PokerStars Poker Blog

ANZPT Adelaide: Da Silva is da man on day 1A

2010-02-09T11:33:01Z

The opening day of the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) has concluded with 40 of the 73 starters progressing to day two in the ANZPT Adelaide Main Event.

On a blisteringly hot Adelaide day, the best players from across the region chilled out in the Adelaide Casino Poker Zone where the day 1A field included a pair of PokerStars.net Team Australia Pros (Emad Tahtouh and Grant Levy, both of who were eliminated) along with defending ANZPT Adelaide champion Karl Krautschneider and top online performers Jonathan Karamalikis and Ben Delaney.

After seven one-hour levels, PokerStars Qualifier Bruno Da Silva finished atop the chip count with 85,275. Incredibly, two sets of twins lie inside the top 10 - Da Silva's brother Nuno (65,650) plus the Butcher boys Tod (76,775) and Ben (70,600).

ANZPT Adelaide day 1A chip leader Bruno Da Silva

ANZPT Queenstown runner-up Andrew Hinrichsen finished third overall on 71,175 with other notables to advance including Raemin Alexander (70,950), Jonathan Karamalikis (67,425), Matthew Pearson (45,725), Peter Aristidou (44,525), Daniel Neilson (44,400), Ben Delaney (33,600) and Steve Topakas (13,500).

Play continues tomorrow from 12.30pm local time (2am GMT) with day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event. On such a glorious summer's evening, a plate of seafood and a couple of Coopers by one of Adelaide's beaches sounds just the ticket. See you tomorrow.

ANZPT Adelaide: Day 1A, level 7 (blinds 300-600, ante 50)

2010-02-09T08:39:08Z

8.30pm: Da Silva da winner ... eventually

Steve Topakas scored a crucial double-up to 22,000 within the last seven hands of the day after he won a flip with [ah] [ks] against an opponent's [8d] [8c] when the dealer spread the board of [6c] [ac] [6s] [7s] [jc].

On the last hand on the day, the same player moved all-in with [kh] [qd] pre-flop. Bruno Da Silva snap-called, revealing pocket aces but the dealer mucked De Silva's hand in a flash, thinking he had announced "fold".

The rest of the table were in uproar and called for a ruling from tournament director David Galpin. All the other players, including the all-in player, vouched for Da Silva, having clearly heard him declare "call" and had revealed the aces (which were one of each colour).

The tournament director ruled in favour of Da Silva and his hand was declared live, however due to Adelaide Casino procedure the cards stayed in the muck. The dealer was then ordered to run out the board, which was spread [jc] [3h] [7h] [5d] [jd], which kept Da Silva ahead all the way and eliminated the opponent, moving Da Silva's stack to more than 85,000.

8pm: Jonathan Karama-like-this

There's no player in better form on the local poker scene than Adelaide's own Jonathan Karamalikis. Firmly entrenched among the upper echelon of Australia's online tournament players over the past years, he's rapidly building an equally impressive live record.

After finishing runner-up in the $1000 No Limit Hold'em event at the 2009 Aussie Millions, he went one better last month with victory in the $1500 No Limit Hold'em Bounty tournament for a payout of more than $120,000, along with his fifth-place in the $100,000 buy-in event.

Aussie young gun Jonathan Karamalikis adds another big name scalp to his belt

After a slow start to the day, Karamalikis has charged to 75,000 in chips after eliminating PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Emad Tahtouh. After Tahtouh raised to 1500 from early position pre-flop and an opponent called before he re-raised to 3900.

Tahtouh was the only caller and he check-raised all in for the remainder of his stack on a flop of Q-6-4. Karamalikis snap-called, showing pocket aces and the turn and river bricked, sending the last PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro in today's field to the rail.

7.30pm: Tahtouh says thank you

The remaining PokerStars.net Team Australia Pros Tony Hachem and Eric Assadourian, together with The Poker Star winner Amanda De Cesare, have just popped in to check on the progress of play late on day 1A of the ANZPT Adelaide Main Event.

They were here to see their short-stacked teammate Emad Tahtouh placed on Steve Topakas' black list after he crippled "The Big Show" down to 8000 in chips. The money was all in pre-flop; Tahtouh had tabled [ad] [kh] and found himself flipping for his tournament life against Topakas who showed [jd] [jc].

Emad Tahtouh paired his king to stay alive in the ANZPT Adelaide Main Event

However the dealer spread the board of [4c] [4s] [3c] [qd] [kc], doubling Tahtouh up to 22,000. "Yes, I doubled through The Big Shoe!" Tahtouh exclaimed. "It's The Big SHOW," Topakas shot back sternly.

We're still awaiting final word play will be stretched an extra 30 minutes beyond the end of level seven, with 47 of the 73 starters still seated although there are plenty of short stacks in evidence.

ANZPT Adelaide: Day 1A, level 6 (blinds 200-400, ante 50)

2010-02-09T07:29:34Z

7pm: A haven from the heat

After a tight start to the day, the rate of eliminations is starting to pick up as we prepare to tick into the final level of play on day 1A of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event. On a stinking hot Adelaide evening, many have sought the cool of Adelaide Casino to watch the final stages of play on the opening day of the 2010 ANZPT season.

Andrew Hinrichsen remains the chip leader on 74,000 with the Da Silva twins Bruno (63,000) and Nuno (59,500) along with Peter Aristidou (50,000) close behind. The remaining PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro in today's field, Emad Tahtouh, is in survival mode with just 11,000 in chips.

6.30pm: Putt shut, Spano spent

It's two-up Tuesday here at Adelaide casinos - two lots of twins and now a double elimination involving Australia's Robert Spano and New Zealand poker icon Graeme 'Kiwi G' Putt.

The money was all in pre-flop with Spano the big favourite after tabling [kh] [kc] against Putt's [ac] [js] and the [ad] [kd] of Australian PokerStars Qualifier Ricky Kroesen. "No ace, no ace," Spano cried repeatedly, turning his back to the table.

The flop came down [as] [9s] [4d] before the [8s] spiked on the turn, giving Putt the flush draw but he missed when the [ah] fell on the river. Though 'Kiwi G' had made trips, he was outkicked by Kroesen and thus joined Spano on the rail.

6.15pm: Two pair better than one pair

As if it's not rare enough to have twins playing in a poker tournament, we've just discovered that a second set of twins are charging towards day two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event.

We're getting better at this - meet Nuno Da Silva ...

Hailing from the Queensland capital of Brisbane, 32-year-old twin brothers Bruno and Nuno De Silva have been playing poker for five years, regularly hosting a home game on Tuesday nights with their mates. When they're not playing poker, they're working together running a locksmith business.

... and this would be his twin brother Bruno Da Silva

Bruno qualified for this event via a $16 rebuy event on PokerStars and after Nuno got the good news, he decided to follow his brother down to Adelaide and buy in directly. They're expecting some of their friends to come on down in the next couple of days for the event - could the ANZPT Adelaide title be heading to Queensland?

ANZPT Adelaide: Day 1A, level 5 (blinds 150-300, ante 25)

2010-02-09T06:38:05Z

6pm: Shop 'til you drop

Accessibility to all the major tourist attractions and amenities in Adelaide is quick and easy. With Adelaide Casino located directly above the Adelaide Central Railway Station, a train, tram or bus ride will get you just about anywhere.

However, walking is by far the most efficient transportation option for getting around the city, particularly if you're going to spend your hard-earned at Adelaide's major shopping precinct, Rundle Mall. Here's Landon Blackhall's quick guide on Australia's first pedestrian mall and one of the quirkiest shopping strips in the country:

• As you enter Rundle Mall from King William Road, you'll see the Beehive Corner on your left, a building constructed in a similar style to the neo-gothic architecture of Adelaide's churches, once owned by the mall's namesake, John Rundle, who was one of the early settlers who helped developed the colony of South Australia.

• A quarter of the way up the mall, you'll see the first of two famous sculptures - four bronze pigs named Truffles, Oliver, Augusta and Horatio, rummaging through a rubbish bin. Proceed further up the mall to Gawler Place and you'll come to Rundle Arcade, rumoured to be haunted by ghosts.

Horatio hams it up in Adelaide's Rundle Mall

• You'll then notice another glistening sculpture further ahead, directly opposite Adelaide Central Plaza - standing at more than four metres in height, the aptly-named Spheres, designed by Australian artist Bert Flugelman, are known to the locals as the "Mall's Balls" and is a common meeting place.

• Along the way you'll come across many street performers and buskers, so feel free to spare some change after you've splurged your cash. With 15 arcades housing more than 600 retail outlets and three major department stores, there's plenty to choose from and once you've finished shopping for the day, grab a bite to eat at one of the many bars, cafes and restaurants before heading back to the hotel.

5.30pm: Grant's a goner

It was a quiet exit for PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Grant Levy - after he was moved from his original table, he was eliminated by Australian PokerStars Qualifier Dean Blatt. As Blatt recalled to us, he raised preflop with A-K and Levy shoved the rest of his short stack over the line with A-J.

Despite his success elsewhere, Grant Levy is still to collect an ANZPT cash

Blatt called and made trips on the flop of K-K-J, which was good all the way down the rest of the board to send the 2007 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final champion to the rail. Meanwhile, teammate Emad Tahtouh is hanging tough on 21,000 after falling to less than 10,000 in the early going.

5.15pm: Hinrichsen running hot

Players have just returned from their second break of the day with 62 of the 73 starters still in contention for a day two berth in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event.

After finishing runner-up to Danny Chevalier in the ANZPT Queenstown Main Event last July, 22-year-old Andrew Hinrichsen has signalled his intentions to right that statistic by charging to a big chip lead on day 1A. Hinrichsen holds more than 70,000 in chips, and leads from Melbourne's Peter Aristidou. Fresh from his victory in yesterday's $1100 No Limit Hold'em event, Aristidou is on 55,000.

ANZPT Adelaide: Day 1A, level 4 (blinds 100-200, ante 25)

2010-02-09T05:55:13Z

4.45pm: And now the rematch

Steve "The Big Show" Topakas has pegged one back for the Victorians, doubling up to around the starting stack of 20,000 through South Australian Mish Blanusa. Having seen fellow Victorian Tony Paino eliminated after running kings into aces, Topakas had the aces this time, tabling [as] [ac] against Blanusa's [kh] [kc]. The board was spread [6s] [jd] [2s] [ah] [kd]; Topakas also improved to a set on the turn and the river king was merely salt into the wound for Blanusa.

Don't mess with "The Big Show"!

4.30pm: Interstate rivalry simmers

The good old days of State of Origin football clashes between "The Big V" and the "Croweaters" may be long gone, but the rivalry between Victoria and South Australia certainly hasn't died. Tony Paino got the last of his short stack into the middle with pocket kings before the flop, but South Australia's John Scardigno snap-called with pocket aces, improving to a set of aces on the turn to eliminate Paino.

Scardigno gave him a parting shot as he headed to the rail in alleged revenge of Paino's trash talk when he was on the table. Paino looked livid, but Adelaide Casino tournament director David Galpin was quick to settle their dispute and issue Scardigno with a warning. Paino's good mate and fellow Victorian Steve "The Big Show" Topakas is now trading words with SA's Mish Blanusa and as a result, a supervisor has been placed on peacekeeping duties over their table.

4pm: Two of a kind

It would be easy for the players in today's Day 1A flight to think they were seeing double - as it turns out, we have twin brothers Ben and Todd Butcher seated in the opening session of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event.

We're pretty sure this is Todd Butcher ...

Apart from sharing a passion for poker, the 39-year-old twins own and run a tanning salon in the Adelaide suburb of West Beach. Both of them bought directly into the tournament, however Ben is the more experienced of the two, having been playing for four years while Todd has been playing for two years.

... which would make this Ben Butcher, we think

That's not to say Todd's been left behind - he's chalked up one cash on Ben during the preliminary events here at the Adelaide Casino, taking fourth place for $1300 in the $265 Bounty Freezeout event. He's also the twin with the most chips, currently on 46,000 while Ben is on 34,000.

ANZPT Adelaide: Day 1A, level 3 (blinds 100-200)

2010-02-09T04:12:20Z

3.30pm: Size matters

PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Emad Tahtouh just announced that he is chip leader - based purely on quantity. Tahtouh has moved past the 100-chip mark, totalling 15,300. However his tablemate Andrew Hinrichsen is not far behind with 78 chips, but the value is much higher (68,300). This is now a running gag as other players on nearby tables are getting in on their game, exchanging lower denominations to try and take the "lead".

3.15pm: Sporting spotlight shines on SA

Adelaide punches above its weight in many regards, with no better example than the sporting realm. The city was the host venue for the Australian Grand Prix from 1985-1995 until the race was "stolen" by Melbourne. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong's first race after coming out of retirement was the Tour Down Under, which winds its way through the Adelaide and surrounding districts.

Adelaide Oval, just across the River Torrens from Adelaide Casino

And barely a stone's throw from Adelaide Casino is the Adelaide Oval, which is widely regarded as one of the world's premier cricket arenas. The ground is hosting a One-day International match today between Australia and West Indies but given a choice, we'd pick the air-conditioned comfort of the Poker Zone over a seat in the outer as the mercury hovers around 35°C.

3pm: Three ladies bring smile to Tahtouh

PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Emad Tahtouh made a rocky start but chipped up in the last hand on his table before the break, eliminating an opponent in the process. The opponent moved all-in with [8s] [8c] before the flop, but Tahtouh snap-called with [qs] [qc]. The dealer produced the [4h] in the window, then the [8d] trailed behind before the [qd] appeared - set over set! The turn and river ran out [10d], [kd], sending the opponent to the rail and gave Tahtouh a much needed boost to his stack. He's now on 14,000 in chips.

ANZPT Adelaide: Day 1A, level 2 (blinds 75-150)

2010-02-09T03:07:01Z

2.45pm: Boxell bows out

It's unusual to see too many players so early in a tournament, and even stranger to see two depart on the same hand so it was with dismay that we watched a huge hand between Andrew Hinrichsen, Leo Boxell and another opponent with the board reading [7s] [2s] [4d] [ac]. Hinrichsen shipped the rest of his stack over the line, causing Boxell to slam his chips in. The opponent looked over at both players before she announced "all-in".

2009 APPT Grand Final third-place finisher Leo Boxell is among the first to hit the rail

Hinrichsen tabled [5s] [3s] for the turned wheel, ahead of Boxell who tabled [ad] [7h] for a turned two pair and the opponent's flopped set with [4h] [4c]. A meaningless [5d] fell on the river; Boxell politely shook hands with Hinrichsen before leaving but the other player stormed off angrily. Hinrichsen now has the dominant chip lead over the rest of the field, heading into the first break of the day with 61,300 in chips.

2.30pm: Mountt flattened

Danny Mountt has earned the unwanted title of the first player to be eliminated in season two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT. "The biggest problem I have is that I'm a non-believer," he said as he departed the Adelaide Casino tournament area barely 90 minutes after the first hand had been dealt.

Having first got his money in on the turn with [ad] [10d] on a board that read [jc] [10h] [as] [2s] [6d], he was distraught after seeing his opponent Paul Mann table K-Q for the nut straight. Leaving him with only 50 in chips, we was forced all-in on the big blind on the very next hand, managing to pick up Q-9 and hitting the on the board of [10h] [9h] [5d] [7c] [ad], but ran into Richard Klein's pocket kings, sealing his fate.

2.15pm: Off to a flying start

Adelaide's Steve Baulderstone is ready for take-off, having arrived for today's flight in his trainee pilot uniform. The 27-year-old Adelaide Casino satellite winner from the local suburb of Plympton just started his first year of an Advanced Diploma in Aviation. Bizarrely, he admitted that he's afraid of heights. "I'm always looking for a challenge and to confront my fears," he said.

Steve Baulderstone: From trainee flight to day one flight

We also discovered that it wasn't steeling himself for flying that gave him the edge over his opponents. "I actually work as a counsellor right now. From that I learned how to read people and that's helped a lot," he said.

Baulderstone has been playing poker for almost 10 years, both online and live and would be happy to make a deep run in this event: "It's about $70,000 for the course so hopefully I'll win some cash and that'll pay for me to fly!" he said.

1.45pm: Back where it all started

The poker craze has caught casinos around the world on the hop, as the competition for space is fierce. But like most Australian casinos, Adelaide responded to the demand by establishing a 14-table poker space known as the Poker Zone. The room has quite a nice feel, with the rail stretching to the adjacent sports bar from where friends and family can keep an eye on the goings-on in the tournament area.

Adelaide Casino's Poker Zone, venue for the 2010 ANZPT Adelaide Main Event

Games have been spread here since the casino opened in 1985, with the first Australasian Championships played in 1987. The honourboard of champions includes several of the biggest names in Aussie poker, including WSOP bracelet winner Gary Benson. Now, a new generation of players are making their mark in the spiritual home of Australian poker as they pursue the opening title in season two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT.

ANZPT Adelaide: Day 1A, level 1 (blinds 50-100)

2010-02-09T01:39:44Z

1.15pm: 75, and counting

ANZPT head honcho Danny McDonagh has indicated that players face a maximum of seven and a half one-hour levels today, with a start bank of 20,000. The current tally of entrants for day 1A is at 75. The structure for today's play is:

Level 1: 50/100
Level 2: 75/150
Level 3: 100/200
Level 4: 100/200 (ante 25)
Level 5: 150/300 (ante 25)
Level 6: 200/400 (ante 50)
Level 7: 300/600 (ante 75)
Level 8: 400/800 (ante 75)

1pm: Cards are in the air

The players have taken their seats, the order to shuffle up and deal has been given and play is underway in season two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT. Today's line-up features defending ANZPT Adelaide champion Karl Krautschneider has taken his seat today, joining PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Emad Tahtouh, sharing space with 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final third-place finisher Leo Boxell and ANZPT Queenstown runner-up Andrew Hinrichsen.

PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Emad Tahtouh has joined today's field

Ben Barclay, who placed 14th in last year's ANZPT Sydney Main Event, is on table five, along with good mates Tony Paino and Steve "The Big Show" Topakas. Late arrivals for today's flight have included PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Grant Levy, 2010 Aussie Millions $1500 Bounty Event champion Jonathan Karamalikis and Australia's new number one ranked online player Ben Delaney.

12.30pm: Hachem accepts 2009 title

It's been a whirlwind start to the day before a card has been dealt on day 1A of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event. PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem has just been presented with his trophy for winning the 2009 ANZPT Player of the Year title. The ever-popular Hachem cashed in four of the five season one events, making him a fitting ambassador for the tour heading into season two.

"In season one, PokerStars.net added fabulous value to the ANZPT with almost AUD $100,000 in prizes awarded to the three players who achieved the highest points at all ANZPT events. As overall points champion I'm thrilled to be wearing PokerStars.net in season four of the APPT," Hachem said.

2009 ANZPT Player of the Year Tony Hachem issues the order to deal the first hand for 2010

It's also just been announced that Canberra has been added to the 2010 ANZPT calendar, with the $2200 Main Event being held from June 11-14. From 1996 until 2002, the National Championships were played in the nation's capital so it's great news that poker is returning to Canberra Casino later this year.

ANZPT Adelaide: Sun rises on season two

2010-02-08T21:52:43Z

Welcome to season two of the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) from Adelaide, the most populous city of South Australia. It's another stunning summer's morning but with the mercury tipped to top 100°F (38°C), we're looking forward to taking our seats on media row in the cool of Adelaide Casino for the opening day of the ANZPT for 2010.

Adelaide has a superb setting, surrounded by open parkland separating the business heart from the suburbs and is sheltered on a narrow coastal plain between the protective ring of the Adelaide Hills and the Gulf of St Vincent.

Adelaide is home to more than one million people and is South Australia's largest city

The city features many colonial-era buildings including the historic Railway Station, which is also home to Adelaide Casino. Opened in 1985, the casino quickly became the spiritual home of Australian poker as the host venue for the Australasian Championships from 1987 until 2001.

Appropriately, Adelaide hosted the first event in the inaugural season of the ANZPT and has again been chosen as the host casino for the opening tournament of the region's premier poker tour. Season two of the ANZPT has been extended to six events, with Perth joining Adelaide, Sydney, Queenstown, the Gold Coast and Melbourne.

Adelaide Casino occupies the colonial-era Railway Station building at the northern end of the city's CBD

Last year, more than 1300 players from around the Australia and the rest of the world took to the felt to claim a piece of the AUD $2,982,436 prize pool. Here in Adelaide, Melbourne's Karl Krautschneider beat a field of 215 to earn himself a payday of AUD $170,215 in the first major event held in Adelaide since the days of the Australasian Championships.

ANZPT commissioner Danny McDonagh is hoping those numbers will be surpassed in 2010 as word spreads about the experience provided by the tour. In addition to the prize money and prestigious titles up for grabs, there's a renewed focus on the travel aspects of the ANZPT in 2010, with the opportunity for all players and their friends and families to experience the best aspects of each tour stop.

And the ultra-popular ANZPT Player of the Year award returns this year - PokerStars.net added fabulous value to the ANZPT with almost AUD $100,000 in prizes awarded to the three players who achieved the highest points at all ANZPT events.

"The ANZPT provides Australian and New Zealand poker players with a professionally-executed tour in their own backyard. The ANZPT Player of the Year is now clearly the most coveted poker award in this region. It provides the opportunity for poker players to prove their skills consistently over time, enjoy great experiences playing across Australia and New Zealand, and gain the big prize - a valuable sponsorship with PokerStars.net," McDonagh said.

Reigning ANZPT Adelaide champion Karl Krautschneider will be back to defend his crown

Reigning ANZPT Player of the Year, PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem, was front and centre at last night's traditional Aussie barbecue along with teammates Emad Tahtouh, Eric Assadourian and Grant Levy. They'll headline a field of top Australian and New Zealand players, along with PokerStars.net qualifiers from across the world.

We look forward to bringing you all the action from the South Australian capital for ANZPT Adelaide over the next six days - the first event on the second season of the PokerStars.net ANZPT. Cards should be in the air at approximately 12.15pm local time (1.45am GMT).

PokerStars Sunday tournament results 2-7-10

2010-02-08T12:55:29Z

Who is tired this morning? Raise your hand. Very good. Thank you.

Among the people with their fingers stretched toward the sky, there are a couple of distinct groups. The first is the 60 million or so people who spent their Sunday glued to the television for the NFL's Super Bowl. The other group is made up of the folks who stayed up until the wee hours of the morning watching the PokerStars Sunday Million play out.

No matter what group you're in, we hope you enjoyed yourself and have found a strong cup of coffee, because it's now Monday and you have to get to work. Why? Because you're probably not PokerStars player palurdo who won nearly a quarter million bucks a few hours ago in the Sunday Million.

Nor, we are going to assume, are you philivey0997, who made a decent hourly rate on Sunday, as well. His Sunday Warm-Up victory put an additional $133,620 in his pocket. Read all about that in our 2-7-10 PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up final table report.

You might, however, be one of the big winners from this weekend. So, go have a look at our 2-7-10 PokerStars Sunday tournament results page and see if you can find your name.

Congratulations to this week's big winners. We hope the money makes the fatigue easier.

Being a Team PokerStars Online Pro, by Nichoel Peppe

2010-02-08T10:26:25Z

by Nichoel Peppe (NicP)

I have been a "live" cash game player throughout my entire five+ years of playing poker. I have dabbled in online play periodically, but never once considered it as a means to making money. It was always just for fun and love of the game. The thing I love most about poker and is (in my humble opinion) the best part of my game is being able to read my opponents and knowing what they have.

Visual clues are huge for my game... I pay attention to everything. This is why online play always seemed to be a little bit out of my comfort zone. Online seems to be more about the statistics and math side of poker (which is a big part of the game but something I usually consider without really having to think about it). And with online gamers it is "positive ev" this and "nit" that and "c bet" this and lmfao... it's like another whole world out there, even for someone like myself who has played poker for many years.

So to say that I was a "wee bit" nervous for my first month as part of Team PokerStars Online would be a drastic understatement (to say the least)! Numerous players posed the question: "If you are a live player, why are you now part of Team Online?" Every time someone asks me that I give the same reply: "I filled out the application in October and here I am!"

But when I truly think about it, it is quite a great question. Why me? I am pretty sure that my results at the 2009 WSOP Main Event played a big part in the decision. Especially since I sported the PokerStars logo in all its glory throughout my ESPN coverage. Also, I have not only played poker for a living for the last five years, but I have also hosted the 5-10 no limit hold'em game at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles for three of those five years. In actuality, being a part of Team Online and my hosting gig at the Bike were really quite similar... in both I am/was paid a salary to play at a specific establishment for a specific period of time.

So the question becomes: "How is it going?" All I really have to say to that is: "Aye-Ya." For all you live players out there, you know that expression well; it means things are not going so hot... very sad. The month started off innocent and normal enough, but ended with one of my worst weeks in poker. I couldn't get a hand to hold up to save my life. No matter what I did, it was wrong - no matter how far ahead I was when I went all in, I was always the one who ended up on the rail. It is weeks like this that make us wonder what the heck we are doing in this profession. And then tomorrow ... our hands hold up, we make all the right plays, we win all the money and the sun shines again! Here's to our tomorrows.

Until then, good luck at the tables. I'll see ya there!

To follow my day-to-day progress, catch me playing on PokerStars under the user name 'NicP'. You can also find me on Facebook by searching for 'Nichoel Peppe'.

Palurdo pocketed nearly $250K for February 7 Sunday Million victory

2010-02-08T08:53:03Z

The first Sunday Million of February was an exciting one. While it was no record-setting, history-making event like the special edition of the Million the week before, it brought in a large number of players. Despite a great number of people in the United States being preoccupied by a rather important football game, there was a substantial registration number in the biggest tournament on PokerStars. (Shall we call it the Super Sunday Million?)

The aforementioned registration landed at 9,031 players, which took the prize pool soaring past the $1.5 million guarantee to give the players a prize pool of $1,806,200. Out of that serious collection of funds, the final 1,350 players in the tournament received payouts for their performances. And one of them was a familiar name, as Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin plowed his way through the field and ultimately finished in 71st place for a payout of $2,438.37.

As the last two tables played toward the ultimate goal of a single final table, action moved right along, and less than ten hours into the tournament, it was golferen50 who chose to push all-in with pocket fours. But shorter stacked by only a handful of chips was xxxALBxxx, who called all-in with [As] [Kd]. The board came [Tc] [6s] [6c] [8d] [5d], and that eliminated xxxALBxxx in tenth place, with $9,392.24 for the final table bubble spot.

Nearing the end of Level 35, with blinds at 150,000/300,000 and a 30,000 ante, the final nine players were determined and took their seats as follows:

Seat 1: blony_tair (9,782,084 in chips)
Seat 2: pimenta7 (3,068,902 in chips)
Seat 3: H@££INGGOL (9,484,227 in chips)
Seat 4: GulahPapyrus (13,702,078 in chips)
Seat 5: golferen50 (12,306,752 in chips)
Seat 6: MiguelPiper (15,370,301 in chips)
Seat 7: jeanphidh74 (11,014,529 in chips)
Seat 8: Phatigue (9,371,500 in chips)
Seat 9: palurdo (6,209,627 in chips)

Seven hands into the action, it got serious. By far, the shortest stack at the table was pimenta7, and the spot was chosen with [Kd] [Ts] to move all-in preflop. But golferen50 reraised all-in to isolate with pocket kings, which was successful. The two players watched the board come [2d] [6s] [8h] [Kc] [3d], which gave golferen50 the set and eliminated pimenta7 in ninth place with $12,643.40.

Over the course of the next rounds, it was palurdo who did some significant chipping up with some key pots. H@££INGGOL and jeanphidh74 also climbed a bit.

But MiguelPiper, on the other hand, had a tough time gathering momentum at the table. When a hand developed with GulahPapyrus raising to begin the action, MiguelPiper looked down at [7s] [6s] from the big blind and reraised all-in. GulahPapyrus called, though, with [Ad] [Kd] and had MiguelPiper covered. The board only helped GulahPapyrus with a [8c] [Ah] [Qd] flop, and the [Jd] turn and [6c] river cards ended the hand. MiguelPiper left the tournament in eighth place with $19,868.20.

The next player at risk was Phatigue, who decided to take a chance on the tournament with a pocket pair of tens. The preflop all-in move was met by an all-in reraise by blony_tair holding [Ad] [Qh], and the isolation move worked. The flop worked as well for blony_tair when it came [8h] [As] [Qd] to give the player two pair. The [3s] on the turn was meaningless, and the [8s] on the river changed nothing. Phatigue was able to leave and get some rest with $36,124 for the seventh place finish.

Chips were exchanged throughout the next few rounds, but a particular battle ensued between GulahPapyrus and jeanphidh74. The former took a pot worth about 8 million from jeanphidh74, but the latter then doubled through GulahPapyrus in a pot 31,620,000-chip pot. But it was palurdo who doubled through jeanphidh74 to take a significant lead over the rest of the table in this hand:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Short-stacked golferen50 was able to double through blony_tair to stay alive, but that left the latter with less than 3.5 million chips to work with. All of them went into the pot preflop on the very next hand with blony_tair holding [Qd] [Jc], and original raiser palurdo made the call with pocket sevens. The board looked hopeful for blony_tair when the flop came [Ad] [As] [6d] and the turn [Ks], but the river could only produce a [5c]. That left blony_tair with a sixth place finish and $54,186 to go with it.

After jeanphidh74 doubled through H@££INGGOL, the latter was relegated to a stack of less than 6.5 million and pushed all-in from the small blind with [Jd] [9c]. GulahPapyrus called from the big blind with a dominating [Ah] [Kd] hand, which only improved on the [6d] [7s] [Ad] [4d] [5h] board. H@££INGGOL was gone in fifth place with $72,248.

The next player in trouble was golferen50 upon losing a 20 million-chip pot to jeanphidh74, but golferen50 then doubled through GulahPapyrus to stay alive. The latter was then left with less than 10 million and decided to push from the small blind with [As] [2d]. Original raiser palurdo called with [Ad] [Kh], which stood up to the blank board of [Ts] [9s] [Jd] [7s] [6h]. GulahPapyrus was eliminated in fourth place with $90,310.

Two of the final three players sought to stop play to discuss a potential deal, but jeanphidh74 never responded to requests, so play continued. But not for long. An initial raise from palurdo was met by an all-in reraise by jeanphidh74. The call was made by palurdo with [Kh] [4h], which turned out to hold a significant advantage over the [Js] [4s] of jeanphidh74. The board produced [3d] [5d] [7s] [8c] [3h], and the third place payout of $134,471.59 went to jeanphidh74.

Heads-up action then began with the following chip counts:

Seat 5: golferen50 (21,560,704 in chips)
Seat 9: palurdo (68,749,296 in chips)

Within moments, the two requested a pause in the action, and they were given the following numbers, with the obligatory $30,000 set aside for the eventual winner:

palurdo $218,791.40
golferen50 $198,789.82

The deal was almost immediately accepted, and play resumed. However, it took only moments to find a winner.

The hand started with a raise from golferen50, reraise from palurdo, and all-in move from golferen50 for 27,160,704 chips with [As] [8d]. But palurdo called with [Ac] [Jd]. The flop couldn't have been prettier for palurdo when it came [3h] [Jh] [Ah] for two pair. The [Qs] on the turn helped no one, but the [Jc] was deceiving, as it gave golferen two pair but palurdo the full house. We looked it up, and the full house did indeed beat the two pair, which left golferen50 with a second place finish. And for that performance, a total of $198,789.82 was deposited into golferen50's account.

And just like that, Long Beach's own palurdo won the February 7th Sunday Million, which came with a whopping $248,791.40 and the prestigious online poker tournament title of Sunday Million champion.

Sunday Million Results for 02/07/10:

1st place: palurdo ($248,791.40)*
2nd place: golferen50 ($198,789.82)*
3rd place: jeanphidh74 ($134,471.59)
4th place: GulahPapyrus ($90,310.00)
5th place: H@££INGGOL ($72,248.00)
6th place: blony_tair ($54,186.00)
7th place: Phatigue ($36,124.00)
8th place: MiguelPiper ($19,868.20)
9th place: pimenta7 ($12,643.40)

*Results of a two-way chop agreement

For more information on ways to register and qualify for upcoming Sunday Million tournaments, visit the Sunday Million page.

Dat a SuperNova nabbing a super payout in the Sunday Warm-Up

2010-02-08T04:24:17Z

Who Dat? Dat SuperNova philivey0997, who picked up $133,620.23for taking down the Sunday Warm-Up on the biggest sporting night of the western hemisphere. While millions of people tuned into a little football game in Miami, 4,900 players tuned into PokerStars for the Sunday Warm-Up. The prize pool of $980,000 was nothing to sneeze at, and neither were the six-figure paydays that the last three standing at the final table locked up for themselves in a chip count chop.

Just as the big parties celebrating the New Orleans Saints' big victory kicked off, our final nine players locked in their seats at the final table, including a big-stacked SuperNova in philivey0997 and a repeat final table player from two weeks ago. The stacks looked like this when the final table kicked off -

Seat 1 - Gretko - $2,557,597
Seat 2 - philivey0997 - $10,153,220
Seat 3 - nofingclue11 - $3,506,632
Seat 4 - doulas12 - $3,105,256
Seat 5 - ehcaramba - $4,968,491
Seat 6 - B3st Move - $3,163,187
Seat 7 - trippkirk - $3,380,629
Seat 8 - vaderGZ - $8,245,010
Seat 9 - Vincent466 - $9,567,978

After losing a monster pot just before the first break of the final table, nfingclue11 got his last few chips in on the first hand back. After an opening raise from Vincent466, nofingclue11 called off the last of his chips preflop with [As]-[5c], and ehcaramba joined the fray to see the three-way flop of [4s]-[6c]-[2h]. Ehcaramba led out with a bet, Vincent466 got out of the way, and ehcaramba tabled [Ad]-[Qh], dominating nofingclue11. The turn and river ran out [Js]-[6h], and nfingclue11 was done in 9th place ($7,840.00).

The action continued on the very next hand, as B3st Move got coolered to send him packing in 8th place ($12,250.00). philivey0997 opened for a raise from under the gun, and B3st Move decided that his best move was to shove all his chips into the middle with [Qc]-[Qd]. Usually a pretty good move, but philivey0997 made the easy call with [Kc]-[Kd], and then flopped a set to leave B3st Move dead to running queens. The final board read [Kh]-[5c]-[5d]-[4d]-[Td], and then the action cooled off just a little with seven players remaining.

Two weeks ago, Gretko put on a show at the final table and finished the Sunday Warm-Up in 2nd place for well over $100K. He couldn't match that performance this week, but two final tables in three weeks is certainly nothing to sneeze at! Gretko lost a huge pot just before the final table and never got his traction back before busting in 7th place ($22,050) at the hands of mega-stacked philivey0997. All the money went in preflop, as Gretko shoved with [Ks]-[9s]. Philivey0997 called with [Ac]-[Td], and made top pair on the [Th]-[8d]-[3s] flop. Things didn't get any better for gretko as the turn and river came down [Jh]-[6s], and his run at another Sunday Warm-Up was over.

After coming into the final table second in chips, Vincent466 couldn't get anything going at the final table and finally finished up in 6th place ($31,850). Vincent opened for a raise preflop, and was called by vaderGZ in the big blind. Both players checked the [Kd]-[8c]-[2s] flop, then vaderGZ led out when the [9s] hit the turn. Vincent moved all in over the top with [Jh]-[9h], and vader quickly called with [Qh]-[Kc]. The [Qc] on the river made two pair for vaderGZ, and and exit cue for Vincent466.

Before Vincent466's seat was even cold, doulas12 was following him out the virtual door in 5th place ($41,650). All the money went in preflop as ehcaramba open-shoved with [7h]-[7d]. Doulas12 called with [As]-[Kc], and the race was on. The [Th]-[Qh]-[9h] flop gave doulas12 a Broadway draw to go with his overcards, but it also added a flush draw to ehcaramba's possibilities. Nothing changed on the [8s] turn, and when the river brought the [5h], ehcaramba's flush was good enough to bounce doulas in 5th place.

Play continued a few moments four-handed until ehcaramba's luck ran out in 4th place ($55,370). It certainly wasn't the first time ehcaramba had moved all in preflop, but it was the last, as he open-shoved from the button with [Ac]-[8h]. Trippkirk called with [7s]-[7d], and the flop came down squarely in the camp of ehcaramba, falling [3d]-[Js]-[As]. His top pair held through the [5h] turn, but the [7h] river made a set for trippkirk and left only three survivors.

The three remaining players paused to discuss a deal, and after some discussion, settled on a chip count chop that left $10,000 on the table for the winner and guaranteed the following payouts - chip leader philivey0997 - $123,620.23, runner-up vaderGZ $110,548.90 and trippkirk locked up $104,152.27. Once those details were settled, Team PokerStars Pro host Greg Raymer pronounced it a deal and the three survivors settled in to play for the last $10,000.

The three survivors duked it out for a surprisingly long time before finally philivey0997's monster stack was too much for vaderGZ to overcome. All the money went in on a coin toss, as the players threw raises back and forth until vader's last few chips were in the middle with [9h]-[9c]. philivey0997 was slightly behind with [Kh]-[Jh], but the [5s]-[Jd]-[Qh] flop helped quite a bit. The[2h] on the turn gave him a flush draw to go with his jacks, but it turned out that jacks were enough as the [Ts] came on the river to send vaderGZ home in 3rd place. Thanks to the deal made when he was in 2nd place, he finished up with $110,548.90.

Heads up play only lasted a few hands, and it was a made hand against a monster draw that finally ended the suspense. Trippkirk raised from the button, and philivey0997 called. The [2d]-[8s]-[5d] flop set off the fireworks, as the players traded bets back and forth until all the money was in the middle. Trippkirk tabled [Qc]-[8h] for top pair, but philivey0997 showed [6d]-[7d] for the flush draw and the open-ended straight draw. The [Jd] on the turn made the flush for phil and left trippkirk drawing dead, and when the [6s] came on the river, the tournament was over, with trippkirk finishing in 2nd place for $104,152.27 and philivey0997 grabbing the extra $10K to bring his total win to $133,620.23.

Congratulations to all our final table players and everyone who took part in this week's Sunday Warm-Up. We'll see you next week for more monster paydays and crushed guarantees!

NAPT adds $25,000 Bounty Shootout

2010-02-04T17:17:13Z

There has been many a famous poker player who has lamented fame painting a target on his chest. At the next North American Poker Tour stop, we're going to see an event in which every player is wearing a bullseye.

The NAPT has just announced a new event for the Venetian stop. The Invitational $25,000 High Roller Bounty Shootout is unlike almost any tournament you've ever seen. It's a standard no-limit Texas Hold'em game, but with a couple of twists. First, it's a shootout event. That is, players have to win the equivalent of a $25,000 sit and go to even make it into the money. Not only that, but every player will have a $5,000 bounty on his head. Whoever knocks the player out gets the extra cash.

Oh, and just to make things a little more interesting...PokerStars is adding $100,000 to pay off whoever scores the most bounties.

"We want to try new things, different formats, and unique events that make our players happy," said PokerStars' head of global events Jeffrey Haas. "This is sure to be a hit with both our players and the people who watch on television."

After what we've heard so far this morning, there is no doubt this will be a star-studded field. While right now the only name we can confirm for you is Daniel Negreanu, that should be enough to take our word for it that we're hearing about dozens of big-name players who are lining up to play in this event.

Every player who makes it to the final table will get $50,000. After that, the prize pool (less the $50,000 per person and $5,000 bounty per head) goes to the winner. You think that won't make for some good TV?

The $25,000 Bounty Shootout will run on February 23 and 25 at the Venetian. As mentioned above, the event will appear on a top-tier broadcast network, as well as on the venerable PokerStars.tv.

We'll see you there.

When do results matter?

2010-02-04T10:30:36Z

by Steve Paul-Ambrose
One of the first things you learn playing poker is to avoid being results oriented. This is a pretty hard lesson for most; after losing a bunch of flips, shoving into aces or busting on the bubble it's hard not to second guess yourself and let the results affect you even if you know the play was right. The results of a hand are often a terrible way to decide if you made good decisions during the hand. On the other hand, your results over thousands of tournaments are generally a good indicator of how well you played during that time span, but let's stick to individual hands. Basically I want to look at when you can use the results to judge your play and when you can't.

Let's start with an obvious one: it folds to the small blind who goes all in for 10 big blinds. You are the big blind, look down at AKs and call. Unfortunately the small blind has AA and you lose. Hopefully no one looks at that hand and says: "I shouldn't have called there, next time I have AKs in that situation I'll fold!" Now a slightly more difficult one, same scenario but you have KTo. This is much more opponent specific, there are lots of people you should call against and some you should fold against. But you've only been at the table a few orbits so you don't have much of a read. Let's assume you call and take a look at three scenarios:

1. SB has AK
2. SB has QJs
3. SB has 72o

In the first scenario, these results are essentially meaningless. Yes it was a "bad" call against his specific hand, but it's quite possible that he was shoving any two cards. AK is any two cards so when he looked at that, he shoved. If you had seen this player in this spot a number of times and he folded a lot but when he shoved and got called he had a big hand, that's useful information. Him showing AK this time is not.

The second situation is similar except in this case we made a "good" call based on his hand. But his shoving QJs doesn't really indicate anything about whether our call is good or not.

The third situation is the one where the results clearly indicate that our call is good. If he's shoving 72o there we can reasonably assume he's shoving any two cards in which case we're about a 60/40 favorite against his range and calling is clearly the right play.
How can you use this to improve your play? Instead of analyzing your play based on the hand you were up against one time, try to use the results to create a range of hands for your opponent and do your analysis based on that.

Sometimes the results will not really be helpful (the AK and QJs examples), sometimes they will do the job for you (72o). In general though they will provide at least some insight and give you a better chance to make an accurate analysis and allow you to make better decisions next time a similar situation arises.