Poker Condoms

In our interview with PokerStars Big Game executive producer Mark Mayer, he let us know that some of the Loose Cannons brought a very high level of play to the table.  Without a doubt, he was talking about this week’s amateur, Nadya Magnus, a resident of Illinois who moved to the U.S. fr (Read the full post about ‘The Big Game PokerStars.net- Loose Cannon Nadya Magnus- 7/2/10′…)

Day 38 of the World Series of Poker also happened to be the 4th of July – fireworks filling both the Vegas skyline and Rio interior with colorful explosions.

The Main Event is just round the corner – Day 1a starting tomorrow – but there were still another four big prizepool tournaments to excite the many fascinated World Series of Poker fans.

We saw two tournaments play to finals – which will be settled tomorrow – one more Championship bracelet handed out and the postponed Tournament of Champions event also played to a finish.

It was a day to whet the appetite for the poker riches that lie ahead.

(Read the full post about ‘Alaei and Seed Spark 4th July Fireworks: WSOP Day 38 Recap’…)

Annette Obrestad burst into the record books when she came from nowhere in 2007 to scoop the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe Main Event title and become the youngest bracelet winner in history.

Following her £1 million cash in London however, she has been unable to perform on poker’s most celebrated stage, the WSOP in Las Vegas, because she’s always been too young – until now.

Having finally breached the legal age requirement of 21, Obrestad is at the biggest show in town and is relishing every moment.

“I’ve really enjoyed the World Series,” said Obrestad. “I’ve been looking forward to it for a while and have thrown myself fully into it.

(Read the full post about ‘Obrestad Hungry for Second WSOP Bracelet’…)

There were few opportunities remaining for players to get in on any Omaha action at the 2010 World Series of Poker, and Event 46 presented the absolute last chance for PLO-8. Though the $5,000 buy-in was a bit much for some players, many found a way to play so as not to miss out on the action, the highs and lows, and the expected solid field.

The tournament brought 284 players into action and created a $1,334,800 prize pool for them. Day 1 thinned that field to only 130 players, and it wasn’t until late into the second day of play that the bubble burst so the last 27 players could finish the event in the money, which happened courtesy of Vladimir Shchemelev as the bubble player.

Day 3 began with only 21 players still in the field, with Sergey Altbregin in the chip lead with 486K. A (Read the full post about ‘WSOP Event 46: Chris Bell Defeats Dan Shak for First WSOP Bracelet’…)

Day 26 saw a Phil Ivey press conference and two more gold bracelets awarded as we begin to count down the days to the Main Event .

It was a breakthrough day for one Scott Montgomery, who tallied his first WSOP bracelet win, while Frank Kassela snagged his second bracelet of the summer in $2.5k Razz.

In a strange turn of events the Rio also suffered a blackout around 2:00 a.m.

(Read the full post about ‘Magnificent Montgomery – Day 26 WSOP Recap’…)

The simple mention of PLO perks the ears of poker players, and the opportunity to play a pot-limit Omaha tournament is enticing. Though a $2,500 buy-in price tag is a bit prohibitive for some, there are many who will jump at the chance to compete. Event 28 was just that, and it even added another variation with its “second chance” idea, which allowed players to start with only 1,500 chips but take three add-ons of 2,000 chips each throughout the first four levels of the tournament. Players were certainly up for the challenge.

There were 596 people in the tournament at the end of registration, which created a prize pool of $1,370,800, payable to the last 54 players standing but reserving $315,311 for first place. Day (Read the full post about ‘WSOP Event 28: Miguel Proulx Powered Through PLO to Win First Bracelet’…)

Many players enjoy the stud variation of poker, and add the hi/low aspect of it to find even more fans. After the 2010 WSOP offered up a high-stakes $10K buy-in version earlier in the Series, it finally offered a $1,500 buy-in for players with a variety of bankrolls. And the listing of the $1,500 seven-card stud hi-low-8 or better brought a solid crowd to the tables, some of them not too experienced in the game but wanting to give it a shot, but most with a firm grasp on the game concept and ready to play the best stud of their lives.

Registration showed 644 players in the tournament that began on Monday, June 14, and the prize pool then landed at $869,400. (Read the full post about ‘WSOP Event 27: David Warga Wins Stud-8 Title’…)