It's been just over two years since the poker world was rocked by "Black Friday" on April 15, 2011. After the Department of Justice indicted 11 key players in relation to the three major online poker sites, the online poker industry in the United States went essentially dormant. Some professional players chose to relocate overseas to poker friendly countries such as Canada, Mexico and European nations. Others decided to play exclusively live poker. Some even took a well-deserved break.

The tides began to change on Tuesday as online poker officially returned to the United States … well, at least Nevada. At 9:00 a.m. PT, UltimatePoker.com made history by becoming the first Nevada based online poker company to launch a legal real-money online poker site.

"We are proud to be the first company to deliver legal and secure real-money online gaming to poker players," said Ultimate Poker Chairman Tom Breitling. "We have worked closely with state gaming regulators to demonstrate our unique and compelling poker platform that, above all, players know they can trust. Ultimate Poker is dedicated to being the players' choice for online poker."

"This day has been a long time coming. Online poker in the United States is finally here and totally legit," remarked brand ambassador Antonio Esfandiari.

With this launch, there is finally a glimmer of hope for the U.S. poker player.

"Before Black Friday, 90 percent of my time was spent playing online poker, that's where I made my living," said 2012 October Niner Jeremy Ausmus. "And ever since Black Friday, I became a live grinder … so, I'm pretty excited about it. It's an exciting development and a step in the right direction. … If the games are available, I will stay home more and will enjoy the convenience and efficiency of online poker."

Availability is the key question thus far. As the legal online poker market develops, building a substantial player pool is essential.

"I'm cautiously optimistic, but excited after not being able to play online poker for two years," said Eric Baldwin. "I will definitely be playing at some point, if nothing else to have fun and experience playing online poker again. On days where there is not a great live option in Las Vegas, it will be nice change of pace to be able to play online at home."

As the games launched, the early offerings at Ultimate Poker showed limited stakes, a concern for many.

"Based on the population of Nevada, which is about three million residents, this number is just a drop in the bucket compared to the entire world. I'm concerned that the games will not be big enough for it to be a viable option for professional poker players to make a living," described Baldwin.

"I think it is a step in the right direction and, if the stakes are high enough, it could interest me," 2011 WSOP Player of the Year and bracelet winner, Ben Lamb. "With such a small player field in Nevada, it will be many years before we see the fields like we did before Black Friday."

There's no question that the player pool is the issue, but in the next few months, that may not be such a problem. Anyone within the state's borders can play and with the WSOP coming later this month, the field sizes could dramatically increase during that time.

As a non-Nevada resident myself, I'm looking forward to being able to play this summer during the WSOP. Other players are excited about this launch as well.

Recent WSOP Circuit Council Bluffs main event champion, Blair "blur5f6" Hinkle, a resident of Kansas City, Missouri, was the only player ever to win over $1 million in a single event on Full Tilt. He's excited about the recent developments and plans to give the Nevada sites a try in a few weeks.

"I am going to be mostly focusing on my WSOP events, but it will be cool because on my days off, I may test out the site," said Hinkle. "It will be a nice option to have on your days off if you feel like still playing poker. It will be nice and convenient. Overall, this is great news for the poker community."

There is now some hope that this development will lead New Jersey and Delaware to expedite the release of their offerings which are expected later this year. Additionally, other states may follow, eventually leading to a national regulation of online poker.

For now, U.S. poker players, you can begin to come out of hibernation. Welcome back.

The Nuts is a monthly feature that takes a look at the best poker players in the world. This feature aims to produce a list of the best players at the moment. Our panel of 10 is composed of ESPN.com's poker contributors (Bernard Lee and me), ESPNDeportes.com poker editor Nahuel Ponce, Bluff magazine editor-in-chief Lance Bradley, senior writer Tim Fiorvanti and information manager Kevin Mathers, WSOP.com managing editor Jessica Welman, PokerNews editor-in-chief Donnie Peters, World Poker Tour's Eric Ramsey and Pocketfives' Dan Cypra.

WSOP season has officially started. As WSOP-APAC debuts in Melbourne to award the first five bracelets of the year, we're poised to see major changes in these rankings. No one single tournament series can change the perception of who the best are in the game than the WSOP and with additional opportunities for players to shine, the volatility on this list is ready to pick up over the next few months. There's no doubt there are great times ahead in the poker world, now a full two years removed from its darkest day, and as we continue to turn the page from Black Friday, it's also time to mark the end of an era here in these rankings.

Jason Mercier was one of the original faces in "The Nuts" rankings back in December 2009. Originally ranked seventh, Mercier's run to the 2009 Player of the Year award was followed by millions in earnings, both live and online, in every type of game imaginable. Up until 2012, Mercier had made at least seven figures in each of his four years as a pro and when Phil Ivey stepped away from the game, he was the one to emerge as the No. 1 player in these rankings.

The joke of #whenwillitend transitioned from positive to negative in 2012 as Mercier struggled on the felt and openly admitted to a losing year. Down on his luck at the felt, his stock in these rankings fell. From the top spot as recently as May of last year to ninth last month, Mercier would need to come up big in March to stay in the top 10. Despite making some money in the Premier League and running deep at EPT London, one of the true faces of the game is now on the outside looking in. Mercier was the only player since the debut of this list to be present each and every month.

The newly-signed Ultimate Poker ambassador Antonio Esfandiari also fell out of the rankings this month, making way for two of the game's hottest tournament players in Paul Volpe and Dan Shak. Volpe's emergence into the widespread poker conscious began at the WSOP main event, but in reality, those that followed the online space closely knew that his 20th-place run was no fluke. Playing as "paulgees81," Volpe amassed millions in earnings and right at the time of Black Friday, he was ranked as the No. 1 online poker player in the world.

Regardless of where he's played recently, he's found success. Since his main event run, Volpe made back-to-back WPT final tables (finishing second and third), won hundreds of thousands online and is No. 1 in the GPI's Player of the Year race. Volpe debuts in these rankings at No. 5.

Shak, making his debut a No. 6, stands out on this list. The rest of the top 10 are all professional poker players, but Shak, while playing for years and probably convincing many that he's a pro, remains a commodities trader. Shak's 2013 includes an eighth-place finish in the Super High Roller at PCA ($228,960), twin fourth-place finishes in the Aussie Millions majors ($422,279 and $250,201), a runner-up in the 10,000-pound eight-game event at EPT London and just last week, a victory in the Premier League worth $528,000, as Shak defeated No. 3 Sam Trickett for the title.

Shak's win stands out as one of the most impressive in March given the incredible field that participates in the Premier League, but there were many other strong performers during the month. WeiKai Chang earned his first WPT title at Bay 101 (defeating a final table that included Volpe and Erik Seidel), Ruben Visser won the EPT main event (Steve O'Dwyer fifth, Chris Moorman eighth), Talal Shakerchi won the EPT London High Roller (Faraz Jaka runner-up, Volpe fourth) and Rocco Palumbo won the WPT Venice main event (Mike Sexton third, Matt Salsberg seventh).

Trickett's jump from nine to three was the biggest move among the top 10 this month. Phil Ivey retained the top spot despite a tough month online, and as Vanessa Selbst dropped two spots to No. 4, Marvin Rettenmaier's three cashes have him at No. 2. The bottom four, Scott Seiver, Phil Hellmuth, Michael Mizrachi and Dan Smith, had limited success, and with WSOP-APAC, WPT Barcelona, Jacksonville, Seminole and Montreal, LAPT Brazil (featuring Ronaldo's debut), IPT San Remo, WSOPC Foxwoods and Harrah's Chester and EPT Berlin, they'll need to find the money in order to stay in the top 10.

Did we leave out your favorite player? Who should be ranked higher? Who should be completely off the list? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below. Here's a look at March's top 10:

The Nuts: Poker's best in March 2013

PLAYER (NO. 1 VOTES)		RANK (LAST)	RECENT SUCCESS	COMMENT
	Phil Ivey (6)	1 (1)	Ivey had an up-and-down month in the online space and ended way down, losing more than half a million online according to HighStakesDB.com. At one point he was stuck $815K.	The support for Ivey's No. 1 ranking is waning and the past month didn't help his cause. He showed signs of brilliance during his nearly $750,000 winning session, but being stuck in the red through three months only adds fire to the debate of his candidacy for his top ranking. (Feldman).
	Marvin Rettenmaier (1)	2 (T-2)	Cashed in two EPT London side events and in one heat of the Party Poker Premier League.	Rettenmaier continues to rack up significant cashes in major events. He's back atop the GPI rankings and there seems to be no stopping him right now. (Ramsey)
	Sam Trickett (2)	3 (9)	Finished second in the Premier League for $254,000.	Out of his last eight cashes, only one has been for less than six figures and three have been for at least $1 million. (Feldman)
	Vanessa Selbst	4 (T-2)	Earned $11,766 in five cashes online, including one victory in a $55 rebuy for $7,600.	Selbst said recently: "I'm on a bit of a downswing. That can be super frustrating, especially when I feel like I'm playing well." Her last cash came at PCA and she's still in the top 10 on the 2013 money list. (Feldman)
	Paul Volpe (1)	5 (NR)	Volpe secured his third six-figure score in the past two months at the EPT London High Roller event ($161,633).	Little did we know that Volpe's WSOP Main Event run last summer (20th) was only the beginning of a red-hot heater that includes his two WPT final tables and now an EPT High Roller score. (Welman)
	Dan Shak	6 (NR)	Shak has been having quite a year and most recently, became the Premier League champ.	Seriously, Shak's debut on this list is long overdue. He's averaging more than one six-figure cash per month so far in 2013, delivering consistently solid results in tough, major tournaments. (Ramsey)
	Scott Seiver	7 (4)	Three cashes in London including a final table in a EPT London side event.	Seiver always seems like he is having fun at the table, but don't let him fool you. His brain is always working hard, contributing to Seiver adding three more results in March for a combined $67,839. (Peters)
	Phil Hellmuth	8 (5)	Finished 11th at the Premier League for $42,000.	With WSOP season starting, Hellmuth may begin to move up these ranks once again. When there's a bracelet on the line, expect Hellmuth to shine. And please stop with the brutal tournament entrances like this one. (Feldman)
	Michael Mizrachi	9 (9)	No cashes in March, but a few appearances in low buy-in tournaments around the world.	Mizrachi is always traveling and it's about time that he took a few days away from the felt to regroup. (Feldman)
	Dan Smith	10 (7)	Fourth in the $2,080 six-handed event at the LAPC for $20,360.	Smith has hit a bit of a cold spell, and the comedown from his amazing 2012 has affected his position in these rankings. Much like Mercier last month, Smith needs some results soon to stay afloat here. (Ramsey)

On the bubble

This month's bubble boy was discussed at length above. Jason Mercier fell to the bubble, just edging out Antonio Esfandiari for that spot. Both are definitely among the best in the game, but the past month hasn't featured substantial scores. The bubble debate should truly begin with Matt Salsberg and Tobias Reinkemeier. Salsberg finished seventh at the most recent WPT event in Venice, placing him in a tie with Volpe for the Season XI Player of the Year award. Reinkemeier finished sixth in the Premier League for $162,000 and putting his 2013 tournament earnings at $1.6 million. … As impressive as both have been on the tournament felt, one player has equaled their efforts in the online cash games. Viktor Blom is back to his winning ways, up nearly $3 million over the past 30 days. The challenge with Blom's inclusion in this list is that his bankroll fluctuates substantially month-to-month and although he's up huge as of the time of this article's posting, by tomorrow, he could be in the red given the nosebleed stakes he's playing. … Bertrand Grospellier, Chris Moorman (winner of a recent FTOPS event), Mike Watson (who added another $151,160 to his bankroll in March), Tom Marchese, Nacho Barbero and Steve O'Dwyer also received consideration this month.

Final thoughts

Bradley: It's a really small sample size that we're dealing with, but Dan Shak plays extremely well in high roller events. When your day job requires managing financial transactions bigger than most tournament prize pools, it makes sense that he appears to be under less stress at the felt. That alleviation of pressure might give him an advantage in these situations over his opponents who are most likely backed and have extra pressure on their shoulders. As he plays more, we'll see if he's able to keep this run up and gain further in the rankings.

Hellmuth is typically a WSOP performer who managed to space out some impressive performances through tough fields to keep his spot on this list. The next two weeks for him are huge as he'll try to be the first member of the tri-continent bracelet club and after that, he'll have his sights on Vegas. It'll be interesting to see how many people on this list travel to APAC for shots at bracelets versus those that decide to stay at home and play weaker fields in the WPTs at home.

Feldman: My real question this month is if Mercier was able to make the EPT London final table, how high would that have moved him up and how long would it have kept him in the rankings. There really is no doubt that Mercier has all the ability in the world and I have a hard time believing he won't be part of the top 10 for the majority of the rest of the year. When it comes to the WSOP and putting in the grind, few people can put in the effort that Mercier can.

The one part of this month's rankings that caught my eye was the fact that four players received No. 1 votes. This never happened before. Usually it's either unanimous or maybe a vote here and there gets thrown to a second player, but having some of the most dedicated minds of the industry splitting their votes in this manner is intriguing. I still voted Ivey as No. 1 this month, but I'm not sure what I'll do next month. You can't doubt his ability, but this list should be a "what have you done for me lately" list and the answer to that question in Ivey's case is not too much.

I like the inclusion of Volpe and Shak, but they might be a little too high. I feel that we often debut players on this list in that range while I believe they should probably be at 9 or 10 and earn their way up. In any case, we can't doubt their results and congrats to both on earning their way in.

Lance's thoughts on staying at home is spot on. The prize pools may be smaller, but if the best in the best are competing in Australia, this might be the window that others have been waiting for. One consistent in poker strategy has always been game selection …

History has a way of repeating itself. I mentioned on this blog in early 2010 that things were shaping up to be the "Year of Dan Shak." After all, Shak had been cruising at the Aussie Millions, winning the AU$100,000 challenge and coming in 11th in the prestigious Aussie Millions main event. Add to those scores a 85th-place finish in the PCA main event, and Shak was up $1.2 million in just a few weeks. The rest of the year featured some big scores, including a runner-up finish in Event 46 of the WSOP, but Shak's heater wasn't sustained, and he ended the year outside of the top 20 in both the Bluff and CardPlayer Player of the Year races.

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PartyPokerDan Shak earned $450,000 by defeating a tough final table at the Party Poker Premier League VI.

The past few years for Shak have been filled with appearances in the game's highest buy-in tournaments and his share of cashes. Three months into the start of 2013, it appears to be 2010 once again. Similar to his efforts three years ago, Shak had numerous strong finishes in January, finishing fourth in the AU$100,000 challenge, fourth in the Aussie Millions main event and eighth in the $100,000 Super High Roller at PCA. In February, he cashed in the LAPC main event, and, earlier this month, he finished second to Ville Wahlbeck in the 10,000-pound eight-game championship at EPT London.

His pattern of close calls came to an end this past weekend as he earned a victory in the Party Poker Premier League VI, a challenge like no other found on the poker calendar. I sang the praises of this event last year and echo those sentiments again this year as it allows the game's best to compete in an unusual fashion. The pros have numerous opportunities to prove their skill (instead of one simple elimination in a typical tournament). While it is a made-for-TV event with a small field and intriguing structure, winning it is truly an outstanding accomplishment.

Shak qualified for the final table with ease, finishing second (out of eight) in Heat 1, first in Heat 2, third in Heat 3 and fifth in Heat 4. His 39 points offered him a strong third-place stack to begin the eight-handed finale. Shak maintained his ground during most of the first five levels until the elimination of Talal Shakerchi in eighth. The blinds increased quickly during the final table and, at that point, Antonio Esfandiari moved into the chip lead with 42 big blinds while Jennifer Tilly fell to the short stack with only eight big blinds. Tilly, Tobias Reinkemeier and Daniel Cates fell shortly after in seventh through fifth, respectively. With four players left, it appeared to be a three-horse race with Esfandiari, Jonathan Duhamel and Shak separated by just a few big blinds. Sam Trickett trailed by a 25 big-blind margin, but doubled up through Duhamel to put him back in the hunt and, at the same time, lead to the demise of the 2010 WSOP champion.

According to the Premier League, for most of the final table it appeared that Esfandiari was going to add yet another title to his resume, but one unexpected river card changed his fate. Shak opened with A-2 and called Esfandiari's three-bet all-in, trailing the One Drop champion's 9-9. The flop of Qd-7c-2c gave Shak a pair and a river ace made it two pairs, earning him the huge pot and a 2-to-1 lead to enter heads-up play. Shak's lead vanished quickly as Trickett found value in a flush-over-flush situation, but returned shortly after an unorthodox decision by Shak essentially ended the match. On an As-8h-2h-10s-7h board and a pot of only 200,000, Shak moved all-in for 1.1 million. It was a polarizing move that caught Trickett, holding 10-2, by surprise. After a lengthy internal debate, Trickett called and mucked as Shak showed Qh-4h for a flush. Shak eliminated Trickett on the next hand.

"Don't think I've ever played in a tougher field with a tougher format," said Shak via Twitter. "Grueling doesn't even come close."

Shak earned $450,000 for first in the finals, his fourth six-figure score in 2013. He recently was signed as a member of "Team Ivey," a group of professionals supporting the online training site, IveyPoker.com.

Here are the results of the Premier League VI final table:

1. Dan Shak ($450,000)
2. Sam Trickett ($200,000)
3. Antonio Esfandiari ($150,000)
4. Jonathan Duhamel ($125,000)
5. Daniel Cates ($100,000)
6. Tobias Reinkemeier ($70,000)
7. Jennifer Tilly ($60,000)
8. Talal Shakerchi ($45,000)

Small blinds: The Caesars' Cup will be up for grabs again at WSOP-APAC. The Joseph Hachem-led Asia-Pacific team will face off against the Sam Trickett-led European team for the right to face the Phil Ivey-captained Americas team. None of the captains have announced their five-player rosters as of yet, so who would you put on each team? … Jonathan Taylor captured $138,938, a seat in the National Championship and his third WSOP Circuit ring of the season with his victory in the Lodge Casino main event. You can watch the heads-up battle here. Allen Kessler, Ray Henson, Mitch Schock and Ryan Lenaghan also won titles in Colorado. … Ruben Visser won the EPT London main event for $895,370. The Dutch pro has nearly $2 million in lifetime tournament earnings. … October Niner Russell Thomas won this past week's Sunday Million on PokerStars for $219,184. PokerStars also released its first draft of the 2013 SCOOP. … The DeepStacks Poker Tour is expanding once again, this time to Panama. The event will be held Nov. 6-11 and the winner will earn a seat into the DeepStacks World Championship to be held at Mohegan Sun in December. The DSPT is currently at Mohegan Sun and, starting on Wednesday, the WSOP Circuit will start its first series just a few miles away at Foxwoods. … Mike Harris won his second Heartland Poker Tour title on Monday in Iowa. The victory, worth $95,663, was his second career cash. Yup, his first cash was also a win. Not bad. … Raymond Dehkarghani defeated Sam Stein to win the $5,000 Wynn Classic and $235,931. Tom Marchese finished third. … 888 received its interactive gaming license in Nevada. They will be powering numerous sites across the state, but most notably ones for Caesars (WSOP.com) and Treasure Island.

I wrap up most blogs with the "small blinds" section where I skim over some of the biggest headlines in the world. Think of this entire blog as small blinds on steroids: It's been a very active few weeks in the poker industry.

WSOP Circuit

I've become a huge fan of the WSOP Circuit, and no, it's not because we've started to air all the final tables on ESPN3. I think the organization made some very smart moves over the past few years by finding the right locations, standardizing schedules and, most importantly, making their events re-entry. Prize pools have swelled and it's clear that the value of a WSOP ring is truly increasing.

The other major adjustment the WSOP has made is creating the National Championship. After one year of failure, I do believe it is now a significant event on the poker calendar. It's one of a few events all year where you qualify to get in and at the end of the road, the champion earns a nice shiny WSOP bracelet and a whole lot of money. Oh, and they'll win this bracelet in front of millions of viewers on ESPN.

Last year's National Championship was played out in Las Vegas on the WSOP felt. As thousands made their way down the long convention center hallway to the Amazon or Pavilion Rooms to play in the main event, others competed for a bracelet that hundreds of thousands had attempted to win. It was perfect. I know many players and Caesars staff hate when I say this, but for those some of those qualifiers, it was like playing in the minor leagues all year and finally earning your shot in the majors. The qualifiers had come from around the U.S. and earned their shot in Vegas for a chance to put themselves on the map for good. They weren't alone, either. As introduced last year, the qualifiers were also joined by some of the top 100 players on the WSOP rankings who could buy into the event if they wanted to play. You had the locals playing with the stars and it's a script that writes itself.

Unfortunately in my mind, this year's event stays in the minors. The WSOP decided to move the National Championship to New Orleans and will be held May 22-24. In 2012, 57 players out of the eligible 100 bought in and it was easy because every single one of them was in Las Vegas playing other WSOP events. Now they're asking some of those eligible players to travel to New Orleans to enter. The majority of players on that list are tournament regulars and I'd assume many of them will be in Las Vegas at that time to play in the WPT Championship and High Roller. Then, consider the fact that they'd leave Vegas from the WPT, play in the National Championship and return back to Las Vegas in time for the start of the WSOP. It's a lot to ask.

But maybe the WSOP doesn't want their top 100 to show up. Maybe they want to crown a tour champion from the group of players who put in the effort and traveled around with them all year and couldn't just walk up and buy in. Maybe that's a better story in the end after all.

One player who will definitely be in attendance in New Orleans is Joseph McKeehen who went wire-to-wire at the WSOP Circuit final table in Atlantic City as the chip leader. McKeehen earned $174,147 as he defeated the field of 539.

WPT Bay 101

There's just something about the Bay 101 Shooting Star that makes it one of my favorite stops of the year. Offering bounties on the stars of the game in one of the most popular poker venues in the country always adds another layer of excitement. While other tournaments struggle to keep pace, the Bay 101 main event was the largest Shooting Star in history. The growth to 643 entries could be attributed to a number of factors, with the most substantial being the fact that it became a re-entry event. In a trend consistent with the success of the World Poker Tour, the price point was also reduced from $10,000 to $7,500.

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WorldPokerTour Kai Chang won the 2013 Bay 101 Shooting Star.

Kai Chang defeated the large field to win the $1.1 million top prize, his first seven-figure score. Chang had cashed on the WPT four previous times (including Bay 101 in 2011), but had never appeared at a televised final table before last week. He returned to action on the final day in fifth place, staring upwards at the first-place stack of Paul Volpe, who held nearly a 100 big blind advantage over Chang. Volpe, who became one of only a few players to own back-to-back WPT final table appearances, finished in third after a second-place performance last week at the LAPC.

After being a dominant force in the online space where he was ranked as the No. 1 player in the world, Volpe has emerged over the past few years as a live tournament monster. His last nine months include a 20th-place finish in the WSOP main event, cashes on the EPT and WPT, plus the aforementioned two WPT final tables. His earnings during that stretch top $1.4 million, and it's clear that he'll be a prime participant in the 2013 player of the year races.

There was also one more player at the final table who turned some heads: Erik Seidel. After a run in 2011 where he pocketed more from high roller winnings than many players will ever take home in their career, Seidel slowed down a bit. The results have begun to pour in once again with his last three scores all being worth at least six figures. Seidel's fourth-place showing in this event, worth $295,590, was his fifth WPT final table.

Here are the results of the final table:

1. Kai Chang ($1,138,350)
2. Joe Nguyen ($666,740)
3. Paul Volpe ($435,610)
4. Erik Seidel ($295,590)
5. Chris Johnson ($208,910)
6. Joe Kuether ($162,240 )

HPT Golden Gates

If you want to hold a huge low-buy-in event, go to Colorado. Seriously. For the second time in four years, the Heartland Poker Tour thrived as a seven-figure prize pool was created at the Golden Gates Casino in Black Hawk. Teresa Hemingway became the third female HPT champion as she defeated the field of 671 to win the latest main event and $226,463. The sales executive from Aurora, Colo., satellited her way into the event for $360 and defeated Jeffrey Yarvhever for the title.

"It's unreal money and it can happen to anyone," said Hemingway to the HPT after her victory. This was her third attempt at an HPT main event.

Perhaps the best part of this successful tournament stop was the fact that due to the storm, airports were closed and getting to the event wasn't even possible for everyone. Although the turnout didn't reach either of last year's fields of 820 (April) and 739 (September), putting up this sort of attendance given the conditions is a huge win for the small-stakes tour.

Here are the results of the final table:

1. Teresa Hemingway ($226,463)
2. Jeffrey Yarvhever ($139,904)
3. Robert Moore ($91,692)
4. Ryan Sweeney ($63,711)
5. Ryan Odonnell ($46,299)
6. Danny Gonzalez ($35,932)
7. Christopher Valdez ($30,195)
8. Gary Germann ($25,163)
9. Travis Northrope ($20,130)

Small blinds: Team PokerStars (Daniel Negreanu, Isaac Haxton and Bertrand Grospellier) defeated Team Full Tilt (Gus Hansen, Tom Dwan, Viktor Blom) in their heads-up challenge that took place at EPT London. The real winners? The Rational Group, which owns both PokerStars and FTP. … Discussion of online poker bills are getting attention in a number of states with Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York the latest to talk about the topic. … 647 players at the EPT London main event, down from 691 last season. … Blake Bohn won the Chicago Poker Classic main event for $288,171. … Pre-registration is now open for the WSOP.

The Nuts is a monthly feature that takes a look at the best poker players in the world. This feature aims to produce a list of the best players at the moment. Our panel of 10 is composed of ESPN.com's poker contributors (Bernard Lee and me), ESPNDeportes.com poker editor Nahuel Ponce, Bluff magazine editor-in-chief Lance Bradley, senior writer Tim Fiorvanti and information manager Kevin Mathers, WSOP.com managing editor Jessica Welman, PokerNews editor-in-chief Donnie Peters, World Poker Tour's Eric Ramsey and Pocketfives' Dan Cypra.

January was filled with huge festivals like the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and Aussie Millions. It had the return of the National Heads-Up Poker Championships, the Turbo Championships of Online Poker at PokerStars and a buzz that set the tone for 2013 as an action-packed year. February continued the hectic tournament pace with three WPT (LA Poker Classic, Baden and Lucky Hearts) and WSOP Circuit (Palm Beach, Las Vegas and Africa) stops, plus the always-popular EPT Deauville and regionally strong Chicago Poker Classic and Parx Big Stax.

The significant common thread from the month was the success of the smaller buy-in festivals and, perhaps as a side effect, the limited appearances of the players in the top 10 in attendance and in the money. Phil Ivey isn't playing many non-WSOP $1,500 buy-ins these days and he retained the top spot once again despite no tournament results. Marvin Rettenmaier was the month's biggest mover, up five spots and into a tie for second with Vanessa Selbst. Rettenmaier, the reigning Bluff Player of the Year, made his third WPT final table in the past 10 months, this time in Baden. Unlike his last two appearances under the final table lights, Rettenmaier wasn't able to secure the win and instead finished fifth. He also added a small cash from a side event at EPT Deauville.

Scott Seiver moved up one spot with his main event cash at the LAPC while Phil Hellmuth and his unfortunate bubble-prone tendencies last month forced him down two spots to No. 5.

Michael Mizrachi is once again moving up the ranks (sixth) after he won the $3,300 buy-in WSOP Africa main event, defeating a field of 116. The latest win was his fifth cash and third final table of 2013. As quickly as Dan Smith had moved up to third, he's back down to seventh after only one five-figure cash. His quick decline is definitely surprising. Jason Mercier, formerly the top-ranked player, is now approaching bubble territory after another month void of a significant score. And the reigning WSOP champion and Player of the Year, Greg Merson, was the only player to fall out of the rankings this month. He spent most of February in Macau and the world's largest cash games.

Sam Trickett returned to the rankings at No. 9 as a result of his AU$2 million score from the Aussie Millions Super High Roller event. The AU$250,000 buy-in event featured 18 entries, and just like in 2011 when Trickett finished second, the British pro left the Crown Casino and headed to Macau significantly richer.

Did we leave out your favorite player? Who should be ranked higher? Who should be completely off the list? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below! Here's a look at February's top 10:

The Nuts: Poker's best in February 2013

PLAYER (NO. 1 VOTES)		RANK (LAST)	RECENT SUCCESS	COMMENT
	Phil Ivey (7)	1 (1)	Ivey himself was off the radar in February, but "Team Ivey" had a strong month with big scores from Toby Lewis, Jonathan Tamayo and Dan Shak.	Ivey's been a formidable force back in the online realm and has also been playing ungodly stakes in the Macau cash games. Right now, he's still the best all-around player in the world. (Peters)
	Vanessa Selbst (2)	T-2 (2)	Selbst has earned six figures on the live tournament felt every year since 2006.	Selbst hosted a reddit AmA. Give it a read and you'll see why she stands out as a great ambassador in the poker world. (Feldman)
	Marvin Rettenmaier (1)	T-2 (7)	Fifth in the WPT Baden main event for $59,943.	The heater just keeps on heating for Rettenmaier who narrowly missed joining an elite group of triple WPT champions, making the final table of WPT Baden. He's the best player in the world right now. (Ramsey)
	Scott Seiver	4 (5)	52nd in the LAPC main event for $21,840.	Scott Seiver continues to rise in these standings. After a January that saw him win $2.1 million, Seiver put together a deep run in the LAPC. As we hit a deeper part of the poker schedule with tournaments both in North America and Europe, Seiver's going to need to continue to deliver results if he hopes to push towards top spot. (Bradley)
	Phil Hellmuth (1)	5 (3)	Bubbled a wide variety of events at the LAPC.	Hellmuth's new focus is winning a pot-limit Omaha bracelet during the upcoming WSOP. He's had two WSOP final tables in PLO-8 over the past five years. (Feldman)
	Michael Mizrachi	6 (9)	Won the WSOP Africa main event for $101,267.	No matter the event, the field or the buy-in, Michael Mizrachi has proved time and again that he can win anywhere. This time it just happened to be in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Fiorvanti)
	Dan Smith	7 (3)	Fourth in the $2,080 six-handed event at the LAPC for $20,360.	Consistency, ability to focus regardless of the stakes, generally crushing most of the tournaments that he plays. That's what makes Smith great. (Fiorvanti)
	Jason Mercier	8 (6)	No LAPC for Mercier, but he's back on the tournament trail starting with Bay 101.	The big results from Jason Mercier just aren't coming right now and his continuous drop in these rankings reflects that. He hasn't cashed since mid-December and hasn't had a six-figure score in over 14 months. He's written recently that he's going to be more focused on the tournament which can only bode well for him but if he wants to stay in the top 10, he's going to need some results soon. (Bradley)
	Sam Trickett	9 (NR)	Won the AU$250,000 challenge for another seven-figure score.	Well, well, well. Look who is back in the rankings. So much for him turning his attention away from poker … (Feldman)
	Antonio Esfandiari	10 (8)	Invitation accepted. The Magician will make his Premier League debut this month in London.	Esfandiari spent the past month in Australia, Malaysia, Macau and Hong Kong. He's always one to show that there's much more to life than sitting at a poker table. (Feldman)

On the bubble

Greg Merson may have been the only player to drop out of the rankings this month, but he wasn't the closest to securing the No. 10 spot. The bubble boy this month was Mike Watson, who has been a force both live and online for years. Watson began his 2013 at PCA with a third-place finish in the $25,000 High Roller and a smaller cash in a $5,000 side event. He traveled to the Aussie Millions to win the AU$2,500 pot-limit Omaha event and then take third in the six-max turbo. Add in a FTP $1K Monday victory and a few satellite packages for majors around the world and the past few months have resulted in more than $600,000 for Watson. The reality? This success is nothing new for the Canadian star who is approaching the $6 million mark in career tournament earnings. … David Sands remains on the bubble for the second consecutive month, but he notched two more cashes this past month in Las Vegas to further his cause. He's also Shooting Star at the Bay 101 for the first time in his career. … Tom Marchese continues to find success at the cash games and finished fourth in the $25,000 LAPC High Roller for $118,030. He hasn't finished worse than fourth in his past six final table appearances. … Igor Kurganov received some support thanks to hisAussie Millions effort. He is currently fifth on the 2013 money list. Tobias Reinkemeier, Joe Serock, Vladimir Troyanovskiy, Tom Dwan, Bertrand Grospellier, Dan Shak, Alexander Kostritsyn and Jonathan Duhamel also received strong consideration this month.

Final thoughts

Bradley: The first few months of the year are always a little bit slower than the rest of the year, so seeing such little movement this month isn't a shocker. The next few months will see some new faces and names on this list and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Hellmuth and Esfandiari fall off entirely, only to reappear again after a strong WSOP finish.

Feldman:For the second month in a row I'm simply questioning the rank of one player on this list: Michael Mizrachi. It's pretty astounding that the Grinder can continually put up strong results and yet it appears his ceiling on this list is sixth. There may not be a more consistent player in the poker world right now and honestly, I don't know what it would take to persuade the rest of the panel that he should be ranked higher. If Mercier can hold onto a top spot on this list for months without putting up a big finish, why shouldn't Mizrachi find his way into the top 3?

As for February's misses, I think the bubble area pretty much sums up my thoughts. Watson, Reinkemeier and Kurganov are in the top 25 on the 2013 money list and each deserve a spot in the top 10. Out of that group, I'd say Watson deserves it the most. Similarly, Tom Marchese will return to these rankings. His efforts as of late aren't getting much exposure, but he's consistently winning on both the cash and tournament felt.

Finally, the question was #whenwillitend for Mercier? The former No. 1 player has admittedly struggled recently and his run on this list will probably end next month if he doesn't manage a score in March.