Written by Lance Bradley FIVE THINGS is a column, written by PocketFives President and Editor in Chief, Lance Bradley that covers pressing topics and current events in the poker world today. This is the final edition. It appeared periodically at PocketFives.com.

For the first time ever, PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg stepped out from his life of privacy to give an interview. It’s mid-December 2020 and a tennis court just north of San Jose, Costa Rica is home to one of the most hotly-contested tennis matches of the year. This isn’t a battle between a couple of former top-ranked tennis pros and the stakes aren’t all that high, but the combatants are going all out for a win.On one side of the court is a 17-year-old spending her Christmas break from sch

Jason Young has a decent collection of stuff he can put up on the mantle. The World Series of Poker bracelet he won in 2008 could be the centerpiece of it all. The trophy he got for taking down a WPTDeepStacks event in January should be there as well. But neither of those hold any weight compared to what he likely woke up to Sunday morning.A handmade Father’s Day card from his six-year-old daughter, Kaeley.It’s a moment only possible because four years earlier Jason completely upended his life,

Written by Lance Bradley Years ago, Randi Hilsercop gave her husband, Jeremy, an official deck of cards from the World Series of Poker and an autographed 8X10 of his favorite poker player, Daniel Negreanu, as a Christmas gift. Since then, the couple has moved five or six times around the country for Jeremy’s job. Throughout […]

Written by Lance Bradley This time last year Bryan Piccioli, once the #1-ranked online poker player in the world, was deep in the World Series of Poker Main Event and updating his friends and family back home in Olean, New York as he made his way through the field. His parents, Dan and Diana, were […]

Written by Lance Bradley Of the 7,221 players in the 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event there were just 272 women who played and only one of them was under the age of 26.   Age Range Total Male Female 21-25 347 346 1 26-30 1,520 1,472 48 31-35 1,478 1,411 67 36-40 895 […]

Most of the world’s best poker players are in Las Vegas right now, hunkered down at the World Series of Poker, playing every day, rattling chips and chasing bracelets just as they do every single summer. There’s one familiar face missing this year though; Mohammad Siddiqui.888poker is the only place to qualify online for the 2017 World Series of Poker. Sign up now and get a 100% bonus on your first deposit up to $700 PLUS an additional $10 available to you right away when you deposit at least $1

Written by Lance Bradley Monday at the 2016 WSOP Main Event, 27 players will play down to just nine – the November Nine. And while those players are living out the fantasy of nearly every poker player alive, one man is leaving Las Vegas and the WSOP with a lifelong dream fulfilled and a truly […]

Written by Lance Bradley Sunday afternoon Jason Mercier will stand in a room full of his peers for his second bracelet ceremony of the 2016 World Series of Poker. This one will be special for sure – winning two bracelets in a single year is a rare feat – but it’s likely going to be […]

Written by Lance Bradley When the 2016 World Series of Poker schedule was announced, Dustin and Lisa Meredith circled a few events they wanted to play. Their first choice was the $1,500 Monster Stack, but Lisa’s parents, who had volunteered to look after the kids one weekend, weren’t available that weekend, so they chose the […]