Pokerfuse Podcast

Mike and Nick talk with former Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas about efforts to #GrowPApoker and expand online poker to more parts of the US. From what can players do to help bring shared liquidity to Pennsylvania to grassroots activism to bring online poker to more states, John Pappas draws on his experience as PPA Executive Director to share tips and advice for growing poker in the US.

Mike and Nick interview Alex Scott, President WPT Global. Ecology Management is a vital component of managing an online poker room and Alex Scott takes listeners behind the curtain of the most technologically advanced online poker platform to understand what Ecology Management is, why it's important, and how it benefits both high volume and recreational poker players.

PokerStars’ Director of Online Poker Experience, Chris Straghalis, joins Nick and Mike to discuss the importance of big prize pool tournaments in online poker, the future of new poker variants and tournament formats at PokerStars, the recent introduction of video chat at Home Game tables, and PokerStars’ approach to game integrity and rewards and much more!

Nick and Mike are back to talk with at BetMGM's Head of Poker, Luke Staudenmaier. After hearing about how Luke got started in online poker and his path to Head of Poker at one of the biggest online poker operators in the US, the discussion turns to the recent launch of BetMGM in the newly regulated online poker market in Ontario, the success of the first live BetMGM poker event in Las Vegas, and Luke shares his thoughts on the future of the online poker market in the US.

On this special edition of the Pokerfuse Podcast, former Managing director of MPN, Alex Scott, joins Mike to discuss some of the current trends in online poker including the use of real names at the tables and rise in popularity of phased tournaments. Other topics on the table include the evolution of online poker rewards systems, bots, third-party software policies and more.

On this special edition of the Pokerfuse Podcast, Mike sits down with the Head of the GGPoker Network, Jean-Christophe Antoine. In addition to reviewing the recent success of the WSOP Super Circuit Series, Mike and JC also discuss the breaking news that GGPoker will be hosting WSOP Online Bracelet Events this summer. The discussion that follows touches on the things that make the GGPoker software stand out from its competition and JC's insights and opinions on the greater online poker industry.

On this special edition of the Pokerfuse Podcast, Mike sits down with former Head of Corporate Communications and Global Poker Marketing for PokerStars, Eric Hollreiser. Eric shares his thoughts on his proudest moments with the company and then he reflects back on what is viewed by many as the lowest point for the company, how it handled the removal of the Supernova Elite program. The conversation then shift to the future of online poker as Eric shares his opinions on innovation in poker, the evolution of brand ambassadors in poker, the potential lasting impact of the current global pandemic on the game and much more.

Online poker had its biggest weekend of the year with the biggest Sunday Majors all surpassing their guarantees. Nick and Mike provide perspective around the big numbers from the weekend. With the cancellation of all live poker events, some operators are even home game organizers are moving their poker games online. Find out where you can play or host your next game. Traffic at the cash game tables have reached a level not seen in years. The guys provide historical context around the numbers.

The coronavirus has caused the cancellation of all live poker for the foreseeable future. Nick and Mike bring you the latest and discuss possible alternatives for the World Series of Poker. With so many people staying at home, online poker is booming. Operators are chipping in to convert some live events to online, and they are raising guarantees for those that now have some unexpected time on their hands. PokerStars has released yet another poker variant. The guys tell you about the rules and discuss the potential for the game to catch on.

The poker world is not immune to the coronavirus as poker operators cancel a slew of live events. Nick and Mike run down which upcoming events have been cancelled so far and speculate on the fate of some of the bigger events happening later in the year. The full year financial reports for the parent companies of PokerStars and partypoker are out, the guys bring you the top line figures and discuss what might impact online poker's success in 2020. The Global Poker Awards were handed out last week in Las Vegas, and members of Team pokerfuse were in attendance. Find out what the guys thought of the event as they highlight some of the notable awards.

The poker world is not immune to the coronavirus as poker operators cancel a slew of live events. Nick and Mike run down which upcoming events have been cancelled so far and speculate on the fate of some of the bigger events happening later in the year. The full year financial reports for the parent companies of PokerStars and partypoker are out, the guys bring you the top line figures and discuss what might impact online poker's success in 2020. The Global Poker Awards were handed out last week in Las Vegas, and members of Team pokerfuse were in attendance. Find out what the guys thought of the event as they highlight some of the notable awards.

Unibet Poker is celebrating its 6th birthday. Nick and Mike take a look what makes Unibet special and what players on the platform can expect in the future. PokerStars has begun offering direct satellites into the 2020 PSPC, the guys tell you how you can qualify for those satellites and breakdown the number of Platinum Passes given away so far. And finally, PokerStars has gone live with its new side bet feature. The guys breakdown how this new feature works and opine on the likelihood of its success.

Online poker operators have been upgrading their software. Nick and Mike take you through some of the new features and games that have become available. The World Series of Poker has announced their online bracelet events for this summer. The guys discuss the new emphasis on the online game by the WSOP and add meaningful perspective to top line items. And finally, Run It Once Poker has turned 1 year old. The guys look back at its first year and forward to year 2 to tell you what to expect from the upstart online poker room.

There has been a lot of news about major live poker tournaments scheduled for 2020, Nick and Mike are back to tell you about what to expect from the partypoker Millions events and the PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC). Also this week, a court ruling in New York could pose a threat to proposed online poker legislation in the state and PokerStars is trialing a controversial poker game in Spain.

There is more movement with online poker sponsored pros, Nick and Mike discuss the news and implications. The big three Sunday tournaments all failed to meet their guarantees this past week, the guys look at the extra value created for players and talk about the possible link to the Super Bowl. And, partypoker has released another batch of changes to its online poker software. Find out was is new and what is still in the pipeline.

PokerStars is getting ready to roll out a new lobby design, they have brought back the Hold'em/Omaha hybrid game Fusion and we may also see 6 Card Omaha at PokerStars in the near future. Nick and Mike also discuss the recent arrest of PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg, and they break down the new Sunday Major online poker tournament, GG Masters.

PokerStars is rolling out a new feature called Side Bets and Nick and Mike discuss the details. Then the guys talk about some of the new bills that have been introduced in the US that could legalize online poker in those states, and they wrap things up with news of the latest online poker tournament series and the trend towards freezeouts in both live and online poker tournaments.

January is typically a time that we see a lot of movement with regard to sponsored online poker pros. Nick and Mike discuss this year's announcements including the departure of Jason Somerville from PokerStars. On the US online poker front, Michigan has legalized online poker, the Wire Act case had some developments over the holiday period and is partypoker preparing to launch in Nevada?

On this special edition of the pod, Nick and Mike sit down with Alex Scott, Managing Director of Poker for Microgaming. With the network preparing to close down, Alex and the guys get into the reasons why behind the decision and a bunch of other interesting topics including why online poker operators run live poker events, what it's like to lead the development of a next-gen online poker platform, the truth about hand histories and anonymous tables, what it was like to work at Full Tilt Poker pre and post Black Friday, and much more.

Sunday online poker tournaments with big guarantees are popular with players, Nick and Mike discuss the recent performance of the PokerStars Half-Price Sunday Million, the partypoker Million and the partypoker MILLIONS Online as well as highlight the upcoming Winter Series. The US online poker market is heating. The guys cover the recent success of PokerStars PA, what that means for online poker in New Jersey and the status of online poker legislation in Michigan.