The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a pair of oversized pads, a lightning quick glove hand and an unbeatable butterfly in the afternoon poker news skills competition.
Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Drop a note in the comments and we'll gladly take a look.
Today in the 3-Bet we find Sam Trickett getting his new sponsorship off on a very good foot, Roberto Luongo settling in to a possible poker goldmine and we remember just how much fun it was to watch Tom Dwan play poker on TV.
1) Trickett Peaking at WPT Venice
We've seen this phenomenon so many times (see Jake Cody shortly after his Team PokerStars patching for example) we're convinced there's some kind of magic spell at work when a newly sponsored pro plays his first tourney with the team patch.
That's exactly what's happening in Venice, Italy as Brit Sam Trickett - runner-up in the $1m Big One for One Drop and he of multiple seven-figure career scores - is heading full steam for the final table in his first go as an Everest Poker pro.
Announcing his signing to Everest on Monday Trickett's likely already got them thinking big things for this summer's WSOP as he's moved to the top of the counts with just 10 players left.
Action is ongoing right now and you can follow along right here with the WPT Live Updates.
Tune in about an hour from now right here on PokerListings to catch the daily recap show with Jesse May. Tune in tomorrow to, most likely, watch Trickett crush on the final-table live stream.
2) Luongo Back in the Heart of South Florida Poker
High-profile NHL goalie/poker aficionado Roberto Luongo is off to a middling start back in Florida with the Panthers (one win, two losses) after his recent trade.
Given how drawn-out the process was, how untradable his contract was thought to be AND that he's back with the team where he started his career/kept an offseason home all this time, it still must seem pretty sweet.
The added bonus? Luongo's back in the heart of the soft South Florida poker scene after having to grind it out in the ultra-competitive card rooms of Vancouver.
Just a short drive from his new home ice in Sunrise, Florida, to any number of SoFla casinos including the burgeoning Seminole Hard Rock, Luongo must be licking his chops at the potential side money.
Not that, you know, he really needs it given he'll be paid well into 2021 on that fat contract.
Downside, of course, is he'll only get to play online during those cold, hard road trips north of the border. We do expect to see him back at the WSOP again this summer, though - only this time likely on his own dime and not the British Columbia government's.
Watch our mini-documentary of Luongo's run at the 2013 WSOP Main Event below:
3) 105 Glorious Minutes of Tom Dwan on PAD
Man. Remember how much fun it was to watch Tom Dwan play poker on TV?
With Dwan permanently ensconsed in Macau these days, at odds with Full Tilt Poker and showing no inclination to play under the camera lights anymore, we'll have to tide ourselves over with this enjoyable supercut of his best Poker After Dark moments.
Please come back, Tom. We miss you.
Best comment on the video btw: "Bob Safai is such a squid." Enjoy:
