away from the World Cup...more
by Adam "STUDstood" Roberts This week, I want to continue the topic of staking. Staking occurs both in cash games and tournaments. In both areas there should be strict guidelines followed to ensure that there is trust, as well as a fun and relaxed atmosphere for both people --...more
Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer is preparing to help Team USA defend its title in the PokerStars World Cup of Poker. In just a couple of weeks, Raymer and the team will be in the Bahamas for the World Cup live finals. Greg was part of Team USA when it...more
By now, you likely have heard that PokerStars intends to break a world record this weekend. The plan is to have 35,000 people playing in the same poker tournament at the same time. The $11 buy-in $500,000 guaranteed tournament is set to break the Guinness world record for the biggest...more
PokerStars wants to break a record. A world record. A Guinness World Record. This Sunday, December 28 at 15:30 ET, PokerStars is going to attempt to break the record for the world's biggest poker tournament. PokerStars hopes to have...get this...35,000 people playing in the same tournament at the same time....more
It's a holiday week here at the PokerStars Blog. While that might normally mean wild parties, writers hopped up on eggnog, and somebody taking pictures of their hind end with a Xerox machine, we're going to be a bit more reserved (at least for the next couple days). After all,...more
With two Sundays left before 2008 comes to a close, it meant only two more chances for poker players the world over to grab a Sunday Million title. What better way to celebrate the holidays and ring in the new year than with a near-$200,000 prize and a prestigious online...more
A whopping 3,837 players took to the field for the last Sunday Warm-up before Christmas in 2008, and 585 of those players found at least $383.70 in their stocking by the end of the day. As the stores began to close on the east coast for shoppers, the final nine...more
Six days of preliminary events. Thousands of entrants. And many, many blog posts spread all over the internet chronicling from a myriad of viewpoints the highlights (and lowlights) of the players' efforts. Then came the finale, the main event of the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker. A final total...more
The 2008 PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker live updates are brought to you by bloggers Jen Newell, Change100, Martin Harris, and Brad Willis. Click refresh to see the latest update. Playing in the event and have something to say? Shoot us an e-mail to blog@pokerstars.com. 9:12pm--That's a...more
The 2008 PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker now has its final field set. Sunday's WBCOOP Main Event will host 369 of the world's top poker playing bloggers as they fight for a prize package to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, a European Poker Tour Trip, and other big...more
Could there have been a better-named winner in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker 8-game mixed event? When the players are bouncing from game to game, it's hard to image a mix-master like DjFog86 wasn't destined to win. More than 450 players showed up for Event #5...more
So, you've dallied. It happens. We all get busy around the holidays. What with all the gift shopping, yuletide cheer, and family vacations, we can all be forgiven for not winning our Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure seat yet. Seriously? You haven't got your seat yet? Get on the ball, folks, because...more
The PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker now has its first 288 qualifiers for Sunday's WBCOOP final, and among them is Germany's 2T!lt4Fold. Thursday's Event #4 was a no-limit hold'em affair that awarded Main Event seats to the top 72 finishers and big-time prizes to the top 45....more
The Shark was feeling a bit peckish. Then again, Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes is always feeling a little hungry for chips. Put him in water full of players who match his life experience and Brenes' stomach growls even more. Such was the scene at Event #11 of the Bellagio...more
Bloggers love to gamble. Anybody who doubts that should spend five or ten minutes around them in Las Vegas (or, perhaps worse, when there are some spare limes that can be tossed into a trash can for large amounts of money). Anybody who still doubts it should've watched the PokerStars...more
Maybe you've been around the block a few times. Maybe you have sat across the poker table from the big name pros, called their bluff, and stacked their chips. But have you ever sat across the dinner table from them and shared a plate of chips? What about prop bet...more
Say anything you want about Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin, but don't question his ability to be bold or dedication to PokerStars players. Ramdin was playing in the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic this weekend and found himself in a tough spot. It had nothing to do with his...more
One hundred and forty-two people now have their seats for Sunday's PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker Main Event thanks in part to Tuesday's Event #2. The top 72 players in WBCOOP's second event earned their place in the Main Event. Tuesday's no-limit hold'em contest drew 559 of the...more
They have played countless hands of poker and written countless words about the victories and defeats. Now, they are facing off to determine who is the top blogger of 2008. For the first time ever, the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker is playing out as a series of...more
It's shaping up to be quite a December at PokerStars. With the live PokerStars tournament scene on a holiday hiatus, it's time to turn our full attention to online action. And action there was this weekend with more than 20 big tournaments running on Sunday alone. The most notable of...more
Only a few more opportunities to claim a Sunday Million victory in the 2008 calendar year brought another stellar field to the PokerStars tables on December 14th. No amount of holiday shopping or family obligations could keep poker players away from the most popular weekly tournament in online poker. The...more
This week's Sunday Warm-Up saw 3,899 runners log on, thereby ensuring the $750,000 guarantee would be safely met. A total of 585 places paid for today's event, with the prize pool ultimately topping off at $779,900. Leaving aside any final table deal-making, the player finishing in first place stood to...more
When you think of poker in Italy - and on the boisterous EPT these days you rarely have the opportunity not to - you probably think of the Team PokerStars Pro duo Dario Minieri and Luca Pagano, with notable mentions to Max Pescatori and Dario Alioto. But as from this...more
Play on the final table has entered level 29, with blinds at 40,000-80,000 (8,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated regularly during each level. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action from the final is available on EPT Live. 1am: PokerStars sponsored player...more
Play on the final table has entered level 28, with blinds at 30,000-60,000 (6,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated regularly during each level. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action from the final is available on EPT Live. 11.22pm: Players take a...more
Play on the final table has entered level 27, with blinds at 25,000-50,000 (5,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated regularly during each level. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action from the final is available on EPT Live. 10.10pm: That's the end...more
Play on the final table has entered level 26, with blinds at 20,000-40,000 (4,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated regularly during each level. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action from the final is available on EPT Live. 8.50pm:Players take a 15...more
Play on the final table has entered level 25, with blinds at 15,000-30,000 (3,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated when official counts are taken at the end of each level; approximate counts will appear on this page. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all...more
Play on the final table has entered level 24, with blinds at 12,000-24,000 (2,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated when official counts are taken at the end of each level; approximate counts will appear on this page. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all...more
Play on the final table has entered level 23, with blinds at 10,000-20,000 (2,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated when official counts are taken at the end of each level; approximate counts will appear on this page. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all...more
Final table play has entered level 22, with blinds at 8,000-16,000 (1,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated when official counts are taken at the end of each level; approximate counts will appear on this page. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action...more
Play resumes on the final table in level 21, with blinds at 6,000-12,000 (1,000 ante). There are slightly more than 30 minutes remaining in the level, and all the action will appear here. The chip counts page will be updated when official counts are taken at the end of each...more
A televised final wouldn’t be the same without a certain degree of administrative hullaballoo before cameras roll. The slick, seamless production you get beamed to your home tends to betray the cables, the running around and general fog of war that goes on before play starts, a process currently...more
Late last night, we found ourselves our final table eight, the octet outlasting 562 others to take their place around the feature table baize of the EPT. They are, in seat order, as follows: Konstantinos Alexiou, 48, from Athens, Greece - 1,382,000 chips Konstantinos studied mathematics at university but gave...more
Day three was a story of heroics, luck and what seemed to be a thousand Italian poker players in designer glasses romping into the EPT history books by sheer weight alone. Chief among the rompers was Salvatore Bonavena, who became our overnight chip leader. While the Italian experience on the...more
And there we have it. Sebastian Ruthenberg gets it all in with K-Q and he runs into Massimo Di Cicco's A-K. This time the board is queen-free and the PokerStars.de ShootingStar Ruthenberg is eliminated. We have our final eight, and their chip counts are: Salvatore Bonavena - 1,402,000 Konstantinos Alexiou...more
Raul Mestre and Alexiou Constantinos just got all their chips in pre-flop, with the Greek player covering the Spaniard. Chuckles from the rail greeted the two hands when they were exposed: Kh-Qc versus Kc-Qh. All backdoor flush possibilities were extinguished by the turn and they chopped it. Seems like a...more
As these nine continue to slog it out, we continue to wait. There have been few major confrontations that we haven't already described, but the result of the small-ball poker we've seen is this chip count, with a guest appearance from a Swedish letter. See if you can spot it:...more
Although there's just the one table still in play, this is not the "real" final table, which on the EPT can only feature eight players. We need to lose one more from this pseudo final table until we can pack up for the night. The TV bubble is a cruel...more
Francesco Cirianni has just doubled up, and it's a big one. He and Fredrik Nygard got to a flop of Jd-2s-8d and there was a bet from Cirianni, a raise from Nygard and all all in push from the Italian, for 275,000 more. Nygard smelt a rat - it was...more
Down to nine players on a single table, and Sebastian Ruthenberg is the first of the short stacks to double up. He flops two pair with Q-9 and gets it all in, leaving Alexiou Konstantinos fearing he's behind but forced to call. The Greek player was drawing dead by the...more
And then there were nine. Daniel Drescher, a short stack for much of the day, found a hand he was prepared to move in with. It was folded back around to chip leader Alexiou Konstantinos who had found pocket queens to Drescher’s A-T. The queens held up making Drescher...more
Within two minutes of the return from the break, two players have busted. They are Igor Rejdovjan, whose Q-Q lost to Francesco Cirianni's A-K all in pre-flop. The king flopped and there was no queen in sight. Then on the feature table, Juan Maceiras got it all in on a...more
A glimpse of Raul Mestre’s composure before the break. As the clock struck zero in level 20 and players began to leave for cigarettes, bathrooms and both, Mestre and Greek player Alexiou Konstantinos tangled, Konstantinos betting 15,000 on the flop and turn and 50,000 on the river with the...more
Still 13 players in Prague, with seven on the one remaining outer table and six on the television table, currently getting the full EPT Live treatment. There are very few flops and fewer sizeable fluctuations, but we now have two players with close to a million, one either side of...more
Domenico Iannonne just got blasted from this tournament with a brutal outdraw at the hands of the chip-leader Fredrik Nygard. Iannonne had more than 300,000 when they got it all in on a flop of 9h-4h-7h. Nygard was the aggressor, but winced when Iannonne called his all-in shove. Nygard showed...more
We've lost another one, and it's the final Swedish player in the tournament. Previously such a dominant force on the EPT, Rifat Palevic's elimination in 15th place means the Prague title won't be heading back to Stockholm, or anywhere near it, this year. Palevic and Nasr El Nasr got it...more
A double up for Nasr El Nasr, courtesy of an emphatic quad jacks. After the chip leader Fredrik Nygard raised pre-flop from the button, Nasr reraised all in from the small blind. Nygard tanked but made the call, even though he had just Qh9h. The flop brought the first of...more
With players on a break a redraw has taken place, chips have been moved and only two tables remain. Just 15 players are left, a further seven will depart without the need to return tomorrow. You can find all the latest results so far on our prizes page as...more
Two very speedy eliminations from an outer and then the feature table. First the Slovak player Igor Rejdovjan got busy with his recently doubled-up stack and ousted Jens Hansen. Hansen had 7-8 on a flop of A-8-x. It was no good against Rejdovjan's A-K. Then Dan Pedersen walked, getting his...more
A double up for Slovakia's Igor Rejdovjan, who moved all in on a flop of Js-3s-Qs. Andrew Chen didn't much like it - he clearly knew he was behind - but was forced to call about 73,000 with Q-7o. Rejdovjan had pocket aces, including the As, and when a fourth...more
Another Italian victory dance just took place, paid for by Dominico Iannonne. Unlike other big hands which have seen pre-flop all-ins, this hand developed with some traditional betting and a flop. On a flop of Qh-7s-9c Iannonne bet 55,000 from the small blind which was called by Daniel Biro...more
Jakob Eberg has become the latest victim of the PokerStars qualifier Massimo Di Cicco's relentless rise up the chip ladder. Supported by a crowd best described as "vocal and passionate" (I suppose just describing them as "Italian" would do the trick), Di Cicco ousted Eberg with A-Q versus A-J all-in...more
Four all-ins in quick succession and no doubt who the luckiest man in the world is right now. If he had the chance he might be out buying lottery tickets right now, but Andrew Chen was the beneficiary of two double up in a row after losing most of...more
The 15 minute break at the end of level 18 gave us the chance to take an official chip count and ensure we had all the details of remaining players correct. There was a huge let off for the Greek player Nikolaos Panopoulos, who we reported as being out earlier....more
A double up in the closing stages of level 18. Players are currently on a break between levels but it will be Jens Hansen who feels most relieved, doubling up through Rifat Palevic. His chips went all-in with Kc-8s against the pocket nines of Palevic who stayed ahead at...more
Ludovic Lacay is out! The French player, second in chips at the start of play, just came over to media row to describe the details of his elimination, in three key hands. First, he found himself pot committed with K-J against 9-9 - "He flopped a nine, I flopped a...more
Francesco Cirianni made the easiest decision of the tournament, calling the all-in of Phulippe Baa Carlier of Belgium, and turning over two red aces. Carlier could only muster As-Jd which would need some help on the board. It didn’t get any, and Carlier became the latest elimination. Ludovic Lacay...more
When the 25th player was eliminated, the tournament officials broke a table and play continued on three eight-handed tables. There's been some shuffling of seat orders to accommodate the ever-shrinking field, with the players now lining up as follows. Please note, their chip counts at this stage are unofficial, with...more
Next to go is Georgios Gatselos from Greece. He moved in with Ah-Kd and was called by Fredrik Nygaard with pocket jacks which made a set on the flop, busting the Greek. Elsewhere a huge pot sprung up featuring the Italian Francesco Cirianni and Frenchman Ludovic Lacay, which pitted...more
A crazy few hands has accounted for four players in quick succession. Just as Joris Jaspers was spotted heading to the rail, elimination details unknown, there were three other all ins. Haward Speer went out, see below, as did Sander De Vries and Nikolaos Panopoulos. De Vries got it in...more
With what was left of level 17 now complete level 18 has just begun, with blinds now 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante. Haward Speer becomes the latest evictee, all-in with K-6 against the J-7 of Daniel Biro. The flop proved that the pen is mightier than the sword, or...more
A couple of major hands have recently played out on two tables. The first was a double up for Georgios Gatselos of Greece, whose A-K was good enough to oust Jonathan Duhamel's Q-Q. They got it all in pre-flop, with Duhamel comfortably covering Gatselos's 38,000. The ace flopped and he...more
A shift in fortunes and it’s Sebastian Ruthenberg making the all-in move behind a bet of 40,000 by PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras. It was 134,500 total which Maceiras considered but passed on after some time in the tank. Sebastian Ruthenberg If the TV people were looking for action...more
There's a definite opportunity these days for an entrepreneurial publisher to commission a travel book centred on poker. It would feature details of the best tournaments around the world, with all the vital information concerning structures, buy-ins and side action. But the book would also include an in depth guide...more
The first all in of the day came to nothing. Francesco Cirianni pushed, stood to await his fate but only saw the others fold one by one. Still, that’s good for the blinds, currently 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante. Soon after the feature table got its first all-in action,...more
Dawn is breaking on day three of the EPT Prague. Of course we mean a poker dawn, which by loose definition means around noon. Yesterday’s eight and a bit hours of play shaped what looks likely to be a tense day three, featuring players with titles, credentials and EPT...more
The world may have had to wait 24 hours to see Peter Eastgate win the World Series of Poker this year on ESPN, but when PokerStars crowns the World Cup of Poker champions, it will happen live and for the whole world to see. PokerStars announced today that the live...more
At the very start of the day - day two at EPT Prague - the tournament director Thomas Kremser announced that we would be playing down to four tables of eight, 32 players, no matter how long it took. Typically, there was a weary groan from the press corps, veterans...more
Stefan Mattsson of Sweden leaves in 35th place. He moved in with pocket deuces against the As-5s of Brian Jensen which held tight until the river card. The board ran out 3s-6d-6s-Qc-Ad sending Mattsson to the rail. You can find a complete run down of all the prize winners...more
With the side event in full swing the tournament room is full again, and with the added body warmth the place is getting a little hot and a tad funky. Not that that bothers Frenchman Ludovic Lacay who plays on in a hat, scarf and jumper, oblivious to the...more
A massive hand for Ludovic Lacay gives the Frenchman the probable chip lead. He flopped a flush with 10d-9d -- in fact, it was an open-ended straight flush draw with the board showing Jd-8d-3d. He managed to get Pavel Blatny, holding A-J, to part with all his sizeable stack, and...more
With 40 players remaining another table has broken and the rope perimeter gets shortened again as if these tables were defending the Christmas tree standing in the corner of the room. It’s not long before the 40th place finisher is confirmed. Tome Moreira has that honour, quietly doing the...more
There's no one more accustomed than Johnny Lodden at building short stacks into mountains. But let's be honest, he's not bad at sometimes turning mountains into dust as well. Sadly for the Norwegian professional, the latter is true here in Prague, where Lodden has just departed in 43rd place. He...more
The Minieri-shaped hole on table eight has had the effect of sucking many of the railbirds away from the main tournament. Some are now playing in the €2,000 side event, while others have gone of in search of anything that might come close to the action provided by the dynamic...more
The last remaining Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri has just been eliminated. A resting place of 47th for the Italian who left a trail of wreckage in his wake. He got it all-in with pocket queens against Raul Mestre’s A-Q. The first card on the table was an ace,...more
The bubble has burst and the man to leave Prague with nothing is Erich Kollman, the Austrian pro. Kollman got involved with A-Q against Rifat Palevic, who had him well covered in both chips and hand. Palevic had kings and although a queen came on the turn, it wasn't enough...more
The video blog team are here in Prague, catching up with many of the players, following all of the action, and sharing their moving images with the world via the PokerStars.tv portal. But what does a team of video bloggers do in their down time? Well, it turns out they...more
They're quickly closing in on the bubble, with only 59 players now remaining. For some, this is all about survival with the short stack, hoping to edge into the cash at the minimum possible risk; for others, this is all about well-armed bullying, plundering the dead money on offer. The...more
Dario Minieri is inarguably the main attraction here in Prague. Every 10 minutes or so, the tournament officials are forced to make an announcement requesting spectators to stay behind the ropes and not crowd the tables. They're referring specifically to one table, where the Team PokerStars Pro sits at the...more
There will be a time in the not so distant future, when young kids, no taller than your knee, will watch old clips from the European Poker Tour, look up to their parents and say “when I grow up, I want to be Dario Minieri.” Sure they'll still be...more
Christer Johansson is out. The overnight chip leader moved tables and came straight into the big blind surrounded by monstrous stacks. Most of them folded around to the PokerStars qualifier Shander De Vries in the small blind and he raised, prompting Johansson to shove for 31,000 more. De Vries pondered...more
Gino Alacqua has fond memories of the EPT Prague thanks to an extraordinary performances here twelve months ago, a runner-up spot to Arnaud Mattern that earned him €407,300. Since then more success has followed, with cashes in Copenhagen and a second final table a few weeks ago at the...more
It's not been a great day for the overnight chip leader Christer Johansson, who ran queens into aces in an 80,000 pot very early on and then got consistently unlucky in a number of small pots until he dribbled down to about 40,000. Johansson was drawn on the same table...more
Players' seats are drawn entirely at random, and when tables break their new seat assignment is also decided by the luck of the draw. And so there's nothing sinister about the fact that Dario Minieri's table seems to have about half the chips in play from the entire tournament. It...more
The task at hand is first to make it to the money, still some 41 eliminations away, and then to get as deep as possible, with the ultimate aim a place on the televised final table. It sounds simple bashed out on the keyboard, in the reality looks a...more
Yesterday's "A round with Peter Eastgate" served its purpose of illustrating some of the realities of major poker tournaments, namely even with a table stacked with stars, there's a lot of time when nothing much happens. Today's "A round with..." features the Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri, and it illustrates...more
The undisputed success story of the day so far is the PokerStars qualifier John Riley. He's top of the list to have a chat to, not only because he's made the long trip to the Czech Republic from the United States, after winning his seat online, but also now because...more
The patented PokerStars Lodden-o-Meter™ has been dusted down for day two in Prague, and has already come a-quivering into action. For those who missed the introduction to this piece of kit, it's an impressive chunk of machinery designed specifically to record the major fluctuations in chip stack of the Norwegian...more
Arriving today with 16,300 means there’s work to be done with relatively few options. It’s all or nothing, no time for finesse. That’s the deal Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken has this afternoon, sitting with less than that after nearly a full level of play thanks to the erosion...more
One of the volatile players of day one was London player Lukas Schwartz, up at one stage, down the next, who arrived today in command of a stack worth nearly 70,000. He’s now down to about 40,000 though after a dead end hand against Rifat Palevic from Sweden. The...more
There’s a certain cruelty attached to day two of any EPT event. The effort used to survive day one turned bagging chips up last night was an achievement, succeeding where hundreds of others failed. But this morning the realisation dawns that you’re still some way from having anything to...more
The line-up for day 1b at EPT Prague read like a glittering who's who of modern poker. There were EPT champions and online legends and then a man entered the house with the biggest reputation of all: Europe welcomed back to its bosom Peter Eastgate, the 22-year-old Dane who went...more
“This is the second time you’ve tried to bluff me! I’m all-in!” PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras knows how to entertain the rail. The seat seven player had raised Maceiras for a second time and the Spaniard wanted to put a stop to it, moving all-in. He felt happy...more
William Thorson is busto, ending a fairly miserable backward slide through the final couple of levels for the Team PokerStars Pro. Ever the action player, Thorson had doubled up early, and built his stack to around about 35,000 at one point. But all his chips drifted away in sizeable chunks...more
Dutch PokerStars qualifier Joris Jaspers was in “take no prisoners” mood in a hand against a player whose name was on his shirt but who was gone too quickly for anyone to read it. On a flop of 9h-5s-Qh Jaspers bet 1,325 which his opponent re-raised to 3,650. After...more
Giuseppe Festa has just been eliminated; his pocket sevens beaten by pocket kings and with a few handshakes the Italian was gone. Festa’s story happens to be one of the more interesting here given that it started one year ago and today marked something of an anniversary. Twelve months...more
The most recent level has been the one where we slipped into top gear. Until now, this seems to have been a much slower day than yesterday, but they found the accelerator pedal in the past hour or so and there have been huge movements at the top of the...more
Davidi Kitai of EPT Barcelona fame, showed his talent at the table back in September. Here he just showed his talent at remaining composed at an obvious rub down. It came by the hand of the seat nine player, who went by the name of “seat eight player” when...more
There was an immensely impressive array of talent lining up for day 1b in Prague, but so far the upshot of the first five levels of play has been the population of an immensely talented rail. Many of the top names have fallen by the wayside, leaving some of the...more
The official numbers are finally in and the number crunchers have done their chomping. There were 298 players in today's day 1b field, added to yesterday's 272 players to make a total of 570 entrants into what is now comfortably the second-most popular EPT event, behind only the Monte Carlo...more
PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras fits the typical poker player mould. Young, neglected stubble that has become a beard, youthful clothes and a attitude fit to take on the world. He’s also a good player. A flash of that talent came earlier in the shape of a top draw...more
Two people won't be on Peter Eastgate's Christmas card list. One of them is Stuart Rutter, the English player who has just knocked out the World Champion from EPT Prague. The other is the idiot reporter who just bounded up the the World Champion and said: "Peter, can you tell...more
Late yesterday, a big screen was rolled back in the tournament room that soon became more like a temporary wall. It separated a decent chunk of the ballroom from the action area, permitting anything to occur behind it without interrupting the tournament flow. Although we still can't see through the...more
After Peter Eastgate had completed his shuffle up and deal formalities, all eyes tracked the World Champion to determine who got the first chance to cross swords with the nine million dollar man. Under normal circumstances, Eastgate's table-mates might have been overawed, but these are not normal circumstances. Awaiting the...more
We said something before the break about how Dario Minieri was playing a waiting game. Well, it seems the real Dario Minieri has arrived, albeit 15 minutes late, to use his usual bag of tricks – a bag of sublime talent mixed with cheek - to dazzle. It’s not...more
Two Team PokerStars Pros find themselves within shouting distance. Katja Thater sits two to the left of EPT Warsaw runner-up Nico Behling whilst a table across is Alex Kravchenko, alongside EPT Warsaw winner Joao Barbosa. Of all of them it’s Kravchenko narrowly ahead, up a few grand more after...more
It's true that we always write something like this, but it's also true that it's always true. Today's truly star-studded field is truly one of the best we've seen. We have recently updated the chip counts page with a list of most (some?) of the notables in today's field. Click...more
Just because these are the early stages there’s nothing to stop players using the all-in move as their best weapon. Within minutes two players were in the tank, one being a finalist here last year and in San Remo, Dag Palovic. As Palovic folded a call of “seat open”...more
Among those arriving early to today's action, filling out their forms and riffling their chips before the room filled with others doing the same, was Janek Schleicher, a PokerStars qualifier from Germany, whose face seemed familiar. "Have you played on the EPT before?" I asked, certain that this was not...more
Even now, in December 2008, there are people who decry the celebrity culture that has entered poker. Some people suggest that card players can't be bone fide mainstream stars; they say that the game should be played by people you don't know in places you have never been. But last...more
Tournament staff are busy preparing themselves for the beginning of day 1B, with the tournament director Thomas Kremser drilling them once again on what they can expect. Short version: poker. The full chip counts from day 1a made their way onto the official chip count page overnight, the same place...more
The EPT these days runs like a well-oiled machine. Starting stacks are in place long before the scheduled off time, cards and dealers are ready immediately to begin to shuffle up and deal. The only things that habitually miss the advertised start are the players themselves, some of whom amble...more
Carnage in the middle of level seven with three big names sent packing in quick succession, changing the look of day 1a. First it was Gus Hansen, taking with him the hoards of spectators crowding his table. Then it was fellow Dane Theo Jorgensen who was clobbered and out...more
Six polish players began day 1a but only three remain. One of them is Jacek Ladny. Anyone with a keen mind who is able to cast it back to 2006 might remember Ladny from the PokerStars World Cup of Poker held in Barcelona that year where he was part...more
As if this kind of thing was news at all, Johnny Lodden's chip stack has altered again since last report. This time there's been a positive swing on the all-new PokerStars patented Lodden-o-Meter™, with the bungee-yo-yoing Norwegian now up again to 25,000 in chips. How long that will last is...more
With Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano gone that left just Marcin Horecki flying the PokerStars flag on day 1a. That was until level five. Horecki has fallen. The end came for Horecki in the big blind holding Q-J against the small blind’s A-K. He wound up calling Horecki’s all-in...more
During the recent break at the end of level four, the PokerStars player lounge was its usual bustle of fussball players, conversationalists and Wii guitar heroes, all the entertainments the average poker player could want to cram in to a 15-minute suspension in action. But as most filed out for...more
Play ends in level four with the clock showing 191 players. It would have shown 192 but in the closing minutes of the level Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano became the first of the Team to be eliminated in a three-way all-in. He held pocket eights against A-Q and...more
You think you’ve got away with it; you’ve watched and worked out how each man at your table plays and think you’ve got the best of it, and the chips in the vacant seat two, well they’re easy pickings. Then Gus Hansen turns up, captaining what’s left of that...more
In Vegas in November, you couldn't move for people named Schwartz. At the final table of the World Series Main Event was the PokerStars Million Dollar Man, Ylon Schwartz, who went all the way from the New York sidewalk chess scene to a four million bucks payday as a poker...more
After five seasons you don’t have to go far along the aisles of day 1, to find an EPT winner or someone who has come close. EPT Prague is proving no exception with a cast on one row of tables alone featuring Trond Eidsvig, Michael Martin, Albert Iversen, Gino...more
"Congratulations players," dead-panned the tournament official Steve Frezer about 15 minutes ago. "You have made it through to the first break." It's not quite the same as the announcement that a final table is set, that the bubble has burst or even that a day end has been reached. But...more
Rolf Slotboom, who has had tournament success on the EPT and in his native Holland, will find none of the same here in Prague, eliminated in the opening levels of day 1a. It was made doubly cruel by the dealer responsible for giving him the hand that did it,...more
Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano just played his first notable hand, heralding a first step on his way to a potential EPT title. Placed against the hands a few hours or days from now it will be insignificant but everyone starts somewhere, and for Pagano it was a cautious...more
Such is the fashion for arriving late to poker tournaments these days that by the time EPT Prague season nine rolls around, the dealers will be passing out cards to empty tables for the first hour or so of play. Today's day 1a got underway remarkably close to the scheduled...more
Perched as we are ten feet above the tournament floor on a concert stage, a panorama of wall to wall poker tables gradually filling with players to the soundtrack of The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony, and there’s little doubt we have the best seat in the house for day 1a...more
There was a fairly simple plan to writing this welcome post to Prague, the latest stop on season five of the European Poker Tour (EPT). We landed early this evening, we quickly freshened up at the hotel, and then the idea was for a spirited scamper around the city to...more
The online portion of this competition is over, and it’s almost time to take it to the felt. Nine teams in the Bahamas in January for some of the most intense, exciting, and fun tournament poker that there is to be played. The fifth installment of the World Cup of...more
This weekend in tournament poker was one that simply could not have been played without PokerStars' help. Not only did PokerStars put on its weekly array of Sunday majors, it also hosted the APPT events in Sydney and the division playoffs of the World Cup of Poker. It was a...more
As the stores and malls are bustling with shoppers during the busiest shopping month of the year, PokerStars has been busy with the World Cup of Poker and its regular uber-popular Sunday tournaments. The holidays have yet to put a dent in the number of players who log on to...more
Strike another one up for Team PokerStars. After Chris Moneymaker’s victory in the $1000 No Limit Hold’em event two days ago, Vanessa Rousso has taken out the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions. ‘Lady Maverick’ was confirmed champion when APPT Grand Final winner Martin Rowe was forced make a move...more
We’re heads-up in the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions, with Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso a big chip leader (4:1) over new APPT Grand Final champion Martin Rowe. Players eliminated in the past hour have included Sydney young gun and 2007 APPT Macau High Roller champion in fifth. His...more
Martin Rowe is quickly adjusting to life as a poker personality. He leads the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions with four players remaining, and is within reach of an amazing double after winning the APPT Grand Final last night. After KOing most of the players at the final table...more
We’re into level two (50/100) of the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions, and already one of the champions has fallen. APPT Auckland champion Daniel Craker was unfortunately struggling with illness but ploughed on for his charity of choice to be here today. With 9000 in chips already in the...more
3,751 players signed up for one of the richest guarantees in online poker this week – the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up. After 8 ½ hours of No Limit tournament play, the final nine players gathered round one table for their piece of the big money. Sbj1000 took the chip lead into...more
After a long night of celebrations for new PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final champion Martin Rowe (not sure if he made it to bed), Martin Rowe is back at Star City along with the biggest names in the game for the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions. Introduced last year,...more
At the start of the day, we knew one of the live final teams for the PokerStars World Cup of Poker. Now we know them all. Under World Cup of Poker rules, the United Kingdom gets an automatic berth to the finals as a division all its own. The eight...more
After several rounds of qualifying, five teams of four players each faced off in the Division Canada Final today to determine which four players would defend the Great White North's fierce poker reputation in the Bahamas come January. Given the well-recognized level of play in Canada, it was a sure...more
As anyone who spends time at the tables on PokerStars knows, poker has seen a surge in popularity throughout Latin America in the last few years. With today's Division Latin America final, eight nations from Central and South America got the shot to prove to the world that they are...more
It was the day that awaited players for weeks. Those who began in freerolls took to the felt week after week to make it to the Divisional Playoffs, and this was the day that would determine if it could be chalked up to a fun experience or if they would...more
Updates on the late action in the PokerStars World Cup of Poker division playoffs can be found here. Click refresh (as often as your poker-filled heart desires) to see the latest action. 4:40pm - And that's a wrap! Nothing more to see in this particular post, folks. This afternoon, we...more
At the conclusion of this morning's matches, the Europe III division of World Cup V ended in a tie, with both Spain and Latvia claiming 43 points. For Spain, brsariego took a first place (worth 20 points), Rompe1946 took third at his table (11 points), and VARICO and pable818 both...more
The Europe III division saw ten teams competing at four tables. The ten countries battling it out were France, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Latvia. Eliminations came fast and furious at TLB1, with half the table getting knocked out quickly, several thanks to Luigi da BP...more
Six teams from Germany each sent representatives to four tables to battle it out to see who would win the right to represent their country in the live final of the World Cup, to be played in the Bahamas on January 6th. Representing Berlin was D.Nowitzki, xxB 52xx, NiceBet_1985, and...more
Four Sit and Go tables, ten nations, one team trip to the land of sun and sand to play poker and national bragging rights for $100,000 ($20,000 per winning team member). The "Rest of the World" division brought together Armenia, China, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa,...more
Players from ten countries took to the virtual felt this morning to duke it out for a trip to the sunny Bahamas to compete in the finals of the World Cup of Poker. The Europe II division included players from Austria, Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland,...more
Poker is traditionally a solitary game; an every man for himself, out to conquer it all and leave nothing behind for the rest of the table pursuit. Players are accustomed to taking a seat and entering a zone where they think of nothing and no one else but themselves and...more
Updates on the early action in the PokerStars World Cup of Poker division playoffs can be found here. Click refresh to see the latest action. Thanks to all our competitors - 11:02am That concludes our morning coverage of the World Cup of Poker V divisional qualifers, now look forward to...more
We have a new PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final champion: Martin Rowe, from Sydney Australia. Rowe becomes poker’s newest millionaire. It was all one-way traffic for the new champion who systematically knocked out his challengers one by one at the final table. In the last hand of the tournament Jason...more
Just when we thought the PokerStars.net APPT High Roller event might overtake the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, runaway chip leader Martin Rowe has just eliminated another two players to set-up a heads-up battle with fellow Sydneysider Jason Gray. After the dinner break it didn’t take long for Antonio Fazzolari...more
There’s an awesome buzz around Star City Casino tonight – big money up for grabs, top pros battling it out at final tables, high-stakes cash games heaving and the players’ party about to kick-off. Having just celebrated out final visit to the Garden Buffet and gorged down the last...more
Martin Rowe, the local insurance man, has been the big mover in the past hour to take a big chip lead into the dinner break with just four players remaining in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. More and more fans are crowding around the final table as Rowe climbs...more
For a guy without any real major tournament experience, Antonio Fazzolari is looking surprisingly composed and continues to control the final table at the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. He continues to lead the field but behind him, the chips continue to be shuffled around the table. The remaining six...more
Australia has a strong Italian influence thanks to the massive influx of migrants after World War II. That influence has flowed over into today’s final table, as three of the participants recently discovered. Three of the player’s heritages lie in the Calabria region in the south of Italy. Antonio...more
Welcome to our final table coverage of the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Cards are in the air on a massive day here, with a new poker millionaire to be anointed later today. This is the most intimate setting of any APPT final table played so far. The feature...more
The final table line-up for the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final has been decided, and the odds remain firmly in place that another local will be crowned champion. Seven of the nine players are Aussies, with Daniel Kowalski (a UK based Pole) and Canada’s Tony Basile representing the internationals....more
It is an exciting time in poker for national pride. The World Cup of Poker gives nine nations the opportunity to play for global recognition and the title of world championship team. In addition, the participants of each of the nine teams going to the finals are in for an...more
With the elimination of Emanuel ‘Curly’ Seal and Richard Holmes, the remaining eight players have been condensed into a single table for the run to the money in the PokerStars.net APPT Sydney High Roller event. Holmes (Q-J) fell to the pocket queens of Jarred flopnutsonyou Graham after the board...more
John Juanda has been a great supporter of the APPT, with appearances in both Macau events, Manila and now Sydney. The man who won the WSOP Europe main event will be free to check out the sights of the town after being eliminated from the APPT Sydney High Roller...more
2.45am on a Sunday morning at Star City Casino in Sydney – the railbirds and punters are well refreshed, there’s enough skin on show for an X-rating and the security guards are busier than a termite in a sawmill. After two very quiet levels (read: no eliminations), three players...more
With the excitement of the final elimination on day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final subsided, focus has firmly shifted to the opening session of the APPT Sydney High Roller event. Of the 37 players who paid the $15,000 entry fee, 19 players have been eliminated. Recent departures...more
Spectators are six-deep around the rail at the two tables that remain in play for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. One table is at the corner of the poker area, and a second is the feature table that will be used for tomorrow’s final table. Two players who won’t...more
The entire field of 37 had yet to be seated in the PokerStars.net APPT Sydney High Roller when the first two players were eliminated. After winning his first major title here last year in the APPT Tournament of Champions, 2005 WSOP champion and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem won’t...more
The pace has finally slowed after the constant carnage of the afternoon session on day 3 in the PokerStars APPT Grand Final. Only three players have been sent to the rail since play moved to two tables. The money was in pre-flop between all-in player Daniel Hameiri (kings) and...more
There have been many innovations on the APPT since its first event last year, none more popular than the addition of big buy-in ‘High Roller’ events to the schedule. The first High Roller tournament was played in Macau last year. Eric Assadourian, who just placed 20th in the APPT...more
The redraw for the final 16 players has just been completed as we reach the business end of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City Casino in Sydney. Aside from the single representatives of the UK (Daniel Kowalski) and Canada (Tony Basile), the other 14 players are all...more
The odds of another Australian player winning the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final are getting shorter with each elimination as we prepare to redraw the final 16 players. After yesterday’s sluggish progress, the field has been slashed from 48 to 17 as the battle for spots at the final table....more
Half of the 48 players chasing the AUD $1 million on day 3 in the PokerStars APPT Grand Final have been sent to the rail as the steady stream of eliminations continues through the afternoon. We’ve recently farewelled French PokerStars qualifier Mamouni Smain (28th) when his A-J came up...more
J.C. Alvarado was down below 8,000 in chips and knew the blinds would be going up to 500/1,000/100 in level 9. And so it was an open shove that folded all the way to former PokerStars Brazilian blogger Maria "maridu" Mayrinck. She was tortured as she peeled up Ah-Th. In...more
We shouldn’t be cheering for players today, but we definitely had a soft spot for Frank ‘The Bank’ Bianco. One of the most popular staff members at Crown in Melbourne, Frank made it two cashes in two APPT events after he made the money in Macau. Indeed, he enters...more
After such a tight bubble period last night, it was hardly surprising to see the short stacks waste little time in the opening minutes of day 3 in the PokerStars.net APPT. But five players in five minutes, talk about the eradication of a species! It started with Jimmy Wong’s...more
While his tablemates chat to one other, bop to their iPods or simply stare at the green felt in front of them in between hands, Jim Collopy has work to do. In his lap sits a thick, hardback book topped with pages of handwritten notes and printed web pages....more
There’s a slight north-easterly breeze blowing down Sydney Harbour, and the weekend warriors have set the spinnakers for Saturday morning’s yacht races. It’s warm, the sun is shining and the cafes and restaurants along Darling Harbour are packed. Where would you rather be? The poker room at Star City,...more
Dinner time is upon us, yet another opportunity to take advantage of the all-inclusive package here at the Marival Resort. As the players head off to find some grub, here's one to think about. We happened by Tyler Netter's table and couldn't help but notice he had pocket jacks. He...more
Of the three long rows of poker tables that blanket this ballroom, one has broken entirely. With approximately 164 players remaining out of our 242 starters, two-thirds of the field remains in contention for an LAPT title. Maria Stern unfortunately will not make her second LAPT final table here...more
Each year for the past five, PokerStars has put on a unique event that draws people from around the world. Now, those people are having a bit of a reunion. The PokerStars World Cup of Poker pits national teams against each other for some nice cash and huge bragging rights....more
Busting out of a major tournament strikes a dagger through any player's heart. One of the best things about the LAPT, though is that the sting of a bust-out is easily soothed by the warm Pacific waters lapping on the sand only a few yards outside the door. Here at...more
Andre Akkari looked positively tortured as he stared at the Ks-9h-3s board, mulling over a decision that would cost him the rest of his chips. There was already over 4,000 in a pot that had been raised and reraised pre-flop and the man on his right, sitting in the...more
When we hit the sack last night, the stars were out over the Pacific Coast. It was a nice way to end a long day. Though it shouldn't have surprised us, the stars were still out when we got there today. Among the many PokerStars poker stars, we have found...more
"Stephen Chidwick raises to 400... everyone folds... Stevie wins the pot." That's what the commentary might sound like, were someone calling the action over at Table 3, where Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick is currently playing the role of table captain, vacuuming up his opponents' chips at an alarming rate. Judging by...more
Even in the face of tough tournament poker, some stories just must be told. Furthermore, some pictures must be seen. So, as the LAPT event in here in Nuevo Vallarta makes its way through level 2, we must pause for just a moment. Why? Well, if you read last night's...more
Female poker players, more often than not, find ourselves as the only girl in the game. Usually comprising about 2% of any given tournament field, we're vastly outnumbered by our male counterparts and typically find ourselves seated at a nine-handed table with eight other gentlemen. Taking a walk through the...more
There is a certain tone we have come to recognize in tournament director Mike Ward's voice. He's a friendly guy who rarely has a bad thing to say about anybody, but when we hear that tone we know he means business. We heard that tone just now. "Players, please take...more
It is a safe bet that people know where Latin America is and can identify the countries in the region. Along with Mexico, there is South America and Central America, and online poker has become quite the popular game in Latin America. But the rest of the world is a...more
A gruelling but enthralling day 2 has ended with the 48 players guaranteed of a cash after the bubble burst on the final hand of the day in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. We started with 217 players, including a trio of Team PokerStars Pros (Lee Nelson, Gavin Griffin...more
The nerves have well and truly set in for the remaining 56 players in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final with the bubble just spots away. Frustrations are boiling over as players strive to protect their short stacks long enough to ensure a minimum payout of AUD $8400. The atmosphere...more
We get used to seeing quads in the early stages of tournaments when the tables are packed and the action thick and fast. But with 24 players to go before the money kicks-in at the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, we’ve seen quads twice in the past five minutes. Hong...more
Here’s the scenario: there’s 15 minutes to go at level 13 (1200/2400 with a 400 ante), the average stack is 116,000, you lose a big pot and get left with 4500. Limp out? Not Petar Lackovic, who has staged an amazing comeback since his pair of kings was overtaken...more
Less than 100 players – 97 to be exact – have returned after the dinner break as the race for the money starts in earnest on day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Apparently a handful of players wanted to extend their meal break judging from the frenzied activity...more
It’s like 100 buses just pulled up at Star City Casino and unloaded their contents in the past hour. With the teams’ event about to kick off, many players have returned to the poker room, joining the scores of railbirds and players still chasing glory in the PokerStars.net APPT...more
If there’s a cult figure in today’s event, it’s Scott “Punty” Smith. He has fans following online and a big contingent on the rail, and they’ve had plenty to cheer about today. He’s been a steady climber all day and recently took out another player when his opponent pushed...more
Aside from the scores of PokerStars qualifiers we’ve been featuring over the past four days, many players in the APPT Grand Final field are doing so after qualifying through satellites at the host venue, Star City. One of those is David Sanis, who we recently featured after he KOed...more
Marlon Goonawardana is aiming to book-end 2008 with another big result on home soil. The Melbourne-based player, who won AUD $155,000 in the $1500 Bounty event at the 2008 Aussie Millions has been the big mover in the second session of day 2. On a flop of 4h-6h-8h, Goonawardana...more
We’ve mentioned several family combinations over the past two days – brothers Joe and Tony Hachem (both eliminated); father and son Eric and Assadour Assadourian (both still in contention) – but it’s not everyday you come across a mother and daughter combination in a poker tournament of this stature....more
A good journalist--the kind who has been around war long enough to count the bullets before they hit their target--knows the lead before the story is complete. He can tell you the capital "S" story in one sentence. This teller of tales cannot boil it down to one line. If...more
Technically, we should say three more seats, as Germany and the United Kingdom will be represented at the World Cup finals as well. The rest of the European countries competing who made their presences known in the early rounds of the World Cup of Poker have been split up and...more
One up, one out – that’s the story so far today for Team PokerStars with Lee Nelson doubling up and Chris Moneymaker eliminated. The New Zealander Nelson (can you believe he lives near a town called Nelson) took control with A-K against Justin Cleary’s K-J, and the paint-free board...more
Sydney’s most famous amusement park (indeed only amusement park) sits just over the Harbour Bridge. Known as Luna Park, it features all the usual carnival fare, including roller coasters, ferris wheel, dodgem cars, etc. Best of all is the giant maniacal clown face that greets patrons on arrival. Team...more
It might be just after noon on a Friday, but the Star City Casino is heaving – the tables and slots are packed and 219 anxious poker players have started to assemble for day 2 in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. With the top 48 players paid, we should...more
Sometimes one location can't hold the entire paradise. You've heard of Puerto Vallarta. It's an historic city, a familiar paradise, a vacation place for people around the world. When you think of Mexico and Vallarta, you think Puerto Vallarta, the oceanside resort city along the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas....more
Germany and the United Kingdom are divisions unto themselves in the World Cup of Poker V challenge, and each is guaranteed a place at the live finals in the Bahamas in January of 2009. Come to think of it, that’s next month already! But Germany has a tough task ahead,...more
The day 2 field has been decided for the APPT Grand Final, with 207 players set to return to Star City in Sydney tomorrow in pursuit of a top 48 finish, then a shot at the AUD $1 million first prize. Over the past three days, 477 players have taken...more
Michael Guzzardi wasn’t really interested in playing the APPT Grand Final today after a tough session in the ‘big PLO’ game last night. But at the insistence of a mate, he decided to take a seat in the last satellite played yesterday. Sure enough, the Melbourne youngster won through...more
By Jenn Barr Although the time difference is only two hours from the now-frosty Tokyo, the jet-lag quickly settles in upon arriving in beautiful Sydney. The flight itself is at least 10 hours direct – more for players with stops in Seoul or Singapore on the way south. And...more
By James Potter Irishman Anthony thepirat Rafter enjoyed his dinner on Day 1C of the APPT Grand Final after amassing 70,000 in chips. Rafter bought into the event directly from his winnings on PokerStars. Rafter has had some excellent performances online including a final table in a $1000 buy-in...more
The steady stream of PokerStars Sponsored players has continued out of the poker area at Star City Casino in Sydney as we enter the evening session on day 1C of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. On the last hand before the dinner break, APPT Seoul winner Yoshihiro Tasaka added...more
By Rachel Healey Adding more celebrity glamour to the tables today in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final is Nobuyuki Tanaka, known around Australia as simply ‘Nobbi’. A contestant in reality television show Big Brother, Nobbi is a regular online poker player who won his entry to the APPT Grand...more
It’s a long way to come from London for four hours of poker, but Peter Eastgate has proved a popular visitor to Sydney for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. The 2008 WSOP main event winner didn’t really get much going today and the final nail was delivered when he...more
The key numbers have just been confirmed for the final event of the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT, and for the second year in-a-row, players in the APPT Grand Final will be playing for a first prize of AUD $1 million. The field of 197 players today takes the total to...more
By James Potter Mike Comer is one of the more interesting personalities in the poker world. He was involved in the creation of the first Australian poker room many years ago in Adelaide but now calls Africa home. He has set up casinos and card rooms in Sierra Leone...more
It’s not possible to win the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final during level one of the opening day, but your chances can sure end. Sadly, we’ve just spotted a forlorn Brian McFadden wandering by after tangled with Gursel Ali shortly before the first break. In three-way action and with the...more
By James Potter American young guns Carter Gill and Eddy Sabat are two of the new breed of poker superstars and both are playing on day 1C of the PokerStars APPT Grand Final. Both these likable guys have already sipped from the cup of success during season two of...more
It’s not everyday you get to take a shot at the world champ, and Shane Moran didn’t waste any time taking a swing – metaphorically – at the new WSOP world champion Peter Eastgate. Barely minutes after Michael Carr had packed away his guitar after delivering another stirring rendition...more
There’s a dash of Hollywood (sorry, there’s no real Australian equivalent to Hollywood) about today’s day IC field in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Welcome back to Star City Casino in Sydney for the final flight on day one of the final event for the APPT in 2008. Today’s...more
The teams are ready. There are players who qualified for their spots through freerolls and tournament leader boards, and they have played several levels of tournaments to get to this place. The only thing left to do is prepare mentally for the task ahead - the Divisional Playoffs - and...more
Dustin Mele had a pretty cool year. The guy went just about everywhere in the world and played in the biggest tournaments around for exactly zero dollars out of his bankroll. How? He won the 2008 PokersStars Passport. From there, he took PokerStars' cash and jet-setted around the world as...more
PokerStars is headed to Russia, and now you can go along for the rise. PokerStars has just introduced the Russian Poker Tour. The RPT already has its sights set on Moscow and St. Petersburg and it's going to give you a chance to win your seat. January 25-February 1, PokerStars...more
It’s that time of year again. The time when all bloggers get to take a break and play some poker. That’s because the PokerStars WBCOOP is back. In case you didn’t already know, the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker is the tournament series that gives bloggers from all over...more
The chips are bagged and on their way to the lock-up after a highly entertaining day of play in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City in Sydney, Australia. Of the 172 players who heard Michael Carr pump out his unique version of Waltzing Matilda/The Gambler at the...more
By James Potter Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin is still moving along nicely and seems focussed on the job at hand during day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. “Sydney has been really nice so far. The weather is fantastic and I even went out to Bondi Beach...more
There will be a new APPT Grand Final champion in 2008 after last year’s winner Grant Levy bowed out just before the dinner break. The PokerStars Sponsored player’s stack was under attack from the opening hand and he made his last stand with pocket sevens against K-J. A king...more
Watch APPT Sydney S2: Peter Eastgate on PokerStars.tv The 113 players remaining in day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final have just returned after consuming the GDP of Botswana at Star City’s Garden Buffet. Swedish PokerStars qualifier Alexander Soderlund remains chip leader on 94,000 ahead of Aussie pro Jason...more
Mark Vos is one of Australia’s most successful poker players. He is a high stakes cash player who plays the majority of his poker online. He enjoys playing tournaments and won a WSOP bracelet in 2006 in the $2000 No Limit Hold’em event. He went deep in this year’s...more
We’re on the downhill stretch to the dinner break on day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, with 144 players still seated of the 172 who crossed the start line. Since the last break, the cry of “all-in” and “call” has started to echo across the poker room...more
Australia is one of the most sports obsessed countries in the world, so it’s hardly surprising that poker has been embraced as part of the nation’s sporting culture. Long before Joe Hachem took poker from the backrooms into the mainstream in 2005, Aussies were making their mark on the...more
By James Potter The Hachems are certainly Australia’s best-known poker family. Everyone knows 2005 WSOP world champion and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem but his brother Tony, a PokerStars Sponsored player, is carving out a handy reputation as shown by his second-place finish in this year’s New Zealand Championships...more
After losing Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown on day 1A, the Team PokerStars crew in today’s field have stamped their authority in the early going on day 1B in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. The two biggest stacks in the room belong to South Africa’s Raymond Rahme and “triple...more
Hand number one, elimination number one. No, we’re not kidding. The money went on the turn between local player Martin Comer and Moe Toaube, with Comer showing pocket queens against Ad-7d. Comer was already in strife with the board showing 4c-7s-2s-7h, then the Ks had him headed for the...more
Players are catching the last rays of sunshine on another sensational day Sydney day prior to taking their seats for day 1B of PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Already 46 players have qualified for Friday’s day 2, but a much bigger field than yesterday’s start list of 108 will be...more
Day 1A of the Pokerstars.net APPT Grand Final has come to an end after seven levels. Out of the original 108 that took to the felt earlier today, 48 players remain. The 75-minute levels and a healthy 20K start bank offered players plenty of time to gather some chips...more
And then there were none. In a Detroit Lions-esque showing, the PokerStars Sponsored crew have gone 0-5 on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final in Sydney. Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown has joined Vanessa Rousso on the sidelines after walked K-3 into the K-J of Phil Wilcox on...more
By James Potter Tournament director Danny McDonagh has just announced that players will be playing seven levels, which means we have 75 minutes remaining on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. McDonagh likes to keep the opening day as short as possible for APPT events. “We understand...more
We could make some cheap jibe about it being bedtime for the youngsters as we enter the evening session on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City. But we won’t. Instead, here are the details of how two of the more youthful members of today’s...more
Now this is the sort of action we love! Aussie poker icon Billy “The Croc” Argyros loves a bet – be it poker, sports, horses, two cockroaches crawling up the wall; anything! The Croc’s latest target is none other than the new WSOP main event champion Peter Eastgate. Argyros figures...more
The latest news from our feature table is that Shane Dye is still beating up on his more fancied opposition and is sitting comfortably on approximately 50,000 in chips. His sparring partner PokerStars Sponsored player David “Superman” Saab has been crippled as the Aussie hoop applies his own brand...more
As the sun starts to sink below the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, the blues have set in for a number of players who’ve exited the tournament. Melbourne’s Julian Powell found himself all-in against Michael Wong with A-K...more
Dating back to the days before Australia was a federated nation, there has always been a healthy rivalry between the country’s two biggest cities. Separated by less than 1,000 kilometres (that's not far in Australia), the cities that sit at either end of the Hume Highway are surprisingly different....more
20,000 starting stack; generous structure; four days of play; an estimated AUD $1 million first prize – what’s the hurry? Surprisingly, there are plenty of short stacks in the room midway through level three on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City in Sydney. One...more
By James Potter Shane Dye is not only one of Australia finest jockeys; he has also been one of the biggest personalities of the sport over the years. When talking of a ride, a horse or another jockey he is never short of an opinion and it is this...more
The start of the poker boom in Australia can be traced back to a single date: July 13, 2005. That was the day that Joe Hachem was crowned the World Series of Poker main event champion. Within weeks, poker rooms around the country were being packed with a new...more
The temperature is nudging 85 degrees outside; the ferries are chugging across Sydney Harbour in the brilliant Australian sunshine and in the Star City poker room, the anticipation is reaching fever pitch as players begin to assemble for the first of the three day 1 flights in the PokerStars.net...more
By James Potter The Astral Bar is a penthouse bar and restaurant perched on top of the 17th floor right on the edge of Sydney Harbour and the City. It is one of Star City Casino’s many jewels and was a fitting place to launch the Pokerstars APPT Grand...more
On the last Sunday in November, a total of 54 nations sat down at their respective PokerStars tables to determine the final members of those nations’ teams for the World Cup of Poker V. It was anything but a lazy Sunday for those competing players. Each tournament resulted in the...more
PokerStars has always been among the fastest on the online track, but now it's trying on some new wheels. PokerStars is once again dipping its toes in the waters of big time racing. The annual Kart race International Stars Challenge in Florianopolis, Brazil, put some of the best drivers together...more
Looks like folks didn't feel like negotiation this weekend. Out of the 22 big tournaments we watched yesterday, only one final table cut a deal. That has to be some kind of record. Because the deals had taken the weekend off, the big money went to the first place winners...more
The last day of November in 2008… Can anyone believe it? Another year seems to have flown by, but there is always time to get in a few more Sunday Million tournaments before the big New Year’s Eve party. And for the last one in November, a total of 8,001...more
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