This Week
April 13 - April 19, 2026
Today
From Dublin to Down Under: The Irish Open's world tour begins.
The latest episode of The Lock-In recaps the Irish Open 2026, highlighting both the poker action and the off-table shenanigans.
David had a knack for arriving at Dara’s table just in time for an all-in, while footage from Felix Schneiders and his GRND Team captured some of the best hands from Day 1.
The festival itself is expanding, with Lauren Mooney sharing how the Irish Open is set to go international to Australia, Morocco, and the USA over the next year.
There’s also behind-the-scenes footage from the final table and a rundown of side event winners.
The Grinder is headed to the Aussie Millions.
It’s almost time for the long awaited return of the Aussie Millions and none other than WSOP 2025 Main Event winner Michael Mizrachi will be in attendance.PokerStars on FanDuel taking their combined brand to Ontario.
April 15 marks the end of the current rewards system, with all completed Chests paid out between April 15 and 22. The new collab should go live in early May.
The new platform, which has already launched in the US, has received mixed reviews due to some connectivity and geolocation issues.
The operator has a few weeks to iron out these wrinkles before Ontarians get to try it for themselves.
PokerStars is marking 15 years of the Sunday Storm with a special $500,000 guaranteed edition in a multi-flight PKO format.
The anniversary edition of one of online poker’s most recognizable low-stakes tournaments will play out across dozens of Phase 1 flights, beginning Friday, April 17, and culminating in Phase 2 on May 10.
Players can enter as many Phase 1 flights as they wish, with the goal of reaching the money and advancing to the final stage.
The format marks a departure from the tournament’s traditional structure, with this special edition adopting a Progressive Knockout (PKO) phase format to mark the occasion.
The milestone also offers a chance to look back at the tournament’s origins.
As we noted on X, the Sunday Storm debuted on March 27 with a $1 million guarantee. Prior to its rebrand, the same event ran as the Sunday 1/4 Million, featuring an $11 buy-in and a $300,000 guarantee, and regularly attracting fields of more than 30,000 entries.
Just days later, however, the industry was shaken by Black Friday, which effectively shut down online poker in the United States. The impact was immediate and significant, with PokerStars losing an estimated 30–40% of its player pool overnight.
Despite that, the Sunday Storm endured. Fifteen years on, it remains a fixture on the schedule, even if its regular guarantees have settled closer to $75,000 in today’s environment.
For this anniversary edition, though, the prize pool climbs back to $500,000—spread across multiple starting flights rather than a single event.
Second chances officially endorsed by 888poker.
Ivan explains how the much-anticipated Run It Twice (RIT) feature is now available across all cash game tables at 888poker.
The feature, long a staple of live games, has players who go all-in before the river able to deal the remaining board twice, splitting the pot between the two results.
It’s not poker news, but it is a crazy statistic.
Honestly, it’s hard to get my head around.More episodes of Hellmuth’s Home Game from BetRivers Poker coming in a few months’ time.
I’m a big fan of the show and its format, so I’m looking forward to the new episodes dropping.Kristen Foxen’s trophy case just got a little more crowded. 🦅
Kristen Foxen has picked up her fifth career PGT title at the 2026 U.S. Poker Open, taking down Event #4 for $198,000 and 198 points.
According to PGT, this is her second Golden Eagle trophy and her first win of the 2026 PGT season.
Foxen now sits fourth on the U.S. Poker Open leaderboard and 27th on the overall PGT leaderboard for 2026. She’s cashed 45 times, made 18 final tables, and has over $4.1 million in PGT earnings.
PokerStars on FanDuel is now live, bringing players from New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania all together on a shiny new platform.
The relaunch keeps the PokerStars identity intact with headline formats like Spin & Go and Zoom sticking around, alongside the usual suspects like Sunday Million and Super Tuesday.
The big question, though, is about the cost to play.
Our article dives into how the new rake and tournament fees stack up against both the old PokerStars US offering and rivals in the American market.
Ep 2 of GGPoker's Online Poker Millionaires has now dropped!
Only five months after the first, this is the story of Kelvin Kerber, and we very much plan to watch it.The PartyPoker live tour is not just sticking around, it’s expanding.
What started as a modest schedule has ballooned to ten stops spread across the UK and Spain, with each festival featuring a Main Event, Mini Main, and High Roller.
The operator has focused on making these events player-friendly, offering affordable buy-ins and constant online satellites.
What has the youngest Main Event winner been up to lately?
It’s been 17 years since Joe Cada’s historic win in the World Series of Poker. Paul Seaton caught up with the man still holding the record as the youngest-ever Main Event champion to talk about the moment that has forever changed his professional career, his efforts on the felt since then, as well as some very important changes in his personal life.Yesterday
New Online Poker Millionaires episode featuring Kelvin Kerber.
After a (very) long wait, a new episode of GGpoker’s Online Poker Millionaires show is out, starring Kelvin Kerber, one of Brazil’s top online players.
In the space of 20 minutes, the episode covers Kerber’s entire journey, from how he decided to choose poker as a career to early struggles to what it looks like to deal with the stress and variance of playing poker at the highest stakes on a daily basis.
Not long to go until the Aussie Millions.
Australia’s most prestigious poker tournament returns to Crown Melbourne after a six-year hiatus!
It will feature 18 events and AU$14 million in guaranteed prize pools.
The secret to breaking a downswing: threaten to quit.
Poker is hard, but apparently not that hard for Cherish Andrews. Declaring retirement one day and scooping a major title the next is a solid plan for ending a downswing, or so PokerNews would have us believe.Octopi Poker’s Vault explained.
Check out the latest free video from Octopi Poker to learn all about this poker training platform’s unique Vault feature, how it works, what it’s all about, and how you can use it to elevate your game.Get some free Irish Open Afterparty tickets!
PokerStars is giving away some free $5.50 tickets to its Irish Open Afterparty series. Simply count the outs, respond correctly, and you’ll be in with a chance. It’s a complete freeroll and will only take you a few seconds (hopefully), so why not give it a go?888poker has rolled out its latest Blast Cashback promo, letting players earn up to 50 percent of their BLAST game rake back between April 15 and 21.
There are three cashback tiers, starting at 10 percent for $10 to $49 in BLAST fees, 20 percent for $50 to $399, and topping out at 50 percent for those who pay over $400 in fees.
The maximum rebate a player can claim during this week is $500.
There’s no need to opt in, just play BLAST games up to the $50 buy-in and rack up at least $5 in rake to qualify.
Neymar Jr’s poker grind: so close to glory, so far from a cash.
Paul Seaton reports for PokerStrategy, the footballer followed up a Saturday win for Santos with a deep run in the PokerStars $5,200 Titans event. Despite making the final table, Neymar Jr busted in sixth, one away from the money.
PokerStrategy points out that poker has been a side interest for Neymar since his days at Barcelona, and he has even been signed as a PokerStars ambassador twice.
His Sunday run, though, was bittersweet—close to a big payday, but ultimately just short.
Did you know pokerfuse turned 15 today?
That’s a lot of online poker news over the years. Plus, it happens to coincide (to the day) with Black Friday.
No, not the massive sales day after Thanksgiving. We’re talking about the one when online poker in the US got shut down overnight, and the landscape was never quite the same.
Yeah, the timing on that was A1.
This was our write-up on it from 5 years ago 😱
FanDuel Poker is hosting its first ever PokerStars Ignite Series, promising a hefty $5 million in guarantees.
This is the largest tournament series PokerStars has run in the regulated US market and across North America. The action runs from April 18 to May 4, with 88 events and buy-ins starting at $25.
The series culminates in a $500,000 guaranteed Main Event, scheduled for May 3, with a $300 buy-in and re-entry allowed.
Players from New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania can get in on the action.
We knew the Irish Open was going to be big, but we just didn’t know how big.
It turns out, it was historic, breaking records left, right, and centre. Huge congrats to the team that continues to roll out an excellent series each and every year.WSOP Europe finds its groove—and a new home.
Not every day do you see the WSOP Europe break the mold, but this year’s event in Prague was just that.
Marius Kudzamanas outlasted over 2,600 hopefuls to grab the €2 million prize and an exclusive WSOP bracelet. The festival itself was a magnet, pulling in nearly 16,000 entries and creating a €39.5 million prize pool.
The move from Rozvadov to Prague clearly paid off, attracting players from 80 countries, including familiar names like Shaun Deeb and Chris Hunichen.
WSOP CEO Ty Stewart summed it up best:
“We are absolutely thrilled with the phenomenal success of this year’s WSOP Europe, which has set new parameters for poker on the continent.”
Winners crowned in the Sunday Million over on PokerStars/FanDuel.
The Sunday Million is a wrap over on PokerStars and FanDuel, with the champions walking away with five-figure paydays. 👑Poker study, minus the existential dread.
Johan Schultz-Pedersen gives you the elevator pitch for Octopi Poker, the study platform that claims to make learning poker less painful and more fun.
Apparently, you no longer need to be a math genius or have a bottomless bankroll to improve your game.
The debate rages on as to whether PokerGO is being too hard-lined with other people sharing their clips.
I, for one, think more is more. Let people share what they want, citing PokerGO as the source.Having watched the four-parter myself, hard agree with Farah Galfond here.
The documentary focuses on the rise and fall of Run It Once Poker, rather than offering a narcissistic look at Phil Galfond’s career.
Farah’s comments come in response to Doug Polk’s recent clip, which cites Galfond as a “spineless coward.”
April 14
FanDuel and PokerStars want to set the tables on fire. 🔥
PokerStars/FanDuel is launching its first major tournament series on their new platform, and they are calling it the Ignite Series.
According to the official channel, there will be 88 separate events with a combined five million dollars in guaranteed prizes.
The highlight is the Main Event, which has a $500,000 guarantee. The series is pitched as a big move for the new PokerStars on FanDuel site.
Daniel Negreanu is back dissecting three hands at the World Series of Poker Europe.
With Annette Obrestad’s and Josh Arieh’s hands in the mix, it’s worth a watch if you want to recap some of the action from the series.PokerStars + FanDuel is bringing the heat with their new series.
The Ignite Series starts this coming Saturday. Mark your calendars.
It guarantees $5 million, which is huge! Players in MI, NJ and PA — this one is for you!
Allen Shen just gave everyone another reason to play satellites.
Shen took a $75 online satellite at GGPoker and spun it up into a seat at the C$2,500 WSOPC Montreal Main Event.
Outlasting a field of 1,781, Shen pocketed C$605,000 and picked up his second WSOPC ring this year. The final table was no cakewalk either, featuring WSOP bracelet winners Pei Li and Brett Apter.
Woah, huge new “sports ecosystem” coming to the strip.
But with a $10 billion price tag, it ain’t coming cheap.WSOP Europe merch still available.
T-shirts, hoodies and caps all on offer. Prices are in Euros, and we are unsure on US shipping costs. Just FYI.Do you think big names like PokerGo and Doug Polk + crew are gatekeeping poker content?
I mean, it seems to me that Rob has a point…PokerStars on FanDuel lights up the calendar with $5 million Ignite Series.
The tournament series runs from April 18 to May 4 and promises $5 million in guarantees.
As Anuj reports on pokerfuse, the series includes 88 events with buy-ins ranging from $25 to $1,500. The headline is a $500,000 guaranteed Main Event on May 3, which has a $300 buy-in and allows re-entries.
There are also two Sunday Dynasty tournaments, each offering a six-figure prize pool.
More tidbits on what to expect in Garrett Adelstein’s upcoming book.
This time he teases us with a $3 million pot story.Taking a break from our usual coverage to give the Poker Industry PRO database makeover a shoutout.
This is the biggest overhaul of the PRO platform—which is the industry must-have for poker industry professionals—in the site’s history.
Believe me when I say it’s a big deal. Congrats to @pokerprojones and @anuj2212 for getting it over the line!
Good morning from The Rail. First up, Doug Polk calls Phil Galfond a “spineless coward.”
Thomas Keeling is not messing around when it comes to his recent clickbait, taken from a Doug Polk live stream.
Polk casually tells us what he really thinks of Phil Galfond, and suffice it to say, he is not a fan!
April 13
Ignite Series on FanDuel Poker brings big action!
Kicking off on April 18, the Ignite Series on PokerStars by FanDuel brings an extensive schedule of 88 events, with $5,000,000 in guarantees across the board, the $500k GTD Main Event, and a wide spread of buy-ins for all bankrolls, ranging from $25 all the way up to $1,500!PokerStars Ignite Series is coming on FanDuel Poker.
The first-ever tournament festival on the new PokerStars Exclusively on FanDuel platform is officially on the horizon. While full details are still under wraps, banners already deployed in the client suggest the schedule and full series breakdown could drop within hours.
Keep your eyes peeled for updates.
Washington, D.C. moves toward legalizing online poker as new bill is introduced.
Big move coming out of Washington, D.C. — a new bill is on the table that would legalize iGaming, including online poker, while also cracking down on dual-currency sweepstakes models.
Even more interesting? It also opens the door for D.C. to join multi-state online poker compacts, which could mean a much bigger player pool down the line. Earlier this year, Maine legalized iGaming, including online poker. Could D.C. be the next?
That said, nothing is guaranteed here. The U.S. rollout of online poker has been extremely slow, and even with progress in places like Maine, D.C. is still very much a “wait and see” situation.
Is it the next surprise market… or just another long-shot proposal to watch?
Kevmath thinks online registration to the 2026 WSOP opens next month.
May 1st is Kevmath’s current prediction, but he also thinks some more news will drop this week.Want to know how Phil Ivey got banned from one of richest private games in the world?
Tom Dwan reveals all. Take a guess….👀Online satellites starting this week for PokerStars Open Malaga.
PokerStars are giving players a comfortable two months to qualify online for their upcoming Spanish Open event.GGPoker finally set to release Ep 2 of Online Poker Millionaires.
It’s only been 5 months since episode one dropped! Madness.
Full episode premieres Wed, April 15 at 16:00 UTC on YouTube.
Poker pro and chess champ Jen Shahade writes new piece in Time magazine.
According to Shahade, playing ChatGPT at chess is less about sharpening your game and more about seeing how AI flatters, fumbles, and sometimes just makes up new rules.From pitch to poker table, Neymar’s luck runs thin.
Neymar Jr. had a weekend that would test anyone’s patience. Fresh off a soccer victory with Santos, he logged on to PokerStars hoping for another win.
The $5,200 Titans Event brought him to a tough final table, but the bubble burst on him in sixth place, leaving him just outside the money and short of a $15K score.
FanDuel Poker coming to more states?
PokerStars US confirms on socials they hope to launch in more states 🇺🇸.
Our ⛳️ will be that PokerStars + FanDuel will next launch in West Virginia. And possibly Connecticut.
Source: @anuj2212 (IYKYK 🥷)
PokerStars + FanDuel claps back at ACR.
Ahead of their Sunday Million tournaments yesterday, PokerStars got into it with Phil Nagy, CEO of the unregulated online poker site ACR.
We love to see it. 🍿
Anyone willing to sit down first at empty No Limit Hold’em or Short Deck tables on WPT Global with stakes above $25/$50 can now earn a fixed 40 percent rakeback for their whole session.
The promo, dubbed 'Table Starter Boost,’ is open-ended and pays out weekly.
All you have to do is be the first to buy in and wait for the action. Heads-up tables are excluded, and the offer doesn’t apply to PLO games. Instead, PLO players get a more modest 30 percent rakeback, regardless of how brave or early they are.
Monday morning brain training advice.
This time, from Alan Longo, courtesy of PokerOrg.Craic at home: Irish Open goes digital for the afterparty.
PokerStars is keeping the Irish craic alive, this time online.
The Irish Open Afterparty series launches April 12, promising $3 million in guarantees and 69 events.
Now you can chase the luck of the Irish from your couch.