President’s Day was a holiday in the United States but it was not at all a holiday at Full Tilt Poker’s biggest cash game tables as all of the top players were on hand trying to make some money during their regular working hours. As with most days, the action was fierce with Phil Ivey and Durrrr facing off in a heads up PLO table in addition to several tables in which Durrrr tool on LarsLuzak and Ziigmund. Overall, Ivey was the big winner as he pocketed over $682,000.

Here are a couple of the biggest pots from President’s Day:

The first hand took place between Durrrr and Ivey during the Pot Limit Hold em $500/$1000. Ivey was deal AK of spades in the small blind with Ziigmund in the Big Blind. Durrrr raised to $3000 in position and Ivey made it $10,000 to go. After Ziigmund folded, Durrrr made the call.

The flop came down and it was 8c-10s-Js giving Ivey two overcards, the nut flush draw and a gutshot Royal flush draw. He came out firing $15,000 into the pot and Durrrr raised to $42,000 to go. Not to be outdone, Ivey again raised, this time to over $14,000 and Durrrr shoved the rest of his stack in.

Durrrr shows 10c-Jd for top two pair and though he was ahead at the moment, his hand was very vulnerable. The turn card was great for Ivey at it was the 3 of spades giving his the nut flush. Durrrr however, still had outs, needing a 10 or Jack to complete his full house. Unfortunately for him, the river was the 3 of clubs and Ivey scooped the pot of $356,492.

In the 2nd key hand, LarsLuzak took on Durrrr who seems to be in the middle of every big pot out there. The game was $500/$1000 no limit hold em and LarsLuzak had pocket Aces. Preflop, Durrrr raised to $3000 and Lars made it $10,500 to go and Durrr just called. The flop was Ac-Qd-Js and Lars had flopped top set. Lars bet out $15,000 and was called by Durrrr. The turn was the King of spades and this time both players checked. A rare occurrence indeed. The river card was the 2 of spades completing a backdoor flush. On the river, Lars bet out $36,000 and Durrrr raised $100,000 on top. After some deliberation, Lars made the call and scooped the pot of $321,759.

Tremendous call on his part. What do you think?

Play where the pros play, at Full Tilt Poker.

As reported last week, PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site was on the verge of a major milestone as they prepared to deal their 25 billionth hand. The winner of the milestone hand was set to walk away with cash and prizes totaling over $155,000.   Well, this past weekend, the hand was dealt but it happened under a bit of controversy as to the table players.  According to a statement by the site, the confusion occurred as a result of a software error and as a result, two players split the big prize.

Starting on February 11th, the site begin awarding prizes for every 1,000,000 hands dealt to the lucky players who were in action at each table and the prizes ranged from $300, to $2,500 based on table stakes and VIP ranking.  Then, on Monday, the time approached fro the granddaddy of the prizes.  As luck would have it, the table was a six-handed $1/$2 Limit Omaha High-Low table.

The players sitting at the table were:

CONFEDERATE (not dealt into the hand and not eligible for any of the bounty)
NEONFROST
TUPAPI777
FRTSPKNDMN
N47J25S
CHRIS12080

The hand began with a PokerStars host explaining to the players what was happening and what was at stake.  The winner would receive $150,000 in cash and prizes in the form of a $100,000 cash payout into their account and $100,000 being split among the other players.

Since it was a high-low table, a split pot would result in 2 winners.  This is where the confusion occurred.  With so many players watching, the software caused Neonfrost’s hand to disappear from the table which meant he could not take part in the hand.

With so much at stake, PokerStars quickly reviews what happened and ruled that Neonfrost would split the prize with Tupapi777 as he made the low and Nenfrost would have hit the high.  Each player split the cash and each received complete tournament packages.

Meanwhile, the remaining 3 players at the table each received $33,333 in cash.  Not a bad score for being at the right place at the right time.

Use PokerStars Marketing Code “aintluck.com” for the maximum bonus at PokerStars.

It is quite an exciting time to be a player of PokerStars.  The site is currently running one of it’s most generous promotions ever.  18 months ago, the world’s largest online poker site dealt it’s astounding 10 billionth hand.  Incredibly, they are now on the verge of dealing their 25 billionth and to celebrate this latest milestone, PokerStars is running 4 different intertwined promotions.

25% Bonus on Deposits

For starters, they are offering their customers a special 25% PokerStars bonus for all deposits made before February 18th.  So if a player deposits $500, they are eligible to earn $125.  This is a great opportunity for players to really build up their bankrolls.  To earn the 25%, players must accrue a certain number of Frequent Player Points which accumulate the more one plays on the site.

Free Cash to Players

Perhaps the most exciting of the promotions are the cash prizes being awarded on the site.  All a player has to do is be lucky enough to be seated at a cash game table where a milestone hand is dealt.  Beginning with hand number 24,850,000,000, PokerStars is giving away cash to players dealt in on every millionth hand.  The table stakes and your VIP status will help determine the amount of the cash prize received.

The Billionth Hand Winner Prize Package

The pearl of the promotions is for the actual 25 billionth hand itself.  The winner of that particular hand will walk away with $100,000 in cash as well as a European Poker Tour Monte Carlo package, a PokerStars Caribbean adventure package, a World Series of Poker Main Event package and an entry into the next World Championship of Online Poker main event. That’s an astonishing $150,000 worth of prizes for the winner of that lucky hand. In addition, all the other players in the hand will split $100,000 so if it is a 6-handed ring game, they each will get $20,000 apiece.

It is a very exciting time to be a PokerStars player.  Online players everywhere will be striving to see just how lucky they really are.

If you don’t have an account yet, PokerStars can be downloaded for free through AintLuck.com by using our PokerStars Link.

Last night, Ziigmund and Durrrr squared off in a heads up match on Full Tilt’s $500/$1000 Mixed HA tables and at one table in particular they had one gigantic pot after another.  At one point, Ziigmund built up his stack to a whopping $900K while Durrrr was down to a single buy in.  During the match, Durrrr staged a valiant comeback but at the match-up’s conclusion, Ziigmund was still up $350K.  Despite the defeat at this table, Durrrr was still a winner on the day as he was very successful at his other tables.

First Big Hand

Here are a couple of the key hands.  In the first hand during a Pot Limit Omaha round, Ziigmund was dealt 10s-Kh-8c-6s.  Preflop the action between the two players was aggressive as expected.  Durrrr raised to $3,000, Ziigmund without hesitation made it $9,000 and Durrrr, not liking that very much, made it $27,000 to go.  Ziigmund smooth called and the players were off to see the flop with $54,000 already in the pot.

The flop was Kc-4d-7h so Ziigmund had flopped a pair of Kings and a gut shot straight draw.  Ziigmund checked and Durrr fired out a bet of $34K.  Ziigmund immediately check raised his semi-strong holding to $156K and Durrrr moved all in for $206K total.  The pot stood at $398,389 with 2 cards to come.  Durrrr showed Kd-7d-5s-8s for top two pair and a gutshot, so he was leading when the money went in.

The turn card was the 8 of hearts and the players were now tied with one card to come and both having a gut shot straight redraw.  Durrrr needed a 6 and Ziigmund needed a 5 and each player had one of their opponents outs.  The river came and it was the 5 of hearts, giving Ziigmund the nearly $400K pot.

Second Big Hand

In the 2nd key hand of the matchup, Ziigmund already had a nearly 7 to 1 chip advantage on Durrrr.  This time the preflop action was a mirror image of the first hand.  This time, Ziigmund raised to $3,000, Durrrr re-raised to $9,000 and Ziigmund 3-bet to $27,000 to go which is _ of the stack Durrrr had let at this table.

Ziigmund was holding Ah-2h-Jd-10d, a very good looking hand.  The flop was Qh-8h-9c giving Ziigmund the nut straight and the nut flush redraw on the flop.  He appeared to have this hand pretty locked up.  Durrrr led out for $54,000 and Ziigmund must have been counting his money as he put Durrrr all in for $36,000 more.  The cards were revealed and Durrrr held 5s-10h-6h-8d.  He had a flush draw but was pretty much drawing dead as he needed a miracle turn and river to win the pot outright.

The turn was the Queen of diamonds and the river was the Queen of spades and Ziigmund took down this pot also to the tune of $238,799. Overall, it was a great session for Ziigmund.

Both players play online poker at Full Tilt Poker.

Most online poker players are familiar with online training sites. Sites such as CardRunners and StoxPoker offer online videos for members who pay for the content in hopes of learning from the winning ways of top online poker players.  While thousands of customers have learned a great deal from these training sites, it seems that the site’s founders have seen their win rates slashed dramatically and the poker forums are buzzing with speculation as to why this is the case.

Whatever the reason may be, the issue seems to draw a great deal of passion from the posters who seem to regard the trainers with some deal of resentment. Whereas these trainers were once renowned, now many are looking at them as being foolish and perhaps greedy for posting the secrets of their success.

Win Rate Dwindling for Top Poker Teachers

Some of the top online poker teachers include well known players such as Krantz, Taylor Caby, Eric Liu and Brian Townsend.  While these players once boasted incredible results that prompted them to start teaching, as late, none of the aforementioned players have enjoyed the success and win rate they once did.

Why Are They Losing?

This is leading many observers to believe one of several things has occurred.  Perhaps they were never as good as they thought, they were just on a fortuitous upswing and have now regressed back to normal.  Poker is a game of ebbs and flows with players winning and losing a great deal over prolonged stretches of time.  It is possible that their winning time has subsided and they are now mere mortals.  Others speculate that perhaps telling others about what made them winning players and teaching their own styles to scores of players has caused them to lose as those very players are now using that information against them.  When one thinks about it, it becomes obvious, poker is a game which players rely heavily on information about their opponents.  What better tool to use than their own videos which describe thought processes out loud.  Poker pro Daniel Negreanu has even stated on his blog that telling others about his style has been a mistake.

Whatever the reason may be, the fact remains that most trainers are not living up to their once ballyhooed hype.  Only time will tell if this trend continues for them.  Supporters and opponents of the training sites will be monitoring this situation with a great deal of vested interest.

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]]> http://betheguru.com/?feed=rss2&p=1284 0 http://betheguru.com/?p=1278 http://betheguru.com/?p=1278#comments Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:02:39 +0000 AintLuck.com Poker Team http://www.aintluck.com/?p=1278

Bodog Poker became one of the first major online poker sites to offer it’s players the ability to play directly in a web browser with no download required.  In the past, PartyPoker opened the door to its players to play and even multi-table on a web browser.  However, since PartyPoker no longer allows players from the United States, Bodog is now at the forefront for instant play players and players using Mac’s.

Click to Play at Bodog

Bodog Instant Play Software

There are several reasons why the instant play feature is attractive.  For starters, a player is now free to play poker from any location with a web browser available.  It is no longer necessary for one to go through the process of downloading the software, especially if a player is just looking for a quick fix to curb their poker appetite.  In addition, for those players who have workplace restrictions on software downloads, their hands are no longer tied by the rules.

Bodog on a Mac

Bodog is now Mac Compatible. By offering an instant play, no download option, Bodog fans who own Mac computers, can now play directly on their Mac’s.  Previously, it was not possible to play Bodog on a Mac because it required a download.  Their download client was not Mac compatible at the time.

Bodog No Download Drawbacks

The option does however have some shortcomings.  The new option only allows players to play at a single cash game table, meaning multi-tabling is not possible.  Also, players can not play in either sit and go or multi-table tournaments.  Sorry to those players who are looking to compete in Bodog’s big weekly tournaments but can’t download the software.  This solution will not help you with this.  However, the ability to just press a button and be brought to Bodog’s cash game interface selection screen in seconds should be enough to offset that issue.

All of the cash game tables are available, from microstakes limit games to the biggest $10/$20 no limit hold em games.  Please note, the only offerings are the hold’em games at this time, but most Bodog customers are hold’em players anyway.

How to Play the No Download Version at Bodog

All in all, this is a great development by Bodog as they have carved out a unique niche in the online poker landscape. AintLuck.com offers the maximum $550 bonus at Bodog by signing up through our Bodog link and entering referral code: 1872835

Amid reports that he was leaking money at the highest levels of cash games on Full Tilt Poker, Durrrr has come back in a big way, profiting $1.1 million over the weekend bringing his total profits in February to over $1.4 million. His bad run appears to be a thing of the past as his bankroll takes the big boost, growing an amount in a week which most could only dream about.

Two of the key pots from the weekend occurred when he was locked in a battle with Patrick Antonius.  Here are those two hands.

1st Hand – Durrrr vs. Patrick Antonius

In the first hand, Durrrr was holding 7s-6s-5h-7c during a Pot Limit Omaha round of Omaha (HA) $500/$1000.  Preflop, Durrrr raised to $3,000 and Antonius came over the top for $9,000 total.  Durrrr called and it was off to the flop.  The flop was 3s-Qh-4d giving Durrrr a flop with several outs.  Any 2,5,6 or 7 would give him the nut straight.  He was a favorite against any hand and a small underdog against a set.  Antonius led out for $15,000 and Durrrr quickly raised to $63,000.   Antonius pushed his stack all in for $93,000 total and it was up to how the cards fell. Antonius had Kc-Ks-Qs-Js for a pair of Kings and no redraw.  The turn card was the Ace of clubs which helped no one.  However, the river card was the 5 of diamonds completing Durrrr’s nut straight.  Durrrr took down the pot worth $215,193.

2nd Hand – Durrrr vs. Antonius

In the 2nd hand, it was time for some $500/$1000 no limit hold em and Durrrr had pocket 6’s. Antonius raised to $3,000 and Durrrr just called.  Surprising move considering how much he loves to reraise and force the action.

The flop was 6c-4c-2s giving Durrrr top set.  Antonius led out for $5,000 and Durrrr raised to $17,500.  Undeterred and having Durrrr covered, Antonius pushed all in for $83,000 and Durrrr inst-called.  Antonius showed pocket 10’s for the overpair.  He needed either running clubs or a 10 to take the pot.  The turn card was the Ace of Diamonds which was as big a brick as could be.  The river card was another brick, the 8 of diamonds and Durrrr took down the pot of $180,390.

In addition to the tremendous action at the table, according to the chat box, it appears that Durrrr and Antonius will be starting their portion of Durrrr’s challenge during the early part of the week. Below is a copy of the discussion:

durrrr: hey, when r we starting?
durrrr: u on good intnet yet?
Patrik Antonius: my connection is good now
durrrr: o nice
durrrr: k i’ll call ya tomorrow @ some pt
durrrr: o didnt see big hand other tbl sry
Patrik Antonius: we can start soon
Patrik Antonius: we can start today if other games will dry out
Patrik Antonius: if u feel like it
durrrr: nah im tired, ill call ya tomorrow n we can start then
Patrik Antonius: ok
durrrr: wt stakes r we playing?
Patrik Antonius: 200 400 plo
durrrr: kk

Both Durrrr and Antonius play high stakes games at Full Tilt Poker. Download Full Tilt.

The 1st big online poker tournament series of 2009 has kicked off in a major way as Full Tilt Poker’s FTOPS XI got off to a big start this week.  The first event was a $200 buy in event and featured 6,275 participants to bloat the prize pool to over $1,255,000.  738 players made the money in this kick off event that featured a multitude of well known online and live players such as host Howard Lederer, Esther Rossi, Diego Cordovez, Brandon Adams, and Lee Watkinson.

The First Event of the FTOPS XI Results:

1st – David “muckducks” Cairns — $216,513
2nd – sticky seat — $131,148
3rd – John Newcombe aka JNewcombe — $84,336
4th – two8off — $65,888
5th – headbang — $49,573
6th – Almerud — $37,023
7th – song1234 — $28,865
8th – ich_bin_pro — $21,963
9th – amster_ATX — $16,315

If this opening event is any indication, the rest of FTOPS XI is sure to garner a great deal of participation and hype as high limit players mix it up with lower limit players looking to make a big score. The bigger players have their sights set on winning titles and online player of the year rankings while the lesser-known players are looking to build their bankrolls while making names for themselves.

With satellites constantly running around the clock, anyone can participate in the biggest tournaments of the series.

Will any future stars emerge from this event?  Only time will tell.

A very interesting heads up match will be occurring on February 21st featuring a World Poker Tour Champion squaring off against a World Series of Poker bracelet holder.  However, you won’t be able to watch them go toe to toe on Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars or any other online poker site for that matter.  No, two of the world’s top Danish poker players, Gus Hansen and Theo Jorgensen will be matched up in a boxing match of all places as the debut event on Gus Hansen’s latest business venture, Gus TV.

The Deal

Scheduled on the same night as the European Poker Tour’s Copenhagen, Denmark main event final table and in the same city this exhibition seems to be a highly competitive event for both renowned players.  Should Jorgensen win, Hansen will pay him $35,000 and if Hansen wins, he will get $25,000.

The two rivals have been seen battling numerous times not only at live and online poker tables, but in local gymnasiums as well and both men seem more concerned over who will attain big time bragging rights for whomever emerges victorious. Both men are taking this quite seriously as Hansen is being tutored by former Olympic Boxing Medalist Johnny De Lima.  Jorgensen countered by saying Hansen needs the help because of his “pathetic” boxing skills.

What is Gus TV?

So what is Gus TV?  Gus TV, according to Hansen himself is an online television channel he is launching dedicated to himself and poker as a whole.  He states that

“Having my own free TV channel is a fantastic opportunity for me to connect with my fans and supporters. Today’s technology means everyone can sit down with me and watch as I play live at tournaments or even just in my hotel room with friends.”

Seems like an interesting way to launch a poker channel and it will be quite interesting to see who wins this battle in the squared circle.

Back in 2006, Jamie Gold shocked the poker world by taking on and defeating all comers as he steamrolled a field of 8,773 players to capture the World Series of Poker’s Main Event. His victory earned him a cool $12 million and he gained notoriety by competing on poker shows such as High Stakes Poker. It was during these high profile games that led many observers to speculate that his championship was a result of a tremendous run of cards and not so much do to a superior skill level.

The debate has been re-energized as he has been confirmed to have been playing $2-$5 no limit hold em and $5-$10 no limit at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Supporters of Gold believe that he is playing in these smaller games merely to work on his game and for pure enjoyment. His detractors however believe that his reckless nature has caused him to come close to squandering his entire bankroll. It has prompted members of the twoplustwo.com forum to launch a poll aimed at trying to determine the answer.

Is Jamie Gold Broke?

The debate is almost split down the middle with 54% believing he is broke while 46% think he is just fine. Prior to winning the main event, Gold was a regular player at Los Angeles’ Commerce Casino where he was allegedly a frequent borrower of money. In fact, during preliminary events in 2006, Gold was in such dire straits, that he was looking to just get staked to play in the tournament. However, it is possible that Gold realizes that he is not an elite player and would rather play within his own comfort zone. After all, there is plenty of footage of him losing bundles of cash to top pros such as Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson.

Whichever side you believe, it is difficult to argue with the fact that most people who have won so much money rarely play in games so small. Could he really be close to being broke? Only time will tell.