Roland De Wolfe
Image Source: Card Player

Roland De Wolfe took an early lead defeating Ian Frazer in the first match of their best-of-three playoff that will determine the sixth and last player at the final table of this year’s Premier League. In match two, action heated up with Frazer using some uber-agression to take a 2-to-1 chip lead over the Englishman. De Wolfe eventually took a stand shoving all-in with Ah9h and was quickly called by Frazer and his QsTd. The board ran out 2h6sKh 8d Qc with the river giving match two to Frazer and knotting things at a match a piece.

Instead of starting match three, De Wolfe stormed out of Ravello Bar at the M Casino obviously steaming. Frazer pushed tournament organizers to get his tilted opponent back to the table, as the playoff was to have no breaks. De Wolfe did return after a few minutes and match three began.

The deciding match went back and forth with each player taking their share of pots. Eventually, both were all-in preflop with De Wolfe’s As4s going up against Frazer’s Jc6c. The board ran out 9s4cTs 6s Ad giving Roland De Wolfe the last seat at the final table where he’ll face Phil Laak, David Benyamine, Giovanni Safina, Luke Schwartz and Daniel Negreanu for the Premier League title.

Dorian Netolicky is a Social Media Strategist and Contributing Writer @ GR88.com.

Warning. I am going to make a case that hockey is NOT ‘our game’. Now, you can either change the channel, or take a deep breath and give this a chance. Before we go any further, I will admit I’m a dual citizen. I’m half Czech. Some would say I have a vested interest in making this argument and you may be right, but whatever my personal motives, either real or perceived, may be I think there’s something we should take notice of as Canadians.

The first point is inherently critical and is something I believe is universal to all sports. Sports don’t belong to any one people or any one country. They belong to the people who play and enjoy them. Hockey belongs as much to Canadians as it does to Americans as it does to a lone kid in Mongolia who whacks a ball against a brick wall with an old stick. Being at the forefront of such a global community is certainly something to be proud of, but in no uncertain terms does it entail ownership.

Walking around Vancouver for the past week, it’s impossible to not feel the overwhelming sense of patriotism that permeates the streets. A patriotic energy is everywhere, mostly for Canada as we’re hosting the Games, but for many other countries as well. These are a Games for the world and Canada Hockey Place is no different.

As I headed down to the rink to watch the Czech Republic(!) against Slovakia (aka the Civil War), I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to see. Besides a hockey game, there would be the usual good-natured Czech-Slovak rivalry. A spirited game with spirited fans. I quickly found out, however, saying that would be like saying McDonald’s is just mildly unhealthy for you. The game was completely nuts! Flag waving fans, crazy hats, energy upon boundless energy. I’ve been to hundreds of games and events all over North America and never been a part of anything remotely like this. EVER. Not in Montreal watching the Canadiens. Not watching the Dream Team in the Atlanta Olympics. NOWHERE. It wasn’t the intermittent fanatical outbursts we see in NHL arenas. It was a full three hours that eventually spilled onto the streets and surely continued into the wee hours.

With the final horn, a 3-1 Czech victory was on the board and I had to ask myself…. Do Canadians love this game more than anyone else? Are we really the glue that holds the game of hockey together? The answer is an obvious and resounding no. How can we say this is our game when the Slovaks and Czechs love it just as much? How can we say it’s ours because Canadians dominate NHL demographics? Do we dominate the demographics of the at least five ‘elite’ leagues in Europe?

In my opinion, we shouldn’t even concern ourselves with the whole ‘our game’ charade and enjoy this game that’s played across our country. It’s the world’s game. We’ve invited them to play it on our soil. It’s up to Team Canada to beat them and give us the privilege to be called Olympic Champions. That will be ours. For four years at least.

Dorian Netolicky is a Social Media Strategist and Contributing Writer @ GR88.com.

Daniel Negreanu
Image Source: HDCpoker

In an eventful best of 3 heads up match with last year’s champ JC Tran, Daniel Negreanu managed to snag one of two remaining seats at Premier League IV’s final table. Having won the first of two final table playoffs, the Canadian pro will join Phil Laak, David Benyamine, Luke Schwartz and Giovanni Safina to play for this year’s Premier League title.

The Tran-Negreanu duel wasn’t without twists and turns, as Negreanu was almost sent packing after Tran took the first match. Tran called Negreanu’s all-in after just a few hands of the 2nd match turning over As4h, to Negreanu’s 7h7c, having flopped a wheel on the 2h5h3h board. Despite Tran’s open-ended straight flush draw, the cards went Negreanu’s way with the Th falling on the turn. Tran couldn’t better his hand on the river and the match was all tied up. In match three, Negreanu jumped out to a quick lead. Ultimately, he finished Tran off with yet another bit of luck as he caught the Td on the river and his KdTs beat Tran’s Ace-high

Dorian Netolicky is a Social Media Strategist and Contributing Writer @ GR88.com.

Vitaly Lunkin
Image Source: pokerallatexana.com

The red carpet was out in Paris on Friday for some of Europe’s finest poker players, as the hardware was dolled out at the 9th Annual European Poker Awards. The big winner of the night was Vitaly Lunkin who took home player of the year. Lunkin burst to the forefront of the poker world at last year’s WSOP totaling tournament earnings of almost $3-million. The Russian took down the inaugural $40K NLHE tourney for a big $1.8 million cash and followed that up with a 3rd in the Pot Limit Omaha World Championship. His last big cash saw Lunkin come in 4th in the $50K HORSE banking $368K.

Patrik Antonius (Internet Player Of The Year) and Antoine Saout (Rookie Of The Year) also took home hardware at the Aviation Club. Antonius has been playing at the highest limits of the online scene for years and he’s considered one of the best, if not the best, online Pot Limit Omaha player in the world. The 29-year old is more than deserving of an award for online play. He’s a tiger. Very few can hang with him in cyberspace. Saout came from anonymity, as many do at the WSOP, to post a 3rd place finish in the Main Event earning more than $3.4-million. The man from Paris also final tabled the WSOPE Main Event final table in 2009 ultimately hauling in $180K for 7th place.

Dorian Netolicky is a Social Media Strategist and Contributing Writer @ GR88.com

Tom Dwan
Source: Poker News Boy

After taking nearly $500K from Justin Bonomo on Monday, Isildur continued his tear through the online world’s high-limit games. Next on the chopping block for the Swede were big money pros Brian Hastings and Tom Dwan.

First, Isildur met up with Hastings to continue a rivalry that saw Hastings take $4.2 million off his nemesis in December alone. On Tuesday night, however, Hastings wasn’t nearly as fortunate. The tide really turned for Hastings as he shipped two mammoth pots totaling over $525K. In the end, Isildur picked the 20-year old apart ending their session up $450K.

The Swedish mystery man then turned his attention to Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan and didn’t miss a beat winning a monster $255K PLO pot. Things got heated after the hand as Isildur pushed to move the game from PLO to NLHE. Dwan wouldn’t budge saying “it’s a pretty bad time after I just lost $250K”. Isildur left Dwan saying he’d be back in five minutes, but never returned as he probably thought a $1.6 million haul over two days was good enough.

Dorian Netolicky is a Social Media Strategist and Contributing Writer @ GR88.com.

NL Holdem
Blinds Bankroll
5c/10c $200
10c/20c $400
25c/50c $1,000
$0.50/$1 $2,000
$1/$2 $4,000
$2/$4 $8,000
$5/$10 $16,000
$10/$20 $40,000
$25/$50 $100,000
$50/$100 $200,000

Limit Holdem
Blinds Bankroll
5c/10c $30
10c/20c $60
25c/50c $150
$0.50/$1 $300
$1/$2 $600
$2/$4 $1,200
$5/$10 $3,000
$10/$20 $6,000
$25/$50 $15,000
$50/$100 $30,000

SnG Tournaments
Buy-In Bankroll
$1 + $0.1 $44
$2 + $0.2 $88
$5 + $0.5 $220
$10 +$1 $440
$20 +$2 $880
$30 +$3 $1,320
$50 +$5 $2,200
$100 +$10 $4,400
$200 +$20 $8,800
$500 +$50 $22,000

Eric Byrd is our newest featured GR88.com pro. You can catch him at the tables under his username: team2win88.

When you play online or live poker you need to make sure that you employ the correct strategies in order to have the best chance at winning. One of the most overlooked, yet most important skills you need to learn is how to manage your bankroll properly. You do not want to go broke. Seasoned pro’s and lots of beginning poker players, will lose their initial starting bankroll quickly and then wonder why? Nine times out of 10, it’s because they were making a bankroll management error while playing. We are going to go through some helpful tips, which will help you keep your winnings and keep you from losing a lot of your profits. In short, we want you to continue playing at GR88 and be a profitable and successful poker player for a long time to come.

*Playing above your bankroll is not sound bankroll management skills for a poker player. Sure taking your shot at a higher level game can be done, but staying within your bankroll is the key. A lot of professional and amateur players like to use simple numbers in relation to bankroll management. Play with 5% of your bankroll in a given session or tournament. If you have a $200 bankroll, 5% of that is $10. Normally this would mean a $40 or $50 tournament buyin is above your bankroll at this point. You may consider limiting your play anywhere from $0-$10 entry. Same holds true for cash games. If you have a $200 bankroll, you shouldn’t be playing at a $.50/$1 table or for that matter a .25/.50 table. If you try to stay within the simple 5% guideline during any session, you can control your downside or variances. Never play with scared money. 5% of your overall bankroll will keep this mantra in check.

*Profit is good. When you are doing good at the cash tables and have a nice profit, don’t be afraid to get up and dump some of your profit in your cashier. Walk around, relax, leave, soak in the nice session you just had, keep your much earned profit. Staying at a table to long, can often times be a recipe for a losing session. I’ll use the word again, variances, do happen in poker and limiting the downside of variance is smart bankroll management. If you must play again, put away the profit.

*Bad emotions are not good. Your mindset is one of the most important aspects of being a successful poker player. Try not to let your emotions get the best of you. This will decrease your bankroll quicker than you can say, adios. Bad beats happen, thats part of the game. If a player has a 2% chance of winning the hand, thats 2%. If a hand comes up where you find yourself upset, then maybe its a good time to walk around, take a mini break to cool down. If a player is making you upset, then maybe its time for a table change. Your mind needs to be functioning calmly and alertly to help play a successful game of poker.

*Bad days are not good. We’ve all been there, when the downside of variance strikes and you want to keep refilling your bankroll at the tables. This is highly unproductive. Keep in mind the 5% rule of bankroll management. If you play poker long enough, there will come a time where the downside of variance is like a weight thats pulling you further down the losing trail. Thus the importance of bankroll management. Player’s who can’t walk away when they are losing, often times, continue to lose even more money. There’s 365 days a year to play poker, if you wish to. Many bad days will happen, but its what you do next after you’ve lost the days session that matters. Will you put in another 5% and another 5% and keep refilling or walk way to battle another day? Being a successful poker player means staying on top of managing your bankroll. Being able to walk away when things aren’t going your way for the day, will save your bankroll in the long run. After all, you want to be able to play and be successful for the long run.

*Know your skill set. Successful poker players analyze their poker playing skills over and over again. Will you be +EV(Expected Value) against some of the games best players in cash games, against the best in a tournament field? Then why play at a table or tournament with the games best player(s). Bankroll management success isn’t built on winning against the best players. The old saying, ‘if you look around the table and can’t spot the fish’, its probably you. Recognize who your opponents are before getting to the table and/or tournament, if possible. There’s plenty of money to be won in poker, but recognizing your abilities to play the game and your weaknesses will help you play at the right levels to keep your bankroll growing. Check out the bankroll management table in my section of GR88.com’s blog to stay on the right track!

Eric Byrd is our newest featured GR88.com pro. You can catch him at the tables under his username: team2win88.

Image Source: poker wire

The mysterious Isildur1 served up some nasty beats on Monday night that ultimately saw him take nearly $570K from Vegas pro Justin Bonomo. The 24-year old Bonomo was the victim of a couple of bad beats and a mild cooler. Isildur1 turned a straight after Bonomo flopped two pair raking a $114K pot then followed that up later in the session by rivering a full house topping Bonomo’s straight and sending $94K his way.

The biggest pot of the night saw Bonomo in a tight spot after he picked up bottom two pair on the Kc Qd 6d flop. Bonomo stayed committed to his hand throughout even with Isildur reraising him to $4,800 pre-flop. Isildur led out after the flop betting $6,400 at which point Bonomo popped it to $15,600. Isildur called. The Swede then checked the 8s on the turn inducing a $20K bet from Bonomo. Isildur check-raised for Bonomo’s remaining $45K. The river was Jh. Isildur showed KsKh having toyed with Bonomo from the beginning with top set. Ultimately, this ‘terrible’ flop for Bonomo saw a $171K pot added to Isildur’s stack.

The session was over when Bonomo’s backer pulled out of the session and Isildur refused to move to a lower limit.

Dorian Netolicky is a Social Media Strategist and Contributing Writer @ GR88.com.

Image Source: Reuters

Walk around Vancouver for an afternoon and you’ll find the full spectrum of Olympic opinion. From the negative micro-managers who can’t seem to forget even the smallest hiccup to those who are in awe of our city and the fact the Games are hosted against such a stunning backdrop. Athletically however, no other sport conjures such polarizing opinions quite like figure skating. Ask one person what they think of figure skating and the denunciation is swift. ”That’s not a sport! It’s just some girls and guys in flamboyant outfits dancing around on ice!!” Ask another and you can see the glow in their eyes. “It’s so graceful and athletic. Not to mention, the music is beautiful!” So, figure skating begs the question: What is it?

Having watched stunning performances last night in the Pairs Free Skate that ultimately saw the Chinese pairs take both the gold and silver, it truly is a blend of art and sheer athletic impossibility. As a result, it should bring together those who watch only ‘real’ sports and those who couldn’t care less about any sport. Now, if you’re not a fan of sport or music, classical music specifically, unfortunately figure skating can’t help you enjoy the Olympic Winter Games. For the rest, and I believe they’re many, you may be able to find harmony on an arena free of nets and blue lines.

Firstly, anyone in the ‘figure skating isn’t a sport’ group, let’s do a couple of tests. Find some open floor space, stand on one foot, jump up and spin around once, then try landing on the same foot. Now try this going around twice. Can you do three? Not very easy is it? Don’t forget you’re doing this on solid ground not on a giant sheet of ice. Test number two. Find a partner and see if the man can lift the woman over his head then proceed to release one arm and hold the pose. Once again, do this on solid ground. I don’t want you hurting yourself. Was that easy? I doubt it. Once again, imagine doing this on skates, as Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo did on their way to gold. Is this any less a sport than baseball where the majority of the game is spent standing around? Don’t get me wrong I love watching baseball (Go Mariners!), but I’m trying to make a point. ‘Sports’ come in all shapes, sizes and sequined or un-sequined outfits.

Now, for those of you who simply don’t like sports of any kind, imagine a symphony, beautiful in its own right, interpreted on ice. Trying to compare this to something I found myself thinking one thing. This is a symphony on steroids. My apologies to the IOC for an obviously contentious characterization, but I can’t find any other way get this thought out free of performance enhancing drugs. I guess I failed a journalistic drug test. From Adagio in G Minor brought to life by Shen and Zhao to the ‘Impossible Dream’ used by Silver medalists Pang Qing and Tong Jian (fitting in hindsight as they leapt from 4th to 2nd just barely missing the gold), the music is only just beautiful music without the skaters. The difference between saying that was “nice” to saying that was “amazing”. The skaters give the music a voice. Music that captivated both myself and the world.

Figure skating is a menu of beauty, harmony and sheer power. One with choices galore. In the past, you may have never been able to digest it. However, it’s like any exotic food. One bite may change your mind.

Dorian Netolicky is a Social Media Strategist and Contributing Writer @ GR88.com.

In watching the opening ceremony of Vancouver’s Winter Olympics Games, not only was I overwhelmed with intense pride and emotion, but I was riveted by the universal similarities that all athletes carry onto the world’s biggest stage. There is something in all of us that makes us different and, yet, makes us the same. We all love our country, whether it be Canada, the USA or the Republic of Georgia, and not a person from any land is immune to the uplifting pride that comes with being able to share our nation with the world.

Even with this most global of events, there is a deeply personal and emotional side to it all. Not just for me, or you, but for all of us. Trying to stop the tears from welling in my eyes, as Brian Adams and Nelly Furtado sing “Scream a little a louder so the whole world can hear”, simply was not going to happen. I cried. I wanted to scream….and we will. The world will hear us and there wasn’t an athlete last night who didn’t think the same thing. “The world will hear me. I will scream.” That’s the beauty of this whole event. The world understands each other. This despite everyone’s seemingly endless quest to be different. These Olympic Games, and all those before it, show us this quest may be in vain.

The utterly captivating poetry of Shane Koyczan brought the tears of patriotism to my eyes yet again. He gave the world a piece of our country and it felt so good. The same powerful feeling from deep inside that a lone athlete from Ethiopia must have felt as he entered the stadium carrying his nation’s flag. “some say what defines us is something as simple as please and thank you and as for you’re welcome well we say that too but we are more than genteel or civilized we are an idea in the process of being realized we are young we are cultures strung together then woven into a tapestry and the design is what makes us more than the sum total of our history” The design is what makes us more than the sum of our total history? Koyczan spoke of Canada, but is that not a statement for all of humanity?

The world standing on its feet to carry the heartbroken Georgians into the stadium shows once again we are not different. We all feel pain, as much as we feel joy. And, in that, we all feel resolve and triumph. I will never forget Nodar Kumaritashvili. I’ll never forget his face. I’ll never forget the image of him flying off that track. He died for an extra hundredth of a second. On the surface, a fraction of a second may seem meaningless. Not something to die for. But he died trying to be the best. Trying to put his country atop the podium. That makes him a hero to not only Georgia, but the world. He didn’t compromise and it cost him his life.

For the next 17 days, we’ll see men and women, like their fallen Olympian, who just don’t compromise. They come to win. They come to represent their countries. They come to join the world and we’re more than ready to welcome them. It’s a rare occasion where the world comes together to just be human. An occasion and a privilege we all should cherish.

Dorian Netolicky is a Social Media Strategist and Contributing Writer @ GR88.com.