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WSOP 2012: Selbst breaks the $5 million mark

2012-05-31T13:15:11Z

Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst came within just a few hours last night from being the first woman to win an open event World Series of Poker bracelet since 2008. She had sat down in the first open tournament of the 2012 WSOP with 2,100 other people. She beat all but three of them, finished fourth, and collected $161,345, enough to move her over the $5 million mark in worldwide lifetime tournament winnings.

As I sit here this morning, I'm tempted to talk about how she was destined for the win. I'm struggling not to pour over a hand in which she turned the nut straight against a set and got re-sucked on the river. I'd be comforted to talk about the fickleness we sometimes find in fate.

But you know what? It's the past. Selbst is no doubt sleeping on a pillow of cash right now, thinking about the next bracelet, and not over-worrying herself run over how close she got last night.

There is also this:the last woman to win a WSOP bracelet back in 2008? Yeah, that was Vanessa Selbst, too. If you're looking for a woman to represent the champions' game today, it's the woman who used to call herself suckoutqueen.

Mrs. Five Million, Vanessa Selbst

Selbst's official live tourney winnings currently sit at $5,089,922. She's earned all of that since 2006 and is already in the Top 70 all-time poker tournament winners in the world. Only one woman in the world has won more. The venerable Kathy Liebert can claim $5,837,481 in winnings, an amount that's taken her 18 years to build.

But let's not dwell on that. If we're going to dwell on something, let's talk about the names that sit below Selbst's on the all-time live winnings list. Selbst has risen above her contemporaries like Scott Seiver ($4,790,136), Nenad Medic ($4,532,598), Vivek Rajkumar ($4,315,714), and Yevgeniy Timoshenko ($ 4,401,113). What's more, she's now made more in seven years than veterans Jeff Lisandro ($4,797,295), Barry Shulman ($4,508,769), and Mike Sexton ($4,206,181).

And check this out:

Ask anybody in the real world to name the most famous female poker player. Almost all of them will say, "Annie Duke." Even Duke, the woman who made a name for herself on just about every stage in and out of the poker world sits below Selbst on the all-time winnings list with $4,270,549.

So, that's where it stands this morning. Selbst has another big cash on her resume, another WSOP final table, and now more than $5 million in lifetime live winnings.

As for that missed title last night?

"Still plenty of Series left for bracelets," she said.

WSOP 2012: Selbst comes out firing

2012-05-30T14:57:04Z

When I flicked the switch in my brain from SCOOP to WSOP, I knew it would be jarring. It's like that moment you step from indoor lighting to the summer sunlight. It's probably no brighter. It's simply different. In this case, I walked out of a room that I had shared with Shaun Deeb for a couple of weeks and walked onto a patio where Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst was sitting there with a cocktail and a look on her face like, "What took you so long?"

Vanessa Selbst does not work for a casino. She works at casinos. That meant she was ineligible to play in Event #1 of the 2012 World Series of Poker, a Casino Employees-only tournament. Hence, Selbst had to wait a full day to start treating the WSOP like her own personal playground. That was almost too much time. If it had taken any longer, I suspect Selbst would've gotten a croupier job at Ellis Island just to be eligible. Instead, she's just 14 people away from her second gold bracelet.

In a few hours, Selbst will arrive at the Rio and sit down as one of the final 15 players in Event #2, the first $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event of the summer. She currently sits in fifth place out of the remaining runners

Here's how she stacks up against the field in the hunt for the first open event bracelet of the summer season.

WSOP Event #2 Day 3 players

1. Jacob Bazeley -- 1,291,000
2. Ryan Schmidt -- 1,193,000
3. Abdyl Konjuhi -- 754,000
4. JP Kelly -- 721,000
5. Vanessa Selbst -- 706,000
6. Joseph Cino -- 703,000
7. Kenneth Strickland -- 685,000
8. Kwinsee Khoa Tran -- 592,000
9. Brent Hanks -- 578,000
10. Neil Willerson -- 479,000
11. Kennii Nguyen -- 411,000
12. Richard Park -- 379,000
13. Andrew Badecker -- 349,000
14. Todd Keikoan -- 265,000
15. Michael Kaufman -- 243,000

Vanessa Selbst, a couple million dollars ago

This WSOP could end up being particularly important to Selbst's overall winning milestones. As of right now, her worldwide live tournament earnings sit at just a little less than $5 million. A decent finish today could bump her over that mark.

The WSOP is familiar territory for the young woman. Over the past few years, she's put up eleven Series cashes worth $671,391. Included in those winnings are a gold bracelet from her 2008 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha title.

Tonight, Selbst will be up against some tough competition, including two-time WSOP bracelet-winner JP Kelly. But, as Selbst has proven in the past, it doesn't really matter who stands in her way. If she's going to get there, she'll step on, climb over, or barrel through anyone to do it.

What's more, as Nolan Dalla pointed out in his Daily Shuffle, "Should Selbst go on to win, she would break the dubious streak of no-female winners in open events over the past four years. In fact, she was the last female to win a gold bracelet."

Play resumes at 1pm Vegas time.

Good luck tonight, Vanessa.

As the Stars Tweet: The final days of SCOOP tweets

2012-05-30T14:39:15Z

The Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) proved to be a historic affair; in fact, it proved to have more players and award more money than any other PokerStars' series. All told, 134,183 unique players from 156 countries put up 526,154 buy-ins and were awarded $65,332,179 in prize money, more than doubling the guaranteed $30,000,000 prize pool.

Early on in the series, Team Pro Viktor "Isildur1" Blom made headlines by winning to titles: SCOOP 2-M $200 N0-Limit Hold'em and SCOOP 3-H: $500 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max with Rebuys. While that was an impressive feat, it was soon overshadowed by the amazing performance of Shaun Deeb, who won a record five SCOOP titles.

With 27 cashes, eight final tables and $237,528 in winnings, Deeb laid claimed to the Player of the Series title. That distinction not only earned him packages to the 2013 European Poker Tour Grand Final and 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, but also the admiration of the poker world.

"Why don't you win a holdem event like all the respectable poker players @shaundeeb? #washedup #okfineyourekindofsick," Team Pro Vanessa Selbst tweeted after Deeb won his titles in various mixed games.

Likewise, the fictional yet ever-so-entertaining characters from The Micros congratulated Deeb via Twitter: "Congrats @shaundeeb for a 2nd SCOOP bracelet! So sick! What's that? Wow, I'm being told it's actually his 3rd. 4TH?!? #OMGWTF"

Deeb's success was unprecedented, which is why we think Jim "Mr_BigQueso" Collopy's request for lessons was a great idea: "@shaundeeb lemme sign up for the pre-scoop stars rendezvous run-good pow-wow 2013 before space fills up. or a wcoop one. w/e's best."

While Deeb locked up the Player of the Series, as well as the high buy-in leaderboard, "C.Darwin2" won the medium leaderboard and George Lind of Team Online won the low buy-in leaderboard, each earning a 2013 PCA package for their performance. "alright its official i win low leaderboard unless deeb comes in 3rd or better in main #notexactlythepersoniwanttoantisweatforascoopevent," Lind tweeted during the SCOOP Main Event.

Speaking of the Main Event, this year's tournament drummed up a whole new level of excitement. "One of the biggest days of the year online with the SCOOP main event today. Gonna grind hard then off to vacation in US on tuesday, gl all!" Team Pro Online member Mickey Petersen said on Twitter.

Unfortunately for many, their SCOOP series would come to an end without Main Event success. "Got it in bad w/ AK vs KK. No more SCOOP to me, good luck to everyone who's still in!" Randy Lew of Team Online tweeted.

His fellow pro, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, didn't fare much better: "Been one of the worst run ever this series, hopefully it turns soon.#gonnacrushWSOPanyways."

Likewise, Kevin "ImaLuckSac" MacPhee had a less than stellar SCOOP, but seemed to be in good spirits when he tweeted: "Had a really fun, but unsuccessful SCOOP. Leaving Canada for Idaho today for a much needed week off before the WSOP.

Another man who echoed MacPhee's sentiments was Ari "BodogAri" Engel, who tweeted: "Had a poor scoop showing, so looking to redeem myself this summer. Wsop starts in a week!"

With the 2012 SCOOP in the books, everyone seems to have turned their attention to the World Series of Poker. Even after an incredible SCOOP, Deeb was focused on adding a bracelet to his five brand new watches: "Out of all the tourneys today what a fun 2 weeks tho ready for some days off before WSOP."

Remember, if you missed any SCOOP action over the past two weeks, you can catch up on all the action in the PokerStars Blog 2012 PokerStars SCOOP news section.

5/29 Super Tuesday: Pokerger1337 outlasts the field, wins $76,000

2012-05-30T09:30:00Z

The 43rd edition of the World Series of Poker started with events not drawing the numbers some expected, but the PokerStars Super Tuesday closed out the month of May strong. Tonight's $1,050 event drew a field of 414 entries, meaning 54 players pick up a little something from the $414,000 prize pool with first place expecting to reach almost $80,000. The winner was Pokerger1337, making a deal three-handed and outlasting his opponent in an intense heads-up match to earn $76,000

Team Pokerstars players and notables

Once again, Kevin "WizardOfAhhs" Thurman was the only Team PokerStars player to make the money, finishing in 20th place, one week after finishing 17th. Johnny Lodden, Jose "nachobarbero" Barbero, Shane "shaniac" Schleger and 2011 WSOP bracelet winner Maxim Lykov (below) participated in tonight's tournament.

Notable players making the money included Max 'HotKarlMC' Heinzelmann (22nd), Bryan "bparis" Paris (33rd), Stefan "I'am_Sound" Huber - winner of the first Super Tuesday of May - 38th) and Aaron Been (51st).

Bubble burst by softcored (10th - $5,382.00)

The field was down to ten players on the final table bubble when a blind v blind hand would bring the field to one table. The blinds were at 2,800/5,600 with a 700-chip ante as softcored limped from the small blind with [as][tc]. Chris "ImDaNuts" Oliver raised to 11,300 with [ad][jd]. This prompted softcored to shove for over 144,000 chips as Oliver called with what turned out to be the dominating hand. The board ran out [ah][7c][6d][9c][9h] as the jack played, sending softcored to the rail, setting up this lineup for the final table:

Seat 1: ImDaNuts (306,705 in chips)
Seat 2: pmv1978 (54,824 in chips)
Seat 3: wilmy_x (323,608 in chips)
Seat 4: Powergolf (397,493 in chips)
Seat 5: Pokerger1337 (248,697 in chips)
Seat 6: Patrick_GBR (220,079 in chips)
Seat 7: idkPsPro (78,076 in chips)
Seat 8: ale6ka (334,002 in chips)
Seat 9: rivermanl (106,516 in chips)

pmv1978 parked in 9th - $6,872.40

First out at the final table was the short-stacked pmv1978 found [qc][qd] under the gun and shoved for just under 50,000 chips. In the cut-off, idkPsPro woke up with [as][ad] and re-raised all-in, getting rid of the rest of the field. The board ran out [8h][5c][2d][8c] [6d], giving the Hungarian player a much needed boost.

Patrick_GBR pummeled in 8th - $9,315.00

Next to fall was Bolivia's Patrick_GBR as Powergolf "putt" away his opponent. The blinds were now 3,600/7,200 with each player putting in 900 chips. Chris "ImDaNuts" Oliver opened the action with a raise to 15,905. Powergolf flatted as Patrick_GBR three-bet all in for their last 42,000 chips with [6d]6c]. Oliver folded and Powergolf called with [kh][th]. The coinflip was decided on the [Kd] [9h] [2d] flop as Powergolf was in command. The [Qs] [8h] were the turn and river leaving a field of seven.

Chris "ImDaNuts" Oliver crushed in 7th - $13,455.00

Chris "ImDaNuts Oliver had an impressive May with several deep runs including a runner-up finish for nearly $250,000 in the SCOOP-H-21 ($2,000 NL Hold'em). Oliver was running well at this final table, but the breaks weren't going his way. Action was now at 4,500/9,000 with an ante of 1,125 as Oliver bumped it up to 19,905 with [as][kd]. Pokerger1337 re-raised to 42,545 with [jc][jh]. Oliver four-bet shoved for over 250,000 chips as Pokerger1337 called. Five cards later it was the 2011 PCA runner-up sent packing: [7s][3d][3c][4d] [8c] as Pokerger1337's pair held up.

Rivermanl dominated in 6th - $17,595.00

Laurence "Rivermanl" Houghton is an online legend with numerous tournament successes. Unfortunately, the past doesn't help when you get dealt a dominated hand. Facing a raise from Powergolf, Houghton moved all in for 135,000 chips with [ac][js]. Powergolf called with [ah][kd] and Houghton couldn't catch up when the revealed cards were the [9c][6d][3d][Ts] [5s], moving Powergolf in front with Pokerger1337 close behind as five remained.

IdkPsPro removed in 5th - $23,184.00

Crippled right before the elimination of Rivermanl, idkPsPro held on long enough to pick up a few extra bucks. The hand started with idkPsPro going all in for a smidge over 30,000 chips as wilmy_x and Powergolf called from the blinds. The two players with chips checked it down on the [Kc][6s [3d][Qh] [8c] board and when wilmy_x flipped over [5h][5s], that was plenty good to win the pot and give a nother boost to the bankroll of the surviving quartet.

Wilmy_x won't be a winner, 4th - $33,120.00

Play slowed to a crawl once again until wilmy_x was dispatched from winning more monies. The blinds were at 6,000/12,000 with a 1,500 ante. Here's how the hand played out:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Final three make a deal

Pokerger1337 held a commanding chip lead, prompting his opponents to suggest a deal. After a few details were hashed out, the deal figures were as follows ($6,000 was set aside for the eventual winner):

Pokerger1337: 1,306,605 chips - $70,000.00
Powergolf: 407,400 chips - $53,411.60
Ale6ka: 355,995 chips - $52,500.00

Powergolf driven away 3rd - $53,411.60

Three-handed play commenced with nearly all the money chopped up, leaving Powergolf, who mentioned he had to get an appointment to get a haircut shortly, possibly encouraging him to take a deal. Another increase in blinds to 7,000/14,000 with an ante of 1,750 brought a battle of the short stacks tangling blind vs. blind. In the small blind, ale6ka moved all in with [ah][5s] as Powergolf called with [kd][jd]. Powergolf could make that appointment as they were drawing dead on the turn, giving ale6ka a straight on the [9c][4d][2c][3c] [Tc] board, giving ale6ka some ammunition in their heads-up match against Pokerger1337.

Ale6ka gave Pokerger1337 all they could handle in their heads-up match, coming back from substantial deficits to nearly take the chip lead. But in the final hand, Ale6ka's pocket tens ran into the pocket queens of Pokerger1337 when the pair went all-in pre flop. the Q-8-8 flop had Ale6ka needing running tens to double up. The board bricked out and Pokerger1337 held the Super Tuesday title, collecting the remaining $6,000. That brings Pokerger1337's total winnings to $76,000.00. Ale6ka settles for $52,500.00,

May 29, 2012 Super Tuesday Final Table Results:

*Payouts reflect deal made three-handed

*1st: Pokerger1337 - $76,000.00
*2nd:ale6ka - $52,500.00
*3rd: Powergolf - $53,411.60
4th: wilmy_x - $33,120.00
5th: idkPsPro - $23,184.00
6th: Laurence "rivermanl" Houghton - $17,595.00
7th: Chris "ImDaNuts" Oliver - $13,455.00
8th: Patrick_GBR - $9,315.00
9th: pmv1978 - $6,872.00

PokerStars Main Event Passport promotion gives players the option to select from an EPT, PCA, LAPT, APPT or WSOP Main Event package. More details here.

Tips and tricks for Zoom poker

2012-05-29T15:33:05Z

It's been just a couple of weeks since PokerStars removed the beta tag from Zoom - the fast-paced ring game where your opponents change every hand - and Zoom's popularity continues to grow. We asked Team PokerStars Pro Martin Staszko for a few of his Zoom tips. Here is what he had to say after becoming familiar with ZOOM and adapting his strategy for the game:

1) Don't fold in the small blind automatically. Many players in the big blind will set auto fold on and you can get the pot just by min-raising them. Make a note on these kind of players. These steals can be vital to improve your non showdown winnings.

2) When sitting on the big blind, and someone in the cut-off position or on the button is raising, check their steal percentage and fold to 3bet percentage; if both numbers are high, three-bet them very light. This can be applied when you are in the small blind as well.

3) If your opponent raises pre-flop and he doesn't continuation bet, bet 100% of the time - he will fold almost all the time. By not continuation betting, those people act like they are sticking a big billboard on their forehead saying, "I'm done with the hand."

4) If a tight player four-bets you and your three-bet percentage is fairly normal, you can be almost sure your QQ is no longer good.

5) After you double up, you can decide to leave the table and join another Zoom table again with 100 BB- it may be good idea if you are not experienced enough playing 200+ BB stack.

6) A check-raise is particularly powerful against good regulars. If you call them down pre-flop with a pocket pair, check, let them continuation bet and check-raise them, no matter if you hit or miss. This is even more profitable if you decide just to call their three-bet pre-flop as the pot/reward of this action is much bigger.

Try some of these the next time you tackle a Zoom table. Remember, everyone else is looking to do the same thing as you - win big and win fast - but with these tips, you may just come out on top.

To learn more, visit the Zoom poker home page.

On being a Team Online wife

2012-05-29T14:46:54Z

We here at the PokerStars Blog enjoy having a big stable of Team Pros and members of Team Online to keep us abreast of what it's really like to be a pro, think like a pro, and live like a pro. Thing is, part of being a pro is apparently playing a lot, and in Team Online's George Lind's case, that meant being too busy to write for us. But have no fear! His wife is on the case. Here she gives us a little taste of her trip with George to Monte Carlo.

I have no idea what poker players are interested in as far as George's blog nor do I keep up with the poker world (bad wifey) but I hope you find this at least mildly interesting. If nothing else, I think you will see a different side to Jorj95. To those online players who never make it to the live tournaments, maybe some of these pictures will entice you to change your mind - it really is a great way to travel and experience the world. So, here goes....

How cute is that? We checked into our room after 11 hours of flying with a baby to that on our TV screen when we checked into our room.

This was the view from our top floor room. As usual, thanks to PokerStars, our accommodations were amazing.

While George was working, Cooper and I meandered around the city checking out the buildings, finding playgrounds and discovering the many elevators (a small piece of heaven in a city built on a cliff). Meet Wifey and Jet Lag Cooper. Cooper wanted to support Team Online one day and wear a couple of his dad's patches.

As it turned out, there was much to find in Monte Carlo that I certainly never saw on the last trip. Initially, I attributed this to the elevators. Then I remembered that last time, George finished 32nd (or something very close) in that tourney which meant we only had maybe 2 days top to check things out. Those were the days when I actually watched him play. Haha, not so much anymore. Mostly because Cooper cannot be in the poker rooms. But also because its not much of a spectator sport IMHO (again, bad wifey). Though it was fun to watch him during the online coverage of his final tables at last year's WSOP.

Anyway, after George busted we all took a short one hour train ride and spent the day in Cannes, France.

A fun, if touristy, city. Lots of shopping and restaurants. Reminded me of California, specifically Venice Beach. We walked along the boardwalk, Coop rode the merry-go-round and we checked out the area where the Cannes Film Festival is held each year. Around the building are handprints of various movie stars. This was George's fav....

Back in Monte Carlo, we also toured the aquarium, found the zoo, looked at Prince Rainier's collection of cars, trekked it up to the Exotic Garden and just enjoyed the general atmosphere. Here are some pics from around the city...

It was a fabulous week. If you want to read and see more of our trip, go to jorj95.net. Though I will warn you. While I may be quiet in person, my blogs tend to be long winded. See you all in a few weeks at the WSOP.

What happens in Vegas...

2012-05-29T14:13:38Z

It's that time of year again. You know, the time where poker players from all over the world converge on the gambling capital of the world - Las Vegas. They're all coming over for one thing - to get a shiny piece of hardware to add to their wrists. Wish you could be there? You can! You have until July 1 to compete in the PokerStars Main Event Passport promo and choose the World Series of Poker as your event.

Members of Team PokerStars Pro have been trickling in to Las Vegas, to get set up for the WSOP.

Earlier this week, Team Pro Vanessa Rousso helped fellow Team Pro Vanessa Selbst move into their Vegas home.

"Helped one of my new WSOP roomies @vanessaselbst move in today then she showed off her mad kitchen skills! #impressed‬, pic.twitter.com/SaLol3Ld" tweeted Rousso. It's not just Vanessa-squared, Team Pro Liv Boeree, (who recently test drove an AMG SLS in Cannes), will be joining them, as well as Maria Ho. They're calling it the "PowerHouse of Dreams."

Selbst setting up shop in Vegas

It's not just the ladies who are getting ready for the long summer, Bertrand Grospellier has also landed in Las Vegas, tweeting, "Boarding final flight from Miami to Las Vegas right now. Couldn't be more excited to be back ! @WSOP here I come ! #Actiontime #ready."

The pros who are already in Las Vegas, found other ways to bide their time. Daniel Negreanu added a little golf to his schedule, and gives us a sneak peek at what his workout regimen will be during the summer. "No idea how but in my 9th golf rd this year I shot an 89. Previous best was 96! I'm going to golf some during the insanity which is the WSOP."

Negreanu was in action at the Rio later in the week, "Just attended the WSOP orientation and spoke to the dealers. Exciting just to walk in the Rio #DNegsGrind2012" (Don't forget to use that hashtag this summer.)

Speaking of hashtags, Jason Mericer will be #bracelethunting this year at the Rio, according to his Twitter account.

Even though a good chunk of the Team Pro roster is in Las Vegas, the PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour just finished up in Punta del Este, Uruguay and one Team PokerStars Pro has a lot more money to pack for the WSOP now. Angel Guillen finished runner-up in the main event.

As for the rest of the Team Pros, you'll be able to catch a glimpse of your favorite this summer, and if you can't make it, you should check out the live blog to stay updated on how your favorite pro is doing.

Sunday Million - May 27th 2012

2012-05-29T14:07:56Z

Brad Willis http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/cgi-bin/MT/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=32&id=5

Venneri keeps IPT trophy at home

2012-05-29T13:50:24Z

An Italian player kept the italian Poker Tour inside Italy's borders last night when he won €130,000 at IPT Campione.

Antonino Venneri beat a field of 224 players at the Casino Municipale, where the Italian Poker Tour boasted a prize pool of CHF 517,127.

Venneri's heads up opponent was Ivan Losi, from Italy, who took second place for €100,000. The final action saw Venneri go all-in far behind his opponent's hand with [Ac][2c]. Ivan Losi called the all-in with [9d][9s] but the board ran out [2d][Ah][Jc][3h][Qd].

The IPT's next stop will be in San Remo July 26 - 30.

PokerStars weekend review (5-27-12)

2012-05-28T13:37:52Z

SCOOP is gone. The LAPT main event is Punta del Este is over. The World Series has yet to get underway. This should be a time we can all take a breath and collect our thoughts. Instead, we decided to dive right back in to the PokerStars weekend majors. And why not, right? This is where all the champions of those big series really get their experience anyway.

This was the last weekend of May, which meant a ton of big stories as people looked to close strong on the month. The best story out there this weekend was Brazilian diegokeep's chance at redemption. It's barely been a few weeks since he almost won the Sunday Million but ended up finishing in the runner-up spot. This weekend, he did himself one better and notched the title.

Here are the biggest stories from the past couple of days.

Sunday Million: diegokeep drums up a $196k win

Sunday Warm-up: orange6 pounces on the final table for victory

Battle of the Planets: danhp134 chops up the win, Team Online's Dominguez 4th place

Cosita Rica captures May 27 Women's Sunday title

Sunday Million final table

Finally, for some important and educational reading about how good poker tournaments work, please do check out Lee Jones' piece from the weekend: Tournament decisions: not black and white

For a complete look at all the big weekend final tables, see the 5-27-12 PokerStars weekend majors results.

Good luck in the coming week. Bring on June!

Final eight set at IPT Campione

2012-05-28T13:17:18Z

Only eight players are left on the shores of Lake Lugano, as the Italian Poker Tour's Campione main event prepares to crown a champion. The showdown is expected to run all night tonight before first place walks away with a hefty CHF 140,000.

Chip leader Antonino Venneri, a 58-year old player from Italy sits with a gigantic chip lead headed into the final showdown.

Here are the final table players.

Massimiliano Bellon Bellucci - 505,000 chips
Massimiliano is a 42 year-old-player from Italy who's been playing poker for only one year. His best results include a third place at the EPT Berlin €2,000 Side event (for a €45,000 prize), a 7th place at the €300 Side event during EPT Campione, 54th place at the EPT Campione 2012 (€9,000), 36th at the Mini IPT Campione 2012 (€ 680), 2nd at the Italian Poker Open in Campione d'Italia (CHF 66,000). When he doesn't play poker, he works in IT. His favourite poker game is Texas Hold'em and his favourite player is Tom "Durrr" Dwan. His style is tight aggressive.

Palumbo Rocco - 421,000 chips
Rocco is a 23 year-old-professional poker player from Italy who's been playing poker for five years online on PokerStars as "roccoge". His best poker performances include a 6th place at the IPT Sanremo €5,250 High Roller (€14,050), a 10th place at the €1,000 Side event "win the button" during the EPT Montecarlo Grand Finl (€2,250), 3rd at the €1,000 Side event "turbo bounty" during EPT Grand Final Montecarlo (€ 7,050), 13th at the EPT Campione 2012 (€ 5,600), 2nd place at "La notte degli assi" (CHF 58,000), final table at the EPT Sanremo (7th place for € 95,000 - October 2011), 34th place at the EPT Sanremo 2011 (€ 20,000), 17th place at the Mini IPT Sanremo 2009 (€1,100). He's planning to spend his next winnings to increase his poker bankroll and to take care of his family. His favourite game is Texas Hold'em tournaments, his favourite player is Phil Ivey, and his biggest dream is to live happy.

Massimiliano Patroncini - 210,000 chips
Massimiliano is a 42-year-old player from Italy who's been playing poker for four years on PokerStars as "DaPapiii". This is is first serious cash at a live tournament. He is planning to use his first poker winnings for his family and to increase his poker bankroll. He won a ticket to IPT Campione after he played a live satellite here at the Casino, the night before day 1A. When he doesn't play poker, he works as manager at a restaurant in Milan and at a shop called "Poker bum bum". The shop sells poker items of any kind. His favourite poker game is hold'em. His favourite players are Barry Greenstein and Amato Landi. His poker style changes according to his opponent

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Silvano Peracchi - 327,000 chips
Silvano is a 52 year-old-player from Italy. This is the first time he has cashed at a live poker tournament. He is planning to use his first poker winning to take care of his family. He works as a business man. His favourite game is Texas Hold'em, and his style is tight and relaxed.

Michele Bianchi - 345,000 chips
Michele is a 38-year-old player from Lugano (Switzerland) who's been playing poker for 10 years. His best performance at a live poker tournament was at IPT Campione in January 2011 (14th place for a €7,597 prize). He reached this final table after he won with aces against opponent's aces (flush on the river). His dearest memory about poker is the day he went to Caribbean to play poker. His favourite poker game is Hold'em. His style is "relaxed."

Marco Pistilli - 646,000 chips
Marco is a 44-year-old player from Italy who's been playing poker since 2006 and online on PokerStars as"scalinger". His best results so far: 83rd place at the EPT Campione (€7,500), 1st at the 1st €300 Side event during EPT Prague (€3,050), 12th place at the IPT Nova Gorica March 2010 (€8,410), 22nd at the IPT Sanremo December 2009 (€4,000), 2nd at the IPT Nova Gorica October 2009 (€95,000), 23rd at the IPT Sanremo 2009 (€ 5,500). He works as a manager.

Antonino Venneri - 2,071,000 chips
Antonino is a 58 year-old-players from Italy who plays online on PokerStars as "vennerux." His best results are: 12th at IPT Campione November 2011 (CHF 10,200), 20th at the IPT Sanremo October 2011 (€ 2,370), 10th at the EPT Sanremo April 2011 (€ 50,000). He is planning to use his next winnings to increase his poker bankroll. He works as a business man. He reached the final table after he won all-in preflop with aces against the kings of Oleksii Kovalchuk for 1.3-chip million pot. His favourite poker game is Texas Hold'em. His favourite player is Salvatore Bonavena. His style is aggressive. His dream is to win a bracelet at the WSOP.

Ivan Losi - 1,080,000 chips
Ivan is a 38 year-old-player from Italy who's been playing poker for six years. His best results include a 35th place at the Mini IPT Sanremo and a final table at the "La notte degli assi". He works as a tattooist. His favourite game is Omaha. His favourite player is Daniel Negreanu. His biggest dream is to win the WSOP.

Sunday Million: diegokeep drums up a $196k win

2012-05-28T06:34:45Z

It was deja vu all over again tonight for diegokeep. Only eight weeks ago, the Brazilian was living the dream, playing heads-up for a Sunday Million title while his poker idol Andre Akkari cheered him on from the rail. Although he fought his way back from a 3 to 1 chip deficit and was poised to take control after getting his money in with the nut straight against two pair, his opponent spiked a full house on the river and diegokeep had to settle for second place. Little did he know that he'd shake that monkey off his back less than two months later, taking down his first Sunday Million title and nearly $196,000 in prize money.

6,977 players turned out for this week's Million, creating a $1,395,400 prize pool. 1,080 places were paid with first place set to earn $209,315.40. Among the dozen Red Spades in the field were Nacho Barbero, Maxim Lykov, Johnny Lodden, Ana Marquez, and Shane "shaniac" Schleger. Kevin "WizardOfAhhs" Thurman made the money in 1,074th place while Henrique Pinho made a deep run, busting out in 53rd place when he ran his pocket kings into pocket aces.

Henrique Pinho, 53rd place

With ten players remaining, the average stack was less than 20BB with the blinds up to 150,000/300,000. The action folded to Luigi da BP on the button and he open-shoved for 5.3 million holding [As][2s]. Stknsidewayz called all-in for 2.3 million with pocket sixes in the big blind, but Luigi da BP hit trips on the [Ad][Ac][Jh] flop. Stknsidewayz did not improve and was eliminated on the final table bubble.

Final table chip counts:

Seat 1: joszunabot18 (4,062,030 in chips)
Seat 2: DOCTORB911 (8,256,279 in chips)
Seat 3: Luigi da BP (8,265,284 in chips)
Seat 4: Grindation (10,036,720 in chips)
Seat 5: Houbanan (4,335,558 in chips)
Seat 6: montjeu8 (5,174,104 in chips)
Seat 7: ñarje (7,593,128 in chips)
Seat 8: dlflorin (8,252,692 in chips)
Seat 9: diegokeep (13,794,205 in chips)

About ten minutes into the final table, Grindation put narje to the test for his tournament life. After three-betting to 1.37 million preflop, Grindation led out for a very small bet of 494,665 on the [9h][9d][4c] flop. Narje raised to 2 million straight and Grindation shoved, having narje well-covered. After a long tank, narje called with [8c][8h] and Grindation turned over [Kd][Qd]. Narje made the right call but got the wrong result, the [Qh] spiking on the river to send him to the rail in ninth place.

With the blinds up to 250,000/500,000, diegokeep opened for a min-raise to 1,000,000 and was met with a three-bet to 2.25 million from DOCTORB911. Diegokeep shoved his [Jc][Jh] and DOCTORB911 called with [Ad][Ac] only to watch the flop fall [Kh][Js][Kd]. Diegokeep made jacks full of kings to snap off DOCTORB911's aces and ended his run in eighth place.

Only four hands passed before dlflorin put in his last 15 big blinds, shoving 7.4 million from the button with [Ah][3h]. Diegokeep, however, woke up with [Ts][Tc] in the small blind, the pocket pair holding up on an eight-high board to eliminate dlflorin in seventh.

That's pretty much when all hell broke loose, three more players following dlflorin out the door in the next three hands. The next deal saw Houbanan move in for 4.5 million with [8d][9h] and montjeu8 reshove from the cutoff with [Ah][Js], having Houbanan slightly covered. Although Houbanan flopped an eight, montjeu8 caught running spades to make a flush. Houbanan exited in sixth place, earning $43,257.40.

On the next hand the action folded around to Luigi da BP in the small blind. He looked down at [Ah][Qh] and made a no-brainer shove for 6.1 million. Grindation called with [As][3s]. It was another case of "right move, wrong result" as once again, the underdog managed to squeak out a win. Grindation hit a gutshot wheel draw on the [7h][5s][4c] flop and made it on the turn with the [2c]. Luigi da BP hit the rail in fifth place, his deep run earning him $57,211.40.

Another hand, another elimination. This time montjeu8 opened the action, min-raising to 1.2 million with [Kc][Tc]. Diegokeep defended his big blind with [Kh][7s]. Both players hit top pair on the [Kd][4d][4s] flop, but diegokeep caught two pair on the turn when the [7h] fell. All the money went in and montjeu8 did not improve on the river, the [Ah] landing to send him home in fourth place with $73,956.20.

Our final three managed to play four whole hands before the money was in the middle yet again. Down to his last 11 big blinds, joszunabot18 open-shoved for 6.8 million with [8d][8h] and Grindation called with [Kh][Qs] in the big blind. The [Qd][Td][9d] flop hit both players, joszunabot18 flopping straight and flush draws while Grindation made top pair to go with his straight draw. The [js] on the turn made both players' straights, Grindation's king-high straight outpipping joszunabot18's queen-high straight. Joszunabot18 was out in third, taking home $111,632.00 and our heads-up match was set.

Heads-up chip counts:

Seat 4: Grindation (26,444,068 in chips)
Seat 9: diegokeep (43,325,932 in chips)

Diegokeep wasn't the only one at this final table with recent success. Grindation won the Sunday Kickoff five weeks ago, banking $25,594. Almost immediately, they agreed to pause the action and discuss a deal. Both parties quickly agreed to a chip count chop deal that left $20,000 on the table for the winner.

Diegokeep quickly expanded his chip lead, moving up to 55.6 million after he turned top two pair and rivered a full house, getting value on both the turn and the river. Grindation, however, wasn't going down so easily, and doubled through diegokeep when his [Qc][9s] turned top pair against [Ad][2c]. Down to 20.9 million, diegokeep won 10 of the next 12 hands to grind his stack back up to 30.5 million, then got a fold on the river from Grindation to take down a 19.5 million pot and move past 40 million in chips. Grindation reversed the counts one more time, check-raising a [9c][7s][5d] flop in a four-bet pot, but got caught bluffing a short time later, diegokeep calling him down in this 37 million-chip pot:

Back out in front with 51.4 million, Diegokeep called Grindation's button min-raise with [6h][7h] and saw a [Ad][6d][5s] flop. Diegokeep check-called 1,008,000 from Grindation, then check-called another 1.9 million on the [Qh] turn. The [6s] on the river was gin for diegokeep and he checked one more time. Grindation bet 8 million, diegokeep raised to 16 million and Grindation called. Grindation showed [Ac][9h] for aces up, but it was no match for diegokeep's trip sixes. This time, the lucky river card (and all the VAMOOOOOS that came with it) were his, and diegokeep locked up his first Sunday Million title, along with $195,933.52 in prize money. For his runner-up finish, Grindation earned $167,391.17.

PokerStars Sunday Million results for 5/27/2012:

1. diegokeep (Brazil) $195,933.52*
2. Grindation (United Kingdom) $167,391.17*
3. joszunabot18 (Poland) $111,632.00
4. montjeu8 (Lebano) $73,956.20
5. Luigi da BP (Hungary) $57,211.40
6. Houbanan (Denmark) $43,257.40
7. dlflorin (Romania) $30,001.10
8. DOCTORB911 (Canada) $16,744.80
9. narje (Spain) $10,814.35

Entrants: 6,977
Prize pool: $1,395,400
Places paid: 1,080

*= reflects the result of a two-way deal that left $20,000 in play for the winner

Want to take on the Sunday Million but are a little short on bankroll? Hit up the Sunday Million page to learn how you can win your way in for as little as 400 FPPs.

LAPT Punta del Este 2012: Champion Marcelo Fonseca

2012-05-28T05:29:56Z

Brad Willis http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/cgi-bin/MT/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=32&id=5

Tournament decisions: not black and white

2012-05-28T04:44:51Z

The poker corner of the Twitterverse is currently abuzz after a ruling at the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), which is sponsored by PokerStars. I'll get to the specific ruling in a minute, but I'd first like to discuss tournament rules and rulings in general.

Poker tournaments, like virtually every other competition or contest, have rules. They help things proceed smoothly, give everybody an idea of how to act, and prevent confusion. Unfortunately, for a long time, poker tournaments had no central rule book on which most people agreed. However, a handful of people including Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Matt Savage got together and created a generally accepted set of rules via the "Tournament Director's Association" or "TDA". The TDA rules serve as a starting point from which most tournament rule books work; that includes the LAPT's rules.

Now a brief note on the nature of rules: no rule book can cover every possible way that humans dream up to interact with each other. That's why there are lawyers and judges and stuff - making rules and enforcing them is hard. Both the TDA and LAPT bosses realized this and made their rule #1 the following:

The Tournament Director and Floor Personnel are to consider the best interest of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances may on occasion dictate that decisions in the interest of fairness take priority over the technical rules. The decisions of the Tournament Direct and/or Floor Personnel are final.

This first rule goes by a lot of names: "Best interest of the game", "Fairness", and "Common sense". I like to call it the "Do the Right Thing" rule. It empowers the floor staff and tournament directors to do the right thing, as their judgment dictates. In fact, I was there when the TDA decided to make this Rule #1 - I couldn't have been happier.

And it's a good thing we have Rule #1. Despite the 30-odd rules that follow it in the LAPT rule book, there are still plenty of circumstances that require intelligent interpretation. In fact, the aforementioned Matt Savage (a friend and former neighbour of mine) has a bustling (albeit non-paying) cottage industry answering tournament ruling questions on Twitter (@savagepoker).

To give you an idea of what we're talking about, I recently had a tournament director (TD) throw a question at me over breakfast: in a four-card Omaha tournament, there was a raise in early position. Action folded to the blinds and, oops, one of the blinds had three cards and the other had five; somehow one card had ended up in the wrong place. The black and white interpretation of the rule is that both blinds have dead hands (a valid Omaha hand is exactly four cards, no more, no less). But wait - is that the fairest ruling? "Had either of the blinds looked at his cards?" "No," she smiled, seeing where I was going. "Easy then," I replied, "Dealer mixes up the cards in the five-card hand, slides one card over to the player with three cards and we're off to the races." "That's what Linda (Johnson) said!" the TD said with glee. Unfortunately, that's not how the actual ruling went, which involved agonizing delays as they attempted to recreate the action, determine who had done what, and somehow sort the mess out.

Do the right thing, be as fair as possible to all concerned, and move along - we've got a poker game to play.

And that brings us to the current kerfuffle on Twitter. Our hero was in an LAPT tournament and woke up with pocket kings in early position. This is the sort of hand that will make or break a tourney and he eagerly raised to T750 (that is, 750 "chips"). A player behind him called, putting out a T500 chip, two T100 chips, and two T25 chips. Then a third player announced "Raise." But wait, there was a problem. The player who had called had confused one of his chips. Rather than two T100 chips, he'd put out one T100 chip and one T5000 chip (the two are apparently somewhat similar in color).

According to the black and white reading of the tournament rules, this is absolutely a raise (multiple chips comprising a valid raise amount).

The floorman was called over and asked to make a ruling. Though I haven't spoken to this floorman, it was presumably clear to him that the caller had meant to do just that - call. He ruled that the second player had called. I'm not sure what the action was after that or how it was ruled, but that's not important. What's important is that the floorman ruled the T5000 chip an honest mistake and let the player correct it.

And good for him, I say. It's not in the best interest of the game for tournaments to be decided (or shifted) by an honest and understandable mistake of which color chip a player picks up.

Of course, our hero is upset. Had the floorman ruled that the "caller" had actually raised, then he might have felt obliged to rule that the next player's "raise" announcement was binding as well. Our hero would have had the opportunity to put in a massive fourth preflop raise holding the second most powerful hand in hold'em; that's how you win poker tournaments.

I certainly understand his disappointment, but frankly, not his outrage. Had he been the one to accidentally put out a T5000 chip, the ruling would have certainly been the same, and saved a significant chunk of his starting stack.

Floormen have difficult jobs - they get called in exactly when the rule book isn't necessarily sufficient to solve the problem. Whatever ruling they make is going to upset one or more people. And of course there are cases in which a floorman (or even a TD) makes a ruling that cannot be supported by either the rule book or common sense. That happens - they're human, just like the players.

But let's keep some perspective here - tournament directors and floor staff are there to interpret the rules, not blindly quote chapter and verse of a long-standing rule that we all know. When they make a ruling that bends the rules in favor of common sense, I think we should all be grateful for the job they do.

Late breaking edit: I've gotten direct confirmation that LAPT tournament director Mike Ward made the ruling and said at the time that he was ruling, "in the best interests of the game."

Mike is one of the top TD's in the business; I'm delighted to hear that my theory about the logic he followed was pretty much spot on.

Lee Jones is the head of Home Games at PokerStars and has been involved in the professional poker world for over 25 years. You can read his occasional Twitter-bites at @leehjones.

Sunday Warm-up: orange6 pounces on the final table for victory

2012-05-28T02:35:20Z

120 tournaments in two weeks and you might be worn out too. Unless you are Shaun Deeb of course. The 2012 SCOOP player of the series was collecting watches like he was trying to outfit a pet octopus with PokerStars jewelry. But, not all players have the stamina to play through all those deep runs as seen in tonight's $500,000 guaranteed Sunday Warm-up. A lighter than usual crowd gathered, as perhaps the players needed a little R & R from the series overload. 2,996 players did however find an extra Red Bull or five to power up the PokerStars lobby and break the guarantee with a $599,200.00 prize pool.

Team PokerStars Pros and Team Online were not allowed to claim one of the 432 prizes on the board tonight as Team Online Shane "shaniac" Schleger flew the Red Spade flag the longest finishing in 788th place.

Players like Chris "ImDaNuts" Oliver were back in the money tonight, just like his 4th place finish for $52K in SCOOP Event #39-H Tonight there would be no final table run for Oliver after finishing in 211th place ($539.28).

Down to two tables the final 18 had no problem removing eight people from their seats quickly but the second hand-for-hand portion of tournament would take a little longer than people realize. It would start with the blinds at 50K/100K ante 10K but did not finish until two blind level later. 80K/160K ante 16K blinds meant utreg's 643,182 chips were not going to last long as utreg min raised from the cutoff and lonxs told utreg from the big blind that the rest of those chips are going into the middle by three-betting. No choice here as utreg made the call holding [4s][Kd] and slightly ahead of lonxs' [Tc][9d]. The flopped straight [7h] [8d] [Jh] [Qc] [Ac] put an end to any discussion about a comeback tonight as utreg hit the rail in 10th place ($3,745.00) starting up the final table below:

Seat 1: herby5 (3906014 in chips)
Seat 2: Ciejas (4365560 in chips)
Seat 3: orange6 (2040862 in chips)
Seat 4: SteenD (3043989 in chips)
Seat 5: lonxs (4587632 in chips)
Seat 6: belmondo78 (1797288 in chips)
Seat 7: bartels30 (5357549 in chips)
Seat 8: chrispker23 (2843406 in chips)
Seat 9: Palmero92 (2017700 in chips)

Another sign that hand-for-hand was a bit long winded, the blinds immediately went up to 100K/200K ante 20K once the special final table outlay was spread across the virtual felt and Team Online's Kevin "WizardofAhhs" Thurman dropped in on the final nine to congratulate them on making it this far.

Peeled from the table

The final table would start innocently enough with a "raise-it and take-it" loop around the oval but two hands after belmondo78 doubled up off lonxs, Palmero92 saw an opening to grab the hefty blinds and shoved just under two million chips from the cutoff. orange6 sitting in the big blind sitting on just over two millions made the call holding [As][Js]. It was a good one as Palmero92's [Ah][7d] was a heavy underdog. Three wheel cards on the [3h] [8d] [5h] [2s] [3c] threatened to chop up the pot, but 4.2 million chips found their way to the big blind as Palmero92 was finished in ninth place ($4,793.60). It would denied Palmero92 to add a second Sunday Warm-Up title in two months as the German took down this tournament last month for $72K.

lonxs rocked

The final table tonight would be a fast one as the blinds moved up to 125K/250K ante 25K as back-to-back preflop shoves broke out. First, chrispker23 had major kicker issues after SteenD called the British player's shove from the small blind. [Kh][Ad] for SteenD rolled to victory over chrispker23's [Ah][Qd] as king flopped [Kc] [5s] [2s] [5h] [8c] for a 4.1 million chip pot.

On the next hand bartels30 would min raise UTG and lonxs shoved from the small blind for 2.4 million chips holding pocket queens [Qc][Qd]. Back to bartels30 holding big slick [Kh][Ac] to make the call as big slick was looking to go two-for-two. It did. Ace on the turn [Tc] [3h] [6s] [Ad] [5d] would lock in the 5.4 million chip pot and lock lonxs out in eighth place ($7,789.60).

Nines are not fine

Still in the 125K/250K ante 25K blind level herby5 would lead off for a 785,500 chip raise as belmondo78 in the small blind (again???) shoved for 2.5 million. Back to herby5 who started with 3.2 million would make the call holding [Ah][Jh]. Up against the pocket nines [9s][9d] of belmondo78, the ace would waste no time hitting the flop [5c] [5d] [As] [6h] [3d] to ship the 5.6 million chip pot to herby5 and $13,781.60 to belmondo78 in seventh place.

The final six would stir the idea of a chop for a bit but all attempts were veto'd to stop the clock as play moved through the 150K/300K ante 30K level with all six holding a chair.

Comeback kid

chrispker23 took a massive hit earlier after doubling up SteenD but rallied from that low to over 3.6 million chips when this 6.1 million chip preflop pot broke out against bartels30:

RSS readers please click through to view video

After chrispk23 shoved over the top of bartels30's min-raise from the small blind, bartels30 made the call holding [Jd][As] flipping against the [Td][Kd] of chrispk23. The three diamond flop [2d] [3d] [6d] locked down the hand (yes the [4d] and [5d] COULD HAVE shown up, but they did not) for chrispk23 as bartels30 exited in sixth place ($19,773.60).

More chop talks, more chop nots

After the big pot chrispk23 tried to rally the table again for a chop but herby5 was still having none of it despite the play starting to get a little "shovey". Then, the blinds moved up to 200K/400K ante 40K and SteenD would give up a double up to herby5 after SteenD's [Kd][Qs] ran face first into herby5's big slick [Kc][As] for a 6.2 million chip pot. Left with 1.3 million, two hands later SteenD tried to min-raise from the small blind as chrispk23 in the big blind was happy to three bet SteenD all-in. Holding [7c][Qc] SteenD needed some clubs or a seven to stay alive versus chrispk23's [Qs][Tc]. The only club to show up for the party was on the door [6c] [3d] [Ts] [Ks] [3s] as chrispk23 sent SteenD packing in fifth place ($25,765.60). A little bit better performance today from SteenD as the Dane scored a seventh place in the Warm-Up in February.

As the 11th hourly break hit, all four decided to query Mr. Thurman about chop numbers. While Kevin calculated chip chops and ICM numbers, the players could not agree and turned the poker machine back on. Right away herby5 would double up off orange6 holding ducks against orange6's big slick for a 8.1 million chip pot and flattening out the chips even further.

No chop means more money

Good thing the chop did not go through as herby5 would have taken below third cash. Now bolstered with 7.5 million chips and blinds at 250K/500K ante 50K herby5 waited calmly in the small blind as chrispk23 shove slightly more chips from button holding [Ks][Ts]. herby5 was calm due to holding big slick [Ac][Kd] and made the call. Despite the evil [6c] [6s] [6h] [Qd] [3c] flop, big slick held for the win and the 15.7 million chip pot. 145,318 chips left over would go to Ciejas on the next hand as chrispk23's comeback was enough to grab fourth place cash ($34,454.00).

C-ya

The very next hand Ciejas would min-raise from the button as orange6 shoved 4.6 million from the small blind holding [Qd][Ac] and Ciejas was there for the call with pocket fives [5h][5s]. The board was clean for the fives through the turn [8h] [Kh] [Kd] [Ks]. But, the river [Ah] would ship the 9.9 million chip pot to orange6. Three hands later herby5 would be there to call out of the big blind as Ciejas, now down to under four million chips, shoved from the button holding [Kh][Td]. [Js][Ad] for herby5 who could not seem to do anything wrong as the Swiss flopped a jack [6h] [5d] [Jh] [Ts] [9h] to the 8.2 million chip victory. Ciejas could have had $67K in the chop, took home $49,745.58 in third place.

Face your partner and shake hands

"I agree" and "I agree". No drawn out listing of poker achievements or chip counts, just two short words in the chat box got our remaining two their deals below:

herby5: $78,025.95
orange6: $76,155.43

As fast as the chop talks were, heads-up play would take a bit longer as there was still $10,000.00 on the table for the champ. In four short minutes orange6 would flip the chip lead after notching an unlikely straight holding [Kd][7h] as value bet herby5 on the river to claim a 24.6 million chip pot. Five hands later it was herby5's turn to win. Down to 5.5 million, herby5 called all-in preflop with [Ad][3c] as orange6 applied the pressure with a real hand, pocket sixes [6d][6s]. Ace on the flop [8d] [2d] [Ac] [Qh] [Qc] and the battle continued.

Then, with the blinds up to 300K/600K ante 60K the two players shoved 20.8 million chips into the middle in the hand below:

RSS readers please click through to view video

Deuces [2c][2d] for herby5 and big slick [Ah][Kh] for orange6 would name our champion today. It did not take long for the ace [Ad] [Js] [Th] [5h] [5d] to spoil herby5's chances at a late run comeback as orange6 took down the final 20.8 million chips and claimed this week's Sunday Warm-Up title!

Players Entered: 2,996
Entry Fee: $215.00
Prize Pool: $599,200.00

$500,000 guarantee Sunday Warm-Up results (05-27-12):
( * denotes part of two-way deal )
1. orange6 (Israel) *$86,155.43
2. herby5 (Switzerland) *$78,025.95
3. Ciejas (Poland) $49,745.58
4. chrispker23 (United Kingdom) $34,454.00
5. SteenD (Denmark) $25,765.60
6. bartels30 (Denmark) $19,773.60
7. belmondo78 (Switzerland) $13,781.60
8. lonxs (Spain) $7,789.60
9. Palmero92 (Germany) $4,793.60