Poker pro and UltimateBet.com cardroom consultant Annie Duke has done her best in the last year to go the extra mile to help raise awareness and funds for the humanitarian efforts in Darfur. But on June 1st, she’ll 26.2 miles for the cause and wants online poker players to help her raise funds.

Duke will be running in the the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on June 1st in San Diego, California in support of Ante Up For Africa, a No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament created to raise public awareness and funds for Sudan-related charities.

Online poker players can join Duke in the marathon or donate to Ante Up for Africa by using their accumulated UltimatePoints in the UltimateBet store. Last year, Duke and Hollywood heavyweight Don Cheadle hosted the first Ante Up For Africa event at the World Series of Poker. The tournament raised over $700,000 in support of the cause and attracted several other celebrities including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Kevin James, Jason Alexander, Cheryl Hines, Hank Azaria, Adam Sandler and Ray Romano.

For more information on Duke’s marathon visit http://www.ultimatebet.com/annie-duke-run-for-darfur.

For the fourth consecutive year, the ESPN Poker Club is offering a trip to the World Series of Poker Main Event. The winner will receive airfare to Las Vegas, hotel accommodations during the tournament and the chance to sit down and play against the poker world’s best in poker’s most prestigious event.

Playing on the ESPN Poker Club free-play online poker software players will need to qualify for the Final Tournament in order to have a shot at WSOP glory. To qualify for the Final Tournament, held Sunday, June 15th, players will need to be one of the top 25 players one of three Sunday Qualifiers, held each Sunday until June 15th at 12, 5 and 9 pm EST. Players can earn their entry for the Sunday Qualifier in the following ways:

-playing 1500 hands in a single week.
-winning 10 Single Table Tournaments
-winning 1 Multi-Table Tournament
-finish in the Top 20 in any Daily Big Play tournament

With a start date on the heels of the World Poker Tour Championship event the World Series of Poker Circuit event at Caesars started Tuesday with the toughest field of the year. A total of 334 players entered including a number of the game’s top players.

But as the day wound down Max Reele emerged as the chip leader. Reele, who only has $141,644 in career earnings, built his stack to 263,000 after the 8 levels of play Tuesday. But aside from Reele the names on top of the chip counts are reflective of the tough field. Doug Lee, Nenad Medic, Mark Newhouse, Ari Engel and Ralph Perry are all in the top ten.

But among the 280 casualties from the first day of play were Gavin Smith, Jared Hamby, Scotty Nguyen and defending champion Cory Carroll. The 54 players who survived Day 1 will play down to the final table of 9 today. The total prize pool is $1.67 million with the winner set to take home $499,162. The final table will be broadcast live online via WorldSeriesofPoker.com.

Hey Trond, I can see poker has been going very good for you these days.  You have been the hottest player in the European Poker Tour.  You have 3 EPT finals, and win at the Masters Classics for almost $900,000.  Tell me about all these accomplishments.  Do you feel like you’re at the top of your game right now?

I don’t know actually.  This is my first season, but I guess it will be hard to do the same or better things next year.  I won’t play that much next season either.

Why won’t you play as much?

It’s really hard to be a professional poker player in Norway.  We have to pay taxes on all of our winnings, and we can’t write anything off.  Since I am a non-sponsored player, it is very hard to handle a dry period in the tournament scene.  I’ve already bought an apartment, and won’t be risking all of my money in tournaments.  I will play some tourneys, and stick mostly to online games.  Correct me if my English is not good.

No your English is great.  Have you ever thought about moving to Las Vegas?  I’m assuming it’s a lot cheaper, and there are plenty of fish for you!

Hehe! It has gone through my mind, and maybe I will do it in a couple of years.  Not at the moment though.

Speaking of Vegas, you know the WSOP is coming up soon.  Are you going to play any events out there?  If so, what ones are you looking forward to?

Yes, I will go to Vegas this year.  That will be my last trip on my own money.  I will take a break, and see what I should do next year.  I will play all the NLHE events with a buy in of $1,500 or more.  I will also play some smaller PLO events, because I love the game.

It seems like everyone is falling in love with Pot Limit Omaha these days.

It’s a great game, with a lot of mind games if you’re playing shorthanded, LOVE IT!

What’s your living situation looking like for Vegas?  Are you going to get a hotel, or house with friends?

BellagioOOOooOOOo!

Are you going to room by yourself then?

Yes, I’m going to have to grind cash games to pay for the bill at the casino! 

It definitely can become very expensive.  What limits do you usually play live or online?

It all depends on what I’m comfortable with.  My favorite stakes are 25/50 USD/EUR, but I play 5/10 and up to 50/100 if the games are good.

Besides playing poker what do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to watch football and play golf.  I also won’t say no to a good party!

Haha!  Good choice of sports.  I don’t think many people would say no to a good party.  What is Trond’s beverage of choice?

A good Danish draft beer is sweet.

I don’t think I have ever had one, but I’m not sure.  I am not a big beer drinker, I prefer liquor.

You have never tried a Carlsberg?!

Nope, I definitely will though!  Is it true that Scandinavian women are the most beautiful in the world?

Yes, Scandinavian women are absolutely beautiful, but they’re not that good on partying.

I see, I still think I would rather have a gorgeous woman, rather than one that can just party.

Then a Scandinavian woman is an excellent choice for you!

Nice, I’ll take that into consideration when looking for my future bride!  Now on to the Bluff Final Five….  What is pumping in your headphones while your pwning donkeys?

That depends, if I’m awake, like now, it’s more R&B.  In 5 hrs it is ACID, BoOM BoOM BASS BASS BANG BANG!

What the in the world is ACID?

Thrashy, techno, crazy upbeat music.  It’s the kind of music clears my head when I’m sleepy. J

Good enough.  Do you believe luck is a factor in poker, and do you have any rituals to avoid bad luck?

Of course!  Luck is a factor in poker on a short term, but in the long run the luck disappears.  In cash games the luck isn’t that much of a factor.  In live tournaments it all depends on a 4 day NO reload session.  That’s why it is important to avoid coin flip situations; you don’t need to gamble with your whole stack. 

If you could bust anyone or take there whole bankroll, whose would it be?

LOL!  It doesn’t matter to me.  Dollars are dollars, and euros are euros.

So no one in particular?

No, I don’t have any archenemies in poker.  I just have a lot of opponents that I respect, but I still want their money!

What celebrities would you like to have in your entourage?

Cascada who sings the song Everytime We Touch!

The final question that we always like to ask: Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johansson, or Giselle Bundchen?

ALBAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Why her?

If you seriously don’t know, you are obviously gay.

LOL! 

So you’re gay?

lolol.  No.  Jessica is hot as hell, but there’s just something about Scarlett! 

Hehe!  I understand that.  There is something about her, which makes her freaking gorgeous.  Alba is more straight forward though.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us at Bluff.  We wish you the best of luck Trond.

Thanks!

While the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship plays out to great ratings each Sunday, tournament organizers are already preparing for 2009.

The selection committee announced Tuesday the criteria for choosing the 64-player field next year and one of the players getting an automatic berth will be the winner of Bluff Magazine’s Player-of-the-Year award for 2008.

• Previous 2 NHUPC runners-up
• Defending NHUPC semifinalists
• Players who cashed in the past 4 consecutive years of the NHUPC
• Previous 3 World Series of Poker Main Event Champions
• Defending World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up
• Beginning with the 2008 WSOP, multiple bracelet winners in the same year
• Defending World Series of Poker Player of the Year
• Defending World Series of Poker Heads-Up Champion
• Defending World Series of Poker Europe Main Event Champion (must be 21 or older)
• Reigning World Poker Tour Player of the Year
• Reigning European Poker Tour Grand Final Champion (must be 21 or older)

The Bluff Player-of-the-Year race is currently being led by Men “The Master” Nguyen with Michael Binger trailing close behind.

The 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship will continue to air the next three Sundays, May 4th,  11th, and 18th at noon ET on NBC.  The first two shows are each two hours in length with the finale episode being a three-hour special.

The attention of the poker world may be on Las Vegas for the next few months but the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City is doing their best to create a splash.

This past weekend 60 players qualified via a super satellite for the upcoming $500,000 Guaranteed Deep Stack Tournament. Players will start the three-day event on May 4th with 30,000 in chips. The guaranteed prize pool is the largest in Atlantic City history and has a buy-in of $2000 + $150.

Two weeks after that the Borgata will host a World Series of Poker satellite with a $1,000+$100 buy-in. For every 12 players in the event one lucky player will win a $12,000 WSOP prize package which includes the $10,000 main event buy-in and $2,000 for travel expenses.

And as if that’s not enough the Borgata is hosting the Borgata Summer Poker Open, a series of 15 events with buy-ins from $200 to $5,000. The first event runs June 9th with the Championship Event scheduled for June 22 -24. Of the 15 events, one is Seven Card Stud, one is Limit Hold’em and the rest are No Limit Hold’em.

In the first, a new tournament style will allow players to earn money for simply knocking out other players. “Sniper Tournaments” will reward players with cash for eliminating another player from the tournament. The site has also created a leaderboard so players can see who the best sniper is with the top snipers earning entries into bigger tournaments.

The second promotion will give every player a shot to earn some cash for knocking out a UltimateBet pro. In the new $1 Pro Rebuy Madness Bounty, players earn the amount of money UltimateBet pros used for rebuys just by eliminating them from a tournament. The UB pros include Mark “P0ker H0″ Kroon, Gary “Debo34″ DiBernardi, Shawn Rice, Scott Ian and, of course, Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth.

The top players in Las Vegas will be gathering at Caesars Palace Tuesday for the start of the World Series of Poker Circuit event.  The event is the second-to-last tournament on the 2007-08 WSOP Circuit schedule and will be the last large buy-in event many pros play until the start of the World Series of Poker at the end of May.

Preliminary events have been running since April 20th and some well known circuit regulars have found success at the felt. Ted Lawson took home $120,054 for winning the $2,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event last Saturday. Surinder Sunar, Mark Kroon, Jimmy Fricke, Eugene Todd and Sorel Mizzi have all found their way to the cashier’s cage.

The $5,000 buy-in main event will get underway at Noon. Last year’s main event featured a 336-player field and was won by Cory Carroll. The final table featured David Pham and Chad Brown.

The winner of the main event will earn the prize money as well as a $10,000 seat into the WSOP Main Event in July.

The final table chip counts and seating assignments were as follows:

Seat 1: bozbosjes (1,660,378)
Seat 2: Nocturnick (1,419,941)

Seat 3: aabeware (458,956)

Seat 4: UBENICE (1,677,045)

Seat 5: br56887 (1,034,042)

Seat 6: zelong (1,620,394)

Seat 7: ionlyplayAA (1,901,521)

Seat 8: Draigan1 (463,927)

Seat 9: PedjaMN (641,796)

aabeware eliminated in 9th place

With blinds of 25,000/50,000 (6,000 antes) action folded around to Noctunick in the small blind who moved all-in for 1,542,941 on a blind steal. After taking some time to think it over aabeware called in the big blind for his last 396,956 and turned over pocket jacks. Nocturnick’s blind steal hand turned out to be Qh 5h. His aggressive move paid off though when a queen hit the flop and aabeware as the first player to be eliminated from the final table.

Draigan1 eliminated in 8th place

Not long after the first elimination another player’s night came to an end. Blinds were at the same level when it folded around to ionlyplayAA on the button who raised to 200,000. After requesting time to think it over Draigan1, the small blind, moved all-in for 242,927 and ionlyplayAA called and turned over Ks Jc while Draigan1 was behind with Qh 6h. The flop bricked out for both players and Draigan1 was eliminated.

bozbosjes eliminated in 7th place

After multiple double-ups as the desperate short stack bozbosjes found himself rail-bound in 7th place. The blinds were 40,000/80,000 (10,000 antes) and bozbosjes moved all-in for 310,296 from middle position and br56887 called from the big blind. Holding 9d 6c to br56887’s Kc 10h bozbosjes was given a chance after a flop of 4c 5h 3s. But even with the extra outs of an open-ended straight draw bozbosjes was unable to hit and br56887 took down the pot with king-high.

br56887 eliminated in 6th place

Blinds had been moved to 50,000/100,000 (10,000 antes) when the night would come to an end for br56887. Moving all-in from middle position for 943,190 br56887 was called by ionlyplayAA who woke up in the big blind with pocket jacks while br56887 only held 5c 6c. Despite flopping a flush draw and turning a straight draw br56887 was unable to hit either of those and he was eliminated from the Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guaranteed.

Noctunick eliminated in 5th place

The blinds were again raised, by this time to 60,000/120,000 (15,000 antes), when ionlyplayAA raised from UTG to 300,000. From the button Noctunick re-raised all-in for 1,515,286 with Ad 10c. From the big blind zelong called and showed Jd Js. ionlyplayAA folded. The flop delievered a third jack for zelong and when the running straight cards didn’t come Nocturnick was felted.

zelong eliminated in 4th place

Blinds were now at 80,000/160,000 (20,000 antes) when zelong raised to 400,000 from the small blind. After using some of his time bank ionlyplayAA called from the big blind and the players saw a flop of 7d 5s 4d. zelong moved all-in for 1,440,036 and ionlyplayAA called. zelong showed pocket queens and ionlyplayAA turned of Kd Jd for a flush draw. The turn failed to produce a diamond or king, but the 3d fell on the river to complete ionlyplayAA’s flush and zelong was gone in fourth.

UBENICE eliminated in 3rd place

The blinds hadn’t moved when UBENICE called from the small blind only to have ionlyplayAA raise from the big blind to 480,000. UBENICE called. The flop came Qh Qd 2c and UBENICE moved all-in for his last 1,814,180 and ionlyplayAA insta-called. Showing Qc 3h ionlyplayAA was well ahead of UBENICE’s Ad 2d. With no help to come in the final two community cards UBENICE was eliminated.

ionlyplayAA Wins!

Heads-up play lasted only five minutes as ionlyplayAA would eventually get his last remaining opponent, PedjaMN, to bite the dust. PedjaMN called from the small blind and ionlyplayAA checked his option so both players could see a flop of 9s 10s 3c. Leading out for 220,000 ionlyplayAA was then raised by PedjaMN another 540,000. After using some of his time bank to consider his options ionlyplayAA moved all-in for 6,421,264 and PadjaMN called instantly. When the cards were turned over ionlyplayAA had top pair with no real kicker and PedjaMN had a flush draw with one over card. The turn and river failed to give PadjaMN any assistance and he was eliminated in 2nd place.

For a complete listing of the final table payouts for the Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guaranteed be sure to read The Sunday Report.

The $500 + $30 version of the PokerStars Sunday Million tends to attract a tougher field than it’s $200 + $15 counterpart. So it should be no surprise that the final table of the 3,119-player field included some names well known in the online poker community. In the end though it was a five player chop that ended the drama and KipsterDK who came out on top of the Sunday Million. Here’s how the final table went down.

The final table chip counts and seating assignments were as follows:

Seat 1: caicu (316,916)
Seat 2: futilewar (4,732,178)

Seat 3: iamhiv (1,647,058)

Seat 4: pearljam1012 (3,984,028)

Seat 5: plattsburgh (2,746,883)

Seat 6: jmmeijer (3,949,152)

Seat 7: tshooter1970 (2,051,996)

Seat 8: DCal Zone (646,452)

Seat 9: KipsterDK (8,263,089)

DCal Zone eliminated in 9th place

The first player knocked out of the PokerStars Sunday Million final table at least brought a little bit of drama with him. The blinds were 50,000/100,000 (10,000 antes) when DCal Zone moved all-in for 406,452 from the button. KipsterDK called in the small blind and caicu re-raised all-in for 3,269,164. KipsterDK folded. caicu showed Ad Kd while DCal Zone showed Kc Jc. The flop came 8c 10c Ks, giving both players top pair but DCal Zone picked up a flush draw. The turn and river failed to produce a fifth club however and DCal Zone’s day had come to and end.

jmmeijer eliminated in 8th place

With blinds up to 80,000/160,000 (16,000 antes) plattsburgh raised 456,789 from middle position. jmmeijer re-raised to 2209152 right behind him and with all other players folding plattsburgh called and turned over pocket kings while jmmeijer was dominated holding Kd Jd. The miracle was nowhere to be found however and jmmeijer was eliminated from the Sunday Million.

caicu eliminated in 7th place

Next up on the chopping block was caicu who found himself bluffing at the wrong time. With the blinds now up to 100,000/200,000 (20,000 antes) tshooter1970 raised to 1,000,000. After coming back from a disconnection issue caicu moved all-in for 2,450,016 from the big blind; tshooter1970 called and was in good shape with pocket nines against the 8h 7h that caicu held. The board brought no relief for caicu and his Sunday Million was finished.

iamhiv eliminated in 6th place

Next to go was iamhiv who started six-handed play as the shortest stack. Blinds had not moved from the 100,000/200,000 (20,000 antes) level when he moved all in from the button holding Ks Jc. Only problem was that plattsburgh, who called from the big blind, held As Kc. The flop brought an ace, but it also put a straight draw out there for iamhiv. But it simply wasn’t meant to be for iamhiv as he was eliminated with nothing but a busted straight.

At this point the five remaining players agreed to a chop based on chip counts. The amount each of the remaining players received was:

There was $30,000 left on the table for the five to play for.

pearljam1012 eliminated in 5th place

pearljam1012, who had said he would donate 10 percent of his winnings from this tournament to the Canadian Cancer Society, would be the first elimination after the chop. From UTG plattsburgh raised to 577,755 and KipsterDK called from middle position. When it folded around to pearljam1012 in the big blind he re-raised all-in to 2,474,750. plattsburgh would be the only caller. pearljam1012 turned over Ac Qd and plattsburgh showed Ah Jh. The flop brought one of three remaining jacks though and the charitable contributions of pearljam1012 weren’t enough to save him from a bad beat.

futilewar eliminated in 4th place

Next to go was futilewar who suffered a bad beat before doubling up a few times to get his chip stack back to almost 1 million. From the small blind he moved all-in for 982,698 only to have plattsburgh call from the big blind. Holding Qd 5h futilewar found himself dominated by plattsburgh’s Qh Td. When a ten hit both the flop and turn futilewar’s run in the Sunday Million came to a halt.

tshooter1970 eliminated in 3rd place

The player with the biggest share of the five-way chop would find himself railbound just before heads-up play began. The blinds had risen to 125,000/250,000 (25,000 antes). From the button plattsburgh raised to 577775 and tshooter1970 called. From the big blind KipsterDK re-raised to 1,999,999 and tshooter1970 called. Following a flop of 2c 9d 2s tshooter1970 lead out for 3,500,000 only to have KipsterDK move in for 5,706,709 right behind him tshooter1970 called for his last 241887 and revealed pocket fours. But as KipsterDK revealed pocket kings the hand was all but over. When the final two cards failed to give tshooter1970 a set he was eliminated.

KipsterDK Wins!

When heads-up play began plattsburgh, whose real name is Matt Vengrin, held a chip lead of 17 million to 14 million over KipsterDK. But that wouldn’t matter much as KipsterDK would eventually take the chip lead and the title. On the final hand of the night, with blinds now at 150,000/300,000 (30,000 antes) plattsburgh raised to 750,000 and after KipsterDK moved all-in right behind him, plattsburgh called. KipsterDK showed Kh Td and plattsburgh showed pocket nines. When a ten hit the flop plattsburgh’s hope of making a comeback was gone and the PokerStars Sunday Million had a new winner.

For a complete listing of the final table payouts for the PokerStars Sunday Million be sure to read The Sunday Report. 

The World Poker Tour’s season-ending World Championship final table was supposed to be all about Gus Hansen. As play began at the six-handed TV final table Hansen had a substantial chip lead.

The Great Dane then went to work eliminating Jeff King, Tommy Le, Cory Carroll, and John Roveto in order to get heads up with David Chiu. By this point Hansen’s chip lead was better than 5 to 1. It should have been academic. 

But Chiu seemed to refuse to bust and after doubling up only 10 hands into heads-up play Chiu would go on to win one pot after another until he took the chip lead from Hansen after nearly 60 hands of play.

Only two hands after giving up the chip lead Hansen found himself as the runner up. On the final hand Hansen raised to 750,000 from the button and Chiu called. The flop came Ac 10c 8s and Chiu checked, Hansen bet 900,000 and Chiu called. The 5s hit the turn and Chiu lead out for 1,200,000 and Hansen moved all-in for 8,675,000.

Chiu eventually called and showed As 9s for top pair with a nut flush draw. Hansen had flopped two pair with his 10s 8h. Hansen’s fate was sealed when the Ah hit the river giving Chiu trips, the WPT World Championship title and $3,389,140 for first place. Hansen’s runner-up finish paid $1,714,800

WPT World Championship Final Table Payouts

1. David Chiu - $3,389,140
2. Gus Hansen - $1,714,800

3. John Roveto - $923,355

4. Cory Carroll - $593,645

5. Tommy Le - $395,725

6. Jeff King - $263,815

Hey Taylor, thanks for taking the time to sit down and talk with us.  We all know you’re a very busy man, but what’s been going on in your life lately?

Hey, thanks.  I’ve been pretty busy lately, but it hasn’t been so bad.  I’ve been actually trying to play a lot more poker.  Ever since we signed our deal with Full Tilt poker, I’ve tried to make sure I’m playing a lot, representing CR and FTP, etc.  I’ve been working on the normal CR stuff too, nothing to out of the ordinary.

Explain the deal with Full Tilt, did they approach you guys and just sign everyone? Congrats on the signing with them!

Yeah, it’s actually been in the works for awhile.  Last summer, some of the top guys at FTP approached us and said they’d like to get to know us a little bit. They talked about working out a partnership or a deal of some sort.  Being a young company, we were pretty flattered, so we figured we might as well see what they had to say.  It took quite awhile to work out the deal, but basically some of our top pros are now representing FTP.  They also make their videos exclusively on FTP.  It’s a great deal for us because we get more exposure into the poker community, and Full Tilt gets some of the best young players representing their site.

I know CardRunners has over 10,000 subscribers and sold $3 million in 2007.  Are you guys still growing a lot, since the beginning of 08?  Where do you see the company at the end of the year?

Well we don’t like to talk about exact revenue numbers, but it’s not hard to figure out how we are doing.  We had a promotion to reward our members and celebrate getting our 10,000th subscriber.  Aside from that, we’ve never really publicly stated our exact goals.  I’ll say that things have been going well for us, and we hope to continue to do more of the same in 2008.  We’ve got some great plans for the WSOP, and really hope to become a household name in the poker industry by the end of the year.

Sounds exciting!  If you compared your company to another one (non-related to poker), to gain an idea on how large it is, what company would you relate it to?

I’ve never really thought about it.  If I had to compare it to another business outside of our industry, I’d compare it to a combination of a gym membership and a country club.  CardRunners has a ton of products to improve your poker game, but it’s also a great place to hang out.  You can meet other poker players, kill time, and have fun.  As far as revenue numbers go, I really don’t know what those types of businesses make.  I can’t make a very good comparison there.

I know you went to NYU to talk in front of a bunch of people about your success in poker to the business industry.  How did that go for you?

Yeah, it went pretty well.  It was just a fairly informal discussion about my poker history, what I learned from it, and relating that to the business world.  I think it was good to show people that poker players aren’t just degenerates with no other skills or drive for success. There are a lot of poker players that are really smart and talented people.

I agree!  I would say the majority of parents out there don’t respect poker, and don’t realize there is strategy and skill behind it.  They just see it as a form of losing money. You took $35.00 from UB and turned it into a lot of money, and now own your own business, which makes millions.  How do your parents feel about all this?

I don’t think I’ve ever actually asked them, but they tell me that they are proud of me when I go home and see them.  It doesn’t really come up all that often, I’m just the same kid they’ve always had, I just have a more hectic lifestyle than I used to.  My family has never really valued money or a flashy lifestyle, so I think what they really like is that I’m doing something that makes me happy and gives me the freedom to make a lot of my own choices and decisions.

That’s awesome!  Alright, we all know the WSOP is around the corner, do you plan on playing a lot of events?  Are you looking forward to anyone in particular?

I’ll be out there for pretty much the whole summer.  I’m looking forward to the 10k heads up tournament and the main event in particular.  Heads up is my best game, so I enjoy playing that event.  I love the main event because of the chance to win many millions for 2 weeks of work.  I’ve always thought it would be amazing to win a huge tournament someday, and this is by far the biggest tournament in the world.  As far as other events, I’ll probably play a few short handed events too, but that’s about it.

What’s the living situation looking like for you out there?  Are you getting a pimped out house with some players or what?

Actually it’s sort of funny. I’m living with the same group of guys I did last summer, who are mostly MSNL grinders.  The guy booking the house was on a downswing when he booked it, so we got a house that’s not all that nice.  It’s certainly not bad, and it’s close to the Strip, but I won’t be in one of the baller houses you see all the 20 year olds getting. I am definitely a bit envious of them.

It still sounds like a good time to me!

It definitely will be!

Do you have any prop bets yet?

I don’t have any yet.  I’m sure there will be quite a few though.  I generally don’t get too much action on prop bets just because my friends know I’m always looking for an edge.  I’ll definitely try to get some going, mostly something to motivate me to put enough hands in online, which is what I need to make sure I continue to do.

Besides playing poker and running CardRunners, what do you like to do in your spare time?  I know your Chicago Cubs are 13-6!

I know! I’m a big Illinois (Illini) sports fan, particularly college basketball.  During the winter I watch a ton of games, and try to go to a few games a year.  During the summer, I probably go to 10 or so Cubs games. When I’m not working or playing poker, I’m probably just hanging out with my friends.  It’s not all that exciting, but that’s pretty much what I do.

You ever bet on sports?

Just with friends, if I do it online, it’s for really low stakes ($5 or something).  I do read some sports betting forums because I find it interesting to learn how to develop an edge in a game. I’m not sure I’ll ever really “use” what I’m learning, but I THINK I know enough to at least be slightly better than even money sports betting, if there is no juice.  I doubt I could beat the house, though.

Now on to the Bluff Final Five.  What is pumping in your headphones while your pwning donkeys?

A mix of good rock (Radiohead for example), and horrible pop/80s music.  I like a lot of different music.

LOL!  What hooked you on 80’s music?  Its ok, I love it too!

It reminds me of good times I’ve had.  There has been a lot of 80’s music that has I’ve heard at bars, parties, etc.  It always puts me in a good mood.

Do you believe luck is a factor in poker, and do you have any rituals to avoid bad luck?

Luck is a factor on any given day, but not really in the long run (except maybe if you are a tournament player who plays 10k events where you might never get to the “long run,” where luck evens out).  For those reasons, I have no rituals to avoid bad luck, it evens out eventually.

If you could bust anyone or take there whole bankroll whose would it be, and why that person?

It would probably be Guy Lieberte, because he’s the richest poker player I know of.  Never mind, Prahlad Friedman just because he used to talk so much trash to me, I did beat him pretty good, though.

I do remember those battles at 50/100nl on Ultimate Bet. Yes u did!  What celebrities would you like to have in your entourage?

Mike Tyson, Turtle and Drama from Entourage, and probably some good looking girls for street credit purposes. 

Haha!  The final question that we always like to ask: Jessica Alba, Jessica, Biel, Scarlett Johansson, or Giselle Bundchen?

Alba if she’s not pregnant, Scarlett if she is!

LOL!  Thanks Taylor for letting us catch up with you.  We wish you and CardRunners the best of luck in the future.

Thank you very much.

As the start of the 2008 World Series of Poker nears a number of online poker operators will begin to add new additions to their stable of sponsored players. One such room is Ladbrokes who today announced the signing of Jonathan Kalmar to their roster.

Kalmar finished 21st this week in the World Poker Tour World Championship event at the Bellagio in Las Vegas after winning a satellite for his seat. However he’s more known for his 5th place finish in the 2007 WSOP main event where he took home $1.27 million.

Known as “skalie” online, Kalmar is excited to represent a brand he’s quite familiar with.

“I can’t wait to take up my role of Ladbrokes Poker pro in an official capacity! I’m raring to go,” said Kalmar. “As part of Team Ladbrokes in 2006 I came 82nd in the main event and then finished in 5th last year let’s hope I continue to improve upon my performance.”

Gus Hansen is in position for his first World Poker Tour title since January 2004 as he holds the chip lead at the final table of the WPT World Championship at Bellagio. Hansen will begin the TV final table with 8,570,000, roughly 32 percent of the chips in the play.

Right behind Hansen is Cory Carroll. Known in the online poker world as “ugotpzd”, Carroll holds 6,670,000. His final table appearance comes nearly one year after his first live win at the World Series of Poker Circuit event at Caesars last May.

David Chiu, making his second appearance at a WPT final table, is in third with 6,050,000. Hansen was the first player to win three WPT titles and can set a new record by winning his fourth. He has made seven WPT final tables.

Eleven players were eliminated on Thursday including Tom Dwan (9th), Kenny Tran (10th), Michael Gracz (11th), Robert Mizrachi (13th) and Andy Black (16th). Amir Vahedi was the unlucky player to finish in 7th on the TV bubble. He earned $237,435.

The final table will be played Saturday so that the World Poker Tour can film the WPT Ladies Championship Friday at Bellagio.

World Poker Tour World Championship Final Table Chip Counts and Seat Assignments

Seat # 1 - John Roveto - 2,720,000
Seat  #2 - Gus Hansen - 8,570,000
Seat #3 - David Chiu - 6,050,000
Seat #4 - Tommy Le - 1,950,00
Seat #5 - Cory Carroll - 6,670,000
Seat #6 - Jeff King - 1,305,000

Hey Isaac, congrats on your final table and taking 4th in the EPT! I know you wanted to win the event, but how do you feel about your overall performance?

I felt that I played very well. I made very few mistakes in my opinion, and had very bad cards at the final table. The only hand I may have misplayed was the last one, but even that one I think is only a small mistake if a mistake at all.

Explain the hand, and tell us what you wish you would have done.

I raised pre-flop to 210k at blinds 40/80k with AQ, four handed. Glen called in the BB and the flop came 672 with 2 spades. He led out for 335k and I felt that he was weak so I shoved all in for about 1.8 mil total. He called with two aces, so obviously now I wish I would have folded. I still don’t hate my play at all.

Do you feel Glen is a solid player? The announcers felt like he was a whiner and a complainer.

He played well for the most part, but I think he played a few hands very bad. He also ran the best out of anyone at the final table. As for his table demeanor, I think he has some work to do.

What have you been up to since the EPT? Are you going to take a break from live tourneys and just play online?

I think I am going to take it easy until I turn 21, which is July 10.

Ugh! You’re just a couple days short of the World Series of Poker. We all know you’re a god online. You are definitely the most solid overall player online (cash games/tourneys). Do you prefer cash games or tourneys? Also do you prefer live or online?

If I play online, I prefer to play cash games. I love playing a bunch of tables at once, and being able to quit whenever I feel like. Heads up cash games are definitely the most fun form of poker, and that doesn’t really happen live. If I play live, I prefer tourneys. I like the deep stacks and the atmosphere. I think the fields in live tournaments are amazing compared to online fields. The prize pools are definitely much better!

We all know you’re a BIG BALLA, what do you do with your dough? Do you have any good toys, or are you an investor?

I have a very nice house, and a Maserati. I also invest a lot of my money into mutual funds.

Holy S***! The Maserati is one sicko car. What did you do with all the money you won at the EPT? You won about $900,000, correct?

Yes! The Maserati is awesome. The money is in my bank right now. I don’t know what I’ll do with it.

Must be nice! Would you ever move to Vegas, or are you going to stay in California?

Right now I have no interest in moving to Vegas. I love living where I do now. I have a lot of great friends around here, and live in a great area. I also live near my family, which is awesome. Maybe if something drastic happens with online poker, I would think about going out there, but as for now I doubt it.

Sounds good! Besides playing poker what do you like to do in your spare time, or for fun?

I’m a big sports fan! I like playing them and watching them, but I really like playing basketball a lot. I also like to party and play video games.

Who’s your favorite team?

The Celtics are my favorite bball team, but I’m not a bandwagon fan! I’ve liked them since I lived there. Like 10 or 12 years ago, haha.

Oh no, were going to have some problems, I am a Lakers fan!

Haha! Hopefully they will play each other. If they do, I will definitely go to a couple of games.

I know you said you like to party, what is BossMenlos drink of choice?

Jack and Coke!

You are more of a brown guy than clear?

Yes, Yes, Yes! I hate Vodka more than anything. I will drink Vodka if that’s all there is to offer.

Ugh! Grey Goose is definitely my favorite drink. You would fit in Atlanta perfectly, since everyone drinks Jack and Cokes. You said you love playing Fifa a lot. The question is Xbox 360, Wii, or Ps3?

Ps3!

Wow, Isaac were not on good terms now! First the Celtics, then Jack and Coke, and now you’re telling me Ps3. I don’t know if could ever hang out with you. I’m sorry, I have an Xbox360, and you are missing out. I do love sports games such as Madden and Fifa too, but have you ever heard of Halo or Call of Duty 4(you can get for ps3) LOL?

LOL! That is so funny, we definitely are opposites. I like to play COD, and enjoy a good 4 person session with it. I’m not huge into those types of games though.

Alright, the new thing with poker is prop bets. Are you one of those guys who loves them?

I’m definitely not that guy who goes out to dinner, and tries to prop bet on every single thing. For example, like over/under on how long it will take the waiter to bring the check out, but I dabble.

Any good ones you’ve done yet?

I did that stupid one in Turks and Caicos. You may have heard about it. I and a bunch of degenerates were betting Matt Gianetti that he couldn’t stay in the pool for 12 hours strait. I definitely lost that one.

How much did you lose?

I lost 25k, but won it right back.

F*** me, not literally. Explain that please.

Basically I and someone else were shooting 10 three pointers in a row, and whoever made the most won $5k.

Besides being a big balla, you’re a bballer too, huh?

Yes, I mean my game isn’t what it used to be, but I still play as much as possible. I have a real good jumper.

Now on to the Bluff Final Five. What is pumping in your headphones while your pwning donkeys?

I don’t listen to music while I play live. I don’t like having to pause it while I’m in the middle of a hand to hear a bet amount or something. I’m a rap fan though. I listen to Kanye West, Jay Z, and Eminem. I also listen to some classic rock.

Do you believe luck is a factor in poker, and do you have any rituals to avoid bad luck?

Of course luck is a factor in poker, no doubt! I don’t really have any rituals.

If you could bust anyone or take there whole bankroll, whose would it be?

I would have to say Phil Hellmuth, (I’m sure I’m not the first to say that) because he has a real big bankroll to bust. It would be very entertaining to watch him lose it all.

Haha! That would be fun to watch. He’d fu***** lose his mind.

Ha! He’s a clown, but entertaining as hell.

What celebrities would you like to have in your entourage?

That’s a real tough question. I would say Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Chris Rock. I have always looked up to Jordan and Brady. Chris Rock would always keep me laughing.

No bodyguards or hotties?

I didn’t know I got those too. Megan Fox and Marissa Miller are amazing. Also that masseuse from the EPT is unreal, so I would choose them. My bodyguard would be Shaq.

Nice! The final question that we always like to ask: Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johansson, or Giselle Bundchen?

Damn that’s tough. It’s definitely between Jessica and Scarlett. LOL, I can’t choose, they are just both so hot.

Got to give me one Mr. Menlo!

Alright, Alba, but I am not happy about just one!

In my opinion I would rather marry Alba, but have a one night stand with Scarlett. Scarlett’s a hottie, but doesn’t seem like a faithful little girl. What do you think?

I can dig that. Alba is definitely the one you want to marry.

Agreed!  Thanks again for stopping by Isaac, it’s been a pleasure. I know we will definitely keep seeing you pwn tons of donkeys, like usual, in the future. Best of luck in bro!

No problem, thank you.