It’s time to catch up on all the latest poker news making the headlines starting with a semi-retired German player who just keeps on winning.
Semi-Retired Holz Now Winningest German Ever
German poker pro Fedor Holz said he was going into semi-retirement last summer. Fast forward a year and he’s won so much that he’s landed in the record books.
Holz’ semi-retirement announcement came after he won a World Series Of Poker bracelet at the $111 No Limit Hold’Em High Roller for One Drop in Las Vegas. Since then, Holz has placed in the top five in seven of the eight tournaments he has entered, winning over $1.4 million in a tournament in Barcelona in his first start after his semi-retirement. Then on the first weekend in May in Monte Carlo, Holz won a smaller tournament to claim $62,281, which came a few days after he won $348,302 for a fourth-place finish in Monte Carlo. Holz also won $868,518 for a second-place finish in Macau at the beginning of April
At just 23 years old, Holz has his name in the record books. He has won more than any poker pro to come out of Germany and he is seventh all-time on the current list. He has earned over $22 million in live earnings; not bad for a 23-year-old.
WSOP Announces Satellite Schedule
The World Series of Poker has just released their satellite schedule, which will allow players to win their way into the Main Event. First off, it’s important to note that there are nightly qualifiers in May that guarantee an online bracelet as well as a seat at the $565 Colossus III event. There is also a Main Event qualifier that guarantees one seat at the WSOP Main Event.
In June, things really start to heat up as there will be more satellite events than ever before. Around 1,000 WSOP gold bracelet seats will be won online, which is up from 700 in 2016. Like many in the poker game, WSOP (which has always been behind bringing online players aboard) is using the online part of the game to push it forward, instead of holding it back. Anyone can win a bracelet and play amongst the pros now.
Financial Problems Spell Demise Of PKR
PKR was an online poker room that has been in the industry for more than a decade but due to financial problems they were forced to close. While it wasn’t on the level of places like Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, its players seemed to like it and it will be missed.
In 2012, PKR had seen a growth to over five million international players. Last week, the website went down and there was no news for a few days before rumors of financial trouble started to spread.
PKR was a stand-alone poker operator until it joined MPN, which used to be known as the Microgaming Network, in February 2016. But that wasn’t enough to save it and now it is unknown if PKR is ever going to come back to the online poker game.