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PocketFivers Capture Two World Series of Poker Bracelets

The PocketFives.com online poker community (http://www.pocketfives.com) has been buzzing for the past week about the play of two of its members, Grant "drossxyu" Hinkle and Michael "worldsgrtest" Banducci. Each took home a coveted World Series of Poker bracelet, the first pieces of hardware won by members of the site. PocketFivesLive.com was at the Rio in Las Vegas providing live WSOP coverage (http://www.pocketfiveslive.com) of each event.

Hinkle emerged victorious in Event #2, which attracted the largest non-Main Event tournament field in WSOP history at nearly 4,000 players. He cashed for $831,462, a fine return on his $1,500 buy-in. He commented to PocketFives.com on the moments following his groundbreaking win: "Following the river card, it was total euphoria. Every time I had a moment to think about it, it brought a huge grin to my face. It was a dream come true."

Banducci cashed for $636,736 and his first WSOP bracelet in Event #5. In a long three-way battle with Peter Gould and Jeff "yellowsub" Williams, Banducci emerged the victor. He commented after the tournament ended, "The amount of time it takes to become a good player is reduced by playing (on the computer). We play so many hands. We talk to our friends (about the hands). You learn so fast. I think younger players understand the fundamentals much better."

This week's PocketFives.com poker rankings (http://www.pocketfives.com/Rankings) update features a two-spot climb for "shaundeeb," who is now ranked #5 in the world at online tournament play. He recently took down the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up for $102,500 and had a final table in the FTOPS $300 rebuy for another $38,500. Phillip "USCphildo" Collins moves up one to #9 this week following his second place finish in the Full Tilt $1K Monday tournament for $58,700. Kory "s00tedj0kers" Kilpatrick enters the rankings this week at #67 after capturing the PocketFives.com Triple Crown in early June. He's had two cashes over $50,000 in the last two weeks: a win in the PokerStars $100 rebuy and a second place showing in the Stars Sunday Warm-Up.

PocketFivers have had quite a bit of success lately, winning nearly half the Sunday major tournaments over the last month. Denmark's second-ranked online tournament player, "Kongsgaard," took home $158,500 after taking down the PokerStars Sunday Million. "OnlyPlayRagz" justified his entrance into the Top 100 with an outright victory in the Full Tilt Poker (http://www.pocketfives.com/Full-Tilt-Poker-Review) Sunday Brawl for $62,700; while Kenny "Kenny Rap" Weinstein won the PokerStars $200 rebuy for over $46K. Long-time online tournament player Allen "Aawwnutz" Carter took first in the UltimateBet $200K Guaranteed for $45,000 and "WiCane" won the Stars Sunday Second Chance for $45,700. "JohnGalt" earned $23,600 for his victory in the Bodog $100K.

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