Card Player Poker Tour Returns to bestbet Jacksonville Poker Room

When you first walk through the doors of bestbet, it probably feels like a lot of poker rooms. The familiarities are all there; be it the uninterrupted click-clack of chips, the intense stare of the grinders, the carefree smile of the gamblers, or just the good old Southern hospitality, every poker player should feel at home. It’s easy to overlook when you sit down at the felt and un-rack your chips that you’re sitting in not just one of the East Coast’s premier poker operations, but one of America’s best poker rooms.

A place like that doesn’t spring up overnight; it was forged across the last eight decades. Jacksonville Greyhound Racing opened its doors in 1934 under the banner of greyhound racing and parimutuel wagering. It then spent the next seventy years becoming one of the nation’s most popular live dog tracks. So, in 2004 when the state of Florida passed legislation allowing poker in parimutuel facilities, bestbet led the charge by opening one of the largest poker rooms in the state, taking the first step towards revolutionizing gaming in Florida.

As it stands, bestbet currently operates two of the state’s most successful poker rooms at its Orange Park and Jacksonville locations.

Over the next 12 years, the game of poker would keep evolving from within the borders of the Sunshine State and bestbet was one step ahead of the curve every step of the way. Tournament buy-ins grew from a meager $45 maximum to $5,000 buy-ins with six-figure guarantees while yesterday’s $2 limit hold’em players bloomed into today’s $2-$5 no-limit hold’em pros.

One of the most important changes of the last decade has been to the tournament scene in Florida, a large part of which is due to the efforts of bestbet’s Vice President of Poker Operations Deborah Giardina and Director of Poker Operations Jesse Hollander.

Jacksonville’s tournament scene had been thriving since the inception of single and multi-table tournaments in 2005, but with Giardina and Hollander’s combined experience, they made Jacksonville a can’t-miss stop on any serious player’s itinerary. Their efforts have brought a steady stream of new tournament players into the rooms thanks in part to a steady rotation of tours coming through the room on a quarterly basis.

The first of these landmark deals was with the World Poker Tour. This partnership brought not only the WPT to Jacksonville, but showed the ‘River City’ off to the rest of the world through its first-ever televised main event in 2012. The $5,000 buy-in event was won by professional player Shawn Cunix, who claimed a staggering $426,100.

Since then, WPT DeepStacks and Mid-States Poker Tour have also joined the roster, offering up more accessible buy-ins for average players who are looking to break into the tournament scene and take their first steps towards joining the professional ranks of pokers elite.

In 2016, another of bestbets marquee partnerships will make its return to Florida. For the fourth year in a row, the Card Player Poker Tour comes to the First Coast with a $1,100 buy-in and a $200,000 guarantee main event. The inaugural CPPT was won by Harvey VanDeven of Ocala, Florida with poker pro T.K. Miles finishing second. Perhaps the most famous name to come out of Jacksonville, (aside from Lynyrd Skynyrd) is Sean Winter, who began playing on the Internet before he was legally allowed to step into his local poker room. Winter arrived on the scene like a whirlwind, winning the 2014 CPPT for $84,000, and collecting more than $3 million in live earnings as of this writing.

Seasoned players are used to the warm-up tournaments that lead up to any main event, but come to bestbet for any of their series and you’ll find a unique and well-rounded variety of tournaments that will test the skills of players age 18 to 80. Some of the highlights of the series include high-value, multi-day no-limit hold’em tournaments, with prize pools regularly crossing the six-figure mark. If hold’em still isn’t your thing, bestbet’s tournament series also features both pot-limit Omaha and Omaha eight-or-better. One of its standout events is the ‘All-In or Fold’ tournament where players’ only options are to pump it or dump it!

When the dust settles and the lights and cameras are all packed up, there’s still plenty of tournament action at bestbet. Under the watchful eyes of Tournament Director Johnny Pham, the daily tournament schedule at bestbet has become one of the most consistent in the state, featuring a variety of no-limit hold’em and Omaha tournaments. The most popular of these are the Friday and Sunday Deep Stack events at noon, which always boasts a hefty field. There is also the popular $40 no-limit hold’em tournaments, which serve as “first steps” for players who are completely new to tournaments.

Not everyone can make the final table, but lucky for you bestbet and the gorgeous city surrounding it offer plenty of options to keep your brain busy. Second to none are the cash games that make the pulse of the room pound on a daily basis. The most popular of these are the $2-$5 no-limit hold’em and $2-$2 no-limit hold’em, which are always running and available from 10 a.m. until close (and 24 hours on weekends). Both locations offer a lush, private room for higher-limit players looking to start a game. If you’re the person from the last paragraph who just still isn’t into hold’em, bestbet also offers many variations of Omaha, including PLO, Omaha eight-or-better, and Big O. Spread limit stud as well as stud eight-or-better are also offered on a daily basis.

Also for beginners, Orange Park features a monthly ‘Poker 101’ course that teaches new players the basics of poker and wraps up with a tournament allowing them to gain valuable experience on the felt. Training tables are offered when available, so if you have any curious girlfriends or grandmothers who’ve always wanted to learn the art of poker, there’s no reason not make your trip to bestbet one for everyone (18 and up).

The bestbet Jacksonville’s newest expansion rolled out in September of last year when they opened up six tables of new offerings. The poker variants include Pai Gow, Ultimate Texas Hold’em and variations like 3 Card Poker, and One Card Poker have been a hit with both regular and casual players alike. The popularity of the new expansion called for another twelve tables to open in December of 2015 and another seven tables opening at Orange Park in April of this year, further evolving the face of poker in Florida.

As a way of giving back to the players, bestbet also offers many daily promotions that benefit both cash and tournament players. On any given day, tournament players can win satellite tickets for Main Events as well as direct entries into tournaments. Last year the collected bad beat jackpot at bestbet topped $600,000, setting a state record and making the loser of the hand $300,000 richer.

Just outside the walls of bestbet is the city of Jacksonville. When planning a trip to Florida it may not be at the top of everyone’s list, but it should be in the forefront of every poker players mind. What Jacksonville offers, aside from the relief of never having to buy playoff tickets, is a blend of heart and Southern hospitality that’s becoming harder to find in this modern world. This is why bestbet prides itself in representing the city that’s helped keep them racing down the track for the last 80 years with a goal of delivering an experience that makes you believe that you’re as good as home.

Rising up from the banks of the cool blue waters of the St. Johns River, the steadily growing city of Jacksonville is a hidden gem where Mother Nature mingles with the metropolitan. Take some time away from the felt to appreciate the majestic beaches that run along the East Coast, with the backdrop of local bars and restaurants over your shoulder. If you’re feeling more active while still wanting to appreciate Jacksonville’s unique blend of the outside world, you can set up a tee-time at any of Jacksonville’s 52 golf courses, the most well-known of which is TPC at Sawgrass. The world-famous course features one of the most easily recognizable holes in all of golf; the ‘Island Green’ taunts players from its quiet spot from the lake on No. 17 and defines the course as a whole.

If you’re looking for a quiet afternoon or a night out with friends, the historic Riverside and San Marco districts have everything you’re looking for to make a day on the town memorable. Memorial Park offers a beautiful view of the St. Johns, which if you’re here for poker, will be the least stressful river you’ll see all weekend. With over one hundred bars and restaurants and some of the most historic and gorgeous views in the city, Riverside is a perfect sample of everything that Jacksonville has to offer.

At its core, bestbet runs for the players, or as Giardina puts it: “Our players are the blood that keeps the heart of bestbet pumping. We have one of the most capable and well-trained staffs in this industry, and rest assured that when you come to bestbet, their number one priority will be to make sure that you keep coming back.”

Hollander adds “Poker is an ever-changing sport, and one of the keys to this business is keeping up with demand. At bestbet we want to make sure we’re delivering the best experience we can to our players by not only meeting their demands but exceeding them.” ♠