Friday, 29th March 2024 11:47
Home / News / More brilliant blasts from the past as PokerStars Retro returns

The lack of live poker events is challenging for us all, not least the many thousands of viewers who tune in regularly for the PokerStars Live broadcasts. How on earth are we expected to get through the day without our usual diet of live streams from some of the most prestigious poker festivals on the planet?

But fear not. PokerStars Live still has your back.

After a break to accommodate three full weeks of SCOOP, PokerStars Retro is back again this week offering its unique “old poker, new commentary” spin. You probably know the general idea by now, but if not: this broadcast showcases some of the under-seen brilliance lurking in the PokerStars archive but goes out “as live”, with expert commentary from James Hartigan, Joe Stapleton and a long list of guests.

Prepare for the sepia stylings of our old friends James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton

It hits the PokerStars Twitch and YouTube channels every Thursday and is a joy to watch. On the one hand, you can view a real poker tournament play to its conclusion, with a high likelihood that you don’t know the winner. But furthermore, it also demonstrates clearly how the game has progressed, with some old-school strategies still commonplace and accepted, while some modern plays have not yet been developed. Hartigan and Stapleton will be sure to point out anything particularly, let’s say, unconventional.

There’s also the added bonus of an occasional glimpse of a future superstar, perhaps nervously edging their way into the spotlight for the first time. On other occasions, you’ll find yourself pointing at the screen and asking, “Whatever happened to him!?!”

Upcoming broadcasts feature a future PCA final table finisher making a first career cash, plus two players who would go on to be recognised as Team PokerStars Pros. One of them did something very, very special — so special, it has never been matched.

A very young Dominik Nitsche made his breakout appearance on the LAPT

We are also introduced to a shy, young German hiding behind a massive mop of hair, which he would later sweep away to win four WSOP bracelets, plus more than $18.6 million in live tournament cashes, and counting. But we get to watch his first ever tournament result.

The broadcast schedule for the coming six weeks takes us on a fascinating tour of Latin America, specifically Seasons 2 and 3 of the LAPT, which took place in 2009 and 2010. We’ll head to Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and Brazil — as well as Mexico, where things kick off but perhaps didn’t go entirely according to plan.

Here’s the full broadcast schedule — every Thursday at noon ET (15:00 BST; 16:00 WET):

Thursday, May 13th
LAPT Season 2: Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico
LAPT Season 2: Punta Del Este, Uruguay
From March, 2009

Thursday, May 20th
LAPT Season 2: Mar Del Plata, Argentina
From April, 2009

Thursday, May 27th
LAPT Season 3: Punta Del Este, Uruguay
From February, 2010

Thursday, June 3rd
LAPT Season 3: Lima, Peru
(LAPT Main Event plus Americas Cup of Poker)
From June, 2010

Thursday, June 10th
LAPT Season 3: Florianópolis, Brazil
From August, 2010

Thursday, June 17th
LAPT Season 3: Rosario, Argentina
From September, 2010

If this has piqued your interest in how things used to be, remember that PokerStars Blog covered the events at the time, with a full complement of reporters down there in Latin America. You’ll find interviews, features, blow-by-blow accounts and results by following the links below, so be wary of spoilers if you’re going to watch the broadcasts. But that’s also the right place to go if you want to fill in all the gaps.

Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico: Full coverage
Punta del Este, Uruguay (Season 2): Results
Mar del Plata, Argentina: Results | All reports
Punte del Este, Uruguay (Season 3): Results | All reports
Lima, Peru: Results | All reports
Florianópolis, Brazil: Results | All reports
Rosario, Argentina: Results | All reports

TUNE IN:

POKERSTARS TWITCH: psta.rs/twitch
POKERSTARS YOUTUBE (US): psta.rs/YT
POKERSTARS YOUTUBE (UK): psta.rs/YTUK

Study Poker with Pokerstars Learn, practice with the PokerStars app