May 2012 Archives

When first bidding you buenos dias this morning, I suggested the many head-spinning swings and jaw-dropping hands from Day 3 might give even those returning to short stacks today some extra hope. And after yet another wild day of poker in this coastal city -- warmly inviting all week even...more

This morning I talked about how winning a poker tournament takes a mix of skill, timing and luck. Team PokerStars Pro displayed all three during his run through the PokerStars.net LAPT Season 5 Punta del Este at Mantra Main Event. But when it came down to heads-up play, Guillen's...more

Heads-up! We're down to two. Not long after the deal-making among the final three, a hand arose in which the Brazilian Francisco Baruffi opened with a raise to 175,000 from the button, to which his countryman Marcelo Fonseca folded from the small blind. Angel Guillen of Mexico had other ideas...more

Our last three players have been doubling each other up at regular intervals. Marcelo Fonseca was first when presto (pocket 5s) held against Francisco Baruffi's ace-king. Baruffi got in on the act later on, making jack-ten work against Angel Guillen's pocket tens by runnering a straight. That double up...more

Whereas earlier it was Joaquin Melogno raising and taking pots uncontested again and again, over the last hour Melogno was having to bet a bit more to achieve a similar response. That's because after losing a big hand to Angel Guillen earlier in which the latter doubled up with A♦J♥...more

Yesterday we described Argentinian Ivan Luca as "Doc Sands"-like in his deliberateness. That deliberate style of play started to grind on the nerves of some of the other players at the final table. Several times, people requested clocks against Luca - most recently when action folded to Luca in...more

Over the course of the two orbits following Vladimir Dobrovolskiy's elimination in seventh place, we've mostly been watching the Raise-and-Take Show starring Uruguay's own Joaquin Melogno. During those dozen hands, Melogno secured the blinds and antes with opening raises on a full two-thirds of them after the table conceded to...more

Vladimir Dobrovolskiy has been something of a feel-good underdog story since that wild, three-way all in hand that my colleague Martin Harris wrote about yesterday. He was down to less than five big blinds after that hand, but rallied all the way back to make the final table as...more

The clock ticks on here at LAPT Punta del Este, with nearly every hand being contested and elongated by long, contemplative pauses. And the last orbit of Level 23 saw several also punctuated by dramatic, sudden clashes, too. First it was the Uruguayan, Joaquin Melagno, scoring a big double-up...more

There were many administrative tasks to take care of this morning. Play started a little late while the players filled out bios, took instructions from Tournament Director Mike Ward on what was, and was not, allowed at the final table, posed for a group photo, and did all the...more

Last year in Punta del Este when we'd arrived for the final day of play, we were greeted by the ever courteous Mantra Casino and LAPT staff members. We were also greeted with a table of Brazilians (four), and a player each from Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, and host country Uruguay....more

Ask a professional poker player what it takes to win a major poker tournament. If he answers honestly, he'll tell you it's a mix of skill, timing and luck. Any of the nine players who will return on Sunday for the final table of the Season 5 LAPT Punta...more

We're nearing the end of the penultimate day here at the Punta del Este Main Event. And according to the announced plan, we're also nearing the end of the penultimate level -- Level 21 (blinds 8,000/16,000, ante 2,000). Just two tables remain, and with a few more eliminations we'll...more

The off-season in Punta del Este feels a little bit lazy. The streets are empty of cars, there are no crowds on the beach, half of the shops are closed and the vibe is very mellow. There's no need to rush anywhere at this time of year. Unless you're one...more

We're back! Unlike Days 1 and 2, when we stopped for the night after six levels, this time we're coming back for more, the plan being to play through Level 22 or stop at nine players, whichever comes first. Our hour away from the poker room was spent mostly...more

You've seen the ad, I'm sure. I wrote about it during the Season 4 Grand Final at Carnaval in Sao Paulo. It begins with a voiceover that declares, "We are 10,000 people in Brazil, holding our breath" as Team PokerStars Pro Jose "Nacho" Barbero faces off against a Brazilian player...more

It's getting a little drafty in here. We're starting to see more jackets and pullovers, with fewer content to remain in short sleeves. Unlike the last two days when there were nearly 20 tables full of poker players here in the main poker room, plus dozens more milling in between...more

A quiet nod. That's the only acknowledgment that Team PokerStars Pro Angel Guillen gave his special lady, PokerStars host Lynn Gilmartin, when she passed behind him a few minutes before the last break and rubbed his back. Gilmartin is a "head-turner", but in the cityscape of tournament poker players populating...more

A little over a half-hour remained in Level 12 when the field shrunk down to 57 and we'd arrived at the cash bubble. As hand-for-hand play commenced, the procedure was explained to all. "Players leaving their seats will receive a penalty," said Melina Villegas over the public address. "I'm not...more

Peruse the Day 3 starter list and you'll notice that, although this was an international field that included 12 non-LATAM players, the non-LATAM players under-performed in the tournament. There was only one left in the field to start Day 3. His name is Vladimir Dobrovolskiy, and when I tapped him...more

We sometimes like to refer to the television screens displaying the tournament clock, current blinds/antes, payouts, and players remaining as the "big board." When play began today on Day 3 at LAPT Punta del Este, the number on the lower right showed just 76 of the 375 who began...more

When I looked out the windows of my beachfront hotel room this morning in Punta del Este, Uruguay, I couldn't see the ocean, despite the fact that it was a few hundred feet away. A heavy fog had rolled in off the water, shrouding the waves, the grizzled old men...more

We've arrived at the end of another quick day here at LAPT Punta del Este, with roughly 75 players still with chips and thus an invite to return for tomorrow's Day 3. At day's end a trio of Argentinians had built the biggest stacks around: Ivan Luca (329,900), Cristian...more

Doubling. In some respects, that's what it comes down to in no-limit hold'em. Double your count, then double it again. Keep doubling it until you have all the chips. It's better for your sanity and your tournament survival if you don't do it all in one hand, but one way...more

As is usually the case at LAPT, the tournament here at the Mantra Resort Spa & Casino has brought players from all over the world, becoming yet another example of a poker-inspired international summit. This year's LAPT Punta del Este event attracted players from 20 different countries, with Argentina (136)...more

The Red Spade Brigade. That's my tongue-in-cheek name for the players that proudly wear the PokerStars red spade as part of Team PokerStars Pro and PokerStars Team Online. None of the Team Online players made the journey to Punta del Este this year but there were six Team PokerStars Pros...more

We were scanning the start-of-day chip counts for familiar names when play began. One jumped out immediately -- Alex Komaromi of Uruguay who topped a field of 422 here last year to win Season 4 LAPT Punta del Este. Komaromi returned today to an above-average stack of 37,075, and...more

At a certain level, poker is about math. What's the minimum allowable raise? How many big blinds are left in your stack? What is the average stack? How much of my stack will I have left if I call this river bet and don't win the pot? These are all...more

We've been noting in the blog and videos how the LAPT has descended upon Punta del Este during a period of relatively calm. As Lynn Gilmartin pointed out in yesterday's welcome video, we've made our way to a popular beach resort destination during the early winter -- in other...more

It was a short Day 1 at LAPT5 Punta del Este at Mantra. Union regulations on the length of dealer workdays, combined with a shortage of dealers, meant that only six levels were completed before play came to an end. By that point, Juan Garcia of Uruguay had a commanding...more

Uruguay is located along the southeastern coast of South America. To the north is Brazil. Water surrounds most of the rest of the small country, with the Uruguay River and Rio de la Plata estuary to the west and south separating Uruguay and Argentina, and the Atlantic Ocean lapping...more

Argentina and Brazil are natural rivals. They're the two largest countries in South America. They share a border. They field two of the strongest football sides in the world that regularly vie with each other for regional and global supremacy. When it comes to LAPT championships, however, there's no rivalry...more

Every poker tournament is marked by a number of big hands that ultimately go a long way toward determining the winner. Indeed, for just about every player in a given event, there is often a single, pivotal hand that more than any other determines his or her ultimate fortune. And...more

In the introductory post to LAPT5 Punta del Este at Mantra a few hours ago, I mentioned that the tournament is spread out across multiple areas of the Mantra Resort, Casino and Spa. It's an imperfect solution to a tournament director's favorite problem: an over-abundance of players. As Tournament Director...more

As players begin what will ultimately be a four-day journey to the first-place trophy here at the Mantra Resort Hotel and Casino, we can report that trophies have already been won in Punta del Este. It was during last night's welcome party just a short ways up the coastal highway...more

Growing up on the Atlantic coast of the U.S., I've always found the ocean in winter to be relaxing. There's a grayness, an emptiness and a peacefulness to it that, as something of a misanthrope, I enjoy. There are no people to despoil the sand, the water, or the sky....more

Вчера на RPS чествовали победителя Главного события Гранд Финала Влада Шуравина, и пришла пора обратить внимание на другого героя - Александр Кравченко уверенно завоевал титул лучшего игрока Российской покерной серии второго сезона. Как победитель рейтинговой гонки, он получил эксклюзивные призовые часы Tag Heur и путевку на РСА от PokerStars.И Александр...more

Normal 0 false false false RU X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Обычная таблица"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} После того, как накануне мы стали свидетелями необычного действа, когда за...more

Неожиданно, после многочасового затишья, последний уровень третьего дня «выкосил» чуть ли не половину участников. Сразу шесть человек покинули игровые столы в течение часа, что позволило организаторам уложиться во временные рамки и сформировать финальный стол Главного турнира Гранд Финала RPS.Этот финальный стол будет необычен уже хотя бы тем, что начнут игру...more

Долго ли, коротко ли, но Main Event добрался до призов. 32 человека примут участие в разделении призового фонда в размере $ 757 570. Баббл длился, как обычно, долго, примерно полтора часа. В итоге короткий стек члена команды JokerTeam Романа романовского стал еще короче, и он был вынужден бросить остатки стека...more

Сегодня 44 игрока выявят среди себя 12 неудачников, остальные 32 окажутся в призах и будут продолжать борьбу за победу. Предфинальный день объявлен телевизионным, а это значит, что за одним из пяти игровых столов будет работать операторская группа. В дальнейшем Гранд Финал будет показан по российскому (ТВ-3) и украинскому телевидению. У...more

Вчера в рамках фестиваля стартовал третий крупный турнир - Grand Special с бай-ином $ 1000 и гарантией $ 200 000. В первом дне турнира приняли участие 93 игрока, 25 из них перешли во второй день. В десятке лучших - Александр Кравченко и Михаил Шахнович.  Сегодня будет сыгран день 1В, напомним,...more

44 игрока перешли в предфинальный день Main Event Гранд Финала второго сезона Российской покерной серии. Лидирует с огромным отрывом украинец Кирилл Кустов, у которого больше 700 000 фишек. Вслед за ним расположился известный российский игрок Булат Бикметов.Все представители команды PokerStars Pro уже покинули турнир. Последним это сделал в самом конце...more

$ 190 000 - такой приз ожидает победителя Main Event Гранд финала второго сезона Российской покерной серии. Всего же в призах окажутся 32 лучших игрока, минимальная выплата составляет $ 4925. Общий призовой фонд составил $ 757 570, ненамного, но перекрыв гарантию. Но пока до призов еще очень далеко, всего лишь...more

Один из трех рейтинговых турниров в рамках Гранд Финала RPS завершен. Главный турнир Украинской лиги с бай-ином $ 600 привлек 398 участников, сформировавших призовой фонд в размере $ 212 867. В призах оказались 45 игроков, а выплата за первое место превысила $ 50 000. Обладателем первого места по итогам затяжного...more

Покеристы - люди основательные и раскачиваются, как правило, неспешно. Именно этим и объясняется то, что к старту Main Event, объявленному турнирным директором серии Артуром Восканяном, за столами сидели немногим более 70 человек. Среди них попадались и знакомые лица - Дмитрий Громов, Сергей Щипцов, Дмитрий Чоп, Николай Чорный. Подавляющее большинство игроков...more

Кучно скооперировавшись за двумя столами, 18 игроков продолжат спор за звание чемпиона Украинской Лиги. Тяжелее всего придется единственной оставшейся в игре девушке - Евгении Березюк. Мало того, что она одна среди представителей противоположного пола, так у нее еще и самый короткий стек. Вот и узнаем, свойственно ли игрокам в покер...more

В Киеве полным ходом идет Гранд Финал второго сезона Российской покерной серии. Все столы заняты, и трудно найти свободное место. Однако до кульминации еще далеко, ведь Main Event с рекордной гарантией в $ 750 000 стартует только 16 мая. Помимо основного вопроса - кто же станет его победителем, есть и...more

398 регистраций - таков итог двух стартовых дней Main Event Украинской лиги в рамках Гранд Финала второго сезона RPS. Во второй день пробились 119 игроков, они то и поборются за призы.Чипкаунт игроков:1.         Anton Tomashevskiy          1420002.         Edik    Davoyan       1393003.         Aleksandr     Gofman         1329004.         Ivan    Demidov        1288005.         Ruslan          Pridrik            1246006.         Anton Komarov        1193007.        ...more

Eureka! It's the second event of Season 2, and Eureka wants to give you a seat for free. Well, some of you anyway. The Eureka tour announced this morning that it will kick off Eureka Bulgaria in less than a month at the sunny Golden Sands Resort, near the town...more

Крупнейший русскоязычный фестиваль покера стартовал накануне двумя турнирами. Сначала игрокам предлагалось вступить в борьбу за 15 гарантированных путевок в суперсателлите к Main Event Украинской лиги. А уже вечером стартовал вполне себе самостоятельный фризаут по $ 300 на коротких столах. Оба турнира собрали больше 100 участников, придав нужный импульс всему фестивалю.THNL...more

Любители покера в России и СНГ долго ждали этого дня. Его переносили, долго говорили о том, что он никогда не настанет, но свершилось - в столице Украины наконец-то стартовал Гранд Финал второго сезона Российской покерной серии. RPS за два года существование закрепил за собой статус ведущей покерной серии на постсоветском...more

Уже завтра фризаутом по безлимитному холдему на коротких столах с гарантией $ 25 000 стартует крупнейший в истории СНГ турнир - Гранд Финал второго сезона Российской покерной серии. И мы сочли своим долгом напомнить о том, что это за фестиваль, какие ивенты будут играться в его рамках и кто будет...more

After almost eight hours of play on our final table, we have crowned the ANZPT Perth Main Event champion as Mat "Skillz" Carlsson joins the likes of Tony Hachem and Grant Levy, but also becomes the first local to keep the ANZPT Perth title on home soil. Carlsson brought the...more

9:50pm: Anthony Marenko eliminated in 2nd place; Mat Carlsson wins! It's all over as Mat Carlsson has been crowned the ANZPT Perth Main Event champion. It was a scramble to get to the table, but we believe that Anthony Marenko limped the button, Carlsson raised another 150,000 on top before...more

9:05pm: Ten-minute break 8:50pm: The choir is finding some voice In a limped pot, Anthony Marenko checked the flop of 8♠7♠3♣ over to Mat Carlsson who tossed out 80,000. Marenko responded with a check-raise to 250,000 but Carlsson came back with a re-raise of his own to 680,000. After a...more

6:40pm: Ten-minute break 6:30pm: Three pair no good Anthony Aston opened with a raise and Mat Carlsson defended his big blind to see a flop of Q♦Q♥7♣. Carlsson checked to Aston who continuation-bet for 100,000. Carlsson asked for a count of his opponent's stack before making the call as the...more

4:30pm: Ten-minute break 4:29pm: John Shin eliminated in 7th place On the second-last hand of the level, Mat Carlsson was in the tank and John Shin and Didier Guerin looked to walk away from the table to take their break a little early. Shin looked at the clock, and knowing...more

It took a little over six levels to reduce our final 40 players to a final table of nine, but the ANZPT Perth final table has now been formed. It's an exciting lineup with some super-talented young players and a host of locals, which should provide an entertaining finale for...more

After three days of blood, sweat and a few tears, the ANZPT Perth Main Event has been reduced to the official final table of nine from our original field of 310 players. They will return on Sunday afternoon to battle it out for the ANZPT Perth title and the lion's...more

The final table is set! That concludes our live coverage of Day 3 of the ANZPT Perth Main Event. We have our final table of nine decided as they currently bag their chips, fill out some bios sheets and redraw for tomorrow's final table. Jon Curtis is likely to be...more

6:55pm: Ten-minute break 6:45pm: Marenko finds a lady Anthony Marenko had landed a huge double up to leave Daryl Alderson a little steamed. The chips were in preflop with Marenko shoving A♣Q♥ and Alderson making the call with T♣T♠. The board ran out 8♠3♣5♣Q♦2♣ to pair the lady for Marenko...more

4:40pm: Ten-minute break 4:35pm: Sweet sixteen We've had three rapid eliminations to see our field reduced to the final 16 players. First it was Danny Stewart who pushed the button with ace-jack, only for Daren Frunks to wake up with pocket kings in the big blind. A jack fell on...more

2:30pm: Ten-minute break 2:20pm: Final three tables Two more players have departed to see us down to our final three tables. Dean Cox (not the footballer) was all in for 70,000 with pocket fives and was called by John Shin with ace-queen. When the first four cards landed K 8 K T , Shin...more

Tournament poker is a tough way to make a buck. It can be a brutal game with players sitting on a knife's edge, knowing that their tournament life could be over at any moment with the lethal strike of the fall of an unlucky river card. It gets even worse...more

8:00pm: That's all she wrote! Didier Guerin has held onto the chip lead with a stack of 304,000 as all of our chip leaders are nestled very close to each other. It will be it interesting to see who flexes their muscles on the short stacks with four eliminations required...more

6:50pm: Ten-minute break 6:35pm: Aldridge misses Ian Aldridge started today with just 10,900 in chips. He fought hard to get himself into the top 50 players, but ultimately, that's where his run would end. Aldridge committed himself with the adventurous 9♥6♠ on a flop of 7♥K♠8♦ for an open-ended straight...more

4:40pm: Ten-minute break 4:30pm: Mile mauled on the river Mile Krstanoski is the latest casualty with under 70 players now remaining in the ANZPT Perth Main Event. Krstanoski was all in holding two pair with five-seven on a board of 7-3-2-5. Tu Lee was his opponent with a bare A-K...more

2:30pm: Ten-minute break 2:25pm: Barrett dethroned Following an open raise from Jon Curtis, Josh Barrett moved his short stack all in with K♥K♠ and was pretty happy to see Curtis make the call with A♦6♦. The first four cards were a safe 7♠6♣4♥T♣ for Barrett, but the A♠ on the...more

We knew there was going to be a strong turnout when the ANZPT arrived in Perth this week. Early talks were for a total of 250 players and after Day 1a attracted 89 players, there were some concerns as we were a long way from that mark. But there were...more

8:05pm: That's it! We're all done here in Perth on Day 1b of the ANZPT Perth Main Event. It looks like Didier Guerin will hang on to the chip lead with a stack of around 140,000, although there were a couple of players approaching 110,000 as the final hands were...more

6:55pm: Ten-minute break 6:55pm: Hold the press! New chip leader! We were looking forward to a break, but unfortunately Didier Guerin had other ideas. In a hand that went well into the break, Guerin got himself tangled in a huge three-way preflop clash holding Q♣Q♦ against both A♥T♠ and A♦K♠....more

4:45pm: Ten-minute break 4:35pm: One Lackovic down It hasn't been a great day for local Stev Lackovic. The young gun from WA has been recently sent to the rail. He got his short stack in the middle with pocket sixes but ran into Mishel Anunu's pocket jacks. The board fell...more

2:35pm: Ten-minute break 2:30pm: How do you not go broke? Vesko Zmukic just recalled to us a hand from earlier in the level, that raised our eyebrows. He said that there was a raise to 500 and three callers, including Zmukic in the big blind holding A♦T♦. The flop came...more

We are pretty excited to be back in Western Australia this week as the ANZPT Perth Main Event kicked off today. Perth is such a cool city, and the people are some of the friendliest I've met in the industry. The WA players who we see on tour are a...more

Day 1a is bagged and tagged The 43 remaining players have bagged and tagged and are now making their way into the adjacent Eve nightclub for the official player's welcome party. Peter Zaknic has ended the day in front with a stack of 91,100. Other notable survivors include Luch Monte...more

7:00pm: Ten-minute break 6:50pm: Raj on the river Raj Ramakrishnan has landed a handy double up but he had to do it the hard way, spiking a lucky river to overcome a dominated position against Errolyn Strang. Ramakrishnan held K♦J♦ and was all in against the A♣J♥ of Strang but...more

4:45pm: Ten-minute break 4:40pm: Strang soars Errolyn Strang won the Ladies Event earlier this week to add another trophy to a cabinet which also includes the 2011 Sydney Poker Championships Main Event title. Now she's chip leader at the second break of the ANZPT Perth Main Event, proving that she...more

2:35pm: Ten-minute break 2:30pm: Coolers bro As we get close to the first break of the day, we've already seen several big hands collide in huge pots with over a dozen eliminations in the first two hours of play. The most recent was the cooler to end all coolers as...more

It is with great pleasure that we find ourselves this week in Perth, Western Australia, as the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour rolls into town for the second official event of the Season 4 calendar. Originally scheduled as a standalone series known as the Perth Poker Championships, this event was...more