King’s Casino Rozvadov was one of the first European venues in to reopen following the COVID-19 outbreak in March and now it’s preparing for round two.

King’s Casino Rozvadov has announced it will reopen on November 30 after being forced to close in October. (Image: Kings-Resort)

The Czech casino was forced to close its doors again on October 9 due to new government restrictions.

The initial plan was to reopen on October 26, but that date soon came and went. Push backs continued and the latest plan is to get back to business on November 30.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that England will come out of its national lockdown and move back into a tiered system beginning on Dec. 3.

Some casinos in England will reopen after Dec. 2, but the outlook remains bleak for many. (Image: Concord Monitor/Geoff Forester)

The announcement marks the return to a policy previously dismissed as ineffective by the government, but which is returning amid mounting pressure from members of parliament and the general public.

When the national lockdown (in place since Nov. 5) comes to an end, casinos and betting shops in certain tiers will be allowed to reopen.

On Day 10, Doug Polk ran red hot yet again against Daniel Negreanu, and now leads the heads-up poker match by six figures.

Doug Polk continues to run red hot against Daniel Negreanu. (Image: YouTube)

Polk even got lucky in a hand he also got unlucky. In the hand in question, both players turned a diamond flush, although Negreanu had his opponent, who had a queen-high flush, crushed and in a world of hurt with a king-high flush. But a fourth diamond landed on the river, saving Polk an extra $25,000 behind, although he still lost a $50,000 pot.

A big part of the challenge through 10 sessions has been how pure Polk has run in all-in pots. According to Corey Steel (@CoreySteel_ on Twitter), Negreanu entered Monday’s session down $115,000 in expected value on all-in bets with cards still to come. During the Day 10 match, there weren’t any hands with an all-in and call with cards to come.

Tom Dwan has provided more insights into the way he approaches poker and what’s helped him become of the game’s most successful pros.

Tom Dwan has given fans an insight into his mindset and the way he approaches short deck poker. (Image: Wikipedia/Casino Connection)

Much like Phil Ivey has done in recent weeks, Dwan has opened up in front of the camera for Poker King.

In his latest chat with fellow pro Nick Schulman, the man known as Durrrr gave his take on short deck poker and how he thinks about strategy (see video below).

Online poker has been outlawed in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, despite a recent court order proposing regulation of the industry as a viable alternative to prohibition.

Following a ruling by the Madras High Court, the government of Tamil Nadu has made online poker illegal in the state. (Image: India.com/ANI)

The status of online poker in the region has been under scrutiny for some time. Petitions to ban online gambling have been the subject of debate inside Madras High Court for almost a decade.

Delays and postponements have dragged the debate on for longer than necessary. However, things came to a head recently after two men, reportedly, committed suicide because of gambling debts. As such, Madras High Court pushed the agenda earlier this month.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak issued new capacity restrictions and limitations for businesses, and that will impact live poker in Las Vegas. The Democratic politician who he himself tested positive for COVID-19 is desperately trying to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak is in a no-win situation. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)

On a positive note for the live poker scene in Sin City, poker rooms aren’t being forced to close. That means you can still play cards if you’re in town. But you had better be prepared for lengthy wait times especially at the busiest poker rooms such as Venetian, Aria, and Bellagio.

Sisolak finds himself in a no-win situation given the current state of affairs in the Silver State. If he doesn’t take action, many will rip on him for refusing to do enough to stop the spread of COVID-19. But if he forces businesses to close, others will bash him for destroying the state’s economy. Such is the case in these trying times for the Nevada governor. Or, any governor in the US, for that matter.

Daniel Negreanu’s winning ways against Doug Polk came to a screeching halt on Friday. The GGPoker ambassador not only lost more than $200,000 over two hours, he lost his grip on the overall lead. Even so, he’s only down a small bit.

Doug Polk regained his lead over Daniel Negreanu on Friday. (Image: YouTube)

Negreanu opened the challenge with a six-figure win on PokerGo during the only live poker session. As soon as the competition shifted to the internet on WSOP.com, Polk took over and crushed it for a $387,000 profit over two days.

Then, the former PokerStars ambassador flipped the script. He went on to win four of the past five sessions and was up $179,363 heading into Day 9 on Friday. Heads-up poker at high stakes is a wild and crazy game, however. So, during Friday’s match, Polk flipped the momentum back in his favor with a dominating performance leading to a resounding victory.

Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk’s feud didn’t begin with the “More Rake is Better” trash talk. It actually started a few years prior, back in 2014. And it all started with a petty little dispute that turned into something much bigger.

Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk have been feuding ever since 2014. (Image: WSOP.com)

The poker masters are currently in the midst of a lengthy high-stakes heads-up battle. Perhaps, it will finally put an end to the longstanding feud that began six years ago. Or, maybe not. Time will tell.

Negreanu entered Friday’s session with a lead of more than $170,000 in the heads-up challenge. They’re still in the relatively early stages of the match. So Polk, who entered as a heavy favorite, still has plenty of time to erase that deficit and win by the massive amount most projected.

Phil Ivey is back and feeling better than ever, according to the latest installment of his conversation with fellow poker pro, Barry Greenstein.

Phil Ivey is back in love with poker after learning to live in the moment and diversifying his interests. (Image: Daily Mirror)

The laidback interview shows a lighter side of Ivey. Despite being one of poker’s most high-profile players, the American has often been a closed book.

However, with help from Greenstein, he’s opened up. In the most recent video, Ivey discusses his rise to the top, how he fell out of the love with the game, and why he feels rejuvenated.

Daniel Negreanu had yet another impressive session in his grudge match against Doug Polk, and extended his lead even further.

Daniel Negreanu didn’t maximize his EV in this hand against Doug Polk. (Image: WSOP.com)

Thursday’s session was quite competitive and there weren’t many massive pots. Early in the match, the poker pros traded jabs, with one player winning a sizable pot and then shortly after the other returned the favor.

For Polk, although he didn’t turn a profit, he found some more success with his over-sized river bets than on Monday. During that infamous Monday session in which Negreanu booked a $222,000 win, Polk lost most of his money due to some ill-timed big bluffs. That wasn’t the case so much on Day 8 and it led to a much smaller defeat.

I want to explain an act of deception with which you might not be familiar, but that may help your game. Before I do, let’s quickly review two actions that you almost surely know: the bluff and the semi-bluff.

Adding a new weapon to your arsenal can help take your bluffing game up to the next level. (Image: Outdoor Spike)

A bluff, as even non-poker players know, is a bet or a raise designed to make your hand appear stronger than it really is, with the intention of getting your opponent or opponents to fold.  Betting a board that hits a third suited card on the river, even though you don’t have the flush, is an example of a bluff. You’re representing that you hit the flush, though you did not, in the hope that your opponent will fold a hand that is stronger than yours, awarding you the pot for your deceptive efforts.

A semi-bluff is a variation on that theme.

Sweden’s WhatIfGod is the latest European Poker Tour (EPT) champion and $1 million better off after making history in the $5,200 main event.

Sweden’s WhatIfGod is the new EPT Online main event champion after beating Timothy Adams heads-up. (Image: PokerStars)

Although the Swede joins a list of EPT main event winners that stretches back to 2004, they stand as the first ever online champion.

Not only that, WhatIfGod managed to defeat some tough opponents on Wednesday night, including Jon Van Fleet and Canada’s Timothy Adams.

Never doubt Phil Galfond’s abilities to come from behind in a Galfond Challenge. The Run it Once poker site founder has erased nearly all of a $300,000 deficit to Chance Kornuth. And all the momentum is on his side right now.

Phil Galfond is back in the ballgame after previously trailing by hundreds of thousands. (Image: Twitter)

But the truth about momentum is it can flip the other way at any time. So, while the online poker pro once known as “OMGClayAiken” has the supposed momentum on his side right now, Kornuth very well could bust out to a huge lead once again in a matter of minutes.

Galfond entered the competition nearly two months ago as a heavy favorite (4-1). As such, he laid 4-1 odds on a side bet ($1 million to $250,000) against Kornuth, the Chip Leader Coaching founder. Early on, he showed why he was so heavily favored and jumped out to a $280,000 lead nine sessions into the 35,000-hand pot-limit Omaha match.

Daniel Negreanu is no longer a heavy underdog in his battle against Doug Polk. Certainly not after completely obliterating his opponent on Wednesday for a massive win.

Daniel Negreanu is completely obliterating Doug Polk in heads-up no-limit hold’em. (Image: WSOP.com)

But it’s not just one session in which “DNegs” got lucky. He’s been battling stride for stride with the Upswing Poker founder throughout. Even in sessions that he lost, you can chalk up bad luck as a contributing factor. On Wednesday, luck may have been on his side a bit, but he won that session with superior play.

In the last session (Monday), Polk picked off the GGPoker ambassador for about $93,000. In doing so, he regained the lead overall by $67,000. Luck was on Polk’s side on that day as he won an $80,000 pot early on thanks to a fortunate river card.

The World Poker Tour has enjoyed a successful year by switching things up and going digital but, with 2021 on the horizon, it’s looking to head out on the road again.

Casino Sochi will likely play host to WPT Russia in February as the tour looks to get back on track after a rocky 2020. (Image: WPT/Flickr)

Although the shockwaves of COVID-19 will reverberate for the foreseeable future, the WPT is planning to resume normal service in February.

A year on from the first wave of lockdowns, WPT Russia will take place inside Casino Sochi. The festival, which is still listed as provisional by the WPT, will be run in conjunction with Partypoker Live and feature a $3,300 main event.

PokerStars’ European Poker Tour (EPT) Online main event has breached its $5 million guarantee by more than 25% as play moves into Day 3.

The EPT Online main event has beaten its guarantee by more than $1.5 million after attracted 1,300+ entries. (Image: PokerStars)

When the late registration period ended on November 16, 1,304 entries had been collected in the $5,200 MTT.

Fintan Hand led at the start of play but couldn’t keep up the momentum. When the chips had fallen, the Irishman picked up $11,757 for his 134th place finish while Toby Joyce went on to take the chip lead.

Partypoker’s Caribbean Poker Party is in full swing and, after the first day of action in the $5,300 main event, Michael Addamo is the man on top.

Michael Addamo topped the list of entrants on Day 1A of the Partypoker Caribbean Poker Party main event. (Image: Paul Phua Poker)

Cruising through Day 1A and bagging just over 18.6 million chips, the Australian is in the driving seat heading into Day 2.

However, with Day 1B set take place on November 22 and at least $5 million to play for, Addamo’s position is far from certain.

Six sessions are now in the books in the heads-up grudge match between Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu. And it’s abundantly clear at this point that there isn’t much gap in skill level between these players.

Daniel Negreanu hit his daily quads early on Day 6 against Doug Polk. (Image: WSOP.com)

Entering the match two weeks ago, Polk was a 4-1 favorite and few gave his opponent any shot at winning. After all, the Upswing Poker founder is considered to be one of the top heads-up hold’em players ever. So, certainly he should have no problem crushing a live multi-table tournament specialist, right? Not exactly.

The fact of the matter is Negreanu has been more competitive than most anticipated. That doesn’t mean the match will go down to the wire. We’re still in the early-ish stages of the 25,00-hand online poker competition. For all we know, Polk will end up running hot and dominating the remainder of the match. But though the first six sessions (five online), it’s difficult to proclaim either player as superior in terms of skill.

The 2021 Aussie Millions has been postponed indefinitely due to ongoing uncertainty regarding COVID-19 restrictions in Australia and the world at large.

The Aussie Millions won’t take place in January and, potentially, it might not happen at all in 2021. (Image: Daily Mirror)

Host venue, Melbourne’s Crown Casino, made the new public via an announcement on its website. Citing safety concerns, the organizers haven’t set a date for when the popular tournament will return but they have said they’ll formulate a plan when it’s “safe” to do so.

The postponement comes just days after Crown Casino was given the greenlight to reopen in a limit capacity after being asked to close by the local government in March.