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California state poker championship 2011

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 | Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Tournament | No Comments

The much anticipated annual California State Poker Championship Main Event schedule has just been released. For the year 2011, the tournament will start on May 4, with the Main event commencing on May 20 and will end on May 22, when the 2011 California State Poker Champion will be declared.

The California State Poker Championship Main Event will, of course, be held at the Commerce Casino located in the greater Los Angeles area.
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Ever since the California State Poker Championship started, it has attracted numerous poker enthusiasts. This annual tournament has drawn many of the best poker gamers from the West. This year’s event promises to draw not only the best from the west, but the best poker players all over the globe.

The tournament was originally held in June but had been changed to May as it clashed with the World Series of Poker schedule. The 2011 event will last over 19 days from May 4 to May 22, with the California State Poker Championship Main Event to be held on the 20th up to the 22nd. On May 4, the tournament will begin with Single Table Satellites at $40 to $280. The opening offers
a $400,000 guarantee at a buy-in of just $220. Meanwhile, the 3-day California State Poker Championship Main Event with a buy-in of $2,575 is expected to see top professional poker players as well as locals who have won their way into the Championship event.

The 19-day affair may prove to be quite interesting with All-In or Fold and Reverse Turbo included.

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Below is the schedule of the California State Poker Championship 2011:

1 – No-Limit Hold’em (May 04, 5days, $220 buy-in)
2 – Limit Hold’em (May 07, 1 day, $220 buy-in)
3 – Knockout Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (May 08, 1 day, $220 buy-in)
4 – Limit Omaha 8/OB (May 08, 1 day, $335 buy-in)
5 – No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack (May 09, 1 day, $335 buy-in)
6 – H.O.R.S.E. (May 09, 1day, $335 buy-in)
7 – No-Limit Hold’em Six Handed (May 10, 1day, $335 buy-in)
8 – No-Limit Hold’em All-In or Fold (May 10, 1day, $120 buy-in)
9 – No-Limit Hold’em Turbo (May 11, 5days, $125 buy-in)
10 – No-Limit Hold’em Reverse Turbo (May 15, 1day, $335 buy-in)
11 – No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack (May 16, 1day, $545 buy-in)
12 – No-Limit Hold’em Turbo (May 16, 1day, $220 buy-in)
13 – No-Limit Hold’em Entern-ament (May 17, 1day, $335 buy-in)
14 – H.O.R.S.E. (May 17, 1day, $1,065 buy-in)
15 – No-Limit Hold’em (May 18, 1day, $335 buy-in)
16 – Knockout Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (May 18, 3days, $1,575 buy-in)
Main Event – No Limit Hold’em Championship $500,000-guarantee
(May 20, 3days, $2,575 buy-in)

CAPT Innsbruck 2011

Monday, April 18th, 2011 | Poker Articles, Poker News | No Comments

The huge success of Casinos Austria Poker Tour (CAPT) for the past three years has been a great factor that Casinos Austria continually offers this series of poker tournaments throughout the Austrian Casinos. The CAPT 2011 will take center stage on the gorgeous Austrian Casinos starting January and culminates in the 22nd European Poker Championship in October. CAPT Innsbruck is the fourth stop of this prestigious Austrian Poker tournament.

The CAPT tournaments have consistently established itself as some of the best managed poker events worldwide. Lately, the tournaments have evolved into a rich poker tour with prize pools getting bigger. Despite this, CAPT still remains to be quite an inconspicuous treasure from poker sharks.

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Venue

CAPT Innsbruck will be held in Casino Innsbruck, located in Salurner Straße 15, Innbruck, Austria. It has become the sanctuary for people looking for fun and excitement most especially when you have lots of Euros inside your pocket. The casino features an ultra-dynamic night of lively gaming, fascinating entertainment even culinary delicacies. Besides, the casino offers a world-class variety of games in modern casino set-up which include American roulette, black jack, French roulette and of course, poker. With the on-going CAPT 2011, patrons of Casino Innsbruck are very excited as this prestigious Austrian poker event kicks off in May 8th until May 15th.

Now, let’s take a brief preview of last years CAPT tournament and what to expect in the upcoming CAPT Innsbruck 2011.

Preview of CAPT Innsbruck 2010 Winners

Last year’s Casinos Austrian Poker Tour in Innsbruck was also a resounding success with names rising among the rest such as Roman Pumpermick, Alexander Moser, Ronald Zapantis, Markus Lehmann, Aski Kocas, Willi Fuhrer, and Soysal Ozkan.

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CAPT Innsbruck 2011 Main Event

The main event for CAPT Innsbruck remains the NL Texas Hold’em tournament with €2,000 buy- in while the anticipated prize money will reach more than €700,000. The scheduled events are €250 NL Hold’em Knock out bounty and €350 NL Hold’em Knock out bounty; three no limit Hold’em events with its respective buy-ins of €300, €500 and €1,000 as well as the €2,000 NL Hold’em main event. Aside from these, there is one scheduled Super Satellite NL Hold’em event with €200
buy-in.

A useful reminder, though, most especially for novices and spectators; Casino Innsbruck strictly enforces a dress code upon entering their poker rooms. You need to be in formal attire, from clothes to shoes.

With CAPT Innsbruck 2011 fast-approaching, one can expect another thrilling and fascinating event at the wonderful Casino Innsbruck.

EPT Grand final season 7 : A dynamic final in Madrid

Monday, April 18th, 2011 | Poker Articles, Poker News | No Comments

For the first time throughout EPT history, the EPT Grand Final will culminate in Madrid, Spain. European Poker Tour (EPT) has been a much-anticipated tournament for poker enthusiasts not just in Europe but throughout the world. Poker, in general, has been a very popular casino game all over the world due to its fast-paced game and simplicity and it has won the hearts of gaming lovers. The much awaited season finale is surely a big hit among poker enthusiasts.

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Venue

The EPT Grand Final will happen on May 7th to May 13th at Casino Gran Madrid in Madrid, Spain. For the first time in European Poker Tour history, the grand finale will not be held in Monte Carlo. Madrid has become a home of around 3.3 million people situated right at the heart of Spain and ranked among the most stunning and charming European capitals due to its wonderful architecture and other artistic heritage. Touring around Madrid is like traveling back in time in the middle of modern lifestyle and dynamic nightlife. These features moved EPT organizers to choosing Madrid to hold the culminating part of the prestigious poker tournament. Now, let’s take a sneak peak of what to expect in EPT season finale in Madrid.

Prizes

What attracts people to participate in poker tournaments like EPT is the cash prize at stake. The seven-day event is expected to bring in big money for the winners. Widely recognized as the “world’s richest poker tour”, no wonder all poker enthusiasts, whether novice or professional players are expected to flock to Madrid to join the tournament. The champion also gets the chance to take home the custom-made bracelet from Shamballa Jewels.

Indeed EPT not only brings fortune to the lucky winners, but prestige and fame, both admired and envied by all poker players spanning the globe.

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EPT Grand Final Season 7

The buy-in for EPT Grand Final in Casino Gran Madrid is €10,000 plus €600 with the same EPT tournament structure. The tournament will foster huge benefits especially to the economy of Madrid wherein the EPT has an estimated over €10 million turnout, of which around €5 million comes from the media, spectators and players while the other half comes from the media
exposure. Aside from the economic benefits, the EPT Madrid is a great boost to the city’s publicity as top tourist destination in Europe.

Hence, the EPT Grand Final is a sure win for all poker fanatics. Whether you are a participant or simply a spectator, being part of the prestigious tournament in an amazing place is wonderful.

EPT San Remo season 7 : Largest field on the EPT

Monday, April 18th, 2011 | Poker Articles, Poker News | No Comments

Italy has long been ranked as one of the top vacation destinations across the globe. However, Italy is not just for vacationers, it has been the place for prestigious poker tournaments. European Poker Tour or EPT San Remo will kick off this coming April 28th to May 3rd at Casino San Remo in San Remo, Italy. What made this poker tournament remarkable?

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Venue

EPT itself is a prestigious poker tournament throughout the European continent and played in Europe’s lavish and gorgeous casinos. EPT San Remo, for instance, is to be held in one of Italy’s beautiful and famous casinos, the Casino San Remo, located in the northwest coast of Liguria, Italy. The San Remo town has been an all-time favorite getaway due to its mild weather and abundance of flowers. The place is appropriately known as the City of Flowers, and has become a home of world-class flower market. Some of the great attractions of San Remo are horse- back riding and fantastic tennis clubs; historic Porto Vecchio harbor and the beautiful 18-hole golf course.

Now, let’s take a recap of the previous poker tournament and what to expect to this year’s Season
7.

Previous Season

EPT San Remo Season 6 was an all-out success with 1,240 participants creating a record breaking €6 million plus prize pool. British professional poker Liv Boeree outsized everyone and took home the €1.2 million cash prize and became the third woman to win a title in EPT history succeeding Sandra Naujoks in Season 5 and Vicky Coren in Season 3.

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EPT San Remo Season 7

Of course, the main reason why poker players are drawn to participate in a prestigious poker event like EPT is the cash prize. EPT, dubbed as the richest live poker tour throughout the world, promises a full schedule filled with lots and lots of money. Thus, it is understandable why everyone wants to join and win the tour, from the biggest names in professional poker gaming to thousands of qualifiers. Indeed EPT San Remo is expected to bring great fortunes to the deserving winners.

Aside from the cash prize, the overall champion of EPT San Remo Season 7 will receive a custom-made Shamballa Jewels bracelet which is the official bracelet sponsor of EPT season 7.

The buy-in for the tournament is €5,000 plus €300 and players will be starting with 30,000 chips.

This year’s EPT San Remo Season 7 will be another record breaking event in the world of poker.

The FBI seizes Pokerstars, Full Tilt and Absolute poker

Saturday, April 16th, 2011 | Poker Articles, Poker News | 2 Comments

Here’s a summary of the events leading to the FBI seizing Pokerstars, Full Tilt and Absolute poker, which in effect has caused the sites to shut down all access for US players and freeze their accounts until further notice.

On April 15th 2011 the American authorities led by the FBI unsealed a collection of serious indictments against the largest poker sites in the World, namely Pokerstars, Full Tilt and Absolute poker. The indictments were revealed by Janice Fedarcyk who is the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The indictments are based on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (“UIGEA”) from October 13, 2006, where it became a federal crime for poker companies and other gambling businesses to “knowingly accept” most forms of payment “in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful Internet gambling. Rumors have it that this historical take down has only been possible due to inside knowledge provided by Daniel Tzvetkoff, a former payment processor. Apparently Daniel Tzvetkoff stole 100 million dollars from the gambling companies, and as a result upon visiting USA (maybe not the best move from his part) was arrested by the FBI on the background on an anonymous tip! No bail was set for his arrest, but now all of a sudden he is out on bail and the poker companies have been indicted.

Summary of indictments

• 11 defendants, including the founders of Pokerstars (Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate), Full Tilt poker (Raymond Bitar and Nelson Burtnick) and Absolute Poker (Scott Tom and Brent Beckley) are accused of bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling offenses
• Restraining orders have been issued against 75 bank accounts utilized by the poker companies as well as payment processors and 5 Internet domains (e.g. pokerstars.com, fulltiltpoker.com etc)
• As an example of the money laundering schemes applied by the founders, the US authorities claim that earnings from US players  have been disguised as payments for non existent merchandise such as golf balls and jewelery.
• In addition, the defendants are accused of bribing small banks to process their payments.
• The defendants risk up to 30 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.
• Arrest warrants have been made through Interpol.
• John Campos and Chad Elie, both involved in payment processing and both belonging to the group of 11 defendants, have already been arrested.

In the meantime, it is business as usual for the non-US part of Pokerstar, Full Tilt poker and Absolute Poker customers. Although some of the large Sunday tournaments have been reduced in guaranteed money, it is still possible to both download the software from EU-based websites and deposit and withdraw money from accounts. In addition, other sites accepting US players do not seem to be affected.

Full Tilt poker and Pokerstars both sent out press releases shortly after receiving the indictments where they – among other things – state that Online Poker is a skill game and therefore legal.

Our best hopes and wishes go out to the affected American players; we hope to see you back at the tables as soon as possible.

World Poker Tour : Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood Florida

Saturday, April 16th, 2011 | Poker Articles, Poker News | No Comments

The prestigious World Poker Tour Session IX is heading to Florida. It will take place on April 27 to May 3, 2011 at Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. At last, the much anticipated tie up between WPT and Seminole Gaming happens, making it a perfect poker event for poker enthusiasts. Really then, just what makes this tie up so remarkable especially in the world of poker? How did it come to be?

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Seminole Hard Rock is loaded with great and exciting facilities for a vacation holiday. Entertainment and relaxation never ends; ranging from a relaxing dip on the pool, spa and toning the body in the hotel’s fitness center – Seminole has everything you’ve been dreaming of for a perfect getaway. But, Seminole Hard Rock is not just a top recreational destination. It has been ranked among the top poker destinations in the East Coast.

There’s no shortage on the list of attractions at this venue:

• Florida has long been a favorite vacation getaway due to its proximity to beautiful beaches, dynamic nightlife, endless entertainment portals, and recently, 24-hour poker rooms. Seminole Hard Rock casinos has been renowned for its Vegas-style slot machines, over a hundred of Blackjack tables and poker tables coupled with bars, world-class restaurants, nightclubs and fantastic hotel accommodation in Seminole Hotels.
• State law amendments – These changes paved the way for removing some restrictions on poker games which include tournaments and allow more relaxed rules concerning poker playing hours. Thus, Seminole casinos poker rooms will now be open 24/7; employing over 10,000 people and generating billions which is a significant contribution to Florida’s economic activity.
• WPT tournament – Since the lifting of some restrictions concerning poker games in Florida, Seminole casinos spread throughout the state became the favorite spots for poker tournaments. For this year’s WPT Season IX, it will be happening in Seminole Hollywood, Florida and will be televised throughout the state. The WPT Seminole Hard Rock tournament will be a 5-day poker event with $9,600 plus $400 buy-in and players will start at 30,000 tournament chips. Although poker events happen every week in Seminole casino rooms, the upcoming WPT brings an all-new level of thrill and cleverness to the poker rooms of Seminole casinos.

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As Seminole tribe joins forces with WPT, Florida is not just a favorite vacation destination but poker favorite throughout United States. With the world-class Seminole hotel and casinos, the next World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock will definitely be another success.

Gus Hansen high stakes poker – downswing continues in April

Saturday, April 16th, 2011 | Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Pro | No Comments

Gus Hansen’s downswing continues on high stakes online poker during the second week of April.

The last few days saw quite a bit of action at Full Tilt Poker’s high stakes tables. Many of the regulars were in action, but no one played quite as much as Gus Hansen, who was obviously anxious to put a stop to his latest downswing and get back on the winning side again. Unfortunately for the Great Dane, that goal proved to be elusive and instead of recouping some of his losses, he dug himself into an even deeper hole by dropping money to Tom Dwan. Dwan himself saw quite a bit of action too: he took on Scott Palmer at the $300/$600 PLO tables and he battled Gus Hansen heads-up too. Being one of the biggest overall losers of the year, Dwan had some catching up to do too, but his attempts went a bit astray as well.

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The biggest pot Dwan and Scott Palmer played for was a $228k monster, which eventually went to Palmer. The hand began with the usual preflop action. The 10,9, 4 which fell on the flop prompted a bet from Palmer, which Dwan called. The J on the turn was the card which started the landslide, at the end of which both players were all-in. Palmer had the nut straight, but Dwan’s diamond flush draw was very much alive too. The river card was run twice and it missed Dwan both times, handing the monster pot to Palmer. A few hands later, Palmer scored another massive pot (this time a $161k one) after he hit a full house on the river, shoved all-in and got a call from Dwan. Dwan hit a full house of his own later and retaliated by taking down a $184k pot on it.

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Looking to snap his losing streak, Gus Hansen took on Tom Dwan at the $300/$600 PLO tables in a true heavy-weight battle, the biggest pot of which – a $121k whooper- ended up in Dwan’s possession. The amount of money that changes hands in these nosebleed stakes cash games on Full Tilt poker is truly mind-boggling. The poker rakeback alone that these guys earn would probably be enough to bankroll several small stakes players every month.

The biggest winner of the week was FakeSky, who logged a $386k profit. Patrik Antonius and Scott Palmer made the winners’ list too. The biggest loser was world1929, followed by Abe Mosseri and Tom Dwan.

Irish Poker Open 2011: Let the Games Begin

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 | Poker Articles, Poker News | No Comments

Irish Poker Open: Let the Games Begin

Poker enthusiasts are once again flocking their way to Ireland to witness and even participate in the renowned Irish Poker Open 2011. What could have made this poker event so popular that people even from distant parts of the globe are willing to tackle every obstacle all for the sake of this poker tournament? Let’s find out.

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The Irish Poker Open is among the prestigious and long running poker tournaments in Europe. It has been a well-respected tournament in the world and has become the home of poker legends. This year, the event will be center stage from April 22nd to April 25th at Burlington Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. Poker players are very much excited for this year’s poker open because it offers great surprises that will once again break records from the previous year’s tournament. But before going any further, let’s find out how this world-class poker tournament came to be and what the exciting surprises are in this year’s event.

History
The Irish Poker Open had its humble beginnings in 1980 organized by the renowned Irish bookmaker Terry Rogers. The first winner was a woman, Colette Doherty, who later on became the first woman competing in WSOP and the first European player. When Rogers died in 1999, Paddy Power took charge in running the poker event in 2005 and had been responsible in making the event into a larger poker competition to this day.

The Irish Poker tournament is recognized as the oldest No Limit Texas Hold’em Tournament all over Europe and next to World Series of Poker tournament throughout the world. The tournament was held in various casinos and hotels but as the competition got bigger, larger venues were needed; thus, finally settling in Burlington Hotel till the upcoming event.

Prizes and Features
This year’s Irish Poker Open will mark the return of Sole Survivor promotion feature wherein the last poker player qualifier will take home €100,000 cash prize plus any prize money the player may get from the poker tournament. Buy-in for this prestigious event will be €3,200 plus €300 and players will start with 20,000 chips instead of 10,000 chips.

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Roster of Players
The 2010 poker event had 708 poker pros playing in the tournament and James Mitchell of United Kingdom won over them. This year, it is expected to break last year’s record with big names playing once again, like Neil Channing, Kara Scott, Dan Harrington and Brain Townsend.

The 2011 Irish Poker Open is sure to be another power-filled event for poker enthusiasts across the globe.

Cadillac1944, Gus Hansen and Phil Galfond high stake poker action 2011

Saturday, April 9th, 2011 | Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Pro | No Comments

High stake poker action during the 1st week of April

The 1st week of April saw the return of Cadillac1944 as well as big losses to Gus Hansen, David Oppenheim and said Cadillac1944.

From the beginning of the year up until a few weeks ago, Cadillac1944 had been one of the regulars at Full Tilt Poker’s nosebleed tables. He was also one of the biggest losers, so things made perfect sense when a while ago he vanished from the online poker tables: everyone figured he’d run out of money.
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A few days ago though, he re-surfaced, bent on revenge and looking to get back some of the money he’d dropped. He hit the nosebleed stakes straight away, and straight out of the gates, he ran into Scott Palmer. The bottom line: things didn’t end well for Cadillac1944, as he dropped another $258k. He played at the $300/$600 PLO tables against Tom Dwan, LokoIsBack, Scott Palmer and Phil Galfond. The action was furious and several record-breaking pots developed. The biggest pot of the session, a $369k monster, proved to be the biggest pot of the entire month too. No fewer than 4 players tossed all their chips into the middle on the flop. Palmer was a 63% favorite when the money went in, having made a set of Qs on the flop. His advantage was preserved by the turn and the river, and he ended up scooping the monster pot. Cadillac1944 lost pretty big in this hand and so did Phil Galfond. Unlike Cadillac1944 though, Galfond managed to rebound a few hands later, grabbing a $300k pot of his own.

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Once again, there was a multi-handed all-in after the flop, with Galfond, Cadillac1944 and LokoIsback involved. Galfond had made top set on the flop and he even had a flush draw to back him up when he shoved all-in. Once again, the turn and the river failed to dethrone the favorite and Galfond managed to recover some of his losses. The biggest winner of the week was Scott Palmer, who generated a $500k+ profit. FinnishNightmare, Jared Bleznick and Patrik Antonius were also winners. The biggest loser was Gus Hansen, followed by David Oppenheim and cadillac1944.

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Gus Hansen and Phil Galfond high stake poker action 2011

Monday, April 4th, 2011 | Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Pro | No Comments

High stake poker action during the fourth week of March

The last few days have represented a rather busy period at the high stakes tables at Full Tilt Poker mostly. Gus Hansen took on Phil Galfond, looking to ride his hot streak, and Tom Dwan and Daniel Cates locked horns in yet another durrrr Challenge session, in which Cates managed to get the better of the New Jersey Wonderkid yet again. The Galfond/Hansen confrontation gave birth to several large pots, and both players took down their fair share of such monsters. They played at the $300/$600 PLO tables at Full Tilt Poker. The first monster pot that they played for was a $155k one, which ended up in Hansen’s possession. The hand started out with some pretty wild preflop action which laid the groundwork for the post-flop all-in. When the chips went into the middle, Hansen had an overpair of Ks and a straight draw. Galfond had a top pair of Qs. They ran the turn and the river cards twice. The first time, Hansen made a straight. The second time, none of the two hands improved, which meant that the Great Dane ended up scooping the entire pot.

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A few hands later, another 6-figure beauty developed. The chips hit the middle on the flop again, and Hansen yet again had an overpair (a pair of Aces this time). Galfond had a top pair of 10s and a flush draw. The first running of the turn and river cards gave Galfond a flush, and the second one a set to send the entire pot his way. Hansen also played against NoPasaran, landing a $114k pot after his top two pair got the better of NoPasaran’s inferior two pair both times the river card was run.

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The biggest winner of the last few days was Daniel Cates (with nearly $300k in profits). Seb86 and Rui Cao made the winners’ list too. The biggest loser was Tom Dwan (having dropped more than $500k) and Niki Jedlicka. Patrik Antonius and Ilari Sahamies made the losers’ list too.

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