July 2007 Archives

This was a big weekend for the World Cup of Poker IV. On Sunday, the final round of national qualifying tournaments took place and determined who would have the honor of playing on their country's team.

More than 75,000 players participated in Round 1 action of this year's World Cup. All of the national, U.S. state and Canadian and German province teams are now set. Now, they will all do battle to determine who makes the trip to Barcelona to play in the live finals.



If you are one of the players who's made the cut, get ready for a big weekend. You will receive an email this week with details on the the Division Finals on Sunday, August 5th.

Regardless of whether you are on your country's World Cup team, be sure to stop by to support your team. You can see all the action throughout the day this Sunday by clicking on the Events > World Cup > Division Finals tabs in the PokerStars lobby.

It's about national pride. It's about competition. It's about money. It's the 2007 World Cup. Catch all the action this weekend on PokerStars!

The action is already hot in the PokerStars' World Cup of Poker.

The final Round 1 Qualifiers for the remaining countries are now taking place. Nine players from each tournament will qualify for their country's final match, from which the top 2 players will join the top 2 TLB players to form their countries WCP team.

In other news, PokerStars says it has heard from from about 2/3rds of the TLB players they have contacted so far. The people behind the World Cup of Poker suggest you check your e-mail. They need to speak with you ASAP to see if you want to play on your country's team.

Congratulations to the players who have already qualified for their teams and the division finals on Sunday August 5th! For more information, visit PokerStars' World Cup of Poker page. Or follow the action by click on Events and WCP in thhe PokerStars lobby.

By Brad "Otis" Willis

It was late one night at the World Series of Poker. A friend walked up and said, "Do you think you could get an autographed picture of Chris Moneymaker?"

I shrugged. Shouldn't be too hard, I thought.

The friend said, "Not for me. There's this guy in the hospital."

I quickly told my friend who he should talk to, knowing Moneymaker would have no problem signing a picture. I made the introduction and didn't think about it again until this morning.

***

Six months ago, Chris Moneymaker was just back from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. He'd hosted the Moneymaker Millionaire there and was settling back into regular life in Tennessee. It was starting off to be a busy year, one in which his name was again growing beyond his humble roots. He was already the man credited with kicking off the poker revolution. Now, he had his name attached to a million dollar freeroll. He might have heard that there were people who considered him their hero, but he didn't let it get to his head. He had a life and family to think about.

Six months ago, Moneymaker had never heard of a guy named Donald Hobbs.

Hobbs loved poker. A native of Pineville, Kentucky, Hobbs had been playing poker with his friends for a while and he styled his game after the one-time Tennessee accountant who had shocked the world by winning the 2003 World Series of Poker. Who knows what would've happened to Hobbs in the months since. He might have gone on a major rush and ended up next to Moneymaker at the 2007 World Series. There's no way of telling.

In February of this year, Hobbs was riding in a car as it careened over a Kentucky bluff, plummeted to the bottom, and exploded.

***

If you're the type who believes in miracles, you should look to Donald Hobbs. No one should've lived through the crash. It was a fiery, bone-crushing mess of death and there was no excuse for Hobbs to have been pulled alive from it. Yet, he was.

Though he was broken in more places than he could count and burned in a way that would make some people pray for death, Hobbs was alive. Whether he would stay alive, however, was another matter. He was a hemophiliac and that severely cut into his chances of surviving his injuries.

So began Hobbs tour of Kentucky hospitals, hospital rooms, doctors, and therapists. His last stop was Cardinal Hill Specialty Hospital. He was still in bad shape. During his recovery, he could barely move and his body showed the effects of a forced sedentary life. What's worse, he was still in the kind of pain that makes grown men cry. He was burned, broken, and having a hard time making any sort of meaningful recovery.

Enter Michelle Rose.

Rose is an occupational therapist. Her job is to take people like Hobbs and fix them well enough that they can function in the real world and live a life of adult independence. It's a goal-oriented process that can be painfully slow.

For instance, when Rose started working with Hobbs, the first goal was to sit up. Get that? The goal wasn't to make it outside for a game of touch football or walk down the hall to the Coke machine. The goal was to sit up. For you, that might be the first goal of the morning. For Hobbs, it was a long-term goal that took some serious work.

Rose didn't want to just sit there and give Hobbs pep talks. She wanted to give him a reason to sit up. So, she pulled out a deck of cards. The idea was to give Hobbs something to while sitting up (and secretly, to increase some muscle strength he'd lost during his recovery).

It wasn't easy at first. Of course, nothing in the past several months had been easy. However, over time, the games Hobbs played with his therapists became like any nightly home game. The competition spawned laughter, jokes, and story after story. Perhaps without even fully realizing it, Hobbs began sitting up for longer periods of times.

One day, during a game, Hobbs revealed he was a poker player and loved to watch it on TV. What's more, he said, Chris Moneymaker was his favorite player. Rose would later tell her colleagues that Hobbs' face lit up every time he talked about Moneymaker, about how the champion didn't forget his friends after he won the big one, and about how he liked to emulate Moneymaker's style when playing home games. Before long, Hobbs was sitting on the edge of his bed for 20 minutes at a time--no small feat for a guy who should've died months earlier.

What Hobbs didn't know at the time was that he was talking to a friend of someone who worked on the World Series circuit. What Hobbs didn't know what that he was about to get one heckuva surprise.

***

I wasn't there when Moneymaker heard about Hobbs, but I've been made to understand that his reaction sounded a lot like, "Autographed picture? Forget that. Where is he? I'm going to go see him."

And that's exactly what happened. Moneymaker showed up at Cardinal Hill and challenged Hobbs to a heads-up match with hospital straws as chips.






Photo courtesy Cincinnati Enquirer

Before the game was over, Moneymaker made a deal with Hobbs: get better and join him in Las Vegas for the 2008 World Series.

In a world where goals begin with sitting up in bed, making it to the World Series may seem like an unreachable achievement. However, Hobbs has proven he's no ordinary guy and if the goal involves the World Series and Chris Moneymaker, I'd bet he can make it.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper packages tied up with strings...

These were a few of Julie Andrews favourite things in the 'Sound of Music'.

I wondered what PokerStars players favourite things might be? I expected these could be big hands winning, outdrawing fishes, first places in freerolls, and schnitzel with noodles.

Well, who doesn't like noodles?

PokerStars players often write to the Support Team to ask advice about their favourite things, or else to complain when a favourite feature goes wrong. These are some email comments from players about the Good, the Bad and the Ugly at PokerStars. Recieving emails like these are certainly one of my favourite things about working at PokerStars.

Names have been changed to protect player privacy.

User Names

'Can you remove that player's name? That name is obviously disrespectful to elves.'

'When i started to play poker on your site i wasn't really speaking english,and now than i do... i would like to be able to change my player name .... cause 'glorywalls' is a really a meanless name ... wich doesnt have a good impact on other players. If you can .... change it for DonkeyTown .... that name is really better.'

'How do I change my user ID from joeyshit to joeys_hit?'

'I would like to change my nickname. you know what this name in english mean? but i'm a german man and in my language is this word : brave or eager. I would like change from my name: willi wacker'

Pictures

'You should certainly not allow pictures of squirrels with overgrown anatomy.'

'Please, I want to change my Pic on Pokerstars, course I have now spectacles and my appearance is now modified.'

'he has a picture of an M&M character smoking marijuana which is offensive to me as a fan of the M&M's and not a drug user.'

'Could you please tell me how l can have an image in the gold circle. l would
like the lady whom l think is in the gymnasium.'

Winning & Losing

'I would like to know how I can earn free player points'

'I have won 2 different entries to the Sunday tourney, what happens? Do I start with more chips?'

'Today morning 03H50 in france; approximaty 09H 50 pm in USA. Table Alhair IV Omaha high/low. I wan the cartes n° 11029877284, a winnings of 10 has beeplayed to
the participant "MURPHY" who vanished at once. Many thanks for your regulariring.

Regards
Jean-claude
*Many errors Today'

'I won a ticket to the weekly tourniment on Sunday if I turn off computer do I
loose registration?'

Short a noodle or two..?

'That shows exactly that I had a sraight (King to four)'

'Dear sir/madam, how many quids I must pay for 1000 coins?'

'i played in a room and won a little over 12,000 in chips....when i leave the table, where do those chips go? Please answer me soon. i'm waiting.'

'I want to make a deal at my final table, we'd like chip shop #s chop'

Do you think he wants salt and vinegar with that?

'I recently bought a new computer and downloaded pokerstars. I have been using the site for a while now on my old computer, and the new download does not seem right at all. There is no slide bar to allow me to bet. The table reads that it is 25/50 blinds but when I go to it, it is 10/25. The max money you can bring to a 25/50 table is 50 this says I can bring 1,000,000. It just seems weird. I do not want to be outside the rules. I have tried un-installing the software and re-installing it 3 times now. What do you think the problem is?'

A little while later he wrote back...

'I just realized the problem I am having is that I was sitting at a fixed limit table. I am sorry for taking up your time.'

Lee Jones ran a competion in which players had to write in listing the top half dozen poker nations...

'hello, my name is karen21
i say the top 6 countries r
usa
canada
itality
paris
austria'

Counting the 'countries' is only the start of it.

'I fail to understand why your security department require to see this ID?
(1) My licence was issued in 1976, so it never has had a photo.
(2) I also also pay my utility bills on time, so I have no need for you to check
if they are paid.'

Have you ever heard of 'race games'?

'I was told I had to pay into a fund to play at their table because you had
to be some kind of a car racer.'

'We are a team of guys that play Texas Holdem every week. We do however have a major debate as to what the sequence of the winning suite is. We believe it to be spades then diamonds, then clubs, then hearts. Is this correct and if not what is the correct sequence?'

Suggestions for Improvements

We welcome feedback from our players...

'DEAR MANAGER OR COORDINATOR,

WHEN I WIN A 'SIT & GO TOURNIMENT', ADD THE FREE CHIPS TO MY FREE CHIP STACK. OTHER WISE, THE INSENATIVE TO HAMMER OUT A WIN, IN THE 'SIT & GO', IS LOST. IT'S THE PSYCHOLOGY, THE MOTIVATION TO KEEP HAMMERING AWAY, IN THE STRESSFUL 'SIT & GO', AND WHEN I WIN, I HAVE NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT.

THINK -- "MOTIVATE THE PLAYERS TO KEEP TRYING".'

'Er, thank you for the suggestion...'

Site Integrity

Sadly when poker players lose they sometimes blame our software, rather than their own bad play, or plain old bad luck.

'this isnt random, cause i wouldnt lose 40k of chips within one hour with
absolutely good cards, i have called the cops and they will investigate this
thouroughly'

'I am not reinstalling the software, I'm afraid even having your software on my PC any longer may increase my outdraws at the other poker sites.'

'I know that you will answer something like "Our games are controlled by nanana or ninini...and our games are fair at 10000 %...etc...." but the fact is here. Do you find normal that I loose from 7 monthes an horrible amount without being paid back NOT EVEN ONCE. Do you read me ????!!!! : NOT EVEN ONCE... So from know I will play my games on a big tv screen and record on my Handycam the wholes games sequences, in case that this strange situation, really strange situation happened, not only against me, but like yesterday ON THE WHOLE players, I will be very happy to show this video to the good persons that you really care about if you know what I mean.'

'I have given you every opportunity to either address the deals or provide me with a professional tutor who can help me improve my game. You have refused on both accounts.'

'i keep talking about ur dealiung U KEEP TALKING ABOUT UR SHUFFLE the whole thing is NOT about a shuffle.....u can shuffle the cards or NOT.....its the bloody dealing that counts. u keep telling me u have a perfect shuffle..........but NO MENTION ABOUT UR DEALING......'

But sometimes players get lucky, and they get happy, right..?

'I must say thank you, in this tourney i did suck my opponents out a few times and i said when that did happen i would write you so im doin it.. But still, why cant i suckout when there is more money on the line?'

Wrong.

Poker Characters

'Can you ban my chat for me? I find chatting distracts me from my play. If you dont oblige, I will get a chat ban the old fashion way.'

'weonlyhad2threemtnbreaksin2hoursimhandycappedandittakes

timetogotothebathroomthankforyouremaililikeyourservice'

'First of all, i would like to say that i love Pokerstars so much. I wear pokerstars shirt, i sleep in a Pokerstars pyjama of my own, i play with pokerstars cards with my friends and i even printed the pokerstars logo on many of my underwears. The problem is that last week i wanted to tatoo the logo "pokerstars" on my shoulder. It's my cousin who made it (you can't imagine how good this guy is! He has already tatooed the face of Madonna on my leg... Yes Madonna is the other passion of my life ! If you don't know her you should definitly listen to her music). Anyway, yesterday, my cousin finished the tatoo but he made ONE BIG mistake : he wrote "Pokestars" instead of "Pokerstars." Yes you're right, he forgot the R !

As i guess you know, you can't delete a tatoo that's why i ask you for a BIG favor : Can you change the name of your society to "Pokestars" so i won't be ridiculous my whole life? Thanks so much in advance.'

'You asked us to explain multiple accounts for your security. We do have three accounts on this computer due to the fact that I spilt some wine on my computer and therefore my husband and I have been playing on our daughters computer.'

'Thank you for your reply. Fortunately, i had two people who were watching me play and they all saw the cards. If you are not able to reinstate the loss i will have no alternative but to cancel my account with poker stars and pass on my concerns to the good people of Newcastle and the Central Coast of New South Wales.'

Chat

'i have a chat complaint to make and here is the chat

"mrfoxy: TIME FOR MRFOXY TO SING HIS SONG."

mrfoxy would not remove caps for computer ettiquette'

'Please address the chat of 'BROOLLY' with all his mother and sister comments, my mother has passed and my sister is mentally challenged.'

'With respect the original email i sent 30/5/2007 for bad language i would like to draw to your attention that the language i was using was french and am not aware that that is bad language.'

'you take my chat. ok I can just sue you guys for defamition of charator. you people r f...'

'i feel i have been taken off chat as my punishment for being alive and honest.'

'Hey whats up buddy? Just wanted to see how dinner was and how your mothers doin. Thats good. Well, my chat recently got revoked on accident and I just need you to turn it back on so i can use my strategy to win more poker hands. Thanks alot for understanding my situation and since im much cooler than every other nerd who sits on the computer and plays poker i know my needs will be met.'

'I would really appreciate my chat back....Hopefully only to say GG after I win. I do still have issues but the warden says that if I take my medicine I should be alright. I look forward to chatting one more day of my life.'

So... Sing along now!


When the flush hits,
When the chat stings,
When I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

It's not always easy being a PokerStars blogger. Sometimes I feel I lack the skills I need to do the job properly. Like today. Today it is my duty to tell you about a new promotion for French, and French speaking, players. Of course I don't speak French.

Undeterred this intrepid blogger reached for her French Dictionary, and couldn't find it, so loaded up a 'Babel Fish' online language translator web page.

If you 'parlez Français' you will find it useful to visiting this page which lists full details of these special freeroll tournaments.

I persevered with a web-translator-translated page of text in my attempts to research this event. I discovered the freerolls send players to a televised final on the 'Direct 8' TV channel. I marvelled at the baffling translated text that appeared. At 14h10 it was possible to watch 'THE WAR OF THE PRIVATE ONES: BYE CHICKENS'.

How could I fail to be intrigued by the show, 'SPLASH DANCE?' In the name of research I had to learn more. 'Who will dare to wet his shirt not to finish soaked? Placed on two headlands with the top of the swimming pool, candidates are in the center of the attentions. They have three minutes to convince. After deliberation of the jury, the headland of the losers is concealed under their feet and "splash"!'

Sounds exciting! But I hadn't forgotten it was my mission to bring you informative poker news, so I learned, 'Direct Poker is the first emission which gives to its televiewers the advisability of playing the poker in one hour a weekly emission when qualified the online clashes with television until the great final which will designate the winner.'

Don't worry, I didn't need to rely on online translations. I asked someone in the office about the French poker freerolls. Apparently the tournaments run on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and are open to all players from Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Monaco. Four satellites will award seats daily, sending 48 players to another tournament. Each final will send 24 players to the television show taping in Paris on 30 August.

So there you have it. Facts. Job done.

'All summer, Direct 8 organizes you voyages out of the commun run. Leave at the end of the world to discovered exotic nature and cultures... immediate loading for idyllic destinations with accompanying adventurous to figure the... daring one.'

13h40 BIKINI DESTINATIONS. If you watch this and fold your straight by mistake, don't blame me.

Bonne chance! Or as a Babel Fish translator might put it, 'Well luckiest!'

By Brad "Otis" Willis
More than 250 people signed up on Sunday to compete for a one of a kind PokerStars felt signed by the cast and producer of the blockbuster film "Ocean's Thirteen." The rebuy tournament offered the winner-take-all prize. It took five hours, but when it was over, PokerStars BlueLabel11 walked away with the prize.



The Ocean's Thirteen Darfur Charity Tournament was the third is a series of events to aid the efforts of Not On Our Watch, a charity aimed at reducing the suffering in Darufur, Sudan.

Since the the tournaments kicked off, the tournaments have sent PokerStars winners to the premieres of "Ocean's Thirteen" in Cannes and Los Angeles. What's more, PokerStars and its players have donated more than $1 million to the Darfur cause. Now, BlueLabel11 has a one-of-a-kind prize.

Congratulations to all the winners of the Ocean's Thirteen Charity tournaments for their wins, and thanks to all of the people who played in the events for your giving spirit.

By Brad "Otis" Willis

This is the weekend you can win a one-of-a-kind prize straight from PokerStars and the cast of Ocean's Thirteen. PokerStars is giving away a signed poker baize (known in some circles as a felt) in a tournament aimed at helping the efforts of Not On Our Watch, a charity that aids the suffering in Darfur, Sudan. The Ocean's Thirteen Charity Event is on July 22nd 2007, 15:30 ET. The winner will receive a professional poker baize signed by the producer and cast of "Ocean’s Thirteen".


Here's a little background on how PokerStars ended up with this prize:

Back during the worldwide premiere of the movie at the Hotel Du Cap in Cannes, France, the cast of "Ocean's Thirteen" reunited and took the time to sign the baize for PokerStars' third 'Ocean's Thirteen Charity Tournament'. It was an act of both charity and appreciation for PokerStars' involvement in the charity Not On Our Watch.

This was the first time the cast had all gathered together for a photo call since shooting the movie poster. Also in attendance was Team PokerStars' 2005 World Champion Joe Hachem, who gladly offered up playing tips to the stars, in particular Don Cheadle and Matt Damon who turned up early to meet the champ.


Producer Jerry Weintraub, together with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle, launched the charity Not On Our Watch to help raise awareness of the suffering in Darfur, the western region of Sudan, Africa.

The plight there is very real -- hundreds of thousands of people there have lost their lives due to the ongoing instability in the region, and millions more have been displaced and are entirely reliant on international aid for their survival.

It's a situation that requires help -- and fast. And that's exactly what PokerStars and its players have provided. First, PokerStars donated $1 million to the charity. Then it ran two charity tournaments with great Ocean's Thirteen prizes.

PokerStars players' efforts have been fantastic so far. And, for their charitable efforts, eight of the players -- with guests -- have attended the 'Ocean's Thirteen' premieres in both Cannes and Los Angeles. Other winners will receive copies of the DVD when it goes on general release.

The prize for the third 'Ocean's Thirteen Charity Tournament' will be no less spectacular. The winner will receive a signed baize, framed, as you see above.

If you want to donate direct to the charity it couldn't be easier, email support@pokerstars.net for all the details. All money will go directly to the charity and PokerStars will generously match all funds donated!

Three PokerStars players have earned a combined $8,845,249 at the final table of the 2007 World Series. Tuan Lam, Raymond Rahme, and Hevad "RaiNKhaN" Khan all made it to the biggest final table in poker and put on a great show for the world.


Tuan Lam, 2nd place, $4,840,981


Raymond Rahme, 3rd place, $3,048,025


Hevad Khan, 6th place, $956,243

Lam, Rahme, and Khan join scores of other PokerStars players who won millions in this year's main event.

This seven weeks in Las Vegas saw Team PokerStars members make multiple final tables, as well as Team PokerStars' Katja Thater win her first World Series bracelet. We witnessed how powerful a PokerStars field can be when it brings its online experience to the live game.

By the members of Team Blog

When the final table of the 2007 World Series kicks off on Tuesday, three PokerStars players will be vying for the gold championship bracelet. Among them are a PokerStars VIP Club Supernova, a high-limit cash game specialist, and a sexagenarian from South Africa.

Here's what the final table looks like (with PokerStars players in bold).

Philip Hilm 22,070,000
Tuan Lam 21,315,000
Jon Kalmar 20,320,000
Raymond Rahme 16,320,000
Lee Childs 13,240,000
Lee Watkinson 9,925,000
Hevad Khan 9,205,000
Jerry Yang 8,450,000
Alex Kravchenko 6,570,000

Here's a bit more about the PokerStars players at the final table.


Tuan Lam
Tuan Lam is a 40-year-old former poker dealer from Ontario, Canada. Known as BABYHAN on PokerStars, you'll find him regularly playing the high-limit cash games to a lot of success. Lam finished runner-up in the 2005 World Championship of Online Poker $200 short-handed no-limit hold'em event. He has played a few big live tournaments, but this is by far his biggest tournament cash so far.


Raymond Rahme
Sixty-two year-old Raymond Rahme only started playing no-limit hold'em two years ago. This life-long seven card stud player is a semi-retired entrepreneur from South Africa and is part of a television program that has followed him here to Vegas. Rahme has a large contingent of South Africans here with him in Las Vegas and was responsible for breaking the final table bubble by busting the tenth place player after flopping a set of queens.


Hevad "RaiNKhaN" Khan
Hevad "RaiNKhaN" Khan is an imposing and excitable figure who is a PokerStars VIP Club Supernova. Once accused of being a poker bot, RaiNKhaN is famous for being able to play dozens of SNGs at the same time on a single 17" monitor. RaiNKhaN has developed quite a following here after proving to be the most animated character left in the event. This is RaiNKhaN's second trip to the World Series main event. He now stands to make more money than he ever has before.

The game will resume on Tuesday at noon. The final nine players will be competing for these prizes.

1. $8,250,000
2. $4,840,981
3. $3,048,025
4. $1,852,721
5. $1,255,069
6. $956,243
7. $705,229
8. $585,699
9. $525,934

Final table play will last for hours and hours (some have predicted anywhere between 18 and 22). It will be a marathon. Still, getting there wasn't easy either.

***

The Amazon Room is a 39,000 square foot ballroom, used for conventions and trade shows. Two months out of the year, it becomes a poker room for the WSOP. Down to eleven players, only a twentieth of the space is used to hold the final two tables. The ESPN Feature Table is down to five players: Tuan Lam, Scotty Nguyen, Philip Hilm, Raymond Rahme, and Lee Childs.

Short-handed play at the Main Event can be difficult to adjust to for some players. Those experienced with this part of a tournament can grab crucial chips needed at a Final Table while others stay tight and hope to wait out the next guy to bust. The money starts jumping after the tenth player busts, and no one wants to be the Final Table bubble boy. Play was not weak/tight, but it certainly was deliberate. Each hand was unpredictable. One would be a quick raise met by universal folds and resulted in a pot only as big as the blinds and antes. The next would be an excruciatingly long hand that lasted longer than some Turbo SNG's. Screams came from sweaters as one player or another took down a big pot. For the most part, it was a long process of sitting and waiting, for the players as well as the spectators. Short-handed play ended there with the unexpected elimination of The Poker Prince Scotty Nguyen. That left PokerStars players Raymond Rahme and Tuan Lam.

On what PokerNews dubbed "The Outer Table," play was not much different. However, it did feature the most animated player left in the field. After a card-dead opening to the day, PokerStars qualifier Hevad "RaiNKhaN" Khan built up a head of steam, and then got together a decent stack that gives him plenty of ammunition for the final table. Two big pots after the dinner break against first Jerry Yang and then Jon Kalmar pushed him over the 12,000,000 mark. And although he slipped back a bit, he is in far better shape than he could have hoped for just hours earlier.

He spent most of the day on the outer table, and ended his stay there in typically aggressive fashion in the big blind, re-raising Lee Watkinson's 500,000 bet from the cut-off to 1,170,000 to take the pot without further bloodshed. Finally when Nguyen busted off the feature table, the final ten players got together to knock off one more player.

That process took a couple of hours and only ended when Steven Garfinkle moved all-in pre-flop with A3. Rahme woke up in the small blind with pocket queens, made the call, and flopped a set. A couple of cards later, Garfinkle was out and the final table was set.

Good luck to our PokerStars players at the WSOP Final Table later today.

Have you heard tales of unclaimed lottery prize money? People sometimes buy lottery tickets but then forget to check the numbers, so they might live in ignorance of a life changing big money win. The closest I've ever come to an unclaimed prize experience was when I owned a coffee shop loyalty card and needed one more stamp to get the 10th coffee free. I lost the card. So much for loyalty, I was so annoyed I never went back, and now I only drink Starbucks.

You may be surprised to hear that there's a PokerStars equivalent of unclaimed lottery prizes. If you read the blog regularly you'll know that PokerStars adds prize money to many events in special promotional games. There are regularly freerolls where players have the chance to win real cash. PokerStars.net players sometimes win real money prizes but don't even realise it. Yesterday PokerStars decided to look into exactly how much money was sitting unused in PokerStars.net player's accounts. There was a total of $113,545.55 of unclaimed money. One player had won $977 in a freeroll then gone back to the fun money games without even noticing.

PokerStars will be sending emails to all these players to inform them that they've won prizes. Watch your email in-box carefully - it could be you! And if you want any further information on claiming your money, or would like to check if your account contains some of this lost PokerStars.net treasure, please email support@pokerstars.net to ask for advice.

And next time you do the lottery be sure to check those numbers!

Swedish poker players have a reputation for raising the cards that poker books tell you to throw away. German players are emotionless, calmly clever to a man. Or woman, in Katja Thater's case. Brazilian poker players seem to be classy, flair players. Belgian poker players... Ok, I'll admit I don't know a thing about Belgian poker. However I do know that Poland's poker players are the best in the world!

A team of five young Poles made their country proud in Barcelona last June when they sealed victory in PokerStars World Cup of Poker 2006.


Team Poland winners of the World Cup of Poker 2006
PokerStars has now launched qualifiers for the World Cup of Poker 2007. It costs nothing to enter, and every PokerStars player has the chance to represent their country in this event. Online qualifiers will determine the best eight national teams. These teams will travel to Barcelona to play for the title of World Cup Champions, the final will be taped for TV broadcast. The prize money provided by PokerStars is substantial, here's what those teams can win:

1st: $100,000 ($20,000 per person)
2nd: $60,000 ($12,000 per person)
3rd: $40,000 ($8,000 per person)
4th: $20,000 ($4,000 per person)

I was lucky enough to be blogging at the World Cup last year and I have to say it was the most exciting tournament I've witnessed. Sure, there are bigger cash prizes in the poker world, but it made me realise that poker as a team sport is special. Gone were the usual selfish concerns, every player there wanted to do well for their country and hold high that cup for his team.

If you want to play poker for your country check out our World Cup of Poker page for all the details.

Are you Canadian? Do you like beer? Would you enjoy playing poker with Daniel Negreanu? Would you want to enter a live tournament with a prize pool worth millions?

If you answered 'yes' to all of those questions you might just be in luck. If you answered 'yes' only to the liking beer question you might just have a problem. Quite frankly that's your business.

PokerStars are running a contest in partnership with the Ontario Beer Store. This absolutely free tournament will give nine players the chance to play with poker superstar Daniel Negreanu at PokerStars. One lucky winner will travel to meet Daniel and play with him in a live tournament with a prize pool worth millions.


To find the freeroll password you need to stop by your local Ontario Beer Store and pick up a flyer, or else check out the in-store posters. Register for the next free qualifier by clicking on the "Tourney" tab in the PokerStars game lobby and scrolling to locate the next "Ontario Beer Store Negreanu Freeroll" tournament.

The Grand Prize Package includes free entry into the $10,000 Borgata Poker Classic in Atlantic city from September 16 – 20. The Grand Prize Package also includes $2,000 in cash for hotel and travel and dinner with Daniel before the event.

You can play for free every Thursday and Sunday at 6:30PM ET on PokerStars. Each of the two weekly tournaments will award $100 in cash prizes and advance the winner to the online final on Sunday, August 12th 2007. You can play in as many of the weekly events you'd like and win as many cash prizes as you can, but remember you can only win one seat in the August 12th Final.

Further details of the promotion are available if you click here. Good luck, and 'Cheers!'

By Brad "Otis" Willis
PokerStars announced today that Brazilian Player Andre Akkari is joining the elite Team PokerStars. Anyone who watched poker in Brazil has likely seen Akkari as the leading poker commentator for ESPN Brazil. Now, Akkari is in Las Vegas flying the flags of both his native Brazil and his home poker site, PokerStars.


Over the past several years, Akkari's aggressive poker play has turned him into a successful and well-recognized player in his home country and on the international tournament circuit. A native of Sao Paulo, Akkari was a marketing man for a software company until he turned himself over to his true love, poker. Starting off battling in freeroll tournaments, Akkari built sizable bankroll and a name for himself in the PokerStars community.

Akkari turned pro in 2006 at age 31 after spending 2005 at more final tables than he could count in Las Vegas and South America. From there, he couldn't stop winning live or online. Just last year he put up a fourth in the Sunday Million. In just two short years he has already participated in more than 43 tournaments in Latin America, Europe and the United States. He's won more than $600,000.


After watching Team PokerStars play on TV, Akkari dreamt of being one of them. "I didn't just want to play with them," he said. "I wanted to join them on Team PokerStars, and help bring this incredible sport to more people in Brazil and all over South America. After years of playing on PokerStars, I’m truly grateful to have that chance."

"Poker has been growing at an explosive rate in Brazil, as it has all over Latin America," said fellow Team PokerStars Member Humberto Brenes. "I believe that our society has begun to see poker differently--it's the stakes, the challenge, the strategy, and the mental game that Brazilians and all Latinos have come to love. Not only is Andre a great addition to the Team, but its great to have South America additionally represented on Team PokerStars."

Andre believes he was born a poker player. His screen name AAkkari gives him aces full of kings in the first five letters. His fellow Brazilians are a loyal lot of PokerStars players and the national pride is evident everywhere they go. In fact, any time Akkari or any of his friends make a final table on PokerStars, the rail is flooded with Brazilians who get in trouble for speaking in their native Portugusse. You'll often find them typing "Vamu!" Portuguese for "let's go!"). The cheers for Akkari are growing so popular that the Brazilians hope that one day "Vamu" will become standard poker speak in the PokerStars chat.

Akkari is more than just a poker player, though. His entire life is built around his wife and two daughters.

"They are the center of my life and definitely the reason why I work so hard to grow in my career and within the worldwide poker community," Akkari said.

You'll find Andre playing on PokerStars under the name, "AAkkari".

Welcome to Team PokerStars, Andre.

It's Monday morning and I've just started work. I'm no different to most people, when I get back to the office after a weekend, I often feel a bit, 'Hmmmm... blah.'

So today I sat at my desk with my usual black coffee, my regular blueberry muffin, and PokerStars asked me to choose which World Champion I'd like to play cards with.

Monday mornings have never been this much fun before!

I decided to challenge Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 World Series of Poker Champion. He must have been brighter than me at the start of the new week, I'd barely looked at my cards before he announced, "Raise."

I didn't have much of a hand, but I gulped my coffee, it was hot and strong and I hoped it would help. I needed help... I felt cold hearted and weak willed, because I'd decided to call the World Champion's raise with just my mis-matched ten and six.

The Ace high flop wasn't at all what I wanted to see. Chris just shrugged and checked. He wouldn't spot me grinning with relief to get that free turn card, would he? The turn was a Jack. I had nothing on the flop, more nothing by the turn... So what made me call Moneymaker's turn bet?

It could be because it was all just a game. I was playing PlayTheChamps.com, PokerStars snazzy new website, that gives everyone the chance to live their dream and play poker with WSOP stars.



I wanted to get to the end of my hand, hoping that by some fluke I'd hit a pair and win. And as this was a dream of a Monday that's exactly what happened. The champ had nothing. He thumped the virtual card table with anger, while I punched the air to celebrate!

Then Joe Hachem said, "Ready to play?"

Was I ready? You bet I was! You raise, Joe? I re-raise you! Caffeine and muffin-sugar fuelled my outrageous bluff. When Joe Hachem re-raised me on the turn I knew he was just full of it! Was there still time for me to book my flight to Vegas? On this form I could be Team PokerStars next WSOP Champion... Or maybe I was just fooling myself with my Monday morning dreams? Yeah, back to the day job. But if the boss isn't looking I'll probably play Greg Raymer later.

If you want to play poker with the Team PokerStars champs then visit PlayTheChamps. Tell Greg I sent you. Good luck!