The British betting and gaming industry is facing sweeping changes as the government moves to ensure its laws are “fit for the digital age.”

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden has launched a review of UK gambling laws. (Image: Reuters/John Sibley)

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden has called for a review of UK’s 2005 Gambling Act.

The call for evidence will collate feedback from operators and industry insiders on a range of issues, including online betting limits and age restrictions.

Nine players have progressed to the WSOP Main Event’s live final table after a long night of action on GGPoker.

Brazil’s Brunno Botteon leads the final table of the international WSOP Main Event. (Image: PokerStars)

It took just over 10 hours for 181 players to become nine in the international leg of the WSOP’s $10,000 Main Event.

Senthuran Vijayaratnam started the day in front, but fell short of the final table when a failed coup with A 7 sent him to the rail in 11th.

Daniel Negreanu continues to believe his heater is coming eventually. But after his most recent session against Doug Polk, he’s going to need more than just a heater to ever catch up.

Daniel Negreanu continues to get destroyed by Doug Polk. (Image: YouTube)

Both players deposited $1 million into their WSOP.com accounts prior to the start of the grudge match. It’s beginning to seem like that might not be near enough for Negreanu. In fact, his player account should already be down to barely more than $300,000.

Negreanu currently has two things working against him. Based on all-in expected value, he’s running bad, and he also said in Monday’s post-game interview on the GGPoker YouTube channel that he’s constantly missing draws. But he’s also getting outclassed by a world-class heads-up player who is mixing up his bet sizes and often getting Negreanu to call him down when he has the goods.

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: