Former business investor Alexander Kravchenko started playing poker in 1997 and you can say he’s made a good use of his time on the felt. He made a name of himself when he made it in the money a more-than-impressive six times during the 2007 World Series of Poker. Kravchenko even went so far as [...]

Was it beginners luck or sheer skill? We may never know. One thing is for sure, though. Someone named Reimer Koester signed up for an account at online poker site Titan Poker on July 31 and ended up with thousands of dollars in cash a mere four days after. Sounds like a fairy tale but [...]

Natalie “TheV0id” Teltscher thought she was seeing a major payday after her account won $1,228,330.50 for first place in PokerStars’ 2007 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event. Her dreams were burned to the ground, however, when PokerStars disqualified her after discovering that she never played in the event herself. What’s a girl to [...]

Talk about making a name for yourself. Jose Miguel Espinar wanted to prove his poker prowess despite being a newbie in the community. Well, do that he just did. Espinar came out on top at the end of PokerStars.net Latin America Poker Tour Punte del Este championship. This may have proven that despite starting his [...]

What happens when you offer a $1.5 Million Guaranteed Pot on a Sunday tournament online? If the PokerStars Sunday Million is any indication, you’ll find yourself with 8,431 entrants and a massive $1,686,200.00 total prize pool. This ensured a cool $204,198.82 to the winner and with that kind of prize money, you can be certain this tournament is taken seriously.

With such a monstrous field, did the online poker wizards stand a chance? Once again proving that poker is a game of skill, online phenoms Andy McLEOD and Zach “nofingclue11” Clark emerged as chip leaders going into the final table despite the sheer number of poker wannabes in their midst. Unfortunately for both, despite their strong showings, Andy McLEOD and nofingclue11 ended up in 4th and 5th place respectively. Hey, don’t feel too bad for them. That was $75,879.00 for 4th place and a very respectable $59,017.00 for 5th.

The final three saw RProps, betofetus and Fred_Brink battling for glory with Fred_Brink dead last with only 13,553 in chips. The three discussed a possible deal and luckily for Fred_Brink, the deal was never agreed upon.

Read more on Fred_Brink Wins PokerStars Sunday Tournament w/ 1.5 Million Guarantee

Poker room giant PokerStars seem to be determined to put its competitors away. Starting August 3, PokerStars’ extremely popular Sunday Million will now feature a $1.5 million weekly guarantee. To sweeten the deal more, the Sunday Warm-Up (that occurs just a few hours before the Sunday Million) will now have a $750,000 guarantee.

PokerStars is the very first poker site to offer a $1 Milliom Guarantee in a No Limit Hold ‘em tournament every week. For a measly $215 buy-in, poker players can expect a first prize that is more than $100,000. Can you imagine the sheer number of poker players that are drawn to this kind of deal every week?

The Sunday Million poker tournament occurs weekly at 4:30pm EST. The Sunday Warm-Up (which also has a $215 buy-in) starts at 12:45pm EST. PokerStars has also increased its guarantee on the Super Tuesday poker tournament to $300,000 from its former $250,000. The buy-in for the Super Tuesday tournament is $1,050.

Read more on Poker News: PokerStars Increases Sunday Million Guarantee to $1.5 Million

Who’s your favorite poker player? If your answer is Daniel Negreanu, read on. Particularly if you want a chance to get personal tips and get coached by one of the world’s most popular and most skilled poker professionals. How the heck is that going to happen? With Pokerstars $17,000 Weekend with Daniel Negreanu Freeroll, of course.

Scheduled this Saturday on July 12 at 14:30 EST, Daniel Negreanu fans can win an exclusive weekend with their idol valued at $15,000 plus $2,000 in cash for travel expenses to Las Vegas. Pretty sweet deal especially since winners will be living in style at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and will even be invited to a private party or rather, barbecue, at Negreanu’s Vegas residence.

So aside from being wined and dined, what exactly do you get? Let’s just say you get a crash course on how to vastly improve your game. The package includes a 2-day seminar led by Negreanu himself on various poker topics including pot odds, implied odds, bluffing opponents and tournament strategy. Winners will also work with Negreanu in live workshops at the poker tables.

PokerStars to Hosts $17,000 Weekend with Daniel Negreanu Freeroll

PokerStars officially launched an interactive video portal this week, the PokerStars.tv that features leading edge video-based poker clips and instructional offerings.

PokerStars.tv already boasts numerous clips from several Team PokerStars Pro members, who share their expertise in specific poker hand or poker scenario situations and possible poker strategies.

Now available on the site is an introductory video on the four World Series of Poker bracelet holder and two World Poker Tour Championship titles, Daniel Negreanu, with feature videos on some Team PokerStars Pro members, Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer, Bill Chen and Dario Minieri.

The site has an extensive search function, which allow users to focus in on such topics as specific hand holdings, to better understand situational plays.

Read more on PokerStars interactive video portal, PokerStars.tv, officially launched this week

William Thorson’s total live tournament winnings as of 2008 is over $1,800,000. He made a name for himself by appearing in two final tables at the European Poker Tour. He has also cashed four times at the World Series of Poker. Now, Swedish poker star has joined poker notables Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem and Barry Greenstein at Team PokerStars.

Not bad for someone who started playing online poker at the play money tables. Thorson has been playing at PokerStars since 2002 using his screen name “William.” When he started playing with real money, his first deposit was a measly $50. He’s gone a long way considering that he can now afford to shell out $10,000 to join World Series of Poker main events.

Considered by many as the number one player on the Swedish poker scene, Thorson humbly admitted in interviews that despite his many accomplishments, he still considers being chosen for Team PokerStars Pro an honor. “It’s a great team with many of the world’s greatest players and I’m honored to be included in such company. I’m proud to have my skills recognized in this way. It’s a great opportunity for me and I hope to achieve big results,” said Thorson.

Read more on PokerStars Signs Swedish Sensation William Thorson

Poker player Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo is no stranger to controversy. After building a fierce reputation as an online poker player and winning hundreds of thousands of dollars, he found himself being caught and publicly humiliated for “cheating” by using multiple accounts in major online poker tournaments. Around $100,000 were confiscated from his account and he was banned from playing on two of the largest poker sites on the Internet—Party Poker and Poker Stars. Justin Bonomo made several attempts at a public apology but was shunned by several stalwarts of the online poker community.

A few years later, Justin Bonomo has not only rebounded but has flourished having made a successful transition from online poker to live poker tournament play. At the age of 19, Justin Bonomo became the youngest-ever player to make a European televised poker table in 2005. Today, at the age of 22, Justin Bonomo has made over a million dollars in live tournaments. He cashed three times at last year’s World Series of Poker and almost won in the World Series of Poker Circuit Caesars Las Vegas Main Event. He also final-tabled four of eight tournaments at the 2006 World Poker Tour Five Diamonds WPT Classic and bubbled out of the televised final table in the main event making over $260,000.

Read more on Poker Player of the Month – Justin Bonomo