2008 September | All Africa Poker Blog

September | 2008 | All Africa Poker Blog

Amateur outsmarts the toughest on the poker scene

Sep.29, 2008

The 2008 WSOP Europe H.O.R.S.E. Event was recently held at the Empire Casino. To succeed in this tournament, a player needs to illustrate outstanding poker skills, not only in Texas Hold’em, but in five of the major poker variants such as Omaha and Razz. The starting field of 110 contained some of the biggest names in poker including The Grandfather of Poker Doyle Brunson; Phil Ivey; Mike “The Mouth” Matusow; The Poker Brat Phil Hellmuth; Gus Hansen; Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and the 2007 H.O.R.S.E. Champion Thomas Bihl. But after a gruelling battle, the big guns were nowhere to be seen. In fact, it was a complete amateur, Sherkhan Farnod; who nabbed the highly respected title and the £76,999 first prize! With this triumph, Farnod claimed his 1st WSOP Bracelet.

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Category: News 2008

Final table for 2008 WSOP Europe Event # 1 set

Sep.22, 2008

The 2008 World Series of Poker Europe kicked off this past Friday and the first final table is set. It was clear that players meant business from the word go and player after player was busted in no time. Amongst the victims who were sent to the rail already, are formidable online poker sharks Isaac Haxton and Shaun Deeb, as well as big guns on the live poker scene such as Michael Binger; John Juanda; Phil Laak; Erik Seidel; The Poker Kid Daniel Negreanu as well as Andy Bloch.

The remaining nine players who will sit down for final play of this first 2008 WSOPE $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Event today, are:

Seat 1: Fuad Serhan with 61,000 chips
Seat 2: Daniel Nutt with 207,000 chips
Seat 3: Yevgeniy Timoshenko with 345,000 chips
Seat 4: John Dwyer with 511,000 chips
Seat 5: Ian Woodley with 153,000 chips
Seat 6: Jesper Hougaard with 89,000 chips
Seat 7: Linda Lee with 121,000 chips
Seat 8: Neil Channing with 199,000 chips
Seat 9: Adam Junglen with 795,000 chips

To see who wins and claims the first WSOP Europe title this year, keep your eye on this spot.

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Category: News 2008

WPT Borgata Poker Open down to 6 players

Sep.18, 2008

The Main Event of the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open is down to 6 players, who will battle it out for that coveted title as well as the first prize of $1.425 million tomorrow, on Friday the 19th. Chip counts and seating arrangements of the final table are as follows:

Seat 1: Rising young poker star and Chip leader Vivek Rajkumar from Seattle, with 6,400,000 chips
Seat 2: WSOP Bracelet winner Dan Heimiller from Henderson, with 3,360,000 chips
Seat 3: Andrew Knee from Mount Sinai, with 1,475,000 chips
Seat 4: Double WSOP Bracelet winner Mark Seif, also from Henderson, with 4,665,000 chips
Seat 5: Jason Strochak from Ft. Lauderdale, with 1,650,000 chips
Seat 6: Sang Kim from Leesburg, with 3,085,000 chips

For their spot at the televised table, these players have outplayed big guns on the poker scene, such as Nam Le; Scotty Nguyen as well as Michael Binger, who were all playing this tournament to score some points for the Bluff Magazine Player of the Year Award. To see who finally walks away with the victory, keep your eye on this spot.

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Category: News 2008

Hello from Isabelle Mercier

Sep.17, 2008

“Don't be fooled, Isabelle will show you No Mercy”

Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier was born on August 5, 1975 in Victoriaville, Quebec and is currently a member of the sponsored “Team PokerStars” poker team

Prior to turning to a poker career, she earned an undergraduate law degree from the Université de Montréal and practiced commercial law for a year. Then moved to Paris, France and earned a Masters Degree while working as the poker room manager at the Aviation Club de France, before turning to poker full-time. During her time working at the Aviation Club she was nominated for Staff Person of the Year twice at the European Poker Awards.

She first made a name for herself by finishing in 2nd place in the €800 No Limit hold 'em tournament at the Masters Classic of Poker 2002 in Amsterdam, where she earned $53,499.

In 2004 Mercier won the World Poker Tour (WPT) Ladies' Night tournament to win the $25,000 first prize, where Mike Sexton nicknamed her “No Mercy.”

In 2005 she finished 10th in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monte Carlo, earning €23,090, and outlasting players such as World Series of Poker (WSOP) runner-up Julian Gardner, WPT multi-tournament winner Gus Hansen, WPT season 2 champion Martin De Knijff and Barny Boatman. Also in 2005, she had three money finishes at the WSOP.

Mercier made her first EPT final table in February 2006 in Deauville, finishing 7th at a final table also featuring Ram Vaswani and Kirill Gerasimov.

As of 2007, her total live tournament winnings exceed $620,000.

This is the first instalment of her monthly column :WPT NIAGARA FALLS AND FOXWOODS, I've had a crazy couple of months travelling around the world. I've finished a book, produced some DVDs, signed a deal for a clothing line, started building a new website, hired a business manager AND a personal assistant! If you think that's crazy, you have to know that in the next five weeks, I'm going to spend 60 hours flying around the planet. That's a full week-and-a-half of work just in the air! I'm playing tournaments in Asia, Australia … all over the place. No wonder I need help!

But at least I did get the chance to spend some time in my home town, in Montréal, Canada, during the WPT Niagara Falls – the only WPT event in Canada. I love playing the Canadian Open…I'd love to win it for my country.

I decided to drive there this year. It's seven-hours from Montreal, so not too bad, and after I arrived I checked into my usual suite – which overlooks the Falls and is big enough for about 12 people!There were more than 500 players, which is amazing for a Canadian event, and all the top Canadian players were there including Daniel Negreanu and Evelyn Ng.

I didn't play great. By the first break I was in trouble, and when I came back from dinner I had a big problem really early. I had a pair of jacks so decided to move all in, but busted out to a guy with kings … so it was time to pack my bags and head back to Montreal. Every cloud has a silver lining though, and my new assistant drove me back to Toronto Airport and then I caught a flight home to Montreal – so it took me just two hours to get home!

I didn't stay long. I decided to head to the WPT in Foxwoods, which is always a great tournament with some really tough local players. There was also $1.7m for 1st place, which promised to make it worth the trip! The structure was fantastic. It was like someone had been to the Bellagio in Las Vegas to work out how it's done! There were five levels of 90 minutes with 15 minute breaks…and the day ended at 8.30pm. So you have plenty of time to relax…and come back fresh the next day. I, and a lot of pros, will play at Foxwoods EVERY year just because they've adopted this great structure.

I played on Day 1b and arrived just 15 minutes late – so I'm still bad, but getting better! Almost on the very first hand I got A, 6 of diamonds. We had an impressive starting stack of 30,000 and the blinds we 50/100. I made it 300 to go. I was in pretty early position. The guy behind me made it 575 total. The button called. I don't like my cards much in my position, but I have to call. Then I get the miracle, and I mean ABSOLUTE MIRACLE flop – 8, 9, K…all diamonds. I check. I know someone's going to bet after me so I am going for the check-raise. The button bets 1,000. I raise him to 2,000. I don't want him to think I have the flush, but I want to bet just enough that he thinks I'm being cautious, trying to protect a weak hand. He calls…and I start to think he has A-K. The turn comes…the ace of spades. Now I'm afraid he doesn’t have the A-K, and I don’t want to scare him away with this ace that just appeared, so I only bet 2,500. He calls. Bingo! The river is the jack of hearts. I have the absolute nuts…so I don't want to bet too much, but I want value – so I bet 6,000. Finally, he called…and I had plenty of chips for breakfast!

Next thing I know, Victor Ramdin sits down on my table. I'm not too upset by that. I'm in good shape, and I love playing with great players. You learn so much…and on top of that Victor is a good friend and PokerStars’ team-mate. So I was very happy to see him on my table…but not so happy to see he was on my left!

Sure enough, within two hours, he was starting to drive me a bit crazy! It was like he could see my cards. Every time I had nothing, he raised me. Every time I had something, he folded. He was winning almost every hand we played together…and I lost a lot of chips.

My stack just kept shrinking. By the last break I was down to 20,000. Then, with just 40 minutes to go, I only had 10,000 left. On the very last hand of the day, I finally won a few chips back. I hit pocket 8s in early position and the blinds were 300, 600 with an ante of 50. I made it 2,100 to go. Erica Schoenberg, who was sitting to my left, called – as did the big blind. The flop came 9,7,2 rainbow. The big blind checked. I checked. Erica checked. So I knew I had the best hand. The turn brought a seven, to pair the board. The big blind bet 3,000…which I figured was a bluff, since we all checked the flop. I decided to re-raise him all in with my 17,000. Erica thought for a long time before folding…and then the big blind folded immediately. So I was back up to 30,000 by the end of the day.

Day Two started well. I was up to 50,000 after a big hand where I hit queens and Kathy Liebert called my raise with A,J. Poor Kathy…the flop came J, 8, 3…so she got stuck. I bet 6,000, she moved all in and of course I called – I nearly doubled-up when the queens held.

A few hands later I turned over king, queen of spades in middle position. I raised to 3,200 and the big blind called. The flop came, 10, 9, rag rainbow. We both checked. On the turn came the four of hearts – which was the second heart on the board – and the big blind bets 2,300. I decided to call. I was sure I could take the pot down, I was sure I could bluff him out of it with so many potential cards on the river. And it came the ace of hearts. I've hit the card for my bluff!… so after he checked, I tried to make a value bet – I didn't want to make it look like I was trying to scare him away. I put in 6,200. I figured this was a really, really clever bet. But, after he took AGES to think about it, he called. How he had the guts to, I don't know, but he had J,9. He'd hit middle pair on the flop, called my bluff…and I was flying short-stacked again.

Now there were just 200 players left, and the first 50 places got paid. I was down to 30,000 again…and decided that I was going to bully my way to at least 100,000 by the end of the day. Then, guess who sat down on my table? Victor!

Thank God, this time, I had better position on him and was able to win my way back up to 65,000. That was when Victor started to cause me trouble again. I had a horrible, horrible last level where I had to fold every time I re-raised. I ended up back down on 30,000! I think I should have gambled more, especially against Victor. He raised me loads…and he couldn't have had a good hand every time!

On Day 3, I had to move pretty quick. I went in pretty much straight away with 7,7 – thinking Christmas had come early – but the button called reluctantly with 9,9 and busted me out!

I haven't had a very rewarding time financially in the last few weeks – but I've enjoyed every second of it.

So now I'm off around the globe again to play some more top-level poker. Off to Asia, Australia and the United States.

Living the dream.

And living out of a suitcase …

“Girl Power … Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier & Wendy Graaf at WSOP 2007″After meeting up with French Canadian beauty, Isabelle Mercier, WSOP 2007 on the aspirational All Africa Poker world wide tournament tours, Wendy Graaf, Group Marketing Manager of Piggs Peak Casino, was able to persuade her to write about her life as an international professional poker player, traveling the world in pursuit of great poker tournaments. We are honoured to bring you her monthly column, “No Mercy”.

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Category: News 2008

Miamivice takes EPT Barcelona Open Main Event

Sep.15, 2008

Sebastian Ruthenberg aka “miamivice” claimed the title at the EPT Barcelona Open Main Event this weekend, and walked away with a staggering first prize of € 1,361,000! The German Ruthenberg, who has been a fairly regular face at final tables of major poker events since 2006, finished off his final opponent during heads-up play, with only three hands. Runner up Gavin Fintan moved all in pre-flop with a 4H 7C and Ruthenberg called with his KC 9C. The flop showed AC 7H 2H, in Gavin’s favour, but when the turn brought a KH, the odds were for Ruthenberg. His luck continued when the board rivered a 9D, to give him that winning two-pair. For his second place finish, Gavin nevertheless collected a grande € 792,000.

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Category: News 2008

EPT Player of the Year Nominees announced

Sep.12, 2008

The European Poker Tour (EPT) Season IV, Player of the Year nominees has been announced. The five players in line for this prestigious award, are Luca Pagano; Trond Erik Eidsvig; Johannes Strassmann; Jan Heitmann & Thierry van den Berg. To be nominated, players had to frequently feature at the final tables or cash in at the different poker tournaments that form part of the EPT Season IV Events. The winner will be announced at the inaugural EPT Awards Ceremony later this month. Watch this space for updated news.

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Category: News 2008

Live footage of 2008 WSOP Main Event now on ESPN

Sep.11, 2008

From 2 September till the November Nine battle it out for the $9 million first prize on 4 November, ESPN will be showing live footage of the 2008 WSOP Main Event every Tuesday night. So if you are curious about the reasonably unknown nine players that have made it to the final table or are wondering who has the best chance of finally being the overall winner of the 2008 WSOP, be sure to make a note to tune in. You might even get to see some familiar faces of the members of Team All Africa who also participated in this international poker event.

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Category: WSOP 2008

Poker commentator conquers the city of the sun!

Sep.11, 2008

It all came down to Dermot’s Q7 off suit, and Ryan’s 7H 8H to battle it out. Ryan hit the nuts on the flop when the board showed 4D 5S 6D. The turn was a JC which lead to Dermot moving all-in, Ryan called instantly. The river was insignificant and Dermot had to settle for runner-up while Ryan Dreyer walked away victorious. Dermot was a previous All Africa Poker Tournament runner-up at the November 2006 tournament, when he went up against Ryan Eber.

Don’t forget to tune into the All Africa Poker Channel on DSTV, where you can watch Ryan give expert advice on the “Ask The Commentators” show. Press “OK” and click POKER CHANNEL on the DSTV Touch Menu and go to www.allafricapoker.com for programme schedule details.

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Category: News 2008

Poker commentator conquers the city of the sun

Sep.11, 2008

After 4 long days of strategy, focus and pure determination, the final table of 9 took their seats to battle it out for the title. Only one player could survive them all, only one player would walk away with the first prize – only one player would be crowned the Sun City Million Dollar Poker Champion. That one player was our very own All Africa Poker Channel Commentator, Ryan Dreyer.
Ryan commented that he went into the tournament mentally prepared and his main goal was to stay focused and hang in there. By Day 3 of the tournament the field was down to 53 players and Ryan had one thing in mind, to make the final table and better his 2007 finishing position of 6th place. The final table commenced on Day 4 and Ryan went up against player’s he knows very well, not only from playing against them in other tournaments, but also from commentating on their play at the All Africa Poker Tournament held at Piggs Peak in Swaziland. The Sun City final table included All Africa Poker Channel regulars Damien Cornelli, Durand Botha, Dermot Sweeney, Stanley Topol and Ryan Dreyer.
It all came down to Dermot’s Q7 off suit, and Ryan’s 7H 8H to battle it out. Ryan hit the nuts on the flop when the board showed 4D 5S 6D. The turn was a JC which lead to Dermot moving all-in, Ryan called instantly. The river was insignificant and Dermot had to settle for runner-up while Ryan Dreyer walked away victorious. Dermot was a previous All Africa Poker Tournament runner-up at the November 2006 tournament, when he went up against Ryan Eber.
Don’t forget to tune into the All Africa Poker Channel on DSTV, where you can watch Ryan give expert advice on the “Ask The Commentators” show. Press “OK” and click POKER CHANNEL on the DSTV Touch Menu and go to www.allafricapoker.com for programme schedule details.

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Category: News 2008

Poker commentator conquers the city of the sun.

Sep.11, 2008

Ryan commented that he went into the tournament mentally prepared and his main goal was to stay focused and hang in there. By Day 3 of the tournament the field was down to 53 players and Ryan had one thing in mind, to make the final table and better his 2007 finishing position of 6th place. The final table commenced on Day 4 and Ryan went up against player’s he knows very well, not only from playing against them in other tournaments, but also from commentating on their play at the All Africa Poker Tournament held at Piggs Peak in Swaziland. The Sun City final table included All Africa Poker Channel regulars Damien Cornelli, Durand Botha, Dermot Sweeney, Stanley Topol and Ryan Dreyer.

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Category: News 2008

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