I am not a psychiatrist. I am not a psychologist. I have no medical training whatsoever outside of a class in infant CPR which scared me away from children for several months. That is a long way of saying, I cannot, with any degree of medical certainty, diagnose PokerStars Team Online’s George Lind III with any sort of attention deficit disorder. But, if there was ever a time to offer a lay opinion, this is it.

George Lind recently won his first Spring Championship of Online Poker title. He did it in a Stud-8 event (as chronicled in this Exile on Main Street-themed recap from Paul McGuire). It was the sixth time he played a SCOOP Stud-8 tournament in his life. In the five previous runnings, he had a runner-up and third place finish.

So you’d think Lind would be really, really focused on the title. Instead?

“I was 6-12 tabling hypers throughout the final table,” he said.

For the uninitiated, the hypers of which he speaks are hyper-turbo sit & go tourneys. They are SNG crack, and in some jurisdictions considered a Schedule-1 amphetamine. Lind eats them or breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Seriously, if McGuire was looking for a Stones tune in a Lind recap, he might have picked “Mother’s Little Helper.”

George Lind, crazy like a fox

Keep in mind, Lind did this while playing a Stud-8 final table–the kind of tournament where paying attention is sort of a big deal. I’ve played my fair share of Stud-8, and for people like me (read: sort of slow on the uptake), if I’m not watching every card that comes off the stub, you might as well just take my chips and call me a cab. And then ask the cab driver to run me over.

Lind? While he was freaking winning a SCOOP event, he was playing up to a dozen hyper turbo SNGs at a time.

The logical question is this: how much could Lind legitimately be expected to win in the hypers if he’s actually winning the SCOOP event?

The unexpected answer: Lind profited $80,000 in the hypers and 76,000 VIP player points that day.

As I said, I’m no doctor.

Two years ago, Lind took third in the very same event. He’s a man who has a brain that can flip switches faster than most people can find the switches to flip.

“It’s nice to have a chance to improve on that in such a big field tournament,” he said. “I’m really happy to finally get a SCOOP title after winning Player of the Year in 2010, but not actually winning an event that year. It’s definitely nice to get a watch to go along with my 2010 POTY trophy.”

As of this morning, Lind held the top spot on the low buy-in leaderboard. If he can manage to keep his head in the game, the payoff could offer a little more than pride.

“I’m hoping to win that PCA package with a consistent final few days,” he said.

Consistency? How much consistency can Lind possibly have if he’s dozen-tabling hyper tourneys?

Well, a lot apparently.

*Consult your physician before beginning any sort of Lind regimen. Side effects include trouble sleeping, motion sickness, and not having enough places in your house to hide all your money.

Tags: australia | belgian poker series | elky | micromillions | news | pokerstars | SCOOP | world cup of poker

Perhaps someone should stop Dan “djk123″ Kelly before his collection of PokerStars bling has him impersonating Mr. T. The young pro would claim another piece of PokerStars jewelry today after taking down SCOOP 2012 Event #29-M ($109+Rebuys NLHE Big Antes) tournament. 1,659 players tried to stand in his way, pleading with Kelly that three titles is enough, not to mention the swollen prize pool thanks to 1,879 re-buys and 1,375 add-ons to destroy the $300,000 guarantee.

216 players would take a chunk of that prize pool including Team PokerStars pro Chad Brown who eeked into the cash 209th place ($540.54). The Medium Player of the Series race was open for all to gain as leader SebbyGl took the day off as did second place cyberkanguru.

Only 19 players would make it through 31 levels of play on day one as Dan “djk123″ Kelly nearly became the last out on the first day.

After falling to nearly the bottom of the chip count, a double up off kripap, and then in the very last hand before the overnight break, Kelly would take a rejuvenated stack and big slick all-in against Killer_ooooo’s queens. An ace on the flop and the three-time WCOOP winner would go into day two with 19 remaining and the third largest stack behind kripap and djalminha.

Day two would start off with 8K/16K binds 3,200 antes and quickly stacking the tables from three to two as ButchTimothy would take just three hands to find a spot to shove a shortstack of 162,792. Right behind ButchTimothy was jtizzo222 with [As][Jh] and plenty of chips to make the call as ButchTimothy watched [Ks][Jd] slowly die across the [4s] [3h] [Td] [Ac] [3d] board for the first casualty of the second day. No stranger to deep runs at SCOOP, ButchTimothy scored $27,840.00 placing seventh in last year’s Event #31-H

The overnight rest did not quell the player’s aggressiveness on the restart. Maybe they ran out of Lucky Charms, donuts with sprinkles, hugs, or milk, because the angry style of play would lead to four more eliminations in the first 15 minutes. That group included pmahoney22 who was denied a second SCOOP final table in back-to-back days after finishing runner-up to bleu329 in yesterday’s Event #30-H banking $85,817.71 in the process. Also in that group was another player with several titles to his name. EPT, WCOOP, and now a 2012 SCOOP title in Event #24-M, Nicolas “niccc” Chouity was deep here as well looking for a second title and maybe push wunderkind Shaun Deeb a bit for the Player of the Series title. Low on chips Chouity would flip pocket nines [9h][9d] against Killer_ooooo’s [Qh][Ad] just five minutes into the restart and a lady on the door [Qc] [6h] [7d] [3h] [7s] would show Nicolas out in 18th place ($2,211.30).

At the first five minute break only 12 remained as jtizzo222 (14th place, $3,046.68) and despite knocking out Nicolas Chouity, Killer_ooooo would join jtizzo222 on the rail in 13th place ($3,046.68) as djalminha retained the chip lead for the first hour with kripap continuing to trail closely behind.

15 minutes after the break Costa Rica’s My Brim Low would take a seat with Chouity in 12th place after a pay bump ($3,882.06) and montjeu8 (11th place, $3882.06) ran a pair of ducks [2c][2d] into Blackbeaty’s pocket eights [8h][8s] as hand-for-hand play lined to be a long wait for the final table as the players enjoyed an average of nearly two million chips and blinds at 15K/30K ante 6K.

They enjoyed it for a whole four minutes as Dan Kelly would lead off the betting with min-raise from the cutoff as matt20 three-bet to 155,678. bluesky30 in the small blind ended the re-raising with a shove for 803,092 as Kelly quickly folded but matt20 did not, making the call with big slick [Ac][Kd]. bluesky30 was in deep trouble holding only one live card [As][7s] needing spades or a seven to prevent becoming the bubble boy. A king and one spade on the [2d] [Kc] [9s] [9d] [9c] nine-heavy board gave the 1.7 million chip pot to matt20 as bluesky30 was dropped from the active roster in 10th place ($3,882.06) starting up the final table below:

Seat 1: kripap (2185977 in chips)
Seat 2: djalminha (1584365 in chips)
Seat 3: djk123 (1541978 in chips)
Seat 4: raare01 (980747 in chips)
Seat 5: YugiohPro (1415532 in chips)
Seat 6: matt20 (2229507 in chips)
Seat 7: pistons87 (3246032 in chips)
Seat 8: ro_Man777 (1825161 in chips)
Seat 9: Blackbeaty (2482701 in chips)

Supernova Elite pistons87 would take the chip lead from djalminha just before the final table as the 2011 WCOOP Event #41 High-Roller Heads-up champ and 2012 SCOOP champ in Event #23-H was stacked for run at SCOOP title number two this year.

Also looking for SCOOP 2012 title number two is Blackbeaty would started off the series with a bang taking down Event #1-L for $74,008.00. YugiohPro took down the Sunday Warm-up in August 2010 for $104,060.64 and raare01 with WCOOP and a Sunday Warm-up final table credited, were both viewing that SCOOP championship watch to add to impressive tournament resumes here at PokerStars.

Everyone wanting to stay

One hour and 15 minutes it would take to finally boot someone off this final table. Like your best friend who had to retell the story about the time you went into the wrong bathroom at Wal-Mart for the 15th time, it was getting a little too friendly at this final table. With the blinds up to 25K/50K ante 10K pistons87 would lead off with a min-raise as YugiohPro called from the small blind to see a [As][7d][4h] ace-high flop. YugiohPro checked as pistons87 pushed out 110,000 and YugiohPro check-raised to 299,999 as pistons87 called. [9h] on the turn and the same action happened as YugiohPro check-raised all-in for 1.36 million total as pistons87 made the call holding the turned top two [Ac][9d]. Bad luck for YugiohPro who dominated with [Jc][Ah] and now was left to watch the three-outer miss on the river [3d] claiming $4,914.00 in ninth place.

69 used in the right position

The video below is rated G for general audiences and safe for work, however the words coming out of raare01′s mouth after the hand probably were not:

You do not win tournaments sitting around for aces to appear, Dan “djk123″ Kelly refuse to let raare01 walk in the blinds and shoved from the small blind holding [6s][9s]. However, raare01 sitting on only 495,247 chips, found a medium ace [As][8c] more than enough to make the call. The aggression was rewarded with two pair on the flop [7h][6h][9h] but also gave raare01 a straight draw. The [Ac] on the turn also opened up more outs, but a dainty [6c] on the river finished off raare01 in eighth place ($8,599.50).

ACTION!!

One hand after Blackbeaty lured Kelly into shoving with a flush draw and gutshot, while having top set hold for a 4.1 million chip pot, pistons87 and day one chip leader djalminha would tangle for a 2.6 million chip pot preflop. With the blinds moving up to 30K/60K ante 12K pistons87 min-raised from UTG as djalminha was tired from a dying stack and decided to shove for 1.22 million. Back to the current chip leader, pistons87 holding [Ah][Qs] the Supernova Elite decided to make the call. All the action was front-loaded as an ace came out on the flop [2c] [Ad] [6d] [Ks] [Th] to bolster pistons87′s chip lead and end djalminha’s tournament in seventh place ($13,513.50).

Jacks win for once?

pistons87 and Blackbeaty held over 11 million chips while the remainder of the table scrapped for five million. This led to matt20 and ro_Man777 deciding to combine their stacks preflop. With the blinds still at 30K/60K ante 12K and just a few minutes before a blind jump, ro_Man777 would raise from the first position to 240,000 as matt20 wasted no time in shoving 1.37 million with usually fatal jacks [Jc][Jh] as ro_Man777 called with [As][Qc]. This time the jacks did not attract an ace nor queen to the [9d] [3h] [Kd] [2c] [3c] board and since matt20 covered ro_Man777 by a little more than 100K in chips, the German took home sixth place cash ($18,427.50).

Right before the third hourly break of day two, the two chip hogs Blackbeaty and pistons87 tangled in a power struggle for the chip lead. After a series of raises the largest pot of the tournament sat in the middle as Blackbeaty’s [Ac][Qs] faced off against pistons87′s jacks [Jd][Js]. Maybe some left over polarity from matt20′s jacks not attracting any aces, the other three aces in the deck would appear on the [As] [4d] [Ad] [Qh] [Ah] board for quads shipping the 7.4 million chip pot to Blackbeaty as pistons87 slipped to 3.1 million chips.

Jacks? Jacks. Jacks!!!

Pocket jacks seem to be the make-it or break-it hand on this final table as you can watch below to see who wins the nearly five million chip flip between Dan “djk123″ Kelly and kripap:

Kelly’s jacks [Jd][Jh] were up against the [Qh][Ac] of kripap as the two overcards would not pair up on the [7s] [2c] [Tc] [Kh] [3h] board and kripap took leave in fifth place ($23,341.50). The very next hand Kelly would call matt20′s push holding [Ah][9c] and flop an ace [7d][As][5c] against matt20′s pocket tens [Th][Tc]. A [5h] on the turn helped no one but the WOW! moment came on the [Td] river handing 3.2 million freshly minted tournament chips to matt20 as Kelly still held 3.8 million as the blinds moved up to 40K/80K ante 16K.

Well. Yeah. Um. There are no words.

After that two-outer on the river by matt20, Dan “djk123″ Kelly went Defcon 1 on the table trying to nuke his three remaining opponents off the table as quickly as possible. After ratcheting up his stack to over 10 million chips while pistons87 and Blackbeaty held around three million and matt20 just over one million, the below three-way all-in would chop the table population in half. Watch below:

djk123: [4s] [As]
matt20: [Qd] [Jd]
Blackbeaty: [Jh] [Js]

Jacks once again made it into a tournament changing pot. However pocket jacks’ record would slip to 2-2 as Kelly flopped two pair [Ad] [4h] [3s] [Ts] [9c] and collect both matt20′s chips (fourth place, $32,923.80) and Blackbeaty’s chips (third place $44,226.00) for a 6.87 million chip pot and take a huge chip advantage into heads-up play against pistons87.

Deal as pistons87 snags a huge pot

Just as the blinds moved up to 50K/100K ante 20K, pistons87 would win a battle of kickers as djk123 pushed top pair [Ts][3s] into pistons87′s top pair – king kicker [Ks][Th] on the [8s] [2c] [5h] [Tc] [6c] board to nearly even up the chips as Kelly only led nine million to 8.4 million (a stark contrast from the 14.5 million to 2.9 million chip lead at the beginning of heads-up play) at the point which they agreed to chop the money quickly leaving $6,000 to our champ:

Dan “djk123″ Kelly: $67,040.06
pistons87: $66,542.11

Both players have WCOOP titles, pistons87 has a SCOOP title, and while Kelly is looking for his first, Dan chatted that he needed to play it out due to a bet. This author is figuring the wagered amount is worth a little more than $6,000 and the SCOOP watch.

Three-time WCOOP champ is now a SCOOP champ

Our final two would battle until the blinds moved up to 60K/120K ante 24K as fives (not jacks) would determine our champion. Kelly would call a min-raise from pistons87 in the big blind to see a [8h][5h][5s] flop. djk123 checked as pistons87 bet 240,000 as Kelly check-raised to 566,666. Three-bet to 1.08 million from pistons87 and Kelly came right back with another six-heavy bet to 1,666,666. pistons87 sticking with even numbers five-bet to 2.4 million as Kelly shoved 11.1 million and covered pistons87.

Holding 3.4 million behind and trip fives [3d][5d] pistons87 made the call and immediately saw the bad news as Kelly flipped up the case five with an ace kicker [5c][Ah]. The treys would miss on the [Ts] turn and [Ks] river as Dan “djk123″ Kelly claimed the 2012 SCOOP Event #29-M title and $73,040.06!

Number of entries: 1,660
Number of rebuys: 1,879
Number of add-ons: 1,375
Prize Pool: $491,400.00
Places paid: 216

$300,000 guarantee SCOOP 2012 Event #29-M $109+Rebuys NLHE (Big Antes) results (05-17-12):
( * denotes part of two-way deal )
1. Dan “djk123″ Kelly (Australia) *$73,040.06
2. pistons87 (Canada) *$66,542.11
3. Blackbeaty (Germany) $44,226.00
4. matt20 (United Kingdom) $32,923.80
5. kripap (Hungary) $23,341.50
6. ro_Man777 (Germany) $18,427.50
7. djalminha (Portugal) $13,513.50
8. raare01 (Netherlands) $8,599.50
9. YugiohPro (South Korea) $4,914.00

Looking for more SCOOP reporting? Visit our special SCOOP 2012 coverage section.

Tags: Battle of the Planets | delicious | italian poker tour | lapt | portugal | team pokerstars pro | tournaments | twitter | World Series of Poker

8.40pm: Tussles at the top
As play winds down for the day, there’s 15 minutes left the inevitable ‘last three hands’, klaxon can’t be far off, it appears that only two players have broken the six figure mark. It’s still William Champion out in front, he has around 110,000 but Marc McDonnell, who has 102,000 is hot on his heels. — NW

8.30pm: More head to the rail
There’s no easy way to say this but if you’re looking for any of the following; Surinder Sunar, Mark Coyne, Patrick Rooney, Wei Li, Adrian Tracey, Robert Elkin, Chris Dowling, David Path or Ashfaaq Taus, then you’re better trying the bar or the cash tables. Don’t head to the main event tables, they’re not there. — RD

Surinder Sunar and Liam Flood: there, there, it’s going to be all right…

8.25pm: Minimal damage
Such was the gravitas of this hand for UKIPT Cork champion Sam Razavi that he devoted two tweets to it! “WOW! I call c/o 3x raise out of BB w/A-10; flop A83 he fires flop I call; turn Q chk chk riv total brick I bet half pot he flats A8… ..I feel like I won the hand!!! Can’t believe I lost the absolute minimum.”

Razavi is definitely in a happy mood, he was overheard saying: “Not long to jagerbomb time, I feel like a kid on Christmas eve.” — NW

8.15pm: A few small skirmishes
There hasn’t been much in the way of ‘double up or go home’ fireworks that you usually associate with the last level of the night, but nonetheless there have been a few small skirmishes to report.

Three players including Timothy Boyle and Ann Tran Dinh paid 1,200 each to see a flop of [8d][Ad][9d], it checked to Boyle who bet 3,250, call from Dinh. The [Kh] fell on the turn and Dinh wasted no time in moving all-in for around 12,000, Boyle insta-mucked.

Elsewhere Andrew Laurie got two streets of value with [Ah][9s] on a [9d][Qs][3s][Ad][3d] board by betting 2,200 on the turn and 3,000 on the river.

There’s 30 minutes left in the day and 104 players remain. — NW

8.05pm: Exits
There’s no easy way to say this but: Patrick Murray, Nuno Ascensão, Charles Fabian, Milorad Dobrijevic, Rob Yong, Janos Jeszek, Dean Hutchinson, Peter Andrasi, Mark Cullumbine, Shawn Kelly, Simon Brooks, Fergal Nealon, Martin McGeough, Simon Trumper, Devron Hasselnook, Gerard Hall and Antonio Gagliano are all amongst the 44% of the field who’ve been eliminated so far today. — NW

7.55pm: Yong five-bets light?
The @PokerStarsBlog just received a tweet that we felt deserved to be aired, Yong is out after all and we did not see his elimination.

“Shout out for Bruce Jones playing the UKIPT? He says he just knocked out Rob Yong with QQ when Yong 5-bet shipped 95off” tweeted @RobLloyd91.

We hunted Jones down and indeed that had happened. Jones had opened with queens in the hijack, Yong had three-bet out of the big blind and had then tried to make Jones pass his 6,200 four-bet with an all-in of nearly 20,000. It did not work. Easy pot for Jones. — RD

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 300-600 ante 75

7.50pm: Two pots for O’Flynn
Ian O’Flynn has chipped up to 30,000 after winning back-to-back pots, both of which had been opened by a resurgent Sam Razavi. He first flatted a 2,700 three-bet from Joseph Lalor only stabbing at the pot on the river of the [kh][3h][2d][8c][8d] board. Lalor passed. The next hand he jammed the river of a [kd][5s][3s][5d][ad] board after being led into for three streets. He took the pot without showdown. – RD

7.45pm: Chip counts
News of those still alive as we head into level eight. Max Silver was covering his stack and didn’t want me to see it, 24,000 he proffered eventually which is less than the 38,000 we previously clocked him at.

He was chatting to Jason Tompkins about a hand, “I don’t want to check-raise the turn, I think you’ve got a made hand,” was all I caught, Tompkins is up to 37,000 he may well have taken some of Silver’s chips. Chipleader William Champion has increased his stack to 120,000, Fergal Nealon is at the other end of the scale as he’s hanging on with 5,700. Dara O’Kearney (14,300) and David O’Connor (14,250) seem to be stuck in neutral, whilst Richard Haile (25,000) will be hoping to increase their stack in the last level of the day.

7.35pm: Ainsworth’s boat sunk
Team PokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth is out having just busted in what he described as: “A cooler, my usual UKIPT really.”

The heavy action occurred on the river, with a full board of [9][9][5][J][9] on the felt Leonard White led for 3,500, Ainsworth moved all-in for 7,000 and White called. Ainsworth showed a jack for nines full of jacks but White had [Kd][9d] for quads.

“I could’ve just called on the river and left myself 10 big blinds,” said Ainsworth. “But I didn’t think he had the nine, I put him on a smaller pair than me. Back home to play SCOOP’s it is.” — NW

Ainsworth’s day is done

7.25pm: Numbers on the board
The board currently shows that 120 players remain from the 199 that started the day, giving an average stack of 24,875. If you’re anywhere near that then you’re doing okay. Ross Jarvis certainly seems to think so, “I’m singing M-People,” he said, doing an embarrassing little dance in his chair.

We think he’s alluding to the ‘Moving on up’? — RD

7.15pm: Razavi doubles through Ainsworth
No sooner had he doubled up, Team PokerStars pro Jude Ainsworth was knocked back down again.

I was alerted to a big pot by Sam Razavi’s booming baritone: “Don’t do it to me,” he said in the general direction of the dealer. The situation when I arrived was this: Razavi was all-in on the turn of a [9s][8s][Ah][Jd] board with [Ad][9c] up against Ainsworth who held [8h][7s].

The river card was the [6c] and Razavi said, half stupefied: “I didn’t lose, I didn’t lose, the way I’ve been running I thought it was coming.”

“You’ll have to repay the favour and double me up now,” said Ainsworth who is down to 8,000, Razavi meanwhile doubled to around 29,000. — NW
7.10pm: Zero sum game
There’s no easy way to say this but if: Paul Portelli, Kyle Johnston, Michael Kane, James Waldron, Martin Dench, Alex Scullion, Daragh Davey, Mark Buckley, Chistopher Czilinsky, Paul Romain, Frank Stevens, Nicky Power, Andrew Kelly or Kevin Killeen offered to swap a percentage with you durin the break then you’ve been had as they’re all out of this tournament. — NW

7pm: Ainsworth double
Jude Ainsworth has doubled through Chistopher Czilinsky in a battle of the blinds. Ainsworth made it 1,000 from the small blind and Czilinsky jammed from the big setting Ainsworth’s 11,500 stack all-in. Ainsworth made the call.

Ainsworth: [ad][jh]
Czilinsky: [9c][9d]

Ainsworth flopped it as the board ran out [as][6s][kh][7c][7s] to double up to 23,000. Czilinsky bust shortly afterwards. — RD

6.50pm: Chip leaders
The players are back in their seats for the final two levels of the day, these fellas are the chip leaders with 120 minutes or folds, calls and raises to go:

William Champion - 101,000
José Esteban – 66,000
Ross Hall – 64,000
Neil Raine - 56,000
Con Collins – 54,000

Ross Hall

6.35pm: Break! That calls for a montage
The players have just gone on the last break of the day so in the meantime we’ll post up a hat-based montage of some of the Day 1A players. ‘Why?’ you may ask. ‘Why not?’ we reply.

Joseph Lalor: hat, curious

Fintan Hand: hat, Kermit

Sur-in-der hat Sunar

Sur-out-the hat Sunar

6.25pm: Chip counts
We’re busy updating the chip count page as often as we can and have just done another batch. We can tell you that Thomas Hall (42,000) is among those doing well. On the next break (eight minutes) we’ll be doing a sweep of the tables to unearth the big stacks. — NW

6.18pm: Last year’s final table
UKIPT Cork runner-up David O’Connor is getting it quietly with 28,000 while UKIPT Dublin, Season 1 winner Max Silver is not, he’s gassing away at Jason Tompins who also made the final table here last season. Silver is up to 38,000, Tompkins also performing well on 30,000.

Last year’s runner-up Chuck Fabian looks like he’s got a tough couple of hours of grinding ahead of him though, he’s down to 13,000. — RD

Jason Tompkins is setting himself up for another run

6.05pm: Boatman bites the dust
A short while ago Ross Boatman was knocked out and his brother Barny has now joined him on the rail. “I had about 12,000 to start the hand and I’m in the big blind with [7][5] off-suit. It folded to the button (Ross Hall) he’s min raised and I’ve called,” explained the elder Boatman sibling.

“The flop was [9][5][4] with two diamonds, I’ve checked, he’s bet half the pot, I trebled his bet and he set me all-in. I put him on the flush draw, I knew exactly where I was and at that point it was too late to do anything apart from put the chips in and hope to hold up. He had [Ad][3d] and hit an ace on the turn.”

After claiming the scalp of the Hendon Mobster, Hall is up to 46,000. — NW

5.58pm: Fallen, busted, done and dusted
There’s no easy way to say this but if you’d had a premonition that Cormac O’Dea, John Hughes, Graham Pound, Martin Nathorst-Westfelt, John Hanaphy or Anthony Keogh would win UKIPT Dublin you are not a psychic. They are all out and, let’s face it, evidence for ESP abilities is pretty slim. — RD

5.50pm: Whiteside on the right side this time
Earlier (see post at 3.52pm) Dicky Whiteside lost a three-way all-in against Ross Boatman and Stephen McGrath which left him with around 2,000.

Well he’d spun that up to 6,000 and has just got some much-needed chips back from McGrath. It was all-in pre-flop with Whiteside holding [As][Kh] whilst McGrath had [Ah][Jh]. The board ran out [Kc][2s][10d][7d][Ks] and Whiteside is close to getting back to starting stack. — NW

5.40pm: The rollercoaster ride of Razavi
It’s been an up and down level for Sam Razavi who was down to 10,000, doubled up, then got up to 30,000 only to slide back down to 17,000. He told me about his latest hiccup. ” I raised with A-10 the flop has come [10][8] rag and I’ve bet 1,100 he (Aidan Connolly) raised to 3,100, I’ve made it 8,800 and he calls with just 14,000 back.

“The turn was a jack, the river a brick and both got checked through, he showed [J][9] meaning he’d called off a lot of his stack on a draw, if the turn is a blank I’m all-in. — NW

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 150-300 ante 25

5.35pm: Yong doubles with aces
Rob Yong, now on what seems like a steady stream of cigarette breaks, has doubled up with aces to around 12,000. Thomas Ward was the player that he doubled through looking more sullen than ever when he tabled pocket tens and was told by the player opposite him, Darren Kearney, that he’d passed two tens. Not exactly the news that he wanted hear. Ward mucked his hand on the turn of the [4s][5h][js][kc][6s] board. Kearney apologized shortly after.

To see the chip count page you can click here – or in the widget on the right of the page. — RD

Thomas Ward (left) and Rob Yong

5.30pm: Done in Dublin
There’s no easy way to say this but if you were relying on: Dario Festa, Owen Robinson, Ondrej Drozd, Priit Brikker, Conor O’Driscoll, Graham Parkin, Ross Boatman, Patrick Mulcaire, Chris Barclay, Barry Carson or Mateusz Warowiec to buy you a pint of Guinness with their UKIPT Dublin winnings then you’re going to be waiting a lot longer than the 119.5 seconds it takes to pour a pint of the black stuff, as they’re all out. — NW

5.20pm: Haile fail
Richard Haile has enjoyed a string of results on the UKIPT making five cashes since UKIPT Manchester in March of last year. That puts him joint third alongside Jamie Burland for number of cashes and just behind Sam Razavi (six) and Rupinder Bedi (seven). Four of those were relatively small cashes but the last one, UKIPT Galway this season, was a final table finish for €10,900. The boy is making progress.

Haile appears to have got off to a solid enough start but just lost a small chunk to John Keown after calling 675 and 1,675 on the turn and river of a [7h][3h][js][4d][4c] board. Haile looked unsure on the river but made the call. Keown’s [jc][8h] was good enough to take the pot. A small setback but Haile is still likely to have his name in the counts come the end of the day. — RD

Richard Haile

5.10pm: Razavi doubles with diamonds
UKIPT Cork winner Sam Razavi is up to 21,000 after doubling up with a flush. He tweeted: “Doubled to 21k! Call 79d from bb, flop 7 hi 2diamonds (mbn)…chk/raise/snap guys shove. He has the mighty ak off. Kd instant delivery turn.”

Meanwhile Max Silver, who has never failed to final his local UKIPT tweeted: “Swingy day so far but up to 24k from 15 and a low point of 5k.”
– NW

5pm: Chip counts
Nicky Power is one of the most consistent players on the Irish poker scene having racked up earnings of $386,005 since 2005. He’s always a danger when he gets chips and has nearly trebled his starting stack here as he’s up to 40,000.

One of the real up and coming stars of Irish Poker is Jason Tompkins, he’s been consistently cashing since 2009 and had a breakout year in 2011 including a fifth place finish at UKIPT Dublin in September 2011. He’s going the right way about repeating that success as he’s chugging along on 33,000.

Meanwhile Barny Boatman (18,000) and Dara O’Kearney (16,000) are just above starting stack whilst Fergal Nealon (13,050) and Devron Hasslenook (13,800) have slipped the wrong side of the break even line. — NW

UK legend Barny Boatman

4.50pm: Esteban eliminates two
José Esteban is the early chip leader as he’s up to 70,000 after eliminating two players, in two separate hands at two different tables. I’ll explain.

In the first he had raised to 700 from middle position, Barny Boatman flat called from the small blind before Maximilian Bassil moved all-in for 3,000 total from the big blind. Back on Esteban he made the call and Boatman got out the way.

Bassil: [Kd][Qs]
Esteban: [Qh][Js]

“Here comes the suckout,” said Bassil and he was proved right as the board ran [2d][6h][Jc][6d][Jd], that hand took him to around 50,000.

That table then broke but he soon found himself involved at his new table. I joined the action to see a board of [Ah][3c][6d][Ks] on the felt and the pot size was around 12,000. Action was on Esteban who fired out a bet of 5,550, call from Paul Doyle. The [9s] completed the board, Esteban set Doyle all-in for his last 9,000, and Doyle announced call, Esteban showed [Ad][Kc] whislt Doyle mucked his hand. — NW

4.40pm: Halfway through the day
The players have returned to their seats, the 160 of the 199 which remain anyway. This is the last level without antes, the point at which the men separate themselves from the boys and the grinders just annihilate everyone. Stay with us as the big stacks start to emerge.

Cash games and side events are also running throughout. — RD

Starting stacks are fast becoming short stacks

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Galway (in order of Danish liquorice eaten today): Rick Dacey (too much) and Nick Wright (not enough, still going). Photos by Mickey May (she supplied the stuff).

Tags: boys | dealer | festival | france poker series | lapt | micromillions | news | pokerstars | SCOOP | wcoop

It was déjà vu all over again. Here we were at a SCOOP final table. It was a $2,100 event. They were playing Stud Hi-Lo, and Shaun Deeb was dominating. Was I in some sort of time warp or didn’t I already write this article two days ago?

If Deeb made history two days ago then what was left to say today when he did it all over again? Today, Deeb won his third SCOOP title of the series without raising a sweat. It was the fourth of his career, and in doing so, made a mockery of the SCOOP Player of the Series race. Deeb could probably take a day off, but somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Today’s event was SCOOP Event #26-H $2,100 Stud Hi-Lo which attracted a field of 74 runners to create a prize pool of $148,000 — almost double the original guarantee.

Among them were previous SCOOP champions, Sunday Millions winners and a host of professionals including Team PokerStars Pros Alex Kravchenko, Bertrand Grospellier, Ville Wahlbeck, George Danzer, George Lind III and Anders Berg.

With the top 12 players getting paid, Team PokerStars Pros Theo Jorgensen and Kristian Martin snuck into the money, but missed the final table which was formed after about 9.5 hours of play:

Final Table Line up
Seat 1: DazzleO (29772 in chips)
Seat 2: slammedfire (41988 in chips)
Seat 3: shaundeeb (82890 in chips)
Seat 4: Fred_Brink (31916 in chips)
Seat 5: caprioli (52541 in chips)
Seat 6: kasparov007 (28460 in chips)
Seat 7: E. Katchalov (64571 in chips)
Seat 8: PerpCzech (37862 in chips)

It was arguably the toughest SCOOP final table line up ever assembled with each player holding exceptional poker credentials.

Daniel “DazzleO” Ospina was a previous SCOOP champion, Fred_Brink held a Razz WCOOP title while slammedfire was had a previous SCOOP runner-up result to his credit. Kasparov007 won a SCOOP title back in 2009 in this very same discipline, while PerpCzech had multiple SCOOP final tables this series including a win in Event#19-M Triple Stud.

Then we move onto Rodridgo Caprioli — one of the finest SCOOP players in history — with two previous SCOOP wins including a win in Event #4-H Badugi earlier in this series. Throw in Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov with a previous WCOOP title in 2009 to go with WPT and WSOP titles as part of $7 million in live tournament earnings.

And then there was Shaun Deeb. The runaway SCOOP Player of the Series leader had already caused a stir on Mother’s Day when he won his second title of the series. That stir would near seven on the Richter scale if he could do it all over again today.

First to go was Daniel “DazzleO” Ospina. He three-bet on third, bet and called a raise on fourth, before his last chips were all in by fifth street. Ospina started with a pair of tens and could only improve to two pair on a board of [Td][Th][9c][2h][Qs][2d][6s] as kasparov007 started with a low draw but spiked trips to scoop the lot with a board of [3h][7d][6d][5c][Ah][5s][5d]. Ospina took home $4,810 for 8th place.

Despite claiming the first victim of the final table, kasparov007 was still one of the short stacks. kasparov007 dropped further after losing a solid pot to PerpCzech, before the antes got hold. With kasparov007 all in on third street, Shaun Deeb and Fred_Brink continued betting throughout and ultimately chopped up the pot. Deeb made a flush for the high, Fred_Brink caught an eight-six low, as kasparov007 couldn’t only muster a pair of eights with an eight-seven low. kasparov007 collected $6,290 for 7th place.

Fred_Brink was on the short stack but it was slammedfire who was next to go. Slammedfire led the betting on every street before Shaun Deeb raised it up on the river to put his opponent all in. Slammedfire made the call with [3c][5s][5c][5d][7s][Kd][4c] for trip fives as Deeb caught a full house with a board of [9d][Qh][Qs][3d][3s][4s][Qd]. Slammedfire missed out on that elusive SCOOP title but $7,770 for 6th place should be some consolation.

Fred_Brink landed a double up with a six-high straight to scoop against Eugene Katchalov’s pair of aces as Katchalov was in the danger zone. But he held on long enough to outlast Fred_Brink who clashed with Rodridgo Caprioli with a raising war on fifth street seeing Fred_Brink’s last chips committed. Fred_Brink could only manage [2d][Js][Ah][Jd][7d][8c][Kc] for a pair of jacks which wasn’t enough to better Caprioli’s [Qc][9c][Ac][5d][Qs][5s][8d] two pair with queens and fives. Fred_Brink added $10,360 to his bankroll for 5th place.

The pressure was now on Katchalov, but he couldn’t hang on any further. Just moments later, the Team PokerStars Pro stuck his chips in on fourth street with his board running out [Kc][2c][5c][Ks][5d][Qs][7c] for kings up, but Caprioli bettered that with [4d][As][Ad][Tc][5h][Th][2h] for aces up. Another impressive SCOOP run for Katchalov ended in 4th place for $14,060 in prize money.

Caprioli held the chip lead in what was a tight contest, with three very experienced and talented Stud players. The lead swapped around on several occasions, with Deeb surging into the front, before PerpCzech won two back-to-back scoops to take control. The second of those saw PerpCzech sustain heavy warfare from Deeb, while holding just a pair of jacks:

RSS readers click through to see replay

That hand sparked some interesting banter between the two:

PerpCzech said, “i just read shaun deebs soul”
shaundeeb said, “play everyhand”
shaundeeb said, “and call down 100″
shaundeeb said, “youll be right sometimes”
shaundeeb said, “we can play after if you want”
PerpCzech said, “only gonna read your soul once”
PerpCzech said, “once is good”
shaundeeb said, “and the 7 times you called me dwn dead”
shaundeeb said, “i said nothing”
PerpCzech said, “never mind then”
shaundeeb said, “dunno why youre such a **** online”
shaundeeb said, “and so nice in person”

The banter seemed to focus Deeb as he commented that he was determined to win all of the Stud SCOOP titles. He mounted a small comeback before PerpCzech proved his soul-reading abilities were no fluke with another impressive call down to sixth street with just a pair of deuces for the high and no low hand:

RSS readers click through to see replay

PerpCzech said, “am i allowed to talk sith now?”
shaundeeb said, “i mean if i bet i win”

Again the banter seemed to spark Deeb as he kicked up the aggression before PerpCzech was able to scoop consecutive pots once again to take over the chip lead.

While PerpCzech and Deeb continued to duke it out, Caprioli was caught in the middle of the storm. Caprioli got short and pushed his last chips on fifth street against Deeb. He started with a low draw, picked up some high cards, but ended up with neither as his board ran out [8d][3s][Ad][Jh][Kc][9h][2c]. Deeb tabled [5d][4c][7s][7c][Jc][2s][Qc] for just a pair of sevens which was enough to take it down and eliminate Caprioli in 3rd place for $20,720.

Heads-up chip counts
PerpCzech (250217 in chips)
shaundeeb (119783 in chips)

The two continued to throw friendly barbs in the chat box as Deeb landed the first significant blow, scooping a pot with a single pair of kings.

That was soon followed by the biggest pot of the tournament:

RSS readers click through to see replay

The action got very heavy on fifth street before slowing down by the river with Deeb’s two pair enough to take it down and assume the ascendency. But PerpCzech wasn’t going to just lay down. He fought back to even things up before Deeb collected back-to-back 100k pots, one with a very nice wheel straight, to leave PerpCzech crippled.

Moments later PerpCzech was all in on third street with his board running out [Kd][6d][9h][Ah][5s][Ts][8c] for just ace-high as Deeb made a pair of threes on his board of [Tc][2s][Kh][4h][3h][3d][8h] to claim the win! PerpCzech continued his fine SCOOP series with another $27,380 score as Deeb made history (again) to win his third SCOOP title of this series, the fourth of his career and another $40,300 in prize money.

Number of entrants: 74
Places paid: 12

Final Table Results
1st shaundeeb (Mexico) – $40,330
2nd PerpCzech (New Zealand) – $27,380
3rd caprioli (Brazil) – $20,720
4th E.Katchalov (Ukraine) – $14,060
5th Fred_Brink (Denmark) – $10,360
6th slammedfire (Canada) – $7,770
7th kasparov007 (Germany) – $6,290
8th DazzleO (Colombia) – $4,810

Looking for more SCOOP reporting? Visit our special SCOOP 2012 coverage section.

Tags: australia | estrellas poker tour | eureka poker tour | france | italian | latin-america | planets | rio | theo jorgensen | wpt

Tags: 100-nlhe-10-max-shootout | entertainment | news | poker | portugu-234s-br | SCOOP | select-language | twitter

Dear Shaun Deeb,

Today was Mother’s Day where I live. I called my mother and told her I loved her. I made breakfast–eggs florentine–for my wife. I took my entire family 90 miles south to a zoo. I fed a giraffe. A giraffe, Shaun. It ate greens from my trembling fingers. I watched two giant tortoises writhe–slowly–in a disgusting springtime dance of love. It was quite a day, one that should be ending with the kind of glow a man who has seen two big turtles mating should have.

You know what I’m doing instead? You know what I’ve been doing pretty much all day? I’ve been thinking about you, Shaun.

Now, I’ll be honest. I’ve been a bit preoccupied with the Spring Championship of Online Poker recently. It’s not only my job, but it’s a bit of a passion. Every spring for the past several years, I’ve dedicated a couple weeks of my life to making sure this blog offers the best SCOOP coverage available. In my mind, the biggest news of the day was supposed to be that SCOOP had already racked up $32,599,494 in prize money today. That’s big news, Shaun. That’s really, really big news.

But, no. I’m thinking about you. Right now, two of the top two stories at the top of this blog have your face (and your grandmother’s) on them. I’m thinking about you running roughshod all over SCOOP like you owned it. And you know what? The only thing my kid wants to watch right now? Shaun the Sheep. Shaun the freaking Sheep. I can’t make this up.

Right now, I should be thinking about a cup of tea, or maybe a Moscow Mule nightcap, but instead, I’m looking at your smiling face and wondering, “Is he doing this just to keep me up at night?”

As of early this morning, you had three SCOOP watches. You won two of those titles in the last week. I’d already interviewed you once and wrote a nice little piece about how you were starting to make Viktor Blom look like he wasn’t trying.

Now, after the giraffe and the tortoise love, I get a look at the updated SCOOP Player of the Series rankings and see you are brutalizing the overall leaderboard. I mean, I know everyone else is putting in some solid hours and effort, but you’re making it look like they aren’t showing up. Honestly, Shaun, I don’t want to step out of line, but you might just be showing off a little bit now. I know we aren’t close, but maybe you should just dial it back a bit, hit the beach, have a cocktail, look up some tortoise videos on You Tube. This is getting a bit unseemly.

Here’s the thing: my kid plays little league ball. He’s a young’un. It’s not a serious pursuit. So, when his team is winning by 12 runs with an inning left to play, the coach sort of dials it back, holds the kids at first base when they could have a triple, and plays his kids out of position. In other words, he knows his team is going to win, but he…say it with me…gives the other team a chance to have fun.

I can’t tell you what to do, Shaun. You’re a 26-year-old man. You will make your own decisions. But, I’m here to ask you, as a son, a father, a husband, as a man who wants to sleep and not dream about you: give it a rest.

Signed,
The PokerStars Blog guy, Brad

PS–Or, in lieu of all that, just go ahead and let me know if you’re going to win all three main events, okay?

Tags: Battle of the Planets | estrellas poker tour | eureka poker tour | European Poker Tour | isildur1 | news | pokerstars macau | Super Tuesday | tcoop | wcoop

In some respects, this couldn’t be a more perfect day to host a Women’s Sunday tournament. Sure, it happens every Sunday, but its presence on a day that some countries in the world celebrate Mother’s Day is better than a coincidence. For those mothers who love poker, it’s an ideal way for them to do what they love on their special day.

Rebekah Mercer shared some Mother’s Day thoughts earlier this week in this article, wherein mothers discuss the part that poker plays in their lives. Balancing a hobby and motherhood has its challenges, and PokerStars Women provided a forum for some discussion about that.

While many women were spending today with their mothers or grandmothers, children or grandchildren, or aunts or other special people in their lives, a group of them found their way to the weekly Women’s Sunday. The final numbers are here:

Total players: 221
Prize pool: $11,050.00
Paid finishers: 36

The first hour of play saw two of the Team PokerStars Pros exit the field in succession. Ana Marquez was eliminated in 143rd place, and Vanessa Selbst followed in 142nd place. That left one player with the red space near her name to carry the flag for PokerStars, and Fatima Moreira de Melo did just that.

The money bubble burst at the 2.5-hour mark of the tournament, which saw $TurboPandi of last week’s final table unfortunately out in 37th place this week on that bubble. Snail2009 was the first player to cash for $82.87, and others lined up to collect their payouts as well. Fatima only survived until two tables remained, at which point her [Ac][Td] met up with the [Kh][Jd] of Ira_161 and lost to a jack on the flop. Ira_161 picked up the $50 bounty, and Fatima Moreira de Melo took home $121.55 for 18th place.

After the 11th place elimination of TyForPlayinX, hand-for-hand play led to an all-in move from FranPoker on a [8d][Th][Ah][9h][8h] board with [Ad][7h]. Gustawa was there with [Td][Tc] for the full house, and that was enough to eliminate FranPoker in tenth place with $176.80.

Gustawa goes strong as chip leader

The final table began with these chip counts:

Seat 1: netti.S1984 (44575 in chips)
Seat 2: Lexi4Bet (64253 in chips)
Seat 3: evjersen (65862 in chips)
Seat 4: patawkubakia (47092 in chips)
Seat 5: chelle_can (22103 in chips)
Seat 6: JulieBRIGHT (81279 in chips)
Seat 7: Ö_ö °Mopsi°° (47025 in chips)
Seat 8: Ira_161 (58665 in chips)
Seat 9: Gustawa (232146 in chips)

A few double-ups led things off, as chelle_can did it through evjersen and jilieBRIGHT doubled through Lexi4Bet.

A big hand then began with JulieBRIGHT and Ö_ö °Mopsi°° limping. Gustawa limped as well, but netti.S1984 raised all-in for 43,280 chips. JulieBRIGHT was the only caller with [As][AD], and netti.S1984 showed [Ah][Kh]. The flop of [Jh][9d][3c] changed nothing, though the [Kd] on the turn brought some double-up hope. But the [Th] on the river sent former MicroMillions champion Anett “netti.S1984″ Sandke (http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/micromillions/2012/micromillions-winner-has-her-own-super-n-092170.html) out in ninth place with $209.95.

Ö_ö °Mopsi°° was the next player to move all-in, doing it from middle position with [Qh][8h] and 22,565 chips. Ira_161 reraised all-in to isolate, which worked, and showed [Ac][Kd]. The board came [Th][3d][Ad][3s][Kh] to give Ira_161 two pair, and Ö_ö °Mopsi°° was left with $276.25 for the eighth place finish.

Patawkubakia moved her short stack from the button with [Ad][Jc], and JulieBRIGHT called from the big blind with [7c][6c]. But the board was on the latter’s side when it came [Jh][9h][5d][As][8h] for the nine-high straight. Patawkubakia’s two pair were no good and resulted in a seventh place exit with $386.75.

Lexi4Bet chose the big blind from which to make her push for 13,475 chips. Original raiser JulieBRIGHT called with [Ah][Ac], and Lexi4Bet could only show [As][Qh]. The board of [Ad][2h][4d][5h][8d] brought no hope for Lexi4Bet, who left in sixth place with $497.25.

Two hands later, chelle_can made her move. After being short-stacked for most of the action and relegated to a miniscule stack after some disconnection problems, chelle_can risked her 5,000 chips with [As][9s]. Gustawa had [Kd][3d] but caught the first card on the [Kc][6h][8h] flop. Chelle_can did have a pair of eights and hope, but the [7d] and [3h] finished off the hand with two pair for Gustawa and a fifth place payout of $640.90 for chelle_can.

Ira_161 raised from UTG, and Gustawa reraised on her left. The blinds got out of the way, and Ira_161 rebumped it all-in for 62,244 chips. Gustawa called with [Kh][Kd], and Ira_161′s odds were diminished with [Ac][8h]. The flop of [5c][9c][Kc] only gave Gustawa the set of kings, and the [3s] and [8d] cards finished the hand. Ira_161 had to go in fourth place with $939.25.

Evjersen doubled through Gustawa, and upon losing more chips, doubled through JulieBRIGHT. One more double-up through Gustawa looked promising, but evjersen remained the shortest of the three stacks.

A hand then developed as evjersen and JulieBRIGHT tangled tos ee a [Th][Ac][8h] flop. Evjersen bet, and JulieBRIGHT check-called to get to the [6s] on the turn. The same betting pattern led to the [4s] on the river, which prompted JulieBRIGHT to bet and evjersen to call all-in with [As][9d]. But that top pair was trumped by the [Ad][4h] and two pair of JulieBRIGHT. Evjersen was out in third place with $1,248.65.

Russian vs. Czech

The final two players took their places with these counts:

Seat 6: JulieBRIGHT (414,103 in chips)
Seat 9: Gustawa (248,897 in chips)

The second hand of heads-up play brought this hand that turned the tables completely:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Shortly thereafter, JulieBRIGHT looked down at [Ks][5c] and limped. When Gustawa raised with [Ad][Td], JulieBRIGHT responded by moving all-in. Gustawa called, and nothing about the presentation of the [4d][6d][9s][Qd][As] board changed the outcome. Gustawa only improved to a diamond flush, and JulieBRIGHT had to settle for second place and $1,657.50.

Gustawa of the Czech Republic won this week’s Women’s Sunday nad $2,259.83 in cash. Congratulations!

Women’s Sunday Results for 05/13/12:

1st place: Gustawa ($2,259.83)
2nd place: JulieBRIGHT ($$1,657.50)
3rd place: evjersen ($1,248.65)
4th place: Ira_161 ($939.25)
5th place: chelle_can ($640.90)
6th place: Lexi4Bet ($497.25)
7th place: patawkubakia ($386.75)
8th place: Ö_ö °Mopsi°° ($276.25)
9th place: netti.S1984 ($209.95)

There are many ways to get in on the Women’s Sunday action. Take a look at the home page for information on daily satellites. And join us on Facebook for news and monthly freerolls, and Twitter for the latest information. See you next week!

Tags: 2011 | action | article | European Poker Tour | harrah's | latin-america | micromillions | sunday | tournaments | women's sunday

If you don’t know Shaun Deeb, you don’t know online poker. For nearly as long as I’ve known the online game, I’ve known Deeb’s name. Long before I ever met him, I knew who he was. He had a reputation as a sometimes brash, always confident marksman at the table. He crushed online. He has nearly $800,000 in live tournament winnings. This week, he won his second SCOOP title. There’s not much more that people can write about the guy. But, as he won a second SCOOP, it seemed like a good time to check in.

This is how it normally works. More often than not, Spring Championship of Online Poker winners are unknown, or if not unknown, at least anonymous. To help everyone have a better idea of who the winners are, I like to reach out to the winners with a few questions that might shed some light on their life, personality, and poker philosophy. Many people prefer to remain anonymous, but there are several who concede to outing themselves.

In Deeb’s case, there isn’t a great deal more to reveal. That said, I shot him a few questions anyway, and he was kind enough to respond.

Deeb is now 26 years old and living in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, a home away from home he found after leaving the USA post-Black Friday.

What is the most interesting thing that’s happened to you in the last year?

Deeb: Moving out of the United States to continue to play online poker. The best part of Black Friday was getting me to move to Playa del Carman. I will be living here for a long time.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve had to deal with in the last six months?

Deeb: Deciding between spending time with family or spending time to grind online.

Shaun Deeb with his grandmother

How does your win compare to your other poker success?

Deeb: Oddly it felt a lot better then my other major titles. The prize money was less, but I have felt out of the game a bit in online MTTs with all my mixed game hands in the past few years. It was nice for it to pay off in a such a tough, albeit small, field.

What do you want everyone to know about you?

Deeb: I maybe not the nicest guy on the tables, but away from it we are all different people. So, don’t hold grudges, especially if it was something that was done years prior. People change a lot during that time. Always giving second chances helps a lot more than it hurts.

Did anything particularly interesting happen in your SCOOP event (other than you winning it, of course…)?

Deeb: I was offered a bet by a fellow highstakes guy who wanted to make the event bigger so we crossbooked which means we paid out the amount if either cashed in the event. I got lucky to get an early chip lead, and he was bust, so it was a quick freeroll going for me.

Anything else on your mind?

Deeb: To everyone who is just a no-limit hold’em or pot-limit Omaha player, it’s time to become a professional poker player. If you want to make the most money long term, you need to be adaptive. Learning new poker variants can only help you in the future.

Fish like other games they know. Everyone is good at no-limit hold’em, plus the older they are, the more likely they grew up playing games besides Omaha and hold’em. Plus, I personally really enjoyed the rejuvenation of motivation in poker when I got into them. It’s like you’re taking baby steps, and every stride for improvement you feel more rewarded than just grinding out hands in a game you aren’t getting significantly better at every session you put in.

Tags: australia | ept | harrah's | italian | micromillions | pca | tcoop | world cup of poker | World Series of Poker

Mother’s Day will be celebrated this weekend (Sunday, May 13) in 78 countries around the world. Other countries observe the day at various times, but regardless of when it’s celebrated, it’s a special day for moms and those who love them. We know from interviews and comments we get that many of our female players are moms, so it seems like a perfect time to recognize some of the moms who play on PokerStars. We sent a few questions to some of our loyal readers on the PokerStars Women Facebook fan page and got some great responses.

PokerStars Women (PSW): Why is poker important to you?

Hanna Syrayaveva, (ipokergirl13) from Russia, responded with an answer that surprised us. “I love poker because it’s a way to relax and have some fun, while keeping my head sharp. While I play I let go of all the stress, so maybe I can say I find in poker a way to meditate, relax, and still make some money!” Poker as a meditation technique–never heard that before–but if you’re a busy mom as she is (with a seven-year-old daughter) poker could seem very relaxing by comparison.

Another player, Tina Van Thuyl (GigglesVT online) says that poker started as a hobby for her–”something to do at night when the kids were asleep,” but before she knew it she was enjoying playing in the Women’s Poker League. “The ladies that I run into often are some of the most polite and friendliest ladies ever. They have taught me a lot about myself and how I play, and how I can improve.” But poker is apparently not all they talk about. “We are women, we talk about EVERYTHING,” she said with a laugh.

PSW: If you have a daughter, do you plan to teach her the game? If so, why would you tell her it’s important?

Hanna: I have a seven-year-old daughter and she has been around poker from the day she was born. Poker is everywhere around our house. My husband played professionally for several years, so I will quote him, although I share the same thoughts. “Poker teaches you three very important skills to have in life–1) the ability to catch layers, 2) mathematics, and 3) bankroll management.”

Tina: Yes, I’m teaching my daughter to play. I’ve told her it’s a game of fun, numbers, patterns, and a great way to meet new people. Oh, and finally, when mommy does win big she will be able to reap the rewards!

PSW: How do you work poker into the busy lifestyle of being a mom? When do you play?

Hanna: This is the tricky part; sometimes it’s complicated to make the time to play. It’s especially hard because I prefer and do better playing MTTs. So I have to choose weekends and holidays to play this format. Other days I may play after dinner or play some SNG’s or Hyper Turbo Satellites. But now with PokerStars Mobile I will be able to play a bit more. There is time for everything if we plan right.

Tina: I’m fortunate to work for my husband and his small business, so my work schedule is flexible. I play mainly at night though, once my daughter (the youngest) is asleep. I have a deal with the kids that they let me play one Sunday afternoon a month.

Another player Sheri-Lee Yarema responded: I’m still trying to figure it out myself! But online play and multitasking makes it at least possible for me.

Gill Kerr says that poker and kids is “easy as pie” to manage. “Mobile poker is the way forward! I love the PokerStars Mobile App!

And here’s a solution that is the answer to every busy mom’s desire to have just a few hours to herself once in a while–Berta Simonenkovaite has the answer. “We solved the problem in our family by getting a summer cottage where I spend a few days a week just playing poker. We have three kids between the ages of 3 and 9, and with two moms in the family it works perfectly. They never have to live without one.” A summer cottage where you can get away to play poker sounds like a dream come true–let’s put that one on the wish list. Sounds like a perfect way to spend a big cash on PokerStars!

PSW: How much do you play online as opposed to live?

Hanna: I play much more online than live. I still feel a little intimidated when playing live. Too much testosterone! I need more women. That is something I’m working on.

Tina: 99.9 percent of my play is online, but I’m looking forward to gaining experience in live play.

Have you ever played a PokerStars Women Live event?

Hanna: Sadly, no, but it must be so much fun. We always follow the EPT on the PokerStars blog, and all the girls seem so friendly, fun, and skilled. Maybe next year!

Tina: Unfortunately no, but I’m trying to catch up to my husband who won his way through a satellite in the LAPT in Uruguay last August, and also got to play for Team Canada in the America’s Cup of Poker (Robert “SintBest” Van Thuyl).
And finally, a comment from Alyson Parker sums up what it’s like to be a busy poker playing mom. “My kid is grown (25) but when she calls on the weekend she does say “Are you in a hand?” a lot. We’ve probably all heard that one a few times!

Multitasking or meditating, moms on PokerStars today seem to know how to make it work. Hats off to them and to moms everywhere as they celebrate their special day. And if your mom is a poker player, think about giving her the gift that keeps on giving–time to play a tournament or two. You never know–she might take you on that next big trip she wins!

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I adore Berlin. It has such an edge of coolness about it I was so excited to return there for the penultimate EPT of the season. Having a good friend living there also helped me to enjoy the experience much more. Before the Main Event kicked off, I went out to celebrate my German friend’s birthday and get to know the Berlin way of life a little better than I had done before. It was a Sunday night and apparently the best night of the week to go out (that was a statement from a Berliner, so it’s pretty concrete.) We started in a Swiss restaurant called ‘Helvetia’ in Kreuzberg where we ate a cheese fondue. It was insanely tasty and cheap. In fact, I wasn’t really looking forward to it so much, I mean, how can a bit of bread and cheese be that great? But trust me, it was. I couldn’t stop dunking my bread into the hot runny cheese sauce. Just thinking about it now is making my mouth salivate, so really, if you come to Berlin, you must try and find Helvetia of you like cheese. The address is Mariannenstrasse 50, 10997 Berlin. Go. Go. Go!

After stuffing ourselves silly, we went out for a few more drinks and the others carried on to a club a little later, but having Day 1a the next day, I thought I better go with the sensible option and opt for an early night, well 2 a.m.

The day before we had also gone out to explore the city and all its history. There was of course a lot of history and I always loved coming to look at some of the old pieces of the Berlin wall that were still visible for the world to see. We had never visited the TV tower before, so felt we should take in the whole experience and see Berlin from up in the clouds and from a 360-degree view. There’s no need for you to do the same though, as it’s all here for you to take a look in the welcome video!

We knew Berlin was going to be a huge field right before the Grand Final and we weren’t wrong. We played 10 levels on both Day 1a and 1b, which was pretty unheard of. Yet, it meant the total field of 750 players had been reduced to 102 by the end of Day 2, so ultimately it was a good thing.

A number of Team PokerStars Pros had gathered at the felt to try and conquer EPT Berlin, but it was not to be. German Team Pro Jan Heitmann made it the furthest by coming 29th and taking home €17,500. It was such a pleasure to see Jan as well because he was such a great person and didn’t frequent all the tour stops. In fact, I think it had been a whole year since I had seen him at last EPT Berlin. He was willing to get involved and make my videos fun, including making a rather silly video, which showed off his piano talents a lot more than mine. I should have, however, received the EPT Oscar after making this video with him

As we got closer to the final table, although no Team Pros remained, we did have the chance of a double crown champion as former EPT Berlin Champion Kevin MacPhee, EPT Copenhagen Champion Anton Wigg and EPT Snowfest Champion Vladimir Geshkenbein all remained in the final 19 players. However this hope was also short-lived, as MacPhee busted in 19th, Wigg in 14th and Geshkenbein in 10th, even though the Russian did have his lucky monkey looking after his chips and his token alcoholic beverage next to him.

However, the final table was still an exciting one, with Canadian Andrew Chen and Belgian Davidi Kitai being the two players with most notable performance history and indeed making it to heads-up. Kitai held the chip lead for most of the day though it did pass to Chen a few times once the players had reduced. It was not a particularly long heads-up battle either, which was great seeing as our video team had to leave Berlin at 5 a.m. to get to Monaco (with a 4 hour stopover in Dusseldorf – its not all glamour!!) Davidi Kitai had become the first ever Belgian EPT Champion and the Belgians were having a great run recently for sure. He spoke to me after play and here is his interview:

So onward bound to Monaco, with no break in between Berlin and The Grand Final. I had my bags packed full of food as I had heard it was a little pricey in this glamorous principality. I just hoped it didn’t all fall out on the flight and smother my dresses! I leave you with some of the outtakes from EPT Berlin (which went out the video before the winner interview). Yes, we are a silly bunch! Until next time. Auf Wiedersen!

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