March 2010 Archives

PokerStars has long been recognized as the place to go for well-run, well-structured tournaments. The reputation has made WCOOP, SCOOP, and the Sunday Million appointment poker for the world's online players. And so this morning we were left with a "Huh?" look on our face for a while. Something is...more

Tuesday is probably the least talked about day of the week. Monday is frowned upon for being the start of the work week for many people, but Wednesday has a better reputation for indicating that the week is half over. Thursday is the day that people can begin thinking of...more

Imagine rolling over in bed one morning and finding a woman who knew everything your wife knew...she just looked 100% better than she had the night before. You might be a little freaked out at first, but I bet you'd get used to it. Well, we had something similar happen...more

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Sundays are always fun around these parts, but some Sundays are more interesting than others. This weekend was no exception. As the last Sunday of the month, it featured all the regular big action, plus a few other exciting pieces of news from the ranks of Team PokerStars Pro. First...more

The last weekend of each month brings a great deal of excitement to the PokerStars tables. Not only is there a Battle of the Planets $50,000 freeroll tournament for the top sit-n-go players of the month, but anyone who has accumulated 3,000 Frequent Player Points (or satellited into the event...more

If you have PokerStars on your Twitter feed, then you know that PokerStars sends out tweet contests regularly and by answering correctly can earn you some free FPPs. If you are not following PokerStars and PokerStarsBlog, we suggest getting with the program and take advantage of information and contests flowing...more

March Madness. With Duke taking out Baylor this afternoon there are only four left from the original 64 teams which become one of the most wagered on sporting events in the United States. Personally, my bracket took a beating early as my bets became recyclable trash, similar to the 4,016...more

With springtime here, SnG players in the north are happily knocking off the ice and snow from their laptops to earn their ways into today's Battle of the Planet $50,000 Triple Shootout Freeroll. 493 cashed in their tickets earned weekly for a shot at winning three consecutive SnGs and the...more

Whenever you try anything new, even under the auspices of something so well-established as the European Poker Tour, there's always some element of risk. But rather like in poker itself, where the most skilled players reduce the influence of chance to its bare minimum, the wily operators of the EPT...more

1.30am: Allan Baekke is the EPT Snowfest champion! In the first hand after the break Allan Baekke called all-in with pocket sevens to beat Russell Carson's K♣J♠. It's a big flip for the Dane who wins €445,000 for the victory. Carson, a very worthy runner up, wins €296,000 for his...more

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PokerStars has been behind so many poker innovations in the past few years, it's tough to find something out there without PokerStars' fingerprints all over it. There was one thing, though, that PokerStars hadn't done. It had yet to introduce its own high stakes cash game that would be broadcast...more

10.10pm: Has Strassman taken the chip lead? The board is 4♠J♦4♥4♦T♠ and Strassmann bets 1,600,000 on the river. What would you need to call here? Well, whatever it is that Allan Baekke would have called with he didn't have. The Dane had check-called on the flop and the turn but...more

Hey, we can't always be sitting there looking at the PokerStars tournament lobby (well, yes, except for you), but the rest of us have to shut down the world's biggest online poker site from time to time. If you're anything like me, you'd like to be able to keep up...more

4.06: Level up That's the end of level 25. We're now on a 15-minute break. 4.05pm: More for Baekke Strassmann dips below 2 million chips (1.9 million) after letting this one go against Allan Baekke. Strassmann had raised to 105,000 from the button and Baeeke re-raised to 295,000. Strassmann made...more

The final table for EPT Snowfest is set. The eight players below will compete for the €445,000 first prize at the Alpine Palace, in Salbach-Hinterglemm. You can watch the action live on EPT Live and follow it on PokerStars Blog. The full list of winners so far is on the...more

Yesterday's wrap, in case you didn't see it, was entitled "Baekke leads all stars in Alpine thriller". We try to provide fresh content daily on PokerStars Blog, but that title could certainly get a second airing tonight, and not just because we're recycling enthusiasts. Allan Baekke was the dominant force...more

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9.25pm: Over A full chip count and a full wrap is on its way. Stand by. 9.20pm: Single Dutch We have our final eight. Huub Verdonschot opened for a standard raise and Brent Wheeler three-bet to his left. Verdonschot shoved and Wheeler insta-called and showed A♣K♥, which was all over...more

We already liked this place before the final table began. But bias aside the PAGCOR Chairman's Cup got the final table it deserved today, and not only for the quality of its new champion. There was the local interest, local heroes and a last Filipino. There was the PokerStars...more

11.10pm: Binh Nguyen wins PAGOR Chairman's Cup and $260,700 A pre-flop all-in show-down has resulted in Binh Nguyen eliminating Scotsman Gordon Huntly to be crowned champion. The action started with a 250,000 raise from Nguyen on the button before Huntly three-bet to 600,000. Nguyen then moved all-in and after some...more

5.15pm: Break time That's the end of level 22. We're on a 15-minute break. 5.05pm: Strassmann takes out Haigh Johannes Strassmann open-raised then faced an all-in bet from Robert Haigh, 331,000 total. The German Team PokerStars Pro wasted no time calling. Haigh: J♠J♥ Strassmann: A♦K♥ Strassmann needed to catch up...more

10pm: LEVEL UP The seventh level of the night begins with blinds at 40,000-80,000 with no ante. For coverage of level 27 and 28 click here. 9.55pm: Putting out the feelers Most pots so far have been limped pots with little action on the streets. Continuation bets are getting...more

6.47pm: Break time That's the end of the level. Players are now on a 15 minutes break. 6.45pm: Got there on the river Terrence Chan raised from the button and was called by Gordon Huntly in the small blind. It was checked to the river where the board read 2♥A♣T♣4♦3♥....more

3.40pm: Break time Players are taking the first break of the day for 30 minutes. Time to go buy a slot machine at the expo. Play resumes at 4.10pm. Check out the official chip count page for the latest scores. 3.35pm: Huntly doubles house Gordon Huntly has doubled up to...more

The final table of the PAGCOR Chairman's Cup will be played out today. Nine players, one table, packed into the noisy and slightly surreal environment of a full on gaming expo. We can see the chips on the table, hear a racket coming from beyond the red curtains and...more

The closing stages of EPT Main Events are always thrilling, but let's face it, some days are better than others. Tomorrow and Friday in the chocolate box country of the Austrian Alps, however, might well turn out to be two of the very best. Just take a look at the...more

Here is the seat draw for day four of EPT Snowfest. 24 players remain. 1 1 Nasr El Nasr, Germany, PokerStars qualifier, 546,000 1 2 Allan Baekke, Denmark, PokerStars player, 2,687,000 1 3 Johannes Holstege, Germany, PokerStars player, 683,000 1 4 Cyril Naim, France, 380,000 1 5 Lee Gaines, USA,...more

10.10pm: Baekke wins huge pot to close day three Allan Baekke, who along with Max Lykov has been the story of day 3, has busted Paul Valkenburg in 25th place to bring play to a close. It was a monster pot of close to two million, sending Baekke in to...more

8.50pm: Level done With that we're on a break to celebrate the end of level 19. We're also down to just four tables. -- SY 8.45pm: Wheeler keeps on turning Brent Wheeler opened for 25,500 and Sven Mol re-raised to 58,000. Wheeler announced all-in - call! Wheeler: J♥J♦ Mol: 9♥9♦...more

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Dinner break chips are on the chip-count page. 6.20pm: Hougaard out in 43rd Jesper Hougaard was the unfortunate player to claim the 'last player to get KO'd before the break' title. The Dane moved all-in from the small blind over the top of Aaron Lerner's opening 19,000 raise from middle...more

5pm: End of the level That's level 17 done and dusted. Level 18 will be along shortly. -- SY 5.00pm: Donev left cold and lonely on the mountain Ivo Donev open raises to 12,000 from the hijack and is called by David Wintersberger on the button before quickly checking in...more

PokerStars' newest stable of elite professionals, Team PokerStars Online, has just grown by three. The team of online pros now consists of 26 big names from around the globe. PokerStars announced this week that it has added George 'Jorj95' Lind, Dusty 'Leatherass9' Schmidt, Denys 'diatty' Shcherbakov to the roster of...more

3.35pm: In the money We are now officially in the money, and the identities of those players busting from now on will find their way onto the prizewinner's page. Some big names have already bitten the dust: Messrs Nadzeya Hundoryna and Christian Opperskalski among them, a remarkable 37 letter combined....more

We've just about worked out the formula to this tournament. Written down it might involve brackets, squiggly lines and X=something, but it goes something like this: turn up, sit down and play like hell until someone tells you to stop. Don't get up and down from your table, don't...more

If you wanted the seat draw for EPT Snowfest day three then you've come to the right place. Looking for a particular player? Then remember 'control f' is your friend. Play begins at 2pm local time in the Alps. With 86 players left we're due to pop through the bubble...more

For many people, the arrival of spring gives new perspective to many things, as more sunlight and warmth bring a certain freshness to life. But for online poker players? Some may not even realize that spring has arrived until they emerge in a few days from an immersion in the...more

7.10pm: Day three done Day three of the PAGCOR Chairman's Cup is over and just a final table of nine players remain. It came after an all-in move by Jae Sin with Q♦T♣ for 131,000 who was then called by Gordon Huntly with K♠7♣. The board came 4♠5♠8♠4♥6♦. With that...more

5.03pm: BREAK TIME Back in ten minutes. 5pm: New poker term coined Bin Nguyen and Terrence Chan have coined a new poker term between them. Nguyen noticed that Chan had a 5,000 chip mixed in with a stack of 1,000 chips and informed him of his dirty stack. "It's a...more

2.40pm: Break time Break time on day three. Players take ten minutes and when they return will play blinds of 5,000-10,000 with a 1,000 ante. 2.35pm:This nut's been cracked Harold Louis Trinidad raised from the cut-off and then called when Almond Cabral pushed from the small blind. Cabral tabled 9♥9♦...more

After last night's closing stages it's hard to imagine how this day might top it. But the chances are that it will. At stake today is a place at the final table of the PAGCOR Chairman's Cup, but along the way everyone will be paid. Some 430 players came...more

All things considered, we've been remarkably restrained with our snow and ski based allegory this week; we certainly could have done more. But it's a fact today that the action has resembled a rapid plummet from the highest mountain, only to level out at the foothills. The snowball built huge...more

11.35pm: Bubble still wins The ten minutes passed with just one more casualty, which means 86 players will return for tomorrow's day three to play down to 24 players. As the bagging and tagging process completes, there is no doubt who the overnight chip leader is. Step forward German Team...more

10pm: Level over That is the end of level 14 and there are 97 players coming back for the final level of the day. Will we burst that bubble? I reckon it's about 50-50. -- HS 9.55pm: Arnaud Mattern out The Team PokerStars Pro was on 48,000, looked down at...more

8.46pm: Level done That's the end of level 13. It was unlucky for some. We're on a 15-minute break. -- SY 8.45pm: The latest from the Vesa files In the absence of our regular Nordic blogger - the whirling blonde dervish that is Lina Olofsson - combined with the recent...more

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6.26pm: That's dinner It's the end of the level and players are now on a one hour dinner break. The rate of eliminations has been incredible - down from 249 starters to just 134 in three levels! It remains to be seen if tournament staff will trim a level of...more

5pm: Hila feels the wrath of Toth Dan Ionut Hila is wearing a hoodie painted with the colours of Great Britain's Union Flag. He is Romanian after all. Hila perhaps wanted to tighten it close over his eyes after a recent pot, during which he ended up on the wrong...more

In the last few minutes today this was not a poker tournament, it was a survival story, one of life and death and only a few would survive. It was not a matter of cards, it was like the sighting of a ship in the distance to a bunch...more

3.25pm: Van Trinh shows some class One of yesterday's leading chip stack, Lam Van Trinh, has just made a classy call against Georg Geissler on the river for the German player's tournamnet life. Geissler had raised from the button for 2,700 and was three-bet from the small blind to 7,800...more

9.20pm: Double elimination bursts bubble and ends play for today The bubble just burst here amid scenes of pure pandemonium. Mishel Anunu was the first player to move all in for 47,000 from mid-position and he was flat called by Yong-suk Chang on the button before Mikael Rosen moved all...more

6.55pm: Time for tea Players are now on a 30 minute dinner break at the end of the sixth level of the day. 6.50pm: Croatian counterfeit Nikica Maric has doubled up the short stack of Mongolian player Oyunbaatar Tumendemberel. It all went in pre-flop with Maric holding 9♦9♣ to his...more

4.45pm: BREAK TIME Players off for a ten minute break. 4.45pm:Bashing the Coco Nikica Mavic has taken back-to-back pots at the expense of Franco Mabanta to go up to 140,000. In the first hand Mabanta raised from under-the-gun and was called by the Croatian in the big blind to see...more

2.35pm: Break time Players are taking a ten minute break. When they return blinds will be 800-1,600 with a 200 ante. 2.30pm: Hail Franco After some intricate pre-flop jousting Martin Gonzales got his chips into the middle with J♣T♣, called by Franco Mabanta who showed A♥Q♥. They each braced themselves...more

This is the full seat draw for day 2 of EPT Snowfest. 259 players remain and will return to level 10, with blinds at 600-1,200 and a 100 ante. If you're looking for someone in particular in this list, use 'control F5' to find them easily. 1 1 Thomas Frandsen...more

Yesterday's opening day of Snowfest was unusual, but not just because we were in a log cabin in the mountains. All things considered, it was a peculiarly lethargic day of poker, and although we lost more than half the field and watched a few stacks grow close to ten times...more

1.15am: That's it Play has finished and the players are bagging and tagging. They'll be back tomorrow when day 2 begins at 2pm. It looks as if Koen Berendsen, a PokerStars player from Holland, is our day 1B chip leader with 162,200. We'll have a full wrap up very soon,...more

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11.05pm: Ebanks on the up Joe Ebanks has never had a big stack today, but he's now ground it up to 45,000, almost doubling up in this hand: Ovidiu Balaj started a limp-fest from under the gun and there were six of them, including Ebanks (on the button) and Gregory...more

6.40pm: Rasr El Rasr Without a word of exaggeration, I'd estimate that from the ten times I've looked at Nasr El Nasr's table today, he's been raising or re-raising nine times. Most recently, there was a board of 2♠4♦8♠A♥4♠ and about 11,000 in the pot. He and Daniele Amatruda were...more

Pierre Neuville, dubbed the Serial PokerStars Qualifier by the PokerStars Blog scribes, is in the running to win the top qualifier prize at this year's EPT awards, thanks to satelliting his way in to seemingly every event this year. Here, the retired businessman from Belgium talks about his race for...more

This is one of those Mondays where there is so much to talk about, sentence upon sentence of flowery prose does no more than delay what you really want to read. Or, as Jason Alexander said as he opened the NAPT in Las Vegas last month, "Yada, yada, yada." So,...more

4.25pm: De Korver bags another pot In a 3-way pot with Derek Lerner, the preflop aggressor, behind him Pieter De Korver raises a K♥4♦2♦ flop from 850 to 2,150 winning the pot. The hand was slighty interrupted by the histronics of a wailing Scandi [see 'It's a rage up!' below]...more

Good afternoon all, and welcome back to Snowfest, where the big news is that none (repeat: none) of the PokerStars Blog reporting team has yet broken a limb, nor so much as even slipped and fallen onto their jacksie. You'd have got long odds on that being the case at...more

The old adage the final flight of day one is often the toughest is certainly something we've seen at poker tour's around the world. It turns out the PAGCOR Chairman's Cup is no different. After two previous editions of day one featured a combined 208 players, day 1C attracted...more

9pm: Play concludes The last of our day ones has come to an end. After a late surge our overnight but not overall chip leader is Victor Chang with 174,300. The official chip counts will appear here shortly and it won't be long too long before you can re-live the...more

Spring was in the air. Since daylight savings time kicked in for United States residents, the temperatures seem a bit warmer, the sun a little brighter, and even inclement weather somewhat more tolerable. And with the positivity accompanying the ever-approaching new season, there was no better time to take a...more

5.05pm: Break time The second break of the day. When players return blinds will be up to 200-400 with a 50 ante. 5pm: Board doesn't reach the Rivera On a flop of 2♥K♣7♥ Mark Benasa in the big blind checked to Tony Rivera who bet 6,500 from the button. Benasa...more

3pm: BREAK TIME Two hours and two levels down; players go on a ten minute break. 2.45pm: All-in good but rivered bad Kelly Flynn has been eliminated by Alexander Ciruela. Flynn flopped the nut flush and Ciruela pushed all-in with middle pair. Flynn called but the board paired the turn....more

On our way out of the hotel this morning Tony Hachem was on his way in, looking slightly jet-lagged but chipper. He has reason to be happy, having just won ANZPT Perth and AUS$132,750. The jetlag look was because he did that yesterday, less than 18 hours ago. Hachem...more

The luck of the Irish held over a few days for TheConcept79 as he battled back to take down $147,310.32 with no deals in the post-St. Patrick's Day edition of the Sunday Warm-Up. The field of 4,695 players built up a whopping $939,000 prize pool, with the top 675 players...more

The best poker tournaments these days really could be hosted anywhere. We've been to an Italian town in the desert and a lost city beneath the sea. This week, no one should be surprised to learn that we're half-way up a mountain - and we're on skis. This, in case...more

1.20am: Day done That's it, play has finished for the night. Our chip leader right now is David Winterberger from Germany on more than 290,000. PokerStars sponsored player Julien Brecard also finished strongly on 238,100. A full wrap of today's events will be with you shortly. We'll try and get...more

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10.15pm: End of the level That's level six in the books. There's a quick break and we'll be back for the for the last three levels of the day. -- SY 10.10pm: Victory for Villeneuve Jonathan Villeneuve has just had a dream 6♥8♦8♣ flop for his 8♠T♥ and a willing...more

6.40pm: Fireworks We were treated to a fireworks display at the PokerStars welcome party last night, but there were no more oohs and aahs than at Marijan Tomaskovic's table a few minutes ago. Tomaskovic had rocketed into an early chip lead today, but has been going backwards since then. Here's...more

LEVEL OVER. INTO LEVEL THREE. 4.25pm: The Finn wins with 58 suited Joni Jouhkimainen from Finland is obviously keen to live up to national poker stereotypes.  Dennis Waterman raises to 525 from under the gun and is called by Jouhkimainen with 5♠8♠. Spectacled De Meulder (the PokerStars sponsored twins that's wearing glasses today)...more

After yesterday's performance of tinderbox poker, a day that reduced 99 players to 44, it was always a long shot to expect the same level of attrition today. But we weren't far off. With ten more players starting today, 109 were whittled down to 59 just without much of...more

When news broke that Perth had been added to the schedule for season two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT, players rejoiced on either side of the country. For the first time, Western Australia's best would be able to test themselves against the best of the best from the eastern seaboard....more

Last night in Hinterglemm, Austria, the dastardly organisers of the European Poker Tour answered a long-standing question. If we put a PokerStars welcome party on top of a mountain, will people still come in their droves? The answer is: of course they will. It was a foolish question. PokerStars welcome...more

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9pm: Play concludes for day 1b The last six hands came and went with lots of shouts and screams (normal period of play then!) and all remaining players counted and bagged up their chips ready for play on Tuesday. 59 players made it through the day's mahem poker. Official chip...more

7.15pm: Tony Hachem wins ANZPT Perth; Aleks Lackovic eliminated in second place One of the most remarkable runs in Australian poker history continues with the crowning of PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem as the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth champion, winning AUD $132,750. Just as we'd settled in for...more

5.10pm: Break time Players are on the next ten minute break. When they return blinds will be 200-400 with a 50 ante. 5.05pm: The Bold Mundai On a flop of 9♣A♦6♥ Wilfredo Maliski checked to Bold Mundai from Mongolia on the button who made it 1,500. Mundai is a colourful...more

5pm: Hachem snares the lead Players took an extended break to talk about a deal, but there was no decision and the trio are back at the table. Three-handed, pretty tight, pick your marks, right? Uh-uh. Tony Hachem has taken off the gloves and is the new chip leader...more

3pm: Break time Break time here in Manila. When players return in ten minutes time blinds will be 100-200 with a 25 ante. 2.55pm: To the river again There was 5,000 already in the pot and a flop of 9♥6♣J♦ on the board when Carlos Chang and Warren Kiamco went...more

We're all set for day 1B of the PAGCOR Chairman's Cup in downtown Manila. Well, we assume it's downtown. Manila can be disorientating to the first time visitor. Gridlock and dizzying heat during the taxi journey here, and back now we think of it, makes it a vibrant hodgepodge...more

2.40pm: Jimmy Wong eliminated in sixth place, $26,800 Crowd favourite Jimmy Wong completed an impressive ANZPT Perth carnival with victory in the Pot Limit Omaha event and sixth in the Main Event. The end came for the ultra-popular restaurateur when he shoved all-in with Q♣ J♦, with the call...more

Could be the title for a Guy Ritchie flick! And in case you were wondering, Sandgroper is a term for people born and raised in Western Australia. With respect our blogging colleagues currently in Austria and the Philippines for their respective PokerStars events, we're confident that Perth had the...more

Seven Western Australians will take on a PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro and a plucky Irishman at tomorrow's PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event final table. Local mining engineer Zaffer Soemya leads the field with nine players remaining, and will be joined by fellow Perth players Aleks Lackovic, Tu Le, Dale...more

Those of us who had never been to an APPT event before today didn't really know what to expect in the Coral Ballroom of the Manila Pavilion Hotel. We anticipated difficulties with names, directions, maybe even the stuffed fish for lunch, but what we didn't expect was a fuel-injected...more

Seat 1: Jimmy Wong (Perth, Western Australia), 253,000 in chips: This gregarious and ultra-popular local has been playing poker for most of his life, starting with seven-card stud and Omaha before picking up on Hold'em. A restaurant owner and father of four, he cashed in the 2008 APPT Grand...more

9.45pm: Play concluded The last seven hands have come and gone and Day 1a has finished for today. Mark Takayama is runaway chip leader on 197,375. Official chip counts will appear here in an hour or so and a full wrap of the day's play will be up shortly. 9.30pm:...more

8pm: Level 21 (8000/16,000, ante 2000) Three short stacks - Ray Ellis, Eoin Kennedy and Wade Beavis - hung on grimly, with Ellis the most aggressive of the trio. Ellis' latest shove was met with a call from chip leader Zaffer Soemya for a pot worth approximately 300,000 (Aleks...more

5.50pm: Break time Players are on another ten minute break at the end of level four. 5.40pm: Charlie finds his angels Don Carmona opened the pot with a limp before Chung Ng raised to 1,000. Charlie Co then moved all in for his last 2,200 and was called by Andrew...more

4.25pm: Four more gone, two to go Reigning Western Classic champion Vesko Zmukic claimed two scalps on the same hand after calling all-ins from Dutchman Onno Zwart and Daniel Laidlaw. Zwart showed A♦ T♦, Laidlaw held T♣ T♥ while Zmukic revealed A♥ K♠. The board of K♥ 8♠ 8♥...more

3.35pm: Break time Players are now taking a ten minute break before returning for level three. 3.25pm: Ace king? With a flop of 3♥J♥4♦ already on the table Dongmin Lee made it 900 before Sung Ho Kim raised to 2,600. Lee called for a K♦ on the turn. A check...more

Welcome to Manila for the first ever staging of the PAGCOR Chairman's Cup in the sunny, busy, affordable capital of the Philippines. We were supposed to be at EPT Snowfest, rolling down wet hills and experiencing shattered bones for ourselves, but we turned our back on all that, swapping...more

2.30pm: Benton bundled out Reigning APPT Grand Final champion Aaron Benton has collected his first ANZPT cash in 21st place. Benton stuck in his chips with A-10 on a flop of 2♥ 4♥ T♥ but Dale Marsland called and showed pocket kings. Aaron Benton impressive list of achievements now...more

Australia's indigenous fauna has fared poorly from introduced species, which makes the Quokka either the luckiest or smartest little guy in the animal world. Thanks to the absence of foxes and feral cats, these small kangaroo-like marsupials are alive and thriving on Rottnest Island, which lies a short 18-kilometre...more

At the Venetian, the $25,000 Bounty Shootout was a first-of-its-kind event, and it was a success. Now, it's coming back to the North American Poker Tour. Next month at the Mohegan Sun, the NAPT is reprising the Bounty Shootout with a two-day $25,000 event that is bound to draw some...more

Seating draw for day 3 of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event at Burswood Casino, Perth, Western Australia Table 15 Seat 1: Paul Sharbanee (Australia) 76,900 Seat 3: John Corr (Australia) 124,800 Seat 4: Vesko Zmukic (Australia) 108,000 Seat 5: Jimmy Wong (Australia) 188,200 Seat 6: Sean O'Reilly (Australia)...more

The money is close enough to smell with just 30 players aiming for the top 24 and a slice of the AUD $510,600 prize pool after day two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event. Against the African beat of a massive party poolside at Burswood tonight, the day's...more

8pm: Levy left in the lurch Grant Levy's gallant run in the ANZPT Perth Main Event has come to an end. The stack of the PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro had steadily dwindled throughout the afternoon, and the end came when he was all-in with A-7 against the pocket 10s...more

7pm: Bresland bows out Jason Bresland is the 38th placed player in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event. His elimination came as we tick into the final 15 minutes of level 13. There'll be one more 10-minute break before the final hour of the day. Just 37 players remain...more

4.40pm: One down, one remains In the early hours of this morning, Aleks and Nik Lackovic took out the ANZPT Perth teams event. Their hopes of carrying such form throughout day two have ended with Nik's elimination. His last stand came with Q-J against the pocket eights of Roman...more

2.30pm: Hachem's kings rule Steicke Could he do it again? Tony Hachem has just doubled through David Steicke to take his stack north of 65,000 as he aims for an incredible sixth ANZPT cash in seven events. Steicke shoved all-in over the top of the PokerStars.net Team Australia pro's...more

In 1957, a prospector by the name of Stan Hilditch was picking around the Eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia, about 1200 kilometres north of Perth. One of the most isolated and inhospitable regions in the country, the Eastern Pilbara had little use except as marginal pasture until Hilditch...more

European Poker Tour players have just two events left to stake their claim on some of the most coveted titles on the EPT. Next month in Monte Carlo the European Poker Tour will honor its top performers from Season 6. The winners of these awards represent the very best the...more

Seating draw for day 2 of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event at Burswood Casino, Perth, Western Australia Table 1 Seat 1: William Dunn (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 46,250 Seat 2: Eoin Kennedy (Australia) 61,725 Seat 3: Adrienne Whareorere (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier 16,150 Seat 5: Aaron Benton (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier...more

A record-breaking prizepool for a Western Australian poker tournament has been established in the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event at Burswood Casino. After yesterday's modest entry list of 83, the main event field bumped up to 222 thanks to today's 1B field of 139. A total of 112...more

8pm: Eric cops a hit A little earlier we mentioned that PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Eric Assadourian's day had been a case of "cruise control". Well, it's ended with the cart running off the road after Assadourian lost the bulk of his stack to Michael Vanderhorst. The money went...more

6.40pm: Triple triumph for Levy After being down to less than 4000, PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Grant Levy has clawed back to almost 40,000 after a second triple-up. Levy's A♥ K♥ was up against the 6♥ 6♣ of 2009 APPT Grand Final third-place finisher Leo Boxell and K♠ 9♣...more

5.45pm: Krost's new quest The day 1B field has been reduced to 98 from the starting field of 139, leaving just three tables in the Burswood poker room. Quietly seated at one of those tables is an unassuming 23-year-old from Sydney by the name of Tyron Krost. But even...more

4.40pm: Player of the Year race is underway ANZPT Adelaide in-the-money finishers including Tony Hachem, Todd Butcher, Eric Assadourian and Bruno Da Silva are still in the hunt to add to their points tally in the race for the 2010 PokerStars.net ANZPT Player of the Year. Reigning ANZPT Player...more

3.40pm: Borg, Billy bow out Many of the big names are feeling the heat early on day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event. Players to have been sent to the rail so far today include David Borg and Billy "The Croc" Argyros, while 2009 APPT Auckland champ...more

2.40pm: Dodds sets up KO Players are slowly starting to make their way to the main tournament area as tables break in the Burswood poker room. Six of the 139 starters have hit the rail, the latest courtesy of the 2009 ANZPT Player of the Year third-place finisher Joel...more

1.20pm: Tahtouh on top Not for the first time on the ANZPT, PokerStars.net Team Australia's Emad Tahtouh is the early chip leader. New Zealand PokerStars Qualifier Linas Leonivas was lucky to escape with his tournament life when he found himself in a set over set confrontation with Tahtouh on...more

Despite a long day on the felt yesterday, there weren't too many long faces when the bus arrived to pick up players from Burswood for the 180-kilometre trip south from Perth to the regional centre of Bunbury for the ultimate poker tourism experience. Destination: the Dolphin Discovery Centre. Western...more

The great American songwriter Randy Newman once joked, "South America stole our name!" While Newman was commenting on the jingoistic atmosphere of the times, he might well have been predicting the advent of the PokerStars Americas Cup of Poker (well, maybe not, not, but it's close!). In any case, the...more

An historic day of poker has concluded at Burswood Casino with 46 players progressing to day two in the first PokerStars.net ANZPT event ever played in Perth, Western Australia. Appropriately, it was a local player, Nik Lackovic, who finished atop the chip count with 104,625. He leads Melbourne's Kelvin...more

8pm: Seven to go The announcement has just been made that there'll be another seven hands to end day 1A of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event. As the clock ticks past 8pm local time and the fiddler keeps a fiddlin', 48 of the 83 starters are hoping to...more

Sunday is a revered day in online poker. There are tournaments all over the place, and PokerStars offers several featured tournaments with millions of dollars in guarantees and numerous opportunities to win. No other day of the week can take the place of Sunday in the world of online poker....more

6.50pm: Oh really, O'Reilly? It was Andrew Hinrichsen versus Sean O'Reilly once again on table 16, and the sight of Hinrichsen smoking the rubber on his way out of the tournament area suggests it didn't end well for the 2009 ANZPT Queenstown second-place finisher. The hand was pretty straightforward...more

5.50pm: Rennie, O'Reilly on a roll After a fairly sedate fourth level, the action is coming thick and fast in the latter stages of level five on day 1A of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event here at Burswood. Fresh from his win in the ANZPT Adelaide Main Event,...more

5pm: Just like Steicke Sometimes, you have to bitch and scratch for every last chip in a pot. Then, there are hands like this. David Steicke has quickly made up for his late arrival after watching the action come raise to 600, re-raise to 2000, re-raise to 6000. Nice...more

3.40pm: Fairer sex well represented Today's 1A field in the ANZPT Perth Main Event features one of the largest line-ups of female players of any tour event in the past 14 months. The list includes local player Lynn Brooks, who won a Sapphire Series Main Event here two years...more

2.45pm: Smoke 'em if ya got 'em Players are just about to take their first break of the day with just the one elimination after the opening two hours of play. It looks to be a Lackovic one-two on the chip count with Nik (41,000) leading from Aleks (28,000)....more

1.30pm: Welcome to Australia Credit to our two international PokerStars Qualifiers playing today - Dutchman Onno Zwart and Slovenia's Molan Miroslav. The complaints of the players from Australia's east coast who've made the trek across the Nullarbor Plain won't get much sympathy from this duo, who've journeyed from the...more

There were some interesting options available for players preparing for the opening session of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth Main Event. Judging from the traffic on the running track that winds its way around the Burswood Entertainment Complex and along the Swan River, some opted for the healthier choice of...more

Dutch Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis has a good friend named Bart Spijker. They've known each other for a couple of years and it's hard to find better buddies. They also like to hurt each other. As Veldhuis tells the story, he once went broke in a big live game....more

For those of us who make our home in the relatively populous regions of Australia's south-east, it's sometimes easy to forget that the bulk of the country is empty. The four-hour flight from Melbourne to Australia's western coastline provides a stark reminder. Watching from QF475, the conveyor belt of...more

Ah, the ides of March. Not really the best day for Caesar, but we can't let that drag us down, can we? No, we cannot. There is simply too much to report. For instance, PokerStars hosted a regular old Sunday Million yesterday that drew nearly 10,000 players. There was no...more

Players hailing from the United States may have been a bit groggy on Sunday, March 14. Daylight Savings Time kicked in the night before, and everyone lost an hour of time. It simply vanished because someone (a scientist?) told us to make it happen. We oblige, mostly because we don't...more

After the extracurricular excitement during Kevin "ImaLuckSac" MacPhee's one million Euro win at the EPT Berlin, online players returned to the quieter virtual felt for tonight's $750,000 guarantee Sunday Warm-up. With the buy-in still a scant $215, the prizes continue to reward the players who make the final table in...more

Hey, we're not all going to get rich on Sunday. Some folks will win, some folks will lose. Monday will come and we'll start looking forward to Sunday again. That's how the online poker world works. We spend a lot of time here talking about the people who win the...more

I am probably one of the biggest fans of Al Alvarez on the planet. His book, "The Biggest Game in Town" is living history and written expertly. That said, it may be time for him to write a sequel, or at least a postscript. See, as much as we've always...more

This week, the world is celebrating its women. While International Women's Day is relegated to one Monday in March, is really more of a year-long celebration around these parts. Nonetheless, it's a fine time to announce the Ladies Luxury Poker Club's next ladies-only poker vacation. The PokerStars Luxury Ladies Poker...more

Typically, Tuesday doesn't get a lot of hype. It's not the beginning or the end of a week, nor the very middle of the week. Even when holidays fall on Tuesdays, they're celebrated on Mondays. But leave it to the innovative minds at PokerStars to look at Tuesday as one...more

It was one of those weekends in which deal-making was in the air. Of the 18 final table players in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up and Sunday Million, ten of them walked away having chopped part of the pot. The Sunday Million saw a four-way chop that still resulted in a...more

The first weekend in March brought a sizable crowd to the PokerStars tables for the big Sunday tournaments. Maybe it was the absence of big land-based tournaments to consume players. Possibly not many people cared about the Academy Awards. Or the stars could have been aligned in a particularly complicated...more

While the Hollywood stars were walking the red carpet in Hollywood, the only fabric anyone was concerned about in the poker world was the final table felt at the PokerStars Sunday majors. This week's Sunday Warm-Up had 4,980 players, with a prize pool of $996,000. It was a fast...more

There are countless reasons why this week will live long in the memory of poker enthusiasts. This was the first EPT event to be hosted in Berlin and it was the first time there was a guaranteed €1m to the winner. And, of course, there was that incident. It happened,...more

10.42pm: Kevin MacPhee wins EPT Berlin and €1 million Most thought this would be the level in which EPT Berlin would be won but few suspected it would be quite so soon. Kevin MacPhee raised to 700,000 and Ilari Tahkokallio called for a 4♥5♣2♣ flop. The Finn led out for...more

The European Poker Tour has released a new statement following yesterday's armed robbery at the Grand Hyatt Hotel here in Berlin. This statement corrects some of the misreporting of the incident in the media... "Yesterday at approximately 2.15pm, an armed robbery took place at the European Poker Tour (EPT) event...more

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10.15pm: Break time, again Another break for the players. Play restarts in 15 minutes. 10.10pm: Another hand On a board of Q♣T♣J♠6♥A♥ Kevin MacPhee made it 1,220,000 and Ilari called. MacPhee took the pot showing J♣, another hand that almost passes like it was played in an empty room. MacPhee...more

4.30pm: Break time I've no idea what the rationale is behind the break times today, but they're off on one now. It's going to be 15-minutes long - and we're gathering chip counts right now. -- HS 4.25pm: More three-handed fun Ilari Tahkokallio raised from the button and picked up...more

The final table for EPT Berlin was decided at around about eleven o'clock last night, when simultaneous eliminations on each of the two tables in play took us from 10 players to the last eight. Full details of those, as well as all the players making the money in Berlin,...more

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After an unusual day in the Berlin Grand Hyatt it sure was good to get back to the poker. The usually uncomplicated task of turning 24 players into eight may have been delayed midstream, but when play resumed it was the usual feast of tournament poker, frustrating and thrilling...more

11.15pm: That's it for the night With those two quick bust outs below we're down to our last eight who will come back to play in tomorrow's final - and the chance to win the €1 million first prize. A full wrap of today's dramatic events will be with you...more

Morning all and welcome back to Germany. It's the penultimate day of EPT action from the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Berlin's Potsdamer Platz. That means 24 players still with a shot at the €1m first prize, but by the end of the day there can only be eight left. Without...more

8.10pm: Break This is the dinner break. We're taking an hour. Full counts will be with us in a moment, but I can tell you that no one is anywhere near Kevin MacPhee and his 6.5 million stack. -- HS 8.05pm: Stefan Huber busts He's been a force for most...more

What with the near-thousand-strong field and barrage of side events, it has been a frantic crush in the Grand Ballroom here all week. Today, however, was always scheduled to be the biggest squeeze of all, when we needed to compress 124 players into the 24 chairs of the final three...more

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9.25pm: Collado closes day three Jan Collado would bring the day to an end, moving in with T♣J♥. Waiting to call was Iikka Tahkokallio with 8♠8♣ and the board delivered the goods. 7♦2♠T♦9♦6♣. Collado was gone in 25th position, drawing day three to a close. A full report on all...more

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Barry Greenstein is giving us a monthly peek into his books and being honest about how his tournament year is going. Read: January's update. by Barry Greenstein There were no airfare or hotel room costs for me in LA since I live there. I wasted good starts in the NAPT...more

LEVEL OVER. WE'RE HEADING INTO LEVEL 21 5.55pm: Ainsworth IS stoppable After building his stack to more than 1.2 million without too many dramas, Team PokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth has dropped back to 800,000. Part of mini-slide is explained by this hand: On a 3♥3♣Q♦A♣8♥ board, and with 220,000 already...more

LEVEL OVER. JOIN US IN LEVEL 19 3pm: Duc in Hot pot There's 400,000 in the pot already from some pre-flop argy-bargy, and as soon as the 9♥7♦6♣ flop is dealt The Duc Ngo announces "All in". He has 140,000 behind. Besim Hot is the other player in the pot,...more

If yesterday was anything to go by day three should be over in a little less than two hours. That's right, 50 eliminations an hour. Bust outs ticked by so quickly yesterday that we reached the money a full day ahead of schedule. That said it would take it...more

It's Friday in Berlin - and across the world - but for anyone in the Grand Hyatt Hotel, on Potsdamer Platz, that means day three and nothing more. There are 124 players left at this stage and the plan is to slice them down to 24. Even for the mathematically...more

There was a long line for the side events today. Getting into and out of the Grand Ballroom was a tricky process, much of it spent weaving in and out of poker players waiting in line to acquire a precious seat. It was as if there was nothing to...more

11.40pm: It's all over For tonight, anyway. With 124 players remaining, tournament staff brought a halt to the day's play. We've got a full wrap being polished right now. It will be with you shortly. In the meantime, we'll tell you that Stefan Huber from Switzerland will be our overnight...more

Today, in response to the earthquake in Chile, PokerStars announced the cancellation of the Latin America Poker Tour event in Vina del Mar. We at the PokerStars Blog send our thoughts to our friends in Chile and look forward to the time we can visit the beautiful country. Below is...more

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LEVEL UP. WE'RE GOING INTO THE 14TH 5.40pm: Reunion? This is our first time in Berlin, but it's not our first time in Germany - and last year's final table in Dortmund was a belter. As many will remember, it was won by Sandra Naujoks, but the antics of Cengizcan...more

LEVEL OVER. 15 MINUTE BREAK 2.55pm: Big boys Jan Collado has about 210,000 and is sitting next to Tu Tuan To. The overnight leader is down to about 110,000 and these two facts might be related. Just as they were leaving for a break, another player was spotted with close...more

Morning all, and welcome back to Berlin. At the risk of trivialising years of painful history, today's EPT matters are all about unification - and what better place than in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate for such a moment to take place? Although David Hasselhoff is unfortunately unavailable to...more

We began on Tuesday with 945 players and after two day ones have got down to 484. That means we will have 49 tables in play when day 2 kicks off in the Grand Ballroom at Berlin's Grand Hyatt hotel at noon (CET). As ever, the number-crunching fairies have been...more

At any stop on the European Poker Tour, the mid-point of day 1B is the moment we remove a few question marks. "How many?" and "How much?" are the posers that plague the early stages, but once the till is closed and all beans have been counted, we tend to...more

11.55pm: Day 1b concludes That's all for day 1b folks. Roughly 280 players made it through out of the 557 that started nine levels ago. A full wrap of the day's events will be with you shortly and sometime over the European night time the full chip counts will appear...more

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THAT'S DINNER We now pause for 90 minutes and some scoff. 7.05pm: Thew and Lodden Team PokerStars Pros Julian Thew and Johnny Lodden are sat at different tables but if they stretch out their arms they could hold hands. Thew is new to the team and one might think he'd...more

LEVEL OVER. 15 MINUTE BREAK 4.45pm: Klein made to feel small Morten Klein was on great form in Copenhagen last week, finishing third for the biggest payday of his career. He could have been forgiven for thinking his run good was continuing in Berlin, until the poker gods demonstrated again...more

Structural engineers were on standby, as were hotel staff ready and waiting with extra chairs, begged, borrowed and stolen from around the hotel. It was in anticipation of the bump in numbers expected for Day 1B. Yesterday 389 started, making the ballroom bulge at the seams. If we'd opened...more

It was the second day of March. While some of us wondered how in the name of calendars and clocks we catapulted into the third month of 2010 already, online poker players had their eyes focused appropriately on The Super Tuesday, one of the most exciting poker tournaments of the...more

LEVEL OVER - 15 MINUTE BREAK. 2.26pm: A long road back After a couple of limps, Zennawi Petros, a PokerStars qualifier from Canada, made it 900 to go. No respect: four players came along to the flop, including Michele Carbone, a table short stack. (On the previous hand, Carbone had...more

It's not unusual for a page of EPT notes to dazzle, with every other name underlined in red as the spell checker overheats. While you're at it try telling Microsoft Word that the word "raised" makes total sense. That rule applied to several chip leaders on the opening day...more

Having recently returned from the North American Poker Tour event at the Venetian, we feel like we've been sort of spoiled. The Venetian treated us very well and was just about as accommodating as we ever could have hoped. But, some people just get treated better than others, don't they?...more

12am: Over A full wrap detailing today's action will be on its way forthwith. The short version will be this: These are your chip leaders: Kfir Yumin, Israel, 213,500 Rachid Ben Cherif, Holland, 163,800 Carlos Oliviera, Portugal, 158,000 Stefan Huber, Switzerland, 153,000 Ruslan Prydryk, Ukraine, 150,000 Grigory Torosyan, Russia, 142,700...more

7.05pm: End of level brings dinner break That's the end of level 6 and time for a dinner break. Due to the large field size the players need ninety minutes to make sure they all have time to get fed. Join us back here then for the last three levels...more

4.50pm: Break We've shot through four levels already, and are now on a 15 minute break. -- SY. 4.45pm: 140 words You can keep tabs on Vicky Coren's progress, 140 characters at a time, via her twitter account @VictoriaCoren. Or you can settle for our wordy recreations here on the...more

2.21pm: Status report "Up to forty-seven again," said Arnaud Mattern at the break. "No showdown, good. Showdown, bad." - SB. 2.20pm: Level over We're taking a 15-minute break at the end of level two. 2.18pm: Raising galore     A battle of wills between two aggressive players almost ended in an...more

Late last night, in the E4 nightclub on Berlin's Potsdammer Platz, members of the European media were discussing the imminent start of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Berlin event. Surrounded by women wearing feathers, tights and not much else, one comment stood out in particular: "This is going to be...more

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I've finally woken up after what was a very long and exciting week on the North American Poker Tour. Upon waking, I discovered I am a bit like the Rip Van WInkle of poker. I thought I'd just taken a brief nap, but in the meantime, a PokerStars Sunday passed...more

It's all about perspective. The numbers and results for the February 28 edition of the Sunday Million simply cannot be compared to those from the prior week, as it was more than just a "special edition" of the weekly event; it was part of a celebration that offered a $4...more