Daily Rewind: ISPT Reveal More Details, Mercier on Chinese, Jaka's Silence

In today's Daily Rewind we find out more about the International Stadiums Poker Tour, learn about Open-Face Chinese and see why Faraz Jaka is keeping quiet.

The Daily Rewind is your one-stop-shop for a sharp review of the day in poker. Join us here for a mix of the latest news and a more irreverent insight into the poker world. Today we discovered the following topics for you:

ISPT will be a success

ISPT CEO Prosper Masquelier is confident

"We are very confident that the prizepool will exceed €10 million."

While the word "guarantee" has been consciously left out, it seems the organisers of the International Stadiums Poker Tour are confident their Wembley event will be a success.

In a recent press release the ISPT outlined that players can play Day 1 online or buy directly into the live event on June 1.

For those opting to start online, a total of six tournaments with a buy-in of €300 will be held on a range of sites, including Poker770.

These opening tournaments will run between February and May and the top 10% of each will progress to the live finale.

Players with deeper pockets can buy straight into the live event (Day 2) for €3,000 and receive a starting stack of 50,000 chips.

Members of the community are still dubious about the practicality of the tournament, but the organisers have made it clear that the "gaming logistics will be perfect in any condition".

Satellites for Day 1 start at €1

Improve your poker face

Mercier loving Open-Face

Open-Face Chinese is all the rage at the moment, so much so that PokerStars decided to hold a seminar on the game's latest craze.

Hosted by Jason Mercier and Shaun Deeb, the talk outlined the variant's basic premise and highlighted some basic strategy considerations.

Being a version of traditional Chinese Poker, the new game is constantly evolving and while both Deeb and Mercier agree there is no "correct" strategy, they do feel its popularity will continue to increase.

For those willing to improve their Open-Face prowess, Mercier offered this simple piece of advice:

"The first thing you have to learn is that the hand values go down. A lot of times people don't understand that king-high is going to be a very good hand up top."

For the pros' advice on the game, click here.

High stakes corner

Blom slipping

It was a day of change in the high stakes world yesterday as Viktor "Isildur1" Blom suffered his first loss of 2013.

Over the course of 2,008 hands the Swede gave back $509,563 to the likes of Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky.

Indeed, it was Sulsky who finished atop of the high stakes leaderboard in the last 24 hours, thanks to 889 hand session worth $392,779.

While the win wasn't enough to put him back in the black for 2013, it should help boost his confidence in the current climate.

Also adding to his bankroll yesterday was Ben "Bttech86" Tollerene ($125,692) who now boasts a profit of more than $600,000 in 2013.

Jaka to stay silent

Heading to a Buddhist monastery for 10 days of silence might not every poker player's idea of a good time, but Faraz Jaka thinks it will be an enlightening experience.

In a recent tweet to his followers, the former WPT Player of the Year outlined his plans to make a voyage of self discovery to a Thai Island.

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier was the first to offer his support, stating he "loves" the idea and that "life is all about experiences".

While Faraz is making the spiritual journey for personal growth, we can't help but think that it would make for an interesting prop bet if someone like Mike Matusow was involved.

Daily Signoff

With Faraz Jaka aiming for 10 days of silence, we thought we finish today with two players who certainly don't like to stay quiet at the table.