Poker news | Feb 15, 2021
GGPoker Has Revived High Stakes Online Poker
By RTR Dennis
The 2000s were a golden era for high stakes online poker. Many prominent pros would gather on Full Tilt Poker, UB, and PokerStars to battle in the nosebleeds.
Unfortunately, the high stakes online scene really died over the course of the 2010s. Thanks to GGPoker, though, it’s currently making a comeback.
Many pros are now building big pots on the site. In fact, one pot recently reached over $974,000!
Ali Imsirovic Wins Almost $1 Million
The online poker world hasn’t seen cash-game pots worth nearly $1 million since the glory days of Full Tilt and PokerStars. However, Ali Imsirovic and Tan ‘tan4321’ Xuan recently offered a reminder that the internet nosebleeds can still get crazy.
Imsirovic and Xuan clashed in a $500/$1,000/$200 six-max NL hold’em table (w/ extra $2,000 straddle).
Xuan started the action with a $4,300 bet from the cut-off. Imsirovic raised to $21,000, which his opponent called.
The flop rolled out 5h-5d-9s. Imsirovic opened the betting with $15,400, while tan4321 raised him. The former called, leading to Js being dealt on the turn.
Ali checked, and Xuan raised to $101,046. The former called, thus building the pot to over $354,000.
An 8s landed on the turn, which prompted Xuan to shove his remaining $310,000 into the pot. Imsirovic check-called to set up a showdown.
Xuan flipped over 7d-9d, giving him a two pair (fives & nines). He flopped top pair and correctly guessed that he’d out-flopped Imsirovic.
The latter, however, showed As-Ks for the ace-high flush. He hung around looking to out-bluff Xuan or at least improve his hand. The latter is exactly what happened when Imsirovic got a runner-runner flush to win.
Imsirovic scooped a $974,631 pot, which is the largest ever at GGPoker. It’s also one of the biggest pots in online poker history.
Can GGPoker Usher in a New Golden Era of High Stakes Online Poker?
The days when Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, and Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom faced off for massive pots at Full Tilt Poker are long gone. However, the recent action at GGPoker suggests that the high stakes game is making a comeback.
How big of a comeback remains to be seen. It’s highly improbable that $974k pots will become anywhere near the norm in the biggest games.
As of now, though, Xuan and Imsirovic aren’t the only ones grinding in the GGPoker nosebleeds. Other notables, such as Christopher Kruk and Patrick Antonius are playing games ranging from $200/$400 to $400/$800 NLHE stakes.
Sign Up at GGPoker and Join the Action
You may not have the bankroll to play anywhere near $200/$400 NL and above. However, you can enjoy the action at one of the fastest-growing online poker rooms by signing up at GGPoker.
You’ll qualify for either a 100% match bonus worth up to $600 on your first deposit, or $100 worth of cash and free tickets. By signing up through RakeTheRake, you’ll also collect an additional 35% rakeback on whatever rakeback you already receive at GGPoker.