Poker Blog and Poker Gossip

Last Saturday Ultimate Bet brought things down the their final four in the Smack Down Heads Up Poker Tournament. The 11 time World Series of Poker Bracelet holder, Phil Hellmuth,  will compete in a heads up match against one of these final four, as was determined last Saturday: The Captainn, Redbull77, Butternuts and Fkthisup2. These final four are  going to be narrowed down to the final two  this weekend, and it is going to be a match to watch.

After the successful launch in the summer of 2007, the event is coming down the the final heads up matches, with Phil Hellmuth awaiting the winner.  The 9 months of feirce competition that began with 64 heads up holdEm poker players,  will come down to the final table competitor on April 12th, when the 64 heads up hold’em poker players are narrowed down to only 1 vs Phil Hellmuth. The winner of that table be one of the above four they will pocket 30 thousand dollars, and have  the right to brag they beat  the  brat.

For the second year running, Jennifer Harmon has put her name behind a huge charity poker event, benefiting the Nevada SPCA. On April 18^th, Harmon will join some of the biggest names in the world of poker at the Venetian in a fundraising tournament for this no kill animal shelter. Proceeds from the tournament, as well as auction events that are scheduled as part of the fund raiser, will go directly to the SPCA to help care for abused and abandoned animals.

Some of the names that have been confirmed for the event include Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, Evelyn Ng, Jennifer Leigh, and many more huge poker stars. Last year’s winner, Kirk Morrison, will also be returning to the felt to help raise money for this worthy cause. This year’s winner will receive $10,000 and a seat at the WSOP main event.

Last year, the event raised over $130,000 for the Nevada SPCA, and helped to fund two brand new wings at their Las Vegas branch. Jennifer Harmon cut the ribbon to open the new wings, and was joined by an array of poker celebrities at the ceremony. The directors of the SCPA were thrilled at the results of last year’s tournament and are looking forward to the outcome of the Second Annual Jennifer Harmon Charity Poker Tournament.

If you are going to be in the Vegas area on April 18^th, and would like a chance to play alongside these poker professionals, as well as donate to a good cause, visit the website of the Nevada SPCA. The recommended donation/buy-in is $300+$30 and tournament seats are limited.

Mansion Poker is doing a great job of narrowing the field for two of the biggest live events in Europe. The European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo which starts next week and the Swedish Live Poker Championship which begins at the end of the month. Back to back both events will bring in many players from around the world, including some big names. Will you be among them?

Mansion Poker has been qualifying talent for both events since the beginning of the year, and as the dates draw close the field is becoming much smaller. Currently to enter into the Swedish Live Poker Championship players need to have made it to the final elimination level. This event is held every Thursday night at 20:00 CET  and holds a buy in of 300+20 a mere drop in the bucket if you win the prize package to the event valued at more than 4000.

The already awarded prize packages for Monte Carlo are valued at 20, 000! What a way to enter these great April Live Events!  This may seem like old news to qualify for, but until you are across the felt from the biggest poker talent in the world, it’s not over.

EPT Monte Carlo Details:
Location: Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort
Date: 12-17, April 2008.

The Swedish Live Poker Championship Details: 

(this event is restricted to Swedish Players and Swedish Passport holders; Min. Age Required to play is 21.)

Location: Reval Park Casino, Tallinn, Estonia.
Date: 21-27 April, 2008.

See you at the table.

When you’re looking for a change of pace, a venue away from the online tables that is still rife with competition, high stakes and even higher pots, you don’t go just anywhere. If you’re in the West, you head for Las Vegas, and if you’re in the East, you go to Atlantic City, a seashore town riddled with bright lights, eager players and big-name casinos - casinos that, over the years, have developed quite lofty reputations; you and all other gamblers have come to expect great things from them. Fortunately, one almost always delivers; this time it’s the Borgata.

The Borgata will be holding a Deep Stack Poker Tournament May 4th through May 6th with a $500,000 guarantee. It will be the largest guaranteed tournament in not just the casino’s but the city’s history, and buying in will cost you only $2,150, including the entrance fee. There will be three qualifying events on April 27th, May 2nd and May 3rd. The first will be a $250 + $35 event in which one in every 10 players will win a voucher for the tournament. The second two will be $430 + $50 events in which one in every five will qualify to play.
The tournament and hands leading up to it are sure to be events that you don’t want to miss. For online reservations visit theborgata.com between April 14th and April 25th (if I were you, I’d make it as close to April 14th as possible), and then, prepare to be a part of history as the Borgata puts $500,000 on the table.

The Irish Poker Open wrapped up Monday night with British poker pro Neil Channing claiming the massive top prize of 801,400 Euros and receiving the prestigious Terry Rogers Trophy. Channing played his way through the field of 667 players to earn his seat at the final table and eventually take the win.The rest of the line-up at the final table at this huge, yearly event included Tim Blake, Edwin Tournier, Thomas Dunwoodie, Donal Norton, and Kai Danilo Paulsen. First to leave the table was Tournier, who was out by the third hand. Paulsen followed suit, shortly thereafter, with Blake walking away from the table with a fourth place finish. Dunwoodie hung in for a bit longer, however lost the lead on the river during an all-in with Channing.

The head-up game came down to Channing and Norton, with Norton more than 2 million down in the chip counts. Channing proved his poker playing skills to any doubters, sealing the deal by calling Norton’s all-in following the small blind on the final hand. Norton’s 5-5 couldn’t stand up to Channing’s K-9, after the Q-A-10 flop, K turn and A river.

Some of the biggest names in the tournament had somewhat poor showings, with Dario Minieri being eliminated on Friday, followed by Todd Brunson early Saturday. Poker legend Doyle Brunson hung in a bit longer on Saturday, going out in true Cowboy style after going all-in against Abel Meijberg, when the turn decided his fate. Even one of last year’s WSOP bracelet winners, Ciaran O’Leary, was dismissed fairly early in this massive event.

The iPoker Network has developed an incredible new asset to the online poker professional, and Titan Poker has it.  My Speedy Alert is a free software application designed to make poker players aware of daily tournament events, while playing the game or not. The small non intrusive icon will deliver daily tournament update for any player who enjoys a good tournament event and cash.

On the 25th of February Titan Poker will be hosting a tournament specific to those players who are using the new application. They will be awarding 3000 dollars in cash prizes.

To install the convenient program go to TitanPoker, under the Getting Started Tab at the top of the landing page is the option for My Speedy Alert.  The software program can be easily uninstalled at any time, and takes up almost no space on the hard drive. Download and compete in this unique poker event at iPoker’s biggest poker room, Titan Poker.