Mr. White Steals Leg 3

Last night, anticipation and excitement lingered in the lobby as players gathered on Black Belt Poker for the commencement of Leg 3, League X. The $5+0.50 freezeout resumed at its usual time of 7.30pm, and this week it attracted 74 runners.

The last two legs were claimed by Yellow Belts, but this time around, it was White Belt 'yZZZZZx' who took the spoils, pocketing $118.40 and 99 league points in the process.

Each League, we give away Belt Points for the top 10, but only if you're Yellow Belt or above...

So, 'yZZZZZx', if you're reading this, go to the Black Belt Poker homepage, click on 'New Members' in the Yellow Box at the top, enter your details and once everything is in order, you will automatically become a Yellow Belt. Simples! All backdated points earned will be credited once you're linked.

Now, back to the Leg 3 round-up...

As everyone knows, most of our Blue Belts and above are away in Vegas for the World Series of Poker. Unfortunately, Tom 'Werrrrd' Drew couldn't make it, which may also be bad news for the rest of the community because it looks like he's got his sights on League X glory.

The Blue Belt, who also won League VII, has been an equally consistent force this time around and last night continued that run with a second place finish for $81.40 and 91 points. That has now propelled him to the top of the overall league standings!

Meanwhile, Yellow Belt Dave 'TopMossley' Hulmes claimed a respectable third place to win $49.95 and 87 points.

1st yZZZZZx -- $118.40
2nd Werrrrd -- $81.40
3rd TopMossley -- $49.95
4th RykanShadow -- $37.00
5th UliKoko -- $27.75
6th adygolf -- $22.50
7th stevegw -- $18.50
8th russellhansen -- $14.80

After Leg 3, the king of the castle is now Tom 'Werrrrd' Drew, who currently sits on 249 points. Hot on his tail are League II Champ Mark 'russellhansen' Brassington and Zoe 'ZoeRiZZ0' Orton-Jay, who won her first ever league leg last week. They are both tied in second place on 248 points. Yellow Belt Jonathan 'RykanShadow' White has been lifted to fourth in the overall standings courtesy of a fourth place finish. He now has 228 points.

1st Werrrrd -- 249
2nd russellhansen -- 248
3rd ZoeRizzo -- 248
4th RykanShadow -- 228
5th 1080Sniper -- 203
6th LAYERCAKE35 -- 196
7th KGB386 -- 185
8th UliKoko -- 181
9th bagpussrocks -- 180
10th adygolf -- 179

11th eixip50 -- 178
12th nakgeela4 -- 176
13th UsainZeus88 -- 169
14th mork1971 -- 167
15th tristiano -- 163
16th Mrdrooldle -- 161
17th RedKiteBlackBelt -- 161
18th yZZZZZx -- 160
19th losbert40 -- 159
20th brigal19 -- 157

An hour later, 12 players entered the Deepstack Mulligan for $15+1.50, but only three were paid. Here are the results.

1st mutesuperstar -- $90.00
2nd paul6543 -- $54.00
3rd bagpussrocks -- $36.00

Last night's Leg 3 victory now means that 'yZZZZZx' is placed 18th in the top 20. Our mystery winner wasn't alone, however. There were also two other White Belts in the tournament: 39th place finisher 'MajorMustard', and 'huggybear209', who exited 63rd.

Come on, guys (or girls); get your act together. You're missing out on some brilliant stuff, and we promise you won't regret it. If you need any help, contact us on blackbeltsupport@googlemail.com where you will be assisted by yours truly.

If you're new to the league, don't worry as there are five legs left for you to make an impact. The eventual champion of League X will be taken to a secret location to film a unique poker video alongside Black Belts Neil Channing, Richard Ashby and Sam Razavi. You will get to script and act-out the craziest hand imaginable. Then you can go and brag about it to all of your friends.

To download the software, simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

Vegas 11 - Live WSOP Coverage

Members of the Vegas 11 have been in Sin City for over a month now, ambushing this year's World Series of Poker in an attempt to bring home bracelet-gold. Armed with thousands in live tournament backing, the Vegas 11 have been staying in a luxury mansion, just a few houses down from 'Mr Vegas' Wayne Newton and on the same road that used to be the home to boxing legend Mike Tyson.

Just because they're out enjoying the sun and poker of Nevada doesn't mean that you can live the Vegas dream vicariously through them. Since Event #39, we've been blogging on the team's progress in our exclusive live updates, including hands, quotes, and those dreaded bad beats.

Even as we speak, their is an active live blog of their journey in Event 48's $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Freezeout, the third of our Vegas Prize Fund events. If you would like to follow the action, then simply visit our Vegas page via the link below and check in on their progress using the options in the left-hand menu:

http://www.blackbeltpoker.com/vegas/

Before this event reaches its conclusion, we'll also be covering Event #51's $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha High-Low event, which has been pencilled in by Warren Wooldridge, Jerome Bradpiece, Adam Latimer and double-finalist Richard Ashby.

The full update schedule is as follows:

#38 - $1.5K NLH (Jun 22-24)
#39 - $2,5K PLH/O (Jun 22-24)
#42: $10K PLO (Jun 24-26)
#43: $1.5K NLH (Jun 25-27)
#45: $1K NLH (Jun 26-28)
#48: $1.5K NLH (Jun 28-30)
#51 - $1.5K PLO8 (Jun 30 - Jul 2)
#54 - $1K NLH (Jul 2-5)
#56 - $1.5K NLH (Jul 5-7)
#58 - $10,000 NLH Main Event (Jul 7-20)

The big one is, of course, the $10,000 Main Event, and the grand-daddy of the poker calendar. Last year, Jonathan Duhamel became the 2010 WSOP Champion and collected a cheque for a near nine million dollars. In 2011, a number of Black Belt Poker players will be looking to do the same.

Make sure you join us for the rest of the Series as we look to crown our first bracelet-winner and, who knows, first WSOP Champion.

Summer Lovin'; Sales Extended

Ice lollies are out; people hunting for shade; tanning salons are low on business; and the waft of food sizzling on a barbecue swirls through the air as kids run around squirting each other with water pistols. It can only mean one thing: British summer time has finally arrived.

Before you get too excited though, this is not an update promising you the weather will remain this way. Although we can't guarantee a rain-free summer (or even a longer one at that), we strive to bring you the best of the best and no less here at Black Belt Poker. So, stop sipping on that glass of Pims, halt plans on that trip to the seaside and pay attention to what we've got in store for you.

Due to the the success of the recently concluded Summer Sales Promotion, we have now decided to continue running three more of its No Limit Hold'em tournaments until late September! That means more value and several more chances for you to compliment the scorching weather with a money spinning windfall. To top it off, all three have been discounted by up to a huge 75 percent!

Anyone would think we're suffering from heatstroke with the offer we're dishing out, but rest-assured, this is no ploy. The tournaments begin on Friday, July 1 and will run every week until Saturday, September 24.

The $30+3 $50,000 GTD taking place on Wednesdays is a new tournament and the price has already been reduced to run in line with the rest of the sale.

The schedule is as follows:

Wednesday: $50,000 GTD R/A, $30+3 (new tournament)
Friday: $60,000 GTD R/A, $25+2.50 (70% discount)
Saturday: $35,000 GTD F/O, $30+3 (75% discount)

During this period, two daily micro buy-in tournaments will also be available in the cardroom. The details for these are:

$500 Top Gear R/A, $0.50+$0.05
$1k GP Daily Dollar R/A, $1+$0.10

You would be mad to miss out on this promotion. These are great tournaments with huge guarantees at just the fraction of the buy-in. Take full advantage of our sensational summer offer on BBP!

To download the software, simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

3 Yellow Belts Win $13K WSOP Packages

Last week, we gave our community the chance to gatecrash this year's World Series of Poker Main Event via a mouth-watering Mega Satellite on Black Belt Poker.

With an incredible 30 guaranteed packages up for grabs, this was an unmissable opportunity for anyone who's ever dreamt of becoming World Champion, and an absolute snip at just $500+35. Each package was worth $13,000, which included entry into the $10,000 Main Event, accommodation at the luxurious Wynn Hotel and Casino and spending money.

What made this offer even better was that Black Belt Poker went loopy, over the hill and positively around the bend when we served up a double whammy with our Black Belt Bonus: if you qualify through the Mega satellite through Black Belt Poker and go on to cash in the WSOP Main Event, we'll buy you into next year's event, absolutely free!

And so, on Sunday, June 19, 586 runners across the entire iPoker network played the Mega Satellite, thus creating an overlay of almost $100,000. Black Belt Poker showed up in force and, in total, the black, white and red made up for nearly 10 percent of the field with a fantastic 53 runners.

In the end, three Black Belt Poker players battled through the crowd to secure their seat in the year's most anticipated date on the poker calendar. They were:

Sean 'Snotterz' Fennesey
Jeremy 'slapdash1248' Rickard
Greg 'PorJas' Moore

Amazingly, the aforementioned warriors were all Yellow Belts, who only joined Black Belt Poker a few weeks ago. They have literally exploded onto the scene by landing a juicy WSOP package each. All three of them will be bought into Day 1D (July 10) of the WSOP Main Event and everyone here at Black Belt Poker would like to extend our congratulations once more and wish them all the best in Vegas.

Black Belt Poker's sponsored pros are already in Vegas, temporarily residing in the exquisite Black Belt Poker mansion while ambushing the 58 bracelet events the WSOP has to offer. If you would like to follow the action, including articles, interviews, Tweets and hourly coverage of 10 WSOP events, then make sure you check out the Vegas page now.

Ashby Denied Hattrick in $10K PLO

Last month, Black Belt Poker hosted the 'Slice of the Action' Freeroll in which four Orange Belts earned shares in Richard Ashby's action ranging from $25 to $100 in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship event. With two final tables already under his Belt, the Orange Belts were right to be confident.

Unfortunately, Richard was unable to make it a hattrick and pad the wallets of his investors as he crashed out on the penultimate level of the day.

Event #42 was possibly the most star-studded yet with a plethora of big names hitting the felt, including fleeting visits from Daniel Negreanu who was deep in Event #40 over in the Amazon Room. Richard's table, however - and with all others littered with 'big stars' - was surprisingly void of any familiar names; only online pro and fellow Brit Gavin 'gavz101' Cochrane offered a friendly face.

Whether this was a positive or not, is unsure (famous Hold'em pros don't necessarily make successful Omaha players), but, nevertheless, Richard got off to a non-catastrophic, if somewhat uneventful start, his only moment of excitement being when he doubled up to 5,000 (players have two 10,000 tokens behind) with As-Ks-8h-2c rivering a flush against Ad-Ac-Jh-4c on an ensuing 7c-6s-2s-Kh-4s board.

At the time, I felt obliged to ask if Richard was feeling the pressure of his virtual rail: "I'm feeling the pressure a little bit of having those guys follow me," he confessed as he open-folded from early position. "I think it might make me play a little more snug if anything."

"Snug" or not, Richard continued to avoid any huge potholes, ultimately grinding his stack up to 35,000, then 45,000, then finally 50,000 (by which point he'd already exchanged both his tokens). It was around this time that he found himself among more star-studded company, and sandwiched between Negreanu and 2005 WSOP Champion Joe Hachem.

With his wife-to-be watching anxiously from the rail, and the break just seconds from commencing, the crucial pot took place: on a board of A-T-8-6, Richard check-raised all in with 7-9-9-T for the flopped open-ended and turned straight and was called by top set and the nut flush draw. The flush came in, and a monstrous 110,000 pot (the average had yet to reach 50,000) went sailing to his foe.

In what was somewhat of a rubdown, Richard had just 700 of his initial 30,000 waiting for him when he returned from the break, and on the first hand, his 450 inevitably went in with his 250 small blind for his final showdown of the day: 9d-5d-7h-7c versus Jd-Qh-6h-8d. Amazingly, he was ahead when the chips went in, but not when the 4h-2d-Qc-9s-Ac board hit the felt.

"I was in pretty good shape if I'd won that one," he commented in the aftermath. "And I was playing pretty well too." Unfortunately, "playing pretty well" isn't always enough in poker, and a frustrated Richard exited stage left and returned to his room at the Bellagio in preparation for the Razz event the following day.

On this occasion, it wasn't to be for Richard, but it was a great opportunity for our Freeroll winners to grab their 'Slice of the Action'. Only last month, four jubilant Orange Belts received in excess of $16,000 courtesy of Sam Razavi who became UKIPT Cork Champion, so it proves it can be done.

Only at Black Belt Poker can we turn nothing into thousands and have it sitting in your account the following day. If you fancy receiving the same treatment, then make sure you get yourself up to Orange Belt and enter our 'Slice of the Action' Freeroll which takes place on the third Wednesday of each month.

In the meantime, be sure to follow the rest of the Vegas 11 in the Rio as they seek to bring bracelet-gold back across the Pond. All the relevant information can be found on our Vegas page (including interviews, articles, and more), as well as coverage from 10 bracelet events, including the $10,000 Main Event.

Schedule/Results page...

WSOP Content:

Vegas 11: Operation Bracelet
Vegas, Baby - Jerome Bradpiece
Vegas: Advice from the Pros
Paint It Black - Part One: Wassup With WSOP?
Cashing In; Where to Play Cash in Vegas - Sam Razavi
Snoopy's Top 10 Las Vegas Tips
For the Love of Ivey
Interview: Ashby Going for Bracelet #2
Richard Ashby Finishes Fourth in Event #11
Cody, Perrins & The UK Upsurge
Vegas 11 - Meet the Team
Chufty Makes Second Final Table
Paint It Black - Part Two: The Wait to Regulate
Meet the Mansion
Interview - Jared Tendler
Two Blue Belts; Two Cashes

Vegas 11 Interviews:

Richard Ashby
Jerome Bradpiece
Adam Latimer
Warren Wooldridge

Vegas Cherry Articles:

Hugo Martin
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams

Blogs:

A Happy Median - Snoopy
No Novacaine; It Dulls the Senses - Neil Channing
TiLT, Clowns & A Small High
Moving House is Stressful - Warren Wooldridge
Unjust Action - Adam Latimer
Form - Kevin Williams
Lucky Number Seven - Snoopy
Colemas, Cork & Changing at O'Hare
Starting High - Richard Ashby

ZoeRiZZ0 Roars Into League X Lead

On Tuesday night, just before 7.30pm, the air fell silent in the Black Belt Poker cardroom. 79 people had plonked themselves in front of their computer screens, ready to immerse themselves in what has become a staple diet of the BBP community. Then... Leg 2 of League X kicked off! When it eventually reached its conclusion, just like last week, a Yellow Belt was left punching the air in delight.

Zoe 'ZoeRiZZ0' Orton-Jay no doubt left the virtual felt with a huge grin to match the newly acquired bulge in her purse. She won $118.52 along with 104 points - not bad for an investment of only $5+0.50. The victory is also Zoe's first league win to date and pushes her from fourth to first place in the overall league standings!

Finishing in second place came Kim 'insider66666' Vernon, who won $79 and 96 points. Peter 'UliKoko' Derrick finished third and claimed a prize of $49.37 along with 92 points. Despite those wins, it wasn't enough to lift either of them into the top 20. However, there are still six more opportunities left for them, as well as everyone else to catch up.

1st ZoeRiZZ0 -- $118.52
2nd insider66666 -- $79
3rd UliKoko -- $49.37
4th LAYERCAKE35 -- $37.52
5th 1080Sniper -- $29.62
6th KGB386 -- $23.70
7th sprinterz -- $19.75
8th Werrrrd -- $15.80

After Leg 2, 'ZoeRiZZ0 now sits at the top of the pile with 211 points. She replaces last week's winner Mark 'russellhansen' Brassington, who exited in 26th for 54 points. Mark now has a total of 117 points and currently shares second place in the table with Paul '1080Sniper' Storey-Smith, who improved on last week's ninth place finish to secure fifth this time around and win 85 points.

In the background, League VII champion Tom 'Werrrrd' Drew has propelled himself from 17th up to fourth in the table. The Blue Belt picked up 76 points with an eighth place finish and now has a total of 158 points.

1st ZoeRiZZ0 - 211
2nd 1080Sniper – 177
3rd russellhansen – 177
4th Werrrrd – 158
5th LAYERCAKE35 – 153
6th KGB386 – 151
7th RykanShadow – 145
8th nakgeela4 – 144
9th eixip50 - 138
10th paddyjim67 – 136

11th brigal19 – 130
12th deanobungo – 125
13th stokelad112 – 120
14th generalshifty – 119
15th chipthief90 – 119
16th bagpussrocks – 117
17th Elysiumjay – 116
18th RedKiteBlackBelt – 115
19th tristiano – 115
20th losbert40 – 114

An hour later, 12 people dipped into the Deepstack Mulligan for $15+1.5. Purple Belt 'Bruce 'UsainZeus88' Jones emerged victorious and claimed a prize of $90.

1st UsainZeus88 – $90
2nd paul6543 – $54
3rd Touagorimou – $36

As mentioned earlier, there are still six league legs left. The winner of League X will not only join our illustrious list of former champions, but he/she will also get to script and star in their very own poker fantasy video alongside Neil Channing, Richard Ashby and Sam Razavi.

This is a completely unique prize and something for you to keep and gloat about forever. So, will Zoe go on to stamp her authority? Or will someone else seize control next week? Join us again for Leg 3 of League X, same time, same place.

To get stuck in, download the software: simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

League X: Lights, Camera, Action!
Brassington Brings It Back

Two Blue Belts; Two Cashes

There was concern back at HQ; the Black Belt Poker treasury was starting to become too spacious, and morale was rock bottom as the team sought a non-Ashby cash. Razavi had defected to Newcastle, Jerome had come close but no cigar, and messieurs Channing and Meredith were running worse than a snail in treacle. We needed a saviour, someone to oil the cogs and set the ball back in motion.

Enter Adam Latimer and Andy Miles into the fray. Validating the popular bus theory, the two Blue Belts delivered overdue in-the-money finishes within the space of two days, thus, hopefully, sparking a resurgence in the team's form and serving up a much-needed momentum burst.

Adam's score came in Event 32's $1,500 freezeout. Although Neil busted an hour before the end of the opening day, Adam survived to return with 86,000 with the average at just 33,000. 362 remained; 297 would get paid.

Day 2 commenced in similar fashion as Adam sailed into the money without so little as a murmur. His stack then started to inflate at rapid speed, even propelling him into a joint chip-lead with 250,000 when he eliminated Amit Makhija with 8-8 versus A-K.

Unfortunately, the ascent wouldn't last. He first lost a mammoth pot with J-J versus A-9 (blind on blind; ace-high flop), and although he doubled up with A-9 versus A-7, he bit dust soon after when he open-shoved 2-2 into Q-Q. The result? A near miss, but a consolation of $12,675 for 39th.

In the neighbouring Pavillion room, meanwhile, Andy Miles was busy mounting a stack in Event 34's $1,000 No Limit Hold'em Freezeout. As Jerome and Neil fell by the wayside, Andy managed to "grind" his way into Day 2 with 26,000, and just a couple of thousand below the average. Amazingly, just surviving the day meant that he'd already made the money.

Day 2 was a roller coaster; first, he dropped all the way down to seven big blinds, before moving back up to 15,000. Then came a crucial hand: moving all in with A-4, the action folded around to the big blind who turned over A-9 to garner a reaction. He then made the call, but Andy requested a ruling, suspecting the hand could be dead. It wasn't, but the player did receive a one round penalty. To make matters worse for him, Andy spiked his four kicker to see his stack increase two-fold.

The good fortune wouldn't last, though: blinds were 1,000 and 2,000 and Andy open-shoved 10 to 15 big blinds with A-Q but came unstuck against two callers: A-K and T-T. It would have been a massive treble-up if he could have spiked, but it wasn't to be and he walked away in 120th place for $2,942.

Adam and Andy were left with a what-could-have-been taste in their mouth, but the bottom line was simple: after somewhat of a drought, BBP were back in business, with two welcome notches on the poker bedpost. Today, Neil and Ben are taking a stab at the $2,500 No Limit Hold'em event; can they continue the momentum and add two more notches? Watch this space...

Vegas 11 Stats:

Cashes: 4
Winnings: $320,829

Schedule/Results page...

It’s Your Time: WSOP Mega Satellite

It really doesn’t matter what your preferred game is. Whether you’re an online heads-up grinder, live cash game whiz kid or you dominate your friend's home game, every poker player has that same killer instinct. We all want to be champions.

Sure, winning the local rebuy, your favourite club's main event or even that special online deepstack can make you feel good, but out of all the tournaments in the world, there’s one we’d all like to win: the World Series of Poker Main Event.

At $10,000, however, the entry is steeper than most can afford. Sure you can find satellites, but most require having to defeat thousands, or needing an outright win to secure your seat.

Do you wish there was an easier way? Then read on...

This Sunday at 7pm, we will host the $500+35 Mega Satellite, which will have thirty WSOP Main Event packages, worth $13,000 each, guaranteed. At time of writing, only 134 people have entered, giving you more than a 20 percent chance of winning a package.

If that wasn’t enough, we’re adding an exclusive bonus for all Black Belt Poker participants: win a package in the Mega Satellite and go on to cash in the 2011 Main Event and we’ll put you into the 2012 Main Event! It’s as simple as that.

If ever you wanted a shot at the fame, the glory, the prize, now’s the time. Opportunities like this rarely happen. Take a chance.

For more information, including terms and how to enter, follow this link:

http://blackbeltpoker.com/promotions/mega-satellite/

Brassington Brings it Back!

Black Belt League X... hold on, we're actually into the X's now?! Cue the Hovis advert theme tune...

It only seems like yesterday when we rolled out the first league back in September 2009. Like a proud parent, we've watched it grow like a child. We've witnessed thrills and spills along the way, highs and lows, and you, the Black Belt Poker community have been there every step of the journey. We couldn't have reached this landmark without you and I'm … going to stop before I get sidetracked by emotion and nostalgia.

The eyes of the world may be on Vegas at the moment, but back home, last Tuesday marked the momentous return of our league, celebrating its 10th outing!

We like to keep people on their toes, so each time we've tried to come up with a new and unique prize for the eventual winner. This time is no different: the Champion of League X will get to script and star in their very own poker fantasy video, where he or she will face off against Black Belts Neil Channing, Richard Ashby and Sam Razavi in the sickest hand they can imagine.

At 7.30pm, 98 runners bought-in to Leg 1, all eager to signal their intent by gaining a valuable early foothold in the standings. When it came to the crunch, a Yellow Belt emerged victorious.

After registering for $5+0.50, Mark 'russellhansen' Brassington pocketed $147 and currently leads the pack with 123 points. He is no stranger to quick starts; Mark grabbed top spot in Leg 1 of League V and maintained a strong challenge until the very end, but fell just short, finishing in second by only two points. With that in mind, is this the start of another magnificent run and will he be able to go one better this time around?

The top ten positions were made up of Yellow and Orange Belts, with only one Purple Belt (Richard 'generalshifty' Hurst) present in eighth.

Coincidentally, second place was taken by another Brassington – but this time, Simon (are you guys related?), who won $98 and 115 points. Dean 'deanobungo' Rowe completed the top three, winning $61.25 and 111 points.

1st russellhansen -- $147.00
2nd stokelad112 -- $98.00
3rd deanobungo -- $61.25
4th ZoeRiZZO -- $46.55
5th Elysiumjay -- $36.75
6th sceaga2 -- $29.40
7th losbert40 -- $24.50
8th generalshifty -- $19.60

The top 20 players and their points are:

1st russellhansen -- 123
2nd stokelad112 -- 115
3rd deanobungo -- 111
4th ZoeRiZZo -- 107
5th Elysiumjay -- 104
6th sceaga2 -- 101
7th losbert40 -- 98
8th generalshifty -- 95
9th 1080Sniper -- 92
10th habbad -- 90
11th RykanShadow -- 88
12th Mrdroodle -- 87
13th 1894IAIN -- 86
14th eixip50 -- 85
15th brigal19 -- 84
16th StilettoMafiosa -- 83
17th Werrrrd -- 82
18th hiddenacesBBP -- 81
19th bagpussrocks -- 80
20th RiverSiren -- 79

Remember, everyone, this is a marathon and not a sprint. There are seven legs to go in League X and more opportunities for you carve your name into the Black Belt Poker history books.

At the moment, many of our higher Belts are either in Vegas or getting ready to jet out there for the WSOP. This means that, even if you're stuck at home twiddling your thumbs, all's not lost; you have a prime chance to cement your spot in the league whilst they are away.

Notably, League IX champion and Blue Belt Jamie Burland could only muster up a 16th place finish and he'll be gone for a while. So, don't miss out on this opportunity! As the saying goes, 'When the cats are away, the mice come out to play.'

To get stuck in, download the software: simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

League X: Lights, Camera, Action

Unfortunately, we can't promise a night of passion with your favourite poker starlet or guarantee a place in the November Nine, but the prize for the latest Black Belt Poker League is almost as exciting: the chance to script and star in your own professionally made poker scenario.

In what is the most unique prize we've offered to date, the winner of League X will be invited to come up with a poker hand and situation, before acting it out in front of the camera with a line-up including Neil Channing, Richard Ashby and part-time thespian Sam Razavi.

Want to put a bad beat on "Bad Beat" Channing, cooler "Chufty", or talk trash with "KODDZILLA"? Then this is your chance to do just that. The situation could be anything: royal flush over straight flush, a hero call with jack high, or even a recreation of a famous hand from TV. It's totally up to you!

League X commences tomorrow night, June 14 at 7.30pm, exclusively on Black Belt Poker. As usual, the League will run over eight legs, taking place every Tuesday. The event can be located in the lobby under Scheduled > Black Belt Tournaments and costs $5+0.50 to enter. You can also buy in using Belt Points by purchasing a token in the Black Belt Poker Store.

Points for each leg will be awarded in reverse order, so that in a 50-runner event, 50th would earn 1 point, and 1st 50 points. The top 10 finishers per leg receive the following additional points:

1st 25 Points
2nd 18 Points
3rd 15 Points
4th 12 Points
5th 10 Points
6th 08 Points
7th 06 Points
8th 04 Points
9th 02 Points
10th 01 Point

Once again, we'll also be offering Belt Points to those who finish in the top 10:

1st Ultimate Poker Fantasy Package
2nd 1,000 Belt Points
3rd 850 Belt Points
4th 750 Belt Points
5th 600 Belt Points
6th 500 Belt Points
7th 400 Belt Points
8th 300 Belt Points
9th 200 Belt Points
10th 100 Belt Points

Last time, Blue Belt Jamie Burland became the ninth League winner when he defeated Chris Roadknight by just two points. As a result, he received 1.5% shares of our Black Belts in the WSOP Main Event. He also joined an illustrious list of Champions; this summer, it could be you...

Previous Winners:

League I: Adam Saunders
League II: Mark Brassington
League III: David Meunier
League IV: Andy Brisland
League V: Trevor Myers
League VI: Mark Ranson
League VII: Tom Drew
League VIII: Trevor Ingman
League IX: Jamie Burland
League X: ???

To download the software, simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

Chufty Makes Second Final Table

Richard Ashby has gone two for two at the 2011 WSOP with his second final table in almost as many days.

Only last Thursday, the Black Belt Poker sponsored pro finished fourth in the $10,000 Omaha High-Low Championship. Last night, he improved on that performance with a third place finish in the $10,000 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship for $143,833, thus bringing his total winnings to an impressive $305,202.

With just 126 entrants, this was the lowest turnout of the Series so far, but it proved to be the most intriguing as we were treated to one of the most star-studded final tables in WSOP history with all but one of the finalists boasting a bracelet in their trophy cabinet.

Although Richard was vying for his second bracelet after winning last year's $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event, the big story was the presence of Phil Hellmuth who was on course for an unprecedented 12th bracelet, and his first in a Non-Hold'em event so far.

14 players made the money, including poker legend Johnny Chan, online titan Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier and 2004 Main Event Champion Greg Raymer. Once Joe Cassidy fell in eighth, we had our final table with Hellmuth leading the way with just over a million in chips.

Richard - who had commenced the day as chip leader - sat in second, and he would remain in this position until just three players remained. Down to 200,000, he moved all in from the small blind and was called by Hellmuth in the big. With Q-T-4-3 versus the 8-6-3-2 of Hellmuth, Richard needed some help, and although he drew a 6 for a queen-low, the Poker Brat revealed a T for a ten-low.

Despite a 3:1 chip advantage, Hellmuth was unable to make history as John Juanda mounted a remarkable comeback and showed just why he is considered one of the best 2-7 Draw Lowball players in the world. After over three hours of heads-up play, he captured the gold and 367,170 first prize. This was Juanda's fifth bracelet to date.

Richard has exploded out of the blocks like Carl Lewis with a jetpack at this year's World Series, making the final table in his first two events and coming just a gnat's nostril hair away from winning Black Belt Poker's first bracelet. His next event will be the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship, which starts later today.

Click here to view our recent video interview with Richard at his home in Watford.

Richard Ashby Finishes Fourth in Event #11

Earlier this morning, Richard Ashby finished fourth in Event #11's $10,000 Omaha High-Low Championship. He took away $165,216 in prize money, which marked Black Belt Poker's first cash at the 2011 World Series of Poker.

Despite making his fifth final table appearance, Richard will be disappointed with the final result. He started the day fourth in chips, and after eliminating the likes of Freddy Deeb, Michael Chow and Perry Green en route to the final table, he took out overnight chip leader Guillaume Rivet to give himself a stack of 2.4 million with just six remaining. His nearest competitor had 1.3.

Unfortunately, Lady Luck turned her back on Richard at the vital time, as the Black Belt Poker pro doubled up George Lind and was quartered by Russian Viacheslav Zhukov. A few hands later, Richard's descent was complete as he found himself all in with 2c-4h-5d-6s versus Ah-2h-5c-Qd on the turn of a 2d-8c-7d-4c board. Despite holding the low for half the pot, the river came a cruel Ac to seal Richard's fate.

This was the third Championship event of the Series so far after the Heads-Up and Pot Limit, and managed to attract a credible field of 202, thus creating a $1,898,800 prize pool and $465,216 first prize. Richard's finish elevated his total WSOP winnings to over the three-quarter million mark. Josh Arieh, Mike Sexton, Shaun Deeb and Jason Mercier also made the money.

Richard was vying for his second bracelet after winning a Seven-Card Stud event last year for $140,467. Just over a week later, he added a further $378,027 when he finished second in the $10,000 HORSE Championship. A repeat performance, however, wasn't to be, but it marked an incredible start for Richard who was playing in his first event since arriving only a few days ago.

Richard's final table appearance forms a promising sign for next Wednesday's 'Slice of the Action' winners. Every month we host an Orange Belt Freeroll in which players win a share of a Black Belt in a preselected tournament; next week's Freeroll winners will earn a slice of Richard's action in the $10,000 PLO Championship on June 24. The Freeroll starts at 8pm, so don't miss out on your chance to share in the glory.

Before Richard jetted off to Sin City, we interviewed him at his home at Watford. In the interview, Richard talked about his hopes for his opening event, as well as his thoughts on a number of other topics such as his WSOP predictions, how he prepares for the two-month stint, and his feelings when he held aloft that bracelet gold. Click here to view the full interview.

Click here for a the full schedule and results for the 2011 WSOP.

Burland Wins League in Photo Finish

Forget the knife, you could have cut the tension with a toothpick last night as the Black Belt Poker League culminated in its most nail-biting conclusion to date.

Just one point separated the top two heading into the eighth and final leg, meaning Jamie Burland needed to better Chris Roadknight by only one place to secure victory. Topping the podium would reap sumptuous rewards, the winner receiving a 1.5 percent share in a Black Belt of their choosing in the WSOP Main Event.

54 showed up for the finale, some intent on throwing a devilish cog in the works; others hoping to scrape into the top 10 of the League standings. In the end, the man who rose highest was Jason 'Elysiumjay' Layland, who only last week had won $4,032 courtesy of the 'Slice of the Action' Freeroll and Sam Razavi's subsequent UKIPT win. Meanwhile, reigning League Champion Trevor 'TeeDeeEye1' Ingman made his second consecutive final, as did runner-up Nick 'sprinterz' Spiers

1st Elysiumjay -- $86.40
2nd sprinterz -- $59.40
3rd losbert40 -- $36.45
4th seven7777777s -- $27.00
5th RykanShadow -- $20.25
6th nakgeela4 -- $16.20
7th TeeDeeEye1 -- $13.50
8th hiddenacesBBP -- $10.80

Prior to the final, all eyes were, naturally, on the battle for the throne, Jamie and Chris fighting it out like Roman gladiators in a bid to be crowned Champion. And boy, was it close. With just 16 left, Chris was eliminated from the tournament, meaning that Jamie, who finished one place higher, was League IX Champion by a paltry two points.

One element that had passed everyone by, however, was that third placed Peter 'UliKoko' Derrick could still gatecrash the party if he were to pull out a win. But alas, the last-minute dash wasn't to be, and despite a plucky performance, he bubbled the money in ninth. So… now it was official, and Burland's arm was raised.

1st StilettoMafiosa (450 points) -- 1.5% Black Belt Backing
2nd CroadYuk (448 points) -- 1% Black Belt Backing
3rd UliKoko (423 points) -- 0.5% Black Belt Backing

Although mork1971's wooden-spoon finish wasn't enough to see him drop out of the prize money, others weren't so lucky: JimmyTheBhoy, Boatdrink and psbef81 all fell at the final furlong, to be replaced in the top 10 by TheSimian, losbert40 and nakgeela4, the latter achieving that goal by just one point.

4th TeeDeeEye1 (398 points) -- 750 Belt Points & DeucesCracked Token
5th tristiano (398 points) -- 600 Belt Points & DeucesCracked Token
6th losbert40 (381 points) -- 500 Belt Points & DeucesCracked Token
7th insider66666 (378 points) -- 400 Belt Points & DeucesCracked Token
8th TheSimian (367 points) -- 300 Belt Points & DeucesCracked Token
9th mork1971 (362 points) -- 200 Belt Points & DeucesCracked Token
10th nakgeela4 (361 points) -- 100 Belt Points & DeucesCracked Token

11th JimmyTheBhoy -- 360 points
12th paul6543 -- 359 points
13th BoatDrink -- 359 points
14th Mrdroodle -- 343 points
15th pbsef81 -- 340 points
16th generalshifty -- 339 points
17th habbad -- 333 points
18th Elysiumjay -- 324 points
19th Bambury -- 317 points
20th sprinterz -- 312 points

Amid all the mayhem and tension, the Mulligan arrived 60 minutes later. 7 pitched up the $15+1.50 buy-in, but only one could win, and that wo/man was unknown entity 'bagpusrocks', who did indeed rock to the tune of $105.00.

1st bagpusrocks -- $105.00
2nd Ranny
3rd JHobbit1
4th Cranfield
5th StilettoMafiosa
6th Touagorimou
7th AlwaysMissing

And so, after the dust had settled and the smoke cleared (quote courtesy of Rocky 3), all that was left to do was for the podium to pick their horses:

Jamie Burland chose: 1% of Sam Razavi and 0.5% of Neil Channing
Chris Roadknight chose: 0.5% of Richard Ashby and 0.5% of Neil Channing
Peter Derrick chose: 0.5% of Richard Ashby

So, good luck to them and their respective picks. The next League is just a fortnight away and will commence on Tuesday, June 14. In the meantime, be sure to check out all our promotions by clicking the links below:

Summer Sales
The Dollar Drive
Road Trip
SNG Leaderboard
Orange Belt Freerolls

To download the software, simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

League IX: Backin' Black
Great Scott; course00 Takes Opener
A Tripz to the Podium
Inside Job & G3OFF Wins Leg 3
99Ranny Hits the Mark in Leg 4
Academy Mentor 'Whacks' Leg 5
Romain Conquest
Leg 7 Heaven for Williams