Pokerism

Spain vs Germany for the Semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup. Spain last defeated Germany in the Euro 2008 Finals, and certainly Germany would like to see that loss avenged with a big win in the semi-finals over Spain . Spain had been favored to win the 2010 World Cup even before the tournament started. And for sure, they have played well enough to reach the semi-finals. However, Spain haven't been as convincing with their wins, only winning 1-0 over Portugal in the Round of 16, then 1-0 over Paraguay in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Germany have been impressive, racking up loads and loads of goals against very formidable opponents. Germany defeated England 4-1, and then defeated 2010 World Cup favorites Argentina with a score of 4-0. Miroslav Klose and Thomas Mueller of Germany each have scored 4 times in the tournament so far. Germany are capable of getting goals, and they will certainly put the defense of Spain to the test with their attack. Spain will have to step...

Netherlands were the clear underdogs in their World Cup quarterfinal match against Brazil, but they managed to find a victory, defeating Brazil 2-1. Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands scored twice in the second half to come back from behind to take out the top seeded Brazil from the 2010 World Cup. Meanwhile, Uruguay ended the hopes of Ghana as the lone African nation left int he 2010 World Cup who had a shot at it. After a 1-1 draw through extra time, it was Uruguay who won the penalty shootout. Ghana had a chance to win it with a penalty spot kick after a deliberate handball by Uruguay star player Luis Suarez , but Asamoah Gyan of Ghana failed to convert. The momentum carried on Uruguay's way to the penalty shootout where Ghana were outscored 4-2. Having beaten Brazil , the Netherlands will certainly be a heavy favorite, but certainly adjustments will have to be made in the roster as several players who picked up their second yellow card of the tournament will not...

 646 poker players qualified for the $1,000 Guaranteed Pot Limit Hold'em & Omaha event of Full Tilt Poker through the FTP Fantasy Poker League. I was able to earn my seat through the success of Andy Black, David Chiu and Steve Zolotow at this same kind of tournament in the 2010 World Series of Poker. David Chiu was the big points earner for me. The Pot Limit Hold'em & Omaha tournament basically means that different games will be interchanged once the level changes. First round saw Pot Limit Hold'em action while the second round saw Pot Limit Omaha action. I did well early in the Pot Limit Hold'em section to boost my chip stack up, but got hit at the Pot Limit Omaha section making loose calls, chasing for hands that weren't even the nuts. Like, for example, I would have a 17 outer for an open ended straight draw and flush draw, but when I spiked my flush, it would've been out-kicked by a better flush. In retrospect, although I do understand the ...

The Asian Poker Tour 2010 Philippines Main Event is set at a buy-in of $2500 + $200. That's a pretty big buy-in, and will certainly attract some of the biggest poker names in Asia. For those who can't afford it, Resorts World Manila will be holding satellites to give hopefuls an opportunity to win seats. The RWM Satellite Series Event #2 will be held at Resorts World Manila’s poker room on Sunday, July 11 at 2:00 PM. Buy-in is set at only Php 5,000 with no registration fee Up for grabs will be a Php 500,000 guaranteed prize pool, inclusive of a seat to the APT Philippines 2010 main event! Of course, other prizes will be given to top placers. If you don’t have Php 5,000 to spare? A mega satellite to the RWM Satellite Series #2 will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, July 3 and 10. Both will have a buy-in at only Php 500 (with optional one rebuy and one add-on) and no registration fee. If you want to qualify online, then you can also play at PKR.com .

284 poker players competed for a piece of the $1.3 Million prize pool in Event 46 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, a $5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split tournament. 27 places got paid, but the ultimate big winner of the much-coveted WSOP gold bracelet was Chris Bell , who also won $327,040 to top it off. Chris Bell 's big win is something he needed so much. A year ago, Chris Bell was running bad - really bad - to the point that he admitted he was broke. Definitely, it was tough for Chris Bell as a poker pro, who joined several tournaments to come short of ITM, eating up on his bank roll. Chris Bell eventually began questioning himself and even began to contemplate his future in the game, and he had to make some brutally tough decisions about his prospects for success in a game that has clearly become more challenging in recent years, especially for the sake of his family - his wife and two kids. It was through the help of his good friend Erick Lindgren , who gav...

3,097 poker players competed for a piece of a $4.1 Million prize pool in Event 45 of the 2 010 World Series of Poker , a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em. With 324 places paid,  some of the big poker names and former WSOP gold bracelet winners who cashed in include: Dutch Boyd (15th), Ayaz Mahmood (55th), John “Razor” Phan (59th), Berry Johnston (121st), Tom Schneider (128th), John Juanda (297th), and Jeffrey Papola (308th). Of course, the big payouts were awarded to the top players who made the final table. The biggest winner of all was 24 year old poker pro Jesse Rockowitz from Petaluma, California, who won his first ever WSOP gold bracelet and a huge payout of $721,373. This event was the third WSOP event ever joined by Jesse Rockowitz , and according to official records, he now has one WSOP gold bracelet, one final table appearance and two cashes, finishing ITM at 86th place in a previous No Limit Hold'em Event this year. The runner up was 24 year old poker pro Ra...

Spain has never won the World Cup. But despite not being former champions, Spain were actually the top seeds to win the 2010 World Cup even before the tournament began in South Africa. However, a snag on their first game of the group stages saw them in an unlikely 1-0 defeat to Switzerland . Spain was expected to breeze through their opponents, and lately they've shown that form, winning all of their matches since, including a very impressive win against Portugal in the round of 16. Spain striker David Villa is one of the top goalscorers of the World Cup with already 4 goals to his name. Of course, it helps that he has support from key players like Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas . Paraguay surprised everyone when they topped their group which included defending World Cup champions Italy . Paraguay may have also been lucky by edging out Japan in the penalty shootout to book their spot in the World Cup quarterfinals, but maybe their run of luck ...

It's Argentina vs Germany in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals stage. Former World Cup champions Argentina are the clear favorites to defeat Germany after they had a perfect 3-0 record in the group stages, and also showing a decisive win in the round of 16 over Mexico , wining 3-1. Argentina also has a lot of attacking power with the likes of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain , who is the one of current top goal scorers of the 2010 World Cup with 4 goals to his name, including a rare hat-trick against the South Korea . Of course, former World Cup champions Germany are no slouch either. Despite booking one loss in the group stages due to being undermanned 10 players to Serbia's 11, Germany has also proven that they can show some amazing football against strong teams. Germany showed that dominance in their 4-1 victory over England , who many predicted would be among the top contenders for the World Cup. Germany may have a young team that lacks World Cup ...

It's Brazil vs Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup . Needless to say, five-time World Cup champions Brazil are the definite favorites to beat Netherlands in the quarterfinals. Brazil has a very star-studded roster with the likes of Elano, Robinho, Kaka, Maicon, Dani Alves and Luis Fabiano all very capable and talented to bring home the World Cup to Brazil . In their round of 16 match against Chile, Brazil dominated with a score of 3-0. It may look likely that they will continue to dominate when they face Netherlands in the quarterfinals. Of course, Netherlands are also a strong team. They topped their group in splendid fashion, walking away with 9 points. In fact, the Netherlands were only one of two teams to score a perfect 3-0 in the group stages. The other team was Argentina . Netherlands also showed a lot of spunk in the round of 16 by surpassing Slovakia 2-1. Netherlands are relying on their key players like Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben, Robin va...

 It's the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup and one of the featured matches will be Uruguay vs Ghana . Uruguay are two-time World Cup champions, but haven't won the World Cup in over 50 years. Nevertheless, Uruguay has that history and tradition to be a good footballing nation, and certainly very capable of getting deep in the tournament. Uruguay topped their group in the group stages, and did well in eliminating South Korea with a score of 2-1 in the Round of 16. Uruguay has played well with their star striker Luis Suarez among the top goalscorers of the 2010 World Cup with three goals, and still looking to add more when they face Ghana . Ghana , meanwhile, are the lone African nation who have made it through to the Round of 16 and to the quarterfinals, following a deserved victory over the relentless United States . Ghana certainly have the home crowd support as the entire African continent roots for them to win the 2010 World Cup in African soil. Ghana will look...

In just a few minute, I will be playing a $1,000 Guaranteed Limit Hold'em tournament at Full Tilt Poker. I won my seat courtesy of the success of Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi , who placed 8th in the Limit Hold'em Championship in the 2010 World Series of Poker . Thank you, Michael Mizrachi , for not failing me in my Fantasy Poker picks. Hopefully, I will get to carry on the same success as you did in this event at the 2010 World Series of Poker, and maybe I can walk away with the top prize of $235. It's not much, but it certainly could go a long way.

 First of all, I would like to thank KC Montero of The KC Show for awarding me a seat to play The Filipino Poker Tour Php 5 Million Guaranteed at the Metro Card Club just last weekend. The KC Show was awarding a seat to someone who could submit a picture showing how happy you would be if you won Php5 Million Pesos. Apparently, my picture won! But, of course, just to ease the mind of KC Montero - I also gave him some details on my poker talent, where I've won and even threw in some references. Then, if that wasn't enough, I promised KC that he would get a 40% share of whatever I win. Eventually, he agreed to even just 30%. KC said he needed new shoes. I said I hope we win more than just for shoes. Anyway, this is the winning picture. I played on Day 1a, and kept at pace with the average stack for the first two rounds. I played carefully, and avoiding trouble early on. I even folded a small flush just because I felt it was still too early to call a 10,000 raise with a sta...

507 players competed for a piece of a $1.1 Million prize pool in Event #44 of the 2010 World Series of Poker , a $2,500 buy-in Mixed Hold'em event. Mixed Hold'em means that the variants of Limit Hold'em and No Limit Hold'em would be played at different levels. The big winner was 41 year old poker pro Gavin Smith , who took down the first place prize of $268,238 and his first ever WSOP gold bracelet. Gavin Smith is one of poker's most lively personalities, and is always fun and entertaining to be with. Should you mention his name among poker players, they'll probably smile or laugh, and remember some of the funny antics of Gavin Smith . But while it may seem Gavin Smith is about jokes, he is a very qualified poker pro, earning over $3 Million since he's turned pro 6 years ago. Of course, what has eluded Gavin Smith since then was a big win - like maybe a WSOP gold bracelet. Well, the wait is over because Gavin Smith has one now. According to officia...

24 year old poker pro Ian Gordon outlasted 241 players at the $10,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. World Championship at the 2010 World Series of Poker. This marked the first career WSOP gold bracelet victory of Ian Gordon , which was also topped with $611,666 in prize money. The runner up was Richard Ashby from Watford, England, who won the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud championship a few weeks ago. Richard Ashby came within a few hands of hitting a gold bracelet parlay, but instead had to settle for runner-up status and a consolation prize of $378,027. The third-place finisher was Eugene Katchalov from New York, New York, who marked his 18th cash at the WSOP since 2005, and got paid $248,831. The fourth-place finisher was Marco Johnson from Walnut Creek, California, who marked his 12th time to cash at the WSOP for $181,503. The fifth-place finisher was Matt Glantz from Philadelphia, Pennsylvana, who now has 13 WSOP cashes, including a fourth-place finish in the 2008 H.O.R.S.E. ...

2,521 players signed for Event 42 of the 2010 World Series of Poker, which was a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournament. The total prize pool went up to $3.4 Million with 270 players taking a piece of that pie. The biggest prize of $604,222 and the WSOP gold bracelet went to Dean Hamrick , a 25 year old poker pro from East Lansing, Michigan, who was popularly known as the tenth-placer in a previous WSOP Main Event, failing to make the bright lights and fame of the WSOP main event final table. According to official records, Dean Hamrick now has one win, two final table appearances, and eight cashes at the WSOP. He also has three WSOP Circuit cashes. His career WSOP earnings now total $1,366,534. Dean Hamrick is close friends with defending WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada , who cheered for him by the rail. The runner up was Tom O'Neal ,  a 61 year old math teacher for special needs children who hails from League City, Texas. Tom O'Neal received a nice payout of...

Event 41 of the 2010 World Series of Poker was a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split tournament, which saw 847 players making the buy-in to compete for a piece of the $1.1 Million prize pot. The big winner was Steve Jelinek from Birmingham, England, who marked his first career WSOP gold bracelet victory, following three previous WSOP cashes, also winning the top prize money of $245,875 The runner up was John Gottlieb from Houston, Texas, who collected $151,884 for his second place finish. The third-place finisher was Anders Taylor from Las Vegas, Nevada, who cashed for the fourth time this year and the seventh time in the last two years, winning $97,913 for this event. The fourth-place finisher was Michael Chappus from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, who won $71,728. The fifth-place finisher was Ben Lamb from Las Vegas, Nevada, who cashed for the seventh time at the WSOP to win $53,319. The sixth-place finisher was Mandy Thomas from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada...

365 poker players joined Event 40 of the 2010 World Series of Poker , a $2,500 buy-in Razz event. Razz is similar to playing seven card stud, but this time the objective is to get the worst possible hand. In this particular WSOP event, the prize pool went to a total of $839,500 with the top 40 to take a part of that prize pool. The biggest piece of the prize pot eventually went to Frank Kassela , who wins his second WSOP gold bracelet in this year's WSOP. 42 year old Frank Kassela was almost knocked out of the tournament, ranking dead last after day one,105th out 105 players. Frank Kassela managed to get a lucky run to take him out of his rut, but it was still a long hard climb, but he managed to reach the money with an average-sized stack. He had a decent stack approaching the final table, but in the first seven hours of the gruelling final table, Frank Kassela was the lowest in chips when the play was four-handed. Eventually, something went wrong in the Las Vegas electri...

268 poker players signed up for Event 38 of the 2010 World Series of Poker , a $10,000 buy-in Pot Limit Hold'em tournament, to fight for a first place prize of over $600K and a much-coveted WSOP gold bracelet. Emerging victorious among all the players was 26 year old poker pro Valdermar "Luigi" Kwaysser of Budapest, Hungary. This was the fourth year that Luigi Kwaysser has played in the WSOP, but only the first time to win a huge victory, which includes a WSOP gold bracelet and over $600K in first place prize money. Luigi Kwaysser now has one win, one final table appearance, and seven in-the-money finishes at the WSOP. The runner up was Matt Marafioti from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who marked his third time to cash at the WSOP worth $381,507. He also finished in-the-money in last year's 40th Anniversary Special Championship. The third-place finisher was James Calderaro from Venice, Florida, who finished 13th in last year's WSOP, and this time won $28...