I collect trophies for a living • Member of 2 poker Hall of Fames • DFS golf addict
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Articles by Blake Bohn
$66,000 Fastforward Rake Race Returns to partypoker
Fastforward poker is partypoker’s take on fast-fold poker where the action is lightning fast and where players can play hundreds of hands per hour per table. For the first 11 days of February, partypoker is running a rake race that revolves around Fastforward cash games and will give away $66,000. The $66,000 is shared out across two daily leaderboards.
LFG Podcast: Helping Poker Dreams Come True
If you follow PokerNews, then you are probably familiar with Chad Holloway and his work. As the former Editor of PokerNews and co-host of the PokerNews Podcast, Holloway was a constant staple on the pages of our site. And if you're on Twitter and don't know Jamie Kerstetter, then come out from under your rock and go follow her now. You can expect wittiness, humor and plenty of cute dog pictures to keep you entertained. You're welcome. Now, what do you get when you pair these two together?
Kevin Hart's 'How to Play Poker' Series Combines Laughs With Lessons
We've seen Kevin Hart participating in various high roller events for more than a year now. The actor and comedian has provided a lot of fun at the tables in the events he's entered while also allowing non-pros to experience vicariously the daunting task of competing against the world's top players.
Holz Late to Aussie Millions Main, Chasing Recent Champs Engel & Barer
At last year's Aussie Millions at Crown Melbourne, Fedor Holz put together a legendary run, pairing a third-place finish in the $100K Challenge with a fifth-place finish in the Main Event for a total of nearly A$700,000 in cashes. This year, things looked quiet on the Holz watch as there was nary a sight of him in the tournament area through the first three starting days of the Main Event.
Super High Roller Bowl Goes to China for Invite-Only Event
Poker Central and Macau Billionaire Poker are teaming up to take the Super High Roller Bowl overseas. Super High Roller Bowl China will take place at the Babylon Casino in Macau Fisherman’s Wharf from March 20-22 and is guaranteeing a stunning $100 million HKD prize pool (~$12,800,000). The $2,000,000 + $100,000 HKD buy-in (~US$270,000) will be sure to bring in some of the biggest names in poker through its invite-only format.
Off the Felt: The Best Instagram Photos of 2017
The year is almost over. It was a very hectic 2017, and our favorite poker players seemed to be kind of addicted to Instagram. So we were wondering… which were their best photos to come out of the last 12 months? We decided to stalk them a little bit using the Best Nine App to find the answer … and we were shocked. Well, not really. Actually, things turned out as expected: poker, more poker, and a huge load of selfies! Liv Boeree was sharing some nice moments with Igor Kurganov (cute).
PokerNews Podcast 472: Get a Gripsed; Evan Jarvis Joins the Podcast
On this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Sarah Herring and Brent Harrington go over the PokerNews Top Ten gift article and Sarah interviews Evan Jarvis aka "Gripsed" about making poker a full body experience, coaching, keeping a positive mindset, and more. Check out the entire PokerNews shopping list article here. 3:06 - Previewing this episode's guest: Evan Jarvis aka Gripsed. You can find him on Twitter or on his website. 5:15 - Sarah is trying to cuss less.
Brutal Coolers and Big King-High Calls on 'Poker After Dark'
The folks at PokerGO have provided more entertaining poker action to fill the first part of the short Thanksgiving week with two days' worth of high-stakes cash games at the ARIA Resort & Casino. The shows were dubbed "Leave it to Seiver," another entry in the new Poker After Dark series.
Rainer Kempe Wins $1,100 Caribbean Poker Party Festival MILLIONS Open
Rainer Kempe triumphed over a field of 812 entries to win the Caribbean Poker Party Festival $1,100 MILLIONS Open for $200,000. Although Canadian Vincent Tremblay won a sizeable pot shortly after the official final table was reached, when he rivered a wheel against Kiwi grinder Paul Hockin, his good fortune was short-lived.
Daniel Colman Sweeps Olivier Busquet, Brandon Adams in KOTH 3
The new iGaming legislation was not the only exciting poker news to come out of Pennsylvania this week, as King of the Hill crowned its third champion on Thursday night at SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia. King of the Hill, put on by Poker Night in America and hosted by Doug Polk and Pete Manzinelli, features a $50,000 buy-in heads-up competition between four of the top players and personalities in the game in a two-round winner-take-all format.
Joe Gotlieb Beats Tough Pros at WSOPC Seminole Hard Rock
Winning any World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event is sweet, but it has to be particularly satisfying when overcoming the likes of World Poker Tour champion Asher Conniff and nosebleed cash legend Brian Hastings at the final table. That's exactly what Joe Gotlieb did on Monday night, taking down $257,638 in a field of 904 entries at WSOP Circuit Seminole Hard Rock Main Event.
Railbird Report: Tom Dwan and Dan Bilzerian Surface in Vegas Cash Game
Sometimes, detailed descriptions from high stakes games surface. Players railing a huge game go on the TwoPlusTwo forums and write about what they've seen. PokerNews does occasional live reporting for live cash games. Other games are televised. Sometimes, one tweet with photo is all there is to go on: Most of the really high-stakes games stay hidden from the general public. All we poker fans can do is day dream about what goes on in these games.
The Muck: Barcelona Champ Challenges Polk, Leonard Responds to 'Angling'
While the financial health of the poker community was hanging in the balance waiting for the result of the Mayweather/McGregor fight this past weekend, there was another bout brewing closer to home. It might not have included a ring or a $100 pay-per-view ticket, but there were plenty of spectators and trash-talking going on. It's never fun when your phone starts to buzz with texts and twitter notifications as you're nearing the money in a major tournament.
Tony G Takes Bankera Cryptocurrency into the Regulated Banking Sector
Bankera is launching its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) on Monday, 28 August. The new cryptocurrency has several unique features, but the one that caught our attention is that Antanas “Tony G” Guoga is on the company’s board of advisors. Famous for his table talk as well as his results, Tony G has become an advocate for cryptocurrencies and has taken a special interest in them in his day job as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).
Jack Sinclair Defeats Tony G for High Roller Crown at German Poker Championship
Some of poker's new young guns went to battle with the old guard in the 2017 partypokerLIVE German Poker Championship Super High Roller over the weekend. A total of 28 entries put down the €25,000 buy-in at King's Casino over the weekend created a top prize of €350,000, with only the top three getting paid. By Sunday evening, only Jack Sinclair and Tony G remained, and the two agreed on a deal that saw Tony G take €300,000, while Sinclair secured €240,000.
Player Profiling: Four New Poker Archetypes
I became a serious poker player in the early 1990s when limit stud and limit hold'em were the most popular games. In those days, there were three well known poker "archetypes" that survive to this day. You are almost surely familiar with them — the "rock," the "maniac" and the "calling station." Each of those names captured an entire category of player one often faced at the tables. A "rock" was (and is) an extremely tight player. A "maniac" is an extremely loose and aggressive player.
Usain Bolt Teams With PokerStars for Special Zoom Poker Promotion
PokerStars has been looking to expand the use of athlete and celebrity endorsers, and there's no more natural fit than teaming up with world champion sprinter Usain Bolt to promote the turbo-paced Zoom Poker offering. On Monday, the world's largest online poker site announced the opening of the first celebrity-branded tables in company history, the Zoom Usain Bolt Edition.
The 2017 River Poker Series Begins Aug. 30 at the WinStar World Casino
Players are gearing up for some late-summer poker action as the 2017 River Poker Series heads to WinStar World Casino and Resort heads to Thackerville, Oklahoma from Aug. 30 to Sept. 11. All players are welcome provided they are at least 18 years of age and provide a valid ID. This is refreshing to many younger poker players since most casinos in the United States only allows players that are at least 21 years old. The highlight of the poker festival is the $2,500 River Poker Series Main Event.
Hitting Top Pair in a Multi-Way Pot
DECISION POINT: In a tournament, you open-raise preflop with and get five callers, including both blinds. The flop comes . The small blind leads out with a bet, then the big blind raises. The action is on you... PRO ANSWER: Your pair of aces has very little value in this situation. There are several factors that are unfavorable for one-pair hands. The fact that five opponents saw this flop with you means that one-pair hands will have very little relative value.
Amanda Sizemore: Third Time the Charm in Ladies Championship?
The WSOP Ladies Event is rattling towards the latter stages, and one name that might look familiar to fans scrolling through past players in the event is Amanda Sizemore. Sizemore finished 10th in the event in 2011, then did even better just two years ago when she finished third for $61,268. This year, she was sitting pretty with one of the biggest stacks with 45 players remaining, so we caught up with her to ask if she thinks she can go two places better than in 2015. “I hope so!" she said.
WSOP Day 31: Mizrachi, Busquet Among Big Stacks in $5K NLHE
Today's What to Watch For is brought to you by the VerStandig Law Firm, LLC. Combining a keen understanding of the gaming world and an equally keen understanding of the law, Mac VerStandig and his colleagues are devoted to fighting on behalf of the poker community and its members. The VerStandig Law Firm, LLC represents poker professionals, sports bettors and advantage players across the United States.
Inside Gaming: Demolition of Fremont Landmarks Scheduled, NJ Revenue Up
This week's installment of Inside Gaming shares news regarding the scheduled demolition of a block of buildings in downtown Las Vegas including two long standing casinos (now closed), reports on a positive month of May for Atlantic City, and follows up on the story of a woman who thought she won nearly $43 million in a New York slot machine only to be rewarded with a steak dinner.
Purple Heart Recipient John Smith Continues Domination of WSOP Heads-Up Event
With 32 players locked in heads-up battle on Thursday, young poker savants fill the Brasilia Room at the World Series of Poker looking to make the $10,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold'em Championship a nice bullet point on their resumés. One more win locks up a trip to the sweet sixteen and a minimum cash of $26,711 – and a chance at much more. Among the hoodies and sunglasses, one player stands out.
Hand of the Week: Shak's 'Brutal' Bubble in the One Drop High Roller
"It was brutal, and I was a little stunned, honestly." That's how Dan Shak described bubbling the $111,111 One Drop High Roller, his second high roller bubble within a week. Just a few days earlier he went out on Day 3, just before the money, in the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl at Aria. Shak's One Drop bustout hand is what poker nightmares are made of. All Shak needed to avoid was one of four deuces on the river. Well, you know how that turned out.
Conan Brothers Battle Heads-up for WPT Deepstacks High Roller Title in Cannes
It was Monday morning in Cannes, France, and the WPT DeepStacks High Roller was down to heads-up play the Barrière Croisette Casino. Arthur Conan (20 years old) and younger brother Marius (18 years old) were battling for a $20,282 first prize and bragging rights. Who is the best player in the family? Arthur, a young internet wizard, took the French live scene by storm in the summer of 2015 when he went deep in a PokerStars event in Lille for almost $50,000.
Andrew Mackenzie Crowned Unibet UK Poker Tour Glasgow Champion
Andrew Mackenzie secured his second-largest live poker tournament score when he emerged victorious in the Glasgow leg of the Unibet UK Poker Tour. Mackenzie is a regular in poker tournaments in his native Scotland and has quite a remarkable record in low buy-in events. According to his Hendon Mob page, Mackenzie has cashed in more than 90 events in Scotland and has $105,631 in winnings. In Nov.
The Shootout Format With Dominik Nitsche
With the 2017 World Series of Poker nearing the end of its first week of play, we've already seen a wide variety of tournament formats on display — a great opportunity for poker players to play different types of tournaments and variants in order to challenge themselves to improve their games.
74 Twitter Accounts You Must Follow During the World Series of Poker
Twitter has taken a bit of a hit in the business world lately, but it reigns supreme in the poker world. #PokerTwitter is responsible for the Cate Hall and Mike Dentale grudge match, the gender reveal of Jason and Natasha Mercier's baby, the latest chip count of your favorite pros, and a hell of a lot more — especially during the World Series of Poker.
Anatoly Filatov Leads High Roller at partypoker Live Million Germany
After seven 45-minute levels, Day 1 of the 2017 partypoker LIVE Million Germany €2,200 High Roller at King's Casino Rozvadov generated a total of 65 entries. Most of the field made it through as 48 hopefuls bagged up chips when the tournament clock stopped just before midnight. Play initially began on just one table before a handful of players joined in on the action, necessitating the opening of a second table.
Raffaele Sorrentino Wins the 2017 PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo
Raffaele Sorrentino won the 2017 PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® Main Event Friday evening. The Italian regular, now living in Mexico, walked away with over €466,000 after making a deal heads-up with Andreas Klatt. "I'm very happy," Sorrentino said. "It's a dream come true. I was thinking about this one week ago. Every day, I got more and more [close]." In the end, happiness was accompanied by another feeling.
Natalia Breviglieri Plays ‘Would You Rather?’
While taking on the massive fields and £6 million guarantee at Nottingham’s Dusk Till Dawn Casino, we cornered everyone’s favorite pint-sized partypoker pro. Natalia Breviglieri has had some fantastic results since turning partypoker ambassador and her online profile is rising in time with her live tournament reputation. Breviglieri is on the brink of special things in the poker industry, so we thought we’d put here to the test with a few questions designed to polarize her preferences.
Becker, Dunst and Sexton Survive partypokerLIVE MILLIONS Day 1e
It was another busy day at the home of poker in the United Kingdom, as both the main room as well as the Marquee room of the Dusk Till Dawn Nottingham cardroom were in use for the last Live Day 1 of the partypokerLIVE MILLIONS £5,300 Main Event. While the official numbers are yet to be confirmed, it seems that the £6m guaranteed flagship tournament of the festival has almost reached the guarantee already thanks to the additional 345 unique entries and 35 re-entries on Day 1e.
Linda Johnson To Receive WPT Honors Award
The World Poker Tour announced that it will award Linda Johnson its inaugural WPT Honors Award Feb. 27. “Linda played a unique role in helping shape the World Poker Tour and she embodies all that the WPT stands for,” said Adam Pliska, chief executive officer of the World Poker Tour, in a release.
Maurice Hawkins Ties WSOPC Ring Record
Maurice Hawkins won the ninth WSOP Circuit ring of his career Feb. 20 after claiming the final WSOP gold ring event at Palm Beach Kennel Club. Hawkins is now tied with Alex Masek as the circuit’s all-time leader with nine rings. According to the WSOP live updates, Hawkins won the ring in a $365 No-Limit Hold’em event after a heads-up duel with Florida’s Waller Everitt. He collected $13,527 for first place, while Everitt took home $8,360.
Poker Operator Kindred Group Continues Growth, Acquires Red32
Kindred Group, which operates popular online poker site Unibet, agreed to acquire British gaming company 32Red for a cash offer of $219 million on Thursday. 32Red, which is licensed in Gibraltar, the U.K. and Italy, operates poker, bingo, casino and sports betting sites. Kindred paid a premium of 16 percent over the latest share price on the London Stock Exchange.
Throwback Thursday: The First American Poker Awards
The third annual American Poker Awards is set to take place today at the Sofitel in Beverly Hills, CA. So it seems only fitting to take a look back at the very first American Poker Awards in 2015. Get a peek at some of the most touching and exciting moments from the inaugural event. You can watch the 2017 awards and root for The PokerNews Podcast and Sarah Herring here. Be sure to complete your PokerNews experience by checking out an overview of our mobile and tablet apps here.
English Premier League Football Betting Picks for Week 26
Get ready for another weekend of Premier League action that brings many more chances to chase some betting value. We've got the best bets and picks for the matches taking place on February 25, 26 and 27, along with DraftKings daily fantasy soccer picks for Saturday. Chelsea has been so strong home and away this season, that it seems a tall order for Swansea to get anything, except that the Blues have faltered a little of late from their high standards, thanks to tiredness.
WATCH: PokerStars’ Top 5 Hollywood Hands
Sometimes in life, stories seem to perfect even for Hollywood. That holds true in the poker world as well. The crazy action, all the bad beats and royal flushes we've witnessed over the years, don't even seem real sometimes. Well, PokerStars went through their extensive video archive and tracked down the five craziest hands for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy. In the Prague Main Event in 2015, Chris Walker open-shoved for 985,000 under the gun.
Ioannis Liperis Turns a Free $11 into £20,550
Ioannis Liperis can now boast of a massive return on investment after he turned a free $11 ticket into a £20,550 prize over the weekend. Liperis received a free $11 tournament ticket via the “click and collect” promotion at partypoker and turned it into a £220 ticket for the DTD200 6-Max event. Two days of poker action later and Liperis emerged victorious, banking £20,000 in cash and a £550 ticket for the MILLIONS tournament.
Ian Simpson, Dara O’Kearney and David Lappin Sign with Unibet
Unibet Poker has swooped in and signed a trio of prominent poker players as brand ambassadors. With immediate effect and just in time for the Unibet Open London Festival, Ian Simpson, Dara O’Kearney and David Lappin officially became Unibet Poker players. All three of Unibet Poker’s new signings are active on social media, popular among their peers, talented poker players and fit into Unibet Poker’s ethos of being a fun and friendly place to play poker.
Rebuilding the Bankroll
I started 2016 with $310 and a lot of hope and ended the year up over $15,000. Here I am in the second month of 2017 and hope is again the largest component of my bankroll. My bankroll went to some unplanned medical bills, kid's activities, family vacations and the general black hole of life. I don't regret it, but it is frustrating having to start back at baseline again. In fact, since I'm actually being staked by a friend, it feels even lower than baseline.
The Weekly Turbo: Poker is Outkicking and Taking Names
There were no small feats this week in poker. With Ema Zajmovic becoming the first woman to win an open WPT event, PokerStars launching Power Up, casinos debating ITINs, Chris Torina telling his undercover-cop-to-poker story and states duking out their want for online gaming, you can be sure to have plenty to read. Because FOMO is real. And following history in the making is important. Ema Zajmovic created a buzz last November at WPT Montreal. Now she's made history at WPT Playground.
There Are Other Ways to Trap Than by Slow Playing
When some no-limit hold'em players think of "trapping" they immediately think of "slow playing." In fact, some will equate the two, mistakenly believing the only way to trap an opponent after the flop is by slow playing. Trapping actually refers to a broader postflop strategy that can but doesn't necessarily involve slow playing. You can "trap" and still play a hand "fast" by betting and raising right away for value.
Cash Game Festival London Off to an Amazing Start
Day 1 of the 2017 Cash Game Festival London was a huge success with lots of action and fun throughout the day and evening. More than a dozen tables are still currently in action, with some of the players expressing they plan to play through the night. This includes at least one table that has prop bets that involve staying awake, drinking and playing until around noon tomorrow. The festival began at 5 p.m. with welcome drinks and many players enjoying champagne.
Aspers’ Southampton Super Casino to Move Ahead
Aspers is set to move forward with its plans for its third “super casino,” part of the £450 million redevelopment of Southampton’s Royal Pier after a rival bidder lost an appeal against the decision to award Aspers an operating licence. In April 2016, Aspers was granted a large casino licence, giving it the green light to open a venue with up to 30 gaming tables and 150 Category B1 gaming machines.
Philipp Gotschy Named Youngest Qualifier for PokerStars Festival London
Philipp Gotschy is still pretty green in the poker world, trying to make his way to the top as many before him have done. But at least this is a start. He bested the PokerStars Festival London Sat £82 qualifier on his birthday, guaranteeing him a Main Event seat, a £990 value. This was his third bullet on this kind of satellite; he had already fired two bullets at the end of November. Gotschy will play Day 1C on Jan. 27. Gotschy began playing poker at 18 after a friend introduced him to home games.
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