Team Aced comprised of 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Jamie Gold, Ashley Nataupsky, and Houston Waldie, rejoiced heartily last weekend at the Dream Team Poker Tournament held at Caesars palace. Transforming themselves into the envy of the poker industry Team Aced was triumphant in claiming individual honors in the second running of the novel team-based format poker tournament the first for which the registration was allowed for everyone and not just  the invitees.

Entertaining a total of 148 three player teams the two day event at Caesars Palace showcased a total of 444 player’s altogether. The entry fee for this much awaited and grand event was $550 per player or $1650 for each team. The prize pool was places aside for individual players with the top 25 finishers cashing their cheques where as the rest of the featured amount was kept back for the top seven three player qualifying teams. The rules of the game were quite simple and unproblematic ,therefore when a player was eliminated his or her team were awarded the number of points matched the players finis for example, if  a player finished at 147th place his/her team would be awarded 147 points. A player was eliminated, his or her team received whatever number of points matched that player’s finish; for example, finishing 147th place netted one’s team 147 pts. Since Team Aced ended up with the lowest number of points they were awarded the first place team prize worth $59,940.

On Sunday the showdown began between the last two remaining teams, Team Aced had already secured the title obliged to the fact that there’s was the only team with two of its players still alive and kicking namely Gold and Nataupsky. Gold departed in ninth place whereas Nataupsky managed to cling on till the fourth place giving their teams a total winning score of 13 points.

Right behind Team Aced were the Claddaghs,the clones, party at the mansion and the Hellmuth Busters. Attracting a large number of renowned players the participants enjoyed the novel format of the tournament especially the chance to strongly root their fellow team mates after they had been eradicated.

Dream Team Poker CEO Daniel Delshad stated that the room was filled with a rush of adrenaline and heart pumping excitement as these tournaments are not  something you see everyday. He also hinted at the fact that it is quite likely that similar tournaments will be held at Caesars palace in the near future.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Pro Players, Poker Tournaments | No Comments » March 31st, 2009

With Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth offering entry into their team heading to the World Series of Poker now you can polish up your skills and join them by playing at ultimate bet who are currently celebrating their 10th anniversary. With the chance to battle some of the most valorous gladiators of the poker world the roman themed promotion offers a chance to grab a $10 million dollar bonus.

One of these exuberant promotions features a unique game called “From a dime to a $10 Million Dream” in which players get a chance to win a seat to the World Series of Poker. If you only have 10¢, you can easily manage to work your way up through Ultimate Bets Featured 10 steps to land yourself a $12,000 World Series of Poker Prize Package. In order to achieve that all that is required from the player is a first or second position at each level.

As an added incentive the first 10 players who achieve the highest standards from step one to step ten in this promotion will be awarded a $5,500 Aruba Poker Classic Main Event plus a whopping $3,000 for travel as well as accommodation. Duke recently state that their10¢ World Series of Poker Step participants who manage to qualify are considered as the beginning of a turn of exciting events that are destined to capture the eyes of players across the globe. The prizes don’t stop here as Ultimate Bet has gone overboard, presenting the players who register with Ultimate bet an opportunity of a life time, a $10 million sponsorship.

A player who is successful in winning the Main Event at Ultimate Bet.com will be offered a bonus worth a staggering $10 Million with a predetermined payout period of 10 years. The player will also be awarded the honor of being the newest Ultimate Bet Pro with a chance to play alongside Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke.

Also planning on hosting a World Series of Poker free roll for players Ultimate Bet starting from April25th to June 20th will be paying out a $12,500 prize package to the winner including a $2,500 cash prize from the prize pool. The first free roll is planned to be held on 25th April commencing at 3 p.m. ET.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Tournaments, WSOP | No Comments » March 30th, 2009

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, announces “ckingusc” as the winner of the Sunday Million. Only six months after winning the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), the online phenomenon took down the Sunday Million on March 22. Widely known as Carter King, “ckingusc” is a well-known figure in online poker.

For the WCOOP victory, ‘ckingusc’ beat out 2,185 of the worlds best to take down the title. For the Sunday Million, he outlasted a field of almost 8,000 players in the $215 buy-in weekly tournament to take the top prize.

With the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) only days away and players looking to hone their skills in preparation, the Sunday Million welcomed a total of 7,906 players to the virtual felt to compete for a prize pool that became $1,581,200, gently putting the $1.5 million guarantee to a quiet shame.

Victory in both the WCOOP and the Sunday Million has earned King a combined total of more than $1.4 million. Money aside, the achievement of winning two such major titles against massive fields of the world’s best poker players is what really sets King apart from the pack.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Tournaments, Press Releases | No Comments » March 29th, 2009

Considered to be quite a sensation among the ardent gamblers of the online world a player going by the name of ‘Boku87’ recently surfaced at PokerStars.com and swooped everyone off their feet by standing triumphant in one of the most astounding Proposition bets found in the chronicles of the online gambling arena. Transforming a stake of $100 into $10,000 by playing only sit and go games is not only considered to be lucky, but also quite phenomenal.

According to the pre-determined rules set forth by PokerStars.com ‘Boku87’ was informed that the only way to win the bet was to achieve the winning mark of $9,900 and the only take he was allowed was worth a $100. With only 15 days to accomplish this task Boku87 was permitted to play games offering a maximum buy-in of $16 not to mention he was advised to avoid confronting 90 and 180-player tables. Documenting the entire challenge by utilizing a webcam several players at this exuberant sit and go gaming tournament held by Poker Stars.com were witnessed to be engaged in a grueling battle against ‘Boku87’. With $40,000 at stake Boku87 received odds of 3/1 with the renowned online poker room PokerStars safeguarding the bets using an escrow account.

By the time the first day of the challenge at PokerStars com had concluded ,’Boku87’ had already played against a total of  50 individuals 18 and 45 player tables coinciding with a wagered bet of only one dollar to elevate the initial $100 stake to $422. Over the next few days Boku87 was seen to gradually increase his bankroll by slowly increasing his stake, initially starting with three dollars moving on to six and twelve with a mixture of 18 and 45 player games.

Suffering for two period where his bankroll fell below the $1000 mark Boku87 quickly recovered so that no player can cash on that opportunity. After a week his strategy changed and Boku87 decided to play at only 30 tables at once before attaining his ultimate target with a generous amount of time to gloat. Despite being victorious ‘Boku87’ announced that he had no future plans to repeat this act. However PokerStars.com did offer to carry on his legacy by announcing a $10,000 freeroll tournament for the disappointed players who lost when the ingenious players hit the required target.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News | No Comments » March 27th, 2009

Receiving good chips once again in the popular event of Sunday millions Carter ckingusc king proved this week that he is indeed the undefeated champion of online Poker events and winning these events was not something he achieved because of coincidence.
 
Defeating a 7,906 player field in the PokerStars Sunday Million Carter ckingusc happily picked up his six figure prize and thus putting all the players to shame. Showcasing an enormous battle field of players as usual but the troupes seemed to thin out quickly as they elbowed each other to elevate their chances of positioning themselves at the top of the leader board.

The Sunday Millions had announced that 1,170 players are going to be paid from the $1,581,200 prize pool. After the game King stated that he had come by a ton of chips early and after that the ride to the top was quite easy .He also states that he won a huge coin flip on the bubble holding nines versus A-K therefore securing himself the chip lead. King also considered this coin flip to be the defining moment in his game at the PokerStars.com Sunday Million.

When all the players were eliminated one by one only nine remained in the fighting arena with ckingusc sitting with 14,669,864 in chips placing him just behind bbs99 who had the chip lead with 16,753,871. When King was questioned regarding his experience at the game he commented that a player does tend to get nervous when the final table approaches but since he had a lot of chips before he entered the final table it didn’t really bother him if he was eliminated. When the play came down to a three-handed struggle King was witnessed to not even think about an idea of a chop therefore when the heads-up play commenced he was seen sitting with 48,778,949 in chips to *xen’s 30,281,051.

The two players were seen skirmishing back and forth with *xen acquiring the chip lead for quite some time but the King was not to be underestimated and when *xen pushed it all in preflop holding pocket nines he was taken by surprise when King displayed his pocket jacks. The board ruled in King’s favor revealing a flop of 2c, 7h, Ks, 8s, Jc.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Tournaments | No Comments » March 27th, 2009

Full Tilt Poker recently revealed that they are currently planning to showcase another amazing series of this grand event and are also currently parading a preview of what’s going to happen in this season.

On A FullTiltPoker.com representative recently stated that the FullTilt Online Poker Series XIII is expected to be scheduled from May 6th to May 17th and will be including 25 tournaments this time around. An added feature to this amazing and outstanding event is the inclusion of a Mini Full Tilt Online Poker Series that will showcase a buy-in about a tenth of those of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series Events. Plus the poker site will run a Mini FTOPS series as well with buy-ins about a tenth of those of the FTOPS events. Click here to Join!

Keeping most of the information confidential Full Tilt Poker still hasn’t stated a word about the guaranteed prize pool that will be offered this time, even the buy-ins were not revealed . The anticipation of which celebrity is going to be hosting this grand event is just driving the fans up the wall but it is considered to be highly likely that all this important information will be released once the schedule is confirmed on Wednesday.

The previous Full Tilt Online Poker series also featured 25 events and was elevated to a grand total of $15 Million in guaranteed prize pools. Among the guarantees there were two featured events broadcasted as well with a $1 million guarantee each, with the added showcasing of  two events with $1.5 million and  $2 million guaranteed event.. The main event of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series also flaunted a $2.5 million guaranteed prize pool.

The Full Tilt Online Poker Series is renowned for its adaptability traits and now its gaining popularity for coming back into the gambling arena with even better results than before so now the question that arises in everyone’s mind is what will the FullTiltPoker Online series offer this time around to make it a jaw-dropping experience? Broadcasting the same number of events as the last time the Full Tilt Online Series carries the potential of generating and even bigger guaranteed prize pool this time or maybe the Mini Full Tilt Online Poker Series will be sweeping in with its impressive offers and guarantees taking away the limelight from the grand event.

Click here to play now at the Full Tilt Online Poker Series XIII!

Posted by Diana Sterling in FTOPS, Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Tournaments | No Comments » March 25th, 2009

Event number 3 of the PokerNews.com Cup Alpine jump-started with an augmentation in players as compared to the statistics of Event number 2. A staggering number of 112 runner ups congregated the €110 entry fee to get their shot at the glorious PokerNews Cup title which also included some very tempting bounty hunts worth €250 on the heads of some very notorious players. At the conclusion of the evening in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, it was Jeroen Kersjes who was seen standing alone in the battle field grabbing tightly to his €3,264 prize. Kersjes showcased the unique valor inside him and outlasted a tough and grueling battle that included two of the three bounty players of which one was Event number 2 champ Mark Vos. Among the most notable of all stars were John Duthie, Luke O’Kelley and Liv Boeree.

Kollmann’s bounty went first when he was eliminated in the start of the event to Thomas Hammerj. After a brief bubble period Ralf Steiner was sent home packing in tenth place just missing the final table and the scrumptious prize. Mark Vos, winner of event number 2, was seen to be short-stacked at his second final table but nonetheless bravely moved all in with 9h, 6h. Kristain Svensson made the call and showed that he was holding a 9c, 7c, barely good enough to be ahead. Kristain had underestimated the power he held in his hand and when the flop showed 7h,ks,3d Kristain was more than just ecstatic though things looked a little dim for Vos after the flop. When the 2d hit the turn Vos heart began to sink and the 8c on the river meant that it was time to go home. Eliminated in sixth place Vos took with him €760 and Svensson picked up an extra €250 in bounty cash.

Gradually all the players were eliminated leaving the heads up play between two competitors who had taken enough time to absorb the measure of each others talents. Finally Kersjes used his tactics to put Svensson in the danger zone. After gaining momentum with a lucky double-up, Svensson tried to take advantage of the scenario and shoved from the button on the next hand holding a Jh and 2c. Kersjes made the call with Kc and 9h and flopped trips on the board of Ac, Kh, Ks, 6c, and 2s. After the last card ran out Kristain was awarded €1,960 for his great efforts and Jeroen Kersjes earned a very generous amount of €3,264.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Tournaments | No Comments » March 25th, 2009

Walking away with pride and honor Full Tilt Poker Pro Steve Brecher, originally known for his software innovations won the 2009 World Poker Tour Bay 101 shooting Star title in San Jose early Saturday Morning. Though he was floating on cloud nine Steve Brecher behavior regarding the draining out Kathy Liebert three handed to envelope a huge chip lead.

Moments after receiving the first prize that is worth more than $1 million and his first major title, Brecher stated that although it was a critical hand, he relinquishes thoughts of disdains the fact that he only sucked out after the money went in only that once during the entire tournament. He said sucking out is not something to be proud of but he is happy with the way it happened and is pleased to accept the result. While Liebert had become the pergola name by coming into her sixth World Poker Tour final table and an opportunity to become the first female winner in the seven season history of the tour, Brecher had second billing since the beginning.

Brecher being an expert Reno-based pro had big achievements a World Series of Poker, USPC and World Poker Tour Championship final table on his resume coming in, but lacked the big title until tonight. Feeling terrific about his first major tournament win Brecher said that it was something he has definitely been lusting after for a long time. 

Brecher had booked his final table seat with a massive cooler on the previous day that witnessed his pocket aces held up against his rival Farzad Bonyadi’s kings who is a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner. In a dead heat for the chip lead, he came into the final table with Bay Area resident Tony Behari. Things got rolling just after 4 p.m. Friday when short stacked locals Thao Le and Chau Vu cleared the way early before Behari’s naked bluff against Liebert’s full house didn’t work and he left the field giving away his share of the chip lead.

The battle was left to be fought between the remaining three players Brecher, Liebert and 2008 Wynn Classic champ Chris Moore. After Brecher had sucked out on Liebert by turning a straight holding ace queen and opposed by ace king, all-in pre flop, he managed to get rid of Chris Moore by making a flush against Chris’s distinct big slick and danced into heads-up with Liebert holding a 2.5-1 chip lead.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Pro Players, Poker Tournaments, WPT | No Comments » March 24th, 2009

With a throng of loyal fans gathered to support their favorite poker stars, the 2009 World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting star has narrowed down from a staggering number of 145 players to 36 in San Jose today. Michael Nguyen was witnessed to enter the field today with the chip lead followed by the recurrent finalist David Pham and Internet phenomenon’s Isaac Baron and Vivek Rajkumar right behind him. But the day didn’t prove to be as fortunate for them and the entire group was seen leaving the conflict one after the other. Renowned stars like Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren and Jonathan Little also hit the rail as they moved past the 45-person money bubble.

Astonishingly certain players who were swiftly gathering attention from several professional poker players are relatively unknown such as Michael Kamran who finished second with Hevad Khan, the Team Poker Stars Pro at the 2008 Caesars Palace Classic, appeared as the new chip leader by the end of the day. Kamran is confident that the experience at the Caesars has completely prepared him for earning his way to the World Poker Tour finals tomorrow. He said that the Caesars field was similar to this one and he is now geared up to flaunt to everyone in the event, his unique style of gambling and do his post flop damages against his experienced rivals.

The play moving to six handed in the final 36 at Bay 101 is one of the most unique and exquisite structures at the World Poker Tour and Michael Kamran has said that he’s ready for it. Having played a few six hundred tournaments before including the one last month at Commerce where he managed to earn the seventh place, Kamran says he realizes that the level of aggression is a lot higher here but he can handle the pressure.

Famous names like Hoyt Corkins, Joe Sebok, Amnon Filippi and Kathy Liebert remain in the battle for the Bay 101 crown not to forget that the 2008 Wynn Classic champ Chris Moore is right behind Kamran. The 25-year-old Los Angeles resident however seems to be confident and ready for whatever he may have to face tomorrow. Hoping for it all to go well so that he could make the final table, he steadily said that he is here only to win.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Pro Players, Poker Tournaments, WPT | No Comments » March 23rd, 2009

After three grueling months the final table for the PokerStars.com Latin American Poker Tour Mexico finally concluded presenting Rory Cox with the title who outlasted Helen Pager in this game of skill and chance. When the idea for the Latin American Poker Tour had been Publicly announced a flurry of participants had flooded the registration panels whit head count reaching up to 242 players which were cut down to only 89 when the local officials brought the $2,500 Main event to a complete standstill. At that moment prizes were determined and awarded according to the players current stack but when the play was stopped PokerStars had to conduct an online freeroll to play down to nine players.

The original blue prints of the tournament suggested that the play was going to be conducted at the Latin American Poker Tour Chile stop in January. However the officials at the LAPT had to take certain things under consideration and the final table was then rescheduled to take place before this week’s Latin American Poker Tour Uruguay stop. Adding a generous incentive of $50,000 to the prize pool PokerStars found it necessary for binging up the hopes of their final nine contestants. When the final table initiated Tuesday afternoon Cox held the lead flaunting his 1,074,464 chips while the rest of the players had a little under 1.3 million combined.

All the nine players lasted in the tournament for less than an with Ramadin collecting only a $1000 in ninth, Alex Brenes of Costa Rica, Humberto’s brother was the next in line to be asked to leave. With the short stacks quickly eliminated Cox seen admiring his chip lead which had swiftly increased to 1.3 million dollars.

Before long Leonardo Emperador of Venezuela tried his luck shoving all of his 150,000 chips into the game holding a Ks and an 8c to which Cox quickly called holding pocket queens. The board turned out to be quite cruel to Leonardo showing no Kings and Emperador was out in fourth taking with him the consolation prize worth $5000.

When the heads-up play began Cox held a 5-1 chip advantage over Prager but Prager doubled up twice in short order giving Cox something to worry about. After the dinner break concluded Cox regained his chip lead from Prager and on the final hand Cox raised from the small blind to 72,000. Prager saw this move and moved all in with her stack of nearly a million, Cox called showing Ac, 10c ahead of Prager’s Kh,7d. The board came out in Cox’s favor showing Ac, Jh, 8c, 5s, Js. Cox gained the title and an extra prize worth $15,000. Prager picked up $11,000 for her second-place finish.

Posted by Diana Sterling in LAPT, Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Pro Players, Poker Tournaments | No Comments » March 23rd, 2009