Author: elizabeth

Dusty Schmidt Returns To Golf

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Dusty SchmidtAmerican poker player Dusty Schmidt has decided to pursue one of his greatest passions and has planned to return to golf, a sport to which he dedicated himself years ago. Schmidt is the most recent in a slew of American players who have taken a step back from the game after the conflicts that arose in 2011.

Since Black Friday, now nine long months ago, American poker players have been at a loss, and matters have only become bleaker since then. When the US Department of Justice cracked down on online poker sites, forcing them all to bar American players so as to avoid the same fate as Absolute Poker, Full Tilt, and PokerStars, the opportunities available for American players dried up almost overnight. American players, who had largely dominated the poker world, were in trouble. Without places online to play poker, many players have tried to find ways to circumvent their troubles and stay in the game. Some of these players now play live games instead, while a great many have left the US for greener poker pastures, such as Canada or Costa Rica. Many have played it by ear, riding out the live poker tournament season with turnouts at the World Series of Poker and the European Poker Tour. As the big ticket tournaments are coming to a close for this year, however, more and more poker players have started asking themselves what they should do now.

For Schmidt, the answer was one that would take him back to his first love– the game of golf. Schmidt, who played golf in high school and at the university level, has broken a number of Tiger Woods’ amateur records, giving him a solid track record as a golfer and suggesting that he just might have a shot at achieving his lifelong goal of a spot on the PGA Tour. It was this dream that Schmidt was following seven years ago, when he had a heart attack which, coupled with a lack of funding, would cut his golf career short. Schmidt has decided to give it another go, as he posted on his blog at dustyschmidt.net:

“I have spent most of this year post black Friday figuring out what I want out of life… I came to the realization that I love golf infinitely more than I love playing poker. With that, I have decided to return to golf and use all of what poker has taught me to try and become the best I can be (whatever that is) at the game of golf.”

Although Schmidt seems to have a golf career ahead of him, don’t expect him to bow out of the poker world completely. He’ll be working with BlueFire Poker as a poker coach, helping less experienced players and recording videos for the site. You can also expect to see him at 20-25k hands per month on the site, as he plans to keep his poker skills honed. If Schmidt can take his consistency and determination and apply it towards golf, he should be absolutely unstoppable on the green.

EPT San Remo Win Goes To New Kid On Poker Scene

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EPT San RemoRussian Andrey Pateychuk dominated the final table at the San Remo Main Event of the European Poker Tour, beating out several far more experienced contenders in order to become only the second Russian ever to win an EPT event. The San Remo event has historically been one of the biggest events in the EPT, often touting a prize larger than any other in the annual tournament. At the end of play, Andrey Pateychuk took home a €680,000 prize.

This virtual unknown walked into San Remo and, after four days of play, beat out a final table that consisted of Barny Boatman, the great poker legend from the United Kingdom as well as Kevin MacPhee, the American currently sitting in fifth place on the EPT All-Time Leader Board. Other players included Jan Bendik (5th place), Yorane Kerignard (6th place), and Italian player Rocco Palumbo, who finished seventh.

Neilson dominated most of the San Remo event, staying within the top two places for most of the game (he went into the final table as the chip leader, with twice the chips with which Pateychuk started). MacPhee had the short stack, but he also had the most to gain– winning would make him the first ever two-time winner during the history of the European Poker Tour. MacPhee was the first out, eliminated by Barny Boatman, and he was followed about an hour later by Rocco Palumbo, who was sent to the rail by Slovakia’s Jan Bendik. Danchev took out Yorane Kerignard of France, while Pateychuk himself eliminated Boatman, leading to an unexpected final three. By this point, Neilson’s stack had been whittled away considerably throughout play by the Russian, and Danchev finished him off.

Andrey PateychukThis year’s San Remo had an interesting payout schedule, as second place (which ultimately went to Bulgarian Dimitar Danchev) was awarded €600,000, a mere €80k less than first place, while Australian Daniel Neilson, who came in third, left with only €285,000. That’s quite a leap between second and third, and not a great deal of difference between the first and second prizes, and all of the other events at the European Poker Tour this year have been more fairly distributed. Why did this EPT event, which had one of the larger prize pools so far this season, have a smaller take for the first place winner and such an uneven distribution among the winners? The top two players made a deal during the heads-up play, when the game was determined by a bad beat– instead of winning €800k and €480k, first and second place took home more balanced amounts to reflect the true nature of how this game played out. Pateychuk had gone all in with only a 6-7 in his hand, while Danchev held 9-10. The 9-4-2 flop left Danchev in the lead with a pair, but Pateychuk got lucky when the turn and river produced an 8-5, making this an incredibly bad beat. We imagine that Danchev probably won’t mind too much, as he’s still walking away with a considerable sum.

Poker fans may recall hearing Pateychuk’s name somewhere before, and for good reason. He ran deep in the $10,000 World Championship – No Limit Hold’em Main Event at this year’s World Series of Poker, landing a substantial win of $478,174 after being eliminated in 15th place. Before this year, however, no one had ever heard of Pateychuk, so it looks like a star has been born this year. Congratulations, Andrey, and may your runs be deep and your seat be favorable in the future!

Absolute And Ultimate Bet Poker Players May See Funds Released

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Absolute Poker NewsAs thought Full Tilt officials haven’t had enough to worry about, it now seems that Absolute Poker/ Ultimate Bet is gearing to put the final nail in the former poker giant’s coffin. According to a statement from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet Poker will be paying back their former clients as soon as possible. To players who have seen their assets frozen since April, this hardly seems like a timely action, especially since PokerStars returned player funds months ago, but Absolute and UB have only recently resolved their problems with the United States Department of Justice, which means that players may soon see some return on accounts that have been frozen since Black Friday. The solution? To sell off the poker sites and use the revenue to pay back customers.

Blanca Games, the company that owns Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, intends to sell off the two subsidiaries and use the proceeds to pay back customers. This will almost surely mean the death of these sites, but with no presence in the online poker world for over 6 months, their fate was likely already sealed. However, the important question has to do with whether or not selling off AP and UB will generate enough revenue to equal the $54 million that’s currently owed to players. After all, Absolute/UB doesn’t lead the online poker world in software, and internet businesses aren’t like the mom and pop store on the corner– there’s no storefront, no five year lease on an office, no thousands of dollars worth of equipment that can be auctioned off to the highest bidder. While there are assets to liquidate, it seems doubtful that they’re going to create enough to pay back all the players in full. The exact wording in the press release from the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake is this:

  • “Over the past several weeks, we were advised of a potential solution prepared by Blanca and its representatives, establishing a process to liquidate Blanca’s assets and distribute proceeds to players. We understand that this process has been presented to SDNY for consideration and approval.

    • The Commission’s foremost concern in this matter has been, and remains, the reimbursement of both US and non-US players, as quickly and completely as possible.

    To avoid further prejudice to affected players, the Commission has demanded that all parties complete their discussions and implement a reimbursement solution without further delay.”

Ultimate Bet NewsSo what does this mean for former Absolute and Ultimate Bet Poker players? First of all, it may mean that while you’ll see some of your money returned, you may not see all of it. Ever. Some are theorizing that former players on the Cereus Poker Network may be looking at returns at 50 cents on the dollar– if that. Secondly, even a partial reimbursement is likely to create even more anger directed at Full Tilt Poker, which has yet to pay back its customers, despite the fact that the company is being bought by an investor, not sold off in pieces. Lastly, it means that Cereus Poker Network will likely be no more.

Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet Poker were bought by Blanca games in August of 2010, after UB had been under fire from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission for a cheating scandal in which they were ordered to return $22 million to clients. Because Blanca also (partially) owns Helix Gaming International and BingoMania.com, there’s a good chance that this current deal is their way of playing nice with the KGC so that they can be on the group’s good side when it comes time to discuss new legislation for online gambling and the potential move to the US down the line.

Meet The 2011 November Nine: Pius Heinz

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Pius HeinzThe 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event final table has no shortage of firsts, and Pius Heinz is no exception– he is the first Main Event final table player to hail from Germany, and, as such, has already achieved a poker first. Should he win the game, however, he’ll have yet another reason to go down in poker history.

Heinz came to Vegas in June, and by the time the Main Event rolled around, he says, he was ready to go. He signed up for Day 1A so that he could head back home as soon as possible, in case he didn’t move on– but move on he did, and with flash that left spectators wondering how it was that this student turned online poker player seemed to have no problem with the transition to live play. Not only has he made it to the final table here, but he also snagged a seventh place finish in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event, walking away with a tidy sum of $83,286, an amount currently dwarfed by the $782,115 that he’s guaranteed to win from his main event play so far. Since his dazzling entry into the live poker work in Vegas this summer, he’s also nabbed first place in a European Poker Tour event. Heinz won €17,450 in the €1,000 No Limit Hold’em Turbo Bounty event in Barcelona at the end of August, demonstrating that his winning streak at the WSOP isn’t quite ready to come to an end.

Heinz plays an aggressive game online and off, and this year’s World Series of Poker has been a learning experience for the 22 year old German– one that has doubled his career winnings (he had previously won over $700,000 in online tourneys). His two cashes were the result of over fifteen tournament entries– he was sent to the rail early in the others, and Heinz spent his time at the cash tables, working on his live game. He says that transitioning to live play was particularly challenging because live play “is boring,” and because so many basic aspects of live play are completely missing from online play, such as chip handling and guarding one’s tells. Despite the hurdles that he needed to overcome, Heinz hit his stride on an early hand during Main Event Day 1A. In a hand against a more experienced player, Heinz made a successful read that he states was a defining moment for him. Since then, he contends, he’s been confident in his ability to play the live game, and that’s made all the difference.

Heinz currently sits seventh in chips with 16,425,000, with a buffer of about three million in each direction between him and Badih Bounahra in sixth place and Anton Makiievskyi in eighth. He’ll return to the Penn & Teller Theatre in Las Vegas on November 6th, starting the day in Seat 7. Keep your eyes peeled for this student from Cologne, who may just be the final bracelet winner from the 2011 World Series of Poker.

Meet The 2011 November Nine: Anton Makiievskyi

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Anton MakiievskyiAnton Makiievskyi is in a precarious position. With the second-lowest stack against some very fierce players going into the World Series of Poker Main Event final table, he has his work cut out for him. If he can manage to pull it off, however, he’ll become the youngest person ever to win a WSOP Main Event title. This native of Dnipropetrovsk, the third-largest city in the Ukraine and a metropolitan area with an extensive history, was awed when he took his first trip to the United States (and the World Series of Poker) and found that it was one that is truly life-changing. At only 21 years of age, Makiievskyi is the youngest player at the table, and he’s stated that he finds his standing at the WSOP to be surreal.

Because the Ukraine has relaxed regulations concerning online poker (especially compared to places like the US, which is currently struggling to keep its players within the country), Makiievskyi is one of many players from the Eastern European country who have turned up at this year’s WSOP. If he can manage to bring his stack up and win the event, he will not only be the fifth Ukranian player to win a bracelet at this year’s WSOP, but also the first ever Ukrainian to win the main event. One thing is certain– if Makiievskyi wins, it’s a day that will go down in poker history.

Although he’s been playing professional poker for a couple years now, Makiievskyi’s takeaway from the WSOP Main Event is by far the largest win of his live poker career (not a big surprise given that the majority of his previous experience has been in Eastern Europe, where the buy-ins have been considerably smaller). Even if he’s the first man out come November, Makiievskyi is still guaranteed to walk away with $782,115, an amount that eclipses even the largest of his past wins by a factor of more than 40. Don’t confuse this player’s lack of large paydays for a lack of experience, however; he managed to come in second in two separate events at the Yalta Summer Poker Festival in 2009, taking home $18,787 in the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event and $15,100 for the $3,000 No Limit Hold’em. Six months later, Makiievskyi was swimming with the big fish of poker at the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure during the North American Poker Tour. He came away in 170th place– hardly a stellar finish, but good enough to net him a $17,500 win.

WSOP 2011 November NineMakiievskyi headed back home after his big-league poker experience and quickly won a satellite to the Russian Poker Tour Main Event, followed two months later by a ninth place finish at the RPT Yalta $500 No Limit Hold’em Six Max event. By the end of 2010, he was drawing attention to himself again, this time with a money finish with $5k at the RPS Main Event in Kiev.

This Ukranian supernova went radio silent for the early part of 2011, but when he sat down to play in the WSOP Main Event, he would be one young man who quickly made a name for himself among the Americans and Europeans who dominated the tournament. While he sits in eighth place with 13,825,000 in chips going into the main event, only 1.5 million ahead of Brit Sam Holden, who is currently bringing up the rear, and almost 30 million behind Martin Staszko, who has the lead, Makiievskyi is definitely a player to watch.

Another Class Action Lawsuit Barrels Towards Full Tilt

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Full Tilt Poker NewsOnce again, Full Tilt Poker is facing some legal trouble– this time at the hands of a team of lawyers who are leveling yet another class action lawsuit against the company. Unlike previous lawsuits, however, this one is aimed not just at owners and heavy hitters for the company, which has been defunct since Black Friday last April, but also against Full Tilt’s legal counsel, the law firm Cozen O’Connor.

This particular suit is worth a hefty 900 million dollars, and it relies heavily on the United States’ RICO legislation, which is set up to protect individuals against racketeering and organized crime. According to the lawsuit, Cozen O’Connor has received over two million dollars in exchange for services directly related to covering up FTP’s illegal business practices. These accusations may draw the attention of the US Department of Justice, which is already investigating Full Tilt for the money laundering that their lawyers allegedly helped to conceal.

Legal precedents indicate that this means that the lawyers (as well as FTP themselves) should be returning all of those ill-gotten gains to the people from whom those funds were taken. Lary Kennedy and Greg Omotoy, who filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, have left room in their lawsuit for a total of 200,000 plaintiffs, all of whom have the right to seek both the return of their money and damages from the company. In similar cases, all those who have benefited from an organization’s shady dealings have been forced to return the money they gained.

According to the lawsuit that Kennedy and Omotoy have filed, the problem with Full Tilt Poker seems to be largely that they’re operating like the large, corrupt corporations against which American citizens are currently rebelling– FTP, according to the lawsuit, failed to “create financial reserves for amounts held on behalf of players,” and instead took player money and spent it elsewhere, including handouts to key defendants and pushing forward a money laundering scheme.

If there’s one thing that the Occupy Wall Street has demonstrated in the past month, it’s that the vast majority of Americans are tired of seeing large corporations steal their money, break laws, and then get bailed out by larger corporations (or the government). What’s a poor corporation to do when they’ve made a few mistakes here and there, and now the angry mob steadily approaches? To start with: apologize.

There’s a saying that an apology consists of three parts: admitting that what you’ve done is wrong, acknowledging the damage caused and vowing not to repeat past mistakes, and making reparations to those who have been harmed. PokerStars, which was in the same boat as FTP on Black Friday, managed to make nice with their clients and the US Department of Justice because they managed to apologize– as such, their business has not suffered and has even grown. Perhaps Full Tilt could learn something from this model, if only to say, “Sorry we messed up… now let’s talk about how we can get your money back to you.”

Hellmuth Hunts For 12th Bracelet, First Day Of Second Event

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Phil HellmuthAt the end of the first day of WSOPE play, Phil Hellmuth was just another name mentioned in passing among the list of players who were still in the running after the day closed with only 80 players left. He wasn’t a chip leader and wasn’t starting the day in a particularly good position, but, nonetheless, the poker star warranted a nod, as his position in this event could mean not only that he could pass Ben Lamb for the Player of the Year title, but also that he still had a chance at nabbing his 12th bracelet at the World Series of Poker.

Hellmuth ended the day in second place on the leaderboards with over 400k in chips. As one of only 12 players remaining, he’s guaranteed at least €13,228, which moves him into first place on the PoY boards, overtaking Ben Lamb, who has held the number one spot since the WSOP events were paused (although Lamb’s performance in the Main Event could turn the tables once more, as could Hellmuth’s performance through the rest of the events in Europe). The Poker Brat didn’t seem to be effected by the change of venue from the Hotel Majestic Barriere to the Le Croisette Casino Barriere– at this point, though, it seems like nothing will come between Hellmuth and the bracelet that he’s come close (but not close enough) to winning three times already this year in Las Vegas. With so much on the line, it’s no wonder that this second day of the 2011 WSOPE events were dominated by Hellmuth– players, spectators and media alike were all focused on the action surrounding him, which you have to imagine is a little intimidating (and potentially distracting) to the other players.

Switzerland’s Guillaume Humbert, who sent Day 1 leader Flavien Guenan to the rail, is the current chip leader with 541,000 chips. Among the other 10 players who remain are David Benyamine, with 253,000; Anton Wigg, who has 201,000; and Casey Kastle, who started Day 2 as the chip leader among the Americans and now holds 119,000 chips.

In other WSOPE news, the €1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event began its first day, with three of this year’s November Niners making an appearance. Eoghan O’Dea is still in the running for the event, while Matt Giannetti and Phil Collins have been eliminated. Only 54 of the original 381 players have made it to Day 2, where they’ll join up with the players who entered on the second Day 1 of this event. Nine levels were played on Day 1A, and Australian Andrew Hinrichsen closed out the day in first place with 63,900 chips.

Coming back for another day of play are Nicholas Chouity, McLean Karr, Erik Cajelais, Randy Dorfman, and Roby Lewis, while several great names in poker won’t be returning: Tom Dwan, Erik Seidel, Jean-Robert Bellande, Barry Greenstein, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Jonathan Duhamel, Justin Bonomo, Jason Mercier, Eugene Katchalov, and Chris Moorman were all send to the rail before the close of the action.

French Investment Group Plans To Take Over Full Tilt

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Full Tilt Poker NewsFrench investment company Groupe Bernard Tapie has been busy this autumn, making plans to take over Full Tilt Poker and engaging in all the business that entails while also planning a poker tournament and trying to ease the minds of legislators and players alike.

Groupe Bernard Tapie has a list of conditions that will need to be met before they’re willing to take over Full Tilt Poker. While hesitance from any company to take over what is widely regarded as a sinking ship is certainly understandable, the French company seems to have something up their sleeves. This isn’t just because Bernard Tapie, the company’s namesake and the father of current CEO Laurent Tapie, has a controversial history as a businessman, although his jail time and criminal history for match-fixing, tax evasion, tax fraud, and doctoring the books certainly doesn’t serve to make this deal look any more legit. After all, FTP has also been engaging in some seedy practices as far as the players are concerned, so Tapie, while a successful businessman, may not have the moral standing to give heart to players that have already been burned once.

Among these conditions are the hopes that the US Department of Justice will pay off the players who have seen their accounts frozen since April from the assets seized on not only Black Friday, but during the course of the last four years, as well as a full audit of FTP’s finances and approval from a licensing authority, allowing Full Tilt to begin operations again. Despite the fact that none of these conditions have been met yet (and some are very up in the air, as such cooperation from the DoJ seems unlikely, given the aggressive stance that the governmental agency has towards online poker violations, and Full Tilt’s financial practices are still in question), Tapie has released a statement that former FTP players will be offered equity in the site, and the current owners will be allowed to invest in the revived company. If Groupe Bernard Tapie isn’t paying the customers back, and former players and current owners are given a nudge towards helping to finance the company, what exactly is GBT paying for? Perhaps players are still too jaded to think clearly about Full Tilt, but the idea that there are back room deals going on with a company that is attempting to do anything other than man up and push FTP to take responsibility for the slight against the poker community leaves many people feeling completely uncomforted by this potential regime shift.

Bernard TapieGroupe Bernard Tapie recently announced their plans to host the International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT), a blend of live and online play that aims to determine who the best players in poker really are. Since the event isn’t scheduled to take place until 2012, the company will have plenty of time to resurrect the Full Tilt reputation and win players back by promising a guaranteed $30 million prize-pool ($10 million of which is the first-place prize). The online element of this tournament is particularly interesting, as players will be competing (at least as the tournament is currently designed, but everything is subject to change) via electronic pads in dedicated online tournament rooms. If GBT is planning on taking over Full Tilt, this would be the perfect way to get players back into the FTP rooms that so many people have sworn that they’re done with. After all, who can resist a chance at ten million dollars?

Only time will tell if Groupe Bernard Tapie can successfully pull this off, but it certainly seems like they’re carefully lining up the pieces that they’ll need to make a successful play. If they’re not careful, however, they may just fall short of the 20,000 to 30,000 players that they’re expecting for the ISPT, as players may not be so forgiving after all.

2011 WSOP Europe Kicks Off With Flavian Guenan In Lead

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Daniel NegreanuDay 1 of the €2,500 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament kicked off the 2011 season of the World Series of Poker Europe, where 360 players arrived in Cannes, France to try to get a slice of the action. This event is the first of seven this year, and the turnout suggests that this will be the biggest year of the WSOPE yet, giving some credence to pundits who had theorized that the shutdown of American poker would lead to more live play and greater turnouts in tournaments, at least for the next year.

Friday saw eight levels of hour-long play, and, at the end, France’s Flavian Guenan held the chip lead, with 108,800. The only other player with more than 100k chips was Benjamin Pollack, who had been the chip leader until Guenan made a steal at the end of the day’s action that pushed him into first place. It seemed to everyone watching that the day was over after Pollack sent Nicolas Levi to the rail taking his chips and vaulting to first place. Levi opened the action pre-flop with a raise and Pollack, who held QsJs, called. The flop brought two more spades, and the river brought another, giving Pollack an Ace-high flush, enough to eliminate Levi, who had followed Pollack’s lead and gone all-in.

Only two players were left after Pollack closed out the action at his table– Flavien Guenan and Alessandro Speranza. The board showed Jc4d2s, and Speranza bet, prompting the Frenchman to check, which he did once more when the 9s arrived with the turn. Speranza bet again, and Guenan called. The Ks came with the river, and when Guenan checked for a third time, Speranza decided to bid one last time and went all-in. Guenan called and took the pot with a pair of Jacks, making him the day’s new chip leader.

While few people were around to see the action that changed the lead at the end of Day 1, players, spectators and media alike have all been commenting on the scenery in Cannes, where the Hotel Majestic Barriere has been dazzling everyone with its class and connection to the Cannes Film Festival. The 80 players that moved on to the second day of this tournament (including Phil Hellmuth, who is looking for not only his 12th WSOP bracelet but also a chance to snag the Player of the Year title away from Ben Lamb, who is currently in the lead, Vanessa Selbst, John Racener, Marvin Rettenmaier, and Daniel Negreanu) will have another day to take in the beauty of this gorgeous locale. It’s still anyone’s bet who will take home the €215,999 first place prize, but there’s no shortage of great players left in the game, so the competition will be fierce as we go into Day 2.

At the end of Day 1, the chip counts for the leaders are:

  1. Flavien Guenan – 108,800
  2. Benjamin Pollack – 106,425
  3. Antonio Venneri – 99,575
  4. Casey Kastle – 86,100
  5. Peter Jetten – 71,275
  6. Anton Wigg – 67,075
  7. Bruno Benveniste – 64,475
  8. Alessandro Speranza – 52,900
  9. Luca Falaschi – 52,000
  10. Tapio Vihakas – 51,000

Meet The 2011 November Nine: Eoghan O’dea

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Eoghan O'Dea WSOP 2011Eoghan O’Dea (pronounced like “Owen”) has one of the more famous fathers in poker– he’s the son of Donnacha O’Dea, a former Olympic swimmer-turned-poker-pro who not only holds a World Series of Poker bracelet and two other final table appearances, but a grand total of 23 money finishes there. The elder O’Dea has appeared on Late Night Poker and won the Poker Million tournament in 2004, and his father was a big poker player as well, so it’s no wonder that Eoghan O’Dea entered into the world of poker.

The younger O’Dea has had a history of strong, aggressive poker playing which has helped to cement his status as a serious player. He came in second in the Poker Million in 2008 and won the iPoker European Championship of Online Poker III main event the same week. O’Dea has also come in second in the 2009 World Poker Tour Marrakech main event and achieved four money finishes in the 2011 WSOP outside of his position as one of the November Nine. O’Dea had a strong showing throughout the main event, starting (and finishing) the final day with the second-highest number of chips– he sits with 33,925,000, while Martin Staszko has only around 40 million in first place. The players will return in November in the same seats in which they left, and O’Dea notes that his seat isn’t the best and that the competition at the final table is quite fierce, but he says that he can’t complain, having gotten this far.

O’Dea has had his fair share of wins and earnings, and he currently sits at number 18 on the list of all-time Irish earners. He’s gained over $700,000 in live poker winnings, and his largest gains have been at the 2008 Ladbrokes Poker Million, which brought him $260,000, and at WPT Marrakech, where he gained another $388,532. He also pulled in $315,000 from the iPoker European Championship, so it’s no wonder that many people consider O’Dea one of the strongest contenders at the final table this year. At only 26 years, he’s already made a name for himself, and he remains one of the best-known players in this year’s November Nine.

WSOP 2011 November NineThis fine player stayed out of the spotlight for the majority of the WSOP 2011 Main Event, playing at a lot of tables full of amateurs and staying out of the camera’s glare. O’Dea had very few all-ins during the course of the tournament so far, but his gains have been steady, nonetheless. He hasn’t faced too many really big pots, and this usually aggressive player has been playing it closer to the chest this year at the WSOP.

With a famous father, O’Dea has surely received his share of pointers and fatherly advice when it comes to poker, but, as he says, where the WSOP Main Event was concerned, his father’s only advice to him was: “Make sure you change your flights on time.” It looks like Eoghan is on his own on this one, but it seems like he’s been getting along just fine.

Stay tuned to Max Poker Bonus for more November Nine introductions and updates.