ABOUT ABSOLUTE POKER

To help ring in December, Absolute Poker held its first Super Saturday $250,000 Guarantee on December 1st.

Everyone loves the weekly $150,000 guarantee tournament every Saturday but - for this one - we kept the buy-in the same and added another $100,000 to the prize pool.

This is sure to bring out the best players Absolute Poker has to offer.

In fact, it brought out 422 great players who all started with 5000 in chips. Some notable names included cash game specialist MNTBIKR18 (who placed 12th taking home $2700), SPIN31 (multiple TLB winner, who also cashed), J_DUBS (former $75,000 winner, who also cashed), and the great Quassi who unfortunately bubbled this one in 55 place, and - of course - all the Dream Package winners.

The man of the day, however, was a player named ZOSOHARRY who, after 8 hours of great play, took down the biggest buy-in prize pool tournament on Absolute Poker and a whopping $62,500.

Kick off the New Year on January 5th, as Absolute Poker hosts the next $250,000 Guaranteed. Change your life for as little as $2 and get into a satellite today.

Speaking of life changing experiences, over the weekend we made one more poker player's dreams come true. _TREVOR_ was the 6th winner of the Absolute Dream Package. He joins the ranks of up and coming stars such as CUTIEPI314, GENTLEMAN8, THEBOMBBABY, BACKUPBOONE and veteran player MCBILL.

Absolute Poker will keep you up to date on all the Dream Package winners and their experiences as the travel the globe looking for the next big cash. Coming up MCBILL is at the Bellagio for the upcoming WPT $15,000 Five Diamond event.

This is the last WPT event of this season and many players, close to the top of the Card Player 'Player of the Year' standings, are looking to take down the coveted title.

As every poker player dreams of winning the Card Player POY title, there is a new online version of this that players can enjoy with Absolute Poker. It is called the Card Player Online Player of the year. Just ask CH0PPYPS who has amassed an astonishing $800,000 in wins online this year alone.

The past two $100,000 Guaranteed tourneys on AP definitely helped his rankings and his bankroll as he won it November 21st and then the following week came in second. Combined that makes $50,000 for both cashes. Congratulations CH0PPYPS. It just goes to show the best come to play at Absolute Poker.

Player Profile: JOSIAHW

The writers here at Absolute Poker try to bring you the best stories week in and week out. Fortunately, players like JOSIAHW make our jobs easy. Let’s bring you up to speed on this great player.

Most veteran players will tell novices to always play within their bankroll. Even so, many new players see the huge cash prizes and want the instant riches.

JOSIAHW has never been a losing player. He’s always been patient – sticking with his initial $50 deposit and playing $1 Rebuys and $5 Sit&Gos.

JOSIAHW’s mission for riches began back in March, 2006. He played 100,000’s of low limit hands. This experience combined with some lessons from Barry Greenstein and Dan Harrington helped this ‘up and comer’ to the point now where he can play $1000 buy-in tournaments on Absolute Poker and win.

In fact, on November 14, he did just that: taking down the Wednesday $100,000 Guaranteed Bounty tournament at Absolute Poker, beating out the internet’s best players, and pocketing a cool $30,000.

JOSIAHW takes pride in his bankroll management. He played a satellite to get into the tournament he later went on to win.

So, how does a $5 Sit&Go player end up winning this much money?

JOSIAHW puts it like this: “My game is a product of the books I’ve read and my personal experience playing poker,” he said. “I have received great advice from professional players and have an ability to implement what I have learned and modify my playing style based on my individual opponents.

“I always seek to grow and improve. It’s a natural part of who I am”.

We take pride here at Absolute Poker, when we see a player who has started on our site and has now honed his or her skills to the point where they can play poker ay the very highest level.

JOSIAHW explains why he loves AP tournaments: “The field size. I can consistently make final tables with a smaller fields,” he said. “Also… Cascading tables are highly effective when I have more than 4 tournaments running”.

Absolute Poker would like to congratulate JOSIAHW on his recent success.

(Oh… We almost forgot to mention: the week after winning the $100K Guaranteed, he managed to finish in second place in the same tourney. So use this advice as you see fit!

Checklist for the up and coming poker Phenomenon:

1. Win the $150,000 guarantee on Absolute Poker
2. Win the $100,000 guarantee on Absolute Poker
3. Win $300,000 in an eight day time period
4. Turn FreeRolls into a six-figure bankroll

Every player would like to achieve just one of these. CONVIVIALGUY is lucky enough to have them ALL on his resume.

On November 10th, he had the opportunity to add number 1 to the list when he won Absolute Poker’s $150,000 Guaranteed.

Each and every week, the best players flock to Absolute Poker for big money glory and someone has to come out on top. We share their stories, so you can improve your game.

A success story must always begin somewhere and - for CONVIVIALGUY - it began where most do: the 2003 WSOP Main Event and the greatest bluff in poker history with Moneymaker and Farha.

CONVIVIALGUY likes to play only the high stakes tourneys at Absolute Poker. Well, the difference between first and second in the $150,000 Guaranteed is about $15,000.

When asked about the payout pressure, he simply responded: “It didn't affect me much. It wasn't the first time I’ve played heads up for a lot of money and - entering with a 2-1 chip deficit - I didn't set my hopes too high.

“There wasn't a lot of poker to be played heads up, so I just set out to play my best and wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't win”.

This guy has nerves of steel and the bankroll to prove it.

If you want to learn to play like this heavy hitter, his advice is simple, but affective: “Practice and study the game”.

If you want to play with CONVIVIALGUY, join any of the big buy-in tournaments on offer at Absolute Poker. Satellites run daily, so book your place and start your own checklist to become the next great poker superstar.

Player Profile: Vatoandolini

What were you doing when you were 20 years old?

• Perhaps, you were still in college, working a crappy job to pay tuition?
• Maybe, you were in the real world, jump starting your life long career?
• Perhaps, you didn’t know what the heck you wanted to do.

Well take Vatoandolini - our winner of the Absolute Poker $75,000 guaranteed, and see where he stands with an $18,000 first place finish to match his already impressive poker resume.

Vatoandolini isn’t like most 20 year olds because he wins at playing poker. And - by ‘wins’ - we don’t mean the guy who wins a few bucks off his buddy at a home game.

Vatoandolini says that he has been playing poker for 20 years, as his mom was a player when she was pregnant with him. Born into poker, this player has had a lot of time to mold his playing style; we are guessing that he may call it “confidence” but we also think his opponents may call it “cocky”.

Take this story in his own words and you be the judge.

“I was playing 2/5 NL live and had 89 of clubs and raised it up,” he said. “I had raised my previous 6 hands in a row - so they must know that I would have to be crazy to raise again without a monster! I got one caller and the flop was A67 of clubs -basically the nuts for my hands.

“I bet out $75 into a $55 pot and he called. The turn was a deuce and I instantly went all in for $400 more and the other guy called and flipped over 45 suited. The river was another deuce so I wound up winning with my 89 high. The table then berated me but I told them ‘I was a pro’ and exposed myself, showing my tattoo, that simply says "POKER D***" to which I said aloud, "POKER D***".”

This sharp player takes his edgy, aggressive, attitude to the online felt as well. During the first orbit of the $75,000 guaranteed tournament, he felt victory was only a few hours away when during the second hand he raised a limper with 69 of spades to a call. Vatoandolini bet the flop and got called. To him the cards didn’t matter, as he then shoved all in as a bluff with 9 high to take it down. After that he says he knew he would be the last man standing.

When it was just 2 men standing, Vatoandolini describes it like this when talking about the difference between first and second place money.

“The actual difference was something like $8,000. That was probably a lot of money to my opponent because he played like a girl. When we started he had a 2-1 chiplead but I was still confident that I was the favourite.

“I would compare our match to Tiger Woods playing Michelle Wie - simply stating that my opponent was a little girl”, he said.

See what we mean now by his playing style. You decide… But one thing can not be denied: this player wins.

Player Profile: J_DUBS

We know what you may be thinking: here is yet another success story from Absolute Poker. Well… Yes it is.

But - like all the rest - this one also comes with some sound advice from a player who knows how to win, given a relatively short playing career.

We would like to introduce you to J_DUBS: a player who has been with Absolute Poker for the past 4 years - which is also the duration of his poker playing career.

Like many players before him, this young 20-something had memories as a kid playing 5 card draw with friends and family. What was once for pennies is now for tens of thousands of dollars. This past weekend, J_DUBS took down the $75,000 Guaranteed at Absolute Poker and netted a cool $18,500.

No stranger to big money final tables, this cool cat never once thought about the staggering difference from 2nd to 1st place money. Instead he says: “I have played for similar amounts on several occasions so I really didn’t give the money a lot of thought. I just tried to maintain focus and play my best”.

His online wins seem only to be matched by his live earnings: a single $30,000 win was his best to date and he has cashed in at WSOP events last year.

Everyone wants to make final tables and - with 12 to go in the $75,000 this weekend - J_DUBS doubled up, putting him in second position. He never looked back. Before this event, his biggest cash win on AP was third place for just under $10,000.

So how does a player with as much experience win so much money? Well, if you ask him he will say: “It’s simple - READ BOOKS! Playing will only get you so far. You need to study the many concepts to really understand the game”.

“Before I really started trying to play, I read a couple of books to help me understand. I lost $200 in my first two weeks. Then I started winning in my third week and I haven’t been busted since”.

Reading got J_DUBS started, but how does he maintain his winning ways?

“Playing and reading,” he said. “The 2+2 forums can be a great source of knowledge when you have specific questions about situations”.

With more than $50,000 in profit on Absolute Poker, this player isn’t ready to give up on his day job. In fact, he plans on staying very much involved with the day to day operations of his family business.

Absolute Poker would like to wish J_DUBS continued success and the best of luck.

CUTIEPI314

You have heard a lot about CUTIEPI314 in the Absolute Poker newsletter. He was the 4th Dream Package winner and the same guy who seems to make every final table of the 52 $150,000 guarantee entries he has won. This past weekend CUTIEPI314 made his 3rd final table in 9 attempts. This is fairly impressive for a math wiz out of Ontario Canada who is too young to play in the WSOP or WPT. In fact, he is too young to celebrate a win with a cold one in a local bar. Of all the Dream Package winners, CUTIEPI314 is the one making the most of his win cashing weekly in both the $150,000 and the $75,000 guarantees. Traveling abroad is nothing new to this young player as Europe is the only place where he can compete in $10,000 buy-in tournaments. In fact, last year he took down a hefty $800,000 win in the EPT Paris. With his Dream Package win he took his skills to the first ever WSOP Main Event in London. His results here weren’t as good as his weekly $150k, but nonetheless a great experience he tells us.

So how does a player so young stay so good while still going to school full time? Well the answer is two fold. The first is that his passion for the game is so strong and the second is the company he keeps. It sure does help when the guys you play with every week are leading the Card Player Online Player of the Year rankings. CUTIEPI314 credits much of his success to learning from online greats like ch00py. Him and his crew of online poker genius’s recount hands, play with each other and discuss the game every week. Just don’t expect him to pack in school and play full time. CUPTIEPI314 takes finishing school very seriously and isn’t ready yet to make poker a full time job. If you get a chance to play with him on Absolute Poker play him smart, you just might learn a thing or two.

At Absolute Poker, we don't have to dig very deep. Last week, we spoke to PURPLEPILLS9 who won the $1000+50 buy-in, $100,000 Guarantee tournament, claiming a whopping $30,000. The week before that, the Texas Hold'em champ finished in sixth place. So what did we expect from PURPLEPILLS9 this week? Read on to find out.

Could PP9 be the first player to win it twice, let alone a back-to-back $100,000 Winner? Well, this player came extremely close, taking second place.

So let's recap (as Maury loves to do). A sixth place, a first place, and a second place finish in three consecutive weeks. Add that up and you're looking at $55,000. For $3,000 worth of buy-ins, that works out to a $52,000 profit. Let's see your investment advisor do that.

When will this streak stop? We don't know, but if you want to take a shot at PURPLEPILLS9 every Wednesday at 9:00 PM ET, we can only bet this final table regular will be keeping this time slot very open to play.

• Screen name: WelcomeMe
• Time on AP: 10 months on site
• Total Winnings: 200k in winnings
• Tournament Style: Not smart to tell you - Win
• Find Me: Highest Sit n Go's, Bigger Tourneys
• Favourite Tourney: 150k and 100k Guarantees
• Best Win: 17k
• Other Players I admire: I have respect for every1 near the top of yearly leader board and some players who have just started to play here. Best players on site are definitely Bigdogpckt5s and Dipthrong!!
• What I like Most about AP Tourneys: Smaller tourney sizes, huge prize money!
• Favorite player of all time: Daniel Negreanu.
• Best Player: Phil Hellmuth
• Advice to others: Play within your limit... You don't need to win millions in one day. Stick to level of players you think you can compete with. Don't try to beat the best if you feel you are inferior, and stay out of my way ;)
• Times I've won TLB: Every time I want to. All about time put in and obviously winning. If you don't play a ton you will never win it. I feel if I put in the time I can win every week!!

Good luck to everyone and see you at the tables!!! I will advise anyone on their game if you come to my table and talk to me, but I want a cut!!

Player Profile: LOCKNUT1

This story goes back many years ago - but it is something I'll never forget. It was early in my poker-playing career, and I was sure I could beat just about any game. Soon after arriving in Vegas I found a wild and loose 20/40 Seven Stud game and joined the waiting list. About three hours later I took my seat.

The game remained as good as when I first walked in, and with two players on full tilt it was easy pickings. About two hours in, I looked down and found three rolled up Nines. The low card brought it in and the next player raised with the Queen of diamonds. To his left was an Ace who re-raised. The next player showed a King and he too re-raised. I had to limp in with my line drive nines. By the way, the low card player called all the raises. There was already $400 in the pot.

On the next round no one seemed to improve except the Queen who caught another diamond. The Ace bet out; the King raised; I smooth called knowing either the diamond draw or the Ace would likely re-raise - which the diamond draw did. Everyone called, including the low man, making 5-way action in a jammed up pot of $800 already! I probably should have raised, but it didn't look like anybody was going anywhere, and I was beginning to worry about the possibility of being up against a bigger line drive - or maybe two.

No apparent help for anyone came on the deal. The Ace bet out; the King raised; and to try to get rid of the flush draw and the low card guy - I raised. To my surprise the diamond looking draw took the last raise. Now there were still 5 players and the pot was maxed out at $1200.

Next round brought no help to me or the Ace or King, but Mr. Diamond caught another, and low man paired his Deuce. Ace fires into the pot; King raises; and now convinced that I'm up against 3 Kings, possibly 3 Aces, and almost for sure a flush, I call. All 5 players called.

I still hadn't improved, but all my cards are live to fill up and the case Nine might still be coming, so with the pot odds being that juicy, how could I do anything but stick with it at that point. Ace bets out; King raises; I call; now the pair of Deuces raises! Once again - 5-way action and another $1,600 goes in - increasing the pot to $2,800 heading down the River.

I'm thinking, "I better hit the case Nine," and when I looked - BINGO- there it was! Ace bets out; King raises; I had to raise; and the pair of Deuces re-raised! Everybody called bringing the pot to $4,400. The guy with the two Deuces stood up and slammed down another pair of Deuces; the flush draw had actually started with lined up Queens and had caught the fourth on the River; Mr. King jumped out of his seat and triumphantly showed his four Kings; then calmly Mr.Ace laid down the fourth Ace to go with his other three.

Amazing - but true - 5 players made four of a kind in the same hand. That was enough for me, and I picked up what was left of my chips intent on heading for the nearest bar. I looked over at Mr. Ace, a fellow named Johnny Moss, and he had that same damned stone-cold expression he always had - like just another day at the office!

Well, the cat is officially out of the bag and more and more of the top players are rushing to AP to build their bankrolls. If you read Card Player Online or are a member of Pocket Fives (two things we highly recommend) then you already know who some of the big online players are: PEARLJAMMED, APESTYLES, CUTIEPI314 and THEWACOKIDD are some of the finest players in online poker and their presence is being felt on the Absolute Poker tournament circuit. CUTIEPI314 was the 4th Dream Package winner, and part of his winnings included a season’s pass into Absolute Poker’s +$200,000 weekends. You’ll see him every Saturday and Sunday for the next 51 weeks doing what he does best. His first weekend was a huge success with a fourth place finish and $4875 cash in the new $75,000 guarantee ($5000 more than previous weeks). CUTIEPI314 and most of the players mentioned above are just getting warmed up for the 2007Aruba Poker Classic at the end of this month where they’ll be vying for a huge chunk of the estimated $2.5 million dollar prize pool. If you’re looking to be poker’s best tournament player, come find out what these guys already know: AP is your poker tournament headquarters.