Poker

What are some of the hottest headlines in the world of poker? Here you will find all the latest juicy stories along with other important news and tournament results. A must read for the poker enthusiast with articles published throughout the day.

Did a Russian Bot Make Out Big at PokerStars TCOOP Event?

The Turbo Championship of Online Poker (TCOOP) Event #8 has everybody in the online poker community talking as one of the players is suspected of being a Russian bot.

Ultimately a real player going by the name LuckboxStami walked off with the $48,042 but many taking part in the tournament have alleged another "player" IvanHaldi is the bot in question, failing to respond to human required commands. 

Oh, and did we mention IvanHaldi won a cool $34,802 for “his” second place finish?

(Below is the actual suspect chat screen shot)

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/26/2016

Sam Trickett New Brand Ambassador for Indian Online Poker Room StarPoker.In

The nation of India with its more than 1.4 billion people has begun to position itself as a top online poker power house.

India-based online poker room StarPoker.In has just announced the appointment of big name poker pro Sam Trickett as its new ambassador.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/21/2016

Phil Ivey Launches Daily Fantasy Sports Site: PhilIveyDFS.com

One of the most successful professional poker players, Phil Ivey, was set to launch his very own Daily Fantasy Sports site, PhilIveyDFS.com

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The site will be hosted on the iTeam Network, a DFS turnkey platform, next month (February 2016).

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Jan/20/2016

Americas Cardroom Introduces The Playpen

By now you’ve probably heard about Americas Cardroom’s weekly cash game event called ‘The $1k Cage’. This nosebleed stakes cash game in time based tournament format has taken the online poker world by storm. Each week, players either win a $55 satellite to participate in the $1,000+$50 buy-in cash game or pony up the buy-in to play stakes as high as $25/$50.

Well, now micro stakes players can take their turn in a new miniaturized version of The Cage called The Playpen.

Submitted by Guest on, Jan/19/2016

The Week's Best: PCA Organizers Pissed at Esfandiari for Urinating at Table

One of the biggest poker earners of all time, Antonio Esfandiari, was disqualified over the weekend from a PCA event after he was caught urinating into an empty bottle at the poker table. 

The action was tied to a side bet but deemed "inappropriate" by event organizers.  Esfandiari had about 115,000 in chips at the time of the disqualification. 

"I am embarrassed of the actions I took to win that bet", Esfandiari admitted later on.

He was interviewed by PokerNews about the incident.  Watch below

Submitted by C Costigan on, Jan/16/2016

The High Five Tournament Series starts January 20th

Here at Americas Cardroom, our motto is that you can never have too much of a good thing. That’s why we’re not letting the dust settle after the holidays and we’re jumping right into our first big event of 2016 with the High Five Tournament Series (January 20th-24th).

We know you’re going to love this event, but before we get into the details, let’s take a look back at 2015 – the biggest year in our history. Here are just some of the accomplishments:

Submitted by Guest on, Jan/15/2016

Mike Watson Wins 2016 PCA Main Event for $728325

PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS – Mike “SirWatts” Watson has won the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $5,300 Main Event for $728,325.

Watson, who hails from St. John's, the capital of Newfoundland in Canada, beat PCA 2009 runner-up Tony Gregg heads-up to seize the title and prestigious Main Event trophy. Gregg was thwarted yet again in his bid to become champion; it was his third appearance on the PCA final table and he is the only player in EPT history to have reached the final of the same event three times. The pair cut a deal heads-up, with Gregg taking $612,175 for second.

Submitted by Press Release on, Jan/15/2016

Poker Not a Game of Skill Claim Legislators

Legislators in the state of Nebraska have come to the conclusion that poker is not a game of skill as proponents have argued over the past decade.

Lawmakers on Thursday defeated a bill that would have classified poker as skill rather than chance. The change of status would have permitted poker and community card games to be licensed in the state.  Poker tournaments would also have been allowed in establishments where alcohol is served.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/14/2016

PCA 2016 Main Event Final Table Player Profiles Unveiled

Gambling911.com has your PCA 2016 Main Event Final Table player profiles including seat numbers.

Seat 1: Mike "SirWatts" Watson, 31, St. John's, Canada, PokerStars player

Submitted by Guest on, Jan/13/2016

Three Online Poker Players Pop $100,000 Jackpot at ACR

San Jose, Costa Rica – Who needs a Powerball ticket when you have online poker in the US? Americas Cardroom today announced that three players have shared in a $100,000 prize pool after popping the biggest jackpot possible in the online poker site’s popular Jackpot Poker offering. The $100k jackpot is the second one in a matter of eight months.

Submitted by Press Release on, Jan/11/2016

Aaron Sorkin to Adapt Memoir of Molly’s Game for Film About ‘Poker Princess’

Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has announced plans to adapt the memoir “Molly’s Game” about a former skier who wound up hosting exclusive high stakes poker games for big name stars the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. 

“Molly’s Game” will tell the story of Molly Bloom, also known as the “poker princess”.  She attracted the A-list celebrities and would later become the subject of an FBI investigation.

Sorkin’s accomplishments include the recent “Steve Jobs” film that has him in the running for an Oscar nod after picking up a Golden Globe nomination. 

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/08/2016

Missing Poker Pro Burt Boutin Once Exposed Ex-Wife's Defamation Plot

Missing 48-year-old Las Vegas poker pro Burt Boutin once played a critical role in debunking his ex-wife's shocking claims against her off-again-on-again boyfriend, Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak, that he had an inappropriate relationship with her then 15-year-old daughter. 

Boutin, who has not been seen for at least three weeks, would go public in 2012 to report his daughter confided in him that she had been coerced into making the false allegations. 

Submitted by Alejandro Botticelli on, Jan/06/2016

Professional Poker Player Burt Boutin Goes Missing

Las Vegas professional poker player and stockbroker Burt Boutin has gone missing, according to reports.  Boutin was last seen three weeks ago.

Fellow poker pro Mike Matusow tweeted the following on Monday:

A friend in the poker world Burt boutin has been missing for 3 weeks if anyone knows his whereabouts please have him checkin#pray4burt

The 48-year-old father of three, Boutin is well known for his drink of choice at the poker table, Red Bull, and acting a little hyper between hands.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/05/2016

How Long Until John L. Smith Gets The Axe From Adelson’s LVRJ

What's The Over/Under on How Long Columnist John L. Smith Gets Fired From the LVRJ by New Owner Sheldon Adelson?

You can't make this stuff up.  Casino billionaire, GOP mega donor and online poker zealot Sheldon Adelson once filed a $15 million libel suit against Las Vegas Review Journal columnist John L. Smith after the later published a 2005 book mentioning the Vegas tycoon in an apparently not-so-flattering way. 

Adelson last month bought the paper Smith works for to the tune of approximately ten times that paper's value. 

Submitted by Ace King on, Jan/01/2016

Evil Poker Players, Part 5: Shane Warne, Sham Warning

Mention the name Shane Warne and most Americans will give you a blank stare or ask, "Who's that?"

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If he walked through Times Square in New York City, he'd likely do so without being recognized.

Submitted by Thomas Somach on, Dec/28/2015

Amaya Provides Clarity Regarding Pre-Acquisition Dispute in Kentucky

Amaya Inc. (NASDAQ: AYA; TSX: AYA) today provided clarity regarding a dispute in the Commonwealth of Kentucky relating to certain activities of the PokerStars business during a period between 2006 and 2011, approximately three years prior to Amaya’s acquisition of the brand.  Amaya believes the action is frivolous and without merit.

Submitted by Press Release on, Dec/17/2015

EPT12 Prague: Unofficial Final Table Player Profiles

We are down to nine: unofficial final table profiles below.

Seat 1: Hossein Ensan, 51, Munster, Germany

Submitted by Guest on, Dec/15/2015

ACR Hands Pot Limit Omaha Players Early Christmas Gift With MO MO MO PLO

Christmas has come early for Pot Limit Omaha fans and this time Santa Claus has nothing to do with it. Americas Cardroom today announced MO MO MO PLO, a 15-day promotion built specially for Pot Limit Omaha fans. The promo includes PLO Tournaments, a Create Your Own Bonus promotion for cash game fans, and PLO Jackpots.

Submitted by Press Release on, Dec/14/2015

Russia’s Gleb Tremzin Leads EPT Prague Main Event After Day 2

As we end Day 2 of the EPT Prague Main Event a little more than 200 hopefuls have an opportunity to open another window in this high stakes advent calendar. At the top of them all, Russia's Gleb Tremzin who started the day with with 168,000 and finished on 610,500.

If you're looking for a good story behind your advent calendar winner, consider Niall Ferrell who sits on 547,000. He's just a few weeks removed from winning EPT Malta and seems intent on making another run.

Submitted by Guest on, Dec/12/2015

ACR’s CAGE Sees One of the Biggest First Place Payouts In History

The Cage didn’t necessarily feature the biggest turnout in Americas Cardroom’s history last night, but it was a memorable event nonetheless.

Not only did all eight players who successfully emerged from The Cage win more than their buy-in back, but this week’s top two players earned more cash than the first place winner in most installments of the time-based cash game.

Submitted by Press Release on, Dec/10/2015

Restore Americas Wire Act: Does House Oversight Committee Have Nothing Better to Do?

SPRINGFIELD, Virginia- Today, Campaign for Liberty President Norm Singleton issued the following statement regarding the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s hearing on the “Restoration of America’s Wire Act”:

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Submitted by Press Release on, Dec/09/2015

Kid Poker Daniel Negreanu Blasts Trump as ‘Disgusting’

A few poker pros have come out against Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposal to refuse all Muslims from entering the U.S. if elected.

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Canadian poker pro Daniel Negreanu (aka Kid Poker) came out swinging on Twitter Tuesday.

Submitted by Ace King on, Dec/09/2015

Brian Rast vs. Sorel Mizzi Fight Goes Off December 30

Forget the fight everyone is looking forward to this coming Saturday – Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo.  How about Brian Rast vs. Sorel Mizzi?

Submitted by Ace King on, Dec/08/2015

Luuk Gieles Tops EPT12 Prague €50K Super High Roller Day 1 Field

Dutch poker pro Luuk Gieles is leading the EPT12 Prague €50k Super High Roller at the end of Day 1.

He bagged 1,025,000 after today's eight levels to top the 50-entry field (42 unique players + 8 re-entries). The 23-year-old's total live tournament results of $144k wouldn't necessarily mark him out as an EPT Super High Roller, however Gieles has a strong online background with Supernova Elite status on PokerStars where he's crushing it as "pokerkluka". His achievements there include a TCOOP title which he won back in January 2014 for $284k.

Submitted by Guest on, Dec/08/2015

Baaaad Behavior: Brunson Draws Goat Analogy While Tweeting at 'Freaking Foreigners'

When it comes to US-based poker pros stance on how to deal with the recent spate in radical Islamic terrorist attacks across the globe as well as gun control in the U.S., few have been more outspoken than Todd Brunson, son of poker legend Doyle Brunson.

He tweeted:

The younger Brunson went on a Twitter tirade of sorts over the past 24 hours in regard to the later.

I've had 4 tweets from ppl disagreeing with my views on American gun control laws and all 4 were from other countries. Wtf??...

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Dec/07/2015

‘Ahundredollars’ Takes Biggest Prize in Million Dollar Sunday History

San Jose, Costa Rica – His online poker name is ahundredollars, but the Million Dollar Sunday champion is waking up this morning with a lot more money in his pocket after taking first place in Americas Cardroom’s $1 million guaranteed poker tournament.

With a first place prize of $200,000, ahundredollars has won the biggest payout in the history of the Million Dollar Sunday.

Submitted by Press Release on, Dec/07/2015

No Festivus for the Rest of Us Kid Poker Affirms

Poker’s most outspoken representative Daniel Negreanu (also known as Kid Poker) has objected to the idea of banning any type of religious holiday observations on some college campuses.

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Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Dec/06/2015

Samuel Sjoqvist Leads Eureka 5 Prague at End of Day 1A

After twelve 45-minute levels, the 118 Day 1a survivors of the €1,100 Eureka 5 Prague Main Event called it a day tonight - with Samuel Sjoqvist from Sweden in the lead after bagging 263,500.

The 26-year-old's live tournament resumé doesn't reveal much. So far, Sjoqvist has recorded only two cashes, one of them coming in the EPT11 Barcelona Main Event where he earned €20,300 for a 42nd place.

Submitted by Guest on, Dec/06/2015

Eureka 5 Prague Main Event Underway at EPT Prague Poker Festival

Eight years ago, Prague was introduced to the European Poker Tour for the first time. Since then, the tour has been returned to the Hilton Prague every December and here we are again - with a record-breaking 97 events, making this year's festival the largest ever held by PokerStars.

Submitted by Guest on, Dec/06/2015

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