03:15 min., February 25 2012
After 5 tournament days there are only eight players left standing, and they are a dynamic bunch indeed. Sarah gives you the low down on each of the players.View the original article here
02:44 min., February 25 2012
After a greuling heads up battle and being down to two big blinds at one point, PokerStars Team Online Mickey Peterson secured a victory for his native homeland.View the original article here
February 27 2012, Chad Holloway
Fox Sports Network’s coverage of the World Poker Tour Season X continued on Sunday night with Part II of the Legends of Poker final table from the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California.
Last year, Andy Frankenberger topped a field of 462 to claim the $750,000 first-place prize but did not repeat that performance in Season X. There were five players remaining after Owais Ahmed was eliminated in last week’s episode. Remaining were a mix of pros (Will “The Thrill” Failla and Josh Pollack) and amateurs (Adam Aronson, Ken Aldridge and Jeff Vertes).
The $3,500+$200 buy-in Main Event had attracted 757 entrants, creating a prize pool of $2,570,015. Here's what the counts looked like at the top of the broadcast:
First Hand: Jeff Vertes looked down at 
from the cutoff and raised to 375,000. Will Failla responded by three-betting to 850,000 from the small blind, and much like he did in a hand in Part I, Vertes gave an acting performance before four-betting to 1.575 million.
“I think you’re bluffing me,” Failla said before eyeing up his opponent. He thought for a brief moment, but ultimately laid down his hand. “Bluff me, Jeff? You have a pair?”
“One of the best,” Vertes admitted as he raked in the pot.
Gangster Poker: “The people from the East Coast play gangster poker,” Will “The Thrill” Failla said in an interview. “I believe that the East Coast people growing up in the tougher neighborhoods really have a big advantage in reading people in situations most people can’t. It doesn’t always work 100 percent, but when those hairs stand up on the back of my neck, I’m pretty sure.”
Aronson Eliminated in Fifth Place: Action folded to Adam Aronson on the button and he moved all-in for 1.7 million holding 
, only to run into the 
of Jeff Vertes, who was in the big blind. Aronson was clearly dejected as he got out of his seat. “A lot of black cards,” he said after removing his sunglasses.
While the flop only held one black card, it gave Aronson something better as it came down 
and delivered him a set. Aronson obviously had quite a few supporters in the crowd as the noise level increased after an eruption of cheers. Aronson had gone from a big dog to an 85 percent favorite, but that dropped to 74 percent when the 
appeared on the turn to give Vertes a flush draw.
“Gotta be a sweat,” Aronson said with a smile. Indeed it was, but Aronson was not so pleased when the 
spiked to give his opponent the flush. Vertes clapped his hands and let out a shout in celebration as Aronson was sent packing in fifth place for $102,800.
Back to Back: In the next hand that aired, Jeff Vertes was first to act and opened for 400,000 with , the very same hand he had used to eliminate Adam Aronson. Josh Pollack was on the button and wasted little time in three-betting to 1,050,000 with 
.
Pollack and Vertes engaged in a little chitchat before the latter announced a reraise to 2.1 million. Pollack was having none of it and released his hand. “That was a good spot to bluff,” Pollack said, despite Vertes showing one of his aces.
Five Questions: Hostess Kimberly Lansing sat down with former WPT Player of the Year Jonathan Little to ask a few questions, including, “When did you actually realize you could make a living being a poker player?”
“That’s a tough question. I’m not sure I think I can make a living now,” Little admitted. “It’s a tough game and poker is always getting tougher. You just have to stay better than the competition and learn faster than the competition.”
When asked if he fears anyone at the poker table, Little said: “I fear a lot of people, but I don’t let it affect my play. I tend to try to avoid the good players at the table. There are a lot of young guys, that try to go after everyone at the table. In reality, they’re going to be losing money or breaking even against good players, and that’s going to cause a lot of unnecessary variance most of the time.”
Pollack Eliminated in Fourth Place: From the button, Josh Pollack opened for 425,000 with 
and was called by Ken Aldridge holding 
in the big blind. The 
flop was interesting because it gave each player a little something. Aldridge checked, Pollack bet 500,000, and Aldridge immediately announced a raise before making it 1.2 million.
With action back on Pollack, he eyed his chips and announced he was all-in for 4,075,000 more. Aldridge leaned back in his chair, sighed, and then made the call. “Nice call,” Pollack admitted, knowing he needed a diamond to stay alive. Unfortunately, when neither the 
turn nor 
river helped, he was dispatched in fourth place for $128,500.
“It’s a bit disappointing,” Pollack told Matt Savage in his postelimination interview. “I felt I didn’t need to shove on that last hand. It was kind of a tricky spot. Could have just folded. We were all pretty close in chips with four to go, it was anyone’s game.”
What a Thrill: With the blinds at 1250,000/250,000, Will “The Thrill” Failla moved all-in from the small blind for 2.425 million. Ken Aldridge asked for a count from the big blind, thought for a minute, and then called. “I’m ahead,” Failla said even before the cards were turned up.
Showdown
“This is huge,” Failla told his rail before the flop came down 
. “Spade, spade, spade,” Failla requested. The 
turn wasn’t a spade, but it didn’t hurt him either. When the 
peeled off on the river, Failla briefly celebrated before retaking his seat, stacked his 4.925 million, and prepared to get down to business — though that business must wait until next week because the broadcast came to an end.
To Be Continued: Who’ll be the next player to join the prestigious list of Legends of Poker winners and take home the $758,085 first-place prize? Will it be Will “The Thrill” Failla or one of the two amateurs still remaining in the field? Part III is set to air on Sunday, March 3, on FSN, so be sure to check your local listings. As always, you can check back next week for the latest recap of all the action right here on PokerNews.
If you love poker, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for all the latest updates on the World Poker Tour.
*Picture courtesy of World Poker Tour.
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View the original article here
February 27 2012, Chad Holloway
According to various reports, including one at Wicked Chops Insider, Poker After Dark, will be returning to television. NBC Sports Network, previously known as Versus, will air five weeks (24 episodes) worth of unaired episodes, including four weeks of a cash game and one week (six episodes) of a sit-n-go.
The shows, primarily shot in December of 2010, were produced by Poker PROductions. After the new episodes air, NBC Sports Network plans to broadcast reruns of PAD, though the rumor mill is already churning about the possibility of new episodes if a sponsor can be secured.
Although a press release has yet to be released, Poker PROductions retweeted Kevin "Kevmath" Mathers, confirming the reports.
Poker_Prod POKER PROductions RT @Kevmath: Good news for poker TV fans: Poker After Dark returns, airing on the NBC Sports Network. More to come soon. February 27 2012
PokerNews has scheduled an interview with Mori Eskandani of Poker PROductions and will bring you further details on this story as soon as they become available.
Stay up to date on all the latest news by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook.
Follow Chad Holloway on View the original article here
04:04 min., February 25 2012
We absolutely enjoyed ourselves this week in Copenhagen. There was poker, shopping and even a little fun. Check it out.View the original article here
February 27 2012, Chad Holloway
Since Black Friday, it’s not often the world is treated to poker programming, but that wasn’t the case this past weekend as the third episode of the Epic Poker League aired on CBS. The broadcast featured the finals of the EPL’s Mix-Max Main Event, which attracted a field of 100 in December.
The tournament was designed to test players in different formats including eight-max, seven-max, six-max, four-max and heads-up poker. The latest episode picked up the action in the heads-up part, which was a best-of-three battle between Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger and Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki. Those two players had navigated a final table that included Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Scott Clements and Joe Tehan to duke it out for an $801,680 first-place prize.
During the first two matches of the heads-up melee, players began with the stacks they had built throughout the tournament. In the third match, if required, the competitors would begin with even stacks.
And They’re Off: Commissioner Annie Duke kicked things off by introducing the players and welcoming them to the stage. With a crowd of spectators surrounding the set, Lichtenberger and Klodnicki took their seats as action kicked off with the blinds at 6,000/12,000.
In the first hand, Klodnicki opened for 25,000 from the button with 
only to have Lichtenberger three-bet to 80,000 with . Klodnicki made the call, and watched as Lichtenberger bet 77,000 on the flop. Klodnicki, who picked up a gut-shot straight draw and had just a 39 percent chance of winning the hand, responded by making it 200,000 to go, which Lichtenberger called.
On the turn, Lichtenberger check-called a bet of 260,000, leading to the 
river. Again Lichtenberger checked, and this time Klodnicki fired out a huge bet of 550,000. The arena was silent as Lichtenberger considered his options, ultimately choosing to fold the best hand, giving Klodnicki a 4-1 lead.
Getting to Know Klodnicki: The EPL aired a segment featuring Klodnicki, who graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in finance but chose to pursue a game he loved instead.
“My junior year of college was when I decided that I would give poker a shot. When most people were getting internships, I decided to play poker all summer,” Klodnicki explained. “I ended up doing really well and then when I graduated college, I decided to try playing full time. If I didn’t go with poker, I’d probably be working on Wall Street somewhere, waking up at 7 a.m., working 12-hour days, not much time off, wouldn’t have much freedom. It wasn’t that I didn’t like finance, but I feel like I wouldn’t like it as much as poker.”
Lifetime Membership: A brief montage was shown honoring Doyle Brunson, who played his first Epic Poker League event and was honored with the first “Lifetime Membership” ring. “If a statue’s ever made of a poker player, I’m sure it’s going to be Doyle,” said longtime friend Barry Greenstein.
Likewise, Jennifer Harman honored Brunson when she took to the podium: “He truly is the best poker player in the world.”
Lichtenberger Doubles: Klodnicki was on a roll and had a dominant lead, but Lichtenberger managed to close the gap a bit. It happened when Lichtenberger raised to 26,000 with 
and was called by Klodnicki, who was holding 
, leading to a flop of 
.
Klodnicki checked, Lichtenberger bet 60,000, and Klodnicki came alive with a check-raise to 160,000. Lichtenberger responded by moving all-in for 845,000 more, and Klodnicki made the call. Unfortunately for the latter, he couldn’t complete his flush draw on the 
turn and river, meaning he sent 27 percent of his stack over to Lichtenberger.
Not So Lucky Chewy: Although the broadcast made it seem like the match was brief when it actually lasted 140 hands. In the final hand of the match, blinds were 25,000/50,000/5,000 when Lichtenberger raised to 100,000 holding 
. Klodnicki three-bet to 250,000 with , Lichtenberger called, and the flop came down 
. Klodnicki bet 250,000, Lichtenberger raised to 575,000, Klodnicki moved all-in and Lichtenberger called.
The stacks were pretty even at the start of the hand, but Lichtenberger was the at-risk player. “I managed to get it in pretty bad here,” Lichtenberger said about his 32 percent chance of winning the hand, which dropped to 18 percent on the 
turn. The 
river changed nothing, and Klodnicki went up 1-0. “Good game, sir,” Lichtenberger said with a resigned chuckle.
Reset, Same Result: The chip stacks were reset and the blinds lowered for the second match, though it wouldn’t be quite the marathon session the first match was. Although it lasted 66 hands, only a few were shown on the broadcast. Lichtenberger was never able to get anything going.
With the blinds at 10,000/20,000/3,000, Lichtenberger raised to 40,000 on the button with 
and Klodnicki three-bet to 110,000 holding the inferior . Lichtenberger then four-bet 260,000, Klodnicki five-bet to 505,000, and Lichtenberger six-bet to 750,000. This time Klodnicki just called and watched the flop fall . He liked his nut-flush draw and fired out 500,000, but Lichtenberger moved all-in over the top. Klodnicki made the call to put his opponent at risk.
It was a coin flip for the 4.2 million pot and essentially the match. The turn wasn’t a diamond, but it was the , which gave Klodnicki the lead with a pair of fours. “My outs are very limited,” Lichtenberger deadpanned. Sure enough, he needed a black king on the river to keep his Epic Poker dreams alive, but it was not meant to be as the 
peeled off. Lichtenberger finished runner-up and earned $514,480.
“Good game, man” Klodnicki said as he shook his opponent’s hand. Both players were all smiles, but it was certainly a subdued celebration for the quiet and unassuming Klodnicki.
“As I entered the final table, [Lichtenberger] was the person I did not want to play heads up,” the champion told host Ali Nejad in his postvictory interview. “He plays really great, doesn’t really give anything up. I had to get pretty lucky to beat him on the last hand.”
Final Table Payouts
With his win, Klodnicki moved into second place on the leaderboard for the top 27 money earners in the first season of the EPL.
*Photo courtesy of Epic Poker League.
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