18 May 2011
Sponsorship deal for Juha Helppi
Juha Helppi is the latest top name to become a sponsored pro after inking a deal with Finland's RAY Poker. The 34-year-old, who has career earnings in excess of $3.7m, will act as the frontman for the site as well as wearing RAY colours in live tournaments.
Dave McConachie wins GUKPT Summer Series Brighton
While the GUKPT Main Tour goes on its annual hiatus the focus switches to the GUKPT Summer Series which features a similar selection of events to its bigger brother but with smaller buy-ins.
Antonio Dieguez Rodriguez wins Slovenian leg of the PokerStars Eureka Poker Tour
When Antonio Dieguez Rodriguez finished second in the opening event of the PokerStars Eureka Tour in Prague in March he could have been forgiven for thinking that he'd missed his chance of a big tournament win.
17 May 2011
Sam el Sayed leads final 53 in WPT $25k Championship
The field of 220 players at the Bellagio has been whittled down to just 53 for the World Poker Tour $25,000 Championship Event; WPT Amneville champion Sam el Sayed, is leading the field as one of only three players to have crossed the million chip mark.
Another SCOOP title for the UK – Paul Foltyn wins Event #19
Players from the UK seem to be doing well out of Black Friday, at least in the major online tournament scene. The high event of SCOOP #19 ($2,100 NL) saw four Brits at the final table as well as Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis (he’s Dutch but we like him).
Patrik Antonius wins a quarter-million at high stakes Omaha
Despite the EPT Grand Final and the WPT Championship we’ve still had some online action at the high stakes, notably at Full Tilt Poker where Patrik Antonius has continued his post-Black-Friday domination of the nosebleed games. Most recently he made off with $265,000, most of it formerly lining the pockets of Gus Hansen.
The International Poker Rules website launched
One of the frustrations of tournament poker is when you do something in one cardroom and it's perfectly fine but do it in another and you find yourself at the wrong end of a dispute with the tournament director. A rule in one event may apply but in another it may not.
Why alcohol and poker don't mix
There are myriad reasons why poker and alcohol don't mix. A lack of mental clarity can lead to poor decision making, false bravado and many a lost post. There's also the danger of getting a bit lairy and obnoxious at the table which is never a good thing. Just ask Scotty Nguyen.
16 May 2011
Wesley Nobels wins Mediterranean Deepstack Championship
Belgium's Wesley Nobels has been crowned the Mediterranean Deepstack Poker Champion after outlasting a 150-runner field at the Casino Portoroz in Slovenia over the weekend.
Abe Mosseri heads $25K WPT Championship
At the end of Day 2 at Bellagio just 118 of the 220 starters at the $25k WPT Championship Event are still in contention with Abe Mosseri leading the chase for the $1,618,333 first prize.