In the poker year that was 2008, Italy made a lasting impression. Luca Pagano was voted the EPT Player of the Year. Dario Minieri won his first World Series of Poker bracelet and Max Pescatori won his second. San Remo hosted their first EPT event, and though American Jason Mercier took down that title, three Italians went on to make the final table on the tour’s most recent stop in Prague, where Salvatore Bonavena came away with the title, wrapped in Il Tricolore as he posed for his winner’s photo.

Fittingly enough, in a year where Italy had such a significant impact on the poker world, it will represent the continent of Europe for the first time in the World Cup of Poker finals. Two freeroll qualifiers and two Tournament Leaderboard achievers will be heading down to the Bahamas to see if they can add one more title to Italy’s till.

Leading the team into battle will be Team PokerStars Pro and EPT player of the year Luca Pagano. While this will be his first time at the World Cup, his live tournament experience is many years long and could serve his team exceptionally well.

Pennisi “Omaruccio” Omar is a self-described “nice boy from Sicily” who is no stranger to the gambling world. By day he works managing a firm that sells and leases slot machines and by night he feeds his online poker hobby, playing multi-table tournaments on PokerStars.

Though he had a rough start when he first started playing in January 2006, Omar persevered and posted excellent tournament results in 2007, earning him the second spot on Italy’s Tournament Leaderboard. Omar also loves to travel and is not only excited about getting to experience the Bahamas, but is especially intrigued by the World Cup format.
 
“What I find exciting in the Bahamas tournament is the fact that there will be a team work– you play for your own nation and the win depends on every single member of the team. That is very different from other live tournaments,” said Omar. “A World Cup win would be an indescribable emotion and a deep personal satisfaction.”

Michele “mm-mh” Migliori is coy when it comes to his background, preferring to keep a low profile. A recreational player for the last decade, Migliori qualified for Team Italy via her TLB standing. Though he enjoys the online game, Migliori also comes to the table with some significant live tournament experience, having played three WSOP Main Events in addition to cashing in tournaments at the Orleans Open, the Foxwoods World Poker Finals, and the Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam.

Joining our TLB duo is freeroll qualifier Valeriano “BILLIKO” Bilancetti. In addition to playing online, the 32-year old often plays live in a private game at the Casino San Remo.

Rounding out the quartet is Gerardo “gvilla2″ Fabrizio, whose road to the World Cup Finals began when he finished in the top nine of a 552 player freeroll qualifier. The 23-year old electrician has been playing poker for three years, but began taking the game seriously only this year when he became an active participant in poker strategy forums. Aside from playing on PokerStars, he also plays frequently in local tournaments.

What’s he looking forward to the most in the Bahamas? “Doubtless the beautiful place!” he replied.

Will the names Migliori, Omar, Fabrizio, and Bilancetti be etched into Italian poker history alongside Minieri and Pagano? Stay tuned…

What is the only thing harder than getting to the top?

Ask a top athlete, an A-list actor, a business tycoon, and yes, even a poker player this question and they’ll all have the same answer.

Staying at the top.

Last year, Team USA came away from the World Cup of Poker live finals in Barcelona with the title, $100,000, and global bragging rights.

2007 World Cup Team USA: Greg Raymer, Randy Principe,
Tyler Netter, Shaun Deeb & John Kenlan

This year they’ll be looking for a repeat in an equally sunny seaside locale–the Atlantis Resort in the postcard-perfect Bahamas. The bar couldn’t be set any higher for this American quintet, comprised of two amateurs looking for that first big score, one of the world’s most recognizable poker names, and two of the online game’s most successful professionals, one of whom must be feeling a strong sense of déjà vu right about now.

Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb was one of the five members of Team USA who shared in last year’s World Cup of Poker crown. Arguably the most dominating multi-table tournament player on PokerStars (as well as one of the most prolific), Deeb currently sits atop the 2008 Yearly Tournament Leaderboard; this after winning the 2007 TLB and finishing 3rd in 2006. Among his mind-boggling 24 PokerStars MTT wins in 2008 were victories in WCOOP Event #25 ($320 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys) for $144,112, the Wednesday Quarter Million for $46,875, and the Sunday Warm-Up for $102,642. Now 22 years of age, Deeb has also emerged as a strong presence on the live tournament circuit, playing a heavy schedule at the World Series of Poker as well as winning a number of seats in EPT events.

Shaun Deeb at World Cup of Poker IV

Also no stranger to the tournament leaderoard is Xthesteinx. A high-volume tournament player, he finished 3rd on the 2007 Yearly TLB and 69th in 2006. This online pro has wins in the $109 Rebuy, the $215 Rebuy, the Nightly Hundred Grand, and the Wednesday Hundred Fifty Grand.

The most recognizable face on Team USA will be 2004 World Series champion and Team PokerStar Pro Greg Raymer. Raymer is back for his second straight year on Team USA.

As Raymer wrote for the PokerStars Blog this week, “The prize money for this event, while not chump-change by any means, was a lot smaller than the $5 million I won for the WSOP. Yet, winning this event carried with it just as much emotion. This was so mostly because I was representing not just myself, but my country and my team.”

The first of Team USA’s two freeroll qualifiers is 62-year old Michigan native Bruce “ba-detroit” Armstrong. Though he played stud back in the 1970s, Armstrong picked up hold’em only two years ago. He recently retired after a 43-year career at the Ford Motor Company and now has the free time to play poker that he always wanted. In addition to playing on PokerStars, Armstrong hits up Las Vegas about four to five times per year to play tournaments.

Bruce “ba-detroit” Armstrong

Armstrong tells us he is “glad to be part of this team, and (has) hopes of victory.” But even if his team doesn’t’ come out on top, he’s “just happy to play.”

Rounding out the foursome is Jarred “J@M0K3Y!”Gabin. The Los Angeles native has worked in the computer industry for the last ten years and makes his home with his fiancé and two children. Gabin learned to play poker about five years ago and due to work and family constraints, mostly plays online. A money finish in this event would mark his first-ever live tournament cash.

Gabin couldn’t contain his excitement when asked about the prospect of competing live in the Bahamas.

“This whole ride has been just amazing. I have been floating on cloud nine for the last few days. I am excited that I am going to meet some PokerStars Pros and getting to play cards with any of them is a dream in itself. The fact that it is being held on a tropical island isn’t such a bad thing either,” he said.

We couldn’t agree more.

As the original host to the World Series of Poker and home to countless legendary poker players, the poker room inside Binon’s Horseshoe Casino is considered by practically everyone to be the most important card room in the world. They’ve even dubbed themselves “the place that made poker famous”, and it’s hard to argue that point, as the infamous Moneymaker WSOP victory that launched the poker boom was in fact held at Binion’s, which allowed the casino to enjoy much of the insane press that came after the rest of the world learned that a no-name accountant could win millions of dollars in a poker tournament.

Still, the poker room for a long time was considered old-school in both look and feel, a far cry away from the glitz and glamour poker rooms found on the main Vegas strip. While many old-timers enjoyed the classic nostalgia of the original poker room, it came across as too hardcore and unfriendly for new players, one of the reasons poker had trouble gaining popularity before the boom. Finally, Binion’s has decided to update with the times and has unveiled a gorgeous new room on par with any in Vegas.

The new 10-table poker room was built out an old lounge that resided within the Binion’s Casino, though according to poker room manager Brad Thomte, none of the original materials survived the update. “Everything in this room is brand new, built from scratch,” said Thomte. “It was built entirely based on the recommendations of our players.”

Additional modernizing of the room included adding 11 plasma TV’s and a vastly updated look, meant to entice new and returning players to remember why poker legends for years choose Binion’s as their poker room of choice. Still, some of the old-school flavor exists, as a number of black and white photos adorn the walls all around the room, each photo capturing a different major moment in poker history.

I’ve already scheduled another poker trip to Vegas just for an opportunity to play in the new digs. The original Binion’s poker room was where I first sat down on my 21st birthday to play my opening legal hand of poker. If you haven’t had the chance to take in a few rounds of hold’em at the ultimate in classic poker destinations, you’re truly missing out.

The world may have had to wait 24 hours to see Peter Eastgate win the World Series of Poker this year on ESPN, but when PokerStars crowns the World Cup of Poker champions, it will happen live and for the whole world to see.

PokerStars announced today that the live finals of the World Cup of Poker V will happen live on PokerStars.tv. Not only that, PokerStars.tv plans to show the event with the hole card cams exposed. So, as the nine teams fight it out for the World Cup of Poker title, you will be able to see every bluff,, every laydown–every card!

The live finals are scheduled to take place over one day on January 6 in the Bahamas. Live coverage of the finals will begin on January 6 and run into a champion has been determined.

Stay tuned for more information on the finals, the teams, and the players over the next few weeks.

One of the most important skills a poker player will develop is the ability to take notes on their opponents. Poker is a game of incomplete information, where players have to make decisions based on betting patterns or tells and as a results, are often incorrect in their thinking and therefore make a mistake. In online poker, there is no need to make the same mistake twice.

Dan Harrington mentioned in his tournament strategy book series, ‘Harrington On Hold’em’ that he knows of players who have dozens of notebooks filled with notes they have written down during poker games and throughout the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event, eventual winner Greg Raymer famously jotted down his observations on a notepad during breaks in the action.

Whilst taking notes at the casino can be cumbersome, online there is no excuse not to build up a portfolio of detailed notes on the opponents you face on a regular basis as there is a note taking facility built into the software. Although you will meet regulars in the micro-stakes, you will find as you move up in stakes, the number of players drops so it is far more likely you will face the same opponents time and time again. Ideally, it is the regulars that you will have notes on.

The first thing to make note of is their overall playing style, do they play a typical tight-aggressive (TAG) or loose-aggressive (LAG) game? Another important observation will be how the villain plays their draws. Do they call without the correct odds? Do they prefer to play their draws fast by raising to push out weak made hands? How often do they steal from the cutoff or on the button? All these are basic notes that will help you make a great lay down or make a heroic call if you are in a similar situation again.

Whenever a hand has been completed, have a quick look at the hand history and see if anything really stands out at you. Did the player play out the hand in a straight forward manner or did he make a delayed continuation bet holding an overpair on a dry board? Finally, you may want to add any information you notice about betting or timing tells, for example, do they make a certain sized bet with strong or weak holdings or do they always bet the flop and turn but give up on the river?

One of the most important aspects of note taking is to be prepared to change your notes if a player develops. You may note early in the session that he is LAG but it could simply be a good run of cards and he is really a rock. Having extra information is key but having incorrect information is worse than having none at all.

Related Readings

Strange list of player notes - Poker Web Watch
Top ten tips on winning at online poker - WSOPE
How to build a bankroll - Roland De Wolfe
Random? Moi? - Matt Broughton
Pud’s Poker Progress - Matthew Pitt