Stars CALL For Action powered by PokerStars - Charity Tournament
Day 1 Started
Stars CALL For Action powered by PokerStars - Charity Tournament
Stars CALL For Action powered by PokerStars - Charity Tournament
Day: 1
The Stars Have Answered the CALL For Action! Are You Ready?
Today at 2 p.m. EDT ( 11 a.m. PT / 7 p.m. BST / 8 p.m. CET), PokerStars will play host to the “Stars Call for Action” charity event featuring dozens of A-list celebrities. who will be playing from their homes will cameras on!
Noted actor and poker player Hank Azaria and director/screenwriter Andy Bellin played key roles in organizing the event, and they will be joined by a high-profile list of celebs including Amy Schumer, Bryan Cranston, Michael Cera, Jon Hamm, Neymar Jr., Don Cheadle, Jeff Garlin, David Schwimmer, Edward Norton, Brian Koppelman, Eric Bogosian, Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett, Michael Ian Black, Kevin Pollak, Max Kruse, Tony Yazbeck, Lisa Kudrow, Liam Payne, Jack Black, Aaron Paul, Casey Affleck, Macaulay Culkin, Gabriel Macht, and Mike Tindall.
The celebrities will be playing to raise funds for relief efforts during the current global pandemic crisis. PokerStars will donate $1 million for the prize pool, and the top finishers will direct portions corresponding to their finish to a charity of their choice. The winner of the tournament will not only get bragging rights, but also $100,000 to donate to the charity of their choice.
Half of the prize pool will automatically go to CARE International, while the other half, including donations from fans, will be distributed via grants to charities and will be administered by the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a Charity Navigator Four-Star Charity that meets all 20 BBB Charity Standards.
The action will be broadcast live on Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube and hosted by James Hartigan and PokerStars Ambassador Lex Veldhuis. Viewers will be able to win autographed merchandise and a variety of special surprise experiences during the Twitch stream.
Poker fans can also place a bet on which celebrity they think will take down the tournament in a special PokerStars Sports market. Professional poker player Erik Seidel is the 10/1 favorite, with Don Cheadle the top celebrity at 25/1. All money bet on the market will be donated directly to Care International.
How It Works
The celebrities will participate in a series of six-max "Celebrity Shootout" tournaments. Each of these tournaments acts as a satellite to the final with one player advancing to the finale. Players will start with 5,000 in chips and have a rebuy option for the first 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, there will also be a "Player Invitational" MTT tournament at the same time with the top six finishers joining the celebs in the final. This is a special invite-only event and players will register using a ticket.
During the finale, there will also be a "2nd Chance Celebrity Tournament" for each celebrity player who finishes in second place in their shootout. The winner of the second chance will claim the first prize of $50K for the charity of their choice.
PokerNews will be covering all the tournaments until the end, so stay tuned for a fun day filled with celebrity poker action!
Going Live!
Celebrity Bio: Max Kruse
Of all the celebrities in the CALL for Action, perhaps none has as much high-level poker experience as German soccer player Max Kruse.
The 32-year-old made his name scoring more than 100 goals for a variety of mostly German soccer clubs. He most recently signed with Turkish side Fenerbahçe, where he has already put in seven goals in 20 appearances. He has also appeared 14 times for Germany's highly acclaimed national team, scoring four goals there.
In between his exploits on the pitch, though, Kruse has always been drawn to the felt. He has been a regular participant at the World Series of Poker for almost a decade, and he's a particularly avid draw and Omaha player, which comprise the majority of his $133K in live cashes. Most notably, Kruse has third- and fourth-place finishes in bracelet events, the former in no-limit deuce and the latter in triple draw.
He'll have to content himself with hold'em this time around, but there's no doubt Kruse will be one of the more experienced competitors in the charity event.
Various Shootout Chip Counts
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
17,642 | |
|
|
15,015 | |
|
|
10,605 | |
|
|
9,701 | |
|
|
9,669 | |
|
|
9,658 | |
|
9,643 | |
|
|
9,516 | |
|
|
9,241 | |
|
|
9,195 | |
|
9,139 | |
|
|
8,219 | |
|
|
8,084 | |
|
7,241 | |
|
|
5,000 | |
|
|
2,773 |
Sports Trivia: Win New $2,000 Computer & Poker Lessons from Jonathan Little
Are you a sports nut that wants to win professional poker lessons from Jonathan Little’s PokerCoaching.com as well as a new computer worth up to $2,000? If so, Oddschecker is giving you the opportunity just by answering sports trivia!
Test your sports knowledge in our free-to-play game, which is opened to US residents age 21 and over, for a chance to win a year's worth of poker lessons from Global Poker Award winner Jonathan Little, who was recently deemed “Poker Personality of the Year." That’s right, the winner of the competition will be granted access to PokerCoaching.com’s Premium Membership for a full year.
In addition, whoever tops the leaderboard at the end of May will win an incredible prize package – a computer of your choice worth up to $2,000.
The trivia game is available now through May 31. The individual with the highest score on the free-to-play “Triviachecker” game will be deemed the winner. Click here for full terms and conditions.
Click here to play the trivia game.
How to Play
Once you’re logged in you will be presented 10 multiple-choice questions regarding the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB. You’ll have three chances per week to play the trivia game. The faster your answer the more points you get, provided you get the correct answer, and you can also increase points by clicking on a “Boost” before you answer a certain question.
Boosts are like “Lifelines” that you might see on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Each offers unique advantages and can only be used once:
- Extra Time – click on this and receive an extra 10 seconds to think about your answer.
- Double Points – Confident you know the right answer? If so, use this boost to get double points when you answer correctly.
- Double Chance – Not sure of an answer? Use this boost to get to chances at it instead of one.
- Blast – This is essentially a freebie. When you’re stumped, use this boost to automatically be given the correct answer.
Take Your Poker Game to the Next Level
Two-time World Poker Tour champ Jonathan Little has established himself as one of the most successful poker coaches in the world. He’s written numerous books and has established PokerCoaching.com, an industry-leading online training portal.
He offers a “Free Membership” perfect for those looking to get their feet wet, and also a “Standard Membership” at $39/month for those looking to take their game to the next level. However, for those who want to fully immerse themselves, we highly recommend the tier above that.
Here’s a look at what you can expect from the Premium Membership on PokerCoaching.com, which has a $99/month value:
- 650+ Hand Quizzes
- 45+ Challenge Webinars
- 65+ Poker Training Courses
- 130+ Video Classes
- Preflop Charts for 100BB, 25BB & 15BB
- 15+ NEW Hand Quizzes every month
- A LIVE Challenge Webinar every month
- 15+ Coaching Webinars
- 2 LIVE Coaching Webinars every month
- 2 NEW Video Classes every month
- BONUS: Cash Game Masterclass
In addition to Little, PokerCoaching.com is home to coaches Jonathan Jaffe, Faraz Jaka, Matt Affleck, Tristan Wade, Michael Acevedo, Lexy Gavin, Alex Fitzgerald, and Evan Jarvis.
“In my first week of studying at PokerCoaching.com, I became aware of 3-5 very impactful leaks in my game,” student Rick Fleshman said. “My opening ranges were far too wide, I was firing too many barrels against calling stations and a few more … I am amazed at how my game has changed after just 5 weeks.”
He added: “This entire body of work put together by Jonathan Little and his team is perfect for recreational players like me who are excited to put in a $100 buy in and cash with $230!”
Straight Flush for Michael Cera
Blinds: 30/60
On a flop of 
, three players got all in. Michael Cera had 
and turned the 
to make a straight flush against Jon Hamm, who had 
, and Jeff Garlin, who had 
.
"Guys, that was a straight flush," Cera typed into the chat. "Why was it not televised?"
"It will be!" Hamm replied.
"This is the prejudice I'm talking about," Cera replied.
In 2017, Cera played a character called “Player X” in the poker flick Molly’s Game. In the movie, he portrayed an aggressive and accomplished poker player, and today he gets the chance to see if those character traits apply to the actor himself.
As he said in the film, “You know, I don't like playing poker.”
Molly Bloom: “Why do you play?”
Player X: “I like destroying lives.”
Aside from Molly’s Game, the Canadian actor is well known for his roles in Superbad, Juno, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, and Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. He also played George-Michael Bluth in the popular TV series Arrested Development.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
12,150 | -5,492 |
|
|
6,206 | -1,878 |
|
|
2,612 | -2,388 |
Surprise, It's Jesse!
While all eyes are on the celebrity shootout tables, don't forget there is a "Player Only" multi-table tournament taking place. The top six players in that event will join celebs in the finale. One player in action is Las Vegas' Jesse Fullen, who is streaming action from the "Player Only" tournament.
Home Game Buddies Hank Azaria & Andy Bellin Make It Happen
The Stars CALL For Action powered by PokerStars - Charity Tournament started as a small idea between Hank Azaria and Andy Bellin, who play in the same home game. Both wanted to use their fame and connections to help during the pandemic, so they reached out to PokerStars. The result is this very tournament chock full of Hollywood celebrities.
“Andy and I had been planning to hold a big charity poker event in New York, the old-fashioned kind where people actually sat around a table and touched cards,” Azaria recently told the PokerStars Blog. “We realized right now it doesn’t really make sense to do an event like that except for COVID relief.
Bellin added: “We’ve both been working really hard to think of how we can lend our various skill sets to helping people. Particularly right now in a time where charitable giving has to be way down.”
Fans no doubt know Azaria from the hundreds of characters he’s voiced on The Simpsons over the past decade, not to mention roles in things like Ray Donovan, Free Agents, and currently Brockmire. Meanwhile, Bellin is a screenwriter (he’s currently writing the Phil Ivey inspired movie The Baccarat Machine) and is a poker veteran having once played for a living and even writing the classic book Poker Nation in 2002.
Click here to read more about Azaria and Bellin on the PokerStars Blog.
Silver's Aces Cracked
Blinds: 40/80/8
Nate Silver got his remaining chips in on a 
flop and was called by both Ricky Williams and "D.Leeeeee." The turn was a 
and the remaining players got the rest in.
Silver:
D.Leeeeee: 
Williams: 
Jacks and deuces were good for Williams, who was fading quite a few card. The 
was safe for him and Silver and D.Leeeeee reloaded their stacks.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
20,000 | 20,000 |
|
5,000 | 5,000 |