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Live updates from day 1A, level 2 (blinds 75-150) of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from Adelaide Casino in Adelaide, South Australia. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking here.

2.30pm: Mountt flattened

Danny Mountt has earned the unwanted title of the first player to be eliminated in season two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT. “The biggest problem I have is that I’m a non-believer,” he said as he departed the Adelaide Casino tournament area barely 90 minutes after the first hand had been dealt.

Having first got his money in on the turn with [ad] [10d] on a board that read [jc] [10h] [as] [2s] [6d], he was distraught after seeing his opponent Paul Mann table K-Q for the nut straight. Leaving him with only 50 in chips, we was forced all-in on the big blind on the very next hand, managing to pick up Q-9 and hitting the on the board of [10h] [9h] [5d] [7c] [ad], but ran into Richard Klein’s pocket kings, sealing his fate.

2.15pm: Off to a flying start

Adelaide’s Steve Baulderstone is ready for take-off, having arrived for today’s flight in his trainee pilot uniform. The 27-year-old Adelaide Casino satellite winner from the local suburb of Plympton just started his first year of an Advanced Diploma in Aviation. Bizarrely, he admitted that he’s afraid of heights. “I’m always looking for a challenge and to confront my fears,” he said.

We also discovered that it wasn’t steeling himself for flying that gave him the edge over his opponents. “I actually work as a counsellor right now. From that I learned how to read people and that’s helped a lot,” he said.

Baulderstone has been playing poker for almost 10 years, both online and live and would be happy to make a deep run in this event: “It’s about $70,000 for the course so hopefully I’ll win some cash and that’ll pay for me to fly!” he said.

1.45pm: Back where it all started

The poker craze has caught casinos around the world on the hop, as the competition for space is fierce. But like most Australian casinos, Adelaide responded to the demand by establishing a 14-table poker space known as the Poker Zone. The room has quite a nice feel, with the rail stretching to the adjacent sports bar from where friends and family can keep an eye on the goings-on in the tournament area.

Games have been spread here since the casino opened in 1985, with the first Australasian Championships played in 1987. The honourboard of champions includes several of the biggest names in Aussie poker, including WSOP bracelet winner Gary Benson. Now, a new generation of players are making their mark in the spiritual home of Australian poker as they pursue the opening title in season two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT.

Tags: Australia New Zealand Poker Tour

Live updates from day 1A, level 1 (blinds 50-100) of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event brought to you by Sean Callander and Landon Blackhall from Adelaide Casino in Adelaide, South Australia. Click refresh to see the latest updates below, while the latest selected chip counts can be found by clicking here.

1.15pm: 75, and counting

ANZPT head honcho Danny McDonagh has indicated that players face a maximum of seven and a half one-hour levels today, with a start bank of 20,000. The current tally of entrants for day 1A is at 75. The structure for today’s play is:

Level 1: 50/100
Level 2: 75/150
Level 3: 100/200
Level 4: 100/200 (ante 25)
Level 5: 150/300 (ante 25)
Level 6: 200/400 (ante 50)
Level 7: 300/600 (ante 75)
Level 8: 400/800 (ante 75)

1pm: Cards are in the air

The players have taken their seats, the order to shuffle up and deal has been given and play is underway in season two of the PokerStars.net ANZPT. Today’s line-up features defending ANZPT Adelaide champion Karl Krautschneider has taken his seat today, joining PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Emad Tahtouh, sharing space with 2009 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final third-place finisher Leo Boxell and ANZPT Queenstown runner-up Andrew Hinrichsen.

Ben Barclay, who placed 14th in last year’s ANZPT Sydney Main Event, is on table five, along with good mates Tony Paino and Steve “The Big Show” Topakas. Late arrivals for today’s flight have included PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Grant Levy, 2010 Aussie Millions $1500 Bounty Event champion Jonathan Karamalikis and Australia’s new number one ranked online player Ben Delaney.

12.30pm: Hachem accepts 2009 title

It’s been a whirlwind start to the day before a card has been dealt on day 1A of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Adelaide Main Event. PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem has just been presented with his trophy for winning the 2009 ANZPT Player of the Year title. The ever-popular Hachem cashed in four of the five season one events, making him a fitting ambassador for the tour heading into season two.

“In season one, PokerStars.net added fabulous value to the ANZPT with almost AUD $100,000 in prizes awarded to the three players who achieved the highest points at all ANZPT events. As overall points champion I’m thrilled to be wearing PokerStars.net in season four of the APPT,” Hachem said.

It’s also just been announced that Canberra has been added to the 2010 ANZPT calendar, with the $2200 Main Event being held from June 11-14. From 1996 until 2002, the National Championships were played in the nation’s capital so it’s great news that poker is returning to Canberra Casino later this year.

Tags: Australia New Zealand Poker Tour

With the casino business of Atlantic City taking a beating over the tough economic times the New Jersey Government has become the first state to seriously explore online gambling (poker) revenue. Senator Raymond Lesniak introduced the S3167 Senate Bill that would permit Atlantic CIty Casinos to provide online versions of their games. Permitted games [...]

Tags: Poker Talk

The $5,000 no-limit hold’em championship at the World Series of Poker Circuit stop in Tunica, Mississippi, began today. The championship event comes at the tail end of a tournament series …

Starting February 10, Full Tilt Poker is bringing back its quarterly tournament series with the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) XV. The popular series will be guaranteeing over $17 million in prize money over the course of its 27-event run including $2.5 million for the $500 main event.
The money is, of course, the main draw for the players, but FTOPS winners

Welcome to season two of the PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) from Adelaide, the most populous city of South Australia. It’s another stunning summer’s morning but with the mercury tipped to top 100°F (38°C), we’re looking forward to taking our seats on media row in the cool of Adelaide Casino for the opening day of the ANZPT for 2010.

Adelaide has a superb setting, surrounded by open parkland separating the business heart from the suburbs and is sheltered on a narrow coastal plain between the protective ring of the Adelaide Hills and the Gulf of St Vincent.

The city features many colonial-era buildings including the historic Railway Station, which is also home to Adelaide Casino. Opened in 1985, the casino quickly became the spiritual home of Australian poker as the host venue for the Australasian Championships from 1987 until 2001.

Appropriately, Adelaide hosted the first event in the inaugural season of the ANZPT and has again been chosen as the host casino for the opening tournament of the region’s premier poker tour. Season two of the ANZPT has been extended to six events, with Perth joining Adelaide, Sydney, Queenstown, the Gold Coast and Melbourne.

Last year, more than 1300 players from around the Australia and the rest of the world took to the felt to claim a piece of the AUD $2,982,436 prize pool. Here in Adelaide, Melbourne’s Karl Krautschneider beat a field of 215 to earn himself a payday of AUD $170,215 in the first major event held in Adelaide since the days of the Australasian Championships.

ANZPT commissioner Danny McDonagh is hoping those numbers will be surpassed in 2010 as word spreads about the experience provided by the tour. In addition to the prize money and prestigious titles up for grabs, there’s a renewed focus on the travel aspects of the ANZPT in 2010, with the opportunity for all players and their friends and families to experience the best aspects of each tour stop.

And the ultra-popular ANZPT Player of the Year award returns this year – PokerStars.net added fabulous value to the ANZPT with almost AUD $100,000 in prizes awarded to the three players who achieved the highest points at all ANZPT events.

“The ANZPT provides Australian and New Zealand poker players with a professionally-executed tour in their own backyard. The ANZPT Player of the Year is now clearly the most coveted poker award in this region. It provides the opportunity for poker players to prove their skills consistently over time, enjoy great experiences playing across Australia and New Zealand, and gain the big prize – a valuable sponsorship with PokerStars.net,” McDonagh said.

Reigning ANZPT Player of the Year, PokerStars.net Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem, was front and centre at last night’s traditional Aussie barbecue along with teammates Emad Tahtouh, Eric Assadourian and Grant Levy. They’ll headline a field of top Australian and New Zealand players, along with PokerStars.net qualifiers from across the world.

We look forward to bringing you all the action from the South Australian capital for ANZPT Adelaide over the next six days – the first event on the second season of the PokerStars.net ANZPT. Cards should be in the air at approximately 12.15pm local time (1.45am GMT).

Tags: Australia New Zealand Poker Tour

Like many people accross the world yesterday, Doyle Brunson put down a bet on football’s biggest game of the year: The Super Bowl.  In his blog Doyle said he placed $50k down on New Orleans.  Brunson posted on the 4th, “This will be an enjoyable event this year as I made a 100k bet on [...]

Tags: Betting, Doyle Bruson, Funny Commercials, gambling, Lifestyle, Poker Gossip, Poker Players, Super Bowl

We know little because we’re thousands of miles away, but why am I not shocked that what coulda been the greatest thing ever — poker that helps a bunch of kids on Super Bowl Sunday — has left at least a few people with a sour taste in their mouths?
I sent an email trying to [...]

Tags: charity-poker, Dallas CAN! Academies, poker business, Super Bowl, WSOP News & Speculation

In this week’s free, full-length poker strategy video for Card Player Pro, poker professional Sam “Siola” Iola reviews his recent first-place finish in the PokerStars Sunday Million tournament for $185,000. Sam gives us hand-by-hand

Poker pro Lex Veldhuis discusses some of the considerations involved when deciding when and how to bluff an opponent.