What happens when you get three high rollers playing for $4,000 when they already have $114,606.66 locked up? One word: fliappaments! Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier, Phil Galfond and Julian Gardner found themselves three-ways for the SCOOP-18-H title relatively even stacked. They quickly settled on a straight chop and agreed to move it all in the next hand.

Mercier was particularly keen to flip given that he’d tweeted a couple of hours earlier: “Well now I’ve played 56 hours of online poker in the last 66… And I’m still going!!! Final table of #scoop plo 1k rebuy #letsgo” He must have been shattered and, having lost a dominating chip lead after being ahead to win 80% of the chips in play against Gardner, the end of the 15 hour tournament can’t have come soon enough.

A shattered Mercier still took home the bacon

The flip was won by the biggest stack at the table, that belonging to Gardner. The Englishman , who has $2,545,096 in live winnings, is best known for his runner-up finish to Robert Varkonyi in the 2002 WSOP Main Event. That won Gardner $1,100,000 but no title. He’s come close at other times, noticeably a third-place finish in a $2,000 WSOP event in 2006 which netted him $172,427, but today the title would not be denied to him.

It was quite a final table, those three big names were joined by Joseph ‘Subiime’ Cheong, Action Freak and O.Klunssila with the Finn out in front.

Final table starting stacks
Seat 1: MrCoco, 479,242
Seat 2: subiime, 139,486
Seat 3: MrSweets28, 524,313
Seat 4: Sira Al Aziz, 208,597
Seat 5: O.Klunssila, 784,946
Seat 6: JasonMercier, 331,416

Given the field it was always likely to have a top tier final table with the likes of
Ignat ’0Human0′ Liviu making the money, and EPT winners Mickey ‘mement_mori’ Peterseb and Kevin ‘ImaLuckSac’ MacPhee falling just before the bubble.

Phil Galfond playing the NAPT shootout

In the lead up to the final table Mercier and Galfond were sat next to each other, a couple of minor tangles taking place between the two but it was Greek player ActionFreak who seemed to be the fulcrum of the, well, action. Galfond was crippled by him in the hand below, but just eleven hands later he’d spun his 58,000 up to 358,000 and was table chip leader. At the other table O.Klunssila was inexorably stacking up and took out ferocious666 by flopping a full house and getting it in against a giant wrap, which was already drawing dead. That took the action hand for hand until the final table was set.

Mercier flopped quad queens against Action Freak but his river trap failed to get sprung by the aggressive player. Cheong in the meantime was blinding down, but Action Freak refused to, much to the benefit of Galfond:

The Greek’s elimination set a final table that had more of a home game feel than most:

subiime said, “hey jason”
subiime said, “LL?”
JasonMercier said, “wager?”
subiime said, “you called my bluff, i was just kidding”
MrSweets28 said, “haha”
JasonMercier said, “lol”

During the chit-chat Gardner was busy tank-calling a 108,000 river bet from O.Klunssila on the river of a [9h][8c][6h][Ac][9s] board. He was shown [2h][Ah][9d][Ts] for the near nuts stretching out the Finn’s lead once again. That however was the end of the good guys for him: Sira Al Aziz doubled through him and Mercier did likewise shortly having played [7c][Ks][As][Ad] cute pre-flop and finding a royal flush draw before binking the nut full house on the river of a [Js][Qs][6c][Jd] [Ac] board. O.Klunssila had led 54,000 into the river with [6h][2h][Jc][8c] and called Mercier’s tank-shove. That put the American Team PokerStars Pro into the chip lead for the first time.

The perennially short-stacked Cheong shipped it in light and cracked Sira Al Aziz’s aces to double back up to 147,000 (18 big blinds) while at the other end of the chip counts Mercier was the first player to break the million mark after finding aces again. This time he raised with them but flopped a flop house with his 6-8 kickers. It all but knocked out Sira Al Aziz who himself found aces shortly after and doubled back into contention through O.Klunssila. This is Omaha after all.

At this point Galfond was the only player in touching distance of Mercier with 489,000. The remaining players were scattered beneath trying to avoid being the first player out. One player was bound to make a dash to catch the Mercier and Galfond and that fell to Gardner who knocked out a short stacked Sira Al Aziz after his button raise was shoved on. Gardner’s [Qs][9s][8c][Ac] connected well on the [8d][4d][7d][8h][Jc] board to crack [Kc][Ah][2s][Kd]. Sira Al Aziz bust in 6th for $27,962.

Mercier continued to stack up unabated and moved up to a dominating 1,343,000 (more than half of the chips in play) after sending Cheong to the rail in 5th. Mercier min-raised his button to 20,000 and Cheong called in the big blind before check-raising for most of his remaining 155,000 stack on the [8d][jh][3d] flop with [kc][jc][8s][2c]. Mercier called with [qd][jd][8c][4s] and hit his flush on the [7d] turn to send Cheong to the virtual cash desk to collect $40,920.

Mercier’s unchallenged mashing surely couldn’t last and neither could his bottom set hold against the top two-pair of Gardner on a [js][5h][qd] flop. It was the biggest pot of the tournament so far – 884,378 – and both a jack and queen hit the latter streets to push Gardner into the chip lead.

Galfond had been quiet for some time but he stepped up to plate to send O.Klunssila to the rail in 4th for $54,560 to set up a tough three-way battle. Or certainly would have…

It didn’t take long for a deal to be suggested and accepted, locking up six-figure scores for all three players.

MrCoco said, “3 way chop gents?”
JasonMercier said, “even?”
MrCoco said, “yes i respect you both”
MrSweets28 said, “hmmm”
JasonMercier said, “up to phil”
MrSweets28 said, “damn… I was excited to play but that’s a reasonable offer”
JasonMercier said, “how much do we have to leave to play for”
MrCoco said, “done?”
JasonMercier said, “we have to leave something”
MrCoco said, “ok”
JasonMercier said, “i think its a rule”
MrSweets28 said, “yeah”
MrSweets28 said, “they might make us play this hand out”
JasonMercier said, “hit the discuss a deal”
JasonMercier said, “in info”
MrSweets28 said, “I can’t find it”
MrCoco said, “i have agreed a deal”
MrSweets28 said, “I never go deep in tourneys”

It took one more hand of folding but Galfond eventually found the deal button and the three players agreed to a three-way all-in on the next hand. The $4,000 which had been set aside for the winner, as well as the SCOOP watch and title, were pushed over to Gardner whose mighty [9c][jd][jh][4h] held up. The three players earned themselves a huge payday and a good sleep.

The three-way all-in for the title

1st – Julian ‘MrCoco’ Gardner, $118,606
2nd – Jason ‘JasonMercier’ Mercier, $114,606
3rd – Phil ‘MrSweets28′ Galfond, $114,606
4th – O.Klunssila, $54,560
5th – Joseph ‘subiime’ Cheong, $40,920
6th – Sira Al Aziz, $27,962

Click here to read more SCOOP reports.
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Tags: barry-greenstein | belgian poker series | eureka poker tour | european | facebook | isildur1 | online-poker | Super Tuesday | team pokerstars pro | TOC | virtual | wbcoop

Just yesterday, PokerStars Blog head honcho Brad Willis wrote an interesting piece on the race for the SCOOP Player of the Series. It talked about the feats of Viktor Blom and Shaun Deeb as they sat at the top of the leaderboard. Half way down the page, there was a caption underneath a cheesy photo of Deeb. The caption read:

“Deeb: See these people? I beat them all. Blom is next.”

One day later and those words have rung so very true as Deeb has claimed a mighty victory in Event #19-H of the PokerStars SCOOP series. It’s his second SCOOP title of the series, and the third of his career, putting him in the most elite company in the history of online poker.

Yesterday it was Blom and Deeb. Today it’s just Deeb.

Triple Stud is not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, for some, it’s probably their worst nightmare. So it’s hard to determine what sort of player would fork over $2,100 to play 12+ hours of Limit Stud, Stud Hi-Lo and Razz against the best players in the world. Stud used to be an old school game, but the younger generation have embraced it and made it cool again as the Event #19-H $2,100 Triple Stud field of 68 players contained a diverse mix of feared veterans and proven online young guns. The prize pool of $136,000 was more than double the guarantee.

George Danzer, George Lind III, Nacho Barbero, Ville Wahlbeck, Anders Berg, Martin Staszko, Bertrand Grospellier and Eugene Katchalov were representing the red spade of Team PokerStars but it wasn’t going to be easy with a stacked field that contained the cream of the crop in the international poker world.

A field of 68 sounds small, compared to the thousands (and tens of thousands) we usually see in online tournaments, but the nature of Triple Stud, and the fact that there was $44,200 and the SCOOP title to play for, ensured that it would be a real grind to reach the final table. After a little over eight hours of play AceQuad was eliminated in 9th place to burst the bubble as our final table was formed:

Final Table Line up
Seat 1: PerpCzech (27179 in chips)
Seat 2: $tinger 88 (36449 in chips)
Seat 3: Spokey (7537 in chips)
Seat 4: GVOZDIKA55 (60454 in chips)
Seat 5: stevie444 (29292 in chips)
Seat 6: E. Katchalov (86227 in chips)
Seat 7: shaundeeb (62888 in chips)
Seat 8: JohnSmith (29974 in chips)

As expected it was a super-talented line up with online phenoms Brian “$tinger 88″ Hastings, Stephen “stevie444″ Chidwick and Shaun Deeb, as well as Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov.

The short-stacked Spokey was first to go after blinding down to barely a couple of bring-ins. It was Razz that got him, with his chips in on third street and his board running out to make a nine-low. Unfortunately for him, Eugene Katchalov caught perfectly to make a wheel. Spokey picked up $5,440 for 8th place.

Katchalov held a very nice chip lead as the short-stacked Hastings was next to go. GVOZDIKA55 and Chidwick survived heavy betting on all streets to get to showdown at seventh street during a round of Stud Hi-Lo:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Chidwick showed an ace-high flush and a six-five low to scoop the lot and eliminate Hastings in 7th place for $6,120.

It took only a few more hands for GVOZDIKA55 to depart in 6th place. The game was still Stud Hi-Lo with the action capped on third street, before GVOZDIKA55′s last chips were in on fourth against two players. There was action in the side pot with PerpCzech also finding himself all in by seventh street against Shaun Deeb, but PerpCzech made two pair with queens and fours to collect both pots. Deeb could only manage jacks and sevens, while GVOZDIKA55′s pair of sevens was not enough as no player could manage to spike a low. GVOZDIKA55 collected $7,480 for his efforts.

Chidwick started to surge with a nice run of pots as PerpCzech and Deeb found themselves short. Incredibly PerpCzech was playing two SCOOP final tables simultaneously after finding himself on the $215-M variant of the very same event. The New Zealander would go on to win that one, but couldn’t manage to make it two SCOOP titles in the same day as he was next to go.

The game was Stud, with PerpCzech leading the betting with [Kc][3c][4c][Qh][6s][5s][2h] for a six-high straight but JohnSmith called him down with [Ac][8s][Ts][9s][4d][Jc][7c] for a jack-high straight. A memorable day for PerpCzech as he added another $10,200 to his account for 5th place.

Deeb was under pressure as the short stack but chipped away before landing a virtual double up in Stud. JohnSmith led the betting, before Deeb check-raised on fifth street and had his opponent all in on sixth. Deeb made [Ks][Ts][8d][Kc][2c][Js][Th] for two pair, kings and tens, to better the [Ad][Jd][5d][9s][Jc][Kd][3c] for a pair of jacks for JohnSmith.

JohnSmith collected $13,600 for his 4th place as that key hand kick-started the comeback for Deeb.

The three-handed war between Deeb, Katchalov and Chidwick was nothing short of epic. Deeb and Katchalov had already exchanged plenty of “friendly” banter in the chat box and the three players settled into a battle where no one wanted to give an inch.

Most pots didn’t get to showdown for the first 30 hands or so, before Chidwick made a seven-six low in Razz and Deeb paid him off to jump Chidwick into the chip lead. However Deeb returned the favour soon after, making his own seven-six low in Razz against Chidwick, sneaking in a raise on sixth and getting full value on the river.

The long hours of Triple Stud started to take their toll as Deeb misplayed a hand, thinking it was another game.

shaundeeb said, “omg”
shaundeeb said, “this is stud8″
shaundeeb said, “wow”
E. Katchalov said, “lol”
E. Katchalov said, “u played that hand well”
E. Katchalov said, “cmon”
shaundeeb said, “was wondering why you didnt doublebet the 22″
shaundeeb said, “so sad”
shaundeeb said, “fml obv awake too long”

Katchalov was also starting to feel the pinch, and the twist in the game came when Deeb made an interesting river call during Stud Hi-Lo:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Before Deeb called on the river he said:

shaundeeb said, “so sick you know I can beat kk”
shaundeeb said, “and still call sgih”
shaundeeb said, “dshdshs”

Clearly with some serious metagame going down, Deeb made a nice call to chop with Chidwick and leave Katchalov empty-handed.

Deeb continued to apply the pressure, collecting another good pot with aces and queens in Stud as Katchalov started with four spades but couldn’t improve beyond king-high.

Katchalov fought valiantly and doubled up twice as Chidwick slipped back onto the short stack with Deeb increasing his chip advantage.

Three-handed play went on for a full two hours before something eventually had to give.

During a round of Razz, Katchalov was all in by fifth street and made a eight-seven low but Deeb notched him with an eight-six low to collect the chips and eliminate the Team PokerStars Pro in 3rd place for $20,400 in prize money.

Heads-up chip counts
stevie444 (71236 in chips)
shaundeeb (268764 in chips)

Deeb was in control and ground Chidwick down until the key blow came again during Razz. With Deeb showing [5h][9c][7c][5c], he bet the whole way but Chidwick couldn’t find a call on the river showing [As][9d][9s][Jh]. Hopefully his hand was pretty horrible as Deeb flashed [7h][4s][5h][9c][7c][5c][Qd] for just a queen low.

It was all over next hand, with a crippled Chidwick all in on third street and making a jack low, only to watch as Deeb improved to an eight low to collect the pot and the title.

Chidwick takes $28,560 for his runner-up as the talk of the town tomorrow will be the online phenom that is Shaun Deeb as he becomes just the second player in history to win three SCOOP titles and solidifies his place at the top of the SCOOP Player of the Series leaderboard.

Final Table Results
1st shaundeeb (Mexico) – $44,200
2nd stevie444 (United Kingdom) – $28,560
3rd E. Katchalov (Ukraine) – $20,400
4th JohnSmith (Russia) – $13,600
5th PerpCzech (New Zealand) – $10,200
6th GVOZDIKA55 (Russia) – $7,480
7th $tinger 88 (Canada) – $6,120
8th Spokey (Norway) – $5,440

There are still plenty more chances to grab yourself a piece of SCOOP glory – we’re not even half way! For more details head to the official SCOOP website for the schedule, satellites, leaderboard, statistics and more.

Tags: action | Battle of the Planets | belgian poker series | chat | ept | france | lapt | latin-america | portugal | tcoop | World Series of Poker

In a game like stud, the chip lead at the beginning of a final table is not always indicative of a sure thing. In fact, that’s rarely the case. Drew M Scott was an average stack at the beginning but waited for the right times to move and continuously climbed into the lead. He then amassed such a chip stack that no one could catch him, and the win did become inevitable.

*****

The game of stud brings memories of old movies and stories of back room poker games. Triple Stud is one of the newer variations of stud that gained popularity in recent years as players began to diversify and embrace the mixed game concept. While Triple Stud is no Hold’em or Omaha, the game is becoming more popular, which led to an impressive field in this tournament.

Event 19 offered Triple Stud action, and the low buy-in event gave players the chance to compete for a title in the game for only $27. And PokerStars added a $25K guarantee to boot. That resulted in these numbers:

Players: 1,908
Guarantee: $25,000.00
Prize pool: $47,700.00
Paid players: 240

The late-starting tournament worked its way into the wee hours before the money bubble burst, which happened at the expense of ShinKazuya in 241st place. Damnation42 was the first player to cash, taking home $45.31 for 240th place.

Among those still in contention at that point were several Team PokerStars Pros. The first to be eliminated in the money was Vanessa Selbst, who left in 194th place, and Team Online’s Anders “Donald” Berg followed in 153rd. Finally, Team Pro Marcin “Goral” Horecki departed in 92nd place for $76.32.

Play was stuck at 10 players after the nine-hour mark, but after zangbezan24 exited in tenth place, hand-for-hand action began. That led to stormy19 moving all-in a few hands later, and Drew M Scott and Slavik_Krs went along for the ride. When all of the cards were dealt, Drew M Scott showed [AC][4c][2c][8c][Td][Qc][4s] for the flush, and Slavik_Krs simply mucked. Stormy19 also mucked before leaving in ninth place with $357.75.

Slavik_Krs and lotos64 battle for the lead

The final table got underway in Level 34, with limit stud blinds at 60,000/120,000 and a 12,000 ante. Players’ initial chip stacks were as follows:

Seat 1: Desslock (738,283 in chips)
Seat 2: Eskarnia (1,203,092 in chips)
Seat 3: mitras01 (698,112 in chips)
Seat 4: janik446 (560,812 in chips)
Seat 5: isegalkarl (1,438,926 in chips)
Seat 6: Slavik_Krs (1,926,576 in chips)
Seat 7: Drew M Scott (1,067,527 in chips)
Seat 8: lotos64 (1,906,672 in chips)

Play was somewhat cautious at the beginning of eight-handed action, but Eskarnia was the player with the most movement, taking over first place without much delay.

Desslock turned a corner by doubling through Slavik_Krs, and another subsequent pot between the two that went to Desslock put Slavik_Krs on a relatively short stack. That brought about a hand in which Slavik_Krs and lotos64 tangled until Slavik_Krs moved all-in on fifth street, and lotos64 called. When the rest of the cards came, Slavik_Krs was on the line with [Js][Th][3s][Qs][Tc][9s][2d], but lotos64 had the better low with [5h][4s][Ks][6h][Jc][7c][Td]. After finishing second in SCOOP Event 5-M days ago, Slavik_Krs fell fast tonight and left in eighth place with $477.00.

Not long after mitras01 doubled through Eskarnia, mitras01 got involved with lotos64. After mitras01 had [2c][7c] and lotos64 showed [3d][9h], mitras01 bet, lotos64 check-raised, and mitras01 moved all-in. Lotos64 called, and when all of the cards were dealt, showed [9d][Jd][3d][9h][2h][Ad][As] for two pair. Mitras01 had [3s][Kh][2c][7c][8h][Qd][Jc] and beat nothing, so seventh place money was awarded in the amount of $954.00.

Can we get a few double-ups?

Yes. We certainly can and did. It started with janik446 nearly tripling up, courtesy of Desslock and Eskarnia. Isegalkarl then doubled through Desslock, janik446 through Drew M Scott, Desslock through lotos64, and isegalkarl through Drew M Scott. Desslock doubled again, that time through Drew M Scott, though the latter maintained a sizeable lead over the rest of the players. And Desslock doubled through janik446. Still with me?

No more double-ups available…for now

Eskarnia got involved with Drew M Scott and lotos64 and invested all remaining chips on fifth street with [As][5h][6d] and [3h][Ac] behind. Lotos64 folded out of the way, and Drew M Scott showed [Th][8h][8s] to go with a formerly hidden [9s][9h]. That hand added [9d][3c] to become a full house, while Eskarnia only took [Kh][5s] for two pair. With no low, Eskarnia had to go in sixth place with $1,431.00.

On the very next hand, Drew M Scott called the raise of Desslock, and the two players went to fourth street. A bet and call led to fifth street, and both players checked to reach sixth. With [Ac][9d][Ad][5c][Jc][Ah], Desslock bet. Drew M Scott raised with [2s][9s][2c][6c][2h][Td]. Desslock moved all-in, and Drew M Scott called before catching the [2d] on the river for quad deuces. Desslock only caught the [4c] and had to leave in fifth place with $2,385.00.

Shortly thereafter, isegalkarl raised all-in preflop, and Drew M Scott made the call. The showdown revealed [7s][3h][Ah][9d][2h][2d][3d] for isegalkarl, but that two pair was no good against the [4d][6h][Ac][8h][6c][4c][4s] and full house of Drew M Scott. Isegalkarl was eliminated in fourth place with $3,339.00.

Jammin’ janik446

Janik446 doubled through Drew M Scott and then took a 1.72 million-chip pot from lotos64 to jump into second place of the three remaining players. Lotos64 did double through Drew M Scott to stay in action, but janik446 took most of that away by doubling through lotos64 again.

After the 11-hour break, lotos64 didn’t hesitate to move all-in on fourth street, and janik446 was along for the ride. Lotos64 was at risk with [3c][Kc][5c][6h][Tc][4d][8h], but janik446 produced [7s][Ah][Jd][4h][7h][8c][Ks], and the pair was good enough to win it. Lotos64 was gone in third place with $4,531.50.

One dominating, the other fighting

Heads-up play began with these chip counts:

Seat 4: janik446 (2,500,090 in chips)
Seat 7: Drew M Scott (7,039,910 in chips)

Janik446 was going to have to be patient, and Drew M Scott couldn’t risk losing the big lead. Janik446 did ask in the chat box if there was a chance to discuss a deal, but Drew M Scott politely declined.

Janik446 got low on chips and doubled up once, only to try it again six hands later in stud limit. The hand started with a [Qh] for janik446 and [8c] for Drew M Scott. A raise from janik446 highlighted the betting, and janik446 then received [As] and the dealer gave the [7c] to Drew M Scott. A bet and call led to a [3d] on fifth street for janik446 and [Ad] for Drew M Scott. Another bet and call brought the [9c] for janik446 and [Qs] for Drew M Scott. Janik446 bet, and Drew M Scott raised. That prompted janik446 to push all-in and Drew M Scott to call. Their complete hands were:

janik446: [Ah][Ks][Qh][As][3d][9c][5c]
Drew M Scott: [6s][8d][8c][7c][Ad][Qs][7d]

That left janik446 out in second place with $5,962.50. Drew M Scott won the SCOOP title, Movado watch, and $8,348.00 in cash. Congrats!

2012 SCOOP Event #19-L ($27 Triple Stud) Results:

1st place: Drew M Scott ($8,348.00)
2nd place: janik446 ($5,962.50)
3rd place: lotos64 ($4,531.50)
4th place: isegalkarl ($3,339.00)
5th place: Desslock ($2,385.00)
6th place: Eskarnia ($1,431.00)
7th place: mitras01 ($954.00)
8th place: Slavik_Krs ($477.00)

The Spring Championship of Online Poker home page contains all of the tournament results, schedule of upcoming events and their satellites, and a leaderboard for the 2012 Series.

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Over one thousand thirsty PLO fanatics flocked to Event #18. Despite the blood-curdling suckouts associated with short-handed Omaha, strangers from all over the world embraced the high-risk, high-reward element of nonstop combat with their only weapon — four cards.

In the amusement park of poker games, PLO is the ultimate adventure ride. It’s not for squeamish folks, rather PLO is catered to hardcore adrenaline junkies. Short-handed PLO gives the you an intergalactic boost of euphoria on par with extreme sports like jumping out of airplanes or skiing off the jagged side of a mountain. And the best part of short-handed PLO is that you don’t even have to leave your own home to get that instant burst of adulation.

Event #18-M $109+R PLO (6-max) attracted 1,146 thrill seekers. They created a total prize pool worth $364,700, which included 1,584 re-buys and 917 add-ons. The top 144 places paid out prize money with $61,087.31 set aside for the champion.

Notable players who cashed included Team PokerStars Online Mickey “mement_mori” Petersen (132nd) and Team PokerStars Pro Martin Staszko (115th place).

With seven remaining, action was hand-for-hand with one table playing three-handed and the other playing four-handed. Ceewyl from Hungary bubbled off the final table in brutal fashion by getting Aces cracked. Ceewyl made a valiant stand with [As][Ad][Qh] against Päffchen’s [Ah][Ks][Ts][6s]. The board ran out [Jd][9c][2d][Tc][6d] and Päffchen caughting running cards to back-door two pair. Ceewyl ‘s Aces were snapped off, which meant a seventh-place exit.

Event #18-M PLO 6-max – Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: BQNNEN (2,395,544)
Seat 2: Fred-wpt (3,279,371)
Seat 3: Fiskin1 (2,131,624)
Seat 4: Päffchen (2,335,510)
Seat 5: Paolo69 (458,268)
Seat 6: Efan123 (2,174,683)

When the final table commenced, action was at Level 32 with 15K/30K blinds. Fred-wpt held the lead with almost 3.3 million. This particular final table had a little history: Paolo69 won a SCOOP event last year, Efan123 final tabled a PLO SCOOP event last year, and Fiskin1 advanced to his second SCOOP final table this year.

SO WHAT: Paolo69 eliminated in 6th place

Took almost thirty minutes before someone busted. Short-stacked Paolo69 had approximately a 500K in chips when he made his final stand.

Fred-wpt opened with a min-raise to 80,000, Paolo69 re-raised to 260,000, and Fred-wpt called. The flop was [Jh][8d][5s]. Paolo69 moved all-in for his last 246,536. Fred-wpt called with [As][Qd][5d][4s]. Paolo69 was ahead with [Ah][Kd][Ks][Tc]. The [4c] spiked on the turn, which improved Fred-wpt to two pair — fives and fours. The river was the [Td], which did not help Paolo69 and his Kings were cracked. Fred-wpt won the pot and improved to 3.5 million. Paolo69 was knocked out and won $10,941 for a sixth-place finish.

BLUE IN GREEN: BQNNEN eliminated in 5th place

BQNNEN entered the fray with a raise to 100,000. Fred-wpt bumped it up to 350,000, and BQNNEN smooth called. The flop was [5s][4h][3h]. Fred-wpt fired out 750,000, BQNNEN bombed it all-in for 1,211,001, and Fred-wpt called. Fred-wpt was ahead with [Ah][Qh][9s][2s] for a Wheel and a nut-flush re-draw. BQNNEN showed [Ks][8c][6c][3s] for a higher straight draw. The turn was the [7h], which gave BQNNEN a straight, but it also filled in Fred-wpt’s flush. The river was an innocuous [8d] because BQNNEN was drawing dead. Fred-wpt won the pot and surged to over 5 million. QNNEN busted out in fifth place, collecting $15,645.63.

ALL BLUES: Päffchen eliminated in 4th place

Efan123 opened to 175,000 and Päffchen called to defend his big blind. The flop was [Td][5h][2c]. Päffchen checked, Efan123 bet 375,000, Päffchen shoved all-in for 1,440,040, and Efan123 called. Efan123 was ahead with [Kh][Kd][Qd][9s] against Päffchen’s [Ac][Qh][Qc][3h], although Päffchen picked up a gutshow draw. The turn was the [8s]. Efan123′s pair of Kings still led, but he picked up an open-ended straight draw. The [Js] on the river filled in Efan123′s straight, and he won the pot. Päffchen’s queens were no good. He finished in fourth place and took home $23,705.50.

With three players left in the hunt for the SCOOP title (and a snazzy new watch), Efan123 seized the lead (albeit by a slim fraction) with over 5 million. Fred-wpt was not far behind with 5 million and Fiskin1 brought up the rear with 2.7 million.

FREDDIE FREELOADER: Fred-wpt eliminated in 3rd place

When the final six players took their seats at the final table, it appeared as though big-stacked Fred-wpt was the favorite to win based on the amount of chips he held. He certainly did not expect to bow out in third place, but then again, PLO is brutal and merciless.

Efan123 opened to 180,000 and Fred-wpt called. The flop was [Ks][Jc][Jd]. Efan123 fired out 360,000 and Fred-wpt called. The turn was the [Qd]. Efan123 bet 1,080,000 and Fred-wpt responded by shoving all-in for his last 1,524,388. Efan123 snap-called with a boat — Kings full of Jacks — and holding [As][Kd][Kh][9s]. Fred-wpt showed [Ad][Jh][Th][2h] for a meager straight. A meaningless [5d] fell on the river. Efan123 won the 4.1 million pot. Meanwhile, Fred-wpt, from the Netherlands, hit the road in third place with a $34,646.50 score.

HEADS-UP: Efan123 (Germany) vs. Fiskin1 (United Kingdom)
Seat 3: Fiskin1 (3,545,889)
Seat 6: Efan123 (9,229,111)

Efan123 was ahead by almost 3-1.

FLAMENCO SKETCHES: Efan123 eliminated in 2nd place; Fiskin1 wins SCOOP title

On the 16th hand of heads-up, Efan123 coughed up the lead.

Fiskin1 opened with a min-raise to 1,20,000 and Efan123 called. The flop was [Ah][Kd][Qc]. Efan123 bet 240,000 and Fiskin1 called. The turn was the [7s]. Efan123 bet 720,000 and Fiskin1 called. The river was the [7c]. Efan123 fired out 2,160,000 and Fiskin1 shoved all-in for 2,465,889. Efan123 called with [Ac][Kh][4c][6h] for only two pair. Fiskin1 won the hand with [Qs][Qh][Td][9h] for a full boat. Fiskin1 seized the lead 7M to 5.6M.

On the 28th and final hand of heads-up… Fiskin1 tried to limp in, but Efan123 bumped it up to 180,000, so Fiskin1 called. The flop was [Kh][8h][5c]. Efan123 bet 360,000 and Fiskin1 called. When the [2c] appeared on the turn, Efan123 fired out 1,080,000. Fiskin1 retaliated with a raise to 4,320,000. Efan123 shoved for his last 5,203,222, and Fiskin1 called. Fiskin1 showed [Kc][Qd][Jh][2s] for two pair. Efan123 only had a pair of deuces, but risked his entire tournament life on a nut flush draw with [Ah][Tc][9s][2h]. The [7d] on the river did not help Efan123. Fiskin1′s two pair held up and he won the pot. Efan123 busted out in second place and won $45,587.50 for a runner-up performance.

Fiskin1 made a deep run last night and advanced to a final table in Event #13-H NL Knockout, but fell short of a SCOOP title. Tonight, he shipped Event #18-M for his first SCOOP crown and also padded his bankroll with a $61,087.31 first-place prize. Congrats!

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Event #18-M PLO – Final Table Payouts and Results:
1. Fiskin1 (United Kingdom) – $61,087.31
2. Efan123 (Germany) – $45,587.50
3. Fred-wpt (Netherlands) – $34,646.50
4. Päffchen (Germany) – $23,705.50
5. BQNNEN (Denmark) – $15,645.63
6. Paolo69 (United Kingdom) – $10,941

Visit the SCOOP home page to view the remaining schedule of events, including satellite information Also, don’t forget to check out the stats page and see who is sitting atop the leaderboard.

Tags: Battle of the Planets | ept | extreme-sports | france poker series | italian | micromillions | netherlands | tcoop | united-kingdom

With 23 players remaining in Event #18-L, Austria’s Anywhat had already amassed 10.6 million in chips. It was already an above-average final table stack, and there were still four tables to go. In a brilliant display of big-stack poker, Anywhat maintained the chip lead all the way until four-handed play, where he lost it for all of 25 hands before regaining the top spot. In a game as volatile as pot-limit Omaha that’s nothing short of miraculous. The spirit was certainly with Anywhat tonight as he rode his late-stage chip lead all the way to a SCOOP title and banked a five-figure score off a two-figure investment.

Event #18-L’s 5,783 entrants made 8,031 rebuys and 4,019 add-ons, taking the prize pool up to $178,330. 780 places were paid with first place set to earn $27,199.34. A dozen members of Team Pro and Team Online were in the field and six of them cashed: Dale “Daleroxxu” Philip (678th), Marcin Horecki (496th), Nacho Barbero (400th), George “Jorj95″ Lind III (281st), George Danzer (261st), and Mickey “mement_mori” Petersen (224th).

With seven players remaining, Big_Nemo opened for a min-raise to 500,000 and Zone09 called from the small blind. Zone09 check-called 652,145 on the [8d][3s][2d] flop, then checked again when the [Js] hit the turn. Big_Nemo bet 2,554,290, Zone09 raised all-in for 3,821,948 and Big_Nemo called, turning over [Ac][Ad][Kh][5h]. Zone09 had by far the best of it with [8h][9s][Td][Jd] for top two pair, a straight draw and a flush draw. The [4h] on the river, however, made Big_Nemo a wheel and sent a stunned Zone09 to the rail on the final table bubble.

Final table chip counts:

Seat 1: Maxacante (3,123,525 in chips)
Seat 2: MegaMarc1 (6,923,230 in chips)
Seat 3: OMG soo SICK (4,612,948 in chips)
Seat 4: Big_Nemo (12,965,360 in chips)
Seat 5: LUFCBas (13,133,588 in chips)
Seat 6: Anywhat (20,778,349 in chips)

Short-stacked Maxacante found a double-up straight away, moving all-in on a [Kc][8h][2h] flop with [As][Ks][Qh][8s] for top two pair. LUFCBas called with [Ad][Kd][Td][3s]. The [Qc] landed on the turn, improving Maxacante to kings and queens and the [2c] fell on the river, leaving LUFCBas with an inferior two pair. Maxacante doubled to 8 million while LUFCBas dropped to 8.7 million.

Big_Nemo may have lucked out on the final table bubble, but he wasn’t quite as fortunate the next time he put his stack in the middle. After opening for a min-raise to 800,000, Big_Nemo was met with a three-bet to 2.8 million from LUFCBas. Big_Nemo called and they saw a [Qs][Jd][3c] flop. LUFCBas led out for 6 million and Big_Nemo called all-in for less. He turned over [Kc][Jh][7h][6c] for middle pair while LUFCBas showed [Ac][Ah][Qh][3s] for two pair, queens and threes. Although Big_Nemo made jacks up on the turn when the [7s] landed, he didn’t improve any further, the [3h] falling on the river to make LUFCBas threes full of queens. Big_Nemo was out in sixth place, earning $2,674.95 for his finish while LUFCBas moved up to 17.5 million in chips.

OMG soo SICK was next to depart the final table on a beat that echoed his name. After Anywhat opened for a min-raise to 1.2 million, OMG soo SICK looked down at [Ad][Ac][2c][3d] and shoved for 3.28 million. Anywhat called with [5h][6s][8d][9d] and hit two pair on the [Qh][9h][6c] flop. The [9s] on the turn made Anywhat nines full of sixes and the river blanked with the [5s], sending OMG soo SICK to the rail in fifth place. He picked up $5,055.65 for his efforts.

With four players remaining and the blinds up to 300,000/600,00 Maxacante and MagaMarc1 were short-stacked with 7.7 million and 6.4 million respectively while LUFCBas and Anywhat held over 20 million apiece. MegaMarc1 cut into LUFCBas’ stack when he four-bet shoved holding [Ks][Kc][4c][2c] and LUFCBas looked him up with [As][Kd][Qd][Jc]. MegaMarc1 turned trip deuces, the board running out [8s][5h][2s][2h][8h] to double him up to 13.4 million. Maxacante got his double-up a short time later, his [Ah][Jh][Jd][9c] making queens and jacks against Anywhat’s queens and tens.

A short time later, LUFCBas looked down at [Kd][Kh][7h][5c] and raised to 1,200,750. Anywhat three-bet to 3 million with [Ah][Jd][9d][8h], LUFCBas came back over the top for 9 million and Anywhat called. LUFCBas bet his remaining 4,495,330 on the [As][5h][3s] flop and Anywhat called, LUFCBas’s kings in dire shape. The [Qh] came on the turn and the [Js] hit the river to make Anywhat aces up. LUFCBas was eliminated in fourth place, earning $8,470.67 while Anywhat retook a dominating chip lead.

After dropping a few small pots, Maxacante’s stack was whittled to only 4.8 million at 400,000/800,000 blinds. He picked up [Ad][Qs][8s][5d] and three-bet shoved pre-flop, Anywhat making the call with [Ah][Kh][5s][3c]. It was all but over on the flop as Anywhat hit trips, the flop landing [8c][3d][3s]. The [5c] on the turn made him threes full of fives and Maxacante was out in third place, his day on the virtual felt earning him $13,820.57.

Heads-up chip counts:

Seat 2: MegaMarc1 (13,309,515 in chips)
Seat 6: Anywhat (48,227,485 in chips)

Holding a 3.6 to 1 chip lead, it didn’t take long for Anywhat to finish off MegaMarc1. Heads-up play took all of twelve hands, Anywhat winning nine of them. On the last hand, Anywhat and MegaMarc1 got their money in on the flop, but MegaMarc1′s aces were snapped off on the river when Anywhat made two pair:

Congratulations to Anywhat on a dominating performance en route to his first SCOOP title. He took home $27,199.34 for the win while MegaMarc1 banked $19,170.47 for his runner-up finish.

2012 SCOOP Event #18-L ($11+R PLO 6-Max) results:

1. Anywhat (Austria) $27,199.34
2. MegaMarc1 (Netherlands) $19,170.47
3. Maxacante (Spain) $13,820.57
4. LUFCBas (United Kingdom) $8,470.67
5. OMG soo SICK (Mexico) $5,055.65
6. Big_Nemo (Canada) $2,674.95

Busto or robusto, there’s a SCOOP event for you. Head over to the SCOOP page for a complete schedule and satellite information.

Tags: austria | barry-greenstein | Battle of the Planets | flying | harrah's | latin-america | united-kingdom | wbcoop

Winning one shootout table is hard enough that, if you’re able to do so in a shootout tournament, you make the money. Winning two in a row is impressive. Winning four in a row? The stuff SCOOP champions are made of. Just ask nebo_blizko, the champion of 2012 SCOOP Event 17-low, $27 NLHE (10-max Quad Shootout).

6,952 players signed up for the 10-max quad shootout. All had dreams of winning four, 10-handed STTs in a row and claiming the top prize of $27,373.50. The first task, however, was to win their first table and make it into the money. Team PokerStars Pro George Danzer did just that, although he was unable to advance out of Round 2.

At around 9pm, 10 players assembled on Table 1, each having won three tables in a row.

_s_fischer_ got out of the blocks early, climbing to 7,400 by making pocket kings work against the ace-queen of Collusion888, who flopped top pair. That hand set up Collusion888 to be the first player eliminated a few hands later, still in Level 1 of the final table, on a wild three-way all in. After a flop of [7d][6c][2d], klimsamgin, DonkDeezNuts and Collusion888 all got the chips in. klimsamgin’s pocket jacks and Collusion888′s ace-high flush draw both came up short against DonkDeezNutz’s top two pair, [7h][6h]. Like that, DonkDeezNuts was the chip leader with 13,000, Collusion888 was eliminated in 10th place and kilmsamgin was left with just 50 chips. Those chips wound up in JacktShipper’s stack one hand later, when both players flopped two pair but JacktShipper had top two pair.

Play settled back down after that, with much of the action taking place pre-flop. Three-bet pots were common; most didn’t go to a flop. But in Level 3, Mike “goleafsgoeh” Leah was dealt the red jacks; DonkDeezNutz had [ac][ks]. The money got all in pre-flop after a series of raises and wound up in DonkDeezNutz’s stack after the board rolled out [4c][4s][as][6s][3h].

On the last hand before the 10pm break, _s_fischer_, who started the final table so promisingly, becaome the 7th place finisher after being eliminated by ruaa. Take a look:

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Back from the break, JacktShipper lost a big pot to Vamo Fael when JacktShipper flopped a Broadway draw, turned a pair of jacks, and then bricked the river. Vamo Fael had pocket aces and took down the pot to drop JacktShipper’s count to less than 3,000. That count further dropped until JacktShipper open-shoved with [qc][jc]. Vamo Fael, sitting in the big blind, called with pocket 7s and won the race, [3h][ts]ks][6c][6d]. JacktShipper was eliminated in 6th place, leaving half the table to contend for the $27,000 top prize.

Vamo Fael had seemed in control at the final table – until flopping the second-nut flush against nebo_blizko, who flopped the nut flush. All the money went in on the turn with Vamo Fael drawing dead. nebo_blizko earned a huge double-up to more than 17,000. Vamo Fael was leaft with about 3,000.

DonkDeezNutz’s good fortune continued into Level 5, when DonkDeezNutz picked up pocket aces against MarcusVonRix’s pocket jacks. An 8-high flop ensured all the money went in. When the [ac] hit the turn to give DonkDeezNutz a set, MarcusVonRix was drawing dead and assured of being the 5th place finisher.

A few hands later nebo_blizko finished the job on Vamo Fael, who moved all in pre-flop for 2,700. DonkDeezNutz and nebo_blizko conspired to check down the pot, with nebo_blizko winning at showdown with unimproved pocket 7s on a board of [2d][8s][tc][5s][th]. Vamo Fael, who just a few hands before had been cruising through the final table, hit the rail in 4th place.

The remaining three players – chip leader nebo_blizko, DonkDeezNutz, and short stack ruaa – paused the tournament to consider a deal. They quickly agreed to the chop numbers presented by the host, leaving aside $1,500 to be claimed by the champion.

With a deal in place, the final three players played on without any major changes in the stacks. nebo_blizko finally eliminated DonkDeezNutz in the biggest hand of the final table to that point. It was DonkDeezNutz who bet and then 3-bet shoved a queen-high flop, [7c][qh][jh], holidng [qs][td]. nebo_blizko, holding top two pair with [qd][js], insta-called and held through the river to eliminate DonkDeezNutz in 3rd place.

To start heads-up play, nebo_blizko had about a two-and-a-half to one chip lead over ruaa. By the 11pm break, ruaa had leveled the stacks. The two players battled back and forth for another hour, with each taking turns holding the chip lead. Yet at the 12am break the stacks were again almost dead even.

With no end in sight, the two players finally seemed to decide just to gamble it up. ruaa opened a pot pre=flop to 1500 over the 500-chip big blind, then called all in for 16,201 after nebo_blizko shoved for double that. Neither had premium hand; nebo_blizko showed [ks][9c] while ruaa showed [9d][td]. ruaa flopped bottom two pair, [qc][9s][th], but nebo_blizko turned a straight with the [jh] and sealed the victory when the river blanked [4h].

Four straight shootout wins for nebo_blizko. The reward? More than $23,000, a Movado watch, and the title of SCOOP champion. Not a bad day at all.

2012 SCOOP Event 17-low, $27 NLHE (10-max, shootout) results (including 3-way deal):

1st: nebo_blizko ($23,591.56)*
3rd: ruaa ($18,304.01)*
3rd: DonkDeezNuts ($20,672.43)*
4th: Vamo Fael ($10,862.50)
5th: DonkDeezNutz ($6,952.00)
6th: JacktShipper ($5,214.00)
7th: _s_fischer_ ($3,997.40)
8th: Mike “goleafsgoeh” Leah ($2,867.70)
9th: kilmsamgin ($1,998.70)
10th: Collusion888 ($1,129.70)

There’s still plenty of SCOOP action to check out over the next nine days. Follow it all on the SCOOP home page.

Tags: archives | Battle of the Planets | final | flying | france | greed | portugal poker series | TOC | wcoop

Andrew Badecker knows a little something about shootouts. Not only did he survive one last summer, it ended up saving his career. After making a living as an online pro for four years, Badecker was left with an uncertain future when Black Friday struck. With only a few thousand dollars to his name, Badecker drove from his native Connecticut to Las Vegas last summer and promptly won his first WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 NLHE shootout along with $369,000. Now relocated to Mexico, Badecker’s WSOP experience no doubt prepared him for today’s online encore performance, where the man known as “southrnctowl” topped a stacked final table and won his first SCOOP title in event #17-H ($2,100 NLHE 10-Max Shootout).

Capped at 100 players, this event sold out days ago, the prize pool topping out at $200,000. Those hundred players were seated at ten tables, the winner of each sit-n-go not only making the money, but advancing to the final table. Among them were eleven Red Spades. Nacho Barbero, Anders “Donald” Berg, George “Jorj95″ Lind III, Jason Mercier, George Danzer, Mickey “mement_mori” Petersen, Martin Staszko, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, and Humberto Brenes all missed the money, but Team Pros Eugene Katchalov and Jude Ainsworth advanced to the final table.

Round One (100 to 10)

Jonathan “MONSTER_DONG” Karamalikis was the first player to win his table, followed by Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb, who defeated Altrum Altus heads-up to advance to his fourth final table of the 2012 SCOOP. Jude Ainsworth crushed joacowalter’s plans for a third SCOOP final table when his [Ad][Qh] held against [As][Td] to punch his ticket through. High-stakes cash game player 0Human0 had his work cut out for him against three-time SCOOP champion cal42688, but saw his open-ended straight draw come in against two pair to send him through. The most dramatic first-round win, however, had to be Eugene Katchalov’s. Get your “online poker is rigged” jokes ready, because Katchalov rivered a roval flush to crack Face333X’s pocket aces:

Those weren’t the only distinguished folks to land at the final table. Germany’s wizowizo topped the PokerStars Yearly TLB in 2011 and MrKlout wasn’t too far behind him in 12th place. Jason “jdtjpoker” Wheeler won a WCOOP bracelet last fall and Russia’s as1025 made four 2011 SCOOP final tables– in NLHE, Mixed Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo and Ante Up NLHE.

MrKlout was the last player to win his first-round table, hitting a lucky river card against oliva86d. The two got their money in on a [9c][8h][2h] flop, oliva86d holding pocket jacks against MrKlout’s [Kh][6h]. Altough MrKlout blanked the turn, he hit the [3h] on the river to make his flush and move on to the final table while oliva86d bubbled in 11th place.

Ainsworth, Karamalikis early casualties

Stacks were reset to 5,000 apiece and the blinds dropped back to 25/50. An hour and forty-five minutes of small pots later, MrKlout opened for a min-raise to 200 frim UTG. Jude Ainsworth three-bet to 498 from third position and the action folded around to southrnctowl, who cold four-bet to 967 from the cutoff. Everyone folded to Ainsworth, who made it 2,200 to go. Southrnctowl shoved for 5,767 and Ainsworth called, his [As][Kd] up against [Qh][Qs]. The board came nine-high and the queens held, leaving Ainsworth on a mere 686 in chips. They went in the middle on the next deal, but Ainsworth’s [Ac][9s] was no match for MrKlout’s [As][Kc] and he departed in tenth place, earning $5,500.

Ten minutes passed before Jonathan “MONSTER_DONG” Karamalikis decided to make a move, four-bet shoving for 2,813. MrKlout called with pocket tens, MONSTER_DONG’s [Ac][Kh] failing to improve on the [Qh][9c][6d][Jc][5c] board. The Aussie exited in ninth place with a $6,400 consolation prize.

Katchalov and Deeb’s luck runs out

Eugene Katchalov’s stack dipped as low as 1,800 before he won a coinflip to double through wizowizo, his pocket eights hitting a set against [Ah][Kh]. Back up to 3,157, Katchalov picked up [Ks][Th] in the big blind and called southrnctowl’s 250-chip opening raise. The flop fell [Qd][Jd][4c] and Katchalov check-called 300 with his open-ended straight draw. He filled it on the turn with the [9s] and slyly checked again. Southrnctowl checked behind. The river was the [8d] and Katchalov checked a third time. Southrnctowl bet 3,000 into the 1,100-chip pot, effectively setting Katchalov all-in. Katchalov looked him up and put in his remaining 2,592 only to have southrnctowl turn over [Ad][3d], having made the nut flush on the river. Katchalov was out in eighth place, earning $7,500 for his finish.

Down to 1,776 with the blinds up to 80/160, shaundeeb three-bet shoved from the small blind with [Ad][Jh] and original raiser wizowizo called with [Ac][7d]. Wizowizo paired his kicker on the [Td][8d][7h] flop, then turned aces up when the [Ah] landed. Deeb needed a river jack or nine to survive but the [5c] fell instead, sending him to the rail in seventh place for $8,800.

Deeb also picked up 35 SCOOP leaderboard points for his finish. Last night, his fifth-place finish in event #16-L tied him for first place with two-time SCOOP champ Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom; tonight Deeb has sole possession of the top spot, leading second-place joaocowalter by 40 points.

southrnctowl preys on the short stacks

Three hands passed before southrnctowl put MrKlout to the test, setting him all-in preflop with a five-bet shove. MrKlout called off his remaining 5,878, his [Ad][Kd] racing with [Jc][Jd]. Southrnctowl got his second KO of the night, the board running out [Qc][Tc][7d][8s][4s] to eliminate MrKlout in sixth place. Southrnctowl moved out to a dominant chip lead with 26,914, more than twice as much as second-in-chips wizowizo’s 11,438.

At this point, 0Human0 was hanging on with eight big blinds. Although he doubled to 2,778 when his [Kc][Jh] topped wizowizo’s [Jd][7d], he couldn’t fade the hot-running southrnctowl. Dealt [8c][8s] , 0Human0 opened for a min-raise to 320. Southrnctowl shoved for more than 25,000 and 0Human0 called all-in, revealing [As][7s]. The [6c][3d][4c] flop kept the pocket eights in the lead, but southrnctowl still loomed with an overcard and a straight draw. 0Human0′s run came to an end when southrnctowl spiked the [5h] on the turn to make a seven-high straight, his fifth-place finish earning him $14,000.

As1025 could have easily been out in fourth place after running his [5s][5c] into wizowizo’s [Ac][Ah], but it was another heaven-sent five on the turn that turned the hand around for him. As1025 doubled to 9,200, leaving jdtjpoker as the short stack with 2,349. Four hands later, jdtjpoker shoved with [4d][4c] and wizowizo somehow woke up with another pair or aces. This time they flopped a set to avoid any surprises, the board running out [Ad][Qc][2s][Jd][Kd] to send jdtpoker home in fourth place with $19,800.

With three players remaining, southrnctowl held more than a 3 to 1 chip lead over both his remaining opponents. He won nine of the next 15 pots before as1025 four-bet shoved with [Kh][Qd] and southrnctowl called with pocket tens. The flop came seven-high and a ten hit the turn, southrnctowl’s set taking out as1025 in third place for $27,000.

Heads-up chip counts:

Seat 2: southrnctowl (40,478 in chips)
Seat 3: wizowizo (9,522 in chips)

These two spent less than ten minutes heads-up before getting their chips in the middle on a cooler of a hand. Both players flopped top pair, but southrnctowl had another one to go with it:

Kudos to southrnctowl on his first SCOOP title and a $60,000 score. For his runner-up finish, wizowizo earned $40,000.

2012 SCOOP Event #17-H ($2,100 NLHE 10-Max Shootout) results:

1. Andrew “southrnctowl” Badecker (Mexico) $60,000
2. wizowizo (Germany) $40,000
3. as1025 (Russia) $27,000
4. Jason “jdtjpoker” Wheeler (Mexico) $19,800
5. 0Human0 (Romania) $14,000
6. MrKlout (Spain) $11,000
7. Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb (Mexico) $8,800
8. Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov (Ukraine) $7,500
9. Jonathan “MONSTER_DONG” Karamalikis (Australia) $6,400
10. Team PokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth (Ireland) $5,500

Shaun Deeb might be atop the SCOOP Player of the Series race right now, but he has the likes of ElkY, Anders “Donald” Berg, cal42688 and Isildur1 hot on his heels. Visit the SCOOP page to track your favorite players and browse all the stats you can handle.

Tags: 2011 | australia | Battle of the Planets | delicious | jude ainsworth | napt | russian | russian poker series | Super Tuesday | wcoop | World Series of Poker | world-series

There’s a famous New Yorker cartoon, featuring two men, clearly residents of Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, which has its de facto northern boundary at 14th Street. One says, “I haven’t been north of 14th Street in 20 years.” The other thinks for a moment, then replies, “I’ve never been north of 14th Street.”

Sometimes the poker world, and its heroes, can be like that. Particularly for the youngsters among us, it’s easy to get completely wrapped up in this game and its milieu. Especially if you’re one of those chasing SuperNova or SuperNova Elite status, and/or you follow the various online forums, track the SCOOP results, and so on – suddenly it seems like there’s not much time left for anything else.

Then there’s Barry Greenstein. I’ve known Barry since the late 80′s, when we played in the same cardroom (Garden City in San Jose, California). That’s not to say we were playing at the same table; Barry was playing in the biggest games and I was in some of the smallest. But the point is that 25 years ago, Barry was plying his trade, and that’s pretty much how he’s supported himself and his family since.

But along the way, even while becoming a world-class cash games player and major tournament winner, Barry has studied and learned the world around him.

This was brought into sharp relief yesterday when Barry was kind enough to spend a couple of hours chatting with his fans in the SCOOP Fan Club¹. When the questions were typical (“Do you feel good about making play X on televised hand Y?”), Barry’s answers were more or less what you’d expect from a serious professional player. But I knew he had a broader range and threw some non-standard queries at him. For instance, “Discuss the strategic importance of U.S. President Obama publicly supporting same-sex marriage in an interview yesterday.” Barry’s replied that it would force Obama’s likely opponent in November, Mitt Romney, to face up to the question of “equality for all Americans” during the campaign. Clearly he was aware of that interview and had thought about its implications.

Greenstein in a similar Q&A at the 2012 PCA

Then another member of the club asked Barry about his mathematics background. Barry said something about “(W)hile I was working on my PhD in mathematics…” That surprised me; while I knew he was a serious computer scientist and programmer, I didn’t know he had that advanced background in math. Hearing that, I asked Barry for his Erdös number (a measure of a mathematician’s publication-fu). Somewhat to my surprise, he said, “Well, I thought it was going to be 2 (an impressively low number), but I didn’t get author credit on (a paper) I did some computer work on, so I guess it’s infinite.” This impressed both me and the math-geek who’d asked Barry the original question.

Other questions elicited uncharacteristic (but wonted for Barry) replies that showed his forward-looking nature. “What was your favourite poker moment?” “I don’t know – it hasn’t happened yet.” This from a guy who has WSOP bracelets, WPT titles, and has been inducted into the poker Hall of Fame.

But lest you think that this has distracted him from his day/night job, you should have seen the discussion about his session lengths. “I generally average 16-hour sessions… Given my age, I’m trying not to go over 20-hour sessions.” Barry takes his job very seriously, and yet somehow finds time to inspect both the world around him and himself.

Perhaps we got a glimpse of how he does that on a recent EPT broadcast. He said he was reading a book on (I believe it was) “etiology”. When broadcasters James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton sounded confused, he explained that one of his kids was taking a philosophy class and Barry had a standing offer to read any text book that his kids had to use in school. Thus did professional poker player Barry Greenstein find himself wading through a philosophy text.

This method of supporting your kids has the excellent side effect of occasionally throwing a new and different subject in your face. While that may not hold specifically for dry philosophy tomes, I suspect that in general, PokerStars Team Pro Barry Greenstein relishes the opportunity to stretch his brain and learn a new thing or two. That’s how one keeps his Renaissance Man chops up to date.

¹ The SCOOP Fan Club is in Home Games club #634789, invitation code “scoopfan”. It’s open to everybody and we’ve already visitors such as Talonchick, Nanonoko, and David Williams. There’s plenty of room for new members so come on in.

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Watch the final table of a typical NLHE event and you’ll see players working average stacks anywhere between 25 and 45 big blinds. Watch a turbo final table and that number will drop to 10 or 15. Say what you want about sky-high blinds, “shove-monkey” poker and “standard” spots, but you’re usually on your way in an hour or two.

This event was a whole other ballgame. Kiss the blinds goodbye and say hello to antes. The Ante Up format takes preflop play and turns it inside-out. Giant blinds aren’t flying around the table every few hands, they remain at 5/5 for the duration with only the antes increasing. The slow structure and deep stacks led to a methodically played two-day tournament that finished with a five-hour final table– something more akin to live play than online. In the end, however, it was a consummate online grinder who rose to the top of the field, Malta’s kleath earning his first SCOOP title and more than $41,000.

372 players paid the $700 price tag on Event #14-H, creating a $249,240 prize pool. 45 places were paid, with first place set to earn $48.227.94. Eleven members of the Red Spade army were in the mix, among them Eugene Katchalov, Andre Akkari, Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom, and Jason Mercier. The only one to make the money, however, was George Danzer.

As Day 1 play drew to a close, Danzer was at the back of the pack with 14 players remaining. Four players limped in an tRaMp$d0PrAy raised to 2,860. Lechuckpoker and Rens02 both called. Danzer looked down at [Kc][Th] and shoved for 43,432, no doubt hoping to take it down right there. Although tRaMp$d0PrAy got out of the way, lechuckpoker called with pocket eights. Danzer grabbed the lead when he hit top pair on the [Kh][9c][6h] flop and retained it when the [4c] hit the turn, but lechuckpoker spiked his two-outer on the river, the [8d] falling to make him a set and send Danzer to the rail in 14th place.

Hold me closer, George Danzer. Take my bad beat blues away.**

Play was suspended after 21 levels with 11 players remaining and resumed this morning at 11am EDT. It took an hour and 25 minutes to lose two more players. Ultimately it was RB79s who finished as the final table bubble boy, running [Qc][Qs] into Rens02′s [Ad][Ac].

Final table chip counts:

Seat 1: Rens02 (338,651 in chips)
Seat 2: tRaMp$d0PrAy (139,654 in chips)
Seat 3: Face333X (160,600 in chips)
Seat 4: lechuckpoker (363,632 in chips)
Seat 5: joacowalter (318,353 in chips)
Seat 6: theczar19 (188,538 in chips)
Seat 7: kleath (167,353 in chips)
Seat 8: julianherold (100,878 in chips)
Seat 9: 1BigAceHole (82,341 in chips)

Lost races, cracked aces, and runner-runner straights

This marked the second final table appearance for joacowalter in the 2012 SCOOP; he won Event #5-H for more than $200,000 less than a week ago. He moved out to the chip lead in the first hour when his [Ah][5h] flopped the nut flush draw and filled it on the turn. Joacowalter got three streets of value from Rens02 and moved up to 517,000 while Rens02 fell to 130,500.

TRaMp$d0PrAy lost most of his stack early on when 1BigAceHole’s [Kc][Jd] rivered a king against his [Ac][Qh]. Down to 29,000, and the ante up to 1,500, tRaMp$d0PrAy picked up [Ad][Ts] and three-bet shoved behind Rens02′s 6,459 opening raise. Rens02 called with [9d][9h], the pocket pair holding up to eliminate tRaMp$d0PrAy in ninth place.

About ten minutes later, Rens02 snapped off pocket aces to claim the rest of Face333X’s stack. Joacowalter opened the betting with a raise to 7,500, 1BigAceHole three-bet to 17,200 and Rens02 cold four-bet to 32,968. Face333X shoved for 86,656, joacowalter and 1BigAceHole ducked out of the way, and Rens02 called, turning over [7c][8c] to Face333X’s [Ah][As]. Rens02 hit a miraculous [Qh][7h][7d] flop, his trip sevens sending Face333X to the rail in eighth place.

Moments later, theczar19 was looking down the barrel of a gun. His [Kh][Jh] was up against joacowalter’s [Ks][Th] on a [Kc][Td][5h] flop and he was two cards away from a seventh-place finish. The [Qc] on the turn gave him a gutshot straight draw and the [Ac] on the river filled it, theczar19 hitting running cards to make a Broadway straight and double up to 311,000.

joacowalter and lechuckpoker jam into aces, kleath crushes 1BigAceHole

Two hours of final table play resulted in the completion of only 60 hands. Kleath suggested making a seven-way deal, but Rens02 but the kibosh on it, telling his opponents he was enjoying himself. Moments after the deal talk evaporated, joacowalter ran pocket kings into julianherold’s pocket aces. Joacowalter fell to only 72,500 while julianherold took the chip lead with 385,000.

Although joacowalter doubled through kleath three hands later when his pocket nines held on against pocket fives, he was out by the end of the level. After three-bet shoving for his last 100,000 from UTG+1, joacowalter was in a pickle when Rens02 reshoved behind him and julianherold called.

Rens02 [Ad][Ah]
julianherold [Js][Jd]
joacowalter [Ac][Th].

Rens02′s aces held up on the [Kd][Qs][9c][4c][9h] board and won the 613,000 pot. Julianherold was left with 174,000 and joacowalter was eliminated in seventh place, earning $8,474.16.

Lechuckpoker met a similar fate, losing over two-thirds of his stack when he four-bet shoved with pocket sevens, only to run headlong into kleath’s pocket aces. Down to 55,500, he put the rest of his chips in the middle with [8c][8h] but they were no match for julianherold’s [9c][9s]. Lechuckpoker departed in sixth place, banking $10,966.56.

The increased pace continued for at least a few more hands, 1BigAcehole three-betting to 12,800 with [Kc][Qh] only to be met with a shove from kleath. 1BigAceHole called off his remaining 119,000 and was no doubt delighted to see kleath’s [Qc][Jc], but he flopped a jack and turned a queen, the board running out [Js][3c][2d][Qs][6s] to send him home in fifth. He picked up $14,206.68 for his efforts. Kleath had this to offer in the chat box:

kleath: gg chirps
kleath: u put me in the cage
kleath: but i snagged the key

The final four

Two and a half hours after the final table began, four players remained. None are strangers to a big-money final. Rens02 won the Sunday Million for $234,000 in March 2011. Julianherold final tabled the Super Tuesday last month. Kleath has made the Super Tuesday final table as well and took down the $109 rebuy twice. And Bryan “theczar19″ Piccioli, a consummate grinder if there ever was one, has more online MTT wins than we can count. They slugged it out for another hour and forty-five minutes before kleath cracked julianherold’s [Kc][Kh] with [Kd][9d] to eliminate him in fourth place.

Four hours and fifteen minutes of final table play behind them, and the antes still relatively low at 4,000, the final three agreed to pause the action and discuss a deal. After looking at both chip-count chop and ICM numbers, the trio agreed to the former, striking a deal that left $1,500 in play for the eventual winner.

Action resumed, and on the first hand back theczar19 opened for 7,645 on the button. Rens02 three-bet to 22,887 and they saw a [9c][4h][3c] flop. A raising war broke out and all the money went in, Rens02 five-bet shoving for 531,031 and theczar19 calling all-in for 220,078. Rens02 turned over [Ad][4c] for middle pair, while theczar19 held [Kc][Qc] for a flush draw. The [9d] on the turn was a blank for both players, but the [Kh] on the river made theczar19 top two pair, taking him up to 952,775 in chips while Rens02 was left with 83,500.

“Guess I made a deal at the right time lol,” Rens02 quipped.

A few hands later, Rens02 committed the last of his chips with [As][5s] but could not improve against theczar19′s [Ad][Kd]. Rens02 finished in third place, his share of the deal totaling $35,825.65.

Heads-up chip counts:

Seat 6: theczar19 (1,004,788 in chips)
Seat 7: kleath (855,212 in chips)

Even with only a tiny percentage of the prize pool left in play, heads-up play still took over thirty minutes. Kleath hacked away at theczar19′s stack, moving up to more than a million in chips until theczar19 turned a Broadway straight and cut kleath’s stack in half. Kleath doubled back when he turned two pair and got all his chips in against theczar19′s straight and flush draws, moving back into the chip lead with 1.1 million. The lead swung back and forth dozens of times, neither player willing to let go.

Theczar19 had a 1.1 million to 706,000 lead over kleath when they saw a [9d][5s][3h] flop. The czar19 check-raised kleath’s 16,270 bet to 52,345 and kleath called. When the [Kh] hit the turn, theczar19 led out for 78,465, kleath raised to 212,212, and theczar19 looked him up. The river was the [Tc] and theczar19 checked over to kleath. Kleath moved all-in for 428,886 and theczar19 called, turning over [Ah][Kd] for top pair. Theczar19 could only show [Jc][Td] for a pair of tens and kleath picked up to 1.4 million pot.

It was all over on the next hand. Although theczar19 had the best of it preflop and on the flop, kleath hit a miracle ten on the river to make a Broadway straight and lock up the win:

Congratulations to kleath on a hard-fought battle and his first SCOOP title. He earned $41,391.90 while runner-up theczar19 banked $34,566.59.

2012 SCOOP Event #14-H ($700 NLHE Ante Up!) results:

1. kleath (Malta) $41,391.90*
2. theczar19 (Mexico) $34,566.59*
3. Rens02 (Netherlands) $35,825.65*
4. julianherold (Germany) $20,562.30
5. 1BigAceHole (Canada) $14,206.68
6. lechuckpoker (United Kingdom) $10,966.56
7. joacowalter (Uruguay) $8,474.16
8. Face333X (Germany) $5,981.76
9. tRaMp$d0PrAy (Cyprus) $4,361.70

*= reflects the results of a three-way deal that left $1,500 in play for the winner
**= with apologies to Joe Stapleton, Nick Wealthall, and Sir Elton John

There’s still another week of SCOOP action on the books. Head over to the SCOOP page for a full schedule and satellite information.

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The PokerStars European Poker Tour headed back to Monaco this year for the Season 8 Grand Final. Plenty of members of Team PokerStars Pros made their way to the principality for nine days of poker — after all, the Super High Roller, Main Event, and High Roller had to be

The trip didn’t start off so well for Daniel Negreanu. On April 21 he tweeted, “British Airways ahhhh! No bags again wtf! That’s the 4th time that’s happened with BA. My own fault I guess for trying them again. #steaming” Losing you bags is never fun, but Kid Poker headed back to the airport to rescue them after having “an awesome meal in Menton” at The Loving Hut.

Negreanu, along with 37 other players plopped down €100,000 to take part in the Super High Roller, which began on April 23. On Day 2 of the Super High Roller, Negreanu took it upon himself to order food for several people, including fellow pros David Williams (who was on his way into Monaco and is OK with “anything except cucumbers and olives), and Vanessa Selbst (who likes her spring rolls not fried).

There are a few ways of getting to Monaco — train, car, or helicopter. And when given the option, it’s always best to ride in style, which is what David Williams did. Chris Moneymaker did the same, tweeting, “Just landed in Nice. About to jump in a helicopter for quick ride to Monaco.”

David Williams’ helicopter

Of the eight players who made it to the final table of the Super High Roller, Team PokerStars Pro represented half the field — Daniel Negreanu, Jonathan Duhamel, Eugene Katchalov, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. “Made the final table of SHR. Gonna be a sick fight with @realkidpoker @eugenekatchalov @jonathanduhamel @justinbonomo +masa patrik tobias,” ElkY tweeted. Negreanu and ElkY cashed in sixth and third respectively, and Justin Bonomo walked away with the title and €1.6 million first-place prize.

If you’ve got a view from your hotel room like most of the Pros did, it’s a given that there will be plenty of obligatory “awesome view” tweets, like this one from Lex Veldhuis, “Obgligatory Monte Carlo balcony view pic: one of my favorite hotels on EPTour. #eptgrandfinal”

Lex Veldhuis’ view

And some of the pros use the “my balcony has a nice view” as a way to lure Achtung players over. “Are we getting an #Achtung game going. My balcony has a nice view… Where u guys at? @VanessaSelbst @ssigsbee @ah_22,” tweeted Jason Mercier.

By the time that the Super High Roller was over, the Main Event was well under way. There were a number of pros in the field on Day 1a, but on Day 1b, one Pro was ready to make some history. “And day1b of #EPTGrandFinal is starting now. About time I become the first double champion. Joke has ran on for long enough! #itstime,” tweeted ElkY.

Liv Boeree got ready for Day 1b in an interesting way. “Ate a whole one of these last night for a dare, the accidentally rubbed my eye. Hell does exist.” We would never recommend that.

Liv Boeree’s hot stuff

ElkY’s Day 1 didn’t go as well as he’d like, but he didn’t give up hope. “6k going into last level of the night. Everything been going wrong so far, Time to turn it into 200k soon. #whywoulditend #EPTGrandFinal.” But it eventually came to an end, “And my dream of becoming the first Double EPT Champion will have to wait till Barcelona. Busted 55 vs @BigCheese_Poker AJhh next to the end.” Even though, he still didn’t give up hope, “Good night sleep and hardcore workout are the best remedies for bustout. Will be ready to take on the world again ! #thingsiwishiknewbefore”

As we all know, patience is a virtue and it’s definitely something that’s needed in poker tournaments. “Being so overwhelmingly patient I deserve a medal for patience for being patient in patient times #EPTPatience,” tweeted Boeree, followed by, “Russian kid keeps coughing on me #EPTPatience.”

Barry Greenstein took the saying “when in Rome” literally while in Monaco, tweeting quite a bit of his updates in French — and since we didn’t take French in school, we didn’t understand any of it.

Even though the Pros were in Monaco for the Grand Final, the upcoming SCOOP was on the minds of some. “Thinking about going to Mexico to play SCOOPs now. Is internet stable and what’s the best spot there for you guys? Any links? Thanks,” tweeted ElkY. Angel Guillen was quick to answer, “@elkypoker Mexico city is close to perfect internet wise, if u wanna go to the beach u could have a 2nd connection just in case”

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