Latest Post

Rob Woodcock has history here in Costa Rica. It was just last year that the British PokerStars Supernova came to San Jose and ended Day 1 as the chip leader. He went on to finish in 9th place for $17,098. While a good finish, he certainly hoped for more. Now,...more

Earlier today, we were remarking on how nice it would be to be Icelander Daniel Mar Palsson. That guy came down here from Iceland and spent the first few levels quintupling his stack. Since then, the ice has melted a bit and he's back down below 100,000. And so we...more

The LAPT fields are still what we like to call "manageable." With 259 players in the field, it's easy to see a lot of familiar faces. What makes them all the more familiar is the fact we have seen a number of today's players on the final table of other...more

At this moment in Iceland, the temperature is coming in at a balmy 6° Celsius (42.8º F). Meanwhile, here on Costa Rica's Gold Coast, we're shivering through a 30° day. For those of you who read a thermometer like me, that's 86º. We literally broke a sweat on our five-minute...more

Victor Ramdin looks different. When he's sitting behind a table, it's sort of difficult to tell what's making the difference. And if I hadn't ridden in from the airport with him, I might still be wondering what's making him so happy. Fortunately, we had 45 minutes to chat during the...more

Hank Sitton waved his hand around the well-appointed resort. "This is my old stomping grounds," he said, the memory obviously still clear in his mind. "I used to be a surfer. Sitton, known as "Hardway Hank" on PokerStars, is a serial qualifier for PokerStars events. We've seen him just about...more

They called "Shuffle up and deal" at the stroke of noon, with many Team Pros, qualifiers, and local players still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes and shaking off the effects of last night's welcome party. The registration line winds out the door of the convention center of...more

When the sky above Playa Conchal exploded, we knew the LAPT's third season was underway. We stood above the water of a small lagoon and underneath a blanket of red light and the steady buzz of Costa Rican Imperial. Men with the name Brenes surrounded us. It was like a...more

by Joe Hachem The courage of a sportsman takes him through some of the most difficult moments a person can face, and he needs to face them again and again. The courage to get back out on the field or the floor after you've taken a hard knock. The courage...more

Thousands of feet above the dark green canopy that makes up most of Costa Rica, it's impossible to get a sense for the place. It looks fake, like something Universal Studios might create for an American tourist or a film producer might doctor to make his movie look like paradise....more

Yesterday things were much easier as the close of play loomed. A couple of guys had mighty stacks, easily distinguished from the rest, with Ljubomir Josipovic on top with close to 200,000. Today has been a different story. Put it down to the larger field, bigger names, fatigue or...more

Six months after most of you turned 21 years old, you were still trying to figure out how to kick the birthday night hangover. You're different than Joe Cada, because just a few months removed from his step into adulthood, he's a millionaire WSOP champion and the envy of just...more

by Chris Moneymaker As part of Team Pokerstars Pro I get the opportunity to travel the world and play poker. I have been to many countries as an ambassador to PokerStars, but never to Romania. I was first asked to go to Romania instead of going to my original destination...more

Updates from levels one and two of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young. Selected approximate chip counts, updated throughout the day, are available on the chip counts page. The EPT tournament structure can be found on the EPT tournament structure page....more

Arriving anywhere late, and in total darkness, and it's not easy to get the lay of the local land, to get your bearings. Touching down last night in Portugal and all you could see from the windows of 90-mph taxis, for the moments you don't have your eyes closed,...more

PokerStars likes to break records. It's just one of those things that makes the people behind the scenes happy. Sometimes it happens when no one is really expecting it. This weekend, PokerStars added a million bucks to the regular $1.5 million guarantee and, oh boy, did people show up. As...more

by John Duthie I've had a fairly hectic couple of weeks traveling around the globe; part pleasure, part business. I arrived back on Wednesday last week from a family holiday to India having flown London-Delhi, Delhi-Calcutta, Calcutta-Bagdogra, Bagdogra-Delhi then Delhi-London. It was an amazing trip and if you've never been...more

At close to 1.45am Tuesday, in the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Joe Cada, from Shelby Township, MI, was crowned the youngest World Series of Poker champion in the event's 40-year history. Once the bracelet was wrapped around his wrist and the whooping...more

There are people who cannot succeed without adversity. They need pressure. They require potential disaster to force them beyond even their own expectations. The poker world is just getting to know Joe Cada, but it's clear the new World Series of Poker champion thrives on the edge. In a heads-up...more

This hour began shortly after a 20-minute break, and Darvin Moon seemed by far the more refreshed. He was the aggressor in all of the early pots and took most of them down, regularly making reraises of about five million, which was consistently too rich for Cada. The Team...more