Opening Poker Stake
In online poker games, you will find players opening for 2.5x or even 3x the big blind, whereas in live poker games you can find players opening for 6x or more, especially in the lower-stakes live poker games. It’s not just that, though, and bet sizing is an art in itself and a whole chapter should be dedicated to it. Most poker rooms nowadays are taking around 8-12 big blinds (bb) for every 100 hands that you play at micro stakes. This means that if you were beating your opponents for 15bb per 100 hands, you’d actually only win around 5bb per 100 hands. That’s a huge chunk of your winnings — gone. That’s the challenge of micro stakes games.
ByDuring the 2020 pandemic, many people have discussed the extraordinary burden on medical professionals, teachers, and all frontline workers. And quite a huge portion of the population is directly and negatively affected by Covid-19 and its many consequences.
But who is talking about high-stakes poker players who prefer live tournaments? Huh?
All kidding aside, Poker Central is one of many poker outlets that has tried to normalize the game in this age of the coronavirus.
Working with PokerGO to produce livestreamed online content, Poker Central recently aired numerous episodes surrounding the High Stakes Duel heads-up match between Phil Hellmuth and Antonio Esfandiari.
Soon after, PokerGO offered the setting for the first showdown of a long-term heads-up contest between Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu. Indeed, the first 200 hands of 25,000 played on a livestream from the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas before the remainder of the hands moved online.
Coming up next will be the chance for live high-stakes players to return to the Aria on the Las Vegas Strip for the famous $10K buy-in tournaments.
High Rollers Welcomed Back
Poker players who enjoy the high buy-in events became quite accustomed to numerous tournament series throughout the year at Aria or in the PokerGO Studio. Poker Central and Aria seemed to meet player demands.
The pandemic put a wrench in all live poker but especially tournaments.
Aria reopened its poker room on July 1 after having been shuttered for nearly four months due to pandemic restrictions. Cash games resumed from July forward, but tournaments are a special beast.
Poker Central recently announced that the high roller tournaments will return for a couple of days in early December. It will likely be a trial run to see how many players will compete during the pandemic and how Aria staff deal with the action.
The three events will take place on December 3-5, one per day and each with a $10K buy-in and reentries allowed. Each day’s event will begin at 2pm local time but late registration will remain open for six levels.
High Roller Tournaments return to @ARIAPoker December 3,4 & 5 📅
💰 $10,000 buy-In
🚫 No rake for ON TIME registrants
🕑 2pm start time
⏳ 40-min levels
Full details: 📰🗞️https://t.co/oeqfGnNAAA
Opening Poker Stake Poker
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) November 22, 2020
Restrictions in Place
Not only is the pandemic still alive, it is thriving and spreading like wildfire across the United States…again. The second wave has prompted many officials around America to institute another round of lockdowns and bans on gatherings. Las Vegas casinos do have limited capacity protocols, but the casinos remain open.
As long as the Aria is open, it seems that it will run the high roller tournaments. All staff, players, media, and anyone related to the operations must wear a mask for the entirety of the action. There are other notes for players:
–On-time registrants pay no rake.
–Late registrants and players reentering the tournament will pay a $500 fee per entry.
–Levels will play for 40 minutes each with a 10-minute break after every two levels.
–Tables will play six-handed per Aria rules.
–The cap is 24 players, as only four tables are allowed for the event.
–A 30-second shot clock will keep the action moving.
–Each player will receive six 30-second time extensions per entry.
–The final six players will receive six additional 30-second time extensions.
Next Up: New Poker After Dark
Opening Poker Stake Ideas
Remember Poker After Dark? It was one of many iconic television shows created during the poker boom and one of the few that left a lasting impression. It had been sponsored by Full Tilt Poker, so it obviously died when Full Tilt did. That was until Poker Central bought the rights and decided to relaunch the show.
In 2017, the network announced the official return of the show. Season 7 had ended the show’s first run in 2011, but Season 8 brought it back in 2017. And it was a hit.
Earlier this year, Poker Central introduced Poker After Dark: Studio Cuts,” as a new spinoff series. It took footage from its Seasons 9-11 and created new episodes.
Season 11 had only started in 2020 with two shows. More episodes are now on the way, beginning on December 13 exclusively to PokerGO subscribers.
Oh hey there Poker After Dark Suite, how you doin'???
NEW episodes of Poker After Dark coming exclusively to PokerGO December 13! Use promo code BOOK for $10 off an annual sub + a @phil_hellmuth autographed book 📖📖 https://t.co/vNIqJCNLnepic.twitter.com/H9XN87w1o4
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) November 18, 2020
Next Up: High Stakes Poker
Poker fans have been craving televised live cash game action with high stakes. High Stakes Poker was missing from the televised poker landscape since 2011, but Poker Central bought the brand in February 2020.
The last episodes of High Stakes Poker aired in 2011, though PokerGO subscribers have had access to those old episodes. But Poker Central figured out how to film safely in the pandemic and did so over the past few months.
Approximately one month ago, famous alumni of the show Tom Dwan announced on Twitter that he was a part of the new season. And Poker Central confirmed that the new episodes will debut on PokerGO on December 16.
Opening Poker Stake Game
High stakes poker coming back guys. Hope I run as good as last time pic.twitter.com/m8auOjG2ic
— Tom Dwan (@TomDwan) October 27, 2020
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PokerGO®, Poker Central’s direct-to-consumer OTT subscription video service, today announced “High Stakes Duel,” its newest original series with a tournament format that has never been seen before in the poker world. The first episode of the series will feature a heads-up match between poker stars Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Hellmuth and will premiere live from the PokerGO® Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino on July 30th at 9pm ET/6pm PT.
The first round of “High Stakes Duel” has a $50,000 buy-in with the winner advancing to Round 2 of the battle. The loser in each round receives the option to challenge the victor for a rematch prior to the next round of the game being offered to any player willing to put up the money required. The stakes will double with each round, resulting in a potential total prize pool of $12,800,000 in Round 8. In order for a player to walk away victorious, they must win 3 straight matches before Round 6 or 2 in a row from Round 5 onward. If there are no challengers within 30 days of the previous match, the most recent winner also walks away victorious.
“This series is different than anything we’ve created before in poker,” said Mori Eskandani, Executive Producer at Poker Central. “If you’re a fan of the game, you definitely don’t want to miss this. The stakes and rivalries will be on another level.”
“We’re constantly looking to create new formats and experiences in the game that will excite and entertain viewers,” said J.R. McCabe, Chief Business Officer of Poker Central. “With millions of dollars in prospective prize money, this series has the potential to be the highest stakes poker match ever to be shown on TV.”
The debut episode of “High Stakes Duel” will highlight a compelling and competitive match-up between notable poker stars Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Hellmuth, who have had a decade-long rivalry in the game, live from the PokerGO® Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Phil Hellmuth is a record holder with 15 World Series of Poker gold bracelet wins, $23.4 million in career tournament earnings, and a 1989 WSOP Main Event winner. Antonio Esfandiari has won the first ever million-dollar poker tournament, the 2012 Big One for One Drop for $18.3 million, two World Poker Tour titles and a total of three WSOP gold bracelets.
“For 10 years I’ve been challenging Phil to a heads-up match where the winner shoots the loser with a taser gun – so going head-to-head in ‘High Stakes Duel’ has been a long time coming,” said poker star Antonio Esfandiari. “The idea that the winner has to go double-or-nothing at least two more times after the first match is brilliant; it will be interesting to see who will go for the challenge and who will turn it down when it gets to a certain point.”
“Antonio and I have a long history of playing poker together,” said Phil Hellmuth, who’s known as ‘The Poker Brat.’ “From the time he came to my house as a young man and insisted we play heads up (he won), to the time we played televised cash games together (he won), to the NBC Heads Up Championship in 2005 – I won it all. Looking forward to this battle!”
“High Stakes Duel” will be the latest original tournament series available exclusively on PokerGO®. From expert commentary on the game in “The Championship Run” and “Run It Back With Remko,” to behind-the-scenes interviews on “Hand Histories,” “Stories from the Felt” and more, PokerGO®’s originals provide unmatched access to the world of poker.