Category Archives: Poker

ST JOHNS, Antigua--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intertops Poker is renowned for offering the biggest player bonuses and this weekend is no different with not one, not two but three promotions available.

The first is a reload deposit match bonus of 100% up to $200. To unlock the bonus, players must make a minimum deposit of $25 and their bonus cash is awarded in $5 increments.

The bonus is available today, Saturday and Sunday!

The deposit bonus cash can be used to top up your poker playing balance, or you might want to play a few spins on some of our 300+ slot games. Its up to you how you spend your bonus money.

If that wasnt enough, Intertops Poker is also offering a selection of no deposit bonuses this weekend when you cash in your Gold Chip loyalty points.

Gold Chips can be exchanged for the following no deposit bonus cash amounts:

20 Gold Chips = $5100 Gold Chips = $25400 Gold Chips = $100

The easiest way to unlock your no deposit bonus is to simply email customer support (poker@intertops.eu) with the subject heading Gold Chips $x Bonus.

Swap out the X for your desired bonus amount and our team of customer support agents will credit the bonus to your account without delay.

But thats not all; this weekend you can also enjoy a number of free spins and some truly great slot games when you make a deposit. The more you deposit, the more free spins you will receive.

You can see the full breakdown below:

Deposit $25 and receive 30 free spins on Catch and Release (Code: CHUMMN25)Deposit $50 and receive 60 free spins on Sands of Egypt (Code: SAND50)Deposit $75 and receive 80 free spins on Savanna Safari (Code: WILD80)Deposit $100 and receive 100 free spins on Lucky Clovers (Code: LUCKY100)

John Murphy, Intertops Poker Manager, said: As you can see, we have gone bonus mad this weekend so head over to Intertops Poker and take advantage of these incredible offers.

ENDS

Editors notes:

About Intertops Poker:Intertops Poker is one of the most established online poker operators, and has been live for more than two decades. Its poker games and tables can be accessed via Instant Play, or by downloading its desktop client. The site has just undergone a major redesign, and is fully optimised for mobile.

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Love Bonuses? Head to Intertops Poker - Business Wire

15:1507 Mar

Love and hate are among the strongest emotions and the poker world evokes its fair share of them both. Today its the latter were going to focus on, with a top 5 countdown of pokers most hated personalities..

Of course hate is a strong word - perhaps youll agree with the list but want to replace hate with dislike or annoying, or even intensely annoying - which brings us to our first player in the list

Many of you will instantly recognize these words, and if you dont, the video is below and well worth a watch.

The English motormouth is about as jarring a player as you could hope to meet at the tables Kassouf aiming a never-ending stream of verbals at everyone and no-one.

Its not unusual that someone likes the sound of his own voice, but Kassoufs Nine high like a boss! antics have often crossed the line between banter and bullying, with his 2016 WSOP deep run and exit going viral.

Having already been pulled up several times for his notorious speechplay, the showdown with Griffin Benger was the final straw. The infamous Check your privilege! hand saw Kassouf exit in a kings vs aces blow-up that has gone down in poker history.

You cant keep everyone happy all of the time, and Negreanu, as well as our next A-lister poker legend, Phil Hellmuth, its a polarising personality that bags them spots on this list.

Both men evoke loveem or loatheem tags to go with their holdem prowess, but the reasons differ, of course, with DNegs politics being the main reason for his haters to go ape. A firm anti-Trumper, Negreanu even took out US citizenship in 2016 to vote against the now-former President.

For a number of poker players, it was DNegs PokerStars ambassadorship role that riled them, the infamous more rake is better row with Doug Polk, and before that his wavering stance on the SuperNova Elite issue.

For many, of course, Daniel is still their favourite poker player of all time, which can also be said for our next pro on the hate list

As with Daniel, so with Phil, the Poker Brat bringing his own special brand to the table one that is equal parts ego, self-belief, annoyance, and skill.

You dont get a nickname like Poker Brat without good reason, and his Honey, did you see what he called me with? line of disbelief has often descended into anger and insults.

In his ego-filled fashion, he claimed his book, Positivity, would help maybe tens of millions of people, and as the run-up to his highstakes feud match with Negreanu have shown, Phil can never quite believe it when others dismiss or overlook his record.

Deciding on the top two was a bit of a coin-toss, as both (or all) for various reasons give excellent reasons for their detractors to boo them out of town.

So, Annie Duke, the sister of Howard 'The Professor' Lederer who we shall meet shortly, and one of the main players (co-founder and Commissioner) behind the failed Epic Poker League. Duke got paid while the players got short-changed on a $1million freeroll.

Allegedly nicknamed Annie Puke by Vegas dealers, and described as a fucking cunt by Daniel Negreanu, she was also a spokesperson for Ultimate Bet, which had erupted in scandal in 2008, although Duke walked away unscathed.

What seems to anger the poker community more than even these incidents, however, is her re-invention as a public speaker, with Duke called upon as some kind of poker expert by the mainstream media, completely failing to acknowledge her dodgy and dubious past.

Taking top spot has to be the trio of worthies behind the Full Tilt Poker scandal, Chris Jesus Ferguson, Howard 'The Professor Lederer and CEO of the online poker, Ray Bitar.

Who exactly did what, and who was responsible for what when the site went belly up to the tune of $440million has never been fully clarified, but we do know that the players were the victims.

Once the most successful poker site of all, when Black Friday hit in April of 2011, however, the glory days turned to dust Full Tilt Pokers bosses suddenly unable to meet player withdrawals.

It transpired that player funds had not been kept separate, effectively being used to fund the lavish bonuses and lifestyles that the trio had become used to.

The failure to reveal what really happened, and apologise for their parts in it, have seen Ferguson and Lederer held as pariahs by the community.

Business specialist Tom BizDoc Ellsworth, put it quite succinctly:

Well, there you have it, the top 5 rundown of pokers least loved legends. Did we miss someone? Disagree with our list? Let us know in the comments

See the rest here:

The Top 5 Most Hated Poker Personalities - PokerTube

Viktor Hovland has been on a great run of golf lately. Or, to put it in terms of another one of the young PGA Tour star's activities, he's been on a real "heater."

It certainly didn't stop on Thursday for the current Golf Digest cover boy with an opening 69 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. And following his first round at Bay Hill, Hovland discussed how playing pokeryes, pokerwith his new swing coach, Jeff Smith, has helped his play on the course.

"Yeah, he's helped me a lot," said Hovland, who entered this week with three consecutive top-five finishes on the PGA Tour. "I'm happy we're, we have been together and we're a very good fit, we kind of think a lot of the same way. We play a lot of poker together and we like to talk poker, there's a lot of take from poker and talk about with golf as well, because a lot of it is math and kind of stats. And I like a guy that's versatile, that can still talk about swing mechanics, but also talk about course management and stats and all that stuff. So it's been great so far."

These young kids and their newfangled stats, huh?

No, but seriously, it makes sense. Playing poker is all about playing percentages and it's becoming the same way in golf during the Strokes Gained Era. Just look at how tour pros attack Riviera's famed par-4 10th hole now.

Hovland said he's been working with the Vegas-based (of course) Smith since before last FedEx Cup Playoffs. Of course, they do a lot more than play poker, but since then, Hovland has added a second PGA Tour title and climbed from No. 31 in the Official World Golf Ranking to No. 13.

No word on how much he's upor downat the card table, though.

Visit link:

How Viktor Hovland says his golf game has been helped by. . . playing poker? - Golf Digest

Peter Svidler and Patrick Leonard will team up to play chess and poker against a rival team consisting of Alexander Grischuk and Isaac Haxton. Patrick and Isaac are as famous in the poker world as Peter and Sasha are in the chess world! We're also launching a Freeroll Series that you can play, each Sunday of March and April, on partypoker.

On Wednesday, March 10 at 8 pm CET, Peter Svidler will give a streamed chess lesson to his partner Patrick Leonard and will receive a poker lesson in exchange.

8-time Russian Chess Champion Peter Svidler started to play poker in 2010 and used to play a lot, but has done so less in the last couple of years. He describes himself as a "bad regular"... which is exactly what a humble "good regular" would say!

Patrick used to be World n1 on the PocketFives rating and is part ofTeam partypoker.

The day after, on Thursday, March 11 at 8 pm CET, it will be the turn of Alexander Grischuk and Isaac Haxton to train each other in order to get ready for the Battle.

You might remember from my articleGreat minds: 10 players who excel at both chess and pokerthat World n6 Alexander Grischuk made 8 cashes in the last World Series of Poker, including a 6th place for $30k!

As good in poker as Sasha might be, he will probably have a thing or two to learn from his partner, the great Isaac Haxton.

Also part of Team partypoker, Isaac is n16 on the All-Time Money List with $28 million in earnings! He is regarded as one of the best Heads-Up specialists in the world... and that's exactly what they are going to play.

The Battle will take place on Friday, March 12 at 8 pm CET.Team Peter and Patrick will face Team Alexander and Isaac.

Here's a quick summary of the format:

If you want to know the details:

As exciting as watching the world's best players can be, nothing compares with playing yourself!

That is why we are launching the Battle of the Minds Freeroll Series that starts this Sunday, March 7.

The whole competition is entirely free and while there are no cash prizes, you can still win some nice prizes.

One freeroll each Sunday of March and April at 8 pm CET/CEST.

All the freerolls are 6-max No-Limit Holdem Tournaments - only the speed changes, alternating between Turbo and Hyper.

In each Freeroll you can win:

At the end of April, after 8 tournaments, the top 4 on the leaderboard will play a knockout Heads-Up tournament and compete for these prizes:

4th place

3rd place

2nd place

1st place

Let's answer a few questions you might have:

Is it really free?There are no fees at all. However, you need a valid account with a deposit.

Where does the competition take place?On partypoker.com

Who can participate?All adults over 18 years old, who are living in a country where partypoker.com operates. This includes: Russia, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Canada, Holland, LATAM

How to participate?Go to partypoker.com and register if you don't already have an account. In the lobby, find the tourney named Battle of the Minds Freeroll Series #1. A password is needed: Chessparty

We will publish the leaderboard soon after the end of the tournament. Good luck!

See more here:

Battle of the Minds: 4 legends compete in chess and poker - chess24

The 2021 LA Poker Classic will take place this month, but this years major poker tournament wont be affiliated with the World Poker Tour. And the series wont last throughout the month, a stark contrast from years past. But the $10,000 Main Event, one of pokers biggest annual events, is still on.

Last years LAPC, one of the most prestigious live tournaments in poker, still hasnt finished. It began at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, playing down to a final table on March 2. That final table was scheduled for the Luxor on the Las Vegas Strip April 2, 2020. But a global health pandemic struck, forcing the postponement of the finale.

The WPT still has yet to announce an exact date for completing the tournament. Each of the six remaining players were paid sixth place money last year ($185,330). But theyre all hoping to eventually take down the $1,015,000 awarded to the champion. Balakrishna Patur holds the chip lead, with two former WPT winners, Matas Cimbolas and James Carroll, right behind him.

The 2021 LA Poker Classic will have a different look and feel to it. The World Poker Tour isnt going to be involved this year but wont specify the exact reason.

WPT and Commerce Casino hope to partner again in the future and we look forward to crowning the Season 18 champion in Las Vegas this May, a representative for the World Poker Tour told CardsChat News.

So, there will be a 2020 LA Poker Classic final table, at long last, in just two months. As previously scheduled, the final table will take place in Las Vegas, presumably at the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor.

For now, David ODB Baker remains the reigning champion of the prestigious $10,000 buy-in tournament. He won it for just over $1 million in 2019.

This years big event at Commerce Casino running from March 12-21 will cost $10,000 and it will take place at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, just like normal. But due to Los Angeles County Department of Health Guidelines, poker games can only operate outdoors. So, tournament play will take place in a climate-controlled tent outside the casino. Players are required to wear face masks and plexiglass dividers will be in place at every table.

Registration is already open and can be taken care of at the casino. Its advised that players sign-up early because seating is limited. No-limit holdem is the only game on the schedule out of nine total events. Buy-ins for the mini series range from $240 to the $10,000 Main Event.

Written by

Jon Sofen

Semi-pro poker player with 17 years experience on the felt and more than five years working as professional poker media.

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LA Poker Classic is On for 2021, World Poker Tour Uninvolved - CardsChat.com

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With many states pushing to legalize online gambling, and others already embracing it, there's never been an era in which it's easier to find a poker game. In this age of stay-at-home precautions, the ability to win cash from the comfort of your own couch is a huge plus.

Now you can also expand your knowledge of the game from home with The Ultimate Poker Pro Blueprint Mastery Bundle. Go all-in on your poker approach without putting much money on the table, as this 11-course experience costs only $21 (reg. $2,200) due to a limited-time 99% discount.

Stash that extra $2,000 away for future wagers, and do so with confidence, thanks to unlimited access to 60 hours of content that spans more than 400 total lessons. This bundle will reveal the hidden tricks and tips that lead to reliable success, while sharing insight that enables users to avoid the pitfalls that ultimately empty the pockets of many players.

Along the way, you'll learn essential poker math for no-limit hold 'em, fundamentals for exploitative poker, multi-table tournament approaches, methods for building a bankroll, and strategic guides for online poker settings.

Learning simple mathematical concepts will give you a big edge on your competition, and help you make the most profitable decisions in your game. Discover combinations to further enhance your card reading abilities.

You'll comprehend the intermediate and advanced strategies you need to pull yourself out of the micro stakes and up to higher stakes. Science behind the three polarized betting ranges, along with the psychology of bluffing and the savvy to capitalize on dead money will have you wondering how you ever played a game without this insight.

Stop settling for average poker play or disappointing losses. Enjoy a fresh start with this 11-course bundle for only $21 (reg. $2,200) and win big.

Prices subject to change.

Excerpt from:

Discover your path to poker mastery with these highly-rated online classes | TheHill - The Hill

When it comes to online poker bonuses, there are many that the poker players can choose from when they sign up at a specific portal. However, its very important to know which bonuses would be right for you, depending upon your playing style and overall requirements.

Its highly advisable that you go through the details of such bonuses, and the platforms offering them, at a site like bestonlinecasinos.org.uk, so that you can make a well-informed decision about which one to opt for. On the whole, there are certain points you should keep in mind while looking for the best poker bonuses. Lets go over some of these points below:

Be Aware Of The Bonus Types

First and foremost, you should be well aware and updated about the different bonus types offered by the online casinos and poker platforms. The most common ones nowadays are welcome bonuses/signup bonuses which are handed at the time of signing up. These can be deposit bonuses or no deposit bonuses. Then there are the reload bonuses which are offered to existing players, for reloading their poker accounts. Please note, many operators also extend regular monthly, weekly and daily bonuses to reward players for playing certain poker games. These can also come in pretty handy at times.

Pay Heed To The Poker Bonus Amount

The amount of poker bonus offered by the platform is another key aspect you should keep in mind while looking for the best poker bonuses. Agreed that there might be portals that might match your deposit amount by up to $ 500, or even more, if youre a casual poker player, even a smaller bonus ranging from $ 10 to $ 100, but with better wagering requirements, might be the ideal deal for you.

Refer To Your Playing Style And Frequency

Your choice of an ideal poker bonus will also depend upon your playing style, how regularly you play and the limits you opt for. Poker bonuses vary significantly in terms of the time you are given to avail the bonus funds and the number of hands required to play with real money, to qualify for withdrawing any winnings. If youre someone who is more of a pro-level poker player, for instance the kind talked about on this page at theguardian.com, it is always recommended to go for the biggest poker welcome bonus. This is because youd normally not have any problems in clearing the wagering requirements. However, if youre more of a recreational poker player, who indulges in a hand or two over the weekends or once a month, a smaller deposit bonus might be good enough.

Conclusion

On the whole, the best way of locating best poker bonuses is by researching the various ones offered at different platforms, knowing your requirements and then choosing the best one based on those needs. Putting it another way, the best poker bonus for you would be the one that gives you the maximum value, and makes it easier for you to withdraw any winnings.

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How To Find The Best Poker Bonuses? - Poker News - CardPlayer.com

February 12, 2021Chad Holloway

Wednesday's latest "High Stakes Poker" episode on PokerGO was played as $400/$800 no-limit hold'em and featured a new lineup. Among those in action were Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, and venture capitalist and former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya, just to name a few.

Below is a look at five of the biggest and most interesting hands from the new episode.

Heres how things stacked up at the top of the broadcast:

Jake Daniels raised to $2,200 under the gun holding the and Ivey just called with the next to act. Tom Dwan came along from the button, both blinds folded, and the flop came down to give Daniels the nuts. He led out for $1,300, Ivey called, and Dwan got out of the way.

On the turn, Daniels upped his bet to $7,300 and Ivey once again called. With $25,800 in the pot, the completed the board on the river and Daniels overbet it by tossing out $30,000. Ivey thought long and hard before folding and giving up on the $55,800 pot.

Ivey eyed up Daniels, who shot him a smile and then tabled his hand.

Ooof, Ivey responded.

The show then showed a little interview with Ivey. Im happy to be back. Its a good feeling, but its just the beginning. Im looking forward to playing a lot more TV events and starting to play a lot more tournaments when they come back, and just getting back out there and starting to play poker from a different perspective.

Ivey raised to $2,500 with the in the cutoff and Dwan called from the small blind with the . After Brandon Adams folded from the big, it was heads-up action to the flop, which gave both players bottom pair.

Action went check-check and the case peeled off on the turn. Dwan checked, Ivey bet $2,500, and Dwan check-raised to $10,500. Ivey called and that inspired Hellmuth to chime in with, Classic battle.

The river was of no consequence and Dwan bet $21,000. Ivey called and watched the $69,600 pot pushed to Dwan, who won it thanks to his ace kicker.

Ivey raised to $2,000 from the hijack with the and Palihapitiya called next to act holding the . Dwan came along from the button with the and Brandon Adams from the small blind with the . Hellmuth ditched his hand in the big blind and it was four ways to the flop, which came down .

Adams checked top pair with the nut flush draw and Ivey continued for $7,000 after making middle set. Both Palihapitiya and Dwan folded before Adams called to see the turn. Adams checked and then called when Ivey bet $22,000.

The river was not was Adams was hoping for and he checked to Ivey, who bet $50,000. Adams wasted little time in folding his hand and Ivey took down the $117,600 pot.

Not long after, the current stacks were flashed on the screen:

Hellmuth looked down at the under the gun, raised to $1,600, and picked up five callers, including Dwan with the in the small blind. When the flop came down , Dwan led out for $5,500 with top pair, Adams folded the big blind, and Hellmuth popped it to $17,000.

Action folded back to Dwan and he called to see the turn. Both players checked, the completed the board on the river, and Dwan checked to Hellmuth, who bet $18,000. Dwan didnt seem excited about putting in the calling chips, but he did so nonetheless. Ship the $80,400 pot to the Poker Brat.

In the last hand of the episode, Lazaro Hernandez raised to $2,400 from the button with the and Daniels three-bet to $8,000 with the in the small blind. Hernandez called and flopped a full boat when the appeared on the flop.

Hernandez checked out of turn before calling a bet of $5,600 from Daniels, who turned a pair when the peeled off. Daniels bet again, this time $13,700, and Hernandez just called to the river.

Daniels bet for the third time by tossing out $30,000, and Hernandez paused for a bit before min-raising to $60,000. Daniels quickly called only to muck when Hernandez tabled the full house to claim the $176,200 pot.

Remember, High Stakes Poker will air every Wednesday but is only available to PokerGO subscribers. If youre not currently subscribed, you can get a monthly subscription for $14.99, a three-month plan for $29.99, and an annual subscription for $99.99.

*Images courtesy of PokerGO.

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High Stakes Poker S8 E9: Ivey & Hellmuth Return to the Show - PokerNews.com

Many professional athletes will tell you that when they were looking to turn pro, they would do whatever it took to train and to succeed in order to improve their game. That often includes spending time in the gym training or getting out onto the field or court to practice for hours every day.

Professionals in other areas take a different approach to the anything to succeed attitude that athletes have. Take poker phenom Phil Ivey as an example. The poker pro is one of the most successful people to ever play the game. And before he made it a pro, he did whatever it took to improve, even if it meant breaking the law.

Iveys biography at So Much Poker gets in-depth about his career, which is one of the best in poker history. Ivey won his 10th World Series of Poker bracelet in 2014, when he was 37 years old making him the youngest person in WSOP history to win 10 bracelets.

He also holds the record for most mixed-game bracelets at the World Series. He has a World Poker Tour title on his resume, and he is considered the biggest online cash game-winner, earning more than $19.2 million at the now-defunct Full Tilt. Ivey was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2017 at the age of 40.

It seems like poker was in Iveys blood from childhood. He started playing the game as an 8-year-old, when his grandfather taught him how to play five-card stud, putting small wagers usually no more than five cents on the games.

He grew up in Roselle, N.J., and when he was a teenager Ivey got a hold of a fake ID that he used to get into casinos in Atlantic City a distance of more than 100 miles so he could get practice playing against other players for stakes in an actual casino environment.

That earned Ivey the nickname No Home Jerome because he spent a lot of time at the poker tables and his fake ID listed his name as Jerome. He worked at a telemarketing firm in the late 90s and played games against his co-workers there. Ivey turned pro as a 20-year-old.

RELATED: 7 Sports Stars Who Are Talented Poker Players

Phil Ivey eventually moved to Atlantic City so he could spend even more time in the casinos there, playing as many hands as he could to get to the top of his game which is exactly what he did as all the dedication to poker since a young age paid off handsomely.

All told, Ivey has more than $30 million in live tournament earnings in his career, and he plays in high-profile, high-stakes cash games, with stakes as high as $100,000.

He teamed with other pros, collectively known as The Corporation, in 2006 to battle billionaire banker Andy Beal, and in a heads-up match over a three-day period, Ivey won $16.6 million from Beal.

Ivey had a long-term partnership with Full Tilt that ended in 2011 but reportedly paid him $920,000 per month to represent the site at tournaments and other events, which brought Full Tilt massive amounts of publicity when Ivey played in televised tournaments like the World Series of Poker.

In 2019, Ivey introduced a poker course for the online education platform Masterclass. Between his tens of millions of dollars in poker winnings, sponsorships, and other business ventures including the Ivey Poker app, Celebrity Net Worth estimates Iveys net worth to be $100 million.

Original post:

Phil Ivey Was So Obsessed With Poker He Used to Break the Law Just to Play - Sportscasting

February 08, 2021Mo Nuwwarah

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints, and official policies of PokerNews.com.

All the way back in 2016, which seems like half a lifetime ago at this point, I took over a PokerNews tradition started by old-timer Rich Ryan, offering predictions for the coming year in the poker industry. There were hits and there were many misses, but fun was had by all me as I tried to divine the craziness in this wacky culture and the readers as they laughed at my whiffs.

This year, that tradition must come to a sad end. This piece will start off normally enough as I run through last year's calls, but after that, it'll take on a new look.

Specific predictions for what's to come in 2021 seem rather pointless, because pretty much everything hinges on the balance between COVID-19 and the availability of the vaccines for said coronavirus. For all I know, we'll all be vaccinated and firing away as normal in six months, though I sincerely doubt it.

Instead, I'll offer a more freeflowing look at where I think the industry will head in the coming 10 months. And I'll close with one crazy prediction that I'll totally ignore for future purposes unless it actually happens.

First, let's see how everything from 2020 came out. Just know I'll be grading these on a very generous curve since in January 2020 when this was written, I had barely heard of the coronavirus. Certainly, like most, I had no concept of how radically the world was about to change.

Now, where do I see things progressing in 2021?

The year 2020 brought unprecedented changes to the poker world as it did to pretty much every industry.

The most noticeable thing, of course, was the glaring absence of major live poker tournaments. The European Poker Tour was basically absent aside from a Sochi event that isn't easily accessible for most players. The World Poker Tour held just a handful of events before shutting down live operations for the year in early March. And the World Series of Poker shifted basically its entire schedule online barring a surprising hybrid Main Event to end the year.

Unfortunately, at this stage, there's not much reason for optimism that things will be back to normal for 2021.

COVID-19, despite the emergence of a vaccine, remains a significant problem in most of the world.

In some locales, poker operators have chosen to soldier on. Look no further than the WPT event taking place in Florida this week. It made headlines for a strong turnout of 1,573 entries. No doubt, that may embolden some to try put on a big event. Hell, there's another WPT coming up just around the corner at Venetian.

However, that seems likely to be more of an oddity than the norm, at least in the foreseeable future.

While the potential for the vaccine to help clear things up is exciting, the glacial pace at which it's being distributed makes me less than hopeful it have a discernible impact this year. Less than 2% of the U.S. has received the full vaccination at the time of writing. I know in the state where I live, nobody that I know of under age 70 who doesn't work in health care has even gotten a first dose scheduled.

Other than the aforementioned Venetian event, the WPT has nothing on the schedule aside from online stuff.

The EPT has only another Sochi event officially on the docket. The much-anticipated second running of the PSPC, which was supposed to take place at Barcelona in 2020, still has only the original postponement announcement as its last major update. It seems unlikely PokerStars will run the event if it can't hold a candle to the first iteration, a never-before-seen spectacle redefined what a $25K tournament could look like.

As for the biggest tournament series of all, the WSOP...well, usually by now, PokerNews has the ball rolling in terms of planning coverage for the summer bonanza. I can share that this isn't the case for 2021 as of right now.

I do know at least one major Vegas poker destination has a big series planned for the summer, so I'm not ruling out a WSOP in some form. If it happens, though, I think it will be heavily slanted to online events with some mixed and non-hold'em formats that the client can't support potentially playing out live, along with some big final tables. I'm not even sure those smaller fields would be feasible with the current international travel situation.

I don't anticipate anything that resembles a normal schedule of live major tournaments until 2022. I could see some things creeping back toward normal in the later months of 2021, but I feel like if anything big was coming before then, we'd have heard about it by now.

While the live poker situation in Europe seems certain to remain pretty much on ice as lockdowns remain prevalent and international travel remains somewhat limited and difficult, it's a bit easier for smaller tours to get traction again here in the U.S.

Still, everything seems certain to be more regionalized as venues and operators cautiously dip their toes back in. And even that will only occur in certain states, as others remain firmly against large gatherings, the likes of which a decent-sized poker tournament would fall into for sure.

It seems the M.O. for now will be stuff like the Bally's Main Event Mania from late last year schedules of events that look something like a WSOP Circuit but with smaller guarantees that may cater more towards local players.

This kind of thing can give the venues the chance to rake in a few dollars while whetting the appetite of local players without the bad optics of thousands of players flooding in, potentially raising the ire of local regulators and media.

As for what events players can hope to circle, it seems the Mid-States Poker Tour has the most ambitious schedule laid out with something like their normal number planned. The Heartland Poker Tour, on the other hand, still has a planned event from last August listed on its website, so it's anyone's guess whether it will even come back. The WSOP Circuit seems content to shift things online, where they can raise revenue with zero risk.

All of that is to say, you might be able to find a halfway decent tournament series somewhere nearby, but the chance to win six figures for a modest buy-in won't be too common.

While things are looking grim both stateside and around the world in terms of live poker, the online scene paints a much different picture.

With the dearth of available live poker in 2020, the online operators stepped up and provided some incredible tournament series. Hundreds of millions in guarantees were produced by international operators GGPoker, PokerStars and partypoker. Even domestic operators like WSOP.com with smaller player pools provided huge guarantees with six-figure prizes available.

It looks like much the same will be on the horizon for 2021. GGPoker shows no signs of slowing, having just wrapped up a whopping $100 million WSOP Circuit series. Its competitors will be looking to keep pace and that means more huge prize pools everywhere.

Promotional dollars shouldn't be hard to come by either. PokerStars executives have already made rumblings about committing more dollars to the business, promising "investments in poker" ($) that can only mean good things for the players. Run It Once has just rolled out what one industry expert called "the most lucrative welcome package in recent history."

Exciting happenings are also afoot in the U.S. with the door wide open for continued growth. Michigan has come online thanks to PokerStars and will hopefully soon be pooling players with the other states.

Not only is Michigan bringing in a sizable population of about 10 million, but it also offers a potential drive-and-play destination for Midwesterners who had no such sanctuary before, what with everything previously located closer to the coasts.

Prize pools in the U.S. should be bigger than ever, and rest-of-world options should be about on par with 2020 as well.

GGPoker will buy the WSOP. This is definitely not based on any inside info or anything like that.

It just feels like this could be the year the WSOP is finally sold after years of rumors but nothing actually coming to fruition. Several employees appear to have been laid off and not replaced, and the future of the flagship series looks as uncertain as ever with 2021 having been the last year anyone said on the record it would remain at the Rio.

Many have suggested in the past that PokerStars could be the ones to fire off, but GGPoker would seem to make more sense at this point.

GGPoker and WSOP already have a strong relationship with all of the bracelet and ring events that have been running on there. Furthermore, there are a few small clues that GGPoker may be looking to enter the live arena at some point in the near future.

What better way to do it than go all the way with their partners?

Hey, ya never know in this crazy industry.

Link:

What Will the Poker World Look Like in 2021? - PokerNews.com