Welcome to the PartyPoker Premier League IV!
Seat 1: Phil Laak
Seat 2: JC Tran
Seat 3: Vanessa Rousso
Seat 4: Yevgeniy Timoshenko
Seat 5: Ian Frazer
Seat 6: Luke Schwartz
Seat 7: Roland De Wolfe
Seat 8: Daniel Negreanu
Each player begins with 300,000 chips and blind levels will last 21 hands per round. For each eight-player heat, the players will earn points based on their finish as follows.
1st - 16 pts
2nd - 11 pts
3rd - 8 pts
4th - 6 pts
5th - 4 pts
6h - 3 pts
7th - 2 pts
8th - 0 pts
The points system is to help determine the final table. The top four points earners will automatically reach the final six-handed final table and then the next four spots (5th-8th) will play heads-up matches to try and win their way to the final. Fifth place will place eighth place and sixth place will play seventh place.
The total prizepool is $1.5 million. $900,000 of that is reserved for the final table while there will be $600,000 up for grabs during the preliminary heats. Here's how that prizepool will break down for each heat.
1st - $32,000
2nd - $22,000
3rd - $16,000
4th - $12,000
5th - $8,000
6h - $6,000
7th - $4,000
8th - $0
Right now, the players are lounging around the Ravello Lounge waiting for the production crew to get everything finalized to get going. Be sure to stayed tuned for love coverage from right here at PokerNews. We'll see you shortly!
from under the gun and then Luke Schwartz folded an ace from late position. JC Tran got a walk in the big blind.
, Tran called on the button with 
and Yevgeniy Timoshenko called from the big blind with 
.
and Laak and Tran picked up a pair apiece. Action checked to Tran and he bet 8,000. Timoshenko folded and Laak called with his second pair.
, Laak check-folded to a bet of 19,000 from Tran and the defending champ picked up an early pot.
and Laak held 
and Laak was in the lead with an overpair of tens. De Wolfe checked and Laak checked behind.
and De Wolfe fired 8,000. Laak made the call, still ahead in the hand.
and De Wolfe checked. Laak fired a tiny 3,000 and De Wolfe mucked his hand.
. Roland De Wolfe called from the button with 
and commentator Phil Hellmuth said that Rousso had to bet here and that, "She'll probably bet something like 6,000." Just as he said that, Rousso fired 6,000 and won the hand.
.
and Frazer checked once more. After some deliberating, Schwartz fired 52,000. Frazer went into the tank holding the best hand. He took his time and then decided that he must be beat, folding his pair of aces. Schwartz didn't show the bluff and improved back over his starting stack.
. Luke Schwartz went into the tank with the 