carbon poker blog

Wise Words from Poker After Dark

2008-07-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

NBC's Poker after dark has just kicked off season 5. This weeks game sees Nets vs Vets. 3 online pros up against Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Huck Seed. Its a great poker show, and never fails to entertain. Below is from the intro of the show, Doyle Brunsons take on poker...

'Theres an old saying: The only thing you need to play this game is a chip and a chair. but to sit down and win against ther best, you need a whole lot more. Poker actually isnt about winning and losing. Pokers about making the right decisions. When luck is just the door, you gotta come in through the window. Thats where the skill comes in. You got to have the courage to blow. Courage doesn't necessarily mean the absence of fear, but you got to swallow your pride, you got to throw you hand away when you know your beat. It doesn't matter how good you are, everything can change when those cards are in the air. We don't stop playing because we get old. We get old because we stop playing. Thats poker folks.'

You can watch the show online here http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/23011821

Carbon Bad Beat

2008-07-23T23:27:00.000-07:00

The Carbon Poker Bad Beat Jackpot is still climbing rapidly and currently sits just under the $200, 000 dollar mark. That means if you lose a hand on one of these tables with quad 7's or better then you will stand to win close to $70, 000 in cash. The best part is you don't even have to still be in the play to win! If your simply at the table and not sitting out, then you will also win a share. The Bad Beat Jackpot tables are for Texas Holdem only and are listed. They are usually pretty full up and see some of the best action here at Carbon Poker

See You At The Bad Beat Tables

WSOP Main Event Final Table

2008-07-22T21:57:00.000-07:00

The Introducing, the November Nine...

Ivan Demidov: The last Russian standing out of a collective of 40 who made the WSOP this year. Was worn thin by the end of day 7, and too tired to appreciate the position he was in.

Peter Eastgate: The youngest player remaining, a full time online pro, the Danish player skipped on the satellites and chose to buy in for the $10k.

Kelly Kim: A former Toshiba employee, he was lucky to make the final 9 being short stacked in the closing stages.

Craig Marquis: Almost went bust with his planned aggressive strategy, but got lucky on a critical hand. Will be coached by friends Tom Dwan and David Benefield who are both online pros.

Scott Montgomery: A former teacher in Japan, he has been a pro for 5 years, and likes to avoid the spotlight.

Dennis Phillips: Chip leader, had all the stars sign his hat, now he is at the final table and not them.

David “Chino” Rheem: The most established pro at the final table. A final table finisher at the mixed Holdem event and a bracelet event runner up in 06.

Ylon Schwartz: Used to play chess for a living on the streets of New York, was introduced to poker 8 years ago and turned 200 into $12, 000.

Darus Suharto: An accountant by trade, he admits he is an amateur and uses a mathematical playing style.

C Stud Jackpot and Bounty Grandmaster Master

2008-07-21T21:35:00.000-07:00

Once again the Caribbean 20c jackpot has gone off at Carbon Poker. This time the lucky winner: froliche1, one of our $100 freeroll winners. After a 835 games of Caribbean stud, froliche1 got lucky picking up a royal flush when the dealer qualified with AK. He picked up a nice $204 win of the hand and a bonus $21,819 off the jackpot. Congratulations froliche1.

It’s that time of month again where the Bounty Grandmaster winner steps forward to claim their title, accolade and winnings. This month’s Bounty Grandmaster is football8c, who made 1836 points to claim victory and $250 in cash winnings. The next months has already started with some fierce competition. Start playing the listed bounty games to earn points and push your name up the leader board.

Royal Flush Bonus

2008-07-20T16:55:00.000-07:00

Carbon Poker has many extra little bonuses included in the gameplay, such as the Bad Beat jackpot and the Royal Flush Bonus. From time to time, a player scores a lucky hand and wins a load of extra cash. The latest to do so was hakangsl, who laid down a royal flush on one of our $5/$10
tables over the weekend. Not only did hakangsl pick up a $2,087 pot busting his opponents two pair, he also scored the royal flush bonus of 100 times the big blind - $1,000.
Congratualtions

Also while I'm on the topic of bonuses, the bad beat is currently at a whopping $184, 858 and counting fast. To be in for this jackpot simply make sure you play the listed bad beat tables.

Carbon Poker Race Day

2008-07-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the entire Carbon Poker team abandoned the inner city office, where we nest in search of some much needed R&R. Our search lead us to an out of the way racing track and some high powered go karts at our disposal. Let the carnage ensue…

Highlights of the day were -
StaffDean smashed in several 23 second laps to take out the fastest lap times and win the final grand prix showdown.
StaffDoug - putting around the track at an estimated 134560 km slower than his fellow racers, belching intoxicating black smoke the entire time. Though he still managed to complete 3 times as many laps as StaffPikey.
StaffDarryl - trying to cut in on a fellow racer on the straight, but somehow ended up play chicken with a mountain of tyres. It did not end well for him.
PartyMarty – While he didn’t do too much damage on the track, he owned the after party, necking a multi colored lineup of drinks including his favorite…Sambucca and milk???

Today, fortunately for you, it’s back to the office for us and working on your favorite poker site. Hopefully your already enjoying the new look site, and there is still plenty of new features to come. Such as a brand new player admin, a player hall of fame, and loads of new content.

November Nine!

2008-07-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

After 7 days of continuous play poker’s most coveted final table was set for 2008.
The final 9 beat out 6835 punters, pros and amateurs to take a seat on November 9, at the Main Event final table, and chase the most prestigious title in the poker world – the WSOP Main Event Bracelet.

Over the last two days the big name pros all dropped from the field leaving Dennis Phillips, a salesman in the lead, with over 26 million in chips. This year’s event structure differs to previous years with the final table being played out several months later in November. There has been much discussion regarding this as it allows for the final players to analyse and research their opponent’s game, which is both a good and a bad thing. From my perspective – the viewer, I just think it will make for some damn exciting poker action. The final table is listed below with their chip counts.

Seat 1: Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Seat 2: Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Seat 3: Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Seat 4: Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Seat 5: Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
Seat 6: Chino Rheem - 10,230,000
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Seat 8: Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Seat 9: Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000

Carbon Players at the WSOP

2008-07-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

Finally the news is starting to trickle in. Carbon player FoxyUK despite busting out of the WSOP main event on the first level on day one is killing it over at the Bellagio in the WPT.

Currently he is placed 4th in the chip count for day 1a of the Bellagio Cup IV – a $1.6 million first place event. Best of luck

Another Carbon Poker notable – bullitpete also busted out of the Main Event on day 1. bullitpete ran into some tough luck after laying down a set of queens against Theo Tran on a probable straight draw. Luck miss struck again when he was pushed all in with trip sixes against a limp in 5-7 who managed to pull a straight. Unlucky indeed

Also pro Mike Masutow just got eliminated in 30th place on a hand that will hurt for a long time to come. The run down - big raises preflop - AA5, check check, turn - 9, 500k bet by Masutow, all in by Snead, Call. Masutow shows AJ, Snead: A9. Damn.

Day 5 Explodes

2008-07-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

Day 6 at the WSOP Main Event, and there are only 44 players left remaining. The poker brat Phil Hellmuth lived up to his well earned reputation with an entertaining blow up at the end of day 5.

Dragomir led off with an 80,000 raise, prompting Hellmuth to up it to 255,000. Dragomir called and 9c 10c 7s flopped on the table. Hellmuth checked to Dragomir who then smashed in with a 300,000 bet. Hellmuth unhappily folded As Kh face up. Matusow also at the table laughed then told Dragomir to show the bluff. 10d 4d falls on the table as Dragomir obliges, and Hellmuths fuse burns down.

Jumping out of his seat and walking around dishing out a verbal lashing Hellmuth’s tirade included calling Dragomir both an idiot and the worst player in history. Ouch. The crowd roared on with approval. Eventually Hellmuth was issued with a warning witch became a one orbit penalty at the start of day 6.

As Mike Masatow said Thank God for Phil Hellmuth! Thank God for Chris Moneymaker!" What a way to end the day!

If you love or hate pokers brat Phil Hellmuth, you have to check out this site.

http://www.beatthebrat.com/

Table Lessons

2008-07-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

I will be honest; 12 months ago my poker experience totaled a few friendly cash games, the number I could keep track of easily using my fingers. 9 months ago I’d lost count of the games and my winnings, and 6 months ago I found myself thrust through the door and halfway down the main hall of the online poker house. The passive buzz of tournaments and unfamiliar game types echoes from the passing rooms. Razz, Stud, Omaha...my first thought: it seems like all card games have strange names. Poker is more than just a game for many players; some would say it is a way of life. After reading an article on how US Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s poker skills will help him in office, it lead me to thinking; are the skills we learn at the table, applicable and relevant to the lives we lead. How can our new found skill sets improve the quality of other areas of our life. What follows are a few brief thoughts on the matter.

I sit down at the table, weathering the probing glances and stares from the other players. Their eyes slowly seeking information to answer the question now flashing through their minds – am I any good. Poker is played in two simple ways; you either play the cards, or the player, or both. The attention to detail my opponents exude tells more about them than they are getting from me, I'm like stone, before the first cards are dealt I’ve already put the score at - Me 1 Them 0. Truth is everything we do and say, every action we undertake and display tells the world around us everything about us. Poker just fine tunes our perception to such tells. A nervous glance, a hand over the mouth, a hint of a smile, if you displayed such attention to detail to the women in your life, do you think your success rate with them would change? Leaves me wondering if Daniel Negreanu is a master of poker and women

Blinds are collected, cards are dealt, the betting begins; 4 folds, 1 call, then I call followed another fold and another call. Flip Flip Flip, the flop falls to mixed reactions. To play poker successfully, we tend to put up fronts, cool and calm images of ourselves while our head races nervously inside. Check. Mostly the confidence is fake, and when it is real, it’s still set behind the same disguising veil. I check as well. The lesson on offer - If you’re shitting your self, then the other guy probably is too. A bet, a fold, I raise. So bluff, confidence is just an act. Be it in Texas Holdem or life, if you go all in, balls to the wall, chances are the other person will fold. Well usually. He calls and the turn falls.

Free online poker is a perfect platform to practice and learn poker skills, but the problem with practice in the practice arenas is not the same as the real thing. We both check and see the river. It’s like becoming a martial arts expert without ever actually having a proper fight. Practice helps, but the stakes are not the same; it’s not the real experience. I check, he raises. So stop testing the waters forever, it’s already at perfect temperature. Start playing for real. Now. Put your money where your mouth is comes to mind, but seriously, tell me that doesn’t relate to your life…All in.

Poker News Update

2008-07-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

The 39th annual World Series of Poker like last year smashed previous records. Just under 60,000 turned out for a total prize pool of $180.6 million. 118 nationalities showed up this year for the worlds largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event. Day 2 currently continues and will see more players dropped from the field.

In other poker news, US presidential candidate is winning support from poker players over the legal situation of online gambling in the US. Doyle Brunson and a few other pros speak out in support of Obama’s position to regulate online gambling rather than criminalize it. Obama is a skilled Holdem and seven-card stud player and McCain is also an avid gambler, his game of choice: craps. Check out the article here

Carbon Poker's Josekk at the WSOP

2008-07-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Back in January we held a Choose Your Own Seat Tournament. A unique type of event where the winner can choose which tournament they will win a seat to. Josekk managed to win that tournament and 7 months later was getting of to Vegas for the WSOP main event.

Unfortunately Josekk didn't manage through day 1, busting out 50 minutes before the close of play. Some tough beats - pocket aces and kings getting trumped,and a dry run of cards
didn't put much luck in Josekk's favor. However he did manage to play some marginal hands well to last out past the first break and earn some kudos from fellow players. Josekk, although busting out early, has reported that it was a great experience, and would certainly play again given the chance. Congratulations on making it there Josekk and I hope you do get that chance. You can all check out Josekk living the dream in the pic just above.

We are the champions

2008-07-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

The finale to the Summer Champs series of events – the Tournament of Champions finally played out over the weekend. This event saw two unique features – varied starting chip stacks based upon leader board rankings, and a continually changing animated table design. Surprisingly only 231 of the 250 players turned up to compete for the $15,000 jackpot prize pool.

1^st place winner took in over 4,000 in cash winnings, and a cool new player accolade. Congratulations 420smoke. Congratulations also to JamesScou, the final two players went hard at it for a grueling 130 hands until Scou, chasing an inside straight from the flop, bet hard, only to be raised by smoke with two pair, Scou then forced all in. The turn saw another ten and a full house for Smoke.

Well done to all players who won cash in the tournament. If you have any comments of feedback about the unique chip stacks or the snazzy animated table, feel free to send me your thoughts - Jason@carbonpoker.com

Main Event Update

2008-07-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

The World Series of Poker Main Event has certainly brought out the best and most interesting the poker world has to offer. Poker legend Phil Hellmuth made his typical flamboyant entrance, cavaliering in military style with a jeep and US army uniform (coincidently dressed as an 11-star general with a posse of 11 stunning ladies). This years WSOP is not surprisingly the largest in history with regards to prize money and number of players, however the Main Event is still smaller than 2006's.

Some updates on the progress:

- The main event has completed four day 1 rounds so far, and busted plenty of pokers best.
- Currently the leader board chip stacks range from over $100,000 to around $3,000

Several professional athletes joined the field including golfer Paul Azinger, pitcher David Wells and UFC hard ass Chuck Liddell, who sat opposite Doyle Brunson at the ESPN feature table.

More updates on the WSOP main event soon.

All Hail The Champs...

2008-07-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

The Summer Champions Series of Tournaments saw an online poker first; unique starting chip stacks. This is wickedly cool (particularly for Makiman77) for several reasons as it rewards you for your good play and placings in the previous events, and gives you a comparative advantage come the final tournament. The starting stacks have been finalized and range from over 6000 to around 1200

Another wicked cool online poker first that the Tournament of Champions will introduce; an animated flash table. All month long you’ve been playing on the same old sandy beach table, and probably got bored of it. So we locked our designer away in a stingy little cell with only some coolaid and soggy bread for sustenance til he came up with a flash new table. This table will change over the course of the entire game, ending in a completely different final table.

For all of you who made the final 250, your player accounts have been credited with the coupons for the Tournament of Champions, and you can view you starting chip stacks here.

Check out the sped up version

WSOP Main Event Countdown

2008-07-02T23:19:00.000-07:00

Weeks and days have gone and it’s now done to counting the hours till the annual WSOP Main Event kicks off. In case you didn’t know the Main Event pretty much determines who the world poker champion is for that year. More than several thousand players are expected to fork out the required $10,000 buy in and hit the felt.

Event #50 and #51 saw completion in the last several days, with some epic final tables. #50 was a mixed nationality affair, and #51 saw Phil Hellmuth, miss out on a record 12th bracelet he placed 3rd with the bracelet going to James Schaaf. #53, the final tournament before the Main Event, saw a rushed schedule in order to finish up in time. The first round of action saw the field drop from 832 down to 90. 75 players remain for a chance at the top prize of over $275, 000.

The main event is sure to televised, so if you have cable, tune into ESPN and catch some of the worlds best poker action.

Summer Champs to Summer Wind...But Diamonds Are Forever...

2008-06-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

Shirley Bassey once chimed...
'Diamonds are forever...
They are all I need to please me...
They can stimulate and tease me...'

Now I know it's hard to believe, but she was actually singing about our Diamonds are Forever promotion, and if by the odd chance she wasn't...well it fits anyways so we stole it. This month's promo is based upon the comp points you earn when playing real money games. It's incredibly simple - earn comp points, reach the set increments, win cash and prizes. You can check your player admin, or here for more details

Summer Champs has gone with the wind today, with the final event finishing. The charity event managed to raise $440 for charity, which will go whichever charity the winner - Allnuts chooses. Nice Job Allnuts. Furthermore the leader board has been finalized, best of luck in the Tournament of Champions to all who made the cut.

Beginners Luck?

2008-06-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

A few days ago fishboatace signed up with Carbon Poker and deposited a small amount of cash into his player account. A few days later, he won over $25k in the Caribbean 20c Jackpot. Congratulations fishboat, enjoy your winnings.

This is the 4th time that Caribbean Stud has paid out a jackpot of $20, 000 or more in the last three months. If your playing C-Stud, make sure you click the 20c Jackpot check box!

Im off to play C-Stud...laters

Main Event

2008-06-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

Today, Summer Champs Tournaments reached a new level - #32 Main Event Championship $20, 000 guaranteed. The massive guaranteed prize pool saw over $10,000 shared amongst the top three place getters.

The big cash on offer brought out the numbers, with over 322 players registering. 5 grueling hours of play later saw one emerge from the field victorious and $5, 200 richer. That lucky player: ryocityhunter. Congratulations also must go to wuifal and cowboysquirrel1987, the other two place getters.

The main event also brought a 3.5 leader board ranking which managed to upset the top few places. Shomy21 and DeeWah, who have long held the top two places now, fill the 3rd and 5th seats respectively. Another congratulations to CowboySquirrel1987 and also to Makiman77 on taking the two prime seats.

This main event sees all the Summer Champs Tournaments concluded, with only the Tournament of Champions finale still to take place. Well done to all players who made the top 250, and to all those who didn’t make the cut, I really hope you had a blast.

We have an exciting new promotion coming very shortly, so stay tuned…

Summer Champs Staff Event

2008-06-26T23:12:00.000-07:00

This afternoon saw the most important event in the Summer Champs Calendar.
The Staff Summer Champs No Limit Holdem Event. Why was this the most important? Because I got to play, without having to pay. Cue overwhelming amounts of jealousy now.

The game started out slow, with only the usual inter-office insults keeping things interesting. However, as the afternoon wore on, and the end of the day was near. Things got crazy. Real crazy. Some ridiculous play by one 'Staffluke' saw almost every hand in the final table unveil another all in. Chip stacks were swapping hands at an almost stupid pace.

Unlike all of you lucky punters, the first three places won chip sets and some carbon poker merch, not mounds of cash. Congrats Jarad, Liam, and Paulie for taking out the top three places...

The End Is Near...

2008-06-26T16:58:00.001-07:00

The end is near! …even Homer says so...well at least for the Summer Champs Tournaments it is, and Im not really sure what Homer is on about. However, there is only several events remaining before the Tournament of Champions sees the top 250 placed players battle it out for a share of the $15,000 jackpot.

As I sit typing this, I’m also currently watching the early stages of game #28, the one and only RAZZ tournament in the Summer Champs. However, I should be mashing these keys in order to report on games #26 and #27. So here goes…

The top 10 of most events lately have seen the same familiar faces over and over, so it was a pleasant surprise to scroll through the tournament results and discover some new screen names filling out the top seats. That said many of the big Summer Champs names weren’t too far down the list. Congratulations to TexasF0ldem and 420jaz on taking out the top places, each player pocketed over $300 in cash for their efforts.

There is only 5 games remaining in the Summer Champs before the Tournament of Champions finale, so for any of you sitting just out side the 250 mark, now is the time to make your frantic dash for glory..

Best of luck...

Event #25

2008-06-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

Pot Limit Turbo Holdem is traditionally a faster game. Although when there are over 60 rebuys, the game tends to get drawn out a little. The 25th Summer Champs Event saw 179 players register, and a substantial $732 cash prize for first place. Which deservedly went to Susieq081971. Enjoy.

As usual the final few tables were filled with Summer Champs victors, including Makiman77 who placed second, lestage35 who placed third, and casuallies who came in at 9th. Another player, who has been rather prevalent in the Summer Champs tournaments of late; DaduhWeeWah, once again left his mark on the game.

A monster hand saw WeeWah up against straights from liliwin11 (queen high), bushman19 (king high) and JeromeB812 (king high), only to pull through smashing them with a royal flush and bringing about the onset of final table. Nice hand indeed WeeWah.

The GrandMaster cnatspell

2008-06-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while since it has been mentioned on here, but I’m sure it’s not far from a lot of player’s minds. I’m talking about the Bounty Grandmaster Promo. The promotion that rewards you for good play against tough opponents, and penalizes you for bad play against weak opponents. Based upon the ELO rating system, the Bounty Grandmaster pays monthly cash prizes and satellite coupons to the top 200 players.

This month sees the leader board and winnings as such;

Place Name Points Winnings
1 Cnatspell 1868 $250
2 VIZZZZ 1840 $150
3 therealndwarrior 1826 $100
4 zackelwahn 1826 $50
5 Makiman77 1820 $50
6 wicth24 1818 $25
7 icaica 1813 $25
8 StoGoloSou 1807 $10
9 balbizz974 1775 $10
10 nikki85 1775 $10

Congratulations players, your positions were hard earned. The new months competition is fiercely underway, to check your leader board progress click here and simply click on the leader board tab. Also for further reading, check out the ELO ranking system here (it’s quite an interesting read). Finally, for all you place getters, keep an eye out for your new accolades in your in game player box.

Weekend Summer Heat...

2008-06-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Once again the weekends came and gone, and with it a flurry of poker tournaments. The Summer Champs played out another four events, and is moving on into its final stages. Four more completed tournaments means four more cashed up winners - Rpearson, Tfalbb0, Daduhweewah and ChicoM, who took home just under $2,000 between them. Enjoy guys.

Special mention must go to Daduhweewah for his second summer champs win in only a matter of days, and to shomy21, who once again placed in the final two of a tournament. Not surprisingly between them they take the two prime slots on the summer champs leader board. This will no doubt give them a decisive advantage come the Tournament of Champions with unique starting chip stacks.

The Summer Champs isn't the only poker action pushing along, in Vegas the WSOP continues as well. The total prize money is up to $80 million now, after 40 events. There are several bigger televised tournaments coming out of Vegas over the next few days, if your lucky enough to have pay TV, make sure you tune in and check out the pros hard at it.

Till next time.

Summer Champs Update

2008-06-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome ya’ll to another Summer Champs update. The past few days brought on another Omaha and another Holdem Pot Limit championship event, in addition to the first A-5 Lowball event. Time and tournaments are marching on with almost two thirds of the Summer Champs events seeing completion. What this means for you, is that there is still some time to start playing for a shot at the Tournament of Champions $15,000 jackpot, and that leader board positions are being firmly cemented.

Jimmytheheart1, Cowboysquirrel1987 and DaDuhWeeWah, congratulations on your wins, they were well earned. Also congratulations Cowboy and WeeWah on your leader board position. This will see you with a nice starting chip stack come the Tournament of Champions. You can all easily check your leader board rankings here

The Summer Champs action is undoubtedly going to get fierce come the closing stages of the tournament, with some bigger prize pool Holdem games to add fuel to the poker action fire. So make sure you come join us all for a hand or two, there’s plenty of winnings to share in…

See you all there…