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Upcoming poker weekend

Mark — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:24:48 +0000

I’m sitting here – bored as hell – playing the PokerStars daily 50k$ guaranteed tournament and suddenly realized that it’s been ages since I wrote a post on my blog. Since I’m not getting any playable cards what so ever, I thought I might as well fill in whoever reads this blog what I’ve been up to lately.

The main take home message is that I’m busy. About 2-3 months ago I enrolled in an MBA program to get one step closer to a big-money job as director of some insanely – GOD DAMN IT just busted out with AJ vs KQ, Jokerstars kicks me in the balls again - rich company. In addition, I started up a new website project, which will hopefully be launched within the next couple of months; it’s going to be awesome!!!!

Anyway back to poker. This weekend my poker buddy Arturo will be visiting me in Copenhagen. We will be kicking ass on PokerStars. You have hereby been warne

Why do you play poker?

Mark — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:35:20 +0000

Despite being in a rotten tournament slump these days with no cashes in ages and underdogs constantly busting me out, I still somehow enjoy the game. Why else would I keep playing through frustration after frustration with a bank account that would be better off if I didn’t play at all? Maybe it’s simply a bad habit when I’m bored or maybe it’s more of a love/hate relationship…..fact is I keep playing. Why do you play poker?

Frustration at the tables this weekend

Mark — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 21:41:32 +0000

Arghhhhh haven’t had any success what so ever this weekend. Lost 5-10 key hands in tourneys where I was ahead by 65% or better. Haven’t hit my draws while opponents have hit their draw all the time – when I hit top pair, they hit straight or flush; when I hit straight, they hit flush. Sometimes poker is such a joke….it’s been for ages since I’ve had a decent tourney cash. SIGH!!!!!

2011 WSOP – Ladies $1k Championship Event in the Books

Mark — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:52:11 +0000

The $1k Ladies event reached its conclusion on Day 34 of the 2011 WSOP. 14 players returned to the tables on Day 3 of the event. The field included a male player too, who was among those who once again infiltrated the ladies’ event with hopes of easy pickings. Jonathan Epstein was the male player, who then proceeded to make the final table, thus becoming the first ever male to make the final table of a ladies’ WSOP event. Karina Jett, who used to play on PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, was the only pro left in the field by the time the final table was reached. The chip leader was Carol Tomlinson, who managed to amass a stack of 851k chips.

Epstein’s time in the lime-light was over almost as soon as the final table action kicked off: he was the first victim of the last stage of the action. Marsha Wolak was the one who earned massive cheers from the rail by bouncing Epstein. Epstein got it all-in on a Ad, Qd and earned a massive number of outs on the board against Wolak’s pocket 10s. Wolak managed to dodge all those outs though, and the ladies’ event was finally free of unwanted intruders.

Marsha Wolak had begun the final table as one of the short-stacks, but she managed to chip up repeatedly and she made the 3-handed stage of the event. Then she bounced Carol Tomlinson in 3rd to set up the heads-up stage of the action. Wolak had a pretty sizeable lead at the beginning of the home stretch and that lead would be translated into victory on the very first hand of heads-up play. Both players got their stacks into the middle, on a flop of Qd,Jd,8c. Wolak had Q,9 for the top pair and Jett had a K,10 for the open ended straight draw. The turn and the river bricked out and a new Ladies’ Champion was crowned. Wolak picked up $192k for her efforts.

Check out pokerforum.net for the community buzz on the latest WSOP antics.

WSOP day 9 – two bracelets awarded

Mark — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 07:57:28 +0000

Day 9 of the 2011 WSOP yielded no fewer than two happy bracelet winners. Event #8, the $1k NL Holdem event (the first one of its kind at this year’s Series) has finally wrapped up, leaving Sean Getzwiller clutching the gold bracelet and the winner’s share of the prize-pool. The other winner was Geffrey Klein, who beat the odds during the heads-up stage of the $1,500 NL Holdem 6-max event to secure his own place in poker history and his own piece of WSOP gold.

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Only 3 players returned to action on the final day of the $1k NL Holdem event. Sadan Turker had the largest stack at the beginning of the day. The other two candidates for the title were Getzwiller and Jon Turner, who found himself relegated to short-stack status after having led by a wide margin at one point in the tournament. Under pressure to perform, Turner shoved all-in on the first reasonable pocket hand he picked up. His pocket 8s got called by Turker’s Q,4 and the classic coin-flip was on. Turner managed to dodge his opponent’s outs on the flop, but the Q which fell on the river bounced him, setting up the heads-up action. Turker and Getzwiller then battled for 6 hours before the latter emerged with the win, his pocket 5s beating his opponent’s A,9o in the final hand of the tournament.

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15 players returned to action on the final day of the $1,500 NL Holdem 6-max event. David Vamplew had the lead going into the day, but Jeffrey Papola had a healthy stack as well. On the hunt for his second 6-max WSOP bracelet, Papola made the final 3 indeed, but there his journey came to an end, when Eddie Blumenthal’s nut flush filled up on the river against his top pair. Blumenthal went into the heads-up stage with a monster lead over Klein, but hugely favored by Lady Luck, Klein rebounded and eventually got his hands on the bracelet after his A,K spiked a K on the turn of the final hand against Blumenthal’s pocket 7s.

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Poker Stars tournaments – Sunday recap

Mark — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:44:54 +0000

Here’s a recap of the Poker Stars tournaments this weekend

Last weekend was the first one of the 2011 WSOP. While most of the heavy hitters were in Las Vegas, that didn’t mean the weekend online guarantees would not see their fair share of “name” competitors. Several factors combined into a perfect storm of an online poker weekend: the added interest generated by the WSOP and the fact that PokerStars major events kicked off a tad earlier, brought player numbers to pre-Black Friday levels. The results were equally impressive: no fewer than 7 players pocketed 6-figure prizes.

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The Sunday Million reclaimed its top weekend event status by yet again becoming responsible for the largest single haul of the weekend. Player “Diogene” was the one who walked away with the hefty $284k prize. The 10,237 players who registered for the event, combined buy-ins for a prize-pool of $2,047,400. No deals were made at the top, which allowed the eventual winner to optimally milk the tournament. Diogene bested Azazel1980 heads-up. The second place man did pretty well though too: he pocketed $204,740 for his efforts. Royalize, who finished 3rd walked away with $143k. The last 6-figure winner in the event was 4th place man Igor Kurganov, who took home $102k.

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The Sunday Warm-up saw more than 5k entrants too, its prize-pool shooting past the $1 million mark. Kojocki and eamsie finished 1st and 2nd respectively, after they struck a deal. Kojocki finished with $155k, while the second place man had to settle for $141k. There were no other 6-figure winners in this event. Over at Full Tilt Poker, the 750k guarantee managed to cover its target too, albeit by just a few tens of thousands of buckskins. The winner of this event, el_klonkador, pocketed $124k, becoming the only one to walk away with 6 figures from the event. Gavin Ball finished 2nd, rewarded with an $87k prize for his time.

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2011 WSOP event 55: The Poker Player’s Championship

Mark — Sun, 01 May 2011 15:25:28 +0000

This article is number 11 in a series covering the most important tournaments in the 2011 WSOP.

Jul 2 Event #55: The Poker Player’s Championship $50,000 buyin

Poker has become a sought-after game for most of casino goers. You may have only heard of No Limit Texas Hold’em poker game as it is the most popular and common poker variation played on prestigious poker tournaments like WSOP. But poker comes in a variety of styles and sizes making it a game of skills and talent. Over time, it has revolutionized into different poker variations. Besides, WSOP is not just all about events of different poker variations; it also organizes events that are a combination of up to eight poker variation called The Poker Player’s Championship. Find out how this came to be.

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In response to the higher buy-in poker event requested by professional poker players, WSOP established H.O.R.S.E $50,000 poker event in 2006, of which the winner will be called the True World Champion of Poker. Following the end of the 2009 season, the organizing officials of WSOP decided to amend the game format making it an 8-game poker event presently called The Poker Player’s Championship. This new event was introduced in 2010 WSOP season and was considered as the most difficult field in the tournament featuring 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Low 8 or Better, Razz, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud 8 or Better, No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. The final match will be played with No Limit Hold’em. Let us take a look on the turnout of this new event last year.

Previous Season

The 2010 WSOP marked the entry of the $50,000 buy-in for The Poker Player’s Championship which was participated in by 116 professional poker players all over the globe. It was scheduled as event #2 wherein Michael David Mizrachi, 30 years old then, took home the shimmering WSOP golden bracelet and $1,559,046 prize money. In 2010 WSOP alone, Michael Mizrachi also finished 5th on the main event. Remarkably, his younger brother Robert Mizrachi, who had also won several WPT and WSOP championship bracelets, also finished 5th in the new event. Other finalists that were beaten by Michael Mizrachi included Vladimir Shchemelev, David Oppenheim, John Juanda, his brother Robert, David Baker, Daniel Alaei and Michael Thuritz.

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Upcoming Season

In the 2011 WSOP season, The Poker Player’s Championship will surely be another tough fight among the best poker players which is scheduled as event #55 on Saturday, July 2nd at 5:00pm at the majestic Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mark your calendar and never miss as The Poker Player’s Championship makes history once again.

Full list of events covered by this series:

2011 WSOP event 58: Main Event No-Limit Hold’em Championship

Mark — Sun, 01 May 2011 15:19:43 +0000

This article is number 12 in a series covering the most important tournaments in the 2011 WSOP.

Jul 7 Event #58: Main Event No-Limit Hold’em Championship $10,000 buyin
If you are new to poker, you may have only known the most easy and simple poker variation, the No-Limit Hold’em. After all, you may be surprised to know that there are over 50 poker variations out there. That only shows that poker has come a long way since its humble beginnings of just a game of card played within the family. Besides, the internet has greatly contributed to the popularity of poker games most especially upon the availability of free online poker games and tutorials. But even if poker comes in different varieties, the finale of any prestigious poker tournament, like WSOP, is still the Main Event No-Limit Hold’em Championship.

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No-limit Hold’em is considered as a very entertaining poker variation which could be played by up to ten individuals. Because of its simple rules and fast-paced game, it has become a well-liked poker game. No-limit hold’em is played in four rounds of betting wherein every player is traded with two faced down hole cards and the rest of the players will be sharing with the five faced up
community cards. The player who got the highest five-card poker hand will win the pot. Moreover, it is called no-limit primarily because there is no preset amount for you to bet, meaning you can bet how much you want and can even opt for all-in where you are gambling your whole stack of tournament chips. Now, let us consider about the success of last year’s WSOP Main Event No-Limit Hold’em Championship.

Previous Season

The previous season of Main Event No-Limit Hold’em Championship is a huge success in which 7,319 came out to play with $10,000 buy-in. It was Jonathan Duhamel, 23 year-old then, grabbed the most prestigious distinction of the event #57 who took home the prize money amounting to $8,944,310 in addition to the globally-recognized golden bracelet of WSOP. The Canadian poker player was followed by John Racener, Joseph Cheong, Filippo Candio, Michael Mizrachi, John Dolan, Jason Senti, Matthew Jarvis and Soi Nguyen.

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Upcoming 2011 WSOP Season

The upcoming 42nd Season of WSOP is scheduled to run from May 31, 2011 to July 19, 2011 at the luxurious Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in the prosperous gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada. It is scheduled as event # 58 which will start on Thursday, July 7th at 12:00 pm. Surely, this coming season will be another record-breaking event throughout the history of WSOP. So, don’t be left behind. Take part as the 42nd WSOP ends with the Main Event No-Limit Hold’em Championship.

Full list of events covered by this series:

2011 WSOP event 46: No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed Championship

Mark — Sun, 01 May 2011 15:15:34 +0000

This article is number 10 in a series covering the most important tournaments in the 2011 WSOP.

Jun 27 Event #46: No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed Championship $10,000 buyin

Millions of people across the world are fascinated and even addicted to poker games. Since its early beginning as a simple family game of card, it eventually turned out to be one of the prestigious casino games done annually. Besides, with the advent of modern technology and internet, you need not go to the casino just to enjoy poker games. This is because poker games can now be played online and some all for free. Not surprising why many are enticed to try even one of the poker variations. Yes! You heard it right, poker has lots of variations and one of it is played on WSOP, the No-Limit Hold’em/Six Handed Championship.

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The no-limit hold’em six handed poker game is commonly referred to as shorthanded poker which is steadily increasing in popularity, and is usually played by not exceeding six players on the table. This is a fast-paced poker game which quickly exposes the weaknesses of your opponents but your opponents may as well grasp your style and exploit it to get an edge over you. For you to excel in this game, you need to be aggressive because there’s more betting as well as raising with the weaker poker hands. Besides, be observant to the playing style of your opponents because the game takes turns quickly and every player takes advantage of every position possible. Lastly, you must initiate bluffing more frequently. You can get more chips in short table with bluffing. Now, it’s time to review the past winners of WSOP No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed Championship.

Previous Season

Last year, the No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed Championship was scheduled as event#52 with $25,000 buy-in in which 191 poker players turned out to play the game. Of the 191 players, Daniel J. Kelly took home the 1st prize amounting to $1,315,518 plus the prestigious specially designed WSOP golden bracelet. This was a remarkable year for Kelly, a native from Fairfax, Virginia currently living in Potomac, Maryland, because this was his first WSOP bracelet. Kelly vanquished other top poker players including Shawn Buchanan, Frank Kassela, Jason Somerville, Mikael Thuritz and Eugene Katchalov.

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Upcoming 2011 WSOP Season

The 42nd Season of World Series of Poker will run starting from May 31st until July 19th at the luxurious Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in the ever dynamic city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Unlike last year, the buy-in for this year’s No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed Championship is $10,000 which will start on Monday, June 27th at 12:00pm and players will start with the 30,000
tournament chips. Mark your calendar and head to the gambling capital of the world to witness the upcoming WSOP No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed Championship.

Full list of events covered by this series:

2011 WSOP event 42: Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

Mark — Sun, 01 May 2011 13:26:04 +0000

This article is number 9 in a series covering the most important tournaments in the 2011 WSOP.

Jun 24 Event #42: Pot-Limit Omaha Championship $10,000 buyin

If you’re a poker enthusiast, then, you certainly follow everything that has something to do with the game. The best way to enhance your skills and abilities to play poker is observing how experts play their game. The biggest event for poker enthusiasts is the Word Series of Poker which is a show of skills and abilities of professional poker players all over the world. Besides, take note that poker isn’t just all about No Limit Texas Hold’em which is the main event of all poker tournaments. There are plenty of poker variations; and WSOP schedules various events for different poker variations like the Pot-Limit Omaha Championship. What is this game variation all about and how is it played? Let’s find out.

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Pot-limit Omaha is a thrilling poker game variation which had its concept from Texas Hold’em. Under Omaha game, the players are traded with four faced down hole cards contrary to the two faced down hole cards in Texas Hold’em. However, the players will share with the five faced up community cards. In pot-limit Omaha, players are allowed to bet equivalent to the pot amount and whoever got the highest poker hand wins the game. Pot-limit Omaha poker game has been increasing in popularity because it encourages more action, thus, causing players to bet more. If you want to learn other poker game variation, then, pot-limit Omaha is worth the try and you will certainly love it. Let’s consider who made it to the top during the past WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.

Previous Season

Last year’s WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha Championship was scheduled as event #55 with $10,000
buy-in. It was an overwhelming success with 346 turned out to play the game. Daniel Christopher Alaei, a native from California with Assyrian-Iranian origin, took home the highly enviable WSOP gold bracelet and $780,599 total cash prize. He defeated other finalists which included Miguel Proulx, Ville Mattila, Ludovic Lacay, Trevor Uyesugi, Stephen Pierson, Dmitry Stelmak, Alexander Kravchenko and Matthew Wheat.

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Upcoming 2011 WSOP Season

The 42nd WSOP Season of 2011 will kick off from May 31, 2011 to July 19, 2011 at the ever famous Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada. The Pot-Limit Omaha Championship is scheduled as event #42 which will be happening on a Friday, June 24, 2011 at 5:00pm. This will surely be another action-packed event you must not dare miss as professional poker players from different parts of the globe are fighting to get the huge cash prize and the prestigious WSOP bracelet. So, if you want to enhance and practice your poker skills; you shouldn’t miss the action at the upcoming 2011 WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha Championship poker tournament.

Full list of events covered by this series: