Online Poker Directory

Archive for September, 2011

1.15pm: My set is bigger than yours

Fatima Moreira de Melo is over 40,000 chips already after flopping a bigger set than Charlie Combes.

The action was four-way to [2c][8d][3c] flop and the action was checked to a player on the button who bet 400. Only the Team PokerStars SportsStar and Combes called to see the [as] turn. Combes took up the betting mantle with a 1,125 bet that De Melo raised up to 2,800. The button folded but Combes called.

The river came [ts] and Combes check-called a 5,600 bet with pocket three only to be shown pocket eights by the Dutch lady. –MC

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 75-150

 

1pm: Still standing

As has now become common knowledge, American legend Doyle Brunson is playing his first ever EPT at the age of 78. It’s not the only first. It’s likely the first time a cowboy hat of such size has been seen in these parts since Elton John played Wembley Arena.

Brunson just took on a youngster in the big blind from his spot on the button. Brunson bet 700 on the [8h][9s][9d] flop before both checked the [ks] turn. Brunson then folded on the [jh] river, to a bet of 1,600.

A slow start but the man knows how to be patient, unlike the rest of us who are struggling with a troublesome internet connection. — SB

12.55pm: Applying pressure

Back in the day on the EPT, play used to be very tight in the first few levels as players were deep and the thought process was that there was no need to gamble so early. That is not the case (thankfully) with modern day poker as players now see the early levels as an opportunity to apply pressure as that is when they have the most chips to successfully pull off such moves.

James Akenhead and newly appointed PokerStars Team Online member Mickey Petersen are two players who like apply such pressure.

Akenhead had made it to the turn in a heads-up pot. He was in position over his opponent and bet a pot-sized 2,600 when checked to him. His opponent called to see the river of a now completed [jd][2c][8d][7c][6d] board. Akenhead faced a check once more and fired 7,300 into the middle. It was too much for his opponent who folded.

Moments later on a nearby table Petersen raised to 300 from the small blind when the action folded to him, and the big blind called quickly to go to a [3c][8d][9d] flop. Petersen bet 400 and he was called to the [6d] turn where his 650 bet got through. — MC

12.40pm: Woe update

I’m going to disclose this up front: I’m English, born and bred in London. Therefore I might, just maybe, have a bias towards this event – not least of all that I didn’t have to board a plane to get here.

Now that admission is out of the way – showing that I’m all too willing to just see the good side of this event – you should understand that the following statement is hard to admit: we are seeing “Oops! Google Chrome” more than “PokerStars Blog” on the tabs on our laptop browsers. London internet providers, why are you failing us at this early juncture?

While coverage is not exactly the most fluid at the moment we have been assured that it’s being sorted. In the meantime do sign up to follow @PokerStarsBlog on Twitter which we can access. Hold tight, people. — RD

12.30pm: Internet woes

We are experiencing serious internet issues. Updates will begin as soon as we have connection!

12.20pm: This one’s on us, Doyle

Doyle Brunson is apparently playing his first ever EPT today and he’s very welcome. He’s sat with WCOOP High-Roller Champion Ash Mason and just showed he can still mix it up with these “kids”.

Mason raised to 300 from under-the-gun and was called by a player in the cut-off before Brunson stamped his seniority with a three-bet to 1,300 from the small blind. Mason passed with a smile but the third party called to see a [9s][ad][qh] flop.

There was no stopping Brunson as he led for 2,000 chips which was too much for his opponent to call. It would have been best if the American legend of the game tabled three-high here but second best was [as][ac], and that’s what he had. — MC

11.55am: London Pride

Welcome to EPT London, a unique event of the world poker stage. If the casinos of Monte Carlo, Paris and Vienna represent Europe’s gaming aristocracy, London is Europe’s plucky working class cousin, never shy in doffing a reverent cap, while at the same time providing the tour with a certain degree of backbone upon which to depend.

Since the European Poker Tour began, the London leg has been ever-present on the tour, from the old days at the Grosvenor Vic – that comforting cup-of-tea-and-fried-egg-sandwich hideaway – to the present-day opulence of the Hilton Metropole which once again becomes official Grosvenor turf for the duration of the EPT London Festival, which starts today.

‘Opulence’ is perhaps too strong a word; more ‘practical’. But what the King’s Ballroom lacks in majesty, it makes up in spirit; a place where poker players, spanning several generations, once more, in the home of Savile Row, Noel Coward, James Sherwood, Fortnum & Mason and the Duchess of Cambridge, dress in flip flops, vests, cheap hats and comfort-fit trousers, and remove the “fragile” labels from their egos. They then swagger into the tournament room to be humiliated by some 21-year-old foreigner with infinite talent, who got lucky, obviously.

The Houses of Parliament, and a red bus

That said, London has proved a happy hunting ground for numerous Brits. John Shipley, Mark Teltscher, Vicky Coren and David Vamplew each tasted victory here, and their appetite for repeat success remains strong.

London doesn’t rely on extravagance to attract the several hundred players who will arrive today and tomorrow, nor does it rely on location, with Edgware Road providing a gritty picture of the capital. But it is still technically the EPT’s home, the place where staff and bloggers alike, hang their hats; or thereabouts.

So with such frivolity in our hearts, it’s time to start day one. Play will be under way at 12 noon. It’s good to be home.

“Tlick7″ from the United Kingdom has been playing at Titan Poker since the end of 2006. Even so, he says “I haven’t played on Titan for all that long.” 

Playing under the nickname “Tlick7”, this VIP player is regularly ranked high on the Titan Poker promotion leaderboards. 

“Please keep the table software as it is!” ”Tlick7″ says. Overall, I’m glad to encourage Titan Poker to follow the idiom: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”

On the occasion of Titan Poker’s 6 Year Anniversary, we interviewed ”Tlick7″ and asked him his opinion of the Titan Poker software. 

“I like that the table-graphics (when tables are made small) are simple and clear. But if at some point in the future the graphics are changed, DO allow players to keep the old graphics. After all, online poker can be played even if the table of the involved players appears graphically different to each of them.“ 

We asked “Tlick7″ what was his opinion of Titan Poker’s support team. 

“It’s good that the site cares for both casual and more serious players,” he said. “The help offered by live-chat and VIP-email is good and friendly at Titan Poker. (A minor flaw in this is that one needs the Titan Poker client to be running in order to use live-chat and well, maybe one wants to contact support about the poker client not working properly *when* one is playing!)” 

What promotions does “Tlick7″ appreciate?

 “The occasional reload-bonuses offered now and then (especially for big-volume-players) are appreciated,” he told us.

So, you’ve read our final table report of Thomas ‘Kallllle’ Pedersen’s PokerStars WCOOP 2011 Main Event victory. You then enjoyed Brad Willis’ interview with the Dane, a new millionaire and a man who always wants to be the last man standing. Now you can watch our video of his powerful final table performance.

Brought to you by the good people of PokerStars.tv, with the bubbly Nick Wealthall as commentator, you’ll be able to grasp just what it takes to win the world’s largest online poker tournament.

Enjoy!

Thomas Pedersen

In August, Lars Bollhagen from Germany finished in twelfth place at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Luton 2011 £1,000 + £70 Main Event, for a prize of £3,180.

This month, Lars, who plays at Titan Poker under the nickname “2sick2poka,” won seats at the DeepStack Open Malta and the Irish Winter Festival. He won his way to these upcoming live events at Super Satellites in two consecutive nights.

Ahead of his travels and quest for poker glory, we interviewed Lars and asked whether he had ever been to Ireland or Malta before.

A: No, not yet, but I am excited to go!

Q: Was the competition difficult in the Super Satellites?

A: It wasn’t difficult. I just had the right cards at the right time or the right idea. If it would have been hard for me, I wouldn’t be playing those buy-ins.

Q: Is there anything from your experience at GUKPT Luton that will help you during your play in Ireland or Malta?

A: I think that every tournament that I played so far (especially live with a higher buy-in) will help me, because every hand that I play (or fold) helps me gain more and more experience. Another good experience was the friendly and fair atmosphere at the tables in England.

Q: What do you think about deepstack poker tournaments?

The live deepstack tournament series sounds really promising. Unfortunately I haven’t taken part in any of the events yet. I really like the online deepstack tournaments, but I think that the $ 100 deepstack tournament is starting a bit late or, in other words, it ends late.

Q: Have you played at live events before GUKPT Luton?

A: I also participated live a few times (SPT, Hamburg Masters, Vegas Deepstack Series, Monaco the ONE), but unfortunately only for small cashouts (sometimes $ 3000, sometimes $ 4000 but nothing really impressing).

Q: Do you play live cash games with your friends?

A: No… They don’t want to play with me

Q: What is your advice for new poker players?

A: Be true to yourself and don’t lose yourself or exaggerate.

 We wish Lars huge success in Malta and Dublin and expect to see him representing Titan Poker at additional live events all around the world in the months to come.

Hi everyone, I hope you are doing fine. I write to you from Mexico City to talk a little bit about the LAPT. For Season 4 of LAPT, it has been announced that Colombia will be its next stop, this time to host the Colombia National Poker Championship. In a few weeks, Medellin, one of the most attractive cities in this country, will be the venue for this event.

It is the first time that the LAPT has stopped in this country, and even though it is a national championship, people from all over the world are going to be reunited to play poker. One of the characteristics of the LAPT is that it chooses cities that not only have an important number of poker players, but also that offer interesting tourist attractions so that the players can have a complete experience in and out of the poker rooms. Participants have the opportunity to submerge themselves in the culture of these Latin American countries, experiment with their food, enjoy the beaches and the warmth of their people, so if you can be a part of this and come to Medellin, I can guarantee that you won’t regret it. I hope to see you all there!

It is my point of view that one of the constants in the LAPT is that the players that come from non Latin American countries always return home very happy because of this complete experience. Like I’ve mentioned before, you come to one of this events not only to play poker, but also to have the chance to visit amazing cities like São Paulo, Florianopolis, Lima, Punta del Este, San Jose, Rosario, just to mention a few. Each of these cities is a great tourist destination, most of them with beautiful beaches and an amazing climate. In my opinion this is one of the characteristics that makes the LAPT more attractive than the other poker circuits, and also why I prefer it to the others. Let’s not overlook the fact that the LAPT also gives you the opportunity to play in a poker event that offers important prize pools.

I am a regular player at the Latin American Poker Tour and if you were to ask me which one is my favourite venue and why, I would have to say Brazil. I think that everyone that has played there knows what I’m talking about, and all the others that haven’t had the chance, I highly recommend it. Brazilian people, their beaches, the excellent climate, the food and their hospitality is unbeatable. To be able to go to Brazil is a unique experience and if you can play poker at the same time, it can’t get any better. The LAPT always chooses between São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Florianopolis, to host the events. All of these spots are between the most important cities in the country, but they are also very different between them. It is these unique qualities that make you want to come back again and again.

During my career in poker, it has been during the LAPT that I have gained some of my best memories as a player. It has been also the circuit that has allowed me to share exciting moments with my friends, all of which I remember with joy. How can I forget, for example, my good friend Nacho Barbero’s back-to-back LAPT main event titles? These are memories that stay forever in the LAPT’s history. I also remember the time when Leo Fernández, playing in Mar de Plata, was practically out in the first levels of the tournament with only one chip and heroically achieved to make it all the way in to the final table. These are only a few of many memories the LAPT has given me. These are the details that shape history and stay in the memory of all of us who are or have been a part of the LAPT. I invite you all to participate in the LAPT´s fourth season and to experience in person the difference between LAPT and other poker circuits! Good luck to all and see you at the tables!

8:10pm: Caris clips Nelson

Lee Nelson opened with a raise to 1,525 from middle position and Charles Caris made the call in the small blind to see a flop of [3c][th][qc].

Caris checked it across to Nelson who bet 2,200. Caris came back with a check-raise to 6,800 and Nelson made the call to see the [as] hit the turn. The scare card didn’t slow down Caris as he bet 8,000 but it was enough to send Nelson scurrying as he folded his hand.

Nelson slips to 38,000 while Caris, who is currently 6th in the ANZ Player of the Year race, is up to 58,000 in chips.

8:00pm: Apostolidis flushes Khouiss

We don’t have the details of the action, but John Apostolidis is pretty happy with the result after a huge double up through Sam Khouiss.

The action went down on the flop of [9h][ah][2d] with Khouiss moving all in and Apostolodis calling it off. Khouiss held [ad][qh] for top pair as Apostolidis was drawing with his [kh][4h]. It was over on the [7h] as Apostolidis caught his flush, leaving Khouiss drawing dead as the river [9c] completed the board.

We were expecting some colourful commentary but Khouiss didn’t say too much, as Apostolidis congratulated himself for making a “great call”.

Apostolidis is up to 117,000 with Khouiss crippled.

7:40pm: Steicke comes unstuck

We’ve recently lost one of our International stars as Hong Kong’s David Steicke has been eliminated. As recalled to us, Steicke three-bet shoved his last 9,000 chips with [a][7] suited but Julius Colman made the call with a dominant [a][q].

The board ran out [q][8][2][7][q] for good measure to send Steicke packing.

After another table break, Steicke’s seat was recently filled by another International sensation as PokerStars Team Asia Pro Celina Lin took the empty seat.

David Steicke has been eliminated from the ANZPT Melbourne Main Event

7:30pm: Wing flying; Huntly hunted

After battling on the Table of Death earlier today, Tom Wing is now much more comfortable on his new table up in the High Limit area of the Crown Poker Room alongside notables Jie Gao and Harry Demetriou.

He’s especially happy after eliminating a short-stacked opponent when his pocket aces held against his opponent’s ace-queen. Wing is up to 55,000.

Not so lucky was Dennis Huntly who was on the wrong end of the same combination of cards. Huntly was short-stacked and pushed his [ah][qs] into an opponent’s [ac][as]. The board ran out [7d][3s][5c][8s][5d] to eliminate Huntly from the tournament.

7:20pm: Play resumes

Batteries recharged and stomachs satisfied, the players are back in their seats and ready to play another three levels this evening until we bag, tag and sleep.

“Seems like everyone at this table is trying to win, that’s no fun!” exclaimed Daniel “KidPoker” Negreanu near the sixth hour of play and holding a sizable stack going towards the money bubble of 117 places paid. Indeed PLO8 is not for the faint of heart nor timid betting if a final table, five figure scores, or WCOOP bracelet is in your future. While the betting is restricted to pot limit, big bet poker plus skillful players like Team PokerStars pro Nuno Coelho trying to make it back to the final table as he did last year finishing 4th for $ 27K, there was no easy money to be had despite Daniel’s pleas.

907 players total would drop into Event #51′s $ 320 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low tournament, meaning the PokerStars guarantee of $ 175,000 was not needed once again as the $ 272,100.00 prize pool would provide funds for 117 players to enjoy, including $ 48,978.00 for the champ.

Another final tablist from last year, Brazilian caprioli, would head into the sixth hour with chips along with Team PokerStars pros Marcin “Goral” Horecki, Bryan Huang, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, and Team Online’s Anders “Donald” Berg who was trying to notch his seventh cash of the WCOOP 2011 series (but behind his teammates ElkY with eight cashes, and Negreanu with nine). However, being in fifth place in the WCOOP Player of the Series race starting tonight and of course his runner-up finish last night nearly notch his record breaking fourth WCOOP bracelet after capturing his third win in Event #16 , Berg was standing the tallest of all the Red Spade holders being just a runner-up finish from catching 2FLY2TILT in the overall series race and holding three WCOOP bracelets overall.

No final table for the Norwegian as Berg would meet a quick end to his tournament after the 15 minute break finishing outside the money in 139th place along with Mike “SirWatts” Watson in 141st place who nearly made a final table in Event #27 Badugi and was seen last year heads-up in SCOOP 2011′s Event # 34-Medium but falling just short of the championship watch. Negreanu, Grospellier, Horecki, and Huang would cross the bubble safely, as would Finland’s villepn who notched his 12th cash of the series and was looking to add a bracelet to the SCOOP watch earned in 2010′s Event #14-High.

Of the four Team PokerStars pros ElkY would be the first to get scooped as he tried to get his small stack of 12,299 chips with blinds at 1,250/2,500 in the middle preflop with a pot size raise. Called only by mickeyknox7 in the small blind, the Triple Crown winner was unable to match up with the board after throwing in the rest of his stack post-flop as mickeyknox7′s pair of sixes would take it down and Grospellier collected $ 680.25 in 73rd place. Bertrand was followed closely by Bryan Huang on the rail as the Singapore pro was also short on chips failing to salvage half the pot after flopping the nut flush draw as his opponent Pokerccini (late night poker playing pizza topping?) would scoop the 24,162 chip pot with a straight and nut low ending Huang’s night in 71st place ($ 734.67).

Horecki saw the cruelness of aces cracked in PLO8 when mnstrkll reraised the Polish pro until all of Marcin’s stack was in the middle holding [Kc][7h][Ac][As]. mnstrkll held a decent two-way hand [Kh] [5c] [3h] [Ad] that turned into a monster as low cards kept coming off the deck [9h] [7s] [4c] [6h] [2s] giving mnstrkll a seven-high straight to go with the nut-low and a tidy 141,736 chip pot eliminating “Goral” in 58th place ($ 789.09).

At the ninth hour break and four tables left, Daniel would still be in the running for the bracelet holding his own with 87,428 chips and blinds at 2.5K/5K. But, ImaLucSac, currently tied for 10th on the Player of Series leaderboard was sitting two his right with double of the 150K average chip stack. The shortstack would bobble up and down a bit before going underwater with the blinds at 4K/8K in a battle of the blinds with akkenny the two would see a [Kh] [4d] [7h] flop with 48,000 chips already in the middle. Immediately akkenny shoved out a pot bet which covered Negreanu’s stack, and holding two pair [Qs] [Kd] [3s] [7d] Daniel made the call hoping to fade the low draw to scoop a much needed 126,824 chip pot. [5h] locked up half the pot for akkenny and in runner-runner fashion, the [Js] stole the high end as akkenny’s set of jacks knocked out Kid Poker in 21st place ($ 1,251.66).

Marcin Horecki was not the only Polish player to make it deep tonight. lukro8, who has a SCOOP 2011 watch from taking down Event #33-High NLO8, would nearly miss the final table after busting in 14th place ($ 2,312.85).

After Barseggg and YaaGy both earned $ 2,857.05 in 12th and 11th place respectively, the shortstacks were anything but weak with several all-ins on both tables and ten players go for the win versus eeking out another step on the pay scale. With only a little more than four big bets left, PKgrower managed to get most of those chips in the middle preflop with a pot bet as only Burkolo made the call from the button. [Js] [6c] [2c] flop and PKgrower was all-in as Burkolo called and hit the flop hard with a nut low/nut flush draw [3d] [5c] [Ac] [3c], PKgrower however was wilting with a lot of nothing [5s] [9s] [As] [7h]. Flush on the turn [Qc] and PKgrower was down to three deuces in the deck for a quarter and a sliver of life, but the [7d] river closed the book on PKgrower in tenth place ($ 2,857.05) opening the final table below:

Seat 1: Kanolio (782812 in chips)
Seat 2: akkenny (504899 in chips)
Seat 3: Cloudag88 (306384 in chips)
Seat 4: mnstrkll (1070566 in chips)
Seat 5: Burkoló (840026 in chips)
Seat 6: dev209 (242944 in chips)
Seat 7: ImaLucSac (285718 in chips)
Seat 8: nccarvalho11 (345421 in chips)
Seat 9: IRLMedic (156230 in chips)

And a lovely lady was there waiting for the final nine to be seated as Team Online’s Adrienne “talonchick” Rowsome welcomed our players to the table.

Blink and you would think we started with eight

No, tonight’s Event #51 final table started with a full table of nine but IRLMedic would bust from the table like there was an emergency to attend to as on the final table’s second hand 352,460 chips would be scooped by mnstrkll. With the blinds at 8K/16K IRLMedic would trade raises with mnstrkll until the shortstack’s very strong double suited ace-deuce was exposed [2s] [7d] [6s] [Ad]. mnstrkll turned up a high hand with a low possible [3s] [Kd] [Js] [Ah]. King on the flop and nine on the turn locking out any possible low [Qh] [6h] [Kc] [9h] left IRLMedic in need of some poker CPR with a two-outer. No six on the river [Qd] and IRLMedic flatlined in ninth place ($ 3,401.25).

Trying to knock out the entire table?

One might ask mnstrkll this after the hand shown the video below:

Cracking aces in Omaha is not the same as doing so in Hold Em’ but nccarvalho11 probably does not want to hear that after mnstrkll’s [6d] [Ac] [2c] [Js] found on a couple of jacks on the flop [Jd] [4s] [Jh] [5s] [Kd] smashing nccarvalho11′s [Ad] [9h] [Kh] [Ah] heart-broken aces into $ 5,578.08 for eighth place.

Shoot to strkll

As the blinds moved up twice to 12.5K/25K mnstrkll continued to dominate the final table and got a little stronger after pushing akkenny all-in after the lighter stack tried to pot raise from the button while the chip leader sat in the big blind. Both with strong aces and two-way hands, akkenny holding [Ts] [3s] [Ah] [Jc] and mnstrkll [Ad] [5d] [4d] [Ks] as akkenny would jump out to an early lead flopping two pair [3d] [9c] [Td]. But, akkenny’s two pair were made with diamonds and sure enough by the river a third one would appear [8c] [6d] knocking out akkenny in seventh place ($ 8,271.84) for mnstrkll’s third straight elimination.

Who’s going to tell mnstrkll there’s no bounty for taking out players?

Nine players to start and shortly before the 12th hour 15 minute (8 minutes after a consensus to keep the tourney moving) break there would only be five heading out to grab a quick bite to eat, run a marathon, or whatever one does after twelve intense hours of high stakes poker. With the blinds at 15K/30K once again the resident bulldozer, mnstrkll, would flatten another player. After a min raise UTG, mnstrkll would call Cloudag88′s shove to 153,019 chips total showing [Qh] [Kd] [8s] [Ah]. Cloudag88′s tournament life would be floating on double suited jacks and tens [Jc] [Jd] [Td] [Tc]. However the wispy Cloudag88′s hand would turn into vapor after a turned ace [9s] [6h] [2h] [Ad] [8h] giving mnstrkll yet another non-bounty as Cloudag88 collected $ 10,992.84 in sixth place.

Playing for second place

Apparently, mnstrkll is immune to fatigue and aces. Watch the video below for another pair of bullets falling to the unstoppable force known as mnstrkll:

Started like the previous cracking where mnstrkll opened with a min raise and a three-bet by the big blind, this time Kanolio both would gaze briefly at the [Ts] [3h] [Ks] flop. Kanolio wanted to no decision and shoved for 254,812 holding the aforementioned aces [As] [6d] [Ac] [6h] as mnstrkll flipped up a very dirty [Td] [Jd] [Qh] [7d] which held several outs to two pair and straight draws. [9d] on the turn brought the straight and a collective sigh from the rest of the table as mnstrkll scooped the 914,624 chip pot sending Kanolio home in fifth place ($ 13,713.84).

VERY costly jack

ImaLucSac, no not that one, the other one, would leap into second place in the Player of the Series standings with a win tonight. But, someone not named mnstrkll decided to ruin the party. With the blinds now at 20K/40K ImaLucSac would decide his fate preflop after trading raises with Burkolo till nearly one million chips sat in the middle to take on the massive stack of mnstrkll. Kings for ImaLucSac [Kc] [6s] [Kh] [8d] while Burkolo held jacks with a better low draw [5s] [Ad] [Jh] [Jc]. Flop was great for ImaLucSac nearly getting rid of the low with the [8c] [9s] [5h] flop. But, the jack on the turn [Js] could very well cost ImaLucSac that massive Player of the Series package as the [3d] fell limply on the river to hand $ 19,727.25 the Canadian in fourth place.

Yeah, I think we have seen this before

Personally this writer has played a lot of Omaha but cannot recall such a hating on aces in a short time. With the blinds still at 20K/40K in what is the theme of this final table, player gets aces, player gets aces all-in against mnstrkll, player collects $ XXXXX.XX in anything but first place. This time the victim was Burkolo for a huge 2.1 million chip pot as the script played out yet again. mnstrkll min raised, Burkolo three-bet, mnstrkll called. The flop [Jh] [2h] [3c] was big enough for Burkolo to continue pushing those aces [Ad] [Ac] [8s] [4d] but this time there was a redraw to a wheel and any non-pairing low card for a lock low as mnstrkll turned over top pair and a flush draw [Jd] [Td] [9h] [7h] and no possible low. Much like knowing someone’s about to get whacked in The Godfather when the violin music pipes up, the river delivered after a blank turn [Qd], as the [9s] gave mnstrkll the huge pot leaving Burkolo wondering what went wrong so quickly in third place ($ 26,393.70).

Cracking aces not necessary

dev209 tried to approach a deal with mnstrkll but Finnish turned down all requests politely, perhaps due to the roll those four cards in front that name was on. Despite the 807,577 to 3.7 million chip advantage, dev209 did not go meekly into the night or cower to mnstrkll’s domination of the final table. Six hands into heads-up play dev209 would show the spectators that mnstrkll was indeed human by getting a double up to 1.7 million.
But, seven hands later mnstrkll would have a WCOOP bracelet after the hand below laid on ace on the river:

All the money for the 3.7 million chip pot went in after the [3c] [9h] [5d] flop with dev209 hoping to hit with an open-ended straight draw [2h] [3d] [Kd] [4c] and a pair against mnstrkll’s top pair and gutshot. [7h] turn gave mnstrkll the low and a flush draw and the river ace [Ac] polished the new acquired bracelet for mnstrkll with a wheel to win the high, low, and $ 48,978.00 as the Event #51 champion!

If you wish to rehear the snap, crackle, and pop of aces tonight, check out WCOOP TV and WCOOP Radio for all the commentary and great prizes being awarded during the broadcast!

$ 175,000 guarantee WCOOP 2011 Event #51 Pot Limit Omaha High-low results (09-21-11)
1. mnstrkll (Finland) $ 48,978.00
2. dev209 (Germany) $ 35,373.00
3. Burkoló (Hungary) $ 26,393.70
4. ImaLucSac (Canada) $ 19,727.25
5. Kanolio (Spain) $ 13,713.84
6. Cloudag88 (Poland) $ 10,992.84
7. akkenny (Ireland) $ 8,271.84
8. nccarvalho11 (Brazil) $ 5,578.05
9. IRLMedic (Ireland) $ 3,401.25

Johan Bredberg from the United Kingdom has been playing at Titan Poker since the end of 2006. Even so, he says “I haven’t played on Titan for all that long.” 

Playing under the nickname “Tlick7”, this VIP player is regularly ranked high on the Titan Poker promotion leaderboards. 

“Please keep the table software as it is!” Johan says. Overall, I’m glad to encourage Titan Poker to follow the idiom: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”

On the occasion of Titan Poker’s 6 Year Anniversary, we interviewed Johan and asked him his opinion of the Titan Poker software. 

“I like that the table-graphics (when tables are made small) are simple and clear. But if at some point in the future the graphics are changed, DO allow players to keep the old graphics. After all, online poker can be played even if the table of the involved players appears graphically different to each of them.“ 

We asked Johan what was his opinion of Titan Poker’s support team. 

“It’s good that the site cares for both casual and more serious players,” he said. “The help offered by live-chat and VIP-email is good and friendly at Titan Poker. (A minor flaw in this is that one needs the Titan Poker client to be running in order to use live-chat and well, maybe one wants to contact support about the poker client not working properly *when* one is playing!)” 

What promotions does Johan appreciate?

 “The occasional reload-bonuses offered now and then (especially for big-volume-players) are appreciated,” he told us.

After a lovely and relaxing week in England, I’m off to Malta to play the WPT event this week. It will be the first time I’ve been in Malta and I’m looking forward to some sunshine while I have a bit of a tourist jaunt around.

A friend of mine grew up in there so she’s been giving me tips on great places to eat as well as the must-see spots to hit. First up though, the poker!

This is the first major ‘re-entry’ event in Europe and it’ll be interesting to see how that changes the atmosphere on Day 1a. There will also be an online live stream of the final table so be sure to tune in for that.

I’ve had a great holiday in England with my friends this week but the weather has been a bit shocking; wind and rain in spades! Still, it’s the perfect weather to snuggle up with a big roast dinner and a glass of wine by a pub fireplace.

In fact, that’s what I’m off to do now after a great morning watching the Rugby World Cup on TV. I can’t imagine a better Sunday!

For anyone heading to Malta to play the WPT, I’ll see you in a couple of days. Otherwise, keep an eye on the live updates to see how your favourite players are getting on. Best of luck!

Going from rags to riches is the dreams for most of the poker players in the world. Event #42, a $ 1,050 No Limit Hold’em event, included a player with such dreams, hoping to turn his depositors freeroll into a decent cash so that he did not have to deposit again for the near-future.

Day 1:

A total of 2,207 players signed up generating a $ 2,207,000 prize pool with 288 earning $ 1,765.60 or more. Day one’s schedule brought 22 half-hour levels before play was paused with 111 players remaining. Leading the way was po77a who also had maintained the lead since the field got into the money, during level 19.

Making it into the money but not surviving to the end of level 22 were PokerStars Team Online members Kevin “WizardOfAhhs” Thurman (122nd), Grayson “spacegravy” Physioc (131st), Tyler “frosty012″ Frost (207th), Mathew “chipstar1″ Didlick (277th), and Team PokerStars Pros Leo “LeoFernandez” Fernandez (211th) and Maxim Lykov (258th). While those players made their exit Team Pro’s Matthias “mattidm” De Meulder, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Andre “aakkari” Akkari survived the day.

Day 2:

The remaining 111 players returned at 2pm EST to continue their quest for a WCOOP bracelet and the $ 353,120 first place prize. Among those in the field was sporty_2311, who won his way into the tourney via a depositor freeroll qualifier. Starting the day in sixteenth place sporty_2311 navigated his way to the final table where he came in eighth in chips after surviving the hour long final table bubble.

Although they survived Day one all three Team Pro members made their exit before the the final table. Matthias “mattidm” De Meulder was the last one standing making his exit in 12th place collecting $ 16,552.50. He was preceded by Andre “aakkari” Akkari (90th) and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier (94th) who both received $ 3,531.20.

When the final table began a familiar face was at the top, po77a has held the lead most of the way since the field reached the money.

Final Table Chip Counts:

Seat 1: 68ioweyou1 (1,617,024 in chips)
Seat 2: joejoe1337 (5,611,680 in chips)
Seat 3: bajskorven87 (2,717,935 in chips)
Seat 4: Langustee (564,348 in chips)
Seat 5: munchenHB (6,195,054 in chips)
Seat 6: sporty_2311 (1,489,361 in chips)
Seat 7: FlipflopUK (1,105,111 in chips)
Seat 8: po77a (11,858,795 in chips)
Seat 9: davidmoreira (1,945,692 in chips)

Langustee out in 9th:

Langustee started the final table with the shortest stack and finally stuck his stack into the middle from the big blind after a preflop raise and call from po77a and davidmoreira respectively. po77a re-raised the all-in of Langustee and davidmoreira folded. Langustee showed [7c][7d] while po77a had [Kh][Qd]. The [Tc][9d][6s] flop delivered po77a a few extra outs now needing any king, queen, or jack to eliminate Langustee. When the [Jd] appeared on the turn Langustee’s hopes of winning vanished and he was eliminated in ninth place for $ 20,966.50.

bajskorven87 eliminated in 8th:

After raise and the re-raise from po77a and joejoe1337, bajskorven87 moved all-in for 3,278,684 from the small blind. munchenHB then moved all-in from the big blind for 3,665,372, both po77a and joejoe1337 folded and bajskorven87 showed [Jc][Js] while munchenHB showed [Kd][Kh]. The [Ah][8h][7d][2d][4d] board brought no help to bajskorven87 eliminating him in eighth place for $ 37,519.

Freeroller sporty_2311 eliminated in 7th:

Blinding down to under eight big blinds, sporty_2311 went all-in under-the-gun with [8d][8h]. 68ioweyou1 called the all-in from the button with [Ac][Td] and the players were off to the races. The [Kc][9d][4d] flop was relatively safe for sporty_2311 but the [Ah] turn and finally [Th] river meant that sporty_2311 was eliminated collecting $ 55,175. Not bad for getting in on a depositors freeroll, we don’t think he will be depositing anytime soon.

68ioweyou1 gets another:

davidmoreira moved all-in from the big blind after 68ioweyou1 min-raised from under-the-gun who called the all-in and showed [Kd][Kc]. davidmoreira’s [Kh][Qc] was severely outclassed and needing lots of help, which did not come on the [9d][8c][5d][7h][8s] board.

po77a loses the lead:

Facing a 225,000 button raise from munchenHB, po77a re-raised to 674,232. munchenHB called and the two saw the [Ts][8d][4c] flop. po77a lead out to 623,222 and munchenHB called. The [4d] turn brought another bet from po77a, this time for 1,232,222. munchenHB once again called to see the [2d] river which brought a 2,122,111 bet from po77a. munchenHB called and showed [Js][Jd] which was good to beat po77a’s [Ah][Qh], collect the 9,414,074 pot, and the chip lead.

68ioweyou1 gets eliminated:

Even though 68ioweyou1 eliminated the last two players five-handed play was not so good for him. He eventually ended up being the short stack on the table and he put all his chip in the middle from under-the-gun with [Ac][Jd]. munchenHB called from the button and showed [Kh][Kd]. The [Ks][Jc][6d] flop was all that munchenHB needed to send 68ioweyou1 out in fifth place to collect $ 99,315.

po77a eliminated in 4th:

After holding the chip lead for most of Day 2 and then finally losing it midway through the final table, po77a made his exit in fourth place to FlipflopUK. All the chips went into the middle preflop and their cards were revealed with FlipflopUK holding [Ah][Kd] against po77a’s [Ac][2d]. After the [9s][8h][4d] flop and [8s] turn po77a was looking for any two to win the pot or a nine or four to chop the pot. The [Jd] was not one of those cards eliminating him in fourth place for $ 136,834.

FlipFlopUK eliminated in 3rd:

When you eliminate a player you usually don’t think you will be the next one out the door but that is just what happened to FlipFlopUK when he ran his [Tc][Ts] into the [Kh][Ks] of joejoe1337. The two got into a raise war preflop that saw FlipflopUK finally call off his 7 million chip stack off. The [Kd][3h][2h] flop pretty much sealed the deal, leaving FlipflopUK needing running cards to survive. the [4h] on the turn ended his hopes and sending him on his way to count the $ 198,630 he collected for finishing third.

Heads-up:

The heads-up battle began with both players holding around 100 big blinds with the blinds at 70,000/140,000 and an ante of 17,500.

Seat 2: joejoe1337 (19,406,340 in chips)
Seat 5: munchenHB (13,698,660 in chips)

After winning an all-in earlier in the heads-up battle when his pocket fours held off the ace-queen of joejoe1337 to draw back to even munchenHB was once again all-in, this time the two were separated by only 459,150. Once again joejoe1337 held ace-queen ([As][Qc]) and munchenHB had a pocket pair, [Ts][Tc]. The [Jd][5c][4d][Kc][2h] board meant that muchenHB had joejoe1337 on the ropes and just needed to execute the final kill shot.

That kill shot came in two hands, the first hand joejoe1337 doubled up to 918,300. The second hand saw munchenHB move all-in and joejoe1337 call. MunchenHB’s [Qc][Ts] had joejoe1337′s [Qh][6c] dominated. When the board ran out [8s][4d][3s][Qs][9d] the match was over with joejoe1337 collecting $ 264,840 while munchenHB gets $ 353,120 and the WCOOP bracelet. Congrats munchenHB.

Event #42 $ 1,050 No Limit Hold’em – Final Table Results:

1st: munchenHB – $ 353,120.00
2nd: joejoe1337 – $ 264,840.00
3rd: FlipflopUK – $ 198,630.00
4th: po77a – $ 136,834.00
5th: 68ioweyou1 – $ 99,315.00
6th: davidmoreira – $ 77,245.00
7th: sporty_2311 – $ 55,175.00
8th: bajskorven87 – $ 37,519.00
9th: Langustee – $ 20,966.50

You only have six days left to get in on the action of the 2011 WCOOP series, You can find information on what events remain along with satellites on the main WCOOP page. While you are there check out the special stats page. Don’t forget to check out the WCOOP Radio Shows for daily prizes, special guests, and WCOOP commentary.