After arguably one of their best seasons of poker in their history, the Heartland Poker Tour isn’t sitting back on their laurels as they head into 2013. As they prepare to embark on their Season Nine schedule, the HPT is unveiling a host of changes that should only make one of the premiere “minor league” circuits seem more like the majors!
First off, the HPT has overhauled their Main Event blind structure, enlisting none other than Daniel Negreanu in the effort. Although the HPT has adjusted their structure several times over their history, their last such revision came in 2011 from poker professional Annie Duke. In looking to make the changes for this season, HPT Executive Producer Fred Bevill stated, “We wanted the best possible structure, so we went to the best.”
Negreanu had to take many things about the HPT into consideration in creating the new structure. The goal of an HPT tournament is that it can be played out over a weekend (as many of their participants have actual jobs), so Negreanu attacked that first. “I noticed a few crucial jumps that needed to be ironed out,” he noted, “and the ante structure was a bit off, so that was adjusted as well.”
In making these adjustments to the structure, Negreanu also had to take into consideration another of the new changes for 2013 on the HPT. Beginning this season, the HPT will feature nine-handed final tables (in the past, the HPT went with a six-handed format). With this in mind – as well as attempting to give the players the maximum value for their buy ins – those players who make Day Two of HPT tournaments will find fifty minute levels through Level 24 and hour long levels after that through the final table (on Day One, the levels will last 40 minutes).
Negreanu seemed pleased with his work on the HPT structure. “I was very happy to help out when I was approached by the HPT to take a look at the structure,” Negreanu said. “I think the final result is a smoother structure with more play.”
Another big change for the HPT will be in their televised product. Syndicated nationwide to over 100 million U. S. households and plans for international syndication beginning this year, the broadcast team will undergo a changeover. After a long association with the HPT, Chris Hanson will leave the broadcast booth and Bevill will be joined by a historic first. Poker professional Maria Ho will join the HPT for their broadcasts, making Ho the first ever female poker commentator on television.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the HPT family,” Maria said during the announcement of her teaming with Bevill. “As a player, I am flattered they are welcoming my expertise. As a woman, I am grateful to the HPT for being the first poker show to offer the strategist position to a female. I look forward to bringing a new and fresh perspective to HPT broadcasts.”
The new changes will get their first “test under fire” next week as the HPT begins their Season Nine schedule. On January 19, the “HPT on the High Seas” will set sail from Fort Lauderdale, FL, for its first event of 2013, an $1100 Main Event aboard the MSC Poesia. The tournament, hosted by CardPlayer Cruises, will feature many amenities for the participants outside of the Main Event, including special parties, seminars and stops at such exotic locales as the Cayman Islands, Honduras, Jamaica and Mexico. (If interested in booking for the tournament – if there’s still room available – call 888-999-4880 and use the code “HPT” or visit the HPT website, hptpoker-com).
Following sailing around the Caribbean, the HPT will take a bit of a break before their second event of 2013 at the Golden Gates Casino in Black Hawk, CO. From March 1-10, the HPT will be in the Rocky Mountains for what has proven to be one of their most popular stops. The HPT will also return to the River City Casino in St. Louis, MO and the host of last year’s HPT Championship Open, the Belterra Casino Resort in Florence, IN, before the end of April. (A full schedule has yet to be finalized.)
The HPT saw one of its most exciting seasons in 2012 as former World Champion Greg Raymer went on a run for the ages on the tour. Winning four tournaments to easily capture the HPT Player of the Year race, Raymer – who has consistently expressed his enjoyment about playing on the HPT – brought a great deal of attention to the circuit. The St. Louis tournament was taken down by fellow pro Will “The Thrill” Failla and many other top professionals journeyed across the United States to take part in HPT events alongside the “Everyday Joes.”
With their changes for 2013, the HPT promises to become even more exciting in the coming year as they continue to welcome the amateurs looking to move to the “next level” as well as those professionals who dip their toes into the treacherous HPT waters.
Bulgarian pro Dimitar Danchev has won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $10,300 event, after defeating a field of 987 players over six days to lift the title and collect the $1,859,000 first place prize.
With his latest win in The Bahamas, Danchev not only sit atop Bulgaria’s all-time leaderboard with $2,895,854 in earnings, but he also becomes the country’s first PCA title holder. Commenting on his remarkable achievement the 27 year old said:
“It feels amazing, really. I really felt the support. This is for them, too..Bulgarian poker is developing really good and will be top level very soon.”
By the time the last day of action had been reached, Dimitar Danchev was the second shortest stack at the eight handed final table. As the players then starting to fall around him, Danchev managed to hold on until three-handed play along with Jerry Wong and US pro Joel Micka, In a crucial hand, Wong (Ad-Qd) then three-bet Joel Micka (8h-6h), who called to see an Ah-Kc-5h flop fall. All the chips subsequently found themselves pushed to the centre of the table, and after an 8 and 6 fell on the turn and river, Wong finishd 3rd for $725,000 while Danchev and Micka went heads-up for the title.
At this stage, Joel Micka held a 2 to 1 chip advantage over Danchev. However, the Bulgarian soon managed to double-up holding 2-2 to his opponent’s A-K, and eventually won the title after a preflop all-in with Micka holding 4-4 to Danchev’s A-Q. The board subsequently rolled out A-6-2-10-7 to relegate Joel Micka to a runner-up finish worth $1,190,000, while Dimitar Danchev was crowned the champion.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1. Dimitar Danchev – $1,859,000
2. Joel Micka – $1,190,000
3. Jerry Wong – $725,000
4. Jonathan Roy – $560,000
5. Owen Crowe – $435,000
6. Andrey Shatilov – $325,000
7. Yann Dion – $230,000
8. Joao Nogueira – $165,900
PokerStars’ Turbo Championship of Online Poker gets underway on Thursday, and it will feature $15 million in guaranteed prize pools.
The TCOOP runs from Jan. 17-27, featuring 50 tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $7.50 to $2,100. The guaranteed prize pools have been increased $5 million from the 2012 version.
TCOOP begins with four events, including two that guarantee $750,000 each — a $27 buy-in and a $215 buy-in. The final day of the series includes the $700 main event — with $2 million guaranteed and $300K to first place — and a $2,100 high roller event, which features a prize pool of a million dollars. You can see the entire schedule here.
There is also a leaderboard competition, with the winner taking a 2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize package.
If you can’t afford to buy in directly, there are a variety of satellites available.
As February looms closer on the horizon, those of us involved with The Gathering Dublin are becoming more familiar with the sporting events that will be taking place in South Dublin. Now, Irish Dancing I’m a dab-hand…dab-foot at, what with having seen Riverdance TWICE in my life. Sure, one of them was on the television but the other time I was definitely there, in flesh and blood. Yes, I was in the cheap seats. No, I couldn’t see much. Some people just don’t like taking their hats off in the theater.
But as to the other sport being played, Poker, well, I’ll have to plead my ignorance. I’m not very good at bluffing…I assume you knew that though. I can’t hide it.
When PokerIreland first joined The Gathering Dublin, I thought it was going to be mostly people from the UK (considering there are ferries that go between Holyhead and Dublin it’s never been easier to fly or sail back and forth) but I've just been told that players from France, Lithuania and a big group from India have signed up to take part in the 2013 Super Poker Event of Europe.
That's right, people from around the world coming to Citywest Convention Center in South Dublin. All under our banner of "Meet to Compete".
What this means is that with 1,000 players expected to play, the prize-pool is now estimated at €300,000. As a man with plenty of tells and no-bluff, it’s pretty easy to see how excited I was about it.
The main event starts Saturday 23rd of February at 12pm with a 20,000 starting stack. I have no idea what that means and so I expect to have had all my chips taken by 12.10pm. Blinds are 30 minutes, then 45 minutes. This is so exciting, I have no idea what any of this means! Entry is €300, plus €50 Registration Fee which includes tax.
There’s also a Super Deaf Poker Event on 22ndFebruary at 7pm where only sign language can be used. This event is open to both deaf/hard of hearing and hearing players. More information is available here.
Finally, on Friday 22nd and 24th of February the organizers have partnered with Raining Aces, a large poker organizer from India to host a very special international team event. I’m not allowed to take part in this one. I’m really bad at poker. I might have mentioned that before. But I bet the people playing in this one are good. I’d bet my pants on it!
Please note: I have been informed the tournament organizers will not accept pants as a valid bet.
So a lot will be taking place in Citywest Convention Center that involves poker. I’m excited to just be there and learn from some of the best. Will YOU be joining us? Let us know!
For more information please visit TheGatheringDublin-com.
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UK pro Rupert Elder has just won the $1,100 Opening Event of the Aussie Millions, after defeating a field of 1,338 players over five days to collect a gold ring, as well as the $250,000 first place prize.
The English pro is a prolific internet player and has won $739,587 online under the screen name “Rupert.” Elder is equally adept in the live arena and back in 2011 famously took down the €5k EPT San Remo for €930,000 ($1,355,488). Now with his latest win at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Rupert Elder boosts his live tournament earnings to around $1.8 million.
However, life hasn’t been too great for the poker pro of late after a disappointing 2012 in which a broken leg also left him with a $73k hospital bill, as well as a bout of depression. In fact, Elder recently wrote in his blog: “I found myself wishing I had a real avenue in life with tangible results for other people. At best I provide an entertainment service, at worst I am actively preying upon those who have gambling, financial, family, drug etc problems. Hardly any sort of honourable living or something to be proud of.”
Hopefully winning a quarter of a million dollars down under will help boost Elder’s confidence in his chosen profession, while the Aussie climate may also help improve his general outlook on life. He says he also now intends to continue traveling and entering tournaments in Oz.
Rupert Elder entered the $1,100 Aussie Millions event final table with a substantial chip lead, and eventually went heads-up against the 2011 EPT Prague champion Martin Finger. After Elder was dealt K-10 to his opponent’s Q-7, all the chips then went in on a 2-Q-J flop only for an A to fall on the river to hand Rupert Elder the emphatic victory.
UK's Rupert Elder Starts 2013 With Aussie Millions Victory
After just three weeks of therapy at one of the nation's leading centers for the treatment of spinal injuries, Alexandra Bedard is ready to get back to work on regaining her ability to walk.
All she needs is a little community assistance. To raise money, a community game of Texas Hold 'Em will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, at the Ramsdell-Rogers Function Facility of American Legion Post 56 in York. The $75 buy-in includes dinner.
"I'm hoping we can raise enough money for me to go for three months," Bedard said, referring to her anticipated return to Project Walk in Carlsbad, Calif. "I think that will be a good halfway point and I can't be away from my son longer than that."
Insurance doesn't cover the specialized care, but it's the first place Bedard said gave her an opportunity to relearn her body after losing her ability to walk in a motorcycle accident in 2011.
"I knew my body before the accident, I knew where I was physically, but (at Project Walk) I learned so much about myself," Bedard said. She learned where she's at physically today, and discovered her limits and boundaries.
"That's not only helpful with my goal of walking but in life," she said.
Project Walk advised Bedard to stay, insisting she would need approximately five to six months of care to retrain her body and regain as much control of her legs as possible, but without the funding, Bedard returned home to York.
Although the family has enough money to send Bedard for one month, an additional $14,000 needs to be raised before Bedard can return to California for the full three months.
Some of the money for the first month remains from fund-raisers done in the fall, before Bedard's first stint at Project Walk.
Bedard's mother, Louise Ducharme, organized a fund-raiser at Lobster in the Rough that raised $17,000. The York Beach Fire Department, where Bedard was previously a junior firefighter, also collected donations from the community to raise another $5,000. Ducharme said the family is looking for frequent flyer miles to help with transportation for Bedard's return.
"I know Alex is going to be successful, I believe in her," Ducharme said. "Project Walk didn't just train her body but they trained her brain, too. They treated her as a whole and they use state-of-the-art equipment."
Ducharme described Bedard as a giver who was once active as a certified nursing assistant and a volunteer with York Hospital, AIDS-Response Seacoast and other organizations.
"Young people are our future and they need modeling and help," Ducharme said.
For Bedard, Project Walk didn't just give her a new lease on her future , it also allowed her to feel healthier and happier.
"I feel more alert, I feel energized and I don't feel like I want to nap all the time," Bedard said. "They worked with me as an individual versus going to therapy paid by insurance that goes by the textbook."
Bedard said one of the biggest differences at Project Walk was that trainers there exercised the paralyzed area of her body rather than working on her upper-body strength, which she still has.
"Even within the first 30 minutes of the workout, I was sweating, it was intense. They would put me on a treadmill in a harness," Bedard said, explaining that the harness can hold between 10 percent and 100 percent of her body weight, but they try to find a "happy medium."
"A lot of people excel that way because it makes you have to bring your foot forward," Bedard said. "The goal is not to hold onto anything."
Without holding, Bedard said she can get to 80 percent of her weight being supported by the harness and with the support of railings, she could stand at 50 percent before she began to feel unsteady.
"I am so grateful to know so many people support me. It makes you feel good about yourself," Bedard said. "It's reassuring and makes you feel motivated."
Poker tournament to help York's Alexandra Bedard walk again | SeacoastOnline-com
Japan’s Yoshitaka Okawa has just won the Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon, after defeating a field of 532 players on his way to lifting the trophy, and collecting the HK$1.123 million (US$144,843) first place prize.
By the time the tournament held at the Grand Waldo Entertainment Complex reached its final table of eight, Yoshitaka Okawa was the chip leader with a substantial lead over his remaining opponents.
However, Okawa’s stack would soon grow to over half the chips in play after the first hand saw him battle the second biggest stack at the table. Hong Kong’s Shashank Rathi (K-4) decided to get involved in a massive pot against Okawa (Q-10), who eventually called his opponent’s bluff on a J-J-10-2-A board to eliminate the unfortunate Rathi in 8th.
China’s Zhenwu Wang would then proceed to knock-out France’s Oliver Duran in 7th place followed by Aussie Michael Marvanek in 6th, before Okawa (A-9) would join the fray once more to send US pro Kevin Zhang to the rail in 5th.
Continuing his assault, Yoshitaka Okawa (J-8) outdrew Homan Houshiar (A-Q) on a Q-2-10-5-9 board to send the Canadian to the rail in 4th, before his 3-3 made a straight against Finland’s Eemil Tuominen (K-K) to force heads-up against Zhenwu Wang.
At this stage, Okawa held a 3 to 1 advantage over his opponent and before long both Okawa (10-8) and Wang (8d-7d) were all-in on a 9d-5d-Qc flop. Unfortunately for Wang, the turn and river produced a Jc and 2h to relegate him to a runner-up finish, while Yoshitaka Okawa was crowned the Macau Poker Cup: Red Dragon Main Event champion.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1: Yoshitaka Okawa — $1,123,000 (€108,726)
2: Zhenwu Wang — $784,000 (€75,930)
3: Eemil Tuominen — $462,000 (€44,745)
4: Homan Houshiar — $353,000 (€34,188)
5: Kevin Zhang — $261,000 (€25,278)
6: Michael Marvanek — $209,000 (€20,241)
7: Oliver Duran — $170,000 (€16,464)
8: Shashank Rathi — $130,500 (€12,639)
Jeff Fielder Wins WSOPC Choctaw For $312kJeff Fielder has won the 2013 WSOPC Choctaw Durant Main Event, after defeating a field of 1,140 players over three days to lift the title, and collect the $312,080 first place prize.
Felder’s previous highest cash was in 2010 at the $10k WSOP Main Event, where he finished 92nd out of 7,319 players for $67,422. With his latest victory at the $1,675 buy-in event in Oklahoma, Felder has now doubled his poker earnings to $613,129, but the construction company manager insists playing poker is still just a hobby. As he explains:
“I’m pretty content right now. I like what I do. It’d be pretty stressful to [play tournament poker] full time. I like the guaranteed income that gives me the cushion to go to some of these stops.”
After the 9 handed final table got underway, Felder scored his first elimination holding A-K to his opponent’s K-J to dispatch Drazen Ilich to the rail in 6th for $63,202. Four-handed play then saw Felder (K-K) double-up against Matt Kirby (Ad-Jd) to assume the chip lead before Kirby eliminated Bryan Campanello in 4th ($107,730). Soon after Fielder (A-K) took care of Dale Roesel (A-10) in 3rd ($143,230) to start the heads-up phase of the competition.
At this stage Kirby held a 2:1 chip advantage over Fielder and after readdressing the balance holding A-10 to Kirby’s A-Q, the defining hand was played with Kirby once more holding A-Q, but this time up against 4-4. Unfortunately for him, the board ran out 7-9-7-6-7 to relegate him to a runner up finish worth $192,751, while Jeff Fielder was crowned the 2013 WSOPC Choctaw Durant champion.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1st Jeff Fielder $312,080
2nd Matt Kirby $192,751
3rd Dale Roesel $143,230
4th Bryan Campanello $107,730
5th Krissi McFarland $82,092
6th Drazen Ilich $63,202
7th Cliff Stewart $49,265
8th Paul Phillips $38,834
9th Doug Ashmore $30,951
Rafa Nadal Wins Online Poker TournamentTennis legend Rafa Nadal joined PokerStars back in June 2012, and almost half a year on the Spaniard has now taken down his very first tournament on PokerStars. Recently, Nadal entered a €10 freeze-out tourney on PokerStars.es. and managed to defeat a 47 player field over two hours to eventually walk away with the €152.40 first place prize.
Ok, it may not have been the biggest score for the 26 year old compared to his $50 million winning tennis career, but no one can fault Nadal’s competitive streak and dedication to his new found hobby. As Nadal explained after joining PokerStars last summer:
“It’s no secret that I love to compete and try my very best in everything, whether that’s tennis, golf or video games. When I discovered the game of poker, I chose to join PokerStars because they understand what it takes to be the best and associate themselves with the qualities of champions. I’m very happy to be working with them.”
At the time, however, Rafael Nadal was a relative novice to poker, but over the past few months has evidently begun to sharpen his skills as he continues to receive training in the nuances of the game from the top pros.
Rafael Nadal’s joining PokerStars as member of Team SportStars coincided with his temporary withdrawal from professional tennis on account of tendinitis in his knee. During his recovery, Nadal has been practicing his poker game, and even had a promising run at the Spanish Championship of Online Poker (ESCOOP) €200 main event until his A-K got out flopped by his opponent’s pocket jacks.
Now with a first tournament victory under his belt, Nadal’s poker training seems to headed nicely in the right direction and the confidence he gains from taking down the mini-tournament can only spur him on to greater poker success in the future.
Tyler Reiman Wins Mississippi Poker Tournament For $185kTyler Reiman has won the 2013 Beau Rivage Million Dollar Heater, after defeating a field of 254 players over five days to lift the title, and collect the $185,510 first place prize.
The 24 year old poker pro from Illinois cashed in at his first live tournament back in 2007, and with his latest win in Mississippi now takes his live career earnings to $2,517,400. It also represents Reiman’s second largest score, his biggest coming in 2010 at the $10k PCA main event, where he finished the runner-up for a huge $1.75 million payday. Tyler “puffinmypurp” Reiman is also a prolific online player and notably won the PokerStars Sunday Million in 2010 for $228,150.
The $2,500 buy-in tournament at the Beau Rivage Hotel & Casino in Biloxi managed to attract 254 players to create a prize pool worth $618,375. By the time the final table had been reached, however, Tyler Reiman was lying in eighth place out of the remaining nine players. Nevertheless, he was able to turn things around and nine hours later emerged triumphant to win a gold bracelet.
Tyler Reiman (A-A) scored his first knock-out against Toan Trinh (9-7), whose short-stack pre-flop push saw him exit in 5th for $37,103. Reiman (A-4) then followed up by outdrawing Bert Ladner (K-K) on a J-6-7-8-5 board to dispatch him to the rail in 4th ($43,286).
After Lyle Vincent eliminated Tim Hebert in 3rd ($55,564), the heads-up phase of the competition then got underway. Eventually, the defining hand was played after Reiman (K-J) and Vincent (A-4) were all-in on a 9-4-J flop. The turn and river subsequently produced a 10 and 6 to relegate Vincent to a runner-up finish worth $98,940, while Ty Reiman was crowned The Million Dollar Heater main event champion.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1. Ty Reiman – $185,510
2. Lyle Vincent – $98,940
3. Tim Hebert – $55,564
4. Bert Ladner – $43,286
5. Toan Trinh – $37,103
6. Craig Thames – $30,919
7. James Arruebarena – $24,735
8. Cory Pansano – $18,551
9. Jacob Bazeley – $12,368
Tyler Reiman Wins Mississippi Poker Tournament For $185k
Aussie legend Gary Benson has won the Aussie Millions $1,150 re-buy event, after defeating a field of 83 players on his way to lifting the title, and collecting the $109,000 first place prize.
The 55 year old poker pro is noted for having won a WSOP bracelet in 1996 at the $1,500 Seven-card stud event for $148,200, as well as for having attended almost every major poker tournament in Australia and New Zealand over the past few decades. In 2009 Benson was then inducted into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame, and now with his latest victory in Melbourne takes his life time earnings to $967,675.
Despite the $1,150 event attracting a relatively small field, there was a total of 257 rebuys and add-ons which helped create a hugely inflated prize pool. By the time the final table of nine had been reached, several notable players were still in contention for the title, including USA’s 2012 WSOP finalist Jake Balsiger, Brits Craig McCorkell and Neil Channing, and, of course, Gary Benson.
Benson then got lucky when his Ac-Ks made a flush against Valdemar Kwaysser’s As-Kc to eliminate the Hungarian in 8th for $13,500. Benson (A-2) followed up by knocking-out a short-stacked Alex Rich (Q-J) in 7th ($17,000), before being dealt A-K and dispatching Tino Lechich (A-Q) to the rail in 6th for $20,500.
Finally, Benson (A-Q) eliminated Patrick Healy (3-3) in 3rd ($44,500) to go heads-up against Jake Balsiger. At this stage, Benson held a 420k to 340k chip advantage over his opponent, but Benson managed to further extend his lead until the defining hnd was played with both Balsiger (K-7) and Benson (J-J) all-in preflop. The board then rolled out 2-8-2-6-Q to relegate Balsinger to a runner-up finish worth $71,000, while Gary Benson was crowned the champion.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1 Gary Benson $109,000
2 Jake Balsiger $71,000
3 Patrick Healy $44,500
4 Craig McCorkell $30,000
5 Neil Channing $24,000
6 Tino Lechich $20,500
7 Alex Rich $17,000
8 Valdemar Kwaysser $13,500
9 Tony Sama $10,500
Gary Benson Wins Aussie Millions Event #6 For $109k
A grand prize of $10,000 is on the line for the upcoming Children’s Wish Poker Tournament in Calgary.
The March 13th event will be held at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino.
All proceeds will go to help grant wishes for children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses.
Laurie Bienert is the Alberta and Northwest Territories chapter event coordinator.
“A wish can be a break from doctors and harsh medical treatments and needles and long hospital visits, to spending time with their families in a way that they can enjoy life and create lasting memories for the entire family,” says Bienert.
Cost to get in the poker tournament is $300 which includes buy-in, dinner and entertainment.
PokerStars-eu player ‘frma1103’ from Sweden became the latest Turbo Championship of Online Poker Main Event champion on Sunday night winning $326,880. He topped a record field of 5,060 players in the $700 buy-in event to scoop the life-changing amount, while six other players at the final table also earned six-figure sums as part of a seven-way deal.
Meanwhile, in the $2,100 NL Hold’em High Roller, which also took place yesterday, ‘Jeremiade’ from Germany finished first to win $382,812, which turned out to be the biggest single prize paid out this series.
Record-breakers
Last night’s TCOOP Main Event easily surpassed the total number of players and prize pool of last year’s tourney, with 5,060 entries and a prize pool of $3,364,900 versus 3,667 and $2,438,555 in 2012.
The High Roller event also eclipsed last year’s figures by attracting 1,095 players and a prize pool of $2,190,000, which was way up on the 814 players and prize pool of $1,628,000 in 2012.
Across the 50 events, TCOOP 2013 awarded $24,036,531.74 to players, which was far more than the $15 million guarantee and nearly $5 million more than TCOOP 2012, which had a prize pool of $19,704,378.30. The total number of buy-ins for the latest series was 240,321.
Weekend round-up
While the Main Event was inevitably the focus of the final weekend of TCOOP, there were still 10 other events contested, with some huge prize pools on offer. Event 42 saw 8,687 players contest a $27+R NL Hold’em [2x-Turbo], and it resulted in a third-place finish for Team PokerStars Pro Marcel Luske, who received $58,510.24 as part of a three-way deal.
In the $215 Sunday Warm-Up TCOOP Special (event 46), ‘BigMeech99’ from Sweden emerged the victor to take the top prize of $161,808.21. Meanwhile, the $320 8-Game (event 48) almost resulted in the first ever PokerStars Grand Slam (WCOOP, SCOOP, TCOOP, Sunday Million titles) winner, as Andrey ‘Kroko-dill’ Zaichenko came up just short at the final table, finishing seventh. He’ll have to wait until next year to see if he can become the first PokerStars player to take the prestigious honour.
Finally, the TCOOP series wrapped up with a $215 Supersonic Hyper-Turbo (event 50), which took just two hours and 11 minutes to complete, and was won by ‘pierrott77’ from the United Arab Emirates, for $124,077.54. Shaun ‘shaundeeb’ Deeb finished just shy of the final table in 10th, which meant he missed out on becoming the first player to win the PokerStars ‘Triple COOP’.
Player of the Series
The TCOOP 2013 Player of the Series was a close contest with no runaway winner. However, it was ‘Tjepan’ from Denmark who took the Champion’s Trophy and 2014 PCA package with a score of 270 points – just 25 ahead of ‘Tinas21’ from Norway on 245. ‘Tjepan’ final-tabled two events and cashed in 12 in total after playing a staggering 46 events. By contrast ‘Tinas21’ played just 28 events to win her second-place prize of a 2013 SCOOP event ticket worth $5,200. Further prizes of SCOOP tickets were awarded to the next 48 players, totalling more than $7,500.
PokerStars Turbo Championship of Online Poker sets new records
Day 1c of the 2013 Aussie Millions Main Event will see Team 888poker’s raft of professional players, ambassadors and online qualifiers enter the popular tournament.
Team Captain Shane Warne will take his seat at the Crown Casino in Melbourne hoping to take down the prestigious title.
He is joined by 2011 November Niner Sam Holden, 2012 WSOP Main Event final tablists Jesse Sylvia, Jake Balsiger and Russell Thomas, and several Team 888poker online qualifiers.
The team have already had one good result at this year’s Aussie Millions, with Balsiger finishing second for $71,000 in Event 6, the $1,150 no-limit hold’em rebuy.
888poker’s Twitter account, @888poker, will be keeping track of 888 player chip counts, bust outs and last longer bets.
Warne said: “I’m looking forward to playing this year’s Main Event with Team 888poker and I hope this year will be my year.”
Sweden’s “frma1103” has won the €700 buy in Turbo Championship of Online Poker main event besting a field of 5,060 to take down $326,880 after a seven-way deal at the final table.
All seven players involved in the deal made six figure sums and left $40,000 to play for.
The multinational field saw 675 players get paid and heads up “frma1103” and “kekim1” of Slovenia started roughly even in chips and remained so after seven uncontested hands. Hand eight saw the Swede bet four million, with blinds at 1 million/2 million.
”kekim1” moved all in and “frma1103” called. “kekim1” showed KDiamond Suit JSpade Suit and “frma1103” showed ADiamond Suit QDiamond Suit which held for an Ace-high win.
Texas poker pro Andy Hwang has won the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open, after overcoming a field of 1,042 entries on his way to collecting the title and the $730,053 first place prize.
By the time the $3,500 re-entry event reached its final table of six, Andy Hwang was the chip leader and it would then take the 27-year-old a total of 6 hours to eventually defeat his last opponent and claim his biggest score to date. First to leave the arena was the 2012 WPT Grand Prix de Paris champion Matt Salsberg in 6th ($147,671), whose pocket sixes foundered against the A-9 of James Anderson.
James Anderson (K-K) followed up by dispatching Jeremy Druckman (A-10) in 5th ($182,514), before then being dealt K-Q and calling Matt Haugen’s Q-J all-in shove.The board subsequently rolled out 8-5-2-2-8 to give Anderson the hand and eliminate Haugen in 4th for $222,336. Continuing his steam roll of the final table, James Anderson then knocked Mike Gogliormella out in 3rd ($265,475) to go heads-up against Andy Hwang.
As the final phase of the tournament got underway, Anderson held a significant chip lead over Hwang but just twenty hands later Hwang managed to bully his opponent out of his chip lead before the defining hand was played. A frustrated Anderson decided to move all-in preflop holding 10-8, only to receive a call from Hwang As-6s. The board then rolled out Kh-Js-6c-5s-4s to make Andy Hwang the nut flush and hand him the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open title.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1. Andy Hwang, $730,053
2. James Anderson, $438,698
3. Mike Gogliormella, $265,475
4. Matt Haugen, $222,336
5. Jeremy Druckman, $182,514
6. Matt Salsberg, $147,671
With the biggest night in football, the Superbowl, people all across the nation are making bets on their favorite team, but folks in Niles were doing a different type of gambling. Joey Armadillo’s held a poker tournament Superbowl party and half the proceeds went to Niles Community Schools.
So far the poker players have raised almost a thousand dollars for the school.
“I like the ravens, because its rays last year,” said Austin McGowen.
“Everybody like Baltimore, so I am rooting for San Francisco,” said Mike Kohen.
There were fans rooting for both teams at Joey Armadillo’s tonight for the superbowl poker party.
“Superbowl tournament is probably our biggest. It has over fifty people,” said Anthony Todd.
The majority of these poker players were more worried about the jackpot than the winner of tonight’s game.
“First prize could be up to $2,000, depending on how many people rebuy in,” said Todd.
But just like tonight’s Superbowl, there were some serious players in this game.
“I was diagnosed with leukemia when I was 12 and I learned how to play online while I was in the hospital,” said McGowen.
“I have been playing poker for almost fifty years,” said Kohen.
The winner of this tournament will turn a pretty profit.
“A lot of action and it should be profitable for the winner,” said Kohen.
Poker players told me tonight is really all about giving back to Niles Community Schools.
“It is all third graders and it is part of their social studies curriculum. They are going down to Lansing to explore the capital,” said Todd.
Online poker continues to break records, as PokerStars' Turbo Championship Main Event attracted almost 50 percent more players to this year's tournament than it did to the corresponding event last year.
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Record poker numbers
A PokerStars-eu account holder from Sweden won the TCOOP Main Event on Sunday with a $326,880 first prize, but more noteable is that he defeated a record field of a whopping 5,060 players who came to compete in the $700 buy-in event.
This is just the latest example of the fact that online poker's popularity knows no bounds. This year's figures of 5,060 entries and $3.365 million prize pool destroyed last year's figures of 3,667 players and $2.439 prize pool. Other TCOOP events including the High Roller tournament also surpassed all previous figures.
Forecast
PokerStars' tournament record perhaps indicates that the industry is in full recovery mode, after a disappointing 2012 in which player accounts decreased by 8 percent overall. Last year online poker suffered from global economic problems, but the figures also reflected the fact that fast-fold poker effectively reduces player counts.
Rush Poker, the popular cash game first launched by Full Tilt Poker, is set to continue to grow, not that all major poker operators run their own versions.. Microgaming's Blaze Poker and Playtech's Sprint Poker are among the fast-fold poker variants in which players are dealt a new hand at a new table once they fold their previous hand.
Online Poker Tournament Breaks Records - The Headlines - Onlinecasinoreports-com
Slovakia’s Marian Fridrich has won the Mega Poker Series Vienna, after defeating a field of 443 players over three days on his way to lifting the title and collecting the €54,000 first place prize.
The €770 buy-in tournament took place at Montesino in the Austrian capital and by the time the final table of nine had been reached Marian Fridrich was way out in front as the chip leader. The Slovakian (A-10) then kicked-off the proceedings by eliminating Poker770 Pro Dominik Kulicki (A-J) in 9th for €4,300.
Next, last woman standing Virginie Debreuille was dealt A-K and shoved her 20bb stack all-in, only to be called by Jeremy Mayeur with 7-7. Unfortunately for the Belgium the board rolled out J-5-5-3-4 to eliminate her in 8th for €5,700. She was followed by Alexander Markovic in 7th (€7,700), whose 6-5 preflop shove foundered against the J-10 of Germany’s Adrian Apmann, and then Dragomir Catalin in 6th (€11,100) holding A-2 and heavily dominated by Apmann’s A-A.
Chip leader Marian Fridrich (10-10) subsequently flopped a full house to send Jeremy Mayeur (A-7) to the rail in 5th (€14,500), while local favourite Phillip Schagerl was unlucky to exit in 4th (€20,500) holding K-J against the Q-J of Poland’s Kamil Jedrzejczyk.
Adrian Apmann then found his tournament on the line after shoving his 4h-5h on a Qd-6h-2d-Kh. However, Marian Fridrich made the call holding Q-J and after a 6c fell on the river Apmann exited in 3rd (€29,000), thus heralding in the heads-up phase of the competition. At this stage, Marian Fridrich held a 2.3 to 1 chip lead over Jedrzejczyk and before long it was all over with the Pole shoving his Q-9 into the A-7 of Fridrich. The 3-J-J-8-2 sealed Jedrzejczyk’s fate and so he finished the runner-up for €39,000, while Marian Fridrich was crowned the Mega Poker Series Vienna 2013 Montesino champion.
First off, the HPT has overhauled their Main Event blind structure, enlisting none other than Daniel Negreanu in the effort. Although the HPT has adjusted their structure several times over their history, their last such revision came in 2011 from poker professional Annie Duke. In looking to make the changes for this season, HPT Executive Producer Fred Bevill stated, “We wanted the best possible structure, so we went to the best.”
Negreanu had to take many things about the HPT into consideration in creating the new structure. The goal of an HPT tournament is that it can be played out over a weekend (as many of their participants have actual jobs), so Negreanu attacked that first. “I noticed a few crucial jumps that needed to be ironed out,” he noted, “and the ante structure was a bit off, so that was adjusted as well.”
In making these adjustments to the structure, Negreanu also had to take into consideration another of the new changes for 2013 on the HPT. Beginning this season, the HPT will feature nine-handed final tables (in the past, the HPT went with a six-handed format). With this in mind – as well as attempting to give the players the maximum value for their buy ins – those players who make Day Two of HPT tournaments will find fifty minute levels through Level 24 and hour long levels after that through the final table (on Day One, the levels will last 40 minutes).
Negreanu seemed pleased with his work on the HPT structure. “I was very happy to help out when I was approached by the HPT to take a look at the structure,” Negreanu said. “I think the final result is a smoother structure with more play.”
Another big change for the HPT will be in their televised product. Syndicated nationwide to over 100 million U. S. households and plans for international syndication beginning this year, the broadcast team will undergo a changeover. After a long association with the HPT, Chris Hanson will leave the broadcast booth and Bevill will be joined by a historic first. Poker professional Maria Ho will join the HPT for their broadcasts, making Ho the first ever female poker commentator on television.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the HPT family,” Maria said during the announcement of her teaming with Bevill. “As a player, I am flattered they are welcoming my expertise. As a woman, I am grateful to the HPT for being the first poker show to offer the strategist position to a female. I look forward to bringing a new and fresh perspective to HPT broadcasts.”
The new changes will get their first “test under fire” next week as the HPT begins their Season Nine schedule. On January 19, the “HPT on the High Seas” will set sail from Fort Lauderdale, FL, for its first event of 2013, an $1100 Main Event aboard the MSC Poesia. The tournament, hosted by CardPlayer Cruises, will feature many amenities for the participants outside of the Main Event, including special parties, seminars and stops at such exotic locales as the Cayman Islands, Honduras, Jamaica and Mexico. (If interested in booking for the tournament – if there’s still room available – call 888-999-4880 and use the code “HPT” or visit the HPT website, hptpoker-com).
Following sailing around the Caribbean, the HPT will take a bit of a break before their second event of 2013 at the Golden Gates Casino in Black Hawk, CO. From March 1-10, the HPT will be in the Rocky Mountains for what has proven to be one of their most popular stops. The HPT will also return to the River City Casino in St. Louis, MO and the host of last year’s HPT Championship Open, the Belterra Casino Resort in Florence, IN, before the end of April. (A full schedule has yet to be finalized.)
The HPT saw one of its most exciting seasons in 2012 as former World Champion Greg Raymer went on a run for the ages on the tour. Winning four tournaments to easily capture the HPT Player of the Year race, Raymer – who has consistently expressed his enjoyment about playing on the HPT – brought a great deal of attention to the circuit. The St. Louis tournament was taken down by fellow pro Will “The Thrill” Failla and many other top professionals journeyed across the United States to take part in HPT events alongside the “Everyday Joes.”
With their changes for 2013, the HPT promises to become even more exciting in the coming year as they continue to welcome the amateurs looking to move to the “next level” as well as those professionals who dip their toes into the treacherous HPT waters.
Some Changes In 2013 For The Heartland Poker Tour