Recognizable by the ever-present skullcap, Ari Engel is one of poker’s true rising stars. In this exclusive interview with the 5-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner, Engel opens up about his Orthodox Jewish background, how he got into poker, the challenges of being an Orthodox Jewish poker player, and other fascinating info about his career poker successes thus far.

If you’re looking forward to a grea poker vacation, you also probably are aware in the back of your mind that there will be a good amount of costs involved. We’ve thought up 3 ways that you could save money while planning and during your poker vacation, which of course will leave you more money left in your bankroll with which to play poker. Read on for our 3 top tips.

Who knew poker chips could have so much more meaning? In a departure from strictly thinking about poker chips as something of value while playing poker, the speaker in this inspirational Youtube video uses poker chips as a metaphor for confidence, which you can instill in your children. This is a must-watch for any parent, but especially one who enjoys poker.

There are a number of excellent ways to inject newfound excitement into your home poker game if it’s getting a little stale. Whether it’s a matter of raising the stakes, adding a new poker game to the mix, taking your group of regulars to a proper casino poker room or other ideas, there are plenty of things you can do to keep things exciting when you play poker with your buddies.

Chances are that at some point over the last 1.5 years you’ve heard about the ISPT. Furthermore, chances are that what you heard about it sounded either pretty incredible and grandiose or alternatively just too good to be believed. A last-ditch effort by the hardworking people behind the Dusk Till Dawn poker room notwithstanding, the ISPT as conceived was, and remains just too big for it’s britches. In this op-ed post about the ISPT, we’ll take you through their troubled history and lay out the reasons why we think it simply has no chance of fulfilling expectations or living up to the hype. That said, we do think there’s still hope for a new incarnation to succeed in the future, with some major modifications.