BLAST is 888poker’s variant of the ultra-popular Hyper Turbo SnG with a random number generator determining the prize pool.

Only a few weeks after its launch, eight 888poker players have now enjoyed the best possible outcome in the highest buy-in $30 and $15 BLAST games.

Those outcomes: $300k and $150k, respectively, split among all four players for just a few minutes of poker.

12 Minutes of Poker = $180,000

723bluebell was the winner of the first $300k BLAST Sit-and Go on 888poker. Since they play six 2-minute levels at the $30 buy-in level before the automatic all-in feature kicks in, the whole tournament lasted only 12 minutes.

As the winner 723bluebell cashed for $180,000 of that prize pool. The runner-up, Fekisen from Germany, received $60k of the pool while the other two players both received $30k.

Doesn't take long.

On 888poker all four players win if they hit the jackpot on one of the two highest buy-in levels.

On the second highest level, player lepeno78 managed to win the first $150,000 prize pool match and collect $90k. The other players received $30k and $15k.

"I felt very happy that I won the jackpot and have no particular plans to celebrate. But I will definitely travel when I can, and if possible travel to play in poker tournaments," lepeno78 told 888poker.

"My tip when playing is to be patient and observant."

Test BLAST at Your Buy-In Level

The highest buy-ins for 888poker BLAST tournaments are $15 and $30, but you can also try them out for much less.

Buy-in levels begin at 10 cents. They also run at $1 and $5 buy-ins with the winner taking all at the smallest levels. Give it a try; it’s fast and it’s exciting. 

Former Big Game “Loose Cannon” and PokerListings contributor Courtney Gee also recently tested it. She went for a $5 buy-in tournament and it worked out quite well, as you can watch below:

If you want to give them a go and you don’t have an 888poker account yet, head to our 888poker review page to sign up and access our exclusive $888 sign-up bonus.

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a long-awaited reveal of the next generation mid-afternoon poker news smart phone with three cameras, super-ultra HD screen and more memory than you’ll ever need.

You can always make your own suggestions for 3-Bet pieces in the comments section below.

In today’s Daily 3-Bet we’ll take a look at an unfortunate moment for Ted Forrest, Fedor Holz preferred payout structure and the latest drama-filled high-stakes beef.

1) Warrant for Ted Forrest’s Arrest

Uh oh.

Over the weekend the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that a warrant has been issues for the arrest of 6-time WSOP bracelet winner Ted Forrest.

Ted Forrest

According to the report Forrest was charged with two felonies: Drawing and passing a check without sufficient funds with the intent to defraud and theft.

The issue is a long-standing one that apparently came from passing two checks totally $215,000 at the Wynn Las Vegas.

Forrest’s Attorney Chris Rasmussen believes Forrest doesn’t owe the casino any money and is in the process of getting the arrest warrant recalled.

There was another issue in 2015 when the Mirage filed a lawsuit claiming Forrest still owed $40k from a $100k loan in 2013. It’s unclear if that debt was ever paid.

Forrest’s Attorney Chris Rasmussen believes Forrest doesn’t owe the casino any money and is in the process of getting the arrest warrant recalled.

2) Fedor Holz Approved Payout Structure

This Winstar World Casino & Resort payout structure concept is unlikely to catch on with the majority of the poker world but it would benefit a certain player very much.

It's called the CrownUpGuy-payout-structure https://t.co/qY5BR0Rs1Z

3) Doug Polk Calls Ben Tollerene “A Vulture”

There have been some notable beefs over the years in the high-stakes world but over the weekend a simmering disagreement between Doug “WCGRider” Polk and Ben “Ben86” Tollerene went nuclear.

We don’t want to get bogged down in the gory details but here are the cliff notes for anyone who doesn't want to dive into the 36-page (and counting) post on TwoPlusTwo.

It doesn’t really seem like either player has much to gain from all this being aired publicly but the online raildbirds are obviously having a field day.

You check out more from Tollerene in the TwoPlusTwo thread and Polk has actually released the following video about the disagreement on his YouTube channel:

If you've got the time and the bankroll, September is the season for proving your mettle in online poker tournaments.

You can vie for a WCOOP (or mini-WCOOP) bracelet. Battle for the big money in the 888poker Super XL Series. Or punch it out in partypoker's Powerfest.

You can also, if you choose, put your hat in the ring for the title of the Greatest Poker Player in the Universe.

1 Week, 24 Events, €500k GTD

The Universal Championship of Poker is already underway on the Microgaming Network, which includes famed 3D poker site PKR.

Offering up 24 events with buy-ins from €5.50 to €320 (most under €15), the series runs from Sept. 4-11 and is aimed directly at the recreational player.

Multiple events run daily all week leading to the €320 main event finale on the 11th with €75k guaranteed.

Win the main event and you'll take home the biggest cut of the biggest prize pool, of course. But you'll have to do a little more to claim the title of "Greatest Poker Player in the Universe."

The UCOP leaderboard will keep track of all your results over UCOP and if you come out on top you’ll pocket €10k in cash and the GPPitU Trophy.

Every €1 won in UCOP = 1 point. Cash in 2 or more events and you'll get a bonus 500 points. 

You'll also be rewarded for playing more than one variant. If you Play Event #5, Event #7 and any rebuy event you'll get 1,000 points.

Play all events in the series (only one day 1 from Event #5 is required) and you'll get the maximum 2,000 point bonus

Share and Earn More Points

As we also espouse for our Spirit of Poker Awards, great players share their love of the game with others.

If you do so in the UCOP you'll earn bonus points for your efforts - especially if you stream your events online on Twitch.tv.

Every tournament streamed online = 500 points and the "Most thrilling stream," awarded at the network's discretion, will earn an extra 1,000 points.

The award can be doled out for "best commentary, highest quality stream, best promotional gimmick, or anything else deemed to contribute to an exciting stream."

If you share UCOP via Twitter you'll also gain. Tweet a screenshot of you playing any event with the hashtag #UCOP and you'll earn 250 points per event up to 6,000 points.

Check the full UCOP schedule here for all the terms and conditions. Sign up for a new account at PKR via our review to play and to access our exclusive €1,000 sign-up bonus.

Since 888poker opened its own branded poker room at the Aspers Casino in East London back in March, the tournament action has been pretty much non-stop.

However, none of them have been quite as big as what’s about to hit town in October.

“Make It Big" is the motto of a new 888poker festival series coming to Aspers Oct. 13-23 that will take the room to the next level over an 11-day, 17-event spectacular.

Biggest Yet in London

17 tournaments, live satellites not included, will play out over the course of the biggest festival 888 has put on yet at Aspers.

Aspers will be full to brimming.

The major events will be:

Plenty more events are also on the slate starting at £120 buy-in and featuring Turbo and Deepstack events as well as a £250 Omaha Turbo Mega Deep event.

You can already find online satellites under the live events tab in the 888poker lobby.

Apart from the steps satellites there are direct qualifiers for the opening and the main event. Check the full schedule below.

Third 888poker Live Series

Over the last couple of years 888poker has established itself as one of the leading hosts of live poker events.

There is already the 888Live Local Series with multiple stops all over Europe and even the Americas. Most of these stops feature a two-day NLHE event with €/£/$220 buy-in.

Then there is the 888Live! Series, which features a €440, two-day main event plus a $5k bounty freeroll and – as a special feature – one additional day of sports or cultural activities.

Former events have led the participants to exciting places like Tallinn/Estonia, Marbella/Spain, the Austrian Alps and Cyprus.

With a third live event concept out there 888poker is still pushing the idea of attracting amateur players but has added tournaments with medium buy-ins and even a high roller to expand the range of players events should appeal to.

As a special incentive 888poker’s top European team pros Sofia Lövgren, Dominik Nitsche and Chris Moorman will also play in the big events and they will each carry an $888 bounty.

Also planning on taking in some London poker this fall? The #3 player on the all-time money list, Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari:

888Live London Festival Schedule

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a relaxing canal boat ride through the roughly 117 small islands that make up the mid-afternoon poker news archipelago.

You can always make your own suggestions for future 3-Bet pieces in the comments section below.

In today’s Daily 3-Bet we’ll take a look at N9er Gordan Vayo hitting pay dirt, an epic poker selfie and Antonio Esfandiari heading to London for the 888live Festival.

1) Gordan Vayo Wins WinStar for $587k

No one-hit wonder.

2016 November Niner Gordan Vayo is making the most of the three-month hiatus leading up to the Main Event final table showdown.

Yesterday Vayo successfully capped the WinStar River Poker Series $2.5k Main Event for $587k in Oklahoma last night.

The Illinois native overcame a field of 1,054 entries and a tough final table that included pros Layne Flack, Grant Hinkle and Chino Rheem.

Vayo isn’t the first 2016 November Niner to find success since action was paused in the Main Event.

So far Vojtech Ruzicka finished 24th in EPT Barcelona to cash for $37k and Kenny Hallaert (who’s also working as TD for the Unibet Open) won the Online Grind Prix on PartyPoker for $64k.

Definitely seems like a solid group of players this year and that final table is looming bigger than ever.

2) Greatest Poker Selfie Ever?

Do you remember that ridiculous Sebastian Malec vs. Uri Reichenstein hand that ended up deciding EPT Barcelona?

It was an utterly bonkers hand that basically had Malec talk Reichenstein into calling with the worst hand.

There was a moment during that hand where Malec walked away from the table and even took a selfie with one of his friends while Reichenstein was toiling over what decision to make.

Well that selfie has finally surfaced.

This is the face of someone that’s about to win $1.2m:

@polmasvidal he found me, very nice pic.twitter.com/SFdRPVraD3

3) Esfandiari Heading to 888poker Live London

Could iconic poker pro Antonio Esfandiari be wearing an 888poker patch shortly?

It certainly seems there’s a good chance after Esfandiari posted the following video confirming he’ll be attending 888poker’s biggest live festival ever in London from Oct. 13-23.

Esfandiari has been one of poker’s biggest free agents since Ultimate Poker in Las Vegas was shuttered back in 2014.

Here’s the video in question:

The behind-the-scenes workings of PokerStars' parent company, Amaya Inc., continue to intrigue with billionaire David Einhorn now stepping in to the mix.

According to the Motley Fool, an investing advice website, the respected billionaire Einhorn bought 3.9m shares in Amaya via his Greenlight Capital Hedge Fund over the last quarter.

At an average cost of US$13.77 per share that puts his investment at $53.7m. It also comes at a particularly interesting time in the company's history as embattled CEO David Baazov, under investigation for insider trading, recently stepped down from his position for good.

Long Time Poker Player, Legendary Investor

If you've followed poker passionately over the last decade or so, Einhorn's name should sound familiar as he's had a couple of highly visible poker moments in the sun.

Einhorn in 2006.

In the record-breaking 2006 WSOP Main Event Einhorn finished 18th and was featured plenty on the ESPN coverage, both for his financial background and deep run and his attire. He wore a sweatshirt with his kids hand prints on it for good luck.

Einhorn also hit the big-time poker spotlight back in 2012 when he finished 3rd in the inaugural $1 Million Big One for ONE DROP and donated all of his winnings to charity.

A regular in major High Roller events and the Main Event, he's also likely one of the "recreational" players expected to play in the upcoming One Drop event in Monaco.

Outside of poker Einhorn is famed as one of the world's best investors, turning Greenlight Capital into one of the most profitable hedge funds ever with a 16.5% annualized rate of return since its founding in 1996.

His particular strength is finding undervalued companies and scoring big when they bounce back down the road, which seems to be his take on Amaya. The Motley Fool expects Amaya to earn $2.09 per share in 2016 and $2.51 a share next year, spurred in part by the recent departure of CEO David Baazov.

Baazov and Brother Investigated for Kickbacks

Speaking of former CEO Baazov, things haven't turned any brighter for him since resigning from all of his positions within Amaya over the summer.

More questions about Baazov.

The spearhead of Amaya's $4.9bn acquisition of PokerStars back in 2014, Baazov has been under investigation for insider trading by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) in Quebec.

The investigation has reportedly revealed, according to The Globe and Mail, that the advantage trading existed long before the takeover of the Rational Group, PokerStars' former owners, and involved a kickback scheme to award those who shared privileged information.

According to the Globe:

"In court documents laying out its case against Josh Baazov, David’s brother, and 12 others accused in March of trading on inside information involving Amaya, the AMF says its investigation has found evidence that the group had a refined system that rewarded insider information with kickbacks typically representing 10 per cent of the net profits gained.

“'These were the activities of an organized group that traded regularly on information of numerous mergers and acquisitions still unknown to the public,' the AMF said in the documents, adding the individuals involved sometimes used coded language to conceal the real meaning of their messages to each other.

"Information filtered down and out in a pyramid-like fashion with David Baazov being the source of much of the privileged intelligence, the regulator alleges. Kickbacks were paid in many forms, including cash, cheques and luxury objects such as a $13,000 Rolex Daytona watch, the regulator said. In all, the AMF estimates the individuals made a combined profit from the trades of about $1.5-million."

Read the full piece here.

The PokerListings Daily 3-bet cooks up three separate dishes out of the freshest mid-afternoon poker news every day, Monday-Friday.

You can always suggest topics for future 3-Bet pieces in the comments section below.

In today’s Daily 3-Bet we’ll take a look at some casting news from Aaron Sorkin’s poker biopic, Jason Mercier going cards-up in the WCOOP $100k and David Williams latest explosion on MasterChef.

1) Him? Michael Cera is Player X in Molly’s Game

Player X?

The most feared poker player in all of Hollywood. Sounds like Michael Cera, amiright?

The Arrested Development star is rumored to be playing Player X in Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming Molly Bloom biopic, based on the book that chronicled her time running the biggest poker game in Hollywood.

Just who is Player X?

It's not currently known but there’s a good chance Player X will resemble Tobey Maguire who played a major role in Bloom’s book and was a catalyst for many of the games that took place.

In that way, it’s not a bad fit, as Cera does look a little like Maguire. On the other hand was Topher Grace booked?

It will definitely be interesting to see what Cera does with a more serious role, however.

Does this mean they will also be casting stand ins for Molly’s Game regulars like Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio? Weird.

2) Mercier Goes Cards-Up in WCOOP $100k

This is incredibly cool.

Jason Mercier: Every hand revealed.

For the first-time ever Jason Mercier is going to show all his hole cards in a $102k buy-in WCOOP Super High Roller.

Now of course there’s going to be a significant delay in the broadcast (that tends to happen when there’s millions on the line) but Twitch sensation Jason “Jcarver” Somerville will be on hand to provide commentary.

So Mercier playing a $102k buy-in tournament with Somerville doing commentary. It’s a little absurd that Mercier will be giving away this kind of information at those stakes.

Suffice to say this qualifies as a must-watch event if you’re a poker fan in any capacity.

The $102k event kicks off at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday but Mercier’s stream will kick off at 3:00 p.m. ET on PokerStars Twitch channel.

Let’s all hope for a deep run.

3) David Williams Snaps on MasterChef

Poker pro David Williams has been a dynamic character on this season of MasterChef.

He’s been one of the better contestants on the program this year and hasn’t shied away from showing a little emotion in the kitchen.

Well this past episode his temper boiled over in the following scene:

If you’re looking for a little more information on the break down, TrustySam on TwoPlusTwo has been posting some excellent recaps.

There are now seven contestants remaining and Williams has a legit shot at winning this season.

We also have to give a shoutout to Sue Kellner on Twitter for some killer David Williams cookbook ideas if he ever chooses to go that route:

Cookbook names should David win: Crying & Frying, Throwing Shade & Homemade and Let's Get Petty & Cook Spaghetti. #MasterChef

Chris Moneymaker wears a baseball cap and sunglasses.

Sammy Farha wears a black suit jacket and an open-buttoned blueish-white shirt revealing a hairy chest and gold bracelet.

One looks the part; the other you'd think has wandered into the room looking to buy wallpaper before realizing he's in a casino.

There's $2.5m in actual, real cash on the table. Moneymaker has 5,690,000 in chips and Farha has 2,700,000.

Moneymaker checks his cards first; he has 5♦ 4♠. Farha looks down to see J♥ T♦. Farha bets 100k; Moneymaker calls.

The flop is J♠ 5♠ 4♣. Farha has top pair and Moneymaker has a nicely disguised bottom two pairs.

Moneymaker taps the table. Farha bets 175k. Moneymaker stares across the table. His heart must be beating out of his chest. He pulls some chips from his stack and starts riffling them.

“I'm gonna raise,” Moneymaker says, before making it 300k to play.

"OK I go all-in, let's go," says Farha quickly.

"I call," says Moneymaker, even quicker.

Would poker be as big if Farha won?

Farha looks dejected. Moneymaker throws his sunglasses to the felt, takes off his cap, throws his hand down face up in front of Farha and flexes his right bicep involuntary.

Farha looks like he has swallowed his cigarette. He pulls another one out of thin air and puts it into his mouth, unlit.

Moneymaker swings his baseball cap around and puts it back on his head; his hands stuck either side like glue.

Turn: 8♦

Moneymaker paces backwards and forwards, occasionally glancing back at the table to see if the dealer has done his job. Farha sits in silence, chewing on his cigarette.

River: 5♥

Moneymaker rivers a full house and becomes the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion. In the commentary booth Lon McEachern says, "The 27-year-old stepped out of a virtual poker room and in a very swift and unlikely manner is on top of the poker world."

Co-commentator Norman Chad says, “This is beyond fairy tale. It’s inconceivable.”

People Like an Easy Life

Chris Moneymaker, whether he wanted to or not, would become the most unlikeliest of poker ambassadors.

But what is "an ambassador?" Here is the Oxford English dictionary description:

"A representative or promoter of a specified activity."

Showed the world a dream.

In the case of this article the ‘activity' that needs representing or promoting is poker. And there is an argument that Moneymaker did a great job.

He showed the world that the working class could qualify for the $10,000 WSOP Main Event, playing for a pittance on an online poker room, and win $2.5m.

There's a reason the lottery is the most popular form of gambling in America and drags in over $70 billion in sales per year. People like an easy life.

They want to click some buttons, or buy a lottery ticket, and win life-changing sums of money. Moneymaker showed that it was possible. He defeated 838 other players to win that title.

The following year players flocked to sites like PokerStars in droves and Main Event attendance rose to 2,576. Then it soared to 5,619, and then 8,773 before the world of online poker changed forever after the introduction of the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gaming Act (UIGEA).

All because of Moneymaker. Or was it?

I Got It Wrong

Daniel Negreanu is arguably the most notable ambassador for our game. He has won more live tournament dollars than anyone alive or dead.

So close.

He has a documentary on Netflix. He is the figurehead of the largest online poker room in the world. And he even cameoed in a crappy X-Men movie.

Two years ago Negreanu finished 11th as he tried to do exactly what Chris Moneymaker did in 2003 -- win the WSOP Main Event. It was THE story of the year.

As an underdog myself I desperately wanted him to reach the final table, only to get his ass handed to him on a plate by a nail salon owner competing in his first poker tournament.

What? Come on. I am a storyteller. But the more I think about the moment when Joe McKeehen eliminated Negreanu on his way to becoming the champion, the more I think I got it wrong.

Negreanu is huge and his influence on our game is undeniable. There is only one more platform available to him that could extend his reach further than he could imagine and that would have been for him to be the champion of the world.

As I think deeper into this ambassadorial poker thing, three things keep popping into my head:

1. Charismatic, trustworthy person

2. PokerStars

3. WSOP Main Event

Daniel Negreanu nearly had all three. And so did Chris Moneymaker.

It's the Working Class You Need

You cannot represent or promote poker if you have the personality of a brick. And I don't believe you can promote poker if you don't know how to.

Too good to be good?

I was listening to the Phil Galfond interview on the Joe Ingram podcast. I am a huge Galfond fan. A few years ago, Negreanu pointed him out as THE man who had everything in his arsenal to become the next ambassador of poker.

I disagree. Galfond is one of the greatest players of his generation, if not all-time, and is a dead cert for a seat in the Poker Hall of Fame.

During the interview with Ingram, Galfond opened up and said that networking is not his thing. He prefers the space just beyond the limelight. He is comfortable. He is safe. Other things in his life are more important than poker.

He is charismatic. He is trustworthy. The poker community adores him. He is an excellent writer and his philosophical and honest portrayals of the poker community are amazing.

And he is also a great teacher. His RunItOnce training site is the most talked about in the industry.

His new RunItOnce poker site might expand his legacy even further. But Moneymaker appealed to the working class. RunItOnce appeals to the elite.

As PokerStars, and every other online poker network in the world has recently demonstrated, to have a successful and thriving poker community it's the working class that you need.

Galfond is too high born. We need someone who appeals to the nose pickers, apple pickers and graveyard diggers.

One for the Basement Kids

People like Jason Somerville. Somerville has become famous by growing an army of individuals from North of the Wall. 

Man of the basement kids.

Galfond speaks to the best poker players in the world. Somerville speaks to rest.

Both of them are charismatic and trustworthy. Both excellent players.

But Somerville is an exhibitionist, a showman, and a man for the people. Galfond is a man for the people but in his own quiet, inimitable way.

Galfond can reach out to people with a well-timed email chain via RunItOnce or a great blog post on his personal website.

Jason Somerville appears on national television fighting for the future of online poker.

And who gave Somerville that platform?

PokerStars is That Iron Throne

I don't believe the role of ambassador for poker is all about attracting recreational players to our game. Chris Moneymaker did that better than anyone.

For me, an ambassador of poker is someone who can take on Moneymaker's roles and responsibilities but also manage to promote poker as a trustworthy sport. And a fully regulated and licensed sport in countries where that's currently not the case.

Here’s where the irony comes in. If you are a Game of Thrones fan, you will know that everyone is killing everyone because they want to sit on the Iron Throne. They see that position as the catalyst to rule the Seven Kingdoms.

In poker, PokerStars is that iron throne.

I don't believe you can effectively become an ambassador for poker unless you have the full weight of the largest online poker room in the world pushing you so far towards the moon that you feel like passing out.

And yet PokerStars are not great at giving off the trustworthy vibe. It’s a dilemma and one I don’t believe will be solved until the company returns to private ownership, or some new age radical thinker takes over at the top of Amaya and starts to realize the power is in the people and not the bottom line.

Phil Galfond doesn't need PokerStars but without their backing he'll never reach the people we need him to so he can become a true ambassador of poker. No one will, no matter how hard they try.

And it's such a shame that PokerStars have tarnished its brand for the sake of profit. It does so much right.

It has the best software in the business. It has the liquidity. It's very noticeable in the philanthropy world. It has relationships with the world's top sports stars. And it operates arguably the most proficient live tournament series in the world.

The Most Powerful Tool of All

PokerStars has many ways of promoting an ambassador like Jason Somerville. But it doesn't have the most powerful tool of all.

The WSOP Main Event is our world championship. The person who wins that event has, for a year at least, the opportunity to reach millions of people via mainstream media.

Greatest tool of all.

And this is why Daniel Negreanu winning the Main Event two years ago would have been the perfect storm for poker.

He is charismatic, trustworthy, has the power of PokerStars at his back, wants to promote poker as a bonafide sport, fights for regulation around the world, and he would have been the world champion.

The WSOP doesn't sponsor players; it knights them. But it also gives them wooden swords and takes their horses away. This decision hurts poker. It prevents the game from gaining bigger exposure.

In the past week PokerStars announced significant changes to the way it will operate its live poker arm. Outside of the WSOP, the European Poker Tour (EPT) is the most sought after title in poker.

The numbers don't lie. The EPT is huge, people love it, and it wasn't a surprise to see Stars admit that it had outgrown its boundaries and that changes were afoot.

The PokerStars Championships was born. Watch out WSOP.

Perfect Storm Brewing Again?

I believe the PokerStars Championships can be bigger than the WSOP in the next decade. The WSOP does a great job at what it does but it always seems a little rushed, harried and on a budget.

The EPT has always been classy, slick and well-oiled. PokerStars has always thrown money into making it as successful as it is.

If I am right, and one day a $10,000 PokerStars Championship Main Event with thousands of players qualifying online via PokerStars replaces the WSOP Main Event, the winner will be given the greatest possible chance to be a great ambassador for poker.

Who will be next?

Charisma and trust can be learned. The platform that PokerStars provides and the enhanced media coverage of being poker's one true champion are something else entirely.

And perhaps that's why PokerStars hasn't stepped up and sponsored a WSOP Main Event player in a long time. I don't think it's seen anyone who can learn how to be charismatic and trustworthy enough to take our game to a whole new level.

And this isn’t a fairy tale. This isn’t inconceivable. More 27-year olds can step out of a virtual poker room and in a very swift and unlikely manner reach the top of the poker world.

And he or she can use that privileged position to help regulate and promote our game all over the world. You just need the perfect storm of charisma, trust, PokerStars and the title of champion of the world.

The ballots have closed and the voters have spoken.

With two very closely contested races and one runaway winner, the 2016 Spirit of Poker Award winners have now been decided and all that's left is the celebratory high fives and the ceremony to award the victors at the 2016 Battle of Malta.

This year's winners:

Felipe Ramos (Brazil), Silje Nilsen (Norway) and Konstantin Puchkov (Russia), who all won over the voters with their talent, enthusiasm and commitment to promote, represent and support the game of poker in their home countries.

Most Inspiring Player: Felipe Ramos

There was one nominee who rose head and shoulders above the crowd in the voting this year and that was Brazil's Felipe "Mojave" Ramos.

Lives and breathes poker.

With his outgoing, friendly character and a never-ending enthusiasm for the game Ramos stood out among his competition and collected the most votes in the Most Inspiring category by a wide margin.

If you've watched poker in the past 12 months - especially the Global Poker League, where he plays for the Sao Paulo Mets - you know that Ramos wears his love for poker on his sleeve and you can always see how deeply it fascinates him.

Ramos has been in the commentary booth for poker tournaments, perpetually updated his 30,000 followers on Twitter, streams live on his own Twitch channel and, importantly, plays all the games.

He cashed deep in four different variants at the 2016 WSOP and likes them so much he even streams HORSE! He writes strategy, runs his own training site and shares his love of the game with friends and admirers like Andre Akkari and football superstar Neymar Jr.

His home country might be his favorite subject to talk about – did you know that Brazil has the best pizza in the world? (according to Ramos) – and Ramos' contributions over the past 6 or 7 years have clearly helped make Brazil the fastest-growing poker market in the world.

With two formidable finalists in Kitty Kuo and Fatima de Melo alongside him in the Most Inspiring Player category, Ramos is a very worthy winner. Also nominated this year were Dan “jungleman12” Cates, Mike Leah, Dominik Nitsche, Luca Pagano and Vladimir Troyanovsky.

Rising Star: Silje Nilsen

In the most closely contested category of the year Norwegian Silje Nilsen proved it's not the biggest results or the highest stakes that inspires fans to get behind you.

Nilsen has been impressive on the felt in her own right since her deep run in the BOM main event last year, where she finished 75th.

Shortly after that she went to the Norwegian Championships and finished 2nd to WSOP runner-up Felix Stephensen. In those two events alone she outlasted almost 4,000 players.

But most importantly, with Norway legalizing poker last year and holding its National Championship on home soil for the first time (broadcast live on National TV no less), Nilsen inspired a new generation of women in her home country to take up the game.

She appeared in a short documentary about her life and poker pursuits, earned a sponsorship from Guts Poker and carried on an esteemed tradition of inspiring female players (see Annette Obrestad and Elisabeth Hille) from the poker-mad nation of Norway.

Nilsen made her first trip to the World Series of Poker this year and, while the results weren't what she'd hoped, left with the attitude that shows she's got what it takes to stick around in the game:

Did not go as well as I hoped, but there's only 1 year to the next one

With a virtual dead heat between Nilsen, Argentinian superstar Ivan Luca and Italian Walter Treccarichi in the voting it was Silje's growing social media presence that carried the day and won the votes to put her over the top.

If you follow her on Twitter, you'll see why.

Living Legend: Konstantin Puchkov

There are players whose merits in poker are often underrated or go by relatively unnoticed, like Barny Boatman and Donnacha O’Dea, who literally helped build the very foundation the game is on today.

Man of a thousand cashes.

There are players who’ve conquered hardship or achieved to become a WSOP or EPT champion, like John Gale and Jan Bendik.

And then there are players who seem to have always been there, who poker seems to have been built around.

Konstantin Puchkov is one of these players and he’s shown a consistency over the past 5 or 6 years that most of us would kill for, regardless of our age.

Puchkov plays all the games and never gets out of line with his bankroll, skipping the high roller scene entirely. You’ll see him in the main events - much like the latest EPT Barcelona when he finished 13th.

But he’ll also still be there when, for example, that same EPT wraps up with a €100 Hyper Turbo event (in which he finished 3rd).

Puchkov has 45 WSOP cashes, which doesn’t seem much compared to Phil Hellmuth’s 118, but Puchkov’s first entry is from 2010 -- more than 20 years after Hellmuth’s first WSOP win.

On the list of most WSOP cashes in one summer Puchkov is second and third with 11 and 10 cashes. He also holds the records for most EPT cashes – by a mile – with 82!

Puckkov’s enthusiasm goes as far as naming the horses he breeds with poker terms like “Freeroll” and “Full House," and maybe it’s this extraordinary spirit that won him the award of “Living Legend” from the poker community.

PokerListings would like to congratulate all three 2016 winners of the Spirit of Poker Awards and we hope to see you all at the Battle of Malta in November!

Is this the year a European finally makes the cut for the Poker Hall of Fame?

Does Chris Moneymaker jump to the front of the list for his immense impact on the game far and wide?

Does another Brunson join the prestigious list of names honored for their lifetime contributions to the industry?

We'll find out on October 26 when the two 2016 inductees, selected from the list of 10 finalists released today, will step up to the podium in the famed Longhorn Room at Binion's in downtown Las Vegas.

3 New, 7 Previous Finalists

After a lengthy public nomination process and vetting from the Poker Hall of Fame's Governing Council, the official 10 finalists eligible for induction in 2016 were revealed today.

Up to two names from the following 10 will get the nod after a second round of voting by the 25 living Hall of Fame members and a 20-person media panel.

And the nominees are:

Three of the nominees - Brunson, Elezra and Moneymaker - made the list of 10 finalists for the first time.

The others were all nominated last year with the exception of Brenes, who has made the final 10 previously.

Voting Until October 7

Time for another Brunson?

The destinies of each candidate are now in the hands of the 45-person voting panel who will evaluate each on the criteria set out by the Hall of Fame Council. The criteria:

Official ballots have been sent to the voters who will have until October 7 to return them to the WSOP Governing Council. The inductees will be announced after all votes have been tallied.

The 2016 Class will be inducted as part of the WSOP Main Event final table playdown with a special dinner and ceremony at Binion's Longhorn Room Oct. 26. The inductee(s) will also be acknowledged on stage at the Penn & Teller Theater during the Nov. 9.

Last year's inductees were Jennifer Harman and John Juanda.

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a classic ‘50s style mid-afternoon poker news milkshake complete with a metal cup of extra ice cream.

You can always make suggestions for future 3-Bet pieces in the comments section below.

In today’s Daily 3-Bet we’ll look at Shaun Deeb’s incredible day, Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis playing the joker and Sheldon Adelson with yet another anti-online poker rant.

1) Big Daddy Deeb

Online MTT master Shaun Deeb had quite a day yesterday.

Smiles all around.

Shaun not only won his fourth WCOOP title, which ties him with Dan “djk123” Kelly for the most ever, but his wife Ashley gave birth to their second child.

The nine-time COOP winner outlasted 95 entries to win WCOOP-12 $1,050 NL Draw Championship for $22,185.

More importantly Ashley gave birth before the hospital even had time to get her in a room, which amounted to just five minutes of labor.

Chance Deeb (love the name) was born at 12:51 a.m. on Thursday.

It will be hard for Shaun to ever top this one but he does have a lot of WCOOP left and that 10th COOP title is calling. Putting TWO kids through college is pretty expensive these days after all.

2) Lex Veldhuis Spices Up Chatbox

Is your WCOOP grind getting a little dull?

Fortunately an all-caps Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis is here to save the day.

The Dutch pro has been railing various Team PokerStars Pros and leaving them with “riddles”.

Here’s his latest interaction with Liv Boeree:

Well this makes a nice change from the usual table chats, thanks for stopping by @RaSZi ...#WCOOP pic.twitter.com/Cxpm0PDcPO

3) Sheldon Adelson Goes After DFS/Poker

Our fave.

It seems online poker isn’t the target on Sheldon Adelson’s agenda as he recently spoke out against online poker and Daily Fantasy Sports in an interview with Yahoo.

Here’s one answer that relates specifically to poker:

Some say poker is not gambling. Poker is gambling. They say poker is a game of skill. I don’t know how skill can apply to somebody shuffling a deck of cards and randomly giving them out to you. You don’t have any control over it. Can somebody bluff and can somebody place bets better than somebody else? Yes. But that doesn’t make poker a game of skill.

Just how out of touch does this guy sound? He’s one step away from telling everyone about how he used to play stickball by the ole soda shoppe.

It’s also hilarious to listen to a man that made his fortune through gambling pontificate about the dangers of online gambling.

Poker prodigy Fedor Holz won the $111,111 Big One for One Drop at the WSOP this summer in dramatic fashion.

But there was a lot more to the tournament than just Holz putting on a show.

The entire tournament was ripe with exciting, top-class hands from beginning to end.

In this week's hand we'll look a little closer at one of those hands that might have flown under the radar.

Flop to River

We pick up the action on the first hand of the final table. All the remaining players have $384,000 secured. 

At this point the big pay jumps begin with every spot worth at least $100,000 more while the winner will take home nearly $5m.

It’s very important to note the payout structure because it does have an effect on how play proceeds.

The blinds are at 100k/200k/30k so the base pot is 570,000. The short stack is Niall Farrell with 4 million, or 20 big blinds. Action folds to Jack Salter (11.6 million, 58 bb) in the cut-off, who finds    

He raises to 570,000 and Koray Aldemir (7.3 million, 37 bb) calls on the button. So does chip leader Dan Smith (22.4 million, 112bb) in the big blind.

That gives us 2.08 million in the pot and the flop falls      

The flop is checked all the way around. The turn comes  

Again, no bets from any players so they go to the river  

Smith leads for 600,000. Salter gets rid of his top set pretty quickly. Aldemir raises to 1.4m, Smith re-raises to 2.2m, Aldemir 4-bets to 3m and Smith goes all-in.

Aldemir calls and the chips go back to both players when Smith shows    

Aldemir has    

Watch the hand again in the video below. It begins at the five-minute mark.

Analysis

There are poker peculiarities in each of the betting rounds and they’re well worth looking at in detail.

Dan Smith

Jack Salter sits in late position and gets the second-best starting hand in Texas Hold’em.

He puts in a raise to almost 3x to play against only one opponent but it doesn’t work out.

The first interesting move is that Aldemir just calls with A♥ Q♦. This hand is ahead of Salter’s range most of the time but he decides to utilize pot control.

Aldemir keeps all the worse hands in Salter’s range in the pot – which might have folded to a re-raise – and he doesn’t have to play for his whole stack.

A re-raise pre-flop and a bet on the flop would have brought Aldemir close to an all-in push already.

Smith in the big blind simply gets 4.6 to 1 pot odds. Pretty irresistible, as he also holds a suited ace with A♠ 5♠.

A Wet Flop

Koray Aldemir

The flop is Q♥ J♦ T♣, which hits the ranges of all three players. Several pair or two pair hands, straights and draws are all very realistic here.

Smith checks to the raiser but interestingly Salter checks behind. With an over pair and an open-ended straight draw, the British player could make another bet but he decides to disguise his hand and control the pot.

Also, Salter knows he could already be beat – by hands like Q-J or Q-T – and he won’t be able to get value on three streets from a hand worse than his.

On top of that, he has showdown value and there aren’t many bad turn cards for him. Things look similar for Aldemir. He has the shortest of the three stacks and he has a hand with showdown value.

If he’s ahead now he’ll still be ahead on the river most of the time and there are no worse hands than his that can pay three bets.

Disaster Strikes Salter on Turn

The king on the turn is not what Salter wanted to see, even though it gives him top set. He’s now beat by any nine and any ace, and both his opponents have these cards in their ranges.

Kings no good.

When Smith checks to hide his straight Salter can only check behind and hope for the board to pair on the river.

That would give him a monster hand and it could enable him to get added value from a straight.

Aldemir also decides to check, although he holds the nut straight.

Had he known what his opponents held, he would have surely bet. But as he doesn’t, he doesn’t think he can get two streets of value and he’s hoping to induce a bluff on the river.

The Show on the River

After the river bricks Smith leads with a small bet of 600,000.

Salter makes a disciplined fold. He knows he can only beat a bluff and he has Aldemir still waiting behind him.

Aldemir and Smith then engage in a raising war that ends with an all-in. If you think this was just unnecessary playing around, you’re wrong.

A nine could still pay the first raise and both players still give each other the chance to pull off a bluff. Only when Smith is all-in does it become evident that this will be a split pot.

Conclusion

What we’ve just seen is small-ball poker at its best and three players who all have their eyes on the money jumps and share the fear of variance.

Salter keeps the pot small and hits a set on the turn, which he’d have preferred not to, but he manages to get out without taking too much damage.

Andre Akkari might be the first poker pro in history to pick up a sponsorship deal with a footwear company.

The famed Brazilian poker pro announced via Instagram yesterday that he’s signed a deal with German footwear giant Puma.

It’s the first time that Puma has dipped its feet in the poker world and it likely has something to do with the fact Akkari has a huge following in Brazil and is friends with soccer sensation Neymar, who also has a deal with PokerStars.

Akkari Poker Earnings Exceed $4.5m

Andre Akkari has accrued over $1.5m in live tournament earnings and is one of a select group of Brazilians who have won WSOP gold bracelets.

Akkari picked up $675,117 and his gold bracelet for outlasting 2,857 entries in a $1,500 NLHE event at the 2011 WSOP.

Prior to that Akkari was a well-established online pro who built a fearsome reputation as aakkari on PokerStars with over $3.3m in online winnings.

That led to a sponsorship deal with PokerStars, and he as represented the company for over six years now.

More recently Akkari served as the team manager or the Sao Paulo Metropolitans in the Global Poker League.

Puma is without question one of the most mainstream companies to sign a deal a poker pro.

Some of the other big mainstream deals over the years have included Vanessa Rousso’s GoDaddy deal, Phil Hellmuth with Milwaukee’s Best and more recently PokerStars has teamed up with eSports giant Team Liquid.

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a long walk, a deep breath and a heart that skips a beat as the doors open on the afternoon poker news Main Event.

Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Tell us about it in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find retirement still treating Fedor Holz well, ESPN finds its Main Event villain and we muse over some heartfelt high roller poetry.

1) Fedor 3/6 in WCOOP $102k

Another day, another shot at a million-dollar payday for Fedor Holz.

Indubitably.

"Retired" from poker or not, the Holz money train has barely slowed since, oh, early 2015 or so and he's back in position for a major poker score today.

Holz ended last night 3/6 in the elite $102k WCOOP High Roller, barely behind chip leaders Salman "salfshb" Behbehani and Isaac "philivey2694" Haxton.

He still has some work to do to make the money as just three players will take home any scratch. But with a top prize of $1.4m it almost feels like manifest destiny Holz will be last man standing.

Action has already resumed for the final play down and you can follow along live via PokerStars. 

PokerStars pro Jason Mercier fired two bullets himself yesterday (to no avail) and streamed it live with Twitch kingpin Jason Somerville along for the ride. Watch the complete replay of their experience below:

2) Let the 2016 WSOP March Begin!

The long march to the 2016 November Nine began on ESPN yesterday with another glorious 2.5-hour episode hosted by poker soundbite maestros Lon McEachern and Norman Chad.

Tanking or talking he made for great TV.

Action picked up on Day 4 with James Obst the chip leader, Shaun Deeb, Ryan Reiss and Greg Raymer alongside him on the feature table and plenty of great moments/highlights from WSOP first-timers.

While it would be great to see more of the action from the early days and a few more events make it to air, there's still nothing like that intro music and a gaggle of textbook puns from Norm to feel the WSOP buzz again.

While we may know how it turns out it's always fascinating to see the story arcs of the finalists play out along with the life-changing journeys of the lesser knowns.

As always ESPN likes to find a villain or two to play up, too, and to no one's surprise they've chosen Brit William Kassouf as the picture-perfect TV poker antagonist.

Tune in every Sunday on ESPN to watch the action; revisit the first episode below (while you can - it won't take long for the clip to be removed):

3) Squeezing Fishes Day and Night

The beginning of the Main Event on ESPN always makes us feel a little sentimental/wistful about why we continue to obsess over a game that can be so painful and heartwrenching.

This poem by Chinese high-stakes reg Huang Shan, shared via poker Hall of Famer John Juanda, captures it nicely, no?:

Just wanna share this nice poem by a Chinese businessman, regular Highroller player, Huang Shan pic.twitter.com/XeTb6Yhlxg

German wunderkind Fedor Holz didn’t win the biggest buy-in tournament in online poker history earlier today but he did lock up nearly first-place money thanks to a deal with Swedish online player bencb789.

Holz and bencb789 agreed to a basic chip chop after reaching heads-up of the WCOOP $102k Super High Roller with just $56k set aside for the winner.

bencb789 won the tournament (in one of the first hands of heads-up) for $1,172,360 but Holz picked up a nearly-as-impressive $1,067,639 for finishing runner-up.

Holz maintained he would play less poker after an impressive summer that included winning the $111k buy-in Big One for One Drop at the WSOP for nearly $5m but he’s since won the EPT Barcelona €48k SHR for €1.3m as a “recreational” player.

Holz Runs Amok at Final Table

It’s safe to say the legendary Fedor Holz run-good was alive and well at the final table of the WCOOP $102k Super High Roller.

Dirty bubble for Ike Haxton

First Holz had the fortune of rivering a full house with K-2 against Makita “Fish2013” Badziakouski who had pocket aces and ended up busting Fish2013 in sixth place.

From there Holz rivered a straight to bust Igor Kurganov in fifth place.

Only three players were getting paid and Holz decided to shove on the bubble with 5♦ 3♦ and Isaac “philivey2694” Haxton snapped him off with T♥ T♣.

The dominating hand wasn’t enough as the board ran out: T♦ 8♠ 6♦ 4♠ J♦ to give Holz the checkmark.

Holz wasn’t the only player getting lucky, however, as bencb789 busted Salman “salfshb” Behbehani in third place with ace-queen against Behbehani’s ace-king.

Here’s a look at the updated payouts (including two-way deal):

1. bencb789 - $1,172,360
2. Fedor “CrownUpGuy” Holz - $1,067,639
3. Salman “salfshb” Behbehani - $560,000

As usual here’s a small collection of reactions from the poker world about Holz’ latest feat:

Am I doing retirement right? #102k #WCOOP2016

on what planet are you from ? @CrownUpGuy rsrs

congratzzzz!

Forgot to post this video @CrownUpGuy sent me on his webcam before the start of the 100k FT today pic.twitter.com/gFzU5OjkFz

Besides winning over $20,000,000 at age of 23 @CrownUpGuy also winning crazy hands in largest online buy-in today pic.twitter.com/MTRoGCtaQA

Without a doubt @CrownUpGuy is the best. He is also on the sickest heater ever.

Have you put it in your calendar yet?

November 2-7 are the official dates for the 2016 Battle of Malta and, apart from our signature €550 main event, PokerListings has a lot more in store.

Side events, cocktails by the pool, blow-out parties, breakfasts, blackjack tournaments, world-class DJs, Karaoke, the inimitable Maria Ho ... the Battle is now so big it’s much more than just a poker tournament.

It's the ultimate poker destination holiday. Here's a quick overview of everything that awaits you at the best-value poker tournament in Europe.

The Poker

Where else to start but with the primary purpose (for most, anyway) of the whole thing? Not including the Main Event the 2016 BoM will feature eight (!) side events – more than ever before.

Poker. Then, more poker.

And that’s not even including the satellites.

The Main Event will have three starting days - Nov 2, 3 and 4. The final table will play on Monday, Nov 7.

As always the buy-in is €550 and the prize pool is €500,000 guaranteed. With 1,804 runners last year, however, that guarantee was easily smashed and reached a staggering €875,000.

Expect a similar number for 2016.

The Siege of Malta Second Chance Tourney has already established itself as the second-largest tournament of the festival. Last year 393 players put up the €250+€20 and the final six players split up over €66,000!

There will also be the Grandmaster High Roller, the PLO Knight Crusader, the 888poker Win the Button, a Deepstack Turbo and a Crazy Pineapple tournament.

On Monday we’ve added an IPC Turbo event and there will also be the special Blackjack Casino Crusaders tournament sponsored by Betsafe.

In addition to these there will be low buy-in satellites for both the main and the high roller event from Monday through to Friday night.

Register Early!

Queue for trophy, not to register.

Registration for the main event opens Monday, October 31 at 4 PM.

From November 2-7 the registration desk will open at 12 PM. We strongly recommend you register early as there will be queues later in the day.

There will also be cash games at different levels all through the week at the Portomaso Casino.

Get Social

No day is complete at the Battle of Malta without some form of celebration.

There will be a Karaoke night, a cocktail reception, a pool party, a VIP party and the All-in Friday at Club 22, from where you have the most amazing views of the island.

Maria Ho will be present at all the events and we can attest she is one of the most kind-hearted, considerate people on Earth when it comes to chatting with fans and taking pictures.

Everyone loves Maria.

That might be part of the reason why, according to our recent poll, she’s the second-most important reason players are looking forward to this year's Battle of Malta.

Make sure to secure yourself a complete package to get free access to all the events!

Get Oriented

All 2016 BoM events will take place at the Portomaso Casino in St. Julian’s. All package players will stay at the beautifully refurbished 5-Star Hilton or another of the luxury hotels in the area.

Because of the size of the BOM one hotel isn’t enough to accommodate all the players anymore.

The district of St Julian’s and in particular the district of Paceville is the epicentre of Maltese nightlife. The area is brimming with clubs, bars and restaurants, so boredom won't be an issue for you should you bust from events early.

Check back later this week in the Battle of Malta news section where we'll reveal the list of pros and celebs joining the events.

As a teaser: Dutch DJ duo Deepend will drive the action at the VIP Players Party on Saturday night. As a frame of reference, their hit track dropped just last month already has 1.8m views on YouTube.

Check the Battle of Malta schedule page right here for all the fine details for the events including buy-ins, starting times and days.

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a scalding burn, a batter-splattered apron and one perfectly risen soufflé served to the afternoon poker news judges table.

Have a tip for a future edition of the 3-Bet? Drop us a note in the comments.

Today in the 3-bet we find a new page turning for the Global Poker League, David Williams mastering MasterChef and the best of Poker Central on your phone.

1) GPL Reboot in T-Minus 7 Days

As regular readers of the 3-Bet know, we've been ardent followers of the Global Poker League since its launch earlier this year.

First up: Jon Little.

A virtual laboratory for world-class poker players revealing A-level strategy, there was no shortage of riveting moments and awe-inspiring poker during the first parts of Season 1.

Aaron Paul playing poker in the Cube was a pretty stunning accomplishment for Alex Dreyfus and the GPL crew in itself.

That said, there were definitely some lulls to be had (and felt) and, by the numbers, the GPL hasn't built the rabid following it might have hoped for.

League action resume exactly one week from today and, according to Dreyfus, we can expect changes to the product to see just what kind of momentum can be built for Season 2. 

Among the tweaks to look forward to:

We'll be watching. Check out in-depth player stats from first part of GPL season here.

2) Game Masterchef Optimal

From Vanessa Rousso on Big Brother to JRB, Anna Khait and Fatima de Melo on Survivor to Alex Jacob on Jeopardy! to Liv Boeree on Golden Balls, one thing we know for sure:

Wait'll they find out about diamond toothpick.

Average viewers do not like the way poker players approach strategy/reality games.

Between the math-driven Game Theory Optimal to the cutthroat tactics of isolating the weakest players and relentlessly exploiting the biggest spots, poker players simply play games differently than average people do.

Namely, to win. And as a result they usually end up being "the villain," as poker pro (and 2005 WSOP runner-up) David Williams has found out on this season of MasterChef USA.

Williams has shown to be a pretty fantastic chef, for starters, but also shown a very fiery/strategic personality that's flipped the game on its ear and erased some of his toughest competition.

As a result he finds himself in the final 3 with the 2-hour finale scheduled for tomorrow night. Check the preview here and tune in tomorrow; it's sure to be entertaining. And check out his great behind-the-scenes blogs here.

Get pumped for the 2-hour finale of #MasterChef this Wednesday at 8/7c on @FOXTV! pic.twitter.com/mfAs0J2yN4

3) Poker Central App Coming On Strong

Have you checked out Poker Central's iPhone/iPad/Android App lately?

It started out a little light on content when it launched last year but since has built up a solid library of very watchable and entertaining poker shows.

Old episodes of Poker After Dark and Premier League Poker plus exclusive coverage of the Aria Super High Roller Bowls/Cash Games in particular are standouts as is the in-house produced Pokerography documentaries.

Download it from the iTunes store right here. Check out Poker Central's live streams on Twitch, too.

Try it! You'll like it!

Can’t get enough big MTT action?

888poker is set to launch yet another massive Super XL Series this Saturday with $4,000,000 in guaranteed prize pools over the 40-event schedule.

A rising contender in the online poker series market, the upcoming Super XL Series will offer a variety of No-Limit Hold’em tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $5 all the way up to $1,050 for the Main Event.

The Super XL Series $1,050 buy-in Main Event will close out the series with a $1.5m-GTD prize pool tournament on Sept. 25.

Post a Tweet, Build a Bankroll

Want to play the Super XL Series but don’t really have the bankroll for it?

888poker is giving players a chance to get a quick boost through its Tweet for Your Seat promo.

Players on the site get a chance to play an $888 freeroll just for posting a simple Tweet.

All you have to do is follow 888poker on Twitter and post the following with your username:

My @888poker username is X. I want to play in the $888 Twitter Freeroll on 26/9/2016 #888series #888poker #poker

In addition qualifiers for the Super XL Series are already running and can be found in the 888poker lobby.

If that’s not enough you could always take advantage of one of PokerListings’ exclusive sign-up bonuses with 888poker.

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a pre-game fluff and dry, a velvet smoking jacket and just the right breeze to sense afternoon poker news danger.

Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Tell us about it in the comments.

Today in the 3-Bet we find Brian Rast putting up $2m to prove poker's skill, take a 360° tour of the GPL Cube and bow down to some world-class laydowns.

1) Rast to Sheldon: HU for $2m?

Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson continued to prove his breathtaking ignorance about poker's merits as a skill game in an interview with Yahoo! Finance last week.

Among other things he claimed again that poker (and DFS) is gambling, immoral and clearly not primarily dependent on skill. Which, well, no.

These grandiose, "money where your mouth is" challenges rarely come to fruition (except in Norway, of course) but you have to admire poker pro Brian Rast's pluck throwing it out there in response:

Hey Sheldon Adelson, waz up? Poker is a skill game. Don't believe me? You're a billionaire, I'm not close. Let's play HU 4 2 million each.

In fact Sheldon my man, I'll pay you 500$ 2 play 100bb freeze outs for 2mil, so if poker isn't a skill game u earning and can prove me wrong

"Game of skill": optimizing decisions to create an advantage. Inferior & superior strategies. Can involve luck (gammon/poker) or not (chess)

Computers can beat top humans in chess/gammon, but not poker. Nobody disputes if chess is game of skill. Sheldon and others are ignorant.

Poker has luck and incomplete info., but MANY decisions to make that can be strategically optimized (near infinite in NL) - hence skill game

But don't take my word for it Sheldon, I'd prefer to beat you for lots of money. Like I said I'll pay you to play HU matches. #herefishy

 2) Up, Left, Down, A+B

We mentioned a few of the impending changes for the Global Poker League when it resumes next week yesterday but one thing that will definitely stay the same?

The signature Cube arena for the live heads-up matches.

It doesn't quite capture the intense heat or, say, the way Fedor Holz smells like money all the time but this 360° tour gives you a cool view of what it feels like in there:

 3) Top 5 Laydowns

The Van Den Bijgaart/Parlafes folds might be slightly better but the ElkY clip def. wins the day for its retro vibe and DNegs commentary.

Which fold do you think is best? Let us know in the comments.  And check out some more great/head-scratching laydowns here.

Next year, the King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic will be the location of one of 888poker's new festivals.

With a multi-day, 17-event festival set to kick things off in London next month, its motto is “Make It Big” and there will be three or four stops over the year.

As a dress rehearsal, so to speak, there will be an 888 Live Local event at Rozvadov next week – and it’s going to be big already.

Action Begins Sept 22

What to expect: No less than four starting days with a cap of 400 players each are planned, meaning this might be the largest Live Local event yet.

Expect a packed house.

The tournament is intended to finish on Day 2 so both days are going to be long and tough.

The buy-in for the event is €175 and you’ll get 30,000 chips to start with and 30-minute levels. One re-entry per day is allowed.

If you don’t want to pay the whole buy-in, you still have the chance to qualify online on 888poker.

Daily Satellites Running Now!

Tucked away in the forest on the Czech-German border, Rozvadov is Europe’s most successful casino with a booming slate of tournaments and cash games. 

Right now you can win a $350 Rozvadov package on 888poker which includes the tournament buy-in plus three nights in one of the 4-Star hotels adjacent to the casino.

You’ll have to make it through three satellites to secure your package for free but you can also buy-in to any of the later steps. The buy-ins there are $3 and $30, respectively.

The satellites are held on a daily basis, but hurry up - time is running out. The last satellites run on Monday.

888poker Live Local Rozvadov guarantees a €100,000 prize pool, meaning that the top players will walk away with a 5-figure payout.

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