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We’re getting closer and closer to what looks like the best line up of the Premier League ever and if you think that’s quite a brash claim to be making, did you read that headline?

Money Makin’

Yes you read that last bit right as you were counting the zeros for the forth time… both Daniel Shak and Mad Marvin Rettenmaier have both now signed up with the buy in being a staggering $ 125,000.

 

Daniel Shak is truly a legend in the poker world with a string of cashes as long as my arms and amounting to nearly $ 5 Million this is one player who knows his way around the table.

And for those of you doing the math with a 125k buy in and 16 players participating that’s a total prize fund of US$ 2,000,000 which we hope will be more than enough for a new pair of shoes for Dan.

We we were fortunate to catch a few words with him direct from his home in Las Vegas during a unusually early 7 am call he told us – “I’ve been following the premier league since its inception 6 years ago and I’ve always been interested in playing and very pleased to finally be able to participate this year. I always like the challenge of playing against the best players in the world and this certainly qualifies!”

It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World….

Then of course if that’s not enough we’ve now got our very own back to back World Poker Tour winner Mad Marvin Rettenmaier joining in on the quite expensive side of fun, when asked about his $ 125,000 poker game he told us “It’s great to be in a position to play in the PartyPoker.com Premier League this year. I’d be mad to turn down the offer! I hope I can do myself and my sponsors justice.” We hope so too Marvin we hope so too.

So Who Do You Want To See?

Who would you like to see in this year’s PartyPoker.com Premier League? Let us know in the comments below and remember to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook now!

With seven official WSOP bracelets up for grabs, the World Series of Poker Europe is currently being staged at the Hotel Majestic Barriere and the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette in Cannes, France. The €10,450 WSOPE Main Event Championship will kick off on the weekend, but already attention has turned to the two events which began play.

Former Team Titan star Marvin Rettenmaier was the chipleader at the conclusion of Day 1B of 2012 WSOPE Event #2: €1,100 No-Limit Hold’em. The German player, with a stack of 69,950, is the overall leader as players move today to the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette for Day 2 action.

Event #2 had a total starting field of 626 players, creating a prize pool of €600,960. The top 63 players will finish in the money and €126,207 has been reserved for the tournament winner.

Rettenmaier was one of 250 players eliminated from the action on Day 1A, but as the event is a re-entry tournament, he was able to enter again on Day 1B before emerging as that day’s eventual chipleader.

American player Ashly Butler was the chipleader at the end of Day 1A, with 48,125 chips, followed by WSOP Big One for One Drop winner Antonio Esfandiari, with a stack of 47,275.

Meanwhile, the winner of 2012 WSOP Event #1: €2,700 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em was Tunisian Imed Ben Mahmoud, who outlasted a starting field of 227 players to capture first prize of €147,099 and the coveted bracelet.

As you’re probably more than aware of by now Marvin Rettenmaier is good at poker, I mean really good. Recently he did the unheard of by winning back to back WPT Titles, first by taking down the WPT Champions Cup in May and then by quickly following this up by crushing WPT Merit Cyprus Classic and hence becoming the first player to ever win back-to-back WPT titles.

So how does he do it?

I caught up with one of the nicest fellows you’re likely to meet in the industry; Lance Bradley of Bluff Magazine a couple of weeks back and asked him his thoughts on Marvin of which he told me:

“Marvin’s been one of poker’s best kept secrets the past few years but I think the cat is out of the bag now. The guy can play. He’s gone from being in the mix in smaller buy-in live tournaments to winning the World Poker Tour championship and being a threat for BLUFF Player of the Year every year. It should serve as a shining example to those that dream of turning pro that getting to that point is a grind . It’s not easy, but hard work and dedication to your craft can pay off handsomely.”

The Money’s Nice

But the title is what they’re really playing for, so perhaps foolishly I asked the ultimate question a few weeks back, the most cruelly obvious of ones to be honest – “Can he perform a hat-trick?”

Eye of the Tiger

A good friend of mine well known and liked on the circuit claims he always blasts out “Eye of the Tiger” when he reaches an online final table. Well this time Marvin was heading to the very same home of that great champion that’s right Rocky Balboa of Philadelphia.

Marvin was off to play in the WPT Parx Open Poker Classic, he was heading in late of course and completely exhausted, he truly was heading into the lions den. Marvin told me later “I wasn’t there for long. The dealers weren’t good to me”, and so unfortunately the answer was no. But really so what? so what? I mean the guy won back to back wins and took a shot at the triple, kudos.

Am I Tempting Fate?

So I’ll tempt fate again by broadening the question and ask you all at home, do you think Marvin could do 3 in one year? Can Mad Marvin win 3 WPT titles in the space of one calendar year? Never mind the fact that his back to backs wins were in separate seasons that doesn’t matter, this is a YES or NO question I want to know will 2012 prove to be the year that Marvin Rettenmaier can win 3 WPT Titles?

Back to Back Events here we go!

And with the WPT now running back to back events with Paris being first up from the 10th – 15th Sept then it’s a hop, skip and jump to Malta (where rumor is Phil Hellmuth will be making an appearance) from the 16th – 20th we’ll know the answer to this pretty soon. I’m hoping it’s a big YES HE CAN! If he does I sure hope he puts on a song and dance about it:

With a list of names like something out of a ‘Who’s Who’ guide to poker including the likes of David “Chino” Rheem, Daniel’Jungleman’Cates, The Mizrachi Brothers, Sam El Sayed, Tommy Vedes, and Dominik Nitsche, there was one name here at the PartyPoker Blog that we’d be paying close attention to…

PartyPokers very own

“Mad” Marvin Rettenmaier of course, who ended up crushing the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic and performed the unthinkable by becoming the first player ever to win back-to-back WPT titles.

On top of that Marvin walked away with a cool $ 287,784 in prize money a $ 25k seat into the 2013 WPT World Championship at the Bellagio, which you might just remember Marvin took down last May winning the WPT Champions Cup and of course $ 1.2 Million in prize money and his name forever written into the WPT history books.

3 times a charm

Can he perform a hat-trick we ask? Well with this kid anything’s possible “This is totally MAD,” said Marvin. “I’m heading to Philadelphia to see if I can make it a triple at the WPT Parx Open Poker Classic – I have to keep going when things are going this well.”

A great head start to Season XI

And with an early lead in the Season XI Player of the Year race things are certainly on the up and up for this young German who just loves a good song and dance. All throughout the event Marvin dominated his game and at the start of the heads up he was holding onto more than 80% of the chips. With Russian Tournament Director Artur Voskanyan taking second and Ran Azor, who’s no stranger to the WPT being the runner up at the Season VIII WPT World Championship, taking third.

The numbers look good!

For a season opener the numbers were impressive too with a 329 runners all paying $ 4,400 making a prize pool in excess of $ 1.2 million which is probably a favorite number of Marvin’s by now. A few stops stateside and the WPT will return to Europe this September with the televised WPT Grand Prix de Paris €7,500 Main Event at the prestigious Aviation Club de France from September 10 – 15. Qualify right now only on PartyPoker!

Final Table Pay-Outs
1. Marvin Rettenmaier – $ 287,784, including a $ 25,500 WPT World Championship entry
2. Artur Voskanyan – $ 184,020
3. Ran Azor – $ 118,360
4. Victor Paraschiv – $ 87,610
5. Joseph El Khoury – $ 65,770
6. Kiryl Radzivonau – $ 52,590

Player of the Year Standings
1. Marvin Rettenmaier – 1,000 points
2. Artur Voskanyan – 800 points
3. Ran Azor – 700 points
4. Victor Paraschiv – 600 points
5. Joseph El Khoury – 500 points
6. Kiryl Radzivonau – 400 points
7. Erik Cajelais – 300 points
8. Walid Bou Habib – 200 points
9. Gilboa Yossi- 100 points
10. Kemal Sevevi – 75 points

It’s because of the heat and humidity in the air. The penalties in poker last longer here, too. Whether that’s down to the hot-headed dealers, I can’t say. Last week I had to sit out a whole round of a tournament because I tweeted during a hand. And I wasn’t even in the money. Ridiculous. I had to share that here on my twitter account!

Part of the Team!

I’m, of course, in Vegas for the WSOP with PartyPoker. Every year I look forward to visiting this playground for excessive partying and gambling, even though it’s not really my kind of city. Too hot for me.

What do I do on a day off?

At the moment, I’m playing a few one-day tournaments with celebrities and friends. Last week I had a day off, but headed to the tables anyway to support a good friend of mine in the final. I don’t have a day without poker, but then again, that’s why I’m here – for work, not to be on holiday. There’s bound to be another big tournament coming up soon. I’ll keep you posted and do my best at every table – without a hangover, and hopefully without a hot-headed dealer. That’s all for now. Until next time!

Mad Marvin Rettenmaier leads WPT Championship Final Table on debut as Team PartyPoker.com pro. Marvin is huge chip leader on a final table at the elite event that also includes Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi, the in-form Steve O’Dwyer, Nick Schulman, Trevor Pope and Philippe Ktorza. All are vying for a first-place prize of nearly $ 1.2 million.

Only this week, Marvin joined the likes of Tony G, Kara Scott, Mike Sexton, Bodo Sbrzesny and Tomeu ‘Amatos’ Gomila in the Team PartyPoker.com ranks. “This is amazing, I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my new deal,” said Marvin. “I am just focused on Saturday now and using the great position I am in. Thanks for the support!”

The final table gets underway at 4pm PT on Saturday. Live streaming of the event, complete with hole cards and commentary from Tony Dunst and Dan O’Brien begins at 4:30pm PT. (Sunday 1.30am CET, 12.30am BST). Before that there will also be streamed coverage of the superstar packed $ 100,000 buy-in WPT Super High Roller at Bellagio on Friday at 4.30pm PT (Saturday 1.30am CET, 12.30am BST). Both live streams will feature exclusive PartyPoker.com offers and you can watch at PartyPoker.com Blog.

WPT Super High Roller:

• Seat 1: Bill Klein – 620,000
• Seat 2: John Juanda – 1,875,000
• Seat 3: Tom Marchese – 2,235,000
• Seat 4: Daniel Perper – 3,415,000
• Seat 5: Justin Bonomo – 2,105,000
• Seat 6: Andrew Robl – 3,355,000

WPT Championship:

• Seat 1: Michael Mizrachi – 2,560,000
• Seat 2: Marvin Rettenmaier – 6,715,000
• Seat 3: Steve O’Dwyer – 2,035,000
• Seat 4: Nick Schulman – 1,555,000
• Seat 5: Trevor Pope – 1,480,000
• Seat 6: Philippe Ktorza – 895,000

 

Team Titan’s Marvin Rettenmaier is featured in the March 2012 edition of CardPlayer Magazine. The popular poker magazine boldly declares “Mad Marvin Rettenmaier Conquers Europe” on its cover, and headlines its in-depth interview with him by stating that Mad Marvin is “hell bent on card player glory.”

Teammate Sam Trickett has frequently appeared on the covers of poker magazines but this is Mad Marvin’s most prominent appearance.

In its article, CardPlayer deals with Marvin’s attempts to win the title of CardPlayer 2011 Player of the Year (POY). That was why Marvin spent “all of last year hopping from tournament to tournament, grinding extremely long hours at the live felt.”

“I really made it my goal to win this ranking before the year had even started, which is kind of a weird goal. I mean other people try to win money and stuff, but I just wanted to win this ranking,” Marvin tells the magazine.

At year’s end, however, Marvin was ranked fourth on the CardPlayer POY leaderboard, behind Ben Lamb, Chris Moorman, and Oleksii Kovalchuk.

“I tried my best and I am proud that I managed to keep up with all the stress I went through last year,” Marvin says. “And if I would have binked one more of those deep runs I had I could have won it as well!”

Marvin is very positive about the year ahead, stating, “I’m looking forward to a great year ahead. I really feel that this is going to be my year. I will try to have a better work-life balance, play destinations where I have more than poker, not play tired anymore and therefore play my absolute A-game a lot more often.”

Marvin finishes his interview with CardPlayer by stating, “I would really like to win a major tournament, maybe a bracelet this summer, and I’m very confident in my game. I’ve been in so many spots where I was very close to it, so I feel like it’s only a matter of time.”

Team Titan’s players both ranked high on the final Bluff Magazine’s 2011 Poker Player of the Year leaderboard, with Sam Trickett listed in 6^th place and Marvin Rettenmaier right behind him in 7^th place.

In August, Marvin had been in third place on the rankings, and at the time the magazine cited his “cashes left and right” and his 6th place finish in the Merit Cyprus $ 5,500 buy-in Main Event as attributing to his high ranking.

Bluff Magazine ranks players according to a formula that “takes into consideration alternate scoring methodologies for shootouts, re-buys, short-handed and heads-up tournaments. Players receive points if they cash in any open tournament which meets the field size criteria. Only a player’s top ten finishes through the calendar year will count towards the Player of the Year standings.”

Finishing 2011 as Bluff Magazine’s Poker Player of the Year was American Eugene Katchalov. In 2011, Katchalov earned $ 2.5 million, made final table appearances at the EPT, NAPT, and at the WSOP, and earned his first WSOP gold bracelet.

“We congratulate Eugene on reaching the pinnacle of success that every poker player is striving for -Player of the Year,” said Bluff’s Editor-in-Chief Lance Bradely.

Finishing just behind Katchalov in the rankings was Bertrand Grospellier. 2011 WSOP Main Event winner Pius Heinz was listed in 10^th place, followed by Erik Seidel.

Team Titan’s two professional players are recognized throughout the poker world as being the rising stars of the sport. German poker newssite PokerOlymp has nominated both of them for its prestigious 2011 readers’ choice awards. Register your votes for Sam Trickett and Marvin Rettenmaier today.

Vote for Marvin Rettenmaier as Best German Poker Player of the Year!

Vote for Sam Trickett as Best International Poker Player of the Year!

Hurry up because the voting closes on December 26, 2011.

Last year, PokerOlymp selected Marvin as its Poker Newcomer of the Year.

Sam was recognized in September as the Best Cash Player at the second annual British Poker Awards.

Hello and welcome to 5th edition of EPT Prague in the prestigious Hilton Prague Hotel. Yesterday, a total of 234 took part of Day 1A and much more are expected for Day 1B. Marvin Rettenmaier from Team Titan unfortunately didn’t get through yesterday. Even if he made a remarkable day, he was elimintaed at the really end of the day. 

 

Level 1 – Blinds 50/100

Marvin Rettenmaier started the tournament at the middle of this 1st level of the day.

He joined his compatriot Philip Gruissem and the french player Ilan Rouah at the table and just before the change of level Marvin took down a big pot.

Our german Titan pro raised under the gun to 250 and his direct neughboor Ilan Rouah called.

On the flop 8♦7♠2♣ Marvin continuation bet to 425. The french man 3-bet to 1,625. Marvin took a while before firing a 3,625 bet. Ilan made the call.

Marvin bet 4,125 on the turn, the 3♠ and Rouah paid him.

Marvin bet a last time on the river, the 5♥ Ilan Rouah asked “How much is the bet ?”

The dealer made the count and Rouah finally called the 5,425 bet.

Marvin Rettenmaier showed 7♥8♥ and Rouah mucked his card. A little bit later Rouah told us he had Aces.

Marvin ended the level with 42 K.

Level 2 – Blinds 75/150

UTG +2 player raised to 350, the high-jack called and Marvin Rettenmaier called from the big blind.

The flop fell 10-7-6 rainbow and everybody checked.

The turn brought a 3 and one more time we had no action.

River: 6

Marvin bet 825 and UTG +2 player 3-bet to 2,025. The high-jack gave up and Marvin made the call.

Marvin: 10♠7♠

UTG +2: 66 for a quads

This one could have been much worse for our Team Titan player.

Few hands later, Marvin got lucky against Philip Gruissem. Marvin opened to 375 and Philip made the call.

Marvin check-called 525 on the flop 7♠A♠5♠ and 1,125 on the turn A♥

The 5 doubled on the river and both players checked. Marvin showed A♣2♣ for full-house and his friends and opponent flashed his hand before mucking: K♠Q♠

Philip just flopped the nuts but Marvin ran good on that one.

Marvin lost two hands which didn’t go until the end against Ilan Rouah who were already short stack and won their last confrontation in the level before the break. In middle position, a german player opened to 375. Rettenmaier and Rouah made the call from the cut-off and the button.

Flop 2♣7♥6♣

Marvin bet 1,225 and Rouah paid.

Same action on the turn, the K♥ for 1,225.

Marvin bet 2,650 on the river, the J♥ and obtained the fold of his french adversary.

Marvin finished the 2nd level with 44.5 K while the average was 31 K.

Level 3 – Blinds 100/200

Marvin Rettenmaier raised to 450, a player 3-bet to 1,100 and Marvin 4-bet to 2,900. His opponent decided to complete to see the flop.

When the cards fell 5♦5♣8♥ Marvin bet 3,125. His opponent 3-bet to 6,725 but Marvin wasn’t in the mood to let his opponent winning the pot and 4-bet to 11,775.  After a long time thinking and stretching his arms and speaking to himself, Marvin’s opponent gave it up. Marvin was up to 55 K.

Marvin openend to 450 in middle position and Philip Gruissem raised to 1,525 from the cut-off. Marvin Rettenmaier 4-bet to 3,825 and succeed to make his compatriot folding his hand.

Marvin showed a 5 to his friend just to make it more funny.

After two hours playing Marvin Rettenmaier was sitting behind a healthy 56.5 K stack while the average was 31.2 K.

Level 4 – Blinds 100/200 ante 25 

The romanian and pro player Toni Judet joined the table short-stacked with 16 K for probably more action.

UTG +2 player raised to 425, a mid-position player made the call as did Marvin from the button, Rouah in small blind and Judet in big one.

Flop: 4♥A♠5♥

Rouah and Judet checked, UTG +2 player bet 825. Marvin raised to 1,825. Rouah 4-bet to 3,675. The initial raiser and Marvin paid. 

Turn: J♦

Ilan Rouah moved all-in for around 6 K and UTG +2 shoved for 16 K. Marvin decided to give up and we discovered the hands.

Rouah: 2♠3♣

UTG +2: A♥2♥

River: 3♣ and the two players split the pot.

Level 5 – Blinds 150/300 ante 25

The american Kenney Bryn ($ 1.8 million gain in tournament) arrived at the table to complete what is one of the most difficult table of the day 1A.

Marvin Rettenmaier called the preflop raise to 800 from Bryn. The big blind put the 800 as well.

On the flop 9-7-3, Byrn bet 1.4 K and only Marvin called.

Turn: A

Bryn bet 2,5 K and get paid by the german member of Team Titan.

River: 9

Bryn check-called the 4,6 K bet from Marvin and mucked his hand after Marvin had shown A♦J♦

At the middle of the level Marvin Rettenmaier climbed to 63 K. Average 34 K – 206 players left on 234 registrated at the beginning of the day.

Then Marvin Rettenmaier had dinner at the table and asked for a massage. He stayed really quiet for the end of the level and the next hour at blinds 200/400 ante 50.

An italian player in early position raised to 825 under the gun, Marvin Rettenmaier and Ilan Rouah called from the cut-off & the button.

On the flop 9♦A♠2♦ the initial raiser and Marvin checked. Rouah fired a 2,100 bet probably thinking to take the pot down but the preflop raiser made

the call. After two minutes Marvin reraised to 6,425. Rouah instantly folded and the italian paid.

Turn: 10♦

The italian checked and folded after Marvin had bet 5,625.

Marvin Rettenmaier finished the level with 70 K.

Level 7 – Blinds 250/500 ante 50 - Average 39 K for 180 players left

Marvin Rettenmaier lost a big coin flip directly after the break against the italian player of the table. Marvin raised to 1,200 and the italian player moved all-in for 19,5 K.

Marvin called with A♣Q♣

His opponent showed 33 and the final board was 9-7-4-9-6 which means that our german Titan was back to 50.5 K.

Then Marvin was eliminated in one hour. First he lost almost 10 K preflop.

He raised to 1,225 in middle position. Ilan Rouah made the call and a Czech player who just arrived few minutes before at the table 3-bet to 4 K. Marvin 4-bet to 8,625 and succeed to discard Rouah but not the Czech player who moved all-in. Rettenmaier gave up after a long hesitation.

Marvin raised preflop twice in a row and took the blinds. He concluded the level with 42 K. The avzerage was 47 K for 149 left.

Level 8 – 300/600 ante 75

The famous russian player Vitaly Lunkin (2 WSOP bracelets and 4.2 millions $ gains) arrived at the table and unfortunately after 30 minutes eliminated Marvin Rettenmaier.

First Marvin lost a small pot. A czech player raised at the button to 1,600 and Marvin 3-bet in small blind. The Czech player made the call to see the flop falling A♥K♥7♣

Marvin bet 3,625 and his opponent called.

When Marvin checked on the turn, the 10♦ Marvin folded and was down to 34.5 K.

The last hand:

Marvin opened to 1,325 in mid-position, Rouah called and Lunkin completed from the big blind.

On the flop 4♦5♥9♦ Vitaly Lunkin checked, Marvin Rettenmaier bet 2,625 and Ilan Rouah 3-bet to 5,625. Lunkin chose to make it more expensive raising to 10,525.

Marvin Rettenmaier moved all-in. Ilan Rouah folded and Lunkin immediately called.

Lunkin had flopped a set of 9 and Marvin held K♥K♦

The turn and the river didn’t change anything and Marvin Rettenmaier was brutaly eliminated of the tournament.

The three french players of Team Titan Yann Brosolo, Florian Desgouttes and Christophe Benzimra started the Day 1B at noon. As we did yesterday, we will play 8 levels without dinner break. Shuffle-up and Deal.