Premier Poker League 4

The games include Texas Hold 'em (No Limit and Fixed), Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo. The stakes can range from.01/.02 to 100/200. In 2012 partypoker removed its high-stakes cash games with the highest stakes at $10/$20. Party Poker formerly offered a bad beat jackpot.
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Paul Seaton

The fourth season of the partypoker-sponsored Premier League put the unique televised tournament format on the map, and captured the imagination of players and fans alike in 2010. For the series commentator, legendary host Jesse May, the devil really was in the detail.

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“There were a lot of special things about that Premier League season,' May told PokerNews. 'The first three were all held in the U.K. It was supposed to be a combination of the best in poker and also the biggest TV stars in poker. We wanted the best poker and the best TV.”

Premier League Season IV Steps Up the Game

The first three seasons had become dominated by Phil Hellmuth’s running battle with the late Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliott, although Tony G stole the scene each time he was on screen. But for the fourth season, partypoker wanted to step it up. They moved it to the U.S., the M Hotel in Las Vegas, for what would be the only time in the league's six editions between 2007 and 2013.

They maintained the premise of a league format that demanded players pay attention to the points system to give themselves the best chance of winning. According to May, the vision for the league really came to fruition in season IV, a season that was even live reported by PokerNews.

“Game theory was an aspect of the Premier League which was something we’d been trying to build into the series from the start,” says May. “The last couple of hands in the last heat before the final was the first time in the Premier League where the points were so complicated and the money up top was so huge that it really became all about the game theory.

“It was quite a production at the M Hotel,' May recalled. 'We wanted to get Hellmuth and Negreanu and some other big stars. The buy-in jumped in a big way and there was money paid back in each heat.”

There was a method to money being paid out before the final, something that wasn’t commonly done in other league formats.

“The theory was that even if you did poorly, you were going to get at least some money back. As it turned out, a couple of people, including Phil Hellmuth, were absolutely crushed.”

Colorful Cast of Characters

It was a stellar field. The returning champion was the colorful character J.C. Tran, with Ukrainian Yevgeniy Timoshenko also in the line-up.

“Timoshenko was very well respected at the time, I was a huge fan of Yevgeniy’s. But for me, that entire series was about Luke Schwartz. That was his coming out party.”

Schwartz, storming around the set in a bicep-hugging t-shirt, crushing dreams with one curl of his lip, was a British Brando at the felt in those days. May thought he was fantastic, and not just for ratings.

“Even though 'Full Flush' has made a name for himself, he’s seriously underachieved in terms of what his potential was and I’m sure he’d admit that himself. In one of the early heats, he made a four-bet shove with 6-4 off-suit and it felt legendary at the time.”

Schwartz earned respect from each table he was on, from almost every player. He struck up a rivalry with David Benyamine that lasted throughout the series, but others like Daniel ‘Kid Poker’ Negreanu held him in high esteem.

“Negreanu and he had a great relationship; Daniel had a lot of respect for him. Schwartz also got on well with Roland [De Wolfe], and Phil Laak loved him.”

May often shared the mic that season with Ike Haxton, who is known more for his own high-stakes prowess than commentary work but provided plenty of insights on the action.

“Listening back to my commentary with me and Ike, he probably should have been playing in the Premier League! But he wasn’t, he was doing commentary. You could hear us trying to figure out the permutations and how that should affect the strategy.”

Game Theory of the League Format

The game theory side of the league format meant that some players found themselves in unfamiliar territory, having only played poker as a straight-bat game before that. May and Haxton began to split the players who had figured it out, those who 'got it' and those who didn’t.

“Scott Seiver, who joined in Season Five, was just one of those guys who understood the whole game theory - as far as how your ranges change depending on how many points you needed - more than anyone.”

Seiver wasn’t alone in showing aptitude to the game theory side of accumulating points rather than chips throughout the series.

“Roland de Wolfe was the same way. Negreanu was always a studier, he would have spent eight hours the night before doing stuff. Then you had people like Hellmuth. He just did not get it.”

If De Wolfe and Negreanu adapted to the game theory, The Poker Brat was the polar opposite. He wasn’t the only one.

“Jungleman [Daniel Cates], who I love, and who became a huge guy for us in later seasons: I remember he was once in a spot three-handed where he had to fold 100% of hands to one player and he had to call 100% of hands to another player. He picked up ace-king and snap-called the player who he was supposed to fold 100% of hands to.”

There was no standing on ceremony for those around the table who saw his mistake.

“He was young and it was his first time around, but that was the kind of stuff we wanted to get into the Premier League. Premier League Season Four was the first time we managed to do that.”

It wasn't only the players who were forced to try to work out the nuances of the new poker format.

“I was so out of my depth. We were sitting there looking at charts. It was clear who were really quick thinkers, and those who although they were great at poker, weren’t quite ready to adapt.”

Season Four had gotten off to a terrific start, with the heats providing huge drama and excitement for viewers. But who would come out on top in what became a very personal battle between two polar opposites at the felt? Find out in Part Two of Jesse May’s look back at Premier League Poker Season Four.

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Jesse MayPremier League PokerpartypokerDaniel NegreanuDavid BenyamineLuke SchwartzPhil HellmuthPhil LaakTony GRoland de WolfeScott SeiverVanessa Rousso
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Daniel NegreanuPhil HellmuthVanessa RoussoPhil LaakRoland de WolfeTony G

Whichever way you paint it, the Premier League is a rich man’s game.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected clubs far and wide, but that didn’t stop top-fight teams splashing out a total of £1BILLION in the most recent transfer window.

The interest the beautiful game generates is quite something else, and in terms of the Premier League there are many billionaire owners – including some of the richest people in the world.

But where do the owners of top flight clubs in England rank up against other sports owners? Check out for yourselves below…

20. Burnley – Mike Garlick (£62m)

Garlick became sole chairman of the club in 2015 when co-chairman John Banaszkiewicz stepped down.

He is the found and CEO of Michael Bailey Associates, a project management and consultancy company.

19. Sheffield United – Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ed (£198m)

Prince Abdullah is another Saudi Arabian but with nowhere near the wealth of the new Newcastle owners.

He won a High Court battle with Kevin McCabe over the ownership of the Blades. McCabe had to sell his stake to Price Abdullah for £5m following a ruling last year.

He is the son of Prince Musa’id bin Abdulaziz Al Said and set up a paper manufacturing company in 1989.

18. Leeds – Andrea Radrizzani (£450m)

Italian businessman Radrizzani purchased an initial 50 percent stake of Leeds United in January 2017, before taking full control from previous owner Massimo Cellino four months later.

Radrizzani made a great amount of his wealth with his investment firm Aser Ventures, which he launched in 2015.

The 46-year-old also has a big interest in the existing sports, media and entertainment industry, most notably through international sports broadcaster Eleven Sports

17. Brighton – Tony Bloom (£1.3bn)

Bloom became chairman of the Seagulls in 2009 and in that time he has overseen their rise from League One to the Premier League.

He is thought to have acquired most of his wealth from online gambling and gaming websites.

Bloom also finished fourth at the World Series of Poker in 2005.

16. West Ham – David Sullivan and David Gold (£1.56bn)

Sullivan made his fortune in the pornography industry and he previously owned the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport.

Gold owns Gold Group International, the parent company of Ann Summers and he previously co-owned adult magazine company Gold Star Publications with his brother.

Gold and Sullivan acquired a 50 per cent share in West Ham in January 2010 and then purchased a further 10 per cent a few months later.

15. Everton – Farhad Moshiri (£1.9bn)

Moshiri was previously involved at Arsenal but sold his stake in the club to complete a takeover of Everton, which was officially confirmed in February 2016.

He owns and has shares in multiple steel and energy companies in the UK and Russia.

14. West Bromwich Albion – Lai Guochuan (£2.2bn)

Lai Guochuan has been West Bromwich Albion’s owner since 2016, when he completed a takeover worth a reported £200m.

The Chinese billionaire businessman and investor has previously worked in the landscape development and construction industries.

He gained the majority of his wealth through Palm Eco-Town Development Company, nurturing them into China’s largest landscape development and construction firm during his two-decade long stewardship.

13. Liverpool – John Henry (£2.35bn)

Henry’s company Fenway Sports Group bought Liverpool in 2010 and he also owns the Boston Red Sox.

The American founded John W. Henry & Company, an investment management company.

Premier League champions Liverpool release video of brand-new state of the art AXA Training Centre

12. Newcastle – Mike Ashley (£2.66bn)

Ashley remains in charge at Newcastle United, after takeover talk regarding a change of ownership dramatically collapsed over the summer.

The British businessman is one of the longer-serving owners in the Premier League, having purchased the Magpies back in 2007.

Ashley made the majority of his small fortune through his company Sports Direct.

11. Leicester – Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha (£3bn)

The 34-year-old, known as Top, became CEO and chairman of King Power and the chairman of Leicester when his father died in a helicopter crash outside the club’s stadium in 2018.

10. Southampton – Gao Jisheng (£3.1bn)

Jisheng became the Saints’ majority owner in 2017 when he completed a £210m deal.

He was the founder of Lander Sports Development until last year when he sold enough shares to lose control of the real-estate company.

9. Crystal Palace – Joshua Harris (£3.6bn)

Harris owns an 18 per cent stake in Palace as well as being the principal shareholder of the NHL team the New Jersey Devils and NBA team the Philadelphia 76ers.

He co-founded Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest investment firms.

9. Manchester United – The Glazers (£3.6bn)

Malcolm Glazer gradually bought shares of the club between 2003 and 2005 to complete his takeover.

He made his fortune in property, banking and healthcare before his death in 2014. His sons, Avram and Joel, have since stepped up as co-chairmen.

9. Tottenham – Joe Lewis (£3.6bn)

English National Investment Company, which Lewis owns 70.6 per cent, bought a controlling stake in Tottenham in 2001 from Alan Sugar.

He is the main investor in Tavistock Group, which owns more than 200 companies ranging from sports teams, energy companies, restaurants and luxury properties.

6. Wolves – Guo Guangchang (£5bn)

Guangchang completed his takeover of the club in 2016 and has made a serious investment in the team.

He is chairman of the Fosun Group and has invested in insurance, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, property, steel, mining, retail, services and finance.

5. Aston Villa – Nassef Sawiris (£5.5bn)

Sawiris replaced Tony Xia as Villa owner in July 2018 when he bought a 55 per cent controlling stake in the club.

He is from one of Egypt’s wealthiest families and owns numerous construction, engineering and building companies.

4. Fulham – Shahid Khan (£5.8bn)

Khan has a strong background in American sports, and has been the owner of NFL franchise Jacksonville Jaguars since 2012, completing his Fulham takeover the following year.

He and his son, Fulham director Tony Khan, are also heavily involved in All Elite Wrestling.

3. Arsenal – Stan Kroenke (£6.8bn)

Premier League Poker 4 E04

Kroenke married Walmart heiress Ann Walton in 1974 and later founded Kroenke Group in 1983, which is a property development firm.

He first became involved in Arsenal in 2007 before assuming majority control in 2011.

Kroenke also owns the LA Rams NFL team, which he relocated from St Louis in 2016.

2. Chelsea – Roman Abramovich (£8.5bn)

Abramovich purchased Chelsea for £140m in 2003 and oversaw a huge investment in the squad that has brought great success to the club.

He sold his stake in the Russian gas company Gazprom in 2005 and owns stakes in steel and nickel companies among his other business ventures.

1. Man City – Sheikh Mansour (£23.3bn)

Mansour is the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and half brother of current UAE president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan.

He is chairman of International Petroleum Investment Company and also has a stake in Virgin Galactic.

He also owns the Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation.

Mansour completed a takeover of the club in 2008 and has poured huge investment into the club.

Since he became the Man City owner they have won four Premier League titles.