Weekly RankingHero Highlights

Those who cannot play poker on Everest.fr have been watching with envy as the fantastic contest #vegashero took off this week on RankingHero with the first mission. Entrants are asked to put together the perfect Vegas experience package from a list of options (from burgers and limos to hot-air balloon rides or a night at the Rhino strip club). Take a look and get ideas and inspiration in the hope that RankingHero will soon offer an equally fun promotion for which we will all be eligible :)

http://www.rankinghero.com/fr/pros/45/vegashero/activity/736409.html#activity

We have been following the #EPTSanremo and you will be happy to see the newly added hashtag to the festival results page - now you will be able to check the latest winners and EPT Sanremo posts and comments  in a single stop :)

Don't forget our great tools that allow you to compare player stats and to get data about earnings in a specific circuit only:

Bulgarians have been performing great ever since Eureka Poker Tour and #EPTVienna - as many as 4 made it to Day 3 at #EPTSanremo , including the #PCA2013 champion @Dimitar Danchev 

Our birthday boys this week - Sorel Mizzi and Jason Somerville! 

Featured poker ambassadors - Xuan Liu and Sofia Lovgren have signed with 888poker; Vanessa Selbst met Rafael Nadal in a charity heads-up match.

Other stories you may have missed - the Phil Ivey lawsuits and cheating accusations from two casinos.

Warm welcome to @Gaetan Balleur @Stephane Allard @Alain Le Pen @Danny Covyn @Mustapha Cheikh @Vincent Hinterlang  @Gwendoline Janot and @Claudine Couppe to mention only some of our latest members.

Special thanks to @Gillian Epp for sharing her interview with Colin Burton and to @Christophe Ducos for the gif-illustrated hand history :)

Keep posting, liking and sharing and bringing the RankingHero community to life! Like us and help us grow on Facebook, as well :)

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

PS

Important addition to this week's update: @Olivier Demabre has been driving us crazy with his #2048game scores and I hope someone will soon challenge his unofficial title as RankingHero 2048 Champion :)

EPT10 Ladies Event Winner Natalie Hof

She comes to poker with a background in education science and theology; plans to continue with a degree in cross-cultural education and one day hopes to make a difference as a social worker and help ease the integration of Turkish children within the German school system. Meanwhile she wouldn't mind winning a main event and if you're wondering what to give her for her next birthday, the girl wants a pony :)

Bright, natural,  beautiful, with an engaging smile and personality - PokerStars couldn't find a better Friend and did well to sign the former German EPT presenter, @Natalie Hof in October 2013. She is also the host of a German TV show - "TV total Pokerstars.de Nacht". Not to mention happily in love with none other than the 2011 WSOP champion @Pius Heinz.

She developed a taste for live poker when she was offered the buy-in for a small local tournament for her 19th birthday and finished 3rd. By the time she realized it may have been beginner's luck she was hopelessly hooked on the game and contnued to play throughout her university studies, missing out on all the college parties but accumulating experience at the cash tables and in online poker.

It helped that she was in a relationship with a notable German player (are there any other but notable German players :) - @Torsten Brinkmann. By 2012 she was the German EPT presenter and got to know the few German players who were not already her friends. Natalie always stresses in her interviews that talking and listening to her poker friends is what has helped her improve her game most. It is also one reason why she thinks German players have been so successful - they are a closely-knit community and always support each other.

Natalie won the #EPTVienna Ladies' Event on Sunday 23rd March, with a first prize of Euro 5,325. Her largest cash was from EPT9 Berlin in 2013, where she finished 39th in the main event and she has earned a total of $59,444 from live tournaments since 2011.

In a recent interview in Vienna for PokerFirma.com, she was asked how she would define herself - student, presenter, or poker player:

"I'd say first and foremost Natalie; who does some TV presenting; loves to play poker; is going back to her studies in cross-cultural education; and is madly happy."

All the best, Natalie and we hope to see you soon here on RankingHero!

 #womenINpoker 

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Here's a charming selection of outtakes from Natalie's first assignement as poker presenter at the WSOP 2011:

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

#EPTVienna events broke many entry records and to a great extent this is due to the association with the #EurekaPokerTour and the influx of players from Central and Eastern Europe. Vienna is traditionally the friendliest and probably most accessible Western destination to people from the former Eastern bloc and for many in Central and Eastern Europe the Austrian capital is an inherent part of their own cultural and historical heritage.

So they were many and they did well, playing final tables and winning side events, and last but not least - supporting each other from the rail.

The Bulgarian rail, led by PCA champion, @Dimitar Danchev cheered enthusiastically for the two Bulgarians at the EPT Main Event final table.

Not counting Ukrainian-born @Eugene Katchalov, who won the Eureka High Roller, here are some of the Eureka and EPT champs from Eastern Europe:

@Michal Vojtisek	@Dmitry Chop

@Zoltan Gal	@Alexey Khoroshenin

You can check out their live earnings on their profile pages and make sure you follow them as we will probably be hearing of them soon!