The Nightly Turbo: Phil Ivey's Poker Training Site, All-Star Showdown, and More
Who will Phil Ivey be pulling for at the World Series of Poker Main Event final table? We'll bring you that story, plus the results of the first two All-Star Showdown matches at PokerStars, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.
In Case You Missed It
The 2012 World Series of Poker final table kicks off tonight! What has Rob Salaburu done to prepare for the biggest final table of his life? Find out in his interview with PokerNews.
Andras Koroknai has a controversial run to the WSOP Main event final table. Rich Ryan takes a look back at the Hungarian's path to the October Nine.
How did the Sunday Majors play out on PokerStars? Who took down the biggest score? Find out in the Sunday Briefing.
Who is the favorite to win the WSOP Main Event? Members of the PokerNews staff made some predictions.
Paul Hockin won the 2012 PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Melbourne Main Event on Monday. Take a look at the highlights from the final table in our ANZPT recap.
How did Jackie Glazier begin her career as a poker pro? Find out that and more in the latest Seat Open.
The International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) is just around the corner! Find out how to win your seat on Poker770.com.
#TeamIvey
It seems Phil Ivey will be soon be revealing some of the secrets that made him the world's most feared poker player.
In an interview published by ESPN.com on Monday, Ivey told writer Zach McCann that he has launched a new website, IveyPoker.com, dedicated to teaching people how to play poker the "right way." Ivey is working to form a team of pros who will provide free, downloadable video instruction to the poker community.
"I think a lot of people really don’t know how to play poker, and I think this is going to be an opportunity to play with the best players in the world," Ivey told McCann.
So far, Team Ivey is made up of Patrik Antonius, Jennifer Harman, and October Niner Greg Merson, whose photo is featured on the IveyPoker.com website. When asked why he chose Merson to be on the team, Ivey said he's always been impressed by the way the October Niner handles himself at the table.
"He doesn’t have much of an ego," Ivey said. "I think he’s going to be around poker a long time and be very successful — that’s why I chose Greg. He saw an opportunity to be associated with the brand, but really it was me that came after him. It wasn’t like he approached me."
We don't know many details about Phil Ivey's new poker site, but keep an eye on IveyPoker.com for the latest. Read Ivey's full interview at ESPN.com.
Sulsky, Haxton Thrive in PokerStars All-Star Showdown
Last week, PokerStars announced the first annual All-Star Showdown, an eight-player heads-up single elimination tournament taking place from Oct. 27 through Nov. 4. The $100,000 contestants were Alexander “Sussie Smith” Roumeliotis, Alex “Kanu7” Millar, Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky, Tobias “KTPOKP” Kuder and Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond.
Here are the rules of the All-Star Showdown:
- Prior to the first match, tournament seeding will be determined by a random draw. After the initial draw, players will progress through a single-elimination tournament.
- The matches will take place at 18:00 CET from Oct. 27 - Nov. 4, with a break in play on Oct. 29 and Nov. 1. The final will be on Nov. 4.
- Matches will be played simultaneously over four heads-up tables.
- Each $100,000 buy-in is spread evenly over four tables with blinds starting at $50/100.
- Blinds will double after every 3,000 hands played.
- The match ends when a player busts on all four tables.
Two of the four All-Star Showdown quarterfinal matches concluded over the weekend as Sulsky eliminated Kuder and Haxton dispatched Millar. In the first match on Saturday, the participants battled for nearly six hours before Sulsky, who led for most of the match, dispatched his Austrian opponent on hand No. 1,457. A full recap of the match can be read on the PokerStars Blog.
The other match lingered on a while longer. Haxton and Millar engaged in a 17-hour back-and-forth battle before Haxton put an end to the match on Hand No. 3,881. In that hand, Haxton ($52,360) opened for $400 on the button and Millar ($4,986) defended from the big blind, bringing about a 6♥4♣7♥ flop. Millar check-called a bet of $300, and then check-called bets of $1,050 and $3,236 on the 6♣ turn and 3♥ river respectively. Millar showed K♦5♣ for a straight, but it was no good against Haxton’s 9♥5♥ for a flush.
For a full recap of that match, visit the PokerStars Blog.
Two quarterfinal matches remain: Alexander “Sussie Smith” Roumeliotis vs. Dan “w00ki3z.” Cates (Oct. 30) and Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond vs. Ben “Ben86” Tollerene (Oct. 31). The winner of the All-Star Showdown will take home more than $500,000 and the first All-Star Showdown trophy.
For more information on the All-Star Showdown, visit pokerstars.com.
Steve Gee. Poker Spy.
October Niner Steve Gee will be all patched up when he sits down at the World Series of Poker Main Event final table Monday evening. After inking an endorsement deal with PokerAce.com in August, Gee has signed on to be the public face for the PokerSpy App for iPhone and Android.
PokerSpy provides a community for poker players to give and receive real time poker room info, share stories and photos, and discuss strategy, as well as general poker and sports discussion. According to PokerSpy Co-Founder Brian Rainone, Gee is a "great addition to the PokerSpy team with his poker and business background."
“I am really excited to be a member of the PokerSpy team," said Gee, who enters the Main Event final table fifth in chips with 16,860,000. "The App they’ve created is unique in that it caters directly to poker players as a source for all things poker right at your fingertips.”
Read more at pokerspyblog.wordpress.com.
Another Online Gambling Boom?
A new article at Ad Age Digital examines the advertising implications associated with online gambling legalization, most notably that it could lead to an industry boom.
Simon Holliday, director at H2 Gambling Capital, believes "somewhere between $3.5 billion and $4 billion could be spent by the internet-gaming sector" on marketing over the next five years. To put that in perspective, that's more than General Motors spent on advertising in the United States in 2011. "Driving players to their sites is the biggest single cost of these companies. It is probable that 25% to 30% of company net revenues [20% less than the gross including bonuses] will be spent on advertising and marketing budgets in the initial years, as there is a land grab."
"Five years ago, the combined spend of all onsite-based gaming companies in online advertising was very small, limited to SEO for attracting visitors to book hotel rooms online and to come to the website," said Mitch Garber, CEO of Caesars Interactive Entertainment and World Series of Poker. "It's changing dramatically. ... There's no question that as an industry we'll be spending more time and money on interactive advertising."
Television is still considered the best outlet for advertising, but as Garber added, "We're not going to do away with magazine, TV and billboard advertising, but we'll be a lot more creative."
To read the entire article, visit Ad Age Digital.
The Final Table
The World Series of Poker Main Event final table has arrived. How did October Niner Russell Thomas prepare in the final days before the cards were dealt? Find out in Part 5 of The Final Table, created and produced by Jason Somerville:
Keep an eye out for the rest of the series at Jason Somerville's YouTube page.
Party at the ANZPT
The ANZPT Melbourne Main Event came to a close on Monday. The event brought out some of the best players from the region competing for a huge payday, but as Lynn Gilmartin found out, it wasn't all business Down Under.
