Poker News

The regulars at PokerStars have had rough times in the recent months. The introduction of Spin & Go tournaments, the announced changing of the VIP system in 2015 and the departure of the two pros (Gus Hansen and Viktor "Isildur1" Blom) from their sister-site Full Tilt all received negative response from the poker community. But now PokerStars has announced that they are increasing the rake in almost every poker variant they offer, and the players on the forums are furious at Amaya, the company behind PokerStars. Check out all the details below.

PokerStars has recently published the schedule for their low buy-in online tournament series, the Micro Millions. In the 9th installment of the series, there will be a total of 100 events running between November 6 - 16 with a total of $5 million guaranteed.

Guy Laliberté is the founder of Cirque du Soleil, probably the most famous circus in the world. He's also a billionaire and an avid philantropist as well as a poker player and a philantropist. This time around he made the headlines after building 13 huge basalt monoliths on his property in Spain, for which he received a record-setting fine. Speculation regarding the statues ranges from ''weird art installation'' all the way to ''alien landing pad''. Laliberte has talked about how his time spent in space changed his perspective and about the strong magnetic force that the monoliths emit (especially the one in the middle which has the top covered in 23 carat gold)...

We have reported plenty of times about Phil Ivey's edge sorting lawsuit, and how a judge recently decided that the Crockfords casino is not required to pay out Ivey's winnings. Now the Borgata casino, which is also involved in a lawsuit with Ivey regarding the same matter (edge sorting) is hoping to use the verdict  to benefit their own lawsuit aswell.

Phil Ivey's brand launched as a Facebook app back in July 2013, and was closed down last Saturday. According to the Ivey Poker Team this is only temporary, and Ivey Poker will return in 2015 with a "bigger and better gaming experience".

Halloween is coming up shortly, and it's always good to have a little inspiration for a good costume. The key is being able to pull off said costume. Look at Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier for example: the dyed hair, the evil smile and the crazy eyes make him a perfect Joker. That creepy gaze is probably a great tool at the poker tables too...it must be pretty hard to make a tough call when you feel the French pro staring into your soul.

In 2012, Ray Bitar, the former CEO of Full Tilt Poker, has pled guilty to charges of violating the UIGEA and conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. Bitar had to forfeit most of his assets, and the recently released details of his forfeiture show that a total of 18 bank accounts and $40 million have been seized from him. 

We have reported plenty of times about Dan Bilzerian's adventures, but this time he might have gotten himself into trouble. Apparently he wanted to spar with UFC's Rashad Evans, and Jean-Robert Bellande has given the fighter a little extra incentive in case he is up for a fight. Let's just say that if the showdown were ever to happen, it would probably end in a blitz.

French poker room Winamax has joined the "fight" to protect it's recreational players. They have recently introduced their anonymous tables, which players can find under the "Incognito" name. 

As expected, Daniel Negreanu has been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. The other inductee is tournament director Jack McClelland, the induction ceremony is going to be held on November 9, at the start of the WSOP Main Event final table.

Antanas Guoga, better known as Tony G, is one of the most recognizable faces in poker. Lately, he has pretty much retired from the game, he is far too busy spending time with his new wife and with his new duties as a member of the European Parliament. His Open-Face Chinese Poker site, Tonybet has been thriving however, and will organize the first ever OFC Championship during the Prague Poker Festival.

To commemorate Viktor "Isildur1" Blom's departure from Full Tilt Poker, we decided to publish a screenshot from 2009, when he burst on the scene. He played heads on on 6-8 tables against the best players in the world and won 5 million before losing it all back and disappearing as quickly as he emerged. In this particular session, he was playing against Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius and had close to $2 million on the tables. The Swedish wunderkind has since returned to the high stakes scene but has not been able to replicate his results, and many believe that the game has progressed so much that he will never have the edge on the field that he once held. (Click on image to enlarge)

Just mere hours after we published our article speculating that Gus Hansen and Viktor "Isildur1" Blom are no longer part, the rumors were confirmed by Full Tilt. Full Tilt stated that the sponsorship deals have "expired" and that the site is looking to move in a new direction with their marketing.

Partypoker's online tournament series, Pokerfest, kicked off on Sunday with $2.24 million in guarantees and a total of 76 events, including the $300,000 guaranteed Main Event. The series runs until November 2, and the events are split into low, medium and high buy-in levels, ranging from $1 to $1,000.

Full Tilt has recently updated their website, with new logos and more, which are all part of their plan to market themselves as more than just a poker site (they even changed their URL to FullTilt.com a while ago). Players noticed another change however - Full Tilt Professionals Viktor "Isildur1" Blom and Gus Hansen are no longer on the start screen of the client, and rumor is that this is because they have severed ties with the site.