Team PokerStars Pro announced today that it has signed to its stable two rock stars of the modern poker world. In one fell swoop, Team PokerStars Pro pulled in longtime tournament veteran Marcel Luske and prolific young gun Jason Mercier. Known around the world as 'The Flying Dutchman,' Luske...more
Anyone who's been following the World Series updates on the PokerStars blog will have noticed the build up in tension as June turns to July. For those new to poker you're about to feel its full force for the first time. There's nothing like it. While World Championship events...more
Brad Willis reports from the World Series... It was not to be, apparently, for Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown. Seeking his first-ever WSOP bracelet to mix with his more than $2.3 million in lifetime tournament winnings, Brown came into day 3 of the $1,500 Stud-8 event with the chip...more
More from the Amazon Room at the World Series... Daniel Negreanu may be a lot of things, but a tragic figure he is not. Shakespeare would have a field day in building full of tragic tales. They may not end with star-crossed lovers offing themselves or a crazed prince...more
Brad Willis reports on Event 53 at the World Series... The rail at the $1,500 is the thicker than you'd expect for a limit, split pot Stud game. Normally at a rail for that kind of event, you'd have two people watching and one of them would only be...more
Brad Willis reports on the latest from Event 49 at the World Series... Bill Chen needed a miracle. He needed a rush of cards. He needed something other than a chop. The man needed some cards and he didn't get them. Only a few players off the money, Chen...more
Brad Willis, working the rock face in the Amazon room, reports on the HORSE event at the end of the first day... It's hard to fully define what Day 1 of the $50,000 HORSE means. It takes an incredible amount of Run Bad or some equally terrible play to...more
Brad Willis reports on the first day of the HORSE... After an initial slow start during which time we couldn't tell exactly who was playing the $50,000 HORSE World Championship and who was not, we now have a clearer picture of the event. When registration closed this afternoon, 95...more
The rematch. Last November, Peter Eastgate defeated Ivan Demidov heads up to become the youngest World Series of Poker Main Event champion ever. Demidov claimed his own piece of poker history, becoming the first player to ever make the final tables of both the WSOP and the WSOP-Europe, and he...more
JC Alvarado has narrowly missed out on winning a WSOP bracelet like his fellow Team PokerStars Mexico Pro Angel Guillen. Alvarado made it to the last five in the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold'em, but despite a temporary comeback from the jaws of defeat, he fell in a huge coin...more
We started with 14 and now we're down to just nine in the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold'em. Among them is Team PokerStars Mexico Pro JC Alvarado, who survived a few early escapades to take a place at his first WSOP final. While still at two tables, Alvarado nursed a...more
Simon Young reports on events towards the end of another day at the World Series... After being all-in for her last 30,000 or so not too long ago, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso has gone on a monumental tear-up around her $10,000 Pot Limit Hold'em table - and shot...more
Ali vs. Frazier. Balboa vs. Creed. Eastgate vs. Demidov. This latter fixture may not be the most famous rematch of all time, but in terms of entertainment it's right up there. How it ended the first time is now part of World Series legend. In November 2008, Peter Eastgate...more
Our man at the World Series, Simon Young, reports on the latest... We've seen many a player at this WSOP juggling two tournaments at once - playing one, then nipping over to the other during a break to try and keep their stack alive. Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu...more
"Think big", is a good enough mantra for anyone starting something new; unsure how things will turn out but wanting to try it anyway, making as big an impact as possible. That might not necessarily be the starting point for any PokerStars venture, but it often seems to be...more
Simon Young reports from the World Series on the latest Team PokerStars Pro to make a final table... The pay day will come as little compensation to Barry Greenstein. After three days juggling the extreme swings this game brings, he arrived at the final table of the WSOP $10,000...more
We've all been there - you're involved in a key hand playing on PokerStars and someone tries to interrupt just at the wrong time. You get a little grumpy, right? That's exactly what happened to Joe Hachem during his time as a motel operator and some guests arrived to...more
Team PokerStars Pro Steve Paul-Ambrose details a mathematical approach to a hand played during the World Series... The hand: Day two of the WSOP $1,500 NL and there are 270 left. We're in the money, average is around 45,000 and I have 11,100 after losing a flip on the...more
By Tom McEvoy The World Series of Poker at the Rio in Las Vegas decided to celebrate the 40th year of the WSOP with a special tournament. The 25 living main event champions were all invited to compete for the title of 'Champion of Champions', with the winner receiving...more
The latest news from the Amazon Room... It seemed like just another day at the WSOP. Four tournaments were winding their way towards conclusion, generating the usual large crowds of railbirds and the just plain curious. But while four bracelets were on the line, focus was beginning to centre...more
Nearly every country has its own revolutionary hero. Anymore, nearly every country has its own poker revolutionary, someone who has changed the face of the game so dramatically that the country's players will never forget him. Angel Guillen may just be that man in Mexico. Late last night, after...more
Angel Guillen will remember this day for the rest of his life. The Team PokerStars Mexico player had already enjoyed a dream start to his live poker career, which began only at the New Year, and now he has topped it by winning a WSOP bracelet. The 26-year-old Mexican...more
A big day results wise for Team PokerStars Pro as Simon Young reports from the Amazon Room... He came agonisingly close to a WSOP bracelet, but Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown has just busted in third place in the $10,000 Limit event. He collects $188,855 for his three days...more
After a long day in the saddle Simon Young reports on the last match of the heads up championship... What a day: eight hours of gruelling, energy-sapping heads-up play to determine who would take the coveted WSOP bracelet for topping the $10,000 World Heads-up Championship. If those of us...more
John Duthie is the creator of the European Poker tour and throughout the year is often seen patrolling EPT tournament areas itching to pull up a chair himself. Free from any restriction in Las Vegas he's digging in to the World Series heads-up event, as Simon Young reports... If...more
For the first time ever, Queensland, Australia will play host to a major poker tournament. The first season of the PokerStars.net Australia and New Zealand Poker Tour has been running for the past several months and the action will come to a head in less than two months time....more
By Brad Willis The European Poker Tour is rarely without a surprise or two. From one year to the next, the new schedule almost always contains some sort of happy revelation. This year, the entire schedule is a surprise, and it's spectacular by just about any definition. We have...more
So close yet so far for Team PokerStars Pro Alex Kravchenko. Having tasted the sweetness of bagging a WSOP bracelet two years ago, he was back today hungry for more. But he fell short on the final table of the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low 8 or Better, busting...more
Chad Brown has built a reputation as a prolific tournament earner, and that's no great surprise as he has more than $2 million under his belt already. What also impresses, however, is his ability to make serious money in all poker disciplines. Over the years, the Team PokerStars Pro,...more
Simon Young with more news from the front lines of the World Series... Brazilian motor racing team boss Gualter Salles had been in overdrive for the last two days, roaring up the leaderboard in the $1,500 no limit hold'em event. But unfortunately he's just done the poker equivalent of...more
We on the PokerStars Blog are big supporters of Kara Scott. We work alongside her on the PokerStars EPT circuit, where she presents the television shows, and so are always pleased to see her do well when she's playing at the tables herself. Of late, that is happening more...more
As we reported earlier on the PokerStars.net blog, the World Series is well and truly underway in Las Vegas. Already Team PokerStars Pros have reaped rewards. Greg Raymer finished third in the $40,000 no limit hold'em; Angel Guillen came close to his first bracelet and Daniel Negreanu cannot miss,...more
Former World Champion of Poker and Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer writes about moving from online poker to the live game ahead of the main event next month... Many of our PokerStars players coming over to Las Vegas for the WSOP will be playing live tournaments for the first...more
The latest from the HORSE event, from Simon Young... While we're not really sure if Ylon Schwartz likes riding horses, we feel confident enough to suggest that he doesn't. Instead, poker and chess are the passions in which he has enjoyed considerable success. Before finishing fourth behind fellow Team...more
Simon Young reports from the Amazon Room on the frustrations of Daniel Negreanu... Daniel Negreanu must be wondering when he'll ever get hold of his fifth WSOP bracelet. Despite riding high from a breathtaking start to this World Series, he's now missed out on a title by a whisker...more
It's all guns blazing in the desert of Las Vegas but there's business to be done in Italy beforehand... Stefano Puccilli, a 37-year old banker, has become the first PokerStars Italian Poker Tour (IPT) champion after fighting passed more than 250 players to win the inaugural event in San...more
The results just keep on coming, as Simon Young reports... Daniel Negreanu has said he "loves" limit hold'em, and no wonder considering two of his four WSOP bracelets have come in limit tournaments. Today, he was within a whisker of make that three out of five. Despite holding the...more
Our man in the Amazon Room Simon Young, reports on the latest from the World Series... Six months ago Angel Guillen played in his first ever live tournament and cashed. He went much better at the PokerStars LAPT Punta del Este tournament by finishing first - and tonight he...more
Simon Young, on the front lines of the World Series in Las Vegas, reports on today's action... If you have never been to the Rio in Las Vegas for the WSOP, you could be forgiven for thinking there is a straightforward tournament each day. In fact, multiple events are...more
The World series is all well and good, and may rightly dominate the poker spotlight right now. But if you're Italian the place to be is San Remo, and the start of the brand new PokerStars Italian Poker Tour which has kicked off across the Atlantic. The first stop...more
Simon Young continues with the PokerStars coverage from this year's World Series with news of more success for Team PokerStars Pro... Perhaps it was just never meant to be Hevad Khan's day. Down to two tables in the $2,500 pot-limit hold'em/Omaha event he was held up on his way...more
Another day done in the desert, as Simon Young reports... From the 453 who set out on the rocky road to the $2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha bracelet, just two tables remain. Of those 18, Team PokerStars Pro Hevad Khan is still at his seat. The larger-than-life Khan started the...more
A day full of action, success and more success for PokerStars players at the World Series, as Simon Young reports... He may come from the US, but Jason Mercier is a well known heavyweight on the EPT circuit. A PokerStars player, he found himself winning the first EPT San...more
Simon Young reports from Las Vegas... He already has four WSOP bracelets to his name, but now Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu is homing in on number five after reaching the final 11 players of the $10,000 World Championship 7-card Stud. They say the greatest poker players are those...more
Simon Young reports from the front line in the Amazon Room... It may be 26 years since he won the WSOP Main Event, and the hair has grown grey (on head and beard), but Tom McEvoy today showed he has lost none of his shrewd poker ability. What makes...more
Simon Young reports from the Amazon Room front line... PokerStars is home to the world champions. So when the WSOP introduced a Champions Invitational to this year's Las Vegas schedule, it was always going to be rammed with members of our team. Fighting for bragging rights, a shiny 1970...more
The second event on this year's World Series schedule turned out to be a good one for PokerStars. First Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso cashed in 27th place for $71,050. Then, as players were whittled away PokerStars player Isaac Haxton, Team PokerStars Holland Pro Lex Veldhuis and former World...more
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