POKER EVENTS – Cardplayer Lifestyle https://cardplayerlifestyle.com Fri, 18 Aug 2023 18:45:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3 2023 WPT Prime Taiwan Event Preview https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/2023-wpt-prime-taiwan-event-preview/ Wed, 02 Aug 2023 08:58:00 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59842 The Prime circuit of the World Poker Tour has already passed through Europe, Asia and Oceania in 2023. During the month of August they’ll return to Asia with WPT Prime Taiwan, where the Main Event will have a guaranteed prize pool of $1,000,000 for the first time.

The WPT Prime Taiwan Festival

The festival will kick off on August 8 at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP) and will run through August 21. It will consist of 46 events with buy-ins starting at TWD 6,000 up to the TWD 300,000 High Stakes Challenge. The WPT Prime Main Event will take place from August 17 to 21. It will cost TWD 33,000 ($1,100) to buy-in and have a guaranteed prize pool of $1,000,000.

In addition, a large number of satellites will be played for the most important events. There will also be a freeroll satellite with free entry on August 8th with 10 tickets available to the Warm Up event satellite. So even if your bankroll isn’t too flush, you can still win your way into a seat at the table.

These will be the most high-profile events of the festival:

# Event Day Buy-In Guaranteed
1 Warm-Up August 8-12 TWD 10,000 TWD 3,000,000
4 Mini High Roller August 8-9 TWD 66,000
6 Single Day High Roller August 10 TWD 50,000
8 Mystery Bounty August 11-13 TWD 16,500 TWD 5,000,000
15 Mini High Roller August 13-14 TWD 66,000
19 8-Max Championship August 14-15 TWD 22,000 TWD 2,000,000
23 Single Day HR Megastack August 15 TWD 100,000
27 CTP High Stakes Challenge August 16 TWD 300,000
31 WPT Prime Taiwan ME August 17-21 TWD 33,000 $1,000,000
32 Super High Roller August 17 TWD 200,000
36 Turbo High Roller August 18 TWD 66,000
39 Hyper Turbo High Roller August 19 TWD 75,000
40 Mini Main Event August 20-21 TWD 10,000
41 High Roller August 20-21 TWD 100,000

You can download the Player’s Guide with the full schedule and structures of all tournaments at this link.

The WPT Prime Taiwan Main Event

The marquee tournament of the WPT Prime Taiwan festival will begin on August 17 and will have three starting days, according to the schedule below:

  • Day 1A: August 17 at 11:30 AM (Play till field is in the money)
  • Day 1B: August 18 at 11:30 AM (Play till field is in the money)
  • Day 1C: August 19 at 11:30 AM (Play till field is in the money)
  • Day 2: August 20 at 11:30 AM (Play till the Final Table of nine players has been reached)
  • Day 3: August 21 at 11:30 AM (Final Table)

The tournament structure will be as follows:

  • Buy-In: TWD 33,000
  • Re-entry: Unlimited re-entry is allowed until the start of Level 7, when registration ends.
  • Guaranteed prize pool: $1,000,000
  • Starting stack: 30,000
  • Blind Levels: 40 minutes on Day 1 and 60 minutes on Days 2 and 3.
  • Ante Format: Big Blind Ante.
  • Late Registration: Registration closes at the start of Level 7.
  • Action Clock: Will be put in place at the start of Day 2 and will be used until the completion of the tournament.
  • Player per Table: Play will start with 9-handed tables where space available and will move to 8-handed as soon as possible when in the money.
  • Payouts: 12.5% of field
  • Requirement for players: In order to play in the event, each player must sign the WPT Player Release Form and be a Crown Poker Club member.

The Venue

The Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP) was created in 2015 and has nine branches in Taiwan. The largest of all is the one located in the capital of Taipei and the venue can accommodate up to 250 players at the same time. The WPT Prime Taiwan festival will be played there and its location is ideal for getting to know the city center.

As in Brazil, gambling and casinos are illegal in Taiwan. But poker lovers have the possibility to play in legal clubs where tournaments are held exclusively. The only requirement to participate is that you be a member of the club.

CTP Taipei

The City of Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei is the capital of the Republic of China. It is the political, economic and cultural center of the country. The city has an elevated subway and is connected by high-speed rail to Kaohsiung. It straddles the Tamsui River and is 25 kilometers southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean.

What can you see in Taipei? The most visited attractions are:

  • Taipei 101, the eleventh tallest building in the world 🗼
  • National Palace Museum 🖼
  • Shilin Night Market 🌃
  • Longshan Temple 🙏
  • The Grand Hotel 🏨
  • Tamsui river 💧

Taipei

The World Poker Tour in Taiwan

The World Poker Tour visited Taiwan for the first time at the Taipai CTP during December 2020 with its WPTDeepStacks circuit. The tournament featured 526 NT$15,000 buy-ins and the prize pool was NT$6,768,000 ($236,921). The winner was Huang Pu 🇹🇼, who collected a prize of NT$1,317,800 ($46,131).

The first WPT Prime Taiwan was played in Taipei in November last year and had 877 entries worth NT$33,000. The prize pool was NT$25,196,600 ($809,133), more than doubling the guaranteed prize pool of NT$10,000,000. The champion was Marc Inizan 🇫🇷, who won a grand prize of NT$4,326,600 ($138,939).

Marc Inizan

Marc Inizan / Photo: Tomas Stacha

If Taiwan 🇹🇼 is on your list of places to visit and you also want to play a tournament that will distribute a million dollars in prizes, you should head on over to WPT Prime Taiwan.

]]> Top 10 Highlights of Mixed Game Festival V https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/top-10-highlights-of-mixed-game-festival-v/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 14:42:16 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59823 It’s amazing to look back now, in August 2023, and think that Cardplayer Lifestyle has successfully put on five Mixed Game Festivals. Back in late 2019, the idea was just a twinkle in my eye! Our first one was supposed to have been announced in March 2020 — of course we had to put things on hold for 1.5 years until finally announcing it. Fast forward some, and less than two years after staging our first one, we’ve now got a handful under our belts.

With each new Mixed Game Festival, it’s important to me to try and improve, tweak, and ensure that we do better than the previous time. I obviously have my personal goals to fulfill, but above all, my three aims always are that the venue enjoy hosting our players, that sponsors feel glad to have supported the event, and that our players have a great time. Beyond that, of course, the uniqueness of our festivals — versus other “meet up games” — is that they are designed to help promote and grow mixed game poker.

I’d like to believe that we once again achieved all of our goals with Mixed Game Festival V, which wrapped up a few weeks ago at Resorts World Las Vegas. I can’t help but smile and think back to a number of highlights where I believe we truly succeeded. I’ve put together my top 10 and have listed them below, as well as why I specifically believe these are highlights worth reminiscing about.

three tables Mixed Game Festival V

Poker Trivia Competition

A festival — by definition — needs to be festive. Beyond just playing poker, we try to incorporate some elements to ensure that our participants 1) show up on time to begin the cash games each day, and 2) have the opportunity to win some cool merchandise and have a great time. Historically, these have included pizza parties and poker book signings.

My daughter Abby suggested that I utilize the Kahoot! portal to create a poker trivia competition. It obviously took some time to prepare, but it was certainly a worthwhile endeavor. Admittedly, one of the most enjoyable parts for me was coming up with incorrect answers for the multiple choice quiz. Special thanks goes to Chad McVean, our Social Media director, who assisted me in running the poker trivia competition. We had close to a dozen people show up to play, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Scavenger Hunt

Another new element we incorporated into Mixed Game Festival V was a scavenger hunt. I had put together a list of 20 items that participants needed to take pictures of and with. At first, only half a dozen people showed up for this one. However, once our cash games began, a wait list formed and rather than just sit and wait, another half dozen players mentioned they wanted to do the scavenger hunt, too, so we ran it back and did so.

It was pretty amusing to see the first hunt’s winner, Mike Patrick, hurtle himself down the final stretch towards the poker room after just 20 minutes, having successfully completed the entire list. It was great to see that every players took the hunt seriously, and put in just as much effort as they did at the felt to try and emerge victorious.

I was elated to see that all of the participants really enjoyed themselves even though of course there could only be a few winners.

Miami John’s unscheduled visit

Something else we try to do to enhance the player experience at our Mixed Game Festivals is arrange for some poker celebrity appearances. I’m grateful that we’ve had the support of many professionals in the poker community who have kindly come out to splash around with our players in the low-stakes dealers choice streets. With that said, I usually make arrangements for these appearances ahead of time, so when a poker celebrity shows up unannounced it’s certainly a welcome surprise.

Prior to Mixed Game Festival V, “Miami” John Cernuto had reached out to me asking if we would be staging any tournaments. I told him that this time it would be an exclusively cash game affair. He said “OK,” and we left it at that. So you could imagine my shocked expression to see him walk in on the second day of MGF V. As I stood up to greet him, John just said “I came to support what you’re doing,” and he proceeded to play $4/$8 limit mixed games with our players for the next hour while I enjoyed a lovely chat with his daughter Debi.

Miami John and daughter Debi

John Maley, “Mr. All-Nighter”

The grand prize for this festival was a PokerStars-sponsored EPT Cyprus Mixed Game Package valued at over $3,000. For every hour of cash game play, a player would earn one entry into the random drawing for the prize package. We’ve done this sort of giveaway before, so it’s no surprise that many players try to put in as many hours as possible. One player, however, took this to an entirely new level.

John Maley drove in from Southern California straight to the Resorts World poker room. He played throughout the day, continued playing throughout the night… and continued further throughout the following day. When he finally got up from the table, over 31 hours had passed and he still looked fresh as a daisy. Only then did John take his bags and check into his hotel room. Having a player that dedicated to playing low-stakes mixed games is just out of this world.

Eli Elezra comes to play my stack

I’m very fortunate to be able to say that over the past few years since I translated his biography, Pulling the Trigger, from Hebrew into English, Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra and I have grown to become very good friends. Eli has always been super kind to come and sign some books at our Mixed Game Festivals as well as splash around with our players. So, I knew he’d make an appearance this time around, but I didn’t know when.

While I was speaking with one of our players, he smiled and told me to turn around. What I saw is that Eli had suddenly appeared in the room and just sat down in my seat, where he proceeded to play my chip stack. I couldn’t help but laugh, but also head over to give him a hug and show my appreciation for his support. For those curious, after about 20 minutes, Eli had successfully added a couple dozen dollars to my chip stack.

Silent auction for two BBO Poker Table Tops

George Chao, CEO of BBO Poker Tables, has always been a supporter of our events. This time around, he contributed half a dozen portable table mats as giveaway items. On the last day of the festival, I still had two that I hadn’t yet distributed. So, I asked some players what would be a good way to give away the two remaining mats.

Someone suggested a silent auction, whereby it would cost a $1 chip to place a bid, and after all bids were submitted the highest one would win. That person’s winning bid plus all of the $1 chips collected would then be equally distributed among the dealers at our mixed game tables. We did this twice, and thus successfully distributed close to $150 in tips to our dealers!

Higher stakes mixed games with Norman, Jan, and Linda

Prior to Mixed Game Festival V, our dealers choice mixed games had exclusively been for stakes of $4/$8 and $8/$16. This time around, Norman Chad agreed to host a special Omaha 8/Stud 8 game for his regular $20/40 stakes on the final day of our festival.

I was happy to see that close to a dozen players signed up ahead of time on the wait list. Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson and Women in Poker Hall of Famer Jan Fisher got seats at the table, too. I’m glad to see that our festivals were able to attract crowds interested in mixed games at multiple price points, and I hope this is something we’ll be able to replicate at future events.

Norman Chad Linda Johnson Jan Fisher

Alek Gillies wins the EPT Cyprus Prize Package

To be fair, whomever would have won the grand prize package would have made this festival’s highlight reel. With that said, it gives me special pleasure that our grand prize winner is a 21-year-old who had never really played mixed games before.

I had the pleasure of playing with Alek for a couple hours, and while he readily admitted that he had no idea how to play mixed games, that nonetheless didn’t stop him from having a great, positive attitude and being willing to learn one new variant after another.

For poker to thrive, we always have to attract new audiences, which means “newly minted” 21-year-olds who can now play legally in poker rooms. Mixed game poker is no different, and it’s always good to lower the average age at the felt and see some 20-somethings enjoying themselves playing dealer’s choice.

Alek Gillies

Post-Festival Shawarma with Brian, Pat, and Matt

We don’t exactly have a “closing ceremony” for our festivals, so after the grand prize is given out, cash games just sort of continue until people get tired of playing and then go their separate ways. This time around, I wanted to celebrate with a nice dinner.

Rather than head to a kosher Las Vegas restaurant alone, it was a special pleasure to bring along some guys who’ve become close friends from one Mixed Game Festival to the next, Pat, Brian, and Matt. Sure, the food at Mother Falafel was great, but the company was what made the meal a memorable one.

shawarma

Charity donations fund a Monday night feeding of the homeless

Ever since our first Mixed Game Festival, there has always been a charity component to our events. I had advertised ahead of time that a portion of proceeds from the poker trivia competition and scavenger hunt would go towards the volunteer-powered Poker Gives charity. Altogether, we were able to collect a total of $300, and a couple button clicks later, the money had been donated.

It’s one thing to just say the money is being given to charity, but it’s entirely another to witness the charity itself being given, and the gratitude from the recipients. I’m grateful that we were able to use Mixed Game Festival V as a vehicle for doing good for some needy people in the Las Vegas community, as you can see in the video below.

]]> WPT Prime Aix En Provence Promises a Week-long French Delight https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/wpt-prime-aix-en-provence-france/ Mon, 24 Jul 2023 08:48:00 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59740 The World Poker Tour Prime circuit will visit France for the second time this year with the WPT Prime Aix En Provence, which will be played from August 1-6 at Casino Pasino Grand.

WPT Prime Aix En Provence

The Festival

The festival will feature 18 events including qualifying satellites for major tournaments. Tournament buy-ins will range from €200 up to the €2,200 High Roller.

Below is the full schedule of all events:

#

 Event Day Time Buy-In Stack

Levels

1

 KOP Opener August 1-2 1 PM €500 30K 30

2

 Freezeout August 1 4 PM €200 30K

15

3

 Satellite WPT Prime August 1 9 PM €180 20K

15

4

 WPT Prime August 2-6 1 PM €1,100 30K

40

5

 Freezeout August 1 4 PM €200 30K

15
6 Knockout Progressive August 2 6 PM €300 30K

15/20

7

 Satellite WPT Prime August 2 9 PM €180 20K

15

8

 Satellite WPT Prime August 3 9 PM €180 20K

15

9

 Knockout Progressive August 3 6 PM €300 30K

15/20
10 Satellite High Roller August 3 9 PM €350 20K

15

11

 Satellite High Roller August 4 4 PM €350 20K 15

12

 Satellite High Roller August 4 9 PM €350 20K

15
13 Satellite High Roller August 5 12 PM €350 20K

15

14

 High Roller August 5-6 3 PM €2,200 250K 40

15

 Superstack August 5-6 5 PM €550 100K

90/30

16

 Classic August 5-6 9 PM €300 30K 25
17 Omaha August 6 2 PM €300 30K

25
18 Closer August 6 3 PM €200 30K

20

The WPT Prime Main Event

The WPT Prime Main Event will begin on August 2 and will have three starting days, according to the schedule below:

  • Day 1A: August 2 at 1 PM (Play till field is in the money)
  • Day 1B: August 3 at 1 PM (Play till field is in the money)
  • Day 1C: August 4 at 1 PM (Play till field is in the money)
  • Day 2: August 5 at 1 PM (Play till the Final Table of nine players has been reached)
  • Day 3: August 6 at 1 PM (Final Table)

The tournament structure will be as follows:

  • Buy-In: €1,100
  • Re-entry: One re-entry allowed per day.
  • Starting stack: 30,000
  • Blind Levels: 40 minutes on Day 1 and 60 minutes on Days 2 and 3.
  • Ante Format: Big Blind Ante.
  • Late Registration: Registration closes at the start of Level 7.
  • Action Clock: Will be put in place at the start of Day 2 and will be used until the completion of the tournament.
  • Players per table: Play will be 8-handed from start. The Final Table Live Stream will be 8-handed.
  • Payouts: 12.5% of field

The Venue

The Pasino Grand Casino is located at Avenue de l’Europe 21 in Aix En Provence. In the casino there are four roulette tables, three Blackjack tables, one Ultimate Poker table, one Omaha table and 17 tables awaiting your action in the Poker Room.

Aix en provence

The City

Aix En Provence is the former capital of the historical region of Provence and is located in the south of France, at an elevation of 173 meters above sea level. It is a tourist city, known for its authenticity, its rich architectural heritage and its festivals of lyrical art.

Some of the places that you can visit in the city are:

  • The world’s most famous lavender region in Sault
  • The village of Luberon and the Senanque Abbey
  • The favorite places of Vincent van Gogh and the impressive Roman ruins in Provence
  • Sailing along the Mediterranean coast to the steep Calanques and explore the national park
  • The Mazarin District
  • The Granet Museum
  • The Cathedral St. Sauveur

WPT Prime Hits France, Part Deaux

The first visit of the WPT Prime in France during 2023 was from January 22 to February 5 with the nation’s capital of Paris playing host to the events at the Circus Club. The WPT Prime Main Event was a huge success with 1,071 entries and a $1.1 million prize pool. The champion was Fabrice Bigot, who turned the $1,100 buy-in into a $193K grand prize. The top 137 players shared the prize pool, and you can read a summary of the tournament in this article.

Which player will raise the new WPT Prime Perpetual trophy in Aix En Provence? Well, you’ve still got a few days to get there, so if you fancy taking a nice a summer vacation in France and book quickly, it might be you!

fabrice bigot

Fabrice Bigot

]]> The WPT Honors: What Happens When the Spotlight Shines on Poker’s Best https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/the-wpt-honors-what-happens-when-the-spotlight-shines-on-pokers-best/ Sun, 09 Jul 2023 13:23:34 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59568 While I’ve enjoyed playing poker ever since I was a little kid, I suppose you could say my entry into “proper poker fandom” came in 2002-2003. It was during that period of time that the World Poker Tour, PokerStars, and the World Series of Poker entered my consciousness through the twin media of television and the internet. Two decades later, as the biggest WSOP Main Event of all time was being staged at the Horseshoe Las Vegas, I had the exquisite privilege of being extended an invite to the WPT Honors ceremony just down the road at Wynn Las Vegas. That’s where the special distinction was to be bestowed upon a pair of recipients: longtime commentator Vince Van Patten and PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg.

WPT Honors Invitation

If you would have told 21-year-old me that I’d someday get to be in the same room with those two legends, I’d be beside myself. Hell, 41-year-old me typing up these words still can’t believe I had that opportunity just a few short hours ago.

WPT Honors Scheinberg Van Patten invitation

You might be asking yourself, “what was so special about that opportunity?”

There’s an old saying that you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. As much as the 2023 WPT Honors ceremony was about the honorees, in my eyes it was similarly about the group that assembled to pay tribute to said honorees.

A Ceremony Like No Other

A good deal of pomp and circumstance went into the ceremonial aspects of the event, with numerous individuals stepping up to the podium to “make the case” for each nominee’s worthiness of receiving the WPT Honors to the dutifully bespectacled and robed WPT President Adam Pliska. The World Poker Tour might be unrivaled in our industry when it comes to putting on special events like these, and to have had a seat at the ceremony was akin to witnessing a very special episode of poker’s greatest show.

After Angelica Hael officially nominated Vince Van Patten, a parade of World Poker Tour stalwarts including Matt Savage, Lynn Gilmartin, Tony Dunst, and company Founder Steve Lipscomb ascended to the mic to heap oodles of praise upon their longtime colleague and friend. Beyond their obvious outpouring of love and appreciation for the man, what stood out to me from the speeches about Vince was his colleagues’ admiration for his work ethic. Plainly speaking, the man showed up every single day and just put in the work. But Vince hasn’t just “clocked in” for 21 years; he’s done so with the same vim, vigor, and joie de vivre with which he showed up on his first day. A rare quality, to be sure.

Ever humble, Vince deflected the praise to in turn show appreciation for his World Poker Tour colleagues and the late Mike Sexton; the people who helped and supported him along the way. In response to the deluge of kind words spoken about him, he humorously quipped that “this is like attending your own funeral.”

I couldn’t help but draw direct lines of comparison to the reactions when Cal Ripken Jr. broke Major League Baseball’s consecutive games streak years ago; a veritable poker Iron Man was getting his due. How sublime for someone who has worked so hard for so long to enjoy such a special moment of public appreciation.

WPT Family photo

A similar cavalcade comprised of Jeffrey Haas, Hermance Blum, Lance Bradley, Israel Rosenthal, and Sven Stiel took to the stage one by one to express their gratitude and appreciation for Isai Scheinberg’s contributions specifically to their careers as well as to poker on the whole.

From my perspective, it was astounding to note the attendance of so many former PokerStars employees who had worked under Scheinberg until the then-privately owned company was sold in August 2014. It’s simply surreal to think that one man was ultimately responsible for putting together such an impressive array of talent. All of those people have since moved on to other successful endeavors and roles in the subsequent years, many still within the poker industry. But witnessing “the old PokerStars family” reunite under one roof felt like watching the Avengers assemble.

They spoke of Isai’s three simple, straightforward rules: never lie, never cheat, and always do the right thing. While simple, rules like those aren’t always easy to adhere to in an industry with billions of dollars at stake, as history has taught us.

Scheinberg has always been notorious for his preference of privacy. The entire poker world knows of his accomplishments, but the great man rarely, if ever, surfaced publicly. Being at the 2023 WPT Honors ceremony to see Isai accept his award felt like being transported to PokerStars’ headquarters prior to 2014; a place full of people who never lied, never cheated, and always did the right thing. No wonder it proved to be such a successful venture.

While fish may be surrounded by water, they still rise to the surface when it rains to welcome new droplets. So, too, the entire room full of luminaries could be seen leaning in to listen closely to the soft-spoken Scheinberg during the latter’s acceptance speech. It was a telling moment.

PokerStars family photo

Reflections From Fellow Attendees

Reader can clearly identify my long-held esteem for both the World Poker Tour and PokerStars, but I’ve always been an outsider and independent media voice. So, in order to gain a greater understanding and appreciation for what I had borne witness to, I asked a few insiders who worked with Vince and for Isai, to share their thoughts and perspectives on the evening. Here’s what they had to say:

“There are two men in my life who have been incredible role models of what it means to be an honest entrepreneur. One of them was my late father; the other is Isai Scheinberg. I didn’t think that I was going to get into the world of gambling and learn more about honesty than I had learned before in my life as a journalist. Isai taught me that you can be a good businessman and you could be a good person at the same time. He was more generous with me than any other boss or company owner ever has been, and I think he is worthy of every honor he’s been given and more.”

Brad Willis, Editor-in-Chief of Poker.Org, formerly the Head of Blogging at PokerStars

“Both of these gentlemen have meant so much to me in my poker career. Isai doesn’t realize it, but of course being a part of the poker industry just would not have been the same without Isai Scheinberg. I want to thank him. He hasn’t received the accolades that he deserves; I think he should of course be in the Poker Hall of Fame.

And I think that Vince Van Patten deserves recognition for all that he’s done for the game. It’s not very often that you see someone who has been around in the game for as long as he has been. He’s become like family to me, so I speak from the heart: we’ve spent a lot of time together sharing our passion for poker. I really appreciate everything both of these guys have done.”

Matt Savage, Executive Tour Director of the World Poker Tour

“I’ve been in poker for just over seven years. It’s incredible to hear the historical stories and learn how our industry has evolved. We get into our positions these days and de facto only think about our current time and present roles. To go back and see the history is just incredible. There are so many stories from the people who came before us, and it’s important to appreciate them.”

Eric Lusch, Media Relations Manager with the World Poker Tour

“I have not been to a poker event since 2016. The only reason I came tonight was because of Isai Scheinberg. All the things that have been said about him; it wasn’t enough, about what this man taught me and what he taught everybody in the room. Not just about business and about poker, but about life and how to treat people the right way.

The emotion that I feel tonight is because of the sense of community that I’m feeling and don’t remember poker having had for a very long time. I miss it. The World Poker Tour was always the rival to the organization that I worked for… and I didn’t realize until tonight just how super cool the people who work for the World Poker Tour are, from the top down… and there’s no such thing as ‘down’ with them! Everybody’s got an important role to play in the World Poker Tour. I’m so impressed with the WPT, what they’ve done tonight, the sense of camaraderie they have, and the love they have for each other.

When we talk about playing poker, sitting around a table, and competing to take each other’s money… the game is about more than that. It’s about the friendships, and the love, and the trust, and the lessons you learn from one another. Even though I was here for just two hours tonight, I came away with a great sense of energy.”

Nolan Dalla, former Director of Communications at PokerStars

The Coolest-Ever Poker After-Party

Poker.org owner Eric Hollreiser, himself a former PokerStars employee, hosted a swanky afterparty in one of the Wynn ballrooms that featured an open bar, flowing chocolate fondue fountains, and the most succulent strawberries to delight our tastebuds as we mingled to mellifluous music. Designed to orchestrate a reunion of former PokerStars employees, many World Poker Tour personages could also be found among the attendees.

You can tell a lot about people by the folks they surround themselves with.

I hesitate to use the word “magic”, but there was something indescribably unique in the air throughout last night’s festivities.

I suppose that’s what happens when the spotlight shines on poker’s best. The entire room lights up.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 5 Recap: Raymer, Elezra, and the EPT Cyprus Prize Package https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-5-recap-raymer-elezra-ept-cyprus-prize-package/ Fri, 07 Jul 2023 16:23:25 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59558 It seems like just yesterday that we were eagerly awaiting the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V at Resorts World Las Vegas. And now, in the blink of an eye, it has come and gone.

The festival was a huge success by all measures. We saw dozens of excited mixed game players – some of whom traveled thousands of miles – join us for five days to play their favorite poker variants in the popular Dealer’s Choice format.

More players took seats throughout the week with limited knowledge of some games, eager to learn. We even had players venture away from No-Limit Hold’em to play mixed games for their first (and hopefully not last) times!

In case you missed them, be sure to check out our recaps from Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 as well.

FossilMan Spends The Day With Us


Day 5 action kicked off at 3 p.m., and 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg “FossilMan” Raymer was already in the room and engaging with players at the start.

Raymer has been a staunch supporter of the Mixed Game Festival since its inception when he won the inaugural MGF H.O.R.S.E. event in October 2021 to earn a PokerStars Platinum Pass.

When play began, Raymer took a seat with host Robbie Strazynski and a full lineup of faces we’d seen all week long. Others came and went as the day turned to night, but Raymer’s presence remained a constant.

In case you missed it, Raymer played the WSOP Main Event on Tuesday, Day 1b, and bagged a top-25 stack in his flight. He will play Day 2 today, and we wish him the best of luck. In the meantime, we couldn’t be more grateful that he took time out of his summer schedule to play and hang out with us.

The Toughest $4/$8 Game in the World

Raymer’s presence was only the beginning of celebrity visits from the poker world.

Poker Hall of Famer and five-time WSOP bracelet winner Eli Elezra took a break from the high-stakes games to play Robbie’s stack for a few hands. I couldn’t imagine a tougher $4/$8 game anywhere on the planet during that time, but there also may not have been a more fun one.

Alek Gilles Is Going To EPT Cyprus

“You got me hooked,” said Alek Gillies on Day 2 of the festival. Gillies, a full-time dealer at Edmonton’s Yellowhead Casino, has been in Vegas all month, working his first summer as a PokerNews live reporter.

When asked what he meant, he said he had so much fun on Day 1 that he had to come to play again after his shift ended at the WSOP.

Gillies was back on the WSOP grind during the festival’s final day. However, he logged plenty of hours throughout the week, each hour giving him an entry into a random drawing for an EPT Cyprus package valued at over $3,000.

PokerNews' Alek Gillies

The draw occurred just after 6 p.m., and Gillies was selected randomly, earning a Mixed Game tournament buy-in of up to €550 with roundtrip airfare and four nights’ accommodation on the Mediterranean island this autumn.

“I’ve never been to Europe,” said Gilles via text message later in the evening. “I’m super excited!”

Upping the ante: Norman Chad hosts $20/$40 O8/Stud8

One of the greatest aspects of the Mixed Game Festival is that it makes low-stakes mixed games accessible for all. However, we also love that it has created enough demand to accommodate the occasional larger game.

WSOP commentator Norman Chad made his second appearance at the festival Thursday, helping to close things out with his very own $20/$40 Omaha 8/Stud 8 game. The game started at 6 p.m. with a full table and a waiting list.

Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson and Women In Poker Hall of Famer Jan Fisher were among those on the waitlist, arriving shortly after cards went in the air. Both found open seats at a $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice table in the meantime, ultimately making it into Norm’s game later in the evening.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Zak Zimbile

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

Our final Player of the Day joined us this afternoon to play mixed games for the first time in his life. Naturally, he sat with Greg Raymer on his direct left.

Zak Zimbile was unafraid, eagerly looking to learn the games he was now playing. Raymer was the perfect teacher, explaining everything and helping Zimbile understand games like Drawmaha-Dugi.

Zak Zimbile

Zimbile has played poker on and off for over a decade but is a CPA by trade. Most of his clientele are gamblers  – poker players and sports bettors – and he’s even written articles for Cardplayer Lifestyle about poker players and taxes. He opened his own firm in Las Vegas within the past year and has been upping his poker volume lately, playing cash games three or four days a week.

Zimbile thinks some of the increased volume is due to the time of year. Summer is not only the busiest time for poker in Las Vegas but also after tax season ends. He is enjoying the grind while it lasts but is remembering to have fun, as evidenced by his desire to join us. Off the tables, Zak also loves rock climbing, especially indoors.

Festival Recap

The Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V brought five days of events, giveaways, and $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice cash games.

Opening Day kicked off with a pizza party before cards went in the air on two tables. Later that night, four tables were running with more players present and waiting for seats to open.

Extracurricular events headlined Days 2 and 3 with the first-ever Poker Trivia Competition and Scavenger Hunt. Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor and veteran poker reporter Mike Patrick stole the show both days, but unanimous fun was had all around. Several prominent poker players also visited us on Day 3, including “Miami” John Cernuto, Norman Chad, and a trio of PokerCoaching.com coaches, Justin Saliba, Paul Beitelspacher, and Kieran Woods.

Poker Hall of Fame member Linda Johnson and Women In Poker Hall of Fame member Jan Fisher joined us on Day 4, occupying one of the two opening tables for the afternoon. WPT champion and WSOP bracelet winner Dylan Linde took a seat at the other, taking time to talk strategy with his tablemates and autograph his book, Mastering Mixed Games, for anyone who procured a copy.

The final day concluded with repeat visits from Johnson, Fisher, and Chad. We also concluded the festival by learning new poker variants, making new friends, and forging memories that will last a lifetime.

Thank you to everyone who was a part of such an incredible week. We look forward to the next Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival and hope you do, too. Be sure to join the Cardplayer Lifestyle newsletter to be among the first to find out where and when it will take place.

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 4 Recap: Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher and Dylan Linde https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-4-recap-linda-johnson-jan-fisher-dylan-linde/ Thu, 06 Jul 2023 18:30:08 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59525 It’s hard to believe we’re already through four days of the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V. Day 4 saw another full slate of action inside the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room. Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson, Women In Poker Hall of Famer Jan Fisher, and WSOP bracelet winner and Mastering Mixed Games author Dylan Linde all came to start the day’s action.

With a 3 p.m. start time, we got going with three tables, but only two of those tables were new, however. The third (or rather, the first) never stopped running from the day before!

Poker Takes Center Stage

Part of the fun of the Mixed Game Festival comes from festival host Robbie Strazynski’s extracurricular activities like the scavenger hunt and poker trivia competition. Even folks who don’t yet feel comfortable sitting down to try their hands at mixed games pop in to see what all the fuss is about. One such individual was Anish Patel, author of the Final Nine graphic novel, who dropped by to say hello.

Anish Patel

Rumor has it that some more notable “drop-ins” will happen on the festival’s final day… stay tuned for tomorrow’s recap 😉

However, Day 4’s focus was all about poker. (And the Winchell’s donuts provided by Chuck “Donut Boy” Martin). Fisher and Johnson occupied one of the new tables alongside Robbie and several other players who’ve been with us all week.

Linde helped open the other new table alongside a full slate of familiar faces from the week, including prize winners from earlier in the week, Mike Patrick and Scott Sandoval. Linde spent several hours fielding questions and discussing various game strategies with the table, all while engaging with others in the room and signing copies of his book.

The Theme of the Week: Mixed Games Rock!

One of the coolest things about the Mixed Game Festival is how it allows players to get into low-stakes Dealer’s Choice games and learn new poker variants. It’s truly incredible that some of our participants have traveled from all over the country – and even the globe! – to get involved, with the MGF circled on their calendars months in advance.

The festival has also served as an introduction to all the games not named Hold’em. I’d like to say I’m surprised that so many people are falling in love with mixed games after playing, but we all know that wouldn’t be true.

Dylan Linde joined by a table full of mixed game players at the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V.

Dylan Linde with our crew of mixed game lovers

I’m also not surprised to have seen fellow poker media colleagues make regular appearances here. PokerNews has had strong daily representation, including players like the aforementioned Mike Patrick, as well as Connor Richards, Calum Grant, Roxanne Johnson, Alek Gillies, Yori Epskamp, and Frank Visser.

Best of all, everyone has a new favorite game. We saw multi-board variants, like Squid Game and Watermelon regularly called yesterday to complement the Draw game, Stud game, and Flop game offerings in the stack of placards.

Players discuss a hand of Watermelon poker at showdown.

Watermelon

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – John Maley

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

There was a clear-cut winner for Wednesday’s Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day at the Mixed Game Festival.

Orange County’s John Maley (from Fountain Valley, to be exact) had been at his seat for more than 28 hours when we spoke with him at around 9 p.m. It was his new personal best for the longest session he’d played by a long shot.

Maley said he drove in, arriving at 4 p.m. on Tuesday and immediately got in a game. He plays long sessions and intended to stay until the table broke, something that never occurred as the calendar shifted to Wednesday. As a result, he still hadn’t checked into his hotel nearly 30 hours later!

Mixed games are where Maley has the most fun. He has played poker for around 20 years now and started exploring games other than Hold’em after the first five years. He loves the mental stimulation and nuanced differences in strategy that each game provides, which he said helped keep him mentally alert through the marathon session.

When asked about his favorite games, Maley said he enjoys those with multiple boards and ways to win. That said, he loves “The Game” (of poker) and is even cool sitting around the table with players who only know how to play Texas Hold’em, noting that we pretty much all got into the game that way. We should be grateful that it can be a foot in the door for new players in mixed rotations like HORSE and 8-Game.

Maley’s day job also keeps him around the game, as he is a cage supervisor at Commerce Casino. However, there’s not much of a mixed scene at LA casinos, and he credited Las Vegas locals such as Raul Yapor  and “Coach” Donald Shiflett for regularly running mixed games. He also had nothing but love for the room, staff and players at Resorts World.

“They’re all great,” Maley concluded. Over 31 hours after arriving, his table finally broke and he finally got up and checked in to his hotel room. 😁

Day 5 Preview: EPT Giveaway, Norman Chad Returns, and Greg “FossilMan” Raymer

Today’s the last chance to get in on the $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice action at MGF V. We look forward to seeing 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg “FossilMan” Raymer and poker commentary legend Norman Chad play today, the latter of whom will be hosting a $20/$40 Omaha 8/Stud 8 mixed game.

Sticking to the week’s theme, we have more prizes to give away on the festival’s final day. In addition to more swag giveaways, a grand prize drawing will take place at 6 p.m. The winner will win an EPT Cyprus package courtesy of festival sponsor PokerStars valued at over $3,000. Every hour of play throughout the week has earned our players one entry into the random drawing, and the winner will receive:

  • A Mixed Game tournament buy-in up to €550
  • Roundtrip airfare for one
  • Four nights’ accommodation

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 3 Recap: Scavenger Hunts, Miami John Cernuto and Norman Chad https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-3-recap-scavenger-hunts-miami-john-cernuto-norman-chad/ Wed, 05 Jul 2023 17:20:30 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59502 Tuesday marked the midway point of the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, and the day was nothing short of remarkable.

A waitlist of nearly 25 players was already on the board at 10:45am in the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room. Players began filing in around 11:00 for the day’s pre-poker event, the scavenger hunt.

Fast forward to 4 a.m., and we still had enough players for two tables of $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice!

Mixed Game Festival Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt: So Nice We Ran It Twice!

Just short of a dozen players arrived early to chase their share of $100-value prizes. Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor and PokerNews live reporter Mike Patrick went two for two, finishing the competition in just 20 minutes to score another “free first rack of chips,” a.k.a., a nice rebate on his buy-ins.

A few minutes later, Patrick “Panda” Chen finished second and chose the “bucket o’ swag”, that included a library of poker books, a BBO Poker Tables portable table mat, and a Faded Spade deck set.

The third and final prize was the most fun to determine, as both Ruth Sun and Scott Sandoval arrived simultaneously, only to discover that they were both missing one final item on their lists! The two of them scrambled outside to grab a photo of the Encore Resort in a mad dash to complete their hunts.

In the end, Scott crossed the finish line mere seconds before Ruth was able to make it back to the poker room, thus claiming the $100 voucher to the PokerStars Store.

One by one, the remaining players filed in and learned they had missed the top three. Nonetheless, the competition brought smiles across the board and received immediate rave reviews for “bringing out my inner child”, and of course “every participant was a winner,” taking home a copy of Eli Elezra’s biography Pulling the Trigger or a RunGoodGear-produced Mixed Game Festival T-Shirt.

Chuck Martin was another early arrival who, despite opting to pass on the scavenger hunt, won over everyone’s hearts by bringing some Independence Day-themed donuts for his fellow players to enjoy.

Cards went into the air at noon, and action immediately got underway at two tables. A few folks on the waiting list found themselves with some extra time on their hands, so our founder and event host, Robbie Strazynski, ran an impromptu second scavenger hunt. Among the handful of players, Giancarlo Santolin came out on top to earn his own “bucket ‘o swag.”

Additional giveaways continued throughout the day, with players engaging in blind hold’em flips, needing to be the first to make a nut (high or low) hand, and fulfill other unique at-the-felt requirements to claim some sweet swag.

Some of Poker’s Finest Join Us on Day 3

Within the next couple hours, several prominent poker professionals entered the room alongside two tables of $4/$8 dealer’s choice and its waitlist.

Some of our friends from PokerCoaching.com– Justin Saliba, Paul Beitelspacher, and Kieran Woods – stopped by to chat with players. It was a repeat visit for Saliba, who – while regularly running in the high roller No Limit Hold’em circuit these days – openly shared that he absolutely loves splashing around in the low-stakes mixed game streets.

Mixed Game Festival V Poker Coaching

Just before the clock struck 3:00pm, mixed game aficionado and all-time tournament in-the-money leader “Miami” John Cernuto stopped by to show his support for grassroots growth of mixed game poker.

A third table opened shortly thereafter with eight more players taking their seats, one of whom wasted no time putting the table into a frenzy of laughter and lightening up an already enjoyable atmosphere.

Of course, that player was Norman Chad, another longtime mixed game lover and MGF regular. If you missed him, he’ll be back on Day 5 (Thursday) to captain a special $20/40 Omaha 8/Stud 8 table.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Roxanne Johnson

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

Roxanne Johnson

Roxanne Johnson, our Day 3 Player of the Day, hails from Kelowna, British Columbia, a city of around 150,000 four hours east of Vancouver, Canada. She’s a retired court liaison, formerly having worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She has since kept herself busy with other gigs, like her current one as a PokerNews live reporter at the WSOP.

This is her first summer reporting at the Series, but her poker history dates back to pre-Black Friday (2011). She recalls getting into the game through 180-person turbo sit-n-go tournaments on PokerStars and playing regularly on Full Tilt Poker.

More recently in her career, she won a PokerStars Micro Millions event and decided to celebrate with a four-month trip to Europe last year. Her win also earned her an entry to a site-sponsored women’s poker boot camp, and she stayed up until 2 a.m. to participate, since the camp was on a North American schedule.

Roxanne Johnson

Image Credit: PokerNews

The time discrepancy was inconvenient, but the timing was perfect. Boot camp participants earned a seat into a winner-take-all tournament for a PokerStars Platinum Pass, good for a $25K buy-in at the PokerStars Players Championship and travel expenses. The event took place at EPT Prague while she was in Europe, and she bested the field to earn a trip to the Bahamas.

Her poker past notwithstanding, Johnson didn’t get into mixed games until this summer. Having played No-Limit Hold’em primarily, she said her favorite variant so far is Crazy Pineapple due to the similarities with the game she knows so well.

Before jumping back into the action, Johnson took a picture donning a Pokercoaching.com hat and shared the following: “I’m already a member of the site and I love it! They’ve helped my game so much.”

Day 4 is sure to be another fun one today, with more poker celebrities set to make appearances. We look forward to seeing you at Resorts World Las Vegas!

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 2 Recap: Our First-Ever Poker Trivia Competition Is a Hit! https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-2-recap-poker-trivia-competition/ Tue, 04 Jul 2023 20:26:32 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59481 We’re already two days into the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V after the conclusion of play on Monday. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Day 2 stayed true to the MGF theme, with festival host Robbie Strazynski going out of his way to ensure players had fun and were on the receiving end of giveaways throughout the day. A brand new event – the Poker Trivia Competition – headlined the giveaways, awarding the top three finishers hundreds of dollars worth of prizes.

Of course, poker remained the primary attraction inside the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room. Cards officially went into the air at noon with two tables to start, and a third opened shortly after that to accommodate the demand of a 30-person waitlist.

Fourteen hours later, three tables were still going strong.

Trivia Competition Kicks Off Day 2 Festivities

The inaugural Poker Trivia Competition began at 11:30, and players got the memo to arrive early. Familiar faces to the Mixed Game Festival arrived early for the event, including Ruth Sun, Rob “Bergs” Bergman, and PokerNews reporter/Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor Mike Patrick.

In total, nine players got into the competition with their sights set on claiming bragging rights. Robbie quizzed everybody with 30 multiple-choice questions on various poker-related topics, creating an atmosphere full of laughter and excitement. What a surprise – poker players love all things poker!

Shortly before the quiz began, Mike told us that his trivia game was strong. He became an early favorite to take down the competition after climbing into the lead after the first few questions. When all was said and done, he remained on top with nobody able to catch him once he pulled ahead.

For his win, Mike had his choice of three prizes:

  • A “bucket o’ swag”, including a portable table mat from BBO Poker Tables, a collection of Jim Donahue poker books, D&B Poker’s Mastering Mixed Games by Dylan Linde, a PokerGO coffee mug, a two-deck set of cards from Faded Spade and an accompanying Faded Spade hat
  • A $100 voucher credit to the PokerStars Store
  • A “free first rack” rack of $1 chips (a.k.a., $100 toward the player’s first buy-in of the day)

Mike chose the $100 in chips. Second place finisher Brian Dowd chose the “bucket o’ swag” and bronze medal winner Pat Ang shipped the PokerStars voucher. They weren’t the only winners though, as ALL participants received their choice of a RunGoodGear-produced Mixed Game Festival V long-sleeve shirt or a copy of Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra’s book, Pulling the Trigger.

Brian Dowd

Brian with his “bucket o’ swag”

It’s Time to Join Us!

Fewer marathon sessions took place among MGF players on Monday, creating an opportunity to work through the games’ waiting list and allow everybody a seat who wanted one.

After spending the beginning of the day at the festival, I left the room for a few hours and returned a little after 8 p.m. to two open seats across the three still-booming tables calling my name.

I took a seat at Robbie’s table, three to his right, and quickly jumped into Badugi mid-rotation. I didn’t need to worry about calling Razz on him when it became my turn to pick the next game, either, since Cardplayer Lifestyle social media director Chad McVean took care of that earlier in the day.

Plus, we still have three more days to go. I fully intend to call Razz on Robbie sometime before the end of the festival.

Anyway, I got to play a few games I knew, like A-5 Triple Draw and Badeucy, along with new ones for me, like Drawmaha 49 and Archie. After about three-and-a-half hours, it was time for me to retire and begin the day’s recap. I was told the three tables stood solid until 2:30 am until a couple of them broke, with the final table only breaking well after 4:30 am.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Aidan Long

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

Day 2’s Player of the Day was Aidan Long, a recent Vegas transplant from Boston. A software developer who works remotely, Long moved to Sin City last September to bring himself closer to the game of poker after beginning to take the game more seriously in 2020.

Long learned how to play poker from his grandparents, who taught him when he spent time with them during summers as a kid. After the pandemic hit, he moved back home and began to play home games with friends.

Despite countless hours of studying over the last few years, Monday was Long’s first foray into mixed games. He came into the room around 4 p.m. intending to play some $2/$5 No-Limit Hold’em and saw our $4/$8 mix, piquing his curiosity enough to sit down while waiting for a spot at his intended game.

Even after hearing his name called for $2/$5 at around 8pm, “there’s no way I was leaving!” said Long in between Razz hands. “I’m loving it!” he added after I asked if he was enjoying the change of pace.

When asked about his favorite game so far, he quickly said Omaha 3-2-1.

Why?

In true poker fashion: because he won!

Three Days Remain

Tuesday marks the midway point of the five-day Mixed Game Festival V, and plenty more fun remains on the docket.

We’ll be hosting a Scavenger Hunt at 11 a.m. today (and awarding more gifts to all participants). More giveaways will take place through the remainder of the festival, and we expect to see some poker celebrities make their way to the room as their Main Event schedules allow.

Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra will make an appearance at some point, as will Mastering Mixed Games author (and WPT/WSOP champion) Dylan Linde, 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer, and more.

We’ll be welcoming the one and only Norman Chad on Thursday, July 6. He will host a $20/$40 O8/Stud 8 mix as a part of MGF V, and players can join the list a day before to ensure a seat with him when the day begins.

Day 3 is sure to be another fun one today. We hope to see you at Resorts World Las Vegas!

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 1 Recap: Setting the Stage for a Massive Week Ahead https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-1-recap-setting-the-stage-for-a-massive-week-ahead/ Mon, 03 Jul 2023 15:32:47 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59438 A palpable excitement was in the air to kick off the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V on Sunday at noon. The festival will run for five days through Thursday, July 6, featuring low-stakes dealer’s choice and mixed cash games, daily merchandise giveaways, a trivia competition, poker book signings, and more.

Players representing all corners of the globe began filling the poker room inside Resorts World Las Vegas a little after 11 a.m. and were eager to get the cards in the air. Play officially began closer to 12:15, as Cardplayer Lifestyle’s owner and founder Robbie Strazynski first welcomed everybody with a pizza party to ring in the festival.

Let the Games Begin!

Three full tables of players quickly devoured the pizzas and began selecting their games of choice.

The first giveaway came on the day’s first hand. Robbie announced that the best badugi in a split-pot game would also receive their choice of a Jim Donahue-authored poker book.

In some cases, players chose to subject others – namely Robbie – to Razz. Apparently, that’s a thing 😉

BBO Poker Tables Founder and CEO George Chao stopped by in the opening hours of the festival to sing his praises for the Mixed Game Festival V. Chao also delivered a half dozen portable table mats that will be given away to the winners of our Poker Trivia Competition on Monday, July 3, at 11:30 a.m, Scavenger Hunt on Tuesday July 4, at 11 a.m., and a few other luckily drawn random winners throughout the festival.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Nadi Medlege

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Read on for specific details of what that entails.

Nadi Medlege became the first ever Player of the Day. Medlege is in town from Lebanon and played a full session on Sunday, but not without taking a few moments to speak about his love for mixed game poker.

Medlege’s roots in poker date back to 2000. He started playing at the Aviation Club in Paris, and recently relocated to Lebanon to be closer to family, but only spends about half the year there.

As for the other half?

Well, Medlege takes two trips each year to Las Vegas and stays for about three months each time. When he’s in town, he said he always plays mixed games at Resorts World, usually playing $8/$16 or $20/$40.

Medlege credited the variety he enjoys in mixed games to his ability to play long sessions. He said it’s harder for him to play longer sessions of No-Limit Hold’em than mixed games, with his longest marathon session to date coming in at 32 hours.

He added, “I love mixed games, and I think it would be so good for the game if everybody learned them!”

Four Tables of Play Mark a Successful Day 1

Resorts World’s poker room was electric all day Sunday. The Mixed Game Festival V had a double-digit waiting list due to a packed house, along with the casino’s regular cash game offerings and another successful tournament for the room this summer.

A fourth table of play opened just after 8 p.m., easing the wait list and bringing even more energy to the room. A trio of veteran and newer industry writers, Yori Epskamp, Mike Patrick, and Jeremy Geist, took a break from their busy roles at PokerNews to jump into the action.

It didn’t take long before a post-it note made its way onto a placard on the felt for the game, Watermelon. Players each received four cards, just like Omaha, before the dealer brought three boards. Each board’s winner got a point at the end of the hand, and the player with the most points took down the pot.

Eventually, players took things to another level and ate watermelon while playing Watermelon!

Perhaps expected, players took full advantage of the dealer’s choice format, with fun variants being chosen on the regular. Badugi had a steady presence, often in split-pot games like Razzdugi, Drawmaha High-Dugi, and Badacey.

We’ll see if those games remain a constant over the remainder of the festival, or if players change things up a bit in the coming days.

Remaining Schedule of Events

One full day may be in the books, but we’re only 20% of the way through the fifth iteration of the Mixed Game Festival.

There’s still a full slate of events scheduled for the rest of the festival, and we look forward to seeing more new faces join the ones who are already looking forward to being with us all week. If you’re looking to pop in, please do! We’ll have cash games going until the wee hours of the morning, along with the following promotions:

  • Monday, July 3: Poker Trivia Competition at 11:30 a.m.
  • Tuesday, July 4: Scavenger Hunt at 11 a.m.
  • Book signings from mixed games legends like Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra and WSOP/WPT champion Dylan Linde
  • Celebrity visits from other famous names in the poker world. Players such as Greg Raymer, Linda Johnson, Jonathan Little, “Miami” John Cernuto, Justin Saliba, Jan Fisher, and Ari Engel have regularly appeared at past festivals.

MGF V Schedule

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Bratislava Poker Festival 2023 Preview https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/bratislava-poker-festival-2023-preview/ Sun, 04 Jun 2023 08:35:54 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59102 European poker players and international card enthusiasts are in for a treat this July when the Bratislava Poker Festival begins at Slovakia’s largest land-based gaming establishment – the Card Casino!

The six-day live poker tournament series – organized by the Irish Poker Tour in coordination with partypoker Live, starts on Tuesday, July 18th, and will boast a guaranteed €1,000,000 combined prize pool over the course of more than a dozen events.

“We’re ready to bring the magic of Irish Poker to the heart of Europe,” said Irish Poker Tour CEO Fintan Gavin in a recent conversation with Cardplayer Lifestyle. ”We know what players want and we’re ready to give it to them.”

The 2023 Bratislava Poker Festival will be headlined by the €500,000 GTD No Limit Hold’em Grand Prix Main Event, which players can enter for a relatively modest €500+€50 buy-in.

Bratislava Festival 2023

Key Events Feature Texas Hold’em and Omaha Game Variants

Aside from Texas Hold’em, the Bratislava Poker Festival 2023 will offer events in which Omaha is played, where entrants will be dealt four hole cards at the beginning of each hand.

The tournament series will feature a heavy dose of Texas Hold’em and Omaha Hold’em game variants, with multiple buy-in levels for players of all bankrolls as well as different formats including Limit, Pot Limit, and No Limit.

The €500,000 GTD Grand Prix Main Event will commence on Wednesday, July 19th, at 6:00pm local time. Each player who enters the event will receive multiple opportunities to re-enter due to the tournament’s single re-entry per flight accommodation.

In all, there will be five starting flights for the Grand Prix Main Event (two on Friday), with rebuys ceasing before Day 2 on Saturday, July 22nd.

Other featured events include:

  • European Omaha 7-Max Championship (€2,300+€200 – starts July 20th)
  • No Limit Texas Hold’em High Roller (€2,700+€300 – starts July 22nd)
  • No Limit Hold’em Bratislava Poker Cup Event (€315+€35 – starts/ends July 23rd)

The Card Casino (the “Rising Star” of European poker) will host satellite qualifier tournaments for all featured events. On-site players can attempt to gain entry into one of the marquee main tournaments with a smaller buy-in amount through these live qualifier events..

There will also be a single €130+€20 NLHE Turbo side event hosted during each day of the festival, plus cash games of various stake sizes.

Qualify Online: Bratislava Poker Festival 2023

Bratislava Poker Festival sponsors are anticipating a large contingent of Irish poker players to opt for a three-hour flight to western Slovakia, where they will enjoy nearly a full week of live poker competition and fun.

European poker players who would like to qualify for the 2023 Bratislava Poker Festival Grand Prix Main Event can do so online now at partypoker via sub-feeder satellites that start for as low as €0.01 buy-in and range up to €125 in order to win a seat into the Festival’s headline tournament.

There are also special online satellite qualifiers set up exclusively for Latvian poker players at Optibet (Latvia only).

For complete details on the 2023 Bratislava Poker Festival, including a complete schedule, tournament structures, lodging, and more, visit the Festival’s homepage.

About Bratislava & Environs

Located in the western portion of Slovakia, Bratislava has become one of the most popular tourist destinations not only for Europeans, but for travelers worldwide.

Bratislava Castle

While attending the 2023 Bratislava Poker Festival, players can visit local attractions such as the Bratislava Castle which overlooks the city and currently holds the Museum of History, or catch up on some shopping at the Eurovea Waterfront, which is just a 5-minute taxi ride away.

About the Irish Poker Tour

With more than two decades of experience organizing major live poker tournaments, Irish Poker Tour founder Fintan Gavin has been at the head of the tour since its inception.

The IPT hosts major live poker festivals and individual tournaments throughout Europe, and brings an intense focus on the needs of poker players who routinely compete in sponsored Irish Poker Tour events.

About Card Casino (Bratislava, Slovakia)

The Card Casino is located near the Bratislava Airport and has become the largest gaming establishment in the city, with 24/7 service, an on-site cabaret that features shows, parties, and concerts, plus dining options for its visitors.

The Card Casino in Bratislava offers a full casino and table game portfolio to its customers, as well as the city’s most popular card room that hosts live poker cash games and tournaments.

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