Monthly Archives: March 2024

The host, True Geordie, speaks about Ryan Garcia's scary transformation in a recent YouTube video on the Pain Game channel.

A voice that used to be clear and sure of itself is now messy and erratic. Garcia's facial twitches are brought up by the host, a strange behaviour that hints at deeper issues lurking beneath the surface

Ryan Garcia's rise in the boxing world was remarkable. His youthful charm and undeniable talent quickly made him famous, winning over fans and investors.

His dedication to fighting tough opponents won him respect in the ring and affection outside of it. However, a darker story unfolded behind all the flash and glitz.

It all began with whispers and murmurs, a sudden change in behavior and speech that caught the attention of fans and pundits alike.

Garcia, scheduled to face Devin Haney in what promised to be a blockbuster showdown, appeared anything but ready for the ring. His once-clear voice, now strained and erratic, coupled with peculiar facial twitches, raised alarm bells among observers.

Garcia's words, captured in interviews and social media posts, paint a troubling picture. His erratic behaviour, from accusing others of drug use to proclaiming himself a warrior against unseen forces, suggests a mind in turmoil.

Yet even in the middle of the chaos, Garcia's pleas for help and understanding show signs of vulnerability and hopelessness.

Many have speculated that Garcia's troubles stem from his illicit drug abuse. Although we shouldn't judge, the indications are concerning.

The inconsistent actions combined with strong denials and deflections create an unsettling image. There's speculation about why Garcia is acting in such a manner. There are allegations he's got massive gambling debts, rumored to be millions in pounds from poker.

If that's the case, maybe he's trying to escape the stress of boxing and owing money, struggling with the pressure of being Ryan Garcia, wealthy at such a young age.

Ryan Garcia's rapid rise to stardom may have come at a cost. Maintaining a public image and the demands of professional boxing can be too much for even the most experienced athletes.

Garcia's problems may have been worsened because he was young and lacked experience managing the turbulent waters of fame.

Despite everything going on, one thing is still clear: Ryan Garcia needs help. His health should be the most important thing, whether he's dealing with drug abuse, mental health problems, or both before it's too late.

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Rumored Ryan Garcia in Millions of Debt from Poker - HighstakesDB

It comes as no surprise that famed "Food Network" star Ree Drummond can summon her family around the table. Only this time, it's not for her famous food.

"The Pioneer Woman" herself shared cute pictures from a family reunion this past weekend with three of her four grown children. She and her husband are also foster parents to Jamar, 21, who joined their household in 2018.

"Poker yesterday, church today," she wrote alongside a series of photos taken beneath a steeple. "Ill take em however I can get em!" she joked.

REE DRUMMOND DESCRIBES 'ROCK BOTTOM' MOMENT THAT KICKSTARTED WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY

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Drummond and her husband Ladd, who live in rural Oklahoma, welcomed Paige, Bryce and Todd, along with Paige's boyfriend, back home on Sunday.

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Paige lives in Dallas, along with her older sister Alex, while Bryce and Todd play football at Oklahoma State University and the University of South Dakota, respectively.

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Last fall, Drummond posted about the woes of being an empty-nester when she briefly got to visit her son Todd in college.

"In this photo from last Saturday, I am displaying the classic, goofy, dreamy, I-get-to-see-my-kid-for-two-whole-hours empty nest sad-but-happy mom smile. Let me know if you get it," she wrote on Instagram.

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In recent years, as her children have gotten older, Drummond has been focused on bettering herself, losing an impressive 55 pounds.

"Roughly one year ago, I decided I wanted to lose weight," the 55-year-old wrote in a blog post in 2022. "I had zero idea how I was going to do this, I only knew that I needed to start."

"Today I feel stronger, more in balance (both physically and mentally), and I have more spring to my step. I am wearing clothes I wasn't comfortable wearing a year ago, I feel better about the way I look, and I'm smiling more (yes, even more than I smiled before, which was a lot--haha) and that is a nice feeling," she explained.

Original article source: 'Pioneer Woman' Ree Drummond credits church and poker for family reunion

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'Pioneer Woman' Ree Drummond credits church and poker for family reunion - Yahoo Entertainment

Three winners were crowned in the 2024 SunBet Poker Tour Time Square Main Event at the Time Square Casino in Pretoria, but only one of them walked away with the trophy. After a three-way deal, Sugen Singh posed for the winner shots and shared the biggest portion of the ZAR5,266,800 ($281,989) prize pool with SM and MAJ, both of which showcased their talents at the live-streamed final table.

The tournament drew 418 entries across four starting days to surpass the ZAR5,000,000 guarantee, and the trio atop walked away with juicy paydays from a ZAR15,000 (~$ $790) buy-in, which attracted many notables of the close-knit South African poker community.

Singh, whose first name means lion, is known as the man with the many rings and once more brought all the bling to the tables. When the deal was cut, he held the second-biggest stack and took home the trophy along with ZAR707,675 ($38,214). SM dominated the final day and collected ZAR1,000,000 ($54,000), whereas third-placed MAJ secured a payday of ZAR600,000 ($32,400).

Jarred Solomon was the final casualty of the tournament when he lost a flip to SM and the second in South Africa's all-time money list bowed out in fourth place. Rather surprisingly, the two biggest stacks heading into the final day, Keegan Pillay and Roy Bitton, missed the nine-handed final table.

*The final three players agreed to a deal; chip leader SM took the most money, and Sugen Singh received the winner's trophy

The final day brought back one dozen hopefuls, and it didn't take long for the fireworks to kick off. Bitton started the day second in chips but became the first casualty after a rotten run of cards. He lost jacks to the ace-queen of Gavin Sardini and queens versus Singh, who won the flop with ace-king suited. Sardini then finished the job he had started to reduce the field to eleven.

Edgar Antezana came into the final as the shortest stack and missed out on a pay jump before Pillay's cold run came to an end on the feature table as well. By then, SM was already the chip leader and he never surrendered the top spot anymore until the deal of the final three players was cut.

Sardini jammed the nut flush on a single-raised yet five-way flop only for SM to call with the top two pair out of the big blind, further cementing his lead by a wide margin. Gareth Kalil went from short stack to contender for the top spot only to fall from grace in quick succession and he was soon joined at the payout desk by Norman Cherry. David Ng, second on the all-time money list of Mauritius, bowed out soon after, and the field was down to five by the time the second break took place.

Only a couple of hands were played thereafter as Danny Dayani lost a flip to MAJ and Solomon suffered the same fate versus run-away chip leader SM. A few moments later, the final three players agreed on a deal and the final day concluded after a mere four hours.

The partnership between the Monster Jam Poker Tour (MJPT) and Sun International Group, one of the biggest gaming and hospitality companies in South Africa, has been very fruitful in the last two years since the debut of the SunBet Poker Tour here at the Time Square Casino in Pretoria.

Another five stops of the SunBet Poker Tour are already scheduled for 2024, with the next series taking place at the stunning five-star The Palace of the Lost City. Widely considered as one of the must-visit stops thanks to the beautiful location near the Pilanesberg National Park, the SunBet Poker Tour Sun City takes place from April 24 to May 5, 2024.

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Sugen Singh Takes The Trophy in the 2024 Sunbet Poker Tour Time Square Main Event - PokerNews.com

The super high roller joins WSOP Champion Chris Moneymaker and online legend Chris Moorman in ACR's lineup

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- TomDwan, the legendary high stakes poker player who holds the record for the biggest televised cash game pot ever won, has become a Team Pro for ACR Poker (formerly known as Americas Cardroom).

The cash game specialist, who is a regular at super high stakes events such as the Triton Poker Series and televised high stakes cash games such as Hustler Casino Live, will play online at ACR Poker under his well-known moniker 'Durrr'.

Dwan started playing poker with a relatively small bankroll almost 20 years ago and since then has been known for an aggressive, bold playing style that makes for high drama and reaps big rewards. In 2009, he won the then biggest televised cash game pot vs Phil Ivey in Full Tilt Poker's Million Dollar Cash game for $1.1 million. In May 2023, he broke his own record by winning a $3.1 million pot against Wesley Fei in Hustler Casino Live's Million Dollar Game.

"I'm really excited to be joining the ACR team," said Dwan. "CEO Phil Nagy and I share a similar view on online poker and I'm excited to see where this relationship can take us and grow the game for players."

One thing that fans can look forward to is Durrr's Game, a regularly streamed High Stakes game that will feature Dwan and a number of other high-profile players. Hitting the ACR Poker client in the near future, this will entertain fans with exciting poker that echoes the high stakes cash games of the past while experimenting with some new formats and features.

Dwan joins other ACR Pros like 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker, Chris Moorman, and Jose 'Nacho' Barbero representing the 23-year-old online poker site.

An ACR Poker representative said of Dwan, "We're really excited to bring Tom Dwan aboard. His bold, daring approach to poker is a great fit with ACR Poker's mentality and we're excited that he'll be working with us to bring big poker to more people, both in the U.S. and around the world."

For more information, please contact: [emailprotected] or visit acrpoker.eu.

About ACR PokerFormerly known as Americas Cardroom, ACR Poker joined the Winning Poker Network in 2001. The Winning Poker Network has been dealing cards since 2001 and continues to be one of the most trusted names in the industry. Rated first place for payment processing and cashout reliability repeatedly over the last few years, ACR Poker offers outstanding customer service and a friendly environment for all poker players around the world.

Media Contact: Adam Neal +447845582487

SOURCE ACR Poker

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High Stakes Legend Tom Dwan Signs with ACR Poker As ACR Pro - PR Newswire

The site? Unregulated. The agreed sum? Unknown. The player? Tom "durrrr" Dwan.

The 37-year-old has $6.5 million in live earnings and was spotted patched up by the unregulated poker site while playing at the Triton Super High Roller Series in Jeju, South Korea.

I happen to be really optimistic on the next few years of poker, Dwan said in an announcement video. Youve got to be trying some new stuff and doing interesting stuff. I think a lot of the poker world is missing that.

This isn't Dwan's first poker sponsorship, having previously been a Full Tilt Red Pro from 2009-13 and served as a Triton Poker Ambassador.

PokerNews strongly advises its readers not to play on unregulated online poker sites.

The news of Dwans sponsorship comes weeks after Canadian poker player Peter Jetten cautioned against doing business with Dwan, saying hed delayed payment for four years.

And only this week professional gambler and soccer club owner Haralabos Voulgaris also took to social media to discuss a sports betting debt that Dwan incurred in 2012.

"He was always civil when I was giving him more time but when I put my foot down he changed tactics completely"

The agreement was that Dwan would place bets for Voulgaris, due to his reputation as a professional gambler, a process known as bearding. In exchange, Dwan received 25% of the profits. According to Voulgaris, the pair won high 7 figures.

However, Dwan simultaneously lost money with another bearding group and didnt have the money to pay Voulgaris his winnings.

Tom does not dispute the debt, Voulgaris said, before adding that he'd recouped some of his debts through a third party who also owed Dwan. "Without his help I'd likely still be owed mid 7 figs from Tom"

Dwan is at least in some way aware of the money owed, with Jetten (pictured) receiving $30,000 towards the debt after his tweet. However, discussions on the remaining balance being paid at the Triton Poker Tour stop in Jeju broke down.

This is after four years of saying hed pay full amount soon, Jetten tweeted. He was always civil when I was giving him more time but when I put my foot down he changed tactics completely. Ive never dealt with someone this unethical.

Dwan gained fame during the late 2000s, particularly for his aggressive playing style. Known for his high-stakes cash game exploits, he became a favourite of poker fans through his appearances on poker TV shows such as High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark.

Additionally, Dwan was involved in various online poker challenges and prop bets, such as the durrrr Challenge, his now infamous heads-up duels with Dan Jungleman Cates.

As of 2024, the Challenge remains incomplete, with Dwan having paid between $700,000 and $800,000 in penalties for not playing. Dwan is currently down $1,251,059 after 19,335 of the 50,000 hands.

In recent years, however, Dwan has made a return to the live felt and has been a regular on the Triton Super High Roller Series, cashing nine times during 2022 and 2023 in Madrid, Cyprus and Monte Carlo.

Last year Dwan even made it to Day 3 of the WSOP Main Event only to bust short of the money. Dwans last WSOP cash came back in 2011, the year after he almost bankrupt the entire poker community thanks to one of the most famous bracelet bets of all time.

Hes also appeared on numerous cash game live streams including Hustler Casino Live where, in May 2023, he won the largest pot in live-stream poker history for $3,081,000 against Wesley Fei.

Be sure to check out this video from 2022 that takes a look at the story of Dwan's poker history. From dropping out of university, transitioning to online poker and dominating the heads-up poker scene.

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

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Amidst Accusations, Tom Dwan Named Ambassador of Unregulated Poker Site - PokerNews.com

Wisconsin's Potawatomi Casino Hotel has announced the return of poker to Milwaukee with news that its latest renovation will feature a two-story sportsbook and a brand-new poker room that will open on Friday, May 3.

The return of poker to the Cream City is the final stage of a $190 million renovation at the casino, which opened in 1991.

The 14-table room will be situated where the Northern Lights Theater was located and it will feature $1/$3 and $2/$5 No-Limit as well as Pot-Limit Omaha. Also returning are popular promotions like the Hourly High Hand Jackpots and the Bad Beat Jackpot.

It shares space with Potowatamis new sportsbook, two stories of seating for 200 people in 6,500 square feet of space that includes a 2,000 sq. ft. LED screen and over 20 TVs.

We are excited to bring the next level of entertaining sports betting to our guests, Dominic Ortiz, CEO of Potawatomi Casino Hotel said in a statement. We appreciate the patience our guests have given us while we build out these two extraordinary projects. I can assure them, it will be well worth the wait.

The latest renovation is the third major poker room improvement in the casino's rich history. The original 10-table room opened in the spring of 2004 on the other end of the bingo hall, and it enjoyed a popular run in the wake of the Moneymaker Boom.

When Potawatomi completed its $240 million expansion in 2008, the poker room moved into a larger space and played host to events on the Mid-Stakes Poker Tour and the WSOP Circuit. The 20-table room closed in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and it did not reopen when restrictions were lifted.

The new sportsbook and poker room will round out a sprawling property that now offers two hotel towers, restaurants, entertainment, and plenty of meeting space for any traveling poker tour. Potawatomi Casino Hotel will no doubt find itself back on the poker calendar very soon.

Click here to learn more about poker in Wisconsin.

*Images courtesy of Potawatomi Casino.

Las Vegas-based PokerNews Live Reporting Executive, originally from Chicago, IL

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Poker Returns to Potawatomi in Milwaukee on May 3 With Brand-New Room - PokerNews.com

It's a new era for PokerStars players in India!

From this week, players can take advantage of new software, greater liquidity and a larger player base after moving to the newly developed Poker Platform, tailored by Flutter to the Indian gaming community.

The move to the platform, created by PokerStars' parent company Flutter, is currently used by its Indian brand Junglee and will see the player pools combine in a localisation effort aiming to cater to the specific preferences and needs of Indian players.

The switch won't be too dramatic for players in India, with the new software maintaining the PokerStars brand and feel. But the company says not only will this lead to an enhanced user experience overall, but access to the Junglee player base which is greater than the existing PokerStars India player pool will bring additional benefits.

As part of the transition, PokerStars and Junglee Games plan to introduce new formats and game types in the coming months, offering players an even broader range of gaming options and experiences on the combined Flutter India Poker platform.

Certain formats such as Spin and Go will not be available from the outset but are currently in development to be deployed over the coming months.

As PokerStars and Junglee Games embark on this transformative journey, players can expect a seamless transition to the new platform, with ongoing enhancements and updates aimed at elevating the gaming experience to new heights whilst keeping the ethos of PokerStars at the core.

Junglee Games is an Indian gaming company that develops and publishes casual and social games, as well as real-money gaming offerings. Based in San Francisco, California, the company was founded in 2012 and acquired by Flutter Entertainment in 2021.

The company is one of the leading gaming companies in India, with its flagship product Junglee Rummy one of the largest rummy brands in the world, and Howzat helping revolutionize fantasy sports in India.

Junglee Poker was launched in August 2023, having previously been known as Poker India.

Both PokerStars and India have a rich history together, with the site first launching as PokerStars.IN. This news came three years after the first Indian PokerStars Team Pro in the shape of Aditya Agarwal, with Muskan Sethi (pictured) joining the site in 2018, calling it a "dream come true."

She told PokerNews the following year that old stereotypes when it comes to poker and gambling are changing in her home country.

"People are respecting the game," she said in an interview. "In India, people are getting into it because they're making their parents understand. The same people who gambled during the festivals are taking poker seriously and they're getting into this because they realize this is like every other profession."

In recent months, India has a new poker superstar in the shape of Santhosh Suvarna who was nominated for GPI Breakout Player of the Year, and is now less than $1m away from Vivek Rajkumar at the top of the India all-time money list after his 25,000 High Roller win at EPT Paris.

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

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PokerStars Players in India Moved to Junglee Poker Platform - PokerNews.com

Triton Poker is once again capturing the attention of the poker fandom with its 2024 Jeju Super High Roller Series, which has seen its first two events wrap up on the iconic black and gold felt.

Fedor Holz had the honour of being in the first winner's picture of the festival. Then one of Holz' close friends, Roland Rokita, survived a topsy-turvey heads-up encounter against Sirzat Hissou to bag his maiden Triton title.

There have already been plenty of memorable hands, with aces and kings being cracked in crucial heads-up spots. And it also goes without saying that a plethora of poker's biggest names like Phil Ivey and Jason Koon have also made the trip to South Korea.

The Jeju series kicked off with a record-breaking field of 269 entries in Event #1: $15,000 NLH 8-Handed, which saw the top 47 players earn a slice of the $4,035,000 prize pool. Quan Zhou was the bubble boy after his pocket sixes were bested by the king-jack held by Jesse Lonis.

Runner-up Seth Gottlieb reduced the tournament to nine players, when his big slick remained best against Ike Haxton's ace-jack and entered the final table as the chip leader.

After Gottlieb despatched Dimitar Danchev in third place, the American entered heads-up with a stack of 55 big blinds, ahead of Holz' 35 BBs.

Gottlieb was one river card away from securing the $786,000 up top but saw his slow-played aces cracked after Holz rivered trip fives when the chips went in on the turn. On the J547 board, Holz check-called off his stack with 85 and was rewarded with the 5 on the river to stay in contention.

That's when momentum swang in the German's favor, who picked up another double up to take the lead and reduced Gottlieb to ten big blinds. The final hand saw Holz set a trap of his own with pocket jacks, in which he limp-called from the small blind after Gottlieb requested the all-in triangle. This time, there was no drama on the runout, and Holz picked up his fourth Triton title.

Click here for a full list of payouts.

Jason Koon Wraps Monte Carlo Series with 10th Triton Poker Title

The next event on the schedule, Event #2: $20,000 NLH 8-Handed, was again well-attended, with 225 entries recorded. This time around, 39 players made the money and were looking for the lion's share of the $4,500,000 collected.

Tony Truong was the last player to leave empty-handed and was eliminated by eventual winner Rokita. The latter made bottom two pair on the KQ6 flop while Truong had AQ. Rokita moved in on the 9 turn and saw Truong commit the rest of his stack. The case queen appeared on the river to fill Rokita up which marked the day's end.

When play resumed the following day, 24 players were in contention for the race to the final table. After four hours of action, the final table was determined. Nine became six in the blink of an eye. Rokita KO'd Yu Xiangyu and Tobias Schwecht in the same hand and then on the following deal, Damir Zhugralin jammed for 12 big blinds with ace-ten. Mikita Badziakouski woke up with pocket tens in the big blind and held out against the Kazakh.

Leon Sturm, Aleksandr Zubov, Badziakouski and Kiat Lee were the next to bow out leaving Triton Poker final table debutants Rokita and Hissou to duke it out.

Rokita held a 2:1 chip lead but saw his kings outflopped by ace-seven in the first all-in preflop confrontation of heads-up play. Hissou catapulted up to 57 BBs, while Rokita was left with 18.

The victory was snatched away from Hissou shortly after as Rokita's ace-three went on to make a wheel to beat the former's pocket sevens. The final hand came down to a battle between two pocket pairs. The now short-stacked Hissou made a move with deuces and was called by Rokita and his pair of nines. For the first time in heads-up, the best hand stayed out in front and Rokita, a former student of Holz, was adorned with the trophy and $904,000 winner's prize.

Click here for a full list of payouts.

Photo credit: Triton Poker/Joe Giron

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum's proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.

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Triton Poker: Holz Cracks Aces for Fourth Title; Rokita Comes Out on Top in Rollercoaster Heads-Up - PokerNews.com

It's not easy being a non-Balatro player amidst a horde of committed fans. People say things like, "A joker duplicating the joker that gives you x4 for playing the same hand, and one that did x4 for four of a kind," or, "If you wanna scale that kind of build you basically then need red seals on all your face cards so it all repeats again," and all you can do is sit there quietly wondering what the hell is going on. It's a lonely feeling sometimes.

For the record, yes, I am talking about myself versus the rest of the PC Gamer team, which is deeply enamored with Balatro, the poker-themed roguelike deckbuilder that encourages cheating at a level that would get your fingers broken at any respectable casino. And they are not alone: Publisher PlayStack announced yesterday that more than 500,000 copies of the game have been sold across all platforms in just 10 days.

That's an awfully big number for such a small game: Balatro was made by a solo developer who goes by the name LocalThunk, who doesn't even play poker at all. Technically, it's not even really a poker-based game: LocalThunk recently told us that Balatro is actually based on a game called Big Two, which uses poker hands but is played very differently.

Making the accomplishment even more remarkable, Balatro was pulled from digital storefronts in some countries after its PEGI rating jumped from 3 to 18+ because of the presence of "gambling imagery." I would imagine that didn't have a huge impact on the total sales numberBalatro sold 250,000 copies just a few days after release, after allbut every little bit helps, or hinders as the case may be.

500,000 sales isn't the only big milestone Balatro has achieved recentlyon his own Twitter account, LocalThunk said players have already poured a collective 1,114 years into the game. People sure do like their Balatro.

Balatro, for the record, is available with an 18 age rating on the Xbox and PlayStation stores in the UK and Europe, but remains delisted on the Nintendo eShop outside of North America. (It's still rated E10+ by the ESRB in North America.) Playstack said earlier this week that it's working the problem.

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Poker roguelike sensation Balatro sells more than 500000 copies in just 10 days - PC Gamer

A remarkable double victory as 'Lucky Mo' wins the European Deepstack Championship Main Event for two years in a row.

We have another impressive back-to-back victory that needs highlighting.

For the second year in a row, Tomas Geleziunas has taken down the European Deepstack Championship Main Event at the GGPoker Dublin Poker Festival.

In 2023 the event attracted 560 players and Geleziuanas won it for 53,610. Last weekend the tournament attracted 467 players and the same man took it down for 43,993.

This is a particularly impressive double victory because of the field size and the fact that, as the name suggests, the tournament has a particularly slow, deep, structure.

Geleziunas is a Lithuian online grinder who is a popular part of the Irish poker community, known as 'Lucky Mo' in the Emerald Isle.

What is your best back-to-back victory? Let us know in the comments:

Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2, Poker Satellite Strategy, PKO Poker Strategy, Endgame Poker Strategy, GTO Poker Simplified, Mystery Bounty Poker Strategy and Beyond GTO.

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News: Tomas Geleziunas goes back-to-back in the Dublin Poker Festival - pokerstrategy.com