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Today in the 3-Bet we find November Niner Martin Jacobson getting bulletproof for EPT Barcelona, Daniel Negreanu pleading for leniency in enforcing tournament penalties on amateurs and a new wave of pros on the brink of taking over the Super High Roller scene.
1) Coffee + Butter = Magic Martin
We caught this Tweet from November Niner Martin Jacobson this morning and were immediately captivated for, as it turns out, the completely wrong reasons.
Prepared for two weeks of live poker pic.twitter.com/bA5Sl5LOuC
— Martin Jacobson (@Martin_Jacobson) August 19, 2014Initial reaction? Yep, lots of coffee sure. And Swedish butter is awesome, so maybe he eats a lot of toast and/or is really into making shortbread or something. Thanks to Terrence Chan, however, we now know Jacobson is likely a proponent of the benefits of Bulletproof Coffee.
What's Bulletproof Coffee? In short, a grass-fed butter/specially roasted coffee blended drink created and endorsed by Dave Asprey of Bulletproof Executive fame. He explains the process/health benefits far better than we can so look those up here.
The next question(s) obv.? Does it really work, and has Jacobson unintentionally unearthed a potential November 9 patch sponsor? We'll try and track Jacobson down at EPT Barcelona, where he recently busted out of the €50k Super High Roller, for more info.
2) Negreanu: Cut Amateurs Some Penalty Slack
What's the purpose of enforcing penalties in poker tournaments? To prevent collusion and angle-shooting, obv., and ensure a common ground of fair play and appropriate behavior.
What's the purpose of auto-penalties on amateurs who aren't aware of certain rules and clearly haven't gained an advantage by breaking them?
Not much at all, says Daniel Negreanu. In fact it may even be driving them away from the game as it creates a level of discomfort and alienation without furthering the integrity of the game at all.
Case in point, Negreanu says, is a penalty he had in hand in at the Estrellas Poker Tour main event. A fan wanted to snap a quick pic with DNegs and the dealer declared his hand dead because of it. What should we do instead? Try some understanding:
"I'm asking, I'm pleading for a change in focus in these types of situations. More leniency, more understanding, more player friendly.
"Less rigorous, less harsh, and less cold blooded. If you are a dealer or a tournament director, before you issue a penalty ask yourself this one important question: do you believe that the players intent was to cheat, angle shoot, or breach the integrity of the game, or was it a relatively harmless error on his part?"
Hard to argue, no? Read the full piece here; drop your thoughts on the subject in the comments below.
3) Polk, Holz, Kanit Among New Blood in Super High Roller
The ongoing 50k EPT Super High Roller has set a new record with 77 entries, which is awesome in its own right.
Even better, though, as Howard Swains explains in a new post on the PokerStars blog, is of those entries (58 unique players, 19 re-entries) 22 players are entirely new to Super High Roller events.
Experienced players, sure, and not unfamiliar with high-stakes poker. But still new to a live EPT SHR event. Which bodes well for the future is a clear counterpoint to the "same old pros passing money around" argument.
Among those making their SHR debuts: Doug Polk, Fedor Holz, Jake Schindler, Jason Les, Jason Mo, Nick Wong, Lukas Berglund and PokerListings Most Inspiring Player award nominee Mustapha Kanit.
Kanit even bought in twice, which inspires us even as we type it.
With the fresh faces come some surprising no shows, though, as SHR regulars including ElkY, Eugene Katchalov, Phil Gruissem, Tom Marchese, Steve Silverman, Steve O'Dwyer, Mike Watson and Ike Haxton aren't in the mix this time around.
Check the full piece on the PokerStars blog here (only caveat: the expression "popping their cherry" is used, which, ew.)
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