Category Archives: Poker

Posted on: November 9, 2021, 04:25h.

Last updated on: November 9, 2021, 04:48h.

Following the pandemic-driven virtual tournaments and hybrid Main Event of last year, the World Series of Poker is now in full swing at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Well, its trying.

The Series is adjusting to life in a mid-pandemic world. Thats no easy feat for an event that involves packing thousands of people together in one, albeit very large, room to pass cards and chips back and forth.

Disturbingly, after touching those chips, some of these players also touch their mouths or their noses. They cant help it. Its involuntary. Its called a tell.

Its little surprise, then, that some of this nervousness should spill out into the Twittersphere, where three-time bracelet winner Justin Bonomo has accused a fellow high-stakes pro of breaching health and safety rules.

Bonomo did not name the player he claimed had exhibited COVID-19 symptoms while playing at the same table as him for two days. But he was motivated to complain after learning the same player tested positive for COVID immediately after the tournament.

Players negotiating the new WSOP landscape are understandably a little jumpy, especially about the guy in seat 3 who is wheezing and sneezing. Proof of vaccination is a requirement for participants this year. But masks are not, at least while players are seated, although face coverings do have obvious advantages at the poker table.

Back in the Twittersphere, poker fans didnt have to wait long to find out who Bonomo was talking about. Thats because the accused player, Chris Big Huni Hunichen, outed himself.

Justin is talking about me here! chirped Hunichen. First, this is very dramatic and overblown. I didnt know I had Covid until after the 50k [event]. After playing, I hung out with 7-8 of my best friends, as well as my wife and cousin. I smoked hookah, blunts, joints, etc, with everyone.

Every single of one of my friends/wife/kids/cousin tested negative the next couple of days. I bought 40 rapid tests, and everyone tested constantly. If just one of them had tested positive, then I understand the point here. But if all of them are negative, there is no way anybody from the 50k was infected by me.

I also was very f****d up from COVID and was focused on staying alive and out of the hospital. In hindsight, I probably shouldve said something, he added.

Hunichen caused immediate controversy in April 2020. He offered to bet his Twitter followers that more than 100,000 people would die from COVID-19 in the US by the following September.

He comfortably won the $10,000 bet he said he hoped he would lose. Hunichen told The LA Times at the time he was asthmatic, with a weak respiratory system, and was particularly vulnerable to the disease. It probably also means he should be careful about hookah, blunts, joints, etc.

Hunichen said he just wanted to raise awareness about COVID-19 among people he felt were not taking it seriously enough.

The US reached 100,000 deaths in late May 2020. To date, there have been more than 777,000.

Thankfully, Hunichen has recovered from his nasty bout of COVID-19 and did not become a statistic in his own twisted bet.

Read more here:

Poker Player Accused of Hiding COVID-19 from Opponents in WSOP... - Casino.Org News

Oakland News Now

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Earlier in the series Gershon Distenfeld won Event #48: $1500 Shootout No-Limit Holdem, for $204063 and his first World Series of Poker bracelet. As he did

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WSOP 2021 | Philanthropist Inspires At World Series Of Poker | Interview - Oakland News Now

With about 200,000 in the pot and a board of , Chris Moneymaker bet 115,000 in the small blind and Robert Kuhn was in middle position contemplating his decision. He eventually called.

The completed the board and Moneymaker slid out a stack of green chips, enough to put Kuhn all-in for his remaining stack of roughly 180,000. Kuhn tanked for several minutes and faced the additional pressure of multiple television cameras waiting on his action. He appeared to even shake his head and chuckle at times. Ultimately, he put in the chips.

"Two pair," Moneymaker said as he turned over . Kuhn could only show and took his exit from the table.

"I wanted to slow roll the sh-- out of him but I can't do that in the main event," Moneymaker said after mentioning they joked earlier about slow rolling each other. Moneymaker also remarked that they have a lot of history playing together that could've influenced Kuhn's decision.

At the end of it, Kuhn was sent to the rail, and the 2003 Main Event champion now sits as one of the top players on the leaderboard with a comfy stack of over one million.

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Moneymaker Busts Kuhn and Breaks a Million | 2021 World Series of Poker - PokerNews.com

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Ahmed Mohamed Eliminated in 10th Place ($25,708) | 2021 World Series of Poker - PokerNews.com

What you're about to see is about as brutal of a fold as you'll ever see in a World Series of Poker tournament.

But what you'll also see is the player who folded own up to it and explain it, and honestly, it's a good explanation.

Let's start with the hand: It was the 2021 Poker Players Championship during Limit Hold 'Em. With three players left, Ryan Leng had an Ace-5 offsuit and Dan Cates - known as "Jungleman" - had a King of Diamonds and Queen of Clubs.

Leng raised and Cates called. The flop was Ace, 7 and Jack. Leng had top pair and checked. Cates - with a shot at a straight - bet $300,000 and Leng called.

The turn? A 9. Leng checked again and Cates checked as well.

The river was a King. Oh boy. Cates might not have thought Leng had an Ace and now he has a pair of Kings.

This is where things get interesting. Leng bets $600,000 … and Cates goes all in for $900,000.

Leng has over $10 million in chips. It's only $300,000 more to call the bet with top pair, and even if he thinks Cates has a straight, it's worth seeing if that's the case.

But no,he folds. And Cates, who would have been out, goes on to win the bracelet.

Leng then took to Twitter with a lengthy explanation for the fold, and you can completely get it:

Was it a bad fold? Yeah. But for him to open up and talk about being drained after long hours during the World Series and how he'll recover from all that should be applauded.

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Ryan Leng owns up to an absolutely brutal fold in World Series of Poker - USA TODAY

In my investigative experience,more sexual assaults are committed by people who the victim knows and trusts. Dan Schorr

As theYonkersInspector General and aWestchesterAssistant District Attorney,Dan Schorrled numerous high-profile, complex, and fascinating investigations andprosecutions.Hisexperiencestackling various types of criminal activity, sexualmisconduct, and other wrongdoinginspired him to write his debut novel,Final Table, which was published bySparkPresson Oct.5.

Schorrsays that his time as a Westchester sex crimes prosecutor, as well as his workinvestigating sexual misconduct allegations withhis own firm, Dan Schorr, LLC,revealedthat the real world of sexual assault allegations is often very different from accounts depicted in movies and novels.

***

Fictional sexual assaultsaregenerallycommitted by strangers in dangerous places or by groups of assailants, which is consistent with the stranger danger attitude that is widespread regarding potential assaults, Schorr says.But,in my investigative experience,more sexual assaultsare committed by people who the victim knows and trusts, and many involve victims who have engaged in some consensual sexual contact withthe offenderprior to the nonconsensual activity. I thought it was importantin this bookto depict such a scenario with all of its nuances and complications.

Final Tablehas garneredexcellent reviews and praise, including from Westchester residentSunny Hostin, the Emmy-Winning Co-host ofThe Viewand best-selling author ofI Am These TruthsandSummer on the Bluffs. Hostin callsFinal Tablea compelling, timely, and fast-paced story of a sexual assault survivors fight to regain control ofher life in the face of fear, self-doubt, international intrigue, and looming retribution.

***

The novel is a political thrillerabout sexual misconduct in the #MeToo era, set in the worlds of international politics and high-stakes poker. It focusesheavily on the role that cable news andsocial media play in amplifying the accounts of survivors, whilealso harassing andintimidating individuals who end up in their crosshairs.

The story follows former White House staffer Maggie Raster, who is struggling to build her own consulting firm and overcome a recent sexual assault by an ex-boss.

The other principal character,Kyler Dawson,isa broke former poker championwhodesperately needs togain entry intoa controversial buthighlylucrative international poker tournament. Thetournamentshost nation faces widespread condemnation for the recent murder of a prominent female U.S.journalist, and a pending presidential executive order threatens to prohibitDawsonand others fromentering the contest.

Maggies chaotic first attempt to promote her new business as a television political analyst brings her to Kylers attention, convincinghim that her political smarts and connections can provide the help he needs.By working with him, shehas a shot at scoringashareof the $20 millionpokerprizeif he wins.

***

To succeed, she will have to confront numerous challenges personal and political, foreign and domestic including mounting pressure to publicly address the misconduct of her former boss. Kyler also has his own obstacles andcheckeredpast to overcome, but if eachof themcanface downtheir daunting challenges, he might win the tournament and earn them both a fortune.

Setting an international political thriller in the worldof tournament pokermight seem like an unusual combination, but,Schorrsays,To me,theyrea perfect fit. Both involvehugedecisions that must be made under extreme stress with incomplete information.And the costs of mistakesin both politics and poker, in the novel and in the realworld,are oftendisastrous.

Schorr lives inWhite Plains with his wife and two children.

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Local Authors, Local Books: Probing Politics and Poker Is a Novel Idea for Ex-Prosecutor - River Journal Staff

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Some obituaries read like great novels. That is the case with Rosetta Reed, who died Oct. 21 at the age of 71, but not before accomplishing an array of notable personal milestones.

Rosi, as she was known, was a professional boxer. She won the womens World Flyweight Title at the Strongbow Stadium in 1980. She was also an attorney, an auto mechanic,a world-class poker player, a member of the Foothill High School athletic hall of fame and held a masters degree in religious education.

She met her husband Tony Reed when he hired her to deliver his weekly newspaper, the Rosedale Roadrunner.

She was probably a genius in many ways, Reed said of his wife. I think she was a genius. She was a warm-hearted person, she had a lot of character, she was very ethical. She could rebuild an engine, tear it apart, re-machine the engine and put it back together.

Rosi Reed is survived by her husband Tony, four children, 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 19 at Greenlawn Cemetery on River Boulevard.

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Boxing champion, lawyer, world-class poker player: Rosi Reed was all that and much more - KGET 17

Poker lovers in Pennsylvania have a cause for celebration today, just as they did on this date two years ago. The anxiously awaited launch of PokerStars PA on Nov. 4, 2019 effectively ended an 8.5-year drought of online poker in the Keystone State.

In April 2011, Black Friday halted the online poker gravy train in the U.S. States like Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware got legal internet poker back in 2013. That was not the case for the rest of the country, though most would not have predicted just how long the wait would be.

Online poker players in the Keystone State made do with live poker offerings, while others migrated next door to NJ for the online grind (or traveled there to play in particular series). Still others mostly just gave up the game they loved and enjoyed for so long before the bottom fell out.

With the debut of legal online poker in Pennsylvania, many players including PokerStars PA ambassadors Keith Becker and Mark Foresta, re-fell in love with the game. (Watch our special two-year anniversary interview with Becker and Foresta below.)

Just how has PokerStars managed to stay on top, and how do they plan to continue to do so? What challenges has PokerStars faced in the legal US online poker markets? We asked PokerStars Associate Director of Group Public Relations Rebecca McAdam Willettsand Tom Bostic, Poker Operations Manager of PokerStars US for their insights.

Rebecca McAdam Willetts: In single state liquidities, were not able to leverage scale and reach as we would elsewhere to offer the same variety and prize pools some of our community see in other parts of the world where there is shared liquidity.

We must think differently about what online poker looks like given the liquidity we have, which is our greatest challenge but also our greatest strength. It forces us to be agile, creative, and not afraid of taking risks. Fortunately, we have a long and rich history, a company filled with decades of industry experience and an engaged community who speak with us and inspire us to improve and create. Everywhere we operate benefits from that.

We want to create the best poker experience, and reward and entertain like no other poker site. We also want to ensure were appealing to those who show up day after day and seek a seamless, rewarding and high-quality experience, while speaking to those who may consider poker so we can continue to grow the game we all love for the benefit of all players.

Tom Bostic: Pennsylvania has a thriving poker community. It is the countrys second-largest gaming market with more than a dozen brick and mortar casinos, three online poker operators and active online communities as seen on Discord and Twitch. The appetite for poker remains strong beyond the launch of PokerStars PA, with the PA Championship of Online Poker (PACOOP) most recently generating over $2,000,000 in prize pools from 25,000 entries across 69 events.

We also have some incredible players, many of whom exhibit results and a level of skill that can go toe-to-toe with the best in the world. We knew that Pennsylvanian poker fans were eager for online poker to reach the state, but it has been amazing to see the excitement and engagement from those new to poker and regulars to the felt.

Pennsylvanian poker players are not to be underestimated!

Tom Bostic: Pennsylvania inherently has advantages over the other two US liquidities due to its population of 12.8 million compared to New Jersey (8.9 million) and Michigan (10 million). With a larger player base Cash Games, Sit-and Gos and Spin-and-Gos are able to run at greater frequencies and tournament prize pools are comparatively increased.

We are focused on addressing each US liquidity separately with tailored offerings for each, as reflected in the formats we offer, the stake level options and associated guarantees for individual and promotional events.

Tom Bostic: By investing in the growth of the market, by making continuous improvements to our offering, and through our dedication to our players and their feedback. PokerStars is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary and in the recently established US liquidities, were building on our foundations as online pokers most recognizable name with a player-focused approach that has been demonstrated throughout our history.

Tom Bostic: We are continuously hunting for opportunities to foster pokers overall growth and create superior experiences for our Pennsylvania players. Without getting into any specifics, in 2022 players can expect greater rewards, more variety in our offering as well as a few surprises down the road.

Online poker remains a relatively small portion of iGaming revenue in Pennsylvania, but its contribution to state and local taxes over time is significant. In its first year and 11 months, online poker sites in PA have claimed revenue of over $64 million, with over $10 million going to state and local entities (taxed at 16%).

PokerStars revenue in its first two years (minus October 2021) totals $60.4 million. After being the first to launch, PokerStars was the only legal site in PA for well over a year before BetMGM and Borgata joined in April 2021. WSOP.com followed in mid-July. At this point, PokerStars appears to be holding strong to its dominant market position.

In September 2021, PokerStars represented two-thirds of total PA online poker revenue. WSOP was second with 21% and the partypoker network accounts for the remaining 12%.

Tournament series with prize pools north of $2 million are becoming the norm. Even one-off tournaments like the popular Pennsyl-MANIA events regularly draw over 1,000 entries and prize pools over $300,000.

Unsurprisingly, the record events took place in the early weeks of pandemic shutdowns when the entire online poker (and casino) industry got a boost in traffic and revenue.

As Bostic and McAdam Willetts emphasized, the PA poker market should not be underestimated. A large population combined with a strong appetite for online poker and a rich tradition of live poker in the state and in surrounding areas like Atlantic City, make PA prime ground for a healthy market.

When PokerStars can take advantage of shared liquidity across states like PA, MI, NJ and others, its foothold in Pennsylvania will prove invaluable for the next phase of online poker growth in the U.S.

See more here:

Two Years Of Pennsylvania Online Poker: Interviews With Key Players - Play Pennsylvania

Poker is a veryexciting and highly emotional game. With all the massive pots, big bluffs, andtough river calls, its both fun to play and entertaining to watch. Withemotions running high at all times, you never know what to expect.

For the most part, players try to stay in control and keep in line with written and unwritten poker etiquette rules. However, every now and again, someone crosses that fine line.

In this article,well look at some of the most controversial hands that have taken place over theyears.

Some of them were caused by deliberate attempts at angle-shooting, while others came about due to a mistake or lack of attention.

Either way,these controversial hands are both educational and fun to watch. They dontjust teach us about dos and donts at the poker table, they also show why youshould never let your guard down.

Staying sharp,focused, and in the moment is your strongest weapon in a poker game.

Well start thislist of controversial poker hands with a hand from the 2009 Main Eventinvolving Estelle Denis and a beautiful pair of pocket aces.

Sitting onsomewhat of a short stack, Estelle must have been thrilled to peak down atpocket aces after JC Tran made a raise to 32,000. She promptly moved all-in,pushing her stack of chips to the middle, neglecting to protect her cards forjust a moment.

That moment was enough for the dealer to sweep her cards and put them into the muck.

It only took Denis a few seconds to realize what had just happened, but it was already too late. Her cards were already shuffled into the rest of the discard pile.

Since her handwasnt easily retrievable, the floor made the only decision he could. Estelleshand was declared dead, and she had to put 32,000 chips in the middle to matchJCs original raise.

This doesnt sound really fair, but the rules of poker are quite clear on this point since its the players responsibility to protect their cards at all times.

If the dealermucks ones hand by accident and cards cant be easily retrieved, thats theend of the discussion.

Of course, thedealer should have paid more attention and if he did this wouldnt have happened,but dealers are just human beings.

Mistakes anderrors will always happen, and the best way to minimize them is by players anddealers both doing their part.

An unpleasantand slightly controversial situation for sure, but also a good lesson as to whyyou should always protect your hand.

Poker rules arevery clear when it comes to verbal declarations.

If you announcea call or a raise, it stands. You cant change your mind a few seconds later.That only happens in movies that didnt have a good expert advisor.

Ivan Freitez isclearly well aware of this rule, and he tries to take advantage of it in one ofthe most controversial poker hands weve seen over the years.

Having filled upon the river and holding the virtual nuts, Freitez announces a raise overEugenes river bet. However, he only throws in the calling chips and then triesto explain he just wanted to call.

Obviously, Freitezknows that this wont fly and that hell be forced to make a raise.

Hes justpulling an angle shoot to confuse his opponent and squeeze some extra value onthe river. The floor is called to handle the situation, and he confirms Ivanhad done this before with very strong hands.

Despite allthis, Eugene ends up making a call since its just a min-raise, and he has apretty strong hand in absolute terms.

This hand hasreceived quite a lot of coverage over the years, and its been the topic ofmany discussions.

Its a clearexample of an angle shoot, especially since its not the first time Freitez hadtried to pull a stunt like this.

The tournamentdirector and other players at the table are clearly disgusted, but there isntmuch to do to actually punish the offending player.

While Ivansactions are clearly unethical, he didnt really do anything to break the rules.

He pretended tohave changed his mind, but he announced a raise and eventually put in the chipsto make the raise.

Id say the tournament director did the best he could to punish Freitez by telling Eugene that this was his trademark move and that he was likely holding the nuts.

When you playlive poker, its easy to get your chips mixed up and put out a bet larger orsmaller than youd intended. It happens all the time.

Usually, it isjust a laughing matter, but sometimes it can create a bit of controversy.

In this handfrom Shark Cage, Negreanu opens from the button, holding a very strong startinghand: ace-king. But, instead of making it the standard 2.5x or 3.x, KidPokermakes it 11x.

He immediatelystarts laughing, letting everyone know he made a misclick, and he didntwant to make his raise so big.

This is a veryinteresting situation.

The firstquestion is whether Negreanu really made a mistake, which is entirely possible.

The second, moreimportant one, is if he would actually let everyone know about it if he had arelatively weak hand, and the answer to that is probably no.

This creates atough spot for Silverman, who has a king-jack, a very solid hand against abutton raise.

If Daniel trulyhas all the hands hed open from the button in his range, then the decision iseasy: Move all in, pick up all the extra chips in the middle, and punish theCanadian for not paying attention.

Thats exactlythe route Silverman ends up taking, and hes not thrilled to see hes upagainst it when cards are turned on their backs.

Of all the handsin this list, this one is probably the least controversial.

Even if Danieldid what he did on purpose, there is nothing really wrong with it.

If youre goingto take a professionalpoker player at his word and base your decisions on that, you might beplaying the wrong game.

Even if yousomehow missed all other hands in this article, youve probably seen this one.

It involves two of the most colorful characters in all poker, Tony G and Phil Hellmuth and Gs actions are definitely a bit controversial.

The setup issimple.

Hellmuth isplaying a short stack in a cash game, and Tony is annoyed by it. He wants toget Phils chips to try and force him to rebuy or leave the game.

When he looksdown at AK in the double straddle facing an open from Phil, the opportunitypresents itself.

Tony effectivelymoves all in, and Hellmuth, sitting with AJ, faces a dilemma.

He knows he isup against a wild player who also has beef with him. But, to add to thecontroversy, Tony G declares he didnt look at his hand before moving all in.

After giving itsome thought, Phil decides to take Tonys word and make a call, as his AJ isway ahead of two random cards G is claiming to have. However, he soon gets thebad news accompanied by the needle from Tony.

Hellmuth seemsto be in shock that Tony G would lie about his hand, but Tony doesnt seem toagree. Of course I lied, he replies. Its poker, Phil!

Its not a nicemove to pull on someone, and you probably shouldnt do this at your local cardroom.

But, at the endof the day, we are getting back to the previous advice of never taking pokerplayers words at face value.

Id call thisone more of a level than an actual angle-shoot. The hand is only controversialif you think Tony G is someone whod never do something like this, but youcould only think this if youd never played against him or seen him play.

Remember how wementioned that verbal declarations are binding in poker? Sometimes, that canlead to awkward situations even when neither player is trying to shoot anangle.

Where words areinvolved, theres bound to be some miscommunication every now and again.

Hossein Ensanfound himself heads up for the EPT title against Gleb Tremzin. The situationdoesnt get much more intense than this.

Both players arezoned in and focused on trying to win. And then, this awkward hand happens:

The two get intoa bluffing war on the river.

Ensan makes thelast raise on the river, thinking hes bluffing. However, he has the best hand,and Tremzin is holding two napkins. He sees Ensan pushing chips forward and,thinking he got caught with his hand in a cookie jar, says, Goodcall.

The confusionensues as Ensan turns over his measly pair of fives, saying, you win,assuming Tremzin called his raise with a stronger hand. Then Tremzin tables hisnapkins and repeats, yes, good call.

The floor iscalled over to clear the air.

Tremzin saidgood call, but Ensan thought he just said call, and thinks he should putthe rest of the chips in the middle to match the raise. Gleb is adamant that hecouldnt have possibly called a raise with eight high.

As the floortries to figure out how to best go about this situation, Ensan puts a stop toit and declares he doesnt want any more chips. Its quite clear that there isno way Tremzin wanted to make a call with his hand and he doesnt want toangle-shoot his way to a victory.

Now, I dontknow if there is karma, but Hossein Ensan didnt just go on to win that event.He also triumphed in the 2019 Main Event, pocketing $10,000,000.

The man has anunorthodox play style for sure, but no one can call him an angle-shooter thatmuch is clear!

This hand thattook place between Dario Sanmartino and Nick Marchington with 11 players leftin the 2019 WSOP Main Event might be one of the more controversial ones wevehad an opportunity to see over the years.

The hand causeda lot of debate in the poker community on who was right, who was wrong, andwhat should have happened.

The basicbreakdown is this: Sanmartino opens the hand with pocket tens. Marchingtonmoves all-in on top of his raise with pocket queens. Dario asks for the count,the dealer announces 17 million, and Dario puts out the stack of chips,indicating a call.

However,immediately after, another player notices a mistake and says Marchington hasmore. As it turns out, the all-in is for 22.5 million, not 17.

Cards are stillhidden, and Dario isnt really complaining. He nods his head and doesnt say aword.

Then, hands aretabled, he sees hes up against pocket queens, and the chaos ensues.

Dario claims heshouldnt be forced to call a bet because he was given the wrong count.However, several floors come over and confirm that the call stands.

Finally, JackEffel, WSOP VP, is called to the table, and he makes the final ruling. The callstands, and the hand will play out.

Jack explainsthat its the players responsibility to make sure the count is correct and toverify the information before making a committing action.

He says its inthe WSOP rulebook, and there is really nothing to discuss.

However, whatgot some players really upset was his final comment. As he was walking away,Effel said: Youre calling 17 million; youre calling 22.

Many interpretedthis as if to say that the size of the bet didnt matter.

Of course, ifpoker is a skill game, the bet size matters a lot, and the difference of fivemillion at this stage is quite significant. This controversial hand started aseries of outraged tweets and videos discussing the subject.

In the end, despitelosing the hand, Sanmartino ended up going all the way to the heads up in thatMain Event. He finished runner up, as he lost the final skirmish to none otherHussein Ensan.

We cant makethe list of the most controversial poker hands without mentioning the one thattook place between Will Kassouf and Griffin Benger in the 2016 Main Event.

Leading up tothis point, Kassouf has done a pretty good job getting under other playersskin with his antiques and speech play.

That, combinedwith the high pressure of running deep in the biggest poker tournament on theplanet, contributed to the heated atmosphere and the not-so-friendly exchangebetween the two.

Wills behaviorat the tables is a bit questionable, but hes not breaking any rules. To tryand antagonize your opponent with words isnt the most ethical thing in theworld, but its not forbidden, either.

If there is one questionablething, its how long Kassouf takes to act, but it is a big decision, andplayers are within their rights to call the time to address this issue.

So, Bengersreaction seems somewhat excessive.

For me, the realquestion here has always been whether Griffin really meant what he said or ifhe wanted to turn the tables on Kassouf. If he could get Will to think hesannoyed, he might think that Benger is raising him lightly and come over thetop with a weaker hand.

Of course,Griffin doesnt know that Kassouf is sitting across the table with pocket kingsand that all chips will end up in the middle regardless.

The wordexchange that comes after the inevitable happens and the cards are tabled ispretty entertaining.

In the end, itwas pretty much the biggest cooler you can experience in Texas Holdem, so allthe drama surrounding it was unnecessary.

But at least itmade for good TV.

Regardless ofthe stakes and players, controversial hands have always happened in poker, andthats not about to change. Its a highly emotional game, after all, and thereis usually money involved.

Put these twothings together, combine it with rules that arent always perfectly clear, andits almost impossible to avoid controversy.

If you do play regularly,some of these situations can be valuable lessons for the future.

The best way to avoid controversy at the poker table is by staying alert and paying attention to everything thats going on around you.

Lead image: YouTube

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7 Of The Most Controversial Poker Hands In History - Casino.Org News

November 08, 2021Jon Sofen

"Greg Goes All In," as you probably know, makes funny short YouTube videos parodying poker players. PokerNews caught up with the sponsored GGPoker Ambassador to find out more about who he is beyond the felt, and if those parodies are actually his own poker habits in hiding.

Greg isn't alone in his poker vlogging ventures. The Toronto, Canada resident has a supportive girlfriend, Courtney Binnie (both pictured above), who not only assists in the production of the videos, but plays a key role on-camera.

"It is a collaboration," Courtney told PokerNews.

"She's a liar, she's the boss," Greg jokingly interrupted.

"The scripts, he comes up with everything," Courtney responded. "I am just in awe of his creativity. I studied in theater, behind the scenes kind of stuff, so that's where I come in and help."

Like many others, Greg took up poker during the pandemic. He sought a career change and began the YouTube vlogging gig in December 2020.

"Before this, I was an actor, I graduated from theater school in 2019," the vlogger said. "I did little bit of Netflix, did a little bit of commercials, a lot of regional theater. So, I never thought I'd end up here."

When asked how long he'll continue vlogging, he joked, "it's at least three years because that's how long my (GGPoker) contract is."

In all seriousness, he takes his sponsorship deal with GGPoker quite seriously, and he's committed to growing the YouTube channel. As of now, he has just over 21,000 subscribers, a number he'd like to see increase significantly over time. As for his poker playing goals, well, they aren't quite so lofty.

"I just want to be a break-even player," he joked. "I am trying. I think the Greg Goes All In persona is very much a donkey, and that's not too far off from where I am."

Greg plays low-stakes games, mostly $1/$3 and $1/$2. Due to his vlog becoming a serious gig, he's working on improving his game so that he can morph into more than just a break-even player. But he isn't very experienced at poker and began playing less than two years ago.

The vlogger admits his goofy on-camera persona isn't far off from the real Greg. He says there are some parallels between the two, but he isn't a complete donkey. Greg is quick to give credit to his girlfriend for helping him with the vlogs, and also praising her poker game.

"Courtney is on the Hendon Mob," he proudly proclaims. "She binked her Flip & Go. Out of 250 people that made it into the cash, she placed 50th. She was the number one Canadian. The number two Canadian was an Egyptian. The number three Canadian was Daniel freaking Negreanu."

Binnie finished in 50th place for $3,755 in Event #20: $1,000 FLIP & GO No-Limit Hold'em. Negreanu, who has $43,985,218 more in live tournament earnings than Binnie, busted in 124th place for $2,155.

For more on what Greg and Courtney do, check out one of their latest videos. You can also follow him on Twitter at @GREGGOESALLIN.

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Who is GGPoker Ambassador and YouTube Vlogger 'Greg Goes All In?' - PokerNews.com