Good Hold’em players who are used to playing with blinds sometimes make strategic blunders when they play ante games like Stud, Stud8, and Razz. They fail to recognize inherent differences between flop and ante games, and that failure can often cost them money because they misunderstand the optimal pot-stealing frequency in Stud games.

Stealing the initial pot in Stud games can be profitable if you know what you’re doing. (Image: Shutterstock)

Blinds and antes both induce action by requiring players to put money into the pot before they decide whether, and how, to play their hand. This is done to stimulate action, reward aggression, and deter nitty play. Successful Hold’em players recognize this and adjust their play accordingly. “Stealing the blinds” becomes a part of their arsenal.

Successful Hold’em players sometimes bring this understanding over to a Stud game. Unfortunately for them, while the strategy of stealing the initial pot definitely applies to Stud, it applies differently than it does in Hold’em. Stealing antes is quite different from stealing blinds. Failing to account for the difference between the two is the cause of some major errors that Hold’em players tend to make in Stud games.

By almost all measures, 2020 has been a terrible year. But with COVID-19 vaccines all but ready for deployment, the question of what live tournaments will look like in 2021 is looming large.

Partypoker Live and the WPT aren’t set on mandatory COVID-19 vaccines, but they are confident 2021 will bring plenty of tournament action. (Partypoker)

Anyone invested in poker has seen the problems live events have encountered this year. Cancellations and changes of setting due to lockdowns, safety concerns, and travel restrictions have been common.

Operators have adapted, however, and with life slowly looking like it might return to normal, can we expect a full schedule of live tournaments next year? We spoke to the World Poker Tour (WPT) and Partypoker executives to find out.

The Poker Hall of Fame will only induct one member this year instead of the standard two. And it has nothing to do with COVID-19, nor is it a one-time thing. Why the sudden change? Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the World Series of Poker, explained the reasoning to CardsChat News.

Chris Moneymaker was finally inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2019. (Image: PokerStars)

Each year since 1979, at least one poker player or industry person has received enshrinement. Last year, the Class of 2019 inducted David Oppenheim, a high-stakes cash game legend, and Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 WSOP Main Event champion whom many credit as the person most responsible for the growth of poker earlier this century.

Moneymaker was a bit of a controversial selection because he only has one major win as a player (2003). And he doesn’t compete in high-stakes cash games. The criteria for the Poker Hall of Fame is based on these qualifications:

The three opening flights of the 2020 WSOP Main Event are over and now just 181 players are left fighting for a share of $6,470,400.

Senthuran Vijayaratnam came out top on Day 1C of the WSOP Main Event to lead the way heading into Day 2. (Image: WPT)

Days 1B and 1C of the $10,000 hybrid event played out on Saturday and Sunday. The former attracted 171 entrants, while the latter welcomed 257.

Combined with Day 1A’s total, that means 674 players flocked to GGPoker for the international leg of the 2020 WSOP Main Event.

The 2020 WSOP Main Event is underway and American players have an opportunity to compete to become the next poker world champion. But you can’t get into the action quite yet unless you live outside the US.

Are you ready for the 2020 WSOP Main Event? (Image: WSOP.com)

You might be a bit confused if you paid attention to the WSOP Online Bracelet Series this past summer. Stoyan Madanzhiev took down the historic World Series of Poker Main Event on GGPoker for $3.9 million in September. He won what many assumed was the 2020 WSOP Main Event.

Yes, he did win that record-setting tournament that had over $27 million in the pot, most ever in online poker history. But the WSOP refused to acknowledge the winner as the 2020 world champion as it was a $5,000 buy-in tournament. So, we now have a new version of the annual world championship event. The buy-in for this one is the standard $10,000, it’s a freezeout, and the tournament is being played both online and live.

Daniel Negreanu has now won three straight sessions in his grudge match against Doug Polk, but still trails by more than half a million dollars. Despite the massive deficit, the GGPoker ambassador is gaining the respect of the poker community for his heads-up play.

Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk have become civil for the first time in years. (Image: YouTube)

The feud between the poker pros began years ago. Polk has taken numerous verbal shots at his rival, often attacking his character. But the relationship between the two has improved significantly since this match began a month ago.

Perhaps the main reason the relationship has changed is due to Negreanu taking on such a daunting challenge. Polk has even said recently that he gained respect for “DNegs” because he didn’t back down from a high-stakes match against one of the best heads-up players of all-time.

It may seem like eons ago, but there actually was a time when we had major live poker tournaments to cover. Who knew in March when the WPT Rolling Thunder tournament finished that it would be the last live major event in poker all year?

Live poker tournaments were once booming all around the world. (Image: paulphuapoker.com)

Tony Tran shipped the WPT Rolling Thunder at Thunder Valley Casino Resort on March 10. He took home $279,270 and his first World Poker Tour title.

At the time, the poker world knew that live poker was going to be on a bit of a hiatus. A global health pandemic was beginning to sweep through the United States and all around the world. Many states were beginning to force local businesses to close. One week following the Rolling Thunder event’s conclusion, nearly every casino in the US was forced to temporarily close.

If the marketing team at GGPoker wanted to spark a reaction by signing Dan Bilzerian, they certainly got their wish. In fact, they may have already gotten more than they bargained for.

GGPoker’s deal with Dan Bilzerian hasn’t gone down well with some members of the poker community. (Image: GGPoker)

Just 24 hours after the news broke, members of the poker community have given their take on the partnership.

Given Bilzerian’s reputation for dividing opinion, it’s hardly surprising that people are split. One thing’s for certain though, the man himself hasn’t helped matters by calling one of his critics a “hoe.”

Bally’s, a Las Vegas poker room, is going forward with its upcoming poker tournament series despite the COVID-19 limited capacity restrictions. Businesses, including casinos, are currently limited to just 25% of the establishment’s maximum capacity. But the game of poker is still being dealt at card rooms all across town.

Bally’s is one Las Vegas poker room that isn’t shutting down due to COVID-19. (Image: KTNV)

Bally’s hosted a “Back in Action” poker series last month, its first since March when COVID-19 struck. There have been very few major poker events across the country, not just in Nevada, the past nine months. But one Las Vegas poker room is about to host an exciting event, global health pandemic be damned.

Las Vegas Poker Scene Still Going Strong

Dan Bilzerian, the bad boy of Instagram who claims to have won $50 million playing poker, in a surprising move, has signed with GGPoker as an ambassador. He adds another celebrity figure to the poker site’s growing list of team members.

Dan Bilzerian signing with GGPoker came totally out of left field. (Image: marijuanaretailreport.com)

Daniel Negreanu is still the face of the poker site. But “Blitz” gives GGPoker some non-poker celebrity star power. Although Bilzerian claims he’s made his money through playing cards, many have questioned that claim. That includes Doug Polk, who cracked a joke about the shocking news.

Dan Bilzerian becoming a GG poker ambassador is the equivalent of me becoming an ambassador for GQ

Poker King took a leaf out of PokerStars’ marketing playbook by pitting Phil Ivey against basketball legend Allen Iverson in a series of one-on-one challenges.

Phil Ivey and Allen Iverson can be seen going head-to-head in a new video produced by Poker King. (Image: YouTube/Poker King)

The online poker site has been using its partnerships with Ivey and Tom Dwan to good effect in recent weeks. Candid interviews with the often elusive high-stakes stars have generated more than 1 million views on YouTube.

The latest video offering introduces what appears to be a new mini-series called Double or Nothing featuring Ivey and Iverson.

After taking a break for Thanksgiving, the Galfond Challenge is back in action. On Wednesday, Phil Galfond closed out yet another session with a win. But, once again, it was only by a small amount.

Phil Galfond and Chance Kornuth are locked in a close battle. (Image: Twitch)

Galfond left for the break on quite a heater. He had gone from down $340,000 to trailing by just $92,000, less than five buy-ins. Doing so took him just over a week, quite an impressive run.

Galfond’s opponent, Chance Kornuth, has been quite a surprise during this, the third installment of the Galfond Challenge. But, perhaps, the poker community shouldn’t be all that surprised he’s been so competitive against one of the top pot-limit Omaha players of all-time. Kornuth himself is an accomplished PLO player, and one of the best overall poker players in the game today.

A wild, intense session ensued between Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu on Day 14, with the GGPoker ambassador getting out of there with a win. But he needed a bout of run good to finish up the four-hour match to pull it off. And the win was only a nominal amount.

Daniel Negreanu continues to battle against Doug Polk. (Image: YouTube)

Polk entered the session with a massive lead — over $570,000. He lost the previous session by a small amount, ending a string of four straight six-figure winning days.

Day 14, as per usual, began at 2:30 pm PT, and ended around 6:30. The four-hour session featured an array of massive pots going both ways, some failed bluffs, and more twists and turns than a roller coaster at Six Flags. In the end, the overall scoreboard is pretty close to where it was before the session began.

The first, or second depending on your perspective, WSOP Main Event of 2020 got underway on GGPoker last Sunday.

Julian Menhardt topped the chip counts on Day 1A of the hybrid WSOP Main Event. (Image: Concord Card Casino)

Day 1A of the international bracket attracted 246 players on November 29, each of which contributed $10,000 to the prizepool.

When the betting stopped and the debris was cleared away, 62 players had made it through to Day 2 of the WSOP’s hybrid Main Event.

The 2020 Poker Hall of Fame inductee — just one this year — will be announced Dec. 30 in Las Vegas. We don’t know who that lucky winner will be. But we do have a list of five individuals who all have a unique case for joining the prestigious club.

Mike Matusow is an interesting candidate for the 2020 Poker Hall of Fame class. (Image: worldpokertour.com)

As of today, fans can nominate their own candidate on the WSOP.com website. On Dec. 16, Caesars will announce a finalist list based on the fan nominations. And then on Dec. 30, during the WSOP Main Event final table, the winner will be revealed.

We aren’t here to tell you who you should nominate or who the 32-member panel should choose. Instead, the purpose of this article is to inform the voters — including the random poker fans — of some candidates who may otherwise be overlooked.

At long last, the 2020 Poker Hall of Fame class will soon be inducted. But first, there’s a bit of business to take care of, namely selecting the two most deserving candidates, which you can take part in.

Is Antonio Esfandiari worthy of Poker Hall of Fame consideration? (Image: CNBC)

In most years, the HOF selections are announced during the summer World Series of Poker. This year, however, that wasn’t possible given there was no live WSOP in Las Vegas. So, the committee has held off on the selection process until the upcoming WSOP Main Event, scheduled for later this month.

Each year since 2005 (one per year in most years prior), two individuals have been selected for the Poker Hall of Fame. This year, however, only one person will be inducted. Induction into the prestigious club is certainly subjective. But the inductees are required to meet a certain criteria:

England’s national lockdown ends tomorrow and betting stores in parts of the country will reopen, albeit with some unusual restrictions in place.

Betting stores in England will reopen on December 2 but some will have to limit customers to 15-minute visits. (Image: William Hill)

The new tier system comes into force on December 2 and, although venues will be open in all regions, those in “high-risk” areas have to follow additional safety measures.

All operators in Tier 3 zones must follow a new set of rules that that include limits on how long customers can spend inside their stores.

GGPoker has added another stitch to its ever-expanding tapestry of features thanks to a partnership with PokerShares.

GGPoker has partnered with PokerShares to allow betting on its final table line-ups. (Image: Twitter/GGPoker)

Off the back of hosting WSOP Online events and introducing novel products like SnapCam, it now has final table betting markets.

By linking up with PokerShares, GGPoker is able to offer odds on its final table line-ups. The first market open to bettors is the final table of the SuperMILLION$.

Daniel Negreanu was so close to chipping away a big chunk of Doug Polk’s $600,000 lead on Day 13. He was cruising along up big for the session. And then he lost most of that profit on the final hand of the day thanks in part to a questionable river call.

Daniel Negreanu played well on Monday, but only won a small amount. (Image: YouTube)

Monday’s session lasted just over 2 hours and 15 minutes, perhaps shorter than it would have if not for the last hand. The poker pros have agreed to play for at least two hours per day. After that point, either player can call it quits at any time.

Entering the session, Polk had won four straight sessions by at least $117,000, including his most recent $332,178 win on Saturday. That brought his total profit for the challenge up to $596,197 through 5,751 hands out of 25,000 (potentially only 12,500, however).

A private poker game has cost a 37-year-old Canadian more than he bargained for following a late-night police raid.

A 37-year-old from British Columbia, Canada, has been fined CA$3,000 for hosting a private poker game. (Image: Lake Country Calendar)

Officers stormed the unnamed man’s home at 1am after receiving an anonymous tipoff. Upon entering the property in Kamloops, British Columbia, they found a group of people playing poker.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Superintendent Syd Lecky said the man was fined CA$3,000 for breaching COVID-19 guidelines.