$100,000 Super High Roller Day 1 | 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure

01-06-2016 10:58 UTC-4

Welcome to the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller!

Chad Holloway

Welcome to the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure from the beautiful Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas!

The nine-day PCA 2016 festival kicks off today at noon with the flagship $100,000 Super High Roller event. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is on hand to bring you updates, interviews and more from the three-day event, which is expected to draw some of the biggest names in the game. Among those confirmed to participate are Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier, as well as businessmen Dan Shak, Bill Perkins, and Paul Newey, Italian pro Mustapha Kanit, reigning World Series of Poker Main Event champ Joe McKeeehen, and Fedor Holz, who is just days removed from winning the Triton Super High Roller $200,000 Cali Cup for $3,463,000.

All of those players and more look to join the prestigious list of PCA $100K champs, which dates back to 2011, and includes Steve O'Dwyer (2015 - 66 entries - $1,872,580 top prize), Fabian Quoss (2014 - 46 entries - $1,629,940 top prize), Scott Seiver (2013 - 47 entries - $2,003,480 top prize), Viktor Blom (2012 - 30 entries - $1,254,400 top prize), and Eugene Katchalov (2011 - 38 entries - $1,500,000 top prize).

A record 104 tourneys are taking place at Atlantis during the 2016 PCA festival. Aside from the Super High Roller, events include the second ever LAPT Bahamas Main Event (unlimited re-entries, starts January 7, now with reduced $2,200 buy-in); the PCA 2016 Main Event on January 8; a $50k One-Day High Roller Single Reentry on January 9; a three-day $25k High Roller on January 12; and the $600 Ladies Event on January 14.

Today's event will kick off at Noon local time, which is just a couple hours from now. Players will start with 250,000 in chips and have the option to reenter unlimited times on Day 1, which will last for eight one-hour levels with no dinner break. Registration will remain open until the start of Day 2. While you wait, check out this #PCA2016 promo video:

01-06-2016 13:36 UTC-4

PCA Retrospective: First Year Sees Katchalov Defeat Negreanu in $100K

donpeters

Level 1 : 500/1,000, 100 ante

We can still remember how we felt when it was announced that the 2011 edition of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure would feature a mammoth $100,000 buy-in poker tournament. Estimations quickly made ways around the PokerNews offices as to how many entries the event would get and who would show up, but none of that chatter had us prepared for the buzzing feeling that ran through our veins while walking the floor of the event as the first cards were pitched in the air.

For the players, this was a six-figure buy-in event and some were, without question, overextending themselves by taking a shot. For the media, we all knew the same — this was a six-figure buy-in event and some of these players were without question overextending themselves by taking a shot.

The first few hands of the event were played in almost complete silence, but the tension broke just 30 minutes into play when Dutch player [Removed:39] hit the rail in spectacular fashion. For Berendsen, his $100,000 ticket saw him wake up to pocket kings halfway through the first level of the day. Each player began with 250,000 in chips and a stack of 250 big blinds. That didn't stop Berendsen from getting every last one of those chips into the middle against Nick Schulman. Unfortunately for Berendsen, Schulman woke up to a brighter sunrise that day in the Bahamas, as he held pocket aces. Berendsen couldn't improve and was the first player sent packing.

"Seat open!" was the cry from the voice of Daniel Negreanu at the table, which prompted plenty of jaw dropping and chatter from around the room.

As the day wore on, 38 players entered the competition. Day 1 finished with 23 left and German Tobias Reinkemeier in the lead.

With a prize pool of $3.743 million up for grabs, the grind to the final table on Day 2 was exactly that, a grind. Following the completion of Day 2, the field had been cut down to just seven, and it was Schulman leading the pack. Only the top five spots were set to reach the money, meaning two unfortunate players would go home with nothing to show for their efforts come Day 3.

Andrew Lichtenberger was the first player to go on Day 3, and his elimination set up the bubble. Then, the richest person in Hungary and 1980 TIME Magazine Man of the Year, Sandor Demjan, busted in sixth place to Eugene Katchalov.

With everyone then in the money, Humberto Brenes hit the rail in fifth place for $200,000, Schulman fell in fourth for $400,000, and Bryn Kenney was knocked out in third for $643,000. That set up a near-even heads-up duel between Katchalov and Negreanu, and it didn't take long for Katchalov to pull away.

A couple big pots for Katchalov gave him a sizable lead, but then Negreanu doubled back to give himself additional life. Even so, Katchalov took a chip lead of nearly 4-1 into the dinner break. Upon their return, Katchalov didn't stop the charge and soon finished off his opponent to earn the $1.5 million top prize and the inaugural PCA $100,000 Super High Roller title. Negreanu scored an even $1 million for his runner-up finish.

The $100,000 Super High Roller in running for the sixth time at PCA. If you enjoyed this look back in time at a prior year of the event, click here to read about the other years from our PCA retrospective series.

Tags: Andrew Lichtenberger Bryn Kenney Daniel Negreanu Eugene Katchalov Humberto Brenes Nick Schulman Tobias Reinkemeier

01-06-2016 13:55 UTC-4

Perkins Eliminated by WSOP Champ McKeehen

donpeters

Level 1 : 500/1,000, 100 ante

From under the gun, Joe McKeehen, winner of the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event for $7,683,346, raised to 3,000. Bill Perkins called from the next seat, and then play folded over to Sam Greenwood on the button. Greenwood reraised to 12,000, the two blinds folded, McKeehen called, and Perkins called.

With three players in action, the flop fell . McKeehen and Perkins checked, and Greenwood bet 16,400. After McKeehen made the call, Perkins check-raised all in for around 110,000-115,000. Greenwood quickly folded, but McKeehen quickly called.

McKeehen rolled over the for top pair and a flush draw. Perkins didn't like what he saw and sheepishly turned over the .

"How about a red five?" cried Perkins. "Give me a red five!"

The dealer did not deliver a red five, and the turn was the and the river the . That kept McKeehen's hand best, and he had Perkins covered, which meant the first elimination of the day.

Player	Chips	Progress
Joe McKeehen	375,000 375,000	375,000

Bill Perkins	Busted

Tags: Bill Perkins Joe McKeehen Joseph McKeehen Sam Greenwood

01-06-2016 14:40 UTC-4

PCA Retrospective: Online Legend Viktor Blom Scores Massive Win in 2012

donpeters

Level 2 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

In 2012, the $100,000 Super High Roller returned to the PCA schedule after its first edition in 2011. The second edition of the event tallied 30 players and 32 entries, thanks to the reentries of Bill Perkins and Jonathan Duhamel. The attendance was down from the opening installment, but nevertheless a prize pool of $3.136 million was generated. Of that, $1.254 million would be awarded to the winner and the top five spots were slated to pay out.

Day 1 of the event saw 18 players advance to Day 2 with Isaac Haxton in the lead. Day 2 finished with eight players remaining and Galen Hall atop the pack. Also still alive at this point were Humberto Brenes and Daniel Negreanu, who both made Day 3 and cashed the prior year. Duhamel, who was in the event for $200,000 in buy-ins, also maneuvered his way to Day 3.

Brenes fell short of a cash in eighth place, and then Mike "Timex" McDonald busted in seventh. With the tournament on the official bubble with six players remaining, Scott Seiver saw his stack get shorter and shorter. Eventually, Seiver ran pocket jacks into Hall's pocket kings and finished as the event's "bubble boy."

Negreanu was the first to go in the money, earning $250,900 and brining his two-year total in this event to $1.25 million. Duhamel then busted in fourth place, winning $313,600 and profiting $113,600 on his run. Both of those eliminations were taken care of by Viktor "Isildur1" Blom.

Hall then busted in third, leaving Blom and Dan Shak heads up with Blom in front. The two jabbed back and forth in the early portion of the match, but then Blom took the first big chunk from his opponent to really extend his lead. Not too long after that, Blom finished Shak off to earn the $1.254 million first-place prize. Shak scored $846,700 for his second-place result.

The $100,000 Super High Roller in running for the sixth time at PCA. If you enjoyed this look back in time at a prior year of the event, click here to read about the other years from our PCA retrospective series.

Tags: Bill Perkins Dan Shak Daniel Negreanu Galen Hall Humberto Brenes Isaac Haxton Jonathan Duhamel Mike McDonald Scott Seiver Viktor Blom

01-06-2016 16:14 UTC-4

PCA Retrospective: From Bubble To Champion, Redemption for Seiver in 2013

donpeters

Level 3 : 800/1,600, 200 ante

Scott Seiver's $100,000 entry in 2012 didn't work despite the player putting in three days of work. After earning the unwanted title of "bubble boy," Seiver was back in the action the following year and looking to reach the money. After Day 1, he trailed only Philipp Gruissem on the leaderboard, and the final number of entries came in at 59.

With a prize pool over $5.724 million, the top eight spots were planned to pay out. First place was over $2 million, and Seiver found his way at the final table once again with the sixth-best stack. Antonio Esfandiari was eliminated as the "bubble boy" to end Day 2, meaning Seiver, and the others, had locked up at least $228,960 in prize money.

The action at the final table came fast and furious. On just the third hand of the day, the prior year's runner-up, Dan Shak, busted in eighth place. He was quickly followed out the door by Vladimir Troyanovskiy in seventh place and Greg Jensen in sixth place during the same level. Gruissem then busted in fifth place for $400,700 a little over an hour later and four players remained. Seiver had busted both Shak and Gruissem.

David "Doc" Sands maintained his chip lead for quite some time before Seiver finally edged him out with four players left. Then, Sands busted Cary Katz in fourth, and it was a neck-and-neck between Seiver and Sands while Nick Schulman, who finished fourth in 2011, brought up the rear. Eventually, Sands took out Schulman and entered heads-up play with the lead.

Sands quickly extended his lead in the match, but Seiver fought back until a big clash in Level 24 with the blinds at 100,000/200,000/30,000 saw Seiver get lucky and double. It was his pocket nines that were all in preflop against the pocket tens of Sands, but Seiver spiked a nine on the flop to take nearly a 6-1 chip lead. Shortly thereafter, Sands was eliminated in second place and earned over $1.25 million.

The $100,000 Super High Roller in running for the sixth time at PCA. If you enjoyed this look back in time at a prior year of the event, click here to read about the other years from our PCA retrospective series.

Tags: Antonio Esfandiari Cary Katz Dan Shak David Sands Greg Jensen Nick Schulman Philipp Gruissem Scott Seiver

01-06-2016 17:12 UTC-4

Kaverman Not Looking to Repeat as GPI King

mnuwwarah

Level 4 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante

Career years are, by definition, outliers, usually born of a convergence of good fortune and peaking abilities.

If 2015 was Byron Kaverman's career year, it was an impressive one indeed, as he put up $3.4 million in cashes, more than double his previous best year, 2014. Furthermore, Kaverman accumulated enough results to top the Global Poker Index rankings and take home GPI Player of the Year. He edged out fellow Americans Anthony Zinno, Steve O'Dwyer, and Nick Petrangelo for the honors.

"It was a pretty rewarding feeling," Kaverman said. "It was fun competing with guys like Anthony and Steve. We all wanted to win, and they had tremendous years as well. They probably did better than I did, money-wise. We were all friendly about it, and it made for a cool competition."

Though being at the summit of the profession is on the mind of any top tournament player, Kaverman said one tour stop in particular changed the course of his year and really set him on a mission. At European Poker Tour Barcelona in late August, Kaverman put together a string of cashes with ninth in the €50,000 Super High Roller for €123,600, seventh in a €5,200 Hyper Turbo side event for €23,680, and 38th in the €10,300 High Roller for €24,600.

Those cashes pushed Kaverman to third in the GPI rankings after a summer that saw him claim his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet and more than $650,000 in prize money for winning the prestigious $10,000 Six-Max Championship. At that point, he decided to go for it.

"I only planned on playing Barcelona and Vegas stuff this fall," he said. "I made [GPI Player of the Year] a goal after Barcelona to really go for it. I put a lot of time and effort into traveling and playing a lot of tournaments that would qualify. To be fortunate enough to get there was a good feeling."

Still, the grind took a bit of a toll on Kaverman, as it involved constant travel as he pushed himself to accumulate as many points as possible. He was rewarded when he shipped the €10,300 High Roller at EPT Malta for $430,800, and he hung on to the top spot despite O'Dwyer taking down the €50,000 High Roller at EPT Prague.

"I went from Vegas to Prague to Florida and back to Vegas," Kaverman said of his journeys. "I wouldn't say burned out, but I was definitely pretty tired when it came to mid-December. It's definitely not something I'm going to be going for this year."

Kaverman is nonetheless off to a good start in 2016 as he has increased his starting stack of 250,000 to about 320,000 at first break of the $100,000 Super High Roller at PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. He has done so despite grinding at a six-handed table against the likes of Jason Koon, Christoph Vogelsang, Stephen Chidwick, Dani Stern, and Anton Astapau.

"I got here a little late, but I'm excited for this one," Kaverman said of his first big tournament of 2016. "Everyone [at my table] is very good, but we're having a good time chatting it up."

Tags: Byron Kaverman

01-06-2016 17:40 UTC-4

Aces Versus Kings in the Never Ending Hand

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante

As Level 4 wound down, a big hand took place between online star Christoph "Tight-Man1" Vogelsang and GPI Player of the Year Byron Kaverman, one that lasted an awful long time.

It began when Vogelsang raised to 5,200 from the hijack and Kaverman took his time before three-betting to 13,500 from the cutoff. The button and both blinds all folded, Vogelsang thought for nearly two minutes before four-betting to 38,500, and Kaverman thought for an equal amount of time before making the call.

The flop saw Vogelsang think for awhile before betting 28,000, and Kaverman tank-called. The time taken for each decision would continue to increase on subsequent streets. For instance, both players checked the turn, but not before taking 90 seconds to do so.

When the completed the board on the river, Vogelsang waited nearly two minutes before checking, and Kaverman waited the same before betting 107,000. Vogelsang then paused for a minute or two before stacking all but one of his chips — a single T100 chip capping his cards — and slid them in for an all-in check-raise to 130,400.

The dealer then instructed him to put in the remaining 100, which brought the total up to 130,500. Kaverman thought for a minute before making the call, and Vogelsang tabled the . Kaverman shook his head and showed the before watching the pot pushed to his opponent.

Player	Chips	Progress
Christoph Vogelsang	425,000 210,000	210,000
Byron Kaverman	100,000 -220,000	-220,000

Tags: Byron Kaverman Christoph Vogelsang

01-06-2016 19:05 UTC-4

Vogelsang Takes His Time to Best Stern

Happy_Freaked

Level 5 : 1,200/2,400, 300 ante

Anton Astapau raised to 4,800 and Christoph Vogelsang called, opening up the possibility of a rematch between the two, but both blinds, Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu and Dani Stern, made the call.

The flop brought out and all four players checked after which the turn brought the .

Negreanu bet 12,500 from the small blind and Stern, from his direct left, raised it up to 36,000. Astapau folded and Vogelsang tanked for quite some time before making the call, and Negreanu sighed as he folded right away.

The river brought the and Stern checked to Vogelsang who bet 66,000 after quite a bit of tanking.

Stern eventually folded, and Vogelsang took down this hefty pot.

"Do you know how long you thought before betting?" Negreanu asked Vogelsang.

After a pause, Vogelsang said, "Three minutes and 25 seconds?"

Negreanu laughed and said it was two minutes and 10 seconds, and he added that he couldn't think of a single hand he would have to tank this long with.

Player	Chips	Progress
Christoph Vogelsang	545,000 105,000	105,000
Dani Stern	244,000
Daniel Negreanu	192,000 97,000	97,000

Tags: Anton Astapau Christoph Vogelsang Dani Stern

01-06-2016 20:23 UTC-4

Visualization, Skill to Give Alvarado Edge Versus Busquet

mnuwwarah

Level 7 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante

When the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the most well-known mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion in the world, kicked off way back in 1993, it essentially served as a marketing tool for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when Royce Gracie ran roughshod over a series of larger, stronger competitors using his family's now-famous art.

Twenty-three years later, JC Alvarado hopes the result will be much the same when he fights the much larger Olivier Busquet in a six-figure match slated for some time around late April.

The two agreed to meet in combat after Busquet put out a call on Twitter looking for an opponent. Alvarado answered the call, and details were worked out. The fight is scheduled for four five-minute rounds under standard MMA rules, with a fifth round possible if both combatants are tied in the eyes of the judges. Busquet must weigh in at 187.5 pounds, while Alvarado must make 165.

On the surface, one might expect Busquet to be the favorite due to a clear size advantage, but it's Alvarado putting up $150,000 against Busquet's $120,000. That's because of a perceived skill gap between the two that tilts strongly in Alvarado's favor, as he has trained in the past, while Busquet is a relative neophyte.

"I've been going to the MMA gym since 2011," Alvarado said of his experience. "I was never consistent enough to get really good at it. I competed once in a jiu-jitsu tournament. That's my only competition, so I'm still fairly beginner level."

Alvarado took time out of training to head to the Bahamas for PokerStars Carribbean Adventure. His first foray onto the felt at PCA was short-lived, as he busted out of the $100,000 Super High Roller when he shoved a short stack over some action in front of him with jacks and ran into the kings of Cary Katz.

Is the time away from the MMA gym going to hinder Alvarado? Perhaps not, if the MMA enthusiast is to be believed. He can actually tap into one his biggest edges, he believes, without even setting foot on a mat.

"I think my edge is in the fact that I understand the game a lot better than he does, so I know how to train," Alvarado said. "Something that happens when you don't know the game is you can't visualize situations that can occur during the fight and visualize your way out of those situations. I'm thinking about it all the time."

Many athletes in the past have gone on the record about how visualization helps them succeed, so Alvarado would be no different in that respect. When it comes to the nitty gritty of actually getting into the cage and matching his skills against Busquet's, though, he likes his chances in the technical aspects of the sport as well.

In particular, as Gracie demonstrated all those years ago, having a sizable edge in the grappling department can be an obstacle that's nearly impossible to overcome since most fights wind up on the ground.

"Most likely, I'll be able to get him down, and then it'll be strength against technique," Alvarado said. "There's just no way he'll learn proper technique in six months, it's really impossible. He'll have to power through my ground game."

While Alvarado does feel he has an edge despite what he termed a fair line at the time the match was set, a Busquet victory can in no way be ruled out. Busquet is a noted athlete who excelled in track and basketball growing up, and good athletes can grasp MMA quickly and make big skill leaps, a fact Alvarado acknowledged.

"After six months, who knows, some people can get really good," he said. "But I know I'm training well. If I started off with an advantage in skill, six months later I'll still have an advantage in skill."

Tags: Cary Katz JC Alvarado Olivier Busquet

01-06-2016 20:48 UTC-4

"See You Guys Tomorrow"

Chad Holloway

Level 7 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante

That's what Bill Perkins told the table after busting this tournament for the third time today.

Perkins was the first player eliminated, promptly rebought, and busted again. He hoped the third time would be the charm, but alas a nasty river card showed that today truly is not his day.

It happened when Steve O'Dwyer raised to 9,000 under the gun and Perkins, who was to his direct left, three-bet jammed for his last 24,500. Action folded back to O'Dwyer, who called.

O'Dwyer:
Perkins:

Perkins was a heavy favorite, and his kicker kept him out in front when the flop paired both players. The turn was of no consequence, but the river was. O'Dwyer spiked his card and Perkins was out.

"The power of Steve O'Dwyer," Perkins said with a smile before informing everyone that he would fire a fourth bullet tomorrow (remember, late registration is open until the start of play on Day 2).

Player	Chips	Progress
Steve O'Dwyer	375,000 25,000	25,000

Bill Perkins	Busted

Tags: Bill Perkins Steve O'Dwyer