Gold Coast

Heading West for the ANZPT Perth

It is with great pleasure that we find ourselves this week in Perth, Western Australia, as the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour rolls into town for the second official event of the Season 4 calendar. Originally scheduled as a standalone series known as the Perth Poker Championships, this event was recently upgraded to full ANZPT status following the withdrawal of the Gold Coast event due to casino renovations. Jupiters’ loss is Burswood’s gain as the best poker players in the country will flock to across the border to produce what is likely to be Perth’s largest ever tournament by number of entrants, with an anticipated prize pool in excess of AU$300,000.

While there will be plenty of locals in the field, and the West have certainly produced plenty of highly-talented players over the years, there will be many making the long trip across the Nullarbor to one of the most popular destinations on the tour.

However it is a long trip from the Eastern states to one of the world’s most remote cities. Perth is so isolated to the rest of the country that it, in fact, lays closer geographically to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, than Australia’s own capital of Canberra. Travelling five hours on a plane, across two time zones, and land in the same country that you started, doesn’t happen every day. But Perth is worth the long haul as a vibrant, modern city welcomes us with open arms.

The Burswood Entertainment Complex will play hosts once again this week, and upon arrival here this evening it appears that big changes are in store. Already this year, the complex has welcomed new restaurants and a day spa, but the mass of construction and scaffolding suggests that even bigger developments are on the way before the official rebranding to Crown Perth later in the year. It’s an exciting time for everyone here in Perth as the poker room will no doubt only be enhanced by these changes.

When we were here last year, the title was brought back to the East when Grant Levy landed a historic victory to become just the second player, after Kiwi Brotha D, to secure both APPT and ANZPT trophies. We’ve received word that Grant is unfortunately unable to defend his title, so that means we’ll be assured of a new champion this week.

Despite the absence of the defending champ, we will have plenty of big names in town, including Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang who was spotted en route to Perth directly from the recently completed APPT Cebu. Huang has made several appearances on the ANZPT without a whole lot of luck, so he will be keen to make an impression this time around.

It all gets underway at 12:30pm (GMT+8) on Wednesday afternoon and we’ll have all the live updates and videos interviews for you exclusively right here on the PokerStars blog. Join us for what should be an exciting week on the felt!

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ANZPT Sydney: Our final table is set

The official ANZPT Sydney final table of nine have been formed after we went from 16 to nine with a series of pretty rapid bustouts.

Kristina Griffiths and Steve Lindeblad lost the battle with their short stacks, before Mishel Anunu’s tournament came unstuck in unlucky 13th place. Anunu fell when his pocket nines couldn’t hold against the [ac][qh] of Martin Rowe – the exact same cards that Rowe won the APPT Sydney title with back in 2008.

Overnight chip leader Nick Heather lost a race with pocket sevens against king-ten to fall in 12th before Liam O’Rourke continued his dominating assault on his opponents.

Erich Stadler was out in 11th when O’Rourke called the all-in bet with [ac][qc] and caught a river queen to better Stadler’s [8s][8d]. It was ace-queen which did the damage again moments later when O’Rourke again won the race against Alec Smith’s pocket fives. The board of [7s][3h][7h][qh][8d] left Smith as the final table bubble boy in 10th place.

It’s an interesting final table with a mix of youth and experience with a couple of new faces set to make their first impression on the Australian poker scene.

Liam O’Rourke will enter as the chip leader, and as we’ve already mentioned, he’s one of Australia’s finest young players. There’s already been a little bit of chat on the rail about his bad beat on the final table of the ANZPT Gold Coast in 2010. With 3.4 million chips, and over a third of the chips in play, it really is O’Rourke’s tournament to win.

Anthony Aston is next best with a stack of 1.9 million, which is impressive, but still a long way from the chip lead. We don’t know a lot about Aston, and he has no previous tournament record to speak of, but he’s showed some great form this afternoon and will be a genuine contender.

Jason O’Brien (800,000) and Scotsman Gordon Huntly (715,000) are in the middle of the pack but have Aussie Millions champion Oliver Speidel (710,000) breathing down their neck. If Speidel can add an ANZPT title to his resume, just months after winning the big one in Melbourne, it would be one of the great achievements seen in this country.

Craig Blight (425,000) from Melbourne has a couple of previous cashes to his credit, but with under twenty big blinds, he has a little work to do along with relative unknown Bradley Lancken (370,000).

Another short stack belongs to 2008 APPT Sydney champion Martin Rowe (360,000) who will join Grant Levy and Brotha D as the only players to even win both APPT and ANZPT titles if he can salute this evening.

The final player of this final table, and the short stack of the field, is Stewart Ballard (325,000). Ballard caught a two-outer just moments ago to stay alive in this tournament, but with several previous cashes in Australia and Macau, including a cash in the 2010 ANZPT Perth event, Ballard shouldn’t be written off just yet!

And with that, the cards have been launched into the air as the ANZPT Sydney Main Event final table is now underway!

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ANZPT Sydney: Collopy rocked; RAWKZ soars

We’ve recently redrawn for the final two tables and are now down to 16 players remaining in the ANZPT Sydney Main Event.

Damien Walsh, Luke Downes and Laurence Hall were recent casualties while the devastating elimination of American Jim Collopy was the trigger for the redraw.

A distraught Collopy was spotted sitting by himself against the wall of the Oasis Lounge pondering what had just gone down, as his chance at a first major international title had just slipped though his fingers.

We didn’t catch the action, but according to the table, Collopy opened with a min-raise and Jason O’Brien decided the price was right to defend his big blind with a call. The flop came down [3h][2h][ts] and O’Brien check-called before the repeat [3s] hit the turn. O’Brien led out with a bet before Collopy shoved his [ks][kc], only for his world to be rocked when O’Brien made the call and showed his [4c][3c] big blind special. Collopy stormed away from the table in disgust as the [th] fell on the river and his tournament hopes were dashed.

With Jason Pritchard falling to Gordon Huntly’s pocket aces, and then day one chip leader Toby Ryall running queens into Mishel Anunu’s kings, our field was reduced to 16 players.

Leading the way is young gun Liam O’Rourke. Known online as “RAWKZ”, O’Rourke is one of Australia’s most talented and successful online players and is known for putting in ridiculous amounts of volume when he plays online. In the live poker world, he barely looks like he’s old enough to even enter a casino, but his boyish looks bely a fearless and relentlessly-aggressive game. And he’s tasted success on the ANZPT in the past with a with a third place finish at the 2010 ANZPT Gold Coast worth $65,000 and a 13th place at the ANZPT Perth last year.

O’Rourke is sitting behind a mountain of chips three storeys high worth about 1.7 million and will be very keen to secure his best ANZPT result and his first major live title.

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ANZPT Sydney: Heather hooks lead for the Irish

It was always going to be a tough ask today. 208 players into a final table of nine within ten levels of play – virtually an impossible equation, but we gave it a crack here on Day 2 of the ANZPT Sydney Main Event. As the players bag and tag after a long day of toil we have 27 players returning tomorrow for their shot at ANZPT glory.

It was a tough day at the office for many, with some of Australia and New Zealand’s finest falling into the sea of casualties. Joel Dodds, Leo Boxell, Lee Nelson, Tony Hachem, Vesko Zmukic, Dennis Huntly, Mel Judah, Billy Argyros, Angelo Hanataj, Peter Aristidou, Martin Drewe, Gary Benson and Tony Kondevski are some of Australia’s most decorated players but they won’t be adding a 2012 ANZPT Sydney cash to their resume after feeling the pain of elimination during the day.

The internationals also didn’t fare so well. Dan Kelly went missing pretty early on, while Maria Ho and Team PokerStars Pro Angel Guillen fought valiantly on the short stack for large parts of this event before finally succumbing just short of the money bubble.

Team PokerStars Pro Angel Guillen fell agonizingly close to the money today

Of course, where there are losers, there are winners, and we had plenty of good luck stories today. You could say that Scotsman Gordon Huntly had a little luck of the Irish today. Not sure if he’ll be thrilled to hear it described like that, but he would be chuffed about his day today. Huntly was able to crack the defences of pocket aces on a couple of occasions – both times making a straight to cruise through the day as one of the big stacks.

We also spotted 2008 APPT Sydney champion Martin Rowe progressing well during the day. Rowe had got on a nice run after he made a big call down with a pair of eights to catch his opponent’s bluff, before finishing him off moments later. Rowe would love nothing better than another big final table here in Sydney.

One player who seems to go deep in every tournament he plays is reigning Aussie Millions champion Oliver Speidel. This guy is just unstoppable at the moment. He continues to prove that he’s the real deal with a dominant performance today, pounding on his opponents relentlessly to end the day as one of the chip leaders.

Watch out if you’re sitting next to this guy tomorrow!

After enjoying the mouth watering delights of The Star’s world-class dining options at the dinner break, we played another four levels before the day reached a conclusion, and the evening session undoubtedly belonged to Nick Heather.

Heather got a little fortunate with pocket sixes against pocket queens before he collected a massive pot when his pocket jacks held against ace-king. From there, he never looked back as he amassed a stack of 953,500 by the close of play which was good for the chip lead.

Our overnight chip leader is Irishman Nick Heather

The Irishman is currently based out of Sydney on a bit of an extended holiday. He said that he’d like to extend if his girlfriend can secure a visa, but if he can secure the first-place prize of $226,812 then he’ll have even more reason to call Sydney home. He’ll certainly be a huge threat tomorrow with the chip lead and a poker resume that includes four WSOP cashes and a final table in a $1,000 NLHE event in 2010 worth almost $150,000.

Others to end the day in good shape include Oliver Speidel (797,000), Jim Collopy (638,500), Alec Smith (572,000) and Mishel Anunu (434,500).

Also still in contention are 2008 APPT Sydney champ Martin Rowe (294,000), 2010 ANZPT Darwin runner-up Luke Edwards (180,000), 2010 ANZPT Gold Coast 3rd-place finisher Liam O’Rourke (495,000), 2010 APPT Sydney 4th-place finisher Peco Stojanovski (193,500) and 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event final tablist Sam Capra (440,000).

To cap off an exciting day, ANZPT Commissioner Danny McDonagh announced the finalized schedule for Season 4 of the ANZPT.

The next event will be the ANZPT Perth which will run from May 2 to 6 featuring an $1,100 buy-in, while the Casino Canberra Winter Poker Championship has been added as an Australia New Zealand Player of the Year Qualifying event.

“With over 100 players already qualified for ANZPT Perth, we are expecting a player number approaching the fabulous result achieved here in Sydney,” commented McDonagh.

Look out Perth, here we come!

With that good news, we’ll call it a night here in Sydney, but look forward to your company again tomorrow from 2pm as we play all the way until a champion is crowned!

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2011 PokerStars Year in Review

In all the years I’ve been writing the PokerStars Year in Review, I have never seen a year quite like 2011. Anyone with a true love for the game has spent the past twelve months on a roller coaster ride the likes of which we had never before experienced. Like a poker game itself, this year has seen its ups and downs. Now, as we prepare to close the books on 2011, it’s worth it to take a look back at the highlights from the year gone by.

In the face of what could’ve been a tough year, PokerStars and its players persevered and found success all over the world. Bumper live fields impressed the circuit rounders. Online players broke world records. PokerStars celebrated its tenth anniversary, and its loyal players celebrated in kind. Now we look forward to 2012, a year that already promises big live events, a brand new turbo online tournament series, and the final steps along the Road to 100 Billion.

Once again, thanks to you, the loyal PokerStars player and PokerStars Blog reader. You make our jobs fun, and you make PokerStars what it is. We wish you peace, success, and prosperity in 2012.

Happy New Year.

Previous years: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

Click the headlines to read the whole story

JANUARY

ISILDUR1 BEATS TONY G IN SUPERSTAR SHOWDOWN–Just a few days before he revealed his true identity once and for all, Isildur1 sent the notorious Tony G. on his bike in the first SuperStars Showdown of 2011.

VIKTOR BLOM COPS TO HIS SECRET IDENTITY–As part of his new life as a Team PokerStars Pro, Viktor Blom announced he was, indeed, Isildur1. The big reveal happened at the 2011 PCA. Afterward, Team Pro’s biggest 2011 signing spent the next year playing his SuperStar Showdowns and frequenting the nosebleed games.

Blom waves to the crowd during his unveiling

KATCHALOV DEFEATS NEGREANU IN SUPER HIGH ROLLER–For the first time, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure held a $100,000 Super High Roller event. It drew 38 of the biggest names in high-dollar poker. Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu got heads up with Eugene Katchalov. That was as far as it went for Kid Poker. Katchalov came out on top for the $1.5 million win.

Eugene Katchalov after winning the Super High Roller

JONATHAN DUHAMEL JOINS TEAM POKERSTARS PRO–In what was probably an inevitability, 2010 WSOP champion Jonathan Duhamel officially announced he was joining the ranks of Team PokerStars Pro. Duhamel almost immediately went to EPT Deauville and won the High Roller event there for $200,000.

POKERSTARS UNVEILS HOME GAMES–Always at the forefront of new innovations, PokerStars used the first month of the year to reveal one of the biggest innovations in years. PokerStars Home Games was an immediate hit among players and became even more so after it was announced Lee Jones was returning to PokerStars to head up the effort.

ITALY WINS WORLD CUP OF POKER–With as much energy as any World Cup of Poker team before it, Team Italy won its first World Cup championship at Atlantis during the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

GALEN HALL WINS $2.3 MILLION AT 2011 PCA–Cerebral, reserved, and a student of the game, Galen Hall staged an historic comeback at the 2011 PCA main event final table to win $2.3 million. He defeated the biggest field in PCA history, one that saw 1,560 sign up to play. Hall was the biggest star of the 2011 festival, but he was joined on the winners’ podium by High Roller winner Will Molson, Ladies Event winner Kristin Bihr, and Bounty Shootout champ Andrew Chen. This year’s PCA also saw Chris Moneymaker make a deep run and nearly make the final table.

Galen Hall after winning 2011 PCA

BLOM DEFEATS CATES IN SUPERSTAR SHOWDOWN–Letting little time pass after beating Tony G., Viktor Blom resumed his SuperStar Showdowns and beat Daniel Cates for more than $50,000.

WBCOOP CROWNS BLOGGER CHAMPIONS–For the past five years, PokerStars celebrated its players who spent as much time writing about poker as playing it. That happened again in the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker.

LUCIEN COHEN WINS EPT DEAUVILLE–In a story for underdog lovers everywhere, Lucien Cohen astounded the field at EPT Deauville to win €880,000 and the main event championship.

Lucien Cohen after winning EPT Deauville

FEBRUARY

OCTAVIAN VOEGELE WINS ANZPT ADELAIDE–A year after placing third at the ANZPT Adelaide main event in Season 2, Octavian Voegele returned and finished the job, taking first place and winning nearly $150,000.

LIV BOEREE WINS SUNDAY WARM-UP–No one ever accused her of being just another pretty face. Liv Boeree took care of that with her EPT San Remo win. Just in case anybody forgot, Boeree took the opportunity to win a Sunday major.

TEAM ONLINE ANNOUNCES CLASS OF 2011–The were already bright stars among PokerStars’ online ranks, but in February, Team Online made it official when it named players like Dale Philip, Shane Schleger, and Andrew Brokos to the ranks of Team Online.

Team Online’s Shane Schleger

BLOM BEATS KATCHALOV IN SUPERSTAR SHOWDOWN–Still on his early 2011 heater, Viktor Blom took on Eugene Katchalov in the SuperStar Showdown series and beat him for more than $100,000.

GARETH WALKER WINS UKIPT NOTTINGHAM–More than 1,000 players showed up to UKIPT Nottingham, and Gareth Walker managed to outplay them all for the title and £109,000.

ALEX MANZANO WINS LAPT SAO PAULO–It was the first time the LAPT had visited Sao Paulo, and the Brazilians were looking for a chance to win their first LAPT title. Chilean Alex Manzano made sure that didn’t happen when he won the record-breaking LAPT main event.

BLOM TAKES ON QUALIFIER–Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom likes to spend most of his time playing against the people in the high stakes rooms. In February, he stepped down in stakes for an afternoon to give a qualifier a shot.

MICHAEL TURENIEC WINS EPT COPENHAGEN–One-time EPT main event runner-up Michael Tureniec could still taste the victory he missed in London. He settled that score with an EPT Copenhagen title.

Michael Tureniec

MARCH

ANDREW LI BECOMES FIRST 2011 SUPERNOVA ELITE–It seems to happen earlier every year. This year, Andrew Li broke the record for first Supernova Elite of the year by three weeks.

Andrew Li on his way to Supernova Elite stardom

SUNDAY MILLION BREAKS RECORD–Though it was a record that would only last for nine months, the Sunday Million’s fifth birthday broke all the event’s previous records with a prize pool worth $11,825,600. Luke “Bdbeatslayer” Vrabel won the title.

CHRIS MONEYMAKER GOES DEEP AT HEADS-UP CHAMPIONSHIP–Proving once again that he’s not some flash in the pan, Chris Moneymaker finishes runner-up at the NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship.

Chris Moneymaker

VICTOR RAMDIN WINS THE BIG EVENT–Heads up against then fellow Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem, PokerStars’ Victor Ramdin won half a million bucks at the Bike in Los Angeles.

Victor Ramdin

POKERSTARS REVEALS SUNDAY STORM–What was once known as The Sunday 1/4 Million got a new name: The Sunday Storm.

BLOM WINS ROUND 1 AGAINST NEGREANU–In the first of two SuperStar Showdown matches, Viktor Blom won $150,000 off Daniel Negreanu in fewer than 1,500 hands.

JOHNSON WINS FIRST EUREKA POKER TOUR EVENT–In March, PokerStars debuted the Eureka Poker Tour and saw its first champion Keith Johnson win €58,400.

FIGUEIREDO WINS LAPT CHILE–After Chile’s devastating earthquake, the LAPT was forced to take a break from hosting events there. In 2011, the LAPT made its return for Chile’s National Poker Championship.

POKERSTARS SIGNS KATCHALOV TO TEAM PRO–In a match made in heaven (and cemented at the PCA after a Super High Roller win) Team PokerStars Pro and Eugene Katchaov made it official.

GESHKENBEIN WINS EPT SNOWFEST–The EPT made its return to the Austrian Alps for one of the best poker vacations of the year. Vladimir Geshkenbein won the title.

Vladimir Geshkenbein

GRANT LEVY WINS ANZPT PERTH–Already an APPT champion, Grant Levy went to Perth, Australia as a PokerStars qualifier and won the ANZPT event there.

Grant Levy

NEGREANU GETS BLOM IN ROUND 2–After losing $150,000 to Viktor Blom in the first of two SuperStar Showdown matches, Daniel Negreanu broke Viktor Blom’s winning streak and beat the young gun for $26,500.

POGO650 WINS POKERSTARS 60 BILLIONTH HAND–In a year that would see more than a few big PokerStars milestones, March saw the 60 billionth hand come out. it was worth more than $100,000 to PokerStars player Pogo650.

APRIL

BLOM DROPS A FEW BLINDS TO PALMER, BUT WINS THEM BACK, AND MORE–In a highly-anticipated SuperStar Showdown match, Victor Blom played Scott Palmer in the first of two rounds. Blom lost, but only $5,245. In the next round, Blom came back to win more than $61,000.

WILINOFSKY WINS EPT BERLIN–In Season 8, the Germans would begin to dominate the EPT, but toward the end of Season 7, the EPT invaded Germany, and Canadian Ben Wilinofsky defeated Germany’s Maximilian Heinzelmann for the title and €825,000 first prize.

Ben Wilinofsky

LIN WINS MACAU MILLIONS–After battling though 1,329 people, the largest poker field in Asian history, Hung-sheng Lin won the Macau Millions in the PokerStars Macau Poker room.

SELBST WINS SECOND NAPT TITLE–In a stunning repeat performance, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst traveled to Mohegan Sun for the NAPT (the site of her first NAPT title) and won the event again.

Vanessa Selbst after winning NAPT Mohegan Sun

MERCIER MATCHES SELBST WITH BACK-TO-BACK WIN–As if to say, “Oh, yeah, I can do that, too,” Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier followed up his 2010 NAPT Mohegan Sun victory with a second at the same venue in 2011.

Jason Mercier after his High Roller title

KANAAN WINS ANZPT SYDNEY–In a lighting-fast final table performance, Daniel Kanaan won the ANZPT event in Sydney, Australia.

HOMETOWN BOY DOES GOOD–When the Latin American Poker Tour made the trip to Lima, Peru, local player Kemai Ferri made sure the trophy didn’t leave town.

BLOM GIVES ANOTHER QUALIFIER A SHOT–After a bunch of high-profile matches, Viktor Blom gave an online qualifier a chance to win some big money. It worked out better for Blom.

TURBO TAKEDOWN RETIRES–After a great run that saw a lot of people win a lot of cool cars, the PokerStars Turbo Takedown played its last match and quietly left the PokerStars tournament schedule.

MAY

ELDER WINS EPT SAN REMO–Max Heinzelmann, fresh off his near-win at EPT Berlin, once again tried (and once again failed) to win a championship. Instead the title went to Englishman Rupert Elder for the €930,000 first prize.

Rupert Elder

ELKY WINS EPT MADRID HIGH ROLLER–Proving once again that there is simply no place in the world he can’t win, Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier won the EPT High Roller in Madrid for more than half a million euros.

ElkY after winning the High Roller event

SCOOP RETURNS, KELOPURO RIDES HIGH–The Spring Championship of Online Poker came back to PokerStars and finished with more than $43 million in prize money. In total, SCOOP hosted 114 events with more than 107,000 unique players, 403,378 buy-ins, and 156 countries. Riding high among the biggest winners was Sami Kelopuro who won the big-buy-in main event, while Anders Berg grabbed Player of the Series honors.

IVAN FREITEZ WINS EPT GRAND FINAL–For the first time in its seven-season history, the EPT moved its Grand Final to Madrid, Spain. There, Ivan Freitez put on an unorthodox display to win the title and €1.5 million.

Ivan Freitez after winning Grand Final

BRITO WINS EPT PLAYER OF THE YEAR–After a startling season-long performance, businessman Fernando Brito won the EPT Player of the Year award.

MERCIER WINS CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS–As if to prove he could win any event you put him in, Jason “When Will It End” Mercier won the EPT Champion of Champions event to close EPT Season 7.

RODRIGUEZ SCORES WINS ON EUREKA POKER TOUR–Just a couple of months after finishing runner up in Prague, Antonio Rodriguez won the Eureka Poker Tour’s event in Nova Gorica.

MATUSIK WINS ANZPT GOLD COAST–Chewing Gum Pete Matusik beat out a field of 245 players over four days to win the ANZPT Gold Coast main event.

UKIPT CORK GOES TO RAZAVI–Worth €71,000, the UKIPT Cork battle put Sam Razavi heads up against David O’Connor. After a two-hour man-on-man battle, Razavi came out on top.

JUNE

BRENES HITS 60 IN TWO WAYS–Humberto Brenes not only turned 60 years old this year, but he also finally crossed the mark for 60 career WSOP cashes.

KATCHALOV WINS FIRST WSOP BRACELET–Proving he is more than a hold’em guru, Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov won a seven-card stud bracelet for $122,000.

MAH WINS RED DRAGON–In another stellar Red Dragon main event at the Macau Poker Cup, Kwan Mah won the title and nearly a million Hong Kong dollars.

POKERSTARS AND PLAYERS DONATE NEARLY HALF-MILLION TO JAPAN RELIEF–After the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, PokerStars and its players donated nearly half a million dollars to the relief effort.

MONEYMAKER DEFEATS FARHA IN RE-MATCH–In a series of made-for-TV rematches, ESPN replayed a few of the heads-up matches from historic WSOP events. Among them was the Chris Moneymaker vs. Sammy Farha battle. Moneymaker, once again, emerged with the victory.

HUANG WINS ANZPT CANBERRA–After a long weekend of celebrating the Queen’s birthday in Australia, Sammy Huang found a way to call himself King of Canberra.

Huang in Canberra

ELKY COMPLETES TRIPLE CROWN, WINS WSOP BRACELET–ElkY needed only a WSOP bracelet to complete poker’s triple crown. He got it after a WSOP 7-card-stud championship win.

ElkY at the 2011 WSOP

BLOM TAKES CAO FOR $150,000–After a two-month layoff, Viktor Blom resumed his SuperStar showdowns to felt Rui Cao in fewer than 2,300 hands.

SINCLAIR RIDES ACES TO UKIPT NEWCASTLE WIN–Richard Sinclair became the first man from Scotland to win a UKIPT event, helped in part by getting dealt aces heads-up.

BRAZIL GETS ITS OWN POKER TOUR–After becoming one of players favorite stops on the LAPT, Brazil got its own circuit, the Brasil Poker Tour.

COSSETTE GETS ANOTHER PORSCHE–Bucking the trend of buying just one Porsche with FPP points, longtime PokerStars player Spencer Cossette bought a second Porsche.

Cossette with his two Porches

MERCIER WINS SECOND WSOP BRACELET–Jason Mercier continued to amaze in June by winning his second WSOP bracelet.

BIG GAME RETURNS FOR SEASON 2–After a successful inaugural season, the PokerStars Big Game returned to the small screen for another season of high-stakes action.

GREENBERG WINS IN BULGARIA–Israel’s Idan Greenberg took his lead at the start at the final day of the Eureka Poker Tour event in Bulgaria and used it to win the €55,000 first prize.

AKKARI WINS FIRST WSOP BRACELET–Fulfilling a career-long dream, Brazilian Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari won his first WSOP bracelet and $675,000.

Andre Akkari and his bracelet

JULY

BLOM TOPPLES TERKEN89 FOR $150,000–After winning eight of his ten previous matches, Viktor Blom notched another SuperStar Showdown win for $150,000.

LYKOV WINS WSOP BRACELET–After watching four other Team Pros win WSOP bracelets, Team PokerStars Pro Max Lykov won one of his own.

ROWSOME JOINS TEAM ONLINE–After years of being a loyal player and qualifier, Adrienne “talonchick” Rowsome joined Team PokerStars Online.

Adrienne Rowsome

POKERSTARS DEALS 65 BILLIONTH HAND–After letting its players know the Road to 100 Billion was now paved and open for travel, PokerStars dealt its 65 billionth hand to New Zealand’s “yllams.”

SUNDAY CUBED GETS MAJORS SPOT–In July, PokerStars launched its newest Sunday major, the Sunday Cubed.

AUGUST

JP KELLY GOES DEEP IN WSOP MAIN EVENT–Though he just missed the WSOP Main Event final table in July, Team Pro JP Kelly’s deep run in the WSOP Main Event was worth a lot of money and a great story. The title link will take you to Part One. You can find Part Two HERE.

BOXELL WINS APPT MELBOURNE–It was the first time the Asia Pacific Poker Tour had visited Melbourne, Australia, so it was only fitting that the title go to a future Australia Poker Hall of Famer, Leo Boxell.

Leo Boxell

PAGANO WINS IPT SAN REMO–After years of promoting poker in his home country of Italy, Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano won his first Italian Poker Tour event.

KAISER REIGNS AT EPT TALLINN–In the first event of EPT Season 8, 21-year-old Ronny Kaiser won the title.

Ronny Kaiser

DANNY MCDONAGH MAKES HALL OF FAME–Normally reserved for players, the Australian Poker Hall of Fame decided to induct its first administrator, Danny McDonagh, head of the APPT.

CANADA WINS AMERICAS CUP OF POKER–Just a year removed from winning the inaugural Americas Cup of Poker, Team Canada came back and did it again.

KOMAROMI WINS LAPT PUNTA DEL ESTE–Although the LAPT had been to Uruguay every season it existed, no one from Uruguay had ever won a title until Alex Komaromi did it in August.

Alex Komaromi and friends

PATRICK KAR KENG LEE WINS RED DRAGON–Singapore’s Patrick Kar Keng Lee took down the Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon event after winning a satellite in the PokerStars Macau poker room.

FINTAN GAVIN WINS UKIPT EDINBURGH–Irishman Fintan Gavin may well have been known for his conversational abilities, but his poker prowess seemed just as strong in Edinburgh when he won the UKIPT title there.

WORLD CUP OF POKER SETS FINAL TABLE–After a series of online playoffs, the PokerStars World Cup of Poker determined its seven finalists, all of which will fight for a title at the PCA.

BODIS WINS IN CROATIA–31-year-old entrepreneur Richard Bodis beat out 254 people to win the Eureka Poker Tour event in Croatia.

SCHREINER SHIPS THE SNOWFEST–Not only did he get to go on one of the best poker vacations in the world, but Marcel Schreiner won the title in Queenstown.

Marcel Schreiner

SEPTEMBER

MARTIN SCHLEICH WINS EPT BARCELONA–In what proved to be a record-setting main event in Barcelona, Martin Schleich triumphed over the field in Barcelona, Spain for the €850,000 first prize.

Martin Schleich

WCOOP HOSTS $47 MILLION IN EVENTS–Once again, WCOOP returned to the PokerStars world. Over the course of 62 events, WCOOP put up more than $47 million in prize pools. Among he biggest stars in the series was Joel Adam Gordon (aka 2FLY2TILT) who won the Player of the Series Award. Meanwhile, Thomas “Kallllle” Pedersen won the main event.

Thomas Pedersen, 2011 WCOOP main event winner

MICKEY PETERSEN JOINS TEAM ONLINE–In another late-year signing, PokerStars’ Team Online signed up the famed Mickey “mement_mori” Petersen.

ZANDVLIET WINS SECOND UKIPT TITLE–He had already done it once before. In September, Joeri Zandvliet won another UKIPT title. This time it happened in Dublin for €83,500.

VIVIAN IM JOINS TEAM POKERSTARS PRO–After winning APPT Cebu, Vivian Im seemed destined for greatness in Asia. It only made sense that she would hook up with Team PokerStars Pro.

GOSK WINS AT IBIZA–It’s always a party in Ibiza, but Grzegorz Gosk showed everyone how to party in style with his €92,000 win on the Estrellas Poker Tour.

LEE NELSON WINS IN MELBOURNE–He already had a reputation for big finishes.They didn’t give him that “Final Table” nickname for nothing. In Melbourne for the ANZPT, Lee Nelson did it again with a title-winning performance.

OCTOBER

SPINDLER WINS EPT LONDON–Benny Spindler set out to prove he could do well on his home continent, and prove it he did with a £750,000 win at EPT London. Meanwhile Philipp Gruissem won another EPT High Roller title.

Benny Spindler

JACK DRAKE WINS IN DARWIN–The ANZPT finished its third season in Darwin where Australia’s Jack Drake took home the championship.

KAN WINS MPCC TITLE–In a dominant performance the likes of which tourney vets hadn’t seen in some time, Raiden Kan won the Macau Poker Cup Championship.

MENENDEZ WINS LAPT COLOMBIA–For the first time in its four-season history, the LAPT traveled to Colombia where Julian Menendez took the title.

Julian Menendez

POKERSTARS LAUNCHES TIME TOURNEYS–In one of many improvements PokerStars made to its software during 2011, the company launched Time Tourneys in October and gave time-crunched players a chance to play tournaments whenever they like.

BARRY GREENSTEIN NAMED TO POKER HALL OF FAME–It was a long time coming, but team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein was finally voted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

PATEYCHUK WINS EPT SAN REMO–The EPT once again traveled to the always-popular San Remo stop where Andrey Pateychuk pulled off a sick runner-runner beat on Dimitar Dachev to win the title.

Andrey Pateychuk

NOVEMBER

POKERSTARS DEALS 70 BILLIONTH HAND–As PokerStars got ready to kick off its 10th Anniversay party, it dealt its 70 billionth hand to a man from Germany. The milestone earned the winner $73,380.

POKERSTARS BLOG LOOKS AT ITS BEGINNINGS–As part of the PokerStars 10th Anniversary celebration, the PokerStars Blog looked back at how it got its start.

HEINZ JOINS TEAM PRO—Does PokerStars know how to pick’em or what? Nine guys at the final table of the WSOP Main Event and PokerStars signs just one of them….and then this happened…

PIUS HEINZ WINS WSOP MAIN EVENT–Worth more than $8 million, the WSOP Main Event first prize went to the newly-dubbed Team PokerStars Pro.

Pius Heinz after winning WSOP Main Event

MARCUS HELLNER BECOMES POKERSTARS SPORTSTAR–As winter got ready to settle in over Europe, one of its Winter Olympics stars became part of the PokerStars family.

ANOTHER FREE PORSCHE–Just because it’s been happening for years doesn’t mean people aren’t still buying Porsches with their FPPs. This was the latest of those stories.

POKERSTARS MACAU ANNOUNCES ACOP–As poker continues to rampage across Asia, PokerStars Macau announced that it would host the Asia Championship of Poker in November of 2012.

ZIYARD WINS FIRST EPT LOUTRAKI–Season 8 of the EPT added Loutraki, Greece to the schedule. Zimnan Ziyard won the title.

Zimnan Ziyard

VELDHUIS KNOCKS OUT ELKY–A little sidebar between Lex Veldhuis and ElkY ended up with the Team PokerStars Pros in the ring together. It ended badly for ElkY.

Les Veldhuis in fighting mode

LEW WINS APPT MACAU–It was his first time in Asia, his first time playing an APPT event, and his first major live win, but PokerStars Team Online’s Randy Lew made it look easy when he took down APPT Macau.

Randy Lew

STASZKO JOINS TEAM POKERSTARS PRO–Not content to have only the winner of the WSOP Main Event on the roster, Team PokerStars Pro signed runner-up Martin Staszoko to its roster, too.

DECEMBER

POKERSTARS CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY–After ten years of dealing billions of hands to millions of people, PokerStars threw a month-long anniversary party that was worth millions and millions of dollars. As the party rolled on, PokerStars released a 10th Anniversary magazine; broke the world record for the largest tournament with 200,000 players; awarded special milestone money for the winner of the 72 billionth hand; and hosted a giant Sunday Storm. The end of the month saw the biggest part of the celebration, a $10,000 High Roller event and the world’s richest online tournament and biggest-ever Sunday Million won by Kyle “First-Eagle” Weir.

Kyle Weir, winner of the 10th Anniversary Sunday Million

POKERSTARS INTRODUCES CORPORATE BLOG–Now it’s no longer just we pro bloggers who write here on the PokerStars Blog. In December, we introduced the Corporate Blog, with words from some of the top dogs at PokerStars.

FINGER BAGS PRAGUE—To cap off the 2011 portion of the EPT’s eighth season, Martin Finger became the third German to win an EPT title in Season 8.

Martin Finger

MERCIER WINS ANOTHER $700K–To cap off another amazing year, Jason Mercier won $700,000 at the Bellagio in a $100,000 buy-in High Roller event.

SELBST CAPS A MILLION DOLLAR YEAR–Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst proved for another year that she is among the best in the game. After a final table finish at the WPT Five Diamond, Selbst secured her second-straight million-dollar year.

POKERSTARS ESTABLISHES PLAYER TRUST FUND–In its on-going effort to protect its players funds in regulated markets, PokerStars established a fully independent trustee to oversee player funds.

POKERSTARS TURBO CHAMPIONSHIP OF ONLINE POKER–After wooing the online poker world with the World Championship of Online Poker and Spring Championship of Online Poker, PokerStars announced that in 2012 it will host the Turbo Championship of Online Poker, 50 turbo events that will give players a chance to win a true online championship in record time.

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Tao of Poker – 2011 Year in Review

By Pauly
New York City

Time flies, eh? Hard to believe that 2012 is around the corner, but I’m kinda glad that 2011 is over. This year was one of the roughest, saddest, and most excruciating that I experienced since I ventured into the poker world. I can only be optimistic about the future, because it can’t get any worse… right?

Without further ado, here’s the best of the Tao of Poker…

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January 2010

God’s Cell Phone Number – Things got a little crazy while betting on the NFL playoffs and I successfully pulled off a Band of Brothers reference…

Sometimes I refer to God as Gretzky. At least, that’s what I have him labeled on my cell phone. I’d hate for someone to steal my phone and than have a direct number to God. Hence, why He’s coded as GRETZKY. He doesn’t gives those out to anyone. It’s one of the perks of attending a Jesuit high school. You learn Latin, Greek, and get God’s cell phone number… MORE

Dispatches from the PCA: You Enjoy Myself – My lovely girlfriend won a satellite to the Ladies Event, so I flew down to Paradise Island in the Bahamas to attend the PCA as a civilian and professional railbird. I also drunk a shit-ton of rum and gambled at the sports book.

The cabbie pulled into Atlantis and I tipped him fairly decent, enough that he tried to sell me a bag of blow. I politely declined. Do you know the six words that aptly describes cocaine from the Caribbean? Clumps together, but only cut once… MORE

Dispatches from the PCA: Divided Sky – I spent a lot of time watching the Dead People Channel and then hung out on the rail to sweat Change100 during her victorious run in the Ladies Event.

It’s no secret that I feel uncomfortable and unwelcomed at any Ladies Only events because I’m getting thousands of daggers shot at me from evil glances from the players, many of whom on principle hate men, not to mention a slew of female players who think I’m an asshole because my writing glorifies misogyny and the poor treatment of women by condoning prostitution and promoting stripping… MORE

Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Bahama Mama – Change100 Scores Ladies PCA Title – Listen to a super quick podcast that I recorded with Change100 after she beat Lauren Kling heads-up to win the PCA Ladies event.

Looming Municipal Debt Crisis the Key to Online Poker Legislation? – The majority of the states in the union were faced with severe budgetary problems at the start of 2011. I hypothesized that some states will look to legalize online poker in order to make a dent into their ginormous debt obligations.

The future is grim no matter how you look at it. That’s why there’s very little chatter in the media about the looming municipal debt crisis. It’s sort of like an asteroid ready to crash into Earth — it’s much easier to be the ostrich with its head buried in the ground, and let everyone go about their daily lives, rather than clue them in on the reality of the situation and that the end of the world could be right around the corner…MORE

Dan Shak’s Hedge Fund Nearly Blows Up the Gold Market – Speaking of finance… did you hear the one about Dan Shak nearly causing a financial tsunami?

Talk about a trader who has a set of titanium balls! That’s what I love about Dan Shak — he made a ballsy trade, it went south, he cut his losses, shrugged it off, and wants to get back in the game… MORE

Eight Voices and a Sea of Trouble – I broke down the eight different voices inside my head that often get me into gambling trouble.

Accessing the future for my own financial gain is an unattainable pipe dream. I meet people all the time in Vegas and in poker circles who claim that have foolproof systems for blackjack, roulette, the horses, stock options, etc. I’ve met lots of shit-talkers, but I’ve never crossed paths with a legitimate psychic who can accurately predict the future. Believe me, I scoured the world for a seer and found lots of charlatans, but came up empty…MORE

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February 2010

Your Hands and Feet Are Mangos, Part 1 – For one week, I conducted an experiment — do nothing except drink rum and bet on sports.

In the last few years, what used to be a ravenous love affair with sports betting had become a coarse, listless, co-dependent relationship. Each bet used to be like riding a rollercoaster for two hours while jacked up on cocaine. But not anymore because watching each game was more like being prisoner on a cruise ship adrift in stormy seas that’s inducing you to puke your nads out….MORE

Your Hands and Feet Are Mangos, Part 2 – Here’s the second and final installment of my rum-inspired sports betting diaries, which started out as a social experiment but over a long weekend, I nearly lost my shirt on college hoops and had an accident that left our kitchen floor all… sticky.

“Good news and bad news,” I barked and then inspected my soaked jeans. “Bad news is that the kitchen floor is pink and sticky. Good news is that thanks to the supreme technological advances in developing plastics, the shatter-proof bottle prevented the rum from exploding.”…MORE

Syracuse Point-Shaving Rumors Debunked; Major College Basketball Betting Scandal Averted? – The Syracuse point-shaving rumors blew up overnight and what would have just been whispers among paranoid bettors, until it became a national scandal.

College athletes have become pawns for corporate entities. All of those annoying redundant commercials during March Madness made you nauseous, but it’s a clear indication at the significant money that is thrown around by major advertisers. Someone is making a buck on college athletes, everyone except the athletes themselves….MORE

Tao of Pokerati Podcast: Exotic Betting on the Super Bowl with Change100 – I recorded a quick podcast with my girlfriend, who was excited to bet on how long it was going to take Christina Aguilera to sing the National Anthem.

Live Sumo Is Rigged – If you didn’t know, the national sport of Japan has a shady past of rigging matches.

Taking a dive was a dishonor yourself, let alone a sincere dishonor to the entire Sumo community of wrestlers, trainers, promoters, fans, and even the guy who gets paid to wipe the arses of ginormous wrestlers…. MORE

The Bluff Power 20; Howard Lederer Has the Juice – Howard Lederer was named the most powerful person in poker.

Deadhead. Former bookie. Poker pro. Online poker visionary. Top dog. Top gun. King of the Hill. The Godfather… MORE

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March 2011

Closing the Sahara – I took a walk down memory lane when I found out that the Sahara Casino in Las Vegas was closing its doors.

Las Vegas rose up out of the nothingness of the sand. A former Mormon missionary outpost had transformed into a gambling Mecca by gangsters, real estate developers, and bankers. Mecca is actually an inappropriate word to describe Las Vegas because there’s nothing religious about a pilgrimage to modern day Sodom and Gomorrah — the epicenter for the orgy of consumption… MORE

Orphaned Cards – I cannot explain why, but sometimes I find random cards in the middle of the street.

Rolling Out the Magic – If I was a TV exec and I could rig a final table, I’d pick nine specific personality types.

Television executives in poker are faced with two rigorous obstacles: 1) inaction at the tables, and 2) lack of stimulating dialogue. Both are detrimental to ratings. Lackadaisical ratings gave poker a blemish, which is why the suits in charge of programming banished poker to uncoveted late night slots, where stoners and insomniacs alike watched with an indifferent glaze. The few remaining programs were lost in the shuffle at the farthest ends of the satellite spectrum, embroiled in fierce competition against 1,000 other stations…. MORE

Sweating Sachin Tendulkar – New low as a degen gambler… I bet on cricket.

Despite being plagued with a short attention span, an 8-hour sporting event like cricket is a definite commitment, both physically and mentally, but due to medical breakthrough and advances in technology, 8-hour long cricket matches are conductive if you have proclivities to specific time-released pharmaceuticals…. MORE

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April 2011

Down With Diseased Monkeys – I began the month betting on baseball and went on a horrid losing streak.

Sports betting is a huge life leak, but it’s also a life sweetener, or a bottle of hot sauce that spruces up mundane aspects of daily life, which is why it’s inherently dangerous. Finding the perfect balance between entertainment, merriment, stroking the ego is essential to healthy lifestyle. It’s when you cross over the proverbial demarcation line in the murky, cloudy grey area that you takes strides away from the light and rush toward the dark…. MORE

Black Friday, Vampire Squids, and 1,000 Masturbating Monkeys – I was in Lima, Peru when Black Friday hit and waited until after I finished climbing Machu Picchu before I wrote about my take on the worst day in the history of online poker.

What was the point of even sending the PPA to Washington? Instead, we should have sent a hundred masturbating chimpanzees to lobby for online poker — they would have accomplished the same fucking thing as the PPA, but at least we’d have some cool YouTube videos of monkeys jerking off on the steps of the Capitol…. MORE

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May 2011

Aunt Emma – Another installment of the infamous Pai Gow Diaries.

A disheveled woman sat down next to me. She wore a green terry cloth jacket. For a second I thought she walked into the casino wearing her bath robe. But she smelled like she had slept in her car, woke up, blew a snot rocket, smoked the ends of three week-old cigarette butts, then walked over to the Pai Gow table…. MORE

PokerStars Offices Raided in Costa Rica – I just happened to know a few friends in Costa Rica who were around when the federales raided the San Jose offices of online poker rooms.

Black Friday Fallout: Offshore Sportsbooks Fleeing U.S. Soil – The sportsbetting industry also took a hit when they experienced residual fallout from Black Friday.

14 Fun Moments from the 2010 WSOP and 14 More Fun Moments at the 2010 WSOP – I was reminiscing about some fun times I had in the summer of 2010.

Fading the Rapture – I love betting against Jesus Freaks, especially those predicting specific dates for Armageddon.

Glow in the Dark Dragons – And what’s the WSOP without kicking it off by going on dealer tilt at a Pai Gow table?

The new line of Pai Gow bots will not arrive until late in 2011, which means I only have to deal with older version, which are prone to glitches and the occasional error. I guess that’s the only good thing to come out of the Japan quake. Sure, Japan is drowning in radiation soup while traces of radioactive material flutter its way toward North American airspace, but at least I won’t have to worry about an upgraded version of the Pai Gow bots…. MORE

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June 2011 and August 2011

Thanks to Alexander, I got to be on the cover of The Circuit. here’s my interview…

I covered my 7th World Series of Poker on Tao of Poker. Here’s the index of coverage…

Let’s start with a couple of posts that were published before cards went in the air on Day 1. Among those were a few tidbits about the Ivey/Full Tilt lawsuit.

2011 WSOP: Before the Madness Begins – A prelude to the seven-week fiesta of poker.

WTF? Phil Ivey Suing Full Tilt Poker – In one of the most peculiar news stories since Black Friday, Phil Ivey announced he was leaving Full Tilt, suing Tiltware, and sitting out of the WSOP. All of these important announcements were made on his Facebook fan page. Whaaaaa?

Full Tilt’s Angry Response to Phil Ivey’s Lawsuit – The drama-filled start to the WSOP continued with an angry response from Full Tilt’s HQs. That’s the fastest they ever responded to anything in the wake of Black Friday.

Finding Pil Ivey and the Doctor Is In – The video crew at Bluff Magazine did an awesome job with their videos this summer, especially the bit Finding Ivey. I got tapped to tape an interview and you can see a teaser in this video.

The Circuit Cover and Interview – I was fortunate that Alexander asked me to be a part of his amazing photo project — The Circuit. Check out what went down behind the scenes during the photo shoot, including a candid interview about what life is really like on the road following around the tournament circuit.

Okay, and now here are the daily recaps from the 2011 WSOP…

Day 1: Welcome to the Jungle and Phil Ivey’s Titanium Balls – The 2011 WSOP kicked off with lots of questions swirling around about which pros would toe the company line and support Full Tilt Poker, and which red pros would ditch the patches and other FT branding. Phil Ivey fired the first shot with his lawsuit (announced via Facebook), but did he incite a mutiny with other red pros following his lead?

Day 2: Ivey’s Hippodrome and Bare-Chested Scandis – Gus Hansen wandering around with his shirt undone and the ongoing saga between Phil Ivey and Full Tilt were among the more dramatic topics on the second day of action.

Day 3: Moneymaker and Johnny Fucking Chan Win Grudge Matches and Men the Master Cheating Accusations – A Made-for-TV event occupied the Mothership with Chris Moneymaker and Johnny Fucking Chan winning their Main Event “grudge matches”. Meanwhile, in the real WSOP, Men the Master was the center of hurricane of shadiness when he hypocritically accused Hollywood Dave of shorting a pot. A shouting match ensued and both were on the verge of being disqualified.

Day 4: Jake Cody’s Emos, Hooligans, and Hat Tricks – Jack Cody, the latest British wunderkind made history when he became only the third member of the Triple Crown club. His victory did not come without a little rail rowdiness along the way.

Day 5: Apocalypse Now (Guest Post by Change100) – Yes, I had the day off and Change100 stepped up to pen an atmospheric piece on the tension in the air at the start of the 2011 WSOP — the first series in the wake of Black Friday and “money getting stuck on Full Tilt” fiasco.

Day 6: Ho-most for Maria Ho – The lovely Maria Ho went deep in the 5K NL event and came within one spot of winning her first bracelet.

Day 7: British Invasion, Vampire Squids, and the Devil – After the first week of nonstop poker, the first zombie begin to appear at the Rio. The zombies in turn attract the Devil along with treacherous vampire squids.

Day 8: The Marked Cards Conspiracy and the Last 5 Pros I Pissed Next To – It’s not the WSOP unless there’s a controversy involving the cards. There’s always something wrong with the decks. At the 2011 WSOP, a couple of the decks had a printing error that was only visible underneath the groovy purple grow-lights inside the Mothership.

Day 9: Cocking Blocking the Brits – The Brits launched an all-out assault on Las Vegas once again as they threatened to win another bracelet but the bloody 10-level rule was the only thing that prevented them from shipping another bracelet.

Day 10: Banning Booze, World Series of Mormons, and Sweating the Mavs – Despite the financial woes bringing America to the brink of ruin, the WSOP continued to thrive in the face of external adversity on both the political and financial fronts. The influx of players always brought with it a wave of fervor on the rail during final tables. The powers to be did not anticipate a Mardi Gras-like atmosphere inside the Mothership that is a fragile TV set and not a country-western bar. As a result, booze was officially banned at the final table.

Day 11: Social Media in Poker and Tex Dolly Blows Chunks – The poker world has changed for the better (or worst) because of the heavy influence of social media. Oh, and we found out through Twitter that Texas Dolly got ill during the middle of a tournament because of something he ate.

Day 12: Hellmuth Chokes and Prohibition Ends at the Mothership – Phil Hellmuth was on a mission to win his 12h bracelet, yet his attempt was thwarted. Meanwhile, much to the delight of the alkies in Vegas, booze was permitted to be consumed inside the Mothership. Yes, the short-lived prohibition was over.

Day 13: Tweaker City, USA – I experienced a rather sketchy encounter in the parking lot at the Gold Coast while hanging out with Benjo.

Day 14: Subterranean Homesick Alien and Brits Snag Third Bracelet – By the end of the second week of the WSOP, everyone is ridden with homesickness. Despite the malaise, another Brit won a bracelet, meanwhile, we decided to pay homage to old school Vegas with a trip downtown to where it all began — Binion’s.

Day 15: Triple ElkY and The Mark is the 22nd Best PLO Player in the World – The French surged during the beginning of the third week of the series. They won three bracelets in a short period of time and ElkY became only the fourth player to win the Triple Crown. Meanwhile, a close friend of the Tao of Poker went deep in a PLO event. Yeah, The Mark fell short of his first WSOP final table.

Day 16: Le Deux; French Snag 2 Bracelets in 24 Hours – The French surge continued with their second bracelet within a 24-hour period.

Day 17: Mike Sexton Heads-Up for Bracelet and Liquidating the Sahara – The Ambassador of Poker, Mike Sexton, went deep in the Stud 8 event, only to have it suspended due to the 10-level rule. Sexton was heads-up when his tournament was halted. Meanwhile, the big liquidation sale at the Sahara kicked off. Jerome and Camille shot a stunning video of that dreary sale day.

Day 18: No Country For Old Men; Barry Greenstein and Mike Sexton Denied Bracelets – Two poker greats came very close to winning bracelets, yet they fell short of the mark. In addition, the Senior’s Event kicked off with everyone standing to attention when the Stars and Stripes were played.

Day 19: The Donkenator and Eating Death – Dominating a donkaments are never an easy task. Woever wins that bracelet damn well deserves it. I delve a bit into Milton’s Paradise Lost in this recap. Enter at your own risk.

Day 20: The Egregious Case of the $9 Pizza and Stein Shines – It was a matter of time before I went off on an old-fashioned anti-food rant because of the horrendous $9 pizza that the Poker Kitchen tries to pass off as a culinary delight.

Day 21: A Day in the Life; Hellmuth Denied 12th Bracelet (Again) – This is my favorite piece of the summer, mainly because most of the hijinks happened outside the Amazon Ballroom that eventually morphed into my first Memento moment of the WSOP. Anyway, I went on a classic bender at the Gold Coast while Phil Hellmuth went deep once again and tried to win bracelet #12.

Day 22: Slowdown, Rocky Mountain High, and Chau Giang Confirmed Alien – The WSOP caught its breath at the start of the fourth week of play, while I determined that Chau Giang is really an alien.

Day 23: Timex Flashback, Jason Mercier Wins PLO Bracelet, and More Sordid Tales About Chasing the Dragon – I squeezed in a little personal Pai Gow degeneracy in between a recap about Jason Mercier’s victory in the PLO event along with a flashback about the origins of Timex.

Day 24: Dwan Song, Revelry, and Hooligans – Whenever Tom “durrrr” Dwan makes a final table, the entire poker world stops to watch. With a few million in prop bets on the line, Dwan’s final tables always have an added element of excitement. Alas, it was the Brits who sucked up all of the attention in the Amazon Ballroom as they railed their boy Middy and even drank Jager bombs out of their shoes.

Day 25: Rubber Soul, Electric Daisies, and Two-Tabling Pai Gow – The Electric Daisy Carnival swept through Vegas and a quarter million ravers invaded Sin City. Fabrice Soulier shipped a bracelet and became the third Frenchie to win one in 2011. Ah, and I also engaged in a live session of Pai Gow again and two-tabled it. I’m lucky I didn’t get 86′d.

Day 26: The Sickness – If you’ve spent a significant amount of time in Las Vegas, then you’ve seen those afflicted with The Sickness. I spoke about some of my experiences with the dreaded disease.

Day 27: Shaking Down Ravers; November Niner Snags Bracelet – I had a situation when I should’ve rolled a couple of schwasted ravers in the elevator, but I couldn’t cross over to the dark side and take advantage of the party people on the last day of the Electric Daisy Carnival.

Day 28: The Glass Onion; Lamb Leads POY – Donkey slayers, Brazilians, and Ben Lamb seizing the top spot in Player of the Year race.

Day 29: Carnival at the Mothership; Akkari Wins Bracelet – I went to cover a final table and a Brazilian soccer match broke out. The Mothership was transformed into a World Cup final when Brazil’s native son Andre Akkari advanced to the final table and was heads-up for a bracelet.

“Vamooooooooooooooo!”
Days 30-33: OFF

Day 34: Happy Birthday, America – On the Fourth of July, America celebrated with its annual Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island. Only in America can we boast about binge eating to celebrate our creation and independence from British tyranny.

Day 35: Catching Up - After a brief holiday away from the Vegas grind, it was time to catch up on everything I missed.

Day 36: Don’t Stop Believen‘ – Hellmuth and the 50K hit a hard stop. Grumbles ensued.

Day 37: Another Runner-Up Finish for Hellmuth; Whiffs on Three Flush Draws to Lose Bracelet#12 – Hellmuth had another disappointing evening after he whiffed on three big flush draws only to lose to Brian Rast, who won his second bracelet in 2011.

* * *

2011 Main Event Coverage

Prelude to the Killing Fields – The 2011 Main Event
With a Little Help From My Friends: The Michael Stevens Story by Change100
Day 38- Main Event Day 1A: Dolly’s Abyss
Day 39 – Main Event Day 1B: Luck Rack of Lamb
Prope Bets with Remkos and Micros WSOP Episode
Day 40 – Main Event Day 1C: One More Saturday Nite
Day 41 – Main Event Day 1D: Spiderman Big Records, Perma-Bans, and 6,865
Day 42 – Main Event Day 2A: Torturing the One-Eyed Clown, Hellmuth Awakes, and the Euro Surge
Day 43 – Main Event Day 2B: Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Day 44 – Main Event Day Off; Annie Duke Wins Media Tournament
Day 45 – Main Event Day 3: Poirier and Jace Are Million Men and Tilt-A-Scandi
Day 46 – Main Event Day 4: Soft Bubbles, Zombie Apocalypse, and the Reincarnation of JRB
Day 47 – Main Event Day 5: There Must Be Some Way Out of Here
The Skinny: Day 6
Day 48 – Main Event Day 6: House of the Rising Sun; NOLA’s Ryan Lenaghan Leads with 57 Remaining
The Skinny: Day 7
Day 49 – Main Event Day 7: Buy the Ticket, Survive the Ride
2011 November Nine Set

* * *

And here’s the Best of Tao of Pokerati… which are some of my favorite episodes of the Tao of Pokerati podcast that Michalski and I recorded from the 2011 WSOP featuring special guests Benjo, Snoopy, KevMath, Remko, and AlCantHang.

Episode 6: Ivey’s Lawyer (4:17) – Dan and Pauly chat about the Ivey drama that transformed the opening days of the WSOP into the “World Series of Phil Ivey.” Dan also shares some inside info on Ivey’s lawyer, renown criminal attorney David Chesnoff.

Episode 7: Sahara Liquidation with Remko and Benjo (6:12) – Benjo and Pauly discussed the Sahara Casino liquidation sale/auction with one of the members of the Dutch press, Remko. Both Remko and Benjo expressed a keen interest in acquiring a slot machine for super cheap, while Pauly has his eyes set on a Pai Gow table. Meanwhile, Benjo and Remko try to figure out how to ship a slot machine from Vegas to France and Holland.

Episode 12: The Tweaker Edition with Benjo (4:02) – Benjo and Pauly hang out at the Gold Coast and watched a tweaker get 86d by security. They later encounter the tweaker in the parking lot, and Benjo asks Pauly for a quick tutorial about the seedy Las Vegas meth scene.

Episode 14: Old School Cheats with Johnny Hughes (6:02) – Pauly sat down and chatted with a special guest — the legendary Johnny Hughes — who has been in poker circles for 50+ years. Pauly asks Johnny to share some stories about old school poker cheats and the “fear” of getting caught, which kept a lot of shady characters in line.

Episode 16: Brickless Cash Games Reprise (3:22) – Dan and Pauly recorded a quick follow-up to their previous episode while they hang out on the rail of the high-stakes cash games. They spot Eskimo Clark, “Cowboy”, and other broke dicks lingering around seeking handouts from the high rollers.

Episode 17: WSOP Fashion Report with KevMath (5:10) – Pauly chats with KevMath, who is a self-described “fashion expert.” The two compare and contrast the different styles of clothing worn by members of the media. KevMath also reveals why he won’t wear shorts.

Episode 19: KevMath Keno System with KevMath (6:01) – Pauly and KevMath hang out at the dive bar in a bowling alley at the Gold Coast. KevMath was in the middle of crushing a video Keno game, when Pauly asked him to share a couple of his big secrets to beating the game.

Episode 20: Adieu, Benjo (8:40) with Benjo – After almost a week of speculation and rumors, Benjo confirms that he’s leaving Las Vegas and heading home to France. His brief stint at the WSOP is officially over. One chapter ends, and a new one begins. Dr. Pauly, Dan and Benjo hang out in the dive bar inside the bowling alley at Gold Coast to listen to Benjo bid his farewells.

Episode 21: New Dynamic Duo with Snoopy (5:59) – Pauly holds auditions for a new sidekick with only one requirement — a outrageous accent. Snoopy, a writer from London, nails the audition. In this episode, they discuss modeling their new dynamic duo on the Batman & Robin television series, in addition to re-locating the Bat Cave to England and installing bat poles in the press box.

Episode 23: Brazil’s Mothership Invasion with AlCantHang (2:50) – Pauly and AlCantHang are on the rail inside the Mothership watching the heads-up battle between American Nachman “The Landlord” Berlin and Brazil’s native son Andre Akkari. Al and Pauly record a quick episode moments after Akkari won a decisive pot to cripple Berlin, and the Brazilians went berserk.

Episode 26: Main Event Begins! (6:34) – The Main Event is upon us and before the cards went in the air, Pauly is hanging out and listening to TD Jack Effel’s long-winded introduction and a quick rundown of the rules to all Main Event players. Jack then introduces Texas Dolly to utter the famous phrase, “Shuffle up and deal!”

Episode 27: Almost Famous with Snoopy (3:32) – While players return to their seats after the dinner break, Pauly and Snoopy notice Jason Alexander posing for pictures with fans. Snoopy explains why Seinfeld wasn’t a big hit in England and Pauly discovers someone dressed as Snow White in the crowd. Pauly also wonders if Snoopy would ever dress up in a costume for the Main Event.

Episode 29: Media Mania and Golden Toilets with Change100 and AlCantHang (3:08) – Pauly is still in the media event, so Change100 takes the opportunity to chat with AlCantHang. They both busted rather early, especially AlCantHang, who won a dubious honor of being the first player to bust out. His reward? A Golden Toiler trophy for last place.

Episode 33: Two Brits, One Irishman with Snoopy (5:09) – Snoopy gives Pauly the latest British report with three tables remaining in the Main Event. Snoopy clues us in on the two Brits (Sam Holden and JP Kelly) still alive along with Eoghan O’Dea from Ireland. Even though O’Dea is Irish, Snoopy and Brits are still keeping an eye on their “adopted” player.

Episode 36: KevMath WSOP Exit Interview with KevMath (8:50) – Kevin “KevMath” Mathers is officially done with his WSOP assignment, but he stopped by the Rio to watch the action on Day 8. He bumped into Pauly, who sat him down to discuss his favorite moments (and least favorite) during his first ever WSOP. Pauly also quizzes him on any strange “fan” encounters along the way.

Episode 37: Pseudo-Final Table (6:02) – Dan and Pauly are on the rail of the Mothership as action resumes for the pseudo-final table of ten, otherwise known as the November Nine bubble. Plenty of tension in the air because the final table will be set with just one more elimination.

Episode 39: Bruno’s New Toy (4:20) – Fun Warren brought a batch of dolls to the WSOP. The dolls, resembling famous poker pros, were custom made in London . He left a couple behind for Pauly and Dan. Pauly got Phil Hellmuth, while Dan seems a little disappointed with Daniel Negreanu. Dan suggests that he’ll probably give the Negreanu’s doll to his dog Bruno, so Bruno will now have a new play toy.

If you want to listen to more episodes from the 2011 WSOP, visit Tao of Pokerati podcast archives.

* * *
August, September, and October 2011

I took three months off and moved to San Francisco. I only posted 19 times in that stretch. Less is more, eh? Here’s a few gems from the hiatus months…

Hot Sauce
A Brief Letter to Full Tilt Poker: Fuck You, Pay Me
Full tilt Ponzi Poker
Rocketman and Welcome to the Ice Palace
The Degen Market
I Didn’t Know I Was That Far Gone
Superstitions, Jinxes, and River Rats

* * *
November 2011

I returned to semi-regular poker writing with the November Nine on the agenda and the conclusion of the 2011 WSOP Main Event Championship.

Betting guide to the 2011 November Nine
2011 November Nine – Sunday LIVE Blog
November Nine Down to Three; Germany’s Pius Heinz = Chip Leader
2011 WSOP November Nine – Tuesday Live Blog
Pius Heinz Wins 2011 WSOP Main Event

Michalski and I also recorded a few special Tao of Pokerati podcasts….

Tao of Pokerati Podcast – 2011 November Nine Edition
Episode 1: Evolution
Episode 2: Naming Names
Episode 3: Betting on Belize
Episode 4: Non-Silence of the Lambs
Episode 5: Giannetti Lives
Episode 6: Quad Lambs
Episode 7: Poker Hall of Fame Ceremony
Episode 8: First Hand Fireworks
Episode 9: Heads-Up Outfits
Episode 10: The Final Hand
Episode 11: Hooker Bar Farewell

* * *
December 2011

The year ended with the annual blogger gathering to Vegas, which inspired a three-part trip report and as the year ended and I began to reflect on 2011, I sounded off on a few topics.

Four Haikus – Lost Vegas
Ocho – WPBT, Part 1
Ocho – WPBT, Part 2
Ocho – WPBT, Part 3
Zombie Poker Apocalypse
Puppeteers of America

* * *
That’s it. The highlights from 2011. I hope you have a happy new year.

And if you like what you read, I encourage you to vote Tao of Poker for Best Poker Blog in Bluff’s Readers Choice Awards. Thanks for your support.

Support indie writers by buying Pauly’s book Lost Vegas.

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Public can bet outcome of 2011 WSOP Main Event Final Table

Martin Staszko is the preference to prevail at 14/5

Nevada Gaming Control Board approved changes to sports book betting earlier this year with the addition of action on non-sports events. Although odds have been posted in the past on non-sporting events the bookmakers could not accept wagers and did it for fun only. The earliest non-sporting meet that bequeath courier peculiars besides indeed receive chances is the latter defer of the 2011 Creation Series of Poker Leading tournament to be played in November.

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2011 WSOP November Nine Photos

November Nine chasing the chain

The stage is set and the final nine players from a WSOP Main Event starting field of 6,865 players are now on break until the final able reconvenes November 5-7 to determine the 2011 WSOP Championship winner. The November Nine was stubborn in the pristine sunrise hours on Wednesday, July 20th, whereas John Hewitt pushed total-in also was eliminated in 10th seat, $607,882.

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2011 WSOP – Day 23: Timex Flashback, Jason Mercier Wins PLO Bracelet, and More Sordid Tales About Chasing the Dragon

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

I met Timex a few hours after he turned 18 years old. Flashback to 2007. London, England for inaugural WSOP-Europe at the Empire Casino in Liecester Square. The bouncers gave the kid guff and wouldn’t let him inside because it was less than an hour after Midnight. Technically, he was 18 and eligible to set foot inside a casino in the UK, however, one of the bouncers was being a stickler for the rules and said he couldn’t enter until the morning when the casino re-opened. After a bit of negotiation, Timex was allowed inside the Empire. Funny thing is that at the time, he probably had more cash in his pocket than the yearly salary of both bulky guards at the front.

Timex was a wunderkind — a baby-faced teenager who ran one of the biggest staking syndicates in the world. At the time, Timex rivaled the Russians, Bax-Sheets, and Erick Lindgren in terms of backing numbers. I only caught a glimpse into their world because a friend of mine was one of Timex horses with a make-up of almost six figures. Part of me to this day is still astonished at how a high school kid from Canada could amass a big enough bankroll to back several of the premier online pros (circa 2007). With a knack for investing in profitable tournament players and generating income from his own deft skills at the tables (he holds the record for being the youngest EPT champion), Timex should be probably be working at Goldman Sachs or at Barcalys in London.

Then again, when you’re 21 years-old the last thing you want to do is wear a suit and grind out 16-hour days at a trading desk, especially when the alternative is the life of a baller poker pro, when sleeping in late and skipping the first two levels of a tournament is the norm because you’re spending your nights with your face buried in warm bosom of an exotic dancer, working her way through grad school for Anthropology, of course, because all Vegas strippers are either coke whores or PhD candidates. Every once in a while you hit the jackpot and find both.

Timex played in his first WSOP this summer because he’s 21-years old now — a dinosaur in the online realm, where teenagers ruled the virtual world like the meathead jocks in a John Hughes film. If Black Friday didn’t happen and online poker continued to flourish, it was a matter of time before rogue 12-year olds dominated the scene. It’s the video game element to poker — for some kids, it’s like when I was in high school and finally beat Zelda on the first incarnation of Nintendo. Then again, for some of these superusers and other known-cheaters, the online poker world is just like Contra, where you were just a few steps away from unlimited lives by using the cheat code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A).

In the post-boom (yet pre-Black Friday era) the time an online pro is able to legally play at the PCA or the Aussie Millions, they’re like Chinese gymnasts — at least five years past their prime.

Did you see the last summer Olympics? Some of those tiny, acrobatic gymnasts from China looked like they were eight years old. Who knows, but maybe right now, there’s uber-wealthy Chinese businessmen creating massive sweat shops, and instead of hiring little kids to sew swooshes onto golf shirts, running shoes, and basketball sneakers (with a retail price the equivalent of three months wages), they hired kids to play video games — in this case online poker. Currently, scattered throughout Southeast Asia, thousands of sweat shop kids are sitting in front of an impressive grind station and playing 43 simultaneous SNGs.

Sorry for the tangent. Moving on…

Timex made the final table of Event #35 $5,000 PLO 6-handed, but busted out in 6th. Also at the final table was David Chui, four-time bracelet winner, who busted out in 4th place. When it got to heads-up, Jason Mercier was pitted against some dude named Hans from Nicaragua. Whenever I see someone with a German name with a Latin American country listed as his home nation, I instantly get suspicious. If Hans won, he’d instantly become the Godfather of Nicaraguan poker (that is, if he wasn’t already a Godfather in some other realm). Alas, it was not meant to be. Hans was slayed by Jason Mercier.

Mercier won his second career bracelet, and both were in PLO. Everyone knows he can play NL, but you can add PLO to the roster of games in which Mercier dominates. According to Hendon Mob, he has over $1.5 million in career WSOP earnings and over $6 million in lifetime earnings. Mercier has certainly come along way since he got shanked in a bar fight in Italy. He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. But on Day 23, he was at the right place, at the right time.

According to a tweet from @JessWelman, one of the weirdest incident thus far at the WSOP happened at the final table during one of the breaks. Allen Bari, who won a bracelet earlier in the year and is staked by Mercier, was shithoused drunk and threw his flip flop at Mercier — either trying to hit him, or knock over his fortress of chips. The security quickly 86′s Bari from the Mothership. When Maercier won, they let him back in during the winner’s photo.

Guess which guy is Bari?

* * *

I got a text from my fake-lesbian friend Halli that a douchebag video poker pro wouldn’t leave her alone as she minded her business pecking away at a video poker machine, so I saved her from that awkward, yet annoying situation. Instead of blowing big bucks on booze, I suggested the Pai Gow tables at the Gold Coast because we could drink essentially for free. We had only one problem — she didn’t know how to play Pai Gow. I gave her a quick tutorial in the parking lot and we sat down at an empty table.

I knew KevMath was slumming at the Gold Coast because of his tweets. He had the day off and was on a bender that included bingo. He joined us, we ordered a round of drinks, and one slight fumble caused a spill. The last time I played Pai Gow at the Gold Coast, we also experienced an embarrassing table spill and shortly after we all got cut off. We were extra saucy that night, but that was not the case because we were in the middle of the first round. What amazed me was the expanded surface area of the spill. According to the Bill Chen formula for spilling bottles of beer at the Pai Gow tables, this spill was a category 3 (out of 5).

The deck was ruined and the pit boss quickly fetched a new deck. I asked for the old, wet one but my request was denied.

When a new dealer took her seat in the box, she joked with KevMath,“You no pee on my table! No pee!!”

I never considered urinating on a Pai Gow table, but come to think of it, there were instances over the last few years when I was so tilted by Pai Gow dealers that I could have whipped it out and let ‘er rip.

Eventually more troops arrived including Change100 (who was grinding out our rent money at the Venetian), WhoJedi, Homer, and Landon. We had reuinited three of the original five who were with us during Monday’s festivities, except we had a significantly less booze, due to the slow-moving, yet slammed cocktail waitresses.

I left some of the boys still in the trenches and left early to go home and write (if you consider 3:45AM early). I could have taken a leak on the table after WhoJedi took my exact seat and got dealt A-A; 5-5-5-5-x. He also had a fortune bonus riding, which he always plays, so he added a few more bonus bucks to his dominating hand. Dammit. I knew I should have played one more orbit. I was so pissed, I could’ve pissed on the table.

Support indie writers by buying Pauly’s book Lost Vegas.

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Special Episode of Tao of Pokerati: Adieu, Benjo (Ep 20)

By Pauly
Las Vegas, NV

This is an “extra special episode” for Benjo and will be the last time Dr. Pauly, Dan, and Benjo record an episode for the 2011 WSOP…

2011 WSOP – Episode 20: Adieu, Benjo (8:40) – After almost a week of speculation and rumors, Benjo confirms that he’s leaving Las Vegas and heading home to France. His brief stint at the WSOP is officially over. One chapter ends, and a new one begins. Dr. Pauly, Dan and Benjo hang out in the dive bar inside the bowling alley at Gold Coast to listen to Benjo bid his farewells.

For more episodes, visit the Tao of Pokerati archives.

Support indie writers by buying Pauly’s book Lost Vegas.

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