2006 PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure: A Fountain of Youthful Talent

The beautiful Atlantis Casino, located in the Bahamas, hosts the WPT PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure.

Most major tournaments have the same feel to them. The players show up excited to play, with one goal in mind – winning. But once they bust out, it's like waking up after a bad one-nighter – they can't leave the scene of the crime fast enough.



But at the PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure, most of the players earned their $8,000 entry on PokerStars.com (along with an all-expense-paid week's vacation). So, there was less pressure on the players than usual, and it felt less like a tournament and more like a convention for online poker players – one that just happened to feature a World Poker Tour event.



With 724 players registered to play, the best online players in the world were represented – from Nick "TheTakeover" Schulman and Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy all the way to Phil "Phil Ivey" Ivey.



The side games in the tournament poker room were usually filled to capacity, but a stroll through the lobby (where one could find wireless Internet access) revealed dozens of laptops logged into online poker sites. Some of these players were no doubt playing others sitting in the same lobby.



PokerStars actually tapped into this mystique by sponsoring the first-ever World Championship of Battleship Poker. The first of its kind, it was an online tournament held in a brick-and-mortar casino, face to face. It had the speed of online poker with the face-to-face nature of casino poker.



Days One-A and One-B: Remember Days Without Letters?

Poker is quickly reaching the point where multiple starting days are becoming standard for championship events. Young guns like Schulman (21 years old) and Josh "SDouble" Schlein (20 years old) will have to listen to old-timers like Allen Cunningham (28 years old) talk about the "good ol' days" when "day one" took only one day.



The two heats each played six levels, which was enough to lose exactly 400 players. Of the 324 players returning for the official day two, Brian Mogelefsky led both heats with $98,500 in chips. Day-one chip leaders have been reaching lots of final tables lately, and the pressure was on Mogelefsky to continue the trend.



Some of the notable day-one survivors included Patrik Antonius (in third place with $76,100 in chips), Barry Greenstein ($61,000), Isabelle Mercier ($28,000), and Phil Ivey ($26,200).

Phil Ivey, Steve Paul-Ambrose, David Singer, Brook Lyter

Day Two: The Rise of the Internet Players
It should come as no surprise that a tournament sponsored by PokerStars is filled with Internet players. But with so many pros in the field, you expected at least a few of them to go deep. But, that didn't happen.



By the end of day two, lots of big names had already been sent to the rail: Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, Greg Raymer, Isabelle Mercier, Erik Seidel, Joe Sebok, David Williams, Evelyn Ng, John Phan, Liz Lieu, Tom McEvoy, Joe Cassidy, Freddy Deeb, Bill Gazes, Gavin Smith, Erick Lindgren, Carlos Mortensen, John Myung, Dewey Tomko, and everyone named Mizrachi. The last player to bust out on day two? Reigning World Series of Poker Champion Joe Hachem.



With 66 players remaining, the biggest names still in contention were Marco Traniello ($192,500 in chips) and Hoyt Corkins ($56,200 in chips).



If the famous players were gone, by definition, you were left with unknowns. But some of these players are unfamiliar only because they hone their skills online, using names like Ozzy 87 and Jennicide to conceal their real identities of Aurangzeb Sheikh and Jennifer Leigh.



Internet players didn't receive a free pass, however, and some of the biggest online pros failed to make the cut, including WSOP bracelet winner Cliff Josephy and recent WPT Foxwoods winner Nick Schulman.



Day-one chip leader Mogelefsky was still strong, 10th in the chip counts with $184,400. The new chip leader was Steve Paul-Ambrose, a fresh-faced college kid with $275,200 in chips.



The money bubble also burst on day two, as the top 130 players received at least $10,700. For many of the online qualifiers, that was enough to make this a very successful trip. But there was plenty of incentive to keep playing – as first place was worth more than $1.3 million.

Michael Higgins, Anders Henriksson, Aurangzeb "Ozzy 87" Sheikh, David Singer

Day Three: How to Play a Five-Day Event in Four Days

The WPT final table was two days away, but it was scheduled for an early start at 10 a.m., to maximize the sunlight available; this final table would take place outdoors, overlooking the white sand and blue waters of the Caribbean. Why mention this now? Because it had a big impact on day three.



When you watch the World Poker Tour on The Travel Channel, the action is occasionally interrupted by brief interview segments, giving the audience some background on the players. Those interviews are usually conducted in the hours leading up to the final table. But with a 10 a.m. starting time, that wasn't practical. (Poker players usually don't do mornings.) So, that pushed the interviews to the day before – day four. And that meant the action on day four couldn't go past 4 p.m. without causing scheduling problems.



The ideal situation would be to play down to six players on day three, but that was a long shot with 66 players remaining. Getting down to the final six on day three would give everyone a day off on day four – which was welcome news to the players, the media, and the WPT crew.



We lost the remaining big names early, as Hoyt Corkins and Marco Traniello were both out in the first hour. Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh and Russ Hamilton were eliminated by 3 p.m. Of the 40 remaining players at that point, only Matt Matros and David Singer were recognizable from previous WPT events. Matros and day-one chip leader Mogelefsky were both out by 5:30 p.m.



When the last 90-minute level of the day began at around 11 p.m., there were 11 players left, with the stakes increasing after every bust-out. The 11th-place finisher would walk away with $65,400, while the seventh-place bubble finisher would earn $144,500. And players don't want to finish seventh in a World Poker Tour event, because they would miss their chance at eternal glory on The Travel Channel – not to mention that $1.3 million first prize. Would it be possible to lose five players in 90 minutes?



With 79 minutes left, David Singer flopped a set of fives to eliminate Will Barr in 11th place. With 49 minutes left, Gunther Hornung was crippled when Christian Grundtvig rivered a set of nines, and Hornung was eliminated the next hand. With 40 minutes left, Ziv Bachar moved all in on the turn with two pair, but Singer had trips, and Bachar was out ninth. With 21 minutes left, Grundtvig was busted in eighth place when he missed his flush draw on the river against Singer's two pair. One more elimination, and day four would become a day of rest.



With nine minutes left, it looked like everyone got his wish. Singer bet $85,000 after a flop of 9 3 2. Brook Lyter raised to about $395,000, and Singer moved all in. But Lyter thought for a while before he folded and said, "You must have it." Lyter survived, Singer picked up a big pot, and it appeared that there would be a day four after all.



But with five minutes left, Steve Paul-Ambrose raised to $35,000, Singer called, and Brian Green moved all in for $209,000. Before he could count his chips, Michael Higgins moved all in over the top of him. Everyone sensed the end was potentially near, as Higgins' action and demeanor could mean only two things – aces or kings. Everyone else folded, and Higgins showed pocket aces (A A). Green showed pocket tens (10 10), and if the aces held up, everyone could go home.



The flop came J 8 7, giving Green a gutshot-straight draw. But that's as close as he would get – as the last two cards were blanks and Green was out in seventh place.

Waterside WPT PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure final table

Day Four Was No More
Day four became an unscheduled day off, giving the six final-table players plenty of time to sleep in and relax before their interviews that evening. Since it was such a young and unfamiliar group, here's a little background, along with their seats and chip counts:



Seat No. 1: Steve Paul-Ambrose – $1,780,000
Steve is a 22-year-old student from Kingston, Ontario, Canada, who attends the University of Waterloo. He qualified through PokerStars.com, where he plays under the name "stevejpa."



Seat No. 2: David Singer – $2,535,000

David is a professional player from New York City who reached the final table last October at the Borgata.



Seat No. 3: Brook Lyter- $875,000
Brook is an entrepreneur from Fargo, North Dakota. He qualified through PokerStars.com, where he plays under the name "flushthecat."



Seat No. 4: Michael Higgins – $794,000

Michael is an 18-year-old student from Proctorville, Ohio, who attends Ohio State University.



Seat No. 5: Anders Henriksson – $1,033,000
Anders is a young professional player from Stockholm, Sweden. He qualified through PokerStars.com, where he plays under the name "gambler21."



Seat No. 6: Aurangzeb Sheikh – $231,000
Aurangzeb is an 18-year-old professional online poker player from Staten Island, New York. He's much better known as "Ozzy 87," one of the most feared poker players on the Internet.



WPT Final Table: Action From Beginning to End
Most of the limited audience space was reserved for family and friends, which was a shame, because this was an exciting final table – with dramatic lead changes, great calls, and drawouts on the river.



Everyone figured Sheikh would make a move early, but not first-hand early. Paul-Ambrose raised from under the gun, and Sheikh moved all in from the big blind – with pocket aces. Paul-Ambrose called with pocket sevens – and promptly flopped a 7. One hand, five players left.

(left) Steve Paul-Ambrose, David Singer, and Brook Lyter. (right) Show me the money: Ambrose, family, friends, and $1.363.100

Aurangzeb "Ozzy 87" Sheikh set an unfortunate record by being the first person in World Poker Tour history to be eliminated on the first hand. So, look for some creative editing as the WPT tries to squeeze his interview into the show.



Lyter check-raised Henriksson all in after a flop of Q 6 2 in hand No. 30. Henriksson thought for several long minutes before calling with the K Q (pair of queens). Lyter showed pocket aces (A A), having trapped Henriksson by smooth-calling a preflop raise from the small blind. The last two cards were blanks, and Anders Henriksson was eliminated in fifth place.



Higgins moved all in with a short stack in hand No. 45 after a flop of K 10 9, and he was immediately called by Lyter, who had the K 9 for two pair. Higgins showed the A Q – a gutshot-straight draw. The Q on the turn gave him additional outs, but the last card was the 4, and Michael Higgins was eliminated in fourth place.



In hand No. 99, Singer check-raised Paul-Ambrose all in after a flop of Q J 4. Paul-Ambrose called with the A K (gutshot-straight draw), but Singer showed pocket kings (K K) to dominate him with an overpair. Paul-Ambrose needed an ace or a 10 – and he found the A on the turn. Now it was Singer who needed a 10 (to chop the pot with a straight), or, of course, the case king. But the last card was the Q, and David Singer was eliminated in third place.



The final two players were nearly even in chips at the start of hand No. 105. Paul-Ambrose limp-called a raise from Lyter to see a flop of J 9 2. Lyter bet $300,000, and Paul-Ambrose raised to $1.5 million.



This was the key moment of the tournament.



Lyter considered the situation for a full 10 minutes before moving all in for $3 million. Paul-Ambrose wasn't happy, but he reluctantly called with the Q 10 (overcard, open-end straight draw). Lyter showed the K J (top pair), and he got his money in the pot as the favorite with the tournament on the line.



Unfortunately for Lyter, the next card was the Q, and Paul-Ambrose took the lead with a pair of queens. Lyter needed a 10 (for a straight) or a jack (for trips) to survive. The K on the river gave Lyter two pair – but made a king-high straight for Paul-Ambrose.

Mike Sexton, Brook Lyter, Steve Paul-Ambrose, Courtney Friel, and Vince Van Patten

Steve Paul-Ambrose won the 2006 PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure, and more than $1.3 million. Even though he's a 22-year-old online player, his genuine joy and mild manner contrast sharply with the stereotype of the brash youngsters usually found online. When asked if he had plans for the money, he couldn't think of anything, but said he'd like to own a home someday. When asked how he planned to celebrate that night, his first answer, out of exhaustion, was, "Sleep."



Steve's family and friends were far more energized at that point, and made sure he celebrated his victory with everyone else at the PokerStars after-party. In most tournaments, there's one winner and hundreds of losers. But with these players qualifying at a discount online and getting an all-expense-paid week at the Atlantis Casino in the Bahamas – it was a tournament where everyone came out ahead.



Here were the payouts for the final-table finishers: