No matter where you go in the world, you can find a place to play poker. But the best poker casinos offer something the other places don’t: attention to detail.

Here’s a look at some of the best poker rooms in the world.

Wynn/Encore – Las Vegas, Nevada

Sporting 28 poker tables, the Wynn’s poker room offers cash games and tournaments, Texas hold’em and pot-limit Omaha, HDTV sets all around, and even a sports betting window inside the room.

And the Wynn Classic series is among the best in the world for poker tournaments, features dozens of events with enormous prize pools. The $1,600 Main Event, held this summer while the World Series of Poker at the Rio, paid out $3.3 million alone.

Wynn offers great tournament action year-round, but especially during the summer when the WSOP is running across town.

Aria – Las Vegas, Nevada

Aria has pretty much everything you expect from the best live poker rooms. Two daily poker tournaments have natural appeal, but cash poker games are where Aria shines. You can play limit and no-limit hold’em, Omaha hi/lo, pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud, draw, and mixed games here.

Aria is also the home of the Super High Roller Bowl, which won the American Poker Award for Best Event of the Year.

Casino Barcelona – Barcelona, Spain

The European Poker Tour has made Casino Barcelona a regular stop since its earliest days, and it’s easy to see why.

Whether you’re interested in cash or tournaments, Casino Barcelona has it all. You can play no-limit Texas Hold’em, pot-limit Omaha, and dealer’s choice cash games. Multi-table tournaments with affordable buy-ins run daily, and of course there are major festivals with millions of euros on the line.

Casino Barcelona is the capital of Spanish poker

Dusk Till Dawn – Nottingham, England

In the United Kingdom, Dusk Till Dawn is the place to go if you want to play poker live tournaments.

In business for 12 years now, DTD is poker-only, and it offers some of the best poker tournaments in all of Europe. You can play a wide range of cash games at different limits, plus the small buy-in live tournaments that helped the room make its name.

Wynn Macau – Macau SAR, China

Macau is best known for table gaming, but it also has a reputation for accommodating poker’s high rollers. Wynn Macau is no exception. Tournaments are harder to come by these days than they used to be, but cash games with blinds from HK$25/50 up to HK$500/1,000 run all the time. And larger games run regularly when the high rollers request them — which means there’s usually a high-stakes game going.

Because even the smoothest hosts in the game need a little time off here and there, Poker In The Ears took a hiatus this summer. But after eight weeks lounging in the secluded luxury of Podcast Host Paradise, James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton are back for a new season of the best poker podcast around.

Garry Gates at the final table of the 2019 WSOP Main Event

While the boys were taking it easy, their friend Garry Gates — who works as Senior Manager of Player Relations at PokerStars — went on a crazy run in the 2019 WSOP Main Event. There are easier ways to become a PITE guest, but none of them pay anywhere near the $3 million Gates earned for finishing fourth in the tournament. It was the run of a lifetime and one of the more remarkable stories in the annual tournament’s recent history.

The full interview with Gates begins at the 31:10 mark.

After the Gates interview comes this season’s first installment of “Superfan vs. Stapes” (59:40). This one pits Iowa’s Scott Bonz against Stapes and focuses on the original 1989 film adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary.

Check out Episode 157 of Poker In The Ears on Soundcloud, iTunes, or Spotify. And if you want to help the boys out, make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast!

WSOP photography by pokerphotoarchive.com

Maintaining a healthy poker ecosystem and balancing the interests of all our players is at the core of what we do. It is our responsibility as hosts to ensure that every player has a safe and enjoyable poker experience.

Ever since the dawn of online poker, experienced players have experimented with multi-tabling and tested the limits of how many hands per hour they can manage. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this and poker will always be about finding an edge over the competition within the rules of the game and the site hosting the game.

However, most of our players play on one table at a time. Without careful management, we risk ending up with an environment where the majority of players find themselves at tables disproportionately populated by multi-tabling players. This can lead to a difficult playing experience. Action at the tables can be regularly interrupted, and many players can feel outmatched and that their chances of winning are diminished.

Last year we announced our intentions to test a table cap of 6 for cash games in Italy. We have now carefully reviewed the results of this and are ready to announce the next steps.

As of today, August 20, players on PokerStars (.be, .bg, .com, .desh, .dk, .ee, .eu, .uk, .ro, .cz, .se, .fr, .es, .pt, .it) will be limited to playing four regular cash game tables at any one time, at all stakes. Table caps for all other games, including Zoom, will remain unchanged.

When we trialled this change in Italy last year, we chose a six-table cap as a hypothetical optimum number. We wanted to test the impact this had on our players, those who typically played more than six tables and the majority who played only one. After careful review of the results over time, we now believe that a four-table cap is, in fact, the optimum number to achieve our goals.

We want to maintain a sustainable poker ecosystem and a platform that players of all abilities are excited to play on well into the future. Attracting and retaining new poker players is crucial to the future of the game. By reducing the table cap from 24 to 4, we are reducing the number of multi-tabling players and increasing the number of more casual one-table players at each table. This should lead to increased win rates on any individual table for the strongest players, while increasing the likelihood that single-table players will meet others like themselves. As a result, they’ll have more chance of experiencing winning sessions and continue to play in the longer term.

We’re poker players ourselves. We understand that this change will have a very real impact on many players, particularly those of you who rely on multi-tabling as professionals. We haven’t taken this decision lightly, and we are confident this is the right thing to do for the future of the game.

I hope that by focusing more on each table and winning more at those tables, you’ll find a way to adapt and continue as part of our community.

Where there’s the European Poker Tour (EPT), there is Barcelona. Even since the inception of the tour, in 2004, our cameras have been there to capture the action, allowing you at home to follow along, either on the live stream or when broadcast on TV.

Barcelona at night

This year is no different. The cameras start rolling on August 27 and won’t stop until the final hand of the Main Event has been dealt on September 1st. You’ll be able to watch via Twitch, YouTube or Facebook and PokerStars Blog will also be on hand to provide hand for hand coverage of a wide array of events, with a scope way beyond just the Main Event.

While we wait for more magical moments to be created, we’re giving you the power to select the best moment from EPT Barcelona’s history. We’ve curated a list of the top eight and seeded them into quarter-finals. There are incredible winning moments, miracle rivers, runner-runner ridiculousness and hands that “could only happen online” actually happening live.

What happens from here is up to you. Let the games begin…

Malec’s Magic Moment

Spoiler alert! Sebastian Malec wins this hand and, with it, the 2016 EPT Barcelona Main Event and over €1.1 million. But, this isn’t just another winning moment, this might just be the best winning moment ever. While Uri Reichenstein faced an agonising decision for his tournament life, Malec was acting like it was a €10 re-buy down his local casino. When you leave Stapes speechless, you know you’ve done something special.

Phillips Gets Slow-Rolled

Picture the scene: you’re down to the final 12 in the Main Event when you pick up pocket kings. What’s more, you get it all-in and the TV team have to activate the bleep machine to censor your opponent’s reaction. It’s fair to say Sam Phillips didn’t expect Ji Zhang to turn over a hand that beat him and the American’s reaction said it all.

While there was no happy ending to this heavyweight clash, Phillips recovered his poise and ended up finishing second, winning over €1 million.

Now you’ve seen today’s two Barcelona belters, it’s time to cast your vote on our @PokerStarsLive Twitter channel. You decide which hand deserves to make the final four. The winner will be announced tomorrow, followed by the second quarter final.

Vote for #EPTBarcelona‘s greatest ever moment.
🥇
We’ve selected the elite eight, you decide the winner. Head to the @PokerStarsBlog to watch the first quarter-final – https://t.co/lqLI7TrfTl – then cast your vote below. ⬇️

— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) August 20, 2019

Coverage of EPT Barcelona starts on PokerStars Blog tomorrow, August 21, and there’s still time to satellite into the Main Event online on PokerStars. Satellites with five seats plus expenses guaranteed run at 21:15 CET on August 20th and 22nd.

Whether you’re seeking to master poker yourself or to give a friend or family member a boost in learning the game, you won’t find a better place to start than the new PokerStars School Beginners Guide to Poker.

This 33-page e-book covers a wealth of topics, starting with the basic mechanics of playing the game and working up to more advanced topics. It’s the kind of guide that rewards repeated reading as you gain experience at the tables.

Absolute beginners will learn poker’s building blocks quickly and in detail. Don’t know the difference between tournament and cash games, no-limit and fixed-limit poker, and different variants like Omaha and Stud? You will when you finish the opening sections of this book.

“Every successful poker player starts out as a beginner,” writes Ramon Colillas in the PokerStars School Beginners Guide to Poker. “Playing regularly is a great way to improve your game and to build up confidence.”

If you’ve mastered the basics but don’t have a lot of experience, the guide’s next few sections on table position and bet sizing will help you gain the confidence you need to keep your cool. Once you’ve grasped those intricacies you can move on to topics like bankroll management, finding the right game to match your skills, and how much time to spend studying away from the tables.

As PokerStars Ambassador and PSPC champion Ramon Colillas writes in the book’s introduction, “Anyone can learn to play poker, but if you dedicate time to improving your game and have a competitive nature, you too could one day be sitting at a PokerStars final table.” Hopefully, this book can be the start of your journey.

Download the PokerStars School Beginners Guide to Poker today and keep it on your phone or tablet for easy reference as you hone your skills.

Getting started on PokerStars is easy. Click here to get an account in minutes.

All this week we’re putting you in charge of selecting EPT Barcelona’s greatest ever moment. The event is steeped in history so the battle is sure to be fiercely contested. We had to say adios to some choice cuts as we whittled down to a shortlist of eight to put before you.

Yesterday you voted to send Sebastian Malec winning the EPT Barcelona 2016 Main Event through to the final four. Today it’s time to select his semi-final opponent, so without further ado on to quarter-final number two.

We’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat

The dealer in this hand would make a terrible builder, he simply couldn’t find a brick anywhere. Five players saw the flop, one flopped a boat, two flopped trips and, well, it only got crazier from there. If we hadn’t caught it on camera you wouldn’t believe it had happened. It’s a hand straight out of a poker movie.

Everyone loves a chop pot

We’re going back to Season 7, in 2010 for the this hand, and if it were a poker movie it would be one of those slow burners, with the action building to a crescendo before a sick twist at the end that you simply didn’t see coming.

Both players reach the river with total air, so when Jesús Lizano led out from the big blind and faced a raise from Giuseppe Pantaleo, it was surely time for the next shuffle? “To win, he needs to re-raise,” said William Reynolds in the commentary booth. Score one for the curse of the commentator…

Which of today’s two contenders will live longer in the memory and deserve a chance to fight for a place in the final? It’s time to cast your vote on our @PokerStarsLive Twitter channel.

It’s time for two more of #EPTBarcelona‘s greatest hits, but which one ends up on rotation and which one’s heading for the bargain bin? 🤔
Head to the @PokerStarsBlog to watch – https://t.co/CwlZE2mL24 – then vote for your favourite below. 👇

— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) August 21, 2019

Coverage of this year’s EPT Barcelona action is already under way on the PokerStars Blog. You’ll want to bookmark this page, it’s the central hub for all the action to come over the next 12 days.

If all this reminiscing has had you itching to be in Barcelona, then the good news is that there’s still time to satellite into the Main Event on PokerStars. A €530 qualifier with five seats + expenses guaranteed runs at 21:15 CET on August 22nd and there are feeders to that from just €1.10.

You know the drill by now, we’re on a quest to find EPT Barcelona’s greatest moment, but we can’t do it without you. We’ve condensed 15 years of history into eight amazing moments and pitched them into gladiatorial battle against each other. You get to decide who lives and dies — not literally, but you do get to decide which hands advance to the next round.

You’ve made two big calls already and today it’s time for a third. Both of the hands you’re about to watch left players at the table speechless, but for very different reasons.

Busquet’s Ace Result

So you’re saying there’s a chance?

When you’re less than 1% on the flop, then usually not even that trick where you stand up and collect all your belongings does the trick. That adds like 2% at most. Olivier Busquet sat still and left it to the others at the table do the talking.

“It’ll make great television,” said Sven Reichardt, who was Busquet’s opponent in the hand. And you know what, it did. See for yourself below.

Jacobson Blasts Off

A few months after this hand took place, from Barcelona 2014, Martin Jacobson became World Champion, winning $10M. Perhaps he learned what not to do after this hand against Dan Colman, which took place in the €50,000 Super High Roller.

“That was a gift,” said Colman. “I’ve never seen him do something like this,” replied Martin Finger. Watch the clip to find out exactly what it was the Jacobson did.

Ok, you’ve seen the hands, which one makes your throw up a little or make you want to message a friend to say ‘have you seen this?. Cast your vote on the @PokerStarsLive Twitter page for the hand you think deserves to make it through to the semi-finals.

More #EPTBarcelona gold now, with two hands that left players speechless, but for very different reasons. Watch the action @PokerStarsBlog – https://t.co/CwCyjzljQJ – then vote below for the hand that you think deserves a place in the semi-finals.

— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) August 22, 2019

Coverage of this year’s EPT Barcelona action is already under way on the PokerStars Blog. It’s all about the EPT National today, we’re covering Day 1C and 1D, catch up on all the action here.

LAST CHANCE satellite alert: tonight at 21:15 CET is the final online Main Event qualifier. There are five seats plus expenses guaranteed, direct buy-in is €530 but there are feeders that don’t hit the pocket so hard.

Some podcast hosts are just never happy.

First, James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton got all prima donna on us and took the summer off. “Hiatus!” they said in unison, and then they sauntered away. Not much you can do there.

Now they’ve come back with two episodes in just five days — only to demand the next two weeks off!

It’s hard to be too upset with them, though. This latest episode is a good one.

Jessica Dawley at the 2019 WSOP

This episode’s guest is Jessica Dawley, a professional poker player, WSOP bracelet winner, and U.S. Air Force veteran from Florida. One year after finishing on the same tournament’s stone bubble, Dawley defeated Faraz Jaka heads-up to win the recent Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $2,650 Main Event.

Dawley talks to the guys about her pre-poker career as an intelligence analyst, taking a shot at becoming a poker pro, and ticking off all the goals she’d hoped to accomplish over the course of her 12 years at the tables. Well, almost all of them — she says the last thing she’d like to accomplish is to provide a more inviting environment for women in the game. And she has some very specific ideas on how to make that happen.

The full interview with Dawley begins at the 24:22 mark.

Check out Episode 158 of Poker In The Ears on Soundcloud, iTunes, or Spotify. And if you want to help the boys out before the next episode drops on September 12 — or just encourage them to do more than two episodes in a row before jetting off again — make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast!

WSOP photography by pokerphotoarchive.com

Sports are a huge part of daily life all over the world. It’s not surprising, then, to find the special language of sports often finding its way into non-sporting contexts, providing analogies and metaphors to help us communicate and express ourselves.

The same is true for poker and its unique lingo as well. Everywhere poker is played, poker terms and phrases have likewise entered everyday discourse.

In fact, we’re just as likely to encounter someone using a sports idiom in a non-sports context as we are to hear poker terms pop up when away from the tables. And of course there is a lot of overlap as well, a likely consequence of the competitive nature of poker — a game that many like to talk about as though it were a sport.

Enough with the preliminaries. Let’s “get the ball rolling” (so to speak) and talk about some of the more popular sports expressions while also noting some instances of sports and poker vocabulary coinciding along the way.

Football (Soccer)

A new season of the Premier League has already kicked off in exciting fashion. Indeed, to talk of something “kicking off” is one of many football (or soccer) idioms used in everyday life.

For instance, just like a key substitution, the issuing of a red card, or a crucial VAR ruling, we instinctively call any consequential action a “game changer.” When someone makes a particularly self-sabotaging mistake, we’ll say they committed an “own goal.” Of course, you can increase your chances of avoiding such a mistake if you’re careful and “keep your eye on the ball.”

Football (American)

Meanwhile in just a couple of weeks a new NFL season will also get started. American football has likewise provided a whole host of phrases and terms used in everyday life. Think about how often a boss or team leader is called the “quarterback,” and how those who second-guess a decision are frequently referred to as playing “Monday morning quarterback” (a reference to day-after discussion of Sunday games). That sort of talk often crops up if someone “dropped the ball”

On an NFL roster, the kicker is often regarded as a distinct type of football player — that is, one who typically avoids the physicality of the game endured by other position players while specializing in extra points and field goals. In poker a “kicker” refers to a side card that like NFL kickers is often employed to break a tie (e.g., we both paired our ace, but my king “kicker” beats your queen). Meanwhile outside of sports or poker, a “kicker” usually also refers to something extra or special, as in “here’s the kicker — because of all the trouble we didn’t have to pay for our meal.”

Boxing

Boxing has probably produced more everyday idioms and expressions than any other sport. Who hasn’t referred to having “someone in your corner” to support you, a reference to the typical position of a boxer’s trainer? Or complained about someone “hitting below the belt” with a “low blow” — not allowed in boxing, and frowned upon as well when done figuratively outside the ring? Of course, when facing difficulty the person who “rolls with the punches” or handles adversity the best typically succeeds — or at least doesn’t have to “throw in the towel” or give up.

In poker tournaments we often refer to a player getting eliminated as a “knockout,” an obvious borrowing from boxing. What you might not know is how the phrase “to go in the tank” used in poker to describe a player thinking about a decision also has a boxing-related origin. Actually in boxing the phrase has to do with boxers throwing bouts and “taking a dive” (as though into a tank of water). Meanwhile poker probably more likely picked up the phrase from the concept of “think tanks” where a body of experts put their heads together to solve problems and recommend policies.

Basketball

Basketball provides a number of other expressions, such as putting on a “full-court press” when exerting a special amount of effort to accomplish something. You’ve also probably heard someone talk about a sure thing or easy decision as a “slam dunk.”

When trying to find overlap between basketball and poker vocabulary, both share a number of terms though in a largely incidental way. “Paint” refers to the key or three-second lane in basketball, but also to face cards in poker. In both people often say “trey” to refer to the number three — as in a three-pointer or card with the rank of three. The ball in basketball is sometimes called the “rock,” a term used to refer to a super-tight poker player.

Also common to both basketball and poker (and a more meaningful connection) is the term “brick.” That’s bad in both — in basketball referring to a particularly bad shot, and in poker to a particularly bad or useless card.

Baseball & Cricket

It’s hardly original to point out that baseball has likewise produced a wide variety of commonly-used idioms employed in non-baseball situations. I mean, when I make that claim it’s not like I’m coming out of left field or anything. 😉

When you face a challenge and do your best, someone might say that in such circumstances you’re a person who is able to “step up to the plate.” If you do really well, someone might say you “hit it a home run” or “knocked it out of the park,” which means that going forward circumstances have changed enough to make it “a whole new ball game.”

I think it’s safe to describe one poker term as having been taken directly from baseball — a “walk.” When everyone folds to the big blind, thereby giving that player the small pot (just the small blind and antes if in play), that’s very much like a walk in baseball when a batter gets four balls and thus a free pass to first base.

I’m not going to claim much knowledge of cricket, although even without understanding the game I know what is meant when someone says they’ve encountered a “sticky wicket” — that is, an awkward or hard-to-manage situation. (Looking it up, I see the phrase literally refers to the quality of a still-drying pitch after a recent rain on which it is difficult to bat.)

Hockey

Even non-hockey fans might know what a “hat trick” is — three goals by the same player. In fact, the phrase first originated in cricket and dates back to the mid-19th century as a reference to three wickets taken by a bowler in three straight balls (again forgive me, I’m having to look that up as I still need to learn how the game is played).

In any case, hockey took the phrase over, and apparently somewhere along the way an enterprising milliner started awarding a free hat to players who scored three goals in one game. Eventually fans began throwing hats on the ice after a player scored a third goal as well.

A more often used phrase from hockey, though, has to be “taking off the gloves” to refer to preparations for some kind of conflict, physical or otherwise. That, of course, is a reference to the many fights in hockey with players taking off their gloves typically a signal that fisticuffs will follow. I suppose a particularly aggressive-seeming check-raise on the turn might be referred to similarly.

Golf

Performing at an average level is often called being “par for the course,” a phrase from golf that might be used unironically or with a measure of sarcasm. An example of the latter would be when a person’s aces get cracked by a runner-runner flush and the loser exhales and says “that’s par for the course.”

Golf also seems a likely source for the phrase “in full swing,” a reference to something being well underway or moving forward in a vigorous way, although that one might have come from other sports, too.

Aces are obviously good in both golf and poker. There’s one other small overlap, too, to note, the somewhat obscure poker term “golf bag.” The term refers to a particular poker hand — a flush comprised of clubs. (Get it?)

Horse Racing

We talk about “coin flips” a lot in poker, although both there and elsewhere any close competition is sometimes described as a “horse race.” And a lot of times those contests aren’t decided until the end, going “down to the wire” with someone finally winning “by a nose.”

Poker has borrowed the term “horse” from the sport, too, as a reference to a player that has been backed by someone else. Imagine the backer as the jockey, “riding” his or her “horse” who is playing with the backer’s money.

Track

Finally, track provides a lot of expressions as well. Whenever we refer to a “front runner” in a political campaign — or a poker tournament — we’ve borrowed a term from track. In fact, just staying on course and not getting too distracted is often referred to as being “on the right track,” another phrase referring to various sports involving competitors running or racing around a track.

The longest regular track event is of course the 26.2-mile long marathon, which is a term often also used to refer to any activity requiring patience and/or endurance. Indeed, it’s practically a cliché to say a poker tournament “is a marathon, not a sprint.” (They’ve even created a special “Marathon” event at the WSOP, no doubt inspired by the connection.)

Speaking of track-related expressions, for this survey of sports and poker expressions I’ve at last reached the finish line. What other examples can you think of?

_{Photo: Sports portal bar icon (adapted), Sven Manguard, CC BY-SA 3.0.}

Most players get started with poker by playing Texas Hold’em. Some find their niche and stay there, but others sometimes find that other poker variants better suit their temperament or skill set.

Whatever game you’re considering, PokerStars School is ready to help you make the transition to your new pursuit as smooth as possible.

This week:

• Avoiding common Omaha mistakes
• 6+ Hold’em quick start guide

Avoiding common Omaha mistakes

Pot-limit Omaha, or PLO as it’s known to aficionados, is one of the more common alternatives to Hold’em. It’s an action game at its core, one that draws a special type of player.

Avoid common mistakes and you’ll save a lot of chips in the long run

With four cards in the hole, Omaha offers more ways to make strong hands than Hold’em– but on the flip side, it also opens up more potential pitfalls that can cost you your stack if you don’t know to watch out for them.

A good place to start is Dave Roemer’s PLO introduction, Five Common Mistakes. If you can avoid poor starting hands, overvaluing AAxx and KKxx combinations, and getting involved out of position, you’ll be off to a good start. Then just avoid going broke with non-nut hands or stacking off vulnerable nut hands with no redraws, and you should find yourself in a pretty good position more often than not.

Once you have all that under your belt, Pete Clarke has some great advice specific to hand selection. With so many cards in the hole, lots of Omaha hands look a lot better than they really are — especially to new Omaha players more familiar with Hold’em. His list of Over-Rated Starting Hands in Pot-Limit Omaha includes bare medium-high pairs, ace-king-nothing, three Broadway cards, and a few other categories of fancy-looking trash.

Get a firm handle on these two articles and you’ll find yourself in good position to perform well in PLO.

Getting off to a quick start with 6+ Hold’em

Just like PLO, 6+ Hold’em is an action game that holds lots of appeal for players who are already familiar with Texas Hold’em. And also just like PLO, 6+ features lots of potential trouble spots if you rely too much on your past experience with other games.

6+ Hold’em is trickier than it looks to players already familiar with Texas Hold’em

Good thing the OP Poker crew is on the scene! They’ve been playing lots of 6+ across its various incarnations and they’ve come up with an excellent video on some of the most important considerations when you’re new to the game. It’s just a touch over five minutes long, so it’s the kind of thing you can come back to repeatedly as you play.

Click through to watch the OP Poker 6+ Hold’em Quick Start Guide.

Other PokerStars School content you might enjoy

• Promotion: PokerStars School Community Tournament
• Question of the Week: What’s your thought process when playing in a poker hand?
• Strategy: Spin & Go – Take It Slow
• Article: Luck or Skill?

Open a PokerStars account today and start learning from PokerStars School. Click here to get started, and then click here to register for PokerStars School.

Last week’s $109 Sunday Million (August 18) was a little bit different.

Oh sure, it had the same massive field it usually has (16,281 total entries) and an enormous prize pool ($1,628,100, which smashed the $1M guarantee). But it was the way that loot was to be awarded that made this Milly special.

For one week only, a Progressive Knock-Out format meant half the prize pool was to be distributed in bounties, meaning players didn’t necessarily have to reach the final table to secure a big payday.

Of course, when nine players were seated around a single final table, that’s when the money jumps really got interesting. Ultimately it was Kazakhstan’s “Newcomer113” who came out on top, banking $70,097 plus a huge bounty prize of $35,971. You’ll find a full interview with the champ at the bottom of this article.

For now, here’s a look at how last week’s Sunday Million played out, with help from members of the final table.

IN FOR CHEAP

As well as the PKO format adding a touch of spice to proceedings, the Milly finale was also interesting because of how the players got there. Five of the final nine qualified for the $109 tournament via a satellite, and all of them made it that far without needing to fire a second bullet. That created some crazy ROIs, as you can see:

“Newcomer113”, a 34-year-old financial specialist from Kazakhstan, told us he’d only played the Sunday Million a handful of times before, and while he had reached the money once or twice, nothing could have prepared him for a final table like this.

“Poker is a hobby for me,” he said. “I don’t have a fixed range of games, but in tournaments up to $100 I feel quite comfortable. I think that winning a Sunday Million is the dream of any poker player, I am no exception.”

It’s a dream he’d fully realise last Sunday night, but before we get to that, let’s rewind.

The final table is set

The first final table casualty came courtesy of a cooler. Both Taiwan’s “MAXSOMAN” and Romania’s “Marcelutz111” flopped a flush, but the latter was nutted. The money went in on the turn and “MAXSOMAN” saw the bad news: he was out in ninth, with $5,391 plus $4,656 as his consolation.

It was a dream start to the final table for “Marcelutz111”, a 28-year-old poker pro who took down a Spring Championship of Online Poker title earlier this year for $98K, his biggest score so far.

“I’ve been playing poker for about ten years, but only for about four professionally,” he told us. “I was drawn to poker immediately. For a long time I only played freerolls for fun, as the idea of winning real money was far from me.”

Now he found himself on the Sunday Million final table, with real money prizes and bounties all around him.

Down to eight, it was Brazil’s “Tatizechini” who was next to fall. After slow-playing pocket kings pre-flop, the original raiser (Russia’s “Bykladjo”) had flopped a set of threes. The money went in, and when a third king failed to arrive “Tatizechini” departed with $7,428 plus $345.

We then lost Russia’s “Ko1ya777” in seventh ($10,236 + $7,632), who called all-in on the turn with a nut flush draw and couldn’t hit versus the Netherlands’ “Kapertje”, who had top pair.

Six-handed play went on for a little while, throughout which “Marcelutz111” found himself short-stacked. With just seven big blinds he committed himself with Q♥5♥ from the cutoff only for eventual champion “Newcomer113” to wake up with A♦A♠ in the small blind. The rockets held, and “Marcelutz111” had to settle for $14,105 plus $3,385.

“It was a mixed final table, few good players, few recreationals,” he told us, a few days after the tournament. “The PKO format is definitely more appealing to a broader range of players, the huge guarantee being the proof of that. Personally I don’t have preference.”

Now that it has sunk in, is he happy with his result?

“It’s definitely something to check a Sunday Million final table on my resume,” he replied. “I’m happy with the result, but am I a bit disappointed that I couldn’t finish higher? Sure…who wouldn’t be.”

Russia’s “Disel59” had a dominating chip lead heading into five-handed play, but he’d quickly take a hit, doubling up Canada’s “MikeyGG3” when his A♦K♠ lost a flip against Q♥Q♣.

It wouldn’t take long for him to get all of those chips back though, in brutal fashion. Action folded to “Disel59” in the small blind, and with Q♠5♠ he set “MikeyGG3” all-in. When he woke up with Q♦Q♣ in the big blind, “MikeyGG3” snap-called his last 22 big blinds, only for the board to run out A♠2♠8♣A♥9♠, giving “Disel59” a flush and the knockout. “MikeyGG3” would have to settle for $19,437 plus $4,420.

We then lost “Kapertje” in fifth, in yet another unlucky situation. Having opened the button with K♥K♠ from a 22-big-blind stack, “Bykladjo” then raised all-in, covering him, with A♦5♣. Of course the raise was snap-called, but when an ace hit the flop it proved to be the nail in “Kapertje”s coffin. Still, he won $26,784 plus $10,562 for his efforts.

An interesting hand played out almost immediately when they were down to the final three. “Newcomer113” 3x opened with ace-king on the button, only for chip leader “Bykladjo” to jam, putting his opponent to the test for his 45-big-blinds. “Newcomer113” opted to lay it down and fight another day.

He’d pick up a healthy pot from “Disel59” a couple of hands later, flopping the nut straight and getting a couple of streets of value versus top pair. “Disel59” could never recover, and ultimately busted in third for $36,908 plus $7,606 when his Q♥J♣ couldn’t suck out on “Newcomer113”s A♥Q♦.

And then there were two. “Newcomer113” held a 2:1 chip lead, and the duel wouldn’t last long when both players picked up big hands. “Bykladjo” opened the button with A♦10♣, only for “Newcomer113” to shove with A♠K♦. That jam was called, and when big slick held up, we had our Sunday Million PKO champion.

After such a huge victory, “Newcomer113” was kind enough to sit down for an interview with PokerStars Blog. Enjoy.

INTERVIEW WITH “NEWCOMER113”

Can you tell me a bit about your journey in poker so far?

My friends introduced to me to PokerStars about 7-8 years ago. Over the years, I have won some tournaments, but my biggest score is $5,000.

How did this Sunday Million go for you overall?

In general, the tournament went very smoothly. There were several key points where fortune was on my side. I gradually increased the stack and aimed to get into the top ten. In the deeper stages, I also tried to minimize the number of pre-flop all-ins.

What did you make of your final table opponents?

All the players showed a decent level of play, but overall, I felt very comfortable.

What did you think of the PKO format?

The PKO format, in my opinion, added a twist to Sunday Million. The game has become more dynamic, and much more interesting. I would like to see this format more often.

Winning the Million is an amazing achievement. How does it feel?

For me, victory in this tournament means more than just the monetary gain, although the cash prize is an incredibly nice bonus! Moving forward I will treat the game a little more seriously, and may attend several live events.

Do you have any advice for other players hoping to follow in your footsteps?

Enjoy the game, do not follow the routines, because your style of play is unique in its own way. Good luck and victories.

Opening a PokerStars account is easy. Click here to get an account in minutes.

All this week we’ve been whittling down the eight greatest EPT Barcelona moments. All eight hands are already winners, but three are also losers, having been knocked out already and there’s just one spot left in the semi-finals.

Which of our final two hands will get the green light to travel onwards and which will be pulled over and brought in for questioning? You decide…

It’s Jamila Time

May the fours be with you…

OK, so pocket fours vs A-9 off-suit isn’t exactly a classic race, but this was a coin-flip that lived long in the memory.

An ace on the flop meant that Jamila von Perger was left drawing to a single out – one of the two remaining fours was folded pre-flop. Her rail asked for the one time, and as you can probably guess given that we’re showing you this hand, the poker gods delivered.

Whilst Florian Duta would lose this hand, he did outlast von Perger in the Main Event, finishing 21st to her 23rd.

Death By Quads

You could look at this as queens vs kings in a Super High Roller and file it under then ‘hands the play themselves’ column, but that would be doing this hand a disservice.

First there was the fact that both Vitaly Lunkin and Philip Sternheimer were both deep stacked. Next it was a five-bet pre-flop pot, then there was Sternheimer’s tank with kings, more of a nitroll than a slowroll as Sternheimer legitimately thought Lunkin could have aces. Add in the fact that it was a virtual all-in pre-flop with the players then putting their shrapnel in before the flop was dealt and it’s all kind of weird.

Then came the flop! Watch below to find out exactly what happened.

Which hand deserves to clinch the final semi-final berth? Head to the PokerStars Live Twitter page to cast your vote.

It’s time for the final quarter-final in our quest to find #EPTBarcelona‘s greatest ever moment. Which hand deserves the final spot? Head to @PokerStarsBlog – https://t.co/jlEfeRwzwE – to watch the contenders, then vote below.

— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) August 23, 2019

Coverage of this year’s EPT Barcelona action continues here. The record-breaking EPT National, which attracted 4,682 entries, is getting to the business end fast. We’ve got Day 2 coverage here — at the time of writing Michael Soyza, Julien Martini and Raffaele Sorrentino are among the big names still in contention for the €585,500 first prize.

Poker can be a ruthless game and we’ve seen that over the last four days, where you’ve voted to keep four incredible moments from Barcelona’s rich history in the competition to find EPT Barcelona’s most memorable moment and consigned four more to history.

The competition is hotting up and, whilst you’ve already made some big calls, there are harder ones to come. Take today’s first semi-final for instance, we’re pitting an incredible winning moment against an incredible “wtf” moment, you get to decide which earns a place in the final. Let’s meet the contenders.

EPT Champion Over Here

Usually ‘happy feet’ are a strong tell that your opponent is holding a strong hand, the trouble for Uri Reichenstein was that whilst Sebastian Malec did have a strong hand that wasn’t the reason he was dancing. It was the final hand before a scheduled break and Malec desperately needed a comfort break.

Invoking the spirit of Scotty Nguyen, Malec said to Reichenstein, “You call and it’s all over baby.”

Malec was right.

Bluffing yourself off a chop

This goes down as one of the most bizarre hands in EPT history.

You can see Giuseppe Pantaleo’s logic, you’ve got J♦8♠ on a 2♣Q♠6♣Q♣2♥ board and, having raised your opponent’s river bet, he then calls you. There’s simply no way two-pair with a jack kicker can be good here, right? Except it was, well for half the pot.

There’s a lesson to be learned for players at all levels here, cards speak so no matter how slim your chance of winning the pot at showdown turn your cards over. You can’t win any of the pot if you muck.

So, which of the two classic moments from Barcelona deserves a place in the final and the chance to compete for the title of Barcelona’s Most Memorable Moment? Head to @PokerStarsLive to cast your vote.

The quest to find #EPTBarcelona’s greatest moment continues. We’ve reached the semi-final stage & today a winning moment goes up against a ‘wtf’ moment. Watch both @PokerStarsBlog – https://t.co/6H5dD425XZ – then cast your vote.

— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) August 24, 2019

Coverage of this year’s EPT Barcelona action continues here. There’s a double dose of live updates today with action from the EPT National and the €100K Super High Roller.

Every single one of the 15 years we’ve been to EPT Barcelona, the cameras have been rolling, catching the best of the action and beaming it onto your TV, tablets, computers, and smartphones.

It’s a good job they’ve been there, because if they hadn’t you may not have believed that the two hands battling against each other in today’s second semi-final actually happened. These are hands that only happen online — except here they were happening right in front of our eyes and captured on tape for posterity.

Let’s get it on.

Less than 1% isn’t drawing dead

A lot of poker is about timing. It’s all well and good picking up aces or flopping the nuts, but if there isn’t another strong hand –- or someone trying to represent one -– then you may not win a big pot. Similarly, when you three-bet all-in in a standard spot you have to hope your opponent doesn’t have it. Unfortunately for Olivier Busquet, his opponent, Sven Reichardt had it in spades… and diamonds.

Still, A♠2♠ was 32% against pocket kings, that was until an 8♥8♣K♣ left Busquet all but drawing dead. Then the Poker Gods took over.

Top of the flops

“This is weird,” said James Hartigan when Vitaly Lunkin five-bet pre-flop with pocket queens. The five-bet of 656,000 was essentially a shove by Lunkin, as he’d left himself just 260,000 behind.

This strange bet by Lunkin may well have been what gave Philip Sternheimer pause for thought, even though he was holding pocket kings. The two of them got all the chips in, eventually, and as far as flops go, it was fairly favourable for Lunkin.

These are two heavyweight hands, one of them will go big and one of them will go home. Head to @PokerStarsLive to cast your vote.

Two heavyweight hands do battle now for a chance to make the final of our #EPTBarcelona’s Most Memorbale Moment contest. Drink them in @PokerStarsBlog – https://t.co/eKw6j3SaD8 – then vote below.

— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) August 25, 2019

Coverage of this year’s EPT Barcelona action continues here. The €100K Super High Roller takes centre stage.

Over the last week you’ve narrowed down the list of EPT Barcelona’s best moment to two contenders. Both of the finalists have already traversed two tough matches to reach the final and now face their biggest test yet, as do you.

There’s no doubt that the two hands in question deserve their place in the final match-up, which is where the problem lies, which one do you vote for? Is it the greatest winning moment in EPT Barcelona history or the greatest turn and river in EPT Barcelona history? There’s no more sitting on the fence to be done, pick your horse. Are you #TeamMalec or #TeamBusquet?

Perhaps we can help you make up your mind.

Malec’s Magic Moment

When the EPT made its first stop in EPT Barcelona Sebastian Malec was only 9-years old. Twelve years later, he qualified online and turned $27 into more than €1.1M. In true poker style though it wasn’t what he did, but how he did it.

A self-confessed poker fanboy, as he waited for Uri Reichenstein to call his all-in bet, Malec went and sat among the fans. Likely a bundle of nervous energy he shared a drink with a fan and even posed for a selfie. When Reichenstein eventually called he rushed back to the table and turned over the winning hand and the title was his. Then the tears flowed.

He might’ve been a fresh-faced poker player, barely old enough to play in Las Vegas, but Malec was a throwback to the old school. He talked to himself, sung to himself and, yes had more than one drink. He was an entertainer, and boy did he entertain.

Busquet aces it

This hand needs no introduction, but it’s the final so it’s going to have one.

This might be the most outrageous hand ever witnessed on the European Poker Tour. In pure equity terms it’s doubtful there have been many bigger both in terms of percentage, Busquet had less than 1% equity on the flop, and actual cold hard cash. If Busquet had busted in eighth place he’d have collected €138,600, a few hours later he’d won €896,434.

What’s also remarkable about the hand is the sheer coolness and understated commentary by the players involved. “That’s bad,” uttered Busquet upon seeing Reichardt’s pocket kings. Upon nearly flopping him dead on the flop Reichardt said. “Ace, ace you win,” when the turn got Busquet halfway there, Reichardt simply said. “Great television.”

Watch below, we think you’ll agree.

So there we have it, which hand do you think deserves to be crowned as EPT Barcelona’s greatest ever moment? If we could we’d award them both the title, but this is poker tournament and there can only be one winner. It’s up to you to decide who takes it down. Head to the @PokerStarsLive Twitter page to cast your vote.

We’ve reached the end game. It all comes down to this, which hand deserves to be voted as #EPTBarcelona‘s Greatest Moment? Watch on @PokerStarsBlog – https://t.co/3rkRrD0zLi – and then decide if you’re #TeamMalec or #TeamBusquet.

— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) August 26, 2019

It’s an incredibly busy day at EPT Barcelona with the Main Event getting started, the €100K Super High Roller playing to a finish and plenty more besides. Follow it all here.

There was a time, not long ago, when Spanish players couldn’t seem to win tournaments on the European Poker Tour. But these days, they’re crushing Super High Rollers like it ain’t no thing.

A couple of months ago, Sergio Aido beat Jesus Cortes heads up to win the €100K in Monte Carlo. And tonight in Barcelona, 29-year-old Sergi Reixach, from Girona, burnished his growing reputation when he defeated the UK’s Sam Grafton heads up to win a first prize of €1,816,210 in the biggest ever €100K in this venue.

Both Reixach and Grafton were playing their first €100K event in Europe, having taken similar paths through the ranks — online first, then tournaments of increasing buy-ins — to the highest table. And either could have won it too, with Grafton likely feeling hard done by after a series of rough beats heads up.

Reixach, however, will be rightly energised by his performance. He did it the hard way. After making all of the running during the opening stages of this final table, he was facing a near six-to-one chip deficit heads up as Grafton eyed his own first major title. But Reixach hit double-up after double-up, including getting 8♠4♠ to beat A♠K♥ (“Live cards!”) and eventually managed to close it out.

“It’s part of the game,” Reixach said. “You have to have a little bit of luck to win a tournament. Actually, a lot of luck.”

But he added that he has spent a long time working on his game to get to the stage that he can play, and win, events of this nature.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I’ve been working a lot of years for this kind of moment. It’s been a long way for me. Some people have a lot of luck in the beginning, but for me it’s been a tough way. But I’m very happy now.”

Grafton, who is one of the best-known and most popular players in European poker, was uncharacteristically silent during the closing stages as the momentum shifted back to Reixach. But both these guys have a taste now and will surely be back.

Sam Grafton: Defeated heads up

The bubble burst late last night, when ten became nine owing to the elimination of Daniel Dvoress. That left players from nine countries still involved at the start of the final day, with Japanese hot-shot Tsugunari Toma on the top of the pile, and Portugal’s Rui Ferreira propping them all up.

Final nine (l-r): Luc Greenwood, Steve O’Dwyer, Mikalai Vaskaboinikau, Kahle Burns, Sergi Reixach, Tsugunari Toma, Danny Tang, Sam Grafton, Rui Ferreira

Neither became the champion by the end of the day, but it wasn’t Ferreira who was knocked out first. That €180,070 “ignominy” fell to Mikalai Vaskaboinikau, from Belarus, who found a perfect spot to shove his 18 big blinds, but ran into a better hand. Vaskaboinikau’s 9♠9♥ lost to Reixach’s 10♥10♦.

Mikalai Vaskaboinikau: Ninth man

Ferreira resultantly laddered up, and he then quadrupled up his three big blinds when his kings held against three opponents. It was, however, only a temporary stay of execution because his A♥8♣ lost to Reixach’s A♣K♥ soon after. Ferreira won €235,950, as Reixach’s double knockout put him into the chip lead.

Rui Ferreira: Ladder, quadruple, bust

Among all the relative newcomers, there was at least one seat for a veteran at this final table, and Steve O’Dwyer is more experienced than perhaps anybody in the world at PokerStars Super High Roller events. O’Dwyer has 24 outright tournament wins on his resume, but before today had finished seventh on only seven times. But this time, that’s as far as O’Dwyer went, losing with pocket fives to Toma’s A♥4♥. Toma turned an ace to eliminated O’Dwyer. O’Dwyer won €304,250.

Steve O’Dwyer: A relatively rare seventh-place finish

That pot put Toma back on Reixach’s shoulder, but Reixach almost immediately hit back. With Luc Greenwood slumping to the small stack, he got his chips in with 6♠6♥ and Reixach snapped him off with A♦Q♣ and hit a queen on the flop. Greenwood took €384,980, leaving five.

Luc Greenwood: Out in sixth

Grafton’s career has been one of a steady rise through the ranks, from the small buy-in tournaments of London’s card rooms, eventually to the biggest games on the planet. And here, scenting his first victory at these stakes, he managed to do what all players need to do: win a couple of flips. His pocket fours bested Reixach’s ace-king to keep him alive, and then Grafton’s A♦K♥ beat Toma’s 9♠9♦. Suddenly Grafton was in the ascendant and Toma was on the ropes.

Toma has a huge cult following in poker, and a maiden triumph would have raised the roof from Portsmouth to Tokyo. But he then lost another flip to Grafton and bust in fifth, picking up €496,740. Toma had A♣J♦ to Grafton’s eights. Toma rode his luck a little yesterday, so will not be too disappointed with this one.

Tsugunari Toma

Grafton’s roll was seemingly unstoppable at this point, and Kahle Burns was the latest man to get in the way. Burns had way the best of it with K♥Q♣ to Grafton’s K♠9♠ when they got it in, but the 9♥ on the flop won it for Grafton. Burns won €639,560 for fourth.

Kahle Burns: Hot streak goes cold

Burns’s recent form is pretty hot. He won heaps in SCOOP on PokerStars, and has three six-figure scores from the past two months. But it’s actually nothing compared with the man who went out next.

Danny Tang won $1.8 million on the Triton Series in May, and then $1.6 million along with his first WSOP bracelet in July. And so it was no surprise to see him at another high buy-in final table, even if his EPT record is fairly modest. He couldn’t get his A♣8♦ to beat Reixach’s A♦Q♦ here, however, and so he picked up €847,570 for third instead.

Danny Tang: Shocked he didn’t win this one

The heads-up match is probably best reviewed via our play-by-play coverage. It went this way and that, and there were a succession of grim spots and coolers. Neither player knew when they were beaten, though, and there were no easy pots. On this occasion, it just turned out that it ran better for Reixach.

“It’s my first EPT 100K and, lucky me, I win it,” he said.

Sam Grafton and Sergi Reixach heads up

EPT Barcelona Super High Roller
Dates: August 24-26, 2019
Buy-in: €100,000
Entries: 64 (inc. 15 re-entries)
Prize pool: €6,209,280

1 – Sergi Reixach, Spain, €1,816,210
2 – Sam Grafton, UK, €1,303,950
3 – Danny Tang, Hong Kong, €847,570
4 – Kahle Burns, Australia, €639,560
5 – Tsugunari Toma, Japan, €496,740
6 – Luc Greenwood, Canada, €384,980
7 – Steve O’Dwyer, Ireland, €304,250
8 – Rui Ferreira, Portugal, €235,950
9 – Mikalai Vaskaboinikau, Belarus, €180,070

Here’s everything you need to know from the weekend on PokerStars…

• Brazil’s “FKAXM” wins Sunday Million PKO edition ($106K)
• “bencb789” takes down $2,100 Sunday Cooldown ($45K)
• Top 5 results from the High Roller Club
• Biggest results from the weekend majors

BRAZIL’S “FKAXM” WINS PKO SUNDAY MILLION

After last week’s successful experiment with a Progressive KO format, this week’s Sunday Million kept the targets on everyone’s backs. With more than 10,000 unique entries and another 4,000+ re-entries building a $1.41 million prize pool, it’s safe to say the format remained popular.

The three biggest bounties went to the top three finishers, but lots of players managed to grab big prizes without going all the way. Tops among them was the U.K.’s “LtLethality,” who collected $6,314.11 in bounties on top of $3,819 for 12th place.

The big winner at the end of the day was Brazil’s “FKAXM,” who made an even chop of the remaining prize pool heads-up with Ukraine’s “Armin2188.” Both players took $59,038 from the deal and FKAXM won the final duel to earn an additional $29,705.28 in bounties.

This week’s Sunday Million finalists

“BENCB789” BAGS BEAUCOUP BOUNTIES IN SUNDAY COOLDOWN

The biggest score in the High Roller Club this weekend belonged to Russia’s “valdemaar74,” who topped the $530 Bounty Builder for $32K in prize money plus another $27K in bounties. But the most familiar name among the big HRC winners was “bencb789,” who topped the $2,100 Sunday Cooldown.

In a field of 48 of the game’s top players, the well-regarded coach and High Roller Club regular stood out. Nobody else earned more than $6,421 in bounties in this tournament, but bencb789 collected ran roughshod over the competition for $22,921. It was a figure that topped the $20,507 he earned for winning the tournament itself.

Together those prizes come to $43,428 — the fifth-largest outright win of bencb789’s PokerStars career. Pretty impressive stuff, given that we’re talking about a player whose track record includes a WCOOP High Roller victory heads-up against Fedor Holz.

Also among the top winners this weekend was Steven “SvZff” van Zadelhoff. His $38,529 victory in the $2,100 Sunday High Roller brings him to $5.95 million in career earnings here at PokerStars.

Steven van Zadelhoff now has $5.95 million in PokerStars winnings

TOP 5 RESULTS FROM THE HIGH ROLLER CLUB

BIGGEST RESULTS FROM THE WEEKEND MAJORS

Results from the entire EPT Barcelona 2019 festival will appear here. Note: Events 1, 3, 4, 8, 11, 13, 16, 18, 21, 23, 26 and 27 were qualifier events.

Event #24: Single-Day High Roller
Dates: August 6, 2019
Buy-in: €25,500
Entries: 70 (inc. 26 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,680,700

Event #22: EPT Main Event
Dates: August 26-Sept 1, 2019

Event ongoing

Event #20: 6+ (short deck)
Dates: August 25-26, 2019
Buy-in: €25,000
Entries: 24 (inc. 9 re-entries)
Prize pool: €576,240

Event #17: Hyper Turbo
Date: August 24, 2019
Buy-in: €1,100
Entries: 357
Prize pool: €346,290

Event #15: Super High Roller
Dates: August 24-26, 2019
Buy-in: €100,000
Entries: 64 (inc. 15 re-entries)
Prize pool: €6,209,280

Event #14: NL Hold’em Hyper Turbo
Date: August 23, 2019
Buy-in: €2,150
Entries: 189 (inc. 30 re-entries)
Prize pool: €366,660

Event #12: EPT Cup
Dates: August 23, 2019
Buy-in: €550
Entries: 3,260
Prize pool: €1,581,100

484 PLACES PAID – CLICK FOR FULL RESULTS

Event #10: Seniors Event
Date: August 23, 2019
Buy-in: €1,100
Entries: 375 (inc. 89 re-entries)
Prize pool: €363,750

Event #7: NL Hold’em Single re-entry
Date: August 21, 2019
Buy-in: €10,300
Entries: 142 (inc. 35 re-entries)
Prize pool: €1,377,400

Event #6: EPT National Championship
Buy-in: €1,100
Dates: August 21-25, 2019
Entries: 4,682 (inc. 1,908 re-entries)
Prize pool: €4,541,540

702 PLACES PAID – CLICK FOR FULL RESULTS

Event #5: NLHE Hyper Turbo
Date: August 20, 2019
Buy-in: €2,150
Entries: 75
Prize pool: €145,500

Event #2: NL Hold’em Freezeout
Date: August 20, 2019
Buy-in: €1,100
Entries: 512
Prize pool: €496,640

Our photography team, led by Neil Stoddart, will be on the ground in and around Casino Barcelona for the whole of this near two-week festival. Here are a selection of their images so far.

Barcelona stars Gerard Pique and Arturo Vidal both played, and cashed, the €25,000 single-day high roller (click and swipe l-r to view images)