Robbie Strazynski

In just a couple days, I’ll be heading off to Russia to attend the 2019 EPT Sochi. It’ll be my first time at the venue, and first time visiting Russia in over 25 years. Beyond the poker, there’s a lot that I’m excited to see, do, and experience once I arrive there.

Here’s a list of the top five things I’m looking forward to at the upcoming 2019 EPT Sochi poker festival.

In the latest installment in our ongoing Get to Know the Poker Media series, we interview Shirley Ang. She wears many hats within the poker media industry, including live reporting for PokerNews and media liaison for Unibet Open, plus she’s also got a full-on second career in the pool industry.

This is a women who doesn’t take her foot off the gas pedal! Let’s take a few minutes to learn about Shirley and her interesting life and career.

Everyone has their own way of showing affection to their partner on Valentine’s Day. I suppose this is my way. 🙂

I hope you enjoy this 1,000-word essay on why my wife is awesome… after all, it’s because she flew abroad for a week that I was able to enjoy a fun-filled “poker staycation” at home. 🙂

Over my time at the 2019 PSPC in the Bahamas, I took a number of pictures to help me remember the great times I had there. I’ve curated them through multiple Tweets and pictures and have also published a video highlight clip to help capture what the entire experience was like.

I hope you enjoy experiencing the trip “through my eyes” and that it’ll perhaps convince you that making your way to the Bahamas next January is a worthwhile proposition.

An exclusive, hour-long video interview with PokerStars’ Marketing Director Eric Hollreiser. For the first time ever, he publicly opens up about his own accomplished career prior to joining The Stars Group, talks about what things were like internally at PokerStars in the wake of Black Friday, and shares a behind-the-scenes look at what working at the company is like on a day-to-day basis as well as at the major live events it stages around the world.

Eric also reflects on the recently completed PokerStars Players Championship, and shares his honest thoughts on what else we can expect from him and the world’s largest poker site moving forward. Eric rarely gives interviews, and has never before done an hour-long on-the-record video, so I hope you enjoy this special look at someone who personifies the heart and soul of what PokerStars stands for.

An interview with UFC ring announcer extraordinaire Bruce Buffer, which took place at the Atlantis Hotel and Resort in the Bahamas in January 2019.

We spoke about what he loves most about poker, his favorite poker variants, and what deep tournament runs mean to him. We also got his thoughts on how the huge UFC-PokerStars partnership deal benefits fans of both mega-brands.

Sometimes life hands you lemons and it’s your challenge to make lemonade.

This article relates the story of how I ended up interviewing former NBA champion Paul Pierce twice at the PokerStars Players Championship in the Bahamas.

Included is a short 2-minute clip, but there’s a special reason as to why it’s so brief. The STORY behind this interview is what this blog post is really all about.

I had the pleasure of interviewing skateboarding legend Tony Hawk at the at the Atlantis Hotel and Resort in the Bahamas in January 2019 during the PokerStars Players Championship.

Over the course of our brief conversation, Tony shared what he loved most about the game of poker, described the great work done by the Tony Hawk Foundation in low-income areas around the world, and spoke about what he’d like his legacy to be.

An interview with legendary stand-up comedian Norm Macdonald, which took place at the Atlantis Hotel and Resort in the Bahamas in January 2019.

We spoke about the Canadian funnyman’s decades-long love for poker, his reflections on his status as a celebrity and his career as a stand-up comedian, and what it means to have such vast influence and what it ought to be used for.

Walking through the Atlantis Resort ballroom on Day 1 of the PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) the vibe was like almost nothing else I had ever seen at a poker event. Smiles on everyone’s faces, a 1,000+-strong field having an amazing time. What’s not to love?

PokerStars has managed to craft and innovate with a brand new event that has become an instant hit with everyone throughout the poker community, “recs” and “regs” alike. Here’s hoping this new event becomes a staple of the annual poker calendar!

Ryan Riess, Maria Konnikova, and Bill Perkins form our panel of poker experts this month to answer they question of how to best approach the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC), which is set to be the most unique $25,000 buy-in poker event in history.

Based on their experience, each of the panelists provided some intriguing answers, and food for thought.