Poker Blog - Poker.com

Rush Poker Tactics and Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:22:00 +0000

Rush Poker, the new cash game format at Full Tilt Poker, seems to be catching on. While the core play of poker doesn't really change in a Rush Poker game, there are a few key differences that can make it a dangerous proposition for the unprepared.

Here are a few of the best tips

1. Don't fold too soon

Sure, the advantage of Rush Poker is that you can fold and get a new hand ASAP, but don't be in too much of a hurry. Always wait for the action to reach you before you fold, especially if you are in good position. Many less patient players will quickly fold and move on, and this can allow you to make a strong play with what would normally be a marginal hand. You should still play pretty tight, but don't fold mindlessly.

2. The big blind must pay

Never let the big blind see the flop for free in a hand you are going to play. Most people will only play the best hands in Rush Poker, but you'll have no idea what the big blind is playing if you don't force them to pay to see the flop. Don't let other people play their borderline hands if you can stop them from doing so. You'll be able to steal a lot of blinds if everyone keeps thinking they can only win with monster hands, while you are watching and waiting for an opportunity to blitz the blinds!

Of course, if YOU can see the flop for free when you are posting blinds, then be sure to take advantage of the opportunity. If the flop looks like it could give you a good straight or flush without any high cards, a raise can really scare off your opposition.

3. Send in the shock troops

Very few players are going to remember how you play in a Rush Poker game, so you can't intimidate them over time - you have to give them a shock. Expect to raise and re-raise often, and for other players to do the same as soon as cards are on the board.

4. Don't sweat stolen blinds

If someone makes a clear play to steal your blinds, don't sweat it. While it can make you look soft in a normal game, it is quite unlikely that you'll be up against the same players on future blinds in Rush Poker. You can't afford to be forced into a raising war with a bad hand.

5. Play VERY tight

While you should keep on the lookout for opportunities to profitably play less-than-optimal hands, most of your play should be super tight. Don't get lured into only playing the very strongest hands, but don't get caught up in raising wars on a marginal hand either, as your opponents will often only make a play with great hole cards, or at least hole cards with a lot of potential.

Do you have any suggestions of your own for playing Rush Poker at Full Tilt Poker? Have you got any good Rush Poker stories to tell? Please share your secrets with us all in the comments.

-Shad

WSOP's All-Star Tournament

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:22:00 +0000

It's been several years since the last installment of the Tournament of Champions, but finally the World Series of Poker is bringing the event back. It's even getting a total overhaul, so hopefully it'll last a bit longer than the three-series TOC from 2004-2006.

During that time we got to see some of the biggest names in poker compete for the ultimate title, with Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, and Mike Sexton all taking out the championship.

The new All-Stars Tournament of Champions will be a combination of both traditional TOC rules and a new All-Stars format.

The tournament will include 27 players competing in a $1 million Freeroll, with the final table competitors all earning payouts, and $500,000 for the winner.

Five of those seats have already been reserved for all three Tournament of Champions winners, and the previous year's WSOP and WSOP ME winners (Joe Cada and Barry Shulman).

Two more seats will be filled by "sponsor exemptions", while the remaining 20 seats will be determined by fan votes. Anyone can make their votes count, but for a poker pro to be selected they must have won a bracelet in their career.

Additionally, the entire program will be televised on ESPN, so you'll be able to watch all the All-Stars action as it unfolds. Not too bad considering the long list of stars that will be in attendance.

As I said before, anyone can vote for the players they want to see in the tournament right here, so take your pick and let us know who you chose in the comments below!

- TheDoctor

Big Mistake for Antonius

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:04:00 +0000

Accepting the 'durrrr' Challenge was the biggest blunder of Patrik Antonius' career, and it may turn out to be the cleverest of Tom Dwan's. After the most recent 61 hand session at Full Tilt Poker that lasted just 9 minutes, Dwan came away with $230,710 to bump his lead up to $1,986,418. If I ever lost $230,710 in 9 minutes, my kneecaps would be in pretty bad shape from all the loan shark attention.

To highlight just how screwed Antonius is right now, allow me to present you with some interesting numbers - if Antonius were to fold every single hand from now until the end of the challenge, he would be out by about $7.5 million. Since the last time he and Dwan were both at $0, at close to the 23,500 hand mark, Antonius has lost maybe $200 per hand. That means he's losing at least a small blind on every hand, and could expect to drop another $3.3 million plus $500,000 for losing the challenge if Dwan's winning ways continue at the same rate. Of course, current signs point to Dwan dominating even more as the challenge continues, so those average losses could end up being much greater.

While the challenge isn't over yet, these sorts of numbers must be frustrating for Antonius, and it can't be helping his performance. When you are looking at a probable loss of around $4 million, with the potential for a loss of more than $8 million, I'd laugh if you told me you didn't feel at least a little bit off your game. It looked like so much fun in the beginning, when Patrik and Tom were trading the lead on a regular basis, but now it's serious business that could cost Antonius a good chunk of his profits from 2009.

Let's not focus entirely on the ill-fortune of Antonius, however, as the 'durrrr' Challenge has been great news for its instigator. Tom Dwan has firmly planted his name in the minds of online poker players, and I would be surprised if his performance against Antonius wasn't a large part of the reason Full Tilt Poker signed him on as a part of Team Full Tilt, especially considering the devastating losses he was being dealt by Isildur1 at the time.

Do you think that Antonius will win, or will you be impressed if he can keep his losses below $4 million? Is Tom Dwan a genius, or just lucky things are working out for him? Let us know what you reckon in the comments.

-Shad

Isildur1 back in action

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:17:00 +0000

The mystery man himself has returned to his massive winning (and losing) ways at the Full Tilt Poker tables, and has drawn quite a bit of attention for it. But then again, it's hard not to notice a faceless guy picking up around $1.4 million in a single day.

On Tuesday, both Cole South and Brian Hastings lined up to take on the unknown Swede in what was always going to be a highly publicized showing. Not surprisingly, Isildur1 cleaned up at the tables, eventually see both Cole and South take losses in excess of $500,000 each.

Brian Hastings should have known things weren't going to be friendly when, right off the bat, Isildur1 took almost $800k from Cole South, in what ended up being a 2,400-hand session.

As with all good poker players, Hastings was set on the challenge, and he squared off against Isildur1 later in the day. In a rematch of their December 2009 encounter (where Hastings clocked Isildur1 for more than $4 million), you could have been forgiven for thinking that Hastings had the mental advantage. On the contrary, Isildur1 came out all-guns-blazing and ended up wiping the floor with Hastings, picking up more than $550,000 in the process.

Running off such a lucrative streak, Isildur1 returned to the tables almost immediately and found several willing opponents. Unfortunately for Isildur1, his decision to take on both Tom "durrrr" Dwan and Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond last night wasn't exactly the best choice he's ever made. The Swede ended up losing not only the $1.4 million he picked up on Tuesday, but also another $220,000+.

It's been a long road to bankroll recovery for Isildur1, and this up-and-down run of form isn't exactly doing him any favors cash-wise. For such an aggressive player, the Swede was highly successful with his "play anyone" mentality in November of '09. While it's unclear whether he'll repeat the incredible matches that saw him crush Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and Tom Dwan, at least he's back in the high stakes headlines.

What do you think of Isildur1, and do you have any idea just who he could be? Let us know by commenting below!

- TheDoctor

Top 5 Poker Notties

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Maxim has just released its list of Top 20 Poker Hotties, and in the interests of fair coverage, I have decided to publish my list of the Top 5 Poker 'Notties'. If you don't recall the Paris Hilton classic 'The Hottie and the Nottie', a nottie is the unattractive opposite of a hottie. Pure genius.

All is not lost for the illustrious names on my list, however, as many of them rock so hard at poker that their levels of attractiveness skyrocket thanks to Golddigger's Theorem of Applied Cash: Unattractive + HUGEBUX = Hot (where HUGEBUX is equal to $3 million or more).

Without further ado, here is the list:

5. Phil Ivey's Random Photo Face

I'm not talking his posed photo face. The man looks fine when he knows a photo is being taken. What I am talking about is the face he seems to be making any time someone catches him unawares and takes a picture of him playing poker.

I think the only way he can correct this is to stop playing live poker and only play at Full Tilt, but I might just take my own life if this article convinced him to do that. It would be a kinder end than what millions of poker fans would do to me.

4. Count durrrr

Sometimes, not always but sometimes, he looks like a vampire. Straight up, that's what I think. Look at some of the pictures of Tom 'durrrr' Dwan and try to tell me he isn't a vampire from an old black and white film. Just try.

Okay, try less than that.

3. Brian Hastings in the pictures I see in any Isildur1 related news

Look at the picture. Now I'm going to give you a word:

Hobbit.

You cannot unsee what you have seen!

Anti-2. Patrik Antonius

Not bad looking. Not bad looking at all...

I am totally straight.

2. Joe Cada's little hat

If there is one thing I can't stand, it is guys in hats. It used to just be guys trying to look cool in fedoras, but now I can't take baseball caps, either.

YOU ARE INDOORS. HATS ARE NOT WELCOME HERE.

1. Isildur1

Can you get less attractive than this? I mean, what kind of person doesn't have a face, honestly? The only things uglier than Isildur1 are the epic swings he takes on the virtual felt. For reals, it is sickening how much his account balance seems to swing each day he hits Full Tilt Poker, and his lack of a face is almost as bad.

What do you think of my list of poker 'Notties'? Do you have any of your own additions? Do you have Patrik Antonius' number? Whatever you have to add, please tell us in the comments.

-Shad

Full Tilt Charity Event

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:02:00 +0000

Full Tilt Poker is holding a charity event at 2:00PM ET on April 4th in tandem with PokerGives.org. The tourney will have a buy-in of $5 + $5, of which half will be added to the prize pool, and the other half will be donated to charities selected by PokerGives.

PokerGives was established in 2008 by Mike Sexton, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher and Lisa Tenner. It is a poker charity organization dedicated to passing on as much money as possible to mainstream charities, and no board members draw a salary so that operating costs can remain lower than 5% of donations. Some of the charities that have benefited from past PokerGives efforts include the Special Olympics and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Full Tilt Poker isn't new to charity events, but this could be a much more efficient way for the site to support charity tournaments in the future. It would be good to see many more charity events on poker sites, and working with PokerGives could make it easier for Full Tilt to run them on a regular basis.

What sort of charity events would you like to see in online poker rooms? Just single tournaments, or perhaps a tournament series? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments.

-Shad

Getting Ready For 2010 WSOP

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:41:00 +0000

Here at Poker.com, we can't start looking forward to the next World Series of Poker soon enough. Joe Cada and Darvin Moon are old news - which means that poker rooms like Full Tilt Poker and Titan Poker will soon begin offering WSOP seats. Here's some advice for players looking to score a seat in an online satellite tournament.

First up, if you are already going to a WSOP event for sure, just enter it directly and play for seats into other events. Then you aren't worrying about how much you could be spending IN ADDITION to a direct entry, which may throw you off your game entirely. Only players who cannot afford direct entries really benefit from satellite tournaments. Elite tournament players are a different story, but do you win tournaments consistently enough to consider yourself 'elite'? Also, if you have the money to enter directly, isn't your time better spent in ring games?

If you are on a low budget, then you should start playing in satellite tournaments as early as possible and enter tournaments with loyalty point buy-ins. Many poker rooms offer qualifiers in 'steps' where a low cost satellite moves you up to a higher cost one, and so on, until you are playing for a WSOP prize package. If your budget is very low, this may be the only way you can get to the WSOP, so you will need to start working on climbing the steps right away for as cheap an entry as possible per tournament. Don't expect a rise straight to the top - you'll probably stumble a few times before getting near the prize.

Make sure to take advantage of every single freeroll qualifier you can enter, if you have more time than money. Even if you are just playing for a ticket into the first stage of qualifiers, having the time to play in all the freerolls gives you some kind of advantage over the higher stakes players. Considering how many people play for WSOP seats at Full Tilt Poker every year, you can't pass up an opportunity to pull the odds in your favor.

Finally, if you don't have the money to enter a WSOP event directly and you don't have the time to play in every cheap qualifier and freeroll, then you need to choose your opportunities carefully. You should play in the highest step qualifiers you can afford that will give you the best opportunity at a WSOP seat. Other players have the resources to pursue more avenues of getting a seat, but you need to focus all your limited resources into the most likely events to send you to Las Vegas.

Does anyone else have some tips for playing for WSOP seats? Especially someone who has won a seat? Please impart your wisdom in the comments.

-Shad

Online Poker Beats Stress

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:12:00 +0000

A Canadian study has revealed that playing online poker can have a stress reducing effect. Players engaged in a game can experience a drop in cortisol (a stress hormone) of up to 17%. I've read that cortisol causes nasty things like increases in blood pressure, but I'm no doctor, so I'll just mention that the report says a reduction is a good thing.

The report has hypothesized that the complexity of poker causes people to focus on it entirely, rather than worry about other stressful things. This leads to an overall calming effect, something that I have to say surprises me. I can't imagine that players are more relaxed than normal after experiencing a particularly bad beat!

I won't try to argue with research based on my own limited experience, though. News of a positive mental effect is great, as poker players will have experienced the benefits already, but have never been able to fully explain before why poker seems to leave them feeling so much better considering they are constantly putting cash on the line.

If the effect really is due to concentration on the game, it seems like online poker is a bit like meditation. Of course, I've never seen someone win thousands of dollars while meditating. I have seen people winning thousands at Full Tilt Poker, though - kind of frequently, actually, especially around about the time MiniFTOPS is happening.

What do you think? Have you felt less stressed while playing poker online? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments... unless you are too busy 'meditating' on how to play a monster pot.

-Shad

WPT LAPC: Negreanu behind

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:56:00 +0000

Day 3 at the WPT LA Poker Classic has certainly been an interesting affair. We've seen one of the biggest names in poker, Daniel Negreanu, drop down the ranks, while relative unknown Timothy Begley has managed to hold onto second position.

The Canadian, Negreanu, may be the current WPT Earnings Leader, with cash prizes in excess of $5.5 million, but he wasn't able to produce his previous day's form and has toppled down the leaderboard. After finishing third yesterday, Negreanu's chip count has depleted to $165,000. The top ten has been chopping and changing for most of the day, and there will certainly be a few more surprises headed our way before this tournament is over.

The current chip leader, Mark Newhouse, has a massive lead on the rest of the field; his battle with Robert Mizrachi at the end of the day allowed his chip count to reach 577,000.

Masaaki Kagawa, chip leader at the end of Day 1, has recovered after a poor performance yesterday; he increased his chip count by almost 250,000 today, and looks quite comfortable in fourth position.

Vanessa Rousso had a bad day at the tables, dropping from sixth position to well under the average chip count. Annie Duke, on the other hand, has been playing consistently, and a final surge at the end of the day saw her finish with 360,000.

Here is the top ten as they stand at the end of Day 3 at the WPT LAPC:

1. Mark Newhouse - 577,000
2. Timothy Begley - 470,000
3. Bob Karnes - 437,000
4. Masaaki Kagawa - 414,000
5. Dan Martin Jr - 400,000
6. Chris Moore - 380,000
7. Annie Duke - 360,000
8. Michael Woo - 335,000
9. Taylor Paur - 314,000
10. John Cautela - 263,000

Can Daniel Negreanu fight back over the coming days? Who do you think will take out WPT LA Poker Classic for 2010? Let us know your opinions in the comments below!

- TheDoctor

Titan and Travolta

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:09:00 +0000

You may have noticed that Titan Poker have been stepping up their game with marketing in recent weeks. With advertising taken up a notch, it should come as no surprise to learn that Titan Poker will be appearing in a few as-yet-unseen TV shows and films.

However, who would have thought that we'd ever see the legendary John Travolta settling down to a few hands of Titan Poker? Well, that's just what happens in his new film From Paris with Love.

The action blockbuster, based on a story by The Professional director Luc Besson, sees Travolta's character hitting the tables at Titan Poker. The marketing folks over at Titan have really gone above and beyond the call of duty on this one, and they will be using the film as part of their upcoming online promotion.

The film hit cinemas this month, so you can make up your own mind on how entertaining it is. While you're watching, though, be sure to keep an eye out for the Titan Poker scene. It'll be interesting to find out whether Travolta is as good at playing poker as he is dancing.

This could very well be the beginning of a new marketing strategy. While professional poker players have been featured time and time again in films, TV shows, and music videos (Daniel Negreanu, Annie Duke, and Gus Hansen, just to name a few), this is one of the first times that an online poker site has been featured on its own.

Do you have an opinion on Titan Poker appearing in From Paris with Love, or just have something to say about the movie? Let us know in the comments below!

- TheDoctor

FTOPS Main Event Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:18:00 +0000

There was an interesting turn of events at the Full Tilt Online Poker Series XV Main Event, when the last 7 players struck a deal to divide the remaining prize pool. This saw 4 players take away prizes worth more than $200,000 each and the remaining three players all got more than $150,000.

Tournament deals are a fairly recent addition to Full Tilt Poker, and this is probably the highest profile usage of them. While I suppose everyone involved in the deal is probably feeling pretty good right now, I can't help but think that deal making seems just a little off in a tournament as important as the FTOPS Main Event.

I understand that the players must have weighed up the level of competition and the likelihood of taking the top prize in the face of that. However, it wasn't as if anyone was looking at a tiny prize if they were the next player eliminated, as 8th place 'vice67' got $42,337.50 and 9th place 'trojancountry' took $29,636.25. In a major online tournament series like FTOPS, I expect that many players are in it for the competitive challenge just as much as the money. Making a deal just feels... off.

Let me make it clear that I don't judge the players for this decision. It's perfectly understandable, and it was an option on the table. I also don't blame Full Tilt, as I doubt they expected this was going to happen. No one is at fault, but I hope that in future the FTOPS Main Event will not allow deals. I don't think it is an event that should only be about the money, and disallowing deals may make players think of it more like a competitive title rather than just a really big prize pool.

What do you think? Are deals acceptable in every tournament or should they not be allowed in the biggest events? Tell us your opinion in the comments.

-Shad

Isildur1 is on fire

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:38:00 +0000

He/She/It is back! Isildur1 has gone on a recent tear on the high stakes tables at Full Tilt Poker. He came away $1,187,406 richer after 30 hours of play at one point, and he has continued to perform well in multiple days of $800K plus profit. He is also participating in many of the richest hands again, and better yet - he's winning a lot more of them!

So far, Isildur1 has gone up against Justin 'ZeeJustin' Bonomo, Ashton Griffin, Alexander Kostritsyn, Di 'Urindanger' Dang, Ilari 'Ziigmund' Sahamies, and his old foes Tom 'durrrr' Dwan, Brian Hastings and Gus Hansen. Chat logs between durrrr and Isildur1 also suggest that the mystery player has learnt a lesson about setting boundaries. Durrrr has complained that Isildur1 has 'too many rules' when the Swede makes attempts to move the game from PLO to Hold 'Em. Of course, too many of the pros are aware of Isildur1's Hold 'Em abilities to go into that trap quietly. Durrrr more than anyone.

It's looking more and more like Isildur1 is going to become a mainstay of the Full Tilt nosebleeds, though he will have to avoid players like Patrik Antonius and Phil Ivey until he's a little more seasoned. Hopefully he'll also abandon his habit of incredibly long sessions, especially on his off days when he just keeps digging himself into a bigger hole.

Are you as excited about Isildur1's return to high limits as I am? You should be, but whether you agree or disagree, tell me all about it in the comments.

-Shad

Can Antonius Recover?

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 06:19:00 +0000

The first round of the 'durrrr' challenge at Full Tilt Poker should (finally) be coming to a close in the near future. Tom 'durrrr' Dwan and Patrik Antonius have now played almost 33,000 of their 50,000 challenge hands. However, a recent session of just 79 hands and the fact that Dwan is leading by $1,414,551 leads me to wonder whether we'll be waiting a full year or more until the two pros see this through.

Now, with more than 17,000 hands to go, Antonius could still make his money back. He has made a full recovery from a situation almost as dire before, and it only took him about 4,000 hands to pull that off. However, it is looking more and more like durrrr has Antonius' number, and I'm not sure that there's hope of recovery. Antonius' rallies just aren't winning him enough back, and it's looking pretty disastrous for him at the moment.

If Antonius just manages to keep his losses at their current level for the next 17,000 hands, he still could lose near $2 million overall once he pays the additional $500,000 for losing the challenge. I suspect that, at best, he'll be able to bring his losses back down to beneath 500K, but even then he'll lose close to $1 million. With all this in mind, and all the stats clearly pointing to continued durrrr dominance, what will keep Antonius coming back to the tables? I'm beginning to think that a short time limit should have been imposed on the challenge, and I hope that Dwan insists on one with his next opponent if he actually decides to continue with another challenge.

What do you think about the pace of the 'durrrr' challenge? Do you agree with me, that it desperately needs a time limit as well as its hand limit? Please tell us all about it in the comments.

-Shad

Poker Maven Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:32:00 +0000

The first annual Poker Maven Awards has begun voting, and will be coordinated by the Woman Poker Player Magazine. The event aims to recognize achievements of women in poker, and contributions made for the continuing increase of female poker players.

The awards will cover a wide range of areas pertaining to women in poker, with recognition given to the most female-friendly online poker room, as well as an award for the poker employee that has contributed the most to promote the growth of women in poker. The top female poker player for 2009 will also be announced.

The editing manager of Woman Poker Player, Maryann Morrison, is the brainchild behind the Poker Maven Awards, and is keen on continuing the trend of encouraging more women to play poker.

"I wanted to do something to push the poker industry to start thinking more about the women who play. It doesn't mean that the industry needs additional women's only events, there are other ways to market to the female demographic. It equates to the recognition and support of women, their potential, and their advancement in this industry."

Everyone can have their say on who they feel is most deserving of each award, and voting will continue until March 31. At the end of the selection period, all votes will be compiled and announced soon after.

If you would like to vote in the inaugural Poker Maven Awards, you can do so by heading over to the Woman Poker Player website here.

What are you thoughts on the continuing promotion of women in poker, and will you be making your voice heard through the Poker Maven Awards? Let us know by commenting below!

- TheDoctor

The Matador Rejoins Full Tilt

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:46:00 +0000

He may have been flying under the media radar recently, but that doesn't mean that Carlos "The Matador" Mortensen hasn't been hitting the tables regularly. After a short hiatus, Full Tilt Poker has announced the re-signing of the WSOP champ.

The story started as a rumor amongst several poker blogs before being confirmed by Full Tilt. The Matador is now appearing across as range of sites as the new addition to Full Tilt's Pros, and there is speculation that he will soon be back on the regular tournament scene.

While there was no real media hubbub about Mortensen rejoining his former sponsors, it is clear that The Matador will bring an experienced and professional edge to the already illustrious list of Full Tilt Pros.

For those who weren't around to see Mortensen's rise to fame during the early Noughties, you would probably recognize his unusual chip-stacking style (pictured).

A two-time World Series of Poker champion, Mortensen started his professional poker career after moving from Spain to the United States in the late 1990s. He basically came out of nowhere to snatch the ultimate prize at the 2001 WSOP: the $10,000 Championship Event - No Limit Hold'em. The victory was followed up two years later by a second WSOP bracelet when he took out the $5,000 Limit Hold'em event.

Mortensen has also won two World Poker Tour titles, as well as a string of other poker events throughout the world. His return to Full Tilt could be a harbinger of great things to come.

What are your thoughts on Full Tilt re-signing the two-time bracelet-winning Matador? Will his dominance from nearly a decade ago continue? Or will he find it difficult to compete at the same level as fellow Full Tilt Pros like Phil Ivey and Patrick Antonius? Have your say by commenting below!

- TheDoctor

The Gambling Man

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:32:00 +0000

Phil Ivey is one of the best - if not THE best - poker players in the world, which is why he's a major attraction at Full Tilt Poker. But, man, he is one hell of a gambler!

Rumors abound that he put a huge bet on the Colts to win the Superbowl. We're talking in the realms of $2 million, something similar to his losing bet on the Lakers a couple of years back. He's known to drop large amounts on casino games as well, generally on craps.

Now, there's nothing wrong with playing games outside of poker. I'm pretty partial to craps, too, and who doesn't take a punt on their favorite sports every once in a while? This isn't a post that's going to scold Phil for gambling - I just want to figure out how he can lose so much in these other games and yet still be so good playing poker!

Half my troubles playing poker are based on my willingness to take a gamble rather than assessing risks logically, and I'd say that's the problem most people have. Obviously Ivey is much better at assessing risk than I am, but apparently that does not extend past the poker table if his record with massive sports bets is anything to go by.

Of course, perhaps I'm just not taking into account one very important thing - he makes truckloads more money than me. I guess it'd be pretty hard to get excited by a $1,000 bet if that was less than a day's pay for you. $2 million seems a bit more than a step above, but it isn't as if he is dropping that sort of money every single day. As long as he can afford it, more power to him. Oh, and I also thought the Colts were going to win, so he has my sympathies there.

What do you think of Phil Ivey's extracurricular betting outside of poker? Do you find it as fascinating as I do? Please tell us about it in the comments.

-Shad

Has the Promised One returned?

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:52:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:44:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:51:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:17:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Poker.com) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 06:35:00 +0000

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