There's never been a more important time for American online poker players to make their voices heard than right now. Today, lawmakers are considering online poker legislation in the statehouses of California, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. The New York Senate passed an online poker bill yesterday and another online poker bill is due to be heard by the California Assembly Appropriations Committee today. There's real, growing momentum pushing for licensing in these states and we're now closer than ever to the finishing line. 

While there are a lot of people doing their part, PokerStars very much included, there are isolated but influential forces working to keep online poker locked away. That's why the support of the poker playing community can make a real difference. Together, we can show that the discussion is not all about taxes, state borders, or political maneuvering: it's about being able to play a game that you love in the safety of your home protected by consumer regulation; the right, as an adult, to make that decision for yourself, not have it made for you.  

This is the time of year when legislators in Sacramento, Albany, Harrisburg, and Lansing want to focus on summer vacations and relaxing with friends and family, just like you.  But before summer really sinks in and decision makers adjourn for vacation, we have an opportunity to raise our voices and show support for safe, competitive and regulated online poker.

That's what the folks at the Poker Players' Alliance (PPA) have been doing for a decade and they count more than one million Americans as members.  The PPA is a non-profit organization that gives a unified voice to American poker players and works with key lawmakers to raise awareness of issues impacting the U.S. poker playing community. PokerStars is a long-standing supporter of the PPA and its work, which is crucial in keeping the momentum in the right direction, but your voice is needed now so they can shout louder. It's easy to get involved and make a difference.  Just visit the PPA's #Fight4Poker page and learn how you can lend your voice.

Millions of Americans want regulated online poker in their states.  We heard that last month from the players who drove hours and crossed state lines to participate in our recent PokerStars Run It Up Resorts Rumble at the Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ.   There's no greater warrior for online poker than Jason Somerville, certainly none who have as much to say.  Jason supports the PPA and invited them to participate in the PokerStars event at Resorts.  See Jason and fellow poker players call for legislation here:

Resorts is the longest-standing casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk and Resorts executives will tell you how online gaming is driving new business to the bricks-and-mortar casinos that desperately need new customers. PokerStars' New Jersey arrival in mid-March also demonstrated that concentrated marketing combined with a quality online product will grow the online marketplace. Yesterday, the N.J. Division of Gaming Enforcement released data showing that since PokerStars' arrival, the NJ poker market is more than 30% larger than last year for the second consecutive month.

New Jersey is a bright, shining example of how successful, regulated online poker can be in America.  Never mind the lofty revenue projections of 2013, look at the reality of hundreds of thousands of Americans playing safely within the geographic confines of the Garden State.  Technology and well-monitored corporate governance is successfully keeping criminal activity out of online gaming, protecting the vulnerable from the risks of gambling, and also sending millions of dollars of tax revenue into the state's coffers. It's a convincing template to show that safe, regulated online poker can be achieved in the United States.

It is an election year. Your voice matters. #Fight4Poker with the PPA. Call, email and Tweet your elected officials to remind them how important the regulation of online gaming truly is. Find 10 other supporters to take action. Make noise. It is common-sense legislation that protects consumers and benefits players everywhere. Help us make this a reality.  Now is the time.  Now is the moment.  Now is when the PPA and poker need you!

Check.

Bet.

Raise.

All-in.

Sound familiar? It's this sort of back and forth that you'll hear constantly in a poker tournament room. Players toss chips into pots in an attempt to increase their stacks by outsmarting their opponents, while the dealers announce the action in phrases that echo through the sea of green felted tables.

Poker is a dance of sorts, filled with moves of deception that require players to perform under pressure. It's a game of combat, and if you can't think on your feet, you haven't got a shot at success.

Kick.

Twist.

Turn.

Attack.

To poker players, these phrases might seem like good metaphors to describe the game they know and love, but they could also be used in reference to another popular sport known as Capoeira. A Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts and dance, the movements of Capoeira players create a hypnotic fluidity that might remind you of something you saw in an elaborate Las Vegas show...or the slick move you pulled in a Sit & Go last week.

What is Capoeira, anyway?

Capoeira is an art that is nearly impossible to describe; you simply have to see it for yourself to understand the beauty of this 500 year old fighting technique. Find out more about this intriguing and complex hybrid of skills that has influenced MMA, football and even poker in this special feature that takes a closer look at the art of Capoeira.

It seems like only yesterday we were singing the praises of Jason Mercier at the World Series. Now he's poised for yet another triumph in Las Vegas. 

Actually it was yesterday. If you haven't already seen the news, Team Pro Mercier scored his fourth WSOP bracelet yesterday in the 2-7 Lowball Championship. 

But as we also hinted, he was going well in the $10,000 Razz Championship event. That was on Day two which started with 45 players remaining. Now there are eight, and Mercier leads them once again.

A thirst for a fifth bracelet?: Jason Mercier in the Razz event

Just as before the competition is of the top drawer kind. 

While Mercier leads with,1,595,000 (some 53 big blinds), and is joined by Brian Hastings, John Racener and Bart Hansen (among others), all with an eye on keeping that fifth bracelet out of the hands of the Team Pro. 

Here's how they line up:

1. Bart Hanson, 246,000
2. Jyri Merivirta, 109,000
3. Ray Dehkharghani, 838,000
4. Robert Campbell, 360,000 
5. Jason Mercier, 1,595,000
6. Brian Hastings, 367,000 
7. Yueqi Zhu, 312,000 
8. John Racener, 1,174,000 

Play restarts tonight at 2pm PST (10pm UK) with $273,338 awaiting the winner. Funnily enough that's almost exactly the amount Mercier won yesterday. The bracelet looks familiar too. 

WSOP Photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com

11:55am: It's the UKIPT's annual summer holiday
Level 1 - Blinds: 50/100

Ludovic Geilich, Rodrigo Espinosa, Isidoro Barrena, ?.

Once again the UKIPT and Estrellas poker tours have combined as one to bring you the Marbella Poker Festival. Over the next five days we'll add another name to the list of UKIPT Marbella champions. It's 2-1 to Spain at the moment, can the UK and Ireland find the equaliser?

Follow updates every step of the way right here, via the @UKIPT and @PokerStarsBlog twitter accounts. If Spanish is your bag then you need to head to the Spanish language PokerStars Blog.

Play is due to start at midday. 

Key UKIPT6 Marbella Facts:
- 25,000 starting stack
- Blinds starting at 50/100 for 250 big blinds
- Levels are 45 minutes on Day 1 and they'll be 12 of them. From Day 2 onwards levels increase to 60 minutes. 
- Day 1A is today, Day 1B takes place tomorrow and there's also a turbo Day 1C at 10pm tomorrow. That opening flight is only open to players who've busted on Day 1A or Day 1B.
- The field will then combine for the first time on Friday. We'll reach the money during the eight levels of play on Day 2 and then play down to a final table on Saturday. Sunday is all about the final. Cue mad celebrations and swigging of sangria from the trophy (possibly). 
- Full UKIPT5 Marbella schedule here.

PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at UKIPT6 Marbella: Marc Convey and Nick Wright. Photos by Mickey May. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog

Just a week ago we reported how holy h3ll had barely missed last week's Super Tuesday final table, not quite able to replicate the Sunday Million victory the player from Israel had earned back in 2015. 

Well, in tonight's installment of PokerStars' marquee $1,050 no-limit hold'em weekly tournament, holy h3ll made it back to the top ten, then got to the final table with a leading stack. 

With three left holy h3ll was still the frontrunner, then after knocking out one opponent with pocket kings, holy h3ll knocked out the other with pocket aces to become this week's Super Tuesday champion, taking away $72,346.30 for the win.

A total of 377 took part in this week's tournament, making the prize pool $377,000 which well exceeded the $300K guarantee.

They were approaching the six-hour mark when the money bubble burst, and with 54 left PSCPRODIGY was sitting atop the leaderboard. A little over an hour-and-a-half after that just 18 remained, with PSCPRODIGY still near the top and holy h3ll the new leader.

I Play Cash (18th), Andrei "ragAAAila19" Boghean (17th), and Allan "Sifosis" Baekke (16th) were the next players out, picking up $3,393 apiece. Dimitar "trionojnika" Yosifov (15th), thehushpuppy (14th), and Diego "Die Ventura" Ventura (13th) followed, cashing for $4,147 each. 

Then QQlover (12th), DaniloTIKO (11th), and 33juggernaut (10th) were knocked out, taking away $4,901 each from the prize pool.

With holy h3ll still in front with over 2.4 million, the final table was underway.

Seat 1: K!nG.O.O (Germany) -- 416,195
Seat 2: Zachary "Zackattak13" Korik (Canada) -- 536,513
Seat 3: Andries "Pokerger1337" Swart (Netherlands) -- 738,757
Seat 4: vujo369 (Israel) -- 317,828
Seat 5: Daris "DEX888" Pedes (Germany) -- 1,625,101
Seat 6: PSCPRODIGY (Philippines) -- 1,872,587
Seat 7: NOBBSY_8 (Australia) -- 742,440
Seat 8: holy h3ll (Israel) -- 2,405,495
Seat 9: jknack10 (Canada) -- 770,084

They played a full orbit, then soon after that the blinds were 15,000/30,000 when K!nG.O.O open-raised all-in for 158,367 from the hijack seat, Zachary "Zackattak13" Korik reraise-shoved from the next seat over, and everyone else stepped aside. 

K!nG.O.O had [Kh][Qs] while Korik turned over [3s][3c], and five cards later -- [5s][Jd][5h][8h][As] -- the small pair had held and K!nG.O.O was out in ninth.

A short while later the blinds were up to 17,500/35,000 when it folded to holy h3ll who raised to 87,500 from the small blind. jknack10 responded with an all-in push from the BB for 626,996 total, and holy h3ll called.

jknack10 had picked up an ace with [Ad][7h], but so had holy h3ll and with a better kicker -- [As][8s]. The [Ac][Ts][Qh][4d][3s] runout was no good for jknack10 who was eliminated in eighth.

They continued onward, and with the blinds up again to 25,000/50,000 it was holy h3ll raising to 106,000 from middle position. It folded to vujo369 who called all-in for just 10,182 after posting the small blind, and after the big blind folded holy h3ll showed [Kc][7c] an vujo369 [Qs][Qd].

The board brought no king, but it did bring three clubs, coming [8c][2d][2h][9c][Ac] to give holy h3ll a backdoor flush and stop vujo369's Super Tuesday run in seventh.

About 15 minutes later holy h3ll and PSCPRODIGY were leading the way with holy h3ll up over 3.9 million, PSCPRODIGY sitting on almost 3.2 million, and no one else above the 1 million-mark. 

That's when NOBBSY_8 opened with a 3x raise to 180,000 from under the gun, Andries "Pokerger1337" Swart three-bet all-in for 443,138 from the button, and NOBBSY_8 called, turning over [Kh][Jh] to Swart's [8d][8s]. The flop came [Kd][Qd][Ks] to give NOBBSY_8 trip kings, and after the [2c] turn and [Th] river, Swart -- who just a month ago won a SCOOP title -- was sent railward in sixth.

Just a minute after that a short-stacked Daris "DEX888" Pedes open-pushed from the small blind for 283,828 total (not quite five BBs) with [As][5c], PSCPRODIGY called from the big with [Js][9c], and after a [7s][9d][7d][Qs][8h] runout gave the latter a pair of nines, Pedes was finished in fifth. 

On the very next hand, Zachary "Zackattak13" Korik was the one open-shoving for 883,484 from UTG, getting a caller in NOBBSY_8 from the small blind. Korik had [6h][6c] but had run into NOBBSY_8 [Jc][Jh], and after a [8c][3d][8h] flop and [Jd] turn gave NOBBSY_8 a full house, Korik -- shown below after winning a side event at the EPT9 Grand Final -- was drawing dead to be ousted in fourth.

The final three players lasted another 20 minutes as the blinds went up to 35,000/70,000, then a hand arose that saw NOBBSY_8 limp in from the small blind, holy h3ll raise more than 3x to 228,750 from the big blind, NOBBSY_8 push all-in for 1,672,482 total, and holy h3ll call. 

NOBBSY_8 had [As][9c] and needed to improve versus holy h3ll's [Kh][Ks] to survive, but the board came [6s][2s][6c][Jc][4h] and NOBBSY_8's night was over with a third-place finish.

With that pot holy h3ll was up to 6,857,410, providing a big lead to start heads-up play versus PSCPRODIGY's 2,567,590. The pair played nine hands during which PSCPRODIGY was whittled down to just over 2 million, then the final hand took place.

It started with a button min-raise to 140,000 from PSCPRODIGY, with holy h3ll responding by three-betting to 420,000. PSCPRODIGY then pushed all-in for 2,007,590 and holy h3ll called right away.

That's whey holy h3ll -- who'd just knocked out NOBBSY_8 with kings, showed [Ac][As], and PSCPRODIGY was in dire straits with [Ad][Kc]. 

The [Jc][Qd][8d] flop did give a ray of hope to PSCPRODIGY, providing a draw to a Broadway straight. But the turn was the [7c] and river the [9c] and it was all over -- holy h3ll had won.

Congratulations to holy h3ll who after just missing last week's Super Tuesday final table made it all the way to a victory this time around.

6/14/16 Super Tuesday ($1,050 No-Limit Hold'em) results
Entrants: 377
Prize pool: $377,000
Places paid: 54

1. holy h3ll (Israel) $72,346.30
2. PSCPRODIGY (Philippines) $53,772.50
3. NOBBSY_8 (Australia) $39,585.00
4. Zachary "Zackattak13" Korik (Canada) $30,160.00
5. Daris "DEX888" Pedes (Germany) $21,112.00
6. Andries "Pokerger1337" Swart (Netherlands) $16,022.50
7. vujo369 (Israel) $12,252.50
8. jknack10 (Canada) $8,482.50
9. K!nG.O.O (Germany) $6,258.20 

You have to wonder if the game is up for Jason Mercier. Two weeks ago he took to Twitter to lay down the gauntlet. 

Looking to get 3 to 1 on winning a bracelet this Wsop (Vegas only) any takers? Lmk, will need escrow / post if I don't know u well etc

— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) May 31, 2016

There is was. Take him on at 3-to-1. All you had to do was hope he dodged WSOP silverware. I dare say some took him up on it. Others though will have baulked, and if asked why knew exactly their reasons, which the former group, to their expense, discovered in the early hours of this morning.

For that's when Jason Mercier won his fourth career World Series bracelet, winning the 2-7 Lowball Championship under the lights of the main stage. Mercier may never get to make such bets ever again. 

We can't really say we are surprised. As eye witnesses of every step of Mercier's career ascendance, starting with that EPT Sanremo win back in 2008, each landmark he has achievement unlocked has only confirmed our own suspicion that he is among the most gifted players ever to play the game. 

His results transcend event, country, or even the game being played. 

At the World Series his first two bracelets, coming as they did in 2009 and 2011, were in pot-limit Omaha. Last year (after he claimed to be having the worst spell of his career) he hit hold'em gold. Now, 2-7 Lowball. If there is a Go Fish bracelet up for grabs this summer Mercier must now be the clear favourite. 

For the record, this latest bracelet, collected in the company of his girlfriend, and his pet dog (a first for a WSOP winner's photo), was worth $273,335. But it can hardly be about the money to a man who has amassed more than $3 million at the WSOP alone (from career tournaments earnings in excess of $16 million).

To Mercier it is about something else, something he hinted at after his second bracelet win almost exactly five years ago.

"It's important to me for people to think I am one of the best," said Mercier. "I think I am getting to that level, if I am not already there. Obviously, winning tournaments and winning WSOP bracelets just adds to that.  I feel like if I win a third one, it will do even more for me.  I'm ready to play in as many World Series of Poker events as I can to get as many gold bracelets as I can."

Mercier is only doing what he said he do, a warning that the 3-to-1 takers might now wish they'd heeded. Regardless, the payoff is ours as well as Mercier's - the continual ascent of one of poker's most brilliant stars taking place before us, and showing no sign of abating.  

Congratulations to Jason on this latest triumph. For everyone else, be cautious of what odds he offers next. He's currently sixth in chips from 46 left in the 7 Card Razz Championship event by the way. 

Number five anyone?

Jason Mercier, with Natasha Barbour, bracelet, and pet dog

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Photos thanks to Joe Giron/PokerPhotoArchive.com