May 24 2012, Chad Holloway

Last year, the World Series of Poker Circuit held the inaugural $1,000,000 National Championship featuring 100 players who had qualified for the freeroll either by winning a Main Event, claiming a casino championship title, or winning enough points on the national leaderboard. What you might not know is that one man won a WSOPC Main Event and wasn’t awarded a seat to the national championship. We’re talking about our latest Rookie Roundup selection, John Riordan, who turned out to be ineligible for last year’s national championship.

In March 2011, Riordan conquered a field of 712 players to win the WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club for $210,180. He accomplished the feat at age 19, making him the youngest ring winner of all time. Florida only requires players to be 18 to play in their casinos, whereas Las Vegas requires patrons to be 21. Therefore, Riordan was unable to accept the seat into the national championship, a prize that accompanies every WSOP Circuit Main Event win.

Not being able to play the million-dollar freeroll was a missed opportunity, especially when you consider how well he had been playing. In the Palm Beach Main Event Riordan began the final day third in chips with 24 players remaining. He used that big stack to cruise to the final table, which is where he hit a few speed bumps. Nonetheless, the wunderkind kept his composure and managed to make it to heads-up play against Mike Mortin.

John Riordan

In their penultimate hand, with blinds at 50,000/100,000 and a 10,000 ante, Riordan made it 250,000 from the button and Morton defended his big blind. The latter then checked the flop and Riordan fired out a 325,000 bet, only to have Morton check-raise to 900,000. Riordan called, and that brought them to the turn.

From there, Morton moved his stack all-in and Riordan spent a few minutes in the tank before calling off his last 3.84 million chips, creating a pot of 10 million chips. Riordan’s was in the lead, but Morton’s had plenty of outs to end the tournament right there. Much to Riordan’s delight, the river missed his opponent, and he laid claim to the biggest pot of the tournament. Riordan clinched victory on the next hand.

Since his big score, Riordan has notched three other cashes. He took sixth in a $550 No-Limit Hold’em event at the Florida Million III at Orange Park for $22,000; third in the $2,500 2012 Isle Classics Main Event at Pompano Beach for $43,207; and 34th in the this year’s WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Main for $4,573. That last score may not have been life-changing, but it was impressive considering it was just 33 spots away from a title defense in a 778-player field.

Riordan, who studied at the University of Florida, may be young, but that doesn’t mean he’s not talented. Since he was 19, Riordan has played in some of the biggest pot-limit Omaha cash games in Florida, sometimes as big as $200/400 with a $40,000 buy-in.

The WSOP will be a new experience for the rookie, but we’re confident he’ll fare well. Our guess is he’ll be making some noise in no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha events throughout the summer.

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook now!

Follow Chad Holloway on

No comments yet. Be the first to post one!

May 24 2012, PokerNews Staff

PokerStars’ Zoom Poker has officially been launched worldwide! Download PokerStars now to get in on the action!

What is Zoom Poker?

Zoom Poker is the fast-paced ring game format where your opponents change every hand. With Zoom Poker, you play against a pool of players instead of fixed opponents on one table. It’s the fastest poker game experience anywhere online, and you can try it now!

How does Zoom Poker Work?

• Find Zoom tables under the “Zoom” tab in the PokerStars lobby.
• Find the game and stakes you’d like to play and click “Join Game” to get started. Zoom Poker is available across hold’em, Omaha and draw games, at stakes ranging from $0.01/$0.02 up to $2.50/$5, with more games and stakes coming soon. You can even play for free!
• Once you enter a game, you’ll immediately be dealt a hand. Fold, and you’ll immediately be moved to a new hand, at a new table.
• You can fold at any point when you are facing a bet. You can even click “Fast Fold,” which allows you to fold even when it is not your turn to act.
• Watch the end of a hand play out by holding the CTRL key when you the click the Fold button. If you use “Fast Fold” however, you will be unable to remain on that table and watch the end of the hand

If you have an iPhone, iPad or Android device, Zoom Poker is also available on the PokerStars Mobile App! Get in on the fast-paced action from wherever you might be, whether it’s on a train, in the library, or even in the bathtub!

Download the free PokerStars software if you haven’t already done so, and you’ll be ready to play in minutes. You might even have the chance to play a hand against Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu!

Sign up for a PokerStars account now and remember that by entering the marketing code “POKERNEWS.COM” and the bonus code “STARS600″ you will be able to claim a 100% match up to $600 first deposit bonus and be eligible for any future promotions we have on PokerStars!

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook today!

Follow PokerNews Staff on

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to post one!