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Online qualifier Niall Smyth has taken out the 2011 Paddy Power Sportsbook Irish Poker Open after qualifying for the live event online.

In one of the best parlay‘s you are likely to hear of, Smyth placed a €20 bet on the winner of the Aintree Grand National and transferred the winnings to his Paddy Power Sportsbook poker account and successfully won his way to the Irish Poker open where he beat a field of 615 players to claim the €550,000 prize.

Smyth also pocketed €100,000 in tournament buy-ins and cash for being the ‘sole survivor’. The Sole Survivor prize was awarded to the online qualifier that lasted longest in the tournament, with Smith outlasting 160 online qualifiers, two of which were also at the final table.

Smyth certainly earned his win as it came at the end of a 3 ½ heads up duel with Irish Open Stalwart and former World Poker Tour champion Surinder Sunar.

Smyth held a commanding chip lead at the start of the heads up battle, but was reeled in by top English pro Sunar. However after an epic battle that saw the chip lead change hands many times, Smyth was declared the winner when he rivered a five to outlast the ace high of Sunar.

“Unbelievable. I just can’t believe it,” said an exhausted Smyth after the marathon heads up battle. “It started when I put 10 each way of the winner of the Grand National, I won €200 and now I have € 650,000. Surinder is such a great player, my support has been fantastic and here I am,” said a jubilant Smyth.

Bet on races, sports, play poker and at the online casino now with Paddy Power Sportsbook

The Full Tilt Online Poker Series XX is coming up from 17 April to 1 May, with $38 million in guaranteed prize money to be won. Satellites tournaments are already running, so start playing now!

Join Full Tilt Poker to play in FTOPS for millions of dollars in prize money, and don’t forget that new players can claim up to $600 in bonuses.

The twentieth running of the series will see 45 events played and 13 of these will have guaranteed prize pools of $1 million or more. It’ll all end with a bang in the FTOPS XX Main Event as players compete in a Multi-Entry Tournament with a guaranteed prize pool of $7.5 million on 1 May.

Aside from the FTOPS XX Main Event, 5 other FTOPS events will be Multi-Entry Tournaments. These events will all be No Limit Hold’em and include event 1, 22, 24, 27, and 44. In any of these Multi-Entry Tournaments, you will be able to buy many entries to play simultaneously in the same tournament. You will never have two entries at the same table, so it remains fair to other players, and entries will be merged into one if you somehow have more entries than tables left in the tournament!

For those who do not wish to pay the high buy-in costs for FTOPS tourneys, there are many satellites running right now. You can also elect to play in MiniFTOPS that will run shortly after FTOPS XX, with buy-ins only a tenth of those for FTOPS but with prize pools that are still comparably large.

Play now at Full Tilt Poker to get a feel for the software before entering FTOPS events via direct buy-in or satellite. New players should also remember to claim the bonus on their first deposit, as it is worth up to $600!

Paddy Power Poker has started its Irish Poker Open satellites that could see you entering this prestigious poker event for a pittance!

Join Paddy Power Poker now to start entering Irish Poker Open satellites for the most chances of winning a cheap seat into the event.

The 2011 Irish Poker Open will be held from 22 April to 25 April at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin. The direct buy-in to the Main Event will be €3,200 + €300, and there will be several other side tournaments running for players after some extra action or those who bust out of the Main Event too soon.

While a total buy-in cost of €3,500 is hardly crippling for top poker pros, amateur players could use some help – that’s where the Irish Poker Open satellites come in. Satellite tournaments give you a chance to play for a seat in a bigger tournament at a fraction of the price. Instead of prize money, you win an entry into another poker tournament!

What makes Paddy Power Poker unique, however, is that it is offering both online and live satellites into the Irish Poker Open. The online Irish Poker Open satellites are held every Monday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday for a buy-in of between €22 and €220. There are set to be a series of 8 live Irish Poker Open satellites, and they will be held as follows:

• Monday 28 March at Aviation Club in Paris
• Tuesday 5 April at The Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London
• Friday 8 April at Macau Sporting Club in Cork
• Saturday 9 April at G Casino in Blackpool
• Monday 11 April at Aviation Club in Paris
• Wednesday 13 April at The Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London
• Saturday 16 April at Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham
• Sunday 17 April at Gala Maybury Casino in Edinburgh

Join Paddy Power Poker now to sign up for the Irish Poker Open or register to play in satellite tournaments that could take you there.

The November Nine for the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event have been announced, and already they are capturing headlines thanks to number of inexperienced and amateur competitors.

The young poker playing team incorporates pros from the United States, Canada, and Italy, but the one underlying similarity is that all but one have never earned a WSOP bracelet. Michael Mizrachi holds the honor as the only recognizable face amongst the November Nine, with 23 cashes and a bracelet he picked up in June.

Read on to find out more about where each November Nine participant came from, and what sort of chances they have of competing for the $9 million winner’s prize.

Jonathan Duhamel

Starting Chip Count: 65,975,000
WSOP Bracelets: 0
WSOP Cashes: 2
WSOP Earnings: $43,000
Team: PokerStars
Country: Canada

He may only be 22 years old, but Jonathan Duhamel will head into the Main Event with a strong chip lead. The young Canadian has already cashed twice at the World Series of Poker this summer, with respectable 15th and 50th place finishes at separate events. But with a massive lead on the rest of the November Nine, he is already guaranteed his highest WSOP tournament finish, and has the best chance of any player to take out the entire event.

I played a lot this summer. When I play I just want to think about the game – that is all. I’m going to play more tournaments – like EPTs. I will play much more now.

John Dolan

Starting Chip Count: 46,250,000
WSOP Bracelets: 0
WSOP Cashes: 5
WSOP Earnings: $105,340
Team: Unsponsored
Country: United States

Another youngster, but with a handful of victories already behind him, Florida-based John Dolan heads into the Main Event with the second highest chip count – almost double that of third placed Joseph Cheong. Recently, Dolan won both the Harrah’s New Orleans Bayou Challenge and Gulf Coast Poker Championship for a net profit of around $65K, but any finish at the Main Event will be the biggest cash of his career so far.

This is my third year coming out to the WSOP for the whole summer. The first summer I bricked everything and then the 2nd I cashed a couple and this year I finally broke through and final tabled a 1k. Really solid players at the final table; will have to adjust my play accordingly.

Joseph Cheong

Starting Chip Count: 23,525,000
WSOP Bracelets: 0
WSOP Cashes: 2
WSOP Earnings: $31,064
Team: Full Tilt Poker
Country: United States (born in South Korea)

Joseph Cheong has only been playing poker since 2007, but has already amassed a series of victories and high finishes to earn him a place in the final nine. The UCSD graduate saw 2010 as being his biggest year for online poker so far, winning a preliminary WSOP event in San Diego that earned him $17,541. The regular Full Tilt Poker player is known as “subiime” online and you may recognize him as being the winner of a Mini-FTOPS event in 2009 for $55K.

I was very surprised the bubble took as long as it did. I was missing a lot of hands there for a while. You c-bet once and you lose 2.5 million, so you’ve got to pick your spots. My opponents were showing me or telling me about their hands and they had me beat, but it’s tough to fold big hands.

John Racener

Starting Chip Count: 19,050,000
WSOP Bracelets: 0
WSOP Cashes: 10
WSOP Earnings: $157,528
Team: Full Tilt Poker
Country: United States

He may be just 25, but Racener is coming into the November Nine with a wealth of experience rarely seen amongst his Main Event opponents. The Tampa Bay resident is a full-time poker pro and has been winning since 2006. With various final tables and victories under his belt, including a win at the WSOP Circuit Atlantic City in 2007, and then reaching the final table in the 2009 WSOP $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha-8 Event, the other November Nine members should be watching Racener like a hawk.

I’ll be studying these players online. I’d like to see the Grinder [Michael Mizrachi] do well, we’re friends and he’s a good kid.

Matthew Jarvis

Starting Chip Count: 16,700,000
WSOP Bracelets: 0
WSOP Cashes: 0
WSOP Earnings: $0
Team: Full Tilt Poker
Country: Canada

Matt Jarvis’s biggest dream in life has been to reach the November Nine, and now that he has achieved his goal he has a great chance to take out the entire event. The Canadian may not have any WSOP cashes to his name, but he is far from a rookie in this sport. An online veteran, Jarvis has been playing competitive poker for more than six years and is keen to get off to the best possible start this November.

This is amazing. It’s crazy it all worked out. It’s a tough table – there’s a ton of really good players, they just pound, pound, pound.

Filippo Candio

Starting Chip Count: 16,400,000
WSOP Bracelets: 0
WSOP Cashes: 1
WSOP Earnings: $3,460
Team: Full Tilt Poker
Country: Italy

As the first Italian to reach a WSOP Main Event Final Table, there is plenty of pressure riding on the back of Filippo Candio. The Full Tilt man is no stranger to the feeling however, and his victory at the San Remo IPT Main Event last year can attest to that fact. Sitting on the halfway point of all November Nine contenders, Candio will have to reproduce his Day 8 performances if he intends to take out this year’s title.

I tried very hard to play the best I know how. I am the first Italian in history to make the November Nine – I’m very proud. It’s amazing.

Michael Mizrachi

Starting Chip Count: 14,450,000
WSOP Bracelets: 1 ($50,000 Players Championship – 2010 WSOP)
WSOP Cashes: 23
WSOP Earnings: $2,271,327
Team: Full Tilt Poker
Country: United States

Without a doubt, Michael Mizrachi is the biggest name in the 2010 November Nine. He picked up his first World Series of Poker bracelet in June this year, and will be looking to follow that up with another in the Main Event. 29-year-old Mizrachi isn’t exactly hording all the chips, but with a string of good finishes under his belt, the experienced pro may very well be considered the player to beat.

I feel I’m like Phil Ivey last year. With these blinds anybody could win it. I like my chances. I want to make Frank Kassela sweat a little more.

Soi Nguyen

Starting Chip Count: 9,650,000
WSOP Bracelets: 0
WSOP Cashes: 0
WSOP Earnings: 0
Team: Full Tilt Poker
Country: United States

As one of the only amateurs to reach this stage of the tournament, Soi Nguyen knows he will have to work if he intends to stay at the table for longer than a couple of hours. For the next four months, Nguyen intends to study the game of live poker, as he had only competed in three prior to taking part in the Main Event. Inexperience isn’t stopping the part-timer though, and, if nothing else, he has already proven that he has the ability to turn an entire table on its head with just a single hand.

The bubble was tough because everyone’s strategy changes. It’s like an NFL player winning the super bowl.

Jason Senti

Starting Chip Count: 7,625,000
WSOP Bracelets: 0
WSOP Cashes: 1
WSOP Earnings: $17,987
Team: PokerStars
Country:

For online poker players, PBJaxx is probably a name you’ve encountered at some point. Jason Senti will start as the short-stack in November, but you’d better believe he’s playing to win. The former electrical engineer has only been playing poker professionally for the past couple of years, but with success both online and in live tourneys he has been able to claim the final seat in the 2010 WSOP Main Event.

I don’t think anybody expected to make it this far. I played to win all the way, then when it got close, I played for a November Nine spot. The skill gap between professionals and amateurs widens with so many hands.

The World Cup is almost here! Titan Poker has an incredible promotion running right now that could see you in Johannesburg, South Africa attending the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.

This wonderful prize package is worth more than $10,000, and will see the top 40 finalists compete against one another for a spot on the plane to South Africa. The promotion runs from May 23 – 31, and to qualify for a seat at the final table you will need to play as many ranked hands as possible. Read the rest of this entry »