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Many didn’t give him much of a chance, but 15-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth came out on top against Daniel Negreanu on Wednesday.

The action played out on PokerGO’s High Stakes Duel at the network’s studio at Aria in Las Vegas. This gives Hellmuth four wins in a row on the show after three straight over Antonio Esfandiari.

The show featured a sit and go style format. Hellmuth now takes home another $50,000 for his efforts and the High Stakes Duel title belt. Some criticism of his game from Negreanu and others served as motivation.

“With televised cash games, I keep on winning, winning, winning, and the younger generation doesn’t notice,” Hellmuth said afterward. “In fact, they just make fun of me. They want to ignore that I’ve won all these things.

“They want to ignore that I’m up $1.5 million in high rollers. So, I felt like I was under attack, and I didn’t like it. But it was good for my ego because you start questioning yourself, ‘am I great or am I not?’”

Negreanu takes command in first half

Both players brought plenty of trash talk coming into the matchup. They began the duel with 50,000 chips and blinds escalating every 30 minutes.

It certainly didn’t seem like Hellmuth would make it four in a row. At one time Hellmuth was down to only 3,000 in chips. Negreanu picked up pocket Aces early to win a minimal pot immediately after taking the first hand of the day.

Hellmuth three-bet with King-Queen, but folded after a hefty four-bet from Negreanu.

Early in the match, the action seemed to be going Negreanu’s way and he’d built a small lead. About 20 minutes in, Hellmuth picked up AK and put in a raise. 

Negreanu called with 72 and the flop brought 86K. Negreanu led out with 400 and Hellmuth quickly raised to 900 with his opponent folding.

However, much of the early action saw some precision play by Negreanu – winning numerous small pots. By the two-hour mark, Negreanu was up to 65,000 chips. He seemed in good shape to back up his predictions of victory.

Negreanu extends lead even more

By the three-hour mark, Negreanu built his stack to about 81,000 with Hellmuth holding on to 19,000. A hand developed with Hellmuth three-betting from the big blind with 99 to 3,700 and Negreanu holding 64.

Negreanu called and the flop brought 434 and it looked like Hellmuth might be heading out the door. Hellmuth bet 4,000, swelling the pot to 11,400.

That simply brought a call from Negreanu and the turn brought the 8. Both players checked and the 5 came on the river.

Negreanu bet 5,000 and Hellmuth folded with only 7,000 chips remaining. He boiled over in frustration.

“What you’ve done to me is criminal,” he said. “Why would you call for all that money with the 4-6?”

Hellmuth stages a comeback

Shortly after that hand, Hellmuth held K9 with a board of JKQJ. Negreanu bluffed at the pot for 1,500 and Hellmuth amazingly folded with only 5,000 remaining.

That left Hellmuth with only about 5,000 and he picked up a pot with Q5 after catching top pair. A couple more losses, however, left him at 3,000.

From there, Hellmuth started getting some traction. He caught top pair with J-8 and won a small pot. A few more pots and Hellmuth built his stack to 26,000 – giving him some breathing room.

Hellmuth regained some energy and a particularly nice river gave him another nice surge. Both players saw a flop of 5A8.

Negreanu held A6 for top pair and Hellmuth had 108 for middle pair. Negreanu bet 800 and received a call. The turn brought the 2 and Hellmuth checked with Negreanu firing 2,400.

That brought another call, building the pot to 8,000. The 10 fell on the river, putting Hellmuth in a great spot. He checked and simply called Negreanu’s bet of 4,8000 for almost an 18,000-chip pot.

That moved him up to almost 40,000 by almost the fourth hour and Hellmuth continued to climb. Negreanu showed some valor however down the stretch.

One interesting hand saw Hellmuth with K7 on a board of 6K1039 and 11,200 in the pot. Negreanu bluffed with a pot-sized bet holding J7. Hellmuth thought a bit before ultimately folding.

Completing the Poker Brat surge

That call would have moved Hellmuth into the lead. By the fourth hour, levels reached 600/1,200 and the match was basically even.

Hellmuth continued to roll in the final hour with Negreanu making some nice folds to stay in the match. A big hand late saw Hellmuth catch an inside straight on the turn and Negreanu find a set of Kings on the river.

From there, Hellmuth mounted plenty of pressure with 85,000 chips in front of him. Negreanu was left with less than 10 big blinds.

Negreanu appeared out the door when Hellmuth moved all in with A6. Negreanu called with KQ for his last 10,900.

The flop brought 2710 and then the J on the river to give Negreanu plenty of outs. The A hit the board on the river giving him a straight and keeping him in the match.

Ultimately, Hellmuth trapped his opponent with just a call from the big blind with 99. Negreanu then moved the last of his 13,000 in and Hellmuth snap-called.

Negreanu showed 76 and the flop of 85J made for quite a sweat. However, the turn and river of K and 8 were no help for Kid Poker. That gave Hellmuth an unlikely fourth-straight High Stakes Duel title.

Plenty of hijinks in High Stakes Duel

The two players certainly seemed to be having fun throughout the match, despite some Hellmuth frustration. The comeback made for quite a bit of drama as both players showed tenacity in hanging on.

“I love heads-up now, it’s fun,” Negreanu said after the first hour. “It’s a different vibe. You get to play every hand.”

Hellmuth agreed with and seems to be on a roll in these events. His opponent minimized his heads-up skills in the prelude. However, Hellmuth certainly shows up in these live duels.

The Poker Brat patronized Negreanu a bit of his own when steaming after a couple tough spots. A frequent refrain was the Hellmuth line: “listen to your coaches.”

As expected, the action got underway with some laughs. Hellmuth immediately mentioned the energy drink he’s endorsing, Breinfuel.

Negreanu cracked a copy of Hellmuth’s autobiography noting that his opponent “knows a lot of celebrities.” He also needled the Poker Brat saying, “I check in the dark.”

Early in the match, there was plenty of talk about a shiny championship belt awarded to the winner. Hellmuth quickly produced his previous belt at the table.

Hellmuth’s interesting choices to eat some big meals during these matches also arose again. Only 10 hands in, he bit into a chicken sandwich. He later produced a 5-pound bag of Sour Patch Kids, maybe needling Negreanu’s strict vegan, healthy living lifestyle.

“I always have food at these big events,” Hellmuth said.

The event provided another nice streaming event for poker fans and Round 2 looks to be in the works already. 

“There will be a rematch,” Negreanu said afterward, “I guarantee that.”

The post Phil Hellmuth Rallies for Massive Comeback Win Over Daniel Negreanu on PokerGO appeared first on .

The 37th installment of Wrestlemania takes place in Tampa, Florida in a couple of weeks. That’s currently well ahead of PokerStars Pennsylvania and its popular Pennsyl-MANIA series. But PokerStars is working hard to catch up.

This Sunday, April 4, PokerStars PA hosts the fourth running of Pennsyl-MANIA. Like the first three events, the fourth Pennsyl-MANIA is a two-day no-limit hold’em tournament with a big guarantee.

However there are a few differences for Pennsyl-MANIA 4. Sunday’s event features a $300 buy-in, up from $200. Also, there is a $400,000 guaranteed prize pool this time around.

Tournament details for the fourth Pennsyl-MANIA

Aside from the buy-in and guarantee, the format for this weekend’s Pennsyl-MANIA follows that of previous iterations. Here are the particulars:

• Day 1 start time: Sun., Apr. 4, 5 p.m. ET (ends 7 hrs., 45 min. later)
• Day 2 start time: Mon., Apr. 5, 7 p.m. ET
• Re-entries: Up to five re-entries during late registration period (first 4 hrs., 35 min.)
• Starting stack: 100,000 chips (200 big blinds)
• Levels: 15 minutes

Any final-table deal requires players to set aside at least $10,000 to go to the eventual champion.

The field should be a big one, if the recently completed PokerStars PA Bounty Builder Series is any indication. The 75-event series that took place from Feb. 20-March 8 awarded more than $2 million across all tournaments.

Satellites, a special mega satellite, and a depositor freeroll

As before, there are plenty of ways for PokerStars PA players to be part of Pennsyl-MANIA without paying full price for that $300 buy-in.

Multiple satellites are happening each day on the site with buy-ins of $25 or $30, each of which guarantees at least two seats into Pennsyl-MANIA.

On the evening of Sat., Apr. 3 at 8:15 p.m. ET there is a special Pennsyl-MANIA Mega Satellite. That event costs $30 to play and guarantees at least 20 seats into Sunday’s big event.

Finally, on Sun., Apr. 4 at 2 p.m. ET there is also a Pennsyl-MANIA Depositor Freeroll. Any PokerStars PA player who deposits at least $30 while using the code “MANIA” at any time up until 1:59 p.m. ET on Sunday earns entry into the freeroll.

The top 150 finishers in the freeroll will win Pennsyl-MANIA seats, which means PokerStars PA has added $45,000 worth of value to the event.

First Pennsyl-MANIA still holds record for largest prize pool

As happens with most film franchises, the first Pennsyl-MANIA was the best, at least in terms of size.

The tournament was held in May 2020 and featured a $200 buy-in and $250,000 guarantee.

Ultimately the event attracted close to 2,800 entries, which meant a prize pool of $515,964 or more than twice the guarantee. That remains the largest prize pool of any tournament on PokerStars PA since its Nov. 2019 launch. “D-Low1527” won the tournament following a heads-up deal, taking away $69,670.69 for the win.

PokerStars PA decided to run it twice and scheduled a second Pennsyl-MANIA in Aug. 2020. The buy-in stayed at $200 with the guarantee was upped to $350,000.

There were just over 2,000 entries, creating a prize pool of $376,836. The tournament ended in a four-way chop with “SlotWinna777” ultimately winning out and claiming a $44,641.87 first prize.

The third Pennsyl-MANIA in late Dec. 2020 also had a $200 buy-in, and in that instance PokerStars PA aimed high with a $500,000 guarantee.

Despite attracting just over 2,300 entries, the tournament was still around 380 entries shy of hitting the guarantee. That meant the $500,000 prize pool included an overlay of just over $70,000. “PokerAnomoly” ultimately took the top prize of $74,147.85.

Big weekend for PokerStars US sites

Interestingly, this Sunday’s tournament is taking place alongside simultaneous events on both PokerStars Michigan and PokerStars New Jersey.

On PokerStars NJ, the New Jersey Classic features a $500 buy-in and $100,000 guarantee. Meanwhile on PokerStars MI the first ever Michigan Classic will take place with a $300 buy-in and $500,000 guarantee.

Both events happen Apr. 4-5 at the same time as Pennsyl-MANIA. Thus will this weekend’s tournament be compared both to earlier Pennsyl-MANIAs and to the other big events on PokerStars’ US sites.

We’ll see just how big the fourth Pennsyl-MANIA turns out to be. There won’t be any pile drivers or body slams like in Tampa a couple of weeks from now. But there should be plenty of interesting battles nonetheless.

Lead image via Dreamstime

The post Fourth Pennsyl-MANIA Drops Sunday With $300 Buy-In, $400K Guarantee appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.

After a week of action in Michigan, online poker traffic at the new BetMGM has seen some increases. However, those jumping in some the bigger buy-in Sunday majors saw several overlays on the first weekend.

It’s certainly still early in partypoker US Network’s entry into the market. Until more players get on board, those looking for some value may be in luck for some extra cash on Sundays.

Some upcoming tournament series and events may begin attracting more players to the platform.

A look at BetMGM cash games

BetMGM began last Monday with only a handful of players initially. By Sunday, that had jumped to a 24-hour peak of 121 players, according to PokerScout statistics.

That equaled a seven-day average of 55 cash game players. By comparison, PokerStars reached a 24-hour peak of 916 players with a seven day average of 425 players.

BetMGM traffic should continue to grow in coming weeks as more players find the site. PokerStars has had a head start on its newest competitor after an earlier launch in early January. That lead may take a bit to overcome.

Finding early tournament success at smaller buy-ins

Despite some overlays, there were some positives for partypoker on Sunday. Events with smaller buy-ins seemed to top guarantees more easily.

A $20 ($18 entry fee) tournament with a $500 guarantee produced 40 entries for a prize pool of $720. “Emenz248” took the top spot for $167.

A $10 event with a $250 guaranteed came through with 49 entries and a prize pool of $441. “Sinan” topped that field for $101.

Some $5 events also produced nice returns. That included a bounty tournament attracting 211 entries for a total prize pool of $971. A $5 Super Bounty attracted 128 entries for a total prize pool of $637.

Another nice result came in a $35 Deepstack with a $750 guarantee. The tournament produced 37 entries for a $1,166 prize pool with “shotheads” winning $490 for first.

However, a $55 Progressive Knockout (PKO) Bounty featured a $2,000 guarantee. That event only brought in 20 entries for a $500 overlay.

Overlays in some larger buy-in BetMGM events

Those looking for some extra value found some in a few of BetMGM’s first Sunday major events. For example, the $320 PKO Bounty features a $10,000 guarantee.

That event produced only 26 entries, $2,200 short of the guarantee. “Win49242” cashed in on top for $1,952 and $1,364 in bounties.

The $215 Knockout PKO brought in 29 entries and fell short of the $7,500 guarantee by $1,700. “JohnCandy” came out first for $1,750 and $1,472 in bounties.

It wasn’t all overlays, however, and some BetMGM events with heftier buy-ins topped guarantees. The $109 Eight-Max carried a $10,000 guarantee with 121 entries and a $12,100 prize pool. “BishPlz” scored a nice first-place prize of $2,763.

The $215 Sunday $40K also easily topped that guarantee. The tournament produced 260 entries for a $52,000 prize pool with “BlueHewSpew” winning first for $9,620.

Looking ahead

BetMGM/partypoker US Network has some events in store to build some momentum in the Wolverine State. The site plans its first Online Series April 18-25 with a $305,000 guarantee.

This becomes the site’s first tournament series in the state. Players will find 10 events to check out with some nice guarantees.

The series offers another chance to bring in even more players to the platform. USPoker will have a preview of the series later in the week as well as some other partypoker events in New Jersey.

★★★ Ready to get in the action at BetMGM in Michigan? Click here for a complete site review with exclusive USPoker bonus offers. ★★★

The post BetMGM/partypoker Draws Mixed Results in Michigan So Far; Nice Series in Works appeared first on .

The holiday isn’t over after dinner on April 4. PokerStars is cooking up some massive guarantees in all three of its legal US markets. 

PokerStars New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania will be hosting two-day events on Sunday. The platform hopes to take advantage of the people at home for the holidays during this time.

All three states remain “ringed-in” markets and can’t yet play across state lines at this time. Here’s a look at what to expect in each state this weekend.

PokerStars Michigan Classic

How did PokerStars respond to a new competitor stepping into the Michigan market? By dropping a massive $500,000 guaranteed event on April 4. 

On March 22 as BetMGM went live, PokerStars fired out a tweet announcing the new “Classic” series.

Coming off the recent success of the Michigan Championship of Online Poker (MICOOP) series, PokerStars isn’t slowing down. The Michigan Classic is the biggest event so far in Michigan’s short regulated history. Here are some details on the event:

• Buy-in: $300
• Starting chips: 100,000
• Start time: 5 pm (ET)
• Guarantee: $500,000

Players can find $30 satellites running daily with two seats guaranteed. The site is also offering s 200-seat depositor freeroll mega-satellite on April 4.

Pennsyl-MANIA IV brings massive guarantee to Keystone State

PokerStars kicks off its fourth Pennsyl-MANIA event on April 4 for players in Pennsylvania. Players will compete for a share of the guaranteed $400,000 guarantee. Here’s a look at the complete event details:

• Buy-in: $300
• Starting chips: 100,000
• Start time: 5 pm (ET)
• Guarantee: $400,000

This is the fourth installment of this popular event. PokerStars PA is currently running  multiple daily satellites starting at just $5.

PokerStars New Jersey Classic

The Garden State comes with the smallest guarantee of the April 4 PokerStars events. Similar to the other states, the $100,000 New Jersey Classic will also be a two-day event. 

This will be the second NJ Classic after the first event ran in December. PokerStars finished third in revenue in the state over the last few months. The Classic might provide a bit of a boost in April and here are the complete details:

• Buy-in: $500
• Starting chips: 100,000
• Start time: 5 pm (ET)
• Guarantee: $100,000

The site is running multiple $50 and $100 satellites all week to increase entries into the Classic.

PokerStars cancels popular Players Championship

PokerStars announced last week that the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) has been canceled for this year. 

The event first debuted in the Bahamas in 2019 and attracted a massive field for the $25,000 buy-in event. The company gave away Platinum Passes in the months leading up to the event.

Those included an all-expenses paid trip to the Bahamas as well as the buy-in for the tournament. Stars hoped to recapture some of that and hold the event in Barcelona.

The event has now been canceled in 2020 and 2021. The company hopes the tournament returns in 2022. Those who have won Platinum Passes already will still be able to use them whenever the event is finally held.

★★★ Ready to get in the action at PokerStars in Pennsylvania, Michigan, or New Jersey? Click here for a complete site review with exclusive USPoker bonus offers. ★★★

The post PokerStars Plans Big Holiday Sunday Events in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan appeared first on .