London Live
Saturday, 2 August 2014
Unibet Open returns to the capital.
The special 30th Edition of the Unibet Open is coming up, and Unibet have chosen Aspers as the venue to host its €1,100 buy-in event. This will take place from the 27th-30th November, but that's not all – for the first time ever, the event will carry a Quarter of a Million Euro Guarantee!
As some of you may know, I’ve had the privilege of being the Tour Director for the Unibet Open for the past three seasons. It’s truly a fantastic tour run by a brilliantly-player focused poker team, that really look after their players at every stop, as well as providing great hospitality and legendary players parties. In my opinion, however, what really separates the Unibet Open from other tours and makes it so unique is the players. The players, that descend on casinos in cities all over Europe time and time again when the show comes to town ready for poker; the players, that party, compete, and just have as much fun as humanly possible. You will regularly find up to 27 nationalities participating in the Main Event: there are players from all walks of life and with very differing poker skill levels, but they all come together to create an amazing friendly atmosphere that is second to none.
This year the vastly experienced Xpress HD Crew will be providing the live stream from Day One of the event. These are the same guys who did the WSOP streams during the Series, so you know how high the quality is. This just adds to the overall player experience and amazing buzz throughout the event. Throw on top of that the crazy cash game action that the influx of players creates, the flips championship, and an Open Face Chinese Poker Tournament, and we have a festival of poker for all. As Unibet say, “By players, for players!”
So put the date in your poker calendar, and get qualifying at Aspers Casino or on the new Unibet Poker. Take it from me – this is one you don’t want to miss.
Bad Beat Jackpot Hits Twice in 48 Hours
In an utterly bonkers turn of events, the Empire Poker Room saw TWO back-to-back Bad Beat Jackpot celebrations this June, and all in just 48 hours. The first saw winner Shay Benaim scoop £28,861, while his opponent Jing Cao landed £14,430 (leaving the remaining jackpot to be split equally between the four remaining players). In the hand, Cao turned over A-A for Quad Aces (and the nuts) against Benaim, who also had Quads with pocket Kings! Although Benaim lost the hand, he won the Jackpot and a sensational payday.
Unbelievably, it then was won again only a matter of hours after the Bad Beat Jackpot re-seeded at £10,000, sparking more player celebrations amid the World Cup atmosphere.
The jackpot is won if your losing hand is four Twos or better at showdown in any dealer dealt Texas Hold’em cash game. Both the Bad Beat winner and the winner of the hand must use both their hole cards. The bad beat winner (loser of the hand) wins 50% of the jackpot, the winner of the hand wins 25% of the jackpot, and the remaining 25% is shared by the rest of the players on the table.
The biggest three jackpots won to date stand at £222,335, £128,705 and £118,421. Could you be the next person to set a new record?