It is not easy to rattle Joe McKeehen. He sports a stoic reflection, talks in a monotonic voice, never too low or too high, and sees for those minute things.
It might be a raised eyebrow, an intercepting finger on the green poker table felt, or how fast someone would move their hands. The power to see what no one other people see has come through patience, practice and time.
Back on Tuesday at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas Penn & Teller theatre, the red-bearded, soft-spoken McKeehen saw through each one. La Salle High School as well as Arcadia University grad did something that none thought he could do when he got hold of World Series of Poker 2015 championship, collecting a hefty US$ 7.68 million in 1st place prize money. And, he won it sporting an Allen Iverson jersey.
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The 2015 Spring Championship of Online Poker or SCOOP is starting from Sunday on PokerStars and players from the all over the world are priming themselves to the online challenge.
The poker festival held annually is starting on 10 May and end on 24 May and the tournament will be divided into a total of 138 events or 46 event types, which will command low, medium and high buy-ins, while a juicy $40 million guarantee is dangling for the grab.
Three different event types will be featured in each of the 15-days, but the first day will feature four of them. The series will start at 8.00 AM ET on 10 May, and the SCOOP -01-L: $11 NL Hold’em will be waving a $75, 000 at players, while, SCOOP-01-M: $109 NL Hold’em will offer a guaranteed pool of $150,000. There will be a hefty $300,000 guarantee on offer to the SCOOP-01-H: $1,050 NL Hold’em event.
The poker series will offer to low-limit and high limit players and the buy-in accordingly will array from as low as $7.50 to a high of $21,000. A huge guaranteed prize pool is offered to each event. Most events are likely to be the no-limit Hold’em, but there are other poker variants that the PokerStars would be offering. These variants would include limit hold’em, H.O.R.S.E., pot-limit Omaha, 2-7 single draw, badugi and 8-game. (more…)
The World Series of Poker deserves ascription as the most significant tournament that has now gained momentum globally. The circuit tournaments have been a leeway for many determined players to climb up the ladder of success a notch up higher. Layne Flack is among the most excellent players who have showcased their skills at the WSOP where he has minted six bracelets. His name came to the fore of the poker industry as the “Back-to-Back Flack upon winning twin successive Legends of Poker tournaments in 1999. He went ahead to resuscitate the same accomplishments three years down the line in 2002 and 2003 tournaments. However, a close glimpse at his poker C.V reveals he has concentrated on the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour where he has won venerable accolades.
At the WSOP, his bracelets have come consecutively, beginning with the WSOP 1999 $3,000 PL hold’em that gave him a bracelet as well as $224,400. Later, he clinched twin bracelets in 2002, in the $2,000 NLHE along $303,880 and the $1,500 NLHE where he wrung out $268,020. The following year, he left no chances as he went ahead to clinch WSOP twin bracelets again in the $2,500 Omaha High-Low Split and the $1,500 PL Omaha with Rebuys for $120,000 and $577,725 respectively. (more…)
The rise of poker circuits with a global bent has enabled talented players to leverage their potential at high-stakes tournaments. David Benyamine is a French player whose eminence in the poker industry derives from his outstanding performance on home soil and abroad.
He is currently based in the poker hub, Las Vegas, Nevada. He has played widely in the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker events and also participates in online-based games. His resume is an impeccable piece for wannabe poker enthusiasts who are willing to start from scratch.
On the WPT, he has final tabled four times in open tournaments. In 2003 at the Grand Prix de Paris Season II where he placed first to rake in €357,200, later the following year he played at the L.A Poker Classic Season II emerging 6th for $132,355 and recently in the 2008 Bellagio Cup 4 Season VII where he was second for $840,295. At the 2010 World Poker Tour Championship Season VIII, he managed a fourth position to net $329,228. (more…)