Birthday Belt Boost

This New Year, Black Belt Poker are giving you two reasons to launch a party-popper into the air and plant a kiss on the nearest victim with our Birthday Belt Boost.

If Her Majesty's two birthdays turn you green with envy, then be jealous no more as we're showering you with gifts and celebrating your birthday right here at Black Belt Poker.

Each year from the anniversary of your first deposit, you will have 30 days to make a further deposit and receive a Belt Boost, thus enabling you to earn Belt Points twice as fast. If you make a deposit of $100 or less you will receive 3 Belt Points for every dollar raked, but deposit over $100 and you'll earn 4 Belt Points!

If you first deposited with Black Belt Poker before January 1, 2011, then your birthday will become available as the fireworks hit the sky on January 1, 2012. What's more, you'll also receive a Birthday Belt Boost again iater in the year on the date of your initial deposit.

For those who first deposited during 2011, and less than 12 months ago, then don't fret, we'll be celebrating your birthday during 2012 and, on your one-year anniversary, you will also be eligible for the Birthday Belt Boost and increased rate of earning points.

If you're a Yellow Belt, then this is the perfect opportunity to fast-track your way to Orange and start reaping the benefits of the Belt-Up Rewards System. Not only will you earn Belt Points at a faster rate, but you'll also be invited to play in our weekly Orange Belt Freerolls.

For the first time ever, there will be five Freerolls in February, including two new entries: Omaha Orgy and Limit Up in which players will fight it out over Omaha tournament tokens and 1,000 in Belt Points respectively. Also that month, we're holding our first freeroll satellite into the third Black Belt London Live event.

If you've been regretting not taking full advantage of your first-time deposit Belt Boost when you initially opened your account, then the Birthday Belt Boost is the ideal opportunity to make amends and treat yourself to some added value. Please check out our promotions page for all the details.

Festive Freezeouts on Black Belt Poker

The stockings have been unfilled, the Christmas pudding consumed, and the Sherry bottles emptied - you've even had time to squeeze in a heated argument with the family over a game of Monopoly.

But what do you now? New Year's just under a week away, tackling the tube strikes and onslaught of bargain-hunters is no longer an attractive proposition, and you just don't fancy that umpteenth viewing of Goldfinger.

Don't worry, as Black Belt Poker has the answer to your post Christmas-woes with our Festive Freezeouts.

In order to fill in that festive gap, Black Belt Poker are hosting three festive tournaments, commencing with the Turkey Sandwich on Tuesday, December 27, a $10+1 six-max freezeout at 19:30.

Then, the following day, again at 19:30, we'll be adding more stuffing to the seasonal period with the Big Turkey Sandwich, this time with a $50+5 entry fee. If you want to play pros such as Richard Ashby and Neil Channing, then this one's for you.

Finally, later that evening at 20:30, you can feast on some deep-stacked action in our Festive Mulligan, a $15+1.5 No Limit Hold'em freezeout with Belt Points added to the prize pool for the top five finishers.

And if you've got some poker ants in your pants and can't wait until then before hitting the cyber felt, then we have $5+0.5 satellites for the Big Turkey Sandwich running tonight at 17:00, then again on Monday, before a double whammy on Tuesday (17:00 and 20:30).

Don't just sit there unfastening your Belt and digesting the final remnants of Christmas dinner - join us at Black Belt Poker for some festive poker shenanigans and add some hard cash to your pile of presents. Surely you're not just going to settle for those Argyle socks?...

Tokens are now available in the Store, or buy-in directly via the cardroom lobby.

Click here for a reminder of the schedule...

Born To Win; Atkinson Tops League XII

Earlier this week, Yellow Belt Mark 'bornTOflirt' Atkinson won the latest Black Belt Poker League, earning himself an invite to tonight's Black Belt Poker Christmas party where he'll be get to meet, greet, and eat before participating in a £100 SNG against our lineup of sponsored pros including Neil Channing, Richard Ashby and Kevin Williams.

Heading into the final leg, only a disaster of epic proportions could steal defeat from the jaws of victory, and such an occurrence was indeed evaded as Mark secured the title with a consistent-as-ever 21st place finish. The spoils on this occasion went to Peter 'UliKoko' Derrick, who defeated a tough final table - which included League XI runner-up finishers Nick 'nickhem1' Hemming and Karl 'KBV1TALS' Briggs - to claim the $114.000 first prize.

Also among the 76 entrants were bubble boy and former League Champion Andy 'RedKiteBlackBelt' Brisland, and dethroned Champion Robert 'myteamouse' Bulman who sadly picked up the wooden spoon in 76th place.

1st UliKoko -- $114.00
2nd bolden1212 -- $76.00
3rd S0luton -- $47.50
4th mork1971 -- $36.10
5th paul6543 -- $28.50
6th liquidpoker101 -- $22.80
7th nickhem1 -- $19.00
8th Snotterz -- $15.20
9th KBV1TALS -- $11.40
10th lionrampant27 -- $9.50

In total, 193 poker fanatics partook in League XII, with 10 lucky players receiving prizes for their hard work. With just 50 points separating 5th from 17th, all the changes occurred in the bottom half, with NPenfold (22nd) and TeeDeeEye1 (19th) replacing Elysiumjay (44th) and 45683ah (60th), the latter just missing out on a payday by a mere seven points.

1st bornTOflirt -- Xmas Party & Seat in £100 Pro SNG (668 points)
2nd Mrdroodle -- 1,000 Belt Points (602 points)
3rd Sarannedipity -- 850 Belt Points (596 points)
4th liquidpoker101 -- 725 Belt Points(585 points)
5th losbert40 -- 600 Belt Points (551 points)
6th Nanoplankton -- 500 Belt Points (536 points)
7th KBV1TALS -- 400 Belt Points (526 points)
8th TeeDeeEye1 -- 300 Belt Points (521 points)
9th bagpussrocks -- 200 Belt Points (521 points)
10th NPenfold666 -- 100 Belt Points (519 points)

11th 45683ah -- (512 points)
12th lionrampant27 -- (506 points)
13th Elysiumjay -- (505 points)
14th ACarey -- (504 points)
15th doochats -- (499 points)
16th JaytheHippy71 -- (496 points)
17th ChipRead77 -- (495 points)
18th BoatDrink -- (485 points)
19th taylormade777 -- (481 points)
20th RedKiteBlackBelt -- (467 points)

Although Mark Atkinson was all but dusting his crown prior to the starting whistle, there remained hope for others in the form of the Second Chance SNG, a one-table tournament that offered all leg winners the opportunity to be the last-man-standing and capture the star prize.

The Leg winners were as follows:

Leg 1: JosseWales
Leg 2: JaytheHippy71
Leg 3: steviegw
Leg 4: myteamouse
Leg 5: DConTour1
Leg 6: mrdroodle
Leg 7: mrdroodle
Leg 8: UliKoko

Although Andy 'mrdroodle' Erskine had achieved the remarkable feat of winning two consecutive events, he was to suffer the pain of the bubble at the final furlong when he lost heads-up to opening leg winner Barry 'JosseWales' Styles. As a result, we'll be seeing Barry tonight at the Grosvenor Victoria where he'll join Mark in the £100 Pro SNG.

The League may have come to a close, but our weekly Mulligan was still offering players a second bite at the cash cherry (as well as bonus Belt Points) with a feast of deep-stacked action for the affordable price of $15+1.5. 33 clicked 'register', but only one came out smelling of roses: former League Champion Mark 'russellhansen' Brassington.

1st russellhansen -- $198.00 (50 Special Points)
2nd HesGot2Aces -- $123.75 (30 Special Points)
3rd ourkidsid -- $79.20 (10 Special Points)
4th deadlydaveLDN -- $54.45 (5 Special Points)
5th Bluegooner1 -- $39.60 (5 Special Points)

Meanwhile, the latest Orange Belt Freeroll was taking place simultaneously with 65 players battling it out for shares in Richard Ashby in the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event. With a final table already under his belt, Richard's pie-slices were hotly contested as 65 looked to grab their piece of the action. Only four could enjoy this pleasure, however; they were:

1st JustinBieber -- $100 sponsorship
2nd BoatDrink -- $50 sponsorship
3rd lionrampant -- $25 sponsorship
4th WiseOwlBB -- $25 sponsorship

Tonight, the Yellow Belt No-Lose Deepstack returns to cyber shores this evening at 20:00, but to keep you entertained during the holiday season, we have our Festive Freezeouts which include the wonderfully named Turkey Sandwich and Big Turkey Sandwich, $10+1 and $50+5 freezeouts respectively.

The Big Turkey takes place at 19:30 on December 28 with satellites running throughout the week, so there's no excuse for failing to escape the in-laws and joining us for some poker debauchery on Black Belt Poker. Check out our tournaments page for more details, and we look forward to seeing you at the tables with your almost-out-of-date mince pies and ready-to-go New Year party poppers.

Don't have an account? Then click here to download the software and open an account following the simple step-by-step process provided.

Week 1 - 'JosseWales' Shoots to League XII Victory
Week 2 - 'JaytheHippy71' Rocks Leg 2
Week 3 - Stevie Does It
Week 4 - Mighty Win for Bulman in Leg 4
Week 5 - DConTourTakes Us to Valuetown
Week 6 - Erskine Shines in Leg 6
Week 7 - Droodle Does Double

2012 Academies Announced

With the final Black Belt Poker Academy of the year: Home on the Range done and dusted, 2011 has now concluded its full schedule, thus allowing you to put into practice your newfound skills over the festive period in-between those mince pies and drops of Sherry.

As the cliche claims: "poker is easy to learn, but hard to master," and so Black Belt Poker will be returning in the New Year to once again serve up a poker pitstop and help you stay ahead of the game with six more Academies.

The first Academy will take place on Saturday, February 25 at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London with Alex Rousso being joined by Black Belt and UKIPT Champion Sam Razavi. Together, they will teach techniques in game-adjustment, including exploiting opponents, and how to avoid being exploited yourself.

As a heads-up cash specialist with a penchant for speech-play, Sam boasts oodles of experience in poker psychology, and will be on hand to teach you all the nuances and tricks for getting the better of your opponent.

The full schedule for 2012 is as follows:

Saturday, February 25: 'Learning to Adjust: Levelling & Exploitation'
Saturday, April 21: 'Poker by Numbers: The Basics of Odds & Outs'
Saturday, May 26: 'WSOP: Winning Your Seat & Surviving Vegas'
Date tbc: 'How to Become a Pro'
Date tbc: 'Preflop Aggression: Three-Bets, Four-Bets & Beyond
Date tbc: 'The Biggest Leak: Value-Towning the River'

If you would like to attend any of the aforementioned Academies, then you can secure your seat now by emailing us at training@blackbeltpoker.com. Academies cost just £99 per ticket, or 4,800 Spending Points via the Black Belt Poker Store. And as a special deal, we're also offering five tickets for the reduced price of £400, meaning you get one free!

Anybody who reaches Green Belt in the Belt-Up Rewards System automatically receives free tickets to two Academies of their choosing. Alternatively, there will be a free seat up for grabs in our Enlightenment Orange Belt Freeroll on Wednesday, February 1.

"Our last Academy of the year was a sell-out," reveals Bluff Europe columnist Alex Rousso, "and we also received some of the best feedback ever. We've worked hard on the format of our Academies over the last two years and they really are a fantastic learning experience. Come see for yourself."

For one time only, February 25 will feature a double-Academy as 2008 Irish Open Champion Neil Channing hosts a day of educational gems at the Northern Poker Stars Poker Club in Carlisle. The topic will be Tournament Play with Neil divulging all the skills that helped him to a near three million in live tournament winnings. Contact ken@northernpokerstars.co.uk to reserve your seat.

Droodle Does Double

The Black Belt Poker League entered its penultimate leg of the season this week as 72 players looked to knock 'bornTOflirt' off his throne and echo the last-man-standing achievements of Andy 'Mrdroodle' Erskine just seven days prior.

In the end, neither objective was fulfilled as 'bornTOflirt' not only held onto top spot, but extended his lead, and 'Mrdroodle' entered Groundhog Day by completing an incredible double.

In fact, most of the final table were in near-equally fine fettle: last week's runner-up 'HammerHorror' finished third, 'taylormade777' repeated his seventh place, whilst 'Nanoplankton' improved on his ninth place finish by two places.

Meanwhile, 2010 Ultimate Warrior Hasmukh '45683ah' Khodiyara turned a token purchase into a $79.20 payday, and former League Champion Trevor 'TeeDeeEye1' Ingman snuck into the money in eighth.

1st Mrdroodle -- $115.20
2nd 45683ah -- $79.20
3rd HammerHorror -- $48.60
4th S0lution -- $36.00
5th bornTOflirt -- $27.00
6th Nanoplankton -- $21.60
7th taylormade777 -- $18.00
8th TeeDeeEye1 -- $14.40
9th KODDZILLA
10th JaytheHippy71

Another emphatic performance from 'bornTOflirt' means that, barring a meteorite falling from the sky, he's going to be the League XII Champion and joining us at the Black Belt Poker Christmas party to play in the £100 SNG. However, it's not too late to join him; win the final leg next week and you'll be entered into a Second Chance SNG with the previous leg winners, the survivor of which will also be awarded the star prize.

1st bornTOflirt -- 612 points
2nd Mrdroodle -- 537 points
3rd Sarannedipity -- 533 points
4th losbert40 -- 520 points
5th liquidpoker101 -- 506 points
6th 45683ah -- 495 points
7th Nanoplankton -- 475 points
8th Elysiumjay -- 472 points
9th JaytheHippy71 -- 469 points
10th bagpussrocks -- 468 points

11th BoatDrink -- 466 points
12th doochats -- 465 points
13th NPenfold666 -- 464 points
14th TeeDeeEye1 -- 463 points
15th taylormade777 -- 458 points
16th ACarey -- 457 points
17th KBV1TALS -- 456 points
18th ChipRead77 -- 454 points
19th lionrampant27 -- 438 points
20th JHobbit1 -- 435 points

For those who struggled in the current League, there were consolative rewards in this week's Orange Belt Freeroll as we gave away a total of 36 tokens into League XIII in the new year. 'Nanoplankton' came out smelling of roses; he earned himself free entry into all eights legs.

1st Nanoplankton -- Season Ticket Pass
2nd bagpussrocks -- 7 League tokens
3rd ourkidsid -- 6 League tokens
4th ToddCoxeter -- 5 League tokens
5th generlashifty -- 4 League tokens
6th 10Royals -- 3 League tokens
7th VBlueBBP -- 2 League tokens
8th Ruaction -- 1 League tokens

Finally, 18 players participated in Wednesday's Deepstack Mulligan with top prize going to Kevin 'S0lution' Birt:

1st S0lution -- $135.00 (50 Belt Points)
2nd nicenutter -- $81.00 (30 Belt Points)
3rd lionrampant27 -- $54.00 (10 Belt Points)
4th TheHulk85 (5 Belt Points)
5th losbert40 (5 Belt Points)

If you haven't already heard the news, Black Belt Poker are hosting some Festive Freezeouts to keep you entertained during the respite period between Christmas and New Year, including our $50+5 Big Turkey Sandwich. If you're looking to slip away from the in-laws for a few hours, then this could be the perfect escape route.

Don't have an account? Then click here to download the software and open an account following the simple step-by-step process provided.

Week 1 - 'JosseWales' Shoots to League XII Victory
Week 2 - 'JaytheHippy71' Rocks Leg 2
Week 3 - Stevie Does It
Week 4 - Mighty Win for Bulman in Leg 4
Week 5 - DConTourTakes Us to Valuetown
Week 6 - Erskine Shines in Leg 6

Orange Wednesday: New Freerolls Added

If you're considering going to the cinema on Wednesdays, then think again as Black Belt Poker are making you an offer you can't refuse.

Every Wednesday at 20:00, Black Belt Poker host an Orange Belt Freeroll, exclusive to Orange and Purple Belts. As the title suggests, entry is absolutely free, with prizes ranging from training to a luxury chip set to shares in our Black Belts in live tournaments.

In total, there are five freerolls including Merchandise Madness and Barney Rubble, but whilst you've been grazing on your poker popcorn, we've spiced things up with an extra three freerolls. Threerolls!

The first one to grace your monitor will be Omaha Orgy, an orgasmic experience that will delight its winners with Omaha tournament entries, including a seat into the $100+9 Monday Night Omaha event.

Also joining the roster is Limit Up. Take your game to the limit in our Limit Hold'em freeroll and win Belt Points for finishing in the top four spots with first place earning an entire month's worth of free Orange Belt maintenance.

Then, in February, a month in which there will be an unprecedented five freerolls for you to feast on, you'll be able to take a bite out of our London Live Freeroll, in which we'll be serving up free seats into the third Black Belt London Live.

The next freeroll is The Season Ticket Giveaway on Wednesday, December 14 in which we give out no fewer than 36 tokens into the Black Belt Poker League. The following week will then be A Slice of the Action - your chance to win shares in the Aussie Millions with Black Belt Richard Ashby, who final-tabled the event in 2009.

The schedule for the next three months is as follows:

December:

Week 1: Merchandise
Week 2: The Season Ticket Giveaway
Week 3: A Slice of the Action (Richard Ashby - Aussie Millions)
Week 4: Barney Rubble

January:

Week 1: The Season Ticket Giveaway
Week 2: Omaha Orgy
Week 3: Slice of the Action (Sam Razavi - UKIPT Galway)
Week 4: Barney Rubble

February:

Week 1: Enlightenment Freeroll
Week 2: Omaha Orgy
Week 3: London Live Freeroll
Week 4: A Slice of the Action
Week 5: Limit Up

So, this is your chance to be a contender, a somebody. Go ahead, make your day and may the force be with you. There's no place like Black Belt Poker on a Wednesday.

Want us to show you the money? Check out our promotions page to see exactly what you can win from our current lineup of Orange Belt Freerolls.

Erskine Shines in Leg 6

Leg 6 of Black Belt Poker League XII commenced last Tuesday night, with 85 players pulling $5.50 out of their virtual pockets to join in with the competitive fun. With only two legs to go after this, participants were eager to make their mark and boost their chances of joining us at the BBP Christmas dinner.

In the previous leg, Andy 'Mrdroodle' Erskine had only managed 57th place. This week though, the Orange Belt came roaring back to claim the honours, leaving with $127.52, 110 valuable points and undoubtedly a huge grin on his face. This victory has also propelled him into 6th in the overall standings with 440 points.

This week's runner-up came in the form of Tim 'HammerHorrow' O'Mahoney. The Yellow Belt won $85, 102 points, and, like 'mrdroodle', vastly improved on last week when he finished in 41st place. He now sits in 32nd place in the overall standings with 347 points.

Third place was claimed by former League Champion Mark '99Ranny' Ranson who took home $53.12 and 98 points. The Yellow Belt is in 74th place with 218 points.

1st Mrdroodle -- $127.52
2nd HammerHorrow -- $85.00
3rd 99Ranny -- $53.12
4th 7onyB -- $40.37
5th Sarannedipity -- $31.87
6th elvis18111 -- $25.50
7th taylormade777 -- $21.25
8th Elysiumjay -- $17.00
9th Nanoplankton -- $12.75
10th CareybearBBP -- $10.62

At the moment, Yellow Belts are holding the top three spots in League XII.

Mark 'bornTOflirt' Atkinson still leads the way despite dating danger this week when he finished 31st for 55 points. He now has a total of 534 points.Saranne 'Sarannedipity' Branter, meanwhile, maintained her second place position in the overall standings and inched closer to 'bornTO'flirt' after claiming fifth place in Leg 6. She now has 505 points.

Third place changed hands after Jason 'Elysiumjay' Layland climbed four positions, courtesy of an eighth place finish. He is now on 469 points.

1st bornTOflirt -- 534 points
2nd Sarannedipity -- 505 points
3rd Elysiumjay -- 469 points
4th losbert40 -- 458 points
5th liquidpoker101 -- 449 points
6th Mrdroodle -- 440 points
7th ACarey -- 436 points
8th NPenfold666 -- 435 points
9th doochats -- 421 points
10th BoatDrink -- 420 points

11th JHobbit1 -- 420 points
12th bagpussrocks -- 412 points
13th KBV1TALS -- 409 points
14th 45683ah -- 406 points
15th JaytheHippy71 -- 405 points
16th elvis18111 -- 401 points
17th ChipRead77 -- 400 points
18th Nanoplankton -- 400 points
19th TeeDeeEye1 -- 394 points
20th lionrampant27 -- 390 points

On Wednesday at 20:30, 27 people jumped into the $15+1.50 Deepstack Mulligan. Ciaran 'HeGot2Aces' Cole came out on top, gaining a $202.50 payday.

1st HeGot2Aces -- $202.50
2nd doochats -- $121.50
3rd CaptainJack5 -- $81.00

Finally, a special congratulations goes out to Gerald 'WiseOwlBB' Stanley, who became our first player to cash in the daily $6K GTD tournament with a token gained through the Orange Belt 'Barney Rubble' Freeroll. He had won $261.60 in the actual tournament, but doubled up as part of our promotion, taking home a total of $523.20.

Don't have an account? Then click here to download the software and open an account following the simple step-by-step process provided.

Week 1 - 'JosseWales' Shoots to League XII Victory
Week 2 - 'JaytheHippy71' Rocks Leg 2
Week 3 - Stevie Does It
Week 4 - Mighty Win for Bulman in Leg 4
Week 5 - DConTourTakes Us to Valuetown

iPOPS: 2 BBP Brits & An $89,300 Czech

The iPOPS Live kicks off tomorrow in Prague, but at 16:00 two Black Belt Poker players will be playing for an $89,300 first prize in the grand finale of the iPOPS Main Event.

The iPOPS (iPoker's Online Poker Series) was a mini-series of four events with a value-quenching $1 million in guaranteed prize pools. In total, there was in excess of $150,000 in added money, including a whopping $77,125 overlay in the $125+10 Main Event.

This monetary carrot lured 3,383 to the felt, included 16 players who had won free seats courtesy of Black Belt Poker. As well as adding seats to our weekly tournaments, we also held daily Bang For Ya Buck MTTs which offered players the chance to win a seat for a single buck. Meanwhile, 'FlopTheNuts77' received free entry just for bubbling Event #1 as part of our exclusive Bust a Black Belt promotion.

As such, Black Belt Poker boasted a near five percent of the field, including Nik Persaud, Neil Channing, Richard Ashby and Toby Lewis, as well as Blue Belts Jamie Burland and Ben Meredith who both managed to cash. The stars of the day, however, were Rupinder 'AceSingh' Bedi and Richard 'generalshifty' Hurst who survived to the final 27, and will now play to a conclusion at the iPOPS Live tomorrow.

Rupinder is a well-known circuit player from Leicester who has enjoyed a number of results including a GBPT title, a DTD Monthly Freezeout victory, and a final table in the GUKPT Blackpool. Richard, meanwhile, is a regular on Black Belt Poker shores, and is a former Purple Belt who recently cashed in the Black Belt Nottingham Live. In doing so, he earned an extra 10 percent to his prize for being Orange Belt, as well as $100 for eliminating bounty Jake Cody.

Having lost a crucial pot just moments before the final whistle, Rupinder was left with just a few big blinds, but thankfully iPoker have come to his rescue and modified the structure to enable more play. Blinds will therefore start at 10,000/20,000 with a 40-minute clock, meaning Rupinder now has a fighting chance with over 10 big blinds, and Richard a much more manageable 25 big blinds.

The chip counts heading in to tomorrow are as follows:

Anastasiya3250 -- 626,755.06
CurtisCTUfrom24 -- 971,299.60
geoffowen -- 2,214,830.15
GrinderBerlin -- 907,542.32
TonyMontana147 -- 696,249.92
BlinkyBill00 -- 3,177,658.96
generalshifty -- 507,207.34 (D)
Veryunique -- 1,524,204.00 (SB)
heyjoe26 -- 2,464,969.37 (BB)

mitchelll -- 2,570,963.85 (SB)
panjodeluxe -- 4,194,546.70 (BB)
AceSingh -- 206,085.45
gliiiiip -- 1,239,831.76
ShaneGamble -- 889,053.26
fladfisk1l1 -- 582,330.93
nbban -- 944,745.87
Chuikapridi -- 1,615,161.41
JonnyWhite22 -- 1,078,997.58 (D)

Nickval79 -- 1,124,955.12 (BB)
daramcc -- 1,023,706.82
XENOC1DE -- 800,550.95
whatdoiwant -- 746,129.80
poomhead -- 224,191.60
POKZ1337 -- 1,085,977.56
EuroxxBuster -- 684,230.44
NashvilleSkyline -- 1,085,448.46 (D)
mick44yx -- 642,375.72 (SB)

The event runs alongside the iPOPS Live €700+70 Main Event with the final table scheduled for 13:00 on Sunday, December 11. Good luck to both Rupinder and Richard, and congratulations to everyone who cashed in the inaugural iPOPS. You can follow Richard's progress on Twitter @generalshifty.

Academy: Home on the Range

If you think a "range" is little more than a series of mountains, then our latest Academy is for you - taking place on Saturday, December 17, Home on the Range will provide you with all the information you need for placing opponents on a range of hands, whilst also learning methods of widening your own.

Taking the reigns this time will be Bluff Europe columnist Alex Rousso and Black Belt Poker sponsored pro Kevin Williams. With oodles of experience between them, they'll be presenting topics such as opening ranges, polarising and range-merging, whilst also hosting smaller discussion groups and workshops.

Kevin explains further:

http://www.blackbeltpoker.com/articles/read/Academy-Range

"These days," adds Alex, "it's no longer enough to figure that an opponent is tight or loose, bad or good; you need to know about opponent range assessment. Since opponents in the modern game are more likely to have multi-street plans - both for how they play their hands and combat yours - it's much better to have plans of your own."

Tickets cost a mere £99. If you would like to attend, then drop us an email as soon as possible at training@blackbeltpoker to discuss payment options and secure your seat. Alternatively, you can purchase a token in our Store under Live Events using Spending Points accrued at the Black Belt Poker tables.

The full schedule is as follows:

(13:00) Introduction: putting someone on a range, not a hand
(13:15) Opening Ranges: player types and their ranges
(13:45) Workshop: opponent opening ranges
(14:30) Short Break
(14:45) Narrowing Ranges: what opponent actions mean
(15:15) Workshop: opponent ranges on later streets
(16:00) Guess the Hand
(16:40) Short break
(16:45) Battling Ranges: polarising and merging
(17:15) Workshop: battling against ranges
(18:00) Recap Session: with Q&A or optional extra workshop
(19:00) Seminar Ends
(19:45) Optional entry into Vic £50+6 tourney with last-longer for Academy attendees

For those working from a budget, there will be a $10+1 satellite tomorrow at 19:30, exclusive to Black Belt Poker players. The event requires a minimum of five runners so register early if you plan to play.

'DConTour1' Takes us to Valuetown

Last week, onlookers assumed we were off our rocker when we gave away an incredible seven seats into the iPOPS Main Event this Sunday; this week, rocker-descent was officially confirmed when we dished out a further nine. That's a total of $2,160 in added value!

The action kicked off on Monday with Bang for Ya Buck, a daily $1 rebuy satellite with one seat added to first place on top of the standard prize pool. Winners so far include: 'gnomeeee' (Monday), 'lionrampant27' (Tuesday), 'liquidpoker101' (Wednesday), 'SurrealKiller' (Friday) and 'daveyb15' (Friday) with the final event currently playing out. With fields from as little as 22 runners, players were certainly getting a whole lotta bang for that buck.

Once again, we also added a seat to the fiercely competitive Black Belt Poker League as 95 players swamped the tables for Leg 5. Although Jason 'Elysiumjay' Layland was competing in his second consecutive final table, he couldn't quite make it to the top of the tree, the final branch snapping when he lost heads-up to debutant winner 'DConTour1'.

1st DConTour1 -- $142.52
2nd Elysiumjay -- $95.00
3rd bornTOflirt -- $59.37
4th sixnout -- $45.12
5th generalshifty -- $35.62
6th liquidpoker101 -- $28.50
7th nakgeela4 -- $28.50
8th SurrealKiller -- $23.75
9th ACarey -- $14.25
10th habbad -- $11.87

175 hopefuls have partaken in League XII thus far including Neil Channing and Richard Ashby, but the frontrunner remains Yellow Belt 'bornTOflirt' who extended his lead by collecting the bronze medal. 'Sarannedipity' remains steady in second, whilst Leg 2 winner 'JaytheHippy71' is snapping at her heels in third.

1st bornTOflirt -- 479 points
2nd Sarannedipity -- 414 points
3rd JaytheHippy71 -- 401 points
4th NPenfold666 -- 397 points
5th losbert40 -- 391 points
6th BoatDrink -- 391 points
7th Elysiumjay -- 387 points
8th KBV1TALS -- 382 points
9th liquidpoker101 -- 375 points
10th ACarey -- 374 points

Currently close, but no cigar are the following batch, including former League Champions Adam 'JHobbit1' Saunders and Trevor 'TeeDeeEye1' Ingman:

11th doochats -- 373 points
12th JHobbit1 -- 373 points
13th 45683ah -- 364 points
14th TeeDeeEye1 -- 358 points
15th bagpussrocks -- 352 points
16th habbad -- 342 points
17th plusEVldn -- 342 points
18th RykanShadow -- 335 points
19th sprinterz -- 331 points
20th ChipRead77 -- 331 points

Again, echoing the generosity of last week's ventures, the Deepstack Mulligan returned with not only community points in tow, but also a free seat to play for. After numerous near misses, and gut-wrenching bad beats, Dawn 'bagpussrocks' Cooke finally buttered her bread the right side with an outright victory. $198.00 was the monetary reward.

1st bagpussrocks -- $198.00 & iPOPS Main Event seat (50 Belt Points)
2nd Yosemity 2207 -- $123.75 (30 Belt Points)
3rd CaptainJack5 -- $79.20 (10 Belt Points)
4th thefly2011 -- $54.45 (5 Belt Points)
5th 45683ah -- $39.60 (5 Belt Points)

Although Bang for Ya Buck has yet to reach its conclusion, the iPOPS (iPoker's Online Poker Series) has already witnessed the first three events create a gargantuan $112.900 in overlays, including the Omaha which fell short of the $150,000 guarantee by a whopping $84,900.

In total, 25 players have cashed via Black Belt Poker, most notably an in-form Bruce 'UsainZeus88' Jones who final-tabled the opening event for $13,160.00. More recently, David 'deadlydaveLDN' Eames received $1,575.00 for 10th in the last night's Omaha adventure.

Event: $100+9 No Limit Hold'em Six-Max Freezeout
Entries: 1,890
Black Belt Poker players: 92
Guarantee: $200,000
Overlay: $11,000

4th UsainZeus88 -- $13,160.00
36th emotivator21 -- $660.00
49th johnnycoot123 -- $500.00
58th griffyid7777 -- $460.00
110th nickhem1 -- $280.00
138th RVP83 -- $260.00
172th farryboybbp -- $220.00
180th PhilNe2Q -- $220.00
250th NeilChanning -- $180.00

Event: $50+5 No Limit Hold'em Rebuy
Entries: 1,357
Black Belt Poker players: 35
Guarantee: $150,000
Overlay: $17,000

24th farryboybbp -- $600.00
26th LegendKing1 -- $600.00
27th myteamouse -- $600.00
44th lordmatt0 -- $435.00
64th losbert40 -- $330.00
93rd johnhunkydory -- $270.00
109th kippery -- $240.00
198th 45683 -- $165.00

Event: $100+9 Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max Freezeout
Entries: 651
Black Belt Poker players: 36
Guarantee: $150,000
Overlay: $84,900

10th deadlydaveLDN -- $1,575.00
18th UliKoko -- $975.00
30th UsainZeus88 -- $615.00
60th THENFORCER -- $435.00
68th GONGONONGO -- $405.00
78th NeilsBitch -- $405.00
100th themackem1968 -- $315.00
116th NikPersaud -- $300.00

Meanwhile, in other news, Wednesday saw our Orange Belts fight it out for MTT tokens in the Bareny Rubble Freeroll. To those new to the name, if the following players turn their tokens into tournament winnings, we'll double their cash prize:

1st WiseOwlBB -- 5 tokens
2nd LolaLoveheart -- 3 tokens
3rd mork1971 -- 1 token

And finally, 47 took at a stab at our recently introduced Yellow Belt No-Lose Deepstack. Every single player received their $1 entry back with the final table sharing the $100 in added money.

1st Bambury -- $31.00
2nd BlackMadonna26 -- $21.00
3rd rungootPLS -- $13.50
4th FLYINGPROFISH -- $10.50
5th vinvgo -- $8.50
6th gnomeeee -- $7.00
7th WhiteShadow951 -- $6.00
8th BoraBoraBoy -- $5.00
9th BeatTheDonk123 -- $4.00
10th PhilDee64 -- $3.50

Another week and another value-fest on Black Belt Poker; every single event enjoyed an inflated prize pool, with nine lucky players hoping to turn their minor investment into a behemoth of a payday in tomorrow's final iPOPS event. If you've been living in a cave for the last few weeks, it's not too late - the action starts at 18:00 and unless 4,000 runners miraculously appear from the sky, there will surely be an overlay.

See here for details on Black Belt Poker's exclusive Bust a Belt Promotion for tomorrow's Main Event.

Don't have an account? Then click here to download the software and open an account following the simple step-by-step process provided.

Week 1 - 'JosseWales' Shoots to League XII Victory
Week 2 - 'JaytheHippy71' Rocks Leg 2
Week 3 - Stevie Does It
Week 4 - Mighty Win for Bulman in Leg 4

Jared Tendler Enters the Dojo

This December, Black Belt Poker welcome a special guest into the Dojo as mental game coach and acclaimed author Jared Tendler dons karate suit and plimsoles to host the penultimate Dojo Session of the year.

Taking place at 19:00 on Monday, December 5, Jared will be on hand to share his knowledge of the mental game with a focus on tilt control and how a composed mentality can directly aid methods of game-development.

As always, the Dojo will be open to questions from the floor, with Jared on hand and happy to answer any niggling queries you may have about tilt and the various triggers that can result in flying mice and broken laptops.

If you would like to attend, then tickets are now available through the Black Belt Poker Store ('Live Events') for the steal-of-the-century price of 300 Spending Points. If you are Purple+ Belt and have a free Dojo Session at your disposal, then all you have to do is drop us an email at training@blackbeltpoker.com to secure your seat.

"I've long respected Neil Channing and Black Belt Poker," commented Jared. "I'm excited to be hosting a Dojo Session and look forward to bringing the members a truly memorable and valuable event. Tilt is the most costly problem in poker, and few players truly understand how to face the issue head-on."

Jared turned to golf psychology after his drive to become a professional golfer was thwarted by failures in pressure situations. A degree in counselling psychology later and he became a licensed mental-health counsellor, before going on to assist some of golf's most talented players with the mental side of their game.

Despite his success, he would ultimately make the transition over to poker and is now considered a leading expert in the mental game having helped over 180 players across 30 different countries. His students include some of poker's most consistently winning players, including online titan Dusty 'Leatherass' Schmidt who attributes much of his success to Jared's guidance.

Earlier this year, Jared released his much-anticipated book The Mental Game of Poker, in which he takes readers through proven techniques to improve common pitfalls such as handling-variance, confidence and motivation. The book has been well-received by both pros and amateurs alike, and is essential reading for anyone serious about improving their game.

Now, only on Black Belt Poker, you can learn from Jared in December's Dojo Session, and find out why he has quickly become one of the most respected and celebrated coaches in poker.

If you would like to purchase The Mental Game of Poker, then you can do so at jaredtendlerpoker.com.

The full schedule for the next six of Dojo Sessions will be announced later today.

Brucie Bonus

Last night, the iPOPS (iPoker's Online Poker Series) made its hotly-anticipated debut as 1,890 ambushed the virtual felt, falling short of the $200,000 guaranteed prize pool to create an $11,000 overlay.

The opening event was a $100+9 No Limit Hold'em freezeout with no fewer than 92 hopefuls (almost five percent of the field!) playing through Black Belt Poker and looking to take advantage of the exclusive bonuses. Among them were Academy host Alex Rousso, Nottingham Live winner Stuart Hyson, and former EPT Champion Toby Lewis.

Each iPOPS event is hosted by a Black Belt with added bonuses awarded for the following achievements:

Bust the host
Bust by the host
Chip leader at the second break
Bubble boy (within five places of the money)
Final table bubble

Event #1's host was Aussie Millions finalist and UKIPT Cork Champion Sam Razavi who was unable to add to his list of accolades when he departed in 1488th. Unfortunately, his assassin didn't play through Black Belt Poker, and so was unable to claim his free seat into the iPOPS Main Event.

One player who will be playing on Sunday courtesy of Black Belt Poker is 'FlopTheNuts77'. Although he finished two away from the money, he was awarded a consolidative bonus seat for being a Bubble Boy and finishing within five places of a cash prize.

Those who did make the money included Black Belt Neil Channing (250th), and League XI runner-up Nick 'nickhem1' Hemming (110th), who recently lapped up a free London Live 2012 seat when he survived a last-longer against his fellow League winners at last week's Nottingham Live.

The most impressive performance, however, was that of Bruce 'Usainzeus88' Jones, who made it all the way to the final table before finishing fourth for $13,160 when he lost a massive pot for the chip lead with Q-9 versus A-7. In a fantastic gesture, he declared prior to the event that he would be donating 20 percent of any returns to three different charities.

An Orange Belt in the Black Belt Poker Belt-Up Rewards System, Bruce's total investment for the event was zero, having earned entry into all four iPOPS events via the Nottingham Live Finalists Freeroll last Tuesday. He then continued his incredible form by beating a record-breaking field the following day in the Deepstack Mulligan.

If you would like to follow in Bruce's footsteps and turn a small acorn into a giant money tree, then throughout the week, we're offering you the chance to qualify for Sunday's Main Event for a single buck. At 20:00 every day, we're holding a $1 Bang for Ya Buck rebuy with a seat added to first prize. Last night, just 28 players participated, meaning Black Belt Poker more than doubled the prize pool!

Already, Black Belt Poker have given away an amazing eight seats, and there are plenty more up for grabs. What's more, whether you win a seat or not, if you play the Main Event and manage to eliminate one of our three Black Belts, you'll automatically receive a package worth €1,450 into the iPOPS Live Open in Prague.

Nowhere else do you receive this kind of value, so if you're thinking of taking advantage of the $1,000,000 in guaranteed prize pools and inevitable overlays, then make sure you play the iPOPS on Black Belt Poker.

Players who cashed through Black Belt Poker:

4th UsainZeus88 -- $13,160.00
36th emotivator21 -- $660.00
49th johnnycoot123 -- $500.00
58th griffyid7777 -- $460.00
110th nickhem1 -- $280.00
138th RVP83 -- $260.00
172th farryboybbp -- $220.00
180th PhilNe2Q -- $220.00
250th NeilChanning -- $180.00

iPOPS: Bang for Ya Buck

The flashing lights are going up; the stores are already playing seasonal tunes; and advent calendars are on shelves - some think November's too early a kick-off for the festive spirit, but not at Black Belt Poker; we've already done our Christmas shopping and are handing out gifts with our red and white hats donned.

Tis the season for giving, and Black Belt Poker are giving away more than anyone. With seven iPOPS Main Event seats already won during last week's tournaments, we're adding another six this week with our daily Bang for Ya Buck tournaments.

Starting tonight and ending on Saturday, the Bang for Ya Buck tournaments will run daily at 20:00 with players presented with the opportunity of winning an iPOPS Main Event seat for a single buck. Tournaments will be a $1 rebuy, with one seat added to the standard prize pool, absolutely free!

To register for the event, simply locate the tournament in the poker lobby via Scheduled > Black Belt Tournaments > iPops Bang For Ya Buck! (Mon). If you don't already have an account, then opening one is easy: simply click here to download the software and follow the step-by-step process provided.

If you make a mistimed move in the opening event, or suffer an untimely bad beat, then don't fret, as you'll be able to put your name down for the following day's tournament immediately, and have yet another chance to win a seat for just $1. As soon as Monday's event starts, registration for Tuesday's will open.

If that's not enough, then you can even win a Main Event seat whilst playing the preliminary events. The first one starts tonight, at 18.00, and in a promotion exclusive to Black Belt Poker players, you can automatically win a seat by achieving any of these feats, in any of the first three events:

Bust the host
Bust by the host
Chip leader at the second break
Bubble boy (within five places of the money)
Final table bubble

See here for further details.

The iPOPS (iPoker's Online Poker Series) is a mini-series of four online MTTs spanning from November 28 to December 4 with a combined $1,000,000 in guarantees.

The schedule is as follows:

Nov 28 -- Event #1: $100+9 NLH six-max freezeout ($200K GTD)
Nov 30 -- Event #2: $50+5 NLH turbo rebuy ($150K GTD)
Dec 02 -- Event #3: $100+9 PLO six-max single rebuy ($150K GTD)
Dec 04 -- Event #4: $125+10 NLH Main Event freezeout ($500K GTD)

Good luck!

Mighty Win for Bulman in Leg 4

This week, Black Belt Poker was like a Santa's grotto as we entered into the festive spirit and gave away more free gifts than the Arsenal backline. With the iPOPS on the horizon, players were once again showered with value as Black Belt Poker dished out no fewer than seven free seats into the $125+10 Main Event.

The iPOPS Giveaway commenced on Tuesday with leg 4 of the Black Belt Poker League. 113 logged in, but only one could come out on top, and that man was none other than League XI Champion Bob 'myteamouse' Bulman.

A bounty at the recent Black Belt Nottingham Live, Bob had been struggling in the current League campaign with a trio of below-par performances, but he struck back on Tuesday with a timely first place finish, thus turning a token into $152.55 and an iPOPS Main Event seat. What's more, he also secured his place in the Second Chance SNG.

1st myteamouse -- $152.55 & iPOPS Main Event seat
2nd RiverSiren -- $90.40
3rd JimmyTheBhoy -- $56.50
4th D0l4hyd3 -- $45.20
5th mutesuperstar -- $39.55
6th S0lution -- $33.90
7th Elysiumjay -- $28.25
8th sprinterz -- $22.60
9th KBV1TALS -- $16.95
10th elvis18111 -- $6.78
11th liquidpoker101 -- $6.78
12th badbeefy -- $6.78
13th CaptainJack5 -- $6.78
14th BigClub1980 -- $6.78
15th LegendKing1 -- $6.78
16th JumboPeanuts -- $6.78
17th BoatDrink -- $6.78
18th blackbeltkickbox -- $6.78
19th bornTOflirt -- $6.78
20th Sarannedipity -- $6.78

Having snuck into the money in 19th, 'bornToflirt' was able to pick up enough points to hold on to the top spot. Meanwhile, Sarrannedipity's bubble-evading skills mean she remains in second with former League Champion Adam 'JHobbit' Saunders just two points behind in third.

1st bornToflirt -- 371 points
2nd Sarannedipity -- 356 points
3rd JHobbit1 -- 354 points
4th BoatDrink -- 344 points
5th KBV1TALS -- 338 points
6th NPenfold -- 332 points
7th bagpussrocks -- 330 points
8th JaytheHippy71 -- 322 points
9th losbert40 -- 308 points
10th TeeDeeEye1 -- 308 points

11th elvis18111 -- 308 points
12th badbeefy -- 303 points
13th lionrampant27 -- 297 points
14th 45683ah -- 297 points
15th ChipRead77 -- 293 points
16th taylormade777 -- 293 points
17th Georgia20 -- 291 points
18th doochats -- 289 points
19th ACarey -- 285 points
20th tentofollow -- 285 points

Tuesday was a hectic night in that it saw two other value-added tournaments grace the Black Belt Poker felt. First, a $5 satellite to the iPOPS Main Event with one seat added threw out the following results:

1st JumboPeanuts -- iPOPS Main Event seat
2nd GOLDENSOMBRE -- iPOPS Main Event seat
3rd wicky01 -- iPOPS Main Event seat
4th KBV1TALS -- $28.80
5th insider66666 -- $19.80
6th doochats -- $12.15
7th JHobbit1 -- $9.00
8th losbert40 -- $6.75
9th LukeHallinan -- $5.40
10th ourkidsid -- $4.50
11th dougiepete -- $3.60

And soon after, our Nottingham Live Finalst Freeroll - exclusive to those who made a final table in any Nottingham Live event - saw Bruce 'UsainZeus88' Jones best a field that included Warren Wooldridge, Neil Channing and Nottingham Live bubble boy Nick Finn to earn himself entry into all four iPOPS events.

'UsainZeus88' was in fine poker fettle this week as he followed victory on Tuesday with a Mulligan win the very next day. A record-breaking 46 players battled it out for the $690 prize pool, Belt Points and added iPOPS seat, but UsainZeus88 was in unstoppable mood and brushed aside the competition to pick up the booty. He'll be exchanging his seat for a satellite into the iPOPS Live Open.

1st UsainZeus88 -- $276.00 & iPOPS Main Event seat (50 Belt Points)
2nd vinsangel -- $172.50 (30 Belt Points)
3rd insider66666 -- $110.40 (10 Belt Points)
4th xxMohicanxx -- $75.90 (5 Belt Points)
5th originalcynic --$55.20 (5 Belt Points)

An incredible four seats were added to the top four in the final Aftermath event, a $50+5 freezeout on Thursday evening. Black Belt Richard Ashby was among the winners, despite just missing out on a cash prize.

1st NeilsBitch -- $700.00 & iPOPS Main Event seat
2nd AMANESS13 -- $420.00 & iPOPS Main Event seat
3rd beltdarkjf -- $280.00 & iPOPS Main Event seat
4th CHUFTY11 -- iPOPS Main Event seat

If you thought we were mad to give away so many seats this week, then start padding up the solitary confinement as next week we're giving away even more!

Every day from Monday to Saturday, there will be a Bang for Ya Buck tournament in which first prize will have one seat into the iPOPS Main Event added, meaning that if you slip up on the Monday, you can simply have another stab on the Tuesday - for a mere $1 investment. These aren't satellites into satellites; we're literally giving you the chance to qualify for a single buck!

Each event can be found in the tournament lobby under Scheduled > Black Belt Tournaments > iPops Bang For Ya Buck which kicks off daily at 20:00. If you don't already have an account, then opening one is easy: simply click here to download the software and follow the step-by-step process provided.

No other sites adds as much value to events as Black Belt Poker. Even when you win your iPOPS seat, it doesn't stop there. If you Bust a Black Belt in the Main Event, we'll jet you off to Prague to play the iPOPS Live - a package worth €1,450. No catch, no charge - just a free added bonus that you can only win by playing on Black Belt Poker.

With so much incentive, if you're not playing the iPOPS on Black Belt Poker, then you're making a minus EV decision.

Previous reports:

Week 1 - 'JosseWales' Shoots to League XII Victory
Week 2 - 'JaytheHippy71' Rocks Leg 2
Week 3 - Stevie Does It

Black Belt Nottingham Live Results

Main Event Results:

Event: $125+10 Main Event
Date: 18-20 Nov
Entires: 492
Prize Pool: $61,500

1st Stuart Hyson -- $15,500 ($14,000)
2nd Daniel Robertson -- $9,020 ($9,000)
3rd Arran Fletcher -- $6,000
4th David Buckland -- $4,000
5th Byron Brewer -- $3,000
6th Nicholas Wealthall -- $2,400
7th Paul Lynch -- $1,820 ($1,800)
8th Adam Carey -- $1,300
9th Kevin Corcoran -- $1,000
10th Nicholas Drinkwater -- $750
11th Adam Reid -- $925 ($750)
12th Timotheos Timotheou -- $500
13th Andy Hood -- $500
14th Nigel Hill -- $380
15th Simon Thompson -- $380
16th Kim Vernon -- $340
17th Ryan Carr -- $340
18th Anonymous -- $300
19th Andrew Cooper -- $300
20th Michael Fletcher -- $300
21st Gary Kinnersley -- $320 ($300)
22nd Tim Slater -- $300
23rd Twm Sion Jones -- $300
24th Paul Jenkinson -- $300
25th Benjamin Wooldridge -- $330 ($300)
26th Nicholas Todd -- $300
27th Kyle Smith -- $260
28th Ben Lake -- $260
29th Gareth Ainsworth -- $260
30th Sean Randall -- $260
31st Andrew Wright -- $260
32nd Zahir Aslam -- $260
33rd Scott Harvey -- $260
34th Jack Meldrum -- $260
35th Brian Cunningham -- $286 ($260)
36th Thomas Ambler -- $230
37th Richard Duncan Hodgkins -- $230
38th Chris Nicol -- $353 ($230)
39th Richard Milner -- $230
40th Leo McClean -- $230
41st Ben Meredith -- $276 ($230)
42nd Ashton Clayton -- $230
43rd Philip McGregor -- $230
44th Hasmukh Khodiyara -- $253 ($230)
45th Simon Cawley -- $230
46th Mark Cooling -- $200
47th Hannah Thorburn -- $200
48th Ebrahim Razavi -- $200
49th Jamie Strickland -- $200
50th Joanna Sharp -- $200
51st James Lowrey -- $200
52nd Patrick Pritchard -- $200
53rd Patrick Scott -- $200
54th Beverley Monks -- $200
55th Kenny Prazer -- $180
56th Robert Ayres -- $180
57th Aaron Spence -- $200 ($180)
58th Jean-pierre Carmier -- $180
59th Debra Kimm -- $180
60th Steven Chennells -- $180
61st Catherine O'Brien -- $180
62nd Darius Demetriou -- $198 ($180)
63rd James Bywater -- $170
64th Sean Fennessey -- $187 ($170)
65th Jarrett Owen -- $170
66th Mark Sanders -- $170
67th Daniel Amphlett -- $170
68th Stephen Knowles -- $170
69th Matthew Bennett -- $170
70th Tony Salmon -- $170
71st Sean Spalding -- $170
72nd Tim Atherton -- $160
73rd Luke Tatum -- $160
74th Aidan Doherty -- $160
75th Adam Saunders -- $176 ($160)
76th Richard Hurst -- $276 ($160)
77th Scott McGrory -- $160
78th Ricky Farbrother -- $160
79th Chris Seagriff -- $160
80th John Little -- $160
81st Justin Farmiloe -- $160
82nd Jack Stokes -- $150
83rd David Milligan -- $150
84th Glenn Henderson -- $150
85th Craig Napier -- $150
86th Mhazir Khan -- $150
87th Jason Herbert -- $150
88th Casey Quinlan -- $150
89th Richard Horton -- $150
90th Joshua Sharp -- $150

Bounty Eliminations:

$890 of a possible $5,250 paid.
1 x Purple Belt+ ($250)
3 x Orange Belt (£300)
17 x Yellow Belt ($340)

Jamie Burland by Paul Williams ($20)
Peter Wigglesworth by Dean Cryz ($20)
Chris Edwards by Sarah Priest ($20)
Kevin Williams by Mark England ($250)
Paul Spillane by Sinem Melin ($20)
Richard Ashby by Nick Finn ($20)
David Gentry by Paul Lynch ($20)
Warren Wooldridge by Tristan McDonald ($20)
Julian Thew by Daniel Robertson ($20)
Jerome Bradpiece by Ben Lake ($20)
Tristan McDonald by Gareth Ainsworth ($20)
Paul Marrow by Giovanni Albanese ($20)
Sam Razavi by Andy Potts ($20)
Simon Mairs by Gary Kinnersley ($20)
Bob Bulman by Tom Gurden ($20)
Jake Cody by Richard Hurst ($100)
Andy Miles by Chris Nicol ($100)
Neil Channing by Jean-Pierre Carmier ($20)
Adam 'Snoopy' Goulding by Zahir Aslam ($20)
Ben Meredith by Adam Reid ($20)
Nick Wealthall by Stuart Hyson ($100)

Belt Bonuses:

$1,674 of a possible $12,300 paid.

1st Stuart Hyson -- $15,500 (Orange Belt)
11th Adam Reid -- $925 (Orange Belt)
25th Benjamin Wooldridge -- $330 (Orange Belt)
35th Brian Cunningham -- $286 (Orange Belt)
38th Chris Nicol -- $353 (Orange Belt)
41st Ben Meredith -- $276 (Blue Belt)
44th Hasmukh Khodiyara -- $253 (Orange Belt)
62nd Darius Demetriou -- $198 (Orange Belt)
64th Sean Fennessey -- $187 (Orange Belt)
75th Adam Saunders -- $176 (Orange Belt)
76th Richard Hurst -- $276 (Orange Belt)

High-Roller Results:

All Nottingham Live finalists also won entry into a Freeroll on Tuesday whereby the winner won a season ticket to the iPOPS.

Event: $1,000+90 High-Roller (with re-entries)
Date: 19 Nov
Entires: 27
Prize Pool: $28,000

1st Ben Vinson -- £12,600
2nd Stuart Fox -- £7,560
3rd Matt Perrins -- £5,040
4th Jake Cody -- £2,800

Side Events Results:

Event: £15+5 £750 GTD
Date: 18 Nov
Entires: 175
Prize Pool: £2,625

1st Wesley Davies -- £866.25
2nd John Deabill -- £509.25
3rd James Taylor -- £301.88
4th Mike Tindall -- £210.00
5th Craig Hunt -- £157.50
6th Gareth Deighton -- £118.13
7th David Memmory -- £91.88
8th Thomas Hutchinson -- £65.63
9th Jonathon Morris -- £52.50
10th Adam Goy -- £36.75
11th Jonathan Gill -- £36.75
12th John Powdrill -- £36.75
13th James Wigmore -- £36.75
14th Andrew Mccullagh -- £26.25
15th Matthew Tippin -- £26.25
16th Ian Pears -- £26.25
17th William Swinscoe -- £26.25

Event: £50+6 £2,000 GTD
Date: 18 Nov
Entires: 121
Prize Pool: £6,050

1st Jamie Green -- £2,117.50
2nd Philip Mildon -- £1,210.00
3rd Warren Wooldridge -- £804.65
4th Scott Williams -- £514.25
5th Jay White -- £393.25
6th Patrick Thomas -- £272.25
7th Charles Grant -- £211.75
8th David Porter -- £151.25
9th Victoria Lambert -- £121.00
10th Wakas Aslam -- £84.70
11th Simon Beglarian -- £84.70
12th Paul Thorpe -- £84.70

Event: $100+12 High-Roller Mega Sat (with re-entries)
Date: 19 Nov
Entires: 61
Prize Pool: £7,800

1st Mark Hayes -- £0.00
2nd Stephen Lovatt -- £0.00
3rd Basharat Mahmood -- £0.00
4th Samad Razavi -- £0.00
5th Jack Pilkington -- £0.00
6th Willian Ullauri -- £0.00
7th Waheed Ashraf -- £0.00
8th Paul Romain -- £170

Event: £50+6 tubro £2,000 GTD
Date: 19 Nov
Entires: 124
Prize Pool: £6,200

1st Sean Randall -- £2,170.00
2nd Benjamin Mortlock -- £1,240.00
3rd Oluwashola Akindele -- £824.60
4th Owain Jones -- £527.00
5th Matthew Cox -- £403.00
6th Amjad Mohammed -- £279.00
7th Julie Golds -- £217.00
8th Frank Grainger -- £155.00
9th Stephen Ayres -- £124.00
10th Bruce Jones -- £86.80
11th Sukru Yildirim -- £86.80
12th Gareth Ainsworth -- £86.80

Event: £50+8 Super 50 £7,500 GTD
Date: 20 Nov
Entires: 209
Prize Pool: £10,450

1st Dafydd Elias -- £3,396.25
2nd Gordon Adam -- £1,985.50
3rd Gavin Foster -- £1,191.30
4th Phil Quelch -- £836.00
5th Tasos Grigoriou -- £627.00
6th Bruce Jones -- £470.25
7th Mark Arkley -- £365.75
8th Jose Pena -- £261.25
9th Craig Stonley -- £209.00
10th Emmanuel Sant -- £146.30
11th Adam Ray -- £146.30
12th Martyn Winn -- £146.30
13th Wayne Catchpole -- £146.30
14th Chris Russell -- £104.50
15th Anonymous -- £104.50
16th Michael Limming -- £104.50
17th Darren Rideout -- £104.50
18th Victoria Lambert -- £104.50

Event: £15+5 £750 GTD
Date: 20 Nov
Entires: 118
Prize Pool: £1,770

1st Chantelle Smedley -- £619.50
2nd John Deabill -- £362.85
3rd Paul Brown -- £238.95
4th Connor Brown -- £159.30
5th John Hammond -- £115.05
6th Parmjit Singh -- £79.65
7th Paul Barradell -- £61.95
8th Samual Wynn -- £44.25
9th Chris Tidmarsh -- £35.40
10th Mark Valentine -- £26.55
11th Jason Catchpole -- £26.55

Event: £50+6 £2,000 GTD
Date: 20 Nov
Entires: 66
Prize Pool: £3,300

1st Luke Hallinan -- £1,221.00
2nd Sau Lee -- £759.00
3rd Gareth Jones -- £495.00
4th Habib Chatoo -- £297.00
5th Reuben Marriott -- £231.00
6th Paul Neaves -- £165.00
7th Iftakhar Ahmed -- £132.00

For more information, check out the following links:

Nottingham Live Main Event - Live coverage/upadates
Press release: Hyson Cleans up at Nottingham
Press Release: Vinson Victory in High-Roller

Vinson Victory in High-Roller

This past weekend, Dusk Till Dawn became the battleground for a 492-strong war, all fighting for the honour of becoming the Sheriff of Nottingham and inaugural Black Belt Nottingham Live Champion.

But before a king could be crowned, Black Belt Poker hosted a six-max High-Roller event on the Saturday evening for those with a slightly larger budget.

The £1,000+90 price tag lured an all-star cast of 27 to the felt, including Black Belt Poker sponsored pros Neil Channing, Kevin Williams, Jamie Burland and Sam Razavi. The field also boasted Daniel Elder who had qualified for the reduced price of £110 through an online satellite on Blackbeltpoker.com.

The eventual winner was Ben Vinson. He overcame an incredibly tough final table that also featured Jake Cody, Matt Perrins and heads-up opponent Stuart Fox, to collect £12,600 for first prize.

The tournament ended on a coinflip, Fox the man all in with Kc-Jd versus 4s-4h. Although Fox paired his cowboy, the flop came a decisive 4d-8d-Kh to give Vinson a set. By the 9s turn it was all over and Vinson had bested one of the strongest fields ever to grace Dusk Till Dawn.

"I was really surprised. There weren't really any weak spots," commented Vinson just moments after victory. "Everyone knew what they were doing, and the final was like a who's who of poker. Matt Perrins in particular is one of the toughest I've played against. I rate him a lot and really like his game."

"These guys are capable of doing anything," he continued, "so you have to be on your guard at all times, and think outside of the box. They're never going to be playing ABC. You need to try and outthink them, because they can play no hand the same as the nuts."

Despite his tender years, Vinson has been playing the circuit for over five years and collated in excess of $600,000 in live tournament winnings. His biggest payday came at the 2007 GUKPT Grand Final when he finished fourth for £53,500. Just a fortnight earlier, he finished third in the Blackpool leg for £38,850.

This year, Vinson has been somewhat quieter in comparison, but with a recent cash in Cannes and his High-Roller triumph in Nottingham, he's finishing the year strong and could well be enjoying a turn of fortune as we head towards the festive period. You Vinson, you lose some - Ben's hitting that winning form.

The High-Roller event was just one of a number of tournaments hosted by Dusk Till Dawn over the Nottingham Live weekend. The Main Event was a $125+15 freezeout won by Orange Belt Stuart Hyson who took home a total of $15,500, as well as the illustrious trophy. Poker personality Nick Wealthall also made the final.

For more information, check out the following links:

Nottingham Live Main Event - Live coverage/upadates
Press release: Hyson Cleans up at Nottingham

Stuart Hyson Cleans Up at Nottingham Live

In the early hours of this morning, Stuart Hyson survived an epic final table to win the year's most sought after title in poker and become the first ever Black Belt Nottingham Live Champion.

400 players were originally pencilled in to grace the exquisite Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club in Nottingham, but after selling out a week before the event, the field was extended so that a total of 492 would ultimately stump up the $125+15 buy-in fee and take their seat in the UK's largest cardroom.

Among them were 21 coveted bounties including poker pros Julian Thew and Jake Cody, as well as London Live II Champion Peter Wigglesworth. Eliminating a bounty could net up to $250 depending on Belt level, and that was precisely the reward reaped by Purple Belt Mark England when he despatched Blue Belt Kevin Williams early on Day 1a.

The day also marked the debut of Koddzilla's Carps, an eight-man team of misfits who'd been sponsored into the event by Black Belt Sam Razavi with 50 percent of winnings going to Cancer Research. Elvis, a panto dame, and Blanka from Street Fighter were among the motley crew, but it was a giant chicken who led from the front, cashing in 53rd and donating his entire $200 winnings to charity - far from a paltry gesture.

107 players returned for Day 2 with Thomas Ambler boasting a monster chip lead of 266,600, over 100,000 clear of Kim Vernon in second. Later that day, Ambler was involved in an incredible pot against a fellow big stack in which he seven-bet shoved Q-3 uncontested. But despite his bravery, he would lose some crucial pots and tumble out in 36th.

With Nicholas Drinkwater feeling the splash of the bubble, our final table was set with Daniel Robertson holding the chip lead:

Seat 1: Arran Fletcher -- 625,000
Seat 2: Stuart Hyson -- 1,331,000
Seat 3: David Buckland -- 723,000
Seat 4: Byron Brewer -- 1,014,000
Seat 5: Adam Carey -- 444,000
Seat 6: Daniel Robertson -- 2,070,000
Seat 7: Kevin Corcoran -- 539,000
Seat 8: Nick Wealthall -- 148,000
Seat 9: Paul Lynch -- 591,000

For a moment, it looked as though poker personality and last bounty standing Nick Wealthall was destined for victory as he climbed three money-rungs and doubled up no fewer than three times. On each occasion he was behind, most memorably when he called the exact river with Ac-3d versus Ah-4h on an eventful 4d-2c-Qs-9c-5d board. It was third time unlucky for Nick, however, as he eventually departed in sixth.

After Arran Fletcher crashed out with Ad-Qc versus Qs-9h on an emphatic 9c-Qd-9d flop, it was left to Stuart Hyson and Daniel Robertson to contend for the illustrious title. And what a classic battle it was; two-hours of roller coaster, back and forth action culminating in one decisive hand as the clock struck 3:00.

All in with As-8d versus Kd-Qc, Robertson - who'd earlier been one coinflip away from tasting victory - just needed to avoid paint to earn a vital double-through. The 5s-2s-Jd flop looked harmless, and the 4s turn narrowed Hyson's outs even further, but the Poker Gods had one last trick up their sleeve when a Kh river hit the felt to bring the inaugural Nottingham Live to its dramatic conclusion.

Robertson had fought a plucky, Rocky-esque war, but when the smoke had cleared and the dust settled, it was Stuart Hyson of Rye in East Sussex who emerged as Champion. In doing so, he earned himself the sparkling trophy and a $15,500 payday, which included an additional $1,400 for being an Orange Belt in the Black Belt Poker Belt-Up Rewards System and $100 for eliminating bounty Wealthall.

Stuart, who was nicknamed 'The Dyson' during the live coverage due to his ability to vacuum up chips, plays on Blackbeltpoker.com under the moniker 'diiscostu' and qualified for the event for just $20. Meanwhile, he worked his way up to Orange Belt to take advantage of the added value on offer.

"I'm absolutely knackered," confessed Stuart just moments after victory. "I came up with the crazy idea that to stay awake I'd get myself a Red Bull and coke, which didn't taste very nice, but did the job. Daniel was a tough opponent and I was relieved to hit that king because I was really tired and knew he could grind it out if he had to."

"I used to work with Stuart at the racecourse and he is a great guy and a worthy champion," complimented Black Belt Neil Channing. "He told me he needed the money because he had a 23 year-old daughter, a 21-year old girlfriend and a bit of a gambling addiction [laughs], so I'm pleased he won."

1st Stuart Hyson -- $15,500 ($14,000)
2nd Daniel Robertson -- $9,000
3rd Arran Fletcher -- $6,000
4th David Buckland -- $4,000
5th Byron Brewer -- $3,000
6th Nick Wealthall -- $2,400
7th Paul Lynch -- $1,820 ($1,800)
8th Adam Carey -- $1,300
9th Kevin Corcoran -- $1,000

(Prize in brackets is standard payout without bonuses)

Bounty Eliminations:

Jamie Burland by Paul Williams
Peter Wigglesworth by Dean Cryz
Chris Edwards by Sarah Priest
Kevin Williams by Mark England
Paul Spillane by Sinem Melin
Richard Ashby by Nick Finn
David Gentry by Paul Lynch
Warren Wooldridge by Tristan McDonald
Julian Thew by Daniel Robertson
Jerome Bradpiece by Ben Lake
Tristan McDonald by Gareth Ainsworth
Paul Marrow by Giovanni Albanese
Sam Razavi by Andy Potts
Simon Mairs by Gary Kinnersley
Bob Bulman by Tom Gurden
Jake Cody by Richard Hurst
Andy Miles by Chris Nicol
Neil Channing by Jean-Pierre Carmier
Adam 'Snoopy' Goulding by Zahir Aslam
Ben Meredith by Adam Reid
Nick Wealthall by Stuart Hyson

Click for Live Updates/Coverage...

Nottingham Live - Day 1B Chip Counts

Click for Live Updates/Coverage...

Kim Vernon -- 162,900
David Buckland -- 155,000
Paul Jenkinson -- 152,600
Nicholas Wealthall -- 138,000
Andy Hood -- 135,700
Kevin Corcoran -- 122,500
Arran Fletcher -- 115,900
Simon Thompson -- 112,500
Robert Ayres -- 109,100
Zahir Aslam -- 105,200
Jack Stokes -- 101,900
Brian Cunningham -- 98,100
Hasmukh Khodiyara -- 96,700
Stuart Hyson -- 93,300
Nigel Hill -- 92,100
Benjamin Wooldridge -- 91,700
Nicholas Drinkwater -- 87,500
Hannah Thorburn -- 86,200
Chris Seagriff -- 78,600
Gary Kinnersley -- 77,200
Stephen Knowles -- 75,800
Daniel Amphlett -- 74,900
Jarrett Owen -- 71,600
Luke Tatum -- 70,400
Joshua Sharp -- 66,400
Darius Demetriou -- 65,400
Adam Morris -- 61,500
Jean-Pierre Carmier -- 60,100
Philip Mcgregor -- 58,300
Ben Meredith -- 56,400
Richard Horton -- 51,300
David Milligan -- 51,000
Jack Meldrum -- 49,700
Dean Aldred -- 48,300
Sean Fennessey -- 48,200
Aaron Spence -- 46,500
Patrick Pritchard -- 46,200
Adam Reid -- 45,700
Patrick Scott -- 45,200
Adam Goulding -- 43,200
James Lowrey -- 42,400
Adam Saunders -- 40,800
Chris Nicol -- 38,000
John Little -- 37,300
Sean Philburn -- 36,700
Casey Quinlan -- 34,700
Debra Kimm -- 32,000
Richard Hurst -- 30,100
Ashton Clayton -- 29,900
Scott Harvey -- 24,100
Matthew Bennett -- 20,800
Paula Cowling -- 20,700

Bounty Eliminations:

Paul Marrow - by Giovanni Albanese
Sam Razavi - by Andy Potts
Simon Mairs - by Gary Kinnersley
Bob Bulman - by Tom Gurden
Jake Cody - by Richard Hurst
Andy Miles - by Chris Nicol
Neil Channing - by Jean-Pierre Carmier

See here for Day 1A chip counts...

Nottingham Live - Day 1A Chip Counts

Click for Live Updates/Coverage...

Thomas Ambler -- 266,600
Tim Slater -- 147,500
Nicholas Todd -- 129,600
Ben Lake -- 128,100
Andrew Wright -- 122,800
Daniel Robertson -- 115,100
Tim Atherton -- 108,300
Andrew Cooper -- 102,900
Joanna Sharp -- 96,800
Leo Mcclean -- 96,300
Adam Carey -- 94,800
Byron Brewer -- 94,000
Anonymous -- 91,100
Richard Milner -- 82,000
Twm Sion Jones -- 81,500
Kenny Prazer -- 76,600
Paul Singhal -- 75,600
Simon Cawley -- 74,000
Glenn Henderson -- 70,500
Jason Herbert -- 68,600
Nick Finn -- 67,000
Mhazir Khan -- 66,600
Ian Mcdonald -- 62,700
Sean Randall -- 62,000
Catherine Obrien -- 61,700
Aidan Doherty -- 60,300
Scott Mcgrory -- 59,400
Mark England -- 57,600
Richard Duncan Hodgkins -- 56,500
Tony Salmon -- 51,800
Sean Spalding -- 51,600
Justin Farmiloe -- 49,600
Shana Casaletto -- 48,700
Steven Chennells -- 47,600
Timotheos Timotheou -- 47,100
Craig Napier -- 47,000
James Bywater -- 46,800
Ebrahim Razavi -- 43,500
Ryan Carr -- 43,000
Johnny Barr -- 41,000
Michael Fletcher -- 40,800
Kyle Smith -- 40,700
Sarah Priest -- 39,300
Gareth Ainsworth -- 38,300
Mark Sanders -- 35,500
Mark Cooling -- 35,300
Paul Lynch -- 31,300
Stuart Riddell -- 30,600
Alan Darby -- 29,900
Sukru Yildirim -- 28,900
David Hart -- 27,600
Beverley Monks -- 27,000
Ricky Farbrother -- 26,200
Jamie Strickland -- 19,400

Bounty Eliminations:

Jamie Burland - by Paul Williams
Peter Wigglesworth - by Dean Cryz
Chris Edwards - by Sarah Priest
Kevin Williams - by Mark England
Paul Spillane - by Sinem Melin
Richard Ashby - by Nick Finn
David Gentry - by Paul Lynch
Warren Wooldridge - by Tristan McDonald
Julian Thew - by Daniel Robertson
Jerome Bradpiece - by Ben Lake
Tristan McDonald - by Gareth Ainsworth