Poker Insider

Isabelle 'No Mercy' Mercier just announced that she is leaving the PokerStars Team of pro poker players to take on new projects. Her press release announcing the change comes after 5 successful years where she played poker promoting the PokerStars brand at the most prestigious card tables around the world.

During the sponsorship, the famous professional Canadian poker player achieved some great poker victories. Recently at the charity tournament Ante Up for Africa (April 2009) organized in Monaco, she donated all of her 250,000 Euros winnings for the Darfur cause. Isabelle's most recent success (July 2009) was at the Sunday Million online tournament, where she placed 3rd out of 8000 starting players and won US $115,000. Over the past 5 years, Isabelle reached more than forty "money finishes" and won over US $1,000,000 in online and offline tournaments....

To read the entire article, click here.

American Carter Phillips has won EPT Barcelona and 850,000 Euros first prize money. The 20-year-old from North Carolina bested 477 other players, came into the final table as chip leader, and took the title after a tense three-hour heads-up match with UK veteran Marc Goodwin.

The total prize pool of the Main Event to be divided was 3,382,000 Euros.

Phillips said of the win: "It's unbelievable. I was hoping that I'd be in this position some day, but for it to happen so early in my career is amazing. Marc Goodwin is a great player. It was a tough battle."...

For the complete EPT Barcelona article, click here.

The parent company of UltimateBet (UB), Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG (Tokwiro), last Friday received a decision from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), UB's regulatory authority, regarding the 2008 UB cheating scandal. The report, which followed an intensive and exhaustive investigation, ruled that Tokwiro has met the conditions imposed on it and has shown adequate cause as to why its Client Provider Authorization should not be revoked. The report also included a full public disclosure of all 23 accounts and 117 usernames that were used by the cheater. The method for determining the list of names was approved by the KGC and their forensic auditors.

The KGC concluded that Tokwiro was not aware of the deficiencies in the control system until after the cheating activity had been initiated; Tokwiro fully cooperated with the KGC throughout the investigation to identify the individual(s) responsible for the cheating incidences; No individual identified as "unsuitable" is currently involved in any aspect of Tokwiro's ownership, management and operations; Tokwiro has ensured that all players victimized by the cheating activity were promptly and fully reimbursed; and Tokwiro has paid the USD$1.5 Million fine imposed by the KGC, plus the costs of the investigation...

To read the entire news article, click here.

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Tom McEvoy and I have been working for the past month or so on revisions for Championship No-Limit Hold'em, the first book we ever wrote together. So Dana Smith, our editor for the past dozen years, calls me for my comments on playing the popular low-limit, no-limit hold'em cash games the casinos and online sites are spreading these days. What strategies should you play to beat them, that kind of thing.

I drew a blank. "Let Tom handle that one," I told her, "because I've never played a small no-limit hold'em cash game in my life."

Frankly, my money wouldn't be worth five cents on the dollar in one of those games. It's just not my style. That's why I've never commented on low-limit anything...

To read more of poker legend TJ Cloutier's exclusive Poker Pages' blog, click here.

Things that begin with gee..

I played a round of golf yesterday for the first time in about a year and a half. I’m sure there must be a round I’m forgetting but maybe not. I hit balls a half a dozen times before this round but the last two I brought my son and his propensity to charge the ball right as I was about to hit it led me to develop both a slice and an appreciation of his mother’s advice to keep him strapped down in the stroller.

We played The Prince which while consistently ranked in the tops courses in the country it is also known as perhaps an overly difficult, even mean course...

To read more (Mis)Adventures of a Poker Player, click here.

I am so relaxed right now it is scary! Not a care or a worry in the world. And I'm feeling great going into the next couple weeks.

Did a fantasy draft last week when I got back from DR with Monkey and Joe Cutler. I anxiously await the trash talking more than the actual league itself. All kidding aside, I think I like my team a lot and if my top picks can avoid season ending injuries in week 1, I might have a shot.

I really laid low over the past week, disappeared for a few days...

To read more of WSOP bracelet winner Jason Young's exclusive Poker Pages blog, click here.

The 2007 GoldStrike World Poker Open WPT Championship event attracted 294 players for a total prize pool of $2,856,200. After four days of play, the six remaining players were evenly split between well-known poker pros and relative unknowns. Daniel Negreanu, JC Tran, and Thang 'Kido' Pham joined Young Cho, Gary Kainer, and Brian Sumner on the WPT set to vie for the $913,986 first prize.

The 2008 Main Event begins on Sunday the 20th at noon CST and runs for 5 days. This year, there will be two starting flights, so Sunday will be day 1A and Monday will be day 1B, with the survivors returning for day 2 on Tuesday, January 22nd. The final table and filming for the WPT Season 6 which will air on the Game Show Network (GSN) will take place on Thursday, January 24th.

Live Coverage of this Event can be found by clicking here.

by Justin West



Currently in the top ten most searched for players on Poker Pages, Beth Shak is not your average poker player. Beth has come to be defined by her class, style, and grace at the table, just as she has for being a ruthlessly good player.

Read More.

The 2007 Winter Borgata Poker Classic drew 571 players willing to pony up $10,000 for a shot at glory. Five days later, John Hennigan found himself $1.6 million richer. The final hand of the tournament shocked everyone as his opponent, Charles Kelley, turned his cards up after betting was completed on the turn, believing action was over. After seeing the river card, John moved in and Charles still made the call, suspecting a bluff, but John held the goods and the tournament was over. Charles still walked away with a tidy sum -- $849,082 -- for his second place finish.

This year, the Borgata Poker Classic’s Main Event is a $9,700 + $300 NLHE event and it begins on Sunday, January, 27th at 11am and runs for five days. The final table will be filmed by the WPT on Thursday, January 21st beginning at 5pm.

Find out all the action-packed details by clicking here for live coverage.

TJ Cloutier, Hall of Famer, 6 WSOP bracelet holder and one of the world's greatest tournament players will be there to spend the week with the 10 lucky finalists and their guests.

TJ Cloutier will be conducting a seminar, playing some poker and giving one on one advice to the players before the main final $500,000 Sit n Go event on June 4th, 2008. US Players Welcome! Ways to Qualify

Find Out More by Clicking Here.

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