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That was until recently, when two different Swedish screen-names arrived to shake things up a little in the high stakes arena. First there was martonas, who carved a swathe through the nosebleed cash games, before dumping back most of the money he had earned in just a few weeks. Then, as promptly as he had appeared, he was gone. Now there is a new heir to his throne, Isildur1. Also apparently from Sweden, Isildur has spent the last couple of weeks tangling with the game’s best and coming out ahead. Among the vast profits he has scooped from high profile players is a $4 million run against Tom “[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Tom-Dwan-durrrr.php]durrrr[/url]” Dwan.

He may now be on the edge of a martonas style collapse. In a recent heads up Pot Limit Omaha session with [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Patrik-Antonius.php]Patrik Antonius[/url] he shipped back $2.7 million to the Monaco-based Finn. The 2189 hands included one in particular which has the railbirds ablaze. The hand in question broke the record for the largest ever pot ever player in online poker history. The  pot smashed the record of $723,938 previously held by Dwan and Di “Urindanger” Dang.

The record breaking event occurred when the both Isildur1 and Antonius were nursing stacks of around $450,000. The innocuous preflop action consisted of a $5k bet from Isildur1 and a call from Patrik. The flop came 5h-7h-Qs, prompting Isildur1 to bet another $5,000 and Patrik to raise to $21,000. At this point things became a little heated. An Ad on the turn kicked Patrik into gear and encouraged him to lead out with a $48,000 bet. Isildur1 wasn’t going anywhere and demonstrated his intent by re-popping up to $192,000. Antonius then pushed his whole $415,000 stack in the middle, meaning that if Isildur1 called it would become the biggest online pot in history. He did call and the duo discovered that they were tied with top pair and a Queen kicker. Patrik held Ah-Qc-9s-6h, meaning that he needed any heart or any 8 to win the pot. Isildur1 on the other hand had As-Ks-Qd-10h, meaning that he could only emerge victorious if a non-heart Jack or King came on the river. The final card was an 8d, handing Antonius the straight and the gargantuan $878,958 pot.

Isildur1 was visibly rattled after the hand and tried to encourage his opponent to move to the Hold ‘em tables at which he is more adept. “Can we play some nl now and change back to this later,” he asked the Finn, who replied “sry im done for nl for awhile.” A clearly perturbed Isildur1 could only reply with, “what a joke.” Patrick attempted to defend his decision not to move, saying that, “I’ve lost millions in [NLHE] this year.” Isildur1 quite rightly pointed out that “I lost same at this game.” Despite some minor alterations, they continued to play PLO and Patrik booked a huge win.

The identity of Isildur1 is still completely unknown, with guesses ranging from the informed to the absurd. Many claim that this is just a new screen name for martonas, but poker pro [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Barry-Greenstein.html]Barry Greenstein[/url] appears to have the inside line. In a post on the PokerRoad forums, he reveled that he knows the identity of the mystery Swede, but he’s keeping it under his Robin Hood cap for now.

It’s amazing that all the guesses on 2+2 are wrong. I won’t unmask him since that’s his decision. (I don’t know him personally, but I know a good Swedish player who has played with him a lot.) He’s not a publicly [sic] known player at this time, but he has done very well in big head-up games on European sites. He just started playing on American sites.

I have a feeling you will start hearing about in live games and tournaments once he gets a little older, since he likes to play poker all the time.

Barry went on to defend Isildur1’s anonymity, pointing out that many Scandavian players either emigrate or maintain a low profile to avoid the huge tax sums they are required to pay on poker winnings. Whoever he is, it’s almost certain that his time on [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url]’s high stakes tables is done yet and he remains the player to watch over the coming weeks.

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Over Pollack’s 4 series, the WSOP has undergone some huge changes. Almost all of his gambles have paid off; even the controversial introduction of the November Nine has proven to be a good move for the game. Among the other innovations Pollack has overseen are, the invention of the Player’s Advisory Council, the $50,0000 H.O.R.S.E. event, the WSOP Europe, and the growth of Ante Up For Africa. He also turned his media-savvy hand to increasing the TV presence of the WSOP. One of his last acts as Commissioner was to ink a 7-year broadcast deal with ESPN.

Although he had never played a poker tournament before taking on the role, Pollack had an impressive sporting CV. He is the former NASCAR Managing Director and NBA Vice President. Although he originally joined Harrah’s as Marketing Vice President in 2006, he was quickly promoted to the role he has made his own. So much his own in fact, that Harrah’s have announced that they have “no intention at this time to replace the Commissioner role.” Some had picked Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment head and former PartyGaming CEO Mitch Garber as a likely replacement, but it seems like it will be some time before anyone arrives to fill Jeffery’s shoes.

Pollack was a firm believer in the power of modern social media and was active on Twitter, blogs, and vlogs. Many poker fans first heard of his departure via their twitter feeds. “It’s true…..Today is my last day as your #WSOP Commissioner….,” he wrote earlier today. Sadly, the account now appears to have been deactivated. Twitter has also been the medium for a general outpouring of affection for Pollack. Both seasoned pros and media-types have been united in their praise for the outgoing Commissioner. “Jeffrey Pollack was a terrific WSOP Comissioner, and he is a fair and reasonable man,” tweeted [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Phil-Hellmuth.html]Phil Hellmuth[/url] just moments ago. “I’d like to publicly thank him for allowing me the artistic freedom to cover the WSOP in my way,” said talented poker blogger Dr. Pauly, adding that, “There will only be one Commish in poker and that’s Jeffrey Pollack.”

Some people have speculated that a more lucrative offer provided the motive for his departure. However, he has claimed that, “I’ve achieved everything I set out to do and more.” Pollack publicly stated that he would always be a, “friend to poker,” and hinted that, “maybe [he’ll] even play the main event next year.” The WSOP released their own statement, in which they echoed the glowing praise arriving from all corners of the poker world. “We appreciate Jeffrey’s contributions over the past four years and wish him the best in the future. The World Series of Poker remains the market leader with this year’s tournament exceeding all expectations, and we are well positioned for the future.”

Dwan, often referred to by his online name ‘[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Tom-Dwan-durrrr.php]durrrr[/url]’, already spends most of his time playing in the high stakes cash games at [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url]. Thousands upon thousands of hands logged online have made him one of the most formidable players in the game. Sponsorship rumors have been swirling for some time, with most observers in agreement that [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url] was the most likely to capture his signature. He bolstered his profile with recent appearances on Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker. On the latter show, [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url] supremo [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Howard-Lederer.html]Howard Lederer[/url] claims that Dwan, “caused me to make maybe the worst play I’ve ever made on national TV.”

Having thoroughly impressed the big cheese it was only a matter of hammering out the details. Dwan was officially unveiled as a member of Team [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url] in a press conference on Monday. Howard led the introductions, calling Tom the first “pure” internet player as well as noting that most of Team [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url] had been around since before the poker boom. Chris “Jesus” Ferguson followed up with a short speech, before bringing on ‘[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Tom-Dwan-durrrr.php]durrrr[/url] Challenge’ opponent Patrick Antonius to officially welcome Tom. Patrick was the most recent inductee to Team [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url] and joins Dwan as one of only 3 players added in the last 5 years. With Dwan up on stage, Patrick ceremonially placed an FT cap on his head and a patch on his jacket.

Dwan seemed a little overawed by the occasion, but eased up to some degree after fielding a few questions from the assembled press. When asked why he chose to sign with [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url], he stated that, “they have the highest stakes games, the best team, and the software is amazing.” Interestingly, there is some doubt as to whether the ‘[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Tom-Dwan-durrrr.php]durrrr[/url]’ name will remain in use. Tom admitted that he is in two minds about whether to keep it or not and will make a final decision after discussion with other Team [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url] members.

His new [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url] webpage mentions that he has never gone broke playing online poker, having built up his huge bankroll from a $40 deposit. However, this past week must have put a severe strain on his cash reserves. He has lost over $3 million in the last 7-days, with most of it going to mysterious new Swedish player ‘Isildur1’. Over three nights, $2.3 million went the way of the unknown Swede at [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url]’s $500/$1000 NLHE tables. Just like ‘martonas’ a few months ago, the arrival of a new high stakes player has caused much speculation and excitement among poker fans. Martonas was reportedly supported by a group of rich backers and although he booked some big wins early on, the high stakes regulars soon won back their loses. Whether the pattern will repeat with Isildur1 remains to be seen.

[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Tom-Dwan-durrrr.php]Tom Dwan[/url] will also be in training for the live version of his [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Tom-Dwan-durrrr.php]durrrr[/url] Challenge. On the 17th and 19th of November in London, Dwan will take on three pros in a heads-up Pot Limit Omaha cash game. Each will buy in for $500,000 and the matches must last for at least 500 hands. The contest was originally scheduled to take place at the WSOPE, with Matchroom Sport director Eddie Hearn lining up notoriously aggressive businessman Sammy George to face Dwan. George is still in the mix, along with Ilari “[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Ilari-Sahamies-Ziigmund.php]Ziigmund[/url]” Sahamies and Marcello “Luckexpress” Marigliano. Londoner Sammy George was typically gracious in his assessment of Dwan. “If Tom thinks he can come to my backyard and take half a million from my back pocket, he can think again.” The event will be broadcast on Sky Sports in early 2010.

At any point during the action, players in the the Cashout event were able to pick up their chips and leave table. They wouldn’t depart empty handed, however. Depending on their chip-stack, they would receive a portion of a special prize pool. In a Cashout Tournament, half of the buy-in forms the regular prize pool, while the rest goes into a special Cashout pool. In Event #18, each player contributed $100 to each pool - for a total of $200 + $26. Any time before the final table, a player can click the Cashout button and leave the tournament. He or she will then receive chips relative to their current stack, with the starting amount worth $100. The Cashout payout increases in 10% increments, so in this tournament, cashing out twice the chips you began with would net you $200.

When a player cashes out, the money is removed from the special prize pool and their chips are removed from play. If they withdraw from the tournament inside the money bubble, they will also receive the standard payout for that spot. Players do not have to withdraw all their chips at once. They are free to pull out any amount, in 10% increments of the starting stack. Once play reaches the final table, no more Cashouts are permitted and the remaining Cashout pool is transferred into the standard kitty.

This experimental Hold ‘em event attracted 1,844 entrants. Clearly the strong turn-out surprised [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url], as the $184,400 prize pool easily surpassed the $150,000 guarantee. There were 189 money spots, but any player could walk away with cash at any time. Holding on until the end was m_hawk_1, who picked up $37,986.40 for his perseverance. The internet pro, otherwise known as Michael Hawkins, now has online tournament winnings of over $300,000. In second was bd3109, another accomplished online expert, who adds $25,078.40 to the $400k he has already accumulated in online MTT winnings. In third place for $18,624.40 was MagicGog, real name Igor Bakay.

Hosting the event was [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url] veteran and game theory maestro [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Chris-Ferguson.html]Chris Ferguson[/url]. “Jesus” has spend the last 15 years establishing himself as one of the top tournament professionals in the world. His success is built on a strong academic background, having spent 18 years at UCLA working towards a Ph.D in computer science. He was also an early champion of online poker, playing on the stone-age IRC servers that spawned the current flashy online clients. The highlight of his career came in 2000, when he became the first WSOP Main Event champion of the new millennium. Also on his résumé are 5 WSOP bracelets, 3 WSOP-C rings, the 2008 NBC Heads Up Championship, 25 WSOP final tables, and 42 WSOP cashes.

All this expertise didn’t help him cash in FTOPS XIV Event #18. He finished in a disappointingly low 1464th place. In fact, none of the Red Pros who bought in for the event managed to beat the bubble. However, any number of them may have taken advantage of the unique format and cashed out early. The tournament stats don’t indicate who cashed out and who was knocked out, so we can only speculate. Among the other Team [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-FullTilt.php]Full Tilt[/url] pros who failed to finish in the money where: [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Aaron-Bartley.php]Aaron Bartley[/url], [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Allen-Cunningham.php]Allen Cunningham[/url], [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Andrew-Black.php]Andrew Black[/url], David Pham, Eric Shoenberg, [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Huck-Seed.php]Huck Seed[/url], Ram Vaswani, and Scott Fischman.

The Joan Rivers vs. Poker spat has reared its ugly head again, thanks to a (mis)fortunate scheduling coincidence on Sports Talk 790am’s Dan Le Batard Show. [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Doyle-Brunson.html]Doyle Brunson[/url] took personal offense to Joan’s Apprentice comments and demanded a formal apology at the time. When one was not forthcoming, he took advantage of his twitter feed to unleash some light-hearted jabs of his own. Both Joan and Doyle were scheduled to appear on the the same Dan Le Batard Show on Tuesday. The presenters of this unassuming sports show were unaware of the conflict until moments before they went on air and immediately confronted their first guest Joan about some of Doyle’s comments.

The interviewer led out by reciting one of Doyle’s jokes regarding Ms. River’s intelligence. She was clearly unaware who [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Doyle-Brunson.html]Doyle Brunson[/url] was, but this did not prevent her from launching into on of her trademark tirades, in which she lambasted the Godfather of Poker for deigning to criticize her. She made repeated references to her high IQ and told Doyle he should, “come back when you’re 76 and have had a career like mine.” Joan was no doubt unaware that Doyle is himself 76. After telling Doyle he should, “die under a deck of cards,” she hung up on the presenters.

Later in the show, Doyle was played a clip of River’s outburst. He commented that he would “rather die under a deck of cards than under a pile of manure like her,” but refrained from trading insults any further. He then revealed that Joan had been scheduled to fly to Las Vegas to issue a formal apology to the poker community, following her behavior on [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/annie-duke-celebrity-apprentice.php]Celebrity Apprentice[/url]. Doyle was chosen as the person to accept that apology, but the meeting never took place. Texas Dolly wrapped the matter up by stating: “She had no call to berate the poker community the way she did. It showed she had no class. Joan Rivers don’t need us and we don’t need her.”

Elsewhere in the world of Doyle there were a pair of more pleasant events going on. During the WSOP Main Event final table, Doyle announced the latest addition to his ‘Brunson 10’. This decatet of up and coming players are being hand picked by Doyle, so that he can shape them into the next group of poker all-stars. The fifth player to receive this honor is Dani ‘Ansky’ Stern, regular high stakes cash wizard. Gaining some air-time on G4TV’s Two Months, Two Million seems to have done him some favors. “I’ve seen Ansky play on TV, I’ve seen him play online, and I’ve seen him talk poker like someone who’s been playing for decades,” said Brunson. He joins Chris “Moorman1” Moorman, Amit “amak316’ Makhija, Alec “traheho” Torelli, and Zachary “Crazy Zachary” Clark as members of the ‘Brunson 10’.

Doyle is also unveiling his new book. 6 years in the making, The Godfather of Poker: The [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/Doyle-Brunson.html]Doyle Brunson[/url] Story reveals some untold stories from the long and varied life of Poker’s most loved figure. Brunson revealed in a video interview with RawVegas.tv that those expecting a clean and comfortable ride might be in for a surprise. Back in the deep dark ages of poker, things could get a little murky. “People will have to understand that times change,” he said. The book is co-written by Mike Cochran and features numerous tails of outlandish prop-bets and Las Vegas gangsterism. The tome is scheduled for release on November 10th.

Real innovation in the way online poker software works is rare. However, Austrian gaming giant [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-BwinPoker.php]Bwin[/url] may be about to change all that. They are currently testing a new program that integrates social media into online poker. The company believes that increasing the connections between players is the next frontier for the long stagnant world of poker software design. If all goes to plan, in a very short time you might be able to share your most recent victory on facebook or challenge another player to a wager - all from within the [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-BwinPoker.php]Bwin[/url] client.

The product is still in testing and not all the details have been revealed, however the new system seems to revolve around a Shoutbox. Rather than just the standard chat area current players are familiar with, this new feature will contain a whole raft of social media options. You can make comments on specific bets and hands, as well as invite your friends to the table. These comments will be viewable by all, enabling other users to come in and interact with your behavior. These functions will intertwine with Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. This new technology brings an unprecedented level of connectivity to online poker. You will even be able to create and maintain your own friends list, with specific alerts informing you when your buddies sign on.

[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-BwinPoker.php]Bwin[/url] is the current owner of the [url=http://poker-network.flopturnriver.com/PokerNetwork-Ongame-Network.php]Ongame[/url] network, who recently completed their new P5 poker platform. The new software was a solid modern poker client, but provided nothing revolutionary out of the box. However, it seems to have been built with the potential to include all kinds of technological advancement. Following the trials, the new technology could be rolled out across many of the [url=http://poker-network.flopturnriver.com/PokerNetwork-Ongame-Network.php]Ongame[/url] skins.

As far as Chief Technological Officer Thomas Kiessling is concerned, this is just the start of a new focus for [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-BwinPoker.php]Bwin[/url]. “It’s really the customer experience that’s key. That is a major priority for me,” he said. “Customer relationship management, customer intelligence, usability studies. That is a major priority for me.” [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-BwinPoker.php]Bwin[/url] has already sunk €45 million into the creation of this new software, which looks set to become a core part of their already solid online offering.

For two weeks, [url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-PokerStars.php]PokerStars[/url] are switching the Battle of the Planets contest into overdrive. From November 8 - 21, all leaderboards across the entire promotion will benefit from added cash. Every prize pool is doubled, making it even more rewarding to be a small-scale tournament expert.

The buy-in of a particular S&G indicates which division it falls into. At the bottom of the scale is the Mercury bracket, containing tournaments from $1 - $2.99. There are eight divisions in total, each named after a planet, with the gas giant Jupiter at the top of the tree. Any Sit and Go that costs $300 or more to enter will contribute points towards the Jupiter leaderboard.

Every division has its leaderboard cleft in two. The Low Orbit option caters to the casual player and allows the quality recreational poker-heads to compete for their own prize pools. Meanwhile, the High Orbit area allows true grinders to outdo their opponents in style. In the Low Orbit section you receive points for the first 20 S&Gs you play per week. Once you’ve finished your 20th, the total points are totted up and counted as your leaderboard score. You then have the opportunity to play up to four more 20 tournament blocks, the highest of which will count as your weekly score. Once you exceed 100 tournaments you are officially part of the High Orbit set. You can now complete unlimited blocks of 100 S&G tournaments, with the highest scoring collection counting for your official score. Satellites, heads-up, Double or Nothing, and tournaments of more than 40 players do not count - but everything else is fair game.

The amount of money you receive for your success depends on which division you are in and which position on the leaderboard you finish. You are permitted to place on more than one leaderboard. First place on both Orbits receive the same prize, which in the Mercury division is $150. This division has a total weekly prize pool of $1,500, distributed between players from 1st to 40th in both Orbits. Over in the gargantuan Jupiter division, both leaderboard victors receive $1,500. The remaining $7,000 in prize money is shared between 2nd to 5th in both Orbits. These prizes are already well worth winning, but during this special promotional period, all of them are doubled!

The top 10 finishers on each weekly leaderboard have the chance to make even more money. They will all be entered into the monthly $50,000 Battle of the Planets freeroll. On the last Sunday of every month at 14:40 ET, a few hundred players will get together to compete for a huge prize pool.

This special Battle of the Planets celebration could be incredibly lucrative for a few skilled players. If anyone manages to break the overall record for any leaderboard, they will receive 10 times the 1st place amount for that week. For Mercury level players that could mean a cool $1,500, Venus players have $5,000 to play for, and high-stakes Jupiter record-breakers stand to net a huge $15,000. Both Low Orbit and High Orbit leaderboards have their own records to break. If more than one person exceeds the record in the same week, then only the highest scorer will get the money. If there’s a tie, the cash will be shared equally.

The records to beat are as follows:

Low Orbit

Mercury     ELIAAEL         725
Mars         justnutty         694
Venus     so awful         712
Earth         luxet             692
Neptune     Petsen2         641
Uranus     jlewis10748         609
Saturn     BigBlindBeny     552
Jupiter     MRIBAS         540

High Orbit

Mercury    dwayno44         2,210
Mars        msEvsiNdreAd     2,030
Venus        PLEBINI         1,944
Earth        MayMan2008     1,909
Neptune    bernardc         1,979
Uranus    i have nuts         1,836
Saturn     ROONEY_DIVES     1,718
Juptier    alesanre         1,609