The Muck
Card Guards
Bernard Lee
George Lind III
Maverick Movie
Off the Felt
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OCT 19
Liv Boeree and Kevin MacPhee Star in Travel Channel's I Bet My Life
On Friday, Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree announced via Twitter, the release date of a reality television show she was working on. The show, called I Bet My Life, follows Boeree and Kevin MacPhee during their travels on the road as professional poker players. I Bet My Life will debut on the Travel Channel on Nov. 4 at at 11 p.m. EST.
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OCT 16
Not Like a Boss: Finishing Runner-Up in the EPT Sanremo Media Tournament
Have you ever wanted to put your boss in his or her place? I recently had the opportunity to do just that in the Season 9 European Poker Tour Sanremo Media Tournament — but I failed to take advantage. Instead, my boss, Donnie Peters, shamed me with a runner-up finish and went on to capture the title and accompanying €460 prize. Not only that, he got bragging rights, and that’s what it was really about.
Before I talk about Donnie’s incredible run of luck, let me set the stage. EPT Sanremo, which takes place on the Italian Riviera, was my second visit to Europe in as many months. I went to live report the Main Event for PokerNews, and usually live reporting gigs are all work and no play. With that said, the EPT knows and appreciates all the media's hard work and rewards us with a Media Tournament at most stops.
Such events, which are scheduled when everyone is free, are either freerolls or feature a low buy-in, and they’re more about getting to know your colleagues outside the media room than winning paltry sums of money. No one takes it too seriously; instead, everyone discards their inhibitions and enjoys drinks and laughs. That was the case on Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, at the Casino Sanremo when the €20 buy-in Media Event took place.
The tournament attracted 39 players, which included an eclectic mix of media such as local Italians, the PokerStars Blog team, photographers, videographers, etc. Representing Team PokerNews were myself and Donnie, as well as bloggers Emilis Pakenas, Josh Cahlik and Marc Convey; hostesses Lynn Gilmartin and Sarah Grant; and PokerNews.NL’s Frank Op de Woerd. We wanted to represent, but there was also quite a bit of foolish pride on the line to be the last PokerNews player standing.
Players began with 4,000 in chips and there were four starting tables. I ended up being seated at the same one as Lynn and Josh, with the latter being to my direct right. I got off to a hot start by eliminating Lynn with
when she moved all in holding 
on a 
flop. It was a turbo tournament with the blinds going up every 15 minutes, so I don’t blame her for taking a chance. Plus, it was still within the rebuy period, so I didn’t feel too bad.I continued to run well and built a big stack, which allowed me to survive the rapidly increasing blinds and antes. Cahlik fell a short time later, also at my hands, but not before I three-outed him on the river in one memorable hand. I don’t recall the preflop action, but I do know I held
on a 
flop. He check-called a bet, and then we both checked the turn, which was a blank. The 
river completed my straight and Cahlik check-called a bet of 900. I had no idea he held 
and had flopped the nuts with the nut redraw. Talk about getting lucky.Eventually I made the final table and had my sights set on finishing in the money, which was the top six. My stack dwindled a bit, but then I hit some cards at the right time and coasted into the money. It was there that an interesting hand developed against PokerStars PR magician Scott Collins, who I had observed raising without looking at his cards earlier in the tournament. He put out a big preflop raise, and I was 100 percent sure he hadn’t look at his hand. I picked up
and put in a three-bet, and then action folded back to Scott. We had both been drinking and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I know you didn’t look at your cards,” I told him. Maybe he didn’t believe me, but I was the one who couldn't believe what happened next — Scott moved all in, and he still hadn’t looked. I was second in chips with five players left and he was third, so it was a huge pot. I'm glad to say his 
did not improve.Shortly thereafter, Donnie eliminated two players in the same hand and we were heads up. I held a 2-1 chip lead and could taste victory. Neither of us wanted to chop, there was just too much pride on the line. He may run the show off the felt, but this was my chance to show him who the real boss was at the poker table.
I managed to cut Donne’s stack in half with my superior play before he moved all in with
and I called with , making me a 59.69 percent favorite according to the PokerNews Hand Calculator. I got it in good and was safe on the flop, but then a on the turn gave DP the lead and his first double. I was still up 2-1 when I raised with and he moved all in. I decided to go with it and was ecstatic to see I had his 
crush; in fact, the PokerNews Hand Calculator says I was a 68.66 percent favorite to win the hand and the tournament. Unfortunately the luckbox caught a on the flop and doubled into the chip lead.
Donnie thought it'd be a good idea to bite the cards.Now I was playing from behind and saw a flop of
holding 
. DP checked, I bet, and then he check-raised all in. I decided to go with the open-ended straight and was up against DP’s . Unfortunately I didn’t get there and Donnie became the media champion, notched his first cash since 2010, and got to pose for the winner’s photo.Of course I wanted to win, but if it wasn’t me I’m glad it was DP. We like to give each other a hard time, but I figure he'll be hard pressed to talk too much smack knowing he put his money in bad on two occasions and sucked out. Plus, we had swapped 10 percent so he had to fork over a little extra dough. It was definitely a highlight of the trip, and one day I'll assuredly have my revenge.
European Poker Tour Season 9 Sanremo Media Tournament
Buy-in Entrants Rebuys/Add-ons Prize Pool €20 Entry 39 21 €1,200 Place Player Country Prize 1st Donald Peters USA €460* 2nd Chad Holloway USA €300 3rd Antonio Sapio Italy €200 4th Frank Op de Woerd Netherlands €100 5th Scott Collins England €80 6th Neil Stoddart England €60 * - For his win, DP also earned a €50 EPT Concierge gift certificate. For Season 9, EPT Concierge is there to help players find just about anything you need on tour. The service can set you up with almost anything you need while at an event, so take advantage of it. As examples, EPT Concierge can help you book restaurants, tours and activities, spa treatments, golf outings, VIP night club service and hotels. For more information, send an email or call one of the team members at info@eptconcierge.com or (0034) 93 352 10 10.
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OCT 15
Daniel Negreanu's Rant — The Lederer Files
Traveling is time consuming. Playing poker tournaments takes up time too. These are the reasons that we haven't seen a rant from Daniel Negreanu since his post-WSOP rant.
Now that he's back, Negreanu took some time to put together a rant. His latest video release focuses solely on The Lederer Files.
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SEP 26
Tennis Champ Rafael Nadal Learns How to Bluff in New PokerStars Ad
On Wednesday, PokerStars released a new ad focused on the newest addition to Team SportStars — tennis champion, Rafael Nadal. In the spot, Nadal meets up with his poker coach, Isaac Mayolas, to learn how to bluff. What ensues is Nadal dressed as a cashier at a golf course, "bluffing" patrons who don't believe he's "Tony" instead of Rafa. Truth is, we probably wouldn't believe it either.
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SEP 17
Life on the Road: Krisztina Polgar On Her Experience at the PokerStars European Poker Tour
Krisztina Polgar , 1
A week full of experiences...
Once upon a time there was a little girl who always knew that a card game — namely poker — will play an important part in her life. Well, okay, this is not exactly the truth. I had other plans in mind as a little girl, but perhaps the best thing that could have happened was poker crossing my path.
While sitting in school, I felt that I needed something to satisfy my adrenaline addiction, and then someone unexpectedly entered my life who introduced this superb game to me, taught me the basics, and I've loved the game ever since — for more than four years now.
I love playing it and I grab every opportunity to sit to the table. So far, I have mostly played face-to-face. I like when there is a personal contact between the players, and to be honest muliebrity is often advantageous at the table. So why have I started to like online poker nowadays? I am going to speak about it a little bit later.
I graduated college last year as a communications-cultural manager and I was thinking a lot how to connect the worlds of media and poker, since both of them are truly exciting areas. And at this point the creative power of thought, which plays a huge role in every area of life, came into force. My phone started ringing about a month ago, I got the opportunity to accompany the PokerNews team to Barcelona, the first stop of European Poker Tour’s ninth season. When I had first learned what was waiting for me and how I could be of help for this professional team, I was really frightened because, although I am familiar with Hungarian media, poker is an area which needs great professional expertise and knowledge, and moreover I couldn’t use my mother tongue. It seemed to be a hard nut to crack, but I love challenges so by hearing the good news I was jumping for joy.
I am always very confident at the poker table and in other areas of life as well, but now I have stepped into the unknown. Unknown but apparently also very exciting.
I only had a week to prepare. I tried my best. I was traveling to the wonderful Spanish city on Aug. 19 and upon arrival I met the PokerNews team. I can say that every anxiety and fear slipped away immediately. I got into a very friendly, helpful, and incredibly professional atmosphere where everyone knows their duties and fulfills them completely. Although I had no knowledge and experience, it felt like I had arrived “home.”
Kristy Arnett and Lynn Gilmartin have been pillars of the team for years now. They are reporters and show incredible professionalism in the work they do. They were the ones who took me under their wings and I couldn’t have been in better hands. They answered all my questions with great patience, taught me, and I am very grateful to them for accepting me as member of the team. I know them as very valuable and interesting persons with whom there’s no way of getting bored because something crazy always comes to their minds (in a positive sense).
The girls threw me in at the deep end on my first day. I did interviews, followed them and tried to learn a lot from them, since they possess all the knowledge and skills. I felt increasingly confident with each day, I felt I know more and more and I would like to follow in their footsteps in many things.
Beside the lot of work, there were also chances to fool around, watch:
After sitting with Kristy so much in the PokerNews media room, we got on the same wavelength and started showing up in matching clothes.
Kristy and Lynn are both beautiful and very different characters. After I joined the team we were representing three continents — Asia, Australia and Europe — but let the pictures speak for themselves:
I had many positive experiences during that week. I worked with a fantastic team, very good people, got acquainted with many renowned and talented players, and last but not least, I have learned a lot. I expanded my knowledge in a field which I love and adore and consider a very important part of my life. I am grateful for every moment I could spend there.
But this story is not over yet…
I arrived home from Barcelona on a Sunday and since I couldn’t sleep the previous night because of the plane’s departure, I tried to get some sleep in the afternoon. As a result, I was no longer tired by the evening. I hopped on PokerStars thinking if I can’t rest, at least I will try my luck. I had $150 in my account and I usually participate in small-stake games, but I had a strange feeling. I caught a glimpse of the Bigger $55 — a $55 buy-in tournament.. What I did next cannot be called a professional bankroll management — I entered the tournament.
I thought, if I fail, I send money to my account. But to be honest, I was concentrating so much on being among the best that I only looked at how much it will pay for the first three places. I refused to pay attention to the others. The long and short of it is, being equipped with the loads of positive experiences gained in Barcelona, I sat down on the couch to play with 5,056 fellow players at 10 p.m. and finished second at 9 a.m., for which I won $29,500. If something, this was definitely the culmination of my happiness.
The week in Barcelona and the success after it in the game contributed to one of the happiest periods of my life and I hope I will have the opportunity again to show how committed I am to this beautiful sport, poker.
Mr. Poker, I remain your faithful devotee, both at the table as well as around it by walking with a microphone.
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SEP 07
Tennis Champ Rafael Nadal Featured in New PokerStars Mobile Ad Campaign
On Friday, PokerStars released its latest ad campaign featuring the company's new mobile poker app.
“I’m still quite new to playing poker and am focused on becoming a better player, so I really didn’t need to act very hard when shooting these scenes,” Rafa Nadal said. “Since PokerStars now has a mobile app, I can play with friends wherever I go, whether it’s on my mobile phone or tablet.
“My friends know I’m naturally competitive, which has served me well in my tennis career, I’m hoping some of the skills I’ve developed on the court will help me improve my poker game.”
The 30-second television spot, filmed earlier this year in Barcelona, is one part of PokerStars' global marketing campaign featuring Nadal. He will also be featured in outdoor and online ads in selected countries.
“Rafa is a highly competitive athlete, a strategic player and known for his integrity both on and off the court," said Alex Payne, PokerStars' Chief Marketing Officer. These qualities make him an ideal ambassador for PokerStars and a compelling spokesperson for the game. Rafa’s endorsement helps correct some of the misperceptions of the game, and emphasizes the great mix of entertainment and skill in poker when played responsibly.”
What do you think of the commercial? Let us know below and as always, follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
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SEP 05
Life on the Road: PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona
As a poker blogger, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to some great tournaments across the world. I’ve covered events in South America, the Bahamas, and even in Australia, but despite these great experiences, I always longed to visit Europe. That chance finally arrived in mid-August when for the first stop of the PokerStars European Poker Tour’s ninth season — EPT Barcelona.
Aside from a quick jaunt to England in my college days, I’d never visited Europe, so you can imagine how excited I was to travel to Spain and cover my first EPT. I arrived a day before the start of the €50,000 Super High Roller and took the opportunity to explore the city. I accompanied the lovely Lynn Gilmartin and Kristy Arnett, who were filming welcome videos for the PokerStars Blog and PokerNews respectively, as well as two cameramen and my fellow blogger, Emilis. Together we aimlessly wandered the city streets, occasionally stopping whenever the girls fancied a location.
We briefly visited the beach where it was not uncommon for women to bask topless. While this no doubt sounds agreeable to most male readers, you have to remember that the bad comes with the good and oftentimes the former outnumber the latter considerably. In other words, you might see some things you’d rather not at the topless beach. Also, in case you’re wondering, neither Lynn nor Kristy opted to let loose.
From there, we ventured down to the tree-lined La Rambla, a street in Barcelona that is known for street performers, living statues, and kiosks. It was there that Kristy took us all to a tucked away marketplace that served everything under the sun. Meats, cheeses, and nuts were aplenty, but what interested us was the vast array of fresh-squeezed fruit juices. The kaleidoscope of colors offered no easy choice, but ultimately I settled on an orange-peach concoction that pleased. Without a doubt, the best €2.00 I spent the entire trip.
After the girls finished filming at returned to the hotel, Emilis and I opted to take a bus tour of the city. For just €24.00, we got to see vast expanses of the city including the area where the 1992 Summer Olympics were held, the Plaza Monumental de Barcelona bullfighting arena, Port Vell Aerial Tramway, and Magic Fountain of Montjuic, just to name a few locations. The tour allowed us to get off at anytime and explore at our leisure, but given our time frame we opted to stay on the bus and take in a much of the city as possible. There was a lot we didn’t get to see, but I was happy with what we saw in such a short period of time.
That evening, Donnie Peters, who had flown in earlier in the day, invited me out. Our party included Kristy; Garry Gates; Kyle Julius and his girlfriend, Justine; and Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier and his fiancé, Erica. The dinner, which was at a restaurant at the marina, was decent, but the real treat was the company and conversation. Both Kyle and Jason were set to play the €50K the following day, but that didn’t stop them from having a good time.
While everyone else was enjoying wine, I ordered some sangria. What I didn’t realize until it was too late was that I had inadvertently ordered a large sangria; more specifically, I had ordered a full pitcher of sangria. Of course others wanted to sample, and I was more than happy to oblige. Four pitchers and a couple bottles of wine later, and everyone felt pretty good — except for Kristy, who uncharacteristically abstained.
This was my first time interacting with Jason and Kyle socially, and while I got the sense that they’d be lost without their better halves, both guys proved to be a blast. That part of the group, along with Donnie, extended the night by visiting a hookah bar, while the rest of us returned to the hotel to prepare for the €50K Super High Roller, which I had the privilege of working that event from start to finish.
It was a truly remarkable tournament; in fact, I rank it among my favorite events I’ve ever covered. I say this because of the eclectic mix of players. I’ve covered super-high roller events with Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel and the like on more than one occasion, but I’ve never had the chance to cover one with European players. At the EPT Barcelona, I finally had the chance to witness legends like Philip Gruissem, Juha Helppi, and Tobias Reinkemeier; in addition, I observed online legends I had only previously written about in Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies, Terje “Terken89” Augdal and Ignat “0Human0” Liviu.
In my opinion, the lineup of the EPT Barcelona €50K Super High Roller surpassed that of the $1,000,000 buy-in Big One for One Drop, and I wasn’t all that surprised to see Dan Smith take down the title. I watched him win a similar event back in January, and the guy is something special. His meteoric rise in 2012 is as impressive, if not more, than Seidel’s accomplishments the year prior.
After the €50K wrapped, it was time to cover the €5,000 Barcelona Main Event. It was a week’s worth of great action, but the highlight for me was watching Sahamies, who had taken fourth place in the €50K, navigate the 1,082-player field and make it to the final table as the chip leader. It was there that a fellow Finn, Joni Jouhkimainen, joined him and together the pair put on quite the show.
I’ve never seen so many four and five bets, and I learned a lot about the sheer power of aggression. The Finns are truly fearless; however, neither Jouhkimainen nor Sahamies managed to capture the title, finishing in third and second places respectively. It seemed to me the duo celebrated a bit too early and overindulged in drinks, which opened the door for Belarusian Mikalai Pobal to swoop in and claim the €1,007,550 first-place prize.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t briefly mention my first "football" experience. Now if you read football and thought the NFL, then you’re way off track. Outside the United States, football is the common name for what we Americans would call soccer, and believe me when I say it’s a big part of their culture. While in Barcelona, the hometown team took on Real Madrid. Now I know very little about the game, but I was told they were two of the best teams and the electric atmosphere surrounding the game backed that up.
Plenty of poker pros took the night off to attend the game at Camp Nou, which is the largest stadium in Europe with a 100,000 capacity, but at €250+ for a ticket, our gang opted to watch it at the Barcelona Sports Bar on La Rambla. The usual cast of characters were there, but my experience was exemplified by the inclusion of Marc Convey, Chris Hall and Neil Stoddart — three Brits who knew the game well. They were king enough to answer my naïve questions and provide me some background on the clubs and players.
The game started slow but definitely picked up steam in the second half. I got to watch Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo work their magic, and rousing match ended up 3-2 in Barcelona’s favor. It was only one match, but I took away a whole new appreciation for the game — I really like that there were no commercial interruptions.
My trip to the EPT Barcelona was full of great experiences. The poker action was the best I’ve seen, and there was no shortage of things to do in the city. Other than being a bit too hot and humid for my liking, I had an amazing time in Spain. It may have been my first EPT, but if I have my way, it won’t be my last.
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AUG 29
Jens "Jeans89" Kyllönen to go to Space; TwoPlusTwo Photoshoppers Win
Earlier this week, we told you about a report that Jens "Jeans89" Kyllönen has paid €160,000 to reserve a seat on Virgin Galactic's space flight. Well, as luck would have it, the TwoPlusTwo community started a thread about Kyllönen's space flight and you know what happened next — amazing Photoshops.
It should be noted that there are two gifs that didn't make this slideshow because we're not technology wizards and we can't figure out how to make them show up. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't see them. Here's the gif from "HighSteaks" and here's "fanapathy's" latest creation.
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AUG 28
UFC Champion Georges St-Pierre's 888poker Commercial
Since UFC 151 was canceled, and a number of poker players are also MMA fans, we figured we'd help you get your "MMA fix" this week. Here is UFC champion Georges St-Pierre's new 888poker commercial.
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AUG 23
Like McKayla Maroney, Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies is Not Impressed
The best meme to come out of the 2012 London Olympics is "McKayla Maroney is not impressed." Thanks to Ilari Sahamies, poker gets its own awesome meme too (in conjunction with Ms. Maroney of course).
Luckily for us, the posters over on TwoPlusTwo have more time than we do and can take photos from our awesome photog team, and make spectacular memes and gifs.
Next ›Thanks to TwoPlusTwo member "fanapathy" for making our day. Well done sir, five stars, and all that other jazz. You win.
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PokerNews Podcast
This week's Strategy with Kristy podcast features the audio of three PokerStars.tv interviews with PokerStars Team Online members Randy Lew and Mickey Peterson, as well as... more
Travis Makar released audio tapes of a meeting that implicates former Ultimate Bet owner Russ Hamilton and others in the theft of more than $50 million from players.
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