Online Poker Scene

THAY3R Final Tables FTOPS $535 No Limit Hold'em Shootout

Dan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:36:00 GMT

Thursday marked Day 2 of the 14th Full Tilt Online Poker Series. When the smoke cleared on the virtual felts, Thayer THAY3R Rasmussen (pictured at right) grabbed third place in Event #3, a $535 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Shootout. He banked $36,000 for his efforts, outlasting all but two players of the 729 who turned out. The tournament shattered its $300,000 guarantee, ultimately boasting $364,000 up for grabs and paying out to the top 81 spots on the leaderboard. Two more events are on tap today as part of FTOPS XIV.

Full Tilt Poker player chrispeace bested JonEeeWhite to win Event #3 and earn $76,000. For Rasmussen, it was another impressive cash on a poker resume that already includes wins in the PokerStars $100 Rebuy, Full Tilt $100 Cubed, and Ultimate Bet $75,000 Guaranteed. He sits at #65 worldwide on the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings and outlasted German poker player bastet, who grabbed fourth place on Thursday for $27,000. Rounding out the final table of Event #3 of FTOPS XIV was John jt3013 Theisen, who earned $6,900 for eighth place. Here’s how the final table shook out:

1. chrispeace - $76,545
2. JonEeeWhite - $51,030
3. THAY3R - $36,450 (THAY3R)
4. bastet2004 - $27,338 (bastet)
5. buck99 - $20,048
6. MuckCMuckC - $14,580
7. GnightMoon - $10,206
8. jt3013 - $6,926 (jt3013)
9. Laurrra - $4,921

Also playing out on Thursday was Event #2, a $216 buy-in Seven Game Six-Max tournament. The festivities attracted a throng of 838 players and, when the smoke cleared, RymesWOrange defeated PocketFives.com member StephenHendry heads-up. The latter earned $23,000 for second place and recently final tabled the Sunday Mulligan on Full Tilt Poker for $19,000. Like Event #3, Event #2 broke its guarantee, as the prize pool swelled to $167,000 and the top 102 finishers walked away with cash.

Grabbing third in Event #2 was Randy Randers Haddox (pictured at right), the former winner of a 2008 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Six-Handed Mixed event for $73,000. Haddox is a longtime member of PocketFives.com and earned $16,000 for his third place performance. Claiming fifth place on Thursday in the same event was jhksauser, a New Jersey online poker player who banked $9,000:

1. RymesWOrange - $35,783
2. St3phenHendry - $23,464 (StephenHendry)
3. Randers - $16,760 (Randers)
4. 7PRS - $12,738
5. jhksauser - $9,050 (jhksauser)
6. real-nic - $5,782

Two more events will play out Friday on Full Tilt Poker:

FTOPS Event #4: $200+16 No Limit Hold’em Cubed
$600,000 Guaranteed
Today at 2:00pm ET

FTOPS Event #5: $200+16 Limit Stud High/Low
$100,000 Guaranteed
Today at 9:00pm ET

We’d like to wish the best of luck to all members of the online poker community taking part in FTOPS XIV events. Visit Full Tilt Poker for the full schedule and satellite information.

Weekday Tournament Review for Nov-6-2009

wandigo — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:22:00 GMT

PocketFives.com members won all 11 of 11 major tournaments for the first part of this week, which was kicked off by Russian player DopPiNg, who had an outright win in the Full Tilt Poker $1k Monday for $92.2k after outlasting 372 other hopeful entrants. Thomas ChuckSty Rau of North Carolina placed 3rd this week for $44.7k. Early last month, Rau had another 3rd place finish in this same event, that time earning $37.4k. Triple Crown winner Shawn phatcat Luman (pictured) took home $34.5k after he was eliminated in 4th place. Pennsylvania player djcoin earned $26.1k for taking 5th, followed by JBurleson in 8th for $9.3k and darkcheck_ of Virginia won $7.4k for his 9th place finish.

Monday's $100 rebuy tournament on PokerStars saw seven P5s members at its final table this week. Nick fu_15 Maimone, who has recently been seen on ESPN for his 15th place finish in this year's World Series of Poker Main Event for $630k, outlasted this week's field of 285 other players to win the $23.5k top prize. Anthony holdplz Spinella, who won this tournament one month ago for $36.5k, finished runner-up this week for just over $17k. Beldar C began his impressive run this week with a $12.9k score for 3rd place, followed by Christian charder Harder in 4th for $9.7k. Dan wildman75 Buzgon, who finished 5th in last week's Quarter Million for $13.9k, added another $5.1k to his bankroll for a 6th place finish in this tournament. Ian sheckwave Schechter, who recently came off a $48.9k score for his 3rd place finish in the Sunday 500 this week, pocketed another $4k for taking 7th, followed by Chosen Wun in 8th for $2.8k.

Three P5ers were seen deep in Monday's Nightly $100k Guarantee tournament. PocketFiver peachymer of Atlanta, Georgia was the top finisher, outlasting 953 other players to win the $25.9k top prize. In mid-September, Brit placed 9th in the WCOOP Main Event ($5,200 NLHE) for $96.4k. David dhilton12 Hilton finished 4th in this week's Nightly for $10.4k and Joshua bbbbb33 Weizer took 8th for $3.1k, less than one month after his $92.8k score for placing runner-up in the $750k Guarantee on Full Tilt Poker.

Five P5ers packed the final table of Tuesday's Nightly $100k Guarantee tournament, which had 875 entrants this week. Triple Crown winner and 90th ranked player Mark dipthrong Herm (right) was the eventual winner of this event, walking away with just over $24k. Taylor ElMastermind McFarland of Seattle finished runner-up to Herm, earning $17.1k. New York player driftdc5, who won the Fifty-Fifty on Full Tilt Poker just last month for $9.4k, added another $12.9k to his resume for placing 3rd in this week's Nightly 100k. Paul BigBoat21 Unruh was eliminated in 5th place for $6.8k and manderbutt took 8th for $2.8k.

The Super Tuesday on PokerStars had 338 entrants this week. Five PocketFives.com members reached this week's final table, led by Canadian player NeverScaredB, who won this event for $65.4k. Just two weeks prior, he also had a win in a $100 rebuy tournament on the same site for $28.4k. Beldar C made his second final table appearance this week, finishing runner-up in this event for $49k, topping his earnings to over $60k for the 48-hour period. California player siola has been the talk of the tables lately. After winnings two $109 freezeouts last week for $24k total, he then took down the prestigious Sunday Million for $238k and followed that up this week with a 3rd place finish in the Super Tuesday for $37.1k. He didn't stop there as we will find out later in this week's review. Seventeenth ranked player gregior made his way to two final tables on Tuesday, firstly with a $27.8k score for taking 4th in this event, close behind in 7th was EeeTee who walked away with $11.4k.

Tuesday's $100 rebuy tournament on PokerStars had 291 entrants this week, paying out over $115,000 in prizes. Triple Crown winner and 74th ranked player theczar19 made his way through one of the toughest daily tournaments to earn the $23.7k top prize. Finishing runner-up was gregior, who earned $17.4k, bumping his grand total for the night to just over $45k in winnings. Pennsylvania State student whitE_mAmbA placed 3rd in this event for $13.1k, followed by GeoffRas in 5th for $6.8k. Also appearing at this final table were hfortye, badbeatme, p0cket00 and sketchy1.

The $100k Guaranteed on Full Tilt Poker had 616 entrants this week and paid out over $250,000 in prizes. This is a $100 rebuy 6-max tournament, usually attracting some of the top tournament professionals and known to be one of the toughest weekly tournaments. Four P5s members made this week's final table, led by bankrollme87 (left) of Massachusetts, who earned his largest online score of $53.9k for his outright win in this tournament. Runner-up finisher arsenal46 walked away with $35.3k for his efforts, followed by Richard rfohrenbach Fohrenbach in 4th for $19.3k and GrizzlyBear in 6th for $8.7k.

The Quarter Million on PokerStars had 1,236 entrants this week and Pocketfives.com member Sorel Imper1um Mizzi was the eventual winner, earning $64.8k for his accomplishment. Just two months prior, Mizzi also had a win in the Sunday $215 rebuy tournament for $39.1k. Illinois player rob131986 placed 3rd this week for $35.2k, followed by weever22 in 6th for $14.8k. Randy Randers Haddox of Texas walked away with $11.1k for his 7th place finish, whitE_mAmbA earned $7.4k for 8th and ErikTheKing7 took 9th place for $4.2k.

Wednesday's $100 rebuy tournament on PokerStars had an entire final table full of P5s members, led by 63rd ranked player Taylor taypaur Paur, who finished 1st of 451 other entrants to claim the $36.1k top prize. Matt _cwp394_ Ross, who had a $59k score for his Super Tuesday win in early June '09, placed runner-up this week to Paur for $26.8k. Steve McNallyville McNally was close behind, taking 3rd for $19.7k, philbort pocketed just over $15k for 4th and tEh_R3aLde4L walked away with $10.5k for taking 5th. Also making an appearance at this final table were PocketFivers BadgerPro, szusza84, rivermanl and Bill Ivey.

UltimateBet is the host for two large tournaments on Wednesday. The Sniper 80k Guarantee tournament had 596 entrants this week. P5er chardrian of Nigeria made his way to the final two players, whom both took an unknown chop of the remaining $41k prize money. siola is no stranger to final tables this week, adding another $10.7k score to his run for taking 3rd in this event. Alex AJKHoosier1 Kamberis (right), who just last month had a $49.9k score for his runner-up finish in the $1K Monday as well as another $25k for winning the $320 NLHE event here on UltimateBet, earned another $6.1k for taking 5th in this week's Sniper. JasonGray was eliminated in 7th for $3.7k, matt1269 in 8th for $2.6k and mescalin8 took 9th for $1.8k.

Five P5ers reached the final table of the $150k Guaranteed tournament, which is a $1,000+50 buy-in event. This week 226 players entered this tournament and darrenelias of Pennsylvania was the last man standing, earning $58.7k for his win. In February '09, this player also won FTOPS #13 (1r+1a) on Full Tilt Poker for $126.5k. Joe Joey Capp Cappuccio finished 6th in this event for $12.4k, improved took 7th for $10.1k, CrazyZachary finished 8th for $7.9k and pbdrunks was eliminated in 9th for $5.6k.

Congratulations to all P5ers who cashed in weekday major tournaments. Here are the final table results of covered events:

Monday

Full Tilt Poker $1K Monday $1,000+60
373 entrants - $373,000 paid out to 36 spots

digididopp - $92,250 (DopPiNg)
xTrumptightx - $59,680
ChuckSty - $44,760 (ChuckSty)
phat_cat1 - $34,502 (phatcat)
djcoin - $26,110 (djcoin)
Chicago2LA - $18,650
AmazingMiss - $12,122
JBurleson - $9,325 (JBurleson)
evenkeal777 - $7,460 (darkcheck_)

PokerStars 100r $100+9
286 entrants - $114,800 paid out to 36 spots

FU_15 - $23,534 (fu_15)
holdplz - $17,220 (holdplz)
Beldar C. - $12,972 (Beldar C)
charder30 - $9,758 (charder)
brianm15 - $6,773
WiLDmAn75 - $5,166 (wildman75)
sheckwave - $4,018 (sheckwave)
TheChosenWun - $2,870 (Chosen Wun)
nodi1 - $2,009

PokerStars Nightly 100k $150+12
954 entrants - $143,100 paid out to 108 spots

PeachyMer - $25,901 (peachymer)
partybusser - $18,603
River88 - $13,952
dhilton12 - $10,446 (dhilton12)
rockets23 - $7,369
lydpilen - $5,938
jroessler - $4,507
bbbbb33 - $3,162 (bbbbb33)
superfred77 - $1,831

Tuesday:

PokerStars Super Tuesday $350k Guaranteed $1,000+50
338 entrants - $338,000 paid out to 36 spots

NeverScaredB - $65,403 (NeverScaredB)
Beldar C. - $49,010 (Beldar C)
siola - $37,180 (siola)
gregior - $27,885 (gregior)
julle - $19,266
Calvin32 - $14,872
EeeTee2008 - $11,492 (EeeTee)
yorassismine - $8,112
tuff_shark - $5,915

PokerStars Nightly 100k $150+12
875 entrants - $131,250 paid out to 99 spots

SHIPP ITT - $24,084 (dipthrong)
ElMastermind - $17,193 (ElMastermind)
driftdc5 - $12,993 (driftdc5)
GeorgiaFrank - $9,778
achillies21 - $6,825 (BigBoat21)
Hotlanta3129 - $5,512
hotpockets77 - $4,200
manderbutt - $2,887 (manderbutt)
BUDDATAK - $1,706

PokerStars 100r $100+9
291 entrants - $116,000 paid out to 36 spots

theczar19 - $23,780 (theczar19)
gregior - $17,400 (gregior)
psuNYY51 - $13,108 (whitE_mAmbA)
PITU_poker - $9,860
GeoffRas22 - $6,844 (GeoffRas)
nipsman - $5,220 (hfortye)
reeda205 - $4,060 (badbeatme)
p0cket00 - $2,900 (p0cket00)
sketchy1 - $2,030 (sketchy1)

Wednesday

PokerStars 100r $100+9
452 entrants - $187,800 paid out to 54 spots

tRaMp$d0PrAy - $36,151 (taypaur)
cwp394 - $26,855 (_cwp394_)
mcnallyville - $19,719 (McNallyville)
philbort - $15,024 (philbort)
tEh_R3aLde4L - $10,516 (tEh_R3aLde4L)
BadgerPro - $8,169 (BadgerPro)
szusza84 - $6,291 (szusza84)
rivermanl - $4,413 (rivermanl)
Bill Ivey - $3,192 (Bill Ivey)

PokerStars Quarter Million $300+20
1236 entrants - $370,800 paid out to 144 spots

zangbezan24 - $64,815 (Imper1um)
TiltHappens - $47,091
rob131986 - $35,226 (rob131986)
clemdog34 - $26,326
4everunknown - $18,540
weever22 - $14,832 (weever22)
Randers - $11,124 (Randers)
psuNYY51 - $7,416 (whitE_mAmbA)
ErikTheKing7 - $4,264 (ErikTheKing7)

Full Tilt Poker $100k Guarantee $100+9 rebuy
616 entrants - $250,900 paid out to 84 spots

bankrollme87 - $53,943 (bankrollme87)
arsenal46 - $35,376 (arsenal46)
DownTheStreetD - $25,416
RealFaithTV - $19,319 (rfohrenbach)
shuriken555 - $13,799
CrystalBalla - $8,781 (GrizzlyBear)

UltimateBet Sniper 80k Guarantee $200+15
596 entrants - $107,280 paid out to 63 spots (2-way unknown chop)

DAVEVEGAS92 - ~$20,516
CHARDRIAN - ~$20,516 (chardrian)
IH8HUSTRALIA - $10,728 (siola)
4KINGDADDY - $7,241
AJKHOOSIER1 - $6,168 (AJKHoosier1)
ENTARAGATOR - $4,827
ONLINEPRONGP - $3,754 (JasonGray)
MATT126912 - $2,682 (matt1269)
MESCALIN8 - $1,877 (mescalin8)

UltimateBet $150k Guarantee $1000+50
226 entrants - $226,000 paid out to 27 spots

DARRENELIAS - $58,760 (darrenelias)
BRANDONCANTU - $35,030
THEHUNGRYDOG - $24,860
_CHECK_MATE - $18,080
BERG5528 - $14,803
JOEYCAPP - $12,430 (Joey Capp)
IMPROVED - $10,170 (improved)
CRAZYZACHARY - $7,910 (CrazyZachary)
PBDRUNKS - $5,650 (pbdrunks)

High Stakes Poker Season 6 Cast Released

Dan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:04:00 GMT

Recently, GSN officials released the cast list for Season 6 of the popular cash game franchise “High Stakes Poker.” A total of 17 names were revealed and filming begins on November 11th at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas. In a radical change from Season 5, A.J. Benza is out as host. His replacement is none other than Kara Scott, a television veteran who is one of only two women to make the money in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in back-to-back years.

When the news broke that Benza was out as “High Stakes Poker” host after five seasons, the PocketFives.com online poker community responded sharply. saxton82 was one of those who chimed in and stated, “good, i thought Benza blew anyway....they need Kaplan and Norman Chad to do all poker coverage.” It won’t be Chad, an ESPN announcer, joining “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan. Instead, it will be Scott, who will take to the floor of the “High Stakes Poker” suite for interviews and analysis.

“High Stakes Poker” Executive Producer Mori Eskandani told PocketFives.com, “When it comes to actual playing in cash games and having the knowledge she has, she is the best-suited. She also knows all of the international players.” First-time players competing in the sixth season of “High Stakes Poker” include Sammy George, a cash game aficionado who has earned the nickname “Any Two.” Also making their way to Las Vegas to appear on “High Stakes Poker” for the first time is Andreas Hoivold, who resides in Norway.

Debuting on “High Stakes Poker” with George and Hoivold are Yevgeniy Jovial Gent Timoshenko (pictured at left), Dennis Phillips, and Lex RaSZi Veldhuis. Timoshenko took down the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship and PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event, both in 2009, for nearly $4 million total. Phillips made back-to-back deep runs in the WSOP Main Event and took third last year for $4.5 million. Veldhuis final tabled the $40,000 buy-in event commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP for $277,000.

Besides the five aforementioned newcomers, others who will appear on “High Stakes Poker” Season 6 include Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Tom Dwan, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry barryg1 Greenstein (pictured at right), Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow, Allan Meltzer, and Daniel Negreanu. GSN officials are especially looking forward to hosting Ivey, who will be fresh off an appearance at the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table as part of the November Nine.

Some in the poker community have drawn the comparison between “Poker After Dark” and “High Stakes Poker” given Scott’s introduction as a floor reporter. Both shows are developed by Poker PROductions, but Eskandani shunned the similarities: “Six-handed games on ‘Poker After Dark’ have smaller in buy-ins and are smaller in size. ‘High Stakes Poker’ is the highest limit cash game that people are going to sit down and play. We set the parameters, but once the game starts, the sky’s the limit. If the table wants to take it up 10 notches, they can.” Prop bets, running boards multiple times, and friendly table banter make “High Stakes Poker” on GSN a perennial fan favorite.

Eskandani faces the tough task of one-upping the previous season of “High Stakes Poker” each time out, but revealed the secret to his success: “When we compile a list, we start out with our core players, people who are known in USA television and around the world. Then, we go into the world of cash games and start asking who’s hot and who’s not. We get tons of comments from friends and players and start feeling them out.” Eskandani also reviews what personalities made waves during previous seasons and tries to court them once again. Last season, the most talked about player was Dwan (pictured at right), who scooped the largest pot in “High Stakes Poker” history at the expense of Greenstein.

“High Stakes Poker” will hit television airwaves for its new season on Sunday, February 14th at 8:00pm ET.

s00tedj0kers Wins FTOPS XIV Kickoff Event

P5s Staff — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:37:00 GMT

On Wednesday night, the 14th running of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) kicked off on the virtual felts of the world’s second largest site. Amid much fanfare, Kory s00tedj0kers Kilpatrick brought home $120,000 as part of a four-way chop and officially turned in the win. The $216 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event boasted a field of 4,694 entrants, coming up short of its $1 million guarantee. Nevertheless, Kilpatrick, a Triple Crown winner from Athens, Georgia, earned a six-figure payday.

To put the attendance of 4,694 in perspective, the kickoff tournament of FTOPS XIII, also a $216 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event, drew 5,712 players. In FTOPS XII, the opening gong saw 4,445 players seated, while in FTOPS XI, the first tournament attracted 6,275 players. Kilpatrick (pictured at left) was part of a four-way deal in the finale of this year’s running and is fresh off a third place showing in the PokerStars Super Tuesday for $35,000 one month ago. In June of 2008, he captured a Triple Crown by virtue of winning the PokerStars $100 rebuy and Full Tilt $30 rebuy on the same day and then taking down the Ultimate Bet $30 rebuy, all within a seven-day period.

Also involved in the deal in the first FTOPS XIV event was Kevin kev19 Tanner, who earned $115,000 for second place. Tanner hails from Canada and is three months removed from final tabling the $200,000 Guaranteed on Absolute Poker for $19,000. Taking away $80,000 from the four-way chop was taaffey, who also calls Canada home.

Claiming fifth place in Event #1 of FTOPS XIV was Bryan badbeatninja Devonshire (pictured at right), who earned $37,000. Devonshire, a PokerRoad Radio personality, finished as the runner-up in a $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split event during the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $140,000, falling to poker pro Alexander Kravchenko heads-up. Devonshire finished second in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Reno stop in 2008 for $271,000 and finished 12th in that season’s WPT Championship for another $132,000.

Here were the results from Event #1 of FTOPS XIV:

1. s00tedj0kers89 - $120,000 (s00tedj0kers)
2. kev19 - $115,000 (kev19)
3. taaffey - $80,000 (taaffey)
4. nelez7 - $98,600
5. badbeatninja - $37,000 (badbeatninja)
6. Andicover - $23,000

Two more events are on the docket today at Full Tilt Poker:

FTOPS Event #2: $200+16 Seven-Game Mixed
$150,000 Guaranteed
Today at 2:00pm ET

FTOPS Event #3: $500+35 No Limit Hold’em Shootout
$300,000 Guaranteed
Today at 9:00pm ET

The $535 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Main Event will take place on Sunday, November 15th at 6:00pm ET. Visit Full Tilt Poker for more information.

Jordan Smith (scarface_79) Joins the PocketFives Podcast

Dan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:59:00 GMT

This week, the PocketFives.com Podcast sponsored by the USA-friendly site Carbon Poker welcomes Jordan scarface_79 Smith, who is fresh off finishing 10th in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Smith had the dubious distinction of being the final table bubble boy, but banked nearly $900,000 for his efforts. This weekend, Smith and the rest of the poker community will watch as the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament crowns a champion in Las Vegas.

In Smith’s final hand back in July, the Texan check-raised all-in on a flop of 8-4-2 with pocket aces. Darvin Moon quickly made the call and turned over pocket eights for top set. The turn was a five, which gave Smith a gutshot straight draw, but the river came a ten, sending him home. Consequently, Moon owns a massive chip lead over the rest of the field entering Saturday’s play, which will see the pack dwindle from nine to two. Smith told the PocketFives.com Podcast, “I’ve been really fortunate and, besides that one hand, I can’t complain about anything. I could have easily busted out on Day 7 or Day 1 for much less money. I definitely had a great summer.”

Besides his top 10 finish in the Main Event, Smith’s run through the 2009 WSOP included a bracelet win in a $2,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament. Nearly 1,700 players bought into that event and Smith took home $586,000. He explained his approach to the 2009 WSOP festivities: “This year, I took more of a business approach to it. I got more rest, got more sleep, and just worked harder this year than in previous years. I didn’t play hardly any online and didn’t go out that much.” He walked away from Las Vegas $1.5 million richer for his efforts.

Reaching the final table in 2009 is Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey (pictured at left), who has already taken home two bracelets in preliminary events leading up to Saturday’s finale. Ivey was a candidate for the Poker Hall of Fame this year and is regarded by many as the top all-around player in the game. Ivey owns the seventh largest stack in the November Nine. On his horse this weekend, Smith commented, “Phil Ivey or Darvin Moon. I think [Darvin Moon winning] would be great for poker. I think Phil Ivey winning would [also] be great for poker. It’s both ends of the spectrum. It’s a more exciting final table than in years past.”

The poker industry watched as Ivey mucked a winning flush during ESPN’s Day 8 coverage of the WSOP Main Event against Smith. In the hand, Smith showed a pair of aces on a four-spade board and Ivey mucked a pair of eights, including the eight of spades. ESPN announcer Norman Chad (pictured at right), who annually picks Ivey to win the Main Event, exclaimed, “Phil, you had a flush. Five suited cards is a flush. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

On seeing the hand play out on television and realizing that Ivey mucked a flush, Smith recalled, “I think he thought I was strong, so my plan was to check-raise him all-in on the river. I was definitely more shocked than anyone when I saw he had a spade on the television broadcast. For the best player in the world like that, he basically gave me two million chips for misreading his hand. That’s more surprising than anything.” The pot has created a tremendous amount of buzz around the poker community even though Ivey cruised to his first November Nine appearance.

Check out the rest of this week’s PocketFives.com Podcast.

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PokerStars Launches UK and Ireland Poker Tour

P5s Staff — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:35:00 GMT

Hot off the press is the launch of the PokerStars UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT). The nine tournament series kicks off on December 11th in Galway, Ireland at the Radisson Hotel and comes with a €2,000 price tag. The tournament series is the newest to be sponsored by PokerStars, which already brings circuits like the European Poker Tour (EPT) and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) to life. Let’s take a look at the inaugural UKIPT schedule, which will take Northern Europe by storm.

The finale of the UKIPT schedule is in London, where the EPT’s stop in the British city will serve as its championship tournament. Therefore, winners of UKIPT events will receive an entry into the London tournament valued at £5,300. Text found on PokerStars’ website reveals the guaranteed prize pools for each event: “Events with a £500+£50 buy-in (Manchester, Coventry, and Nottingham) have a guaranteed prize pool of £100,000, and Irish events with a €1,000+€100 buy-in (Killarney and Dublin) will have a €250,000 guarantee.”

A UKIPT leaderboard will be kept throughout the first season, with various levels of sponsorships available for the second UKIPT season that will be awarded to the top finishers. The grand prize is a Main Event buy-in plus hotel for all UKIPT Season 2 stops. Second place awards entry and lodging for four Season 2 tournaments, while third place will gain players entry and shelter for two tournaments. The top 100 players will earn a seat into a high-stakes £10,000 prize pool freeroll.

Without further adieu, here’s the schedule for the first ever season of the UKIPT, brought to you by PokerStars:

UKIPT Galway (Ireland)
December 11th to 14th
Venue: Radisson Hotel
€2,000 buy-in

UKIPT Manchester (United Kingdom)
February 11th to 14th
Venue: Grosvenor G Casino
£500+50 buy-in

UKIPT Coventry (United Kingdom)
April 8th to 11th
Venue: Grosvenor G Casino
£500+50 buy-in

UKIPT Nottingham (United Kingdom)
May 13th to 16th
Venue: Dusk Till Dawn
£500+50 buy-in

UKIPT Killarney (Ireland)
June 24th to 27th
Venue: Gleneagles
€1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT Brighton (United Kingdom)
July 15th to 18th
Venue Rendezvous
£1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT Scotland
Dates are TBA
Venue is TBA
£1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT Dublin (Ireland)
September 9th to 12th
Venue: Burlington Hotel
€1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT London (United Kingdom)
October 1st to 10th
Venue: Hilton Metropole
£5,000+250 buy-in

Team PokerStars Pro members are expected to populate the events along the way, including Teddy Sheringham and Vicky Coren (pictured at right, image courtesy of PokerStars). On the range of buy-ins throughout the nine-event series, Coren commented in a press release distributed by PokerStars, “The buy-ins are great: big enough to make chunky prize pools, but not so big that they're a huge drain on resources.” Selected events will also see PokerStars sponsored pros holding question and answer sessions to give entrants a few tips prior to taking to the green felts.

The first event in Galway will play out as part of the annual Irish Poker Championships. Satellites to UKIPT tournaments are currently running from $2.22 or 111 Frequent Player Points (FPPs). Step qualifiers are also in high gear. Visit PokerStars for more information.

YanniYankievich Hits #79 in Online Poker Rankings

Dan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:22:00 GMT

Last week, Jarosław YanniYankievich Jaskiewicz entered the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings at #87 worldwide. One week later, he’s ballooned to #79 on the prestigious leaderboard on the strength of wins in the Full Tilt Poker $75,000 Guaranteed and PokerStars $100 rebuy in the last four months for a combined $44,000. In October, he final tabled the Ultimate Bet $200,000 Guaranteed to the tune of $18,000 for his third place effort. Jaskiewicz sat down with PocketFives.com from Las Vegas to recap his recent performances.

In July, Jaskiewicz took 198th in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, earning $36,000 for his efforts in the $10,000 buy-in tournament. The festivities will finish airing on ESPN next Tuesday and, on his run, Jaskiewicz told PocketFives.com, “I only made it to the top 200, but it was great putting in long days. I was riding a super short stack for the first four days and didn’t even get to over 100,000 in chips until Day 4, so that made it that much more fun and exciting for me.” Top prize in the event pays $8.5 million.

In 2008, the PocketFives.com member finished second in a Pot Limit Omaha event held during the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) for $60,000. In October of that year, he took down the PokerStars Sunday Second Chance for another $54,000. Appropriately, he’s currently bunking with a wealth of poker talent in Las Vegas, including Carter ckingusc King (pictured at left), Michael benvo123 Benvenuti, James croll103 Carroll, and Dan USCswimmer White. Jaskiewicz is fresh off railing Benvenuti in a $500 buy-in preliminary tournament held during the Festa al Lago in late October. Benvenuti ultimately took second in the event for $25,000, falling to fellow PocketFives.com member Mike GoLeafsGoEh Leah heads-up. Three days later, Jaskiewicz railed Benvenuti in a $5,000 buy-in event at Caesars.

On his lifestyle, which is about to undergo a major change, Jaskiewicz noted, “Carter, Michael, and Dan got the place during the summer and I moved here. We basically grind a ton online and hit up some live cash games here and there. I’m moving out, though, and will be heading back to Vancouver in about three weeks to get a new life started there.” Jaskiewicz added that while he’s enjoyed experiencing the Las Vegas lifestyle, he no longer wants to live out of a suitcase.

In the Rankings, he sits at #79 worldwide and owns the 72nd best PLB Score in the business. He’s come a long way since tearing his ACL while playing soccer, a freak accident that ignited his climb up the online poker ladder. He revealed, “I played in a couple of home games and really enjoyed it. I ended up taking $300 to the casino and turned it to $3,000 over one weekend. It made sense to try to make that work, as I couldn’t really work.”

He could then be found camped out at River Rock Casino Resort (pictured at right) in Canada, where he noted, “I did that for about eight months and didn’t really leave the casino. I pretty much lived there, grinding $1/$2 for a living. I went bust eventually after putting in way too many hours.” Jaskiewicz then headed for the oil rigs in Northern Canada, where he worked for six months away from the game. Then, he discovered online poker, which led to his current profession. The rest, as they say, is history.

In October, the PocketFives.com member accumulated $119,000 in tournaments that are tracked for the Online Poker Rankings in 76 qualifying cashes, an average of $1,500 each. He’s final tabled the weekly Ultimate Bet $200,000 Guaranteed in each of the last two months.

So what other movers and shakers were there in this week’s edition of the Online Poker Rankings? Check them out for yourself.

Sam Iola (siola) Chops PokerStars Sunday Million

Dan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:45:00 GMT

Over the weekend, Sam siola Iola bested a field of 7,962 players and chopped the PokerStars Sunday Million for $189,000. The college student from California was the top dog of the 1,170 entrants who finished in the money and recorded his first six-figure payday. Two months ago, Iola took down the PokerStars $100 rebuy for $27,000 and won the same tournament five days later for another $20,000. Other cashes include a win in the Full Tilt Poker $50,000 Guaranteed for $20,000. On Sunday, he had a bevy of railbirds watching the action down the stretch.

PocketFives.com: Congratulations on chopping the PokerStars Sunday Million for nearly $200,000. Tell us about the tournament leading up to the final table.

Iola: It was really smooth sailing for a long time. I honestly wasn’t paying any more attention to it than any other table until there were a couple hundred people left, but even with 200 or 250 left, I had 1.5 million chips at 10,000/20,000 blinds. So, I was able to maneuver and stay afloat when I wasn’t card racking.

With about 100 people left, I started to think that winning was a realistic possibility. I’ve been on a self-admitted heater recently, but have also been really focused. I didn’t have much of a desire to play for anything other than the top three, so I was open-shipping and utilizing my stack against passive blinds more often than in other tournaments. There just seems to be infinite dead money in the Sunday Million.

PocketFives.com: Did the resistance get tougher as you approached the final table?

Iola: Not really. If anything, it got easier. At no point did I have a fear of bubbling the final table and I was one-tabling instead of ten- or eight-tabling.

PocketFives.com: At what point did chopping the tournament creep into your head?

Iola: I wasn’t thinking about it until it came up six-handed. When we started talking, I realized that I could get about $12,000 more equity than a fair ICM chop, so I figured I’d take it and ship the $30,000 left to play for. A fair ICM chop would have given me $147,000, but I got $159,000 by the time we finished talking.

PocketFives.com: What did you do to celebrate your first six-figure score?

Iola: I need a new laptop because my tilting tendencies caused me to beat mine up pretty badly. I really am just waiting to celebrate until I graduate. I’m a fifth year senior and it’s been a long time coming. I’m ready to head to Amsterdam and grind as soon as possible.

PocketFives.com: Is your plan, then, to go to Amsterdam (pictured at right) after you graduate from the University of Redlands in Southern California?

Iola: That’s the plan for the near future. It’s just a means to an end and I plan on going to law school at some point afterward.

PocketFives.com: How did you get started in poker?

Iola: I was a perennial repeat depositor and would build $100 into $1,000 before losing it back slowly. I stumbled into the final table of the Full Tilt $750,000 Guaranteed last year for $55,000 and then immediately started playing everything I could. After getting killed for a while, I slowly started to develop into a much more aggressive, focused player instead of just a degenerate.

PocketFives.com: Are there any shout outs you’d like to give?

Iola: I want to say thanks to everyone who sweated like Darren darrenelias Elias, Michael benvo123 Benvenuti (pictured at right), Clint InaneFool Coffee, achen, Matt238, and Evan Roberts. Also, I’d like to give a shout out to my cousin Scott for listening to me whine about Sundays for month after month. I’ll try to refrain from that from now on.

Online Poker Discussed in Massachusetts State Legislature Hearing

Dan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:33:00 GMT

Late last week, allowing online poker was one of several gambling proposals set forth in a Massachusetts State Legislature hearing. On the scene was Randy Castonguay, the Massachusetts State Director for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), who spoke during the marathon proceedings about the importance of regulating and legalizing the internet version of the game in the Northeastern state. Castonguay candidly told PocketFives.com, “We were trying to bring in tax revenue to the State of Massachusetts, which is in bad need of funding.” Let’s recap what happened in the hearing hosted by the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.

A similar casino bill to the measure presented last year is on the docket once again, along with a bevy of proposals to raise much-needed revenue for the Commonwealth. The PPA boasts 25,000 members in Massachusetts and reacted sharply when a bill that mandated two years in prison and a $25,000 fine for playing online poker hit the floor of the state’s legislature. In his testimony, Castonguay recalled, “Thankfully, the authors of these bills recognized their error when their offices were flooded with phone calls and e-mails from angry constituents and have agreed to pull the criminalization language.”

According to the Boston Herald newspaper, 16 casino bills were discussed over a six-hour period. The media outlet added that one of the biggest applauses of the night in the Gardner Auditorium in Boston went to Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes, who questioned, “How many more paychecks will workers in this Commonwealth have to miss? How many creditors will have to come calling? How many foreclosures will working families have to endure? How many layoffs? We cannot pass up this opportunity to create jobs. This is the time.”

Castonguay stressed the importance of updating the Commonwealth’s stance on internet gambling to reflect the recent explosion of the medium. He noted, “As this Committee discusses the pros and cons of regulating expanded gaming in our Commonwealth, it would also be appropriate to consider the existing internet poker play that is occurring today without any state oversight or control. Regulation of internet poker is not expansion of gambling, it is simply the responsible government response to an industry that exists today.” The PPA estimates that regulating online poker could bring in $40 million per year in Massachusetts, which might put a significant plug in the state’s leaky budget.

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA, pictured at left), who is trumpeting the licensing and regulation of internet gambling on a national level, calls Massachusetts home. Frank represents its Fourth Congressional District, which includes several Boston suburbs and outlying towns. His HR 2267, which establishes a full framework for legalized internet gambling in the United States, was introduced in May and is up to 62 cosponsors on both sides of the aisle.

HR 2266, also introduced by Frank, delays mandatory industry compliance with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year to December 1st, 2010. The measure is up to 52 cosponsors, but has yet to be acted on one month away from the current UIGEA compliance date.

The PPA has worked in tandem with organizations like the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and American Greyhound Track Operators Association in authoring a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in an effort to stave off the December 1st date. The PPA watched as Frank and 18 other Congressmen issued a letter to the same two government officials also calling for a delay. No update has been given by the organization since.

A separate Boston Herald article noted that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts faces a $600 million budget deficit. Stay tuned to PocketFives.com for the latest online poker news.

WPT Officially Sold to Party Gaming

Dan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:21:00 GMT

Despite a last-minute $36.5 million bid by Mandalay Media, World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE) shareholders officially rubber-stamped a $12.3 million sale to Peerless Media, a subsidiary of Party Gaming. The 85% to 15% vote of stakeholders took place on Friday in Los Angeles and the sale will likely be finalized this month. Its impact on the WPT is not yet known. The news marks the end of a roller coaster ride for WPTE officials, who had originally entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Playtech, which owns and operates the popular iPoker Network.

Mandalay Media submitted two proposals to purchase the rights to the WPT in the days leading up to a special shareholders meeting on Friday. In response to the new options, WPTE officials commented in a press release distributed on Monday, “The board of directors of WPTE reviewed the Mandalay Proposal and concluded that it was not a Superior Proposal (as defined in the Agreement). On October 30, 2009, WPTE received a modified written offer from Mandalay Media. On October 31, 2009 the board of directors of WPTE reviewed the Modified Mandalay Proposal and concluded that it was not a Superior Proposal.” Both proposals from Mandalay Media were therefore dismissed and shareholders did not consider either last week.

The second offer tendered by Mandalay Media was worth $36.5 million. It consisted of $28.5 million in cash, $5 million in Mandalay common stock, and 5% of future WPTE-related revenues, which were guaranteed to be worth at least $3 million over the next three years. The package was worth about $1.77 per share, which Mandalay Media noted “represents a 61% premium over the value at closing of your proposed asset sale with Peerless and a 28% premium over WPTE’s closing price.”

WPTE stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the same abbreviation. At the close of trading on Thursday, the day before the second offer was received, WPTE was fetching $1.11 per share. To open business on Friday, the stock had mushroomed to $1.42 per share, a jump of 28%. However, it began Monday trading at $1.11 and, at the time of writing, had dropped to $1.10. Over the last 52 weeks, WPTE stock has trended between $0.15 and $1.95 per share and, at one point, faced de-listing from the NASDAQ for holding a price that was less than $1.

A total of 68% of the common shares were represented at the special stakeholders meeting on Friday. When the final vote was tabulated, 85% approved the proposal from Party Gaming, which represented 58% of the shares outstanding. The sale should be finalized by the end of November.

As part of Party Gaming’s proposal, WPTE officials received $12.3 million in cash less payments due to the online gambling behemoth that were expected to total around $1.5 million. In addition, WPTE receives 5% of future gross gaming revenues and 5% of other revenues associated with the franchise. Party Gaming guaranteed WPTE that the revenue share would be at least $3 million over a three-year period. WPTE owes $1 million to Gamynia Limited, a subsidiary of Playtech, for breaking a prior agreement to sell the roving tournament series.

The bid from Party Gaming was revealed back in mid-August, when a cryptic form was filed with the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. It read in part, “The Company's Board of Directors has received an alternative acquisition proposal and is following the process required by the Purchase Agreement. Until the process required by the Purchase Agreement is completed, the Company will delay the filing of a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC.” Mike Sexton (pictured at right), PartyPoker’s ambassador, was recently elected into the Poker Hall of Fame and serves as the WPT’s longtime host alongside Vince Van Patten.

WPTE officials are currently gearing up for the Foxwoods World Poker Finals, which kicks off on Thursday from the New England casino. The $10,000 buy-in tournament crowns a winner five days later. Last year, Jonathan FieryJustice Little outlasted a field of 412 entrants en route to a $1.1 million payday and his second WPT title.

Read the final WPTE proxy statement to shareholders outlining the terms of the Party Gaming sale.