 In our preparations for next week's "ESPN Inside Deal," we've been working on our game plan for Phil Hellmuth. One of our topics was going to be, "Phil, we know you've been one of the most successful players in poker history, but what's been going on lately?" That line of questioning has been officially cut from the show. After leading the field for most of Day 3 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star, Hellmuth finished the day in second place, behind only Andy "BKiCe" Seth. Thursday's action continued...   OK, before we get to it, four words to remember: Never cry for PokerStars. Seems pretty simple, right? I mean, they bring in huge profits each year, rake over half the raked hands played in the world and sit on top of their industry. We don't cry for PokerStars. That out of the way, it's been a tough week for the industry giant. Most obvious amongst their real life bad beats was the robbery at EPT Berlin, a deal so big that it made national newscasts and both Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption...   "The Nuts" is a monthly feature that takes a look at the best poker players in the world. This feature aims to produce a list of the best players of the moment. Our panel includes ESPN.com's trio of poker contributors (myself, Gary Wise and Bernard Lee), Bluff magazine editor in chief Lance Bradley and senior writer Jessica Welman, PokerNews editor in chief Matthew Parvis and tournament reporter Don Peters, Poker News Daily's Dan Cypra and Poker Road's Court Harrington. When we first began running...   Annie Duke defeated Erik Seidel to win the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.   Well, I'm not making any predictions today. I think I've lost that right. In my original National Heads-Up Poker Championship predictions article, I forecast first-round losses for seven of our elite eight (Erik Seidel, Peter Eastgate, Scotty Nguyen, Jason Mercier, Dennis Phillips, Doyle Brunson, Jerry Yang and Annie Duke). Nguyen was the only exception, and I predicted he'd fall in the second round to Phil Ivey, so I went 0-for-8 with this elite eight, which includes four former WSOP champs....   The first day of the National Heads-Up Poker Championships was full of upsets and the results have created a very interesting schedule for the second day of competition. Rounds 2 and 3 will be played on Saturday and the players will reach the money. Let's take a look at each portion of the updated bracket: Clubs: Chris Moneymaker started off the surprises by beating out Patrik Antonius. Joe Hachem told me last week that there hasn't been anyone who has suffered more for winning the WSOP main event...   Gary Wise breaks down the bracket in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship   Television coverage has always been an important factor for the success of a live tournament. However, the NAPT Venetian once again proved that online qualifying is also critical to the future of poker. Let's compare two $5,000 buy-in events that occurred within 10 days of each other in the United States. 1. The North American Poker Tour Venetian main event: 872 participants, more than 400 of whom qualified online at Poker Stars. The prize pool was more than $4 million, with first prize more...   Who won't be found at the National Heads-Up Poker Championships in Las Vegas? Some of poker's best players.   All the hype that was in store for the LA Poker Classic final table slowly faded away on Tuesday as one by one, some of today's poker superstars headed away from the felt. Only 22 players began play on Tuesday and Annie Duke was one of the earliest casualties, busting in 19th. Mark Newhouse and Johnny Chan barely missed the final table in 13th and 12th, respectively. Carlos Mortensen brought in a chip lead to Day 5, but couldn't maintain his stack and busted ninth and was followed by Steve Sung in...   The EPT may be known as the grandfather of the NAPT, but without John Duthie, perhaps no regional tour could ever have been a success.   Everyone always talks about the ease of living the poker lifestyle. Creating your own hours, playing what you want and making lots of money are the perks, but during certain times of the year, making a quick trip here or there is almost a job requirement. There are certainly some tournaments that players don't want to miss, which is why a good portion of the field at the NAPT headed to the Commerce Casino for the L.A. Poker Classic main event. The $10,000 event attracted a field of 745, which was...   The final table of the WSOP Europe main event will be broadcast on February 28 on ESPN2.  Feb 2010 Newsletter Table of Contents -State Updates -PPA Spotlight -Tweet For Poker -Contact Us QuickLinks -Join -Donate -Member Benefits -Member Forums PPA Applauds Poker Players’ Efforts to Aid Haiti The PPA commends the generosity of poker players in contributing to support relief efforts in Haiti. [...]  Feb 2010 Newsletter Table of Contents -State Updates -PPA Spotlight -Tweet For Poker -Contact Us QuickLinks -Join -Donate -Member Benefits -Member Forums PPA Applauds Poker Players’ Efforts to Aid Haiti The PPA commends the generosity of poker players in contributing to support relief efforts in Haiti. [...] [Press Release] PPA Testifies Before MA Committee on Poker as Game of Skill (02/23/10)  [Press Release] PPA Testifies Before MA Committee on Poker as Game of Skill (02/23/10) PPA Massachusetts White Paper on Skill vs Chance  PPA Massachusetts White Paper on Skill vs Chance [Press Release] PPA, Greg Raymer to Highlight Advocacy Efforts at the Annual Conservative Political Action … [...]  | 
