The world of online poker is full of new innovations and during the past few years an oddity called, for lack of a better term, “Casino Poker Flip Games” have emerged in various poker rooms. What we are talking about is not the GGPoker’s Flip & Go or similar but casino poker games like the WPT Global Poker Flips, GGPoker Cowboy Hold’em, and KKPoker KKClash.

I don’t know where this trend started but it sure is growing strong which is why some of the best online poker rooms in 2023 have developed their own version of this fast paced casino poker game.

Poker flip games might not be something that revolutionizes online poker but as a fun pastime or a “side game” between poker tournaments or breaks, they seem to have their place. 

Here’s a short review of what these games are all about and what are the best casino poker flip games in 2025.

What Are Casino Poker Flip Games & Casino Hold’em “Flip” Poker Games?

Casino Hold’em Flips are very different from the online poker Flip & Go -tournaments. In 2024 this new innovation has not yet received any official genre so the best we could describe it is the “Casino Poker Flip Games” or “Casino Poker Flips”. I would like to use the term “casino hold’em flip games” but the game is becoming so popular that even if most games mentioned in this article are based on Texas Hold’em Poker in near future we could easily see similar casino poker games based on Omaha or other popular poker variants.

Casino Poker Flip Games are similar to Baccarat and Dragon Tiger, as you win by choosing the winning “Player” or Draw. However, in Casino Poker Flips the betting options are more similar to Craps/Dices where you can bet on multiple more specific outcomes. This being said, these are not your regular casino games which is why you can’t find these on regular online casinos either. In Casino Hold’em Flip Games the idea is to bet on the winning Texas Hold’em poker hand and other betting options, like what are the hole cards or what is the winning hand. Multipliers for each betting option are based on poker odds. The more rare outcome means bigger win multipliers.

GGPoker Cowboy Hold’em – Yeehaaaw!

GGPoker’s Cowboy Hold’em is one of the first modern Casino Poker Flip games out there. Idea is very simple: Bet on Cowboy (Daniel Negreanu), Bull (Toro Bravo) or Draw, and/or other more specific outcomes with greater multipliers. The basic betting options, Cowboy or Bull, payout wins with ratio 1:01 and other betting options, Hole Cards and Winning Hands, payout more. The betting limits of this game are $0.10 – $5,000 separated in three levels.

The game is also known as Daniel Negreanu’s Cowboy Hold’em, and yes, you can see the poker pro himself battling it out every round against the Raging Bull, which by the looks of it, might be from the spanish fighting bull breed Toro Bravo.

You have three options for betting level that set the value for the chips: 

• VIP – $5.00 – $5,000.00 
• Deluxe – $1.00 – $1,500.00 
• Casual – $0.10 – $500.00 

In total, Daniel Negreanu’s Cowboy Hold’em has 13 betting options. These are: 

• Cowboy / Draw / Bull 
• 5x options for Hole Cards 
• 5x options for winning poker hand

Daniel Negreanu’s Cowboy Hold’em Bets & Payouts

BET	PAYOUT
Cowboy/Bull Wins	1.02:1
Draw	22:1
Suited	1.3:1
Connectors	2.5:1
Pair	7.5:1
Suited Connectors	12:1
Pocket Aces	99:1
High Card / One Pair	1.2:1
Two Pair	2.1:1
Three of a Kind / Straight / Flush	3.7:1
Full House	19:1
Four of a Kind / Straight Flush	248:1

GGPoker also has other casino poker flip game called Bull Fight. It has different rules concerning the winning poker hands as it is not based on Texas Hold’em. Other than that it’s almost the same. Check out the GGPoker Casino powered by GGVegas for more entertaining casino poker games.

WPT Global Poker Flips 

Poker Flips is a super popular casino poker game at WPT Global. In Poker Flips, the idea is the same as in other Casino Hold’em Flips: Bet on the Winner, Draw, Hole Cards and/or the Winning Poker Hand. Every betting round lasts 15 seconds until the cards get revealed and the winners win their money. In Poker Flips the Hole Cards gets revealed after the betting round is over.

From all the casino poker flip games mentioned in this article Poker Flips offers by default the best odds and a potential to win 248x your bet. Every time you go to play, your real money balance gets transferred as gold coins with a rate $1 = 7.18 Gold Coins.

Poker Flips is also featured in some of the biggest WPT Global promotions. As example, last year over $10 buy-in PokerFlips offered a possibility to win a poker package worth $12 400 to the WPT World Championship. WPT Global is one of the best online poker rooms out there and they also have WPT Global Casino featuring massive game selection from top providers, like Evolution (live casino) NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Red Tiger, and many others. Not only that, next to Poker Flips you have other casino poker game called Poker Masters. If you decide to visit, be sure to check it out.

Poker Flips Bets & Payouts

BET	PAYOUT
Cowboy/Bull Wins	2.02:1
Draw	22:1
Suit/Connector/Suit Connector	1.66:1
Pair	8.5:1
Pair of Aces	100:1
High Card / One Pair	2.2:1
Two Pair	3.1:1
Three of Kind / Straight / Flush	7.5:1
Full House	20:1
Four of Kind / Straight Flush / Royal Flush	248:1

Poker Masters

WPT Global Poker Masters is very similar to Poker Flips. This game is based on Texas Hold’em, and the idea is to guess which poker hand wins – Poker Master or Shark. The difference between Poker Masters and Poker Flips is that in Poker Masters, you see the Hole Cards during the betting round and can base your decisions better on poker odds. Depending on the Hole Cards, the given multipliers in each betting round change. Betting options in Poker Masters are:

• Poker Master/Shark
• High Card/Pair
• Two Pairs
• Trips/Straight/Flush
• Full House
• Quads/Straight Flush/Royal Flush

Also in Poker Masters, your real money balance is transferred to Gold Coins at a rate of $1/7.18 Gold Coins.

KKPoker KKClash 

KKPoker KKClash might be the most dazzling of all Poker Flip games mentioned in this article. Graphics are top notch and all the visuals boost your gaming experience little higher. Very entertaining game featuring Shark and the King. In KKClash, King has a special status and rewards you greater than other cards.

From time to time, KKPoker is featuring KKClash in their promotions like the daily missions where you can win extra prizes.

In KKClash you have betting options for: 

• Winner – Shark, Draw, King 
• Hole Cards – Suited / Connector, Pocket Pair, Pocket Kings 
• Winning Poker Hand – High Card / Pair, Two Pairs, Three of a Kind / Straight / Flush, High Card King / Pair of Kings, Full House or above, Full House with Kings / Four Kings 

KKClash Bets & Payouts

BET	PAYOUT
Shark / King Wins	2.02:1
Draw	24:1
Suited / Connector	1.66:1
Pocket Pair	8.5:1
Pocket Kings	100:1
High Card / Pair	2.2:1
Two Pair	3.1:1
Three of a Kind / Straight / Flush	4.7:1
Full House or above	19:1
King High Card / Pair of Kings	19:1
Kings Full House / Kings Four of a Kind	242:1

Best Casino Poker Flip Games Summary

Casino Poker Flip Games like Daniel Negreanu’s Cowboy Poker, Poker Flips, and KKClash have demonstrated how much value a good side game can bring to the table. For many players, like myself, this extra feature (I would say) hits just right and many times I have found myself hyped while cheering what the next round will bring.

What can I say… I tried it, and liked it, and so did many other poker and casino enthusiasts.

Casino Hold’em Flip Games are a combination of Texas Hold’em and Casino Games, similar to Baccarat and Craps. Together they create a fast-paced, easy-to-play casino poker game where each round lasts a maximum of about 20 seconds. After the betting round and a showdown, winners get their wins, new round begins and action repeats. It’s very simple and entertaining.

Should you play with a laptop or mobile? My weapon of choice would be a smartphone or other devices with a touch screen. Then you get the best experience.

If I were to consider pure gameplay and graphics every game mentioned in this article are on almost equal standing. If other factors are taken into this equation such as which game offers the best odds, then it would be KKClash, Poker Flips and Poker Masters. Special mention goes to Poker Masters because in this game you see the Hole Cards already in the betting round so it’s not all gambling but more odds based gaming.

In KKPoker’s KKClash the King has extra value which boosts the overall winning chances. And who does not like to hail the king!

In this concept, online casino and poker have found a workable middle ground, and as the popularity keeps rising, expect more similar casino poker games to enter the market in the near future. Until then, keep on flippin!

Image credits GGPoker, WPT Global, KKPoker

The ongoing action over at JackPoker is Hollywood-esque! There’s no doubt that JackPoker is a very innovative online poker site; they always have something new and creative up their sleeve. A couple of examples from the past are the JackPoker Freeroll Festival, the JackPoker Skiing Quests, and their implementation of the popular format BombPots.

We’re a couple of months into 2024 and JackPoker are showing zero signs of slowing down. They have a lot of interesting stuff coming up, and they have already launched two very intriguing projects on their site. Today, we’ll tell you about a new tournament series that’s already kicked off, as well as a big reoccurring Sunday tournament that you really need to check out.

Let’s open up the JackPoker client and see what greets us!

Nuclear 4s – A Low Buy-In Tournament Series

Everyone loves a good online poker tournament series, and now you can enjoy some crazy poker action in JackPoker’s Nuclear 4s Series! Low Buy-In is the main essence of this series, and it’s a solid way to build up your bankroll. Nuclear 4s kicked off February 12^th and is running all the way to March 3^rd, and it’s surely something all JackPoker players don’t want to miss.

On the last day of the series, March 3^rd, the series will culminate with two Main Events. The $4,4 Nuclear 4s Mini Main Event has $4.400 GTD, and the $44 Nuclear 4s Main Event features a $44.000 GTD. Considering the guarantees are 1.000 times higher than the initial Buy-In, we’re predicting a lot of JackPoker players will take their shot in these tournaments and compete for a slice of the cake.

The $44 Main Event is the biggest tournament in the schedule in terms of Buy-In. Apart from that, the Buy-Ins are ranging between $1-$20. On average, there are six tournaments running each day throughout the series, so there’s a lot of action to partake in!

BB Sunday Ticket Raffle

Do you want to get your hands on a $30 BB Sunday or $10 BB Sunday Satellite ticket? Then you’ve come to the right place, and this is what you have to do:

1. Like and retweet/share this post: https://twitter.com/PokerListings/status/1757759188455899389
2. COMMENT your JackPoker NICKNAME in the comment section of THIS ARTICLE.
3. Do this before the deadline which is 17/2-2024 at 23.59PM CET.

A total of 1x$30 and 3x$10 tickets will be given away in this raffle.

NB: You have to be living in a country eligible for this type of raffle to in order to participate.

Big Bang – JackPoker’s New Sunday Tournament

Sundays are sacred for poker players. It’s the most popular day to play and there’s usually a lot of good online poker tournaments running on the last day of the week. JackPoker already have good weekend tournaments, but it just got even better with their launch of the Big Bang!

The $30 Big Bang Sunday will run on the JackPoker client on the first Sunday of every month. The tournament holds a $30.000 GTD and it’s one of the hottest tournaments in the JackPoker tournament schedule right now.

One of the best things about the Big Bang is that players can qualify for the tournament – for free! That’s right, there are many satellites running throughout the week the event is played, and some of them are poker freeroll satellites. It’s evident that the JackPoker team is going to great lengths to make life easier for the players on their site, and to offer freeroll satellites to one of their biggest tournaments is incredibly beneficial.

Like we said in a previous article, the first Big Bang was played February 11^th. A total of 966 players entered the tournament and “iammorcianvan” conquered and became the winner. For this feat, he earned himself $6.600. Kudos!

It’s always a pleasure to follow JackPoker where so many new things are happening, and we can’t wait to see the action unfold in the Nuclear 4s Series. Good luck to all players participating in the series, as well as in the Bing Bang Sunday tournament!

It’s hard not to think about poker when talking about Malta. The Mediterranean island is a paradise for live poker player. It’s one of those places where we’ve seen poker legends being created throughout the years.

There’s been a swarm of live poker events in Malta in the past, and many of them have been held at Portomaso Casino. In April, the casino will once again roll out the red carpet, seeing as they will host a legendary live poker event – Malta Poker Festival!

Poker in Paradise

Presumably, many poker players are very excited about this year’s Malta Poker Festival. It’s between the period April 22^nd-29^th. Portomaso Casino will host the event and judging from the Malta Poker Festival Tournament Schedule, we’re in for a treat. A diversified schedule features a couple of Mixed Games; Sviten Special and H.O.R.S.E. lovers have something to look forward too.

The crown jewel of Malta Poker Festival is, naturally, the €550 Main Event. Even though the official name of the tournament is Malta Poker Festival Grand Event, it should be mentioned that the event is powered by Unibet Deepstack Open. With six unique day 1 flights and €300.000 GTD, there’s good chances this tournament will be one to remember.

There’s another couple of games in this somewhat unique tournament schedule. Some tournaments are hosted by certain poker icons, meaning they will be featured in the events. For instance, Jeanne David – or as the event organizers themselves call her, the “Queen of Mixed Games” will host the H.O.R.S.E. event. Rolf Arne Bechstrøm and Kerryjane Craigie will also be featured in certain events.

Remote Opening Flight in the UK

Players from the UK will have the opportunity to qualify for the second day of the Malta Poker Festival within their own country! The Hippodrome Casino in London will host the first-ever Day 1 of the MPF on March 16th, where 15% of the field will not only qualify for the second day of the event but also lock up a min cash of 900 Euros. Day 2 will be held at the Portomaso Casino in Malta, on April 28th. The chip leader of this remote flight will be awarded a luxurious hotel stay!

Malta Poker Festival 2024 – Full Tournament Schedule

Date & Time	Event	Buy-In
April 22nd, 19:00	Opening Satellite to MPF Grand Event	€70
April 23rd, 18:00	Sviten Special	€230
April 23rd, 19:00	Satellite to MPF Grand Event	€70
April 23rd, 21:00	MPF Texas Classic	€200
April 24th, 13:00	MPF Grand Event Day 1A Powered by UDSO	€550
April 24th, 17:00	Betsson One Bullet	€170
April 24th, 18:00	H.O.R.S.E 5 Mix (Hosted by Jeanne David)	€230
April 24th, 20:00	Satellite to MPF Grand Event	€70
April 25th, 13:00	MPF Grand Event Day 1B Powered by UDSO	€550
April 25th, 16:00	Bounty Hunter Days Malta	€230
April 25th, 19:00	Satellite to MPF Grand Event	€70
April 25th, 21:00	Satellite to Super Highroller	€300
April 26th, 13:00	MPF Grand Event Day 1C Powered by UDSO	€550
April 26th, 16:00	Mystery Bounty Day 1	€230
April 26th, 18:00	PLO Knight Crusaders	€300
April 26th, 19:00	Super Highroller	€2 500
April 26th, 19:00	April 2 Stack (Hosted by Rolf Arne Bechstrom)	€230
April 26th, 21:00	Satellite to MPF Grand Event	€70
April 27th, 13:00	MPF Grand Event Day 1D Powered by UDSO	€550
April 27th, 14:00	Mystery Bounty Day 2	N/A
April 27th, 15:00	Super Highroller Final Day	€2 500
April 27th, 16:00	Ladies First (Hosted by Kerry Jane Craigie)	€200
April 27th, 17:00	APAT Maltese Championship Day 1	€120
April 27th, 18:00	Satellite to MPF Grand Event	€70
April 27th, 19:00	MPF Highroller Satellite	€150
April 27th, 21:00	MPF Grand Event Day 1E Powered by UDSO (Turbo)	€550
April 28th, 10:00	MPF Grand Event Day 1F Powered by UDSO (Turbo)	€550
April 28th, 13:00	The Hendon Mob Championship Day 1	€250
April 28th, 14:00	APAT Maltese Championship Day 2	N/A
April 28th, 15:00	MPF Highroller Satellite	€150
April 28th, 15:00	MPF Seniors Event (Hosted by Buddy from Global Poker Community)	€300
April 28th, 17:00	MPF Grand Event Day 2	N/A
April 28th, 19:00	MPF Highroller Day 1	€1 100
April 28th, 21:00	Deepstack Sponsored Event (TBA)	€250
April 29th, 13:00	MPF Grand Event Day 3	N/A
April 29th, 14:00	The Hendon Mob Championship Day 2	N/A
April 29th, 15:00	Bounty Hunter Days Progressive Closer	€270
April 29th, 16:00	MPF Highroller Day 2	€1 100
April 29th, 19:00	MPF Last Chance	€230

“Affordable, High-Quality Play” is somewhat of a slogan for Malta Poker Festival 2024, and we’re super excited to see the action unfold at Portomaso Casino. Good luck to all the players who will participate in the event!

Weekend at JackPoker was again filled with amazing tournaments and players for sure had their fill in every buy-in level. Quality over quantity is the name of the game at JackPoker when high attendance was reached in multiple poker tournaments. 

This weekend was somewhat extra special because we did not only celebrate the Chinese New Year, the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, but also the debut of the new monthly Sunday Big Bang poker tournament.

Let’s see what went down this weekend!

Sunday Big Bang Delivered the Mania

February 11th was the launch day for a new monthly main event when Sunday Big Bang tournament was played for the first time at JackPoker. 

The debut was received by the community with open arms as a total 966 players took up the challenge to win the best prizes from the total guaranteed prize pool of $30 000 dollars! 

With constant flow of new promotions and bigger tournaments, JackPoker has reached a new milestone where traffic on their poker room has stabilized to over 2000 players during peak hours. Any time of the day you find over 1000 players enjoying game at JackPoker. If we take this in to consideration, from all the people who were online last night almost 50% registered to play in $30 buy-in Sunday Big Bang tournament.

Buy-in / GTD -ratio truly hit the sweetspot and when all was said and done after 7 hours and 47 minutes it was player “iammorcianvan” who took home the $6600 first prize. Not bad for a $30 buy-in. Money was good for all who managed to play themselves in the final table where all in the top six won all over $1 000.

Sunday Big Bang will be played on the first Sunday in every month, so according to my calendar the next Bang will be played 10th of March.

Sunday High Roller Action

Sunday Big Jack

Hefty prize pools were shared in two JackPoker High Roller tournaments where in both number of participants stayed under 100 players. From High Rollers it was the $200 buy-in Sunday Big Jack that received the most attention. Total 90 players with enough deep pockets participated in this $20 000 GTD HR tournament that lasted little over 4 hours.

Best of the bunch was player maiorWithas who bagged $6 000 dollars after beating Afalastimore in the final table. Second place awarded still a nice payday of $4 000  and third place awarded player aprch with $2 400 dollars.

Big Hunter 400 

Big money bounty hunting scalped heads in Jack Hunter Big Hunter 400. This $400 buy-in bounty tournament put a nice prize on every head and a total 57 players took up the challenge. After 3 hours of bounty action it was clear who was the ultimate alpha hunter in Big Hunter 400 even if the tournament was not over yet.

After the showdown, the player who dominated the hunting season was Rebeka50 who managed to win bounties worth $6 480! The first place together with the bounties delivered a total payday $9 672! The second best bounty hunter in Big Hunter 400 was found in the third place where KendoGerplzca managed to win $1 368 dollars as prize money and  $1 080 from bounties. Second place in the tournament was PSluckyin with $2 566.40 total money won. 

High Volume in Bonus Bonanza and Medium Stakes Tournaments

Like every week, affordable yet high rewarding Bonus Bonanza tournaments had a high volume of players. Even though in these tournaments the prize pool is awarded in InstaCash that only work in cash games, it seems active grinders have become fanboyz and girlz of these tournaments. In three tournaments with entry fees $20, $50 and $100 almost 500 players went after big InstaCash prizes.

Other popular tournaments this weekend were the low and medium stakes Jack Hunters and the $50 Deepstack bounty tournament.

What’s Coming Next?

If you think Big Bang was something, wait till things go nuclear! Starting today, 12th of February, JackPoker hosts an epic $444K GTD low-stakes tournament series with amazing prize pools called Nuclear 4S! Can’t wait to hype this one but if you want to know what it’s all about head to JackPoker and prepare to go nuclear!

In a sea of live poker events, some naturally tickle our imagination a little more than others. The Irish Poker Open is most certainly one of them. It’s the oldest running live poker event in Europe and it’s one of the all-time classics when it comes to tournament poker.

We’re roughly one month away from the Irish Poker Open 2024, and the time to secure your seat to the Main Event is now. Luckily, the opportunities to qualify for the Irish Poker Open 2024 Main Event are many, and players can compete for packages and/or seats both live and online. Let’s take a look at how you can qualify for one of the world’s most legendary live poker tournaments!

Dusk Till Dawn Live Satellites

Attention, all UK poker players! You can qualify to the Irish Poker Open 2024 through a live satellite that will be held at Dusk Till Dawn Casino. Sunday March 3^rd, there will be no fewer than ten Irish Poker Open Main Event packages guaranteed. Each package is worth £1.500 and if you live in the UK and play poker, this satellite is an opportunity that you don’t want to miss out on!

From Canada to Dublin – Playground Satellites

The Playground in Montreal is one of the leading card rooms in Canada and in just a couple of weeks, players ought to visit the casino and partake in the Road to the Irish Open promotion. The promotion will run February 22^nd-March 16^th and players will be competing for packages to the Irish Poker Open Main Event worth C$6.180. It’s a two-step satellite structure, meaning you can snag a package for as little as C$135.

Paul O’Reilly, organizer of the Irish Poker Open, is thrilled about both Dusk Till Dawn and Playground offering live satellites:

“We are thrilled to partner with Dusk Till Dawn and Playground, offering players diverse avenues to participate in the Irish Open. These live satellites, coupled with online qualification options, underscore the global appeal of our event.”

Irish Poker Open Online Satellites

If you’d rather take your shot qualifying for the Irish Poker Open through online satellites, you’ll have many opportunities to do so. Satellites are running on PokerStars, the iPoker network and on ChampionPoker.

The PokerStars qualifiers guarantees no less than 20 seats a week. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays four seats are guaranteed and on Sundays, players can join a qualifier that has eight packages guaranteed.

The iPoker Network has many different skins, and seat- and package qualifiers are running on nineteen of these. Seats are guaranteed every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday through satellites with €50- and €100 Buy-Ins. On Sundays, there are package satellites worth €2.250, which includes the Main Event Buy-In as well as €1.100 in spending money.

Paddy Power is part of the iPoker network and there are Paddy Power exclusive satellites for the Irish Poker Open running on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

On ChampionPoker, there are €150 qualifiers that includes the €1.150 Buy-In for the Main Event as well as an extra €1.100 in spending money, meant to cover the player’s travel expenses. A total 30 packages will be distributed through the ChampionPoker satellites.

We’re so excited for the Irish Poker Open 2024! It’s for sure going to be a huge live event considering all the ways players can qualify. We wish you all the luck of the Irish!

The last stop for The Festival Series in 2023 was in Bratislava. During eight days, The Festival participants could enjoy poker-, casino- and sports betting tournaments at Banco Casino. Looking back, it’s safe to say the event was yet another slam-dunk by Martin “Franke” Von Zweigbergk and his Festival crew.

After The Festival Bratislava, players didn’t have to wait too long before the Festival revealed its first stop in 2024. In June, The Festival will kick off their 2024 season in Rozvadov. A couple of days ago the official tournament schedule was released and there’s no doubt we’re in for a treat. Let’s take a look at what’s happening at The Festival Rozvadov this summer!

Mixed Games Action

The Festival Rozvadov 2024 will be played May 31^st-June 9^th at King’s Casino. This will be the first stop ever for the event in the Czech Republic and judging by The Festival Rozvadov 2024 tournament schedule, we have a very promising live poker event coming up.

The first thing one should know about Franke (who founded The Festival) is that he enjoys action. There’s no dull moments when Franke is involved and the schedule is more or less a reflection of his personality. Apart from more common Texas No Limit Hold ‘Em and Pot Limit Omaha-tournaments, there’s a lot of Mixed Games in the schedule. The Festival have received a lot of positive feedback for arranging these Mixed Games poker tournaments; an educated guess is that many poker players appreciates the event thanks to all the different varieties of poker to enjoy.

Sviten Special, Crazy Pineapple, 8-Game, Deuce to Seven Triple Draw… the list of different Mixed Games featured in the schedule is long. One that deserves to be highlighted a little extra though, is the €550 H.O.R.S.E.S Main Event. This game first saw the light of day during the Bratislava stop in 2023 and it was a huge success. Franke felt like the more known Mixed Game H.O.R.S.E. wasn’t exciting enough, so he added another S at the end, standing for Sviten. Players in the H.O.R.S.E.S event must master six different poker disciplines and naturally, it’s a very prestigious Mixed Games tournament.

The Main Event Has €500 000 GTD

The cherry on top is naturally the €550 Main Event. The tournament holds a €500 000 GTD and with six Day 1 flights, we predict many players will battle it out for The Festival Rozvadov Main Event trophy. Reigning champion from Bratislava is Gabriel Rymar who outlasted a field of 1 025 players.

The Festival Rozvadov 2024 – Full Tournament Schedule

Date & Time (CET)	Event	Buy-In
May 31st, 11:00	The Hendon Mob Championship – Day 1A	€250
May 31st, 12:00	Turbo Satellite to H.O.R.S.E.S – Day 1B	€80
May 31st, 15:00	H.O.R.S.E.S Mixed Games Main Event – Day 1A	€550
May 31st, 15:30	Satellite to The Hendon Mob Championship – Day 1B	€40
May 31st, 17:30	Sviten Special	€250
May 31st, 18:00	The Hendon Mob Championship – Day 1B	€250
May 31st, 20:00	Super Satellite to Main Event	€80
May 31st, 22:00	Crazy Pineapple (TX NLH)	€125
June 1st, 11:00	The Hendom Mob Championship – Day 1C	€250
June 1st, 12:00	Turbo Satellite to H.O.R.S.E.S – Day 1B	€80
June 1st, 15:00	H.O.R.S.E.S Mixed Games Main Event – Day 1B	€550
June 1st, 15:30	Satellite to The Hendon Mob Championship – Day 1D	€40
June 1st, 16:00	PLO Masters	€250
June 1st, 18:00	The Hendon Mob Championship – Day 1D	€250
June 1st, 20:00	Super Satellite to Main Event	€80
June 1st, 20:00	Cash Game Challenge TX NL €5-€5	N/A
June 1st, 20:00	Texas Saturday Knockout	€125
June 1st, 22:30	Cash Game Challenge PLO €5-€5	N/A
June 2nd, 11:00	The Hendon Mob Championship – Day 1E (Turbo)	€250
June 2nd, 13:00	H.O.R.S.E.S Mixed Games Main Event – Final Day	N/A
June 2nd, 15:00	Satellite to Mystery Bounty – Day 1A	€50
June 2nd, 16:00	8-Game	€250
June 2nd, 17:00	The Hendon Mob Championship – Day 2	N/A
June 2nd, 18:00	NLH Mystery Bounty – Day 1A	€300
June 2nd, 20:00	Super Satellite to Main Event	€80
June 2nd, 20:00	Cash Game Challenge PLO €2-€2	N/A
June 2nd, 22:00	Win the Button Texas	€125
June 2nd, 22:30	Cash Game Challenge TX NL €2-€2	N/A
June 3rd, 13:00	The Hendon Mob Championship – Final Day	N/A
June 3rd, 14:00	Half n’ Half (Texas & PLO)	€125
June 3rd, 15:00	Satellite to Mystery Bounty – Day 1B	€50
June 3rd, 16:00	PLO Freezeout	€250
June 3rd, 18:00	NLH Mystery Bounty – Day 1B	€300
June 3rd, 20:00	Super Satellite to Main Event	€80
June 3rd, 20:00	Cash Game Challenge PLO €2-€2	N/A
June 3rd, 21:00	Texas Progressive Knockout	€125
June 3rd, 22:30	Cash Game Challenge TX NL €2-€2	N/A
June 4th, 14:00	Seniors Event 50+	€250
June 4th, 15:00	Satellite to Mystery Bounty – Day 1C	€50
June 4th, 16:00	7-Card Stud Fixed Limit	€220
June 4th, 18:00	NLH Mystery Bounty – Day 1C	€300
June 4th, 19:00	Blackjack Tournament	€125
June 4th, 20:00	Super Satellite to Main Event	€80
June 4th, 20:00	Cash Game Challenge PLO €2-€2	N/A
June 4th, 21:00	PLO Tuesday Knockout	€125
June 4th, 22:30	Cash Game Challenge TX NL €2-€2	N/A
June 5th, 12:00	NLH Mystery Bounty – Day 1D (Turbo)	€300
June 5th, 14:00	PLO 4/5/6 Cards (7 Max)	€125
June 5th, 15:00	Turbo Satellite to Main Event – Day 1A	€80
June 5th, 17:00	NLH Mystery Bounty – Final Day	N/A
June 5th, 18:00	Main Event – Day 1A	€550
June 5th, 19:00	Roulette Tournament	€125
June 5th, 20:00	Super Satellite to Main Event – Day 1B	€80
June 5th, 22:00	PLO Wednesday Night Turbo	€125
June 6th, 12:00	Main Event – Day 1B	€550
June 6th, 14:00	H.O.R.S.E	€250
June 6th, 15:00	Turbo Satellite to Main Event – Day 1C	€80
June 6th, 18:00	Main Event – Day 1C	€550
June 6th, 19:00	Deuce to Seven Triple Draw	€125
June 6th, 20:00	Super Satellite to Main Event – Day 1D	€80
June 6th, 21:00	Slots Tournament	€125
June 6th, 22:00	Thursday Texas Turbo Midnight Madness	€125
June 7th, 11:00	Main Event – Day 1D	€550
June 7th, 12:00	Open Face Chinese	€250
June 7th, 15:00	Super Satellite to Main Event – Day 1E	€80
June 7th, 17:00	PLO/PLO8	€125
June 7th, 18:00	Main Event – Day 1E	€550
June 7th, 18:00	Celebrity Streamer Cash Games	N/A
June 7th, 20:00	Last Chance Satellite to Main Event	€80
June 7th, 20:00	Cash Game Challenge TX NL €5-€5	N/A
June 7th, 22:00	Friday Texas Turbo Midnight Madness	€125
June 7th, 22:30	Casg Game Challenge Final PLO/NLH €2-€5	N/A
June 8th, 11:00	Main Event – Day 1F (Turbo)	€550
June 8th, 15:00	Satellite to PLO Highroller	€90
June 8th, 16:30	Main Event – Day 2	N/A
June 8th, 18:00	PLO Highroller	€1 100
June 8th, 19:00	PokerListings 30k Texas NL	€250
June 8th, 20:00	The Festival Queens	€125
June 8th, 22:00	Saturday PLO Turbo Midnight Madness	€125
June 9th, 12:00	OFC Highroller	€1 100
June 9th, 13:00	Main Event – Final Day	N/A
June 9th, 15:00	NL Texas Freezeout	€125
June 9th, 16:00	5-Card PLO	€125
June 9th, 18:00	NLH High Roller	€1 100

We’re super excited for The Festival Rozvadov 2024, and we sure hope we’ll see you there!

Impact of Virtual Reality on Online Poker

Apple’s own $3.5K virtual reality headset, the Vision Pro, will go on pre-order on January 19, 2024. It can be operated using voice, hand, and eye control without the need for additional devices. To determine how popular the VR format is in the poker business, we opted to read the announcement from Apple about the headset and the data about how popular different VR sets are. We also took a look at Steam.

Today we’ll share our research, so, let’s begin.

Why and What Will Apple Vision Pro Do?

The Apple Vision Pro headset can currently be purchased directly starting on February 2 and offers access to a limited-feature virtual theater and desktop. In actuality, these are more like augmented reality (AR) glasses than virtual reality (VR) glasses because you can use them to enhance your real world experience by adding virtual aspects to it.

With Apple Vision Pro, users will be able to work productively in virtual reality by reading texts, printing information on a virtual keyboard, and more — all while experiencing the fullest possible immersion in 3D cinema.

Control within the helmet is accomplished by the software tracking the wearer’s hand and eye movements. If controlling the hands just requires a certain gesture, then controlling the eyes would be as easy as moving them and focusing on the appropriate spot for the task. This is a pinch — virtually all recognized gestures require the user to make a fist with the other fingers while keeping their thumb and index finger clenched as though they were in a pinch.

The use of bone conduction in Apple VR to transmit sound is an intriguing feature. With this technology, sound is transmitted straight to the middle ear through the face’s bones, bypassing the ear canal and auricle.

Although there are currently relatively few games that are not in the public domain, Apple’s Vision Pro does support several games that were created for its visionOS. After the glasses go on sale, further information regarding the gaming possibilities will be available.

Benefits of Apple Vision Pro in Poker

Two developments in the poker industry could result from the advancement of these technologies and their accessibility democratization:

With regard to online poker, games can be played with the room’s 3D interface or in a virtual environment that has a unique aesthetic akin to PokerStars VR, but with better graphics or a more realistic feel.

In the case of live poker, this means moving tournaments or cash games to a virtual format. This will allow for reduced organizational costs (leasing space, employing personnel, etc.), increased accessibility for players from around the globe, and increased game safety (keep in mind what transpired at the WSOP during the pandemic).

Although VR products have not been very popular thus far (and poker products are even more so because to their narrow range of application), it is extremely likely that interest in them will grow quickly now that Apple has entered the market. Since Apple continues to lead the way in the development of technologies that are available to the general public, it has the potential to hasten the adoption of virtual reality.

Widely Used VR Headsets

The majority of widely used VR sets, or equipment sets, are essentially the same:

• Goggles on the helmet; 
• Controllers to manage game operations;
• Trackers are bases that monitor a player’s location in space and their adherence to a safe play area’s boundaries.

Certain games might call for custom controllers if they don’t support keyboards and mice or gamepads for the XBox and PlayStation consoles. Since trackers are required for a full-fledged game in a designated space, they are typically found in the most expensive and advanced models.

The four most popular VR setups on Steam as of October 2023 are, according to Statista are:

• Forty-one percent of users who connect VR to Steam also play Oculus Quest 2 (also known as Meta Quest 2). On the official website, a set of helmets and controllers will retail for $300 as of January 17, 2024. It can function independently on its own hardware using a memory card without being linked to a PC.

• Nineteen percent uses the Valve Index HMD. This is the company’s own collection of the inventor of Steam, which costs $1.5K when ordered as a full set through the website. It offers a better experience than the Oculus Quest 2, but it requires you to connect to a PC and use its hardware in order to operate.

• Eleven percent of people utilize the Oculus Rift S. Oculus’s previous generation of high-end sets is no longer available to buy.

• The HTC Vive is the closest rival to Valve’s high-end Index HMD category, which accounts for 6% of the market. The entire set costs $1.7K on the official website. provide one of the best virtual reality gaming experiences because of the high lens resolution, precise controller and tracker calibration, and superb accuracy.

• Moreover, Windows Mixed Reality, a mixed reality platform that works with different headsets, is used by 5.6% of gamers in virtual reality.

VR Poker Games Available on Steam

January 2024

Since there aren’t many VR poker games on Steam, we selected the three that received the most favorable and varying reviews.

Most importantly! Steam games are different from in-person games. There is only a virtual chip game that cannot be purchased or withdrawn; there is no game for real money.

The Poker Stars Game Vegas Infinite

Play Spin & Go, Sit & Go, cash games, and multi-table tournaments with other players in the most popular VR poker game, which was upgraded in 2023. Without VR, the game is still accessible and free.

Despite having almost 4K highly positive evaluations overall, the last 200 reviews as of January 17, 2024, gave the PokerStars game a mediocre grade. The Stars Group Inc. has blocked access to the game from the Russian Federation, but there is also a deficiency in the age filter. The latter results in kids frequently ending up at the poker tables.

Social Club VR

A €16 multiplayer game from 2018 that simulates the interior of a casino and the games available there.

In actuality, the game is extremely unpopular despite having a ton of different varieties similar to poker and casino games. Just 49 reviews, all of which have been good, have been posted on it in its six years of existence; the negative ones, however, point out that the fee is too high and there is little activity.

Amigo VR

A completely Texas Hold’em-focused multiplayer free-to-play game from 2017. Its VR capabilities are restricted; the player is confined to one spot at all times and occasionally transported from table to table; you cannot stroll around the casino.

There are 43 reviews for the game, with a mediocre rating. The players primary grievance is that it seems like a cheaply constructed product with fewer features.

Do you already use VR to play poker or is it unnecessary?

In a world of uncertainties, one thing’s for sure: there’s a lot of fun in terms of poker coming up. Poker never sleeps and there’s always something interesting happening, whether it’s a live poker event, an online poker tournament series, or something else.

There’s no doubt that Champion Poker is one of the entities that brings a lot of action in the upcoming weeks. In fact, they have no less than three notable happenings taking place in the near future. Let’s examine the smorgasbord that Champion Poker is setting up for all poker players.

Live Poker Satellite to the Euro Poker Championship

PokerListings recently reported about the upcoming Euro Poker Championship 2024 that will take place at the amazing Banco Casino in Bratislava. The live poker event is running 19^th-25^th of March, and with a €400 000 GTD Main Event there’s no doubt we’ll see some action in the Slovakian capital.

Champion Poker are now hosting two interesting satellites for this brand new event. February 26^th and March 4^th, players can compete for €1 000 packages that includes the €350 Main Event Buy-In as well as proper accommodations. A total of eight packages will be distributed through these satellites.

Then, there’s also seat only Main Event satellites running every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday within the period of the promotion. As previously mentioned, this is the first ever Euro Poker Championship and it’s predicted to be a top-notch event. Make sure to take your shot in either of these satellites! The promotions start at February 18^th.

Bounty Hunter Series XL

March 1^st, players can enjoy the Bounty Hunter Series XL on Champion Poker. This online poker tournament series has a €5 500 000 GTD and players are for sure in for a treat. Tournaments will run daily throughout the series with Buy-Ins ranging from €3 to €1 000.

One of the big gems of the series is the Mystery Bounty Main Event which has a €250 000 GTD. By completing various missions and quests during the series, players can win their tickets into this tournament, as well as to the 6-Max Showdown which holds a €100 000 GTD.

Intriguing tournaments, daily leaderboards, poker freerolls… there’s a lot to be excited for in the Bounty Hunter Series XL, and players should be excited for it to kick off March 1^st.

Secure Your Stay for the Festival Rozvadov

There are many live poker events coming and we love it! May 31^st-June 9^th, The Festival Series will visit Rozvadov and players can expect a variety of poker-, casino- and sports betting tournaments.

Of course, Champion Poker are there for us offering good qualifiers for the Festival Rozvadov. Just like they are doing for the Euro Poker Championship, they are hosting both packages- and seat only satellites. 28 €1 600 packages for the Festival Rozvadov Main Event will be distributed through the package satellites, and in the seat only satellites, 20 seats are guaranteed.

Champion Poker’s promotion for the Festival Rozvadov is starting April 12^th.

Champion Poker are not sleeping on the job and by announcing these three amazing promotions, they are keeping us at our toes to say the least. Enjoy your play at Champion Poker!

There’s always something interesting going on over at JackPoker. They are virtuosos when it comes to interesting bonus offers and intriguing casino and poker promotions. These promotions are many and they often vary over time, making sure players always have something new to try out.

We have yet another interesting JackPoker weekend coming up and we will browse the JackPoker client and see what you definitely won’t want to miss this weekend. Also, what awesome promotion is hot right now, and how can you participate? Let’s enter the world of JackPoker and find out!

Chinese New Year Quests

We’ve previously talked about the Chinese New Year Quests over at JackPoker. This promotion kicked off January 29^th but it will run all the way to February 29^th. There’s still a lot of time left to participate in these quests and claim your share of $20.000 in rewards.

Just like previous quest campaigns at JackPoker, the Chinese New Year Quests are divided into three different categories: cash games, poker tournaments and casino. Each category has three different tiers: easy, medium and hard. Players will want to complete the harder quests seeing as these rewards will be significantly bigger. Also, completing quests within the tournament category can earn you poker tournament tickets which is perfect for your upcoming JackPoker weekend grind.

BombPots – An Exploding Success

It was a while ago that JackPoker introduced BombPots on their site, which has proven to be a huge success. BomPots seems to be very appreciated by the online poker community, and one can understand why: the format is synonymous with action and if you get lucky, you might win big. The thrill of BombPots is something special!

While enjoying BombPots on selected JackPoker cash game tables (marked with a bomb symbol), you might as well partake in the BombPots Wuests. Just like the Chinese New Years quests, these are divided into three categories and three tiers of difficulty. By completing all three quests, you’ll see yourself earning up to no less than $200!

A Weekend Like No Other

Just like any other, this weekend will see the cards flying at JackPoker. There’s always something interesting to be found in the tournament lobby and this weekend is no exception.

The Jack Freeroll Festival with a$150 prize pool is expected to be one of the most popular tournaments of the weekend. The tournament is scheduled to February 9^th 20:30 EST and there are already 109 players registered to the tournament. This will surely be the perfect way to kick of your weekend poker grind! This tournament is part of the JackPoker Freeroll Festival that is a much-appreciated JackPoker promotion; there are many poker freerolls to find on JackPoker.

Speaking of exciting tournaments, we also have the $100 Big Hunter on February 10^th, 15:30 ET. This is a knockout tournament and players are also free to make Re-Buys during the late registration period. There’s a $10.000 GTD that makes this tournament feel very promising; you’d better believe heads will roll!

Then, you can also partake in the more traditional yet still thrilling Sunday tournaments on JackPoker. For example, the $77 Sunday BigJack Special features a $12 000 GTD, something that ought to attract many players.

Good luck to all players enjoying their poker weekend together with JackPoker!

The Irish Poker Open is undoubtedly the biggest live poker event in all of Ireland. It’s the crème de la crème for all Irish poker fans, and with the Irish Poker Open 2024 being less than two months away, one can assume poker fever is already running hot in Ireland.

The Irish Poker Open 2024 tournament schedule was revealed a couple of weeks ago, and it stood clear already then that we can look forward to a lot of thrilling poker action. That being said, things just got even better. The Irish Poker Open stab just announced they’re taking actions to improve the cash game experience during the event, and it definitely sounds like all Dublin visitors will have an unforgettable poker adventure during the this year’s edition of the Irish Poker Open!

Less Talk, More Rock!

The Irish Poker Open 2024 will be held at the Royal Dublin Society March 25^th-April 1^st. The €1 150 Irish Poker Open Main Event will of course be the main attraction of the event. Not only have the organizers of the event released a very promising poker tournament schedule, but they will also ensure the cash game parameter of the event is impeccable.

“But cash games have been played at the Irish Poker Open for years, what is new?” you might ask. The organization have initiated three new features that will enhance the cash game experience even further. First and foremost, there will be a dedicated area that is cash game exclusive. This means cash game will be able to run 24/7 with almost 50 tables operating.

Registration for the cash games will also get a facelift. With a new automated registration system, waiting time will be minimized and it won’t take long before one will be seated at a table. No more queues at the Irish Poker Open! Paul O ‘Reilly is convinced the new system will be a slam-dunk:

Our goal is to make the whole system as efficient as possible. We want to keep queues to a minimum and introduce a seamless process. Once players have registered at the cash desk for the first time, they will be able to sign up for a particular game without having to keep checking lists or hanging around the cash game area. That means players can get on with having fun in the bar or player lounge.”

Last but not least, there will be a dedicated bar for the new cash game area in order to enhance the experience even further.

A Promising Event

Paul O ‘Reilly and JP McCann has been the main organizers for the Irish Poker Open for the last couple of years, and they see immense value in the event. The Irish Poker Open is much more than just a live poker event. It is the gathering for the Irish poker community, and it’s the best opportunity for Irish poker players to meet old acquaints and to make new friends. Tournament Rudi Zirio sees promising value in the new dedicated cash game zone, as it will offer a more relaxed poker experience:

“I love the cash games at the Irish Open because they create an amazing atmosphere. This is the #1 poker event in Ireland. No one misses this event. If you’re Irish and you like poker, then you’re there. It’s not just about poker – it’s about everyone coming together for eight days. It’s just great.”

The Irish Open is less than two months away, folks! The time to secure your stay is now; the organizers have reported that rooms at nearby hotels already are getting booked, so make sure not to snooze and get your accommodations in order.

We’ll see you at the Irish Poker Open!

Weekend at JackPoker offered plenty of Bounty action and big guarantees. Prize pools juiced with big bounties naturally attracted many players to join the action. Tournaments were played in every buy-in level but most attention received the daily Hunter -tournaments that shine especially bright during the weekends. 

On top of the regular tournament schedule JackPoker featured few High Rollers and also $77 buy-in Sunday Big Jack Special with a $12 000 GTD prize pool.

To give you an idea what kind of opportunities are currently available, here’s a short recap of a few selected and most popular tournaments from the JackPoker’s arsenal.

Mega Hunter 400

Mega Hunter 400 is one of the biggest weekly High Rollers offered by JackPoker. As the name entails, buy-in of this tournament is a total of $400, of which $200 goes for the bounty. When money is good the heads will roll and so they did also this weekend. Tournament started 22:00 GMT and lasted around 3 hours and 50 minutes with 54 total buy-ins, raising the prize pool up to $19 440 dollars. 

The regular prize pool was divided with the top 6 players in the tournament and over $10K shared for all who managed to reap knockouts. Biggest winner of Mega Hunter 400 was alias “cuaru24” , banking $3 024 for the 1st place and $4 350 from bounties. The 2nd best player, alias “add9432”, did not make the heads roll with the same volume as many other top players but being in 2nd position did bring the player $1 900 cash prize and $625 in bounties. Third place, player “Vencedor1979” did a successful run as a headhunter, taking home total $2 946 of which $1 650 was from bounties.

Big Hunter 150

Big Hunter 150 follows the same structure as other Hunters where 50% from the buy-in goes to bounty. Like Mega Hunter 400, with 75 total buy-ins worth $150, the tournament lasted 3 hours and 47 minutes. During this time players competed from a total prize pool of $10 687 and all top 9 players managed to at least double their money.

The biggest winner of the tournament, alias “paolford”, took home a huge payday by winning a total of $3 728,74. The other in the top 3 managed to win also over $1 000+ each. So not bad for a under 4 hour grind. 

Mini Hunter 5

Mini Hunter 5 might only be $5 buy-in tournament but as always low-stakes with big payouts tend to lure in bigger crowds, especially during the weekends. Here total buy-in count reached 338 and with more players the tournament lasted also bit longer but thanks to JackPoker’s bounty tournament structure players only had to grind for 4 hours and 30 minutes until all the winners got their share from the total prize pool of $1 530  dollars. The winner of Mini Hunter 5, “MeikyLove”, banked with one re-entry over $350 and good second, “TechniCPradi” over $150.

Sunday Big Jack High Roller

The “main day” on any online poker room is usually Sunday and so it is at JackPoker also. This time, one of the “big ones” was not a bounty tournament but a regular $200 buy-in NLHE Sunday Big Jack High Roller that offered a plentiful total prize pool of $20 000 GTD. From the 91 etrants all in the top 10 had a nice ride where they managed to more than double their money in little over 4 hours. Biggest $6 000 payout went to “Bimyyzz582” and second “fabiopcfoz” bagged $4 000.

Sunday Big Jack Special

Best GTD/Buy-in ratios were offered in the $77 Sunday Big Jack Special with $12 000 GTD prize pool luring in total 160 entrants. When the battle was over after 5 hours and 6 minutes plenty of prize money was shared between the top 10 players. Player “zeromrTH” came out on top and win the first place of $3 240. Other big winners were players: vValmor915 ($1 920), shefinuts ($1 200), DavidNalbandian ($960), and limar14 ($840).

What’s Coming Next?

Get ready for the next weekend at JackPoker when the main action will revolve around the $30K GTD Big Bang Sunday, a special tournament you can be part of with just $30 buy-in. Do you want to play in Big Bang Sunday with a fraction of the buy-in? Play $5 Big Bang Sunday Satellites and maximise the win potential next Sunday!

Gratz for all the winners! Now is time to warm-up for the Big Bang Sunday and other top tournaments at JackPoker.

What Effects Does Artificial Intelligence Have on Poker Players?

An open letter calling for the halt of artificial intelligence (AI) research was signed in 2023 by almost 2.5K well-known figures from a variety of industries, including Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and Christoph Koch.

Because AI development is affecting poker as well — most modern solvers and other player tools use it to compute spots — I decided to investigate the potential risks and benefits for several aspects of human existence.

A Direct Message to AI Labs

The letter’s original content, titled “Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter,” is available on the Future of Life Institute’s non-profit website.

The letter is rather lengthy. To summarize its content, the text states:

• Identifies the primary concerns associated with the continuing race to create AI systems;
• Proposes examining the use of such systems in terms of potential harm to society.
• Highlights the key issues of regulating, managing, and distributing AI; – Describes in broad strokes how to overcome these difficulties.

Before reading the material, make sure you understand the following concepts:

The Asilomar AI Principles are 23 principles for working with artificial intelligence that have been created and approved by top industry experts to mitigate risks. 

The text refers to the GPT-4 version of OpenAI’s Chat GPT neural network, which employs cutting-edge AI technology. OpenAI is a machine learning and neural network development business.

Top AI labs are aware that artificial intelligence (AI) systems with intelligence levels comparable to human intellect could be a major threat to humanity and society, as demonstrated by a wealth of research. The Asilomar AI Principles state that advanced AI must be designed and deployed with extreme caution, taking into account the resources that are available, as it has the potential to cause significant changes in the history of life on Earth. Unfortunately, this kind of planning and management does not currently exist, despite the fact that AI labs have been engaged in an unchecked race in recent months to create and implement ever-more-powerful digital minds, the outcomes of which no one, not even their creators, can fully comprehend, predict, or control.

Modern AI systems are able to compete with humans in solving common issues, but we must consider the following: 

• Should we let machines broadcast propaganda and lies on information channels?
• Should all labor be automated, even the jobs that make people happy?
• Should we create non-human minds that have the capacity to surpass human intelligence, sheer numbers, and eventual replacement? – Shall we take a chance on losing our civilization?

Leaders in the IT industry who are not elected should not be given such authority. We should only create strong AI systems when we are certain that the risks are acceptable and the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks. This level of trust has to be well-founded and rise in proportion to the possible impact of utilizing the system. The artificial general intelligence company OpenAI stated in a recent statement that “in order to limit the growth rate of computation to create new models, it may at some point be important to obtain an independent assessment of the state of existing AI systems before starting to train new ones.” Yes, we concur. It’s the right time.

All AI labs are hereby called upon to immediately halt training AI systems that score higher than GPT-4 for a minimum of six months. All significant players in the process should acknowledge, validate, and make public this pause. Governments should step in and put a moratorium on it if it cannot be implemented soon enough.

The pause should be used by independent experts and AI labs to collaborate on creating security protocols for advanced AI design and development. These protocols should then be examined and overseen by external experts. These protocols have to guarantee the absolute security of the systems they work on. The evolution of AI as a whole does not stop here, but it does signal a retreat from the risky race toward ever-more-unpredictable “black box” AI models with ever-greater capabilities.

The primary goal of AI research and development should now be to improve the safety, clarity, accuracy, transparency, dependability, loyalty, and trustworthiness of the current modern systems.

The creation of reliable AI control systems should be greatly accelerated by AI developers concurrently. They must, at the very least, consist of:

1. Fresh and suitable regulators for AI;
2. Oversee and keep an eye on the functioning of powerful AI systems and vast amounts of processing power;
3. Use watermarks and provenance marking to detect leaks and separate authentic AI systems from counterfeits;
4. A strong ecosystem for audits and certifications;
5. Determining who is responsible for harm brought about by AI; 
6. Stable government support for technological safety research in AI; 7)  Institutions ready to handle the profound upheavals AI will bring about on the political and economic fronts, particularly in the area of democracy.

AI has great potential to benefit humanity in the future. If we are successful in creating AI systems with significant power, we will be able to enjoy a “summer of AI” in which we will be able to reap the benefits, evolve the systems for the benefit of society, and allow time for adaptation. Other technologies that might have a disastrous impact on society have already been put on hold. That is also something we can accomplish. Let’s take use of AI’s extended summer without hastily heading into fall without planning.

Anyone can sign a letter calling for the suspension of AI development and the implementation of regulations. To do so, at the end of the letter, leave your personal information in English and confirm your signature via email.

A Selection of Well-Known People’s Viewpoints

The letter infuriated some developers, like Bill Akman, CEO of Pershing Square, who thought that a halt to AI research would allow competitors—the “bad guys”—to bridge the gap between their craft AIs and the “official” systems.

Even though Google CEO Sundar Pichai agreed with the letter’s authors, he stated that he did not believe AI development could be stopped at this time:

“Is artificial intelligence a threat to humanity? Quite. It has a wide variety of capabilities, thus the threat is also included. The letter is a fantastic first step toward starting a discussion about this issue, but I don’t see how firms will be able to adopt the remedies offered there on their own. Look, if I write a letter to my engineers instructing them to stop developing AI, does that imply that other companies will do the same? Certainly not. As a result, such choices must be taken and implemented by the authorities. And, most likely, it will take a long period, during which new hazards may develop and must be addressed in some way.”

Liv Boeree explored the risks of AI with Daniel Schmachtenberger, founder of The Consilience Project, who provided his perspective on the subject as a non-developer working in the field of science:

“Artificial intelligence has the ability to optimize practically anything, which is a significant problem in my opinion. For example, it can do good by optimizing a territory’s supply lines, but it can also do bad by optimizing terrorist assaults on them. At the same time, these activities will have almost no difference for him. Furthermore, only a small number of people have the resources and money to devote to the massive investment needed to build AI. However, as soon as a functioning system model is made public and integrated into the network, anyone with the right motivations can use it for very little money.

There can be no doubt about security under any circumstances.”

Daniel Negreanu identified another promising issue related to AI’s widespread availability and lack of control:

“When it comes to defending oneself, how soon will it be that politicians or celebrities who are caught on camera or audio acting inappropriately would say that the footage is a fake created by artificial intelligence? This appears to be a good enough justification for claiming innocence.”

What Dangers Does Humanity Face as Artificial Intelligence Develops?

After compiling the data from the letter, professional comments, and Twitter users, I can identify five main hazards for the advancement of artificial intelligence systems:

• Taking away jobs that AI can do. Unlike industrialization, which introduced new ways of functioning to humanity, artificial intelligence does not introduce anything new; instead, it solves issues in the best way possible. Its continued progress may result in the automation of all manufacturing processes, increasing the number of unemployed. Simultaneously, there is a considerable likelihood that AI will advance faster than society will generate new vocations and job categories. This could result in places unaffected by AI being overrun with individuals who want to work but don’t have enough openings, allowing corporations to substantially decrease pay, capitalizing on the lack of alternatives for employment and upkeep. The population as a whole will become poorer, while a small stratum will become significantly richer, resulting in a major increase in social inequality.
• Changing motivation in decision-making from moral-empathic to rational-mathematical. The use of artificial intelligence to societal problems and moral and ethical quandaries has the potential to dehumanize humans. A human-programmed machine thinks wonderfully in terms of rationality and optimality, but it lacks sentiments and senses, so it does not experience guilt or moral pain – it takes decisions without regard for fairness or honesty.
• Because artificial intelligence (AI) is trained on publicly available human data and because individuals produce a lot of false information, including propaganda, esoteric, pseudoscientific, and other fakes, we shouldn’t ignore the misinformation spread by society. Fake pictures of the Pope and Trump or Biden’s detentions are among the most notable examples of the start of 2023; as a result of their widespread popularity, Midjourney, an image creation service, was even compelled to stop offering their services for free.
• Reduction in value of music, literature, and art, as well as the eradication of copyright. Certain neural networks are already capable of producing text, images, and musical compositions. They do not, of course, contain the author’s idea, but as AI advances, it is possible that systems could produce goods of such high caliber that the labor of humans to create them will become obsolete.
• There has been an explosion of fraud. This is already happening; for example, in 2022, thieves defrauded consumers in the United States of more than $11 million by impersonating AI voices. With the present rate of technological advancement, the risk of being unable to recognize and punish AI scammers will only increase, and ways to guard against them will be successfully resolved by the system. 

What Are the Benefits of Artificial Intelligence to Humanity?

• Artificial intelligence’s primary benefit is that it saves people time. Compared to a human, it can process data more quickly and in greater quantities, and even at this early stage, it is able to generate products of this processing that are good enough so that people do not have to spend time meticulously examining them. Firstly, this pertains to problem solving when the best solution must be found, producing texts, images, and music in accordance with technical specifications, when creative expression is not necessary for the author, and examining texts for logical or factual errors.
• The second benefit of AI is the ability to make optimally reasonable decisions. A neural network cannot be coerced, threatened, or otherwise made to do anything against its algorithms. Since it is emotionally indifferent and cannot be pity or convinced of anything, it makes conclusions that are not only fully intellectual but also consider all relevant information. This is terrible for moral and ethical concerns, but it’s a great way to solve technical issues like logistics or infrastructure.
• Another benefit that some developers point out is the lack of cognitive mistakes. Because AI lacks a brain with all of its physiological and mental peculiarities, it is incapable of thinking in the true sense, so any conclusions it makes are risk-free. The risk of a coding error somewhat offsets this benefit. Since the AI is programmed by humans, errors may occur that the machine is unaware of because of the way it is written, which allows the machine to account for technical errors in its conclusions.
• Finally, AI can forecast events based on previous experience and current conditions. As a result, society can obtain recommendations on how to better prepare for and prevent certain disasters.

Is There a Risk to Poker as AI Develops?

Phil Galfond, a poker player and RunItOne founder who have been working with AI poker software for many years, uploaded a video titled “Is AI Killing Poker“? on his channel on March 30, 2023. Phil provides three important points in this video:

Artificial intelligence solvers pose no threat to poker. Although they help to better your poker game, they only provide you with an awareness of the optimal lines and cannot teach you how to play poker brilliantly against all of your opponents’ unique traits.

It is practically impossible for a person to learn every solution poker strategy since there are just too many possible hands, flops, turns, rivers, boards, and opponent moves. Additionally, different disciplines and game formats have different combinations of these moves. Even if you are allowed to utilize the solver directly during the game—something that online poker rooms have long prohibited—you won’t have enough time to enter all of the distribution’s information and do computations, particularly in multi-ways.

Prompters pose a greater risk to poker than do bots (RTAs). Some people may find this to be counterintuitive, but it is a reality. RTA is not a play by itself; rather, a person uses it to make decisions. Rooms can figure it out since the bot plays by itself and acts fairly normally at the table. Bots are frequently launched into rooms in groups, which makes them easier to detect. For example, a group of users with nearly identical stats, who play on a set schedule, utilize shared data for verification, and so on, are easy pickings for the security service.

The use of AI of rooms to identify AI scammers lowers the hazards. Poker rooms are run by intelligent individuals. First, they realize that the presence of “perfect” players harms the company’s reputation and deters amateurs from joining. Second, they stay up to date on the latest poker advancements and are aware of the challenges they face. There is a constant ‘AI arms race’ between scammers and security departments, but it doesn’t impact most players.

In his video, Phil also revealed a surprising truth. He claims that between 70 and 90 percent of the players in the room—the exact percentage varies according on the popularity and degree of regulation—play zero or minus. Since it is inefficient for the security agency to focus its resources on managing the majority of players in this scenario, it keeps an eye on the remaining 30% to 10% of the field, giving particular attention to players who regularly play in the black and have dubious metrics from a distance.

So, Is AI Actually a Threat?

It appears that at this point artificial intelligence systems cause far more harm than good, given that they are unregulated, capable of producing deep-fakes, misleading people, and offering the best answers for actions that are socially dangerous.

Elon Musk and other techno-sphere enthusiasts have raised alarms about the rapid development of neural networks because they believe that if control over the development, use, and general availability of AI is not reinforced, it genuinely has a high probability of becoming the greatest threat to mankind.

We are likely to enter an era where work and life are organized very differently from the ones we have now, favoring better use of time and resources, if developers and governments can manage to regulate and advance AI technology to the point where it is safe and harmless for humans, but also valid and functional.

That’s all what I wanted to share with you today. What is your opinion on AI?

Do you utilize it for playing online poker?

JackPoker are determined to make February a great poker month! Except intriguing poker tournaments running on their site, JackPoker has a couple of new exciting features that could be extremely interesting for all their players. Without further ado, let’s see what’s going on over at JackPoker!

Deposit Booster

JackPoker now has a very beneficial deposit bonus offer. Each time you deposit funds into JackPoker ($10 or more), you get to spin their wheel of fortune, which could see you winning up to 1.000% times your deposit! Considering you always will get at least a 10% bonus, everyone’s a winner with the Deposit Booster.

The other JackPoker feature that we’ll highlight today is the “Jack’s Pals” programme. This is basically a refer-a-friend kind of deal; for everyone new player you introduce to JackPoker, you will earn bankroll-boosting rewards. It is really simple to invite your friends to JackPoker. Simply go to the menu and navigate to your account. There, you can find your own referral link under the referral program tab.

Exciting JackPoker Weekend Tournaments

This weekend will see a lot of action going down at the JackPoker tables. There are many intriguing tournaments running throughout the whole weekend, and players do not want to miss out on this.

On both Friday 2^nd and Saturday 3^rd, the $150 Big Hunter is scheduled and the tournament holds a $10.000 GTD. This is a very popular JackPoker tournament and one can understand why it’s a reoccurring event in the schedule. 50% of each player’s buy-in will be dedicated to the bounty on their head, and with unlimited Re-Entries, there are good chances to get a lot of real money in the Big Hunter.

We’re also treated with some freeroll tournaments. The JackPoker Freeroll Festival seems to be going strong on JackPoker and the $2.500 GTD freeroll on the 3^rd equals a serious opportunity to increase your bankroll without any risk.

Then of course, we also have Sunday. Sundays are sacred for online poker players and there’s always a lot of action happening the last day of the week. JackPoker is no exception and their poker tournament schedule for Sunday 4^th looks very promising.

The $200 Sunday Big Jack High Roller holds a $20.000 GTD and could be considered “the big one” for Sunday. Players will start with 100.000 in chips and the first level is blinds 250/500. That is 200 big blinds and it’s a good amount for sure, allowing players to display their whole register and play creative online poker. A great tournament for sure that could be very intriguing for those who fancies a little bigger buy-in.

The $10 Sunday Jack Hunter is always an appreciated tournament on JackPoker. This knockout tournament is very affordable and there’s no secret a lot of online poker players fancies bounty tournaments.

There’s a total five intriguing tournaments on Sunday that’s worth checking out!

JackPoker – Highlighted Tournaments February 4^th 2024

Tournament	Buy-In	GTD
Sunday Mini Jack	$7	$3 000
Sunday Big Jack High Roller	$200	$20 000
Sunday Jack Hunter	$10	$5 000
Sunday Big Jack Special	$77	$12 000
Sunday Jack 24	$24	$8 000

As you can hear, JackPoker is where it’s at this weekend. Good luck to all players participating in this weekend’s tournaments at JackPoker, and make sure to take advantage of the Deposit Booster and the Jack’s Pals promotion!