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All news from the Bonuses category

Winner Poker Sweetens Offer to PokerTips Readers
Players who create a new account at Winner will now receive a $20 cash bonus in addition to the 100% up to $600 sign-up bonus.
Ozone 2010-02-09

$25 Free Promotion Cancelled.
The $25 free promotion at Noble Poker has been canceled due to player abuse.
TwoGun 2010-01-18

27% Rakeback at LuckyAce
Sign up at LuckyAce poker using this link and get 27% rakeback for a year.
TwoGun 2010-01-06

bwin Offers $500 Flat Sign-Up Bonus
Players new to bwin receive a $500 bonus regardless of the size of their first deposit.
Ozone 2009-03-25

Lucky Ace Rake Race Update
Third place and $200 still up for grabs at Lucky Ace.
Ozone 2009-02-24

Party Poker's New First-Time Deposit Bonus
A more competitive first-time deposit bonus, 100% up to $500, now available at Party Poker.
Ozone 2008-09-01

Main Event: Day 5
I thought I'd put some closure to the Live from the WSOP blog for this year.

For those of you who haven't read our Forums, I busted out of the Main Event today in 159th place ($41,000).

I had a pretty sick hand where I got Ace-Jack all-in against King-Jack on a Jack-Six-Two board and lost the 1M pot when the guy made a King on the river. The degree to which that hand affected my equity in the tournament is truly disturbing to even think about.

After that, I was down to 120k in chips (10 big blinds). I got it all-in with Ace-Five suited versus Eight-Seven suited. Before the board came out, I said to the table, "what am I, like 25% to win this hand?" Allen Cunningham replied, "you're basically drawing dead." The man knows his stuff. The flop was King-Queen-Seven with the King and Queen giving my opponent a flush draw as well. Good game.

That was the first hand in the entire tournament where I was all-in for my whole stack. I doubt many players made it as further than I did while still being able to say that. Overall, I'm extremely content with how I played. I was very comfortable and confident for the entire tournament.

There is a good chance I'll make it onto one of the ESPN World Series of Poker episodes. The hand I played with the Ace-Jack could make it on there. What's more likely, though, is a hand Tiffany Michele played against Alex Outhred. They got it all-in on a 985 flop. Tiffany had Aces and Alex had pocket Fives. The turn was an Ace giving Tiffany the $1.5M pot. At the time I write this, she now is 3rd in chips in the whole tournament with $3.3M with only 89 players left. I'd say the deeper she makes it in the tournament, the more likely they'll show her two outter on TV. I was sitting right beside Alex Outhred, so I'd say there's a really good chance I'll be on camera for at least a few seconds as a result of that hand.

I'm flying home tomorrow morning. Frankly, I can't wait to leave Vegas. This is a fun city and all, but I'm really not the type of person who can tolerate being here for too long. I've basically spent 30 of the last 45 days in this city, so I've had my fill for the time being.

The WSOP Main Event is shaping up to be an interesting one. Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, and a host of other talented players are still in. As a fan of poker, I can't help but find myself to be rooting for Hellmuth to make the final table. His level of self-absorbtion annoys a lot of people, but personally, I find it incredibly entertaining and downright impressive. There aren't many people in this world who lack shame enough to self-promote so effectively!

Until next year...
Ozone 2008-07-13

Main Event: Day Four
Today was an abbreviated day at the Main Event. The past few days we had been playing five full levels. Today, they announced we'd only play four levels, but midway through the fourth level they sort of abrubtly declared the day was over. I'm not complaining though... extra sleep will be nice.

There are 189 players remaining. I have 556,000 chips. Blinds will be 5,000/10,000/1,000 for another 40 minutes tomorrow. Average is 725k.

For the first time all tournament, I played at the same table for the entire day. I'm not sure if I should regard that as a good thing or a bad thing. The table seemed to be mostly full of good players, but that might be the case at all tables by this point for all I know.

Ray Henson started our table with the chiplead. I busted him in the first level. Three times in the first ten hands at the table, I re-raised him preflop, the last two of which he called and folded to my flop bet. After sort of getting desimated by the table, he opened from the CO and I called with AJo from the BB. The flop was J74. I checked, he bet 14k, I raised to 40k, and he moved all-in. When he shoved, I actually thought it was pretty likely he had QQ+. It was only 75k more to call, so I did. I was pleasantly surprised to see 76o and fortunate enough that it held.

Another big pot took place during 4k/8k. Owen Crowe (ocrowe online) made it 24,000 in early position. Two players called and I came along with 66 in the CO. Two more players called as well meaning the pot ballooned to 175k before the flop. A 6 in the door was one of the prettiest things I've seen in my life. The other two cards were a King and a Four with two hearts. Owen led out for 55k, it folded to me, and I moved all-in for 410k total. I think if I raised to 150k (or something), Owen is savvy enough to realize I almost always have a set there. I was hoping that a shove looked like a semi-bluff with a flush draw. Regardless, he wound up folding, but that pot alone beefed up my stack considerably.

I won a few other small pots and lost a few other small pots. Nothing too significant to write about. I'm pretty sure I didn't turn over my cards once the whole day (aside from the Henson all-in), which is cool. What else is cool is that I am still yet to be all-in, called, and covered in this event. Admittedly, I'll be pretty lucky to be able to say that this time tomorrow.

I'm expecting a call around 11:00 a.m. from Poker Royalty regarding a sponsorship from either Stars or Full Tilt. Frankly, I think they're going to try to pin me down into some type of a deal where if I make the final table, I have to wear their stuff. I'm really not interested in that. If I'm lucky enough to make the final table, the four month wait would be ideal for selling off every square inch of my body to advertisers like Nascar drivers do!
Ozone 2008-07-12

Main Event: Day 3
I survived day 3 at the Main Event and am now in the money. Tomorrow, 474 of us resume to play 2,500/5,000/500. I have 260,000 chips, which is slightly below average, but far from concerning.

I started today with 247k and was never higher than 360k or lower than 160k. In the first level, things started off kind of poorly for me. I lost a race (Tens vs. Ace-Queen) for a 130k pot and then lost Kings vs. Ace-King (after someone said they folded an Ace, no less) for a 75k pot. Despite that, I astonishingly managed to actually increase my stack by a little bit in the first level.

I know it sounds hard to believe that one could play for ten hours and not really have any interesting hands to talk about... but I don't. I busted three short stacks in a series of about one hour. One was an 80-20, the other a 70-30, and the last a 55-45... so I was getting the chips in good.

My starting table had Jeremiah Smith who turned his 375k starting stack into well over 600k in the first level. This was no thanks to me. The two times we played pots against each other, I raked in the pot.

Later in the day, Smith was moved to my immediate left at a different table. He needed help carrying his $1.2M in chips!

That table was pretty tough. Jon Friedberg and a Swedish guy I know named Samir were also there. The others tended to be pretty competent themselves.

It was a cool table though because Hellmuth, Matusow, and Johnny Chan were all at one table or another very, very near ours. Matusow and Hellmuth kept yelling back and forth at each other, which was pretty amusing albeit annoying.

In the last level, I lost a race (Ace-Queen vs. Sixes) for a 90k pot that only cost me 30k of my chips (re-raised to isolate after two flat calls). It was kind of a bummer to lose that flip since I was getting 2:1 for my money... but I'll settle for losing the small flips so long as I can get a big one (or two) to go my way tomorrow!

I'm going to hop in the shower, brush my teeth, and hit the sack. This tournament is as much tiring as it is exciting.
Ozone 2008-07-11

Main Event: Day Two
I had a fantastic day in the Main Event today. I'm starting tomorrow with 244,000 with blinds of 800/1600 and an average stack of around 100,000.

I started today with 42,000 and was never even remotely close to being all-in during my accent. I won a lot of small pots at the start off of people who just don't seem to know how to fold. The Main Event is a value-bettors fantasy.

Here are a few hands that stick out in my mind from the day:

400/800. Last hand before dinner. I open raise to 2,200 from the CO with K7. Tight Euro calls from the small blind. Flop AQ6. He leads for 3,500, I make it 11,500, he calls. Turn 2. He checks leaving 30-35k behind. I have about 100k behind and slide a stack of large demonination chips into the middle. He thinks for about a minute and folds Ace-Jack face-up. I ask him if he wants to see my hand, he says he does, I smile and say, "well have fun being on tilt at dinner then!" :)

After dinner, raise to 2,600 with 99 in early position. Button calls and nitty old guy in the big blind calls. Flop AQ9. I bet 4,500, button folds, old guy raises to 14,500. I call. Turn 4. He bets 20,000, I shove, he thinks for quite a long time before calling off his last 45,000 drawing dead with Ace-King.

Folds to tight middle aged guy in CO who opens to 3,000. I re-minraise to 4,800 on the button with Ten-Eight offsuit. He calls. Flop Ace-Ten-Five two diamonds. He checks, I bet 6,500, he calls. Turn King. He checks, I bet 12,700, he calls. River brick. He checks, I examine he has about 35k behind and bet 20,100. He folds showing a King. I show him the Eight. Needless to say he bugged me for the rest of the night about what the other card was. He said he had King-Jack of diamonds which made sense given the way he played the hand.
Super loose, maniacal guy who starts hand with around 175k raises on the button to 3,000. I start hand with 230k and call from the big blind with King-Seven of hearts. Flop Jack-Four-Two, two hearts. I lead out for 4,500. He calls. Turn black Three. I lead out for 11,500. He calls. River black King. I bet 22,000. He thought long enough that I eventually got to the point where I was begging for a call. Unfortunately he mucked.

So tomorrow we return with ~1,300 players, 666 of which will cash. Hopefully I can survive day three with a healthy stack and really start having some fun.
Ozone 2008-07-10

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