The new partnership extension builds on a strong foundation between the duo. In fact, Paddy Power and Playtech have collaborated for more than a decade, helping each other grow further into the iGaming vertical. Now, thanks to the new collaboration, Playtech will continue to be the exclusive provider of self-service betting terminals (SSBTs) for Paddy Power. The deal applies to both Ireland and the UK markets, ensuring further the leadership position of Paddy Power.
“We are pleased to continue our strategically important relationship with industry leader Playtech.“
David Newton, COO at Paddy Power
David Newton, Paddy Power’s COO, said that the company is delighted to extend its strategic collaboration with Playtech. Moreover, he explained that Playtech’s terminals play an important and crucial part in the company’s retail operations and its future growth strategy. Finally, Newton said that Paddy Power is looking forward to expanding further this partnership “in the coming years.”
Details of the new collaboration emerged after only recently, Paddy Power secured “Superbrand” status for its campaigns from the Center of Brand Analysis. The prestigious status acknowledged the brand for its creativity and engagement within the British gambling market.
Playtech Is Delighted to Extend the Deal with Paddy Power
The new deal comes amid a time when Playtech continues to grow its presence and solidify its position as the go-to provider for retail sports betting terminals. What’s more, only recently, the company announced the launch of Player Props and Betbuilder, offering new markets and features. At the same time, the testament to the popularity of Playtech’s sports betting shops was reaffirmed in light of their performance during the recent World Cup.
“Paddy Power has grown into a leading force since its inception over 30 years ago, and we look forward to building on our successful partnership with them.“
Shimon Akad, COO at Playtech
Shimon Akad, Playtech’s COO, said that over the last three decades, Paddy Power expanded its presence significantly. He pointed out that Playtech will be delighted to continue its strong and successful collaboration with the brand.
Akad added that the company continues to invest in its software solutions, which in turn, brings benefits to its partners. Finally, he outlined that Playtech will continue to work on new technologies that will help digitalize the retail gambling sector.
In case you didn’t know, PokerStars is back in the United States. It actually has been for quite some time in New Jersey as well as in Michigan and Pennsylvania, though each was a segregated market. At the start of the New Year, PokerStars hit the ground running by becoming the first online operator to merge their NJ and MI player pools, instantly making it the largest online poker network in the US.
One man responsible for making that happen was Managing Director of North America for PokerStars Severin Rasset, who helped usher in a similar liquidity merge in Europe.
“We had similar things happening in Portugal, which was operating as a closed liquidity for a while,” he explained. “Portugal has about 14 million inhabitants. So, very similar to the size of New Jersey or Pennsylvania. Then Portugal joined with Spain, which was a big, dynamic change to the market.”
He added: “I’ve been through quite a lot of these changes in the regulatory and so just using this experience while getting the most out of the team in the US and plugging my experience in with their expertise and their own experiences, I think we’re gonna have a really good mix.”
Rasset recently spoke to PokerNews at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in the Bahamas about recent developments concerning PokerStars US including the reveal that they’re offering $1 million in guarantees each week, updates on Pennsylvania and Nevada, and the potential return of live events in America.
Exclusive: PokerStars Managing Director Severin Rasset on “Way More Generous” Rewards for Players
On the Merging on MI & NJ Markets
On January 1, PokerStars flipped the figurative switch to merge the New Jersey and Michigan player pools. There wasn’t a major celebration straight away, but it was a momentous day for online poker.
“Very exciting days. When you work for months on liquidity – the technical team, the commercial teams – to arrive there seeing it going live and immediately making an impact,” Rasset explained. “This is something that we’ve been looking forward to. Having more liquidity means that we can do much more, we have the right product, we have the right software, but having the ability to get more depth and breadth, more games, it’s something that is really making a big difference.”
He continued: “Having this ability to suddenly merge liquidity between New Jersey and Michigan is a game changer for us and hopefully just the first step or so, like offering a much bigger liquidity for all American players.”
With an expanded player pool, Rasset and company know it is more important than ever to keep their foot on the gas by appealing to players, be it through either promotions, new games, or tournament series.
“What is important is that you continue to offer something that you know is really strong and can be differentiated from the rest of what is offered. We are also launching Zoom, a different type of cash game that requires liquidity. So, we’re doing it in a temporary fashion to see if players like it, and we’re gonna also do it during peak hours to make sure that we can actually run them. We’re gonna learn from that to see, again, what is the reaction from players. We adjust to make it appealing for them.”
Severin Rasset at the 2023 PSPC.
Rasset was also excited to reveal that February brings a very exciting development – that PokerStars US will be guaranteeing $1 million in weekly prize pools for NJ & MI, while Pennsylvania will offer $500,000!
“Also, $1 million guaranteed on a weekly basis is even more important to me than a series because the series is creating like a peak of activity, but the weekly schedule is what says to players they can come back any day, you can come back any weekend, whenever you feel like playing there will be something exciting waiting for you. And that’s really what makes a difference in terms of keeping players engaged.”
SCOOP Upcoming
While the specifics are yet to be announced, Rasset did confirm that PokerStars US will offer a SCOOP series, which is slated to be even bigger and better than the recently-completed PSPC Online.
“A couple of teasers that I think we’re going to try even bigger than what we did for the PSPC is SCOOP,” said Rasset. “It’s something that is really deeply ingrained into the history of PokerStars and is something that we have been very proud of really creating this championship. I think winning an event in the scope of the SCOOP means something for the players, there is a lot of pride. We want to make sure that we create the best offering, so I think we’re going to try to surprise them with bigger guarantees than we did for the PSPC Online.”
Detroit Red Wings, PokerStars Form Online Poker Partnership in Michigan
Will Pennsylvania Also Merge?
As of 2021, Michigan had a population of 10 million, while New Jersey had 9.2 million. That means if Pennsylvania were ever to join the network with its 13 million population, the player pool would grow exponentially. However, that’s not an easy process as Pennsylvania would first have to navigate political hoops to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA).
“If it was up to me, we’d do it tomorrow,” said Rasset. “There are a few steps that are important. We are working with the regulators to explain to them why we think it’s a benefit, and we feel now we have much more ammunition to explain to them given what’s happening with New Jersey and Michigan merging. But there’s also a political aspect.
He continued: “We need the Governor of Pennsylvania to sign the MSIGA, and that’s part is outside of our control. The best that we can do is explain the rationale that we think it’s having a positive impact for the player experience, and then hope for the best. But we know that when Pennsylvania joins we will be aiming to be the first one to release and bring them into the merged player pools.”
Learn more about PokerStars in PA here!
What About Nevada?
Nevada is the most mature online poker market in the US, though right now WSOP.com is the only operator. PokerStars was prevented from entering the market when it launched as they were deemed a “bad actor” for continuing to offer its services to US players after the UIGEA in 2006. According to legislation, bad actors were barred for 10 years. Well, that period is almost up, so has PokerStars thought about Nevada?
“Yeah, absolutely,” said Rasset. “That’s something that we’re always looking at on a regular basis. It’s also important to notice that our sister brand, Fan Duel, also got licensed over there. So, this is something that we’re working with them to see what would be the right requirements for us to be able to be there. It’s something that we evaluate on an ongoing basis. There’s no immediate plan to come there, but we are looking into it.”
Return of Live Events
Prior to Black Friday, PokerStars had launched their own tour in the United States called the North American Poker Tour (NAPT). It proved to be quite successful in its short existence. Given that PokerStars has return to the US, at least in a trio of states, have they thought about returning to the live space on a more permanent basis?
“We’re seeing the PSPC at the moment and the excitement that it creates for players. They truly enjoy this experience, and I think that’s something that is really complimentary to what we offer online, but it’s a completely different poker experience when you play live versus playing online … but the short answer is yes, we are also going to be back live in the US, and I think that’s something that will also help overall to show that we have this passion for poker, we have an appreciation for the players, and that we know how to run things to make a difference.”
While Rasset couldn’t share specifics regarding any upcoming live efforts, he did indicate that there is likely to be movement on that front later in 2023.
Learn more about PokerStars in MI here!
The Future of Poker in US
Severin Rasset
The expansion of online poker in the US has come at a snail’s pace, but given what’s happened both in that space and with live poker as of late, Rasset it bullish on the future.
“Coming from Europe with having brand operations experience for a long time over there. There is an excitement about poker overall, both live events and online,” he explained. “There is a character about the game that is really quite unique in the market, and the players have this passion that you feel is here to stay. So, I took the job here because I really believe that there is a strong future for poker overall in the US and because I think with PokerStars we have the best brand to actually deliver the best product. With states opening one by one, I think that we have like 5-10 years ahead of us where the seeds will just continue to grow on a regular basis”
He added: “There are [legislative] drafts in Indiana; New York is showing some movement. You have states that seem to be happening in the next three to five years, and the goal is to put us in the best position so that when there is a new state opening or joining the liquidity we can actually make sure that we’re ready. We can immediately add players to the overall pool. The vision is to create a large merged player pool in the US where we can offer more and more exciting tournaments with every year being better than the one before.”
Learn more about PokerStars in NJ here!
$1 Million a Week on PokerStars MI/NJ
As Rasset mentioned, one of the most exciting announcements is that PokerStars is offering $1 million in guaranteed prize pools on a weekly basis to players in Michigan and New Jersey. This will be offered across a packed schedule of daily and nightly tournaments.
With an attractive variety of daily tournament buy-ins starting at $5 and ranging up to $250, as well as reoccurring nightly tournaments ranging from $25-$50 buy-in, the new guaranteed prize pool gives the PokerStars community even more rewards and games every day. Since shared liquidity was announced on January 1, players have been enjoying PokerStars US’ largest guarantees to date. With more players, more tournaments and bigger prizes, the excitement keeps growing.
Similarly, players in Pennsylvania will play for a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool with the same tournament structure. Reoccurring nightly tournaments include:
The Tel Aviv-located creator of the iconic Tetris mobile app and other popular mobile games has used the voice of founder and chief executive officer Andrew Pascal to make the announcement.
Sonnino to Manage Playstudios’ Global Operations
Sonnino will report directly to Pascal and join a global management team while setting up her new headquarter in Israel. She will be responsible for managing the operations of Playstudios’ facilities in the Middle East, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
Pascal praised Sonnino’s “breadth and depth of experience in both gaming and consumer marketing”, expressing confidence in her ability to boost their operating performance and help the company become an even greater innovator in the industry. He emphasized that the new chief operating officer’s “background and sensibilities” have turned her into the ideal candidate for the position.
Sonnino has joined the developer of the groundbreaking playAWARDS loyalty after spending more than seven years with Playtika. There, she filled in important positions such as senior vice president of strategic communication, general manager of Slotomania, and vice president of marketing and monetization for Slotoman.
Before joining the pioneer in the games industry with over 34 million active users on a monthly basis, Sonnino also spent some time with Revlon, the manufacturer of skincare, color cosmetics, fragrances, and hair color products. Sonnino was a senior brand manager for Revlon’s New York and London facilities.
Prior to that, she also spent four years as senior brand manager for Bristol-Myers Squibb, an international biopharmaceutical company. Her resume also includes a position as a software developer for QXL.
Sonnino, Eager to Support Playstudios Dynamic Evolution
Discussing her new appointment, Sonnino spoke about the important role played by gaming at the crossing between media and entertainment. She also took the opportunity to praise the company’s unique position and capacity to grow at a fast pace.
Sonnino expressed excitement for being allowed to bring her contribution and use her expertise and guidance to steer Playstudios on the right track in its “dynamic stage in its evolution.”
Sonnino, who holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. in computer science from the University in Tel Aviv University, further acknowledged the success of Playstudios’ playAWARDS platform.
She discussed the innovative player retention tool designed for the gaming industry that is part of the platform. Sonnino also mentioned the platform’s ability to give Rewards Partners access to a unique audience made of “highly motivated and unusually focused” players.
Last October, Playstudios acquired the leading mobile game developer Brainium for $70 million.
The trusted partner to the global betting industry for the past three and a half decades has joined hands with the company recognized for ongoing innovation and industry excellence to supply the African market with a combination of their market-leading Numbers products.
According to the terms of the new deal, Sports Information Services (SIS) will work together with Kiron Interactive and leverage its expertise to provide a fully customized channel that would cater to the needs of markets on the continent. This way, the Numbers content of both companies is expected to extend their profile by reaching a larger plethora of players and operators in Africa.
SIS’ renowned 49’s Original Live Draw and their fresh high-margin 39’s draw games with high-frequency, live draws that take place every five minutes will also become available for players interested in winning big while taking a small risk.
The news of the new deal is just the latest from a long list of similar announcements made by SIS for the African continent. Together, the new partnerships emphasize the continuously rising demand for SIS’ 24-hour live betting offerings. At the same time, the new deals are expected to help SIS strengthen its foothold across the regulated markets in the region.
SIS’s head of sales for Africa, Joe Andrews, spoke about the importance of finding the “right partners in regions with a disparate makeup,” giving Africa as an example of an essential area where the company must maintain its brand development. Andrews also spoke about Kiron’s “heritage across the continent” which is expected to give SIS a great advantage in creating and launching the new channel.
Collaborating with SIS, “Key” for Kiron Interactive
Also commenting on the newly sealed partnership agreement, Kiron Interactive’s co-chief executive officer Steven Spartinos explained the critical need to work together with leading brands like SIS to keep delivering unparalleled customer experience while putting people at the heart of what they do. Spartinos called the new collaboration “key” for their efforts to keep expanding their reach and broadening their service scope.
The company with headquarters in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, also explained that while its operations are run globally, Africa “is where our roots lie.” Accordingly, they aim to provide “unrivaled insight into the many diverse markets here.”
In 2022, Kiron Interactive took home the EGR Business to Business Best Virtual Sports Supplier award. Kiron’s portfolio currently consists of 51 virtual games, placing the company in a leading position in the industry.
In January 2023, Pariplay announced it would expand its Fusion Aggregator Platform with the help of Kiron Interactive. During the same month, SIS teamed up with BetConstruct to provide racing content while announcing it would bring esports products to the Colorado market.
New from bet365, we’re taking a look at Prize Blizzard, which is their latest promotion and your chance to win up to £1,000 or 200 Free Spins!
Prize Blizzard is a new promotion from bet365 and will allow a few lucky slots players to win special prizes in the promotional period, by staking on specific slots titles. The promotion will run for two weeks up to the 5th February, with a prize draw occurring each week:
Week 1: 00:00 GMT on 23rd January until 23:59 GMT on 29th January 2023. Week 2: 00:00 GMT on 30th January until 23:59 GMT on 5th February 2023.
Simply get a ticket for the prize draw for every £10 you stake on eligible slot games, and you could be in with the chance of scoring one of the top prizes! What’s more, if you stake £10 on featured ‘double ticket’ games, you’ll get TWO prize draw tickets!
How does Prize Blizzard work?
Let’s dive deeper into the Prize Blizzard promotion and explain how it works.
If you want to take to part, just follow these steps:
Head to the bet365 Games website and click ‘Offers’
Click ‘Prize Blizzard’ and select opt in.
If you haven’t already, you’ll need to log in or sign up for bet365.
Once you’ve opted in, every £10 you stake on eligible slots will earn you one prize draw ticket. £10 staked on featured double ticket games will earn two tickets. See below for details of eligible slot titles for each week of the promotion.
Cash prizes will be credited within 48 hours of each promotional period ending.
Free Spins will be credited within 48 hours of the prize draws taking place. Once credited, you will have 7 days to accept your Free Spins, which you can do via a pop-up message or through the ‘My Offers’ section on the bet365 website.
What slot titles are included in the Prize Blizzard promotion?
Take a look at the table below for details on the specific online slots that will qualify you for a prize draw for every £10 staked in each promotional period:
Week 1 Qualifying Slots
5 Lions Megaways, Big Bass Bonanza, Bigger Bass Bonanza, Floating Dragon Megaways, Gates of Olympus, Mustang Gold, Starlight Princess, The Dog House and The Dog House Megaways.
Week 2 Qualifying Slots
Big Bass – Keeping it Reel, Book of Golden Sands, Buffalo King Megaways, Floating Dragon, Fruit Party 2, John Hunter and the Book of Tut Respin, Muertos Multiplier Megaways, Release the Kraken 2 and Sweet Bonanza
What about the double ticket slots?
Here are the featured double ticket slot games which will qualify you for TWO prize draw tickets for every £10 staked in each promotional period:
Week 1 Double Ticket Qualifying Slot
Sugar Rush
Week 2 Double Ticket Qualifying Slot
Big Bass Splash
Want to know more about the qualifying slot games from bet365? We’ve got you covered – take a look at the section below for more details on some of the slots you can play in this promotion.
Like with any slot game, take time to read the game rules and terms & conditions before you stake any money.
5 Lions Megaways
Megaways are one of the best-known slots and their mechanic features in many of the top slot titles available. 5 Lions Megaways has a low staking requirement at just 10p per spin and has over 117,000 paylines! There are additional features contained in the slot such as the Tumble Feature which removes each symbol involved in a win, from the reels.
There’s also a Wild Multiplier, which applies a random multiplier to all wins involving a Wild symbol, if this symbol forms part of a winning combination.
Big Bass Bonanza
With the gameplay all themed around fishing, you’ll want to catch a big win on Big Bass Bonanza! This is a traditional-style slot title, with a 5×3 layout and 10 paylines. You can play from 10p a spin (up to a maximum of £24) and the game features some nice bonuses like Free Spins which awards free spins when at least three Scatter symbols appear. You also have the advantage of Money Symbols which have a random cash value and can appear during any spin.
Buffalo King Megaways
Buffalo King Megaways has a whopping 200,000 paylines and you can start spinning for just 20p per spin. As with all Megaways slots, matching adjacent symbols from left to right will give a win. Additional features like the Tumble Feature are also available, which removes winning symbols from the reels after they have paid out. There’s also a Free Spins Bonus which can appear at any time, anywhere on the reels. Four or more Bonus symbols appearing will trigger the Free Spins Bonus and award a total bet prize.
Sugar Rush
As the name suggests, Sugar Rush is a slot game themed around sweets and candy. You spin the reels on a 7 x 7 grid, with at least five of the same symbols needing to appear and connect to trigger a win. Like other slots mentioned here, Sugar Rush also features the Tumble Feature as well as Multipliers and Free Spins.
Big Bass Splash
Big Bass Splash mixes a Wild West theme with graphics and gameplay linked to fishing. It has a low minimum bet of 10p (up to a maximum of £25) with 10 paylines across 3 rows of 5 reels. When playing the slot, you’ll also see different bonus symbols like the Fisherman Wild and Scatter symbols. These trigger different features such as the Scatter Nudge, where you have the chance to get a free respin, as well as Free Spins and Free Spin Modifiers.
What about Free Spins awarded in the Prize Blizzard promotion?
As well as the £1,000 cash prize on offer, you’ll also have the chance to win 200 Free Spins to use on bet365 slot games.
If you’re lucky enough to win Free Spins, you can use these on the following eligible slots:
If you win Free Spins in Week 1, you can use these on Big Bass Bonanza, Bigger Bass Bonanza, Mustang Gold, Sugar Rush and The Dog House.
If you win Free Spins in Week 2, you can use these on Big Bass Splash, Book of Golden Sands, Buffalo King Megaways, Fruit Party 2 and Sweet Bonanza.
Becoming a winning poker player requires more skills than you might realise, and these skills can have a huge positive impact beyond the tables.
So today I’ll cover some of the top skills you can learn by playing poker and how they can improve your life both personally and professionally.
1. Managing Your Finances
Your bankroll is your single most important asset in poker, so being able to manage your money is vital if you want to succeed in the long run.
Poor bankroll management, playing higher than you can afford, or taking too many shots are the fastest ways to lose all your money.
This is a lesson many poker players have to learn on their own before realizing there’s simply no way around it.
On the bright side, learning to handle your bankroll in poker will help you prepare for other life situations.
You will learn key aspects of planning and distributing funds in the most efficient way, and even taking necessary risks. Whether in business or on a personal level, this is a very good skill to have.
2. Making Decisions Under Pressure
When playing poker, you’re under constant pressure as almost every decision you make can have significant future consequences.
Sometimes you’ll have to play several really tough hands in a row, and you’ll need to make your best decisions every single time. You can’t take a timeout, skip, or get help from a friend.
Although it can be hard and draining, with practice you’ll learn how to deal with high-pressure situations both in poker and other areas of your life. It will become second nature.
This is why many poker players move to industries like finance and investments after they retire. They become so used to dealing with constant pressure that they’re well suited to this sort of career.
3. Patience
Anyone who has played poker for a while has learned to be patient.
You’ll often have to sit around for long periods of time doing virtually nothing but folding and waiting for good cards or a good situation to appear.
Once you learn how to be patient at the tables, you’ll definitely be better equipped to apply it in other life situations.
Even if it’s just standing in line or waiting for a check, you’ll save yourself from unnecessary frustration about things you can’t change.
While everybody around you will be on edge, you’ll be standing there calmly, simply waiting your turn – because what else can you do?
4. Dealing With Any Situation
If there is one thing you will surely encounter when playing poker, it’s losing.
If you’re a good player, you won’t lose in the long run, but every player will have many, many losing sessions. That’s just the nature of the game.
And when you sit through countless losing sessions and keep playing at your best, you learn to keep your concentration and focus on things that matter instead of losing your temper.
This can be tough at first.
When bad sessions come one after another, it can knock your confidence – and your bankroll. It will make you feel powerless and you might even question your poker playing abilities.
But, if and when you get over these feelings, you’ll come out on the other side much stronger.
Most people don’t have to deal with this daily, so when they have to face a loss of any kind, they are likely to overreact.
You, on the other hand, will be much better equipped to deal with tough situations as they inevitably occur in your life.
5. Reading And Understanding People
Poker requires you to understand your opponents, their motivation, and their reasoning.
I’m not talking about making movie-like reads where you make a call based on the fact they raised their left eyebrow.
Rather, you’ll constantly be in a position to assess other players and think about their actions.
After a while, you’ll become much better at understanding people and their motivations, and not just at the tables.
Poker certainly does a good job of imitating life in certain aspects, and it will teach you to recognize emotions such as fear, anxiety, excitement, and more in others.
Being able to recognize these emotions is a valuable skill to have in your personal life and it can also be an asset in business, when you have to decide on someone you don’t know that well.
6. Making The Most Of The Hand You Are Dealt
There’s an expression you’re probably aware of: “Play the hand you are dealt.”
In life, just like in poker, sometimes you have to make the most out of a bad situation, and you don’t get to change your hand at will.
Unlike most people who never played the game, you will learn full well what this means.
Sometimes at the tables, you won’t get that big hand you’re waiting for and you’ll be forced to find the best possible scenario with a mediocre holding and go with it.
While not ideal, it certainly beats sitting around as your stack turns into nothing as blinds and antes go up, and you keep folding your way into oblivion.
This skill of taking charge of things and making your stand will help you in many life situations.
Instead of accepting things are bad and can’t be changed, you’ll be looking for ways to make the best of bad situations, be it on a professional or personal level.
7. Understanding Risk vs. Reward
Poker will teach you what you need to know about the risk vs. reward principle.
While you may have heard the saying that “tight is right” countless times, the fact of the matter is that you need to take calculated risks to make money at the tables.
Whether it’s in a cash game where you put real money on the line, or in a tournament where you’re trying to climb the pay ladder, almost every single decision you make has certain financial consequences.
Understanding and developing this skill is invaluable in business.
Instead of being reluctant to take any risks, or blindly jumping to an unknown situation, you will learn to calculate your possible rewards.
Poker will teach you how to assess such situations and make them as profitable as you possibly can.
8. Learning To Be More Assertive
Depending on your character, you may or may not be aggressive enough in your life.
I’m not talking about physical aggression, of course, but rather the type of aggression that is sometimes required to get you where you want to go.
For example, in business negotiations, you’ll sometimes need to be aggressive and push for what you want if you feel you can get it.
If this doesn’t come naturally to you, poker is a great environment where you can learn how to be more aggressive when needed.
Pulling a well-timed bluff or going for a bit of extra value where you feel your opponent is reluctant to fold will give you the kind of edge you want to have at the tables.
These skills translate very well to real life.
Next time you’re in a situation where you need to make that extra push, you’ll be ready for it.
You’ll be able to assess the situation correctly and do the right thing instead of backing off with the fear of losing what’s already on the table.
9. Improving Your Focus
With all the mobile phones, tablets, TV screens, and everything else all around us, it’s hard to stay focused on any single activity in this world of distractions.
Poker can be a great training field for your focus.
Most players tend to zone out when not involved in a hand and do something else while waiting for the new deal.
If you want to excel, though, you shouldn’t be one of those players. Instead, stay focused on what’s going on at all times.
Even if you’re not involved in a hand, you can pick up on a valuable piece of information from a hand developing between other players, which could come in handy later down the line when you do get involved in a pot with a particular opponent.
Learning how to keep your focus at the tables will translate well into other life situations. It will teach you to ignore distractions and be present.
It will take some time, practice, and effort, but developing this skill is almost guaranteed to make you much better at anything.
Improve Your Poker Game, Improve Your Life
Poker involves so many strategic, mathematical, and psychological elements, all of which require a great deal of skill.
If you take it seriously, the game will challenge you on many levels and will require constant growth and development if you want to succeed.
This is what makes poker so hard in the first place, but it’s also what makes it one of the most valuable and useful games to learn. It gives you skills that you can take into other personal and professional situations.
You don’t even have to become a professional poker player to take advantage of the game.
Even if you play casually but think about your decisions and work on improving, you’ll develop many of the skills discussed in this article.
So, on top of having a lot of fun when playing, you also reap other benefits that will help you succeed in your day-to-day life.
Pariplay, a content provider owned by the global iGaming company NeoGames, has entered a new partnership arrangement with Jelly Entertainment, a developer of engaging gaming titles. As per the deal, Jelly’s content will be added to the Pariplay Ignite program.
Pariplay Welcomes Jelly to Ignite
Ignite is Pariplay’s aggregation solution, which allows the company’s partners to quickly roll out their content in many regulated markets. Once Pariplay has onboarded its clients’ portfolios, their content can be quickly and seamlessly integrated into the platforms of operators all over the world.
Thanks to the Ignite platform, ambitious startups can quickly gain traction, while experienced companies can further expand their reach. Pariplay’s worldwide distribution network makes sure that developers’ suites of content are efficiently distributed in all the markets where the aggregator operates.
Distribution isn’t the only benefit of using Pariplay Ignite, though. Other than securing access to many new markets, studios can also benefit from Pariplay’s turnkey development framework, which allows them to quickly produce new content. Launches that leverage this framework are further supported by a full suite of engagement solutions.
By using Ignite, Jelly Entertainment will quickly expand its reach, becoming the leading innovator it desires to be. The studio employs a talented team and is known for providing flashy and thrilling gaming experiences to end users. The studio recently partnered with EQL Games to develop new iLottery products.
Jelly Is Happy to Join the Program
Victoria Newbolt, Jelly Entertainment’s marketing lead, addressed the agreement with Pariplay and its Ignite platform. She noted that this will greatly improve the company’s global reach, allowing it to engage many fans all over the world.
The sheer scope of Pariplay’s distribution network gives it a huge advantage, and we can’t wait to see our games live with some of its partners.
Victoria Newbolt, marketing lead, Jelly Entertainment
Newbolt added that Pariplay’s decision to pick Jelly as its new partner attests to the talents of the studio’s team.
Meanwhile, Callum Harris, Pariplay’s director of partnerships, said that the Ignite program has proven to give fresh developers the chance to shine by allowing their games to quickly launch with dozens of operators. In addition, the Ignite platform provides new companies with all the tools needed to produce hit titles.
This initiative is one we’re very proud of, and we’re extremely happy to add Jelly to its ranks. We hold Jelly in high esteem for their innovative spirit, top-notch quality, and ability to deliver captivating and entertaining games, and look forward to our collaborations together.
Callum Harris, director of partnership, Pariplay
In related news, a week ago, Pariplay welcomed Mancala Gaming as the newest Pariplay Fusion partner.
The 2023 PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship has reached its conclusion on Day 4 in The Bahamas with just six players poised to return for the fifth and final day of the tournament. Each player has guaranteed themselves a seven-figure payday and they will all be newly crowned millionaires by the end of the day tomorrow.
Leading the way is Nacho Barbero who is the most experienced player of the six still remaining. Barbero can often be found at high-stakes cash games these days but he also has some tournament results on his poker resume as well. The Argentinian has four tournament wins under his belt, including two LAPT titles and an EPT London victory, all coming back in 2010. Barbero has already locked up the biggest score of his career along with the other five players that will be joining him.
Barbero has distanced himself from the rest of the field, with the next three players all hovering around similar stacks. Aliaksandr Shylko will return in second place with 12,200,000 followed by Philipe Pizzari with 11,975,000 and Pedro Marques with 10,475,000. Max Menzel finished Day 4 with 5,025,000, good enough for 20 big blinds while Niclas Thumm will be on the short stack with 1,800,000.
The two short stacks in Menzel and Thumm are the only two Platinum Pass winners still in the field on a freeroll. What a freeroll it has been, turning their free tournament entry into at least $1,000,000. They will be looking to join Roman Colillas, who won the first version of the PSPC in 2019 on the heels of a Platinum Pass as well.
Day 5 Seating Assignments & Chip Counts
Seat
Name
Country
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Philipe Pizzari
Brazil
11,975,000
48
2
Niclas Thumm
Germany
1,800,000
7
3
Nacho Barbero
Argentina
19,325,000
77
4
Max Menzel
Germany
5,025,000
20
5
Aliaksandr Shylko
Belarus
12,200,000
49
6
Pedro Marques
Portugal
10,475,000
42
Action from the Tables on Day 4
There were 52 players who returned to their seats for Day 4, and there was no shortage of action in the opening 90 minutes of the day. The field went from 52 players to 32 players in rapid time, and some of those eliminations included Chance Kornuth, Sean Winter, Jonathan Jaffe, Rayan Chamas, and Talal Shakerchi. The field mellowed out for a brief moment as the players began to realize how much money was up for grabs.
One of the largest pots of the day in terms of big blinds came in the opening levels when the start-of-day chip leader was met with a cold deck. Petar Kalev was lined up to stack up 150 big blinds and hold over 10% of the chips in play with pocket kings against the ace-king of Marques. However, an ace on the flop and an ace on the river gave Marques a huge double-up en route to bagging chips heading to Day 5.
Pedro Marques will enter Day 5 in fourth place
When the players returned from break, the action picked up again as the final three tables were assembled with 24 players remaining. Chris Moorman, Matthew Hunt, and Daniel Dvoress were eliminated in consecutive order on the feature table while Blake Bohn bowed out on one of the outer tables.
Everyone had their sights set on Fedor Holz possibly making another deep run in one of the biggest tournaments in the world. Unfortunately for the semi-retired German poker pro, Holz got his last 10 big blinds in the middle with an inferior pair and was sent home in 21st place. Another key focus for those tuning into this event was current EPT dealer Jerome Moreau who was making a deep run and ready to lock up his largest career score by a healthy margin. Moreau was cruising along quietly while the chaos took place around him, but it was finally his time to bow out in 20th place.
The last woman standing was Nadya Magnus and fitting it was as she is currently the reigning GPI female player of the year. Magnus secured the second six-figure score of her career with an 18th-place finish and has put herself in a great position early in 2023 to possibly win back-to-back titles.
Once the field was down to just two tables, Tom Parsons, who was one of the remaining Platinum Pass winners, was ousted in 16th place. Three big names still had their sights set on the championship trophy but they were also eliminated in quick succession. Dylan Destefano, Jeremy Ausmus, and PokerStars ambassador Sam Grafton all bowed out in a matter of a few minutes, leaving just 11 players remaining.
Sam Grafton was the last PokerStars ambassador in the field, finishing in 12th place
After James Mendoza and Marcello Del Grosso busted their short stacks, the unofficial final table of nine players was assembled. It didn’t take long for lightning to strike on the final table as Barbero continued to bully his opponents with one of the big stacks. Barbero ripped all in on the button with suited connectors and was looked up by Andrei Boghean in the big blind with ace-king. Barbero flopped a pair and rivered two pairsto send Boghean home in ninth place.
Kalev, who entered the final table as the short stack and managed to ladder up many pay jumps already, was next on the chopping block. Kalev found himself in a good spot to double-up with the dominating hand against Shylko, but the big stack spiked a three-outer on the flop, and Kalev was unable to recover. On the last hand before the break, Thomas Eychenne and Pizzari both flopped top pair. When all of the chips went into the middle on the flop, Eychenne found himself dominated and at risk. There was no help for the Frenchman on the turn or river, and that drew the curtains on Day 4.
The final six players will be returning at 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday to play for the championship trophy and the $4,053,200 first-place prize that goes along with it. The lion’s share of the prize pool is still up for grabs with significant pay jumps on the horizon. Here is a look at what they will be playing for:
Final Table Results and Prizes
Place
Player
Country
Prize (USD)
1st
$4,053,200
2nd
$2,542,300
3rd
$1,911,200
4th
$1,551,300
5th
$1,251,500
6th
$1,001,200
7th
Thomas Eychenne
France
$801,000
8th
Petar Kalev
Bulgaria
$621,300
9th
Andrei Boghean
Romania
$449,700
The last elimination on Day 4 occurred just prior to the players going on break, so they will be returning to a brand new level with blinds at 125,000/250,000 and a big blind ante of 250,000. The levels will continue to be 60 minutes in length until just three players remain, and then they will be cut down to 30 minutes.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the tournament floor to bring you all of the updates from 12:30 p.m. local time on a 30-minute security delay to be in sync with the PokerStars live stream.
Like many high-profile gambling streamers, Xposed had to join new platform Kick after Twitch introduced a ban on unregulated casino games last year. Now, the Canadian content creator has announced that all of his subscriptions from that new Stake-funded platform will go straight to charity.
Xposed, real name Cody Burnett, made the charitable decision now that Kick has finally rolled out subscription buttons for its streamers. He confirmed that his chat will get to decide which charity receives the funds, making the announcement to his 128,600 Twitter followers on Thursday:
As you all know @KickStreaming is rolling out Subscription Buttons, I have received one on my channel today. I want to make you aware that when you are Subscribing to my Channel 100% of my Subscription cash earned will be donated to a Charity of my chats choice.
His supporters were full of praise for the move in the Twitter comments. His fellow content creator JaredFPS commended the decision, deeming it “Goat sh*t.” Meanwhile, a Twitter user called Krvsan labeled it:
One of the nicest things a person could do.”
Xposed joined Kick late last year along with other high-stakes slot streamers Roshtein and Trainwreck. The latter, who has the strongest following on Twitch of the three at 2.1 million, said that Twitch had “lost its grasp on reality” in banning content featuring online casinos such as Stake. He also claimed that Kick would provide a better deal for content creators, assuring them a 95% split of subscriber fees.
The post Gambling Streamer Xposed Pledges to Donate All Kick Subscriptions to Charity appeared first on VegasSlotsOnline News.
Wizard Games, a NeoGames-owned developer of value-driven iGaming experiences, has expanded its team with a notable addition. The company, seeking to bolster its pipeline, has appointed the seasoned veteran Yoganand Aiyadurai as director of game technology.
Aiyadurai Joins Wizard Games
Aiyadurai is an experienced veteran who has worked within the gambling industry for quite a while. His career in engineering roles spans more than 28 years and has seen him occupy tech-related positions at various companies.
Aiyadurai’s most notable tenure is his time at Derivco, part of the Microgaming Group, a supplier of gaming content now rebranded as Games Global. Wizard Games’ new hire spent a whopping 21 years with the competitor company and was an integral part of its tech team.
As the director of game technology, Aiyadurai will be responsible for closely following the latest developments in the iGaming market and using the knowledge to better Wizard Games’ future content. He will be working alongside many of the company’s senior employees to bolster the studio’s portfolio.
Aiyadurai’s main task will be to oversee the research and development department of the Wizard Games studio and further develop the B2B company’s IT infrastructure. His role will be crucial to making sure that Wizard Games’ production meets demand.
The Addition Attests to Wizard Games’ Commitment to Excellence
Joey Hurtado, Wizard Games’ managing director, welcomed the new hire to the company. He said that the whole team is happy to have Aiyadurai on board and is looking forward to working with him.
We’re continuing to go from strength to strength, and someone of his caliber will allow us to scale new heights.
Joey Hurtado, MD, Wizard Games
Hurtado added that the company is always striving to bolster its team with talented high-profile workers such as the new appointee. He noted that the addition of Aiyadurai to the Wizard Games family “reaffirms the company’s commitment to excellence.”
Aiyadurai also shared his thoughts on joining the company, saying that he is thrilled to be joining the company. The new director of game technology praised Wizard Games for the impressive strides it has been making in recent times.
With a fantastic roadmap of content, and countless new partnerships on the horizon, it is an exciting time to be joining the team, and I look forward to helping us take the next step.
Yoganand Aiyadurai, director of game tech, Wizard Games
Aiyadurai is the newest addition to Wizard Games’ team. In November, the studio welcomed another experienced member in its ranks namely Simon Jagdhar. The latter joined as the company’s director of game studio in November last year.
