WSOP

Well it has been some time since I Have posted but we finally have a WSOP main event champ and I was there in person to see the heads up match. A 22-year-old Dane rated 6,941st in poker's rankings became the youngest champion at the World Series of Poker's richest event, collecting $9.15 million in Las Vegas yesterday.

Peter Eastgate, known as the ``Ice Skate,'' won the longest final in series history by defeating Russia's Ivan Demidov -- another low-ranked player who learned his poker on Internet sites -- to eclipse Phil Hellmuth, a 24-year-old winner in 1989.

``I wasn't thinking about the records or anything like that, I just was thinking about playing my game,'' Eastgate said on the WSOP web site

The final, held at the Rio All-Suites Hotel-Casino, started with nine players and lasted 15 hours and 28 minutes -- 78 minutes longer than the previous longest final table in 2005.

In July, more than 6,800 participants began in what is officially called the World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em. It's known as the Main Event because it's the richest of more than 50 tournaments on a circuit founded in the 1970s.

The 27-year-old Demidov, ranked 425th, won $5.8 million for finishing second. Eastgate's paycheck was the second-largest in series history after the $12 million won by 2006 World Series of Poker champion Jamie Gold.

``I don't know right now,'' said Eastgate, when asked in a televised interview how he would spend the money. ``I haven't planned.''

Holdem Radio is Back and Jeffrey Lisandro has Joined the Team!!

After a few weeks off the air HoldemRadio is back! For those of you who have been hangin' around and staying in touch thanks for the support! A lot has been going on behind the scenes here at HoldemRadio. The biggest news is that HoldemRadio now has a new partner. WSOP bracelet winner and high limit cash player Jeffrey Lisandro has joined the HoldemRadio family. Jeffrey is now a part owner of HoldemRadio and will be on the air with us on a regular basis. It seems Jeff loves HoldemRadio too!

We will be going through some reorganization of the website over the next few weeks so be prepared for changes. I know poker players don't like change but we're determined to make HoldemRadio your only stop for poker entertainment and we strive to improve your experience while hangin' out with us! Te Celebrate the Relaunch we have sent up some tourneys to get us all back in the swing of things. Friday Night Live A $75.00 Free Roll that begins at 8:00pm EDT. To receive the password for this tournament you must be listening to HoldemRadio 1 hour before the tournament begins. We will be repeating the password on air for the balance of the hour. Also At 10:00pm EDT we will begin a $5.50 buy in tournament with $25.00 added to the pot! These Events will be played at Players card room. Please come Join us celebrate the relaunch and welcome our new Friend Jeffrey Lisandro ! If you have not downloaded Players card room Please click here See you all Tonight !!!!!!!!

PPSN, is a social network for people who embrace the game of Poker

In order to give poker players their own special place to socialize with others in the industry and discuss poker happenings, a new site was launched a few weeks ago called Poker Players Social Network . PPSN features the ability to upload and share photos and videos, connect with others in the community through friends’ lists and joining groups specific to each player’s interests. There are close to 500 members so far, including everyone from Joe Schmoe poker player to some pretty big names like Doyle, Annie, and Hoyt.

High Stakes Poker: Sickest pot ever

The biggest pot in TV show High Stakes Poker history was played in the latest episode. Over $700K was on the table when Jamie Gold and Patrik Antonius clashed. With the minimum buy-in recently raised to $500,000, the High Stakes Poker action has been ultra-crazy in the last few episodes. In this particular hand, Patrik Antonius picked up As-Jd and raised to $4,000. Jamie Gold looked down on pocket kings, and re-raised to $14,000. Only Antonius called. The flop came 3s-Qd-Th. Antonius checked and Gold bet $15,000 with his over pair. The Finnish player called with one over card and a gut-shot straight draw. Amazingly, the turn brought the Kh. Gold now had top set, while Antonius had the nuts, an ace-high straight. Antonius bet $45,000, and Gold moved all-in for $341,500. Antonius immediately called, and thus created the biggest pot in the history of High Stakes Poker: $743,800 was on the table. “Unbelievable, but what am I going to do, right?” Gold said. Since it’s a cash game, the players are allowed to make deals in situations like these. Gold and Antonius decided to play the river three times, with almost $250,000 at stake on each card. Being a 3-to-1 underdog, Gold was hoping to catch at least one lucky card, and when the dealer placed the Qh on the table, giving Gold a full house, he shouted “Yes!” The 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event champion’s luck continued when the second river card was dealt. The 3d gave Gold another full house. “Haha! Wow!” was all Gold said this time, while Antonius hardly reacted at all. Gold was hoping for the case king to come the third time, but instead it was the 8s. Antonius’ hand finally held up, and he calmly collected a third of the gigantic pot. High Stakes Poker host AJ Benza summarized the craziest pot ever in the following way: “I tell you one thing: Patrik can take a punch. Imagine if that was Phil Hellmuth.” Note: High Stakes Poker airs on Mondays at 9 p.m. on the GSN network

Warning issued on lead in poker chips

Unbelievable We have to watch what we eat and drink and now watch what poker chips we play with!!Lead in poker chips Arizona health regulators issued a warning Thursday, saying Paulson brand poker chips could contain high levels of lead. The warning about the chips — used in many casinos and sold at retail to gamblers — came a day after a Phoenix TV station broadcast a story about the potential contamination. The station had 200 of the chips tested by a private lab and said all of them exceeded the EPA limit for surface lead. Paulson’s CEO issued a statement saying the company objected to any implication that the chips, when used as intended, posed a health hazard. He also said the chips had been reformulated to contain far less lead. The Associated Press

Chopping !!

Deal making is an important skill in poker tournaments. The reason for this is the prize structure of modern day tournaments. The prize pool ends up being extremely favorable to the winner, as well as the top three players in the tournament. The winner and second place often get up to sixty percent of the entire prize pool. First gets double second place, and often 4 times what the third place finisher receives. Because of this, at the late stages of a tournament deal making is be a very important skill.Many players don’t see the advantage to deal making. They figure, “Well, why should I give up a chance at first place money?” The reason is, you play poker to win money. You must accept that you will rarely final table tournaments, and win them even less. When you get to the final table you need to maximize your profit, and deal making can do that.One factor to take into account is if there are any player points involved. For example, Poker Stars has a weekly and yearly Tournament Leader Board. Players at Poker Stars are often very interested in winning a week of the entire year. You can use this to your advantage in deal making. For example:You have a short stack, and players are trying to arrange a deal. You can barter with the player points. Explain that the top players are going to get the player points, so you want more money.Also, always try to arrange a deal right before you are in the blinds. The opposite is also true. If another player proposes a deal just before his big blind, point out that he’s about to invest a ton of chips into the pot, so he should get less money.Usually, deals are created just by divvying up the prize pool by chip percentages. If you are a large stack, you should agree to this method. If you are a short stack, you should reject it. The reason being, if you only have 10% of the chips, and your opponents have 40% and 50%, you are going to get a very small portion of the prize pool. But, in all reality, you have a much better chance of coming in second or first place then your small share of the prize pool would reflect.The best deal making strategy you can use is to “play hard to get.” When deals are being proposed, make sure that it is known that you don’t really want to make a deal. If you show that you are unsure about the deal, players will offer you more money to persuade you to accept it.Deal making is especially important in one table sit and go satellites. Many players often just play these to make the final three players then chop the pot up.Deal making is an important skill in poker, and crucial to your final table strategy. By using the tips above you’ll be able to extract more money when you make the final table, and be able to negotiate excellent deals.

In No-Limit Texas Hold’em, table image is everything. It can mean the difference between a losing session and a winning one. There are a few rules you must learn before learning how to exploit your table image for maximum profit. The first rule is that if you plan on showing a loose table image, you must be playing players who will acknowledge it. You cannot go to a low limit table where players go all-in with anything and expect to make a profit by showing them how loose you are. The best way to beat a low limit game is by playing the cards. Table image becomes a factor when you are playing the player rather than the cards. The second rule about table image deals with giving too much money away on trash hands. If you plan on playing like a maniac, show this to your opponents. Be careful not to go overboard and start playing stupid as it is very easy to fall into this trap. As a maniac, your goal should be to showdown a few cheap pots with trash hands and to raise some pretty crappy hands pre-flop. A lot of times, you will raise trash and hit top pair. Don’t get carried away with this and let it go if it must be done. The third and most important rule is to always play tight on the flop. Even if you are acting like a maniac, do the raising pre-flop. Only call down for a good image and show a stupid hand if the pot is really cheap. The Three Table Images The three table images I will discuss have varying degrees. I will outline the basic concepts and requirements for each image. The goal we are trying to accomplish here is letting our opponents make mistakes based on how we are perceived. We are trying to get them to lay down top pair when we are bluffing with a tight table image. Likewise, we are trying to get them to call us when we have the stone cold nuts and are playing like a maniac. Maniac Tight Crazy (Unpredictable) You can learn to play any of these images and I advise you to master them all. On a daily basis, I might use all 3 table images if the table demands it. Table image should be chosen based on the current status of a table. Which Table Image To Choose Choose your table image based on whether the table is loose or tight. Tight Table- Tight Image Loose Table- Loose Image This may look weird considering most people say play tight on a loose table and loose on a tight table. That is right. But you have to remember, we are talking image here, not the way we play. It doesn’t matter WHAT image I choose, I always play tight on the flop no matter what. Even when I am playing the role of a maniac, I will very rarely call down without nuts or a premium hand. I will occasionally show down a bad hand on purpose if it is a cheap pot overall. The reason we want to show that we are tight on a tight table is because most of the time the players will give up top pair. You will be able to steal the blinds and bluff as much as you want so long as the tight players THINK you are tight. The reason we want to show that we are loose on a loose table is because we want our opponents to think we are stupid players as well. Sometimes, on a really loose table, all you need to do is sit there and you will still get action on pocket aces. If they are folding to your premium hands, then make a few stupid calls here and there and raise some trash hands pre-flop so they know you are there to play and not there to take their money. The crazy table image is best when playing against players that you know are capable of reading you. Opponents that pay extreme attention to your every move can only be countered with one table image, the unpredictable and crazy image. These types of players (crazy/unpredictable) are winners over the long run because you will never peg them on a set hand. They know when to give up flops and know when to bet you out of the pot.