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Congratulations to all those that voted for Jussi Jaatinen to achieve the best result during the Bracelet Quest! You have been pre-registered into an exclusive “Bracelet Quest Comp Special” tournament with a guaranteed €1000 prize pool taking place this Sunday 26th June at 19:00 CET.


Good luck!

UNIBET BRACELET CRUSADERS


JUSSI

Name: Jussi Jaatinen
Alias: totalloser
Nationality: Finnish


I have played poker full time for 3 years now. I started playing poker maybe 6-7 years ago. . After high school I studied math and statistics for 2 ½ years. I play both tournaments and cash games.


Tournament experience:
I have played once before at the WSOP in 2007 but didn’t cash. I have played 2 EPT with small cashes. My biggest live tournament result is Helsinki Midnight Sun's main event win in 2009. .


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LINUS

Name: Linus Eklund
Alias: DoggPound1
Nationality: Swedish


I've been playing poker for around two and a half years. I started with playing freerolls on different sites and for the last one and a half years I've been playing online NL holdem cash games for a living.

Tournament experience:
I haven't played a lot of live poker though, only a few tournaments in a casino in Sweden.


HUGO

Name: Hugo Almeida
Alias: Alive
Nationality: Portuguese

I’m 31 year old and have a degree in Chemical Engineering. I’ve been playing poker for the last 4 year and last 2 as a professional; I am now a poker instructor at Pokerstrategy.com.

Tournament experience:
My biggest cash in a live tournament is at the Chilipoker Deepstack Open, Vilamoura.

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Vegas Updates

EVENT 34- $1000 TEXAS HOLDEM NL

23:05, June 19th, 2011

Jussi Jaatinen

Jussi was unusually up and down in his Final bracelet quest tournament and was down to 1500 chips in the first few levels. He managed to double up though when he raised an initial limper with pockets jacks and continuation bet on a 865 flop. Jussi shoved all in on the river and took down the pot against A6. Now on 4,200 he opened under the gun with AK and with one caller a A85 flop showed two hearts. Jussi continuation bet and was called, with a queen on the turn it is checked down and a two on the turn ends with Jussi betting out, only to be called with AQ and lose with two pair. Down to 2,400 Jussi’s final hand saw him open with AK and he pushed all in when a player 3 bets him. With AK versus JJ Jussi unfortuatnely bust out of the tournament.

Jussi had a fantastic run at this year’s World Series of Poker and can boast a total of 3 cashes. Before the Bracelet Quest started Jussi cashed in the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em and proceeded to finish 110th in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em winning $4,432. His best result however came in the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha where he finished 39th and won $8,600! A fantastic result especially for someone who does not play PLO! Congrats to Jussi for achieving the best result out of all our Bracelet Crusaders and picked up $13,032 in our Bracelet Quest tournaments. We hope he returns next year with us to finally secure that Bracelet!

Hugo Almeida

Our Bracelet Crusader “party animal” busted out just before the end of Level 4! An initial win with JT saw him increase his stack to 4,000. Down slightly from being blinded away Hugo found himself with A7 of hearts and mini raised. A player immediately 3 bets him, and another caller sees the pot increase in value for Hugo who only needs to add another 475, even though he knows he is behind. Unfortunately a KJ9 flop does not look good for him and he is forced to check fold. Down to 2,500 a player in mid position raises and with blinds 75/100 Hugo reluctantly decides to push in the big blind with pocket nines. His opponent snap calls and turns over AT off suit, Hugo proceeds to be ahead with a 772T board but an ace on the river ends his day off play! Unlucky Hugo.

It has been a roll coaster of a ride for Hugo who has played 9 WSOP events in total in our Bracelet Quest and successfully cashed $5,705 in the $2,500 Six-handed Texas Hold’em NL event, finishing 92nd! Although he busted early in a few tournaments (largely so he could go partying we are sure) Hugo did extremely well in a number of tournaments and remains a fun and fantastic player!

Linus Eklund

It was a short and sweet tournament for Linus’s last game of the series. Linus was down to 2,000 chips going into Level 2. He raised was AQ and had the potential to win a big 3 way pot when the flop cam down AA2. He called an all in bet of 1,000 and was crushed to find his opponent holding AK! Down to 1,000 chips himself and in the small blind everyone folded around to Linus and he pushed all in with T4, the big blind called with A4 suited and the AKQ flop ensured Linus’s exit from the tournament. Unlucky Linus!

Linus still had a great run at the Bracelet Quest, he lasted many in the field in many of the events and nearly made the money in day 2 of the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha. Only 21 and with little experience in live events we are sure Linus will return next year and secure a cash victory! Well done Linus!

Alex Rousso – our UK ambassador!

Alex busted out just at the end of Level 4. With 4,000 chips and blinds at 75/150 the final hand saw Alex call a 2,000 raise from UTG with pocket tens. Unfortunately his opponenet had pocket Jacks which held and ended the day for Alex. Alex has only just arrived in Vegas and we are sure he will do well in the WSOP this year, having recently finishing 11th in our Unibet Open Barcelona!

Good luck Alex!

EVENT 31- $3,000 POT-LIMIT OMAHA – DAY 2
04:18, June 19th, 2011

Jussi Jaatinen – finishes 39th and takes home a $8,600 cash prize!

Congrats to Jussi who finally finished 39th out of 685 players on day 2 and into the money. Jussi beat many experienced players in this hugely popular event and this will be his third cash of the series! Jussi started the day on 34,400 but was down to 28,000 in Level 2 when he tried to steal a few pots on flush draws but was forced to fold. He increased his stack somewhat when he landed pocket aces two times and took down the pots pre-flop. On 37,000 Jussi’s real chance came when he doubled up through agressive play with a KK98 hand. With a A95 flop Jussi pushes all in with a nut flush draw and is called. Although his opponent hits the straight on the turn, Jussi hit his flush on the river. Up to 67,000 Jussi struggled as he remained card dead and the blinds gradually ate away his stack. With blinds at 1500/3000 Jussi’s chips finally went all went in on a 3 handed action pre-flop. He had the chance to triple up but unfortunately his AQQK did not hold up against AAJ5 on a J8K26 board. It was still a great run for Jussi who walks away with $8,600 and brings his total winnings in this year’s series to $14,912!

Linus Eklund – busts out in Level 11 just short of the money.

Unlucky Linus started the day on 32,600 chips, a slow start saw him blinded away to 28,000. However a pre-flop raise with AK56 saw him flop the second nut flush in a 3 way pot and an initial slow play saw him get paid off on the river increasing his stack to 50,000. Unfortunately for Linus in Level 11 he raises pre-flop with AA32 and 4 bet shoves on his opponents re-raise to 7,000 with QT89. Linus was ahead as the board showed JJ68 and also holding a spade draw, however he still had to dodge a number of outs on the river. Unfortunately his opponent made a straight when the nine hit on the river, sending Linus to the rail, much to his disappointment.

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EVENT 32: $1,500 NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM
01:59, June 19th, 2011

Hugo Almeida – currently on 4,000 chips and battling against Phil Hellmuth

Hugo maintained a stack of 5,000 for the first few levels of this popular tournament, which started with 2,828 entrants and included another list of big named players. Although shortstacked for the majority of the tournament he successfully played position stealing necessary blinds, most notably against Phil Hellmuth who arrived at his table shortly after level 3. Hugo then doubled up pre-flop with AK versus AJ on a A379Q board. A few hands later his stack dropped again when he called a 3 way pot with pocket sevens. Hugo called a small bet on a flop of 954 and a three on the turn is checked down. With a ten on the river Hugo calls a 2,000 bet, but was beaten when his opponent revealed KT. Down to 4000 chips Hugo called a 3 way pot in the big blind with KT suited. The flop reveals a KJ3 and Hugo shoves all in and is unfortunately called by pockets aces which ends his day of play!

Paul Valkenberg – just busted out in Level 6.

EVENT 31- $3,000 POT-LIMIT OMAHA – DAY 1
06:20, June 18th, 2011

Congratulations to both Jussi and Linus who beat 547 runners to make it down to the last 138 players going into day 2. After 9 hours of play they finally finished the day around 3am and will start again tomorrow at 4pm!

Jussi Jaatinen – Through to day 2 with 34,400 chips

Jussi did well to make it through to day 2 of this exciting tournament that started with 685 runners and included many big names in the field. Jussi slowly increased his chipstack to 18,000 going into Level 5 and took down a big pot on a flush draw by out betting his opponent who folded a bottom set. After Level 6 Jussi was moved to a tough table which included experienced PLO WSOP bracelet winner Robert Williamson III and WSOP bracelet winner and 2007 Aussie Millions champ Erick Lindgren. In the last two levels Jussi played safe and although blinds started to hurt him he maintained his position by taking out a shortstack with pocket aces against his opponents flush draw. Jussi makes it into day 2 with 34,400 chips!

Linus Eklund – Through to day 2 on 32,000 chips

Linus started the day off fairly slowly and remained small stacked for the first few levels. A Limp with 8799 saw him flop a set on a T92 board and he managed to double his stack taking down the 3 way pot. He increase his stack to a further 16,000 by taking down a few small pots through continuation betting. He then was on a roll when he hit the nuts on the flop on three different occassions, once with a straight, another a flush and finally hitting top set. He goes into day 2 with a 32,000 chipstack!

Just a few names playing in today’s field.

Hugo Almeida – busts level 4

Hugo busted out in Level 4 of this tough tournament which includes big players such as Daniel Negreanu Vanessa Selbst, David Ulliott, Phil Hellmuth, Roberto Romanello, Praz Bansi and Phil Laak to name just a few. The tournament didn’t start well for Hugo when in the first few levels, a particular hand left him shortstacked, with AA43 he 3 bets to 900 and is called, he calls a raise on a flop of K92 but is forced to fold to a raise when the river reveals another king. Things started to look up for him however when he tripled up by going all in pre-flop with AK77 versus 9TQJ and hit a full house on the turn. Unfortunately a few hands later Hugo pushes all in with 9788 on a KT8 flop and loses when he is called by his opponent who is holding pocket kings.

EVENT 26 – $2,500 SIX-HANDED TEXAS HOLD’EM NL – DAY 2
23:05, June 16th, 2011

Hugo Almeida – Cashes $5,705 in 92nd place!

Congratulations to Hugo who finished 92nd out of 1,378 runners! Hugo got off to a great start early on in this exciting tournament that started day 2 with 189 players. He only started the day with 23,000, 23 big blinds, but managed to get it up to 80,000 in the first level. One big hand saw him flop top pair with AJ and as the pot increased in size Hugo secured victory by hitting a straight on the river. Another big win saw Hugo bluff his way out of a pot with T7 on a board of AA39Q as his opponent revealed pocket jacks. Going into Level 14 Hugo had accumulated nearly 100,000 chips. After a raising war Hugo went all in pre-flop with pocket queens against a player he had previously clashed with and was called by AK. A flop with aces and a nine brutally elimated Hugo from the tournament but he still had a great run and walks away with $5,705.

Jussi Jaatinen – Busted out first level

It was a short day 2 for Jussi as he busted out just before the end of the very first level. Starting fairly shortstacked with blinds 500/1000 Jussi remained card dead for practically the whole of the first level. Down to 11,000 by being anted away, Jussi did not waste anytime pushing all in an initial raiser with pocket jacks. He was called with 10,9 of spades and unfortunately failed to double up when his opponent hit two pair on the turn!

EVENT 26 – $2,500 SIX-HANDED TEXAS HOLD’EM NL – DAY 1
01:30, June 16th, 2011

Hugo and Jussi make it through to day 2!

Jussi Jaatinen – makes it through to day 2 with 24,700 chips.

Things were looking up for Jussi just after the dinner break when he managed to get 11 time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth to put all his chips in the middle with a very weak hand, unfortunately he didn’t win the hand. On a 238 rainbow flop Hellmuth shoved all-in for twice the size of the pot and our Finnish qualifier made the call with pocket tens. Hellmuth just showed 56 for a gutshot straight draw and he managed to hit one of his four outs. Jussi was down to 26,000 chips after his unlucky beat against Hellmuth but he stuck in there and although had little action for the rest of the tournament he still goes into day two with over 24,000 chips.

Hugo Almeida – Makes it through to day 2 with 23,000 chips.

It was a roll coaster ride for Hugo today as he increased his stack to 18,000 just after the dinner break. Hugo went on to add to his stack even further in this massive tournament with 1,378 runners and at one point was sitting on 30,000! An unlucky hand of AJ v JJ on a J5527 board in level 7 saw his chipstack drop to 5k. Miraculously, Hugo doubled up 3 times after that, once with pocket 3s and another time with pocket queens. He was up to 25k when with 10.9 of spades he hit a flush on the river of a AQ2Q4 board, unfortunately his raiser had pocket Aces and won with a Full House. Down to 7,000 chips Hugo managed to double up once more with pocket Jacks against Q4 and finally made it to day 2 with a chip count of 23,000!

Linus Eklund – Out in Level 6

Linus has just busted out of the tournament in Level 6. An initial double up in Level 4 took Linus up to 9.1k. He called a raise pre-flop with K.Q. With Q.J.6 3 way flop Linus bets and is called by the open raiser. With a 2 on the turn Linus bets and is check raised all in, he makes the call quickly and wins the pot against Q.8. Unfortunately, by Level 6 Linus was down to 7k and on the small blind Linus finds himself with pocket 10s and raises. An agressive player calls and the flop is J.5.3. With two diamonds on the flop, Linus Cbets and is called. With a 2 of clubs on the turn Linus bets again and is raised all in, putting his opponent on a flush flush draw he calls to find himself facing J.10 which holds.

EVENT 22 – $1500 POT-LIMIT OMAHA
21:47, June 13th, 2011

A few well known faces playing in today’s event.

Linus Eklund – busts out in Level 6

Linus did well to get to Level 6 today and lasted the longest out of our 3 Bracelet Crusaders. 1,071 started the tournament and Linus made it into the last 420. Towards the end of Level 6 he moved tables and in the very first hand raises a 3 way pot with A.A.J.6 and is called by position. 7.4.10 is the flop and Linus pushes all in and is called on a straight and flush draw. Ahead on the flop, a 4 on the turn gives his opponent trips and ends Linus’s day of play.

Jussi Jaatinen – busts out in Level 3

Having cashed yesterday in day 2 of event 18 Jussi finished late last night, but was up again playing in today’s next tournament. Unfortunately the day did not go as well and Jussi busted half way through Level 3. With a tough table Jussi had a 3.1k stack and with blinds 50/100 he took a gamble and went all in pre-flop holding 10.J.Q.K and was called. With an A.4.5.7.8 board he was defeated on the flop by the Ace and leaves the tournament earlier than on any other day.

Hugo Almeida – busts out in Level 2

Unlucky Hugo busts out early of the PL Omaha event just before the end of Level 2. Hugo is having a tough run at the moment. With a 1500 starting stack the action was fast and Hugo ran into trouble when he calls a 4 way pot with 7.7.6.5. The flop reveals 10.7.6 giving Hugo trips and he calls a 700 bet, the turn is checked down. The river makes the board 10.7.6.2.6 giving Hugo the Full House. With a check raise all in, Hugo is gutted to find his opponent holding pocket 10s, making a better full house. An early exit for Hugo but there are still five more tournaments to go!

EVENT 18 – $1500 NL HOLD’EM -DAY 2
01:12, June 13th, 2011

Jussi Jaatinen -$4,432 win!

Congratulation to Jussi who finished 110th on day 2 of this NL Hold’em event and walks away with $4,432 .It was an impressive run for Jussi as he beat 3047 players to finally finish 110th out of the 3,157 starting field. Jussi began day 2 of the tournament in a comfortable position with over 35k. A major bluff in the 3rd Level saw him take down a 13k pot. Jussi had A.J and with a 2.2.10 flop the small blind bet out 2,500 and when the button re-raised Jussi 3 betted to 11k and took down the pot.

Unfortunately, the good hands just weren’t appearing for for Jussi and although in Level 16 he managed to increase his stack to 50k with 13 big blinds left and in cut off position Jussi shoves all in with 10.9. and is called by pocket Aces, ending what has been a long and successful day for Jussi! This is his second WSOP cash this year and hopefully will not be his last.

Prize Payouts

Below some well known online players that made it to the end of day 2 and into the top 145!

EVENT 20 – $1,000 NO-LIMIT HOLD’EM
00:43, June 13th, 2011

Hugo Almeida

Hugo busted out at the beginning of Level 3 having had another run of bad luck at the table! Down to 1.6k in the beginning of level 3 Hugo opened with pocket 7s and calls a shove from a short stack and loses the coin flip . A few hands after and with 3 big blinds left Hugo shoves with Q8 in a 4 way pre-flop and is called by pocket kings securing his exit from the tournament. We suspect his short run might have had something to do with a pool party he was keen to get to.

Linus Eklund

Linus busted out of the tournamet just before the end of Level 6. Having increased his stack to 6k going into level 5 he witnessed his stack drop in size to 4k after a few unlucky hands. The last hand saw the hi-jack open raise to 700 and with pocket 6s Linus 3 bets all in. He is called with A.K and a king hits on the flop ending Linus’s hope of making it to day 2.

EVENT 18 – $1500 NL HOLD’EM -DAY 1
23:20, June 11th, 2011

Hugo Almeida

It was a short and sweet event for Hugo who busted out early at the beginning of level 3. Down to 2.5k, Hugo had 3 unlucky hands in a row. With pocket eights Hugo raises a limp and then is forced to fold to an all in shove. The very next hand he finds himself with AJ, but with a raise and then a 3-bet Hugo folds again. The hand after, Hugo finds himself with pocket eights again, and with 4 limpers Hugo shoves and finds himself facing pocket Aces.

Linus Eklund

Linus had a tough day after a few good hand raises pre-flop met with folds after cbets. 5 hands into level 7 he had 3,400 chips left sitting in the hijack (blinds were 150/300). UTG goes all in with his last 3 500 chips, it gets folded around and Linus calls with AQ and everyone else folds. UTG shows 8.8 and he loses the coin flip, a disappointing day.

Jussi Jaatinen – Through to day 2!

Jussi started off the day well when he doubled up by flopping a set of eights against qq on a 2.5.8.9.T board at level 2. He then increased his stack to 10k by 3-betting and taking a few pots down on the flop and turn.
Up and down a little Jussi then found himself with pocket jacks against pocket eights and his hand held , giving him a nice stack into Level 8! . At the end of Level 10 Jussi had managed to increase his stack to 17k and finding himself with pocket jacks again he 3 bets a loose opener and when faced with a 4-bet pushes all-in and is called facing AJ, but Jussi’s pair holds!

Congrats to Jussi who was one of the 490 out of 3157 players to make it into day 2 with 35100 chips!

EVENT 17 -$1500 H.O.R.S.E (LIMIT)
05:20, June 11th, 2011

It’s was a tough day for our 3 players who were playing their first ever H.O.R.S.E event. The event consisted of Texas hold’em, Omaha eight or better, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Seven card stud/8 or better. Action remained slow in this limit tournament as the game changed after every 8 hands.

Linus Eklund

Linus had a tough day as he battled to stay in the tournament with a small stack quite early on in the event. The action remained slow and the field included experienced players such as Doyle Brunson and Tom Dwan. Unable to improve his chances and with 3 big blinds left he raised with 9.4 of diamonds and felt forced to call an all in re-raise, busting in the first few minutes of level 6 in a round of Limit Hold’em.

Hugo Almeida

Hugo found himself short stacked throughout the tournament. With a chipstack of 3k going into level 5 a couple of unlucky hands saw his chipstack twindle to 600. A couple of runner runner straights kept him in the action with a split pot, but finally his luck ran out when he went all in with 8.7 and was called by pocket 9s in a Limit hold’em round before Level 7.

Jussi Jaatinen

Having started off slow and looking shortstacked for the first 6 levels Jussi was down to 4.2k after the dinner break going into level 7. However, his luck soon changed when he found himself with pocket jacks in a limit hold’em round which paid off and increased his stack to 7k. Soon after, a PLO round saw his stack grow even further when a hand of A.A.7.10 hit a 2.2.7.2.Q board. With a 3 way pot on the turn Jussi finished the round on 12k. Unfortunately, not long after Jussi ran into trouble in a few Razz rounds and ended up going out in Level 8 on a 7 card Stud round with kings and nines versus aces and queens.

Players continue the action tomorrow with Event 18!

EVENT 15 POT LIMIT HOLD’EM €1500
07:06, June 10th, 2011

Hugo Almeida

Unlucky Hugo only made it to the second level of this Pot Limit Hold’em tournament. Having unfortunately missed event 13, Hugo started his first day of play with 4,500 chips but found himself down to 3,000 going into Level 2. Holding 6.4 of hearts in a 5 way pot Hugo was thrilled to see a A.7.2 of hearts flop. However, this was short lived as all his chips went into the pot re-raised by the big blind who revealed a better flush with Q.8 of hearts.

Linus Eklund

Linus made it to level 7 and into the last 200 out of the 765 entrants. Short stacked for the first few levels and with a tough table against players such as online pro “Andrew Lichtenberger” he finally managed to increase his stack when he won an all in with QQ v 88 during level 4. Up to 10,000 in level 7, Linus found himself with 10.10. He calls an under the gun raise of 1,200 and it ends up in a 4 way pot pre-flop. A rainbow flop of 8.9.J gives Linus an open ended straight draw and as it is checked around, the last player bets 2,700, Linus re-raises all in and is called by J.Q which holds.

Jussi Jaatinen

Jussi was so close to making it through to day 2 of event 15 but ended up busting out in the very last level! He started the day well doubling up early on when he raised with 4.5 and hit a straight on the turn against pocket aces. Yet, with only a few premium hands his chipstack started to reduce in size and the final hand saw him all in pre-flop with A.10 of hearts against pockets 3s. Unfortunately defeat followed with a 2.3.8 flop! It was still a great run for Jussi who finished an impressive 117 out of 765 runners!

EVENT 13 – TEXAS HOLD’EM SHOOTOUT (NL) $1,500
00:07, June 9th, 2011

Unfortunately our two players didn’t get any lucky breaks in their first WSOP event of the “Bracelet Quest”.  With  1,438  runners at the end of level 4, the field included many well known faces. Action continues until one player is left on each table to go into day 2.

Linus remained short stacked going into level 3 and busted out shortly afterwards. Finding himself with AJ, Linus 3 bets from the big blind and was called by the small blind, with an A.Q.6 flop his 800 bet is re-raised all in and he calls finding himself up against AK.

Jussi managed to last to the very end of Level 4. Down to 3,400 chips he pushes all in with 7.7 and is called by A.10. An unlucky board of hearts gives his opponent a flush on the river and ends his play in this first event.

Action resumes tomorrow for them with Event  15  starting at 12am!

DAILY UPDATE FROM 8TH JUNE!
16:19, June 3rd, 2011

We will give you here and on twitter daily updates on how our Bracelet Quest players are doing in Las Vegas. Good luck to them and stay tuned!

BRACELET CRUSADER DATES

The Bracelet Crusader package includes 10 chances to win a WSOP bracelet by playing in the following WSOP side events:

  • WSOP Event 13
  • WSOP Event 15
  • WSOP Event 17
  • WSOP Event 18
  • WSOP Event 20
  • WSOP Event 22
  • WSOP Event 26
  • WSOP Event 31
  • WSOP Event 32
  • WSOP Event 34
  • 8th June
  • 9th June
  • 10th June
  • 11th June
  • 12th June
  • 13th June
  • 15th June
  • 17th June
  • 18th June
  • 19th June
  • $1500 TNL
  • $1500 TPL
  • $1500 HRS
  • $1500 TNL
  • $1000 TNL
  • $1500 PLO
  • $2500 TNL
  • $3000 PLO
  • $1500 TNL
  • $1000 TNL