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APPT10 Manila: The Guide

PokerStars LIVE Manila is ready and set for the highly anticipated APPT Manila Season 10 poker festival which takes place at the luxurious City of Dreams Manila from July 28 to August 8!

Last year, the tour's annual Philippines leg took a giant step in cementing its place as a must-play event on the Asia poker circuit. The poker festival went from 558 total entrants in 2014 to a massive 2,769! In fact, the ₱50,000 Main Event alone surpassed the 2014 figures with 585 runners.


Aaron Lim and Team PS Pro Yaxi Zhu_27july16.jpgAaron Lim and Yaxi Zhu

With big fields comes big money and last year's prize pools totalled more than ₱52 million (USD $1.1 million). This time promises to be even bigger and better!

WARMING UP (July 28-31)

If you're fortunate enough to make the opening weekend of the 12-day schedule then you don't want to miss out on the Warm-up event which comes with a ₱3 million prize pool guarantee.

Last year, Singapore's Alex Lee took down the opener for a payday of over ₱1 million. The ₱10,000 buy-in tournament drew 570 entrants for a prize pool of nearly ₱5 million!

HIGH ROLLER (August 3-4)

Norwegian poker pro Henrik Tollefsen won last season's ₱200,000 High Roller after defeating a 33-player field. However, the 2-day event has now moved to the eve of the Main Event to position itself to grow substantially from its ₱6 million prize pool.

"The change has received a lot of positive feedback so we're expecting the High Roller to see one of the biggest increases amongst all the events in the poker festival," said poker room manager Gerardo 'Hill' Alim.

MAIN EVENT (August 4-8)

₱50,000 buy-in. 585 players. 41 different countries. ₱25,535,250 prize pool.

That's the stat line for last year's APPT Manila Main Event making it the Philippines' biggest international poker tournament in history. There's simply no event at USD $1,000+ buy-in in the country that remotely comes close to producing those kind of numbers.

With another year under its belt, PokerStars LIVE Manila is primed for yet another huge turnout and Season 10 may very well shatter those already-impressive figures.

The man to watch will surely be Aussie poker pro Aaron Lim who won the Main Event last year - becoming the first, and only, two-time APPT winner. Lim has confirmed his attendance for APPT Manila and he's in good form after recently winning the APPT Seoul High Roller event.

Live and online satellites to the Main Event are now running.

Full the complete APPT Manila schedule please visit the APPT website.

Tournament Structures are available here.






MicroMillions 12: A chance to try something new

Much has been written during MicroMillions about low buy-ins becoming big pay-outs, and it's all true. But there's another advantage to these inexpensive entry fees, that don't rely on the subsequent big win to be deemed useful. They present an excellent opportunity to develop skills in games you might not ordinary get a chance to play, at least not in a competitive environment.

Results from yesterday provided a perfect example.

Event #59 was a Stud tournament. For players weaned on hold'em and looking to build confidence and experience in another form of the game for $1.10, this was a golden opportunity, as the field size of 6,621 suggests.


pokerstars_online_27july16.jpgAs well as the regular slate of hold'em events, MicroMillions offers players teh chance to play other poker variants at a competitive level for just a few dollars

Of course, someone always has to win, and in this case it was Norwegian player bollemus picking up a first prize just shy of $1,000. For others it was a chance to play, gain some experience, and all at minimal expense.

There are more of these "non-hold'em" events to come in the final third of the MicroMillions 12 schedule, including tournaments in various forms of Omaha, triple draw and HORSE. Check out the MicroMillions homepage for details and give them a try.

In the meantime here are the winners from yesterday.

EVENTBUY-INPLAYERSPRIZEPOOLWINNERCOUNTRYPRIZE MONEY
55$2.209837$9,837.00KiroV999Russia$1,345.77
56$4.4010396$41,584.00victorcham93Moldova$5,564.58
57$0.1118479$15,000.00Project-KiqEstonia$1,579.13
58$5.5013500$67,500.00boyer 8Canada$8,422.85
59$1.106621$6,621.00bollemusNorway$946.40




Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog. Follow him on Twitter: @StephenBartley.





Super job by SupaJah, winner of 7/26/16 Super Tuesday for almost $70K

We might want to consider renaming this week's Super Tuesday -- the weekly $1,050 no-limit hold'em tournament on PokerStars -- the Supa Tuesday. That because the last hand and first-place prize was won by Russia's SupaJah, who topped a field of 386 entries to earn a $69,954.54 payday.


2016.07.26-supertuesday-banner.jpg

That turnout represented a post-World Series of Poker jump of more than 60 entries over last week, making for a $386,000 prize pool that well exceeded the $300K guarantee. After five-and-a-half hours the money bubble burst, and with 54 players left Kafrou had moved up into first position, well out in front of the remaining players.

Almost two-and-a-half hours later they were down to 18 with Kafrou then sitting in the middle of the pack and felter1989 the chip leader with just over 1.1 million.

Sergio "zcedrick" Aido (18th) next went out, picking up $3,298.21, then Jc9c (17th), and bearsfan75 (16th), Olorionek (15th), and Luke "LFMagic" Fields successively went out in short order, each earning $4,017.41. Parker "tonkaaaa" Talbot (13th), Willy "wilmy_x" Arandazi (12th), Kafrou (11th), and Pascal "Päffchen" Hartmann (10th) followed them to the rail, taking away $4,893.43 apiece.

With the tournament crossing the eight-and-a-half-hour mark and SupaJah the new chip leader, the final table was underway.


2016.07.26-supertuesday-finaltable.jpg

Seat 1: SiiliSuhonen (Finland) -- 534,570
Seat 2: Keiruja (United Kingdom) -- 1,103,214
Seat 3: Kent "ForzaVaxholm" Lundmark (Sweden) -- 847,615
Seat 4: NOBBSY_8 (Australia) -- 569,228
Seat 5: droulis9 (Cyprus) -- 565,824
Seat 6: CrownUpGay (United Kingdom) -- 688,462
Seat 7: SupaJah (Russia) -- 2,808,499
Seat 8: Shashank "felter1989" Jain (India) -- 1,456,937
Seat 9: edudrake1987 (Brazil) -- 1,075,651

It took more than half an hour for the first final knockout to come. By then the blinds were 12,500/25,000, and after felter1989 min-raised to 50,000 from middle position, edudrake1987 called from the next seat over, then it folded around to the blinds who both called, NOBBSY_8 (small) and droulis9 (big).

The flop came [5s][8s][4d], and NOBBSY_8 promptly pushed all-in for 485,916, getting only one caller in felter19879. NOBBSY_8 had [8c][4c] for two pair, but felter1989 had flopped top set with [8d][8h]. The board ran out [Ks] then [Ac], and NOBBSY_8 was out in ninth.

Just over 15 minutes later it was a new level, and with the blinds at 15,000/30,000 droulis9 raised to 66,000 from middle position, CrownUpGay called from the next seat over, edudrake1987 called from the small blind, then SiiliSuhonen reraised all-in for 820,058 from the big blind. droulis9 called the shove and the other two players folded.

droulis9 had [Ah][Ks] while SiiliSuhonen was hoping [9d][9s] would hold. The board came eight-high, which might seem good for pocket nines. Alas for SiiliSuhonen, the community cards were [2h][3h][8s][4c][5h], that river five making a straight for droulis9 and knocking SiiliSuhonen out in eighth.

Play marched on, then with the blinds at 17,500/35,000 it was Kent "ForzaVaxholm" Lundmark opening for 72,100 from the hijack seat, droulis9 calling from the cutoff, CrownUpGay calling from the button, then SupaJah making it 319,200 to go from the small blind. It folded back to Lundmark who shoved for 1,589,756 total and when the others got out SupaJah called.

The EPT7 Barcelona Main Event champion had [Ad][Qs] but was sorry to see SupaJah turn over [Ah][Kh]. The board came [Tc][5h][2c][7h][8d], and Lundmark was out in seventh.


2016.07.26-supertuesday-lundmark.jpg

Kent "ForzaVaxholm" Lundmark

Ten minutes later the tournament had crossed the 10-hour mark, then came a hand that saw SupaJah min-raise from the button to 70,000, edudrake1987 reraise all-in from the big blind for 620,802, and SupaJah call. edudrake1987 had [Ac][8d] and was looking for an ace versus SupaJah's [8s][8h], but the board came [4s][Jh][2h][2d][5c] and edudrake was eliminated in sixth.

Just a couple of minutes later CrownUpGay -- winner of the 5/31/16 Super Tuesday (and not to be confused with 2014 WCOOP Main Event champion Fedor "CrownUpGuy" Holz) -- open-shoved all-in for 387,175 from under the gun with [Kh][9h] and got one caller in droulis9 in the big blind with [7d][7h]. The flop brought a nine, but it contained a seven as well, coming [7s][6d][9c], and when a deuce fell on the turn CrownUpGay was drawing dead to finish in fifth.

Three more minutes passed, then SupaJah min-raised to 80,000 from the small blind and Shashank "felter1989" Jain called from the BB. The flop came [7d][9h][6s], prompting a bet of 80,000 from SupaJah which Jain called. Then after the [7h] turn paired the board, SupaJah led for 200,000, Jain shoved for 1,129,164, and SupaJah called.

Jain had [8d][5s] for a flopped straight and was ahead of SupaJah's [Ad][7s] for trip sevens. But the [6h] river improved SupaJah to a full house, knocking Jain out in fourth.


2016.07.26-supertuesday-jain.jpg

Shashank "felter1989" Jain

Just a minute after that hand, droulis9 made a just-over-2x raise to 88,000 from UTG, Keiruja shoved all-in for 821,194 from the big blind, and droulis9 called. Keiruja had [4c][4s] while droulis9 showed [8d][8c]. The community cards then brought a [6s][7s][5h] flop and [4d] turn, puting Keiruja ahead with a set of fours. But the river was the [3s], making an eight-high straight for droulis9 and sending Keiruja railward in third.

Heads-up play began with SupaJah in front with 5,803,392 to droulis9's 3,846,608. Over the next 15 minutes SupaJah would maintain first position, initially building the lead then watching droulis9 climb back nearly to pull even before SupaJah pushed back out ahead once more. 

Finally, as the tournament approached the 10-and-a-half-hour mark with SupaJah up over 8.04 million and droulis9 down to almost exactly 1.6 million, the final hand took place.

It started with a 2x button raise to 100,000 by SupaJah, and after droulis9 responded with an all-in push, SupaJah called right away.

droulis9 had [Ac][5s] while SupaJah had [7h][7c], and the [As][3c][Ah] flop looked great for the at-risk player, improving droulis9 to trip aces. But the turn brought the [7d], making a full house for SupaJah to shift the advantage back over to the chip leader.

droulis9 still had river outs, but fifth street was the [6s] and it was all over -- SupaJah had won.

Congratulations to SupaJah for topping this week's big Super Tuesday field and earning a handsome payday of just a touch under $70K.

7/26/16 Super Tuesday ($1,050 No-Limit Hold'em) results
Entrants: 386
Prize pool: $386,000
Places paid: 55

1. SupaJah (Russia) $69,954.54
2. droulis9 (Cyprus) $51,418.94
3. Keiruja (United Kingdom) $37,794.72
4. Shashank "felter1989" Jain (India) $27,780.42
5. CrownUpGay (United Kingdom) $20,419.59
6. edudrake1987 (Brazil) $15,009.10
7. Kent "ForzaVaxholm" Lundmark (Sweden) $11,032.18
8. SiiliSuhonen (Finland) $8,109.04
9. NOBBSY_8 (Australia) $5,960.45


Ready to jump in the game yourself? Click here to get a PokerStars account.
Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.



Incredible reaction from 250K Spin & Go winner



MicroMillions 12: The perfect antidote to high ambition and low bankroll

MicroMillions 12 continues, with seven more results since yesterday, and all of them meeting those now signature attributes of a MicroMillions win.

* A low buy-in meaning events are open to the maximum number of players, with prizes big enough to boost any bankroll.
* A hugely competitive field made up of pros and amateurs alike.
* A recognised online poker title (90 in total), in multiple variants, with structures that encourage skilful play.

Frankly, if you're high on ambition, and low on bankroll, there's no better place to play.


close_look_26july16.jpgSure, the buy-ins are small in MicroMillions but the payoffs are relatively enormous

As the following players (and the thousands who cashed behind them) discovered, turning a few dollars into thousands.

EVENTBUY-InPRIZEPOOLWINNERCOUNTRYPRIZE MONEY
48$3.30$30,966.00Trem_mineiroBrazil$3,142.51
49$5.50$33,275.00aunty_kimmy1Australia$4,735.08
50$2.20$54,044.00mati133Poland$6,156.71
51$4.40$46,036.00yarost29Russia$6,020.10
52$3.30$88,944.00AdzetasUK$10,879.56
53$2.20$18,114.00LeBresilBrazil$2,272.05
54$5.50$21,985.00Vve$leyBrazil$3,092.33


The big winner from those was Adzetas of Brazil (one of three Brazilians to win since yesterday) who earned $10,879 in Event #52, a no-limit hold'em "bubble dash". All that for an initial investment of $3.30.

Play continues today with six more events with buy-ins ranging from $5.50 at the top end, to 0.11 cents at the other. Those are amount that just ask you to make this a memorable day.

Good luck to everyone in MicroMillions today.


Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog. Follow him on Twitter: @StephenBartley.


Life Changing Summer

A question I keep getting asked is, "What was the highlight of your summer?"

You might think this is a tough one as so many awesome things happened. Three things that had never happened to me before happened this summer. I won two bracelets for the first time in my career, I have a nice piece of a November-Niner, and I won WSOP Player of the Year.


Jason Mercier_2016_wsop_fifth_25july16.JPGIt was already a good summer for Jason Mercier, with two bracelets and the WSOP Player of the Year title

However, all three of these awesome things pale in comparison to the two most special moments of my summer.

The first of these was having my Dad see me win the 10K Horse. It was the first time he was able to be there to see me win a bracelet. My parents just happened to be in town when I made the run in the 10k horse event. My dad even got to make a speech on Fathers' Day and present me with my fifth gold bracelet, which was extremely touching for me and a moment I'll never forget.

After winning the 10k Horse and securing #2 for the summer, I decided it was time to buy a ring. I thought it would be such a perfect opportunity if I were to capture my third bracelet and then drop to one knee when Natasha inevitably would run up to congratulate me. Well, just like in life, things don't always go exactly according to plan. After the Horse win, I went deep in a few more tournaments only to come up short of having this perfect proposal opportunity.

An 8th, 11th, 26th, 30th, and 36th were as close as I could get to sniffing that third bracelet of the summer. So when Natasha made it to the final day of the last 5k NL event of the summer, guaranteeing herself a six figure score and potentially her biggest cash of her career, I knew this was going to be the perfect moment to do it.


Jason Mercier proposes to Natasha Barbour_2016_on_knee_25july16.jpgJason Mercier gets down on one knee to propose to his girlfriend Natasha Barbour...

I proposed to her after she got knocked out in third place. She was already extremely happy with the score, but I knew there was a small level of disappointment in getting knocked out. All that disappointment flew out the window when I dropped to one knee though. It was an extremely special moment for us, and was especially awesome that she had no idea it was coming. She loves surprises and presents (what girl doesn't?), and this was the best gift I could ever give to her, and luckily for me- she said yes!


Jason Mercier proposes to Natasha Barbour_2016_.jpgShe said yes

Having now been home in Florida for almost a week, we are starting to plan our wedding, which is exciting and a bit overwhelming at the same time. It's going to be an interesting next few months of the year, as we move towards getting married. I'm planning to keep on that heavy grind that I've been on for all of 2016. There's a big series here in Florida coming up, and right when it ends I'm off to EPT Barcelona - my favorite stop of the year.

It was an incredible summer, the most profitable one of my career, and I'm hoping to keep that positive momentum going moving forward. There's still plenty more I want to accomplish in my career, and having a partner who understands me, loves me, and supports me no matter what, makes it seem like I can accomplish anything I put my mind towards.

#WhenWillitEnd

WSOP Photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com