BLUFF Staff Blog

There are five weeks between now and the Main Event of the AbsolutePoker College Challenge and that should give college students plenty of time to get in and take a shot at making $10,000 for their college tuition.

The APCC daily qualifying tournaments have three buy-in levels: freeroll, $0.25 and $5.00. Finish in the top nine of any of those events and players are automatically entered into a freeroll the next day that will award nine seats to the Weekly Main Event Qualifier which runs Sunday at 9 pm ET.

Players in the Weekly Main Event Qualifier compete for a $200 prizepool as well as the chance to play in the Main Event. The top six players from the Main Event, held on November 30, will be flown to Los Angeles to compete live for the $10,000 top prize. The final table will be streamed live on BluffMagazine.com.

In its second year the APCC is growing stronger with more and more college kids using their poker abilities to develop real world life skills - all while making some money for tuition, books or bad ass beer pong tables. 

“(The) concept that playing poker teaches students other life skills is on the money. Poker has taught me how to deal with a lot of different aspects of my life from business to my personal relationships,” said Absolute Poker Pro Matt Vengrin. “My life is where it is today due to learning what it takes to be a professional poker player.”

The  APCC continues through November 29th. For more information check out AbsolutePoker.com.

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The 2009 November Nine

Tuesday night’s episodes of the World Series of Poker Main Event on ESPN will continue to introduce poker fans to the November Nine.

Tuesday’s first one hour episode begins with 27 players left in the tournament including BLUFF contributor Antonio Esfandiari and Maryland logger Darvin Moon. Also featured in this episode is the last woman standing Leo Margets who hopes to continue her run at becoming only the second woman to ever make the final table.

The second hour will begin with 23 players left in the tournament including Phil Ivey and Jeff Shulman as well as Billy Kopp and Steven Begleiter.

ESPN’s coverage of the 2009 WSOP Main Event continues each Tuesday until November 10 when the two episodes from the November Nine will air and a new world champion will be crowned.

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BluffMagazine.com is helping poker fans get excited for the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event final table with the launch of a new video player and exclusive content from the 2009 WSOP.

The video player, which is sponsored by UltimateBet, will give fans the chance to see the 24 final tables which were broadcast by BLUFF Media in an edited format complete with all bustouts and heads-up battles.

“Between now and November 7 we’ll add a new final table each day,” said Eric Morris, BLUFF Magazine publisher. “On top of that we’ll be adding all the interviews from the 2009 WSOP as well.”

Fans will be able to see the final table of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, the $10,000 Heads Up World Championship and both of Phil Ivey’s bracelet wins. Also available will be a Phil Hellmuth channel featuring the footage from his historic 11th bracelet win in 2007.

On the day Ivey and the rest of the November Nine regroup to determine a new world champion fans will be able to tune into BLUFF’s live audio broadcast from tableside. Fans will also be given live chip counts and graphics throughout the final table.

“Our radio coverage of the November Nine will give hardcore poker fans the chance to step inside the ropes for poker’s biggest event,” said Morris.

To check out the new video player for yourself visit http://www.bluffmagazine.com/videoplayer.asp

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If you’re a college kid looking for a way to put together some money for tuition then put down the Beer Pong for Dummies and pay attention. AbsolutePoker.com is giving away $30,000 for tuition.

The 2009 Absolute Poker College Challenge is off and running with three qualifying tournaments each day; a freeroll, a $0.25 buy-in and a $5 buy-in event. Finish in the top nine in any of those events and you’ll be automatically entered into a freeroll the following day. Make the top 15 of that freeroll and you’re in the Weekly Main Event Qualifier which not only advances players to the Main Event but has a $200 prizepool as well.

“This tournament is a fun and easy way for college students to compete for an alternative way to pay for tuition, and we believe that this program is one of the best ways to create real added value for college students,” said Absolute Poker Pro and APCC consultant, Matt Vengrin.

The top six finishers in the Main Event will play in a live final table to be broadcast by BLUFF. The winner receives $10,000 for tuition as well as a championship ring. The sixth place finisher receives $2,000.

The College Challenge runs until November 29th. For more information visit http://www.absolutepoker.com/promotions/college-challenge/.

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Eric Morris, co-founder and publisher of Bluff Magazine formally announced Lance Bradley as the new Editor in Chief of the magazine Tuesday. Bradley, who has held the title of Managing Editor since February 2008, takes over for the departing Matthew Parvis.

“We’re excited about having Lance as our Editor in Chief. He’s worked hard the past 18 months at turning our web site into a strong poker news portal and he was an obvious choice for the big chair,” said Morris. “We wish Matthew all the best in his new endeavour and can’t thank him enough for his efforts with Bluff.”

Parvis, who has taken an editorial position with PokerNews, had been Editor In Chief for two years following a two year stint as Managing Editor. Bradley begins his new role immediately and is looking forward to the challenge of the new responsibilities.

“I’m very excited about this opportunity. For five years now Bluff has been at the forefront of the poker industry and I hope to continue that tradition and deliver a magazine and website that poker fans recognize as the leader,” said Bradley.

Bradley has been working in the poker industry for five and a half years. From 2004 until 2006 he was the Poker Room Manager for online poker room Bodog.com. From there he developed and edited ThePokerBiz.com before joining Bluff as the Managing Editor in February 2008. His previous responsibilities with Bluff included overseeing the news content of BluffMagazine.com and WorldSeriesofPoker.com.

“Lance has a real passion for journalism and the game of poker and the industry,” said Morris. “That combination is what we think best align him with Bluff as a magazine and as a brand.”

Lance Bradley can be contacted via email at lance@bluffmedia.com.

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Every year there are a number parties at the World Series of Poker. But there’s only one that qualifies as a “must see” event. Tuesday Bluff Magazine announced the details behind the 2009 Official Bluff Party, being held again at Sapphire Las Vegas.

The party is scheduled for July 2nd and will run from 9pm until 1am. Free transportation, which includes free cover, is available from the Rio Hotel & Casino beginning at 8:45 pm. To get into the party free guests must arrive via the Sapphire shuttle. Guests arriving by any other means will be required to pay the cover charge.

Sapphire Las Vegas is the world’s largest gentlemen’s club with over 70,000 square feet of topless entertainment. The party includes an open bar and free desserts from 9pm - 11pm. There will also be a special performance by rock band The Skeletones.

The party is sponsored by SBG Global and PokerHost.com.

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During the 2009 World Series of Poker BluffMagazine.com is asking poker fans around the world to Show Us Your Tweets. Using social media phenomenon Twitter poker enthusiasts can submit a tweet about the WSOP, their favorite poker players or the previous day’s events to @bluffmagazine.

“It seems everybody is on Twitter these days and poker fans are no exception,” said Jeff Markley, Vice President of Online Operations for Bluff Media. “We’ve even heard that Joan Rivers occasionally crawls out from underneath her rock to send a tweet or two.”

Each day Bluff staff will choose the single best submitted tweet from the previous day and award that poker fan a one year subscription to Bluff Magazine and the tweet will be featured on BluffMagazine.com, WorldSeriesofPoker.com the big screen displays inside the Amazon Room at the Rio All Suite Hotel in Las Vegas while the game’s biggest names chase down WSOP gold bracelets.

“Poker fans and players are some very creative and funny individuals,” said Markley. “We think that over the next seven weeks we’ll see that come shining through on our Twitter feed.”

On Tuesday Bluff Media, publishers of BluffMagazine.com and the official digital media partner of the World Series of Poker, announced that both BluffMagazine.com and WorldSeriesofPoker.com would feature twitter updates from poker players at the WSOP.

EDITOR’S EDIT: Send @bluffmagazine a direct message within Twitter to claim your free subscription. To do this, click on the top navigation menu’s “Home” link. Then click on “Direct Messages” on the right menu. Then simply send us a message with your address so that we can get you set up. Direct Messages are Twitter’s way of sending a private message only viewable by the two parties involved.

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Bluff Media, the publishers of Bluff Magazine and BluffMagazine.com, announced Tuesday a myriad of improvements to its coverage of the 2009 World Series of Poker. Included amongst this is a dedicated Twitter portal and live streaming of final tables on BluffMagazine.com.

The Twitter portal, found here, allows poker fans to follow all the action of their favorite professional poker pros during the 2009 WSOP. Readers will be able to select to read all available Twitter feeds or narrow it down by a particular event or player.

“We wanted to give the fan sitting at home the feeling that he was right there inside the Amazon Room railing his favorite player,” said Jeff Markley, Vice President of Online Operations for Bluff Media. “We feel we’re giving our readers unparalleled coverage by getting them right into the players’ minds during poker’s biggest event.”

Through the seven weeks of action poker fans will also be able to tune into 12 final tables being streamed live exclusively on BluffMagazine. Included in the schedule is the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em World Championship event on June 25, an event that had a final table last year including Andy Bloch, Patrik Antonius, Mike Sexton, Kathy Liebert, Phil Laak, Chris Bell, Amit Makhija and eventual winner Nenad Medic.

“Poker fans should be very excited about being able to see these final tables live,” said Eric Morris, publisher of Bluff Magazine. “We’re very proud to be the official digital media partner of the WSOP and look forward to showing the world some of the world’s best poker players chasing those highly coveted gold bracelets.”

The complete schedule of events streaming live on BluffMagazine.com is as follows:

• June 3 - Event #5 ($1,500 Pot Limit Omaha)
• June 4 - Event #7 ($1,500 No Limit Hold’em)
• June 5 - Event #10 ($2,500 Pot Limit Omaha/Pot Limit Hold’em)
• June 9 - Event #17 ($1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em)
• June 11 - Event #20 ($1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em)
• June 13 - Event #24 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em)
• June 16 - Event #30 ($2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha)
• June 18 - Event #34 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em)
• June 20 - Event #36 ($2,000 No-Limit Hold’em)
• June 25 - Event #45 ($10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em World Championship)
• June 29 - Event #51 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em)
• July 1 - Event #54 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em)

With the start of the 40th annual WSOP now only hours away Morris promises there’s even more in store as the action heats up.

“We’ve got a couple of other enhancements to our coverage that we’ll be showcasing once the cards are in the air,” said Morris. “Everything we’ve done on BluffMagazine.com and WorldSeriesofPoker.com is done to improve things for the fan following at home.”

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The 40 Greatest Champions is down to the final ten WSOP champions.

Six weeks ago BluffMagazine.com began counting down the 40 Greatest Champions campaign on WorldSeriesofPoker.com to help commemerate the 40th Annual World Series of Poker kicking off on May 27. As the Series nears closer the list is now down to the 10 Greatest Champions.

“The final ten players are all names that are very familiar to poker fans,” said Lance Bradley, Managing Editor of BLUFF Magazine and WorldSeriesofPoker.com. “The ranking however is likely to be the source of great debate.”

The final 10 WSOP champions will be announced each day between Friday and the day before the Series begins. The criteria for the ranking includes bracelets won, Main Event performances, overall contributions to the WSOP and historical importance.

“As the World Series of Poker turns 40, we will use this milestone to celebrate the history, heritage and tradition of the great game of poker,” said WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.  “We look forward to a very special 2009 WSOP, and will use it as a platform to commemorate the great champions and characters of the game who made the WSOP what it is today.”

Profiles of each member of the 40 Greatest Champions have been running exclusively on WorldSeriesofPoker.com and will continue to do so until the list reaches #1 - the greatest champion in WSOP history. To follow the list to the conclusion check WorldSeriesofPoker.com daily.

Here are the champions ranked #11 thru #40

WSOP 40 Greatest Champions #11 - 20

11. Berry Johnston, 12. Tom McEvoy, 13. Jay Heimowitz, 14. Scotty Nguyen, 15. Gary Berland, 16. Ted Forrest, 17. Bobby Baldwin, 18. Dan Harrington, 19. Men Nguyen, 20. Barbara Enright

WSOP 40 Greatest Champions #21 - 30

21. Allen Cunningham, 22. Layne Flack, 23. Annette Obrestad, 24. Phil Ivey, 25. Mike Sexton, 26. Daniel Negreanu, 27. Mike Matusow, 28. John Juanda, 29. Sailor Roberts, 30. Peter Eastgate

WSOP 40 Greatest Champions #31 - 40

31. Chris Ferguson, 32. Susie Isaacs, 33. Mickey Appelman, 34. Jack Strauss, 35. Amarillo Slim, 36. Nani Dollison, 37. Puggy Pearson, 38. O’Neill Longson, 39. Carolyn Gardner, 40. Jamie Gold.

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With the 40th Annual World Series of Poker set to kickoff at the end of May at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, there’s no better way to celebrate the milestone event by throwing a party at one of the hottest new spots in the city. Everyone 21 and older is welcome to attend the celebration on Saturday, May 30th at ND’s the Club inside the Rio.  Festivities begin with a VIP cocktail mixer at 9:00 PM “invite only” and the event officially kicks off at 10:30 PM.

Do It Right Productions, a full service marketing and PR firm will serve as the event organizer and with the backing of Bluff Magazine, your official WSOP magazine, this is an affair you don’t want to miss!  Open to the public, all poker players, pokers fans, tourists and locals are welcome to attend this event.  Stay tuned for more WSOP-related parties throughout the summer to help celebrate the 40th Annual WSOP.

To RSVP your attendance, please use this link.  Capacity is limited.
http://dir.wufoo.com/forms/wsop-2009-event/

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BLUFF Latin America will now publish BLUFF Brasil

BLUFF Media, the publishers of BLUFF Magazine, this week announced the launch of BLUFF Brasil for the Portugese-speaking market in Brazil and the rest of South America. The new magazine will be managed by the same group that controls BLUFF Latin America.

“We are so pleased with the new BLUFF Brasil , it is such an important market and one that it’s close to the heart,” said Reinaldo Venegas, Editor of BLUFF Latin America. ”Brazil is not only the biggest country in Latin America. It is an incredibly unique place of such cultural richness and diversity, key to the progress of the whole region and a power to be reckoned in sports, cradle to some of the best poker players in the world.”

BLUFF Brasil will feature articles from BLUFF Magazine translated into “easy Portugese” as well as a full complement of articles written by some of Brazil’s top poker players. Team PokerStars Pro Maridu Mayrinck, World Series of Poker bracelet winner Alexandre Gomes and Andre Akkari will all contribute to the magazine.

“The aforementioned success of BLUFF Latin America and the professionalism of its crew have earned the franchise the label of Official Magazine for the Latin American Poker Tour,” said Venegas. “Such distinction is one we are very proud of and our readers should expect the same high standards for BLUFF Brasil.”

The new magazine joins other geo-centric BLUFF products BLUFF Europe, BLUFF South Africa, BLUFF Australasia and BLUFF Latin America as BLUFF Media continues to expand the marketing reach of what is already the world’s largest poker publication.

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Between now and the start of the 2009 WSOP, BluffMagazine.com will name the 40 Greatest Champions exclusively on WorldSeriesofPoker.com.

“The opportunity to look back over 40 years of bracelet winners and try and pick the 40 who best represent the game of poker wasn’t a task we took on lightly,” said Lance Bradley,  Managing Editor of BLUFF Magazine and Editor-in-Chief of WorldSeriesofPoker.com. “Some of the choices for the list were obvious, but their ranking created a lot of debate and is sure to spark discussion within the poker community.”

Rather than go through each World Champion from 1970 to present day BluffMagazine.com editors consulted with poker players and journalists to create a list based on criteria including bracelets won, Main Event performances, overall contributions to the WSOP and historical importance. Each weekday, between Monday, March 30th and Monday, May 25th, a new member of the 40 Greatest Champions will be profiled on WorldSeriesofPoker.com beginning with #40, Jamie Gold.

“As the World Series of Poker turns 40, we will use this milestone to celebrate the history, heritage and tradition of the great game of poker,” said WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.  “We look forward to a very special 2009 WSOP, and will use it as a platform to commemorate the great champions and characters of the game who made the WSOP what it is today.”

Some of the names will be easily recognizable by even the most casual poker fan but there is sure to be a few surprises along the way. Stay tuned to WorldSeriesofPoker.com as the countdown to #1 continues.

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The winter weather is on its way out and Robins have been spotted in parks across the country. That can only mean one thing; the World Series of Poker is getting closer. The 2009 WSOP kicks off on May 27th and runs until the Main Event begins on July 3rd.

With the start date less than ten weeks away online poker giant Full Tilt Poker is ramping up their qualification process and getting ready to send a boat load of players to the Main Event and some of the preliminary events as well.

There are a number of ways to get into poker’s most prestigous event. There will be two $200 + $16 double shootouts that will award one seat to the Main Event every day. Win two nine-handed tables and you’re on your way to the big dance. If shootouts aren’t your thing there will five cash qualifiers each week. Then on June 21 is the big one, a $500 + $35 buy-in satellite that guarantees at least 150 seats to the Main Event.

If that’s enough to tempt you to take your shot, for the fifth year in a row Full Tilt Poker is bringing back the $10 Million Main Event Mania. If you qualify for the WSOP Main Event with Full Tilt Poker and go on to win it all, they’re gonna give you an additional $10 Million.

Beyond the Main Event qualifiers Full Tilt Poker has also stepped up and will be offering the Bracelet Race yet again. Prize packages in these events, with varying buy-ins, pay $2,000 giving players the chance to play in any of the $1,500 buy-in events with an another $500 set aside for travel. And lastly 80 seats, worth a total of $200,000, will be awarded via qualifiers to the $1,000 buy-in Stimulus Special (Event #4).

To view the Full Tilt Poker WSOP Promotions or to sign-up click here.

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Since the launch of their poker room in 2004 Bodog Poker has been wanting to add an instant play option to make their product available to more players, including the often overlooked Mac user.

Now they have that option following the launch this week of an Instant Play option that requires only an internet connection and a web browser. The flash-based product allows players to play a single table and features all the bells and whistles normally associated with Bodog’s downloadable poker client.

“The new Instant Play option at Bodog is perfect for when I want to play poker on my Mac or play cash games on a friend’s computer who may not have the Bodog Poker client installed,” says Bodog Poker pro Evelyn Ng. “You can even snatch a few games at work.”

To sign-up with Bodog and begin playing on their Mac-friendly software click here.

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The Borgata $500,000 Guaranteed this March is sure to attract the best poker players in Atlantic City.

Tab Duchateau and the brains behind the Borgata Hotel and Casino Poker Room continue to deliver great value to the players on the East Coast. The Atlantic City resort announced this week yet another $500,000 Guaranteed Deep Stack tournament.

The $1,650 buy-in event will run March 21 - 24 and will include two starting days. Players will start with 30,000 in chips each. In an effort to put as many players as possible into the tournament the Borgata is also hosting a number of qualifying events with buy-ins ranging from $200 to $380.

• Friday, March 6 at 11AM ($165 + $35)
• Sunday, March 8 at 11AM ($165 + $35)
• Sunday, March 15 at 11AM ($330 + $50)
• Friday, March 20 at 4PM ($330 + $50) 

In the first two qualifiers one in every 10 players will qualify for the $500,000 Guaranteed Tournament and the final two will award one seat for every five players. For more information visit www.theborgata.com.

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