Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.
Today in the 3-Bet we find Patrik Antonius heading for a sweep of his $1m challenge with Rui Cao, a new ploy by the ISPT to get players into seats at Wembley Stadium this May surfacing and a new Game of Thrones-inspired card deck out in the world.
1) Antonius Up $650k in $1m Challenge
So, we stand corrected on our original report from the Patrik Antonius/Rui Cao $1m challenge.
Shortly after announcing the matchup the two played a big session of 2-7 Triple Draw that seemed to be Round 1 of the 3-part challenge.
It turns out that was just a warm-up. The real challenge officially started on Saturday with two rounds now complete and the No-Limit Holdem portion underway.
Unfortunately for Cao, who won big in that 2-7 warm-up session, things didn’t go quite as well this time.
According to highstakesdb.com the two powered through the full $300k 2-7 and $350k PLO sessions over the weekend and briefly worked their way through some NLHE hands.
Antonius tore up Cao in both the PLO and 2-7 sessions to take a commanding lead and, with a couple of intermittent NL Holdem sessions worked in, even has a $60k lead in the last segment.
The two are expected to finish things off today.
2) ISPT Joins With DTD, Offers €1m Guarantee. Maybe.
The ongoing ISPT saga got a touch weirder this weekend with a new rumored “guarantee” surfacing.
According to a PDF posted at PokerIreland.com, the ISPT has a new deal with Dawn to Dusk poker in the UK to offer a 1m guarantee for the winner of the inaugural event planned for Wembley in May.
Still, as always with the ISPT, everything should be taken with a grain of salt.
One of the biggest discrepancies so far is the guarantee is listed in both euros and GBP on the poster (see right).
No official announcement has been made and the deal is yet to appear on the ISPT website, although a Wembley press conference and official press statement are rumored to be arriving this week.
Keep track of all the melodrama via the epic ISPT thread at 2+2.
3) New Game of Thrones Card Deck For Sale
Ever since we profiled David Goldklang and his awesome Polaris card deck a couple of months ago we’ve seen playing cards in a whole new light
Why settle for just a run-of-the-mill deck for your home game when a little bit of character can add so much joy to the game, we say.
We found another deck we like – as will fellow fans of HBO's Game of Thrones - here.
The cards were designed by Paul Nojima but inspired by a concept from artist Jim Tuckwell.
The four major houses obv. make up the primary face cards with the Starks, Lannisters, Targaryens and Baratheons ably represented. Jokers are Lord Baelish and Lord Varis, naturally.
You can pick them up on Etsy for $20 here. Or at least you could - not sure if there was only one deck for sale, but you may be able to talk him into making another if so.
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