Card Player TV is Now Live

New Feature at CardPlayer.com Set to Rock Poker World

By Bob Pajich

It's been lights, camera, and lots of poker action in the Card Player corporate office now that the newest feature of CardPlayer.com, Card Player TV, has been launched.

The new page can be found at www.CardPlayer.com/tv, or by going to the main page and using the link listed under "multimedia."

Card Player TV is a new interactive multimedia player that offers a variety of programming channels. These channels provide tons of timely feature content from the poker world, daily news programming, expanded coverage from the world's largest poker events, strategy lessons, biographies of top poker professionals, up-to-the-minute online poker coverage, legislative news, and much more.

The hallways of the corporate office of Card Player have been busy the last few weeks in preparation for this launch. Players such as Huck Seed and Jon Friedberg, and poker-tell expert Joe Navarro have stopped by to film pieces for Card Player TV in our studio, and there's no end to the line of players who will be stopping by for a stint in front of the hot lights and cameras.

Each day, new video content dealing with the busy poker news cycle will be uploaded. This is called the "Daily Deal." Each week, online poker guru Shawn Patrick Green will talk about the hundreds of thousands of dollars available at online sites in the big guaranteed tournaments that take place each week (and the players who won).

Players not only will talk about strategy, but will also provide a glimpse into the high-stakes poker lifestyle. The biography videos enable players to explain to Card Player fans just what makes them tick. Some of the stories they share are as entertaining as anything that's on reality TV right now.

Poker products also will be featured, and all of the videos are easily accessible through a TV-like interface that makes browsing them a breeze. Simply click a "channel," and a list of videos appears on the right side of the page. Click a video, and it instantly comes up on the screen.

Viewers also can use the site's easy search button to scour the entire archive of Card Player videos. If you're looking for a video from last year's World Series of Poker, just enter the search terms into the bar and, voila, the video will appear for your viewing pleasure.

Viewers also will be able to rate the videos or e-mail them to a friend, and through the Card Player user forum, poker fans everywhere can get together and talk about what's going on in the poker world.

There are hundreds of hours of videos available to Card Player readers, and everything is free. So, dial it up, turn up the volume, and check out Card Player TV, which just may be the coolest thing ever.

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Pescatori Signs With Full Tilt Poker

He Joins the Baddest Team of Poker Pros

Max Pescatori has joined Team Full Tilt.

Pescatori, who is from Milan, Italy, has more than $1.5 million in tournament winnings under his belt, and has become one of the most recognized players on the circuit with his red, white, and green hat and oversized sunglasses.

Full Tilt Poker has the biggest team of poker pros representing its site. They include Howard Lederer, Layne Flack, David Grey, Gavin Smith, David Singer (host of The Circuit on CardPlayer.com), Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, and many, many others.

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Bill Edler Wins World Heads-Up Challenge in California

Edler Defeats Barry Greenstein, Wins $215,000

By Bob Pajich

Crystal Park Casino in Southern California played host to the World Heads-Up Challenge recently, a $10,000 buy-in event that attracted a who's who list of poker players who played for a first prize worth $215,000.

Players who participated in the event included Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Ted Forrest, Hassan Habib, Michael Mizrachi, Jeff Madsen, Steve Zolotow, Gabe Kaplan, Barry Greenstein, and many others.

Bill Edler, who now has close to $1 million in tournament winnings, found himself up against Greenstein in the championship heads-up match. He ended up beating Greenstein to take home the top prize of $215,000.

Edler is a tough tournament player who cashes left and right in major events. He recently cashed in two events at the Winter Poker Open for a total of about $140,000, and has seven cashes of more than $50,000, including this victory. Visit the CardPlayer.com player database for more information about Edler.

For many players, the WHUC was a precursor to the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Many of the players who competed in the Crystal Park event played in the NHUPC at Caesars in Las Vegas during the first week of March. The series will be aired on NBC starting in April.

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Still Two More Chances to Try to Win a Trip to Vegas

VIP Tournament Series Continues April 8

By Bob Pajich

Card Player and Bodog.com are going to send one Card Player reader to Vegas, and there are still two tournaments left to earn enough currency to play for the trip.

The VIP Tournament Series costs $4.40 and is held at Bodog for Card Player readers. The last two qualifiers take place on April 8 and May 6. Players who play in the events will earn points for the VIP Tournament Series championship event, which takes place May 13. The top 50 point earners from all of the tournaments will play in the final.

The winner of the final will receive a $5,000 trip to Vegas that includes a buy-in to a $1,000 local tournament, VIP service at a club, and an invitation to a Bodog party.

The top 30 percent of the finishers in each qualifying tournament will receive points. The tournaments start at 3:05 p.m. ET.

The first qualifier took place in December. Players need to have a Bodog.com account to play. Please visit www.bodog.com/promotions/cardplayervip/ for more information.

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The Circuit

CardPlayer.com's hit radio show The Circuit brings you updates, interviews, and strategy from the biggest names in poker.
The Circuit broadcasts from all World Poker Tour events.


The following is Jamie Gold's response to whether or not he was portrayed fairly by ESPN in the footage during the World Series of Poker, as broadcast on The Circuit from the World Poker Open.

"I knew what I was in for and they warned me. They told me that they were going to make me look like the luckiest guy who ever played. I've gotten some really kind things [said] from people I respect whom I'd never met before, who had no reason to be kind to me. Howard Lederer came over to me when we were doing one of these shows and said, 'You know, you got screwed by ESPN.'

"If you really watch the whole World Series, no, I did not get that lucky. I didn't get any luckier than anyone gets when he wins a tournament. There may have been moments when I got really lucky, maybe a couple of hands in a row, but if you play every hand out of a hundred, you are gonna hit five of them."

Plug In: Get direct access to the biggest names in the game from the biggest events on the tour only on The Circuit.

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Online Sites Offer Many Roads to World Series of Poker

Qualifiers Now Running Everywhere

By Bob Pajich

It's time to make plans for the World Series of Poker.

Last year, about half of the record-breaking field of 8,773 players who competed in the $10,000 buy-in WSOP main event qualified through online poker sites. It's hard to predict just how many people will play in this year's main event, but one thing's certain: There again will be thousands of players who will win their seats into the main event through online qualifiers.

WSOP qualifiers are now going strong at most of the sites that are still accepting U.S. players, and there are still plenty of paths players can follow that may lead to a seat in the biggest tournament of the year. Players might want to consider the following cash options:

AbsolutePoker.com
Absolute Poker has one of the cheapest WSOP qualifiers around. Its $108 qualifiers award as many $11,000 WSOP packages as possible. Feeders into the $108 event run around-the-clock, and start for as little as $1. Also, players can get into it by playing Absolute's $10 satellites.

Absolute also offers a variety of sit-and-go options into the main event, with buy-ins of $2.75, $8.25, $13, and $39.

Bodog.com
Last year, Bodog sent more than 500 qualifiers to the WSOP main event. This year, it wants to send even more players.

Players can qualify for the WSOP main event for as little as $1, which is the starting tier for the site's feeder tournaments. One player for every $29 in the prize pool in these tournaments is awarded a seat into the $29 quarterfinal. Place high enough in the quarterfinal, and move on to the $270 WSOP semifinal, where as many $12,000 prize packages to the 2007 WSOP main event are awarded as possible.

Feeders into the $270 tourney, which takes place every Sunday, feature buy-ins of $1.50, $5.50, and $7.50. Qualifiers are now running around-the-clock at Bodog.

DoylesRoom.com
Doyle's Room is now holding $1 satellites into an $18.90 rebuy qualifier that will be held on Feb. 24. Players can buy in directly to the rebuy tournament, or win their way in by playing in the $1 feeders or the $2.31 single-table sit-and-gos. Right now, this is the only qualifier to the WSOP that's taking place there, but more will surely be added.

FullTiltPoker.com
Full Tilt Poker has a variety of ways for players to get to the WSOP, as well as to any event with a $10,000 buy-in. Its "Player's Choice" feeders give players the option of taking their qualifying ticket and entering any major event they choose. Many of the players will cash their ticket at the WSOP main event.

Players can begin their tiered journey for $6.60. People who play in these events are trying to win a $26 "token" into the $26 multitable tourneys. In these $26 events, as many $216 entries into the qualifiers as possible are awarded. This is where the $12,000 prize packages are won.

Players also can play $4.40 and $8.70 satellites into the $26 events. Full Tilt also offers $75 satellites into the $216 tourney, which takes place each Tuesday and Sunday.

PokerStars.com
As of press time, PokerStars had yet to launch its WSOP qualifiers, but was scheduled to do so sometime in mid-February. Please check its website for details.

PokerStars qualifiers have done extremely well in the WSOP. Three of the last four main-event champions qualified for the main event at PokerStars, and the site is responsible for launching many poker players into the stratosphere of poker fame. Last year, more than 1,600 players qualified for the main event through PokerStars, and there will be plenty this year, as well.

UltimateBet.com
UltimateBet is awarding its $12,000 WSOP packages in $215 qualifiers that take place weekly, and, of course, there are many different ways to get into this tournament. Players can qualify by playing tourneys with buy-ins of $5.50, $11, and $44, which run around-the-clock. Rebuy versions with these buy-ins also are available.

UltimateBet also holds the $12,000 Ultimate Satellite, which features a $1,050 buy-in and awards as many $12,000 prize packages as possible. Players can use the packages to play in any major event, including the WSOP. Satellites for this tournament also run around-the-clock, with buy-ins the same as the WSOP satellites.

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FTOPS III at the Top of Its Game

By Shawn Patrick Green

The Full Tilt Online Poker Series III (FTOPS) bested its predecessor, the FTOPS II, in nearly every way.

The FTOPS II guaranteed $2.5 million in prizes and actually awarded more than $3 million to participants (although two events required overlays to match the posted guarantees). The FTOPS III, held just three months later, upped its total guarantees to $3.4 million. The series never actually missed a guarantee in any of its 10 events. Heck, one event almost quadrupled the posted guarantee (event No. 7, the no-limit hold'em with rebuys tournament). When it was all over, the series had paid out more than $4.4 million to entrants.

The FTOPS Crown Jewel: the Main Event
After an exciting nine-event run-up, the FTOPS no-limit hold'em main event certainly didn't disappoint. The event lured 3,217 players to pay the $500 buy-in, generating a prize pool of $1,608,500. The payouts were big, but every player had his eye on the $288,000 first-place prize.
Plenty of both live-poker pros and Internet notables entered the fray, and quite a few survived the large field of players to cash in the event; to name a few, among many: Tuan "Supertuan1" Nguyen (18th, $8,043), Spiked (the winner of the FTOPS II main event, 33rd, $4,826), and Kyle "kwob20" Bowker (47th, $2,976).

None of the Full Tilt-sponsored pros made it into the top-100 players, but several cashed in the event, including Mark Vos (142nd, $1,448), Chris Ferguson (203rd, $1,126), Paul Wolfe (261st, $1,046), and Layne Flack (308th, $885).

The Final Nine
For such a large field of initial players, an inordinately large number of notables survived to play at the final table. Sitting amongst the final nine were Robert "Miss Lulu" Williamson III, Brian "tsarrast" Rast, Justin "Boosted J" Smith, and Alec "traheho" Torelli. As it turned out, these four players also became the last four players at the table.

Williamson, a prominent live-poker player and a World Series of Poker bracelet winner in pot-limit Omaha, eventually busted out in fourth place ($89,272), but not before trying to sell a winner-take-all deal to the table. Tsarrast was eliminated next, earning $114,204 for third place, and it was down to the final two.

Boosted J lasted just two minutes into heads-up play before his A Q ran into traheho's A K. The board bricked out and Boosted J was eliminated in second place, earning $175,327. Boosted J also earned the honors of being the FTOPS tournament leader-board winner as a result of his finish in the main event (see "Boosted to the Top").

Alec "traheho" Torelli pocketed a huge $288,002 payday for his first-place finish in the event.



CaseyTheKid Makes FTOPS History
In the FTOPS II, CaseyTheKid caused a din among the railbirds in the chat box when he sat at the main-event final table wearing an exclusive gold FTOPS jersey avatar. He'd earned the avatar from winning the limit Omaha eight-or-better event at the first-ever FTOPS. Then, he caused a virtual riot at the FTOPS III.

CaseyTheKid, again sporting his famous jersey avatar, sat down at the final table of the limit Omaha eight-or-better event of the FTOPS III and proceeded to steamroll the competition. He eventually won the event, meaning he'd won the Omaha eight-or-better event at the FTOPS two of the three times it's been held. Even more impressive is that CaseyTheKid made FTOPS history as the first-ever two-time event winner.

Boosted to the Top
The race to become the FTOPS tournament leader-board (TLB) winner and best all-around player was a nail-biter. With only a 15-point difference between third place and first place at the series' end, it's safe to say that eventual winner Boosted J snuck into the top spot.

Both Boosted J and eventual third-place finisher tsarrast made the main-event final table, meaning the TLB race was truly down to the wire. Boosted J was trailing tsarrast by just five TLB points going to the final table, and needed a second-place finish or better to beat out the current TLB leader LiLCartel.

Wouldn't you know it? Boosted J finished in second place to edge out LiLCartel by five TLB points (with a total of 305). Boosted J will receive a customized Full Tilt avatar, just like those worn by the Full Tilt-sponsored pros, for his TLB win. Boosted J made more than $183,000 over the course of the series.

Get a Piece of the Action
Those wishing to take advantage of online poker promotions, overlays, and guaranteed prize pools can do so by going to the following links:

PokerStars - www.CardPlayer.com/link/etpokerstars
Full Tilt Poker - www.CardPlayer.com/link/etfulltilt
UltimateBet - www.CardPlayer.com/link/etultimatebet
AbsolutePoker - www.CardPlayer.com/link/etabsolute
Bodog - www.CardPlayer.com/link/etbodog

Full Tilt Online Poker Series III Results, Feb. 9-18:
Event No. 1
No-limit hold'em
Winner: jpo123
Winnings: $70,730
Entrants: 1,922
Prize Pool: $384,400

Event No. 2
H.O.R.S.E.
Winner: philmcgill
Winnings: $28,450
Entrants: 569
Prize Pool: $113,800

Event No. 3
No-limit hold'em
Winner: DontBluffMePLZZ
Winnings: $151,250
Entrants: 2,755
Prize Pool: $826,500

Event No. 4
Pot-limit Omaha with rebuys
Winner: Deu_Zebra
Winnings: $52,528
Entrants: 681
Rebuys: 1,135
Add-ons: 328
Prize Pool: $214,400

Event No. 5
Shorthanded no-limit hold'em
Winner: Smokinokun
Winnings: $82,303
Entrants: 2,070
Prize Pool: $414,000

Event No. 6
Limit Omaha eight-or-better
Winner: CaseyTheKid
Winnings: $29,700
Entrants: 594
Prize Pool: $118,800

Event No. 7
No-limit hold'em with rebuys
Winner: Sorel "kristy_sea" Mizzi
Winnings: $90,384
Entrants: 703
Rebuys: 814
Add-ons: 366
Prize Pool: $376,600

Event No. 8
Pot-limit hold'em
Winner: mcentinc
Winnings: $35,010
Entrants: 916
Prize Pool: $183,200

Event No. 9
Pot-limit H.A. (hold'em/Omaha)
Winner: LiLCartel
Winnings: $41,850
Entrants: 558
Prize Pool: $167,400

Event No. 10
No-limit hold'em main event
Winner: Alec "traheho" Torelli
Winnings: $288,002
Entrants: 3,217
Prize Pool: $1,608,500

Other Online Tournament Results, Feb. 11-18

PokerStars Sunday Million
Feb. 11
Winner: W Snipes
Winnings: $164,356*
Prize pool: $1,357,200
Entrants: 6,786

Feb. 18
Winner: CharlieBraun
Winnings: $136,006*
Prize pool: $1,327,400
Entrants: 6,637
* Payout reflects a deal made at the final table.

UltimateBet $200,000 Guarantee
Feb. 11
Winner: dagny0513
Winnings: $45,000
Prize pool: $200,000
Entrants: 924

Feb. 18
Winner: highroller48
Winnings: $45,000
Prize pool: $200,000
Entrants: 858

Bodog $100,000 Guarantee
Feb. 11
Winner: pesto
Winnings: $25,000
Prize pool: $100,000
Entrants: 954

Feb. 18
Winner: Nick "gbmantis" Niergarth
Winnings: $25,000
Prize pool: $100,000
Entrants: 918

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Annette Obrestad

Hurricane Annette_15

By Craig Tapscott

During the summer of 2006, a gale blew into the online poker world, and with each passing week gathered velocity. Upgraded to a hurricane, the windstorm left a path of destruction in its wake, stacking final tables, deep cashes, and win atop win. Warning: Tournament players take shelter. Hurricane Annette_15 is forecasted to inflict maximum damage.

Within the calm eye of the storm sits 18-year-old Annette Obrestad, hailing from a small town in Norway. How did she step up so quickly to challenge the best players online? She utilized relentless aggression. "I think the one thing that really changed my game was making the transition from tight-aggressive to loose-aggressive," shared Annette. "I was so tired of playing solid poker for hours, only to get short-stacked, push with the best hand, and get drawn out by big stacks. I soon realized how important aggression is in tournament poker."

Since that adjustment in tactics, her results have been nothing short of stellar. Annette has made 185 final tables online over the last few months across many sites. She has won the PokerStars $100 rebuy event three times (the toughest daily tournament field online) for a total of $51,000. A win for $19,000 in a $300 freezeout, also on PokerStars, followed in October. In her first live tournament, Annette bought in directly for $5,000 at the recent UltimateBet Aruba Classic, and finished a respectable 37th for $12,415.

Clearly mature beyond her years, possessing raw talent and a thirst to learn, Hurricane Annette_15 could be one windstorm that may never snuff out.

Craig Tapscott: What were the first stakes you waded into?

Annette Obrestad: I started as low as possible - play-money chips. After playing seven-card stud eight-or-better sit-and-gos for almost six months, I made the transition to hold'em and fell in love with the game.

CT: I understand that you worked your way up the ranks without ever depositing a single krone.

AO: In the beginning, I was donking around in the freerolls, trying to learn the game better and actually become a winning player. Then one day I finally got lucky and won a TEC (tournament entry chip) for $9. I decided that this was my opportunity to finally play for real money and I didn't want to blow it all in one shot. I took the $9 and started playing $1 sit-and-gos on UltimateBet. I built that up to $150. Then, I moved up to playing $5 sixhanded sit-and-gos. It didn't take long before I was playing the $20 tables. I did get a couple of scores along the way in some $5 tourneys, for about $500 and $700, which built my bankroll. From there, it was just grinding until I reached $10,000. That's when I really started to play seriously and take shots in the $100 tourneys.

CT: Do you think being a woman provides you an advantage against all the men?

AO: In some ways I think it helps me. If I'm at a table where people don't know who I am, I think I get a lot more respect when I raise or bet. My experience while playing with women is that they tend to call a lot and not care about position. They seem to be very stubborn and don't like to fold top pair unless there's an obvious straight or flush on the board. I definitely try to take advantage of it when I can by bluffing a lot more and playing aggressively until they play back at me. When I competed in Aruba, my opponents seemed to be underestimating me. I really did what I could to pick up the pots that nobody wanted, and it worked nine out of 10 times. I mean, an 18-year-old girl, playing her first live tournament, wouldn't bluff like that without a real hand - or would she?

CT: You seem to slam the pedal to the metal preflop with steals and resteals.

AO: I do play very aggressively preflop. I always try to attack the weak players at my table. In most situations, my cards don't matter.

CT: What are some of the online tells that you glean regarding weakness?

AO: The "insta-call," on the flop in particular, often means a draw or that they hit the flop, but not very well. Using the pre-action boxes is also a huge tell. You can easily see if people have used the check/fold box, which makes them an easy target, because you know they will fold if you bet.

CT: Any advice for players looking to repeat your success story?

AO: Good bankroll management, of course. Don't play with money you can't afford to lose. Watch winning players once in a while; there are a lot of good moves to pick up on if you're paying attention.