Ninja II: Online Poker Series

 
After five months of hibernation, Ninja has returned from the shadows to infiltrate your monitor and bring you another series of exclusive online poker tournaments.

Commencing at 20:00 on Monday, March 04, Ninja is a mini-series of six eclectic events with buy-ins from as low as $5+0.50, and culminating in a $50+5 Main Event with a $2,500 guaranteed prize pool.

The full schedule is as follows:

Mon, Mar 04 - Ninja #1: $10+1 Hold'em Freezeout
Tue, Mar 05 - Ninja #2: $25+2.50 Hold'em Six-Max
Wed, Mar 06 - Ninja #3: $15+1.50 Hold'em Deepstack
Thu, Mar 07 - Ninja #4: $10+1 Hold'em Bounty Freezeout
Fri, Mar 08 - Ninja #5: $5+0.50 Omaha 1 x Rebuy
Sat, Mar 09 - Main Event Mega: $8+0.80 Hold'em Satellite
Sun, Mar 10 - Ninja Main Event: $50+5 Hold'em Freezeout

Ninja is available to players of all bankrolls with qualifiers from as little as a single buck. Daily satellites are already running including two $3+0.30 qualifiers into Ninja #3 tonight at 19:00 and 20:00.

Satellites will also be available during Ninja Week, as well an entire day of opportunity on Satellite Sunday, with qualifiers running on the hour, every hour from 13:00 right up to 19:00.

"Even I was surprised as to how popular the first Ninja was," confessed Black Belt Poker co-founder Neil Channing, "but it just goes to show that there are plenty of players looking for an affordable, but competitive series. Hopefully we can provide that.

"It also gives recreational players a chance to test their skills against some of the pros, and during Ninja Week they'll be able to compete alongside our sponsored players, and maybe even win a Main Event seat in the process."

Last time, Black Belt Poker player 'Ka7ieVick' defeated a field of 127 to capture the inaugural title, while Hasmukh 45683ah Khodiyara took down the Main Event for $1,155.00. Check out our tournaments page for the full results.

Ninja is an exciting series that offers low stakes players a chance to showcase their mad ninja poker skillz for a modest fee. If you want to play, then each Ninja can be located in the cardroom lobby via Scheduled > Black Belt Tournaments.

For more details, including satellite schedule, bounties, and Freeroll prizes, see our promotions page.

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

Stoneham Goes Forth in Samurai

 
Last night, Adam sirusthevirus1 Stoneham became the fourth Samurai Champion to date, defeating Black Belt Poker co-founder Neil Channing heads-up to collect the title and $4,347.50 first prize.

The combination of a $250+25 buy-in and $10,000 guaranteed prize pool attracted 47 to the felt, including some of online poker's finest talents: Matthew Frankland, Alex Goulder, Jerome Bradpiece and defending Champion Andrew LegendKing1 Dwyer.

Also vying for gold was Green Belt Colin cheekyweeguy Timms, multiple WSOP finalist Spencer dionysian Lawrence, and two-time League Champion Adam JHobbit1 Saunders.

Perhaps the most fortunate entrant was Richard wowsickriver Hinds; he was the recipient of a free ticket generously donated by blogger Lil Dave Nicholson who entered readers into a free prize draw on Twitter. Sadly, Richard was unable to prosper when he departed in 19th.

A number of big names suffered early exits, with poor David DavidBlackBelt Pomroy handed the wooden spoon, closely followed by Sam SamSquid1 Grafton, Kevin Kevish47 Williams and Orange Belt Freeroll qualifier Nick nickhem1 Hemming.

Instead, the final six looked as such, with Stephen eamsie007 Eames the tortured bubble when his 4d-2h was unable to unravel Ah-As despite a rollercoaster 4c-5c-2c-Ad-7h board:

redarmi1 -- 83,136
NeilChanning -- 52,473
sirusthevirus1 -- 34,120
dbaby86 -- 32,492
Bowlyflush -- 17,659
NPStars1 -- 15,850

The final table witnessed more action than a Die Hard boxset as the chip lead changed countless times. The first casualty, however, was short stack Ken NPStars1 Johnston, the Orange Belt's A-J unable to improve against Channing's A-K.

Joining him on the rail was Mega Satellite qualifier dbaby86 (J-9s vs. A-J) while not too far behind was Jack Bowlyflush Ellwood, whose double-up with A-A versus T-T wasn't enough to prevent him from falling in fourth (2-2 vs. 9-9).

After redarmi1 took the bronze, it was left to Adam sirusthevirus1 Stoneham and NeilChanning to battle it out for the remaining medals with the latter boasting a lead of 142K to 93K.

Heads-up would prove an epic affair with more ups and downs than a kangaroo on a trampoline. Having doubled through with K-Q vs. Q-7 ("Rush of blood," claimed the victim), the final hand saw Stoneham's Qc-Tc outgun Kc-Js on an exciting Ks-3h-Td-Th-7s board.

A former Brown Belt from London, Stoneham is a 28-year old online pro who specialises in heads-up poker. Along with Sam Razavi, he was one of two recipients of an Aussie Millions package when he won the Black Belt Poker Grading in 2010.

"With my track record for coming second and Adam's experience playing heads-up, it wasn't looking too peachy," confessed Channing. "It was a close battle in the end, but Adam played great and deserved the win, although I must have more silver medals than Roger Black by now…

"It was marvellous to see so many familiar names turn up for Samurai," he continued, "and also many of our regulars and satellite qualifiers who got to compete for a big prize against some of the UK's best players. There was a great atmosphere with plenty of banter, and I'm already looking forward to defending my runner-up spot in the next one."

Final results:

1st  sirusthevirus1 -- $4,347.50
2nd  NeilChanning -- $2,585.00
3rd  redarmi1 -- $1,762.50
4th  Bowlyflush -- $1,292.50
5th  dbaby86 -- $940.00
6th  NPStars1 -- $822.50

Reflex Ruaction; Robinson Tops Leg 5

 
After a series of subpar performances, Owen Ruaction Robinson has responded in emphatic fashion by taking down the fifth leg of the latest Black Belt Poker League.

A total of 91 took their seat for what was likely to prove a pivotal leg; a mere 11 points separating the top 7 and setting us up for a photo finish.

Malcolm lionrampant27 Sievwright was the unfortunate bubble, while Leg 2 winner donielyons felt the splash in 10th. This left a tough surviving 9 to head into the final, of which included Jon Ourkid888 Laight who finished 9th the week prior.

But, alas, it was Purple Belt Ruaction who took the spoils, nudging ahead of Bagheira1 to pick up the maximum league points and the $125.17 first prize.

1st  Ruaction -- $125.17
2nd  Bagheira1 -- $84.17
3rd  Ourkid888 -- $63.70
4th  losbert40 -- $43.22
5th  tristiano -- $31.85
6th  TableKnight -- $23.88
7th  blackbeltkickbox -- $19.33
8th  bornTOflirt -- $15.92
9th  JosseWales -- $13.65
10th  donielyons -- $11.37
11th  chipbustout1 -- $11.37
12th  jimmyt31 -- $11.37

Disappointing appearances from ChipRead77 (86th), whosurmama (63rd) and BubbleCloud (52nd), combined with the final table showings of bornTOflirt and tristiano mean that a gap has formed at the top for the first time this campaign with the very latter leading the way by three points.

However, that cranny can soon disappear, and with three East End Live seats up for grabs, there's still plenty to play for.

1st  tristiano -- 469 points
2nd  bornTOflirt -- 466 points
3rd  Ourkid888 -- 422 points
4th  BubbleCloud -- 417 points
5th  whosurmama -- 403 points
6th  TableKnight -- 398 points
7th  Bagheira1 -- 397 points
8th  PhilDee64 -- 396 points
9th  KingofTheBongo33 -- 393 points
10th  ourkidsid -- 388 points
11th  losbert40 -- 382 points
12th  ChipRead77 -- 382 points
13th  JHobbit1 -- 382 points
14th  7onyB -- 381 points
15th  dionysian -- 361 points
16th  DodgyEnd57 -- 355 points
17th  BoatDrink -- 350 points
18th  liquidpoker101 -- 340 points
19th  JustinBieber -- 335 points
20th  forgot2piknik -- 333 points

The word of the week is 'Samurai', and we're now just hours away from the Main Event. If you want to play, then entering is easy: simply locate the tournament in the lobby via Scheduled > Black Belt Tournaments > Samurai and click 'register'.

A number of players have already earned their seat including defending Champion Andrew LegendKing1 Dwyer, and the following eight players who took advantage of the overlay in last night's $30+3 Mega Satellite:

sprinterz
flipfone
Ruaction
NinjamanUK
nickhem1
FumbDuck1
dbaby86
dizzybindon

The action kicks off tonight at 20:00, only on Black Belt Poker. The buy-in is $250+25, and the prize pool is guaranteed at a generous $10,000.

In other news, dionysian took down the Takedown and Elysiumjay triumphed in the Nifty at Nine. Tonight also sees our weekly Deepstack Mulligan at 20:30, and the latest Orange Belt Freeroll an hour earlier at 19:30.


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

Previous reports:

Week 1: King of League XVIII
Week 2: 'Donielyons': The Mane Man in Leg 2
Week 3 - Nanoplankton Turns the Tables in Leg 3
Week 4 - Flirting With Victory

Samurai Mega - Eight Seats Guaranteed!

Like a merciless warrior braced to charge into the battlefield, the Samurai is back this week with a thirst for action and a terrifying look etched on its face.

Metal will clash at 20:00 on Wednesday, February 20 with players battling over a $10,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Direct entry is now available in the tournament lobby via: Scheduled > Black Belt Tournaments > Samurai.

Already parting with the $250+25 buy-in are Neil Channing and Blue Belt Kevin Williams, while reigning Champion Andrew 'LegendKing1' Dwyer qualified through a satellite.

If you would like to join them in playing our biggest exclusive event, then it's not too late to book your seat for a reduced fee.

Keep it under your helmet, but tomorrow, Tuesday, February 19 at 20:00 we're guaranteeing an inconceivable eight seats into the $250+25 Main Event with our Samurai Mega Satellite.

Last time just 37 players competed in the satellite, meaning 5 lucky players enjoyed the taste of value.

And it looks as though we've forgotten our armour once again...

With a buy-in of just $30+3 and more guaranteed seats than ever before, there's an even higher chance of overlay!

$5+0.50 feeders are available both tonight and tomorrow, making this is an unmissable chance to win a big first prize for a small investment and become the next Samurai Champion.

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

Flirting With Victory

 
It's closer than close in the Black Belt Poker League as Mark bornTOflirt Atkinson hits top spot by just a single point following victory in Leg 4.

The halfway point attracted 90 players to the cyber felt, but it was League XII winner bornTOflirt who captured top honours, picking off puggy1979 heads-up for the $123.76 payday.

Although a fishmonger by trade (and part-time wrestler), bornTOflirt had to better a few sharks along the way, including Blue Belt Jamie StilettoMafiosa Burland, Joe JustinBieber Roberts and two-time Champion Tom Werrrrd Drew.

But while they floundered, other shone, such as reigning Champion Spencer dionysian Lawrence (with a solid 21st) and Tony 7ony Booth, who moved up a rung from his eight place finish last week.

1st  bornTOflirt -- $123.76
2nd  puggy1979 -- $83.25
3rd  FumbDuck1 -- $63.00
4th  whosurmama -- $42.75
5th  kippery -- $31.50
6th  BubbleCloud -- $23.62
7th  7onyB -- $19.12
8th  forgot2piknik -- $15.75
9th  Ourkid888 -- $13.50
10th  mikeymixitup -- $11.25
11th  Bagheira1 -- $11.25
12th  tealsSVU -- $11.25

Recent results mean that the overall standings are tighter than an Italian waiter's pants with a mere 11 points separating the top seven.

There's been a changing of the guards at the top, however, with KingOFTheBongo33, tristiano and ChipRead77 replaced by a fresh-faced trio, all of whom final-tabled Leg 4.

1st  bornTOflirt -- 378 points
2nd  BubbleCloud -- 377 points
3rd  wosurmama -- 374 points
4th  ChipRead77 -- 373 points
5th  tristiano -- 372 points
6th  KingOfTheBongo33 -- 368 points
7th  JHobbit1 -- 367 points
8th  PhilDee64 -- 353 points
9th  JustinBieber -- 335 points
10th  DodgyEnd57 -- 329 points

In the lower half of the top 20, the ourkids are waiting patiently in the wings, while dionysian is lurking sinisterly in equal 17th.

11th  ourkidsid -- 320 points
12th  ourkid888 -- 318 points
13th  7onyB -- 314 points
14th  TableKnight -- 304 points
15th  liquidpoker101 -- 302 points
16th  BoatDrink -- 300 points
=17th  Bagheira1 -- 289 points
=17th  dionysian -- 289 points
19th  stevegw -- 288 points
20th  losbert20 -- 282 points

If excitement is boiling over in the League, then the pot is about to explode with Samurai less than a week away.

As always, there's plenty of action, including a $35+3.50 satellite tonight at 20:00, the lineup of which will include 7onyB, JHobbit1 and goneflushfishing who qualified through $5+0.50 feeders.

A handful of players have already secured their seat into the $250+25 Main Event, such as Beverley baligirl13 Monks who was anything but quiet in the Samurai Showdown:

1st  baligirl13 -- Samurai seat ($250+25)
2nd  Wally19 -- Samurai satellite token ($35+3.50)
3rd  habbad -- Samurai satellite feeder token ($5+0.50)
4th  eixip50 -- Samurai satellite feeder token ($5+0.50)

In other news, Touaogrimou won his second consecutive Turbo Takdown, while 2LAMCHOP2 managed to deny S0lution his umpteenth win in the Mulligan. Meanwhile, Carey CareybearBBP Hollick guaranteed herself Orange Belt for another month in the Nifty at Nine.

Don't forget, Samurai kicks off at 21:00 on Wednesday, February 20, with a guaranteed prize pool of $10,000. If you want to buy in directly then you can do so by locating the event in the tournament lobby under Scheduled > Black Belt Tournaments, or, alternatively, purchase a token from the Black Belt Poker Store.


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

Previous reports:

Week 1: King of League XVIII
Week 2: 'Donielyons': The Mane Man in Leg 2
Week 3 - Nanoplankton Turns the Tables in Leg 3

'Nanoplankton' Turns the Tables in Leg 3

 
It was poker 101 this week as just over the century made it to the third leg of the Black Belt Poker League, all with the eyes firmly fixated on a ticket to the East End Live.

Blue Belt Jamie StilettoMafiosa Burland has some work to do; he picked up the wooden spoon, while Tom Werrrrd Drew (90th) and Leg 2 winner dionielyons (70th) fared little better.

The spoils instead went to an eclectic mix of faces, both old and new, with Yellow Belt Steve Nanoplankton Marskell picking up his first victory to date.

In second lay Deborah whoseurmama Worley-Roberts, while Leg 1 winner Joe KingOfTheBongo33 Campbell completed the podium in third.

1st  Nanoplankton -- $126.29
2nd  whoseurmama -- $85.85
3rd  KingOfTheBongo33 -- $65.65
4th  BoatDrink -- $46.71
5th  DodgyEnd57 -- $32.82
6th  ToddCoxeter -- $26.51
7th  stevegw -- $21.46
8th  7onyB -- $17.67
9th  tentofollow -- $13.88
10th  LizLemmon -- $12.12
11th  ChipRead77 -- $12.12
12th  sprinterz -- $12.12
13th  JHobbit1 -- $10.60
14th  cikarang5 -- $10.60
15th  Bagheira1 -- $10.60

Two final tables means KingOfTheBongo33 is top of the tree with 320 points, while hot on his heels is former Champion Craig ChipRead77 McKelvie (a.k.a. Mr. Consistent with a 12th, 9th and 11th placing).

1st  KingOfTheBongo33 -- 320 points
2nd  ChipRead77 -- 309 points
3rd  tristiano -- 306 points
4th  JHobbit1 -- 296 points
5th  JustinBiever -- 286 points
=6th  liquidpoker101 -- 285 points
=6th  PhilDee64 -- 285 points
8th  BubbleCloud -- 284 points
9th  whosurmama -- 275 points
10th  losbert40 -- 273 points
=11th  DodgyEnd57 -- 267 points
=11th  ourkidsid -- 267 points
=13th  setmina -- 265 points
=13th  stevegw -- 265 points
15th  bornTOflirt -- 263 points
16th  TableKnight -- 247 points
17th  bagpussrocks -- 244 points
=18th  omnipokerist1 -- 240 points
=18th  NPStars1 -- 240 points
20th  BoatDrink -- 239 points

The race to Samurai is starting to pick up pace with another two seats handed out to HammerHorror, and then Paul cikarang5 Monks who took down the Orange Belt Freeroll:

1st  cikarang5 -- Samurai seat ($250+25)
2nd  Ourkid888 -- Samurai satellite token ($35+3.50)
3rd  sprinterz -- Samurai satellite feeder token ($5+0.50)
4th  Wally19 -- Samurai satellite feeder token ($5+0.50)

Samurai takes place on Wednesday, February 20, and it's not too late for you to secure your spot. Tonight at 20:00 is the first $35+3.50 satellite with one seat guaranteed into the $250+25 Main Event.

Our regular tournaments attracted the usual names, one of whom was Nick nickhem1 Hemming who captured Mulligan gold:

1st  nickhem1 -- $90.00 (50 Belt Points)
2nd  stevegw (30 Belt Points)
3rd  Touagorimou (20 Belt Points)
4th  S0lution (5 Belt Points)
5th  liquidpoker101 (5 Belt Points)
6th  2LAMCHOP2

Meanwhile, bagpussrocks was denied a hattrick of Takedown wins by Purple Belt Touagorimou, while BoatDrink stayed afloat in the Nifty at Nine.

1st  Touagorimou -- $50.00
2nd  diiscostu
3rd  bagpussrocks
4th  7onyB
5th  bidbo

1st  BoatDrink -- 520 Belt Points
2nd  baligirl13 -- 364 Belt Points
3rd  bagpussrocks -- 234 Belt Points
4th  Sarannedipity -- 130 Belt Points
5th  BeatTheDonk123 -- 52 Belt Points

Black Belt Poker host exclusive tournaments each and every week, so check out the upcoming schedule and be sure to join in the fun:

Mon, 20:30: $10+1 Turbo Takedown
Mon, 21:00: 50 SPs Nifty at Nine
Mon, 21:00: $5+0.50 Samurai Feeder
Tue, 19:30: $5+0.50 League, Leg 4
Tue, 20:00: $5+0.50 Samurai Rebuy Satellite
Tue, 21:00: $5+0.50 Samurai Feeder
Wed, 19:30: Samurai Showdown Orange Belt Freeroll
Wed, 20:30: $15+1.50 Deepstack Mulligan
Wed, 21:00: $5+0.50 Samurai Feeder
Thu, 20:00: $35+3.50 Samurai Satellite
Thu, 20:00: $1 Yellow Belt No-Lose Deepstack
Thu, 20:30: $2+0.20 Turbo Takedown Satellite
Thu, 21:00: $3+0.30 Deepstack Mulligan Satellite

See our Tournaments page for more information.


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

Week 1: King of League XVIII
Week 2: 'Donielyons': The Mane Man in Leg 2

Black Belts Return to Oz

Black Belt Poker made their annual trip Down Under this year when two Black Belts warmed up the poker barbie at the 2013 Aussie Millions.

The Men at Work were former finalist Richard Ashby and 2008 Irish Open Champion Neil Channing, both of whom were hoping to replicate the feat of Oliver Speidel who triumphed 12 months prior.

But before the Main Event, the experienced duo tackled the many side events with Richard looking for a repeat performance of his Eight-Game victory in 2011.

Although no trophies were captured, Richard did manage a cash in the A$1,100 Shootout, while Neil enjoyed a ninth place finish in the A$1,150 Six-Max for A$8,000.

Just one day later, Neil went one table better in the $1,150 Rebuy when he made the final in fifth for a not-to-be-sniffed-at A$24,000. Just one rung above was bracelet winner Craig McCorkell.

Despite having 'gddays' in the A$10,000 Main Event, Day 2 would prove a cruel affair for both Black Belts as they fell painfully short of the money.

"This is one of my favourite events on the poker calendar," revealed Channing, "but Australia hasn't been kind to me. I suffered gout when I was here a couple of years ago, but missing out on the money is just as painful."

"I've played the Main four times and finished in the top twenty percent each time, but never cashed. This year I had a great table, but ran bad with odd hands on Day 2 and ended up shoving 16 big blinds with A-T… the board was far from marvellous."

Richard's exit was particularly frustrating. With blinds of 2,000/4,000, he three-bet to 27,000 before getting it all in on a 3-4-5 flop. His opponent tabled 5-5 and that was all she wrote for the 2010 bracelet winner.

Struth!

At time of writing, just seven remain with Dan Shak leading the way and Patrik Antonius lurking nearby in third. Other notable cashes include Phil Ivey, Brandon Adams, James Obst and Brit Joey Lovelady.

As for the Black Belts, they'll be returning to their attention to the UK circuit, and in particular the UKIPT in Cork and GUKPT London at Neil's second home, The Grosvenor Victoria.