On Episode 8 of High Stakes Poker Season 10, which aired Tuesday night, Antonio Esfandiari and his good friend Bill Perkins gambled with drawing hands in a $606,000 pot.

While that was far and away the most entertaining pot of the night, it wasn’t the only hand worth mentioning. For the fourth straight week, the table remained mostly the same with the two aforementioned players in action along with Jennifer Tilly, Bobby Baldwin, Robert Sanchez, and Roger Sippl.

The high-stakes no-limit hold’em game on PokerGO brought about multiple six-figure pots and some exciting action, but none more so than the following hand.

Gambling for Stacks

Last week on High Stakes Poker, we saw Esfandiari win an epic three-way cooler. This week, he fought for another monster pot in thrilling fashion.

In the hand in question, with a double straddle on, Tilly called the $2,000 straddle from the button with before Perkins raised to $10,000 from the big blind with . Seated in the first straddle, Sippl called with , as did Esfandiari in the bigger straddle with .

“I’m forced to call,” Tilly then said, acknowledging she was pot-committed.

The flop ran out , something for all four players. Action checked to Esfandiari with the nut flush draw, and he tossed out a wager of $16,000, about half the size of the pot. Tilly called with top pair, but when Perkins raised it up to $50,000 with a straight flush draw, Sippl folded his gut-shot straight draw.

Esfandiari, with over $500,000 behind, paused for a moment before raising to $166,000. Tilly couldn’t call such a massive bet with just top pair, so she sent her cards into the muck. But Perkins, whose stack was at just over $280,000 when the hand began, moved all in, and the “Magician” called.

They agreed to run the turn and river twice, and the first run-out came , followed by the on the second board, both going Esfandiari’s way. As a result, he shipped the $606,400 pot,

In a later hand, Perkins was dealt and asked the table if he could pay $5,000 to be dealt two new cards. They agreed and his new hand got even worse – . After Esfandiari raised to $3,200 with in the dark – he hadn’t even looked at his cards — Perkins bumped it to $15,200.

Esfandiari then peeked at his cards, showed the four-high, and mucked them. Perkins turned over the five-high and took down the pot in what would be the final hand of the session.

Sippl Makes a Move on Perkins

In the second hand of note from Episode 8, Baldwin raised to $2,000 with . Sanchez called with as did Perkins on the button with . Sippl, in the small blind, then went for a three-bet to $6,000 with and only Baldwin folded.

The flop came out and action checked over to Perkins, who fired out a bet of $5,000. Sippl called, Sanchez folded, and the appeared on the turn. Sippl checked his queen-high flush draw to Perkins, who had just paired up and ripped off another bet, this time for $10,000.

The turn bet didn’t force a fold and they both saw the on the river. Although that card did nothing to improve ace-high, Sippl jammed all in for $45,000, which convinced his opponent, who had the best hand, to fold.

Sanchez Lets Esfandiari Take Pot with Ace-High

Sanchez raised on the button to $2,000 with . That action was followed by Sippl calling from the big blind with and then Esfandiari three-betting to $10,000 with in the straddle, which didn’t convince either player to fold.

All three remaining players looked at a flop of , giving Sippl a monster combo draw. Esfandiari, who completely whiffed, still bet out $13,000. He received just one call, of course from Sippl.

The turn was the , no help to either player. With $80,000 in the pot, Esfandiari bet $23,400 and again was called. After the appeared on the river, Sippl checked, putting the “Magician” in a tough spot. He’d already been called on the flop and turn, so the only way he could win at showdown was if his opponent had been chasing a flush or straight draw.

As it turned out, Sippl was chasing a draw, which meant a check from Esfandiari’s ace-king was good enough to win the hand without a bet.

High Stakes Poker Season 10 returns next week on PokerGO at 5 p.m. PT with Episode 9.

Crazy High Stakes Poker Chop Pot

Past High Stakes Poker Recaps

Check out our past recaps from Season 10 of High Stakes Poker on PokerGO:

_{*Images courtesy of PokerGO.}

Looking to play low or mid-stakes mixed games in Las Vegas with a chance to win a trip to Europe? Then you’re in luck. Robbie Strazynski’s beloved Mixed Game Festival is returning to Resorts World March 19-23 and will feature dealer’s choice cash games around the clock at stakes ranging from $4/$8 to $8/$16 and higher and multiple tournament offerings.

The Cardplayer Lifestyle and PokerStars-sponsored festival will award a European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague prize package to the winner of the $260 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event, a package that includes a mixed game tournament buy-in up to €550, roundtrip airfare and four nights of accommodation at the Eastern Europe festival in December.

The upcoming Mixed Game Festival in the luxurious Resorts World Poker Room will feature several other giveaways, including bubble protection, brand merchandise and signed copies of books from poker authors like mixed game specialist Dylan Linde and Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra.

Read about last year’s Mixed Game Festival!

With around-the-clock mixed game action that is sure to feature several household names and top pros, the Mixed Game Festival could be the best way to prepare for the upcoming 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP), which features several mixed game events in the first few weeks.

It is also a great way to prepare for the upcoming EPT stops in Prague, Monte Carlo and elsewhere, which will also feature their fair share of mixed game action.

“What we love about this event is it has a very specific purpose and style; it provides players who love to dabble in a variety of games a home-game type atmosphere and environment, but of course with some serious competition,” PokerStars Director of Partnerships and PR Rebecca McAdam Willetts said in a press release. “We always try to encourage and support such demonstrations of love for the game and are very happy to be a part of it by giving the community something that continues the journey onwards after the Vegas shenanigans!”

As an extra bonus for participants, the Mixed Game Festival will award bubble protection for both the H.O.R.S.E. tournament and the $260 Omaha 8/Stud 8 event and free memberships to PokerCoaching.com.

The festival will also feature three different book signings. Linde, author of Mastering Mixed Games, will be signing copies as at a discounted price, while Getting Started With HORSE author Chris Wallace will be doing the same.

At the 2022 festival, Eliza signed copies of his autobiography Pulling the Trigger and played low-stakes mixed games before going on to win his fifth bracelet in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. Elezra will be back this year and will once again be signing copies of his autobiography.

A portion of all the proceeds will go to Poker Gives, a non-profit that assists military families, homeless veterans and youth in Las Vegas.

To take part in the Mixed Game Festival, simply show up and get your name on the mixed game list at the Resorts World Poker Room.

The highly anticipated 2023 Irish Poker Open (IPO) returns to Dublin next month from April 3-10.

PokerStars and Paddy Power have joined forces to sponsor the series, which is headlined by the €1,050 buy-in Irish Open Main Event and comes with an impressive €1 million guarantee.

One familiar face already confirmed to be at the IPO is PokerStars ambassador Fintan “easywithaces” Hand. Members of his community are now being invited to play in one of his online Home Games, where 70 seats are up for grabs for his exclusive community meet-up game at the IPO

How to Get an Invite to the Meet-Up Game

From March 15-17, special community games are being hosted in Hands’ Home Game Club where the top ten finishers in any of the tournaments will bag an invite to the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) for the private tournament.

An incredible 70 seats are being dished out, and the buy-in for these home games is just $1.10!

Satellite Your Way to the Irish Poker Open Main Event

PokerStars runs two €109 buy-in Irish Open Main Event satellites each week, a five-package guaranteed affair on Wednesday and an eight-package guaranteed satellite on Sunday. You have the choice of buying into the €109 satellite direct or playing your way in from as a little as, well, nothing.

The Best Rewards to Find on PokerStars Play

Join PokerStars Today

Now is the time to become a PokerStars player because a 100% up to $600 welcome bonus is waiting for new depositing customers. Joining PokerStars will make you eligible for all the Oracle Red Bull Racing-related promotions throughout the 2023 Formula One season.

Those of you who do not already have a PokerStars account can download the excellent software via PokerNews. Make your first deposit safe, knowing that PokerStars matches your deposit 100% up to a maximum of $600. Your first three deposits in the first 90 days after creating your account are matched 100% up to a combined maximum of $600.

Editor & Live Reporter

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

888poker‘s latest $100,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty Main Event highlighted how cool this popular format is, with a player that did not even reach the money places walking away with the tournament’s largest haul!

Some 1,071 entries were processed, resulting in a guarantee-busting $107,100 prize pool. Ukraine’s “freeeeeeeeak” was one of those entrants. The Ukrainian made it past the 18th level, which is where the mystery bounties came into play. Although they busted in 190th place, with 144 places paid, freeeeeeeeak managed to eliminate an opponent that had a whopping $10,000 mystery bounty on their head, and that $10,000 was enough to become this tournament’s biggest winner!

The 107th place finisher, “HvalaLama” pulled out a $3,000 bounty before they crashed out, while “Fever105” also bagged a $3,000 bounty on their way to an impressive sixth place finish.

$100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event Final Table Results

The nine finalists sat down under the watchful eyes of the excellent 888poker Twitch stream. The opening ten minutes saw the players get a feel for how one another was playing, before a big hand occurred that resulted in the first elimination.

“CRBDOUGLAS” min-raised with ace-jack of clubs, and then called when “arod1214” three-bet all-in for 12 big blinds from a couple of seats across. CRBDOUGLAS needed to hit the board because arod1214 was all-in with pocket queens. Hit, they did with an ace as the door card. Game over for arod1214.

“pvss10” was the chip leader when eight-handed play began, yet they were still the next player heading out of the door. They lost a few pots, and saw their stack dwindle to a little over 18.5 big blinds after paying the big blind. Those chips when into the middle after three-bet shoving with ace-king over a min-raise from “equalize1” in the cutoff. It was ace-king versus pocket jacks, and those jacks flopped a set before turning a full house, to reduce the player count by one.

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The final seven became six with the elimination of “BalticMouse” of Lithuania. The Lithuanian had been nursing a short stack for a while, and was down to only five big blinds before the busted. equalize1 min-raised with ace-queen from under the gun, and BalticMouse called with king-four of hearts in the big blind. All the chips went in on the turn, with both players having paired their ace and king, respectively. No four landed on the turn, and BalticMouse had been caught.

Sixth place went to “Fever105”, netting $5,955 in total thanks, in part, to a $4,014 bounty payment. Fever105 open-shoved for 3.5 big blinds with pocket threes, and fellow short-stack “Santa.Muerte” called with ace-queen. An ace on the flop was not what Fever105 wanted to see, and their participation in this event ended.

That hand bolstered Santa.Muerte’s stack, but they did not progress deeper than fifth place. They found themselves down to 9.5 big blinds with a pair of nines in the hole and decided to three-bet all-in over the top of a min-raise from CRBDOUGLAS, which they made with ace-queen. CRBDOUGLAS spiked a queen on the flop and an ace on the turn, to leave only four players in the hunt for the title.

888poker Steps Up War Against AI in Poker; Refunds Almost $300K in 2022

Third place went to “ashleywardy” of the United Kingdom. The Brit committed their last 3.7 big blinds from the button with ace-six of hearts, “apithanos8” called in the small blind with ace-deuce, only for CRBDOUGLAS to squeeze all-in for 24 big blinds with ace-queen. apithanos08 ducked out of the way, and ashleywardy fell by the wayside courtesy of a queen on the turn.

Heads-up was set when CRBDOUGLAS bowed out after losing a coinflip. CRBDOUGLAS min-raised on the button with ace-king of spades, equalize1 called in the small blind with ace-five of clubs, only for apithanos08 to make it six big blinds to go, with pocket queens. CRBDOUGLAS moved all-in for 17.4 big blinds in total, and apithanos08 called once equalize1 ducked out of the way. The queens held, and CRBDOUGLAS crashed out in third.

apithanos08 held a 52.6 to 27.7 big blind advantage at the start of heads-up. equalize1 clawed their back level before slipping behind, then coming back and claiming the chip lead. The final hand essentially played itself with the stack sizes in play. equalize1 min-raised with king-queen of diamonds, apithanos08 shoved for 22 big blinds with pocket nines, and was called. Three diamonds on the first three community cards left apithanos08 drawing dead, resigning them to a second-place finish, and leaving equalize1 to become the latest $100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event champion.

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Win Your Way Into the March 19 Edition of the $100K Mystery Bounty Main Event

March 19 at 7:00 p.m. GMT is your next chance to compete in the $100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event at 888poker. Don’t worry of the $109 buy-in is outside the constraints of your bankroll because there is a plethora of satellites running throughout the week.
Those of you that are VIP Level 40 or above can play in a special freeroll tournament at 3:45 p.m. GMT on March 18 that has 50x $109 seats guaranteed! Good luck if you are involved in that.

$88 Free Plus a $400 Welcome Bonus

You’re going to need an 888poker account if you want to be in with a chance of winning an 888poker LIVE package, so now is the perfect time to join 888poker if you have not already done so. Download 888poker via PokerNews, create your free account, and 888poker will give you a free $88 worth of cash game and tournament tickets – this is a free £20 for residents of the United Kingdom – just for reaching this stage.

Your first deposit is matched 100% up to $400 in the form of a releasable bonus. You have 90 days to release as much bonus as you can. Contact 888poker support for more details.

To some extent, a new kid on the free online games block, PokerStars Play is one of our favorite free social poker apps available to play right now. You can quickly and easily get involved in some top poker games, as well as some great online slots.

This is all well and good (and the games are really good, trust me), but how about some nice rewards to go along your gaming, ALL FOR FREE? Well in this article, we’re going to outline the best rewards and freebies available on PokerStars Play.

Just before we continue, a quick word on loyalty schemes. These programs or player rewards are common with online casinos, but we were quite pleased to see that PokerStars Play have a special experience to offer loyal players. We’ll go into detail during our article, but suffice to say there are points on offer for anyone playing a poker game, as well as one of the many slots available and additional games included in the app. The more points you earn, the higher you’ll climb up the VIP program. This then leads to more and more benefits, as you rank higher and higher.

PokerStars Play is available worldwide, including in the United States and Australia, but please be aware that it doesn’t include real money gambling or an opportunity to win real money or prizes.

PokerStars Play Daily Log-In Rewards

The first rewards you’re likely to encounter as a new player on PokerStars Play, are the Daily Log-In Rewards. If these sound incredibly easy to earn – that’s cos they are!

Put simply, for the first 7 days of being a PokerStars Play user, you canm claim a reward every time you login to the app. You’ll see the reward icon in the top right of the screen on the main app lobby, and all you need to do is tap the icon and hit ‘Collect’ for that day’s reward. The reward itself comes in the form of Experience Points which go towards your total. These can be redeemed for benefits.

You’ll also see a push notification on your mobile device, when there is a log-in reward waiting for you. So there’s no excuse to miss out!

Rewards from Free & Premium Scratchers on PokerStars Play

Scratchers or ‘scratchcards’ are a great feature to see on a casino app, so how does the PokerStars Play version match up?

The scratchers included in the PokerStars Play App come in two varieties:

Free Scratchers
Anyone playing on PokerStars Play is rewarded with a Free Scratcher every day. You’ll see your Free Scratcher waiting for you in the main lobby when you login to the app.
When you load up a scratcher, you’ll need to scratch off the symbols on the card on screen. Match 3 symbols and you’ll win!

You can also earn an extra Free Scratcher by watching an ad video, and you’ll have the option for this directly on the Scratcher screen.

Premium Scratchers
As well as the Free Scratcher, you have the option to purchase Premium Scratchers. These are a nice touch, as they are a simple way to increase the rewards you can get. Premium Scratchers can be purchased via redeeming some of your chip count.

If you’re lucky enough to have reached the VIP Level Shark and higher, you’ll automatically get a Premium Scratcher every 4 days.

The PokerStars Play League Rewards

For anyone who feels that competitive itch needing to be scratched when playing poker, the Poker Leagues on PokerStars Play will surely be right up your street. The Leagues run in a Season format lasting one week at a time, and players are automatically entered for a specific division with the aim of being the best at your level.

How does this link to rewards? Simple – the higher your league position, the more chance you have of getting rewarded. Your placement in your league is governed by how many chips you have accumulated through gameplay in that season. Finish in the Top Bracket of your league, and you’ll get promoted to the next league. If you’re lucky enough to be promoted, not only will you receive a badge to indicate your rank, but you’ll also receive free chips to be used in your next season.

PokerStars Play VIP Elite Rewards

VIP Elite is effectively the loyalty reward scheme that PokerStars Play uses. Players can earn VIP Points for performing different actions, such as purchasing chips or spinning the Bonus Spin Wheel.

The more VIP Points you earn, the higher tier you will attain and the better the benefits you will receive. The table below details the different tiers, the benefits, and benefit level available for each:

PokerStars Play Challenges

The Challenges included on PokerStars Play present an opportunity to quickly and easily earn rewards within the app. Challenges are presented to players on a daily and weekly basis – 3 daily and 1 weekly challenge.

Completing these challenges provides you with chips to use on the different PokerStars Play poker games and slots. So whilst they’re not rewards in the truest sense, they are a useful and simple way to earn more chips which will then lead to more rewards, should you use these chips to play and win!

How to Get Started on PokerStars Play

Hopefully by now, you have a good idea of the rewards available when starting to play with PokerStars Play. Luckily if you’ve not yet signed-up, it extremely easy.

• The PokerStars Play app is available in over 80 countries across the world, so the best first step is to head to either the Play Store (for Android) or App Store (for iOs) and see if the app is available for you.
• Download the app directly from the correct store for your device.
• Sign-up and enter your details to become a PokerStars Play user.
• Head to the main lobby and choose your game!

Senior Casino & Gaming Manager

Estonia’s Priit Parmasto is the King of Tallinn after he outlasted a record-breaking field of 716 entrants in the 2023 Kings of Tallinn Main Event. Prior to this event, Parmasto’s live tournament earnings weighed in at a shade under $5,500, with a €2,100 ($2,481) score being the Estonian’s largest. That result came in the 2021 Kings of Tallinn Main Event, when he finished in 27th place. Fastforward to 2023, and Parmasto has helped himself to the title of champion, in addition to €97,400 in prize money.

The 716-strong field created a €673,040, the largest in the history of the Kings of Tallinn. Parmasto’s victory marks the first time since Ranno Sootla captured the title in 2015 that the winner’s trophy remains in Estonia.

It was not only the €1,100 Main Event that was a roaring success but the festival as a whole. Some 1,361 unique players from 35 countries bought in 7,838 times across the 53 numbered events, which had buy-ins from €60 up to €5,300. Here is how Parmasto got his hands on the 2023 Kings of Tallinn Main Event title.

2023 Kings of Tallinn Main Event Final Table Results

*reflects a three-handed deal leaving €15,000 for the champion

The final table kicked off with Lithuania’s Ignas Vaitulionis holding a sizeable chip lead, his 5,655,000 stack (94 big blinds) dwarfing that of the short-stacked Albert Ostrovkij (730,000). Obstrovskij was the first finalist heading to the cashier’s desk. Down to only 70,000 chips at the 50,000/100,000/100,000a level after losing with king-jack versus ace-jack, Obstrovskij was all-in with six-five from the big blind. Parmasto min-raised to 200,000 with pocket kings in the hijack, Sergejs Korobovs three-bet to 600,000 from the cutoff with pocket tens, and then called when Parmasto four-bet shoved for 1,500,000. An ace-high board kept Parmasto’s kings true, doubling his stack, and eliminating Ostrovskij from the tournament.

Less than 30 minutes later, Danius Antanaitis joined his fellow Lithuanian on the rail. Antanaitis opened to 690,000, leaving himself 500,000 chips behind. Antti Vetelainen moved all-in from the big blind, and Antanaitis called off the rest of his chips. It was ace-jack for the all-in player but a pair of red kings in the hole for Vetelainen. The kings held, and Antanaitis was gone.

Koborovs never recovered from the tens versus kings hand at the start of the final table, and he ultimately fell in seventh place. Korborov was down to around eight big blinds when he moved all-in for 1,300,000 with ace-queen from under the gun. Parmasto looked him up from the big blind with pocket eights, and those snowmen refused to melt, reducing the player count to six.

Those six became five with the untimely demise of Aleksi Naski of Finland. With blinds now 100,000/200,000/200,000a, Vaitulionis shoved from the small blind with ace-king, and Naski, who only had 215,000 left after posting the big blind, called with the dominated king-queen. Both players paired their king on the turn, but the river bricked, and Naski’s run ended.

Vaitulionis was the next player finding themselves with fresh air where their stack once stood despite winning Naski’s micro-stack. Vaitulionis found himself in something of a cooler spot against Parmasto. Vaitulionis three-bet all-in for 12 big blinds from the big blind after Parmasto had min-raised to 400,000 in the cutoff. Parmasto called, and revealed pocket kings, which were up against ace-king. The jack-high board failed to come to Vaitulionis’ rescue, and he had to make do with a still welcomed €29,800 fifth-place prize.

The remaining four players went on a scheduled break, but Davidi Muccini would not make it to another. Vetelainen open-shoved from the small blind, and Muccini considered his options before calling off the 1,900,000 chips, 7.5 big blinds, he was armed with. Muccini turned over king-four, but was in a world of pain against king-ten. Vetelainen’s ten-kicker played, and Muccini headed to the cashier’s desk.

The three surviving players paused the tournament clock, and discussed a deal. Those discussions proved fruitful, with the last standing trio securing between €82,400 and €102,500, while leaving an additional €15,000 for the champion.

Heads-up was set after a battle of the blinds between Vetelainen and Parmasto. Parmasto limped in from the small blind with ace-queen, and called a 10 big blind shove from Vetelainen, which he made with the dominated queen-jack. Both players missed the flop and turn, leaving Vetelainen drawing to one of three jacks on the river. The river was paint, but it was one pip too high, the queen of hearts resigning Finn to a third-place finish. Vetelainien’s €1,100 investment swelled into a €90,000 payday courtesy of the deal struck.

Parmasto started the one-on-one battle with Petteri Laiho holding a two-to-one chip lead, and it took only two hands to press home that advantage. On the 147th hand of the final table, and with blinds of 175,000/350,000/350,000a, Laiho min-raised to 700,000, Parmasto three-bet to 2,000,000, only for Laiho to jam for 8,700,000. Parmasto called, and turned over pocket sevens, which had Laiho’s pair of fives crushed. The board ran out sans fives or unlikely straights, busting Laiho in second-place for €102,500, and leaving a delighted Parmasto to receive a €97,400 payout, the winner’s trophy, and a place in the Kings of Tallinn history books.

Full 2023 Kings of Tallinn Results

Expand the table below to check out the full list of results from the 2023 Kings of Tallinn festival. They include victories for Kimmo Fagerholm, who defeated Anatoly Filatov heads-up in the €3,000 High Roller event, a result worth €63,156.

Irish legend Fintan Gavin also found himself in the winner’s enclosure, taking down the €660 No-Limit Hold’em Mystery Bounty tournament.

The 2023 Kings of Tallinn has only just ended but players are already planning their assault on the 2024 edition! Stay tuned to PokerNews to discover exactly when that festival will be.

_{All imagery courtesy of the excellent Elena Kask and Tambet Kask}

The Cheltenham Festival is one of the world’s most famous horse racing meets, one packed with Grade 1 races featuring the best horses and jockeys. Cheltenham takes place from March 14-17, which is also when the bet365 Cheltenham Champions promotion runs, giving you a chance to play for a share of €2,500 for free. So saddle up, take the reins, and race off with a bankroll-boosting prize for free!

The Cheltenham Champions promotion sees bet365 poker players compete in four value-packed freerolls coinciding with the horse racing festival’s most prestigious events. Three freerolls, the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, and Stayers’ Hurdle, feature €500 cash prize pools, with the Gold Cup freeroll boasting €1,000 in cold, hard cash.

All four freerolls have restricted entry, but gaining access is simple. All you need to do is be fast out of the stalls each day and either play five jackpot Twister tournaments with a minimum buy-in of €5 or stake €50 on qualifying Age of the Gods slots via the poker software, and that day’s freeroll opens to you.

Each day’s qualifying period runs from 3:30 p.m. GMT to 3:29 p.m. GMT the following day, giving you plenty of time to meet the entry requirements.

Cheltenham Champions Freeroll Schedule

Cheltenham Champions Significant Terms and Conditions

• Cheltenham Champions runs from 10:00 GMT on 13th March until 15:29 GMT on 17th March 2023.
• Qualifying periods run daily from 15:30 GMT until 15:29 GMT the following day with the exception of the first, which runs from 10:00 GMT on 13th March until 15:29 GMT on 14th March.
• In order to receive one freeroll ticket, you must play in five Twister tournaments with a minimum buy-in of €5 or stake €50 on qualifying Age of the Gods slots within the poker software during a daily qualifying period.
• In order to receive both freeroll tickets, you must complete both missions outlined above. You can complete each mission once to receive a maximum of two freeroll tickets per qualifying period. Both tickets can only be used to enter the Cheltenham freeroll assigned to that qualifying period. More details can be found in the Missions section of the poker software.
• Qualifying slots for the staking mission are: Age Of The Gods, Age of the Gods: Apollo Power, Age of the Gods: Book of Oracle, Age of the Gods: Epic Troy, Age of the Gods: Fate Sisters, Age of the Gods: Furious 4, Age of the Gods: Glorious Griffin, Age of the Gods: God of Storms, Age of the Gods: God of Storms 2, Age of the Gods: Goddess of Wisdom, Age of the Gods: King of Olympus, Age of the Gods: Medusa & Monsters, Age of the Gods: Mighty Midas, Age of the Gods: Roulette, Age of the Gods: Ruler of the Dead, Age of the Gods: Ruler of the Seas, Age of the Gods: Ruler of the Sky, Age of the Gods: Rulers of Olympus, Age of the Gods: Wheels of Olympus, Age of the Gods: Wonder Warriors, Age of the Gods Norse: Book of Dwarves, Age of the Gods Norse: Gods and Giants, Age of the Gods Norse: King of Asgard, Age of the Gods Norse: Norse Legends and Age of the Gods Norse: Ways of Thunder.
• All freeroll tickets received as a result of Cheltenham Champions can only be used to enter freerolls with the corresponding name. If unused, tickets expire once registration for the relevant freeroll closes.
• This offer is only available to new and eligible customers.

What Are Twister Tournaments?

Twister are bet365 poker’s take on jackpot sit & go tournaments, where the prize pool is randomly determined before the first cards are dealt. Most of the time, these three-handed hyper-turbo sit & go games have a prize pool twice or three times the size of each player’s buy-in, but they can payout up to 1,000 times the buy-in, making them potentially lucrative.

Buy-ins of €1, €2, €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, and €200 are available in the bet365 poker software, so there is a Twister tournament for everyone regardless of their bankroll’s size.

Twister Prize Probabilities

Start Your Bet365 Career With a €365 Welcome Bonus

You need a Bet365 Poker account to get involved in the Cheltenham Champions promotion. Those with an account can fire up the Bet365 Poker software, opt in, and start meeting the entry requirements. Anyone reading this without an account can download Bet365 Poker via PokerNews and become eligible for a sizable welcome package.

Regardless of your initial deposit size, new Bet365 Poker customers receive a €365 redeemable bonus that releases into your account as you play real money cash games and tournaments. You receive 10 Status Points for every €1 or £1 you contribute to the cash game rake or pay in tournament fees.

The first two €2.50 bonus payments release into your playable balance once you earn 25 and 50 Status Points, respectively. The following 24 increments land in your account each time you earn 100 Status Points, with the remaining installments redeeming after every 250 Status Points earned.

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After two weeks of high-stakes poker action, the 2023 Triton Super High Roller Series Vietnam wrapped up with the completion of Event #15: $20,000 NLH Short Deck, which Canada’s Sam Greenwood took down for $207,000 to close out the series.

The Super High Roller Series in Southeast Asia consisted of over a dozen No-Limit Hold’em and Short Deck events. It culminated with the $100,000 buy-in Main Event, which saw England’s Talal Shakerchi topping the field of 135 runners and defeating Malaysia’s Michael Soyza to earn the trophy and a career-best $3,250,000.

The victory brought Shakerchi, a 59-year-old hedge fund manager, his first Triton title after a runner-up finish in $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha at 2022 Triton Cyprus series for $190,000. Soyza, meanwhile, was after a second title after taking down the 2019 Triton Jeju Super High Roller for $1,420,581. He bested that with his runner-up finish as he took home a career-high $2,207,000.

“Poker is my hobby and I want to play the best players,” Shakerchi told Triton after the victory. “That’s how you get satisfaction out of any activity that you do. Challenge yourself and try to do the best you can.”

Other notables who made deep runs in the Triton Vietnam Main Event include Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel (18th – $175,000), the controversial Bryn Kenney (17th – $195,000) and Mike Watson (20th – $175,000), who went on to take down Event #12: $50,000 NLH Short Deck – Ante Only for $695,000.

Read about the early winners in the Triton Vietnam series!

Koon, Tang & Greenwood Grab Triton Vietnam Titles

PokerNews highlighted some of the early winners in the High Roller series including familiar names like Nacho Barbero (Event #2: $15,000 NLH 7-Handed – $600,000), Jans Arends (Event #5: $30,000 NLH 7-Handed – $921,178) and Orpen Kisacikoglu (Event #7: $75,000 NLH 8-Handed – $1,753,000).

The familiar faces kept winning as GGPoker ambassador Jason Koon topped a small field of 24 runners in Event #10: $50,000 NLH Turbo for $574,000. Koon defeated Russia’s Artur Martirosian during heads-up play, while fellow American Chris Brewer finished in third. After that, Daniel Tang took down Event #11: $25,000 NLH Short Deck – Ante Only for $427,000.

Event #10: $50,000 NLH Turbo Final Table Results

Watson, another high-stakes regular, emerged the winner in the $50,000 Short Deck offering for $695,000. The Canadian had an incredible run throughout the series and managed to nab five cashes in addition to the first-place victory, including a six-place finish in Event #11 for $91,200.

Watson’s recent heater didn’t start in Vietnam. In February, he took down Event #20: €25,000 No Limit Hold’em at EPT Paris for $346,773. In his latest victory, Watson defeated heads-up opponent Isaac Haxton, who himself has been on quite a hot streak to start off the new year.

Event #12: $50,000 NLH Short Deck – Ante Only Final Table Results

Watson wasn’t the only Canadian who found a trophy at Triton Vietnam. After China’s Aaron Shu Nu Zang took down the $100,000 NLH Short Deck Main Event for $1,544,000, Greenwood defeated Malaysia’s Lun Loon in the series finale to win $207,000, while others at the final table included Haxton (3rd – $91,000), Seth Davies (4th – $65,800) and Wei Hsiang Yeu (5th – $53,200).

A full list of winners at the Triton Super High Roller Series Vietnam festival is available in the table below.

2023 Triton Super High Roller Series Vietnam Winners

_{Photos courtesy of Triton Poker}

A champion has been declared after nine days of the $3,500 Main Event at the 2023 Wynn Millions. Michael Rossitto has climbed to the top and defeated a field of 1,314 entries to take home $604,637. Rossitto conquered a final table on Day 6 in just over 10 hours and outlasted Andrew Esposito in a heads-up duel.

Rossitto entered the final day in the middle of the pack but never really suffered any major setbacks throughout the day. As one of the strongest players remaining in the field, Rossitto got down to business and was able to walk away with the title. Both players had their hands on the chip lead at one point in a heads-up match that lasted around 2.5 hours, but it was Rossitto who got the last laugh.

It’s the largest career score for Rossitto, who said he was patient for most of the final table.

“I just waited for good hands early on until I got chips and could play more aggressively,” said in his post-win interview with PokerNews.

Rossitto will add this to his already impressive poker resume which includes over $2.1 million in career earnings.

The only hiccup on the day for the new Las Vegas resident was when he had his aces cracked during heads-up to relinquish the chip lead.

“We were still pretty deep so I got some advice from some better players to adjust my strategy and I played well,” Rossitto said. “It’s pretty good to bounce ideas off everyone and everyone had great knowledge to give. I kind of just went with my own reads and I think it well.”

As for the runner-up from Texas, Esposito also earned his largest payday of $480,752 after another solid performance since returning to the tournament scene. Esposito mentioned throughout the day that he was mostly into cash games but has since indulged in more tournaments and his track record has been stellar over the last few months. “I’m very happy with it,” Esposito said on his good run that also last over 10 hours on Day 6.

Action from the Final Day

The day began with nine players returning to the felt and if the end of Day 5 was any indication of the pace of play, the players may have been looking at a long and extended final day before the winner would be declared. However, that wasn’t the case as the action was fast and furious right from the start with a cold deck helping the situation.

Cliff Ziff came into the day with an average stack but on the second hand of the day, his pocket tens were no match for Esposito who rivered an ace with ace-king. Short-stacked Kharlin Sued lasted another orbit but Esposito’s straight flush also sent him to the rail in the early going.

Near the end of the first level, Zhigang Yang got the last of his chips in the middle with pocket nines but was looked up by a suited broadway holding from Mark Zajdner. A runner-runner flush for Zajdner sent Yang to the payout desk in seventh place and the field was quickly down to the final six.

When the players returned from their first break of the day, it was the start-of-day chip leader Zachary Donovan who was on the wrong end of a cooler when his pocket kings were up against the pocket aces of Zajdner. The board provided no change and Donovan was left on the short stack.

Jacob Powers was full of unorthodox plays throughout the final table, and today he even pulled out the straddle (blind raise). However, those lost chips eventually caught up with him and he ran out of chips in sixth place. Donovan managed to survive long enough to ladder up to fifth place but lost a flip to the big stack of Zajdner to leave just four players remaining.

Pedro Ingles was fairly quiet at the final table and patiently watched other stacks implode around him. The Spaniard finally found a spot to get his 20 big blinds into the middle with ace-jack suited but ran right into the ace-king of Rossitto. The board ran out clean and Ingles hit the rail in fourth place.

That left the final three to battle it out, with plenty of chips in play to create a dynamic that saw the chip lead bounce around feverishly. Another cooler emerged when Esposito’s aces scored him a double-up through Zajdner’s kings but the Canadian bounced right back with a triple-up on the very next hand.

Three-handed play continued past the dinner break for another two levels with the chips being passed around the table pretty evenly. However, Zajdner was never able to escape the short stack, and eventually, another cooler was dealt. In a blind vs blind matchup, Zajdner got his chips in the middle with pocket jacks against the ace-king from Rossitto. An ace on the flop left Zajdner drawing slim and he was unable to catch up, bowing out in third place.

When the heads-up match began, Rossitto was comfortably in the lead and slowly adding more chips to his stack. However, his pocket aces were cracked by Esposito who flopped two pair when all of the chips went in the middle. Esposito held on for a big double-up to sway the chip lead in his direction. After one last break, Rossitto returned to the felt on a mission and quickly climbed his way back to even.

After Rossitto started to pull ahead over the next hour, he finally laid a couple of larger blows to Esposito’s stack and it all came to a head in one final hand. Rossitto barrelled the turn with the nut-straight and Esposito went bluff-catching at the wrong time. All of the chips went in on the river and Rossitto was able to celebrate with his rail.

Brazilian star Allan “allan sheik” Mello was one of many online poker tournament players celebrating this weekend, with Mello taking down the a $1,050 buy-in freezeout that was part of the PokerStars Bounty Builder Series.

Dozens of household names, including Andras “probirs” Nemeth and Team PokerStars’ Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis found themselves in the winner’s enclosure, having triumphed in high stakes PokerStars tournaments, to give their bankrolls a serious boost.

Mello’s victory came in the Bounty Builder Series #73, a $1,050 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max High Roller freezeout. Some 207 players bought in and created a $207,000 prize pool.

The nine-handed final table was littered with top-tier professionals, although it lost one when Andrey “Anjeyyyy” Novak bowed out early into proceedings. Finland’s “realshisjiii” and Brazilian “MatheusMocci” joined Novak on the rail before “25264556” and “AcidValue” crashed out, leaving only four players in contention for the title of champion.

Those four became three with the elimination of Stevan “random_chu” Chew, then two after Kelvin “Kelvin_FP:AR” Kerber was relieved of his stack. Heads-up saw Mello stand toe-to-toe with |gammiil€120| of Montenegro. Mello finished his opponent, and reeled in a $42,170 score.

Bounty Builder Series 73: $1,050 NLHE 8-Max High Roller Freezeout Final Table Results

Multiple $1M GTD Events Scheduled for Returning PokerStars Bounty Builder Series

MakuFz and Yan Chop the Titans Event

The $5,200 Titans event saw 75 high-rolling PokerStars players take to the virtual felt and create a $375,000 prize pool. As you would expect, a tournament of this magnitude attracts the biggest names in the business, and nine of those elite grinders navigated their way to the nine-handed final table.

Just as he had done in the $1,050 NLHE 8-Max Freezeout Bounty Builder Series event, Andrey “Anjeyyyy” Novak busted in ninth place in this tournament. Austrian “CherryOnTop” and Brazil’s Rodrigo “seijistar” Seiji Sirichuk followed suit, before Juan “Malaka$tyle” Pardo, and “roo_400” saw their tournaments end prematurely.

“Gogac sniper” was shot down in fourth, and heads-up was set when Jans “Graftekkel” Arends busted in third. Arends’ untimely demise left David “MissOracle” Yan and “MakuFz” heads-up for the title and the lion’s share of the prize pool. The heads-up duo struck a deal that saw Yan collected $84,936, and MakuFz bank $92,090 and the title of champion.

$5,200 Titans Event Final Table Results

*reflects a heads-up deal

PokerStars and Oracle Red Bull Racing Continue Partnership

Other PokerStars Highlights

Andras “probirs” Nemeth became a Bounty Builder Series champion, while Team PokerStars’ popular Dutchman Lex “L. Velduis” Veldhuis won the $1,050 Sunday Warm-Up. There was also a victory for Michael “imluckbox” Addamo in the $1,050 Sunday Supersonic.

*includes bounty payments

ukrLaci Wins Big as $100K Mystery Bounty Beats Guarantee

Over at 888poker, “ukrLaci” padded their bankroll with an impressive $12,300 after being the last player standing in the $35,000 Sunday Big Shot 525. The Ukraininan topped an 82-strong field, and won more than a quarter of the $41,000 prize pool.

The champion defeated 888poker regular “Destroyer300” heads-up, resigning the Lithuanian runner-up to an $8,200 consolation prize. Other finalists that are always grinding 888poker’s biggest tournaments included Finnish star “wellyxx” and Canadian “algsxr.” The finished sixth and ninth for $2,337 and $1,476, respectively.

While this tournament was concluding, the latest $100,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty Main Event was whittling its field towards the final table. Some 1,071 players bought in, ensuring another guarantee-topping prize pool, with “freeeeeeeeak” being one of the biggest winners so far after pulling out a $10,000 bounty before busting in 190th place.

The $100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event wraps up on March 13, and PokerNews will have a full recap of the final table action for you on March 14.

$35,000 Sunday Big Shot 525 Final Table Results

888poker Steps Up War Against AI in Poker; Refunds Almost $300K in 2022

kellerassel0 Claims Big Shot 215 Title For Germany

Seventy-one players turned out for the latest edition of the Big Shot 215, a tournament with a $12,000 guarantee but that awarded $14,200. A cool $4,402 of that sum went to Germany’s “kellerassel0” who defeated “Iaromachikne” of Brazil in the one-on-one section of the tournament. Second place came with a $3,053 payout.

Three other finalists saw four-figure prizes land in their 888poker accounts. “BeHappyyy” ($1,065), “marllonsanti” ($1,420) and “BIG_BIN” ($2,059) being that trio.

$12,000 Sunday Big Shot 215 Final Table Results

Dusek Demolished The Grand at PartyPoker

The $1,050 Grand tournament at PartyPoker is the only weekly event at the site that sees players compete using their real names and not aliases. Eighty players bought in this week, created a $79,785 prize pool, of which Petr Dusek collected $19,362.

Dusek brushed aside Bulgarian Atanas Malinov heads-up, leaving Malinov to capture a $12,676 consolation prize. Other well-known grinders that reached the Grand’s final table but fell short of the victory included Ioannis Angelous Konstas ($3,117), Gavin Cochrane ($3,547), and Tomi Brouk ($4,084).

The Grand Final Table Results

PartyPoker Grand Prix Spring Features a $250K GTD Main Event for $55

“Spacko22” Secures Big Saturday Win

Although it takes place before Sunday, The Big Saturday is one of three new PartyPoker majors, so it deserves a mention here. The $215 Big Saturday drew in 142 players, which mean another small overlay on the $30,000 guarantee. “Spacko22” collected $5,882 of that pot after leaving 141 opponents in their wake, including runner-up “OddsetProfil,” who netted $4,104.

Only two of the players that reached the final table walked away with less than $1,000 for their efforts. Perhaps make The Big Saturday part of your regular weekend grinding schedule? Satellite from pennies run throughout the week if the $215 buy-in is too steep.

The Big Saturday Final Table Results

Other PartyPoker Highlights

Check out some of these other PartyPoker results, including “mch89” who turned a $55 investment into an impressive $8,236 payday.

*includes bounty payments