All PokerSoup.com Blogs

1. 2020-11-16 17:20:56

   We're back! Now featuring 0 certificate errors!

   Sorry for the recent SSL issues everyone. Jason and I have things patched up with a slicker, more secure, and more maintainable setup. Thanks for sticking with us!

   Posted by Ethan at 2020-11-16 17:20:56 | permalink | Discuss (0 comments)

2. 2018-04-06 14:55:07

   Timeline of the San Mateo County Poker League

   October 2008:
   Phil Travisano answers an ad on CraigsList recruiting new players for a long-running 1-table tournament at Behan's Irish Pub in Burlingame. The ad was placed by Alan Gorman who had been running the game there since 2003.

   December 2010:
   With the approaching holidays, the Behan's game starts to fizzle. No games are held for a few weeks. After the new year Alan gives Phil the OK to take over running the tournaments.

   February 2011:
   Phil gets in touch with Behan's owner GG who decides he no longer wants to host the games.

   March 2011:
   Phil has landed a new location: Ausiello's Tavern in Belmont; and the new league is born.

   January 2012:
   Eddie, the owner of Ausiello's, has decided to end the games because he is seeking a full liquor license. (The bar later becomes McGraw's Bar and Grill.)

   January 2012:
   Phil lands Bucky's Cocktail Lounge in San Mateo as the new home for the league. The games grow and thrive there for the next six years. Phil moves to Portland, Oregon in April of 2017. Leadership is taken over by Troy Soult, Elaine On, Jefferson "JD" Dong, Jacob Moussa, and James Ruigomez.

   March 2018:
   Due to remodeling by new owners, the games at Bucky's come to an end (for the time being). Games resume at Hugo Gonzalez's workplace in San Francisco, and later at Fiddler's Green in Millbrae. Leadership is taken over by Santana Thienviwat, Jessie Nungaray, David Soto, and Alex Munteanu.

   April 2020:
   In reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league seamlessly transitions to playing exclusively online using PokerStars' home game feature while communicating vocally via Discord. This enables their founder, Phil, to rejoin the weekly tournaments.

   Posted by Phil at 2018-04-06 14:55:07 | permalink | Discuss (0 comments)

3. 2017-08-31 16:14:54

   Want a blog? Let us know!

   Sadly, in an effort to keep the spam down, we've removed the ability for people to create a blog on their own. Too many BS posts about gold sneakers and long term elder care.

   If you'd like a blog, just message us using the Feedback link at the bottom right. Tell us who you are and what you'd like to blog about. You don't have to write about poker all the time, but keep it related to the theme of this site. And no mentions of Florida vacation destinations, please.

   Posted by Ethan at 2017-08-31 16:14:54 | permalink | Discuss (0 comments)

4. 2016-07-08 00:59:38

   SSL Everywhere

   An awesome benefit of our recent migration is that Pokersoup now uses SSL everywhere, throughout the whole site. This means all of your interactions and browsing on pokersoup are encrypted can't be viewed by a 3rd party (at least, not without a whole lot of effort. Hi NSA!).

   We're using free, simple, and highly recommended certificates provided by Let's Encrypt, whose mission is to get every website to use SSL all the time. A mission Jason and I completely support.

   Enjoy!

   Posted by Ethan at 2016-07-08 00:59:38 | permalink | Discuss (0 comments)

5. 2016-07-06 00:46:35

   Migration Complete!

   Pokersoup.com is now running on a fresh new server! This brings to an end our old server hosted at Rackspace Cloud that had been running since 2008. It served us and you well: at one point the server had an uptime of over 3 years, and the server process itself had been running for over 1 year without restarting. Pretty good!

   Unfortunately, Rackspace mandated that we migrate this old beast to their new architecture, and it wasn't going well. Faced with a fresh server build, we decided it was time to say bye to Rackspace for good.

   Now we're moving on to a fresh new setup with Linode. We're running a modern Linux distro with SSD disks, Xeon E5 processors, and quadruple the RAM of the previous system.

   Oh, and it's half the price of Rackspace. Suck it, Rackspace.

   Jason and I have done a lot of testing, but we're hoping to hear from our users if anything goes wrong. Just hit that feedback link in the lower-right and let us know if you're having problems!

   Posted by Ethan at 2016-07-06 00:46:35 | permalink | Discuss (0 comments)

6. 2014-10-18 13:46:00

   Weekly Home Cash Game Elk Gove Florin & Calvine

   I am interested in starting a weekly cash game for poker players in the Sacramento and surrounding areas.

   OPEN TO ANY WEEK NIGHT- please contact if interested in attending

   Posted by Winternova22 at 2014-10-18 13:46:00 | permalink | Discuss (0 comments)

7. 2014-01-23 20:28:10

   Opening Hand

   Hey all. I'm Andy and this is my blog. Sure, it's on a poker site and it will be about poker often, I'll also infuse a variety of things that might be in the news, or just on my mind.

   Tonight is one of my regular poker nights, and typically the biggest of the week. I usually play Tuesday and Thursday nights at a pub near my home. They run a freeroll game that typically gets 40 players. The purse is $110 ($75 for first, $25 for second and a $10 bounty on the tourney operator.). Most of the players are regulars, so I know how they play for the most part. When I started playing there about 4 years ago, I made the final table on a very regular basis (I'd say 80%). I won 5 times within the first 6 months. Then I had a long cold spell which I snapped a few months ago. The last few weeks have seen a couple final table appearances, and a 4th place finish last week.

   I'll post again after tonight's game and track my hands, etc. Hopefully, it's not a short night.

   Take care and good luck!

   A-Dub

   Posted by adub79 at 2014-01-23 20:28:10 | permalink | Discuss (0 comments)

8. 2013-11-18 19:27:30

   What The Next Few Months Holds

   Hey everyone, after much thought over playing Magic The Gathering more then poker over the last couple of years. I am ready to sell my collection I am going to hold onto it until about Feb. With this in mind and discussing with Jason. I am ready to play more holdem and focus free time towards that. I just wanted to make a quick post with what is going on lately, With an approximate bankroll starting around 1,500 I will be playing as much as I can once everything is sold and figured out. So expect more posts on my progress after everything settles down.

   Take care and may all your pots be monster.

   Posted by Nick L at 2013-11-18 19:27:30 | permalink | Discuss (0 comments)

9. 2013-10-28 16:30:56

   Season 6 Final

   Rob ALMOST wins. That is all.

   J/k. Rob may be submitting an article/recap soon. Check back for updates.

   Posted by Nemo at 2013-10-28 16:30:56 | permalink | Discuss (0 comments)

10. 2013-09-30 12:48:30

    The Most Successful Poker Players Around

    During the 20th Century poker has transformed from a recreational activity played by male enthusiasts, to a widely popular spectator activity with huge prizes and an international fan base full of online casino fans. The World Poker Tour gives players the chance to win huge prizes. Below are some of the most successful poker players around.

    Antonio Esfandiari
    The Iranian Magician is the undisputed king of poker. As of July 2013 his total tournament winnings exceed $25.5 million. At the age of 26 he won his first World Poker Tour title in L.A. taking home close to $1.4million. He has placed first in six tournaments and has three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets. His most recent price was a cool $329,339 for a fourth place finish in the Five Star World Championship Event in December 2012.

    Sam Trickett
    Nottingham born Trickett is the most successful British poker player of all time. He has eight first place finishes and three bracelets. Trickett made his name in 2012 when he scooped a colossal $10,112,001 in the WSOP Big One for One Drop. With total prize winnings of $19,752,481, he is the second most successful poker player of all-time.

    Erik Seidel
    New Yorker Seidel is a veteran on the poker tour; he finished second in his first major tournament, the 1988 WSOP. With an impressive 23 first place finishes as well as eight WSOP bracelets; it???s no surprise that he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. Seidel total winnings come to $17,285,021.

    Daniel Negreanu
    Another veteran of the tour, the Canadian has amassed an impressive $16,532,751 in winnings, placing first in 34 tournaments and collecting four WSOP bracelets. He has also taught a variety of celebrities the game, notably actor Tobey Maguire.

    Posted by KCasey at 2013-09-30 12:48:30 | permalink | Discuss (0 comments)