Since the signing of Isildur1 by Pokerstars and his being revealed as Viktor Blom, Pokerstars has been running a special, high stakes promotion: 2,500 hands, played at 50/100 NL, across 4 tables; each player puts up $150,000; whoever either busts or is in the negative after 2,500 hands loses.
Blom has played against 3 opponents up to this point, with a 3-1 record: he has beaten Anthony “Tony G” Guoga, Daniel Cates, Eugene Katchalov, while losing to his first opponent, Isaac Haxton. Through all of these games, Blom shows a net profit of just over $160,000.
His next opponent is someone who’s accomplishments are too lengthy to list here: the face of Pokerstars himself – Daniel Negreanu. Negreanu has been dropping hints for weeks now, discussing how he finds this Showdown a challenge he would like try. Now, Pokerstars is making it happen.
However, the rules are slightly different: instead of 2,500 hands in one day, they will be playing 5,000 across two! That’s right, they will sit down for their first 2,500 hands on Sunday, March 20th and for their remaining hands on Sunday, March 27th.
While Blom is clearly a favorite, with all of his high stakes heads-up experience, its hard to count someone out who has done what Negreanu has accomplished in the poker world. It should be exciting to watch the players battle it out on the felt.
Pokerstars has announced their upcoming Spring Championship of Online Poker.
PokerStars runs not one, but three series’ simultaneously. Each event has three sections: Low, Medium, and High. Each of these tournaments has a guarantee set to match the buyin amount.
The schedule is as follows: Sunday, 8 May 2011
13:00 ET, Ev 01-L*: $22 NL Hold’em [6-Max], $300,000 Guaranteed
13:00 ET, Ev 01-M*: $215 NL Hold’em [6-Max], $750,000 Guaranteed
13:00 ET, Ev 01-H*: $2,100 NL Hold’em [6-Max], $1,000,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 02-L*: $22 NL Hold’em, $300,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 02-M*: $215 NL Hold’em, $1,500,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 02-H*: $2,100 NL Hold’em, $1,500,000 Guaranteed
Monday, 9 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 03-L*: $5.50+R NL Hold’em (6-Max), $250,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 03-M*: $55+R NL Hold’em (6-Max), $500,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 03-H*: $530+R NL Hold’em (6-Max), $750,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 04-L: $16.50 FL Badugi, $25,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 04-M: $162 FL Badugi, $25,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 04-H: $1,575 FL Badugi, $50,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 05-L: $11 PL Omaha (Turbo, 1R1A), $75,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 05-M: $109 PL Omaha (Turbo, 1R1A), $200,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 05-H: $1,050 PL Omaha (Turbo, 1R1A), $350,000 Guaranteed
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 06-L: $11 PL 5-Card Draw, $25,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 06-M: $109 PL 5-Card Draw, $50,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 06-H: $1,050 PL 5-Card Draw, $75,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 07-L: $16.50 NL Hold’em (Heads-Up Match Play), $100,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 07-M: $162 NL Hold’em (Heads-Up Match Play), $200,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 07-H: $1,575 NL Hold’em (Heads-Up Match Play), $400,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 08-L*: $11 NL Hold’em, $100,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 08-M*: $109 NL Hold’em, $300,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 08-H*: $1,050 NL Hold’em, $600,000 Guaranteed
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 09-L: $22 Mixed Hold’em (6-Max), $75,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 09-M: $215 Mixed Hold’em (6-Max), $150,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 09-H: $2,100 Mixed Hold’em (6-Max), $250,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 10-L: $33 7-Card Stud High, $25,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 10-M: $320 7-Card Stud High, $50,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 10-H: $3,150 7-Card Stud High, $100,000 Guaranteed
Thursday, 12 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 11-L: $22 PL Omaha (Heads-Up Match Play), $50,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 11-M: $215 PL Omaha (Heads-Up Match Play), $100,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 11-H: $2,100 PL Omaha (Heads-Up Match Play), $200,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 12-L*: $27 NL Hold’em (Knockout), $200,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 12-M*: $265 NL Hold’em (Knockout), $400,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 12-H*: $2,600 NL Hold’em (Knockout), $600,000 Guaranteed
Friday, 13 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 13-L*: $16.50 NL Hold’em (Ante Up), $100,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 13-M*: $162 NL Hold’em (Ante Up), $200,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 13-H*: $1,575 NL Hold’em (Ante Up), $300,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 14-L: $55 FL Omaha Hi/Lo, $75,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 14-M: $530 FL Omaha Hi/Lo, $125,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 14-H: $5,200 FL Omaha Hi/Lo, $225,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 15-L: $16.50 NL Hold’em (2X Chance, Turbo), $150,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 15-M: $162 NL Hold’em (2X Chance, Turbo), $400,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 15-H: $1,575 NL Hold’em (2X Chance, Turbo), $750,000 Guaranteed
Saturday, 14 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 16-L: $22 NL Hold’em – Quadruple Shootout (10-Max), $125,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 16-M: $215 NL Hold’em – Triple Shootout (10-Max), $150,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 16-H: $2,100 NL Hold’em – Double Shootout (10-Max), $150,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 17-L: $16.50+R PL Omaha (6-Max), $100,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 17-M: $162+R PL Omaha (6-Max), $250,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 17-H: $1,575+R PL Omaha (6-Max), $400,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 18-L: $22 Triple Stud (Turbo), $25,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 18-M: $215 Triple Stud (Turbo), $50,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 18-H: $2,100 Triple Stud (Turbo), $75,000 Guaranteed
Sunday, 15 May 2011
13:00 ET, Ev 19-L*: $22 NL Hold’em, $300,000 Guaranteed
13:00 ET, Ev 19-M*: $215 NL Hold’em, $1,000,000 Guaranteed
13:00 ET, Ev 19-H*: $2,100 NL Hold’em, $1,000,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 20-L*: $22 NL Hold’em, $350,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 20-M*: $215 NL Hold’em, $2,000,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 20-H*: $2,100 NL Hold’em, $2,000,000 Guaranteed
Monday, 16 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 21-L: $16.50 NL Hold’em / PL Omaha, $75,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 21-M: $162 NL Hold’em / PL Omaha, $150,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 21-H: $1,575 NL Hold’em / PL Omaha, $300,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 22-L: $33 NL Hold’em (4-Max), $100,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 22-M: $320 NL Hold’em (4-Max), $300,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 22-H: $3,150 NL Hold’em (4-Max), $500,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 23-L: $11+R NL Hold’em (Turbo), $250,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 23-M: $109+R NL Hold’em (Turbo), $500,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 23-H: $1,050+R NL Hold’em (Turbo), $1,000,000 Guaranteed
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 24-L: $11 Triple Draw 2-7, $25,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 24-M: $109 Triple Draw 2-7, $50,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 24-H: $1,050 Triple Draw 2-7, $75,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 25-L: $22 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo, $25,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 25-M: $215 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo, $75,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 25-H: $2,100 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo, $150,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 26-L*: $11 NL Hold’em, $100,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 26-M*: $109 NL Hold’em, $300,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 26-H*: $1,050 NL Hold’em, $600,000 Guaranteed
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 27-L: $22 Razz, $25,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 27-M: $215 Razz, $75,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 27-H: $2,100 Razz, $150,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 28-L*: $11+R NL Hold’em (Big Antes), $200,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 28-M*: $109+R NL Hold’em (Big Antes), $400,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 28-H*: $1,050+R NL Hold’em (Big Antes), $600,000 Guaranteed
Thursday, 19 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 29-L: $33 8-Game, $50,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 29-M: $320 8-Game, $100,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 29-H: $3,150 8-Game, $250,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 30-L: $11 PL Omaha Hi/Lo, $50,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 30-M: $109 PL Omaha Hi/Lo, $125,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 30-H*: $1,050 PL Omaha Hi/Lo, $250,000 Guaranteed
Friday, 20 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 31-L: $22 NL Hold’em (1R1A), $300,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 31-M: $215 NL Hold’em (1R1A), $500,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 31-H: $2,100 NL Hold’em (1R1A), $800,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 32-L: $55 FL Hold’em (6-Max), $75,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 32-M: $530 FL Hold’em (6-Max), $150,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 32-H: $5,200 FL Hold’em (6-Max), $250,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 33-L: $22 NL Omaha Hi/Lo (Turbo), $50,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 33-M: $215 NL Omaha Hi/Lo (Turbo), $100,000 Guaranteed
20:00 ET, Ev 33-H: $2,100 NL Omaha Hi/Lo (Turbo), $150,000 Guaranteed
Saturday, 21 May 2011
14:00 ET, Ev 34-L: $55 PL Omaha [6-Max], $100,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 34-M: $530 PL Omaha [6-Max], $300,000 Guaranteed
14:00 ET, Ev 34-H: $5,200 PL Omaha [6-Max], $500,000 Guaranteed
15:30 ET, Ev 35-L*: $270 NL Hold’em [Heads-Up Match Play], $300,000 Guaranteed
15:30 ET, Ev 35-M*: $2,600 NL Hold’em [Heads-Up Match Play], $450,000 Guaranteed
15:30 ET, Ev 35-H*: $25,500 NL Hold’em [Heads-Up Match Play], $600,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 36-L: $22 HORSE, $50,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 36-M: $215 HORSE, $100,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 36-H: $2,100 HORSE, $150,000 Guaranteed
Sunday, 22 May 2011
13:00 ET, Ev 37-L*: $22 NL Hold’em (6-Max), $300,000 Guaranteed
13:00 ET, Ev 37-M*: $215 NL Hold’em (6-Max), $1,000,000 Guaranteed
13:00 ET, Ev 37-H*: $2,100 NL Hold’em (6-Max), $1,000,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 38-L*: $109 NLHE Main Event – L, $1,000,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 38-M*: $1,050 NLHE Main Event – M, $3,000,000 Guaranteed
17:00 ET, Ev 38-H*: $10,300 NLHE Main Event – H, $5,000,000 Guaranteed
No matter your bankroll, this tournament series is sure to offer you something. Get ready, satellites begin Monday, March 14th.
Chad Brown, poker player and actor had emergency surgery to remove a tumor Friday. The only reliable reports come from Chad’s (@downtownchad) twitter account and the account of his wife Vanessa Rousso (@vanessarousso). Vanessa tweeted Saturday that a large tumor was removed on Friday. Subsequent tweets from both their accounts describe it as a 10 pound (4.55 kilo) tumor was removed. I think most of you know that a 10 lb tumor has to be a huge deal for anyone. The tumor was behind his kidneys in his abdomen.
Husband and wife are both sponsored pros at PokerStars.
Saturday night Chad tweeted thanking everyone for their good wishes. A little before that Vanessa said that they had to wait a week for a pathology report before knowing whether further treatment would be required. The recovery from the removal of that big of a tumor has got to be a pretty lengthy process at any rate. Holdem Poker Chat wishes Chad Brown well and hopes for a speedy recovery.
The 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion, Peter Eastgate has returned to poker. Some of you may recall his high profile retirement last summer. Eastgate also sold his WSOP bracelet on eBay to raise money for charity. At the time of his retirement he had this to say about poker: “When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player.” I guess if you do not enjoy the game then maybe you got into it for the wrong reason and probably should get on with your life. For now Peter Eastgate returns to being sponsored by PokerStars and plans to play EPT Copenhagen and the NBC Heads Up Championship at least.
Fast forward (but not too fast) to a scant 8 months later and Mr. Getonwithmylife has this to say: “I truly enjoy playing poker. I love the competitive element and the mental challenges of tournament poker.” He goes on to talk about missing his friends and family while jetting around to all the tournaments and losing himself. Yeah, well strong-willed people do not “lose themselves”. Many poker pros jet around the world without dumping their friends and family.
Mr. Eastgate brushes aside the comeback aspect of his return “I do not consider this a comeback, as I always knew there was a good chance I would play poker again.” Yet last summer the tune he was whistling was a tad different “now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life. What this will be, I do not yet know.” Now this young man is just that, young. We should understand and remember that some young people get confused and tend to talk in absolutes when they should talk of possibilities and options.
We have all seen the “i am done with poker”, “I am back playing poker” carousel. I do not think there is a lot of surprise in this. I do wonder how he will feel about selling the symbol of his big victory as he moves on in years. So all you aspiring pros out there, if you ever realize your dream please do not “retire”, if someone asks why you are not playing call it “a little me time” or a vacation. Save the poker world the emotional roller coaster of the quit/return cycle we all know too well.
The world’s richest live poker tour is back for another season, with a new schedule packed full of big-money events in Europe’s most amazing cities. There are satellite qualifiers running now, with prize packages up for grabs that give you everything you need for the poker trip of a lifetime!
The EPT is the tour that everyone wants to win. That’s why the biggest names in the game take part every year, including Team PokerStars Pro and thousands of PokerStars qualifiers, all looking to score a massive payday and the title of EPT Champion. It’s the place where fortunes are won, new stars are born, and where poker players come to prove themselves.
The new season includes stops in London, Barcelona, Prague, Copenhagen, San Remo and many more great locations, plus a brand-new stop in Tallinn, Estonia. There’ll also be another trip out to The Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), the return of Snowfest, and the prestigious Grand Final in mid-2011 (venue to be announced soon). This Is EPT Season 7. It’s going to be huge. And you can qualify now at Pokerstars.
ESPN will start airing The 2010 World Series of Poker Tuesday July 27, 2010. Each show will be two hours long and will be on the main ESPN channel. We already missed the preview show, but for most forum players, they do not need an introduction to the players. Each episode will air on Tuesdays. below is the schedule with each show’s focus. As most of you know, there are re-airings on ESPN2 as well. I am not familiar when the reruns will be scheduled and leave that to you to report on if you spot them while channel surfing.
July 20: WSOP Preview Show, 8 p.m.
July 27: Players Championship, 8-10 p.m.
Aug. 3: Tournament of Champions, 8-10 p.m.
Aug. 10-Aug. 24: Main event, 8-10 p.m.
Aug. 31-Nov 9: Main event, 9-11 p.m.
Notice that the last entry will encompass Tuesdays all the way to the WSOP Main Event which is going to be played on November 06, 2010. that last November 09, 2010 Tuesday night will be the final table broadcast. I will be interested to see which poker sites do the heaviest advertising since Pokerstars already sponsors the ESPN web show The Inside Deal.
PokerStars has a new promotion that will award a Lamborghini Gallardo to the winner. The best part is that it is free to enter. Every day starting July 25, 2010 Pokerstars will be running 24 freerolls that award entries to a weekly qualifier. Well they say 24 freerolls a day yet the chart below says they run every 2 hours. You do the math. We probably will have to wait and see on July 25, 2010.
The top 2,000 players in the weekly finals get into the Grand Final. I know, it sounds like a longshot, but here is the other shoe. The weekly finals will have $100,000 prize pools! There is a buyin path to these weekly finals for those wishing to avoid the crowds. Granted, with freerolls every hour and buyins every two hours, the Weekly finals will be a bit congested, but it is a $100,000 tournament, after all. Post in this thread about your progress in these games each week. Holdem Poker Chat wants to know how everyone does.
Win a Lamborghini Gallardo!
It’s the ride of choice for rock gods, sports stars and fashion royalty, and now you can own one too. Play the Pokerstars Lamborghini Freeroll and you can win your very own $200,000 supercar. Tournaments are running now and there’s more than $1,000,000 in cash up for grabs along the way. The Lamborghini Gallardo is one of the most famous and iconic cars in the world – win yours now!
There are 24 freeroll qualifiers running daily, plus $1.10 and $11 cash satellites. Qualify for a Weekly Final and you’re one step away from the Grand Final, where the Gallardo goes to the winner. But that’s not all. Each Weekly Final has a $100,000 prize pool, and the Grand Final has an incredible $250,000 in cash to be won.
This is one of the biggest prizes Pokerstars has awarded, and the tournaments are perfect for new and existing players alike. If you haven’t played at the world’s largest poker site yet, now is a great time to get started. It’s easy to download Pokerstars free poker software and open an account. Simply follow the onscreen instructions to register, and you can also take the Virtual Tour which shows you all of the great features.
How to Play the Lamborghini Freeroll
Freeroll and cash qualifiers are running now at the times stated below. You can find all of the tournaments in the Pokerstars lobby by clicking the ‘Tourney’ and ‘All’ tabs, or by typing ‘Lamborghini’ into the Tourney Filter.
Peter Eastgate, the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event winner has given up the poker life. Eastgate is only 24 years old. I guess I can see wanting to get away from the poker circuit and try new things at 24 years old. This is a standard deal with these kids anyway. they run all over the globe and do the poker lifestyle bit. there is always a new tournament to go to somewhere. Rather than just say they are taking a break and cooling it at home for a while to recharge, they get into absolutes and talk about their soul and identity. In a couple years they will pop back onto the poker scene and talk about their “renewed passion for the game” and being a “more balanced person now”. So good luck in finding yourself Peter Eastgate, see you in a couple years.
From the Pokerstars Blog:
“When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player. My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2008. The period following has taken me on a worldwide tour, where I have seen some amazing places and met many new people; it has been a great experience. In the 20 months following my WSOP win, I feel that I have lost my motivation for playing high level poker along the way and I have decided that now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life. What this will be, I do not yet know. I have decided to take a break from live tournament poker, and try to focus on Peter Eastgate, the person. I want to thank Pokerstars, my friends and family for their support over the last 20 months and for their support in my decision to take a break from poker.”
Michael Holmberg, Pokerstars Nordics Director had this to say:
“We know that poker will miss this world class player and world class role model, but Pokerstars has only the deepest respect for Peter’s decision. Poker is about determination and excitement and if Peter lacks this in his game, the right decision is to take a break, Peter has played amongst world champions and he has carried his title in the most admirable fashion. Tournament after tournament, the young poker player from Odense, Denmark has achieved great results and has established himself as one of the greatest natural talents the poker world has ever seen.”
Since the signing of Isildur1 by Pokerstars and his being revealed as Viktor Blom, Pokerstars has been running a special, high stakes promotion: 2,500 hands, played at 50/100 NL, across 4 tables; each player puts up $150,000; whoever either busts or is in the negative after 2,500 hands loses.
