Ruff Poker Blog

British Columbia Championship Kicks off Thursday

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:05:22 +0000

Starting Thursday, November 20 and running through Sunday, November 23, the fourth annual British Columbia Poker Championship which will be televised from the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, British Columbia. Other than the World Poker Tour North American Poker Championship which is hosted in Niagara Falls, Ontario, this is the second largest poker tournament of the year. Featuring a 25 table poker room that spreads both limit and no limit Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha either or better, seven card stud as well as daily poker tournaments, the River Rock Casino Resort is the largest casino in Western Canada.

The British Columbia Poker Championship has attracted many well known poker professionals including Canadians Daniel Negreanu, Brad “Yukon” Booth and Gavin Smith. Boasting an action packed schedule that includes four preliminary events and the main event which is a $2,500 no limit hold’em tournament. Below is the main event schedule with all tournament days kicking off at noon PST:

Thursday, Nov. 20: Day 1

Friday, Nov. 21: Day 2
Saturday, Nov. 22: Day 3
Sunday, Nov. 24: Final table
Players will begin with 15,000 in chips and levels will be 60 minutes long.

Last year the British Columbia Poker Championships attracted 643 entrants with a buy in $2,500 and a total prize pool of $1,610,000 paying out to the top 65 places. First place was won by Daniel Idema who took home the main event prize pool of $402,500. The 2008 B.C. Poker Championships are expecting another impressive turn out of entrants and professional poker players to keep this Canadian tournament tops in the country.

Play poker in the Far East at Titan Poker

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:04:47 +0000

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) will kick off in January with the first stop being in Manilla. With a guaranteed prize pool of over one million dollars and one of the most exotic locales in the world, it’s a poker players dream. If your bankroll is quite big enough to foot the bill for such an excursion, no worries because Titan Poker will take care of you.

Offering APT satellites every Thursday and Saturday, the winner of each of these events will gain a free entry to the APT Main Event. Running from January 29th to February 1st of 2009, the package includes:

-$2,500 + $200 buy-in to the Main Event
-$780 for six nights accommodation at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Manila
-Up to $2,520 for flights and spending
The total value of the package is $6,000, quite the bargain considering that you can buy in direct for the big satellite for $250+$18 or try to win your way in for as little as $1+$.01.
For more information on this promotion and many others, make sure to visit our Titan Poker Bonus Code review page.

Bellagio to Host the World Poker Tour Again

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:01:52 +0000

The World Poker Tour has announced its return to Bellagio for its star studded event, the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic to run from Friday, November 28 through Friday, December 19. The three week event was created by Bellagio to honor Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson and will offer 10 no limit hold’em tournaments, seven super satellites and a senior no limit contest.

Entrance fees for all tournaments range from $1,500 to $5,000. The World Poker Tour main event scheduled to be held Saturday, December 13 through Friday, December 19 with an entrance fee of $15,000. As well as taking home the first place prize money, the Champion will get a $25,000 seat in the April 2009 World Poker Tour World Championship also held at Bellagio. Players can now register for the event at Bellagio’s poker room.

The 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic held last December, was won by first time World Poker Tour winner and professional poker player, Eugene Katchalov of Brooklyn, New York who took home an impressive $2,482,605. The 2007 tournament at Bellagio attracted a record 664 players for a hefty total prize pool of over $9.6 million.

“Doyle always has been a strong supporter and friend of Bellagio. We Cherish our partnership not only with him but all of the players. We expect another strong turnout for December’s event and look forward to Eugene’s (Katchalov) attempt to defend his title.” said Doug Dalton, director of poker operations for Bellagio.

Brunson who captured the first of his 10 World Champion bracelets in 1976 and his first WPT win at the Season III Legends of Poker tournament remains one of the most well known and respected names in poker. The Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic main event’s final table will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net as part of the WPT Season VII television lineup which is set to begin airing during the FSN Sunday night sports block in 2009.

PokerStars Sunday Million almost tops 8,000 players

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:39:16 +0000

One of the largest online poker tournaments to be hosted weekly, the PokerStars Sunday Million attracted 7,999 players to create a prize pool of $1.,599,800 this past Sunday. Coming in as the chip leader was Jim “Mr_BigQueso” Collopy with a stack of over 17 million in tournament chips. Following close behind was ultimate winner “kesher79”, with over 13 million in chips. Three of the final table players came in as short stacks and with 200K/400K blinds, they didn’t last very long.

After the smoke settled it was a heads up battle between rS.Wisdom and kesher79 with the latter holding a 3-2 chip lead. Only six hands into heads up play, kesher79 raised from the button to 1.8 million (the blinds were 300K/600K with a 60K ante) and was called. The flop helped came Jh Td 2h which rS.Wisdom checked. Kesher79 bet 2.4 million and was called quickly by rS.Wisdom. The turn likely made rS.Wisdom think he was holding the best hand when the Ac fell, making Aces and Tens for him. He then check-called when kesher79 bet 6 million and both players saw the river bring the 2s. rS.Wisdom again check called an all-in bet from kesher70 for 19 million only to see kesher70 turn up pocket two’s for quads.

Kesher70 took hom $195,975.50 as a reward for making it through the field of almost 8,000. rS.Wisdom received $132,143.48 for his second place finish. If you’d like to try your hand at the next PokerStars Sunday Million, read our review and sign up today to get a special deposit bonus.

Party Poker Premier League III

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:35:16 +0000

Peter Eastgate and online pro Tom “durrrr” Dwan are now both slated to appear in the upcoming Party Poker Premier League III event in London. The multi-stage arrangement of the Premier League tournament pits the players up in six different rounds. The top four players on the leader board make the final table with the remaining four seats decided by a series of heads up battles. The interesting format is made even more exciting by the massive 75K buy-in and a total prize pool of 1.25 million buoyed by an added 350K cash from Party Poker.

Tom “durrrr” Dwan has been involved in some of the largest cash hands in the history of online poker. He’s also currently the money leader for cash games so far this year according to Market Pulse.

Peter Eastgate recently won the 2008 World Series of Poker, taking home over nine million in cash and the title of youngest player to win the title since Phil Hellmuth the record over a decade ago with his first WSOP win.

For more information on the Party Poker Premier League III, try reading our review and then heading to their site via this link.

Full Tilt Poker dropping “Red Pro’s”

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:32:08 +0000

If you’ve ever logged into Full Tilt Poker, you’ve likely noticed that some player’s names appear in red in the lobby and at certain tables. This red color indicates that they are Full Tilt Poker “Red Pro” players and represent the site both online and in live events. They’re also entitled to other benefits that include 100% rakeback. They have dozens of players signed up as “Red Pro’s” and the list seems to grow on a weekly basis. Here lately though, there’s actually been a decrease in the number of players that carry this proud title.

In what may be the start of a trend, Full Tilt has terminated the agreements two of their “Red Pro’s” over the last few weeks. First to have their walking papers handed to them? David Benyamine, who left rather unceremoniously with no formal announcement from him or Full Tilt. He actually still plays on the site from time to time in the high stakes games but no longer has “red” status.

The more interesting departure was just announced this week with Clonie Gowen not only leaving the ranks but filing a suit in the State of Nevada claiming Full Tilt owes her $40 million in pay and damages. Filed against the US company that provides the gaming platform for Full Tilt, TiltWare, LLC – she asserts the following in her claim:

1.Breach of Contract
2. Breach of Fiduciary Duties
3. Breach of Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
4. Intentional Misrepresentation / Fraud
5. Unjust Enrichment

Essentially she’s stating that in her claim that a verbal agreement was made several years ago and despite NOT getting paid for the year 2007, she continued to promote and play at the poker site. The near year delay in filing her claim does raise eyebrows, as the timing of this suit (with UIGEA) is very suspect. Full Tilt did issue a short statement claiming that this baseless lawsuit will be handled in a court of law, not the court of public opinion. Regardless, it’s a hot topic on many major Internet Poker Forums. We will make sure to post any updates to this story as it develops.

Poker bucks the global “recession” trend

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:18:08 +0000

In a sea of bad news for nearly every retailer, manufacturer, and even Casinos around the globe, it seems that poker is the one area that appears recession proof. The two year old poker room at The Venetian got off to a slow start but has really gained traction this year, despite the recession.

Thanks to the popular “Deep Stack Extravaganza” tournaments that attract hundreds of locals and tourists alike each day, the poker room has posted a more than 100% increase in revenue compared to November of last year. Even though the casino is struggling and seeing profits slip through the door, the poker room near the blackjack tables continues to hum along.

While poker only generates a rake that’s nowhere near as profitable as a slot machine or video poker game, the gamblers that it attracts do tend to gambler their bankroll in other parts of the casino. They also have to eat and often do so at the nicer restaurants on a casino property. It may be a bit of irony that during this time of economic crisis that the poker room, which was once a dying breed, is the workhorse on the casino floor now.

Thanks to the strong leadership of Kathy Raymond, who ran the poker room at the super sized Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut; the poker room at The Venetian is one of the most popular and profitable on the strip in Vegas. In fact, her leadership has been so strong and the room so immensely popular, that they’re building more tables for the next Extravaganza event in February of 2009. She sums the success up with this statement, “Poker is not just an amenity here,” Raymond said. “It’s a part of the complete offering.”

Amit Makhija Takes Down the FTOPS $5K

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:16:16 +0000

The Full Tilt Online Poker Series X (FTOPS X) proved to be a star studded attraction during its big two day no limit hold’em tournament. Event number 22, which offered a $5,000 + $200 buy in attracted the best of the best players and a field of 500 that more closely resembled a World Poker Tour event than an online tournament. To mix things up a bit, the tournament was played six handed, giving players a fun change of pace from the typical format at large tournaments. The large field of players generated a prize pool of $2.5 million with $550,000 going to the ultimate winner.

The tournament host was November Nine member Craig Marquis. The newly minted Full Tilt pro blazed a new path by cashing in his own tournament, finishing in 24th place and earning $17,500 plus the $200 bonus in rakeback. Two more pros proved why they were members of the Full Tilt Poker elite, both David “The Dragon” Pham and Brandon Adams both cashed in the tournament. Not only did Adams cash but he bubbled the final table, ultimately busting in seventh place and taking home $57,500.

Other names to cash that are either known as popular live or online players included: Casy “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek (48th), Justin “Boosted J” Smith (47th), Keith “cheesemonster” Lehr (44th), Matt “NoBadBeatsPlz” Kay (43rd), Dani “Ansky451″ Stern (40th), Luke ”magikstik8″ Vrabel (34th), goyshark2 (33rd), Joe “Dyzalot” Morneau (31st), Kyle “kwob20″ Bowker (28th), Eugene “myrabbifoo” Katchalov (20th), Hans “miAmihAns” Winzeler (17th), Steve “thorladen” Weinstein (16th), David “Davidp18″ Peters (12th) and Kevin “GetPWN3D” Saul (11th).

The final table featured some of the most recognizable players including online pros Amit “amak316″ Mahija, Evan “NEONPILS99″ Parkes and live tournament pro Mark “Buster Love” Seif. In the end, only one player could be on top and Makhija proved to be that player, beating KaKeTKa heads up for the title and the impressive first prize of $550,000. Makhija proves he is on a roll as this was his third six figure score in a major tournament (both live and online), including nearly $200,000 for a final table at the World Series of Poker and over $560,000 for a runner-up finish at the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker.

The final results were:

1. Amit “amak316″ Makhija — $550,000

2. KaKeTKa — $362,500

3. PureCash25 — $262,500

4. Mark “Buster Love” Seif — $195,000

5. Evan “NEONPILS99″ Parkes — $137,500

6. dpowell — $90,000

Absolute Poker offers players a chance to attend the Super Bowl

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:06:08 +0000

In yet another great promotion from the online poker site Absolute Poker, players will have a chance to win one of 5 pairs of tickets to the biggest football game on the planet. The tickets will be awarded to the top 5 finishers at tournament to played at the site on January 18th at 8:00 PM EST.

You can qualify in a variety of ways:

Daily satellites begin on November 17th with buy ins as low as 77 CREDS or only $7.00+$.070

Each Sunday, in between football games of course, you can play in a satellite event for $50.00+$5.00

Or if you’re a true baller you can plunk down the $500.00=$30.00 entry fee into the Main Event.

We don’t who is going to play in the big game but the halftime show is already booked. Bruce Springsteen will rock football fans in sunny Florida for Super Bowl XLII in 2009. Are you going to be there? Start playing at Absolute Poker today and make your plans. They’re even tossing in $1,550 to put towards hotel and air!

Attendance drops for Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit

admin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:59:38 +0000

Perhaps signaling a slow down, or maybe just a well-deserved break as the seasons change, players have voted with their pockets in regards to the World Series of Poker Circuit event that’s taking place in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Only 132 players gained entry via satellite or paid their way into the $5,150.00 Main Event that started today. That’s ten less than last year, producing a small-by-today’s-standards prize pool of $640,200.00. Folks keeping the temperature on the poker world are probably holding their breath right now, hoping that the small turnout is only an anomaly and not a trend that will go into next year.

The top eighteen places will be paid out and the winner will get $181,379, entry to the 2009 WSOP Main Event, and the WSOPC ring that graces the middle finger (one can only assume) of each winner.

A few notable players in the field include 2007 WSOP Champ Jerry Yang, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, and Johnny Chan. Kathy Liebert appears to be the biggest name representing the opposite sex and Max Pescatori is representing the North East making the long trek to the mountains of Lake Tahoe.

Hosted at Harveys Lake Tahoe, this event will conclude in three days on Sunday the 16th.