Chris Ferguson

In the eight-handed final table, Ferguson started in second place, but unfortunately lost few chips. Further, in the first orbit, Ferguson called an all-in by Anthony Shields for 445,000 chips. Though, with A-K, he was dominating Shields’ A-9, but a 9 on the flop allowed Shields to double-up.

Later after a few hands, Ferguson grabbed a huge pot to Jack Sambrook. Then he showed pre-flop to 48,000 and called Sambrook’s re-raise to 100,000. After the 3-9-J flop, Ferguson called against Sambrook’s 120,000 bet. Similarly, After the 5 on the turn for 220,000 chips, the King was dealt on the river. Sambrook bet 375,000 and forced Ferguson to fold after some thought. This resulted Ferguson to fall down under a million chips.

In heads-up play against Alex Jobling, Ferguson faced a 2-to-1 chip fall, 6.095 million to 2.975 million. He has to face several ups and downs in the first half-hour, but after he doubled through Jobling and pulled himself within a million chips. This was the turning point for the where they both decided to take a break to discuss a deal.

According to the payout structure, the prize money for winner was £105,900 while for the runner up it was £63,860. After the negotiation deal, Ferguson and Jobling settled on dividing the prize money equally: Jobling, the chip leader, got £82,120, Ferguson got £77,640, and for the UKIPT trophy and the remaining £10,000, they continued the play.

Soon after the deal was settled, Ferguson took a big chip lead and raised to 200,000 pre-flop, Jobling re-raised to 450,000, and Ferguson called. The duo got into raising war through their chips. And finally Ferguson raised his stack up to 6.72 million, while Jobling’s fell to 2.91 million.

Later after a few hands, the chips were all committed pre-flop, Jobling gave up on the line with A-Q of hearts and Ferguson held him with pocket 8’s. Jobling couldn’t pair either of his cards or make a flush, and finally agreed upon giving away the title and the remaining £10,000 to Chris Ferguson.

UK & Ireland Poker Tour Newcastle Main Event – Final Table Results

1. Christopher Ferguson – £87,640
2. Alexander Jobling – £82,120
3. Sam Holden – £39,030
4. David Knight – £28,780
5. Ewan Brown – £22,240
6. Anthony Shields – £17,880
7. Jack Sambrook – £13,520
8. Dan Hemingway – £10,250

Main Event is for $2,300 + $200 and will take place at the Veneto Hotel and Casino. Events of Season’s 5 are already in progress in Uruguay, Chile and Columbia and will proceed to the exciting city of Panama. In addition to playing poker you have loads of other things to be offered by the city like its tropical rain forests surrounding it and the unique and famous Panama Canal which cannot be offered by any other city. Atlantic and Pacific oceans are connected by this canal whose construction started in 1881 and the completion was done by 1914. The canal spans across 51 miles and you can take a cruise as well.

Eco tourism begins from the outskirts of Panama City. On Panama’s largest island is the Parque Nacional Coiba marine park which is a must on the tourist map.  Other tourist attractions in Panama are: Metropolitan National Park, Amador Causeway, Panama National Parks, Casco Viejo, Centennial Bridge, Panama Reserves, Mi Pueblito, Panama Wildlife Refuges, Panama Viejo, Ancon Hill, Panama Beaches &Islands, Balboa Avenue.

Apart from the many tourist spots there are various nightclubs and restaurants. One of the best ways to qualify for the LAPT Panama is to play free rolls on PokerStars.net. You are sure to face some competition but it’s worth it.

The official language is Spanish and currency is US dollar. Be sure to read the rules of the tournament.  Here is a glimpse of the tournament schedule.

With the efforts of APPT China and Korea received for the first time Texas Holdem poker tournaments sanctioned by government’s real-money.

Initial Seasons:- APPT’s initial three seasons were carried across through 6 varied sites and there were a series of fourteen poker tournaments that took place then. Through 2007 August to 2007 December was the first season which had 5 events in all. These events were carried across 4 locations – Sydney, Australia; Seoul, South Korea; Manila, Philippines and Macau, China.

Through 2008 September to 2008 December was the second season which had six events in all. These events were carried across five locations- Sydney, Australia; Macau, China; Auckland, New Zealand; Seoul, South Korea and Manila, Philippines.

Third season was the following year with the events carried across almost on the all the same locations with the exception of Manila. In its place the event took place in Cebu.

Fourth season took place in 2010 from March 2010 to December 2010 and at the following locations tournaments were carried across: Manila, Philippines; Macao; Auckland, New Zealand; Cebu, Philippines and Sydney, Australia.
Fifth season of APPT took place from July 2011- April 2012. The result of season five is as follows:

The Poker Stars Asia Pacific Poker Tour started in Queenstown, New Zealand and the other locations where the event will be carried across are as follows:

Let us look at the creators of LAPT, Mike Spans, who has experience of over two decades in the poker industry. He started out in 1992 in the poker industry. In 1996 Mike took over Foxwoods Resort Casino as a Poker Tournament Director.

Additionally the Foxwoods Poker Classic and the Foxwoods World Poker Finals

are two major World Poker Tour events which he managed. There are more poker involvements to his credit and with so much of innovation and creativity to offer, Mike has earned himself a respectable place in the poker world.

The president of LAPT is David Carrion and the director is Mike Ward. The effort and experience of the two combined together brought about all new exciting world of poker tour. What does David bring to the poker industry and this tour more specifically- David was mostly involved in the Spanish speaking markets in casino industry. He happens to play most of the roles in a casino, even as a dealer. His stint here was for around 15 years and he also served as Cirsa’s poker manager for the final 2 years; Cirsa is Spain’s well established gaming giant. David covered the following nations while doing this work:

Argentina,

Venezuela,

Spain,

Dominican Republic.

Latin American Poker Tour is gaining immense popularity just like other poker tours which have been long established.

South America’s three main cities held the first season of LAPT which is a witness to a huge success of the tour.

Rio de Janeiro in Brazil held the first event in May, 2008 in,

San Jose, Costa Rica held the next event towards the later part of May.

Punta del Este, Uruguay held the final event of the season the following month.

The success multiplied in Season 2 was with thousands of players participating. The second season was held in the following locations:

Vina del Mar

Mar del Plata

San Jose

Punta del Este

Now that we know the basic about the tour, let us look at ways to qualify for it. Just like other poker tours, you need to possess the skills of a winner in order to qualify for it. Some packages can be won through the sponsorer of the tour, Poker stars by way of participating in the satellite tournaments. Furthermore the good news is that you can even qualify without paying a dime and that is by participating in the free roll qualifiers wherein one sure needs to have the courage to face loads of competition.

According to the tournament database of the TheHendonMob.com, Hale has made just six live cashes since 2007 for a total of $44,300, and this win (if he wins) would be a lifetime achievement for him. His earlier achievements include a fifth place finish in the $125 No Limit Hold’em $1,000,000 Guaranteed Event at 2011 Legends of Poker earning $35,000.

Hale reached the top on the leaderboard by filching the bulk of the chips on two hands. The first bulk he made before dinner when after a flop of J-T-8, Hale called check against David Marshall to see Marshall follow-up with an all-in, as a result Hale raised his chip count for another 2 million chips. Then Hale flipped over 8-8 for bottom set, forcing Marshall to need some sort of combination of running card but nothing worked for Marshall. But with just A-T for middle pair, top kicker, and two more 3’s on the turn on river, Marshall had to face the elimination from the WPT Legends of Poker Main Event in 11th place.

After eliminating Marshall, Josh Hale reached chip count up to 4.835 million chips.

The other big bulk came when Max Steinberg raised pre-flop to 150,000, and then Jim Willerson moved all-in for 1.025 million. Hale pushed over the top of Willerson that forced Steinberg to surrender finally. Willerson had two black Kings, but Hale surprised him by turning over Aces. Eventually, Willerson was back homel in 7th place.

This is how the final table’s composition was determined.

In the final table there will be blinds and antes at 30,000/60,000/10,000 and two players, Max Steinberg and Jeff Madsen who have chips over a million. Greg “FBT” Mueller and Raouf Malek have also maintained enough comfortable stacks of 3.49 million and 3.13 million, respectively. However, they are not at the vulnerable stage of being eliminated unless they commit any mistake in their moves. The final table of the WPT Legends of Poker Main Event will began at 4:00pm PT. The live tournament can also be enjoyed on WPT.com with just a 30 minute delay.

WPT Legends of Poker Main Event – Final Table Chip Counts

1. Josh Hale – 7,325,000
2. Greg Mueller – 3,490,000
3. Raouf Malek – 3,130,000
4. Ali Eslami – 2,900,000
5. Jeff Madsen – 1,030,000
6. Max Steinberg – 1,020,000

Here’s the schedule for the 2012 WCOOP (all times EDT):

• Sunday, September 2
  • Event 01 – 11:00: $215 NL Hold’em (6-Max)
  • Event 02 – 12:30: $10,300 NL Hold’em (High-Roller)
  • Event 03 – 14:30: $215 NL Hold’em

• Monday, September 3
  • Event 04 – 11:00: $320 PL Omaha
  • Event 05 – 14:00: $320 NL Hold’em (6-Max Shootout)
  • Event 06 – 17:00: $215 NL Hold’em (Turbo w/ rebuys)

• Tuesday, September 4
  • Event 07 – 11:00: $215 NL Draw
  • Event 08 – 14:00: $215 Triple Stud
  • Event 09 – 17:00: $1,050 NL Hold’em

• Wednesday, September 5
  • Event 10 – 06:00: $265 PL Omaha (Knockout)
  • Event 11 – 11:00: $320 NL Hold’em (Ante Up)
  • Event 12 – 14:00: $215 NL Hold’em (Heads-Up)

• Thursday, September 6
  • Event 13 – 06:00: $215 PL Omaha H/L (6-Max, 1R1A)
  • Event 14 – 11:00: $265 NL Hold’em (6-Max Knockout)
  • Event 15 – 14:00: $215 Razz

• Friday, September 7
  • Event 16 – 11:00: $215 PL Omaha (6-Max)
  • Event 17 – 14:00: $215 NL Single Draw 2-7
  • Event 18 – 17:00: $320 NL Hold’em (10-Minute Levels)

• Saturday, September 8
  • Event 19 – 11:00: $109 NL Hold’em
  • Event 20 – 14:00: $215 FL Hold’em

• Sunday, September 9
  • Event 21 – 11:00: $215 NL Hold’em
  • Event 22 – 14:30: $530 NL Hold’em

• Monday, September 10
  • Event 23 – 11:00: $215 NL Hold’em (4-Max)
  • Event 24 – 14:00: $320 7-Card Stud
  • Event 25 – 17:00: $215 PL Omaha (Turbo, 1R1A)

• Tuesday, September 11
  • Event 26 – 11:00: $320 Mixed Hold’em
  • Event 27 – 14:00: $320 FL Badugi
  • Event 28 – 17:00: $1,050 NL Hold’em

• Wednesday, September 12
  • Event 29 – 06:00: $265 NL Omaha H/L (6-Max, Knockout)
  • Event 30 – 11:00: $530 NL Hold’em (10-Max, Triple Shootout)
  • Event 31 – 14:00: $320 8-Game

• Thursday, September 13
  • Event 32 – 06:00: $320 NL Hold’em (6-Max)
  • Event 33 – 11:00: $320 PL Omaha (6-Max, 1R1A)
  • Event 34 – 14:00: $320 Triple Draw 2-7

• Friday, September 14
  • Event 35 – 11:00: $215 NL Hold’em (Rebuys)
  • Event 36 – 14:00: $530 FL Omaha H/L
  • Event 37 – 17:00: $215 P/NL Hold’em (The Big Game Format)

• Saturday, September 15
  • Event 38 – 11:00: $530 NL Hold’em (Heads-Up)
  • Event 39 – 14:00: $320 HORSE

• Sunday, September 16
  • Event 40 – 11:00: $215 NL Hold’em
  • Event 41 – 12:30: $10,300 NL Hold’em (High-Roller Heads-Up)
  • Event 42 – 14:30: $1,050 NL Hold’em

• Monday, September 17
  • Event 43 – 11:00: $320 PL Omaha (Rebuys, 6-Max)
  • Event 44 – 14:00: $320 NL Hold’em (2X Chance)
  • Event 45 – 17:00: $265 NL Hold’em (Turbo, Knockout)

• Tuesday, September 18
  • Event 46 – 11:00: $320 Mixed NL Hold’em/PL Omaha
  • Event 47 – 14:00: $530 7-Card Stud H/L
  • Event 48 – 17:00: $1,050 NL Hold’em

• Wednesday, September 19
  • Event 49 – 06:00: $215 NL Hold’em (1R1A)
  • Event 50 – 11:00: $215 NL Hold’em (Big Antes)
  • Event 51 – 14:00: $320 PL Omaha H/L

• Thursday, September 20
  • Event 52 – 06:00: $320 NL Hold’em
  • Event 53 – 11:00: $530 NL Hold’em (6-Max)

• Friday, September 21
  • Event 55 – 11:00: $530 NL Hold’em (1R1A)
  • Event 56 – 14:00: $1,050 FL Hold’em (6-Max)
  • Event 57 – 17:00: $215 NL Omaha H/L (Ante Up)

• Saturday, September 22
  • Event 58 – 11:00: $530 PL Omaha (Heads Up)
  • Event 59 – 14:00: $2,100 HORSE

• Sunday, September 23
  • Event 60 – 11:00: $215 NL Hold’em
  • Event 61 – 12:30: $10,300 8-Game (High-Roller)
  • Event 62 – 14:30: $5,200 NL Hold’em Main Event

On Sunday, the play was a combined field, with 303 survivors from the two Day 1 flights. Stephen Graner was the only one player who began Day 2 in the top ten on Day 3. Well, it was Ali Eslami leading all players with 618,500 chips.

The race was absolutely tough with the top four players on the leaderboard – Joseph “subiime” Cheong (574,000), Jason Koon (567,000), Antonios Roungeris (551,000), and David Miscikowski (550,500).

The chip leader, Ali Eslami, though, has reached close to the final table in many major tournaments, but last year in summer at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) he made to the top ten in two events, finishing third and eight. Last year also, he made three top ten finishes – sixth, seventh, and eighth, as well as a final table appearance at the WPT Hollywood Poker Open. Eslami has also achieved some big wins at the 2011 WSOP Circuit Regional Championship at Harrah’s Rincon, earning $282,242.

All the top players with chip counts in the group have experience of having big achievements in tournaments. Joseph Cheong finished third in the November Nine in the 2012 WSOP Main Event, and made a runner-up finish in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max event this summer. Lee Markholt had two wins – the 2008 WPT World Poker Challenge in Reno and the Professional Poker Tour’s Five-Star World Poker Classic in 2005. Jason Koon made a runner-up finish in a WSOP event this year and placed fourth in the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,000 High Roller event. And Max Steinberg had a WSOP bracelet win this year in one of the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em events and one close reach in 2010, finishing second in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event.

The other players who were there in the tournament but out of the ten list – Todd Terry, Greg “FBT” Mueller, Jesse Martin, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, and Jeff Madsen. The prize money will be distributed among a total of 63 players. It is expected that the money bubble will burst in relatively short order on Monday. Day 3 has been scheduled for either six 90-minute levels or until there remains just 18 players still in the field.

World Poker Tour Legends of Poker – Day 2 Chip Leaders

1. Ali Eslami – 618,500
2. Joseph Cheong – 574,000
3. Jason Koon – 567,000
4. Antonios Roungeris – 551,000
5. David Miscikowski – 550,500
6. Max Steinberg – 511,500
7. Daniel Strelitz – 463,500
8. Lee Markholt – 449,500
9. Stephen Graner – 433,500
10. Jim Willerson – 431,500

At the EPT eight handed final table, Sahamies was heading the field, following him, with 1.4 million chips Samuel Rodriguez was with Anaras Alekberovas, Pobal and Antonin Duda. On the leaderboard, another prominent name was John Juanda who was prepared to face a tough challenge with a stack of 1.89 million.

On the eleventh hand of play, Rodriguez suffered some chip loss against Juanda in a blind battle, and later in pre-flop also Juanda, with pocket fives, held an edge against Rodriguez’ suited A-5. When Rodriguez’s river shockingly came with a seven, the five time World Series of Poker bracelet holder Juanda had to finally see the exit door.

Soon after the elimination of Jaunda, the play that remained moving at the same pace, Duda and Alekberovas locked up in a hand with no options for both to back down. Finally, Duda, after raising battle pre-flop, committed his final chips with Big Slick, while Alekberovas moved with his pocket Kings. Then flop Q-K-A came and gave Alekerovas a set of seven on the turn and a three on the river which ended the day for Duda in seventh place.

Just before the first break of the final table, on the final hand, Joni Jouhkimainen pushed out a three bet to 405K when Rodriguez raised the pot to 225K. Rodriguez called and, on a K♥ 6♠ 8♠ flop, he failed to find an option to defeat Jouhkimainen and saw elimination from the tournament. After the break, Jouhkimainen dismissed Sinel Anton in the fifth place. At that point of time, Jouhkimainen was having the chip lead over Sahamies.

Down to four players, Jouhkimainen was the first to start the further elimination. When his pocket Kings held up over Alekberovas’ pocket nines, he showed Alekberovas the door to home in fourth, pushing his chips over 24 million. The other remaining contenders, Sahamies and Pobal shared only 8.3 million chips. It seemed that the way to championship at the Casino de Barcelona for Jouhkimainen was almost very clear.

Although Jouhkimainen held a big lead, but he was not so trouble-free to get the cards when he wanted to. He kept losing chips and, once he battled against Sahamies with Jouhkimainen, Sahamies got his chips all in and Jouhkimainen had nothing left in the tournament but leave for home.

Although, Pobal faced a charge for not betting his nut flush on the river against Jouhkimainen and had to sit through a one round penalty, he recovered by grabbing some chips from Sahamies and eliminating Jouhkimainen when Sahamies called an A-9 to beat Jouhkimainen’s pocket nines.

Jouhkimainen’s elimination sets the heads up play between Pobal and Sahamies. When Sahamies made a bet pre-flop and saw Pobal make a re-raise, he tried to build some pressure by moving all in, but unfortunately Pobal immediately made the call and showed his pocket Aces. Sahamies had nothing but to show only a 9-5.

When Pobal’s set of Aces dominated Sahamies with A-Q-4 flop, Sahamies had nothing but a runner-runner flush draw to save him. Finally, when an innocent Jack came on the turn, it concluded the tournament as Mikalai Pobal champion of the EPT Barcelona Season Nine schedule.

1. Mikalai Pobal, €1,007,550
2. Ilari Sahamies, €629,700
3. Joni Jouhkimainen, €404,050
4. Anaras Alekberovas, €301,750
5. Samuel Rodriguez, €230,900
6. Sinel Anton, €178,400
7. Antonin Duda, €125,950
8. John Juanda, €76,100

On Sunday, when the 8-handed final table began, Smith was leading the leaderboard with 5.108 million chips. Following Smith, Mike “Timex” McDonald and JC Alvarado held 4.650 million and 3.116 million chips respectively. No any other player held more than 700,000 chips. Erik Seidel, Illari Sahamies and four other players in the 600,000 chip range.

The tournament didn’t seem tough for Dan Smith as he was moving on his way to the title with the chip lead, but for a while he never realized the stress and went on. His luck was in his favor so he was played well and threw the chips around valiantly.

Among the final four players, Smith and Sahamies began raising pre-flop, until both were all-in with Smith covering the Finn. Sahamies was in a position to double up with A-Q suited against Smith’s A-T suited. When Smith flopped a Ten, Sahamies failed to bear that out. As a result, Smith grew his lead to 9.655 million chips compared to the 4.450 million of Alvarado and the 1.895 million of Mike Watson.

After the elimination of Watson on the third place, Smith and Alvarado had heads-up play. Before they proceeded for the heads-up, the two agreed upon a deal that Smith would win €862,925 and Alvarado would take home €788,675, with €100,000 up for grabs.

Meanwhile, once Alvarado snatched the chip lead away from Smith, but that didn’t last for long as Smith quickly regained his lead and proceeded to run away with the title. On the final hand, Smith moved all-in with A-K but Alvarado’s K-K failed to beat. Finally, Smith flopped an Ace and took down the €50,000 Super High Roller Event with €962,925.

Earlier in January, Smith won the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Challenge at the Aussie Millions, earning over $1 million. Later in April, he won a trifecta at the EPT Grand Final. His career achievements also include three €5,000 No-Limit Hold’em events: Six-Handed, Six-Handed Turbo, and a good, old regular freezeout €520,000 total. Dan Smith finished third place in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2012 World Series of Poker, winning $368,943.

European Poker Tour (EPT) €50,000 Super High Roller Event – Final Table Results

1. Dan Smith – €962,925
2. JC Alvarado – €788,675
3. Mike Watson – €399,500
4. Ilari Sahamies – €291,900
5. Mike “Timex” McDonald – €215,100
6. Erik Seidel – €153,600
7. Talal Shakerchi – €138,300
8. Jim McCrink – €122,960

Originally, there were 500 entrants which cut down to the final six by Wednesday. In afternoon, Stephen Reynolds was holding approximately a 400K chip lead over Gregg and just behind Chris Lee, other player Chris Vandeursen, Andre Nyffeler and Larry Sharp were on the bottom of the leaderboard.

When Nyffeler moved all in, Sharp made the call and moved Big Slick against Nyffeler’s pocket tens. Sharp’s flop brought a King in the window; Nyffeler’s two outs failed to come on the turn or river, as a result Andre Nyffeler was eliminated from the tournament in sixth place.

After Nyffeler’s elimination, Lee eliminated Vandeursen in fifth place with his A-K which stayed ahead of Vandeursen’s A-6 suited. Later, Lee joined Reynolds and Gregg who were trying to separate themselves from the field. There remained just four players, Reynolds was leading with more than a million chips over Gregg while Lee was only 500K behind Gregg and Sharp was planning for a double.

Sharp could not get that double, had to leave the field after ten hands following the elimination of Vandeursen. When Reynolds moved a raise and Gregg made a call, Sharp was forced to move all-in from the big blind. Reynolds pushed his all stack to the center and Gregg dropped from the hunt. With his A♦ J♦, Sharp was leading over Reynolds’ K♥ Q♥. Sharp’s flop came down A♥ J♣ 9♣. After flopping two pair – 7♥ and 4♥ on the turn, Reynolds’ flush caused Larry Sharp go out of the tournament in fourth place.

Down to three handed, Lee was on the short stack against Reynolds and Gregg. When, Lee moved his chips in the center against Reynolds, his A-J trumped by Reynolds’ A-Q. Reynolds’ Queen on the flop assured him the hand, and once the turn blanked, Chris Lee faced elimination from the tournament in third place.

Now, there heads up began between Reynolds and Gregg. The hands were going hand in hand and everyone was waiting for the tide to change finally. At the end, the final hand came late in the night. Gregg shuffled into the hand only to force Reynolds push his stack to the center. After pondering for a while, Gregg made the call and tabled his K-9 off suit, just behind Reynolds’ A-4 off suit. The flop changed entire scenario of the game come down K-Q-7 to push Gregg to the lead. When the board paired with another Queen, Reynolds remained looking for one of the three Aces in the deck. Later, when a ten came on the river, Reynolds realized that the tournament was over. Anthony Gregg won the inaugural championship of the WPT Parx Open Poker Classic.

1. Anthony Gregg, $416,127
2. Stephen Reynolds, $244,877
3. Chris Lee, $158,450
4. Larry Sharp, $108,034
5. Chris Vandeursen, $76,824
6. Andre Nyffeler, $61,619