Men Lie, Women Lie, Numbers Don't

Facts and figures. They make the world go around and, more often than not, tell a story without letting opinions or biases get in the way. Which numbers from the past week tell those stories and what quick opinions do we have?

$10,000 – Technically, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure didn’t happen in 2017. The event was replaced by the PokerStars Championship Bahamas, insert sliding trombone sound effect here, but after a quick re-brand, the PCA is back. Returning with a $10,000 buy-in Main Event, some think that this year’s event could bring PokerStars back from a relatively uneventful year. Live event numbers were down across the globe in 2017, including the 738-player field from last year’s PCB Main Event, which was the lowest total in the Bahamas since 2006. Regardless of how big this year’s PCA Main Event will get, big names always seem to find their way into the winner’s circle. Christian Harder won last year, while Mike Watson, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, and Gus Hansen have hoisted the trophy over the last decade.

$113,763,101 – While the PCA Main Event begins on Monday, the biggest event of the series will also play to a winner on Monday. Seven players remain in the $100,000 Super High Roller, including chip leader Ivan Luca and Daniel Negreanu. Justin Bonomo, Bryn Kenney, Isaac Haxton, Cary Katz, and Sam Greenwood round out the lineup, which has amassed over $113 million in combined tournament earnings. Sure, Daniel Negreanu accounts for $35 million of that number, but that is still an insane number for a seven-handed table.

25 – The last time there was a collection of the world’s top players competing for millions of dollars, on a live stream, was during last year’s Poker Masters series. Bryn Kenney won a $50,000 event, Daniel Negreanu was a constant threat in the $100,000 Championship, and Justin Bonomo final tabled the finale. Those same players and more are likely going to be back on PokerGO in less than a month, as the first-ever U.S. Poker Open is just 25 days away. The eight-event series will be live streamed from start to finish, beginning February 2nd.

4 – Looking for live poker before the U.S. Poker Open? Poker After Dark has you covered. Two weeks of high stakes action will fill the rest of the January calendar and while those lineups have yet to be announced, Poker After Dark always featured star-studded lineups. Over the last month, Poker After Dark has featured Farah Galfond, Phil Hellmuth, Maria Ho, Jean-Robert Bellande, Kristin Bicknell, and more of the world’s top professionals and that should continue through 2018.

1 – Last week, Vanessa Selbst announced her retirement from professional poker and that she would no longer be a PokerStars Team Pro. This past weekend, another PokerStars staple made the same announcement, minus the retirement part. Jason Mercier, who has been one of the most recognizable and successful players on the planet since signing with PokerStars in 2009, announced that he was bidding farewell to Team PokerStars. Mercier isn’t bidding farewell to poker though, as he still intends to play the World Series of Poker, while keeping his main focus on his family and newborn son.