Weekly RankingHero Highlights

Please welcome to RankingHero a member of the up-and-rising  #BGPoker community - @Rumen Nanev! The Number 5 on the BG all-time money list came into the spotlight last year in Vienna, when he was one of two Bulgarians to make it to the EPT Main Event final table. This year Vienna again proved lucky for Bulgaria during the 2015 partypoker WPT Main Event - Rumen finished 9th and the winner was his fellow countryman, based in Austria - @Vladimir Krastev!

Welcome, Rumen, and please remember that all of your poker friends are RankingHero's friends, too :) We hope all the other BGpoker heroes will soon join you here! 

Meanwhile, congrats on the latest cash in IPT Malta to Rumen and fellow Bulgarians, the winner of the $330 buy-in IPT Malta Cup, @Dimitar Bashov and @Kaloyan Chernikov (12th)! Keep them coming :)

In other RankingHero news, there's an ongoing Hand Replay contest where you can show off your analytical skills and share your best or worst hands with our Hand Replayer tool! 

Or you can take part in our new Who Is Who challenge - the first photo is up, see if you can identify the masked poker celebs at this year's British Poker Awards!

Check out the amazing runs in the World Poker Tour of the three latest champions - @Anthony Zinno @Taylor Paur and @Ravee Mathi Sundar!

Final Table Hopping in the World Poker Tour - Ranking HeroThe @World Poker Tour was the arena for some impressive poker feats in February and March, with Anthony Zinno, Taylor Paur and Ravee Mathi Sunder hopping from one final table to another.www.rankinghero.com

And if you're in Malta for the EPT, you'll appreciate the insider tips and advice from some famous resident pros:

When in Malta, Eat as the Maltese Do: Tips from the Poker Pros - Ranking HeroWith its poker-friendly legal and tax framework, not to mention the great climate and scenery, Malta is a favorite relocation destination for operators and players alike. As the @European Poker Tour takes over St.Julians for ten action-packed days, all live poker roads will be leading to the @Casino at Portomaso and though it is reputed to have an excellent and affordable brasserie, there will be a lot of poker souls to feed. www.rankinghero.com

Best of luck at the tables and looking forward to your updates!

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

#RKHweekly 

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

Congrats to our winners of the week @Scott Demoulin and @Christopher Perez at the @ARIA Resort & Casino, @Edward Liu at the @Bicycle Casino,  @Mark Duguid at @Grosvenor Casino Merchant City!  

The RankingHero community is proud of @Jose Ignacio Barbero's great performance in LAPT Chile Main Event, where the two-time LAPT champion made his seventh final table in the @Latin American Poker Tour! Congratulations on the 4th place finish!

In more news from the LAPT, find out how 'purple became the new yellow-and-green':

LAPT Runner-Up Renata Teixeira Refuels Brazil's Newfound Poker Passion 

Meanwhile, all the questions we've been discussing with the MoreThanMoney hashtag seem to be heading for a showdown :) What do we have in store for you?

What is HeroScore ? - Ranking HeroDear Ranking Heroes,You’ve been seeing and posting under the #MoreThanMoney hashtag in the past month and a half.www.rankinghero.com

Today is Mothering Sunday in the UK. Congrats to all poker-playing and poker players' moms!!! Here is why @Lee Davy thinks 'it should be International Women's Day every day' :) 

Must Read: Part II of @Nicolas Levi's interview with WeeklyHero @Jack McClelland: 

'Casinos always considered poker like a doorstep child' Part II, Jack McClelland Interview - Ranking HeroIn Part I of the interview long-time tournament director, @Bellagio legend, and 2014 Poker Hall of Fame inductee @Jack McClelland talked about the 'perfect storm', the rise of televised poker and the 'lottery mentality', and the subsequent down cycle.www.rankinghero.com

Join the discussion about the November Nine format - see how @Billy Pappas commented on Facebook and share your own opinion! 

WPT and WSOP Pitting Their Gladiators in Quest for the World? - Ranking HeroSpeaking as an 'old-school poker player' and long-time devoted fan of the WSOP, partypoker spokesman and @World Poker Tour host @Mike Sexton recently voiced his concern that the World Series does not seem to be evolving in the best interest of players. A response was quick to come on the partypoker blog - from none less than @World Series of Poker Executive Director Ty Stewart.www.rankinghero.com

Special welcome to @Kennii Nguyen  @Nicolas Le Floch @Sharon (Sherrie) Nachamkin @Michael Vanderwoude, to all the members of the @Mona Lisa club, and everyone else who joined rankinghero.com in the past week!

Good luck at the tables  and keep us posted!!!

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

#RKHweekly  

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

There's a new question up for discussion on RankngHero: What makes you proud in poker? It might be a supernatural read, a cold-blooded bluff, or maybe a compliment from a respected opponent? Or perhaps you take pride in the way you handled a defeat, resisted a temptation, or kept your cool against an offensive trash-talker? Share your proud moments and enjoy those of others on the MoreThanMoney page!

Happy International Women's Day to all the poker-playing ladies on RankingHero! Many thanks for the great posts to @Mariechocolat and @sev dubju, congrats to the ladies with recent cashes - @Diane Casino, @Renee Xie, and last but not least, our own @Eva Dimitrova, who took down another RankingHero Home Game on Friday :) 

Our #WeeklyHero @Jack McClelland has a professional resume which spans nearly 4 decades in poker and is full of reasons for pride and we invite you to read his bio and Part I of the interview by Nicolas Levi!

2014 Poker Hall of Famer Jack McClelland Bio and Poker Profile - Ranking Herowww.rankinghero.com

From Perfect Storm to Down Cycle and a Whole Different Ball Game. Poker Interview with Jack McClelland - Ranking HeroOur #WeeklyHero @Jack McClelland is a man who has seen it all in his 37 years in poker and who has helped shape the industry as we know it. He talked to @Nicolas Levi about the 'perfect storm', the rise of televised poker and the 'lottery mentality', and the subsequent down cycle.www.rankinghero.com

One player who certainly felt proud this week and amazed the poker community was @Anthony Zinno. Zinno won the LAPC Main Event @Commerce Casino  for back-to-back  @World Poker Tour titles (and third WPT win overall). Will the WPT Shooting Star be next?. Follow his profile for updates!

Special welcome to @Philip Hayano @Lee Gibson @David Weyrick and all the new members of our community! Congrats to @Mick Stephens and @Mustafa Ali who keep adding new results, and good luck to everyone at the virtual and live tournament tables next week!

Finally, lots of inspiration to all the French-speaking (and -writing :) bloggers on RankingHero in the new BPT Ribeauvillé  mission!

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

#RKHweekly 

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

Congratulations to our winner of the week, @Marius Pospiech, who won the @Spielbank Hohensyburg  Winter Masters!  

BGpoker hero and EPT Deauville Main Event champion @Ognyan Dimov took down a tournament in the 2015 WPT National Montenegro and now tops the BG earnings ranking for the last 12 months!

The RankingHero community was happy and proud to see two members reach 2nd and 3rd place in WPT National Brussels Main Event. GG @Yehoram Houri and @Erwann Pecheux! 

Well-done @Kelly Saxby and @Eleanor Gudger, who both cashed in the $170 NLHE UKPC Mini Event at 2015 SkyPoker UK Poker Championship, @Dusk Till Dawn! 

The British Poker Awards ceremony took place on Monday, Feb. 23rd, and RankingHero was there to welcome everyone with a drink to toast the future of the poker industry :)

Sample the writing of the Best Blogger nominees, find out more about the big winner of the night - @Victoria Coren Mitchell, and see the full winners list:

UK Poker Honors the Best of the Best: Here Are the British Poker Award Winners - Ranking Hero@Victoria Coren Mitchell www.rankinghero.com

'Expected. Deserved. Universally Revered': Victoria Coren Mitchell Is the Big Winner in British Poker Awards - Ranking HeroThe Poker God was a She last night at the #BritishPokerAwards. @Victoria Coren Mitchell won in three of the top categories: Best Social Media User, Performance of the Year, Poker Personality of the Year. Best Blogger nominee @Tony Kendall spoke for many in the poker world in this tweet:www.rankinghero.com

Check out the new addition to the RKHbio collection: @Samantha Abernathy, who in 2014 scored more ITMs, FTs, and 1st places than any other woman on the poker planet!

Samantha Abernathy Bio and Poker Profile - Ranking HeroShe’s got the looks of a Royal Flush Girl and the poker tournament record of a world champion. The 23-year-old graphic designer & photographer made her official debut in poker rankings last year and finished 2014 on the very top, scoring more in-the-money finishes, final tables, and 1st places than any other woman on the planet! In February 2015 @Samantha Abernathy won her biggest cash to date and almost doubled her career earnings.www.rankinghero.com

Join the newest PokerStars Team Pro, @Jason Somerville in his 70-day Twitch challenge, due to kick off today, March 1st!

Newest PokerStars Team Pro Jason Somerville Starts 70-Day Online Poker Stream Marathon - Ranking HeroAfter all the sad goodbyes and terminated (or not renewed) contracts with popular pros, the poker community welcomed the news from @PokerStars about the signing of @Jason Somerville as its newest Team Pro.www.rankinghero.com

Some great stuff going on right now 'next door', in the French-speaking part of RankingHero:

Visit @Rémi Rkh's page for an interview with  @Moundir Zoughari!

Moundir : “ Ce sont les joueurs amateurs qui font vivre le poker “ - Ranking Hero@Moundir Zoughari est un VIP de la team Winamax, un WIP. Mais il n’est pas seulement là pour faire figure de guest ou pour lancer des punchlines destructrices (quoique...) : début février, l’ancien survivant de Koh Lanta a réalisé un joli deep run dans le Main Event de l’EPT Deauville. Il a également atteint la 11e place de la Deauville Cup.Toujours souriant, il représente fièrement sa team avec pour ambition de défendre les valeurs de partage du “poker populaire”.www.rankinghero.com

@Elena RKH   has posted and update about the ongoing contest to win a @Barriere Poker Tour buy-in to the BPT Deepstack Bordeaux! GL to the current leaders @Enzo Verdy @Cyril Pigeard and @Yann Roudaut !

Don't forget to check out the MoreThanMoney page where we've been sharing why we love poker, what skills we would most like to possess and whom we admire as our 'ordinary' and 'extraordinary' real-life and poker heroes! Congrats to winner of the week @TomBishop :)

Rank the heroes: Résultats ! - Ranking Herowww.rankinghero.com

  

Finally, join the fun and hunt down the participating RKH members to win the bounties on their heads in the Winter Is Leaving Championship on @Campok every Tuesday! Congrats to the first week's winner, @Nelo vieira(misternelo)! 

RKH launches its “Winter Is Leaving” Championship on Campok tomorrow! - Ranking HeroSay goodbye to winter with the RKH Championship on @Campok, starting tomorrow. www.rankinghero.com

GL on and off the tables, everyone!

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

#RKHweekly 

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

'Imagine if every time we won a hand of poker we were able to give a child a life-saving injection. Imagine every time we won a poker tournament we were able to put an impoverished person through school. Imagine if poker was seen as a way of touching people’s hearts; as a device to do well.'

'If it wasnt for my parents and family pulling me through it I probably wouldn't be here today.'

'..to my baby brother and all the armed forces around the world serving for a rightful and just cause, single parents that do it on their own, and people that stand up for what they believe in those are my heroes'

The RankingHero community continues the MoreThanMoney discussion on our love for the game and the many - not necessarily heroic - faces of our heroes in life and poker. Thank you, @Mark Duguid, @ShiShiFed,  and  everyone who shared! We are looking forward to more great posts about the great people in our lives to whom we turn for inspiration and support!

RankingHero Community on Poker&MoreThanMoney and Lee Davy on Doing Good, Gandhi and Philipp Gruissem

Mark Duguid - Blog Post - Ranking HeroRanking Your HeroesEveryone has their heroes in life but my main heroes are my parents/family. You go through life meeting many people but in actual fact the only people stood by your side the whole way is your family. I have had many moments in life where I have been in trouble and had many battles to deal with along the way. If it wasnt for my parents and family pulling me through it I probably wouldnt be here today.www.rankinghero.com

ShiShiFed - Blog Post - Ranking Heroto my baby brother and all the armed forces around the world serving for a rightful and just cause, single parents that do it on their own, and people that stand up for what they believe in those are my heroes #morethanmoneywww.rankinghero.com

Check out Poker Bits&Picks: 7 Fights, 13 Bad Beats, and a $1 Million GTD Event! for some great poker reads and videos, and follow @Lee Davy (How Guns and Online Gambling Give Me a Headache) and @Robbie Strazynski (Time for even recreational players to switch away from No Limit Hold'em?) for more links to interesting articles.

Good luck to @Bruno Menet at @Casino de Gujan-Mestras and to all our members who will be taking the RankingHero patch to live tournaments  or who will be playing for the 1,000 Golden Chips for the Grand Prix Million at @Dusk Till Dawn!

Special welcome to @Mantas Zeringis @Egi Adriaans @Moshe Azuelos  @Bruno Michels @Romain Meyer @Arnaud Etchebarne and the many players who validated their profiles in the past week! Good luck at the tables and keep us posted :)

Congrats to new members @Giancarlo Palleschi and @Duncan Riches on their recent cashes at @Niagara Fallsview Casino and @The Hippodrome Casino London!

And speaking of the Hippodrome and of heroes - tomorrow, February 23rd, the legendary venue will host the British Poker Awards ceremony to honor all the heroes of UK poker. We will be there to welcome them as a TBPA partner and official bar sponsor :)

What is more, RankingHero will be tweeting out the award winners live so make sure you follow our Twitter account for the exclusive news tomorrow evening!

Check back next week when another illustrious WeeklyHero will guest star on RankingHero with an exclusive interview and bio!

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

#RKHweekly 

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

RankingHero was in the spotlight this week, with a @Bluff Europe feature and interview with @Nicolas Levi and @Pedro Canali, and an article in @All In Magazine! Find out more about the the history of this unique project, its creators, its mission, and goals!   

A HERO'S ORIGIN STORYWhat is RankingHero and what are the people behind it hoping to achieve in the world of poker?www.allinmag.com

Make Way For the Heroes Meet RankingHero's Nick Levi & Pedro Canali.bluffeurope.com

Our WeeklyHero series continues with bio and exclusive interview with another iconic figure in poker: @Antonio Esfandiari! 

"I play poker to live, I don't live to play poker" Antonio Esfandiari Interview - Ranking HeroHas the game become too elitist and off-putting to regular fans and amateurs? Is the industry in for a major change? Nicolas Levi continues the Rankinghero interview series about the poker industry with two-time @World Poker Tour champion and winner of 3 @WSOP bracelets, our #WeeklyHero @Antonio Esfandiari! www.rankinghero.com

"I Am Blessed, Plain and Simple": Antonio Esfandiari Bio & Poker Profile - Ranking HeroTwo WPT titles, three WSOP bracelets, and the biggest live tournament cash in poker history - our #WeeklyHero @Antonio Esfandiari certainly has a lot of blessings to count! Yet this public statement from February 2015 was not poker related. It was inspired by fatherhood - by a man's great love and admiration for his father and the birth of his own son:www.rankinghero.com
We are very honored this week to welcome @Marc-Andre Ladouceur @"Karate" Mike Santoro @Edouard Mignot @Karim Bennani Smires and CardPlayer Lifestyle founder @Robbie Strazynski (who has promised to start sharing his poker articles and interviews with the community :)! 

Marc-Andre Ladouceur Would Take Main Event Title Over $50 Million Winning Lottery Ticket. Interview by Pedro Canali - Ranking HeroHe may have an impressive $1,601,207 in live tournament winnings and a High Roller win from EPT9 Sanremo, but @Marc-Andre Ladouceur is still after his first major victory and would not even be tempted to take a $50 million winning lottery ticket over a Main Event title! Ladouceur came close two years ago, when he fell 4 places short of making the WSOP 2012 Main Event final table; he scored his second-biggest career cash at EPT11 Barcelona in August this year, and recently cashed in EPT11 London, where he talked to Pedro Canali.www.rankinghero.com

Meanwhile, make sure you follow @Lee Davy's  page for links to his articles,  among which, An interview with Sam Trickett: Fears, Friends and Ferraris or 10 Reasons to Slow Down to Achieve Greater Success.

Dozens of members cashed in live tournaments all over the world, including our stars @Davidi Kitai @Kevin MacPhee and @Greg Raymer.  Congratulations to our winner of the week @William Calder - just imagine what he could do if he had his superpower of choice - to stop time ;)! And special mention to @Melanie Benedetti who was one of the ladies cashing in the Men's Event at EPT Deauville, right after the controversial Ladies Event with 22 male players and a male winner from a field of 83!

Big thanks to everyone following and participating in our MoreThanMoney discussion and make sure you check back for the new question next week!

Good luck at the tables and see you on Facebook and Twitter :)

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

#RKHweekly 

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

In the past week we've been celebrating our shared love for the game of poker and have been thinking about why we play! From adrenaline and addiction, to self-knowledge and 'hunger for rewards' the reasons we've shared are very different but one thing is certain: it's much MoreThanMoney :) 

Visit the discussion page to see the answers by the French and English-speaking members of the community and by some of the top pros interviewed by Pedro Canali! Thank you,@Despé fraiche, @Christian Grenier, @Nicolas Esslinger @floyde @ShiShiFed @Alessio Bianchi and everyone else who posted!    

In live tournament poker, @Phil Ivey recorded another amazing achievement for his poker resume - his third win in the Aussie Millions 250K Boutique Challenge! Does this herald an end to the super high-roller domination of @Daniel Colman?..Remains to be seen :)

The EPT Deauville was in the focus of attention during the week, not least with the controversy that broke out after 22 male players entered the Ladies Event and a man won the first-place prize!

In other news, we introduced you to a four-member family from Birmingham, UK, all of whom play poker for a living - Meet the Sheils :)

Tickets are now on sale for the glamorous awards ceremony of The British Poker Awards, presented by @Bluff Europe, which is  to take place on Feb. 23rd at @The Hippodrome Casino London!  

Special welcome to @Benjamin Costa Miranda @Aurelie Quelain @Michael Christiansen   @Christophe "karl la carpe"Julien @Florian Ribouchon  and all of our new members!

From Deauville to Macau, through Melbourne, Los Angeles, and London - so many of you cashed in live events across the world! Congrats to @Sergio Aido Espina, @Casey Greggain @Pasquale Grimaldi @Hideki Takafuji @Ellie Biessek @Charles Calfelis and the many, many others!

Good luck at the tables and check back tomorrow for clues about our next great WeeklyHero :)

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

 #RKHweekly 

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

This week was marked by our @Malta Poker Championship contest. Two @Campok poker tournaments and more than 200 screenshots later, the winners have been announced. Congrats to @Guillaume Charpy, who will be flying off to Malta soon, as well as to  @Sophie Berne, @Chris Mcphee, and all of our members whose screenshot posts earned them magic RKH patches and our branded card decks, fresh from print!

Final ranking: MPCqualif : THE RESULTS

After Poker Hall of Famer @Mike Sexton, RankingHero proudly welcomed another illustrious WeeklyHero: 2004 WSOP Champion @Greg Raymer is with us with an exclusive interview, bio, and many videos, most notably the 2004 Main Event final hand against @David Williams  with his own commentary.

2004 WSOP Champion Greg Raymer Bio & Poker Profile 'People think poker is a game of cards but it’s really a game of people.'

Greg Raymer Interview: 'Have fun yourself, make it fun for everyone else, and it'll be a better game'

Special welcome to all of our new members and the players who validated their profiles in the past week - @Peter Raimondi @Sasha Stancic @Mecit Turan @Florian Benedetto to mention just a few of the latest additions.

Congrats to our winner of the week, beautiful @Angelina Rich whom we welcomed in April 2014 as one of the EPT Season 10 Ladies Event Winners and who recently took down the @Aussie Millions NLHE Terminator Event!

Good luck at the tables, lots of inspiration for your blog posts on Rankinghero, and stay tuned for the great things we have in store for you :)

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

#RKHweekly 

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

We are starting a new #WeeklyHero series dedicated to select guests of honor and featuring RKH exclusive interviews, biographies, and videos! First to come in the spotlight is none other than Poker Hall of Famer and one of the best-recognzed voices and faces in poker, @World Poker Tour host @Mike Sexton, with an interview by @Nicolas Levi, as well as a bio article including a playlist of select videos!

Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton Interview: 'Poker is not going anywhere, it will continue to grow!'

'The Ambassador of Poker' Mike Sexton Bio and Poker Profile

The IrishEyesRKH mission is drawing to a happy end tonight for all entrants who have provided their @IrishEyes accounts. RankingHeroes have been nominating their favorites for an imaginary Irish Eyes Award. 

Looks like none of the gents will be a match for @Liv Boeree - nominated by @william  who, as we write, tops the Irish Eyes mission leaderboard, ahead of @Mark Duguid with@Maria Ho and @Chris McPhee with @Kellyann Heffernan ! The contest ends tonight and the final ranking will be announced tomorrow by @Ina RKH! 

We are very pleased to see so many players joining our community since the beginning of the year. Special welcome to @Greg Himmelbrand (who was one of the FIVE players with pocket pairs in this memorable hand from WSOP 2014), @Franck Calonnec @Steve Accardo @Jason Suh @Yavuz Kaya @Clement Van Driessche @Stephane Nadot @Paul Dunne, and the many, many other new members!

Our winner of the week may not have earned a big cash prize but topped the field in his event at the @Star Casino! GG @Keith Suttcliff :)  

Congrats to all of our notable members who cashed in PCA 2015 - @Gaelle Baumann @Liv Boeree @Davidi Kitai and @Benjamin Pollak, to mention only a few! Tonight we keep our fingers crossed for @Mark Duguid playing Day 2 in #2525glasgow at @Grosvenor Casino Merchant City and will be loking forward to his updates!! 

Check back for news about the next WeeklyHero and the new mission that we have in store for you!

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

#RKHweekly 

2014 RankingHero Highlights

With continued growth in France and the official US and UK launches, 2014 was certainly an eventful year for RankingHero. Innovative ideas, superior technology and expertise, an unparalleled live results database, and a dedicated team are making RankingHero a unique meeting place for all stake holders in the poker industry.

And none if it would be possible without you, our members from every part of the poker world, and your passion for the game. Together, we hope to build a home for all poker lovers to share their hi&low moments, aspirations and frustrations, and to enjoy the beauty and fun of poker even away from the tables :)

Thank you and a very lucky new year to all of our members and partners!

The Partners: @ARIA Resort & Casino @Aspers Casino - Westfield Stratford City @Barriere Poker Tour  @Bluff Europe @Campok @EverestPoker.fr @TPTK @Unibet Open @Winamax 

The Missions: Vegas Hero, BPT, Campok Championship, Aspers Castle, Last Longer in WPT500 at the Aria and in Unibet Open London at Aspers Stratford, Action Hero  

The RankingHero Interviews: @Jon Finkel @Gabriel Nassif @Mickey Petersen @Sofia Lovgren @Leonor Margets-Perez  @Joe Stapleton  @Davidi Kitai 

The news&rankings: scroll down the #RKHweekly page for a look at some of the news we covered in 2014.

The members: impossible to enumerate the thousands of players and fans who joined our community in 2014, from top pros @Chris Moorman and @Greg Raymer, through popular ambassadors of the game such as @Sofia Lovgren @Liv Boeree, Magic The Gathering stars such as @Eric Froehlich and @Andre Coimbra,  RankingHero mission winners @Michel Pons @Maxence Dupont @Jason Matthieu @Gilles Duguy  @Paulo Rodrigues @Mark Duguid, and the list goes on and on all the way to our two youngest members - baby Robyn and baby Atlas!

Giving back: The proud new fathers @Nicolas Levi and @Adrien Bacchi in their turn made the whole team proud as they shared RankingHero insights and experience in international forums such as the Eastern Europe Gaming Summit and the Malta iGaming Seminar :)

Last but not least, congrats to everyone who cashed big and small in events around the world and thanks to all who shared links, stories, and photos with the community! 

We have great things in store for 2015 and, as always, will count on you all to help us grow and get better!