Ivey back in the winners circle!!!

Well done to Phil Ivey, 2011 was a year of drama for his career hanging up his tournament playing boots and now his back stronger than ever. Ivey returned to action in November at the APPT Macau despite not cashing he put in a good performance. This month is looking bright for his 2012 season. First, he placed 12th in the Main Event of the Aussie Million and then a few days later went on to claim his highest purse in his career of $2,000,000 in the Super High Roller event, 2012 Aussie Millions $250,000 Super High Roller.

The event attracted 16 players with only 3 cashing out, the 3rd place claimed $800,000 - not bad considering. Among the entrants were Erik Siedel, Sam Trickett, Tom Dwan, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, John Juanda and Sorel Mizzi, including several other businessmen.

Among the stars taking part in the event were last year's champion Erik Seidel, last year's runner-up Sam Trickett, Tom Dwan, Jason Mercier, John Juanda and Sorel Mizzi. In addition, the event had a handful of businessmen on the felt, including Richard Yong, Paul Phua and Winfred Yu

Read more: http://www.pokernews.com/news/2012/01/xxx-wins-2012-aussie-millions-250-000-super-high-roller-11904.htm

--> these are all very big names in the poker world, proving the field to be tough. Play came down to an intense heads up battle between Ivey and Gus Hansen. Gus is considered a formidable heads up opponent.

Ivey vs Gus

Well done to Phil Ivey!!



Aussie Million's million dollar cash game

I wish my home cash game could be so high staked that we have to round amounts off to the nearest thousand!

After elimination from the 10K tournament a couple of the high stake players decided to have a cash game which resulted in some serious cash outs!

Jsaon Mercier

Jason Mercier was again a big winner cashing out $423,100 while Daniel Negreanu cashed out $250,000. Tom Dwan left with roughly what he sat down with, while Patrik Antonius cashed out $156,100 as Sam Trickett finished as top dog with $558,300.
 

The game got so big it needed to move into the Mahogany Room! Along with TV crews....

Here are a couple names that were seated at the table:

Patrik Antonius

Seat

Player Buy-In

1.Sam Trickett           $340,000

2.Kwan Yong             $280,000

3.Daniel Negreanu      $187,000

4.empty

5.Elton Tsang            $205,000

6.Patrik Antonius       $185,000

7.Daniel Cates          $170,000

8.Jason Mercier        $292,000

Update on Aussie Millions Main Event



Phil Ivey





Only 12 players remain in this million dollar event, including past winner Lee Nelson and the infamous Phil Ivey...



Table Seat Name Chip Count
31 1 Daniel Idema 1,840,000
31 2 Lee Nelson 1,651,000
31 3 Oliver Speidel 809,000
31 4 Karim Jomeen 2,063,000
31 5 Bjorn Li 2,471,000
31 6 Mile Krstanoski 755,000
       
32 1 Janis Lesinskis 1,501,000
32 2 Mohamad Kowssarie 2,230,000
32 3 Phil Ivey 699,000
32 4 Yann Dion 2,670,000
32 5 Patrick Heary 1,565,000
32 6 Kenneth Wong 1,498,000


Read more: http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2012-aussie-millions/aussie-millions-main-event/

Yann Dion currently has the chip lead with 2,670,000 chips, whilst in contrast Phil Ivey is short stack at the end of day 4 with 699,000. Fingers crossed that Ivey can grind his way back up the leader board. The main event attracted a total of 659 with a prize pool of $659,000. (First Prize is AU$1,600,000)

Top Chip Counts

1	Yann Dion		2,670,000
2	Bjorn Li		2,471,000
3	Mohamad Kowssarie		2,230,000
4	Karim Jomeen		2,063,000
5	Daniel Idema		1,840,000
6	Lee Nelson		1,651,000
7	Patrick Healy		1,565,000
8	Janis Lesinskis		1,501,000
9	Kenneth Wong		1,498,000
10	Oliver Speidel		809,000

Read more: http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2012-aussie-millions/aussie-millions-main-event/payouts.htm



Top Chip Counts

1 Yann Dion   2,670,000



Yann Dion



2 Bjorn Li   2,471,000

3 Mohamad Kowssarie   2,230,000

4 Karim Jomeen   2,063,000

5 Daniel Idema   1,840,000

6 Lee Nelson   1,651,000

7 Patrick Healy   1,565,000

8 Janis Lesinskis   1,501,000

9 Kenneth Wong   1,498,000

10 Oliver Speidel   809,000

Aussie Millions 2012

The start of the poker year opens with Aussie Millions at Crown Casino, Melbourne. I was really hoping to make the trip but that didn't materialise (hopefully next year). This is the biggest series in the southern hemisphere and attracts players from all around the world. I think the most talked about entrant was the return of Phil Ivey, said to be the Tiger Woods of poker. It is a relief to see his name in poker headlines for actually playing in a tournament and not for the past years drama regarding Fulltilt poker!

Currently the main event #8, day 1d is Live. It is the final of the starting day and consists of 7 levels. Already in the field are seasoned professionals: Phil Ivey, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem and Erik Siedel. Ivey got off to a great start and snatched an early chiplead, this is great news as having in back on top as that places pressure on the rest of the field.

Phil Ivey, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem, Erik Seidel, Nam Le and Daniel Alaei

Read more: http://www.pokernews.com/news/2012/01/2012-aussie-millions-day-13-breadsell-wins-chinese-poker-11868.htm

Ivey and Negreanu

There are plenty non-poker celebrities involved in this tournament. Yesterday I came across a tweet by Australian Cricketer Shane Warne: "My aces got cracked by Phil Ivey's 8 6 of hearts - both all in... Bang - horror I should have folded.."
I will try stay as up-to-date with the latest outcomes in Melbourne.
>> Good luck to Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu.

Busy week!!

Been at the poker table so much over the past week that I struggled to find time to post.
It felt like a months worth of poker though, because I experienced so much over the past week, both the highs and lows of the game (came out with decent profit).
Last Thursday was the first of the trilogy -  started the night off getting disgusting cards 8.2 off, 7.2 off, for the first hour or so i grinded it out winning the few hands I did get involved in, patiently awaiting my "Premium Card Run". It came soon enough, because I was so quiet in the beginning it allowed me to keep a tighter style and letting loose occasionally to snatch up the pot with a bluff.
The next Monday, I arranged a session earlier than normal in the week because I'm going on a little vacation with my girlfriend. This was the most frustrating of nights, card dead and unlike the previous session the cards never lightened up for the most part. However there were two 'highlight hands': Middle position AsKs. I preflop and get re-popped by two players; Smelt trouble and folded! The players had a showdown with AA and QQ. I was glad I got out of the way. Another highlight hand was with a board A 4 8 4 J. Showdown on the river saw QUAD 4s vs Bullets [AA]. I thought the Quad 4s played the hand brilliantly and got maximum out of it. I also hit quad Aces on the flop earlier in the night but didn't make much on the hand because nobody hit the board hard enough to pay my quads off. For the rest of the night I busted out on flush draws, got rivered a few times, still cashed but not enough to cover my buy ins. Very disappointed and determined to recover from the dismal performance.
Yesterday afternoon, the boys called an afternoon gathering, we sat on the balcony soaking in the outdoors while we played some serious poker. I started off like house on fire. Literally! Got about 5 full houses in the first hour, and unlike the previous session i was hitting my flush draws. Having established a substantial chip lead early on allowed me to call medium size bets to see a turn card and hit a runner on the river. The poker gods were watching over me - there were times i made a loose call and miracle hit a 2 outer on the river. I crashed out 3 of the 7 players, until we were 4 handed (one more KO till we called it a day). Then a wild unnecessary bluff got me trapped against the 2nd high stack this damaged not only damaged my chips, but my pride and momentum as well. I allowed it to affect me so much that I just tightened my game up so much which rationed my hands and the amount of pots I found myself involved in.

>> The moral of this entire story is that sometimes a slow and steady start is better than an initial quick burst. In day 3 even though i had the majority of the chips it was unnecessary for me to bluff hands, especially with the cards I was getting, I SAW TOO MANY FLOPS. When you experience day 2, don't let it damage your confidence and morale there is no need to reassess your entire style, even the best of pros are card dead and are challenge to win pots.
It is very important to remember that the actual aim of this game is GET MAXIMUM OUT OF WINS, AND KEEP LOSES TO MINIMUM! That's the only way to come out on top!

Showing too much respect!

The image that you forecast to your opponents at the table is an important factor when they are up against you in a hand. Last week's poker night is a fine example:

I had a solid evening of poker, play lasted just over 5hours and I never found all my chips in the middle once, even though before the first hand was dealt I declared to my poker mates "I will guarantee and show 3 stone cold bluffs for the night". So they knew I would, they just didn't know when, this worked well in my favour because I was getting loose callers when I had the Nuts, and players folding to bluffs.

I felt I played loose aggressive, and the only thing I would change is the unnecessary flops I pay to see. There were many stages in the night where the best cards I received was like 3h 9h, and I would call small raises just to see the flop - even though I folded when I missed, the calls chipped away from my towers of chips. My mental goal was to stay patient, focused and 'incontrol', and by this I wanted to keep it strictly business and not make too many haphazard big calls. As a result the only story I managed to extract from the evening was against a pretty tight and calculated player, that however makes a few 'over calculated' decisions.
Play was down to 4-handed, I'm in Big Blind and receive A5 (off suit). The player UTG raises R5. Action folds round to me, I re-raise what is essentially 7x BB. He calls after a minute or two of thinking.
*I immediately put him on a mediocre hand (small/ medium pair, medium/ high suited cards). Flop comes [5 6 5]. I make it R21, he RAISES 2x my bet. I feel I'm ahead so I RE-RAISE by R60... Then, out of nowhere he SNAPS ALL IN about R200!!!! And without giving it much thought I FOLD. Possibly because I put him on the small pair and his tight play throughout the night made me cautious. Or because I regard him as one of the more experienced and calculated players at the table.

Even though many players sitting around the table were unsure as to why I LAID IT DOWN, I feel that as chipleader its not really wise to get too involved in hands with 2nd highest stack at the table.

STRATEGIC and FOCUSED are the two words I will be taking with me to the next poker table I find myself at.

WSOP MAIN EVENT

It has been weeks since I found the time to post a blog, I was writing my final university exams. They went pretty well, the last paper I wrote today Statistics even had a couple questions relating to poker - I had a good few giggles in the exam room. Anyway thats enough about me, while I was slaving away at the books, I had one eye on the Live Broadcasts of the November 9, WSOP!
Whenever I wasnt infront of the pc watching it live I was getting tweets from the pros, or mobile chip updates on www.wsop.com . It was a pleasure watching Martin Staszko and Puis Heinz battle it out for the $8.7million.

I never knew much about Heinz before the final table, but watching the highlights reel, "I run good" -Heinz, was the perfect way to describe his play. The 22 year old German was pretty aggressive when ever he sensed any weakness in his opponent.



WSOP MAIN EVENT CHAMPION

 The tournament started with over six thousand players, only 9 of which returned a month or so later on November 9, these included my personal favourite Ben Lamb, Matt Gianetti, Phil Collins, Eoghan O'Dea, Bob Bounahra, Anton Makiievsky and Sam Holden. A young, yet pretty experienced table of potential champions.
The heads up duel between Staszko and Heinz started off a tad uneven with Staszko having 117,3 million chips to Heinz 88.6 million chips - action went back and forth for 119 hands. Which makes the victory an even sweeter one with Heinz playing pure heads up, and being the more aggressive of the two, which ultimately won him the Bracelet.This hand is what crippled Stasko's stack:
Staszko limped in from the button and Heinz raised to 7.9 million in the big blind. Staszko called it pretty quickly, the flop came 10c 7c Ks and Heinz continued out with 8.2 million. The Czech was having none of it, though, and he raised to 17.5 million total, sending the decision back to Heinz. He spent a few moments thinking, then leaned back in his chair and sipped his water as he pondered. He shuffled chips for a bit, then leaned back over the rail to shoot a glance across the felt. A few seconds later, he announced his all-in reraise for about 70 million total!
Now it was Staszko with the decision, and he doesn't normally tank for the camera. Indeed, the call came just a minute later and the cards were on their backs with Heinz at risk.
Heinz: Ah Qh
Staszko: Qc 9c
"He's ahead!" Heinz's fans began to get giddy as they leaned in and gazed up at the monitors. The ace-queen was indeed the best hand, but Staszko was drawing live to the clubs and the nines left in the deck.
The turn was the 3h. Camp Heinz burst into another celebration as their guy was just one card away from a monster double. He just needed to fade Staszko's draws. The river was black, but it was the 6s, and Heinz and his rail enjoyed a big celebration together. After that hand, heinz was back in commanding lead with 161.5 million to Staszko's 44.4 million.

The tournament end with Ac Ks vs 10c 7c. A very well played and well deserved tournament!

WELL DONE PUIS HEINZ!!!!