Thomas Middleton’s transition to “notable”
And so the European Poker Tour is back in full swing and the first event of its tenth year is now in the books following ten days of play in Barcelona. There was no double winner, and no outstanding...
View ArticleHere’s to the railbirds: Watching a WCOOP final table
WCOOP season is upon us, the most prestigious of the COOPs, boasting quite rightly, to represent the very best the online poker world has to offer. Each event vaunts gravitas, with finals conjuring up...
View ArticleGeorge Danzer and the EPT catheter bag
It could prove a popular, practical change to the freebie given to all PokerStars players on arrival at a European Poker Tour event – the EPT Catheter Bag.It was an idea not lost on Team PokerStars Pro...
View ArticleLoan sharks, thieves, philosophers and Rocky Balboa
Playing styles are varied and labelled in many ways. Even the new player quickly becomes accustomed to diagnosis such as rock, fish, loose, aggressive, or some combination of all of them. But the...
View ArticleTweets, texts and what’s the wireless password?
In the real world some people question whether we are allowing technology to take over our lives. Most of us are never a few feet from our phones and get anxious if the bleep of a text sounds and we’re...
View ArticleA week is a long time in poker
What harm could a week away from the poker circuit do? A recent holiday to a part of Europe which shows no favour to the holy game of poker proved a mixed blessing. On the one hand a chance to unwind...
View ArticleLand of Sachertorte and Schnitzel
To sounds of rejoicing in Heldenplatz, news came this month that the European Poker Tour would be skipping Berlin in favour of a trip to Vienna, the Austrian capital, for what will be the sixth event...
View ArticleTurn to MicroMillions for a dose of reality
Tournament buy-ins have been going up. It used to be that the $10,000 it cost to play the World Series Main Event was an aspirational figure, one that separated the very best, from, well, the rest of...
View ArticleForget fun, the EPT should be torture
Members of the poker media were discussing the difference this week between the regional poker tours, such as the Estrellas or UK & Ireland Poker Tour, and the prestigious events of the European...
View ArticleJulian Track – An EPT original
The last European Poker Tour event of 2013 came to a close last week in Prague. It was hugely popular, smashing records with 1,007 players. But as well as being unique in size it happened to produce a...
View ArticleWhat do poker players want for Christmas? About $2.5m
What does the professional poker player want for Christmas this year? I’d guess the same as last year and the year before that–about two-and-a-half million dollars.Actually, a lot of people would like...
View ArticleDominik Panka saves the day!
And so Mike “Timex” McDonald missed out on a second European Poker Tour title at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure earlier this month. He came within few hands of becoming the first player to do so,...
View ArticleTaking Teska to Task
I normally like the players who drink in poker tournaments. It’s an old joke but the cry of “cocktails!” the moment the bubble of a major tournament bursts is to me still funny; the unleashing of...
View ArticlePoker’s perfect face for radio
For the first time in several years I missed an EPT event. It happened last month when jury duty kept me from attending EPT Deauville, a tournament which strictly speaking I hadn’t missed since season...
View ArticlePoker, and its identical twin – ski-cross
The winter Paralympics are now underway, emulating its senior cousin with grit and the odd bit of steel. For me it serves as a useful reminder that poker is not the only sport riddled with...
View ArticleSexism in poker?
At the risk of biting off more than I can chew, I thought I’d touch upon the subject of “sexism” in poker, and perhaps mount some kind of heroic rear-guard defence of this misunderstood condition.It...
View ArticlePoor Antonio Buonanno
Poor Antonio Buonanno. Never is so grand a champion so readily forgotten than in the EPT finale, a victory that is typically begrudged more than celebrated, taking place as it does at something like...
View ArticlePoker’s favourite Mohawk
There’s nothing I like more in poker than a German with a Mohawk winning a World Series bracelet. Actually, as far as I know there is only one German player in the game sporting a Mohawk, and that’s...
View ArticleLess controversy more glamour?
One of the headlines at the EPT Barcelona festival last month, apart from all the records that were broken, was the clothing choices made by two of the super high rollers. Olivier Busquet and Daniel...
View ArticleSo those who can’t do, eat vegetables?
The news is that Victoria Beckham wants to be a United Nations Ambassador. It is in many ways the natural step for a global celebrity, one who no longer has anything left to say about all that music...
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