Sep 27, 2015 | News
Once a renowned poker pro, Matt Smith has grown into one of the most notable Fantasy Sports Millionaires in the industry. The Floridian has since shaken off black Friday in order to find a new lucrative career in the name of playing daily fantasy sports.
There is no doubt that Matt Smith had an unforgettable summer during the World Series of Poker. During the event, he made two final tables and also ran deep into the main event at the time to be able to cash for a total in excess of $110000. The former online poker player who goes by the nickname, “SamENole” in total earned more than $500000 during live poker events and tournaments and another awesome $1.15 million by playing on the internet.
It is also worth noting that Smith is one of the most outstanding poker players of his generation. What is even scary though is the fact that he might just be a good daily fantasy sports player as well and even end up abandoning poker so as to take on Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) all in all.
A notable event about Smith that many people remember vividly is that last year, he made headlines when he significantly outlasted a field of more than 92400 entries on his way to winning the Draft Kings Millionaire Maker Contest. In the eventuality, he earned $1 million payday.
Since that time to date, Smith has solidified himself as one of the best Daily Fantasy Sports players in the industry today. Notably, he just came back from a VIP trip that incorporated a $12500 buy-in contest for the top 20 players, a night stay at a five star hotel and also a suite at the NFL first night game featuring New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers in Foxborough in Massachusetts. These goodies came along with a private jet trip to Miami Beach for a party at the Fontainebleu Hotel.
Recently, card player caught up with the main man himself and talked about his new lucrative career that is daily fantasy sports and why he prefers it over the poker he had been playing for quite a long period of time. Smith argues that it was for the love of the game that he decided to switch to fantasy sports. He goes on to reckon that he never knew that there was a lot of money that could be won at these kinds of websites.
For him, it just started as a hobby. He argues that after Black Friday, he was kind of scrambling around to try and figure out what he could do. In the end, he only managed to grind $2-$5 and $5-$10 at the Hard Rock playing daily fantasy sports on the sidelines. From there on, Smith started to win consistently and it more or less took over as his main job just like the case had been when he was playing poker with the pros.
Smith also reckons that there are lots of similarities that exist between poker and daily fantasy sports- a reason why he has had a knack and fast grip on DFS. One thing that is most outstanding though is that there is a lot of money that one can make and as he is playing fantasy sports, he is always reminded of his early day as a poker player when he used to win big.
On why many poker players are switching towards daily fantasy sports, Smith argues that is something that is quite hard to explain. Many poker players make good fantasy sports players and this might be the main driving force behind the switch. Again, managing a bankroll is an important skill to possess when playing fantasy sports. It happens that many poker players are richly equipped and skilled in that regard. The key is in knowing and being able to predict the statistics whereby the poker players are very well versed.
Sep 23, 2015 | News
Borgata Poker Open is one of the tournaments within the World Poker Tour (WPT) this year. It is being hosted in the state of New Jersey, a state where poker and other betting games are played in a very conducive environment. WPT, a series that is well within the US poker laws comes on the heels of the just completed World Series of Poker.
Many poker enthusiasts expect Borgata Poker Open to book a place in the poker record books this year. The World Poker Tournament held in Atlanta last year attracted entries to the tune of 2215 – of course that including those for the Borgata Winter Poker Open. And the preceding two years were even better as far as the number of entries was concerned. Borgata is a hotel casino that also has a spa and so poker lovers can enjoy some holidaying even as they enjoy the world class poker competition. The icing on the cake is that there is room for many people to spend their time enjoying online gambling from the same venue at The Borgata.
How does the hotel benefit from hosting the WPT?
For starters, all eyes are on the state of New Jersey for the days of the tournament and have been for the days just preceding it. Many poker fans want to spend a lot of their time at the hotel during the tournament, something that is a clear financial boost to all business aspects of The Borgata. After all, the New Jersey state laws do not prohibit visitors from other states from doing any betting or even engaging in online gambling right from New Jersey.
Of course, business is not just positively impacted at the hotel but also in surrounding areas of New Jersey. US poker laws do not generally interfere with the local laws in matters of gambling, and as long as the New Jersey state laws continue to be friendly to the poker fraternity, WPT at The Borgata is likely to continue attracting throngs of poker fans. According to Poker News, The Borgata has contributed $3.5 million to the tournament to reciprocate the generosity of the poker fraternity. To have an idea what the impact of that figure is to the tournament, all you need to do is equate that to 1,000 tournament entries, which is what it would have taken to consolidate this massive amount of money. The hotel’s operations’ Vice President, Joe Lupo, has expressed his jubilation at having The Borgata host the WPT another time.
The Line Up of the WPT Series in 2015
Gladly, US poker laws are lenient enough to accommodate a poker tournament of this magnitude, and whoever comes to play in the tournament in New Jersey is bound to experience the freedom of online gambling; online poker; and other betting games allowed by the state laws of New Jersey.
Already four tournaments in the WPT series have taken place since it began in May this year and six more are yet to take place, ending this December. The tournaments that have already taken place include The Canadian Spring Championship (WPT); WPT Amsterdam; WPT Choctaw; and Legends of Poker (WPT); while, of course, Borgata Poker Open is ongoing right now. Those that are yet to take place include WPT Maryland Live; Emperor’s Palace Poker; Bestbet Fall Series (WPT); WPT Montreal; WPT Prague; and Five Diamond Classic (WPT). And at the end of the World Poker Tour, the popularity of poker, both the online poker and that played physically within brick and mortar, will have soared to a new level.
Sep 22, 2015 | News
Recently, Mike McDonald, alias Timex almost skipped playing the WCOOP 51K USD Super High Roller, but rather opted to play and apparently he is now leading the pack of the last eight. Mike had decided against playing in the biggest buy-in tournament the world has ever witnessed but opted to go on with the game. To prove his instincts right, Timex, as he loves to be referred to in game of luck was atop the final eight players in the 2015 Poker Stars World Championships of Online poker 51K USD Super High Roller.
According to Mike McDonald, the issue of him registering late for the game was not an issue that was to be taking with lots of weight as such. Apparently, he argues that he does not feel good playing deep stack or even wanting to make an entrance sort of a thing. It was just that Mike McDonald had from the first day of the tournament thought that it was much tougher than he had actually experienced it. Ideally, Mike thought that it was going to be tough in the sense that most super high rollers were quite competitive in essence. However, this one was a tough one in the sense that he average player was quite good at it. Therefore, Mike saw quite a challenge and that is perhaps the reason why he was hesitant to register in the first case.
Mike McDonald said that in the last 30 to 45 minutes of registration, a number of several weaker players came to register as well as the chip were more towards the weaker in players in the poker field. Even in the event of these happenings, Mike argues that he had no idea how exactly he would fare in the field at the end. According to poker news, there was a time that Mike thought that he was quite confident not to play at all. However, things turned around suddenly and then he just decided to hop in and make the plunge.
The other notable players who were with McDonald in the last eight of the Super High Roller include Jose Angel Latorre, David Peters, Tollerence Holz, Nikita Bodyakovski and Cuffme. When the players will be returning to PokerStars on Monday noontime, the blinds would be set at 1000/2000 with a rather 250 ante and then the top 6 spots will play out. The mini-cash winning would be worth $126500 but there definitely are some two players who will at the end of it all being going home empty handed at the end of Day 2. The winner will subsequently get $851000 and as things stand currently, McDonald has just positioned himself rightly to take the title at the end of the event.
Notably, after Day 1 which attracted a total of 46 entries to the field, McDonald took some period of time to chat with poker news journalists about how he felt about the event and what exactly would be his prospects in the near future with regards to playing poker.
Some of the notable poker players that were bundled out at the end of Day 1 include Nick Petrangelo, Daniel Colman, Thomas Muehloecker, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, Dzmitry Urbanovich and Doug Polk. It is also advisable to stay tuned so as to get all the latest poker news with regards to Mike McDonald’s progress and that of the other poker players. By the end of the day on Monday, it is expected that some changes would be seen on the log but Mike McDonald is likely to retain his place at the apex. One of the notable players of his times, Mike is no doubt having a great time in this case. It is good to keep watching and staying updated so as to get the most ideal details in essence.
Sep 22, 2015 | News
During the opening event of the WSOP circuit stop at Palm Beach, November Niner, one Josh Beckley won a gold ring. Having attained the all deserved accolade of reaching the 2015 World Series of Poker November Nine back in the month of July 2015, Josh Beckley was ecstatic about this latest achievement. He talked like he was really geared at achieving a lot in the near future through poker and generally gambling in essence.
One thing about Josh Beckley that strikes many journalists and people that he interacts with more often is that he is soft-spoken. The man who hails from Marlton, New Jersey however argues that he tries as much as possible to let his play do the talking since that is what he draws most of his pride from. Just recently in Florida, the messages were on the wall. When Beckley became the winner during the opening gold ring event at the Palm Beach Kennel club stop, everyone knew that he had something special with regards to gambling.
Currently residing in the Sunshine State of West Palm Beach, Beckley initially entered the first $365 buy-in Monster Stack event and as a result became part of the 317-entry field which had generated a much revered $95100 prize pool. Of that amount, $22349 was actually to be awarded to the eventual winner of the tournament in essence. Those who keep tabs with the latest poker news can clearly understand why these types of events are so much favored among residents in Palm Beach county and other parts of the world. Once all was said and done, Beckley ended up emerging as the last man standing in order to earn the top prize and be able to score his first ever piece of WSOP jewelry. He led quite some notable names in the game such as Adam Ruen, Joshua Sperko, Bobby Hodson, Jonah Miller, Steven Sanzone and a number of others.
As much as the amount of money winnings he is getting have paled compared to the $1001020 he had already locked up by attaining or reaching the WSOP Main event finals table, Beckley clearly understands that success and confidence go hand in hand in the field of poker play. These are some of the main elements that will serve in moving the player towards the right direction so that he can attain even more success in future.
This recent achievement is with no doubt an ego boost for Beckley. He told the sports officials at WSOP that this win helps to make him even more confident when playing the game. It also sends a strong message to the other November Niners in the game that he has got all it takes to be able to win a tournament of this magnitude and therefore he is not the sort of a person that can simply be overlooked.
Indeed, the other members taking part in the WSOP main event have all reason to be wary of what Beckley can do. This is because, unlike the others, he was part of the first group that won the tournament in the interim. This implies that if the tournament goes on, they might end up achieving a lot more in the process. However, much as this is the case, Neil Blumenfield’s $25000 score from a deserved 29th place finish is notably the biggest cash win result that any November niner has been able to gain since the month of July.
The WSOP argues that Beckley started day 2 of the main event with a chip lead and the 17 players that were remaining. Rarely wavering, he was to land himself in the revered heads-up play against one Aric Pluskat with quite a significant chip lead. This is when Beckley won the round by winning all that was up for grabs. In order to keep on winning, Beckley has to come up with the most effective final table strategy for success. The money is different and people are also playing differently at that stage of the game and therefore Beckley needs to get his best foot forward.
Sep 21, 2015 | News
For the first time in history, PokerStars has opened the WCOOP Super High Roller which is a betting market for poker events. The World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) for the years 2015 on the Poker Stars is almost over with 32 of the required 72 events already over. Three others were scheduled to be completed by the end of the day on Thursday.
It is worth noting that this online poker festival began on the 6th of September and runs all through to the 27th of September. However, the schedule details are not too much of a concern to many poker lovers and especially those who are particularly interested in exciting poker news. The event features a combined $45 million in terms of guarantee prizes. Therefore, for the poker lovers out there who want to gamble and make some good money, this is the sort of an event that they ought to be attending at such a time.
Other than the WCOOP $5200 main event that should be taking place on the 27th of September, featuring an awesomely breathtaking $10 million prize pool, most of the players at these championships will with no doubt be having their eyes fixed to play or watch the upcoming WCOOP $51000 Super High Roller that comes with a $1 million guarantee prize pool later on the 20th of September.
Again, to add to this sort of excitement, for the first time in history, PokerStars will allow its players to bet on the eventual outcome of an online poker event that will be decided by the event organizers.
The players who will be taking part in this event will most definitely find the betting market for the event within their PokerStars software client by basically heading to the Sports tab and then choosing Poker as the sport. Currently, the options that one can bet on is for whoever PokerStars players think would be the eventual winner of the event and the other parties that would be finishing in the top three.
In the current setup, the favorites are the sort of players that most evidently do not need any introduction whatsoever. For those who have been following poker news and other elements that are related to the game of gambling, these are players who always take the headlines when events like these ones come into the picture. Some of these players are Jason Mercier, Chris Moorman and Daniel Negreanu. These three players are listed at odds of 13.00 or 12.00 to 1. Those who wish to make bets on these players can do so at one quarter of those listed odds and see if they will eventually finish the event in the top three.
There is no doubt that PokerStars is excited about this current aspect of the opening of its betting market for the WCOOP Super High Roller. According to Stephen Risk, the managing director of sports betting at PokerStars, the company is excited to offer its customers the valuable opportunity to bet on online tournaments for this first time and therefore the Super High Roller event is seen as the most ideal event to get started in this new venture.
Moreover, the Super High Roller event is currently the most talked about online tournament today. With the added aspect of having to bet it, things are much sweeter and more appealing both to the fans and the players. Fans from around the world can rally behind their favorite player and win money if their bets are right at the penultimate end of the event. However, the betting market for this particular event remains closed until the start of the main event on the 20th of September. It is good to bet wisely so as to maximize the chances of winning some good money.
Sep 21, 2015 | News
Two of the best online poker tournament players in the United Kingdom secured their largest ever monies this week. This occurred during the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). Just last weekend, the Sunday Million got the WCOOP treatment thereby implying that its buy-in gained a boost from the initial $215 to $700. Rather than reducing the field size on the other hand, the opposite happened as a result and thus 3418 players turned out for the event. This created a prize pool of approximately $2,272,970 in the process.
Among the participants who finished within the top 432 places and got prize money for their initial $700 investment included Christopher Brammer, Talal Shakerchi, Charlie Combes, Phil Mighall, Marcin Milde and Keith Johnson. The latter was the first casualty in the final table with a finish that was worth $18,183.76.
Whereas most of the performances during the recent event were awesome in their own individual right according to poker news, a considerable number of them paled into utter insignificance when compared to the performance on one Andy Taylor. Taylor went all the way and ended up winning the tournament. He achieved that feat by scooping a colossal $273, 850.02 in terms of cash after a four-handed deal had gone through.
Just before this massive score, his biggest cash came in the year 2012 at the time when he was the runner up in the PokerStars Sunday Re-buy for $39380. Now three years later, he was able to finish second in the same tournament for a winning amount of $36,126 but now he can go around bragging about winning considering that he won more than a quarter million dollars in one sitting. This is all thanks to the superb victory registered.
Taylor’s fellow, one Billy Chattaway on the other hand had already bagged a six-figure score to his name. This is all thanks to him taking down the $1050 NL Hold’em 3-stack event during the 2015 Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP). This result meant that Chattaway had netted the popular pro $111, 132. Now, he knows very well that he has a cash of more than double that amount and it is $263,500 just to be exact. This comes after finishing fourth in the $10300 eight-max high roller during the 2015 WCOOP.
Apparently, it seemed like Chattaway intended to finish a hat trick of these COOP titles as he also bagged a Turbo Championship of Online Poker (TCOOP) even of 2015. It is quite obvious that the cash that was awarded for this WCOOP run will help in softening the blow of failing short in most of his attempts in previous times.
It is also important to take note of another player by the name Z-Energies. He also joined up with the six-figure club by being a part of the four way deal during the same WCOOP championships of the Sunday warm-up. The deal in essence secured a much needed $118, 582.92 score for a player who already had the Union Jack to his name. The Union jack had paid over $17000 more than the third place would have managed had the negotiations not have been fruitful in the first case.
There are a myriad of opportunities for being able to bank life changing scores in these types of poker events or championships as noted in most of the latest poker news. Apparently, news has it that three tournaments have already been paused and thus has to wait for Day 2 in order to be able to commence. The $215 R1A PL 5-Card Omaha is one of the main events that have been moved to the second day. Therefore, players and fans can expect some great fun during the upcoming event days so as to know how it all happens. It is good to wish the very best to the players who will be taking part in the championship.
