Online poker players of a certain age will remember the excitement and exhilaration of watching the world’s best cash game players battle it out for pots most mere mortals could only dream of winning.
Rail Heaven on the now-defunct Full Tilt Poker was a haven for the so-called “nosebleed” stakes players. Poker fans opened tables and watched Goliaths such as Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and countless others lock horns in cash games with $100/$200 to $500/$1,000 blinds!
Although online ultra-high stakes games continue, they are seemingly less frequent. Additionally, the highest stakes games of some online poker rooms are locked behind an invitation system, but it appears that is not the case at WPT Global, where $100/$200 and $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em games have been capturing observers’ attention in recent weeks.
“nicetrybuddy,” a cash game guru plying their trade online at WPT Global, must be delighted that nosebleed stakes are available and running at WPT Global. They recently took on an opponent in a heads-up battle at the site’s $200/$400 tables and came away a $666,000 victor over the course of 319 hands.
More than 50 WPT Global players observed the battle, during which posts worth more than $220,000 swapped hands; the action was not for the faint-hearted.
Of course, in poker, for every winner, there must be a loser, and one nosebleed grinder logged off with a significant loss. The unnamed WPT Global player played for the site’s highest stakes for three days, but Lady Luck didn’t reward their persistence. Instead, the determined nosebleed aficionado left the tables in a $3 million hole. Ouch.
Whether this sudden burst of ultra-high stakes action is a flash in the pan or is the start of a new destination for the highest stakes online remains to be seen. Nostalgic online poker railbirds will be hoping it is the latter.
Senior Editor