Happy 40th Birthday to Daniel Negreanu!

Really happy today's #poker kids have @RealKidPoker to learn from! HB to the kid & the wise man in you, @Daniel Negreanu!

 #KidPokerTurns40 and celebrates on top of the world rankings:

George Danzer Only Exception in Total US Domination in WSOP 2014 Stats

Starved out of online poker opportunities, US players unsurprisingly flocked to Vegas by the thousands this summer. They accounted for 78,165 out of the total 82,360 entries. American players won $141,689,749 - 2.5 times the earnings of ALL other countries combined. Furthermore, they won a record 52 out of 64 bracelets. And yet, none of them managed a double win.  For the first time in the 21st century, the United States did not have a multiple bracelet winner in a single WSOP.

This is the only category where the first place is held by a national of another country and namely, Germany's @George Danzer who won #WSOP2014 Events 38 and 18. In fact, #GermanPoker had an excellent summer, considering the extraordinary WSOP performance of @Dominik Nitsche, as well:

More WSOP stats:

On RankingHero:

45th Annual World Series of Poker

All-time WSOP Earnings Ranking

Extraordinary Performance and Second Bracelet Move George Danzer to the Top of the German WSOP 2014 Ranking

Stay on Top of UK Poker!

UKPokernews have published a great interactive map where you can check out the achievements and places of origin of top UK players. Use it together with RankingHero customizable and exportable widgets and you'll be on top of everything you need to know about UK poker :)

Will the Next Triple Crown Go to Youngest Triple Bracelet Winner Dominik Nitsche?

@Dominik Nitsche: "After a great summer in Vegas, I will now also rock Barcelona" 

Dominik's 2014 poker year is already marked by two record achievements: he became the first non-American player to win the WSOP National Championship (and the first bracelet of the year). He followed this up with a 1st place in NLHE WSOP Event 21. It gave him his third career bracelet and made him the youngest triple bracelet winner ever, at 23 years of age. We couldn't sum up his poker summer better than Dominik himself in this tweet:

Dominik Nitsche's Winner Photo Album:

2009, Latin American Poker Tour, Mar del Plata, Argentina:

2012, WPT Main Event, Johannesburg:

2012, EPT 9,San Remo, NLHE

2012, WSOP NLHE Event 59, first bracelet:

2014, WSOP National Championship, Atlantic City, second bracelet:

2014, WSOP Event 21, third bracelet:

Dominik Nitsche has posted a blog from Edinburgh where he is apartment-hunting and getting ready to rock at the centennial #EPT100 Main Event in Barcelona. A win would make Dominik the sixth #triplecrown winner in history and the first star of #GermanPoker to achieve the ultimate feat in poker!

For or Against Headphones in Tournament Poker?

A debate recently rekindled by Pokernews' Donnie Peters and summed up by well-known poker writer Steve Ruddock (who is personally opposed to headphones and electronic devices at the poker tables) : 

Headphones and Tournament Poker Like Oil and Water

And before you answer the question for yourself (and hopefully share your opinion in the comments :), here's a great story about the 2009 WSOP Main Event which was published on RankingHero by @Adam Levy 'Roothlus' and which may actually come in support of Steve Ruddock's arguments:

Tanks a Lot

...So when your opponent is in the tank, all you really want to do is not give anything away. I don’t know what other people think about while in the tank but my brain starts to wander. Like did I put the laundry in the dryer? What am I going to eat on break? Is there a god? You know, all the normal stuff. Well, 2 minutes into him tanking the song “Nice to Know You” by Incubus pops on. When it reaches its first chorus, “Nice to know you, goodbyeeee” I start thinking, “Man, that would be funny if he had Aces or Nines and I bust out while this song is playing”. Read on

Annie, how do we enter the sexiest poker players we played with competition please.

Vote for MTGPoker Pro Manuel Bevand as 2014 Most Inspiring Player

@Manuel Bevand : "Magic is an exceptionally complex and tactically rich game. It also requires a lot of creativity"

French Winamax pro Manuel Bevand was interviewed by PokerListings on the occasion of his nomination for 2014 Most Inspiring Player Award. You can vote for him here and meanwhile, here is an excerpt from the interview:

PL: Like a lot of other talented poker players, you’re a former - very successful - Magic: the Gathering player. Do you play Hearthstone or other card games? Do you think that these games are more or less fulfilling than poker in the long term?
MB: Magic is an exceptionally complex and tactically rich game. It also requires a lot of creativity.

I enjoy playing Magic much more than poker, but it’s almost impossible to make a living playing Magic.

I do not play Hearthstone. I gave it a try but it felt like a simplified version of Magic. I have to say I have neither the time nor the energy to dig deeper and see if I’m wrong.

PL: You started playing poker in 2005. What’s the most precious thing poker has brought you, on a personal level?

MB: Poker has changed the way I think in life. I’m less naive than I used to be and I’ve become more logical and pragmatic when I have to make a decision.
In some ways, it has revealed my true personality, both in its noble and weaker aspects. I also understand people better than before. And of course I’ve met a lot of incredible people!

Full interview on PokerListings 

#mtgpoker

Ole Schemion Took Home a Million+ Cash on his First Trip to Vegas

The 21-year-old German prodigy (and EPT Player of the Season) has had an amazing 2014 that led many to regard him as the best live tournament player in the world, most notably on account of cashing in all three top events - the Main Event, the High Roller, and Super High Roller - in three different stops in the same EPT season: Barcelona, the PCA, and Monte Carlo.

Poker journalists and fans had high expectations for his first WSOP this year and @Ole Schemion was even considered a potential favorite in the Big One for One Drop (which he never entered, however). His resume may still be missing a WSOP cash but his Vegas stay nevertheless ended in style, with a first place score in the 100K Super High Roller that took place at the @ARIA Resort & Casino on Friday, July 11th.

The latest $1,062,785 cash took his live earnings to $6,272,172 and Ole Schemion now ranks 4th in the Germany all-time earnings ranking, overtaking @Fabian Quoss. The only other player in the #GermanPoker Top 20 without a single WSOP cash is @Max Altergott (14th).

Congratulations to Andre Coimbra and Katerina Malasidou on Their Engagement

The lovely #MTGpoker couple @Andre Coimbra and @Katerina Malasidou have announced their engagement! May the Magic that gathered them together always stay with them on the long and exciting journey ahead!

Introducing Samantha Abernathy - U.S. Number One by 1st Place&Final Table Finishes

@Samantha Abernathy is a 23-year-old American freelance designer and poker player of amazing beauty, with an even more amazing tournament record in 2014. Her earliest recorded ITM finish is from January of the current year and since then she has won 10 tournaments, made 19 final tables, and collected a total of 29 cashes!!! As a result, Samantha now tops the U.S. 2014 ranking by final tables AND by 1st place finishes! With her fantastic looks, we feel pretty sure she will soon take by storm another type of ranking as well - the hottest player lists that all poker media and fans love so much ;)

Just like another Vegas tournament champion that we recently told you about - @Flaminio Malaguti, earlier this year, Samantha was a  @Caesars Palace regular, winning SIX tournaments in the month of April alone;  then she played the  WSOP Deepstacks at the @Rio throughout the summer Series, with 6 ITM finishes between May 27 and July 1, and a few cashes in the Planet Hollywood Phamous Poker Series in-between.  This is a photo of Samantha and Flaminio after the two finished first and second in a Caesar's Palace tournament in March: 

"This year I'd like to begin my focus with the daily DeepStacks just as Flaminio did last year when he won the DeepStack player of the year and the seat to the main event. I saw the interview you did with him after the trophy ceremony on youtube and it inspired me to strive for the same achievement," (Gioconews interview, May 27 2014)

While Samantha did not score in her first WSOP this year, she has said herself she's 'not letting go any time soon' and on behalf of all #womenINpoker we wish her lots of good runs and good times at the poker tables:) 

Artist Statement
In my everlasting pursuit to become a better creative problem solver, I have learned that each step of my creative process requires kicking off my Sunday shoes and learning to walk in the shoes of both the client and the user. As a designer with a passion for creating beautiful, empathy-informed interfaces with positive user experiences, I often report back to my thinking box, which is packaged with newfound perspectives, all the right tools and endless bright ideas.. both inside and outside of the box. There's nothing wrong with being typical, I guess, but there's nothing fundamentally right about it either.  http://samanthastacks.com/

Read on:

Meet the Man with Most Poker Tournament Wins in the World - Flaminio Malaguti