Ladbrokes Online Poker Blog

2011-10-19T11:15:00.001-07:00

Для тех у кого очень тонкий слух и
http://sviliams.livejournal.com/124388.html кто может почувствовать разницу в звуке тикающих стрелок часов. Подтверждаю тему на сто процентов.

2011-06-26T10:17:00.001-07:00

I am thinking about buying bitcoins
http://rosefrenches.livejournal.com
there are some sellers on ebay but exchannge rete is strange

2011-06-26T10:16:00.001-07:00

bitcoin is new online momey system
http://sviliams.livejournal.com
they can be "produced on local box, but it takes a lot of time

2011-06-26T10:15:00.001-07:00

bitcoin is very interesting thing
http://dimatorm.livejournal.com
i see there are some web sites selling mining rigs for it

Ladbrokes Poker 100 Series Tournament now!

2009-11-06T06:56:00.001-08:00

Ladbrokes Poker is pleased to announce the launch of the 100 Series with Total Payout of €30,000

Join Ladbrokes Poker & Register to take your chance

On the first Monday of each month, poker’s hottest new tournament comes to town. Brand new to Ladbrokes Poker the unique €30,000 100 Series Tournament is now set to become the hottest poker ticket around.

Capped at just 100 runners, demand for places is sure to be intense.

The first event kicks off on Monday 7th December 2009 at 19:00 GMT. With a buy in of €300 + €20, a massive €30,000 tournament is guaranteed!

Ladbrokes Poker will be running satellites to the €30k Guaranteed 100 Series Tournament from as little as €3.50 throughout November!

* Main Event: 7th December
* Buy In: €300 + €20
* Prize pool: €30,000
* Starting Chips: 5000
* Blinds: 20 minutes

Kate McLennan, Head of Ladbrokes Poker, said: "Christmas kicks off early with the 100 Series. It’s the first of a series of high value formats we’re lining up to give poker players a feast of festive treats.”

Payout structure:

Position Payout

1. €10,000
2. €6,000
3. €4,000
4. €2,500
5. €2,000
6. €1,600
7. €1,350
8. €1,100
9. €800
10. €650

Ladbrokes Poker nominated for Poker Operator of Year 2009 by Egaming Review.

Winners will be announced on 30th November 2009!

Jon "skalie" Kalmar at Irish Poker Festival 2009

2009-10-15T04:01:00.001-07:00

It’s the day of the main event and after lunch we took our seats. With over 750 entries the room was packed to the rafters yet was still a very comfortable environment to play.
There was a 1hr clock and 15,000 starting stacks. With the blinds starting at 25/25 the structure was absolutely fantastic, the organisers were determined to give us our money’s worth but I was concerned how the hell it would finish by Sunday night.

>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8

The 1st two levels were quiet and I reached the break with just 12,500 chips. Not in bad shape and I had already seen which players on the table were likely to donate chips to me. Unfortunately candidate number 1 gave them to someone else the very first hand we got back.
A player to my left got very busy, raising my big blind under the gun twice. Both times he rivered me for tasty pots once with 23 of hearts the other 78 of hearts. I was now down to less than 8k.

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With the blinds at 100/200 I find AQ on the button. Rivvver (A Ladbrokes regular) had limped under the gun. I raise to 600 to find where I am and he flat calls. The flop comes A 8 2. He checks and I bet 900, hoping he comes over the top. I am sure he doesn’t have AK, if he’s flopped the set, well I guess I am going out. He dwells for some time and eventually flat calls. I am now sure he has a pocket pair, probably somewhere between the 8 and ace, 10’s or jacks’s maybe. The turn is a blank and he checks to me. If I bet now, he will fold and I get nothing more. He knows me and he expects me to continuation bet the flop whether I hit or not. I check, knowing he will either bet the river or at least call a bet from me thinking there is a good chance I am bluffing. The river is again a blank and he checks to me. I bet 2000 which he calls and he shows me his pocket kings. If he’d re-raised pre-flop I was gone. Phew!
The guy to my right, called Joseph had been harping on about a dog all day. I have an almost perfect record when it comes to backing horse and dog tips. If I back ‘em they lose, if I don’t, they win. Simple. I had tried to resist the temptation of knowing about it. However when the dinner break came he reminded everyone again that it was running at 9.25 and the whole table assured him they were backing it, including the old dear (Vera) to his right. I now had no choice, if I came back from the break to hear the whole table celebrating a win I was sure to tilt. I had to consider the bet as a life insurance policy.
Julian and Traff joined me for dinner at our hotel where we discussed the days play and the bet (of course). Traff wasn’t interested but Julian and me rushed back to get our bets on. It was only 6/4 so we had 200 each on and stood around waiting for the start of the race. At 9.30, 5 mins after the off someone informed us it was some far out Irish track and there wasn’t gonna be any coverage so we rushed back to the tournament. By the time I got to the table everyone was celebrating, it had indeed won. Sweet.
Without any major battles or large pots I had battled my way to over 20,000. On my table was Rory Brown, a young lad who I first met in Galway of January of this year. I knew he had moves and his read of the game is good. We locked horns a little and it was only a matter of time before we played a critical pot.
With the blinds at 150/300 He raised under the gun to 1000. I find pocket Jacks and re-raise to 3000. He contemplates his next move. He knows I could be squeezing but he doesn’t want to risk pushing all in, but his hand is good enough to at least see a flop and calls. The board is 7 4 2, perfect. He checks to me. I bet out just over 4,000. I know he has around 11,000 and I hope he feels I will fold to a push. He dwells before indeed pushing all in and I make the call. He flips over pocket 10’s and when the turn and river are blanks I have over 35k and am very much in the game and taken out the one player on the table who might have had me worried.

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I started to use my newly found stack to apply pressure. And things are going well. With the blinds at 200/400 I raise with Kd6d on the button to 1150 and both blinds call. Oh, well just a set back. The flop comes 9 Jack high all clubs. Checked to me and I bet 2000. The small blind passes and the big blind checks his cards and calls. I know he has a big club, probably the bare ace and when the turn is a red Jack he checks to me again. I now bet 4500, he only has around 20k and would be foolish to call. He calls, obviously. The river is a King of clubs. He checks and I check hoping I had read the hand wrong and my pair of kings would be enough. NOPE! The clown does indeed have the ace of clubs for the nuts. Not only does he call without pot odds, he had called with no implied odds. Does he really think I am stupid enough to bet the river when the club comes? Sickening when some people may as well turn their cards face up and you still can’t beat them.
The day wrapped up around 1am with still over 400 players remaining. I had around 38k, chip leader for my table and in a good spot. The great news was there would be no redraw and I would get my shot at the same players again.
My friend Steve Trafford has also made day 2 on his first ever major tournament and was obviously delighted. A good effort indeed. Kila had been less than fortunate. After a hefty pre-flop raise with AQ she was all in and out on a flop of Q K A. Her opponent attached to his monster 10 jack.
All that was left was preparation for day 2, so to the bar then.
Friday 2nd October

Interview with Thomas Rolfe (r0lfus) - Winner of Irish Poker Festival 2009

2009-10-08T07:11:00.001-07:00

Thomas took home €100,000 from the Ladbrokes.com Poker Festival in Killarney in the early hours of Monday morning having qualified through one of our Killarney Rake Races in August, playing mid stakes. Thomas is only 22 and has been playing full time poker for a year and a half, since he finished University at Loughborough. We managed to catch up with Thomas, and asked him a few questions to see how he is feeling after an intense weekend of poker and how he will be spending his winnings.

>> See the final table video footage: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo

Adam: So how does it feel to win and be €100,000 better off, at your first attempt?
Thomas: It feels amazing! Didn’t realise how much I had won at the time, it didn’t really kick in till the next day what had just happened and what I had been through, it’s a massive amount of money and feels great!

A: What have you done since the early hours of Monday morning to celebrate?
T: Well we had a few drinks with the Ladbrokes guys and then finally got to bed about 8am and then don’t think any of us were up until 5pm Monday evening. But we took it easy and I treated the boys to a meal in the hotel. I’m saving my main celebrations until the weekend, when I’m going out in Nottingham with a group of friends.

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A: What was the atmosphere like at the final table?
T: Well I have made a final table once before, I finished 3rd it at the Venetian back in February. But that was nothing like this…it was no way near the same, towards the end nearly every hand got the crowd off their seats, which added to the atmosphere and pressure.
A: You seemed to be very calm at such a young age, how did you deal with the crowds and the long hours?
T: Generally I calmed myself by chatting to the other players at my table, but in general I found myself calm throughout the tournament. I felt the banter increased amongst players as the tournament went on; it was very quiet to begin with.
A: How did your family react when you told them?
T: Ha ha, I text my mum and her first response was a text saying “DON’T LOSE IT!!” and that was shortly followed by another one saying “don’t buy a car!!” Since then I have had loads of texts and facebook messages from friends and family.
A: What are you going to be doing with the money?
T: Short term, I’m going to play more high stakes, cash games and hopefully get involved in a few more live tournaments. But long term, I’m looking to buy a house in Nottingham.
A: Apart from winning, what was your favourite moment of the weekend?
T: Umm…wow that’s hard one. I did enjoy one specific big hand on day 2. I had a pair of Ace’s and this other guy had 6/4 off suit. The flop gave a pair of 6’s and he bet very aggressively but I was never going to fold holding Ace’s. Then an Ace came on the River, I doubled my chip stack, winning about €95,000, so that was nice.
A: Have you been on any other VIP events with Ladbrokes?
T: No this was my first, as I’m quite a new VIP, but hopefully not the last as I had an amazing weekend and have heard good things about Ladbrokes VIP events from other players.
A: Have you played poker since Monday morning?
T: No not yet, but will probably play later today. Whilst travelling home we played some stupid games, flipping a coin for money and things like that but only small scale stuff.
A: Did you make any new Poker friends over the weekend?
T: Yeah I met a few nice guys. I had arranged to meet up with Alexdb before hand on the Ladbrokes chat, as we have played together on a few occasions and he is a strong player, so yeah it was good to finally meet up with him.
A: What’s next for you in the near future, any holidays? Or just more poker whilst your on a high?
T: Just more poker, nothing crazy planned as yet.
A; You had some great support at the final table, would you like to thank anyone specially?
T: Yeah I think I had the support of all the English….well all 3 of them at the final table, but yes I would like to thank Simran (D33pincider), Chris (GARY888) and Alex (Alexdb) for all their support.
A: Will you be back next year?
T: Definitely, to defend my title!
A: So are you looking forward to the Cruise, you also won?
T: Yeah I can’t wait, to be fair, when I won I forgot about the Cruise package but to realise after, that I will be going to places such as Jamaica is great. Really can’t wait and hopefully a few of my friends will win packages through Ladbrokes too.

Report by Adam F. - Ladbrokes Poker Team

We got a WINNER: Thomas Rolfe cashed in €100K at Irish Poker Festival 2009

2009-10-06T05:43:00.001-07:00

FREE entry Thomas Rolfe was celebrating after coming through a mammoth five and a half hour final table to land the Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker €100,000 first prize, last weekend.

>> See the video from Final Table: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo

The Nottingham-based player (alias ‘r0lfus’) plans to invest his biggest ever win in property after capturing the six-figure sum when his AQ vs. AK hit the flush to consign local favourite Emmet Gough to the runners-up spot.- The four day festival attracted over 750 players.

Rolfe said: “I’m really pleased to have won this event. It’s a big stepping stone and a chance to invest in a new house.”

The 22-year-old, who won his place at Killarney in a rake race on the firm’s site, added to his joy by securing the first Ladbrokes Poker Cruise IV package.

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Satellites for the cruise are due to start in December, exclusively online at Ladbrokes Poker.

Kate McLennan, Head of Poker, said "This tournament has once again been a huge success and is a fitting place to launch the Poker Cruise. It's nice to see familiar faces and also welcome some first-timers.

“We're already planning next year’s Irish event, though I think it’s going to take 12 months to recover from the weekend’s festival!"

An additional package for the Poker Cruise was won in the Ladbrokes qualifiers’ prize draw-selected by Boyzone’s Shane Lynch-by Laddies legend Richard Clarke. (Alias ‘KrackedKings’, formerly ‘richlizard’).

Lynch and Irish football legend Ronnie Whelan were on hand to impart their pearls of poker wisdom to proceedings at the event.

Ladbrokes Pro’s Jonas ‘Nebuchad’ Danielsson and Jon ‘Skalie’ Kalmar represented Scandinavia and UK respectively in the fun showcase tournament held on stage – with Nebu taking the prize and the bragging rights in the UK vs. Scandi vs. Irish team competition..

Multi table tournament king and recent Vegas casher ‘daddymac’ won the festival’s €300 side event and picked up €18000.

Irish Poker Festival 2009 – Final Day in the Main Event

2009-10-05T02:44:00.001-07:00

57 Players returned for the final day's play in the Main Event. With the bubble now a distant memory players began to exit the tournament rapidly. A late finish was in store when the final table began at 11pm.

>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo

The first player to exit was Jerry Cosgrave. The play slowed down considerably and Ladbrokes cash game player Thomas Rolf was doing his best to keep the Irish crowd quiet by taking the chip lead. However, the final table ebbed and flowed and by the time there were three players left it was England v Ireland. Michael Murphy finished in 3rd place collecting €35,000 leaving local Emmet Gough heads up with Rolf whose alias is r0lfus. The former student who is just 22 years old held a significant advantage as the heads up battle began. However, Gough chipped away at his lead and turned the game around.

A large gathering of spectators watched on into the early hours until the crucial hand played out to leave Rolf the new champion. With all of Gough's chips in the middle it was Rolf's AQ that improved against the dominant AK of Gough. It was a harsh blow for the young Irishman who was dignified in defeat. Emmet Gough won a fantastic €65,000 for his weekend's work.

Rolf celebrated with friends before moving straight to the bar for a well earned drink, grasping the new trophy and a cheque for €100,000. In addition to the huge cash prize Thomas also picked up the added 2011 Poker Cruise package.

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Congratulations must also go to Ladbrokes regular Richard Sinclair (daddymac) who played superbly to take the €300 side event. daddymac defeated Nicky Power heads up and took the €18,000 forst prize and continue his recent run of fantastic results.

Ladbrokes Poker would like to thank all those who have tried to qualify for the Irish Poker Festival as well as those who followed the daily updates.

As you may be aware the 2011 Poker Cruise (http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/poker-cruise ) was announced this weekend and a prize draw was made for all new registrations and online qualifiers to this year's Irish Poker Festival. The winner of the package was Richard Clarke (richlizard / KrackedKings). Nice one Richard!!!

Jonas Danielsson, AKA Nebuchad busted at Irish Poker Festival 2009

2009-10-05T02:36:00.001-07:00

I just have to press "b" and the word "Bust" comes up. It saves me a little time, lol.

I am fairly happy with how I played. Big pot which made me lose my stack was when the button limped, I completed with Qs-5s in the small blind and big blind checked. Blinds were 500-1000 with a 100 ante.

>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/Qdmzo

The flop came Ah-Js-2s, giving me a flushdraw. I bet 2500, BB folded and the button raised to 7k. The button is a really loose player (looser than me actually) and even though I could see him limping an ace I still thought it was rather unlikely. This makes this flop a really good flop to be aggressive on since its unlikely he would limp any strong hands like A-A, J-J, A-J. He would probably raise 2-2 as well just to take the blinds. J-2 I consider is to weak to limp there. So there are not really many combos that can stand a push from me. A-2 is probably the only one and maybe he would raise that from the button as well. In short, I thought that he himself could have a flushdraw or just a pure bluff most of the time. My range from the SB is a little bit wider than his limping range since I get really good pott odds preflop with anything. Also I have seen him raise alot of top pairs with weak kickers on the flop just to take the initative so any type of weak ace I also put in his range but I thought I had fold equity over those.

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I pushed for 35k into 13 500 basically repping only J-2, 2-2 and A-2 but I still kind of liked the play since in a tournament people are not that range conscious. He called with A-10 and I am not really sure about his play here. I would not push a flushdraw lower than a ten-high (because of the risk in bumping in a higher flushdraw) and that actually makes my range a slight favorite in this spot. There was however enough money in the pot for him to call but considering I had been playing pretty tight I think he could find a fold because he also has to consider that I might call with a good flushdraw instead of pushing. I guess its a pretty close spot all in all.
Now I am going to have a few guiness and tomorrow I will try to see some of those green litlle leprechauns the Americans come here to look for ;)

I heard that at the end of the rainbow is a good place to start.

Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro – Jonas Danielsson, AKA Nebuchad, Saturday 3 Oct 2009

Irish Poker Festival Day 3 - €250,000 Guaranteed Main Event

2009-10-04T02:53:00.001-07:00

The Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker Festival Main Event was underway at 1pm today. 462 players returned hoping to still be in with a chance of scooping the €100,000 first prize. The field started to shrink rapidly and by 10pm it was bubble time. With 78 players being paid the unlucky player in 79th was Lee Rabbit. The Irishman was to find his luck to change though as Ladbrokes offered Lee the very first seat in 2010's event.

>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8

By the end of the day's play there were 57 players remaining. The average stack was 190k. The chip leader is Brian O'Keefe who has approximately 700k. When play resumes on Sunday the blinds will be 5000/10000 with a 1000 ante. Notable Ladbrokes players left in the tournament include mickjagger1 (238k), _db_ (115k) and Marky147 (200k).
The €300 side event also got underway on Saturday and will conclude on Sunday. Of the 275 runners who started only 53 remain. Notable Ladbrokes players in with a chance include bigTR and 4thnoxx from Norway.

In addition, Ladbrokes announced yesterday the 4th Poker Cruise http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/poker-cruise scheduled for January 2011. Further details on how to qualify for this much anticipated event will be available shortly, here: http://bit.ly/PokerCruiseIV

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On to Poker Now! - Irish Poker Festival 2009 by Ladbrokes

2009-10-04T02:51:00.001-07:00

The day started with a huge field of 752 players. I was really ready to play and I so much looked forward to playing. I started on a really good table with a lot of limpers and a couple of calling stations. It was mostly Irish players and only one other Nordic player, a Swede with nick “Polarbear” on Ladbrokes. I was not going to bluff much at this table. That was for sure! But I was going to see quite a few flops since I felt my post flop game was better than average on this table.

>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8

I played well from the start, and I got a lot of good cards as well. I wish poker always was as easy as this. I got a lot of medium and low pocket pairs. Normally they are quite hard to play, but I played them quite carefully and risked little.
On level 2 (25/50) I got a pair of 3’s. I limped in as the second player and the big blind, a female player that was the most aggressive player at the table, raised to 350. Normally I would have folded at this point since 300 more is way too much to hit a two outer. But I knew that I could get paid very well if I hit, so I ended up calling. The flop was the very beautiful A-K-3. She bet 550, which I only flat called planning to raise on the turn. The turn was a ten. Not a bad card, but it could be a bit dangerous. She now bet another 550. I raised to 1550 and she called. On the river, an eight, she checked. I bet out 2800. She took some time but ended up calling in the end. When I showed here my hand she only showed an ace. A very nice pot for me and a very good start as well.

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I lost a few pots after this one. Among them a hand with pocket jacks against 2-3 off suit! On a 10-6-4 board I was called only for a five to come giving the opponent a straight. I also had to fold 9’s on a low flop once. This time the opponent showed pocket queens, so it was a good fold.
On level 4 (50/100) I was on the cut off with an absent big blind. I raised to 300 with 8-5 offsuit and got called from the button and the small blind. The flop was K-8-4. It was check to me and I bet out 600. The button folded and the Swede in the small blind raised to 1200. At this point I felt weakness from him. I put him on K-J or maybe K-10. I thought I could take the pot by reraising here, but why reraise now if I can wait a bit and take down a bigger pot? So I called with plans of stealing the pot on any turn card. The turn was a queen. The Swede bet out 1500. I followed my plan and raised to 4100. He folded quite fast. Well played, Andreas!
Soon after this hand it was dinner break. I had 38.550 in chips and was really happy about that. I had dinner with fellow Norwegian Tobias Holmeide and tournament specialist James Browning from UK. We talked about a lot on things, including the very bad tax system in Norway for poker players. Both Tobias and James had come back from a rough start to now be well above average. Just as expected from these two players that really are among the better players down here.
Very soon after the dinner break my table was broken. I didn’t like this, of course, but that is a part of playing tournament poker. My new table was a harder one. And I got no cards at all. It took one full hour before I won my first pot! And another 40 minutes before I won the next. I was bleeding!
I ended up bluffing away 12k in one bad played pot, and nothing seemed to go my way. Poker was not as fun anymore.
I had about 20k left in my stack when it was 15 minutes left of the day. The blind was 200/400 with 25 in running ante. The cut off, a new guy at the table, raised to 1000. I had 9-8 of spades and wanted to win the pot. He could very easily just try to steal the pot. So I raised to 2800. He called. The flop was K-K-Q, with to spades. He checked. I would bet out here nine out of ten times, but I suddenly felt some strength from the other guy. I don’t know why, but I ended up checking behind. The next card was the seven of spades. Nice one! He checked again and I bet out 5000. He raised to 15000 and I moved all-in. He showed aces with the ace of spades. I asked if he did call my all-in before I showed my cards. He didn’t realize that the 15000 bet was not enough to put me all-in. He of course called. The river card was a king. His full house crushed my flush and I was out of the tournament.

Damn it, I hate to bust on the last level!

Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro - Andreas Hoivold, Saturday 3 Oct 2009

Getting to Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival 2009 in Killarney

2009-10-04T02:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I arrived in Killarney, after having a trip that really should make me stressed. Lucky for me I don’t stress too much, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t react at all. I needed no less than three flights to get to Killarney and all of them were delayed. I met with Vibeke from Ladbrokes Norway in Oslo, and we travelled together from there.

>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8

After about 13 hours of travelling I finally was in Cork and our original plan was to take a taxi from Cork Airport to the train station and then take a train to Killarney. But when we were on the way to the train station Marios from Ladbrokes in the UK called and said he wanted me in a small tournament here in Killarney and he asked us to take the taxi all the way to Killarney. Good for us, of course. It should take about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
We asked the driver to go to Killarney instead of the train station. He said that was no problem, but he seemed a bit insecure. He said he had to turn around to get there, which for us seemed fair. After driving for about 45 minutes on really small roads we started wondering where the driver was taking us. He then asked us to show where we should go on his map (!). He also now for the first time used his GPS. Wasn’t that a bit late for that? Of course it was! The GPS told the driver to drive right on every crossing. He didn’t obey and the GPS was “recalculating” quite a few times.

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Finally he ended up obeying. Only to get on a road that became smaller and smaller. A dirt road that looked as it was taken from a bad horror movie of the 80’s. I started joking to Vibeke about dying in the forests in Ireland. I don’t know why, but for one reason or another she didn’t like it.
After being on this road for a while the driver decided that this was the wrong way. And he turned around. He told us that the GPS wasn’t working. This was of course rubbish. But anyway, we continued on the same road for a while before Marios called me again. We had a few minutes before passed a sign that told us it was still 82 kilometers to Killarney and I told Marios that it would take another hour before we arrived. The taxi driver said “No, no, no, it will not take that long”. Little did I know at the time that he was right. It should not take an hour, it should take two!
We had in fact taken the southern way to get there via Bandon, Bantry and Kenmare. So we ended up using three and some hours to get from Cork to Killarney. I spoke to some others that said they used exactly one hour. The taximeter ended in the 330’s but we “only” paid 150. In my opinion he should pay us!

Well, enough about travelling. On to poker!

Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro - Andreas Hoivold, Saturday 3 Oct 2009

Nation against nation at Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival 2009

2009-10-04T02:46:00.001-07:00

The day after the fun night we had before i would like to mention a nice call in the nation against nation tournament in Killarney yesterday. We were heads up and had about 50k each (he covered me slightly). I had the big blind of 3k and my opponent limped in from the small blind (which is pretty unusual).

>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/wi6E8

Now two hands before he had done exactly the same but then I had pushed all in pre-flop (with rubbish) and he folded. This time I had Kd-3c off and decided to check the big blind. The flop came Ks-Qc-5c. I checked and he checked behind. Turn came 10c and I bet out 4k, my opponent raised to 12k. Now I had a real decision. I thought he might be on some sort of flush draw and I wanted to re-raise him but the stack-sizes felt a bit awkward here. I also had outs with my 3 of clubs if he had me beat. So, I called and the river came a blank 6x. I checked and he made an overbet all-in for about 36k. I could really only see J-9 that beat me at this point, since he would bet a flush draw on the flop and he would raise A-J, K-K, Q-Q and 10-10 preflop. This was my info at the moment and if you only can see one hand that beats you its usually correct to call. Also the overbet was a bit supicious, right?
Anyway, I told him that I could only see one hand that beat and said that I probably have to call. Then he wanted to flip his hand over and asked the dealer if "I probably have to call" was binding, lol. That really screwed with my head and I had to re-think the situation. After ages I decided to call and he showed 9-9. You might think that if he flat calls preflop with nines he could also do it with A-J+ and that is the case but the given info at the moment pointed to the contrary. He did it to trap me where as I excluded that he had that in his play book.

I am through day 1 with 29 125 chips and now I am going to bed. See you!

Author: Ladbrokes Poker Pro – Jonas Danielsson, AKA Nebuchad, Saturday 3 Oct 2009

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Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival main event was finally here – Day 2

2009-10-03T03:06:00.001-07:00

The Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker Festival main event was finally here. Following last year's phenominal turnout another 752 players turned out in the hope of capturing the first prize of €100,000.
Players from all parts of the globe including Bulgaria, Poland and Latvia joined the masses from the UK and the Nordics hoping to emulate 2008 champion Jimmy McSweeney's dream win.
>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/4A9pBd
The day's play was preceeded with the usual introductions, rules and well wishes.
In addition, Ladbrokes announced the 4th Poker Cruise http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/poker-cruise scheduled for January 2011. Further details on how to qualify for this much anticipated event will be available shortly, here: http://bit.ly/PokerCruiseIV
Back to the tournament and the play was understandably slow and cagey with the opening blind level of 25/25. All the more incredible was that it took one player all of 8 minutes to lose his 15,000 starting stack. The call from the floor was met with gasps of amazement from the rest of the players and the watching public. Notable players to exit during the evening included Martin Stalros and Julian Gardner. By the time play finished at around 1am there were still 462 players still in with a chance of winning. The average stack is now 28,000 and the players will come back today at 1pm for Day 2.
Here are some chip counts from the first day:
• new1home - 4000
• biglad - 11000
• Radfar - 20000
• T8MML - 22000
• banksoir - 25000
• skalie - 37000
• __db__ - 45000
• RIVERMAID – 67000
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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Who won the poker international game at Irish Poker Festival 2009?

2009-10-03T03:00:00.001-07:00

So, there were just two players left in the international invitational game arranged as a prelude to the Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker Festival. With Ireland already out of the running it was left to the English team represented by bbmoney and the Nordics represented by Nebuchad to fight it out heads up for the €1800 and more importantly the bragging rights and pride in the picturesque Irish town.

>> See the latest videos from Irish Poker Festival and all action updates at: http://bit.ly/4A9pBd

With the chips stacks marginally in favour of bbmoney the crucial hand was played out in front of may spectators that had gathered to see the climax of a fun night's poker. Following bbmoney's limp in the SB the flop of Ks Qc 5c was checked by both players. The turn was 10c and Nebuchad bet 4k only to be re-raised to 12k by the Englishman.

After a short pause the Swede called still looking perplexed. The blank 6x on the river was met with another check from the Swede. bbmoney then pushed all in for his remaing 35k+ stack and the decision and pressure was firmly on Swede's shoulders. Following a long pause and much table talk Nebuchad called.

The players flipped the cards with Nebuchad first showing Kd 3c for top pair and bbmoney showing pocket 99s. The hand crippled the England team and the game was soon up - as in the very next hand the Nordics claimed victory. Noisy celebration followed but above all mutual respect was on show as all the players shook hands and applauded what was a suitable start to what is the friendliest of poker festivals.

The crucial call will be debated for days to come and I am sure we have not heard the last of it until the teams get it on at the next Ladbrokes event.

http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/irish-poker-festival-2009

Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival 2009 got underway in Killarney last night

2009-10-02T02:28:00.001-07:00

The Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker Festival 2009 got underway in Killarney last night. See the latest videos & action updates here: http://bit.ly/zZt33

The traditional super satellite set proceedings in full flow with 182 players trying to capture a seat to today's €250,000 main event. Many of the Laddies regulars were in attendance with some already having secured their seats through online qualification. However, many viewed this as an opportunity to cash in on another seat or maybe even reward a friend or relative with one of the sought after tickets. Play commenced at 7.45pm and players were still seen buying in after the first few levels - an indication for the thirst for poker amongst the Ladbrokes community as well as the many locals who were trying their luck. The extraordinary number attempting to win a seat meant that there were a total of 37 main event seats up for grabs following the rebuy and add on stages of the satellite. Play ended well past 1am with a deal eventually being done amongst the final 40 players. Laddies tournament regulars Our-Peg and Icepack were among those fortunate enough to win a seat.

Whilst the serious business of the super satellite was unfolding there was an element of real fun taking place on the main stage. An invitational challenge between the Nordics, England and Ireland in the form of a team event stimulated much interest amongst the spectators. Captains Roy "ROYTHEBOY" Brindley, Martin "Michelin" Stalros and Jon "skalie" Kalmar led their teams of 6 in a 3 table shoot out under the lights of the INEC. ROYTHEBOY was the first player sent to the bar in what was proving to be a war of pride and bragging rights. All the players contributed €100 to the prize pool meaning an €1800 windfall for the winning team. The format was a shootout with 2 players progressing from each table. By the time of the final table nothing could split the teams with each having 2 players through. In a nervy and tense final table, the 2 Irishman fell in 5th and 6th places meaning it was a straight fight between England and the Nordics. England were represented by Alexdb and BBMoney whilst the Nordics had Nebuchad and Michelin battling for glory. The drinks flowed and the players were becoming ever more serious in trying to secure bragging rights for the weekend. Out in 4th was Alexdb, he was closely followed by Nordic captain Michelin. What followed was a sensational few minutes of poker and theatre as BBmoney and Nebuchad produced a fantastic climax. To find out who came out on top and claimed glory visit us again here tomorrow along with a review of the first day's play in the main event.
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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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Lady Gaga invited to the Irish Poker Festival by Ladbrokes

2009-10-01T02:32:00.001-07:00

Singer Lady GaGa could be set to don her PokerFace for real after being invited to play for €100,000. The controversial celebrity is set to embark on her fame Kills tour with fellow American Kanye West. But it's hoped she'll take time out to play at the Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival in Killarney next month. GaGa has been invited by organisers Ladbrokes, who have already secured the services of another pop star.

Newly appointed Head of Poker Kate McLennan said: "There's a break in her tour dates which would allow her to play in the tournament. "It would be great if she could come and we'll even make room for Kanye!" PokerFace singer Gaga is believed to be a big fan of the Texas Hold 'Em version of the game. So too, is Boyzones's Shane Lynch, who will be taking on the professionals after learning to play before his recent comeback tour.

Ladbrokes are now running a book on the two performing an impromptu duet at next weekend's event. McLennan added: "The question everyone wants to know is if Lady Gaga can make sweet music on the green baize." The tournament, which runs between 2-4 October, has a first prize of €100,000

Check out more info about Irish Poker Festival: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/irish-poker-festival-2009

Ladbrokes Poker Bad Beat Jackpot is now up to $414k

2009-09-14T07:18:00.001-07:00

Bad Beat Jackpot is now up to $414k. Congrats to recent winners: http://bit.ly/BadBeat - you could be next!

"Everyone shouts “YOU’VE WON”. Eh! I look again and...." GUKPT Cardiff

2009-09-14T06:05:00.001-07:00

"Everyone shouts “YOU’VE WON”. Eh! I look again and...." read more on 'skalie' blog post from GUKPT Cardiff - http://bit.ly/GUKPT-Part1

“At this point I really thought it was to be my day...” Read more & follow latest blog post from GUKPT Cardiff: http://bit.ly/GUKPT-Part2

WSOP 2009 - Martin 'Michelin' Stalros - Back to Basics

2009-07-24T03:43:00.001-07:00

Things are getting back to normal now. I have been at home for 4 days and already Im looking forward to next Ladbrokes trip. The jetlag is almost gone and I just resumed my online grind. I feel a bit rusty but I guess Ill be back on track soon. It's a weird thought that just a couple of days ago I was in the gambling capital of the world, lovely Las Vegas (With Linköping qualifying for 2nd place).

Then, I was drinking Vodka Redbull with BallyBayKid and KarateKid.
Now I'm drinking cheap imported German beer.

Then, I was carrying around s7eve on my shoulder @ The Shadow Bar
Now I'm carrying on my dirty laundry to my cellar.

Then, Me and Marios went to watch Jay-Z live at The Palms.
Now. I listen to illegaly downloaded music through my not so great headphones.

Then. Muffin people for $10,200.
Now. Muffin people for $100.

Then. Listening to Marky147´s funny stories.
Now. Listening to my dog barking.

Then. Drinking free drinks in the "rakeback bar".
Now. Paying for my own alcohol.

Then. Talking poker strategy with Mr_Lindholm.
Now. Reading super system for the 8th time.

Then. Didnt feel fat compared to the Americans.
Now. Feel like Shrek.

Then. Felt like a celebrity when Rob and his crew wanted to film me.
Now. Feel like a criminal when the old ladies in my village wonder why i dont work

What I am trying to say is, thank you Ladbrokes for a fantastic trip (once again). A big thanks to all the players that were there, without us, no "Ladbrokes-family-feeling"! I'm already looking forward to Killarney and I hope I see everyone from Vegas there. For all of you who couldnt come to Vegas or never been to a Ladbrokes trip, take your chance in Killarney, Ireland. Last year we had a tremendous time with a great venue, plenty pints and the combined comedian and value of T8MML!

See you there!

Michelin

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Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/online-poker/ & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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Join the Ladbrokes Poker Player Club today!

2009-07-21T01:35:00.001-07:00

There’s lots happening at Ladbrokes Poker in the month of July – the big story is the launch of the Ladbrokes Poker Player Club on 1st July and the great news is that everyone is eligible to join. The new scheme, has been devised to ensure that Ladbrokes Poker can spread the wealth amongst all who play for real money, including players that play tournaments and Sit ‘n’ Go’s. This replaces the $1m Rake Race, which was copied throughout the industry, but only applied to cash players. The new Poker Player Club will ensure everyone’s a winner!
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Check out Ladbrokes Poker Player Club details here: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-promotions/poker-player-club & follow Ladbrokes Poker instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
Stay tuned for latest news and promotions on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/ & Ladbrokes Poker YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LadbrokesPokerTV
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Points for tournament buy-ins, and eligibility to play in monthly freerolls are just some of the perks that await members of the club. The higher up the points scale you go, the more you’ll be rewarded - Silver (500-2,999 points) or Gold (3,000-9,999 points) status players, will have the luxury of additional loyalty rewards. VIPs (10,000+ points) get all the benefits of Silver/Gold status players + access to a VIP manager, upgrades to Ladbrokes Poker packages and invites to the top sporting events around – not bad for playing a few hands of poker!

Kate McLennan, Head of Ladbrokes Poker commented: "The principle is quite simple really, in much the same way as customer loyalty schemes are run by retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s – our players will be awarded points each time they play for real with us, regardless of what they spend, and can redeem their points and receive a number of benefits upon reaching one of four levels".

Other exciting news from Ladbrokes Poker is the launch in July of the new MTT schedule. Players can now enjoy even more choice and a number of great new features including more starting chips, longer blinds and improved payout structures. Looks like Ladbrokes Poker players will be spoilt for choice!

Ladbrokes still got players at World Series of Poker 2009 Main Event

2009-07-09T03:51:00.001-07:00

It was day 2A of the WSOP Main Event today and there were 11 Ladbrokes players taking their seats. Prior to the start of the days play all of the Ladbrokes met up for brunch and re-enforced the team spirit generated over the past week.
The day was not so good for some of the Nordic players with Andreas Høivold and Michel Sterk failing to make the dinner break. The players enjoyed another team meal and exchanged stories and experiences from the day so far before returning for the final 2 levels of the day. The final levels proved spectacular for a couple of the players namely Nebuchad (Jonas Danielsson) who went from 60k up to 218k at the end of play. Sirus77 (Lee Pope) had a strong finish ending on 110k, yonebike (John Magill) ended up at 106k trying to emulate his 12th place finish in 2006. In all 7 players made it through to Fridays day 3. Chip counts:
• Yobenike - 106,000
• Nebuchad - 218,000
• Sirus77 - 110,000
• Kid_Unger - 66,000
• Daddymac - 103,000
• Inorriiiss - 70,000
• Icepack - 88,000
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Follow Ladbrokes Poker players journey instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker Also stay tuned for daily videos, uploaded within hours of being filmed in Vegas, latest one are on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/ & Ladbrokes Poker YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LadbrokesPokerTV
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Tomorrow sees Steve Davis and Jon Kalmar resume in the tournament.

World Series of Poker 2009 Main Event with Ladbrokes Poker players

2009-07-09T03:17:00.001-07:00

Amid some chaotic scenes at the Rio yesterday the Ladbrokes players managed to get seated safely, unlike several hundred disgruntled players who were turned away by Harrah's officials due to a lack of space.
Ladbrokes sponsored pro Skalie had a memorable day ending up on 135k in chips. He began the day like a house on fire racing to 60k inside the first two levels. Steve Davis (fivek), emulated his snooker style and was steady throughout the day ending up with 33k in chips. Other notable chip counts were emotivator (Louise Duffy) 44k and treemore (Paddy O'Connor) 3k. Day 2A takes place with up to 8 players from Ladbrokes taking part.
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Follow Ladbrokes Poker players journey instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker Also stay tuned for daily videos, uploaded within hours of being filmed in Vegas, latest one are on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en & Ladbrokes Poker YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LadbrokesPokerTV
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WSOP 2009 Main Event – Ladbrokes Poker farewell party with celebrities

2009-07-07T05:45:00.001-07:00

For Americans the 4th of July is a significant date in the calender year. For the Ladbrokes Vegas Dream package winners it was far more important. With most of the players qualified for the Main event playing yesterday, the team was ready to let their hair down at the Farewell Party, held at the Shadow Bar at Caesers Palace. The players and their guests were suitably dressed up for this the friendliest of parties. This was one final chance for the players to get together and highlight the special community spirit that is so special to Ladbrokes Poker. Celebrities, Shane Lynch, Norman Pace and Steve Davis were all seen to be having fun. What was also apparant was the fact that so many of the Ladbrokes players were real Boyzone fans! One player joined the party late and for good reason. Andreas _Theah_ Hoivold was playing in the Main Event and ended the day with 43,000 chips. Andreas will now join the players from yesterday in Day 2A.
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Follow poker Lads journey instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker Also stay tuned for daily videos, uploaded within hours of being filmed in Vegas, latest one are on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/wsop & Ladbrokes Poker YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LadbrokesPokerTV
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Ladbrokes Poker wishes all the other players and their guests a very safe trip home.

WSOP 2009 Main Event - Ladbrokes Poker still had 9 players playing

2009-07-06T04:17:00.001-07:00

Day 1A of the WSOP Main Event was off to a prompt start at 12pm. With the traditional ceremonial speeches from the event hosts, sponsors and organisers out of the way, it was time to “shuffle and deal”.
There were 10 Ladbrokes players starting the day with 30,000 chips – an increase in previous years. The total number of players starting Day 1A was 1,116 this was down on last year’s Day 1A figure of 1,297. All the Ladbrokes Poker Team shared the usual friendly atmosphere of the players lounge before the action began. Suitably nervous, the many of the players exchanged thoughts on how they felt the day would pan out.
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btw. Don’t forget to watch the latest videos from Vegas as it has the ‘password’ for tonight’s ‘Vegas Dreamers’ freeroll tournament at 19:30 BST! Every ‘Vegas Dreamers’ freeroll has over a hundred prizes with a value of almost €1000 and it’s all FREE! Password can be found here: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/events/wsop-2009/6
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Due to the alteration in structure, there was a reduction in levels that would be played. The dinner break that normally takes place in the evening was shunted forward to 4.30pm. This was the first opportunity of the players to retreat back to the lounge. Some of the players opted to play some Nintendo Wii, others decided that they a snooze was the order of the day.
Mid afternoon and we had lost our first player. Happymaxy (Max Winberg), held K8 v JJ on a 88J board. All of the chips went in the middle and the Spanish based player was sent spinning to the rail. Dejected and disappointed, Max bleated the obligatory hand of defeated to the Ladbrokes team based in the lounge.
By the end of the day’s play, Ladbrokes still had 9 players remaining. Chip counts:
• Nebuchad - 42,500
• ROYTHEBOY - 39,000
• Yobenike - 62,800
• Daddymac - 56,000
• Sirus77 - 33,325
• Tricky-Trev - 27,500
• Inoriiisss - 26,500
• 4thNOXX - 24,000
• Icepack - 23,250
Congratulations to all of the players who went through particularly the Vegas Dream satellite players 4thNOXX, Sirus77 and Tricky-Trev. Players will return for day 2 on Tuesday 7th July.
Follow poker Lads journey instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker Also stay tuned for daily videos, uploaded within hours of being filmed in Vegas, latest one are on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/wsop & Ladbrokes Poker YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LadbrokesPokerTV

World Series of Poker 2009 - Day 5, Ladbrokes Poker head for downtown Las Vegas

2009-07-03T07:10:00.001-07:00

Today, the Ladbrokes Vegas Dream tour headed for downtown Las Vegas and the Golden Nugget Casino. Over 50 players were still hopeful of claiming the last remaining seat in the Main Event. Play started at 1pm and the players knew that to win the Main Event seat they would have to be the last man standing. Some local players and Laddies guests also chanced their luck bringing the total number of players to 92.

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btw. Don’t forget to watch the latest videos from Vegas as it has the ‘password’ for tonight’s ‘Vegas Dreamers’ freeroll tournament at 19:30 BST! Every ‘Vegas Dreamers’ freeroll has over a hundred prizes with a value of almost €1000 and it’s all FREE! Password can be found here: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/events/wsop-2009/5
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With five Ladbrokes players left Mika Kemppainnen (Gio Pas) from Sweden suffered an awful beat and was sent spinning to the rail. Having pushed all his chips in, he was met with a re raise all in from Ladbrokes legend Icepack. The Swede turned over pocket Aces and was delighted to see the Irishman flip over AQ. S flop of K 3 3 was of no significance. However, the jack on the turn and the ten on river left the table in amazement. Mika was gracious in defeat and stated that he was still having a 'fantastic holiday' here with Ladbrokes Poker.

The chips were passed back and forth and Marky147, Icepack and TrickyTrev agreed on a deal. This meant that TrickyTrev would win the seat on the count that he had significant more chips than the others. TrickyTrev (Trevor Lawson) will now take his seat in the Main Event Day 1a tomorrow.

Once again Ladbrokes would like to congratulate all the Vegas Dream package winners and wish the players the very best of luck in the Main Event.

Vegas Dreamer’s freeroll details: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/wsop

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Ladbrokes Poker satellites for WSOP 2009 main event at Hard Rock Café in Vegas

2009-07-02T07:29:00.001-07:00

The Ladbrokes Vegas Dream tour moved on to the second of the three live satellites at the Hard Rock Casino, Las Vegas. The remaining players who were unsuccessful in progressing through the 1st satellite at the Rio were ready to do battle once more and hopefully claim one of the three WSOP Main Event seats available. Play began at 12.30 and there were three tables left when we reached mid afternoon. This year's Ladbrokes team was a make up of several nationalities including Denmark who were represented by several players one of which being the constant talking Rasmus Hoppe. The Dane was providing his fellow players, and indeed the rail with a variety of performances that could be heard throughout the card room. Speaking of the card room, it is fair to say the Hard Rock Casino poker room is a stylish and friendly place to play poker with the venue being enjoyed by all the players.

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btw. Don’t forget to watch the latest videos from Vegas as it has the ‘password’ for tonight’s ‘Vegas Dreamers’ freeroll tournament at 19:30 BST! Every ‘Vegas Dreamers’ freeroll has over a hundred prizes with a value of almost €1000 and it’s all FREE! Password can be found here: http://bit.ly/14wZCm

Follow poker Lads journey instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker Also stay tuned for daily videos, uploaded within hours of being filmed in Vegas, latest one are on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/wsop & Ladbrokes Poker YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LadbrokesPokerTV
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The excellent structure meant that there was plenty of poker played during the final table with chips moving back and forth without the players committing themselves beyond repair. The one exception was Mark Herron (Marky147) who was down to his last few chips before doubling up a couple of times and proving to be a real threat in the game. This culminated in him knocking out Niall O'Hair (__bigjoe__) out in 9th place when the Irishman pushed all of his chips in with pocket 4s only to find Marky147 waiting in the big blind with pocket queens. Niall finished 12th in last night's satellite and was therefore so close to glory once more. Next to go was our colourful friend from Denmark. Rasmus (noheartflush), who had qualified at a live event held at the EPT Copenhagen was eliminated by the hoody wearing Norwegian Thomas Swensson (labomba). Play continued for a further hour before we our next Vegas Dream qualifier. Julian Martin (Julian1) qualified for this year's Vegas trip by winning the MTT Leaderboard at Ladbrokespoker.com. The young geordie nursed his stack fantastically through the final table and was cruelly taken out when his KK was no good against the A8 of Swensson. Note that Swensson hit his ace on the river. We were now down to 6 players all of which would at least win some sort of prize either a Main Event seat or cash.

Another Irishman, David Gilfillan (fippytrucker) was next to go. He left with a $800 but was disappointed after going so close. The levels ticked on and we were now down to the last 5. Laddies regular Nigel Sudcliffe (sudsy8) pushed his chips into the middle on several occassions without having to turn a card. His exit was more than spectacular though. A three way all-in that included Marky147 and labomba ended Sudsy's tournament when his K10 was dominated by Swensson's KK. Incidentally, Marky147 held 99 in that hand. Sudsy took away a prize of $1400. Another side note - three of the players at the final table today had all qualified via the Easter Rendezvous festival in Brighton at Easter.

It was now bubble time. The blinds were now taking their toll and the remaining players bar massive chip leader Swensson, were gambling with numerous all-in moves. In one particular hand, Vishal Danak (K4s-768) pushed with 10 2 and rivered a 10 against Marky's A5. By now Marky was shortstacked and had no option than to push his last remaining 3000 chips into the middle after already posting a 4000 small blind. Alas, his 9 5 off suit did not improve and with his opponents checking the hand down he was eliminated in 4th place winning $2000. So we have our next three Main Event seat winners and they are Vishal Danak, Thomas Swensson and Ross Jarvis. Congratulations to all three as well as those who cashed in today's game.

The show now moves on to downtown Las Vegas and the Golden Nuggett casino where the third and final satellite will take place.

How I made $10,200 in Vegas? Updates from SinCity & World Series of Poker 2009

2009-07-02T04:43:00.001-07:00

Zzzz……… I’ve slept incredibly well last night. The reason? I won the first mega satellite that all the Ladbrokes qualifiers are playing over here in Sin City.
If you don’t know me, chances are you’ve never played in a Ladbrokes tournament yet. I’m almost as regular as s7eve! Now, this is a story about having great timing and about knowing what will hit the board before the flop, turn and river even are dealt. In other words, being a Swede. Before all of that, this was the payout structure that Ladbrokes Poker provided:
• 1st to 7th: WSOP main event package
• 8th: Killarney package
The Killarney package was an added prize from Ladbrokes and as usual we are getting world-class treatment on these fantastic events that Ladbrokes provides -thanks guys! BTW, I went to Killarney last year with Laddies known ‘luckboxes’ ‘Macccio’ and ‘KungLui’, we had a blast and I must say I think this is an event I’m gonna try to be at for many years to come…
• 9th: $500 consolation prize.
Now, this is how I made $10,200 yesterday.
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Follow Vegas Dream winner’s journey instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker Also stay tuned for daily videos, uploaded within hours of being filmed in Vegas, latest one are on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/wsop & Ladbrokes Poker YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LadbrokesPokerTV
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First of all I actually had some bad luck when we were about 16-12 players left and lost two giant pots that definitely would secure me to win a package, but after these hands and as soon as the final table started Lady Luck and I had a fling that would make most teenagers jealous. With 9 people left I’m really shortstacked and pushes all in from the button to try to pick up the blinds, big blind gets in the tank and after a couple of minutes I hear the words that I don’t really want to hear. "call".
I flip over J4 and he shows A9. Well, time to do whatever my tournament gury _Dolly_ has taught me to do in these kinds of situations. Suck out the other guy as worse as possible. Flop KQT; turn 7, and river the most wonderful 4 I’ve seen in my life.
Two hands later I’m all in against some poor Dane again. I’m holding AQ and he got the cowboys, KK. Flop 623, turn 4, river A. DIIIING!!! The Dane is sent to the rail with $500 and I’ve been on his side so many times I know how he’s feeling and for a while I felt really bad for him. This I’m not sure of, but I’m guessing those $500 he got for ninth place hit the crapstables before he got to the taxi line to go from RIO back to Caesars. After this pot I got up to 100k and I ordered a stiff Vodka Redbull and leaned back….
OK, this proves to you what you should already know. Swedes are lucky. But we’re not just only lucky, we can be awful as well, were outdrawing you on the river and what I’m actually trying to say here is, If you’re a qualifier and a Swede is moving all in on you, think twice before you’re calling cause we ‘Swedes’ are born with an horseshoe up our behinds!
I look forward in seeing you all at the Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker Festival in Killarney in October. And unlucky Danish guy, pints are on me if you’re going!
Regards Martin ‘Michelin’ Stalros, Wednesday 1st July 2009

btw. Don’t forget to watch the video above as it has the ‘password’ for tonight’s ‘Vegas Dreamers’ freeroll tournament at 19:30 BST! Every ‘Vegas Dreamers’ freeroll has over a hundred prizes with a value of almost €1000 and it’s all FREE! Password can be found here: http://bit.ly/14wZCm

We give away 7 seats for the WSOP 2009 Main Event worth $10k each

2009-07-01T05:34:00.001-07:00

The first in a series of satellites for Ladbrokes Vegas Dream winners to qualify for the Main Event took place at the Rio Hotel & Casino earlier today. This was a $1060 satellite and there were 73 players taking part. This meant that seven lucky players would win a WSOP Main Event seat. The bubble prize was generously boosted by Ladbrokes and turned into a seat for the Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker Festival.

One player was doing his best to imitate poker legend Phil Hellmuth. Laddies regular Happymaxy (Max Winberg) was nowhere to be seen when it was time to shuffle up and deal. In fact, he didn't even make it in time to see the first player to hit the rail. That was Tamas Fuhl who came all the way from Hungary only to last 15 minutes into the first satellite.

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You can follow everyone’s journey instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker. Also stay tuned for daily videos, uploaded within hours of being filmed in Vegas, latest one are on our website http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/wsop & YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LadbrokesPokerTV
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The players continued to fall think and fast. The final table was 10 handed and the banter at the table was quickly muted as the seriousness of what was at stake was dawning on the players. The first player to exit was Karl Beare (yogi147). He was followed closely by Simon Adams (Adamsss86). Adams was cruelly knocked out by Martin Stalros (Michelin). Michelin doubled up through Adams when his J 4 was too strong against Adams A K. In the very next hand Michelin hit an ace on the river to crack Adams pocket Kings and virtually assure himself a Main Event seat. Adams was devastated and was left in shock on the sidelines.

That took us to the bubble. The unlucky player was Jocke57 (Johan Hargesson). The player from Sweden could still raise half a smile after securing a seat to the Ladbrokes.com Irish Poker festival in Killarney.

So we have our first winners. In no particular they are; Lee Pope (sirus77), 4thnoxx (Michael Sterk), David Mann (dmannyboy), martin Stalros (Michelin), Gary Edgley (shortstack), Craig Swatton (Plymlegend) and Vinod Jadav (vinny). Congratulations to all of these players. The Vegas Dream roadshow now moves on to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for the next satellite.

Stay Tuned

WSOP 2009 Day2 - Ladbrokes Poker Voodoo Lounge Party

2009-06-30T07:18:00.001-07:00

The day began with possibly the earliest start since Ladbrokes Poker started taking players to the World Series of Poker. Why? The VIP Golf trip demanded a 6am meet up and naturally a couple of our more illustrious players were found wanting with the somewhat alien alarm call. Players teed off at the superb Rio Secco Golf Club in temperatures close to 100 degrees. Laddies regulars banksoir, Yogi147 and bigchin showed some class on the fairways and flashes of brilliance on the greens in what turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable days play in testing conditions. The round ended with much needed refreshments at the 19th hole!

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For latest updates you can follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker
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The evening saw the now legendary Ladbrokes Poker Welcome Party take place at the Rio's Voodoo Lounge. Check the party pictures & video here: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/events/wsop-2009/2
The Ladbrokes players indulged in the free bar and took time to meet some of their online foes for the very first time. For many though, the welcome party is a chance to catch up with poker playing friends who they had met through various Ladbrokes poker events.

Sponsored pro's spotted enjoying themselves were skalie and Nebuchad. One famous face was certainly letting his hair down and that was none other than Laddies favourite Steve. 'Fivek' Davis. The nugget, as he is known on the snooker circuit, was seen drinking cocktails whilst also twittering - his new found interest. You can follow Steve Davis on twitter using his username fiveknuckle.

Other familiar faces included Norman Pace, Shane Lynch and one of the UK's latest bracelet winners JP Kelly. All were partying well into the night.

Btw. Check out Vegas Dreamer’s Freeroll promotion: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/wsop

Close, but no Cigar. WSOP 2009 by Andreas Hoivold aka _Theah_

2009-06-30T05:59:00.001-07:00

I came to Las Vegas two weeks ago looking forward to playing a lot of events and my plan was to win only two bracelets in this year’s World Series of Poker. My plan got kind of crushed after playing 8 events without making day 2! I have played a lot of different tournaments. Hold’em no limit of course, but also pot limit Omaha 8 or better and two mixed games tournaments, one H.O.R.S.E. and one with 8 games. I was really close to make day two once, but my A-Q was eliminated to K-J after being all-in preflop two hands before the end of day one.
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Follow Andreas & other Ladbrokes Poker PRO’s at Twitter http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker & at WSOP 2009 Blogs: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/wsop-2009/blogs
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Since poker have been kind of useless other things has become more useful. Partying for instance. I was lucky enough to be invited to a party at Neil Channing little house here in Vegas. Or should I say Neil’s big mansion. It was a really nice house they rented here, and the party was nice! Really nice. I would not be surprised if there were more than hundred poker players visiting the party, most of them from the UK, but a few exceptions. I believe I was the only (crazy) Scandie there. But they treated me nice and I had a really good time!

It was time for my ninth event, WSOP event # 50 that was. $ 1500 Texas hold’em fixed limit shootout. Before starting day 1 I had a filming with Ladbrokes together with Nebuchad and Skalie. I got second thoughts about playing, so I did not register before 6:36 PM, 1:36 after the tournament had started. But I played a really good game, and won my first table. I was really happy about getting my first WSOP cash this year!
In the second round I continued to play well. I was on a table that took the longest to finish. We played 8 tables with 8 players this day. All the other tables were finished when I was playing an Italian that was kind of lucky.
In one hand I had him all-in preflop holding K-J. He had 9-8. The flop was the very good looking K-Q-10. But a jack on the turn and a blank on the river doubled him up.
I had him in one more time with top pair top kicker against K-6 with the six of hearts. He got the flush on the river and doubled up again.
After playing for way more than two hours heads up he managed to win with Q-9 beating my A-10. It didn’t feel good. In fact it felt really, really bad!
9th place in a WSOP event is not bad. But getting to the final table would have been so fantastic. But I guess I’ll save it for the main event!
Andreas Hoivold aka _Theah_ , Las Vegas, July 29th 2009
Btw. Check out Vegas Dreamer’s Freeroll promotion: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/wsop

World Series of Poker 2009 - Day 1

2009-06-29T06:35:00.001-07:00

The Ladbrokes Vegas Dream winners are expected to arrive en mass today (Sunday 28th). A few have already arrived and are doing their best to acclimatize. On his arrival, Michelin decided to skip check in and head straight to the cash tables followed by a few hours at Caesars top nightclub, Pure. Needless to say he was less than coherent the following day.
The Ladbrokes office is now operational and all eyes are on the first event, which happens to be the legendary Welcome Party at the Voodoo Lounge. The guest list includes all the Ladbrokes Vegas Dream winners as well as a host of other familiar poker faces from around the world.
The first of the Ladbrokes Vegas Dream Satellites will take place at the Rio Hotel & Casino on Tuesday 30th June. This is a $1060 tournament exclusive only to Ladbrokes players.
We have an online tournament to coincide with our WSOP journey, but you have to watch the videos or read the write up for the special passwords. Vegas Dreamers promotion: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/wsop
You can follow everyone’s journey instantly through http://twitter.com/ladbrokes_poker. Also stay tuned for daily videos, uploaded within hours of being filmed in Vegas. All can be found at Ladbrokes Poker WSOP 2009 pages: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/events/wsop-2009/1

Stay tuned for more..

Didn't qualify for WSOP 2009? Join VEGAS DREAMER’s

2009-06-26T06:41:00.001-07:00

With so many of our players out in Vegas enjoying their ‘Vegas Dream’ package and all the great fun that goes along with it, here at Ladbrokes we thought we should give something back to our players left back at home….

So, for all you Vegas Dreamer’s who may be feeling a bit left out, we have a mini series of tournaments with hundreds of guaranteed prizes and it’s all available for FREE!

This great promotion starts on Wednesday 1st July until Friday 5th July and we’re running 4 ‘Vegas Dreamer’s Freeroll’ events and a ‘Vegas Dreamer’s Main Event’ all with fantastic added prizes and tournament entries to be won.

Every ‘Vegas Dreamer’s’ freeroll has hundred prizes with a value of almost €1000!

How to take part? Check here: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/poker-events/wsop

Nebuchad in Vegas - World Series of Poker 2009

2009-06-25T03:51:00.001-07:00

We got to Las Vegas yesterday and it is really good to finally be here. I think I have a love/hate affair with the city of sins but i will only expand a bit on the love - as the city has everything you could ask for; world class entertainment, world class restaurants and of course the World Series of Poker!

The shows and the restuarants are half the reason of why I go to Vegas every year and I would probably not come here if it were not for them. All lot of my friends have never been to the Cirque de Soleil shows even though they have been here like 3-5 times. I find that unbelievable and its a much bigger offence than not going to a strip club when in Vegas. Imagine that!? Going to Vegas and not visiting a strip club!?

check more stories from Nebuchad at: http://poker.ladbrokes.com/en/community/team-ladbrokes/nebuchad/blog/nebuchad-wsop-2009

Welcome to Ladbrokes Poker Blog

2009-06-23T08:08:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Ladbrokes Poker Blog.

What is Ladbrokes Poker? One of the world's top online poker rooms. With players from the UK, Sweden, Norway as well as Greece and Spain, Ladbrokes is a truly Europe poker experience.

We will try to update this blog on weekly basic, sometimes more often, so keep checking what's new here or you can follow us on Twitter: Ladbrokes Poker on Twitter & join us on Facebook.

See you at the Poker Tables: Ladbrokes Online Poker