Match & Win Awards Over $12,000, More Expected
January 11th, 2012
As you may have heard this month’s Match & Win promo is pretty special with up to $10,000 in cash being awarded to players who receive an Ace Gold Card this month. So far we’ve had had four winners and they just happen to have each nabbed a different suit. But since Gold Cards are awarded randomly all Aces are still up for grabs all month long.
The first two winners burst out of the starting gate with Ace Gold Cards in the first week.
Our biggest winner so far was powerhaus555 who received the highly coveted Ace of Spades while playing at a $0.50/$1 No-Limit Holdem table. The Ace of Spades is worth $10,000 and there are still 22 more days for you get one of your own!
Our next biggest winner so far was PLOFISH011. He received an Ace of Hearts Gold Card worth $1,500 while playing at the $3/$6 tables.
The second week has already seen two more players receive Ace Gold Cards. An Ace of Diamonds Gold Card worth $500 went to btwen of Connecticut, USA and an Ace of Clubs worth $250 went to bkdoorheehaw of Connecticut, USA.
That’s over $12,000 in cash awarded to players since the promotion started and we’re expecting more to come before it wraps up at 23:59 GMT January 31, 2012.
Gold Cards are awarded randomly at all cash games so grab your seat and start mining for your very own Gold Cards today.
2012 Irish Poker Open Schedule Released
January 6th, 2012
We’ve got the complete 2012 Irish Poker Open schedule below and for those looking to get to the Main Event on the cheap check out our Irish Poker Open satellites.
Our first final qualifier will run this Sunday which will award a $6,000 USD prize package and will have you covered for attending one of Europe’s classic poker tournaments.
Thursday 5 April:
• 19:00: Irish Open Super Satellite – €200 + €25
Friday 6 April:
• 14:00: Irish Open Main Event – €3,200 + €300
Saturday 7 April:
• 15:00: €500 ‘Six Handed’ NLH Freezeout – €500 + €60
• 18:00: Pot Limit Omaha Championship (2 Day Event) – €600 + €75
• 21:00: €300 Turbo NLH Freezeout – €300 + €35
Sunday 8 April:
• 15:00: €1000 NLH Freezeout (2 Day Event)- €1000 + €125
• 20:00: €200 Turbo ‘Win The Button’ NLH Freezeout – €200 + €25
Monday 9 April:
• 15:00: €200 ‘Scalps’ NLH Freezeout – €150 + €50 + €25
Powerhaus555 Receives $10,000 Gold Card Just Three Days into January Match & Win
January 4th, 2012
The Cake Poker Reward Gurus cooked up a fine Match & Win promotion for players to kick off the New Year with all 2012 Gold Card Aces being redeemable for various amounts up to $10,000 through January. It only took three days to see someone nab the first $10,000 prize as powerhaus555 of Massachusetts, USA was awarded an Ace of Spades Gold Card while playing at a $0.50/$1.00 cash game table.
A day prior we also saw PLOFOSHO11 of New York, USA receive an Ace of Hearts worth $1,500 while playing at a $3/$6 6-max table.
Both players, along with everyone else playing cash games at Cake Poker, still have the chance to win again since the distribution of Gold Cards is random and the Match & Win promotion runs all month.
For those unfamiliar with Match & Win, it’s one of Cake Poker’s many recurring promotions. It lets players redeem Gold Cards they have won at ring game tables for cash and prizes. Since the distribution of Gold Cards is random, any player competing for real money at a Cake Poker ring game table could instantly win up to $10,000 in cash.
Get complete details on Match & Win and Gold Cards, or head straight to the ring game tables and get a shot at your own $10,000, just for playing online poker.
Aussie Millions $16,000 Package Winner Started with $0.10 Buy-in
December 27th, 2011
With the Aussie Millions just around the corner, Cake recently wrapped up the last of its Aussie Millions Main Event satellites which saw zagorac1 of Sweden take down the $16,000 prize package. What makes Dragutin’s win even more impressive is the fact that he got to that tournament by starting with a $0.10 R&A satellite.
We shot zagorac1 an email congratulating him and asking him to share a bit about himself. Here’s what he had to say:
Cake: So you won a $16,000 Aussie Millions prize package and you did it by starting at a $0.10 R&A satellite. That’s amazing. Can you tell readers what it was like to win the seat this way?
zagorac1: It was unbelievable…. But I had a lot of luck on the way.
C: Do you play in satellites for live tournaments like these very often? Have you ever won a seat to live tournament like this?
z: I play almost every day a couple of satellites. And I won a trip to Las Vegas last spring worth $2,500.
C: Have you had much success at live poker tournaments?
z: I have never played a live tournament.
C: If you continue to run hot at the Aussie Millions and cash big, what do you plan to do with the money?
z: Continue to play poker on cake. And buy a new TV.
What can we say, the man loves his Cake… and his TV. Congratulations again, zagorac1 and good luck at the tables!
While the Aussie Millions satellites may have come to a close for this year there are still plenty of qualifiers to the Super Poker 2012 and the Irish Open. Pull a Dragutin and get in on the ground floor for mere pocket change and let your skills fly you to Dublin where you’ll compete for millions.
Strip Poker in Manhattan Shop Window for Art’s Sake
November 14th, 2011
Strip poker players make their statement by getting naked in a shop window.
If you live around Manhattan and are looking for a live poker game, we’ve got one for you. A game of strip poker is currently running in the shop window of the Art in General Gallery until November 19, or the police bust it up, whichever comes first.
Sadly, no cash is on the table, just the usual pile of discarded clothes that comes with a strip poker game. But why? It’s part of an art installation by local artist, Zefrey Throwel. Throwel is known for his nudity-based art installations and has even had participants get arrested at them in the past.
In August he organized a group of about 50 people to dress like office workers for what he called Ocularpation: Wall Street, which saw them all strip down to nothing, giving morning commuters an unusual show even by New York standards.
The strip poker installation is apparantly a comment on the nature of capitalism. Is the comment that capitalism is sexy and fun? Yes, let’s just assume that it is.
Throwel sent out the invite without stating how people should dress so some have arrived with 10 extra layers on while others have just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, intentionally starting short-stacked. Check out a video of the naked art installation and see for yourself. The naughty bits are blurred out so it’s sort of SFW.
Trowl told reporters that he is, “Trying to illuminate a dark cranny in the financial world.”
Dark cranny? Really? Maybe the only time that should be illuminated is on those special trips to the doctor. Just sayin.
For those of you more interested in playing poker with your clothes on (or not, whatever), check out Cake’s online poker games.
Germany on the Board with Pius Heinz WSOP Victory
November 11th, 2011
Pius Heinz wins and then hugs his $8.7 million. (Image Courtesy Pokerlistings.com)
Zee Germans have scored! Yes, in a final hand Pius Heinz won the 2011 WSOP Main Event with Ace High after calling a pre-flop push from runner-up Martin Staszko. Staszko tabled T-7 suited and picked up a guthsot straight draw on the turn to add extra excitement to the final hand but it was not to be as Heinz’ high card held and instantly plopped $8.7 million into his pocket and a sweet piece of hardward on his wrist.
Staszko gets to weep into a pile of $5,433,086 for his second place finish.
Young poker players have staked their claim as the champions to beat with the last four WSOP Main Event winners being under 23 or younger when they won. Likewise, with Heinz winning, the dominant force of American poker players have had to sit on the sideline for three of the last four years.
Heinz takes away a pretty sweet comeback story to go along with his cash and bracelet. The new champ entered the final table seventh in chips but quickly turned the tables and held the chip lead with half of all the chips in play going into three-way action. Things evened out, however, after Staszko doubled up through and then eliminated third place finisher, Ben Lamb (2011 Player of the Year) in order to be roughly even in chips with Heinz.
The fact that the WSOP Final Table was broadcast semi-live did play a factor in Heinz’ victory as he stated that, “It was good to know that Martin just had a hand every time he made a big bet or a big raise because when you think you’re getting bluffed or outplayed it messes with your confidence. So when the rail tells you that Martin just had a hand every time then you’re thinking that you never did anything wrong and you’re lucky to still be in because I never called or bluffed him when he had a big hand.”
What do you think? Should the WSOP continue to show hole cards in the semi-live broadcast, or does it affect the game too much?
For those with a thirst for the details here is a complete account of the WSOP Final Table. For those looking to qualify for a live tournament themselves and get their own money hugging picture, check out the Cake Poker Aussie Millions qualifiers.
Every Hand of WSOP Final Table on ESPN3
October 19th, 2011
This year ESPN is offering an unprecedented look at the WSOP Final Table as it will air every single hand on ESPN3. Also new is the fact that the coverage will be virtually live with just a 15-minute delay.
ESPN senior director of programming, Doug White, stated that, “We had great success with our live WSOP Main Event shows this summer and this kind of unprecedented coverage of the Final Table on ESPN3 will allow fans to experience the culmination of the biggest event in poker.”
As far as showing hole cards goes, ESPN will not be showing every player’s cards, but just the players who bet into a pot or have any kind of effect on it.
WSOP Commentators will be as follows:
- WSOP Europe – Lon McEachern and Olivier Busquet
- WSOP Final Table – McEachern and David Tuchman
- WSOP Final Three – McEachern, Norman Chad and Antonio Esfandiari
If you’re not one of the November Nine (there must be about 7 billion of you out there), you can still qualify for a killer live tourney with our Aussie Millions satellites. Qualifiers run every day with the Final $250 + $18 Qualifier running at 5pm EST on the last Sunday of every month.
2012 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship Canceled
October 13th, 2011
Jesus Ferguson may have won his last NBC National Heads-Up Championship
According to the entities at Wicked Chops Poker, the popular NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship will not be happening next year.
As poker shows went, the Heads-up Championship was one of most watched with an average rating of 1.5 over the seven years it ran. With its consistently A-list field of poker pros and its unique format, the Heads-up Championship proved very popular with casual and hardcore poker fans alike.
While WCP did confirm that 2012 is definitely a no-go, NBC Sports Senior Director of Communications, Adam Freifeld, told them that the network will “continue to evaluate our poker programming.” So who knows, maybe we will see a similar incarnation of the show in the not so distant future.
Hellmuth Misses 12th WSOP Bracelet, Extends POY Lead, is Humble
October 10th, 2011
For most poker players, finishing 7th in a WSOP Europe tournament and cashing for €24,184 would be something to be proud of, but for Phil Hellmuth it was a massive disappointment.
“I don’t play these things to finish seventh, I feel horrible,” stated Hellmuth after busting out of WSOP Europe Event 1.
Hellmuth had a great run in the tournament finishing day 1 with the second most chips but ultimately finishing in seventh. A result he was quick to blame on the luck factor of the game saying, “If I had won I would have called it my masterpiece but I guess I missed a few brush strokes along the way. When Picasso drew a masterpiece he didn’t have to deal with luck.”
He went on to explain what exactly he has to deal with as he approaches a final table.
“As the blinds go up and these kids think they have to move in with every ace-ten off-suit there’s a lot of luck involved. I was never all-in and I was never low on chips and I moved my chips so perfectly and my timing was so perfect. I put myself in a wonderful spot here but it’s just frustrating to lose every flip and lose every race.”
Yes Phil, we know. If it weren’t for luck you’d win them all, right? Well, might I suggest a new sport that eliminates that excuse?
Anyway, say what you will about Hellmuth, the fact is he’s having a great year and this latest cash further extends his lead over Ben Lamb in the race to win Player of the Year.
As if in a direct response to his critics who have accused Hellmuth of being unable to compete at the top levels in anything but No Limit Holdem, he managed to score three second place finishes in WSOP events, none of which were Holdem events.
Gold Cards Upgraded to AAA Rating
August 8th, 2011
In an unprecedented move by Morgan, Freeman and Spurlock, the credit rating of the Cake Poker Gold Card (GLC on the The Exchange) was upgraded from a B- to AAA this morning.
According to a press release from MF&S the upgrade was primarily due to the strength of the currently running $60,000 Gold Club Tournament Series.
The series offers $45,000 in prizes throughout August for Cake players who have Club suited Gold Cards for entry. Plus there’s excellent value for any players who compete in any 10 of the Gold Club tournaments with a seat in a $15,000 finale freeroll.
Gold Cards are randomly awarded to players at the cash game tables. The higher the stakes of the table the faster the cards are distributed. Gold Cards can also be bought or sold for cash in The Exchange; a process that has become quite lucrative for some players who pay attention to the market.
Get the complete details on the $60,000 Gold Club Tournament Series and learn more about the Cake Poker Exchange. In a tumultuous market, they just might provide the best investment out there.
