May
30
Poker News May 30th, 2008
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Player Receives $55,000 as Titan Poker Deals Its Billionth Hand
Titan Poker, the largest online poker room on the iPoker Network, dealt its Billionth Hand on May 27 and player “wootrigged” from Finland went home with a prize of $55,000. The other five players playing at the same table received $5,000 each, just for participating in hand number 1,000,000,000.
Titan Poker’s Billionth Hand promotion, which launched a number of weeks ago, awarded more than $420,000 in prizes. A countdown started when the 950,000,000th hand was dealt. Hundreds of dollars in cash were awarded to players every day as Titan Poker neared its monumental billionth hand.
Players were able to track the progress of the countdown to the Billionth Hand by logging into the Titan Poker software, or onto the Titan Poker website. Titan Poker players also received regular updates of the countdown progress and were immediately informed when they started to play on a winning hand.
Titan Poker regularly rewards its players with huge cash prizes. The popular online poker room is currently giving away $3,600,000 in its second European Championship of Online Poker (ECOOP II). It also frequently awards its players with seats at the world’s most well-known poker tournaments, including the 2008 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the Irish Open, the European Poker Tour and the Asian Poker Tour. In May, Titan Poker sponsored the Eurocity Poker Tour Madrid Open, a highly successful tournament event staged at the Casino Gran outside the Spanish capital.
For World Series of Poker players, brain trumps hand
The real action at the World Series of Poker won’t be visible to the eye or even the hole-card cameras under the tables. It will take place inside the heads of the players.
They will mess with each other’s minds, watch for clues that might tip off another’s hand or a nervous bluff and calculate the risks and rewards of each hand. And before they move all-in with their chips, they will decide whether they have not only the cards but the nerve.
“A lot of time, it’s just a game of chicken. You don’t have very much. You think they don’t have very much. Each of you is just trying to make the other one fold,” says pro Barry Greenstein, who rates psychological toughness the No. 1 trait of a poker player.
Poker: Picking the right time to gamble is important
Ideally, you want to get your money in the pot in a no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament when you have an opponent dominated, but that isn’t always possible.
Sometimes your stack will be below average, you will draw a nice hand, even if it isn’t the best, and you will see a big pot brewing. You have to gamble.
It happens to the top players all the time. They don’t always like it, but one part of their strategy is to pick a smaller stack to gamble with so they can’t bust out, as Josh Arieh showed at the $15,000-buy-in Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Las Vegas’ Bellagio in 2007.
With blinds at $500-$1,000 plus a $100 ante, the player under the gun limped, as did pro Marcel Luske and two other players.
Arieh, who finished third in the 2004 World Series of Poker main event, found ace-queen offsuit on the button. He also found a chance to make a move to improve his below-average stack of about $24,000.
Ultimate Poker Challenge
Ultimate Poker Challenge is a syndicated show that televises a series of weekly poker tournaments where players accumulate points instead of money in order to play in the semi-finals. Eight players then go on to play in the finals. The playing field for ultimate poker challenge is comprised of both professional poker players and top amateurs.
Chad Brown, an actor most recognized for his work on the soap opera “Another World” hosted the show with Brandi Williams as field correspondent who often interviewed the players. Matt Savage was the tournament director. In the first season of Ultimate Poker Challenge, James Van Alstyne won the top prize of $100,000. In season 2, Andy Bloch, who is best known for being a member of the MIT blackjack team that was featured in the book, “Bringin Down The House,” which is also the subject of the 2008 movie, “21″ won the top prize of $167,500. The winner of the show’s season 3 was Amir Vahedi, who took home $181,390.
Seasons 1 and 2 of the exciting series are available on DVD for fans of the show to purchase. In season 4, the show was actually renamed to The Ultimate Poker Challenge Presents Cash Poker: The Ultimate Challenge. In 2007 ultimate poker challenge teamed up with Woman Poker Player magazine to create the Ultimate Women’s Poker Challenge. This event was held at Binions in Las Vegas and was televised for the show. Shows like these have really helped to popularize poker, especially when people at home see the “average Joe” take home the money. It gives the ordinary amateur hope that he or she has a chance at winning the big one someday. Also, by utilizing Henry Orenstein’s invention of the pocket camera, now that the home audience can see the player’s hole cards, it makes watching poker more exciting than ever!
Checkout the UltimateBet Weekly Online Poker Tournament Schedule:
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Designed with the assistance of the best poker players in the world - Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke – UltimateBet provides the best poker betting games available on the net. Players can download the free poker software, play in free ring games and tournaments and get tips from these pros to learn the sport or to enhance their playing strategy. UltimateBet currently has over 2 million registered players.
World Series of Poker kicks off with $10K event
It seems it was yesterday that Jerry Yang was celebrating his 2007 World Series of Poker main event title. It feels like it was last night that I was busting out of the 2006 WSOP main event. Sorry, some of those hands just haunt me in my sleep.
But it is time for poker’s main attraction — the WSOP — again. And while the number of main event entrants is anybody’s guess, this year’s World Series already is guaranteed to be the longest in history.
It starts today with the $10,000 buy-in pot-limit hold’em world championship and ends in November with the final stages of the main event final table.
Usually, it’s the casino employees event that kicks off the WSOP, so it’s refreshing see the World Series starting in style this year with one of the 12 world championship events. In all, Caesar’s Entertainment will be handing out 55 WSOP bracelets again this year at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
May
29
Poker News May 29th, 2008
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World Series of Poker
Last May, Jerry Yang was just a 39-year-old social worker from Temecula with six kids, a hefty mortgage and a wife who worked at night to make ends meet. Poker was a recently acquired, TV-inspired hobby he indulged in at the nearby Pechanga Casino.
But as this year’s 55-event, six-week World Series of Poker season kicks off Friday, Yang is a millionaire who is gunning to defend his title as 2007 winner of the $10,000 World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, a.k.a. the Main Event.
The promise embedded in Yang’s story is precisely why Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack believes more than 30,000 people will play and why more than 100,000 people will come to the Rio All-Suites Hotel-Casino just to watch for free.
“You can’t buy your way onto an NBA court, but you can buy your way into the World Series of Poker and walk away as a world champion,” Pollack said.
Indeed, anyone can play in the events, which have entry fees from $1,000 to $50,000. Some don’t even have to; Yang won his Main Event entry in a satellite tournament. That cost $225; in two weeks in July he outlasted 6,358 players to win $8.25 million.
Absolute Buddy
Online casino operator Absolute Poker has developed new software designed to make playing friends online a snap. Absolute Buddy allows players to locate both offline friends and familiar opponents online.
By placing the names of online competitors into the Absolute Buddy program, gamblers can detect if the players are online, and if so, where.
If a player is currently signed in, his name will be highlighted in bold. A triangle next to the name signifies that the player is currently seated at a table. Single-clicking on the triangle reveals the name of the table; double-clicking puts the gambler at the table with the player he sought.
Players can plan to play against each other, and easily find a table to share.
The software is designed to be similar to online instant messaging services, such as Goggle Chat and AIM. This assures gamblers of ease of use and comfort.
Not only can players seek out friends, the device is useful in finding both opponents that have been easy prey and those that one wants revenge upon for a bad beat.
Vegas Luck Hits UltimateBet as Online Poker Player Cashes in on $546,253.86 Bad Beat Jackpot
56-year-old online poker player from Florida wins $177,532.51 with losing hand
A little Vegas luck was definitely on one online poker player’s side Tuesday morning. A Texas Hold’em player with the moniker “joeyvegas0711” popped UltimateBet’s latest Bad Beat Jackpot, which had been sitting at a staggering $546,253.86.
The jackpot exploded at 10:38am on May 27th when joeyvegas0711 turned over an assumingly unbeatable four queens. But everything changed the moment babybaby16 flipped over a queen-high straight flush and swept the $35.44 pot in his direction.
For his losing hand, joeyvegas0711 took home $177,532.51 of the $546,253.86 Bad Beat Jackpot. BabyBaby16 added an additional $88,766.25 to his $35.44 pot and 270 other players shared another $88,766.25.
Bad Beat Jackpot is just like traditional Texas Hold’em poker with an added jackpot component. In addition to rake, $0.50 is collected from qualifying poker hands and placed into a constantly growing pot until someone hits the jackpot.
When a player loses a hand with four 8s or anything better, 65% of the jackpot is divided among Bad Beat Jackpot players (25% remains in the pot for the next jackpot and 10% is dedicated towards administrative fees). All players seated at a Bad Beat Jackpot table featuring the same limit and game type as where the bad beat occurred also win a piece of the jackpot.
Full details on UltimateBet’s Bad Beat Jackpot game can be found at www.ultimatebet.com .
PurePlay to Award Highest Number of Seats to Poker’s Main Event
PurePlay, the largest U.S. compliant play-for-cash online poker site, announced today that it will be extending its 2008 World Series of Poker* seat giveaway through the month of June, with hundreds of World Series qualifiers running every day. PurePlay, the U.S. market leader, will be giving away the largest number of Main Event seats among all U.S. based poker sites.
San Fransisco, CA (PRunderground) May 29, 2008 – PurePlay, the largest U.S. compliant play-for-cash online poker site, announced today that it will be extending its 2008 World Series of Poker* seat giveaway through the month of June, with hundreds of World Series qualifiers running every day. PurePlay, the U.S. market leader, will be giving away the largest number of Main Event seats among all U.S. based poker sites.
PurePlay’s most recent winner is Donald Wilson of Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada. Said Wilson, “PurePlay’s offer of cash prizes without risking my own money has always been attractive, and they’re the reason I’ve been an enthusiastic regular on their site. Without risking a dime of my own money, my dream of winning a seat to the WSOP* Main Event came true. Who knows, if I play my cards right I could walk away with millions.”
Blackjack Pays Out Most in Bodog’s Online Casino
The biggest payday yesterday in Bodog’s online casino came from Blackjack. (Bodog Beat Image)
Congratulations to Matthew E. of TX for being yesterday’s biggest Bodog casino winner with $19,296 from Blackjack! The other top nine winners are as follows:
* Robert G. of CA came in second and apparently also know how to play Blackjack. He won $7,840.
* Steven H. of PA rolled the bones and made $6,793 from Craps.
* Jimmy W. of MD was yet another big Blackjack winner with $6,289.
* David B. of FL made two big scores yesterday. One from the Realm of Riches slot for $5,737 and one from Tri-Card Poker for $4,180. Way to diversify David!
* Joan L. of NY nabbed a piece of the Aztecs Treasure slot for $5,249.
* Walter S. of MO played one of our favorite games, Let em Ride, and won $4,389.
* Barbara W. of GA laughed it up after winning $4,115 from Joker Poker.
* And finally, Renee W. of MA took a dip in the Crystal Waters slot and swam away with $4,020.
Bodog’s online casino has dozens of great casino games including the ever popular, and apparently quite lucrative, game of Blackjack.
Learn to count cards MIT style here: Card Counting
May
28
Texas Hold ‘Em Free Poker
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Texas Hold ‘Em Free Poker
By Alexis Brooke
Texas hold ‘em poker free games have advantages and disadvantages. The major advantage is that one loses nothing if they play free games and the disadvantage is that one might take a long time to improve in Texas hold ‘em poker free games.
Advantages of Texas hold ‘em poker free games:-
* There is no need to invest any money in these games.
* Even if one loses, they are not going to face money loss related pain.
* They get promotional codes to enroll in money games and they get discounts to join as members.
* They can log off when they like and there is not going to be any pressure to hang on to play because money is not invested.
Disadvantages of Texas hold ‘em poker free games:-
* They never invest money, they do not have any solid reason to play well and they never improve.
* Since, there is not going to be any loss, people are not going to learn.
* The opponents in these kinds of tables are normally fishes and beginners and the skilled system exposure is very less.
* They really never have a true picture of whether they have improved or not.
Playing free Texas hold ‘em poker free games is one way to practice the game like in a real time cash poker room. Once, they get a feel of the software and the terms and rules of the games they will have to have their feet wet in the money games.
Some Texas hold ‘em poker free game software is designed in a way to deal only good hands in a way that the players keep winning. These are a kind of marketing methods to encourage people to enroll in memberships. So, real money games are those that can give an accurate projection of the playing capability of a particular player. Texas hold ‘em poker free games are just meant to give an ice-breaking experience to a player and they cannot really hold any true benefit apart from giving a basic feel of the game.
Though it is true that many players have improved from Texas hold ‘em poker free games, such could be accomplished only when the opponents are serious players that play the free game like they are playing a money game. However, the real passion of the player towards the game and the kind of passion that they have towards improving counts a lot towards the end result.
Alexis is an author. Who writes article for the poker game. He is experienced in playing poker and want to give some suggestions on Razz poker.
To read the original article you can visit:
http://www.razzpokergame.com/razz-tips/texas-holdem-poker-free.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alexis_Brooke
http://EzineArticles.com/?Texas-Hold-Em-Free-Poker&id=1191503
May
28
Poker News May 28th, 2008
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Huge Player Interest in Titan Poker’s European Championship Tournament Series
Titan Poker, the largest online poker room on the iPoker Network, has seen unprecedented player interest in its 10-day European Championship of Online Poker (ECOOP) tournament series. The ECOOP series staged by Titan Poker guarantees $3,600,000 in prizes, but the large number of online poker players participating in the tournaments has driven up the prize pools even higher.
The ECOOP II series kicked off on May 23rd with a No Limit Hold’em event that drew 1,291 players. The following night was dedicated to Pot Limit Omaha Poker players, with a tournament that attracted 576 and awarded more than $100,000 in prizes.
The third ECOOP II tournament awarded $516,300 in prizes to the winning online poker players among the 1,721 who participated in the event. This was higher than the half a million dollars guaranteed in prizes.
The fourth ECOOP II tournament, once again devoted to Pot Limit Omaha players, awarded $165,000 in prizes.
The ECOOP II tournament series continues at Titan Poker until June 1st, when it culminates with a tournament finale with $1,500,000 in guaranteed prizes.
Titan Poker players are able to buy-in directly to each of the ECOOP II events or win their seats at online daily qualifying tournaments, which start at just $2 + $0.20.
This is the second European Championship of Online Poker staged by Titan Poker. The first ECOOP series was staged in December 2007 and exceeded expectations by awarding more than $2,500,000 in prizes.
Gamma Labs to Boost Testosterone At World Series of Poker In Las Vegas
A New York company says Testosterone
is just the lucky charm competitive poker players need at the card table. Casino giant Harrah’s Entertainment signed an agreement with West Babylon’s
Gamma Labs, maker of the boosting testosterone pill, to participate as a 2008 World Series of Poker sponsor in Las Vegas. The tournament takes place
at the Rio(R) All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from May 30 through July 14.
Gamma Labs will highlight their newly released testosterone booster product, Gamma-O Plus Pomegranate, as an official sponsor of the WSOP. Gamma-O Plus Pomegranate contains Gamma-Oryzanol, an extract from rice bran oil which encourages the body to produce more testosterone, and pomegranate extract which has been shown to dramatically decrease the risk of prostate cancer. Gamma-O increases mental acuity, focus, and balance - precisely the skills that are needed to excel at the challenging game of poker.
MansionPoker launches WSOP Mania poker tournaments
MansionPoker has announced the addition of WSOP Mania poker tournaments which provide members with further chances to win a coveted seat into the Mansion WSOP Mania Super Satellite tournament - worth $320 each.
The latest scheduled tournaments at MansionPoker.com to award guaranteed tickets into the Mansion WSOP Mania Super Satellite include the $1 + $0.10 Turbo Feeder tournaments
held daily at 18:30 and 21:30 BST, and the $10 + $1 Mansion WSOP Mania Daily Final; both of which award 3 Super Satellite tickets guaranteed. The daily Midnight Madness event
also provides another opportunity to win a seat into the Super Satellite of the year.
The Mansion WSOP Mania Super Satellite is one of the most exciting online poker tournaments of the year which takes place on Sunday June 15 2008 at 19:00 BST, with a
buy in of $300 + $20 and a guaranteed prize pool of 20 Packages - each worth an astounding $16,000.
Every package awards winning players at MansionPoker to take a seat at the world’s greatest Poker event: the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Based in Las Vegas, Nevada,
winners will be lucky enough to pit their poker wits against other enthusiasts and top professionals such as last year’s winner Jerry Yang and MansionPoker.com’s very own Marc Goodwin.
Unlike other online poker rooms, MansionPoker has ensured that their seats are guaranteed. The company looks forward to sending some of their quality players to join in the prestigious event and have a shot at the prize money as well as the kudos.
New Poker Game Introduced to Las Vegas
Royal Hold ‘em
A new type of Texas Hold’em poker has been given the green light by the Nevada Gaming Commission, and will soon be seen at the tables in Las Vegas.
Royal Hold’em puts a new spin on the classic game of poker. Following the same rules as Texas Hold’em, the main and significant difference is that Royal Hold’em is played with just 20 cards in the deck. Only cards of value 10 and above - the face cards - are used. WIth just 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace in the game, all the hands dealt have potential.
The new structure of the game means that most hands are played to the flop and there’s a much higher chance of getting a Royal Flush. The game is fast-paced and action-packed.
Another game currently in the pipeline is No River Hold’em, played with up to 10 players. Each player is dealt three hole cards, instead of the usual two, and the other main difference is that there is no river card dealt. The flop contains just two community cards.
Poker has a huge following around the world, both online and offline, and the appearance of new variations shows that the poker world is booming. The addition of new poker games is a great development and only serves to highten the excitement of this popular game.
Seminole Hard Rock Casino To Hold $3,000 Charity Poker Tourney
Poker is growing in popularity. The bigger it gets, combined with its growth within an area, dictate how much casinos will be able to charge for high end tournaments. In Florida, the casino gambling expansion has brought out some of the biggest gamblers.
This weekend, the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida, will be holding the biggest poker tournament ever in the state of Florida. The event is a $3,000 buy-in Texas Hold’em tourney.
First prize for the tournament could top the $125,000 mark. That will depend on the amount of interest the tournament sparks. The payouts will be based on the amount of entries.
$600 of each entry is going to the house. That is a particularly high number. In other ares where these types of tournaments are run, the house takes anywhere from three to eight percent. The $600 is twenty percent of the entry fee.
The tribe claims that this number is high due to the amount that must be paid to charity. Seventy percent has to go to charity when running a tournament such as this. There are 210 seats available for the tourney.
Proceeds from the event are going to the Miami Beach Health Foundation. The high fees are not a problem for most gamblers since the money is going to a good cause.
“I would mind if the casino was keeping all the money, but if it is going to charity, who cares. $125,000 is still a nice payout for a tournament win,” said Bill Triscol, a South Florida resident who is planning on playing in the tournament.
The Hard Rock is hoping this is just the beginning of the big time tournaments. They are planning on bringing a World Poker Tour event to the Hard Rock in the future.
Binion’s Gambling Hall to Host Second Annual Binions Poker Classic
Binion’s used to be the absolute center of the poker world back when poker wasn’t the international phenomenon that it is now, the Binion family actually ran Binion’s Horseshoe, as it was called back then, and the World Series of Poker was held there every year all the way through 2005. Nowadays, the WSOP is a multi-million dollar operation hosted at the Rio and Binion’s is left scrambling to grab some of the summer poker attention focused on Las Vegas.
To that effort, last year Binion’s introduced the Binion’s Poker Classic, a summer poker tournament series designed to attract players who don’t have quite the bankroll to play the WSOP. Unfortunately, they are also now competing in this space with the Venetian Deep Stack, The Grand Poker Series at the Golden Nugget, the 2008 Orleans Poker Classic and, to some extent, the Bellagio Cup and it’s WPT championship event. Needless to say, the summer poker schedule in Las Vegas is packed, but Binion’s distinguishes itself with history and the Poker Hall of Fame, giving players the chance to toss some cards under the watchful gaze of some of poker’s greatest legends.
Now in its second year, the Binion’s Poker Classic gets underway today with the $100 Casino Employees tournament and wraps up on July 7 when the $2,000 Championship Event kicks off. During this five-week span there will be 43 events covering a multitude of buy-ins and versions of poker. Satellites will be running regularly at Binion’s for the larger buy-in events.
May
27
Poker group goes all in with $1-M tourney in RP
MANILA, Philippines—If morality were a poker game, then organizers of the Asian Poker Tour (APT) have just gone “all in” with their chips, whipping up a cash-rich tournament with a total pot of $1 million.
The tournament, which kicks off Tuesday at the Dusit Hotel in Makati City, offers a top prize of $280,000 with a buy-in of $2,500. And while organizers do admit that the tournament is still a form of gambling, they are scrambling to position poker into a particular niche in the sporting world.
“Obviously, poker is made up of 70 percent chance, 30 percent skill,” said Christopher Parker, the director of the Asian Poker Tour (APT).
“But as far as the APT is concerned, we’d like to channel it through sports [and that means] focusing on the 30-percent skill rather than on the gambling aspect, the roll of the dice.”
Play Texas Hold’em. Get up to $100 Free with First Cash Deposit.
Skill-based games are U.S. legal. DuplicatePoker.com
Bodog Announce Miniature World Series of Poker
Bodog have announced a cheaper option for those not jetting off to Vegas next month for the World Series of Poker – a series of online tournaments replicating the 25 Hold‘em events of the festival for a fraction of the price.
At the culmination of the series’ 25 tournaments, a final tournament will be hosted on July 10 awarding three seats to the 2009 WSOP Main Event. This makes Bodog the first site to offer seats to next year’s tournament.
The event will run from May 30, starting off on the same day as the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Hold‘em event with a $100+$9 PLHE tournament.
‘We’re happy to offer those not able to attend in person an affordable and exciting online alternative,’ says Alwyn Morris, Morris Mohawk Gaming Group CEO.
Buy-ins ranging from $10 to $100 means that the festival – dubbed the ‘Mini-SOP’ – is excellent value for all players. It would cost nearly $100,000 to enter all the Hold‘em events of the WSOP but for only $821 a player could enter all of Bodog’s events.
The site will run a Tournament Leader Board which will determine who is awarded the seats to the 2009 Main Event.
Poker Book Review: Barry Tanenbaum’s ‘Advanced Limit Hold ‘em Strategy’
Professional cash game player Barry Tanenbaum’s Advanced Limit Hold ‘em Strategy: Techniques for Beating Tough Games marks an important contribution not just to that category of texts devoted to limit hold ‘em, but to the greater overall knowledge of poker strategy and theory. While of particular benefit to middle- and high-stakes LHE players, the book has a lot to offer to players of other games, too. With its many helpful lessons and careful, clear presentation of difficult concepts, Advanced Limit Hold ‘em Strategy deserves a place alongside other must-have books for the serious poker player.
David Singer Wins Richest Online Heads-Up Poker Tournament
The online poker world was buzzing after Full Tilt Poker, a leading industry giant, announced their inaugural $25,000 buy-in heads-up championship – the most expensive online poker tournament ever.
The field consisted of pros and high-stakes players; sixty-four highly skilled players including 22 Full Tilt-sponsored professionals and Team Full Tilt members. David Singer, environmental lawyer turned pro poker player, took down the top prize by beating several players in successive heads-up matches.
Other notable finishers included CardRunners.com instructor Brian ‘Stinger’ Hastings who came 3rd and American poker professional Andy Bloch who came 4th. Both won $168,000 for their high finishes.
In addition, Full Tilt offered sweat tournaments whereby ordinary players could enter a rather more modest $5.50 heads-up tournament running in tandem with the $25k event. These acted as places to wager on the outcome of the main event – the winner scooping a share of a $5,000 added jackpot.
Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy Signs On To Become an Ultimatebet Pro
Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy has inked a deal with Ultimatebet.com to become an “UltimateBet Pro”, joining the likes of Shawn Rice, Scott Ian, Gary “Debo34″ DeBernardi and Mark “P0ker H0″ Kroon.
“JohnnyBax” is an online poker legend, making the transition from being a stockbroker to dominating the virtual felt in mid-2004. He is a highly respected member of the online poker community - for Ultimatebet, the signing is a no-brainer. Everyone these days seems to be signing with Full Tilt Poker, so for Ultimatebet to land “JohnnyBax” is a major coup. They are obviously hoping that his presence will help to win back some of the online poker community, who turned their backs on the company after the Absolute Poker scandal (Ultimatebet and Absolute Poker are owned by the same company, Tokwiro Enterprises). There are many in the community who will certainly be surprised (and angered, I’m sure) that Josephy has signed a deal with Ultimatebet.
Josephy is one of a handful of players in the world who can claim to have over one million dollars in online tournament cashes and one million dollars in live tournament cashes. “JohnnyBax” has over $1.3 million dollars in total “live” cashes, with his biggest score coming at the 2006 Ultimatebet Aruba Poker Classic, where he collected over $440k for his second place finish. He is also a WSOP bracelet holder, having taken down the $1500 Seven Card Stud event in 2005 for $192k.
Play Texas Hold’em. Get up to $100 Free with First Cash Deposit.
Skill-based games are U.S. legal. DuplicatePoker.com
MANSIONPOKER.com Extends WSOP Mania!
MANSIONPOKER has announced the addition of WSOP Mania poker tournaments which provide members with further chances to win a coveted seat into the MANSION WSOP Mania Super Satellite tournament - worth $320 each.
The latest scheduled tournaments at MANSIONPOKER.com to award guaranteed tickets into the MANSION WSOP Mania Super Satellite include the $1 + $0.10 Turbo Feeder tournaments held daily at 18:30 and 21:30 BST, and the $10 + $1 Mansion WSOP Mania Daily Final; both of which award 3 Super Satellite tickets guaranteed. The daily Midnight Madness event also
provides another opportunity to win a seat into the Super Satellite of the year.
The MANSION WSOP Mania Super Satellite is one of the most exciting online poker tournaments of the year which takes place on Sunday June 15 2008 at 19:00 BST, with a buy in of $300 + $20 and a guaranteed prize pool of 20 Packages - each worth an astounding $16,000.
Every package awards winning players at MANSIONPOKER.com to take a seat at the world’s greatest Poker event: the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, winners will be lucky enough to pit their poker wits against other enthusiasts and top professionals such as last year’s winner Jerry Yang and MANSIONPOKER.com’s very own Marc Goodwin.
Unlike other online poker rooms, MANSIONPOKER.com has ensured that their seats are guaranteed. The company looks forward to sending some of their quality players to join in the prestigious event and have a shot at the prize money as well as the kudos.
May
26
After 46 years, poker club folds its hand
When Grant Erwin started his poker club in 1962, there was no such thing as a personal computer, an online accounting tool or an Excel worksheet. The eight or nine men who met monthly around kitchen tables in Seattle and Bellevue to play low-stakes poker kept track of their winnings with tokens in old baby-food jars, labeled with their names.
Over the last 46 years, the “Puget Sound Probability and Chowder Society,” as it was called, has seen many of its members come and go. Some have moved to other cities. Some have passed away. Some have been divorced, had grandkids or retired. On Friday, after nearly half a century of monthly poker games, the remaining seven men of the society played their last hand.
“I’m really going to miss seeing all these guys,” said Bob Gillespie, 75, who moved to Portland several years ago but traveled to Frank Davenport’s Bellevue home last weekend to participate in the finale.
888.com Upgrades its Poker Experience with New Software
888.com’s Pacific Poker releases a new and enhanced version of its poker software, offering many more features, options and 3D graphics.
888.com, one of the world’s leading gaming and entertainment companies, charges at the poker world with the new version of its poker software in Pacific Poker. New players can now enjoy the new software with a massive $400 Welcome Bonus.
Pacific Poker’s enhanced software version presents a new poker experience to players, with three great Table Views: Classic View, Avatar View, a 3D round table with avatars, first person view options, a variety of table backgrounds and more features and the Clear View, a 3D table without avatars that features a clear background.
An All-In move is the most effective way to shake your opponents, but it can be very costly if it is made by mistake. This is why one of the most important new features of the new poker software is the Hide/Verify All-In Action option.
The new option allows players to hide the All-In button to avoid clicking it by mistake while still being able to go All-In by moving the bet slider to the maximum bet. Players can instead choose to use the “Approve all-in action” which requires confirmation on this move.
888.com’s Marketing Director, Matt Robinson, said that Pacific Poker modelled the new version of its poker software according to the players’ requirements.
“Our new software is the next step in Pacific Poker’s evolution,” said Robinson. “It is inspired by the way our players like to play the game and we made it our priority to provide them with a gaming platform that would upgrade their poker experience.”
For further information, please contact Gill Carter at +00-350-49800 or newscom @ 888.com
Notes to editors:
About 888.com
888.com is one of the World’s leading gaming and entertainment companies. It has millions of members worldwide who enjoy its casino, bingo and poker rooms and receive an online gaming experience like no other.
Founded in 1997 - 888.com this year celebrates its 10th anniversary - by pioneers of the online gaming industry, 888.com has developed a strong brand grown by cutting-edge marketing through offline sponsorships, poker events, online collaborations and continual upgrading of its flagship online products; 888.com Casino, Bingo and Poker.
PokerStars Macau Poker Room
PokerStars opened its first live poker room. But if you thought they did so in Las Vegas, you’re wrong. PokerStars picked the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in Macau for the location of their card room.
160 tables are waiting to be filled by poker enthusiasts. The most diverse tournaments and cash games will be offered on a weekly basis. The kick-off was a charity tourney a few days ago in which the proceeds were donated to the victims of the devastating earthquake.
The buy-ins of the weekly tournaments range from HKD $500 up to HKD $10,000 (HKD = Hong Kong Dollar, pegged to the US Dollar with 1:8). PokerStars also offers a whole bout of satellites for the PokerStars.net Asian Pacific Poker Tour which will make its stop in the PokerStars Macau Poker Room early September. More detailed information can be found on the internet site:PokerStars Macau
Titan Poker Players Compete at $1,000,000 Manila Tournament
Leading online poker room, Titan Poker, sends eight of its best players to compete in the Asian Poker Tour event in Manila.
Titan Poker, the largest poker room on the iPoker Network, has sent a delegation of eight talented poker players to the Asian Poker Tour (APT) - Manila. Beginning on May 26th until June 2nd, players will test their poker skills with at least 400 poker players, amateurs and top professionals, from around the world.
By winning an APT Manila Super Satellite tournament at Titan Poker, each of the eight players was subsequently rewarded with a $6,000 prize package to the Asian Poker Tour. In addition to receiving a $2,500 buy-in to the Main Event, $2,600 is also included for flights and spending, along with a seven night accommodation at the Dusit Hotel in Manila, worth $840.
Participants in the Manila tournament will compete for an unprecedented One Million Dollar prize pool, the largest ever offered in Asia.
Winner Frank De Vries, from The Netherlands is very excited for his upcoming trip. He says he is “looking forward to playing in the poker thrilla of Manila.”
The popularity of poker in Asia is growing rapidly and APT tournament officials expect a lot of excitement with Manila being the first stop of the 2008 Asian Poker Tour. The tour continues in South Korea, Macau, and Singapore.
Titan Poker regularly rewards its players with huge cash prizes. At the end of this month, the poker room will give away $3,600,000 in its second European Championship of Online Poker (ECOOP II). It also frequently awards its players with seats at the world’s most well-known poker tournaments. Titan Poker will be sending players to the World Series of Poker 2008 in Las Vegas. Earlier this month, it sponsored the Eurocity Poker Tour Madrid Open - an elite poker tournament open to just 200 players.
May
22
Poker News May 22, 2008
Filed Under Poker | 2 Comments
Poker machine king Bruce Mathieson wins
BILLIONAIRE pokies king Bruce Mathieson is bracing for the loss of up to 2000 machines under a Brumby Government industry crackdown.
But a decision to hand pokies venues a greater share of profits means he will still become even richer.
Gaming Minister Tony Robinson has revealed the Government is investigating laws to prevent Mr Mathieson from owning or managing more than 35 per cent — or 4813 — of the state’s pub pokies beyond 2012.
The powerful hotel baron, who now controls 6768 machines in partnership with supermarket giant Woolworths, will also be stopped from owning, managing or associating himself with pokies in sporting and community clubs.
Car Salesman Bests Poker Pros to Win World Series of Golf
In a unique event that combines the wagering format of Texas Hold’em poker with the skill of golf, Andrew “AJ” Johnson, a 36-year-old car salesman from Davison, Michigan, bested a field of 80 amateur golfers which included several of the world’s greatest poker players, to win the second annual World Series of Golf and its $250,000 top prize.
Poker Players Alliance Launches New Website, More Member Benefits
In a press release this week, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) announced a slate of new membership benefits as well as a new and enhanced website, both of which are designed to provide the over one million PPA members with greater membership benefits. As part of the launch, PPA is holding a drawing for a fully paid $10,000 buy-in for a seat at the Main Event at the 2008 World Series of Poker.
“The PPA has entered into the top tier of advocacy organizations, and we have only our members to thank. As such, we are constantly looking for ways to increase the value of a PPA membership,” said former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the PPA. “I am excited about the opportunities our new website and enhanced membership benefits offer to our members as we continue the fight to protect poker players’ rights.”
PPA reports that their new website is designed to provide a more interactive and user friendly experience to PPA members. With enhanced forums and individual blogs written by each of PPA’s State Directors, members will be able to communicate with each other and find out the latest poker news in their state. This will also be a great resource for PPA’s State Directors as they organize members on the ground in their state to take action in support of poker.
The many benefits of the full annual $20 PPA membership- including access to all information, resources and tools on the PPA website (including action alerts at local, state and federal levels), and use of PPA’ Litigation Support Network- are also expanding. Members will now have the right to vote for the at large member of the PPA board of directors and receive a custom collector’s edition PPA poker chip.
PPA commented how pleased they are to partner with OneBigPlanet to provide full PPA members with enrollment in an online royalty rewards program. This program will offer PPA members discounts of up to 70 percent on purchases from select online merchants.
As an added bonus, every new, dues-paying member that signs up to join PPA before June 10, 2008 and who makes one purchase through OneBigPlanet will be automatically enrolled in the WSOP Main Event Seat contest (conditions apply). For more information on the contest, please visit: http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/wsop2008.
For more information or to join PPA, visit www.pokerplayersalliance.org.
South Africa Approves Online Poker, Internet Gambling Regulation Bill
(Reuters) - South Africa’s parliament approved a new Internet gambling law to regulate an industry plagued by crime and vulnerable to money laundering and terrorism financing, parliamentary papers showed on Monday.
A memorandum attached to the National Gambling Amendment Bill said the interactive gambling industry in Africa’s biggest economy was currently unregulated and “generally plagued” by crime.
“This situation has resulted in a considerable loss of revenue to the national fiscus and compromises the country’s reputation as a responsible global citizen,” it said.
The new bill aims to address the negative socio-economic effects associated with gambling and deals specifically with issues of problem gambling, player protection, licensing, taxation and advertising.
Every online player would need to be registered with a licensed interactive gambling provider and submit an affidavit to ensure they were older than 18 years.
“The purpose of this Act is to ensure that all gambling activities are conducted responsibly, fairly and honestly (and to) protect minors and other vulnerable persons from the negative effects of gambling,” it said.
The bill also allowed for an electronic monitoring system to help root out potentially addictive behavior and restrict credit extensions to players.
President Thabo Mbeki must still sign the bill into law before it comes into effect.
The United States, a major market for website punters, recently banned online gambling, hitting revenues at sites offering a variety of games, including blackjack and roulette.
According to South Africa’s National Gambling Board, which will enforce the country’s new laws, revenues across all forms of gambling, excluding Internet, increased to 13.5 billion rand ($1.8 billion)in 2006/07 from 6.2 billion rand in 2001/02.
WPA Upgrades Poker Tournament Rules; Card Rooms Around the World are Invited to Comment
Today the World Poker Association announced completion of its recommended 2008 Tournament Rules, for use in poker tournament competition around the world. The New Rules will be distributed to players at the WPA Mega Satellite, which is the opening event on the schedule of the 2008 World Series of Poker - at noon, May 29th at the Rio All Suites Hotel in Las Vegas. WPA Chairman Wendeen H. Eolis explains, “The WPA requires all of its members to adhere to a stringent Code of Ethics that is designed to promulgate professionalism and the highest standards of sportsmanship. The new WPA Tournament Rules work hand and hand with this mission.”
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) May 21, 2008 — Today the World Poker Association announced completion of its recommended 2008 Tournament Rules, for use in poker tournament competition around the world. The New Rules will be distributed to players at the WPA Mega Satellite, which is the opening event on the schedule of the 2008 World Series of Poker - at noon, May 29th at the Rio All Suites Hotel in Las Vegas.
Those new rules will be presented at the WPA’s Annual Meeting May 28th, following which will be a WPA seminar led by Mike Caro and then a WPA cocktail party which is open to the press as well as members and their guests. The recommended Rules will also be immediately available to players competing in the WPA tournament, May 29th.
With a $500 buy-in, the Mega Satellite at the WSOP includes seats for the WSOP Main Event (as per the prize pool) as well as a separate sponsorship entry into the WSOP Ladies Championship as a member of the Queens of Heart Team for the lady member of the WPA who finishes in highest position in the Mega Satellite. The Queens of Heart prize was arranged by Queens of Heart team founder Lisa Tenner, renowned marketing and branding expert and a member of the WPA
More WPA Sanctioned Mega Satellites on the Horizon
The Mega Satellite is part of a long term effort by the WPA to expand its reach in the poker world, and to provide incentives for its growing membership base. WPA Chairman Wendeen H. Eolis says, “The Mega Satellite that is taking place at the WSOP will serve as the prototype for more WPA-sanctioned events. She adds, Mega Satellites provide an opportunity for the WPA to connect with casinos around the world bringing WPA members to their properties while attracting new WPA members from the casino’s local community of players who may not be active tournament circuit players,”
Earlier this spring the WPA finalized arrangements for the WPA Mega Satellite under the auspices of the WSOP, noting it would coincide with the Association’s planned release of new WPA Tournament Rules. Some of the new WPA Tournament Rules will be incorporated in the 2008 WPA Mega Satellite at the WSOP with a view toward additional collaboration between the WPA and WSOP in the future. The WSOP has agreed to operate the tournament with nine-handed tables, and will adopt a strict prohibition against splashing the pot.
The WPA requires all of its members to adhere to a stringent Code of Ethics that is designed to promulgate professionalism and the highest standards of sportsmanship. “The new WPA Tournament Rules work hand and hand with this mission,” says Eolis, citing the WPA’s request to WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel to fully enforce the Rio’s casino-wide ban against foul and obscene language.
WPA Tournament Rules Committee Chair, Thomas Kremser, oversaw more than 100 hours of committee and Board of Directors discussions to reach consensus on the newly published rules. Kremser says, “The WPA Tournament Rules reflect a good balance between the needs of tournament personnel and the needs of players to insure fairness and consistency.”
Discussing the year long WPA deliberations on Rules, Eolis continues, “We have built on the substantial work of the Tournament Directors Association and have moved down the path of unifying and standardizing tournament rules for competitions around the world.”
Toward this end, the WPA is sending the new WPA Tournament Rules to casinos and public card rooms around the world seeking endorsement of its work and inviting card room personnel worldwide as well as players in the WPA Mega Satellite, May 29th, to offer feedback to the recommended WPA Rules that will be distributed when they take their seats.
The Tournament Rules are part of the WPA’s mission to unite world poker entities by unifying standards of play.
Lee Watkinson and FullTilt Pros Host FullTiltPoker.com Save Captive Chimps Charity Poker Tournament
LAS VEGAS, NV–(Marketwire - May 21, 2008) - On Sunday, May 25, at 9:00 pm EDT, FullTilt team member Lee Watkinson will host the “Save Captive Chimps” Charity Poker Tournament on FullTiltPoker.com. The $5 + $5 no-limit hold’em event will benefit the Cortland Brandenberg Foundation in their effort to rescue chimpanzees. The animal rescue foundation is in desperate need of immediate funding and Watkinson is encouraging everyone to join him in the “Save Captive Chimps” fundraising effort.
For more information or to register for the event, visit http://www.greasiewheels.com or FullTiltPoker.com. New members should download the free software and enter referral code “ANIMALLOVERS” to ensure animal shelters receive continued funding. To register, look for the “May 25 21:00 Hold’em NL $5 + $5″ tournament listed in red and located in the “tournaments” tab of the FullTiltPoker.com online lobby. The cost is $10 to enter. Half of the entry will benefit the Cortland Brandenberg Foundation, with a portion of the proceeds going towards the establishment of a new sanctuary slated to open in June in Watkinson’s home state of Washington. The other half of the entry will be awarded to participants who place in the money, and the winner of the “Save Captive Chimps” tournament will receive the first place prize money and a Curtis & Co. watch.
May
20
Poker News May 20th, 2008
Filed Under Poker | Leave a Comment
Following on from the outstanding response to the first European Championship of Online Poker in December 2007 Titan Poker have announced ECOOP II!
The second European Championship of Online Poker begins on the 23rd of May with guarantees of $3.6 Million this series promises to be one of the most exciting events on the online poker calendar. The quality structures will entice skilled players who will be provided with ten days of fantastic poker.
The ECOOP II Schedule is as follows :
DAY ONE - Friday May 23 - ECOOP NL Hold’em $200+$15, $250,000 Guaranteed
DAY TWO - Saturday May 24 - ECOOP PLO Hi-Lo R/A $100+$9, $100,000 Guaranteed
DAY THREE - Sunday May 25 - ECOOP NL Hold’em $300+$20, $500,000 Guaranteed
DAY FOUR - Monday May 26 - ECOOP PLO Rebuy $100+$9, $150,000 Guaranteed
DAY FIVE - Tuesday May 27 - ECOOP NL Hold’em $750+$50, $300,000 Guaranteed
DAY SIX - Wednesday May 28 - ECOOP NL Hold’em 6 Max $200+$15, $200,000 Guaranteed
DAY SEVEN - Thursday May 29 - ECOOP Limit Hold’em $200+$15, $100,000 Guaranteed
DAY EIGHT - Friday May 30 - ECOOP NL Hold’em Rebuy $100+$9, $300,000 Guaranteed
DAY NINE - Saturday May 31 - ECOOP PL Omaha $250+$18, $150,000 Guaranteed
DAY TEN - Sunday June 01 - ECOOP MAIN EVENT NL Hold’em $1,000+$60, $1,500,000 Guaranteed
MVP FREEROLL - Wednesday June 04 - ECOOP MVP Freeroll NL Hold’em $50,000
As well as having the chance to win a share of a MASSIVE $3.6 MILLION, players can also win a seat in a $50,000 Freeroll! The top 100 players on the special ECOOP II leaderboard will be eligible to play in this Freeroll.
All top 100 players will be eligible to play in the $50,000 GP Freeroll, which will be staged 72 hours after the Main Event.
If your bankroll isn’t big enough for those events you can win a seat in one of Titan Poker’s qualifying satellites. The chance is there for a big payday for a small outlay!
Poker, heart to heart
Fans rush to get into game that even professionals say is hard on health
THIS MAY NOT COME as a complete surprise, but it turns out that playing poker is not all that good for your heath.
Slot machines? Same thing.
Dave Scharf of Saskatoon has been playing poker “seriously or semi-professionally” for about 12 years and is the author of Winning at Poker: Essential Hints and Tips.
He said the poker players we see on TV — heavy, inert — are pretty typical.
“Gaming and the lifestyle of too much booze, high-fat food and no exercise — those two seem to have a hugely overlapping demographic,” Scharf said during a visit to Halifax.
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Poker Player Bernard Lee Celebrating One-Year on Rounders Radio
Professional poker player, media personality and poker instructor Bernard Lee will celebrate the one-year anniversary of The Bernard Lee Poker Show on 1510 AM The Zone in Massachusetts with a slate of special guests throughout the month starting with May 6, the day the show premiers on Rounders Radio, the largest streaming poker radio station in the world.
Lee, a Wayland resident, catapulted into the poker spotlight after he finished 13th in the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and became the top New England finisher. Lee has won more than $1.3 million and two titles on the tournament circuit, been named an instructor for the well-known World Poker Tour (WPT) Boot Camp, as well as become a poker commentator and poker columnist for the Boston Herald and ESPN.com. Lee will release in June his first book, The Final Table, Volume I, a compilation of his Sunday Boston Herald poker columns of the same name.
Play Texas Hold’em. Get up to $100 Free with First Cash Deposit.
Skill-based games are U.S. legal. DuplicatePoker.com
21-Year-Old Tyler Smith First Live Poker Tournament
Tyler Smith
Tyler Smith
New Orleans, LA – The thirteenth event on the 2008 Bayou Poker Challenge schedule was completed today as Tyler Smith won the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em competition. The tournament was hosted by the Harrahs New Orleans Casino and Resort. First place paid $88,154. Smith was also presented with a gold ring, presented to all World Series of Poker Circuit winners here in New Orleans.
Play Texas Hold’em. Get up to $100 Free with First Cash Deposit.
Skill-based games are U.S. legal. DuplicatePoker.com
Ashland poker club shut down
A state agency’s ruling that a poker club’s activities violated state law led to the shutdown of the gaming business.
The Oregon Department of Justice’s Charitable Gaming Unit said that some membership dues and fees charged by The Downtown Poker Club were outside the rules established for social gaming clubs. Following that ruling, the Ashland Elk’s Lodge, which owns the building on Will Dodge Way, declined to renew the poker club’s lease.
The club was funded by each member paying nightly table fees of $20, which were collected by taking a small percentage of each pot played, also known as the “rake.” Any money collected in excess of $20 per player was placed in a player’s fund to be redistributed among the players through parties and refreshments.
Because the club was not making a profit from these fees, and only paying for rent, expenses and improvements, Russell Bjerke, co-owner of the Downtown Poker Club, had previously said he felt the practice was legal.
The state disagreed.
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Play Texas Hold’em. Get up to $100 Free with First Cash Deposit.
Skill-based games are U.S. legal. DuplicatePoker.com
FTOPS VIII Main Event; Online Poker Tourney Ends, Paying Over $15mil
The long-anticipated Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS VIII) has finally come to an end at Full Tilt Poker, the world’s second largest online poker room. When all was said and done, FTOPS VIII - originally guaranteeing $10 million throughout the 24-tournament series - paid out a whopping grand total of $15,378,400 to its combined winners.
Yesterday, the FTOPS VIII Main Event was played out, bringing about the end of Full Tilt Poker’s most lucrative online poker event. But before we get into the details of the big finale, let’s take a brief glimpse into the results of Sunday’s first tournament, Event #23.
FTOPS VIII – Event #23
The afternoon began with a $240 + $16 NL Hold’em Knockout, with 6-max re-buys and a guaranteed prize pool of $500,000, hosted by Full Tilt Pro Roland de Wolfe. The turn-out became a massive field of 3,149 players, the third largest throughout FTOPS VIII thus far, raising the guaranteed value to $629,800.
Only one of Full Tilt Poker red-tagged players finished in the enormous bubble that paid the top 348 positions. David Pham snagged a 235th place finish, collecting $346.39; enough to cover the buy-in fee and purchase a nice dinner for two – maybe even take in a movie.
The final table came down to heads-up play between “elheroe” and “Panamatony”. In the end, it was “elheroe” taking the 1st place prize of $124,020.22, along with his brand new FTOPS VIII jacket and custom gold avatar. “Panamatony” earned $78,221.16 for the second place finish.
Play Texas Hold’em. Get up to $100 Free with First Cash Deposit.
Skill-based games are U.S. legal. DuplicatePoker.com
May
19
Huge settlement a poker in the eye for Aristocrat
POKER machine maker Aristocrat Leisure is believed to have agreed to pay between $150 million and $170 million to settle a landmark class action brought by shareholders, who argued the company six years ago failed to keep the market fully informed.
The payout, which will be confidential until it is revealed to the Federal Court next month, will be the largest by an Australian company to its investors.
The settlement came after the market closed yesterday, and at the eleventh hour of the case, as Federal Court judge Margaret Stone was nearing a decision in the long-running and bitterly fought legal action.
If it is approved by Justice Stone at a hearing in about six weeks, it is believed the payout will largely be funded by Aristocrat’s insurers.
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“Panicked” Stays Calm, Wins Bodog Sunday $100k Online Poker Tourney
Online poker player “Panicked” took home the $23,600 first-place prize last night in Bodog’s $100,000 Guaranteed online poker tournament. (Bodog Beat Image)
Once again, a horde of online poker players showed up in the Bodog Poker room last night to battle it out for one of the biggest guranteed pots in online poker in the Sunday $100,000 Guaranteed online poker tournament. After the 708-player field was whittled down, the final table revealed several newcomers and multiple $100k final tabler “JohnnyGstaks.” Once the melee had settled though, it was “Panicked” who managed to do the opposite of his screen name and stay calm and patient to win the $23,600 first-place prize.
Meskwaki Poker Tables Open Soon To Teens
Gamblers under age 21 will soon be able allowed to place poker bets at the Meskwaki casino.
The Meskwaki tribal council approved the change, which would allow 18 to 20-year-olds in poker games.
The change takes effect on June 1 at 12:01 a.m.
The casino has 15 poker tables and will not have a financial stake in the poker games but hopes the games will attract more customers to the casino.
Players under 21 will be required to wear a security bracelet.
Viva Las Vegas at Sky Poker
Sky Poker is giving up to ten players the opportunity of a lifetime with their Viva Las Vegas promotion.
To give yourself a chance of winning one of Sky Poker’s $17,000 packages all you need to do is log in on a Wednesday night and qualify in one of the many different satellites on offer.
Each $17,000 package includes the following -
* Flights for 2 people
* 15 nights hotel stay in the heart of Las Vegas whilst the World Series of Poker 2008 Main Event takes place
* $10,000 Dollars to buy your way into the WSOP 2008 Main Event
* $2,000 spending money!
Turning Stone Resort & Casino Poker Boss Jason DiBenedetto
Turning Stone Resort & Casino poker boss Jason DiBenedetto may have a cure for those under 21 blues, the I’m-too young blahs among poker buffs.
It’s the fact a player only has to be 18 to play in the poker room at the mid-state New York resort owned by the Oneida Indian Nation near Syracuse.
“This for us is huge,” he says, noting that there is not another casino for about 200 miles in any direction. “We get a lot of the players that don’t have anywhere else to go because of the age factor, except to the Internet.”
For some of the Turning Stone’s bigger events, players come to the casino’s poker room from all over the country, even the world.
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European Poker Tour (EPT) 4 Draws to a Close
The fourth season of the European Poker Tour is now over and a North American has won the Grand Final for the third year in a row. In 2006 19-year-old Jeff Williams triumphed over a field of 298 players to take down the first prize of 900,000 Euros. Last year the numbers dramatically increased to 706 and it was Gavin Griffin who walked away with the trophy and a prize of 1.8 million Euros.
This year the numbers were up again and online qualifier Glen Chorny, a 22-year-old from Canada, outlasted 841 other players to pocket the 2 million Euros first prize. Glen finished thirteenth in the Pokerstars.com Caribbean adventure earlier in the year and has been playing online professionally since January. He went into the eight-man final as chip leader, and with just three players left he held a massive advantage, which left Hungarian Denes Kalo and Maxime Villemure (another Canadian) to fight it out for second place.
Online Poker Cheater Mizzi is Sorry & Sponsored
If the name Sorel Mizzi rings a bell, it could be due to his online poker successes over the last several years as “Imper1um.” Or the name might sound familiar because of a cheating scandal that overshadowed his career in the late months of 2007.
Mizzi and former managing editor of Bluff Magazine Chris Vaughn were accused of seat selling, which involved Vaughn going deep in a Full Tilt tournament, then selling his seat to Mizzi who went on to win it for nearly $200,000. After the players’ initial denials of any wrongdoing, Full Tilt investigated, disqualified the winner, and banned both players from the site. Subsequently, Mizzi and Vaughn admitted to the cheating and apologized. On February 20, 2008, Betfair Poker, part of a betting exchange network located in the United Kingdom, announced that 21-year old Mizzi was the newest member of Team Betfair, a sponsored team of players that includes 2008 World Series of Poker Europe champion Annette Obrestad. Betfair does not accept U.S. players on its site and pegged the signing of Mizzi, not even six months after he admitted to cheating in an online tournament, as a proud accomplishment.
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America Online is offering six free WSOP seats
Internet provider America Online announced that it will be providing six seats to the World Series of Poker main event through online freerolls and games.com.
The freeroll poker tournaments will continue through June 15, with six lucky players going to Las Vegas in July.
According to online-casinos.com:
The AOL tournament will run over the course of six weeks. Each week, players will participate in free daily qualifying tournaments to earn their way to a Sunday winner-takes-all tournament. The winners will receive an entry and travel accommodations from within the United States to the 2008 World Series of Poker No-Limit Texas Hold’em Championship slated to begin July 3, 2008 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Online Casino Pays Out Largest-Ever Win
SportingBet last week went the extra mile to congratulate winning player Mr K Vasileiadis for his win on a €27 (£21) slot machine that netted him €940,966 (£748,290).
The generous casino flew Mr Vasileiadis to London, along with five of his friends and family, to toast his winnings and of course receive them. After, the lucky group were taken to lunch.
“This is a huge win and I am delighted for Mr. Vasileiadis,” said Sportingbet’s CEO. “He is a loyal and valued customer and I am sure he will enjoy spending the money.”
SportingBet was among the first online gaming companies in the world, and remains one of the largest today. The website is used by over 30 countries and celebrates its 10th birthday this year.
Mr Vasileiadis said that although the winnings will make a pleasant difference to his life he has no plans to leave his job. However, his fiancé said that their wedding would now likely be bigger and sooner than planned.
Titan Poker’s Upcoming Events
Asian Poker Tour Super Sat
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 20:00 GMT+1
Buy-ins = $250 + $18
Satellites from $3 + $0.30
$6,000 Prize Package
Four packages guaranteed!
Here is your LAST CHANCE to play poker in the Far East in this exciting tournament!
ECOOP VIP Satellite
Titan Poker and TonyGPoker
Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 20:30 GMT+1
Open to VIP players (Gold and up) who generate 10,000 Points between May 15 and May 20.
2 winners will get entries to ALL ECOOP II events ($3420 value each)
VIP players - don’t miss your chance for a quick entry to all ECOOP action. Earn at least 10,000 Points by the end of Tuesday!
ECOOP II #1 $250,000
Friday, May 23, 2008 at 19:00 GMT+1
Buy-ins = $200 + $15
Satellites available
Hold’em No Limit
$250,000 in guaranteed prizes and an ECOOP II bracelet to the winner!
This is the first ECOOP II tournament - get into the action to win huge cash prizes!
New Players $2,000
Titan Poker and TonyGPoker
Tonight, May 23, 2008 at 20:00 GMT+1
Freeroll tournament to players who qualified during week of May 15-21.
Eligible players have been notified.
New Players $800
Titan Poker and TonyGPoker
Tonight, May 23, 2008 at 20:00 GMT+1
Freeroll tournament to players who qualified during week of May 15-21.
Eligible players have been notified.
ECOOP II #2 $100,000 R/A
Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 19:00 GMT+1
Buy-ins = $100 + $9
Satellites available
Pot Limit Omaha Hi Lo Rebuy
$100,000 in guaranteed prizes and an ECOOP II bracelet to the winner!
This is an exciting ECOOP II tournament - get into the action to win huge cash prizes!
WSOP Side Events Super Sat
Saturday, May 24, 2008, at 20:05 GMT+1
Buy-ins = $200 + $15
Satellites from $2.50 + $0.20
$6,500 Prize Package
Winner(s) will receive entry to two World Series of Poker No Limit Hold’em events in Las Vegas!
Find great action at Titan Poker
May
16
Poker News May 16th, 2008
Filed Under Poker | 2 Comments
Judge deals blow to online poker players
Game enthusiasts tried to get gambling ban overturned
A King County judge Thursday upheld a state law that bans Internet gambling in a widely watched case filed by a Renton poker player.
Lee Rousso had argued that the 2006 law, which made Internet gambling a felony, violates the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause and is cruel and unusual punishment. After the hearing, he relayed Superior Court Judge Mary Roberts’ decision to roughly 70 disappointed poker enthusiasts gathered for a rally outside the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
“That’s just the way the game is played,” said Rousso, an attorney. “The court of law is probably the biggest casino there is.” He promised an appeal.
The crowd included men who live with their parents, women with college-age children, parents with sleeping infants, and poker celebrities who showered the crowd with autographs. Most in the group wore crimson T-shirts proclaiming, “POKER is not a crime.”
Poker: Know how to read your opponent’s bet
How you interpret the size of an opponent’s bet, especially in relation to his stack at certain points in a tournament, can give you the chance to take down a pot or tell you to get away from a loser.
Marcel Luske read it right at the $15,000-buy-in Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Las Vegas’ Bellagio in 2007.
With blinds at $2,000-$4,000 plus a $500 ante, players neared the money bubble, the point where those remaining in the event finish in the money, allowing aggressive players to take advantage of those who fear risk.
After a player in middle position raised to $12,000, Luske looked down to find 10-9 offsuit in the big blind. Owning a considerably bigger stack, Luske called the additional $8,000.
“The guy is not strong enough in chips to make a move,” Luske said. “In the bubble position, it’s very hard for people to play hands when they’re not that strong in chips.”
World Series of Poker Main Event changing
The World Series of Poker, poker’s most prestigious event, will kick off in a few short weeks. The WSOP features world championships in various forms of the game, all leading up to the granddaddy of them all, the $10,000 buy-in Main Event.
This year, however, the Main Event will be just a little bit different.
Harrah’s, the operator of the WSOP, with input from the Players Advisory Council, decided to postpone the final table of the Main Event until Nov. 9 a delay of more than three months. That’s right; more than 7,000 players will start play on July 3 and battle down to the final nine on July 14, at which time play will come to a stop.
PokerTime Goes Private
PokerTime will start to go private, with the aim of becoming a completely private Poker Room in the near future. However, they will continue to use Microgaming’s tried-and-trusted software as they believe that it is the very best available.
From 15 May 2008, all of their Hold‘Em tables with stakes of $1/$2 and below will move onto a private network. At this point, nothing will change with regards to their high-stakes tables.
“By moving our small-stakes tables onto a private network we’ll be able to immediately add value to our mass market. Our focus will be on successfully growing this community,” explains James Grant, Customer Relationship Manager of PokerTime.
This move will enable PokerTime to add value to their players in the form of bigger and better exclusive promotions, including higher-paying bonuses and more private tournaments.
It’s anticipated that such offerings will favourably differentiate PokerTime from other Poker Rooms on the Microgaming Network. Yet their players will still have access to the best of the Microgaming tournaments and software, but with the added luxury of playing in private environment. “In essence, we’ll be giving them the best of both worlds,” concludes Grant.
Tournament Winners: FTOPS VIII - Events 12, 13 and 14
Full Tilt Poker’s 8th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS VIII) crowned three more 1st place victors Tuesday, dealing out impressive prize pools that totaled more than $1.1 million. The winners, “DaEvils”, “the aviator1” and “dud711”, were each awarded with a gold FTOPS VIII jacket and gold FTOPS VIII custom avatar.
FTOPS VIII – Event #12
The first event of the day turned out to be the biggest, starting as a $200 + $16 NL Hold’em with one re-buy, one add-on and a guaranteed prize pool of $300. Hosted by Full Tilt Pro and 2007 WSOP final table finisher Lee Watkinson, an enormous field of entrants eventually jumped the GP up to $455,200.
As the tournament dwindled, Steve Berhcer was the only member of team Full Tilt to cash, taking 18th place and $1547 for his efforts, but it was “DaEvils” and “DERAJ21” who went heads-up at the final table. The skilled game play of “DaEvils” turned out to be too much for “DERAJ21”, hitting the rails in 2nd place to pocket $66,004. “DaEvils” was crowned the victor, earning the gold FTOPS jacket and avatar, along with the day’s highest payout of $104,696.
FTOPS VIII – Event #13
Full Tilt Poker commenced the 13th event of FTOPS VIII with a $500 + $35 NL H.O.R.S.E. tournament guaranteeing a prize pool of $300,000. Full Tilt Pro David Singer, final tablist in both the 2006 and 2007 WSOP $50k H.O.R.S.E. events, gained the honor of hosting the event that attracted a field of 607 participants; enough to raise the GP by an additional $3,500.
Notable cashes were awarded to 51st place finisher “fkscreennames”, winner of FTOPS VI, and Jeff Madsen, the highest cashing Full Tilt Pro of Event 13, who ended the day in 23rd position.
The final table came down to heads-up play between “the aviator1” and “OrBigEarn”. In the end, it was “the aviator1” besting his opponent for the 1st place prize of $70,381. “OrBigEarn” took home $46,283 for his 2nd place triumph.
FTOPS VIII – Event #14
This $200 + $16 NL Hold’em Turbo tournament, hosted by Full Tilt Pro Amanda “MandyB” Baker, saw an impressive field of 2,140 rounding out the entrants, hiking the expected guaranteed prize pool of $200k to a whopping $428,000.
Team Full Tilt saw several cashes in the event, including Scott Fischman in 37th, placing him in 8th place on the FTOPS VIII leaderboard, and Berry Johnston in 25th position, placing him in 22nd place on the leaderboards. When Event #14 came to a close, it was “whothedonk” topping the FTOPS VIII leaderboard, who’s cashed multiple times in the series thus far, including a 1st place victory in Event #2.
Heads-up play commenced as the final table was decreased to “dud711” and “OneUponAStar”, who eventually relented to the upper-hand of “dud711” to claim 2nd place and $56,496. “dud711” ended the day with a shiny new gold jacket, the coveted gold FTOPS VIII avatar, and $87,290.60 to roll in.
PKR 3-D Online Poker Room Ranked #1 In UK
PKR Poker, an enormously popular online poker room established in 2006, has proved its innovative success by ranking number-one in a recent poll by Hitwise, an Internet competitive intelligence service, having received the most hits in the online poker category. The poll covers the first quarter of 2008, calculating web site hits coming from the UK.
PKR Poker has been one of the most rapidly expanding online poker rooms in the world, dues to its ground-breaking three-dimensional environment and pioneering features, like its unique ‘Emote Control System’. PKR beat out the UK’s most prevalent online poker rooms, including Ladbrokes, William Hill and VC Poker.
“We are extremely pleased with this award,” exclaimed PKR Marketing Director, Simon Prodger. “We have seen some phenomenal growth and it’s not slowing up. We have never accepted US players, so to achieve the top ranking in the UK is fantastic.”
