Here comes the Poker Million again. The tournament has kind of come full circle, hasn’t it? I mean, when the first Poker Million took place on the Isle of Man, there was nothing the world wanted more than to watch a live final table of an open tournament with a million pound first prize. Now, let’s be honest, open tournaments could make you yawn. The money has gotten so silly, so out of whack, that the money winners’ list is a list that has no meaning to history. History has been kind to the Poker Million because the Poker Million has got history, and what the world wants to watch now is an exclusive field of great poker players pitted against each other under difficult conditions. Poker Million VII suits, with what will likely be one of the best fields of the year. The field has the cream of European poker, as befits what is one of the longest running major tournaments in European poker, and what is the longest running televised poker tournament with a live final table full stop.

Twelve heats, two turbo second chances, and a celebrity qualifier to lead things off. As for form, I’m still suffering from Las Vegas aftershock, and I didn’t even play. Can’t expect the rest of these to be too much different.

Matchroom Poker will be blogging the heats live from Tuesday morning, with the celebrity heat kicking off around 10am

(Odds provided by Ladbrokes)

Heat 1 - Tuesday 22 July

The praise has poured in from all who have been at his table. They say Jonas Danielsson is one of the best six-handed no limit Hold’em players on the planet. A veritable genius, a multi-million dollar winner, the new face of Ladbrokes Poker. Nebuchad, as he is known online, has handled all this acclaim quite well. Yet he has never had a result on television, and the cameras can make you squeal. Neil Channing is walking on air, and betting against the Greatest English Superhero since Dr. Who doesn’t bode well for bankroll health. Thomas Bihl will attempt to every grain of sand this field, and you might be bored if Bihl wins it but you’ll never be surprised. I wish his sunglasses could talk, because then we’d have a chance of hearing some words come from his direction. Steve Davis is slated to play the Celebrity qualifiers, and he is odds on to cream them. Davis has just gotten back from making the money in the main event at the WSOP for the second time out of three tries. Only this year he didn’t just make the money, he went 300 places beyond, building up a very big stack in the process. I’ll let him tell you about losing with aces to kings. I’ll tell you that he is a poker player no fooling. He has more experience in the one table televised format than half the field, and if he does get through then 100/1 to win the tournament is a laugh. Go the Nugget!

HEAT ODDS: Channing 3/1, Bihl 10/3, Danielson 4/1, Dave Gregory 9/2, Deborah Rogers 6/1, Celebrity qualifier 6/1

Heat 2 - Wednesday 23 July (am)

I’m not sure if I want to root for Barny Boatman anymore, or just weep. He is starting to become as symbolic to tournament poker as the fisherman in The Old Man and the Sea. If Barny turns up to play with scars on his hands I’m going to empty out my bank account to back him. I want to say I was there the night it went down. There will be plenty of posing in this heat, with Hoivold, Zach, and Grundy threatening that they will make moves to be beat the band. And then they will all play as tight as the alphabet. As usual, the one who no one thinks can make any moves, Donnacha O’Dea, will rob them blind while pretending to fumble with his chips. 66/1 the former champion only makes one realise how complete his acting performance is.

HEAT ODDS: Grundy 4/1, Zach 4/1, Boatman 4-1, Hoivold 9/2, O’Dea 9/2, Steve Jelenek 9/2

Heat 3 - Wednesday 23 July (pm)

It’s hard to look past Julian Gardner and Ross Boatman in this heat. They both play the spots off the cards without making it look hard at all. But they struck out in Vegas which doesn’t bode well. Liv Boeree has not only had experience and success on TV but she has wind in her sails from a money performance at the WSOP and will find no better stage to pull off an upset. I’ve never seen Pasi Heinenan play, but he’s been personally trained by Patrik Antonius and you wouldn’t need much to rub off to be a poker genius. Nathan Lee could use a couple cards but he’s a man on a mission to break his duck and this one has upset special written all over it.

HEAT ODDS: Gardner 11/4, Boatman 7/2, Heinenan 4/1, June Leaderboard Winner 9/2, Boeree 11/2, Lee 6/1

Heat 4 - Thursday 24 July (am)

Twenty year old UK Open Champion Andrew Feldman was walking around Las Vegas for two weeks with a wad of cash and no place to gamble. He will be fired up to the eyeballs for this one and forever feels he has something to prove. However, this is not a good heat in which to try too hard. Between Kongsgaard and Erlandsen you have two Danes who will not be pushed around. Trueick and Fronda have had trouble on the big stage in the past. They must rise to the occasion or it will be Copenhagen in the Semis. I’m going with Morten. He rattled off some story about laying down kings in the WSOP main event where he had to either be playing great poker or telling a fantastic lie. Either skill will suit here.

HEAT ODDS: Kongsgaard 7/2, Feldman 7/2, Erlandsen 4/1, Fronda 4/1, Alan Trueick 11/2, Ken Wheatley 6/1

Heat 5 - Thursday 24 July (pm)

Every time I’ve seen Jennifer Tilly’s name in the past year, it has something to do with her having a huge stack of chips. It’s easy to look no further than skin deep, pleasant even, and not accept that she is a serious student of the game of poker. They wouldn’t admit this for shame, but I’ll bet anything that Tilly and Phil Laak’s video cabinet is filled with all the tapes of last year’s tournament. They have probably taken notes. They may have even called Tim Flanders. This is not an easy heat. No matter how many times Paddy O’Connor tells me that he’s capable of making a bet that’s not all-in, I’ll have to see it first. He remains one of the secret weapons of this format, consistently deadly. Kimber is in form, and Ashby is fast becoming the coolest man on the planet. O’Leary might be a tad too tight for these, but he’s great TV. Take Tilly at 5/1 and sit back and enjoy it.

HEAT ODDS: Kimber 7/2, Ashby 4/1, O’Connor 4/1, O’Leary 4/1, Marius Hogten 5/1, Tilly 5/1

Heat 6 - Friday 25 July (am)

Ours is not to wonder why. There’s Liam Flood, and there’s everyone else. Once Liam Flood gets that crickety steam engine cooking, there is no stopping the runaway train. If the dial turns blue, Flood wins. If not, he’ll end up in a heap a mile off the track, having destroyed a small village in his wake. Greg Norman leads the British Open and you think this crew can stop Liam Flood? Another difficult heat to price up, another beauty to watch. Six players with arguments to win here. The last two times I’ve seen Goodwin play this format, he’s been heaven sent. He caresses the cards like Monet. Phil Laak will be well prepared and between him and Goodwin there will be no words left edgewise. I do wonder if Phil has ever come up against the likes of Liam Flood before. I certainly hope he’s not going to take a page out of Howard Lederer’s book and call a Flood raise before the flop in the hopes of playing him off it on a later street. Vicky Coren came to Vegas late and left early. That probably means she’s in love so I’m crossing her off. Making Ian Cox the outsider is as close to a snub as I’ve ever seen. What does the man have to do? Luckily in betting, a snub is a gift. Just bet Coxsie at 11/2 and thank Ladbrokes later.

HEAT ODDS: Laak 7/2, Goodwin 7/2, Flood 4/1, Jonas Molander 9/2, Coren 5/1 Cox 11/2

Heat 7 - Friday 25 July (pm)

I’m not entirely sure Roland de Wolfe will show up for this heat. They found one of his eyeballs in the Nevada desert and his left arm in Kansas City. Lucky for Roland, he’s got poker talent to spare. You just never know what you’re going to see with de Wolfe, you just know that you’d pay to watch it. If Roland ever decides to start up a religious movement, count me in. Betting on Roland here would be sort of like backing Ronnie O’Sullivan in a snooker tournament in Malaysia when the only thing you know is that he walked from Britain on foot. It could be a very good bet. The value, of course, is The Booky, ladies and gentleman. With Anthony Hardy you know exactly what you are going to get and that is the effort of gritted teeth. Theo Jorgensen will try to win the first twelve hands, and if that fails he’ll go to Plan B. If plan A is working, Jorgensen will destroy them. Of course, Plan B is to give Plan A just one more go.

HEAT ODDS: De Wolfe 3/1, Jorgenson 10/3, Nicholas Saarisilta 9/2, Roberto Romanello 9/2, Hardy 11/2, Lanceley 11/2

Heat 8 - Saturday 26 July (am)

I’ve lost a lung backing Tim Flanders at good prices. I’m starting to feel he just can’t make a penalty shot. All the talent, all the experience, but Tim needs to find the corner of the net when the pressure comes on. As good as Skalie is, and he’s really one of the best, he has shown a tendency to come with his B game and do half his stack in the first round of the table. If we could handcuff Kalmar for half an hour and then let him loose on the field, there would be no stopping that man. As it is, this heat sets up perfectly for John Tabatabai. Sammy George loves to talk and Harry Demetriou adores to talk, but not only does Tabatabai talk tongues round them both, he’s also figured out what those two growths on either side of his head are and how to use them to his advantage. Tabatabai’s a great reader, a big talent, and I think he’ll win this one in a cakewalk with Johansson shadowing on the outside. This is definitely a top three heat for sheer entertainment value.

HEAT ODDS: Tabatabai 10/3, Skalie 10/3, Demetriou 4/1, Johansson 4/1, Flanders 11/2, George 7/1

Heat 9 - Saturday 26 July (pm)

Ah, the Devilfish. The villain we love. The only man to play in every single Poker Million, and really, what would the Poker Million be without him? Without a shadow of a doubt, Devilfish is the best player in this tournament. And like the truly great, his biggest enemy is himself. When he’s down on confidence, he whines, he moans, it’s repugnant to watch him. When he’s got a whistle in his step, watch out. Surinder plays awesome, but the Devilfish has had his goat for a while and the razzmatazz between the two may psych them both out. Paul Leckey had a good trip in Vegas. I think it was a good trip because his smile was genuine. The Irishman is a much underrated player, cool as a winter breeze, and I think that’s the quality that will win this heat.

HEAT ODDS: Ulliott 3/1, Sunar 4/1, Nik Persaud 4/1, Alexander Roumeliotis 9/2, Leckey 5/1, Kevin O’Connell 11/2

Heat 10 - Monday 28 July (am)

Who doesn’t want to watch this heat? The thought of the perfect English gentleman squaring off with the rudest American is more than enough plotline for a seven year sitcom. One thing is absolutely guaranteed. Mike Matusow will bet, John Duthie will come over the top of him, and all manners of hell will break loose. Need I say anything more? Marty Smyth and defending champion Joe Beevers will watch this in fits of straight faced hysterics and attempt to pick up the pieces. And they probably will. But if your heart’s on your sleeve, have a bet on Duthie at 5/1 in the heat and 50/1 in the outright, pour a few pints of lager, and scream yourself hoarse. That’s what I’m doing.

HEAT ODDS: Smyth 7/2, Matusow 7/2, Beevers 7/2, Michael Tureniec 9/2, Duthie 5/1, Gordon McGhee 13/2

Heat 11 - Monday 28 July (pm)

On paper, this looks like the most exciting heat of the tournament. Tony G is the loudest man with the biggest heart and claims he’s the most aggressive person in poker. Ram is the nicest guy and the coolest cat and plays like the most aggressive person in poker. Annette Obrestad is really the most aggressive person in poker. She might have them all crying uncle before it’s over. Throw in the biggest bluffer on television in John Magill and two very solid players in Stuart Fox and O’Dea the Younger and you have a recipe for a summer brew. The winner will be the one who calls Annette early. If nobody calls Annette early she will pickle them.

HEAT ODDS: Ram 10/3, Tony G 7/2, Obrestad 4/1, Stuart Fox 9/2, O’Dea 5/1, Magill 6/1

Heat 12 - Tuesday 29 July (am)

Just because you can’t pronounce someone’s name doesn’t mean you shouldn’t remember them. Thomas Tyszkiewicz is the Swede who got it all in with Liam Flood head up in last year’s heat and then got gruesomed off the table. He can play, and he’s been pointing for this event for the better part of a year. Don’t underestimate a man who’s chewing on a chicken bone. Tyszkiewicz is unbelievable value here at 6/1, even in this tough heat. Juha Helppi, Roy Brindley, Ian Frazer, and Tony Bloom are of the same mould. They are four of the best players in this format who are all suffering spotty form. Babies, businesses, and flying balloons. Three B’s that can take your poker to the muck.

HEAT ODDS: Helppi 3/1, Brindley 4/1, Frazer 9/2, Bloom 9/2, DTD Satellite Winner 9/2, Tyszkiewicz 6/1