Monthly Archives: March 2021

March 12, 2021Chad Holloway

Earlier this week, the Wilton Rancheria tribe and Boyd Gaming broke ground on Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, California. The new casino is scheduled to open in the second half of 2022 and PokerNews has confirmed there are plans for a 12-table poker room.

The $400 million casino project, which is being built on 35.9 acres of land west of Hwy 99, was approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) back in 2019. That followed the land having been placed in federal trust in February 2017 and then-Governor Jerry Brown and the Tribe signing a Gaming Compact, the California State Senate and Assembly then unanimously ratified that compact.

Sky River Casino will be the seventh tribal casino in the Sacramento region, though it will be the closest casino to both Sacramento and the South Bay Area. When it opens, the venues are slated to have not only the 12-table poker room, but also 2,000 slot machines, more than 80 table games, and 12 distinct dining options. In addition, there will be a hotel and convention center.

Sky River Casino is being developed and managed by Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming on behalf of the Tribe. Boyd operates casinos in Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. In Las Vegas, theyre known for operating venues such as The Orleans, Gold Coast, and Sams Town, just to name a few.

"We will create an entertainment destination that this entire community can take pride in, one that will deliver significant and lasting benefits for the Tribe and the City of Elk Grove.

The casino project is expected to create thousands of jobs and major long-term benefits to the surrounding economy as Wilton Rancheria has agreed to invest $186 million over the first 20 years with the City of Elk Grove and Sacramento County to support police, schools, roads, and other services.

We are excited to achieve this critical milestone in our economic development and path toward self-sufficiency, said Tribal Chairman Jesus Tarango. We thank Boyd Gaming, the Elk Grove community, the City, and leaders at the local, state, and federal level for their tireless support and for believing in our vision of a better future.

We are honored to partner with our friends at Wilton Rancheria in creating a secure and prosperous future for the Tribal membership and their generations to come, said Keith Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming. Together, we will create an entertainment destination that this entire community can take pride in, one that will deliver significant and lasting benefits for the Tribe and the City of Elk Grove.

On Tuesday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held with local officials attending, including Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen. Governor Gavin Newsom also delivered a congratulatory message via video.

Heres a video on the Wilton Rancheria and how the new casino project came to be:

For more information, visit skyriver.com.

More here:

New 12-Table Poker Room Coming to Sky River Casino in 2022 - PokerNews.com

March 11, 2021Jesse Fullen

Check out our favorite Poker Vlogs from the last week. If we missed any of your favorites from that last week, let us know on social media!

Greg Goes All In

I make poker memes and poker vlogs for degenerates like you.

Greg showcases his excellent sense of humor in all of his uploads. If youre new to his channel, smash that subscribe button.

Follow Greg on Twitter here

Ben Deach

Ben Deach heads back to the Peppermill Poker Room and Atlantis Poker Room in Reno, Nevada. Ben also opens up and answers the top questions from his youtube comments. Great poker vlogger we often suggest.

Follow Ben on Twitter here

The Poker Odyssey Poker VLOG Episode #1

Caleb is creating a poker vlog that Solve for Why is supporting and hosting on their channel. The thing that really captures you in this successful first vlog from Caleb is his timing for a trip to Texas. Caleb heads into Texas as the crazy winter storm from late Feb is quickly approaching. Definitely one you will want to watch.

Follow Caleb on Twitter here

PokerfaceAsh

This is just PokerfaceAsh's 3rd poker vlog on her YouTube channel. Ash heads to the Venetian to showcase some of their deepstack tournaments.

Follow Ashley on Twitter here

Kyle Fischl

Vlog #74 and Kyle shows you what it looks like to run like God. Its like watching a scripted drama and almost every hand ends perfectly. Kyle has a good eye and tells a good story as he describes his hands. Definitely worth checking out.

Follow Kyle on Twitter here

More here:

Top Poker Vlogs Of The Week: Mar 1-7 - PokerNews.com

Online poker at PokerStars, part of Flutter plc, had a fairly solid 2020. The poker part of the business enjoyed growth of 17% year-over-year.

This was, in large part, due to the coronavirus, which led to an explosion of interest in online poker. However, since Flutter took over the reins last May the company also committed to increasing investment into the poker division. With continual product improvements, a new marketing direction and increased generosity to players, the brand is in a much stronger position today than a year ago.

With that said, a lot of work is still to be done. While PokerStars remains the global leader in poker, its share of the online poker market has reduced in recent years, admitted the group in its annual report earlier this month. The company is embarking on a new strategy that places multi-year investment across product, technology and marketing, it was stated.

In this third installment in PROs series of articles looking ahead into 2021, we consider eight such investments we expect to come this year.

See more here:

PokerStars in 2021: Eight Predictions for the Global Online Poker Leader - Pokerfuse

It seems that images of people playing poker around the world were too much to stomach for a group of poker-starved Brits last week.

Despite a national lockdown in the UK, 26 people were willing to break the law and ante up in a home game. The illicit poker tournament took place in an office linked to a restaurant in Blackburn.

Police officers raided Robertos Bar & Bistro at 7pm on March 6. Once inside, they found a large group of people partying and playing poker across two tables.

Police officers fined 26 people 800 each for breaching COVID-19 regulations (see video below).

Per the current lockdown laws, all Brits must stay at home and only travel for essential purposes such as shopping, one form of daily exercise, and if no other option is possible, work.

Some of the poker players made a two-hour trip from Nottingham to join the action.

A spokesperson for Robertos said the party had nothing to do with the restaurant. The office used for the game is leased to a company called Women of Richmond Ltd. The owner of that business, John Rowe, also owns Robertos, according to official documents on Companys House.

Those involved have been fined according to emergency COVID laws brought in by the British government. However, it seems police may have bluffed their way into the building.

Due to the rushed and vague wording of certain COVID restrictions, its not clear what powers the police have in all situations.

For example, Brits are allowed outside to exercise if they remain local. There isnt, however, any clarification on what constitutes being local.

The poker party did breach regulations regarding people from different households mixing indoors, but police officers reportedly gained access to the building by saying there had been reports of a burglary.

This had nothing to do with Robertos. The police gained access by saying there was a burglary going on. Once inside, they searched the restaurant and found nothing. The poker game was in an office which is leased under another company, reads a statement from Robertos Bar & Bistro.

This isnt the first time police officers have broken up an illicit gathering at the restaurant. It was shut down by council officials in August after allowing too many people inside.

Those who received fines arent alone. There have been multiple incidents involving poker players and police officers over the last year.

With 12 months of restrictions and a national lockdown still in place, Brits are suffering from whats being called pandemic burnout. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has provided a roadmap out of all restrictions by June 21. Thats given businesses across the country, including casinos, a much-needed boost.

There are fears, however, that scientific advisors such as Professor Chris Whitty are moving the goalposts (see video above).

Moving goalposts or not, impromptu poker tournaments in any setting are still illegal in the UK, and those who play risk being fined 800 or more.

Written by

Daniel Smyth

Dan Smyth is a poker media journeyman who politely reminds CardsChat readers that poker is played all around the world, not just America.

Share this story

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discuss all the latest poker news in theCardsChat forum

See the article here:

Brits Fined 800 for Illicit Lockdown Poker Game in Bar - CardsChat.com

BetMGM is readying to launch BetMGM MI Poker. It was anticipated at the end of February; though it has been slightly delayed, it is expected to launch any day now.

It will become only the second operator to go live in Michigan, and that raises the questionjust how well will the new operator do expanding into markets already occupied by tough competition?

PokerStars currently has exclusive access to the Michigan poker market, having launched in late January. And they are still the only option for online poker in Pennsylvania, enjoying a de facto monopoly for well over a year.

It has established itself as a formidable competitor, with strong traffic and huge tournament series.

BetMGM will be jumping into this mix. Does PokerStars have an insurmountable lead in the market already? PokerStars had a huge launch in Michigan, headlined by the inaugural Michigan Championship of Online Poker (MICOOP). The first MICOOP smashed early guarantees, then proceeded to smash newly doubled guarantees for later events.

There is no doubt that PokerStars had a great startany new operator has to play a lot of catch-up already. But data from New Jersey shows that there is every chance to cut into such market leads.

In fact, the situation has played out before. When PokerStars NJ entered the New Jersey poker market in 2016, they quickly jumped to the top of the pile, and held that pole position for nearly two years.

Ultimately, the 888poker US Network, a combination of 888poker NJ and WSOP NJ, took over the lead in 2018, a place it holds today. This change was somewhat inevitable: It operates the only cross-state network, with a player pool shared with Nevada and Delaware. That, the power of the WSOP brand and the unique ability to run official bracelet events online, makes it tough for the competition.

But perhaps the real surprise in this market is that PokerStars (shown under its partner Resorts in these charts) has fallen into last placewith the partypoker US Network jumping in front of it.

Despite its name, the partypoker US networkwhich combines liquidity between Borgata Poker, BetMGM NJ Poker and partypoker NJ, all reported under the Borgata licensecurrently only operates in a single state, New Jersey. And they have been bottom of the market for a long time.

But in late 2020 its fortunes changed. In fact, in terms of year-over-year increase, BetMGM and their partner rooms were the winners, nearly doubling their take from 2019 with 92% increase in revenue growth, the best of the three.

That was mostly down to a huge end to the year, when revenue numbers soared. In November 2020, they booked a revenue increase of more than 135% over the previous November.

At the end of Q4, it reported more than double revenue for the entire fourth quarter compared to 2019. This was enough to bring it neck-and-neck wither PokerStars in September and then, finally, in December 2020, it took second place position.

It was the first time it has overtaken PokerStars in the five-year market history.

This goes to show that early leads and branding is not everything. The three brands at partypoker US Network have been chipping away at this lead, running their own large tournament series and promotions. The latest revenue figures show the network closer to the market leader WSOP/888 than they are to their previous rival, PokerStars NJ.

Michigan is roughly the same population as New Jersey, so the market size is very similar, and there is little doubt about the hunger for poker in the state.

BetMGM have already proven themselves capable of capturing significant market share in New Jersey, and with the software base that has already been battle-tested in the Garden State, they stand a good chance of grabbing a big piece of the action in Michigan.

That also bodes well for future plans in Pennsylvania. While there are few details yet about a PA launch, it seems clear BetMGM has designs on that market as well. There is every reason to think they can parlay their recent New Jersey success into new markets.

The proof of the pudding is, of course, in the eating, and there will be a lot of work to do to capture market share. Game choice will be a large factor in the success of BetMGM Michigan Poker, so players can likely expect some big tournament series through the year in Michigan.

The new competition will almost certainly benefit the players, but operators have a lot to gain from healthy competition as well. Each site will be looking to capture as much of the new markets as possible, and that will lead to bigger guarantees and better bonuses for players across the board as operators fight for their poker dollars. That drive for market share will fuel the growth of the operators themselves.

Who comes out on top from the operator perspective is yet to be seen, but getting a new name like BetMGM at the table is only going to be good for players.

Read the rest here:

Partypoker US is the Surprise Success Story in New Jersey: Can it be Replicated in Michigan and Pennsylvania? - Pokerfuse

Online Poker is one of the most popular games amongst casino players, both new and experienced alike. At an online casino, you can find a range of Poker games, with different variations, table limits, and buy-ins to suit players of all budgets and interests, and providing you with the ultimate Poker experience. You could even take part in an exciting and competitive online Poker tournament.

But when playing an online Poker tournament whether thats a Sit & Go or a Multi-Table - as well as having some sort of strategy in place before you play, there are also some tips you should follow to make sure you get the most out of the Poker game. Let us run through some of them for you now!

1.Do play at a trusted site

Before you even begin playing any form of Poker game or tournament, its best practice to play at a trusted online casino such as https://casino.betfair.com/. To ensure that your money and personal details are safe and secure, and you are confident to play online, the only register to play at a licensed and regulated online casino.

2.Do have patience

Be prepared to spend some time at an online Poker tournament, as well as for a rollercoaster of emotions from rising tension to elated wins. You have to be especially patient for a Multi-Table version, as these tend to have larger prize pools and longer durations spent playing. A low buy-in, big field online tournament could take several hours to complete, as a virtually unlimited number of participants can take part, and as the players are knocked out one-by-one until the number of tables is slowly reduced to the final one. So, you must be aware of this long time of gameplay before registering for a Poker event like this.

3.Dont disconnect during the game

This follows on nicely from the fact that you should be patient during an online Poker tournament, as you may be tempted to disconnect from the game. However, its important to see it out to the end, as if you disconnect, you will immediately be sat out of the game. You'll still be dealt a hand, but it will be instantly folded, and play continues without you.

4.Dont try to pull off elaborate bluffs

For an online poker tournament, its best to keep things simple. Trying to run an elaborate bluff doesnt quite work in the same way for an online format, compared to one in real-life, especially as other players do not tend to see your facial expressions and reactions likewise, you arent able to see theirs.

In such a wide-spread tournament of players, most people are focused on their own hand, so wont react to your actions that you have a particular hand, or that youre trying to represent that you have specific cards.

But when you do have a good hand, make sure to make the most of it. At a low-stake poker tournament, you can allow yourself to bet a bit more, as opponents are most likely to call your bets. So, if you have a strong holding, make sure to take full advantage of this.

5.Dont worry about having a balanced playing style

For a large field, small stake online Poker Tournament, theres no need to balance your play - like you would when playing against stronger opponents for higher stakes, varying your best and actions so as not to be read as easily. Especially because of its online format and its vast nature of lower-skilled players, there is no need to worry about revealing a pattern in your play, such as always betting more when you have a stronger hand. But most importantly, remember to have fun with it and play responsibly.

Here is the original post:

The Dos and Donts of Playing an Online Poker Tournament - The African Exponent

March 10, 2021Jonathan Little

In this weeks strategy column, I am throwing it back to 2012 when Tony G faced off against the never-aging Patrik Antonius.

In this hand, Antonius managed to find a check with the effective nuts, setting the bait three times for Tony G, who gladly took it by betting on the river. Antonius put in a huge check-raise but did Tony G find a call with his marginal hand? Either way, you know Tony G was steaming when he faced this kind of aggression! Lets dive in.

The hand took place in the partypoker Premier League Poker V when Tony G raised to 30,000 under the gun holding the . Antonius called an additional 15,000 out of the big blind with the .

The flop gave Antonius the nuts and he checked to Tony G, who checked it back. I think this was a good spot for Tony G to bet frequently and small, but if you want to find some hands to check it back with, pocket kings is a good one to do it with as it is a marginal made hand on this flop. When it goes check-check on the flop, it became fairly apparent Tony G had either a marginal-made hand or complete air.

"If you know your opponent likes to bluff a lot then give them every opportunity to run those bluffs."

As for Antonius, checking the nuts is pretty standard here. Leading into someone out of position, you are saying you are not concerned with what their range looks like, which is a huge indicator of strength,

On the turn, Antonius checked again. Its reasonable to keep super nutted hands in your checking range because you block so many hands that they may call with. Similarly, if you know your opponent likes to bluff a lot then give them every opportunity to run those bluffs. If your opponent is on the weaker and tighter side then you want to bet as they are unlikely to bluff.

Tony G checked behind, much to the astonishment of commentator Mike Sexton, but I dont mind it. Its one of those spots where you have to be concerned about losing a lot of chips, especially in tournament play, and betting the turn opens that door.

Antonius checking three times would really increase the value of Tony Gs marginal made hands, and thats just what he did on the river. This time Tony G took the bait by betting 40,000 out of his 332K stack.

This is a spot where Antonius is going to want to put in a big raise, like 3.5-4x your opponents bet. By doing so he will be polarized between having a nutted hand or nothing. If you only raise here with the nuts like a lot of weak players do, its like a free bet for Tony G who can bet and get called by worse hands and then just fold whenever raised.

Remember this, a big difference in being a big winner and a marginal winner is the aggression that they bring on the river.

Antonius woke up with a check-raise to 170K and Tony G shifted uncomfortably in his chair. When your perceived range is these types of marginal hands you have to find some hero calls against good players that will attack this range.

In this spot, Tony G blocked the king-high flush, which made a hero call a bit more appealing. Against world-class players that have the ability to bluff in these types of situations makes for a stronger case for Tony G to call, which he eventually did.

For a more thorough breakdown of this hand, check out my thoughts in the following video used with permission from partypoker:

Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and author with over $7,000,000 in live tournament earnings. He writes a weekly educational blog and hosts a podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com. Sign up to learn poker from Jonathan for free at PokerCoaching.com. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanLittle.

Excerpt from:

Patrik Antonius Leaves Tony G Steaming in This Poker Hand - PokerNews.com

Poker is one of those sports that encourages strategy. It is a meaningful investment to develop cognitive skills. But often, this mind sport invites frowns than encouragement. Most people dont understand how Poker can enrich grey matter, but they go by the surface-level perception of this sport. This notion gets another colour when women enter the arena. A segment of society thinks that women and Poker cant be paired with each other. How wrong they could be!

Adda52, introduces SheMatters: Pro Poker Champs. A series that sheds light on women pro players of Poker. And up next is Muskan Sethi, Indias first female Poker player who sets the record straight. She tells us about her strategy at the green tables and about her journey of successes with the winning hand.

1. Tell us something about yourself and your initiation in Poker? What led you to this path?I am from New Delhi. I have been attracted to strategic games all my life; I found Poker when I was 11. My dad respected Poker as a mind sport and poker players for their skills. For me, it was love at first sight. But I waited to finish school at Modern, Barakhamba Road. Soon after, I took it up as a hobby. And then, many years later, I won a contest in India that gave me an opportunity to play for a million dollars with top pros on national tv in the UK. I never looked back & turned my favourite hobby into my profession, my passion.

3. What change has Poker brought to your life? What about the life skills you take home from this game?Risk is the best price we pay for the opportunity. Poker encourages you to take calculated risks, improves decision making, even under pressure. Not only do you evolve as a player, but also as a person. It promotes a healthy, problem-solving state of mind. You can use poker strategies in daily situations while investing in your finances and planning your future.

See more here:

ADVT: SheMatters- Pro Poker Champs: Muskan Sethi has upped the ante with her diverse career choice - Times of India