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Today in the 3-Bet we find Jason Mercier and the rest of the poker world sweating bullets in Barcelona, Mercier likewise turning the heat up on Annie Duke and Jeffrey Pollack and Lee Jones laying out the EPT's new "deals in the open" policy.
1) Mercier Leading Heavy-Sweater Parade at EPT Barcelona
Most of Europe has been experiencing a heat wave lately and the players at EPT Barcelona are paying the price for it.
Like the inverse of the almost ice-truck level of air con in Las Vegas, the poker room at the Gran Casino is 80+ degrees and rising today, making for a fairly uncomfortable day of poker.
PokerStars pro Jason Mercier, despite his native-born Floridian upbringing, seems to be among the ones struggling the most:
This is literally the hottest poker room I've ever been in. It must be 85 degrees in here. Sweating so much. And it's 10 handed too. Wtf
— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) August 20, 2012I'm going 2 literally need 2 #hittheshowers at the end of 2day. My back is soaked. I'll never complain about a poker room being 2 cold again
— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) August 20, 2012Plenty of players have chimed in on the heat situation but at least one pro is using it as a chance to diversify her poker attire:
Think I'm the only one who doesn't mind the heat. Have NEVER worn a cute dress w/o leggings or sweater over for a tournament. #EPTBarcelona
— Xuan Liu (@xxl23) August 20, 20122) Mercier Flames Annie Duke and Jeffrey Pollack, Negreanu Style
It might be the heat, it might be the missing $1 million freeroll, but whatever's under Mercier’s skin today also resulted in him taking the boots to Annie Duke and Jeffrey Pollack over Twitter too.
Mercier says he's been holding his tongue on the off chance the freeroll would go on, but all bets are off now:
Aight it's about time I flame @annieduke and @jeffreypollack for their absolute criminal actions involving epic poker league. Pay ur debts
— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) August 18, 2012... When's the million $ freeroll. O wait its never going to happen n u are never going to pay the ppl u scummed. @annieduke @jeffreypollack
— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) August 18, 2012And why have u not been tweeting cowards? Tell us it will work out n then disappear. Guess it runs in the family @annieduke @jeffreypollack
— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) August 18, 2012I've bit my tongue not wanting to burn bridges in the hopes that maybe they would salvage the company that they lit on fire. Screw that now
— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) August 18, 2012And somewhere across the poker room, a tiny tear of pride fell from Daniel Negreanu's eye.
3) PokerStars’ Lee Jones Explains New EPT Open-Deal Policy
A long-time tradition in poker tournaments, deal-making is usually done off the tables and off camera.
Everybody knows about it, and anyone who's ever gone deep in a tournament has likely discussed one, but for some reason it's usually considered a bit of a private affair not to be discussed much openly.
A new rule on the EPT is saying otherwise, though, and requires it to happen out in the open for all to see.
Why the change? PokerStars’ Head of Home Games Lee Jones explains the decision in the PokerStars blog today.
"For a long time, poker sites (including PokerStars) felt that deals should not be public.
"Many people who were new to poker didn't understand what was going on and we feared that they would be confused or even put off by the idea that the players were somehow short-circuiting the tournament.
"So deals (when they were done) were taken off into a quiet corner, a restroom, whatever. Sometimes you'd hear announcers coyly refer to "an extra-long cigarette break" or some such euphemism when it was clearly apparent to all concerned that a deal was being discussed.
"However, we've since come to the (correct, in my opinion) conclusion that transparency serves everybody best.
"If somebody in the audience wonders why the players are talking about money rather than playing poker, he or she can easily enough ask and find out. It can actually be an intriguing part of the whole experience.
Case in point: last night’s two-handed deal between JC Alvarado and Dan Smith in the 50k Super High Roller, negotiated right at the table.
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