The $300k guaranteed, Super Tuesday may have been slightly down from last week's massive $430k prize pool, but the high stakes weekly tournament still managed to surpass the guarantee by $53k. In spite of the smaller prize pool and the heavy live action playing out at EPT Vilamoura many of Team PokerStars' finest shelled out the $1,050 entry fee to compete for the nearly $70k first-place prize. Alas, the Team was unable to really get things going this Tuesday. And even though three PokerStars Pros managed to make it past the money bubble, Gualter Salles (40th for $2,118), Christophe De Meulder (32nd for $2,294.50) and Pierre Neuville (23rd for $2,647.50), when the final 18 players started to play down to nine there was not a red spade to be found. However, even without PokerStars Team Pro representation the final table bubble was no less exciting.

Super Repeat?

Nothing like a big buy-in online tournament to bring out the internet sharp shooters. Approaching the Super Tuesday final table, the sharks were definitely mulling about the virtual felt. There was Chris "SLOPPYKLOD" Klodnicki, a former Super Tuesday winner with more than $3 million in combined live and online tournament winning, Chad "lilholdem954" Batista, another former Super Tuesday champion who has taken down 16 major titles since 2006, and online young gun Mike "munchenHB" Telker. There were former Sunday Warm-Up champions, Sunday Million final tablists and, of course, Super Tuesday regulars. And then there was Roberts34...

This week's $1,050 Super Tuesday tournament attracted 430 players, creating a prize pool of $430,000, with 54 players finishing in the money. Unfortunately for followers of Team PokerStars PRO, only one member made the money, as Chad Brown finished in 41st place, earning $2.365.00.

JBlaze20 extinguishes LFMagic on bubble

The final hand at the final table bubble saw LFMagic, down to just 28,047 chips after their AK was no good against paulgees81's QQ. LFMagic was in the big blind with [qc][6s] as JBlaze20 min-raised with [ks][4s]. LFMagic got the rest of their chips in pre-flop hoping to outflop JBlaze20. The [Ac][7d][5h] helped neither player, but when the [kd] hit the turn, LFMagic was drawing dead as the [9c] appeared on the river. LFMagic earned $5,590 for the 10th place finish as the final table was set. Here's how they were seated at table 16 with blinds at 1,800/3,600 and a 400 chip ante:

Seat 1: arbianight (323,585 in chips)
Seat 2: 99NvrLosez (125,213 in chips)
Seat 3: JBlaze20 (160,107 in chips)
Seat 4: aprilsfool (138,200 in chips)
Seat 5: highlite11 (87,244 in chips)
Seat 6: paulgees81 (334,320 in chips)
Seat 7: Roberts34 (180,424 in chips)
Seat 8: intervntion (348,914 in chips)
Seat 9: purestrogen (451,993 in chips)

A short stay for arbianight

The final table's first elimination happened after over 35 hands of play. The blinds were now 2,000/4,000 with an ante of 500 when intervntion min-raised from the button to 8,000. This was followed by a re-raise by purestrogen from the small blind to 32,000, then a shove from the big blind by arbianight for 120,980. After intervntion folded, purestrogen called with [ad][kd], dominating arbianight's [as][qc]. The board would run out [8d] [5s] [6s] [8c] [7c], for a 9th place finish for arbianight, good for $7,138.

aprilsfool deals a loss to 99NvrLosez

The second elimination at the final table took place over 30 hands later, with blinds now at 2,400/4,800 with a 600 ante. Action folded around to 99NvrLosez on the button, who raised to 9,800. After a fold by JBlaze20, aprilsfool re-raised to 28,776 from the big blind. 99NvrLosez then 4-bet to a total of 79,000. That was followed by a 5-bet shove by aprilsfool to 221,340, with 99NfrLosez called for their remaining 130,217 in chips. When the cards were revealed, aprilfools' [ah][kc] dominated 99NvrLosez' [ad][jc]. The flop came down [5s][td][kd], The [ts] turn and [5c] river were no good for 99NvrLosez, finishing in 8th place for $9,675.

intervntion puts out JBlaze20's fire

Final table action continued for over 40 hands before the next player hit the virtual rail. With blinds now up to 3,200/6,400 with an ante of 800, JBlaze20 was now the short stack with just 97,644 in chips while in the big blind. From the button, intervntion made it 13,000 and JBlaze20 put the rest of their chips in with [ad][4h]. Meanwhile, intervntion instantly called, holding [ks][kc]. The [3c] [Jd] [Qh] flop gave JBlaze20 little hope, while the [kh] on the turn improved the situation slightly. However, the gutshot would not materialize as the [5s] appeared on the river. JBlaze20 would have to settle for 7th place winnings of $13,975.

Highlite11 turned off by Paulgees81

The deep-stacked play continued with another long stretch of hands before another player made their exit. The blinds were now at 3,600/7,200 with the ante at 900 when highlite11 open shoved for their last 88,443 with [as][6s]. Next to act, paulgees81 re-raised all-in as the remaining players folded, holding [9h][9c]. The [2d] [4h] [Jd] flop, followed by the [9d] turn had highlite11 drawing dead. The [ad] on the river was too late to save highlite11, sent to the rail in 6th place for $18,275.

Aces no good for purestrogen, sent away in 5th

With play five-handed, purestrogen had taken a slight chip lead, but a few hands after doubling up short-stacked Roberts34, purestrogen was the next to run out of chips. Blinds were now at 4,000/8,000 with the ante at 1,000 when purestrogen raised to [ac][ad] under the gun, purestrogen raised to 24,000. From the small blind, Roberts34 raised to 72,222 with [9s][9h] and purestrogen made the call. When the flop was [3h] [6c] [9c] as Roberts34 check-called a bet of 80,000. Roberts34 was more than willing to call purestrogen's shove for their remaining 173,656 chips when the [js], came on the turn, leaving purestrogen drawing to the two remaining aces. The [8s] on the river was no good, as purestrogen departed from the table with 5th place winnings of $24,080.

Paulgees81 makes a fool of aprilsfool
The next player to see their hopes of winning the Super Tuesday dashed took place as aprilsfool and paulgees81, the two short stacks, were tangled in a blind v blind battle. From the small blind, aprilsfool raised to 19,991 followed by a raise from paulgees81 from the big blind to 42,888. Aprilsfool then went all in for 318,114 total as paulgees81 snapcalled with [kh][kc], while aprilsfool revealed [kd][js]. The board ran out low cards: [3s][8c][9h][9c][8d], sending aprilsfool to virtually collect $34,400 for 4th place.

Let's chop it up
With play three-handed, the chip stacks of the remaining players were nearly equal:

roberts34 728,379
intervntion 716,810
paulgees81 704,811

The three quickly decided to chop up the remaining prize money, each receiving $61,980.67 with the winner pocketing an additional $3,000.

Roberts34 outlasts his rivals
After the deal was agreed, and with play lasting over nine hours, one figured that the tournament would end in a few hands of all-in action. Each player would hold the chip lead three handed, as paulgees81 moved over the 1,000,000 chip barrier. That wouldn't last long after Roberts34 doubled through with QQ v AQ in an over 1,400,000 chip pot.

A few hands later, the rest of paulgees81's chips went in with [kd][8d] against intervntion's [jc][5h], only for the flop to come [9d][3s][jh]. The turn and river didn't change the winner of the hand, coming down [6h][3d], as paulgees81 collected the $61,980.67 from the earlier deal. After a few hands of heads-up play with the stacks within 1,000 chips of each other, intervntion and Roberts34 decided to move in blind. Roberts34 held [9h][2h] while intervntion held [8s][8c], As the five cards were dealt, Roberts34 moved into the lead on the [9s][3c][7s] flop. The [9c] turn and [Jh] river left intervntion with just 1,000 chips, less than an ante. After winning the next hand, the chips were in again with Roberts34 holding [5d][2c] against intervntion's [8c][4d]. The flop was kind to Roberts34: [2s][9s][2h] and when the [td] came on the turn, the tournament was over. The river was an irrelevant [7c], with intervntion seeing $61,980.67 more appear in the PokerStars cashier window, while Roberts34 earned $64,980.67 for winning this week's Super Tuesday.

Super Tuesday Results for August 24, 2010
*1st: Roberts34 (St. Louis) - $64,980.67
*2nd: intervntion (Kolkatta) - $61,980.67
*3rd: paulgees81 (turnersville) - $61,980.67
4th: aprilsfool (Southlake) - $34,400.00
5th: purestrogen (williamsburg) - $24,080.00
6th: highlite11 (Warsaw) - $18,275.00
7th: JBlaze20 (New York) - $13,975.00
8th: 99NvrLosez (Maywood) - $9,675.00
9th: arbianight (Laguna Hills) - $7,138.00

* Reflects a three-way deal as they chopped the remaining prize money with $3,000 going to winner.

Sometimes victory is just out of reach.

Well, this Tuesday, in the prestigious $1,000+50 buy-in Super Tuesday, Team PokerStars as a whole came agonizingly close to the payoff Promiseland, only to go home empty handed. Team Canada pro Pat Pezzin came the closest to grabbing a share of the $366k prize pool, only to exit three spots from the money in 48th.

Even without a Team PokerStars contingent, those players lucky enough to navigate the 366 person field to the money represented an impressive cross section of professional poker. Among those fighting it out when play wound down to the final table bubble was a WSOP bracelet winner, an EPT champion and a former WCOOP Main Event final tablist. Rest assured, one thing was for certain as the tournament played to a final nine, the poker would be excellent.

The Online Grind

Although well represented in the final two tables, notable online tournament grinders found the going rough as we approached the final nine. Prolific online pros chapmoney and makavelyces bowed out in 13th ($4,575) and 12th ($5,490) respectively, and then were followed quickly out the door by supernova hasankiki in 11th ($5,490).

After this quick succession of big name eliminations the tournament finally had its bubble boy, brendon1717, a player with over $600k in online and live tournament winning in his own right. Under the gun, Al K. Holick doubles the blinds to 7,200. Play then folds around to brendon1717 in the big blind who moves all-in for his last 44k. Al K. Holick makes the call and reveals [Ad] [Qh], which is ahead of brendon1717's [Kd] [10d]. The flop pairs Al K. Holick, falling [Qs] [6s] [9c], and left brendon1717 drawing slim to a king or some sort of runner straight. The [9d] on the turn pushed brendon1717 closer to the door, with the [6d] sending the online pro home in tenth, good for $5,490.

With the final table now set, the remaining nine players reconvened at table 21 to battle it out for the Super Tuesday title and the over $70k first place prize. Former WCOOP Main Event final tablist Fischer80 led the charge to the final table with 428,317 in chips, while engelberth.v entered the last table on the short stack with just 27,215 . Blinds were 1,800/3,600 with a 450 ante when play resumed. Here is a look at how the final table began:

Seat 1: Fischer80 (428317 in chips)
Seat 2: Sphinx87 (242170 in chips)
Seat 3: Al K. Holick (390564 in chips)
Seat 4: JohnnyBax (77166 in chips)
Seat 5: JohnnyBelow (53805 in chips)
Seat 6: OBAMA_MCCAIN (173914 in chips)
Seat 7: Monk532 (231404 in chips)
Seat 8: engelberth.v (27215 in chips)
Seat 9: antesvante (205445 in chips)

PokerStars' Super Tuesday drew a field of 424 players paying $1,050, to easily top the $300,000 guarantee, creating a $424,000 prize pool paid out to the final 54 players. Tonight's winner would take down $81,365.60 for first place.

Unfortunately for Team PokerStars PRO, their hopes of getting a piece of the prize pool were dashed quickly as none of the players made the money. The highest placed Team PokerStars member was Argentina's Veronica "Princesa" Dabul, finishing 94th.

Bax stacked on final table bubble

After a couple of orbits of hand-for-hand play, it would be Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy who would just miss the final table. With the blinds at 2,000/4,000 and a 500 ante, DrunkPPlaya made a raise to 10,000 from the button with [ah][jd]. From the big blind, JohnnyBax moved in for his last 72,109 with [7d][4d]. DrunkPPlaya called, and after the board ran out [3h] [Kh] [Qc] [9c] [8s] as DrunkPPlaya's Ace-high held up, knocking out JohnnyBax at the final table bubble, earning $5,512 for his efforts. That created a final table that was seated as follows:

Seat 1: 1$ickDisea$E (230319 in chips)
Seat 2: eMarkM (651299 in chips)
Seat 3: tralaira (173832 in chips)
Seat 4: nadalon (309251 in chips)
Seat 5: DrunkPPlaya (172749 in chips)
Seat 6: Roxx Box (145934 in chips)
Seat 7: xthesteinx (49017 in chips)
Seat 8: squatbody53 (229972 in chips)
Seat 9: domino020 (157627 in chips)

Back to back eliminations, part 1

The blinds had moved up to 2400/4800 with a 600 ante when squatbody53 opened with a raise to 11,900 with domino020 and eMarkM both calling. The flop came down [2s] [Qd] [Jd], after eMarkM checked, squatbody53 bet 23,500. Domino020 then raised to 58,855 and after eMarkM folded, squatbody53 moved in for an additional 123,580 in chips. Domino020 snapcalled, turning over [2h][2d] for bottom set, while squatbody53 revealed [ad][qs] for top-top. The turn brought the [js] giving domino020 a full house, but giving squatbody53 four outs for a higher full house. However, the river brought the [4d], sending squatbody53 to the virtual rail in 9th place, good for $7,038.40.

On the very next hand, xthesteinx moved in from middle position for their last 35,617, with 1$ickDisea$E making the call. From the small blind, tralaira shoved for 146,322 total, leaving 1$ickDisea$e to a decision before eventually deciding to fold. xthesteinx only had [ks][3s] while tralaira had the goods with [kd][kc]. The board was [Th] [Jd] [7s] [7h] [8c], as xthesteinx closed the table, recording an 8th place finish for $9,540.00.

Back to back eliminations, part 2

The blinds had climbed to 3,200/6,400 with an 800 ante when the next two eliminations took place. In the first elimination, nadalon made a min-raise to 12,800 with 1$ickDisea$e calling from the big blind. The flop was [7c][9d] [Js], when 1$ickDisea$e check-raised to 34,567, followed by nadalon's shove for 123,222. Nadalon had [ah][jc] for top-top, but 1$ickDisea$e had the overpair: [ks][kd]. Nadalon's hand didn't improve as the turn was the [3d] and the river was the [qs], the cashier's window now including the $13,780.00 7th place money.

On the next hand (again), domino020, now chip leader after doubling through eMarkM after making a bigger full house on the river, would dispatch eMarkM in 6th place. Domino020 made a min-raise from the button with [ah][kh] from the button, calling eMarkm's shove with [qs][ts]. eMarkm was unable to improve their hand, while Domino020 got an unnecessary ace on the river as the board came down [7c] [4c] [2d] [Jc] [As], leaving eMarkM an additional $18,020 for more tournaments on PokerStars. In the meantime, domino020 had the chip lead with 1,133,425 in chips five-handed.

Back to back eliminations, part 3
A few hands later, the pattern of back to back eliminations appeared yet again. In a blind v blind confrontation, DrunkPPlaya moved in from the small blind for 75,527 with [ad][8s] as Roxx Box called with a dominated [As][7s]. The flop was with Roxx Box, hitting their kicker as it came down [7h][6c][ac]. The [2h] turn and [ts] river meant a 5th place finish was DrunkPPlaya's, with $23,744.00 recorded in the tournament results.

On the next hand, tralaira shoved with their last 118,365 from UTG with [ad][jc], with Roxx Box snap calling with [as][kh]. Roxx Box hit the flop again when it came down [Qc] [6d] [Ks] giving tralaira four outs to a gutshot straight draw. The turn and river came down [7s][8s], as tralaira added $33,920.00 to the bankroll, finishing 4th.

Domino020 gets ill from 1$ickDisea$e

As three-handed play began, here's how the chip counts looked:

domino020 1,094,070
1$ickDisea$E 703,807
Roxx Box 322,123

It looked like it would be domination for domino020, but the river would be unkind in two huge pots. Roxx Box would double through domino020 on the river, hitting a set of kings against a flopped two pair to remain in contention. The chip lead would be passed around among the final three as the blinds were now 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 ante. 1$ickDisea$e held the lead in domino020's final hand, which started with a Roxx Box min-raise from UTG to 16,000, followed by 3-bet from domino020 to 49,555. 1$ickDisea$e got into the action with a 4-bet to 138,722. After Roxx Box timed out, domino020 made a 5-bet shove for 401,975 total as 1$ickDisea$e made the call. It was looking good for domino020, holding [9c][9d] while 1$ickDisea$e held [ah][th]. The flop was low: [4d][2c][5c] and the [qd] on the turn meant domino020 had to dodge 10 outs to double up. Unfortunately, the [3h] was one of those outs, giving 1$ickDisea$e a straight, while domino020 was disappointed with the $54,220 for the 3rd place finish.

Roxx Box finishes strong

Heads-up play began with 1$ickDisea$e holding almost 1,300,000 in chips to Roxx Box's 825,000, but Roxx Box would take the lead by making a higher straight on the second hand of heads-up play. The last hand of the tournament started with Roxx Box making a min-raise from the small blind to 16,000 as 1$ickDisea$e re-raised to 44,000 as Roxx Box made the call. The flop was [Qd][8s][Kc] as 1$ickDisea$e check-called a bet of 32,000. The turn was the [6s] as 1$ickDisea$e check-raised Roxx Box's 72,000 bet to 238,000 with Roxx Box making the call. 1$ickDisea$e shoved for their last 618,369 when the [4s] came on the river, trying to represent the flush. Roxx Box made the call, turning over [ks][qh] for a flopped two pair. 1$ickDisea$e only had [ad][8h], having flopped bottom pair, along with no more chips. 1$ickDisea$e's second place was good for a respectable $60,420.00, while Roxx Box got the rungood at the right time, taking the short stack into all the chips, earning $81,365.60.

Super Tuesday Results for 08/10/10:

1st place: Roxx Box (Live Oak) $81,365.60
2nd place: 1$ickDisea$e (Denver) $60,420.00
3rd place: domino020 (Pismo Beach) $44,520.00
4th place: tralaira (Sarria) $33,920.00
5th place: DrunkPPlaya (Sterling Heights) $23,744.00
6th place: eMarkM (schaumburg) $18,020.00
7th place: nadalon (Mexico) $13,780.00
8th place: xthesteinx (Boca Raton) $9,540.00
9th place: squatbody53 (Alexandria) $7,038.40

Another Tuesday, another high stakes online showdown that beat the guarantee, as 348 runners ponied up the hefty $1,050 entry fee to nearly add another $50,000 to the Super Tuesday prize pool. Among the players fighting it out on the virtual felt this Tuesday were some of PokerStars' most popular pros, among them Team USA pro Dennis Phillips and Canadian PokerStars player Pat Pezzin. Unfortunately, only Tae Joon Noh of PokerStars Team Asia managed to maneuver his stack into the final 45 and the money. Noh, however, refused to let his team go quietly into the night and carried the PokerStars flag all the way to...

Bubble Trouble with Noh

Noh, as the last PokerStars Pro, played tough throughout the tournament and was even a top ten stack just after the money bubble broke at 45. However, Noh ran into some trouble once we got down three tables and, after briefly recovering, was unable to improve Pat Pezzin's 16th place finish two weeks ago--no Team pro cashed last week in the Super Tuesday.


Wait, Wait, Not so Fast!

In spite of good chips to start out, over 73 big blinds, Tonimonntana found himself ousted in ninth ($6,090) and was quickly followed by the extremely short stacked dankness3 in eighth ($8,352).

This all occurred during an unfortunate two minute internet failure for yours truly--sorry guys, getting use to the new apartment's internet. Nevertheless, when the dust settled and the blinking light on the modem finally turned back to green fred_vlope was the massive leader, wielding a huge 182 big blind stack of well over 650k. hitthehole had dropped down a bit to 353k and anybodybut17 was now on the short stack at just under 80k.

Hit the Trail

After taking the lead just two hands before off fred_volpe, hitthehole ran into some trouble early in the 2k/4k blind level. fred_volpe raised to 14k under the gun and action was folded to hitthehole in the big blind who re-popped it to 45,500. fred_volpe answered by moving all-in for nearly 486k and was instantly called by hitthehole, leaving him just 46.8k behind. It was a classic race, [Qs] [Qd] for hitthehole and [Ah] [Kd] for fred_volpe. Leading slightly pre-flop, hitthehole's hopes of a big elimination were crushed after a [7c] [Ad] [8h] flop paired up fred_volpe's ace. No miracle on the turn, [3c], or the river, [5d], and the 977k pot was shipped to fred_volpe. Just one hand later hitthehole found himself all-in against GAKingChaser pre-flop. Again hitthehole was ahead with [Ac] [Qd] versus GAKingChaser's [Ad] [7h], but an unkind [7d] on the river spelled the end for hitthehole, who went home with a couple bad beat stories and $11,832 in cash.

Misclick
 
It has been written before that tournament poker is a game of picking the right spots...and also picking the wrong ones. Just two hands after hitthehole's exit in seventh, action is folded around to a severely short stacked balyconeely in the small blind. Holding a 13 big blind stack, balyconeely decides to put anybodybut17 to the test in the big blind by open shoving all-in for a little under 53k. Also sort, anybodybut17 takes little time to make the call and flips over [Ad] [Kc]. balyconeely turns over a lowly [5s] [4c], which, ugly although it may look, was not in desperate shape against anybodybut17's big slick. That is, [5s] [4c] wasn't too far behind until a flop of [Js] [10h] [Ks] crushed balyconeely's chance of a double up. Another king on the turn sealed an anybodybut17 victory and balyconeely's sixth place elimination, with the [Ah] on the river just adding insult to injury. balyconeely takes home $15,312 for his efforts and the table is now down to five.

Back to the Asylum

It would take another 51 hands before the table would see another elimination, and in those half hundred hands not much but the blinds changed. A few big hands had shifted some of fred_volpe's Bastille of chips away, but for the most part the stack positions had remained the same. Blinds at 2.8k/5.6k with a 700 ante, action folded to fred_volpe in the cutoff, who limps in. grrrrrrr333 also limps in on the button, pushing the pot to just over 23k. anybodybut17 gets out of the way in the small blind and insanocut decides to make a stand in the big, shoving his last 107k into the pot. insanocut gets one caller in fred_volpe, who reveals the bad news, [Ah] [Ad] versus insanocut's [7h] [7s]. All drama seemed to be ended on the flop after a [As] [9h] [10h] fell giving fred_volpe top set, but the [6c] on the turn gave insanocut four outs, needing an eight to complete the six to ten straight. Alas for insanocut the [Js] came on the river, eliminating him in fifth place ($19,836).

Million Dollar Fred

With insanocut's elimination, fred_volpe was once again knocking on the million chip door, holding a very impressive 955,215. On the opposite side of things was anybodybut17, who had been fighting on the short stack since the start of the final table and now had to play with a mere 84k in chips.

With only four left and the blinds at 2.8k/5.6k with a 700 ante here are how things looked:

Seat 1: fred_volpe (955215 in chips)
Seat 2: grrrrrrr333 (203088 in chips)
Seat 5: anybodybut17 (84267 in chips)
Seat 7: GAKingChaser (497430 in chips)

Two Weeks, Two Final Table, Just Too Short

anybodybut17 was making his second appearance in as many weeks at the elite Super Tuesday final table. Last week, in an eerily similar storyline, anybodybut17 played the short stack well as he tried to capture the top spot. anybodybut17 was unsuccessful, managing a seventh place finish, good for about $13.6k.

Already having improved on his strong performance last week, anybodybut17 was looking to move up just a little before he met his fateful hand. With just under 50k, anybodybut17 moves all-in on the button and is called by fred_volpe in the big blind. anybodybut17 is behind, although not by much, his [Ah] [5s] being a slight dog to fred_volpe's [2s] [2c]. It's a race, albeit an unusual one, for anybodybut17's tournament life. The flop comes down [6h] [Qc] [4c], no help to anybodybut17. The turn is also dry, [10d], and anybodybut17 is down to needing a five or ace to stay alive. Nope, the [10h] dashes anybodybut17's hopes of a title, sending him home in fourth with $28,710 after another deep run.

Third Place, GRRRRR!

28 hands after anyonebut17's elimination in fourth, we get down to the final two. A short stacked grrrrrrr333 makes it 19.2k to go on the button only to be raised by GAKingChaser to 48,225 in the small blind. fred_volpe makes the call in the big and so does grrrrrrr333. The flop comes down [Jh] [Ah] [7c] and GAKingChaser leads out with a 72,125 bet. fred_volpe folds and grrrrrrr333 decides to move in his last bit of chips for 159,588 total. GAKingChaser makes the call and shows [Ad] [Kc] for top pair, top kicker. grrrrrrr333 is on the draw with [Kh] [9h], needing a heart to make the nut flush. A blank on the turn, [Jc], and the river, [3d], eliminates grrrrrrr333 in third place, good for $38,280.

Let the Marathon Begin

GAKingChaser's elimination of grrrrrrr333 in third evened the stacks up a bit as play moved into the heads-up stage. fred_volpe, as he had been throughout the final table, was the chip leader with 1,032,757 in chips. GAKingChaser was more than 300k behind with 707,243 chips, but with over 110 big blinds was still very comfortable. Blinds were 3.2k/6.4k with a 800 ante as heads-up play began.

And a marathon it became. With nearly 272 big blinds split between them when heads-up play started, action was slow going at first. A few big pots eventually shifted the chip lead over to GAKingChaser, setting up for the final confrontation an amazing 74 hands into heads-up play.

With just over 300k and the blinds at 3.6k/7.2k, fred_volpe raises to 21,600 on the button. GAKingChaser, holding a comfortable 1.4 million chip stack, reraises to 55,650. fred_volpe moves all-in and GAKingChaser makes the call. fred_volpe's hand is pretty, [As] [8s], but is way behind GAKingChaser's dominating [Jd] [Jc]. The flop runs dry for fred_volpe, falling [3h] [6s] [5h], but the turn, the [2c], gives the former chip leader four more outs to a split. However the [10c] comes on the river, giving the title and the $67,338 first place prize to GAKingChaser. fred_volpe comes up just short, but still earns $50,460 for his efforts.

Super Tuesday Results for 08/03/10:

1st place: GAKingChaser (Watkinsville) - $67,338.00
2nd place: fred_volpe (Sao Paulo) - $50,460.00
3rd place: grrrrrrr333 (Ada) - 38,280.00
4th place: anybodybut17 (Charlotte) - $28,710.00
5th place: insanocut (Miramichi) - $19,836.00
6th place: balyconeely (Belgium) - $15,312.00
7th place: hitthehole (Silsden) - $11,832.00
8th place: dankness3 (Bridgehampton) - $8,352.00
9th place: Tonimonntana (Bergenz) - $6,090.00

The final $1,000 + 50 Super Tuesday of July on PokerStars drew a field of 402 players, creating a $402,000 prize pool This was a slight increase from last week's 384 participants, with the final 45 making the money, with the winner expecting to take down the first prize of $77,787.

A handful of Team PokerStars players participated in the Super Tuesday tournament, however none lasted long enough to make the money. Team PokerStars PRO Veronica "princesa" Dabul was the last member of Team PokerStars with chips, eventually finishing 63rd, two tables short of the money.

The final table bubble was burst on in a hand between chip leader Peetoon and alwaysnice. Peetoon made a raise from UTG +1 to 12,500 as alwaysnice called from the big blind. The flop came down [8d][5c][4d] with alwaysnice check-raising Peetoon's 17,500 bet to 56,000 as Peetoon made the call. The [5h] on the turn had alwaysnice moving in for their final 152,653 with Peetoon making the call with [qh] [qd]. Alwaysnice wasn't feeling so nice, revealing [ad][8s], when the [Jh] came on the river meaning a 10th place finish, good for $6,030. The final table was at table 27 with play resuming at level 30, with blinds at 2,800/5,600 and a 700 ante:

Seat 1: anybodybut17 (102808 in chips)
Seat 2: D0N4LdO (177436 in chips)
Seat 3: thechips55 (97926 in chips)
Seat 4: justcall6969 (282654 in chips)
Seat 5: tonyton55 (84021 in chips)
Seat 6: Peetoon (671915 in chips)
Seat 7: SHIP_IT.NET (148609 in chips)
Seat 8: Altrum Altus (366467 in chips)
Seat 9: foolflash (78164 in chips)

Justcall6969 eliminates two for Tuesday

The final table went just five hands before the first elimination as D0N4LdO 4-bet all-in their last 112k with [9s][9d] with justcall6969 calling with [Ad][Kh]. The [Jc] [As] [Th} flop moved justcall6969 into the lead. D0N4ldO was unable to retake the lead as the turn and river went [2c][8c], earning $7,035 for a ninth place finish. A few hands later, justcall6969 added to their stack by calling thechips55's UTG shove with [Kc][Qc] with[As][Qd]. The board ran out [8d] [6s] [4d] [4h] [4c], leaving thechips55 without chips, collecting $9,648 for an eighth place finish.

Three-way all-in, anybodybut17 sent packing

Play had moved to level 31 with blinds at 3200/6400 with an 800 ante as the action at the Super Tuesday final table didn't slow down. as the three shortest stacks -- foolflash, anybodybut17 and tonyton55 put all of their chips in the middle before the flop. Tonyton55 had the other two players covered, as well as having the best hand: [kc][kd] with anybodybut17 holding [qc][qs] and foolflash holding [th][9s]. The [4s] [8d] [8c] flop was good for tonyton55, but the [7d] gave foolflash an open-ended straight draw. The [Jh] on the river moved foolflash from worst to first with a runner-runner straight, as Anybodybut17 was eliminated in seventh place for $13,668.

Peetoon pockets pair of protagonists

Play slowed down as the remaining six players stole blinds and antes for several hands. However, Peetoon would retake the chip lead from justcall6969, first disposing of tonyton55's stack when Peetoon's [7d][7h] held up against [As][Jc] as the board ran out [8h] [4s] [2h] [2s] [4d], leaving tonyton55 with a sixth place finish with $17,688 appearing in their account. On the very next hand with blinds now at 3,600/7,200 with a 900 ante, Peetoon opened with a raise, as foolflash moved in from the big blind for last 129,492 with [Ad][3c]. Peetoon made the call with a dominating [as][8s]. The flop was [9c] [Tc] [8d], the [Qh] gave foolflash hopes for a chop with a Jack, which disappeared when the [4c] appeared on the river instead. Foolflash finished in fifth place, earning $22,914 for the effort.

Altrum Altus sent to rail by Ace
Altrum Altus started the final table second in chips, but the chip stack was moving in the wrong direction when their final hand happened. Altrum Altus made a raise to 14,600 with justcall6969 and Peetoon both calling from the blinds. The flop of [Ts][Qh][4h] had Peetoon bet 24,000, followed by Altrum Altus shoving for 161,458 holding [Ks][Kd]. Justcall6969 folded while Peetoon made the call with [ah][5h]. The call was rewarded when the turn brought the [Ad], with the [3d] river meant Altrum Altus leaving the virtual table in fourth place, cashing for $33,165.

Fortunate five favors SHIP_IT.NET

Play was now three-handed with Peetoon and justcall6969 holding most of the chips, while SHIP_IT.NET was down to just over 100,000 as the players wanted to discuss a deal. It took some time for someone to help with the numbers while play continued. SHIP_IT.NET moved in with [5d][5c] over justcall6969's raise, making the call with [Ac][9c]. The flop of [3s][ad][7d], along with the [2c] turn left few outs available. Fortunately, the river was the [5h] as SHIP_IT.NET doubled up to over 250,000 in chips, still in third, but hoping to make his move.

A deal is made, a tournament is finished

During the :55 minute hourly break, a PokerStars representative appeared at the table to negotiate a deal among the remaining players. Here's how the chip stacks looked, along with the adjusted figures if a deal was made:

Peetoon 877,266 $65,366.70
justcall6969 791,198 $62,615.89
SHIP_IT.NET 341,536 $52,314.40

SHIP_IT.NET stated he would rather have $55,000. Peetoon was reluctant to contribute, while justcall6969 countered to give $1,500. That wasn't enough for SHIP_IT.NET's needs, and after a few minutes, justcall6969 decided to give SHIP_IT.NET the $2,685.60 needed to complete the deal, and all three quickly agreed left to play for TLB points and bragging rights.

The trio played another 25 hands before deciding to end the tournament by going all-in every hand. On the first hand, SHIP_IT.NET won the first hand when his [kh][5d] outflopped Peetoon's [aC] [9h] and justcall6969's [8h][3h] to take the lead. The second hand saw Peetoon turn a straight, eliminating justcall6969 in third for $59,930.30. The final hand of the tournament had SHIP_IT.NET waking up with [jd][jc] while Peetoon held [Ah][3d]. The chance of a double-up didn't happen, with the final five cards dealt being [2h] [5s] [2d] [Kd] [Qd], giving Peetoon the second place finish, but pocketing the most money, $65,366.70. That leaves SHIP_IT.NET with the Super Tuesday victory, good for $55,000.

Super Tuesday Results for 07/27/10:

1st place: SHIP_IT.NET (Norristown) - $55,000.00*
2nd place: Peetoon (Minsk) - $65,366.70*
3rd place: justcall6969 (Woodstock) - $59,930.30*
4th place: Altrum Altus (Sioux City) - $33,165
5th place: foolflash (The Zoo) - $22,914
6th place: tonyton55 (Lansing) - $17,688
7th place: anybodybuy17 (Charlotte) - $13,668
8th place: thechips55 (Penn Valley) - $9,648
9th place: D0N4LdO (Bookham) - $7,035

* Payouts adjusted for 3-way deal.

As of the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, July 18, the World Series of Poker was a wrap. The November Nine group was in place, and the WSOP was officially on hold until November. And the rest of the poker world moved on, as evidenced by a rise in registration numbers in the Sunday tournaments and an increase in the number of entrants for Super Tuesday.

There were 384 competitors who stepped up to the high stakes $1,000 + $30 buy-in tables on Tuesday, July 20, for a crack at the $300K guarantee. But registration actually pushed the Super Tuesday prize pool to $384,000, which was enough to pay the top 45 finishers.

Departing the tables just before the money this week was Team PokerStars Pro Jose "Nacho" Barbero, who left in 51st place. But in the money were two team pros - Tae Joon Noh, who was eliminated in 30th place, and Pat Pezzin, who hung in there until two tables remained but finally exited in 16th place as the last Team PokerStars Pro standing.

The final table approached in solid time despite the larger-than-usual starting field, and it was about 20 minutes in to the seventh hour that the tables were consolidated into one. The hand started with bigpimpin777 making a raise and Nicole_Katz calling from the small blind to see a flop of [Ad][5s][3d]. More chips went in the pot to see the [4h] on the turn, and Nicole_Katz was all-in with [2c][2d] for the straight. Bigpimpin777 called with [As][5c] for the two pair, but it became a full house when the [5h] appeared on the river. Nicole_Katz was gone in tenth place with $5,760.00.

Bigpimpin777 in big lead at final table

And just like that, the final table was set. It was in Level 27, with blinds at 1,800/3,600 and a 450-chip ante that the players got underway with the following chip counts:

Seat 1: badbeatman06 (178,496 in chips)
Seat 2: e1mdopp (193,711 in chips)
Seat 3: guinor (241,469 in chips)
Seat 4: mahoney3 (290,462 in chips)
Seat 5: MrCash2006 (80,125 in chips)
Seat 6: bigpimpin777 (446,259 in chips)
Seat 7: Eat_U_Up_ha (189,989 in chips)
Seat 8: RandALLin (111,011 in chips)
Seat 9: tysonduke23 (188,478 in chips)

Play got underway with a great deal of caution, as the difference between the $74,304 first place prize and $6,720 ninth place prize was, indeed, significant. But eventually, there was an all-in and call that found RandALLin doubling through badbeatman06. Soon after, MrCash2006 did the same, and that hand left badbeatman06 with less than 8K in chips. He was able to achieve a near-triple-up to stay alive.

But the next hand found badbeatman06 all-in again for 22,084 chips with [Ks][9d]. Guinor made the call with [Ac][8s] and saw an amazing [Qh][8c][8h] flop for trip eights. The [7c] on the turn and [Th] on the river ended the misery for badbeatman06, who accepted $6,720.00 for the ninth place finish.

It took more than a half hour for more all-in action, but it was eventually e1mdopp who pushed all-in from the small blind. Original raiser RandALLin made the call with [9h][9d], which dominated the [7d][7s] of e1mdopp. The board was an uneventful [3d][Js][Th][Ad][Qd], and the nines held up to eliminate e1mdopp in eighth place with $9,216.00.

From that point, it was nearly an hour before another big move, and it started when MrCash2006 doubled through Eat_U_Up_ha, leaving the latter with less than 52K in chips. Those went all-in on the next hand, as Eat_U_Up_ha moved with [As][2h], but guinor and bigpimpin777 both called. After the [2d][3s][5d], a bet from guinor prompted a fold from bigpimpin777, at which point guinor showed [Ad][4c] for the flopped straight. The [6c] on the turn only made a better straight, and the [5c] on the river ended the hand...and the tournament for Ear_U_Up_ha, who took home $13,056.00 for the seventh place finish.

Suddenly, players sped up the action. The shortest stack at the table, tysonduke23, pushed all-in with [As][4d], and guinor reraised to isolate, which worked. Guinor showed [Ad][Kc] and inched even further ahead on the [Qd][3d][Ks] flop. The [9s] on the turn and [2s] on the river allowed those kings to hold up, and tysonduke23 was ousted in sixth place with $16,896.00.

Minutes later, it was mahoney3 who got into a preflop raising war with guinor, and mahoney3 committed all of his chips with [As][Ts]. Guinor was there with [Kh][Jh], which was the worst hand of the two until the [5c][7d][Ks] gave him a pair of kings. The [6c] on the turn and [6d] on the river gave guinor two pair and the pot, while mahoney3 departed in fifth place with $21,888.00.

Then the biggest hand of the tournament went down when MrCash2006 moved all-in with 256,689 chips preflop. Original raiser bigpimpin777 made the call with [7s][7h], and MrCash2006 showed [Ad][9d]. The race was on, and the board produced [4c][8h][8s][Ks][5s] to end it, allowing the pocket pair to stand. MrCash2006 exited in fourth place with $31,680.00.

Three-handed play saw RandALLin making some big moves, and his biggest came with the following hand:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Bigpimpin777 was left with little more than 65K in chips, all of which went in on the next hand. Both opponents called, though, and checked through the [5h][6d][Qs] flop and the [8c] turn. The [5c] on the river prompted a bet from guinor and fold from RandALLin, which was when guinor showed [Js][5d] for the trip fives. Bigpimpin777 had only [Th][9d], and he received $42,240.00 for the third place finish.

Big stacks battle heads-up

Seat 3: guinor (1077781 in chips)
Seat 8: RandALLin (842219 in chips)

The two could have drawn out their match for quite some time, but only a few minutes in, RandALLin doubled up with a turned flush versus guinor's turned straight. The pot was worth 1.8 million chips and left guinor on a very short stack. Four hands later, guinor doubled up when Q-6 bested A-K, but that only garnered guinor a 172K pot.

Shortly thereafter, the tournament ended. Guinor pushed all-in again, this time with [Kd][Td], and RandALLin called with [Ac][Tc]. The board came [6h][Jh][3h][Jd][8d], and the ace kicker played, leaving guinor out in second place with $55,680.00.

Randall "RandALLin" Flowers won the Super Tuesday and walked away with $74,304.00 for the accomplishment.

Super Tuesday Results for 07/20/10:

1st place: RandALLin ($74,304.00)
2nd place: guinor ($55,680.00)
3rd place: bigpimpin777 ($42,240.00)
4th place: MrCash2006 ($31,680.00)
5th place: mahoney3 ($21,888.00)
6th place: tysonduke23 ($16,896.00)
7th place: Eat_U_Up_ha ($13,056.00)
8th place: e1mdopp ($9,216.00)
9th place: badbeatman06 ($6,720.00)

With the 2010 World Series of Poker reaching exciting levels in Las Vegas, the coverage was being monitored by poker fans around the world. But most poker players were already back in the comfort of their homes after their Las Vegas summers, checking out the WSOP updates from their laptops. That left but one thing to do: play online poker on PokerStars.

The Super Tuesday was the perfect opportunity to get in on some high-stakes action, as the $1,000 + $50 NLHE tournament offered its weekly $300K guarantee. And that brought the crowds to the virtual felt, as 337 players registered for the event, which created a prize pool of $337,000. The top 45 players were paid from that money, but it was on toward the final table that the last of them went...all looking for that solid five-figure payday.

After a (very) long final table bubble that ran through the seventh hour of the tournament, it was CKOTUHA and The Rabbi75 who got involved to see a [Kc][Ac][3d] board. A bet and call led to the [As] on the turn, at which point TheRabbi 75 bet, CKOTUHA check-raised all-in for 187,592, and The Rabbi75 called all-in with [Ks][Kd]. But CKOTUHA showed [Ad][Td], and the [3c] on the river ended with a full house eliminating The Rabbi75 in tenth place with $5,055.00.

Shampusik looks to wash the players right out of the tournament

In sharp contrast to the quicker pace of the last few weeks, the July 13th Super Tuesday didn't reach its final table until the end of Level 29, with blinds at 2,400/4,800 and a 600 ante. They took their seats at one table with the following starting chip counts:

Seat 1: Allnwithda.. (121,548 in chips)
Seat 2: safehands73 (30,714 in chips)
Seat 3: shampusik (413,585 in chips)
Seat 4: TBONE1987 (69,180 in chips)
Seat 5: BMH v.2.37 (341,667 in chips)
Seat 6: fwilliams007 (121,965 in chips)
Seat 7: dazzy2004 (72,554 in chips)
Seat 8: CKOTUHA (406,377 in chips)
Seat 9: faithless (107,410 in chips)

The second hand produced big action, as short-stacked safehands73 pushed all-in preflop with [8h][8c]. But original raiser dazzy2004 made the call with [Qs][Qc]. The board brought nothing of much significance with [7s][Td][Jh][5d][Jc], and that was all we wrote about safehands73, who departed in ninth place with $5,897.50.

It took more than 20 minutes to see any all-in action, but when it happened, a flurry of bust-outs came within minutes of each other.

The first was when TBONE1987 moved his short stack of 31,150 all-in with [Ac][Js], and faithless called form the small blind with [As][5s]. The flop of [5c][Kc][Td] immediately paired faithless' fives for the lead, and the [7s] turn and [Th] river gave faithless two pair. TBONE1987, on the other hand, left the tournament in eighth place with $8,088.00.

Next was dazzy2004, who had little more than 51K in chips and committed then all-in preflop with [Kc][Qc]. But CKOTUHA called with [Tc][Ts] and the race was on until the flop of [Js][Th][3c] hit CKOTUHA. The [5c] came on the turn, followed by the [8s] on the river, and the razzle-dazzle of the Super Tuesday was over for dazzy2004, who took home $11,458.00 for the seventh place finish.

Two hands later, Allnwithda.. opened with an all-in move for 95,963 chips, and shampusik called from the small blind with [Ad][9h]. Allnwithda.. showed [Qs][7d] and was going to need some help. He caught it when the flop came [Ks][7h][5c] for the pair of sevens, and those were good as the [4h] came on the turn. But the [9d] hit on the river, giving shampusik the pair of nines for the pot. And Allnwithda.. was eliminated in sixth place with $14,828.00.

With less than 90K, fwilliams007 took a chance with [Ac][4c] preflop, and his all-in move was met by a call from shampusik holding [9s][9h]. The board blanked with [2h][Ks][3d][6h][Jd], and 2010 SCOOP event winner fwilliams007 was sent away from the table with $19,209.00 for the fifth place finish.

CKOTUHA soars into chip lead

Though CKOTUHA already took the chip lead a number of hands prior, it was the following that put significant distance between CKOTUHA and shampusik:

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Meanwhile, faithless got into a preflop battle with CKOTUHA, and when the latter moved all-in from the big blind, faithless called for 75,220 chips more holding [Ah][Tc]. CKOTUHA, however, showed [As][Kd] and hit the flop when it came [Ks][7s][7h]. The rest of the board, which consisted of the [9c] turn and [6d] river, changed nothing, and faithless was relegated to fourth place with $27,802.00.

A short time later, BMH v.2 37 doubled through shampusik, leaving the latter with less than 40K in chips. The very next hand, shampusik got involved with the other two players to head to a [Ac][Ah][5h] flop. A bet from shampusik received two calls to see the [3h] turn card, at which point, shampusik pushed all-in for his last 1,800 chips. Both players called, and when the [8h] showed up on the turn, BMH v.2 37 bet and CKOTUHA folded. Shampusik showed [8c][7d] for two pair, but BMH v.2 37 turned over [Kh][3s] for the nut flush, eliminating shampusik in third place with $37,070.00.

A fight to the finish

The last two players took their places for battle about 15 minutes into the tournament's ninth hour with chip counts as follows:

Seat 5: BMH v.2.37 (563361 in chips)
Seat 8: CKOTUHA (1121639 in chips)

For more than 30 minutes, BMH v.2 37 held his own and stayed aggressive, and he stayed alive with several pots that kept him at only a two-to-one chip deficit. But eventually, it was going to take a solid move to change the match altogether.

BMH v.2 37 attempted it after a series of preflop raises that led to moving all-in with [8s][7s]. It just so happened that CKOTUHA woke up with [Kc][Kh]. The board provided cards in the form of [2s][Qd][3d][Qh][5s], and that only gave CKOTUHA two pair. BMH v.2 37 was eliminated in second place, which was good for a $48,865.00 payday.

CKOTUHA won the July 13 Super Tuesday and walked away with $65,209.50 for the accomplishment.

Super Tuesday Results for 07/13/10:

1st place: CKOTUHA ($65,209.50)
2nd place: BMH v.2 37 ($48,865.00)
3rd place: shampusik ($37,070.00)
4th place: faithless ($27,802.00)
5th place: fwilliams007 ($19,209.00)
6th place: Allnwithda.. ($14,828.00)
7th place: dazzy2004 ($11,458.00)
8th place: TBONE1987 ($8,088.00)
9th place: safehands73 ($5,897.50)

The first Tuesday in July found many poker players winding down from a big holiday weekend in the United States and gearing up for - or already playing in - a little poker tournament going on in Las Vegas called the World Series of Poker Main Event. But for dedicated online poker players, the only place to be on a Tuesday evening in the middle of the summer was in front of a warm laptop.

This week's big $1000 + $50 Super Tuesday brought 279 players to the virtual tables, and with a little help from PokerStars, the prize pool was a cool $300,000. Deep into the event, the top 36 players found themselves in the money, rewarded for their efforts of the night. One of those in that category was Team PokerStars Online Pro Alvaro "VARICO" Ballesteros, who finished in sixth place in last week's Super Tuesday and followed it up with a solid 30th place cash this week.

The rest of the field thinned more quickly than usual, with hand-for-hand play on tap at the 6.5-hour mark of the tournament. The shortest stack at Table 18 belonged to Illini213, who got involved with JohnnyBax and sirflair through a [2h]-[4c]-[Kh] flop, at which point JohnnyBax bowed out. After the [5d] on the turn, Illini213 challenged pushed all-in with [Ah][5s], and sirflair called with [Kd][4h]. The [Ts] on the river ended Illini213's run with $4,800 for the tenth place finish.

Wfhk barely grasps lead at start of final

In the midst of Level 24, with blinds at 1,200/2,400 and a 300-chip ante, the final nine players found themselves seated at the final table with these chip counts:

Seat 1: Believer82 (138,966 in chips)
Seat 2: graybone (133,049 in chips)
Seat 3: JotaGran49 (74,998 in chips)
Seat 4: sirflair (210,461 in chips)
Seat 5: Dr Homer (244,104 in chips)
Seat 6: 92cata (88,440 in chips)
Seat 7: wfhk (258,705 in chips)
Seat 8: Moorman1 (156,099 in chips)
Seat 9: JohnnyBax (90,178 in chips)

Though wfhk kept the lead for some time heading to the final table, it was sirflair on a roll and pushing his way directly into the lead once nine-handed play started.

It only took a few rounds of play for one of the short stacks to make a move. It happened after Dr Homer, 92cata, Believer82, and graybone went to see a flop of [Ts][Tc][Qd]. All four players checked to the [6s] turn, at which point a bet from Dr Homer led to a reraise from 92cata. The other two players got out of the way before Dr Homer raised again and 92cata called all-in with [As][Ks] for the flush and straight draws. Dr Homer showed [6c][6d], which turned a full house. The [4h] on the river ended the hand and tournament for 92cata, who took home $5,700.00 for the ninth place finish.

Recognizable names exit early

One of the most well-known figures in poker, JohnnyBax made it to the final table as one of the shorter stacks and was soon relegated to a stack of little more than 40K. After Moorman1 raised from the small blind, JohnnyBax called for his tournament life from the big blind holding [Ac][8h]. Moorman1 showed [Kc][Jh], and the flop of [Qs][7s][8d] gave JohnnyBax the lead with the pair of eights. The [9d] on the turn changed little, but the [Jc] on the river gave Moorman1 the pair of jacks, which eliminated Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy in eighth place with $7,500.00.

Then a big hand developed between Dr Homer and graybone, with the preflop raising led by Dr Homer. Graybone called all-in for more than 117K holding [Jc][Jh], but Dr Homer flipped over the [Qs][Qh] for the dominating pair. The board was an uneventful [3h][8c][2h][8h][Td], and that eliminated Grayson "graybone" Nichols in seventh place, just one short of his recent sixth place finish in the June 8th Super Tuesday.

Next to put his tournament life on the line was Moorman1, though the hand started innocently enough with his raise and a call from JotaGran49 in the big blind. They saw a flop of [4h][8s][5d], and a bet and raise and reraise led to Moorman1 all-in holding [Ad][3h] for the wheel draw. JotaGran49 called with [Kc][8c] for the pair of eights and needed to fade the draw to win. The [9h] on the turn and [7d] on the river allowed that to happen, and Chris "Moorman1" Moorman was out in sixth place with $13,500.00.

Suddenly, into the eighth hour of the tournament, action sped up. And Dr Homer was on the losing end of some key battles, such as when wfhk and sirflair both doubled through him. But Dr Homer persisted and stayed in a solid chip position as others struggled to stay alive.

Losing believers and flair

Believer82 wanted to believe in [4c][4s], but faith was more difficult to maintain upon seeing JotaGran49's [7c][7s]. The dealer presented nothing of significance on the board of [Jd][3d][5c][8s][2s]. Believer82, who recently finished in ninth place in the June 1st Super Tuesday, was forced to accept a fifth place finish this week, and it came with $17,400.00.

Sirflair decided to get involved with Dr Homer to see a [4s][9s][7d] flop, after which sirflair pushed all-in with [Kc][Ks]. But Dr Homer was right along with [Ah][Ac]. The [8d] on the turn changed nothing, and the [Ad] on the river only gave Dr Homer the set of aces. Sirflair was gone in fourth place with $25,500.00.

Heading into heads-up

One more player was going to have to exit to get to the heads-up battle, and it turned out to be short-stacked wfhk, who decided to tangle with JotaGran49 for all of his chips. Wfhk had [6h][6s], and JotaGran49 showed [Ac][Js] to put them in race mode. But the flop of [Qs][Qc][Ah] gave JotaGran49 two pair, and the [8d] on the turn and [9s] on the river let it be. Wfhk departed in third place with $33,900.00.

The final two players started their match near the 8.5-hour mark with the following counts:

Seat 3: JotaGran49 (835,460 in chips)
Seat 5: Dr Homer (559,540 in chips)

After about 15 minutes of action, Dr Homer had chipped up to nearly even the stacks, but JotaGran49 seemed to be more determined to regain a substantial lead after the chat box revealed that the two players were not likely to be able to make a deal. Hands like the following kept JotaGran49 on top:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Ultimately, Dr Homer had to move. The final hand started with a raise and reraise to the [7h][5d][6h] flop. JotaGran49 bet, and Dr Homer raised, prompting an all-in reraise from JotaGran49. Dr Homer committed his last 272,040 chips all-in holding [Th][7c] for the pair of sevens, but JotaGran49 showed [Tc][Td] for the overpair. The [Ts] came off on the turn, making for a set of tens for JotaGran49, and the [9d] on the river ended the tournament. Dr Homer had to accept second place and the $45,000.00 that went with it.

JotaGran49 became the July 6 Sunday Million winner, taking home $61,350.00 to go with the prestigious weekly poker title.

Super Tuesday Results for 07/06/10:

1st place: JotaGran49 ($61,350.00)
2nd place: Dr Homer ($45,000.00)
3rd place: wfhk ($33,900.00)
4th place: sirflair ($25,500.00)
5th place: Believer82 ($17,400.00)
6th place: Moorman1 ($13,500.00)
7th place: graybone ($10,500.00)
8th place: JohnnyBax ($7,500.00)
9th place: 92cata ($5,700.00)

Things happen. And sometimes, things happen all at once.

The 2010 World Series of Poker is taking place in Las Vegas, with preliminary events wrapping up and the Main Event gearing up to begin in less than a week. That means many players are in transit to Las Vegas, enjoying the city, and reacquainting with friends. The World Cup is still capturing the attention of fans around the world. Americans are readying for a holiday weekend with the upcoming Fourth of July. Put those things together, and there are fewer people with the time to log on to PokerStars tonight to play the Super Tuesday.

Registration showed 280 players in the event this week for the $1,000 + $50 event, and with the help of PokerStars, the $300K guarantee was met and set as the official prize pool. That allowed the last 36 players in the tournament to receive payment for their play, though all eyes were on that title and $61,350.00.

Action moved along rather quickly on the last Tuesday in June, and it was finally during hand-for-hand play that short-stacked jackellwood pushed all-in preflop with 4[s]-4[c]. But PureProfitFo made the call with [Jc][9s] and hit the [7d][Js][2h][2c][9c] board. That eliminated jackellwood in tenth place with $4,800 and the distinction of bubble player.

Looking for PureProfitFo

In a relatively short amount of time, less than seven hours, the final table was set toward the end of Level 25, with blinds at 1,400/2,800 and a 350-chip ante. Their starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat 1: VARICO (81,678 in chips)
Seat 2: Mamoi (154,111 in chips)
Seat 3: markux (97,566 in chips)
Seat 4: BBOY3110 (128,990 in chips)
Seat 5: PureProfitFo (390,654 in chips)
Seat 6: yod0r (86,981 in chips)
Seat 7: TakeMaJerb (229,294 in chips)
Seat 8: stpauli111 (70,656 in chips)
Seat 9: Wretchy (160,070 in chips)

Play started with big action but those hands led to chopped pots. But TakeMaJerb was aggressive and chipping up in the hopes of bridging the gap with chipleader PureProfitFo.

But it was Wretchy who had been unable to get anything going. He decided to gamble preflop with PureProfitFo and stpauli111, and they saw a flop of [Th][4h][4d]. A bet from PureProfitFo prompted a fold from stpauli111, and Wretchy reraised. PureProfitFo then bumped it again, and Wretchy called all-in with [7s][7d]. PureProfitFo showed [Jh][Ts] for the better two pair, and nothing about the [6s] turn or [8c] river changed that. Dan "Wretchy" Martin was gone in ninth place with $5,700.00.

The next of the short stacks to move was yod0r, who pushed all-in for his last 62,910 after a raise by markux, who made the call with [Tc][Ts]. Yod0r showed [2s][2c] and was going to need help, though it wouldn't be found on the board of [3h][4d][5c][Jh][9c] that was given to them. The pair of tens held up to send yod0r packing in eighth place with $7,500.00.

Very soon after, a big hand developed with PureProfitFo coming in for the initial raise and markux calling. But BBOY3110 challenged from the big blind and pushed all-in for 59,755. PureProfitFo got out of the way, and markux called with [Ad][Qh], which dominated the [As][8s] of BBOY3110. The flop came [Tc][Ah][5h] to give each player the pair of aces, but the [Qd] on the turn gave markux two pair. The [5s] on the river changed nothing, and Larry "BBOY3110" Sharp was eliminated in seventh place with $10,500.00.

Team PokerStars Online Pro Alvaro "VARICO" Ballesteros had been making a run at the chip lead until the following hand:

RSS readers click through to see replay

VARICO was left with less than 5K in chips and moved all-in on the next hand. Mamoi raised to isolate, which worked, and showed [Ah][Ks]. VARICO turned over [4d][4s], but the board of [Kh][7h][6h][5h][7c] gave Mamoi the flush and eliminated VARICO from the tournament in sixth place with $13,500.00.

Five-handed play took quite a long time, as the double-ups took quite a bit of time and PureProfitFo seemed to take the worst of it.

Finally, though, it was stpauli111 who made a move with little more than 55K remaining. From the small blind, stpauli111 pushed all-in with [4c][3d], but Mamoi in the big blind decided to call with [Ks][7d]. The board came [4d][Js][Kd][8c][Kc] to give stpauli111 two pair but Mamoi the trip kings. That left Scott "stpauli111" Hall out in fifth place with $17,400.00.

Mamoi seemed to be on a roll and took a 330K pot from PureProfitFo, leaving the latter crippled. PureProfitFo was then all-in on the big blind, but all three other players went along for the ride, checking down the entire board of [Jd][2d][5h][Ac][4s]. Mamoi ended up taking the entire pot with [Kc][3d] and the straight, and PureProfitFo simply mucked his hand. McLean "PureProfitFo" Karr was eliminated in fourth place with $25,500.00.

Three-handed play ended when TakeMaJerb finally moved all-in for 133,688 chips with [7s][7c], but Mamoi called with [Ad][5c]. The flop immediately hit Mamoi when it produced [As][8c][Kh], and the [Tc] turn and [5s] completed the board to give Mamoi two pair. TakeMaJerb was gone in third place with $33,900.00.

And then there were two...

Heads-up play then started with the following chip counts:

Seat 2: Mamoi (417578 in chips)
Seat 3: markux (982422 in chips)

It didn't take too long for Mamoi to ship his chips with A-7 offsuit, and it beat the pocket tens of markux for the double-up. Mamoi jumped ahead again with a 555K pot, but markux took the lead back when A-J took care of A-3 to give markux the 631K pot.

The final hand took place just after the ten hour mark, and a preflop raising situation prompted markux to move all-in. Mamoi called for his last 446,312 chips holding [5h][5c], and markux showed [Ac][Qh]. The flop of [Jc][9s][4s] looked safe for the double-up, as did the [9d] on the turn. But the [Qc] hit on the river to give markux the top two pair. Mamoi was dismissed in second place with $45,000.00.

Markux won the Super Tuesday, and the associated prize money was $61,350.00.

Super Tuesday Results for 06/29/10:

1st place: markux ($61,350.00)
2nd place: Mamoi ($45,000.00)
3rd place: TakeMaHerb ($33,900.00)
4th place: PureProfitFo ($25,500.00)
5th place: stpauli111 ($17,400.00)
6th place: Team PokerStars Online Pro Alvaro "VARICO" Ballesteros ($13,500.00)
7th place: BBOY3110 ($10,500.00)
8th place: yod0r ($7,500.00)
9th place: Wretchy ($5,700.00)