Shuffle Magazine - Issue 14

the read between hands

www.shufflemagazine.com

It’s off to Crown – APLPT Melbourne previewSpring 2010

iSSUE 14 •$5.95

Perth’s Khai Nguyen winsAPLPT Gold Coast title

WA ALL THE WAY

APL Player of the Year George Apat

More WSOP glory for TeamAPL

Evan Psarras joins elite

WCOOP club

inside:

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contents

DealMeIN4 THE INSIDE STRAIGHTThe latest news & happening in the APL and the world of poker; plus details of Martino Lascala’s own APL marathon

11 STEPHEN DAVYOne of the APL’s most popular personalities chats about two emotional charity events over which he’s presided in recent months

KNowtheDeal12 GEORGE APATMeet the 2009-10 APL Player of the Year as he reflects on an amazing year at the APL felt and with TeamAPL in Las Vegas

15 CHARLIE ELIASWe welcome the man who was the highest placed Aussie in the 2009 WSOP Main Event to the Shuffle team

17 EMMA GRACEOne of the Australia’s highest profile female players, the 2009 TeamAPL member discusses the pros and cons of this male-dominated industry

19 LANDON BLACKHALLOur own croupier-in-residence provides some valuable tips for calculating tricky sidepots during your next APL tournament

21 SHUFFLE ACADEMYEveryday interactions provide a perfect opportunity to test your ability to “read” tells at the poker table

22 JAMIE GLAZIERConserve your “brain battery” at the poker table to maximise your ability to make the correct decisions when it matters most

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Issue 14 – Spring 2010

23 SEAN CALLANDERMacau offers a great alternative for players aiming to mix an exotic holiday experience with a little poker

24 VIRTUAL FELTTread carefully when it comes time to take the “next step” AKA “taking a shot” with your dreams of joining the pro ranks

FloPShot26 TEAMAPLOur complete coverage of TeamAPL’s trek to Las Vegas for the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event

36 EVAN PSARRASWe chat exclusively with the just the second Australian player to win a prestigious World Championship of Online Poker title

40 APLPT GOLD COASTAll the news, results and pics from Jupiters Casino where Khai Nguyen captured the second APLPT title for 2010

46 APLPT MELBOURNEA complete preview of the final event on season one of the APLPT as the tour heads to the home of Aussie poker, Crown, in Melbourne

48 HAND HISTORYWe examine at the history of Australia’s premier poker event and one of the world’s top tournaments: the Aussie Millions Poker Championship

52 VENUE REVIEWThe Shuffle team look at what’s on offer at some of the most popular APL venues across Australia and New Zealand

tURNCaRD54 SHARK PATROLTread carefully if you spot any of these APL high achievers pulling up a chair at a table in your next tournament

56 PLAYER DIARYTeamAPL’s Nick Filippopoulos has joined an elite club of APL players who’ve cashed in the WSOP Main Event

58 DEADMAN’S DENBack by popular demand, take a look at the lighter side of poker – from our infamous lookalikes to jokes and fast facts about the game

60 HEADS UPThey don’t call him “The Godfather” for nothing – meet 10-time WSOP bracelet winner and dual Main Event champion Doyle Brunson

62 COMMUNITY CARDSThe team of Fortune & Freedman have the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne covered when it comes to APL games

theRIVeR64 TOURNAMENT CALENDARCheck out the upcoming events on the local, regional and international poker calendar, including details of APLPT Melbourne satellites

65 AUTOGRAPHSCapture your own memories from Melbourne’s Crown Casino during the final APLPT event of 2010

WA ALL THE WAYIn our cover story, we celebrate a Western Australian one-two after Khai Nguyen defeated Danny Breadsell for the APLPT Gold Coast title

from the cOO

I n our last edition of Shuffle we celebrated the fantastic achievements of inaugural APLPT winner Troy Brindle from Tamworth NSW and as we put this edition to print, we ap-plaud yet another winner – Khai Nguyen (pictured above),

the 2010 APLPT Gold Coast champion, who took home the $100,000 first place prize package.

In true APL style the 214-strong field was treated to a world-class poker tournament in the stunningly refurbished Jupiters Poker Room as they vied for a prize pool exceeding more than $200,000!

Not only was the poker extremely memorable, thanks to APL sponsors Playboy Fragrances and Wild Turkey Bourbon the enter-tainment was nothing short of spectacular.

With planning for Crown “full-steam-ahead” we’re all now look-ing forward to the last APLPT stop for 2010, the glamorous Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne. The player count is climb-ing, quickly signalling that this event is going to be the biggest by far. This is always good news for players as it boosts that elusive prize pool!

Another great event hitting the APL calendar on October 31 is the legendary Battle of the Regions Tournament to be held at Revesby Workers Club in NSW. The question on everyone’s lips is whether the last Battle of the Regions' winners South West “Home Game All Stars” will again take home the title.

As the ink dried on our last issue of Shuffle magazine, the temperature was starting to heat up in Vegas ahead of the 2010 WSOP Main Event, which took place from July 5-17.

A 31-strong team of APL’s most elite players made the long journey to the “Mecca” of poker, primed and ready to take on the world’s biggest names in the game.

Two of APL’s dream team made it through the 7319-strong field to secure a piece of the $60 million prize pool – Nick Filip-popoulos (USD $27,519) and Phil Faux (USD $24,097). From all accounts, thanks to the great entertainment, awesome sightsee-ing and fantastic camaraderie, the trip was one to remember for all players – whether they made it to the cash or not.

Whether you’re a player, tournament director, franchisee or APL staff member, one of the things that keep everyone energised about the APL brand is the way it continually evolves. With final planning underway for 2011, this evolution is set to be anything but staid and the tight-lipped HQ team are struggling to keep their excitement under wraps.

As we’ve said previously, we’re committed to delivering the best pub and club poker product available. To continue do this successfully, we rely on your feedback – so please keep in touch with us by Facebook, SMS, phone and email. Let us know what you like, don’t like and want to see more of so we can keep deliv-ering the APL experiences you enjoy.

Steven ClareGeneral Counsel & COOAustralian Poker League

Two down, one to go APLPT heads to Melbourne

It’s been a hectic period for the team at APL headquarters but as Steven Clare (General Counsel, APL Legal & Chief Operating Officer) discusses, there are still plenty of big events to come in 2010▼

SHUFFLE: The Official Magazine Of The aPl issue 14 – sPring 2010

Published by: australian Poker league ceO/co-founder: Martin Martinez COPYRIGHT: Material in this magazine may not be

reprinted without the written permission of aPl PRODUCTION: Monarch Media (03) 9863 8223

Project Manager: stephen Doig Editorial coordinator: landon Blackhall

Art Director: Mark sidoti PRINT: caxton Web

spring 20102

A GREAT HANDDEMANDS A GREAT BOURBON.

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Inside running for a 2011 Aussie Millions Main Event seatAs we countdown to the 150th running of Australia’s most famous horse race, the Melbourne Cup, Crown is celebrating in unique style.

Instead of a $3 mystery bet this year imagine cheering your horse down the Flemington straight with $10,600 Aussie Millions Main Event seat as your prize. That’s the opportunity poker players will have this year when on Melbourne Cup eve Crown Poker runs its Melbourne Cup Sweep tournament. This year the stakes are even higher with three $10,600 Aus-sie Millions seats guaranteed.

The tournament starts as a nor-mal multi-table freezeout and play will progress until 24 players remain. At this stage the tournament will be paused and the chips counted. Once the chip leader is established they will have the opportunity to choose a runner from the Melbourne Cup field. The second chip leader will choose next, then the third chip leader and so on until all 24 players have been allocated a horse.

These lucky players will be cheering their horses home on Cup Day as the players whose picks finish in the top three will win a 2011 Aussie Millions Main event seat! With an expected field of 300 entrants there will also be as significant cash prizepool distributed on the night.

The field is already being assembled for the final APL Poker Tour event of 2010 with the recent announcements of the Players of the Month for August. Corey Scott (1515) was kingpin in NSW narrowly ahead of Grant Miliss (1465) while Tony Gallacher topped the leaderboard in NZ (1110).

Phil Green and Jason Brander each finished with 1440 points in Queensland while in SA, reigning APL Player of the Year George Apat

picked up where he left off last season. Hamish Armati (1465) was a clear winner in Victoria. Players of the Month for August receive an APL Poker Tour

seat enabling for APLPT Melbourne at Crown from November 26-29.Back in July, the Players of the Month were Carol Deeney (NSW, 1500), Mus Tomasi (NZ, 1040),

Thia Christensen (Qld, 1550), Bradley Cece (SA, 1370) and Christopher Gillman (Vic, 1320).

Players of the Month book tickets to Melbourne

APLPT seats up for grabs in Battle of the Regions It’s one of the most popular events on the APL calendar so an-other big field is assured for the latest edition of the APL’s Battle of the Regions.

Defending champions the Home Game Allstars from Sydney’s South West region will be the team to watch at the Revesby Work-ers Club on October 31.

Registration is at 10am for a noon start with the entry fee $80 per player or $640 per team. The Battle of the Regions is capped at 60 teams.

The format is four shootouts – three preliminary rounds and one final round. Players start with 2500 in chips with levels of 15 minutes. Each team member plays and points are awarded for each table. After three rounds all points are tallied and the top eight teams progress to the final shoot-out round. Based on a minimum of 18 teams, prizes will include APL Poker Tour seats and cash prizes.

The Revesby Workers Club is at 2B Brett St, Revesby, NSW. Teams must register and pay prior to the event so be quick and grab an entry form from your Tournament Director.

Poker players have ringside seat as big cat attacks

“Guys, let’s make this a deep stack, we might be here a while” The South American nation of Chile celebrated when news emerged that the 33 miners who were trapped by a collapse at the San Esteban gold mine in the Atacama desert in August were discovered alive.

But joy turned to frustration when it became apparent that rescue workers would need weeks if not months to rescue the miners who are trapped 700 metres beneath the surface.

The workers have air, water and food but the tedium of the long wait quickly set in. Solu-tion? The daughter of the former Chilean football star Franklin Lobos told London’s DailyMirror that he is playing hours of poker. Carolina Lobos (pictured celebrating news of her father’s survival) said: “It will be difficult, I’m sure.”

“But I’m not worried about him. I know he is happy and content down there because he is playing lots of poker and cards. It is good for his mind.” No jokes about playing like a rock.

As members of TeamAPL discovered on their recent trek to Las Vegas, the MGM Grand is home to one of the most unique poker rooms in the city. It’s surrounded by a massive sports book, the Rain Forest Café, Centrifuge Bar (complete with go-go dancers) and a lion (that’s real lions) habitat.

So poker players had a scarily close view of a shocking incident in early September when one of the MGM lions attacked its trainer. The trainer was immediately transport-ed to a nearby hospital, where he received stitches but narrowly avoided serious injury. The incident was reminiscent of the city’s most famous animal mauling when magician Roy Horn (of Siegfried and Roy fame) was savaged by a tiger in 2003.

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Spring 2010 7

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London calling as Lisandro wins fifth WSOP bracelet

Jeff Lisandro has strengthened his claim to the title of Australia’s greatest ever poker player after securing a fifth WSOP bracelet. The 2009 WSOP Player of the Year won the second event on the 2010 WSOP Europe schedule; the ₤5250 Pot Limit Omaha event. The field comprised a world-class line-up of 120 players, and featured three other WSOP bracelet win-ners – Jeff Madsen, Willie Tann and Chris Bjorin – at the final table. John Racener, a member of the 2010 WSOP November Nine, placed fifth.

The victory gives Lisandro exalted sta-tus within the poker world, as he continues to acquire victories. Gold bracelet number five won in London places him in a tie for 12th place on the all-time WSOP wins list -- along with such luminaries as Stu Ungar, Berry Johnston, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Allen Cunningham, Scotty Nguyen, Ted Forrest and Gary “Bones” Berland.

According to official records, Lisandro now has five wins, 15 final table appear-ances, and 34 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP, with his first cash coming back in 1997. He also holds a WSOP Circuit championship (gold ring) won at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe in 2005.

Kevin Gardner became one of the first players to book a seat to the 2011 WSOP Main Event as part of TeamAPL when he captured the APL Pro Open title for September over a field of 447 rivals at Club Central in Hurstville.

The field was culled down to 240 players after two flights, with a staggering 101 players KOed in less than two hours of the opening flight. There wasn’t much let-up in the car-nage and it didn’t take long for the final table to be decided.

Roger Hamblin (second), Saj Iqbal (third), Stan Tran (fourth),Cheryl Sumbar (fifth), RicardoMedrano (sixth), Laurie Buik(seventh), Calum Rowan (eighth) and Joe Guinta (ninth) all received APL Poker Tour packs, but it was Sydney South’s Kevin Gardner who took it down to earn a spot on TeamAPL.

• Gardner will join Reuben Siva in Las Vegas next July after his triumph in the August Pro Open event at the Parramatta Leagues Club.

Things just keep getting worse and worse for Gus Hansen on Full Tilt Poker. According to HighStakesDB.com, “The Great Dane” dropped nearly USD $1.2 million on Full Tilt Poker over 2166 tracked hands on a single day in Au-gust. This money was lost to Phil Ivey (+ 679k) and Cole South (+ 493k).

For the month of August, Hansen is now down an eye-popping USD $2,856,898.00 over 43,224 hands. Phil Ivey has benefited the most from Hansen’s catastrophic month, pocketing over USD $1.8 million.

Gus has also managed to blow another strong start to the year. At the end of February, Hansen was up more than USD $1.8 million. Thanks in large part to his disastrous August, Gus is now down over $2.3 million on the year. The same thing happened to Gus last year on FTP - a strong start followed by a horrific downswing.

Since January 1st, 2007, Gus is down approximately USD $9.23 million over a total of 871,996 hands on FTP. Phil Ivey, on the other hand, has made nearly $20 million during the same period of time on the site.

Missing chip sets help land northern NSW man in courtEveryone wants to get his or her hands on some APL merchandise, but one youngster took that concept a bit far in recent months.

John McCord’s alleged crime spree in June was only brought to an end when police arrested him in a stolen car at Emerald Beach following a high-speed highway pursuit. The 19-year-old admitted his guilt to a string of serious charges in the Coffs Harbour Local Court, according to the Daily Examiner.

The 13 charges against him range from trying to outrun police in a stolen car, to reckless and negligent driving endangering the public. A host of alleged vehicle break-ins and stealing allegations cap off his lengthy wrap sheet, but to those offences he’s pleaded not guilty.

Police allege he stole a host of property, including cars, cash, a video camera, a GPS unit, a butane gas stove, a car refrigerator and CDs – plus three Australian Poker League chip sets.

Sydney duo book TeamAPL spots for 2011

Hansen’s high stakes horrors continue

Shuffle up and deal at your Christmas party Are you looking for a great team building activity, maybe a night out to reward your workers or a unique Christmas party? Corporate Poker has all the options available to make you go all in on your next corporate event. Whatever it is you may be looking for we can tailor a package to suit your needs.

Recent events have included: Team Building Nights, Casino Poker, Bucks Nights, Western Shoot-Out Poker, Masquerade Poker and Celebrity Poker. All Corporate Events

are supervised by professionally trained tournament directors who will do their best to ensure your night is a success.

All event packages include: tournament director; APL branded Poker tables/chips/cards; tournament computer; five-minute learn to play DVD; tournament tutorial and prizes for the winner and runner-up. For more information contact [email protected] or (02) 9648 0191.



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Hall of Fame to welcome two new players in '10After a two-month voting period, Harrah’s officials have announced the top 10 vote getters for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2010.

Four criteria are required for a person to be considered for the Poker Hall of Fame: “A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition; played for high stakes; played

consistently well, gaining the respect of peers; stood the test of time; or, for non-players, con-tributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.”

The 10 nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2010 following the two-month public voting period are Chris Ferguson, Barry Green-stein, Jennifer Harman, Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Linda Johnson, Tom McEvoy, Daniel Ne-greanu, Scotty Nguyen and Erik Seidel.

Johnson and Harman are already mem-bers of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, while McEvoy, Nguyen, Harrington and Ferguson are past WSOP Main Event winners.

Two of the 10 players are expected to be inducted at a ceremony to coincide with the WSOP Main Event final table in November. Last year, World Poker Tour host Mike Sexton was the Poker Hall of Fame’s lone inductee.

Martino back on the march towards Player of the Year titlePlaying poker for a living is a long, hard grind that can sometimes drive you mad. Take professional poker player Phil ‘The Unabomber’ Laak for example – he put his body (and sanity) on the line in June this year and played a cash game at the Bellagio in Las Vegas for 115 hours straight in order to break the Guinness World Record for the longest poker session ever recorded, all in the name of charity.

Fast forward to July and Laak, along with thousands of other players from around the world, put themselves up to the challenge of the WSOP Main Event. Two-hour blind levels can take a lot out of you, but if you’re lucky enough to go deep and run good, you’re doing that for up to 14 hours a day for eight days. So is it possible to go for even longer? One man from the Sydney suburb of Croydon did just that.

After a shoulder injury put him out of work as a truck driver, 53-year-old father of three Martino Lascala chalked up a mind-boggling 867 APL games this year – that’s an average of more than two games a day – which equals to more than 3030 hours at the poker table (based on the average run time of 3.5 hours per APL game). According to Lascala, it could have been an even bigger number than that.

“Unfortunately, I was involved in a car accident and put me out of action for a while,” he said. “As a result I finished fifth overall in the Player of the Year race, but I reckon I was travelling along really well for a while there. It was very tiring and to play that many games is a big commitment.”

Lascala has been playing since August 2008, making his debut at the Bankstown Sports Club in Sydney’s West and has chalked 333 final table appearances in his APL career, including 40 wins – and it appears that Lascala is not done yet, having already chalked up 165 games (and counting) this year.

Despite all his hard work, Lascala still hasn’t been able to break through to play in an APL major event: “I’ve never come close to even making the money in big events like the Pro Opens or State Finals, but hopefully I’ll run good and get that APL Poker Tour ticket for Melbourne – and when I get there, I’m going to win!”

The race for the overall points title in the 2010 PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour is set for another exciting finish. Last year, almost $100,000 in prizes were awarded last year to the players – Tony Hachem, Chris Levick and Joel Dodds – who filled the top three spots on the leaderboard. Dodds had a chance to overtake Hachem at the final event but fell agonis-ingly short.Hachem bolted from the stalls with a final table in Adelaide and victory in Perth, but Sydney-sider John Maklouf has steadily chipped away at the lead (final tables in Sydney, Canberra and

ANZPT Player of the Year battle goes down to the wire

Queenstown) and sits atop the leaderboard with two events to play in Melbourne and Dar-win. With 10 participation points, along with at least 50 points for a win available, the race to the Season 2 ANZPT Points title is still up for grabs.

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ANZPT LEADErBoArD (after six events)

1 John Maklouf (NSW) 193.802 Tony Hachem (Vic) 181.653 Andrew Scarf (NSW) 164.504 Aaron Benton (NSW) 164.455 Michael Spilkin (Vic) 152.906 Rennie Carnevale (NSW) 149.557 Ricky Kroesen (Qld) 138.658 Angelo Hamataj (Vic) 133.709 Vesko Zmukic (WA) 126.1010 Jason Gray (NSW) 116.50

Play in a Main Event Satellite# for your chance to win a cheap seat*.Live satellites# start from as little as $160^.

Visit biggamepoker.com.au for full schedule and information.

*Tournament conditions apply, see www.biggamepoker.com.au for full tournament conditions and details of prizes on offer. To enter any Star City poker tournament you must be 18 years or over and a Total Star Rewards member or Sovereign Room cardholder. Membership to Total Star Rewards is FREE and available from a Total Star Rewards Centre. #This tournament is a PokerStars.net APPT Main Event satellite tournament. Prizes may include cash and/or entry into 2010 PokerStars.net APPT Main Event. ^Buy-in non-refundable less than five days prior to the Tournament, except at Star City’s discretion or if the Tournament is cancelled. Think! About your choices. Call Gambling Help 1800 858 858 www.gamblinghelp.nsw.gov.au. Player activity statements for slot machine play are available on request. Play for free at PokerStars.net. This is not a gambling website.

November 29 – December 12, 2010

AAroN BeNtoN Winner of APPT 3 Sydney Grand Final

juni

or_S

TAR2

6195

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

CON TSAPKOUNIS WINS 2009 POKERNEWS CUP AUSTRALIA

PLUS:How to earn your seat at the 2010 Aussie Millions

Star City gears up forAPPT season 3 finaleIn profIle:Clonie Gowen,Jarred Graham& Yevgeniy Timoshenko

Welcome

Mike Sexton enters the Poker Hall of Fame

ABOARD

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Star City gears up forAPPT season 3 finaleIn profIle:Clonie Gowen,Jarred Graham& YevgeniyTimoshenko

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MARCH/APRIL 2010

ANZPT UNDERWAY - NEXT STOP WA - MORE THAN JUST GREAT POKER

InSIde:CAREER DEFININGWaggoner, Lisandrofeted by Hall of Fame

PLUS:Jonathan Karamalikis:A monster bountygoes unclaimedAnnette ObrestadLegal, dangerous and ready for Vegas!

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MAY/JUNE 2010

WE PREVIEW MELBOURNE POKER CHAMPS & APPT MACAU

InSIde:WSOP 2010What’s in store,& have your sayon TOC line-up PLUS:Tony Hachem’sroad to richeson the ANZPT

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Spring 2010 11

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Spring 2010 11

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CON TSAPKOUNIS WINS 2009 POKERNEWS CUP AUSTRALIA


Star City gears up forAPPT season 3 finaleIn profIle:Clonie Gowen,Jarred Graham& Yevgeniy Timoshenko

Welcome

Mike Sexton enters the Poker Hall of Fame

ABOARD






Star City gears up forAPPT season 3 finaleIn profIle:Clonie Gowen,Jarred Graham& YevgeniyTimoshenko

WelcomeWelcome

ABOARDABOARDWelcomeWelcome

ABOARDABOARD

Name:

Address:

Suburb:

State: Postcode:

Email:

Phone:

Enclosed: $AU39.95 6 Issue Subscription (inc postage & handling)

$AU99.95 Special package (inc postage & handling)

To subscribe: visit www.pokernetwork.com to pay by credit cardOR

Send a cheque or money order to (Australian orders only):DR Globalex Limited c/o 518/1 Queens Road Melbourne VIC 3004

[email protected] www.pokernetwork.com

“SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGE”6 Issue subscription PLUSLET’S PLAY POKER by Lee Nelson PLUSKILL EVERYONE – REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITIONSpecial price $99.95 ($150 value)

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MARCH/APRIL 2010


InSIde:CAREER DEFININGWaggoner, Lisandrofeted by Hall of Fame

PLUS:Jonathan Karamalikis:A monster bountygoes unclaimedAnnette ObrestadLegal, dangerous and ready for Vegas!

KROST’SKingdomKingdomKingdom

KROST’SKROST’SKROST’SAussie Millions title stays on home soil

Subscribe Today!


PLUS:Jonathan Karamalikis:Jonathan Karamalikis:A monster bountygoes unclaimed

Annette ObrestadLegal, dangerous and KingdomKingdomKROST’SKROST’SKROST’S



Issue # 07

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MAY/JUNE 2010

WE PREVIEW MELBOURNE POKER CHAMPS & APPT MACAU

InSIde:WSOP 2010What’s in store,& have your sayon TOC line-up PLUS:Tony Hachem’sroad to richeson the ANZPT

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stephen davy

Stephen Davy: Amanda was a well-respected soccer referee and member of the Kanwal Rovers Soccer Club and was a popular maths teacher at Wyong High School. She was really well known throughout the community and it was one of our regular players and a good friend of Amanda, Steve Frame, who came up with the idea.

With the family’s blessing, he helped set up the event. Members of the soccer club and our regular APL players headed down to the Doyalson Wyee RSL to play on the night before the Australia versus Ghana World Cup game. Obviously the Aussies didn’t get the result we wanted

but it was a fantastic night and Amanda’s family were really grateful.

SM: You also recently held the Alan Clark Memorial Deepstack event in August. Tell us a little about Alan.

SD: Alan was a great friend. He used to help us set up all our tournaments and was just one of those guys who was loved by everyone. He loved playing cards – poker was his life – and he played almost every night of the week. We figured the least we could do for him a proper send-off. Normally we have a monthly deepstack where we average about 50 players,

but for the Alan Clark Memorial Deepstack we had a field of 90 players.

The tourna-ment was won by Neil “Monty Burns” Mont-gomery – he’s a great guy and Alan would have been rapt that he won. Even when he was short-stacked at the final table with four players to

go, Neil said that he knew that he was al-ways going to win it for his mate “Clarkey” and he was true to his word!

We’re now going to hold the Alan Clark Memorial Deepstack event every six months. Alan’s nickname was “The De-stroyer” so as an added bonus, whoever wins the event will keep his nickname for six months in order to honour his memory.

SM: Has there been much feedback from the community and what do you have planned in the future?

SD: We hold an annual barefoot bowls and poker day but I’ve got plans to host a “lock-in” event, where we book out a venue, start at 11pm at night and play through to 9am the following morning – a big deepstack tourney with nowhere to run! We’re always open to new ideas, anything that makes it fun for our players.

We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from not just our regular poker players, but from the wider community as well. We do these events for a number of reasons, but most importantly, I genuinely believe that it’s just the right thing to do. I believe that we should all share that commu-nity spirit, so little things like these events have a nice flow-on affect at times.

Community comes together

to remember friends

Whether it’s a charity tournament at your local venue or the Ante Up for Africa event at the World Series of Poker, the poker community is always quick to lend a helping hand for a worthy cause. NSW Central Coast franchisee manager Stephen Davy has harnessed such goodwill in recent months for two very special poker events.

KnowtheDeal

Is it something in the water? South Australia continues to punch above its weight on the national poker scene with George “The Paralyzer” Apat the latest to join the list of poker champions from Adelaide. Shuffle’s Landon Blackhall chatted with the reigning APL Player of the Year during his

deep run at Jupiters in the recent APLPT Gold Coast tournament.

It’s been a stellar year for South Aus-tralian poker players at all levels of the game. The SA State of Origin secured their second title in three

years dauring the Victorian Poker Cham-pionships, while online phenoms Jarred Graham and Jonathan Karamalikis have enjoyed incredible success on both the live and virtual felt.

That success has carried into APL ranks, as South Australia laid claim to successive APL Player of the Year titles. In 2008-2009, it was Craig Ivey who took out the APL’s most prestigious title. Twelve months on, George Apat survived a torrid race to the finish line to claim this prestig-ious honour.

One could say that it was fate for the

51-year-old bricklayer, who played his first APL tournament after having just fin-ished major renovation works at his debut venue, the Albion Hotel in Kilburn back in 2008.

“I was trying to find some things to do because I had a lot of spare time after my separation,” Apat said. “I was driving past the Albion Hotel one morning and saw

Paralyzing the oPPosition

Name: George Apat

Nickname: The Paralyzer Age: 51

State: South Australia Region: Adelaide

Occupation: Bricklayer

APL debut: June 2008, Albion Hotel, Kilburn 2009-10 tournaments: 567

Average points: 44.8

Preferred venue: Britannia Hotel, Norwood

Favourite hand: K-10

Major APL events: 2009 Wild Turkey Grand Slam; 2010 Wild Turkey Poker Classic; 2010 APL Poker Tour Sydney; 2010 APL Poker Tour Gold Coast (seventh place)

Spring 201012

head

s up

profile george apat

a lot of cars out the front. I thought I’d pop in and say hello to a few people I met during the renovation works and it turns out they were hosting an APL game. I sat there for a little while and watched and thought ‘I like this’, so I came back the following week to join up and have a go.”

Apat had always been a fan of card games, regularly playing Canasta and euchre with his fishing buddies, but never Texas Hold’em: “I used to play a lot of Ma-nila beforehand, so it took me a little while to grasp the one-card or any-card rule, so I folded a few straights and flushes along the way in my first few games, but I think I’ve got the gist of it now!”

It certainly didn’t take all that long for Apat to learn the intricacies of the game, as in his first year of APL he actually fin-ished seventh overall in the 2008-2009 Player of the Year Race. He also had a lot of help from his new friends.

“I got a lot of tips and lessons from guys like Craig Ivey, Russell Gibbie and Rob ‘Hoover’ Lark. Those guys gave me a lot of hints and tips on what to do and what not to do.”

“I wasn’t even dreaming about chasing POTY this year. Finishing seventh last year took up a lot of my time. It’s a real hard grind and I witnessed how Craig Ivey went through it for 12 months and all the pres-sures that came with trying to make it.

“Then about six months into the year I was travelling well, so I set myself some goals of where I wanted to finish each week and just kept achieving them. Ron Wilson had been leading for almost nine months of the year and was definitely the man to catch, so I just worked out what I needed to do to pass him. It was a good fight towards the end and when I finally caught Ron it was a bit of a leapfrog bat-tle, but then I pulled together a few good wins in a row and built up a big margin.”

A big margin indeed – in fact, he was more than 1000 points clear of his near-est rival when the 2009-2010 POTY race ended, much to the delight of his family and friends: “They were ecstatic, although some of them complained they weren’t seeing much of me because I was play-ing almost two games a night! They were all excited when they found out that I was going to Las Vegas and just the fact that I had even won the POTY title was good enough in their eyes.”

Apat indeed packed his bags and to Las Vegas for the 2010 WSOP Main Event with TeamAPL. While he didn’t make the money, Apat lapped up every minute of his time in the USA.

“It was sensational. The WSOP Main Event was a great tournament with a fan-tastic standard of poker. The amount of support I had from all my friends back

home was just unbelievable. I felt really proud and all I wanted to do was do well for them because of their support.”

Apat may have had his fair share of success in the last few years, but that’s not to say he’s resting on his laurels. Af-ter a solid run earlier this year at the APL Poker Tour event in Sydney (“unfortunate-ly, I was the bubble boy”), he finished on the final table in seventh place at the APL Poker Tour Gold Coast event.

But for Apat, it’s not just about the glory: “I’ve made a stack of new friends – they’re almost like a new family. That’s part of the reason why many of us go to poker; it’s a great social outlet for us. I’m playing a little less poker these days, but I still love the game and playing for fun without the pressure, but I guess you have to wear it if you’re chasing the big ones like majors or POTY,” he said.

“My advice for those who are looking to try and win the APL Player of the Year title is to not panic early. It’s a commitment for 12 months so you’ve got plenty of time, but if you can set yourself some goals and achievements – something like two wins and six top fours a month – then you’re on target to get there at the end.

“You’ll also need to play your game dif-ferently – definitely fold more often and don’t call or raise with so many marginal hands. But it doesn’t matter how good a player you are, you’ll need some luck and also need to be able to handle the bad beats along the way!”

2009-10 APL PLAyer of the yeAr finAL stAndings1 George Apat 567 14,4752 Ben Aldons 361 13,4253 Ron Wilson 694 13,3254 James Charlton 426 12,6005 Martino Lascala 877 12,2106 John Nikolaou 812 12,1707 Bill McDermid 545 11,7508 Rino Verrusio 484 11,4459 Matt Muir 302 11,32010 Mitch Caton 360 11,170

A brief history of Poker in south AustrALiA▼ Long before the

Crown Casino and the Aussie Millions, Adelaide Casino was considered the home of poker in Australia. From 1987 until 2001, Adelaide hosted the Australasian Poker Championships, boasting a long honour roll that includes Australian Poker Hall of Famer Gary Benson. Adelaide Casino now hosts an event as part of the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour and the Adelaide Poker Championships.

▼ Adelaide is the home city of Australia’s

first Aussie Millions Main Event champion. In 2009, Stewart Scott broke the local drought and pocketed the highest first prize payout in Aussie poker tournament history (AUD $2,000,000).

▼ Other South

Australian players making their mark on the national and international scene include James Obst and Jarred Graham. Obst is one of the world’s best-known online players (he’s

the only Aussie with a WCOOP title to his name) while Graham won the APPT Sydney High Rollers Event and Sydney Poker Championships Main Event titles last year.

▼ Another proud

South Australian, Jonathan Karamalikis won the 2010 Aussie Millions $1650 Bounty Event and made the final table of the $100,000 buy-in Hold’em Challenge, followed by wins in both the ANZPT Sydney High Rollers and the Victorian Poker Championship $10,200 High Stakes Event.

Spring 2010 13

Spring 201014

KnowtheDealhead

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charlie elias

Marathon ManIn 2009, TeamAPL player Charlie Elias was the highest-placed Australian in the WSOP Main Event, finishing in 53rd place and taking home USD $138,000. Charlie has now joined the Shuffle Magazine team and in his first column chats about what it takes to make a deep run in a multi-day MTT.

L et’s face it – playing in the WSOP Main Event compared to playing at your local APL venue is a whole different ball game. It’s one of the

most physically, mentally and emotionally draining challenges you’ll ever face. It’s not a place where you can go and meet up with your mates, have a few drinks and spend a good night together.

You have to be really prepared, avoid-ing the normal things you do with your friends or anything that is going to put you off your game. One bad move and it could be your last. Here are just some of the things that I learned that will help you in any multi-day tournament, but particularly long events like the WSOP Main Event.

Pace yourself. I found that breaking up the day really helped me stay focused. You’ll be at the table for up to 12 hours a day with a 20-minute break every blind level (each level is two hours long), plus a 90-minute dinner break. Don’t feel as if you have to stay at the table the whole time – take a quick five-minute “time-out” every hour and refresh yourself. You’ve got all the time in the world, so missing a few hands every level won’t take much out of your stack.

TreaT The game seriously. Things like eating at the table, chatting on the phone, fiddling with your iPod or doing anything that is going to distract you is a

big no-no. Remain focused at all times. A lot of players also get distracted by the glitz and glamour of the nightlife that you’ll often find at a casino. Don’t be tempted into joining your friends for a big night out before the tournament – you’ll have plenty of time to do that once you’ve busted.

Take The Time To sTudy your oPPo-nenTs. Watch out for players’ tells (e.g. shaking feet and hands, heavy breathing, facial expressions, rapid heartbeat, etc). Also, try and spot the weakest player on your table. Every time I was moved to a new table I would seek out the weakest player and attack them. These players will help you build your stack up slowly.

don’T be afraid To fold big hands. A lot of players I watched tend to call all the way to the river just because they have high pockets, only to end up hitting the rail. If you think that the player has a made hand, chances are they probably do.

geT in firsT and be aggressive. Try to lead out into as many small pots as you can and avoid getting involved in bigger pots unless you know you have the nuts. Your objective is to make sure that they don’t come up against you and outdraw you with those marginal hands, so don’t hesitate to raise and raise big to get them out early.

Take all The helP you can geT. When I took the chip lead of the WSOP Main Event on day five, I suddenly found myself surrounded by media, players and their agents. It just so happened I was also approached by Joe Hachem’s mental conditioning coach (and Shuffle column-ist), Jamie Glazier. Jamie offered me some help, but I laughed it off. In hindsight, I wish I had taken him up on his offer, be-cause when I was eliminated on day sev-en, I was so mentally drained and it took me a long while to recover.

above all, always sTay PosiTive. If you cop a bad beat, recollect your thoughts and move onto the next hand. Walk away from the table if you have to – you can never allow yourself to go on tilt because you’ll end up going home early. And if your run does come to an end, don’t be angry or upset. After all, you’ve just played in the biggest poker tournament in the world!

It’s every poker player’s dream to rub shoulders with the world’s best at the WSOP and although thousands of people take their seats every year, for many, it’s an opportunity they get to experience only once in their lifetime. I certainly hope that my experience in 2009 won’t be my last and I’m already back at the tables trying to win another seat. I hope I see you on the tables at the WSOP Main Event next year!

Pace yourself in the race for the ultimate prize

Spring 201014

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Spring 2010 17

emma grace

I am woman

I guess everyone plays poker for dif-ferent reasons and those reasons change. Four years ago when I first started to play poker, it was my father

who invited me to play a game at the local RSL where we used to meet and have a bite to eat and a catch-up while my two daughters had a play in the kids club.

I knew absolutely nothing about how to play so that day I looked up on the in-ternet and wrote down the hand rankings on a piece of paper. Looking back I laugh as I remember asking someone if all the same suit was good, I think I flopped an Ace high flush with improved to a royal!

Other women like Leo Margets (the highest placed female in the 2009 WSOP Main Event) began playing poker by ac-cident in 2005. Out for the night, Margets asked a guy if he wanted to go for a drink and when he refused because he wanted to go and play poker, she asked if she could join. Tiffany Michelle (last woman standing in the 2008 WSOP Main Event) learned from her grandfather at a young age while Annie Duke played cards around the kitchen table with her parents and brother Howard Lederer.

In most cases women are introduced to the game by a male; whether it’s a fa-ther, brother or friend, and we quickly dis-cover that we love the game – in fact we devour it, study and learn and then beat the boys at their own game!

People of all backgrounds with vastly different personalities play poker, which is the beauty of the game. Of course there’s a common thread between us girls, and I think the desire to excel at this wonderful game is inspiring, frustrating and ever challenging, reflecting life and its nuances.

I’ve never felt intimidated playing against men. I fact, I’ve probably felt more anxious playing in women’s tournaments in Las Vegas and New Zealand, where I sat most of the day next to the eventual winner, who was a lovely lady and excel-lent player but, boy, was the game tough.

As the highest placed Australian female in the 2009 WSOP Main Event as part of TeamAPL, Emma Grace can’t wait to see more ladies matching it in poker’s biggest events.

I know a few guys who dread being surrounded by good female players, but us ladies have to do this fairly regularly and I think that is a good thing, maybe even helps us. It is a widely accepted fact that multi-task better than men, and I think this is a definite advantage at poker.

And as more and more women play poker, we are staking a claim to the play with the best of them. We are finding there are many opportunities in poker and big money to make, if that is your goal.

I am a big believer in the power of your mind and your thoughts.

I manifested into my life all my success with poker using these techniques. I put pictures on the walls, I made CDs to lis-ten to while I’m playing and I made a list of goals and just went after them. I also studied the game 24/7. Some women are happy to play just for fun and that is great too. If you decide you want to take it a bit more seriously, you can.

If you want to make a splash on the big stage, find out what major tournaments are coming up and how you can play. Find out what satellites are available, make a plan, write out your goals and just go for it – believe you can do it! So many more women are taking the jump from social games of serious poker tournaments and doing really well.

2010 has been a great year for women in poker. Annette Obrestad, who won the first WSOP Europe Main Event in 2007, jump-started the year at the Aussie Millions making the final table of the main event and winning a preliminary event.

Then in March my hero Annie Duke, won the National 2010 Heads-up Cham-pionship. The next month law student Va-nessa Selbst won the NAPT Mohegan Sun title for a first prize of USD $750,000. This was Vanessa’s fourth major title after her 2008 WSOP bracelet in the $1500 Pot Limit Omaha event and back-to-back titles at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods.

Only a matter of days later Liv Boeree became the third woman to have cap-tured a major title with her victory at EPT San Remo. It is only a matter of time be-fore one of us is up on the world stage ac-cepting the bracelet as the first fe-male to win the WSOP Main Event! Will it be you?

Kathy Liebert (USA) USD $5,339,173Annette Obrestad (Norway) $2,803,890Vanessa Rousso (USA) $2,621,261Jennifer Harman -Traniello (USA) $2,522,840JJ Liu (USA) $2,190,467Annie Duke (USA) $2,157,246Liv Boeree (UK) $1,993,399Sandra Naujoks (Germany) $1,778,583Vanessa Selbst (USA) $1,700,798Mimi Tran (USA) $1,496,853

DiD yoU Know? Barbara Enright is the only player to have captured two WSOP ladies titles and in 1995, she became the first (and so far only) woman to have reached the final table of the Main Event, finish-ing fifth

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Spring 201018

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O ne thing that I have come across in my travels while running and reporting on poker tournaments is the endless looks of pain and dis-

comfort on players’ faces when it comes to calculating sidepots.

Rather than calling the tournament di-rector to give them a hand, they sit there helplessly trying to figure it out for them-selves, even resorting to breaking out the calculator on their mobile phone. Fear not, help is at hand!

The main thing to remember about sidepots is that you can only win up to the value of what you put in. So if you’re all-in for 200 in chips, you’re only entitled to win up to 200 in chips from everybody else. That’s the easy part. The hard part is making sure it’s all correct. There are two ways of doing this.

The first way is to figure out the total amount of chips going into the main pot. Let’s say the blinds are at 100/200, with four players. Before the flop the player in first position raises to 600 all-in. The player on the button re-raises to 2000 and both the blinds call. All you need to do here is multiply 600 by four (which equals 2400), put that into the main pot and move the remainder aside to form the sidepot. Easy!

The second way is to do it the other way around – work out how much is going to go into the sidepot. Using the above ex-ample again, we know that there are only three out of the four players contesting for the sidepot. The remainder from each called bet is 1400 in chips, so multiply that by three (which equals 4200) and that’s your sidepot.

What you may have noticed it seems so much easier to do it the first way, but don’t just stick to one formula! There are times where the second way will work bet-ter than the first and vice-versa. You may even have to resort to a combination of both to work out multiple sidepots.

The best way to practice your sidepot skills is to set up random amounts of chips in a random number of seat posi-tions at a table. Position the dealer button on one of the stacks, then post the blinds as normal.

From there, place random bets and all-ins from some or all of the seat positions. Use denominations of 100s and 500s to begin with. Once you are comfortable, in-corporate 25s and 1000s.

Never, under any circumstances, use a calculator! It’s only going to hinder your progress. Dealers at casinos are required to compute everything mentally in order to keep the game moving quickly and ef-ficiently.

Remember, it is over time and practice in which you will develop the speed. Once you have mastered the art of sidepottery (is that even a word, oh well, it is now!), you will amaze and astound your tablem-ates at your next poker game – though they may have their heads still buried in their mobile phone calculators trying to work it out.

Spring 2010 19

landon blackhall

Potting revengeending the confusion of sidepotsCalculating sidepots is an aspect of poker that baffles many new or inexperienced players (especially after a few drinks). Shuffle’s own Landon Blackhall says forget the calculator – count ’em up; split ’em up, there’s nothing to it!

Well known poker reporter and former croupier Landon Blackhall now heads up the Shuffle team. He’ll be combing the rulebook and dealer’s guide for tips to ensure you’re well equipped when you take your seat in an APL event.

Sidep tSto bluff or not to bluff

There are no hard and fast rules regarding bluffing or betting into sidepots. If you play online poker tournaments, or live tournaments, sometimes you’ll have one player all-in while others in the pot still have money left to bet. Any additional betting goes into a side pot, and the all-in player is not eligible to win that pot. Suppose players A, B, and C are in a pot together. A and B start with 1000 chips and C starts with 100. All of C’s chips go into the middle before the flop, so C is all-in and there is no money in the side pot.

A and B are the only ones who can bet, and they check the flop and the turn. On the river, A has a dreadful hand – he can’t even beat the five cards that are on the board. A bluff here is a horrible play. At best, B will fold, but C can’t fold because she already is all-in. Since A has a horrible hand, C will win and collect the pot. Player A is risking being called by B and losing, when there is no way to benefit by betting.

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We utilise many of the skills that make a great poker player every day. In this edition of Shuffle Academy, we look at the importance of tells and how to practice spotting them in every day life.

What are you

“telling” me?

Known as the ‘Mad Genius of Poker’, Mike Caro penned the best book ever written on tells, not surprisingly titled Caro’s Book of Poker Tells. Caro’s fourth law of tells is one of the most succinct, but also one of the most accurate; “a trembling bet is a force to be feared”. So if you see a player who can barely hang on to a handful of chips as they prepare to throw them into the pot, steer clear. Another of Caro’s laws states “beware of sighs and sounds of sorrow”. Players will try to throw you off the scent by bemoaning their luck despite a pair of aces or kings sitting comfortably in the hole. And when a player start pay-ing more attention to the footy scores than their hand, it’s also a warning sign. Conversely, the player who looks overly interested in the result of your decision to bet is probably hoping like hell that you’ll throw the cards away.

T he most subtle behaviours of a person under duress can indicate much more than what typically meets the eye. Is a person pushed

for time? Watch how often a suspect looks at his watch – something is about to hap-pen. Does he walk on the inside or the outside of the sidewalk – he’s hiding in the open. How often is he blinking his eyes – he is nervous. Does she eat at the same time every day – the person is regimented.

These cues give insight into the person-ality and, more importantly, the future be-haviour of these individuals. For the casual observer, these simple actions don’t mean much, but put the pieces together and you’ve solved the puzzle.

Being an acute observer is part of how we learn. Furthermore, we learn from the experiences of others. No matter how we learn the information, we have to retain it, master it and learn to apply it appropri-ately to alternate situations.

Many times we forget what behaviour patterns we’ve observed or later misinter-

pret those behaviours. But you may notice that the most successful poker players have excellent memories.

Learn the behaviours that tend to re-veal strength, weakness, doubt, etc. Re-member that in poker you will see behav-iours that show strength and commitment, behaviours indicative of being dubious or marginal or behaviours indicative of weak-ness. Additionally, there are behaviours that indicate intentions that are positive (reaching for chips on the flop) or that in-dicate you are going to fold eventually (the card shuttle – cards are held between the thumb and middle finger or shuffled back and forth on the felt).

So now you have read the content and started a list of behaviours. Wait, what? Make a list? Yes. If you want to remember the information, read it and write it down again. The next step is to validate those behaviours. Ready to hit the poker tables? Not so fast!

Poker players make the same mistake over and over: they wait to get to the poker room to observe tells. But the majority of tells indicative of confidence, comfort, dis-comfort, etc, you will see in everyday life and not just the poker rooms. We don’t have different work tells, home tells and then poker tells!

When you show displeasure at the air-port over a missed flight you don’t have a second set of behaviours for when you miss the flop with a big hand. Don’t mis-understand my intentions and believe that there aren’t unique behaviours associ-ated with betting, position, and chips, but everything else you can begin to validate

outside of the poker room. The advantage of learning to observe outside the poker room is that you learn to pick up on tells quickly so that later you don’t have to think about them while playing.

Everywhere you go you’ll notice that someone is non-verbally telling a story. Once you take your seat, every minute should be dedicated to collecting intelli-gence about your opponents.

Collect information as to how expe-rienced they are, how they sit, how they react, how much territory they claim on the felt, which behaviours they repeat, what they do to deal with stress, etc. Slowly you’ll build up an intelligence base on each player to help guide you.

The ability to read people from head to toe, without doubt, is attainable. You can do it; it just takes practice. Observation is a perishable skill, and you will play as you practice. What are the rewards of master-ing the art and science of body language, of reading tells accurately? Ask any brace-let winner; he or she will tell you.

Caro

, the

king

of te

lls

Spring 2010

shuffle acadamy

21

Spring 201022

head

s up

sean callander

A s members of TeamAPL will at-test, Las Vegas is a “must” on any poker player’s list of ultimate destinations. As it should – it’s

the spiritual home of poker and the city that hosts the World Series of Poker each summer. There are scores of poker rooms, many of which are home to the best play-ers on the planet.

But closer to home, there’s another awe-inspiring destination at all poker play-ers should consider. Best of all, it’s closer than Vegas and, in poker terms, likely to be a more profitable than a trip to the Ne-vada desert.

Macau is often called as the “Las Vegas of the East”, and for good reason. More gambling dollars flow through the doors of Macau’s 30-odd casinos (approximately USD $7 billion each year) than any other gaming destination on the planet, includ-ing Vegas.

Despite the role that the casino indus-try plays in both cities, the similarities be-tween Macau and Las Vegas pretty much end there. Situated about 60 kilometres southwest of Hong Kong, Macau consists of a small portion of the Macau Peninsula plus the islands of Taipa and Coloane. More than 500,000 people live in an area of less than 30 sq km, making Macau the most densely populated territory in the world.

Most visitors to Vegas arrive via air or across the Mojave Desert on Interstate 15. In contrast, the majority of Macau’s tourists journey via high-speed ferry (or helicopter for the lucky few). The out-line of the bridges that link the mainland with Taipa, the soaring Macau Tower and the remarkable lotus-flower shape of the Grand Lisboa Hotel slowly emerge from the haze to create a spectacular vista for travellers arriving via water.

Macau also provides visitors with a unique blend of Eastern and Western cultures, as it was China’s first and last European colony. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on December 20, 1999.

Not even four years have passed since the first No Limit Hold’em poker tourna-ment was played in Macau. Eager to spread its alphabet soup of poker tours across the planet, PokerStars included Macau on the first season of the Asia Pa-cific Poker Tour.

After two years at the Grand Waldo Ho-tel and Casino, PokerStars has moved its base from Taipa Island into the heart of the city to the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Ca-sino. Known as “PokerStars Macau”, the poker room at the Grand Lisboa is billed as “the largest in continental Asia” with 33 tables. Tournament series such as the Macau Poker Cup are held every two months, and the room remains the venue for an APPT event each year.

But the beating heart of Macau poker isn’t tournaments; it’s cash games, and some of the wildest action you’ll find any-where on the planet.

The best of the games are at Wynn Macau. For those who’ve visited Wynn in Vegas, this property will look familiar – it’s basically a shrunken version. But Wynn’s 11 poker tables play host to some of the hottest action in Macau. Indeed, you’ll regularly find some of Australia’s best cash players grinding away in some crazy games here.

However, the bar has been raised with the opening of the new Hard Rock Poker Lounge at the spectacular City of Dreams property on Taipa Island. The Hard Rock Poker Lounge boasts a fully integrated bar and lounge facilities along with nine

As much as he loves the annual trip to Las Vegas, Sean Callander is a big fan of Macau. And for poker players eager to mix a holiday with some time at the tables, it’s well worth considering.

Macau musts

• The Macau Peninsula is dominated by Guia Hill, which offers stunning views of the Pearl River Delta and the surrounding islands of Macau. Why not take a cable car to the summit to take in this unique vista of Macau.

• There are more than 20 historical and architec-tural sites in Macau’s small city centre. If you’ve only got time for one make it the A-Ma Temple, on Macau Bay. Built in the 1500s A-Ma is the oldest temple structure in Macau and the city’s name was taken from its title.

• Adrenaline junkies won’t be able to go past Macau Tower without trying at least one of the death-defying activities on offer. The 338m-high structure is the only place in the world where the public can climb to the very top, via 100m of vertical ladders on the tower’s mast. The tower also boats the world’s highest bungy jump plat-form at 233m.

tables. This will be the host venue for the Asian Poker Tour Macau event in Novem-ber.

For APL players looking to combine a holiday with some poker, Macau is worth consideration – great restaurants, world class hotels, and a generation of poker players who will overplay pocket eights every time!

Greetings fromMacau

KnowtheDeal

the world’s true gaming capital

jamie glazier

Ed’s notE: Jamie Glazier operates Dare2Dream Peak Performance and Mental Conditioning. Check out his website www.dare2dream.com.au or drop him an email at [email protected].

With the growth of the APL over the past five years and the amaz-ing opportunities that

the League offers to play events with huge prize pools, this creates a new obstacle for the social/part-time poker player. That obstacle is what is called the Multi-Table Tournament (MTT).

Many players just starting out may have sampled poker tournaments via shorted Sit ‘n’ Go single-table tour-naments, with relatively short stacks and not much room for mistakes or creativity. MTTs are the polar opposite to SNGs.

One mistake I commonly see and hear from players making the step into MTTs is the mental fatigue, which makes them victims of what I like to call the “Brain Fart”. The BF results when your “mental battery” is running low on energy and therefore you play a hand without being conscious of each decision that needs to be made. Once you see all your chips being shipped to another player, you suddenly wake up from the nightmare and wonder what happened.

For most players starting out in MTTs, this seems to be a common occurrence until they actually experience enough BFs to condition their mind to become stronger and focus late in the day to play optimally and leave the BF at the door.

So how do you convince your brain to perform optimally late in the day with-out having to experience those horrible BF moments that eat away at your chips and your confidence like a cancer out to kill your poker career.

Think of your brain as a light bulb. Each light bulb, just like your brain, has a time limit before it “blows” and is no longer able to function. To conserve the life of the light bulb, we switch it off after use. When we need that light bulb again, we switch it on.

Using that analogy, we can also switch our brains on and off when need-ed, to help conserve energy and ensure consistent brain function at the final ta-ble as on the first level of play.

To help define each step so we can focus on implementing each step until they become habits, we need to cre-ate what are called “triggers” to help program our minds to switch on and off when needed.

A great trigger to switch on when playing live MTTs is when you get the first card dealt to you and you feel that card slide underneath your fingertips. That can be the trigger to switch your mind on for the upcoming hand, putting everything else that you were thinking or talking about to the side and focussing completely on the hand you are about to play. Your focus will be at a higher level of intensity when your mind is switched on to help you gather as much informa-tion about the hand so you can make higher quality decisions.

Once that hand is completed and you are ready to fold your cards, the trigger to switch off your mind will be the release of your cards. As soon

Having recently returned from the WSOP where his team once again turned in some impressive results, world renowned poker mental conditioning coach Jamie Glazier knows that event the best players

in the world can suffer mental fatigue.

Switchin’ it up

Coach’s comments ✔ Avoid the “Brain Fart” in MTTs

✔ Conserving brain energy is an essential element of success

✔ Turn your brain “on” when the

cards are dealt✔ Turn your brain “off” when you

fold your hand

How to avoid “brain farts” at the poker table

as you feel the cards leave your finger-tips, switch off your mind and let it con-serve its energy for future hands, as this is the time when a higher level of focus will become more important.

If you can begin to take control over your switch, you will begin to see your-self run deeper and deeper in events and have a chance of bringing your “A” Game to the latter stages of MTTs and put yourself in a position for a big score!

• If you want to learn more about how to improve your Mental Game, go to www.dare2dream.com.au and join the site for free to access discussion threads and articles on the mental side of poker. Check out Jamie’s 13-chapter Mental Game Video series. Use the Promo Code-APLD2D to receive a $50 discount on the program.

Spring 2010 23

Spring 201024

KnowtheDealvirtua

l felt

P eople have a wide variety of views on “shot-taking” in poker. Basical-ly, shot-taking is playing a game that is bigger than the game you

usually play, often with a much smaller bankroll than is considered significant for those higher stakes. Some pros believe you should never do it. Some do it all the time.

In essence shot-taking is actually an important part of progressing as a player, but it isn’t right for everyone. You have to be smart about it. Shot-taking also affects the dynamic of the game, changing the way people play and creating profitable situations if you know what you’re doing.

As one pro described, “You might con-sider eliminating the phrase ‘taking a shot’

from your speech, writing, and thoughts. You are not ‘taking a shot’ when you play a limit higher than you’ve played before. What you are doing is playing a limit high-er than you have played before. That’s it. Just like you have done in the past, just like millions have done multiple times. It’s not something to second guess before you even do it. It’s just something to do or

with cautionMany Shuffle readers will be familiar with the movie Rounders. In the opening scenes, the grinder Joey Knish spots Mike McDermott holding “three stacks of high society” and makes the comment “You’re making a run at it aren’t you? Rolling up a stake and going to Vegas.” It’s also called “shot taking” and it’s a concept that splits opinion in the pro ranks.

ProceeDThe dangers of taking a shot at the next level

not, like any selection, like folding, or changing seats.”

Too many people have it in their minds that they’re just gambling. That isn’t what shot-taking should be about. It is just another decision you make. And just as you should have a good reason to fold or to change seats, you should have a good reason to play a bigger game. Let’s talk about some reasons to take a shot.

One reason to take a shot is po-tentially to speed up your process in moving up in stakes. Another is to get practice playing against better play-ers. A third is to keep you interested and excited about the game. People have all kinds of reasons, good and bad, to take shots. Hopefully you’re smart enough to distinguish the good from the bad.

However shot-taking isn’t for eve-ryone. For instance if you were gonna take a shot at 2/5NL, and losing $2k would affect you very negatively either emotionally or financially in your non-poker life, you shouldn’t take that shot.

If you are going to be unable to move back down because it will feel like you are playing for pennies, you shouldn’t take a shot. If you aren’t a favourite in the higher game, you shouldn’t take a shot, unless you just want to practice against tough players and are prepared to pay to do so.

You shouldn’t take shots for fun or to gamble unless you are 100% hon-est with yourself about your motiva-tion and what’s likely to happen.

Sometimes you have an extra ad-vantage when taking a shot in a big game. This usually comes from know-ing your opponents better than they know you.

Let’s say you’re usually a 1/2NL player, and you take a shot in a 5/10NL game with one big fish and one reasonably solid player. Assum-ing the pro doesn’t know you, you can actually have an edge on him if you play your cards right. Ha-ha-ha.

You can make plays based on how you expect he’ll react to an unknown player. He probably won’t assume you will be making advanced bluffs, like a river bluff-raise. Or when a third spade hits the turn and you bet again, he will assume you’re more likely to have it than most regulars in the game.

Another thing you should think about is the first impression you make. Since he has no prior knowl-edge of you, he will usually tend to put too much weight on the first few

things he sees you do.So be very conscious of the hands

you show down and how they might affect his thinking about how you play.

A very successful tournament pro once said that when he gets moved to a new table, he likes to raise his first hand there, almost no matter what it is.

People think, “Wow, this guy just got here and he’s already raising pots. He must be really loose-aggressive.” And most of them take a long time to realize that they were wrong.

Sometimes, however, you can be at a disadvantage, both to the rich fish who doesn’t care about the money and to the seasoned player. Most people don’t realise it, or are afraid to admit it, but they play dif-ferently when the money means more to them. Some people tighten up pre-flop. Some see more flops but don’t put their stack in without the virtual nuts.

Most people start out tight, and then once they make one bluff, they can’t help themselves from making more. People play more aggressively when they play very high stakes. Ag-gression is good, but often they over-do it and actually become underdogs in games where they are normally better players than their opponents.

A 10/20 player taking a shot at 50/100, who is used to seeing flops with $130 in the pot and giving up with a gutshot, suddenly sees $800 in the pot and decides it’s time to make a move and win that money. The effect increases even more in re-ally big pots.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, he has a chapter discussing stress and adrenaline and their effects on the body.

He cites author and former army lieutenant colonel Dave Grossman: “The optimal state of ‘arousal’ the range in which stress improves per-formance – is when our heart rate is between 115 and 145 beats per minute. Most of us, under pressure, get too aroused, and past a certain point, our bodies begin shutting down so many sources of information that we start to become useless.

“After 145,” Grossman said, “bad things begin to happen. Complex mo-tor skills start to break down. At 175, we begin to see an absolute break-down of cognitive processing and the forebrain shuts down. Behaviour becomes inappropriately aggressive.” Be warned.

Spring 2010 25

virtual felt

Xxx

Taking a shot & hitting the targetDuring the 2007 WSOP, online phenom Brian sbrugby Townsend emerged from his shadowy exist-ence to play some tournaments and cash games in Las Vegas. Shuffle’s Sean Callander chatted with Townsend later that year about one of the most famous sessions in recent memory.

Sean Callander: How did the cash game that you would go on to play all summer get started?

Brian Townsend: I was in Vegas to play a WSOP tournament, and I went to dinner with Brandon Adams and Jorge Arias. They were telling me how people wanted to play really big, and they wanted to play No Limit and Pot Limit Omaha. So I got in touch with some guys who were interested, and we set up a game at Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.

SC: Tell us about the first time you sat down to play. What game were you playing?

BT: The first game I played was against a very loose-aggressive player who wanted to play high stakes. We both were very comfortable playing No Limit and PLO, so we decided that we would play 10 hands of each, rotating back and forth. The stakes were $500/$1000 blinds with no cap, meaning that there was no maximum amount that a player could put in one specific pot.

SC: How big was this game? Do you think it may be one of the biggest games ever played?

BT: I think it is one of the biggest poker games that has ever been played. The bigger pots got well over a million. The last pot of the summer, which I lost, had $1.8 million in the middle. We were playing $1000/$2000 PLO and had been playing $1000/$2000 NL with a $400 ante. In the $1.8 million hand, I made a decision to bluff before the hand even began, and I ended up bluffing all the way into Bobby Baldwin, who had the nuts.

SC: At your high point this summer, how much money were you up?

BT: I think at my high point I was up around $3 million. Then the downswing came, and counting my live and online losses, I think I ended the summer up about $300,000.

Spring 201026

FlopShotfeatur

e

For the second successive year, TeamAPL made an indelible mark on the World Series of Poker Main Event with two more players – Phil Faux and Nick Filippopoulos adding their name to League folklore by cashing in the most prestigious poker tournament on the face of the planet. Hang on to your seats as we take you back to the floor of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas thank to Daniel “Da Milf” Milford’s coverage of the tournament via the Australian Poker League’s Facebook fan page.

the road to

TeamaPL Takes The Vegas sPoTLighT

glory

Spring 2010 27

teamapl 2010

Daniel “Da Milf” Milford reports live from the Rio in Las Vegas on the 2010

World Series of Poker Main Event, LIVE via the Australian Poker League’s

Facebook fan page :-). Thanks.

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July 4 at 2.11pm

TeamAPL noW BoARDIng – 31 TeamAPL members, family and friends are now

boarding their flight Vegas bound! In 45 minutes flight uA870 will be taking off!

See you all soon!

July 6 at 12.03pm

TeamAPL BonDIng DInnER – Last night, a very tired TeamAPL group sucked it up

and enjoyed a great bonding dinner at the prestigious Spice Market Buffet. With

the July 4 holidays in uSA, the restaurant wait was two hours but, TeamAPL being

VIPs got express access and were seated in a couple of mins.

July 6 at 12.06pm

TeamAPL HIT THE RIo! TeamAPL had their first glimpse of what will hopefully be

their home for the next 13 days the RIo PoKER RooM, the host venue for the

World Series of Poker. TeamAPL member Phil Faux has already had an interview

with ESPn! Keep an eye out!

July 8 at 8.42am

WSoP DAY 1C – David Chambers, John Rollason, nick Filippopoulos, Steve

McHugh, Aaron Peterson, Keith Christian, Mona Isaac, Raymond Eid, Robert Syl-

vester, Michael Mifsud, Wayne Bell, Michael Doumani, Jimmy Aschner, Justin Tall,

Hartley Ling, Arthur Liew, Phillip Faux and Ben Aldons are our TeamAPL members

on Day 1C.

Spring 201028

>>> Turbo facT – James akenhead is a member of a poker posse known as the Hit Squad, along with brothers Sunny and chaz chattha, WSOP bracelet winner Praz bansi, Jim Kerrigan and Karl Mahrenholz >>>

FlopShotdsgc

;iu

Spring 201028

FlopShotfeatur

e

Daniel “Da Milf” Milford reports live from the Rio in Las Vegas on the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event, LIVE via the Australian Poker League’s Facebook fan page :-). Thanks.

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filtersJuly 8 at 9.01amSHuffLe uP And deAL! the 2009 WSoP Main event Champion, Joe Cada (also the youngest WSoP World Champion) has officially announced “shuffle up and deal” to get the event under-way!

July 8 at 12.06pmteamAPL MeMBer eLiMinAted – We’ve unfortunately had our first victim of the WSoP Main event. Keith Christian has busted out. His pocket kings were behind when he ran into aces, and with a flop of As 10s Ad, Keith was heading home early.

July 8 at 12.18pmteamAPL on feAture tABLe – oMg! teamAPL member John rollason has found himself on the feature table with ultimate Bet Poker pro Phil Hellmuth. 79-year-old rollason, who won the 2009 August Pro open has fulfilled many poker players’ dreams by going head to head with the “Pokerbrat” himself!

July 8 at 12.22pmteamAPL eLiMinAtion – Another member of teamAPL has been eliminated from the Main event. Arthur Liew has bowed out with pocket kings. Arthur re-raised from the cut off with kings, action folded to the big blind who jammed his stack in, Arthur contemplated for quite some time, how-ever, with more than 75% of his stack in the middle he made the call. Aces in the BB sent Arthur to the rails.

July 8 at 3pmteamAPL eLiMinAtionS – We’ve lost a couple of players in the dying stages before the break! Michael Mifsud and raymond eid have both hit the rails on sick beats! Michael flopped quad 5s and was back doored by 9c 7c! the board came 5d 5c 6h 8c 6c – BACK door StrAigHt fLuSH! So SiCK!

July 8 at 3.46pmteamAPL eLiMinAtion – raymond eid was sent to the rail holding an ace high flush! How? Same way Michael was eliminated – BACK door StrAigHt fLuSH!

July 8 at 4.04pmteamAPL eLiMinAtion – Wayne Bell has hit the rail. Wayne was left short stacked after Kings called down his Aces and hit a King on the river. Wayne looked down at Ad 2d and shoved his 4000. Cut off woke up with Aces and the rest is history! Well done to the guys who have unfor-tunately been eliminated – they have all been knocked out with fantastic hands! they have done the APL and the country proud!

July 8 at 4.08pmteamAPL CHiP CountS – Stephen McHugh - 15,100, Ben Aldons - 37,800, david Chambers - 33,700, John rollason - 54,000, nick filippopoulos - 42,900, Aaron Peterson - 37,550, Mona isaac - 28,000, robert Sylvester - 20,550, Michael doumani - 55,250, Jimmy Aschner - 46,600, Justin tall - 32,000 , Hartley Ling - 24,000, Phillip faux - 73,775.July 8 at 5.56pmteamAPL reSuLtS – 14 out of the 18 players that started day 1C have survived and are through

Spring 2010 29

apl main event news

Spring 2010 29

July 4 at 2.11pm

TeamAPL NOW BOARDING – 31

TeamAPL members, family and friends are

now boarding their flight Vegas bound! In

45 minutes flight UA870 will be taking off!

See you all soon!

July 6 at 12.03pm

TeamAPL BONDING DINNER – Last

night, a very tired TeamAPL group sucked

it up and enjoyed a great bonding dinner

at the prestigious Spice Market Buffet.

With the July 4 holidays in USA, the res-

taurant wait was two hours but, TeamAPL

being VIPs got express access and were

seated in a couple of mins.

July 6 at 12.06pm

TeamAPL HIT THE RIO! TeamAPL had

their first glimpse of what will hopefully

be their home for the next 13 days the

RIO POKER ROOM, the host venue for the

World Series of Poker. TeamAPL member

Phil Faux has already had an interview

with ESPN! Keep an eye out!

July 8 at 8.42am

WSOP DAY 1C – David Chambers,

John Rollason, Nick Filippopoulos, Steve

McHugh, Aaron Peterson, Keith Chris-

tian, Mona Isaac, Raymond Eid, Robert

Sylvester, Michael Mifsud, Wayne Bell,

Michael Doumani, Jimmy Aschner, Justin

Tall, Hartley Ling, Arthur Liew, Phillip Faux

and Ben Aldons are our TeamAPL mem-

bers on Day 1C.

July 8 at 9.01am

SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL! The 2009

WSOP Main Event Champion, Joe Cada

(also the youngest WSOP World Cham-

pion) has officially announced “shuffle up

and deal” to get the event underway!

July 8 at 12.06pm

TeamAPL MEMBER ELIMINATED –

We’ve unfortunately had our first victim of

the WSOP Main Event. Keith Christian has

busted out. His pocket kings were behind

when he ran into aces, and with a flop of

As 10s Ad, Keith was heading home early.

July 8 at 12.18pm

TeamAPL ON FEATURE TABLE – OMG!

TeamAPL member John Rollason has

found himself on the feature table with




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to day 2 of the 2010 WSoP Main event! day 1d players will commence their journey at 12pm to-

morrow afternoon!

July 9 at 3.52am

teamAPL dAY 1d – Ladies and gentlemen, 13 members from teamAPL will take their seats today

and commence their journey here at the rio Casino for the 2010 WSoP Main event

July 9 at 3.56am

teamAPL dAY 1d entrAntS – tobias Hart, Allan teves, Jade tornquist, Kris nestorovic , Michael Ho,

roger Jesus, tom Longden, david Mynard, Malcolm Shortland, george Apat, Ken Pattugalan, Kerry

Allen and ron Wilson, play will kick off at 12.00pm. one hour to go!

July 9 at 9.42am

teamAPL eLiMinAtion – KriS neStoroViC has been eliminated and bows out first out of the day

1d teamAPL participants. Pocket Jacks moved all in on an Ace high flop, Kris snap called, short

stacked with Ah Kh - the turn? “JACK”. Kris has been railed by a set of Jacks just before the break.

July 9 at 11.44am

teamAPL eLiMinAtionS – roger JeSuS & Ken PAttugALAn have just bowed out of the Main

event.

July 9 at 11.52am

WSoP MAin eVent PriZe PooL – Jack effel has just announced the WSoP Main event prizepool.

the official number of players is 7319, bringing the prizepool to a massive $68,798,600! the final

747 players will walk away cash with a minimum of $19,263 up for grabs.

July 9 at 4.16pm

teamAPL eLiMinAtion – oh no! ron WiLSon has been wiped out in two hands after the break! ron

lost 19k of his 28k stack when his KQo battled pocket 9s on a J-10-6-9-J board. that hand hurt ron

and left him with 9k which he moved in the very next hand with A-8s. A-6o made the call and hit 2

pair on a A-2-6 flop a blank turn and river ended ron’s journey here at the rio for the 2010 WSoP.

July 9 at 5.17pm

end of dAY 1d – Woohoo! it is the end of play for day 1d and eight of the 13 that started today

will now move through to day 2! that brings us to a total of 22 teamAPL members moving through

to day 2! that’s fAntAStiC!

July 9 at 5.25pm

teamAPL CHiP CountS – dAY 1d average stack is 38,000, Malcolm Shortland - 41,450, toby Hart

- 52,000, david Mynard - 36,650, george Apat - 51,625, Michael Ho - 27,000, Kerry Allen - 62,000,

Jade tornquist - 107,000, tom Longden - 15,900. Congratulations to these guys who fought hard

and deserve their seats in day 2B.

July 10 at 6.20am

We’re BACK! Play has started for day 2A of the 2010 Main event. 14 of our teamAPLers will con-

tinue their journey here with their goal to make day 3 and follow the footsteps of emma grace,

Jonathan Wertheim, Craig ivey and Charlie elias who all cashed last year.

July 10 at 6.58am

teamAPL eLiMinAtion – Hartley Ling’s WSoP has come to a screeching halt just after the first

break. frustration got the best of Ling who has been card dead for the first hour and a half of the

day. Hartley called K-9s on the button and flopped top pair on a King high board. Ling moved his

stack in and found himself behind against the tournament chip leader Corwin Cole who flopped two

pair. great effort Hartley!

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filtersJuly 10 at 7.16amteamAPL eLiMinAtion – Steve McHugh has been railed when his A-Kc ran into pocket Queens. Steve was short stacked with 9,000 the whole beginning of day 2 and A-Kc was the only hand he had picked up. Steve, unfortunately has come to the end of his WSoP journey, however, like everyone else who has been eliminated – he has fought hard and has done his country and the APL proud!

July 10 at 7.52amteamAPL eLiMinAtion – david Chambers has hit the rails by a very good, or very bad call, depending who you ask. Player in the ‘hijack’ raises to 2,200. dave flats and the rock folds. flop comes A-6-2 – the cutoff, snap checks and dave fires, checker calls. Same thing on the turn and on the river dave moved 14k in with 9s. He gets called by A-10o and bows out on day 2A.

July 10 at 8.18amteamAPL eLiMinAtion – Mona isaac has been railed with A-Kd. Pocket aces has ended Mona’s journey here at the 2010 WSoP Main event. A blank heart flop doesn’t help Mona to improve on a straight or flush draw. A rag turn and river puts the last nail in the coffin.

July 10 at 8.25amteamAPL eLiMinAtion – Ben Aldons raises pre and gets 3 callers. the flop comes K K 6 and Ben moves his 12,000 in, he gets 1 caller with, wait for it, A5d with one diamond on the flop! that’s right, you know what’s coming! running diamonds gives A-5d the back door flush! SiCK!! Ben Aldons would like to thank the Ben ALdonS Support group for following him on his journey.

July 10 at 8.29amteamAPL member AAron PeterSon had such a great first night here in Las Vegas he was the first hospitalised out of the team. Lol. Aaron decided to run the ‘StriP’ under the influence and fell ass over end and ended up with 9 stitches in his chin … fACe-PLAnt on tHe ConCrete!

Spring 201030 Spring 201030

O nce again, the poker world de-scended upon the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Ne-vada for the 2010 World Series of

Poker Main Event. 7319 players from over 90 countries, including 31 representatives from TeamAPL, took to the felt in the hope of becoming the next World Champion.

Given that this year’s Main Event field was the second-largest in history, it was always going to be a tough ask for any-one, with many past champions falling by the wayside, including Huck Seed, Phil Hellmuth, Jerry Yang, Chris ‘Jesus’ Fer-guson and Joe Hachem (all eliminated in their Day 1 flights), as well as big names like Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Daniel Ne-greanu and Erik Seidel all falling short of the money.

But two WSOP Main Event champions had deep runs this year, with two-time world champion Johnny Chan (1987 and 1988) coming in at 156th place ($57,102) while Scotty Nguyen (1998) finished in 209th ($48,847).

Our highest placed Aussie was online young gun Matthew Pearson, who cashed

in 138th place. Fellow Aussies Jackie Glazier, Jonathan Karamalikis, boxing legend Jeff Fenech and 2010 Aussie Mil-lions Main Event champion, Tyron Krost were also among the 747 players to make the money.

TeamAPL once again tasted success, with Phil Faux cashing in 577th place ($24,079) and Nick Filippopoulos pock-eting $27,519 for his 487th place finish. With Craig Ivey, Jonathan Wertheim, Emma Grace and Charlie Elias’ cashes from the 2009 WSOP Main Event, TeamAPL has now earned more than AUD $300,000 – an incredible achievement!

And while Australia was unable to win any bracelets in one of the 56 side events leading up to the Main Event, we were quick to adopt Kiwi Simon Watt as one of our own. The 28-year-old compu-ter programmer from Auckland claimed New Zealand’s first ever WSOP bracelet this year, after defeating online phenom Tom durrrr Dwan in Event 11 for over USD $600,000 in prize money, adding to his 2008 APPT Auckland title. Watt also sin-gle-handedly prevented a seismic shift in

the poker economy, with Dwan rumoured to have been involved in sidebets with a number of pros worth between USD $8-10 million!

However the biggest story coming out of this year’s WSOP is that of the Mizra-chi family and in particular, Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi. With the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy already on his mantel-piece after winning the $50,000 Player’s Championship, the 29-year-old American is now the keystone player of this year’s ‘November Nine’ and is guaranteed over USD $2 million in WSOP cashes this year alone. Incredibly, all four Mizrachi broth-ers (Michael, his twin brother Eric, older brother Robert and younger brother Dan-iel) cashed in this year’s WSOP Main Event – a statistic that’s unlikely to be repeated.

The remaining nine players in the 2010 WSOP Main Event will return in November to the Penn and Teller Thea-tre, where a new world champion will be crowned. The man to catch is 23-year-old Canadian poker player Jonathan Du-hamel, who leads the November Nine with 65,975,000 in chips.

Mizrachi chases remarkable doubleThe 2010 WSOP Main Event will go down in history as the second largest No Limit Hold'em tournament ever held,

surpassed only by the 2006 event. For the second year in a row, the title contenders will be joined by an in-form pro player at the final table, with Michael Mizarchi out to add the "big one" to the $50k Player's Championship title.

July 4 at 2.11pm

TeamAPL NOW BOARDING – 31 TeamAPL members, family and friends are now boarding their flight Vegas bound! In 45 minutes flight UA870 will be taking off! See you all soon!

July 6 at 12.03pm

TeamAPL BONDING DINNER – Last night, a very tired TeamAPL group sucked it up and enjoyed a great bonding dinner at the prestigious Spice Market Buffet. With the July 4 holidays in USA, the res-taurant wait was two hours but, TeamAPL being VIPs got express access and were seated in a couple of mins.

July 6 at 12.06pm

TeamAPL HIT THE RIO! TeamAPL had their first glimpse of what will hopefully be their home for the next 13 days the RIO POKER ROOM, the host ven-ue for the World Series of Poker. TeamAPL member Phil Faux has already had an interview with ESPN! Keep an eye out!

July 8 at 8.42am

WSOP DAY 1C – David Cham-bers, John Rollason, Nick Filip-popoulos, Steve McHugh, Aaron Peterson, Keith Christian, Mona Isaac, Raymond Eid, Robert Sylvester, Michael Mifsud, Wayne Bell, Michael Doumani, Jimmy Aschner, Justin Tall, Hartley Ling, Arthur Liew, Phillip Faux and Ben Aldons are our TeamAPL members on Day 1C.

July 8 at 9.01am

SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL! The 2009 WSOP Main Event Champion, Joe Cada (also the youngest WSOP World Cham-

pion) has officially announced “shuffle up and deal” to get the event underway!

July 8 at 12.06pm

TeamAPL MEMBER ELIMINATED – We’ve unfortunately had our first victim of the WSOP Main Event. Keith Christian has busted out. His pocket kings were behind when he ran into aces, and with a flop of As 10s Ad, Keith was heading home early.

July 8 at 12.18pm

TeamAPL ON FEATURE TABLE – OMG! TeamAPL member John Rollason has found himself on the feature table with Ultimate Bet

Poker pro Phil

Hellmuth. 79-year-old Rollason, who won the 2009 August Pro Open has fulfilled many poker players’ dreams by going head to head with the “Pokerbrat” himself!

July 8 at 12.22pm

TeamAPL ELIMINATION – Another mem-ber of TeamAPL has been eliminated from the Main Event. Arthur Liew has bowed out with pocket kings. Arthur re-raised from the cut off with kings, action folded to the big blind who jammed his stack in, Arthur contemplated for quite some time, however, with more than 75% of his stack in the middle he made the call. Aces in

the BB sent Arthur to the rails.

July 8 at 3pm

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July 10 at 9.20am

TeamAPL ELIMINATION – Our short stack Jimmy Aschner has been railed by pocket Jacks. Jimmy

got his stack in with A9d and ran into pocket Jacks held through.

July 10 at 10.18am

TeamAPL COMEDY SPOT – David Chambers is drowning his sorrows … LITERALLY! David is here

with the Live Reporting on his 10th Vodka/Red Bull!

July 11 at 4.28am

END OF DAY 2A RESULTS – Unfortunately, in the last few hours of Day 2A, TeamAPL took a big

hit. We lost John Rollason, Justin Tall and Robert Sylvester. They fought hard but unfortunately,

you can't play poker without cards, well done boys!

July 11 at 4.30am

TeamAPL CHIP COUNTS END OF DAY 2A – Aaron Peterson - 52,200, Nick Filippopoulos -

24,000, Phil Faux - 139,900 and Michael Doumani on a massive 170,200! These 4 players will

progress to Day 3.

July 11 at 6.38am

TeamAPL ELIMINATION – MICHAEL HO has bowed out with pocket Queens. Blinds were 200/400,

mid position raises to 1400, Michael flats from the cut off. Flop comes 6c 5c Jh. Initial raiser

makes it 2400 to go, Ho raises to 6,000, only to be repopped the rest of his stack. Ho makes the

call and rolls Queens only to see pocket Jacks flop a set.

July 11 at 7.15am

TeamAPL ELIMINATION – David Mynard has hit the rails holding pocket Kings. Mynard, short

stacked with 5000 moves all in, Full Tilt and High Stakes Pro, David Benyamine makes the call.

Button comes over the top for 14,000 to which Benyamine snap calls. Pre flop showdown - Mynard

(KK), Benyamine (22), button player (AA). Board comes 2-10-10-6-2. Mynard falls to Benyamine.

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Spring 2010 31Spring 2010 31

WSOP $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship final table

Seat 1: Jason Senti (Minnesota, USA) 7,625,000Seat 2: Joseph Cheong (California, USA) 23,525,000Seat 3: John Dolan (Florida, USA) 46,250,000Seat 4: Jonathan Duhamel (Quebec, Canada) 65,975,000Seat 5: Michael Mizrachi (Florida, USA) 14,450,000Seat 6: Matthew Jarvis (British Columbia, Canada) 16,700,000Seat 7: John Racener (Florida, USA) 19,050,000Seat 8: Filippo Candio (Sardinia, Italy) 16,400,000Seat 9: Soi Nguyen (California, USA) 9,650,000

teamapl 2010

Spring 201032


FlopShotdsgc

;iu

Daniel “Da Milf” Milford reports live from the Rio in Las Vegas on the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event, LIVE via the Australian Poker League’s Facebook fan page :-). Thanks.

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July 11 at 7.23am teamAPL eLiMinAtion – tom Longden has been eliminated after flopping a full house! How you ask? tom raised pre to 5000 and late mid flats the raise. tom holding 10s flopped a book on a 10 7 7 board. tom snaps and moves 33,000 all in, however, gets what he wanted a caller! the caller turns over pocket Qs and spikes a dirty Queen on the river!

July 11 at 7.32am5 teamAPL MeMBerS reMAin in dAY 2B – we’ve unfortunately lost 3 players early on in day 2B (day 2 is commonly known as the ‘wipeout’ day).

July 11 at 8.48amBACK to BuSineSS – Players have now returned to the event to continue their mission - make it to day 3!

July 11 at 8.48amteamAPL eLiMinAtion – WA’s KerrY ALLen has been flushed out of day 2. Kerry moved all in with A-8 suited on an A-6-2 flop but unfortunately got run down by the flush draw. Kerry fought hard and was only an hour out of day 3! Well done Kerry!July 11 at 4.31pmreSt dAY toMorroW – teamAPL and the rest of the tournament have a well deserved scheduled reSt dAY tomorrow. teamAPL members, family and friends will enjoy a friendly tournament amongst themselves tomorrow followed by a five star restaurant dinner then the world renowned Cirque du Soleil!

July 13 at 4.23am45 MinuteS to go! WSoP dAY 3 – good luck to our eight players - Malcolm Shortland, Phil faux, george Apat, toby Hart, Michael doumani, Jade tornquist, nick filippopoulos & Aaron Peterson. See you all at day 4!

July 13 at 6.14amteamAPL eLiMinAtion – Aaron Peterson has just been eliminated. in the space of 15 minutes, Peterson was on the bad end of 2 massive hands. Aaron flopped a 10-high flush only to be outflopped by a King high flush which took him down to 20,000. then Aaron got his stack in with A J suited and got called by 6-6. unfortunately, the 6s held, and Aaron has now come to the end of his WSoP journey.

July 13 at 8.36amteamAPL eLiMinAtion – Mal Shortland has bowed out of the 2010 WSoP Main event. Mal re-raised from the button with pocket 9s, small blind woke up with Aces and ended Mal's survival run. Well done Mal! great effort!

July 13 at 11.25amteamAPL eLiMinAted – one of our facebook favourites, toBY HArt, has been elimi-nated from day 3 of the WSoP Main event! on a super aggressive table, toby had to sit and wait for a hand, and when he looked down at pocket 10s he moved his short stack into the middle and got snapped by pocket Kings. Congratulations to toby on a great effort!

July 13 at 4.43pmteamAPL eLiMinAtion – in the last five hands of the day, we’ve unfortunately lost Michael doumani and george Apat! george flopped two pair, Aces and 2s was coun-terfeited on the river when A-6o spiked a six. doumani’s flopped two pair Kings and 9s was outdrawn by a set of 8s on the turn. Well done gentlemen! You’ve both been great ambassadors of the APL.

July 13 at 9.45pmuPdAte – once again due to technical difficulties, we were unable to have access online to update everyone. two members of teamAPL are flying the APL flag. Phil faux and nick filippopoulos! Phil is sitting on just over 115,000 and nick is sitting at 85,000. All the best to these 2 players and may the cards be kind.

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Spring 2010 33

apl main event news

July 4 at 2.11pm

TeamAPL NOW BOARDING – 31 TeamAPL members, family and friends are now boarding their flight Vegas bound! In 45 minutes flight UA870 will be taking off! See you all soon!

July 6 at 12.03pm

TeamAPL BONDING DINNER – Last night, a very tired TeamAPL group sucked it up and enjoyed a great bonding dinner at the prestigious Spice Market Buffet. With the July 4 holidays in USA, the res-taurant wait was two hours but, TeamAPL being VIPs got express access and were seated in a couple of mins.

July 6 at 12.06pm

TeamAPL HIT THE RIO! TeamAPL had their first glimpse of what will hopefully be their home for the next 13 days the RIO POKER ROOM, the host venue for the World Series of Poker. TeamAPL member Phil Faux has al-ready had an interview with ESPN! Keep an eye out!

July 8 at 8.42am

WSOP DAY 1C – David Chambers, John Rollason, Nick Filippopoulos, Steve McHugh, Aaron Peterson, Keith Christian, Mona Isaac, Raymond Eid, Robert Syl-vester, Michael Mifsud, Wayne Bell, Michael Doumani, Jimmy Aschner, Justin Tall, Hartley Ling, Arthur Liew, Phillip Faux and Ben Aldons are our TeamAPL mem-bers on Day 1C.

July 8 at 9.01am

SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL! The 2009 WSOP Main Event Cham-pion, Joe Cada (also the youngest WSOP World Champion) has offi-cially announced

“ shu f f l e up and deal” to get the event un-derway!

July 8 at 12.06pm

TeamAPL MEMBER ELIMINATED – We’ve unfortunately had our first victim of the WSOP Main Event. Keith Christian has busted out. His pocket kings were behind when he ran into aces, and with a flop of As 10s Ad, Keith was heading home early.

July 8 at 12.18pm

TeamAPL ON FEATURE TABLE – OMG! TeamAPL member John Rollason has found himself on the feature table with Ultimate Bet Poker pro Phil Hellmuth. 79-year-old Rollason, who won the 2009 August Pro Open has fulfilled many poker players’ dreams by going head to head with the “Pokerbrat” himself!

July 8 at 12.22pm

TeamAPL ELIMINATION – Another member of TeamAPL has been

eliminated from the Main Event. Arthur Liew has bowed out with pocket kings. Arthur re-raised from the cut off with kings, action folded to the big blind who jammed his stack in, Arthur contemplated for quite some time, however, with more than 75% of his stack in the middle he made the call. Aces in the BB sent Arthur to the rails.

July 8 at 3pm

TeamAPL ELIMINATIONS – We’ve lost a couple of players in the dying stages be-fore the break! Michael Mifsud and Ray-mond Eid have both hit the rails on sick beats! Michael flopped quad 5s and was back doored by 9c 7c! The board came 5d 5c 6h 8c 6c – BACK DOOR STRAIGHT FLUSH! SO SICK!

July 8 at 3.46pm

TeamAPL ELIMINATION – Ray-m o n d Eid was sent to the rail holding an ace h i g h f l u s h ! H o w ? S a m e w a y




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July 14 at 4.55am

LeVeL 13, DAY 4 – Day 4 will commence at Level 13 with the blinds of 1200/2400 with

an ante of 300. only 1203 players remain and the final 747 players will cash!

July 14 at 11.58am

oMg! HAND FoR HAND HAS BeguN! 5 PLAYeRS to go! the atmosphere at the RIo is

indescribable at the moment. tournament directors are racing around the pit, screams

from the rails, the deafening sound of nervous chip riffling!

July 14 at 12.02pm

AAAAARRRRHgggHHHHH! Jack effel (WSoP tournament Director) has called a very

untimely DINNeR BReAK!! Players are now on a 90 minute, nerve-racking, gut wrench-

ing DINNeR BReAK!

July 14 at 2.34pm

SHoW Me tHe MoNeY! WooooooHoooooo – tHe BuBBLe HAS BeeN BuRSt!

July 14 at 2.44pm

CoNgRAtuLAtIoNS – the APL would like to congratulate ALL teamAPL members for

being such great representatives and ambassadors for the APL. You have done our

company, your family, friends and supporters proud. these players have earned their

position here at the WSoP and are already winners – they have lived the uLtIMAte

PoKeR DReAM!

July 14 at 4.49pm

teamAPL eLIMINAtIoN – Phil Faux has been eliminated in the last hand. His AQ ran up

against AK - the flop of A Q J saw Phil set for a double up, but a King on the turn and

a brick river sent Phil Faux out of the WSoP Main event. Congratulations to Phil who col-

lects a healthy $24,097.

July 15 at 4.30am

DAY 5 MINIMuM CASH $24,097 – Nick Filippopoulos is the last remaining teamAPLer

flying the APL flag at the 2010 WSoP Main event. Nick will begin the day with a short

stack of 95,000, however, if Nick’s recent play where he started Day 3 off with 23,000

and grinded out to the cash, is anything to go by, we could be here till November 9!

July 15 at 6.36am

teamAPL LASt MAN StANDINg IS eLIMINAteD – Nick Filippopoulos has grinded out his

95,000 in chips to 487th place. Well done Nick! You've done us proud!

July 15 at 6.41am

tHANK You – on behalf of all of teamAPL, we would like to thank all the supporters

that have followed the progress of teamAPL. Without the fantastic comments of support

and encouragement, these members would not have progressed as far as they have.

thank you! go APL!

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Spring 201034

FlopShothead

s up

As I sat in the departure lounge of McCarran Interna-tional Airport in Las Vegas I contemplated the previous eight days and marvelled at what a trip it had been.

As someone that worked in the Casino industry for more than 18 years as a dealer, supervisor and pit boss the attraction to Vegas was very real. Standing just outside Planet Hollywood and looking down the strip at The Bellagio, Paris, Ballys and more I, was like a kid in a candy store. I am actually here, the one place I have always wanted to experience.

Having a real love of poker, but not a lot of opportunity to play, I was standing in the thick of the WSOP with the likes of Doyle

Brunson (yes, I did speak to him), Joe Hachem, Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth jnr and others. It left me with a real desire to become part of the poker world and to learn and play as much as possible.

Now the reason for the trip was to escort our TeamAPLers and watch them live their poker dreams. The first day was nerve- racking, not the least bit because “Da Milf” went MIA – appears he cannot tell the time! We finally arrived at the Rio Hotel and Ca-sino with our players for their first day of the World Series of Poker Main Event. With our players finally in their seats and the opening ceremony about to take place the sound of millions of chips clicking was deafening.

The APL’s Events Manager Simone Musgrave reflects on the adventure of a lifetime alongside TeamAPL in Las Vegas for the 2010 World Series of Poker.

the time our lives – TeamAPL takes Las Vegas

of

Spring 2010 35

teamapl 2010

The time our lives

Away from the Rio, our team really gelled and had an amaz-ing time with each other on trips to the Hoover Dam, The Grand Canyon, some memorable meals and a Cirque de Soleil show.

Let’s tell you a bit about where we stayed – the infamous Planet Hollywood. With its bars, restaurants, gaming tables and shopping there was not much need to go anywhere else. The young Aussie boys claimed “Heart Bar” as their own, and I am sure they will be remembered by the staff for sometime to come!

Before I left so many of the team members thanked Daniel and

myself for helping make their trip one of the most memorable of their lives, an experience that would never be forgotten.

I would like to take this opportu-nity to thank all the members of the team for making this trip one of the most memorable times of our lives. Many of us will be friends for life.

To all The members of TeamaPl we cannoT Thank you enough; you all brought the aPl spirit of camaraderie, loyalty and friendship with you on the trip:

George Thanks for keeping Daniel and I company through the many hours of waiting at the Rio and for supporting your team, you were a true captain. You also made a great shopping partner.

Phil Your sense of humour had us all laughing constantly, we thank you for your thoughtfulness and I definitely left Vegas a lot less gullible than when I arrived.

Mona Thanks for always have a big smile on your face, and don’t forget you managed to get the better of David Williams To Aaron Wow where do I start – party animal extraordinaire, take it easy and better luck next time.Ron You have a great gift for writing and should put pen to paper more often.Mal Your focus is second to none and many players could learn a thing or two from you.Keith Thanks for the laughs, it is great to see someone so young appreciate another country the way you did.David Come on get a haircut … said with all the love in the world!Kerry You have done yourself proud. There are not many people who could say they have done what you did.Nick Still have those worry beads? They served you well.Hartley You are a great kid but I should be lecturing you not the other way around.Wayne Maybe we will get to the Venetian next year.Kenny I am still waiting on that song.Tom A room with 2000 people and we could still find you.Arthur Stay cool and next time we will be stapling the itinerary to your forehead.

Each and every member of the team contributed to make the trip such a great success. We hope to see you at one of the APL Poker Tours or once again on TeamAPL.

Spring 201036

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s up

In 2009, Aaron azzabentonaces Ben-ton created Aussie online poker his-tory when he worked his way through a field of 4581 players in a major on-

line tournament to pocket USD $262,500. It marked the beginning of an amazing year for the former APL player, culminating in his victory in the APPT Grand Final at Syd-ney’s Star City Casino. Since then, he’s made two ANZPT Main Event final tables and amassed more than AUD $650,000 in live tournament cashes.

To 2010, which has been a break-through year for Benton’s former house-mates, Brendon brendooor Rubie and Rennie steel144 Carnevale. Carnevale took out this year’s ANZPT Adelaide Main Event in February before Rubie picked up the Melbourne Poker Championships Main Event in May.

We also can’t forget the successes of Jonathan Karamalikis, who’s collected more than USD $350,000 in tournament

winnings this year alone, including two major Australian High Roller event titles at ANZPT Sydney and the Victorian Poker Championships, plus other big names like Jarred flopnutsonyou Graham, Joel strong-play Dodds, James ANDY_McLEOD Obst, Ben Delaney and Daniel Neilson.

Clearly, there’s a growing trend of young online players taking the live poker scene by storm. And should this trend continue, keep an eye out for Sydney’s Evan Psarras.

Known online as kevinnok (“I always tell new people I meet that my name is “Kevin, no K”), the 25-year-old APL player recently shattered Benton’s record of the largest online tournament cash by an Australian after collecting USD $340,698.50 from his win in a PokerStars World Champion-ship of Online Poker (WCOOP) event, send-ing Australian poker forums and social net-working sites into a frenzy. For Psarras, it still hasn’t sunk in.

“For some reason, other people are

a lot more excited than I am right now,” Psarras said. “Everything’s happened so fast ... I knew I’d been playing well and I had a feeling that there was going to be a big win around the corner – I just never expected it to be this big.”

After watching Greg Raymer win the 2004 WSOP Main Event on ESPN, Psarras first took up the game by teaching him-self in freeroll tournaments on PartyPoker. “I’ve always been a firm believer in (self-education),” Psarras explained. “I’ve never read any poker books or anything like that. I enjoy playing online tournaments and live cash games – I quickly moved on to play-ing live cash games at Star City and more and more tournaments online.”

Psarras’ passion for the game was also shared with his late father, who insisted that he continue following his chosen path, even before he died two years ago: “My father was diagnosed with cancer, so for 14 months I deferred my commerce

Psarras joins Aussie poker eliteOnly days before we went to press, an email came through to HQ – “Hi, my name is Evan Psarras, AKA kevinnok, winner of WCOOP Event 22. Feel free to contact me for a story or blog.” Naturally, we had to give him a call, and as Shuffle discovered, there’s plenty more to this story! Meet just the second Australian player to have captured a WCOOP title!

WCoop C Up

Spring 2010 37

evan psarras

degree at university and spent most of my time in between the hospital with Dad and playing poker. My mum’s always been very anti-poker though, she’s always on my back, telling me, ‘If you spent as much time at uni as you did with poker’. I think after this, she might have changed her mind!”

Despite his mother’s opinion, Psar-ras had plenty of support from his broth-er George and his good friend ‘Panda’ during the WCOOP event: “Panda was railing me over the phone almost the whole way. We developed this strange ritual – every time there was a break, Panda and I would always go to the bathroom, even if we didn’t need to. He told me he’d been closing the bathroom door the same way all day to make sure I wasn’t jinxed!”

“George was a pest though. He always kept calling and asking me, ‘you still in?’ and then came in to see

Spring 201038

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s up

me just as we got into the top 15 (the minimum payout at that stage was USD $13,350). He pointed at the screen and said, ‘Hey, you’ve got enough for our trip to Europe!’ I said, ‘I’m not looking at the 13k, I’m looking at the (original first prize of) 470k – now get out of my room!’”

Psarras maintained a “pretty tight im-age” throughout the early stages of the tournament: “With the deep structure, I didn’t play many big hands but I wasn’t far behind the average stack by the end of Day 1,” he recalled.

“From Day 2, my stack never went be-low 50 big blinds ... when we got down to six tables, I opened them all up and start-ed taking notes and I found that most of the players were really aggressive.

They were knocking each out pretty

quickly, so I didn’t have to do much until the final table – and though I was the short stack, I still had over 50 BBs.”

“I then got really lucky against MISHELA (fellow Australian player Mishel Anunu). I’d noticed earlier that he’d raise or shove with small pockets UTG and he’d knocked a few players out hitting sets on the river, but in one of the first hands on the final table he made a standard raise UTG; I looked down at pocket tens so I just flat-called. He bet three-quarters of the pot after the flop, I shoved and he snap-called with pocket aces, but I hit a ten on the river and dou-bled up!”

“From there, players just started drop-ping out again so I sat back and waited. When we got down to four-handed we pro-posed a deal but skylarsash rejected and

ironically he was the next to go."Then, after the three-way chop I

thought, ‘I can relax now, just go for it and try to win the title’. Once I doubled up through AlwaysFelted, I just ran over them and took it down.”

With the WCOOP bracelet now safely around his wrist, Psarras is looking forward to playing live events, but not before he finishes his studies: “I’m going to wait until I get my degree, then head over to Europe next year – with George, of course – and maybe play some of the smaller events in the WSOP as well.

In the meantime, I’ll keep playing online and I’ll certainly play a few more WCOOP tourneys ... you never know, by the time you print this, I might have won another bracelet!”

A proud poker familyEvan is not the only Psarras family member who’s had success in poker – his brother, 27-year-old George Psarras, is a standout player in the APL ranks, chalking up more than 23 wins in and around the St.George-Suther-land Shire region since 2006, plus two deep runs in back-to-back State Finals that same year. George finished in third place the first time, narrowly miss-ing out on a seat into the WSOP Main Event, but followed it up with a stun-ning victory three months later, taking home AUD $10,000.

And although Evan has moved on to playing online tournaments and cash games at Star City Casino, he still relishes the chance to play against his older brother.

“APL was the breeding ground for both of our poker careers. I introduced George to poker and we used to play a lot of events together, but as I was still at university and playing more poker online, he’s played far more APL games than I have and he’s done really well,” he said.

“Our home games are awesome, but we’re betting into each other so often that everyone else gets out of the way and just let us battle it out!”

•Evan kevinnok Psarras (September 14, 2010) PokerStars WCOOP Event 22, $530 NLHE (2-day event) 1st: $340,698.50

• Aaron azzabentonaces Benton (May 18, 2009) Full Tilt Poker FTOPS XII Main Event

($2.5m guaranteed) 2nd: $262,500

• Matthew onmyVplates Pearson (March 8, 2009) TitanPoker $2.5m guaranteed 3rd: $ 200,000

• Jay SEABEAST Kinkade (May 13, 2010)PokerStars SCOOP $1050 NLH Rebuy event (H)

1st: $205,110

• Charles PeepOnTheSly Chua (June 2008) Mansion Poker $1,000,000 Guaranteed 1st: $200,000

• James Andy McLEOD Obst (April 7, 2009)PokerStars SCOOP $3150 Mixed Hold’em $800,000 guaranteed

1st: $ 184,000

• Max s0stndrd Veenhuyzen (March 3, 2008) PokerStars Sunday Million $1.5m guaranteed (prize pool $1,612,600) 1st: $160,103

•Jonathan xMONSTERxDONGx Karamalikis (November 13, 2008) $320 NLHE Full Tilt Poker

(prize pool $1,128,387 2nd: $157,084

•Jay SEABEAST Kinkade (January 3, 2009) Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guarantee (prize pool $837,600)1st: $147,911.78

•Daniel Kochan Kochan (October 8, 2008)PokerStars Sunday Million $1.5m guaranteed (prize pool $1,647,200) 2nd: $ 134,246.80

Big buck$ – 10 of the best Aussie online scores

Big buck$ – 10 of the best Aussie online scores

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How Evan’s victory unfolded5799 players registered for WCOOP Event 22 ($530 NLHE Two-Day Event), which for our locals meant a 4am start on Monday, September 13. Despite the guaranteed USD $3 million prize pool, there was an overlay of more than $100,000 for the 765 competitors who made the money.At the end of Day 1, 209 players remained and skylarsash led them all with 1,243,349 in chips. After a much-needed sleep-in, Day 2 of the event got underway on Tuesday at 8am AEST and more than 10 hours passed until the final nine players were decided:

Final table chip countsSeat 1: AlwaysFelted (11,915,385)Seat 2: skylarsash (4,020,440)Seat 3: kendog39 (7,893,139)Seat 4: Evan kevinnok Psarras (2,598,932)Seat 5: totya0611 (6,685,572)Seat 6: O-Totoro (3,675,178)Seat 7: PeoplsChamp1 (12,957,596)Seat 8: Mishel MISHELA Anunu (4,959,817)Seat 9: 7cardspoker (3,283,941)

MISHELA was the first to depart the final table in ninth place. After taking a huge hit to his stack from fellow Aussie kevinnok, he was unable to recover and finally pushed all-in with Ac Ks, but was unable to win the flip against skylarsash’s 9c 9d.

7cardspoker then moved all-in with Jh Js before kevinnok called with A h Kc, with the flop of 10s Qh Kd enough to eliminate 7cardspoker in eighth place. Kevinnok also claimed the scalp of totya0611, sending him to the virtual rail in seventh after they got their money into the middle on a board of 7h 2s 8c 5s. To-tya0611 showed 8s 4c and kevinnok turned over 9c 7s, but the 9h hit on the river to give him two pair.

Kendog39 was the next to go, falling in sixth place moving all-in with Kc Qd, but failed to improve against the As 7s of O-Totoro. O-Totoro and AlwaysFelted then found themselves in a preflop raising war before O-Totoro pushed all-in with Qh 7h. AlwaysFelt-ed called with 9d 9s and O-Totoro busted in fifth place after the board ran out eight-high.

When the final four returned from the break, they decided to take a look at the numbers and struck up a deal. All seemed to be on board but skylarsash declined. As luck would have it, sky-larsash was eliminated in fourth place after moving all-in with Ks 10c, only to be taken out by AlwaysFelted who held Ah Kh. The three remaining players then settled on a new “chip-chop deal”.

PokerStars WCOOP Event 22, $530 NLHE (2-day event),5799 entries, 765 players paid

1 Evan kevinnok Psarras (Australia) $340,698.50*2 PeoplsChamp1 (USA) $372,761.03*3 AlwaysFelted (USA) $352,830,47*4 skylarsash (Canada) $169,5005 O-Totoro (Finland) $127,5006 kendog39 (USA) $97,5007 totya0611 (Hungary) $67,5008 7cardspoker (Colombia) $37,5009 Mishel MISHELA Anunu (Australia) $24,000

*Denotes three-way chop agreement. All amounts are in USD; report courtesy of the PokerStarsBlog

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WCOOP WCOOP WCOOP WCOOP WCOOP From there, it was all kevinnok. He first disposed of Always-

Felted after first doubling up through him and then sent him pack-ing in third place when his Ad Qs held up against the Ah 7s of AlwaysFelted on the board of 2c 7h Qc 8h 6c. The chip counts were almost even going into heads-up play, but kevinnok wore PeoplsChamp1 down with sheer aggression and had him outch-ipped by more than three-to-one before the final hand of the tournament played out.

After the flop of 4s Qh 8s, PeoplsChamp1 checked and kevin-nok led out before PeoplsChamp1 check-raised. Kevinnok shoved and PeoplsChamp1 called with Ks 5s for the second-nut flush draw, but kevinnok showed As 10s for the nut-flush draw. The turn and river ran out 10d, 3d, confirming kevinnok as champion!

KHAI’Skingdom

FlopShot

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WA celebrAtes its first APl MAin

event chAMPionWestern Australia could be

considered an outpost of the Australian Poker League.

Although WA is our largest state, the APL community is relatively small compared to

other states. Regan Lake was the toast of the west after

he qualified for the inaugural TeamAPL squad and made

the trek to Las Vegas to play in the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

That all changed last month when WA duo Khai Nguyen and Danny Breadsell filled

the top two placings in the first APL Poker Tour (APLPT) event at the Jupiters Casino

on the Gold Coast.

Khai Nguyen, a 39-year-old school teacher from Perth, took home $100,000 in cash and prizes af-ter besting a field of 214 players

in the first APLPT Gold Coast Main Event.The action kicked off with 105 players

taking to the felt for first of two day one flights in the first major APLevent held in Queensland.

2010 APL Player of the Year George Apat, APLPT Sydney third-place finisher BJ Beckett, Queensland APL ambassa-dor Mitch Caton, NSW husband-and-wife team Joe and Nancy Cisca, 2007 APL TOC winner Rodney Davidson and New Zealand APL phenom Natasha Kemara were among

the big names who took their seats. All those players made it through to day two but it was Joshua Schubert of Taree, NSW who finished atop the chip count at the end of the day with 64,800.

For flight two, 109 players took to the felt with notables including 2011 TeamAPL member John Azzi, fellow New South Welshmen Derick Hoi and Sasho Ognenovski along with Queenslander Matt Vaughn. Aaron Talot, Andrew Caltabano and Marius Wytenburg were the big mov-ers, but it was Khai Nguyen who emerged the chip leader on 60,300.

With 50 players from each flight qualify-ing for day two, an average stack of just over

20,000 and blinds resuming at 800/1600 (ante 200), chips flew around the felt early on, with almost a quarter of the field elimi-nated within the first two levels.

Nguyen was almost out of the tourna-ment in the early stages, but after elimi-nating Queensland’s Freddy Fares he maintained his stack all the way to the final table. Rodney Davidson was not so lucky, sent to the rail at the hands of Schubert after his A-J was outdrawn by Schubert’s Q-9 when a nine hit on the flop.

Kemara was New Zealand’s last hope but she fell short of the money after first being crippled in an earlier hand and then moving the last of her money into the

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middle with A-10 only to lose a flip against George Venianakis’ pocket sixes which improved to a set on the river. The dubi-ous title of “bubble boy” went to Queens-lander Frank Marino when he moved all-in on a queen-high board with Q-J but was crushed by Charles Fredericks’ A-Q.

Fredericks also sent Schubert packing in 36th place, with the Day 1A chip leader’s pocket sevens cracked by Frederick’s A-8 when an ace spiked on the turn. In a cruel twist of fate, Fredericks bubbled the final table after running his pocket eights into the pocket jacks of George Apat to bow out

in 11th place.At least one player from every Aus-

tralian state made the money, with Neilsa Ilsley one of two Victorians to cash (22nd). Beau Polley (28th) and Adam Clydes-dale (26th) were the highest-placed Tasmanians, while South Sydney’s Taryn McCa-

rthy was the highest-placed female, finishing 13th. Shortly

before 4pm, the field of 100 was reduced to a final table of 10:

In the second hand of final table play, Alex Kostecoglou ran his A-K into Danny Bread-sell’s pocket queens and was crippled to less than 35,000 before moving it in shortly after with A-Q, only to be sent pack-ing in 10th place when he failed to improve against George Apat’s pocket 10s.

Nguyen then managed to score a crucial double-up through Breadsell before Sasho Ognenovski was crippled and then felted by Matt Vaughn when Vaughn’s pocket 10s improved to a set on the river against Ognenovski’s A-K. Left with just 2000 in chips, Ognenovski, a personal trainer and bodybuilding champion, moved all-in short-ly after with J-8 but Vaughn finished him off with A-J.

South Australian video store clerk Steve Pope was then ejected in eighth place after moving all-in for his last 26,000 in chips with 10-9 but was picked off by Breadsell who snap-called with A-9.

Fellow South Australian and George Apat followed soon after in seventh place when John Abbott’s pocket 10s improved to a king-high straight against his A-K. Left with just 64,000, the 2010 APL Player

of the Year fell to Nguyen when he tried to make a move with 9-5 from the small blind but ran into Nguyen’s J-8 from the big blind.

With Nguyen now up to more than 600,000, Breadsell began to turn up the heat on his opponents, raising and open-shoving at any given opportunity. His ul-tra-aggressive and somewhat unorthodox strategy saw the rest of the players shut down and look for better opportunities to get their money in, but not before Queens-land lost their last contender after Matt Vaughn moved all-in on a flop of K-3-6-9 with K-8, but found himself heading to the

rail in sixth place when Abbott tabled K-9 for two pair.

George Venianakis then departed in fifth place – having been card dead for most of the afternoon, he finally made a move with Ah-6h, but despite being in good shape to chop against Breadsell’s As-6s, the board was spread Qs-8s-4c-2d-Js to give Bread-sell the nut flush and move him up to more than one million in chips.

Incredibly, Breadsell didn’t slow down, continuing to raise and open-shove over and over again, but in one of the rare hands he did fold, Steve Walker and Nguy-en found themselves with their money in the middle on a board of 6-5-8-5. Walker tabled J-7 for an open-ended straight draw but Nguyen had hit trips with 5-3. The river bricked out and Walker was off to the cage to collect for his fourth place finish.

By this stage, Breadsell held almost half the chips in play, but he handed Abbott a virtual double-up after raising to 200,000 before the flop and folding after Abbott moved all-in for 251,000 and then after raising to half a million in chips, he snap-folded when Nguyen shoved over the top

and gifted his fellow Sandgroper the chip lead.

From there, Nguyen took control and waited for his moment, which came when his other two opponents both got their money into the middle from the button and the small blind respectively. Nguyen looked down at his hand and snap-called, showing A-K against Breadsell’s K-7 and Abbott’s A-7. Another ace appeared on the flop and Nguyen knew he had both players well covered. You couldn’t have found a bigger smile in the entire casino.

Seat 1: George Venianakis (NSW) 459,000

Seat 2: Danny Breadsell (WA) 234,000

Seat 3: Matt Vaughn (QLD) 96,000

Seat 4: John Abbott (NSW) 302,000

Seat 5: Steve Walker (NSW) 276,000

Seat 6: Steve Pope (SA) 75,000

Seat 7: Alex Kostecoglou (NSW) 251,000

Seat 8: George Apat (SA) 247,000

Seat 9: Khai Nguyen (WA) 117,000

Seat 10: Sasho Ognenovski (NSW) 56,000

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Shuffle Magazine: Khai, congratulations on your victory – looks like you’ve picked up a bit of cash to retire early!

KN: Well, not retiring yet, but I’m cer-tainly going to keep playing APL and keep on teaching – I’d only ever give it away if I won a million!

SM: Good plan. You mentioned that you’re a teacher?

KN: Yes. I’m 39 and I’m a physics teacher at Chisholm Secondary College. I came to Australia in 1989 from Viet-nam – you can tell by the surname! I’m married and have two boys – Kevin (13) and Jeff (11).

SM: How did you first get started in poker?

KN: About six years ago, I played my first game at Burswood Casino but then I found APL shortly after and just kept play-ing with them.

MEET Gold CoasT ChaMpion Khai nGuyEnSM: Any previous tournament results before this, APL or otherwise and how did you qualify for this event?

KN: Never won a regional final before, but two months ago I did and that’s how I qualified for this event. I won a couple of small tournaments at Burswood and in my regular APL games but nothing like this.

SM: How has your experience been up here at Jupiters?

KN: It’s beautiful! Beautiful poker room, beautiful staff, the structure was really, really nice and the APL staff were wonder-ful too.

SM: Talk us through a little bit of the final table – your fellow Western Austral-ian Danny Breadsell was showing a lot of aggression but you managed to take the whole thing down in extraordinary circumstances.

KN: I had noticed Danny’s style of play; he had been pushing around a lot as he

was chip leader and every time he raised he put in more than enough to put both Steve (Walker) and John (Abbott) all-in. They couldn’t afford to call, so I thought I’d just let Danny keep pushing them around, because I was the only one who could afford to fold and I knew that I’d get him eventually, which I did.

SM: Do you think that the APL Poker Tour has a promising future?

KN: Certainly – look at me, I can vouch for it! It’s quite big and it’s growing really, really fast. I love the APL and I love the people who play in the APL, so I’ll try to win a ticket to the Melbourne first and see how we go.

SM: You’ve also qualified for TeamAPL and the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

KN: It’s been my dream for more than 10 years. I follow all the action and watch it all the time, especially Scotty Nguyen, my idol – no relation! I’m hoping to take my family with me, but I know I’m going to enjoy the experience and meet

some wonderful people. I do hope that one of our TeamAPL players will make it to the final table!

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How it endedthe final handIn one of the most incredible final hands ever recorded in Australian poker tourna-ment history, Khai Nguyen was confirmed as the winner of the APLPT Gold Coast Main Event without a single of hand of heads-up play.

Just before 7.30pm, Danny Breadsell moved all-in from the button pre-flop with Ks-7h for 550,000 and was called all-in 245,000 by John Abbott who showed Ac-7c. They were both covered by Nguyen who snap-called from the big blind with As-Kd.

The board of Ah-6s-10h-8c-2s was enough to end the tournament right there and then and Nguyen was crowned cham-pion, taking home $80,000 in cash as well as a $20,000 TeamAPL package, including a seat into the 2011 WSOP Main Event. Breadsell completed the Western Australian quinella, adding $30,816 to his bankroll while Abbott pocketed $20,330 for finishing in third.

1 Khai Nguyen (WA) $80,000 + TeamAPL package2 Danny Breadsell (WA) $30,8163 John Abbott (NSW) $20,3304 Steve Walker (NSW) $18,1905 George Venianakis (NSW) $16,0506 Matthew Vaughn (Qld) $13,9107 George Apat (SA) $11,7708 Steve Pope (SA) $96309 Sasho Ognenovski (NSW) $620610 Alex Kostecoglou (NSW) $417311 Charlie Fredericks (WA) $417312 William Cooper (NSW) $417313 Taryn McCarthy (NSW) $417314 John Kanaley (NSW) $417315 Marius Wytenburg (Qld) $417316 Lou Sciascia (WA) $417317 Leigh Harper (Qld) $203318 Raymond Braybon (NSW) $203319 Craig White (Qld) $203320 Scott Sullivan (Qld) $203321 Stan Andrews (Qld) $203322 Neilsa Ilsley (Vic) $107023 Gray Viane (NSW) $107024 Danae Lewis (Qld) $107025 Tina Elsgood (NSW) $107026 Adam Clydesdale (Tas) $107027 John Azzi (NSW) $64228 Beau Polley (Tas) $64229 Anya Hunter (Qld) $64230 BJ Beckett (NSW) $64231 Bin Yao (NSW) $64232 Colin Christensen (Qld) $64233 Rino Verussio (SA) $64234 Michael Bannah (Qld) $642

APLPt GoLd CoAst MAin event resuLts

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If there’s one thing that we always look forward to on tour, it’s the parties. Queensland was no exception and the APL threw the players a huge bash down the road at the Platinum Nightclub in Surfer’s Paradise. The Wild Turkey was flowing and the scent of Playboy Fragrances permeated the air as the players and staff let their hair down.

DJ Nacho Pop was on deck to throw down some beats, while Austral-ia’s Face of Playboy Sheridyn Fisher and her bunnies treated the crowd to both swimwear and lingerie fashion parades. Just in case you were won-dering, yes, the night was awesome – here are some of the highlights.

The APL took over Jupiters on the Gold Coast for the second event of the inaugural APL Poker Tour. Landon Blackhall and snapper Shannon Morris were there to capture all the behind-the-scenes happenings. Tough gig boys!

“Wish you were here”: Postcard from APLPT Gold Coast

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Overcoming the odds If there was more determined to win this event than all the others, it would have been 35-year-old Sydneysider John Abbott. Having started the final table second in chips, he played a solid game but had to endure an aggressive three-handed battle between him, Danny Breadsell and Khai Nguyen before finishing up in third place – a valiant effort considering his ongoing battle with leukaemia.

“I’ve just finished treatment and I’ve got tests next month to find out if I’m all clear,” the former machine operator explained. “I’m happy with the result, but I would have loved to have won it – the money will help me though.”

Abbott only started playing poker this year but he’s keen to play on for as long as he can and in as many major tournaments as possible. “My experience here at Jupiters has been awesome, just great,” he said. “I think everyone played really well, but now I’m just looking forward to Melbourne – I’ve already got my ticket.”

Teams turn out in forceThere was barely a spare seat to be found down in the Jupiters Poker Room as a sell-out field of 80 teams took to the felt for the $132 buy-in Teams Event. The majority of the field were Queenslanders and the final table was an all-local affair, save the duo of APL franchisee manager Clint Dean and Rachel Beard from Western Australia, who finished in sixth place.

Jo-Jo Circus (featur-ing husband-and-wife APL franchisees Ross and Cindy Jones) put on a dominant display, eliminating the first three teams on the final ta-ble but two of their regular players, Jazmine Sayeed and Nathan Duffield were quick to catch and went into the heads-up battle against Jo-Jo Circus with a 4:1 chip lead.

Despite the field being whittled down to two in un-der three hours, the heads-up battle took more than 90 minutes to complete. Eventually, Duffield open-shoved from the button pre-flop with As-2c and was called all-in by Ross Jones who tabled Jd-9d. The dealer spread the board of Ad-8c-10s-10h-Kh, sealing the deal for Jaz and Nathan who took home $2500 and automatic qualification into the next APLPT Teams Event in Melbourne. Jo-Jo Circus received $1500 for their efforts.

Muscle man on the march Sasho Ognenovski earned plenty of respect for his final table finish in the APLPT Gold Coast Main Event although the Sydneysider is no stranger to the sporting spotlight.

Since his teens, Ognenovski has been com-peting as a natural bodybuilder. He recently claimed the biggest title of his career when he took out the ANB Asia Pacific Championships in the men’s under 90kg category.

He didn’t need much encouragement to display his impressive frame for the ladies on the rail shortly after his elimination.

Pope’s new religion >Steve Pope turned in a career best result with eighth in the APLPT Gold Coast. He loves his APL and poker in general, and is even thinking about making a career out of the game.

“I’m looking for a chance to become an APL tournament director or a dealer at Adelaide Casino. I’m so thrilled with my result here that I’ll probably chase a seat for the next APLPT event in Melbourne,” the 34-year-old said.

“I loved it here at Jupiters. The best part was on day one when I picked up aces in the small blind and the big blind shoved for 30k over the top and doubled me up I just kept going from there.”

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APLPT heads to Crown

SeaSon FinaleWith two out of the three APL Poker Tour events now run and won, the focus now turns to the world-famous Crown Casino in Melbourne for the final stop of the inaugural season.

Where to stay at CrownCelebrating its 13th birthday this year, there is much to celebrate at Crown. With the opening of the new 658-room AUD $300 million Crown Metropol, Crown is now able to offer guests more than 1600 rooms and suites across the three hotels.

Crown Towers is the landmark hotel physically and metaphorically. The 39-story elliptical tower contains 482 guestrooms with floor to ceiling windows and gold-plated taps.

Linked to the Entertainment Complex via an air-bridge is Crown Promenade Hotel, which features 465 guestrooms, including 18 studios and three suites, the purpose-built Crown Conference Centre, 280-seat Mesh restaurant, 80-seat Tonic Bar and The Deck leisure centre with its 25-metre infinity indoor pool, activities room and two sun decks.

Crown’s new third hotel tower, Crown Metropol, opened in April 2010 with 658 rooms, and at a cost of more than AUD $300 million. The hotel reflects the urban and metropolitan context of the hotel’s design and location. Inclusive of 579 hotel rooms, 34 studios, 12 spa accommodation rooms, 32 lofts and one apartment-style residence.

C ontinuing from the success of the Wild Turkey Poker Classic and the Wild Turkey Grand Slam, the APL Poker Tour Melbourne will provide even more opportunities for everyone to take their shot at poker

stardom.The staff at APL HQ have been working tirelessly with

Crown Casino Director of Poker Operations Jonno Pittock and their team to create an APL Poker Tour schedule like no other. To begin, there is no limit to the number of entries for the APLPT Melbourne Main Event, which is sure to be boosted by the APL Poker Tour Satellites running daily. With a minimum $25 buy-in, it’s a small price to pay to make your dream of playing in the 2011 WSOP Main Event a reality.

It doesn’t stop there – on Friday, November 26, everyone will have the chance to secure a seat into the southern hemisphere’s biggest poker extravaganza – the 2011 Crown Aussie Millions Poker Championship. For only $240, you’ll have the chance to rub shoulders with the world’s best without having to suffer through jet lag!

The ever-popular APL Poker Tour Teams Event is back and like the Main Event, is also uncapped. A special $150 No Limit Hold’em open event is also on the cards and if that wasn’t enough, the fifth instalment of the Joe Hachem Deep Stack Series begins on the weekend of the APLPT Melbourne Main Event, featuring some of Australasia’s best and brightest poker players, including the 2005 WSOP Main Event champion and Melbourne’s own, Joe Hachem.

Of course, the icing on the cake is the Playboy Fragrances Players Party, featuring Australian Face of Playboy Sheridyn Fisher and the gorgeous Playboy Bunnies, plus the smooth sounds of DJ Nacho Pop. With so much on offer, this is one APL Poker Tour extravaganza that you simply cannot miss!

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APL Poker Tour Melbourne schedule (Crown Casino, November 24-29)

November 24 10.10am APL Poker Tour Satellite $25/$25 rebuys*November 25 10.10am APL Poker Tour Satellite $25/$25 rebuys*November 26 10.10am APL Poker Tour Satellite $25/$25 rebuys* 3-7pm APLPTMelbourneMainEventRegistration^ 7.10pm 2011 Aussie Millions Satellite $240 ($200 + $40)November 27 8-10am APLPTMelbourneMainEventRegistration^ 10.10am APLPTMelbourneMainEventDay1Flight1^ 12.10pm APL Poker Tour Satellite $25/$25 rebuys* 4.30pm No Limit Hold’em $150 ($120 + $30) 7.30pm PlayboyFragrancesPlayersPartyNovember28 10.10am APLPTMelbourneMainEventDay1Flight2^ 2.10pm JHDSS 5 Opening Event (15k bank) $340 ($300 + $40) 8.10pm APLPTMelbourneTeamsEvent $120($100+$20)#November29 10.10am APLPTMelbourneMainEventDay2^ 2.10pm JHDSS 5 No Limit Hold’em (10k bank) $180 ($150 + $30) 7.10pm JHDSS 5 Teams Event (12k bank) $200 ($170 + $30)

*DenotesentrytoAPLplayersonly#DenotesentrytoAPLplayersandstaffonly^DenotesentrytoAPLPokerTourqualifiersonly

Crown Casino opened its doors in 1994 at Melbourne’s World Trade Centre, and in 1997 relocated to the South Bank of the Yarra River as part of an AUD $2 billion development.

Crown is the largest and most successful entertainment complex in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest in the world. It is visited by up to 16 million people each year and dubbed a ‘World of Entertainment’, Crown lives up to this grand claim with its excellent restaurants (including players’ favourite Nobu), a 14-screen cinema which includes the exclusive Gold Class cinemas (small private screen rooms with food and beverage service and plush recliners), bowling alley, tennis courts and award-winning spa.

The newest additional to the Complex is the five-star hotel, Crown Metropol, taking the total number of bedrooms in the complex to over 1600, and comes with its own über-restaurant when Gordon Ramsay spreads his Maze chain to Melbourne.

The Crown Poker Room launched with just 21 tables in 1997, three years after the casino opened. Legions of locals have been swept up in the Australian poker boom that was ignited when Melbournian and Crown Ambassador Joe Hachem became the 2005 World Series of Poker Champion, scooping up AUD $10 million in prize money for his efforts.

This enormous win, along with the made-for-television poker tournaments, where concealed cameras reveal each player’s cards to the viewer, elevated the game and opened up a player’s-eye-view. Like every other nation on the planet, the popularity of poker skyrocketed in Australia as a result.

These contributing factors have seen the Crown Poker Room swell from 21 to 72 tables. Along with a recent licence awarded, takes the total poker tables to 100, making Crown’s Poker Room the largest poker room outside North America.

While sport is Melbourne’s heartbeat, the city is also recognised for its style and passion for fashion. From high-end boutiques in Collins St, up and coming designers in Brunswick St, Fitzroy or outlet bargains in Bridge Rd, Richmond and Docklands there are a plenty of ways to spend your winnings.

One of the best ways to get a feel for this diverse city is by seeing it from 88 floors up at Eureka Skytower. The viewing platform is the highest in the Southern Hemisphere and the only observation deck in the world that takes you to “The Edge”. The glass cube suspended almost 300 metres above the ground is not for the faint hearted, and if you’re brave enough to venture into The Edge make sure you take a souvenir photo home for proof.

If you want to taste a genuine Melbourne experience, head to one of the city’s closest beach – St Kilda – to work on your tan. Take a tram to the seaside suburb and stroll along the pier, ride the roller coaster at historic Luna Park and relax with coffee and cake on bustling Acland Street.

After dark, sample one of the numerous bars and clubs or catch a band at the Esplanade Hotel. Known as The Espy, the pub

has been bringing live music to Melbourne for more than 100 years.

You could also visit the Antarctica Penguin exhibit at Melbourne Aquarium at Southbank or be inspired by an exhibition at The National Gallery of Victoria on St Kilda Rd. For more tips to make your Melbourne trip complete, check out www.visitvictoria.com.

Things to do around Melbourne Crown, a world of entertainment

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It’s every poker player’s dream to head over to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker. Sadly, not all of us will get that chance, but the good news is that we’ve got our own major international poker event to look forward to every year! In this edition of Shuffle we look at the early years of tournament poker in Australia and how the Aussie Millions Poker Championship became the world-class extravaganza it is today.

The Australian poker landscape was vastly different 30 years ago. Poker basically meant five-card draw – mostly for

matchsticks around the kitchen table. If someone mentioned “World Series”, you would have instantly thought of baseball, not poker – and you wouldn’t have known where Omaha was, let alone how to play it.

Long before Joe Hachem’s WSOP Main Event victory, a handful of dedi-cated people were regularly crammed into smoke-filled card rooms, playing high-stakes poker games in casinos (both legal and illegal) around the country. In fact, a man by the name of Mark Heffernan won Australia’s very first official poker tournament at the Wrest Point Casino in Tasmania back in 1981.

In 1987, the Adelaide Casino estab-lished itself as the home of the Austral-asian Poker Championships, which for many years was considered the most prestigious poker tournament in the region – even 1972 WSOP Main Event winner and poker icon “Amarillo Slim” Preston played there! Casino Canberra was the next property to step up to the plate, and from 1996 to 2002, it host-

ed the National Poker Championships. These tournaments are considered

to be the predecessors to the Aussie Millions.

In 1998, one year after Melbourne’s Crown Casino relocated from the World Trade Centre to the multi-million dol-lar Southbank complex, three of Aus-tralia’s poker stalwarts – Steve Fox, John Beagle and Keith ‘Bendigo’ Sloan – helped establish a dedicated poker room, which led to the first Crown Ca-sino Poker Championship being played later that year. A field of 74 players took part in the $1000 buy-in Limit Hold’em Main Event, with Australia’s Alex Horowitz winning the title along with $25,900 in prize money.

In 1999, the number of players increased to 109, helped by a strong international contingent, featuring 15 satellite qualifiers from the Gila River Casino in Arizona, as well as 1983 WSOP Main Event champion Tom McEvoy. The final table was an all-Aussie affair, which included Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros and Sammy Khouiss. Milo Nadalin defeated fellow Aussie Adam Haman heads-up to take down the lion’s share of the $109,000 prize pool.

How the Aussie Millions came to be

Fast Fact: 2006 Main Event winner Lee Nelson holds the record for the most final tables (11) and most titles (four) at the Aussie Millions.

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The year 2000 marked the start of many of today’s Aussie Millions traditions, with the introduction of several high stakes events, as well as moving the schedule to January and a change to No Limit Hold’em for the Main Event. Australia’s Leo Boxell won that year, while fellow Aussie Sam Ko-rman was the last man standing in 2001.

The buy-in for the Main Event was raised to $5000 in 2002; John Mav-er took down the title and the first-place prize of $150,000, defeating a field of 66 players.

In 2003, the Crown Casino Australasi-an Poker Championships officially became known as the Aussie Millions and the Main Event buy-in was raised to $10,000 for the first time, attracting a field of 122 players. The heads-up battle between Aus-sie Leo Boxell and Englishman Peter Costa was a hard-fought affair, but in the end, the Old Enemy would prevail as Costa took home just under $400,000 for his victory. A field of 133 players took to the felt in 2004 with England’s Tony Bloom defeating America’s Jesse Jones heads-up and took home $426,000 in prize money.

In the next two years New Zealanders dominated the Aussie Millions. Jamil Dia became the first person to win a million-dollar prize at an Australian poker tourna-ment after besting a field of 263 players in 2005. Fellow Kiwi Lee ‘Final Table’ Nelson then took it down in 2006, winning almost $1.3 million after conquering a field of 418 players, which included some of the world’s best – Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Mike Sexton and Antonio Es-fandiari – just to name a few. It was also the first year that the Aussie Millions Main Event was televised.

In 2007, the Aussie Millions Main Event field skyrocketed to 747 players. The final table had a truly international flavour, con-sisting of one Australian, one German, an Irishman, a Canadian, two Americans and a Dane. American Kristy Gazes became the first female to reach an Aussie Mil-lions Main Event final table, but in the end it was precocious American Jimmy ‘gob-boboy’ Fricke who went heads-up against “The Great Dane”, Gus Hansen – and it was Hansen who emerged victorious, tak-ing home AUD $1.5 million in prize money.

In 2008, the largest Aussie Millions Main Event field in history (780 players) converged on Crown and Australia had a great chance to keep the title on home soil, with the final table consisting of four locals. Aussie young gun Michael Chrisan-thopoulos, who started with a massive

chip lead but fell agonisingly short in third place.

The two foreigners – American pro Erik Seidel and 21-year-old Russian wunder-kind Alexander Kostritsyn – were the last two players standing; Kostritsyn emerged victorious, taking home AUD $1.65 mil-lion in prize money and the record for the youngest ever Aussie Millions Main Event champion.

Finally, in 2009, it was our turn. Though the poker world was not immune from the global financial crisis (only 681 players made the trek to Melbourne), it certainly didn’t make the challenge of winning the Main Event any easier. Joe Hachem sent out a clear message to the local contin-gent – “get your act together” – and Ad-elaide’s Stewart Scott answered the call, taking home a record AUD $2 million pay-day and becoming the first Australian to keep the Aussie Millions title on home soil.

This year’s Aussie Millions series proved a huge success, with the Opening Event alone receiving 1143 entrants, making it the largest casino poker tournament field in Australian history. In another first, the public had access to all the action from start to finish, with the Studio 3 nightclub transformed into a made-for-TV viewing gallery. The Main Event final table fea-tured two online phenoms in the form of Annette annette_15 Obrestad and Sorel Imper1um Mizzi, but it was 23-year-old Sydneysider Tyron Krost who reigned supreme, pocketing a cool $2 million for his victory and defeating a field of 746 players.

It’s incredible to think that from such humble beginnings, the Australian poker scene has evolved into what it is today. Though the events of 2005 certainly helped things along, we can’t forget those before us who have supported poker in its early years. With an event like the Aussie Millions, the future of the game is assured – and who knows, someday it might be you that becomes the toast of the Aussie poker nation!

• Next year’s Aussie Millions Poker Championship will feature 20 events, including the $10,000 Main Event, the $100,000 Challenge and the $1650 Feature Event with Bounties, as well as the ever-popular High Stakes Cash Game series. We’ll have a full Aussie Millions preview for you in the next edi-tion of Shuffle, but if you want to find out more in the meantime, log onto >www.aussiemillions.com.

Big reputations, Big Bankrolls & Big money

The Aussie Millions has a number of unique events on its calendar, but none more prestig-ious than the $100,000 Challenge. In its sixth year on the schedule, this event remains the world’s biggest buy-in tournament. Each year, the best-of-the-best in tournament poker battle it out with a mixture of cash-game specialists and high stakes gamblers. For some, the AUD $100,000 buy-in is a mere drop in the ocean.

Past champions are Dan Shak (pictured), David Steicke, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren and John Juanda. In 2006, there were 10 players, in 2007 the field increased to 18 while in 2008 there were 25 contenders. There were 23 in 2009, and 24 entries in the most recent edition.

DiD you know? Seven WSOP Main Event winners have played in the Aussie Millions Main Event (see below): Dan Harrington (USA) 1995; Huck Seed (USA) 1996; Scotty Nguyen (USA) 1998; Chris Ferguson (USA) 2000; Carlos Mortensen (USA) 2001; Greg Raymer (USA) 2004 and Joe Hachem (Australia) 2005.

aussie millions honour roll

2003: Peter Costa (UK) AUD $394,870

2004: Tony Bloom (UK) AUD $426,500

2005: Jamil Dia (NZ) AUD $1,000,000

2006: Lee Nelson (NZ) AUD $1,295,800

2007: Gus Hansen (Den) AUD $1,500,000

2008: Alexander Kostritsyn (Rus) AUD $1,650,000

2009: Stewart Scott (Aust) AUD $2,000,000

2010:TyronKrost(Aust) AUD$2,000,000

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Spring 2010 51Spring 2010 51

off the felt

T he Shuffle team love nothing more to get out on the golf course, create divots for green-skeepers and generate fear in

anyone walking within 100 metres and a 180° radius of our golf ball.

But that doesn’t stop us loving a hit around the local course – and even better when we combine a round of golf with poker. Wanna add a little spice to your next putt ‘n’ poker day?

The game is called Three-Putt Poker and it is gaining popularity as the game of poker becomes more popular. Now, this game is probably not made for the golfer trying to make it to scratch golf. But if you’re looking to add a little fun to your round you will probably enjoy it. Try this great game with you buds the next time you hit the golf course.

The rules of this poker/golf game are set up to improve your putting while still having a good time. When your round begins, the group of players must post an ante. Once this is done and the pot is all square each player will receive one playing card that they will put in their pocket.

When a player one putts a hole they will receive another playing card but if that player three putts a hole they must put additional money into the pot. The player that has the best hand at the end of nine holes will win the money in the pot. The whole process starts over again on the back nine holes with the players putting in their ante again.

This game might not be for the play-er that is trying to make the PGA Tour, but if you and your mates are just try-ing to get out there and have a good time and playing for the fun of it, this is a great way to have fun and change things up a bit. Enjoy.

Gettin’ caddy stacked

One of the great things about the APL is the number of golf clubs that regularly host APL events – Port Macquarie, Campbelltown, Tumut, Amstel, Massey Park, Bulimba and Mollymook just to name a

few. Here’s a great way to combine the best of both worlds.

How it works

Example: Three players start the day by putting up an ante of $10 each which makes the pot $30 to start.

• Player 1 – one putts twice; three putts twice = + $2 in the pot and 2 extra playing cards totalling 3 cards

• Player 2 – one putts 3 times; three putts 4 times = + $4 in the pot and 3 extra playing cards totalling 4 cards

• Player 3 – one putts 0 times; three putts 7 times = + $7 in the pot and 0 extra playing cards totalling 1 card

• Player 4 - one putts 0 times; three putts 0 times = + $0 in the pot and 0 extra playing cards totalling 1 card

The cards are shown after the front nine, player 1 holds 8c-7s-9h, player 2 holds 10h-Kh-2h-3h, player 3 holds Ah and player 4 holds 2d. Player 3 wins the pot ($43) because they hold the best hand, which is ace high. The great thing about the game is that even though you may be the worst putter in your group, you still have the opportunity to win the pot.

♠

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FlopShot

Established in 1957, the Furlan Club is one of the most prominent Italian-Australian social clubs in suburban Melbourne, but membership is open to all and their numerous bars and function rooms can cater for up to 600 people for any occasion. Have a hit out on the squash courts, play a game of bocce, some soccer or even a round of golf. If you’re not into sport, you could always take part in traditional folk dancing classes and other cultural activities, then tuck into a delicious wood-fired pizza at The Ristorante and relax afterwards with a drink in the Lounge Bar.

The multi-award winning GV Hotel, nestled in the heart of Shepparton, has undergone major renovations in the past two years and is now the premier entertainment venue in the Victorian Highlands.

As well as some of the region’s best dining, you can belt out a ballad with karaoke on Wednesdays, wind down after work with a group of friends with a free platter of finger food while sampling the 30+ beers on tap during happy hour on Friday, or cure that Saturday night fever by dancing the night away to the sounds of Australia’s best live bands and DJs.

Furlan Club GV Hotel1 Matisi st, thornbury, Vic

contact: (03) 9484 0477, www.furlanclub.com.au

aPL games: Tuesday nights, registration at 6pm; Sunday nights, registration at 5pm

223 high st, shePParton, Viccontact: (03) 5821 9822,

www.gvhotel.com

aPL games: Thursday nights, registration at 7.30pm

profile

Venue proFile: ViC

Located 30 minutes south of Wollongong, the Warilla Bowls & Recreation Club is one of the largest bowling clubs in the country, hosting four outdoor rinks and a world-class eight-rink indoor green as well as a fully-equipped gym, tennis courts and snooker tables. After you’ve gone for a roll, indulge in something from the a-la-carte menu at Emeralds Restaurant or go nuts at the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Seaview Restaurant before retiring to one of the 19 three-star holiday cabins overlooking Little Lake. Membership to the club is as cheap as chips, starting from as little as $2 a year!

Warilla boWls & reCreation ClubJason aVe, barrack heights, nsW

contact: (02) 4295 9595, www.warillabowls.com.au

aPL games: Monday nights (Pro - $11), registration at 6pm; Thursday nights,

registration at 6pm

Our say:

Venue proFile: nsW

Venue proFile: ViC Venue proFile: nsW

Home of the Brisbane Wolves Football Club and the Wynnum-Manly Sea Eagles Cricket Club, the Moreton Bay Sports Club is located just off Wynnum Road and only half an hour from the Brisbane CBD. The hearty meals from Spinnakers Restaurant are available for lunch and dinner daily and with nothing on the menu over $23, it’s an ideal and cost-effective way to fuel up for a night of poker. And after you’ve had a beer or three to celebrate your victory at the tables, you can save yourself even more of your hard-earned by catching the courtesy bus back home.

Moreton bay sports Club

175 boundary st, tingaLPa, QLdcontact: (07) 3390 6877, www.mbsportsclub.com.au

aPL games: Tuesday nights, registration at 6pm; Sunday nights,

registration at 5pm

Our say:

Venue proFile: QlD

Our say:

The Naracoorte Hotel was established way back in 1847 and today not much has changed, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pass up on visiting this gem just over the south-west border of Victoria. Breakfast is served daily in The Atrium and Billy Mac’s Bistro caters to all ages and tastes, with an ever-changing menu featuring five new items weekly.

To wind down after a bad beat, we recommend having a couple of Coopers out in the Willow Beer Garden before a game of pool in the Sports Bar. Accommodation is also available, starting from just $89 a night.

naraCoorte Hotel

73 orMerod st, naracoorte, sacontact: (08) 8762 2400,

www.naracoortehotel.com.au

aPL games: Thursday nights, registration at 7pm

Venue proFile: sa

Our say:

Our say:

There might not be any APL games in Canberra yet, but our friends in the national capital can hop over the border on Thursday nights and take to the felt at the Queanbeyan Kangaroos club. There’s plenty to keep you occupied, including a massive bar with two huge projector screens, TAB, pool tables, arcade games, 13 beers on tap and heaps of sporting memorabilia. Be sure to also try something from the home-style menu of the Peppers bistro. You might even get the chance to go heads-up with a local celebrity – 2009 TeamAPL member Terry Adams hails from the area!

Queanbeyan KanGaroos rlFC

cnr stuart st & richard aVe, Queanbeyan, nsW

contact: (02) 6297 6222, www.roosclub.com.au

aPL games: Thursday nights, registration at 6pm

Our say:

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apl venue review

Spring 2010 53

It’s not your typical pub, but then again, The Brass Monkey Hotel was never meant to be that way. Nestled near the heart of the Perth CBD, old-world architecture and charm meets funky and modern decor and cuisine. If you like to keep things simple, order a pub meal and eat it out in the courtyard or in The Lounge, or for something a little more fancy, try the wine and tapas menu at the GrapeSkin Cafe while listening to some live jazz. If you’re just there for poker on Tuesdays, make sure you take advantage of the $15 pizza special.

The Brass Monkey hoTel

Cnr James & Williams sts, northbridge, Wa

Contact: (08) 9227 9596, www.thebrassmonkey.com.au

aPl games: Tuesday nights, registration at 6pm

Our say:

Venue profile: Wa

Casino profile: QlD

It’s a 20-minute drive north of Wellington, but it’s worth it. The Porirua Club is one of New Zealand’s premier APL venues and offers a diverse range of activities and entertainment options. Try your hand at some classic card games like euchre or cribbage, or play a game of snooker or darts.

If staying inside’s not your thing, you can play rugby or softball with the locals. You can also join in for a fishing trip out in Porirua Harbour, but if you don’t end up catching anything, at least you can always find something good on the dinner menu at the Eastwood Bistro.

porirua CluB1 lodge PlaCe Porirua, nZ

Contact: (04) 237 6143, www.poriruaclub.co.nz

aPl games: Tuesday nights, registration at 6pm; Sunday nights,

registration at 5pm

Our say:

Venue profile: nZ

Bellerive may be home to one of the most famous cricket grounds in Australia, but it’s also the home of the renowned Waterfront Hotel, which is only minutes from the centre of Hobart and perched right near the crystal clear waters of Kangaroo Bay. Light, breezy and spacious, you’ll feel right at home as you relax with a cocktail at cBar with your friends, or dining on mouth-watering seafood and sipping a glass of Tasmanian Riesling in Sails Restaurant before trying your luck on the latest gaming machines in the Oasis Gaming Lounge. A slice of heaven in the Apple Isle!

WaTerfronT hoTel

4 Cambridge rd, bellerive, tasContact: (03) 6244 2333,

www.waterfronthotel.net.au

aPl games: Wednesday nights, registration at 6pm

Venue profile: Tas

Our say:

The Jupiters Casino first opened its doors to the public in 1986, but only hosted its first major poker tournament in 2009, sharing the honours with Brisbane’s Treasury Casino for the ANZPT

Queensland event. Fast forward to 2010 and it’s clear that Jupiters has put up its hand to become the poker destination in the Sunshine State, having hosted this year’s ANZPT event and, most recently, the second event of the APL Poker Tour.

With 16 poker tables, a private lounge and bar area, as well as all the creature comforts you’ve come to expect in any world-class poker room, you’ll feel like a high roller (it was the old high roller’s room). Don’t let that stop you from exploring the rest of the complex – there’s so much to see and do, with more than 70 gaming tables, 1300 poker machines, seven restaurants and five bars, plus plenty of live entertainment at the Jupiters Theatre.

Be sure to also get out and about – head to Surfer’s Paradise and check out the thriving club scene, indulge in some retail therapy at Pacific Fair, take a scenic trip around the city on the monorail or just head on down to the beach for some sun, sand and surf. When you’re all done, head back and relax poolside with a massage before ordering room service (the club sandwich is highly recommended) and settling down for a well-earned rest in one of the 593 hotel rooms. So, what will you get up to?

JupiTers Casinoaddress: Broadbeach Island, Gold Coast QLD

Contact: (07) 5592 8100, www.jupitersgoldcoast.com.au

Poker: The Jupiters Poker Room is located in the basement level of the Jupiters Casino complex, open 24 hours, seven days a week. For all event details, check out the casino website.

our say:

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Chicken or beef? Chicken

What was the first CD you bought? Sublime Cats or dogs? Dogs

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen at a poker game? Probably my TD Layvone Evans. His dealing is pretty sick – if you’re behind, just raise, because you’re going to suck out almost every time! I’ve lost count of how many bad beats I’ve had on final tables through his dealing.

Who’s the hottest poker player? Veronika Larsen – I had to Google that one

If you won the WSOP Main Event, what would you spend your money on? I’d put a lot of money aside for future WSOP

Main Event buy-ins and to create a bankroll. I’d buy a nightclub and a few cars that I’ve always wanted. I’d put some into a few properties as back-up and blow the rest on travel if there was any left!

Spring 201054

Nickname: Seagull (“I’m always taking people’s chips”)

Age: 35State: VictoriaRegion: Melton/Hume,

Brimbank MaribyrnongOccupation: Systems engineerAPL debut: 2006Preferred venue: The Club, Caroline SpringsFavourite hand: 8-6 suitedMajor tournaments/achievements: August 2010 Player of the Month

Holden or Ford? Holden

Would you check-raise your own grandmother? Only if I had the nuts, because she’d probably call!

You’re dealt pocket aces in the small blind on the bubble of a WSOP Main Event satellite, you have the second shortest stack and Phil Ivey is in the big blind with the big stack – what do you do? If I was significantly short, and if Phil’s been playing aggressively, I’m very confident he’d try to bully me out of the pot so I’d just limp and re-raise all-in to any bet. If he puts me all-in with a very large bet, then I’d be at least 4:1 to win if I decide to call.

Favourite holiday spot? The Gold Coast – it caters nicely for my kids

How would you torture Phil Hellmuth for crimes against fellow poker players? Bound and gag him, then lock him in a room with Daniel Negreanu and watch Daniel explain how Phil could improve his game.

Name three bands you’d have for a backyard concert. Coldplay, The Fray, The Script

Five-star restaurant or backyard BBQ? Five-star restaurant

If you had a movie made about your life, which actor would play you? Leonardo Di Caprio

Name: Tony GallacherNickname: DeejayAge: 25Country: New ZealandRegion: Central North/

RotoruaOccupation: Club DJAPL debut: End of 2009Preferred venue: Copper Donkey Irish Bar, RotoruaFavourite hand: A-2 suitedMajor tournaments achievements:June 2010 Player of the Month; August 2010 Player of the Month – these are my biggest achievements to date, but I haven’t played a lot of poker as I only started 12 months ago!

HamisH armati tony GallacHer

rising apl stars

Nickname: Pikklz

Age: 40

State: New South Wales

Region: Ballina, Byron Bay, Lismore

Occupation: Amateur poker player

APL debut: 2004

Preferred venue: Byron Bay Bowls

Favourite hand: 10-9

Major tournaments achievements:August 2010 Player of the Month – I am the perennial bridesmaid when it comes to majors. I can’t even win the Byron Classic at Hubby’s house!

Lady Gaga or Katy Perry? Katy Perry

Beer or Bundy? Bundy

What was the first concert you attended? Eurythmics at Athletic Park in Wellington

Where is Omaha? Nebraska, USA

Which poker player do you hate and why? Tom Dwan, because he is an awesome player and the same time really freaky-looking

What is your favourite TV show? Entourage

AFL or NRL? Which team do you follow? NRL (Warriors)

Name: Phil GreenNickname: “The Phoenix”Age: 46State: QueenslandRegion: BrisbaneOccupation: Full-time poker

player (mostly cash games, but only just started playing APL this year)

APL debut: Moorooka Bowls Club, August 2010Preferred venue: Souths Sports Club, Acacia RidgeFavourite hand: Pocket acesMajor tournaments achievements: August 2010 Player of the Month

Phil Green

What’s your guiltiest pleasure? Sara Lee ice cream, enough said.

Who is your favourite poker player and why? Phil Gordon. His little green and little blue books helped my game immensely!

What three things would you save from a house fire? My laptop, my camera and my painting of Martin Luther King

Facebook or Twitter? FacebookShould poker become an

Olympic sport? In one word – NO

Steak or parma? Steak

Jennifer Hawkins or Miranda Kerr? Jennifer Hawkins.

McDonald’s or KFC? KFC – Zinger Burgers, yum yum!

Spring 2010 55

Look left and look right when you next take a seat at your local APL venue, you’ll never know when one of these sharks will be circling.

Corey SCott

Tom Dwan

J

Nick Filippopoulos has led a rich and fulfilling life since arriving in Australia as a youngster. The 57-year-old father of three has now also lived the ultimate poker dream, playing and cashing in the 2010 WSOP Main Event as part of TeamAPL. The man they call “The Professor” took some time out in between serving customers at his pasta shop in Pymble to reflect on the journey.

My life as a

pokerplayerSpring 201056

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Team APL & beyond:

For 25 years, I’d been playing a lot of poker with my friends, but back then we never played Texas Hold’em – instead, we’d play a game called Manila, which is almost the same but you use a 32-card deck (sevens-up) and you have to use both cards in your hand. Because the odds change in the smaller deck, a flush beats a full house!I still play Manila, but since being taken to my first APL game by my son-in-law four years ago, I play a lot more Texas Hold’em. I can’t even begin to think how many games I’ve played, but I really enjoy it and I’ve made a lot of new friends.I qualified for TeamAPL after winning the NSW Pro Open in August last year. I played really well but got lucky in the heads-up battle against my opponent (Tom Alexander, who was featured in our last Player Diary). He moved all-in with pocket sevens and I called all-in with J-4 and managed to hit a jack on the river before knocking him out in the next hand. Still, a win’s a win and you have to get lucky sometimes!

The Vegas experienceI was so excited when I won that tournament because I knew that it was my chance to go to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker Main Event. It wasn’t my first trip to America – I had visited Lake Tahoe with my wife on a holiday years ago – and I had a couple of uncles who lived in San Francisco. My wife came over with me to Las Vegas and my sister-in-law also flew in to give me support.

We all had a wonderful time and got to see a lot of the other casinos and nightlife in Vegas. I went to the Bellagio, Venetian, Paris and Caesars Palace. The experience was amazing, but nothing compared to the WSOP Main Event at the Rio. I’d seen a little bit of the WSOP coverage on TV but when I walked into the poker room I was just blown away. The room was huge and there were thousands of people – it was nothing like I expected. I didn’t feel inferior though – I knew there were many more players like me that were here to play for the first time and when the order was given to “shuffle up and deal” I settled into my normal game.On day one, I came across a guy that I’d seen on TV before but I didn’t know who he was at first – that is, until I heard the chant of, “Begs, Begs, Begs” from the rail. It turns out that guy was Steve Begleiter, who made the final table of the WSOP Main Event last year! I didn’t get much of a chance to speak to him as I was more focused on surviving the day, and I did, finishing with more than 43,000 in chips.

Fighting backDay two was a nightmare – I took a really bad hit late in the day and ended up with 23,000. I decided that I had to really tighten up and wait for better opportunities and that strategy paid off. At the end of Day 3 I was on 80,000 and feeling much happier.From there, all I had to do was just take my time and I made the money on day four. It was only when I found out that I was the last TeamAPL player left in the field before the start of day five I began to panic!

I started day five with 95,000 in chips and didn’t play many hands to start. I knew there’d be a lot of people eliminated in the first level so I just took my time. But when the blinds increased to 4000/8000, I was only on about 110,000, so I

decided to make a move. I looked down to see J-10 suited and moved all-in. Only problem was that another guy woke up with A-Q and another called with pocket kings!The kings held and I was out in 487th place. I won USD $27,519 (AUD $29,702) and that was great, but what made me even happier was the amount of support I was getting from all my family and friends back home. All the emails and texts and Facebook messages – it was incredible to think that so many people were thinking of me – that made me very proud.

Back to the grindI haven’t done too much since I arrived home from Las Vegas. I’m back to playing regular APL games, but I’m not having much luck in getting an APL Poker Tour seat at the moment. I’ve come close, but still nothing yet. My friends give me a hard time about it, but I give it right back to them – after all, I was the one out of all of us who got to go to the World Series!I’ve spoken to a lot of people and one thing they’ve often asked me is if I’d go back to Las Vegas. Of course I would! I love the atmosphere, the sights and sounds and of course playing in the WSOP Main Event was something I want to do again at least once. I’m going to do my best to get back onto TeamAPL and when I do, I know I’m going to go even further!I would encourage anyone that wants to go to the WSOP to chase that dream, but if you’re looking for strategy advice, don’t come to me – I don’t want to give away all of my secrets!If I had to say anything, it would be to just play your normal game, don’t try and get too fancy and always take the time to make the right decisions. Above all, just enjoy the experience – it may be the only time you get to go, so make the most of it!

nick filippopoulos

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pokerplayer J

Poker success is measured in several forms, but we all know the universal language of the game. these 10 Players certainly know how to talk the talk.

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Phil Ivey (USA), $13,531,757If you don’t know who Phil Ivey is by now, you’ve been living under a rock. The “Tiger Woods of Poker” has eight WSOP bracelets,

a WPT title and now the number one ranking on the all-time money list after his runner-up finish in this year’s Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge.

Daniel Negreanu (Canada), $12,680,705The 36-year-old Canadian they call “Kid Poker” is one of the most recognised players on the circuit and regarded as having the best read in the game. As well as racking up two WPT titles

and four WSOP bracelets, Daniel Negreanu has also contributed to Doyle Brunson’s book Super System II.

Jamie Gold (USA), $12,223,798Hollywood producer-turned-poker player Jamie Gold won the WSOP Main Event title in 2006, defeating the largest field in history to win the coveted bracelet and USD $12,000,000 in

prize money, but most of that was lost to Bruce Leyser after a legal dispute resulted in a settlement earlier this year.

Peter Eastgate (Denmark), $11,308,359The 25-year-old Danish wunderkind broke Phil Hellmuth’s long-standing record of the

youngest-ever WSOP Main Event champion when he won over USD $9 million in 2008. Since then, Peter Eastgate has added a runner-up finish in the 2009 EPT London Main Event and an eighth-place finish in the 2010 NBC National Heads-Up Championship.

Scotty Nguyen (USA), $10,828,112What’s not to like about Scotty Nguyen, baby? The charismatic “Prince of Poker” has lived the dream since moving to Las Vegas

from Vietnam in 1974, winning the WSOP Main Event in 1998 and has since added a WPT title and the 2009 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. trophy to his resume.

Joe Hachem (Australia), $10,732,530Long story short, Melbourne’s own Joe Hachem helped start “The Great Australian Poker Boom” after winning the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Hachem proved it was no fluke when he won

the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic the following year, then fol-lowed it up with victory in the 2009 EPT London 8-Game Championship.

John Juanda (USA), $10,368,260John Juanda is one the most respected players on the global poker circuit, re-

nowned for his cool, calm and collected manner at the tables. He’s also one of the most decorated, having won three WSOP bracelets, including the 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event, as well as mak-ing six WPT final table appearances.

Allen Cunningham (USA), $9,947,779Before the time of online players like Tom Dwan and Bertrand ElkY Grospellier, Allen Cunningham was one of the “new kids on the block”, quickly earning a reputation as an accomplished

poker player, winning five WSOP bracelets between 2001 and 2007 as well as taking down the WSOP Circuit Event at Caesars Palace in 2008.

Erik Seidel (USA), $9,754,785Despite finishing runner-up to Johnny Chan in the 1988 WSOP Main Event and also to Alexander Kostritsyn in the 2008 Aussie Millions, Erik Seidel has enjoyed plenty of success in poker,

amassing eight WSOP bracelets and 19 career victories, his most recent being the 2010 Aussie Millions $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha event.

Carlos Mortensen (Spain), $9,703,842The man they call “El Matador” burst onto the scene in 2001 with three consecutive major tournament

victories, including the WSOP Main Event in May that year. Carlos Mortensen also won this year’s WPT Hollywood Poker Open event, tying with Gus Hansen for the most WPT titles won with three.

Top 10 – All-Time money eArners (UsD)

DeadmanS

DeN1 6

2 7

8

9

10

3

4

5

Spring 2010 59

deadman’s den

JWhile there’s no doubt that No Limit Texas Hold’em is the jeu du jour for major tour-naments, more players in the elite ranks are branching out into other variants of poker in order to find more action more often, particularly in high-stakes cash games.

The most popular of these “other” poker games is Omaha and while it may seem complicated at first, it’s surprisingly easy to learn– but with so many cards in play, it’s even harder to keep your cool when you get outdrawn more often than not!

The game is played using either limit or pot-limit betting and while Omaha can cater for up to 10 players, it’s best played with six to eight players. Dealing the game is a cinch – instead of two hole cards, each player is dealt four cards before the first round of betting. From there, the rest of the game is the same as Hold’em – three cards on the flop, one on the turn and one more on the river, with a betting round after every street before showdown.

The object of the game is to form the best five-card hand, using only two of the four cards in your hand, plus three out of the five community cards. It can take new players some time to get used to Omaha (particularly if they’ve been play-ing Hold’em for so long), so to ease into it at your next home game, try running a Hold’em/Omaha rotation tournament, changing between games at the end of each blind level. Omaha is a pleasant (al-beit tilt-inducing) change from the usual, but it’s a whole lot of fun!

• Omaha is the ‘O’ in the popular mixed game H.O.R.S.E. and shares its name with a town in the American state of Nebraska. The best starting hand in Omaha is A-A-K-K (double-suited), un-less you’re playing Omaha Hi-Lo, where the best hand is A-A-2-3 (double-suited).

• Professional poker player Robert Turner is credited as the creator of Omaha and it was spread for the first time in Las Vegas at the Golden Nugget Casino in 1983.

• In the same year, the World Series of Poker incorporated a $1000 Limit Oma-ha event into their schedule, which was won by renowned poker author David Sklansky.

• This year’s WSOP $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship was won by 25-year-old American pro Daniel Alaei, taking his WSOP bracelet total to three – one of which was the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo World Championship in 2008!

Dealer’s choice oDDsmakerWhat are the odds ... of cracking pocket aces with Jh 10h on a flop of Kh 7h Qs?

Answer: Aces: 54% chance, Jh-10h: 46% chance. Despite being almost a 4:1 underdog pre-flop, the J-10 has now scored 14 outs for an up-and-down straight draw and the flush draw – it’s practically a coin flip!

Famous last hanDsMike McDermott (Matt Damon) vs. Teddy KGB (John Malkovich), Round-ers, 1998: On a board that read 6-7-10-3-A, McDermott checked on the river before KGB announced that he was all-in. “That ace could not have helped you,” Teddy said as he splashed the last of his chips into the pot. “I bet it all.”

“You’re right Teddy, the ace didn’t help me,” McDermott replied, before snap-call-ing and rolling up 9-8 suited. “I flopped the nut straight.” This sent KGB on uber-tilt, causing security to intervene, but he quickly calmed down and ordered his staff to “pay that man his money” before leaving the room.

ultimate DestinationPokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Atlan-tis Resort & Casino, The Bahamas: January 7-16: What better way to kick-start the new year than with a trip over to the Bahamas for the larg-est poker tournament series outside of North America? The PCA is the perfect blend of luxury, entertainment and of course, poker. Even if you get knocked out early, you’ll be able to enjoy everything the Atlantis Resort has to offer – and be sure to bring the whole family, as this is one event that everyone will enjoy!

no limit laughsA group of guys were playing in a dodgy home game. One of them laid down the winning hand, and another jumped up, yelling, “He’s cheatin! He’s not playin’ the cards I dealt him!”

isn’t that …?Two people who’ve had a brush or two with the law and also qualify for separated at birth status: the star of Kung Fu and Kill Bill David Carradine and six-time WSOP bracelet winner Layne “Back-to-Back” Flack

DiD you know?Former US president Warren G. Harding once gambled and lost a box of priceless White House china in a poker game during his brief term in office from 1921-23.

head

s up

TURNCARD

Doyle Brunson is rightly regarded as the elder statesmen of poker. Since the first World Series of Poker was played in 1970, Brunson has been a part of the tournament’s fabric. And it’s sure come along way since that first reunion of former Texas road gamblers at the Horseshoe Casino four decades ago, as he discussed with Shuffle during a break in play at this year’s WSOP.

The GodfaTher:Doyle BRUNsoN

Spring 201060

Name: Doyle Brunson

Nickname: Texas Dolly

Age: 77

Lives: Las Vegas, NV, USA

Major honours:1976, 1977 WSOP Main Event winner 10 WSOP bracelets Poker Gall of Fame inductee 1988 2004 WPT Legends of Poker winner

Tournament winnings: USD $6 million

61

pro interview

Shuffle Magazine: Doyle, tell us about the man responsible for the WSOP, Benny Binion. What kind of man was he?

Doyle Brunson: Benny Binion was prob-ably the wisest man that I ever knew. He wasn’t an educated man – he wasn’t book-smart – but as far as common sense goes, and knowing people, he could relate to a person right away. He was absolutely amazing.

Benny knew what people wanted and he gave it to ’em. He wasn’t a greedy type of man; he was willing to spend some money to make some money. His contri-bution to poker is immeasurable, simply because of the way he handled the World Series in the early days.

SM: What would Benny have made of the explosion in poker’s popularity?

DB: Well, like everyone else, he couldn’t have expected this. He used to say to me, ‘You know, Doyle, someday we may have a hundred people in this tournament.’ It was entirely different back in those days. It was kinda like a homecoming. The World Series of Poker was like a yearly reunion for all the road gamblers from around the country – and there weren’t that many of us; but the competition was fierce and the players were the best in the world. To my mind, they were so much better than to-day’s players; you can’t even compare ’em.

SM: What are your recollections of that first-ever event, back in 1970?

DB: That first event was really designed to get people here for the side action; it wasn’t really about the tournament itself.

Most of the players came for the side games, but when the tourists saw what was going on, they came to watch. That’s what stimulated Benny’s interest; he saw how people were fascinated by what was going on, and that’s why he went ahead and pursued the Series like he did.

SM: Tell us a bit about the first winner, Johnny Moss.

DB: Johnny was the premier player back in those days. If I ever had a mentor, it was him. Not that he tried to teach me; I just observed him. I’d played with him for years and years down in Texas. I picked up much of the way I play from him, because I saw how successful he was.

SM: He won again the next year, too, and then, in 1972, it was Amarillo Slim. What was Slim’s contribution to the game?

DB: Slim was more a promotion guy than any of the rest of us. He promoted himself

Only four men have won the World Series of Poker main

event twice – incredibly, all won successive titles. Even more remarkably, Brunson, won his 1976 and 1977 titles with the same starting hand and made a full house in both cases. Brunson’s name is also closely associated with another hand, mentioning on several occa-sions that he tries not to play A-Q.

What is the “Doyle Brunson” hand?

Did you know?

Spring 2010

Jall the time and he had a certain charm that the public loved. He had all his own corny little sayings that the press picked up on. Once he won the tournament, he really worked hard at it; he went on all the talk shows and did extensive interviews. Slim did a lot for the game of poker – he was the first “poker celebrity.”

SM: 1976 marked your first WSOP win. What did it mean to you?

DB: It didn’t seem like it was that signifi-cant a milestone at the time. I think that everybody thought that I was the best player then, and in truth, I think I was. So it just seemed fitting that I won. The tour-nament still didn’t have that much pres-tige back then.

SM: So when did the WSOP start to be-come a prestigious event?

DB: Well, it was a gradual thing. The tournament has grown every year since its inception. But I think it was probably when the television hit – around the mid-eighties – that was when it really took off.

SM: What does the World Series mean to you today?

DB: It’s a milestone in the evolution of poker. It’s just edifying to walk in there and see thousands of people, all ready to start the World Series. It almost brought tears to my eyes last year – this sea of poker ta-bles and people. I can only imagine what guys like Johnny Moss, Paul Harvey, Doc Ramsey, Pat Renfro, Benny Binion – all the old-timers – would say if they could see this.

I think the event itself has lost a little prestige, though, in that anybody can win it – some winners in the last few years have come off the internet and not been accomplished poker players. But that just shows what a wonderful game poker is – in a short period of time anybody can beat anybody.

SM: What do you make of the whole me-dia circus that surrounds the event now?

DB: I think it’s just that America’s found out what I’ve known for many, many years – that poker’s the greatest game there is. It’s become fashionable. When I go into an airport, I just can’t believe the people that come up to me. I always ask them where they’re from, and they’re from eve-rywhere. It’s just unbelievable.

SM: Can a big name pro ever win the World Series again?

DB: I doubt it. I’ll sit down at the table and some of these kids will say, “Well, I know you got me beat, but I just want to break the legend. So they put all their money in there and, sooner or later, one of ’em’s gonna get you. I imagine I play more all-in pots than anybody in these tournaments, simply because everybody wants to beat me. It’s really difficult to win one of these things.

Doyle Brunson penned arguably the most famous book in poker his-tory. Although now slightly outdated by hundreds of poker prim-ers, Super/System: A Course in Power Poker still of-fers an excellent grounding in all forms of the game. At the time of its release in 1976, Brunson was maligned by fellow pros for giving away too many secrets. Super/System II, released in 2005, was the most anticipated book in poker history, and it was consid-ered the highest honour possible to be asked to pen a chapter by Brunson.

Spring 201062

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THERivER

Fun with FoRTunE and FREEdmanWhen it comes to APL and Melbourne, Malcolm Fortune and Nick Freedman have the northern and eastern suburbs nicely sorted. Two of the most popular and hard-working franchisees in the country, Fortune and Freedman host thousands of players at scores of venues every week.

About the regionFrom the far north country town of Yea, to Lily-dale in the east; down to the southern suburb of Pakenham and across to Gisborne in the west – there’s barely any rest for APL franchisees Malcolm Fortune and Nick Freedman, having worked tirelessly for over three years managing all six of their Victorian regions – Glen Eira-Bay-side City Council, Moreland-Darebin, Monash, Port Phillip-Stonnington, Whittlesea-Nillumbik and the Yarra Ranges. One could only imagine how they manage to cope with it all, but despite all the hardships, they’re still enjoying the ride.

“It’s a lot of hard work and if you don’t take the time to listen to the players and not allow them to have contact with you, then you’re not going to keep anybody happy for long,” said Fortune. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs along the way; dealing with employees and venues and plenty of outside competition. It’s been tricky and we’re kept on our toes, but at the end of the day, when I get to events, I still have fun.”

The hard work is indeed paying off – thousands of players are voting with their feet, playing in more than 30 venues that span across the outskirts of the Melbourne metropolitan region every week. Within those players is a dedicated troupe of regulars that call themselves “Team Happy Trippers” who not only have big personalities but big results to boot.

Regions: Glen Eira-Bayside City Council (VGB), Moreland-Darebin (VMD), Monash (VMO), Port Phillip-Stonnington (VPS), Whittlesea-Nillumbik (VWN), Yarra Ranges (VYR)

Venues: Abruzzo Club, Broadford Hotel, Bryce’s Tavern, Casa D’Abruzzo Club, Castello’s Foresters Arms, Castello’s Pakenham Hotel, Castello’s Pakenham Inn, The Crown Hotel, Caulfield RSL, Elwood RSL, Fairfield/Alphington RSL, The Furlan Club, The Grand Hotel, Hampton RSL, Kalkallo Hotel, Kilmore Trackside, The Local, Paradise Valley Hotel, The Pine Grove Hotel, St Kilda Army/Navy Club, South Oakleigh Club, Victorian Tavern, Whittlesea Bowls Club, Xplicit Gentleman’s Club

Local legends“Donna Moore (pictured right) is one of our prominent players in our region. She’s a previous state champion and also played in the first episode of Australian Poker Hero. Then there are big person-alities like Darren ‘Merv’ Hughes and Paul ‘Gumboots’ Collins. ‘Gum-boots’ got his name after walking into an event one night in Paken-ham – it had been raining – and he still had his wellies on!”

Fortune went on to explain that once you get a nickname, you’re in Team Happy Trippers for life: “There’s a ‘Zipper’ – think of the movie There’s Something About Mary – also Shane ‘Zombie’ Johnson and Con ‘Bhudda’ Mavridis. Our staff all have nick-names too: Nick is ‘Mr. Happy’, I’m known as ‘Dibs’ and Kayla, one of our TDs, is known as ‘Blondie’.

“There’s also Nicole ‘Cold Deck’ Morris (who appeared on episode three of Australian Poker Hero, right). She used to play one day a week in our region and many more games in others, but she snuck through our ranks to secure a seat into the 2009 Wild Turkey Grand Slam. I gave her a call and invited her to become part of Team Happy Trippers. She was really nervous at first because it was her first ma-jor event and she really didn’t know any of our guys, but they really helped her settle in. As a result she made the money and we’ve since adopted her as one of our own!”

Spring 2010 63

Day Venue Region Registration Starttime TypeMon Casa D’Abruzzo Club VWN 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeMon Victorian Tavern VWN 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeMon Fairfield/Alphington RSL VMD 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeMon Castello’s Pakenham Inn VYR 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeMon Bryce’s Tavern VYR 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeTues South Oakleigh Club VGB 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeTues Kalkallo Hotel VWN 6.30pm 7.30pm Pro ($11)Wed The Furlan Club VMD 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeWed Caulfield RSL VGB 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeWed Hampton RSL VGB 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeWed The Local VPS 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeWed The Grand Hotel VYR 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeWed Whittlesea Bowls Club VWN 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeWed Broadford Hotel VWN 6.30pm 7.30pm Free

Thurs The Crown Hotel VYR 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeThurs The Pine Grove Hotel VYR 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeThurs Kilmore Trackside VWN 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeThurs Xplicit Gentleman’s Club VMD 6.30pm 7.30pm Pro ($11)Thurs Elwood RSL VPS 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeFri Castello’s Foresters Arms VMO 11pm Midnight FreeFri Paradise Valley Hotel VYR 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeFri The Furlan Club VMD 6.30pm 7.30pm FreeSat Abruzzo Club VMD Noon 1pm FreeSund St Kilda Army/Navy Club VPS 2.30pm 3.30pm FreeSund South Oakleigh Club VGB 6pm 7pm FreeSund Castello’s Pakenham Hotel VYR 6pm 7pm Pro ($11)

RegulaR events

Wednesday night APL games at the Caulfield RSL are a bit crazy – in fact they’re just down-right ludicrous – but the costumes are all for a good cause. What started as a fun night out has since turned into a tradition, all in the name of raising money for Very Special Kids. Each night, a different theme is picked out and entry into the event is by a gold coin donation.

Themes for these games in the past have included Kings and Queens, Pyjama Day and most recently “M-Day”, where everyone came dressed as something beginning with the letter M. There were mobsters, a mummy, Mario Bros, a pair of M&M’s – even some players dressed up as APL franchisee Malcolm Fortune!

The Casa D’Abruzzo Club is also in on the action, raising funds by raffling off custom poker apparel, donated by Whittlesea APL icon Kerry Walton, known by all as “Santa”. The white bushy beard is a dead giveaway, but Walton truly lives up to his jolly moniker, working as a professional Santa Claus in and around Melbourne!

community cards

Rising from the ashes But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for their regions, with the Whittlesea region in particular suffering through the Black Sat-urday bushfires. “The whole situation affected so many people,” Freedman said. “A lot of people lost their houses and others lost loved ones – it was massive.”

Fortune also recalled his experiences: “It even affected our players over in Pakenham and we had to cancel games in Healesville for one week because of the fire danger, but one guy’s story stood out and that was Charlie Borg’s. His family lost four houses and at one stage he was staying with one of our TDs for a few nights. He’s really into his poker and he lost all the tables he owned, so we phoned up head office and managed to get him a new table.”

In the end, whether the times are good or bad, it’s the community spirit that truly shines through. “We’re really proud of the fact that we’ve been able to foster a friendly, family-oriented atmosphere,” Fortune said. “In fact, that’s the reason why some clubs are still with us, particularly the larger sports clubs and RSLs, because we encourage our players to get involved and always try to cater to their needs.”

Freedman agrees: “We’ve always had a strong belief in the APL and I feel that even now the APL is still the premier poker provider here in Victoria,” he said. “We’ve developed a solid relationship with our players and our venues and despite other leagues trying to muscle their way into our region, the venues have all stood firm with us. That’s a big testament to the quality of our product.”

Doin’ it for the kidsWho’s making a markOther players from their regions have tasted success, including rising star LucioEsposito(below), who has won the Vic-torian Player of the Month race twice this year as well as the State Final in January, but some would argue that the biggest success stories would be that of MikeChrisanthopoulos (third-place finisher

in the 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event) and TeamAPL member KenPattugalan(above).

“Ken came third in the Wild Turkey Poker Classic in 2008 to get his seat and went over to Las Vegas last year,” Fortune said. “He was all ready to go but he got a phone call from home and was informed that his mother had a heart attack, so he had to pull out and head back to Australia.

“He got home just in time to see her before she passed, but fortunately he was able to go back this year and play. He didn’t cash, but he lived the poker dream and let’s face it, there’s not many of us who’ll be able to do that!”

Spring 201064

apl e

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THERivER All you need to know about major APL and major regional poker tournament series coming up in 2010

▲

tournament calendar

▲September 25-October 2 – Adelaide Casino Poker Championships, Adelaide, SA

The original home of Aussie poker is gearing up for an exciting new tournament series, featuring 16 events with buy-ins from as little as $45. The Main Event is expected to generate a prize pool worth more than $300,000.

October 8-11 – ANZPT Melbourne, Crown Casino, Melbourne, VIC

The ANZPT’s penultimate event has been given an overhaul, with plenty of side events culminating in the $2700 Main Event. Can hometown hero Tony Hachem make it back-to-back ANZPT Player of the Year titles?

October 10 – APL Pro Open, Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL, NSW

Canterbury may be the home of the Bulldogs, but it’s going to be dog-eat-dog at the October APL Pro Open as the players vie for a ticket into the next APLPT event.

October 25-30 – ANZPT Darwin, SKYCITY Darwin, Northern Territory

The ANZPT debuts in the Top End for the eighth and final stop of season two. As well as the $2200 buy-in Main Event, players will get the chance to explore the outback with fantastic tourism opportunities.

October 31 – APL Battle of the Regions, Venue TBCThe APL’s Battle of the Regions is back by popular demand in 2010! With an affordable $640 buy-in per team plus APLPT tickets up for grabs, be quick and grab an entry form from your Tournament Director.

November 14 – APL Pro Open, West Leagues Club, Leumeah, NSW

Time to up the ante and head to Sydney’s south-west – the November APL Pro Open in Leumeah will be one of your last chances to qualify for the APLPT this year.

November 6-8 – WSOP Main Event final table, Rio Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, USA

7,310 have already been eliminated, now, the November Nine will return to Las Vegas to crown the 2010 WSOP Main Event champion. In the end, there can be only one.

November 10-14 – APPT Cebu, Shangri-La Mactan Resort, Cebu, Philippines

The APPT returns to the stunning five-star Shangri-La Resort in Cebu. This USD $2165 event is not just a tournament, but also the ultimate poker getaway. Expect this event to sell out!

November 27-29 – APLPT Melbourne, Crown Casino, Melbourne, VIC

The final stop on the APLPT takes us back to Melbourne. With a TeamAPL package up for grabs, as well as the last Playboy Fragrance Players Party for 2010, be sure to secure your seat in one of our upcoming Mega Satellites listed below (with others to be announced for Perth and Hobart).

December 7-12 – APPT Sydney, Star City Casino, Sydney, NSW

Season four of the APPT wraps up at Star City, featuring a line-up of side events plus the $6300 Main Event. Can the title stay in NSW for the fourth successive year?

January 15-31, 2011 – Aussie Millions, Crown Casino, Melbourne, VIC

Crown will once again host the Aussie Millions, offering 20 championship events, including the $10,000 Main Event. Even if you don’t play, this is your chance to see the world’s best poker players in action. Don’t miss out!

October 17 (10.30am for noon) Thurgoona Country Club Resort, Albury, NSW

October 23 (11.30am for 1pm) Byron Bay Services Club, NSW

October 23 (10.30am for noon) The Furlan Club, Thornbury, Vic

October 23 (5pm for 6pm) Corrimal RSL, Wollongong, NSW

October 24 (11am for 1pm) Transcontinental Hotel, Brisbane, Qld

October 24 (1pm for 2pm) Orange Ex-Serviceman’s Club, Dubbo, NSW

October 30 (11am for 1pm) East Cessnock Bowling Club, NSW

October 31 (1pm for 2pm) Regency Tavern, Regency Park, SA

November 6 (3pm for 4pm) North Mackay Bowls Club, Qld

▲

APLPT Melbourne Autographs

APLPT Melbourne Autographs

1 3 - 3 0 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 1 C H A M P I O N S H I P S C H E D U L E

*Tournament terms and conditions apply. Entry to the casino is open to all persons 18 years and over. Entrants must be a Crown Signature Club member. Membership requires appropriate identification. Full terms and conditions awaiting approval by regulator. Please check on-line at www.crownpoker.com.au or at the Poker Desk, located on Level B2, Crown Entertainment Complex closer to tournament date for full terms and conditions.

Date Time E Tournament Cost (Buy in + Entry)

Thur 13 7:10pm 1 Opening Event - NLH Day 1 Flight 1

$1,100 (1,000+100)

Fri 14 10:15am Phase 1 Satellite $65 (50+15)

12:30pm Opening Event - NLH Day 1 Flight 2 (Repechage)

$1,100 (1,000+100)

6:15pm Phase 3 Supershot Satellite - Main Event

$1,150 (1,060+90)

10:15pm Phase 2 Satellite $250 (230+20)

Sat 15 10:15am Phase 1 Satellite $65 (50+15)

12:30pm Opening Event - NLH Day 1 Flight 3 (Re-Repechage)

$1,100 (1,000+100)



$1,150 (1,060+90)


Sun 16 10:15am Phase 1 Satellite $65 (50+15)

12:30pm Opening Event - NLH Day 2


4:15pm 2 PokerPro NLH Shootout $550 (500+50)


$1,150 (1,060+90)


Mon 17 10:15am Phase 1 Satellite $65 (50+15)

12:30pm 3 Pot Limit Omaha (2 Day Event) $1,100 (1,000+100)



$1,150 (1,060+90)


Tues 18 10:15am Phase 1 Satellite $65 (50+15)

12:30pm 4 NLH Shootout (2 Day event) $1,100 (1,000+100)


4.00pm Pot Limit Omaha Day 2


$1,150 (1,060+90)


Wed 19 10:15am Phase 1 Satellite $65 (50+15)

12:30pm 5 8 Game Mixed Event (2 Day Event)

$1,100 (1,000+100)


4.00pm NLH Shootout Day 2


$1,150 (1,060+90)


Thurs 20 10:15am Phase 1 Satellite $65 (50+15)

12:30pm 6 NLH - 6 Handed (2 Day Event) $1,100 (1,000+100)

4.00pm 8 Game Mixed Event Day 2


$1,150 (1,060+90)


Fri 21 10:15am Phase 1 Satellite $65 (50+15)

12:30pm 7 NLH - Rebuys (2 Day Event)

$1,150 (1,000+150)/ $1,000 Rebuys


4.00pm NLH - 6 Handed Day 2


$1,150 (1,060+90)


Date Time E Tournament Cost (Buy in + Entry)

Sat 22 10:15am Phase 2 Satellite $250 (230+20)


$1,150 (1,060+90)

2:15pm 8 $100,000 Challenge (2 Day Event)

$100,500 (100,000+500)

4.00pm No Limit Holdem - Rebuys Day 2



$1,150 (1,060+90)


Sun 23 10:15am Phase 2 Satellite $250 (230+20)

12:30pm 9 Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 1 Flight 1

$10,600 (10,000+600)

2:00pm $100,000 Challenge Day 2


4:15pm 10 NLH Teams Event $550 (500+50)


$1,150 (1,060+90)


Mon 24 10:15am Last Chance Phase 2 Satellite 1 $250 (230+20)

12:30pm Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 1 Flight 2

$10,600 (10,000+600)

2:15pm Last Chance Phase 2 Satellite 2 $250 (230+20)

4.00pm High Stakes Cash Game $200,000 Minimum

6:15pm Last Chance Supershot Satellite - Main Event

$1,150 (1,060+90)

Tues 25 12:30pm Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 1 Flight 3

$10,600 (10,000+600)

4.00pm High Stakes Cash Game $200,000 Minimum

4:15pm 11 NLH $550 (500+50)

Wed 26 12:30pm Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 2

12:45pm 12 Pot Limit Omaha $5,300 (5,000+300)

2:15pm 13 Australian Heads Up Championship - (32 Players Max)

$10,500 (10,000+500)

4:15pm 14 NLH $550 (500+50)

Thur 27 12:30pm Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 3

12:45pm 15 8 Game Mixed Event $10,500 (10,000+500)

4:15pm 16 NLH $550 (500+50)

Fri 28 12:30pm Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 4

12.45pm 17 NLH 6 handed $2,200 (2,000+200)

2:30pm Australian Heads Up Championship - Finals

4:15pm 18 NLH $550 (500+50)

Sat 29 12:30pm Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 5

12.45pm 19 Feature Event - NLH (Bounties) Day 1

$1,650 (1,500+150)

2:00pm NLH 6 Handed Day 2

Sun 30 12:45pm 20 Turbo NLH $1,100 (1,000+100)

2.00pm Feature Event - NLH (Bounties) Day 2

9.00pm Aussie Millions Farewell Party

E = Event = Televised

Documents

Shuffle Magazine - Issue 14