Tag: high stakes poker

I asked 18 high stakes poker players to name their top 3 movies. Some did this; others could only choose one or two. All found it a tough challenge. 

(Full List Below)

Of the 36 movies selected, a top ten emerged, and the reasons why these movies still echoed around the hearts and minds of the high stakes players was incredible to hear. 

Henrick Hecklen is one of Denmark’s top high stakes exports, and for him, science-fiction held a charm.

Here he is to explain why.

“I’d probably pick Interstellar, Arrival and The Matrix in no particular order,” said Hecklen. “They’re all somewhat different, yet they all make you ponder the great existential questions. “Can we survive as a species?” “Are we alone?” “Is this all a simulation?” 

“These questions challenge you to think in ways you don’t think like in everyday life. As a funny side note, in the early days of my poker career, when I was feeling down because of a particularly bad session or a downswing, I’d always watch stuff about how the universe works to remind myself how small and an essentially non-meaningful thing it is to have a bad session of poker when you look at it from a perspective of how vast the cosmos is and what else is out there besides irrelevant monetary losses..”

Antonio Esfandiari liked movies that inspired him and singled out Braveheart and Forrest Gump in that regard.

“Braveheart was about sacrificing your life for the bigger cause, and that touched me,” said Esfandiari. “Forrest Gump has every aspect of life in a single story: love, fear, wealth, poverty, hatred – everything you could imagine. It’s a beautifully inspiring well-written story of how amazing and sad life can be.”

The former Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) winner, Brian Rast, also picked Forrest Gump as one of his top movies.

“I learned a lot of lessons from it, despite it not being a Top 10 movie,” said Rast, “especially watching him overcome obstacles in life, and how naturally and effortlessly he did so. It’s easy to be cynical and jaded because of the way of the world, but it’s ok to be innocent. As long as you’re sincere and try your best, you can hold your head up high, and succeed.”

Rast wasn’t the only poker player whose choice of movie fits in with the flow of current political and cultural unrest. Daniel Negreanu chose two films that dealt with issues of racism. 

“American History X is a powerful movie that had me in tears on repeated watches,” said Negreanu. “It was a raw look at race and how racism can be indoctrinated from a young age. I also love ‘Remember The Titans’. I love anything with Denzel Washington. Similarly to American History X, the movie dealt with race and proved that much of it comes from ignorance. If you out people together without the noise, they will find a lot more in common with each other than they may have previously thought.”

Negreanu’s third move choice, Good Will Hunting, left a permanent indention in his limbic system, because it reminded him of his childhood, and he wasn’t the only one whose younger life mirrored or was deeply affected by a movie.

Sosia Jiang is a confessed student of life, who plays high stakes poker when she has the time. Jiang chose ‘The Dead Poet’s Society’ as her favourite movie.

“I first saw Dead Poets Society as a young teen struggling to find my own identity,” said Jiang. “The themes of navigating pressures of conformity and parental expectations yet finding your way and “carpe diem” very much resonated with me at the time and I would say helped shape my attitude even in adulthood toward crucial life decisions.”

Sam Trickett selected ‘Gladiator’ as his classic underdog story, and ‘Rocketman’ as it drew similarities to his out of control hedonistic lifestyle at the peak of his poker powers. Still, it was another movie, seen in his youth, that would guide Trickett later in life.

“I’ve watched Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, more than any other film in my life,” said Trickett. “I had it on videotape and loved the idea of helping people without money. It inspired me as a young boy. I grew up 10-minutes from Sherwood Forest too. so I was always pretending to be Robin Hood in my childhood.”

Throw that man a pair of green tights.

Before I give you the rankings, here are some interesting insights. 

Only one of the 18 players chose a poker movie as a favourite with ‘Rounders’ taking the honours. Still, a gambling movie did make the Top 10 with the Blackjack inspired’ 21′ surviving the bubble. 

Of the four favourite protagonists that emerged from the data, three of them play poker (Edward Norton, Matt Damon and Leonardo Di Caprio), and two of them starred in Rounders.

While there was a lot of love for an epic motion picture, it seems our high stakes poker players are not fans of hobbits, dragons or superheroes. 

Finally, only one poker player was that good; he could choose a movie named after him – Wiktor ‘limitless’ Malinowski selected ‘Limitless’ as his top pick. 

The Top Ten Movies

1. The Matrix

2. Gladiator

3. The Godfather Part I

4. The Godfather Part II

5. Good Will Hunting

6. Shawshank Redemption

7. Braveheart

8. The Arrival

9. Forrest Gump

10. 21

The Top Protagonists

1. Edward Norton 

2. Leonardo Di Caprio 

3. Matt Damon 

4. Russell Crowe 

The Top Directors

1. Christopher Nolan 

2. Francis Ford Coppola 

3. Martin Scorcese 

4. The Coen Brothers 

Genre

1. Drama 

2. Thriller/Action 

3. Sci-Fi 

4. Epic 

The Full List of Movies

1. The Matrix

2. Gladiator

3. The Godfather Part I

4. The Godfather Part II

5. Good Will Hunting

6. Shawshank Redemption

7. Braveheart

8. The Arrival

9. Forrest Gump

10. 21

11. Fight Club

12. Armageddon

13. Inglorious Basterds

14. Rocketman

15. Interstate 60

16. Almost Famous

17. Goodfellas

18. Fargo

19. Remember the Titans

20. The Prophet

21. Rocky

22. There Will be Blood

23. Dead Poet’s Society

24. A Beautiful Mind

25. 12 Angry Men

26. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

27. The 300

28. Inception

29. Interstellar

30. The Empire Strikes Back

31. Rio 2096

32. Rounders

33. The Departed

34. Limitless

35. No Country For Old Men

36. American History X

On April 7, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, tweeted his intention to move $1bn of his equity in his mobile payments company, Square, into a new LLC called ‘Start Small,’ with the aim of funding research into the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. To put his generosity into perspective, $1bn represents 28% of his wealth. 

Under the leadership of Dorsey, Twitter has turned into one of the most iconic companies and culture changes of modern times. On the flipside. Twitter is arguably a vast multifarious dichotomy. It’s been the bridge between cultures, genders and classes, and the destruction of them. It’s arable land for anything goes, and even the President of the United States of America fiddles with it while on the loo. 

Dorsey’s tweet went out to 4.7m followers, received 13.9k comments, 88.1k Retweets and 311.3k likes. Big numbers. But what if your figures aren’t so impressive? The use of Twitter and other social media sites affect the mental health of millions of people, if not billions, worldwide – including poker.

Twitter and Mental Health

Therapists the world over are confronted with an army of people who don’t feel good enough, leading to the diagnosis ‘toxic self-judgment.’

Researchers have dove deep into the facts and figures to determine whether ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ contribute to feelings of negative self-worth, and there is ample evidence that it does if used in a certain way. 

Social Media: Cultural Not Individual

Our feelings of low self-judgment are so rampant within society that therapists have begun extending their research beyond the borders of individuals, to culture, and social media is an integral part of this system. 

Social media is compelling, while at the same time, very selective in its focus. It allows people to shield vulnerability by sharing the best bits of their lives with others. On the face of it, you could say that the motive is to feel good, but when social media reflects the noise, it can have devastated consequences for your self-esteem. 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – they all show slithers of wonderment when, in reality, we are all bobbing aimlessly like a cork in an ocean of doubt. Rather than us all bob together, social comparison kicks in, and off we go, below the railway arches for a sneaky cigarette, and the search for a few more ‘likes’ begins.

“My life is not good enough”.

“I am not good enough”.

It’s a feeling shared by the high stakes star, Charlie Carrel. 

Carrel has more than 38.1k subscribers on YouTube, but only 92 followers on Twitter.

What gives?

“I quit Twitter because it was negatively impacting my mental health,” says Carrel. “There is a huge lack of accountability in a public space that, mixed with the anonymity, allows people to express the cruellest parts of themselves with no repercussions. I thought I could bring warmth to the people I interacted with, and eventually, people would react well, but I was wrong.

“I think a lot of people convince themselves that they are doing good in the world by ‘calling people out’ or by ‘arguing for the good side.’ But, I think people would do much better for themselves and the world if they saved the arguments for human-human interactions.”

If Twitter is more cultural than individualistic, is there a toxic element to the poker community that comes to the fore, is it a reflection of the human condition, or is Twitter’s design the problem? Phil Galfond thinks the latter carries a lot of weight.

With 108,000 Twitter followers, Galfond is the tenth most followed high stakes poker player in the world. 

But he’s not a fan.

“I think Twitter, on the whole, is a very negative place, and definitely detrimental to my mental health, although the effect isn’t large, and I wouldn’t say it impacts my game much at all.,” says Galfond. “For me, the worst part of Twitter is the certainty with which people state their opinions. This is part of human nature but also influenced by the character limit, which doesn’t allow room for disclaimers and softer language. It’s designed perfectly to enhance arguing.”

With more than $56.4m in live tournament earnings, Bryn Kenney is the #1 in the All-Time Money List, but he doesn’t feature in the top Twitter rankings. There’s a reason for that. Despite having a Twitter account, and a following of 16.7k followers, he rarely uses it, and his ideas follow the logic of both Carrel and Galfond.

“Social media is a bunch of trolls talking nonsense for the most part, and I don’t involve myself in random noise. I think it’s mostly a waste of time.” – Bryn Kenney.

Both Kenney and Carrel are incredibly popular poker players whose Twitter accounts are sitting in a wheelchair in some hospital corridor. But at least they have an account. One of the top dogs in the high stakes circuit that doesn’t have an account is the multiple time Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1, Stephen Chidwick.

Here’s why.

“I don’t use Twitter simply because I don’t think the potential benefits outweigh the potential costs for me,” says Chidwick. “My long term goals require a lot of dedication, and I think it would be more of a distraction than anything. I also tend to prefer social interaction with small groups or single people, and Twitter is the opposite. I rarely feel like I have something I want to say to everyone I know.”

Other high stakes poker players who leave Twitter well alone include Mikita Badziakouski, Timofey Kuznetsov, Cary Katz, Linus Loeliger, Christoph Vogelsang, Talal Shakerchi, and Wiktor Malinowski.

I asked Malinowski why he doesn’t use Twitter, and again, while a small aspect of his response, the element of conflict rears its ugly head. 

“I never put any thought into it,” says Malinowski. “I didn’t feel like I had anything to say. I don’t feel like it provides any value. To be more popular, for example, UFC fighters they need Twitter. I like just playing poker. I don’t feel like I need to be in dispute.”

What We Share is Important

How you interact with Twitter is essential to your mental health, and one element often overlooked when dissecting this issue is what you share.

Therapists have reported that people who regularly delve into articles that carry headlines like “10-Ways to Create The Perfect Bikini Body” or “5 Routes to the Most Amazing Relationship,” begin to feel that these things are easy. When they can’t fit into their bikini or their relationship goes to pot, it perpetuates self-blame and low self-esteem. 

The search for meaning, purpose and a tribe is a genuine human struggle, and social media exacerbates that quest in an attempt to be helpful that can go awry because of the selective and biased view of the content delivered. 

Many therapists believe that one way of squeezing the goodness from social media is to link what you share to your values and to block or disconnect from people who share material with you that don’t align. If you can do this effectively, then your digital representation of whom you are more accurately reflects your ideal self, and this may lead to a higher appreciation of self-worth, and fewer social comparison evils. 

Values

If we can identify what matters to us, find meaning and purpose. Then you find a new anchor from which your self-worth can grip to like a barnacle. Social media allows us to quickly find our value in other people’s opinions, a fixed mindset trait. Leading from your sense of importance, and cultivating a twitter feed that’s more aligned to what’s important to you becomes very centred – a growth mindset trait.

Passive v Active Social Media Use

Studies coming out of Belgium, the Netherlands and the USA have shown that there are +EV ways of using Twitter, namely the difference between passive and active use. 

1. Passive Use

Passive use of social media can be detrimental to your mental health. It’s when you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through people’s photos while someone trims your beard. Using social media in this way promotes social comparison, envy, and other negative consequences for subjective wellbeing. 

2. Active Use

Active and targeted use of social media creates positive wellbeing, builds social capital and stimulates social connectedness. Ways of being ‘active’ include sharing content that aligns with your values, commenting on other people’s posts generously and positively, and sharing other people’s content when you find it valuable.

If you find yourself scrolling through Twitter aimlessly, then it’s time to unplug and think on how you can positively engage with others, and numerous people within the poker world can do this effectively.

With close to half a million Twitter followers, Daniel Negreanu is the most popular poker player on Dorsey’s platform. If Negreanu felt that Twitter was detrimental to his mental health, he wouldn’t be on there. So how does he manage to be so interactive and on so many controversial topics?

“Twitter is a valuable tool when it comes to marketing and connecting with people, but it also requires a thick skin to deal with the constant negativity,” says Negreanu. “One of the things I’ve learned from some gracious posters is that if you play poker, you are only allowed to discuss poker. “Stick to Poker” is a common theme.”

Phil Galfond echoes the ‘poker specific’ aspect when he says, “For poker-specific discussion, I think twitter is largely positive, especially when compared to alternatives (most poker forums). Lots of good ideas are shared. Kind words, motivation, and congratulations are common within the poker community.”

Antonio Esfandiari is another player who doesn’t allow Twitter to mess with his mental state, but he is proactive in managing that side of things.

“Twitter doesn’t affect my mental game,” says Esfandiari. “I don’t check my twitter on my phone, and notifications are off. I check Twitter on my time and not twitter time.”

Phil Hellmuth has close to 300,000 Twitter followers, and for him, it’s been a love-hate relationship, erring more on the love side of things. 

“I like using twitter!” Said Hellmuth. “I have had my ups-and-downs on Twitter, and let it affect me way too much at times. When folks attack me unfairly, I block them. When I receive too much praise, I try not to let it go to my head. My account is meant to be aspirational and to spread positivity.”

On Summary

The poker community’s use of Twitter is a microcosm of its global use. There are good eggs and rotten eggs. Some people use Twitter passively and aggressively, and those that use it actively and positively. 

Maybe the core problem is the clash between our love for poker, and the emergence of core values from the stars that we admire and choose to follow. We love the game, and the way someone plays it, so we follow them, only to find out that we share little in common with their values and the way they view the world, and the 280-word clashes begin.

What do you think about poker Twitter?

Is it a valuable experience for you, negative or somewhere in between, and why?

The Most Followed High Stakes Players (Twitter)

  1. Daniel Negreanu – 485,200
  2. Phil Ivey – 441,400
  3. Doyle Brunson – 397,600
  4. Phil Hellmuth – 284,700
  5. Antonio Esfandiari – 192,700
  6. Tom Dwan – 165,200
  7. Haralabos Voulgaris – 145,900
  8. Jason Mercier – 135,500
  9. Doug Polk – 128,500
  10. Phil Galfond – 108,500

You won’t see a hot air balloon bearing the GGPoker brand name and the slogan “We Are The Home of High Stakes Poker.’ Still, a rooster is reminding high stakes players that frequent stormy games are ranging from $25/$50 to $200/$400 with No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha and Short Deck on the menu.

Things are simple circumventing the high stakes poker scene. You sit down at a table, and you see a face. Unfortunately, it’s not the same in the online world, and for this reason, many top pros feel unsafe competing in games, and a few believe certain forms of online poker will die out due to integrity concerns.

GGPoker is not indolent about these threats. 

In a bid to help foster a ‘live feel’ to their online product, GGPoker has reached out to their VIPs to advise them to change their pseudonyms to their real names, and provide proof in the shape of a passport or driving license or find somewhere else to play.

Here is the correspondence sent to VIP players from GGPoker.

“Thank you for being an active member of our VIP Games. We are contacting you to inform you of our new VIP Game policy. It has recently come to light that some players are creating multiple accounts to hide [sic] identity and target weaker players despite our effort to police it. This is affecting the safety of our VIPs and hurting the integrity of the game. As such, we plan on progressively converting players’ nicknames to their Real Names.

“Once we have received and verified the document, your Nickname will be converted to your Real Name. Subsequently, you will no longer be allowed to use any other multi-accounts on [sic] GGPoker Network, which includes all skins on the network.

“If you do not wish to comply, we regret to inform you that we can no longer accept your services. In this case, please cease playing and cash out your balance immediately.”

So far, the rules only cover high stakes cash games. GGPoker does have an extensive high stakes multi-table tournament (MTT) schedule, but currently, players can choose to use their real names or select an alias. 

The use of real names in high stakes games began at partypoker, with the Poker Masters Online, Super High Roller Bowl Online and World Poker Tour Online Championships all making actual name participation mandatory.

WSOPC Online Series: The Numbers

The first foray into international online waters for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a resounding success. The $100m GTD WSOP Circuit Online Series generated $134,706.274 in prize money, 30% higher than the promise.

The 516 tournament structure attracted 485,851 entrants, and close to $50m of the generated prize money came from the 18 gold ring events that acted as the main attraction.

Every single tournament nailed its guarantee.

The biggest single prize came in the $1,000, $5m GTD Main Event where ‘schimmelgodx’ earned $1.2m for conquering the 9,779 entrant field. 

Multi MILLION$

On the bread and butter front, GGPoker is rolling out a new initiative called Multi MILLION$. It’s a series of three weekly ‘Phased-Tournaments,’ with a combined $3,150,000 in guarantees. 

Global MILLION$ – $100 buy-in, $1m GTD

High Roller MILLION$ – $500 buy-in, $2m GTD

Zodiac MILLION$ – 500 Yuan buy-in, 1m Yuan GTD

Day 1’s will run daily and around the clock with the Day 2 starting every Sunday at 18:00 (GMT).

It’s that time of year when privileged persons of the poker community get to wear a tuxedo or low-cut dress, crack out the cane, and even stuff a lop-eared white bunny under the arm.

Red carpets were made for walking.

On Friday 6 March, the Global Poker Index (GPI) and PokerGO Studios, Aria Las Vegas, host the Global Poker Awards (GPA) ceremony, and the high roller contingent feature prominently.

There are 25 trophies to hand out, coupled to 25 associated speeches that will find their way into the PokerGo Studios air-conditioning ducts, and PokerGO is showcasing the whole shebang, live.

Maria Ho and Drea Renee will co-emcee the event. Both of these mighty fine females featured last year with Renee co-hosting with Ali Nejad, and Ho picking up the award for Broadcaster of the Year. 

Let’s have a look at how the high stakes stratum fits into this one.

Player of the Year Awards

High Stakes players dominated the 2019 Player of the Year (PoY) rankings. For the second successive year, power-couple Alex Foxen and Kristen Bicknell earned the GPI PoY titles for the overall and female distinctions. 

Here is a roll-call on the rest of the high stakes winners.

Player of the Year Awards (Region/Country)

Stephen Chidwick – Europe

Danny Tang – Asia

Farid Jattin – Latin America

Yake Wu – China

Juha Helppi – Finland

Tsugunari Toma – Japan

Dario Sammartino – Italy

Ali Imsirovic – Bosnia

Sam Greenwood – Canada

Kahle Burns – Australia

Chin Wei Lim – Malaysia

Rainer Kempe – Germany

Pete Chen – Taiwan

Orpen Kisacikoglu – Turkey

Adrian Mateos – Spain

Joao Vieira – Portugal

People’s Choice For Hand of the Year

The Triton Super High Roller Series features in the ‘People’s Choice for Hand of the Year’, with Sam Trickett’s ballsy bluff against Stephen Chidwick at the Triton Million event, one of the favourites. 

Here is the short-list.

Bryce Yockey takes a historic hit against Josh Arieh in the WSOP Poker Players Championship

Ryan Riess makes a 10-high all-in call at EPT Monte Carlo final table

Sam Trickett makes Stephen Chidwick fold the best hand at Triton London 1M event

Thi Xoa Nguyen folds full house to Athanasios Polychronopoulos at PSPC

GPI Breakout Player of the Year

Aaron Van Blarcum and George Wolff have had tremendous success in high stakes live tournaments in 2019, and they feature on the short-list for the ‘GPI Breakout Player of the Year.’

Final Table Performance of the Year

Bryn Kenney appears in the short-list, twice, thanks to his win at the Aussie Millions Main Event, and his second-place at Triton Million London. Alex Foxen is in the mix thanks to his victory at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Philip Hui is in with a shout for his victory at the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and Chino Rheem’s win at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event also features.

Twitter Personality

Daniel Negreanu is the sole high stakes player in the running for the ‘Twitter Personality of the Year’, and given his high-level of output, he has to be one of the favourites.

Vlogger of the Year

Negreanu is also a favourite to land the ‘Vlogger of the Year’ award, although Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme will run him close.

Industry Person of the Year

Triton co-founder, Paul Phua, is in the running for ‘Industry Person of the Year,’ thanks to his sterling work in the high stakes scene. Cary Katz receives a nomination for the same reason, thanks to his work with Poker Central. Phil Galfond makes the shortlist for his work with Run It Once, and so does Rob Yong for all the work he is doing in front and behind the scenes of the poker industry.

Event of the Year

Finally, The Triton Million: A Helping Hand for Charity is one of the favourites to take the title so commonly handed out to the WSOP Main Event. 

In the New York Times Bestseller, ‘Reality is Broken’, author Jane McGonigal talks about the four core elements every game must possess for it to become as sticky as a wren’s nest. 

A motivating feedback system is one of them.

Some believe awards ceremonies are for the people who peel their back from the gym wall last, but without the Global Poker Awards (GPA), and the other institutions that create motivational feedback, all poker has is the macabre, menacing, mayhem of Twitter.

Poker is a game, but so is life.

In 2011, the American government created a cleft in the world of online poker the size of the Grand Canyon and the consequences reverberated around the world. 

One of those hit by the loss of revenue generated by that healthy vein was the televised poker industry. One by one TV shows that used to have us trembling with excitement fell off the face of the earth.

‘High Stakes Poker’ was one of the shows that died in that Annus horribilis, but fans of the live cash game machine will be delighted to know that it’s about to experience a resurrection.

Poker Central, the Netflix of poker, has acquired the brand and assets of the show in a new deal that will see old episodes rerun on PokerGO, with plans to stick the paddles on the chest of this bad boy sometime in the future.

You spell hay day ‘heyday’, and it has nothing to do with hay. During ‘High Stakes Poker’s’ heyday, it operated at peak velocity with seven seasons rammed into the years 2006 & 2011. 

The show attracted a variety of top pros and amateurs with Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu and Antonio Esfandiari ticking all of the North American poker glamour boxes, appearing in every single episode.

The format was No-Limit Hold ’em (NLHE), and in its first season, the minimum buy-in was $100,000, rising as high as $500,000 by the time the show had reached its fourth season.

Sam Simmons, president of Poker Central, said the show conveyed the ‘drama of cash game poker, beautifully,’ and said he was excited to ‘recapture the nostalgia and magic’ of the show on PokerGO.

The revitalised program is in good hands. Poker Hall of Famer, Mori Eskandani, produced all sevens seasons of the show for the Game Show Network, and he now serves as an executive producer for Poker Central. 

“High Stakes Poker was raw and natural, we just let the players play, and that’s what made it so special,” Said Eskandani before continuing, It’s a dream come true to bring the series to a new generation of poker fans and players. We expect even more action when the show returns with faces, both new and old.”

You can grab yourself a PokerGO subscription for as little at $8.50 per month if you pay annually, or $10 per month otherwise.

There was a time when Robin Hood would glide through Sherwood Forest, robbing the rich, and giving his loot to the poor. Sherwood Forest is in the county of Nottinghamshire, UK, the home of poker’s Dusk till Dawn (DTD).

DTD is no Sherwood Forest. Owner, Rob Yong once famously called it a ‘shed on an industrial estate.’ But on Thursday, January 9, for one night only, it will be filled to the brim with the robbed rich, only none of it will find its way to the poor. 

As I hold you spellbound with my words, some of the top players are slaloming their way through the partypoker MILLIONS UK schedule, and on Thursday there will be some relief for the lovers of cash games. 

Some of the most charismatic high stakes poker players in the business will emerge from their live tournament cocoons, to flutter into’ Trickett’s Room,’ for a night of high stakes action.

The Set-Up

The live cash game begins at 18:30 (GMT) on partypoker’s Twitch channel, with a 30-minute security delay. The former World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and World Poker Tour (WPT) winner, James Dempsey, will provide the commentary, aided by anyone with a pulse who knows a thing or two about poker.

Here is the Twitch link.

The Line-Up

Many moons ago, partypoker dominated the airwaves with some of the best high stakes televised action in the business, and the lineup in this one has that same nostalgic feel.

DTD named the poker room after ‘Sam Trickett’ in honour of the man who began life playing low-stakes tournaments and cash games in that ‘shed on an industrial estate’. Trickett will have a seat.

If there is a God then when it came to creating the mould for a poker TV personality, he carved it in the form of one Luke Schwartz. The WSOP bracelet winner is one of the funniest and outrageous people in poker, and will he will appear as a tick alongside Trickett in the pro-column.

Three non-pros are in the original lineup. 

DTD owner, and high stakes cash game reg, Rob Yong, will take a seat alongside, King’s Resort owner, Leon Tsoukernik, and the legendary Yair’ The Wolf’ Bitoun.

As the night unfolds, you can expect the cast to change. 

The Format

The format is £100/£200 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO), but the players reserve the right to increase or decrease the stakes should they wish. It’s an elevator that never goes down.

The Future

partypoker is calling this solo venture a ‘dress rehearsal’ for a new online version of ‘Trickett’s Room’ coming soon to the online poker room – A ‘members only’ area where players will compete in games at stakes of $10/$10 and above.

Selected games will air on partypoker’s Twitch channel with commentary from a host of the game’s top stars.

Do you want a seat?

Grab your bow and arrow, email trickettsroom@partypoker.com, and hope you don’t end up in the role of Friar Tuck. 

Here’s the deal.
This morning, naked, I walked out on my veranda to hang my clean knickers out to dry, when I realised I had not been outside the casino in six days.
Cue, full on life-assessment mode.
The first question that sprung to mind is what am I doing? Bill Perkins has gotten me re-reading Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin, and the transference of money earned into life-energy expended has been on my mind ever since.
Writing about poker is pretty cool; interviewing the best players in the world is even better, but am I working towards an epitaph that says, “Here lies the man who once interviewed Phil Ivey?”
I hope not.
I’m talking about meaning and purpose. To be immersed in a thing that transports you to another plane. Joy. Happiness. Fulfilment.
What is it?
I’m still searching.
It’s for this reason I always ask High Stakes Poker players – what’s the point?
Take my current vantage point.
The cultural clash of East meets West sit down for another marathon poker session. Cigarette and cigar smoke poisons the air. Butts sit on seats, only moving to take a piss. Food is a distraction.
What’s the point?
Are we winning all of the money so we can save the world, buy a more luxurious mansion, or because we love more than anything in the world?
It’s a question that stumps many high stakes players.
At least I know, it’s a question that’s on the mind of Stefan Schillhabel.
I was excited when I learned the German High Stakes crew had created a new venture called No Limit Gaming (NLG).
The brand first flashed in front of my eyes after the announcement that the Triple Crown winner, Niall Farrell, would join the team. I did some digging and learned that Schillhabel was the mastermind. I knew that poker was involved, but the early splash page and social media posts promised a broader focus on esports.
Intrigued, I copped hold of Schillhabel to ask him a few questions, and it was nice to find out that I’m not alone.
Meaning.
Purpose.
Joy.
Fulfilment.
A hark back to childhood.
Figure it out for yourself.

Where did the idea from No Limit Gaming come from?

The Idea of founding an esports team stuck in my mind for a long time. Since my youth, I was interested in esports, until poker and the necessary travelling that comes with it took away all my time and energy. After moving to Vienna, I got tired of travelling that much and started playing less and instead focused more on “life”. Back in Vegas at the start of the summer this year I realised that I needed to do something else besides playing poker.

No Limit Gaming logo

That’s where the idea of building an esports team came back to my mind, and I started doing a lot of research in the following weeks. On my flight back to Vienna I already started reading studies about esports, and I used my whole four-week break from the WSOP to work on the concept. During that time I had a lot of discussions with Fedor {Holz} and other poker-playing friends, and I decided to start with a poker team, to get the project started. Back in Vegas at the beginning of July I spoke with possible candidates and finalised the concept for the poker team.

Who are the principal founders?

All team members are founders of the company. Everybody will contribute their time and energy to make it work. If I have to name the principal founders, it would be Steffen {Sontheimer}, Fedor and me. I started to speak about the esports team idea with friends like Christian Christner a lot and also had a longer talk with Fedor on our flight home.

Stefan Schillhabel
Stefan Schillhabel

Afterwards, I decided to start with a poker team that includes streaming on Twitch. For that matter, I spoke with Steffen first. We’re good friends, and he was interested in the idea from the beginning. Having Steffen on board made it way easier to speak with other potential team members. He helped a lot to concretise the idea.
1-2 weeks later I came back to Fedor, and after describing my plans, he was excited to be part of the project. He helped a lot with all his experience and connections and gave really good inputs. So I am taking care of the daily business, Steffen will help me from time to time and Fedor will bring in his experience. Working with these guys is easy. We know each other pretty well, know each other’s strengths, and we’re also used to work together for years now. There’s also a complete trust between us, after travelling and playing poker together for such a long time.
I also have to thank all the other team members we have. Everybody was excited to be part of the team from the beginning. This isn’t about making a lot of money, and all of us promised to invest some time to make this project successful. Everyone I asked to join the team ended up being a part of it. That increases my motivation, even more, to make it as good as possible and invest as much time and energy as I can.

What influenced you?

I used to play semi-professional when I was younger. I played a lot of Counter-Strike, and though I never got really good, I loved and still love the game. It’s interesting on so many levels. It taught me a lot for my poker career, and without taking it too high, I’d say I also learned some things for my life. Especially the strategic aspect of the game gave me a lot of input for my thinking processes and solution finding in high-pressure situations.
I also played Pro Evolution Soccer and was a top 10 player in Germany when I was 18-21 years old. That gave me a first insight into the industry. I played for teams which got some money to travel to national tournaments and some free hardware. The scene wasn’t big, nothing compared to what professional esports looks like nowadays, but it was a start. I was always interested in the organisational part and tried to do more than just playing.
When I played in a CS team, I always worked on tactics and tried to find ways to improve the whole team. For PES I motivated my teammates a lot and became the team captain of the German national team at some point. I also used to play a lot of real soccer in a team my whole life. I just like team sports and all the interactive, tactical and social aspects that come with it.
I think these characteristics are fitting for a lot of German poker players. Maybe this is one of the reasons why some of the German high rollers became such a close group and helped each other to develop their strategies together.

What value did you think you could bring to the industry? How does poker and esports work under the same banner? And what are your greatest strengths?

Almost all of our team members have a similar story. Of course, we all are coming from different backgrounds, but all of us tried to make a living by doing what we love. Most of us decided to find a way to not get into that “normal 9 to 5”-life. And we all did it. We experienced a lot on our way. We’ve been in the poker world for a very long time and saw many other players fail. So we gained a lot of experience and knowledge of how to be successful. Many of us are a bit tired of just playing like we did for many years. Some of us don’t play for the money anymore. So we’re looking for something else.
To start streaming online poker at a high level is one thing we will do. Using our experiences to help others succeeding in something they love is the other thing we want to do. Esports is very similar to poker. Many poker players used to play video games on a competitive level themselves. In both sections, you have similar obstacles you need to surpass to succeed. Esports players have the same dream we had when we started our poker careers: Support oneself with their passion and improve every day to become one of the best in the world.

Who is your audience?

In the beginning, the biggest part of our audience will be within the poker community of course. But as you can see on Twitch, there are also many non-poker players that like to watch poker. Most people like to watch when there are huge prizes to win. With the high limits all of us are playing, I’m pretty sure we’ll get a lot of viewers from outside the poker scene, too.
We’ll also like to show the esports and gaming community on Twitch how exciting the game of poker is, how much fun it can be and how important the strategic and logical aspects are to be successful. As I said before, there are many similarities between poker and competitive gaming, and I hope we can help to bring more interest to our game.
Furthermore, after we start the esports section of our project, we will show the poker scene how exciting esports can be, and we will try to combine both communities and provide content for both parts. Our main focus will be on the esports scene at some point, but with our background, we’ll always provide a lot of poker content with No Limit Gaming for sure.

If you could achieve one thing in 2019 what would it be?

We hope to make a significant impact on the Twitch poker scene in the next months. After we get that started, we want to focus on the esports section. So for 2019, it would be awesome to make NLG a name in the esports community and build an infrastructure that helps esports teams and players to improve. We’re still working on the concept, but it’s not the plan to just put a lot of money in and buy the best players. As I said we want to use our experience and knowledge, so the focus will be on building a lasting environment where we can use our strengths to train and develop our players in different games.

What happens in the future because of No Limit Gaming?

I hope we can show that our idea (that we’re working on atm) of how we make players better and prepare them for the things that come up will be successful and helps to professionalise the esports scene. All the studies I read and people/insiders I spoke to said that this is the main problem in esports and that there are only a few teams that handle esports like real sports what it definitely can be. There’s a lot of space for improvement.
nlg poker roster

How will your customers find you?

We’ll be active on Twitter, Instagram and Twitch of course. We’re also working on our website and might start a YouTube channel at some point. We’ll also play a lot of live tournaments like we always did and I’m pretty sure there are a lot of streamed final tables to come.

Why should they choose you?

There is really nice Twitch poker stuff out there, but most of the streams are more about entertainment than good and qualified content. We will try to cover both: Play the highest limits there are, speak about our thought processes and also try to be entertaining. It won’t be easy in the beginning. Hardly any of us have streamed before, but the community seems to be really nice, and I’m sure they’ll give us some time to get used to it. Our Idea has a lot of potential, and we already got a lot of positive feedback, so I’m sure the community will grant us the time we need.

What’s your timeline?

The idea of the whole project is very young. As I said, I started thinking of it two months ago. The planning for the poker team began six weeks ago. We already played the $1m One Drop wearing team hoodies and have our social media live. So I’m really happy how it all goes. The next weeks will be about finally founding the company in Austria. Because that’s all new to the most of us and especially me, it’s always possible that there might be some delays, so I don’t want to promise anything. But we plan to show up at EPT Barcelona with a big team and start streaming from the beginning of WCOOP in September.

In this latest video for the Paul Phua Poker School, Winfred Yu explains how he became one of Asian poker’s prime movers. Paul Phua picks the highlights

I have known Winfred Yu for many years now. Through the Poker King Clubs he runs for SunCity, as well as the poker tournaments he has organised through Kings Consulting, Winfred has become a key figure in the Asian poker industry.


Sadly, that position has its drawbacks! Winfred is a keen poker player with a deep love of the game, who has more than $2 million in live tournament earnings. And yet he has played with enough of the world’s top pros to realise that he would have to invest more time than he currently has in the game to reach their level.

“l think l’m not as concentrated or have the advantage like the pros,” Winfred says in this video interview for the Paul Phua Poker School, “because l still have my marketing team, dictating tournaments, running my own room.”

The Daniel Negreanu connection

How did Winfred Yu end up with a career as one of Asian poker’s prime movers? He explains that he started off simply as a fan of the game.

He emigrated from Hong Kong with his family to Canada at the age of 14, and studied maths and statistics at university. This was a good background for a poker player, and when he encountered his first game, Winfred says he was “hooked on day one”. This was also the day he ran into the Canadian who would become the world’s most successful live tournament player…

“It was the first time in Canada that they introduced poker,” says Winfred. “And the first day that l sit down and play, the guy next to me is Daniel Negreanu! And at that time he actually was a dealer at a poker club. And l guess on the first day l already learned from one of the best!” 

The rise of the Poker King Club

It wasn’t long before Winfred got a job in one or two of the new Canadian poker rooms, where he was talent-spotted by the Asian gaming operator SunCity and brought to Macau to run poker rooms for them.

With Winfred’s guidance, SunCity dared to dream big. Facing the problem that poker was less well known in Asia than in the West, they helped finance a Poker King feature film to popularise the game. Winfred himself had a cameo role in the comedy, which came out in 2009, alongside real-life poker players including the great Johnny Chan.

Clearly, they did something right! Having started in Macau at the StarWorld casino, Winfred then opened his Poker King Club in the huge Macau Venetian. There are now three more in key Asian cities: a Poker King Club at the Solaire casino in Manila; one in Jeju, South Korea; and in early July a new one also opened at the Star Vegas Resort and Club in Poipet, Cambodia.

As if that wasn’t enough, Winfred Yu also organises several major poker tournaments, including the recent Triton Super High Roller Series at the Maestral Resort and Casino in beautiful Montenegro.

When Winfred Yu met Paul Phua

I met Winfred when the ultra-high-stakes cash game known as “the Big Game” was held at the StarWorld in Macau. He is a smart man, and a keen poker player, so we immediately got on well.

In this video for the Paul Phua Poker School, Winfred admits that he did not expect us to become friends, because I was already friendly with his boss. “He’s a good friend of my boss,” explains Winfred, “and he said ‘take care of Paul, he has super-interest in poker’… he’s such a generous guy he didn’t even think, you know, that he’s a friend of my boss… they treated us all like friends.”

Of course! I look forward to many years more of friendship with Winfred Yu. These are exciting times for the Asian poker market, and you can be sure that Winfred will be in the driving seat.

Who is Winfred Yu? Poker player profile

  • Winfred Yu runs the Poker King Clubs in Macau, Manila, Jeju and Poipet
  • Winfred also organises major Asian poker tournaments including the Triton High Roller Series and the Poker King Club Cup
  • He has previously hosted the ultra-high-stakes cash game known in poker circles as “the Big Game”
  • Winfred Yu has more than $2 million in live poker tournament earnings

Watch the new video interview for the Paul Phua Poker School, in which Dan Cates reveals how he went from playing poker with scraps of paper at high school to the biggest poker games in the world. Paul Phua picks the highlights

In his previous video interview for the Paul Phua Poker School, Dan “Jungleman” Cates talked about the aggression that has made him one of the world’s best heads-up players – “I just try to win all the pots I can!”. He also talked about how he could apply some of those heads-up tactics to full-ring games.


In this latest video for the Paul Phua Poker School, Jungleman (as we all call him at the poker table) tells us a bit more about how he became the successful poker player he is today. For anyone dreaming of becoming a poker pro, it’s instructive to see how it’s done!

How Jungleman Dan started playing poker

Dan Cates made more than $10 million profit on the Full Tilt poker site, and has more than $5 million in tournament cashes. He also plays cash, including in “the Big Game” that I play in. He’s still just 27 years old, yet he has already been playing poker for 12 years. Jungleman reveals in this new video interview for the Paul Phua Poker School that he started at the age of 15:
“l played with some friends in high school during lunch periods using torn-up little pieces of paper as chips, playing for $10 or whatever.”
How times have changed! But while the stakes may be different, Jungleman’s competitive drive has remained undimmed.

How Dan Cates improved his poker strategy

We asked Jungleman how he improved his poker strategy. It’s striking how, in so many of these interviews for the Paul Phua Poker School, the pros agree on one key poker tip: it is vital to learn from other players, and get a second opinion on problematic hands.
“In the start, it was all me,” says Dan Cates. But, he says, whenever he tried to learn a new game, he would try to find “the specialists that were best in those games”. Poker proved no different. “it’s helped in random different ways,” says Dan Cates, “like other players gave me their opinions or whatever on things, and over time I learned more and more.”
As Dan Colman said in his recent video interview for the Paul Phua Poker School, “a big part [of success] is having friends who are very good players”.

Dan “Jungleman” Cates’s playing style

Over time, each player develops his own playing style. Jungleman’s is aggressive (he talked in the last video about how he likes to 3-bet with 5-6 suited), but it is also highly data-driven and analytical. Asked about his strongest attributes as a poker player, he says:
“I guess one of my strongest attributes would be that l understand the game. l think l understand the game better than most opponents. Just how it works, and all the decision tree points. l have a very good memory for each decision tree point, and also how players play different ones of those. It’s either that, or that l adjust better than they do. It’s one of those two things.”

How Dan Cates got his “Jungleman” nickname

Finally, Dan Cates reveals how he got his unusual nickname, “Jungleman”, which also inspired his screen name, “Jungleman12”.
“l was called ‘Jungleman’ when l played live,” Dan Cates says in the video, “because players… because I was, like, kind of a crazy person, and also because l was, like, pretty hairy, l had a lot of hair. l had longer hair, too. So they called me Jungleman just to, like, sort of mock me, and I thought it was a funny name. And yeah, it stuck, for a long time.”

Who is Daniel “Jungleman” Cates? Poker player profile

  • Dan Cates, 27, from the United States, is one of the world’s leading heads-up poker players.
  • He plays online under the names “Jungleman12” and “w00ki3z”.
  • He has made more than $10 million profit on the Full Tilt poker site.
  • He has nearly $5 million in live tournament cashes.
  • He often plays cash poker for high stakes in “the Big Game” in Macau and Manila.
  • He is known for his aggressive style of play.

Sam Trickett is among the top pros sitting pretty after Day One of the Triton SHR Series Main Event. Others have had to rebuy. The Paul Phua Poker team reports

Day One of the Triton Super High Roller Series Montenegro Main Event has just gone, and what a day it was! Some of the biggest names in poker were among the 47 (including re-entries) so far who have stumped up the HK$1m (US$128k) entry fee, making for some exciting poker tournament action and some very difficult tables.
Paul Phua playing poker in Montenegro
At one point Paul Phua found himself seated in the most unfortunate position of all: with the young internet legend Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsov to his left, and veteran five-time WSOP bracelet winner John Juanda to the left of that! Perhaps it’s not surprising that Paul Phua was knocked out twice during the day. Undaunted, he has bought in a third and final time for Day Two!
Triton poker tournament in Montenegro
Top pros who suffered an early knock-out, and then bought in again, include Steve O’Dwyer, Wai Kin Yong and David Peters. Even the recent Triton SHR Series 6-Max Montenegro champion, Fedor Holz, busted out and rebought. And despite the tournament experience born of two bracelets and more than 33 cashes at the WSOP, Dominik Nitsche was forced to buy in three times just as Paul Phua was.

Qiang Wang, the million-chip man

There is just one million-chip man going into Day Two: Qiang Wang. Top pros with significantly bigger stacks than the 250k they began with include Mikita Badziakouski (825k), Sam Trickett (715k) and Steffen Sontheimer (600k). Montenegrin local hero Predrag Lekovic, who came third in the Triton SHR Series 6-Max warm-up event, is sitting in tenth place with 357k. Lekovic busted Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsoz out of the tournament on the very last hand of the day!
Paul Phua playing at poker tournament in Montenegro
Registration remains open until the beginning of Day Two. The big question is, will Tom Dwan make a last-minute appearance? Or is he too caught up in the exciting side action of high-stakes cash games at the Maestral Resort and Casino?

Interviews for the Paul Phua Poker School

Once the tournament broke up for the night, the Paul Phua Poker team filmed even more video interviews with the top pros. We’re really excited by the great strategy advice they have given us, as well as their insights into the life of a professional high-stakes poker player. We can’t wait to get all the footage edited so we can share it with you in the Paul Phua Poker School.
Rui Cao being interviewed at Triton Montenegro
In the meantime, follow @PaulPhuaPoker on Twitter for updates on the Triton SHR Series Main Event.
No one can tell the future, least of all in poker. But there is one thing we can say for sure: with some of the world’s top poker pros competing, it’s going to be a thriller.