PokerSnowie's Hold'em AI is considered by many to be the most sophisticated poker learning tool ever created. And has taught itself to play "unexploitable" poker through trillions of hands against itself.

So what happens if the two square off in a man vs. machine battle? That's exactly what we set out to do at this year's Battle of Malta and the results, like they did Cates, may surprise you.

Cates Wins but Commits 32 "Major Errors"

The short backstory on Poker Snowie's Hold'em AI: Inspired by a similarly developed Backgammon AI, PokerSnowie uses "Game Theory Optimal" strategy as the basis for its sophisticated algortihm.

GTO, as it's called, is essentially the ultimate "balanced" style of optimal poker. Different from the exploitative strategy taught by most poker schools, GTO dictates a balanced playing style that weeds out the most -EV (expected value) plays and takes advantage of the highest EV plays.

By playing trillions of hands against itself it learned what the optimal play for your bottom line is in every possible Hold'em scenario.

Intrigued? So was Cates, who put his human-tested skills to the test in a 1,500-hand match:

Poker Snowie's Poker Coach

 

The Results

As you can see at the end of the video Cates eked out a slight edge - just 3 buy-ins - but was certainly tested.

The program also detected 32 "major errors' in Cates' play that cost him between 6-8 BB in certain places.

Weed those out over time and you can clearly see where you'll profit from the optimal, +EV strategy possible in the game of Hold'em.

Poker Coach Trial via PokerListings.com

Want to try it out for yourself?

The Poker Coach learning program, the massive database synched with the PokerSnowie AI, is currently available to PokerListings.com readers for a 10-day free trial right here.

Read more about the development of the PokerSnowie AI and the Poker Coach tool here.

Soulier, one of the most accomplished French poker players in history, will have a shot at taking down what could be the last WSOP in France. But everyone is looking up to Spaniard Mateos Diaz who will take a huge percentage of the chips in play to the final table, bagging a total of 3.7 million.

German bracelet winner Nitsche may provide the stiffest competition for Mateos Diaz as he finished second in chips with 2.3 million.

The 2013 WSOPE Main Event will take a day off and resume with the TV final table on Friday. Here’s a look at the chip counts heading into the final day:

Ludovic Lacay, Shannon Shorr Miss Out on TV Final Table

Shannon Shorr

 

Day 4 of the tournament played out at a whirlwind rate today with 18 eliminations in less than seven hours of play.

Aggressive French pro Ludovic Lacay, who finished runner-up to Noah Schwartz in the PLO Mix-Max event last week, was one of the first players to bust as he had the misfortune of getting his kings cracked by Mateos Diaz's A♥ Q♦.

Mateos Diaz didn’t waste his good fortune and began to roll from that point on.

Jeremy Ausmus, who won a bracelet last week, had his hopes for 2013 WSOP Player of the Year dashed when he finished in 16th place.

The WSOP made the surprising decision to play down to just six players after reaching an official final table of eight players. The decision didn’t pan out well for Shannon Shorr who had the misfortune of getting kings against Adrian Mateos to bust in eight place.

Just five hands later Andrei Konopelko bubbled in seventh place to set the final table.

Nitsche, Spindler Look to Win Another Major for Germany

Dominik Nitsche will wield a big stack.

 

While most eyes will be on Soulier at the final table there are plenty of compelling storylines. Nitsche could snag his second WSOP bracelet and become the first German to win the WSOPE Main Event.

Spindler, who is widely regarded as one of the best MTT players in the world, could also take the title for Germany. Spindler also made the WSOP APAC final table earlier this year.

Ravi Raghavan is a former WPT champion and could get 2/3 of the way to a Triple Crown by winning on Friday. Finally Jerome Huge is a darkhorse in the contest but also has a chance to take the event down for France.

Action begins at noon on Friday and we'll be streaming the entire spectacle on our 2013 WSOPE page. Here are the complete final-table payouts they'll be playing for:

A long day of poker saw the returning 62 players culled to just 13 who will play down to the final eight tomorrow then move to the TV table and find a winner.

Gruissem, a high-roller specialist who won the $50k event at WSOP APAC this year, looks primed to make a good go at this one too with 1,296,000 in chips.

He's the only player over 1m but with several marquee names including Negreanu, Erik Seidel and Scott Seiver behind him it's still anyone's game tomorrow.

Negreanu Needs 8th or Higher to Take POY Lead

POY hopes dwindle for Ashton.

 

The secondary story of the day was the rapidly dwindling opportunity for WSOP Player of the Year points and the chase to catch current leader Matt Ashton.

With Ashton busting out well before the cash today (which starts at 9th) Negreanu needs an 8th-place finish to take the lead.

Holding the chip lead at times during the day Negreanu eventually settled back to 411,000 (7th overall) so he still has work to do.

Also throwing a wrinkle in the plans is November Niner Marc McLaughlin, who's still in the event too and can win the Main Event to grab the POY title himself.

Seiver, Seidel, Koon, Adams, Laak All with Chips

Making matters tough for all of the above mentioned players is still an elite field of grinders looking for their own stab at the €725,000 first-place prize.

Still has work to do.

 

Esteemed pros Seiver, Seidel, Timothy Adams, Jason Koon, David Peters and Phil Laak are among them as is 888 Poker's Nicolau Villa-Lobos. The final 13 and chip counts:

Check our WSOPE Live updates for a full recap of the day's action. Tune in tomorrow at 7 am ET for coverage as they play down to eight then switch over to a live stream with hole cards on a 30-minute delay.

Negreanu made the final table of the €25,600 WSOPE High Roller event Thursday afternoon and, thanks in part to making the money of the WSOPE ME last week, passed Matthew Ashton for POY honors.

In total Negreanu has cashed 10 times at the WSOP this year, on three different continents, but it was really his early performance Down Under that netted him POY.

I DID IT!!! WSOP PLAYER OF THE YEAR FOR THE SECOND TIME!! AHHHH I CAN'T BELIEVE IT

His WSOP APAC win got the year off strong.

 

Second Career WSOP POY Award

The Canadian finished fourth in the WSOP Asia-Pacific $2,200 Mixed Event and then outlasted 405 players in the Main Event to win over $1 million and grab an early lead in the POY race.

It was an epic sweat heading to the final table today as Negreanu was one of the short stacks,but both Marc McLaughlin and Joni Jouhkimainen were shorter and busted in 10th and ninth respectively.

Negreanu needed eighth place or better to secure POY.

This marks the second time Negreanu has won WSOP POY. He first took the title in 2004 and he’s the only player in history to win the title twice.

What’s more, Negreanu still has a shot at his sixth bracelet and the €725,000 first-place prize in the High Roller tournament.

Follow his progress in our 2013 WSOPE High Roller live updates.

Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Drop a note or link in the comments and we'll take a look.

Today in the 3-Bet we find West Virginia's Jason Koon following his gut to a successful career in poker, Nicolau Villa-Lobos feeling like he's got all the luck in the world and the one and only Daniel Negreanu raking in the kudos for his second career WSOP Player of the Year title.

1) Jason Koon: I've Always Trusted My Gut

As Jason Koon is quite literally one of the fittest people in the world, let alone in poker, we're not talking his "actual gut" here (which is often the case in poker).

Coming from a very small town (Weston) in West Virginia, Koon got a business degree and went through the motions of settling into a traditional career the conservative community he grew up in could understand.

His gut told him he'd be good at poker, though, and seven years later he's one of the top high-stakes players in the world:

2) Nicolau Villa-Lobos: You Have to Believe in Luck

Some might say if you grow up the son of a guitar player in one of the most legendary rock bands in the world, you've already cashed in your "one time."

Nicolau Villa-Lobos hasn't come close to stopping there. Discovering a heart condition at age 18 that could have killed him at any time, Villa-Lobos took his doctor-mandated downtime from sports and turned into into a very lucky - and very successful - poker career.

So much luck, in fact, he thinks he's got something extra on his side. It's hard not to believe it, either, as he's currently in the top 4 of the 25k WSOPE High Roller too.

3) Daniel Negreanu: Once and Future King of the WSOP

He's done it. Daniel Negreanu is officially the World Series of Poker Player of the Year for 2013. Mostly on the back of his WSOP APAC main event win and now his at least a fourth-place finish in the 25k High Roller at the WSOPE.

For the record he's also the first to ever do it twice having won the WSOP POY back in 2004 too.

Haters can hate on his table banter or his "call it like he sees it" poker commentary but no one can deny he's one of the most consistent players to ever hit the tables.

Most of the people chiming in with congratulations today agree. Read the tweets below and watch him streaming live at the High Roller final table right here.

@RealKidPoker WEEEE YOU DA BEST!!! CONFIRMADO

@RealKidPoker Congrats man!! Guess will have to now look at 2 posters of you next summer at the Rio :)

@RealKidPoker Great new! Much deserved, as an ambassador also as a player. #respect

@_Fabsoul_ @RealKidPoker Great achievement, very much deserved Congrats !

@RealKidPoker congrats man! U deserve it more than anybody! Such a idol!!!!

Congratulations on second @WSOP POY @RealKidPoker! You EARNED this and no one should ever argue about the POY process after the fact!

Congratulations to my Friend @RealKidPoker for winning WSOP POY. Now lets win the tournament. #thebest

Congrats to my good friend @RealKidPoker for winning WSOP POY for the 2nd time! Really is amazing how consistent u are! U MIGHT be the #GOAT

@RealKidPoker Congratulations, you sick f***. You’re mentally ill, but in the best possible way.

Negreanu entered the final day of the High Roller needing to finish eighth or higher to become the first player in WSOP history to snag Player of the Year twice.

Kid Poker accomplished that and so much more. Negreanu seemed to get a boost from securing POY and went on an immediate heater.

Negreanu eventually beat Brazilian Nicolau Villa-Lobos heads-up to clinch the title. It was nearly a decade ago that Negreanu won his first WSOP POY award in 2004 but the Canadian just seems to get better as time goes on.

“This is something I’m going to appreciate for the rest of my life,” said Negreanu. “People sometimes throw around terms like 'over the hill' and that just motivates me to win.”

Gruissem, Seiver, Koon Fall Short of Bracelet

Philipp Gruissem

 

The day began with 13 payers but Tom Bedell, Byron Kaverman and Phil Laak busted early to set up an intense sweat for the bubble.

Not only was €50,400 on the line for ninth or better but Negreanu, who was short-stacked at the time, had the opportunity to win WSOP Player of the Year by finishing eighth or higher.

2013 November Niner Marc-Etienne McLaughlin became the bubble boy when he busted in 10th place. He joked that he’s saving his run-good for November on Twitter.

Short-stack Joni Jouhkimainen provided some much needed relief to Negreanu when he shipped his last few blinds in the middle with K♥ 5♥ and busted.

Not only did Negreanu win POY but doubled up very early at the final table with A-K over David Peters’ T-T. The double-up was a turning point for Negreanu and he became a force at the final table from that time on.

Villa-Lobos, Peters and Gruissem all spent time as the chip leader but Negreanu never seemed far from regaining the lead.

"I honestly thought I was going to win from Day 1," said Negreanu after winning.

Brazilian Nicolau Villa-Lobos Finishes Runner-Up

Eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel was the first player to bust at the final table.

Nicolau Villa-Lobos

 

Jason Koon, Scott Seiver, Timothy Adams and David Peters were the next players to fall to set up an epic three-handed battle between Phil Gruissem, Villa-Lobos and Negreanu.

Gruissem had the unique opportunity to win his second WSOP High Roller this year but ran out of steam three-handed.

Gruissem moved in with A♣ 4♣ but Negreanu snapped him off with A♠ J♦.

That prompted an hour-long heads-up battle between Brazilian upstart Nicolau Villa-Lobos and Negreanu. Villa-Lobos played an inspired tournament but Negreanu would not be denied.

In the final hand Negreanu got it in with pocket jacks to Villa-Lobos pocket fours and the jacks held. Here are the complete final-table payouts:

Viktor "Isildur1" Blom was all over the Full Tilt Poker tables this week taking on opponents like newly minted Team PokerStars Online pro Alex Millar, Doug "WCGrider" Polk and Gus Hansen.

A major heater over the course of Wed/Thurs against Rookie NFL, Kagome Kagome, ragen70 and Hansen -- primarily at the 2-7 Triple Draw tables -- left him up over $1.1m for day.

In typical Isildur style, though, he didn't stop there. Taking on Millar and Polk in No-Limit Hold'em, now one of his weaker games, Blom bled most of it right back dropping $600k to Millar and $230k to Polk.

Still, given his recent downswing Blom looks to be on the way back up with a $2m+ surge over the last couple of months. According to highstakesdb, that puts his career total for his Full Tilt account, amazingly, back around even.

Doesn't Use Software, Doesn't Like Brian Hastings Much

In honor of the start of Blom's new public heads-up challenge, the Blom100, Full Tilt Poker has published the first part of a Q&A with the game's most enigmatic high-stakes star.

Taking questions form the public over Twitter Blom answered in typical understated, Isildur style:

Not a Hastings fan.

 

Check the full Q&A out here. Sign-up for a Full Tilt Poker account here to get in on the Blom100 challenge.

Negreanu won the 2013 WSOPE High Roller for €725,000, secured POY, took down his sixth bracelet all while being cheered on by a fervent rail yesterday.

It was a landmark moment for the Canadian pro who has now been playing poker for nearly two decades.

So what’s next for the iconic poker pro? Just after winning Negreanu did a lengthy Q&A session with the gathered press.

Here’s what Kid Poker had to say.

PokerListings.com: It’s a tremendous achievement winning WSOP Player of the Year and your sixth bracelet in the same day. Which one means more to you?

One happy Kid Poker.

 

Daniel Negreanu: Oh boy. I gotta be honest with you, Player of the Year is a big deal to me. It’s always my goal every year. I know that I’ll win bracelets. I’m thankful to have six now, which puts me back in the race in terms of the all-time players.

But Player of the Year Twice? It really just cements me in a place where I always thought I belonged. I’ve gone through periods of time where I second-guessed myself and doubted myself.

I thought, “Maybe these kids are just so much better than me that I won’t be able to succeed.”

When I had faith in myself and believed that I had game, everything turned around for me.

I proved it to myself. I’m a bigger critic than anyone on the forums. If I don’t win something, I’m my biggest critic.

PL: Recently you’ve started talking about traveling less. Do you think you would be able to stay away from all this?

I’m always going to be a poker player. That’s never going to be something that’s not part of my life. Thankfully the WSOP is in Vegas, where I live for now.

But yeah, I’ve done so much in poker and I’ve learned that true happiness comes from a balanced life. Just on this trip I was fortunate enough to have a friend with me so that I’ve actually gone out and seen the city.

In my early 20s it was tracksuits, my hat and poker. I was in and out.

Now I’m really experiencing life and the joys of traveling. If I do continue to travel for poker tournaments I’m going to add a few days so I can actually be a tourist.

PL: On that note, how nice was it to have some support this time around?

Daniel Negreanu and his friend Laura

 

Honestly it’s rare I have someone to support me. I know a lot of people usually have a big rail and when I win, I don’t. Having friends here made a world of difference for me. It’s one of the things that’s changed for me in the last year. I’ve got a much wider scope of friends.

Through the last 10 years of becoming a top pro I sort of secluded myself. I had my little group of people that worked for me.

Having a real group of friends that love me for me is something that’s really important to me.

PL: You came into this final table last in chips with a really tough lineup. At what point did you say to yourself “I’m going to win this”?

I honestly felt like I was going to win it the whole time. I played the WSOPE Main Event earlier this week and I sat with 10-15 big blinds the whole tournament. I was fighting, I wasn’t going to get knocked out.

I got knocked out of that one but I felt like it was going to happen again. Once I doubled up and got up to about 20 big blinds, I was so close to the average in my mind.

When I doubled again I saw the faces around me. I knew I had an opportunity to win. When I got a million chips I was like “This is no joke.”

PL: Can you talk about the lineup at the final table?

Daniel Negreanu after doubling at the final table.

 

The one thing that’s different poker now, compared to 2004, is that when there are two tables left it’s like pulling teeth.

In the old days I could have coasted to eighth no problem. Not with these 16 players. It was a murderer’s row with Phil Ivey, Jason Mercier and all the superstars.

The amount of mistakes made in tournaments these days are so minimal. You have to capitalize on every little bit that you can. 

These are all high rollers and they were all super good.

PL: Was your goal heading into the day to make eighth to win POY?

No. My goal is always to win but that was my primary stopover. I joked that once I got eighth I was going to take a bow and go on to win a bracelet and that’s what happened. 

PL: First player to win the WSOP triple crown, you talked about how important it is to globalize the brand. Can you expand on that?

Well again a lot of people in the poker industry debate whether the WSOP should take place outside the United States and I always go back to the fact that it’s called the WORLD Series of Poker.

When you look at the scope of it, I think it shows a respect to the rest of the world. It gives some players home field advantage. For instance there were a lot more French players in this tournament. I think it’s important what the WSOP has done and I support it whole-heartedly.

The WSOP respects the value of the bracelet and that’s why Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth come to these tournaments. It’s because the bracelet is so pure. 

Old-school Daniel Negreanu

 

PL: How does winning POY this year compare to the one you picked up in 2004?

2004 was just such a different time for me. In 2004 I developed a strategy of poker that was so advanced – for the time – it was easy.

Today the majority of players you see here are adopting a small-ball type strategy.

Back in 2004 people were raising four times the blind. I was making it 2.5X and getting laughed at. But I kept winning so people started noticing.

For me personally this one means a lot more to me. It was more difficult to win. I went to Australia, grinded Las Vegas and then came here and won the very last one.

I love drama!

What’s better than bottom of the ninth, bases loaded? I love it.

It reminds me of 2004 when I won the very last tournament of the year to clinch POY. I’m a drama queen I guess.

PL: Sixth bracelet, WSOP POY and big leads in almost every POY there is. Is it a little bit sweeter having called your shot pretty much from the beginning of the year?

It is. But there’s also a few other things. I’ve taken some flack that I was in this Choice Center thing, which was a great experience for me. I just let the results do the talking.

Outside of that, the sweetest thing is this:

You don’t have to 3-Bet to win at poker. My 3-Bet percentage is like .0003% and I do just fine.

I joked about how all the 5 and 6-Bettors are gone but really that’s just not the way to go. The real way to play poker is to play flops. If you’re not a good flop player you won’t be consistent and you can’t handle longevity.

The 888poker pro went into the final table as the chip leader and then survived a heads-up match that went for over four hours.

“This is incredible,” said Mateos. “I have so many supporters in Spain and they are so excited.”

Mateos became just the second Spanish poker player to win a WSOP bracelet.

Just 19 years old, Mateos had to get past world-class poker pros Dominik Nitsche and Benny Spindler on top of Soulier to claim the title. Outside of an Estrellas Poker Tour title Mateos was relatively unknown at the final table.

The Spaniard’s victory may be a sign of things to come as the WSOP has mentioned the country as one of the potential future locations for the WSOPE.

“I think it’s a good idea,” said Mateos. “There would be more players and they would like it a lot there.”

Rough Day for Benny Spindler as He Busts Early

Benny Spindler

 

It was an unusual day as the final table began with six players instead of eight. That’s because the final table got down to eight players ahead of schedule on Wednesday and they decided to play all the way down to six.

The decision to play down to six players was a bad beat for Shannon Shorr and Andrei Konopelko who missed out on any TV time by finishing eighth and seventh respectively.

It ended up being a disastrous final table for German Benny Spindler who dusted off 1.7 million chips in a little over an hour. Spindler made a couple ill-timed bluffs and eventually became the first player to bust on Friday in sixth place.

American Ragi Raghaven didn’t last much longer as he got all-in with a Royal Flush draw and missed. Jerome Huge busted in fourth place, which left Soulier as the only Frenchman left in the field.

Nitsche was considered by many to be the best player at the final table but just missed out on heads-up when he busted in third.

Here are the complete final-table payouts:

Selbst was invited to comment on the recent production of “Poker Night on Wall Street" a made-for-TV sit-and-go featuring six of Wall Street's biggest players.

The appearance was amazing because I cannot think of a better role model for our game, and infuriating because the two hosts were more interested in talking than listening.

A Barrage of Rude and Ignorant Interruptions

Selbst must have been nervous about her appearance. Not only was she being broadcast to the world on national television but she was also representing the entire poker community.

Demure isn't really Selbst's vibe.

 

Kudos to her for managing to maintain her composure through a barrage of rude and ignorant interruptions that made me want to have a sex change, don a pair of boxing gloves and punch both of the hosts lights out.

“So why is this such a male dominated game?” asked one of the hosts, Betty Liu.

Selbst responds: “I think the hyper aggressive attitude you really need to dominate in such a competitive environment is really frowned upon. Women are taught to be more demure...”

“You don’t look demure…” interjects one of the hosts, before entering into a different dialogue altogether.

“Can you see why these Wall Street players would be good at the tables?” she continues.

But There's a Lot of Math, Right?

Once again Selbst composes herself and delivers an organized and intellectual response only for host Trish Regan to blindside her mid-sentence.

“But there’s a lot of math Vaness, right...? These guys are good at numbers..."

“Absolutely. It’s a game of numbers and a game of pushing small edges," Selbst responds. "Another skill that is important is to take the downswings, and not go on tilt as we say, and really be Ok with losing for a log time in a row ...”

Bill Perkins.

 

Once again that annoying fly that just can’t seem to stop landing on your dinner chimes in once again as Regan cuts Selbst off and starts talking directly to Betty Liu about a completely different subject.

Liu then asks Regan some questions about the personalities in the Wall Street game with David Einhorn and Bill Perkins pointed out specifically.

“You know these guys, right?" Liu asks Selbst.

“I know Bill. He plays in the highest stakes game around the world….”

BOOM!

Here comes Trish Regan, “He’s a great guy with a big personality right?”

Mmm … pretty sure she was going to answer that for you … IF YOU WOULD JUST STOP TALKING!

Has Anyone Taught You to Shut Up and Listen?

Unfazed by the barrage of nonsensical questions, Selbst tries to respond. But before the words can hit the oxygen Liu asks her a totally different question.

“Have you taught these guys anything about risk?” she says.

Has anyone taught you how to shut the f**k up and just listen?

“I haven’t personally but….”

Here they come again like spitfires bombing a building: “I think they could learn something from you.”

Selbst doesn’t have time to respond before Regan starts talking about how important patience is in the game, which is rather ironic given the situation.

Selbst continues: “There are so many different strategies you can use in poker…”

Liu butts in now: “Actually I am not a poker player although I admire people who can play it very well. What do people do wrong?”

Actually don’t answer that. How about you answer this question instead?

No, go ahead. You guys talk.

 

“How do you capitalize on being a woman … how do you build your brand?" asks Liu.

“I do what I do and the I think the female players look up to me because there aren’t many of them….”

Here Comes Trish Again

There she is … here comes Trish who must have been itching in those high heels after not talking for the past 45 seconds.

“Did you start as a kid or in high school?”

“I started in college… “

Betty butts in…

Selbst regains the flow: “My mum was an options trader and poker player…”

Trish butts in…

The winner of last year's WPT Grand Prix de Paris outright on the way to winning WPT Player of the Year, Salsberg returned to the Aviation Club for another go this year.

The result so far has been another big chip lead after Day 2 yesterday and a growing chip stack to begin Day 3 today.

Spillover from WSOPE Makes for Tough Field

Coming directly on the heels of the just completed World Series of Poker Europe the field was unsurprisingly stuffed with top international pros.

David Peters, Jason Koon, Marvin Rettenmaier, Timothy Adams and Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott are just a few of the notables still in contention with 60 players left in the early stages of Day 3.

The Matt Salsberg Show renewed in Paris.

 

Salsberg, who ominously wrote the WPT Grand Prix de Paris into a Weeds episode before going on to win it, has the better of them all so far however.

After the first level of the day his stack has hit 250k and climbing and he looks primed for a repeat deep run.

The current top 10 and chip counts:

Check the WPT Live Updates for all the action straight from the tourney floor.

Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Drop a note in the comments and we'll happily take a look.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Sorel Mizzi feeling the pain of a £100k cash buy-in, next year's $1 million Big One for One Drop gaining a confirmed monster and Phil Hellmuth paying the price for an egregious customs error.

1) Leather Backpack Apparently Vessel for £100k Cash

Think it's hard to let $109 in virtual dollars go at the click of the button? (Answer: It is)

Try dropping a leather bag filled with £100,000 (pounds!) on the counter for a go at a pro-stuffed WPT Alpha8 event, like Sorel Mizzi did yesterday.

100k pound Alpha 8 tomorrow! it's so much more painful to buyin in cash. pic.twitter.com/1gH1g6qA7m

Also: Who carries around £100k in cash in a leather backpack? That's insane.

Updates from Alpha8 London featuring the one and only Viktor Blom right here.

2) Tim Adams Confirms Entry in $1m Big One for One Drop

He didn't plunk $1m in cash down at the Rio cage (we assume) but high-roller regular and certifiable poker beast Tim Adams has confirmed his name is on the list for 2014's $1m Big One for One Drop.

Plain name, massive game.

 

He likely won't have all $1m of his action either, but still ... it kinda makes Mizzi's cash-bag seem like a good night of tips, really.

He may not have the biggest name or most high-profile presence in the poker world but believe us when we say Adams is a legit contender to take the $20m first-place prize.

Fresh from a fifth-place finish in the recent WSOPE High Roller and already a WSOP bracelet winner, an early bet on Adams if you can find one might be a profitable one.

More on Adams here. More on next year's second-ever $1m Big One for One Drop here.

3) Phil Hellmuth, Customs Fish

Every poker player knows the one thing you NEVER do returning from an overseas poker escapade is fail to declare your cash. Except for Phil Hellmuth, it seems:

Last trips into USA was annoyed cause checked "Over $10k" box Customs Form (extra screening) but MUCH worse when DO NOT check box! #Lost$

All 20 members of Team Online - including newest members Marc-Andre "FrenchDawg" Ladouceur and Alex "Kanu7" Millar -- will be bouncing around the tables all week with lots of opportunities to win extra cash.

A few highlights of the week:

Shoot a Film, Make a Profit

To get a free ticket to the $25k freeroll just make a real-money deposit using the bonus code TEAMONLINE. Freeroll runs at 1 pm ET on November 3.

Shoot a short film, go here.

 

To win the $15k PCA package you need to shoot a short three-minute film that tells your poker story. Upload it to youtube and send an email to vipclub@pokerstars.com.

Team Online pros will also be doling out $500 prizes to videos they like. The pros will also be jumping in 2c/4c Zoom games all week and if you manage to make a profit against any of them you'll get paid 10x your take.

For more details on the other Team Online week promotions, check the page here. Sign up for a new account via our PokerStars review page for exclusive monthly and weekly freerolls.

The state will become the second one in the USA (the first being Nevada) to offer government regulated online poker.

Because Delaware has a relatively small population of fewer than one million people, it will consolidate poker site traffic under one network. There will be three separate portals to log-on through, however.

888poker and Scientific Games are providing the software for the new endeavor.

With Delaware set to launch and Nevada already operating with Ultimate Poker and WSOP Poker, New Jersey is lagging behind.

New Jersey has already licensed five online sites, however, and will provide access to a massive population of 8.8 million. The state is set to launch online poker in November.

As of yet any attempts to create a cross-state compact for online poker in the USA have failed.

Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Drop a note or link in the comments and we'll take a look.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Viktor "Isildur1" Blom doing some dazzling multi-tabling, Howard Lederer celebrating his 50th birthday with some audacious cakes and Jason Mercier thinking it's about time Daniel Negreanu got a nickname upgrade.

1) One Table of £100k, Five Tables of $200/$400?

So you're Viktor "Isildur1" Blom. Perhaps the most legendary online poker player of all time. And one of the most aggressively loved players in all of poker.

You're in the middle of a $5m upwing over the past couple of months and basically online playing the toughest games possible all day, every day.

What do you do to awe your fans yet again? Buy in to the £100k Alpha8 London Live Event and multi-table online right in their faces. God bless Isildur1.

2) Lederer Celebrates 50th Birthday with Many Large Cakes

Howard Lederer: Still just 50.

 

So ... Howard Lederer is only 50 years old? Maybe it's just the heavy drag of time over the past couple of years but somehow it seemed he was already much, much older than that.

Fifty does sound about right but "The Professor" has no doubt felt the ominous march of time since Black Friday moved through him like a giant, agonizing kidney stone.

Given the recent start of FTP's repayment process for US players the worst time in Lederer's life is likely coming to a close so what better way to celebrate than with a cake-filled party in Las Vegas.

Lederer's 50th passed somewhat uneventfully considering the still-palpable dislike for him in the poker community although some pictures - including one of a poker-themed cake - surfaced to show he's still doing things in over-the-top FTP style.

While most of us also might see what happened as a chance to distance ourselves from the past by the looks of the cakes it seems poker's still a real touchstone for Lederer -- and he's sticking with it for the future. H/t to 2+2 user stonesfcr for the image upload.

3) Mercier Suggests Negreanu Nickname Change to "The Face"

While we love a nod to tradition in poker there's something about the nicknames of poker's most famous faces that feels, so, well 1998.

The Professor. Back-to-Back Flack. The Master. The Mouth. The Unabomber. The Poker Brat. The Shark. Texas Dolly. Kid Poker.

Kinda feel like a time in poker that's passed - and, for the most part, possibly better forgotten (Doyle gets a pass, though).

Perhaps feeling the same thing PokerStars pro Jason Mercier has a new suggestion for at least one of those old standbys:

Gave @RealKidPoker the new nickname "The Face" #enjoy

We're not 100% on it (and Scott Seiver says it's already taken by Ilan Boujenah anyway) but it's definitely pretty apt. And we can definitely get on board for a few nickname upgrades.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Feel free to get the discussion going in the comments.

In what's become almost a cliche Germans Phil Gruissem, Tobias Reinkemeier and Igor Kurganov ran roughshod over the field at the £100k WPT Alpha8 in London today to take 3 of the 4 cash spots.

Gruissem, winner of the WSOPE APAC High Roller in April and third-place finisher at the WSOPE High Roller last week, took down his second notable High Roller crown of the year and scored £862,400 in the process.

Renkemeier and Kurganov finished third and fourth, respectively. Collectively the trio took home well over $2m US. The only player to break up the German party was American Scott Seiver, who finished second to Gruissem for £509,600.

Germans on a Tear Through Tournament Poker

Solid month for Reinkemeier.

 

The amazing run from the three Germans comes on the heels of two more dominant performances at the beginning of the month.

Martin Finger, Reinkemeier and Christoph Vogelsong finished 1-2-3 at the £50k EPT London High Roller. The week before Germans finished 1-2-4 in the WCOOP Main Event and split over $4 million.

As expected in this one the field was packed with poker's elite. Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, Max Altergott, Tony G. and Richard Yong also made the final TV table but fell short of the cash.

Official results and payouts:

The next destination for the WPT Alpha8 is a new stop in St. Kitts just two weeks from now. Episodes will begin airing on FOX Sports in the Spring.

MicroMillions 6, which will award over $5 million in prizes, will run from Nov. 14-24 with an astounding 100 events on the docket.

If you have any sort of bankroll there’s a good chance you can play a few MicroMillions events as the buy-ins start at just $.11 and the highest they get up to is $22 for the $1m-guaranteed Main Event on Nov. 24.

Nearly every major poker variant in existence is represented on the schedule with everything from old standbys No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha to new-school games like 5-Card Omaha and Courcheval.

Despite the small buy-ins there will be numerous events offering hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money.

During the last MicroMillions online player stygher outlasted 59,213 players in the Main Event to take a staggering $160,726. Not bad considering he invested just $22 in the event.

MicoMillions 6 will begin on Nov. 14 with a massive $1+R NLHE $150,000-guaranteed tournament.

You can peruse the MicroMillions 6 schedule on the PokerStars website or sign up for a PokerStars account through PokerListings and receive exclusive monthly freerolls.

Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Drop a note in the comments and we'll take a look.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Gus Hansen still fighting his way out of his online poker quagmire, Jonathan Jaffe pulls off a perplexing ruse about being a dolphin trainer-in-training and Greenlight Capital mogul David Einhorn "reveals" his secrets to good poker.

1) Great Dane Climbs $140k Out of $12m Hole

Fight Gus, fight.

 

We talked yesterday about outdated nicknames in poker but one we wouldn't ever change is Gus "The Great Dane" Hansen.

Bit obvious, sure, with the dog thing. But it still suits. Well, except for the part about being "great" at poker - at least given Gus' ongoing issues in the online poker department.

As has been noted there are plenty of ways Hansen makes (or can make) money, from live cash games to fleecing backgammon whales. But when it comes to his online results the story since the return of Full Tilt Poker has only been disheartening.

According to Highstakesdb Hansen is down an astonishing $9 million or so since last fall - and an even bleaker $12m overall since FTP's original incarnation.

It might not tell the whole story of Gus' finances, but even as just a chapter it's a pretty jaw-dropping tale.

On the upside, though, he seems to have had a winning session last night to the tune of about $140k. Still a long way to go, but as they say every journey of 12 million miles starts with $100k.

2) Jonathan Jaffe Not Dolphin Trainer Apprentice, Apparently

So, this is a strange one that's been circulating for a few weeks.

If you watched ESPN's coverage of the 2013 Main Event so far you'll have seen a segment on poker pro Jonathan Jaffe's "side gig" as an apprentice dolphin trainer.

The truth of the matter, however, seems to be it was just an elaborate ruse - including fake photshops - Jaffe wanted to see how far he could take.

nugget from today's Pokercast - Jonathan Jaffe's 'dolphin trainer' backstory on ESPN was an elaborate lie, complete with photoshopped pics.

If so, well, he got us too as you can see in the video above. Kinda funny, we guess. But also, umm, kinda odd. Guy tells you earnestly he's into dolphin training, you say sure.

Guess the egg is on all of our faces cause we wanted to believe Jaffe was more interesting than he seemed. Turns out he's just a guy who plays cards.

3) Einhorn Reveals Poker Secrets: Practice, Think

Good at business.

 

Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn has more than proven himself at the poker table, really.

He's had a deep run in the WSOP Main Event. Finished third in the inaugural $1m Big One for One Drop for $4.3 million. Holds his own at some pretty tough high-stakes tables.

So we were pretty excited to see an article offering four tips from Einhorn on how to play good poker.

The article, though? Pretty underwhelming.

And the tips - practice, think, play the long game and have fun? Also underwhelming.

Turns out the video they were culled from is much better.

But if you're an Einhorn fan and were preparing to have your mind blown by one of the smartest business guys in the world ... keep your shorts on.

Full article here

Poker is a surprising game, though, and Vasili Firsau found out in painful fashion as Mohsin Charania stormed back to snatch the WPT Paris title and $469,477 today.

Arguably the most talented player at the table, Charania battled hard to get to heads-up play but was was down to his last 600k heads-up when he shoved with Q♥ 4♥.

Called by Firsau's A♥ 6♦ Charania was down to just 8% to survive when an ace hit the flop but a 2♣ turn and 5♦ river completed the wheel.

Back from the dead, Charania surged into the chip lead a level later before finishing Firsau off in a flip.

Firsau took home $317,867 for his runner-up finish.

Lindley Bows Out Against Aces

High hopes dashed for Lindley.

 

Starting the day second chips WPT Player to Watch Christina Lindley had high hopes to rise to the title but things didn't quite work out as planned.

In the second level of the day Lindley shoved over an Elliot Smith open only to be looked up by Firsau with aces.

The board couldn't help and Lindley was out in fifth.

Smith, a dead ringer for Rush actor Chris Hemsworth, hit the rail in fourth shortly after. Peter Apostolou went out in third to set up the Charania-Firsau dramatics.

The official final six and payouts:

Find a full recap of all the action in the WPT Live Updates.

The Great Dane burned through $889,668 in 1,547 hands, according to highstakesdb.com.

Despite some positive work earlier this week Hansen is now down about $10 million since last fall and headed for one of the worst years of online poker ever recorded.

Hansen split his time between FLO8 and 2-7 Triple Draw but the highlight match was against arch-nemesis Kagome Kagome in $2,000/$4,000 2-7 TD.

Kagome Kagome Destroys Hansen for $599,000

The match took place at just one table but that was enough for German Kagome Kagome to utterly decimate Hansen for $599k.

The epic loss raises some very real questions about how much more Hansen’s bankroll can take.

Although Hansen was on an enormous heater worth more than $5 million prior to Black Friday in 2011, he’s lost that and more since FTP re-opened.

It was a bad day all around for Full Tilt Professionals as Viktor Blom dropped $113k. The major difference is that Blom is up over $3.5 million this year.