Author: calvin

The build-up to the FA Cup final may have begun in earnest with Manchester City and Wigan looking forward to a trip to Wembley on Saturday. The FA Cup may be more about kudos than cash but both clubs can still expect a financial boost from making it to Wembley. This will be of greater benefit to Wigan than City, especially if they are relegated this season from the Premier League but this is not the only focus on Wembley cash this week.

This is because the ISPT have made a number of announcements about their big poker tournament that is bound for Wembley at the end of May.

The payout structure of the event is already announced and there are a number of alternatives available on site, allowing you to calculate how much you will earn for a specific finish depending on how many players sign up for the poker action. There are five separate payout structures listed on the official ISPT site, informing players of how much money they can receive if there are 1,000 players, involved, 1,250 players involved, 1,500 players involved, 1,750 players involved or 1,852 players involved. The more players involved, the more money there will be on offer, which makes perfect sense.

There is a guaranteed million up for grabs

If there is a limited turnout and there are only 1,000 players involved in the game, the winner should expect to receive £1m but this is down to the fact that there will be an added amount to the winner’s prize fund. The winner of the event should expect to see 20% of the pot and for 1,000 players, this would only amount to 540,000 euros. However, with the guaranteed 1 million prize being a major component of this event, it is no surprise to see that the winner gets a big boost to the amount of money that they will receive. This means that it doesn’t matter how many people turn out for the major ISPT event, the winner is going to be a very happy person indeed.

The great news is that half of the players who take part in the live event will receive some money for playing in the event. The thrill of being at Wembley should be more than enough to excite some players but the fact that there is a genuine chance of making some cash should go a long way to cheering some poker players up and providing a strong incentive to get involved with the fun and excitement that will be on offer at Wembley.

A prize of 540 euros may not seem like the biggest return but with 500 players from an original starting number of 1,000 bagging this prize, there is definitely a big incentive to get on with the poker action at Wembley Stadium. If over 1,800 players take part in the event, there will be 900 or more players earning this amount of money which goes a long way to making this huge poker event something that stands out from the crowd.

The make-up of the tournament is such that deals are going to be allowed at the final table so there may be a slight downscaling for the eventual winner but at least they know that they will be guaranteed a certain amount. While some poker players are unhappy at the thought of making a deal at the final table, there are plenty of players that appreciate the chance to have a guaranteed amount for finishing in the final few places.

It may be a Bank Holiday weekend but that doesn’t mean that you cannot look forward to a lot of poker action and excitement. In fact this is the perfect weekend for a lot of poker action and you should be looking to do whatever you can to enjoy some poker fun. If you are not going to be allowed to slip off from the family for too long, finding some great value online poker events this weekend could be the best solution. There are always brilliant online poker events to enjoy and with no work on Monday, you can really make the most of it.

However, if you do have a free pass this weekend and you want to make the most of your weekend, how about heading to Stockton on Sunday? This may not seem like the best way for you to spend your time this weekend, or any weekend but it may just be the start of the best few poker days of your life. You should know that the GUKPT has been serving up some fantastic poker tournaments and events of late and the next event is upon us, starting this Sunday.

Get ready to play for Main Event seats

The opening poker event of the GUKPT Stockton schedule will take place on Sunday, the 5th of May. The game is a £30+£5 NLHE re-buy satellite event. This seems like a casual start to the big poker action but the fact that there will be a minimum of 10 seats on offer of the Main Event of the GUKPT schedule has to make it worthwhile. There will be other satellite events taking place during the week but that may not fit with your schedule. Getting in early on Sunday may be the best for for your free time and there is also the fact that once you have booked your seat, you can sit back and relax while all the other players sweat it out in their attempts to join you. Taking the pressure off of qualification at an early stage can really help you to look forward to an event.

All of the satellite events that will be taking place during the week will be leading towards to the big GUKPT Stockton Main Event. This event is a £500+£50 event and will take place over three days. The guaranteed prize pool for the event is £50,000 but if it turns out to be a popular event, there could be more money to play for. However, there is no doubt that even if the guarantee stays as it is, it will be a big step on from last year when the guaranteed prize pool was £36,500. This is still a decent poker prize but you would always choose to play for £50,000 as opposed to play for £50,000.

Last year there were 73 entrants battling it out for that prize and this year you can be confident that this figure will be higher. There has been a great level of interest in the GUKPT event this season and more players are taking an interest. The players this season will be looking to emulate the success of Allan Peers. This is because it was Peers who triumphed in the final last year, taking home £11,000. The winner of the GUKPT Stockton Main Event 2013 can rest assured that they will pick up more than £11,000 for their efforts.

There are also going to be plenty of side events for players who get knocked out or who would rather focus on the other games. The Main Event may be too daunting for some players whereas others may not wish to spend the money required to get involved. Regardless, there will be something for everyone at the GUKPT Stockton event and the poker action starts on Sunday if you are keen to make a fast start.

Even though there has already been a series event for UKIPT players to get their teeth into, the excitement is really starting to build for the proper opener of the season and the rest of the campaign. Season 4 looks set to be the biggest and best United Kingdom and Ireland Poker Tour yet and PokerStars are once again fully behind the tour. The Series 1 event held in April at the Hippodrome got things off to a handsome start but most poker players are now turning their thoughts towards Marbella.

The idea of getting a great sunshine break in June is definitely going to appeal to people but for many poker players, there will not be too much of a chance to grab sunshine and a tan. Then again, if the poker games are played late at night, there is nothing to stop the poker players from grabbing an al fresco snooze during the day helping them to top up their tan while getting some proper rest before the poker action begins again. The PokerStars Marbella Festival is the setting for the first not UK or Irish event in the United Kingdom and Irish Poker Tour and the action begins at midday on Wednesday the 12th of June. It is also best to stay out of the sunshine at midday so this could be the best time to start playing poker. It is also going to be the first time that the new style of Main Event at UKIPT events, the €1,000 +€100 buy-in will take place.

After the Marbella jaunts, there is another series event with Series 2 taking place at the Hippodrome yet again with the last few days of June being the relevant dates for this event. The next proper event on the tour takes place in Galway with a guaranteed €500,000 on offer between the 8th and 12th of August. The Galway event could be the biggest event of the tour as this is the one with the highest possible capacity. At the moment the Galway leg is being listed as having a capacity of 1,200 whereas the next highest capacity available is 1,000. There is a huge passion and drive for poker events in Ireland so there should be no real surprise that there would be a high level of interest for this event. The buy-in for this event stands at €1,000 +€100 which means that there is going to be a great deal of money floating about if the capacity target is reached.

Plenty of poker events to look forward to

There is then another series event at the Hippodrome at the end of September but the 2nd to the 6th of October welcomes a London event at Connaught. Again there will be a guaranteed €500,000 on offer but this time the buy-in will be £1,000+£100, which is actually dearer than the buy-in events for the Main Events in Ireland or Europe. Then again, this all depends on the exchange rate and given the current economic outlook, is anyone going to be so confident to predict what the exchange rate and economies will be like by the time October 2013 rolls around!

Halloween sees the event shift to the Isle of Man for the first ever time in the Villa Marina and then the 28th of November to the 2nd of December sees the famous Dusk Till Dawn club in Nottingham host the premier six-man UKIPT Main Event.

There may be some folk that get annoyed about the fact that the UKIPT is heading out of the United Kingdom and Ireland for this tour but to be honest, most poker players will welcome the chance to get around a bit more. A trip to Marbella in the height of summer is never going to be a bad thing and if you can combine it with a bit of poker, all the better!

While the Westernmania poker event was well received and a lot of players had a great time, the fact that the organisers had to pay a big overlay means that there has been a natural review and downsizing for the next event. This is no bad thing and most poker players realise that this is a tough time. It is also not as if the prize pool has hit rock bottom, it is just the fact that a more natural level has been placed on the forthcoming Westernmania 2 event being held at The Western Card Room in London.

Westernmania 2 will be here in May and this time there will be a prize pool guaranteed at £30,000. Of this, £10,000 is definitely going to the winner so there is still a decent incentive for poker players to get involved with this event. The buy-in for the event is going to be £163 and for this amount, poker players will receive 30,000 chips and the clock will play at 30 minutes. The blinds for the game will start at 50/100 and there will be ten levels played on the Day 1 events. The first day 1 is going to take place on Friday the 24th of May and then there will be two other day 1 sessions taking place on Saturday. The first one will be at 2pm with the second taking place at 8pm. Every poker player that makes it through will fight it out for the cash on Sunday the 26th of May.

There are satellite events available for Westernmania 2

If you are looking to play your way into this event by means of a satellite, the Western Club will be providing satellite events on Monday evenings and there will be a pair of seats at the event up for grabs. The buy-in for the satellite is £38 and each player will receive a starting stack of chips of 10,000. If you stay local to the club, this may just be an excellent excuse to justify getting out of the house on a Monday evening and enjoying some poker action.

However, if you are unable to make it to the club, there will be an online satellite event provided by the Full Tilt Poker site. There is a £163 seat up for grabs through the $15+$1.50 satellite events that are going to be played out on Monday evenings. This is a great move because there will be plenty of poker players that will be keen to head down to London for the big weekend event but will not fancy making the trip on a Monday night. With online satellites, you don’t need to leave your home to get involved. There will be some people disappointed about the drop in cash on offer with the next Westernmania event but the fact that there is a great prize to aim for should keep most people satisfied with what is going to be on offer.

One thing you can definitely say about the Western is that it is a poker room that has a sense of humour. If you are looking for some fun, you should make your way over to their Facebook page and check out the posters for all of their past and present events. There is something rather humorous about taking the Breaking Bad imagery and main cast members and turning it into the backdrop for a night of “Breaking Bad Beats”, which takes place on a Sunday evening if you are interested! With plenty of great films like Star Wars being referenced in their promotional campaigns too, this is clearly a poker room that knows how to have a laugh. Poker is and should be a serious business, there is clearly a lot of money at stake at important times but there is also a need to see the lighter side of life too!

The German success story of this week, well before the Borussia Dortmund versus Real Madrid match has to the demolition job that Bayern Munich managed to do on Barcelona. Barca have quite rightly been viewed as the best team in the world over the past few years but there have been signs this season that they have been losing some of their edge. Injury and illness to key men on and off the park have played a massive role in this and Barcelona are still absolutely romping La Liga but there is an acceptance that they are no longer the force that they were.

This was hinted at by Celtic in the Nou Camp on matchday 3 of the Champions League when the Glasgow side and Scottish champions were seconds away from snatching a deserved draw with a great gameplan. The same gameplan was utilised back in Glasgow on matchday 4 when a stunning 2-1 win for the home team was earned. The gameplan of making sure that Barcelona were put under pressure in the air, that they would be hit on the break and that the opposing palyers would be shoved wide may have been developed by Neil Lennon in Glasgow but it was perfected in Munich by a rampant Bayern team who won 4-0. No matter what else happens, that was surely the German triumph of the week.

UK triumphs on European soil should always be celebrated

Which is a great shame for the many British poker players that tasted success at the EPT Berlin tournament. There were a number of UK players that managed to cash out for big money and of course, we have already looked at the success story of Najib Kamand. Picking up €105,366 is going to make any trip worthwhile and the cash can sit neatly alongside the sense of pride that Kamand has to feel. In the Berlin Cup High Roller event, which was event number 8, 194 players were gunning for glory and 192 of them were dispatched from the tournament before Kamand eventually bowed out. The buy-in for the event was €3,200 which was clearly money well spent for the UK poker player!

Another British success came in event number 11 at the EBT Berlin event and the game was a NLHE Deep Stack game. A total of 272 players were involved so finishing 5th was a big achievement. This position saw William Gosnold grab €4,400 from the overall prize pool of €79,152.

There was a big winner at the event though with the NLHE Turbo event turning up trumps for Rupert Elder. Elder managed to receive €49,800 from the €168,780 prize pool that 174 players were battling for. This was another event which featured Najib Kamand in amongst the money too as he managed to pick up €2,870 from this event too. It may not have been a big a deal as his major cash-out of the weekend but it was a prize that most players would have been delighted with.

There was a third place for British poker player Phillip Mighall, who earned himself €12,730 from the prize pool of €64,020 which 132 players were battling out for in the PLO 6-max Double Chance Game.
There was also modest success for two UK poker players in the NLHE game which was event number 5 at the EPT Berlin event. A total of 555 players were involved, with a buy-in of €330 which managed to create a prize pool of €161,505. In 20th position was William Henry, who managed to earn himself €1,620 and in 30th place was Bobby Scott, who picked up €1,130.

All of these success stories are well worth celebrating but in light of what Bayern Munich did to Barcelona on Tuesday night in the Allianz Arena, there may be a shift of focus from all over German triumphs in recent times.

While it is easy for critics of poker to focus on gambling and the problems they say it causes in the modern environment but there is a lot of good to be taken from poker too. It is clearly an activity that provides a great deal of social interaction for many people who may not have much social interaction otherwise. Whether you are playing online or in a poker club, the chance to meet likeminded people is definitely a bonus for many people. However, it is not the only benefit that can come from proper poker games.

This month has seen further great work carried out by the Poker for the Homeless organisation. The group has been working hard in recent years to provide support for a number of homeless charities around Ireland and their work is very much appreciated. Their most recent event was held at the Jackpot Club in the Irish capital of Dublin. The two day event was well received and there was a total of €14,755 raised for charity. The main beneficiary of the recent event was the Capuchin Day Centre in Dublin which focuses on providing food for the poor and the homeless in the city.

The first event was a tournament with a buy-in of €100+€10. With all of the registration fees collected going to charity, there was a lot to be pleased about and 50 players were involved with the tournament. There was a €5,000 prize pool fund and €1,000 of that made its way to the fundraising apart of the event.

Double success for Nicky Power

The winner was someone who has enjoyed success at the Poker Homeless events before. Nicky Power was the big winner at the Poker For The Homeless III event and he is now the first poker player to be a double champion in this field. Nicky Power received €1,300 for his troubles. Other money finishes at the Friday night game included John McManamly, Eamonn Connolly and Robbie Harrison who all received €110 for finishing in 9th, 8th and 7th place. €240 went to Pat Storan for his 6th place while Kevin Hagerty received €320 for a 5th place finish. Graeme Milne received €440 for coming in fourth and Bridie Gribbin grabbed €600. Paul O’Reilly was second with €770.

The focus on the Saturday event was slightly different as it was a team event. There were 11 teams, all made up of 4 players, involved in the event and every team paid €400+€40 to get into the event. Of this amount, €80 went to the charity. PokerPalz was the top team receiving €1,000 for their troubles. In second place was Damo Donkeys who received €700 and in third place was Vegas Night who picked up €412.

There were also individual games on offer with the big winner being Derrick Wall, who received €634. In second place was Collette Murphy who picked up €352. Bops was third, receiving €253 and Bridie Gribbin was in amongst the money yet with again with a fourth placed finish and €169.

After the event, Padraig Parkinson, the ambassador the fundraising group, released a statement;

What a success! Despite being so close to the Irish Open and perhaps not as widely promoted as previous events we beat the 2010 total, purely by accident in the middle of the biggest recession we’ve ever seen. That says so much about the Irish poker community. Brother Kevin at the Capuchin Day Centre will use the money wisely to make sure those worse off than us don’t go hungry.

There are way too many people to thank individually. Everyone who gave of their time and money knows exactly who they are and they now we know. A special thanks to Paddy Power Poker for their continuing support in sponsoring the event and we can’t wait until we can do it all again.

There is definitely something special about the first person to do something. You only have to look at the accolade and acclaim that goes to Neil Armstrong in comparison to the esteem that Buzz Aldrin or Michael Collins are held in. Armstrong was the first man on the moon, Aldrin was the second and bizarrely, Collins went all the way to the moon and never even stepped foot on the surface. You can’t help but feel that this was a wasted opportunity but if Collins was merely following orders, you can see why we wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardise the mission.

So, Armstrong is the hero for millions of people all around the world while Buzz Aldrin is just that other guy, even though he has achieved what barely anyone has managed to do. If you ever need reminding that first is everything, you only have to think about how history has treated Buzz Aldrin!

So, given that the weekend was the first every UKIPT Series event, there was a chance for a poker player to grab a little bit of history. The event was taking place at the Hippodrome, a London casino and poker venue that is currently working hard to be the number one poker destination in the city. It faces an almighty battle because Aspers in Stratford is determined to be the number one poker venue too but this can only be great news for poker players. The more brilliant poker venues the better and if these venues are looking to get into a battle, there is a very strong chance that promotions, bonuses and major events like the UKIPT Series will take place.

Team PokerStars Pro picks up the title

The first ever winner of a UKIPT Series event was Jake Cody. Cody is a Team PokerStars professional player and he added yet another big poker title to his illustrious list of successes throughout his career. There is no doubt that Cody was a worthy winner in this competition because he has shown himself to be one of the better poker players over a consistent period of time.

The event, which carried a £250 buy-in which made it accessible for so many online poker players managed to bring together 343 poker players for the initial two days. Although the first event of any well publicised promotion or event should get a good following, this was a big turnout and when the UKIPT Series finds it feet and develops, there is every chance that it will develop into a popular activity for poker players in the UK.

The fact that 343 poker players were in the mix for the big event ensured that there was a prize pool of over £80,000 to play for. There would be money for the top 40 players and the first player to exit the tournament with some cash to make it worthwhile was Darren Fuller. No doubt Fuller would have preferred to have stayed in the event longer and bagged more cash for himself but at this sort of event, making it to the money and earning £520 is not to be sniffed at!

By the time Sunday tea-time rolled around, there were eight players gunning for glory at the final table. With respect to the final table, Shantanu Banerji finished in 8th place with £1,977. In 7thh place was Kaloyan Kirov, who bagged £2,700. In 6th place was Uzzol Miah who received £3,400 and in 5th place was Enzo Gomez, who received £4,880. In 4t place was Tim Wong, who picked up £6,240 and in 3rd place was Terry Jordan who picked up £8,110. In second place was Lydia Cugudda who grabbed £13,140 and of course, Jake Cody grabbed the acclaim and £13,140.

It may not have been as big an accolade or achievement as walking on the moon but Jake Cody being the first winner of the UKIPT Series event will see his name listed in the history books.

While a great deal of focus at the WSOP-APAC event has been on bracelets and big money, there has been more in store for keen poker players and fans. The Caesars Cup event has definitely been of great interest to players and Team American were going all out to retain their title. This was the third event of this team tournament and going into the WSOP-APAC event, the score was tied 1-1 with America and Europe. As reigning champions, the Americans got a bye to the final which meant that Europe had to play against Team APAC to regain their crown.

English poker player Sam Trickett was the team captain of Team Europe and ultimately, he would be the captain that would taste success at the end of the event. The captain picked wisely from a squad that was not too exhaustive, given the location of the tournament there was no surprise that European players were a bit thin on the ground but success was achieved regardless of overall numbers or crowd support.

Poker glory is a big prize

Sam Holden was another English member of the team and he was very excited on Twitter when talking about the big event.

We won! I managed to beat Greg Merson in the deciding game to win. No money, only pride. It’ll be shown on sky later in the year.

This tweet goes some way to showing that it is not only money that motivates poker players. There was a great deal of money going around at the WSOP-APAC event and you can imagine some players would have had their focus on the cash. However, there is definitely a lot of kudos in putting yourself up against some of the best poker players in the world and the European team can take a lot of pride in overcoming their opponents.

Phil Gruissem may be a German poker player but he lives in Brighton and anyone looking at the best poker players residing in England at the moment would definitely have him on their list. The team was rounded out with another two Germans with Marvin Rettenmaier and Dominik Nitsche completing the line-up. This meant that the five man team was comprised of two English players, two German players and an additional German player that lives in England. There has been some differences between Germany and England in the past but the make-up of that team was a great blend to ensure there was balance between the two sides!

2-1 was the score of the tournament

The nature of the event saw teams take part in a best of three event with the first two games being team games. Every side would select two players who would share their stack and then take on their opponents together. After the two team games had been completed, if there was a need to decide the tie, a one on one game would be played. Europe took the first game but Team APAC levelled it which meant that there was a need for a one on one game to decide it. Europe went with young German Domink Nitsche against Jeff Lisandro, a WSOP Champ on five occasions and the odds were on Europe taking an early exit. However, luck was on the side of the Europeans and Nitsche won the hand, taking Team Europe through to the final.

The final between Europe and the USA followed a similar pattern. Europe took the first game but the Americans tied it at 1-1, leaving it to a one on one game to complete the tournament and decide who wins the prize. Sam Holden managed to defeat Greg Merson, giving Europe their second win, adding to their triumph in 2009.

So far there has been no announcement whether there will be another Caesars Cup event or where and when it will take place but you cannot imagine the Americans will be happy at a tournament ending when it is not in their grasp. The trophy has never been contested in America so it would make sense if the 2015 event was held in America but Europe will be keen for more success.