Robbie - Cardplayer Lifestyle

Poker remains one of the most popular casino games for people to enjoy recreationally on a global scale. One location where it has an especially passionate following is the province of Ontario in Canada, which launched its own legal iGaming market in April 2022. This followed the passing of bill C-218 by local authorities in June 2021.

As a result, casino lovers within Ontario are now able to choose from a wide range of regulated, secure poker rooms to play at. It goes without saying though that finding the very best ones to register with is key. This not only means Ontario poker fans have the best time playing online but also do so at platforms which offer some fantastic features.

888poker Ontario

This online poker room was a real pioneer within Ontario’s newly formed market in 2022. Since then, it has built up an outstanding reputation as a gaming platform which treats players fairly and offers superb customer support. Backed by the iconic 888 brand, this is an online poker room that you know is safe and secure to game at. If you have ever played at the global 888poker platform, the design and layout will also be pleasantly familiar.

The selection of games includes Omaha, Stud and Hold ‘Em. In addition, there are other types of poker games to get involved with, such as BLAST and SNAP. As you would expect from any top digital poker site, there are also some great tournaments to check out. From Progressive Knockout events to Double or Nothing tournaments, there really is a lot to keep players interested here.

The range of payment choices at 888poker Ontario is also very appealing and includes options, such as Interac, which Canadian gamers will value. For those who enjoy playing poker on the move, the feature-packed app is outstanding and ensures an engaging gaming adventure.

BetMGM Poker Ontario

Following the launch of Ontario’s iGaming market in 2022, there have been several iconic poker brands that have become available to players here. BetMGM Poker Ontario certainly ranks highly as a top digital poker room to play at in the province in 2024 and stands out as a fully regulated platform to sign-up with.

The site itself is powered by the expertly designed PartyPoker software, which provides a reassuringly familiar gaming experience to people who are already familiar with this software from the PartyPoker Ontario platform. As one of the first online poker rooms to launch in this part of Canada, BetMGM Poker Ontario is a trusted name in the market that is backed by a globally recognised name in the overall gambling sector.

There is a wide variety of different poker games to try out here, including Fast Forward, Cash Games and Freerolls. There is also a decent selection of tournaments, including a Daily C-Note competition with a $109 buy-in. In addition, integration with the BetMGM Ontario Poker Network ensures players are able to access a larger playing pool, so they have the best time. This is also a great online poker room in Ontario for mobile players in 2024 that delivers a top-class experience on all devices.

GGPoker Ontario

There is no doubt that this is one of the top online poker rooms in Ontario to try in 2024. In addition to professional customer support to help with any queries and a site that is simple to navigate around, it also has an official partnership with the World Series of Poker.

This means that players at GGPoker Ontario have the chance to take part in major WSOP online poker tournaments, including the WSOP Main Event. As a result, GGPoker players in Ontario can compete in bracelet awarding WSOP tournaments from the comfort of their own home!

This platform has numerous daily tournaments to enter and cash games which are suitable for all types of players. There is also a good selection of poker games to dive into, such as MTT’s, AoF and Spin & Gold. Stakes ranging from $0.01/$0.02 to $50/$100 mean that this platform caters to players on modest budgets as well as high rollers. As a secure place to game, this officially licenced site uses SSL data encryption to keep hackers out.

PokerStars Ontario

Launched in June 2022, this highly regarded online poker room is the go-to choice for many players in the province in 2024. Fully licenced to operate, it uses the latest online security features to protect your details and cash. PokerStars is one of the leading brands in global poker online which means you can be assured of the best customer support when needed.

The slick design of this site is also a major factor in why it’s so popular in 2024, and this includes a user-friendly interface. The variety of poker games is very good and includes examples such as Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha and PLO. For those who like more exotic variants, examples such as Tempest and 6+ Hold ‘Em will be a big draw. The extensive range of cash games has also made this platform stand out in Ontario and include choices with stakes as low as $0.02/$0.05.

The exciting choice of poker tournaments at PokerStars Ontario also makes it a top option for 2024 and covers not only single-table competitions but multi-table ones as well. This is also the home of the Ontario Championship of Online Poker, which is a special tournament to get involved in. With compatibility for the PokerStars gaming app covering Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, this is also a poker site any eligible person in the province can play at.

PartyPoker Ontario

First launched in mid-April 2022, PartyPoker Ontario was one of the first legal digital poker rooms in the province to register with. This means it has plenty of experience in the market and that they know just how to deliver an excellent gaming experience to customers. This poker site also stands out as an independent operator that has its own unique games and is part of the BetMGM Ontario Poker Network.

Using PartyPoker software, which is simple enough for even beginners to understand, the vibrant tournament schedule is a major draw. In addition, being part of the BetMGM Network allows gamers to compete against players from both platforms. This greatly enhances the gaming experience and is a nice touch.

24/7 customer support is another feature which helps this poker room catch the eye online, as is the well-designed mobile app for Android/iOS users. All of this makes PartyPoker Ontario a top casino gaming destination for 2024.

Top online poker rooms in Ontario for 2024

As the above shows, there are some excellent online poker rooms for players in the province to register with in 2024. If you live in this part of Canada and love playing poker online, any of the platforms we have looked at are worth considering.

In the history of roulette, it’s widely accepted that the Italian game Biribi was one of the first to use the game’s mechanics. It was played on a single piece of card, while actual playing cards were also used for the obscure English game Ace of Hearts. When Blaise Pascal invented the wheel mechanism, both games contributed to the roulette we enjoy today.

The Invention of Roulette

While the specifics of roulette’s invention are murky, we know that mathematician Blaise Pascal tried to create a perpetual motion wheel in the 1600s. Roulette as a game then emerged in the 1700s, using the same technology that Pascal had pioneered. Since then, the iconic wheel has changed a lot. Today, it’s possible to play roulette without even touching a wheel thanks to the internet. Through iGaming, casino classics like roulette have become more widely accessible than they were in the past. There’s no shortage of roulette games to play, with both digital wheels or real-life playing tables that are live-streamed to a playing audience. Today, those playing roulette don’t need to visit the wheel, or the wheel itself may be a digital emulation.

Roulette is well-known for having its French and American versions, where the difference is how many zeroes it has. However, other mechanical wheels emerged in places like England at the same time. The games Roly Poly and Even/Odds (or EO) were played in the 1700s, for example. These are thought to have been copies of roulette, using the same tech that Pascal was known to work with for inventions like the first digital calculator or his attempted perpetual motion machine. However, there are Italian and English card games that established roulette’s rules before the wheel was ever invented.

The Italian Game Biribi

Biribi is a well-documented game played in the mid-1700s, mostly in Italy. We know this because the famous Venetian libertine Giacomo Casanova played the game, writing about it in the 1760s. It was played elsewhere in Europe, going by the name Cavagnole in countries like France.

As for how it was played, the game used a single card as a board. This playing tableau was marked with a grid, with each space numbered from 1 to 70. After players wagered, the dealer pulled a small card from his bag at random. If there’s a winner, they could receive up to 64x their wager.

It’s easy to see why historians point to this game as one of roulette’s earliest precursors. It combines known practices at the time like lottery-style draws, but its similar to the betting grid at a roulette table. There were no outside bets, that would come later with roulette and EO.

The English Game Ace of Hearts

A more obscure English game sometimes gets a mention when outlining the history of roulette. That would be Ace of Hearts, also known as Fair Chance. While Biribi translated into roulette when applied to a mechanical wheel, Ace of Hearts resembled a poor man’s version of Roly Poly or roulette.

We know it was played in the 1700s thanks to a later, English edition of Christiaan Huygens’ De Ratiociniis in Ludo Aleae. That version includes an addition by John Ham, where he describes the game as “a table, on which is painted a select number of cards, generally 31 or 25, or between those numbers.” A small machine called a worm is used in place of a full wheel, lined with pockets for the ball to fall into. It fulfilled the same function, though wasn’t as elaborate as roulette.

The main difference here is the focus on cards, which are either painted or placed around the worm. Players bet on the card and, if the ball lands on the corresponding space, they win. The use of cards instead of simple numbers here is unique among other wheel games of the time, demonstrating that iconic French-suited playing cards influenced some of the earliest ways that roulette was played.

Poker is one part card luck and one part analysis and skill. We have no control over what cards are drawn in the flop, the cards other players get, and the cards we get in our hand. All we can do with our cards is try to make the best possible decision to form strong hands and outwit our opponents.

So, how do you become a successful poker player with all that luck involved? Well, the truth is that while the card luck is of course a factor, the biggest deciding factor for how rounds play out is the player’s behavior, tactics, psychological warfare, and poker strategies. It’s the human factor and we can use this to our advantage to look for recurring patterns that we can then exploit to turn the flow of a round to our favor.

Below, we take a look at poker patterns including a simple introduction, why they matter, and eight examples of patterns you can start looking for during your tournament poker play.

A Brief Introduction to Poker Patterns

Let’s kick off by understanding the term and the bearing it has on poker game play.

What are Poker Patterns?

Simply put, patterns in poker are recurring actions performed by other players. These can be broken down into several categories including:

The two broad categories are player actions and player gameplay. For example, people might display certain physical reactions to specific things happening in a game. Or, people often use particular strategies and betting patterns with their cards.

Poker patterns are things you can analyze and use to your advantage to gauge the flow of play, who has strong and weak hands, and how you should proceed with your actions.

Why Do Poker Patters Matter?

Poker patterns and analysis are essential to becoming a better poker player. Yes, you need to understand the intricacies of the cards, probability, and the different hands, but that only takes you so far. The other half of the game is player behavior and knowing how to manipulate and coerce the flow to your advantage.

You can use patterns to judge when other players are bluffing or when they have a strong hand, and you should retreat. You can also use them to know when to play aggressively and to push the advantage. You can’t hope to consistently win simply by playing your own game and relying on your cards – poker is much more than that and this is where patterns make a difference.

Poker Patterns to Study to Improve Your Game

So, we know what poker patterns are and how pivotal they can be, but which ones are worth studying and how can they impact your decision making? Below, you’ll find an overview of some simple but effective poker patterns below that you could incorporate into your strategy.

Changes in Verbal Communication

When playing poker some players barely engage in conversation and may only speak to the dealer. Others may be open and try to engage in conversation or just chatter in general. You can study your opponents and look for verbal communication patterns or changes that could betray a strong or weak hand.

For example, perhaps someone who usually talks regularly has become a little quiet. This could mean they are on the verge of tilting and thus they might start playing more erratically. You can exploit this and use their descent into chaos to your advantage.

Simply put, humans have a hard time genuinely hiding emotions such as elation or distress and this holds true for poker games. You need to be on the ball with this and look for patterns in communication and emotions to gauge your current standing.

Nonverbal Tells

While verbal patterns can be useful, so can the nonverbal actions of players. These could be anything from fidgeting with hands when under pressure, nervous twitches, faster play with a weak hand, or slower, purposeful player with a strong hand.

When playing poker, you have to be as much of a psychologist as you do a card player. Some players are very good at keeping their physical actions neutral, but others simply can’t hide their emotions.

Taking Info from Unnecessary Showdowns

When playing at live poker events, it’s important to remember that you only have to show your hand during a showdown if it was called on the last round of betting.

Regardless, it mystifies me that many players still reveal their hand at the showdown regardless of if they need to or not. You can use this to your advantage and look for people who always show.

Take a look at the hand they had and see if you can spot any patterns relating to when they typically fold or raise for example. They might not see an issue with showing their hand, but you can use this innocence to your advantage and potentially gain an edge.

Actions While Waiting for Action

You can glean much information from people even before the action reaches them simply by looking at their facial expressions and mannerisms. We like to check for “early lookers” – players who typically look at their hand before the action has reached them.

Most poker players do this – it’s natural to want to look at your cards as early as possible to start formulating a plan. However, this is often a time when a player’s guard is down – they know the action is on the current position and thus aren’t attracting attention.

This means that sometimes they can give away the strength of their hand, or even start to telegraph what they intend to do when it’s their turn. Simply put, if you are in a middle or late position, try and study the behavior of players waiting for their turn to see if you can get any nuggets of info about the strength of their hand.

Check Tactics Poker Patterns

The Check-Raise is a classic tactic and one of the first moves you should learn when playing games like Texas Hold’Em. Aside from using this tactic yourself, it’s also important to analyze the check tactics of other players to spot patterns.

For example, perhaps one player always uses the check-raise move when they are bluffing, but never when they have a strong hand. Newer players will be more predictable with their check-raise moves and can be easier to spot patterns whereas more seasoned players will vary their checking tactics to throw you off guard and prevent patterns from being recognized.

Overbetting

Some players frequently overbet to raise the pot value, play aggressively, and put pressure on the other players. The pattern here is deciphering if the overbettor is doing this because they have a strong hand and want to get as much value as possible, or because they are bluffing and trying to get other players to fold.

This isn’t always obvious and the best poker players will change tactics and switch up their overbetting to avoid patterns being detected. However, oftentimes it’s difficult for humans to break habits and this is where a pattern may emerge.

For example, you may notice that a particular player always overbets as part of a bluffing strategy and thus can use this to call their bluff and cause a huge loss.

Strong Hand Patterns

No matter how hard we try, poker players often have tells or particular patterns when they have what they think is a winning hand. It’s important to look for strong hand patterns so you know when to play aggressive and push them, or when to back off.

For example, many poker players that have nut hands may subconsciously bet aggressively and appear more confident in their actions. They will also usually try and get as much value as possible from the round because they perceive that this is their big pay day.

The downside though, is that aggressive and confident play can also be a bluff so it’s important to recognize the pattern and learn to differentiate between a real strong hand, or a bluffed weak hand.

Weak Hand Patterns

Similar to strong hand patterns, players often subconsciously give signals that they have a weak hand or are not confident about their standing in the round. This could be things such as hesitation, negative facial expressions, or frequent draws.

When confronted with weak hands, some players will simply fold and not engage in any tactics – you can spot this and take advantage by pushing them or playing aggressively as you know they have a tendency to collapse.

In contrast, other players with weak hands will bluff and try to convince you they are a front runner. You have to distinguish between these types of players and look for the patterns that show which one they are.

Take Your Poker Play to the Next Level and Start Learning Patterns

If you want to improve your play, simply understanding the game rules and best card hands isn’t enough. The best poker players all know how to read their opponents.

They know how to look for recurring patterns – signs of what strategies other players are using, or the strength of the cards they hold. This info is then compartmentalized and used to adjust their own strategies, prey on weaknesses, or know when to back off and fold.

It’s important to realize that this takes time. You aren’t going to instantly start being able to analyze player behavior and spot patterns after a few matches. It’s something you have to work at, but it starts with learning the basic patterns and impact they have.

How often do you cbet the flop? If you’re a live player, just estimate this. Is it 25% of the time, 50% or even 80% of the time?

And if you’re an online player, just take a look at your statistics. This is one of the things I love about playing online: PokerTracker 4 tells me exactly how often I make every play.

Through 15K hands played so far this year, I’ve cbet the flop 65.77% of the time with a win rate of +216bb/100 hands.

In real world terms, I cbet about 2 out of every 3 flops and I earn 2.16bb on average each time.

You generally want to cbet the flop around 60% to 70% of the time. In order to cbet this frequently, though, you must be capable of making both value and bluff cbets.

Value cbetting is often easy; hit a top pair or better… no brainer decision to pull the trigger, yeah?

However, you may find it tough to bluff cbet on the flop with your underpair (33 on A84), your missed suited-connector (JsTs on Kc8d3h) or your no-pair hand (A5 on J73). If you find it hard to cbet bluff in these spots, your flop cbet is probably less than 50%.

Bluff Cbet These Flops

If that’s the case, you must work in more flop bluff cbets. And, the easiest flops to bluff at are the single big card and dry flops. Some great examples:

Critical Thought: Why are the above flops good for cbet bluffing? Look at the flops and answer that question for yourself before reading on.

Hand Example: BTN vs BB Calling Range

You’re on the BTN and opened with XX and a BB player called. The flop comes K83r. You completely missed the flop (think hands like 75s, Q9s or 22).

Generally, the BB player will fold most non-King and non-8 hands because he’s out of position and the only draws available are back-door draws. Plus, as the preflop BTN raiser, you’ve got loads of KX and big pair hands in your range. Why would he fight back with a nothing hand?

Let’s whip out Flopzilla Pro (the best range analysis and hand reading software) to analyze this. This is a great study exercise to do (not in-game) to see how much of his preflop calling range is folding on this flop.

The BB Preflop Calling Range

Look at the range above and visualize the hands that connected with the K83r flop. He has some sets in his range as well as a single 2pair hand of K8s. He’s got some decent Broadway hands that hit top pair and some 2^nd pair hands like A8s and J8s.

But, look at all the hands that completely whiffed. Most of his AX hands have nothing better than just an over card and maybe a backdoor flush draw. All those middle card hands that don’t contain an 8, they all missed as well. And a lot of his pocket pairs like 55 and 22 are 3^rd or even 4^th pair hands.

Enter Flop for Analysis

Wow! Because he hits mid-pair or better with only 27.5% of his range, he’s likely folding the remaining 72.5%.

That’s great news for us and makes for a profitable bluff cbet, so let’s pull the trigger and bluff him!

And there are loads of other flops just like this that you may have missed profitable bluffs on… until now.

Take Action

Use the same calling range above with all the other single big card and dry flops mentioned earlier in the article. Which of those flops does this caller hit the least frequently, and which does he hit the most frequently? Are they all good for flop cbet bluffing?

After that exercise, use different calling ranges on the same flops. Imagine your opponent is a tight player who called out of the SB. What is his calling range and how often does it hit these flops? Are all of these flops good for bluffing the tight SB player?

What if a mega-whale defended his BB with a 60% calling range? What is that range (you’ll have to build this for yourself) and how well does it hit these flops? Which flops are best for bluffing the mega-whale?

Be sure to use our exclusive coupon code “CardPlayer” to get 10% off your purchase.

In just a couple weeks, the 2024 Spring Edition of the Malta Poker Festival (MPF) is set to get underway. Thousands of hopefuls will descend upon the Portomaso Casino from April 22-29 to compete at one of Europe’s most highly anticipated poker stops and was recently nominated at the Global Poker Awards as the best standalone festival.

Part of what always makes the event so festive and popular is the fact that many partner-branded events are incorporated under the Malta Poker Festival umbrella. To get a better sense of how those partnerships come together and how the multiple organizations coalesce to create one united offering, we decided to reach out to a few longtime Malta Poker Festival partners.

These partners included Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) Director Tom Brady, DeepStack Open (DSO) Founder Alex Henry, Bounty Hunter Days Founder and CEO Stephan Kubler, and Head of Partnerships at Global Poker Index/TheHendonMob (GPI/THM) Roland Boothby. Knowing that every great poker event needs a great hosting venue, we also spoke with Tumas Gaming COO Jesmond Galea and Portomaso Casino Manager Jonathan Micallef to get their input as MPF partners.

Their collective responses to my battery of questions helps paint the special picture that coalesces twice a year at the Malta Poker Festival.

How did you first come to get acquainted with MPF Founder Ivonne Montealegre and begin collaborating with her at the Malta Poker Festivals?

Alex Henry: I met Ivonne back in 2012 but it was only a couple years ago that we first teamed up, after it became clear that multiple brands working with her could all mutually benefit.

Tom Brady: I was hearing great things about Ivonne and her poker activity in Malta, and through a mutual acquaintance we connected in early 2018 to discuss the first-ever MPF and an APAT relationship.

Stephan Kubler: I met Ivonne in 2018 when I was at the Malta Poker Festival for the first time. A mutual acquaintance introduced us and so the partnership has grown over the years.

Jonathan and Jesmond: We have known Ivonne for the past 13 years, since she began running events at Portomaso Casino. Back in 2018, Malta Poker Festival was born, and our collaborative work increased drastically.

Roland Boothby: Ivonne was one the first people I came to know in the Malta poker community when I moved there at the end of 2013. A few years later, when Ivonne founded the Malta Poker Festival, it was right at a time when I was looking for ways to diversity the ways in which GPI/THM could serve the needs of our partners and was contemplating dipping our toes into live events. Coupled with the fact that Malta was the home of GPI/THM, it made perfect sense for Malta Poker Festival to be our very first live event partner and home for the inaugural Hendon Mob Championship. We’re hugely grateful for the start Malta Poker Festival gave us and will always consider it our ‘home’ event.

In what ways do your partner-branded events at the Malta Poker Festival differ and stand out versus other live events you run on your own?

Alex Henry: We run 70% of our events in France, where we completely run the event: players qualified online come from Unibet, and oversee all side events, running additional live promotions, etc. Working with Malta Poker Festival makes things a LOT easier for us. Ivonne and Portomaso Casino gather several partners, so everyone is benefiting from a successful event.

Roland Boothby: In 2024, you will find THMC events in all shapes and sizes. In fact, this year we’ll be staging a dozen events across four different continents. That said, the familiarity of the Spinola Room at Portomaso coupled with the scores upon scores of familiar faces who file into the room at the start of The Hendon Mob Championship Malta is unmatched.

From day one in any location, members of our team are always trying to acquaint ourselves with the local playing community and looking to build friendships. In Malta we are a part of that community already. The players playing the event are our friends, colleagues, people we have spent countless hours at the tables with, in the bars and around Malta. It’s totally different, in good way!

Stephan Kubler: Malta is much more international than my own Bounty Hunter Days. There are 95% players from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In Malta, there are poker players from all over Europe and beyond. That’s great!

Tom Brady: APAT has been around since 2006, as the UK’s first national poker tour, and whilst the majority of APAT events are standalone, and hosted extensively across the UK, we’ve been travelling further afield for many years throughout Europe, and also to Las Vegas. Co-hosting alongside the likes of MPF gives APAT players greater opportunities alongside our own brand and offering, most likely with higher buy-in events, big guarantees and with the same high-quality poker whilst still be centered around that APAT feeling of welcoming, social and good-natured competitiveness in professional-standard poker events.

In what ways do you feel the presence of your branded event at the Malta Poker Festival is of mutual benefit to your organizations, and to the players?

Alex Henry: DeepStack Open events have been successful for 15 seasons thanks to its structure quality and dedication to players. Partnering with MPF is a big opportunity for us to offer a large, guaranteed prize pool to our regular players and to qualifiers.

Tom Brady: Co-hosting with MPF, with the same quality tournament and social competitiveness that has been synonymous with APAT since day 1 is a win all round – APAT, players, MPF AND Portomaso – the quality of Ivonne’s Grand Event is attractive in its own right – Danilo and his team of floor staff and dealers stand out as exceptional to both players and us as hosts, and the Portomaso casino and surroundings continue to ensure a great experience for everyone.

Stephan Kubler: As a tournament organizer, I know better than anyone how important good partnerships are. Partners you can rely on, whose word is their bond. Especially in the poker scene, this is not always a given. Such partnerships, which develop over years, are worth their weight in gold. Ivonne is a very smart woman and she knows how to build and maintain such partnerships. That makes me very happy and I am convinced that we have a lot more potential for the future.

Roland Boothby: The great thing about the partnership with Malta Poker Festival is that both sides are bringing aspects to the table which complement one another. Ivonne and her team are experts in running live events and looking after players. Danilo De Berardinis and his Ludos Academy staff are some of the best in the business.

What GPI/THM brings to the table is the ability to connect live events to a global audience of poker fans. Great poker stops will inevitably grow, as players will keep coming back, and when they have a great experience, they will bring their friends. We can accelerate that process by amplifying those stories and those experiences globally. At Malta Poker Festival, you won’t just find players from Italy and Malta, but from the UK, Taiwan, Australia, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Latin America, and beyond. A great playing experience with a global platform to amplify it is something we consider a strong formula for success.

Your organization has partnered with the Malta Poker Festival on many occasions now. Looking back on the first time you engaged in the partnership versus today, what would you say you do differently/better now than a few years ago?

Jonathan and Jesmond: We spent many months working on christening the first Malta Poker Festival back in October 2018. Since then, we have endeavored to work with Ivonne on increasing the number of partners and of course players to ensure the best poker environment.

Alex Henry: Over our last few collaborations, I introduced some specific DSO rules like the “25 bb average” starting from Day 2. From then until the final table, when the average stack is lower than 25 bb we don’t move on to the next level until a player busts.

We are always looking to try new ideas, like Ivonne is doing for this upcoming festival by having run a Day 1 flight in London. It is important to test new ideas, as poker is always evolving, and the Malta Poker Festival is a great opportunity to do that.

Stephan Kubler: In autumn of 2018, I was at the Malta Poker Festival with a group of 8 poker players. This year in spring there are over 120. A lot has changed! I was alone back then and did everything myself. Now I have partners and employees who do a lot for me. I am happy and grateful for how everything has developed. I hope to be able to travel to Malta for many years to come and I’m already looking forward to the next poker trip like a little kid.

Tom Brady: The relationship between MPF and APAT has grown into a joint-venture with the player experience front and center in all discussions – tweaks made to the APAT structure, and balancing the need for a quality APAT event with the overall schedule Ivonne has created has ensured we continue to attract great numbers to APAT at MPF. Autumn 2023 was testament that we seem to be doing something right with a post-Covid record of 460 entries in the APAT 2-day Championship.

Roland Boothby: I would say the addition of MPF Spring, which doubled the amount of THMCs we run with Malta Poker Festival annually is the biggest change we’ve seen. Our coveted THMC trophy has seen some improvements, and we are always looking to create a spectacle by having as many players as we can with bounties on their heads. We always throw a lot into the event, usually brining the whole THM team to Malta and treating it very much as a celebration of our connections to Malta.

Malta Poker Festival Partners Look Ahead to the Future

As far as additional and new ways that partners hope to try and enhance and improve for future Malta Poker Festivals, there seems to be a consensus that “there’s a lot planned”. Those efforts to continuously improve mirror Montealegre’s, as for the 2024 Spring MPF she’s also partnering with “The Poker Girls of Las Vegas” Tatiana Fox and Rebbecca Scales, who will be leading off-the-felt activities.

As Fox shared with us, “I’ve been working with Ivonne for a few years now, and she is a passionate entrepreneur. She wears many hats and not only runs the MPF but also many women business groups from Malta. I am delighted to host the MPF off felt activities and see it as a great opportunity to see the beautiful island of Malta and make new friends. If you are travelling with a non-poker friend or partner send them our way!”

Scales concurred, saying “Ivonne’s collaborative spirit makes working with her a pleasure. Last year, she generously provided us with a platform at the Malta Poker Festival to launch WPA International. The off-the-felt activities are what make Malta a must-visit destination for poker enthusiasts. During the day, you can enjoy the island’s beautiful beaches, explore its cobblestone roads, and indulge in exotic cuisine. When the sun sets, the poker room comes alive with plenty of action.”

All the partners we spoke with confirmed that they intend to keep collaborating at the Malta Poker Festival for a long while yet. With the massive current boom in live tournament poker, it’s a no-brainer that the Malta Poker Festival will continue attracting ever more players to the island’s shores. The MPF partners all know this and intend to continue working on special promotions and ideas to keep things fresh and exciting for future festivals.

Notably, Tom Brady added that with APAT being well known as a brand favored by mixed game lovers, it might soon be time to help bring some of that mixed game love, and audience, to the MPF. In addition, he noted that APAT-backed ‘Poker Raffles’ – where players can skip the grind of the usual Satellite route to entry and win themselves into many prestigious events – are now available to MPF hopefuls wishing to win a Malta Poker Festival Seat plus £500.

Travel partners include: Pokertrip-de for DACH market, Esportami Viaggi for Italian market and Main Event Travel for UK, USA and rest of the world.

The door remains open to new partners, too. As per Jonathan and Jesmond “in order to keep building on our past success, together with Ivonne we will remain on the lookout for new sponsors and agents who would like to partner with us while keeping our focus on the poker community accordingly, which always remain at the heart of our operation.”

The 2024 Spring edition of the Malta Poker Festival will take place April 22-29, and the Autumn edition will run from the October 28-November 4, 2024.

I’ve just returned home from the work-ation of a lifetime. Having never really been on a mega-cruise before, there was a lot that I had been looking forward to on the 2024 WPT Voyage, but even with my anticipation at peak levels, the week-long experience honestly just blew any expectation I had right out of the water.

I’ve covered many poker events over the years and I’ve become pretty adept at striking the right balance between fulfilling my work commitments and enjoying downtime. I must admit that this was probably the biggest (and, well, only) professional challenge I faced while aboard the ship. Fun was oozing out of every porthole and I’m grateful to have had more than my fair share of it!

Throughout our week aboard Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady, and, indeed, in the ensuing couple of days, the World Poker Tour and 1,800 or so cruise passengers have been sharing a steady stream of pictures documenting the amazing experiences we had on their social media channels. While that’s to be expected, I’m opting to try and take things one step further. It’s quite worthwhile to document experiences, but it’s arguably even more important to try and learn from those experiences.

Now that we’re a couple days removed from that truly one-of-a-kind adventure, I took some time to have a good long think about what I gleaned from the trip. With that in mind, I’d like to share the top 10 lessons I learned from the 2024 WPT Voyage.

2024 WPT Voyage: Top 10 Lessons

I’ve never really actively taken a “proper” Spring Break, in the conventional, cultural sense of the phrase. To paraphrase from The Shining, “all work and no play makes life pretty dull”. It’s not just the break itself that’s great to have, it’s also the anticipation of said break. I’d been looking forward to the WPT Voyage for close to half a year, and as the months passed by, the excitement just ratcheted continuously upwards.

Just going through my collection of pictures and videos, I keep on pinching myself and asking not only “did THAT just really happen?” but also “in retrospect, how deeply would I have regretted NOT grabbing hold of this opportunity to take a break?”

I get that the stars don’t always align to hit the big PAUSE button, but what on earth are we working so hard for all the time if not to ALSO enjoy life beyond just “getting through it” one day at a time?

I noticed it the moment we hit international waters and poker play began: there were SO many women playing! The 2024 WPT Voyage was an ultra-rare instance where “the real world” directly intersected with the poker world. It’s expected that you’d have a 50/50 split between men and women on a cruise, but in the poker world that split usually hovers somewhere around 93/7.

For years now, so many of us in the poker industry have been working towards trying to bring more women into the game. To this end there’s been no shortage of well-intentioned ideas and initiatives, with some seeing more success than others. It would seem that the World Poker Tour might have unintentionally stumbled across the greatest idea of all.

There were plenty of activities to engage in and amenities and attractions to enjoy for both men and women onboard the Valiant Lady as well as on our two shore excursions to Grand Cayman and Bimini Island in the Bahamas. When you provide entertainment options for everyone, then everyone will show up!

Let the major players in our industry take note, and hopefully find ways to replicate this. It doesn’t have to be a cruise; just create and provide an atmosphere that caters to both men and women equally. If you build it, they will come.

When you think of “a typical poker tournament atmosphere”, it’s undeniable that the vibe at Ladies events is always just a cut above. The 2024 WPT Voyage Ladies Event was no exception:

What WAS exceptional, however, was the scene as 30 women instantly and unanimously agreed to pay the bubble in said event.

Chop negotiations between just two men, let alone among multiple men at a final table can notoriously take ages. And it’s understandable when big money is on the line. But there’s something we guys can learn from the ladies on this: sharing is caring, and a communal “feeling of abundance” goes a long way to making everyone happy.

A few folks onboard the ship asked me what my plans were at our first port of call, Grand Cayman. I responded that there were just two things I wanted to do: Visit 7-Mile Beach and find a gift for my wife, Miriam.

You see, Miriam was supposed to have joined me on the 2024 WPT Voyage, but unfortunately her plans changed (thanks, Hezbollah 😡). Her presence was quite literally the one thing missing from my poker work trip that would have made things absolutely perfect. I actively felt her absence throughout.

Luckily, I happened upon the Cayman Perfume Lab just a few minutes’ walk from shore, where right before my eyes they mixed a sublime floral scent unique to the country’s flora.

I had literally never bought Miriam perfume in 21+ years of marriage, but sometimes you just have that gut feeling that you’ve happened upon the perfect gift. Carrying that bottle with me throughout the remainder of the 2024 WPT Voyage helped me keep Miriam even closer to my heart. Watching her open the surprise gift upon my return home and her reaction to the scent was just priceless.

As mentioned in our 2024 WPT Voyage results article, there was a high-stakes cash game running throughout the cruise featuring Matt Berkey, Rob Yong, and Jean-Robert Bellande, among others. And when I say “throughout the cruise”, I mean pretty much every possible moment that we were sailing through international waters.

Who needs sleep when there’s nosebleed poker and money to be made, right? I, like you dear reader, can only imagine the sums won and lost at that private poker table aboard the Valiant Lady, but we can all be pretty certain that the swings in that $200/400 NLHE game were pretty massive.

You don’t need to work too hard to get players seated around a table for No Limit Texas Hold’em. By contrast, to get a mixed game going you always need to work a little harder (think “herding cats”). So I came prepared, having brought my very own set of game variant plaques from home. And, boy, let me tell you, they came in pretty handy!

I figured that at some point over the course of the 2024 WPT Voyage we’d manage to get one mixed game going, but the players’ excitement for “anything non-Hold’em!” well exceeded even my own optimistic expectations.

Mixed games ran every single day during the 2024 WPT Voyage, for a total of 26 hours across five sessions. Not only that, but we had a list many players long as well wanting to join. Even the dealers got extra excited at our table, relishing the opportunity to “think, and not just be on boring auto-pilot like in the Hold’em games” (their words, not mine!).

Even with A+ events, the World Poker Tour always looks to improve on their stellar performance; the company’s motto is quite literally “the best is yet to come”. Here’s hoping we did our part to get them to take notice of the emerging and increasing popularity of mixed game poker.

Each of the fine folks below is already well-known and well-regarded in the poker community. When well-liked people manage to make it to the winner’s circle or to notch a big score in a poker tournament, the public outpouring of love for them is wonderous to behold. And the joy plastered all over these winners’ faces mirrors that love.

Congratulations, once again, to Caitlin Comeskey, Matt Savage, and Ben Ludlow, among the many other winners onboard the 2024 WPT Voyage.

When you’re at the helm of an operation like the World Poker Tour, there are innumerable things to worry about when running a singularly unique week-long poker cruise. In a nutshell, you have to make sure that you and your team are delivering on the promised experience to the players who’ve shown up to take your WPT Voyage, and to that effect, there’s probably a reams-long list of items to tick off on to-do list. That’s just on-site, after engaging in the endless preparations for such an undertaking for well over a year. Oh, AND you ideally also want to be hitting your tournament guarantees!

After witnessing Adam launch himself fully-clothed into the Valiant Lady’s pool… only to be gamely followed by multiple WPT team members, whatever tension I had had about that aforementioned work-play balance completely disintegrated.

Sometimes the circumstances are just such that you can let your guard down and be a kid. You can embrace the fun and just celebrate a life being well lived. That this happened at the beginning of the 2024 WPT Voyage spoke volumes and set the tone for all of us aboard Virgin Voyages’ seafaring vessel.

And, by the way, the WPT ended up absolutely crushing all their guarantees. 👏

The collage below is meant to be representative; there were literally dozens upon dozens more of you onboard who I loved hanging out with and for whom the time you spent with me I’m supremely grateful.

And my gut tells me that EVERYONE on board shared a similar experience. The ClubWPT folks captured this beautiful spirit of camaraderie and friendship exquisitely on the video below.

Don’t be afraid to take relationships to the next level, either! Prior to the 2024 WPT Voyage, there were quite a few of my fellow sailors who I knew solely by name on social media. Now, I’ve had conversations with them. Now, we’ve hugged. Now, we’ve had meals together. Now, we’ve explored exotic destinations together. Now, we’ve played poker together.

Sharing special experiences like these with friends not only adds years to your life, it adds life to your years.

After having our heads in the clouds for a week, spending a few magical days floating around a Caribbean paradise, it can be difficult to get back to our respective realities. No matter how much we might love our lives and treasure our day-to-day, it’s always tough to get back to the regular grind.

So, how do we ensure that we don’t crash into some sort of depression? That we manage to stay positive and upbeat despite the amazing 2024 WPT Voyage now being behind us?

In my view, the answer can be found within that WPT motto: “the best is yet to come”. Having that next thing to look forward to, whatever it might be — your birthday, a family gathering, a spa day, a night out to eat, your next home poker game, anything exciting really — is how you ensure a soft landing.

So, as I wistfully keep reminiscing about the week that just was, and swiping through my photos and videos, I can thankfully also take heart that I’ve got “that next thing”. The countdown clock is set at about a month-and-a-half. WPT Montreal, here I come!

The 3-bet is an important tool for aggressive and deceptive poker play, but not many beginners spend enough time getting to grips with the concept. Essentially a re-raise made before the flop, 3-betting used correctly can isolate weak players, help build a larger pot with a premium hand or become part of an extended bluffing strategy.

But how does it work? That’s where we come in. Keep reading for a comprehensive guide to 3-betting in poker. We’ll explore the basic mechanics, main advantages, potential pitfalls to look out for and how to optimize your 3-betting for maximum effect.

What is a 3-bet?

As with all types of betting, understanding the exact mechanics behind a 3-bet is fundamental to using this strategy successfully. In a typical pre-flop sequence, a player opens the betting with a raise. This initial raise is called the 2-bet, because the blinds have already been placed.

A 3-bet occurs when a subsequent player raises the pot again, instead of calling the initial raise or folding. This forces the first raiser and any callers to decide whether to re-raise again with a 4-bet, or call the increased bet. As a result, 3-betting can significantly shake up the table dynamics, giving players the upper hand if used successfully.

Advantages of 3-betting

Here are a few of the main advantages players can derive from a successful and measured 3-betting strategy:

When to 3-bet

None of the advantages for 3-betting carry any weight if you don’t use the tactic at the right time. The key to a successful 3-bet is understanding when it can be employed, and when it’s best to leave this strategy for another hand. Check below for the main factors to consider:

More tips for poker optimization

Learning how to 3-bet effectively can supercharge your poker strategy, but it’s not the only way to increase your success. Here are some more tips to ponder:

Poker is without a doubt one of the most sophisticated and difficult gambling games on the planet. Requiring a captivating blend of skill, strategy, mathematical intelligence, a little luck, and, in many cases, sheer audacity, the age-old card game is synonymous with massive prize pools in major tournaments.

These competitions are high-brow and extremely polished events, so it’s almost impossible for absolute beginners to enter. Most players are well known on the poker circuit, although there have been upsets before.

Poker has become more widely available for players who don’t live nearby dedicated poker establishments, since those interested can join a local poker group hosted on one of the online casinos. These platforms provide a practical way to hone your skills and get a shot at some of the impressive prizes that make the game so alluring.

But accessing the highest poker tournament wins is impossible without entering high-level competitions, usually at in-person casinos or dedicated establishments. Read on for a breakdown of the five largest poker tournament wins in history.

1. The Triton Million (approx. $20,563,800)

The largest documented poker tournament win to date comes courtesy of the 2019 Triton Million, part of the Triton Super High Roller Series. This exclusive high-stakes, no-limit Texas Hold’em event had a staggering £1,050,000 buy-in, setting the stage for easily the most valuable poker competition ever held. It created an eye-catching £54 million prize pool (around $65,660,000), with around £2.7 million given to charity.

Aaron Zang was the eventual winner, after notable use of bluffing tactics on the last table brought him from the jaws of defeat to victory. The Chinese poker aficionado took home around $16,775,820, but due to a deal made with second-placed contestant Bryn Kenney earlier in the tournament, he didn’t win the largest prize. This went to the American, who walked away with $20,563,324.

2. The Big One for One Drop 2012 ($18,346,673)

Event 55 during the 2012 WSOP series was a particularly momentous occasion, with a $42,666,672 prize pool setting the record for the largest potential jackpot at the time. The no-limit Hold’em tournament was fittingly held in the gambling mecca of Las Vegas. It made over $11,000,000 for charity, demonstrating the positive impact that poker tournaments can have on society as a whole, not just the players.

The Iranian-American Antonio Esfandiari walked away with a gargantuan $18,346,673 after a particularly flamboyant and unconventional road to victory. Nicknamed “The Magician”, he was known for his flair and chip tricks, merging his former profession as a magician with his professional poker career to great effect.

3. The Big One for One Drop 2014 ($15,305,668)

Although it didn’t quite hit the heights of the 2012 edition, WSOP’s 2014 Big One for One Drop was responsible for another one of the largest-ever poker tournament wins. The overall prize pool reached an impressive $37,333,338, with more than a third reserved for the One Drop Foundation charity, helping to provide clean water for drinking and hygiene across the world.

The American Dan Colman won the grueling no-limits Hold’em tournament, securing the fourth-largest prize in history: $15,305,668. Colman notably defeated the far more experienced Daniel Negreanu at the final table, winning his first WSOP bracelet and establishing himself as a future poker star.

4. 2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza $12,248,912

The World Series of Poker’s partnership with the One Drop Foundation has spawned several huge poker wins over the past decade, and the Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza in 2016 is another great example. Featuring a €1,000,000 buy-in, the event took place in one of the most sophisticated gambling hotspots, complete with yachts, bespoke hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants.

Elton Tsang emerged from the grueling three-day tournament as the winner, securing €11,111,111 (approximately $12,248,912). A relative outsider at the time, the victory catapulted Tsang to 21st on the all-time money list for poker players – an extraordinary feat, considering he was outside the top 3,000 at the time.

5. 2023 WSOP Main Event ($12,100,000)

Coming in at fifth on the all-time poker win rankings is the 2023 WSOP Main Event, which notably had a record-breaking overall prize pool of $93,399,900. The Las Vegas-based tournament attracted over 10,000 entries, making it the largest Main Event in history.

Daniel Weinman was the eventual winner, securing $12,100,000, which remains the largest poker win outside of a charity tournament.

It’s wonderful that at 42 years old I still have the privilege of experiencing so many firsts as a poker player. When you play in as few poker tournaments as I do, on average somewhere between 1-3 per year, the rarity on its own adds extra weight to each one. It’s with that level of excitement that I looked forward to registering for my first ever World Poker Tour tournament. As a mixed game guy, when I saw that a $660 HORSE event would be spread as part of the WPT Voyage, I knew immediately that that would be the one that I’d hop into.

Arriving on Scene

With all hands on deck, we set sail with the “shuffle up and deal”. A total of 30 players ended up registering, and as play got underway I’m pretty certain that I recognized a good 30 to 40% of the field, at least by face. Unexpectedly, I also recognized one player… by shirt. I suppose that means we’re doing well with our ongoing Mixed Game Festival initiative! 😊

Boats on Boats

Whatever your skill level, in tournaments there’s always that hope that the cards run out favorably for you. That was indeed the case as, during the first three levels, no matter which of the five poker variants we played, I managed to secure full house after full house. Even in razz, as my A3 in the hole somehow filled up by 5^th street, LOL!

Even so, with two split pot games as part of the sea-HORSE mix (Omaha 8 or Better and Stud 8 or Better), even an armada of boats will only net you half the pot most of the time, as low limits and blinds means you can’t chip up by too much.

The Structure Daemons of the Sea

And while you naturally want that rungood to come at all times, in particular it’s always helpful for the poker gods to smile upon you in the early stages of a tournament so that you can build up a healthy stack and play aggressively. That holds doubly true when the tournament structures are fast, and our tournament featured 20-minute levels throughout.

Incidentally, on that note, WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage stopped by and mentioned that he wants to change this to a “Savage Average” structure. I’m pretty sure he’d find near-universal agreement from players on this. #letsmakeithappen

Smooth Sailing Aboard the WPT Voyage

Over three hours into the tournament, as we took our second break and while registration closed, I found myself with a pretty healthy stack of 40,000 — up from the starting stack of 30,000 and comfortably above the 33K chip average. I wasn’t making many mistakes, wasn’t playing too spewy, was displaying just the right balance of aggression and patience, wasn’t running below or above EV.

Amidst the sunny calm of silent seas – which, by the way, make for one hell of an incredible view while playing in a poker tournament! – I didn’t realize that a storm was brewing in the distance. Apparently, my sextant (no, NOT Mike Sexton… my sextant!) malfunctioned and this poker-playing sailor had unwittingly entered the Bermuda Triangle.

The Anchor Drops

In most tournaments, there’s usually a pivotal hand or two that at least in part “define” how your tournament went. I returned from the water loo (that’s what you call a bathroom onboard a cruise ship, right?) to my own personal Waterloo, the lovely game of stud 8.

Without getting too deep in the sea-weeds of post-hand live reporting, I was up against Jesse Hollander who had half the pot already locked up with a low by 6^th street, and then managed to spike an inside straight on 7th street to relegate my set of sixes to the poop deck. That ended up decimating my stack and cutting it clean in half.

I suppose you know what happened from there on out. Ever so slowly, thanks to rapidly-escalating blinds and limits, we walked the plank. Within one utterly painful level, my lovely pile of chips just disappeared into Davey Jones’ locker, never to be seen again.

The Aftermath

At the very least, my chips went to a good cause. Jesse ended up, uh, shipping the tournament…

Tournament grinders out there know very well that it’s completely reasonable to go for long stretches without recording a cash. I’m pretty sure that if you ask around, you’ll find that blanking 20 tournaments in a row isn’t too uncommon. But when those 20 tournaments come over a 20-year period (no, that’s not a typo), it almost makes you feel like you have no business playing poker in the first place.

How is it even possible to not have recorded a single cash? How is it possible that a lifelong winning player like me (in the cash games) still doesn’t have a HendonMob profile? Why couldn’t I, just this once, have found my sea legs?! I couldn’t have picked a better spot, either… this was the highest buy-in tournament I’ve ever played in for which I had 100% of my own action. Just 29 other players stood between me and that $8,100 top prize, which would have made a MASSIVE difference to my humble bankroll.

So now, I need to give my heart a rest and let my brain retake the helm. What’s taken me two decades to “achieve” – a whopping 0-for-20 record – is nonetheless an infinitesimally small sample size when it comes to tournament poker. Eventually a mermaid will appear on the horizon, and lead me to the treasure I seek.

For now, I must end this entry in the captain’s log. My motley crew of fellow mixed game lovers is calling me back to the cash game tables, and I’ve got a ransom’s worth of doubloons to wrest from those scallywags!

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, so too does the way we engage with our favorite games. One of the most significant advancements in recent years has been the integration of cryptocurrencies into the world of online poker.

The fusion of poker games with crypto payments represents an integration of two online spaces that are characterized by innovation and entertainment. This synergy has unlocked new possibilities for players worldwide, offering enhanced security, flexibility, and accessibility in how they fund their gaming endeavors and manage their winnings. But what do they stand to gain from each other? For one, crypto offers benefits such as anonymity, faster transactions, and lower fees. In this deep dive, we’ll explore various online poker games that accept crypto payments.

What are Crypto Poker Games?

Crypto poker games are online poker games that utilize cryptocurrencies for various aspects of gameplay, including deposits, withdrawals, and wagers. These crypto games online leverage blockchain technology to facilitate secure transactions and offer players several advantages over traditional fiat currency-based poker games. The following are some of the key features of crypto poker games:

In crypto poker games, players can fund their accounts, make bets, and withdraw winnings using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), or other digital assets. This allows for faster transactions and reduced transaction fees compared to traditional payment methods like credit cards or bank transfers.

Crypto poker games often operate on decentralized platforms or blockchain networks, eliminating the need for intermediaries like banks or payment processors. This decentralization enhances security, transparency, and trust in the gaming process, as transactions are recorded immutably on the blockchain.

Cryptocurrency transactions in poker games can offer a higher level of anonymity compared to fiat currencies. Players can participate in games without revealing personal information, providing greater privacy and confidentiality.

Many crypto poker games implement provably fair algorithms, allowing players to verify the fairness of each hand or game outcome. These algorithms use cryptographic techniques to ensure that game results are random and not manipulated by the platform or other players.

Crypto poker games are accessible to players worldwide, regardless of geographic location or banking restrictions. Since cryptocurrencies operate on a global scale and are not subject to traditional banking regulations, players from different countries can participate in games without encountering payment-related barriers.

Types of Poker Games that Take Crypto Payment

Unfortunately, not all poker games offer crypto payments. But thankfully, some of them do. So, we have taken the time to search for them and outline their benefits and how they work. These platforms offer a spectrum of experiences, from traditional Texas Hold’em to innovative video poker variants, all powered by the revolutionary technology of blockchain. They include Lucky Block, Stake, 1xBit, Wild.io, and Vave.

Renowned as a premier destination for crypto poker games, Lucky Block stands out for its seamless integration of cutting-edge blockchain technology. With a sleek interface and robust security measures, it offers players a secure and immersive gaming experience. Lucky Block offers various casino options, including major tournaments and leagues. There are also free live match streaming services and a cash-out feature. Furthermore, it is licensed by the Curacao Gaming Control Board, and it accepts various cryptocurrencies.

Recognized for its generosity towards newcomers and loyal players alike, Stake sets the standard for welcome and loyalty bonuses in the crypto poker arena. Founded in 2017, it boasts an array of games, including classics like Texas Hold’em and Video Poker.

What sets Stake apart is its reputation for facilitating seamless transactions with high withdrawal limits and minimal transaction fees. Beyond poker, Stake seamlessly intertwines casino gaming with crypto sports betting, giving you a comprehensive entertainment package.

Stake maintains low wagering requirements, allowing players to engage with their favorite games without burdensome restrictions. Furthermore, Stake has generous bonus offerings, including weekly bonuses of up to $50,000. The only concern is that it is limited to certain countries.

1xBit stands tall in the online casino industry and is renowned for its comprehensive offerings and exceptional user experience. The platform is adorned with an impressive array of bonus and promotional offers, catering to the diverse preferences of its users.

Notably, the ease of withdrawal and deposits on the 1xBit platform makes it even better–especially for crypto. Moreover, 1xBit extends its services beyond traditional sports betting.

Wild.io casino combines classic and modern casino games powered by fair algorithms. With standards higher than you might expect, Wild.io offers players an unrivaled crypto poker and Web3 casino gaming experience.

Firstly, Wild.io prioritizes user convenience by offering instant withdrawal methods without any fees, ensuring that players can swiftly access their winnings with ease and efficiency. Also, you get free spins for every referral: The platform rewards players with free spins for every successful referral, incentivizing them to share the excitement of Wild.io with friends and acquaintances while enjoying additional gameplay opportunities.

Compared to all the options we have explored, Vave emerges as the overall best platform. It caters particularly to the vibrant communities in Australia (AU) and Canada (CA). It offers a vast array of over 3,000 games for players to explore and enjoy.

There are many ways the online platform stands out; it is the best platform for maintaining digital assets. Users can have a secure and user-friendly platform for players to store and utilize their cryptocurrencies with ease and confidence.

Also, Vave has a reputation for loyalty rewards, seamless deposits, and swift withdrawals, with a focus on transparency and reliability. If you want to be more than a casual member, Vave offers VIP players the opportunity to enjoy up to 20% cashback–in cryptocurrency.

How to Choose the Top Crypto Poker Site with the Best Crypto Payment Options

Putting your assets on any website without being assured of their security and validity is not recommended. Doing so can expose you to numerous dangers that can cost you your hard-earned funds and possibly sensitive data. So, opting for sites that guarantee your safety and reliable payment methods is essential.

There are several key aspects to evaluate when selecting a crypto poker platform. These include reputation and trustworthiness, licensing and regulation, cryptocurrency support, security measures, and customer support. All these factors will give you the best gambling experience.

The No-Limit Hold’em tournament action returns in April on PokerGO, with the sixth installment of the U.S. Poker Open. Late in the month will be the inaugural Texas Poker Open, which features a $3,300 buy-in and a $2,000,000 prize pool guarantee. After the Main Event is livestreamed, the final four of seven high rollers will be streamed live.

High Stakes Poker episodes from Season 12 continue, while another Celebrity Poker Tour Game Night will also fill the video calendar for the month.

High Stakes Poker

Season 12 of High Stakes Poker continues with $1,000/$2,000 No-Limit Hold’em equally the biggest stakes playing in the show’s history. Brandon Adams, Stanley Tang, Santhosh Suvarna, Justin Gavri, Nik Airball, Charles Yu, and Andrew Robl battle against each other with six-figure pots traded back-and-forth.

These players will see out the season with the nosebleed stakes remaining through to the season finale on May 13.

U.S. Poker Open

The sixth annual U.S. Poker Open continues from the PokerGO Studio with every final table livestreamed on PokerGO.

All eight events will be exclusively No-Limit Hold’em with buy-ins starting at $5,100 and concluding with the $25,200 finale. The player that earns the most PGT points during the U.S. Poker Open will win the $25,000 championship bonus and be awarded the U.S. Poker Open Golden Eagle.

Stephen Chidwick won the inaugural U.S. Poker Open in 2018 on the back of winning two events and finishing runner-up in another to amass $1,256,600 in series earnings. David Peters won the next two series titles and won a total of four events from seven cashes in 2019 and 2021. The 2022 series would see Sean Winter win the final two events to claim the series title from his $1,196,000 in series earnings.

The U.S. Poker Open defending champion is Martin Zamani. He won the $50k No-Limit Hold’em finale for $666,000 in prize money, and when combined with his three additional cashes, he topped Ren Lin and Sam Soverel to be awarded the U.S. Poker Open Golden Eagle trophy.

Texas Poker Open

The PGT is heading to Champions Club Texas in Houston for the inaugural Texas Poker Open from April 24 to May 5. The marquee event of the series will be the $3,300 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event which includes a $2,000,000 prize pool guarantee.

Every day of the Main Event will be livestreamed on the PokerGO YouTube channel, and once the Main Event concludes, the final four PGT high roller final tables will be livestreamed. In total, there are seven high rollers on the Texas Poker Open schedule, and along with the $3,300 buy-in Main Event, they will all earn PGT points and have live reporting on PGT.com.

Celebrity Poker Tour Game Night

The second Game Night from the Celebrity Poker Tour takes center stage in the PokerGO Studio Triangle Room on April 19. Another sit-n-go featuring a wide array of poker players and social media influencers will compete for the $10,000 first-place prize and $5,000 runner-up prize.

The first Game Night held in March would see Maria Ho crowned the winner after defeating Tommy Unold heads-up at a table that included Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler, poker players Brad Owen, Alexander Seibt, and Ethan Yau, and social media influencers Trent Attyah and Bryce Hall.

What Did You Miss in March?

It was another busy month on PokerGO with March hosting two tournament series at the PokerGO Studio, the culmination of No Gamble, No Future, and continued episodes of the brand-new season of High Stakes Poker.

PGT Mixed Games and PGT PLO Series final tables played out from the PokerGO Studio Triangle Room with Poker Hall of Famers winning PGT titles during the month. PokerGO’s own President Mori Eskandani won the $10k H.O.R.S.E., while John Hennigan claimed victory in $10k 8-Game. Alex Livingston topped the series by winning the $25k 10-Game Championship.

The Finish pros dominated the PGT PLO Series presented by PLO Mastermind as Eelis Parssinen and Samuli Sipila won two titles each. Sipila would also be crowned the PGT PLO Series champion after his runner-up finish to Seth Davies in the $25k Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.

The fourth season of No Gamble, No Future concluded with a final lineup of Nik Airball, Brandon Adams, Matt Kirk, The Professor, Eric Wong, and Jean-Robert Bellande playing $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha.

The 12^th season of High Stakes Poker continued with a new lineup of players that included Jean-Robert Bellande, Chino Rheem, Santhosh Suvarna, Nik Airball, Phil Laak, Vivian Yang, and Andrew Robl playing $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em. The final episode of the month included a new wave of players as Brandon Adams, Stanley Tang, and Justin Gavri joined Suvarna, Airball, and Robl for $1,000/$2,000 No-Limit Hold’em.

Poker’s spring break is upon us as the first ever WPT Voyage is primed to set sail. Excitement is peaking as hundreds of poker lovers have descended upon the Port of Miami, ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime aboard the Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady.

The World Poker Tour has chartered the entire ship, and it’ll be transformed into a floating poker palace, as we cruise through the Caribbean, with exciting ports of call in the Bahamas and Cayman Islands. As for the poker? Well there’s a whole team of people working behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly. And an A+ experience is what poker players the world over have of course come to expect from the WPT.

To get a better sense of all the poker-oriented preparations that have been going on leading up to the WPT Voyage, we reached out to Emily DeLaine, a longtime industry veteran who is fulfilling the role of WPT Voyage Poker Operations Director. Emily kindly took the time to answer my many questions about how an event of this size and scope all comes together.

As we’re all looking forward to enjoying an amazing WPT Voyage over the next week, I think it behooves us as a poker community to express our tremendous appreciation to Emily and the entire team behind the scenes who’ve worked and will be working so hard to ensure we have an amazing time. I hope this exclusive peek behind those scenes gives us all that deeper sense of appreciation.

I’m pretty certain I remember seeing you working as a dealer at the WSOP. Tell us how you first got into poker and working on the “other side of the felt”.

That is a bit of a strange story. I think most dealers get into it because they like to play, I was going to graduate school in Oregon and thought dealing poker would be an excellent part time job. The hours are ideal. Little did I know a decade later I’d be thoroughly entrenched in the industry.

I worked in a little card room for two years and then I decided to deal the WSOP in 2015, because graduate school does not pay well. After that I was hooked and have been traveling with my poker family ever since.

Since November 2021, you’ve been self-employed doing Poker Staffing and Coordination. What led to your choice to set out on your own and start a business like that?

In 2019, I dealt my last WSOP while pregnant. I did not know what to expect in terms of working gigs. I remember I took some time off, but the following year I was preparing to work Hard Rock in April and we all know what happened. Covid. While Covid was a devastating time, my silver lining was being able to stay home with my newborn for over a year.

It wasn’t until WSOP 2021 was looming that I realized I just could not do the grinding hours that dealing requires for big events. So, I decided to apply as a Dealer Coordinator (DC) that year. It worked out well and I have been enjoying working with staff ever since. I work as a DC a few times a year and then I have been staffing WPT at Sea and the WPT Voyage since we started last year. It’s been a blessing for me being able to work remotely for part of the year as I just recently had my daughter in September. So, I guess being a mom changed everything for me, like it does for most moms.

That being said, I love dealing and I still do when I can make it work. I even dealt this past January at Borgata because Kellie De Celis gave me a family-friendly solution to working with a then 3-month-old, which is why I wish more women were in poker room management.

As we were coordinating this Q&A session, you told me that you’ve been working on this project for over a year. How did you first come to get involved and what is your official role and job title?

I first started working for Kurt McPhail with WPT Cruise in 2017 as a dealer and then later as the DC on the Mediterranean cruise in 2019. When we started back up after a Covid hiatus, we moved to Virgin Voyages for the 2022 WPT Cruise and the idea for WPT at Sea and WPT Voyage was born.

I hit the ground running and with my extensive network of event dealers, it made sense for me to take on staffing along with other poker logistics I could help with. So, I am the WPT Voyage Poker Operations Director. I am responsible for making sure the poker happens onboard!

Just so that we understand “who does what”, to what extent do you regularly liaise with WPT staff? What duties do they fully entrust to you and what duties fall under their purview?

WPT have an amazing team that are fantastic to work with. Warren Woodall has been heading up this project, and he has been gracious enough to involve me with a lot of planning projects from tournament schedule, to ship space layouts, to the brand new chip sets that were beautifully designed just for the Voyage.

But my main responsibility is the staff and making sure the poker tournaments run smoothly with the right people in the right places. WPT of course has done so much behind the scenes I probably don’t know the half of it. They do all the marketing, running satellites on WPT Global and Club WPT, organizing non-poker entertainment, and helping with booking an entire ship of poker players.

I noticed that you posted recently on the Women’s Poker Association Facebook page that you’d be happy to answer any questions that cruisers/players had ahead of the WPT Voyage. Clearly, in order to do that, you not only need to be in the know on the operations side of things, but also to have been aboard the Valiant Lady before. How many times have you cruised on Virgin Voyages, and what have those experiences been like?

I have been on my fair share of Virgin Voyages this past year and I will say, I was never a fan of cruising before, but Virgin really is a game changer in terms of luxury and relaxation. I have had a behind the scenes look at what is happening on this voyage both from Virgin and WPT, so I thought I could offer my brain to the women traveling with us. I know women tend to be planners and as an anxious packer myself, I thought I’d help where I could.

WPT VOYAGE LOGISTICS

What does a poker dealer’s day look like once boarding the ship? When are they working? How do shifts get assigned?

This is really an unprecedented experience for most. Since we have poker running 24/7 unless we are in port, the dealers have been divided into shifts to cover those times, but there may be some lulls between working hours.

The nice part is that the commute to work is about 2 minutes, so it allows for scheduling to be quite flexible. I believe the dealers understand that and the ones that want to work a lot will be able to and the ones that want to be cut first will get plenty of hammock time.

I’ve made sure to be clear with the dealers that I’m going to do my best to make the schedules run smoothly, but because we’ve never done something like this before, we need to work together as a team. I will definitely be collecting as much data as I can, however, so next time we can make better projections and plans.

When the Valiant Lady is in port (i.e., not at sea), the poker tables are closed. Does that mean that dealing staff have time off to enjoy the ports of call and bespoke activities or are they engaged in different aspects of their job (e.g., doing any sort of set-up, prep, etc.)?

This is a perk of the job for sure. When we are in port, all staff members get to enjoy most of the day to themselves like regular passengers. Fortunately, many of our staff members are existing staff of WPT at Sea so they know the ship well and are very familiar with the port stop at Bimini. Any help with physical setup will be done on Sunday morning, so for most staff this is a “work hard, play hard” kind of situation.

There are over 80 poker tables on board. How many dealers, floorpeople, chip runners, and ancillary poker personnel, does it take to fully staff an operation that large on a cruise ship?

Our total staff for just the poker operations is 150 people, which includes dealers, floor people, registration staff, cage staff, hosts, and massage therapists. That number grows when you include the rest of the WPT family with Club WPT, WPT Global, the Royal Flush crew, and all the talent.

I hired a lot of individuals that can do multiple jobs so that we can be flexible with the fluctuating demands of work onboard. So many variables cannot be adjusted in the middle of the sea, and I’ve gone through many contingency plans when it comes to staffing effectively. I just hope everyone takes their Dramamine and washes their hands regularly!

How is it determined which dealers deal the cash game tables and which dealers deal the tournament tables?

Dealers are assigned based on business demands, so day shift is usually tournament-heavy, and swing shift requires more cash dealers. As a dealer coordinator, I always try to assign dealers to where they would prefer to be, but I also believe if you are a traveling poker dealer you need to be flexible and capable of dealing anything and anywhere. Fortunately, this gig is unique enough that most of the dealing staff can pitch any game; just tell them how many cards and what the nuts are.

The WPT Voyage festivities are set to kick off with a Pajama Meet-Up Game (MUG). Will dealers be similarly outfitted?

Yes! We’ve encouraged it. This event we’ve kept in mind that it’s supposed to be fun and feel like we’re all on Spring Break! So, unlike most gigs, I’ve encouraged the staff to engage with the social scene onboard and have fun themselves.

What sort of unforeseen challenges have occurred in the build-up to setting sail that are unique to a poker cruise, and how have you and your crew managed to work through those challenges?

Wow. So many I can even count. I have learned so much about maritime laws and US customs this past year it makes my head spin. You need a passport? I know how to get you a passport!

What makes this event different is it’s not in a stationary casino space with the departments already running before the event. We have had to measure every inch of the ship to make sure everything fits, and so that we can create the poker spaces out of existing rooms not meant for poker tables.

Also, shipping and onboarding 80 tables, 800 chairs, and 80 dealer chairs is a feat of strength! The entire ops team is already on the Valiant Lady ahead of time to start working the moment they can. It’s a huge undertaking and there are some rockstars coordinating those efforts.

Kurt McPhail of course is leading the team along with Andrea DiBattista, Michele Prouty, Paul Prouty, Adrian Stroe, Jennifer Palmer, and Hector Sanchez. Also, Jamie Herscovitz and Jacob Harvey with Poker Atlas, and Warren Woodall and Madison Evans with WPT Global.

Naturally, there are changes to your role once we embark on the WPT Voyage. What does your day-to-day look like once we’re onboard?

I keep joking with everyone that I don’t have a job onboard because I have all the jobs. I’m sure my days will start early and end late, but I believe I have hired some superstars and I can let them do what they do best.

I will be there to support the team in any way whether it’s giving a supervisor a lunch break, helping a player find the karaoke room, or even getting in the box and pitching some cards.

After more than a year working towards this project, what aspects of the WPT Voyage are you looking forward to most?

I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of familiar faces in an unfamiliar location. It really is “poker’s spring break” and I am willing to bet isolating this many poker players on a ship in the middle of the sea will bring about a better sense of community that will have a lasting impact in the future.

My hope and vision for the future of poker is more fun and more inclusiveness. I think WPT is on the edge of this frontier and I’m happy to be a part of what should be an event for the books.

It’s almost showtime. By what measures will you quantify having done a successful job?

I’m a classic type-A perfectionist, so I’m fighting not to say “that every tournament runs smoothly with no delays and no reportable errors.” I think if I’m really honest about it, my measure of success will be that everyone has an amazing player experience, that the WPT family grows, and we get to do it again next year!