Player of the Year

Aussie Millions Main Event Adds Two New Players to Player of the Year Top 10
Tyron Krost has jumped into a tie for fifth place with Jake Cody in the Card Player 2010 Player of the Year (POY) standings, thanks to his big win in Australia. Krost topped a field of 745 other players to take home $1,784,525 and 1,920 POY points in the Aussie Millions $10,000 no-limit hold’em main event at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. Frederik Jensen was the runner-up in the event, and he won a handsome consolation prize of $981,489 along with 1,600 points, which puts him in a tie for seventh place with Teodor Caraba. One other player was awarded a four-digit number of POY points in the event, and that was third-place finisher Sorel Mizzi. The young professional won $638,004 and 1,280 points, which puts him in 16th place in the standings.

Professionals Win the WPT Southern Poker Championship and Borgata Winter Open
Two other large tournaments that took place recently were the first World Poker Tour event of 2010, the Southern Poker Championship, and the first big Atlantic City tournament of the new year, the Borgata Winter Open. The winner of the $10,000 no-limit hold’em championship at Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi, was professional Hoyt Corkins. The tournament veteran captured $713,986 in prize money, his second WPT title, and 1,260 points after topping 207 opponents. He currently sits in 17th place in the POY standings.

Jeff Madsen won the $3,500 no-limit hold’em championship at the Borgata Winter Open, which was good for $625,006 and 1,440 points. Madsen came out on top of a field of 766 players and is now in 11th place on the leader board. Sirous Jamshidi finished second in the event, and took home $367,794 and 1,200 points (19th place).

Look Out: Ryan D’Angelo
Ryan D’Angelo has been playing tournament poker both online and live for a few years now. He has lifetime tournament winnings of $1,465,928, and he recently scored his largest cash to date at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, where he finished in fifth place and took home $700,000. He was among the chip leaders for the majority of the PCA main event.

D’Angelo started playing professionally a couple of years ago. “I started during my senior year of high school, and played online a little bit. I was a losing player the first year; I didn’t really understand bankroll management, which is very important,” he said. “You should be realistic with yourself and not play stakes that make you feel uncomfortable when you lose. If you go to bed angry after a losing session, you should drop down in stakes, no matter what you play, cash games or tournaments.”

His first tournament cash came in August of 2006, and he made a World Series of Poker final table in 2008 (he finished third in a $2,000 no-limit hold’em event). He also has won a few tournaments online. His best run on the virtual felt came during the World Championship of Online Poker on PokerStars in September. He won a $300 no-limit hold’em/limit hold’em mixed-games event, and a $300 pot-limit hold’em event. He won a combined $119,495 for his efforts, along with two WCOOP bracelets.

D’Angelo is actively improving his game even when he is not playing. “I watch a lot of poker training videos. I do that during my off time to stay sharp. Game trends are changing every few months, so you really have to stay on top of it,” he said. Look for this young contender to build on his early success in 2010 and become a factor in the Player of the Year race. He is currently in 18th place with 1,250 points.