David Benyamine wins a $604k pot and leaves with a $952k stack

Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2008

David Benyamine wins a $604k pot and leaves with a $952k stack
 
The insane action continues on Full Tilt Poker and this time it was Benyamines turn to score a $604k pot, the second largest hand ever. He won this hand aganinst Patrik Antonius.

David Benyamine wins the second largest online poker hand ever with a pair of aces, $604k pot



David Benyamine was in for $100k on this session and left the table with an amazing stack of $955k

09-13-2008

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Will the "JJProdigy" saga ever die?

Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2008

(Source)

Will the "JJProdigy" saga ever die?

Pokerstars recently took the step of banning a number of players with close ties to Josh "JJProdigy" Field, including "gbmantis", "aperfectgent", "hitur2outer" and "sooners". The reason for the mass bannings? According to Pokerstars, these players were "aiding and abetting" Josh Field and enabling him to play on Pokerstars, where he is permanently banned.

Pokerstars became aware that Josh "JJProdigy" Field was still playing on Pokerstars under different accounts. Instead of simply banning the accounts that they suspected that he was playing under, they took it a step further and banned the accounts of his friends and players that he was staking.

"JJProdigy" would gain access to a new account through various means (purchasing access to a dormant account, etc), and then set up a new computer with an AirCard to avoid detection from Pokerstars. He would then rely on his network of friends to transfer money into and out of the new account.

He has listed off a number of accounts that he played under, including "g0t t!lt?", "whitefish77" and "goglobal74". "whitefish77" won the Super Tuesday on Pokerstars in August of 2007 for over $80k, while "g0t t!lt?" final tabled the Pokerstars Million two weeks in a row, winning the event on the last weekend of November in 2007 for almost $250k.

Josh "JJProdigy" Field revealed that he regularly entered 2-6 accounts in the Pokerstars Million.

He also revealed that he found himself playing two accounts at a final table on multiple occasions.

As far as I know, the money from the accounts that were controlled by "JJProdigy" was confiscated (whatever was remaining in them). The accounts belonging to Field's friends were permanently closed as well, but the money was returned.

In at least one case, the banning of Field's friends extended to Full Tilt Poker. I can't say with 100% certainty if all of these players were banned on Full Tilt Poker as well, but I suspect that this is the case.

These recent bannings have led Field to apologize publicly (once again). If you'll remember, he apologized after originally getting busted a number of years ago (after the "ablackcar" incident). Then, a number of months ago, "JJProdigy" apologized to the community once again, claiming that he had been playing and multi-tabling all that time but was giving it up for good. The aim was to gain a little goodwill from the community before he played in his first live event at the Aussie Millions.

Now, the newest apology, which you can read on any of the major forums. Field once again claims that he has given up multi-accounting, and will never play on either Pokerstars or Full Tilt Poker again. Obviously many are not buying his apology, as he apologized a number of months ago and then continued multi-accounting a short time later.

By permanently banning the known associates of "JJProdigy" from their site, Pokerstars has made it much harder for "JJProdigy" to continue playing on their site. Obtaining a new account and bypassing IP detection is one thing - funding and moving funds out of an account is another thing altogether.

It's unknown at this time whether or not Pokerstars will provide any compensation for the players that were unknowingly playing a banned player at a major final table. For instance, how about the guy that finished second to "g0t t!lt?" in the Pokerstars Million, "Tommy2tyme"? Shouldn't he be moved up to first since the winner of that tournament was actually "JJProdigy", who shouldn't have been on the site in the first place? We're talking about a difference of over $100k for "Tommy2tyme" here, and this is just one example.

This is a complete mess. Let's hope that this new, drastic measure from Pokerstars helps to keep "JJProdigy" off of their site, once and for all.
(Source)

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Mike Matusow

Date: Mon, Sep 15, 2008

Michael Matusow is an American professional poker player, residing in Henderson, Nevada. He was born April 30, 1968 in Los Angeles, California. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table. He is also known for sometimes ruining hours or days of good play with a single spectacular misjudgment, (known as a "Mike Matusow Blow-up" or "Mike Matusow Meltdown").

Matusow began playing poker seriously in the early 1990s, first while working as a poker dealer, then as a professional player.His successes include being a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, and the winner of the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. He has played in many tournaments around the world and his winnings (as of 2008) total over $6,800,000.

Matusow resides in a 3,700 square foot home in Henderson (with a cathedral ceiling) and bought a $90,000 BMW 645 CI cabriolet from a $750,000 winning session at online poker. He often wears a gold chain with the Hebrew symbol 'chai' around his neck. Additionally, Matusow hosted Card Player's poker radio show / podcast, the Circuit, before being replaced by Gavin Smith and Joe Sebok. He is also the host of Card Player's online video segment The Mouthpiece.

Mike's biography is scheduled for release by Cardoza Publishing in May of 2009.

Matusow suffered from bullying when going through school and did not attend college. He attempted to get work as an auto mechanic, but did not complete the required studying for the job. He later worked at his family's furniture store.

Matusow's first experience of poker was playing video poker in the Maxim Casino at the age of 18, which he played regularly, to the extent he suffered from repetitive strain injury in his shoulders and arms. He occasionally stole money from his mother's purse and at one point attended Gamblers Anonymous meetings. Matusow was taught Texas hold 'em in 1989 by a rounder named Steve Samaroff. Early in his career, he won 51 out of 53 sessions and $250,000. It was first believed that it was 81 out of 82, but he corrected that statement on the Rounders Poker Show.

World Series of Poker
At the 1998 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Matusow paid one-third of Scotty Nguyen's entrance fee into a satellite event for the $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em main event. Nguyen went on to win, and gave $333,333 to Matusow in return for his partial stake.

In 2001, he finished 6th place in the WSOP $10,000 no limit Hold 'em main event. Matusow says that the decisive hand was when he was bluffed by eventual champion Juan Carlos Mortensen, but did not trust his instincts to call. At the 2004 WSOP main event, Matusow was a focal point of ESPN's coverage, as he verbally attacked eventual champion Greg Raymer.

In the 2005 WSOP, Matusow finished 9th out of 5,619 players in the main event, winning $1,000,000. Several months later, he won the WSOP Tournament of Champions in a heads-up battle against Hoyt Corkins, earning another $1,000,000 in the process. He also placed third in the Tournament of Champions the following year, winning $250,000.

At the 2008 WSOP, Matusow won a third bracelet in the $5000 No Limit 2-7 Draw with rebuys event defeating Jeff Lisandro heads up for the $537,862 first prize.[5] Later in the same year he finished 30th out of 6,844 players in the Main Event, making yet another deep run in the Main Event.

World Series of Poker bracelets
Year Event Prize Money
1999 $3,500 No Limit Hold 'em $265,475
2002 $5,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better $148,520
2008 $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw w/Rebuys $537,862

In October 2004, Matusow made his first World Poker Tour (WPT) final table at the UltimateBet Aruba Classic, earning $250,000 for 3rd place.

In 2006, he finished runner-up to Tony G in the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II in heads-up play. Matusow also appeared in Poker Superstars III, where he made it to the Elite Eight. In the winner-take-all championship match, Matusow beat seven other players to win $500,000. He also appeared in the second, third and fourth season of High Stakes Poker.

In September 2006, Mike made his debut on the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Barcelona; however, he was eliminated on the first day. In early 2007, Matusow appeared on two episodes of Poker After Dark where he finished 3rd and 2nd respectively. He plays online poker under the following aliases: "dill pickle" (UltimateBet); "mrpokejoke" (PokerStars); and "Mike Matusow" (Full Tilt Poker, where he is also a member of "Team Full Tilt").

In July 2007, Matusow won $671,320 after coming in second place at the World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup III Championship after online pro Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul defeated him during heads-up play.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $6,800,000.

Matusow is both loved and disliked by many poker fans. At the 2007 WSOP Main Event final table, Tournament Director Jack Effel asked the audience to recognize one of Effel's "favorite" players. The fans cheered and booed.

Matusow has had several personal problems. He has battled drug issues, including a six-month stint in jail in 2004 and 2005 after being caught with cocaine.

He has also dealt with weight issues, detailed on ESPN's broadcast of the 2007 WSOP. During that tournament, Mike made a six figure bet with Ted Forrest that he could get down to 181 pounds by June 3, 2008. Mike won the bet on June 3, weighing in at 179 pounds.

Official site
Official blog
Official Myspace
World Poker Tour profile

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Greg Raymer

Date: Mon, Sep 15, 2008

Gregory Raymer is best known for winning the 2004 World Series of Poker main event, and for the opaque holographic sunglasses that he sometimes wears during hands. He was born June 25, 1964 in Minot, North Dakota.

Raymer's family moved numerous times during his childhood, from his birthplace of Minot to Clearwater, Florida and ultimately to St. Louis, Missouri. After Raymer graduated from Parkway South High School in St. Louis, he enrolled at the University of Missouri–Rolla, where he majored in chemistry and became a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1992 and practiced as a patent attorney for more than a decade. However, he no longer works as a lawyer.

After moving to Stonington, Connecticut in 1999, Raymer began playing poker at Foxwoods Resort Casino while he was working as a patent lawyer for pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer.

Raymer first finished in the money of a World Series of Poker (WSOP) event during 2001 in the $1,500 Omaha hi-lo split 8 or better event won by Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. The next year he could be seen in the background as Robert Varkonyi celebrated after winning the main event at the 2002 World Series of Poker.

At the 2004 World Series, Raymer defeated David Williams to win the $5,000,000 first prize in the $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em WSOP main event. (In the final hand, Raymer's 8♠ 8♦ defeated Williams' A♥ 4♠.) Raymer received the entry fee to the tournament by winning a $160 satellite event on PokerStars, just like the 2003 winner, Chris Moneymaker. Raymer is now a representative of PokerStars, alongside Moneymaker and the 2005 World Series of Poker champion Joe Hachem.

As defending champion, Raymer went on to finish in 25th place (out of 5,619 entrants) in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, earning him $304,680. No player since Johnny Chan has came so close to repeating as World Series champion, and his deep finish has been described by his peers as one of the most incredible achievements in poker, considering the rapidly increasing field of players in the Main Event every year. On the second-to-last day of play, Raymer held K♦ K♥ when he trapped Aaron Kanter into calling his all-in bet with Q♥ J♥. Even though Raymer was a 9:2 favorite before the flop, Kanter came from behind to hit running hearts to make a flush and win, thus crippling Raymer and effectively ending his tournament.

In 2005 Raymer also entered the inaugural British Poker Open which was filmed in London and was the UK's biggest live poker event in history. As a firm favourite Raymer made the final table to come third in a live final and collect around £20,000.
Raymer appeared in Poker Superstars III but was eliminated in the preliminaries.

In March 2006, Raymer (as "Fossilman") took second place in the first quarterly $1,000,000 guaranteed tournament on PokerStars, winning over $180,000 in a field of over 1500 tournament players.

On September 17th, 2007, Raymer won the $320 WCOOP Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys Event on PokerStars, winning $168,362.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $6,000,000.

Raymer is nicknamed "Fossilman" because of his hobby of collecting fossils. He uses a small fossil as a card protector while he plays poker. Early in his poker career he would supplement his bankroll by selling fossils to other players at his table.

Aside from the World Series, Raymer plays few tournaments, choosing to spend time with his wife Cheryl and daughter Sophie instead of immersing himself in the poker circuit and the constant travel it requires. In November 2005, Raymer and his family relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Raymer stated that he was allergic to alcohol during his appearance on the European Poker Tour.

In a December, 2006 interview Raymer said that he was considering running for Vice-President of the United States in 2008 as a candidate of the Libertarian Party.

On December 20, 2004, two men attempted to rob Raymer at gunpoint as he returned to his Bellagio hotel room after playing in a cash game. Raymer held them off until police arrived and was unharmed.

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High Stakes Online Poker

Date: Thu, Sep 11, 2008

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David Benyamine

Date: Thu, Sep 11, 2008

David Benyamine (born July 5, 1972 in Paris, France) is a French professional poker player with a World Poker Tour title.

David Benyamine was a professional tennis player in his early career but had to retire because of back pain. He was also a successful top ten billiards player in France.

David Benyamine was employed as an aupair in Paris.

David Benyamine learned poker at the age of 12 and plays high-stakes cash games on a regular basis.

David Benyamine was deported from the United States during 2004. His name was the same or similar to one on the terrorist "watch list", but the resolution was that he was deported for not having a work permit.

David Benyamine lives in Henderson, NV. He has one daughter, and is engaged to professional poker and blackjack player Erica Schoenberg.

World Poker Tour
Benyamine has made three final tables in World Poker Tour (WPT) open events:

2003 Grand Prix de Paris (second season) - 1st place (€357,200)
2004 L.A. Poker Classic (second season) - 6th place ($132,355)
2008 Bellagio Cup IV (seventh season) - 2nd place ($840,295)[4]
David Benyamine is also the winner of the WPT Battle of Champions II invitational event, where he defeated a final table including Hoyt Corkins, Mel Judah, Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak.

World Series of Poker
David Benyamine is primarily a Cash Game player, but due to comments from his friends, he started playing more regularly during the 2008 World Series of Poker[5]. As of 22nd June 2008, he has made 4 WSOP final tables, 3 of which where in 2008, as well as his one bracelet:

Year Tournament Prize (US$)
2008 $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split $535,687

David Benyamine currently plays high stakes online poker under his own name at Full Tilt Poker and is sponsored by them. David is a Pot-Limit Omaha specialist.

As of 2008,David Benyamine total live tournament winnings exceed $3,100,000.

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Patrik Antonius

Date: Wed, Sep 10, 2008

Patrik Antonius (born December 13, 1980 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish professional poker player, former tennis player and coach, and model from Vantaa, Finland. He currently resides in Monte Carlo. He was mentored by Marcel Lüske as a member of Luske's “Circle of Outlaws”and later advised by Jennifer Harman.

Tournament poker
Antonius began making a name for himself on the poker tournament circuit with two finishes near the final table of World Poker Tour (WPT) event, 12th at the WPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, then 15th at the Bay 101 Shooting Stars event two months later, in early 2005. He went on to finish in the money in three events of the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

In September 2005 he made the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event final table, finishing 3rd in Barcelona. The next month, Antonius won the EPT event in Baden bei Wien, taking home the €288,180 first prize when in the final hand his 8♠ 4♥ beat Gunnar Østebrød's Q♥ 9♣ on a board of 4♠ 7♠ 8♥ 3♣ 7♣.

In December 2005 he finished off the year by finishing 2nd in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada, winning $1,046,470.

In July 2006 he placed 9th in World Series of Poker $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, taking home $205,920, his biggest cash that year.

In 2007 World Series of Poker, Antonius entered numerous tournaments but he only cashed in the World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha event, placing third and winning $311,394, making that his ninth WSOP cash and increasing his WSOP earnings to a total of $569,964.

Antonius has been featured three times on NBC's Poker After Dark. In his first appearance he finished as runner up, losing out to fellow poker professional Jennifer Harman, but his next attempt saw him defeat Brad Booth in heads-up play to take the victory. In his third appearance he was runner up again, this time to Johnny Chan.

As of 2008, Antonius' total live tournament winnings exceed $2,800,000. He also plays in some of the highest profile online tournaments, and in September 2008 he finished 2nd in the Full Tilt Poker $25,000 buy-in Heads-Up Pot Limit Omaha Championship, winning $320,000.

Side games
Antonius has been referred to as a heads-up specialist. He is a regular high stakes player online. He has played on Full Tilt Poker under several nicknames, including Luigi66369, CryMeRiver9, I_knockout_U, try_hrdr_fish and Finddagrind, but having become a member of "Team Full Tilt" he now plays under his real name. Previously Antonius was one of a team of players associated with Martinspoker.com.

He is equally prolific in live cash games, and is a regular in the Big Game, the high-stakes cash game at the Bellagio.

Antonius appeared on the third and fourth seasons of GSN's High Stakes Poker. Patrik was involved, along with Sammy Farha, in the show's second largest ever pot; it totaled $998,800. After a preflop raise and re-raise the flop came 6♦ 3♣ 9♦; Antonius held J♥ 9♥ for top pair and Farha held K♦ Q♦, giving him two over-cards and a flush draw. Sammy called Patrik's all-in raise instantly and the two agreed to run the turn and river four times. Though Sammy's hand was a slight favorite, Patrik won three of the four runs and collected $749,100.

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Phil Hellmuth

Date: Wed, Sep 10, 2008

Phillip J. Hellmuth, Jr. is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record eleven World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his "poker brat" personality. He is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

Phil Hellmuth was born July 16, 1964 in Madison, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for three years before dropping out to play poker full-time. He currently resides in Palo Alto, California with his wife Katherine Sanborn and two sons, Phillip and Nicholas.

Hellmuth's wife played in the Ladies' Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker, where she was eliminated by eventual champion Jennifer Tilly.

Poker accomplishments

World Series of Poker
In 1989, the 24-year-old Hellmuth became the youngest player to win the Main Event of the WSOP - a record that still stands as of 2008 - by defeating the two-time defending champion, Johnny Chan in heads up play. At the 2006 World Series of Poker, he captured his record 10th World Series of Poker bracelet in the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em with rebuys event. At the time, this tied him with fellow poker legends Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan. However, unlike Brunson and Chan, all of his bracelets are in Texas hold'em.

At the 2007 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth won his record-breaking 11th bracelet in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Event. Hellmuth also holds the records for most WSOP cashes (68) and most WSOP final tables (41), recently overtaking TJ Cloutier.
At the Main Event of the 2008 World Series of Poker Hellmuth made a deep run finishing in 45th place out of a field of 6,844. He was the last former champion standing at the event when he was knocked out by Andrew Rosskamm. Hellmuth took home $154,400.

Hellmuth has won $5,859,080 at the WSOP and is ranked 6th on the WSOP All Time Money List.

World Series of Poker bracelets
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
1989 $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship $755,000
1992 $5,000 Limit Hold'em $168,000
1993 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em $161,400
1993 $2,500 No Limit Hold'em $173,000
1993 $5,000 Limit Hold'em $138,000
1997 $3,000 Pot Limit Hold'em $204,000
2001 $2,000 No Limit Hold'em $316,550
2003 $2,500 Limit Hold'em $171,400
2003 $3,000 No Limit Hold'em $410,860
2006 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em with rebuys $631,863
2007 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em $637,254

World Poker Tour
Hellmuth has not won a World Poker Tour (WPT) tournament. He has cashed 10 times and made 3 final tables. He finished 4th in the $3,000 No Limit Hold'em WPT Event at the 3rd Annual 49'er Gold Rush Bonanza in 2002 and 3rd in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em WPT Event at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods in 2003 and at the 2008 WPT L.A. Poker Classic Hellmuth finished in sixth place earning $229,480 in a final table that included both Phil Ivey and Nam Le. He also played in two WPT Invitational Events, the World Poker Tour by The Book in 2004 and the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II in 2006 and finished 3rd both times.

To date, Hellmuth has won $814,869 in WPT tournaments.

Other tournaments
Hellmuth is the season 3 champion of Late Night Poker.

In 2005, Hellmuth won the first National Heads-Up Poker Championship. He defeated Men Nguyen, Paul Phillips, Huck Seed, Lyle Berman and Antonio Esfandiari on the way to the final against Chris Ferguson whom he defeated in two out of three games. While trying to repeat in 2006, he lost in the first round to Chip Reese. In 2007, Hellmuth did not play due to the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker, a British tournament in which he took part. He won 4 out of his 6 group matches and eventually finished 3rd in the finals. Hellmuth took part in the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, losing in the first round to Tom Dwan.

He makes regular appearances on episodes of Poker After Dark, both as a player and as a drop in commentator. Hellmuth won his first Poker After Dark tournament in the opening third season of 2008, winning $120,000. Hellmuth returned two weeks later and claimed his second Poker After Dark title, winning another $120,000. He also appeared in the first and fourth seasons of GSN's cash game show, High Stakes Poker.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,600,000. He is ranked 3rd on the All Time Money List, behind Jamie Gold and Joe Hachem.

Poker-related activities
Hellmuth has made several instructional poker videos, including his Ultimate White To Black Belt Course and Phil Hellmuth's Million Dollar Poker Secrets. He has written many articles for Cardplayer magazine and several poker books including Play Poker like the Pros, Bad Beats and Lucky Draws, The Greatest Poker Hands ever Played, and Poker Brat, which contains autobiographical material as well as poker advice. In May 2004 Phil Helmuth partnered with Oasys Mobile for the release of Texas Hold'em by Phil Hellmuth. At the time it was one of the ten most popular multi-player mobile phone games available. In spring 2006, Hellmuth replaced Phil Gordon as commentator on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown.
Along with Annie Duke, Hellmuth is a poker coach on Fox Sports Network’s Best Damn Poker Show, which is sponsored by the poker site Ultimatebet.net.

Personality and controversy
Hellmuth is known for making scathing remarks about his opponents’ skills, especially after taking bad beats. During the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker he stated "I can dodge bullets, baby!" after laying down Ace King to an opponent's pocket Aces on a board of A 4 4 Q rainbow. He later accused Jim Pitman of not even being able to spell poker after Pitman put all of his money in the pot preflop with King Jack against Hellmuth's Ace King; Hellmuth's opponent hit a three-outer to win the pot. Other famous quotes include: "If luck weren't involved, I guess I'd win every one," and "I've revolutionized the way to play Texas hold 'em."

In the first week of the show Poker After Dark on NBC, after fellow pros Shawn Sheikhan, Steve Zolotow, Gus Hansen and Huck Seed refused to stop talking while it was his turn to act on his hand after Annie Duke raised him, Hellmuth threatened to never play in these tournaments again. Duke was the only player at the table who remained quiet while the drama played out. Hellmuth eventually came back and was eliminated a few hands later ironically by Shawn Sheikhan.

Hellmuth's sponsor, UltimateBet, arranged for him to arrive at the 2007 WSOP Main Event in an Ultimatebet race car, escorted by 11 Ultimatebet models (one for each of Hellmuth's 11 World Series of Poker bracelets). However, Hellmuth crashed the race car in the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino parking lot when he lost control of the vehicle and hit a concrete light fixture. After the accident, Hellmuth showed up in a limo, met his escorts, and made his grand entrance to the Main Event two hours late.The accident created some controversy because some people thought that the accident was staged, but Hellmuth said it wasn't. He later made light of the accident in a television advertisement for Ultimatebet. In 2008, Hellmuth again made a grand entrance into the WSOP Main Event. As a promotion to the UB Army, Hellmuth arrived in a convoy dressed in military garb.

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Gus Hansen

Date: Wed, Sep 10, 2008

Gustav Hansen (born February 13, 1974 outside Copenhagen, Denmark) is a professional Danish poker player who lives in Monaco. In his poker career Hansen has won a record three World Poker Tour open titles, the 2007 Aussie Millions main event and was the season one winner of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament.

Nicknames - The Great Dane

Before turning to playing poker professionally in 1997, Hansen was a world class backgammon player and a youth tennis champion. He was known for being a sports enthusiast throughout his teens, competing in several indoor and outdoor sports as a successful junior athlete. In 2000, he moved to New York City, and tried to make a living playing professional backgammon, but found the field too small for his taste.

He calls himself a professional gambler and has been known to take private bets on various personal athletic challenges (such as running), other than poker and professional sports.

Poker career
Hansen started playing poker at the Ocean View Card Room in Santa Cruz, California while he was an exchange student at UC Santa Cruz in 1993. He is notorious for his extremely loose, aggressive play. He has a reputation for raising or bluffing with almost any two cards, which leads to opponents calling (or raising) his bets when he has a legitimate hand.
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,200,000.

World Series of Poker
Hansen finished in the money in 150th place in the 2004 Main Event. In the 2006 Tournament of Champions, Gus made a World Series of Poker final table, but lost on the very first hand with Ace King against a pair of 9s.

In 2007 Hansen cashed in the money in the $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em championship, coming in 61st place out of a field of 6,358 players, winning $154,194. In 2008 he came in 160th place out of a field of 6,844 players to win a prize of $41,816.

World Poker Tour
Hansen is the only player to win three World Poker Tour (WPT) open tournaments. He also won the first WPT Bad Boys of Poker invitational event. In 2004, he was inducted into the World Poker Tour Walk of Fame, along with Doyle Brunson and James Garner.

On April 27, 2008 Hansen came in second to David Chiu at the Season 6 WPT Championship, earning $1,714,800.

European Poker Masters
In September 2006 Hansen won the inaugural EPM event, The London All Star Challenge, eventually beating Marc Goodwin heads-up to take home the title and cheque for £53,600 ($US102,000).

Poker Superstars
Hansen won the inaugural $400,000 Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament, winning the $1,000,000 first prize in a one-table event featuring some of the most well-known players today. He did not appear in the second series whilst losing to Antonio Esfandiari in the semifinals in the third.

Other events
Hansen finished in the money of the 2004 World Series of Poker main event, and also made the final table of a European Poker Tour (EPT) event in Barcelona.

In 2006, Hansen was a member of the winning Danish team in the PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup tournament, alongside Theo Jørgensen and Kim Christofte.

He is currently featured in the Professional Poker Tour and the second season of High Stakes Poker, where he won the fifth biggest pot in the show's history ($575,700) when his 5♦ 5♣ defeated Daniel Negreanu's 6♠ 6♥ on a board of 9♣ 6♦ 5♥ 5♠ 8♠.

He was in Singapore in November 12-17, 2006 to participate in the Betfair Asian Poker Tour.
Gus was the first winner on NBC's Poker After Dark earning him $120,000, as he outlasted a field of six pro's including Phil Hellmuth and Huck Seed.

In January 2007, Gus won the $10,500 main event at the Aussie Millions in Melbourne, Australia, beating a field of 747 players to take home the AUD $1,500,000 first prize.

Other ventures
Gus Hansen was a founding partner and house pro of the online poker site pokerchamps.com, launched in 2003. In 2005 the company and game software technology were sold to the British company Betfair, for over 100 million Danish kroner (approximately £8.8 million / 13 million euro / $15,000,000 USD). Despite the sale, Hansen was involved in a PokerChamps Danish championship in October 2005.

In 2005, Hansen appeared in Texas Hold'Em Poker Advanced Strategies With Gus Hansen, which is part of the Going All In instructional series of DVDs.

He is presently a spokesmodel for Frank Q, a Danish men's fashion line, which he is contracted to wear exclusively for public appearances.

In 2008, Hansen launched a poker community website, ThePlayr.com, which contains his blog, articles and a "Gus Tracker", which tracks Hansen where he goes and plays.

In May 2008 Lyle Stuart Kensington published Hansen's book "Every Hand Revealed", a hand-by-hand account of his triumph in the 2007 Aussie Millions.

Losses
Despite his ongoing success, Hansen has struggled with money problems, reportedly because of losses during live cash games. Hansen is a regular in the The Big Game normally held in "Bobby’s Room" at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. He has said that his losses aren't a secret and has admitted to losing a million or so at a couple of games. He also admits to being a perennial loser in sports betting, so much so that he wishes he could stop.

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Andy Bloch

Date: Wed, Sep 10, 2008

Andy Bloch hometown is Las Vegas, Nevada. Andy Bloch started playing seriously in 1992, though he was part of the MIT blackjack team, entering some small $35 weekly tournaments once a month. By the end of the year, he had won one of the World Poker Finals tournaments, a $100(US) entry fee no-limit Texas hold'em tournament. That was the first time he ever played no-limit Texas hold 'em.

In 1997, he skipped the last week of law school classes to play in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. He was the guinea pig in a low-tech hole card cam trial. Tom Sims was looking for a volunteer to "sweat" and record all his hole cards, and he agreed. His records turned into a 2-part CardPlayer Magazine article. After passing the bar exam in 1999, he decided to delay his law career and went back to poker.

That career got delayed even further after making two WSOP final tables in 2001, a first place finish back at Foxwoods in 2002 (playing seven-card stud), and two World Poker Tour (WPT) final tables its first season, finishing 3rd both times. Bloch has since chosen to boycott the WPT in protest to its player release process.

Bloch was the second season winner of the Ultimate Poker Challenge.

Bloch is also an accomplished blackjack player and was featured in the blackjack documentary The Hot Shoe, as well as starring in his own instructional blackjack DVD, Beating Blackjack, which explains card counting. Andy Bloch was a member of the MIT Blackjack Team featured in the book Bringing Down the House.[4] Bloch said he has made up to $100,000 in one session while playing blackjack.

He is a member of "Team Full Tilt" at Full Tilt Poker.

At the 2006 World Series of Poker, Bloch finished 2nd in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event when his 9♣ 8♠ failed to improve against David "Chip" Reese's A♣ Q♣ in the final hand, on a board of J♠ 7♣ 7♠ 4♥ 4♠. The heads-up battle lasted 286 hands and was the longest recorded in WSOP history.

In 2006, he defeated Phil Laak heads up to win the Pro-Am Poker Equalizer taking in the grand prize of $500,000. The tournament was broadcast in early 2007 on ESPN.

In March 2008, Andy Bloch finished runner-up to Chris Ferguson in the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

Bloch finished runner-up to Nenad Medic in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 2008 World Series of Poker, earning $488,048.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,900,000.

Bloch donates 100% of his winnings on Full Tilt Poker to various charities around the world. After qualifying for the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event via a tournament on the website, Bloch decided that any money he won in the event would go directly to charity. He is also contributing $100,000 of his winnings from the Pro-Am Equalizer to charities working in Darfur.

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Pokerstars WCOOP Event Winners #6,#7,#8

Date: Wed, Sep 10, 2008

WCOOP Event No. 6: $500 No-Limit Hold’em (two-day event)

The first two-day event of the 2008 PokerStars WCOOP began on Sunday night and came to a close lasts night with a spectacularly long heads-up battle. The event kicked off on Sunday with 7,351 entrants, which produced a prize pool of $3,675,500, well above the $3 million guarantee. After 22 levels of play, 72 players remained, and those players went to bed to prepare to fight again the next day for the $452,000 first-place prize.

The event restarted yesterday at 4:30 p.m. ET, and once 70 players had dropped out of the running, just Calvin32 and Solovka were left gunning for the top prize. Calvin32 began heads-up play as the short stack, and a deal was suggested. Solovka declined, and over the two hours of the marathon match, Calvin32 pulled into the chip lead. He again offered to look at chop numbers, but Solovka again declined. Calvin32 then accumulated an even more dominating chip lead before the final hand. Solovka pushed all in with K-J, and Calvin32 called with Q-9. A nine came on the flop to give Calvin32 the lead, and that was all he needed to take down the event, earn a WCOOP title, and snag the $452,000 first-place prize.

The final results were:

Calvin32 — $452,087
Solovka — $306,169
Roland_NL — $205,828
adonislee — $169,073
cassie13 — $132,318
DUBBZZ — $95,563
randomcrayon — $64,321
Yo Burger — $42,268
Papio Papio — $25,729

WCOOP Event No. 7: $200 Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha

Along with the restarting no-limit hold’em event, two other WCOOP events started last night, and they both played to conclusion. The first was a $200 six-handed pot-limit Omaha event, which sported a $300,000 guarantee. That guarantee was trounced when 2,457 entrants bought in, building a prize pool of $491,400. Online poker notables to make it deep in the event included Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis (10th, pictured at right), Danny “THE__D__RY” Ryan (29th), and Brock “t soprano” Parker (32nd). Rkruok made his third WCOOP cash in the four days the WCOOP has been running when he made the final table of the event, eventually finishing in fifth place ($21,130).

With $77,000 first-place payday looming, the final three players, Mary 717, mddgfc, and kev19, got ready to take a shot at eliminating their last few competitors. The three decided to strike a deal based on chip counts, with Mary 717 guaranteeing herself the lion’s share ($65,730) as the chip leader. The other two players locked in about $50,000 apiece, and $6,000 remained on the line for the eventual winner. Just five minutes later, Mary 717 became that winner, snagging the WCOOP bracelet and the additional $6,000, putting her total winnings at $71,730.

The final results were:

Mary 717 — $71,730*
mddgfc — $50,301*
Kevin “kev19” Tanner — $49,861*
HORERogHALM — $30,221
rkruok — $21,130
bearbeer123 — $12,482

* Payout reflects a three-way deal made at the final table, with $6,000 left on the table for the eventual winner.


WCOOP Event No. 8: $300 Eight-Game Mix

The final WCOOP event of the night was a $300 buy-in eight-game mix. Each round of the tournament featured a different game, including deuce-to-seven triple-draw, limit hold’em, Omaha eight-or-better, razz, seven-card stud, seven-card stud eight-or-better, no-limit hold’em, and pot-limit Omaha. That made for one of the most varied poker tournaments in poker history, and the winner of the event would earn quite a bit of respect for having mastered the entire slate of poker variants. Such a complex tournament would usually see a small turnout, especially for $300, but this event lured 1,128 entrants to go well beyond the $200,000 guarantee to $338,400.

That prize pool left $56,000 for the first-place finisher, but when 1,128 became two, the final duo decided to make a deal for some of the money. Ulett_23 and Sietz333 eventually agreed on an even-money chop of $46,797 with $4,000 left on the line for the eventual winner, per the PokerStars chopping rules. The final hand was dealt during a deuce-to-seven triple-draw round. Ulett_23 eventually made an 8-low to defeat Seitz333’s 10-low, scoring the WCOOP bracelet and the extra $4,000. Ulett_23 left the table with a total of $50,797 for his trouble.

The final results were:

Ulett_23 — $50,797*
Seitz333 — $46,797*
Booster_JJ — $30,456
osten — $23,688
SC72A — $17,766
Andrejkovics — $11,844

* Payout reflects an even-money chop heads up with $4,000 left for the eventual winner.


There are two WCOOP events slated to be played out today. The first, which starts at 2:30 p.m. ET, is a four-handed no-limit hold’em event with a $200 buy-in and a $400,000 guarantee. The second event is a $100,000-guaranteed $200 razz event, which starts at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Check out the entire WCOOP schedule and results on CardPlayer.com’s WCOOP landing page

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Top players have advantage in deep-stack games

Date: Tue, Sep 9, 2008

By Daniel Negreanu - Regular readers of this column know I am a proponent of small ball poker, which is characterized by low pre-flop raises and restrained betting on the flop.

In small ball poker, the investment before the flop is minimal compared to the size of the average chipstack.

Say, for example, that you have 10,000 in chips with the blinds at 100-200. A pre-flop raise to 500 is the right size for small ball poker, representing a mere 5 percent of your stack and 2 1/2 times the big blind.

Sure, you could raise more, but I generally prefer to risk fewer chips on speculative hands before the flop.

In a deep-stack cash game, however, that type of bet just wouldn't be big enough to have any chance at stealing blinds and antes.

Let's take a look at GSN's "High Stakes Poker," where play starts with $300-$600 blinds plus a $100 ante. In this deep-stack cash game, where players routinely buy in for at least $100,000 in real cash, no one would fold to a standard small ball $1,500 pre-flop bet (2 1/2 times the big blind) when there's already $1,800 in blinds and antes up for grabs.

Knowing that, you should make a few adjustments to your game when playing in deep-stack games, such as increasing both the size of pre-flop raises and the size of bets on the flop.

Going back to the previous example, a raise to about $2,000 to $2,400 just might do the trick. You'll have a better chance to pick up the blinds and antes and also will force loose opponents to pay extra when they decide to play trash hands hoping to catch a big flop.

Let's go back to the standard small ball raise, but this time in tournament play.

The standard 2 1/2 times the big blind small ball raise -- $1,500 when blinds are $300-$600 -- is much more likely to be successful in tournaments because players are forced to play with caution. Also, players won't typically have a robust stack of chips in front of them; to call a $1,500 bet likely would risk a significant percentage of a player's chip stack.

Ponder calling raises
You see, calling any raise in a tournament is an important decision that demands careful consideration.

That's not necessarily true in a deep-stack cash game where a typical small ball bet probably would account for an insignificant percentage of the average chip stack.

Playing deep-stack no limit hold'em is a very complex game where the most critical and difficult decisions come after the flop. That's not the case, however, in small buy-in games.

In those games, players often have only one betting question to ponder: Do I shove all-in on the flop or do I wait until the turn?

You'll rarely see players deliberating that question in a deep-stack cash game like "High Stakes Poker." That decision is much more common in a World Poker Tour event where blinds and antes escalate rapidly.

I find that it's in deep-stack games where the best players have the greatest playing advantage. Obviously, these experienced players are skilled in the fundamentals of pre-flop and flop play. But it's in deep-stack games where they reveal their true expertise on the turn and the river. That's when a whole other level of poker intelligence is required.

Deep-stack games like "High Stakes Poker" are the favorites among both poker pros and avid fans of televised poker. In these games, the most talented players shine and the most exciting action takes place.

by Daniel Negreanu | Special to The Grand Rapids Press

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Playing Top Pairs AA - KK - QQ

Date: Tue, Sep 9, 2008

When you're playing No-Limit Texas Hold'em and you get dealt a big pair in the hole, you feel blessed by the poker gods, as well you should. A big pair refers to just three examples: AA, KK, QQ. The top three pairs guarantee you pre-flop (in a vast majority of the cases) that you are top dog. Regardless of your position, you are encouraged to RAISE, RAISE, RAISE.

The minimum raise is three times the size of the big blind. The max is your entire stack. Remember - this is NLHE. You want to raise big to drive out smaller pocket pairs, connectors - suited or not - like A,K, J,10, one-gappers, A,Q, Q,10 and so forth. The best scenario is for you to win the hand pre-flop.

Why? Post-flop a pair can lose significant strength. Remember that a pair is the bottom-rung of a winning hand on the poker scale. It's just one above a HIGH-CARD.

You have to study the "TEXTURE" of the flop. What does that mean? Well, you need to see if there is a possible straight or straight-draw on the board. You need to know if there's flush potential. Three hearts on the board and you're holding two black queens. Uh-oh! What if your opponent made a bonehead move with his 7,10 of hearts in the hole. You are beat here unless you get lucky and catch a full house.

These are things you must think about. Always continue to raise after the flop if your pocket pair is still the highest on the board and there are no backdoor straight or flush possibilities.

You will ram and jam (raise up the pot as much as you feel you can without scaring everyone off while still putting maximize pressure on your opponents) if you hit a set, full house or - amazingly enough - quads.

By studying the texture of the flop, you'll have more than a good idea at this point as to whether your hand is beat or not. If an opponent re-raises you, and there is a possibility that your hand is NOT numero uno, cut your losses and get out.

The same holds true on the turn and river. If the board appears unfriendly, odds are that it is especially if your opponent employs an aggressive betting style.

In a nutshell, play big pairs strong before the flop NO MATTER WHAT. After the flop, make sure you take a minute to calculate the best hand. If you're pretty sure you've got it, go with it and continue to bet aggressively. The same holds true on the turn and river.

However, your best bet is to remember that it is usually more profitable to lay down a big hand than to tempt fate. The relative strength of your big pair dwindles as the cards fall on the board.

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Poker Tournament Indicator for FREE for 48 hours

Date: Tue, Sep 9, 2008

Got a poker tournament coming up? Just download and install now, then browse the Video Guide. You can try Tournament Indicator for FREE for 48 hours. FREE DOWNLOAD

Tournament Indicator is unlike any other poker calculator because it is specifically designed for Texas Holdem online tournament play. The indicators used in the software are the same you would use in a real tournament situation, but are quite different from a ring or cash game.

Poker calculator designed for ring games simply cannot offer the critical information used to make correct decisions in tournaments. Correct decision making at game critical intersects is what makes a tournament player successful.

Here are some of the features Tournament Indicator offers an online tournament player:

Instant MZone Calculations
Now you will know what MZone you are in as well as every other players' at your table. Depending on which MZone you are in can drastically alter your strategy, and the same is for your opponents. Only now, you are the only one with ALL the critical information at the table.

Player Profiling
In early tournament play you can learn a lot about your opponents by watching everything they do. Harder said than done, but Tournament Indicator does it all for you tracking VPIP%, Aggression, PFR%, showdown wins, and more. All these combined make for real-time player classifications that you can use against your opponents at the right time.

Tilt Factor Monitoring
New to poker calculator also is Tournament Indicator's ability to provide you with insight as to your opponent's tilt potential. By tracking hand streak in wins and losses and a tally on the player's stack over the last 10 hands gives you even more insight into that players current psyche.

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MatchCard Showdown
Different criteria enter into the decision making process as a tournament winds down. Whether you are short stack, big stack or other, in the money or on the bubble, you will be faced with numerous all-in confrontations as part of the normal play of tournaments. What Tournament Indicator's MatchCard feature offers is a quick view of potential hands you might be up against.

Odds Calculations
Holdem Indicator set the standard for quick, easy to understand odds display while incorporating a visual display of comparing win odds to pot odds in each betting round. Tournament Indicator uses that same technology to give users the most relevant information with proven, reliable technology.

MiniView and Customized Settings
You won't feel squeezed on your computer screen as Tournament Indicator can be minimized on the game window. We like our profile settings but if you don't, just go ahead and adjust the profiling, and tilt factor settings to where they make more sense for you.

Video Tutorial Guide
Tournament Indicator introduces the Video Tutorial Guide compiled by Marty Smith. Watch these quick, informative videos and you will be using Tournament Indicator to it's full extent in your very first tournament.

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