With the online poker legislative landscape deadlocked in the United States while unregulated sites continue to make their services available to US citizens unabated, many poker players are turning to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to compete in real money games. By connecting to a VPN, you can hide your real life location and make it appear as if you are logging on to real money online gambling sites from a different region; one where online poker is properly legalized and regulated.

VPN online poker

Image credit: vip-grinders.com

While here at Cardplayer Lifestyle we support efforts to legalize and regulate online poker throughout the United States (as well as other jurisdictions where it’s currently outlawed), we’re aware that many online poker enthusiasts living in jurisdictions where it’s not allowed cannot resist the temptation to play. All we can really do, then, is encourage you to keep your wits about you and take proper precautions.

*Important Editor’s Note: Please note that if you DO choose to use a VPN to play online poker from a jurisdiction in which it’s illegal to do so, you risk losing all of your funds.

With that said, using a VPN also helps protect real money wagerers from persistent hackers who are constantly on the prowl on their quest to obtain data illegally. Thus, even people playing online poker from a jurisdiction where such activity is already legalized and regulated might consider availing themselves of such a service. It goes without saying that we’re in favor of maintaining the most secure possible environment in which to play poker online.

Other articles often cite the same list of the best VPNs in 2017 to use to play online poker, but we’ve got another four solid options worth considering.

VPN Area

VPN Area is a top-rated Virtual Private Network that also touts a high speed Internet connection by sending your information through a private server, which in many cases will greatly enhance your Internet speed.

The monthly flat rate for VPN Area is $9.90; however, you can obtain this service for as little as $4.92 per month by opting for the $59 yearly fee.

VPN Area has servers in 69 countries, offers AES-256 encryption, and allows you to connect from up to six devices with unlimited bandwidth.

Boleh VPN

Boleh VPN offers military grade 256 bit AES encryption that protects your network from unwanted intrusion. The VPN promotes that fact that it operates in a country that is not obligated to comply with FVEY (Five Eyes) guidelines. Your data and location are protected while connected to Boleh VPN.

Boleh VPN offers new customers a $9.99 monthly rate or, if you’re just looking to try it out for a short while, a 7-day trail package for $3.70. They also offer a money-saving yearly service, which comes at a price of $79.99.

Air VPN

Allow yourself to “breathe the real Internet” by using Air VPN. This service makes it possible for customers to block everyone from criminals to governments from accessing your information.

Air VPN has short-term options for as little as €1 (three days) or you can gain monthly access for €7. A yearly subscription costs €54. You can also choose to pay for the service using Bitcoin.

This is a great option for customers who wish to play online poker from countries within the European Union since it offers its products in the regional fiat currency. Just like most of its competitors, Air VPN offers state-of-the-art encryption.

VPN AC

VPN AC is a Virtual Private Network service that its website claims is “secure, fast and reliable.” Available in over 20 countries, this VPN comes with a yearly price tag of $58, which works out to $4.80 per month. Customers who instead opt for the monthly service can do so for $9; there are also other packages available.

You can use up to six devices to connect to VPN AC while taking advantage of the website’s various tutorials on how to set up and customize your private connection.

A couple weeks ago, at the PokerStars Championship Barcelona, I had the chance to chat with Liv Boeree. During the first part of our time together, we spoke about her passion for effective altruism. I could not let my opportunity to speak with Liv Boeree go by, however, without asking her for her thoughts about women in poker. It made me uncomfortable to do so because the mere question implies that she is something “less” than what she really is — a phenomenal poker player with an impressive resume by any standard.

Liv Boeree

However, given the reality of the world we live in, I thought it important to get the perspective of one of the games top female players. I had a few specific questions to ask, but the mere mention of the topic was enough for Liv to share some of the shockingly misogynistic things that she has seen with equal parts brutal honestly and incredible poise. She basically covered everything I was going to ask her on her own, without much prompting from me.

Below, she shares a story of an incident that had just happened to her in the days before our interview, and gives her perspective on the reason why the percentage of female poker players is so small compared to the overall population. She also made some suggestions with regard to what the poker industry’s goal should be when it comes to gender parity.

What are your general thoughts on being a woman in poker?

I always start off with the same thing, which is that I’ve never been a man in poker, so I have no real point of comparison. And I think if you want to make any strong statement about something you need to be able to know what the other side is like. That said, it has its advantages and it has its disadvantages.

READ: Why Don’t More Women Play Poker Leading Ladies Unite for Change

The advantages are you will stand out more, and that can create economic opportunity. The disadvantage is that you stand out more, and you get treated very differently than male players. And that is a thing that some male players will not be able to conceptualize.

For example, just even yesterday I was involved in a hand with a perfectly nice French guy and won the pot. Afterwards I gave him a fist-bump and then he points at his cheek — obviously asking for a kiss on the cheek. At that point, I’m thinking “On what planet is this OK?” You wouldn’t ask me to do that if I was a man; I’m not going to kiss you on the cheek. It’s a bit demeaning. I appreciate that it may be a cultural thing, but it’s one thing to greet someone and [that situation] is another thing.

And then he says sorry, and I’m like “no problem.” But then some other guy pipes up and says “you Brits have no fucking sense of humor.” And I was like, what? Excuse me? Why treat me differently? He starts arguing that “well, you know, men have urges, of course we’re going to treat women differently.” I asked him if that justifies harassment, and he responded that that wasn’t what he was saying.

And I tried to explain to him, look you have to understand if this was a one off incident to be asked to kiss someone on the cheek after a hand I wouldn’t care. But it happens almost daily when I play in a tournament.

That’s so depressing to me…

This is just my personal experience. I can’t speak for every woman, but most of my female friends have these kinds of things happen. It’s maybe not every day, but no matter how conservative I dress you’re going to get looked at. And that’s part of life, but the point is that it’s always there because you’re an anomaly. So that’s just part of the experience.

It’s a double edged sword, basically. There are a lot of benefits that can come from it. If you use it well, then it can add extra value, but there are also downsides where you’re treated differently.

Is it getting any better?

It is getting better. The trend is still very very positive. For the most part, as a woman in poker I’m treated with respect and I’m not treated that much differently most of the time. But there are still pretty much daily occurrences where you are reminded of the fact that you are a woman.

What International Women’s Day is about (to me, at least): #IWD2017 pic.twitter.com/oojpcACrZZ

— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) March 8, 2017

Do you have any thoughts on how to get more women into poker?

I think ultimately, it’s difficult. You can’t do double blind tests to get to the nitty gritty of why it is. I think there is just always going to be a subset of women who just aren’t interested. They just don’t enjoy the competitive angle of the game, and whether it’s a matter of nature or nurture that made a subset of women less likely to play such a hyper-competitive game as poker, I don’t know. But there’s probably always going to be a nature part that we can’t do anything about.

But that said, companies like PokerStars do really make it as, not female friendly per se, but gender neutral. Which is what it’s got to be about — this is a gender neutral game; it doesn’t matter who you are. PokerStars is really good at promoting that, and I think that is the sort of thing we just need to continue doing.

But we’re never going to get it to parity because I just think that actually it is that degree of nature where poker is just not as appealing, on average, to women as it is to men. But that said, there are a lot of women out there who are like me, who do enjoy competitive games and I think that with time we will appeal to more and more of them.

Cool Factsheet on female poker player statistics to celebrate International Women’s Day @PokerStarsWomen pic.twitter.com/cxjHMvLKhl

— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) March 8, 2013

Welcome back to the Great American Poker Trip. My name is Jack Laskey and I’m a co-host of the Just Hands Poker Podcast. My co-host (and fellow Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor) Zach Resnick and I started in Washington D.C. and are slowly making our way to California. Along the way I’m taking some time to reflect on the trip highlights and the poker scene across the country. In our last installment, we visited New Orleans. In this installment, I’ll be telling you about the poker we played in Houston, Texas.

Houston

A note to readers: I am not currently in Houston and actually haven’t been for a few months. I am writing and publishing these articles after the fact. I’m including this note because of Hurricane Harvey and is catastrophic effect on Houston. Zach and I stayed with a friend whose house took on over three feet of water. I’m almost certain that all of the places where we played poker in Houston have been flooded if not destroyed. If you have not already, please considering donating to the Hurricane Harvey relief effort. Also, consider using poker for good and organize a charity tournament with friends or try to find one of the dozens of charity poker tournaments popping up around the country to benefit the people of Houston.

Hurricane Harvey Houston

Hurricane Harvey flooding Houston

The Houston Underground Poker Scene

The great game of Texas Hold’em has been living in exile for quite some time, or at least it would appear so from the outside. Ironically, this game which has been legalized and promoted in many parts of the country and world remains in the “outlaw state” in its homeland. The Texans may not mind the decentralized unregulated state of Texas poker, but even the purists can only tolerate so much rake.

Much like New York City, Houston’s poker scene is made up of hundreds if not thousands of private and semi-private games. Ranging from the true home game to the underground casino, these games all promote a slightly greater sense of both kinship and risk compared to their casino brethren. Both of those qualities were present in the game Zach and I spent most of our time in during our Texas stay. We would not have been able to play in this game, let alone find it, were it not for a local connection. Our man in Houston hooked us up and we found ourselves walking into a windowless, nameless store in desolate strip-mall by NASA into the middle of an uncapped $2/5/10 NLH+PLO game.

Texas underground home game

Image used for illustrative purposes only

The mechanics of this game are unusual for those used to casino play. The establishment had a name (they asked me not to include the name in this article) that related to a common poker-related animal that I’ll refer to going forward as a “little mule”. The decor heavily featured little mules, the felt and the chips included. There were also three important little mule styled game pieces, two little mule coins and a little mule figurine. These all played an important game function.

mule

The little mule figurine was their version of “the rock”, an underground game staple used to inflate the size of the pot and rake more. Basically, if you are in possession of the little mule figurine, you must post it if you are under the gun or on the button. At that point, the little mule acts as a $10 straddle (although it cannot be redeemed for cash). Further, the little mule can be sold for a fixed price of $5 to someone under the gun or on the button. While you don’t have to sell, its expected that you do, particularly since you will be able to buy it back when you have a chance to play it. If you find yourself in this atmosphere, I recommend buying the little mule on the button. It’s a cheap (if not +EV) way to participate.

The little mule coins are the PLO triggers. There are two coins in circulation. If a coin holder is on the button, then a PLO hand is dealt. After one of these PLO hand, the coin moves counter-clockwise. This means a little under half of the game is PLO. If you are on the button for PLO, definitely buy the little mule.

So why go through all the trouble? The way these games are being raked, 10% up to $25, inflating the pot is well worth the effort. In their defense, they run a high-risk operation very well and there are perks like free food (some delicious Mexican cuisine while we were there). Still, with around $400/hr coming off the table, it’s a tough game to beat.

Cultural Snapshot

Unlikely much of the cuisine, not everything that happens in a NYC underground poker game is kosher. There is regularly a dedicated weed smoking room among other things that may alienate part of the clientele. The Houston game seemed a bit more “above the influence”, but the presence of holstered guns, something that would never be seen in a NYC game, had a stronger effect on my comfort level than I would have suspected. If people in the game are getting high, that is probably a good thing for my bottom line. On the other hand, if I pass on making a +EV bluff or light call-down vs a tilted Texan with a pistol, that doesn’t help my win rate aside from any other implications.

Fortunately, the utter pleasantness of the game relieved any initial discomforts. Throughout the South, I had been impressed with the warm interest people took to a new face in the game. In the home game atmosphere of this underground game, that tendency was magnified. Laughter and mouth-watering tacos really make any situation better. Overall, I found the experience much more enjoyable than the NYC equivalents. While the rake was very high, there wasn’t any kind of hustler vibe from the people running the game.

Texas underground home game

Image used for illustrative purposes only

The Metrics

Game Selection: 7/10

I think game selection may be a misnomer here since there wasn’t really anything to choose from. However, the game offered, a NLH-PLO mix, is really fun. I think mixing in PLO helps loosen up the game a lot. Still, playing majority NLH keeps the game moving and also means that you get to play PLO with some true novices.

Game Quality: 6/10

If you could find this game in a casino with standard rake, my rating for it would be a 10/10. However, the extremely high rake really lowers expectation. Most break-even and slightly winning players in a typical casino $2/5 game will be long-term losers in this room. That being said, the PLO is ridiculously good action and the NLH is nothing to sniff at. The high rake does mean that there are fewer tight regs trying to eek out a few BB/hr, which is really great for the game.

Table Atmosphere: 8/10

This room was a ton of fun. The chips were flying and everyone was having a good time. I played with a couple guys who were straight out of the Doyle Brunson-school of poker persona. It was awesome.

Service/Amenities: 8/10

I just love free food when I’m playing poker. It wasn’t worth the price of the rake, but it made me feel special. When the food is good, it’s all the better.

Overall: 7.5/10

I had a great time playing poker in Houston. It’s saddening to think that this room was almost certainly flooded. I’m sure like the rest of the city this game will recover in time, but I hope that process will be speedy since these underground games are like a small community, and it’s not as easy to find another game.

Again, please consider donating to the Hurricane Harvey relief effort if you have not already.

This article is brought to you with the help of Upswing Poker. We at Cardplayer Lifestyle would like to thank them so much for their support, and we encourage you to check out their site.

During the poker boom, some of the world’s greatest players emerged from Scandinavia. The aggressive and skilled Scandis, as they were affectionately called, were feared as well as beloved at the poker tables. As a quick sampling, some of the more well-known players included Gus Hansen from Denmark, Thor Hansen from Norway, and Chris Bjorin from Sweden.

Bjorin, you wonder? Chris Bjorin?

Poker fans automatically connect Sweden with Martin Jacobson, the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event champion. Of course, he is quite well known, as he is an extremely skilled player who has nearly $16.5 million in live tournament cashes to his credit thus far. But Sweden had a champion-level player in the game long before Jacobson was even able to calculate pot odds. That man was Chris Bjorin.

Poker’s marathon man Chris Bjorin hunts yet another WSOP Main Event cash. He’s been coming to the WSOP since 1991! pic.twitter.com/vsgTpSPPWK

— PokerListings (@PokerListings) July 6, 2015

Bjorin’s Personal History

Born in 1947, Bjorin is a native of Sweden and became a fan of poker and gambling at an early age. While he had to hide it from his family during his younger years, he also did spend some time as a wine merchant to eke out a “respectable” living. But the majority of his living was earned through poker and sports betting, and that soon became his full-time career.

By the 1980s, it was time for a move. The London live poker and betting scene was booming already, so he made England his new home, where he continues to live today. Within a decade after his relocation, though, poker began to grow, and games became plentiful. He started to learn more poker variants, including the American-born Texas Hold’em, and took his skills to the tournament tables.

A Swedish Poker Success Story

Bjorin’s first recorded cash on the Hendon Mob database is in 1989, but soon after, he began to travel to the United States on occasion for some of the bigger tournaments there in Las Vegas. He became a fixture at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in the early 1990s and made a name for himself in the cash games and tournaments, even taking trips to Los Angeles and Atlantic City. He followed the money and took his fair share along the way.

While he won numerous tournaments throughout the 1990s, it wasn’t until 1997 that Bjorin won his first WSOP bracelet in a $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. His second came in 2000 in a $3K No Limit Hold’em event, and other titles he accumulated through the years put him happened in the European Poker Tour, European Poker Championships, and British Open in London; Five Star World Poker Classic, Four Queens Poker Classic, and Wynn Classic in Las Vegas; World Poker Challenge in Reno; and the US Poker Championship in Atlantic City.

Chris Bjorn is a #master of multiple poker disciplines. He is the winner of bracelets in Limit Hold’em and PLO #poker pic.twitter.com/cTW02jBKic

— WSOPMemories (@WSOPMemories) June 6, 2015

The largest live tournament cash to date for Bjorin was when he took down the 2000 WSOP event for $334,110, but the next highest came in 2009 at the WSOP Europe in the £10K buy-in NHLE World Championship. He made the final table and finished sixth for the equivalent of $247,732.

Put it all together, and nearly 30 years of live poker tournaments have resulted in more than $5.6 million in earnings.

The number itself is barely more than half of Jacobson’s WSOP win in 2014 or $10 million, but Bjorin is extremely grateful for his long-term success. He also has significant, but undocumented, winnings in the sports betting arena, something he enjoys as much as his poker endeavors. It is not about the number for Bjorin, nor is it about the fame, the spotlight, or the awards. He has repeatedly turned down televised poker spots and interviews through the years for that reason.

Bjorin, then, stands out from many of the better-known poker stars and celebrities. Instead of seeking recognition or public praise, the nearly-70-year-old poker pro continues to play at his own pace, enjoy the best food and wine in London, and savor the friendships he has made along his poker journey.

An Eventual Poker Hall of Famer?

In recent years, poker enthusiasts have pushed for Bjorin’s nomination to the Poker Hall of Fame, where European recipients of the honor are few and far between. But Bjorin’s longevity and reputation put him at the top of most lists for induction into the Hall of Fame, though he rarely comments on such things. While those in the poker community debate his merits for various honors, however, Bjorin is happiest at his Victoria Grosvenor Casino in London, playing cash games, either PLO or mixed games, and joining friends for the finest food a Johan Storakers nd wine afterward.

Sweden will always be known for many things, not the least of which are IKEA and Swedish Fish candies, and its penchant for producing some of the world’s top gamblers, whether through online casino free spins offers or virtual poker tables. But it also has a significant place in poker history, producing names like William Thorson, Johan Storakers, Martin De Knijff, Michael Tureniec, Anton Wigg, Jacobson, and the remarkable Chris Bjorin.

I dare say that anyone who has played some hold’em is quite aware of what is meant by “outs.” But not many realize that there are two types of outs. Very simply, with a drawing hand – one that must improve to win the pot – outs are the unseen cards, presumably remaining in the stub of the deck, that will make your hand. For example, on the flop, you have four cards, all of the same suit. There remain nine more unseen cards of that suit; you have 9 outs. And there is a reasonable chance that you may catch one of them on the turn or on the river. If you are so inclined, you can convert that information to the card odds against making your flush. Or, you can glance at a handy chart that shows the card odds for different numbers of outs. In this case, the card odds are less than 2-to- 1 against you. More than one out of three times, you can expect to make your flush.)

odds chart

Read more about George “The Engineer” Epstein and his poker books

Two Types of Outs

“Good” outs are the best; but, there can also be “bad” outs. Years ago, my poker buddy, Byron Ziman, labelled these “tainted” outs. Good thinking. That’s a card that will improve your hand, but also will improve an opponent’s hand even more so.

Let’s illustrate tainted outs with a rather common occurrence: From a middle position, you are dealt 10-9 offsuit, and pay to see the flop along with three other players. Your hole cards readily satisfy the Hold’em Algorithm criteria for starting-hands in any position. (See reference.)

The flop shows Q-J- 5 rainbow. You now have four cards in sequence to a very nice straight. Any King or any 8 gives you a straight – almost certain to take the pot on the showdown. You have 8 outs. That gives you a good chance to connect with a straight. But, what you don’t know is that an opponent was dealt A-10 in the hole (unfortunately for you). So, at this point, after the flop, he holds 10-J- Q-A, a draw to an inside Ace-high straight.

The turn is a King, one of your eight outs. You concentrate on keeping a poker face as you observe the board and glance at your hole cards to reassure yourself. No tells from you. Yes, you have made a King-high straight. An early-position player opens the betting. You raise to build the pot you fully expect to win. The Button calls your raised bet. Then the early-position re-raises! You stop to ponder: What could he be raising with? Being an optimist, you put him on a set of Kings, and call his re-raise. The river is a blank. The early-position quickly bets out; you call.

Showdown: The King on the turn gave him an Ace-high straight. Your hand is a poor second-best. You are so disappointed to lose that very nice pot. But, that’s poker. . .

True, the King was one of your outs – as it was for your opponent. But, for you, it was a tainted out. It gave both of you a straight, but his was higher than yours. It happens to the best of us.

The curse of having too many outs strikes again. I think I had all of them except board pairs for at least half the pot. #poker #Omaha8

— one out twice (@oneouttwice) October 7, 2015

* Reference: Hold’em or Fold’em? – An Algorithm for Making the Key Decision; by George “The Engineer” Epstein; published 2012 by T/C Press; contact: [email protected].

Poker players are constantly looking for ways to improve their play. Most will study the latest poker strategies or watch their favorite pros to try and catch that key nugget of information that will help them win more money.

However, there’s one thing that everyone can do to easily improve their poker skills: Get more sleep! It doesn’t take a professional sleep advisor to realize that too many poker players sacrifice shuteye to try and improve at poker when the reality is that getting more sleep is perhaps one of the best things you can do to improve your game. I can think of at least five reasons why, listed below.

1.  You Will Be More Focused

Do you find that you’re having trouble focusing for long periods at the table? More sleep can help improve your focus. A lack of focus is one of the key reasons players make mistakes in poker. Often this lack of focus comes from fatigue.

When you get sufficient rest each night, your focus will improve and you’ll find that you can focus longer during each session or tournament. Adults need a minimum of six hours of sleep per night with many doctors recommending around eight in order to be at peak functionality the following day.

READ MORE: Phil Laak sets Guinness World Record for longest continuous poker session

2.  Your Memory Will Improve

Sleep is important in helping us to process and retain information. During sleep the brain organizes information and remodels the synapses. This helps us remember important information over the long-term.

A lack of sleep can disrupt communication between the hippocampus, making it more difficult for the brain to retain information. Those of you that are putting in 14+ hour poker sessions and sacrificing sleep may win a bit more money, but over the long-term this may actually hinder your ability to improve.

Getting a good night’s rest can improve your memory, mood — and poker https://t.co/CigOlum85D

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) January 30, 2017

3.  You’ll Be Less Likely to Tilt

When you get a proper night’s rest, your ability to control your emotions improves. If you need a classic example of this, look at most any young child or toddler at about 2 pm. Those who have not taken a nap are often cranky or start crying at the slightest provocation. Once they take a nap, this is usually corrected.

For adults, a lack of sleep can make us emotionally vulnerable, which can contribute to tilt. If you’re tired, things that wouldn’t annoy you suddenly piss you off to the point where you donk off your stack with 7-3 offsuit.

Adequate sleep allows us to control our emotions better, which results in less tilting at the poker tables.

good night sleep

4.  You’ll Make Better Decisions

When you’re well rested, you’ll make better decisions at the poker table. Improved memory will allow you to remember how opponents played against you or the killer strategy you employed to win 10 buy-ins in a session a week earlier.

You’ll think clearer and retain information more readily, which will allow you to make the best decisions at the table. Poker is all about making the best decisions and more sleep can help you make better decisions, which makes you more money over the long-term.

5.  Your Health Will Improve

Numerous studies have proven that getting more rest can help improve one’s health. People who lack sufficient sleep suffer from a wide variety of health conditions ranging from obesity to heart disease.

Adequate sleep is one key factor for improving one’s health and improved health will translate into better results at the table. In recent years, we’ve seen how a healthier lifestyle has resulted in positive results in poker, and sleep is one key building block to improving your health.

Pro Tip: Invest in a Quality Mattress Over a Copy of Super System (click here for some ideas of which one to get)

If you’re looking to make an investment on your poker game, consider upgrading your sleep. As already discussed, a quality night’s rest can significantly improve your poker game and your overall quality of life.

Investing in your sleep is a +EV investment that every poker player should make. So instead of buying the latest poker book, maybe you should consider buying a quality mattress or a new set of pillows for your bed. Pleasant dreams, and good luck at the tables.

For the better part of a decade, I’ve spent about 33% of my life inside casinos, be it playing poker, reporting on it, or sleeping in a hotel. During my years with PokerNews, I spent more than half the year on the road, and while I’ve cut that back a bit as Media Director of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT), I’m still hitting different casinos up nearly every other weekend.

As such, I’ve learned the ins and outs of the casino business, including some veteran tricks I’ve decided to share with you here. Below are things to either do or keep in mind when you’re living the casino lifestyle.

1.   Sharing is Caring

Traveling for poker can get expensive; that’s why many people opt instead to play at online casinos and poker rooms – no overhead costs! For live players, gas money, airfare, food, taxis, and hotel costs are just some examples of the overhead associated with playing in poker tournaments away from home. Unless your bankroll is flush, chances are you’ll be looking to save on expenses, and there are some ways to do that.

First, if you haven’t already, join Twitter and start following your fellow poker players. Become part of the community, and eventually you’ll make poker friends. They’re great to travel with, which right off the bat cuts expenses by at least half.

going to philly airport tomorrow, Anyone else want to share a ride?

— Allen Kessler (@AllenKessler) February 4, 2010

Along those lines, befriend other poker industry folk. Dealers, media, and floor staff are people who constantly travel for poker. Oftentimes they’re willing to either split expenses or allow you to stay with them for some cash. You should approach those same people when it comes to splitting a cab, hitching a ride to the airport, etc.

Finally, you can even eat for free a lot of the time if you participate in credit card roulette. However, be forewarned that losing said game can be a big punch to the gut.

We played credit card roulette (whatever card waiter picks pays for all) 3 times and I haven’t lost yet! Food tastes better when it’s free ?

— Ryan Belen (@ry_belen) August 25, 2017

2.   Sign Up for a Players Card

Practically every casino has some sort of rewards program. Simply head to Guest Services to sign up. When you do, be sure to ask whether or not there are any incentives for signing up. Many casinos will offer free play, table match, or meal discounts just for joining.

Once you have a card, be sure to use it whenever you play. Most poker rooms offer comps (my local casino offers $1 per hour), while playing slots and table games can help you quickly achieve a higher status. Once the casino sees you’re a legit player, they’re more likely to extend you special offers such as free hotel stays, meals, etc. Some Nevada properties even cover airfare to get their bigger players to come out!

Another benefit of signing up for a players card is that you’ll often get offers via email and regular mail. These are great in keeping you looped in on what’s happening at the casino in the coming months including gaming promotions, concerts, lucrative poker tournaments, etc.

3.   Beware the Liquor Rules

This is especially applicable at tribal casinos in the United States. For example, Wyoming’s Wind River Casino doesn’t even serve alcohol, and you can’t bring your own. To that end, I’ve been to tribal properties that have wacky booze rules such as being allowed just one drink every 30 minutes, only being allowed to buy one drink at a time, and in one instance not being allowed to take alcohol into your hotel room (Pro Tip: Get it in by hiding it in your luggage, and keep it safe covering it up whenever you get room service).

If you’re used to Las Vegas casinos where you get free liquor just for playing, don’t expect that to be the case everywhere. Many top casinos offer free alcohol, but many venues, either by choice or by law, don’t give it away. Whenever I play somewhere new, I always ask whether or not drinks are complimentary and inquire about their bar time.

4.   Do Your Research

Having spent so much time in casino hotels, I’ve developed a set of priorities. For instance, I really don’t care how luxurious a room may be. I’ve stayed in some of the best, and while it’s always nice, I’ve found that a comfortable bed, air conditioning, and good water pressure is really all I really need.

However, I always like a place that offers other amenities such as a refrigerator, microwave, laundry, fitness center, and a pool. Preferably the latter two are open 24/7 (not many are, but they all should be) to fit my busy lifestyle.

Wynn Las Vegas fitness center

Wynn Las Vegas fitness center

Whenever I get my lodging accommodations sorted, I always do some research to see what the amenities are. If a fridge and microwave are available, I often bring my own food and drink to cut down on expenses. Likewise, if there’s a pool and/or fitness center, I know to bring proper attire. It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many times I’ve had to lend colleagues and fellow poker pros a pair of shorts.

5.   Get Out and About

I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world thanks to poker. However, it’s for work, which means 12–14 hours a day in the poker room. Still, I’ve made it a point to get out and experience the surrounding area. Whether it’s someplace famous like Monte Carlo or somewhere relatively bland such as Tama, Iowa, every place has something to offer.

It amazes me how many poker players simply travel from stop to stop and never venture outside the casino. For me, I like to get up early and simply go for a walk to see what the surrounding area has to offer. Just by wandering around like this, I’ve found some great hiking trails, shopping malls, parks, and bars over the years.

So, next time you’re on the road, do yourself a favor and go explore. There will always be another poker game, but you won’t always be in a cool new place.

The most striking thing about sitting down to chat with Liv Boeree is that she exudes an obvious sincerity and genuine longing to do good. And she has cultivated this sense of altruistic duty even while spending much of her adult life living the baller lifestyle that most of us can only dream about. You can tell her thoughts are never far from those who are less fortunate than she is.

Liv — an astrophysicist by training — offers up a complex picture of what it means to be a poker pro. It’s one you will not find represented in an industry whose central pillar — for better or for worse — is to sell the advantages of “living the dream.”

And it is, somewhat ironically, that very dream that in fact reveals her deep-seated commitment to the welfare of others. Because behind that baller lifestyle trope are the real people used to sell it to us. People like Liv, who find themselves dealing with the tension created when a warm-hearted person who is smart enough to play poker for a living actually uses those talents to “just” play a card game for a living — instead of using them to make advancements in other, more traditional, fields that might help alleviate the suffering of others around the world.

I immensely enjoyed talking with Liv at the recent PokerStars Championship Barcelona, specifically her willingness to be so honest and open about how she balances her desire to have maximum altruistic impact with her desire to play and succeed at the game of poker that she clearly loves.

Below is part one of my interview with her. In it, she discusses her decision to leave academia and go into poker, how she feeds her altruistic side through poker, and a sneak-peak into her plans for the future.

Liv Boeree Brad Chalupski

What made you decide to leave “proper society” and go into poker?

Well, I should clarify that I was never a practicing astrophysicist, but my intention was to become one. I was going to do my Masters and then go into research. But I knew I wanted to take a gap year because I hadn’t done anything up to that point other than education, and I just wanted to see what the world was like outside of academia for a little bit.

So, I moved to London for a couple of months. At the time I was really into (heavy) metal and rebellious, and then poker came along. I thought it was amazing; I’m hyper-competitive and I love playing games, and I just really enjoyed this particular game. And so I started to learn more about it.

At this point I already wanted to become a rock star anyway. I wanted to travel to different places and meet lots of different people, and my goal was to become as good at guitar as possible. Then poker came along, and I thought I could probably make much more money at it anyway, and I loved the competition and how much it requires of your mind. So I decided to try it out for a little while, and I never looked back.

How do you reconcile being such an intelligent and altruistic person with your choice to play a game and indulge yourself in the things you enjoy doing, instead of using your intellect for the greater good?

This is how Raising For Effective Giving was founded. A  few of us were thinking that the world seems to be going in a bad direction, and so maybe we should be doing something about it.

Prior to REG, I would give to charities but without having done much research first, and that made it feel like it was something loose and fluffy that I was only doing to make my emotions feel better without looking into it.

And then I met these effective altruists, who are all scientists, and they said if you want to do good in the world, you have to use science and numbers and look at the data. The world we live in, reality, is governed by mathematics – and the same applies to morality, really. Mathematics still applies to altruism and doing good.

When we try to do good, we do it with our resources, and mathematics lets us figure out where our resources go the furthest. And that’s what effective altruism is all about, how to do the most good in the world that you can do.

That made sense to me.

Didn’t win a bracelet yet? Well @REGcharity are auctioning one off! Huge thanks to @WSOP for donating it ❤️

Link:https://t.co/tAIpFwa2Mt? pic.twitter.com/cKfvawD3ba

— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) July 10, 2017

What’s the criteria that REG uses? And what do you do if there is a tie between two of them?

First, is if an organization’s interventions are measurable, because if you can’t measure the impact then you have no idea if it’s actually impactful.

The next thing is that it helps the maximum number of people. So if you have two actions and one for $1 will help 10 people and the other will help 100 people with that dollar, then it goes without saying that you want to go with the one that helps the most people.

[Author’s Note: Liv wasn’t able to name the criteria off the top of her head, but it was important to her that they be included here. They are: Strength of Evidence, Cost-effectiveness, Room for more funding, and Transparency.]

Lets say those 10 people are dying of cancer, and those 100 are losing their eyesight, how are you making the determination that one is more effective than another?

If you really want to get down into the nitty-gritty philosophy of it, there is one metric used called quality adjusted life years. Basically, they describe how much it costs to give a group of people one extra year of good quality of life — with quality being defined as not suffering in any measurable horrible way, not being in extreme poverty, etc.

So, yes, that is a very difficult thing to completely qualify. As a rule of thumb, it tends to go with “let’s avoid death first.” To be honest, most truly effective charities are looking on a global scale at what the biggest causes of avoidable death and pain are. Because it’s not just the person going through the death process but also the family that is losing a loved one — there is an immense amount of suffering that can be avoided.

For instance with malaria, it’s a terrible disease that is actually very easy to prevent and it averages out to about $3,300 to save a life from malaria. But in the Western world, we’ll spend a million or more to save a life from an inherited or exotic disease. Even the cost of cancer per life to save is usually a couple hundred thousand. And so when you have these orders of magnitude and difference in the cost to save a life, I think that’s what matters.

I love an analogy someone once gave, “I want to help with breast cancer because my mother died of breast cancer.” It’s awful and of course it’s good that you want to help and donate money to that, but instead of narrowing it to only mothers with breast cancer why not do the thing that helps the most mothers, full stop. That stops mothers from dying.

And it’s getting people to realize that shift, that it doesn’t have to be. You know we have an emotional attachment to a terrible thing, but you need to zoom out of it and say really you don’t just want to save mothers from breast cancer, you want to save mothers. How do I save the most mothers?

So you’re maximizing the EV (expected value) of the money?

Exactly.

Switching gears, I know that the environment is something you are extremely passionate about. I’m curious about what you think the future of energy is?

We’re seeing that solar cells are becoming more and more efficient and we are getting better at capturing clean and renewable energy more efficiently. But that being said, it’s still not going to fulfill the world’s energy demands.

We need to get better and attack it from multiple sides. We need to get the generation more efficient, we need to then get the storage more efficient. We also need to upgrade the efficiency of the systems we use energy for because those are also very inefficient. Things like refrigeration methods for example — that’s a huge energy burner and right now creating a perfect refrigerator is not possible. And it may never be, but we can still improve the efficiency. What it all comes down to is scientific funding. It feels like we’re in this huge battle between the light and dark forces when it comes to that.

And that ties nicely back into the question you were asking about how do you live this hedonistic lifestyle. And I’ll be honest with you that in the last year I’ve been really struggling with it.

I didn’t use the word hedonistic…

No, but it is. It is to a degree. I had a good summer, went out to Vegas and won some money and a chunk of that is going to these charities and so going to do good.

And so, that makes me feel good to an extent. I can justify and say, “OK, well that’s money I would not have earned and that would not be going to the charity.” Arguably that’s the most impactful thing I could be doing. But, at the same time, you could maybe make the argument that I have some unique talents in some way that I should be using to do more, other than just playing poker.

And that is definitely something that has caused me inner….

I mean I feel that way about writing about poker, so it’s not a judgment…

No, I know. No, of course not. No, I don’t think you’re judging. It’s just a really interesting question and it’s definitely something that I’m feeling an internal pressure on more and more, to re-examine.

And that’s one reason why I’m now trying to push much harder into becoming a science communicator and get back into TV presenting. PokerStars has been helping me a lot actually; we’ve been working on a pilot for a “the physics of” type thing that I’ve been filming. So fingers crossed that’s going to go somewhere.

Ed. Note: The embedded Tweet below links out to a cool video of Liv doing exactly what she said, above. Definitely worth watching!

I got to visit one of the world’s fastest supercomputers in Barcelona. Check it out: https://t.co/2igp6vBCgq

— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) August 25, 2017

I don’t know, to be honest, whether I’m mentally sharp enough to be someone who could have come up with some more fundamental physics or something like that. I don’t think so. I was decent, but I was nowhere near… you need to be like super talented to be doing that kind of thing and there’s just far more talented people working on those problems.

But I probably do have other unique talents that are better served than me just playing poker and/or raising money through poker.

I remember speaking to some effective altruists, and what I love about them is that they are so brutally honest. And one of them took me aside and said, “you need to stop. You should not be doing this.” And I feel immediate guilt. And he said “to be honest, you should be going around the world just meeting with high net worth individuals and convincing them to donate their money more effectively.”

Can’t poker help you with that? It makes you unique…

It does, but the thing is I’m going to always have that. If you Google me it will say I’m a professional poker player, so I can use that as long as I want.

Poker is going well right now and it’s not like it’s taking up my time or anything. There is a lot of downtime between events. And there’s some really exciting stuff coming up right now with PokerStars and REG. I’m actually quite excited about the direction poker is going to be heading into in general.

For example, during SCOOP PokerStars donated $109,000 to REG, which is amazing.

So I’m definitely not going anywhere in poker in the next couple of years.

❤️thank you! We had decided before the event to donate 50% of whatever we won in this tourney to @REGcharity , so I guess karma is real! https://t.co/cDAbx1RxSH

— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) June 3, 2017

Author’s note: Be sure to check out part two of my interview with Liv Boeree, where she talks about the “women in poker” issue.

Last week, 53-year-old Mavis Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts won $758.7 million for matching five out of five numbers, plus the Powerball, in what was the second-biggest lottery prize ever awarded. Well, actually she took a lump payment of $480 million, meaning after taxes she’ll deposit $336 million in her bank account.

powerball winner

I’ll admit that I bought into the hype and purchased $10 worth of tickets. That day, I allowed myself to ponder what I’d do with hundreds of millions of dollars, which primarily involved traveling the world playing in every major poker tournament I could. $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop here I come.

It would’ve been nice, but alas I couldn’t even match the Powerball to get $4 back. Still, ever since then I can’t get jackpots off my mind, or rather how nice it’d be to have a sudden influx of cash all due to luck.

In poker, that usually entails winning a Bad Beat Jackpot (BBJ). Both of my local casinos offer one, and wouldn’t you know it, both have hit within the last week. One of them was for over $300,000 and the other was for $80,000. In the latter, the BBJ hit at Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells when a friend of mine, Miro Semanisin, had his aces full of tens beaten by the quad tens of Judd Butterman.

Semanisin received $34,649.30, Butterman $17,324.65, and 40 other players got a $866.23 room share. Despite playing there regularly, I wasn’t in action that day. Again, it would’ve been nice.

To be honest, I’ve given up on the BBJ dream. I’ve been playing in casinos and cardrooms for 16 years, and I’ve never been a part of a BBJ, not even a room share. The closest I’ve ever come was playing a pot-limit Omaha game when a BBJ hit. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an eligible game.

Another time, I beat quad kings with my straight flush using both my hole cards. It would’ve triggered a BBJ had it been a cash game, but instead it occurred in a tournament. Just my luck.

READ: When the High Hand Jackpot turns into a Bad Beat

Speaking of luck, another buddy of mine, poker player Kyle Cartwright, has recently hit three video poker royal flushes in just over two months, each for $100,000. For those who don’t know, the odds of hitting such a hand are 40,390 to 1. Interestingly, all three of his royal flushes have been in hearts.

Video Poker Legend: @da_kyky hit a royal flush three times! The odds of hitting once is 40,390 to 1 https://t.co/xVHtIXrh5N pic.twitter.com/r38qTwav4f

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) August 24, 2017

I already know such jackpots are not in my future due to one simple fact: I’d never wager enough to hit it so big. According to Cartwright, he invested $7,000, $9,000, and $3,000 before each of his $100K wins (all of which were on $25 video poker machines).

Rarely do I put more than $20 into a slot machine, though on occasion, usually after one too many drinks, I’ve stuck in a few Benjamins. While I sit at a video poker machine every now and then, I’m more prone to play a machine such as Betty White’s Story Time… yeah, you read that right.

Betty White slots

I’m also a sucker for Village People Party, as well as licensed slots like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and House of Cards. I’ve also been known to go the virtual route and seek out the best paying online slots.

Someday I’d love to hit a jackpot, but chances are it’s not in the cards given I don’t ever spend more than $10 on lottery tickets (they say the odds are better that you’ll be struck by lightning), and moving up limits playing slots simply doesn’t interest me. And you know what? I’m fine with that, as chasing jackpots can be dangerous. If you don’t believe me, just remember what Sarah Jessica Parker once said…

“People go to casinos for the same reason they go on blind dates – hoping to hit the jackpot. But mostly, you just wind up broke or alone in a bar.”

Holloway’s Lucky Numbers: 11-13-26-34-42

What’s the biggest amount of money you’ve ever won? Let me know on Twitter @ChadAHolloway

Jaime Staples’ vlog produces some of the most popular poker content you’ll find on the internet. But what many people don’t know is that the vlog is actually a family affair – taped, edited, and produced by Jaime’s brother, Chris. He’s more or less a one man show that brings us straight into Jaime’s world on a near day-to-day basis.

During the recent PokerStars Championship Barcelona the Cardplayer Lifestyle Blog had the opportunity to sit down with Chris, and get a picture of the brother behind the camera. We asked him how it feels to be behind the camera instead of in front of it, his impressions of the poker world, and his thoughts on Jaime’s famous weight loss bet.

So tell me about how you ended up being the man behind the Jaime Staples vlog?

Matt and Jaime were living in Calgary back in the day, and they wanted me to move in and I was working other jobs so I couldn’t. But then finally when they were in Vienna I decided enough is enough and went to join them. And, Jaime really wanted to bring the vlog back up; back in the day he had done it solo shooting.

So I came out to Vienna with no video or editing experience, and learned as I went.

Chris Staples video

What is a typical day for you when you are making the vlog?

A typical day would be waking up at 9am, shoot an intro somewhere in the house, maybe shoot Jaime making his morning smoothie. Then we’ll go do a workout segment; if Jaime is streaming I’ll get some clips of that. We also do a little bit of general discussion about what the vlog for the day is going to be, so it’s loosely planned in advance.

Our vlog is more chronological, showing you what we do from day to day, as opposed to being scripted. We’re trying to a more scripted and general conversation format, but for now it’s just chronological.

So you do you think you enjoy creating the vlog more because it’s about your brother?

It would feel a lot more formal. I think I would enjoy it a lot less, just because of the comfort of being around just the brothers. We all fit in pretty well.

READ MORE: In-depth Interview with Jaime Staples

Do you feel any pressure to present your brother well?

I don’t feel like I think about it like that, but I probably put more work into it because it’s my brother than I would if it was a different type of job. The amount of hours, the amount of time I spend, it’s not a 9-5 job; it’s a lot of work. So, in that sense it’s a lot different doing this for your brother.

I don’t want to represent him negatively. So, he does watch all the videos before I post them and generally he doesn’t have any problems with them. But also at the same time, I also don’t think he cares as much as I do. Sometimes I’m surprised by how little he cares – for example I have a workout clip where he doesn’t look the best he’ll say “yeah just put it in” because that’s what happening and real.

Jaime and Chris Staples vlog

So there is a certain level of commitment to presenting not just the positive but also the struggle?

Definitely.

What’s it like to be behind the scenes watching someone live the dream of a lot of other people? Do you ever get jealous or envious? Or are you happy where you are?

I’m happy where I am. I enjoy the experience from behind the camera. But I find it amazing how Jaime can do interviews in front of the screen. He’ll do a five minute interview without messing up and it just blows my mind. It’s crazy.

I don’t know. Matt always tries to get me to stream on Twitch, but maybe later on. I’ll grind micros. I lost my last $3 at the 1c/2c ZOOM tables, but I’m thinking I might be ready to try again someday.

As someone who is not a poker player and wasn’t ever natively interested in the poker world like Jaime, what are your impressions of it?

I feel like it’s all amazing. I feel like a lot of people in the poker world have money, so it’s a higher class almost – at least at the live events we attend like in Monte Carlo, or here in Barcelona. That lifestyle is nice. But just poker in general is cool – I need to get into it.

I also like the banter with my brothers, hand discussions in the kitchen, everything. My absolute favorite part though is being able to use the poker world to spend time with my brothers and be a part of this.

As Jaime’s brother, what are your thoughts on his weight loss bet?

I thought he was crazy. $150K, the same weight, I was like everyone else in thinking that it’s an insane bet to start. But then once we looked at it practically, we realized it was doable. I feel like it’s an 80% chance it’s going to happen, which is way better than the 20:1 they are getting.

Just booked the craziest bet of my life. @PokerStaplesPA and I need to get within 1 pound bodyweight in one year. Our 3K to @bp22 150K

— Jaime Staples (@jaimestaples) 26 marzo 2017

Have you seen a change in Jaime? Are you noticing anything different about him or is it just the same except he’s losing weight?

He also quit smoking at the beginning of the bet, which a lot of people don’t recognize. The first two weeks, I think he was a little on edge because of quitting smoking but in general I think he’s a more happy person now and I’m excited for the end of the bet.

For the end of the bet? Or the results at the end of the bet? Or the money at the end of the bet?

All of it, the full combo. I think Matt is the most excited about it, because 75K is a lot of money for him. Not like it’s not a lot for Jaime, but for Matt, he can put that to good work for his stream.

Tell me about being the one brother that doesn’t have to do anything for this bet right now?

It’s interesting. I do go to the gym with Matt, and lately I’ve just been filming at the gym but I’m trying to go to the gym with Matt 5-6 times per week. I’ve been recording my own weight and we’ll see what the progress is at the end.

How would you sum up your life right now overall?

I just feel lucky. Before this I was working on the Alberta oil rigs; Straight from there now I’m doing video and editing. I don’t know what I’m going to do after this but I feel lucky and I’m really enjoying it.

As longtime fans of Cardplayer Lifestyle know, this site is all about poker, both live and online. With that said, we also know that many of you out there also love to play casino games online. These are often tied to online casino clients that are separate from the standard poker clients you’re used to. In some cases, you may not even have a casino client option.

Just like you need to game/table select wisely when playing poker to maximize your hourly rate (i.e., sometimes you ought to ask for a seat change), by the same token you need to choose wisely when selecting an online casino. Anyone who has ever played at one knows that not all casinos are the same. In fact, some places stack the proverbial deck against you so severely that you’d be better off going out to buy lottery tickets!

Without further ado, below are five things to look for when selecting an online casino.

1. Quality of Welcome Bonus

One of the top things to check out before signing up is the quality of the site’s Welcome or First Deposit bonus. If the match portion is less than 100%, you might want to consider finding another place to play. If you like to play slots, then you want a bonus with free spins.

You also want a bonus that gives all of the rewards on the first deposit. Some sites will string you along over three to five deposits to get all of the promised rewards.

Lastly, be sure to check the fine print regarding play-through requirements and game contributions. A site that offers a 200% bonus but only contributes 5% for all games other than slots is inferior to a 50% match bonus with games that contribute 50%.

2. Banking Options

How many options does the casino offer for making a deposit? Do they only take credit cards and maybe one or two other forms of payment? Do they offer bank drafts? These questions are important when selecting an online casino as you want to utilize payment methods that make it easy to deposit and withdraw.

In addition, you want to play at fast paying online casinos. If you have to wait for two weeks or longer to get your funds (other than requesting a check by mail), then you might want to look for another option.

The best sites are those that pay out e-wallets within 48 hours and other forms within 5 to 7 business days. If your online casino can beat those times, even better.

3. Video Poker

Surprisingly, there’s still a number of online casinos out there that don’t offer video poker, or if they do it is a very limited selection. Video poker is highly popular – just ask Allen Kessler! – and the lack of these games in a casino can often point to an overall lower quality of gaming.

The same holds true for online casinos with a very limited number of video poker titles or those that offer bad pay tables. If you cannot find at least one 9-5 or better machine in a casino’s offerings, consider moving on.

4. Sports Betting

The better online casinos will offer players some type of sports betting. Gamblers love to place bets on their favorite sports teams or the latest fight. Just look at the insane amount of money that the poker community put on the recent mega-fight between McGregor and Mayweather.

If Mayweather loses this fight the high stakes poker scene is going to become the mid stakes poker scene

— gN Doug Polk (@DougPolkPoker) August 27, 2017

It doesn’t have to be a robust sports betting facility, but one that lets you bet on all of the major sports plus major sporting events globally is ideal.

5. Low Number of “Gimmick” Games

Pay attention to the number of gimmick or casual games on a site. If they have a high number of games like Heads or Tails, Red or Black, and Bonus Bowling, chances are that the casino is going to be “tighter” overall.

Some casinos are going to offer this type of gaming, but it is usually a small sampling. If your intended online casino offers a large section of these games, check out the payouts of the other games before committing.

About six months ago, PokerStars debuted their newest Sit N’Go poker variant – Power Up – for an alpha test. The game retains traditional Texas Hold’em as its core, while adding in elements of popular card games such as Magic The Gathering by allowing players to interact with the board cards, hole cards, and even the deck itself using various “powers.”

Severin Rasset

Adding to the intrigue of the gameplay is the obvious care with which the audio and visual experience has been constructed. Power Up is based in poker but also plays like a video game replete with special effects and sounds, as well as a personalized, avatar-driven, storyline. In that way, it’s impossible to ignore the heavy influence of e-sports and social gaming culture on Power Up’s overall look and feel.

As PokerStars prepares for a beta launch of Power Up, Cardplayer Lifestyle was recently given an opportunity to speak with Severin Rasset, Director of Poker Innovation and Operations at PokerStars. We asked him about Power Up’s role in the relationship between traditional poker, the increasing audio/visual complexity of modern gaming, and what the relationship between them means for the future of the game we love.

What do you think recreational players will get out of Power Up that they aren’t getting from traditional poker?

I think the expectations from recreational players are changing over time. The current version of poker we have is a simple game to learn, but also has a lot of beautiful depth to be discovered along the way. I believe this element is being maintained with PowerUp, along with the addition of deep strategic changes.

I also think today’s players want to have something that is visually appealing; it’s not their job to discover why the game is exciting – you must translate this message to them. We have built Power Up so it will be immediately rewarding, which is something quite different.

We also wanted to add some renewal. People tend to be interested with something for a while before going on to something else, and we feel like there are many players who will continue to be interested in poker as a game if it’s presented with these additional elements.

Would you say Power Up is more of an E-sport or more of a Poker game?

Today, I want to be humble. It’s a poker game built with additional powers, and in the future will be based on what we will discover via player interactions after we release it. We are at the very beginning of the development; we’ve developed PowerUp for three years, but this is going to the be the first time we will release it for real money to players. There is a long run map of items and elements that we want to add in the future.

So definitely in the short term we are talking about existing poker players. Where it’s going to take us in the long term will depend on the success of the game, the feedback of the players, and the way that we can build it. So E-sports might be something we are interested in down the road, but we are definitely taking it one step at a time and expanding off of what we know.

It’s a big market, and something that is new and exciting, so there is a lot of hype. But we also have to start from what we know and then expand it from there – rather than pretend we are going to do it better than people who have been doing it for 10 years.

What’s the line between Poker with E-sport elements vs. E-sport with Poker elements?

I would say the split is more between social and real-money, rather than what is poker and E-sport. For example, we made the decision that you cannot purchase powers. We did that because it’s a real-money game where you are already putting money on the line; everyone is paying the same price, and so you have to give them a fair game.

However, I also believe that Power Up can be sold through the social/freemium aspect. There, you could purchase games or powers and you could also give the game very different mechanics.

As for E-sport, I think it can work both ways. We can make it E-sport if we decide that’s what we want it to be. There isn’t a set of rules to determine “this game is an E-sport one and this one is not.” It’s the competitive aspect of the game, the engagement from the players, and the passion that they show. Measuring those factors will allow for very different games.

Glad about new project to support innovation: https://t.co/wxJvtxkLNz and @playpowerup – dedicated community site for @pokerstars PowerUp

— Alexandre Dreyfus (@alex_dreyfus) July 21, 2017

Do you ever envision a live or augmented reality version of Power Up? What are some of the challenges you face with doing that?

First, I would like to be transparent in saying that we are not there yet. We’re following VR/AR but it’s still something where the hype is probably bigger than what is actually possible. I think this is something we need to keep a close eye on, and we’re very interested to see how it evolves.

I think if you ask me about the vision of seeing a live poker game being played with a hands device that would say allow you to use a power just by moving your hands in a certain way, that’s definitely something that could be a very cool vision. But I think we need to start by building the first building blocks, and then let how we do determine how it evolves – including the trends of AI. But it’s not there yet; we aren’t going to ask people to aim with their mobile device at live events, so it depends on what’s going to happen from a hardware perspective.

I’m very excited by VR on a personal basis, but the sales from last Christmas were quite disappointing with no particular device being a hit. So right now I feel like we are at low tide, where people are saying “VR was cool but I’m not sure anymore.” This is the kind of thing we need to follow very closely to be sure that if it does take off we are ready.

And we will be ready; but we also have to wait to be sure the public adoption is there.

Do you ever envision Power Up being a World Series of Poker event?

Definitely not a World Series of Poker event, but yeah, for an EPT why not?

Do you feel that Power Up is part of the broader movement to push towards the next level of gaming and entertainment?

I think it’s really a question of the hardware, and I don’t think we will we able to say we were a flagship and that the adoption of new hardware is going to be massive because you have this new game.

But on a personal level, we are living in a very exciting time. There are a lot of technologies that are coming together like the Blockchain, VR, and AI, and all of these things are evolving together and I think it’s very exciting be a part of it and to be able to build a product around it.

So, it’s more like we want to ride the wave and follow the biggest trends and that will be good enough.

On the flip side, do you think you are phasing out traditional poker? Or do you think there will always be a place for that?

If you take the example of books and the Kindle, you had a period where everyone what thinking it would be the only device you use to read. Now, we see people are going back to the physical books and their sales are increasing again.

So, I would say I anticipate something quite similar in the poker world. At one point everybody will say this is the next big thing, but actually I see the traditional games being persevered as we create new ways of doing things. So, what I would like to see with the games we are building is that we attract new players and then refer them to regular poker so we can show them it’s a great way to play as well.