Perception is a tricky thing. For instance, I can look in a mirror and--one in ten times--think, "Hey, there is a good looking guy." The actual statistics prove the number is much, much closer to zero in ten. Play poker for any length of time and you'll come to recognize...more
So, here's the deal. I'm going to give you some cash. You can go play poker. Lose whatever you like. If you win more than I gave you, give me back what I gave you and keep the gravy (gravy rules). Doesn't sound like a bad deal for you, and...more
Like us, you've likely been looking forward to watching The PokerStars.net Big Game. Star name players like Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson and Tony G, and one PokerStars Loose Cannon battling it out in a high stakes cash game was bound to make for good TV, and that's exactly what happened....more
After three successful events already this season, the North American Poker Tour has added another stop: we're heading to Los Angeles! The famous Bicycle Casino will host the event, scheduled for November 12-17. That leaves plenty of time for you to make plans and try to win your seat for...more
10.45pm: Jason Gray wins ANZPT Canberra, John Maklouf eliminated in second place And just like that, it's all over - after some fine post-flop play, the deciding hand was a pre-flop clash of Jason Gray's 4♠ 4♣ against the A♠ 3♦ of John Maklouf. Gray shoved all-in after Maklouf...more
7.10pm: Anyone's title John Maklouf has taken off the gloves and become the aggressor as the difference in the three stacks narrows. Jason Gray made it 73,000 before the flop, Maklouf called and the flop fell 4♦ 7♠ 7♥. Gray bet 75,000, Maklouf called and the turn came T♣....more
3.45pm: Andrew Scarf eliminated in fifth place, $19,005 Michael Chon now holds more than two-thirds of the chips in play after dispatching Andrew Scarf to the rail. It was Scarf's A♠ 5♣ against the Q♦ Q♠ of Chon, with the board T♥ 3♦ T♣ 9♣ 4♣ bringing no favours...more
The 2010 PokerStars.net ANZPT Canberra Main Event final table has been decided. The nine players are chasing a first prize of AUD $95,930 and the title of the first ANZPT Canberra champion. Play will continue at level 19 (5000/10,000 with an ante of 1000). Each of the players sought...more
Thankfully we have a great day of poker ahead at Casino Canberra, because the country is feeling a bit glum this morning after Germany gave Australia a football lesson in this morning's World Cup game in Durban, South Africa. The hardier souls kicked on through the night for the...more
It's shaping as one of the most exciting final tables in the tour's short history after a gripping day two in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Canberra Main Event. After nine one-hour levels, the field of 90 had been slashed to just 15 - the bulk of those eliminated in the...more
10.50pm: Gray's queens dethrone Bower We're ticking down to the end of day two, with 15 players aiming for one of nine spots at tomorrow's PokerStars.net ANZPT Canberra Main Event final table. Brad Bower won't be joining them after missing a straight draw with his 3-4 on a board...more
6.30pm: Table for 29 Ticking down to the end of the sixth level of the day and the dinner break, the ANZPT Canberra field has been reduced to 29 after the departure of Andrew Cabot (31st) and PokerStars Qualifier Leo Spanos in successive hands. ANZPT Queenstown champion Scott Kerr...more
3.30pm: Halfway there There are 44 players in the hunt for a slice of the $362,000 prizepool, just 23 spots short of the money. More than half of the 90 players who took their seats at the start of day two have been eliminated. The chip average is more...more
Global travel is often reduced to a series of clichés and stereotypes, and Canberra hasn't escaped unscathed. Forget that the city is Australia's national seat of government, or its unique position as one of the world's few entirely planned cities. Ask any sunburned Scandi backpacker about Canberra and the...more
Canberra's return to the national poker scene has been confirmed with a highly impressive field of 181 players entering the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Canberra Main Event. They've created a prizepool of $362,000 with the winner assured $95,930. The tournament area at Casino Canberra was packed to near capacity today...more
Table draw and seating allocation for day 2 of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Canberra Main Event at Casino Canberra, ACT Table 1 Seat 1: Antony Kanaan (Australia) 36200 Seat 2: Michael Matthews (Australia) 24600 Seat 3: Chris Kittos (Australia) 30000 Seat 4: Bruce Hall (Australia) 17400 Seat 5: Selina Bodel...more
8.30pm: And the lucky winner is ... ANZPT commissioner Danny McDonagh has declared five hands to play on day 1B of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Canberra Main Event. It's looks as if we'll have around 90 players in action tomorrow. 8.10pm: Mike check There's action aplenty on the Casino Canberra...more
6.10pm: Lackovic left four-lorn Nik Lackovic has joined brother Aleks on the rail after losing a massive pot to Sam Rotar. The money went in on the turn, with Lackovic showing A-K for top pair but Rotar had flopped a set of fours. The PokerStars Qualifier now holds an...more
3pm: Rotar flying high Each time we walk past Sam Rotar's table, his stack grows - the PokerStars qualifier is up to 80,000 less than three levels into day 1B. It took most of the day for a player to amass so many chips on day 1A. In contrast,...more
The USA has the White House, Great Britain has 10 Downing Street and Australia has The Lodge. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd may not be the most popular bloke in the country at the moment, but at least he has a nice house in the 'burbs to escape the rigours...more
You've heard about it. You've read about it. You might even have seen some bootlegs pop up on You Tube. Now, the PokerStars.net Big Game is set to air next week, writes Brad Willis. Beginning Monday, June 14, The Big Game will begin to air all across the United States...more
The doors are open at the Galaxy Nightclub here at Casino Canberra for the "official" celebration of poker's long-awaited return to the Australian capital. Day 1A of the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Canberra Main Event marked the first time a major poker tournament had been played here since 2002, and...more
8.30pm: Rick rolled Ricky Kroesen's hopes of successive ANZPT cashes have taken a serious hit late on day 1A after copping what could best be described as a "life beat". His opponent bet 2500 on a flop of J-10-3, Kroesen made it 10,000 and his opponent called. The turn...more
6.15pm: Six down, two to go The clock is ticking down to the final break of the day, with players facing two more hours of play before calling it a night on a highly successful opening to the ANZPT Canberra Main Event. Friday night means the bar is pumping...more
3pm: It's a post office party (i.e. all male) "Where's the other girls?" Louise Tellis asked as we checked on her progress. Having taken her seat today, Louise is assured the title of highest placed female on day 1A. No other ladies in action today, Louise. 2.45pm: Recent arrivals...more
The temperature has finally crawled back into the black after starting firmly in the red, but it's a stunning day to start the first PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) Canberra Main Event. Welcome to Australia's capital city for the fourth event on season two of our domestic...more
Stepping from an airport into brilliant sunshine is not a foreign experience for poker players at this time of the year. For the vast majority, that means arriving at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas for a shot at World Series of Poker. But over the past two days,...more
PokerStars set a new benchmark for live events with the successful conclusion of the first Russian Poker Series tournament, held in Kyiv in the Ukraine. This was the largest-ever event held in the CIS countries, with 258 players generating an impressive $688,215 prize pool. After four hard days, it was...more
We're pretty sure you've been looking forward to watching the PokerStars.net Big Game show on television as much as we have. Well, there's good news - the first show airs on FOX TV in the US on June 14, less than two weeks away. With the first shows already in...more
In the Latin American Poker Tour's three-season history, no person had ever won two titles. In the land mine-covered fields of the LAPT, it seemed impossible. Until today. After four days of play, Team PokerStars Pro Jose "Nacho" Barbero became the first person with two LAPT championships to his...more
7:08pm: Back-to-back LAPT titles for Nacho ($250,000)! Barrows takes second ($144,000) It didn't take long. After folding the first couple of hands of heads-up play, Ben Barrows open-shoved with his last one million-plus with A♦2♦, and Jose "Nacho" Barbero called quickly with A♠7♣. The flop came an intriguing 7♦K♠Q♦, pairing...more
by Pavel Sychev Only a few minutes are left until the start of the final table of the PokerStars Russian Poker Series Kyiv main event. As you might remember, yesterday we got names of all final table players. Play will continue from level 22. Current chip leader is live pro...more
by Pavel Sychev Level 22 was the last level for today. Five players busted now we know the names of the final nine players. First, Mark Kitov knocked out Valeriy Novitskiy. Valeriy's А-7 didn't stand against Marks' A-J. After that, the most emotional player of the event, Valeriy Iliyakin eliminated...more
by Pavel Sychev It's the 21st level of PokerStars Russian Poker Series Kyiv Main Event, with blinds at 8,000-16,000 and a 2,000 ante. All players are playing with extreme caution (everybody wants to be on the final table). 17th place ($8,050) went to Yakov Nepomnyashchiy. Yakov moved all-in pre-flop with...more
by Martin Harris One of the more famous phrases appearing in 19th-century historian's William Prescott highly regarded History of the Conquest of Peru goes as follows: "If no man could become rich in Peru, no man could become poor." Prescott was referring to civilization building, but he could have been...more
6:28pm: Chip counts and final table seat draw We'll have a full wrap-up in a moment, but first, here's your final table by seat number. Seat 1: Erick Cabrera - 1,426,000 Seat 2: Ismael Cádiz - 1,125,000 Seat 3: Ben Barrows - 1,154,000 Seat 4: Silvio Martins - 594,000...more
3:53pm: Break time The remaining 13 players are now taking a 20-minute break. 3:46pm: Jose Alfaro eliminated It was all-in pre-flop between the short-stacked Jose Alfaro and Jose "Nacho" Barbero. Alfaro: A♦Q♣ Barbero: K♣9♦ Barbero flopped a king and Alfaro couldn't catch up. He's out in 14th place. 3:42pm: How...more
Season 3 of the Latin American Poker Tour has had two champions so far. Amer Sulaiman won the Playa Conchal event in November. Team PokerStars Pro Jose "Nacho" Barbero took down the Punta del Este in Uruguay. If you had to guess, where would you say the two men are...more
2:19am: Jaikel out in 25th, Day 2 concludes A severely short-stacked Luis Jaikel was essentially forced to go all in from the blinds with 5♥2♦, and found himself up against Ben Barrows' Q♥T♠. A ten flopped, and two community cards later Jaikel was out in 25th. With that elimination, play...more
8:55pm: Dinner break Players are taking a 60-minute break to eat a little something and think further about the soon-to-burst bubble. 8:45pm: Bubble bluff There are 53 players left -- just five away from the money. We are also about 10 minutes from the next break, which will be a...more
There's just three weeks to go to secure your shot at appearing on television and winning serious cash in The PokerStars.net Big Game. Already 1,750 players have got through to the 'casting' room and now have the chance to impress judges and get on the show to play a high-stakes...more
4:23pm: Break time Players are going on a 15-minute break. 4:20pm: Sub-100 As we near the end of the level, we are now down below 100 players. We are still scheduled to end the day with 24 people remaining. 4:15pm: More moving pictures If you're just getting started with...more
by Martin Harris As play began on Day 1 of LAPT Lima up on the second floor of the Atlantic City Casino in Miraflores, Lima yesterday, those who have covered these Latin American Poker Tour events before -- now in its third season -- were preparing me to expect a...more
by Martin Harris "Let Observation with Extensive View / Survey Mankind from China to Peru." So begins 18th-century writer Samuel Johnson's most famous poem, The Vanity of Human Wishes. For Johnson, an Englishman, China and Peru represented far flung destinations, geographical extremes by which to indicate his intention to speak...more
It's funny how things will happen. We've come all this way to report on what will be one of the biggest LAPT events in its three-year history. However, before we have even seen the first cards in the air, we've got breaking news from the Latin American Poker Tour ranks....more
9:00pm: Day 1 ends -- Baumgartner leads Day 1 of LAPT Lima has come to a close. Although its madness in here right now, our best estimation is that Jacob Baumgartner has finished the day as the chip leader. He holds 122,925 at the close of play. Luis Hernandez looks...more
4:20pm: Break time Players are on a 15-minute break. 4:07pm: Ortiz gone Fabian Ortiz got his last chips in a couple of hands after that last one with A♣T♠. His nemeis from earlier in the day held pocket kings. The pair held and Ortiz is gone. 4:04pm: Ortiz crippled After...more
We last visited Kyiv, the beautiful capital of Ukraine, for the first event of last season's European Poker Tour. It was a cracking city, bathed in sunshine and full of friendly people. The tournament, won by Max Lykov, was a great success, and it's no surprise to see Kyiv as...more
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