It causes me to reflect on community interactions I have had, from as recently as yesterday when I was in the bank preparing my WSOP wire. I could see the young teller was intrigued by the transaction; however, because she has to follow the 'We Are Bank' policies, she quietly prepared the paperwork. She got some assistance with the transaction from a more senior employee, who sheepishly mentioned that her husband loves to play on PokerStars. So I smiled, told them about my plans for the next few weeks and reminded the more senior employee to tell her husband about the 100BN hand promotions. The young teller asked questions and was genuinely interested in what playing poker brought to my life.

I love surprizing people, showing them that poker is much more than they have assumed, or seen on TV. The most common question I get is, "Aren't you scared?", at which point I get to reflect on just how scared I once was, but how now my feeling is one of optimism and excitement.

Customer service has been a part of each of my chosen occupations, from working as an occupational therapist, waitressing or being a grocery store cashier. In each, there has always been clear working instructions and codes of conduct when dealing with consumers, along with clear consequences if they weren't followed. The repercussions of poor customer service aren't quite as evident in the poker community.

Who are the clientele in the poker world? Whom do we have a responsibility to?

My suggestion is that we are our own customers. Each of us in the poker world, from the casino cashiers to the highest-regarded players, have an obligation to be accountable for our behaviors. It should be understood that if we want the business of poker to grow and remain successful, that our customers must be kept happy.

Next time you are talking or playing poker, lose the thought of being nice to keep the recreational players coming back and embrace the concept of being respectful to each other. It is this unconditional positive regard that will ensure the success and longevity of this game, which at its heart is a social game.

Part of what makes the poker community exceptional, is that it isn't pros vs amateurs, it is that everyone, no matter their physique, age, gender, bank statements or educational backgrounds, should be made to feel welcome at the table. That is part of the allure of being a part of the poker culture, one that I am proud to say I am a part of.

We are lucky. We are individuals. Let's be accountable...

We are poker.

Adrienne 'talonchick' Rowsome is a member of Team PokerStars Online. Read her bio here.

For me, this year has been a little different. Without trying to make this into a comprehensive listing of the beats I have taken or the flips I've lost (or all the flips I've won, no one ever seems to talk about those...) there has never been a year where I have been so happy with my general play and where I am at in poker, and also not a year where I have gone deep in as many things consistently just to bust with two or three tables left in the high equity spots. Some people might find it discouraging to keep on getting 13th, 18th and 30th in their bigger tournaments (and I would be lying if I said there weren't times where it frustrates me), but I look at it as a source of motivation to keep on grinding and to constantly try to improve.

When I am winning I often end up taking things for granted and assume that I am playing great (why else would I be winning, no one who plays poorly ever wins, right?....). But when I am losing I always find myself being a lot more critical of my own play, going over my hands a lot more thoroughly and trying to solve them with various poker tools, and asking for second opinions from friends. This year I have already spent a lot more time going over hand histories (both my own but, just as importantly, also tournaments my friends have played) and watching videos than I did in 2012 and I feel like a much stronger player now because of it. For those who don't know, I luckboxed an EPT pretty early on in 2012.

I am not going to try to say that it's better to go into a big series on a downswing than an upswing, but just that the fact of the matter is that if you play tournaments you are going to be spending most of your time on downswings, with the occasional big upswing. Learning how to make the most of those times where you aren't winning by being extra critical of your own play is a great way to both improve and keep your confidence intact.
I am really looking forward to the WSOP this year, I feel as motivated as I ever have, and for the first time I feel like I am really coming in really well prepared for the long summer grind. Good luck everyone, play well and have fun!

Mickey 'mement_mori' Petersen is a member of Team PokerStars Online and just finished 9th in Event #11 of the WSOP 2013 for $30,165. Read his bio by clicking here. WSOP photo courtesy of PokerPhotoArchive.

After graduating from Cologne University in 2008 with a degree in math, Felix pursued a career as an online and live cash game player in Las Vegas during which time he became a poker trainer for PokerSchoolOnline. 'xflixx' holds regular classes focussed on six-max no-limit cash games and has helped countless students of the game improve their skills at the tables.

We caught up with Felix and asked him how he felt about being announced as a Team Online player:

PokerSchoolOnline: Has the news that you've been announced as the newest member of Team Online sunk in yet? What does it mean to you?

Felix 'xflixx' Schneiders: It took a few weeks but it has definitely sunk in now. The feedback from friends and fellow players on social media and in the PokerSchoolOnline forum is quite overwhelming as I would never have expected so many people to be so happy for me. It definitely makes me feel even more rewarded and motivated for the training I run at the school.

PSO: We are the English speaking school for PokerStars and they have many other schools across many different languages. Are these poker schools just for beginners or are they also a benefit to the more experienced player?

FS: Well, the primary goal is to help out beginners and players who want to build a bankroll, learn about all the different formats of poker and find out what suits them best. The community is very welcoming and supportive to all levels and the more experienced players can also ask questions that our professional trainers and hand analysers will discuss with them. There are also a lot of videos in the library from professional players that are quite useful to learn those expert tips from.

PSO: You are holding your next training session this Wednesday. What topics will you cover during this class?

FS: The topic of the next class is 'Mastering Microstakes' and I will be simulating an entire session at the 10NL six-max cash game tables. Participants will be able to watch me play live and comment on my play while I cover the important aspects of my approach to beating the micros.

PokerSchoolOnline training sessions are free to attend and all players are very welcome. If you like why not check out Felix's next class to get a taste of how Live Training at PokerSchoolOnline can give you an edge at the tables.

Read the announcement about xflixx joining Team PokerStars Online by clicking here.

Learn, practice and win at PokerSchoolOnline.

I started playing regulary in the "youth teams" of PokerStars back in 2007, grinding low stakes SNGs. I always valued volume and regularity to get the minimum variance I could. And would only move up after I got enough positive numbers and was convinced I was crushing the limits. This is good because you get very confident when you move up.

I use this line of bankroll management in the MTTs as well, and I can't complain about the results. I was top 10 in 2010 annual TLB, top 6 in 2011, top 12 in 2012 and I have already won the weekly TLB two times (one last year before I joined Team PokerStars Online). It is true I have been playing more and more high stakes since last year, but lately I scored many points with two $2 buy-in tournaments with more than 7,000 players, for example.

When you give the same importance for all tournaments you play, no matter the buy-in, you can have volume with a more controlled multi-tabling. The next session depends on the last session. If things are not going well in the last days, there is no problem in mixing more lower stakes tournaments and skipping some of the high stakes.

Confidence is very important to be a winner in this game. And nothing gives more confidence for an online grinder than a beautiful, healthy, positive and blue graph pointing to the sky. So, when you are having too many bad days, move down, win something, scream "Vamooo!" recover your confidence, and remember you can play the game.

That's my advice: love them all.

No, he cleared it with days to spare and coasted across the finish line for 1,440,801 VPPs, a $43,000 pre-rakeback profit and 13 pounds down on his waistline. What a life. You can read his post about it here: "Challenge wrap-up" (or our alternative name, "How I achieved the impossible and made it look like an everyday chore like, you know, putting out the rubbish or rinsing a few glasses.")

Lind has been smashing up the PokerStars table for years and is way out in front with most VPPs clocked up, which now weigh in at an incredible 12,686,502. Check your own total. Think about how much poker you may have played and extrapolate that. *Boom* It's mind blowing.

His astounding dedication was recently rewarded by the VIP team who covered an all expenses paid holiday of a lifetime for Lind and his family, which we wrote about here. You can get the same, too. You just need to clock up 10,000,000 VPPs first. Should be a piece of cake (which is something that Lind can now eat again).

Congrats to you, Mr Lind. You are worth your weight in VPPs.

Rick Dacey is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

Currently, I have played almost 6,000,000 hands since January 1st, 2010. I decided to split the data into two periods. The first one is 2010 alone and the second one 2011 to present. The reason for that is that in 2010 I played almost exclusively 20-50bb tables and at as many as five different stakes (nl100-nl1000). It was also the year I made my first and so far only Supernova Elite. Those games were completely different from regular 100bb tables. You should also divide the stakes by two, as I was playing with the allowed maximum buyin, which was 50bb.

So, here is the graph for 2010:

It was about 1,850,000 hands. If someone was unfamiliar with my work ethic and organization, he could say that the SNE chase reflected in my results in the bad way, that the quantity killed the quality. It was not exactly my story though.

First, from the moment I decided to go for SNE (which was around August), I was playing the same amount of tables, the same number of sessions and almost the same number of hours every month. Second, if that would be the case, December should be the worst month and it was actually a net plus with the best day in the whole year coming on my last day of grind (December 29th)! Third, during those months I was grinding five different stakes, and my highest winning rate was at nl400 and nl600 with net loss on nl200.

From my perspective, the graph looks like it does because within this very short period I had the biggest upswing and the biggest downswing of my whole career! First, in August and September everything was working my way and then, from late September till late November, I just could not run any worse. It is worth noting that both the upswing and downswing were accurate with the EV line. And then December was just a regular month. Overall, I ended my SNE year with profit.

That was a very interesting experience, I think it is good for any grinder to live through it so you know what you can expect in the borderline situations. Maybe I would not be the grinder I am today without those 3-4 months and if my graph simply looked like this:

Anyway, at the beginning of the 2011, I started working on strategy for regular 100bb tables. First two months of that year 20-50bb games were still available but I decided to play in 100bb games, even though they were filled with almost only regulars. I am really happy that I did that, as the first months after the change were really profitable for me (some people were playing 20-50bb to the end and then adjusting to 100bb when I already had developed the strategy).

Below is the graph form the start of 2011 until present. It is almost exactly 4,000,000 hands. I think this is a nice sample for everyone interested in longterm results and trends. If it is not enough for you just wait a few months when I post the graph for 5,000,000 hands

During the last 1,000,000 hands EV cost me over 70BI, but I guess this is a standard deviation. My winrate over those 4,000,000 hands is 1,2bb/100 (EV 1,4bb/100).

I find all those graphs very interesting. If you have any questions about those and other stats, let me know!

Good luck at the tables!

March 25, 2005 started much like any other day off from my previous job. I woke up, had some breakfast, did some light exercising and then opened PokerStars. My days off were the only time I could commit to playing poker. Little did I know later in the day I would meet the infamous shaniac in an event that would change my life.

I had recently made a $500 deposit with the specific goal of playing WSOP satellites. Unfortunately, things were not going as I had hoped. This day I was staring at a balance of $15.50 which felt like my chance--my last shot--was all but gone. At this time in my life I was struggling to pay my living expenses and college loan. Losing $500 was hard to swallow. I had bought directly into two $160 Double Shootout events and did not make it through round 1. I spent he rest on $2 to $20 satellites with no luck.

I opened the Events tab and started browsing the WSOP satellites. The only events awarding seats to the Main Event were $160 DS events. It was a far cry from my measly balance, and unless I could find a smaller buy-in satellite, I would have no chance. Then I noticed a $5.50 + rebuys satellite to the $160 DS that just started. My first thought was I only have one buy-in, one rebuy and possibly an add-on if I didn't have to reload. I hesitated. Should I play this? Should I try to make a run at Sit and Go's? Should I try and run it up at a cash table? Honestly, I figured any chance with my bankroll was hopeless, and I would not reach my goal.

I grabbed a cup of coffee and then debated my best shot at reaching my goal to win a seat to the WSOP. This was the biggest goal I had set for myself in poker to this point, and I was failing. If I lost this $15, I really could not afford to reload and try again. Without even realizing it, I had apparently made my decision and had registered to the satellite.

Something took control of me. I did my first rebuy right away so I could start with double the chips. Now I only had enough for one last rebuy or hopefully an add-on if I could last without busting my first two bullets.

The very first hand of the event I was dealt the elusive pocket aces, and something just felt right about my decision to play this event. I doubled up that hand and ran good up to the end of the rebuy. At the end of the rebuy period I found myself in the top 10 of the chip counts. After doing the add-on my account balance was $0. It was this or nothing. The satellite awarded 33 seats to the $160 DS, and I was determined to get one of the seats.
And there it was: 33 players left and I was first in chips. I made it to the next event, and I could not have been more thrilled to accomplish the first leg of the day's goal. The DS was set to start as soon as 81 players registered. With the 33 that advanced from the satellite it did not take long to fill up and get started.

The first round was a breeze, I was getting slapped in the face with the deck, and everyone just kept paying me off. It took less than 150 hands to seal the deal and move to round 2. There was one table left playing, so I opened it to observe. It was the first time I had ever seen the screen name "shaniac." He was heads-up. I immediately noticed was how popular he was; the rail birds were in full force rooting shaniac on to victory.

Round 2 started and I was as nervous as I had been. Is this real? Am I really eight people away from winning a WSOP seat and reaching my goal? Once the first hand was dealt I calmed down a bit and got focused. The chat between shaniac and the rail birds was very entertaining, and to me it was very cool to see this popular guy interact with his fans. In addition to shaniac there was another player who had just become a Full Tilt Red Pro and six other really tough players. It was surreal and humbling for a guy from a small town to be in this situation playing for a WSOP seat against some very elite players.

I was feeling really good about my play up to this point, but the following hand nearly crushed my dreams and flushed them away I was tilting. This was a chance to eliminate the popular shaniac and be four-handed and second in chips. He sucked out the miracle and won the pot.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djerb [Tc][Th]
wilspeed: folds
WINNER'circl: folds
missvicky: folds
shaniac: raises 300 to 400
djerb: raises 300 to 700
shaniac: calls 35 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [9d][7h][8d]
shaniac said, "J!"
*** TURN *** [9d][7h][8d] [3d]
shaniac said, "diamond"
shaniac said, "something"
*** RIVER *** [9d][7h][8d][3d] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
shaniac: shows [Td][Ac] (a flush, Ten high)
djerb: shows [Tc][Th] (two pair, Tens and Sevens)
shaniac said, "ty"
shaniac collected 870 from pot
djerb said, "nh"

A few hands later he doubled up again and now had some chips to work with. I knew this would be a tough match, and yet I went and doubled him up again. I was still tilting from the previous hand, and it prompted what was possibly a bad call on my part despite being ahead.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djerb [6h][6d]
missvicky: folds
shaniac: raises 200 to 300
djerb: calls 250
wilspeed: folds
*** FLOP *** [7c][3h][Ts]
shaniac said, "I get more than that ~_~"
djerb: bets 400
N 82 50 24 (observer) said, "lol"
shaniac: raises 1440 to 1840 and is all-in
djerb: calls 1440
shaniac said, "****"
shaniac said, "gg"
N 82 50 24 (observer) said, "omg"
*** TURN *** [7c][3h][Ts] [Ac]
N 82 50 24 (observer) said, "nice"
*** RIVER *** [7c][3h][Ts][Ac] [5d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
djerb: shows [6h][6d] (a pair of Sixes)
shaniac: shows [Qh][Ah] (a pair of Aces)
N 82 50 24 (observer) said, "yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss"
shaniac said, "I am suckout king"
shaniac collected 4380 from pot

"I am suckout king," was just about right. Twice now I had him on the rail yet could not put the nail in the coffin. Now I was third in chips with shaniac in second. I really felt the pressure increasing and my dream slipping away.

Despite him sucking out on me twice, I was finding it very hard not to like this guy. The responses to his fans were great entertainment.

schnerbs (observer) said, "can i buy a piece of you?"
shaniac said, "my kidney is for rent"

Soon we were 3 handed and I was 2nd in chips with shaniac close behind and the chip leader not too far ahead. It was anyone's game, and only first paid the WSOP seat and $1,000 in cash. Being that shaniac had already won 2 seats he was looking for a deal.
shaniac said, "chop?"

However I was not, I wanted that seat to myself.

djerb said, "i don't have a seat yet"
shaniac said, "give u each 3K for it"

Now this was intriguing, $3k was a lot of money for me and would have been a nice return on my $15.50 investment. I could take that $3k and try at a few other DS events. While I was pondering the offer, another great comment from shaniac occurred.

ninewins (observer) said, "shaniac what good does another seat do you"
shaniac said, "26 virgins in heaven"

Then another offer to save from shaniac:

shaniac said, "you guys want to make a save?"
shaniac said, "so 2nd and 3rd each get $500?"

My response again was:

djerb said, "i want a seat"

I was not ready to give up my dreams and was willing to risk it all to get there. However I was a greenhorn in poker and did not understand what a "save" was and shaniac explained.

shaniac said, "winner sends 2nd and 3rd place $500"

Just as this comment was made everything changed in my favour:

Dealt to djerb [Ad][Qd]
shaniac said, "winner sends 2nd and 3rd place $500"
shaniac: raises 1400 to 1600
djerb: raises 1400 to 3000
wilspeed: folds
shaniac said, "or not"
shaniac said, "gg"
shaniac: calls 105 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [9d][2c][As]
schnerbs (observer) said, "suck time"
djerb said, "gg"
*** TURN *** [9d][2c][As] [Kc]
earlybird893 (observer) said, "j"
schnerbs (observer) said, "JJJJJJ"
shaniac said, "Jack?"
*** RIVER *** [9d][2c][As][Kc] [7s]
shaniac said, "gg"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
djerb: shows [Ad][Qd] (a pair of Aces)
shaniac: shows [Th][Qc] (high card Ace)
djerb said, "whew"
djerb collected 3610 from pot

What a sweat at the river, I felt certain he was going to hit the Jack on the river and suckout again. However, this was my time and now I was heads-up with a sizeable chip lead. My opponent managed to double up and bring the chip counts to near even. All the while shaniac was still observing the game and sending good thoughts my way.

shaniac (observer) said, "gl djerb"
djerb said, "ty"
shaniac (observer) said, "you deserve it"

His good thoughts and well wishes helped when two hands later I had my opponent all-in and drawing very thin.

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djerb [9d][9h]
wilspeed: raises 400 to 600
djerb: raises 1200 to 1800
wilspeed: raises 2365 to 4165 and is all-in
djerb: calls 2365
*** FLOP *** [2c][3c][7s]
shaniac (observer) said, "gg"
earlybird893 (observer) said, "no 5"
*** TURN *** [2c][3c][7s] [6s]
earlybird893 (observer) said, "no 4"
*** RIVER *** [2c][3c][7s][6s] [Td]
earlybird893 (observer) said, "no5"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
djerb: shows [9d][9h] (a pair of Nines)
wilspeed: shows [5h][5c] (a pair of Fives)
earlybird893 (observer) said, "gg djerb"
djerb collected 8330 from pot

Just like that, I had managed to achieve my goal and I was going to play in the WSOP Main Event. Shortly after the Main Event, I took a job with PokerStars and have been with them ever since. It was a great joy when I heard we were signing shaniac to Team Online. Here we were several years later, and our paths were crossing again this time as colleagues instead of competitors.

Our lives have taken a very different paths, and I am humbled to be a part of PokerStars and proud to call shaniac a friend and colleague. If not for that day and the results I achieved, I am not sure I would have ended up with PokerStars and had the experiences the past eight years have brought. Then again, I might have ended up where shaniac is today!

Shaniac is a great ambassador for poker and we are proud to have him on our team. I now get to return the gesture to shaniac and say, "you deserve it"!

Trent Wyatt is a PokerStars IT Fraud Prevention Investigator

At the beginning of the month Lind challenged himself with a three-pronged goal: to make a million VPP in May while maintaining a pre-rakeback profit and lose ten pounds in weight at the same time. You can read his insane goal declaration at his personal blog.

The challenge
Moving into the final quarter of the challenge Lind has nailed two of the three goals, breaking 1 million VPP and losing 10 pounds, but the third is proving to be a little problematic right now.

"Unfortunately i got crushed today, losing like $50k, now I'm only up $2k pre-rakeback on the month. Gonna be a sweat for this last goal!"
- Jorj95's blog, 23 May

Well, even two out of three ain't bad, but don't go betting against Jorj95.

Free vacation! (with every 10,000,000 VPPs)
You can have a free holiday. Yeah, PokerStars will give you travel, accommodation and spending money, just so long as you earn 10,000,000 VPPs. You can read about the incredible family holiday of a lifetime at Jorj95's personal blog (although it's Mrs George writing as the challenge is on!) It started in Japan here but you can read about the whole trip through the links below.

Anchorage glacier bay
Dutch Hrabour and Kodiak
Kobe and Petropavlovsk

While Japan can be a fairly alien environment it is made a lot easier thanks to Naoya 'nkeyno' Kihara stepping in as a makeshift guide and paper sumo opponent.

SCOOPing it up
Lind really should have made it a four-handed challenge by throwing in a top ten SCOOP leaderboard finish into the mix. He'd be on for a sweat with that one, too. Lind is currently sat in 11th position with 305 points. SCOOP hero Shaun Deeb is, of course, at the top of the leader board with 410 points. Read about that here.

Rick Dacey is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

It was to be, I believe, the biggest non-private cash game ever run in Europe, and definitely the biggest one ever to be televised or live-streamed. It was a lot to be excited about, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to participate. There was also a lot to be stressed about.

First of all, the logistics of getting a million euros from my PokerStars account to a casino in Monte Carlo in a timely fashion were non-trivial, though that's not the sort of material that makes for a compelling blog post.

There's the issue of risk management - how much of my own action should I take and how much should I sell? And to whom? And, of course, I couldn't let myself underestimate the emotional impact of playing for the highest stakes I'd ever played in my life and of doing so in front of such a large worldwide audience. It's so easy to make mistakes when you're playing for higher sums of money than you are accustomed to. It's tempting to be too cautious, a little gun shy. Those sorts of mistakes can be very costly.

It's also easy to overcompensate, blasting off on a bad bluff or making a too-heroic call because you're determined not to let the stakes make you timid. When post-flop action amounts to, "I'll bet a BMW," "I'll raise a starter home," "I'll re-raise a McMansion," it's hard not to be distracted by the surreality and the massive excess of it all.

When I got to Monte Carlo, it didn't seem to be a certainty that the game would run at all. The week leading up to the appointed Saturday was filled with discussions and rumors of who would and would not be playing, whose money had or had not arrived. No one had accounted for a French bank holiday and it seemed uncertain that several players, myself included, would get their money in time. At one point, around the middle of the week, I had resigned myself to the belief that the game probably wouldn't run, and that if it did it would probably be without me.

However, Saturday rolled around and things had worked themselves out. My wire turned up at about the last possible minute, and out of the ten or so possible players, a group of six definites had solidified. As soon as Viktor Blom, Talal Shakerchi, Niklas Heinecker, Sam Trickett, Paul Newey, and I were all eliminated from the 25k tourney that had started the previous day, the game would commence. The buy-in was reduced to 500k, but the stakes were kept at 1k/2k.

Pretty soon after we started, I played the biggest pot of my life. Talal opened to 7k in the cutoff, and, with effective stacks of just over 500k, I three-bet to 23k on the button with [Qs][Ts]. The blinds folded, and Talal made it 52k. I called. The flop came a beautiful [Js][8s][5s], and he bet 75k. I called.

The turn was an offsuit [A], he continued with a bet of 125k, and I called. The dream runout continued with a river offsuit [Q]. Talal checked, I shoved for just over 250k into a pot of just over 500k, and he deliberated only briefly before calling. He didn't say what he had, but my first guess would be a set of aces. If you're wondering, yes, winning a million euro pot feels as good as you think it would. Even when it is just a brutal cooler in a four-bet pot.

The couple hours following this hand went well but were relatively uneventful. The biggest pot I played was one in which I opened [A][K] under the gun and got four callers. I c-bet an [A][K][Q] rainbow flop and called a checkraise from Niklas. The turn paired the [Q], and he checked. With 175k in the pot and around 425k to play, I decided to turn my hand into a bluff. I bet 105k and he folded on the turn, but I was undecided if I was going to fire the rest on the river if he called. When we took a break for dinner, I was up a bit over 600k.

Despite my early good fortune in the game (or possibly because of it), I found my head spinning a little as I walked back to my hotel room. Should I really have folded in that one spot? Was I letting the pressure of playing at such nosebleed stakes get to me? Was it affecting my play? And then, back in my room as I was describing a hand I played to my wife, vacillating over whether or not I had made the right decision in a tough spot, I suddenly felt a huge amount of relief as I heard the words come out of my mouth: I was using the word "chips" instead of the word "euros." The difference is subtle, and on the surface it's a meaningless distinction. Putting 40,000 chips into the pot is, of course, the same as putting €40,000 into the pot. But saying "chips" indicated to me that I was thinking about the decisions and not about the money. Chips are what you use to play poker. They're game pieces. Euros are what I use to pay my rent.

This is a lesson I've had to reacquaint myself with many times throughout my career as a poker player, whenever I've moved up in stakes or whenever I've found anxiety about my personal finances sneaking its way into the decisions I make at the table. And it's something that every poker player needs to remain conscious of, no matter what stakes you're playing.

The chips are the game pieces and nothing more. When you start to think about them in terms of their monetary value, in terms of what that money means to you personally, your decisions in the game take on an emotional weight that is almost certain to derail your ability to think rationally about the situation you're in and make the correct play.

It's demonstrably true that people are bad at making rational decisions about money. This is something that's been written about at length in a number of recent popular books such as Predictably Irrational and Freakanomics. It would seem that the evolution of the human intellect just hasn't caught up to the realities of modern economies and that it is next to impossible to make decisions about money without emotions getting in the way. And there is just no room for that sort of emotion at the poker table.

***

You can find three hours of the live stream here:

Part 1
Part 2

And a good writeup on the game from Lee Jones, who was on the rail much of the night.

***

Isaac Haxton is a member of Team Online

As the months and years passed, as I started to read more and more of Schelger's writing, for whatever reason, it started to occur to me that--like many of the people I would come to know in poker--the online names and online personas didn't tell much of anything about the real people these men and women were. It took getting to know them in real-world spots before you could get a sense for who they really were.

Today, PokerStars Team Online released another in its series of short films about the people in its stable. No surprise here: Shane "shaniac" Schleger makes for a great subject.

You can watch the film below or on its You Tube page.

Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging

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I'm not shy about expressing myself, but when it came time to start filming on my PokerStars Team Online short film, I was more than a little nervous.

It's one thing to put thoughts and feelings in writing--it's something I've done for most of my life, and I'm able to think about, control and edit the content before releasing it. It's much different when it comes time to expose the internal workings of my life to a stranger and hoping the end result--an eight-minute visual summary of some of those inner-workings--will be relatable, compelling and not embarrassing.

When the filmmaker Ryan Firpo and his crew showed up to my place in Mexico, my anxiety was put to rest a bit: Talking with Ryan, I realized that he has a really sharp sense of cinema and story-telling, and we had plenty in common. We discussed one of my favorite movies, Dark City, and Ryan explained better than I could all the things I didn't like about Django Unchained.

The three-man crew (Ryan, plus a camera and sound guy) showed up in Mexico one evening last year and I met them for dinner at their hotel. We spent that evening organizing and scripting the narration and the next day they shot a bunch of footage of my home setup and the surrounding environment. I wasn't sure how the end product would look, but I had confidence that Ryan would cobble something together that represented my life in a real way.

I've enjoyed all the PSTO films that Ryan has released so far, and I'm really impressed with his ability to tell a story while managing the tricky task of creating videos that serve both the promotional nature of the project and the human aspect of the subject. Having seen the rough cut of my own film, I can say I'm again impressed with the job Ryan did. Without "spoiling" too many of the details, I was truly pleased by the way Ryan got most of the essential parts of my story into an 8-minute film.

The film doesn't capture every aspect of my life--in fact it focuses on some of the more painful, struggle-filled chapters of my history and ignores the happier, more carefree things I get to enjoy--but it definitely encapsulates the arc of my poker life in an accurate and comprehensive way: coming up into the poker life after being a lost 20-something New Yorker, succeeding in poker, struggling in poker, and the eventual need to leave my country to continue playing poker.

It's not the typical story of triumph in poker, but it represents my relationship with the game in an accurate way, and it also represents some of the realities that I continue to face. Sure, I'm still a little bit anxious that my life story got squeezed into an 8-minute short-film and will be out there for the whole world to see, but at least I can feel comfortable knowing that it's a real representation of that story.

As of now, I'm playing the SCOOP. Personally, I love how the SCOOP has 3 different types of buy-ins that you can choose from which gives everyone a chance to play. And well if you're like me, you'll just play all 3 different stakes! We're currently one-third of the way into the SCOOP and currently I've only got 1 cash but there's still plenty of events to come. I made a video showing my play with some commentary so if that's your type of thing, you're welcome to watch and listen.

As for the SCOOP schedule, I'll be playing pretty much the majority of the NL events and well it makes sense, because that's practically the only game I know how to play. Wish me luck!

I have been playing cards since I was seventeen and there have been no other worlds in my life I immersed myself as deeply in as I did with Magic: The Gathering and poker. Back in the day, I would play Magic for several days straight, spend my entire weekends travelling around the tournament circuit, prepare new strategies and wrap my head completely around this game. Those were always the best of times when I felt at ease and peace with my mind. I was doing something that I loved and that challenged me time and time again. It's the same with poker now. I have grown to love this game even more than Magic and strived to make it a central part of my life ever since.

I recall the times during my math studies at university when I struggled hard with thoughts about my potential future. I was interested in math, yes, but was it enough to pursue a profession with all my heart? I kept trying to imagine myself in 5-10 years time and I just couldn't see myself all suited up in the business world. As a Magic player I had always been dreaming of being able to make a living on cards. The prize money and my success rates at the bigger tournaments were never big enough to accomplish that, but once I had made the transition to poker that dream was suddenly alive and vivid as never before.

Many poker players will name a tourney win or deep run when asked about their biggest accomplishments in poker. If I had been asked a few months ago I would have answered "finding the courage and means to turn my hobby into a profession." As I have always been a cash game player I never really gave tournament poker a chance, so I can't put any big successes to my name in that respect.

To me it has always been more of a constant success feeling being able to do what I love for a living. There were doubts coming from family, friends, peers, even from within myself, and there were hard times in poker, but there were never any thoughts of giving up. I found joy and fulfilment not only in playing poker but most prominently in teaching, writing and filming poker content as a private coach and trainer for IntelliPoker and PokerSchoolOnline. Since playing poker is pretty much a solo sport that requires a strong psychological stamina at times it's a great feeling to be able to share views or aspects about the game with an entire community of like-minded people.

Being a Team Online member means so much to me. It makes me feel honoured to be up there with great, inspiring poker players and proud because it reflects all the effort and passion that I put into my job over the course of years. If I was asked that same question about my biggest accomplishment, now I could answer by turning the abstract blabber above into "becoming a member of PokerStars' Team Online."

This tournament was voted the best stop of the LAPT Tour in 2011. It also broke records with nearly 700 players playing for nearly a million dollars in prize money.

Since the first time that the tournament was played in my country (this June's tournament will be the third) Colombia has become one of the favorite poker destinations for both Latin and foreign players.

Foreign players see Medellin as a desirable city in which they can vacation and enjoy the ambiance and the mixture of a very modern as well as a traditional city. In my humble opinion, it's the prettiest city in Colombia.

I've seen a lot of players from Europe and the USA playing in the last two tournaments.

I've run into members of Team PokerStars such as Angel Guillen, Nacho Barbero, Leo Fernandez, Humberto Brenes and Andre Akkari. To my surprise, when I arrived at the poker room to play a satellite , I found myself face to face with Sorel Mizzi at the table. I also greeted John Tabatabai (second place winner of WSOP Europe) who was enjoying himself at the PokerStars party. He has been spending time learning our culture. These are a few of the world-renowned players. The tournament has also given me a chance to meet many of the European and American grinders who constantly told me that they felt very comfortable and safe playing in Colombia and assure me that they will be around for many more tournaments.

The Tournament

The purpose of this blog post is to invite you all to participate in the Colombian LAPT in the city of Medellin. The event will take place on June 5 and will end on June 9. PokerStars is holding daily satellites starting $2. The tournament will be attended by nearly a thousand players who will show up with the expectation of winning the main event. The main event costs $1,150 with re-entry during the first four levels. There are also side events including a semi-high-roller tournament with buyin of $3,500.

In addition to the tournaments, you will also find a flock of players at the cash tables. At these tables you will find, $5/5, $10/10, $10/20, $25/25 both NLHE and PLO. There will be plenty of action on the tables!

Medellin as a city

Medellin was recently named the most innovative city in the world, under the City of the Year contest, organized by the Urban Land Institute and Magazine Wall Street; the decision depended on an internet vote putting Antioquia's capital in competition with New York and Tel Aviv. This award is the result of love and pride that the city's people have for their city.

When people come to Colombia and especially a city such as Medellin for a vacation or a tournament, they will find a city full of people with human qualities.

The times of insecurity and violence of two decades ago are long gone. Now we can enjoy quiet streets, a city with numerous shopping centers, a subway that mobilizes some 500,000 people daily, good local cuisine, the best nightlife and beautiful women everywhere decorating absolutely all parts of the city paisa (as it is known to its locals "paisas").

If you like more of a tourism plan or an adventure near Medellin, in no more than an hour you will find beautiful towns with very nice people, and spectacular landscapes such as the amazing La Piedra Del Peñol (Spanish for "The Rock of Guatapé"), also known as El Peñol Stone or simply La Piedra (Spanish for "The Stone"). You will also find Santa Fe de Antioquia, one of the most colonial cities of Antioquia and Colombia, and the magical town of El carmen del Viboral well known as the Cradle of handmade pottery, and crafts. All of this just to give you an idea of what you will find in my country when you come to the Colombian LAPT.

Something that you will never forget is that you will find friendly Colombians everywhere ready to make your stay an incredible experience and hard to forget. We Colombians are known for making foreigners feel at home, making sure their stay is unforgettable and leaving them with eagerness to return.

This is the third time I will play the Medellin LAPT; in the previous two tournaments I had deep runs before getting eliminated at the very end. As the saying goes "Third time's the charm."

I hope to have my best performance this time around, but in the event that luck fails me, hope to see you at the events such as the high roller or cash tables. If you have any questions, concerns, or need information, do not hesitate to contact me. My twitter is @ sirfreddy83 and I'm available to lend you a hand. I just hope that everyone enjoys the tournament and their stay in my country. I'm pretty sure that you will want to return!

See you at the tables and good luck to all.

"I still can't really grasp what happened over the course of the last few weeks, but here I am," Schneiders said. "My mind is still blown and I am in some sort of disbelief about this, but at the same time I feel proud and honored to be given the chance to be up there in the ranks of such a strong, inspiring lineup of Team Online members."

Schneiders is a well-respected poker coach in Germany. A former math student and Magic player, Schneiders has been playing poker since 2005. A six-max no-limit hold'em specialist, the new Team Online superstar most often hangs out in the small to medium stakes games. He also has his sights set on a big tourney score.

"I am really looking forward to this new project of being a Team Online member and everything that comes with it," he said.

Welcome to the team, Felix.

Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging