European Poker Tour Prague to feature Mixed Games Main Event

PokerStars will host the first-ever Mixed Games Main Event during the European Poker Tour Prague this week, topping a mixed game schedule of nine events that demonstrates the PokerStars commitment to delivering the best poker options live and online. Following a surge in player requests for mixed game tournaments, PokerStars has put up a PokerStars shard trophy for the €2.2k 10 Game tournament and ran online qualifiers for the event.

The inaugural Mixed Games Main Event is a 10 Game €2,200 three-day single re-entry tournament that kicks off on 12 December. In addition to the Mixed Games Main Event, players in Prague also benefit from the new €1,100 Big Bet mix, as well as the usual €1,100 and €5,200 8-Game and €550 HORSE events.

10 Game Order

- Fixed Limit 2-7 Triple Draw

- Pot Limit Omaha

- Fixed Limit Stud High-Low 8 or better

- Fixed Limit Badugi

- Fixed Limit Hold'em

- No Limit 2-7 Single Draw

- Fixed Limit Stud

- Fixed Limit Omaha High-Low 8 or bette

- No Limit Hold'em

- Fixed Limit Razz

Ahead of the big event, PokerStars Ambassadors and Mixed Games enthusiasts Parker Talbot, GJ Reggie, and Sebastain Huber have given their top tips for players getting ready to take on the tournament.

Five-time WCOOP Champion Parker Talbot, who has claimed titles in H.O.R.S.E and 8-Game, said: “Mixed Games are the ultimate test of skill, strategy, and adaptability. Watching WCOOP and SCOOP final table replays is easily the best way to study, if you aren’t using some of the few mixed game tools or paying for coaching. Personally, 2-7 single draw is one of my favorite games because there’s a lot of bluffing. But I love razz, that’s my favorite by far.”

PokerStars introducing the first ever Main Event for Mixed Games at a live tournament showcases the rise in Mixed Games popularity with live tournaments attracting more players as well as online games, in which PokerStars is the only operator to offer online tournaments in Mixed Games.

Double WCOOP Champion Streamer Sebastian Huber, who took down the WCOOP H.O.R.S.E event earlier this year, said practice makes perfect when it comes to Mixed Games. “The more you practice it, the better you will get. The good thing is there are so many good Mixed Game tournaments every day on PokerStars where you can practice as much as you want. First of all, I would make sure that you know at least a little strategy for every single game. It is so much better to have a little knowledge on each game, rather than be an expert in one format.

“Besides that, make sure you are always aware of what elements your opponent is really good at and what they are bad at. My favorite mix game will always be H.O.R.S.E, because that was the first Mixed Game tournament I won. Besides that, I always love the atmosphere in mixed games tournaments. Everyone has so much fun!”

BSOP 9-Game Champion GJ Reggie says it’s important to pay attention to everything, whether it be the blinds, limits, the game type, and position. “The situations you play can vary wildly between the different games so staying focused at all times is really key. I think NL 2-7 Single Draw and NL 5-Card Draw will be the two games that players are likely to have the least amount of experience in. Something to remember is that these formats tend to have a larger ante pre and that there are only two betting rounds (compared to NLHE with 4). Pre-Draw and Post Draw, be aware so you can adjust your bet sizes accordingly, whether you're going for value or a big bluff!”

EPT Prague takes place from 4-15 December, offering 12 days of thrilling live poker, as well as a host of fun off the felt activities, at the Hilton Hotel Prague.

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Playtech expands its poker presence in Sweden with Svenska Spel

Playtech, the world’s leading gambling technology company, extended its presence in Sweden through a new partnership with Svenska Spel Sport & Casino, a prominent operator in the region.

This month, Svenska Spel launched Playtech’s poker product and iPoker network, as part of the company’s strategy to modernize and improve its poker offering. The product brings various improvements for players, including new features, a better mobile playing experience, and a connection to the iPoker network, which gives Svenska Spel players access to a larger liquidity pool, more tournaments, and greater prize pots.

“We are delighted to be expanding our very successful partnership with Svenska Spel and increasing our presence across Sweden,” said Marat Koss, VP of Interactive Gaming at Playtech. “This is a positive outcome from our investments in poker, as renewed licensees such as Svenska Spel are choosing us for further collaboration. We are delighted to welcome Svenksa Spel to the iPoker family.”

This latest move extends the current partnership covering online casino and live provision that began in 2019, making Playtech the exclusive partner of poker to Svenska Spel.

The continued partnership marks a key development in the expansion of Playtech, after Playtech recently secured B2B permit for Sweden, as per new regulation, and underlines the continued popularity of poker, one of Playtech’s most successful verticals across the company’s portfolio.

“Launching Playtech’s poker offering is a great step forward for Svenska Spel,” said Fredrik Hård, Head of Poker & Bingo, Svenska Spel Sport & Casino. “Now part of the international iPoker network, we are constantly finding ways to improve the player experience for our large existing customer base in Sweden. This deal is a great proof of the quality of Playtech’s offering and we hope to see this relationship go from strength to strength in the future.”

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Omar Eljach wins the 2022 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event

2022 continues to be a banner year for the world’s most prestigious poker brand and the 13th annual WSOP Europe delivered on that trend. The event officially set a record with the most Main Event entrants in its 13-year history, a combined $18,140,282 prize pool, and Sweden’s Omar Eljach emerging victorious after outmaneuvering France’s Jonathan Pastore in a marathon heads-up match to earn the €1,380,129 top prize.

This marks Eljach’s second WSOP bracelet win, his first came during the 2022 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas at Event #46 for a total prize of $771,765. The 763 players that took a stab at the WSOP Europe Main Event were part of poker history and even as snow fell in the Czech Republic, the rousing turnout at Kings Casino built on the WSOP’s red-hot year.

“The records being set at WSOP events are a testament to the health of the sport of poker,” said World Series of Poker Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Ty Stewart. “We couldn’t be more excited about what we’re seeing in our tournaments, and we’d like to thank all of the players for their passion in competition. Here’s to more record-breaking fields in 2023.”

The success of WSOP Europe follows the wildly successful 53rd annual World Series of Poker, which debuted in its new home on the Las Vegas strip this summer, and WSOP Online 2022 this fall. Highlighted by GG Poker’s Online Main Event, WSOP Online raised the bar again becoming the second-largest online poker tournament of all time, with a field of 4,984 and a staggering total prize pool of $23.67 million.

A series of notable names decided to make the trip to King’s Casino for a chance to win a coveted WSOP bracelet. Among them was international poker star Daniel Negreanu, in the hunt for his seventh career bracelet, and 2018 Player of the Year Shaun Deeb. Five-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb was close to earning his sixth bracelet but fell short with a third-place finish at the Final Table of the Main Event.

All bracelet winners at WSOP Europe punched a ticket to the invitation-only “Tournament of Champions,” a $1 million freeroll event to be held during the 2023 World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas.

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Playtech opens live casino studio in Romania

Playtech, the world’s leading gaming content and software, systems and services supplier, has opened a state-of-the-art live casino studio facility in Bucharest, Romania to cater for a huge demand in licensees in the newly regulated Eastern European country.

Playtech’s new Romania live casino facility employs native dealers and further bolsters its position as the world’s leading live casino software and content provider with the largest global footprint in the gaming industry.

Playtech has well-established, large-scale live casino studios in Manila and across Europe including Latvia and other regulated markets including Spain and Belgium in order to cater to local audiences in regulated and soon-to-be regulated jurisdictions.

The facility, that was delivered ahead of schedule, offers licensees a huge range of new and classic game variants including live blackjack, roulette and casino hold'em. All products are streamed using the latest HD camera equipment and next generation live gaming platform offering available across all desktop and mobile devices.

Romania opened its newly regulated, licensed online gaming framework earlier this year with Playtech receiving approval for four licences including software, live studio, platform and hosting services.

Mor Weizer, Playtech CEO, said: “The opening of the new studio further solidifies Playtech’s position as the market leader in global, cutting-edge, regulated live casino.

“This is just the beginning of our growth plans with a series of exciting new products and variants in our 2017 live casino roadmap as well as significant expansion plans for our other facilities,” Weizer added.

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EU Court of Justice OKs European Commission's consumer protection guidelines

The EU Court of Justice (CJEU) has ruled that the European Commission acted within its rights by issuing guidelines to member states on how to protect consumers from online gambling services. The CJEU rejected a claim by the Belgian Government that the Commission had gone beyond its Treaty-based competences by issuing the guidelines and found the guidelines did not interfere with the right of Member States to regulate online gambling services. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) welcomes the CJEU decision and supports the full adoption of the Commission guidelines by Member States.

The guidelines, published in 2014, contain a number of practical recommendations aimed at fostering a high degree of consumer protection in Member States and prevent minors from online gambling. The Belgian Government had claimed that the guidelines interfered with Member State sovereignty and competences to regulate national gambling markets.

While the guidelines are not legally binding, EGBA supports the implementation of the guidelines as an important tool to encourage Member States to apply a high and consistent level of consumer protection for online gambling activity in the EU. The standards adequately compliment the European Committee for Standardization's (CEN) workshop agreement on Responsible Remote Gambling Measures, which EGBA members voluntarily adhere to and are regularly audited against.

Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA, said, "We welcome the decision by the Court and strongly support the Commission's guidelines for online gambling services which aim to protect consumers and minors across all EU Member States. We now call upon the Commission to evaluate the implementation of its guidelines by Member States and identify any gaps and corrective action needed to encourage Member States to achieve a high level of consumer protection."

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