Poker Blog & Poker Forum

Every year Pokerstars runs the biggest series of online poker tournaments called the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), and 2010 is no exception!  As always these tournaments seem to get bigger and bigger every year, with more cash up for grabs.  Just like last year they will continue to have the 3 levels of buyins for the games, making them affordable to everyone.  There will be a low, medium and high variety of each of the games with buyins as low as $5.50 and as high as $25,500 (for the High Roller heads-up tournament).

The tournament, which will consist of 33 events with 3 versions (99 total), is set to begin on May 3rd and will run for just under 2 weeks until May 16th.  All of the tournaments have HUGE guaranteed prizepools, so do not miss out on the chance to win some great money!  Without further adieu, here is the schedule for the 2010 Spring Championship of Online Poker:

Pokerstars 2010 SCOOP Schedule

Event 1: No-Limit Hold’em with Re-buys Six-Max
May 3, 2010
Low: $5.50 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
Med: $55 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed
High: $530 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed

Event 2: Fixed-Limit Badugi
May 3, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $75,000 guaranteed

Event 3: Pot-Limit Five-Card Draw
May 4, 2010
Low: $11 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed
Med: $109 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
High: $1,050 buy-in, $75,000 guaranteed

Event 4: No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Match Play
May 4, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 5: No-Limit Hold’em
May 4, 2010
Low: $11 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $109 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: $1,050 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 6: Mixed Hold’em Six-Max
May 5, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $400,000 guaranteed

Event 7: Seven Card Stud
May 5, 2010
Low: $33 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed
Med: $320 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
High: $3,150 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed

Event 8: Pot-Limit Omaha Heads-Up Match Play
May 6, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed

Event 9: No-Limit Hold’em
May 6, 2010
Low: TBD buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: TBD buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: TBD buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed

Event 10: No-Limit Hold’em Ante-Up
May 7, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed

Event 11: Fixed-Limit Omaha High-Low
May 7, 2010
Low: $55 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $530 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed
High: $5,200 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed

Event 12: No-Limit Hold’em 2x Chance Turbo
May 7, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed

Event 13: No-Limit Hold’em Shootout
May 8, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $15,000 guaranteed (Quadruple Shootout)
Med: $215 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed (Triple Shootout)
High: $2,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed (Double Shootout)

Event 14: Pot-Limit Omaha with Re-buys Six-Max
May 8, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 15: No-Limit Hold’em Big Antes
May 9, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed

Event 16: No-Limit Hold’em Two Day Event
May 9, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $1,500,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $2,000,000 guaranteed

Event: 17: Pot-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha
May 10, 2010
Low: $16.50 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $162 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: $1,575 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed

Event 18: No-Limit Hold’em Four-Max
May 10, 2010
Low: $33 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed
Med: $320 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed
High: $3,150 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 19: Deuce-Seven Triple Draw
May 11, 2010
Low: $11 buy-in, $25,000 guaranteed
Med: $109 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
High: $1,050 buy-in, $75,000 guaranteed

Event 20: Seven Card Stud High-Low
May 11, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed

Event 21: No-Limit Hold’em
May 11, 2010
Low: $11 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $109 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: $1,050 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 22: Razz
May 12, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed

Event 23: No-Limit Hold’em with Two Re-buys & One Add-on
May 12, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 24: Eight-Game
May 13, 2010
Low: $33 buy-in, $75,000 guaranteed
Med: $320 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed
High: $3,150 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed

Event 25: Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low
May 13, 2010
Low: $11 buy-in, $75,000 guaranteed
Med: $109 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed
High: $1,050 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed

Event 26: No-Limit Hold’em with One Re-buy & One Add-on
May 14, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed

Event 27: Fixed-Limit Hold’em Six-Max
May 14, 2010
Low: $55 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $530 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed
High: $5,200 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed

Event 28: No-Limit Omaha High-Low Turbo
May 14, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed

Event 29: Pot-Limit Omaha
May 15, 2010
Low: $55 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
Med: $530 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
High: $5,200 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed

Event 30: HORSE
May 15, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $50,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed

Event 31: No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max
May 16, 2010
Low: $22 buy-in, $20,000 guaranteed
Med: $215 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed
High: $2,100 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed

Event 32: No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Match Play Two Day Event
May 16, 2010
Low: $270 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed
Med: $2,600 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed
High: $25,500 buy-in, $750,000 guaranteed

Event 33: No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Two Day Event
May 16, 2010
Low: $109 buy-in, $1.000,000 guaranteed
Med: $1,050 buy-in, $3,000,000 guaranteed
High: $10,300 buy-in, $5,000,000 guaranteed

To take part in the events, visit Pokerstars.com and use Pokerstars Marketing Code FUZIONPOKER for a 100% up to $600 bonus on your first deposit!

Here is a hand from Tom “durrrr” Dwan‘s Million Dollar Challenge (Sponsored by Full Tilt Poker) where Dwan lays down a sick beat on Sammy George with poker’s worst hand: 72 offsuit.  Dwan even starts the hand off by telling George that he is holding a 72.  Prior to the game starting, the two made a side bet that if anyone won a hand from the other while holding a 72 the other would have to pay the winner $10k.  So, in an attempt to make an easy 10k Dwan put almost half a million dollars on the line… without giving too much away, check out the video here:

Sammy George never recovered from this hand, and in the end lost a total of $750,000 to Durrrr.

Pokerstars.com is currently getting ready to deal their 40 billionth online poker hand!  This is a HUGE milestone for the site, and if anyone remembers the 20 Billionth hand promotions you will know there is going to be a ton of added value.

Here is a list of some of the special promotions going on for this event:

FIRST DEPOSIT FREEROLLS

Make your first ever deposit using marketing code FUZIONPOKER and the deposit bonus code F40 and you’ll be able to play in as many  ‘$1,000 First Deposit Freerolls’ as you like. There will be five per day from February 14-21, with a combined value of $40,000! Also, you will receive their 100% up to $600 first deposit bonus (conditions apply).

RING GAMES

Leading up to the 40 billionth Mega Milestone, starting with hand 39,601,000,000, players dealt into every millionth hand will earn a cash prize. There will be 400 milestone hands during F40, which they estimate will award more than $1 million! Milestone hands will be dealt on any cash game table, including tables with buy-ins as low as $1.

Players dealt into every millionth hand will win a cash prize of $40 for every VPP they earned in the previous 40 hands played on that table. Because PokerStars wants everyone to be a winner, an extra VPP will be awarded to all players dealt in – this means you’ll win a minimum of at least $40. The winner of the hand will also get their cash prize doubled!

On the 40 Billionth hand, players will receive $400 times every FPP they earned in the previous 40 hands.  For example, if you earned 32 VPPs in the last 40 hands, you would win $12,800 for being dealt into the 40 billionth hand (32 x $400). Win the hand and this will be doubled to $25,600!

TOURNAMENTS

* On Sunday, February 21 at 16:30 ET, there will be a special Sunday Million 4th Anniversary Edition with $4 million guaranteed prize pool and a first prize of at least $1 million
* On Sunday, February 14 at 14:30 ET Pokerstars is hosting a $40 tourney with a $1 million guarantee
* They are holding eight special tournaments over an eight day period from February 14-21, each with a 40 FPP buy-in and $40,000 prize pool!

SIT & GOs

From February 14-21, there will be 40-man Super Sit & Go tourneys with buy-ins of $1.10, $11, $22 and $55. All Super Sit & Go first place finishers will receive an extra cash prize at the end of the promotion: a share of a $40,000 prize pot. There will be one $40,000 prize pot for each Super Sit & Go buy-in level, for a total of $160,000.

If you don’t have a Pokerstars account, this is probably the best time to sign-up.  Visit Pokerstars.com today!

Well, maybe that is just a small part of the story, but it was an easy way to shorten the title from “Lacey Jones is the new face of the Canadian Poker Tour”, which is the actual story here.

Yesterday the CPT announced in a press release that Jones will be the new “face” of the CPT.  For those who don’t know who Lacey Jones is, she has been voted the sexiest poker female poker player many times has appeared in this poker music video and has even won a few games too!

Here is the full press release along with a sexy pic of Lacey:

CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 1, 2010/– The Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) owned and operated by HeadsUp Entertainment International Inc. (STOCK SYMBOL: HDUP.PK) is pleased to announce that it has signed Poker pro Lacey Jones as the “new face” of the CPT. Recently voted the “hottest girl in poker”, Lacey will be featured on the cover of the upcoming issue of Canadian Poker Player Magazine as well as having a pictorial spread and feature. That issue is scheduled to hit poker rooms across the country in February.

The deal was set when Lacey and CPT President Kelly Kellner met in Costa Rica in November 2009 at the CPT/WPS Costa Rica Challenge. “Here is a girl that loves hockey, loves Canadian beer and is an amazing poker player to top it off. I told her she has been picked up off waivers and claimed by Canada and the CPT’, stated Kellner. “We believe that by having Lacey attend many of our events and the fact that she is about to move to Vancouver, the partnership couldn’t be stronger.”

With female poker players in CPT tournaments on the decline over the past 2 years, the CPT believes that having a strong female role model will attract the female player base back to live tournament action and that she will be a strong draw for the player base in general. Lacey will also be featured on the new online poker television network, Canadian Poker Player Television, about to be launched by the Company. Full details on the network launch will released soon.

“I truly love Canadians and am so happy to be a part of the Canadian Poker Tour”, stated Lacey. Having recently played at the 2010 CPT Kickoff Poker Series, Lacey will be returning to Canada for the Winter Freezeout to held at Cash Casino in Calgary, February 24 through February 28, 2010. For complete details on the upcoming event please go to www.canadianpokertour.tv.

For the record Lacey, I am Canadian and I love you too!  For more info about her, check out this Lacey Jones profile.

The headline sounds like the lead-in to a bad joke about T.J. Cloutier‘s craps habit, but in this case it’s the literal truth. Word leaked out on various poker forums and poker rooms about an eBay listing from a pawnshop in Plano, TX that was auctioning of T.J. Cloutier’s WSOP bracelet from his win in a 2005 $5,000 NLHE WSOP event. In subsequent interviews the pawnshop confirmed that they’d bought the bracelet (along with another championship bracelet from a non-WSOP event) directly from Cloutier, but they wouldn’t say how much they paid him for it.

Cloutier’s WSOP bracelet was originally listed at $2,500, but it eventually attracted 12 bids, with the winner ultimately paying $4,006 for it. No details have surfaced yet on who purchased it, although discussion on some forums floated the possibility a poker pro friend of Cloutier’s buying it and returning it to him. At which point he might very well pawn it again, considering the fact that anyone who’d pawn a WSOP bracelet is likely facing some serious cash flow issues.

It makes us wonder if T.J. knows about some of the poker bonus offers out there for sites like Pacific Poker and others. Grinding signup bonuses isn’t sexy, but neither is pawning off WSOP bracelets and having the whole world (ourselves included) make jokes about you and the perils of craps and other pit games.