February 23, 2026

“It really is shameful…”

888 sponsored pro Ian Simpson weighs in on the Ren Lin ghosting scandal.

February 28

Blockers are important in PLO, but do you know how to use them correctly?

Vivi Saliba gives you a quick breakdown of the role of blockers in Pot Limit Omaha and how to think about them the right way when planning for future streets.

What do you think are the most important strengths you need to win in poker?

Faraz Jaka took to X to share his thoughts on poker and how different qualities can make you a great player, i.e. that there isn’t just one path to success.

Jaka has invited everyone to chime in with their 2c regarding what strengths are crucial for building a successful poker career, so if you have a couple of minutes and an opinion on this topic, get in the mix!

Rampage joins Hellmuth’s game for three days of poker action.

Rampage throws his hat in the ring and join’s Phil Hellmuth, Jungleman, Stanley, and many others, playing three high stakes poker sessions over several days. Can he walk away with the profit?

EPT Paris Main Event is down to two tables.

The 2026 EPT Paris Main Event is now down to the last 16 players and the action continues today, with live streaming from PokerStars. Some big names are still in the hunt, but who will secure their seat at the final table?

February 27

Here’s all you need to know about the 2026 WSOP Player of the Year race.

Jeff Platt breaks down all details of the 2026 WSOP Player of the Year, including a massive $1,000,000 prize pool distributed among the top 100 finishers.

All three WSOP stops will count toward the POY race this year, which means that the points’ chase starts in Prague in April!

It’s a case of when it rains, it pours for David Lappin and Dara O’Kearney.

It’s been that kind of week for the two Irish poker pros.

First came the announcement that O’Kearney had signed as a brand ambassador for Paddy Power Poker.

A day later, Lappin was unveiled as an ambassador for PokerStars.

And just when you thought that might be it, their co-founded The Chip Race Podcast joined the party, now officially sponsored by both PokerStars and Paddy Power Poker.

Safe to say, the sponsorship news hasn’t exactly been slowing down for the pair.

Check out some quick bluffing tips from Jonathan Little.

If you’re struggling to pick the best spots for your bluffs and aren’t quite sure what sizing to use when you do decide to bluff, this article offers a a nice step-by-step guide to help you improve your decision-making process.

From chessboards to poker tables, Jen Shahade has built a career on mastering the moment.

In her latest interview, Jennifer Shahade opens up about the crossover between chess and poker, the power of staying present, and how writing strengthens her competitive mindset. A quick, thoughtful read worth checking out.

Another big name is heading to Europe this spring.

Martin Kabrhel has been confirmed for WSOP Europe, which is now scheduled for a new late-March slot this year. And if you’ve ever watched Kabrhel play, you know he doesn’t exactly sit quietly.

One of the game’s most talkative and polarizing table presences, Kabrhel brings constant chatter along with results. The WSOP is touting him as the No. 1 WSOPE bracelet holder, a résumé that backs up all that table talk.

Love him or not, if he’s in the field, people will be paying attention.

When the Poker Brat logs on, people pay attention.

The Spring Championship Series is underway at BetRivers Poker, and there’s been a familiar face in the mix.

Phil Hellmuth, aka the “Poker Brat” and a BetRivers ambassador, was streaming last night while playing events in the series. If you tuned in, you got to watch him battle it out at the tables in real time. He’s set to return tomorrow, February 18.

BetRivers has also brought back its “Knock Out a VIP” promotion. Anyone who manages to eliminate Hellmuth from a tournament will win an exclusive T-shirt that reads, “I Knocked Out Hellmuth.”

We are down to two digits in the EPT Paris Main Event.

There are fewer than 100 players remaining in the 2026 EPT Paris Main Event, and they’ll be coming back today to continue their journey to the final table. Many will fall along the way, but for some, the dream will stay alive.

PokerStars will be streaming all the Main Event action live, so make sure to tune in!

We have another Spin & Go Championship Live winner.

Raul Mestre, a Spanish poker pro and a newly-minted PokerStars ambassador takes home the crown from the third edition of the Spin & Go Championship Live that played out during the 2026 EPT Paris.

The final skirmish was an all-Spanish affair, as Mestre had to beat two of his compatriots to snag the title and the €92,539 first-place money.

February 26

HCL’s Million Dollar Game is back in 2026!

Hustler Casino Live has confirmed that the big Million Dollar Game will be taking place this year, with tentative dates set for late May. With $500/$1,000 stakes, deep stacks and players like Alan Keating in the mix, it should be proper fireworks.

WSOP 2026 Main Event online satellites are finally here.

US players can now qualify online for both the 2026 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas AND the 2026 WSOP Europe Main Event.

They kick off this Sunday, March 1, on WSOP Online.

💰 $215 buy-in
🎟 1 seat/package guaranteed

Excitement is building up for the 2026 WSOP.

The latest PokerNews podcast welcomes Jeff Platt, talking about his new role with the World Series of Poker and provides some teasers on what we can expect from the 2026 coverage. It sounds like there is a lot to get excited about!

What a way to start as a PokerStars ambassador.

Earlier this month, Spanish pro Raúl Mestre joined PokerStars, and at EPT Paris, he was making his first appearance representing Team PokerStars. Not a bad debut; he just won the third edition of the Spin & Go Championship Live.

He takes home €92,539 for the win. Pretty decent first run in the patch.

We now have the first Spin & Go podcast.

Nicholas Walsh, commentator, PokerStars ambassador, and one of the most experienced Spin & Go players, has teamed up with Team Bas Poker, a Spin & Go coaching team, to launch a podcast focused on the format.

The first episode is already out on YouTube. Take a look if you’re interested.

Here’s a stat you might not have realized about GGPoker’s WSOP Super Circuit Online.

As we already know, GGPoker is getting ready to roll out its mammoth $180 million guaranteed WSOP Super Circuit Online series.

And as it always does, Poker Industry PRO, our business analytics platform covering the online poker industry, dug into the numbers ahead of the festival.

Here’s what stands out:

This will be the 11th WSOP Circuit Online series hosted on GGPoker. Every single edition so far has guaranteed at least $100 million, with one cranking things up to $150 million.

Across all 11 festivals? A combined $1.23 billion in guaranteed prize money.

Yes, billion — with a “B.”

GGPoker (@GGPoker)

View on X →

GGPoker Reveals its Largest WSOP Super Circuit Online Series

The WSOP Super Circuit Online series returns to GGPoker for its 11th edition, headlined by a record-breaking $180 million in total guarantees.

Not something you see every week: A seven-figure guarantee on ClubWPT Gold.

If you’re in the US or Canada and play on the sweepstakes poker site ClubWPT Gold, there’s a pretty big event happening this Sunday.

They’re running a $1,000,000 guaranteed SC event, which is rare for the platform. Seven-figure guarantees don’t come around too often on ClubWPT Gold, so this one stands out.

It’s a single-flight tournament with a 218 SC buy-in, and there are qualifiers starting from just 2 Chip, so there are multiple paths to get in.

Tom Goldstein found guilty on 12 out of 16 counts.

A trial of Tom Goldstein, a reputed attorney and a high-stakes poker player has been at the center of attention of the poker world since the very beginning. That story has now almost reached its conclusion, as Goldstein was found guilty on 12 out of total 16 counts from his indictment.

The next to come is sentencing. If he were to receive the harshest possible penalty, Goldstein could face decades in prison, but legal experts don’t think he’ll get anywhere close to that. A few years behind the bars seems like a much likelier outcome.

Jaman Burton’s popular poker vlogs are back!

After taking prolonged break from vlogging, Jaman Burton is back. Find out what he’s been up to, what kept him away from the camera, and join him as he jumps back into the action, playing some $5/$10 at the Bellagio.

PartyPoker Tour is back!

PartyPoker’s live tour has a rich schedule set for 2026, visiting several cities in Spain and the UK. First on the docket is a festival in Seville, running March 16 – 22.

Poker Brat is having some fun in a private game.

Phil Hellmuth is having a time of his life in a private game with the likes of Alan Keating and Ron Biscardi, but some things never change. If chips go into the middle, you can be sure Phil’s got the goods!

February 25

No one wants to be on the wrong side of that stare!

Adrian Mateos clearly means business at the EPT Paris, and as if it’s not enough he is great at poker, his stare certainly makes his opponents at least a little bit uncomfortable.

We get it, winning is important and all, but why so serious, Adrian?

Bodog is closing after more than three decades.

Calvin Ayre, the billionaire founder of Ayre Group and creator of Bodog, one of the first and biggest online gambling brands, penned a post on X as the Bodog brand comes to a close after more than three decades. Read his post.

Malta gets its first taste of WSOP action!

Big news for poker fans! The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOP) is coming to Casino Malta for the first time!

The action runs from September 25 to October 5, featuring 12 ring events, with the full schedule still to be announced.

Maureen B. (@mjbloech)

View on X →

For the First Time Ever: WSOP Circuit Comes to Malta at Casino Malta – Casino Malta

As an added highlight, every Ring Event champion will be awarded an exclusive $5,000 package to WSOP Bahamas, taking their victory to one of poker’s most prestigious destinations and giving them the opportunity to compete for a coveted WSOP Gold Bracelet.

EPT Paris 2026 Main Event draws 1,474 entries for €7.07M prize pool.

The numbers are in for the EPT Paris 2026 Main Event.

A total of 1,474 entries at €5,300 each created a €7,075,200 prize pool. The top 215 players will finish in the money, with €1,148,600 awarded to the winner.

Triton Poker turns 10 as the high-stakes tour returns for its biggest season yet.

Triton Poker marks its 10-year anniversary this year, with the high-stakes tour returning for its biggest season to date.

The first stop takes place in Jeju from March 14 to April 1.

Anuj keeping it real when it comes to SCOOP.

Guarantees may be down but there’s still over 400 events running. Mental.

More deets on the David Lappin signing curtesy of our very own Mike, who is on the ground over at EPT Paris.

Lappin landed the role thanks to his performance in the PokerStars Live League, where he finished tenth. Lappin himself admitted he just “scraped onto it” but apparently made an impression with his application video.

It’s go time!

David Lappin signs on as PokerStars Team Pro ambassador — which is a huge coup considering the company has cut back on signings considerably in the last few years!

Huge congrats to Lappin!

What announcements are coming this week from Lex?

I wonder if he will be announcing a new sponsorship deal?

High hopes and higher stakes at the WPT.

The drama at the WPT final table gets a boost as Andrew Robl wakes up with pocket aces.

With 10,000,000 chips on the line, Robl decides to shove all in. For most players, this is the dream scenario, but as the commentary points out, 'even the strongest starting hand in poker offers no guarantees at this stage.’

Phil Hellmuth’s hobnobbing knows no bounds.

Honestly, when you think he couldn’t schmooze any more, he rubs shoulders with the guy who started the MCU!

February 24

What’s happening with LAPC?

Once a major stop on the US tournament calendar, the Los Angeles Poker Classic Main Event has been on a decline in recent years, and 2026 is really disappointing to see, posting only 50 entries. This is the third-smallest field in tournament’s history after 1996 (41) and 1993 (45).

A powerhouse Irish partnership has just been sealed.

It’s official!

Dara O’Kearney has signed with Paddy Power as their newest ambassador.

As one of Ireland’s most respected poker players, it feels like a natural fit, an Irish talent teaming up with one of Ireland’s most iconic operators. Appointed yesterday, this is the big announcement Dara had been teasing.

“It’s an immense honour to represent such a great Irish success story, the small Irish bookie that grew into one of the biggest gambling companies in the world, with a fun, irreverent approach,” Dara said.

Lappin left out in the cold.

Dara signs with PaddyPower. But the real ☕️ is over on their Patreon.

🃏 David Lappin 🃏 (@dklappin)

View on X →

Dara O'Kearney (@daraokearney)

View on X →

Jean-Robert Bellande reveals his first poker backer—surprise, it was Tom Dwan.

JRB recently shared a surprising tidbit on YoH Viral’s podcast: his first poker backer was none other than Tom Dwan, who was just 22 years old at the time.

JRB was already a fixture on the high-stakes poker scene and an ambassador for Aria, but it was the young online legend “durrrr” who staked him around 2009.

$180 million. Let that sink in.

GGPoker has revealed the full schedule for the WSOP Super Circuit, running from March 1–31, and the numbers are massive.

A staggering $180 million guaranteed is on the line, a huge $80 million increase on last year’s edition.

There are 18 WSOP Circuit rings up for grabs, headlined by a $15 million guaranteed Super Circuit Main Event, the largest guarantee ever offered outside of the WSOP Online Main Event.

The Brat is coming back to Europe.

We knew it was coming and now it’s official.

Phil “The Brat” Hellmuth has been confirmed for World Series of Poker Europe 2026.

Hellmuth won his 13th bracelet at WSOP Europe in Cannes back in 2012, adding another milestone to one of the most decorated careers in poker history. Now the question is: can he make another deep run on European soil?

With WSOP Europe heading to Prague, all eyes will be on whether “The Brat” can capture bracelet number 18 and extend his legendary record.

SCOOP bootcamp running over on Run It Once Training.

This week, it’s all about how to master PKOs. Definitely worth checking out if you plan on playing SCOOP this year.

Revamped WSOP payout calculator now available.

You can access the calculator via the WSOP website. Thanks to Kevmath for the info!

February 23

Barry Carter on PStrat with his take on the FanDuel/PokerStars report.

We’re simple folk. You link to us, we link to you. And friend of the fuse Barry C did this nice summary and writeup of our exclusive report last week on this FanDuel/PokerStars tie-up.

Everyone is wondering what Dara O’Kearney is about to reveal.

It’s been almost 24 hours since Dara O’Kearney teased, “Big announcement coming tomorrow. I predict it will shock a lot of people.”

Now the suspense is real. What could it be?

A new sponsorship deal for the Chip Race Podcast, maybe? What if PokerStars steps in as a sponsor and signs them up? That would definitely turn some heads.

Or… what if it’s something completely different and genuinely shocking?

Guess we’ll find out soon.

Did you know Combonator has a new home?

We recently moved Combonator from its dedicated webpage to pokerfuse. Free as always, and soon we’re going to provide a way to get a premium subscription (previously $45 RRP!) for free. The software hasn’t been updated in a long time, but it’s still just as good as it ever was, and provides features that no other tool does. The new revamped page embeds all our videos to explain how best to use the tool.

Going out on a limb here, but we’re guessing something new from CoinPoker is coming,

what with the engagement from other CP ambassadors/promoters ITT. And that date is the second of March, in case any Americans were wondering why Ben was telling you to put a date from 20 days ago into your diary.

Half a million reasons to stay inside this spring.

BetRivers Poker is rolling out its Spring Championship Series, as covered by Ivan at pokerfuse. The series started yesterday and runs through to March 8, featuring 88 events and more than $500,000 in guaranteed prizes.

Spin & Go Championship Live is back for its third edition, this time at Le Palais des Congres in Paris as part of the 2026 PokerStars EPT.

The event is strictly invitational, with 81 online and live qualifiers battling it out in a series of three-handed tables for a share of more than 300,000 euros. No buy-ins, no re-entries, just pure elimination down to a final table of three.

Viewers can watch all the action live on PokerStars TV, with coverage available in six languages.

Pokerati’s breaks down the infamous hand between Garrett Adelstein and Robbi Jade Lew, calling it “one of the most re-told hands of all time.”

The hand, played on Hustler Casino Live in September 2022, started as a typical high-stakes affair but ended with the poker world hotly debating who was wrong and who was right for months afterwards.

WPT Global shuffles Canadian accounts over to Nexa Poker, but nobody knows why.

A segment of WPT Global’s Canadian customers found themselves on the receiving end of a surprise email this week: their accounts are being moved to Nexa Poker, a new, invite-only room that looks like exactly like WPT Global.

Not all WPT Global accounts are affected. The WPT Global X account and Discord moderators are still active, and anyone concerned has been told to contact referral@wptglobal.com.

PokerNews Podcast brings James Hartigan into the mix to preview what’s ahead for PokerStars, particularly focusing on EPT Paris and the Irish Poker Open.

According to Hartigan, Paris is shaping up to be a major event, with plenty of action both on and off the felt.

The episode also covers the Spin & Go Championship, PokerStars Open in Philly, and a lighter moment involving a lip-synch battle with Caitlin Comeskey.

$180 million guaranteed.

Absolute scenes.

“Its not the November Nine.”

Daniel Negreanu sheds more light on the upcoming WSOP 2026 changes.

Special online tutorial from Caitlin Comeskey for all the poker ladies out there.

This promises to be excellent, discussing tilt, trolls and when to clap back at your opponent.

It runs in Feb 25 at 9pm EST.

What David Lappin really thinks of ghosting.

The article draws on philosophy to frame the idea of 'ghosting’ in online poker, referencing Gilbert Ryle’s critique of mind-body dualism. In poker, though, the 'ghost’ isn’t a philosophical concept, it’s just someone else making your decisions for you.

Read it in full below.

Less time in line, more time at the tables.

WSOP Europe 2026 is getting a digital facelift, and the WSOP+ app is leading the charge. According to WSOP, players can now register for tournaments, add or withdraw funds, and track chip stacks in real time, all from their phones.

Players need to download the app through the Apple App Store or Google Play, then create a profile before heading to Prague. One requirement that hasn’t gone digital yet: completing in-person verification once you arrive.

Check out the article for all the finer points.

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