Poker Blog - Poker.com

Has the Promised One returned?

2010-02-03T01:52:00.002-05:00

It looks like Isildur1 is making a comeback, as the blogs have been all a-twitter about some Isildur1 sightings in low stakes games at Full Tilt Poker. There are also rumors that the mystery man is playing at Betfair Poker as Omlphalotus, which is a much harder name to discuss around the Poker.com offices than Isildur1 (seriously, how is that pronounced?). Omlphalotus apparently plays just like Isildur1, including the disastrous habit of foolishly long sessions, and those in the know are reasonably sure it's our favorite high stakes maniac.

Isildur1's return to Full Tilt has been anything but glorious. He's playing $0.25/$0.50 stakes games of No Limit Hold 'Em, his game of choice, which is a hell of a long way from his previous games. At the end of last year he was risking hundreds of thousands of dollars on every second hand, you have to wonder if he will ever make a return to that level of play.

It's also slightly troubling that's he's sticking to NLHE games, as it was Pot Limit Omaha where he was losing big money to the pros. They know not to take him on in NLHE, so you'd think he would work on the game he's most likely to play the pros at. Oh well. Maybe he's simply working on restoring his initial bankroll, but I'm worried Isildur1 hasn't learnt anything from his prior experiences at the high roller tables.

Welcome back Isildur1. Hope you can get back in the swing of things (though perhaps don't let your bankroll do the swinging this time).

Do you think Isildur1 will return to the glory of the high stakes tables, and how do you think he would do now? Tell us about it in the comments.

- Shad

Aussie Millions' PartyPoker Champ

2010-02-01T01:44:00.003-05:00

It was crazy enough that not one, but two PartyPoker qualifiers managed to make it to the Aussie Millions Final Table. Now, the new tournament champion has been named: PartyPoker's Tyron Krost.

Krost was one of 27 rounders that managed to win their way to the Aussie Millions via PartyPoker qualifiers. Alongside him at the Final Table was fellow PartyPoker member Frederik Jensen.

With a top prize of $2 million on offer for the ultimate winner, Krost and Jensen faced the likes of Canadian Sorel Mizzi, Steve Friedlander, and even WSOPE bracelet-winning Annette Obrestad. After days of intense play, the 23-year-old university student finally came out on top.

Amazingly, even up against Sorel Mizzi's chip lead of $6 million, both PartyPoker qualifiers were the last remaining competitors. Krost ended up taking the honors, but Jensen didn't walk away empty-handed, pocketing $1.1 million for his efforts.

Krost managed to turn a meager satellite entrance fee into $2 million thanks to PartyPoker, and it's intriguing to see just how many satellite qualifiers are managing to pull off remarkable finishes in the big tournaments.

It's not the first time that something like this has happened; who could forget the way Chris Moneymaker - arguably the man that popularized mainstream poker - managed to win his way from an online satellite all the way to the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2003.

It's a familiar story, and one we will doubtless hear time and time again as the popularity of online poker and online gambling in general increases.

Have you taken part in - or even won - any satellite events such as PartyPoker's Aussie Millions promotion? What are you thoughts on the way that qualifiers are bridging the gap between at-home poker players and well-known professionals? Have your say in the comments below!

Ivey: All-Time Money Earner

2010-01-26T23:51:00.003-05:00

The Aussie Millions may have dealt Phil Ivey a cruel blow on Monday, but his runner-up finish in the $100k Challenge Monday was enough to push the Full Tilt Poker Pro over the line as the all-time leading money winner.

Touted as the "richest tournament in the Southern Hemisphere", the Aussie Millions event saw Ivey lose heads-up against relative unknown Dan Shak. Ivey's hand of A/10 was trumped on the flop when Shak picked up two pair of sevens and fours, proving to be the decider. While Shak took away double Phil Ivey's prize money, the legendary Full Tilt Pro still managed to pick up AU$600,000 for his troubles.

That event pushed his career earnings to over US$12.8 million, more than $350,000 ahead of former leader Daniel Negreanu. Ivey was excited about the achievement, but nonchalant about its implications.

"It's exciting. I've been after that for a while now, so it feels good to get there."

"I don't think I'll celebrate too much," he said. "I'm just going to go to dinner, maybe have a glass of wine or two and play some poker later."

With plenty of poker action coming up, we may very well see the leaderboard continue to change. What do you think of Phil Ivey's recent ascension to the top of the all-time money earners? And do you think he's likely to stay there for some time to come? Have your say in the comments!

- TheDoctor

Twitter at WSOP 2010

2010-01-17T19:17:00.002-05:00

The 2010 WSOP Tournament Rule Book has been released, and it has a few choice entries. One of the best is that people will be allowed to use Twitter and make emails, as long as they do so in a hand they are not a part of, and as long as they aren't communicating with other players at the table. If the tournament staff believe you are communicating with another player, then you and the person you were giving helpful hints to will be disqualified. Also, people may only make calls on a phone as long as they are at least one table length away from the table they are playing at. All seem fair, and quite progressive really. Allowing Twitter especially could make for better press coverage and public interest.

Some other intriguing rules include a rule for "no shows", where a player who does not show up before the start of the third level of play will have their chips and buy-in removed from the tournament. Players who do not make it on time and are withdrawn will not be penalized, which has caused controversy, as some suspect players will try to scope out their table before showing up to see if it is worth their time playing.

The most entertaining rule, of course, is Rule No. 91, which is constantly referred to when a penalty is mentioned in some other rules. This is a bit funny because Rule 91 reads:

"There will be no foreign objects on the table except for a maximum of one card cap. Card caps can be no larger than two (2) inches in diameter and no more than one-half (1/2) inch in depth. Players may not place any food or beverages on the poker table with the exception of one (1) capped bottle of water."

Hmmm. That doesn't sound like a penalty, does it? Now, Rule 92, on the other hand, starts off with the following line:

"In its sole and absolute discretion, Rio may impose penalties ranging from a verbal warning, one missed hand away from the table up to disqualification and expulsion from all Rio casino properties."

Sounds more appropriate. Mistakes like this happen, and I'm sure that will be attended to soon enough. If not, we may see people who flout the rules get penalized with a direction to place one (1) capped bottle of water on the table. Or something like that.

Do you have any thoughts on the 2010 World Series of Poker rules? Please tell us about it in the comments.

- Shad

Isildur1: A Timeline

2010-01-15T01:35:00.006-05:00

In November and December of 2009, the mysterious Swedish player Isildur1 tore up the felt on the high limit tables at Full Tilt Poker. During this period, Isildur1 took part in the 12 richest online hands in poker history up to that point, including being part of the first online hand to surpass the $1 million mark. The following is a rough timeline of Isildur1's highs and lows from November 2009 through to the beginning of 2010.

Early November - Isildur1 was gaining a reputation at this point for his utter decimation of Tom "Durrrr" Dwan, with a $3 million profit from Dwan making headlines on the poker news sites. Luckily for Dwan, he got picked up as part of Team Full Tilt soon after. Isildur1 had also been destroying a few other pros in No Limit Hold 'Em, and they had responded by running away to the Pot Limit Omaha tables, where Isildur1 did not seem to have an advantage.

Isildur1 wanted more victims, however. He took $162,000 from Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, and set his sights on Patrik Antonius in the same night, taking $686,000 from Antonius in a PLO game and even managing to squeeze $22,000 out of Phil Ivey.

Late November - The latter part of November started out with Isildur1 having taken about $1.5 million from Patrik Antonius, and $1 million from David Benyamine, in addition to the massive wins he had against Dwan. People began to suspect that Isildur1 was Victor Blom, though this is discounted by many sources, including Blom himself.

Isildur1 made headlines with Patrik Antonius on November 16th when they broke the record for the biggest-ever online poker hand at $878,958.50. This was part of a session where Isildur1 lost around $2.9 million to Antonius. Brian Townsend sweetened this bitter pill by losing $440,000 or so to Isildur1 on the same night, though.

A few days later, on the evening of November 21st, the two broke the biggest hand record again and managed to be the first players to be part of an online poker hand worth more than $1 million. Unfortunately for Isildur1, it is yet again in Patrik Antonius' favor, with the $1,356,946 hand going to the former model. Total losses to Antonius that night ran up to $2.1 million for Isildur1, with a further $1.2 million going to Phil Ivey.

Isildur1 recovered somewhat at this point with more big wins against Tom Dwan and Phil Sahamies. He also managed to take a $1.1 million pot against Phil Ivey, a story that would surely get Isildur1 free drinks for the rest of his life if he ever decides to reveal himself. Unfortunately, even taking that massive hand did not put Isildur1 ahead for the session, as Ivey left $300,000 richer.

Closing out the month of November, Isildur1 managed to reclaim some of his lost cash from Antonius again, and a player known as DjAdi. DjAdi added $160,000 to Isildur1's bank, and Antonius lost enough for Isildur1 to take away $667,000 in profit for a night's work. It's too bad that, soon after, a $1.5 million loss to Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies and a loss of $566,000 to Brian Townsend bit further into Isildur1's profits.

Early December - The troubles from the end of November continued for Isildur1 in December. He was well and truly on his way to downfall in his first run at the high stakes Full Tilt Poker tables, especially when Brian Hastings took more than $3.2 million from him in a single five hour long session. It may be the worst single session anyone has had in online poker, and completely undid all the work of Isildur1 in the days prior - a three day stretch of fortune that gave him $4.35 million for a tragically short time.

Around this period, Patrik Antonius made some very complimentary comments about Isildur1 and his playing style, but a few nice words did nothing to help the mystery Swede to start turning a profit again. Brian Hastings gave his own analysis of Isildur1, coming to the conclusion that Isildur1 plays for too long and is too obsessed with trying to turn a losing match around. Chat logs between Isildur1 and other players during this time certainly suggest that he wasn't immune to tilting.

Late December - As the year began to close, Isildur1 dropped down to lower stakes. He still had no luck in recovering his money, however, as Cole South got $238,000 from yet another incredibly long playing session for Isildur1. It's possible that Isildur1 may have been chasing his rival Tom Dwan, who had already gone down to lower stakes, but Cole South acted as something of a buffer, winning against Isildur1, but losing some massive pots to Dwan.

In an interview with ESPN, Brian Hastings revealed he and Brian Townsend had discussed Isildur1's playing style, including the use of a 50,000 hand history compiled by Townsend. This led Isildur1 to seek compensation from Full Tilt Poker, after Brian Townsend's Red Pro status was suspended from Full Tilt for 30 days. Cole South was also implicated in gaining insight on Isildur1's play from Townsend, and he was the last beneficiary of Isildur1's dying gasps against the pros at Full Tilt.

It appeared that Isildur1 had gone bust, as he was nowhere to be found through the end of the year. As 2010 began, Tony G stated he would be willing to stake Isildur1 in some major events, and an interview with the Isildur1 revealed that he intended to return and still had a bankroll to play with. His initial glory run at Full Tilt Poker had ended, however, with losses in excess of $1 million. We can only hope he will come back having learned a few lessons. The most important one of all would be to stop taking on fresh high stakes players in 5 hour long sessions after having already played for 9 hours straight.

Are you looking forward to the second run of Isildur1? Fans of the mystery player should sound off in the comments.

- Shad

Synched Tourney Breaks

2010-01-08T00:51:00.004-05:00

The introduction of synchronized tournament breaks has swept the world of online poker, with many different poker networks jumping on the bandwagon. What's most interesting is that many of them have chosen to break at the same time - 55 minutes past the hour, for 5 minutes, or simply to the top of the hour.

Poker sites that synchronize their breaks in this way include Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, Ultimate Bet, Absolute Poker, Cake Poker, and recently Carbon Poker. Most of these sites make exceptions for tourneys that have only recently started, except for Cake Poker, which has elected to maintain the 55 minutes past the hour rule regardless of how little time the tournament has been running for, though they are excluding Sit and Go tournaments with fewer than 30 players from break synchronization.

It's really good to see the poker rooms deciding to break at the same time, and not being jerks about people who might play at multiple rooms at once. Not everyone is some incredible savant player who can do well in any game at any stakes and with any conditions - some people have a niche that requires they play only in specific tournament conditions at specific stakes if they are to do well. For these specialist players trying to make some money by playing in tourneys at multiple sites simultaneously, the synchronization of breaks must be a godsend.

What do you think about poker rooms synchronizing tournament breaks at the same time? Please tell us in the comments.

-Shad

Why The Bitterness Toward XBLINK?

2010-01-04T02:07:00.003-05:00

I've been reading about how XBLINK turned the last $11 in his account into more than $800,000, hitting more than $100,000 in just 5 days. That's pretty interesting, but what's more interesting to me is the poorly disguised bitterness of some players in response to this ridiculous miracle. In the forum thread where '89blist' - who identified himself as XBLINK - detailed how he made his quick fortune, many players have been harshly criticizing him.

I don't want to focus entirely on the negative, as most people are obviously happy to see someone do so well in such a short period of time. I mean, that's an awesome story, right? From your last $11 in your account to more than $800,000? Sure, the guy got lucky, but the short-term game of poker relies on luck. Phil Ivey couldn't turn $11 into more than $100,000 in 5 days unless the cards were really on his side, so why would anyone expect that a complete poker nobody would have achieved this on professional, carefully considered play?

Sure, we all think he's going to lose it all playing at far higher limits than his skills will allow for. Yes, we are all probably right. However, is it really necessary to tell him he's going to bust out soon or go broke? Is it appropriate to wish him ill? He's won a whole bunch of money, and he's young enough that it's almost a given he'll screw up and lose a bunch of it, but so what? Why the hate?

I know a lot of people are thinking they'd handle his bankroll better if they ever built up such a massive bank. Well, if you were that careful with your bankroll, then you'd never manage to make that much so quickly from $11, as you wouldn't take the risks that XBLINK has taken. It's easy to feel bitter when some young gun manages to go on a perversely long and successful hot streak, especially if you've been playing and improving for years without anywhere near as much success. It's easy to feel that way, but doesn't that bitterness just suck the fun out of poker?

How do you feel about stories like this? Love to hear them, but hate the players? Or just love to hear them? Tell us how you feel in the comments.

-Shad

Holiday Poker Promotions

2009-12-15T00:09:00.002-05:00

With the festive season just around the corner, the most popular poker rooms from across the web are lighting up with spectacular bonuses and promotions. Not only that, but unique tournaments and events are also taking place over the holiday period, so there are plenty of opportunities to win big this Christmas.

Full Tilt Poker has jumped straight into proceedings by offering its Holiday Hundred bonus. Full Tilt punters were offered an early gift of $100 to spend at the tables, and there is sure to be more on offer in the near future.

But just because the holidays are here, that doesn't mean that the best promotions and tourneys have stopped. You can still compete in Big Money Sundays, Freeroll Tournaments, and exciting Satellites. In addition to Full Tilt's holiday bonuses, you can still take advantage of their 100% Deposit Bonus for new members.

Titan Poker is another great venue for punters to enjoy holiday specials. They are currently running a "New Year 2010" promotion, which combines the excitement of both Christmas and the New Year. You can share in $2010 thanks to Titan Poker by competing in nightly tournaments throughout the month of December. Whether you are tournament, sit 'n' go, or cash game maestro, you will always find something to suit you at Titan Poker.

Finally, PartyPoker are continuing in the holiday spirit by offering a Full House of promotions this December. With over $1 million up for grabs with a three-in-one promotion, PartyPoker has you covered for incredible winnings. With the $50,000 Cash Game Race, The Jackpot Hunter, and $1m Multi-table Tournament Jackpots, your holiday season should be packed full of these lucrative poker offers.

888.com, PKR, and Carbon Poker are also getting into the holiday spirit, so why not enjoy yourself this season by taking advantage of this sleigh's worth of bonuses and promotions.

Team Pro Tuesdays

2009-12-09T02:01:00.003-05:00

It seems like PokerStars is going to better use its host of poker pros to bring in players. PokerStars has declared Tuesday evenings to be Team Pro Tuesdays from here on out, where players will find their favorite PokerStars Pros playing over a wide swathe of buy-in levels, and they won't just be restricted to Texas Hold 'Em.

Team PokerStars is a prestigious group, featuring WSOP Main Event winners like Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, Greg Raymer, and the 2009 champion Joe Cada. Other major pro players of Team PokerStars include Vanessa Rousso, Bertrand 'elkY' Grospellier, Peter Eastgate, and many more from all around the world.

It will be interesting to see exactly which pros are featured on Team Pro Tuesdays as it goes on, and which games and prices they will be playing, exactly. It's good that PokerStars is trying to use its stable of pro players more actively, as most people just don't get an opportunity to chat or play with the stars of the game. Setting a specific day each week for increased poker pro activity is also a smart idea, as people interested in talking to the pros will know the best time to hang around.

I really hope that Full Tilt Poker goes to war with PokerStars by responding with some kind of crazily overboard counter-promotion, like Team Full Tilt Week every second week of the month, or something. Maybe it's me, but I like the idea of playing with some of the top Team Full Tilt pros like Patrik Antinous without trying to take him on in million dollar hands. I don't expect to beat the pros; just being able to play against some experts on a semi-regular basis would be nice. It's not always about winning you see - sometimes you just need to get manhandled by a master of your sport to really understand that there is a whole other level to reach.

Who would you like to play against? Do you think you could beat them? Tell us all about it in the comments.

Isildur1 wins mega pots again

2009-12-08T01:40:00.003-05:00

It seems that the players over at Full Tilt Poker just can't get enough of the lucrative high stakes action. With online poker records being smashed left, right, and center, you really have to ask yourself if it is ever going to end.

"Isildur1" is one player that will be hoping it never ends. He may have had a bit of a bad spell against Patrik Antonius last month, but since then has picked up remarkably well and was up more than $1.74 million on Monday.

It was on Monday that the faceless poker sensation destroyed Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies after he was challenged at the Full Tilt tables. Never one to shy away from the big cash pots, "Isildur1" has played a role in the five most lucrative cash game pots of all time at Full Tilt Poker.

So it should come as no surprise to learn that he managed to take down "Ziigmund" for an exorbitant amount, including a pot worth more than $700,000.

Brian Townsend even managed to get in on the action against "Isildur1", finding himself up by over $368,000 at the end of the day. However, his balance could have been a lot higher had he not also lost out to "Isildur1" in a pot that was worth $720,000.

There's a detailed analysis of the two exciting hands that gifted "Isildur1" with nearly $1.5 million, but by no means should you think that this is the last you've heard of the man; if recent history has taught us anything, it is that "Isildur1" is an online poker player to rival the best of them.

- TheDoctor

Do these records even matter?

2009-12-03T01:54:00.004-05:00

Apparently, the record for the most hands played in a 24-hour period was set on November 25 by a player known as 'innerpsy' with 40,088 hands over 18 hours and 33 minutes. Unfortunately for innerpsy, that record has now been broken by 'ChicagoJoey', who set himself a challenge to play 50,000 hands in 24-hours for a net profit.

ChicagoJoey was successful, playing his 50,000 hands at PokerStars in NLHE and PLHE games at 10c/25c. He finished the 50,000 hands up by $850.53, and continued playing for another 470 hands. In total, he played for around 21 hours, so potentially he could have set the new record even higher if he hadn't given himself a requirement of having to make a net profit. Innerpsy apparently turned a loss for his record, but it was achieved in less time than ChicagoJoey's.

My question is this: does the record for most hands played in a 24-hour period matter? Of course not. It pales in comparison to the records for largest online pots and most players online that have been broken multiple times this year. That doesn't mean it isn't awesome, though, and I'm going to tell you why.

I think that attention paid to trivial matters is one of the greatest signs of success for any hobby, sport, or interest. If we can devote time and effort to keeping track of something as unimportant as this, then poker has really hit the big time! I will admit that it is impressive to be able to turn a profit with 50,000 hands in 24-hours, but simply playing through a massive number of hands doesn't strike me as notable.

Do you think this kind of thing is important? Could you break that record if you had the money and 24-hours to spare? Talk about it in the comments.

- Shad

Poker pros on Wall Street

2009-11-25T19:11:00.004-05:00

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past week or so, you would have read about the thrilling battles going on over at Full Tilt Poker on an almost daily basis. Isildur1 and Patrik Antonius have been clashing heads ever since they created the biggest pot in online poker history - and then beat it.

These high stake cash games have obviously got some people thinking about just how good poker professionals are at reading other people's playing style - even through the Internet.

The New Jersey Business News has written a great article on how a university lecturer believes that the best people to take up trading jobs on Wall Street are the professionals over at online poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker.

Brandon Adams, a teacher of Behavioral Finance at Harvard's Department of Economics, believes that players like Patrik Antonius and Phil Ivey would be right at home in the trading hub of the United States.

"They've essentially been the survivors in the system," said Adams, a frequenter of online poker sites. "Anyone smart enough and disciplined enough to survive that system is probably going to do very well in the trading world."

That sentiment seems to be shared amongst several business professionals. Aaron Brown, a risk manager who is also a former poker pro, had this to say on the matter:

"Someone who has made a successful living as a poker player for a few years would more likely be a good trader than someone who hasn't. They know to push when they have the edge and they know how not to bust, and that's a tough combination to find."

Perhaps the most famous Wall Street executive, who is now a professional poker player, is Steven Begleiter, a competitor at this year's World Series of Poker Main Event final table. Begleiter earned $1.6 million this month with his sixth-place finish.

What are your thoughts on the way that poker can transfer to everyday life? Have your say by leaving a comment below.

- TheDoctor

Yet another big win!

2009-11-23T01:43:00.003-05:00

What is wrong with Patrik Antonius and Isildur1? Are they trying to destroy one another? Days after setting the new record for largest pot in online poker history, they've done it again. On Saturday night, Antonius won a $1,356,946 pot against Isildur1, beating their previous record of $878,958.50. This is not only the biggest ever online poker pot, but also the first to surpass the $1 million mark.

It all happened in a three-table game of $500/1,000 pot-limit Omaha at Full Tilt Poker. The pots had already reached close to the previous record, getting as high as $815,000 before the $1.3 million hand. With such ruinous numbers being thrown around, how could these two do anything other than to break the $1 million for a single hand in online poker? I really do wonder if getting so close might have made these guys push their bets a little higher than usual.

The big pot started with $3,000 from Isildur1 with 9 Spades/8 Hearts/7 Diamonds/6 Diamonds and Antonius responding with a $9,000 bet while holding a hand of Ace Hearts/King Hearts/King Spades/3 Spades. It continued back and forth until the pot had reached $162,000 before the flop.

5 Clubs/4 Spades/2 Hearts came down, and Antonius added another $91,000 to the pot. Isildur1 then considered his chances before driving the now $253,000 pot up to $435,000. Antonius raised again to $773,000, and Isildur1 clearly saw no option other than to go all-in, leaving the remaining cards to fall and decide the $1,356,946 pot.

The turn was a 5 Hearts, followed by a river of 9 Clubs. Patrik Antonius once again became the winner the biggest online poker pot in history, as well as the first to win a $1 million+ pot on a single hand. While the honor of biggest pot will eventually go to someone else, that first online $1 million pot win cannot be taken from him.

Antonius won around $2.1 million in total from Isildur1 that night. Isildur1 also took on Phil Ivey, and dropped another $1.2 million to him. This was after a loss of $900,000 to Ivey in the previous week. While many were impressed with Isildur1's recent performances against Tom 'durrrr' Dwan, all the gains from those games have now been lost to Antonius and Ivey. If this continues, it's hard to see any way this ends well for Isildur1.

What do you think about the size of the pots that Isildur1 and Antonius are playing? Incredibly exciting or incredibly foolhardy? Or both? Please tell us in the comments.

- Shad

Antonius wins biggest online pot

2009-11-19T00:24:00.005-05:00

It was only a few days ago that we were salivating at the thought of how much cash some of the best high stakes players make. And now this!

Full Tilt Poker has just seen the largest pot in the history of online poker created in one of their rooms. And it wasn't just two unknowns playing for the cash, either. Two of the biggest money winners in online poker, Patrik Antonius and Isildur1, faced off in a pot worth an incredible $878,958.50!

"Isildur1 opened for $3,000 preflop and Antonius called. The flop came 5h-7h-Qs and Antonius checked. "Isildur1"bet $5,000 and Antonius raised to $21,000. Isildur1 called and the turn brought the Ad and a ton of action. Antonius bet $48,000 and Isildur1 raised to $192,000. Antonius then moved all-in for $415,479.50 and was called by Isildur1, creating the largest pot in online poker history at $878,958.50."

While both players showed the top two pair, it was Antonius who took glory when the river produced the Eight of Diamonds - he needed either an Eight or a Heart to win, while Isildur1 was holding out for a non-Heart King or Jack.

Full Tilt's Patrik Antonius went on to win $3 million from Isildur1, a huge dent in his account, especially when you consider that he is ranked as the fourth highest cash winner in online poker, with just over $5 million.

Isildur1's identity is still unknown, although Barry Greenstein did reveal that he was Swedish and that we'd be seeing a lot more of him in the future. All I can say is that I certainly hope so. He's an incredible player, and I'm sure this loss won't keep him down for long.

Still, congratulations to Patrik Antonius for such a momentous win! Do you think we'll be seeing more of these incredible pots in the near future? Have your say by commenting below.

Biggest Online Winners

2009-11-17T01:27:00.002-05:00

In a recent thread at 2+2, there was a post on the top 11 winning and losing high stakes poker players online. For your convenience, here are the top 11 and their recent earnings:

1. Phil Ivey with $12,901,299
2. OMGClayAiken with $7,651,217
3. Patrik Antonius with $7,272,543
4. Isildur1 with $5,033,951
5. Urindanger with $4,705,220
6. trex313 with $4,588,666
7. howisitfeellike with $4,073,977
8. Ziigmund with $3,584,047
9. KaiBuxxe with $3,186,717
10. theASHMAN with $2,960,874
11. Mark Vos with $2,906,447

Phil Ivey clearly makes a very decent living from high stakes games. His playing in live tournaments must simply be a vanity and a way of getting better sponsorship deals. I recall an interview where he mentioned that most tournaments cannot compare to high stakes ring games in terms of income for him, due to the amount of money that can be won per hand in a ring game. He really is just that good.

It's encouraging to see Patrik Antonius ranking so highly, especially as that same forum post revealed that Tom 'durrrr' Dwan of the durrrr Challenge is no longer in the top 50 high stakes earners. Interestingly, both Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius are members of Team Full Tilt, an honour that Dwan recently received as well. Perhaps the two more successful high stakes players can teach durrrr how to have a long lasting poker career - like not challenging everyone to incredibly high stakes games and deliberately setting the odds against yourself. In Dwan's defence, he is doing very well in the challenge currently, though the balance of wins seems to be swinging to Antonius once more.

Now, here is the list of the bottom 11 from worst to the least worst:

1. noataima at -$7,126,621
2. lady marmelade at -$6,632,177
3. patatino at -$5,924,545
4. Gus Hansen at -$5,520,219
5. elmariachimacho at -$4,161,883
6. Niki Jedlicka at -$2,396,580
7. LarsLuzak at -$2,030,695
8. ahtata at -$1,615,234
9. MR B 2 U SON at -$1,570,698
10. KObyTAPOUT at -$1,502,831
11. Brandon Adams at -$1,477,492

The total losses for those 11 are around $39,958,975. Wow, that's a lot of money, and bad news for Gus Hansen with his $5,924,545 in losses. I really feel for the big money players on a downswing in fortunes, but I also weep for the fact that they are losing amounts that may exceed my lifetime income! Oh well, more power to them, and here's hoping they can break through their losing streaks.

The moral of this story is simple: do not mess with Full Tilt Poker's Phil Ivey or Patrik Antonius unless you have somehow leveraged a massive advantage over them. Also, when you play high stakes, the losses can be staggering. Have the bankroll to survive a bad run, or else stick to lower stakes.

Do you have your own stories about winning streaks or losing runs in your online poker play? Pour your heart out in the comments.

durrrr joins Full Tilt

2009-11-11T18:53:00.008-05:00

With all the excitement of 21-year-old Joe Cada taking out the World Series of Poker Main Event, it seems that another rising star has almost been forgotten.

It has been more than a year in the making, and with speculation running rampant, Full Tilt Poker finally made a statement regarding the talented Tom "durrrr" Dwan.

"Team Full Tilt doesn't take adding a team member lightly," said Team Full Tilt member, Howard Lederer. "But, Tom Dwan has proven, through skill and dynamic play, that he will be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come. We are proud to count Tom as one of our own."

The only surprising thing about this entire event is that it has taken so long for Dwan to be recruited. Full Tilt haven't signed any new members since Patrick Antonius way back in June, 2008, but with the inclusion of Dwan, Team Full Tilt is looking rather imposing with the likes of Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and Erik Seidel in the mix.

So now that he's a full-blown member, Dwan gets all the perks that come with such a title. You'll be able to check up on his Full Tilt blog, share in his poker wisdom at the Full Tilt Poker Academy, and, of course, play against him at the online tables.

Check out the video below to hear what fellow Full Tilt members had to say about the kid who has already won more than $1.1 million in his young career.

What do you think about Tom Dwan's recent success? Have your say by commenting below.

I was wrong!

2009-11-09T01:37:00.003-05:00

Man, I was complaining about the bookies suggesting that Darvin Moon was the most likely to bust out Phil Ivey, and what does Ivey go and do? He gets busted out by Darvin Moon!

Ivey moved all in with Ace of Clubs/King of Spades against Moon's Ace of Diamonds/Queen of Spades. It's understandable that Ivey would go all-in with that, and it's understandable Moon would call. Unfortunately for the greatest poker player in the world, sometimes the cards just don’t go your way. The flop gave Moon another Queen, and there was no help for Ivey.

Sometimes that's just the way things go in poker, though. Anyone who criticizes Ivey for busting out to Moon should remember how patient he was before then and that everyone at the table treated him as dangerous right through to the end. I'm sure a few cocky upstarts will try to find Ivey in a high stakes game at Full Tilt Poker. I'm equally sure that many of those players will quickly regret their mistake and beat a hasty retreat.

Ivey busted out in seventh place for prize money of $1,404,002. That bumps up his WSOP earnings to a bit over $5 million total, and his total tournament winnings rank him as one of the biggest tournament earners of all time. This is nothing but a minor setback for him, and it'll be interesting to see how he performs in the WSOP next year.

The WSOP Main Event final table is now down to the final two: Joe Cada and Darvin Moon. Cada has the chip lead with 136,925,000 chips and Moon is at a disadvantage at 58,875,000 chips. PokerStars must be ecstatic to have signed Cada just before his final table performance, as if this young poker pro wins the WSOP, he's certain to become a poker superstar. Moon is still in with a shot, however, and there's every chance he could win this if he gets another stroke of luck like the one that took out Ivey for him.

What do you think about how the WSOP Main Event final table has run? Do you think it will be good or bad for poker? Please tell us in the comments below. We'll have a full wrap-up of the 2009 WSOP Main Event once Joe Cada and Darvin Moon have gone head-to-head later in the week, but you can read more about what's happened so far in our news section.

- Shad

Who will win the Main Event?

2009-11-02T01:50:00.004-05:00

It's been hyped for four long months, but the World Series of Poker Main Event is just around the corner. This Friday, November 6, in fact.

Odds are currently pointing in Darvin Moon's favor, if only for the fact that he is the clear chip leader. Moon is an incredible example of how an amateur poker player can compete at the highest level in the sport. A logger from Maryland, Moon took out $130 satellite event to move into the WSOP Main Event. Alongside Steven Begleiter and Antoine Saout, Moon has no WSOP earnings to his name. Yet.

Phil Ivey is the only member of the November Nine that has any WSOP bracelets, seven in total. If it weren't for his meagre chip count, he would be far and away the favorite to win, but as it stands he has to be content with his odds.

While it may be true that Ivey is the only bracelet winner, five other competitors have two or more WSOP cashes to their name. Eric Buchman, Jeff Shulman, Joe Cada, Kevin Schaffel, and James Akenhead are all veterans of the World Series of Poker, and all know just what it takes to finish in the money.

Darvin Moon - 58,930,000
Eric Buchman - 34,800,000
Steven Begleiter - 29,885,000
Jeff Shulman - 19,580,000
Joe Cada - 13,215,000
Phil Ivey - 9,765,000
Kevin Schaffel - 12,390,000
Antonie Saout - 9,500,000
James Akenhead - 6,800,000

So who do you think will take out this year's Main Event? Will Darvin Moon shock everyone and beat out the pros? Or will Phil Ivey prove his dominance of the sport by coming from nearly 50 million chips down to win? Have your say by commenting below.

Daniel Negreanu's top 10 players

2009-10-27T21:12:00.002-04:00

Daniel Negreanu: PokerStars pro, Kid Poker, and self-confessed poker stats geek.

In a recent blog entitled "I am a Stats Geek Like No Other", Negreanu dissects mountains of statistics and information in order to systematize his top ten poker professionals into three unique lists.

You can take a look at Negreanu's official blog here.

Kid Poker took every player who had participated in 30 or more World Poker Tour events into consideration, and assumed that there would be a standard ROI (return on investment) of at least $20k in order to cover food, accommodation, flights, taxes, etc.

He used several categories to organize the 176 qualifying players into the lists, with Total Earnings, Final Tables, and Cash Percentages all factoring into the final result.

The results are quite interesting:

Top Ten Players in Earnings Per Event:

1. Carlos Mortensen - $107,354.29
2. Jonathan Little - $93,077.19
3. Martin DeKnijff - $92,130.72
4. David Chiu - $91,053.53
5. Gus Hansen - $90,816.93
6. Tuan Le - $90,781.26
7. Nick Schulman - $77,838.60
8. Michael Mizrachi - $69,479.43
9. Daniel Negreanu - $68,591.79
10. Alan Goehring - $59,936.17

Bottom Ten Players in Earnings Per Event:

Don Barton - $2,056.33
Matt Glanttz - $1,794.71
Jean-Roberte Bellande - $1,792.57
John Esposito - $1,678.67
Yosh Nakano - $1,547.50
Jason Lester - $1,010.52
Robert Williamson III - $1,000.00
Alan Schien - $938.45
Dan Alspach - $728.47
Frank Kassela - $606.29

"Essentially what that means, is that for every $10,000 on average that these players put into an event, they get back what's listed."

Finally, Negreanu lists his top 10 (okay, 11) players based on final table percentages:

1. Gus Hansen - 15.6%
2. Scotty Nguyen - 11.1%
3. Jonathan Little - 10.8%
4. Phil Ivey - 10.5%
5. Ted Forrest - 8.8%
6. Daniel Negreanu - 8.6%
6. Can Kim Hua - 8.6%
6. Humberto Brenes - 8.6%
9. David Pham - 8.4%
10. Steve Sung - 8.3%
10. Hoyt Corkins - 8.3%

- TheDoctor

Poker Dad Hits Supernova Elite

2009-10-27T02:50:00.003-04:00

The PokerStars blog has reported that Dan 'DannyOhBoy' Grolemund has reached PokerStars' top VIP level - Supernova Elite - for earning 1 million VPPs. That's impressive enough as it is, but it gets better, as he did it in just 10 months and all while looking after his newborn baby boy.

Grolemund even credits his son with helping him, saying "It is because of him that I was able to reach Supernova Elite so soon." It may seem like a baby would make earning 1 million VPPs even harder to achieve, but the more you hear from Grolemund, the more it seems to make sense. If his kid has a poker face anything like the one pictured here, there'll be a promising future for the lad.

He apparently followed a strict schedule revolving around his son.

"I planned my poker sessions around his sleep schedule. I moved a high chair and a playpen right next to my computer," said Grolemund.

Most of the focus has been on how unbelievable it is that he managed to do this while looking after his new kid (1 of 3) and keeping his business running wife happy, but I can honestly see how poker and caring for an infant would be complementary. Many stay-at-home parents find that they need some purpose outside of their role as carer, and who here wouldn't consider poker to be a fun way to do that?

Apparently, Grolemund is going to continue playing despite having achieved Supernova Elite level, which goes to show how it's so much easier to achieve goals like this when you make them a habit. Continuing isn't such a bad idea, either, as there are tangible benefits to earning so many VPPs, a fact that Grolemund used to convince his wife that this whole venture was a good idea.

"I sat down with my wife at the beginning of the year, explained the benefits of becoming a Supernova Elite, and we both agreed that I should go for it ... She can't wait to go on the two luxury vacations that PokerStars will provide to us," said Grolemund.

Is anyone else out there a stay-at-home parent who plays poker as well as raising kids? Have you got any tips on how to manage your time effectively? Tell us all about it in the comments.

-Shad

UFC Poker Room

2009-10-22T07:11:00.005-04:00

You may not know this, but I'm an MMA fan. My favorite fighter is Michael Bisping, and no, I am not from England.

Today I was surprised to see the UFC have launched a poker room. What are they thinking? You don't even have the option of playing for real money and the software is nowhere near as nice as somewhere like Full Tilt Poker.

They've had an interest in poker recently though. For proof of this phenomena, look at the early eliminations in the WSOP Main Event in recent years to find many UFC stars. I guess it makes sense seeing as so many events are held in Vegas at places like Mandaly Bay.

I'm not sure how happy previous poker sponsors of the UFC will be with this move, though. It might get UFC fans interested in poker a little bit more, and it'll get them used to playing online, but it does seem like competition. It's hard to tell what's going on here, but it has to be more than just a UFC advertisement.

My advice would probably be to steer clear of the UFC room if you are looking to play poker. It's good for curiosity value only if you are looking for the best online poker games.

Any other mixed martial arts fans or martial artists out there? Are you interested in playing in a UFC themed poker room? Tell us all about it in the comments.

- Shad

Regulating US online poker

2009-10-20T01:00:00.007-04:00

I was reading an interesting article published on the Los Angeles Times website this morning regarding Internet gambling in the United States. You can check out the full piece here.

Michael Hiltzik argues that "the activity [online gambling] is unstoppable, so let's regulate it."

That statement alone is sure to hit more than a few nerves with the conservatives on this topic, but he makes a good point. The USA is one of the few countries on the globe that has passed any law related to online gambling, yet it boasts the most popular gambling venues, poker tournaments, and gambling-based television channels in the world. Hypocrisy?

"Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) have both introduced bills in Congress to lift a federal ban on much online play and clarify the law, which is ambiguous in the way it defines online gambling and is difficult even for the banks it concerns and lawyers to understand.

Their goals include taking a piece of the action for the U.S. Treasury, on the political principle that sins always seem less deadly when there's money to be squeezed from them. The consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated in 2007 that legalization could yield as much as $43 billion in tax revenue over 10 years if it includes sports betting, $34 billion even if it doesn't."

Hiltzik isn't one to beat around the bush, and Internet gambling seems to be a subject quite close to his heart.

"It's fair to say that the American approach to Internet gambling, which is legal in much of the rest of the world, is absurd. (Indeed, the federal ban placed the U.S. in Dutch with international trading partners that host online gambling companies, which have complained to the World Trade Organization that it violates trade treaties the U.S. signed.) State laws are wildly inconsistent and sometimes hypocritically excessive.

This is always a great topic to discuss, so why not state your opinion on the current Internet gambling laws by commenting below.

-TheDoctor

Slow rolling young punks

2009-10-16T02:23:00.002-04:00

It's Friday, so here's one of my favorite WSOP videos to help your day go faster.

Love seeing the old guy show the young whippersnapper who's got 'the nuts'!

Holy man wins $100k

2009-10-13T02:31:00.003-04:00

Who'da thunk it?

Last week we brought you the story of South Carolina priest Father Andrew Trapp being accepted to compete in the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge. If his audition tape was anything to go by, he wasn't going to last long at the tables.

Well, we couldn't have been more wrong!

Trapp ended up defeating not only NBA Champion John Salley, and Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso, but also four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu. I bet that there aren't too many priests who can say they've done that.

The good Father picked up $100,000 for his troubles, and now has a chance to head back to the tables in December for the $1,000,000 grand prize.

True to his word, Trapp immediately donated all of his winnings to the St. Michael's Church in Southern California. His goal for a new church is currently $1.5 million short, so you can bet your bottom dollar that he will be out to win come the end of the year.

You too can join in on the Million Dollar Challenge at PokerStars, so head on over, sign up, and submit a quick 2-minute video for your chance to topple "Father Rambo" in the finals.

- TheDoctor

Win a Porsche at PokerStars

2009-10-08T03:08:00.003-04:00

PokerStars is offering its players the chance to win a Porsche if they deposit or reload into their PokerStars account before 17 October. It's a promotion limited to players in North America, though, which seems odd considering Porsches are German. Surely PokerStars could include European players in this promotion, too?

But I digress. If you deposit at PokerStars in the period from 28 September to 17 October, and you live in North America, then your account will be credited with a ticket to the Win a Porsche tournament. This tourney will be held at 13:00ET on 18 October, which is a Sunday. New players making their first deposit will need to enter the promo code 'NEWCAR' in order to get a ticket, while existing players reloading their account will need to enter the promo code 'WINCAR'. Once you have deposited with the correct code, you just register for the tourney.

The car being played for is a Porsche Cayman S, and players who finish in the top 100 of this tourney will come away with some of the added cash prize. It's a pretty sweet car, and it can do 0 to 60mph in 5.1 seconds, with a top speed of 171mph. The Porsche Cayman S can actually reach a speed of 125mph in 18.6 seconds - not that it matters, since we are all responsible adults here. Yes. Responsible.

FAST CARS GO ZOOOOOOOM! HAHAHAHAHAAAA!

Ahem. Anyway, if you want to become a speed demon, I'd suggest getting yourself an entry into this tournament.

- Shad