Well, this is just silly. Seriously, if you were going to plan a vacation and had the means, wouldn’t you hop from Sydney to Queenstown and then back over to Melbourne? It’s pretty much the perfect vacation. Now, try this on for size: what if you could play a world class poker tour main event at every stop?

Well, that’s what the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour has planned in its upcoming fourth season.

Beginning in just a few weeks, the ANZPT is setting back out for another season of jumping back and forth from Australia to New Zealand, and the people behind the tour already have some big stops planned.

Here’s what the tour looks like so far:

ANZPT Sydney (The Star Casino) $2,200 main event: March 22-25
ANZPT Queenstown Snowfest (SKYCITY Queenstown) NZD $3,000 main event: July 24-29
ANZPT Melbourne Grand Final (Crown Melbourne) $5,000 main event: August 31-September 3

That photo comes from Queenstown (a dream destination for yours truly). If you’re looking for a ski vacation in the middle of the northern hemisphere’s summer, that’s one that can’t be beat.

For now, however, think on Sydney and the Star Casino. We’re around 40 days out from the $2,200 main event in the third week of march.

For full details on the event and the rest of the upcoming tour, visit ANZPT

By Brad Willis
Sponsored by PokerStars.net 

Deaf Poker Australia (DPA), in association with Jupiters Gold Coast Hotel & Casino, announced this week that the 2012 Australian Deaf Poker Championship (ADPC) will take place on
Saturday, October 13 in Queensland.

In only a few short years, the non-profit organisation has cemented its place into the country’s
poker landscape. 2011 proved to be the best year yet after the ADPC was held at the Adelaide
Casino – the first time that a Deaf poker tournament had ever been held in a casino anywhere in
the southern hemisphere. 70 players from around the country participated in the Main Event. After a gruelling nine hours of play, Stacey Reilly emerged victorious, defeating fellow South Australian Kathleen Ogders heads-up for the title.

Although DPA President Sokong Kim and his team have been busy behind the scenes planning for the 2012 ADPC only weeks after Reilly took home the trophy, there’s no doubt in Kim’s mind that all the hard work and dedication is paying off.

“2011 was a fantastic year,” said Kim. “As well as the historic ADPC in Adelaide, it marked the
debut of the DPA Online Series, which provided a valuable opportunity for all our players to
qualify into the ADPC for free. We also hosted a myriad of state-based events, including the
NSW Deaf Poker Championship, Victorian Deaf Poker Championship and the NSW Women’s
Deaf Poker Championship.

“The support and feedback we’ve had from the Deaf community has been unprecedented; even
if they’re not poker players, their positive contributions to DPA events has been crucial in making
our organisation what it is today.”

The 2012 edition of the ADPC is expected to break all records, but already, another milestone
has been achieved. For the first time in history, the ADPC will be hosted as a “stand-alone”
event, adding further to its significance and prestige. Further to this, a series of side events will be held around the “Main Event”, providing players multiple opportunities to achieve their dream of winning a major Deaf poker event.

2012 AUSTRALIAN DEAF POKER CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12: WELCOME NIGHT
Details TBC
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13: 2012 ADPC MAIN EVENT
Jupiters Gold Coast Hotel & Casino, Queensland
$100 buy-in ($85 + $15)
Cards in the air: 11.30am
No Limit Hold’em, 10,000 starting stack, 20-minute levels
Side events TBC
Entry open to Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Hearing Impaired players: spectators welcome!

Landon Blackhall 

After a gruelling Final Day in the 2012 SKYCITY Auckland Anniversary Poker Champs, Kevin Clark from Auckland’s North Shore took out the long weekend title against Auckland’s Sam Ruha collecting NZD $44,100 for his efforts.

The SKYCITY Auckland Anniversary Poker Champs saw 150 players take to the tables encompassing three Day 1’s, with 71 players surviving to play Day 2. Players fell thick and fast on Day 2 with play wrapping up when the Final Table was decided.

Within three hours of the Final Days play only six players remained. Sixty minutes later it was heads-up. With Clark in possession of the majority of chips his confidence was high to go all-in against Ruha with Ace (Clubs) and 9 (Spades) against Ruha’s King (Hearts) and Queen (Spades). The cards fell in Clark’s favour with Ace (Spades), 7 (Spades), Ace (Hearts) and Jack (Hearts) giving Clark three Aces beating Ruha’s pair of Aces to take out the tournament.

The payouts for the Final Table are as follows
9^th – Hone Morrison – Rotorua – $4,050
8^th – Lopi Faleata – Auckland – $4,650
7^th – Kevin Peters – Auckland – $5,850
6^th – Mark Willkopf – Auckland – $7,050
5^th – Sam Williams – Hamilton – $11,400
4^th – Robert Pichard – Auckland – $13,650
3^rd – Kani Edwards – Rotorua – $16,950
2^nd – Sam Ruha – Auckland – $28,650
1^st – Kevin Clark – Auckland – $44,100

For information on SKYCITY Auckland’s next poker tournament go to www.skycityauckland.co.nz/poker.

The 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event has come to an end and once again the title will remain on home soil with Australia’s Oliver Speidel capturing the title and $1.6 million in prize money.

Oliver Speidel has been a force throughout the entire 2012 Aussie Millions championships, with a second place in the $1,100 No Limit Limit Shootout event and a sixth place finish in the $1,650 No Limit Holdem Bounty Feature event. He carried that form all the way through the Aussie Millions Main Event throughout the past five days, to enter the final table this afternoon with the second biggest stack in the room.

It would be the only time that Speidel would trail as he took control of the final table and dominated proceedings from the get go.

It started with the early elimination of Yann Dion in 7th place. The talented Canadian got his last chips in preflop with 7♠7♥ but ran into Speidel’s Q♥Q♦ to become the first casualty of the day.

Bjorn Li went from overnight chip leader to 6th place finisher as his aggressive game was ultimately his undoing. Li’s A♣Q♦ couldn’t get past the 3♦3♠ of Mohamad Kowssarie as we were quickly down to five.

Speidel was in control and eventually someone had to make a move to regain some momentum. West Australian Patrick Healy tried with A♠K♦ on a 9♣8♣4♥ flop, but his timing was awry as Speidel had flopped two pair with his 9♥8♠. Healy was almost drawing dead, as the turn and river bricked to eliminate him in 5th place.

Speidel’s stack continued to climb, as did the payouts, as the players started to reach life changing sums of money. It didn’t deter Speidel who continued to apply well-timed aggression with some equally well-timed cards. He picked up K♥K♦ at the right time as Kowssarie played back at him with A♠2♥. Again Speidel’s hand held and with Kowssarie’s elimination in 4th place, Speidel was surging towards the title.

Another Aussie, Mile Krstanoski fought valiantly and was unlucky to be eliminated next. Speidel moved all in from the small blind with 9♠8♣ as Krstanoski made a great call in the big blind with a dominant K♥8♥. Krstanoski was looking good to double up but Speidel spiked a nine on the flop which was enough to take it down and leave Krstanoski on the rail in 3rd place.

Speidel held a commanding chip lead over Kenneth Wong and, as was the nature of the entire final table, he didn’t take long to wrap things up.

In a hand that was six-bet preflop, Wong was unfortunate to see his 9♣9♥ had run smack bang into the A♠A♣ of Speidel. Incredibly another big pair for Speidel, and once again, everything fell his way as the board ran out 8♥K♠10♠4♣7♥. Wong was gallant in defeat with a cool one million dollars in prize money as consolation.

For Oliver Speidel it was a perfect day of poker that we all dream of. He played well, caught good cards and ran well. He has also proven himself to be a player of enormous talent, picking up his first Aussie Millions gold ring and an APT title last year. He now adds the most coveted title in Australasian poker and will go down forever in history as an Aussie Millions champion.

Final table payouts
1st Oliver Speidel (Australia) – $1,600,000
2nd Kenneth Wong (Hong Kong) – $1,000,000
3rd Mile Krstanoski (Australia) – $610,000
4th Mohamad Kowssarie (Sweden) – $405,000
5th Patrick Healy (Australa) – $300,000
6th Bjorn Li (Hong Kong) – $230,000
7th Yann Dion (Canada) – $170,000

By Poker Asia Pacific

The Crown Players party at Analdo and Sons was filled to capacity on the evening of the 19th January with VIPs and players to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Aussie Millions and to induct the four new members of the Australian Poker Hall of Fame.
The formal induction was graciously received by the massed spectators who were pleased to see four outstanding players accepted into the Hall of Fame.

2010/11
Leo Boxell
Poker patriarch and skilled champion for decades, Leo recently won the APPT Melbourne for the 4th six figure payday of his impressive tournament career which totals over $1,100,000 in winnings. Leo and his wife Bev have been familiar faces in Australian Poker rooms and he has found big success in the Crown Casino where he won the Crown championship in 2000 then continued his success once the event became the Aussie Millions with almost $500,000 in winnings.

Danny McDonagh
Be it as a planner, promoter or Director of major tournaments Danny has played an integral role in the growth of poker in the Asia Pacific region. At the helm of every major tournament at the Crown Casino from opening day through the 2007 Aussie Millions this Hall of Fame nominee moved on to become APPT Tournament Director and is now the Director of PokerStars’ extensive live poker operations for Asia Pacific. Danny was a founding partner of pokernetwork.com.

2011/12
David Gorr
In 2011, David bested a field of 721 players to take down the Aussie Millions main event title and $2 million in prize money. David has been a staple player in the Australian poker scene for decades and has been a great ambassador for the game in Australia. He currently sits in 4th place on the Australian all-time money list.

Jason Gray
Throughout Jason gray’s impressive poker career, he has accumulated over $1 million in career tournament cashes including a win at the 2007 Victorian Poker Championships and a second place showing at the 2008 APPT Sydney. Jason is not only a force to be reckoned with at the tournament tables, he is also very comfortable at the BB cash tables as well.

The Chairman of Australian Poker Hall of Fame Maurie Pears thanked Crown, Pokernetwork and all players and Casino staff for their sponsorship, assistance and generosity throughout the year whilst Crown Director of Poker Jim Preston made the formal and popular presentations to an enthusiastic audience.

The APHOF will seek some expansion next year and a more prominent place in Australasian poker internationally. There will be continued inductions to those skilled players who have served the game of poker so well.

David Gorr Aussie Millions 2011 receives congratulations for induction from Maurie and Jim.

Photo Courtesy of Poker Asia Pacific 

Perth native Michael Pedley has won Event 6, the $1,100 NLH-Rebuys at the 2012 Aussie Millions. Pedley has enjoyed moderate success over the years as a recreational poker player, but his greatest successes have come here in Melbourne at the Aussie Millions. In 2008, Pedley won the same event for his first major title securing $168,320. Yesterday however, he would have to be content with only $122,670 for the same title.

The final table of event 6 was easily the most talked about Championship event of the series featuring some of the biggest and best names in modern day poker. The table featured the likes of Tyron Krost (2010 Aussie Millions Main Event Champion), Jonathan Karamalikis, Dan Kelly, Marvin Rettenmaier and Michael Benvenuti.

During the play of the final table, former Main Event Champion Krost was facing an interesting dilemma. He managed to make it down to 4 handed play in Event 6, and scheduled to start at 7pm was the special Aussie Millions 10th Anniversary Main Event Tournament of Champions. This event featured the previous Main Event winners and the winner of this tournament would receive complimentary Aussie Millions Main Event entries for the rest of their life.

In the end however, Krost was eliminated in 4th place and was able to safely take his seat at the TOC table.

Final Payouts Aussie Millions Event 6 $1,100 NLH Rebuys
1- Michael Pedley – $122,670
2- Jonathan Karamalikis – $88,830
3- Dan Kelly – $57,105
4- Tyron Krost – $40,185
5- Mike Watson – $29,610
6- Jim Collopy – $25,380
7- Tony Sama – $21,150
8- Marvin Rettenmaier – $16,920
9- Andrew Scarfe – $12,690
10- Michael Benvenuti – $8,460

By Rob Huxley of Miller’s Guide

English poker pro Tom Middleton has won Event 5 at this year’s Aussie Millions, the $1,100 NLH 6-Max event taking home $84,200 for his 1st place finish. Middleton is no stranger to final tables having a total career earnings of over $500,000 since 2008. 2011 was the breakout year for Middleton which saw him cash for $355,402, however if he continues his metaphoric rise to the top of the leader boards, this year could certainly eclipse that in earnings.

Middleton’s victory came at the expense of Sydney local pro Joel Dodds who had to be content with 2nd place and a $58,135 pay day. Dodds was looming to take down the title and the Gold Championship ring, however the Englishmans performance was nothing short of extraordinary. At the final 6 handed table, Middleton eliminated four of the five players he was facing, a truly epic steamroller effort.

Payouts Aussie Millions Event 5 $1,100 NLH 6-Max
1st- Tom Middleton – $84,200
2nd- Joel Dodds – $58,135
3rd- Peter Skouteris – $40,450
4th- Craig Cockburn – $30,800
5th- Kosta Mamaliadis – $23,100
6th- Ben Lingenfelder – $15,400

By Rob Huxley of Miller’s Guide

Aaron Lim has won the third gold ring of the Aussie Millions Poker Championships after taking down the $1,100 No Limit Holdem / Pot Limit Omaha rotation event late on Thursday.

After entering the heads-up battle with a near ten-to-one chip advantage over Ali Ghezelbash, the blinds were at 12,000-24,000 when Lim moved all in from the button during No Limit Holdem.

Ghezelbash made the call with K♣8♦ for the best hand as Lim tabled Q♠3♠. However the board of J♥3♥A♦J♠J♣ paired up Lim to take the title and $36,735 prize money.

At the start of the day it was Casey Kastle with the chip lead as Crown Poker Room regular Dean Francis was first to take a brutal hit. Francis was on the verge of moving into a strong position when he looked down at his K♠K♥ during No Limit Holdem and was shoved on by Eric Sclavos and his A♣K♣. Sometimes the poker Gods can be cruel as the 4♠A♠6♣3♣Q♠ flop rewarded Sclavos, as two other players commented that they had folded an ace. Sclavos doubled up as Francis tumbled down the leaderboard.

However Francis did manage a pay jump after Sam Vakili was first to visit the cashier in 9th place. During Pot Limit Omaha he got his chips in the middle with top pair and a gutshot straight draw against the bottom pair and nut flush draw of Aaron Lim. A third club on the turn was enough for Lim to complete his flush to end the tournament for Vakili.

With the blinds at 5,000-10,000, Francis was down to his last 40,000 chips which he committed preflop in a battle of the blinds with Casey Kastle in No Limit Holdem. Francis held 9♠7♥ and was happy to have live cards against Kastle’s K♠Q♥ , however the board ran out Q♦3♥8♠3♣4♥ to pair up Kastle and eliminate Francis in 8th place.

Kastle could manage no better than 7th, and he was soon followed by Eric Sclavos in 6th place who backed up from his final table in the Shootout event yesterday with another strong performance. Michael Benvenuti departed in 5th before the elimination of Khiem Nguyen in 4th place during the PLO orbit. Nguyen committed holding K♠K♣3♠8♣ and was called by Aaron Lim and his A♦Q♣J♣10♣ , but when the board of 8♠Q♦5♣2♠Q♥ was dropped by the dealer, Nguyen hit the rail.

Cheng Liu was next to go in 3rd place before Lim disposed of Ghezelbash to wrap up the title.

While the final table took over the feature table in the Crown Poker Room, there were just 47 players remaining at the dinner break from a starting field of 385 for today’s $1,100 No Limit Holdem 6-Max event.

Stefan Jedlicka was out in front with Brian Roberts of “Two Months, Two Million” fame and Australia’s World Champion Joe Hachem also with the chip leaders.

It was a stacked field for the 12:30pm start with the Asia-Pacific well represented by the likes of Simon Watt, Leo Boxell, Andrew Hinrichsen, Tony Hachem, David Gorr, Van Marcus, Aaron Benton, Jackson Zheng, Daniel Neilson, James Obst, Amanda De Cesare, Phil Willcocks and Jackie Glazier.

Jonathan Karamalikis, Jai Kemp, Peter Aristidou and Poker Asia Pacific blogger Matthew Wakeman were among the early casualties, with Wakeman’s pocket aces cracked by an opponent’s pocket jacks.

Michael Pedley also joined them on the ropes after he recalled to us that he got his chips in the middle with top set against two opponents who were drawing to straight and flush possibilities. Unfortunately for Pedley, an ace on the turn gave his opponent a straight to win the massive pot and send Pedley to an early exit.

Chris Moorman and Jesse “On The Mac” McKenzie were the early moves with McKenzie gaining most of his chips after turning a flush to leave his opponent drawing dead. On a multi-way flop, McKenzie called a bet of 2,100 on the flop of betting 3,100 on the 9♦ turn. His opponent check-raised to 6,200 before McKenzie moved all in. His opponent made the call with ace-queen for top pair but, without a diamond, he was without hope as McKenzie showed 7♦6♦ for the flush.

Later in the evening, the players got a chance to kick off their heels at the official player’s welcome party. The doors opened at 8pm at Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons with some quality food and plenty of beverages enjoyed. The evening also included the official Australian Poker Hall of Fame ceremony where Danny McDonagh and Leo Boxell were inducted as part of the class of 2011, while Jason Gray and David Gorr were announced as the new inductees for 2012.

By Poker Asia Pacific

American music blogger Sandeep Pulusani has won Event three, $1,100 NLH Shootout at the 2012 Aussie Millions collecting $37,500 for his efforts.

Pulusani is a veritable legend in the music world and is the music blogger behind the website Vibe Addict. Pulusani’s has enjoyed moderate success in poker with his biggest cash to date being $13,020 at the 2011 WSOP where he finished 34th in the $1,500 NLH event.

This win represents the first major title for the American and it is safe to say that we haven’t seen the last of him in the poker world.

Local fan favourite Jackie Glazier was poised to take down her first Aussie Millions title however an ice cold deck would send the local female pro to the rail in a disappointing 6th place finish. Glazier had a horrendous run of luck when her Pocket Aces were taken down by Ace-Jack and her Ace-King was beaten by Ace-Seven sending her to the rail.

In the end, it was the final table chip leader and previous Aussie Millions Championship Ring bearer Oliver Speidel who would go head to head with Sandeep for the title. Unfortunately for Speidel there was no repeat Championship for him as Pulusani would eventually walk away with the title and the glory of being the Aussie Millions Event 3 Champion.

1st- Sandeep Pulusani – $37,500
2nd- Oliver Speidel – $24,750
3rd- Ash Gupta – $17,250
4th- Matthew Pearson – $13,500
5th- Mario Ljubicic – $11,250
6th- Jackie Glazier – $9,750
7th- Joey Lawrence – $8,250
8th- Salman Behbehani – $6,750
9th- Eric Sclavos – $5,250
10th- Mark Segal – $3,750

By Rob Huxley of Miller’s Guide

The 2012 Aussie Millions is now in full swing with two championship rings having already been awarded in the past few days. Today will see yet another Aussie Millions Championship ring awarded as play at the final table of event 3 $1,100 NLH Shootout concludes at midday inside the Crown Poker Room.

Leading the charge at today’s final table will be Oliver Speidel who carries to the table the chip lead and enough experience to take down the title. Last year Speidel won a Championship ring at the 2011 Aussie Millions in the $1,100 NLH event, and to make things even more interesting he is joined by Englishman Mark Segal who has also experienced the thrill of winning an Aussie Millions Championship event taking down the $1,100 NLH event in 2010. Mark comes to the table relatively short in chips, but what he lacks in chips he no doubt makes up for in experience.

Without doubt though, all eyes will be on local favourite and female poker sensation, Jackie Glazier who comes to the final table third in chips and looming for a major title. Jackie burst onto the poker scene in early 2010 when she made a deep run in the worlds most prestigious poker event, the $10,000 buy-in World Series Of Poker. Jackie will be railed by a large crowd today hoping she can cement her position in the poker world as one of the best players on the tour.

Seat 1- Eric Sclavos – 34,000 chips
Seat 2- Salman Behbehani – 79,500 chips
Seat 3- Mario Ljubicic – 95,500 chips
Seat 4- Joey Lawrence – 135,500 chips
Seat 5- Mark Segal – 94,500 chips
Seat 6 – Sandeep Pulusani – 128,000 chips
Seat 7- Ashish Gupta – 270,000 chips
Seat 8- Oliver Speidel – 384,500 chips
Seat 9- Matthew Pearson – 74,000 chips
Seat 10- Jackie Glazier – 204,500 chips

By Rob Huxley of Miller’s Guide