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Articles by Sam Grafton
📺 Can Piqué Come Back in FINAL ROUND?? | The Big Game on Tour | S2 E5
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📺 Can Piqué Survive EXPLOSIVE Bomb Pots? | The Big Game on Tour | S2 E2
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📺 The Greatest Final Table In Super High Roller History | EPT Barcelona 2024 Highlights
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📰 Sam Grafton Under Fire for Political Tweet
23:58 07 Oct Sam Grafton is taking flak on X/Twitter over a political tweet apparently showing support for the Hamas attack on Israel earlier today. The high stakes tournament player posted a tweet displaying a Palestinian flag on the morning of a terrorist attack that saw innocent civilians killed and multiple kidnappings. Many of those following the thread sent Grafton abuse and tagged PokerStars, asking for it to remove Grafton from his ambassadorial role with the industry leader.
Eight UK & Irish Players to Watch at the 2018 WSOP
The 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicks off today at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino with the $565 Casino Employees NL Hold’em event. While there will not be many players who call the United Kingdom or Ireland home competing in it, an army of our players are set to descend on Las Vegas over the next few weeks. In no particular order, here are the players you should be looking to make a big splash in Sin City this summer.
WSOP Insights: Restoring Honor Amongst Thieves
Too few are the poker players not owed money by – or themselves indebted to – a fellow grinder. And while the extension of credit in the form of cash, chips, tiles, and otherwise has long been a core function of poker’s liquidity, a tradition originally checked by the harshness of self-help remedies in the boxcar days of open carry saloons, struggles to find an identity amongst modern times. In the absence of pistol whippings, judicial recourse has become the preferred collection methodology.
Stephen Chidwick On Course for yet Another Massive Score
Stephen Chidwick’s amazing year looks set to continue as he find himself second in chips, from 14 surviving players, in the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. A total of 48 entries created a $58,500,000 prize pool that is to be shared among the top seven finishers with the eventual champion walking away with $5 million and a min-cash netting the seventh-place finisher $600,000.
Poker and Silence
The photo of Dan Colman standing sullen-faced behind a pile of fifteen million dollars seemed to provide a sad, strange coda to the poker boom years. The poker press were quick to contrast it with the images of a gleeful Antonio Esfandiari standing barefooted on his stack of cash just two years previously. For others it stands as an inversion of those images of Chris Moneymaker holding aloft his bracelet amid a heap of a million dollars in 2003.
Christopher Kruk Wins the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America $25K
The partypoker MILLIONS North America $25,500 Super High Roller has reached an end and it was Canada's own Christopher Kruk coming out victorious. Kruk defeated fellow high-roller competitor Anthony Zinno in heads-up play to take home the first-place prize of $375,000. Kruk is mostly known for his online poker skills but has recently transitioned his game into the live high roller events.
KamaGames Updates its Social Casino Portfolio on the Samsung Galaxy App Store
KamaGames is pleased to announce that it has updated its three social casino apps in the Samsung App Store. Samsung Galaxy App Store customers will now have full access to the latest version of KamaGames’ products; Pokerist Texas Poker, Blackjackist and Roulettist. The update means that players will be able to enjoy a number of new modes and features such as Boost Tournaments, Roulette Tournaments, and Party Modes as well as 2 new games - Set Poker and Slots.
British Hotel Duty Manager Rickie Silcock Becomes a Poker Pro
A british hotel duty manager has realised his dream to become a professional poker player thanks to hard work, dedication and the staking company BRS. Rickie Silcock is a 33-year-old hailing from Chesterfield who was playing in pub poker games only six months ago. Finding he had a penchant for the game, Silcock joined the BRS Academy in the hope he would win coaching and backing the the stable run by British legend Paul “ActionJack” Jackson.
Trying to Isolate a Short Stack Preflop With Pocket Sixes
Today's tournament hand presents an interesting situation in which before the flop I found myself focused on trying to isolate a short stack, then after the flop end up having to contend with a big stack. The blinds were 400/800 with a 100 ante when a player with about 60,000 to start limped in from early position. It folded to me in the hijack seat where with about 92,000 I had been dealt . This is a spot where very often I'm just going to limp.
2018 World Series of Poker: Where to Stay in Las Vegas
The World Series of Poker is less than two months away, which means it’s time for players to book flights and decide where they are going to reside for seven weeks of non-stop poker grind. If you are ahead of the game, then you probably already have accommodations prepared. But if you're like the rest of us, and act at a more leisurely pace, then you should find this useful.
Avoiding These 3 Mistakes Launched My Poker Career
While on dinner break of a $10,000 buy-in tournament at the Bellagio, I listen politely as two high roller regulars discuss a hand. Everything I hear from them is wrong. I'm almost tempted to tell them their logic doesn't matter. Then, I step back for a moment in disbelief. I was playing $0.02/$0.05 on Bovada 18 months ago, and now I'm sitting across the table from some of the best players in the world. How am I even playing this tournament? Did I steal $10,000?
Adam Lulat Crowned 2018 GUKPT Manchester Champions
Adam Lulat’s first cash in a major live poker tournament for two years was worth the wait because it saw him lift the 2018 GUKPT Manchester Main Event trophy and return home with £68,930 in prize money. With the United Kingdom being battered by the so-called “Beast of the East” and Storm Emma, temperatures remained at sub-zero all week and many roads were hazardous to drive on due to heavy snow.
UK & Ireland GPI: Stephen Chidwick Closing in on Worldwide Number One Spot
Stephen Chidwick’s incredible performances at the US Poker Open have resulted in him climbing to the number two spot in the worldwide Global Poker Index and it is surely only a matter of time before the popular British pro takes over at the summit of the leaderboard. Chidwick was the star of the US Poker Open with two wins, a runner-up finish, a third-place and a fifth-place for cashes weighing in at an impressive $1,256,650.
Andrew “Statto” Hulme wins the 2018 GUKPT London Main Event
Andrew “Statto1” Hulme secured his largest live poker tournament cash last weekend when he won the 2018 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) London Main Event for £112,400. Some 433 players bought in for £1,110 and created a £433,000 prize pool. This princely sum was distributed among the top 40 finishers so nobody wanted to finish in 41st place and burst the bubble.
UK & Ireland Sunday Briefing: Double FT for Conor Beresford
Coming at you a little later than usual, sorry about that, is this week’s UK & Ireland Sunday Briefing where Conor Beresford reached two high stakes final tables. The best result for Beresford was at PokerStars where he plays as “1_conor_b_1”. Beresford was one of 151 players to enter the $2,100 Sunday High Roller, a tournament that attracts some of the best online poker tournament players in the business, of which Beresford is one.
Interview with Lee Johnston, Victoria Gate Casino Poker Manager
The Victoria Gate Casino opened in Leeds, Yorkshire almost a year ago to the day and has quickly become a popular venue for gamblers and revellers looking for a night out in the north. Alongside the various bars, gaming tables and the flashing lights of the hundreds of slots is the poker room, which has Lee Johnston at its helm. I first met Lee while I was working as a live reporter for the World Poker Tour National UK tour.
Learn About the Amazing Promotions in the $15M Gtd. Powerfest at partypoker
The seventh edition of Powerfest kicked off its 147-event-schedule with $15 million in guaranteed prizes on Jan. 21 at partypoker. It isn't too late to get into the action as the festival runs until Feb. 4 and some of the best tournaments are still yet to come. One of the great aspects of Powerfest is that the events are evenly broken out into Low, Medium and High tiers. Each tier features buy-ins approximately 10-times as much as the lower tier.
Top Online Casinos with No Deposit in US
Playing at online casinos with no deposit seems like a fairy tale scenario. Luckily enough, it is as real as ever thanks to generous no deposit bonuses from some of the best online casinos in the business. Not only do online casinos give out free cash or free spins to players once they create an account and drop some cash, but in some cases, you can also grab some bonuses without making any commitments.
£1 Million Guaranteed Main Event at the UK Poker Championships
The full schedule for the 2018 UK Poker Championships have been released into the public domain and it shows tournaments with combined guarantees of £2 million. Previous editions of the UK Poker Championships were jointly run by Sky Poker and Dusk Till Dawn. The 2018 UK Poker Championships come under the partypoker LIVE banner thanks to the flourishing partnership enjoyed by partypoker and DTD.
Top 10 Stories of 2017, #6: Fedor Holz and the Germans Continue High Roller Dominance
This year's Top Stories are 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. High Roller and Super High Roller events dominated tournament poker coverage in 2017.
777 Casino Review: The Ultimate Nostalgic Experience
777.com blends excitement and realism in an innovative online gaming platform. Players with a penchant for Vegas-style entertainment will love the throwback appeal of this interactive casino. With nothing but an open road to Sin City ahead of you, 777 online casino is bristling with entertainment, and old-school charm. Owned and operated by 888 Holdings PLC, 777 is a trusted online casino, with 20 million registered users, secure online banking, and full licensing and regulation.
5 Reasons to Play at Slotomania This December
In no particular order… New to the fun? Late to the party? Enjoy a FREE welcome bonus of 10,000 coins! Slotomania is giving away 10,000 coins to ‘newbies’! All you have to do is sign-up through this link and open an account to receive your FREE coins. With the minimum bet being 200, this hefty gift is more then enough to get you started.
Tim Ulmer Wins the WSOP Sydney 6-Max Event for $93,787
There were 341 players that contributed to the $375,100 prize pool hoping to claim a World Series of Poker Circuit ring at the Star Poker Room in Sydney, Australia on Sunday. The tournament attracted local and national talent for two days of action, culminating in the crowning of a new 2017 WSOP Sydney Circuit 6-Max Event champion.
Sunday Briefing: Half-Price Sunday Million Creates Huge Turnout
PokerStars reduced the buy-in for the Sunday Million from $215 to $107.50 on Dec. 10 and it proved a popular move with a staggering 18,973 players buying in, which created a $1,897,300 prize pool.
Christopher Vernon is Victorious at 888poker Live Local London
Aspers Casino in Stratford, London played host to the 888poker Live Local London festival last week, which included an £88,000 guaranteed Main Event. The £88,000 guaranteed 888poker Live Local London Main Event only cost £220 to enter, which meant it needed 440 entries in order to hit the guarantee. Not only was the guarantee met, it was blown out of the water thanks to 529 unique entrants and 258 reentries, who created a £155,825 prize pool.
Global Poker Index: Adrian Mateos New Overall No. 1, Kenney Leads POY
Each week, the Global Poker Index releases a list of the top tournament poker players in the world using a formula that takes into account a player's results over six half-year periods. For a look at the entire list, visit the official GPI website. Here's a look at the rankings as of December 6.
Fernando Galvan Wins WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood for $247,160
The World Series of Poker Circuit handed out its second cash worth at least $240K in as many weeks when Fernando Galvan topped a field of 845 to win WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood Main Event for $247,160. Galvan's win comes on the heels of Dan Lowery winning $258,784 at WSOP Circuit Choctaw. The Circuit shows no signs of slowing down either as it heads right into its second Cherokee stop of the season, traditionally one of the biggest draws on the tour.
APAT Releases Most Ambitious WCOAP On Record
The Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) runs its World Championship Of Amateur Poker (WCOAP) every year and the 2018 editions is its most-ambitious yet. Hundreds of APAT members look forward to the WCOAP schedule being published as it gives them the chance to experience a poker festival similar to the World Series of Poker but with buy-ins that are affordable and opponents who are like-minded.
Seminole Hard Rock Announces Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open from Nov. 15-29
Tournament poker returns to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. from Nov. 15-29, 2017 with the Seminole Hard Rock Poker (SHRP) Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO). This year’s RRPO features 17 tournaments spanning 15 days of action, highlighted by a $3,500 buy-in, $2 Million Guaranteed Championship. Kicking off the series is the $360 buy-in Ultimate Re-Entry with a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Inside Gaming: Early Response to Pennsylvania Gambling Expansion Bill
This week's installment of Inside Gaming starts with the week's big news regarding Pennsylvania lawmakers passing a bill to expand gambling significantly in the state, moves over to Atlantic City to consider the potential effect of the near-future opening of casinos there, and reports on a Las Vegas company's renewed investments in Macau.
Nevada Online Poker Room Closes Down Ahead of NJ Interstate Liquidity
AcePlay Poker, a free-play online poker room offered by the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, announced this week it will be shutting down in November before ever shifting to real-money online poker.
Kevin Malone Lifts the Trophy at the Cash Game Festival Dublin
The 2017 Cash Game Festival Dublin at the Village Green Card Club has been a huge success. This is the first time the festival has appeared at a card club and with five tables at peak times, the venue's record for the most cash game tables running at once was tied. Many different games were enjoyed through the festival including no-limit hold'em, pot-limit Omaha and Sviten Special. The festival featured 10 televised feature tables — two per day.
Sunday Briefing: Mike Dietrich Takes Down PokerStars Sunday Million
Winning the PokerStars Sunday Million is no longer a pipe dream for Canada's Mike Dietrich after he came out on top of a 5,948-strong field to secure the title and $142,031 in prize money. Dietrich, who plays as "Pipedream17" at PokerStars, is no stranger to winning major online poker tournaments, having taken down the likes of the now defunct Sunday Mulligan at Full Tilt for $133,000 and the Sunday 500 at PokerStars for $91,500.
WSOP Circuit Underway at King's Casino; Andrej Desset Wins First Ring
The WSOP Circuit at King's Casino, located on the border of Germany in Rozvadov, Czech Republic began on Sept. 28 and runs until Oct. 18, the day before the much-anticipated WSOP Europe begins. Already one of the 14 gold rings has been awarded to Slovakia's Andrej Desset after he outlasted a huge field of 1,687 entrants to win the €299 WSOP Circuit Oktoberfest €500,000 Gtd. Ring Event for €94,495. This marks Desset's third big win this year in events with huge fields.
Playing Pocket Tens Versus a Raise and a Shove
DECISION POINT: In a multi-table tournament, a player in middle position raises and the hijack reraise-shoves. You are on the button with . Action is on you... What do you do here? PRO ANSWER: In this hand, a player in middle position open-raised, then the player in the hijack seat moved all in. Should we call, reraise, or fold with our on the button? Any time a player is all in preflop, you should pay attention to the number of big blinds in their stack and their position.
WSOPE Rozvadov Schedule Features €5 Million GTD Main Event
Thousands of poker players from around the world have descended on King's Casino, located on the border of Germany in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, for the World Series of Poker Circuit events which began today, Oct. 3. Even more players will flock to Europe's biggest poker room on Oct. 19 to Nov. 10 for the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) in hopes to grab one of the 11 gold bracelets being awarded to the winners.
PokerStars Reveals Sochi Festival Schedule and Qualifier Info
Casino Sochi will be hosting a second PokerStars Live event, as PokerStars Festival Sochi kicks off in the Russian city starting Oct. 16, the world's leading online poker provider revealed. The event comes about six months after PokerStars Championships Sochi went down in the spring. What's more, players from select countries can qualify for the RUB 66,000 (~$1,100) Main Event through special Zoom freerolls that have already begun on PokerStars.
Kevin Martin on Building a Bankroll During PokerStars' MicroMillions
PokerStars Team Online's Kevin Martin is fresh off a victory at Big Brother Canada for a cool $100,000. Now, he's turning his focus back to poker. You can expect a lot of Twitch streaming and multi-tabling from the online tournament specialist in the second half of 2017.
WSOP Final Table Profile: John Hesp
Brought to you by the World Cup of Cards, this summer's NEXT great poker festival, hosted by Playground Poker Club and partypoker LIVE. This year's WCC features over $6,000,000 in Guaranteed Prize Pools including a full range of Hold'em tournaments, Omaha, Mixed and other types/formats - plus a trio of events with a buy-in over $5,000! Join us from August 13th to September 13th for a month of events promising variety and a ton of value for your poker-playing dollar.
Celebs and Poker Pros Ready for Charity Series of Poker on July 9
Professional pokers players, athletes, and other famous faces will be hitting the felt to give back and do some good. In a world where grind, bust, and broke are common terms, there is no shortage of supporting worthwhile causes and helping those less fortunate. The truth is even though a player might bust a tournament, they recognize what a privilege it is to do what they do for a living. The problem is it's not always easy to know where to give and how to ensure a donation is doing the most good.
Jamie Kerstetter: The 'Queen of Poker Twitter'
If you ask any recovering Twitter-aholics from the real world about Twitter, all you'll hear is about how it's dying. It's a good thing then that poker players continually defy the odds and have created their own world where Twitter thrives. Just think how boring the World Series of Poker would be without it. In general, poker players understand Twitter much better than the rest of the world. There's a little drama (think Doug Polk vs.
Scotty Nguyen's Winning Smile Will Live Forever at the WSOP
Scotty Nguyen casts a happy eye around the scene of his legendary triumph. We've just walked away from a band of fans requesting selfies with th five-time bracelet winner. Nguyen takes ten minutes trying to walk ten feet at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, but he doesn't care. As we find somewhere secluded to talk, 100 people pass us in the corridors of the gigantic conference center, each face transforming from whichever resting expression it held to a smile, all from seeing Nguyen.
Twitch and YouTube Streamers Flock to Global Poker
The live streaming of poker cash games and tournaments continues to be popular with hundreds of players taking to Twitch and YouTube to showcase their skills each and every day. With Global Poker’s stock rising in the online poker world, thanks in part to almost half a million in $weeps Cash in the Online World Challenge, it is not surprising that some popular poker streamers are grinding on the site on a regular basis.
PokerNews Book Review: 'Advanced Concepts in No-Limit Hold'em' by Hunter Cichy
Do you even GTO, bro? In 2006 Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman wrote The Mathematics of Poker, a dense book that introduced readers to "game theory optimal" play. More recently, thanks to online wizards like recent $111,111 High Roller for One Drop winner Doug Polk and programs like PokerSnowie, our understanding of optimal play has advanced considerably. It's a controversial topic. Indeed, the very term "GTO" intoxicates some, infuriates others and raises plenty of questions.
Players on the Move: The Cajun Cardsharp, The Crusher, and The Aggressor
The World Series of Poker is underway and thousands of players have converged on the Rio to take a shot at poker glory – and hopefully take home a little cash. With the swings that come with poker, playing consistently sharp is not easy. Here are a few players who have been on a recent upswing or scored a few nice finishes – and have plans to make a mark at the biggest event in poker. It's the latest in PokerNews' Players on the Move series – WSOP edition.
Use Caution or Exert Pressure? Flopping Middle Pair in a Three-Bet Pot
Today we have a fun hand from the $10,000 buy-in World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic Main Event at the Commerce Casino. The tournament was not a re-entry — that is to say, it was a standard "freezeout" which has actually become less common these days. That's relevant to point out, as this hand comes early and in freezeouts I tend to be a little more aggressive during the first levels if I think my opponents are leaning toward not wanting to go broke.
Cristian 'progree69' Sampaoli Ships XL Inferno Champion of Champions
Argentina's Cristian "progree69" Sampaoli came close to winning a WSOP Circuit ring in December 2016 when he took second place in WSOP International Circuit - Punta del Este Event #2 at the Enjoy Conrad Resort & Casino in Uruguay for $3,450. While Sampaoli just missed out on some hardware half a year ago, he now has a chance to win a much bigger sum and the coveted World Series of Poker Main Event gold bracelet.
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