July 29 2011, Josh Bell

Day 1 of the first stop on the fifth season of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour has come and gone. Melbourne, Australia, is a new stop for the APPT, and an elite field of players from all around the world attended, including two former World Series of Poker Main Event champions. The 260-player field took to the felt in the Crown Poker Room, all vying for the chance to take home the title and the $330,000 first-place prize that went along with it.

The day started with APPT commissioner Danny McDonough introducing 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion and Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker. Moneymaker kicked off the proceedings to a room full of excited players and a big rail of spectators.

On the felt, Moneymaker managed to make it through the day with only a small amount over what he started with, but he was better off than fellow WSOP Main Event champ and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem. Hachem ran his short stack into the of Liam Moffett holding and failed to improve.

The player with all the chips at the end of the day was none other than Aussie local Mitch Carle, who dominated his table. One of the big pots Carle won was a massive hand toward the end of the day where he tanked on the river with a board showing . Carle eventually made the call holding for top pair and took down the big pot. His opponent turned over for a weaker top pair. From that point on, it was all uphill for Carle, who will return Saturday with a monster stack of 187,900.

Some of the players hot on Carle’s heels include Kyle Cheong who amassed an impressive 126,825-chip stack, and David Allan, who will return with 123,700. James Obst and David Steicke will also return with plenty of chips to play with, each bagging 108,800 and 107,500, respectively.

Team PokerStars Pro Bryan Huang will be among the approximate 156 players who will return for play tomorrow on Day 2 as well. Huang managed to survive with a healthy stack of 66,875.

Also prominent among those returning tomorrow include Jonathan Karamalikis (98,525), Van Marcus (91,500), Andrew Hinrichsen (40,625), Jesse McKenzie (47,325) and Tony Hachem (35,000).

The remaining players will take to the felt at 1200 AEST on Saturday (1900 PDT Friday), with our Live Reporting Team again in the midst of all the action. Follow all of the live action from the floor on PokerNews.com.

If you love poker, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for up-to-the-minute poker news.

July 28 2011, Mickey Doft

Earlier this month, Federated Sports & Gaming (FS+G) introduced the poker world to the Global Poker Index (GPI), a revolutionary ranking system that sought to answer the question: “Who are the best live tournament poker players in the world today?” Each week the GPI releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world, so we here at PokerNews are going to see who and what stands out each time the rankings are released.

Here’s a look at this week’s GPI top ten. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.

The Top 10 as of July 26, 2011

and Vanessa Selbst (who now sits in 11th place).

WSOP Main Event Cashers

Last week, only four new players made the GPI. This week, there are 20 new names on the list. The reason? Their cashing in the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event, combined with previous results, did the trick. Of the 20 who are making their debuts on the GPI, 16 cashed in the Main Event and are listed below.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI RankMain Event Finish

Stefan Huber	1,188.81	197	51st
Bolivar Palacios	1,182.50	202	88th
Lars Bonding	1,168	213	22nd
Tyler Bonkowski	1,164.91	218	60th
Sergei Altbregin	1,160.64	222	342nd
Steve Brecher	1,160.13	223	31st
Ruben Visser	1,133.38	240	44th
David Bach	1,133.27	241	45th
James Calderaro	1,128.14	246	260th
Darren Woods	1,112.04	252	442nd
Stephen O’Dwyer	1,094.35	261	626th
Sebastian Ruthenberg	1,086.01	269	55th
Guillaume Darcourt	1,072.57	275	35th
Steven van Zadelhoff	1,059.48	287	658th
Thomas Koral	1,046.90	298	47th
Vladimir Geshkenbein	1,036.79	300	106th

In addition, four others that were already in the GPI made massive jumps and vaulted more than 100 spots. Not coincidentally, they each made a deep run in the Main Event, as well. Joseph Cheong (gained 107 spots), Erick Lindgren (gained 132 spots), Frank Calo (gained 147 spots), and Max Heinzelmann (gained 123 spots) were the biggest movers of the week.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI RankMain Event Finish

Joseph Cheong	1,442.73	93	114th
Erick Lindgren	1,373.01	114	43rd
Frank Calo	1,314.71	139	90th
Max Heinzelmann	1,249.24	169	151st

Bellagio Cup VII

As for the other four new additions to the GPI this week, final-table finishes at Bellagio Cup VII played a key role for them. We already mentioned Stephen O’Dwyer for his WSOP Main Event cash. He also topped a field of 156 to win the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament for $259,452. Joe Elpayaa finished ninth in that event to make the GPI as well. The other three newcomers are Ted Forrest, Daniel Colman, and Brandon Cantu. They each final-tabled the $10,000 Main Event and took fifth, seventh, and ninth places respectively. Here is how they shape up on the GPI.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI Rank

Joe Elpayaa	1,063.92	283
Daniel Colman	1,058.61	288
Brandon Cantu	1,057.84	290
Ted Forrest	1,054.16	292

Also making splashes at Bellagio Cup VII, as well as in the GPI, were Hafiz Khan (gained 93 spots), William Thorson (gained 30 spots), and Bryn Kenney (gained 37 spots). Each final-tabled the $10,000 Main Event, as well, finishing runner-up, third, and sixth, respectively.

PlayerTotal GPI ScoreGPI Rank

Bryn Kenney	1,663.62	43
William Thorson	1,588.89	55
Hafiz Khan	1,326.52	133

Ups and Downs

Ben Lamb (gained 41 spots)

Thanks to what will be at worst a ninth-place finish in the WSOP Main Event, Lamb has replaced one six-figure WSOP finish with another and is now up to #50 on the GPI. Remember, the GPI only takes into account a player’s top three finishes during six six-month periods. Lamb’s amazing WSOP won’t be fully reflected until the middle of December, when his first 2011 WSOP cash will fall into the second six-month period, allowing for more of his summer’s successes to be weighted.

Antony Lellouche (dropped 44 spots)

Despite a solid summer that included five WSOP cashes, Lellouche had the biggest individual drop this week. Why? Call it bad luck. His biggest score in the last three years came in January 2010 at EPT Deauville. He took second place in a “20,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Event, but that score now factors in less because it now falls under the previous six-month period and is not weighted as heavily, dropping Lellouche to #259 on the GPI.

Hoyt Corkins (dropped 42 spots)

The “Alabama Cowboy” tumbled on the GPI this week for pretty much the same reason Lellouche did. Corkins’ largest score of the last three years came in late January of 2010. He won the WPT Southern Poker Championship for $713,986, but that score now falls under a previous six-month term and as a result, Corkins is now #88 on the GPI.

As a reminder, for a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. Also, be sure to check out Michael Craig’s write-up on the GPI rankings. While you’re at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

To stay on top of the GPI and other happenings in the poker world, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Comments