Newsletter: Volume 3 - Issue 4

The Austrian Deepstack Poker Championship will be held at the luxurious Montesino Card Casino, Vienna, Austria, from April 13th to April 17th, 2011 and SunPoker wants you there!

Your journey to Vienna, begins with a weekly super satellites of €80 + €8 Freezeout, running every Wednesday at 21:00 GMT. Satellites will commence on February 1st, with the first super satellite on February 9th, 2011
Winners of the super satellite will receive a €1,150.00 prize package that includes;

• €500+50 Buy In to the Main Event. All
• €316 for 4 nights’ accommodation and breakfast at the Roomz hotel in Vienna. 
• €25 Handling Fees.
• €259 for flights and spending.

Three Day Tournament Forecast

While wet and snowy weather has dominated most parts of the world, it is always sunny here at SunPoker and starting this Saturday, temperatures are expecting to reach a record high!

We’ve put together five of our hottest games happening over the next three days, where you can cash-in on over $250,000.00 Guaranteed tournaments and still secure yourself a trip to Dublin and Manila all in the span of three days!

* Your APT Philippines full $5.400.00 VIP package will include;

• $2,500 + $200 buy-in to the main event. (March 30th – April 3rd).
• $675 for 5 nights’ accommodation at the Manila Marriot Hotel, Mar 30th – Apr 4th, 2011.
• $80 for handling fees.
• Up to $1,945 for flights and spending (depending on currency exchange rates).

** Irish Open 2011 full €4,600.00 VIP Package will include;

• €3,200 + €300 Buy In to the Main Event.
• €395 for 5 nights’ accommodation and breakfast at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin, April 21st – April 26th, 2011.
• €50 for handling fees.
• €655 for flights and spending.

Get your sun block ready as SunPoker is only going to be heating things up even more throughout the year!

Aussie Millions: Erik Seidel Wins Biggest Buy-In Tournament in History

Erik Seidel erased a 5-1 heads-up chip defecit to win the single biggest buy-in tournament in poker history Thursday night in Melbourne by besting 19 of the world’s best players in a $250,000 buy-in event at the 2011 Aussie Millions.

“I’m really, really excited to win this. This was very special because it’s such an elite field,” said Seidel. “The entry fee was so big, I didn’t want to lose $250,000. I’m just having such an amazing month, year so far. It’s just incredible.”

eidel eliminated arguably the hottest player on the planet, Sam Trickett, heads-up to win the title and $2.5 million. For Seidel it’s his second High Roller cash in less than a week and third in a month. On Saturday the Poker Hall of Famer finished third in the $100,000 Challenge and he posted a 4th place finish in the $25,000 High Roller event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

“It didn’t look good and it didn’t feel good,” Seidel said about the 5-1 chip defecit he faced against Trickett once David Benyamine was eliminated in third. “I thought well, I’m obviously not laying down. I’ll sit and play and hope things go well and then they did.”

The match turned on a call Seidel made on a board showing K 7 4 A 6. Trickett bet 250,000 and Seidel tanked before throwing in his Time Chip allowing him another 30 seconds to think about his decision. Seidel eventually called and Trickett showed 9 6. Seidel showed K T for the winning hand.

“That was a pretty critical call. That was a tough bluff he made, it really was,” said Seidel. “I really was very close to giving it up,  so that was pretty big for me. That was a big swing for me in chips.”

The $2.5 million prize boosts Seidel’s lifetime earnings to $13.1 million, good enough for 3rd overall behind Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu.

The final table was nothing but a playground for Trickett. He eliminated Nikolay Evdakov (9th), Phil Ivey (8th), Chris Ferguson (6th), Wang Qiang (4th) and David Benyamine (3rd) before running into Seidel and getting derailed.

The tournament attracted 20 of the best players in the world including Phil Ivey,Tom Dwan, Daniel Cates and Eugene Katchalov. The three Chinese businessmen who have been the talk of the 2011 Aussie Millions, Wang Qiang, Richard Yong and Paul Phua also played.

First quarter of the year, we’re hitting Austria, Manila and Dublin…WSOP in Las Vegas is already set for the second quarter, but we want to know if there is any particular land based tournaments you’ll like SunPoker to extend VIP packages too?  Just email us and we will be happy to look into the tournament and possibly run satellites to the tournament of your choice! 

Getting Rid of First Time Nerves

With the many land based tournament packages circulating on SunPoker, you’ve decided 2011 is your year to finally take a shot at a package, and to successfully compete in a live poker tournament.

Of course as a first time live tournament player your nerves may kick in; although the game is the same, the fact that you are physically inches away from an opponent can be somewhat intimidating and nerve-racking. However, we assure you the adrenaline rush can work in your favor once you have a concept on how to handle your nerves.

First time players are what most poker veterans refer to as "calling stations". If you're wondering about the logic behind the term, it's basically because most first time poker players have the tendency to call almost all bets without even sparing a moment's thought on their decisions.

Obviously, if you don't want to be viewed as a "calling station", gain the respect of your fellow poker players and maybe a share of their chips also, think before you act. Poker is not just any card game, whether online or land, it's a mental game, a strategic competition between several players. Take your time and think your first hand thoroughly through, just as you would online.

If you feel that your nerves are getting the best of you, here are some tips to get rid of cold feet.

Don't pressure yourself by comparing your skills to other players; that's a futile exercise. You're playing for the first time and more than likely most of the players on your table may not know anything other than live action. If you simply accept that fact then there's nothing to lose, there's no harm in trying, once you hit that comfort zone you’ll be able to concentrate more on the game that you already know so well.

Don't turn your fellow players into gods.
Obviously at one point or another you will be up against some of the big names, the ones you’ve seen on television and have come to admire throughout your online career. That’s a scary thought all on its own, but you must remind yourself that before they got their monickers, they too were once also referred to as "calling stations".

If it helps, mentally replace their faces with funny looking ones to lessen your feelings of inferiority, but don’t forget what you’ve learned from watching them on television. Sure enough you have picked up a hint or two of their playing patterns ;-)