Any suggestions for a future 3-Bet, feel free to drop a note in the comments.
Today in the 3-Bet we find an eerie Tom Cruise-inspired entrance by Phil Hellmuth at WPT Venice, web series Bullets firing another bet on the river and we share a sneak peak inside the world of high-stakes poker tournaments from EPT London.
1) Hellmuth Channels Cruise at WPT Venice
It’s not an image we’re happy about evoking, really, but there’s no getting around the creepy Eyes Wide Shut vibe of Phil Hellmuth’s entrance at WPT Venice yesterday.
In case you missed it, Hellmuth bellied up at the casino via golden gondola wearing a traditional Carnevale di Venezia outfit involving a cape and mask.
Similar to Cruise, Hellmuth had an attractive female foil to play off of in Liv Boeree but, unlike Cruise, Hellmuth couldn't maintain the illusion and busted before the champagne he ordered even had a chance to get warm
Check the split screen for the Cruise/Hellmuth comparison -- although if they were truly side-by-side Cruise would probably only come up to Hellmuth’s hip.
More on Hellmuth's entrance/Day 1b at WPT Venice here.
2) #Donkey
We really, really want to like the new poker-themed web series Bullets. Three episodes in, though, it's not really working past the major flaws we saw in the pilot episode.
A $500k(?!) buy-in with cheap plastic chips? Rogue bank teller with a vest and a fedora? A Mike Huntz joke? C'mon now.
Contrary opinions are welcome though so drop a note in the comments if you see a better future in this than we do.
Check out episodes 2 and 3, dubbed "The Turn" and "The River," respectively, below:
3) Crunching Big Numbers By Hand at EPT London
As seasoned poker reporters, it's easy to grow immune to the mind-bending numbers generally played for at major poker tournaments.
Being behind-the-scenes at EPT London earlier this month though we got to remind ourselves of the jaw-dropping money in a standard high-stakes tournament.
PokerListings Denmark reporter Thomas Hviid was tableside when things got down to the deal-making stage three-handed with Ruben Visser, Mantas Visockis and Olof Haglund.
With £1.4 million still on the table, Visser grabbed a pen and piece of paper from Hviid to crunch a few numbers old-school style.
When they were done, Visser returned the pen, and then the paper he gave to tournament officials with the final numbers on it also made it back to Hviid's hands.
Key point to note? There's a GBP symbol in front of all those numbers.
Mbn sirs, mbn.
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