Poker Pro Jason Mercier Wins FTOPS Event 23

The Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) is drawing to a close. Sunday marks the start of the FTOPS and MiniFTOPS Main Events, which boast at least $3 million in total prize money on the line. Leading up to the event, Jason “treysfull21” Mercier won Event #23.

The $109 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys tournament drew just over 1,000 runners and, in the end, the professional poker player from Florida emerged as its champion, adding $86,000 to his already healthy bankroll. Mercier stormed onto the live poker scene one year ago, winning the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) San Remo tournament for $1.3 million. In that event, he bested France’s Anthony Lellouche heads-up, with Dario Minieri also making an appearance at the final table. In October, he was up to his winning ways once again, taking down the EPT High Roller event in London for $944,000. The final nine included a “who’s who” of the world’s top players, as 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event Champion John Juanda, 2008 WSOP HORSE Championship victor Scotty Nguyen, high-stakes player David Benyamine, and Isabelle Mercier all made the money.

Mercier is fresh off wins in a $1,000 buy-in tournament during the Wynn Classic and a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha contest held during the L.A. Poker Classic. The two titles were good for $116,000 total. In FTOPS Event #23, Mercier beat Full Tilt member RMFG heads-up, with the runner up receiving a $54,000 consolation prize. Others at the final table included mozgoved82 (third place for $40,607), Bill Gazes (fourth place for $31,754), dayxlm (fifth place for $24,056), Sapster (sixth place for $17,321), Stuart “thedonator” Paterson (seventh place for $11,547), Rightcurver (eighth place for $8,660), and DragonDrake (ninth place for $6,158). A total of 108 players finished in the money.

The FTOPS and MiniFTOPS Main Events kick off today. The former is a $55 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament with at least $500,000 up for grabs, while the latter comes with a $535 buy-in and at least $2.5 million in prize money. The Main Event of FTOPS XI was won by Alan “csimmsux” Geyer, who barreled through a field of 5,287 players en route to a $456,000 first place payday. It was one of the largest sums of money ever taken away from an FTOPS event, as Geyer defeated KA1SERfknS0ZE heads-up; KA1SERfknS0ZE earned $276,000 for his efforts. Others who reached the final table last time around included PartyPimp (third place for $177,643), clubflush5 (fourth place for $138,783), CHOOK2120 (fifth place for $104,418), dump22 (sixth place for $77,983), 23bigd23 (seventh place for $60,800), supermanpunch (eighth place for $46,261), and Luie Sojo (ninth place for $34,365).

The FTOPS XII high-stakes schedule has seen a bevy of overlays. However, the series’ MiniFTOPS counterparts have experienced overflowing crowds ranging between 729 and 14,059 entrants. In fact, seven of the first 15 events attracted more than 3,000 players, with three of those reaching a field size of over 6,000. On a potential tendency by players to sign up for a MiniFTOPS event in lieu of a traditional FTOPS tournament, Full Tilt Poker pro Howard Lederer told Poker News Daily, “We had never run a MiniFTOPS alongside a regular FTOPS before. We simply underestimated how many players would opt for the MiniFTOPS events over the regular FTOPS. The overall participation is up, so I don’t think the overall economy is having much of an effect on FTOPS XII.”

Also playing out on Sunday is the second day of play in the MiniFTOPS and FTOPS Two-Day Events and a No Limit Hold’em Knockout tournament (Event #24). The latter’s MiniFTOPS version carries a $13 buy-in and $100,000 guarantee, while the FTOPS edition comes with a $129 price tag and $1 million in the kitty.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from FTOPS XII.

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Casino poker language:

DOUBLE BELLY BUSTER - A two-way inside straight. E.g., 3-5-6-7-9.
PASS - Opposite of bet. To check, if checked to. To fold, if bet to.
RAKE - Money taken from each pot and given to the house in return for hosting the game. Usually a percentage of the pot (5%-10%) up to some maximum amount.
MAIN POT - The main pot, as related to one or more side pots, when there are one or more all-in player(s). The main pot is the one in which all active players participate.
WIRED [PAIR] - A pair in the hole. In 5-card stud, a door card that pairs the hole card.
DOYLE BRUNSON - In Hold'em, 10-2 in the hole. So named because Doyle Brunson won two straight WSOPs (q.v.) in 1975 and 1976 with 10-2 on the last hand. (Suited (spades) in 1975, unsuited in 1976).

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