June 26, 2010 at 6:04 pm | Poker News | No Comments » | Written by: spenda
The 2010 World Series of Poker is in full swing at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. More than 40 events have already come and gone which means the 2010 WSOP Main Event is quickly approaching. While Las Vegas, the Rio, and a $10,000 buy-in event might seem miles away Bodog is here to help shorten the trip a bit. The World Series of Poker Main Event is the most prestigious and sough-after crown in poker today. The tournament has been won in the past by Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Phil Hellmuth, Huck Seed, Carlos Mortensen, and Chris Moneymaker. The tournament has seen a rapid expansion since Moneymaker’s win in 2003 with huge purses and a first-place prize approaching $10,000,000. Last year’s winner Joe Cada took home $8,546,435 for his victory. The tournament begins in early July each year and culminates with the November Nine, a special final table which is played months later for television exposure.
If you’re stuck at home during the WSOP with a small roll this year, Bodog is already making plans for you and the 2011 Main Event. Players will be able to qualify for the 2011 Main Event for as little as $1.10 through the “Bodog Mini Series” which begins July 5th and runs through the 17th. All in all there will be 13 $10+$1 events running with the winners of each advancing to the finals. Players can satellite into the $11 qualifiers for $1.10 or 100 Bodog Poker Points. Two satellites will be running daily from June 23rd until the end of the Series, July 17th.
Winning a satellite gives a player an automatic entry into the final. There are three other ways to reach the Main Event qualifier. Each tournament will award the top-30% finishers with points on the Mini Poker Series Leader Board. At the end of the 13 tournament qualifying series those near the top of the board who have yet to win an event will also receive an invitation to the Mini Series Semifinal or Final. The top-10 will receive a pass straight to the final while those 11-50 on the TLB will have to play in the Semifinal. Players can also qualify for the final by playing in all 13 qualifying events or finishing in the top-18 of the Mini Series Semifinal.
Registration for the Bodog Mini Series is already open and closes July 17th, the final day of the qualifying series. The Semifinal is set to take place July 20th while the final will be July 22nd. The winner of the Mini Series final will receive a Main Event package worth $12,000 which should cover your entry fee, travel, and accommodations in Las Vegas. Second and third place finishers will receive a Bodog Poker Open V Prize Package which includes an entry fee for every even in the BPO V later this year. The other final-table participants will receive a $162 tournament ticket to the Sunday $100k Guaranteed, the largest weekly tournament at Bodog Poker.
Bodog is one of the world’s largest online poker sites and is also home to a sportsbook, casino, and racebook. They offer a huge 110% up to $1,100 initial deposit bonus with $100 immediately turning into cash. This is unlike most bonuses which force players to clear them before being able to play with the funds. At Bodog, your first 10% is on the house! There is no bonus code to enter, just head over to Bodog and check out the games they have to offer.
June 18, 2010 at 9:05 pm | Poker News | No Comments » | Written by: spenda
Las Vegas has been crawling with poker players this month as the 41st annual World Series of Poker is taking place at the Rio Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Some of the biggest events of the series began and ended this past week as the world’s best poker players congregated just off the strip in hopes of gold bracelets and big pay days. The Rio has been buzzing lately with prop bet talk surrounding poker wunderkind Tom “Durrrr” Dwan who nearly won a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament last week which would have pocketed him much more than the $600,000 first place check. The first estimates had Durrrr with $7,000,000 in action on his ability to win a bracelet but before was all said and done it was reported he had nearly $12,000,000 riding on his final table success. Unfortunately for Dwan (and fortunately for the poker world) he failed to connect last week but still has plenty of tournaments left to cash in big time.
As the WSOP has expanded and grown there have been many different events added to the schedule including a large amount of non-Hold’em games. Taking advantage of one of those events was the charismatic Sammy Farha who took down the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo Split Championship for $488,237 on Monday. Farha is a businessman and high-stakes Omaha professional who is best known for his 2nd place finish to Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. In fact, Farha could be credited with the poker boom as the poker world saw a huge increase in participation in both live series such as the WSOP and online action due to Moneymaker qualifying through a $40 PokerStars satellite. Farha is also a regular on the GSN television show “High Stakes Poker” where he battles with the likes of Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, and Patrik Antonius.
Other non-Hold’em events taking place this week included Event #19 $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball, Event #20 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha, Event #21 $1,500 Seven Card Stud, Event #27 $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, and Event #28 $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha. As you can see there are tournaments for just about any type of poker player at this years WSOP. A few events are currently underway including the $1,000 Seniors Championship and the $10,000 Heads-Up NL Championship which begins today.
Another big name earning a bracelet this week is the mercurial Dutch Boyd who won Event #23 $2,500 Limit Hold’em 6-max for $234,065. Boyd, along with a few other young players who called themselves “The Crew”, busted onto the poker scene in 2003 with a deep run in the Main Event where he eventually finished 12th. Boyd’s first bracelet came back in 2006 where he bested WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem heads-up to win the $2,500 NL Short-Handed tournament. It appears Boyd thrives in 6-max play as he once again took down a 6-handed tournament besting Brian Meinders heads-up late Monday night.
Two other notable players winning bracelets this past week were John “Tex” Barch who was at Hachem’s final table win in 2005 finishing in 3rd place for $2,500,000. Barch bested a tough filed in Event #20 $1,500 PLO to win his first bracelet and $256,919. Joining Barch in the winners circle was famed online professional Richard “CHUFTY” Ashby who took down the next event on the schedule, the $1,500 Seven Card Stud tourmanet for $140,467. Ashby is a FullTilt sponsored professional who makes his money in high-stakes PLO and mixed games on the world’s second biggest poker site.
Speaking of online poker, the WSOP has put a dent in online tournament attendance. A lot of tournaments, especially the Sunday majors, have been falling well short of their guarantees forcing both PokerStars and FullTilt to pony up a bunch of overlay the past few weekends. While this may be bad for the poker sites it is great for those playing as they’re getting a great price on their money. If you aren’t at the Rio this weekend grinding WSOP tournaments check out the online majors where you can satellite into most events using player points or for as little as $1!
As always, be sure to check back here next week for more WSOP results and other online poker news.
June 11, 2010 at 6:01 am | Poker News | No Comments » | Written by: spenda
As of midnight Thursday night 16 events at the 2010 World Series of Poker had completed and there were more than a few big names making deep runs over the past week. Taking place at the Rio in Las Vegas the WSOP is the poker world’s biggest tournament series and this year includes nearly 60 events during May, June, and July including the $10,000 Main Event. The series kicked off, as it does every year, by paying homage to Las Vegas casino employees with a special entry casino employees event. This year Event #1 was won by Hoai Pham who took home $71,424 for the title.
While the casino employee tournament is a great way to reward the hard working people who keep the Vegas lights bright it was Event #2 where the stars really shine. The $50,000 buy-in “Player’s Championship” was full of the best online and live tournament professionals in the world. The final table was a veritable who’s who of poker including Nick Schulman, John Juanda, David Oppenheim, Daniel Alaie, David Baker, and the Mizrachi brothers Michael and Robert. With more than $1,500,000 going to the winner there was definitely a lot of buzz heading into the final table eventually won by Michael Mizrachi. What is even more interesting about this particular scenario is it had been rumored the Mizrachi brothers recently became broke and were close to filing bankruptcy before winning a combined $1.9M at this final table. How they had the rolls to play and how much of the winnings they actually kept will never be known but fortunes in poker can flip just like that.
Another big name taking down a bracelet early on this year was Men “the master” Nguyen who shipped the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship for $394,800 after defeating Ivy-league professor Brandon Adams heads-up. Two other well known poker professionals made it all the way to heads-up play but failed to cash in. Most notably Tom “Durrrr” Dwan waded through a huge field in Event #11 ($1,500 NL Hold’em) and had more than just the $614,248 first-place check on the line when he battled with Simon Watt for the title. Dwan has reportedly made a number of large bracelet bets this year getting 3:1 on his ability to win either a WSOP or WSOPE bracelet by the end of 2011. With a reported $2,000,000+ of his own money on the line Dwan lost more than a few hundred thousand by failing to defeat Watt, he may have cost himself in excess of $7,000,000. Joining Dwan in runner-up land was Allen “chainsaw” Kessler who nearly won the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Championship. Getting in Kessler’s way was Frank Kassela who took down the title and more than $447,000 in prize money.
There are many more events on the horizon and those sitting at home have more than enough time to qualify and head out to sunny Las Vegas this summer. A lot of online poker sites are offering satellites and the increasingly popular step systems to allow players to find a way to the 2010 WSOP Main Event. PokerStars will continue to send to the most players as their Step System allows members to qualify for as little as $7.50 or a certain amount of Frequent Player Points. The Steps are 1-table SNGs where players can earn tickets to higher steps and work their way up to a $2,100 buy-in qualifier. This final tournament will pay out one seat plus travel money and reward 2nd and 3rd place finishers with a small cash compensation. Please note, once you enter the step system you must see it all the way through. Players cannot cash out tickets for money or even t$. Those new to PokerStars should take advantage of the Stars600 referral code which will result in a $600 initial deposit bonus and entry into freerolls and events such as the FTR300 which is a monthly money-added tournament with a $300 prize pool no matter the number of entrants.
FullTilt also runs a large amount of satellites starting as low as $1+$.10 or 30 FullTilt Points to enter. They go all the way up to $1,000+$60 satellites that run every Thursday until the Main Event begins and have been paying out a handful of entries each time. FullTilt will have the strongest showing of professionals in the Main Event and you can join a crew with Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, and many more as you battle it out for a first place prize in the neighborhood of $8,000,000 this year. If you are new to FullTilt and would like to attempt to qualify for the WSOP make sure to use the MAXBONUS600 code when signing up to not only guarantee a $600 initial deposit bonus but the ability to enter private freerolls and monthly money-added events.
Finally, Ladbrokes is helping players get to Las Vegas for as little as €15 in their WSOP “Dream Package” which is a €6,000 plan including
-entry into $2,500 Event 56
-10 nights accommodation at the Wynn Casino
-€1,000 Last Longest Bet (which will gain entry into WSOP Main Event)
-€1,000 for travel
-€600 spending money
This is a great way to experience the WSOP. Not only can you play in a smaller buy-in event but you can also earn your way into the Main Event if you happen to last longer than your fellow Ladbrokes Poker qualifiers. If you are new to Ladbrokes be sure to register using the poker code FTRES for a 200% up to $2,000 initial deposit bonus! This bonus is one of the biggest in the industry and a sure fire way to build a bankroll.
Be sure to check back here through out June and July for more exclusive offers as the WSOP Main Event approaches it’s July 5th starting date.
May 28, 2010 at 11:37 pm | Poker News | No Comments » | Written by: spenda
As the summer months help to heat up online poker there is a definite excitement in the air as the 2010 World Series of Poker approaches. Ever since Chris Moneymaker’s break-through victory in the 2003 Main Event the poker world has seen a huge increase its player base both in live tournaments and online at sites such as PokerStars and FullTilt. The World Series has also benefited from massive exposure through poker news sites such as FlopTurnRiver and being televised on the world’s largest sports network, ESPN.
This year the world series looks to continue past success as it will be host to the world’s best players competing over the course of a few months in 57 different tournaments. No game will be spared as players can participate in NL, Pot-Limit, and Fixed Limit Hold’em events as well as Pot-Limit Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, HORSE, and even 2-7 single draw. There are many mixed events that pair games like Hold’em and PLO together which are great for the experienced player. Tournaments will start as low as $1,000 and is highlighted by the $10,000 Main Event as well as the $50,000 Texas Hold’em Championship.
Each year the world’s best come to compete for massive prize pools and the title of “World Series Player of the Year” which has been won by many poker greats in the past. Last year Jeffrey Lisandro won three different events (all in stud variations) to take home the title. This year players like Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, Eli Elezra, Doyle Brunson, and many others will be vying for the crown. On top of the POY race some of the big names mentioned above have been taking part in bracelet prop bets which earned Phil Ivey quite a large some of money last year as he won reportedly in excess of $2,000,000 betting against other high-stakes professionals. Ivey was able to win two bracelets and make the final table of the Main Event before busting early when his AK lost to AQ. Check back here through out June and July for more updates on the bigger events and see if any of the well known names in live and online poker were able to ship major tournaments.
In the online world PokerStars completed its Spring Championship of Online Poker earlier in the month and boy was it a huge success! With FTOPS XVI coming to an end to start the month and the 2nd installment of the SCOOP series finishing off the month there was certainly no shortage of huge events and million dollar prize pools the past few weeks. Overall there were 38 SCOOP events each with three sub-tournaments depending on buy-in level. This structure allowed those with even the smallest of bankrolls to compete for thousands of dollars in big events. In the end more than $50,000,000 was played for the past few weeks between the two biggest online sites and a few tournaments ended up with $1,000,000 for their winners!
In other online poker news Ladbrokes has recently introduced their “Advanced Poker School” which is meant to help players of all levels learn new games and improve their play across the board. Visit poker.ladbrokes.com to visit their school and watch videos as well as listen to radio broadcasts all about poker strategy! Eligible players can win a free cruise or even a trip to the 2010 Irish Poker Festival just by signing up. With most of the world focused on the 2010 World Cup, Ladbrokes is looking to cash in on the excitement by running the “Laddie’s Poker World Cup” beginning June 10th which is a tournament series for countries represented by this year’s football World Cup. Players will compete in money-added tournaments looking to place in the top 10% of smaller events to advance to bigger tournaments with larger prize pools. There is a catch, in order for you to move forward, you country must win their soccer matches as well which could prove to be quite a challenge in the most competitive and popular sporting event in the world.
Check back here through out June for updates on the Laddie’s Poker World Cup and the 2010 WSOP!
May 15, 2010 at 9:45 am | Poker News | No Comments » | Written by: spenda
A few updates this week as multiple sites have made some noise in the online poker world. If you have not made your way over to Ladbrokes you should check it out soon! Not only do they offer a poker room, sportsbook, casino, bingo hall, and other games but they have recently updated their VIP Store with a great variety of products you might actually want. A lot of poker room stores have items that seemingly no one has a use for but Ladbrokes has done a great job in presenting their members with some great options. the Ladbrokes Poker Shop contains poker books, electronics, apparel, jewelry, and even cars!
To purchase any of these products you must work your way up the Ladbrokes VIP ladder by paying rake in real money cash games, tournaments, or sit-n-go’s. There are four VIP levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and VIP which all carry different bonuses, prizes, and other benefits. The higher levels are not all that difficult to achieve and are definitely worth the time you put in. Players earn 10 points for every $1 in rake you generate in both cash games and tournaments which means you must generate only $1,000 in rake a month to get to the highest level! To visit the Ladbrokes Poker Shop go to Ladbrokes.com and navigate to the Poker tab. If you are new to Ladbrokes make sure to use the Promotion Code FTRES when signing up to guarantee a 100% up to $1,000 initial deposit bonus.
Across the pond PokerStars is deep into it’s 2010 Spring Championship of Online Poker. SCOOP 2010 has gotten off to a great start and the 38-tournament series finishes up this weekend. For those unfamiliar with the SCOOP structure there are 38 tournaments each with 3 sub-events for players of different bankroll levels. The “L” events are for small-stakes grinders looking for a big score. These tournaments have buy-ins from $10-$100 and have paid out $10,000+ for first place in each and every event. Some of the bigger Low tournaments have had enormous turn-outs including Events 1,2,3, and 20 which all had more than 20,000 players join. The Low Main Event begins Sunday afternoon and will be a $100+$9 buy-in with $1,000,000 Guaranteed. PokerStars is running satellites around the clock and there is no doubt a lot more than just 10,000 players will be playing in the L-Main Event.
The Medium and High buy-in tournaments have also seen solid turn outs and huge prize pools. Some have fallen short of their guarantees which has led to PokerStars paying out overlay. While this is great for those playing as they get more bang for their buck it isn’t the best sign for the health of online tournaments. This weekend will be a great barometer for online tournaments as the Medium and High Main Events have enormous guarantees ($3M and $5M respectively) and the High Main Event will have at the very least a $1,000,000 first-place prize. There have been many PokerStars professionals participating in these events especially in the Mixed Games high buy-in tournaments. Well known poker pros such as Chad Brown, Barry Greenstein, and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier have been on hand for a lot of the events and will certainly be playing this weekend. You can also bank on players such as Daniel “kidpoker” Negreanu, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, and Chris Moneymaker playing in the Main Event.
PokerStars recently expanded “Team PokerStars” to include a lot more young internet professionals including many of those who have been fortunate enough to achieve Supernova Elite VIP Status. Players like “Jorj95″ who are epic SNG grinders were added to the team and have made their presence felt through out SCOOP 2010. If you are unfamiliar with the PokerStars VIP System you should definitely check it out. Their system is the best in the business and players can earn more than 50% rakeback equivalent by generating a lot of rake through out the year. Players like jorj95 who generate more than $200,000 in rake will receive over $50,000 in cash bonuses as well as entry into major live tournaments as well as the SCOOP Main Event. If you are new to PokerStars make sure to use the Marketing Code flopturnriver when signing up to guarantee a 100% up to $600 initial deposit bonus as well as entry into monthly money-added events such as the FTR300.
Head over to PokerStars and check out all of the great SCOOP 2010 action for this upcoming weekend. If you enjoy watching some of the best online players battle it out for millions of dollars then be sure to watch Event #25-H which is a $25,000 buy-in Heads-Up tournament. If you would like to play click on Events–>SCOOP–>Main Events and pick from any of the tournaments that are registering. All of the tournaments have a great structure so make sure you have plenty of free time as a deep run could have you sitting in front of your computer all day!
May 8, 2010 at 1:40 am | Poker News | No Comments » | Written by: spenda
Full Tilt’s Online Poker Series has come to an end. The 16th installment of FTOPS finished up this past weekend with their $2,100 2-day event as well as the $640 FTOPS XVI Main Event. Both tournaments, much like the rest of the series, had strong showings full of online tournament professionals and FullTilt sponsored pros. The rest of the series exceeded expectations as well as tournaments routinely passed their guarantees and six-figure first place pay-outs were the norm.
The final two tournaments were hosted by two of the best online poker players of their generation, Annette “Annette_15″ Oberstad and Tom “Durrrr” Dwan. Oberstad is more than likely the best female poker player in the world and quite possibly the best online tournament professional of all-time. She has garnered many awards and is well known for winning the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event back in 2007. Recently she appeared on ESPN as part of the inaugural Caesar’s “America vs. Europe” challenge which was an interesting event pitting twosomes from each continent against each other in a rotating format. Despite all of her TV success Oberstad might be best known for her “blind” win in a $4 180-man tournament where she bested 179 other players with out ever looking at her hole cards! It takes solid tournament fundamentals as well as fearless aggression to pull off such a feat and Oberstad is lacking in neither.
Oberstad was the host of the $640 buy-in, $3,000,000 Guaranteed Main Event. Unfortunately only 4,534 players joined which fell shot of the 5,000 necessary to reach the tournament’s guarantee. This forced FullTilt to pay out nearly $280,000 in overlay which is great for those playing but not for the health of the games. Still, with more than $500,000 up for grabs for first place there were plenty of big names in online poker on hand. FullTilt brought their contingent of “red pros” including Andy Bloch, Allen Cunningham, David “raptor” Benefield, Erick Lindgren, Gavin Smith, Huck Seed, Isaac “Menlo” Baron, Scott Clements, and Vitaly Lunkin. Unfortunately none of the FullTilt professionals on hand were able to crack the top-100. There were also big names in the online poker community on hand including eventual winner “Kirbynator” who took home more than $327,000 after a 5-way chip-chop ended the suspense at the final table rather quickly. Other big names in the event were Johan “busto_soon” Van Til, Chris “Moorman1″ Moorman, and Rajesh “BadcardsAA” Vohra. Another big name making the final table was Brock “tsoprano” Parker who goes by “bobcards2″ on FullTilt. His 6th place finish netted him $99,000 and continues a great run of late including a huge performance at the 2009 World Series of Poker.
FullTilt FTOPS XVI Main Event $3M Guaranteed
4,534 Entrants; $3,000,000 prize pool
1. Kirbynator $327,057
2. apalma $342,851
3. DaHussstla $342,296
4. KevD213 $235,118
5. PNBRAZIL $213,525
6. bobcards2 $99,000
7. Shawguysies — $64,500
8. JD105off$45,000
9. IceWindX $31,500
Highlighting the weekend along with the Main Event was the $2,100 2-day Event with a $2,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. The bigger buy-in kept the feel quite small, in fact, too small as only 946 players entered forcing FullTilt to pay out more than $100,000 in overlay for Event 25. The tournament was full of famous players going after the $450,000 first prize. The two most famous faces in the field had to be Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey, who were bored enough with the tournament to play some $500/$1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha on the side. Dwan has taken the poker world by storm over the past few years with some epic appearances on GSNs “High Stakes Poker” where he has made some enormous bluffs and won what was once the biggest televised pot in poker history. He has since broken his own record by winning a $1,100,000 pot from Phil Ivey during FullTilt’s Million Dollar Cash Game this year. Ivey is well known as the world’s best all-around poker player. He has been dominating the mixed games in Bobby’s Room in Las Vegas for many years and is also the biggest winner in online poker history having won more than $17,000,000 since 2007.
The final table of Event 25 was highlighted by David “Bussa Buss” Baker, known as “bakes” by the online poker community. Joining him was “ags104″ who was in the midst of a crazy run which saw him finish 7th here as well as winning a SCOOP High buy-in event and finishing 5th in another. A few FullTilt professionals were able to make the money including Markus Lehmann, Hans Vogl, and Isaac Baron who finished in 28th, 49th, and 69th respectively.
FullTilt FTOPS Event #25 $2M Guaranteed
946 Entrants; $2,000,000 prize pool
1. urbandb888 $450,000
2. palmao $285,000
3. psychobenny $211,000
4. moi_rhums33 $165,000
5. Bussa Buss $125,000
6. departure $90,000
7. ags104 $60,000
8. Pork no chop $45,000
9. llaCe4HuK $32,000
These two events finished off yet another successful series for the world’s 2nd biggest online poker site. Strangely enough, the biggest site, PokerStars, began their Spring Championship of Online Poker the very day FTOPS XVI concluded. The SCOOP series has 38 events with 3 tournaments in each of different buy-in amounts for players of all bankroll levels. SCOOP runs for 2 weeks and culminated with the Main Event which will have a $1,000,000 first-place prize. Be sure to check back here over the next two weeks for write-ups on more major tournaments.
May 1, 2010 at 1:31 am | Poker News | No Comments » | Written by: spenda
As the FullTilt Online Poker Series comes to an end this weekend all focus will shift to the world’s largest poker site. PokerStars, mostly notable for their popular cash games has become a force in online tournaments over the past few years with their weekend majors including the Sunday Million, Warm-Up, and Second Chance. In order to compete with FullTilt’s tournament series PokerStars first introduced the World Championship of Online Poker, or WCOOP, which spanned two weeks and included a large number of events with huge buy-ins and guarantees. The WCOOP carried great prestige as it was an annual event. While FTOPS seem to come and go every other month, PokerStars is committed to having just two series a year.
Enter SCOOP, or the Spring Championship of Online Poker, and its revolutionary tournament schedule which allows players of all bankroll levels to enjoy the thrill of winning a major championship event. This is only the 2nd running of SCOOP and if last year was any indication, players should expect huge guarantees and prize pools. There was more than $38,000,000 in total prize money up for grabs over 22 events. These 22 events were actually 66 separate tournaments as each event has 3 sub-tournaments with different buy-in levels. For example, the 1st event in the 2010 SCOOP is a NL Hold’em 6-max even with a $22, $215, and $2,100 buy-in entry. These are the different tournaments but all use exactly the same structure as each other.
This year’s SCOOP might just break all online tournament series records. PokerStars recently released the full schedule which includes 38 events (114 tournaments total) over a two-week span culminating with the SCOOP Main Event which will have a $5,000,000 guarantee in the high buy-in event! Below is the full SCOOP schedule:
May 2nd
Event #1 NL Hold’em 6max
Low: $22 $250k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $1M Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $1M Guaranteed
Event #2 NL Hold’em 2-day
Low: $22 $500k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $2M Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $2M Guaranteed
May 3rd
Event #3 NL Hold’em 6max Rebuy
Low: $5.50 $250k Guaranteed
Medium: $55 $500k Guaranteed
High: $530 $1M Guaranteed
Event #4 Limit Badugi
Low: $16.50 $25k Guaranteed
Medium: $162 $50k Guaranteed
High: $1,575 $75k Guaranteed
Event #5 Pot-Limit Omaha 1 rebuy, 1 add-on
Low: $11 $50k Guaranteed
Medium: $109 $100k Guaranteed
High: $1,050 $150k Guaranteed
May 4th
Event #6 Pot-Limit 5-Card Draw
Low: $11 $25k Guaranteed
Medium: $109 $50k Guaranteed
High: $1,050 $75k Guaranteed
Event #7 NL Hold’em Heads-Up Matches
Low: $16.50 $100k Guaranteed
Medium: $162 $250k Guaranteed
High: $1,575 $500k Guaranteed
Event #8 NL Hold’em
Low: $11 $100k Guaranteed
Medium: $109 $200k Guaranteed
High: $1,050 $500k Guaranteed
May 5th
Event #9 Mixed Hold’em 6max
Low: $22 $100k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $200k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $400k Guaranteed
Event #10 Limit Seven-Card Stud
Low: $33 $25k Guaranteed
Medium: $320 $50k Guaranteed
High: $3,150 $100k Guaranteed
May 6th
Event #11 Pot-Limit Omaha Heads-Up Matches
Low: $22 $25k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $100k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $200k Guaranteed
Event #12 NL Hold’em Knock-Out
Low: $27 $100k Guaranteed
Medium: $265 $200k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $300k Guaranteed
May 7th
Event #13 NL Hold’em Ante-Up
Low: $16.50 $50k Guaranteed
Medium: $162 $100k Guaranteed
High: $1,575 $200k Guaranteed
Event #14 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo
Low: $55 $50k Guaranteed
Medium: $530 $150k Guaranteed
High: $5,200 $250k Guaranteed
Event #15 NL Hold’em 2nd Chance Turbo
Low: $16.50 $250k Guaranteed
Medium: $162 $500k Guaranteed
High: $1,575 $750k Guaranteed
May 8th
Event #16 NL Hold’em Shoot Out
Low: $22 $150k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $150k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $200k Guaranteed
Event #17 Pot-Limit Omaha Rebuy 6max
Low: $16.50 $100k Guaranteed
Medium: $162 $250k Guaranteed
High: $1,575 $500k Guaranteed
Event #18 Limit Hold’em Turbo
Low: $22 $25k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $100k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $150k Guaranteed
May 9th
Event #19 NL Hold’em Big Antes
Low: $22 $250k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $750k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $750k Guaranteed
Event #20 NL Hold’em 2-day
Low: $22 $500k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $2M Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $2M Guaranteed
May 10th
Event #21 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha Mix
Low: $16.50 $75k Guaranteed
Medium: $162 $200k Guaranteed
High: $1,575 $300k Guaranteed
Event #22 NL Hold’em 4-max
Low: $33 $150k Guaranteed
Medium: $320 $300k Guaranteed
High: $3,150 $500k Guaranteed
Event #23 NL Hold’em Rebuy Turbo
Low: $11 $150k Guaranteed
Medium: $109 $300k Guaranteed
High: $1,050 $500k Guaranteed
May 11th
Event #24 2-7 Triple Draw
Low: $11 $25k Guaranteed
Medium: $109 $50k Guaranteed
High: $1,050 $75k Guaranteed
Event #25 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo
Low: $22 $50k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $100k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $150k Guaranteed
Event #26 NL Hold’em
Low: $11 $100k Guaranteed
Medium: $109 $200k Guaranteed
High: $1,050 $500k Guaranteed
May 12th
Event #27 Limit Razz
Low: $22 $50k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $100k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $500k Guaranteed
Event #28 NL Hold’em Rebuy
Low: $11 $200k Guaranteed
Medium: $109 $400k Guaranteed
High: $1,050 $600k Guaranteed
May 13th
Event #29 8-Game
Low: $33 $75k Guaranteed
Medium: $320 $150k Guaranteed
High: $3,150 $250k Guaranteed
Event #30 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo
Low: $11 $75k Guaranteed
Medium: $109 $150k Guaranteed
High: $1,050 $300k Guaranteed
May 14th
Event #31 NL Hold’em 1 rebuy, 1 add-on
Low: $22 $250k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $500k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $1M Guaranteed
Event #32 Limit Hold’em 6max
Low: $55 $100k Guaranteed
Medium: $530 $200k Guaranteed
High: $5,200 $300k Guaranteed
Event #33 NL Omaha Hi-Lo
Low: $22 $50k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $100k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $200k Guaranteed
May 15th
Event #34 Pot-Limit Omaha 6max
Low: $55 $100k Guaranteed
Medium: $530 $250k Guaranteed
High: $5,200 $500k Guaranteed
Event #35 NL Hold’em Heads-Up 2-day
Low: $270 $250k Guaranteed
Medium: $2,600 $500k Guaranteed
High: $25,500 $750k Guaranteed
Event #36 HORSE
Low: $22 $50k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $100k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $150k Guaranteed
May 16th
Event #37 NL Hold’em
Low: $22 $200k Guaranteed
Medium: $215 $750k Guaranteed
High: $2,100 $750k Guaranteed
Event #38 NL Hold’em Main Event 2-day
Low: $109 $1M Guaranteed
Medium: $1,050 $3M Guaranteed
High: $10,300 $5M Guaranteed
There will be satellites running through out the next few weeks around the clock. Players can qualify for these events for as little as $1 or by using their Frequent Player Points to enter other satellites. If you are new to PokerStars and want to play in the scoop, make sure to use the PokerStars Bonus Code STARS600 when signing up to guarantee a 100% up to $600 initial deposit bonus as well as entry into the FTR300.
April 24, 2010 at 12:31 am | Poker News | No Comments » | Written by: spenda
The 16th version of Full Tilt’s Online Poker Series, or FTOPS XVI, kicked off a few hours ago with Event #1, a $200+$16 $750k Guaranteed NL Hold’em tournament. It took FullTilt a while to finalize their schedule but as of today all 30 events have a structure, format, buy-in, and game. As always the series is highlighted by FullTilt sponsored professionals, known as “red pros” because of the way their name appears in the Lobby. Event #1 is being hosted by 5-time WSOP bracelet winner Allen Cunningham. Cunningham, outside of Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and Tom Dwan, might just be the most respected poker professional in the world. Known for both his tournament and cash game skills, Cunningham has been around for a while despite only being 33. He has made appearances on many televised cash games including the past few seasons of FullTilt’s Million Dollar Cash Game.
Besides Cunningham there are some other big names hosting events including Jennifer Harman (Event #6), Taylor “GreenPlastic” Caby (#8), Scott Fischmann (#10), Andy Bloch (#13), Huck Seed (#16), David Pham (#23), and Marco Liesy (#28). Currently there are more than a handful of events with out a host so stay tuned, there could be some big names slotted into events like #25, the $2k buy-in high-roller event. The tournament ends May 2nd with a trio of big guaranteed events as well as the conclusion of event #25 which is a 2-day even that starts on Saturday, May 1st. Overall there will be nearly $18,000,000 in guaranteed money which means over the 30 event schedule there will more than likely be $20,000,000+ up for grabs. As you can see from the schedule below every game type is covered including Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, Razz, HORSE, and even 7-game.
Here is the final schedule
April 23rd
Event #1 — $200+$16 NL Hold’em $750k Guaranteed
Event #2 — $310+$12 NL Super Turbo 6-max $300k Guaranteed
Event #3 — $200+$16 Limit Hold’em 6-max $150k Guaranteed
April 24st
Event #4 — $500+$35 PLO 6-max $400k Guaranteed
Event #5 — $100+$9 NL Rebuy $600k Guaranteed
Event #6 — $200+$16 NL Rush Turbo $250k Guaranteed
April 25th
Event #7 — $120+$9 NL KO $800k Guaranteed
Event #8 — $500+$35 NL Heads-Up $500k Guaranteed
Event #9 — $300+$22 NL Hold’em $1.25M Guaranteed
April 26th
Event #10 $200+$16 PLO/8b Mix $200k Guaranteed
Event #11 $300+$22 NL Shoot Out $300k Guaranteed
Event #12 $1000+$50 NL 6max $1.25M Guaranteed
April 27th
Event #13 — $240+$16 PLO KO $200k Guaranteed
Event #14 — $200+$16 NL Turbo $400k Guaranteed
Event #15 — $500+$35 HORSE $250k Guaranteed
April 28th
Event #16 — $200+$16 7-Game $150k Guaranteed
Event #17 — $200+$16 NL Cashout $150k Guaranteed
Event #18 — $300+$22 NL Rebuy $1M Guaranteed
April 29th
Event #19 — $200+$16 NL 1R/1A $600k Guaranteed
Event #20 — $300+$22 PLO Heads-Up $250k Guaranteed
Event #21 — $100+$9 Stud8b $100k Guaranteed
April 30th
Event #22 — $200+$16 NL 6-max $400k Guaranteed
Event #23 — $500+$35 NL Shoot Out $350k Guaranteed
Event #24 — $300+$22 Razz $150k Guaranteed
May 1st
Event #25 — $2000+$100 NL Ante $2M Guaranteed
Event #26 — $100+$9 PLO Rebuy $400k Guaranteed
Event #27 — $515+$20 NL Super Turbo KO $350k Guaranteed
May 2nd
Event #28 — $240+$16 NL KO $1M Guaranteed
Event #29 — $150+$13 NL Rush Rebuy $500k Guaranteed
FTOPS Main Event — $600+$40 NL Hold’em $3M Guaranteed
As you can see there are five events with at least a $1,000,000 guarantee including the May 2nd FTOPS Main Event which is a record-breaking event with a $3,000,000 guarantee. Those with out a bankroll should check out the satellite tab in the FullTilt lobby. There are events starting as low as $1+$.10 running around the clock that could help you qualify for any of the above tournaments. Players can also use their FullTilt Points to enter satellites. Make sure to check back here through out the series for updates, results, and any other important information on FTOPS XVI.
If you are new to FullTilt and want to play, be sure to sign up using the bonus code MAXBONUS600. Doing so will guarantee you a 100% up to $600 initial deposit bonus as well as entry into monthly money-added events such as the ever popular FTR500 which runs on the 5th of each month.
April 16, 2010 at 11:11 pm | Poker News | No Comments » | Written by: spenda
The world’s largest online poker site has shaken things up a bit this week by deciding to alter their cash game buy-in amounts in order to cater to their entire clientele. In the past there were just two buy-in levels for each stake, a 20-100bb table and 50-100bb table. The 50bb minimum tables were great for those who did not want to deal with short stacks and the 20-100bb tables led to a lot of “ratholing” which is the art of buying in for 20bb, doubling-up, and then leaving the game. This time of play causes a lot of controversy in the online poker world and there was enough of an up-roar to force PokerStars to make a change. Not only have they adjusted their buy-in levels but they also are talking about increasing the length of time a player has to sit out at a table before coming back in with a smaller buy-in.
The new cash game tables are broken into three categories, 20-50bb, 40-100bb, and also 100-250bb with a 20% ante. For example, at $100nl there are $20-$50 tables, $40-$100 tables, and $100-$250 tables ($.20 ante) available for everyone. The jury is still out as to whether or not these changes will be good for the games, but it is nice to see a poker room thinking outside the box and committing to listening to their player base. For those who have not played with an ante before it can be quite different than games you are used to play. The ante, which only occurs at the 100-250bb tables, is 20% of the big blind. This means before the flop each player has to put in 20 cents (at $100nl) on top of the blinds. This extra money can create additional action and should open up all the players at the table.
So, which buy-in level is best for you? Where will all the fish be? Will PokerStars go back to the old levels? All of these questions are tough to answer. If you enjoy playing deep-stack poker, then clearly the 100-250bb tables are for you. The problem with these games is they tend to be heavily populated by other tight-aggressive regulars. Even if you enjoy these games you might be able to find better value in the other buy-in games. The 40-100bb tables play a lot like the 50bb minimum tables of the past. The only difference here is you might get more of the fish who do not want to buy-in full in the 100-250bb games. Finally, the 20-50bb tables will be full of fish and skilled short-stackers who are used to playing in shallow games. If you are used to this style of play these games will obviously be profitable for you. However, if you are used to playing 100bb poker these games will more than likely eat you alive. While a lot of people hate on short-stackers, it is definitely a type of style than involves a lot of skill and mathematical proficiency.
If you are new to PokerStars and want to try out their three buy-in level games be sure to sign up using the PokerStars bonus code STARS600. This code will guarantee you a 100% up to $600 initial deposit bonus as well as entry into monthly money-added tournaments and freerolls.
Other news around the poker world includes FTOPS XVI being just a week away. The 16th installment of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series begins Friday April 23rd with a $216, $750k Guaranteed NL Hold’em Event. All told there will be 30 events including the $640 Main Event with a $3,000,000 guarantee. Check back here through out the next few weeks for write-ups on the bigger events as well as any other FullTilt Poker news.
If you would like to watch some of the bigger events you must download the FullTilt software and create an account. If you decide to rail FTOPS XVI make sure to use the FullTilt Poker Referral Code MAXBONUS600 when signing up. Doing so will guarantee a 100% up to $600 initial deposit bonus as well as entry into the FTR500, a $5 buy-in tournament with $500 added to the prize pool. The FTR500 runs on the 5th of every month and will have $500 added to the final prize pool no matter how many players enter the tournament.
April 9, 2010 at 7:24 pm | Poker News | No Comments » | Written by: spenda
The world’s two biggest poker sites, PokerStars and FullTilt, are set to begin their semi-annual tournament series in the next few months. First on the docket in the Full Tilt Online Poker Series 16th installment, or more easily referred to as, FTOPS XVI. Before PokerStars took off with WCOOP and SCOOP, FTOPS was truly a one-of-a-kind online tournament series. 2-3 times a year FullTilt runs 25 tournaments with in two weeks of each other with huge guarantees, enormous prize pools, and the presence of some of the best players in the world hosting each and every event.
FTOPS XVI kicks off Friday, April 23rd at 14:00 FullTilt Lobby time. At this time FullTilt has yet to set any of the hosts for each event but in the past players such as Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Patrik Antonius, and Howard Lederer have all hosted some of the bigger events. Speaking of “big” events, this series is certainly not lacking in that department. There are six tournaments with at least $1,000,000 guaranteed including the $600+$40 Main Event which has a $3,000,000 guarantee! Other notable events include a $2000+$100 buy-in Ante event with $2M Guaranteed and $300+$22 NL tournament with $1.25M Guaranteed. The series covers other games besides NL including PLO/PLO8b, Limit Holdem, Stud8b, Razz, and HORSE. There are a few events which have not be announced yet in the 30 tournament schedule and I’d have to guess FullTilt’s new 7-game will be played in one of those. For NL players, there will be a large variety of events including Turbo, Super Turbo, 4-max, 6-max, KO, and re-buys. Needless to say, if there’s a tournament style you enjoy you will be able to find it in FTOPS XVI. The series concludes with the Main Event and a few other tournaments on Sunday, May 2nd. Be sure to check back here before the series begins for even more information on the world’s largest online tournament series.
Those new to FullTilt should take full advantage of our exclusive deposit bonus and money-added tournament series. Make sure to use the FullTilt Bonus Code MAXBONUS600 to guarantee a 100% up to $600 initial deposit bonus as well as access to private money-added events such as the FTR500 which runs on the 5th of every month. The FTR500 is a $5 buy-in tournament with $500 added to the prize pool no matter how many players enter the event.
If FTOPS XVI doesn’t fulfill your tournament rush you will only have to wait 24 hours for the beginning of the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) on PokerStars. The series begins on May 2nd (same day FTOPS finishes) and will host 38 different events with three sub-set events for specific bankroll levels. This is what sets SCOOP apart from all other series. PokerStars has taken all of their players into account, just not the high-rollers, and designed a tournament system that allows players of all bankroll and skill levels to play for huge prize pools. Event event has an L, M, and H distinction which start for Low, Medium, and High buy-in. The lower buy-ins will range from $11 to $110 which is great for those who do not have a four-figure bankroll. In fact, satellites are running every minute on PokerStars and can be bought in for as low as $1 or by using your Frequent Player Points. There are some enormous events running including a $5k buy-in PLO, $3k 8-game, and $10k (H) Main Event. The other Main Event buy0ins are $109 and $1,050. PokerStars plans on running many different games and formats including NL, Limit Holdem, PLO, Omaha8b, PL5CD, Badugi, 2-7 Triple Draw, Stud, Razz, HORSE, 8-game, and more. Plain and simple, if you are looking for variety then SCOOP has you covered. The series concludes on May 16th with the Main Event.
If you are new to PokerStars make sure to use the PokerStars bonus code STARS600 and the Marketing code FLOPTURNRIVER when signing up to guarantee a 100% up to $600 initial deposit bonus as well as entry into money-added events such as the FTR300 which is a $3 buy-in with $300 added to the prize pool. Be sure to check here before SCOOP begins for any updates on promotions or changes to the schedule.
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