‘j.thaddeus’ Wins PokerStars SCOOP Main Event -Hi

Fourteen of online poker‘s best players returned on Monday for the conclusion of the Main Event-Hi in the PokerStars All-Stakes Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). The $10,300 event drew 502 players, and the first task on Day 2 was to determine the final-table lineup among the 14 survivors. Among the five players that made Day 2 but missed the final table were BriDge2PaiN in 10th place ($65,260), Day 1 chip leader Jonathan “xxjondxx” Delong in 11th ($65,260) and Jamie “pokerjamers” Armstrong in 13th ($55,220). The nine finalists showed these chip counts as the final table began:

j.thaddeus — 1,150,492
Derric “actionDJ” Haynie — 842,557
Niklas “ragen70″ Heinecker — 808,362
Jon “PearlJammer” Turner — 676,174
Chowdahhead4 — 617,123
Steven “$teveyMoney” Merrifield — 482,888
Jesse “MazeOrBowie” Martin — 243,940
teacuppoker — 104,776
Chris “Moorman1″ Moorman — 93,688

Exiting the final first was teacuppoker, during the 3,500/7,000/875 level. Steven “$teveyMoney” Merrifield raised to 18,230 in the hijack and teacuppoker went all in for 68,276 from the cutoff. Action folded back to Merrifield, who called with , and Merrifield needed help against teacuppoker’s . That help arrived as the board rolled out . Teacuppoker finished in ninth place for $83,332. Chris “Moorman1″ Moorman busted shortly thereafter. He raised to 19,000 under the gun and Merrifield called from middle position. The flop came ; Moorman fired a continuation bet of 32,750 and Merrifield called. The turn was the and Moorman bet 81,750. Merrifield, though, went all in, having his man easily covered. Moorman called all in for 122,876 with , which trailed Merrifield’s . The river blanked and Moorman pocketed $112,950 for eighth.

Derric “actionDJ” Haynie fell at 4,000/8,000/1,000 after losing much of his stack to Jon “PearlJammer” Turner. Haynie opened to 20,000 in middle position and Turner popped it to 58,750 on the button. Play folded back to Haynie who re-raised to 162,555, only to have PearlJammer go all in for 628,424. Haynie called and tabled to Turner’s . The flop came out and Turner jumped ahead with top set. Haynie called for a queen in the chat, but the turn gave Turner the winning full house. Haynie busted a few hands later when his didn’t improve against Niklas “ragen70″ Heinecker’s . Haynie earned $163,150 for his seventh-place showing.

An hour and a half later, Chowdahhead4 busted in sixth place at 7,000/14,000/1,750. Jon “PearlJammer” Turner opened wish a raise to 32,750 in the cutoff and Chowdahhead4 re-raised to 87,560 on the button. In the big blind, j.thaddeus bumped it to 224,000, and Turner got out of the way. Chowdahhead4 called and the flop fell . J.thaddeus led out 70,000 and went all in for 145,066, which j.thaddeus called, showing for top set. Chowdahhead4′s needed a miracle, but the turn and river came and . Chowdahhead4 won $213,350 for sixth place. Steven “$teveyMoney” Merrifield departed during the 8,000/16,000/2,000 level. Jesse “MazeOrBowie” Martin raised to 48,000 in the cutoff and Merrifield shoved for 293,717 with . Martin called with a dominating and won the pot as the board came . Merrifield collected $281,120 for fifth.

Jesse “MazeOrBowie” Martin hit the rail later in the level. J.thaddeus made it 40,000 to go in the cutoff and Martin went all in for 625,347 on the button. It folded back to j.thaddeus, who called with , way ahead of Martin’s . The board ran out as Martin took fourth place for $401,600.

Jon “PearlJammer” Turner exited the final table in third place, but not without drama. J.thaddeus was well in front with over 4.2 million, while Turner and Niklas “ragen70″ Heinecker were both under 500,000. Turner was all in with against j.thaddeus’ and the flop ran out an amazing . Turner doubled up, but then lost after being all in preflop with against Heinecker’s to be back on the short stack. Turner was finally eliminated when his couldn’t improve against Heinecker’s , and he exited with $527,100 for third place. Heads-up play began with these chip counts:

j.thaddeus — 3,879,797
Niklas “ragen70″ Heinecker — 1,140,203

The heads-up duel made it to the 12,500/25,000/3,125 level. J.thaddeus min-raised to 50,000 and Heinecker popped it to 15,000, which j.thaddeus called. The flop came and both players checked, leading to the turn card. Heinecker bet 175,000 and j.thaddeus called, bringing the on the river. Heinecker checked it to j.thaddeus, who fired 300,000. Heinecker went all in for 980,803 and j.thaddeus snap-called with for a flush. Heinecker was caught making a move with and was then assured the runner-up spot, earning $715,350. The triumph by j.thaddeus in the SCOOP Main Event-Hi was worth $963,338.

Final Results:

1. j.thaddeus — $963,338
2. Niklas “ragen70″ Heinecker — $715,350
3. Jon “PearlJammer” Turner — $527,100
4. Jesse “MazeOrBowie” Martin — $401,600
5. Steven “$teveyMoney” Merrifield — $281,120
6. Chowdahhead4 — $213,350
7. Derric “actionDJ” Haynie — $163,150
8. Chris “Moorman1″ Moorman — $112,950
9. teacuppoker — $83,332

Getting Up From The Table

One of the hardest questions to answer when playing a cash game is knowing when to get up. There have been times when I have sat at even for 5 hours, and then suddenly I have a massive rush of cards. Then there are other times when I am up just a little bit and things take a turn for the worst. I know several people who set goals for themselves, and as soon as they hit that goal they rack up and run for the door. I have seen other people who hit hand after hand building a big chip stack, then they go broke because they didn’t leave when they were ahead. Since nothing is predetermined in poker, it is impossible to know exactly when the best time to leave is. However, making the best decision consistently will be profitable in the long run.

One of the biggest mistakes that I see beginning players make is that they build up a big chip stack but they don’t know when to quit; they inevitably end up losing it all. The easiest way to know if you should continue playing once you’ve built up a big stack is assessing how you are playing, how your cards are running, and how your table is. However, if the game turns bad or there is not much profit to be made, it might be time to take your winnings. Also, be aware of the players you might have taken big stacks from. They may be apt to start playing back at you. If you start getting loose with your chips because you have a big stack, it is time to get up. When you are playing well, it is always a good idea to keep playing as long as you can. This will ensure that you will maximize your profits during winning sessions.

PaddyPower.com Irish Poker Open, Final Table: Johansson Upends Scott, Pantling

After three long days of tournament poker, the PaddyPower.com Irish Poker Open concluded in a rapid-fire final table that saw Andrew Pantling come into Day 4 with a massive chip lead but bust in third place as EPT Live presenter Kara Scott made a deep run at her first major tournament title. Alas for Scott, it was not to be as she fell in a heads-up duel to Christer Johansson, who emerged from the 700-player field clutching the trophy and the €600,000 top prize.

Andy Bradshaw came to the table ready for action after going AWOL before the beginning of the final table. When Bradshaw finally arrived, he called Atanas Gueorguiev’s all-in move on the first hand with . Gueorguiev showed , and when the board ran out Bradshaw was eliminated. His exceptionally short final-table appearance was worth €56,000 for eighth spot.

Bradshaw’s early exit set the pace for much of the final table, and Bradley Verburg followed right along when he busted in seventh place (€74,600) just moments later. Verburg moved all in with and found a call from chip leader Andrew Pantling. Pantling made top pair on the flop, but Verburg made bottom pair to pick up additional outs. The turn added a flush draw for Verburg, but despite all his outs, the river sent him packing.

Atanas Gueorguiev claimed another victim when he busted William Kassouf in sixth place (€100,900). Gueorguiev raised preflop with , and Kassouf moved all in over the top with pocket jacks. Gueorguiev quickly called, and the board ran out to give Gueorguiev the pot and send Kassouf to the rail. Next, Lee Brooke-Pearce found himself short-stacked and made a move with . Andrew Pantling called with , and Brooke-Pearce was drawing dead by the turn. He picked up €130,600 for his fifth-place showing.

As the day wore on, the chip lead passed back and forth between Gueorguiev, Andrew Pantling and Kara Scott. Scott went on a tear in the middle of the final table, and capped a hot streak by busting Gueorguiev in fourth place (€163,300). Scott raised preflop with , and Gueorguiev re-raised. Scott quickly four-bet, and Gueorguiev moved all in with pocket kings. Scott called, and needed help to bust Gueorguiev and maintain her chip lead. The flop was no good for Scott, and the on the turn kept Gueorguiev in the lead. However, the on the river gave Scott the bigger two pair as Gueorguiev headed to the rail with a fourth-place finish to his credit.

Andrew Pantling hovered at or near the chip lead for much of the tournament. His aggressive style bulldozed opponents and carried him all the way to the final table, but he ran out of steam just before the finish line, busting to eventual champion Christer Johansson in third place (€205,200). After several preflop raises, all of Pantling’s chips went in the middle preflop with . Johansson called with , and won his coin flip on the river when the final board read . Pantling headed off to collect over €200,000 as Johansson readied for a heads-up match with Kara Scott for the title.

Heads-up play lasted for nearly an hour before Johansson was able to finally put away Scott. Scott raised the final hand preflop with J-9, and Johansson called. Johansson checked the flop, and Scott led out. Johansson raised, Scott moved all in and Johansson called. When all the chips were in the middle Johansson was ahead, showing K-3 for top pair to Scott’s middle pair. The queen on the turn helped no one, and when the hit the river, Kara Scott’s extraordinary run was over in second place (€312,600). Christer Johansson collected €600,000 for his victory as the 2009 PaddyPower.com Irish Poker Open Champion.

Poker in the Park Starts Today

The Poker in the Park in London will kick off today and run through tomorrow. This is the third running of the Poker in the Park celebration, which will take place in Leicester Square. The Casino at the Empire in the square was the location for the final match of the World Series of Poker Europe two years running. A number of European poker pros are expected to put in repeat performances this year, such as Ian Frazier, Dave Devilfish Ulliot and Liv Boeree. Attendees will get a chance to play in a number of free poker tournaments.

Online to Live – Live Poker Strategy

In this article, I’m going to look at the major differences between playing online and live poker tournaments.

One major disparity is the lack of experience most live players have. By lack of experience, I mean the amount of mistakes I see players making live. I’m sure any online grinder would agree that the so-called ‘standard’ plays you would make in a live tourney differ massively from online.

One of the keys to success in live tourneys is to avoid ‘fancy play syndrome’ and just look to extract maximum value when you have the best hand. The biggest mistake I see online players making live is trying to push people off hands pre-flop, in the early stages of a tournament. Inexperienced players really love seeing flops and their opening raising range is generally much tighter than your average online player.

I wouldn’t recommend trying to three-bet light and expecting your average live player to just fold without seeing a flop when the blinds are still low. The best way to deal with this problem in my opinion is to just flat call in position with many of the hands that you would normally three-bet with pre-flop.

Live players seem to be much less aggressive post-flop than their online counterparts. This is another reason why I think it’s more profitable to just call their raises in position. Live players seem to play a much more straightforward game post-flop than online players. They may fire out on the flop but usually if they aren’t pretty strong they won’t get too crazy with firing out two or three barrel bluffs. This will allow us to show down our marginal one pair type hands without having to risk as many chips. And we will be able to confidently go for thinner value bets when we feel like we have the best hand.

Key point

Try to avoid ‘fancy play syndrome’ when playing live, and don’t expect to be able to use the same kind of pre-flop aggression. Live players love to see flops so call more in position with hands you would normally three-bet

Continuation betting issues

While online continuation bets usually tend to be 50-80% of the pot size, live continuation bets will often be 25-50% of the pot size. Sometimes players don’t consider or know how much is in the pot already and base their continuation bets on either what size the blinds are or how many chips they have left in their stack. With these much smaller continuation bets the live players will often price in draws that you would have to fold online to larger bets.

Live players also often play ‘fit or fold’ poker (meaning if they didn’t hit the flop they will just fold) so in turn when we are playing live we can often make our continuation bets smaller than we would live and get the same effect. If they have any piece of the flop they’re not likely to fold no matter what you bet, so continuation betting a smaller amount will do the same job for a much cheaper cost.

If we make these small continuation bets online, players often take this for weakness and call us down very light hoping to take the pot away from us on later streets. In a live tournament this is not normally a major factor. And if you do smash a flop in a live tourney you should continuation bet around 75% of the pot, because it won’t matter to them what the size of your bet is. If they hit the flop they will continue if they missed they will fold.

The next point I want to discuss is all-in fold equity. If you are playing a $ 10,000 buy-in tournament this money means a great deal to live players. In other words I feel that we can abuse them much more on the bubble than you can online players. When approaching a final table bubble of a live event you also have to think about how much time these players have invested to get this far. Often players have been playing for several days to make it to this spot in a tournament.

Don’t be afraid to put them to the test for all their chips. Even though live players will often call you down light, they will rarely call off their entire stack on the bubble to a shove without having a really big hand. If you are the big stack at the table you can basically have your way with them at will. In these bubble situations some players will fold hands that online players would never fold. There is plenty of bubble abuse that goes on in the online poker world, but it’s not the same when players don’t really care about making the money as much.

Most online players know you need to play for the win instead of folding to cash. Also, just cashing in a $ 109 freezeout on PokerStars pays around $ 125 and cashing in a $ 5,000 buy-in event pays $ 8,000 to $ 10,000. So you can obviously see what makes these players play the way they do.

Key point

Continuation bet sizes are unlikely to be as fixed as you will find online, and will often be based on the blinds or stack sizes. When you are continuation betting you can often bet 75% of the pot for value.

Patience, patience, patience

Patience is another key to making the transition from online to live play. To begin with, I would like to say that I don’t have a problem with people wearing headphones and listening to music while playing live. But it becomes a nuisance when people start slowing down the game and don’t pay attention to the action. I understand how boring it can get sitting there listening to old men tell bad beat stories, but remain focused.

When playing online you’re dealt around 60 hands per hour, and playing live you’re dealt somewhere in the region of 25 to 30. It’s also important to note that most online regulars play multiple tournaments at once. When I’m grinding four to six tournaments at a time online I rarely go two minutes without playing a hand. But, playing live you might not get a playable hand in a playable situation for half an hour or possibly even longer.

Believe me, after about 20 minutes of just waiting for a hand K-10 offsuit starts to look like pocket Aces. Don’t let boredom talk you into making a stupid mistake that you normally wouldn’t make. I suggest you use this extra time to pay attention to every little tell and every single little detail and you can about the players around you. You need to keep an eye out for all of the things you normally would pay attention to if you were in the first hour of a tournament, full of energy and excitement.

Spotting Tells

I’m sure most of you already know that when you’re playing online you really only have two ways to spot tells: the sizing of the villain’s bets and the timing in which they make their action. But don’t overgeneralise and apply one tell you found on a guy to every other player because you will soon find that players are all different. Most tells are player dependant, except one.

The one tell I have found online that is almost always true, is when people take a long time to act then make a huge bet or huge shove over a bet that you have made. When you see people make this play, it is rarely a bluff. When people bluff online most of the time they will act fairly quickly so as you won’t get suspicious of what they’re doing.

If you’re playing live you will still be able to pick up timing tells as well as bet sizing tells, the only difference is you may also be able to spot different mannerisms people use while playing live. These mannerisms may be indicative of the strength of their hand. As Doyle said in Super System, watch people when they look at their cards, you will have plenty of time to look at your cards when it’s on you. See how they react, and how long they look at their cards.

Doyle also said that when people have a big hand they often can’t help but look at it twice, and I have found this to be true. But there are lots of other things to look for. Watch people when they go to make their bets, watch them after they have made their bets. Are they shaking while putting out the bet? Are they sitting there stony-faced trying not to flinch? Do they take a drink of their beer when they have a big hand, or when they’re bluffing?

When people are being overly chatty, or are relaxing back in their chair, after making a bet this can often signal that they have a big hand. They feel confident and don’t have a care in the world. On the other hand, often when people are bluffing they will sit stony-faced and not move a muscle. These are just a few of the little live tells that you can pick up by observing your opponents in the downtime you have while folding your way to the cash.

‘plattsburgh’ Score Highlights ChipMeUp Staking Opportunites

A recent big score by PokerNews online poker blogger Matt “plattsburgh” Vengrin in the ongoing PokerStars All-Stakes Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) demonstrated again that poker players and fans of all bankroll levels can participate – via staking opportunities at ChipMeUp – in some of the biggest poker events around.

Vengrin’s deep run in SCOOP Event #8-Hi, $3,150 No-Limit Hold’em, resulted in an eventual 24th-place finish worth $15,000. After accounting for the buy-in, the six shares purchased by four different CMU members each enjoyed a 168% return on investment, in addition to the excitement of participating in one of the biggest tourneys on the entire SCOOP schedule.

Vengrin (who can be found at ChipMeUp under the handle “MattVengrin”) isn’t alone in participating in both past and upcoming events… and offering shares of themselves on ChipMeUp. Here’s just a sampling of some of the big-name players who have shares of themselves in upcoming events (ChipMeUp handles in parentheses):

Matt Vengrin (MattVengrin): 2009 SCOOP Event 19 Med – PL Omaha

Evan “NEONPILS99″ Parkes (EvanParkes): 2009 SCOOP Event 19 Hi – PL Omaha

James “Mig_com” Mackey (JamesMackey): 2009 SCOOP Event 18 Med – FL Omaha 8/b

Tony G (TonyG): 2009 SCOOP Event 19 Hi – PL Omaha

Rayan “rkruok” Nathan (rkruok): 2009 SCOOP Event 19 Hi – PL Omaha

These and thousands of other players are buying and selling shares of each other at ChipMeUp, continuing to maximize their chances of sharing in some of online poker’s biggest prizes. Visit ChipMeUp to join in the excitement today!

The Poker Channel Grabs Two Agreements

The biggest spot for TV poker in Europe has recently announced that they will be growing a bit bigger, now that they have secured two new distribution agreements in Portuguese cable deals. The Poker Channel has made these deals with MEO and ZON, two of the biggest and fastest growing cable operators in the country. On MEO The Poker Channel will be available 24 hours a day on channel number 77, and on ZON’s extended basic subscribers on channel number 77. The Poker Channel will show such programming as the Cash Game Master Class, Pokerheaven European Cash Game and similar shows.

The PokerNews Top 10: Largest Online Pots Ever Played

These pots are worth more than your car. They’re worth more than your house. And in many parts of the United States, they’re worth more than an entire block of houses. Even among the few dozen rarefied high-stakes online players who exchange six-figure sums on a daily basis, losing one of these monsterpottens can be a soul-crushing affair… and several of them have done it one more than one occasion (hello Ziigmund!). You’ll notice a lot of familiar faces in the lineups that produced these record-setting pots including Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Di “Urindanger” Dang, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, who laid claim to four out of the ten largest online pots ever played (though he also lost two of the top three). Some are classic aces vs. kings confrontations, others see straights flushed away and one was won by nothing more than a pair of deuces. Behold, online poker‘s ten largest pots, all played on Full Tilt Poker.

10. $585,009 – Jay “pr1nnyraid” Rosenkrantz vs. TonyBliar, $500/1,000 NLHE

June 25, 2008. Until that day, the record for the largest online pot was over two years old– belonging to a $465,451 hand played between Fast_Freddie and Johnny “bad_ip” Lodden on the Ladbrokes network back in June 2006. Jay “pr1nnyraid” Rosenkrantz and “TonyBliar” ended up shattering the record that night while playing on the newly created $500/1,000 “Rail Heaven” table on Full Tilt Poker, but the strange manner in which the hand played out, not to mention the fact that “TonyBliar” had never played such high-stakes before, led to forum discussions as to whether the hand was staged for publicity’s sake. Check out the action and decide for yourself.

Playing heads-up, TonyBliar opened for $3,000 from the button/small blind, Rosenkrantz reraised to $11,000 from the big blind and TonyBliar called. The flop came down . Rosenkrantz led out for $19,000 and TonyBliar called. The turn brought the and Krantz fired another $53,000, which TonyBliar flat-called. The river fell the and Rosenkrantz bet $61,000. TonyBliar put in a raise to $122,000, only to be met with a three-bet all in from Rosenkrantz for his remaining $209,504. TonyBliar called off his last $87,504 and showed for a full house. Rosenkrantz had him beat with the for a bigger boat and raked in the pot.

9. $593,935 – Tom “durrrr” Dwan vs. Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, $500/$1,000 PLO

March 4, 2009. Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies were playing heads-up on Dwan’s own deep-stacked $500/1,000 PLO table.

Dwan raised to 3,000 from the button, Ziigmund reraised to 9,000 from the big blind and Dwan called. Sahamies led out for 18,000 on the flop, Dwan raised to 51,600, and Sahamies called. The came on the turn, Sahamies leading again for 121,200. Dwan flat-called. Sahamies moved all in for $244,897 when the fell on the river , and Dwan snap-called for his remaining $115,167, showing for aces full of jacks. The nut straight Sahamies had flopped with was toast and Dwan dragged the massive pot.

8. $609,730 – Guy “patatino” Laliberte vs. Hac “trex313″ Dang and Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, $500/1,000 NLHE

September 12, 2008. Guy “patatino” Laliberte, “regista8,” Hac “trex313″ Dang, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, and Tom “durrrr” Dwan were playing five-handed $500/1,000 no-limit hold’em.

Laliberte limped in for $1,000 from UTG+1, Dang completed the small blind, and not content to just check his option from the big, Galfond put in a raise to $5,000. Both of his opponents called. The flop came down . Dang checked and Galfond made a continuation bet of $9,200, which kicked off a raising war. Laliberte made it $35,000 to go, and Dang came back over the top for $88,000. It was enough to chase Galfond away, but Laliberte responded with an all-in bet of $337,080. Dang called for the $292,767 he had behind and the cards went on their backs.

From behind computer screens the world around, jaws dropped as the hands were revealed. Laliberte showed for a naked flush draw while Dang turned up for a lower flush draw and an open-ended straight draw. As the percentages fall, Laliberte was actually a 62.6% favorite in the hand with his queen-high. The on the turn gave Laliberte bottom pair, but Dang could still survive with a non-diamond jack, nine, seven, or queen. However, the river blanked out with the , Laliberte winning $609,730 with a lowly pair of deuces. At the time, this shattered the record for the largest online pot ever played.

7. $617,968 – Tom “durrrr” Dwan vs. Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro, $500/1,000 NLHE

October 28, 2008. Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro were settled in, playing a little $500/1,000 no-limit hold’em. Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies had just joined the action, buying in for $100,000 but was not dealt into this hand.

Kelopuro kicked off the action with a raise to $3,000 from the small blind, and Dwan called. Dwan checked the flop, opening the door for Kelopuro to put out a $4,000 continuation bet. Dwan came in with a check-raise to $12,700 and Kelopuro called. The landed on the turn and Dwan took the lead, betting $24,700. Kelopuro came along again with a call. The on the river didn’t slow Dwan down at all, firing another $68,700. Kelopuro moved all in for his entire $270 832 stack and Dwan called.

Kelopuro turned up , his massive river bluff having failed in the worst way possible. Dwan showed and raked in the pot with top two pair.

6. $637,353 – Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro vs. Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, $500/1,000 PLO

December 21, 2008. Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies were playing five-handed $500/ 1,000 pot-limit Omaha.

Gus Hansen opened the action with a min-raise to $2,000 from under-the-gun. Ivey and Dwan folded, and Sahamies came in with a reraise to $7,000 from the small blind only to have Kelopuro, sitting in the big blind, four-bet it to $23,000. Hansen gave up his hand but Sahamies called. Sahamies checked the flop, Kelopuro bet $32,000 and Sahamies called. The on the turn put two flush draws out there and Sahamies responded with a pot-sized bet of $112,000. Kelopuro called. When the fell on the river Sahamies moved all in for $205,327 and Kelopuro called off the $150,677 he had behind.

Though Sahamies had turned the nut straight with , Kelopuro rivered the ace-high flush with , snatching away the $637,353 pot.

5. $643,986 – Tom “durrrr” Dwan vs. Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies and LokoIsBack, $500/1,000 PLO

December 31, 2008. As the clock ticked down toward 2009 over Western Europe, David “MR B 2 U SON” Benyamine, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Patirik Antonius, “LokoIsBack”, and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies were engaged in a New Year’s Eve session of $500/1,000 pot-limit Omaha.

Benyamine open-limped from UTG, Dwan raised to $4,500, Antonius folded, LokoIsBack flat-called from the small blind and Sahamies came in with a pot-sized raise to $19,000 from the big blind, setting LokoIsBack all in. Benyamine folded, Dwan called, and LokoIsBack called. Sahamies and Dwan went to war on the flop, Sahamies betting $58,000 Dwan potting to $232,000, Sahamies moving all in for $350 993, and Dwan making the call.

With all three players all in, the cards were turned up, Sahamies with for a wrap draw and a flush draw, Dwan with for top set and a higher flush draw, and LokoIsBack for a pair of sixes and a gutshot straight draw. It was all over on the turn, however, the falling to make Dwan quads. The inconsequential hit the river and Dwan took down $643,986.

4. $657,070 – Tom “durrrr” Dwan vs. Di “Urindanger” Dang, $500/1,000 NLHE

December 6, 2008. A five-handed $500/1,000 NLHE game came together around Guy “elmariachimacho” Laliberte, featuring Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Di “Urindanger” Dang, “LokoIsBack”, and Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond.

Dwan was the initial raiser, making it $3,000 to go from UTG, and Dang reraised to $10,500. LokoIsBack, Laliberte and Galfond all folded and Dwan called. Dwan took a $17,600 stab at the pot on the flop, Dang raised to $44,200, and Dwan called. Dwan fired again when the came on the turn, betting $71,200 and Dang flat-called. The river fell the and Dwan moved all in for $201,887, getting a call from Dang. Dwan’s bottom set with was good, Dang mucking his hand and Dwan dragging the $657,070 pot.

3. $678,069 – John Juanda vs. Tom “durrrr” Dwan, $500/1,000 NLHE

October 26, 2008. An epic five-handed session unfolded featuring Phil Ivey, Di “Urindanger” Dang, Guy “elmariachimacho” Laliberte, John Juanda and (of course) Tom “durrrr” Dwan, where the record for the largest online pot ever would be broken four times at this table over the course of the night.

Ivey folded UTG, Dang raised to $3,000, Laliberte called, and Juanda came in with a three-bet to $14,500 from the small blind only to have Dwan four-bet to $43,800 from the big. Dang and Laliberte both folded, but Juanda came back over the top for $137,400. Dwan moved all in for $382,304, and Juanda called, turning up to Dwan’s . Though the flop was a safe and the turn the , the spiked on the river, Juanda hitting a two-outer to soul-crush Dwan, win the $678,069 pot, and break the record for the largest online pot ever played.

Juanda, however would hold this record for all of forty-five seconds. Read on…

2. $687,024 – Phil Ivey vs. John Juanda, $500/1,000 NLHE

October 26, 2008. The same crazy session.

On the very next deal, Dang folded, Laliberte limped in, and Juanda raised to $4,500 on the button. Left with only $2,468 after the last pot against Juanda, Dwan moved all in from the small blind, putting the action on Phil Ivey in the big blind. Ivey decided to three-bet to $16,958, successfully chasing out Laliberte, but Juanda responded with a four-bet to $54,370. Ivey flat-called and they saw an flop. Ivey checked, Juanda bet $112,208, Ivey moved all in for $287,409, and Juanda called.

Juanda turned up for a king-high flush draw while Ivey showed for middle set. Ivey’s hand held up on the turn and the river, winning the $687,024 pot from Juanda and wresting away his record (not to mention his profit) in the process.

1. $723,938 – Di “Urindanger” Dang vs. Tom “durrrr” Dwan, $500/1,000 NLHE

October 26, 2008. It’s about eight hours after the wild session that bore the last two record-setting pots. “La Key U”, Di “Urindanger” Dang, Guy “elmariachimacho” Laliberte, Gus Hansen, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and John Juanda are playing six-handed.

La Key U folded UTG, Dang opened for $3,000, Laliberte flat-called, and Dwan raised to $16,300 from the cutoff. Juanda and Hansen folded, but Dang came back over the top for $45,000. That got Laliberte to fold his hand but Dang made the call. Dwan and Dang got out all their artillery on the flop, Dwan check-raising Dang’s $52,700 bet to $139,500, only to have Dang move all in for $367,671. Dwan called and turned up , but Dang had him crushed with . The turn was the , the river fell the , and Dang earned the largest pot in online poker history, a $723,938 monster which still holds the record today.

Nicole Gordon’s “Poker Top 10″ lists appear weekly here at PokerNews. Dreaming about joining the high-stakes online action? There’s no better place to start than opening an account today at Full Tilt Poker.

Latin America Poker Tour to hit Panama

The current crop of LAPT tours will wind up in Panama by summer, according to a recent report. This will be the next destination for the Latin America Poker Tour, the brainchild of the online poker room Poker Stars. The events have caused some stir at certain locals, such as when the Mexico event was shut down by authorities without explanation. The Panama event will be held from August 3rd through August 9th. There will be a guarantee for the main event, a prize pool of $500k.

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