When I was in school, I took a semester-look seminar in negotiation. The class taught me that, as much as negotiation is a science (employing myriad acronyms like BATNA to explain why people will behave in certain predictable ways during a negotiation), it's also an art form. The science only defines the boundaries within which a deal will take place; the actual form of the deal is where the art comes in.

2012 TCOOP Event 38, $55 No-Limit Hold'em (Ante Up) provided an object lesson in deal-making: its potential and its pitfalls. And although gabrieldin6 won the tournament after a five-way deal was struck, rejecting an earlier 9-way deal almost cost gabrieldin6 several thousand dollars in prize money.

Big antes created big prizes for the final table of Event 38. With 3,814 players entering the tournament, the minimum payout at the final table was $1,525.60 - about 28 times the $55 buy-in. The winner stood to receive nearly $30,000 of the $190,700 prize pool. Once again, as has been the case throughout TCOOP, the guarantee set for this event by PokerStars ($100,000) was shattered.

It was another tough day for Team PokerStars. Nine Team Pros and Team Online players entered the tournament but not a single one cashed. Team Pro Marcin Horecki came closest, but he fell more than 500 places shy of the money. Sometimes, in this game, demonstrably high levels of skill aren't enough to take you all the way home.

The deal-making started in earnest just moments after the tournament reached its final table:

Seat 1: LeviTheKing1 (1321973 in chips)
Seat 2: zcedrick (1241903 in chips)
Seat 3: Nyefated (613368 in chips)
Seat 4: all IQ (1441670 in chips)
Seat 5: Ilkinopoulos (2042620 in chips)
Seat 6: gabrieldin6 (4210503 in chips)
Seat 7: ImlykwagwanG (5266232 in chips)
Seat 8: german brain (1892347 in chips)
Seat 9: falldown666 (1039384 in chips)

Let's make a deal

The blinds were fixed at 5/5, as they had been all tournament. The ante was up to 90,000, representing 23 antes against the average stack of 2.1 million. 810,000 was in the middle to start each hand, about 40% of the average stack. Nyefated took the first pot uncontested with ace-queen, then doubled up on the second hand to about 4 million by winning a traditional "ace-king versus queens" flip against gabrieldin6.

With a more dominant chip position secured, Nyefated suggested the table should discuss a deal. Surprisingly, everyone else agreed and the tournament was paused after only four final-table hands.

ImlykwagwangG: $23,535.10
Nyefated: $19,537.17
gabrieldin6: $13,200.04
Ilkinopoulos: $9,044.31
LeviTheKing1: $9,446.04
german brain: $8,368.78
all IQ: $6,342.95
zcedrick: $5,444.93
falldown666: $4,534.52

Now if you know anything about groups of 5 or more people, you know it's difficult to get them all to agree on where to eat for lunch, never mind a deal in which almost $100,000 is up for grabs. So when the numbers came back from PokerStars support, I expected there to be a long period of dissent as each player tried to angle for a better deal. Although the dissent was muted, the bartering dragged across 20 minutes. The horse-trading that ensued produced this second suggested deal:

ImlykwagwangG: $22,835.09
Nyefated: $18,837.17
gabrieldin6: $13,200.04
LeviTheKing1: $10,000.00
Ilkinopoulos: $9,044.31
german brain: $8,194.28
all IQ: $6,342.95
zcedrick: $6,000.00
falldown666: $5,000.00

That deal got agreement from 6 of the 9 players - all but zcedrick, all IQ and gabrieldin6. zcedrick wanted $7,000; all IQ did not want zcedrick to get more than all IQ got. While gabrieldin6 continued to remain silent, zcedrick convinced the four biggest payouts to give up $250 each to make up the extra $1,000 that zcedrick wanted to receive. all IQ acquiesced, creating a third proposed deal:

It was at that moment that gabrieldin6 expressed opposition to the deal, despite the fact that gabrieldin6's 3rdd-place chip stack would earn just shy of 3rdd-place money at a high-variance, short-stacked, turbo-paced final table. gabrieldin6 wanted to resume play, and so after 33 minutes of fruitless negotiations, play resumed, leaving eight players incredibly hot under the collar with gabrieldin6. They pestered gabrieldin6, asking what deal would be acceptable, but received no response other than, "No."

The trials of gabrieldin6

The players got back to the action, trading antes and expressing frustration, until all IQ pushed in for 750,000 and was called by none other than gabrieldin6. all IQ's pockets queens were ahead of gabrieldin6's pocket 9s, but a 9 flopped to give gabrieldin6 a set and what would be the winning hand.

Again the table tried to get gabrieldin6 to agree to a deal; again gabrieldin6 refused. While the gabrieldin6-bashing continued, a three-way all in produced two more eliminations. falldown666 (8th) and zcedrick (7th) were both all in as short stacks and both hit the rail after ImlykwagwanG rivered a straight:

The elimination of Ilkinopoulos in 6th place when [ah][5d] failed to improve against the [th][tc] of Nyefated renewed calls from the players for a deal. gabrieldin6, now in 4th chip position of the remaining five players, finally agreed to re-pause the tournament. Chip chop numbers now produced the following proposal:

ImlykwagwanG: $27,496.72
Nyefated: $23,938.60
german brain: $11,361.51
gabrieldin6: $11,265.88
LeviTheKing1: $10,993.28

In this version of the deal, gabrieldin6's share actually dropped by $2,000 despite the elimination of four players. Everyone quickly agreed to the new deal except german brain, who requested $13,000 total. After all the previous negotiations, however, it seemed german brain's heart wasn't in a protracted fight. Within another minute the unmodified proposal was agreed to by all players.

Play resumed. lmlykwagwanG, as the big stack, began to play very aggressively. But nobody was knocked out until gabrieldin6 moved all in with [ac][tc]. german brain called all in for less with [ah][9c] and lost the battle of kickers on a board of [7h][2s][5c][8h][3c]. The very next hand LeviTheKing1 shoved a short stack with [as][9d] but lost the hand when gabrieldin6's [qd][8d] made a pair of 8s, [8c][kd][2d][ks][5s]. LeviTheKing1 finished in 4th place.

Nyefated put a tough beat on ImlykwagwanG by getting all in after the flop with unimproved [ad][4h] against ImlykwagwanG's unimproved [ac][9c]. A 4 promptly spiked on the turn, leaving ImlykwagwanG with about 6 antes. Those 6 antes wound up in gabrieldin6's stack the next hand as ImlykwagwanG 's [tc][9c] couldn't overtake gabrieldin6's [ks][5s].

The last two players, Nyefated and gabrieldin6, took turns with the chip lead. The ante by the time heads-up play started was 20,000; total chips in play were 19 million, giving the final two players about 95 antes between the two of them. They were deeper than they'd played for most of the final table, especially given that 40,000 was all in that was in the pot to start each hand.

Yet somehow all the chips went in pre-flop anyway. On the final hand, gabrieldin6 checked the small blind for 5, then called Nyefated's all in shove of 8.2 million. Nyefated showed [3h][3d]; gabrieldin6 showed a disguised [9s][9d]. A single 9 would have been enough for gabrieldin6 after the board rolled out [8h][8d][6h][qh][6d] to overcoat Nyefated's starting hand.

In the end, with the $2,000 set-aside for the champion, gabrieldin6 received exactly the payout under the 5-player deal as gabrieldin6 would have received under the 9-player deal - but with much more volatility and variance. It was certainly an unusual way to crown the lastest TCOOP champion.

2012 TCOOP Event 38 $55 No-Limit Hold'em (Ante Up) results (reflect five-way deal):

*1st: gabrieldin6 ($13,265.88)
*2nd: Nyefated ($23,938.60)
*3rd: ImlykwagwanG ($27,496.72)
*4th: LeviTheKing1 ($10,993.28)
*5th: german brain ($11,361.51)
6th: Ilkinopoulos ($6,197.75)
7th: zcedrick ($4,290.75)
8th: falldown666 ($2,383.75)
9th: all IQ ($1,525.60)

We're in the home stretch of the 2012 TCOOP, but it's not too late to get in the game. Find all the information about TCOOP that you could possibly want - leaderboards, stats, and the schedule of remaining satellites and events - at the TCOOP home page.

What better way to prepare for the last weekend of TCOOP events (11 of them, to be exact) than to dabble in a FLHE event on Friday? There were NLHE and PLO options as well, but limit players were finally given their platform on which to shine in Event 39.

The last of the four options to start today was this $100 + $9 buy-in Limit Hold'em event with a $100K guarantee, and while many poker fans think LHE is a slow game, the turbo version and six-max tables are anything but slow. More than a thousand players ponied up more than $100 to gather and fight it out for this TCOOP title.

After an hour, registration closed with these numbers in place:

Players: 1,227
Prize pool: $122,700.00
Paid players: 156

With the guarantee left far behind, the tournament proceeded through the second hour and reduced the field to less than 150 players. Along the way, most of the PokerStars players exited the event, starting with Team PokerStars Pro Pat Pezzin in 1,010th place. Team Pro Martin Staszko left in 857th, Team Online's Javier "El_Canonero" Dominguez in 578th, Team Pros Alex Kravchenko in 526th and Lex Veldhuis in 523rd, Team Online's Shane "shaniac" Schleger in 471st, and Team Pro Martin "AABenjaminAA" Hruby in 392nd. A bit later, Team Pros Marcin "Goral" Horecki and Jude "j.thaddeus" Ainsworth left in 209th and 162nd, respectively.

Still going strong as the money bubble burst just before the two-hour mark, Team Online's Anders "Donald" Berg was hovering in the top 10 on the leaderboard.

With less than 100 players remaining, Donald dropped into the top 20. A short time later, though, he hit a rough patch and exited in 47th place, which was worth $368.10.

As four tables were reduced to two, the payouts rose about $1K, and frozZy was the first to exit with $1,030.68 in cash. More players busted on the way to leaving only two tables in play, and the three-hour mark break showed only 11 players still in action.

The eliminations of ozenc in ninth place and kfasdfa in eighth brought about hand-for-hand play, and it took a very short time for short-stacked Pandakey to move all-in with [Td][Ts]. Jennndo had [Ah][Qd], and that improved to a pair of aces on the [AD][Kd][6s][2c][3s] board. Pandakey left in seventh place with $2,147.25.

Code_version controls the table

Level 35 set the stage for the final table with blinds of 60,000/120,000 and these starting stacks:

Seat 1: code_version (3,373,925 in chips)
Seat 2: maciekzbg (544,161 in chips)
Seat 3: ArmyOfLovers (670,322 in chips)
Seat 4: Jenndo (649,398 in chips)
Seat 5: kosmoposmo (280,539 in chips)
Seat 6: Big_Dady_Coo (616,655 in chips)

The first elimination came quickly. The hand began with preflop betting between kosmoposmo and Big_Dady_Coo capped. The [8d][6h][3d] flop prompted a bet from Big_Dady_Coo and all-in call from kosmoposmo with [Ks][Jd]. But Big_Dady_Coo showed [Kh][Kc], and nothing about the [3c] turn or [2s] river changed anything. Kosmoposmo departed in sixth place with $3,681.00.

ArmyOfLovers in the small blind and Jenndo in the big blind battled preflop until betting was capped. The [Ks][Qc][Kh] flop prompted ArmyOfLovers to make the all-in push with [Ac][Jd] for the straight draw and pair of kings, while Jenndo called quickly with [As][Ah] and top two pair. The [Qs] and [4c] finished the hand, and ArmyOfLovers marched away in fifth place with $5,227.02.

Despite an earlier double-up for maciekzbg through Big_Dady_Coo, the former was on a short stack again and pushed all-in from the small blind. Jenndo called from the big blind with [7s][7c], and maciekzbg was going to have to improve on [Qc][4h]. The board of [Jc][9c][Kh][Ks][6c] didn't do it, though, and maciekzbg left in fourth place with $7,975.50.

Challenges to the chip leaders

Big_Dady_Coo scored a double-up through chip leader code_version with this hand:

Code_version still dominated, though, and Big_Dady_Coo battled the leader again. A raise and reraise led to the [8h][7h][6c] flop. Big_Dady_Coo bet, and code-version check-called. The [Ad] on the turn prompted an all-in bet from Big_Dady_Coo with [Qs][9h] and the straight draw, and code_version called with [Ah][Jd] for turned top pair. The [6s] on the river eliminated Big_Dady_Coo in third place with $11,656.50.

Code_version dominates heads-up

The last two players standing began their match with these counts:

Seat 1: code_version (4,636,958 in chips)
Seat 4: Jenndo (1,498,042 in chips)

Aggressive was the word to describe code_version, who won the first three hands of the battle. On the fourth hand, betting was capped going to the [3s][5d][7h] flop, at which point code_version bet 120K and Jenndo called all-in. Code_version showed [Kd][3d] for the pair of threes, and Jenndo turned over [Qd][Jh] for queen high. The [Ks] and [3h] completed the board and a full house for code_version, leaving Jenndo out in second place with $15,337.50.

Code_version of Denmark won TCOOP Event 39 and the $20,552.40 that went with it. Congrats!

TCOOP Event 39 ($109 FLHE 6-Max) Results:

1st place: code_version ($20,552.40)
2nd place: Jenndo ($15,337.50)
3rd place: Big_Dady_Coo ($11,656.50)
4th place: maciekzbg ($7,975.50)
5th place: ArmyOfLovers ($5,227.02)
6th place: kosmoposmo ($3,681.00)

There a few days left to get in on the TCOOP action. Check out the main page for updates, leaderboard information, and a full schedule of events.

Event #37 on the Turbo Championship of Online Poker schedule was guaranteed to feature a few hours of action-fueled power poker. The game was six-handed pot-limit Omaha, with a $55 buy-in plus a couple of re-buys and an add-on available to inspire further risk-taking early on. And five-minute levels -- the norm for most of these TCOOP events -- ensured further there wouldn't be a lot of waiting around for perfect spots to commit those chips.

The first 90 minutes constituted the re-buy period, during which late registration remained available as well. Players started with 5,000 chips, and had the option to re-buy two times (5,000 chips for $50) during those first 90 minutes. An add-on period followed, during which players could grab another 5,000 for $50 more if they wished.

By the time they reached the end of the re-buy period, a total of 1,422 had entered Event #37, with the group having picked up 1,741 re-buys between them. Another 286 add-ons were then purchased, making the total prize pool $172,450, beating the event's $100K guarantee by a wide margin.

The top 180 finishers would make the money. A top 24 finish got you at least four figures. Making the final four earned you at least $11,036.80. And winning the sucker would reward you with a $28,455.04 payday barring any final-table deals.

Just 486 of the original 1,422 remained when play resumed after the add-on period, with Geddit71 leading the way as the only player among them to have cracked the 200,000-chip mark. Behind him were just six players with better than 100,000 -- fireman19984, Fred-wpt, Joe "ender555" Ebanks, Baddrawings, thegr8str8, and JohnSmith.

Among the Team PokerStars players just three remained at that point.

Shane "shaniac" Schleger of Team Online would last a while longer before getting knocked out in 295th by Andre_Hansen. The money bubble then burst at about the two-and-a-half-hour mark, and Team PokerStars Pro Martin Staszko was eliminated shortly thereafter in 165th place ($232.80), knocked out by Yanque.

That left just Alex Kravchenko of Team PokerStars Russia to represent the home squad. He'd hang on a while longer before finally having the last of his chips taken by $harlatan to go out in 72nd ($388.01).

By the three-hour mark just 50 players were left, with 19Moir91 having pushed way ahead with almost 1.4 million chips, dj_friction his nearest challenger with just over 837,000.

But with the blinds rising quickly, chips necessarily were moving back and forth at a rapid pace. One casualty of chip redistribution was 19Moir91 who saw his run end in 12th place ($1,810.72) following a eyebrow-raising beat applied by Alexander "AlexKP" Petersen. Take a look:

Following 19Moir91 to the rail were moneyM7 (11th, $1,810.72), JohnSmith (10th, $1,810.72), Yurmala (9th, $2,759.20), G-$tarr91 (8th, $2,759.20), and lazgeich (7th, $2,759.20).

After just under four hours of play, they'd reached the six-handed final table.

Seat 1: AlexKP -- 9,169,315
Seat 2: Norrmaniano -- 779,567
Seat 3: DASILVOTE -- 1,168,784
Seat 4: theczar19 -- 1,326,951
Seat 5: dj_friction -- 2,215,643
Seat 6: Fred-wpt -- 2,584,740

During that stretch run to the final table, Alexander "AlexKP" Petersen (profiled here) ran red-hot to build his stack up to that huge advantage with six left. And with the blinds 125,000/250,000, the others were going to need to run well themselves -- and soon -- if they hoped to close the huge gap.

In just the fifth hand of the final table, AlexKP completed from the small blind and Norrmaniano checked in the big blind. The flop came [Kc][2h][Th] and AlexKP checked. Norrmaniano bet 500,000 (the pot), leaving himself but 29,567 behind. AlexKP responded with a raise and Norrmaniano called, showing [8h][7c][6h][4h] for a flush draw to AlexKP's flopped set of deuces with [Td][4s][2s][2c].

The turn and river brought no more hearts and a couple of fives, improving AlexKP to a full house and sending Norrmaniano out in sixth.

The remaining five began to talk about possibly making a deal, but that discussion was soon interrupted. With the blinds up to 150,000/300,000, Bryan "theczar19" Piccioli raised to 1.05 million from the cutoff, then AlexKP reraised to 3,176,471 from the big blind. Piccioli called with the 853,902 he had left, showing [Qc][Qs][Ts][7c]. Meanwhile AlexKP had [Ad][Ac][Ah][3c].

The flop came [5c][Qh][Kc], giving theczar19 a set and AlexKP a club flush draw. The turn was the [2h] and Piccioli was still best, but the river was the [8c] and they were down to four.

Now Petersen was up over 10.7 million with the other three all hovering just above or below 2 million. Some deal talk ensued again, but with nothing agreed upon the remaining four carried on without pausing.

From there the other three -- dj_friction, Fred-wpt, and DASILVOTE -- found themselves all-in a few times, all surviving, until finally dj_friction ran out of luck versus AlexKP. All in for 1,931,286 total with [As][Ts][7c][6c] against Petersen's [Ac][Js][6h][3h]. The board came [3d][5d][5s][9d][Jd], giving AlexKP a winning two pair and sending dj_friction out in fourth.

On the very next hand it was Fred-wpt exchanging bets with AlexKP preflop to get his 2,156,380 all in with [As][Kd][6s][5c] against Petersen's [Ad][Tc][8d][6c]. The five community cards came [6d][8c][2d][7h][5h], giving both two pair but AlexKP's eights and sixes were best and Fred-wpt was eliminated in third.

After just over four hours of play, two players remained. Alexander "AlexKP" Petersen continued to enjoy the huge advantage with 14,318,800 to DASILVOTE's 2,926,200. DASILVOTE would survive four hands, then on the fifth watched as AlexKP completed from the button to 500,000. DASILVOTE checked, and the pair saw the flop come [7c][5s][Tc].

DASILVOTE led for 1 million, AlexKP raised to 3.4 million, and DASILVOTE called with the 926,200 he had left.

AlexKP: [9s][7h][7s][3h]
DASILVOTE: [As][Kc][8c][2h]

A flopped set of sevens for AlexKP had given him the lead in the hand, although a non-pairing club could still preserve DASILVOTE's tourney life. But the turn was the [Ad] and river the [Kh], meaning AlexKP had won the last of DASILVOTE's chips and a TCOOP title.

Congratulations to Alexander "AlexKP" Petersen for besting a field of 1,422 -- and knocking out all five of his opponents at the final table -- to grab the TCOOP gold-plated card capper and a $28K-plus payday!

TCOOP Event #37 Results ($55 PLO, 6-Max 2R1A):
1st: AlexKP ($28,455.04)
2nd: DASILVOTE ($21,383.80)
3rd: Fred-wpt ($15,951.62)
4th: dj_friction ($11,036.80)
5th: theczar19 ($7,070.45)
6th: Norrmaniano ($4,742.37)

Still a couple of days left to jump into the TCOOP game yourself. See the Turbo Championship of Online Poker website for details.

When you get all-in with pocket aces in a hold'em game and find yourself up against a smaller pair, you're roughly a 4-to-1 favorite to win the hand. Most of the time you'll win the hand, but sometimes you'll find yourself looking at the board and realizing that the unlikely has just become reality.

Such was the case with today's tournament, a rare instance of a TCOOP overlay. Most of the tournaments during this series have broken their guarantees - often wildly exceeding them - but Event 36 became the exception to the rule. At 3,289 players, the field was about 50 players shy of breaking the guarantee. And so that guarantee - $250,000 - became the official prize pool, with $39,375 set aside for the winner.

The players fell away from their shorthanded tables fast enough that the money bubble burst just as the second break was beginning, with Hulk9950 of Brazil falling short and anarhist69 of Russia taking home $135 in 420th place for becoming the first player to bust in the money. The only member of Team PokerStars Pro to cash - Grzegorz 'DaWarsaw' Mikielewicz - busted shortly after play resumed, finishing 405th ($135).

A familiar name

A third hour of poker reduced the field to just 49 players. Sitting in the lead was Denmark's jojoha0999 with 963,554 chips, followed closely by 2009 WCOOP Main Event winner Daniel "djk123" Kelly with 919,666 chips. Kelly had been outside the top five just before the break but leapfrogged thanks to his proficiency at getting three streets of value out of top pair:

With blinds already up to Level 33 (8K/16K/2K) and a big stack to wield against his much-shorter-stacked opponents, Kelly was in exactly the kind of environment where he tends to thrive. Yet djk123 couldn't get a big confrontation to go his way for the next few levels - the closest was a coin flip with pocket fours that doubled up the United Kingdom's thekevilfish, who had shoved with [Jh] [8d]. While Kelly managed to stay just ahead of the structure, his neighbor, the Ukraine's egor B52, charged into the chip lead thanks to two consecutive pots - one worth 539K with [Ad] [Kh] to knock out Australia's united3058 in 30th place ($1,000), and the other worth 882K when his [Ac] [Jh] spiked an ace on the river to send the UK's cianus-ie, holder of pocket queens, home in 27th ($1,000).

While egor B52 was busy contending with Kelly, the Netherlands' ullicha was busy climbing to the top of the leaderboard with three tables left, stacking up to 2.88 million chips thanks in part to picking up pocket aces when ARARATLI (16th, $1,650) held [Ah] [Kc]. Poland's flaszeczka also spent some time in the top spot after picking up pocket queens against Norway's angellk1 (15th, $1,650), who was all-in for 389K holding pocket sevens.

Two tables

The blinds had reached Level 39 (30K/60K/7.5K) when play reached the final two tables, with ullicha in the lead and egor B52 close behind. ullicha expanded that lead by knocking out the Netherlands' AfterBeatMSc (12th, $2,187.50) to jump over 3.5 million chips. Next out was Kelly (11th, $2,187.50), the former WCOOP champ who shoved for 608K under the gun with [Ac] [4c] only to run into k345's [As] [Qs]. Spain's Nyefated (10th, $2,187.50) then became the second player of the late game to fall to ullicha's pocket aces when [As] [Qh] didn't get any help from the board. Then jojoha0999 reclaimed the chip lead for the first time in quite a while thanks to this hand against ullicha:

Spain's flan16 (9th, $3,000) became the next to bust after running [Ad] [Kc] into the [As] [Ah] of thekevilfish. Then another Spaniard, fontainerote (8th, $3,000), hit the rail after losing two consecutive pots - one worth 1.3 million chips and the other worth 1 million - to flaszeczka. That left seven players on Level 42 (50K/100K/12.5K) with just six seats waiting at the final table. Two of the players who had been fighting back and forth for the chip lead - ullicha and egorB52 - both suffered setbacks on the bubble, with egorB52 doubling k345 up despite being ahead when he called and ullicha dropping a 5.44-million-chip pot to jojoha0999 on a runner-runner flush. Neither would bust, though, as egor B52 made the final elimination when his pocket sevens held up against Kot_Spartac's [As] [6h] to send the Russian out in 7th ($3,000) and this event to a final table.

The final countdown

As the fourth hour drew to a close, the final table was set with 60K/120K blinds, 15K antes and this lineup:

Seat 1: flaszeczka (2,192,803 in chips)
Seat 2: egor B52 (2,577,656 in chips)
Seat 3: thekevilfish (1,627,737 in chips)
Seat 4: jojoha0999 (7,550,562 in chips)
Seat 5: ullicha (562,406 in chips)
Seat 6: k345 (1,933,836 in chips)

The first casualty was, unsurprisingly, the short-stacked ullicha, who called all-in for 509K on the big blind with [As] [Qh] for a coin flip against the pocket tens of k345. The flop came [Th] [8s] [2s], though, and the set of tens was all it took to bust ullicha in 6th ($4,437.50). The other short stack, egor B52, was the next to go after having the bad fortune to pick up [Js] [Jd] on the same hand that saw flaszeczka pick up [Qc] [Qh]. With no help from the baord, egor B52 was out 5th ($8,705).

Three hands later the field was reduced further when the action folded to thekevilfish in the small blind; the UK player shoved for 2.33 million holding [Kc] [9h] and got called by jojoha0999 in the big blind with [As] [9s]. As if being dominated preflop weren't bad enough for thekevilfish, the flop came down [Ad] [Td] [Ac]. The [4h] turn and [3d] river were formalities that sent thekevilfish out in 4th place ($13,625).

That boosted jojoha0999's stack to 10.72 million chips with the blinds at 100K/200K and antes at 25K. That was far ahead of flaszeczka's 3.83 million and k345's 1.88 million, but things quickly turned around for the short stack. Seven hands later an all-in confrontation holding [As] [2d] against jojoha0999's [Ah] [9s] ended well after the board came [8c] [4d] [4h] [2s] [Kd], bringing k345 up to 4.46 million chips. Another seven hands went by before the two players clashed again, the time with k345's [Qs] [9h] running down jojoha0999's pocket sevens for a 4.875 million-chip pot, one which gave k345 the lead with 8.08 million chips.

Despite none of the players trying to make a deal, the play among the final three was far from aggressive. There were plenty of flops, most of them seen after one player had previously min-raised and another had called. After k345's survival hand in the early going, another 28 hands would pass before the next all-in confrontation. It came on the 200K/400K/50K level, when jojoha0999 shoved on the button for 3.6 million with [Qd] [5c]. K345 overshoved from the small blind holding[Ac] [Kh], which stayed ahead only until the [Qh] [8d] [6h] flop. The [3c] turn and [Js] river kept play three-handed; just four hands later, heads-up play was set after k345 (3rd, $21,000) shoved holding [Kc] [8h] but couldn't outrun jojoha0999's [Kd] [Jh].

Poland's flaszeczka was behind with just 4.66 million chips to jojoha0999's 11.77 million, but within moments that deficit had been erased. On the third hand, flaszeczka shoved with [8d] [6d], was called by jojoha0999 with [Ah] [9c], and caught enough of the [3s] [Th] [Tc] [Kc] [8c] board to jump into the lead with 10.46 million chips. Then, on the very next hand, came the final confrontation:

Congratulations go to flaszeczka, who came from behind to win the tournament through patience, perseverance, and a little bit of well-timed card luck. And congratulations as well to the rest of the final tablists, whose accomplishment in making the final table from a 3,289-player field shouldn't be underestimated.

TCOOP Event 36 - $82 No-Limit Hold'em (6-max)
3,289 entrants, $250,000 prize pool

1st place - flaszeczka (Poland) - $39,375
2nd place - jojoha0999 (Denmark) - $28,750
3rd place - k345 (Russia) - $21,000
4th place - thekevilfish (United Kingdom) - $13,625
5th place - egor B52 (Ukraine) - $8,705
6th place - ullicha (Netherlands) - $4,437.50

Just like that, another TCOOP tourney is in the books. If you blink you might just miss the rest of this tournament series - so go check out the full schedule for a rundown of this weekend's remaining events.

For the better part of 2011, the PokerStars Women's Poker League became more exciting by the month. Women played the league tournaments on a regular basis, and those who earned the most points found extra cash in their online poker bank accounts in addition to the money they won in the events. And those who consistently performed in each of the two leagues won 2011 prizes at the end of the year.

The WPL consisted of two divisions in 2011, the $.10 and the $1.10 leagues. When the yearly tallies were published, it stood out that KleopatraRTS finished second in BOTH divisions, and maadcaroma and tjumpy also made the top 10 of both. But the winners were clear. SARITA15350 bested the $.10 league by two points over her nearest competitor, and Bertie867 leapt into first place in the $1.10 league by a solid 33 points. Both players were awarded PS Women Live prize packages to be used at their discretion.

SARITA15350 of Spain

Winner SARITA15350, known as Sara Mouzo in real life, spoke with our Spanish correspondent, Nilda Cerna. The article on the Spanish blog can be found here. Mouzo summed it up: "I cannot believe it."

Mouzo began playing online poker only recently, starting with some training on Intellipoker and then low buy-in sit-n-gos. She began playing the league early in 2011 in the hopes of winning the PS Women Live prize package. Her dedication to the games often kept her from spending time with friends, but she was determined. And she did it.

Having never played live poker in a casino, the PS Women Live prize package gives her the opportunity to travel to one of the EPT stops in the future. She is anxious to put her poker skills to work at the live tables. Her advice for other women is to play in the 2012 league and practice as often as possible to gain experience. "Do not be afraid," Mouzo said.

However, if you see SARITA15350 at your table, be afraid.

Bertie867 of Canada

Alberta, known to her online competitors and friends as Bertie867, is no stranger to the Women's Poker League. She was our October featured player and continuously showed up in the top 10.

When she found out she won the $1.10 division for the year, she was thrilled. Admittedly, she was a little relieved, too. "I didn't think I would be able to hang on because I was basically card dead for the month of December," she told us. "KleopatraRTS was breathing down my neck for the whole month. She is a very is a very good player and not one to let up for a minute." But Alberta made her moves, even arranging her Christmas dinner around the WPL. "Thankfully, family and friends were understanding."

With a trip already planned to go to the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January, she used her PS Women Live prize package to cover the costs and stay at the Atlantis Resort. And she told us that it was an amazing experience. From the water rides to the aquarium activities, from the beaches to the poker tables, Alberta had a great time.

"The hotel staff was very accommodating, but they did not compare at all to the PokerStars staff, who were friendly, accommodating, and encouraging in ways that totally surprised and pleased me. Staffers Emma from Toronto and Phillip from Norway really stood out as great PS ambassadors. They were genuinely invested in my having a great experience, which I did," said Alberta. And she added, "We especially enjoyed the PS party; it was awesome."

Of course, she also attended the PS Women Live poker tournament, as well as the panel discussion prior to the event featuring Vanessa Rousso, Vanessa Selbst, and Liv Boeree. She said it was a great way to get into tournament mode, and despite being nervous when she first took her seat, she did well. She made it all the way down to 30-something players but had some trouble with a certain Team PokerStars Pro. "Vanessa Selbst sat down at my table and pretty much cleaned up." That is what she tends to do.

Alberta enjoyed the Bahamas so much that she stayed for another five days. "After my vacation, I will take some time to decide where to put my poker focus," she said.

With another new division in 2012, all players have some decisions to make about which division(s) they will pursue. But nothing will take away from the 2011 final numbers and the first WPL annual winners.

Information about the PokerStars Women's Poker League is provided on the home page, and current league standings are listed on the rankings page.

Until 2011, for many young American poker players Mexico was a vacation spot. It was the place they spent their Spring Break holidays or a couple of regrettable nights in Tijuana. It was never the place they intended to call home. That all changed on April 15, 2011.

"I was coming into form at the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011," said Nicholas "Rounder63" Carrillo. "April 15th was a really bad day for me."

Like American poker players from coast to coast, Carrillo lost his ability to make a living playing online poker overnight. Though he had Los Angeles' Commerce Casino nearby, Carillo's real profit and living money came from grinding tournaments online.

"It ruined my entire WSOP planning and completely put me into a mental lapse," Carillo said.

To people outside the online poker community, it was hard to understand. But for anyone who paid their bills with poker money, it wasn't hard to see how Carillo's life started to get out of control.

Sean "wcsquad3" Pramuk is one of those people who can understand.

"Due to Black Friday, I have been unemployed for the last few months and just recently had to relocate to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with friends," Pramuk said.

Pramuk has been playing professional poker for the past four years. Now 26 years old, his move to Mexico came at the beginning of this month. Like Carillo, it's already proven to be a good decision.

Just a few days ago, Parmuk won $85,000 in Event #25 of the Turbo Championship of Online Poker. A day later, Carillo won $30,000 in Event #30.

Pramuk--a near-scratch golfer--is finding a measure of relief south of the border. He's getting in a few rounds on the links and learning more about poker than he ever expected.

Though Black Friday upended both TCOOP winners lives, it has also had the unintended consequence of creating Mexican poker think tanks. No longer isolated in their hometowns and bedrooms, America's displaced poker players find themselves constantly surrounded with like-minded and talented pros.

"I just try and get better all the time," Pramuk said. "Being down here in Mexico with all these great poker minds definitely helps with that."

Carillo is in the same situation. A lifelong football player and coach, at 32 years old Carillo found his favorite form of competition stripped from him in one day. Now, albeit with a move to another country, Carillo has found a new drive and spirit. Once again, he's optimistic.

"I want to able to care of myself and make sure that my wonderful mother doesn't have anything to worry about," Carillo said. "I dream of one day making a charity foundation that gives back to underprivileged kids in sports."

In the world of TCOOP, things move quickly. Tournaments can be up and down in a matter of a couple of hours. For American poker players, there is no easy fix. Nothing moves quickly, it seems. A move to Mexico is part of the long game. For some like Pramuk and Carillo, it's paying off quickly.

"I moved to Mexico with lofty goals and this win puts me even closer to my goal," Carillo said. "This win is nice because of the money, but mentally it's like a bunch of weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

If you're not a former winner of PokerStars' Tournament Leader Board, you may not even know this event exists, much less what's happening with it. However, it's become so interesting that we have to pay it some attention. It's history-making, after all.

Every week for as long as I can remember, the weekly winner of the TLB has gotten to play a heads-up match against one of PokerStars' pro or celebrity players. The prize pool always starts at $1,000. If the TLB winner is the victor, he or she scoops the dime and everything starts over the next week. If the Team Pro wins, the $1,000 stays in the prize pool and the next week's winner gets a shot at $2,000.

Well, let's just say the TLB winners have not been faring very well in recent weeks, and for the first time in the history of the weekly TLB match, the prize pool has swollen to $9,000. It's sort of like the lottery when nobody wins for several weeks. It's gotta crack before long, and when it does, somebody is getting paid, yo.

So, this Sunday, January 29th, at 14:00 ET, PokerStars player 88Xin88 will be going up against PokerStars Sports Star Fatima Moreira de Melo for an historic $9,000 match.

While the prize may not be as much as the $67,903 he won in TCOOP Event #1, it will still be quite an event to watch. If he wins, he will pocket a history-making prize. If he loses, next week's winner will be playing for a cool $10,000.

If you'd like to handicap the match, you can get some idea for how 88xin88 plays by clicking the link above. For a little more on De Melo, you can check out her PokerStars Sports Stars bio.

For more on the TLB, visit the PokerStars Tournament Leader Board home page.

While things were already in full swing at ESPT Madrid, PokerStars IPT San Remo opened its doors for another bumper crowd in the tour's sixth Season 3 event. 102 played Day 1A of the ?2,000 tournament, including 16 PokerStars qualifiers.

After eight levels, with blinds at 400-800 (ante 75), the chip leader was PokerStars qualifier Muhamet Perati with 138,100 chips, followed by Italian players Alberto Spigolon and Marco Della Tommasina. The average stack was 54,957 chips and 47 survived.

Day 1B begins today at 2pm local time, when Team PokerStars Pros Luca Pagano, Dario Minieri, Salvatore Bonavena and Pier Paolo Fabretti will take to the tables, along with Team PokerStars Online's Luca Moschitta.

You can follow all of the IPT action live on our sister Italian PokerStars Blog. If you can read a language that has far too many letter 't's and 'i's, then all well and good. If not, Google Translate is your friend.

Meanwhile, congratulations to Giulia Bonello, who was the IPT San Remo Ladies Event winner, taking home ?1,900.

There can be no doubting the continued success of the PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour. Yesterday's Day 1B of the Madrid event, the first of Season 3, attracted another huge field of 263 players, 69 of whom qualified on PokerStars. At the end of the night, 118 of them had made it through to join Wednesday's survivors for today's Day 2.

With the first prize being announced as ?113,350, and 59 players being paid, the current chip leader is Spanish player Juan Perez Benitocomo with 95,100 chips, followed Pedro Javier Piazuelo Ferrero, who has 89,400. Also still in the hunt is Team PokerStars Pro Ana Marquez with 47,200.

One player who should have been out made it through in unlikely circumstances. On a [jd][ks][8s] flop, Mures Jaime was all-in with [js][8c] but found himself up against a set of kings and a set of jacks. No problem for Mures, however, as the turn was [8d] and the river... [8h] to make him quads! He ended the night with 31,200.

Day 2 begins at Casino Gran Madrid at 2pm local time today and, if you can read Spanish, or are handy with Google Translate, you can follow the coverage live on our sister Spanish PokerStars Blog.

Meanwhile, here are the Day 1B chips:

Juan Perez Benito Spain 95100
Pedro Javier Piazuelo Ferrero Spain 89400
Larsen Bjarke Riis Denmark 82500
Jose Ureña Moreno Spain 82000
Luis Rufas Acin Spain 80300
Miguel Angel Salinas Garcia Spain 69600
Victor Manuel Hinojosa Luna PokerStars Qualifier Spain 68600
Jose Vazquez Spain 67900
Perico Nuñez De Cela Cortes Spain 66300
Daniel Rauta Romania 65100
Jonathan David Concepcion Tacoronte PokerStars Player Spain 64000
Mateo Sempere Spain 61700
Paulo Jorge Carvalho Duque PokerStars Qualifier Spain 61300
Vital Villarrubia Spain 61200
Antonio Blanco Saiz PokerStars Qualifier Spain 59600
Jose Miguel Espinar Cuenca Spain 59500
Carlos Lopez Neira PokerStars Player Spain 54600
Maciek Rozycki PokerStars Qualifier Poland 53600
Miguel Alonso Fernandez PokerStars Qualifier Spain 52900
Aljoscha Kleve Germany 52400
David Tovar La Sierra PokerStars Qualifier Spain 51100
Ruben Setien Herrera Spain 51000
Antonio Gutierrez Maestro Spain 48900
Sebastian Benz Germany 48800
Rafael Santisteban Blanco Spain 48300
Ana Laura Marquez Esteban Team PokerStars Pro Spain 47200
Cristian Casais Barcia Spain 44900
Aberto David Boal Santos PokerStars Qualifier Spain 44000
Juan Febrer Rosello Spain 42800
Alberto Gomez Gomez PokerStars Player Spain 42100
Rafael Romero Davila PokerStars Qualifier Spain 41500
Lander Lijo Bereciartua PokerStars Qualifier Spain 41000
Jose Luis Perlines Auso Spain 40200
John Gallagher PokerStars Qualifier Ireland 39900
Joan Albert Tortajada Viñes PokerStars Qualifier Spain 39100
Antonio Dieguez Rodriguez Spain 39000
Ricardo Tajada Salcines Spain 38500
Abraham Serrano Gil Spain 37500
Alain Sanzol Martinez De Buja Spain 37000
Gregorio Cibrian Mendinueta PokerStars Qualifier Spain 36800
Juan Miguel Tome Perez PokerStars Qualifier Spain 36700
Xavier Simon Plana PokerStars Qualifier Spain 36200
Leonor Margets Perez Spain 36100
Matias Adrover Parera Spain 35600
Ivan Moreno Garcia Spain 34500
Juan De Diego Salcedo Spain 34300
Daniel Coloma Sema Spain 33700
David Algarra PokerStars Qualifier Spain 33400
Carlos Tejado Perez PokerStars Qualifier Spain 33200
Amir Dara Niknejad Uk 32700
Philipp Rohrer PokerStars Qualifier Switzerland 32400
Miguel Angel Barajas Pastor PokerStars Qualifier Spain 32300
Asif Warris PokerStars Qualifier Uk 32000
Jorge Del Arco Cañizares PokerStars Qualifier Spain 31500
Jaime Mures Rodriguez Spain 31200
Marco Antonio Sanchez Sanchez Spain 31100
Cesar Domingo Ordoñez Lopez PokerStars Qualifier Spain 30900
Alfonso Ramos Covarrubias Spain 30800
Eric Santiago Grurich PokerStars Player Argentina 30800
Luis Rojas Martinez Del Marmol PokerStars Qualifier Spain 29900
Sergio Garcia Galdeano PokerStars Qualifier Spain 29200
Jose Maria Solis Marcos Spain 29000
Raul Bello Garcia Spain 28000
Eduardo Guillen PokerStars Qualifier Spain 27600
Bernard Straubinger Austria 27200
Javier Palacios Lopez Spain 26500
Mariusz Ocwieja Poland 25800
Oscar Garcia Pelayo Spain 25300
Javier Gonzalez Spain 25200
Luis Angel Arroyo Martinez Spain 24700
Antonio Andres Saura Pina Spain 24500
Alejandro Yepes Fernandez Spain 24200
Pedro Oliva Martinez Spain 23700
Antonio Gambero Transmonte Spain 22800
Antonio Gomez Gonzalez PokerStars Qualifier Spain 22800
David Kolmberger PokerStars Qualifier Germany 22800
Jose Maria Marfil Ortiz Spain 22500
Pawel Walczak PokerStars Qualifier Poland 22000
Jaume Pous PokerStars Qualifier Spain 21900
Aquilino Lopez Del Rio Spain 21400
Kakwan Lau PokerStars Player Hong Kong 20900
Rafael Aparicio Pico Spain 20900
Pablo Rojas PokerStars Qualifier Spain 20600
Jose Maria Azorin Azorin PokerStars Player Spain 20300
Benjamin Garcia Rivera PokerStars Qualifier Spain 19800
Ismael Arribas Munoz Spain 19800
Lukasz Robert Roczniak PokerStars Qualifier Poland 19800
Manuel Lago De Haro Spain 19300
Maarten Willemsen PokerStars Qualifier Netherlands 19000
David Martinez Galiana PokerStars Qualifier Spain 18900
Hasan Alexander Anter Alexander Sweden 18900
Ruben Saldaña Echevarria Spain 18100
Taras Sotnikov PokerStars Qualifier Spain 16400
Daniel Cascado Silveira PokerStars Player Spain 15500
Jerry Gerardo Spain 14400
Tomas Almazan Tenreiro PokerStars Qualifier Spain 14400
Alexey Sergeevich Pavlenko PokerStars Qualifier Russian Federation 14200
Marcos Roiz Del Cerro Spain 13600
Jose Miguel Delgado Pintado Spain 13500
Sergio Pardo Ramirez Spain 13300
Marciano Rodriquez Cortes Spain 13200
Roman Vecino Fernandez Spain 13100
Adam Tomasz Jaguscik PokerStars Qualifier Poland 12700
Miguel Jesus Moreno Vico Spain 12200
Antonio Maestro Lorenzo PokerStars Qualifier Spain 11900
Esteban Gimenez-Vega Ferramola Spain 11200
Jose Daniel Perez Sanchez Spain 11100
Juan Jose Picazo Folgado Spain 10700
Hugo Uceda Alvarez PokerStars Qualifier Spain 10500
Norberto Rodriguez Latorre Spain 10200
Roberto Fernandez De Frutos Spain 10000
Sara Mariani Poza Spain 9900
Alejandro Lorente Martinez PokerStars Player Spain 9800
Alvaro Marino Nadal Spain 9600
Fco Javier Bravo Hurtado Spain 7700
Javier Etayo PokerStars Player Spain 7700
German Arques Ruiz PokerStars Qualifier Spain 2600
Heseding Hauke Gustav Germany 2500

The inaugural TCOOP series is more than halfway to its completion, so you can be sure the final days will be packed with as much turbo online poker action as possible. Today, players were able to choose from NLHE two ways, Razz, and this particular Omaha option.

With the continuously growing popularity of Omaha as a player's game of choice, variations on the game are becoming more standard as well. Combine those PLO desires with a general interest in short-handed play, and we present Event 35. And putting PLO action together with the faster pace of four-max tables and the turbo structure of five-minute levels was sure to pique interest.

It all came together nicely. The $50 + $5 buy-in with a $75K guarantee resulted in these numbers:

Players: 2,414
Prize pool: $120,700.00
Paid players: 320

Players busted rapidly through the first 1.5 hours of the tournament, and the money bubble approached about 10 minutes later. Hand-for-hand play resulted in a few minutes of tension before the elimination of as1025 in 321st place. SoteriaDos was the first player to cash for $90.52, and the field thinned drastically from there.

The group of Team PokerStars Pros in this event didn't fare so well. In fact, only one of them made it into the top 1,000 and cruised through the money to the top 100. In fact, Team Pro Alex Kravchenko moved into the top 50, then the top 30.

Finally, in the process of trying to climb further, Kravchenko was eliminated in 26th place, which was worth $633.67.

Just past the three-hour mark, five tables turned to three in the blink of an eye (or about 15 minutes, truth be told). As the 3.5-hour hit, there were six players, but that was quick to change. On Table 232, ALEX VDV pushed all-in with [Ac][8s][7d][2h] against the [Ad][Qh][Qs][6h] of TeHKai. The board came [5h][Jd][Qc][Th][6s] and left ALEXVDV out in sixth place with $3,621.00.

At the same time on Table 424, halifax and meamemet got into a preflop raising war that ended with halifax calling all-in with [AD][Qh][Qd][2s]. Meamemet showed [Qc][6s][7c][8c] and accumulated two pair on the [Ah][Th][6d][5c][7d] board. Halifax departed in fifth place for a $3,621.00 payout.

Meamemet meets final table in chip lead

The final table was set in Level 39, with blinds of 80,000/16,000. Players starting stacks were listed as follows:

Seat 1: meamemet (4,937,301 in chips)
Seat 2: TeHKai (1,909,246 in chips)
Seat 3: moonwatch79 (1,995,654 in chips)
Seat 4: Sisnleicht? (3,227,799 in chips)

Only a few hands into the action, moonwatch79 moved all-in after an initial raise from TeHKai. Moonwatch79 showed [As][Qd][5d][2h], but TeKHai had [Ac][Ad][9h][4h]. The board of [6h][Kc][7c][Jc][Qc] only gave moonwatch79 a pair of queens, which wasn't good enough for the double-up. Fourth place and $4,984.91 went to moonwatch79.

Sisnleicht? surges

Sisnleicht? then made a move against meamemet and scored a big double to take the lead:

Several hands later, a number of preflop raises and reraises prompted TeHKai to move all-in with [Ah][Ad][3c][2h]. Sisnleicht? called with [Qh][Tc][8c][8d]. The flop of [4s][9s][As] gave TeHKai the three aces, but the [Td][Jd] to round out the board made a straight for Sisnleicht?. TeHKai was out in third place with $6,940.25.

A pair of heads-up hands

The final two players started with these counts:

Seat 1: meamemet (3,129,502 in chips)
Seat 4: Sisnleicht? (8,940,498 in chips)

On the first hand, Sisnleicht? raised to 400K, and meamemet folded.

The second hand started with a raise from meamemet and call from Sisnleicht? to see a [2s][4c][7c] flop. Sisnleicht? checked, but meamemet bet and Sisnleicht? raised. Meamemet responded by moving all-in with [Jh][Ts][9s][4h], and Sisnleicht? called with [8d][6d][5c][2c]. That flush draw hit on the [Tc] turn, and the [Qc] on the river only made it a higher flush. Meamemet had to depart in second place with $10,561.25.

Sisnleicht? of Austria claimed the TCOOP title and $17,803.87 in cash. Congrats!

TCOOP Event 35 ($55 PLO 4-Max) Results:

1st place: Sisnleicht? ($17,803.87)
2nd place: meamemet ($10,561.25)
3rd place: TeHKai ($6,940.25)
4th place: moonwatch79 ($4,984.91)

There a few days left to get in on the TCOOP action. Check out the main page for updates, leaderboard information, and a full schedule of events.

TCOOP Event #34, a $215 NLHE double chance soiree, not only produced the second-largest prize pool the series has seen, but resulted in our first six-figure winner. Although Event #25 listed a $112,000 first-place prize, champion wcsquad3 made away with $85,652.01 after a four-way deal. Tonight, Germany's WorDn cracked the century mark, taking home $100,373.88, for his victory after reaching a deal with runner-up OBVAMENTS.

2,459 players came out for Event #34, 986 of them taking advantage of the second-chance single rebuy. 324 players earned a share of the $689,000 prize pool with first place set to earn $110,240.00. Fifteen Red Spades were in the field, with Team Online's Bjorn "Bjoerni89" Schneider (266th) and Team Pro's Alex Kravchenko (235th) notching cash finishes.

With ten players remaining, chip leader WorDn shoved all-in from under-the gun with [Ad][Jh] and Sirocko called off his remaining 1.98 million with [9h][9c]. Although the nines held up through the turn, the [Ah] spiked on the river to make WorDn top pair, Sirocko's elimination sending us to the nine-handed final table.

Final table chip counts:

Seat 1: mcfaroe (3,227,566 in chips)
Seat 2: Starsky25 (1,097,126 in chips)
Seat 3: badboypony (472,771 in chips)
Seat 4: GALATON (951,344 in chips)
Seat 5: yor77 (433,088 in chips)
Seat 6: OBVAMENTS (1,874,694 in chips)
Seat 7: Tae Joon Noh (559,652 in chips)
Seat 8: WorDn (6,111,979 in chips)
Seat 9: mcnallyville (2,496,780 in chips)

Rivered!

The final table's first hand resulted in its first elimination. With the blinds up to 70,000/140,000, mcfaroe opened for 420,000 in the cutoff and GALATON three-bet shoved for his remaining 933,844. Although mcfaroe's [Qs][4s] was well behind GALATON's pocket tens, a queen on the river sent him to the rail in ninth place.

Starsky25 was the next to go, after open-shoving for 974,626 with pocket fives. OBVAMENTS called with [Kd][Js] in the big blind and for the third consecutive elimination, the river card did the deed, the [Jc] falling to send the pot to OBVAMENTS. For eighth place, Starsky25 took home $9,990.50.

The next deal of the cards had Tae Joon Noh all-in for his last 97,000 in the big blind. Although he showed down the best hand ([Ah][7s] against mcfaroe's [Qs][Ts]) and had his opponent down to seven outs on the river, (the [Kc][8h][9h][2h] board gave him the nut flush draw along with his ace-high), "RiverStars" struck again, the [Qc] falling to eliminate Noh in seventh place ($16,880.50).

Extreme short stackaments

With the final table down to six, OBVAMENTS broached the subject of a deal. However, some of the larger stacks weren't quite ready to run numbers, seeing as two players were hanging on with the smallest of stacks; badboypony held only 350,000 and yor77 had 411,000 with the blinds up to 125,000/250,000.

Although badboypony and yor77 scored a double-up apiece to hang on just a bit longer, the latter ended up falling to OBVAMENTS in a blind-vs-blind hand. Yor77 found [Ad][Th] and moved in for 1.1 million from the small blind only to have OBVAMENTS wake up with [Qc][Qh] in the big. No lucky rivers here, the jack-high board sealing yor77's elimination in sixth place. A few hands later, more than half of badboypony's chips were committed in the big blind. Mcfaroe min-raised from the small blind with [5s][5h], badboypony tossing his case 169k with [Ks][Ts]. The pocket pair held and badboypony rode off into the sunset in fifth place, collecting $31,005.00.

Mcnallyville was the only short stack remaining at this point and although he doubled through OBVAMENTS with pocket eights against [Ac][6s], those chips ended up in WorDn's stack a few hands later. WorDn open-shoved from the small blind with [Ks][4d] and mcnallyville called with [Ac][Js]. WorDn hit a four on the flop and mcnallyville couldn't catch up, the board running out [4h][2h][2s][Qc][Td] to send him home in fourth place.

The blinds rose to 150,000/300,000, leaving OBVAMENTS with less than nine big blinds. OBVAMENTS doubled through mcfaroe when his [8h][8s] held against [2c][2h], taking his stack up to 5.6 million while mcfaroe was left with only 2 million. The last of mcfaroe's stack went in the middle six hands later, his [Js][Td] trailing OBVAMENTS' [Kd][Qs]. A king hit the flop and another came on the turn, ending mcfaroe's run in third place. He earned $58,565.00 for his finish.

Heads-up chip counts:

Seat 6: OBVAMENTS (8,080,856 in chips)
Seat 8: WorDn (9,144,144 in chips)

OBVAMENTS finally got his wish when WorDn agreed to pause the action in order to discuss a deal. They quickly agreed to an even split of the remaining prize pool, leaving $8,000 in play for the winner.

With each player sporting a 21 big blind stack, it was a quick match. Although OBVAMENTS chipped up to 10.2 million after the first few hands, WorDn scored a double-up when his [Qc][Kc] flopped top pair against OBVAMENTS' [Ah][Th]. OBVAMENTS' last ten big blinds went in a few hands later with [Jd][8c] and WorDn called with [Ah][5c], an ace hitting the turn to seal the deal:

Congrats to WorDn on winning a TCOOP title and $100,373.88! For his runner-up finish, OBVAMENTS banked $92,373.87.

2012 TCOOP Event #34 ($215 NLHE 2x-Chance) results:

1. WorDn (Germany) $100,373.88*
2. OBVAMENTS (Mexico) $92,373.87*
3. mcfaroe (Faroe Islands) $58,565.00
4. mcnallyville (Mexico) $41,340.00
5. badboypony (Sweden) $31,005.00
6. yor77 (Netherlands) $23,770.50
7. Tae Joon Noh (South Korea) $16,880.50
8. Starsky25 (Canada) $9,990.50
9. GALATON (Russia) $6,201.00

*= reflects the result of a two-way deal that left $8,000 in play for the winner

Only three days remain before TCOOP comes to a close. Do you have your Main Event ticket yet? Head over to the TCOOP page for a full schedule and satellite information.

Razz has a well-earned reputation as one of poker's most painful variants, the sad brick-brick-brick of uncooperative late-street cards having caused immeasurable suffering to many who have played the game.

Accelerate the pace of the game by spreading it as a turbo-style tourney, however, and the duration of such suffering becomes reduced considerably. And so, in let's-get-this-over-with fashion, TCOOP Event #33 ($33 razz) came and went in a flash. Before the crying could go on too long.

A total of 2,178 players put up the $33 entry fee for Event #33, making for a total prize pool of $65,340 and once again topping another TCOOP guarantee (this one $50K). The top 288 finishers divided the dough, with $11,222.69 due the winner.

It would take just under two hours for the cash bubble to burst, with none of the half-dozen or so representatives of Team PokerStars who participated having made the money. The closest misses were Anders "Donald" Berg (Team Online) who finished 388th and Team Pro Martin Staszko who was eliminated in 354th.

At the two-hour break there were 280 players left, with giRL90ihqdaa, JD9712, and as1025 atop the leaderboard.

As the stakes continued to rise swiftly every five minutes, the field shrunk dramatically over the next hour, whittling down to just 20 players. By that point wintyara had collected enough bets to take the lead with over 2.33 million, followed by mire (1.84 million) and Nakkehai (1.13 million).

It would then require less than 10 minutes for them to reach the final table. As it happened, eliminations happening almost simultaneously at the last two tables meant that only seven players would be left when the first final table hand was dealt.

Over at the five-handed table, a short-stacked sateboy was all in by third street against Madhouse77 and soon was eliminated in ninth ($490.05) Meanwhile at the four-handed table, it was Nakkehai claiming the last of ahustler147's chips to send the latter out in eighth ($653.40).

With just seven left, the final table was underway.

Seat 1: Nakkehai -- 1,306,463
Seat 2: wintyara -- 3,230,172
Seat 3: heniek31 -- 1,364,184
Seat 4: empty
Seat 5: JD9712 -- 710,180
Seat 6: gandolo -- 815,248
Seat 7: imre -- 2,488,256
Seat 8: Madhouse77 -- 975,497

The stakes were already 120,000/240,000 (Level 35) by the time the final table began, meaning even the leaders didn't have too many big bets with which to battle.

It took just five hands for the next elimination. On third, gandolo raised with a [7] showing and Madhouse77 made it two bets with an [A]. It folded back and gandolo called. Both checked fourth, then gandolo led fifth with [7][T][5] showing and Madhouse77 called with [A][J][3] up. Madhouse77 drew an [8] on sixth while gandolo picked up a pairing [T], and when Madhouse77 bet gandolo raised for the last of his stack, getting a call.

Madhouse showed [7][4] / [A][J][3][8] to gandolo's [2][6] / [7][T][5][T]. Madhouse77 drew a [4] on seventh while gandolo got a [7] -- pairing cards for both -- meaning Madhouse77's 8-7-4-3-A was best and gandolo was out in seventh.

The next knockout happened moments later. wintyara had pushed over 4 million, and started pushing the action, too, after calling heniek31's raise on third, betting out on the next three streets and getting called by heniek31 until the latter was all in. wintyara showed [7][2] / [8][A][2][4] and heniek31 [2][A] / [6][J][3][9], and after both were dealt jacks on seventh it was wintyara's 8-7-4-2-A beating heniek31's 9-6-3-2-A to reduce the field to five.

Just two hands later the stakes were 200,000/400,000 when a series of third-street raises saw Nakkehai all in versus JD9712 and imre. JD9712 then bet fourth and was called, then raised all in after imre bet fifth.

JD9712: [8][2] / [A][4][7]
imre: [5][2][ / [4][2][3]
Nakkehai: [5][A] / [3][Q][2]

Decent draws all around. Didn't work out so well for Nakkehai, though, who ended up getting another [Q] and a [T] to be knocked out in fifth place. imre picked up a [9] and [4] to wind up with a 9-low, while JD9712 drew a [6] and [8] for a 7-6-4-2-A and survival.

Just two hands after that, imre and Madhouse77 bet back and forth until imre was all in on third street, and when all of the cards were dealt imre had [7][J] / [6][8][2][2] / [K] for a jack-low, not enough against the 8-low of Madhouse77's [8][9] / [4][7][3][T] / [5], meaning imre was out in fourth.

The remaining trio played a few hands before having the tourney paused to talk about making a deal. By then wintyara led with 4,378,356, JD9712 was next with 3,803,183, and Madhouse77 third with 2,708,461.

The three agreed to terms in short order, leaving $1,000 on the table for which to play. "Well done gentlemen," typed JD9712 to his opponents. "You were by far my toughest opponents." Good luck wishes were exchanged, and soon cards were being dealt once more.

After about 10 minutes wintyara had increased his lead, pushing out over 6.54 million to Madhouse77's 2.59 million and JD9712's 1.75 million.

Then, with the stakes 300,000/600,000 (Level 39), wintyara and Madhouse77 would each put the maximum four bets in on both third and fourth streets, plus enough to get the last of Madhouse77's chips in on fifth.

A snapshot at that moment:

wintyara: [4][5] / [6][3][6]
Madhouse77: [5][4] / [7][9][2]

And then another seconds later:

wintyara: [4][5] / [6][3][6][J] / [A] -- 6-5-4-3-A
Madhouse77: [5][4] / [7][9][2][2] / [J] -- 9-7-5-4-2

Madhouse77 was out in third.

Heads-up play began with wintyara the massive leader with 9,284,317 to JD9712's 1,605,683. JD9712 would chip back some over the next 15 hands, but was still way behind with just 2.57 million to wintyara's 8.31 million when the final hand took place.

The stakes now 400,000/800,000 (Level 40), the pair put three bets each in on third, then three plus a little more in on fourth to get JD9712 all in. wintyara had [9][2] / [5][7] and JD9712 [6][8] / [4][T].

wintyara would pick up a [4] and then two queens to make 9-7-5-4-2, and that would prove enough as JD9712 drew [8][A][Q] to end with a T-8-6-4-A. Take a look:

Congratulations to wintyara for winning Event #33 and the TCOOP title, besting a field of 2,178 in a quick -- and hopefully mostly pain-free -- three hours and 43 minutes!

TCOOP Event #33 Results ($33 Razz) (*reflects three-way deal):
1st: wintyara ($9,517.86)*
2nd: JD9712 ($8,214.33)*
3rd: Madhouse77 ($7,636.61)*
4th: imre ($4,573.80)
5th: Nakkehai ($3,267)
6th: heniek31 ($1,960.20)
7th: gandolo ($1,360.80)
8th: ahustler147 ($653.40)

A few more days of TCOOPin' remain. Check that Turbo Championship of Online Poker site for information about remaining events and satellites.

The rebuy tournament. There's not another creature like it in all of poker, which is enough to scare some players away all by itself. But for everyone else, there's just something about the rebuy. Some players see it as an opportunity to go crazy. Others see it as an opportunity to sit back and pick off people who have gone crazy. The beautiful thing is that no matter which camp you fall into, you have plenty of reason to love rebuy tournaments.

No surprise, then, that things got off to such a roaring start in Event 32. More than 8,500 players were registered as the tournament began - and within the confines of the first blind level, there had already been more than 4,300 rebuys. By the time Level 4 rolled around the guarantee had already been broken - and with another 70 minutes of rebuys and late registration still available, no less. If this tournament were the new kid in an 80s teen movie, it would have been hanging out with the jocks and cheerleaders. By the end of late registration the total numbers had swelled to 16,951 entries with 60,638 rebuys and 8,494 add-ons, building a stunning total prize pool of $429,065. That would be split up among the top 2,250 finishers, with $50,195 set aside for the winner.

Team Online only had one player cash in Event 32, but it was a good run for Kristian "CharismA3" Martin (155th place, $210.24). Team PokerStars Pro fared a bit better, collecting decent cashes from Martin Staszko (175th, $201.66) and Henrique Pinho (592nd, $120.13) - and a far better result from Alex Kravchenko. He had the good fortune on Level 43 (100K/200K/25K) to pick up pocket queens with a player all-in in front of him; he called and was up against [As] [2d], which he easily dispatched to move up to 7.34 million chips. From there he used his stack as leverage to pick up pots uncontested and move up to more than 12.4 million chips, good enough to rank him 2nd in the field with 125 players remaining.

Run, Alex, run

The former WSOP Main Event final tablist then focused on maintaining his stack before being moved as the field shrank to its final 7 tables. On Level 49 (400K/800K/100K) Kravchenko held 10.5 million chips. And unlike on his previous table, he wasn't the big stack: there were three players with enough leverage to potentially eliminate him, including one on either side of him. The chip stacks around the table tended to flatten as the blinds continued to rise over the next two levels; with the occasional short stack falling aside, most of the players held steady in the 5-to-10-million range. Kravchenko was slipping, holding just 6 big blinds on Level 52 (700K/1.4M/175K), when he picked off BentBetjent's [Ah] [8h] with [Ac] [Js], for a 13.4-million-chip pot that took the field down to just 32 players.

Now, as the tournament's fifth break ended, most of the table had Kravchenko and his 19th-ranked stack of 12.07 million chips covered. The good news was that the chip lead - currently held by India's Donkab0mber with 34.4 million - was less than two double-ups away. Soon, though, that lead would recede a bit further when Kravchenko's neighbor, Romania's i.love.ri, scored on this hand:

i.love.ri picked up [Kc] [Kd] two hands later and knocked out the United Kingdom's SpoS Im GoOd, who over-shoved with [Ad] [Td], to move all the way up to 66.5 million chips. Kravchenko, meanwhile, seemingly couldn't pick up a hand. With blinds all the way up to 1M/2M with 250K antes, he finally saw the action fold to him on the button and shoved for 4.32 million with [As] [7d]. Lex West called from the big blind with [Kh] [Qd], hit one king on the flop, and hit another on the river to end Alex Kravchenko's run in 19th place ($793.77).

The show must go on

Lex West would vault into the lead not long afterward at the expense of i.love.ri in an 81-million-chip pot, shoving over the top of i.love.ri's raise to 5 million with [Ah] [Ks] and getting called by [Ac] [Ts]. i.love.ri managed to keep pace, though, picking up a few smaller pots before knocking sia76 out in 16th place ($879.58) with pocket eights against [Ad] [Jh] to retake the lead with 76.18 million chips. The final table bubble eventually popped on this hand:

With that there was just one table remaining, playing on Level 58 (2.5M/5M/625K). The final nine players were:

Seat 1: coach0783 (37,477,920 in chips)
Seat 2: DarrenStyles (70,715,664 in chips)
Seat 3: Lex West (59,312,316 in chips)
Seat 4: PiRaToS14 (33,721,674 in chips)
Seat 5: Pipo0705 (10,938,018 in chips)
Seat 6: olehan (81,055,294 in chips)
Seat 7: Jinky6677 (22,067,228 in chips)
Seat 8: LEAO66 (45,984,776 in chips)
Seat 9: i.love.ri (125,504,110 in chips)

Both Germany's Pipo0705 and Finland's PiRaToS14 managed to double up in the first orbit. Pipo0705 suggested a deal but there were no takers, and just one orbit later the German player would be the first eliminated from the table after shoving from the cutoff with [Ac] [8s]. Canada's Jinky6677 called with [Ad] [Js], which paired on the flop and held through the river to send Pipo0705 out in 9th place ($2,574.39).

The i.love.ri wrecking ball claimed another victim on the very next hand. The Romanian player called with [Ad] [3h] after the short-stacked coach0783 had moved in for 17.3 million chips with [Kd] [Js]. The board was no help to either player and coach0783 left in 8th place ($3,861.58). With the addition of two of the next three pots - each worth at least 63 million chips and taken down uncontested on the flop - i.love.ri had moved up to 210 million chips.

That, along with the 4M/8M blinds and 1M antes, meant the rest of the table had to do everything they could to keep pace. Germany's olehan was the first to step up, calling in the big blind with [Kh] [Tc] after Lex West shoved for 28.81 million holding [Jd] [8s]. The board was all blanks and Lex West left in 7th place ($7,294.10). The chip leader then went back to work on this hand:

That sent DarrenStyles out in 6th place ($10,726.62). He was followed five hands later by PiRaToS14, who was crippled with [Ah] [Js] against olehan's [9d] [9h] before being knocked out by Portugal's LEAO66. PiRaToS14 finished 5th for $15,017.27.

Four players enter, one player leaves

That left just four competitors, stacked like so:

Seat 6: olehan (135,163,732 in chips)
Seat 7: Jinky6677 (33,385,492 in chips)
Seat 8: LEAO66 (100,626,756 in chips)
Seat 9: i.love.ri (217,601,020 in chips)

Jinky6677 managed to double through olehan with pocket kings against [As] [6s], stacking up to 77 million chips with blinds at 6M/12M. Then the i.love.ri express continued to roll after LEAO66 shoved from the small blind with [As] [7s]; i.love.ri called with [2c] [2h], which held up through a board of [Qh] [8h] [Qd] [Th] [4h] to bust LEAO66 in 4th place. Only six hands later came this hand, which set i.love.ri up with a big lead for heads-up play:

Despite one double-up on the first hand of heads-up play, the uphill climb would prove to be too much for olehan. On the third hand, i.love.ri opened for 36 million on the button with [Kh] [Qh] and called when olehan moved in for 83 million with [Qc] [4c]. olehan never got close as the board ran out [Ac] [5d] [8d] [Qs] [Kd], shipping the final pot - and this TCOOP championship - to i.love.ri.

TCOOP Event 32 $5.50+R No-Limit Hold'em (3x-Turbo)
16,951 entrants, 60,638 rebuys, 8,494 add-ons
$429,065 prize pool

1st place - i.love.ri (Romania) - $50,195.55
2nd place - olehan (Germany) - $36,470.52
3rd place - Jinky6677 (Canada) - $27,889.22
4th place - LEAO66 (Portugal) - $19,307.92
5th place - PiRaToS14 (Finland) - $15,017.27
6th place - DarrenStyles (Sweden) - $10,726.62
7th place - Lex West (Netherlands) - $7,294.10
8th place - coach0783 (Belgium) - $3,861.58
9th place - Pipo0705 (Germany) - $2,574.39

At 7 hours and 47 minutes this event lasted a bit longer than the average TCOOP event so far - and for the winner it was less than a regular day's work for 50 grand. There's plenty more turbo goodness where this event came from, though your time for participating is beginning to run low. Check out the full TCOOP schedule for the scoop on how you can grab your piece of the pie.

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is supposed to be one of the premiere events in the poker world. It did not disappoint! It was absolutely gorgeous and I got to share hosting duties with the lovely Kristy Arnett. Just in case you haven't seen the white sandy beaches, the palm trees, the water parks, or Kristy in a bikini, check out this video.

PokerStars kicked off the tournament series in style with the $100,000 Super High Roller. The action was intense and there were even two re-buys; one by businessman and Big Game regular Bill Perkins, the other by Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel. It worked out for Duhamel because he ended up in the top five that cashed. He also ended up having an incredible PCA in general, but, more on that in a bit.

Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu and last year's Main Event champion Galen Hall also cashed this huge event. Heads-up play ended up being Dan Shak against Team PokerStars Pro Viktor 'Isuldir1' Blom. Blom shipped the first-place prize of $1,254,000. Prior to this win, Blom had never appeared in a video interview before. However, in light of this huge live victory, he finally spoke.

Blom really proved that he has a presence in the live tournament circuit. And I finally got a better glance at what it is like to grind online. PokerStars Team Online's Randy Lew set up a grind station right by the media row and proceeded to set a Guinness World Record. He played almost 24,000 hands in eight hours and made a profit. It was insane to watch. He NEVER stood up in the entire eight hours.

Of Course the Main Event attracted a huge field of 1,072 players. Like bees to honey, poker players love the PCA. The final table ended up with quite a few online players. But, the winner was day trader John Dibella.

Meanwhile Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel was leading the way in the $25,000 dollar High Roller. He played five events and final tabled four of them! And he shipped one of the $5,000 side events. He ended up besting the incredible High Roller field to get heads-up with Russian player Leonid Bilokur. Bilokur took down the event. But it was definitely a profitable trip for the 2010 WSOP Main Event winner.

Needless to say, even though I didn't get too much time in the sun, I had a ball. I treasure the opportunity to spend some quality time with the best players in the world. Hopefully next year, I get to go to the party!

Toby Lewis may look like any other young poker player, but he stands out among his peers. Reserved, appreciative of his success, and modest, the man known as "810ofclubs" on PokerStars stands apart from the young balla set from which the younger champions ofte come. His biggest success to date was an EPT Vilamoura title, but most recently, Lewis won TCOOP Event #16 for $68,676.

We asked Lewis to answer a few questions for us about his recent success. Here's what he had to say.

***

PokerStars Blog: For those people who don't know you yet, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Toby Lewis: I'm 22 years old, and was brought up in Southampton, England. I've been living in London for about three years now and love it. There's so much to do each day. I'm quite simple. I love playing sport and competitive games and have realized now that time away from poker is very much needed to sustain playing well and a good lifestyle.

PokerStars Blog: We've met a lot of poker players over the years. More often than not, there is something about them that is a lot more interesting than their poker game. What is that thing about you?

Toby Lewis: I haven't come from a money background, so I think I really appreciate the opportunities I've been giving by poker. I think I have a lot of knowledge and experience gained by visiting so many different places and cultures whilst only being 22.

PokerStars Blog: After such big wins in your past, what does your TCOOP championship mean to you?

Toby Lewis: My TCOOP win is great. I've been grinding MTTs for a couple of years now with good success, but never won a SCOOP, WCOOP or TCOOP. It's great to knock this one off the list. I never considered winning a 12k runner turbo. But whilst playing a bunch of other tourneys at the same time, I didn't notice it until I won a massive pot at the time and got to 1.7 million. So, I made it bigger on my screen and focused more thoroughly on that.

PokerStars Blog: We know you're a fulltime pro. How did that come to be?

Toby Lewis: Poker is my full time job and has been for nearly four years now. Hopefully I don't have to consider anything else anytime soon. I've been playing for about six years and signed up for PokerStars in early 2008. I've been fortunate to have a EPT title from Vilamoura in 2010 for ?480,000. My biggest online score is $170,000 from the 2011 $10,000 SCOOP Main Event (6th place).

PokerStars Blog: How did you come to start playing in the first place?

Toby Lewis: I learned poker through playing, watching on TV, chatting with friends about strategy, etc. Some of them were more influential than others, but there's still far to many to name. I would say the best learning tool is just playing and learning how to deal with different situations that arise.

PokerStars Blog: TCOOP's format is, by definition really fast. In your normal life, do you like things fast or more slow-paced?

Toby Lewis: Slow paced. Definitely. I'm a pretty chilled-out person, although I do like to keep busy doing different things each day.

PokerStars Blog: Why did TCOOP appeal to you?

Toby Lewis: TCOOP appealed to me for various reasons. I'm not the biggest fan of turbo tourneys as a rule, but I think this series brings a lot of runners and a lot of value. It also brings more players to the other MTT's which is helpful.

PokerStars Blog: Talk a little bit about your goals for the future.

Toby Lewis: I'm constantly setting new goals for my game. Lately I've been focusing on thinking better through hands and not just auto-pilioting as I've found myself doing this at the end of last year. Another key is preparation for a session. If it's live, preparation is having breakfast, reading the news, or going for a workout (the latter is hopeful usually). Online, it's the same really, just later in the day. So, I make sure I've done everything during the day and there's nothing to distract me whilst grinding in the evening.

PokerStars Blog: Have you had any change in philosophy that's helped your game?

Toby Lewis: A good friend of mine told me to keep it simple and think methodically, which is very true from my experience. Keep a clear head, and you can't blame yourself when the cards don't fall your way.

PokerStars Blog: Finally, the screen name. Where did that come from?

Toby Lewis: The name "810ofclubs" was just my favorite hand at the time. I've had some awful screen names on other sites which I won't disclose. Aces is now my favorite hand, funny enough

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