https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/2013/07/ Betfair Poker's talented team of poker enthusiasts bring you the very latest poker news from around the globe. Covering both online poker and the live poker scene, the Betfair Poker blog is your one-stop site for the very best in poker related news, views and gossip. Along with select poker news stories, visitors will also find detailed reports and results of major online and live poker tournaments, interviews with some of poker's key figures and players and bespoke poker articles and editorials. Join Betfair Poker Now en Copyright 2026 Tue, 30 Jul 2013 15:00:00 +0100 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Professional athletes and sports people often play poker during downtime from training and travelling to and from events. Their naturally competitive nature suits poker perfectly because they want to win at all costs. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/8-poker-playing-sportsmen-and-sportswomen-300713-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/8-poker-playing-sportsmen-and-sportswomen-300713-162.html News Tue, 30 Jul 2013 15:00:00 +0100 As has happened every summer since 2008, the World Series of Poker Main Event reached its not-quite-climactic climax again with the mid-July pausing of poker's biggest tournament with just nine players remaining. With the final table not coming until November, the WSOP Main Event is surely the most marathon-like of all poker tournaments, with the nine players who've survived from the 6,352 starters already having made hundreds upon hundreds of decisions that have affected their getting this far. Each has survived seven full days' worth of poker, with the tournament having moved into the 35th two-hour level when 2001 WSOP Main Event champion Carlos Mortensen was eliminated in 10th place by current chip leader J.C. Tran sometime after 2 a.m. on the final day.   It was only a few hours later I was packing up to return home after having spent another summer in Las Vegas reporting on the WSOP for PokerNews, and like most who had been there Mortensen's elimination was certainly foremost in my thoughts as I did. But along with his knockout I found myself thinking a lot about a hand he had played the day before, as well as a particular decision I'd seen both he and other players face during this year's Main Event -- namely, whether or not to fold pocket kings. Two of those instances I'd watched first-hand as a reporter, both of which involved players having been dealt K-K and facing preflop action that severely put them to the test. Folding pocket kings before the flop in a tournament is something many players confess they have either never done or perhaps only very rarely, with the occasion(s) usually memorable enough for them to narrate readily all of the details whenever the topic arises. I remember a couple of years ago having played in one of those "Deep Stack" tournaments at the Rio during the WSOP in which I was dealt pocket kings during an early level, got involved in a raising war with an opponent, and found myself being eliminated after having committed the last of my stack only to see him turn over A-A. In hindsight I found ways to doubt myself and think of how I might have avoided my fate in the hand. But in truth there was little chance of me finding a fold. I was reminded of that hand late on Day 2c of the Main Event when I happened to be present to watch from the beginning a hand play out that involved Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Chris Tryba, and Jackie Glazier.   It was Level 10 -- the last of the night -- and the blinds were 600/1,200 with a 200 ante. Timoshenko began the action with a raise to 2,700 from the hijack seat, then Tryba three-bet to 5,700 from a seat over. Glazier then put in another reraise from the button to 9,400, which raised the eyebrows of everyone at the table (and of yours truly). All three players had well over 100,000 to start the hand, meaning their stacks were especially deep (i.e., ranging between 80-120 big blinds). When the action returned to him, Timoshenko quickly let his hand go, but Tryba very deliberately reraised again to 22,700. Glazier sat for a while, then reraised again herself, making it 36,000 to go. That's when Tryba acted somewhat quickly for the first time in the hand, setting out a stack of chips to reraise once more to 70,000.   That would be a "seven-bet" for those scoring at home. It was an interesting situation to witness as an observer. Glazier took a lot of time -- about two minutes, I estimated in my hand report -- as she thought about what to do. It was long enough for players not involved in the hand to get up from the table and stretch their legs a little at the end of a long day of poker. One moved over to where I was standing and engaged me in conversation, leaning over at one point and quietly asking a question. "Whaddya think they got?" he said. Not wanting to pursue the subject, I just shook my head in response, but I did have an answer. Aces and kings, I thought. Had to be. It's one thing to have figured that out, but it's another to act accordingly. And after that long session in the tank Glazier finally pushed her hand away to the dealer, and Tryba promptly showed her his Ad-Ac. Glazier then said she'd let go of K-K, and no one doubted her. Tryba would ultimately be eliminated on Day 3 shy of the cash, while both Timoshenko and Glazier would make it much further, with Timoshenko taking 22nd (for $285,408) and Glazier 31st (for $229,281). Indeed, Glazier would make it farther than any other woman in the event, but that deep run might never had happened had she not found a fold in her hand versus Tryba. I would end up witnessing a second, somewhat similar situation that came up late on Day 4 of the tournament, a hand between Sterling Savill and Clyde Tjauw Foe. That hand I came upon after preflop betting had already commenced between the pair. The blinds were 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante (Level 20), Foe had around 740,000 to start the hand, and Savill something close to that. In other words, both were around 60 big blinds deep with a little less than 300 players left in the tournament. To make a long story short, I arrived to see Foe reraising, then saw Savill slowly reraise back and Foe snap-shove. That sent Savill into the tank, and finally he called, turning over Kh-Ks and then watching Foe show As-Ah. "I even thought about folding," said Savill as he stood and watched the community cards come to seal his elimination in 282nd ($37,019). "But I can't do it," he added. "Can't fold them." It was a tough spot for sure, and as I was saying above with Glazier's decision, to fold kings before the flop is most certainly easier said than done. Finally, I mentioned it was Mortensen's bustout in 10th that had inspired all of these thoughts about players folding kings. That's because "The Matador" had himself folded K-K in a hand on Day 6. I didn't see this hand as it happened over on the feature table and I was assigned elsewhere, but my colleague Mo Nuwwarah did and he reported it for PokerNews. In a way this hand belongs in a different category from the other two, as it involved Mortensen folding pocket kings after the flop and not before, in fact on the river. It had begun as a three-way hand with Mortensen picking up two callers after a preflop raise, then only he and Jorn Walthaus had reached the river with the board showing Jh-Jc-8s-7h-2h. That's when Walthus bet 975,000 into a pot of about 2 million after having led both of the previous post-flop streets. Mortensen thought a long time about his decision, since calling the bet would mean leaving himself with only about 1 million chips (about 16 big blinds or so at the time). In fact, Mortensen thought so long about it the clock had to be called on him. He let the tourney director count down his remaining decision time to the last few seconds, then tossed his hand away. There's a reason why the hand stood out in my mind. That's because Mortensen didn't actually show his hand to the table when he folded, but we all knew what he had thanks to the fact that Jay Newnum of BLUFF Magazine had been there to snap a quick picture at the moment Mortensen tossed his cards.   Up above appears only the top half of Newnum's photograph; here it is in full: Notice how Newnum managed not only to grab a glimpse of Mortensen's hand -- Ks-Kd -- but also included in his photo the mass of chips and the board below. I also like the expression on Mortensen's face as he folds, that look of tempered frustration absolutely suitable for someone who has found it needful to let go of pocket kings. We don't know what Walthaus had -- perhaps if the hand makes it to ESPN later we will. In any case, there were a little over 50 players left when Mortensen made his fold. As noted, he'd make it all of the way to the final hand of the summer before falling in 10th ($573,204). And perhaps it was Mortensen's being able to let go of the second-best hand in hold'em that enabled him to extend his run as far as he did. Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/folding-pocket-kings-at-the-2013-wsop-main-event-290713-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/folding-pocket-kings-at-the-2013-wsop-main-event-290713-77.html News WSOP Mon, 29 Jul 2013 22:00:00 +0100 English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton is credited with the metonymic adage "The pen is mightier than the sword," a saying that means communication is often a more effective tool than direct violence.  https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/nine-questions-or-phrases-that-tilt-poker-players-250713-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/nine-questions-or-phrases-that-tilt-poker-players-250713-162.html News Thu, 25 Jul 2013 16:02:00 +0100 One of the great things about poker is you do not have to have the best hand in order to win a pot, sometimes you only need a big pair of balls! https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/10-of-the-best-poker-bluffs-youll-ever-see-170713-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/10-of-the-best-poker-bluffs-youll-ever-see-170713-162.html News Wed, 17 Jul 2013 13:30:00 +0100 The 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event has reached its final table and what a final table it will be when it kicks off on November 4.  https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/jc-tran-leads-as-2013-wsop-main-event-final-table-is-set-160713-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/jc-tran-leads-as-2013-wsop-main-event-final-table-is-set-160713-162.html News WSOP Tue, 16 Jul 2013 11:36:00 +0100 One week ago, the poker media reported that 6,352 players had bought into the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event, but that impressive figure has been reduced to 27 at the end of the official sixth day's play. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/anton-morgenstern-leads-the-final-27-players-in-the-2013-wsop-main-event-150713-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/anton-morgenstern-leads-the-final-27-players-in-the-2013-wsop-main-event-150713-162.html News WSOP Mon, 15 Jul 2013 14:56:00 +0100 This week saw the last five preliminary event bracelets won at the 2013 World Series of Poker -- indeed, the last bracelets to be awarded in Las Vegas this summer -- and the start of this year's Main Event which has now played down from 6,352 players to just 666 (less than twenty shy of the cash). Among the final winners at this year's WSOP was another U.K. player, Eli Elezra beating Daniel Negreanu heads-up to win an event, and a second woman winning an open-bracelet event.   Here are the results and a few highlights from the last five 2013 WSOP prelims:  Event No. 57:  Perrins Earns Another Bracelet for Brits The $5K no-limit hold'em event saw Manchester's Matt Perrins earn a third bracelet of the summer for the U.K. after he topped a field of 784 to take the title and $792,275 first prize.   For Perrins it marked his second career bracelet after winning a $1,500 2-7 NL Draw event in 2011. Philipp Gruissem (11th) and Olivier Busquet (12th) were among those just missing the final table. 2013 WSOP Event No. 57: $5,000 NLHE results 1st: Matt Perrins (United Kingdom) -- $792,275 2nd: Arthur Pro (United States) -- $489,451 3rd: Seth Berger (United States) -- $315,529 4th: Antonio Buonanno (Italy) -- $231,147 5th: Matt Berkey (United States) -- $171,822 6th: Thomas Muehloecker (Austria) -- $129,447 7th: Randal Flowers (United States) -- $98,715 8th: Joe Serock (United States) -- $76,164 9th: Kent Roed (Norway) -- $59,398 Event No. 58:  A Boon for Yoon  Californian Brian Yoon won the "Little One for One Drop" no-limit hold'em tourney featuring a $1,111 buy-in and unlimited re-entries for the first four levels of play. There were 4,756 entries total in the event, and Yoon motored through the final table in just three hours to earn the victory, probably the quickest final table of the summer.   A couple of U.K. players came close to the final table in this one, with Gordon Huntly finishing 10th and Scott O'Reilly (16th). 2013 WSOP Event No. 58: $1,111 Little One for One Drop NLHE w/re-entries results 1st: Brian Yoon (United States) -- $663,727 2nd: Cuong Van Nguyen (United States) -- $408,264 3rd: Roland Israelashvili (United States) -- $295,433 4th: Justin Zali (United States) -- $218,771 5th: Henry Tran (Canada) -- $163,340 6th: Joseph Morneau (United States) -- $122,933 7th: Kevin O'Donnell (United States) -- $93,269 8th: Alexander Case (United States) -- $71,311 9th: Adriano Santa Ana (Brazil) -- $54,960 Event No. 59:  Elezra Earns Second Bracelet The star-studded $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw event saw lots of familiar faces participate and many make the final table, with no less than five of the six final tablists former being bracelet winners. In the end Eli Elezra won his second career WSOP bracelet after coming back and beating Daniel Negreanu heads-up for the title. David "ODB" Baker finished fifth after taking third in the same event a year ago. Michael Mizrachi (9th), Mike Watson (10th), Konstantin Puchkov (14th), and Marco Johnson (16th) were among those also making deep runs in the event that drew 282 entrants. 2013 WSOP Event No. 59: $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw results 1st: Eli Elezra (United States) -- $173,236 2nd: Daniel Negreanu (Canada) -- $107,055 3rd: Brian Brubaker (United States) -- $70,743 4th: David Chiu (United States) -- $48,077 5th: David "ODB" Baker (United States) -- $33,399 6th: Scott Seiver (United States) -- $23,698 Event No. 60:  Harwood Wins the Hardware The last $1,500 no-limit hold'em event of the summer saw history made as Loni Harwood became the second woman to win an open event this summer, following Dana Casteneda's win in Event No. 54 ($1,000 NLHE). Harwood beat out a field of 2,541 to win the gold. The tourney marked Harwood's third final table of the summer, as she took sixth in Event No. 31 ($1,500 PLO8) and fourth in Event No. 53 (another $1,500 NLHE). With six cashes overall in the 2013 WSOP, Harwood presently sits in third place in the WSOP Player of the Year race behind Matthew Ashton (first) and Daniel Negreanu (second). 2013 WSOP Event No. 60: $1,500 NLHE results 1st: Loni Harwood (United States) -- $609,017 2nd: Yongshuo Zheng (Canada) -- $378,607 3rd: Mika Maasonen (Finland) -- $267,978 4th: Yngve Steen (Norway) -- $193,265 5th: Asi Moshe (Canada) -- $141,124 6th: Daniel Cascado (United Kingdom) -- $104,282 7th: Cy Williams (United States) -- $78,006 8th: Bijon Notash (United States) -- $59,036 9th: Hiren Patel (United States) -- $45,212 Event No. 61:  Alaei Captures Fourth The last WSOP prelim concluded early Monday morning (around 4 a.m.) when Daniel Alaei won his fourth career bracelet after topping Jared Bleznick in the $10K pot-limit Omaha event after just a single heads-up hand for a huge $852,692 first prize. A total of 386 played, and 32 returned for the third and long final day of play, a group featuring players from a dozen different countries.   Oleksii Kovalchuk of the Ukraine (10th), Johannes Strassman of Germany (11th), and the American Tony Cousineau (12th) were among those just missing the final table, with U.S. players ultimately grabbing the top seven spots. 2013 WSOP Event No. 61: $10,000 PLO results 1st: Daniel Alaei (United States) -- $852,692 2nd: Jared Bleznick (United States) -- $526,625 3rd: James Wiese (United States) -- $380,836 4th: Tom Marchese (United States) -- $278,298 5th: Numit Agrawal (United States) -- $205,512 6th: Gjergj Sinishtaj (United States) -- $153,372 7th: Sean Dempsey (United States) -- $115,637 8th: Rory Rees Brennan (Ireland) -- $88,061 9th: Alex Kravchenko (Russia) -- $67,742 Event No. 62:  6,352 Play the Main The 62nd and last event of the 2013 -- the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em Main Event -- drew a total field of 6,352, down from the 6,596 who played in 2012 and the lowest turnout for the ME since 2005. The top 648 finishers will be dividing up a prize pool of $59,708,800, with $8,359,531 due the winner in November. As of this morning, the tourney had wound its way through Day 3 with just 666 players still alive and with hopes of winning.   Maxx Coleman takes the chip lead into today's Day 4 as the only player with more than 1 million chips, with Doyle Brunson also returning to a top 40 stack and 2012 Main Event champion Greg Merson also still in the hunt with above average chips.  Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/2013-wsop-main-event-underway-elezra-harwood-alaei-among-last-prelim-winners-120713-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/2013-wsop-main-event-underway-elezra-harwood-alaei-among-last-prelim-winners-120713-77.html News WSOP Fri, 12 Jul 2013 17:25:00 +0100