Category: Live Poker Tournaments

When you are out of the Main Event at a poker tournament, you have a few options available to you. You can hang around watching the other players playing for big money. This can be a hard shift and while you want to be supportive of the other players still in the tournament, the pangs of jealousy and regret are going to be fairly evident. You could decide to get away from the venue and destination as quickly as you can. This may seem like the best option for players but it is a fairly bad move and one that will no doubt be cast up by other people. There is another option remaining though, there are usually a number of side games that are available around these Main Events and this is what has been going on in Berlin.

With so many players out of the running for the huge €880,000 that was up for grabs in the Main Event, there was a lot of time to kill and plenty of others looking to kill it. In fact, there were 237 players who got around to taking part in a €2,000 turbo side event. The huge numbers in the event ensured that there would be a prize pool of €450,000 on offer and the winning poker player would be able to pick up €131,000. As second prizes go, this is definitely one that most players would be able to console themselves with.

There is no shame in second place

With so many players involved, getting to the final table wasn’t as turbo charged as some of the players would have liked but there were some big names through to the final table and as the table progressed, UK player Chris Moorman was looking good although Rhys Jones, another UK poker player was in contention. Sadly Jones was bounced out in fourth place but this finish saw him pick up €32,000 for his troubles.

At this point, Moorman was the leading poker player left in the event and in the heads up many would have felt that he was in with a brilliant shout but sadly he was facing a poker player who didn’t know the meaning of the word defeat and was winning every all-in. This meant that Moorman finished second once again although hopefully the prize of €70,000 was enough to make sure that he was still in a great mood for the time he spent at the side event.

It is well known that Wembley is the place to be in May with the FA Cup final, the Champions League final and of course, the International Stadiums Poker Tour event. With Dusk Till Dawn now involved with the event, there is a lot more confidence about the big London event going ahead and that the promises put in place will be met. There is absolutely nothing wrong with showing a bit of ambition but there were plenty of poker players who were quite right to be cautious about committing to such an event. With DTD involved, there is the feeling that they aren’t going to put their name towards something that represents a risk to poker players, so there is a lot more confidence surrounding the event.

Can poker match the excitement of the other events?

Players are now on the lookout to find ways to get to Wembley without spending too much money. This is fairly understandable and with the FA Cup finalists known and surely the two German sides heading to Wembley, poker players want to get their names booked in as early as possible. Manchester City and Wigan got the job done in their respective semi-finals and you have to say that the demolition job carried out by Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund over two of the biggest names in the football world in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final should suggest that it will be an all German final at Wembley. Stranger things have happened in football and Real Madrid have got an away goal to their name but it looks as though all the football spots for the Wembley days are filled.

If you fancy getting involved at Wembley, you will be delighted to hear that Dusk Till Dawn are running a number of freerolls to get players to the event. There will be a special event on Monday the 6th of May where there will be 10 day one seats for the International Stadiums Poker Tour event up for grabs. You have to be in it to win it as they say and having the chance to even play poker at the famous old stadium is definitely something that is worth looking out for. You just never know where some luck and skill may take you and with a €1m prize on offer at the end of the Wembley event, it is definitely something that is well worth having a go for.

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.

It would be fair to say that the GUKPT events are amongst the most hotly anticipated by UK poker players. There are plenty of great poker tours and tournaments happening up and down in the UK these days, giving players of all levels the chance to mingle and socialise but the GUKPT events have already been amongst the most exciting poker events of the campaign. Add in the fact that the Student Championship was well attended too and you start to realise that poker is a massive activity in the United Kingdom.

The Ricoh Arena in Coventry was the setting for the GUKPT Student Championship and it is also going to be the arena for the GUKPT Goliath tournament. There will be a prize pool standing at £200,000 which is going to be a huge incentive and will definitely convince plenty of poker players to part with the £100+£20 buy-in that is part of the event. The high level of interest in this event will be shown by the fact that there will be 4 opening –day flights taking place. The first of these opening days will take place on Tuesday the 20th of August. Given the fact that the Goliath tournament will not be decided until the following Monday, this is going to be an event that has the potential to be a long-one. If you join on the Tuesday and make it all the way to the final table the following Monday, you will deserve to get your hands on a fair amount of cash!

You have to beat the clock with poker

All of the poker players involved will begin with a chip stack of 20,000 and the clock is going to be times at 40 minutes at first. As the tournament progresses to the final day, this time will move out to an hour. The fact that the field at the GUKPT Goliath event is going to be limited to 400 for each day means that players that are serious about entering this event would be advised to register as soon as they possibly can. If you are basing your August Bank Holiday weekend plans around this event, you will be sorely disappointed if you end up missing out because you were too slow to get signed up.

The £200,000 prize pool for the Main Event will ensure that this is the big draw for many players but as you would expect from a poker event that is spread out over so many days, there are other games going on too. Players can indulge in some King and Queen Mixed Doubles fun and there is also going to be a guaranteed £25,000 on offer with the 25/25 event.

With the tournament named Goliath, there is no doubt that there needs to be a David and the David at the 2012 event was Les Fenton. He was the player that managed to overcome the challenge of close to 2,000 poker players to grab a prize of more than £30,000. That is the sort of challenge that awaits players in August which may seem like a long time way but with the schedule announcement, it suddenly becomes a lot more real.

While poker, both online and offline is receiving a lot of press and publicity in the UK at the moment, there is no doubt that a little celebrity endorsement here and there will raise the profile of the game even further. There will be some poker players that are a little bit sniffy about new players coming in to the fore but many poker players have the belief that the more the merrier is the right attitude to have about poker. After all, if there are more players in the game, there is more money to make from them and you have to think that the majority of new players coming into the site will be lacking in poker skills and experience. This could be a win win situation for the experienced poker players if they play the card right!

One big celebrity poker night that has just been announced is taking part in Monaco during the EPT Grand Final celebrations. This is going to be a huge poker event anyway with plenty of the great and the good ensuring that they attend in Monaco. The paparazzi will have a field day and one of the biggest events for the snappers and the celebrity seekers will be the TV charity event that is being filmed on the 10th of May. The host for this big night of celebrity poker will be Jonathan Ross so you can bet there will be some cheeky quips made over the course of the special event.

A big host for a big poker night

The big names that will be attending are still being finalised and released to the public but two big names that have been confirmed already are John Bishop and Jason Manford. These two comedians will no doubt help Jonathan Ross to ensure the evening is light-hearted and there will be plenty of jokes flying around.

There are also two big name poker players who have been added to the bill in Liv Boeree and Vicky Coren. This is the more glamorous side of poker but let’s face it, you don’t want to be sat at the poker table with these two girls because they have the skills to part you from your cash in a short space of time. It will be an interesting night for Vicky Coren as her two worlds look set to collide on the evening.

For poker players, the poker table is where Vicky belongs but most people will be more used to seeing her alongside people like Bishop and Manford recording TV shows and displaying her dry wit and intelligence. Vicky Coren has definitely had a part to play in the success of poker expanding into the mainstream and there will be plenty of people turning in to this big event to see her and see how she reacts in a situation that combines two of her biggest loves.

With satellite entry available from a range of online sources, there is also an opportunity to mingle with the big names at this major poker event.

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 are plenty of big poker tournaments and titles that players are keen to win and it would be fair to say that the Monte Carlo poker title up for grabs at the Dusk Till Dawn club is one that players are keen to be involved with. This weekend saw more than 500 players, including some big names, descend on Nottingham to try and win the tournament. There were plenty of big names who arrived back on Sunday but there could only be one winner from the 30 poker players that made their way through to this stage. Kevin Allen was the man who grabbed the poker prize that everyone else wanted, making him a man that very much enjoyed his weekend.

Big names like Dave Ulliott, John Eames, Ben Jackson, Mitchell Johnson and Tom Rutter were all knocked out before the final table was set-up. There was big money on offer at the final table and the least amount of money that anyone was walking away with was £10,000. This is what Joseph Cahill, finishing in 9th spot, received for his time. This is still a great amount of money to pick up at any time but there will be disappointment for any poker player that is the first to exit the final table.

Plenty of money was on offer at the final table

In 8th place was Timothy Chung who received £12,000 for his efforts. In 7th place was Emyr Wyn Lewis who received £15,000 and in 6th position was Lee Williamson who received £18,000. In fifth position was Benjamin Jenkins who managed to pick up £23,750 for his efforts. In fourth was Jamie Rutherford who received £30,000 and James Atkin received £45,000 for coming in third.

There was a notable spike in the money that was on offer the higher you went with the final table. There was £70,000 on offer to the poker player that came in second which was Richard Trigg. This meant that Kevin Allen got to enjoy first place and the £120,000 prize that goes along with it. You may not think Nottingham is the best place to spend your weekend but being able to pick up more than £100,000 can make any place seem like a much brighter place to be!

However, the title and prestige of the event means that Allen will be thinking about more than just money with his latest success. There is no doubt that plenty of poker players across the country will be feeling rather envious of what Kevin Allen managed to achieve this weekend.

When it comes to a Monday morning, many people will have a slight fear about checking their bank account. After all, if you experienced a fun Friday or Saturday you may have spent a lot more money than you would have hoped to. Of course, some people get a nice feeling when checking their ATM on a Monday if they never spent as much money as they feared or indeed if they managed to behave themselves over a weekend. One man who has no concerns about checking his bank account for the next few days is Michael Wright.

This is because Michael was the big winner at the Boylepoker.com International Poker Open. The weekend was the latest in a string of poker success stories at the Aspers Casino in Stratford but Michael Wright is definitely the man who comes out of the latest event with the most to smile about. There were plenty of great poker players at the final table but it was Wright that managed to pick up over 10 grand for his troubles!

In 9th position and picking up £1,445 for his weekend of poker action was Ken San. He was swiftly followed out of the event by Asif Yusuf, who received £1,930 for an 8th place. In 7th was Kirit Patel who managed to pick up £2,415 for coming in 7th and Andrew Brekecz was in 6th place, with £2,895 for his trouble.

A five hand deal at the final table

The final 5 players made a five-hand deal, taking some of the pressure off of players with respect to financial earnings but there was no let-up in the determination of the players to win. Saulius Tumosa was out in fifth place with £5,900 to take home. In fourth spot was Sandeep Phull who bagged £6,900. In third place was Paul Wimbledon who received £7,900 while Andrew Sotiriou received £8,900 for his second placed finish.

Wright was the clear favourite heading into the head-up thanks to his massive chip lead. Sotiriou held 700,000 chips but this was nothing in comparison to Wright who was able to call upon 4,350,000 chips! That is the sort of lead you don’t mind defending and although Sotiriou played bravely, there really was only going to be one winner at that stage. So it proved with Wright finishing the contest in great style, allowing him to enjoy the last of his weekend.

While it can be easy to focus on the big poker players that manage to win a life changing amount of cash in one game of poker, this is not the case for the majority of poker players. Even the poker players that do manage to grab the adulation and praise that goes with winning a major national poker tournament will often find that as soon as the adrenaline rush dies down, life goes back to normal and there is nothing else for it but to knuckle down.

In the case of recent GUKPT Student Poker Championship winner, Ben Foxwell, this is understandable. At this stage, his studies are more important but it is not as if the prize money was overwhelming either. It was a great boost and the chance to pick up other prizes such as guaranteed entry to future GUKPT events will have been exciting too but on the whole, the buzz of the triumph has died down rather quickly for the 21 year old Foxwell.

The fact that he has recently been interviewed by his local news site, the Gloucestershire Gazette, as opposed to some glamorous lads mag or even of the more popular online poker sites indicates that this is a low level of success. However, it is a good level of success and there is no doubt that Foxwell can take a lot of pride in his achievement. From his comments to his local paper, he seems to have kept his head on the ground with respect to the win.

Poker success can become attractive

It turns out that the poker win was not the first time that Foxwell has claimed glory with poker, as he explained.

I’ve had a couple of $1,000 wins online, but nothing as big as this. I thought I may be in with a chance early evening on the second day, when I became chip leader for the first time, although shortly after lost a couple of pots.

Getting success like this at an early age can give you the impetus to make this your main focal point but it seems as though Foxwell is happy to leave poker as a hobby and is content to continue with his studies in sports science and cardiology. As for the financial impact of the win, he was happy to say;

I also work in Tesco, so it’s nice to have some extra money.

As Tesco would say, “Every Little Helps” and the money made from the Student Poker success will hopefully help Foxwell to have some fun while still focusing on his studies. Who knows, it may even have bought him the opportunity to take a shift or two off!