Last Friday at the Aria in Las Vegas, the Global Poker Awards ceremony recognized some of the most influential people in poker. Although we all knew that William Foxen and Kristen Bicknell were receiving their Player of the Year (POY) awards, many more winners were yet to be revealed. The World Series of Poker Main Event, the iconic poker tournament that crowns the World Champion every year, was at the forefront of the ceremony. The tournament itself received the Event of the Year Award, while John Cynn, winner of the event, won the Tournament Performance Award. Cynn’s performance was no small feat: he bested a field of 7,874 players to take down the $8,800,000 first prize and the title! Playing with John Cynn at the final table was Joe Cada, winner of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Cada came really close to becoming the only player in the post-Moneymaker era […]
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Power Weekend gets a new face! The next Power Weekend comes May 2 to May 6, and it has a brand new face! Taking place just before MILLIONS North America, the Power Weekend and its hot fresh-off-the-press logo will warm up the tournament hall nicely for our first ever $10K buy-in Main Event. This will be your last chance to qualify for MILLIONS through our STEP satellites. Check out the schedule! Free play for the whole party! Two promotions are now in effect in Playground’s Electronic Gaming space: the Welcome Bonus and the Refer-A-Friend program. Let’s see how well these promotions tie together. If you’re already a member and bring some friends that have never played at Playground before, you get $20 in free play for each friend that you bring (Refer-A-Friend) and your friends get $20 in free play each for becoming a member (Welcome Bonus). Free play […]
Road to MILLIONS – Episode 3
This young player was born and raised in Beauce. He is a true poker fanatic. When asked what he would do if he made a big score at the MILLIONS, he did not hesitate: the first thing that came to mind was more poker! He played the 2018 MILLIONS North America after qualifying through the STEP satellite system, and he did it again this year, on his first try! Because one bullet is all you need. Boom! Let’s hear what he has to say about how to reap some STEP value. Introducing… Jean-Philippe Lehoux. (More great content coming up on Playground’s official YouTube channel. Please subscribe!)
Get into MILLIONS shape at the May Power Weekend
The Power Weekend, running from May 2 to May 6, is the last mini-series before the MILLIONS train comes to town. It is also your last chance to book a $10,300 seat to MILLIONS North America through STEP satellites. Your last satellite tree: STEP 1s – Fridays and Sundays through April, as well as May 2 and 3 STEP 2 – May 4 at 8:00PM STEP 3 – May 5 at 7:00PM The series, boasting over $240,000 in total guarantees, presents ten tournaments with cash guarantees ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. Strangers in the Night makes its way back to the Playground felts with three Day 1s, a $50,000 guarantee, and the great feeling of doing your part to make the world a better place! The $25 tournament fee goes entirely to the Strangers in the Night charity initiative, which benefits three non-profit organizations: Miriam Foundation, Lymphoma Canada, and The […]
Elon Musk now claims Model S AI system can detect when someone is lying
Plans in the works for live demonstration at an east coast poker tournament later this May. Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, the leading electric car manufacturer, announced this weekend that his new Tesla Model S, set to hit the showrooms in 2020, will have an integrated lie-detecting AI system. Musk claims that the system, equipped with new tech that can tell if someone’s lying, will increase owner security when they stop to assist someone. New tech involved consists of a Voice Modulation Deep Analyser, as well as some advanced options such as a passenger seat integrated Body Heat Sensor. “As a first public demonstration, said Musk in a press conference on Saturday, we plan to show that NOWAY JOSE, the AI developed to detect lies, is capable of spotting a lie even if it is told by the people who practise deception the most: poker players.” At […]
Road to MILLIONS – Episode 2
This poker player from Ontario is a frequent visitor at Playground. She plays primarily cash games, but found her way to the tournament hall after a dry patch, and ended up on the January Tournament Leaderboard to earn a STEP 1 satellite seat! A few STEPS later, she is on our list of qualifiers and about to play the biggest tournament she’s ever played: MILLIONS North America! Introducing… Christine Park. (More great content coming up on Playground’s official YouTube channel. Please subscribe!)
Free play at the EGDs!
Playground is proud to announce two promotions in the Electronic Gaming space: the Welcome Bonus and the Refer-A-Friend program! Both promos give out free play at our EGDs; a great way to start any gaming session! Playground’s Electronic Gaming Devices have been buzzing for almost four months, but with these new promos hitting the floor, the real buzz is about to begin! Welcome Bonus All new members receive $20 in free play, to be used on the EGD of your choice! As soon as you sign up at our Player Rewards desk, you will be handed a $20 voucher. You can then make your way to the cashier to redeem it! Click here for more details. Refer-A-Friend Collect $20 in free play for every friend that you bring to Playground! Show up at the Player Rewards desk with your friend(s), tell the attendant that you wish to refer […]
partypoker launches Texas Hold’em SHORTDECK
partypoker has launched online “SHORTDECK” games for its global dotcom market, a cash game format gaining popularity in the poker world and a favourite among high roller circles. Also known as “Six-Plus Hold’em,” the format offers an exciting variation on traditional Texas Hold’em marked by a few key differences. Most significantly, the game is played with a reduced deck of cards. All cards below a 6 are removed, leaving a 36-card deck. An ace can be used as high or low, making A-6-7-8-9 the Short Deck “wheel” or low straight. The other important distinction is in the hand rankings; in Short Deck Hold’em, a flush beats a full house. Available on 2-Max, 6-Max, 8-Max and 9-Max tables, the game requires every player to place an ante pre-flop, resulting in larger opening pots than in Texas Hold’em. For example, at a regular $100 buy-in 6-Max Hold’em table with blinds of $0.50/$1, […]
Another day, another BBJ!
March madness is truly living up to its billing at Playground, as another Secondary Bad Beat Jackpot was awarded last night! This latest jackpot was delivered thanks to a perfect runout in a limped pot on a 1/2 table. It happened shortly after 2:30am on table 2 in truly dramatic fashion. The table was playing 7-handed, and the action started with a call from the first player to act, James H. A second player called before the action was bumped up to $6, a raise that was called by all but one player at the table. The flop: . The first two players to act checked before James, the initial caller, put out a bet of $5. The small bet was promptly raised by the next player to act, Danny C., who went all-in for $57. The raise chased everyone else out of the pot before Danny called for less, […]
March: a festival of Bad Beats
Last night at 9:26PM, seven players were shooting on table 15, playing $2/$2 PLO. Éric M, sitting in seat 4, opened the pot to $10, a rather common opening bet at these stakes. Two players called before Anthony C made it $25 to go. Out of seven players, only one did not call the 3-bet! Six players went to the flop: Anthony was the pre-flop aggressor, and when you raise and get called by a sea of players, there is no better feeling than to flop the nuts with redraws to the super nuts! He cautiously placed a continuation bet of $25, trying to get as many people as possible to stick around. Only Éric did, raising to $100, enough to cover Anthony’s $55. Turn: River: Éric, too excited to wait, waived his right to show last and slammed his monster open: Éric: Anthony did not react right away, possibly […]
A monster PLO tournament in April
In April, the Playground tournament schedule is about daily events, STEP satellites, and one glorified tournament: the $500 + $100 + $500 PL Omaha Deepstack 50/50 Bounty Rebuy event, held on April 14. PLO players have been itching for some nice bounty action, and they got what they wanted in March with the addition of the $100 + $20 + $100 PL Omaha Deepstack 50/50 Bounty Re-entry tournament on Sundays. On April 14, this tournament transforms into a $1,100 event with rebuys! Bigger buy-in, bigger prizes, same game! Unlimited Rebuy means that reloads are done directly at the table, allowing players to keep battling the opponents they have come to know… and maybe go after their own chips for the old best-served-cold dish! What else can we shoot for in April? MILLIONS North America STEP 1 Satellites! The last satellite tree grows in April and into May, where the last […]
Event #8 has its champion: Nicholas Soller
The heads up match between Charan Malhotra and Nicholas Soller lasted three levels. The chips were exchanging hands every now and then, but mostly, both players were waiting for a decent hand. Charan started with a sizable lead on Nicholas, who only had 900,000 of the total 3,575,000 chips in play. Mid-way through the two-man contest, Nicholas doubled-up and Charan was badly hurt. The two experienced players played back and forth for a while, never doing much harm to each other, and seemed to be quite content to play on, even after 10 hours of play. Tournament structure in the late stages has an uncanny ability to put an end to the festivities: the blinds go up. It is universal truth that all good things must come to an end; and heads-up matches are no exception. Things started to get a little less comfortable when the blinds hit the 60K / […]