February 2010 Archives

It's not often (or ever) that the $1 Million Turbo Takedown's field fails to eclipse that of the previous Sunday Million field. One part is the Turbo Takedown low cost of admission being just 3,000 Frequent Players Points to grab a seat with 3,000 chips in front of your name...more

With the successful opening of the North American Poker Tour last weekend at The Venetian players are back behind their computers for today's $750,000 guarantee Sunday Warm-up. 4,809 players remembered their logon IDs and ponyed up the $215 buy-in for a shot at the $961,800.00 prize pool. Nearly broaching a...more

Three SnG victories mean $12,000 for one lucky player this afternoon as the Battle of the Planets $50,000 Triple Shootout continues today with this long running daily promotion for Sit and Go players (read how to get your ticket into today's event here). If you're from the United State or...more

There is something out there called "constructive criticism." Most people have a hard time taking it. They like constructive, but they have a hard time with the critical part. PokerStars isn't like that. After releasing the 2010 Spring Championship of Online Poker schedule last week, PokerStars got a lot of...more

Irony. That's what you could call the fact that only one player hailing from Latin America has won an event (out of the first seven) on the Latin American Poker Tour. The previous events at Punta del Este were dominated by Europeans. In Season 1, a Spaniard named Jose...more

9:39pm: Nicolas Cardyn eliminated in 2nd place ($161,550); Jose "Nacho" Barbero wins the 2010 LAPT Punte del Este In a hand for the ages... Nicolas Cardyn shoved all in for his last 990,000. Nacho Barbero snap-called with A♠T♠. Cardyn tabled A♦K♠. Both players stood up to sweat the action. The...more

6:28pm... Break time The last five players are heading out on a scheduled 15-minute break. See you in twenty-three minutes. 6:16pm... Nicolas Cardyn likes Nacho's chips Nacho Barbero opened for 200,000. Nicolas Cardyn shoved all in for 550,000. Nacho called. Cardyn was ahead with 9♦9♣. Barbero tabled Q♠T♣. The...more

3:44pm: Another tight laydown On the last hand of the level, Nacho Barbero opened for 100,000. Andres Korn came in with a three-bet to 250,000, sending Barbero into the tank for several minutes. Most of the table had already left for the break by the time Barbero folded his...more

The Elite 8. That's what we're calling the final table of the LAPT Punta del Este. One of the Elite 8 is going to be crowned the next LAPT champion. There's a seven to one chance that we'll have only the second Latin champion ever since the inception of the...more

A little over one year ago, we were in Vina del Mar, Chile, sitting in a ballroom not unlike this one, as Fabian Ortiz became the first-ever Latin American champion on the LAPT. We had seen a Spaniard, a Hungarian, a Dutchman and two Americans claim victory, but until Ortiz...more

10:30p: Day 3 complete; Final table set That's it for Day 3 of the LAPT Punta del Este. Norbert Ludger, a local player from Uruguay, ended today as the chip leader with 1,596,000. We're finally down to 8 players. One of them will win $279,330 for first place. Which...more

7:35pm: Nacho speaks Earlier today, our video blog crew caught up with Jose "Nacho" Barbero, now the last Team Pro standing in the LAPT Punta del Este. See what he thinks of his opponents and how he'll spend the money if he wins. Watch LAPT Punta del Este 2010:...more

5:20pm: Humberto Brenes eliminated in 16th place ($8,350)In the closing moments of Level 20, Humberto Brenes pushed his last 42,000 chips into the middle before the flop and got three callers. Everyone checked down the 6♣5♣4♦5♥2♦ board. Humberto turned up K♦8♦ but Ernesto Panno rivered bottom pair with J♥2♥,...more

2:20pm: Break Time & Color Up The remaining 21 players are currently on a 15-minute break. The staff is currently removing the pink 500 denomination chips from play. FYI... Cesar Mostafa is still the chip leader, but he's increased his stack to 692,000. 1:55pm: Nicolas Cardyn avoids shark attack...more

Welcome back to Day 3 of the LAPT Punta del Este. 24 players remain and we'll be playing down to a final table of 8 players. Cesar Mostafa, the pride and joy of Paraguay, ended Day 2 as the chip leader. Day 1 chipleader, Martin Fuentes, is among the...more

Some invitations are simply meant to be accepted. When the parents invite you for holiday dinner, you should probably accept. If your significant other invites you on a trip to a luxurious vacation destination, thinking twice might cause you some trouble. And when PokerStars.net invites you to play in the...more

1:30am: Ashton Griffin wins NAPT Venetian $25,000 Bounty Shootout It took just two hands of heads-up play to find our champion. Hoyt Corkins made it 18,000 to go and Griffin called. The flop came 4♠5♦9♠. Griffin led at it for 32,000. Corkins didn't hurry his decision and eventually raised...more

10:31pm: Color up As we move up a level, it's time to color off the black chips. We'll also be moving to a new post on the homepage. 10:13pm: Cassidy forces big laydown from Corkins On a flop of 9♠T♣T♥, Hoyt Corkins bets 4,500 and received a call from...more

Two miniature versions of the Uruguayan flag are printed on the felt of every poker table at the Mantra Casino. If you don't know, the Uruguayan flag is one of the oldest flags in the world consisting of nine stripes alternating between light blue and white. The top corner...more

10:03 pm: Day 2 complete, play to resume at 12:00 pm Friday With the elimination of Paul Howard in 25th place, we've arrived at our final three tables and play has concluded for the night. Surviving to play Day 3 are Humberto Brenes, Nacho Barbero, Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick, Oliver...more

5:46pm: Level 3 ends, new blog post begins The third level of the final table has come to an end, and as we move into Level 4, we also move to a new blog post. Please join us there for the latest final table updates. 5:37pm: Peter Eastgate eliminated...more

The final table area is set. Cameras are in place. Players are starting to stroll down the hallways. Fans are here early to get seats to see some of their favorite poker players battle it out in a unique tournament that offers bounties, an award for the most overall bounties,...more

8:48pm: Funked Out The action is going faster than we can keep up. Lee Marvin Funk (yes, it's his real name) just busted out in 35th place. His 8-8 lost to pocket Jacks. Also, Cesar Mostafa, the pride and joy of Paraguay, is closing in on 420K. He just...more

6:33pm: Break Time The 52 remaining players are heading out on a 15-minute break. 6:15pm: Bad Beat of the Level It wasn't pretty. Player in early position opened. Jose Capdevila raised. Mariano Rocca four-bet shoved. Original raiser folded. Capdevila snap called with K♥K♣. Rocca showed J♥J♣. The river was......more

The second leg of the UKIPT took place at the G Casino in Manchester a few weeks ago. The event had sold out at 360 a fortnight earlier and luckily for another 160 players or so, the cap was increased. The most apparent difference between the PokerStars UKIPT tour and...more

They say we can tell how many weeks of winter we have left by whether or not a groundhog sees his shadow. Well, I can always tell how well my poker year is going to go based on how well I do at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Things went pretty...more

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4:20pm: Players take a 15-minute break Smoke 'em if you've got 'em. 4:14pm: Sweet flop for Salas We caught up with this hand on the turn, just as Damian Salas moved all in on a J♥9♠6♣A♣ board and his opponent called, turning up pocket kings. Salas, however, had flopped...more

2:00pm: Break Time Action will resume in 15 minutes. 1:45pm: Stevie 444's Demolition Derby Stephen "Stevie444" Chidwick is up to 119K after running over his table. Here's the common scene... Chidwick raises and everyone folds. If someone is brave enough to call, Chidwick bangs away at the pot post-flop...more

Day 2 of the LAPT Punta del Este will begin shortly. The event started yesterday with 307 runners. More than half of the field busted out on the first day. A total of 145 players advanced to Day 2 with local player, Martin Alberto Fuentes, leading the field with...more

The arc of a poker tournament is usually hard to define. Chips move, leaders come, and leaders go. It is rare to see a story define itself as well as it did at the NAPT Venetian event. By the penultimate day, a leader had established himself, and the story became...more

11:57pm: Marchese wins NAPT Venetian ($827,648), Stein in second ($522,306) The last hand of the night started with a 4♣5♥9♦ flop, and the two put a few chips into the pot to see the 3♣ on the turn. Stein bet 1,825,000 chips, and Marchese calmly called. The T♠ dropped...more

It took two rooms to fit the field for this year's LAPT Punta del Este. Both the downstairs ballroom and the upstairs poker room at the Mantra Hotel & Casino were packed to the gills this afternoon, 307 players putting up $3,700 apiece for a chance at an LAPT title....more

Eight hundred seventy-two players started the tournament at NAPT Venetian. Eight have made the final table. We have players from all over America ready to sit down and play for the NAPT title. Sam Stein begins the final table with the chip lead. NAPT Venetian final table player profiles Seat...more

"I'm not number one in this field, no way." So said Scott Seiver early on as the NAPT Venetian $25,000 Bounty Shootout got underway. He and his tablemates spent some time trying to handicap the field, which included many of the most highly regarded players in the game today. The...more

6:08pm: Break! Players are on a 15-minute break to celebrate the conclusion of Level 29. When we return, we'll be in a new post reflecting the level change. Find the new level right HERE. 6:03pm: Well, he's gotta lose this one! Sam Stein just managed to get it all-in...more

9:37pm: Day 1 done, Fuentes leads the pack Day 1 of the LAPT Punta del Este has come to an end, with 145 of the 307 starters returning tomorrow to play on. Uruguay's own Martin Fuentes made a late-evening surge, rising to the top of the leaderboard with 118,000...more

6:50pm: Break Time Approximately 207 players are heading out to the final break of Day 1. 6:40pm: "I pity the fool!" Stephen "Stevie444" Chidwick is not an urban legend. The young gun from Great Britain is for real. He once won 100 seats to the WSOP Main Event on...more

4:20pm: Break time Our 257 remaining players are on a fifteen-minute break. 4:10pm: Feed the shark Humberto Brenes had been relatively quiet during the opening three levels as his stack slipped to under 15,000. However, Brenes decided that it was time to feed his shark. One player opened up...more

2:10pm: Players are currently on a ten-minute break 2:00pm: Kiss the ace Neil Channing is visiting South America for the first time with a couple of his mates. The British pro got off to a slow start but finally picked up a small pot shortly before the first break....more

Greetings from the Mantra Casino in the tony La Barra section of Punta del Este. The start time for the LAPT Punta del Este Main Event has been delayed for a few minutes while the staff completes finishing touches on the Main Event. This event is so large that two...more

After the utter madness of the recent record-breaking Sunday Million, you might have expected PokerStars players to take some time away from the tables to catch their breath. But if you thought that, you don't know PokerStars players very well. About 38 hours since all the weekend's chaos abated, Super...more

1:37am: End of Flight 2 We have our seven winners -- Cassidy, Eastgate, Griffin, Cassidy, Jaka, Seiver, and Corkins -- all of whom take home $75,000 for taking their tables, plus whatever bounties they claimed as well. There will be more bounties on the table Thursday and the rest...more

11:58pm: Break time We aren't quite at the end of Level 6, but a break is in order so the television crew can do a little extra work before we push forward. 11:51pm: Cassidy prevails Justin Bonomo fought hard with the short stack, but at last has succumbed to...more

Let me tell you a little something about Uruguay -- the locals know how to throw a party. I have attended enough PokerStars-sponsored "welcome parties" to notice the similarities; delicious local cuisine, the constant flow of liquor, and a dozen models in sleek black dresses greeting guests with double kisses....more

Sam Stein is a wrecking ball. Broad-shouldered and burly, Stein has approached the last two days of this tournament with a grim-faced determination that makes it look like he's been told he has to mow the lawn or clean out the garage. No matter whether he's flopping sets against overpairs...more

9:35pm: Break time The remaining players are taking the first break of the night. We'll be back at the start of the next level with current chip counts at all four tables. 9:31pm: Gibson gone A short-stacked Keith Gibson was all in over at Table 3 with K♦J♠ against...more

8:15pm: And that's a wrap for Day 4 With eight players, we have our NAPT Venetian final table with Sam Stein as its chip leader. A full wrap of today's events will be posted in short order. Join us tomorrow at 2pm for live coverage of all the action...more

4:10pm: Break! New level and post coming... As players take a few minutes away from the tables to relax, the tournament staff is preparing to begin Level 25. And we'll be starting a new post for Levels 25 and 26, which you can find on the homepage. Chip counts...more

6:06pm: End of Flight 1 With that we run for a quick dinner break before returning for tonight's Flight 2. See you in a little under an hour. 6:02pm: Corkins wins On the very next hand, Hoyt Corkins open-raised all in and John Duthie called. Corkins showed the A♦9♥...more

1:32pm: Dang out, ElkY in Di Dang has been eliminated by Jennifer Tilly over on Table 5. Meanwhile, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier just survived an all in against Chau Giang thanks to a well-timed heart flush. We're on our first break of the day now. We'll get you updated chip...more

Telling someone you're heading to Uruguay for a poker tournament is bound to draw a few puzzled looks. It certainly did for us. "They have casinos in Uruguay? Casinos with poker?" our friend incredulously inquired. Oh, how they do. And for those of us who travel the Latin American Poker...more

Ready for some high stakes fun? For games within games? For something special to mark this first ever North American Poker Tour stop at the Venetian in Las Vegas? Today's first round of the NAPT Venetian $25,000 High Roller Bounty Shootout event brings together a collection of the poker world's...more

Welcome back to beautiful Las Vegas and the luxurious Venetian. Inside, the poker room is buzzing with excitement already. Players will trickle in shortly. Fans will gather outside the ropes. We have some important poker to play today. The 24 players that start Day 4 have proven themselves to be...more

When we started at noon on Saturday, there were nearly 90 tables filled with 872 players, filling the entire poker room and curling all around the immediate environs, zig-zagging every which way. Sort of like those famous canals of the Italian city from which the Venetian gets its name....more

1:12am: Day 3 concludes With that last flurry of eliminations, Day 3 swiftly comes to a close. The remaining 24 players are starting to bag up their earnings thus far, but all well know there's still a long way to go to that $827,648 first prize. 1:06am: Rousso hits...more

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What we have just witnessed is no short of history in the making. Sure, we know we tend to get hyperbolic around these parts, but we feel comfortable in suggesting that what we'll witness this week will be the stuff poker people will talk about for ages. When the NAPT...more

10:35pm: End of level That's 20 levels in the books. Of the 872 who began on Saturday, just 36 remain. 10:17pm: Cernuto survives "Miami" John Cernuto left for the dinner break after a very tough laydown to an all-in from his opponent, and he was left with less chips...more

6:38pm: Gimme a break! Ok, settle down. Players are on a break. They are taking 15 minutes and will return to start Level 19. (Hint: There will be another blog for Level 19. Go there after this.) 6:29pm: Oh, aces, how they can hurt sometimes Martin Medina played aces...more

In 2009, it was one of the greatest new things in online poker. In 2010, it's been the most anticipated online announcement of the year. Now, we can happily present to you the 2010 Spring Championship of Online Poker schedule. Just moments ago we were given our first look, at...more

3:22pm: Break time The 91 remaining players are taking a 15-minute break. 3:15pm: Double-ups keep hope alive Despite being in the money, most poker players do not want to leave the tournament. The final table is two days away, and a few key double-ups could put them in contention...more

The day in Las Vegas will start with some unknowns. Outside the Venetian Hotel & Casino, the day began with rain and cloudy skies. But as the hours passed, the sun emerged and blue skies now reign, despite some rather brisk desert winds. All in all, a beautiful day is...more

Just a few weeks ago we were lauding the largest Sunday Million field here at the PokerStarsBlog. There were good reasons for the hype as the bump from the usual $1.5 million guarantee to $2 million guarantee attracted the largest field (19,377 players) and biggest prize pool ($3,875,400) this special...more

This weekend was a huge one for PokerStars, with the NAPT Venetian going on, the EPT Copenhagen wrapping up, and more exploded guarantees in the Sunday major tourneys. But it was the phenomenal 40 Billionth Hand promotion that drove the action online this week. This week's Sunday Warm-Up drew a...more

Stardom may be too strong a word. This is only the first American stop of the inaugural season of the North American Poker Tour, a series of live poker tournaments that has already proven itself a serious contender in the poker world. And there were 872 players in the $5,000...more

9:21pm: Day 2 concludes The last hands of Day 2 have been dealt, and Andrew Lichtenberger is the one bagging the most chips with 618,000, followed by Day 1 chip leader Andy Seth with 602,600, and Steve Billirakis with 591,200. It appears we're still about 20 eliminations away from...more

6:13pm: Break time Players are now on break. Further reports on the next levels can be found HERE. 6:02pm: Negreanu doubles When Daniel Negreanu alerted the media via Twitter that he was down to 15K chips, we planted ourselves in the area to see the forthcoming action. It didn't...more

Copenhagen has never really conformed to the eight-handed, eight-hour thank-you-very-much final. An early hours finish in season two, the flip-flop heads-up of Grospellier-Petersson in season three, and the five-hour marathon in season four. Casino Copenhagen seemed to have shed its malingering reputation when Jens Kyllonen made easy work of...more

3:03pm: Break it up The second break of the day is upon us, and players are stretching their legs and recounting hands to anyone who will listen. When their 15 minutes are over, they will enter the third level of the day. 2:58pm: Moving on As the field thins,...more

1.20am: Anton Wigg wins EPT Copenhagen, earning 3,675,000 DKK Francesco De Vivo runner up, earning 2,275,000 DKK After a titanic heads-up battle, Anton Wigg wins the EPT Copenhagen title and a monster pile of cash amounting to nearly half a million euros. Wigg, from Sweden, opened the pot with a...more

It's a quiet Sunday morning here at the Venetian. Well, relatively speaking. "Quiet" has a slightly different significance inside a Vegas casino than it might there on your front porch perusing the latest news on your laptop. But let's appreciate together the contrast of the present calm with the high,...more

8pm: Dinner That's it, we're on a dinner break. Just the 45 minutes, so don't go far. 7.55pm: New chipleader! Monster hand alert.... Francesco De Vivo has doubled up through Anton Wigg to take the chip lead. De Vivo had opened with a raise to 160,000, Wigg re-raised to 425,000,...more

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4.50pm: Break time And that's the end of the level. Blinds up and a 15 minute break. 4.45pm: Jesper Ptersen eliminated in 8th place (282,800 DKK) Jesper Petersen managed to get his chips in first this time and with the best hand but it hasn't stopped him being eliminated. Chip...more

It's final table day at EPT Copenhagen - and here's a little experiment in our coverage. As usual, you can watch the action live at EPTLive or follow all our superlative coverage at PokerStars Blog, where you'll find all the level-by-level action, with the best writing and photography. Below you'll...more

We'd reached the end of level 24 last night and, with nine players left, a break was called for. Ten minutes rest as the clock struck 10.15pm. Weary heads dragged the bodies they were attached to for a short run-around, re-invigorating the blood in their shoulders, legs and feet...more

Anyone who has ever thrown a party has shared the same anxiety. What if no one comes? What if too many people come? What if I didn't buy enough bean dip? It's a nerve-rattling time, and one that can only be soothed when everything turns out to perfection. The North...more

9:19pm: Day 1 concludes The last hands of Level 8 have been dealt, and the bagging has begun. Looks like approximately 510 players remain from our starting field of 872. In the late breaking news department, Erica Schoenberg and Eric Baldwin both busted right near the end of the evening....more

6:49pm: Last break With six levels complete, we have reached our last break of the day. 6:40pm: You want numbers? We got your numbers right here... The first North American Poker Tour stop at the Venetian in Las Vegas had its challenges. Not only was it the inaugural NAPT...more

Poker strategies change like the wind, from the "fold everything but aces" of the old school to the "five bet with air" of the new guard. But whatever the fashion, one truism will endure: if you're on a heater, you should ride it. Morten Guldhammer has been on the mother...more

4:29pm: Break time This is the midway point for day 1. Players are now on a 15 minute break 4:23: It's not a chicken Caesar salad If only Bill Chen and Jason Mercier had waited for the salad announcement. They've already had their lunch. Mercier seems to have devoured...more

10.15pm: You know what, why not stop now? All the players and staff have agreed that the end of this level offered a convenient opportunity to end this one for the night. That's it - we'll play a nine-handed final table tomorrow. A full wrap of today's events, when we...more

2:10pm: Break time After two levels of play, the massive field is taking its first break of the day. 2:02pm: Casual Cada He looks quite intense during a hand, mouth slighly open and eyes focused on the board cards as if they could change at any moment. But there...more

We have been all over the world to cover poker tournaments. From Perth to Kyiv, to Monte Carlo to Uruguay, we've seen poker played in lands we never thought we'd visit. We've even covered more than our fair share of tournaments in Las Vegas. But never did we think that...more

8.37pm: That's the break Up a level, right after a ten minute break. 8.35pm: Loving the flop Morten Guldhammer was on the rail shrugging off the hand, but the only concern for Yorane Kerignard is that he just used up all of his good fortune in one go. Kerignard...more

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5.28pm: Break time That's the end of the level. All done for 15 minutes. 5.25pm: Wigg wham Anton Wigg continues to take pots. On this one Mads Wissing raised to 38,000. It was folded around to Wigg on the big blind, who called. They both checked the 7♣A♠6♥ flop, but...more

And so we enter the closing straight. Four days ago, 423 players arrived to Casino Copenhagen to comprise what is commonly regarded to be the toughest EPT field of the season. There were major established champions mingling with internet sensations mixed in with the best "local" players on the whole...more

With just 24 players left, we're down to three tables of eight. That makes finding your favorite player in the list below just a little bit easier. While the purists will look at table one with interest, seeing as it has chipped-up Brit Andrew Teng and some other tasty stacks,...more

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It must be a fever dream. It has to be, because there is no scenario in the world that would paint such a picture. Camera flashes are everywhere and in between each strobe it looks like actor Christian Slater is sitting next to guitarist Slash. And Slash is sitting next...more

It takes all sorts of personal attributes to lead an EPT at the day three stage. Talent of course, some luck, courage, patience and a spot of good timing. For one player today though, the day would need just a little more. Roberto Romanello has the chip lead tonight...more

I have seen The Venetian Poker room more times than I can count. I've played tons of sessions, several tournaments, and one fairly exciting final table. Still, I've never seen the room as it is right now. What was already a giant poker room has spilled out onto the casino...more

10.05pm: Top chips As advertised, full chip counts are on their way. But here's a sneak preview of the top three: Roberto Romanello: 1,400,000 Andrew Teng: 1,005,000 Anton Wigg: 949,000 (Let's not forget Peter Eastgate, with 726,000.) 10pm: Junker kicked in the proverbials; day is done Jens Sundeberg is our...more

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If like us you're still trying to get your head around the enormity of 40,000,000,000, then perhaps this number will be digested more easily: player Senecady just won $24,000 for scooping this Mega Milestone hand. You probably heard that PokerStars has been running a special promotion to celebrate the arrival...more

8.20pm: Chips updated With all those poker players out of the way it was easy to do an up-to-date chip count. You'll find them here. 8.05pm: Level done; dinner time It's the end of the level and the 38 remaining players will now leave the tournament area for a nourishing...more

4.55pm: Level over The level ended before the bubble did. How d'ya like that? Level 17 begins after a 15 minute break, during which all the counts are being made. -- HS. 4.50pm: Rom-com continues Roberto Romanello and Csaba Toth are continuing their love in during this bubble period. They're...more

There's a lake opposite the SAS Radisson hotel, visible from any eastward window above the third floor. The lake is frozen of course; it's been freezing cold and snowing here since about 1930, and the ice is covered by an inch or so of snow. It's on this that...more

This post does exactly what is says on the tin... it contains the day three seat draw. We've got ten tables still in play. Scroll down or use 'control f' to go straight to your player of choice. If you want to catch up on events so far, then you...more

To win a poker tournament, you have to end up with all of everyone else's chips. But you've also got to get your timing right: there's no point grabbing mountains in the early stages only to lose them all a day later. This is a marathon not a sprint. Day...more

We are convinced that by the time we get finished reporting on the North American Poker Tour event at The Venetian this weekend, we will be as impressed as we expect with the new poker circuit. We predict we will be foaming at the mouth and ready to get on...more

10.31pm: Last four hands The clock has stopped and the last four hands will be played on each table before chips are bagged up for the night. 10.30pm: Wissing in the wind The board was already showing 2♥A♦J♠5♣5♠ when the action started in a hand between Mads Wissing and Fabian...more

When you donated to the PokerStars Haiti earthquake appeal, you no doubt did it for the right reasons. You did it because you cared and you wanted to give something back. Today, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies sent a letter of thanks to PokerStars and...more

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. We're not saying you should just start playing on PokerStars right now and not stop until the 40 billionth hand hits. We're not, because you probably have a lot of important things to do. You probably need to get a haircut or meet with the landscapers...more

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7.25pm: Bluff ElkY at your peril ElkY has some of the best player reading skills in the business - just as Bjorn Verbakel. On a board of 3♥5♠8♥Q♦4♣ and about 20,000 in the pot, ElkY checked to Verbakel, who bet 16,200. ElkY thought about it for a while, but on...more

4.44pm: Lodden bluffed? In the very last hand of the level Johnny Lodden raised from early position to 2,800 and then called Danny Neess' three-bet to 7,700 from the small blind. The flop came down 2♦3♠T♣ and Lodden called a Neess c-bet of 6,500. Nees led again on the 7♦...more

EPT Copenhagen, day 2 seat draw Oddly, the table numbers here in Copenhagen begin at 17. What happened to tables 1-16 is anyone's guess. Below you'll find the full list of runners and their seat draws for day 2. It's a long list - so hit 'control f' to find...more

It's day two in Copenhagen, Thursday in layman's terms, and time for a customary weather report: it's cold and snowy. Now that's out the way, what else is new? Well, not much, folks, not much. But this is the kind of familiarity that breeds respect rather than contempt. Today, the...more

The two flights of day one are usually different beasts, even beyond the now predictable and clichéd numbers that show up on day B. Today that difference was best judged by the fate of the Team PokerStars Pros but also in the photo finish for the lead. Just 100...more

11.45pm: Play finished A full wrap of the day's action is on its way, but here's what you're likely to find out. The Finnish player Ilkka Koskinen is today's leader, with 140,900, the smallest possible margin ahead of Sebastian Ruthenberg, who has 140,800. That's the difference between a win in...more

Clear your schedules and set your DVRs, because there is about to be a whole lot more poker to watch on TV. We've been hinting at it for some time, and now it's official. The North American Poker Tour is headed to the ESPN broadcast schedule. The NAPT announced this...more

9.37pm: Level done That's the end of level six. Players are now taking a 15 minute break. 9.35pm: Thorson finished William Thorson is out. "Many pots," is the simple answer to how he went from about 50,000 to the rail, but the final hand involved king-ten on a Q-J-6 board...more

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6.30pm: Dinner time That's the end of the level. We're now taking a 60-minute dinner break. Join us again at around 7.30pm. 6.25pm: Romanello takes some of Langset's run-good Anders Langset had a spectacular tournament here last year, hardly putting a foot wrong en route to the final table and...more

First the scene outside. Despite zero degree temperatures and unforgiving winds Copenhageners venture outdoors. Scarves up to the teeth perhaps, woolly hats down to the eyes for sure, and their noses in the middle red to the wind. But they ride their bicycles with determination, no doubt off to...more

4.20pm: Break time As the tournament clock wound down, Jussi Nevanlinna, who made the final table here last year, and Victor Lemos were still in a hand. The board read Q♥T♣7♦ and Lemos check-called Nevanlinna's 550 bet. The turn was 2♠ and the process repeated, this time for 1,550. The...more

Well, hello there. We usually only see each other on Sundays and during special events like WCOOP and SCOOP, but it's nice to be here on a Tuesday night. Errr, actually, it's Wednesday morning, but Super Tuesday does run well into the night/morning hours. It is exciting to begin to...more

It was day 1A in Denmark, the opening stages of the European Poker Tour's sixth visit to Copenhagen. Time was when this first day was all about spotting the stars in the packed ranks, but today we spent a good couple of hours putting together a list of who wasn't...more

10.55pm: End of play That's it. Players are bagging and tagging. It looks like Andrew Pantling from Canada will be our overnight chip leader with 155,800. However, we're counting up as many of the leaders as we can right now. The chip count page as soon as possible - and...more

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9.45pm: Break That's the end of the level. There's a 15-minute break and we'll be back for the final two levels. 9.40pm: Five minutes in the life of Dario Minieri Well, to be honest, this five minutes is like every other five minutes in the Italian's poker life. Four hands...more

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In just a few days, we'll all be walking into The Venetian for a history-making event: the first PokerStars-sponsored tour stop in Las Vegas history. Hundreds of people have qualified for the North American Poker Tour tournament, and hundreds more will buy in to the $5,000 Main Event. It's looking...more

If you're like me, you look at those sweepstakes announcements on the back of your morning cereal box and think, "Nobody ever wins those things! It's all fake! If only they would publish the photos of the winners!" Well, if you're like that, you might also wonder the same thing...more

6.35pm: Dinner break That's the end of level four leaving players free to enjoy a one hour dinner break. 6.30pm: Who's he? "See that guy there. He's really famous." With that nudge from a Swedish colleague came my first glimpse of Swedish actor Anders Beckman, famous for theatrical plays, TV...more

4.20pm: Break time That's the end of the first two levels of the day and that means a break for 15 minutes. 4.15pm: Reality sets in That's 400 all round for the small blind Philip Kalin, the big blind Cornel Cimpan and Janne Nevalainen. Cimpan, wearing a woolly hat with...more

Where better to spend freezing February than the fringes of the Arctic Circle? Such has been the discussions at EPT HQ over the past six years, and no one yet has found reason to go anywhere other than Copenhagen, Denmark, one of only four destinations to feature on every single...more

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by Randy 'nanonoko' Lew First off, I'd like to say that being a part of Team Pokerstars Online is such a great honor of which I'm very proud of. I've always aspired to be a part of Team PokerStars and I believe my hard work ethic and dedication has paid...more

So much has happened since the WSOP Main Event, it's a little hard to remember it all. There hasn't been as much poker as I would like. But how can I complain? Immediately after the main event, I went with my agent, Dan, to spend a few days in New...more

Valentines Day...Hallmark holiday or occasion to celebrate your love for the significant man, woman, or household appliance in your life? That was the big question for legions of people who settled into their chairs yesterday and ignored it all in an attempt to win some big money on a Valentines...more

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Ahhh, Valentine's Day. For many people in relationships, it is a day of love (or gifts or extravagant meals). For single people, it's a day to stay away from restaurants, malls, and flower shops. In the online poker world, Valentine's Day meant that many players dedicated themselves to their significant...more

Love is in the air for all here at PokerStars where we're celebrating our 40 Billionth hand promotion with free money at the cash game tables every millionth hand and an assortment of giveaways to help curb the cost of that dinner at P.F. Changs with a dozen red roses...more

What a day. In just the second leg of the inaugural United Kingdom and Ireland Poker Tour we've had a final table that had it all. Penalties and blow-ups, suck outs and hero calls have flashed out throughout the day like forked lightning during a storm. And after the clouds...more

12.52am: Joeri Zandvliet is the UKIPT Champion (£63,200) It only took one hand of level twenty to find our champion and that man is Dutchman Joeri Zandvliet. All the chips went in pre-flop with Ellwood holding A♦Q♠ to Zandvliet's 9♥9♣. The flop saw the Brit take the lead when it...more

12.30am: BREAK TIME The two final protagonists have gone to break. 12.28am: Heads up for rolls Zandvliet goes into the heads up with a 5.6m lead over Ellwood's 2.3m stack. It's quite a comeback from the Dutchman and he's showing no sign of slowing down now. After a couple of...more

11.25pm: Hill dominating at the end of the level Mike Hill is using his big stack to terrible effect and has battered the table on the last four hands: 1) Lyall (on his first hand back) raises to 100,000 and passes to Hill's all-in. 2) Mike shoves all-in from the...more

10.13pm: OMFG On the last hand before the break all hell broke loose. Lyall raises 62,000 under the gun and Ellwood raises to 165,000 from the small blind. Ellwood bets 178,000 and is flat called by Lyall. A big pot is brewing. As Ellwood looked like he was gearing up...more

9.06pm: End of level That's it for this level. Another 60 minutes and they'll be a 15-minute break. Lyall appears to be getting restless and is likely to scoop all the chips in the next couple of hours or dump them all off. Time, as they say, will tell. 9.05pm:...more

6.34pm: Owston feeling the pressure Lyall, a high stakes cash game player, is ramping up the pressure on Dan Owston who has been saved from rampant tiltage by the dinner break. Owston 'playfully' swings a PokerStars t-shirt at Lyall's head after he's forced to toss his cards away after his...more

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5.12pm: Doubling Dan Dan Owston has just doubled up to around 300,000 after raising all-in over Chris Brammer's open with K♦Q♥. Brammer made the call with 6♠7♠ but Owston made trips on a A♠Q♣4♠J♥Q♦ board. Annnnnddddd, it's BREAK! 5.12pm: Jack the lad In only the second hand he's played so...more

It's fairly amazing how quickly PokerStars can deal a million hands. In fact, it sometimes happens so quickly, you miss it entirely. Alan Lui had no idea he was in a milestone hand during the F40 celebration. In fact, the Supernova Elite had to be told by a buddy who...more

4.20pm: Brammer time He lost one he won one. The first hand saw him see a J♥3♦8♣ flop with Michael Hill. Brammer led for 45,000 only to be raised up to 110,000. Hill called to see a 9♠ flop where he led out for 140,000 but folded to a Hill...more

It's Final Table day here in Manchester. We're not quite at that stage though. The nine levels of play yesterday got us down to our final 13 players. After a late surge our clear chip leader coming into today's play is Jack Ellwood. He ran aces into kings and then...more

Rennie Carnevale hadn't planned to play the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event. After winning one of the preliminary events, he'd decided to take the cash and preserve his bankroll. His flight back to Sydney, near his Wollongong home, was booked and his bags were packed when an email arrived...more

7.15pm: Andrew Scarf eliminated in 2nd place, Rennie Carnevale wins the ANZPT Adelaide Main Event title The bulldozer ride of Rennie Carnevale continued in the heads-up duel as he crushed Andrew Scarf into submission to capture the 2010 PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event title and the first prize of...more

5.30pm: Scarf scarring the opposition After those two quick eliminations, Andrew Scarf remains at the head of the chip count on 1.7 million but Octavian Voegele's KO of Billy "The Croc" Argyros has elevated him to second chip position on 900,000. Dan Neilson is next on 790,000 million, with...more

4.30pm: Benton leads the cheers Rennie Carnevale was in the audience at Star Casino in Sydney when Aaron Benton won the 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. A well-refreshed Benton is returning the favour here today, leading the support crew for fellow Wollongong resident Carnevale as he continues his steady...more

3.30pm: Next stop - Perth With the ANZPT Adelaide Main Event almost consigned to history, players are starting to make their plans to trek across the Nullarbor Plain to the Burswood Entertainment Complex for the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth. Home to many of the nation's best players (2009 WSOP...more

2.20pm: Terrific turn for Tony Tony Hachem has quickly climbed back up the chip count after taking down a nice pot against Michael Sellars. Hachem raised to 31,000, Sellars called and they saw a flop of 8♥ T♣ 7♦. Hachem bet 47,000, Sellars called and the turn fell K♠....more

There were 122 players that came back today at 2pm, removed their chips and stacked them nicely in front of them. All through this process a two-stage plan will have been on a lot of the player's minds. The first stage was all about number 72. Why? That's the magic...more

So what to do for Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year? Treat the wife/girlfriend to a quick feed in Gouger St AKA Adelaide's Chinatown and hot-foot it to Adelaide Casino for the final table of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event. Welcome to the finale of the first ANZPT...more

1:20am: Day 2 is Ooooover From the depths appeared a man (who wasn't American despite a colleague's erstwhile protests) who took his stack from a middling 300,000 to well over a million in the last couple of levels... but more about him in the wrap. Chip counts to come shortly......more

12.10am: Two table time At the very end of the level we lost Aaron Barry to take us to 18 players and two tables. He was eliminated in unfortunate circumstances to Jack Ellwood who now tips the chip scale at just over a million chips. Barry opened with a raise...more

10.45pm: Colour-up The players are on a break while the 500 denomination chips are coloured up and taken out of play. 10.40pm: Brammer's back It didn't take long for Brammer to get those chips back. He raised from the button and was called by Mark Warnock in the big blind....more

9.42pm: OWSTEN SHOUT OUT! Us bloggers are trying to cover as much action as possible and are trying to follow player requests where possible so... Dan Owston is on 165,000 and wants to send his thanks to all his supporters in Wales. He's just swiped 10 minutes of juice from...more

8.05pm: Pesonen the hatchet man It turns out that Lauri Pesonen has been taking out some of the smaller stacks of table 4 and is up to 260,000. Both Tony Martin and Darren Naylor fell to him - in consecutive hands! It's the end of level 16. Watch UKIPT...more

6.40pm: Steak dinner? 55 players remain and they are all off on a one hour dinner break. There is a free buffet on offer for them but now they're all in the money they may prefer a steak dinner. 6.35pm: Dominated Davidson Action folded around to Robert Davidson on the...more

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5.05pm: 'YES' No mate, you're out Roy Backhouse only had 16,600 chips and couldn't wait for the bubble to burst to make his move. They all went in from mid-position when folded around to him. Richard Lis then flat called from the button before Rupinder Bedi moved his big stack...more

4pm: BREAK TIME! BREAK TIME! The players are on a 15-minute break giving players time for a moment repose before the bubble dynamics truly kick in. Shorter stacks are in that horrible dilemma of wanting to double up, but not wanting to risk elimination. 3.53pm: Coren caught at it Vicky...more

If you have spent any time on PokerStars over the last couple of days, you might have noticed people winning money even if they folded pre-flop. In fact, there are people winning scads of money even after they lost a hand. How? Well, the F40 promotion going on right now,...more

First level of the day is done 3pm: Kellet right back in contention Richard Kellett had to really grind throughout the last few levels of yesterday after getting his aces cracked. Near the end he managed to double up twice with the pocket rockets to safely book his passage through...more

In an age of young aggressive, yet ultimately mute, online players breaking through into the live arena Mark Warnock comes as a refreshing change. To say the Liverpudlian is lively is an understatement. Seated with PokerStars Team Pro and fellow big stack Vicky Coren on his left Warnock was more...more

For the third straight year, the Macau Poker Cup is coming back to PokerStars Macau. March 3-7, PokerStars Macau at Casino Grand Lisboa will host the quarterly event. The March Macau Poker Cup will feature six events and live satellites to the $1 million Red Dragon tournament. Players will also...more

It took exactly seven hours of play to decide the first final table for season two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT after the ANZPT Adelaide Main Event field was slashed from 37 to nine. PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Eric Assadourian was the unfortunate final table bubble player collecting $10,310 for...more

8.40pm: Assadourian out in 10th, final table decided Just a tick into level 21, the final table for the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event was decided with the elimination of PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Eric Assadourian. He was all-in for 101,000 with K♥ J♠, but needed help against the...more

7pm: A winning pair Poker tourism is a big element of the ANZPT, and there's no better example of the concept than PokerStars Qualifier Victoria Martinez. After bowing out of the ANZPT Adelaide Main Event on day two, Victoria's partner Alistair arrived so the pair could spend the weekend...more

6.30pm: Scarf sets the pace Eliminations have come in fits and spurts all day, and we're back in the doldrums as players carefully pick their way up the pay scale. The remaining 15 players are guaranteed $9020, but all eyes are focussed on the first prize of $165,900 and...more

6.30pm: Scarf sets the pace Eliminations have come in fits and spurts all day, and we're back in the doldrums as players carefully pick their way up the pay scale. The remaining 15 players are guaranteed $9020, but all eyes are focussed on the first prize of $165,900 and...more

6.15pm: Bruno bows out We're down to one twin - Todd Butcher - after the elimination of Bruno Da Silva in 16th. After losing a big pot to Butcher when his A-K didn't hit against jacks, Da Silva doubled through Tony Hachem when his J-8 made a flush against...more

5pm: The Moose is back Raemin Alexander has collected his first scalp of the day when his J♠ J♣ played against the J♦ T♠ of Fabio Cappai on a board that ran out A♣ Q♥ 3♦ A♦ T♣. Cappai collects $6440 for 21st. Players are just about to take...more

3.45pm: Do is done Thanh Do wasted little time once the bubble burst and shoved in the last of his chips with A♠ T♥. His timing wasn't great as Andrew Hinrichsen flipped over A♦ A♣, which improved to a set on the flop of K♥ A♥ 2♥. Do picked...more

2.30pm: Down, but not out Peter Aristidou's topsy-turvy start to day three has taken another twist after PokerStars Qualifier Joey Masangcay doubled through the prolific Melbourne pro. It was the black kings of Masangcay against Aristidou's A♦ kd] but the board brought no joy for the man who placed...more

The total field for the inaugural UKIPT Manchester reached a massive 518 players surpassing everyone's expectations. The £100k guaranteed prizepool advertised to entice players came and went and the total prize pool now stands at a staggering ₤259,000 (full breakdown on this will be available tomorrow). 289 players took their...more

1.45pm: Sandy's sayonara One of only three internationals who started the day, Mike sirwatts Watson, has left the tournament area after Bryan Seiler's 9♦ 9♣ found a friend on the river - Q♣ 8♦ A♠ A♥ 9♠ against the K♦ Q♠ of the Canadian. We've also farewelled the last...more

"When routine bites hard and ambitions are low," Joy Division's Ian Curtis has just cautioned the punters who've made an early start to the day in the Grandstand Bar at Adelaide Casino. But in the adjacent Poker Zone, ambitions couldn't be higher for the 37 players who've returned for...more

3am: And the day is done Day 1b has been another long hard session for players and spectators alike with 62 players making it through to join the 60 from Day 1a. We'll be back with the cash chase from 2pm tomorrow. A full wrap of today's play will be...more

A short but wonderfully entertaining day two has concluded at Adelaide Casino with 37 players through to "moving day" in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event. After starting with 122 players, action started slowly but by mid-afternoon, the rate of eliminations skyrocketed. By day's end, Raemin "Jake the Moose"...more

1.50pm: Final approach into Day 2 The penultimate level of the day has just been brought to an end as the last 82 players go on one last 15 minute break. Sadan Turker hasn't been afraid to get his chips in but picked the wrong player to mess with when...more

1.01am: Accidently maintaining stack Mark Warnock's stack is around the 135,000 mark right now. It dropped a bit below this but he managed to get it back up after he got involved in a pot where he didn't really mean to. He meant to raise alright but to 1,600 and...more

12.45pm: Break-time Let's all have a breather shall we. See you in fifteen. 12.40pm:Lucky escape for Coren Team PokerStars Pro Vicki Coren has just run rather good to stay alive in this tournament. Monster stacked Mark Warnock opened to 1,800 from first position before Coren three-bet to 4,500 and David...more

10.30pm: Round-up Two players missing in action and presumed out are James Browning and Surinder Sunar. One player doing a lot better is TeaamPokerStars Pro Vicky Coren who is up to 60,000. She hit a set of 2s apparently and got paid. 10.24pm: Misguided Robin Hood Robin Hood is renowned...more

9.22pm:He's got to hate tens Not long after doubling Dean Person up whilst holding pocket tens Robert Davidson has now doubled-up Jokas Ekrem while holding the same hand. He raised from under-the-gun and was called by the Norwegian PokerStars Qualifier from mid-position. Davidson then led out for 1,800 on the...more

Jeff Kimber is in the company of today's current chip leaders and he's showing no signs of slowing down. A table mate informed us he's bluffing in a lot of pots and showing. In one hand witnessed he and another player called Stephen Parkinson's early position raise to 800. All...more

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6.16pm: Din dins Four levels down and time for dinner break. This announcement confused a lot of the local players who said they'd all had their dinner before play started. The announcement was reworded to "tea break" and the players understood and headed off for the buffet. 5.56pm: Kimber keeps...more

I have a really nice job. It's part of my job to wear a PokerStars patch whenever I play in a live tournament. To give you an idea of how many events PokerStars is sponsoring, I heard that they are planning to introduce their tenth poker tour, the JPT, on...more

5.20pm: Moving on up The level that it and this one is well and truly in the past. 5.18pm: Coren doubles After losing a bunch of chips to Ben Stern, Team PokerStars Pro Vicky Coren has just doubled-up through him. Both checked a 4♠6♣4♦ flop before Coren bet 700 when...more

Break time Two levels down. Oranges all round in the 15 minute break. 4pm: Steady Teddy There was an early position raise to 275 from Joeri Zandvliet that was only called by Teddy Sheringham in the hijack. Zandvliet led for 275 on the 4♠2♥7♠ flop but quickly folded to Sheringham's...more

3pm: Jaffa losing a small slice of his cake Four players saw a 2♦6♠Q♣ flop after an early position raise. It was checked to David Pringle in third position who led for 500 and only Jeff Kimber called from the small blind. Both players were happy to check through the...more

Manchester is a city divided into two halves; that is if you're talking about which football team to support. If yesterday was the "Theatre of dreams" today is the "City of Manchester poker stadium, arena or casino." The history books suggest that the second of two starting days at a...more

by Kristian 'CharismA3' Martin Hello there. Let me start this off by introducing myself: My name is Kristian and I live in the northern part of Germany and I am currently a full-time student of maths and economy at University Hamburg. Poker wise I have always been trying to become...more

by Joe Hachem Summer truly is the sporting tournament season for Aussies and poker is no exception. Just days after a hugely successful Aussie Millions, we looked forward to the very first tournament in the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tournament (ANZPT). This is the second year of the tour...more

7pm: Moussa flushed late in the day George Moussa scored an amazing double-up in the last few hands of the day through fellow Aussie Andy Kemmler. Moussa had his money in the middle pre-flop with A♦ Q♠, and found himself against Kemmler's A♥ Q♣. It looked to be a...more

5.45pm: First shout for railbirds It's beer o'clock here at Adelaide Casino, with the 9-5ers out in force for a night on the tables after a long week in the office. But the remaining 53 players in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event still have 90 minutes until they...more

4.40pm: An Austrian among the Aussies Australia's Michael Sellars has eliminated 2009 APPT Grand Final champion Aaron Benton as the field shrinks to 58 players in the lead-up to the second break of the day. Benton moved his last 23,500 into the middle with A♣ T♣, but was called...more

3.45pm: Da Silva turns to da gold When the cards are running your way, it's best to just go with the flow as Bruno Da Silva just discovered when he dispatched fellow PokerStars Qualifier John Chalhoub to the rail. Chalhoub, the all-in player, was happy to see the flop...more

The UKIPT is a tour that has aimed to hit that middle ground so often missed; players that want more than a £50 freezeout but don't necessarily want to stump up the €5,000 buy-in for an EPT event, and by the looks of today it's hit the target slap bang...more

2.45pm: Vanderhorst edges ahead Roy Hills has some company at the top of the chip count with several players breaking through the 100,000-chip barrier early on day two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event. PokerStars Qualifier Bruno Da Silva (107,000), PokerStars Player Rennie Carnivale (101,000) and Pankaj Gogia...more

3.45am: Play concludes The last five hands were played out and then all the players bagged up their chips and left for a good sleep I presume. Full chip counts will appear here overnight and a full wrap will be with you shortly. 3.40am: Bedi boom The biggest pot at...more

2pm: Curtain falls on "The Big Show" There's been a steady stream of KOs in the opening hour of play, with departures including Julian Cohen (his fours were no match for the pocket aces of George Boulos) while the pocket sixes of Andrew Jeffreys were outflopped by the K-Q...more

2.15am: End of level In the dying minutes of level 10 Reyaaz Mulla hit a dream J♠9♠6♦ flop with pocket jacks and decided to fast play it by smashing his 19,300 stack into pre-flop aggressor James Creighton who tank called with pocket Queens. Mulla's monster hand held up and he...more

The gardens and parkland that surround the Adelaide CBD belie the fact that South Australia's largest city sits on the fringe of the great Australian outback. You don't have to travel too far north of Adelaide before farmland starts to give way to scrubby pasture and desert that stretches...more

1.25am: That's the end of level 9 folks No break at this juncture, straight in to level 10. 1.20am: No more pieces for Jerome We've filled in most of blanks of Jerome Bradpiece's exit. He got the last of his chips in on an all spade ace high flop holding...more

Skull fracture As the level came to an end and Gerald David left his seat it was clear he had lost a lot of his stack. "I lost a load" he said seeing the confused look upon my face. "I had queens and bet it all the way but when...more

11.05pm: Level over Level seven was lucky for some and unlucky for others. Let's see what level eight has install. 11.00pm: Fletcher given the boot An empty seat is in the place where star footballer Darren Fletcher once sat. The player who eliminated him was Audun Otterhals. All the chips...more

9.51pm: Another level comes to an end Six levels have come and gone. Tournament director Toby has decided we need to play 11 levels today and tomorrow to ensure we get through this extra large field. This means we're in for a late one as there's five more to go...more

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9.08pm: Thew, finally a Julian hand Card dead, playing tight or bad timing on our part? Whatever the reason we have reported no Team Pokerstars Pro Julian Thew hands at all today. That is about to change and even though it's not a classic it's at least a hand...more

7pm: The dinner gong rings out It's time for the buffet charge as the players enjoy an hour long break and some mushroom stroganov - in that order of enjoyment from the looks of it. It's down to 200 players from the initial 258 players and although some dreams have...more

5.46pm: Toby Lewis and the news Toby Lewis had over $100,000 in live tournament winnings last year but is yet to make a big score in 2010 and, at the moment, things aren't looking like changing. Lewis wins one pot by three-betting Clemence Veenhof's 425 hi-jack open to 1100 but...more

4.35pm: Two levels down and it's breaktime The first two hours of play has come to an end and all the players are off on a well-earned break. It's only fifteen minutes so they didn't have to work too hard for it, right? Spotting online player Richard Hawes with a...more

3.35pm: Man down and first out It is possible for two players to get 15,000 chips (starting stack) into the middle in the first level but it takes two pretty big hands to match-up for it to happen. So who holds the title of the first player to be ko'd...more

Manchester has become well known around the world for the exploits of its football team, Manchester United FC*, who have won 11 Premier League titles, just as many FA Cups, a healthy side smattering of European trophies as well as being the footballing home of one Mr David Beckham. We...more

They say you can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats dogs and bloggers. While I'm not entirely sure about how English poker pro Julian Thew would feel about my little blind mutt, I am happy to report Team PokerStars Pro is signing a pretty good...more

Table 1 Seat 1: Andrew Scarf (Australia) 54,600 Seat 2: Peter Chapman (Australia) 19,975 Seat 3: Billy Argryos (Australia) 60,525 Seat 4: George Boulos (Australia) 58,200 Seat 5: Rennie Carnivale (Australia) PokerStars Player 55,550 Seat 6: Adam Lux (Australia) 21,425 Seat 7: Adalberto Orrigo (Australia) 17,775 Seat 9: Julian...more

The line-up for day two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event has been finalised after a torrid seven hours of play in Adelaide Casino's Poker Zone. While the city experienced a reprieve from the heat that had propelled the mercury over 40°C, the action was plenty fierce as...more

8pm: Tran's catching a tram Melbourne's Trung Tran had enjoyed an uneventful day on a table that included Australian Poker Hall of Famer Billy "The Croc" Argyros and PokerStars Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem but finally succumbed to Naz Sibahi in the last few hands of the day. In...more

7pm: The mark of a champion The stack of 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event Champion and former South Australian Stewart Scott had been as low as 3000 in chips in the first three levels of the day, but has managed to work his way back to around 55,000 in...more

5.45pm: Big names hit the rail Brendon Rubie, Raj Ramakrishnan and PokerStars Sponsored Player Clonie Gowen have been among a recent spate of eliminations in today's day one flight. Rubie was sent to the Poker Zone rail at the hands of Kristian Lunardi after running his pocket 10s into...more

5pm: The Hills are alive! Players are placing their coffee orders in preparation for the second break on day 1C of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event. Lorenzo Carbone's chip lead has been whittled away in the past hour, with the local player down to less than 44,000. He's...more

3.45pm: Points race off and running It's never easy to live in the shadow of a more famous sibling, and no-one knows that better than PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem. The younger brother of PokerStars.net Team PRO Joe Hachem was already a regular player before the 2005 WSOP...more

2.45pm: Bruno bows out Bruno Portaro has also just wandered through the exit, having been eliminated at the hands of Australia's Naz Sababi. As Sababi recalled, a player in early position had raised to 550 pre-flop before he re-raised to 1500. Portaro four-bet it to 6000, the initial raiser...more

1.30pm: How to bowl a maiden over There was some commotion from table 11 with plenty of colour and movement between Australian players Adam Cusenza and Ali Khalil and America's Mike Spinasanta, which gave the impression that a big hand had just played out. However upon closer inspection, the...more

Of the many contributions that South Australia has made to the world, few are as famed as Penfolds Grange. Without doubt Australia's most famous wine, the annual Grange release is highly anticipated by collectors and consumers alike, and continues to pick up awards across the globe. Penfolds, which comprises...more

Ah, it seems like just yesterday we were celebrating PokerStars 20 billionth hand. Those were heady times, weren't they? And, my, how time flies when you're winning your monthly nut. After several failed attempts with an abacus, we hired a math major from the local university to do some counting...more

The forthcoming Manchester UKIPT event will be the first tournament I play on this exciting new British and Irish tour, and I'll be very interested to look at the style of play. The buy-in (£500) is sized to make it possible for recreational players to try a significant tournament -...more

The Grandstand Bar adjacent to the Poker Zone at Adelaide Casino is doing brisk business as players dissect the finer points of the day after the second flight of day one in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event. The 66 players who took their seat at the start of...more

8.15pm: Dunst drops in final stages In the last few hands before the end of the day, Tony bond18 Dunst and Andrew luckychewy Lichtenberger battled all the way on a board that fell K♣ 8♠ 6♣ 2♥ Q♣. Dunst checked to Lichtenberger on the river, who fired out a...more

7pm: Eric's back on top Heading into the final break on day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event, Eric Assadourian has regained the chip lead and takes a stack of 85,000 into the final hour. Narrowly trailling the PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro are Mike Watson (67,500), George...more

5.30pm: Four kings, just to rub it in Nick Putt, son of New Zealand poker stalwart Graeme 'Kiwi G' Putt, has eliminated Adelaide's Pana Flourentzou in emphatic fashion. Flourentzou moved the last of his short stack into the middle with Q♥ Q♣, only to be snapped off by Putt...more