December 5, 2025

The runaway success of the Asian Poker Tour Championships.

Over $34 million in prize money was dished out over 17 days. Organizers of the APT sit down with PokerOrg to discuss their epic run.

December 05

Wait, what?! Scorsese and the Rounders crew creating Netflix show.

Martin Scorsese is back in the casino world, teaming up with the guys behind Rounders (Brian Koppelman and David Levien) for a Netflix series set in Las Vegas. It also appears that PokerStars Ambassador Maria Konnikova is part of the project.

The show follows Robert 'Bobby Red’ Redman, a casino president navigating what a Netflix press release calls a “modernized but still dangerous version of the legendary city.”

Martin Scorsese joins Rounders writers for Netflix Vegas series

Brian Koppelman and David Levien will team with Martin Scorsese for an eight-episode Netflix series set in modern Las Vegas.

Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Martin Scorsese Team for Las Vegas Casino Drama at Netflix

Netflix is rolling the dice with the greenlight of a drama series set in Las Vegas.

Maria Konnikova (@mkonnikova)

View on X →

A little National Heads Up Poker Championships teaser for you.

It’s going to be good!

Famous faces spotted at the Triton series.

WPT ambassador Phil Ivey is officially in the house.

EPT Prague has started strong!

The PokerStars Open that takes place as part of EPT Prague has gotten off to a flying start.

The real gamble is getting invited to the Triton Poker Invitational. The clues in the name.

A cool $250,000 will get you a seat at the event in the Bahamas, but it won’t guarantee you a spot at the final table.

According to Pokerati, with pros and amateurs mixing it up, even Phil Ivey might have to sweat his invitees’ skills. The only sure thing is that someone will walk away a lot richer, while the rest can console themselves with sun and sand.

When the table heats up, Señor Tilt brings the fire.

High Stakes Poker LIVE saw him run wild, dictating play and leaving a trail of shell-shocked opponents. No bluffing required: the momentum was all his, the pots kept growing, and the legend only got bigger.

WSOP Paradise vlog drops from Dnegs today.

Daniel Negreanu will be bringing us his fan-favorite vlogs during the series. The first one dropping later today.

Prague’s EPT: If you build it, they will come (again).

The European Poker Tour has landed in Prague for its 18th run, bringing players from across the world to the Hilton Hotel. The festival has over 70 events on offer, stretching until December 14.

The PokerStars Open Main Event has already seen 224 entries with more starting flights yet to come, so organizers are hoping to top last year’s record-breaking turnout.

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship is back!

PokerGO and PokerStars have announced the return of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, reuniting fans with one of poker’s most iconic tournaments.

The championship brings together top players in a bracket-style, heads-up format—a structure that has produced memorable moments and plenty of drama over the years. Expect the return of classic rivalries, along with some new faces hoping to make their mark.

New episodes of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship are available to watch on Peacock and NBC Sports NOW.

The primetime rollout schedule on NBC Sports NOW is as follows:

Thursday, December 4 – 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET (4 episodes)
Thursday, December 11 – 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET (4 episodes)
Thursday, December 18 – 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET (2 episodes)

New year, new WSOP-C season.

The WSOP Circuit is finally syncing its seasons with the calendar, so players can start the year with a clean slate. All WSOP-C winners receive a $5,000 package to either WSOP Paradise or WSOP Europe.

The new season kicks off in January 2026.

December 04

Poker’s future according to Jeff Gross: more clocks, fewer places to play.

Gross has been in poker for 25 years and his biggest takeaway is that you still can’t play everywhere in the US. According to him, installing shot clocks and big blind antes is the height of innovation.

This week on the RecPoker Podcast Rob Gardner and his crew interview Laurel Moran.

They also play Stake/Study Stack with Nikki Limo, Caitlyn Comesky, and Abby Merk!

Spraggy is back at the tables for one last shot at poker glory, and the suspense is only rivaled by his dry delivery.

The video follows his run during WCOOP, where the stakes are high and the jokes are even higher. If you like self-deprecating commentary and the occasional big fold, this could be your kind of sweat.

A Barry Cater meme.

No more explanation needed.

December 03

A great précis of the Big Beautiful Bill and what it may mean to you.

Blaise Bourgeois breaks down what this new taxing system can mean, in just a few sentences.

The final PokerStars Live League push is going to be happening during EPT Prague and PokerStars Open Cannes.

With just two live tours left on the PokerStars LIVE calendar, there is everything still to play for for the players who have entered the PokerStars Live League.

The top 10 finishers from each Live League leaderboard will audition for the Ambassadorship before a winner is chosen. €150,000 in tournament buy-ins are also up for grabs across the leaderboard promotion.

The maiden PokerStars Live League is hurtling down its home stretch… Needless to say, those two exciting stops are must-play, can’t-miss-under-any-circumstances events for those battling near the top of the three leaderboards and hoping to add some final points to their tallies.

WSOP Paradise action to be streamed on Triton Poker Series channels.

Action starts tomorrow, and Triton is covering all the action in conjunction with GGPoker.

Shina Okamoto won back to back WSOP bracelets during the past two summer series.

She is now slated to join the lineup during WSOP Paradise. We can’t wait to see what she may achieve.

EPT Prague starts today!

The PokerStars Prague stop is always a fan favorite and we can’t wait for all the action. Cards up coverage of the Main begins on Dec 10.

Keating walks in, the pot explodes, and Kabrhel is left picking up the pieces.

Alan Keating made an appearance on Hustler Casino Live and promptly reminded everyone why he’s a fan favorite. According to PokerNews, Keating sat down in the $500/$1,000 no-limit game with a cool million and ended up in one of the biggest hands ever broadcast.

The pot ballooned after a chaos-filled flop, with Keating holding tens full and Martin Kabrhel holding a weaker trip jacks. The action reached its peak when Steve shoved all in for nearly $800,000, and Kabrhel called off his stack. Keating, with the nuts, had an easy call and scooped the $2 million monster pot.

“The hand began with Steven raising to $4,000 from under the gun with 10-8 of hearts… Keating wasn’t about to slowplay his full house, so he raised it up to $25,000.”

Keating’s full house held, Kabrhel was left muttering, and the YouTube chat lost its mind.

Dan Smith is the OG when it comes to charitable giving.

His Double up Drive enters year 10 and is closing in on $30 million given to charity. What a huge accomplishment.

Petition for poker players in USA to chase down invisible taxes.

The Fair Bet Act is the latest rallying cry for petitioners who want to end what they call the “phantom tax.” According to the campaign on Change.org, supporters are urging Congress to take action, arguing that the current system unfairly taxes gambling winnings that haven’t really been realized.

One of the main complaints is summed up by the succinct slogan:

No PHANTOM TAX!

The petition is directed at lawmakers and features a section called “Supporter Voices,” where backers can share why they want the bill to pass. Whether or not the signatures will sway Congress is another matter, but at least the issue is getting some attention.

Endurance is a skill on Hustler Casino Live.

“Million Dollar Marathon” on Hustler Casino Live is less about who wins and more about who survives. In this first part, Alan Keating, Martin Kabrhel, Senor Tilt, Nik Airball, and Peter sit down for what is essentially poker’s version of an ultramarathon. No breaks, no mercy, and seemingly no end in sight.

WSOP Paradise starts tomorrow.

But all I can think about is whether they used a fake David Attenborough AI voice-over for this video. Thoughts?

December 02

Seth Davis hosts AMA on X ahead of WSOP Paradise.

Dig into the comments to see what he has to say. He answers everything from what his daily routine looks like to how much action he sells.

Do you remember all the stalling and tanking during the 2025 WSOP?

In this video, Poker Bounty looks back at the 2025 WSOP and the controversies that surrounded it. Ike Haxton led the charge with a single decision that took six minutes, while Will Kassouf ended things with what is being called an epic meltdown. Organizers stood by and watched as play crawled to a halt.

Daniel Negreanu did not hide his frustration.

“It wasn’t just slow play—it was an abuse of power.”

Where do you draw the line when it comes to making jokes vs responsible gambling language?

Personally, I think Jess makes a good point, and honestly, I think the language around using your rent to play poker is extremely damaging. This messaging does not help people play responsibly, joke or not.

Our love of poker notwithstanding there are many people out there whose lives are ruined through gambling addiction. And it’s no joking matter.

Fashionably late is the new poker strategy.

Pulling mystery bounties is the new power move, according to WPTGlobal Ambassador Dara O’Kearney. If you want to be in the mix for those big payouts, just late-register and hope you cover someone with a bigger stack than yours. Apparently, the real secret is showing up late and stacking up fast.

O’Kearney gives his top 10 tips for mastering this format over on PokerOrg.

The up and down swings of playing poker can be wild.

Kevin Martin has lost $77,000 this fall — but he isn’t losing hope that he can turn things around.

I, for one, couldn’t imagine losing $77,000 in just a couple of months! Absolute madness. But KMart remains positive he can turn his fortunes around, just like he did in 2021.

Bob Mather has some thoughts on how to make poker on TV more exciting.

His take is actually well worth the read, and I tend to agree. Mather thinks televised poker needs to show the turn and river cards on every hand, even the folds. And honestly, he has a point.

There’s such a high barrier to entry when following commentary if you know nothing about the game.

nb. Game of Gold was a great example (imo) of televised poker getting it right.

Which online poker sites hold the most prestige?

Vanessa Kade and Matt Berkey get into it over on X. What’s nice to see is BetRivers Poker jumping into the comments.

WPT Global’s season of giving.

Because nothing says holiday spirit like incentivized deposits and a daily login grind. According to Ivan in our latest pokerfuse piece, WPT Global is giving out gifts based on how much you deposit.

Because nothing screams Christmas like a $25 million cash dump.

GGPoker is giving away $25 million in December. Because nothing says 'holiday spirit’ like a million-dollar Flipout to end the year.

Get all the details over in our article.

Three poker tours take centre stage in December. David Lappin breaks it down.

December is turning into a battleground for live poker’s biggest brands. EPT Prague has changed dates slightly, making it theoretically possible to hit both their event and the WPT World Championship at The Wynn in Las Vegas.

'Competition is healthy and poker operators have to battle, but they shouldn’t do so in a manner that willfully hurts the industry.’

December 01

When poker isn’t hard enough, some pros pick up a spellbook instead.

According to PokerOrg, there is a curious overlap between professional poker and competitive Magic: The Gathering. The site highlights players like Bryn Kenney, who tops poker’s all-time money list, and notes that many poker stars got their start in the world of Magic.

The article explains that Magic: The Gathering is a different beast, with players summoning creatures and casting spells rather than betting chips. PokerOrg interviewed Kenney about the appeal of Magic and how its strategic depth compares to poker.

Loving these APT Championship pictures.

They are SO good! Not sure who the photographer is, but these are excellent!

Sam Greenwood’s take on whether the poker boom is ever likely to come back. Spoiler: he doesn’t think so.

Punt Of The Day features a frank discussion on why another poker boom isn’t likely. The game has shifted from wild gambles to dry, technical play, leaving casual players and big dreamers on the sidelines.

Plenty of ways to win your way to big PokerStars events this month.

PokerNews breaks down what’s on the table with PokerStars’ Power Path this month, including Gold, Silver, and Bronze Passes for major live and online events. With EPT Prague on the horizon, it’s a solid time to check your ticket options.

Poker bots aren’t the only ones getting called out lately.

Chad and Connor over on the PokerNews podcast take on the latest AI drama in poker, picking apart the recent WSOP documentary controversy and that article by Sara O’Connor.

Big pots and bigger decisions on a quiet weekday stream.

Bally Poker Live captures a tense hand at Commerce in Los Angeles, where over $30,000 is on the line. The stakes are high, the decisions tougher, and the drama plays out in real time for the stream audience.

Tune in to the latest video of Kevin Martin during his Sunday poker grind.

The Kmart Poker Sunday video deals up another session dream-chasing, streamed for the world to see. The stakes are high, but the hopes are higher—just another Sunday at the virtual felt.

Buckle up.

The Triton Poker Series starts this week, with the live stream running from December 4 to 11. As we won’t be in WSOP Paradise, we will definitely be tuning in to some of the high-stakes action.

Chasing the perfect shot.

Pokerati profiles Jess Beck, a photographer who swapped Nebraska sunsets for the bright lights and chaos of the poker world. His inventive approach and fearless attitude are turning poker photography into something far more theatrical.

Swedish police raid poker club and they are not messing.

A detailed article on PokerNews covers the police raid of a long-running Stockholm poker club, where nearly 100 players were ordered to the floor. The Swedish Poker Association is pushing back, suggesting the police response may have been more forceful than official accounts let on.

There’s a lot of free money up for grabs at GGPoker this month.

GGPoker is running a $25 million giveaway this December, with daily gift boxes and a $1 million Flipout tournament to close the year. All players are welcome, as long as you log in and qualify.

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