Maxim Lykov Joins Team PokerStars Pro

Russian poker player Maxim Lykov is the newest member of Team PokerStars Pro. Officials from the world’s largest online poker site announced Lykov’s membership on Friday, noting that it took just two deposits of $40 for the Russian to become a global poker superstar.



Lykov got his start in poker five years ago as an engineering student in Moscow. Text found on the PokerStars Blog recreates his journey from there: “It was only a year later that his two $40 deposits had become a big bankroll, one that is now – even by a conservative estimation – huge. He is listed as one of the highest-earning Russian live tourney players of all-time.”



Lykov has manhandled the live poker scene in Russia and around the world. In 2009, he recorded his first major brick-and-mortar poker score after winning the Red Sea Poker Cup in Egypt for nearly $70,000. One month later and halfway around the world, Lykov finished third in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas for $145,000. Peter “Belabasci” Traply ultimately took down that bracelet in a final table that also featured Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, David “The Dragon” Pham, Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey, and Peter “Nordberg” Feldman.




In August 2009, Lykov continued his breakout year by winning the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Kiev for $468,000. Lykov defeated a field of nearly 300 players en route to his first EPT title. According to the Hendon Mob database, Lykov has recorded one six-figure score since then, taking down a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event during January’s PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas for $100,000.



Lykov’s most recent major in the money finish came in September, when he won a short-handed event during the Partouche Poker Tour’s stop in Cannes for $51,000, defeating online poker pro David “Davidp18” Peters heads-up. You can catch Lykov on PokerStars playing under the handle “Maxim Lykov.”



Team PokerStars Pro consists of a number of former WSOP Main Event champions, including Tom McEvoy (1983), Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), and Joe Cada (2009). PokerStars formerly boasted 2008 champ Peter Eastgate on its Pro team, but the youngster ultimately sought a temporary reprieve from the game and he no longer appears on its roster.



Lykov’s signing comes on the heels of PokerStars inking a deal with Liv Boeree, who parted ways with the CEREUS Network site UB.com just before this year’s WSOP Main Event. Also signing on in recent months were 2010 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship winner David Williams and PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event champ Vanessa Selbst. Williams was formerly a sponsored pro of Bodog, while Selbst attended law school at Yale.



Other PokerStars pros include Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Johnny Lodden, Lee Nelson, and Dario Minieri. The world’s largest online poker site features Pro team members from around the world, including Austria, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the Ukraine. Lykov joins the Russian contingent, which also includes 2008 WSOP Main Event runner-up Ivan Demidov, bracelet winner Alexander Kravchenko, and Vadim Markushevski.



Visit PokerStars for more details. The site accepts players from Russia, the United States, and around the world.




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Isildur1 loses $402k in just a week's time - News

Isildur1 loses $402k in just a week's time - News -

Isildur1, who is rumored to be Viktor Blom from Sweden, has been quite active at the $100/$200 No-Limit tables at Full Tilt lately. We have seen him battle against, for example, Tom "durrr" Dwan, Dan "jungleman12" Cates and an unknown player called KTPOKP in the past couple of days (all sessions with very mixed results). Isildur1 has been doing well against Tom Dwan but not so well against many other players. In just one week's time, Isildur1 has lost a total of $402,000. However, he's not alone when it comes to losing huge amounts of money....

Gus Hansen, who won the WSOPE High Roller Event last month, has lost 420k in the past week and in total he's down $3.5 million this year. We can only hope that Isildur1 starts winning soon again and that he doesn't lose as much as Hansen, because I'm sure that Isildur1's bankroll is nowhere close to Hansen's. Well, Hansen has lost many millions in the past couple of years, but on the other hand he has been around in the poker scene for a long time and he will probably never have any problem whatsoever to find a staker. 

Doyle Brunson Comments on Poker Hall of Fame Balloting

Doyle Brunson Comments on Poker Hall of Fame Balloting :: CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Poker Streaming - Poker Videos - Poker News
One of the many activities during the upcoming World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table is the Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Who makes it in this year remains to be seen, but one of the most valued members of the poker community, Poker Hall of Fame member Doyle Brunson, has given his thoughts on the matter.



Coming back after a long hiatus from his blog, Doyle opined this week about who he felt would be the best players to elect into the Hall. “I’m primarily a cash game player and perhaps I put too much emphasis on the cash games, but I don’t see how it can’t be the most important landmark,” Brunson states when it comes to the considerations. “I consider all of the nominees to be friends and, for what it’s worth, here are my thoughts.”



Brunson reiterates the criteria for election to the Poker Hall of Fame quite succinctly, which every poker fan knows by heart: “The criteria for being in the Hall are simple. A player must have played against top competition, played for high stakes and played consistently well, gaining the respect of their peers. (The player must have) stood the test of time and contributed to the overall growth and success to the game of poker.”




Brunson views a few players as not quite ready for their entry into the Hall. For the two female nominees, Jennifer Harman and Linda Johnson, Brunson feels that both are qualified, but not quite yet worthy of entry. For Harman, Brunson states, “Jen meets all the requirements. I’ve always considered her to be the all-time best female player. However, her sex doesn’t matter here and she will probably need a few more years before she goes in.” For Johnson, Brunson says, “Loved by everyone, but probably isn’t a strong candidate this year.”



Two former Main Event champions in the mix, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and Scotty Nguyen, also have their issues, according to Brunson. “Chris is a worthy candidate even though he doesn’t meet (the first two) criteria for entry,” Brunson notes. “Even though he hasn’t played much outside tournaments, he is so strong in the other three that he has to be considered. Probably not yet though.” For Nguyen, Brunson says, “(He) needs to live up to his nickname, ‘The Prince of Poker.’ He meets all five criteria, but is going to have to wait until his behavior in his win in the $50K H.O.R.S.E tournament fades from people’s memory.”



Of the six remaining nominees – Barry Greenstein, Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Daniel Negreanu, and Erik Seidel – Brunson leans in favor of the induction of Seidel to the Poker Hall of Fame. “I gave almost all of my votes to Erik,” Brunson says in his blog. “Most people don’t remember his cash game play, but he was in all of the games in his early career. He meets all the requirements and his exemplary conduct deserves a special accolade.” Perhaps the greatest accolade that Brunson could lay out is in his final comment about Seidel: “He reminds me of Chip Reese.”



As to his second choice, Brunson seems torn between Greenstein and Ivey. “You can’t find a criteria Barry doesn’t meet,” he writes. “If not this year, next year for sure.” As for Ivey, Doyle simply says, “Who,” jovially indicating his approval of one of the most feared players in the game.



In the end, Brunson says that Seidel should be inducted a few weeks from now. “If Seidel isn’t one of the inductees, I’ll be very surprised,” Brunson says. “I think the second choice will be Greenstein or Ivey. I feel it should be Barry but, if Phil is the one, I’ll have no objection, even though I feel he should wait until he is older.”



The 17 living members of the Hall and a selected committee of poker journalists, which includes Poker News Daily’s Dan Cypra, vote for the Poker Hall of Fame finalists. Each voter is given 10 points to hand out in any way they deem appropriate; the top two vote getters will earn induction into the Hall. This is a change from past voting, where a nominee had to be selected on 75% of the ballots to be enshrined.




On November 7th, as a part of the 2010 WSOP November Nine festivities, the top two in the voting will be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in a special ceremony.



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Durrrr Challenge Returns for Short Session

If only for a few minutes, the Tom Dwan Million Dollar Challenge returned on Monday night. A brief 258-hand session was played over the course of 20 minutes, with Dwan cutting into the lead of Dan “JungleMan12” Cates by $31,000. Dwan and Cates have now played 7,660 hands of the 50,000 required for completion and Cates owns a $657,000 lead.



The second incarnation of the Durrrr Challenge is taking place across $200/$400 No Limit Hold’em tables at Full Tilt Poker. A total of six sessions have been played so far and the pair has bet over $46 million combined. Cates has won about 60% of the hands played and has largely dominated his fellow young gun in the high-stakes prop bet.



In one of the largest pots of Monday’s brief session, Dwan raised to $1,200 before the flop with 8-2 of hearts and Cates 3bet to $4,000. Dwan called behind and the flop came 6-A-Q rainbow. Cates led out for $4,400 and Dwan popped it to $11,700. Cates called the extra $7,300 and the turn was the three of hearts, putting two of the suit on the board. Both players hit the brakes and checked and the river was the king of hearts, filling Dwan’s flush. Dwan shoved all-in after Cates checked and “JungleMan12” called. The pot of $90,000 was pushed to Dwan and Cates’ cards were not exposed during the hand.




In another major hand, Dwan raised to $1,200 pre-flop with K-8 of spades and Cates made the price of poker $3,600. Dwan called and the flop fell 10-9-J, giving Dwan an open-ended straight draw. Cates bet $4,200 and Dwan just called behind to bring the four of diamonds on the turn. Cates fired out a bet of about two-thirds of the pot, or $9,600, and Dwan called. The river brought in Dwan’s king-high straight when a queen hit and Cates checked. Dwan shoved for $17,000 and Cates called. The pot was worth $69,000.



We’d be amiss if we didn’t recap a hand in which Cates called “Time” and, in the process, seemingly slow-played the nuts. There’s never a dull moment in the Durrrr Challenge. In the hand, we saw our usual raises pre-flop and the first three cards came 5-8-10. Cates, holding 6-7 for a two-way straight draw, led out for $4,400 and Dwan called. A four on the turn filled Cates’ straight and both players clicked “Check.”



On the river, Cates requested time when a king hit before finally electing to bet $12,400. Whether requesting time was a slow-roll or was genuinely due to needing a few extra seconds is not known, but Dwan called Cates’ river bet and promptly mucked. Cates raked in the $41,000 pot, but ended the session down $31,000 after 20 minutes and 258 hands.



If you’re not familiar with the Durrrr Challenge, Dwan and Cates are facing off in 50,000 hands of $200/$400 No Limit Hold’em (and you thought your local $2/$5 game was big). After the 50,000th hand, if Dwan is up by $1 or more, Cates will hand over $500,000. If Cates is up by at least $1, Dwan will fork over $1.5 million after giving any challenger 3:1 odds. In either case, the victor keeps the spoils of the 50,000 hands, potentially resulting in a rich payday.



Dwan has been sparring with fellow Full Tilt Poker pro Patrik Antonius since early 2009 in $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha. Dwan is up over $2 million in that challenge, with about 10,000 hands required for completion. The play between Dwan and Antonius has been spotty at best and, in fact, no action has occurred in two months.



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$60000 Rake Race in October - Cake Poker - CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Poker Streaming - Poker Videos - Poker News :: forum

$60000 Rake Race in October - Cake Poker - CHILLOUT-POKER.COM - Poker Streaming - Poker Videos - Poker News :: forum

Tom Dwan Drops $413,000 Pot on Poker After Dark: The Cash Game

This week, new episodes of NBC’s “Poker After Dark” returned to airwaves featuring a high-stakes cash game. Over $1 million was spread across the table and the blinds stood at $300/$600 with a $100 ante. Ali Nejad had the call from the action, which emanated from the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas and airs nightly at 2:05am ET. The action will air this week and next week.



Tom “durrrr” Dwan was abused for most of Monday’s kickoff episode. In the largest hand of the show, which weighed in at well over $400,000, Dwan straddled pre-flop to $1,200 and record executive Alan Meltzer inadvertently min-raised to $2,400 with pocket tens. Meltzer didn’t know that Dwan had straddled in the hand and when he announced a raise and consequently just bet the minimum.



Dwan came over the top to $8,000 with K-Q, including the king of hearts, and Meltzer responded by making it $24,400. Dwan called and the action flop came Q-J-9, all hearts. Dwan checked, Meltzer bet $28,000, and Dwan looked at his cards before shoving all-in for $181,000 with top pair and a flush draw. Meltzer, holding flush and straight draws of his own, called all-in to create a healthy $412,900 pot.




Meltzer told Dwan that he wanted to run it once despite being a sizable underdog and Dwan obliged, only to watch a king on the turn fill Meltzer’s straight. The river was a black eight and Meltzer scooped over $400,000. Dwan asked tablemate and fellow Full Tilt Poker pro Patrik Antonius for a reload and bought back in for $100,000.



Meltzer promptly shipped a portion of his newfound net worth to Eli Elezra, seated two to his right. Meltzer raised to $2,800 before the flop with A-J of spades and Elezra just called with Big Slick. The A-Q-5 flop gave both players top pair and each checked to a six on the turn. Elezra led out for $9,000 and Meltzer called behind to see a deuce on the river. Elezra bet $15,000 and Meltzer called, giving Elezra a $54,500 pot.



In the second largest pot of Monday’s episode of “Poker After Dark,” Elezra called pre-flop with 7-4 and “High Stakes Poker” host Gabe Kaplan raised to $2,800 with 9-6 of hearts. Then, Dwan popped it to $10,300 with 3-2 of spades. Elezra got out of the way and Kaplan called to see a flop of 7-3-A. Dwan continued his aggression by betting $14,300 with bottom pair and Kaplan raised to $38,000 with just nine-high.



Dwan called and the turn put a second ace on the board. Both players hit the brakes and checked and the river was a deuce, giving Dwan two pair. Dwan checked, Kaplan fired out two bricks of cash worth $50,000, and Dwan mumbled, “Such a weird line.” “Durrrr” tanked for about a minute before sending his hand into the muck and Kaplan immediately showed the bluff to scoop the $148,000 pot.



Antonius played his first pot at the tail end of the episode, raising to $3,700 with J-10. Elezra, who had limped pre-flop, came along with A-9 and the flop was J-5-5. Elezra check-called a $5,000 bet from Antonius, who held jacks-up, and the turn was a four. Both players knocked the table and the river was a six. Elezra checked, Antonius counted out $13,000 and fired it into the middle, and Elezra called with ace-high to give Antonius a pot of $44,300.



You can catch new episodes of “Poker After Dark: The Cash Game” nightly at 2:05am ET on NBC




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Filippo Candio Chips Up, Gets Penalized on ESPN WSOP Coverage

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi entered Day 6 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event second in chips and took his seat at the feature table alongside poker pro Peter Jetten. A total of 122 players remained including Mizrachi’s brother, Robert.



Breeze Zuckerman exited in 121st place for $57,000 as this year’s Last Woman Standing. In her final hand, Zuckerman ran K-10 into UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin’s pocket aces. Then, Tony “Bond18” Dunst, fresh off being hired as the host of the “Raw Deal” segment on World Poker Tour (WPT) broadcasts, had his aces cracked by A-Q. In an interview with ESPN, Dunst admitted that he’d consider wearing a tuxedo if he made the Main Event final table.



Pocket aces were everywhere on Day 6. Filippo Candio doubled up with them against pocket queens and began screaming hysterically in one corner of the Amazon Room. Harrah’s officials issued Candio a one-round penalty for his outburst and he was all but mute for the rest of the broadcast. Before being assessed his punishment, Candio told WSOP floor staff, “I didn’t know this rule.”




Also surviving to see Day 6 was Jean-Robert Bellande. The former Bodog pro and “Survivor: China” contestant unsuccessfully tried to knock out a player with J-5 of spades. He was up against Big Slick, but his opponent, Jose Nadal, promptly flopped trips to take down the pot.



Robert Mizrachi’s miraculous run through the 2010 WSOP Main Event came to an end when he was all-in with A-10 for eight big blinds and up against A-K. ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad noted, “They have set a sibling standard for all future large families to shoot for.” Robert took 116th place for the same $57,000.



Ben Straate was eliminated as part of a three-way all-in that saw Theo Tran nearly triple up to over one million in chips. Rob Pisano, who was also in the hand, then exchanged words with Tran at Table 2. In the final hand of the first one-hour episode, Michael Mizrachi, now the Last Mizrachi Standing, picked up J-10 of spades and sent a player with A-7 of diamonds to the rail to become the new chip leader at 5.6 million.



The second episode, which began at 10:00pm ET, also featured action from Day 6. Candio made his way to Table 2, while former tennis pro and assistant to Patrik Antonius Nick Rainey was ousted in 106th place. Tran was then sent packing after running two pair into a straight and, at the feature table, Jetten dumped more than half of his stack. Jetten called the all-in of Brock Bourne with A-K on a board of Q-J-K-8-K only to see Bourne table pocket jacks for a full house.



Theo Jorgensen, who once defeated Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen in a boxing match, won a pot of 5.6 million to become the new chip leader with over eight million. Then, Baldwin doubled up with K-J of clubs against A-4 of diamonds to keep his run towards the 2010 WSOP November Nine alive. Also chipping up was Alexander Kostritsyn, who held one of the top stacks in the Amazon Room at the Rio in Las Vegas.



Jorgensen headed to the feature table, putting all three of the largest stacks together. Then, Gary Kostiuk, who was recently diagnosed with MS, was eliminated in 85th place for $79,000 after running pocket tens into the cowboys of eventual 10th place finisher Brandon Steven. Moving in the other direction was Jerry Payne, who doubled up courtesy of Michal Wywrot after cracking pocket queens with K-J. Payne turned a king and no lady came on the river.




In the last major action of Day 6, Candio 5bet all-in before the flop with A-K and received a call from Manuel Davidian, who held pocket tens. With a pot worth 5.4 million up for grabs, the dealer spread out 2-K-6-8-3 and Candio pressed on. In lieu of celebrating loudly, Candio chose to sing to himself softly.



Next Tuesday, the action from Day 7 will air starting at 9:30pm ET on ESPN.



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