In this column, we deliver you the latest and most interesting online poker industry news from across the world and all platforms.
Run It Once Poker ceases international operations
In a surprising announcement from founder Phil Galfond, it has been decided that Run It Once Poker has set to shut down its international segment effective last January 3rd. The American pro highlighted the decline in traffic and the platform’s intention to shift its focus towards entering the legal and regulated US market.
“With traffic having dwindled below pre-pandemic levels after all of the progress we’d made, it became clear to me that we weren’t going to break through and reach the volume we needed to just by completing our platform and doing a bit more marketing. The hill was too steep. It was going to take a lot more”, posted Galfond.
“If we wanted Run It Once Poker to survive so that it could hopefully, one day, thrive, we needed to do something differently.”
While gameplay has already ceased, players will still be able to log-in on the client and withdraw their funds up until April 3rd, 23:59 CET. Remaining balances for users located in Great Britain will be donated to charity while those outside of Great Britain will be advised at a later time.
“Had I not made the mistakes I did, perhaps we’d have been able to grow large enough to stay in the Rest of World markets and head towards the US – I’ll never know. I do have some regrets, but more than anything, now that I can add our experience to everything we already did well, I’m feeling very optimistic about what we’ll be able to accomplish this time around.”
“We’ve poured our hearts, minds, and souls into Run It Once Poker. We didn’t accomplish everything that we set out to, but we’re far from finished”, added Galfond.
The end of 2021 will, coincidentally, mark the end of an era for @RunItOncePoker, while the start of 2022 marks the beginning of a new one.
More details here: https://t.co/GTxlFBWwP1
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) December 30, 2021
PokerStars Winter Series upcoming Main Events
Capping off this year’s holidays is PokerStars’ Winter Series currently running through January 12, 2022 where players have already cleared up a chunk of the promised $50 million in prizes. An impressive line up of 291 events complete the 19-day schedule spread out across three buy-in tiers – low, medium, and high.
With a week left on the calendar, festival participants are already awaiting the three No Limit Hold’em Main Events and $250K GTD Pot Limit Omaha Main Event. On January 9th, qualifying players will play through the four Main Events covering over $4.5 million in guaranteed prizes. The series’ biggest winner so far, “NukeTheFish!” bagged last Sunday’s Two Million event where the British player took home $226,733 in winnings after outlasting the 10,176-entry field.
Main Events – January 9, 2022
- Low $55 buy-in Main Event: $1 million guaranteed
- Medium $530 buy-in Main Event: $1.5 million guaranteed
- High $5,200 buy-in Main Event: $2 million guaranteed
- PLO $215 buy-in Main Event: $250,000 guaranteed*
$10M GTD Venom on Winning Poker Network
A great way to start 2022, US-friendly Winning Poker Network is returning to the spotlight this January with its record-breaking Venom event. The flagship tournament ties last year’s $10 million guarantee where player “BabyBowser” captured the whopping $1.5M top prize. Despite the network’s previous $175K overlay, the summer event did set a new record with a total of 3,930 runners having generated the $9.4 million prize pool.
With another seven-figure payout guaranteed for the champion alone, the biggest event for US players in over a decade is set to host four starting flights beginning on the 21st, with the Final Table scheduled to play through on February 2nd. Similarly, this year’s Venom carries a $2,650 price tag and a plethora of qualifiers for as low as $0. If that wasn’t enough, the exciting event also appears to be the first Venom to utilize the network’s new staking feature.
$10M Venom Full Schedule
Day 1A – Friday, January 21st, 1pm ET
Day 1B – Sunday, January 23rd, 1pm ET
Day 1C – Friday, January 28th, 1pm ET
Day 1D – Sunday, January 30th, 1pm ET
Day 2 – Monday, January 31st, 1pm ET (approx. 11 hours of play)
Day 3 – Tuesday, February 1st, 1pm ET (plays down to FT)
Day 4 – Wednesday, February 2nd, 5pm ET (Final Table)
Winamax hosts €24M GTD Road to Series
The European market under French platform Winamax is also in for a treat this January 2022 as its €24M GTD Road to Series is currently making its way on the virtual scene. The awaited fiesta, running through the 13th is celebrating the new year with 211 tournaments, posting entry fees ranging from €2 to €2,000. While there’s less than a week left on schedule, players can still make the festival’s five highlighted multi-day events with several starting flights available everyday until January 12th.
Road to Series Key Events
| Event | Buy-in | Prize Pool | Blind Level | Time (CET) |
| Giant KO | €2 | €200,000 | 11 min – Day 2/3 | 21:00 Day 2
20:00 Day 3 |
| High Five | €5 | €300,000 | 11 min – Day 2/3 | 21:00 Day 2
20:00 Day 3 |
| Million Event KO | €15 | €1,000,000 | 11 min – Day 2/3 | 21:00 Day 2
20:00 Day 3 |
| Colossus Million | €30 | €1,000,000 | 13 min – Day 2/ 15 min – Day 3 | 21:00 Day 2
20:00 Day 3 |
| 4 Million Event KO | €125 | €4,000,000 | 13 min – Day 2/ 15 min – Day 3 | 21:00 Day 2
20:00 Day 3 |
Skrill and Neteller lift balance restrictions
Popular payment processors such as Skrill and Neteller are fairly used in today’s digital poker age with many using these payment options mainly for its hassle-free and easy to use characteristics. While online players have dealt with limiting activities and increasing fees in previous years, these processors’ newest approach now allows funds withdrawn after October 12, 2021 from Neteller merchants to Neteller accounts to not be divided into “gambling” and “non-gambling” and can thus be used without restrictions.
“This means that you can spend money from your wallet on all websites where Neteller is allowed as a payment method, including betting on sites, poker rooms, casinos, e-commerce sites, and trading platforms. The changes also include removing restrictions from any funds you transferred to Neteller users after October 12.”, the email wrote.
