October 2011 Archives

In just a few short weeks, the country of Colombia has taken over the Latin American Poker Tour. For three seasons, the country of Colombia barely registered on the LAPT radar. As of last week, it now holds the record for biggest LAPT tournament in history. Now, with one event...more

A few years from now, when South Americans look back on what they consider the watershed moments for the rise of poker on the continent, someone will invariably point to the 2011 PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour's Colombian National Poker Championship. It was a smaller buy-in event -- only $1,100...more

Jonathan Monsalves eliminated in 2nd place; Julian Menendez wins 2011 Colombian National Poker Championship! At long last, it came down to another flip for Julian Menendez and Jonathan Monsalves. Menendez limped the button for 150,000; Monsalves shoved all in with A♠5♦ and Menendez called with 4♠4♥. This time around Monsalves...more

10:58pm: Break time The remaining six players are on a fifteen-minute break. When they return, updates will be in a new post. 10:49pm: Rafael Pardo eliminated in 7th place It was inevitable that some of these flips were going to start going the bigger stack's way. Alexis Gomez (pictured below)...more

4:38pm: David Garcia eliminated in 12th place A rare three-way pot developed on Table 1. Victor Forero started things with a raise to 60,000 under the gun. Jonathan Markovitz (cutoff) and David Garcia (big blind) both called. Garcia checked a flop of J♦J♣6♦ and Forero made his continuation bet of...more

We made it. At one point last night, late on Day 2 of the 2011 PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour's Colombian National Poker Championship, it seemed like we might never make it to Day 3. A generous structure, combined with a surprising lack of big stacks to drive the action,...more

It was one of the most dominant performances we've seen in a tournament in quite some time as Raiden Kan has carried his hot form and big stack all the way to a memorable victory in the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event. Yesterday, Kan entered day three of play...more

Raiden Kan wins Macau Poker Cup Championship! In an utterly dominant performance, Raiden Kan has carried his overnight chip lead all the way to victory in the Macau Poker Cup Championship Main Event. It was a superb performance by Kan who steamrolled his way through his opposition, and despite some...more

5:55pm: Ten-minute break 5:45pm: Charles Lam eliminated in 5th place Charles Lam was down to his last 400,000 chips which he moved all in preflop with Q♠J♦ following an open from Victor Chong. Only problem for Lam was that Chong made the call with a dominant K♦Q♥. The Lam picked...more

When I got out of bed this morning, I knew that Day 2 of the 2011 LAPT Colombian National Poker Championship promised to be a very, very long day. It comes with the territory sometimes, and there's not much you can do about it. The long day speaks volumes about...more

1:31am: Two eliminations to end Day 2 Martin Romero put in a strong showing on Day 2, but as the stacks became shallower and shallower he lost most of his leverage. He eventually moved all in with pocket kings but was outdrawn by ace-queen. And on the very last hand...more

3:40pm: Ten-minute break 3:35pm: Seijiro Machi eliminated in 9th place After going for almost two hours, with very few big hands to report, we've just witnessed an absolute corker as Seijiro Machi's aggression has come back to bite him. The hand started with Raiden Kan opening to 35,000 from early...more

11:22pm: Extra! Hand extended into break creates new chip leader There was one hand that played deep into the break. Gilberto Castillo of Colombia opened pre-flop for 22,000. The player two to Castillo's left three-bet to 70,000 before Nicolas Cottin moved all in on the button for more than 300,000....more

4:25pm: Break Players are on their second break of the day. 4:17pm: Sudol knocks out a shorty There is one lone American remaining in the field -- Jason Sudol, an American currently living in Colombia. He's up to 150,000 after racing a short stack pre-flop with his pocket 7s against...more

The record-setting Macau Poker Cup Championship produced a field of 308 entrants to create a massive HK$5,553,856 prize pool. After three days of blood, sweat and a few tears on the felt of the PokerStars Macau Poker Room, our field has been whittled down to a final table of nine....more

It rains a lot in Medellin, Colombia. I'm told that the "rainy season" isn't so much a season as it is 10 months of the year. I guess you could say there's a "dry season", and October isn't it. But the sun broke through the clouds this morning as we...more

We often talk about how poker players in Macau like to push their chips around. Folding is no fun right? Sure, the modern poker game has evolved into an aggressive one, but in Macau there's an undeniable urge to gamble. However when we started the day just five eliminations away...more

Final Table Lineup Seat 1: Seijiro Machi (Japan) - 616,000 Seat 2: "Chester" Seng Yong Lee (Malaysia) (PokerStars Player) - 598,000 Seat 3: Hau Huang Chang (United States) - 466,000 Seat 4: Richard Renyong Hu (China) - 566,000 Seat 5: Hung-sheng "Shaq" Lin (Chinese Taipei) (PokerStars Player) - 614,000 Seat...more

4:20pm: Ten-minute break 4:00pm: Wang washed Victor Chong opened with a raise to 16,000 before Zuo Wang moved all in for a little over 100,000. The table folded back to Chong who quickly called with 9♣9♠ for the best hand against Wang's A♠9♥. With Chong calling out for his hand...more

You see a lot of things on the tournament circuit. Poker, after all, is a game filled with improbability. But there were three improbabilities on Day 1b of the 2011 PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour's Colombian National Poker Championship that made even a veteran tournament reporter like me take pause....more

12:05am: Day 1b ends; Csome leads What a comeback for Leandro Csome! Down to just 10,000 chips at one point, he came roaring back to claim the overnight chip lead with 149,000. We'll have a full recap of the day's events up on the blog soon. 11:44pm: The field sits...more

2:10pm: Ten-minute break 2:05pm: Gabyong gutted Gabyong Kim has been sent to the rail with a devastating river blow against Charles Lam. We're not sure of the action, but it was a battle of the blinds where we assume the chips went into the middle on the flop of T♥9♠3♦....more

9:50pm: Last break Players are on their last 15-minute break of the day. 9:21pm: Table change! The players at Table 12 have all requested a table change -- as in, they want a brand new table to play on. Their current table has developed a case of the wobbles. It...more

4:20pm Second break Smoke if you got 'em. When the players return, the updates for levels 5-8 will begin in a new post. 4:15pm: Mystery stack owner reveals himself We staked out Table 25 for the last 20 minutes, wondering who owned the 60,000-chip stack in the 3-seat. The owner...more

One of the things that I neglected to mention yesterday, during Day 1a of the 2011 PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour Colombian National Poker Championship, is the Colombian army that's camped just outside the venue. Casino Allegre, gracious host to the LAPT for this fortnight of poker, is located on...more

We started out today with 150 players and a long way from the money, but within seven levels of play we find ourselves perched precariously on the edge of the cash as 43 players survived to reach day three of the Macau Poker Cup Championship. Only 38 of those will...more

Table 1 Seat 1: Seijiro Machi (Japan) - 288900 Seat 3: Tam Truong (Australia) - 182800 Seat 4: Ping San Chan (Hong Kong) - 142000 Seat 5: Haifeng Xue (China) - 75800 Seat 6: Hung-cheng Hung (Chinese Taipei) - 153100 Seat 7: Jung Chou Lee (Chinese Taipei) - 58800 Seat...more

7:45pm: Day two is done; Jones comes from the clouds to top Sunny for chip lead A dramatic end to the day as 43 players have made it through to day three action and we're just five places away from the money. Sunny Jung looked our chip leader all day,...more

6:30pm: Ten-minute break 6:15pm: Steicke sticks around Australasian poker cult hero David Steicke has just landed a timely double up. With a raise to 6,000 from Marcus Lau and a call from chip leader Sunny Jung in front of him, Steicke squeezed all in from the small blind for an...more

4:20pm: Ten-minute break 4:05pm: Raiden straightens them out After being down to just 30,000 in chips a short time ago, Raiden Kan is now one of the tournament chip leaders after a massive three-way all in pot. Kan had the worst of it with pocket tens up against the pocket...more

We asked LAPT Tournament Director Mike Ward earlier today on Day 1a of the PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour Season 4 Colombia National Poker Championship to name the one thing without which he couldn't do his job. He didn't miss a beat with his response. "Players." Any time an operator...more

12:10am: Torres is the overnight leader The bags are out on all of our remaining 12 tables here on Day 1a of the 2011 LAPT Colombian National Poker Championship. The overnight chip leader will be Team Online player Fredy Torres, who rode a late surge to a stack of 207,000....more

2:10pm: Ten-minute break 2:00pm: More for Huntly Gordon Huntly is now motoring along with a stack of 110,000 after a levelling war with Finnish player Johan Hirvonen saw Huntly collect a massive pot. Huntly opened with a raise to 2,500 on the button before Hirvonen popped it to 6,000 from...more

9:55pm: Last fifteen-minute break of the night 9:43pm: Luis Perez crippled by a nasty, nasty beat Sometimes all you can do in poker is get your chip sin with the best of it and hope the cards break your way. Luis Perez must have been thinking about nothing but value...more

4:20pm: Level 4 ends; 15-minute break After dealing with some technical doo-dads that would flummox even the sharpest of 21st century minds, we'll be back strong in 15 minutes. For now, players are on their second break of the day (Dr. Pauly's favorite). 3:49pm: The charge of the Colombians; Guillen...more

Over the last week or two, most of my U.S. friends said the same thing when they found out I was headed to Medellin, Colombia, the latest city to be added as a Latin American Poker Tour stop. "Have you become a drug mule?" It's an unfair question for 2011...more

What goes up, must come down. It's the gospel according to Blood, Sweat and Tears. Before that, a man called Newton wrote about it in a little something called the Theory of Gravity. It's pure logic. A proven fact. A law of Physics. However poker in Macau is currently defying...more

Table 1 Seat 1: Jonathan Curtis (Australia) - 22100 Seat 2: Shinichiro Kano (Japan) - 57700 Seat 3: Gabyong Kim (Korea) - 99975 Seat 4: Tetsuya Tsuchikawa (Japan) - 45550 Seat 5: Raymond Wu (Chinese Taipei) - 46975 Seat 6: Justin Chan (Hong Kong) - 36000 Seat 7: Michael Kure...more

9:40pm: We're done! The final hands have been dealt and the players are currently happily bagging up their day's efforts with around 90 players surviving. It appears that Yue Qing Zhou will indeed be our chip leader, with Marcus Lau and a fast finishing Kim Gabyong not too far behind....more

8:30pm: Ten-minute break 8:25pm: One-outer river for Te Just prior to the break William Te Jr has landed a huge pot but not before sweating a dramatic river card. With the chips in preflop Te held the best hand with his K K  up against a short stack's J J  and Yongseok...more

6:20pm: Ten-minute break 6:00pm: Set shrivels up for Im Team PokerStars Pro Vivian Im has just taken a nasty hit to her stack in an interesting hand on table nine. Im opened with a raise to 800, before met with a three-bet to 2,300 from late position. Play was then...more

4:10pm: Ten-minute break 4:00pm: Lin bluffs pocket aces It's pretty hard to fold pocket aces at the best of times but when the board reads 9♦5♥8♠7♣T♦, with multiple straight and two-pair combinations, and you're faced with a 2,000-chip bet from the queen of Asian poker Celina Lin, then it's probably...more

Every time we walk into the PokerStars Macau Poker Room there's something special in the air. Maybe it's the luxurious surrounds of the Grand Lisboa Casino which set the scene, full of thousands of wealthy locals who love nothing more than to splash some cash and get their gamble on....more

9:40pm: Let's bag and tag It was neck and neck between Richard Hu and Sunny Jung for the end of day chip lead, but with that last big pot its Jung who is the clear chip leader as approximately 60 players have survived the day. Team PokerStars Pro Raymond Wu,...more

8:30pm: Ten-minute break 8:25pm: Getting sticky with Steicke On a hand that ran into the break, David Steicke has moved his chips into the middle, and thought he was happy to force a fold until his opponent showed his cards. It started with a late position raise to 1,200 with...more

6:20pm: Ten-minute break 6:15: Double up for David The enigmatic David Steicke has just found a double up as we approach the second break of the day. It was on a multi-way flop of 7♦2♥K♣ where Nigel Jones bet 1,525 to force one fold before Steicke made the call to...more

4:10pm: Ten-minute break 3:40pm: Spets slips As we wandered past table four to discover Aussie Will Jones had found an early double up, we caught a hand that saw Sweden's Roger Spets lose half his stack. It started with Romania's Lica Sever opening to 525 in middle position. Spets flat-called...more

Welcome to the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau, the gaming capital of Asia, as we bring to you the 2011 Macau Poker Cup Championship. It's exciting to be back in Macau as we get our gamble on for the HK$20,000 MPCC Main Event. Macau has a long and...more

Олег Прохоров стал чемпионом Главного События Russian Poker Series Main Event и заработал $182 482. На пути к победе Олегу пришлось преодолеть сопротивление восьми соперников, двое из которых - Александр Кравченко и Леван Караманишвили - уже успели побывать на финальном столе RPS в Киеве в апреле этого года. Первым покинул...more

Adelaide...Perth...Sydney...Gold Coast...Canberra...Queenstown...Melbourne...Darwin... The 2011 Australia New Zealand Poker Tour has been an incredible ride as we've ventured to new locations, seen some amazing highlights and unearthed some of the brightest poker talent in the region. From Octavian Voegele's dominant win in Adelaide to Grant Levy's epic victory in Perth. Lee...more

Jack Drake wins ANZPT Darwin Main Event After four days of intense poker action in the "Top End" it was Queenslander Jack Drake who handled the heat the best in the PokerStars.net ANZPT Darwin Main Event. Drake led the field for the past two days and carried that advantage all...more

7:00pm: 45-minute dinner break The players are now taking a 45-minute dinner break. Play will recommence at around 7:45pm local time. Here are the approximate chip counts at the break: Brett Dannevig - 380,000 Mark Taylor - 350,000 Jack Drake - 260,000 Fotios Manolakos - 180,000 6:55pm: Dannevig takes momentum...more

4:50pm: Ten-minute break 4:35pm: Jamie Hill eliminated in 6th place Jack Drake opened to 14,000 from late position before Jamie Hill moved all in for another 30,000 from the blinds. Drake threw his arms in the air and made a gambling call. Hill: A♦4♥ Drake: J♦5♥ With Octavian Voegele and...more

2:40pm: Ten-minute break 2:30pm: Climbing the Hill It's Jamie Hill's turn to double up after he moved all in for 65,400 from early position with K♠K♣. Action folded around to Mark Taylor who made the call with A♦J♠. Hill would need to fade an ace and he did so on...more

After three fast and furious days of action on the felt of the SKYCITY Darwin Casino, the field of 64 players has been reduced to the final nine. One of these players will take home $36,480 in prize money and a shiny new trophy. Let's take a closer look at...more

We thought it was going to be smooth sailing today. The equation was simple enough. Start with eighteen and reduce to nine. Unfortunately poker tournaments are rarely simple, and math is supposedly idiotic. However within four levels, the damage was done and when the smoke cleared our final nine were...more

ANZPT Darwin Final Table is set! That brings an end to today's play with Jack Drake ending with a bang to maintain his overnight chip lead. Players will return at 12:30pm (GMT+9:30) tomorrow to play it out until a champion is crowned! Seat 1: Jonathan Dangio (PokerStars Qualifier) - 232,300...more

2:45pm: Ten-minute break 2:40pm: McKay derailed "And that's not how you play a tournament," sighed Ryan McKay as he wandered from the International Room following his elimination from the ANZPT Darwin Main Event. McKay moved his last 40,000-or-so chips in preflop with K♠Q♣ but found himself dominated as Jack Drake...more

With the sun beaming down on another beautiful Darwin day, it was a perfect afternoon for a spot of fishing, lazing by the pool or adventuring into the Australian outback. Or how about a little poker? The SKYCITY Darwin Casino once again opened its door as 47 players returned to...more

5:40pm: An early minute With ten minutes remaining on the clock, tournament staff have wisely called a halt to proceedings rather than worry about redrawing for the final two tables. So that's it, we're done for today! It appears that Jack Drake will be our chip leader with around 120,000...more

4:40pm: Ten-minute break 4:30pm: They're dropping like flies as Rubie, Pampliega and McKenzie join the rail Online star Brendon Rubie has hit the rail after he pushed his last chips in preflop with pocket sixes, but Aaron Benton made the call with pocket jacks. Rubie couldn't find a lucky six...more

2:30pm: Ten-minute break 2:20pm: Hills continues to slide The slide of overnight chip leader Roy Hills continues after he made a gambling call that ultimately resulted in a double up for Scott van Loon. Hills opened to 1,500 before van Loom moved all in for 11,300 in total. After a...more

Today saw 30 players enter the SKYCITY Darwin Casino for Day 1b of the ANZPT Darwin Main Event, and despite the modest numbers, the field was loaded with well-known pros. Liam O'Rourke, John Apostolidis, Mario Ljubicic, Ryan McKay and Tim English were among the starters as well as ANZ Player...more

Ok, chegou o momento de fazer as malas! Nesse exato momento Assim que eu acabar de escrever esse post, já é hora de me preparar para mais uma viagem, dessa vez com destino a Santa Catarina. A aguardada segunda etapa da primeira temporada do Brasil Poker Tour começa nessa...more

Table 1 Seat 1: Harry Manning - 19250 Seat 2: Jeremy Calder - 17950 Seat 3: Luis Pampliega - 24300 Seat 5: John Apostolidis - 9850 Seat 6: Leo Boxell - 29525 Seat 7: Omiros Mairou - 21275 Seat 8: Michele Guzzardi - 20875 Table 2 Seat 1: Peter Zaroufis...more

6:00pm: That's a wrap from Darwin We've ended today's five levels of play with 21 players remaining and they'll be back to join the 26 survivors from yesterday for Day 2 of play tomorrow. Leading the way today is Aaron Benton who bagged up 58,075 chips while Liam O'Rourke (45,825),...more

4:45pm: Ten-minute break 4:25pm: Benton blasts past the rockets Another on the move is 2009 APPT Sydney champ Aaron Benton as we've had another casualty from the ANZPT Darwin Main Event. We didn't catch the action but the cards were on their backs on the turn with Benton flopping a...more

2:35pm: Ten-minute break 2:30pm: Furniture John lands the limp-raise John Apostolidis limped in from under the gun before PokerStars qualifier Ryan McKay announced a raise to 500. Play folded back around to Apostolidis who announced a re-raise to 2,150. After a quick look at his opponent's stack, McKay popped it...more

This is poker territory. That's the marketing slogan of the Poker Zone here at the SKYCITY Darwin, and it couldn't have been more true today as the PokerStars.net ANZPT made its way to the Northern Territory for just the second time. It was a short and breezy day here in...more

6:00pm: That's all she wrote A short day has come to an end here in Darwin with 26 players surviving to reach day two on Thursday. It looks like Roy Hills will bag up the chip lead with 61,850 with Tony Kanochkin (56,650) and Brendon Rubie (51,575) likely to be...more

4:40pm: Ten-minute break 4:35pm: Finally some good news for Occy Licking his wounds after the recent hits to his stack, Voegele threw his final 1,350 into the middle the next hand from under the gun. Action folded around to Brendon Rubie who made the call with K♦5♠ to find himself...more

2:30pm: Ten-minute break 2:25pm: Jackie jacked On the final hand of the level we've lost popular Melbourne pro Jackie Glazier. Glazier had taken a hit in the early goings, so when she saw a flop of 6♠2♥6♣ holding J♦J♥ she was happy to get her last chips into the middle....more

It's the land of scorching red earth, rich indigenous culture and abundant wildlife. Rugged mountain ranges, iconic landscapes and stunning national parks. It's Australia's true outback. Welcome to the "Top End". The SKYCITY Casino has opened its arms once again as the regions finest players make their way to the...more