Sunday December 25, 2016 at 4:12 pm
FUN
Merry Christmas!

From everyone here at Club Poker, we want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year! 2016 was a weird year, let's hope 2017 is way better!

Friday December 23, 2016 at 5:28 pm
SCOOP
Will Kassouf, Art of the Deal, and Max Silver

Will Kassouf won the last-ever High Roller event on the European Poker Tour in Prague earlier this week and all hell broke loose because of Kassouf's heads-up deal! Max Silver wrote a detailed blog post explaining how it was his idea that Will Kassouf accept a heads-up chop with Patrick Serda that involved less money but the title and trophy. Kassouf earned €532,500 for first place, whereas Serda shipped €719,000 for a runner-up finish. Ever since Kassouf "won" the EPT High Roller event in Prague, he's been getting lots of guff from the poker community. Silver wanted to clarify the situation.

Thursday December 22, 2016 at 4:52 pm
HOT !
David Baazov Withdraws $4.1 Billion Bid for PokerStars

In another weird turn of events in the never-ending saga of Amaya and PokerStars, former Amaya founder David Baazov officially withdrew his offer to buy PokerStars for $4.1 billion. Baazov and a group of investors based out of Hong Kong ready to bankroll his bid to acquire PokerStars from Amaya, but he changed his mind because he felt the shareholders were seeking too high of a price.

Tuesday December 20, 2016 at 11:44 pm
Breaking News
SCOOP
Some 2017 WSOP dates announced; Begins May 30

The World Series of Poker announced a couple of key dates for the 2017 WSOP at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas. The complete schedule will not be released until February, but the gang at the WSOP announced that the 2017 WSOP will begin on May 30 and end on July 17. The Main Event has three starting flights beginning on July 8 (along with July 9 and July 10). The Main Event ends on the 17th.

Monday December 19, 2016 at 10:59 pm
Breaking News
HOT !
Jasper Meijer van Putten wins EPT13 Prague main event and €699,300

The last-ever European Poker Tour event in Prague came to an end. Jasper Meijer van Putten from the Netherlands shipped €699,300 for first place at the EPT13 Prague main event hosted at the Prague Hilton. He made a heads-up deal with Marton Czuczor from Hungary and chopped up the remaining money. Czuczor lost to Jasper Meijer van Putten heads-up and took down for a runner-up payday worth €630,000. David Peters busted in third place. Sam Cohen finished in sixth place.

Monday December 19, 2016 at 1:05 am
HOT !
Marton Czuczor and David Peters lead final table at EPT13 Prague

The final table of the EPT 13 Prague Main Event will mark the end of an era. David Peters is having a sensational 2016 and it's no coincidence the American pro capped off his amazing year with an appearance at the final table at the last massive event in Europe this calendar year. This year's prize pool topped €5.7 million. First place pays out €774,600. Hungary's Marton Czuczor advanced to the final table as the chip leader with 9.7M and David Peters was not far behind with 8.8M. Also making the final table on the last-ever stop on the EPT... Sergei Petrushevskii, Sam Cohen, Jasper Meijer van Putten, and Marius Gierse.

Sunday December 18, 2016 at 8:02 pm
Global Poker League expands to China in 2017

Say hello, or ni hao, to the GPL China. The Global Poker League will be tapping into China's eSports frenzy by launching an 8-team league based in China. Eight of the biggest cities in China will have franchises and matches will be played both live and online. GPL head honcho Alex Dreyfus announced the GPL China team names: Beijing Great Dragons, Shanghai Golden Tigers, Guangzhou Pioneers, Shenzhen Eagles, Hangzhou Legends, Xi'an Warriors, Chengdu Pandas, and the Tianjin Guardians.

Saturday December 17, 2016 at 7:00 pm
FUN
Fedor Holz Book Club

Fedor Holz had one of the sickest years in the short history of professional poker players with $16.4 million won in 2016 alone. With over $20 million in winnings since 2015, Holz became one of the Masters of the Universe in the poker realm. He credits a shift in his mental preparation, which he also attributed to reading a slew of books that helped make him sharper and mentally tougher. Holz has been posting his book recommendations on Twitter the last couple of weeks by authors such as the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Don Miguel Ruiz and Timothy Ferriss. On November 24, 2016, Holz tweeted a challenge to his followers to read 40 influential books in the last 5 weeks of the year.

Thursday December 15, 2016 at 5:38 pm
SCOOP
Los Angeles Psychiatrist wins WSOP Circuit title at the Bike

This sounds like the set up to a joke, but a shrink really won the 2016 WSOP Circuit main event at the Bicycle Casino outside of Los Angeles. Nikhil Gera, a psychiatrist in an emergency room by day, took down his first-ever WSOP Circuit event. Gera defeated Paul Nguyen heads-up for the win and $246K in cash. Dr. Nikhil Gera faded a field of 842 entries and took down a tough final table that also included Tuan Le, Eddy Sabat, and Ankush Mandavia.

Tuesday December 13, 2016 at 4:34 pm
HOT !
Paul Nguyen is chip leader on final day of WSOP Circuit at the Bicycle Casino

The WSOP Circuit at the Bicycle Casino, located just outside of Los Angeles, is down to its final day. Only 16 players out of 842 entries are still alive and left in the hunt for a WSOP Circuit Ring and $247K in cash. Paul Nguyen is the chip leader. Also still alive are Tuan Le, Dave Mendelson, Eddy Sabat, Nathan Brady, Scott Vener, and Dave Plaskett.

Monday December 12, 2016 at 1:18 am
Breaking News
James Romero wins $1.9 million and the WPT Five Diamond Classic

James Romero knocked out four out of five opponents at the final table of the WPT Bellagio Final Diamond Classic to lock up his first-ever victory on the World Poker Tour. Romero pocketed a cool $1.9 million for first place, in addition to a seat in the Tournament of Champions at the end of the season. Runner-up Ryan Tosoc also walked away with a seven-figure score after he shipped $1.1 million for second place. Romero outlasted a record-setting field of 791 runners. Igor Yaroshevskyy finished in sixth place, Justin Bonomo busted in fifth place, Alex Condon went out in fourth place, and Jake Schindler took third place.

Saturday December 10, 2016 at 10:05 pm
LIVE
WPT Five Diamond Classic final table set; James Romero chipleader

One of the largest tournaments in some time has finally got down to a final table. The WPT Five Diamond Classic at the Bellagio started with 791 runners and we're down to the final table. With six to go, James Romero is the chip leader with nearly 10M. Also at the final table... Justin Bonomo, Ryan Tosoc, Igor Yaroshevskyy, Alex Condon, and Jake Schindler. There's $1.9 million on the line to first place. The runner-up gets $1.1 million.

Friday December 9, 2016 at 8:05 pm
Telex
WPT Bellagio playing down to the final table; Ex-NFL star Richard Seymour still alive

The WPT Five Diamond Classic at the Bellagio in Las Vegas is in full swing with one of the biggest fields ever assembled (thanks to multi-entry option) for a WPT event. Out of 791 runners, we're down to 19 players. Among those still alive are former NFL player Richard Seymour, J.C. Tran, Tommy Vedes, and Taylor Paur. The chip leader heading into Day 4 is Ryan Tosoc. First place pays out $1.9 million. Second place gets $1.1 million. Follow live blog updates over at the WPT website.

Tuesday December 6, 2016 at 7:11 pm
HOT !
Boris Becker is new partypoker ambassador

Three-time Wimbledon champ, Boris Becker, signed with partypoker and will be a part of their Beat the Ace promotion. If you can beat Becker heads-up, then you win $25,000. The tennis legend from Germany had been a pitchman for PokerStars in the past, but now he'll become the newest poker ambassador for partypoker.

Tuesday December 6, 2016 at 12:49 am
Telex
PokerStars announce 2017 TCOOP schedule

The Turbo Championship of Online Poker returns in January 2017 with 65 turbo-charged events and $15 million in guaranteed money. The 2017 TCOOP kicks off on January 18 and ends on Sunday January 29 with the $1,000 buy-in Main Event and a $3K High Roller. This year's Main Event also has a special low-stakes edition with a $27 buy-in. Check out the schedule and the new changes for the 2017 TCOOP over at PokerStarsBlog.

Friday December 2, 2016 at 6:54 pm
Breaking News
HOT !
Montreal Nationals win GPL Finals

It took all 11 matches to determine a winner, but the Montreal Nationals came from behind to defeat the Berlin Bears and win the Global Poker League Championship. The GPL Finals pitted the best team in the league in the Montreal nationals against the Berlin Bears. In the final match or Game 11. Pascal Lefrancois from Montreal defeated Berlin's Brian Rast heads-up for the win. The Montreal Nationals won by an overall score of 6-5 in the GPL Finals. The team splits a grand prize of... $100,000, plus an unknown amount in side action.