Category: My news, views and fun facts

Australian Poker Open

It’s time to put your seat back into an upright position, stow your tray table, and stop watching whatever crap you’re watching – the Australian Poker Open (APO) is about to kick into gear.

It’s the first time that Poker Central has brought their unique brand of broadcasting to Australia, and The Star Gold Coast is going to be their home for the next few days. There’s nothing bitter about this lemon, but it will still pull your lips over your teeth with a ‘Wow!’

The melody kicked off with Event #1: AUD 10,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE). 59-entrants created a prizepool of $402,785, and Mike Watson sat alone amid the smouldering wreckage, after beating Michael Grady in heads-up action.

It’s Watson’s tenth live tournament title of his career, and the $120,836 he bagged for the win tipped his total live earnings over the $12m mark. Although there were no red, white and blue flashing lights, Watson will be relieved with the win, his first since winning the 928-entrant PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event in 2016 for $728,325.

And ‘SirWatts’ defeated a solid End Boss in Michael O’Grady, who won the opening event of the Aussie Millions, defeating 867-entrants to collect the $130,365 first prize in the AUD 1,200 NLHE Accumulator.

Let’s see how Watson took it down the Gold Coast town.

The Nutshell Action

Final Table Seat Draw

Seat 1: Andras Nemeth – 615,000
Seat 2: Mike Watson – 1,355,000
Seat 3: Orpen Kisacikoglu – 1,100,000
Seat 4: Jamie Lee – 675,000
Seat 5: Michael O’Grady – 1,815,000
Seat 6: Benjamin Shannon – 400,000

The first person to feel like the deck had stuck a knife in his back was Andras Nemeth. The Hungarian made his last stand with the teeny-tiny looking deuces, and O’Grady called and hammered him with those giant-looking pocket aces.

Jamie Lee fell short before moving all-in holding jack-nine-suited, and Watson took him apart with ace-queen to create four-handed action. Orpen Kisacikoglu arrived in Sydney fresh off a third in the AUD 50,000 NLHE Challenge at the Aussie Millions and put in another sharp showing finishing in fourth after an ill-timed bluff ran into Watson’s flush on the river.

The tournament slipped into the heads-up phase after Benjamin Shannon exited in third. Still, what a display from the man who arrived at the gate after winning two satellites (the first was AUD 250!). Shannon moved his little stack into the middle with ace-deuce, and O’Grady’s big stack gobbled him up with eight-four-suited.

Heads-Up

Watson had lost 13 of his 26 heads-up encounters, with a barrage of them happening in world-class events whereas O’Grady had won 16 of his 26 End Boss battles and was undefeated in his previous four match-ups.

According to the little we know gleaned from the Poker Central website, the final was entertaining. The chip lead moved from one stack to the other until Watson’s ace-queen finally battered the ace-eight of O’Grady into submission, and it was all over.

It’s the third time that Watson has won a live tournament on dirty Australian casino floors. In 2010, he won a 108-entrant AUD 1,150 NLHE event for $119,911, and in 2013 he won a 99-entrant AUD 2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha side event at the Aussie Millions for $76,010.

ITM Results

  1. Mike Watson – $120,836
  2. Michael O’Grady – $80,557
  3. Benjamin Shannon – $56,390
  4. Orpen Kisacikoglu – $40,279
  5. Jamie Lee – $32,223
  6. Andras Nemeth – $24,167
  7. Elio Fox – $20,139
  8. Ben Lamb – $16,111
  9. Lucas Greenwood – $12,084

Australian Poker Open Remaining Events

Event #2: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Event #3: 25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Event #4: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Event #5: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Event #6: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Event #7: $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em

We have sexism, racism, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, nationalism, fascism, and reentryism. It’s time to bring the isms down, and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is playing its part.

The folks behind the most iconic poker brand in the world have released another flurry of events. As it did the last time a piece of electronic paper appeared on my Gmail account amid adverts for Harry’s Razors and Barefoot Writers, an all-out attack on reentryism is the headline.

The WSOP has added 17 more eggs to the basket, and 12 of them belong to a genre named ‘The Freezeout Series” priced between $500 and $5,000. According to the press release, more than 40-events afford you a single shot. I have no idea why the moon looks bigger here in LA than it does in the UK, but I know the WSOP wouldn’t be making this decision if it were bad for business.

Mystery Bounty

One of those freezeout events is the $1,500 buy-in Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold ’em.

On Sunday, June 28 at 11 am, competitors in this event will begin with a 50,000 starting stack and a bounty. After elimination, they hand that bounty to the player who sent them crashing into the rail.

In a standard bounty competition, each player knows the amount of the bounty, and in this event, that amount is $100. However, like a baseball game – there is a catch.

One hundred people will hold a mystery bounty; only they are not aware of this. Once registration ends, players who have won a bounty (eliminated or still in the competition), can jump on the stage, waltz over to the ‘redemption area’, and spin a randomised wheel to see how much they’ve won.

And get this.

There are 80 bounties worth $2,500, ten worth $10,000, six worth $25,000, three worth $100,000, and one worth $250,000.

That’s $1m, folks.

The Super High Roller

If you do win the $250,000, and find yourself standing there like Eve holding a palm leaf wondering what to do with it, then the WSOP has an answer for you.

For the first time in WSOP history, there is an event pitched at the $250,000 price point. It takes place on June 27 at noon and will be a three-day event.

The WSOP has confirmed that there will not be a $1m buy-in Big One for One Drop this year, and so this represents the wealthiest buy-in of the festival, and it’s history (outside of the One Drop).

$25k News

The high roller action doesn’t end there.

A few press releases ago, the WSOP stuck the knife into the back of the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold ’em Championship.

Now, we know why.

In 2020, there will be a $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold ’em event capped at 64-players. Entry is on a first-come, first-served basis, and it will be one of the earliest games on the calendar, scheduled for a 6 pm start on May 31.

There is also a $25,000 No-Limit Hold ’em event slated for May 29, and a $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha on July 7.

Next up, the WSOP.com Online Gold Bracelet Schedule, and then that’s a wrap for the 51st Annual WSOP.

The New Events

May 27 – $1,000 NLHE Freezeout
May 29 – $25,000 NLHE
May 31 – $25,000 NLHE Heads-Up
Jun 4- $1,500 NLHE Freezeout
Jun 7 – $1,000 FortyStack NLHE
Jun 11 – $2,500 NLHE Freezeout
Jun 15 – $500 NLHE Freezeout
Jun 18 – $3,000 NLHE Freezeout
Jun 19 – $2,500 9-Game Mix
Jun 21 – $5,000 NLHE Freezeout
Jun 27 – $250,000 NLHE Freezeout
Jun 28 – $1,500 Mystery Bounty NLHE
Jul 6 – $5,000 Mixed NLHE/PLO
Jul 7 – $50,000 PLO
Jul 9 – $1,500 Fifty-Stack NLHE
Jul 12 – $800 NLHE DeepStack
Jul 13 – $1,000 Super-Turbo NLHE

After taking down the 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event, Vincent ‘Wonky’ Wan told reporters that he had a love-hate relationship with the Crown Casino. Given that he had previously won two six-figure Royal Flush jackpots, and now has AUD 1.3m bucks in his bank account, you get a sense of the amount of time and money Wan must spend in this part of Melbourne.

It’s only Wan’s second win of his career, and he’s earned them both in this festival. Back in 2008, Wan defeated Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald, heads-up, to bank the $125,087 first prize in a 537-entrant AUD 1,100 No-Limit Hold’em event, but that was a hand grenade; this is the Manhattan Project.

Erik Seidel started as the one bona fide star.

Ngoc Tai Hoang turned up 15-minutes late.

414-hands.

15-hours play.

Let’s find out what went down.

The Nutshell Action

Final Table Seat Draw

Seat 1: Nino Ullmann – 5,500,000
Seat 2: Gareth Pepper – 2,465,000
Seat 3: Vincent Wan – 4,150,000
Seat 4: Erik Seidel – 4,050,000
Seat 5: Ngoc Tai Hoang – 1,875,000
Seat 6: Nicolas Malo – 1,975,000
Seat 7: Oliver Weis – 4,475,000

It took a full level before the bombs that fell out of the deck started slamming people into the rail. The first to suffer that fate was Nicolas Malo, who called out of the big blind holding Td8c after Nino Ullman had opened in position with QsTh. The spiciest flop you could imagine hit the deck (Jc9h8s), and all of the money went in with Ullman holding the nuts, and Malo holding middle pin and an open-ender. The 3s and the Ks were the final stakes in Malo’s heart, and we were down to six. Ullman had the chip lead.

The next player eliminated was one of the favourites.

With blinds at 50k/100k/100k, Gareth Pepper opened with a raise to 220k from the hijack, and Oliver Weis moved all-in for 2.19m. Pepper, who held AdKc, made the call, and he beat the KsTs of Weis, rivering an ace for good measure.

Coming into the final table, Erik Seidel must have been brimming with confidence, but it wasn’t to be his day. With blinds at 80k/160k/160k, Vincent Wan opened to 325k from the cutoff and called when Seidel jammed for 2.875m. Seidel turned over AcTs, but Wan had him dominated with AsJc. Seidel did flop a second ten, but the flop also contained an additional jack. No more tens honked their horn, and Seidel left the competition in fifth place.

Upon his departure, PokerNews reporters asked Seidel a few questions about his final table combatants.

“Nino is the strongest player remaining.” Said Seidel.

And then he wasn’t.

With blinds at 100k/200k/200k, Ngoc Tai Hoang played his pocket queens sneakily, limping into the pot from the small blind, and Ullman checked Td7s in the big blind. A flop of Tc7d5h hypnotised Ullman. Hoang bet 300k, and Ullman made the call with his two-pair hand. The turn was the Jd, and with both players holding seriously under-repped hands, the money went in with Hoang, the aggressor. Hoang needed some luck, and he got it when a second five hit the river to give Hoang a stronger two-pair hand.

Three-Handed Deal

Shortly after Ullman left the building, the remaining three players cut a deal.

Ngoc Ta Hoang – 10,515,000
Vincent Wan – 9,880,000
Gareth Pepper – 4,215,000

Hoang had the chip lead, but he had to settle for less than an ICM cut with Wan and Pepper successfully negotiating better deals (all in AUD).

Ngoc Ta Hoang – ICM Deal $1,341,392 & Deal Agreed $1,318,000
Vincent Wan – ICM Deal $1,314,128 & Deal Agreed $1,318,000
Gareth Pepper – ICM Deal $973,003 & Deal Agreed $1,000,000

With the money locked up, the three played for the trophy, and Pepper was the first to exit when he moved all-in from the small blind holding 9d2c, and Wan called and eliminated him with Ad3s.

Heads-Up Action

Ngoc Tai Hoang – 12,445,000
Vincent Wan – 12,265,000

Hoang pulled away.

Wan recovered to take the chip lead.

The pair exchanged the chip lead until Hoang widened the gap to 21.2m v 3.7m.

Then came the Wan comeback.

First, he doubled when Ac7d beat Kc8s. Then he did it again coming from behind with Ad9c to beat AcQc after flopping a nine. Then after taking the lead, Wan left Hoang with chip dust, once again getting lucky, when AcTh beat AhQc, with a ten falling on the river. The final hand saw Tc9h beat As3h when Wan flopped a nine. Three suckouts and the title was his.

Final Table Results

  1. Vincent Wan – $907.196*
  2. Ngoc Tai Hoang – $907,196*
  3. Gareth Pepper – $688,312*
  4. Nino Ullmann – $330,501
  5. Erik Seidel – $260,637
  6. Oliver Weis – $211,877
  7. Nicolas Malo – $165,250
    *Indicates a three-handed deal

There are plenty of people drifting around the poker scene on a raft. I’m sure at one point in his career, Kahle Burns also held an oar in his hand. Not today. Today, Burns is floating around the high stakes poker scene in a luxury yacht, armed with torpedoes and railguns, and he’s blowing everyone away.

The 2020 AUD 1000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Challenge attracted 54-entrants, the second most attended AUD 1000 NLHE Challenge in history (Richard Yong defeated 70-entrants in 2015), and the final table was MTV.

In December, Kahle Burns led the Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year (PoY) race only to see Alex Foxen snatch the honour from his grasp with an incredible performance at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

Burns had his opportunity for revenge when the pair squared off, heads-up, for the AUD 100k Challenge title, although to be fair, Foxen did have to compete without any oars, as you’ll see in our nutshell action review.

The Nutshell Action

Only seven players would find a piece of the treasure map leading to an in the money finish (ITM), with the person finishing in eighth finding a route to the rail.

With blinds at 25k/50k/50k, Bryn Kenney moved all-in from the button for 1.7m, and Michael Zhang called for his last 605k from the small blind. The big blind melted away, and Kenney’s Ad7d beat the pocket jacks of Zhang when a second ace landed on the river. The AUD 1000 Challenge Bubble Boy had a name.

One level on and Timothy Adams would follow Zhang into the crowd. Alex Foxen min-raised to 160k from the first position, holding pocket queens, and Adams called from the big blind holding Qs3s. The one remaining queen in the deck appeared on the flop like a lone gull in a dump. Adams check-raised all-in, and Foxen made the call. A flush draw appeared on the turn for Adams, but never materialised on the river. Adams left the competition with an AUD 317,250 consolation prize.

Sam Grafton had to scrap and scrape throughout this final table, and his luck eventually ran out at the same level that saw Adam ousted from the competition. Grafton moved his last 610k into the middle holding Jc9c, and Kenney called and killed him in the big blind holding Kd8d, with king-high holding. It may have been an earlier exit than Grafton would have imagined, but the man from the UK continues to demonstrate his ability to compete with the best in the business.

Michael Soyza fell next.

The man from Malaysia moved all-in for 350k from the small blind holding Jc4h, and Burns called and bettered him with Kc7c in the big – once again king-high proving an effective finishing weapon.

Chip Counts

Kahle Burns – 6,420,000
Alex Foxen – 2,815,000
Bryn Kenney – 2,615,000
Aaron van Blarcum – 1,650,000

Burns was running away with it, and he placed one hand on the trophy after eliminating Kenney. With blinds at 50k/100k/100k, Foxen opened to 220k from the button with As4c, Kenney made it 975k from the small blind holding AdKc, and Burns moved all-in from the big blind holding pocket tens. Foxen felt a little homesick for his chair, Kenney called and lost his tournament defining flip.

Burns then took a massive chip advantage into heads-up when he eliminated Aaron van Blarcum in the third spot. Burns opened to 210k from the button, and then called a 950k Van Blarcum shove. The Australian’s Kh7c began behind the AdJc of the American, but a rivered straight fixed that minor complication.

Heads-Up

Kahle Burns – 10,645,000
Alex Foxen – 2,855,000

Do you know those people turned into chickens by stage hypnotists, well they never stand a chance.

And neither did Foxen.

In a short and shrift heads-up scrap, the pair found a cooler with Foxen’s Ac9s losing to Burns’ AsTs, and Burns, and not Foxen, became the newest AUD 100k NLHE Challenge winner.

Burns’ win capped a memorable week for the man who joined the Australian Poker Hall of Fame a few short days ago.

Final Table Results

  1. Kahle Burns – AUD 1,746,360 (USD 1,198,161)
  2. Alex Foxen – AUD 1,111,590 (USD 762,651)
  3. Aaron van Blarcum – AUD 740,880 (USD 508,311)
  4. Bryn Kenney – AUD 582,120 (USD 399,387)
  5. Michael Soyza – AUD 423,360 (USD 290,451)
  6. Sam Grafton – AUD 370,440 (USD 254,145)
  7. Timothy Adams – AUD 317,250 (USD 217,653)

If there’s a poker festival worth abandoning your pillow for it seems to be the Aussie Millions. We’ve had a record-breaking AUD 50,000 field. The Main Event fell three players short of setting a new bar, and the AUD 100,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Challenge also had a healthy 40 entrants. 

Tournament organisers are yet to draw a chalk outline on the registration period, so that number of 40 could still rise. Unless madness erupts, it’s never going to reach the dizzy heights of 2015 (Richard Yong beat 70-entrants), but it could eclipse the 42-entrant field, which Cary Katz found the right blend of stealth and skill to top last year.

Twenty-one players have boots in this thing, and sitting up top, is a man who likes being on top in Alex Foxen. The back-to-back Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year (PoY), and reigning GPI World #1, placed 853,500 chips into a plastic bag. Australia hasn’t seen the best of Foxen, yet – could this be his year?

The only other player to bag up more than 800,000 chips is also a man in form. Aaron van Blarcum ended the year with more heat than a bottle of tabasco sauce. Blarcum finished second in the partypoker MILLIONS World Main Event for $970,000, before winning a $25,000 at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic, and finishing second in the $50,000 for more than $700,000.

Sitting in third place is the man Foxen plays tag with at the top of the GPI World Rankings. Stephen Chidwick finished in fifth place in the AUD 25,000 NLHE Challenge, and did win the €50,000 NLHE Super High Roller in December’s European Poker Tour (EPT) in Prague – so he’s not coming to war, holding a blunt knife. 

The Top 10 is certainly not monochrome. 

Few play better than Dan Smith at the sharp end of these things. Smith begins in ninth place. The Australian Poker Hall of Fame (APHoF) recently inducted Kahle Burns, and the GPI Australian PoY starts in eighth, and the All-Time Money List leader, and reigning Aussie Millions Main Event winner, Bryn Kenney, starts in seventh place.

And keep an eye out for Cary Katz.

The defending champion, finished second to Michael Addamo, in the AUD 50,000 NLHE Challenge, and he starts Day 2, 14th in chips. Addamo also made it through to Day 2. The APHoF handed him the Young Achiever Award a few days shy. 

Here are the Top 10 chip counts.

Top 10 Chip Counts

  1. Alex Foxen – 853,500
  2. Aaron van Blarcum – 824,500
  3. Stephen Chidwick – 745,000
  4. Seth Davies – 646,500
  5. Sam Grafton – 635,500
  6. Junichi Nakanowatari – 632,000
  7. Bryn Kenney – 584,000
  8. Kahle Burns – 545,000
  9. Dan Smith – 519,000
  10. Timothy Adams – 505,000

As Osama bin Laden found out if all that talk about heaven was real, Erik Seidel left Melbourne with $3m heading to his bank account. The year was 2011, and Seidel had just won the AUD 250,000 No-Limit Hold ’em (NLHE) Challenge, and finishing third in the AUD 100,500 version at the Aussie Millions.

The Poker Hall of Famer would later tell me that he never intended on playing a heavy live tournament schedule that year. Still, after running so hot in Australia, he extended his leash, finishing the year with more than $6.5m in gross earnings – more than enough to buy a new mahogany table or whatever else floats the Seidel family boat. 

In 2019, $6.5m would have seen Seidel finish 14th in the Annual Money List. Back then, only the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner, Pius Heinz, won more. It was the first bombshell run. Fedor Holz, Dan Colman, Justin Bonomo and Bryn Kenney would go on to have similar sterling years, but Seidel seismic song was the first, and he’s back singing that same familiar tune. 

We finally have a 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event final table after the 14hr+ Day 4 became a distant memory, and Seidel is the star attraction. Although it’s safe to say, he has mixed emotions.

With 81 big blinds, Seidel starts the event as the favourite. Nino Ullman took down a 184-entrant $1,100 NLHE event at partypoker’s MILLIONS World Bahamas, recently, and Vincent Wan is a former gold ring winner, after taking down a 537-entrant AUD 1,100 NLHE event in 2008. Still, on experience, Seidel is the man. Only Oliver Weis has memories of handling the pressure at the funeral pyre end of these things. 

If Seidel does win, it will be his first title since taking down the €100,000 NLHE Super High Roller at the 2015 European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monte Carlo. But don’t feel too bad for him; cockroaches don’t tend to vacation at the Seidel family residence.

The event attracted 820-entrants, making it the second-highest attended in history. There were 822-entrants in 2019, and 800 in 2018, and one man nearly ended up playing the final table of all three. 

In 2018, Mike Del Vecchio finished in fifth before finishing second to Bryn Kenney the following year. Del Vecchio’s unprecedented third successive final ended in tenth. 

On the high roller side of things, Fabian Quoss came out of retirement for four days to finish 14th, a spot behind the former EPT & Triton champion, Manig Loeser. Pete Chen (34th), Steve O’Dwyer (38th), Ben Lamb (39th), and Sergio Aido (48th) also sneaked under the Top 50 bar, as did Triton Commentator, Randy Lew. The newly crowned father finished in 28th place.

Final Table Seat Draw

Seat 1: Nino Ullmann – 5,500,000
Seat 2: Gareth Pepper – 2,465,000
Seat 3: Vincent Wan – 4,150,000
Seat 4: Erik Seidel – 4,050,000
Seat 5: Ngoc Tai Hoang – 1,875,000
Seat 6: Nicolas Malo – 1,975,000
Seat 7: Oliver Weis – 4,475,000

Prizes (AUD)

  1. 1,850,000 (USD 1,266,550)
  2. 1,125,000 (USD 770,199)
  3. 661,000 (USD 452,535
  4. 480,160 (USD 328,728)
  5. 378,660 (USD 259,229)
  6. 307,920 (USD 210,801)
  7. 240,080 (USD 164,358)

It’s time for Twitter’s undertow to drag us under the high stakes seas in another episode of The Pinnacle, beginning down under at the Aussie Millions.

Jorryt van Hoof continues to impress in the live tournament scene after taking down the 59-entrant AUD 25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) for $322,551. Stephen Chidwick finished fifth, and Farid Jattin sneaked into the money in seventh. 

The series didn’t have time to blink before Jattin had turned a seventh into a first after the Colombian conquered the 169-entrant field in the AUD 25,000 NLHE Challenge. A whole mass of high rollers ventured deep in that one including George Wolff (2nd), Steve O’Dwyer (3rd), Sam Greenwood (4th) and Yake Wu (9th). 

Toby Lewis earned his second gold ring in three successive years. The man from Southampton in the UK won the Main Event in 2018, and the AUD 50,000 NLHE Challenge in 2019. Last week, Lewis took down the 258-entrant AUD 2,500 NLHE Shot-Clock 6-Max event.

Finally, Michael Addamo showed no mercy in winning the AUD 50,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Challenge, defeating a record 82-entrants to bank the $741,752 first prize. 

It wasn’t the only honour for Addamo last week. The Australian Poker Hall of Fame (APHoF) handed him the Young Achiever Award. Fellow high stakes battler, Kahle Burns, made it into the APHoF, as did the World Poker Tour (WPT) anchor, Lynn Gilmartin.

Australia continues to be a high stakes paradise with the AUD 100,000 NLHE Challenge scheduled for next week, as well as Poker Central’s Australian Poker Open and Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) Australia.

Super High Roller Bowl Russia; MILLIONS Super High Roller Series; Yong $100k HU Challenge 

After Australia, Cary Katz and his team take the SHRB to Russia, for the wealthiest tournament in Russian poker history. 

The $250k buy-in event takes place as part of the inaugural partypoker MILLIONS Super High Roller Series March 6 – 15, 2020, at the Casino Sochi.

The schedule is still under wraps, but we know the plan is for eight events ranging between $25,000 and $250,000, including a $100,000 Short-Deck event hosted by Triton.

One man who will be in Sochi; skis in hand, is Rob Yong. The partypoker associate was in a grand mood last week, promising the winner of partypoker’s $215 buy-in, $1m GTD MILLION, the opportunity to face him online or live in a head-up match with $100k going to his opponent if he or she can beat him. 

Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Player of the Year; GPI Short-Lists; I am High Stakes Poker

The next big series on the horizon is the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju Feb 10-22, and last week Triton released plans to create a Player of the Year (PoY) leaderboard for the forthcoming season. 

Triton players earn points during 2020 events in Jeju, Montenegro, London, and a yet unspecified location, with the winner picking up an HKD 2m (USD 257,000) first prize – making it the richest PoY Leaderboard in history.

The Global Poker Index (GPI) has recognised Triton’s recent emergence as a poker powerhouse with several Triton related personnel and initiatives making the semi-finals of the 2019 Global Poker Awards shortlists.

Paul Phua: Industry Person of the Year
Lex Veldhuis: Broadcaster of the Year & Streamer of the Year
Luca Vivaldi: Tournament Director of the Year
I am High Stakes Poker: Media Content of the Year (Video)
Triton Million: A Helping Hand for Charity: Event of the Year

Bits & Bobs

Chance Kornuth leads the final six-players in the WPT Gardens Poker Championship. The final table is on hiatus until March 31, when it resumes at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas.

Here are the seat draw:

Seat 1: Straton Wilhelm – 435,000
Seat 2: Markus Gonsalves – 2,370,000
Seat 3: Qing Liu – 795,000
Seat 4: Tuan Pham – 2,070,000
Seat 5: Jonathan Cohen – 1,615,000
Seat 6: Chance Kornuth – 2,995,000

There is $554,495 and a seat in the $15,000 WPT Tournament of Champions up top. 

Former Triton Champion, Manig Loeser has teamed up with Aylar Lie and the legend, Viktor Blom, to do some promotional work with the real money social poker app, Pokio. 

Fans of interviews will love this lot.

Igor Kurganov on ‘I am High Stakes Poker.’

Fedor Holz on the ‘Chasing Poker Greatness’ podcast.

Sam Trickett in the LADbible – https://www.ladbible.com/community/celebrity-how-plumber-became-one-of-worlds-most-successful-poker-players-20200113

Alex ‘Kanupoker’ Millar on the Joey Ingram Podcast

We’ll leave you with two very different tactics when it comes to improving your high stakes nous. 

Right-handed Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates is going to try and use his left hand, in a bid to improve mental abilities associated with his right brain.

When it comes to bankroll management, Leon Tsoukernik does things a tad differently, winning €1.3m on the €1k per spin slot machines of an Austrian casino last week. 

And that’s a wrap for this week’s Pinnacle. 

Before the poker bus pulls up to Day 2 of the Aussie Millions, it’s traditional to stop at the stop called ‘The Australian Poker Hall of Fame.’

2020, right on cue, that’s what happened.

The Australian Poker Hall of Fame, or APHoF for people who have to type it out ten times in a 758-word article, first bust out the lingerie and high heels in 2009.

The creators called the first two inductees’ Legends’, and one of them – the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion, Joe Hachem – took to the stage at the Crown Casino in Melbourne to induct a pair of beauties.

Joining Hachem were fellow APHoF members David Gorr, Billy’ The Croc’ Argyros, Tony G and Grant Levy. A quick pout and selfie later, and Lynn Gilmartin joined them as the first inductee.

“I’ve known this little girl since she started working here at the Crown,” Hachem told the crowd. “She never walks around without a smile on her face. She loves poker, she loves people, and she’s just an amazing human being and a credit to us all in poker.”

Gilmartin’s poker career began at the Crown Casino where she worked in the marketing department before going on to work for PokerNews. It was during her tenure at PokerNews that Adam Pliska hired her to host the World Poker Tour (WPT) Alpha8 Super High Roller series, and it turned into a full-time job. Gilmartin currently acts as the anchor for the WPT TV show and is the second female to be inducted into the APHoF after Marsha Waggoner.

“My commitment has been to shine a spotlight on this industry, this game and the players within it,” Gilmartin said after receiving her accolade. “It’s been a privilege. I have so much admiration for this game and for all of you who either play this for a living or just for fun. To receive this award means the world to me, and I’m just so very grateful.”

The second person to receive that Superbowl Sunday feeling was an Australian currently enjoying his role as an End Boss.

“I’ve been playing with this young man for many years, and I can honestly say I’ve given him more bad beats than he’s given me,” Hachem said. “He plays PLO, he plays hold ’em and he travels the world. He’s been on a tear for the last three years and won two bracelets in Europe this year. Give it up for Kahle Burns.”

Burns has had an incredible 12-months, earning $4.4m in 2019 alone, including wins in Melbourne, partypoker MILLIONS, The Poker Masters and two WSOP bracelets. Burns earned those slivers of gold in Rozvadov, during the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), winning the €2,500 Short-Deck and €25,500 No-Limit Hold ’em (NLHE) events.

“I start playing poker at 18 years old,” said Burns. “I was just out of high school, and this is the room where it all started. I dropped out {of school} at 20 years old to take it seriously, and it’s been a fun ride for 12 years. I spent the first half mostly in this room grinding cash, and it’s been cool to see the poker room grow since then.”

Burns needs a trip to Ikea to buy a trophy cabinet. Earlier this year, the Global Poker Index (GPI) anointed him with the title: 2019 GPI Australian PoY.

Michael Addamo Wins The Young Achiever Award

The APHoF also likes to recognise young talent, and this year, the two-time WSOP bracelet winner, Michael Addamo got the nod – and the timing was perfect.

Addamo’s decision to shun the path of least resistance for the poker life bore fruit when in 2018 he won the $2,620 buy-in, 1,637-entrant NLHE Marathon for $653,581, before travelling to Rozvadov for the WSOPE, taking down the €25,500 NLHE High Roller for a further $973,630.

A few days ago, Addamo defeated a record field of 82-entrants to earn his first Aussie Million gold ring in the AUD 50,000 NLHE Challenge for $741,752 and lies third in the All-Time Australian Money List behind Joe Hachem and Kahle Burns.

The Australian Poker Hall of Fame

Joe Hachem
Jeff Lisandro
Billy Argyros
Lee Nelson
Gary Benson
Mel Judah
Tony G
Maurie Pears
Marsha Waggoner
Leo Boxell
Danny McDonagh
David Gorr
Jason Gray
Graeme Putt
Van Marcus
Joe Cabret
Manny Stavropoulos
Grant Levy
Jonathan Karamalikis
Lynn Gilmartin
Kahle Burns

It’s been a long road to get there for the Melbourne man, but get there he did.

Michael Addamo began racking up live tournament scores in 2012, and he earned his first 17 in the money (ITM) finishes playing in the Crown Casino in Melbourne, including his first-ever win: a 36-entrant AUD 20 NLHE event for AUD 640 in 2013.

Two years later, and Addamo made a deep run in the Aussie Millions Main Event, finishing 21/648, securing a record AUD 40,000 score. Another two years passed, before Addamo made another impression at the Crown, finishing 3/15656 in the AUD 1,200 NLHE Opening Event for AUD 117,910, and winning a 31-entrant AUD 5,000 at the Crown Poker Championships for AUD 58,900.

A year later, and Addamo, went one step further in the Aussie Millions Opening Event finishing runner-up to Benedikt Eberle in the 1,538-entrant AUD 1,200 NLHE Opening Event for AUD 194,690.

And now this.

Addamo has just defeated Cary Katz in heads-up action to take the title and $741,752 first prize in the AUD 50,000 No-Limit Hold ’em (NLH) Challenge.

A ring, at last.

The Nutshell Action

Day 1

It was a record-breaking Day 1, with 67-entrants surpassing the previous record set in 2019 when Toby Lewis defeated 62-entrants. 39-players waded through a moat of treacle to make it to Day 2, and with late registration and unlimited re-entry available until the end of the first level on Day 2, the attendance figure would rise.

The 2019 Global Poker Index (GPI) Australian Player of the Year (PoY), Kahle Burns, led the field. Former AUD 50,000 winners Mikita Badziakouski and Sam Greenwood ended the day in the Top 10. Addamo settled for a berth in the middle of the pack

Day 2

The day began with three new entrants, as Sosia Jiang, Jorryt van Hoof, and Cary Katz hoped their new bullets weren’t rubber.

By the end of the first level, and a series of sugared-up re-entries, the final attendance was 82-entrants, with 44-players left to battle for the $738,000 first prize.

Addamo took the chip lead in Level 11, after eliminating Sam Grafton when pocket tens outstripped AK during a five-card sprint. Then we lost the starting day chip leader when Elio Fox’s AdJc beat Burns’ QhJh after an all-in and call in the same level.

The Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1 would fall in Level 12 when Alex Foxen’s AdKh faced Rainer Kempe’s pocket tens in a hip-hop dance-off, did a headspin and broke its neck.

Ten would earn a buck, and Michael Soyza was the last person not to. With blinds at 2,500k/5,000/5,000, Soyza limped into the action from the small blind, holding Ac7c, and called when Addamo raised to 20,000, holding Qh8h. The flop of AhKh8d contained a bit of something for both players, and Soyza check-called a 30,000 Addamo bet. The Js hit the turn, keeping Soyza in the lead, and he once again check-called, this time for an overbet of 105,000. Addamo hit his flush on the river when the 7h decided the myopic lifestyle of the deck was not for him. Soyza checked, Addamo moved all-in, and after using 3 of his 4-time extension chips, Soyza made the fatal call.

The first player to exit with a few AUD in her purse was Kristen Bicknell. The 2019 GPI Female Player of the Year lost a race versus Cary Katz when pocket fives failed to dodge the landmines that aided AhKc.

Yong Wang felt the sharp sting of the Poker Gods wrath when he got it in with pocket kings versus the pocket tens of Erik Seidel, only for the New Yorker to hit his two-outer on the flop to send Wang home with a bang.

The next time Seidel came up against pocket kings, the Poker Gods deserted him. Seidel got it in on 9s8s6h chasing a flush draw with As5s in a single raised pot against Katz, holding KsKd. The flush flirted with an appearance but decided against it, and Katz extended his chip lead, leaving Seidel feeling more styrofoam cup than China.

Sharpshooter, Sam Greenwood, took out two in a single shot to keep his hopes of a second AUD 50,000 NLHE Challenge win alive. Rainer Kempe moved all-in for 142,000 from midfield, Greenwood was all-in from the button, and Timothy Adams called all-in from the big blind. Adams had the lead with pocket jacks versus the pocket nines of Greenwood, and KcQc of Kempe, but a 9s hit the turn to give Greenwood trips and the triple up.

Addamo replaced Katz as the chip leader with four remaining after eliminating the short-stacked Ben Lamb. The cash game star made a move holding 8c2c for the flush draw on 7c5h4c, and Addamo called and won with pocket jacks.

Then Greenwood’s voyage hit the rocks in fourth-place.

With blinds at 5,000/10,000/10,000, Addamo opened to 22,000, holding pocket aces in the first position, Katz called on the button with an unknown hand and Greenwood three-bet to 105,000 from the big blind. Addamo four-bet to 230,000, Katz moved out of the way, Greenwood jammed for more than 800,000, and Addamo called. Greenwood did flop the nut flush draw, but the turn and river were as red as Greenwood’s jumper, and the Canadian was out.

Chip Counts

Michael Addamo – 2,450,000
Cary Katz – 1,250,000
Orpen Kisacikoglu – 375,000

Kisacikoglu had a mountain to climb, and he didn’t climb it.

With blinds at 6,000/12,000/12,000, Kisacikoglu bet 12,000 on a flop of 4s3d3c, and Addamo made the call. Kisacikoglu held Kd4d for two-pair, and Addamo held Qh3s for trips. The turn card was a cooler when the Kh improved Kisacikoglu’s hand even further. The London-based entrepreneur checked from his seat in the small blind, Addamo bet 45,000 from the big, and the call came. The final card was the 5s, and Addamo moved all-in prompting a call from Kisacikoglu, and heads-up play moved over the horizon.

Heads-Up

Michael Addamo – 2,815,000
Cary Katz – 1,285,000

In what turned out to be a bit of a battle, Katz would double-up once, but never take the lead from Addamo throughout the duration. The final hand came with blinds at 10,000/20,000/20,000, when Addamo limped into the action holding pocket sixes, and Katz made a sneaky check with AhJs. The Jh6d2d flop would have had all the poker TV junkies on the edge of their seats like trained monkeys watching a cocaine bottle refill. Of course, the money went in, and the set for Addamo held to deliver him his 10th title. Last years AUD 100,000 Challenge winner, had to settle for second place.

Previous AUD 50,000 NLHE Challenge Winners

2017 Mikita Badziakouski beat six entrants
2018 Sam Greenwood beat four entrants
2019 Toby Lewis beat 62-entrants

AUD 50,000 NLHE Challenge ITM Results

  1. Michael Addamo – $741,752
  2. Cary Katz – $494,501
  3. Orpen Kisacikoglu – $329,668
  4. Sam Greenwood – $274,723
  5. Ben Lamb – $219,778
  6. Timothy Adams – $192,306
  7. Rainer Kempe – $164,834
  8. Erik Seidel – $137,362
  9. Yong Wang – $109,889
  10. Kristen Bicknell – $82,417
Leon Tsoukerik

Have you ever wondered how you win a one million euro/dollar/sterling/gold/brass buttons, slot machine jackpot?

One way I don’t recommend, is to play for €1k per spin. 

That’s the Leon Tsoukernik way, and like a Cassowaries, in a cockfight, the King’s Resort owner has just reaped the big rewards.

Tsoukernik was at the Casino Seefeld in Austria during the CAPT Seefeld Festival. According to reports, the casino owner, and high stakes star, busted from the €5,400 No Limit-Hold’em High Roller and won the €1,372,500 jackpot while blowing off steam on the €1,000 per spin Novostar II slot machine.

Putting his slots win into perspective, it’s higher than 15 of this 16 live tournament results. Only his 4/56 finish in the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) in Las Vegas for $1.8m puts it into the shade. 

Who knows why Tsoukernik was in town. 

Business?

High stakes cash games?

Nostalgia?

In 2011, Tsoukernik finished runner-up to Willi Fuhrer in the €2,000 NLHE Main Event at the CAPT Innsbruck, and in 2018, he won a €25,750 NLHE event, beating Manig Loeser, heads-up, for the €370,000 first prize.

CAPT Seefeld runs from 9-19 Jan, with a €2,160 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Main Event.

Prague Business

In November, Tsoukernik gave an interview to PokerStars after purchasing the Casino Atrium at the Hilton Hotel in Prague where he said the previous owners were too focused on ‘slot revenue, rather than live cash poker revenue.’

Ironic.

Tsoukernik acquired the Prague casino because he had ‘nothing to do’ while there with his family. He bought it ahead of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague and got involved in operations immediately.

Tsoukernik has big plans for the casino, aiming to make it as mighty as the King’s Resort in Rozvadov, but it seems like PokerStars are not part of those plans. The online poker giant recently announced 21 live events for 2020, and EPT Prague is not one of them.

Only 3 of the 21 events are EPT events, incredible considering how this live tournament series once held the industry by the scruff of its neck. Prague has been an ever-present on the EPT schedule since Arnaud Mattern won the Main Event in Season 4 (2007). Other stars who have made a name for themselves in the Czech capital include Roberto Romanello (Season 7), Martin Finger (Season 8), Hossein Ensan (Season 12).

And it’s not as if EPT Prague struggled for numbers.

In 2019, Mikalai Pobal beat 1154 entrants to win the €1,005,600 first prize, becoming only the second player to win two EPT Main Events after Victoria Coren-Mitchell.

EPT Prague also has a place in Tsoukernik’s heart. The casino owner beat Charlie Carrel, heads-up, to win the €50,000 NLHE High Roller in Season 6 for €741,100, only the second win of his career at the time.