F5 Poker. Everything Poker. Always Refreshing.

Michigan online poker players will be fighting for at least $250,000 in prizes on Oct 24 in The Michigan Classic. The pre-Halloween tournament at PokerStars MI runs at 5 pm the Sunday before Halloween, and it looks to be a huge event.

This is the second time The Michigan Classic has run, but this time around, the guarantee is only half the size of the first go. There was a whopping $500,000 guarantee back in April, and while there was around $65,000 worth of overlay last time, the 1,551 entries were a massive turnout.

Given the response from April, it seems very likely this latest running will end up with more than the promised $250,000, and players can get into the game for less than the $300 retail price. Satellites are running in the lobby now starting at $15, but players who want to top up their accounts can get a free shot at a ticket.

Just make a deposit of at least $30 on PokerStars MI before the 24th using the code CLASSIC21 and you’ll get a ticket to the Depositor Freeroll with 50 tickets to The Michigan Classic guaranteed up top. That game runs Sunday before the main game kicks off, but there are regular satellites running daily as well.

There are lots of ways to get into the game for The Michigan Classic, and at least 250,000 reasons to do it. Check the schedule on PokerStars MI to plan your shot at The Classic.

It took Phil Hellmuth four tries this year, but the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw proved to be the high-point in the Poker Brat’s quest for his 16th bracelet. He bagged his fourth final table of the series in the event, and after three high-profile misses so far this year, finally getting the win on try number four must be a relief.

If you’ve just woken up from a Rip-van-Winkle-style sleep, you might be surprised to see Hellmuth winning bracelets in mixed games. In his early career, he was seen as a no-limit hold 'em specialist, with his first 11 bracelets all coming in some form of Texas hold 'em and the majority of those in the no-limit variety.

That all changed in 2012 when he won the $2,500 razz for his 12th bracelet and from there on, three of the remaining five bracelets have come from the lowball mixed games. In 2015 he added the $10,000 Razz Championship bracelet to his collection, and this year he’s added #16 in the lowball draw mix.

Can anyone catch Phil in the bracelet race now? No one else is even close, with Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson all tied for second with just 10 each. At least for now, the Poker Brat is the unquestioned king of the WSOP.

While there’s no question Daniel Negreanu plays a good game of poker, he runs a pretty fair vlog game as well, and both of his games tend to shine around the World Series of Poker (WSOP). He’s back at it in this unusual year for the biggest series in poker.

The player formerly known as Kid Poker was one of the originators of the vlog game, and WSOP has always been his most fertile ground. What makes Negreanu’s vlogs so compelling is that he chronicles both sides of the poker experience.

In one recent vlog, titled LOOKING for some RUN GOOD!, takes a look at how it feels to lose poker tournaments, as the run-good just doesn’t come. But the content is varied, including the latest edition with “Hockey Talk” along with the poker content.

Check out the most recent edition below, or head to Daniel’s YouTube page to check out past episodes.

The world got an inadvertent look into the inner workings of streaming giant Twitch after hackers broke in and stole huge amounts of data. Twitch was quick to note that they don’t think log-in credentials were part of the hacked data, but it looks as if nearly everything else got siphoned off the top.

Hackers got more than 100GB of compressed text, including the full source code for the Twitch service and details of earnings for thousands of Twitch streamers who are partnered or affiliated with the service. The earnings details revealed the top-earning streamer on Twitch has made nearly $10 million since August of 2019.

There were at least 80 streamers making more than $1 million in that period, with the data reporting only money earned through the partnership with the company, but not any promotional sponsorships or donations. Barry Carter reported at PokerStrategy.com that no poker streamer was even close to the lofty salaries at the top.

The hack may well be one of the most invasive data hacks in history, despite it apparently missing log-in details. There’s still a lot of questions about what the fallout will be for the streaming giant, or for streamers whose data was compromised.

Get the most recent details on the Twitch Blog.

Sunday, Oct 24 will be a huge day for PokerStars USA across all three jurisdictions with a big game running in each state. Across the states, there is $700,000 guaranteed in this pre-Halloween treat-fest, and all the treats will be going to players.

PokerStars PA, PokerStars MI, and PokerStars NJ will all be handing out treats to their players on Oct 24 in three separate events. Pennsyl-MANIA, the MI Classic, and the NJ Classic will hand out at least $700,000 to players in the three states.

As the biggest market, Pennsyl-MANIA gets the most treats, with half the total guarantees reserved for the Keystone state. With $350,000 set aside for PA, that leaves the MI Classic with $250,000 guaranteed, while the NJ Classic will have at least $100,000 in total prizes.

Mark Oct 24 on your calendar if you play online poker in PA, NJ, or MI, and head over to PokerStars in your respective state to get into one of these massive games. Satellites are running now, so you could get into the game for a fraction of the $300 retail price.