In this column, we deliver you the latest and most interesting online poker industry news from across the world and all platforms.
Natural8 – GGNet kicks off $100M GTD WSOP Winter Online Circuit
One of today’s top online poker operators, Natural8 – GGNet is living up to its name by hosting yet another World Series of Poker festival running through January 9, 2022. This 2021’s WSOP Winter Online Circuit is similar to last year’s offerings which featured a $100,000,000 guaranteed prize pool spread out across 18 Ring Events.
This year’s tournament series showcases a few adjustments on its lineup including two BIG events ($50 and $500), only one Omaha tournament, and more importantly, two reduced and great value Main Events – #14: $100 MILLION$ Mini Main Event, $2M GTD, and #18: $525 Main Event, $5M GTD. Both highlighted games will play through several starting flights with the final table of the closing Main Event streamed on both Twitch and Youtube for all to see. Last year’s champion Paulius Plausinaitis captured a $1.2M top prize after outlasting the 6,395-entry field.
#14: $100 MILLION$ Mini Main Event
Date/s: December 27 – January 2, 2022
Prize pool: $2,000,000
Starting flights: 57
Duration: 150 minutes through 15 blind levels
Final day: January 2, 2022
#18: $525 Main Event
Date/s: January 2-15, 2022
Prize pool: $5,000,000
Starting flights: 85
Duration: 240 minutes through 20 blind levels
Day 2: January 9, 2022
Final table: January 15, 2022
2021-2022 WSOP Winter Online Circuit Full Schedule
| Date | Time (GMT) | Event | Buy-in | GTD |
| December 12, 2021, Sunday | 20:30 | #1: BIG 50 MILLION$, $1M GTD [Final Day] | $50 | $1,000,000 |
| 18:00 | #2: BIG 500 No-Limit Hold’em | $500 | $2,000,000 | |
| December 14, 2021, Tuesday | 18:00 | #3: $1,500 Deepstack Championship NLH | $1,500 | $1,000,000 |
| December 16, 2021, Thursday | 18:00 | #4: $600 SUPER SIX Bounty NLH 6-Handed | $600 | $600,000 |
| December 19, 2021, Sunday | 18:00 | #5: $10,300 Super MILLION$ High Roller NLH | $10,300 | $3,000,000 |
| 20:30 | #6: $400 COLOSSUS, $2.5M GTD [Final Day] | $400 | $2,500,000 | |
| December 21, 2021, Tuesday | 18:00 | #7: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship | $1,500 | $500,000 |
| December 23, 2021, Thursday | 18:00 | #8: $777 LUCKY SEVENS Bounty NLH 7-Handed | $777 | $700,000 |
| December 26, 2021, Sunday | 18:00 | #9: $800 MONSTER STACK No-Limit Hold’em | $800 | $1,000,000 |
| 20:30 | #10: $400 PLOSSUS, $1M GTD [Bounty, Final Day] | $400 | $1,000,000 | |
| December 28, 2021, Tuesday | 18:00 | #11: $1,500 6-Handed Championship, NLH | $1,500 | $1,000,000 |
| December 30, 2021, Thursday | 18:00 | #12: $888 CRAZY EIGHTS Bounty NLH 8-Handed | $888 | $800,000 |
| January 02, 2022, Sunday | 18:00 | #13: $400 DOUBLE STACK No-Limit Hold’em | $400 | $1,000,000 |
| 20:30 | #14: $100 MILLION$ Mini Main Event, $2M GTD [Final Day] | $100 | $2,000,000 | |
| January 04, 2022, Tuesday | 18:00 | #15: $2,100 Bounty Hunters Championship NLH | $2,100 | $1,000,000 |
| January 06, 2022, Thursday | 18:00 | #16: $105 THURSDAY THRILLER Bounty NLH | $105 | $500,000 |
| January 09, 2022, Sunday | 17:00 | #17: $1,050 GGMasters HR Freezeout NLH | $1,050 | $1,500,000 |
| 20:30 | #18: $525 Main Event, $5M GTD [Day 2] | $525 | $5,000,000 |
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PokerStars introduces personalized training: Level up with Lex
Competition across the online poker scene is as tough as it gets with gaming giant PokerStars leading the pack, having brought innovation and exciting games to the virtual arena throughout the years. Cementing its reputation even moreso, the top level poker site has recently introduced its newest training feature ‘Level Up with Lex’. The game-changing personalized video program provides poker advice presented by PokerStars ambassador Lex Veldhuis and serves as a guide for players to improve their skills and increase their winnings.
“Learning poker strategy as a beginner can be challenging as there’s so many resources out there, but Level Up With Lex gives clear and simple advice that’s easy to take on board, meaning players get the most out of their time at the tables,” said Lex. “It’s taken a lot of hard work and effort and I’m looking forward to seeing players benefiting from this technology.”
“This is the first large-scale, consumer facing use of AI for online poker and we are truly excited to bring this to our players who get the benefit of learning from Lex and one of the most sophisticated tools in online gaming”, posted PokerStars on its blog.
Intertops Poker takes on new name – Everygame
Established in the mid-90s, Intertops Poker stands to be one of the oldest online poker rooms that have managed to withstand the past two decades’ hurdles across the virtual scene. While the platform’s daily traffic seems to be relatively low, it remains to be one of the few US-friendly sites available up to this day. Regular users on the site received an email late November informing them of the forthcoming rebranding to ‘everygame’ before the year ended.
While the longstanding site has dropped its 25-year old name, everygame will carry the same games, products, promotions, accounts and balances, leaving it effortless for the players to adapt to the change.
EPT Online returns, Dates for 2022 EPT Prague set
Considering the current global health situation, another awaited event has been postponed in a bid to put everyone’s safety as the top priority. Dates for the return of EPT Prague has been set for March 5-16, 2022 at Hilton Hotel Prague where PokerStars plans on running a safe and enjoyable event for the community.
“I am pleased that we have been able to adapt so quickly to the ever-changing situation and provide our players with new dates for EPT Prague already, as well as some EPT online fun and value in the meantime,” said Severin Rasset, Managing Director and Commercial Officer of Poker at PokerStars.
“We know that there is a huge demand from the PokerStars community to see our live events return in full and we are excitedly working towards that, but we must be flexible along the way to ensure our players stay safe and healthy, and the experience is an unforgettable one for all the right reasons. We hope that the upcoming EPT Online series will provide players with an enjoyable alternative this December. Good luck to everyone.”
The EPT Online began last December 8 and is scheduled to conclude this 20th, Monday covering 68 tournaments of varying buy-ins in total. Trophy Event #17 or the $1.5M GTD Main Event will crown its champion this 19th, Sunday where its lucky winner will walk away with the lion’s share of the festival’s biggest prize pool.
$50,000 PLO5 Festival at KKPoker
A week left on the calendar, social poker application KKPoker has been giving five-card Omaha cash game players tons of additional prizes just for playing the games. The regulated site’s latest promotion, PLO5 Festival includes $50,000 in cash bonuses to be won split into two categories: $20K Daily PLO5 Cash Storm and a $30K PLO5 Leaderboard awarded over two weeks.
$20K Daily PLO5 Cash Storm
December 10 – 23, 2021 (2:30-3:30 GMT)
Minimum $1,000 cash prize pool daily
$30K PLO5 Leaderboard
