Mobile Casino Games for smart phones: January 2015

Saturday, January 31, 2015

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Fade, follow or forget? Should you trust a bettor with $100K on the line?

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One day after collecting a cool $25,000 in our Streak Survivor contest, it's safe to say Covers user 'brackson13' (AKA Jackson Duncan) is on a roll and then some, but does that mean you should jump on the bandwagon?

Jackson backed the Boston Celtics (+7.5) versus the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday evening which proved to be a wise choice, as the Celts won the game outright 90-89 thanks to a last-second bucket by Evan Turner. The pick was his 21st consecutive winner, which means he's only four wins away from winning the grand prize of $100,000.

The Georgia native has chosen the red-hot Atlanta Hawks (-4) versus the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday. On the surface it seems like a safe play considering the Hawks have covered the spread in 14-straight contests and 19 out of their past 20.

With such a hot streak, should you fade or follow a bettor who's correctly chosen 21-straight picks? Many bettors subscribe to a theory called the 'gambler's fallacy' - which is defined as "the mistaken belief that if something happens more frequently than normal during some period, it will happen less frequently in the future."

For example: If you flip a coin 20 times and the result is tails each time, someone who believes in the gambler's fallacy will think the next flip will be heads because tails is unlikely to happen again. If a bettor is on a hot streak, those who fall under the gambler's fallacy category will believe they're 'due' for a loss - just like how they thought the coin was 'due' to result in heads despite it ultimately resulting on chance.

Are you siding with brackson13 once again or are you banking on his luck finally running out? Let us know in the comment section and make sure to visit our Streak Survivor page to keep track of his progress.

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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Online Casinos Hoping Poker Bust Will Increase Business

PokerNot everyone was upset last month when the US Department of Justice came down hard on three of the top online poker sites in the world. Land-based and online casinos were the beneficiaries of that gaming bust.

The DoJ issued an indictment against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker. Executives from each of the companies were also charged in the indictment, and when news of the indictment spread, poker players around the world were concerned.

It was not only US players that were upset with the elimination of online poker players in the country, but also players in foreign countries that now had less opponents were upset. Many of them have moved their focus from poker to slots and other games.

Online casinos have always been popular in the UK and in other countries where the online gambling industry is regulated. With attendance down in online poker rooms, gamblers started to join slot tournaments to get their fix.

"I usually go back and forth between poker and slots every couple of weeks," said Martin Blanc. "But after all that stuff happened over in the US, I decided to just stay with the slots for a while. Maybe in the future I'll go back to poker, but for now the slots have my attention."

Online poker enthusiasts in the US are not completely left out in the cold. Dozens of online casinos still accept US players, and while it may not be the live player versus player action, the online casinos do offer various poker games that can be played against the house.

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Watch The Birdie Online Video Bonus Slot Review

Online casino players may be some of the world’s less likely to be Bird Watchers, but in side Lion Slots Casino, one’s fancy may be struck. Its 5 reel video bonus slot, Watch The Birdie will have some grabbing a pair of Binoculars and taking a look out the window.

The color quality of this slot is tremendous. Beautifully lush greens and colorful birds. The animation of each symbol is great too. Players will enjoy all the aspects of this slot. The symbols are all different types of birds, a bird house, a bird watcher, and a hatching little chick.

The hatching chick is the wild symbol. It substitutes for all symbols except the scattered Bird Watcher. When the wild egg is apart of a winning combo, it will expand throughout the entire reel. The Bird Watcher will trigger a bonus feature when 3 or more appear during a spin. The players have to find birdie for prizes.

The wager limits are right in a perfect zone for any modest player. They are between $0.01 and $0.50 per coin, up to 5 coins, per line, per spin. This is a 15 line slot therefore the max wagers are between $3.75 and $37.50 per spin. Players who play the max wagers will increase their chances at striking bonuses, but are not required to do so.

Even though Bird Watching may not be your thing, Lion Slots Casino is here to change your mind. Play Watch the Birdie today!

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This article was written by Becky Morgan.
It was published on November 30, 2009.

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Online Casino Poker Jackpots Bring Comfort To Some Players

PokerThe game may not be the same as playing against others in an online poker room, but the poker games offered at online casinos have had to do for many who lost their favorite online site when Full Tilt Poker shut down. The online casino poker games have even paid some nice jackpots of late.

Unlike poker sites, where the competitors are fellow players, online casinos offer an opportunity to play against the house. That is not always the best proposition for gamblers, but in recent months it has had to suffice while the poker rooms once again gain their traction.

One lucky player was not complaining on Monday when they walked away with a $219,215 jackpot on a Let 'Em Ride game. The jackpot was one of the highest paid out on a poker game over the past several weeks.

In the UK, several players have walked away from their computers thousands of dollars richer after playing video poker games. The Jacks or Better game, in particular, has paid players twice in the past week. Jackpot Deuces offered up $39,296 to one winner on Sunday.

Online bingo has become another popular choice of gamblers in the past couple of years. The bingo games had jackpots hitting fast and furious this past weekend. In the past five days alone, eleven bingo jackpots have been hit, all upwards of a thousand dollars.

Slots remain the most popular game for jackpots on the Internet. At times, the slot jackpots hit online can rival those found in land-based casinos. Dozens of payouts occur worldwide on a daily basis, and the majority pay players $20,000 or more.

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PokerNews GPI Update Episode #29: Viva Las Vegas

Eric and Rich are together in Las Vegas for the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, where they discuss the tight Global Poker Index Player of the Year races and the GPI 300.

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Monday, January 26, 2015

World Cup of Poker IX locks final teams

WCP logo.JPG After two weeks of online battle, eight teams can now celebrate locking up spots in the live finals in the World Cup of Poker. All eight teams will get expenses-paid trips to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure where they will play for national pride and big cash in front of a live crowd.

Because the process of picking the teams is so difficult, we've once against conscripted the help of PokerStars' own Bunker Bob, a man who spends a great portion of his time in a fortified underground chamber crunching numbers on a big golden abacus (he had it polished last week!).

While the teams have not yet chosen their competitors, the following eight nations will have representatives in the Bahamas this January:

Rest of the World

To see how they got there, here's Bunker Bob's World Cup of Poker IX finalists' report.

***

Group 1: Canada were carrying a solid 63 point lead going into the second half of qualification, with seemingly only two of their opponents in with a shout of catching them. By the end of the third qualifying match though, defending champions Peru had forced their way into the picture. 'MrTWOPAIRJOR' beat Canada's '02/01/68' to the 99.7 points for first to keep the Peruvian interest alive. However Canada locked up both semi final spots to push Honduras and Argentina further back

Any Canadian fears were laid to rest in the final qualifier on Sunday, as they produced a rare clean sweep of the top four places. 'eqn778' was the eventual victor with a 118.4 point score. The emphatic performance means Canada progress with a thumping 206 point lead over their nearest rivals. A special mention must go to group runner-up Honduras, who went into the group as the smallest team.

Group 2: The standings were much tighter in Group 2, with just 50 points between the top four teams. It was pre-match favourites Brazil that took the upper hand after Saturdays qualifier, with 'thor99alpha' defeating his compatriot 'alan93sb' for the 66.75 points. Colombia brought themselves further into contention with a semi-final finish for 19.76 points.

Going into Sunday's final qualifying match, Brazil held the advantage, but with four other teams hopeful of toppling them. After six hours of play, it inevitably went down to the wire - 'JMTrindade' of Brazil against 'abcpoquer01' from Venezuela in a single heads-up match for a place in the Bahamas. There were 37 points between the teams, and a 40 point difference between 1st and 2nd. After a tense 70 hand battle, it was Brazil that took the maximum points and their place in the finals.

Group 3: Germany's domination of Group 3 continued in the second half of qualifying, as they locked up both tourneys; 'Joaggi' on Saturday for 129.56 points, and then 'monal1.' on Sunday for 136.58 points. The clean sweep of tourneys allowed them to rack up a competition-high of 655 points.

Greece and Poland should get credit for battling performances, but there was no answer for the numerous and merciless German team.

Group 4: Meanwhile, in the second European group, six European teams were scrapping for every point they could get. The favourites, the UK and Ukraine were way off the pace, and the underdogs sensed an upset. It was Bulgaria that capitalised, with 'pastroka6666' taking the win and 124.58 points. The Bulgarian cause was aided by Macedonia (FYROM), who fought through to take the runner up spot in the tourney. It would not be enough to get them in the hunt for qualification, but it denied the front-runners in the group from securing major points.

The final match saw 150 points on the line for first place, and the big dogs finally raised their game as the UK and Ukraine facing off in the final. It was too little too late though, as Bulgarian 'olelemaiko' had secured enough points in the semi-final to carry his team over the line. Croatia can be disappointed to be pushed into second, after they outpunched all but one of their bigger rivals.

Group 5: The first half of Group 5 was a tale of smaller nations keeping the giant Russian poker population at bay. In the second half, they were just too big and too strong. The Saturday qualifier witnessed a Russian whitewash, with the top four players all from that nation. '8invencible8' closed out the match to secure a gain of at least 157 points on all the other teams in the group.

In Sunday's match it was 'FrankyS15', again from Russia, that took the win. Only Portugal's 'trooll4ever' prevented another last four blanket finish for Russia. The result gave them a 340 point margin of victory in the group. Some credit must go to Ireland and Lithuania for keeping their opponents at bay in the earlier stages of the competition.

Group 6: Another upset was in the works in Group 6, with the Netherlands unable to turn their sizable poker population into good results. It was their Belgian neighbours that made the first move in the penultimate qualifying match, as 'Hartige' secured 123.82 points. Serbia did enough to stay in touch as 'sinaloa44' picked up 64.22 for second place.

The Sunday qualifier came down to almost a straight shootout between Romanian and Belgium from the quarter-final stage, with just a lone Cypriot player representing the rest of the group. It could have swung either way, but in reaching the final, Belgium did enough to earn their place in the Bahamas. They went on to win the tourney and 106.14 points, thanks to player 'Mikedem'.

Group 7: Taiwan took the initiative in competitive Group 7, when they took a 1-2 finish in Saturday's qualifying match. 'BladeQQueen' topped the field for 65 points, with his teammate 'lak512' crucially helping push the Japanese team out in the semi-finals. The result overturned the 8 point lead Japan had built up in the first half of qualifying, and gave them a big advantage going into Sunday.

However the dream ended in the quarter-final stage for the former winners, as their last remaining player fell with three Japanese players still in the tournament. Japan did not let the opportunity slip, and they closed out the tournament with a 1-2 of their own.

'Chiyoukan'picked up 88.75 points, and secured his country's second appearance in the live World Cup of Poker finals in as many years.

Group 8: The combined force of the Rest of the World team held a healthy lead going into the weekend's matches, but they lost ground to Australia and Kazakhstan in the opening contest. 'I'mJigJig' took 61.35 points for the antipodeans, and 'ZERENDA' a solid 34.05 points for Kazakhstan.

Sunday's match looked like a three horse race, and with the final four composed of the leading three teams, hopes were high around the globe. However, both RoW teams, represented by Turkmenistan and South Africa, would need to be eliminated before the final. It wasn't to be, as the latter progressed to the final. Kazakhstan's 'Papanya68' closed out the tourney for 61.02 points, but 'Deckoo8' from South Africa had done enough, sending Row through to another World Cup of Poker finals.

It was a great combined effort from the RoW team, as Iceland, Turkmenistan, Tunisia and South Africa all contributed to their progression.

The competition now moves to the players selection phase, with the eight qualifying teams selecting their four players for the live finals. The players will be chosen from four tournaments all taking place on August 26*:

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PokerNews Book Review: Moorman's Book of Poker by Chris Moorman

Nearly a year ago I received an exclusive from D&B Publishing regarding an upcoming book by Chris "Moorman1" Moorman, who had the distinction of being the first player to win more than $10 million playing online tournaments. Poker strategy books hit the market often, but those authored by someone of Moorman's caliber are increasingly rare. It was immediately apparent the poker world was in for a treat.

“Any publisher would be delighted to publish a book by Chris Moorman. He is such an incredibly successful player online and live, and his results speak for themselves,” D&B publisher Dan Addelman told PokerNews at the time. “To be able to pass on some of the knowledge he's accumulated over the years will undoubtedly make the book a bestseller.”

I had the chance to speak with Moorman before he began writing the book, and he revealed it was something he wanted pour his "heart and soul into it" while delivering a text that would inspire, something akin to Harrington on Hold'em. So was he able to meet his lofty aspirations?

Moorman's Book of Poker, which hit the market late last year, takes a straightforward approach in which he analyzes 80 online tournament hand histories that were played by co-author Byron Jacobs, who you could call your run-of-the-mill mid-stakes grinder. Each hand falls under a specific tournament (i.e. PokerStars Supernova, Turbo 6-Max, Full Tilt "Rush," Turbo Full Table, 6-Max SNG Hyper-Turbo, and Random Hands), and addresses a vast array of topics including:

Profitable Hands Playing Deep
Donking the Flop
Considering Perceived Range
Accurate Sizing
Using Equity to Apply Pressure
Final Table ICM
Playing Way Ahead, Way Behind

In turn, each hand analysis is constructed in similar fashion. First, the hand is presented as a graphic with all pertinent information, including a narrative by Jacobs on how he played the hand and why. From there, Moorman comes in with an analysis of Jacobs' play, offering praise and criticism as he sees fit. Finally, Jacobs jumps back in with a short conclusion in which he basically sums up Moorman's main points.

Upon first glance I was worried Moorman's Book of Poker wouldn't apply to me, after all I live in the United States and am unable to play online poker. Despite examining only online hand histories, I was pleased to discover the vast majority of concepts discussed were applicable across the poker spectrum. In fact, one hand in particular had an immediate impact on my live game.

After reading Hand #7: Planning the River on the Turn, I made a little note right in the book's margin. "I may be giving too much credit to players who don't raise preflop," I wrote after taking Moorman's analysis to heart. The next day, I played a nightly tournament at my local casino and resolved to be fearless against preflop limpers. I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say I was impressed with the results. I actually wrote about it for my nationally-syndicated poker column, so keep an eye out for that in newspapers across the country.

Even though the material placated me, I must admit I wasn't a fan of the coaching format – at least not at first. Over the years I've become accustomed to reading poker books in which the author describes a hand with a suggestion as to what to do and why. Easy right? Well Moorman's Book of Poker proved a little more challenging in that you not only have to immerse yourself in the conversation between Jacobs and Moorman, but also put yourself in the former's shoes. You have to pretend you would have played the hand the same way. I wasn't a big fan for the first dozen hands or so, but then I began to realize the power of the coaching format.

Instead of Moorman offering his own hands, which would likely be from bigger buy-in tournaments and on a top tier level of thinking, Jacobs had the chance to throw an assortment of unique mid-stakes poker situations and get feedback. Obviously you wouldn't have played every hand like Jacobs, but in those instances you're presented with another learning opportunity. Imagine having the ability to run any hand by a poker pro and get their feedback. That's poker coaching in a nutshell, but hiring a coach can cost a fortune. Here, for the modest $34.95 cover price, you get a similar experience, though you have to live vicariously through Jacobs.

Doing so proved a surprisingly effective, and I must say I learned a lot from the book, which in turn made me a converted fan of the coaching format. Simply put, Moorman's Book of Poker is in the top tier of poker strategy books I've read in the past decade. It truly exemplifies the thought processes one must cultivate in order to advance to the highest levels of the game.

To give you a better idea of what Moorman's Book of Poker offers, I was fortunate enough to enlist Moorman's help. In last week's Hold'em with Holloway, my weekly strategy column here on PokerNews, I highlighted a hand from a $60 buy-in nightly tournament, one that presented me with multiple decision points. Check that piece out by clicking here.

This week, Moorman was kind enough to offer an analysis on the hand, much like he does for Jacobs throughout the book. Between my initial article and Moorman's analysis, we've essentially constructed a hand akin to the 80 featured in Moorman's Book of Poker, though mine is from the live realm. Regardless, it provides you a good glimpse of what you can expect from the text.

I highly recommend Moorman's Book of Poker for any low- to mid-stakes poker players looking to improve their game. It's especially applicable to tournament players, but plenty of the "thought process" concepts will translate well to cash games. Click here to pick up your copy through PokerNews Books Section.

_{*Lead photo courtesy of chrismoorman.com}

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Saturday, January 24, 2015

MGM Resorts makes Best Companies for Diversity list

011415_MGMBlacklogo_300 For the eighth year, Black Enterprise (BE) magazine has named MGM Resorts International one of the "40 Best Companies for Diversity" in the U.S. for its diversity and inclusion practices. MGM Resorts is the only company in the gaming industry, and the only company in Nevada, to be named to the magazine's list this year.

The 40 companies featured in the publication's December/January issue and on www.blackenterprise.com demonstrated a commitment to diversity in one or more of four key areas, including: Board of Directors mix, employee diversity, senior management mix and supplier diversity.

MGM Resorts was honored this year for creating a corporate culture that values and promotes inclusion within and outside of the company.

"We strive to weave diversity and inclusion into the fabric of our culture and our business operations at MGM Resorts," said Phyllis James, Executive Vice President, Special Counsel-Litigation and Chief Diversity Officer. "Across the board, from top management on down, we embrace diversity and inclusion; it is a philosophy that is reflected in our everyday workplace."

BE sent surveys to the nation's top 1,000 publicly traded companies as well as to the 100 leading global companies with strong U.S. operations. The questionnaire focused on activities related to the participation of African Americans and members of other ethnic minority groups as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. A heavier weighting was applied to the senior management and supplier diversity areas. The final scores, along with the results of reporting and research conducted by the editorial staff, were used to determine the "40 Best Companies for Diversity." Among the other well-known companies named to the "40 Best" list this year are Aflac Inc., American Express Co., The Coca Cola Company and Allstate Corporation.

In 2000, MGM Resorts International became the gaming industry's first company to implement a diversity initiative. Since its adoption, MGM Resorts has spent more than $3 billion on goods and services provided by minority, women and disadvantaged business enterprises (MWDBE), suppliers and contractors.

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EPT11 Prague: Katchalov on playing and playing against a big stack at an EPT final table

While the PokerStars Blog has a lot of poker knowledge, we've only ever watched EPT final tables, we've never actually played one. But fortunately we know a lot of people who have.

Earlier today, we had a word with Eugene Katchalov, the Team PokerStars Pro, who finished third at EPT8 Barcelona and second at EPT10 Deauville and has a vast knowledge of high-pressured final tables. He has played both with and against a big stack, and was the perfect person to climb inside the mind of Stephen Graner and his beleaguered opponents.

Katchalov - 63rd here in Prague

Katchalov was busy playing in the High Roller yesterday so didn't get to observe any of the action then, but he spent some time in the EPT Live booth today and could make a pretty shrewd assessment of what was going on.

"Graner is putting a lot of pressure on all of his opponents which is certainly the right thing to do and he certainly looks like he's getting away with a lot of it," Katchalov said. "I think he is playing really well, without going nuts. He played well in most of the hands that I saw. It helps that no one's really fighting back, the second biggest stack (Anton Bertilsson) is clearly playing very defensively trying to ladder up."

As a result Graner had 138 big blinds as level 31 started, Bertilsson had 71, and the other three stacks had between 19-29 big blinds. "It certainly seems like he (Bertilsson) is a bit handcuffed and he's just flatting hands like ace-king to the chip leader. To me it looks like he's trying to keep pots small and there's nothing wrong with that. He's clearly aware of laddering up and hoping other people bust around him."

Graner is dominating proceedings

In January this year Katchalov made the final table of EPT Deauville and Sotirios Koutoupas had a big chip lead. Katchalov found himself a short stack with five players left. So what's his advice to Fabio Sperling, Jonathan Wong and Simon Mattsson, who were all still in at the time of this interview?

"I was in their situation in Deauville," Katchalov said. "I stayed patient and waited for a hand because the big stacks were playing lots of hands. This meant I couldn't really get involved with speculative hands."

It's just common sense as far as Katchalov is concerned: "As a short stack, every bet is a big percentage of your stack. So for me to bluff it's going to cost me a lot, whereas for the big stacks to call me it's only a small percentage of their stack. So it's much easier for them to call me speculatively, whereas for me it can quickly become very expensive if I bluff. So for me it makes more sense to wait around for a better hand or at least have some firepower to maybe three-bet bluff."

While 20 big blinds is seen as a shoving stack in some circles Katchalov is not so sure. "With a 20 blind stack in this situation you can still raise and fold," Katchalov said. "The question is how often do you expect your opponents to three-bet bluff you if you raise and therefore how much you can get away with?"

What would you do with pocket eights and 20 big blinds in this situation? Katchalov said: "If you're expecting someone to three-bet you light then eights become a better hand to open with intending to jam if they three-bet and hope they fold. The question though is do you expect anyone to three-bet fold to you?. If the answer is no then the way you'd play a hand like eights boils down to how often you expect it to be the best hand."

The final table is being streamed on a one hour delay so right about this time the players will be getting information from friends watching about hands that have happened earlier at the final table. "I tried to use it in Deauville as much as I could," Katchalov said. "I had ElkY watching over the hands and telling me what some of the players had and there were some very interesting hands that gave me a lot of information."

But there can be a downside. "It is a danger as well because I think everyone's using it and if everyone is smart then they'll be adapting as well and trying to change their own game. Where it does give you information is in knowing what some people are capable of and what some people are not capable of and their general approach to a final table and style."

So has Katchalov picked up on any errors during his time in the booth? "The hand where Wong floated out of position with T♦9♦ on A♣K♠8♦," he said. In that hand Wong defended from the big blind after Graner had opened from early position with 9♥6♦. On the flop, Graner bet 150,000 and Wong called. The 6♥ turn was checked through, Wong then bet 450,000 on the 2♥ river and Graner called. All told it cost Wong around 25 per cent of his stack.

Wong - made an expensive bluff

"I think it's unnecessary and expensive," Katchalov said. "It's a good play, but I don't think it's a good play versus the chip leader when you're the short stack, because again you're risking way too many chips on an exotic bluff. I would see the flop but I would just let him have it on the flop because you don't have a hand, you're floating out of position and you're just hoping that he's not going to apply pressure when you're just risking too much of your stack. I'd like it if they were deeper though."

With that Katchalov is whisked back into the booth to provide commentary on the Russian stream and the players are back into action.

Full coverage of the main event is on the main event page. Action from the high roller is on the High Roller page.

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Estrellas Poker Tour announces Season 5 schedule

The Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) will return for its fifth season next year, starting in the Spanish capital and returning to Casino Gran Madrid from February 3 - 9, 2014. After the season kicks off in Madrid, this exciting tour will visit Valencia, Marbella and Barcelona.

The ESPT is Spain's biggest live poker tour and this new season builds on the success of the first four seasons, which have seen thousands of players take part and compete for over €8.3 million in prize pools.. Each tournament stop in Season 5 will be a fully-fledged fiesta of poker with schedules packed full of side events, from as little as €80.

Each leg of the Estrellas Poker Tour features a €1,000+€100 Main Event with a slow structure and starting stack of 20,000 chips.

SEASON 5 SCHEDULE

Madrid
Casino Gran Madrid
Festival dates: February 3-9, 2014
Main Event dates: February 5-9, 2014

Valencia
Casino Valencia
Festival dates: March 31- April 6, 2014
Main Event dates: April 2-6, 2014

Marbella
Casino Marbella
Festival dates:: June 9-15, 2014
Main Event dates: June 11-15, 2014

Barcelona
Casino Barcelona
Festival dates:: August 17-27, 2014
Main Event dates: August 17-21, 2014

For further information please visit the Estrellas Poker Tour web page.

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MicroMillions 6: mark_999 rallies to win Sunday Storm Special Edition and Event #97 $11 NL

It was a revolutionary type of day for mark_999. The Canadian advanced to the final table of MicroMillions 6 Event #97, yet he found himself near the back of the pack. mark_999 waited for the perfect moment to peak at the right time. Along the way, he snapped off pocket Queens with a fortuitous flop, and in another hand, his own pocket Kings held up in a decisive pot. However, mark_999 still found himself as the short stack when he took part in a money chop with three players remaining. Even though he was way behind, mark_999 was not deterred one bit. He somehow got heads-up and woke up with pocket Aces at the perfect time. He avoided an elimination and picked up a timely double up. On the very next hand, mark_999 delivered a stunning knock out blow to successfully complete a come-from-behind victory and win MicroMillions Event #97.

MicroMillions 6 Event #97 $11 NL also doubled as the Sunday Storm Special Edition, which drew in 52,491 runners. They created a prize pool worth $524,910, which was significantly more than the guaranteed prize pool of 300K. The top 6,633 places paid out with $38,110.83 set aside to the eventual champion. That is a juicy dividend on a mere $11 investment.

The Sunday Storm progressed at a rapid pace. Three hours passed before the money bubble popped. Over 90% of the field was liquidated in the first 3.5 hours.

The frantic pace slowed down during the final two tables. Action went hand-for-hand with ten to go, and flaviusff leading the way with over 50 million. Slovakia's KovTa bubbled off the final table in tenth place when A♦J♠ unfortunately lost to mark_999's K♥8♦ after mark_999 flopped two pair. With KovTa's bustout, the final table of nine was set.

Event #97 - Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: patrik2003 (37,534,946)
Seat 2: TheCTrain (25,509,603)
Seat 3: Sevathebes46 (16,574,678)
Seat 4: mark_999 (22,235,169)
Seat 5: flaviusff (56,278,605)
Seat 6: seby cacho (12,396,885)
Seat 7: TocalaSam (48,524,796)
Seat 8: StackYou780 (9,760,692)
Seat 9: HAL7000 (33,639,626)

The final table for this Sunday Storm Special commenced during Level 49 with blinds at 325K/650K and a 65K ante. Romania's flaviusff held the lead with 56.2 million, while StackYou780 clung to the short stack with a shade under 10 million.

StackYou780 eliminated in 9th place

The final table played out almost three full levels before someone busted. And it was one heck of a cooler... seby cacho opened to 2.4 million, StackYou780 bombed it all-in for 14,701,384 with K♦K♠, and seby cacho called with J♥J♦. The board ran out 6♥4♠2♠J♣4♣. seby cacho turned a set of Jacks and rivered a boat to win the pot. StackYou780 had Kings brutally cracked and became the first player to bust at the final table. StackYou780 took home $2,005.15 for a ninth-place finish.

TheCTrain eliminated in 8th place

TheCTrain min-raised to 2 million, mark_999 bumped it up to 5,454,599, TheCTrain moved all-in for 10,813,911, and mark_999 called. TheCTrain led with Q♠Q♦ against mark_999's A♠Q♣. The board ran out A♦K♠4♥5♣4♣. TheCTrain's Queens were cracked and mark_999 won the pot with two pair -- Aces and fours. For eighth place, TheCTrain collected $3,401.41.

With seven remaining, HAL7000 took over the lead with 50 million, but mark_999 was not far behind with 49 million.

Sevathebes46 eliminated in 7th place

Wrong time to get ambushed by cowboys. patrik2003 min-raised to 2.4 million, Sevathebes46 re-raised to 4.8 million, mark_999 four-bet to 13.2 million, patrik2003 folded, and Sevathebes46 called all-in for 4,549,678. Sevathebes46 made a final stand with A♥8♥, but he ran into mark_999's K♠K♦. The board ran out K♣Q♥4♣4♦6♠. mark_999 flopped a set of Kings and turned a boat. Sevathebes46 failed to improve and hit the virtual rail in seventh place, which paid out $4.986.64.

With six to go, mark_999 took over the chip lead with 61 million.

HAL7000 eliminated in 6th place

Short-stacked HAL7000 open-shoved for 15,456,121 with Q♦T♥ and monster-stacked mark_999 called with A♦T♦. The board ran out K♦9♣7♦9♠4♠. HAL7000 flopped a gutshot draw, but neither player improved by the river. mark_999 won the pot with an Ace-high kicker. HAL7000 was taken offline in sixth place, which paid out $7,180.76.

TocalaSam eliminated in 5th place

Action did not play out five-handed for more than an orbit before someone bowed out. seby cacho min-raised to 3.2 million, TocalaSam bombed it all-in for 23,615,897 with A♦2♥, and seby cacho called with A♥Q♦. seby cacho was ahead and his hand would hold up when the board ran out 7♣5♠4♦T♠T♦. TocalaSam flopped a Wheel gutshot draw, but failed to get there. Portugal's TocalaSam was knocked out in fifth place, which paid out $10,755.40.

With four players remaining, mark_999 was the leader with 98.4 million, seby cacho was second with 85.4 million, patrik2003 was third with 48.9 million, and flaviusff brought up the rear with 29.6 million.

flaviusff eliminated in 4th place

With four to go... mark_999 min-raised to 4 million, flaviusff re-raised all-in for 28,055,668, patrik2003 called, but mark_999 folded. patrik2003 led with A♥K♥ versus flaviusff's K♦J♥. The board ran out Q♥5♥3♥8♠7♥. patrik2003 flopped an Ace-high flush, which held up. For fourth place, flaviusff earned $14,345.79.

DEAL

With three remaining, action was paused to discuss a deal. At that juncture, patrik2003 held the lead with 98.5 million, seby cacho was second with 83.3 million, and mark_999 was the "shorty' with 80.5 million. They agreed to the following terms with $6,000 left on the table to the eventual champion:

patrik2003 - $26,851.33
seby cacho - $25,481.35
mark_999 - $25,230.10

With a deal in place, play resumed.

seby cacho eliminated in 3rd place

seby cacho min-raised to 5 million, patrik2003 re-raised to 42.5 million with A♠3♦, and seby cacho called all-in for 24,701,051 with K♦T♥. The board ran out J♣4♥4♣3♠8♦ and patrik200 won the pot with two pair -- fours and treys. seby cacho failed to improve, and headed to the rail in third place, which paid out $25,481.35.

HEADS-UP: patrik2003 (Hungary) vs. mark_999 (Canada)
Seat 1: patrik2003 (126,939,109)
Seat 4: mark_999 (135,515,891)

With two remaining, it was a relatively close race, even though mark_999 held a slight lead.

On the second hand of heads up, patrik2003 won a 70 million pot and seized the lead. However, mark_999 got the lead right back after patrik2003 four-bet shoved with A♠T♦ and mark_999 woke up with A♥A♦. Aces held up and mark_999 won a pot worth 240 million. It was all over on the ensuing hand.

patrik2003 eliminated in 2nd place; mark_999 wins Sunday Storm and MicroMillions Event #97

Trailing 240 million to 22.4 million, patrik2003 got his remaining stack all-in preflop with 6♥3♥ and mark_999 called with A♣4♣. The flop was A♦7♦5♥ and patrik2003 picked up a gutshot draw. The turn was the 8♠ and patrik2003 picked up more outs with an open-ended straight draw. The river was the T♣. patrik2003 failed to improve and only held Ace-high, which meant he busted in second place. mark_999 faded a straight and won the pot with a pair of Aces to properly bink Event #97.

For a sensational runner-up performance, Hungary's patrik2003 took home $26,851.33.

Congrats to Canada's mark_999, won earned $31,230.10 for an impressive first place victory in Event #97. mark_999 won a MicroMillions 6 event, which also doubled as the Sunday Storm Special Edition.

View the final hand via the replayer:

RSS readers must click through to view replayer

MicroMillions-097 $11 NL Hold'em [Sunday Storm Special Edition]
Entrants: 52,491
Prize pool: $524,910.00
Place paid: 6,663

1. mark_999 (Canada) - $31,230.10 **
2. patrik2003 (Hungary) - $26,851.33 **
3. seby cacho (Argentina) - $25,481.35 **
4. flaviusff (Romania) - $14,345.79
5. TocalaSam (Portugal) - $10,755.40
6. HAL7000 (Czech Republic) - $7,180.76
7. Sevathebes46 (Ukraine) - $4,986.64
8. TheCTrain (Canada) - $3,401.41
9. StackYou780 (Canada) - $2,005.15

** Denotes a deal among the final three players

Visit the MicroMillions 6 home page to see who currently sits atop the leader board.

Pauly McGuire is an author and freelance contributor to PokerStars Blog.

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Sunday Million:liv_hbk denies blumenkind53 a second title

Tim "blumenkind53" Ulrich knows a little something about the Sunday Million final table. Back in August 2010 he won it, but due to a four-way deal, the $160,781 he took home that night wasn't the largest share of the prize pool. Since then, Ulrich has won two Super Tuesday titles and tonight he got the chance to make it a double in the Million as well. Sporting a substantial chip lead with three players remaining, Ulrich was hesitant to negotiate a deal at this final table, but when Running Goot began to live up to his name, winning a massive coin flip to double up, Ulrich changed his tune. Blumenkind53 locked up $180,000 in the deal only to be dealt a huge cooler moments later. Blumenkind53 didn't win his second Sunday Million crown tonight-- those honors went to liv_hbk-- but he did come away with over $15,000 more than the winner. Who says there's no karma in poker?

7,439 players bought in to this week's Million, pushing the prize pool up to $1,487,800.00. 1,080 places were paid with first place set to earn $223,174.92. Twenty-one Red Spades were scattered through the field including Liv Boeree, Jake Cody, Marcel Luske, Andre Akkari, Joe Cada, George Danzer and the brothers De Meulder. Two finished in the money-- Martin Hruby (874th) and Andre Coimbra (226th).

Blinds were up to 125,000/250,000 with ten players remaining and PoKAaGuurl was down to only 1.2 million. With the action folded to him in the small blind, PoKAaGuurl shoved with J♠4♥ and Balda23 called with Q♣2♣ in the big blind. Balda23 flopped a queen and PoKAaGuurl flopped a four, but PoKAaGuurl didn't improve any further and was eliminated on the final table bubble.

Final table chip counts

Seat 1: Madcandle (6,738,196 in chips)
Seat 2: orba88 (3,276,826 in chips)
Seat 3: m0ura0886 (3,906,101 in chips)
Seat 4: blumenkind53 (11,366,772 in chips)
Seat 5: Balda23 (12,112,281 in chips)
Seat 6: DonkingDonks (8,851,176 in chips)
Seat 7: Running Goot (9,607,826 in chips)
Seat 8: liv_hbk (6,696,640 in chips)
Seat 9: 1mDonuts (11,834,182 in chips)

One down on Hand #1

The first hand of the final table produced its first elimination. With 3.9 million behind, m0ura0886 opened for a 3x raise to 750,000 from UTG and Balda23 shoved for 12 million from middle position. M0ura0886 called, his 5♣5♦ racing with A♦K♦. M0ura0886 survived the Q♠T♦8♥ flop as well as the 8♦ turn, but the A♣ spiked on the river to give Balda23 the win. M0ura0886 was eliminated in ninth place, earning $11,530.45.

Balda23 busts in eighth

As the blinds rose to 150,000/300,000, short stack orba88 caught a break. All-in for 2.7 million, orba88's pocket queens flopped top set vs. Balda23's A♥8♥, good for a double-up to 5.93 million. However, Balda23's chips soon ended up in liv_hbk's stack. After blumenkind53 opened for a min-raise, Balda23 three-bet to 1.75 million from middle position and liv_hbk shoved from the big blind. Blumenkind53 folded and Balda23 called, his T♠T♥ up against K♣Q♦. However, liv_hbk flopped a king and turned a queen to win the 16.3 million pot, leaving Balda23 below 5 million in chips.

A short time later, DonkingDonks opened for 888,000 UTG and Balda23 shoved for 4.65 million from the big blind. DonkingDonks called, his A♠K♥ dominating Balda23's A♥T♠. The ace-king held, the board running out 9♥9♠5♣7♦J♠ to eliminate Balda23 in eighth place ($17,853.60).

orba88 ousted, liv_hbk wants a deal

One orbit later, the action folded around to orba88 in the small blind. Orba88 found pocket sevens and moved all-in for 4.4 million only to run into blumenkind53's A♠K♣ in the big blind. Blumenkind53 hit a king on the flop and ended orba88's run in seventh place, good for a $31,987.70 payday.

Running Goot got a boost when he doubled through liv_hbk, his A♥Q♥ winning a race against 7♠7♥. Liv_hbk was left with only 4.2 million but got lucky against DonkingDonks a few hands later. All-in with A♥T♦ against J♦J♣, liv_hbk hit a T♥T♣9♠ flop and doubled to a more comfortable 13.2 million.

Back in safer territory, liv_hbk polled his opponents with regard to a potential deal.

liv_hbk: up to tim
Madcandle: i have it ticked
Madcandle: cant hurt to look
blumenkind53: as soon as we look i ll say its not enough and then will be the greedy guy, so it doesnt make sense lets play on
Running Goot: yeah its all good

blumenkind53's back-to-back bustouts

1mDonuts was the last player below 10bb and when he three-bet shoved for 5.1 million, blumenkind53 was all too happy to call with K♥K♦. 1mDonuts's A♦J♠ did not improve and he hit the rail in sixth place, collecting $46,121.80.

On the very next deal the actio coded to Madcandle on the button. He moved all-in for 10.4 million and blumenkind53 reshoved for 16.4 million from the small blind. Blumenkind53's A♠Q♥ had Madcandle's A♣8♠ crushed, and he made a Broadway straight to boot on the K♣J♣4♣T♦T♥ board. For fifth place, Madcandle took home $60,999.80.

Madcandle burns out

Two hands after Madcandle's elimination, Running Goot three-bet shoved from the small blind with T♥T♦ and initial raiser DonkingDonks called with A♦Q♥. This time the coin fell with the pair and DonkingDonks was crippled to less than 2 million in chips. Blumenkind53 finished him off a few hands later, his 8♥9♥ rivering a ten-high straight vs. DonkingDonks's A♥J♣.

We have a deal!

At long last, all three players agreed to pause the action and look at numbers. Here's a look at how they stacked up at the time:

blumenkind53 - 32,418,811
Running Goot - 26,324,895
liv_hbk - 15,646,294

Liv_hbk requested ICM figures, but upon seeing them, blumenkind53 deemed his share too small.

HostPeterZ (Administrator): blumenkind53:$171,726.00
HostPeterZ (Administrator): Running Goot:$165,412.48
HostPeterZ (Administrator): liv_hbk:$149,268.92
HostPeterZ (Administrator): Left To Play for place 1: $20,000.00

blumenkind53: ok i can not go under 180k so I need 8.3k from the 2 of you
liv_hbk: i'll give you 4
Running Goot: ill top you up to 180k
Running Goot: w/ the chip chop

After a bit of nipping and tucking our trio came to a consensus, locking up the following shares:

HostPeterZ (Administrator): blumenkind53:$180,000.00
HostPeterZ (Administrator): Running Goot:$161,412.48
HostPeterZ (Administrator): liv_hbk:$144,994.92
HostPeterZ (Administrator): Left To Play for place 1: $20,000.00

blumenkind53 eliminated in third place

No sooner had cards gone back in the air did liv_hbk and blumenkind53 get into a pre flop raising war. Blumenkind53 five-bet shoved for 32.2 million with J♦J♠ only to run into liv_hbk's A♥A♦. Liv_hbk's aces held and blumenkind53 plummeted to 14 million in chips.

Blumenkind53 chipped back up to 23 million, but again ran into liv_hbk with a monster hand. Blumenkind53 made another five-bet shove, this time with A♥J♥, and liv_hbk looked him up with A♦K♥. Liv_hbk's dominating hand held and blumenkind53's run at a second Sunday Million title came to an end in third place. However, blumenkind53 took the largest share of the prize pool at $180,000 thanks to the three-way deal.

Heads-up chip counts

Seat 7: Running Goot (26,039,240 in chips)
Seat 8: liv_hbk (48,350,760 in chips)

Running Goot did just that, doubling up on the first hand of heads-up play. In a three-bet pot, Running Goot fired the flop, turn, and river on a T♥3♣2♣K♦6♥ board, liv_hbk calling down the whole way with A♣2♥. Running Goot's top pair with K♥[7h was good and he doubled to 52 million.

Liv_hbk went back to work and chipped up from 22.3 million to 32.4 million. With the blinds up to 400,000/800,000, liv)hbk three-bet pre flop to 4 million, then checked the A♥5♥2♣ flop. Running Goot checked behind. The turn came the 8♥ and liv_hbk bet 4.25 million. Running Goot called and they went to the river, the 9♦. Liv_hbk fired another 6.55 million and Running Goot folded, surrendering the chip lead to liv_hbk.

Sporting a 7 million lead over Running Goot, liv_hbk went for the touchdown on the next hand... and scored!

Congratulations to Romania's liv_hbk on winning the Sunday Million! He banked $164,994.92 for the win while runner-up Running Goot earned $161,412.48.

PokerStars Sunday Million results for 11-17-2013

Players: 7,439
Prizepool: $1,487,800.00
Places paid: 1,080

1. liv_hbk (Romania) $164,994.92*
2. Running Goot (Canada) $161,412.48*
3. Tim "blumenkind53" Ulrich (Germany) $180,000.00*
4. DonkingDonks (Canada) $78,853.40
5. Madcandle (Finland) $60,999.80
6. 1mDonuts (Malta) $46,121.80
7. orba88 (Israel) $31,987.70
8. Balda23 (Czech Republic) $17,853.60
9. m0ura0886 (Portugal) $11,530.45

*= reflects the results of a three-handed deal that left $20,000 in play for the winner

Kristin Bihr is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

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