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Bad Beats to bring in the New Year

Friday, December 30, 2005

Of course staff aren't allowed to play at Poker.com, so I logged into the _ _ _ _ _ _ _.com poker room today to play a little NL. I needed to play about 50 hands to get a bonus awarded. I didn't have much cash at the site so my whole bankoll was at the table. I don't love the site so was planning to get the bonus quickly on a higher than usual limit table and cash out. My balance was built up to about 6 times my deposit so I was happy enough.

Then this hand happens.

I have in the button. Everyone folds to me so I raise it a little to try and steal the blinds. The small blind folds but the big blind re-raises me.

He had a lot of cash at the table, and was playing very aggressively and not having to show his cards very often. He could have had anything in that position so I tentatively called.

Flop comes . I flopped a King high straight and a straight flush draw!

I bet the pot thinking there's a good chance that he probably had some kind of high connectors or pair because he had raised me pre-flop. I want some action but was a little surprised when he raises me!

I was loving that so I re-raised all in over the top.

He had me covered and callls straight away, turning over for 2 pair.

Who knows what he was doing re-rasing pre flop with that hand? He was a little stronger than I hoped, but I was happy as I was probably about to double up. There were only 3 cards in the deck that could save him by hitting a full house. The would give him the house, but me a str8 flush.

Turn.... blank

River .... you guessed it - to give him the boat!

I was a little angry after that hand... Not that much of a bad beat in the end, but frustrating nevertheless.

That'll teach me for trying to be sneaky and not having enough money at the site to buy in again and win my bankroll back off of him. I don't like the site so won't be back, even if there is only 5 hands to go before I get the bonus, but I certainly learnt a lesson.
  • Don't worry about bonuses - just play normally and leave if you don't like a site
  • Make sure you never have your whole site bankroll at a table no matter what your plans are!
It's new years eve tomorrow, and I'm going to Liam's house for a jacuzzi, jelly wrestling, jelly shot & poker party! That's what he tells me anyway. I hope it's not just our lovable Poker.com player host inviting people to wrestle him in the jelly..... That might not fun...

I hope you all have a happy and safe new years too.

Kris @ Poker.com


Posted at 4:24 AM Permalink | 0 comments | Talk on the Poker Forum


Happy Holidays from Poker.com

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Sitting here sweltering through another stinking hot Australian day, I've been looking back at the year that we've had at Poker.com and am looking forward to the challenge that 2006 presents.

Since launching the site in February, we've come a long way. I took a look through some old screenshots and version release notes and the software is now virtually unrecoginsable when compared to the orignal version.

We've slowed the release schedule recently to focus working on on some back end features, but there are still some good upgrades coming in early 2006. The first one should be new custom backgrounds for heads up tables (pictured), private tournaments and satellite tournaments. The heads up tables look great! The comp points store is also under construction and our newest team member, Shane, is busy designing and purchasing new merchandise to stock the store.

We struggled with a few things when we first launched - server stability, game speed, player payment fraud, disconnections, but have worked through it all over the past 11 months and we now have fast, stable, and what I think is most important, FUN, software.

We're still very much a fledging poker room when compared to the industry's current heavyweights, but we have a good starting point now and there's still unlimted potential for improvement and growth. Nearly all of the comments we receive about our software and website are now positive, whereas in the past there was always a couple of things always mentioned that needed to be tweaked. The only thing that players seem to mention often negatively now is the number of opponents available online and hopefully now that will continue to grow quickly also.

There's still a lot to improve and add to, but I think we have turned the corner.

Poker.com has a great base of loyal members that have stuck with us through our initial growth stage and occasional teething problems and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all and wish you a happy holiday season. Without you it would have been all the more difficult to reach this point and be able to look back on what was a mostly successful year.

By no means was it all roses though, for the most part it was a really tough year. For the majority of the Poker.com team it meant long hours, working through nights, weekends & holidays, dealing with frustrating bugs, and the even more frustrating rude & fraudulent players. Then there's the never ending conspiracy theories about rigged cards from the players too ignorant to see the bigger picture and appreciate our honest and open approach to business. But we have our gaming license now, so hopefully I'll have to answer less of those sorts of emails next year!

We also had a lot of transient members that would come for a look, tell us we sucked, and then be on their way back to the larger, robotic and bland poker room of their choice. We had our doubts for a while, but we're now pretty confident that most of those players will be back to play at Poker.com some day in the not too distant future. We play online ourselves at other poker sites, and although I am a fan of a few other rooms I have to say that I never have as much fun elsewhere as I do when we have a staff tournament at Poker.com or spend an afternoon testing a new feature. The Poker.com software is just hands down more fun! Exposing one card, rabbit hunting, tagging fish, getting a new background when you reach the final table - nowhere else offers that sort of thing and we'll continue to offer new features more often than any other poker site.

We're also going to continue to return great value to our members with big daily & weekly freerolls and other free tournaments like the recently held $100K Holiday Tournament(Congrats again XaqNautilis!) And we are really looking forward to meeting as many of our players as possible at events like the Aussie Millions and the World Series of Poker. The WSOP satellites have started and after a few days there's already 30+ players that have earnt their $275 grand final seat. I had scheduled the first grand final for January 22 but may have to bring that forward as we only need 50 starters to give away a WSOP package. We're looking good to reach our target of sending at least 25 players to the WSOP this year.

The Blogger Poker Tour will also be launched in early 2006, giving all of our fellow bloggers a chance to host their own poker tour event at Poker.com and maybe even win a seat to the WSOP to represent the poker blogger community.

But anyway, that's enough from me. There's still a lot of work to be done so I'd better get back to it.

Happy holidays everyone and I hope your 2006 is looking as promising as Poker.com's.

Kris @ Poker.com


Posted at 12:53 AM Permalink | 3 comments | Talk on the Poker Forum


$100k tournament blogging

Thursday, December 22, 2005

0:35 - Well done to everyone that earned their place in the $100k tournament. It went well and hopefully we've helped make the holidays special for the 200 Poker.com players that made it to the money. And XxSpadexX, there'll be a Poker.com hooded sweatshirt in the mail for finishing on the bubble in 201st place.

0:30 - Heads up didn't last long.... One hand? XaqNautilus is the Poker.com $100k holiday tournament champion and WestCoastFats is our second place finisher. They earn $20k and $12.25k respectively for some extra holiday cheer. I was just settling in for a heads up tussle and it was all over after XaqNautilus hit an Ace on the flop to pair up his A5 and last to the end when no king came to give WCF hi inside broadway draw.


0:28 - We're heads up! X just busted MC when he hit a straight on the turn with MC all in. Nice work Massagecolin, you can afford a few more massages now with the $7000 3rd place prize.

0:27 - I'm using code from now on. The players are now X, WCF, MC & nobody.... Yes as I was typing Sigvin busted out in 4th taking $5500 with him. Nice game Sigvin.

0:25 - Hand # 1296014-441, Board is Ah4h9c. Westcoastfats bets, then is raised by XaqNautilus. WCF goes all in to take the pot and the chip lead from the X man.

0:23 - Cowboy40x is out in 5th spot. His KJ didn't go the distance against XaqNautilus's pair of Aces. $4250 is coming your way Cowboy, well done!

0:22 - Hand # 1296014-434, XaqNautilus is playing the role of chip bully well, making it $200k to go forcing everyone to fold out to him.

0:20 - Hand # 1296014-433, blinds are at level 24 30,000/60,000 - Cowboy40x has the button, Massagecolin goes all in with the ducks (2,2). He survives after Westcoastfats called with J3 clubs and didn't hit anything.

0:15 - Hand # 1296014-430 Massagecolin goes all in and steals the blinds. Nice play. We're now on a 4 min break. Chip counts are:

XaqNautilus 1,444,102
Sigvin 1,147,392
WestCoastFats 1,012,998
Massagecolin 502,748
Cowboy40x 246,760

0:13 - XaqNautilus just had a leg cut off when his A5 call of Sigvin's AJ all in was dominated. But he is still chip leader with over $1.3 million.

0:11 - There's 5 players left and still $49k to be divided up. XaqNautilus is the massive chip leader with over $1.9 million sitting in front of him. Massagecolin and Westcoastfats are involved in a big pot now..... A394Q rainbow on the board..... Westcoastfats bets big and forces the fold on the river - nice hand. Westcoastfats is now over $1 million also.

0:08 - The very next hand Sharil's 66 didn't hold up when XaqNautlius paired his king on the flop. Sharil you can be very happy with your effort and the $3250 now keeping your Poker.com account balance feeling warm and fuzzy.

0:07 - TheSupervisor is goooonneee. His A8 didn't hold up against XaqNautlius's KJ and he finishes in 7th place, winning $2500.

0:05 - There's seven players left. AWhite4real finished 8th and Sniper69 9th. Well done guys. Here's a screenshot of the final table action.


0:00 - HBStunner is our 10th place finisher and has an extra $1500 to buy milk and cookies for Santa Claus. 9 remaining!

23:55 - Here's the chip counts at the start of the final table.

1. massagecolin 902,873.00
2. sigvin 686,328.00
3. sharil 543,764.00
4. westcoastfats 431,499.00
5. TheSupervisor 382,392.00
6. sniper6 347,368.00
7. Cowboy40x 306,760.00
8. HBStunner 262,080.00
9. XaqNautilus 245,862.00
10. AWhite4real 245,074.00

23:50- Ghost98, and xxtazterxx just busted in 11th and 12th! I'm stuggling to keep up with the action! Gorgousgeorge also busted in 13th place. We're down to the final table!

23:44 - TheSupervisor's AA held up against Sniper69's TT to take down a big pot. Kmansteve busted in 14th. Merry Xmas Kman, $1250 is in your Poker.com stocking!

23:40 - Leyla2222 is our 15th place finisher, winning $1250. Gorgousgeorge is now the short stack with 73396. Massagecolin has taken the chip lead with 687,509.

23:38 - JAYNYC is all in a few hands in a row..... 66 pocket pair this time..... 7% chance....... out! JayNYC finishes in 16th place and earns himself $1000 to spend over the holidays in the big apple.

23:33 - We're down to 17 as the rising blind levels are starting to put more short stacks all in. Tattare76, Woland, Browneys917 & BETOBAR claimed 17th-20th positions and $1000 each.

23:28 - XaqNautilus just scored quad sevens when all in with his pocket 77! Nice hand!

23:25 - Ghazghull was just about down to the felt and trying to last to 20th place. But he busted out 21st and earned $750 - well done Ghazgull! 20 players left!

23:20 - There's just 24 players left from a starting field of 2,177 players in the Poker.com $100,000 Holiday Tournament.

Sharil is our current chip leader with 628,274 in chips and the blinds at 8000/16,000.

Here's the stack sizes of the remaining players.

1 sharil 628,274
2 westcoastfats 516,499
3 sniper69 438,559
4 AWhite4real 269,616
5 massagecolin 268,545
6 sigvin 227,355
7 Cowboy40x 196,123
8 Kmansteve 183,988
9 HBStunner 162,882
10 JayNYC 152,239
11 tank64 140,631
12 reduceluck 118,050
13 xxtazsterxx 117,755
14 gorgousgeorge 116,698
15 XaqNautilus 115,103
16 Tattare76 114,510
17 BENTOBAR 111,992
18 TheSupervisor 96,196
19 woland 93,394
20 ghost98 86,580
21 browneyes917 85,637
22 BIGSH00TER 49,292
23 Leyla2222 33,624
24 ghazhgull 30,458

Last to the tp 20 and your already guaranteed $750 turns into $1000!. Good luck everyone.

Kris @ Poker.com


Posted at 11:13 PM Permalink | 0 comments | Talk on the Poker Forum


A letter from the WPT

Todays's guest poster is World Poker Tour founder, Steven Lipscomb. He recently penned this open letter to the Poker community and we thought it was worth posting here for everyone to read. There's been a bit of conjecture recently about how pro poker players are treated by the companies producing poker TV events and Steven's letter shed's some light on the WPT's thoughts on these matters.
-----------------------------------------------------
An Open Letter to the Poker Community from WPT Founder, Steven Lipscomb

As I take stock of all the things we have to be thankful for in the holiday season, I find it appropriate and necessary to share some thoughts with the poker community at large. Firmly believing that people will, in the end, be judged by their actions, I have long made it a policy at the World Poker Tour to let our actions speak for themselves. The persistence of widely disseminated misinformation regarding a number of things has prompted me to break with that tradition today.

I want to first state that the relationship between the WPT and our players is one of paramount importance to us. Neither the WPT nor the players would be enjoying the extraordinary success we have seen over the last three years without each other. It is essential that we all respect and appreciate what the players, the WPT casinos and the WPT staff have brought to the table in creating this new world of poker. We truly value the relationship we continue to have with our players and see it as a two-way street. We encourage players to bring their concerns directly to us in the effort to ensure a healthy, positive and fruitful relationship and we will continue to attempt to address those issues as quickly as possible. To help facilitate communication, we are launching a "For Players Only" portion of our website early next year, designed to foster information exchange and dialogue directly with WPT players. Players should make sure we have current email information so we can send them a Players Only password.

That being said, I would like to focus on the issues that have caused unnecessary concern in order to help put them in perspective.

FILMING RELEASES:

The latest hot button issue seems to be the filming release we require players to sign before they play in World Poker Tour events. The release we utilize is a standard filming release that all production companies must have signed by everyone they film - or the television broadcaster will refuse to air our material. Filming releases are always broadly drafted to protect against frivolous law suits. The language is clear. The production company can use all the footage it shoots and the person's image in all media.

But, the story does not end there. The World Poker Tour is a business. We value our relationship with WPT players and have always acted with great care and deference when using player images. The few players now trying to stir up controversy around player releases are lost in hypotheticals - not reality.

A perfect example occurred recently. Without my approval, a banner ad featuring three prominent players was used by a WPT affiliate to drive people to our online poker site. Within an hour of hearing about the ad, I had it removed - not because we were legally obligated to, but because the players asked us to—and we take their concerns seriously.

We have always acted this way as a matter of course. But, I am happy to go on record today to promise the poker community that we will always listen to a player who feels that he or she is uncomfortable with how we use their image. If we feel we can or should, we will modify or eliminate that use. And, if not, we will explain, to the best of our ability, why not. What I cannot do is subject WPTE to endless lawsuits by severely restricting the rights we obtain in our filming release. No credible production company could or would do so. And, it is in the interest of all poker players for the WPT to be focusing its efforts and resources on growing poker into one of the largest sports in the world - rather than defending an endless line of frivolous lawsuits.

I challenge the poker community to be very cautious about accepting misinformation without looking further. I am convinced that, if people take the time to investigate how the World Poker Tour has acted, they will agree that we should be commended as a company for the way we have handled this issue—and the way we listen and respond to players in general.

One more thing. The few players trying to make this a wedge issue want people to believe that players may lose endorsement opportunities because of signing WPT or ESPN film releases. Once again, this is not a real concern, but a remote hypothetical. You need to ask if any player has lost an endorsement deal because of WPT, ESPN, FOX, etc. filming releases. The answer is there are none. Players should always let potential sponsors know that they have signed the industry-standard, filming release that makes it possible for them to be on television - and therefore be of value to the sponsor. Sponsors and manufacturers deal with these circumstances all the time - on every television show from Survivor to Seinfeld. If you are lucky enough to have your television poker exposure make you a star worthy of endorsement contracts, the release will not impede that process.

And, finally, players who have played in any WPT events over the last three and a half years have already signed a release. That means that signing a release at the next hundred or a thousand WPT tournaments will have no effect of committing them any more than they are already committed.

THE WORLD POKER TOUR HAS YET TO TURN A PROFIT:

Another rampant misunderstanding in the poker community is that the World Poker Tour or WPT Enterprises (WPTE) is making massive profits and is somehow the evil empire that refuses to spread the wealth. Nothing could be further from the truth. WPTE has been in business for four years and has yet to turn a profit. We continue to invest in what we believe will be the bright future of poker and the league that launched poker as a sport. And we, more than any institution in the business, have taken and continue to take steps to grow the poker world in general to benefit players and the broader community. Just a few examples:

In our second season, we launched and funded the first player management company in history - not because we thought it would make us money, but because we wanted to foster relationships and build opportunities for players. We passed that organization on to Brian Balsbaugh who has managed to make meaningful sponsorship deals a reality for an ever-growing group of players.
In Season III, we fulfilled the dream of many people in the poker community by launching and funding the first professional poker league in the history of the sport, giving $2.5 million dollars away prior to securing a broadcast deal. As many of you know, we have yet to receive any return of that investment.
In 2004 we invited all poker players and the general public to become investors in the WPT at a very early stage - to give everyone an opportunity to benefit from our future growth.
In Season IV, the WPT lobbied the Travel Channel on behalf of players and secured a change in the logo policy to allow pre-approved logos at WPT final tables.

In a broader sense, it is the World Poker Tour, its staff and casino partners that have made this poker boom possible. Every player that commentates on a rival TV show, every player that wins a million dollar first prize, every player that participates in or endorses an online poker room, every player that sits down in a packed poker room full of new players benefits from the World Poker Tour. Some people seem to forget that just three years ago you had to wait a year to get a shot at a million dollar first prize tournament. Poker rooms were being shut down across the country and industry leaders were holding conferences seeking ways to save a dying business. People forget that the biggest five and ten thousand dollar buy-in events had thirty to sixty people in them - not the six to nine hundred players you see today.

A LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

A tremendous land of opportunity has been created and opened to the poker community by the World Poker Tour and the other poker shows it has spawned. Poker rooms across the country are making money as they never imagined they could or would. Online poker has exploded from a two hundred million dollar market to a three billion dollar market by associating with the WPT and other television shows. And, whereas no one wanted to put regularly scheduled poker on television in the U.S. in 2001/2002, at least fifteen shows are currently airing in the U.S. - copying the WPT format.

There are a lot of people making money in the poker market today. Most of those opportunities did not exist prior to the World Poker Tour. The three founders of Party Gaming cashed out over a billion dollars from their business this year. Estimates are that Full Tilt Poker, owned and launched by A-list poker players, is making hundreds of thousands of dollars a day, millions of dollars a month. Poker players are being paid for appearances, they are endorsing products and poker sites and they are even beginning to crack the difficult layers of legitimate corporate sponsorship. Free-roll television shows totaling millions of dollars in prize money are being announced monthly and new poker interest shows are being produced as well.

THE WORLD POKER TOUR

The World Poker Tour is excited by all of this - and no one is happier than Lyle Berman or me when players do well and manage to cash in on the poker boom. But, with all the money being made, the poker community should be aware that the guy who put up millions of dollars to change the poker world - Mr. Lyle Berman - has, to date, not made a cent. He has never drawn a salary and, as of today, he and Lakes Entertainment have not sold one share of World Poker Tour stock. Their investment has appreciated, but I can not imagine that poker players or the poker community begrudge him that - any more than they would expect Party Gaming's investors or the Full Tilt players to redistribute their profits.

For my own part, all my compensation is a matter of public record. And, to quote the wife of one of our WPT Champions, "I've seen what you made to launch this business and no poker player would have done it for that. I wouldn't have done it." As to my stock in the company, I have sold less than twenty percent of my ownership and continue to believe and invest in the future growth of poker and the World Poker Tour.

WE ARE AN OPEN BOOK, PLEASE COME READ US

As a public company, all of this information is easily assessable on any search engine: YAHOO! Finance, CNN Business, Motley Fool, MSNBC, etc. I encourage members of the poker community to look at our company information. Under the watchful eye of the Securities and Exchange Commission, we report how much money the company makes, how much it spends, how much executives are paid and even how much stock, if any, those executives sell. Lyle can attest to the fact that we have yet to turn a profit. He made a $10,000 bet with another poker player when the World Poker Tour began that the company would turn a profit sometime in the first five years. To date, he has not been able to collect on that bet.

THE WPT AND THE POKER COMMUNITY

I guess I would like to ask the poker community in general and the poker player community in particular to help us keep focused on the task at hand - which is to grow poker into the largest global sports phenomenon in history. I ask that you judge us by what we do and look beyond rumor. Seek the truth; don't just accept misinformation as gospel. While individual players may have their own motivation for spreading misinformation about the WPT or anyone else in our community, keep an open mind and look for the reality. Everyone has his/her own agenda and we are no exception to that rule. But, our incentives tend to align with the growth of poker as a sport that will continue to bring benefit to everyone in the community.

I appreciate your taking time to digest these thoughts. Together we have managed to change the face of poker forever. Together we have managed to dispel the perception that poker could never be a sport. We look forward to working together in 2006 to find new ways that we can grow the poker world together. And, on behalf of Lyle, Robyn and everyone at the World Poker Tour, we wish a safe and joyous holiday season to you and yours. We truly feel blessed to be a part of this exciting time in poker.

Regards,

Steve


Posted at 8:46 PM Permalink | 0 comments | Talk on the Poker Forum


No Tax for Joe

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

It's good to see that the Australian Tax Office has decided not tax Joe Hachem on his winnings from the WSOP.

They ruled that as he was pursuing a 'hobby' at the time of the win, he does not have to pay additional taxs to the Australian government on top of what he has already paid to the US IRS.

As Australia is one of the highest taxing nations in the world, that's very good news for him!

Anyone who is still looking for a chance to play in the Aussie Millions, Poker.com is offering a $600 buy in event this Saturday that will give you a 1-20 chance to win a trip to Australia. It's your last chance to snare a seat and you won't get better odds than that.


Posted at 7:06 AM Permalink | 0 comments | Talk on the Poker Forum


On their way to the Aussie Millions

Monday, December 19, 2005

Two more lucky Poker.com players have won their right to play for over a millions dollars next month at the Aussie Millions tournament in Melbourne, Australia.

'Zorro57' & 'Rooter' outlasted a field of 284 hopefuls to claim their $12,000 package.

Rooter's story is a good one as he didn't have to outlay a single cent in order to win his seat down under. Through playing in the Poker.com freeroll tournaments he built up a bankroll and then won a $1 Aussie Millions satellite to earn his entry coupon to the main event. To then go on and win the main event is a huge achievement. Well done Rooter, you'll be on your way from Montana to Melbourne in a few weeks time! For free!

Zorro57 joined us in November and won a $5 Aussie Millions Super Satellite to earn his place in the main event. He outlasted 282 other players to take 2nd place and will swap a Dutch winter for an Aussie summer next month. Well done Zorro57.

There will most likely only be one more Aussie Millions seat given away. As long as there is enough interest we are going to hold a $600 buy-in 20 player tournament sometime soon. Liam is currently guaging interest for this event, so if you'd like to play just email Liam@poker.com. If the buy-in is a little rich for your bankroll, then World Series of Poker and perhaps some EPT and WPT satellites will take over from the Aussie Millions in our satellite schedule this week.

See you at the tables.

Kris @ Poker.com


Posted at 12:25 AM Permalink | 0 comments | Talk on the Poker Forum


Rehne Pedersen wins at the Bellagio!

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Rehne Pedersen has won the 2005 WPT Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic, winning $2,078,185, a gold-and-diamond bracelet, and a $25,500 entry into the season-ending WPT World Championship. Patrik Antonius finished second, earning $1,046,470.

On the final hand, Rehne Pedersen had the button, and Antonius was forced all in for the big blind. The players flip over their cards, and Antonius had Ks-7s against Pedersen's pocket eights (8c-8s).

The flop comes 9d-6c-3s, and Pedersen retains the lead. The turn card is the 3c, and Antonius needs to catch a king to survive. The river card is the Jc, and Patrik Antonius is eliminated in second place, earning $1,046,470.

The final table placings and payouts were;

1st Rehne Pedersen $2,078,185
2nd Patrik Antonius $1,046,470
3rd Doyle Brunson $563,485
4th Joanne J.J. Liu $362,140
5th Phil Laak $241,495
6th Darrell Dicken $241,495

Congratulations Rehne, that was a tough final table.


Posted at 9:09 PM Permalink | 0 comments | Talk on the Poker Forum


More big names at Aussie Millions

In the last few weeks, there's been a few more big names of poker announce their intention to play at the Aussie Millions in Melbourne next month.

Last year was a good showing, but it looks like this year's field is really going to put the event on the world poker map for good.

Here's some of the confirmed names.

Antonio Esfandiari - USA
Barney Boatman UK
BILLY "The Croc" ARGYROS - AUS
Blair Rodman - USA
Chip Jett-USA
Clonie Gowan -USA
David Levi - USA
David "The Dragon" Pham - USA
David Williams - USA
Eric Seidel - USA
Eric "King of Ding" Sagstrom - Swd
HARRY DEMETRIOU - UK
Jamil "The Real Deal" Dia - NZ (last year's winner)
Jeff Lisandro - It
Joe "Hash" Hachem WSOP 2005-Aus
John Delassandri
Kathy Liebert -USA
Karina Jett - USA
Kenna James - USA
Maciek Gracz -Poland,
Marcel Luske - Holland
'Mad' Marty Wilson
Mel Judah - AUS
Mike Sexton - USA
Phil Ivey -USA
Ram Vaswami UK
SCOTT FISCHMAN - USA
Scotty Nguyen - USA
TONY BLOOM - UK
TONY G.- Aus
Yevgeny Kafelnikov - Russia



Wow.....


Posted at 5:03 AM Permalink | 0 comments | Talk on the Poker Forum


Down to the TV table

The Bellagio Five Diamond Classic is down to the final WPT TV table of six players.

$3,630,000 Joanne J.J. Liu
$3,510,000 Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken
$3,225,000 Rehne Pedersen
$2,505,000 Phil Laak (pictured)
$2,025,000 Doyle Brunson
$1,755,000 Patrik Antonius

It's a diverse and sure to be exciting final table, with a lady, JJ Liu leading the chip counts. Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken is a well known online player, Phil Laak is a regular WPT final table member, Patrik Antonius has been tearing up the European Poker Tour and Doyle Brunson is well.... he's Doyle!

The final table is scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm in Bellagio's beautiful Fontana Lounge, overlooking the famous water fountains. Stay tuned for updates on who takes down the final table.

--------------------------------------

And today is everyone's last chance to qualiy for Sunday's Aussie Millions Main event satellite. There's 200 players already registered, another 103 eligible but yet to register and probably another 20 or so going to squeeze in today through the final entry satellites. There'll be at least 2 x $12k packages given away, the lucky winners flying to Melbourne for an Aussie summer holiday and a chance to win over $1million in the Aussie Millions tournament at Crown Casino, the world's biggest poker tournament outside of the USA.

Log in and have a go at winning your spot today!

Kris @ Poker.com


Posted at 4:28 AM Permalink | 0 comments | Talk on the Poker Forum


26 left at the Bellagio

Thursday, December 15, 2005

There's 26 players left in contention for the $2 million plus first prize at the Bellagio Five Diamond Poker Classic in Las Vegas.

We have a new chip leader at the end of day three, with Joanne, "JJ" Liu (pictured) in front with a stack of nearly two million chips. Doyle Brunson is still hanging in there, in sixth place with over a million.

The average stack is $640k and here are the top ten;

Joanne J.J. Liu $1,980,000
Rehne Pedersen $1,460,000
Joe Cassidy $1,207,000
Bengt Sonnert $1,194,000
Patrik Antonius $1,121,000
Doyle Brunson $1,110,000
Ron Kirk $873,000
James Van Alstyne $831,000
Brad Yukon Booth $666,000
Michael Gracz $577,000

Go Doyle!

Kris @ Poker.com


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Bellagio 5 Diamond Classic Update

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

When play on the second day of the tournament concluded, there were 120 players still in the running with an average chip count of $138,750.

Here are the ten players at the top of the chip counts going into day three.

1. Patrik Antonius - $644,700
2. Darrell Dicken - $542,200
3. Alan Goehring - $434,600
4. Doyle Brunson - $418,000
5. Phil Laak - $364,100
6. Barny Boatman - $330,500
7. Ron Kirk - $321,900
8. Jeff Littlefield - $307,500
9. Don Zewin - $305,300
10. Jeff Rine - $299,000

Play resumes tomorrow at 12:00pm Vegas time.

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In Poker.com news, 101 players have already earned their coupon for entry into the $100k Holiday Tournament, and over 350 have earned a 'chance coupon' by placing in a $100 daily freeroll. There's still a week left to earn your coupon in time to play!

Kris @ Poker.com


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$100k Cartoon

Tuesday, December 13, 2005


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Reslock wins the Showboat

Monday, December 12, 2005

Chris Reslock has won the WSOP circuit event at the Showboat casino in Atlantic City after final table play had started with John Juanda as the chip leader.

The final table included two very distinct phases. The first phase went by in a flash, at least when compared with most major poker tournaments. Eight players were eliminated in a lightning-fast pace -- just under three hours. But if anyone in the audience was thinking of making early dinner reservations, such arrangements would be rudely postponed. It might have been wiser to make breakfast reservations for the following morning.

It was an 11-hour final table that, despite an interesting mix of personalities and obvious talent, did not produce many exciting moments. Oddly enough, there were few, if any bad beats, miracle draw-outs, or emotional outbursts. It was, for all intents and purposes, perhaps the only final on record where the smaller stack (when ‘all in”) failed to double up each and every time.

Heads up play between Reslock and Juanda lasted 7 hours, before an advantage was finally gained when Reslocked scored AA to Juanda's JJ and scored a commanding 754,000 to 205,000 chip lead. Juanda held on for a while longer before finally succumbing when his AK did not hold up when he went all in on a flop of 7-6-3.

Here are the final table participants and payouts.

1 Chris Reslock $335,235
2 John Juanda $186,240
3 Chad Moore $102,430
4 Nick Schulman $74,495
5 John Spadavecchia $65,185
6 Daniel Tolly $55,870
7 Eracles Panayiotou $46,560
8 Julian Studley $37,250
9 Daniel Shak $27,935


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The Showboat and frustration defined.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

WSOPThe WSOP circuit event at the Showboat in Atlantic City has finished day two of play and local poker pro, Chris Reslock has widened his chip lead.

He rocketed up from nearly 50,000 in chips on the first day to 133,900 going into Day Three. Reslock is currently the only player with over 100,000 in chips. Recent tournament winner and poker millionaire Nick Schulman is in a distant second-place with 87,400. Nearly everyone else of the remaining 27 players are out-chipped by at least 2 to 1 by Reslock.

Reslock is well-known locally. He has been playing poker seriously for over ten years and now calls it his profession, after leaving his job as a cab driver. Reslock has yet to breakthrough to the national poker scene, although he clearly has the talent to compete versus poker’s best players.

Here are the chip leaders going into day three:

Chris Reslock 133,900
Nick Schulman 87,400
James J. Salters 69,500
John Juanda 65,500
Alan Schein 55,400
Daniel Shak 50,900
Lee Watkinson 40,100
Eric Panayiotou 38,600
Roland Isra 34,500
John Spadavecchia 32,300
Dan Tolly 32,300

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It's been a frustrating couple of days at Poker.com, with a couple of server problems wreaking havoc to a few of our most popular tournaments. Once again we apologise to any players affected and thank our loyal players for your support.

We've managed to track down the problem and it shouldn't be an issue in the future. It can be both a frustrating and rewarding process developing your own software, and I really feel for our tech guys when things don't go exactly as planned.

And it's amazing to me how some people react to a stressful or unknown situation. Logic and sense often seems to go out the window and anger and greed takes over. Some of the emails we received from players were simply shocking. Despite always acting with integrity in the past all of sudden we were the worst people on earth in some people's eyes. I know it has taught me to be a lot more patient and understanding whenever I am a customer...

Kris @ Poker.com


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We've been busy!

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Poker.com has launched into the holiday season with some new tournaments and promotions to help you through the winter months.

Here's a sample of what is on offer in December alone.

$100,000 Holiday Tournament
On December 22, Poker.com is holding a $100,000 tournament. Simply earn at least 1000 comp points before midnight December 21 and be ranked in our top 1500 comp points earners for the period and you will be given an entry coupon. The top 10 placegetters from the $4000 freerolls and top 5 placegetters from our daily $500 freerolls gain instant entry to the tournament.

$20,000 Weekly Freeroll
Every Sunday at 14:00 EST, Poker.com holds a $20,000 freeroll for players that have earned at least 2000 comp points in the previous 7 days.

$500 Daily Initial Depositors Freeroll
Make an initial deposit at Poker.com and you will gain a coupon valid for 7 days entry into our daily $500 initial depositors freeroll. Top 5 placegetters also get automatic entry to the $100,000 holiday tournament.

$4000 Freerolls
On Mondays and Wednesday nights at 18:00 EST, Poker.com holds a $4000 freeroll for all members that have earned at least 1500 comp points in the previous 7 days. Top 10 placegetter also get automatic entry to the $100,000 holiday tournament.

$10,000 Guaranteed Tournament
For just $50 + 5, you can enter Poker.com's Sunday $10k Guaranteed, the first of which is to be held on December 4. 1500 starting chips, 20min levels and a great chance to cash for a guaranteed prize in a small field tournament.

Aussie Millions Satellites
For just $1 you could be on your way to Melbourne, Australia, the home of Joe Hachem, to take part in the world's biggest poker tournament outside of the USA in January 2006. Poker.com holds Aussie Millions feeder satellites and sit and gos every day. Or you could buy into the main event satellite on December 18 for just $100 + $10. At least 2 $12,000 packages will be given away on December 18 which include travel, luxury accommodation and buy in to the $AUD 10,000 Aussie Millions main event.

Click2Pay December Promotion
use coupon code C2PDEC when you make an initial deposit at Poker.com using Click2Pay.com and you will earn a 10% bonus immediately and 50% when play through of 150 comp points per $1 of bonus is met. You will also be given a free entry to the monthly $2500 Click2Pay freeroll at Poker.com.

$100 Freerolls every 3 hours
Open to any Poker.com member. Top 5 placegetters also get automatic entry to the $100,000 holiday tournament if they have earned 500 comp points before December 22.

The first $20,000 weekly freeroll just got underway, and 4 players busted out on the first hand from a field of 1480! They're still on level 1 and there's 1413 left. I'll be here to blog the final table hopefully, so stay tuned.

Kris @ Poker.com


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The All In Mobile?

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Paul Cherry, the Poker.com Tournament Director, is very happy with one of his most recent purchases.

He was lucky enough to pick up the personalised number plates "ALL IN" for a reasonable price and already has them adorning his sleek black road machine (pictured). Formerly christened the CherryMobile, we now have to come up with a new name for his pimped ALL IN ride!

A couple of other members of the Poker.com team are lucky to have picked up some cool personalised plates too. 'POKER', 'ACES', and 'DOTCOM' are all featured on license plates in the Poker.com garage.

Have you seen a poker related license plate in your neck of the woods? Send us your pics and we'll put them on a new section of Poker.com that's coming soon.

Kris @ Poker.com


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