Archive for July, 2009

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

July marks the month that Microgaming launches its Breakfast and Bedtime Bounty Tournaments, where the buy in amount is split into two: Half into the prize pool and half as a bounty on the player’s head. If a player is eliminated, the personal bounty is won by the player who has the winning hand. The beauty of this system, of course, is that you don’t have win the pot in order to take home some cash – if you manage to eliminate a player, you are awarded the money on his or her head!

Besides these two new additions, the Microgaming Poker Network is also introducing Survivor Tournaments which promise to provide non stop poker entertainment this month.

Players battle each other against the clock, with low chip count eliminations taking place after every level of the tournament.

Equal payouts are ensured for all survivors of these unique competitions where the ultimate aim is, of course… to survive the tournament!

Survivor Tournaments will ensure adrenaline highs, suspense filled endings and loads of cash up for grabs!

“The Microgaming Poker Network is proud of this new and unique tournament offering which is designed to provide the most entertaining network poker competitions available,” said Mark Pinan, speaking for the Microgaming Poker Network. “We predict that July is going to be a big month for tournament poker.”

Another change in the tournament section of Microgaming Poker is that the group has shifted from using US Dollars as its main form of currency, to using Euros instead. As many know, Microgaming does not allow real money US poker players. This will apply to multi table tournaments, freerolls, satellites and other form of competitions that form a jam packed tournament schedule on the Microgaming Poker Network.

Microgaming said that the changes were being made in order to adopt a fresh approach to its poker tournament action, and to deliver more playability.

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

Jason Mercier, one of the biggest names on the poker circuit, has added another feather in his cap by becoming a member of Team PokerStars Pro. The 22 year old, who has enjoyed an incredible rise to fame in a very short time, is the newest member of this prestigious team that has become the face of top online poker site, Poker Stars around the world.

Mercier burst onto the scene after winning the EPT Season 4 San Remo poker event last year and since then he has been on a meteoric rise, topping it off last month with his first WSOP bracelet win.

Since he hit the circuit, Mercier has won an incredible $3.3 million – not bad for a young man barely out of his teens.

When asked how it felt to become a member of the elite Team PokerStars Pro, Mercier said: “It feels great. It feels like it’s been a long time coming.”

By winning his first bracelet at the World Series of Poker on June 1st, Jason Mercier proved beyond any doubt that he is a force to be reckoned with and his selection by Poker Stars is the icing on the top of his already illustrious career.

“Over the last fifteen months it’s just like each thing I’ve done I’ve gotten one step closer. Winning the bracelet I guess was the last thing I needed to do,” he said.

One of the main perks of being a member of the Poker Stars team is getting to represent the site at different tournaments at locations around the globe. Mercier said that before he was chosen, he wasn’t sure that he was going to Barcelona and London this year, but that has all changed.

Mercier will also need to put in some more hours online, something he hasn’t been doing lately with his heavy offline schedule. “I have to play a certain amount of online hours, whereas I wasn’t playing online as much over the last six months,” he said. “I’m going to have to get back to the online grind”.

We’ll be looking out for Jason Mercier and other Team PokerStars Pro members online!