Speedyfold Poker Blog

Randy Lew (aka Nanonoko) has set a new world record in volume play in online poker. Although “set” is probably too broad a word in this case. More specifically we should perhaps say “created”, as this was a brand new record so he didnt actually have to beat anything!

What he did was play 23,493 hands over an 8 hour period. He was playing up to 40 tables at a time on Pokerstars. And he made a total profit of $7.65 whilst doing so. Not exactly a profit to set the world alight, but making a profit was in fact part of the volume play being considered a legitimate world record.

Officials from Guinness World Records were there to observe him doing it during the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure. And nanokoko, who is already very accustomed to multitabling many online poker cash tables, didn’t even take a toilet break. A sure sign of a true grinder!

I guess you could say the shit has hit the fan. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued an indictment against the 3 major poker sites that are operating in the US online poker market (Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker). Basically online poker for US players looks like it could be over for the time being, with the exception of a few smaller operators.

11 people were indicted, 2 from Stars, 2 from Full Tilt, 2 from Absolute Poker, 4 from payment processors, and 1 from a bank. Early indications suggest they are trying to get the payment processors and bank on money laundering and bank fraud, and the poker sites on running a gaming site that they allege is illegal in the US because of UIGEA.

If there’s enough dirt some of it may stick, and the sites may end up with quite a chunky fine. The bank and payment processors are probably screwed if there is enough evidence.

It’s unlikely that the DOJ would fair that well making a case off the back of the UIGEA legislation mainly because of the words “unlawful” and “gambling”. It could probably be argued by a team of lawyers/experts that poker is a skill game and not gambling. And it could probably be argued that the game of poker wasn’t unlawful in the first place, therefore not covered by UIGEA.

Perhaps a little dirt linking them a bit too close for comfort to the payment processors will be the DOJ’s main weapon of fear. But a gambling man (or a man keen on skill based wagers) would probably bet on a settlement being reached at some point later down the line. Pretty shitty for US players though. Tough break guys.

The SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) is taking place on Pokerstars in May. There are 38 events in total all taking place at 3 different buy-in levels (low, medium, and high). So whatever your budget you can take part in the events of the series. There is a total of $25 Million in guaranteed prizepools so it is certainly a good chance to take a shot at a decent payday. If you sign-up to Pokerstars you will get a deposit bonus of up to $600, matching your own deposit.

Here is the full Pokerstars SCOOP Schedule:

01 08-May 10:00 NL Hold’em (6-Max)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

02 08-May 14:00 NL Hold’em
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

03 09-May 11:00 NL Hold’em (6-Max, w/Rebuys)
Low: $5.50
Med: $55
High: $530

04 09-May 14:00 FL Badugi
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

05 09-May 17:00 NL Hold’em (Turbo, w/Rebuys)
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

06 10-May 11:00 PL 5-Card Draw
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

07 10-May 14:00 NL Hold’em (Heads-Up)
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

08 10-May 17:00 NL Hold’em (Turbo)
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

09 11-May 11:00 Mixed Hold’em (6-Max)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

10 11-May 14:00 7-Card Stud
Low: $33
Med: $320
High: $3,150

11 12-May 11:00 PL Omaha (Heads-Up)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

12 12-May 14:00 NL Holdem Knockout
Low: $27
Med: $265
High: $2,600

13 13-May 11:00 NL Hold’em (Ante Up)
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

14 13-May 14:00 FL Omaha Hi/Lo
Low: $55
Med: $530
High: $5,200

15 13-May 17:00 NL Hold’em (2X Chance, Turbo)
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

16 14-May 11:00 NL Holdem Shootout
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

17 14-May 14:00 PL Omaha - 6-Max w/Rebuys
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

18 14-May 17:00 Triple Stud (Turbo)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

19 15-May 10:00 NL Hold’em
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

20 15-May 14:00 NL Hold’em
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

21 16-May 11:00 Mixed NL Holdem / PL Omaha
Low: $16.50
Med: $162
High: $1,575

22 16-May 14:00 NL Hold’em (4-Max)
Low: $33
Med: $320
High: $3,150

23 16-May 17:00 PL Omaha (Turbo, 1R1A)
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

24 17-May 11:00 2-7 Triple Draw
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

25 17-May 14:00 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

26 17-May 17:00 NL Hold’em (Turbo)
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

27 18-May 11:00 Razz
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

28 18-May 14:00 NL Hold’em (Big Antes, w/Rebuys)
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

29 19-May 11:00 8-Game
Low: $33
Med: $320
High: $3,150

30 19-May 14:00 PL Omaha Hi/Lo
Low: $11
Med: $109
High: $1,050

31 20-May 11:00 NL Hold’em (1R1A)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

32 20-May 14:00 FL Hold’em (6-Max)
Low: $55
Med: $530
High: $5,200

33 20-May 17:00 NL Omaha Hi/Lo (10 min levels)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

34 21-May 11:00 PL Omaha (6-Max)
Low: $55
Med: $530
High: $5,200

35 21-May 12:30 NL Holdem High Roller (Heads-Up)
Low: $270
Med: $2,600
High: $25,500

36 21-May 14:00 HORSE
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

37 22-May 10:00 NL Hold’em (6-Max)
Low: $22
Med: $215
High: $2,100

38 22-May 14:00 NLHE Main Event
Low: $109
Med: $1,050
High: $10,300

Amazingly Vanessa Selbst has won the NAPT Mohegan Sun for the 2nd year in a row. The $5000 dollar event at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut attracted 387 entrants, and Selbst once again bested them all. This takes her to $4.29 million in career live tournament winnings. No one can question the girl’s ability, and she is certainly fast becoming a big player in the team of Pokerstars Pros.

1 Vanessa Selbst $450,000
2 Dan Shak $254,000
3 Tyler Kenney $170,000
4 Thomas Hoglund Jr. $120,000
5 Vincent Rubianes $90,000
6 Joe Tehan $70,000
7 Aaron Overton $50,000
8 Steve O’Dwyer $32,330
9 Corey Hochman $26,000

Pogo650 won the 60th Billionth hand prize on Pokerstars, taking down $102,090.   He was sat at a Limit Holdem table with $5/$10 stakes with just $233 when the big one hit. 

Pre-flop for some unknown reason DrPepel folded.  This despite big onscreen warnings that this was the 60th Billionth hand, and a long delay whilst the rail was filled with online spectators.  And a message by the host in the chat box saying “The winner of the hand will have their prize money doubled. On top of that, they will receive an extra $60,000″ {plus VPP related money from the last 50 hands}. “And you can’t win a hand by folding”.

The flop come down with 2h Ks 3h with 5 players still involved.    Turn was 6d and river the 9d.  At this point Pogo650 probably didnt think his Qh3c hand was much good, but it was and he scooped the $147 pot and more importantly the $100K prize.

Other players at the table:

MeisterHahn - got $11,040
Blue Baboon - got $21,045
Hedgehog87 - got $21,045
chezlaw - got $21,045
DrPepel - got $21,045 (yes he did get something at least, for being dealt in)

Pogo650 said afterwards “I’m possibly the biggest luckbox alive over the last week or so. Two losing sessions ended in milestone hands”

For what it’s worth DrPepel, the guy who folded, claimed he had 2-4, and therefore saved himself a few dollars, whilst potentially missing out on a hundred thousand.

They are doing similar milestone hands all the way to 100 Billion. Sign-up to Pokerstars to try to hit a milestone hand yourself.

February isnt even over yet and the race for the first player to reach Supernova Elite in 2011 on Pokerstars is well and truely on. Several players are up around 700,000 VPPs, with 1 million VPPs being the target to get the coveted stauts.

One person in the running, Isildur1 has been playing long sessions of heads-up 25/50 and also Heads-up $5600 SNGs. However despite this volume he is nonchalent or previously oblivious to the SNE race. Pretty sick to be one of the main contenders without really trying for it or not particularly caring. This is highlighted best by the following conversation at the table where azntracker is talking about given up on the race if Isildur1 plans to keep playing the volume he’s playing.

azntracker: Hey isildur, i was just wondering what your intentions are for VPPs
azntracker: Right now it’s me and you #1/#2
Isildur1: What
Isildur1: u mean 1 and 2
Isildur1: i got no intentions
azntracker: ah cool
Isildur1: why?
azntracker: ah, well ive been playing a ton to try get 1mm as soon as i can
Isildur1: how much u got now
azntracker: but your 5k HU will kill me if you keep going
azntracker: i got 623k now, u?
Isildur1: ok
Isildur1: little less than you i think
Isildur1: is there any prize?
azntracker: are you going to be grinding these as much as you have been?
azntracker: no prize
Isildur1: k, no idea
azntracker: if so, i’m gonna stop playing as much as i have been, save me misery haha
Isildur1: u play sng to?
Isildur1: lol
azntracker: yes, but i gotta play 30-40 table all high stakes
Isildur1: right now im playing pretty much
Isildur1: kk
azntracker: by the way, we played at the same PCA table, u busted med day 2 with QQ vs my ATs
azntracker: i had KK two times i 3bet you previously but u folded
Isildur1: ok:/
azntracker: yea you are playing sooo much now
azntracker: are you going to continue playing so much everyday, next week or 2?
Isildur1: yeah mb
Isildur1: what does it matter for u
azntracker: oh well i’d just like to know if i should keep killing myself to get 1mm vpp first
Isildur1: ok, i dont know sry
Isildur1: ilprolly play pretty much
azntracker: it’s just a personal goal of mine to get 1mm first, that’s all
Isildur1: ok well sry i plat theese 5k so much
Isildur1: gonna get some food
Isildur1: glgl
azntracker: good luck!

The mysterious Swedish player Isidur1 has joined Pokerstars as one of their official online pros. Isildur1 (widely thought to be Viktor Blom) first came to the world’s attention at the high stakes tables on Full Tilt. In some extreme Heads-up multi-tablling he took on all comers at all stakes. He managed to take $4 million of Tom Dwan’s money in the process, but then ended up losing that to Brian Hastings. A few short-lived comebacks never really fully materialised but with the intense coverage the online sensation received Pokerstars saw him no doubt as a great marketing opporunity. There are Superstar Showdown Challenges planned, and expect to see Isildur as a regular fixture at the high stakes tables on Pokerstars very soon.

RaiseOnce on Pokerstars won the $25K Highroller Heads-up WCOOP Event on Pokerstars last night. He’s also been seen playing very high stakes over the years at the cash tables on Stars. But who is RaiseOnce I hear you ask. Well I am here to say that it is 99% certain that RaiseOnce on PokerStars is the one and only Phil Ivey. Cue shocked expression.

The 7-part Evidence

1. Location: Las Vegas. Yes yes in isolation hardly evidence really. But lets continue…

2. RaiseOnce/Phil Ivey play very very few online tournaments. Only really the ultra high buy-in ones:

Pokerstars

9 tournaments. Buy-Ins:
$25,500 x 1
$10,300 x 4
$5,200 x 2
$1050 x 2
That’s an ABI of $8800

Full Tilt

16 tournaments. Buy-Ins:
$25,000 x 4
$2620 x 4
$2100 x 1
$1060 x 2
$535 x 3
$216 x 2
That’s an ABI of $7296

3. Language Similarities

otterkopf: gg
otterkopf: be back later
RaiseOnce: thx

harrington25: YOU ARE THE GREATEST TO EVER PLAY THE GAME
harrington25: LOVE THE 78 HAND
Phil Ivey: thx

Ziigmund: ok gl m8
Phil Ivey: thx u2

Phil Ivey: someone just transferreed me 6dollars
Phil Ivey: thx whoever that is

4. Cash Games

Plays all games, and plays them at a v.high standard at the highest levels. For example at 1000/2000 Limit HE, and 1000/2000 2-7 Triple Draw. The player pool of people doing that is very very small.

Here he is in action:

PokerStars Game #49923191501: Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit ($1000/$2000 USD) - 2010/09/20 18:46:40 ET
Table ‘Psyche III’ 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Wrasse ($32500 in chips)
Seat 5: oogee ($40460 in chips)
Seat 6: RaiseOnce ($45960 in chips)
Wrasse: posts small blind $500
oogee: posts big blind $1000
*** DEALING HANDS ***
RaiseOnce: raises $1000 to $2000
Wrasse: raises $1000 to $3000
oogee: folds
RaiseOnce: calls $1000
*** FIRST DRAW ***
Wrasse: discards 1 card
RaiseOnce: discards 2 cards
Wrasse: bets $1000
RaiseOnce: calls $1000
*** SECOND DRAW ***
Wrasse: discards 1 card
RaiseOnce: discards 2 cards
Wrasse: bets $2000
RaiseOnce: raises $2000 to $4000
Wrasse: calls $2000
*** THIRD DRAW ***
Wrasse: discards 1 card
RaiseOnce: stands pat
Wrasse: checks
RaiseOnce: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Wrasse: shows [8c 6d 5h 2c Jh] (Lo: J,8,6,5,2)
RaiseOnce: shows [3d 8s Ts 4h 2d] (Lo: T,8,4,3,2)
RaiseOnce collected $16998 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $17000 | Rake $2
Seat 1: Wrasse (small blind) showed [8c 6d 5h 2c Jh] and lost with Lo: J,8,6,5,2
Seat 5: oogee (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 6: RaiseOnce (button) showed [3d 8s Ts 4h 2d] and won ($16998) with Lo: T,8,4,3,2

5. Live Buy-ins via Pokerstars

RaiseOnce registered for the £20,000 High Roller London EPT event via Pokerstars. He also registered for the 25,000 Euros EPT High Roller Event in Monte Carlo via Pokerstars. The EPT is owned by Pokerstars so registering via them is the easiest way. Now these events had a very small number of entrants.

The Americans who played the London EPT Highroller:

Chris Moneymaker
Dennis Phillips
Greg Raymer
Vanessa Rousso
Steve O’Dwyer
Nicholas Schulman
Erik Sediel
Dan Shak
David Steicke
Vadim Trincher
Brian Powell
Joe Cada
Tom Dwan
Chris Ferguson
Matt Glantz
Barry Greenstein
Ashton Griffin
Phil Ivey
John Juanda
Harrison Kaczka
Eugene Katchalov
Bryn Kenney

As you can see many of those names have very well known Pokerstars IDs, particularly the PokerStars Pros. So if we actually remove those names we get:

Erik Seidel
Phil Ivey
Dan Shak
David Steicke
Vadim Trincher
Brian Powell
Chris Ferguson
Matt Glantz
John Juanda

If we then take off the players who didnt play the Monte Carlo EPT High Roller we get:

Phil Ivey
Chris Ferguson
Dan Shak
David Steicke
John Juanda
Erik Seidel

Then if you ask yourself who plays the highest stakes games on Full Tilt out of those you only really end up with:

Phil Ivey

6: Availability. Yes again hardly evidence (as in no.1) but building a full picture here.

Phil Ivey is currently in London but there is a bit of a gap in events. His had busted from events in progress and had a while to wait before the WSOPE 10K Heads-up and the WSOPE Main Event. A perfect time to have a crack at the $25K Heads-up WCOOP on Pokerstars.

7. Playing Style Similarities

RaiseOnce on Pokerstars has a very similar playing style to Phil Ivey on Full Tilt. And I dont just mean to the naked eye, but using a range of PT3 stats. The style/stats also arent very similar to any other high stakes players. Many of the stats are very close to or in the same orientation/magnitute as the Full Tilt account. For example his C-bet Percentage in limit holdem and the amount he calls from the BB when playing Heads-up games.

In conclusion, hello Phil

The Pokerstars Sunday Million nearly had an overlay last night. First time in like almost forever. I say almost because there were 7214 entrants, which means 7214 x$200 prizepool = $1,442,800. There is a $1.5 million guaranteed prizepool so it sort of looks like an $57,200 overlay, but then when you consider the rake of 7214 x $15 = $108,210 it wasnt really. Close, but not quite a cigar as you might say.

Danloulou won, taking down $215,555 after a chop with 2nd place player airic1400, who got $175,000

Congrats to the 1080 players who cashed and liberated Pokerstars of a little of the normal rake.

If you fancy giving the Sunday Million a go, and trying to emulate those 1000+ players, then join Pokerstars and get a deposit bonus up to $600

The long awaited Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) is now on the doorstep. There is a massive and very varied schedule of events, so it looks like it’s going to be a good one. The SCOOP series of events takes place on Pokerstars. Join Pokerstars to take part.

Each event is duplicated at 3 different buy-in levels to cater for all budgets. eg you can play the $22 event 1, the $215 event 1, or the $2100 event 1. Or all 3 if you feel that way inclined.