Brazil's Joao 'joaomathias' Mathias is within 33 points of being the top player in the PocketFives Rankings Two players who have spent time as the #1 ranked player on PocketFives are duking it out for the title of top dog on PocketFives. Your combatants: Sweden's 'C Darwin2', who has been ranked #1 since early July, and Brazil's Joao 'joaomathias' Mathias, just 33 PLB Points off the lead.

Nikolaus 'RealAndyBeal' Jedlicka had $243,000 in high-stakes cash game profit in July, crushing the competition (image: CardPlayer) The high-stakes cash game leaderboard in July was officially a blowout. Sitting atop the field was Nikolaus 'RealAndyBeal' Jedlicka with a profit of $243,000 in ring games on PokerStars that HighStakesDB tracks. Everyone else had one-quarter or less of that.

'FouEnculePL' went from pool shark to poker shark and is nearing $1 million in career online winnings In some respects, pool and poker are very much alike. You have to be selectively aggressive, overly patient, be able to bend the truth when needed, and, at the same time, know the math like the back of your hand. And the keys to being successful in pool and in poker – not coincidentally, ...

Brazil's Fabiano 'kovalski1' Kovalski talks about his home country's rise in poker In just a few short days, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will play host to the Summer Olympics, hosting athletes, dignitaries, and fans from all over the world. And while sports like golf and gymnastics will be competed, poker won't. The day poker becomes an Olympic sport, however, you can bet your bottom dollar that ...

Alisson 'heyalisson' Piekazewicz says poker is a lot like rock climbing If you've ever rock climbed, then you know it's in part about setting goals, achieving them, and then setting new goals. Get up to that next ledge, set your rope, and climb some more. When you've hit the summit, find another mountain to climb or find another course to conquer. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Some people are innately good at math. Once they start learning addition and subtraction, they're instantly ahead of their peers. They're the guys you turn to for help in your linear algebra class. They're the guys who successfully sent a spacecraft to orbit Jupiter.

UK poker player Shane 'AKJMoscow' Mossop is adjusting to life as a first-time dad As any first-time parent will tell you, having a child is a world-changer. No days off. No bar-hopping (unless you get a sitter, in which case it's game on). But, you have a little one who thinks the world of you and relies on you to understand everything from talking to walking. The basic life functions.

In 2011, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act upended the online poker market in the United States in a big way. Overnight, the four largest US-facing sites – PokerStars, Full Tilt, UB and Absolute Poker – vacated the American market. Since then, only three states have regulated the industry.

Bryan 'bparis' Paris won the PocketFives Monthly Leaderboard in June with 3,342 points, 500 more than the next closest player After a photo finish in May, the ending of the June Monthly PocketFives Leaderboard was anything but dramatic. Bryan 'bparis' Paris absolutely crushed the competition last month with 3,342.60 PocketFives Leaderboard Points, over than 500 more than the next closest player.

Aleksandr 'NoPlanB' Mordvinov talks about grinding his way to his first PocketFives Monthly Leaderboard title Although grinding online poker games can be draining, it can also be extremely rewarding. For successful, +EV players, volume will invariably lead to deep runs and big scores. It's just a numbers game: the more you play, the more chances you have to hit it big. Case in point: ...

NetBet is launching a new promotion called Twister to Go Online casino site NetBet is ramping up its lottery-style game Twister Poker with a special promotion called Twister to Go. Jackpots up to €50,000 are available, which means a select few will hit it big. Twister to Go starts on July 4 and runs until July 17.

After entering his screen names into his PocketFives profile, Ivan 'Hurrrrican3' Gabrieli joined the top 10 of the rankings this week at #8 (photo: PokerStars) Board up your windows. Fill up those sandbags. Grab two of every animal. Hurricane Gabrieli is thrashing the top 10 of the PocketFives Rankings. After entering his screen names into his PocketFives profile, Ivan 'Hurrrrican3' Gabrieli ...

Denmark's Jonas 'Palsgaard1' Christensen talks about dropping Twitch in order to join a poker stable Sometimes secrets are made to be kept. For Denmark's Jonas 'Palsgaard1' Christensen, joining a stable and learning more about poker than he ever thought possible meant his Twitch career had to come to a halt. After all, being in a stable meant a moratorium on spilling the beans.

Tomas 'dartazzzz' Jozonis is the top-ranked Lithuanian online poker player and budding beach volleyball star Do you remember the beach volleyball scene in Top Gun' That completely needless scene to the tune of Kenny Loggins' "Hanging with the Boys"' For a few athletes, volleyball is more than just a beach day diversion.

Russia's Anton 'aJarov' Yakuba won his fifth PocketFives Triple Crown, his second of June It's hard enough to win one PocketFives Triple Crown, let alone five. But, Russia's Anton 'aJarov' Yakuba did exactly that, capturing the fifth Triple Crown of his career and, incredibly, his second of the month.

A bill from Adam Gray regulating online poker in California passed the California Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday The "most-vetted bill" in California this year passed through the California Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. "If we held every bill to the standards we've held this bill, we wouldn't have any bills," AB 2863 sponsor Adam Gray said. Gray's measure ...

Dustin Johnson propelled 'mmcconn' to victory in the DraftKings US Open Millionaire Maker In a final round of the US Open marred by controversy over whether Dustin Johnson made contact with his ball on the fifth hole, one daily fantasy golf player turned in an unquestioned perfect game. 'mmcconn' took down the US Open DraftKings Millionaire Maker with 468.50 points. His reward: $1 million. The ...

Australia's Nurlan 'Nur1ck' Bobekov shares keys to winning four PocketFives Triple Crowns (image: PokerNews) There have been 1,063 PocketFives Triple Crowns awarded over the last 11 years. A Triple Crown requires a player to win three $10,000 prize pool tournaments across three sites tracked for the PocketFives Rankings within a week. Each tournament has to have at least 100 entries and ...

'eisenhower1' is one of five Swedes ranked in the top 10 on PocketFives (image: PokerNews) The Swedes are back in town. Players from Sweden own five of the top 10 spots worldwide in the PocketFives Rankings this week after 'eisenhower1' moved up three spots to #8. He's a former #1 player and could make a serious run to reclaim his crown.

Phil 'philroyal888' Mighall is hunting for a major live or online poker score Despite ascending all the way up to #8 worldwide in the PocketFives Rankings, his highest mark ever, Phil 'philroyal888' Mighall is still hunting for that first signature win.

Bryan 'bparis' Paris earned the 20th largest PocketFives Triple Crown ever at 1,036 PLB Points (image: PokerNews, Danny Maxwell) On June 7, Bryan 'bparis' Paris won the PokerStars Super Tuesday. That would be a career-defining accomplishment for anyone, and for Paris, the score was his fifth largest online ever.

Jordan 'JWPRODIGY' Westmorland talks about the importance of exploring the sights at each poker stop When you get caught up in grinding, then grinding some more, then playing a quick cash game in between meals, you can almost forget where you are. Whether you're at home with the sun shining brightly outside or sitting just feet from the Eiffel Tower, if you don't take a moment to soak up your ...

Sweden's 'C Darwin2' became the #1 player in the PocketFives Rankings for the fourth time On February 10, Sweden's 'C Darwin2' ascended to the top of the PocketFives Rankings for the first time. He held down the #1 spot in the world for seven weeks before relinquishing his throne to fellow Swede 'lena900' on March 30.

Russia's Aleksandr 'NoPlanB' Mordvinov won the May PocketFives Leaderboard Like other poker players, Russia's Aleksandr 'NoPlanB' Mordvinov hit it big during the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker last month. During the series' Main Event, he made the final table and finished in ninth place for $104,000, the largest score of his online poker career. He also earned 756 PLB Points for ...

The long wait is over, 'KidPoker' is now available on Netflix. The documentary profiling the life of poker superstar Daniel Negreanu is now available on Netflix. The movie, called KidPoker, is now available to watch on the streaming service in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

May was a busy month for online poker legislation in Pennsylvania The month of May was all about Pennsylvania. The Keystone State resumed its push for regulated internet gambling on May 24 with a hearing about a spending bill. That bill included an amendment containing the framework of HB 649, introduced by Rep. John Payne. HB 649 would green-light regulated online gaming in Pennsylvania, ...

Anton 'surprisefirm' Petrov has experienced success in poker due to his background in engineering Poker is inherently a math-based game. And the most successful players know that math like the back of their hand. How many outs do I have' What are my implied odds' What are my pot odds' How much would I get in an ICM chop' It's all math in the end.

Australia's James 'Andy McLEOD' Obst relives winning his fourth SCOOP title and warns fellow Aussies about metabolic chaos Series like the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) can be a grind for anyone. Doing so at unnatural hours of the day can lead to a host of health problems. Just ask Australia's James 'Andy McLEOD' Obst, who won his fourth SCOOP title this year, ...

James 'Andy McLEOD' Obst won his fourth career SCOOP title in 2016, one of five that Australians won this year The 2016 PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker crowned five winners from Australia. The land down under was tied for ninth worldwide with Finland with five event wins, and the entire world trailed Brazil's 21 victories during the 2016 SCOOP. Australia was in a three-way tie for ...

Sweden's 'Pot4teUS' moved up 10 spots to #5 in the world in the PocketFives Rankings The recently-completed PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) brought plenty of chances for players to pocket six-figures in a variety of games. And with that came plenty of chances to make moves in the PocketFives Rankings. When the smoke cleared, two players punched their tickets into the top ...

Stevan 'random.chu' Chew talks about traveling around the world for major poker tournament series like SCOOP and WCOOP (photo: ACOP) Now that it's the end of the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker, or SCOOP, players like Stevan 'random.chu' Chew who relocated during the tournament series are headed back home. The days of "poker tourism" are over, at least until the World Championship ...

Paul 'paulgees81 Volpe won his second PokerStars SCOOP title in a $2,100 No Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Six Max event Thursday's action in the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker was all about two syllables: paul-gees. Paul 'paulgees81' Volpe, who has well over $5 million in career online tournament winnings, came out on top in a SCOOP $2,100 No Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Six Max event for his second ...

Jamie 'EzGame89' O'Connor compares Leicester City's improbable Premier League win to recreational players in poker Heading into the most recent Premier League season, Leicester City was a 5,000:1 underdog to win it all. You know what went down: one of the most improbable football wins the world has ever seen.

The World Poker Tour is hitting the road for Season XV With one event already in the books, the World Poker Tour announced the full Season XV schedule featuring 17 more open events and the return of the WPT Tournament of Champions. The new season, which started with the Canadian Spring Championship at the Playground Poker Club in early May, also has some new additions including the introduction ...

Germany's 'Ssick_OnE' became the first two-time winner of the 2016 SCOOP after outlasting a stacked final table The 2016 PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker, or SCOOP, has been all about two countries: Brazil and Germany. The former is up to 12 victories in the first 60 tournaments, while Germany already has a repeat winner: 'Ssick_OnE'.

'begood9999' and 'FLBonatto' scored the ninth and tenth PokerStars SCOOP titles for Brazil this year After 17 events of the ongoing Spring Championship of Online Poker, and 51 total tournaments, players from Brazil have won 10 titles. That's one-fifth of the gold medals up for grabs.

Sweden's 'lena900' won his second career PocketFives Triple Crown. It was the largest Triple Crown in the last eight months. While players from Brazil have been making waves in the ongoing PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker, players from Sweden have continued to dominate records on PocketFives. The latest: the largest PocketFives Triple Crown points-wise since September at 873 PLB ...

Approximately 1,500 Full Tilt Poker claims were denied because players did not meet the remission requirements The Garden City Group, the company responsible for administering all Full Tilt Poker fund dispersals, recently announced that approximately 1,500 claims had been denied by the U.S. Department of Justice after not meeting remission requirements. Affected players were notified via ...

Anthony Zinno believes practicing Mixed Games ahead of the World Series of Poker is the key to success(Neil Stoddart/EPT Photo) This year, 69 events appear on the World Series of Poker schedule. Of those, 31 are non-Hold'em tournaments, or almost half the schedule. You'll find Anthony Zinno in many of them, and if he finds success, he can point to hard work and practice ahead of the WSOP.

PokerStars pro Jason Mercier is looking forward to defending his SCOOP Player of the Series title. It's two o'clock in the afternoon in the principality of Monaco. As punctual as ever, PokerStars pro Jason Mercier waltzes into the hip Blue Gin Bar at the Monte Carlo Bay Resort wearing basketball shorts and a black, long-sleeved Miami shirt. His white baseball cap is flipped backwards, he's ...

Jan Bendik won the EPT Grand Final Main Event (photo: PokerNews) Slovakia's Jan Bendik won the European Poker Tour's Grand Final Main Event from the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel in Monaco. His reward: €961,800 and a spade-shaped trophy. After a grueling week of play, Bendik finally cracked a smile and multiple waves of confetti rained down.

Can poker help Fedor 'CrownUpGuy' Holz achieve Ikigai' "Every single one of us should strive to discover his reason for being, his Ikigai." That's the sticky you'll find when you look at Fedor 'CrownUpGuy' Holz's Twitter feed. And for Holz, poker might not be the path to his Ikigai.

Randy 'Nanonoko' Lew's Twitch stream is quickly approaching a million views. Some Twitch streams are drier than the Mojave Desert. Some are full of high-level cash game content. Some are full of high-level tournament content. Some are merely gibberish. Twitch is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're gonna get.

Ben 'sauce123' Sulsky was the biggest winner at the high-stakes cash game tables in April After finishing third on the high stakes cash game leaderboard in March, Ben 'sauce123' Sulsky moved all the way to #1 in April. He earned $164,642 during the somewhat quiet 30-day period, according to HighStakesDB, beating out the next closest player by $63,000.

You can find Niall 'firaldo' Farrell at big live events around the world with a boisterous band of Scots They're loud. They have strength in numbers. And when they have a beer in their hands, all bets are off. They're called Scots, and among them is Niall 'firaldo' Farrell, #8 in the PocketFives Rankings for the UK and #2 on Scotland's all-time money list.

Fabian Quoss defeated Ole Schemion in the €50,000 High Roller during the EPT Grand Final (photo credit Danny Maxwell) It took extra innings, but Fabian Quoss won the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo Casino EPT Grand Final €50,000 Single-Day Super High Roller. The Single-Day High Roller, which started at on Sunday, drew 70 total entries. It was scheduled to last just one day, but due to casino ...

Ben Dobson was one of the 300-plus qualifiers in the field in the EPT Grand Final Main Event. Monaco isn't the simplest place to get to. If you're from the US, chances are it requires multiple flights to get to Nice. If you're from Europe, it's probably a flight or two. Then, it's a 30-minute car ride, 30-minute train ride, or seven-minute whirlybird adventure to get there.

Adam Gray's bill regulating online poker in California highlighted legislative developments in the United States in April April was a banner month for online poker in California. The dream of regulated online poker in the Golden State took a major step forward in the final week of April, as the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee passed AB 2863 unanimously, 18-0.

Mad Harper has been with the European Poker Tour since Season 1 Twelve years ago, a relative unknown in the poker world began distributing PokerStars hats to players who busted from events on the European Poker Tour. If you went busto, she showed up with a baseball cap for your troubles. Now, she's still going strong with the EPT as its Media Coordinator as the tour gets ready to wrap its 12th ...

Jonathan 'Gil3000' Gill just hit $1 million in career online tournament winnings and scored his first PocketFives Triple Crown. (photo: WPT) Many poker pros play the game for a living because of the flexibility it allows. If you feel like going to Cancun for the weekend, and you've got the cash, then go. If your friends are heading to the EPT Grand Final in Monaco, you can go too. Just be sure ...