11 Jan 12

2012 Aussie Millions Begins Tomorrow

This year's event series gets underway from January 12 - 29 in Melbourne's Crown Casino. A range of buy-ins and formats, including the Main Event and a $250,000 Challenge, make up the 10th Aussie Millions tournament series.

The Aussie Millions will take place at the Crown Casino in Melbourne

If you're up for some poker fun Down Under this January then you're in luck, as the 2012 Aussie Millions swings into action tomorrow with a AUD$1,100, three day No Limit event. Last year saw a bumper field contest a myriad of events, ranging from the standard to the downright sick.

This year, things look set to be no different, as the organizers have put together a schedule that contains everything the Hold 'em aficionado could want, from a fairly tame AUD$550 Cubed tournament to a truly insane AUD$250,000 Challenge that last year saw Erik Seidel win AUD$2.5 million.

It's not only two card players that are being catered for this year. Galloping into the fray is a AUD$2,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, as well as a range of PLO and mixed game offerings. Add to that a million dollar cash game and we can expect a lot of action in Melbourne this month.

Aussie Millions $10,000 Main Event

2011 Aussie Millions Main Event winner David Gorr

The 2012 Aussie Millions $10,000 Main Event begins the first of three opening flights on January 22 and will run through until a champion is crowned on January 29.

Last year, David Gorr defeated a 721-strong field to lift the Main Event trophy and bag the AUD$2 million first prize. He bested PokerStrategy.com coach James "skolsuper" Keys heads-up after spiking a better two pair on the river. Keys still walked away with AUD$1,035,000 for his efforts.

The pair made it to head-up after defeating a stacked final table that included Patrik Antonius and Sam Razavi.

Amongst those making it far but not quite far enough were PokerStrategy.com video producers Tobias "PokerNoob" Reinkemeier (17th) and  Randy "nanonoko" Lew (10th). 

The AUD$100K Challenge

It was the event that propelled both Erik Seidel and Sam Trickett to almost unrivalled success in 2011. After finishing 3rd behind Tony Bloom and Trickett, Seidel picked up AUD $625,000.

However, it was Trickett who stole the show with a stunning performance that netted him AUD$1,525,000; a figure he then went on to parlay into $4,598,038 over the course of 2011.

This year the two day event starts on January 22nd and will conclude on the 23rd when one player will walk away with a prize likely to be in excess of AUD$1 million. 

The AUD$250,000 Challenge

Erik Seidel made back-to-back high roller final tables in 2011's festival.

If the AUD$100K event raised the bar beyond even the most experienced poker pros, the 2011 AUD$250,000 event practically sent it into the stratosphere and out of reach.

After some renegotiation of the format - it was originally devised as a heads-up event, then an 8-game mixed event - the most expensive No Limit Hold'em tournament ever attracted a field of 20 players in 2011.

Finishing in 3rd was David Benyamine, before the Trickett and Seidel once again found themselves heads-up at a six-figure buy-in tournament. This time, Seidel prevailed and won a tidy AUD$2.5 million.

This year, the event kicks off on January 27th. We will of course be providing updates throughout the festival and keeping track of poker's biggest names, as well as PokerStrategy.com coaches and members.