This Week
January 19 - January 25, 2026
Today
Four way all in at the WPT.
The cameras caught all the action!Grassroots efforts to bring legalized gaming to the US sometimes pay off.
We remember this time and also helped play a part in raising awareness for getting poker legalized in Pennsylvania. It goes to show that every little helps.PokerStrategy weighs in on the footage showing a bustling bot farm running over 100 accounts on Ignition and Bovada, all colluding in tournaments.
The bot farm, apparently based in China, had its operation exposed by Martin Zamani, who posted video evidence on X, with monitors displaying the bots in action.
Zamani, previously known for outing other poker scandals, claims site security has turned a blind eye despite the high stakes involved. Community reaction was swift, with many players chiming in that botting is a long-standing issue on these platforms.
“They’ve known about for ages and done nothing. It’s highstakes and this isn’t the entire operation either and they just don’t care. Enough is enough of this shit. (I didn’t create the bot or the video)I don’t think this is happening on…”
Poker Brat meets cold deck, walks away colder.
According to Bally Poker Live, the latest Commerce stream featured Phil Hellmuth in a starring role, but not for his poker skills. After being 'coolered’ for almost $300,000, Hellmuth decided his best play was to leave the table entirely.
Viewers were treated to a real-time display of tilt as Hellmuth made his exit, leaving the rest of the table to play on in relative peace. The clip quickly made the rounds, with fans alternately sympathizing and rolling their eyes at the Poker Brat’s signature meltdown.
Phenom Poker goes full crypto. What could possibly go wrong?
Phenom Poker has announced that its PHNM token will soon be listed on a decentralized exchange, where players will watch its value rise or fall according to market whims.
The token was meant to give players a stake in the platform, but the company is now moving to a market model. Rakeback will be paid in USDT, but players can opt to automatically buy PHNM if they want.
Site CEO Matt Valeo told PokerOrg:
“The whole idea is we essentially tokenized ownership interest in an innovative new poker site. In most businesses, a couple of people hold the stock, and maybe over time the company goes public. But the community, or the users of the product, don’t get to participate in any of that upside.”
Some players, meanwhile, aren’t convinced the community angle is more than a marketing pitch, especially with a temporary freeze on redemptions. But for those who want to bet on the future of the platform, PHNM is about to become a whole lot more liquid.
That’s a wrap on 888poker Madrid.
I’ve never cared that much for Madrid as a city, but watching this video, I think I definitely need to give it a second chance. It looks amazing!$100K in poker chips knocked onto floor.
I do not envy the person who has to tidy that up!The Hendon Mob is not your bank balance.
Who knew that $76 million in poker winnings gets whittled down to $5 to $10 million in profit?
According to Stephen Chidwick, those Hendon Mob numbers are pure fantasy.
Yesterday
Kevin Martin’s latest streaming challenge gets banned from YouTube.
Fans will have to follow him over on Twitch as his war theme has got him banned on YT.
Martin is streaming high stakes action on GGPoker for 3 days straight.
BetRivers finally launches its long-teased Splash the Pot feature.
BetRivers Poker has rolled out its long-awaited Splash the Pot feature across all cash game tables.
In Ivan’s article, he explains that this feature randomly adds bonus cash to pots before the flop, with flashy gold pot graphics so you cannot miss the action.
Want to know what drives Barny Boatman to continue playing poker?
This article from PokerOrg covers it all along with his plans for the year ahead, but spoiler alert — he loves it.
Poker is endlessly challenging, stimulating, and rewarding. It gives me a life I love… why would I stop?
Stars reliving the Kassouf controversies from the WSOP.
What do you think? Should Kassouf’s hand be called dead or not?
To be honest, I think it all became a bit of a witch hunt by the end of the summer series for Will, but on this occasion I think the TD is correct.
When Hollywood meets high-stakes litigation.
The trial of Tom Goldstein is attracting attention from both the legal world and poker circles, thanks in part to an unexpected cameo from Tobey Maguire.
According to PokerNews, prosecutors allege that Maguire paid Goldstein $500,000 to help recover a $15 million poker debt, but that money ended up being redirected to pay off Goldstein’s own losses to real estate mogul Bob Safai. Maguire, who has a history with high-stakes poker (and was even revealed as “Player X” in Molly’s Game), isn’t accused of wrongdoing.
Phil Galfond pens article on 'The Poker Player’s Delusion’.
Galfond is not mincing his words. Well worth a read.
Most of you are delusional about your poker game. You have no idea where you stand. You have no idea what it takes to improve. And you pay for that ignorance every time you sit at the table.
PokerStars USA outlines why they are a safe place to play.
Stars are one of the longest-standing and most reputable brands out there. So, if you are lucky enough to live in a state where they offer online poker, it is a great place to play!Watch Jungleman’s free training video.
This is all about poker player archetypes and how to exploit each one. The video is free and only 10 mins long, so it’s worth a watch if you are interested in learning more.Tend to agree with this take.
How is there not more context surrounding this bot farm video?
Also, we’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: only play on regulated sites, folks. There’s a reason.