There have only been two instances that poker has made the headlines in the Australian media. The first was in 2005 when Melbourne's Joe Hachem won the WSOP main event. Poker returned to page one of newspapers across the country in December last year when a quietly spoken schoolteacher won a life-changing AUD $1 million.

The story of Grant Levy not only provided poker with a long overdue moment in the spotlight in this part of the world, it established the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final as a major regional poker event.
It’s only fitting that such a prestigious event, which returns from December 2-7, should find a home in the largest city of a country; a city that thrives on sport and competition.

Appropriately, Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem – a man celebrated on the same level as Australia’s great sporting champions in his homeland – leads the list of entrants along with fellow Team PokerStars Pros Chris Moneymaker, Vanessa Rousso, Chad Brown, Lee Nelson, Raymond Rahme and Gavin Griffin. The APPT is also thrilled to welcome newly crowned 2008 WSOP main event winner Peter Eastgate to Sydney.

The line-up will also feature many PokerStars Sponsored players including APPT season two winners Eddy Sabat, Daniel Craker, Yoshihiro Tasaka and Van Marcus, plus Singapore duo Bryan Huang and Ivan Tan. Tony Hachem, Emad Tahtouh, Eric Assadourian, Celina Lin and last year’s winner Grant Levy will proudly represent the host nation.

The rest of the world got a taste of Sydney’s unique hospitality in 2000 when the harbour city hosted the Olympic Games. Sports-mad Aussies also love to play poker making Sydney the ideal host city for the APPT Grand Final.

Held at Star City Casino on the shores of Darling Harbour, this tournament is not tucked away in a private gaming room. It’s played on the casino floor, in full view of a poker-loving public and with a backdrop of one of Australia’s most recognisable icons – the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The impact of last year’s APPT Grand Final is easy to overlook. Remember, this was the first major poker tournament ever played at Star City; the first major poker tournament ever played in Sydney and the first season of the APPT.

Regardless, massive support from Star City regulars, players around the country, combined with hundreds of PokerStars online qualifiers created a field of 561 players and a massive prize pool of AUD $3.336 million.

But the big story was the AUD $1 million first prize, which became an even bigger story when Levy became the first Australian to win a seven-figure tournament prize in Australia. Levy led a stunning result for the host nation, with 10 of the top 20 players representing Australia, plus the top female finisher (Suzy Khouiss in 23rd).

Players have been flying into Sydney from the four corners of the world over the past week for this year’s AUD $6300 buy-in main event.

Other highlights of the coming days include the invitation-only APPT Tournament of Champions. Featuring APPT season two winners and a selection of Team PokerStars Pros, this event offers a $50,000 prize, to be donated to the winner’s charity of choice.

A popular addition to other APPT events has been a big buy-in High Rollers event. Logically, a $15,300 High Roller event will be played in Sydney on the penultimate day of the main event. Play in the APPT Grand Final is schedule to start at 12.30pm tomorrow with the first of three day 1 flights.

PokerXFactr was cruising along towards today’s Battle of the Planets $50,000 Triple Shootout final table as he was the first to get the second leg of the shootout heads-up. But, GB2005 had other ideas as flipped a 3:1 deficit into a victory over PokerXFactr and became the fourth person to claim a seat for a shot at the $12,500 first prize. Today’s contest brought out 506 Sit and Go kings and queens to the tables as everyone who won their first leg won $195.00, and the final tablists are assured $775.00, no matter if they qualified through the high rolling Jupiter division or the dollar stakes in the Mercury division.

BrandonB11 was the first to claim his seat and could have afforded a sizable snooze until the final table of nine was decided. Betgo, who took runner-up in last year’s Event #13 of the WCOOP (final table report here) for $64,473.50, nearly made another final table tonight finishing 12th. Juice It Up and eagle_ke both fell as the co-bubble boys as TwistedEcho out kicked Juice It Up when both got it in after flopping top pair and young_jedi76 flopped trip deuces with A2o versus the 8c-9c for eagle_ke that never caught up.

Here’s how the celestial champions lined up tonight:

Seat 1: quaid745
Seat 2: zelotalot
Seat 3: young_jedi76
Seat 4: TwistedEcho
Seat 5: BrandonB11
Seat 6: Ennessem
Seat 7: Mortenlan
Seat 8: GB2005
Seat 9: dreamgirl3

BrandonB11 got caught in a mosh of a hand when Mortenlan min raised UTG with the blinds at the starting 10/20, found a call from GB2005 to his left, zelotalot went along for the ride in middle position. Folded to BrandonB11 in the small blind who made it 200 to go. Mortenlan abandoned his 40 chips but GB2005 3-bet for his remaining 1,470 chips. After a short discussion with his cards, BrandonB11 made the call with a suited big slick (Ad-Kd) only to find himself facing the pocket rockets of GB2005. The flop did not bring any flush outs when 4c-Qh-Ks came down but did present two outs for trip kings. No suckout tonight for BrandonB11, as the Qs and 4h came on the turn and river to leave him with 160 chips. Two hands later Ennessem acquired those 160 chips in a big ace versus smaller ace battle and $775.00 for ninth place was shipped to the SilverStar BrandonB11 as he was first in, first out.

After BrandonB11’s demise, the action quelled for a bit with the large stacks to the blinds ratio, twenty hands later the only all-in found was Ennessem and quaid745 getting all of their chips into the middle preflop with big slick to split the pot. Add on another twenty hands and the table still resembled the same chip stacks as the previous twenty, GB2005 still holding a double stack, zelotalot acquired a double stack (3,000 chips) through steals and the rest of the table holding steady with stacks around 1,000 to 1,500 as the blinds moved up to 50/100.

Needing a 989 to 1 shot isn’t the most fun to exit a tournament but Mortenlan found himself in that predicament after shoving all-in for his remaining 833 chips UTG+2 with Js-Ts and blinds still at 50/100. The table folded around to TwistedEcho who made the call in the big blind while leaving about 1,500 in chips behind showing Ad-Qc. The flop came down a near perfect Qd-Ac-As for Twisted Echo and left Mortenlan gasping for the Ks and Qs for the runner-runner Royal Flush. Alas, the 5s and 4c came instead and SuperNova Mortenlan found $1,200.00 in eighth place.

Eight hands later, short-stacked quaid745 found himself looking for chips in all the right places, as he called the all-in of dreamgirl3 who had his 1,060 chips covered, with Ad-Qd. dreamgirl3 flipped over Kh-Th which promptly paired up on the flop of 6h-6c-Ts. The Jc turn opened up a few more outs, but the 3s sent quaid745 home with $1,700.00 in seventh place. This woke up young_jedi76 who pushed the next hand with his remaining 605 chips and doubled up off GB2005, and doubled again the next hand against dreamgirl3 who’s pocket jacks could not hold down the Ad-Ts of young_jedi76 when he flopped top two and improved to a boat by the turn.

At the break here’s how the chips stacked up:

zelotalot (2540 in chips)
young_jedi76 (1750 in chips)
TwistedEcho (2943 in chips)
Ennessem (1175 in chips)
GB2005 (3090 in chips)
dreamgirl3 (2002 in chips)

First hand after the break GB2005 found a pair of aces in his lap and raised them up to 400 from the cutoff with the blinds still at 75/150. Normally dreamgirl3’s AQo is a decent re-steal hand as she pushed her hammer-rific 2,227 chips into the middle from the button but GB2005 made the easy call and after the 4d-Tc-2c-6s-Ks provided the excitement of a 2 a.m.infomercial, the 4,679 chip pot went to GB2005. dreamgirl3 will rest easier with the $2,200.00 PokerStars just added to her account for sixth place.

Five hands later Ennessem found himself getting very short with only 875 chips and sitting on the button with Kh-Qh. An easy push with the blinds increasing the very next hand to 100/200, but it was GB2005 finding a calling hand as he pushed from the small blind with pocket sevens (7d-7s). A flopped set for GB2005 on the Td-7h-5c left Ennessem gasping for a runner-runner straight or flush, neither came as he was drawing dead by the 2s on the turn. $2,735.00 newly minted dollars will be finding their way to Ennessem account after his fifth place finish.

zelotalot couldn’t find much to play since his high water mark at the previous break, with only 1,190 left he made a stand with two face cards (Qc-Js) but TwistedEcho was waiting in the small blind with Ad-9c and made the call for the coin flip. The Kh-2c-9h did not change the pre-flop advantage but did open up some straight outs for zelotalot. No ten, queen, or jack came on the turn nor river as the Kd and 7s came down instead and zelotalot travelled back to Wellington with an extra $3,350.00 in fourth place.

SWIPER NO SWIPING! young_jedi76’s sly fox tried to take TwistedEcho’s chips on the very next hand and succeed as he doubled through TwistedEcho when TwistedEcho’s flopped two pair (Ks-Tc) found a cooler on the board of 4s-Th-Kh-3s-8h. young_jedi76 pushed his remaining 1,575 chips on the river and flipped over Ah-2h for the nut flush and took the 5,350 chip pot when TwistedEcho made the call. With only 1,533 chips remaining and in the small blind, TwistedEcho pushed preflop with Qs-8h and GB2005 made the call in the big blind leaving 4,884 behind with Ac-9d. A gutshot straight draw on the 6s-Jh-Th flop added some outs, but this was not TwistedEcho’s night as the 6d and 2h on the turn and river sent him home in third place. The tournament leader board regular added another $4,500.00 to his bankroll.

Heads-up play started with a bang as young_jedi76 doubled through GB2005 when both players flopped two pair on the Tc-8s-3h-Qs-Kh board but young_jedi76’s Th-8h bested GB2005’s 8d-3d and Swiper err... young_jedi76 took a 10,700 to 2,800 lead. Five hands later, it was GB2005’s turn to connect as he won a preflop race with Kc-Qs versus the Ac-Jc of young_jedi76 for a 7,300 chip pot and took a small lead as the blinds moved up to 125/250 ante 25.

GB2005’s persistence shown from making the final table paid off again. He managed to wait out Dora the Explorer’s nemesis when the blinds hit 200/400 ante 50 and both players pushed all-in preflop while GB2005 left 4,980 behind and showed:

GB2005 Ac-Qc
young_jedi76 Ks-Qs

The big preflop advantage held up over the board of 3s-4c-7h-Jd-6c shipping the remaining 8,520 chips to GB2005 with his high card ace. For the runner-up, Supernova young_jedi76 snagged $7,000.00 to run away from Boots and Dora’s pleas to stop swiping their blinds. As for our new monthly Battle of the Planets Champion, GB2005 took home the full $12,500.00 with his victory!

Final table results below:

November Battle of the Planets 11-30-08
1. GB2005 $12,500.00
2. young_jedi76 $7,000.00
3. TwistedEcho $4,500.00
4. zelotalot $3,350.00
5. Ennessem $2,735.00
6. dreamgirl3 $2,200.00
7. quaid745 $1,700.00
8. Mortenlan $1,200.00
9. BrandonB11 $775.00

It has been a busy few days for those competing in the national team finals today. Though it may have started with a freeroll and a good time, those who persevered and made it through to today’s tournaments worked hard enough for today’s opportunity. And each of those players took to the felt for another tough round today, each tournament boasting of 18 players.

But today’s national team finals were a big step in this winding World Cup of Poker staircase. Placing first or second in today’s tournament qualified those two players to go on to the Divisional Playoffs next Sunday, which is set to determine the nine teams who will travel to the Bahamas in January of 2009 to compete for the world title.

At 10:00am ET, several tournaments got underway - Argentina, Brazil, Israel, Peru, and Uruguay. More than an hour into the action, only Israel had reached its final table of nine players. Though shlomit1 from Tel-Aviv was in the lead with just over 5,000 in chips, none of the other players were extremely short-stacked, and the table remained nine-handed for quite awhile.

As those five countries battled it out, the United States, Canada, and Guatemala tables began rolling at 11:00am ET. The latter was taking its time reaching the final table, but as the second hour of play began, Canada reached its final nine players as the spots on the national team came into view.

The chip lead was exchanged numerous times, and without a runaway leader, it was still anyone’s game.

Meanwhile, the United States found its final table when two of the shorter stacks tangled. DBoo1951 had only 780 chips left going into the hand and pushed all-in with pocket eights. MR BigRed 66 had enough chips to cover and moved all-in to isolate with pocket queens. It worked, and the two saw the flop come 7s-Qh-9d, which gave MR BigRed 66 an even bigger lead in the hand. The turn and river came 2h and 3d, respectively, and it was all over for DBoo1951 on the final table bubble. The final nine then gathered on one table that looked like this:

It was ba-detroit and wanagi wi who had the massive stacks at the table, and with a quick exit from short-stacked Dosson08, lamBP was the next to go after a valiant effort with very few chips. By the time moontastic was eliminated in seventh place, ba-detroit had taken a significant lead with over 12,000 in chips. wanagi wi still held on to second place with nearly 8,000, while the rest of the players did their best to climb.

Over at the first tables to start the day, Uruguay was the last one running, with CROSA COLL, magallin16 and estefano17 in a tight race to eliminate one more player and establish the two who would represent Uruguay in the finals. But the other four had been decided as follows:

Argentina - Nikks_07 and poro14
Brazil - arielbh and kinhomd
Israel - cutio and EMINEM_T
Peru - ficofico75 and MARWEST

The Uruguay players traded chips back and forth during three-handed action, as estefano17 doubled, then magallin16 doubled, CROSA COLL took a massive pot from magallin16, and so forth. Not one of them was willing to stop fighting for the coveted spot on the Uruguay national team, so it continued until estefano17 finally crippled magallin16. magallin16 did take that ultra-short stack of less then 300 chips into a double-up situation but was crushed on the next hand by CROSA COLL. When the smoke cleared, the two finalists were:

Uruguay - estefano17 and CROSA COLL

Back at the U.S. and Canada tables, both were five-handed as the two-hour mark approached. The big news at the United States table was that former second-in-chips player wanagi wi had taken a fall and suddenly took up residence as the short stack. Those last chips finally went into the pot with Jc-7h from the big blind, and ba-detroit and stellaz checked as the 7c-Ah-As came on the river. The 5h on the turn prompted a bet from ba-detroit and fold from stellaz. ba-detroit showed Ac-2h for the flopped set, and the 4s solidified the result as wanagi wi was eliminated in fifth.

The U.S. table played on as stellaz was knocked out in fourth, and with one more to go before the two finalists were named, it was MR BigRed 66 at risk with the least amount of chips. With a pair of eights, MR BigRed 66 pushed all-in, and J@M0K3Y! called with Ad-Js. The board came Th-9h-Jc-5h-Kd, and the pair of jacks won it. MR BigRed 66 was the bubble player, and the final result of the table was:

United States - J@M0K3Y! and ba-detroit

The Canadians finally got to three-handed action with the eliminations of JENN1973 in fifth and barneyyenrab in fourth. Going into the final three, boodaluver had some work to do with less than 3,000 in chips and tried to get something going with the ultimate hand - pocket aces. boodaluver played it slow by making a simple raise preflop, which was called by the other two players. After the 4d-7h-Jc flop, boodaluver pushed his last 1,643 all-in, and SEWB was the only caller. SEWB showed 6d-3d for the straight draw, and the turn and river of Ad and Td gave him the runner-runner flush. boodaluver lost with trip aces and took third place, making way for the results to be announced:

Canada - SEWB and johncrack

Still playing in its third hour was the Guatemala table and in its second hour was Venezuela. Newly begun tournaments were running for Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Eventually, the following results could be noted:

Guatemala - tortumen and ratsed
Venezuela - RCSGOLD and pokerfrank76

Mexico took less than two hours to determine its winners, and not long after, the rest of the running tournaments were completed with the following victors:

Mexico - AntoineMex and Kingeorge63
Chile - wuaren2 and capdevila
Columbia - diegovergara and migelco
Costa Rica - TIJO and armandotje95

With hours before the start of the New Zealand final table, a little longer for the Australians, and more than a few hours for China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, and Taiwan, this blog post will wrap up. The final results from these tournaments and a complete national team finals summary will be posted tomorrow. Between now and then, visit the World Cup of Poker V page for more information about the series.

Time zones are a funny thing. Maybe not exactly funny, but they make for an interesting tabulation of the national team finals. As we await the start of the United States and Canada national qualifiers, we can report that 34 tournaments have already concluded.

Truth be told, there are five tournaments in process as this is being written - Argentina, Brazil, Israel, Peru, and Uruguay - and numerous others conducting the registration process. And others like China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, and Taiwan won’t begin for many more hours. It is difficult to coordinate the entire world of poker players into one day of qualifier tournaments.

Speaking of coordinating, PokerStars is in the process of coordinating everyone for the Divisional Playoffs next weekend. Every country represented in this World Cup of Poker V must have its team prepared to join the others in the battle of battles on December 7th to determine if they will go to the live finals. That will be the much-anticipated point at which nine countries will meet in the Bahamas - you know, that place with the sun, beaches, and amazing ocean scenery - to play for the World Cup title.

That’s what this is all about. Today’s winners - two from each country - will solidify their places on their national team in the Divisional Playoffs next weekend with one goal in mind: Take it to the finals.

With that said, here is a look at the winners from each of 34 nations who took their freeroll opportunities and parlayed them into seats on their national teams:

Russia - DimaBat and Advens
Armenia - 57333 and mayrig
Belarus - SnakeSpirit and Elfialt
Bulgaria - beginner138 and vilito2527
Estonia - Kordumatu and Gusto_Frutta
Finland - BlizzardofAA and xharpoon
Greece - sfaktis and peris31
Latvia - missjazz83 and BuTuT?
Lebanon - Tabchi and HABACH
Lithuania - cernius and dlighted1
Romania - starsmoess and dsl1648
Turkey - bylchucky and jaji_ea
Ukraine - EDVARD KING and UUUm
Austria - Karlotius and cincinna-kid
Belgium - junglestar1 and missEcreviss
Czech - hopgart and Lukash_D
Denmark - simmovich and kennethan
France - Sebio94100 and teren13
Germany - Mados4k and SmArTdOg1970
Hungary - lepkeke and cooky962
Ireland - ellens and Diamondgeeza
Italy - billiko and gvilla2
Netherlands - Donkey_C and Daanfold
Norway - dancealot and ToneLA111
Poland - BartekPL and morderbest
Slovakia - wfox007 and LooserSR
Slovenia - Damc_MB and skunkmasta
South Africa - legrang and dhl39
Spain - brsariego and Rompe1946
Sweden - Nitram_10 and AJES74
Switzerland - 88778877 and RichieRichZH
Portugal - filpebap and Poeira4
United Kingdom - Purr Of Aces and N!GTMAR3
Iceland - eatyourstac and eiki9

Quite an impressive group of countries, right? Congratulations to all of the above-named winners!

There are more to come, as tournaments are playing at this moment to determine more playoff participants. Stay tuned today for more results of the national team finals today. And visit the World Cup of Poker V page for more information.

We are less than 48 hours from determining what the full slate of national World Cup of Poker V teams will look like.

Sunday, November 20, marks the last chance for people around the world to secure their spot on their country's team for poker's World Cup. All day tomorrow, national finals from Argentina to Taiwan will play out.

In advance of tomorrow's national finals, PokerStars is still determining who will be fighting it out in the national competition. Round 1 qualifier for the national finals have been running over the past few days.If you're still looking for a chance to play for your country, check out the schedule of national qualifiers on this schedule..

Sunday's national finals are the last of the preliminary action. A week from tomorrow, we will find out which of the world's teams will make to the nine-team live finals in the Bahamas during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Check out the EVENTS -> WCP -> NATIONAL FINALS tabs in your PokerStars lobby to watch tomorrow's action, or check back here Sunday night for a recap of the day.

For a full explanation of how the next week will play out, see the PokerStars World Cup of Poker V page.

Need some extra money for the holidays?

Been thinking about making your first deposit on PokerStars?

Now's your chance to do both.

PokerStars has just announced a series of first depositor freeroll tournaments. Over the next few weeks, PokerStars will be giving away $75,000 in prize money to people who make their first deposit.

Starting December 8, players will see five $500 first depositor freerolls per day until December 27. Anyone who makes the money in one of those events will be get a ticket to one of the five $5,000 freerolls at the end of the month on December 28.

For full details on the bonus code and a schedule of the first depositor freerolls, check out the first depositor freeroll page at PokerStars.com.

by Adam "STUDstood" Roberts

This week, I would like to cover the concept of game persona, both on and off the table.

When at the poker table, your game persona refers to how the other players feel about you, both personally and with regard to your playing ability. While this may include an assessment of your skills, many times it will also be affected by the aura you are giving off, intentionally or not. Some people, both in life and in poker, give off a certain type of energy which makes others form an immediate opinion about them. It’s important to be aware of your opponents and the persona they give off, and it’s equally important to be aware of the persona you are giving off to your opponents. To some extent, you can control your own persona, and how your opponents react to you.

This may work in your favor, or not. Poker is often a game of perception vs. reality, so you can find ways to make your persona work to your advantage. In my opinion, it is always prudent to make it look like you are "live,” always willing to give action, even if you play poker very well. That way, you get more action.

When I say “play poker very well”, I do not necessarily mean “very tight.” Tight play may limit your losses and make you an overall winning player, but it is the players who know how to play the most hands, with the highest skill, who are the biggest winners and the most dangerous players. These are the players who are
most able to take their opponents out of their “comfort zone.”

Sometimes they intentionally play this way in a certain situation, in order to confuse their opponents, but not always. Sometimes it is just their overall table persona. If you are able to pull this off, to give off a persona of an action player while playing solid, it can be extremely profitable.

This play can best be done by knowing the math and probability of each hand (which include real odds, pot odds, and implied odds), as well as being able to read your opponents’ cards and style, to anticipate what he/she will do either on his/her own or based on what your move is.

Over the years, I have seen many players (usually younger ones) attempt this style of play without actually understanding all the factors -- probability, statistics, and human concepts -- which must enter this equation. These players will inevitably fail. Sure, they might have had some short term success, which looks spectacular, but in the end, the math must catch up with them. Even if you do everything else correctly, on and off the table (i.e., bankroll and life management, which we’ve covered in previous blogs), if you do not play your cards optimally enough, often enough, eventually you must lose.

The biggest talents in poker are the players who understand all of these concepts but make their opponents feel that they don’t. They make their foes want to play against them because they look “live.” Some players are able to project the opposite image, of a powerful opponent, and make their opponents want to try and beat them, to say they beat “the best.” Many World Champions report that their opponents will take shots at them; they play badly in order to try to win a pot and have a story to tell. Tough opponents can also cause opponents to play poorly simply out of fear.

I have had the good fortune of having some great teachers during my poker career, especially when I was just getting started. One of them was a man named Danny Robison. For many years, Danny was considered the best Stud poker player in the world, and he revolutionized the wild style of play. Although it looked like he made a lot of “mistakes” , Danny’s play was head and shoulders above other excellent players.
Danny used a seemingly reckless style of play to earn a lot of money playing Stud, but he added an additional tool to his arsenal – “the gift of gab,” both during and between hands. He had an innate gift. Because of it, Danny could have been the consummate salesman or even CEO of a big corporation, had he not gotten into poker. But Danny used his gifts to help increase his poker earn, by getting his opponents to act in ways that increased his profit.

Danny could say things that would elicit a hug, whereas I could utter the same exact words and get punched in the face! He made his opponents happy to lose their money. This is a talent that cannot be learned; it’s a gift. I have seen people try it… and get punched in the face.

What I am getting at is that in addition to understanding and studying actual mathematics, statistics, and probability, there are other aspects to table behavior and demeanor which may enable you to help increase your poker earn. But you should also understand that attempting some of this behavior, if you don’t have the right skill set, may be costly to you in many different ways.

First, there is the money. Your swings will be larger playing a “fast and loose” style. Your decisions have to be “right” much more frequently when you play this way. Plus, when you are wrong in a decision, you tend to look bad, which emboldens your opponents. That may work against you, compounding your losses when you are “running bad.” It may also embarrass you. Can you handle that?

When I give private lessons, sometimes I have taught students some more “advanced” concepts, which they loved and wanted to apply them immediately. Knowing these concepts is good, but applying them correctly is very difficult. Inevitably, they try them in the wrong situations. Or even when they recognize the right situations, they do not have the “heart” to incorporate them into their arsenal.

I remember when I proudly told Danny that I was ready to “play like him.” He put his arm on my shoulder and said “Son, I am sorry to hear that.” When I asked him why, he replied that the only two people who ever told him that either committed suicide or were in a mental institution. I did my research and found that to be true!

Luckily, neither has happened to me… yet.

What I am getting at here is that there are many different ways to be successful, both in life and poker. I have seen equally great players use different styles in certain hands, and make them all work. You need to find what works for you. Don’t try to be someone you are not. Study the math, probability, and statistics. Study your opponents. Pay attention to everything around you in the poker room, on and off the table. Try things out, carefully, and build up your skills and courage. Find the “game persona” that works for you, maximizing your earn. Keep your opponents guessing.

Next week we will continue on this subject, and delve into concepts such as game preparation, avoiding distractions on and off the poker table, etc.

In the meantime, you can find me in the $10/$20 and $30/$60 limit games in our Stud section, as well as in our weekly $215 buy-in tournaments. Please check the starting times of each of those events for your geographic area under Tourney > Special in the PokerStars lobby.

Feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions or thoughts at adamr@pokerstars.com. See you at the tables!

The PokerStars World Cup of Poker v is getting down to both the nitty and gritty. You know it's getting tight when nearly 1,000 players from the U.S. show up on a national holiday to fight for their spot on their country's World Cup of Poker Team.

As Thanksgiving meals digested from coast to coast, 938 Americans battled it out for one of the first nine spots in Sunday's national final. Only nine of Thursday's competitors would make it to Sunday's event. These are the people who did it.

LVJai-alai
Smooth409
DBoo1951
ba-detroit
IamBP
6 Satyr 9
Dosson08
ansis27
ExoticCurse

Tomorrow, the U.S. will run one more Round 1 qualifier to Sunday's event at 14:00 ET.Then, the top nine players from both Round 1 events will play down to the final four who will qualify for positions on the U.S. national team.

Keep your eye here for coverage this Sunday!

The road to the Bahamas where the World Cup of Poker will be decided is a long and winding one, consisting of many qualifiers and playoffs. And for a handful of United States and Canadian players, one of the biggest hurdles has been overcome with the conclusion of the divisional qualifiers this past Sunday. Now, the remaining players look to the playoffs on Sunday, December 7th to compete for their shot at the live finals in the Bahamas.

For now, let’s look at who came out on top for the United States and Canada. After some hard-fought battles a few days ago, with every state and province separated into groups to play for points, only three states and three provinces could and did prevail. When all matches were decided and points tallied, the results were as follows:

Canada

Group 1: Quebec (derek8, ROCKETMANN44, sclarke792, miloup007)
Group 2: Nova Scotia (lobstrman29, dendoggone, AK**QUEEN**, born_in53
Group 3: Canadian Territories (deaonhope, pam05, polarbrr, Muck Or Call)

United States

Group 1: North Carolina (XbonezX, RandALLin, DAPBowler, CapeFear777)
Group 2: Wisconsin (JBDenaro157, D1rtyR1v3r, LaddFactor, AlwaysTilt13)
Group 3: South Dakota (thesidedish, blkjck, toddsplace, deblv3)

The next step for the above-listed players will be to compete in the divisional playoffs on December 7th, and the stakes will be high. It will be the day that some teams will be knocked out of contention and others will be starting to make travel arrangements for their trip to the Bahamas in January of 2009. The eyes of the online poker world will be on those divisional playoffs on the first Sunday in December as that fate is determined.

In the meantime, what do they do? Besides hone their skills a little more on the PokerStars tables, they can tune in this Sunday, November 30th, to see who their teammates will be. The national team finals are scheduled for this weekend as qualifying players from November 28th and November 29th rounds will compete for their seats in the divisional playoffs next to the players listed above. In fact, the national team tournaments this weekend will be played all over the world, with every participating country finalizing their line-ups to go into the December 7th playoffs. The entire schedule of Sunday tournaments can be viewed on the World Cup schedule page.

It is an exciting time for national team spirit and the online poker players who are looking to represent their respective countries in the World Cup of Poker V finals in the Bahamas. Besides the prestige and national pride on the line, there will be the bonus of all-expenses paid trips to the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas in January. Clearly, that is something to fight for on December 7th.

A hearty congratulations goes to the U.S. and Canada teams who will go to the playoffs! Tune in on Sunday for the national team finals, and visit the World Cup of Poker V page for more information.

PokerStars has gone and done it again. It has created a promotion that gives its players something they would never have a chance to do otherwise. What is it this time? How about a chance to play some poker, go to New York CIty, and hang out with Mats Sundin?

Yes, the Mats Sundin.

PokerStars recently announced Sundin would be spending some time around the big live events and was looking to get some time in on the felt. Now, PokerStars players have a chance to meet the hockey legend.

From now until December 7, PokerStars is running events that will give United States winners a chance to go to New York and meet Sundin. Winners will be VIPs at the game and watch the New York Rangers play the Carolina Hurricanes. Winners will also have a chance to eat dinner with Sundin.

For a full look at how to qualify, see the Meet Mats Sundin page at PokerStars.com..