@Felix Vincent Stephensen: 'I will do everything in my power to bring the Main Event bracelet home to Norway. It's high time.'
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Born on July 22, 1990 in Oslo, @Felix Vincent Stephensen is well-known in Norway as a cashgame pro. He picked up poker about 6 years ago and scored his first tournament cash in 2009, at the Norwegian Championships, when he finished 12th for $5,760.
Felix moved to London 3 years ago and has since been playing online poker for a living under the screenname FallAtYourFeet - mainly pot-limit Omaha cashgames.
His only other tournament cash since 2009 came last year in EPT 10 Barcelona Main Event. He finished 92nd in the last level of Day 3, when his pocket aces did not hold up against his opponent's flopped set of queens.
In 2013, Felix Stephensen was part of a hopeful Team Norway in Vegas. It was his first WSOP Main Event and though he did not advance beyond Day 2, he certainly seems to have enjoyed his stay judging by the blog of fellow Norwegian pro and close friend, @Karin Bruteig :)
What happens in Vegas... http://karinkua.blogg.no/poker.html
The second time around was every poker player's dream come true. All the more that Norway's only WSOP Main Event finalist was @Tormod Roren back in the distant 1997 (finished 7th). The country came close to having a November Niner again in 2012, when @Elisabeth Hille advanced all the way to a 11th place. But it is Felix Vincent Stephenson one who made Norwegian poker history as the first to join the #NovemberNine.
Felix was actually one of three Norwegians who made it as far as Day 5 with @Tor Welo and @Ola Amundsgard
Stephensen will enter the final table second in chips, thanks largely to a hand he won on Day 7, eliminating @Thomas Sarra Jr in 15th place and winning a 25 million pot:
| If there was one hand that helped Stephensen solidify his spot in the November Nine, it came in Level 33 (120,000/240,000/40,000) when Mark Newhouse opened for 500,000 from middle position and Tom Sarra Jr called. Bruno Politano came along from the cutoff, and then Stephensen three-bet to 2.25 million from the small blind. Newhouse folded, Sarra four-bet to 6.7 million, and Politano got out of the way. Stephensen then moved all in for 14.64 million and Sarra called off. Sarra: Stephensen: With nearly 25 million in the pot, the flop came down |
. Stephensen paired his ace and picked up the nut flush draw. The 
turn actually left Sarra drawing dead, and the 
river sent him out the door in 15th place for $441,940 while Stephensen took over the chip lead with 27.86 million.
In recent poker news, Felix Stephensen signed a multiyear sponsorship contract with Betsafe. As part of his obligations, Felix will wear the Betsafe patch at the November Nine final table but he has also committed to coaching famous Norwegian Playmate and fellow member of Team Betsafe, Triana Iglesias. Triana even made it into Stephensen's own personal Top 3 when he was aked to name his favorite poker players. Felix shared he had always been a big fan of @Tom Dwan and had been greatly inspired by @Phil Galfond's play.
Felix Stephensen: 'I was impressed by Triana's performance at the WSOP this summer. With just a little work on the river check-raise, she could well become Norway's next queen of poker :)'
Felix Stephensen interviews & articles:
http://vimennpoker.no/historisk-finalebord
http://www.side3.no/--skal-gjre-alt-for-a-hente-seieren-hjem-til-norge/8474758.html
http://blog.betsson.com/no/poker/intervju-med-den-norske-wsop-helten-felix/
http://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/felix-stephensen/
http://www.worldofbetsafe.com/team-betsafe/
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Ebony Kenney Bio and Poker Profile
Meet @Ebony Kenney - model, poker pro, and single mom of two!
'My goals are to be proud of who I am and to be happy with every decision I make'
Ebony (and yes, it is her REAL name) is from Fort Myers, Florida and was born on April 25, 1978. In-between raising her son and daughter (aged 13 and 10) she has worked as a make-up artist, dancer, casino dealer, actress, model, and most recently - PokerTube Girl and TV co-host for Fighters Source (mixed martial arts league). She came into modeling at what she jokingly calls the 'senior citizen age' of 28, when she moved to North Miami Beach in 2010. By that time her live poker career was also picking up speed and Ebony was playing more and more tournaments, with a notable first place in the Florida Poker Championships.
"Sometimes people consider me to be overtly sexy, but I don’t care because I am who I am. I’m not going to change my appearance because it makes people uncomfortable. I don’t think it matters how the attention comes. I think it’s what you do with the attention that matters most."
Ebony learned poker from a former boyfriend and has been playing for 12 years, of which the last six professionally, in terms of relying on poker as a source of income. Her first recorded cash dates back to 2007, when she final tabled an NLHE event at the @Bellagio. She has since built herself an impressive tournament resume, with 32 ITM finishes, 4 first places, and earnings totaling $212,000.
"Honestly, if I can continue to play poker and have some success along the way, while spending time with my kids and traveling the world, then I don’t have any complaints. I’m very blessed to be doing what I love."
Ebony came into the spotlight as a player when she became part of the WPT Season X Ones to Watch (ironically enough she didn't cash in any event that year), along with pros like @Maria Ho and @Dan O'Brien. She has since found an undisclosed 'wonderful backer' and has been travelling the live circuit, adding several deep runs and final tables to her record.
Most recently, Ebony Kenney was among "the #womenINpoker to watch" in the WPT Borgata Poker Open, where she finished 91st for $7,064.
Ebony on poker and motherhood, and ladies events in a 2013 PokerNews interview:
| With you as a mother, do you think poker is a positive lifestyle choice for those thinking about doing poker full-time or already in the industry thinking about having a family? With anything, you can turn it positive or you could turn it negative. My children (Jadyn, 12 and Cade, 9) have known poker their entire lives, so they think it’s cool. My daughter recognizes that people know who I am. From my realtor who sold me my home in Fort Meyers to the plumber who came in to fix the water heater, they all recognize who I am and are excited. It’s all very humbling. As long as I am happy and proud of what I am doing, then my kids will pick up on that and there will not be any shame with it. |
| What are your feelings towards ladies events? I love them. I’ll tell you what, I don’t have an ego when it comes to poker and I think a lot of women tend to hate on ladies events, but for some it's their start into the game. It can be very intimidating for a woman to come in and sit down at a table full of guys and play. There is a camaraderie amongst women, and sure there are the caddy female players, but for the most part it is a welcoming environment. People should realize that a lot of women play for fun and are still learning. Besides, I would rather sit and play a softer tournament than a harder tournament any day of the week. Anyone who says that they disagree with that is lying straight through their teeth. |
Sources, videos, interviews:
http://websta.me/n/ebonykenney
PokerTube Podcast Livestream with Ebony Kenney
PokerNews, 2013: Ebony Kenney Discusses Her Love for the Game, Modeling, Acting, and Women in Poker
PokerWomenNews: WPT Borgata Day 2: Miraculous Survival and Sick Bad Beats
All photos from Ebony Kenney's website gallery and Twitter feed @Ebony_Kenney
#RKHbio #womenINpoker
BernyBooboo 18 Sep 2014
What a beauty! And she's more than that, she seems like a real person and a good poker player...nice article thx annie
Happy Birthday Jennifer Tilly!
To celebrate the birthday of @Jennifer Tilly, we invite you to read her bio and poker profile on RKH and to watch some of poker's biggest names - @Sam Trickett, Jungleman @Daniel Cates, and @Luke Schwartz - fall prey to her signature 'sexy, crazy, loose' look & style :
Jennifer Tilly makes creative bluff against Luke Schwartz
Jennifer Tilly outplays Jungleman Daniel Cates on paired flop
Jennifer Tilly outplays Sam Trickett on wet board
Jennifer Tilly Bio and Poker Profile
Born in Los Angeles, raised in British Columbia, with Chinese, Irish, and Native American blood in her heritage, and coming from what she has called a "dysfunctional family", Jennifer Ellen Chan was surely destined for an unusual life. 56 years later, Hollywood and poker celebrity @Jennifer Tilly has definitely fulfilled that destiny, making a name (and a voice, one can't help adding!) for herself in both worlds, with 30 years in showbiz, 10 years in live tournament poker, an Oscar nomination and a WSOP gold bracelet in her trophy cabinet.
She was born on September 16, 1958 in Harbor City, CA; grew up with her mother and stepfather in Canada, and went to college in Missouri, where she got a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater.
By 1983 Jennifer had landed her first part in a TV show and took up her mother's maiden name - Tilly - for her career in the movies.
In 1984-1985 Jennifer Tilly appeared as Gina in 6 episodes of the cop drama series Hill Street Blues.
Since then she has accumulated a huge filmography (comprising 110 credits on IMDb!), including Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway (1994), for which role she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Yet in a typical self-berating and ironic comment, she herself describes her movie career as 'attending premieres and playing the third lead in B-movies'.
On a personal level, Tilly was married to @Sam Simon (co-developer of The Simpsons and himself a poker aficionado and WSOP regular) for 7 years until their divorce in 1991. In the past decade she has been in a relationship with popular poker pro @Phil Laak and the two have been traveling the live poker circuit and have been iin numerous poker TV shows together, ever since 2005.
2005 was also the year of her dazzling debut in live tournament poker. Her very first recorded cash was a first place prize in the WSOP 2005 Ladies Event, when she topped a field of 601 and captured the single most coveted trophy in poker - a WSOP gold bracelet - not to mention her biggest cash to date: $158,625. Another big win came five years later, in the Bellagio Cup Event 21, when her first place brought her $124,455.
Today, Jennifer Tilly's live tournament resume features 31 ITM finishes and $883,924 in total earnings. No doubt many more lines will be added to her stats page as she is still pursuing the 'elusive dream of poker greatness'. And she still likes to project a 'crazy loose', sexy bimbo image, which has helped her outplay many poker notables.
“The starlet in me dies hard. I always just want to look cute, so I wear a lot of push-up bras and low-cut tops. The thing is, if people are really playing poker, they don’t care. Nothing looks better to them than a pair of aces. They’re not looking at your pair. They’re looking at their pair.”
Throughout these past ten years, poker has been her 'grand obssession', exhilarating and fun, as it has been humiliating and painful. Much of that Tilly has shared in a candid, moving and funny column for Bluff Magazine, where she even tried to say 'Goodbye' to poker in 2008, only to realize some time later:
"I will probably never be done with poker until poker is done with me."
Sources, videos, interviews:
http://www.rankinghero.com/jennifer.tilly
RKH: Happy Birthday Jennifer Tilly!
NY Magazine: 210 Minutes With Jennifer Tilly
Bluff Magazine: Goodbye 2008, My New Life, 2013
The Independent: Jennifer Tilly: Little voice, big talent, 2004
youtube: Jennifer Tilly Playlist, 172 videos
IMDb: Jennifer Tilly
Amanda Musumeci Wins 3rd Charity Series of Poker Event
Hungry for good causes, the poker community has been donating and playing for food & shelter to those in need in a series of three charity events organized by Matt Stout's Charity Series of Poker. @Amanda Musumeci won the third CSOP tournament at the @Borgata this weekend.
The inaugural event took place during the 2014 WSOP at @Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino . The winner was @Andrew Brown while two WSOP Main Event champions - @Ryan Riess and @Carlos Mortensen finished runner-up and third, respectively.
The second CSOP tournament was held at @Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Hollywood in late August and was taken down by @Nicolas Yunis.
@Amanda Musumeci played and enjoyed all three and 'got back her investment' :) by winning the last CSOP tournament held during the 2014 WPT Borgata Poker Open.
It was again a star-studded field, judging by the runner-up and third place finishers - WPT Season XII Player of the Year @Mukul Pahuja and two-time bracelet winner @Dan Heimiller!
Half of the prize pool from the event was set aside for payouts and the other half is to be split equally between the Food Bank of South Jersey and Habitat for Humanity’s Atlantic County Chapter.
Congratulations to @Matt Stout for the successful take-off of his new project Charity Series of Poker and we look forward to news of the next events and good causes that the organization will choose to support!
RKH: Ladies in 2014 WSOP - Cashes for Allyn Jaffrey Shulman and Amanda Musumeci
RKH: Poker Overcome with Joy of Giving. Latest Project: Matt Stout and Charity Series of Poker
2014 November Niner Bruno Politano Bio and Poker Profile
The first-ever Brazilian November Niner, @Bruno Politano, or Bruno Foster as he is popularly known, comes from the state of Ceara, Brazil, and was born on October 15, 1982.
He has been playing poker for 12 years but until this summer never thought of himself as a professional poker player. He is in fact a businessman, has a Couro&Cia franchise (leather shoes&accessories brand) in a shopping mall in Sao Paolo and always considered poker his hobby.
Final tabling the 2014 WSOP Main Event is changing much of that. Bruno's focus will be shifting to poker. All the more that he has just signed on as the new Team 888poker ambassador. Fortunately, he has an understanding business partner and will not give up his company.He is thankful poker allows him to keep and even further expand his business.
Over the years, Bruno 'Foster' Politano has played many events in the Latin American Poker Tour and the Brazilian Series of Poker but his biggest live tournament achievement was a third place finish for $47,493 in 2013 BSOP Grand Final.
This summer Bruno came to Vegas for his second Series. He has a small cash from 2011 and in 2014 scored two ITM finishes in Event 58 and Event 39 before his deep run in the Main Event.
Bruno Foster reta final 3k NLH WSOP 2014
What everyone will remember about Bruno Politano's Main Event run is his devoted and loud rail and the carnival atmosphere they created. His success in poker's most prestigious event came right at the time when Brazilians were crushed and heart-broken by their defeat in the FIFA Worldcup and the fans were all the more excited and overjoyed by Foster's performance. In turn he was energized and motivated by their phenomenal support and expects a far bigger and equally enthusiastic Brazilian crowd in November.
"It’s not my dream come true, it’s my country’s dream come true!.."
On The Rail: It's Like Carnival In Bruno Politano's Rail
"My focus now is play, play, play, study, study, study."
In the time left until the final table, Bruno plans to play a few live events, work with his coach @Ariel Bahia and study closely all of his opponents, among whom he has singled out @Mark Newhouse as the toughest. Bruno Politano believes physical fitness is essential for mental focus and endurance so he will be watching his diet and spending a lot of time in the gym, as well.
RKH: 2014 November Nine Moments - Bruno Politano Doubles Through Phil Ivey
maisEV.com: Bruno Politano Fala Sobre o November Nine
PokerNews: 2014 WSOP November Nine: Bruno Politano Becomes First Brazilian November Niner
http://www.888poker.com/ambassadors/bruno-foster.htm
CalvinAyre: 888POKER SIGN NOVEMBER NINER: BRUNO FOSTER POLITANO
Adrien Bacchi 15 Sep 2014
Very nice article Annie... good to know more about this interesting profile !
2014 November Niner Andoni Larrabe Bio and Poker Profile
The 22-year-old Athletic Bilbao fan @Andoni Larrabe Sanchez comes from the town of Arrasate (Mondragón), in the Basque Country of Spain.
He started playing poker online when he was 16, secretly using his father’s account.
“I did that for a couple of months without really paying attention to the bankroll. When my parents saw that, they cut down everything and I was offline. After that it took a while until I got back into playing.”
In fact, Andoni waited until he was 18, left home, and started playing poker full-time. He made a name for himself online as ‘Pollopopeye’ and has amassed considerable online winnings, including two Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) titles.
"I’m not a very political or controversial person. I don’t think it’s very important if you are Spanish or Basque.
I just thought Bilbao is a good team, and they’ve actually been doing very well lately."
Just four years later, Andoni (who now lives in London) has become one of the best-known players of Spain. The Spanish poker community is now pinning its hopes for a WSOP Main Event champion on Andoni. He would be the first Spaniard to capture the title since Carlos Mortensen in 2001
"I feel pretty excited. It's a sensation between confusion, because I think I don't realize what I have just done, and excitement and happiness. It's a lot of sensation all at the same time."
Andoni Larrabe will come to the November Nine final table as the youngest player but actually has appreciable live tournament experience.
His first cash came in 2011, Estrellas Poker Tour, for $1,999; in 2012, he made a deep run in the EPT Grand Final when he finished 11th for EUR 70,000.
Watch him play at EPT 8 - Grand Final Main Event:
The high point of Andoni Larrabe's live poker career was in 2013 PCA when he chopped with none other than @Justin Bonomo for $218,710 and defeated him for the title in the $5,000 buy-in Event 18!
Spain's WSOP Main Event Hope: Andoni Larrabe
"Actually, my life hasn’t changed at all. The only difference is that I have the final table on my mind all the time. Before the WSOP, there was nothing that bothered me, but now there is that final table in the back of my head, and I just want to get to that day when it starts, as quickly as possible."
Sources, videos, interviews:
PokerListings: Andoni Larrabe: “I Can Feel Weight, Pressure of 2014 Main Event”
PokerStarsBlog: PCA 2013: Bonomo chops for $218,710 as Andoni Larrabe Sanchez takes the title
PokerNews: http://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/andoni-larrabe/
PokerNews Live Reporting WSOP Main Event coverage
WSOP 2014: Entrevista Andoni Larrabe
PokerRed: Andoni Larrabe, una carrera fulgurante
youtube: Poker Cooler AA vs KK vs QQ
Annie RKH 15 Sep 2014
Weekly RankingHero Highlights
Some of the events we followed on RankingHero in the past week were the 2014 partypoker WPT Merit Classic North Cyprus at the @Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino; another 100K super high roller at @ARIA Resort & Casino; and, of course, the @Barriere Poker Tour Lille, which was preceded by a fun promotional contest here on RankingHero, won by our own @Jason Matthieu.
RankingHero is happy to welcome Campok - the only social poker app with webcam - and our members have begun enjoying the application! Special thanks to all of our betatesters who have been posting screenshots and feedback on #CampokOnRKHbetatest, @Cuanardo @David Maller and @Eric Pineau to mention just a few! Good luck and lots of fun in the exclusive NoMercyMaking Tournament tonight at 21h with @Isabelle Mercier :)
In other news, Bruno Fitoussi has made the Poker Hall of Fame short list of 2014 #PokerHOF candidates, thanks in part to the enthusiastic support and active voting by our community!
If you miss the bright early years of the Moneymaker Era and love #womenINpoker you'll enjoy this flashback to 2004 Ladies Event Final Table and Annie Duke in Tournament of Champions.
You can help bring back poker into mainstream television by voicing your support for the pilot episode of Underground Poker on Discovery, with Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak!
Warm welcome to our new members @Matthias de Meulder @Alberto Fiorilla @Patrick Legrand @George Athanasiou and many, many others who have joined our ranks this week. Good luck to @Sylvain Ribes 'Artplay' and the 2nd edition of his e-book, "Le Poker Apprivoisé". Hopefully, he'll publish some extracts and tips for our members?..
All the best and looking forward to seeing you on Facebook, as well!
Yours truly,
Poker Flashbacks: 2004 Ladies Event Final Table and Annie Duke in Tournament of Champions
Enjoy this #womenINpoker flashback to the 35th Annual World Series of Poker and the exciting early years of the Moneymaker Era! Featuring @Annie Duke and @Karina Jett interviews and the final table in the Ladies Event, including the inimitable, extravagant-hat-wearing @Susie Isaacs :)
2004 was the year of @Greg Raymer, who won the Main Event and the biggest WSOP first place prize ever - $5,000,000!
But this was also the year of Annie Duke who, in the video above, says she declined playing the Ladies Event because she 'didn't want to be separated out' and would rather play 'where the money is'. Indeed, Annie Duke captured a gold bracelet in the very Event 19 featured briefly in the video and she didn't stop at that.
'Annie Legend' made history in 2004 by winning the exclusive Tournament of Champions and the highest cash ever scored by a female player up to then - $2,000,000! Along the way she defeated the very best poker players in the world at the time, including her own - now notorious - brother, @Howard Lederer and none other than @Phil Hellmuth:
Daniel Negreanu on HOF Candidate Bruno Fitoussi: He was instrumental in poker becoming more of a global game
RankingHero members have every reason to be proud of their contribution to the nomination of @Bruno Fitoussi for induction to Poker Hall of Fame! The community was actively involved in the public voting campaign, in social media, and of course, here, on RankingHero, with the special summer mission #M4TheKing, asking entrants to post their three reasons for voting for Bruno to #PokerHOF.
The shortlisted candidates have now been announced:
| @Chris Bjorin | @Bob Hooks |
| @Humberto Brenes | @Mike Matusow |
| @Bruno Fitoussi | @Jack McClelland |
| @Ted Forrest | @Daniel Negreanu |
| @Jennifer Harman | @Huck Seed |
As announced on WSOP.com:
The above list of names will be submitted to the 21 living Hall of Fame members and a 20-person media panel later this month for voting. Only these 41 individuals cast votes for induction.
The criteria they will consider in their vote are as follows:
• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Be a minimum of 40 years old at time of nomination
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.
The 2014 Class of the Poker Hall of Fame will be inducted as part of the World Series of Poker Main Event final table festivities at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas during a special dinner and induction held Sunday, November 9.
Bruno Fitoussi might well become the first European to join the ranks of some of the greatest players and influencers in poker history! There is little one can add to what Negreanu has written about Bruno in his latest HOF blog:
"He [Bruno Fitoussi] qualifies on all the criteria, but mostly it's his contribution as a pioneer in spreading the game globally and getting Americans to make the trip over to Paris before the inception of The World Poker Tour. He was instrumental in poker becoming more of a global game."
Adrien Bacchi 12 Sep 2014
"
He was instrumental in poker becoming more of a global game"
That's 
!!!
