Atanas Gueorguiev Moves Up to Number 2 on the All-Time Bulgarian Ranking

Congratulations to @Atanas Gueorguiev who has been running good at the @Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino this year, with SIX ITM finishes in various events at the venue since the beginning fo 2014.

As a result, he has moved up one place to Number 2 in the Bulgarian all-time earnings ranking:

Atanas last won Event 14 in the Mediterranen Poker Cup for $11,786, bringing his total live winnings to $1,086,066 ($16,000 ahead of the current number 3 - Simeon Naydenov).

2013 WSOP bracelet winner @Simeon Naydenov (career earnings $1,070,122) last made it into live poker news as one of TWO Bulgarians at the #EPTVienna Main Event final table, when he finished 6th for $204,638.

Meanwhile, the 2013 PCA Main Event champion @Dimitar Danchev remains unchallenged in the top position, with $3,185,400 in live tournament earnings. His most recent ITM finishes were at #EPTSanremo and he is currently busy playing SCOOP.

More on #BGPoker on RankingHero:

Bulgaria - the Next Country on the PokerStars Map and an Emerging Force in Poker

Will Bulgarian Poker Come into the Spotlight Again at EPT Sanremo

Eastern Europe with Excellent Record from Eureka and European Poker Tour in Vienna

The Big One for One Drop, the Largest Buy-in Poker Tournament, Is Back

After the amazing success of the sold-out inaugural event in 2012, Big One for One Drop is back this year with a higher cap of 56 players which potentially increases the first prize to over $20,000,000! Already 33 $1 million seats have been reserved, of which three satellite seats and four reserved by "anonymous businessmen".

The Big One for One Drop will take place at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, from June 29 to July 1, 2014, during the 2014 World Series of Poker. There will be no rake, and $111,111 of each buy-in goes to ONE DROP as a charitable donation. 

Here is the #OneDrop list of 'committed players' published by WSOP:

@Antonio Esfandiari 
@Guy Laliberté 
@Bobby Baldwin 
@David Einhorn 
@Phil Galfond 
@Philipp Gruissem 
@Phil Ivey 
@Jason Mercier 
@Paul Newey (GB) 
@William Perkins 
@Vivek Rajkumar 
@Brian Rast 
@Andrew Robl 
@Erik Seidel 
@Brandon Steven 
@Sam Trickett 
@Noah Schwartz 
@Tobias Reinkemeier 
@Vanessa Selbst 
@Jean-Robert Bellande 
@Fabian Quoss 
@Max Altergott 
@Anthony Greg 
@Igor Kurganov 
@Christoph Vogelsang 
@Niklas Heinecker 
Anonymous Asian Businessman
Anonymous Businessman
Anonymous Businessman
Anonymous Businessman
Aria Resort Satellite Seat
Bellagio Resort Satellite Seat
World Series of Poker Satellite Seat

How many Germans will we see at the final table this year? How many women? How many of last year's finalists? These and many other questions and speculations are sure to be the talk of the poker community until July 1st. Because 'The Big One' is the one tournament that makes even the poker Big Ones dream :)

 More on RankingHero:

The Man Behind the Largest Buy-In Poker Tournament in History - Guy Laliberté

And if you'd like to compare and see who else we might expect to join in, here's the final entry list for the 2012 Big One for One Drop as published by PokerListings in 2012:

1. Bobby Baldwin - Chief Design & Construction Officer, MGM Resorts International Age: 62
2. Frederic Banjout - CEO, Eden Shoes, Paris, France Age: 42
3. Bob Bright - CEO, Bright Trading, LLC, Las Vegas, NV Age: 72
4. Ilya Bulchev - Businessman, Moscow, Russia Age: 55
5. Roland De Wolfe - Professional Poker Player, London, England Age: 27
6. Tom Dwan - Professional Poker Player, Edison, NJ, USA Age: 25
7. Jonathan Duhamel - Professional Poker Player, Montreal, QC, Canada Age: 24
8. David Einhorn - U.S. Hedge Fund Manager, Rye, New York Age: 43
9. Antonio Esfandiari - Professional Poker Player, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 33
10. Phil Galfond - Professional Poker Player, Potomac, Maryland Age: 27
11. Bertrand Grospellier - Professional Poker Player, France Age: 31
12. Philipp Gruissem - Professional Poker Player, Germany Age: 25
13. Giovanni Guarascio - Businessman, Montreal, Canada Age: 55
14. Phil Ivey - Professional Poker Player, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 36
15. Eugene Katchalov - Professional Poker Player, New York, NY Age: 31
16. Cary Katz - CEO, College Loan Corporation, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 41
17. Jens Kyllönen - Professional Poker Player, Finland Age: 22
18. Guy Laliberté - Founder, Cirque de Soleil, Montreal, QC, Canada Age: 52
19. Ben Lamb - Professional Poker Player, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 27
20. Tom Marchese - Professional Poker Player, Parsippanny, NJ Age: 24
21. Jason Mercier - Professional Poker Player, Davie, FL. Age: 25
22. Michael Mizrachi - Professional Poker Player, Miami, FL. Age: 31
23. John Morgan - CEO, Winmark Corporation, Minneapolis, MN Age: 71
24. Daniel Negreanu - Professional Poker Player, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 37
25. Paul Newey - Chairman, New Wave Ventures, Dorset, United Kingdom Age: 43
26. Chamath Palihapitiya - Venture Capitalist, Burlingame, CA. Age: 35
27. Bill Perkins - Owner, Small Ventures (Private Equity), Houston, TX. Age: 43
28. Paul Phua - Businessman, Miri, Malaysia Age: 48
29. Brian Rast - Professional Poker Player, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 30
30. Vivek Rajkumar - Professional Poker Player, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 26
31. Tobias Reinkemeier - Professional Poker Player, Brighton, Germany Age: 24
32. Andrew Robl - Professional Poker Player, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 25
33. Phil Ruffin - Owner, Treasure Island Resort, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 76
34. Rick Salomon - Film Producer, Los Angeles, CA. Age: 44
35. Nick Schulman - Professional Poker Player, Manhattan, NY. Age: 27
36. Noah Schwartz - Professional Poker Player, Miami, FL. Age: 28
37. Erik Seidel - Professional Poker Player, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 52
38. Mike Sexton - Professional Poker Player, Las Vegas, NV. Age: 64
39. Dan Shak - Founder, SHK Asset Management, Philadelphia, PA Age: 53
40. Talal Shakerchi - European Hedge Fund Manager, Surrey, England Age: 48
41. Mikhail Smirnov - Businessman/Poker Player, Moscow, Russia Age: 39
42. Justin Smith - Professional Poker Player, Los Angeles, CA. Age: 24
43. Brandon Steven - Businessman/Car Dealer Owner, Wichita, KS. Age: 38
44. Sam Trickett - Professional Poker Player, East Retford, England Age: 25
45. Haralabos Voulgaris - Professional Sports Handicapper, Winnipeg, Canada Age: 37
46. Richard Yong - Businessman, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Age: 54
47. Satellite Winner $25,300 Mega Satellite – June 30 at Rio (name) TBD Age: TBD
48. Satellite Winner MGM Resorts International June 30 VIP winner (name TBD) Age: TBD

Unsafe Working Conditions in Professional Poker?..

RankingHero health officials are concerned about increasing UV exposure and unsafe working conditions of nonunionized professional poker players. Recent documented victims of UV radiation exposure and too long working hours include:

@Maxim Lykov , career live winnings: $3,103,675, last seen on Instagram:

@Sofia Lovgren , @888 Poker ambassador, last seen on Facebook:

@Daniel Colman , recent winner of #EPTGrandFinal #SuperHighRoller , unknown exact location in Brazil:

If anyone has their contact information, please notify said grinders of the dangers of working long hours in such unprotected, environmentally exposed workplace environment. 

Meanwhile, here is a creative, safe and health-conscious way of sprucing up one's poker work station without risking out in the sun:

Test Your Poker Face Reading Skills - Spot the Fake Smile

BBC Science has published a simple test developed by University of California professor of psychology Paul Ekman which poker players are sure to find both fun and useful. You are shown 20 videos of people smiling and have to say whether the smile is 'fake' or 'genuine'. You can only play each once and may be surprised how hard it can be to decide.

Take the test here!

Meanwhile, it can be fun to put together a RankingHero gallery with smiling pros and celebrity poker players. Post your pics and comment on the smiles you think are definitely real or fake!

 From left to right: @Jason Mercier @Phil Ivey   @Patrik Antonius 

@Kara Scott @Tom Dwan @Liv Boeree #realORfake 

#RKHquiz 

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

This week we were proud and happy to welcome one of the best-known poker journalists - @Lee Davy with his first article on RankingHero and invite you to join him in his quest for 'the bad boys in poker'. The Game of Thrones Guide to Poker Villainy is a must-read for any #GoTpoker fan. And even if you're not, you are sure to enjoy Lee's inimitable style and ideas about poker :)

We marked the end of EPT Season 10 by highlighting 'all the winner ladies': @Daria Shugai  @Angelina Rich @Natalie Hof @Jamila Von Perger  @Kathy Saraf @Aurelie Slahdji @Kelly Saxby and @Hana Soljan : Congrats Again to All Season 10 Ladies Event Winners

This week's VegasHero ambassador, @Renaud Desferet was on RankingHero last night for a Q&A session with our French speaking members; as for the rest of us - we can always reread his excellent article Greater Than O, on Game Theory Optimal (GTO) poker strategy.

Featured festivals and tournaments: UKIPT Nottingham and Concord Masters.

Ranking of the week:  the all-time ranking by ITM finishes and final tables in EPT

Warm welcome to  @Eduardo Nabuco De Freitas Lima @Andres Risner @Damien Naguy @Khaled Guenifi and all the other new members! Don't forget to upload photos and link your social media accounts in order to maximize your presence on RankingHero.

Special thanks to some of our active members - @DamNed89 @harmansmith @nedellecmickael and @petitchabalou and to everyone who posted comments and questions to Renaud Desferet.

We will be happy to see you on Facebook as well, and as always, will be looking forward to your posts, screenshots, hand histories, bad beats and high poker moments :)

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

 #RKHweekly 

The Concord Masters Tournament Offers Great Value and Venues

Live poker fans in Central Europe will be spoiled for choice over the next week as the Concord Masters (8-18 May) has kicked off and offers fantastic value for entrants. And judging by the amazing turnout for #EPTVienna and the Eureka Poker Tour, we should see interesting action and probably quite a few notable poker pros! 

With a €500,000 guaranteed prize pool and a €300 buy-in, dozens of satellites, and a total of TWENTY-SEVEN starting days (with 1 re-entry per starting day) in TWELVE locations, it's hard to find an excuse NOT to enter :)

Each Day 1 continues until the top 10% of the starting field have been reached and they all are certain to get the minimum cash of €1,000 (€500 on the spot!).  And if you decide to play the tourist and visit several of the beautiful cities hosting the tournament, there is an extra reward - for each further qualification you will receive a €2000 bonus (you'll play the final with your biggest stack)!  

Check out the schedule here!

The Concord Masters final will take place on May 17-18 at Concord Card Casino Vienna Simmering. Follow the profile page of the venue on RankingHero to get all news and updates :) 

UKIPT 4 Nottingham Under Way at Dusk Till Dawn

One of the hottest venues to be right now if you're looking for live poker action in Europe is the famous @DuskTillDawn casino in Nottingham, UK. It is where the #UKIPTDTD kicked off this week with a £1,000,000 guarantee for the Main Event and the ambition to "generate the largest ever UKIPT prizepool"!

The venue has a great reputation in the UK - Dusk Till Dawn boasts the biggest poker cardroom in Europe and is the only specialist poker club in the UK. It was created by a team of poker players who aimed to offer the best possible setting for the game (and have apparently suceeded). One of the must-see attractions for any poker fan is the high-stakes area - the 'Sam Trickett Room' (featured in his fiancée Natasha Sandhu's first Pokertube video blog).

This is where the £3,000 buy-in High Roller (101 entrants, 13 ITM) ended last night with a chopped pot between @David Shallow and @Richard Kellett who each got $109,246 (or £68,000). PKR Ambassador and online champion @Eleanor Gudger finished third, scoring the biggest cash in her live tournament career - $59,363. 

But right now players are flocking to the main cardroom where Day 1B of the Main Event is unfolding as we write. The Main Event is a single re-entry one and the last day for entering is Day 1C (Friday, May 9th), which is also expected to be the busiest.

The notables already playing or on their way to #UKIPTNottingham include: @Victoria Coren Mitchell @Jake Cody @Chris Moneymaker @Tom Middleton @Sam Trickett himself and many more. RankingHero will keep you posted, of course :)

More on RankingHero:

New PKR Ambassador - English Pro Eleanor 'Elz442' Gudger

Sam Trickett's High-School Sweetheart Natasha Joins PokerTube as Video Blog Host

Our favorite poker writer, @Lee Davy is gueststarring on RankingHero with a great (what else) article - unmissable!!!

The Game of Thrones Guide to Poker Villainy

Lee Davy on Rankinghero

Where have all the bad boys of poker gone? There was a time when we would be falling over them, but these days they are inconspicuous by their absence. To make matters worse some of the cast isn’t...

Poker Record Breakers - Konstantin Puchkov

He's got more EPT final tables (32!) than anyone in the world; more than those of the latest EPT Player of the Year @Ole Schemion (22) or any other notable among the 5,776 players listed in our database.

That's not all - he's got more ITM finishes in EPT events (63!) than those of the two top EPT earners @Bertrand Grospellier (34) and @Mike McDonald (28) combined;  in fact, he's got more ITM finishes than any of  the 11,113 players registered in the RankingHero database as having cashed in EPT events.

And if that wasn't enough, he is a 2010 WSOP bracelet winner and in 2012 had a record number of 11 ITM finishes in a single WSOP series, which got him listed in the Guiness Book of Records.

His name is @Konstantin Puchkov and he is older than @Viktor "isildur1" Blom and @Daniel Cates 'jungleman1' combined but unlike them doesn't care much for online poker, preferring the live tournament field for the 'drama' and communication with real people. And he has been a regular ever since 2006 when he scored his first recorded cash. Since then he has amassed $2,145,575 in live earnings, most recently with three ITM finishes at #EPTSanremo 

A truly unique and passionate member of the poker community, Puchkov is also a horse breeder and trainer - "I love two things -- horses and poker, I name all of my horses after poker terms", he has said in interviews. We can only wish him success in both, and will be watching out for him at 2014 WSOP (all the more that it's an even year, which Puchkov believes are luckier for him :)

Congrats Again to All Season 10 Ladies Event Winners

EPT Season 10 is over and it’s time for summaries, highlights, and lists of all kinds. Ladies come first at RankingHero so here is a list of the Ladies Event winners; some are experienced players and well-known poker ambassadors, others scored their very first live tournament win, and one made poker history as the first two-time EPT champion! Check out their profiles on RankingHero and give them distinctions:

Barcelona - @Hana Soljan 

London - @Kelly Saxby 

Prague - @Aurelie Slahdji 

PCA - @Kathy Saraf 

Deauville - @Jamila Von Perger 

Vienna - @Natalie Hof 

Sanremo - @Angelina Rich 

Monte-Carlo - @Daria Shugai 

We have highlighted another winner - Bulgarian @Magdalena Tsaneva, who won a side event at #EPTGrandFinal and of course, our pride and joy - @Victoria Coren Mitchell . Victoria made history this year as the first player ever - man or woman - to win two EPT Main Events.

As a popular columnist and TV host in the UK, Victoria Coren Mitchell has a huge following in the social media and her victory got fantastic coverage in mainstream British media. In this sense, her achievement is indeed a 'giant leap for womankind' in poker. However, while the seven Ladies Event champions may only have won the modest $56,725, we should acknowledge and appreciate these 'small steps'  as equally important for getting more #womenINpoker   :) 

More #womenINpoker on RankingHero:

Victoria Coren in the Run for a Second EPT Title at Sanremo

The Women Who Have Made EPT History