Poker is a game where there are always new up-and-comers entering the scene. Every WSOP is a debut for new young talent. The record for the youngest WSOP bracelet winner has been broken the last four years, and the game continues to be popular with young people everywhere.

The youngest players to make a statement in the last few years are Eric Froehlich, Jeff Madsen, Steve Billarakis and Annette Obrestad. The first three won WSOP bracelets at age 21, and Obrestad won hers this month at the age of 18.

Those are all players to watch out for as their experience grows in the future. There will be new names every year and no one ever dominates the game, young or old. The real thing to watch out for is which of these young guns are able to stand the test of time and remain on the pro circuit without going broke.

Does age matter in Hold’em? I don’t think age matters unless there’s a bunch of experience behind that age. If a 65-year-old player that just learned the game sat down with a bunch of pros he would get destroyed, but if that same player has been playing poker for 40 years then it’s very different.

An older person may be able to get better reads off of players, but nothing can replace game experience. Becoming a top poker player is about playing the game and learning new edges as time goes by, slowly plugging leaks in your game.

Without paying your dues you leave everything up to luck, and that’s not where you want to be against the professionals. Even these young guns that are winning big tournaments are doing so because they’ve played thousands and thousands of hands and have worked on improving their style and knowledge.

With all the excitement behind the WSOPE, most of us expected a classic duel between some of poker’s best. It was no secret that many of the world’s top players made the trip to London, but the final table ended up being a group of locals. So why didn’t any big names make the final table?

Just because some the world’s best are there, it doesn’t mean that they will win. Not to mention the effect that travel and jet lag can have on a player. With only three events being played at the WSOPE, the North American players weren’t there long enough to get used to the time change.

That’s not an excuse; Europe (and the rest of the world) is producing great players. And let’s not forget that the number of pros at the tournament was still less than the average Vegas high-profile event.

Read an exclusive interview with Matt McCullough who lost to 18-year-old Annette Obrestad and placed third…and still walked away with close to US$800,000!!

Annette Obrestad from Norway has won the 2007 WSOPE main event. Never before has a female won such a prestigious championship, and many people are wondering if her success will attract more women to the game. The Norwegian poker prodigy has had a great deal of success online, and now she has already made her mark in the upper echelon of poker’s elite. Until now the game has been dominated by men and only a handful of women play professionally.

The impact this victory could have will depend on the promotion behind Obrestad. This will certainly help the poker boom currently going on in Europe; the same way Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 WSOP main event championship sparked the North American boom over four years ago. If Obrestad promotes herself in a manner that appeals to young women, the effect could be huge. It all depends on how her image is structured into the future, but is she plays her cards right it could mean women come flooding into the competitive ranks.

What do you think? Does this make poker a woman’s game? Drop me a line!!

Well it’s all over at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), and a poker prodigy has had her coming-out party in London. Eighteen-year-old Scandinavian online poker prodigy Annette Obrestad stunned the world when she outlasted the world’s best players to win a million pounds ($2,013,102). She also broke two WSOP female tournament records held by Annie Duke; one for the most money ever won in an event by a female, and the other for the most WSOP winnings by a female.

The tournament was dominated by Europeans and most of the final table was from over there. No big-name players made the final table, but the “Great Dane” Gus Hansen went out in the No. 10 position, just before the last two tables formed the final one. He managed to take home over 41,000 pounds for his efforts. Both Annie Duke and Eric Lindgren made it into the top 25 for a good payday of over 30,000 pounds.

The Poker Players Alliance is a non-profit organization that was created to be one voice for the promotion, integrity and protection of poker players. Its initial issues were protecting professional players from companies profiting from their likeness without paying out royalties. Since the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act came into effect late last year, the organization has had a new primary cause.

The organization has grown to over 747,000 members and has hired former U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato as its Chairman. Many big-name players are members, and Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Greg Raymer are on the Board of Directors. The organization works tirelessly to have the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act repealed, and recent developments indicate that they are making progress.

They were in full support last April when Rep. Barney Frank introduced a bill that would open up the U.S. market for gaming. The PPA also ran the successful “Write Your Congressman” day on June 15, 2006.

Four of the past five Aussie Millions winners all have impressive poker careers. The first five winners were all Australians, but since 2003 only one Aussie has been able to win it.

2007 winner Gus Hansen picked up the $1.5 million (AUS) first-place prize to add to his long list of victories.

2006 winner Lee Nelson is a retired doctor who plays on the Australian poker tournament circuit and has numerous wins Down Under.

2005 winner Jamil Dia is the last local boy to win the Aussie millions.

2004 winner Tony Bloom is a London-based player who has earned over $1.5 million in tournament winnings, and he has been on numerous televised poker events.

2003 winner Peter Costa is a Greek professional player living in Vegas. He has four WSOP final tables and is a two time European Poker Player of the Year nominee.

There have been numerous big-name players who made a name for themselves winning on the WPT over the last five years. Until the WSOP brand started a circuit schedule, the WPT was the only big tournament schedule during the entire year. Here are the top five WPT players:

1. Gus Hansen has four WPT championship titles and numerous WPT cashes. Gus is 15th on the all-time WPT money list.

2. Carlo Mortensen is second on that list and has two WPT titles, including this year’s $3.9 million first prize at the $25,000 Five Star Classic.

3. Daniel Negreanu has two WPT championships and is atop the WPT money list because of his 10 WPT final tables.

4. Barry Greenstein has three WPT titles and comes in at 20th on the all-time money list.

5. Tuan Lee has risen to third on the all-time WPT money list by winning three WPT titles in just two seasons.

When it comes to WSOP Bracelets there are five men at the top of the heap.

1. Phil Hellmuth has won 11 WSOP bracelets in only 18 years, all playing no-limit Texas hold’em. Phil claims that he gave away all of them besides the main event championship.

2. Doyle Brunson has 10 bracelets in seven different poker variations. His last was in 2005 and he’s a threat to win one every year.

3. Johnny Chan also has 10 bracelets to his credit. Like Doyle he has won bracelets in seven different variations of the game, and he won all of them in only 20 years.

4. Johnny Moss is right up there with nine bracelets of his own. He’s won them all playing either No limit Hold’em, Ace to Five Draw or Seven Card Stud.

5. Erik Seidel comes in fifth with eight. He has wins in six different poker variations.

There are two three-time WSOP main event winners. Only Johnny Moss (1970, 1971 and 1974) and Stu Unger (1981, 1982 and 1997) were able to achieve that feat. They both won it twice in a row, as did Doyle Brunson (1976 and 1977) and Johnny Chan (1987 and 1988).

Other big-name winners include Chris “Jesus” Ferguson (2000), Phil Hellmuth (1989), Dan Harrington (1995), Scotty Nguyen (1998), Huck Seed (1996), Robert Varkonyi (2002) and Carlo Mortensen (2001).

Recent winners have won huge amounts, with the biggest winner being Jamie Gold ($12 million) in 2006. In 2007, Jerry Yang won $8.25 million and Joseph Hachem pocketed $7.5 million in 2005. Chris Moneymaker (2003) set the poker world afire when he won the main event, and $2.5 million, after winning his way into the tournament via an online satellite tournament. Greg Raymer was the other big main event winner, winning $5 million in 2004, and almost won it again the next year in 2005.