PCA 2014: Kathy Saraf crowned queen in Women's Event (again)

Kathy Saraf is that this year's Women's Event winner and now $20,150 richer. To reach that, all she needed to do was beat 70 other hungry poker pros of a feminine persuasion, survive a frantic Day 2, stay focussed on a lengthy final table and pip a Team Online member's girlfriend to the post. Easy peasy.

But wait, hang on a second, Saraf's also the 2012 PCA Women's Event champion. That makes her the primary ever double winner of this much-loved $1,100 buy-in tournament, and there ain't nothing easy about that.

"I wasn't going to play the development and i am really glad I did," said Saraf after her win. "My sister in law desired to play, and it was her first tournament, so I USED TO BE like 'okay, if you wish to play I'll play'.

"I'm thrilled to win, especially for a trophy this size."

2014 PCA Women's Event winner, Kathy Saraf

Saraf overcame a last table riddled with one of the crucial biggest talents of the feminine game. But let's not get sooner than ourselves. To grasp the real extent of her victory we have to rewind the clock a couple of hours. About 24 should do it.

Yesterday 71 players registered for the gender-exclusive event, and when the plug was pulled at the day, Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome was our chip leader with 17 left. Despite being 20 weeks pregnant, Rowsome pushed during the field to bag up 87,300 chips, yet still busted Day 2 wanting the overall table.

It was an enormous turnaround for Rowsome, and it came during a whirlwind of departures within the opening few levels.

Talonchick - from leader to out within the blink of an eye

No sooner had the 17 players taken their seats before we were right down to a last nine. 2012 Women's Event champ Kathy Saraf lead the charge, followed closely by a skilled chasing pack, which included the likes of Fatima Moreira de Melo, and this year's standout (and last standing) female player within the PCA Main Event, Loni Harwood.

Danijela Matusinskij was first to be sent back to her room to pack a suitcase after falling to Saraf in ninth. Harwood, Marguerite Spanguolo and Lily Kiletto quickly followed her to the elevators in eighth, seventh and sixth respectively. For a short lived moment it gave the look of the overall table could be done in time for everybody to catch a last Bahamian sunset.

Five-handed play put paiy to such wishes.

Harwood notching up her second cash of this week

Over the next few hours, the chip lead was tossed back-and-forth, because the next jump up the payout ladder seemed a leap no person was prepared to take. Amanda Musumeci would eventually be pushed, though, after running QJ into de Melo's aces.

With four players remaining, and the chip lead still hoping around the table pot after pot, it looked as if de Melo would finally claim a primary live event win, thanks in bulk to repeating her party trick of spinning a brief stack right into a title challenge.

Of the 17 who returned for Day 2, de Melo started the day second to last in chips.

"I just checked out it like having 15 big blinds and that i was just going to play that stack and notice what happens. Usually after I start an afternoon short-stacked I AM GETTING pretty far still."

She was referring in fact to last November's UKIPT Isle of Man event, when the Team SportStar arrived on the final table in last place, before digging deep to complete second and record her biggest ever live cash of $59,660 within the process.

"You must run good obviously, but in a ladies event I ASSUME they call less so that you can building up your stack without going all-in as much," she added. "I played smaller pots to maintain the variance somewhat lower because I ASSUMED I had an edge at the field."

Today, de Melo couldn't turn that edge into the win and fell one place wanting repeating her UKIPT feat after busting in third.

"It's roughly a bummer because I WISHED to win," said de Melo. "I lost a large hand with pocket jacks when my opponent hit a suite of three, after which another girl hit a collection against my top pair which type of crippled me. You need to run good to take care of a lead."

No stack's too short for de Melo

Laurence Grondin bust to de Melo in fourth, however the chips piled in front of the Team SportStar made the quick jump over to Elena Stover's side of the table after a shove with jack-ten did not overcome pocket sevens, much to the delight of an onlooking Mickey Petersen.

Stover is Petersen's girlfriend, and the when the Team Online whizz wasn't busy bubbling today's $10,000 Turbo event, he hoped Stover's fourth live tournament cash would include a free trophy.

"There was an even little bit of breaks in my event, so I had 10 minutes every now and again to run over," he told the PokerStars Blog. "Obviously each time I went over and she or he was still in. It is a great thing.

"We sometimes play heads-up matches -- small stakes like who is going to do the dishes."

"I'm up a couple of matches," added Stover.

"There's no official count," was Petersen's quick response.

Elena Stover, your runner-up

Peterstove, or Stoversen (we haven't quite selected the correct nickname yet) wouldn't be leaving with the trophy in tow, however. Instead that honor can be Saraf's for a second time in only a 3 years.

"I'm feeling good but I'm just a little disappointed to complete second in preference to first," said Stover. "It was a very tough table, and that i found it a bit weird because there are these types of external things occurring. It's a must to take into consideration your cards, the prize pool, people coloring up the chips and i am really bad at counting stack sizes. In order that was a bit difficult for me.

"I've had a good time here, and that i won a large $27.50 tournament on PokerStars the opposite night, so it has been a perfect week for me."

Petersen's fellow Team Online brethren, Dale 'Daleroxxu' Philip, generously donated a bottle of champagne to the couple to enjoy it doesn't matter what today's outcome. Sadly for them it won't be used to toast victory.

In the overall hand, Saraf's J♦7♥ overtook Stover's pocket queens way to two flopped jacks to become your first Women's Event double champ. She couldn't was happier.

"I had a chip stack going into Day 2, and that i kept that till the general table, so I felt pretty comfortable," said the winner. "And because it set out to four players I wasn't catching anything for approximately three levels and my chips began to dwindle. Overall though I felt great.

"I haven't thought of how I'll celebrate yet. I DIDN'T expect to win so I'm thrilled."

Saraf, all smiles and $20,150 richer

See below for a breakdown of ways each of today's final nine got their money, and do not forget to click through to live updates, features and interviews from the $10,000,000 guaranteed PCA Main Event, the $25,000 High Roller and the $100,000 Super High Roller.

$1,100 PCA Women's EventEntries: 69Prize pool: $66,9301st: Kathy Saraf - $20,1502nd: Elena Stover - $14,4603rd: Fatima Moreira de Melo - $9,4004th: Laurence Grondin - $7,1005th: Amanda Musumeci - $5,5006th: Lily Kiletto $4,2607th: Marguerite Spagnuolo $3,3808th: Loni Harwood - $2,6209th: Danijela Matusinskij - $2,066

Keir Mackay is a copywriter for PokerStars.

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Will Daniel Negreanu become the WSOP Player of the Year today?

You've heard of the name Daniel Negreanu, right? After all you've gotten. In fact, you can most likely hear him from wherever you might be on this planet at this time. He's that outspoken! The Team PokerStars Pro is recognised as being of the most productive players within the world, you wish to have only take a look at his $18,539,856 in live winnings, five WSOP and two WPT titles to attest to that. Negreanu came painfully on the subject of winning his Triple Crown earlier this year on the EPT9 Grand Final but finished 4th (€321,000) in arguably one of the most toughest final tables of all time. Examine that here. Right now, his focus is elsewhere: another WSOP bracelet and the risk to seal the number 1 spot at the WSOP Player of the Year leader board.

Negreanu has won the Player of the Year title once before (in 2004) and is painfully with reference to making it his again . UK mixed game specialist Matt Ashton is currently leading the race, no little way to his $1.77m Players' Championship win over Jonathan Duhamel and George Danzer, but can't score to any extent further points. Negreanu can and has.

Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu

In fact, the POY is currently Negreanu's to win. "Kid Poker" is average-stacked with 13 players left within the WSOPE High Roller event and may he finish strongly then the Player of the Year title is nearly certainly his.* The tale isn't finished yet though. Just behind him in chips in France is Marc-Etienne McLaughlin who's also a few of the final 13 and may be some of the nine remaining players within the WSOP Main Event. Should McLaughlin fall...

*Of course, the €725,000 first prize is an incentive, too.

WSOP Player of the Year race
1. Matthew Ashton 649.75
2. Daniel Negreanu 598.34
3. Loni Harwood 487.20
4. David (Bakes) Baker 475.35
5. Donald Nguyen 466.13
6. Marco Johnson 439.38
7. Tom Schneider 438.51
8. Chris Klodnicki 400.80
9. Jared Hamby 395.73
10. Anthony Gregg 390.00

It might all be over today, but with echoes of last year's tussle between Greg Merson and Phil Hellmuth, Negreanu fans will have one more reason to look at the November Niners play all the way down to the win. We'll keep you recent with the placement. Good luck today, Daniel!

Rick Dacey is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: Players]

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NAPT Mohegan Sun Final Table: Levels 24-26 updates (25,000-50,000-5,000)

4:15pm: Joe Tehan eliminatedOn the last hand before break, Joe Tehan got all of it in with K♦6♠ and ran directly into Thomas Hoglund's 8♣8♦. The board was no help for Tehan and he went out in sixth place for $70,000. Hoglund ended that hand with 1,590,000.

Joe Tehan eliminated from NAPT Mohegan Sun

Tehan's exit leaves Vanessa Selbst because the only remaining former NAPT champion on the final table. --BW

4.10pm: Shak finds some supportAfter a routine blind steal from Dan Shak, the audience across the ESPN feature table went nuts. It might was a marginally at the ironic side, but in the meanwhile Shak's appeal for supporters (see 3.56pm) seems to have worked. -- HS

4.05pm: Selbst takes challenge to other championTom Hoglund limped under-the-gun, which was a method of enticing the 2 former NAPT champions in from the blinds. Vanessa Selbst made it up from the small blind and Joe Tehan checked his option.

The flop was all diamonds: 5♦K♦4♦. Selbst bet 115,000, Tehan called and Hoglund folded.

The turn was the T♣, and Selbst again fired at it. She bet 170,000 and again Tehan called. This one was getting intriguing.

The 9♥ rivered, and Selbst wasn't done yet. This time she bet 290,000 and after a few minutes' thought, Tehan called again. Selbst showed K♠5♥ for kings up, and Tehan folded.

Joe Tehan at final table of NAPT Mohegan Sun

That gain of about 600,000 put Selbst back up very with reference to the lead. Tehan is the shortest of short stacks. -- HS

3:56pm: Shak's only fanAs a hand between Joe Tehan and Vanessa Selbst played out on the table, Dan Shak wandered over to the rail and stood in front of a quiet Nick Binger.

"I've got an issue here," Shak said. You're my only fan."

At issue was the quantity of cheering happening for all of the players on the table...except Dan Shak.

"I didn't think you wanted me to cheer," Binger said.

"It's either that otherwise you gotta find some slot players and convey them in here to cheer," Shak begged.

Situation vacant: Supporters for Dan Shak

As of this minute, Binger has taken a deep interest in something on his iPhone.--BW

3:49pm: Chop bails Kenney outTyler Kenny limped at the button, which failed to seem in any respect scary to Joe Tehan. He shoved for 845,000 more from the large blind. After dwelling at the bet for a couple of moments, Kenny made the decision with K♣Q♥. 'Twas not the most efficient of choices. Tehan held A♦Q♠. But wait! What's that board? Well, sure enough, it went A♥K♠2♣J♠T♦ for the chop. Tehan was not best pleased.

Joe Tehan watches because the dealer deals out a chop with Tyler Kenney

As you were. --BW

3:40pm: Yup, that'll do itAs she's at risk of do, Vanessa Selbst opened for a raise to 100,000 and was called by Dan Shak and Tom Hoglund within the blinds. Hoglund led out for 225,000 at the 6♣5♥4♥ flop and Shak quickly raised to 600,000. The move folded out Selbst and after a short lived tank, Hoglund gave his hand up to boot.

Shak showed 2♥3♥ for the flopped straight and a straight flush redraw, worthy of the raise indeed. --KB

3.30pm: Shak at the riseBuoyed after picking up a couple of chips from Tyler Kenney when he hit top pair kings, Dan Shak again raised pre-flop to 100,000. This time he was up against Vincent Rubianes, who called from one seat to Shak's left.

The flop was Q♥2♥K♣ and Shak wasn't so keen. He checked. Rubianes checked back at him. The Q♠ turned and now Shak bet 125,000, which Rubianes called.

The river was 8♣ and Shak again bet 125,000. With a smirk, Rubianes thought through some of his options. Eventually he decided to call, but was shown K♦J♦ for 2 pair, which was good.

That's the second one hand in succession that Shak took with a couple of kings, and he's now approaching the 2 million mark. -- HS

3:22pm: Kenney exacts his revenge on RubianesJust moments after Vincent Rubianes stole the chip lead from Tyler Kenney, Kenney looks to have taken it back.

Kenney called a raise to 110,000 from Rubianes they usually saw a 2♦T♠J♦ flop. Rubianes led for 135,000 and located himself raised to 310,000. Rubianes made the decision after which checked the 6♠ at the turn. That opened the door to a 435,000 bet from Kenney. Again, Rubianes called. Rubianes checked the Q♥ turn. Kenney put out a big gamble (the quantity of which wasn't announced) and Rubianes insta-mucked.

Tyler Kenney grins to his rail after taking back the chip lead

Kenney now has greater than 3 million and the chip lead again. --BW

3:09pm: Kenney loses the chip lead, Rubianes tops 3 millionVincent Rubianes opened for a 130,000 raise and Tyler Kenney made the decision. Rubianes led out for 165,000 at the T♦7♠6♠ flop and Kenney looked him up. The turn brought the 5♠, and Rubianes fired a second time, making it 415,000 to move. Again, Kenney called (drawing his brother Bryn and friends over to the flop-cam to sweat the river). It was the 8♦, and both players checked.

Rubianes turned over two black kings and claimed the 1.5 million-chip pot. He's as much as about 3.2 million while Kenney slipped to twenty-five. million. --KB

2:49pm: First break chip counts

Tyler Kenney 3,275,000Vanessa Selbst 2,830,000Vincent Rubianes 2,435,000Tom Hoglund 1,345,000Dan Shak 1,235,000Joe Tehan 610,000

2.38pm: Break timePlayers are actually taking their 15-minute break.

2.35pm: Shak shaken down by HoglundFrom under-the-gun, Tom Hoglund opened to 100,000 but couldn't get it past Dan Shak, one seat to his left. Shak three bet to 300,000 and that persuaded all others out the way.

It came back to Hoglund, who moved all in for approximately 900,000 and Shak called, with something just about double that during his stack.

Hoglund: A♠K♠Shak: A♣Q♦

So Hoglund was ahead on the start, and he only managed to tighten his grip at the hand with the A♦6♥2♦ flop. The K♥ completed it in his favour, and he doubled up.

Accurate counts for the six remaining players could be with us momentarily as they go on their first break of the day. -- HS

Dan Shak grimaces upon getting in behind

2:29pm: Selbst ousts Overton in seventh placeWith the action folded around to him within the small blind, table short-stack Aaron Overton moved all-in and Vanessa Selbst made the decision.

Overton K♥Q♦Selbst A♥2♥

Selbst hit top pair at the A♣T♥6♠ flop while Overton found a small ray of hope with a gutshot straight draw. One in every of his four outs disappeared at the turn when the 3♥ fell giving Selbst a flush draw, and the remainder vanished when the 5♠ hit the river. Overton departed the table to polite handshakes all around, collecting $50,000 for his seventh-place finish. --KB

2.10pm: Steve O'Dwyer out in eighth, winning $32,230Steve O'Dwyer, who was right down to only 10,000 in chips on day three but rallied the entire method to the overall table, is the primary player eliminated today.

Play was folded the entire option to Vincent Rubianes within the small blind. He peeked and moved all in, essentially simply asking O'Dwyer if he desired to demand his tournament life. O'Dwyer saw an ace and decided that was ok. The hands:

Rubianes: Q♦T♠O'Dwyer: A♥7♦

O'Dwyer will know that the most productive hand pre-flop doesn't always stay like that to the end, and so it proved in this occasion. By the point all five cards were out - 2♣J♣Q♥Q♣T♦ - Rubianes had made a boat, which beats ace high most days.

Steve O'Dwyer sees the bad news

Bye bye to Steve O'Dwyer. Rubianes has about 2.5 million now. -- HS

Vincent Rubianes at Mohegan Sun final table

1:50pm: Hoglund doubles through TehanSeason 1 NAPT L. a. champion Joe Tehan came in for a raise to 80,000 and short-stacked Thomas Hoglund moved all-in. Tehan considered his demand a few minutes before deciding to take a shot with 2♣2♦. Bad news. Hoglund held Q♣Q♥. The board ran out K♥K♦6♥tc]4♦ and Hoglund doubled to only under one million chips. Tehan is now right down to around 600,000. --BW

Thomas Hoglund at NAPT final table

1.30pm: Kenney involves the partyTyler Kenney, who has started this final table in a muted fashion (he can; he's the chip leader) finally put out a raise. He made it 82,000 and Joe Tehan asked whether he really desired to play, re-raising to 220,000.

Tyler Kenney at NAPT Mohegan Sun final table

Kenney was pretty emphatic in his response, raising all in. With dreams of a double NAPT title fading like Marty McFly's family in a tattered photograph, Tehan folded and taken all of them back to life. -- HS

1:26pm: O'Dwyer survives second clash with OvertonDown to 149,000 in chips, Steve O'Dwyer moved all-in and Aaron Overton made the call, this time having his opponent surely covered. Although Overton again had the most productive of it with A♣8♥ to O'Dwyer's K♦3♠, O'Dwyer hit a king at the river to make top pair and double as much as 367,000. --KB

1.15pm: O'Dwyer dives, Overton doublesShort stacks collide! Steve O'Dwyer had allowed himself to get a bit short and was forced to transport all in from the button. Aaron Overton was also very low on chips and so when he called from the large blind, it wasn't immediately clear who covered whom.

Aaron Overton

One thing was for sure, Overton had the most productive hand with A♥K♦ to Overton's A♣7♥. And once the tournament officials had done the requisite cutting and counting, it was evident that O'Dwyer had the larger stack. (Something you can have known because you're keeping track of our regularly updated chip-count page).

So it was Overton under threat and shortly it seemed much more perilous. The flop came 7♦3♦T♥, to hit O'Dwyer's pair.

But this one wasn't over yet. Once the 4♦ turned, Overton now had a flush draw too. And he was send bounding to his rail at the 9♦ river. "I USED TO BE all in twice yesterday with the nine of diamonds!" Overton bellowed in delight. He has a brand new favourite card.

Aaron Overton celebrates his double up along with his supporters

Meanwhile Steve O'Dwyer is now right down to fumes, with only about 153,000. Overton returns to the placement of authority he has held for the past few days. -- HS

1:06pm: Rubianes won't. be pushed. a. round.Vanessa Selbst could possibly bully Steve O'Dwyer right into a fold, but she is coping with a special customer within the type of Vincent Rubianes. Selbst came in for a raise to 60,000 and Rubianes re-raised to 160,000. Selbst, perpetually undaunted, made it 425,000. Rubianes took only some seconds before moving all-in. Selbst snap-folded and Rubianes scored first blood on last year's champion. --BW

12:55pm: Selbst cuts down O'DwyerOn the third hand of play, the action folded around to Steve O'Dwyer within the cutoff. He installed a min-raise to 60,000 and Vanessa Selbst re-popped it to 215,000 total. O'Dwyer called and so they saw a 6♠9♦J♣ flop. Selbst checked and O'Dwyer checked behind. The turn brought the K♥ and Selbst thought for quite some time before selecting a 220,000 bet. O'Dwyer made the decision they usually went to the river which fell the 3♣. Selbst quietly declared herself all-in and O'Dwyer tanked for an excellent ten minutes, an audible sigh escaping his lips before he made a tortured fold.

Steve O'Dwyer eyes Vanessa Selbst

"You're too good. I COULD NOT put you on a hand," O'Dwyer said as Selbst raked in exactly over 40% of his chips. O'Dwyer is all the way down to 585,000 while Selbst is sitting on 2.725 million. --KB

Vanessa Selbst: Too good

12:41pm: A GLANCE at your final tableHere's a glance on the final table players on their last opportunity to grin before putting on their game faces. --BW

NAPT Mohegan Sun final table

12:35pm: Cards within the airAs expected, the over took it, but play is finally underway. --KB

12:30pm: Getting closer-erIt looks as if we'd be getting with regards to started. The gallery is full, the players have become their pictures take, and the media are on the ready. We'll be started in only a question of minutes. --BW

12:16pm: Getting closerSix of our final eight are of their seats and the opposite two are being miked up by ESPN. We'll set the over/under at a 12:30pm start (though I'd still take the over). --KB

11:26am: Final table to commence at Noon(ish?)We've said it before and it certainly bears repeating this morning-- if you are affected by a profound sense of deja vu relating to this final table, you're hardly alone. In a shocking repeat of events, Vanessa Selbst ended Day 3 of the NAPT Mohegan Sun because the chip leader, lost the lead on Day 4, and can arrive on the final table sometime within the next hour in second position. Today, Selbst is asking to make history not just because the first repeat NAPT champion (a tour that may be only five events old, mind you) but because the first player to win the similar poker major in back-to-back years. Remarkably enough, Selbst is not the only player at this final table pursuing a second NAPT title. Season 1 L. a. champion Joe Tehan is asking to do the similar. Either one of them can have their hands full, though, with an impressive group of challengers including Steve O'Dwyer, Vincent Rubianes, and chip leader Tyler Kenney threatening their record-breaking runs.

Today's final table may be filmed for broadcast on ESPN and as this stuff go, we're nearly a lock for a late start this morning. Cameras are being positioned, the felt meticulously cleaned, and the players are trickling in following their pre-game interviews. We'll be here with wall-to-wall coverage until someone lays claim to the shiny silver trophy and the $450,000 grand prize.

Here's a glance how our final eight stack up:

Seat 1: Joe Tehan (1,238,000)Seat 2: Thomas Hoglund, Jr. (541,000)Seat 3: Dan Shak (1,571,000) Seat 4: Vincent Rubianes (1,711,000)Seat 5: Steve O'Dwyer (1,032,000)Seat 6: Tyler Kenney (3,021,000)Seat 7: Aaron Overton (373,000)Seat 8: Vanessa Selbst (2,249,000)

Final table chip leader Tyler Kenney

Reporting team: Kristin "change100" Bihr, Howard "Horseradish" Swains, Brad "Otis" WillisPhotography: Joe Giron

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Guinness Book Record To Be Broken By Full Tilt Poker

Tomorrow July 19th, 2009, the world’s second largest online poker site, Full Tilt Poker, will attempt to break a prior record set by their rival online poker site, Poker Stars. What record are they breaking? To carry the most important online poker tournament of over 35,000 players.

This Sunday, players can buy-in for $5.00 or points, to happen on this the tournament to check out and make Full Tilt Poker successful in breaking the record. The Prize pool is $500,000.00. A few of pokers biggest names have already confirmed to going down within the tournament are Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and Final Table Finisher for the 2009 WSOP Main Event, Phil Ivey.

In addition to breaking this record, Full Tilt Poker goes for a the second one largest tournament spot as well, by holding a $1.00 entry tournament to win $100,000.00. By holding either one of these tournaments at the same day, they are going to give themselves optimal chance for success.

For complete information about the tournaments, Full Tilt Poker, or to determine more about how they plan to damage records, visit FullTiltPoker.Net.

This article was written by Sam Riley.
It was published on July 19, 2009.

Read More... [Source: Online Casino Reviews » Online Poker News | US & UK Poker News Online]

Making the last eight of THAT EPT Grand Final

This blog was written before Johnny Lodden left to play the WSOP Main Event.

The WSOP is front and center for many poker players on the moment, and i am looking ahead to attending to Las Vegas to play in addition. But I'm also still thinking so much in regards to the European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo, which turned out to be an overly nice experience for me.

I've been playing EPTs for lots of years, and feature come with regards to final tables on many occasions. Just once was I capable of get there once I finished eighth at EPT Budapest back in 2008. Usually I'll exit in advance of the general eight, which was a bit of frustrating.*

* Those finishes include 9th, 13th, 13th, 14th, 17th and 17th EPT Main Event finishes.

Lodden, relaxed in Monte Carlo

That's what I USED TO BE thinking in Monte Carlo after we set out to 10 players and that i found myself in an attractive tough spot. I USED TO BE all in at the flop with a 1% chance of surviving... and that i hit it! That was probably the most efficient feeling I've ever had in poker.

The hand was a three-way all-in involving me, a shorter-stacked player (Vasili Firsau), and Steve O'Dwyer. Firsau had A♠5♦, O'Dwyer 9♦9♠, and that i had A♥Q♦.

The flop came 9♣5♣2♠, creating a set for O'Dwyer, and that i was like "FML!" Again it's happened, I ASSUMED. I ENDED ninth at EPT San Remo last year, and that is the reason not a fair feeling. And here I USED TO BE about to complete ninth again.

I bent over to collect my gear, then the turn came the 4♦ and that i heard people go "oooooh!" But I USED TO BE like, "Yeah, sure," and kept gathering my stuff. Then came the river... BAM! The 3♦! Firsau and that i both made a straight, and shortly after he and another player busted and I'd made the overall table. That feeling was so, so good. From there it was a complete freeroll. I USED TO BE so happy to be at that final table, and there has been no pressure in any respect.

I have been chip leader for many the tournament. I led after Day 2 and Day 3, and was third in chips after Day 4. But I'd slipped back to the center of the pack and was about average, but after surviving that hand I felt like I USED TO BE chip leading again!

It's funny how the mind works. Getting into the overall table, it is so different to was down and gotten back up versus being up and having fallen backpedal. Within the latter case you are feeling such as you must get your chips back, and also you might play differently consequently. But for me, I TRULY did feel like I USED TO BE freerolling.

It was also awesome to be a part of that final table, which included such a lot of good players. Each player there has been great -- O'Dwyer (who ended up winning), Daniel Negreanu, Jake Cody, Jason Mercier, Andrew Pantling, Grant Levy, Noah Schwartz, and myself. When you are at that sort of ultimate table, you're really desperate to compete and show everyone you belong there and that you are the best.

(l-r) Grant Levy, Andrew Pantling, Noah Schwartz, Jake Cody, Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Lodden, Jason Mercier, Steve O'Dwyer.

I started the overall table fifth in chips, got lucky in a hand versus Daniel four-handed, and ended up finishing third. I USED TO BE pleased with my play on the final table and cannot complain concerning the finish (3rd, €467,000).

I'll be playing a limited schedule on the WSOP. I'll play the $10K pot-limit Omaha and the primary Event, and possibly the $5K Open Face Chinese event (within the Carnivale of Poker) which I FEEL is probably going going to be huge. I'm waiting for all of that that, but until then I'll enjoy on reflection a bit more, too, to consider EPT Monte Carlo and that fab feeling of hitting that 1-in-a-100 hand at the final table bubble!

Johnny Lodden is a member of Team PokerStars Pro.

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: Players]

The way to become a millionaire for twenty bucks

Alright, so we might have to explain this just a little. What we mean is you'll become a millionaire play money player for just $20, all a part of a promotion for new players running on PokerStars which also guarantees you $20 worth of free play, on top of the twenty you deposit, and 1,000,000 play money chips.

There's more.

Actually lots more. If you are counting your million, (okay, your theoretical million no less than) you'll even be credited with a ticket to play the 100K Privilege Freerolls. What are these exactly? They're $1,000 freerolls, actually four of them, every day, for 31 days.

One million of these, for $20* (* sort of)

So let's examine. Up to now your $20 gets you an added $20 of free play on top, 1,000,000 play money chips, and a seat in four $1,000 freerolls on a daily basis for a month. And occupied with depositing $20 with the bonus code "FREE20".

But play money players on PokerStars have access to a complete lot more. The Sunday Billion as an example.

The billion play money chips up for grabs makes this event the Cadillac of play money poker tournaments, and a super jumping off point for anyone desirous to dive into competitive online poker-all without paying a cent. The buy-in? A smooth 1,000,000 chips which, hey have a look at which you could... get together with your $20 deposit!

Away from "The Billion" (it's even fun to mention) there's a wide range of huge" Stack" tournaments on PokerStars for Play Money players, with buy-ins ranging from 100,000 chips the entire way as much as one million.

These are great events for brand new players, an effective way to hone your skills with starting stacks just like your buy-in amount. It just about ensures action right from the start, and each Big Stack tournament includes a guaranteed 50 million chip prize pool. One day you'll finish up a member of the Billionaire Club.

Oh, and your first $20 deposit--with $20 on top--gives you all you must start on PokerStars, with micro-stake cash games, Sit & Gos and tournaments looking ahead to you within the PokerStars lobby.

Seems like cost-efficient for $20.

Check out the true Money page for a whole list of deposit options to your region, and the internet Cashier page for learn how you'll deposit to your mobile device. You'll find the entire necessary details for the $20 bonus at the FREE20 webpage

Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

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