Annette_15 Obrestad

Doyle Brunson Beats Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad 2-0

2008-09-27T15:12:00.000-04:00

In a battle for the ages, poker legend Doyle Brunson defeated reigning World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad heads-up in two straight games to win the best of three series. It was a match that pitted one of the top poker players of all time against the symbol of a younger generation and was held as a warm-up to the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event.

In the first match of the best of three series, Obrestad and Brunson got all of their money in on the flop. Brunson held a pair and Obrestad held a straight draw. The turn gave the young internet poker phenomenon a queen high straight, but Brunson one-upped her on the river with a king high straight. It marked a see-saw ending to the first match in the historic encounter. If Brunson won the second battle, he would win the war.

In the second match of the best of three series, a jack high flop brought both players’ money into the middle. Brunson held J-3 and Obrestad flipped over K-J for a better kicker. The namesake of online poker room Doyle’s Room managed to turn a three for two pair, sending Obrestad packing and sweeping the best of three series. In the endings to both tournaments, Brunson managed to hit lightning in a bottle for the win. He sits in second on the all-time World Series of Poker bracelet list with 10, which is tied with Johnny Chan and second to Ultimate Bet personality and 1989 Main Event winner Phil Hellmuth.

Brunson’s most recent bracelet came during the 2005 WSOP in a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Short-Handed event, which he won for $367,800. The talented final table of that tournament included Minh Ly, Scotty Nguyen, and Layne Flack. Brunson dominated poker in the 1970s. He won the 1976 and 1977 WSOP Main Events and had six bracelets during the 1976 to 1979 World Series events. His online poker room currently accepts U.S. players and offers a weekly bounty tournament that features Brunson, his son Todd, poker author Mike Caro, and the “Alabama Cowboy” Hoyt Corkins.

Obrestad burst onto the live poker scene last year by winning the Main Event of the WSOPE. Her grand prize was worth ₤1 million. She defeated John Tabatabai heads-up; the runner up took home £570,150. Other notables who cashed in the field included Gus Hansen (10th), Kenny Tran (16th), Annie Duke (21st), Marco Traniello (22nd), Erick Lindgren (26th), Patrik Antonius (29th), and 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold.

A native of Norway, Obrestad is a highly-accomplished online poker player. In July, she won the Sunday Mulligan on Full Tilt Poker for $51,666. She has taken down multiple $100 rebuys on PokerStars, which is widely regarded as having one of the toughest tournament fields online. Three weeks ago, Obrestad, who goes by the name “Annette_15” online, finished sixth in the Sunday Warm-Up for $31,000. Finally, she won the Full Tilt Poker $500,000 guaranteed, according to her profile on PocketFives.com, for $117,000.

The £10,350 buy-in Main Event of the 2008 WSOP Europe begins on Sunday at 1:00pm local time. The six-day event will feature two starting days. The champion of the tournament will be crowned on Thursday, October 2nd.

(Source)

Annette Obrestad to face Doyle Brunson

2008-09-26T12:38:00.003-04:00

(Source)

The reigning Queen of WSOPE, Annette Obrestad and Poker legend Doyle Brunson and will battle each other Sept. 26 in a best-of-three No-Limit Hold'em heads-up match that World Series of Poker organizers are billing as "King vs. Queen."

Both Brunson and Obrestad are considered two of the most elite poker players in the world, but their introductions to the game couldn't have been more different.

Brunson traveled the dusty backroads of the U.S., playing in numerous illegal games, honing his game prior to winning 10 WSOP bracelets, which forever secured his status as the godfather of poker.

Obrestad, of course, is from the online generation and built her bankroll from virtually nothing, eventually becoming one of the most dominant online tournament players in the world. Obrestad shocked the world by taking down the WSOPE Main Event last year, in doing so becoming the youngest player to ever win a bracelet.

A U.S. player has never won a WSOPE event, so the timing is excellent for a little U.S.A. vs. Europe action. Many are calling the contest poker's version of the Ryder Cup. Perhaps Brunson will take the lead from Jim Furyk and the gang and win at least one poker event for the United States.

The heads-up match will kick off at 1 p.m. London time at Empire Casino on Sept. 26, with spectators welcome, and Brunson will be signing copies of his book for guests at the end of play.

The WSOPE is currently being held in London and PokerListings.com is on location with Owen Laukkanen and Rod Stirzaker providing the latest live updates.

EPT Dortmund Coverage: Exit Annette_15

2008-09-24T12:13:00.001-04:00

Annette Obrestad - VG TV Interview

2008-09-24T12:12:00.001-04:00

Annette 'Annette_15' Obrestad - AUSSIE MILLIONS 2008

2008-09-24T12:11:00.000-04:00

2008-09-24T12:10:00.001-04:00

Annette Obrestad 2008 WSOP

2008-09-11T21:45:00.001-04:00

Tournament Indicator Free for 48hours

2008-08-31T11:24:00.001-04:00

FREE DOWNLOAD
Got a tournament coming up? Just download and install now, then browse the Video Guide. You can try Tournament Indicator for FREE for 48 hours.

Tournament Indicator is unlike any other poker calculator because it is specifically designed for Texas Holdem online tournament play. The indicators used in the software are the same you would use in a real tournament situation, but are quite different from a ring or cash game.

Poker calculator designed for ring games simply cannot offer the critical information used to make correct decisions in tournaments. Correct decision making at game critical intersects is what makes a tournament player successful.

Here are some of the features Tournament Indicator offers an online tournament player:

Instant MZone Calculations
Now you will know what MZone you are in as well as every other players' at your table. Depending on which MZone you are in can drastically alter your strategy, and the same is for your opponents. Only now, you are the only one with ALL the critical information at the table.

Player Profiling
In early tournament play you can learn a lot about your opponents by watching everything they do. Harder said than done, but Tournament Indicator does it all for you tracking VPIP%, Aggression, PFR%, showdown wins, and more. All these combined make for real-time player classifications that you can use against your opponents at the right time.

Tilt Factor Monitoring
New to poker calculator also is Tournament Indicator's ability to provide you with insight as to your opponent's tilt potential. By tracking hand streak in wins and losses and a tally on the player's stack over the last 10 hands gives you even more insight into that players current psyche.

MatchCard Showdown
Different criteria enter into the decision making process as a tournament winds down. Whether you are short stack, big stack or other, in the money or on the bubble, you will be faced with numerous all-in confrontations as part of the normal play of tournaments. What Tournament Indicator's MatchCard feature offers is a quick view of potential hands you might be up against.

Odds Calculations
Holdem Indicator set the standard for quick, easy to understand odds display while incorporating a visual display of comparing win odds to pot odds in each betting round. Tournament Indicator uses that same technology to give users the most relevant information with proven, reliable technology.

MiniView and Customized Settings
You won't feel squeezed on your computer screen as Tournament Indicator can be minimized on the game window. We like our profile settings but if you don't, just go ahead and adjust the profiling, and tilt factor settings to where they make more sense for you.

Video Tutorial Guide
Tournament Indicator introduces the Video Tutorial Guide compiled by Marty Smith. Watch these quick, informative videos and you will be using Tournament Indicator to it's full extent in your very first tournament.

Does Low Stake Grinding Beat a Day Job?

2008-08-30T11:18:00.002-04:00

Originally uploaded by HolyokeHangover

The saying goes that grinding low-stakes poker will suck the life out of you, but playing poker for a living has its obvious benefits. And it doesn't matter if you 17-table $25 NL 40 hours a week or you bust a couple chumps a week at Ivey deathmatch.

Drawbacks are pretty much guaranteed, true, but the positives so outweigh the negatives that it's really no contest. Let's go over the positives, as they are the most fun.

Best of all, you work for yourself. There's nobody breathing down your neck telling you to get stuff done. You are your own boss. You have nobody to answer to but yourself.

This freedom is easily the best benefit by far. If you don't feel like playing one day, guess what? You don't have to. Which brings me to my next point:

You can take time off whenever you want. Oh, your friends are going to be heading out of town for the week and want you to join them? No problem; you can just play more leading up to that week and take the whole week off. No holiday problems; no nothing. You want the time off, you take it. Simple as that.

You set your own hours. Sure, playing poker is a job just like any other. If you don't put the time in, you're not going to get ahead. However, when playing poker you get to decide when you put those hours in.

If the games are no good then you can go for a run and come back or try again in the evening when the games are better. If you are going out at night then get your hours in earlier in the day. Flexibility my friend: it's the spice of life.

You can get up whenever you want. Obviously a huge bonus. Who likes getting up early? Nobody, unless they are sick and twisted. When you bend cards for a living you can get up whenever you want. Sleeping in till 1 p.m. never felt so good. I mean what else are you going to do when you are taking flops till 5 a.m.?

You can work from home. If you don't want to make a trip to the casino, any number of online sites are only a click away. Online poker has brought poker into our living rooms. And me and my 42-inch LCD TV and wireless mouse and keyboard are more than happy to welcome it in from the couch.

You can make serious money. Rarely are you going to be able to make the money that is out there to be made doing anything else for yourself. There are supernovas on Stars making 100k+ a year grinding microstakes.

How sick is that? You need no schooling for poker. Just the will to put in time to get better. Anyone can beat this game; it's just whether or not you want it bad enough.

So there you have it - even if you are just playing microstakes, you get to reap the rewards of the poker lifestyle. Contrast that with working every day in a cubicle getting blinded by fluorescent lights.

(Source)

Omaha Hi-Lo Beginners Guide Part 1

2008-08-29T11:22:00.001-04:00

Omaha Hi-Lo, or O8 as it's commonly called, is growing in popularity both live and online thanks to its heavy action and the complexity of play compared to No-Limit Hold'em.

This article details basic beginner strategy for playing O8 in a loose-aggressive cash-game setting.

The majority of O8 games you will play - especially at the lower limits - will be very active and aggressive games, with upward of five players seeing a flop every hand. This is even common in many higher-limit games.

For the basic rules of how a Hi-Lo game works, refer to this article: More to Poker Than Hold'em Part 1: Omaha.

Key Skills for Winning at Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

>Seldom raise before the flop.
>Remember that your aim is to scoop the pot.
>Be able to fold on the flop very often.
>Play premium starting hands.
>Select your table carefully. Only play in loose games where five or more players see the flop on average.
>Hone your ability to quickly calculate accurate odds.
>All of this advice is very general, but will serve you well if you apply it judiciously. Seldom raising before the flop does not mean it's incorrect to ever raise before the flop.

In a game like O8, with almost-guaranteed high, loose action, raising before the flop with anything less than a premium hand does little more than increase the size of the pot.

Key Advice for Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

Much as Omaha Hi is, O8 is considered to be a nut game. Meaning that if you do not have the nut hand, there is a very good chance you will not win the pot. For this reason, you want to be very selective in the hands you play, only playing hands with "nut" potential.

The most important thing to remember is the scooping advice. Your main goal in O8 is to win both the high and the low. In reality, scooping (winning both the high and low) is a difficult thing to do and, for the most part, rather rare.

When playing Omaha, your goal is to play for the high, with a redraw to the low. If you have the nut high, you are guaranteed half the pot. Holding nothing but the nut low still puts you at risk for being quartered, or worse.

Common Mistakes in Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

>Playing too many starting hands.
>Calling all the way with only a low potential.
>Seeing flops with four middle cards, like 6-7-8-9.
>Raising with A-2 in early position and making players fold instead of seeing the flop cheaply with more players in.
>Starting Hand Guide for Limit Omaha Hi-Lo (full table, 8-10 players)

The best starting hands in Omaha Hi-Lo are A-A-2-3 double-suited, followed by A-A-2-4 double-suited. This kind of hand is very strong because it can be played for both high and low, which gives it great scoop potential. Of course, being suited or (even better) double-suited adds value to every hand.

Profitable starting hands
A-A-2-x
A-A-3-x
A-A-4-5
A-2-3-x
A-2-K-K
A-2-Q-Q
A-2-J-J
A-3-4-5
A-A-x-x
A-2-K-Q
A-2-K-J
A-2-x-x (suited ace)
A-3-K-K
A-3-4-x
2-3-4-5 (fold if there is no ace on the flop)
J-Q-K-A
T-J-Q-K
K-K-Q-J
Q-J-T-9
2-3-4-x (fold if there is no ace on the flop)

Beginners may find themselves getting overzealous with any hand containing an ace-deuce. Although A-2 will make the nut low more often than any other two-card combination, it's a losing-money proposition to be overly aggressive with weak hands containing strictly low possibilities.

You're also better off folding hands that hold two gaps (for example A-4-5-9). The chances of making a straight are under 1% and you seldom win the low.

Hands like 3-4-5-6, 4-5-6-7, 5-6-7-8 and 6-7-8-9 also have a negative expected value. Omaha variants being the nut games they are, these sorts of middle-connected hands are useless. They have a very low possibility of making the nuts and thus should not be played.

High pairs with two random cards like K-K-x-x or Q-Q-x-x are rarely, if ever, playable on a full table, although a high pair with two low cards that also make your hand suited or double-suited is playable in most games.

For example K-K-2-4 double-suited is a playable hand with decent scooping potential. Be sure not to over-value the hand when hitting second nuts.

Part two of the beginners guide to Omaha Hi-Lo will go into basic strategy and play on all five streets, plus how to put your starting hand selection into use.

(Source)

Brian Townsend a LIAR & CHEAT

2008-08-28T13:55:00.001-04:00

brian-townsend-03
Originally uploaded by fulltiltpoker

For the past 6 months I have been playing under the 2nd aliases Stellarnebula on FTP and makersmark66 on PokerStars. I have not used the aba20 account on Stars since I began playing on the Makersmark66 account. I have since gone back to using the aba20 account and will play only that account. During this time I played the 25/50 and 100/200 PLO games. I played under the Stellarnebula account from February until the end of June at which time Lee Jones and I had a discussion and we came to an agreement that I needed to close it.

During this time I was playing under the Brian Townsend account, never at the same table with the Stellarnebula. Under the Stellarnebula account I played 25/50, 50/100, and 100/200 PLO. During this time I played a very small amount of 50/100 PLO and primarily 200/400 PLO under the Brian Townsend account. I wanted to have come forward and make this public sooner, but unfortunately because of certain business relationships I could not do that. What I did was wrong and I am going to be punished by FullTilt poker by having my red pro status revoked for 6 months. I am unsure what action, if any, PokerStars will take. I have also hurt those that I work closely with primarily at CardRunners but also at FullTilt.

To compensate those that were hurt by my actions I am going to be donating $25,000 dollars to a charity to be determined in the future. This money will be removed from my CardRunners distributions. This is by no means me making my actions correct but I hope that it shows some good faith towards those that I work closely with. I am very proud of CardRunners; we are doing something very special. My first reaction when this occurred was to go hide under a rock. I am not going to do that and I will answer any questions that are asked of me. I feel that I have nothing to hide. Those are the pertinent facts. The reason why I created these accounts was because I enjoy anonymity when playing smaller and am very prideful in what I do.

The past two years I have made a lot of money playing poker. This year I have been breakeven. For me it’s correct to play smaller when things aren’t going well. I have never played poker for the money; it has always been a byproduct of my play. Whatever I do I want to be the best at it. For me playing the 200/400 PLO games was not the right thing to do because my results haven’t been good. I think I am a winner in those games and I intend to prove to myself that I am one of the best poker players in the world. I believe what it takes is an incredible amount of focus and work to accomplish this goal. I intend to work harder than anyone to prove this, because I have not been playing my best for the past year. I have something to prove to myself. I have removed what I have online and left myself with 100K. From here I am going to play 25/50 PLO until I have 200K then 50/100 until I have 400K online then 100/200 until I have 800K online. From there I will play 200/400. If things don’t go well when I first move up I will move back down and rinse and repeat until I am at the 200/400 PLO games. I used to think that playing 25/50, 50/100, and 100/200 was a failure because I wasn’t playing the largest limits. I am smart enough to move down when things aren’t going well; I was just too prideful to make it public.

Along with this I plan on continuing managing CardRunners and create the best poker instructional videos. I have put a lot of effort into my past videos and I want my partners to know that effort will continue, as well as the effort I put into running the company. I hope that people can look to me and not only learn about poker and bankroll management, but also how to do the right thing and be a good person.

Poker isn’t about luck or how you are running. It’s about the work and effort that you put into it. I have not had good results this year because of my poor play and lack of focus, not because I have run below expectation. I want to prove that to everyone. If you follow my play as I move up you will see the trials and tribulations that I face. There will be days of intense frustration and times when I will doubt my game. But I know that with hard work I can accomplish the goal I am setting. I hope that people can not only look to me for poker education but also for the way to live their lives. I made a mistake and I am willing to take responsibility for it. I am willing to stand up and face the music. I apologize to entire the online community. I will never partake in this type of activity in the future. This post should act as a full admission of my guilt, and I sincerely apologize to anyone that I've wronged.

(SOUCRE - My Apology)

Beating Low Limit No Limit Hold’em Cash Games

2008-08-28T13:19:00.001-04:00

Online Poker prep, originally uploaded by mojohouse.

For all you grinders just starting a bankroll, let’s discuss a few points on how to beat the low limit no limit cash games online. The games at this level are surprisingly mixed with new poker players who can and will draw out on you, and multi-tabling sharks that play 10 tables at a time and grind out $50 an hour while playing low limit poker and clearing bonuses.
There are few adjustments that need to made to your game, regardless of your level of experience.

Low Limit Poker Strategy: Don’t Bluff
Bluffing works, and it’s very profitable but not at this level. A key concept in using a bluff in no limit hold’em is relying on your opponent being good enough to fold his hand. When you’re grinding it out in the micro no limit games, you cannot do this profitably except for rare situations, very rare situations. The likeliness of your opponent folding a bad hand is not great.
Cash poker games are not like tournaments where you need to steal blinds and antes just to survive. In these games, we are looking to buy in with the maximum allowed stack and wait patiently for the nuts (the best possible poker hand) and someone who will pay it off. Thank you for your whole stack sir, fish again.

Low Limit Poker Strategy: Play Post Flop Poker
Keep in mind, you will run into a lot of people limping in with big hands. Ace King and high pocket pairs like Aces or Queens. All of these hands will be limped a lot both by beginners who are afraid to broadcast the strength of their hand, and more experienced players looking to trap you. While I don’t encourage limping with these hands myself, I definately don’t over commit to them pre-flop either.

Knowing the large range of hands I will be called with, I prefer to put in “value-raises” of 2.5 x the big blind with big hands and see where the cards fall before putting them on a hand to continue the action on later streets.
You can and should fold JJ and QQ, or AK AQ after missing a flop, it simply depends on the reads you make. The exception to this style of play is that if you hold KK or AA, you should raise AT LEAST 4 times the big blind. It is also okay to open shove all in with hands like this, you never know who will wake up and call behind you with a pocket pair of fives!

If you feel you have the best hand, but aren’t quite sure or know that your opponent will call to the river on a strong draw, don’t be afraid to use a small value bet or even check the flop to see if the draw hits. Using the turn to extract value instead of the flop helps insure you won’t be semi-bluff shoved all in by an opponent with a 30% draw that may or may not hit. After the turn, you can evaluate your odds to win much easier by seeing how it may or may not have improved your opponents hand.

These poker tables are a gind and you should treat them as such, for the most part you need to play very tight poker and wait for 80% or greater edges to get your money in with, this will help your bankroll grow at a steady pace without big risks and with the added benefit of clearing your first bonus. Players who can multi-table four or more of these low limit cash game tables find that it is easier to play tight poker as they don’t get “bored” as easy.

(Source)

When To Bluff In No Limit Hold’em

2008-08-27T20:07:00.001-04:00

Bluffed, originally uploaded by PotD.

A well timed and perfectly executed bluff in No Limit Hold’em is a relative work of art, but it is not as easy to do profitably as it may look on the television. Good poker players know that a successful bluff on the river or catching a bluffer in the act can add a lot to a winning players expected value over a players career. Picking your spots and knowing the other players at the tables tendencies (how they react based on similar situations in the past) are key skills, and bluffing is not to be attempted at low limit games with a large number of bad players.

When deciding to bluff, it helps to put your opponent on a range of hands first, starting pre-flop. This will allow you to set-up the bluff, by becoming what the player fears in a hand. I can and do successfully bluff Pocket Aces out of scary boards, but only when I deem the player good enough to be capable of folding (and this is simply not the case at low limit games for the most part). If you are confident in your play, and your read of the opponent – you can represent any hand that is possible on the board. A few tips:

Holdem Strategy: Don’t Bluff On The Turn:
Bluffing on the turn is the hardest to pull off, and I generally don’t recommend it. If a player stayed in after the flop the turn usually improves a hand or adds a draw, so players are simply more likely to call or even re-raise on a draw at the turn, because the potential to make their hand becomes great in their own eyes (straight and flush draw for example). Instead, the one time I highly recommend using this play as by semi-bluffing a big draw – that is, give yourself a lot of outs if you are bluffing on the turn, because it might just turn into a big pot. And when we are playing big pots, we want to have the maximum chance of scooping it as possible.

Holdem Strategy: Do Bluff The River
And do it often, especially versus tight/passive players. A player with pocket queens is susceptible to a river King or Ace, a flush card, or even a gutshot. Become the hand they fear most, and prey on their ability to “make a good fold”. Bluffing on the river can be risky of course, but I swear by it – it works well especially in heads up poker games. In multi-handed pots I only recommend attempting a stone cold bluff if you have position in the hand, thus ensuring you have the most information possible on what the other players might have – but in general a bluff works best in heads up poker situations.

If you haven’t been trying the occasional river bluff, you are losing a lot of pots that you don’t need to. Target players that check behind in showdown situations with hands like top pair weak kicker – just don’t over use the play as this style should fit solidly into your winning tight aggressive image to ensure the highest success rates, good luck!

Annette Obrestad winning a 180 person Sit&Go without looking at her cards

2008-08-27T20:04:00.001-04:00

This 2 part video shows how Annette Obrestad won a 180 person Sit&Go by playing position and the player and NEVER looking at her 2 hole cards. You will see her folding KK and great hands because SHE NEVER LOOKS AT THEM. Its an amazing accomplishment in poker. She played completely blind.

Part 2 of series of video that shows how Annette_15 wins a 180 SNG by playing position and player and NEVER looking at hole cards. BLIND PLAY!!

Poker Stars Sunday Million Ups Guarantee to $1.5 Million

2008-07-31T12:15:00.000-04:00

Sunday Warm-Up Guarantee Also Increases to $750,000

PokerStars, the largest poker site in the world, is staying ahead of the game as it recently announced that its flagship tournament, the Sunday Million, will now have a guarantee of $1.5 million, an increase of 50 percent.

The $215 buy-in Sunday Million runs weekly at 4:30 p.m. ET. Satellites run around the clock for as little as $3. This isn’t the only tournament getting increased guarantees, either. The Sunday Warm-Up is also offering an upped minimum prize pool of $750,000. That event also features a buy-in of $215 and is no-limit hold'em, but it runs just before the Sunday Million at 12:45 p.m. ET. The $1,050 buy-in Super Tuesday tournament's guarantee will now be $300,000 (up from $250,000).

2008 WSOP Final Table on ESPN November 11th

2008-07-23T14:48:00.001-04:00

The final table has been set and will reconvene on November 9th when these nine players battle for their share of over $32 million. First they will play down until 2 remain. The final 2 will finish play on November 10th and then the event will be broadcast by ESPN on November 11th.

David Benyamine up $910,984 WSOP 2008

2008-06-29T10:26:00.001-04:00

David Benyamine is having a great year!!

WSOP: Phil 'OMGClayAiken' Galfond Wins $817,781 Event No. 28

2008-06-17T14:43:00.001-04:00

2008 39th Annual World Series of Poker
Event 28 - Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys
06/16/2008 1 $817,781.00

Galfond Wins Marathon Heads-Up Match for His First Bracelet

In what has been regarded by some as the best final table ever formed at the World Series of Poker, two online players took out some of the game's best to match up in an epic battle. In the end, after nearly 120 grueling heads-up hands, Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond finally got the better of his fierce opponent, Adam Hourani.

Here were the chip counts heading into the star-studded final table:

Phil Galfond -- 1,393,000
Brian Rast -- 1,176,000
David Benyamine -- 1,041,000
John Juanda -- 694,000
Johnny Chan -- 624,000
Kirill Gerasimov -- 558,000
Daniel Negreanu -- 460,000
Adam Hourani -- 300,000
Phil Hellmuth -- 119,000

Here are highlights from all of the action, as featured in CardPlayer.com’s live coverage of the final table:

2008 39TH ANNUAL WORLD SERIES OF POKER

2008-06-10T12:16:00.000-04:00

2008 39TH ANNUAL WORLD SERIES OF POKER

05-30-2008 to 07-15-2008
Rio Suite Hotel & Casino
3700 W. Flamingo Road - Las Vegas, NV

LIST OF EVENTS - CLICK HERE

David Benyamine up $1.8 million dollars in May 2008

2008-05-23T11:55:00.001-04:00

David Benyamine is currently up over $1.8 million dollars in Pot Limit Omaha games on FullTilt Poker just in May. He just finished a session where he won over $700k, beating players such as "Durrrr" and "Alstonprice" out of six figures each.

David Benyamine in May has played 18,302 hands (in the PLO games) and is up $1.15 million dollars. This works out to an unbelievable $62.83 in profit for each hand that he has played so far in May.

Since the beginning of 2007, according to HighStakesDB, Benyamine's various aliases have dropped $3 million dollars on Full Tilt Poker playing No Limit Hold'em.

On the flip side, since the beginning of 2007, Benyamine has dominated the biggest PLO games on the site like no one else.

If you include his 700k the "David Benyamine" alias has won around $5.3 million in the PLO games on FTP since the beginning of 2007.

Another one of his old aliases, "ballsrider", generated $1.51 million in total profits over that same time period, before being shut down. Yet another one of his aliases, "magicpitch1", is up over $682k from the beginning of 2007 until now. Add those three aliases up, and Benyamine is up around $7.6 million playing PLO on Full Tilt Poker since the beginning of 2007. That makes him by far the biggest PLO winner on the site during that time.

Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad

2008-05-21T17:10:00.004-04:00

Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad is still just a teenager, but she is already one of the most popular poker players in the world.

Obrestad was born in Norway on September 18th, 1988. Growing up in Norway, bowling was the game of choice for "Annette_15". She spent six years bowling "fairly seriously" before eventually giving up the game in favor of poker. She was actually watching a bowling tournament on television when a commercial for an online poker room flashed on the screen. Bowling had started to lose its appeal for Annette, so she soon traded in her bowling shoes for an account at Ultimatebet.

Annette was 15 years old when she started playing online, hence the alias "Annette_15". She wanted to play for real money, so she asked her Mom to deposit some money into her account, using her Mom's credit card. Annette's Mom refused, saying that she was too young, so Annette was forced to grind freerolls to try and develop a bankroll. She soon won $9 playing a freeroll on Ultimatebet and had the beginnings of her online bankroll. Annette claims to have never deposited money into an online poker room - instead, she built up her entire bankroll from nothing, starting with freerolls.

Over time, Annette was able to build up a five figure bankroll. It was when she started putting in serious time on Pokerstars that she started to get noticed. She quickly moved up in the online tournament scene, and was soon playing the biggest tournaments online. "Annette_15" was starting to attract a large following, and the rail was often full when she would play online.

Her first big splash came in the 2006 WCOOP Main Event on Pokerstars. She ended up making the final table, going out in 7th place for $163k. Her demise was particularly heart-breaking - she got all of her chips into the middle holding pocket nines, catching the bluff of an opponent who was holding the 6-5 of diamonds. "Annette_15" looked to be in great shape until the flop came 7 4 3, giving her opponent the nut straight and sending Obrestad to the rail. Still, $163k was not bad at all, right?

Controversy soon erupted after Annette revealed that it wasn't actually her playing the account during the tournament - she had lent her account to someone else. At the time, the point of contention was that this 7th place finish vaulted Annette up the list of top online players. If she wasn't playing on the account, should the 7th place finish actually count towards her ranking as one of the top online players?

This wouldn't be the first time that Annette would stir up some controversy or make waves in the poker world. Far from it.

Over the next year, Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad would stake her claim as one of online poker's top players. Her four and five figure cashes are too numerous to mention, but here are some of her biggest wins in the year following the 2006 WCOOP main event:

-1st place finish in the $500k Guarantee on Full Tilt Poker, August 5th 2007, $117k

-1st place finish in the Sunday Mulligan on Full Tilt Poker, October 7th 2007, $35k

-1st place finish in the $109 Rebuy on Pokerstars, July 24th 2007, $32.6k

-1st place finish in the Nightly $100k on Pokerstars, Jan 22nd 2007, $32k

Obrestad was now considered one of the top online players in the world, and she was still only 18 years old.

This newfound stardom didn't stop Obrestad from getting into trouble with Pokerstars. In early 2007, Obrestad was suspended by the site for a week for violating their "team play" rules.

Here is what happened. "Annette_15" was playing in a rebuy tournament on Pokerstars. The tournament was still in the first hour, and "Annette_15" and another player, "Riverboom", agreed to go all-in on the next hand, no matter what. "Riverboom" advised the other players at the table not to limp, as both players would be pushing all-in regardless. There were multiple players in the hand, and "Annette_15" said that her hand was "no good" while the hand was still being played out. Pokerstars ended up suspending her for a week for violating their rules.

The summer of 2007 was nearly over, and Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad was firmly perched atop the list of top online players in the world.

The World Series of Poker Europe was hosting its inaugural event in London, England. The main event for the WSOPE had a buy-in of 10k pounds, or around $20,000 USD. Annette was contemplating playing in the tournament, but the high buy-in was giving her second thoughts. She had had some experience playing "live" in underground poker clubs in Norway and at the 2006 Ultimatebet Aruba Poker Classic, but this was to be her biggest poker tournament ever if she decided to enter.

She soon made one of the best decisions of her life when she sold 50% of her action in the tournament to Eric Haber and Cliff Josephy, otherwise known as "Sheets" and "Johnnybax".

Annette navigated her way through the tournament, outlasting a field that included many of the top poker talents in the world. She used her trademark aggressive play to accumulate chips, and before she knew it, she was heads-up with John Tabatabai at the final table.

The heads-up battle lasted for hours. Eventually, Annette was dealt pocket sevens and the flop came 5-6-7. The players got their chips into the middle, and Obrestad was delighted to see the bottom two pair that her opponent flipped over. Tabatabai would need running sixes to stay alive, and didn't get them. Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad had won the World Series of Poker Europe main event, mere hours after her 19th birthday.

Obrestad cashed for $2.013 million dollars (or $1 million pounds). Half of that would go to "Sheets" and "Johnnybax" because they had 50% of her action. After the tournament, she vowed to never again sell any of her action. Still, at the end of the day, Obrestad cleared over a million dollars pretax and became the youngest World Series of Poker champion ever. She wasn't yet old enough to play in Las Vegas, but that didn't stop her from winning a WSOPE bracelet. Not only that, but Annette:

-became the first woman to ever win a WSOP main event
-passed Annie Duke in total lifetime WSOP winnings
-took down the largest first place prize ever by a woman in a poker tournament (surpassing Annie Duke's victory at the 2004 TOC)

Annette stirred up some more controversy when she made some remarks about the play of Ted Forrest at the WSOPE, both in her blog and in a Cardplayer.com interview. Annette remarked that she wasn't impressed with the play of Forrest, labeling him a "calling station". Some criticized Obrestad for these comments, saying that they were out of line and disrespectful towards a long-established "live" pro. Most felt, however, that online players were constantly being talked down to by "live" pros and that turnabout was fair play.

Obrestad was soon making a deep run once again in another major live tournament. Just about a month and a half after her success at the WSOPE, Obrestad was chipleader of the EPT Dublin event heading into the final table. At the final table, Obrestad continued her dominance, knocking out a number of the other participants. When she got to heads-up play with Reuben Peters, Annette had a 5:1 chip lead and seemed to be cruising towards victory. However, the deck suddenly turned cold for Annette, and she was knocked out in second place for $429k after her pocket sevens didn't hold up against the A-10 of Reuben Peters. Annette, though pleased with her $429k cash, was bitterly disappointed with her second place finish, especially after possessing such a large chip lead.

Even before her "live" success at the WSOPE and EPT Dublin, Annette had been pursued by a number of the online poker rooms for a sponsorship deal. It's not hard to see why - Annette was a dominant online player who was now starting to see some "live" success. Not only that, but she was female, 19 years old and possessed a massive online fan base. Numerous online poker rooms, including Full Tilt Poker, were vying for her services. Annette ended up signing with Betfair Poker after they offered her a deal that was "substantially" better than the other offers.

Since her success at the WSOPE and EPT Dublin, Annette has pursued a lighter schedule, enjoying some of the fruits of her labor. Her most impressive recent accomplishment came when she took down the Sunday Hundred Grand on Pokerstars for $20,000, outlasting a field that included 20,000 participants. I don't care how good you are - finishing first in a tournament with 19,999 other entrants is an impressive feat.

Annette has accomplished quite a bit in her relatively short poker career. She once took down a 180 man, $4 Sit and Go on Pokerstars without looking at her hole cards (ok, she apparently peeked during one hand, but still). She did this to demonstrate the importance of position and the concept of playing the players, not the cards. Also, she once won a $5k SNG on Ultimatebet against Phil Hellmuth in just 12 hands. I'm sure that he wasn't too happy about that.

Annette is only one of a handful of players in the world that have cashed for a million dollars both online and in "live" play.

Considering that Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad is still a teenager - how many lifetime victories and total cashes will she have when the final chapter of her life has been written? For the immensely talented Norwegian, anything seems possible.

Brandi Hawbaker Confirmed Dead @ 26

2008-05-21T17:09:00.002-04:00

The Real Truth About Brandi Hawbaker - Two Plus Two Poker Forum
The Real Truth About Brandi Hawbaker News, Views, and Gossip.

Annette Obrestad - Blind/No Look at cards Tournament WIN!!

2007-12-28T17:36:00.001-05:00

Part 1 of 2 of series of video that shows how Annette_15 wins a 180 player SNG by playing position and player and NEVER looking at hole cards. BLIND PLAY!!

Part 2 of series of video that shows how Annette_15 wins a 180 SNG by playing position and player and NEVER looking at hole cards. BLIND PLAY!!

Annette Obrestad - a year in review - Happy Christmas

2007-12-21T14:41:00.000-05:00

This is my podcast which went on Betfair Radio. Happy Christmas.

Annette - a year in review

CLICK HERE>>>>

Annette Obrestadn Betfair Radio on Tuesday afternoon talking about what I have been up to.

2007-12-13T11:33:00.000-05:00

Annette Obrestad wins again!

2007-12-11T12:19:00.000-05:00

Paris hosted what became a big night for Annette Obrestad, aka Annette_15. Nominated for 3 awards at the European Poker Player awards. She won the award for Best Performance of the year! What an applicable award for this poker phenomenon who now holds another place in poker history.

The World Series of Poker Europe held 3 events for the inaugural year. Of those three, the field was world-class poker competition. Each event was won by a European Poker Professional, instead of the multiple WSOP titled Americans who went to London to defend the hold on the WSOP brand. The greatest surprise came in the main event. With a 1 million GBP guarantee, the event maxed out the number of players around 300. After battling her way through names such as Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth, this incredible young woman proved her focus and talent to the world, by winning the first WSOP Europe Main Event.

Because of her historical win, she now holds 3 titles associated with the WSOP that may be many years, and in one case, laws, to come before they are broken. The first is being the third woman to win a World Series of Poker Open Event. She won the first Main Event Bracelet awarded outside of the United States. The title that will take more than skill to change, it will need laws to change, is that she is now the youngest person to ever win a WSOP bracelet.

Congratulations Annette!

Annette has her own special $212 freezeout tournaments on Betfair Poker at 19:30 UK time on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Annette Obrestad “Tournament Performance of the Year”

2007-12-10T09:39:00.000-05:00

Annette Obrestad became the youngest player ever to win the “Tournament Performance of the Year” award at the prestigious European Poker Awards in Paris.

Her achievement at the World Series of Poker Europe was recognised as “phenomenal” by Poker Europa Chief Nic Szeremeta who presented the award. She defeated a field comprising of “one of the toughest fields in poker” to win more than $2 million.

Annette beat fellow nominees Carlos Mortensen and Bruno Fitoussi. Mortensen won $3.97 million at the WPT in Las Vegas while Fitoussi took $1.2 million by finishing second in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the poker calendar, the WSOP HORSE event, also in Las Vegas.

Annette was nominated in two other categories including “Leading Lady” and “Rookie of the Year.” She narrowly missed out to Katja Thater, who also won a WSOP bracelet this year, in the “Leading Lady” category.

Only 19, and two years too young to legally enter a Las Vegas casino, Annette Obrestad is an online poker prodigy who shot to fame after winning the Main Event at the World Series of Poker Europe in London’s Leicester Square. Two months later Annette narrowly missed her first European Poker Tour win—taking second place and a $429,181 payday in Dublin.

“I am so happy to win this award. I prefer this one than rookie of the year because I was up against such great players. I am still learning so much,” she said. “There are still a lot of areas of my live game that can improve. My instincts, my ability to know what certain tells mean. But I am getting better all the time.”

Annette_15 Strategy Tips – Annette_15’s Poker Play Analyzed – Part #1

2007-12-07T14:20:00.000-05:00

Prodigy Annette_15’s Tournament Strategy Analyzed To Bring Your Some Annette_15 Tips!!

Poker phenomenon Annette Obrestad – Better known as Annette_15 recently made the transition from online tournament poker pro to live game star after winning the inaugural World Series Europe. This article follows an analysis of many of Annette_15’s online poker tournament achievements. We look at how she plays and break these down into bite-sized poker strategy pieces that can be used to improve our games at the tables.

This is part #1 of a 2 part series – the second part will look in detail at Annette Obrestad’s final table play.

Annette_15 Poker Strategy #1 – Early Game Tournament Play

Disciplined – Early poker tournament strategy involved very few fancy plays, just solid ABC poker taking advantage of the cards on offer.
Ace Hands – Folded! Annette never plays aces with small kickers in the early game, even folding Ace-Queen to a small pre-flop raise with several opponent’s still to act.

Raising Not Calling – Annette very rarely calls any raise. Either the hand is good enough for a re-raise or it is not played at all.

Open Raises – Most pairs and any suited connectors are raised from any position with a ‘standard’ 3 times the big blind bet.

Continuation Bets – Annette 15’s Poker tournament play involved a very high percentage of continuation bets where she raised pre-flop. These were a good size, around 2/3rds to 3/4s of the pot size.

No Slow-Playing! – Strong hands were always played in a straightforward manner with raises and re-raises, no tricky play or slow-playing in the early stages.

Annette_15 Poker Strategy #2 – Mid-Game Tournament Play

Disciplined Short-Stack Play – After losing a big-pot and getting down to a micro-stack Annette 15 folded several hands waiting for something with showdown value, discipline that many players would not have shown!

Implied Odds – At 15 times the big blind suited connectors and small pairs are folded, showing an awareness of the lack of correct odds to play these hands.

Stealing Stack Size – Tight play with open-raising with 15 times the blind was countered by a loosening up of re-stealing strength. All-in re-steals being most common when an opponent raised from either the button or the cut-off seats.

Gap Concept – Annette_15 consistently shows not only awareness of the gap concept but play very much based on this – a large gap between hands used to open raise and those used to call a raise (or re-raise) throughout the middle stages, even when holding a large stack of chips.

UTG Steals – Well they say that ‘UTG is the new button’ and Annette Obrestad seems more than aware of this. More than once stealing a ‘vulnerable blind’ by raising a medium strength hand from under the gun.

Raise Sizes – As the blinds got higher Annette’s raises go smaller, shifting from 3 times the big blind in the early stages to 2.5 times in the mid stages of the tournament.

Showing Hands – Finally, many opponents showed hands through the middle stages of the tournament we analyzed. Annette 15 was a notable exception, never showing any hand to give opponents a clue as to her preferred betting patterns.

ANNETTE's Thread Post on Sorel Mizzi Ceating Scandal

2007-12-07T14:03:00.000-05:00

What annette posted:

I havent read all the replies here, but I've seen ppl wondering why I havent said anything about this... Honestly I dont really know what u want me to say? I mean, I of course dont support multi accounting, and I certainly dont think its OK to take over for other ppl deep in tourneys no matter what buy in. I can say that I've personally never done this and never will.

I dont think any differently of Sorel because of what he did, Like I said I dont support it but it doesnt change the fact that hes a very good friend of mine, and thats why I've chosen not to say anything. Our friendship is much more important for me than letting everyone know that he cheated in a tournament.... Get some perspective ppl. This shit happens all the time and we just have to live with it. If ppl keep getting caught this problem will hopefully stop or at least decrease in time.

Zang

Annette

ANNETTE POT LIMIT OMAHA $10/$20 HU vs STUART PATERSON

2007-12-01T20:16:00.000-05:00

ANNETTE HEADS UP ON POT LIMIT OMAHA $10/$20 CASH GAME

2007-12-01T08:26:00.000-05:00

ANNETTE HEADS UP ON POT LIMIT OMAHA $10/$20 CASH GAME

USPT WOMEN ONLY COMMUNITY - NO MEN ALLOWED

2007-11-30T12:06:00.001-05:00

Poker Hand Replays Website

2007-11-30T11:43:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Poker Hand Replays! Create, view, and comment on replays of poker hands you’ve played online or offline. You can use our simple wizard for recreating hands, or copy/pasting your hand histories from your favorite poker sites.

View an example.

SOREL MIZZI - STATEMENT ON CHEATING

2007-11-30T11:03:00.001-05:00

I do not know where to begin, but here it goes....
by Imper1um on 11/30/2007 00:13

Although, admittedly, I saw the first and second page of this post last night
when there were only 100 posts I decided to let this thread evolve till
I arrived in Vegas and now I'm definitley glad I made that decision
because it has given me a clear perspective on who my true friends are and
has caused me to re-evaluate the character of those who I thought were friends/
supporters...

I really don't know where to start, there are so many things
people think they know but in reality they have no clue of. I guess I'll start
off with MattG's claims:

The fact of the matter is that the situation took place over a year ago where I messaged MattG on pocketfives during the tournament telling him I am helping my friend in this satellite so he was
aware of it. I noticed afterwords he hadn't responded so I AIMed him to
see if he got it. I was literally astonished when I heard him
say I bragged or gloated since there is no shot I would EVER do that,
and anyone that knows me even a LITTLE knows that is SO absurd to say. I have no clue how he got the impression that I was bragging, but it is so wrong and I WISH I had the conversation to post on here because everyone would see that nothing I said was even CLOSE to bragging.

Andy McCleod, I'm almost speechless at your post. I guess I should not be surprised that you are so immature at 16 (yes Andy Mcleod is 16 for those of you who didn't know) . If you are going to lie about your age and say you are playing professionally, then you should be able to responsibly choose your games. That is the most basic prerequisite for even playing professionally. Furthermore, I have no idea why you are pretending that we were friends. I don't even think we've talked on MSN for more than 30 minutes collectively. How you can try to say with a straight face that I took advantage of you...one of the best players in the online world...is truly beyond me, and you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to suggest that. Were you planning on returning the money if you won, or are you entitled to take free shots on tilt and if u lose simply impose a moral dilemma on the person who beat you?

As far as the situation with FTP goes I hope that everyone can understand
the intense scrutiny that I am under and be respectful and patient at this
time. I currently am in the process of finalizing a formal interview with a
major media outlet to explain the situation that has been discussed.
Please understand that it would be impossible to address everyone's
questions/comments by responding to each one individually.
Obviously, I am doing this interview so that I can hopefully answer
all of your collective questions and concerns.

I am hopeful the interview will take place this weekend, but
it will certainly be as soon as possible. I promise to be fully open
and honest about the situation.

I would like everyone to know that I appreciate your thoughts and concern on this matter. The support is appreciated.
P.S. YTIU is posing as yellowsub and created the RIP Imper1um thread in case anyone did not figure that out.

Sorel "Imper1um" Mizzi Banned from Full Tilt Poker?

2007-11-29T14:15:00.001-05:00

The online poker world is buzzing about the revelation that there has been another cheater caught in a high profile online poker event.

Let's rewind about a month. Chris "BluffMagCV" Vaughn, an employee of Bluff Magazine, took down back to back Sunday Million tournaments. First he took down the Full Tilt $1 Million Guaranteed tournament, and then the very next week he took down the Sunday Millions tournament on Pokerstars playing as "SlippyJacks."

There were rumblings about possible shenanigans in the Full Tilt Poker tournament, but the story didn't really come to light until Soren "Kongsgaard" Kongsgaard posted that he had received an email from Full Tilt Poker stating that "BluffMagCV had been disqualified from the tournament and "Kongsgaard" would be awarded first place money.

The stated reason for the disqualification? Full Tilt Poker said that an already eliminated player had taken over "BluffMagCV"'s account late in the tournament. Apparently the player that took over the account was promised a % of the total profits in exchange for finishing out the tournament.

This player who took over the account is reportedly Sorel "Imper1um" Mizzi, and apparently he too has been banned from Full Tilt Poker.

If Mizzi did in fact participate in this scheme and he was in fact banned from Full Tilt Poker, it is obviously a huge deal, as Mizzi is one of the most popular and successful poker players online. Mizzi has been noticeably absent from Full Tilt Poker as of late, so it would certainly appear to be true.

Full Tilt has been tight-lipped on the matter. What we do know for sure is that "BluffMagCV" was 100% disqualified from that tournament and banned, and that a high profile player took over his account and was also banned. At this point, the evidence would certainly seem to point to Mizzi as the well-known player who took over the account, but we don't have 100% confirmation as of yet.

Was the "Slippyjacks" victory on Pokerstars tainted as well? Pokerstars closely scrutinizes every player who makes it to the final table of any major event on their site, so there is a good chance that they have already investigated and found nothing to be wrong with the victory on Pokerstars. The "SlippyJacks" account is currently not banned on Pokerstars.

You have to wonder how much of this stuff is going on that is never discovered. If the players who perpetrated this scam weren't so reckless, they probably never would have been caught.

This stuff is just horrible for online poker in general, and sites are going to have to come up with a better solution for dealing with this kind of cheating. I wish that the sites would band together, and if a person is caught cheating on one site, they are banned from them all.

Also, I believe that online poker sites need to stop shielding the identities of known cheaters, and start publicly naming people that have been caught cheating. Why shouldn't the public know about it? If you are caught trading stocks in the USA with insider knowledge, you are publicly named by the SEC. What's wrong with that? There has to be a stronger deterrent to cheating. Right now the reward is far greater than the risk of getting caught.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2007-11-22T09:25:00.001-05:00

Annette Obrestad gives up 50% WSOPE Winnings

2007-11-19T11:51:00.000-05:00

Poker Player Net Worths Are Rarely What you Think They Are

A pretty popular message board topic is to speculate as to the net worth of the most famous poker players in the world, both online and "live."

While it can be fun to try and guess as to what each player is worth, there are several key details that most people overlook.

First off, some people will look at a player's total tournament cashes and automatically assume that someone is a multi-millionaire just because they have $3 million dollars in lifetime cashes.

Though they may very well be millionaires, oftentimes they are not. First off, staking is much more prevalent than you think in live tournament poker. At any major tournament, you can have as many as 50% of the "name pros" being staked for the tournament. So right off the bat you need to question how much of their $3 million in total cashes they actually got to keep. I mean, you probably didn't know that Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad was staked by the Bax/Sheets empire for the WSOPE Main event, and had to fork over 50% of her winnings. As I said, staking is everywhere in live tournament poker.

After that, you have Uncle Sam, who is going to take his cut. Also, if the player travels around playing live tournaments, this will take a serious dent out of their bankroll. They will have to fork over money for tournament buy-ins, hotels and airline tickets. It's not much of a stretch to think that someone with $3 million in cashes could have nothing left after staking, expenses and taxes.

Also, debt is everywhere in poker. It seems like everyone owes money or is owed money. There are players out there that are technically worth millions and millions of dollars, but are owed millions of dollars by other poker players. Money that they may or may not get back.

Also, many well-known poker players are gamblers in the truest sense of the word. Many millions of dollars are won and lost on the golf courses of Las Vegas, and many millions are lost playing craps, roulette and other table games in Vegas. Some players will win millions of dollars in tournaments and then dump this money off at the high limit table games in Vegas.

Also, just because you see a poker player playing with a $500k stack in front of them on High Stakes Poker, doesn't necessarily mean that they are worth tens of millions of dollars. They are either playing way of their bankroll, or they are being staked or at least partially staked to sit at the table. Some of the players at the tables on High Stakes Poker are certainly worth tens of millions of dollars, but some aren't worth nearly as much as you would think.

The last consideration to take into account when trying to figure out the net worth of well-known players is their outside business interests. Some of the most well-known poker players are also extremely savvy businessmen. Phil Hellmuth, love him or hate him, has to have a very large net worth due to his business interests. Players like Eli Elezra and Sammy Farha are wealthy outside of poker due to their numerous business interests.

Players such as Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer are worth millions of dollars on paper due to their equity stakes in Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt Poker has to be worth at least a couple billion dollars, and these players (and others) all have substantial equity stakes in the company.

Many players also have a respectable poker bankroll that is dwarfed by the value of their real estate holdings.

In the end, there are many, many factors that would determine the net worth of a player. I suspect that many players have either a much smaller or much larger net worth than most people would think.

‘Pokercrusher™’ Software Unveiled

2007-11-14T17:28:00.000-05:00

Here are just a few of the groundbreaking features of Poker Crusher™, online poker's most powerful software tool:

*Real-time data on over a million players

As soon as you open Poker Crusher™ you have access to millions of hands worth of info on your potential opponents! Customizable key stats shown directly on the table as you play.

*Easy-read icons for all player types

Poker Crusher™ automatically recognizes the players at your table and displays an icon next to their name showing their exact playing style (green fish, shark, mouse, calling station, etc).

*Instant access to the softest tables

Poker Crusher™'s auto-lookup instantly finds and ranks the softest active tables on the Web, so you're never more than one click away from the biggest losers in the game.

*A shortcut to all leaks in your own game

Compare your stats and see how you stack up. Track your play, identify your leaks and instantly increase your profits.

*A massive database working 24/7

Poker Crusher™ literally has a large, organized "farm" of computers completely dedicated to collecting hand histories and betting patterns, whether you're logged in or not. The database is also updated every five minutes.

Women's Poker Spotlight: The Women's European Poker Tour

2007-11-14T09:30:00.000-05:00

The poker explosion in Europe, Asia and Russia has given organizations in these regions reason to follow the American way, prospering and growing in the poker industry. This includes the women's poker market, which has the greatest potential for new players.

BetFred has introduced the new Women's European Poker Tour, which has taken off with impressive results. Combining qualifiers online with direct buy-ins to gain entry into events happening all over the UK, the tour awards points and adds cash to every prize pool. A final event with the top point earners will play for cash and prizes in a year-end finale. The final table will be televised, giving the ladies an opportunity to make themselves seen, with this season's finale taking place at the Broadway Casino in Birmingham on December 8th.

Grosvenor UK Poker Tour is another popular tour that is having success in the UK. Christine Ward finished fourth at the Newcastle event and was the first lady player to make a final table on the tour, proving that you don't have to play women's only events to be a success at poker. More and more women are exploring their options for larger buy-ins and greater playing fields. The potential for poker tours opening up to the women's market is the greatest opportunity for fresh young faces in poker today. An example is the newly crowned Main Event winner of the WSOPE, Annette Obrestad. With Annette's recent win and second-place finish at the recent Dublin EPT event, more ladies are being drawn to try their luck at mixed events.

PartyPoker's inaugural Women's World Open was held in London on August 7th. Although only 36 top women players were in attendance, the $3,000 entry fee provided a prizepool of $108,000. American players Liz Lieu, Jennifer Tilly and Shannon Elizabeth played against Europe's most accomplished women players such as Pippa Flanders, Beverly Pace, Jackie Meecham, Katherine Hartree, Jackie Vaswani and Debbie Rogers.

Beverly Pace emerged as the winner, clinching the $50,000 first-place prize. Events like these give the ladies of Europe the encouragement they need to see what determination and hard work can produce. Who knows who will be the next top European Women's Champion?

The Irish Open just announced it will be adding a Ladies Only event. On May 22, 2008 a €300+30 buy-in freezeout structure will draw such known Irish players as Collette Doherty, Irene Tier and Jenny Heggerty. Sponsor Paddy Poker is excited about bringing more women into the Irish Open by offering this event. The Irish Open begins on March 19 and runs through the 24th at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin.

Europe is producing more and more professional women players every year. Some of the best known players have been Isabelle Mercier (originally from Canada/by way of France), Xuyen Pham, Katja Thater, and Vicky Coren. European poker has the potential to really open up through the Internet poker sites virtually available to most players. Could American professional players be considering the move to Europe for sponsorships and more opportunities for advancement in their careers? The internet ban in the U.S. has done more damage to American players than just tying the hands of online poker sites. It has also removed advertising dollars from the U.S. market and taken with it the numerous sponsorships that used to be available to American professional players. Very recently the announcement of Liz Lieu's move to London for her sponsorship deal with ChiliPoker.com may be just such an indicator of the changes to come.

Absolute Poker Super User Scams $7 Million

2007-11-13T15:46:00.001-05:00

Picture of AJ Green & Jenny Woo

Sources in Costa Rica are claiming the Absolute Poker Super-User account scam has been going on for three years and the actual amount that was skimmed from online poker players is estimated at close to $7 million, not the 700k amount that was previously reported. The actual amount is still unknown as an internal audit is underway.

A former employee of Absolute Poker confirmed to Point-Spreads.com that the security department at AP suspected something years ago and we're told it was just the owners testing out the system and to forget about it.

Our sources have confirmed that Scott Tom was using the Super-User to sit at tables as an "observer" as online poker player PotRipper would join the tournaments and Scott would tell him what cards people have so they can win the tourney and split the money. PotRipper is Alan “AJ” Green, formerly of Nine.com and the now former Operations Director for Absolute Poker. Point-Spreads.com has learned AJ’s real name but has chosen to withhold it at this time. AJ is pictured with Gambling911.com's sexy reporter Jenny Woo at an expensive dinner in Amsterdam back in 2005.

Where did the $7 million go? On September 3rd, 2007 a small jet plane caught on fire before taking off on the runway at San Jose Juan Santamaria International Airport in Costa Rica.

The two passengers on the private jet were Scott Tom and his pregnant wife. His wife was rushed to the hospital to make sure everything was alright with the baby. The plane's destination was Colombia and the rumored cargo on the plane was $2-3M in cash.

Officials at Absolute Poker confirmed to Point-Spreads.com that Tom was on the jet, however, deny any money was onboard.

While at Nine.com, AJ had a portrait done of himself that hung on his wall over his desk. The photo was a picture of him "American Beauty' style laying spread out on his futon covered in hundred dollar bills. Were the bills in the photo proceeds from the Absolute Poker Super-User scam? AJ joined the Absolute Poker team approximately one month before Nine.com left Costa Rica for Curacao. While living in Costa Rica, AJ bought a house in Escazu outright with cash and no one questioned how a guy making $50k a year could do that. He invested $100k into Absolute Poker and became a shareholder of the online poker giant, still no on questioned where he came up with the cash. Could it have come from the Super-User scam? We would love to ask AJ that question, but apparently he is on the lam.

At this point, AJ Green has earned the title of the most disliked person in the history of internet gambling? Apparently he was so disliked by his own employees that they blew the whistle on him and the whole scam but the real people that are pissed at him are all of the people pushing for legitimizing the internet gambling industry at its most needed hour. Not to mention, the online poker players he stole from.

POKERNEWS - POTRIPPER & CRAZY MARCO - CHEATING HAND - IS 10 HIGH GOOD?

2007-11-12T17:09:00.000-05:00

BETFAIR - Annette Special $20k GTD tournament every Tuesday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. (GMT)

2007-11-12T14:22:00.000-05:00

Betfair Poker customers can also play online against Annette Obrestad. She hosts the Annette Special $20k GTD tournament every Tuesday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. (GMT)

For more about these and other promotions, visit Betfair Poker.

Betfair Poker Review

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Playing Pocket Jacks (hooks)

2007-11-10T14:32:00.001-05:00

Here’s the story. You look at your hole cards and see two jacks, aka hooks. You aren’t sure whether to be excited or scared out of your ever-lovin’ mind. Pocket jacks are a tricky hand. There’s not a lot of hole cards that can beat ‘em. However, if you go in big pre-flop and your opponent calls you, you can be certain he or she has you beat or will before the end of the hand.

So, what do you do? Should you give up playing pocket jacks? No. They’re still in the top ten of starting hands. Yes, they’re tricky, and they can break your heart, but…if you learn that it’s better to win a small pot with this hand than to hope and pray your opponent won’t make an even better hand, you'll ahead of the game.

Pre-flop you should bet big with hooks in the hole no matter what you’re starting position. Sure, some experts might say you could limp-in from a later position. Others might tell you to not play from an earlier locale. It’s up to you what advice you choose to take.

Bet big means about 3-4 times the big blind. So, if the blinds are 50-100, you want to bet between 300-400 big ones. Why? Well, you want to get as many players out of the pot as you can. If you get everyone out, that’s cool. You’ve won the pot even if it’s not a big one. It still counts.

If you don’t bet big, you’ll get more players to call. The more players you have in the hand, the less likely you are to win. These people could beat you with crap starting hands like an A,3 or K,9 or Q,7. All it takes is an unkind board, and, let’s face it—we know the board isn’t always our friend.

If you do bet big and you get callers, you can assume one of two things—you’re looking at a powerful drawing hand (or bigger pocket pair than yours) or your opponents don’t believe how strong you are. Either way, all isn’t lost. You’re guaranteed about a 1 in 8 shot of hitting trips on the flop. So, see the flop and react accordingly…unless someone behind you puts you all-in. If you think you’re beat, fold. If not, go all-in with ‘em and hope for the best.

So, to sum up…when you’ve got pocket jacks in the hole, you’ve got to bet big or fold. You shouldn’t just call or limp-in. You’ve got to go big or not at all.

Overplaying Big Slick - AK

2007-11-10T14:25:00.001-05:00

Big Slick, the good old Ace King in the pocket. No-Limit Hold'Em players dream about getting dealt this hand. Unfortunately, most people overvalue...and overplay Big Slick. Pre-flop it's a monster. However, it's the third or fourth best-hand you can get, followed behind pocket Aces, Kings and Queens (depending upon which expert's word you take as gospel).

Big Slick is a drawing hand. This means that you have to catch something to win with it the vast majority of the time. It is not a winning hand alone...not down to the river with no help and NOT a good portion of the time.

The majority of the time players are unwilling to give this hand up no matter what else happens on the board. Otherwise intelligent individuals act like goo-goo eyed teenyboppers over Big Slick. They just don't know when to let it go.

A little secret - Big Slick pre-flop requires a three to four time the big blind raise. That's it! Don't go all-in with it unless you're running low on chips. This is for two reasons-one, so you can isolate one or two opponents, thus maximizing your chances to win and two, to win the pot outright without even having to see a flop.

If you limp in with the hand, you're putting yourself in danger. Getting cute, especially on the 'net, often backfires on you. Remember...you can't bluff a donkey or a person who has "nothing" to lose. Even a 2,4 off-suit can beat Big Slick with the right board.

Never forget this fact!

If you catch an ace or a king on the flop without a straight or set possibility, continue to bet your hand to about 1/4 to 1/2 (or more) of the pot. Be careful of back-door flushes or any of the aforementioned options. If someone re-raises you all-in, consider your options. If you haven't made a thing, FOLD. Don't chase. FOLD. Over the long-term this will be a profitable play. If you have been lucky enough to catch something, there's a case to be made for going all-in or folding. It all depends on your personality as a player AND the stage of the tournament (if you're in one) or the amount of money you'll gain if you're in a ring game.

Repeat the thinking process if you remain on fourth and fifth streets.

The main point is that you shouldn't treat Big Slick like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow while remaining blind to the community cards and your opponent's action. Don't make the mistake of overvaluing and overbetting this hand like the majority of players. This will help you win more with the hand over the long-term and...lose less.

Playing Top Pairs AA KK QQ

2007-11-10T14:15:00.000-05:00

When you're playing No-Limit Texas Hold'em and you get dealt a big pair in the hole, you feel blessed by the poker gods, as well you should. A big pair refers to just three examples: AA, KK, QQ. The top three pairs guarantee you pre-flop (in a vast majority of the cases) that you are top dog. Regardless of your position, you are encouraged to RAISE, RAISE, RAISE.

The minimum raise is three times the size of the big blind. The max is your entire stack. Remember - this is NLHE. You want to raise big to drive out smaller pocket pairs, connectors - suited or not - like A,K, J,10, one-gappers, A,Q, Q,10 and so forth. The best scenario is for you to win the hand pre-flop.

Why? Post-flop a pair can lose significant strength. Remember that a pair is the bottom-rung of a winning hand on the poker scale. It's just one above a HIGH-CARD.

You have to study the "TEXTURE" of the flop. What does that mean? Well, you need to see if there is a possible straight or straight-draw on the board. You need to know if there's flush potential. Three hearts on the board and you're holding two black queens. Uh-oh! What if your opponent made a bonehead move with his 7,10 of hearts in the hole. You are beat here unless you get lucky and catch a full house.

These are things you must think about. Always continue to raise after the flop if your pocket pair is still the highest on the board and there are no backdoor straight or flush possibilities.

You will ram and jam (raise up the pot as much as you feel you can without scaring everyone off while still putting maximize pressure on your opponents) if you hit a set, full house or - amazingly enough - quads.

By studying the texture of the flop, you'll have more than a good idea at this point as to whether your hand is beat or not. If an opponent re-raises you, and there is a possibility that your hand is NOT numero uno, cut your losses and get out.

The same holds true on the turn and river. If the board appears unfriendly, odds are that it is especially if your opponent employs an aggressive betting style.

In a nutshell, play big pairs strong before the flop NO MATTER WHAT. After the flop, make sure you take a minute to calculate the best hand. If you're pretty sure you've got it, go with it and continue to bet aggressively. The same holds true on the turn and river.

However, your best bet is to remember that it is usually more profitable to lay down a big hand than to tempt fate. The relative strength of your big pair dwindles as the cards fall on the board.

Annette_15 Obrestad $109 Rebuy MTT Pokerstars

2007-11-10T10:20:00.000-05:00

Annette_15 Obrestad $109 Rebuy MTT Pokerstars 11-9-07

WHAT IS YOUR POKER IQ? TAKE THE DONKEY TEST

2007-11-09T16:19:00.000-05:00

This poker skill test is the first and only of its kind. Our unique scoring system measures your overall poker skill level and assesses performance in 13 sub categories, revealing key strengths and weaknesses. Developed by poker professionals, this test is for no limit Hold'em cash games and tournaments (MTTs and SNGs).
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PokerManager Video of Annette Obrestad

2007-11-09T14:25:00.000-05:00

Pokermanager.com Video of Annette Obrestad

Annette Obrestad Interview - Pokernews

2007-11-09T14:21:00.000-05:00

Annette Obrestad taking break from Live Poker

2007-11-09T13:24:00.001-05:00

Annette Obrestad has revealed that she will take a break from live poker.

Annette Obrestad is disappointed with herself for not winning the European Poker Tour event in Dublin, and plans to take a break from live poker she said in an interview with Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang.

Annette_15 took the poker world by storm when she won the World Series of Poker Main Event in London in September, and she came very close to clinching another major title in Dublin last week.

Annette Obrestad dominated the final table of the EPT event, but ran out of luck when it was time for heads-up play against Reuben Peters.

In the final hand on the tournament, the 19-year-old Norwegian made a much talked-about all-in call with pocket sevens on a ten-high flop. Peters sat with A-T and became EPT Dublin champion.

"Maybe I made a bad play in the last hand. I had a lot of chips for a while, but didn't get any cards and didn't hit anything when we played heads-up. At the same time it was the total opposite for him," Annette Obrestad said in the interview.

"I'm disappointed. I wanted to win this tournament."

The €297,800 prize check isn't much comfort for a player who won £1,000,000 in the WSOPE, but at least Obrestad knows what she will use the money for.

"My mother and I are still looking for a house. We haven't found the 'right one' yet."

Even so, Obrestad is looking forward to spending some time in her home town Sandnes.

"I will take a little break from playing live now. Since London, I've been to Barcelona, Austria and Aruba. It will be great to come home."

That's doesn't mean, however, that she will stay away from poker entirely.

"When I'm home, I usually play online poker for 40-50 hours a week," Obrestad said.

Online Poker Question & Answer with Annette Obrestad

2007-11-08T13:20:00.000-05:00

Question:
MTT STRATEGY - In a tourny on stars with a starting chips of 3000 or more and atleast 15 minute blinds should a person have a goal set for how many chips they have at the end of the first hour and so on. If so what sounds like a good amount for a 3000 chip tourny and whats a good number for the sunday million which is a 10,000 chip starting stack?

Answer:
No, never set stack goals. You'll end up making bad decisions trying to rush things u cant control. Just play ur game and the chips will come. Dont ever worry about the avg is or what the CL has... Play ur stack and focus on what YOU gotta do.

Question:
Did I do something wrong or...not? hand scenario -
Its like this : 45 player start. Remain 12. I just move to this new table with a lot of chips ( table leader). Any way the first hands I played aggressive ( check - reraise then they fold) but also fold some hands with small pot.

The situation like this : on my left this guy lets call him A , I am on the BB , the blinds 500 - 1000 ( start with 100 - 200). He raise to 3000 ( on the button). Everybody fold and I call (k9).

Flop 2 J 9. I checked , he raise 3000 I reraise to 9000 he call. Turn - 6. I raise 9000 he go all in.

I think and think and trying to remember the all hand and remember that he raise b 4 the flop on the button. I put him on QQ or KK.

After a lot of thinking I fold. HE had 4 6. After he told me that he decided to bluff this hand because its the only way for him to win the tournament.

Did I do something that make him believe that I would fold his all in or maybe not and he is not so good player ( he finish 9th) , I finished 7th.

Answer:
1. Dont call out of position with K9... fold or reraise.

2. Bet more on turn... 9k into 26k or so seems kinda weak... dunno how deep u were but im assuming its a crapshoot and that ur not very deep. If other guy had less than 30k just shove it in on the turn and shut him out if hes drawing.

3. U cant only put someone on one or two hands. U might think theres a chance hes got Ks or Qs, BUT he probably also has hands like 9x, TQ, AK, TT, Jx in his range. If hed play any of those hands like that... i dunno, but thats what u gotta figure out and find out what the chances are of him having the different variations.

Question:
Tipping the dealers when you make a big live tourney score?

Answer:
1-2%

Question:
I couple of questions about super aggressive players in cash games.

Hand 1:

Assume you get AK on the button and it folded around to you with the super agressive player in the BB. You raise 3x to 4x and he calls. The flop comes 3-7-8 (rainbow) and the super agressive player checks. You have two options, you can takes your free card or you can raise.

You raise 3/4 of the pot and the super aggressive player re-raises. What do you do? If you call, he will raise heavy on the turn and probably on the river, I've seen this player player for all his chips with nothing on a number of occasions. However, I don't really want to put in all my chips on the hope he didn't hit the flop or doesn't have a hand.

Hand 2:

Assume your in the BB with 99 and its folded around to the super aggressive player on the button. He raises 4x and you call. The flop comes 2-5-8. Your bet 2/3 of the pot and the super agressive player re-raises. So you call and the turn is a 3, your check and the super agressive player bets the pot. Are your nines good? What is there was one over to your nines.

I feel like I'm being run out of hands by this types of players and then I get on tilt and call all my chips where I'm likley not ahead.

Help?

Answer:
I prolly check behind on hand one, or 3 bet the flop if u think hes making a move. U might have the best hand but at least u end the hand right there and wont have to do more guessing on later streets. If he calsl, just give up unless u hit.

Hand two, Id either check raise the flop or just call him down on flop turn and river letting him bluff off if hes that aggressive. Ur mistake is GIVING him a chance to take the initiative back in the hand. When u lead with ur 9s it looks very very weak to many players and I can see him raising u with any two and firing the turn expecting u to fold.

Against aggro players u wanna keep the pots small, especially when ur OOP when u have a marginal-good hand. Dont get urself in too many tricky situations by making the pots bigger than u have to.

Ur line on hand 2 would be awesome if u had a set because the other guy will prolly stack off by bluffing all streets if u lead/call and check/call turn, check/raise river.

But i suck at cash games so dont really know what will be most profitable. Just looking at the situations as a whole.

Question:

Annette Obrestad - Bluff Magazine Cover Girl

2007-11-08T10:15:00.000-05:00

Cool magazine with alot of Annette Obrestad to come - Subscibe Click Here

Do you have the GUTS to win? (Restealing)

2007-11-08T09:54:00.000-05:00

The first thing that is important to note about restealing is that it takes guts. In order to use the resteal, you have to put it all on the line. You need to own the idea that your tournament life, in itself, has no value whatsoever. You need to own the idea that this could be the last hand that you play. You need to own the idea that you are attempting to win it all, and that nothing less than first place is acceptable, and you need to own the idea that you may end up looking like a fool if you are called.

Restealing (the act of reraising a probable steal-raise) can be a true difference-maker and vault you into contention, because you can potentially make three times as many chips than you can with a run-of-the-mill steal attempt. Using this tactic, you don't necessarily have to put yourself at risk as often as you do during a steal to stay ahead of the curve in a tournament. In fact, successfully restealing once in three orbits while playing no other hands is approximately a break-even proposition! This is especially important during those critical points in a tournament where you are getting no cards and no good steal opportunities. It is the ultimate chip accumulation tactic!

How to play Rebuy Tournament by Annette_15 - Part 2

2007-11-07T21:56:00.000-05:00

Annette_15 does alot of rebuying and there is alot of all in action - $20 Rebuy on Pokerstars - 11/7/07

How to play Rebuy Tournament by Annette_15

2007-11-07T21:40:00.001-05:00

Annette_15 Obrestad in Pokerstars $20 Rebuy on 11-7 - there is alot of all in action.
Last hand is hilarious - what was she thinking?

Annette_15 loses hand to all in 5 people

2007-11-06T22:13:00.000-05:00

Watch Annette lose to 5 people going all in on Pokerstars Rebuy MTT

Annette_15 Obrestad 4 Tabling on Pokerstars

2007-11-06T22:05:00.000-05:00

See if you can keep up as Annette_15 4 tables MTT's on Pokerstars 11-6-07???

Pokerstars $150 NLHoldem 11-5-07 - How to become chip leader by Annette

2007-11-05T22:55:00.000-05:00

Pokerstars $150 NLHoldem 11-5-07

Another great Annette_15 Obrestad display of online poker - How to become a chip leader by Annette_15 Obrestad - Also, Quad Jacks in action JJJJ

Annette_15 Obrestad $109 Rebuy Pokerstars

2007-11-05T22:30:00.000-05:00

11-5-07 $109 Rebuy - Watch how a real pro plays a rebuy poker tourney

EPT Dublin winner Reuben Peters - Annette Second Place

2007-11-05T10:47:00.000-05:00

EPT Dublin: From out of nowhere Peters wins in Dublin

When Reuben Peters sat down at the table today he was the first player to go all-in. It was the first hand and he pretty much had to. As one of the short stacks he knew he wouldn't have long to double up and position himself better to make it through the day. As it turned out no one called the all-in. Had they done it might have changed the outcome of EPT Dublin, but it was a fighting spirit that kept the PokerStars qualifier from Colorado alive, and ultimately led him to the moment when he would seemingly defy logic and become the latest EPT champion.

How it looked at the start of the day:

Seat 1: Thierry Van Den Berg, 35, from Holland - PokerStars qualifier - 274,000
Seat 2: Daan Ruiter, 24, Groningen, Holland - 646,000
Seat 3: Reuben Peters, 45, from Colorado, USA - PokerStars qualifier - 176,000
Seat 4: Annette Obrestad, 19, from Norway - 788,000
Seat 5: Anders Pettersson, 20, from Sweden, PokerStars qualifier - 166,000
Seat 6: Casper Hansen, 24, from Denmark. PokerStars qualifier - 360,000
Seat 7: Trond Eidsvig, 22, Aalesund, Norway - 184,000
Seat 8: Michael Durrer, 42, from Germany, PokerStars qualifier - 247,000
Seat 9: Reijo Manninen , 47, from Helsinki, Finland - PokerStars qualifier - 480,000

In certain segments of society there exist people who are different to everyone else. Greeted in awe by the world's followers these uber-folk are called by their first name and first name only. Ever since the WSOP Europe named its inaugural winner the poker world has known one of its number by the name 'Annette', and nothing more.

Annette Obrestad - It has been a word spoken in reverential terms here in Dublin, even before she looked likely to follow her success in London by winning her first EPT. Miss Obrestad - and that may be the last time her surname is ever used - barged through to the front of the pack on day two and didn't look back. And today she took an incredible lead all the way into the heads-up match with Reuben.

He had been just one of eight players treated like sparring partners. Deft at using her stack to maximum effect Annette doled out punishment at every turn with five players eventually done and dusted at the hands of the Norwegian.

First it was Casper Hansen. When he found queens he pushed in finding Annette meeting him there with pocket aces. The Danish PokerStars qualifier took €30,630 for ninth place. Thierry van den Berg, another PokerStars qualifier, went next 30 minutes later. He moved in on a flop featuring two aces only to be called by Dutchman Daan Ruiter who held a third. Thierry had tried the bluff and it had blown up in his face. Out with an 'Oops', Thierry took away €47,650 for eighth place.

The next twenty minutes saw a further two players exit, both PokerStars qualifiers from a six strong final. First it was the German Michael Durrer. He beat his 12th place finish in Baden last month, but was clobbered by Trond Eidsvig here when he moved in with A-Q only for Trond to show Q-Q. It didn't finish Michael, but the 20k it left him with went in next hand. Annette added the finishing touches, sending Michael to the wings.

He was followed by Anders Pettersson, a 20-year-old PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, who pushed in with Q-7. Trond called with A-3, the ace being enough. In a little over an hour we were down to five players, with Anders gone in sixth place for €83,380.

By now Annette had a stack of 1.3million, ahead of Daan Ruiter on 770k. But second in chips was no guarantee of safety and when Daan lost a pot to Reijo Manninen, which doubled up the Finnish PokerStars qualifier, his tournament was suddenly in jeopardy. Moving all-in behind a raise from Annette, Daan cringed when his A-T was bettered by her A-J. It was the difference of one rank in the deck, but a huge difference in the tournament. The Dutch railbirds called out their support but the board brought no favours. Daan was out in fifth place for €105,510.

Meanwhile, with all attention focused on the Norwegian wunderkind, Reuben Peters tried hard not to be a piece of the scenery on Annette's road to victory. He moved in shortly before the break, Q-J diamonds against Annette's A-K. The flop 9-2-8, with two diamonds, gave Reuben options with a gutshot straight and a flush draw. As it turned out he needed neither with the queen on the river doubling him up. Play merged into the break and players stretched their legs, and we'd seen the eventual winner flex a few muscles. But most people had missed it.

Such was the pace it was not long after the break that Trond Eidsvig's tournament came to an end. Again it was Annette and for a second time she did the deed with aces. Trond left in a slight state of shock, his face pleading for sympathy from someone somewhere and it was easy to understand his confusion. We can only hope the €127,630 for fourth place will settle his shredded nerves.

It had now become even more one-sided. Was it simply a matter of time before Annette finished off Reuben and Reijo and cement her legend into fact? What if Reuben eliminated Reijo? He'd have close to a million chips and be a double up away from seizing the tournament by the throat? It seemed feasible for those wanting to deny one player's dominance, but it wouldn't happen.

When PokerStars qualifier Reijo Manninen went it was Annette forcing him to leave. Behind on the showdown, A-3 to Reijo's A-J, he would depart in third place when the three hit the turn. €178,680 for the Finn.

Annette still had Reuben to beat. He'd seen the turmoil, the players repeatedly thwacked by the 19- year-old girl with a reputation that stretches back to Oslo. Not much was seen or heard of Annette even as she played in full view of the rail this week. Hidden by a fringe, sunglasses and a stack of chips to her chin, she only came out from behind her stack to shake the hand of the vanquished.

The heads up battle begins

The hypothetical plot to topple Annette seemed crushed. Or was it?

Out of synch with events so far Reuben was thrown a lifeline, doubling up when he pushed with bottom two pair and found Annette calling with top pair. It gave Reuben the million chips he would need to have a chance of catching her, a pot which she would later say was a mistake to play.

Then the hand came that would turn the game on its head. Following a Reuben bet Annette re-raised, over 100k more. Reuben called, watching as Annette bet 420k. With a hand that would remain a mystery he moved all-in. Annette couldn't risk it and folded. Suddenly the switch that no one thought possible just 30 minutes earlier had come about, and it would culminate with a stunning victory just a few minutes later.
The flop read T-6-3. Annette bet 230k before Reuben made the decision to settle it then and there. "All-in."

Eyes were on Annette now. She reached for a bottle of water and took a sip, and another, and a third. After the fifth sip she slowly screwed the top back on the bottle, very slowly, like she was ringing its neck. "Call."

A-T for Reuben, pocket sevens for Annette who made an involuntary 'shh' noise when she showed her cards. A four on the turn - she would need a seven or a five. A three came instead and the EPT Dublin was all over. Annette would have to take second, but PokerStars qualifier Reuben Peters from Colorado USA, was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He'd sealed an incredible and unlikely victory, the latest player to make it to an EPT via the lobby of PokerStars.com and become a champion. He's now €532,620 richer and has a place in the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo next year.

Quotes:

Reuben Peters, winner

"Today I was getting horrible cards and Annette just ran over the table. But the blinds weren't big so there was no panic, I felt like I could take my time.
"I was not supposed to win this. I was down to five big blinds yesterday. I started as one of the short stacks and needed to double up. I got lucky, but it's good to get lucky in poker.

"When I got some cards I was able to play back her. I've played against her many times online in $100 re-buys on PokerStars but that's the first time I've met her face to face. It's by far my biggest win to date."

What will he spend the money on?

A vacation and it'll help pay for my kids education. Charlie, 12 and Martha-Jane, 14.

Annette Obrestad, runner-up

Going into the final, did you think you would win?

"Heads up I thought I could win. But I made a few mistakes. I meant to bet 220k but bet 420k by mistake. I also made a mistake on the two pair hand."

You impressed a lot of people this week

"I'm not happy though."

Players: Annette Obrestad vs. Reijo Manninen

Tournament: EPT Dublin, November 3, 2007

Situation: Final Table/Four-Handed

Obrestad open-raises the pot to $30,000 from the button with A2. With the blinds at $6,000/$12,000, the raise is a little less than three times the big blind - more an attempt to steal the blinds than it is for value.

However, Manninen chooses to protect his big blind with Q8. The reason for this call is twofold. First of all it only cost him $18,000, so he is getting better than 2-1 on his money. Secondly, this call protects his big blind. It shows other players at the table his blind is not easy prey. This is very important in the late stages of tournaments as they involve a lot of blind-stealing!

There is now $66,000 in the pot and the flop comes down 8-5-3. Manninen checks and Obrestad makes a three-quarter-pot-sized bet of $43,000. This bet is a standard continuation bet. Obrestad had taken the lead in the betting pre-flop so she continues her aggression after the flop. Once again she is looking for a fold rather than a call.

Manninen does not comply; instead he check-raises the pot to $110,000. This is a very good bet. He knows Obrestad has been opening quite a few pots from the button with most likely less-than-optimal holdings.

He also knows if a player raises before the flop they will most likely make a continuation bet whether they hit or not. So he decides his pair of eights with a queen kicker is currently the best hand and makes a pot-sized raise. Obrestad sees this bet and re-re-raises to $243,000. A prime example of multilevel thinking, this is a very bold move.

She knows Manninen knows she has been raising a lot of hands from late position. She knows he is capable of making a move on a flop that is unlikely to have helped her. This bet is another attempt to get her opponent to muck his hand.

This bet also acts as a semibluff. She doesn't have the best hand currently, but she knows she has four outs to a straight plus one overcard to the board, for a total of eight outs. With position on the button she can also opt to see a free river card if she wants.

Manninen makes the call. He thinks his pair of eights are good but he can't be sure. It will be too expensive to find out on the flop. He decides to just call and play poker on the turn.

The turn comes down 3. This pairs the board and completes the rainbow (no flush draws available). Manninen checks and Obrestad checks behind. Manninen's check is quite simple. He has a good hand but not a great one; he doesn't want to bet out, risk getting raised again and have to play a huge pot out of position with a marginal hand.

The reasons for Obrestad's check are pretty evident too. She's shown lots of aggression and she still has a player calling. When Manninen calls the three-bet raise on the flop, he's saying he has a real hand. Trying to push him off the hand here on the turn could prove to be quite costly to Obrestad so she chooses to check behind and take a free card, hoping to make her straight or a pair of aces.

The river brings down the 4. This is a beautiful card for Obrestad, making her the wheel. Manninen once again checks. He still wants to keep the pot small by checking and calling. He definitely feels he has the best hand now, after the turn went check-check, but he still doesn't want to inflate an already large pot by betting.

Obrestad, now with her straight, is sure she has the best hand. She knows from the flop betting that Manninen has a good hand and she wants to extract the most value with her river bet. She settles on a bet of a little over half the pot: $300,000. This is a great bet. It gives Manninen 3-1 odds on a hand he feels is the best.

Manninen makes the call knowing Obrestad's range of hands is very wide and he could very likely have the best hand here. Much to his chagrin, Obrestad turns over her ace deucey for the rivered wheel and the $1 million-plus pot.

This hand is very interesting for a couple of reasons. The flop shows deep multilevel thinking by both players. It also shows the importance of playing poker with position!

Obrestad was able to take control of the hand before the flop and keep control throughout. She applied increasing pressure and forced Manninen to play scared poker, which is inevitable when playing out of position.

This allowed Obrestad to take a free card on the turn and make her winning straight. Both parties played this hand well. Obrestad was lucky to make her winning straight on the river, true, but she never would have gotten there if she hadn't played her hand extremely well on the flop!

End note: Despite taking this hand, going on to eliminate Manninen and eventually entering heads-up play with a huge chip lead on American Reuben Peters, Obrestad's aggressive strategy still couldn't seal the deal on the EPT Dublin title.

Annette Obrestad - Currently in 2nd place with a chance of taking her first EPT title...

2007-11-02T09:24:00.000-04:00

The tournament is down to 24 players. Annette is in 2nd position. She is in the money and will be playing down to the final table today.

The table yesterday was a power poacked lineup with Noah Boeken to the left with a TON of chips and Luca Pagano to the right. Annette and Noah stayed out of eachothers way for the most part as I think they both figured they could get easier chips from others.

Annette_15 MTT on Full Tilt Poker

2007-10-27T00:38:00.000-04:00

Annette_15 she palys very aggressive - watch her style Captured on 10-26 at 12:39 pm EST

PSMoney.com - Annette Obrestad Interview

2007-10-26T10:07:00.000-04:00

PSMoney.com - Annette Interview

Annette Obrestad has been nothing short of excellent recently. Her dominant play as "Annette_15" in Multi-Table Tournaments at the $100 level and above has gotten her noticed by the online poker community as a whole. She's fresh off her first major live tournament in Aruba, where she went deep in a field of over 500 players to finish 37th. Annette also holds the recent distinction of being the first female player to be awarded the Triple Crown on Pocketfives. She's in her last year of school right now in Norway, studying to become a decorator. High school, that is. That's right, online poker's hottest new phenom is just 18 years old. With plans to focus on poker even more in the future, things already look very bright for this promising player. Get ready to meet Annette_15.

PSMoney: You're a young woman from Norway... Not exactly the stereotypical poker player. How did you become involved in poker?

Annette: I've always enjoyed games and I've been playing cards my entire life. I played a lot with my dad when I was younger and he taught me how to play 5 card stud. I was never good at it though... When I got a little older I started bowling and I was in a club for many years. I sat down to watch bowling on TV, and I saw a 'multipoker.com'-banner in the background. Curious that I am, I opened an account and started playing 7 stud hi/lo play money sng's... Haha, I know you're laughing, but that's how it all started. I found out about hold'em shortly after and started playing freerolls on UB (Ultimate Bet). Then I happened to get lucky and win $9 that I built my bankroll off. I've never deposited since.

PSMoney: Everyone's noticed your success on Stars--well, on a lot of sites-- lately. Have you changed anything? Did you suddenly have a big breakthrough in your game? Or is everything just falling into place?

Annette: I remember back when I was building my bankroll and I was playing really tight, not making moves, never bluffed, just played ABC poker all day. That got me to a certain point and I knew I could beat the low stakes games. I had a long period where nothing happened and I just felt like I was stuck. I realized that in order to move up and be able to beat the big guys playing the higher buy in tourneys, I had to change my game. So I started experimenting with raising marginal hands that I usually wouldn't play and decided to improve my post flop play even if that meant looking like a donk for a while. After making many funny moves and a lot of mistakes, I finally got the hang of it and I think that's when I really started winning a lot. The transition from TAG to a more LAGgy style helped a lot and I'm going to keep working on that as much as I can and keep plugging the small leaks.

PSMoney: It's been said that women play more on feel. Would you consider yourself more of a "math-based" player or a "reads-based" player?

Annette: I definitely play more by reads. I'm not a math person at all but I know most of the basics.

PSMoney: Do you have any poker role models or mentors?

Annette: I've always been a fan of P0ker H0 on Ultimate Bet. He's a great player and fun to watch and also a nice person in real life! Johnnybax and Actionjeff are also some of my favorites.

PSMoney: There has been some discussion on Internet forums like Pocketfives lately about your age and the fact that you were playing online when you were 17. Some have gone so far as to question how you were raised. If you have a child who wants to start playing poker, when do you think is an appropriate age to learn? At what point would you let your son or daughter start playing online, and would your opinion be swayed by the fact that the legal age to play is almost universally at least 18?

Annette: Yeah, I've seen that. I haven't really bothered answering because I don't care what people think about it. But since you're asking... I don't think that my parents have made a mistake by letting me play poker. I asked my mum if I could use her credit card to make a deposit before I won that freeroll, and she said no. So the only choice I had was to start with $0 and go from there. It turned out extremely well and I'm very happy they didn't say anything about it. I guess it's different with kids that have parents who play and win money because that makes them want to try as well and that's how it usually starts. I don't think I would let my kids play poker for real money until they were 18 because you can get in so much trouble if you're not careful, and I'm surprised everything worked out for me the way it did.

PSMoney: How many places are there to play live in Norway?

Annette: Not many. Live poker is illegal here, but there are small clubs and private tourneys around that you can join if you just get to know the right people.

PSMoney: Sandnes is pretty small. What do you do when you're not playing poker or in school?

Annette: That's pretty much all I have time for right now, but I try to hang out with my friends and do non-related poker stuff when I can.

We look forward to watching Annette continue to establish herself as commanding presence in the poker world.

Bookie Makes Annette Obrestad & Sorel Mizzi Favorites for EPT Dublin Title

2007-10-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

Irish Bookie Launches Markets for PokerStars.Com EPT Dublin Starting Tuesday

paddypower.com today announces new betting markets on the European Poer Tour Dublin tournament taking place at the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin between Oct. 20 and Nov. 3.

The company is offering “Outright Winner” and “Top Irish” markets.

Defending champion Roland De Wolfe has enjoyed tremendous success in the Emerald Isle over past year, winning the 2006 Dublin EPT and finishing runner-up in the 2007 Irish Open. Unsurprisingly De Wolfe is joint favorite to win at 80/1. Joining him at 80/1 is online superstar Sorel "Imper1um" Mizzi.

Eighteen-year-old Norwegian sensation Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad made her name online before bursting on to the world stage with her recent success at the WSOPE.
She recently scored for $2,000,000 first place prize. She will be determined to prove that her success in London wasn’t a one-off and is quoted at 125/1.

Dublin EPT - Outright Betting* – selected odds
Roland De Wolfe 80/1
Sorrel Mizzi 80/1
Annette Obrestad 125/1
Greg Raymer 150/1
Chris Moneymaker 150/1

CARDPLAYER Interview with Annette Obrestad AKA "Annette_15"

2007-10-25T19:58:00.000-04:00

Strategy: Annette Obrestad AKA "Annette_15"
Card Player's Lizzy Harrison talks strategy with online player Annette Obrestad AKA "Annette_15."

LISTEN TO PODCAST WSOP EURPOE CHAMPION Annette Obrestad

2007-10-25T19:52:00.000-04:00

LISTEN TO PODCAST WITH ANNETTE OBRESTAD AFTER WINNING WSOP Europe

Champion Annette Obrestad (AKA Annette_15)

Absolute Poker Superuser "POTRIPPER" Cheating (Part 4 of 4)

2007-10-21T19:17:00.005-04:00

PART 4

Absolute Poker Superuser "POTRIPPER" Cheating (Part 3 of 4)

2007-10-21T19:17:00.003-04:00

PART 3

Absolute Poker Superuser "POTRIPPER" Cheating (Part 2 of 4)

2007-10-21T19:17:00.001-04:00

PART 2

Absolute Poker Superuser "POTRIPPER" Cheating (Part 1 of 4)

2007-10-21T19:16:00.001-04:00

By knowing the hole-cards of his opponents, POTRIPPER wins this $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament on Absolute Poker.

ABC NEWS REPORT ONLINE POKER SCANDAL

2007-10-21T11:27:00.001-04:00

You've gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em -- and know when to turn to the collective intelligence of the Internet to root out an alleged online poker gambling scandal.

A network of professional gamblers turned amateur sleuths followed the money in what appears to have been a series of rigged online poker games, gathering what they say is enough evidence to accuse a part-owner and former executive of the Web site Absolutepoker.com of cheating by looking at other players' digital cards.

The allegations have the $9 billion to $12 billion online poker industry abuzz. The Internet gambling business, which is illegal in the U.S., is built on the trust that the games, based on offshore servers, are being run on the up and up.

AbsolutePoker is headquartered in a semi-autonomous Mohawk Indian territory outside of Montreal. Both the Quebec provincial police and officials at the Kahnawak Territory told ABCNEWS.com that they have launched investigations into the allegations.

The controversy began last month, after a suspicious Marco Johnson, 21, of Las Vegas e-mailed AbsolutePoker for a history of the cards he was dealt during a high-stakes tournament. It was further brought to light Wednesday in the New York Times' Freakonomics blog.

Cheating, Electronic Style
"Basically, I took second place in a tournament, and there were just too many weird hands at the final table," Johnson told ABC NEWS.com. "My friends thought I got cheated and I e-mailed [AbsolutePoker] and asked for a hand history."

What he received instead was a document that included the hand histories of everyone involved in the tournament, their e-mail addresses and the IP address of their computers.

That information, either mistakenly sent by a company employee, or intentionally leaked by a whistleblower, seemed to confirm Johnson's initial suspicions and set off an amateur investigation.

"It's so shady. Why would they send me this whole file? A regular hand history just shows the cards you had, but this was the master copy of a file in Excel. It showed 14 tables, every person at every table in the tournament. Instead of just seeing my cards, I could see everyone's," Johnson said.

Johnson took second place, a prize of $20,000, in the tournament, losing out to the suspected cheater, who played under the handle Potripper and bagged $30,000.

"[Potripper] was cheating in the most obvious way. He was just a bad poker player and was playing very badly," said Serge Ravitch, a New York lawyer and professional poker player who moderates the Web site 2+2.com and was one of the first people Johnson trusted with the Excel file.

"In the last hand, he just blew it. He made a gigantic call with 10 high. The chances of winning a hand like that are something like one in 1,000. It was obvious he was cheating,"

Johnson also shared the file with player and poker blogger Nat Arem, who looked past the hand histories to the IP address of the players.

The Excel document showed that at each table Potripper played, another user identified as #363 was present. Online players could not see him at the virtual table, but he apparently could seemingly see everyone's cards.

Trail Leads to Insiders
Potripper folded twice before #363 began watching, then did not fold once before the flop for nearly another half hour of play.

In the Texas Hold 'Em game used in the tournament, players are dealt two cards down and then make a hand from five community cards that are exposed one at time on the table for all to see. It's a game of patience where players tend throw in a lot of hands without betting, waiting for a suitable opener.

Arem traced the IP address of the observer back to the Kahnawak Gaming Commission, the collection of servers in Canada at which AbsolutePoker was based.

Further sleuthing seems to link that IP address to a part-owner of the company, Scott Tom, and the Potripper account to a former director of operations at AbsolutePoker named AJ Ripper, Johnson said.

"It looks like the Potripper account is registered to AJ Ripper and Scott Tom's e-mail turned up. But I can't say for sure that someone else wasn't using his account, or it wasn't someone else sitting at his computer," Johnson said.

Neither Ripper nor Scott could be reached by ABC NEWS.com.

Ravitch estimated that AbsolutePoker stole between $500,000 and $1 million over a two-week period. "We know approximately when it started, but we can't say for sure."

He said the online poker community "came together in an unprecedented way" to investigate the allegations because "those concerned could not let it go unchecked."

Wednesday, following a piece about the scandal in The New York Time's Freakonomics blog, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which hosts AbsolutePoker, said it hired an independent investigator to audit the company.

"It is essential that all online gaming and wagering is conducted in a fair and honest manner where customers are protected. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is committed to ensuring fair and honest gaming," commission Chairman David Montour, said in a statement.

Probe Underway
The Quebec provincial police told ABC News they were looking into the matter but could not comment on a pending investigation.

Frank Catania, a former gaming commissioner in New Jersey who helped the Kahnawake Gaming establish its regulations, said under commission rules AbsolutePoker could lose its license and individuals could be turned over to Canadian authorities.

"If anything was done illegally or dishonestly, the company could have their license revoked, the money could be refunded or legal ramifications could happen," he said.

Online poker, Cantania said, falls under a "hazy gray area" of U.S. law. Wire laws, he said, are generally interpreted to cover sports betting and not games of skill.

Most online casino and poker sites, however, are located offshore and are subject only to the regulations in their host nations. Some countries, Cantania said, are better than others.

Annette_15 NO LOOK TOURNAMENT WIN PART 2

2007-10-21T11:16:00.000-04:00

Part 2 of series of video that shows how Annette_15 wins a 180 SNG by playing position and player and NEVER looking at hole cards. BLIND PLAY!!

Annette_15 NO LOOK TOURNAMENT WIN PART 1

2007-10-21T10:56:00.000-04:00

Part 1 of 2 of series of video that shows how Annette_15 wins a 180 SNG by playing position and player and NEVER looking at hole cards. BLIND PLAY!!

Pokerstars WCOOP Champ "TheV0id" Is Disqualified and Banned

2007-10-16T08:57:00.001-04:00

Pokerstars has officially brought down the judgment regarding the WCOOP cheating scandal and it is not good news for "TheV0id." "TheV0id" has now officially been disqualified from the WCOOP main event for not adhering to Pokerstars' terms and conditions, and "Ka$ino" is now your official first place winner.

Pokerstars has said that over the next 24 hours, funds will be re-distributed and everyone placing in the money will be moved up one spot. Also, the account that bubbled the WCOOP main event will now officially make the money.

Kudos to Pokerstars for making the right choice. Admitting that your WCOOP champion won the event by cheating is quite the embarrassing admission to make, but kudos to them for having the courage to publicly admit that he/she was cheating. The way that they handled this should solidify the fact that they have the best support and best management of any poker room on the Net.

The investigation took two weeks to complete, and "TheV0id" is now officially banned from the site. If you try to log in to Pokerstars using "TheV0id" as your username and any gibberish as the password, you will get a message saying that you need to contact Pokerstars security. This is a message that is reserved for everyone that has been banned from their site, including Zeejustin, JJProdigy and others.

Obviously, the deal between "TheV0id" and "ka$ino" is moot, and "Ka$ino" will be awarded the entire first place prize. "LadyMaverick" is now your official runner-up in the event.

Again, kudos to Pokerstars for making a very tough, but very correct decision.

2007-10-10T14:25:00.001-04:00

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

10-6-07 - Full Tilt $100k Guaranteed "Sunday Mulligan" $200+16

2007-10-08T15:25:00.000-04:00

Full Tilt $100k Guaranteed "Sunday Mulligan" $200+16
728 entrants - $145,600 paid out to 72 spots

Annette_15 - $34,944
Bussa Buss - $21,840
McNallyville - $16,380
nj1976 - $12,376
dpottz - $9,464
imgrinding - $6,552
THE__D__RY - $4,513
THEnaturalACE - $3,494
TripleP1 - $2,620

Betfair sign up Annette Obrestad

2007-10-03T12:02:00.000-04:00

In the electric surroundings of the WSOP Europe, a young 19yo Norwegian poker prodigy fulfilled her huge potential at the tender age of just 18 years and 364 days by scooping the WSOPE Main Event bracelet and a huge £1 million pay day.

Annette wasn’t the only one in form that week as the talent spotters at Betfair recognized her potential from Day 1 and signed Annette up to represent Betfair Poker at events across the world. The fact that she went on to win the tournament was testament to their fine judgment.

Read interview with the 19yo poker starlet below.

Hi Annette, firstly can we congratulate you on a magnificent result at the WSOPE!

Thank you very much. I am delighted with the result.

Firstly, a bit of background on you if that’s ok? Can you let our players know a little more about you?

Sure, I’ve just turned 19 (a day after the WSOPE finished) and I’m from a small town called Sandnes in Norway. Before becoming a professional poker player I spent a little time in school :).

How has life been since you scooped the massive £1 million windfall?

Things have been very busy but also very exciting. I’ve had loads of interviews to do in both the UK and Scandinavia.

So, how are you enjoying life in the media spotlight so far?
I don’t mind it. Sometimes it can be quite demanding and a little annoying but mostly it’s alright.

The big question then - £1 million or the WSOP bracelet – what is more important?
Definitely the bracelet! Hopefully without sounding arrogant, I already have built up enough money from poker to buy the things that I want. The prestige of winning the bracelet means much more to me than the £1 million.

What are you planning to do with the cash, any extravagant purchases on the horizon?
I’m looking to buy a house back in Norway soon for my Mum and I.
Palatial we’d hope with that amount of money! So, Annette, Betfair have signed you up to join their team of Sponsored Pros – are you excited about this new opportunity?
Of course – I’m so excited! I can play whatever tournaments I want all over the world, it’s every player’s dream and I’m very humbled that this has all happened so early in my career as a player!

Well, you have an incredible talent! What tournaments will you be playing and which are you looking forward to the most?
Coming up I’ll be playing quite a few of the EPT events and then I’m really looking forward to going to Australia for the Aussie Millions.
Yep, we’re are turning green with envy here! The fact that you’re just 19 and so successful – are your mates jealous?
They can be jealous, but they can always do something about it if they want to :). I’ve put in the hours, really studied the game. I’m a patient person and I think playing millions of hands online has given me great grounding in the game.

Are you confident that you can hold your own in a poker world dominated by men?
I can definitely hold my own! Against good players, and players who know who I am, I don’t think it really makes a difference that I’m a girl. If I’m playing an unknown that’s never heard of me, maybe it’s easier to bluff them if you’re a girl.

For our players that don’t know, can you give us an indication of your online successes to date?

I’ve had a lot of success online. I guess my biggest online win was in a $500,000 GTD tournament that I won, where I got $117k. Other than that I think my big achievement is the consistency that I have had in winning $100 re-buy tournaments. I have won eleven, or maybe it’s twelve, big re-buy tournaments!

You’re an MTT specialist, do you ever venture into the world of cash games?
No, I’ve never really played cash seriously, and I’ve no plans to in the future either. I like to stick to the MTTs at the moment.

What advice would you have for players starting out in poker? Can anyone achieve the dizzy heights of poker stardom or do you need to be born with a gift?
My first advice would be to use proper bankroll management. Play within your limits. Then if you have patience and work hard you should do well.
What is the best way to improve your poker game?
Training sites are a great resource and can really help improve your game.

In three words, what is the secret to your success?
Umm, tough one. For me, I’d say: Patience, errrr… Aggression and ummm … Fearlessness.

Interview with Annette_15

2007-10-03T11:54:00.001-04:00

Annette Obrestad has been nothing short of excellent recently. Her dominant play as "Annette_15" in Multi-Table Tournaments at the $100 level and above has gotten her noticed by the online poker community as a whole. She's fresh off her first major live tournament in Aruba, where she went deep in a field of over 500 players to finish 37th. Annette also holds the recent distinction of being the first female player to be awarded the Triple Crown on Pocketfives. She's in her last year of school right now in Norway, studying to become a decorator. High school, that is. That's right, online poker's hottest new phenom is just 18 years old. With plans to focus on poker even more in the future, things already look very bright for this promising player. Get ready to meet Annette_15.

PSMoney: You're a young woman from Norway... Not exactly the stereotypical poker player. How did you become involved in poker?

Annette: I've always enjoyed games and I've been playing cards my entire life. I played a lot with my dad when I was younger and he taught me how to play 5 card stud. I was never good at it though... When I got a little older I started bowling and I was in a club for many years. I sat down to watch bowling on TV, and I saw a 'multipoker.com'-banner in the background. Curious that I am, I opened an account and started playing 7 stud hi/lo play money sng's... Haha, I know you're laughing, but that's how it all started. I found out about hold'em shortly after and started playing freerolls on UB (Ultimate Bet). Then I happened to get lucky and win $9 that I built my bankroll off. I've never deposited since.

PSMoney: Everyone's noticed your success on Stars--well, on a lot of sites-- lately. Have you changed anything? Did you suddenly have a big breakthrough in your game? Or is everything just falling into place?

Annette: I remember back when I was building my bankroll and I was playing really tight, not making moves, never bluffed, just played ABC poker all day. That got me to a certain point and I knew I could beat the low stakes games. I had a long period where nothing happened and I just felt like I was stuck. I realized that in order to move up and be able to beat the big guys playing the higher buy in tourneys, I had to change my game. So I started experimenting with raising marginal hands that I usually wouldn't play and decided to improve my post flop play even if that meant looking like a donk for a while. After making many funny moves and a lot of mistakes, I finally got the hang of it and I think that's when I really started winning a lot. The transition from TAG to a more LAGgy style helped a lot and I'm going to keep working on that as much as I can and keep plugging the small leaks.

PSMoney: It's been said that women play more on feel. Would you consider yourself more of a "math-based" player or a "reads-based" player?

Annette: I definitely play more by reads. I'm not a math person at all but I know most of the basics.

PSMoney: Do you have any poker role models or mentors?

Annette: I've always been a fan of P0ker H0 on Ultimate Bet. He's a great player and fun to watch and also a nice person in real life! Johnnybax and Actionjeff are also some of my favorites.

PSMoney: There has been some discussion on Internet forums like Pocketfives lately about your age and the fact that you were playing online when you were 17. Some have gone so far as to question how you were raised. If you have a child who wants to start playing poker, when do you think is an appropriate age to learn? At what point would you let your son or daughter start playing online, and would your opinion be swayed by the fact that the legal age to play is almost universally at least 18?

Annette: Yeah, I've seen that. I haven't really bothered answering because I don't care what people think about it. But since you're asking... I don't think that my parents have made a mistake by letting me play poker. I asked my mum if I could use her credit card to make a deposit before I won that freeroll, and she said no. So the only choice I had was to start with $0 and go from there. It turned out extremely well and I'm very happy they didn't say anything about it. I guess it's different with kids that have parents who play and win money because that makes them want to try as well and that's how it usually starts. I don't think I would let my kids play poker for real money until they were 18 because you can get in so much trouble if you're not careful, and I'm surprised everything worked out for me the way it did.

PSMoney: How many places are there to play live in Norway?

Annette: Not many. Live poker is illegal here, but there are small clubs and private tourneys around that you can join if you just get to know the right people.

PSMoney: Sandnes is pretty small. What do you do when you're not playing poker or in school?

Annette: That's pretty much all I have time for right now, but I try to hang out with my friends and do non-related poker stuff when I can.

We look forward to watching Annette continue to establish herself as commanding presence in the poker world.

How is Annette_15 so good?

2007-10-03T11:52:00.001-04:00

In case you have been living under a rock, Annette_15 is one of the hottest players around right now. Load up PokerStars or Ultimatebet or pretty much any other room, and you will likely see Annette_15 near the top of the leaderboard in any big buyin event. Annette_15 has been dominating for a while now, and has multiple $50 and $100 rebuy wins to her credit.

Annette_15, also known as Annette Obrestad, is a teenage player who is currently living in Norway. Annette_15 built up her bankroll online by playing exclusively freerolls, and says that she has never made a deposit in her life. Ever.

The question is, how is she so good?

After watching her play in many a tournament, I can say that it boils down to a few things. Aggressiveness. Putting pressure on her opponents, especially close to the bubble. Good reads. Exceptional post-flop play.

If Annette_15 enters a hand, it is most likely that she is the aggressor and raising. Annette has the guts to re-raise opponents with nothing but air if she feels as her opponent is weak. Annette is constantly raising marginal hands pre-flop, as she knows that she can outplay most of her opponents after the flop.

Annette_15. Get used to this name, because she is going to be doing damage online for a long, long time.

Annette_15 Wins $2,000,000

2007-10-02T16:50:00.000-04:00

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Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad, took down the World Series of Poker Europe main event taking home a first place prize of 1 million pounds ($2,000,000 US) and a shiny new WSOPE bracelet as well.

Annette_15, the online teenaged superstar from Norway, is one of the most-followed poker players in the world. With this victory, she will become a bonafide poker superstar, and Betfair was extremely wise to ink her to a deal a few days ago.

The heads-up battle between Annette and John Tabatabai lasted hours, as Tabatabai put up a great fight. The final hand saw all the money get in on a flop of 5 6 7. Tabatabai held top two pair, but Annette had flopped a set of sevens.

Annette bested a field filled with many top live and online pros, and certainly deserved the win. This is certainly the first of many live poker championships for the phenom known as "Annette_15."

Annette first started her poker career playing online freerolls. She claims that she never deposited to start her online bankroll, and instead grinded it out, playing freerolls until she had enough to move to real money buy-in tournaments. She started at the bottom and has worked her way up to the top of the poker world.

Annette_15 Full Tilt Poker Winnings

2007-10-01T22:25:00.000-04:00

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Annette_15 Pokerstars Winnings

2007-10-01T22:24:00.000-04:00

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Offline Winnings

2007-10-01T22:21:00.000-04:00

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