Hi there poker nit !

It has been a while, I know. But I was very busy trying to explore all the different online poker rooms out there. I can assure you that there are many, as you know yourself. You must see which poker room offers you the best deals, the best first deposit offers and of course the best and most variated program. That’s a bit my problem at FatBet poker because there are just a little players, and mostly fish which is very nice, but there aren’t any good tournaments or sit and go’s. I’ve noticed that I’m not very lucky on the online cash games. Maybe my play is better suited for an online poker tournament as I’ve noticed in the past. I think that I just miss a little bit of aggressiveness to be successful at the cash games, especially when I don’t hit flops for a while. But that’s certainly not a problem for the next two players…

(14)   =>   ANTONIO   ESFANDIARI

> Amir Esfandiari

> born 08/12/1978, Tehran (IRA)

> resides now in San Francisco, California (USA)

> Nickname : ‘ The Magician ‘

> won 1 Bracelet (’04 Pot Limit Hold’em)

> became 24th at the WSOP Main Event in 2009

> won 1 WPT-title (LA Poker Classic ‘04)

> has Live Tournament Earnings of over $3,500,000 (until 2009)

Antonio moved to the United States, San José in California, with his family at the age of 9. He changed his first name in Antonio at the age of 19 and became a professional magician. He was being introduced in poker while he was performing magic. He’s well-known as a great, funny and complete poker player who made different final tables at WPT and EPT and has excellent results at the big cash games. He became 2nd at the third season of Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament and appeared on each season of GSN’s High Stakes Poker and NBC’s Poker After Dark. As a former magician, he’s famous for his chip and card trick techniques and his classy, fluorescent shirts. He co-starred with his best friend Phil Laak in the Tv show I Bet You and they’ve created the table game ‘What Johnny Lodden Thinks‘ together. Antonio is one of the few players who doesn’t like online poker and rarely plays. According to Phil Hellmuth, Antonio has been his worst nightmare at the poker table for years.

(13)   =>   STU   UNGAR

> Stuart Errol “Stu” Ungar

> born 08/09/1953 in New York City (USA)

> died 22/11/1998 of a heart condition in a Motel room.

> was married to Madeline and had 2 kids, Stefanie and Ritchie.

> Nickname : ‘ The Kid ‘ or ‘ Stuey ‘

> is the only player who won the WSOP Main Event 3 times !! (’80,’81,’97)

> won 2 other Bracelets (’81 2-7 Draw/ ‘83 Seven Card Stud)

> was being introduced into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2001.

> won an estimated 30 million dollar in his career.

Born to Jewish parents, Stuey started to gamble very early in the bar of his father playing gin and won his first local tournament at the age of 10. He was a gifted and genius kid who was always busy calculating odds, just like his mentor Victor Romano. Stu quickly dropped out of school to play gin rummy full time to support his mother and family after the death of his father. He took up poker in 1974 when he moved to Vegas. He entered the World Series in 1980 as his second Texas Hold’em tournament and won after beating Doyle Brunson in heads-up play. He became the third player, next to Brunson and Johnny Moss,  the year after who was back to back world champion of poker. Stuey was infamous for his arrogance and criticizing talk at the table. But his memory and card counting ability was immense which made him also a feared blackjack player for the casinos. Years later he became a cocaine addict, which badly influenced his results, but not his game. He loved the action and was always ready to gamble and bet on anything. He won the WSOP Main Event in 1997 after he received the buy-in from his good friend Billy Baxter as Stu was deeply in debt due to his gambling and coke addiction. He wasted his earnings in the following months on crack and sports betting and saw every Vegas gutter, despite several offers from his close friend Bob Stupak. Stuey also won Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker 3 times in ‘84,’88 and ‘89, when it was considered the world’s second most prestigious poker title. There came a movie in 2003 based on his life called: ‘ High Roller: The Stu Ungar story‘. His biography was published in 2005 and ESPN’s Emmy winning documentary about his life was broadcast in 2006 which proved that he’s still a true poker legend. Mister Stu Ungar is wildly considered as the greatest and most talented Texas Hold’em and gin rummy player of all time.

See you next time for two of the best online and real life players on this planet, as we’re closer to the magical top Ten. Beware of the bad beats !

Cheers,

J.M.

Welcome Poker Lovers !

I’ve decided to quit Everest Poker for a while because the site did let me down. Okay, there were a lot of fish but they were quite lucky most of the time. The lay-out and tournament offer is quite disappointing and the cash games tables aren’t extensive. I hate to wait when I’ve some time left to play some hands. But I’m glad that I could manage to double my starting stack, so it still was a successful collaboration. I’m thinking about where I’m going to play poker now. You may always give me any advice about poker sites! But for now, I think that I’m going to explore FatBet Poker. They offer a big rakeback and 1000% First Deposit Bonus. So that should be perfect to play some cash game there in combination with the tournaments at PokerStars. I’ll inform you about my winnings but for now here are the next two legends !

(16)   =>   PHIL   LAAK

> Philip Laak

> born 08/09/1972, Dublin (IRE)

> resides now in Los Angeles, California (USA)

> dating fellow poker pro and actress Jennifer Tilly

> Nickname : ‘ The Unabomber ‘

> won 1 WPT-title (’04 Celebrity Invitational)

> won 2 Poker After Dark titles.

> won the PartyPoker.com World Open V Championship in 2009.

> has Live Tournament Earnings of almost $ 2,000,000 (until 2009)

Although born in Ireland, Phil was actually raised on the East Coast of the United States where he graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Mechanical degree in Engineering. He has a variety of past jobs, including engineer, gardener, professional world-class backgammon player,  real estate investor and many more. Phil is one of the most controversial characters on the circuit while he’s playing with his own special style. He’s also very extravagant and talkative with his unusual and inventive speeches. He created the term ‘Felted‘ , meaning when you lost all your chips. Phil got his Nickname because he’s always wearing a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses at the table and so looks as the forensic sketch of Theodore Kaczynski. Mr. Laak is a former roommate and best friend of fellow poker pro Antonio Esfandiari. They made the tv show ‘ I Bet You’ together and created the ‘What Johnny Lodden Thinks’ game. Phil has proven that he’s good in tournaments and high stakes cash games. He won the inaugural William Hill Poker Grand Prix, after beating Ram Vaswani, made 3 WPT final tables and appeared in several Poker Royale series and seasons of High Stakes Poker. He has written a monthly column in Bluff Magazine since 2005. He beated Polaris, a poker playing computer program developed by the University of Alberta in 2007, together with Ali Eslami.

(15)   =>   DAN   HARRINGTON

> born 06/12/1945 in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA)

> resides now in Santa Monica, California.

> Nickname : ‘ Action Dan ‘

> was the 1995 WSOP Main Event World Champion Winner

> won 1 other Bracelet (’95 NL Hold’em)

> won 1 WPT-Title (’07 Legends of Poker)

> played against Bill Gates at Harvard.

> has Live Tournament Winnings of over$ 6,600,000 (until 2009)

Dan is a former backgammon champion, U.S Chessmaster and bankrutcy atterney. He’s one of the premium players from the Mayfair Club in the mid-1980s, along with others like Lederer, Seidel and Zolotow. He consideres himself as a part-time poker player(only for the money !) while he’s more a successful businessman. He owns and operates his own real estate and stock market company Anchor Loans. Dan is well-known for his green Boston Red Sox cap and for his solid, tight, agressive play with strict starting hands standards, which makes him one of the best tournament players in history. Mr. Harrington could be called ‘Mister Main Event’ for his deep runs in the WSOP ME. He was 17th in 1996, 6th in 1987, 3th in 2003, 4th in 2004 and of course did he won in 1995. His back to back Main Event final tables has been regarded as the greatest accomplishment in the World Series of Poker History. Besides playing poker, Dan is very famous for his series of instructional poker books, widely recognized as the “Poker Bible” for any NL Hold’em Tournament player, published by Two Plus Two Publishing and co-authored by Bill Robertie.

Well, we’ve still 14 players to go in my Most Famous Poker Players list and yet you see such great names. It’s only getting beter, that I can promise you. Another mysterious thing about those two players is the fact they both aren’t that much into online poker. They love the live action, each in a other way;). For now, I’m going to make some more money online, using the small ball poker strategy which always benefits me before trapping them and getting all the money in with at least 90% chance. I hope that I run good this time.

Cheers,

J.M.

Hi Poker friends!

It’s time for another update on my Most Famous Poker Player top-100 list. It’s been a while, I know but I was very busy. First I had a student internship for two weeks. Besides that I was beaten up once I came back from a drink and stayed in the hospital for 4 days with two broken ribs, a tough concussion and face fracture. As that was not enough my girlfriend decided to leave me for my best friend after four happy years and my dog died, when he commited suicide by jumping of the bridge right on the railway. But the most important and time-consuming reason for my absence is that I was occupied every day by playing an Online Poker Tournament.

For now, let’s meat the following two players of my list, which are two old school rocks, being regulars at the High Stakes Cash Games

(18)   =>   ELI   ELEZRA

> Eliahu Ilan Elezra

> born 24/12/1960, Jerusalem (ISR)

> resides now in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) with wife and 5 kids.

> Nickname: ‘ Mr. Vegas ‘ or ‘ Wizard ‘

> won 1 Bracelet (’07 WC Seven Card Stud Hi-Low)

> won 1 WPT-title (’04 Mirage Poker Showdown)

> plays online at Full Tilt Poker

> has Live Tournament Winnings of almost $ 2,000,000 (until 2009)

Eli is a former lieutenant in the Golani Brigade of the Israelian Army. He began playing poker after a leg injury. He also worked in Alaska for several years. He says he’s more a family man than a poker pro. He owns the successful Vegas nightclub Seven and several retail stores. Eli is very well-known for many years as a Regular in ” The Big Game” in Vegas. He also appeared during different seasons of Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament and GSN’s High Stakes Poker, sometimes together with his good, old friends Barry Greenstein and Doyle Brunson. Mr. Elezra won his first Bracelet after beating Scotty Nguyen heads-up in the World Championship Seven card Stud Hi-Low. He won even more, $250,000, in a side bet with Barry after he made a $25,000 bet laying 10:1 that Eli couldn’t win a WSOP Bracelet in 2007. Eli’s appearance is always recognizable because of his Maffia look and accent, which makes him a perfect and fearless poker character.

(17)   =>   BARRY   GREENSTEIN

> born 30/12/1954 in Chicago, Illinois (USA)

> resides now in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

> has 2 children and 4 stepchildren, incl. Joe Sebok

> Nickname: ‘ The Robin Hood of Poker ‘ or ‘ The Bear ‘

> won 3 Bracelets (’04 NL 2-7 Draw/ ‘05 PLO/ ‘08 Razz)

> won 2 WPT-titles ( Fifth Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open/ ‘06 WPT Invitational at Commerce Casino)

> plays online at PokerStars as member of TeamPokerStars.

> has Live Tournament Winnings of almost $7,000,000 (until 2009)

Barry earned a bachelor degree in computer science from the University of Illinois and studied for a PhD in Mathematics. He started to play poker then but he took a job for Symantec because of it would improve his chances for adoption, in stead of playing poker. He retired there at the age of 36. He also started PokerRoad, a poker website, with his stepson Joe Sebok, who’s also a very good and respected professional poker player. Barry is a well-known and respected Big Gun who’s one of the most successfull and fearless high stakes cash game players. He showed that with his appearances during different series and seasons of Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament and High Stakes Poker. But he also showed he can be a great tournament player. He won 2 other special events at the WPT, besides his Bracelets and WPT-titles. Mr. Greenstein is the author of the 2005 book: ‘ Ace on the River ‘, which is one of the most successful and best poker books out there. He gives a copy to every player that busts him out of a tournament. Another famous fact about him is that he taught former girlfriend Mimi Tran how to play poker in exchange for her learning him to speak Vietnamese. Barry has some famous oneliners such as ” LOL, Donkaments“, which gave him $10,000 after a bet from 2+2 Poker Forums, and ” Math is idiotic” after his well-known 550k suckout win against Tom Durr Dwan during High Stakes Poker. But as of 2008, Barry began to donate his net winnings to charities, primarily Children;Incorporated.

So we’re yet a step closer to the top Ten. I’ll make a quicker update this time, regardless any set-backs. Btw If you’re looking for fish, come play at Everest. I’m just playing there for a month and I’ve already doubled up my stack. Just by playing in the lowest PLO Cash Game, waiting for the hand and the moment and the fish will donate you easy money. Hehe, Life is good !

Cheers,

J.M.

Hi poker madness,

Something really strange happened to me the other day…

I was playing in a big cash game, blinds $50/$100, with some of the best players of this country. It was in a dark , underground room where only the greatest may play and the hottest girls can look. The whisky and cigar smoke was as natural as the blue sky outside before I got a suited Queen-Ten in the cut off and raised three times the big blind with only folding people in front of me. I only got a call from the big blind who was well-known as a fearless, dangerous and agressive player. I nipped a little whisky before the flop came J-9-4 rainbow and he checked. I bet small and he instantly raised me as I expected, and I called. The turn was the Ace of spades and he made a big bet and I called, hoping for a 8 or King. The pot was already over $5000. The tension was high with every stare at the table. Before the river came, I saw here. She was gorgeous as hell, long curly red hair, a black dress which suited her voluptuous perfectly. She really took my breath away as she nodded secretly towards me as I was stunned and not even noticed the 8 of clubs on the river. He went all-in for another $8000 and I immediately shipped my stack in and turned over the absolute nuts. She came to me and gave me the most perfect kiss ever as I don’t even cared about the money. Which is why playing poker is clearly a game of skill !

I’ve never had a better sleep for a whole week ! But there was work to do as we are down to the last twenty players in my list. From now on I’m going to present them with only two at the time. So it’ll get more exciting and I’ve the opportunity to say more about each player. Let’s meet them…

(20)   =>   ERICK   LINDGREN

> Erick A. Lindgren

> born 11/08/1976 in Burney, California (USA).

> resides now in Las Vegas, Nevada.

> Nickname : ‘ E-dog ‘

> won 1 Bracelet (’08 Mixed Hold’em)

> won 2 WPT-titles (’03 Ultimate Poker Classic/ ‘04 Party Poker Million III)

> was named season 2 WPT Player of the Year and 2008 WSOP Player of the Year.

> plays online at Full Tilt Poker as a member of TeamFullTilt.

> has  almost $7,400,000 in Live Tournament Winnings (until 2009).

Erick was a excellent football and basketball star in high school and he’s a former blackjack dealer at the casino. He has Swedish ancestry, regarding both his first and last name. Erick is well-known as one of the best tournament players alive. He has already 23 cashes in the WSOP and 16 cashes in the WPT with 5 WPT final tables and as I’ve mentioned earlier 2 World Poker Tour titles. He also won Professional Poker Tour in 2005, the Full Tilt Poker.net Poker Pro Showdown event in 2006 and the big hold’em event at the Aussie Millions in 2007. Erick wrote his own book on poker : ‘ World Poker Tour, Making the Final Table ‘ . Besides playing live, he’s a very good online player which he proved as being the first Full Tilt Pro who won a FTOPS event. Mr. Lindgren is a very friendly, sportive, funny and calm person following the words of his peers.

(19)   =>   SAM   FARHA

> Ihsan Farha

> born 1959, Beirut (LIB).

> resides now in Houston, Texas (USA).

> Nickname : ‘ Mister Cool ‘

> won 2 Bracelets (’96 Pot Limit Omaha/ ‘06 Limit Omaha 8/B)

> became 2nd at the WSOP Main Event in 2003 after losing in heads-up against Chris Moneymaker but still won a cool $1,300,000 with his second place.

> won over $ 2,300,000 in Live Tournament Play (until 2009).

Sammy graduated with a degree in business administration from the University of Kansas before moving to Houston to work for his brother. He decided to become a full time Poker Professional in 1990. He moved to the USA after the Lebanese Civil War. Sam is also a former pinball and Pac-man specialist. He appeared at the first four seasons on the GSN series High Stakes Poker, but he was refused for the fifth season. A great shame because he was one of the most popular and extraordinary character in the game who always was ready to gamble and very agressive player at the table. He likes the big Omaha cash games the most and he’s working on a book, televised poker series and a video game. Besides all that Mister Farha is a spokesman for Harrah’s casino in Las Vegas and he made a cameo appearance in the poker movie ‘Lucky You‘. Sammy is probably wildly known for his appearance. He’s always dressed nice in a suit, looking very cool and smooth with his unlit cigarette and maffia hair style backwards.

So that were the two players for this week. I didn’t run that good on Everest NL Hold’em cash games in the beginning, losing all my stack even playing the smallball poker strategy. But now I switched over to the PLO game and I make profit every day, almost back at my starting stack. I’m really starting to be good at the Pot Limit Omaha game and there are indeed a lot of fish. Just wait for your moment, only playing the nuts or second nuts and play it very agressive and You’ll win most of the time. See You next week !

Cheers,

J.M.

Welcome Poker people !!

Before I’m going to present you the next five players of my list, numbers 25-21, yes indeed, we’re reaching the top-10 very close now, I’ve made a big decision first. From now on I’m going to explore all the online poker sites out there and play all those bonuses and first deposit offers free, so I’ll have a really big and nice bankroll. I’ve decided that my first stop is at Everest Poker. I’ll probably only play the cash games and remain playing tournaments at PokerStars. But I’ve heared that there is many fish out there on Everest, so hopefully they’ll help me building up my bankroll . Maybe I see you soon, I’ll try to play the $200 bonus free as soon as possible. But for now let’s start with the highest ranked female player…

(25)   =>   JENNIFER   HARMAN

> Jennifer C. Harman – Traniello

> born 29/11/1964 Reno, Nevada (USA)

> resides now in Las Vegas, Nevada.

> married to fellow poker pro Marco Traniello and they have twin boys.

> won 2 Bracelets (’00 NL 2-7 Draw / ‘02 Limit Hold’em)

> won one Poker After Dark title

> plays online at Full Tilt Poker as member of TeamFullTilt.

> has Live Tournament Winnings of almost $ 2,400,000 (until 2009)

Jennifer started to play poker at the age of eight. She later graduated from the University of Reno, before playing poker full time. She had issues with her father for years because of her professional poker career but they resolved it later. She also had inherit problems with her kidneys and she took a year off from the poker world in 2004 for a transplant. She had excellent results after her comeback, 2nd at the WSOP Circuit Championship Event at the Rio, 2nd in the inaugural WSOPE HORSE Event in 2007 and made 2 WPT final tables.  She won her first Bracelet in 2000 and it was a special one because she had never played 2-7 Draw before and she got a quick lesson from Howard Lederer five minutes before entering. Jennifer wrote the Limit Hold’em chapter in Brunson’s Super System II and she played on different seasons of High Stakes Poker. She’s an active fund raiser for different charities and even has her own tournament for charity.  Jennifer is wildly considered as a great person and as her good friend Daniel Negreanu said : ” one of the best poker players in the world, cash and tournaments, online and live, and not only as a female “. She proved that as being the only woman to hold 2 Bracelets in WSOP open events, the only woman to be a regular at the Big Game at the Bellagio and she ranked fifth on the all time female ranking of tournament winnings.

(24)   =>   HUCK   SEED

> Huckleberry Seed

> born 15/01/1969 Santa Clara, California (USA).

> resides now in Las Vegas, Nevada.

> was the 1996 WSOP Main Event World Champion

> was 6th at the WSOP Main Event in 1999.

> won 3 other Bracelets (’94 Pot Limit Omaha/ ‘00 Razz/ ‘03 Razz)

> plays online at Full Tilt Poker as a member of TeamFullTilt.

> won over $5,300,000 in Live Tournament Play (until 2009).

Huck is a former Electrical Engineering student and he was a member of big college basketball teams, even featured in 2006 documentary Quantum Hoops about him being a star player on the famous Caltech’s team. He’s considered as one of the best heads-up players in the world, which he proved when he won the 2009 NBC Heads-up Poker Championship and cashed in every single edition. Mr. Seed is an enigmatic character at the table, talking rarely or very quiet and he’s over 2 m. tall. He’s well-known as a very good tournament player in all the games, notably Razz and for his famous sick prop bets with Phil Hellmuth.

(23)   =>   JOHN   JUANDA

> Johnson Juanda

> born 08/07/1971 Medan (INDO)

> resides now in Los Angeles (USA).

> Nickname : ‘ Luckbox ‘ or ‘ JJ ‘

> won the WSOPE Main Event in 2008.

> won 3 other Bracelets (’02 Triple Draw Lowball A-5/ ‘03 Seven-card Stud Hi-Lo Split/ ‘03 PLO)

> plays online at Full Tilt Poker as a member of TeamFullTilt

> has over $9,700,000 in Live Tournament Earnings (until 2009).

John is ethnically Chinese and arrived in the US in 1990 when he was accepted at Oklahoma State University. He was a school track star and he did sold bibles from door to door. John became the 2001 and 2002 Card Player Magazine Tournament Player of  the Year. He’s wildly honoured as a calm and friendly player at the table and considered as one of the best tournament players alive. Here are some results to prove that: he won the World Poker Open Championship title, the inaugural Professional Poker Tour Event in 2004, the Monte Carlo Millions Consolation tournament in 2005, Crown Australian Poker Championship in 2006 and he became 2nd at the EPT High Roller Event London in 2008. Besides that he won 2 Poker After Dark titles and made 6 WPT final tables, but haven’t won one yet.

(22)   =>   MARCEL   LUSKE

> born 20/03/1953 Amsterdam (NED).

> still lives there

> Nickname : ‘ The Flying Dutchman ‘

> became 10th in the WSOP Main Event in 2004, the year Greg Raymer won.

> won the Hall of Fame Poker Classic Paris in 2005.

> plays online at PokerStars as a member of TeamPokerStars.

> won over $3,700,000 in Live Tournament Play (until 2009).

Marcel had an illegal casino in Amsterdam in the 80’s and his brother Bertus was shot there in 2003. He’s very famous for wearing his sunglasses upside-down and always wearing a suit at the table. He’s a true gentleman singing and sitting at the poker table who loves the attention and media circus and is a controversial player, like a European version of Phil Hellmuth but with style. He’s considered as the best Dutch poker player in tournaments with his 20 cashes at the WSOP and made 3 EPT final tables. He was rewarded two times as European Poker Player of the Year in 2001 and 2004. He’s a good friend and mentor of Noah Boeken, and they’ve made different poker television shows together in The Netherlands. Marcel is also well-known as the mentor of David Williams and Kirill Gerasimov. Mister Luske holds a black belt in karate.

(21)   =>   GREG   RAYMER

> Gregory Raymer

> born 25/06/1964 Minot, North Dakota (USA)

> lives in North Caroline with wife Cheryl and daughter Sophie.

> Nickname : ‘ Fossilman ‘

> became the WSOP Main Event World Champion in 2004.

> wears always opaque holographic sunglasses during a hand and has a small fossil as his card protector.

> plays online at PokerStars as a member of TeamPokerStars

> won around $6,850,000 in Live Tournament Play (until 2009)

Greg majored Chemistry at the University of Missouri and graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School. He worked as an attorney for Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company before becoming a full time poker professional in 1999. He won the WSOP Main Event in 2004 after beating David Williams in heads-up play and won $ 5,000,000. Greg won his entry fee by winning a satellite tournament at PokerStars. He finished 25th at the World Series of Poker Main Event the year after his win which was an extraordinary achievement. He appeared on Poker Superstars III and represented his country as Team Captain USA in the World Cup of Poker. Besides live poker, Mr. Raymer has excellent online results in big tournaments, even winning the PLO event at the WCOOP of PokerStars. Greg is a perfect ambassador for poker as he’s a friendly, well-respected guy who’s very accessible and patient and he said once during a EPT event that he’s allergic to alcohol. Raymer also considered running for Vice-President of the US in 2008 as a candidate of the Libertarian Party.

So, now we are down to the last twenty players !! See you next week for the next post and the following five players because I’m going to play at Everest now.

Cheers,

J.M.

Good Evening Poker People !

I’ll give you a quick and final update now about the last events at the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker aka WBCOOP. It was the first time that I played in such big series of tournaments, in spite of that it were just freerolls. They felt like big tournaments and events so I was pleased to enter the stages and there were some big cash tickets to win.

Event 5 was the 8-game freeroll where I talked about it previously as I was a little bit cautious because there were some games that I had never played before. As the name already says, there are 8 different types of poker to be played during 8-game. We began with Limit Triple Draw 2-7, followed by Limit Hold’em, Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, Limit Razz, Limit Stud, Limit Stud Hi/Lo, NL Hold’em and finally PL Omaha. There were 1536 entrants to play with all a starting stack of 2000 and again 153 tickets to deserve.

I’ve read a little bit about those unknown games before and I played very tight like I had to. As most of the games were known as Luck and Drawing games, I’ve read that I should only draw to the Nuts. So I did, waited for my chances and took advantage of the players who didn’t knew the games at all. After a real rollercoaster ride making some draws and losing some, I finished Event 5 in a very good 62th place !! That earned me another SCOOP- ticket, namely a $16.50 one.

Event 6 was another NL Hold’em event with 1939 Entrants and a starting stack of 2000. This time I didn’t get many sexy flops, river or premium preflop starting hands. So I just hung in there, waiting for the right spot that finally never came. On the contrary I went out in 325th place when I finally had a big hand in the hole, namely pocket Kings. And like the last 70% of the time with that starting hand, I ran into the powerful Pocket Rockets, or Aces. It’s getting really frustrating that it’s always happening to me, so I won’t be that suprised that I’m going to fold the kings once in the near future when they raise again after my reraise. Never fold them preflop earlier before.

Event 7 was the big Main Event where we played NL Hold’em, of course. There were 2062 entrants this time, with each a starting stack of 2500. The ticketprizes went up for the Main Event for all of the first 153 players. First place finish got a nice $3.150 entry ticket.

I played very good at the Main Event, tight-agressive, fighting for every pot while I was sitting on the famous rollercoaster again. It’s hard to follow some gameplan when you always have to take control of those swings of emotions and frustrations. But I managed it well until I got pocket eights in the Big Blind, and one raise before me in the cut off position. I just called- mistake there- and after a rainbow flop of J 2 6, I checked to him with the thought of moving all-in after he betted. He did that and I shipped as he called me  with 9-2 leaving him with only 5 outs, which of them came on the turn as the nine appeared. Very unlucky exit for me there !!!  It was probably the unexperience at a big tournament that cost me my place because I should have raised it preflop. Well I still went out in 109th place and a fourth ticket, namely a $$22 one this time.

SUMMARY :

Event 1 / NL Hold’em  / finished 235th place / Winner : Devlsbnkroll from Casselberry

Event 2 / PLO / finished 122th place / Won $11 ticket / Winner : CDRLT from Milford

Event 3 / NL Hold’em / finished 1159th place / Winner : skllzdatklls from Las Vegas

Event 4 / NL Hold’em / finished 20th place / Won $33 ticket / Winner : barrelproof7 from Wuerzberg

Event 5 / 8-Game / finished 62th place / Won $ 16.50 ticket / Winner : maverick600 from Staten Island

Event 6 / NL Hold’em / finished 325th place / Winner : Suivokal from Veselaya

Main Event / NL Hold’em / finished 109th place / Won $22 ticket / Winner : BelaLany from Munich

So the WBCOOP were very successful for me with four cashes and 4 tickets to play at the Spring Championship of Online Poker. I hope that my gained experience from the WBCOOP to run deep in a big tournament will help me to cash in the SCOOP and expand my bankroll. I’ll keep you up to date in spring when they begin !

Cheers,

J.M.

Welcome again poker people !

Today I’ll continue with the next five players out of my list as I’m preparing for the WBCOOP Main Event tonight. I’ll report about it in a couple of days but I’m more than satisfied right now with already three tickets in the pocket. I’m also going to insert a brand new poll on my site, so let me know who do you think should be my number one or is the most Famous Poker Player for you. I’ll give you a choice between ten players. Those are also my absolute top-Ten, so you have a little idea than about where the list is going to. But for now I’m going to start with number 30…

(30)   =>   ANNIE   DUKE

> Anne LaBarr Lederer

> born 13/09/1965 in Concord, New Hampshire (USA).

> lives now in Los Angeles, California and has 4 children.

> Nickname : ‘ The Duchess of Poker ‘

> won 1 Bracelet (’04 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or better)

> was 10th in the 2000 WSOP Main Event

> is the sister of  ‘ The Professor ‘ , Howard Lederer.

> plays online at UltimateBet

> has Live Tournament Winnings of $ 3,700,000 (until 2009).

She studied psycholinguistics until 1992, when she decided to play poker full time, with the support and knowledge of her brother Howard. Annie is an excellent tournament player, which she showed in 2004 when she won the WSOP Tournament of Champions. She was eight months pregnant when she became 10th in the 2000 WSOP Main Event, the year that Chris ‘ Jesus’ Ferguson won. She holds the women’s record for the most money finishes in the WSOP, 37 cashes. She won the WSO Rock, Paper and Scissors in 2006, hosted by Phil Gordon where she received a free entry for that year’s WSOP Main Event. Annie ranked 2nd on the Women’s All Time Money List, after Kathy Liebert. Annie is also well-known for her TV appearances in different shows such as 1 vs. 100, Deal or No Deal, Poker After Dark and Celebrity Apprentice. She’s a very multifunctional woman, always having a very active life besides her four children. She was the tutor of actor Ben Affleck, she raises money for different charities, she writes about poker in articles and her autobiography and she’s a teacher at the WSOP Poker Academy. Annie Duke is wildly considered as the best female poker player in the world.

(29)   =>   MEN   NGUYEN

> born in 1954, Phan Thiet (VIET).

> resides now in Bell Gardens, California (USA).

> Nickname : ‘ The Master ‘

> won 6 Bracelets (’92 Seven-card Stud/ ‘95 Seven-card Stud Hi-Lo/ ‘95 Limit Hold’em/ ‘96 Omaha Hi-Lo/ ‘03 Seven-card Stud/ ‘03 A-5 Triple Draw Lowball)

> became 4th in the 1996 WSOP Main Event, when Huck Seed was the winner.

> won about $ 9,200,000 in Live Tournament Play (until 2009).

He left school in Vietnam at the age of 13 and became a bus driver to support his family. Men came to the USA in 1978 and played poker for the first time in 1984. He lost a lot in his first years of playing until he won his first tournament in 1987. Men Nguyen became one of the best tournament players alive. He has 65 cashes in the WSOP, he made 4 final tables at the World Poker Tour and he already won more than 75 tournaments in his poker career. He always donates a portion of his winnings to different charities in Vietnam. He’s also well-known for tutoring other poker players, mostly form Asia such as David Pham. Men was the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2005, so four times !!! There were some allegations against him about Nguyen’s possible involvement with tournament cheating, but nothing has been proven yet.  He likes to smoke and drink  and isn’t always a true gentleman at the table, as he spit beer over the table one time.

(28)   =>   DAVID   ULLIOTT

> born 04/04/1954, Hull (ENG).

> still resides there in Kingston upon Hull.

> was married for two times and has a total of 7 children.

> Nickname : ‘ Devilfish ‘ or ‘ The Clock ‘

> won 1 Bracelet (’97 PL Hold’em)

> won 1 WPT-title (Jack Binion’s World Poker Open)

> is the highest-earning British poker player in the circuit.

> plays online at his own site DevilfishPoker

> has Live Tournament Winnings of almost $ 5,700,000 (until 2009)

He likes to wear orange-tinted prescription sunglasses and gold knockleduster rings reading ‘ Devil ‘ and ‘ Fish’. David was a real thief between the age of 19 and 28 with several armed robberies, fights and safe-cracks. He spent a couple of years in prison until he met his wife and he went straight. He travelled across England in the 90’s with his good friend Gary Whitaker and made a lot of money in different cash games, often wearing a gun to be sure he got his winnings. Gary also has given David’s Nickname ‘Devilfish’ during a heads-up battle between Ulliott and Men Nguyen. He’s a special poker player, but a very good and respected one. He won the first serie of Late Night Poker, the first poker show to use hole cam technology. He played in different Tv shows such as Poker Nations Cup, British Poker Open and Party Poker Premier League.

(27)   =>   JOE   HACHEM

> Joseph Hachem

> born 11/03/1966, Lebanon.

> resides now in Melbourne (AUS), with wife Jeanie and 4 kids.

> Nickname : ‘ Diamond Joe ‘

> winner of the WSOP Main Event in 2005.

> won 1 WPT-title (’06 Five Diamons Poker Classic)

> ranked 6th on the All Time Tournament Money List

> plays online at PokerStars as member of TeamPokerStars.

> has Live Tournament Winnings of over $10,800,000 (until 2009)

Joe moved to Melbourne, Australia at the age of six. He started to play poker in 1995 after he couldn’t continue his job as a chiropractor because of a rare blood disorder that affected his hands. Hachem is very well-known as a player of great grace and class, being an excellent tournament player. His big victory was of course his win as a world champion at the WSOP Main Event. He won $7,500,000 with that win after he beated Steve Dannenmann in heads-up play.  Joe was the first Australian to win the Main Event and his victory was followed by a big poker boost in his home country Australia. Joe has been associated with the famous phrases : ” Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi ” and ” Pass the Sugar” after winning a pot. Besides that he won some other tournaments such as the 2007 PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Tournament of Champions and one Poker After Dark title. He appeared in Poker Superstars III and the fifth season of High Stakes Poker where he proved that he’s no fear to play in the big cash games. He also produced his own reality show, ‘ The Poker Star ‘ where he’s the poker mentor for a group of contestants with finally one winner. Joe operates a mortgage company, enjoys playing golf and is good friends with fellow poker pro Greg Raymer.

(26)   =>   DAVID   BENYAMINE

> born 05/07/1972, Paris (FRA)

> resides now in Henderson, Nevada (USA) and in France.

> engaged with fellow poker pro Erica Schoenberg and has one daughter.

> Nickname : ‘ Napoleon ‘ or ‘ Degenyamine ‘

> won 1 Bracelet (’08 Omaha Hi-Low Split)

> won 1 WPT-title (’03 Grand Prix de Paris)

> plays online at Full Tilt Poker as a sponsored Pro.

> has Live Tournament Earnings of almost $ 3,500,000.

David is a former professional tennis player but he had to retire because of a shoulder injury. Besides tennis, he’s also a very successful top ten billiards player in France. He learned the game of poker when he was just 12 years old. He was departed from the USA during 2004 for not having a work permit. Despite of his excellent tournament results, reaching 3 WPT final tables and winning the WPT Battle of Champions II invitational event and one Poker After Dark title, Mister Benyamine is more known as a marvellous and fearless cash game player who plays at the Highest Stakes in Las Vegas and online and likes to gamble. He showed that in different seasons of High Stakes Poker and Million Dollar Cash Game. He’s also well-known as a Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) specialist. He has never read a poker book or magazine and his fiancee Erica has played in a featured strip poker game.

I’m still in the WBCOOP right now, reaching the last 200 players so I’m going to play further now. Wish me luck and see you again soon !!!!

J.M.

Hello online gamblers ! !

I’m here with an update of the last 3 events at the WBCOOP where I played in and I can tell you right now that I scored very good there, maybe a little bit easier with a lot of sit-outers but I think that’s pretty normal in a freeroll !! I’ll show you now how they each went.

Event 2 was the Pot Limit Omaha game, also known as PLO. A game that I don’t play that often and where I still need a lot of experience but I like the game. It’s full of action and you can make tophands with it. I like the drawing part of it, but that’s also the dangerous side of the game. You should only draw to the Nuts. Not like in Hold’em where sometimes a Jack-high flush could be enough to drag the pot. We started the event with 1634 players, starting stack of 2000 and again 153 tickets to win.

I played tight and waited for the right moment to draw to the Nuts. I didn’t got that many big flops but as they were a lot of sit-outers and players who thought they knew how you play PLO. People were wondering why they lost with three A in their hand and one on the board: ‘ Hey, I had Quads and I just lost to your Straight ??!!? ‘ , extremely funny to watch. Because you know that the difference between PLO and Hold’em is that you ALWAYS must use TWO hole cards and THREE cards on the board. So I hung in there and finally went out at the 122 place which earned me a $11 ticket to play at the SCOOP.  So this Blog has more benefits than I thought;) .

Event 3 was back a NL Hold’em game. There were 1843 entrants, starting stack of 2000 and again 153 tickets for the SCOOP to win. After a quick double up with pocket Kings , I sat down at a table with a lot of sit-outers. So it’s difficult to play with 4 players and I misplayed some hands, where I thought too much and lost my stack pretty soon. But hey, playing with only 4 men and getting A-10 looked like Gold to me. Unfortunately I ran into the Ladies (= Pocket Queens) and it held up.  A wise lesson for the future I guess. I went out in 1159th place.

Event 4 was another NL Hold’em game and I was pretty determined that I was going to play a lot better than yesterday, with more patience and courage. There were 1876 entrants, starting stack of 2000 and the same ticket amount as before. There are always some morons in Freerolls that just go all-in at the beginning of the tournament. I’m pretty sure that you know them;). Well I got AK against that guy so I took a shot and it finally held up for once. A nice quick double up for me.

But I was unlucky later on when I had Tens against KK in a blind vs. blind situation, almost nothing I could do there. I was down to only 2 BB or so, and get some quick triple up with A-8, flopping my Ace. Then I got another double up when the small blind went all-in with garbage on my big blind and I held Pocket Rockets (= AA) :p I liked that move !! Some hands later I woke up with a pair of Jacks…

So I was pretty lucky there but really nothing I could do. Blame PokerStars for such sick boards I always say. Why did he shove anyway with his pair of sixes ?!? So I held that big stack for quite a while as the tournament went on and on. I bluffed at the right times and value betted when I had to. I even was 8th in chips at a moment but I lost some blinds and antes, those were already very high at the moment, as we were just with around 50 players. I made it really far and was playing some excellent poker, always hanging around the average chip count. The one thing that I missed was that I didn’t got any action with my top hands( AA, KK, QQ), which I got a couple of times. But then I got the Aces again on the button…

So as I got another big hand, the biggest of all pre-flop, I decided not to raise the first raiser and just played it tricky, as I knew that I had the button and that he was short stacked and always made a continuation bet. The unexpected news was that the tight Big Blind was in also. So that was already a sign that I should look out, but I was blinded by the Aces as I got finally some action with the best hand. I should have fold it after the bet and the reraise on the flop, but hey we played for 5 hours and I was tired. But it was a mistake to shove my rockets at that board. The queens got lucky and I went out in 20th place.Which was still a fantastic result after I just had only 2 BB left at one time. I earned a $33 ticket to play at the SCOOP with that finish. Hopefully I can make the same run there:)

SUMMARY :

Event 1 / NL Hold’em  / finished 235th place / Winner : Devlsbnkroll from Casselberry

Event 2 / PLO / finished 122th place / Won $11 ticket / Winner : CDRLT from Milford

Event 3 / NL Hold’em / finished 1159th place / Winner : skllzdatklls from Las Vegas

Event 4 / NL Hold’em / finished 20th place / Won $33 ticket / Winner : barrelproof7 from Wuerzberg

Tonight we’re playing Event 5 : 8-game !! I don’t think that’s my kind of game but I’m going to play tight and hopefully get some luck with all the drawing games.Keep your fingers crossed for me and I see you again again soon !!

Cheers,

J.M.

Hi Poker friends !

I’ve been accepted to play in the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker. So everyday I’m going to report about it , telling you my experiences and results. The WBCOOP holds seven different events, each time another game of poker. You can’t win any cash prizes in the WBCOOP, but you can earn tickets for the SCOOP, Spring Championship of Online Poker. There are some very big cash prizes to win, so I hope that I can win a ticket to play there.

Yesterday was the first event, playing No Limit Hold’em. There were 1740 entrants with a starting stack of 2000, without any Add-ons of Re-buys. The starting blinds were 10/20 and there were various tournament tickets to win for the first 153 players, going from a $11 Entry for number 153 to the biggest ticket for the winner of the first Event, a $1,050 Entry.

I had an early double-up when he got this hand sitting in the Big Blind…

Yes baby, Action Dan strikes again !!!! So the button limped to the blinds and we saw the flop with 3 players and I flop 2 pair. The Small Blind immediately bets out for 2/3 of the pot and I instantly decide to raise big there with two pair, as there were different straight – and flushdraws on the board. Then the Small Blind goes all-in after the button folded and left me with a big decision early on in the tournament. Normaly I have the patience to wait long enough in a tournament for the right moment and playing the small ball poker strategy.

But you have to go when you’re the favourite holding the best hand. I was pretty much sure that he had the lowest two pair (3-6) or a flush/straightdraw and with the power of Action Dan on my side, I decided to gamble and put my stack on the line. I called and saw him turning over the 9-8 suited giving him the gutshot straight flush draw and making me a 59% favourite. The turn was pretty awful for me giving him the flush, it left me with only 9% and 4 outs. But I knew the power of Action Dan and the Ten of Diamonds on the river was so hot, making me the full boat. Nice start !!!

I reached further on the event winning some small pots, but was pretty card dead throughout it. So I was waiting to move all-in when the chance was there and I could double up. Then I flopped top pair sitting in the Big Blind with K-10 on a dangerous board with all diamonds, which I hadn’t. The stackleader at the table called me with the Ace of Diamonds in his hand giving him 12 outs, 9 diamonds and 3 Aces. The turn was a blank but the river was the Ten of Diamonds, again, giving me two pair but him the nut flush. I was out in 235th place, just not into the prizes. I’m pretty sure that I would have made it when I doubled up there, but well there still are other events to come.

The final winner of the first event was ‘Devlsbnkroll ‘ from Casselberry.

See you again tomorrow for Event 2 , PLO or Pot Limit Omaha !!!  I’m really looking forward to that event, hopefully doing it better than the first Event and improving my PLO skills.

Cheers,

J.M. aka Romaric85

Hi Pokerfriends !

You all know that I only play at PokerStars online and I recently discovered something new that they’re organizing. The World Blogger Championship Of Online Poker (WBCOOP) are coming soon at the end of January and smallball-poker.com is definately IN.  I’ll keep you up to date about my results and experiences during the different Events. So keep your fingers crossed for me and hopefully I could win an Event.

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! This PokerStars tournament is a No Limit Texas Hold’em event exclusive to Bloggers, you too can take part by registering on WBCOOP

Registration code: 968041