Check Out The AMA with Fedor Holz
Join Fedor Holz, Friday 23 June at 4pm EST on Reddit for a “Ask Me Anything”
It seems no questions are off limits, so hop on over to Reddit to get your questions in.
Join Fedor Holz, Friday 23 June at 4pm EST on Reddit for a “Ask Me Anything”
It seems no questions are off limits, so hop on over to Reddit to get your questions in.
Thanks to Card Player for bringing us this interview with Jason Les — the high stakes poker player – who battled it out with the AI bot, Liberatus in early 2017.
Along with Les, Dong Kim, Daniel McAulay, and Jimmy Chou took part in the Brains vs. AI challenge which saw them battle the AI program, Libratus, for hours each day as they tried and ultimately failed to find an edge to exploit the program.
The match played out over a 20 day period, live streamed on Twitch but already Libratus proved too hard to beat.
Card Player TV caught up with Les to chat about the pressure of playing the bot and what he thinks it means for poker for there to be such a strong heads-up AI no-limit hold’em bot.
After what can only be described as a drought, one of the great poker players of our time, ElkY, is back to the form his fans know and love him for, if not quite back to his signature winning ways.
As runner-up in the $111,111 buy-in WSOP High Roller for One Drop tournament, he collected an impressive $2,278,657 in prize money, and announced clearly and confidently that he was back and a force to be reckoned with once again.
Born in France, ElkY, whose real name is Bertrand Grospellier, began his career as a professional online gamer, moving to the heart of the action in South Korea where he rose to be one of the stars of the World Cyber Games. He soon found that the strategy and skills he used in gaming were easily transferable to the much more lucrative world of professional poker, and it was not long before he started winning tournaments both live and online. He was runner-up in one of his first-ever events in Copenhagen, netting $399,953, and became hooked.
Since then he has won over $11m at events worldwide, including WPT and EPT titles. ElkY is also the proud owner of a WSOP bracelet and an active member of the PokerStars professional team.
Despite his rapid early success, the popular player (known for his spiky blonde hair) hasn’t registered a six-figure win for over five years. His last success was an EPT game in Berlin in 2012. Since then, he hasn’t so much as made the final table at a major event.
So, it was with great excitement that ElkY’s legion of fans greeted the final day of the $13m World Series of Poker High Roller for One Drop tournament in Las Vegas. He was, after all, joining the final table with a chip lead of almost double his nearest rival and holding no less than a quarter of all the available chips. At the start of the day, the eventual winner, Doug Polk, was behind in the field and slipped further in the opening hands before fighting back to finally challenge ElkY.
Logan Ingalls Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
Unbeknownst to the fans, ElkY’s famous shock of blond hair was also at stake, thanks to a side bet with famous faux-hawk wearer Polk. Whoever lost would have to adopt the signature hairstyle of the other player!
Sadly, having beaten out the rest of the nine-player final table, along with 120 other contestants, ElkY lost big in a two-pair battle with Polk. Holding jacks and tens, he could only watch as Polk collected a queen on the river to make jacks and queens, and a just few hands later it was all over.
Polk won the tournament and walked away with a cool $3,686,865 (and his hair still brown and styled), while ElkY collected $1.4m less, plus a packet of hair colouring. But, perhaps the real winner from the tournament was the One Drop charity initiative, which works to provide access to safe drinking water across the world. They received $500,000 from the event, which will be put to good use in improving lives for thousands of vulnerable people worldwide.
Tanya Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
Poker is rarely about who comes in second, but ElkY’s Las Vegas run represents a welcome return to form, and a wake-up call to his fellow players that after a long wait, ElkY is finally back to his best.
I possibly enjoyed this video way too much — watch below as Doug Polk breaks down the WSOP Player of the Year race, how it has changed and how he is going after the title — no matter what it takes.
As part of his new venture, Primed Mind, Fedor Holz enters the world of Mindset Coaching — bringing the concept to us in the form of an app, so that we, the average Joe, can use the same tools and techniques as Holz in order to become as successful as one of the best poker players of all time.
The vlog may only be just over 2 minutes long but the production quality is great and teases what content there is to come.
(Watch till the end for some great outtakes.)
To learn more about Holz’s Primed Mind movement check out this video.
If any of you have ever watched any of Joey Ingram’s Poker Life Podcasts you’ll know about his love of the great game of Pot Limit Omaha and the voice he uses when he talks about it.
For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, just watch the parody video below from Devon Sampson. He sums it up perfectly.
Tune In for the PokerStars PSPC Final Table Coverage
Live coverage will start at 19:00 CET, with players guaranteed seven figures and competing for the first place prize of $4,053,200.
Chinese New Year’s Series Another Success for PokerStars Ontario
The latest tournament series at PokerStars Ontario shattered guarantees left and right, promising great things to come.
$100,000 up for Grabs in PokerStars Ontario KO Weekend
The series features a dozen events spread over Saturday and Sunday, with the PokerStars Ontario $100 Sunday Special guaranteeing CAD $42,000 for the winners.
Mini PCA Online Series by PokerStars Brings Loads of Affordable Action
The series consists of 30 events with very affordable buy-ins, big guarantees, and added prizes that include tickets to upcoming live PokerStars tournaments.
PokerStars Reveals the Date for 17th Anniversary Sunday Million
The PokerStars flagship event will take place on March 26 and will feature the guaranteed prize pool of $7.5 million.
Vanessa Kade Receives a Surprise Platinum Pass from Poker Stars
Kade was thrilled to receive the news and pledged to share a portion of her future winnings with her Twitter followers and one of her favorite charity organizations.
WSOP Ontario Brings Loads of Low-Stakes Action With mini Million$
With buy-ins from CAD $5 – $25 and the Main Event offering a $100k guarantee, WSOP Ontario mini Million$ promises heaps of good fun and great value.
Keep Your Eyes Peeled for PokerStars US Discord DMs This Morning
PokerStars US will be messaging all Platinum Pass competition entrants this morning with a link to the final step questionaire.
PokerStars Ontario Winter Series Wraps Up, More Action on the Horizon
The PokerStars Ontario Winter Series wraps up with three Main Events dishing out big prizes, but the next big series is just around the corner.
PokerStars Giving Away New Year Series Tickets on Twitter
PokerStars is giving away ten free $5.50 tickets for New Year Series events to their Twitter followers & everyone’s welcome to get involved.
PokerStars Ontario Winter Series Wraps Up This Weekend
The Winter Series will wrap up on PokerStars Ontario over the weekend, with all three Main Events taking place on Sunday afternoon.
PokerStars Ontario Brings a Great Selection of NY Tournament Action
There is a selection of scheduled MTTs across all buy-in levels at PokerStars Ontario for anyone looking to enter the New Year in a true grinder fashion.
Jennifer Shahade Reveals the PokerStars Platinum Pass Winner
The lucky winner was selected from 70 entries and revealed on the special episode of The Grind podcast, a poker show that inspired this unique competition.
As 2022 Wraps Up, PokerStars Ontario Celebrates Success
Despite being late to the party, PokerStars Ontario has had a very successful year in the newly-regulated Canadian market.
Get Free PokerStars Winter Series Tickets Watching Twitch
All the way until January 16, watching popular PokerStars Twitch streamers could land you tickets for the Winter Series with no strings attached.
PokerStars Ontario Back at the Top for Cash Game Traffic
According to the latest data, PokerStars Ontario is leading the way for cash game traffic in the province, and by quite a margin.
Do Not Miss Out Rich Xmas Action at WSOP Ontario
There are three major events on the Winter Circuit schedule today at WSOP Ontario, in case you are in the mood for some Christmas action.
Jordan Saccucci Banks €913,000 in an Epic PokerStars EPT Prague Win
The action at the final PokerStars EPT for 2022 wraps up with Canada’s Jordan Saccucci taking down a record-breaking Main Event to the tune of €900k.
Almost $1.4 Million up for Grabs in PokerStars Ontario Winter Series
The Winter Series at PokerStars Ontario will run for 16 days straight and offer just shy of $1.4 million in guaranteed prizes across a range of buy-in levels.
A “Neccessary Milestone”: PokerStars Prepares for MI + NJ Player Pool!
A PokerStars US multi-state online poker network is now just weeks away, assuming a “necessary milestone” — a 48-hour software upgrade — goes smoothly.